About thirty minutes later, Taina, Harley, and Joker were at the zoo. It was a busy Saturday afternoon. There were people everywhere and it was quite easy to get lost in the crowd except people kept parting for Joker and Harley. Taina had no choice but to walk with them. It would be too obvious if she ran off into the crowd now. She didn't want to put anyone in danger. It became easy to notice who was a tourist and who was a local. The locals would avoid Harley and Joker and then go back to admiring the animals. The tourists would either take out cell phones and record/take a picture of them or run away and contact security. Security couldn't do much about it because they were afraid of putting people at risk of harm. They would only call Batman and Robin if they caused chaos. The zoo was used to seeing Harley and Joker.
"I'm thirsty. Can I get some water?" Taina asked Harley and Joker as they walked around the zoo. It was 90 degrees outside and not a cloud was in the sky.
"Sure. We should get ice cream too." Harley said. They walked over to an ice cream cart.
"Strawberry!" Harley told the man.
"What flavor, Taina?" Joker asked as he pushed Harley out of the way.
"Mint chocolate chip, please." Taina responded.
"I'll take vanilla. I want a bottle of water as well." Taina was genuinely surprised that Joker liked something so basic. She expected "cotton candy" or "bubblegum" flavored ice cream. Really anything but, vanilla. Once they all had ice cream, they began to walk over to the feline area. Taina turned around and said to the ice cream man,
"Thank you." It didn't take her long to realize that Joker and Harley never paid for anything.
"Joker, I mean, dad, can I have some water?" Taina asked. He gave her an approving pat on the head as he handed her the water. She decided for the safety of herself and others, it would be best address them as "mom" and "dad". It didn't look like she was getting rescued anytime soon so it was in her best interest to make her time with them as pleasant as possible. If that meant playing "house" with Harley and Joker then so be it. They arrived at the lion exhibit. There were four lions. Two males and two females, they all lounged around and cooled off in the water. After a few minutes of watching the lions, they moved on to the gorillas. Next it was the hippos, reptiles, and then the kangaroos.
"Let's go the petting zoo." Harley said as she led the way. Joker grabbed Taina's hand and followed Harley. Taina felt weird holding Joker's hand. He was older than her and her kidnapper. His hands were surprisingly soft and warm. His touch probably would've been comforting to Taina if he wasn't a psycho criminal.
'We look so weird. He probably looks like a pedophile holding my hand.' Taina thought. She tried to subtly free her hand from his grasp but, he just held on tighter. She stopped pulling away once it became clear that he wasn't going to let her go. The petting zoo was packed but, people made room for Harley, Joker, and Taina. Taina began to pet some of the animals. She really liked the petting the pig the most.
"Are you the Joker?" a little boy asked as he cautiously approached them.
"Yes."
"Can I get your autograph?" the boy held out the zoo map and a crayon. Joker took it and signed it for him.
"You're my favorite bad guy."
"If you ever need a job in a few years, you know where to find me." the Joker responded before the boy ran back to his mother. Most of the kids treated Joker and Harley like celebrities while the adults treated them like the dangerous criminals they were. A few even asked about Taina.
"Who's that girl with you?" a redheaded girl asked Harley.
"My daughter, Taina." Harley replied.
"She's so pretty just like you!" the girl gushed.
"Thanks!" They spent several more minutes at the petting zoo before deciding to go over to the pandas.
"They're so cute! I wish I could play with them." Taina said as she watched the pandas play with a large beach ball.
"Come on then." Harley said as grabbed Taina and walked over to the an "Employee Only" door. Joker broke open the door and they followed him.
"You're not supposed to be here." a zookeeper said and attempted to stop them but moved out of the way once he so who it was. They walked out of another door were in the panda exhibit. The crowd above them began to yell,
"Is that Harley Quinn and the Joker?"
"What are they doing?"
"Isn't that the girl they kidnapped?"
"It's Taina!"
The pandas turned towards Harley, Joker, and Taina and curiously walked over to them. Taina felt herself overcome with embarrassment. She couldn't believe they broke into a zoo exhibit.
'We are definitely going to be on the news tonight. At least my family will know I'm okay.' Taina thought as a panda nudged her hand. She gently reached out and pet it. Next to her, Harley was having the time of her life petting one of the pandas. Jealously, another panda tried to get Harley's attention. Joker stood to the side and watched them. He also kept a look out for anything that could interrupt their fun (Batman). Taina tried to ignore the crowd above them that was recording her and focused on the pandas. She was determined to go along with whatever Joker and Harley were doing. It just made things easier for her. Suddenly a zookeeper and several police officers came into the panda exhibit.
"Step away from the pandas!" one of the police officers yelled they aimed their guns at them. Taina froze and stood where she was at.
'What the hell is going on!' Taina internally panicked.
"You heard them, girls. Move away from the pandas." Joker ordered. Harley grabbed Taina and stepped away from the animals. Harley defensively pushed Taina behind her.
"Put your hands where I can see them!" the cop yelled. Slowly, they raised their hands. One of the cops started to step towards them before the zookeeper said,
"Not around the pandas. They're endangered and on a loan from China!"
"Slowly walk out of the exhibit and keep your hands where I can see them!" Joker, Taina, and Harley walked out of the exhibit. Once they were out of the restricted area and into the main zoo area, Joker suddenly started to run. Harley grabbed Taina and followed him.
"Get them! Don't shoot unless you have a clear shot. There's too many civilians." a voice behind them said.
"That girl with them is Taina Cruz. I don't care if Joker and Harley are dead or alive but don't hurt that girl" another voice said. Joker, Harley, and Taina ran in and out of the crowds. The police chased behind them as fast as they could. They quickly reached the parking lot and jumped into Joker's car. Taina barely closed the door behind her before they took off. She was thrown around the backseat of the car as Joker evaded the police. She quickly put on her seatbelt and held on for dear life as Joker wildly drove his car.
"I see the Bat's decided not to hide in his cave." Joker said as he saw the Batmobile behind them. Taina looked out the backseat and gave Batman a friendly wave.
"That's right, wave goodbye to Batman." Harley said as Joker took a sharp turn. After several minutes of wild driving, they finally lost Batman.
"That was fun! We should do that again." Harley said as she bounced in her seat.
"Which part? Breaking into the panda exhibit, running away from the police, or getting chased by Batman?" Taina responded sarcastically.
"All of it."
"You were very well behaved today, Taina. I think you'll be ready to start doing the family business soon." Joker said.
"Family business?" Taina asked.
"Puddin', I don't think she's ready yet. I still have to work with her some. Besides we're just getting used to being a family." Harley interjected.
"That's why I said soon. There's a lot of work to be done with her." Joker replied. Taina undid her seatbelt and laid across the backseat. Suddenly she was so tired. A yawn escaped from her and she closed her eyes as Joker and Harley discussed her future. With the events of today hanging over, she fell into a dreamless sleep.
AN: I would have updated sooner but I've just been so tired from work. I hope you liked Family Day. I know it's pretty tame to what could happen BUT I decided that I'll leave the more wild Family Days for the future. I have a few ideas for Family Day but again I'm open to any suggestions you have. Please review with any suggestions of what you think should happen next, comments, or questions you have. Thank you for all your support.