Bruce studied himself in the mirror and adjusted his tie. The suit Veronica had picked out for him fit like a glove. Looking down at his watch, he acknowledged that it was almost seven o'clock. He would be a little late, but it didn't matter. Bruce Wayne could afford it. He would be his own designated driver for the night as well, since Alfred needed to stay with Harley. At least she seemed to feel at ease at Wayne Manor. She said it was very homey. Bruce found her and Alfred in the kitchen, preparing dinner together. He was surprised that Alfred had let her chop the onions, but she seemed to be handling the knife in her hand with responsibility and ease. She wore a big smile on her face as she chopped away. The wig was gone, but her makeup was still on, covering up her tattoos. He could understand why she never washed it off. Looking at her like this, it was as if all she ever knew was normal.

Bruce cleared his throat and got their attention. He made a twirl for them. "How do I look?"

"Impeccable, as always," Alfred said in his most British way. Harley took a moment to fully scrutinize him before giving an answer.

"You look very handsome," she said and beamed at him. It felt so strange and he almost blushed at the compliment. She was not supposed to say that to him.

"Thank you. Well, I'd better be off. Don't wait up," he added with a boyish wink and Harley laughed. I should not have said that.


EIGHT DAYS AGO

Harley woke up freezing. The basement was cold and the quilt covering her body was quite thin. The pillow wasn't very comfortable either. Compared to her own bed back home, this was like sleeping on a bag of straw. She sat up and wrapped the quilt around her body, like a cocoon. Her stomach started making noises and that's when she knew she was hungry as well. Were they going to serve her breakfast or was Black Mask planning on starving her? No, she told herself. If he wanted to kill her, he would have done it already. She remembered the chocolate the woman had given her and took a bite out of the bar. Never before had chocolate tasted so good.

It didn't take long though until the door opened and the woman entered once more, carrying a tray in her hands. She stopped by the foot of the bed and just stared at Harley who had her mouth full of chocolate. Harley put the bar down, gathering that the woman was waiting for her to finish and receive the tray. "Breakfast," she said and Harley took the tray and placed it in her lap. There was a small glass of orange juice and a simple triangle shaped sandwich with ham and cheese. Could be worse, I suppose. The woman turned to leave, but Harley stopped her. "Hang on. What's your name?"

"You may call me Ms. Li." She didn't even smile. She reminded Harley of Katana. Always focused on the task at hand and never had time for any fun. How sad.

"And you can call me Harley. Everyone does." A curt nod and that was all before she left and Harley heard the familiar sound of the door locking. She had gotten used to it now. Wasting not a second longer, she took a huge bite out of her sandwich and it actually wasn't that bad. The only complaint she had was that it only took her five more bites before it was gone.

No more than an hour later, Harley had her second and third visitor for the day, but simply paying a visit was not what they had in mind. The two men brought in a chair with them and forced her to sit down on it. To make sure she stayed there, they tied her down with rope which chafed against her cold skin. "Is this any way to treat a lady?" she asked and glared at both of them. No one answered her. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" she raised her voice and tried breaking free of her bonds, but it only hurt.

"Shut up, will you?" the taller of the two said. Harley laughed.

"Or what? You'll make me? Gag me or cut my tongue off?" His hands clenched into fists and he grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head back to look into his face. Bad move.

"Listen, you little –" A mouthful of spit hit him right in the left eye and he wiped it away in disgust while Harley continued laughing. Then, a third figure appeared by the door and Harley was looking up at the man responsible for her capture. Black Mask walked in and did not seem very happy.

"You might think this is a laughing matter, but you will soon find that it's far from it." He dug his hand into the pocket of his stylish jacket and took out a small syringe filled with a yellowish liquid. The mere sight of it was enough to make her nauseous.

"Oh no," she said and started squirming in her seat. "Oh no you don't. I don't know if anyone's told you, but I hate shots!"

"Too bad for you," he said and, without a warning, grabbed her right arm and dug the needle into it. Harley looked away and screamed. She didn't know what hurt more. The shot or Black Mask's sharp nails digging into her skin. "Because this will be the first of many," he finished. When he let go and the needle was out, Harley could look again and there was some blood coming out of the small prick hole where it had been buried. All she wanted to do was spit him in the face too, but in just a matter of seconds, her vision was starting to blur and she felt dizzy.

"What the hell was that?" she asked.

"Just a little taste of what's to come. Boys, why don't you help put Harley to bed? She doesn't look very well." They did as told and Harley started putting up a fight, but she quickly realized that any kind of effort she made only worsened the dizziness. All of a sudden she felt so tired and her vision was beginning to fade.

Black Mask reached his office just in time to hear the vibration of a cell phone on his desk. It was Harley's phone. He picked it up and saw that a message had been delivered. The message was from someone called "Puddin'" and he didn't have to guess three times to know who it was.

Where are you?

He was tempted to answer, but he thought better of it. Not quite yet. All in good time.


PRESENT DAY

After dinner, Harley insisted upon helping Alfred with the dishes and despite his protests, she ended up convincing him either way, stating that everyone needs help every once in a while. It was all good and well until Harley felt her hand trembling and the plate she was holding dropped to the floor, shattering into pieces and causing Alfred to jump. Her heart was racing fast and the trembling only got worse. "Ms. Quinn, are you all right?" Alfred asked, alarmed by the sight of her trembling. He reached out to touch her, but she retreated and ran away. Alfred followed her, calling her name, but she couldn't hear him. She was in a state of panic and her mind was all a mess. She stopped in front of a mirror and noticed just how much she was trembling. Then she saw the reflection of her face and for a split second, the image morphed and she was looking at a pale man with green hair and red lips. He was smiling back at her. Joker. Mr. J. She closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. What was going on? She collapsed onto the floor and Alfred was there in a heartbeat to help her back up, but that was easier said than done. Feeling himself panic, he reached for the phone.

Bruce was socializing with the crowd and having not such a bad time when Alfred made the call. Apparently, Harley was in some state of shock and kept repeating the Joker's name over and over again. This was not good. He needed to find an antidote. And fast.


A/N: And I'm back with another chapter! Hopefully it's a little better than the last one, but I'm not very pleased with this one either. I don't know, it feels a little rushed. Is it rushed? I just have to let you all know how much I appreciate your reviews! I try to reply to all of them and I wish I could reply to all you guest reviewers as well because I want you to know how much it means to hear your words of encouragement! No Joker in this chapter either, I'm afraid, but what do you think? Is Harley starting to remember?