"Boss! Boss can you hear me?" The Riddler blinked at the blinding light shining in his eyes. "Holy shit Boss you scared the hell outta me."
"Markus?" he asked the name hoarsely and tried to sit up. Pain ripped through his abdomen and he fell backwards.
"Woah now," Markus caught him and eased him back down gently the rest of the way. "You took a nasty bullet to the stomach. I've brought you to... well you won't like it but I had to Boss."
"Where am I Markus?" he asked through gritted teeth as the pain began to subside.
"Scarecrow's," his henchman winced the word and The Riddler groaned.
"Is the patient awake?" a new voice was heard and The Riddler rolled his eyes.
"I need painkillers Jonathan," he addressed the new voice and waited for the creep to come into his line of sight. Soon enough the scrawny former psychiatrist walked up, peering at him in a rare moment of unmasked concern.
"You almost died... Who shot you?" Crane asked as he pushed some stray dirty blonde hair from his face.
"One of Joker's men," he answered honestly. "Thanks for patching me up but I need to find him now."
"What's put fear in your eyes?" Crane asked in awe. "What does The Riddler fear?" Edward Nygma knew there was no point in lying to him, so he met his eyes and took a shaky breath.
"He's got Doctor Quinzel."
XxX
Harley whimpered in pain. She was tied up in a dark stone room, the chill of the damp floor seeping into her toes. Her arms were chained above her head, her ankles shackled in place, and a gag was tied tightly in her mouth. Every inch of her body ached and due to her lack of light she had no concept of how long she had been tied up.
"Harley!" The Joker's voice boomed in the darkness around her and she tensed with a whine. "Are you ready for the fun to begin?" A bright light flashed on and she shut her eyes against it. "Come now Harley! Surely a little light after two days isn't so bad?" a low chuckle followed his words that made her pale. The sound of footsteps on the stone floor behind her had Harley forcing her eyes open, begging for it to be anyone else.
XxX
"If he's got her..." Crane shuddered at the implications made by the unfinished sentence and The Riddler eased himself into his suit. "You should take it easy for a few days-"
"I don't have a few days," he snapped as he slipped his domino mask over his head. "You know what he's going to do to her... Remember when Hatter got taken in by the Bat and Joker found his Alice?" He added the bowler hat to his head and turned to face arguably the scariest rogue, only to see his already pale face paled even more.
"You don't think-"
"He wants to break her, and I can't let that happen Jonathan. Thank you for patching me up, but I could really use Scarecrow right now," he said the words and a maniacal grin spread across Crane's features.
"You're the only person who asks for him."
"Because I'm the only person his toxins don't work on," The Riddler replied smoothly, making Crane scowl. "Come now. What are the chances of my greatest fears happening all at once right before my eyes? Next to impossible really," he gave him a grin. "Grab him and let's go."
XxX
Harley screamed in pain as The Joker ran a knife lightly down the soft flesh of her stomach. "You know, I might've gone easier on you if you hadn't slept with the trash," he commented offhandedly as he began dragging the knife back up. "He's beneath you Harley! Look at you! Look at what you could have!" He held out his arms proudly. "I'm offering you everything you could ever want... All you have to do is just say yes."
Defiantly, knowing it would more than likely get her killed, she shook her head.
"Oh you're perfect," he chuckled and pulled out a set of brass knuckles. Harley watched him slide them onto his knuckles and she braced herself for what was to come. "Just say that you love me and I'll stop."
"Go to hell," she spat the words at him and he smiled broadly, his laugh echoing off the walls as his fist drew back.
XxX
The Riddler shoved open the door to his hideout located in the middle of the business district of Gotham. It wasn't his favorite hideout, being so close to the Wayne Foundation building set a bad taste in his mouth, but he knew that absolutely no one else knew about it. The Scarecrow followed him in, the only sound from the pair coming from his breathing through the gas mask.
The Riddler sat down in front of his computer and fired it up, his eyes glancing at Scarecrow who leaned against the desk. "Did you ever formulate that new toxin?" he asked to break the silence and watched as the goggles set into the burlap mask turned his way.
"Yes," Scarecrow responded with a nod. "This one is far more powerful and the Bat will be powerless against it."
"I wonder what his fears are," The Riddler mused as he turned his attention back to the screen and logged in.
"That's what I want to find out... I know your greatest fear," he added and The Riddler tossed him a smirk without looking away from the screen as he tapped away, trying to find any clues to The Joker's latest hideout. "What is Doctor Quinzel to you?"
"The only person I've ever connected with," he answered honestly and paused before he added, "Jonathan excluded. She's smart, beautiful, and someone I thought could never exist."
"I see... You're smitten and asking my help to find your girlfriend?" Scarecrow chuckled while The Riddler felt his ears burn. Was that what she was? He had never had a real relationship of any substance before... could she be that? "What will you do with Joker when we find him?"
"I'm going to kill him," he responded without hesitation.
"Can I have a go at him first?" Scarecrow asked and that made The Riddler turn his eyes his way.
"It would be my pleasure to let you," he said and watched the mask twitch into what he assumed was a smile.
XxX
Harley felt the cartilage in her nose give under the force of his punch. She would have cried out in pain, but her throat was raw from doing so many times before. As the blood poured from her nose he stopped and stared at her. "The first thing we'll do," he spoke in a conversational tone, like he hadn't been beating her senseless for hours now, "is take a trip to Ace Chemicals and give you a nice bath... How does that sound?"
"Mmfh," she tried to articulate a curse at him, but the blood in and around her mouth made that impossible. Her bottom lip was swollen and she vaguely wondered if he had broken her jaw.
"You know what I'll do? I think I'll swing by Riddles' place and make sure he's dead. The bastard never learns for all his brainpower. If he's alive, I think I'll give him a makeover... Make him look better. How's that sound?" He pulled her head back by her blonde hair, forcing her eyes on his. "You see Harley, if you join me I won't have to hurt him anymore. If you don't... well then I can't wait to try out some new toys I bought and what better a test subject?" He laughed as he let her hair go and she went limp, the fear of what he'd do to her Eddie filling her sickened stomach. If he was willing to do this to her, Eddie was in for a much worse fate.
"I'll come back later to check on you!" he called as he walked off. The bright lights shut off and Harley was once more bathed in darkness. She spat some blood weakly from her mouth, trying to catalogue the damage done to her body. Everything hurt, but nothing felt irreparably damaged.
"Eddie," she whined softly into the darkness around her, wishing he was there.
XxX
"The Joker can't just disappear!" The Riddler slammed his hands down on the desk, the sting against his palms ignored by him as he glared at the uncooperative computer. "He can't! Where is he?!"
"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," Scarecrow offered and The Riddler looked over at him in confusion. "He knows that if you're alive you'll use the power grid of Gotham, the cameras you've hacked... Perhaps this requires some legwork? Maybe some talking to people?"
"Who?" The Riddler asked warily and Scarecrow tilted his head.
"Ever since the last Alice went missing, Hatter has kept tabs on Joker."
"Great," The Riddler let out a disbelieving laugh as he stood up. "Let's go to his perverted Wonderland... God I can't believe I'm about to ask Hatter of all people for help."
XxX
"You ever think about signing up with someone else?"
"Whaddya mean?"
"Well... We work for the friggin Mad Hatter. We're wearing bunny masks for christ's sake man! We wouldn't have this with Joker or something."
"Yeah, but I heard that Joker shoots his guys for the smallest things. That's why he's always taking new guys. And Scarecrow? Man when I was in Blackgate I heard this one guy howling all night about something crawling on him... I asked the guard and he said the guy messed up Scarecrow's plan and he gassed him as punishment. That fear toxin shit? Hell I'll take this stupid mask any day."
XxX
"You used your fear toxin on one of your own men?" The Riddler asked incredulously of the rogue next to him, the duo hiding behind a brick wall beyond the guard's sight. The Scarecrow shrugged and together they stepped out from their hiding spot. The men drew their weapons and The Riddler held up his hands. "I really suggest lowering your weapons," he said firmly with a pointed nod at Scarecrow's raised hand firmly grasped around a toxin vial. "Trust me what that'll do to you isn't pretty."
"What do you want?" one goon demanded as he lowered his weapon slightly.
"I just need to ask Hatter a question, I'm not here for trouble." The men lowered their weapons and one raised a walkie talkie to his lips.
"Boss? We've got The Riddler and Scarecrow out front."
"Send them in," the voice crackled over the comm and the men stepped aside.
"Watch your step," one muttered and The Riddler raised an eyebrow. "He's really gotten into the whole Wonderland thing in there," the man explained as he opened the door.
"Thanks for the warning," The Riddler said with a scowl as he stepped into the darkened entryway, Scarecrow on his heels.
XXX
Harley in the hands of The Joker? Will The Riddler find her before it's too late? Time will tell everyone. Now a bit of truth if you'll permit me... Ladies out there if you're reading this: Harley and Joker are not a good relationship. He beats the shit out of her and leaves her for dead constantly. I don't care how "sweet" he was in Suicide Squad. If I hear one more chick say that they're "goals" I'm going to lose it. Thank you, that is all. Lemme know what you think (of the fic, not my rant... Well you can comment on that too if you'd like!) much love, Leigh