AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so beyond sorry I haven't updated in so long. Things have been crazy here. But I promise I have figured out a way to fit FanFic into my busy schedule from now on! xo
XIV
Harley shivered against the cold steel bars as she tried to get some sleep. The guards had taken her bed, under Griggs orders of course. She had sort of lost count of how long she had been at this new place. She was estimating almost three weeks. She had heard rumors about a place called "Belle Reve" before. When she was working at Arkham, guards used to threaten it to inmates to encourage a scare. Harley was in solitude. They didn't trust her to be around other inmates. She was in a double secure facility in the back of the building. She couldn't blame them for making the decision to put her there. She would have escaped a normal cell. Griggs had tortured her since she arrived. He force fed her liquids through a feeding tube, he made fun of her and he degraded her in ways she didn't expect. Griggs would take pictures of her as she stood naked getting scalded by freezing water spraying at her. He would laugh and make disgusting jokes with his fellow SWATs. Harley was not much of a cryer. But she cried. She need her Puddin'. He would never allow this to happen to her.
Harley finally decided sleep wasn't happening tonight, so she took out her makeshift tattoo needle and started working on her leg. She gave herself ink to pass the time. She branded herself with her Puddin's name all over. She wanted every inch of her to be his. She felt incredibly guilty for being angry with her Puddin' when he left her. She knew there had to be a good explanation. Harley smiled as she felt the needle dig into her skin. She knew wherever her Puddin' was, he was thinking of her too.
The Joker strategically placed each blade exactly two inches apart. He cut himself several times accidentally in this process. He didn't care. He had to stay busy or he would rip this entire earth apart to find her. Although he knew that would be fun, he knew he couldn't. He would probably be taken out by some douche bag vigilante and he would never see his Harley again. He placed the onesies that he got the babies next to each other perfectly. His laptops were lined up with the same screen on each. The Joker was losing his mind. He found this fact ironic. How does one who is already clinically insane, lose his mind? He knew how. Losing his Harley. That's how. He had locked himself in the penthouse office of The Smile N Grin. He couldn't face going home without her. He stirred his whiskey with his finger and felt the cold ice against his nails. He heard someone come in his lair on the top floor and without hesitation, he lifted his pistol. He saw Johnny Frost standing there, unphased. Frost knew J wouldn't shoot him. Not unless he deserved it. J lowered his gun as Johnny sat on the marble step.
"Where is she?" J growled.
"It's complex. It's not just her. Everybody's disappearing. There's this new law that if you're a bad enough bad guy, they stamp terrorist on your jacket. They send you to this swamp in Louisiana. A black site. That's where she is." Frost said trying to sound reassuring. All The Joker heard was Louisiana and that's where she is. "So what are we doing?" Frost asked. The Joker tried to think.
"Bring the car around. We're goin' for a drive." He growled. He threw himself back and felt the cold floor on his back. He found her. He was coming for her. She was his. He was going to take her back. He let out a bellowing laugh as Frost sat there and waited.
Harley heard the guards unlocking her solitary room so she hurried and threw up her prison knife she did her ink with. She quickly buried it in her hair and turned to face them with her hands in the air.
"Hands in the air!" One SWAT yelled.
"Hey! I'm cooperation' alright?! This is me being' cool." Harley said calmly.
"Take her!" Griggs ordered. Harley smirked as a SWAT tried to bind her and attacked. She made it through two SWATs before she was tased. She yelped in pain as she hit the ground. She was lifted and put into a wheelchair. They strapped her in and bound her entire head. She could hardly move. She laughed and shook off the electric pulse still going through her. The SWATs were joined by military garb and Harley started laughing harder. She didn't know what the hell was going on but she was happy to be out of her "room".
"Hi ya boys! What infantry are you handsome fellas with? Lemme guess, beefcake special ops?" Harley joked. She laughed as one told her to shut up. She giggled down the concrete hallway and noticed a line of people waiting for her. She saw a black case with writing on it. One man opened the box and took out a gun. "What is that? What is that?! Who are you?" Harley asked the doctor next to her.
"Stand by, arming device." The doctor said, ignoring her question. He activated the gun device and turned towards Harley.
"Who are you?" Harley asked as he got closer. "I don't know who you are." Harley panicked. Harley couldn't see anyone know. She just heard the device being tapered with. 'Hey i'm talkin' to you. Hey i'm talkin' to you!" Harley exclaimed before she felt a horrifically sharp pain in the right side of her neck. She screamed in pain and felt her legs go weak.
"Injection successful." One man said.
"Location verified." A burly woman replied. The took Harley down several more hallways. The man pushing Harley's wheelchair picked up the pace as they reached the outdoor level.
"Wheeee!" Harley squeaked. She saw someone come up next to her.
"Listen, you're being transferred. I don't know where you're going." Griggs said as he slid a cell phone into Harley's hand. "It's from Mr. J. You gonna tell him I took care of you?" Griggs asked nervously. Harley knew one of the first things her Puddin' would ask her when she saw him is if anyone treated her poorly. Griggs would be first on her shit list.
"You are so screwed." Harley taunted as they went through the gate.
"What do you mean by that?' Griggs pleaded. Harley laughed hysterically. "Harley! What do you mean by that?!" Griggs begged as she disappeared from his sight. She would enjoy watching him suffer a slow and painful death. Harley was flown somewhere. She didn't know where. The helicopter had her and a few others on board. She could hear that Deadshot was among the few. She didn't know him well. Just a couple run ins. Nothing serious. She knew her Puddin' wasn't exactly fond of him. They landed and Harley could see sunshine. As much as she loved the night, she loved the sun. She wasn't capable of tanning anymore, but she loved the way it felt on her skin.
They were lined up and released from their restraints. She was surprised. She took advantage and stretched. She joked with the military boys, trying to lighten the mood. No such luck. She figured it would be a tough crowd. In a nutshell, they were being forced to go on a mission that was a basically a death sentence. If she tried to escape, she would implode. She was happy when Rick Flag, the military leader, told her she could have her old gear back. She chose the outfit that her Puddin' loved the most. The other team members were cool enough. She didn't know the rest of them other than Deadshot, but she didn't feel it would be a problem teaming up with them temporarily. She knew that her Puddin' was coming for her. This made her heart skip a beat. She missed him more than anything. He had been sending her vague texts, updating her on where he was and how close he was to her. The Squad was loaded up into a military heli and Harley wiggled in her seat with excitement. She had to admit, she was up for the action. Other than Killer Croc getting sick and the heli rolling into a landing, the ride was smooth. Harley was thrilled to hear that Deadshot was planning on offing Flag and his troops. That mean Harley could go off on her own and find her Puddin'. Until then, she had to protect Flag until they retrieved the VIP trapped in Midway City.
Harley was going to town on a mythical creature/bad guy when Deadshot snapped her out of it.
"Hey! Nah come on." He motioned for her to follow.
"What?! I saw it move! See? It flinched...I think." Harley said as she bent down to examine the gross looking corpse. Harley was having a hard time keeping her mind completely focused. She kept daydreaming about Mr. J. How they met, the fights they had and the insane amount of screwing they used to do. She did on occasion pick on her "teammates". She knew this was her own shit that was causing her to be a bitch. But she didn't care. It was fun. Fucking with people's heads was one of her favorite things to do. But after spending the past ten hours with these guys, Harley decided she didn't want to pick on them. She kinda liked having friends...or something like friends. Once they got to the locked room with the VIP in it, Harley and the others were shocked and beyond furious to see none other than Amanda Waller. The one person who was responsible for them having these bombs in their necks. Harley wasn't surprised. She had heard before that Waller was fearless when it came to advancing in her career. When they reached the building roof, Flag's buttboy started calling for the heli to turn around so it could pick them up. No response. Harley knew. She knew her Puddin' was up there. She smiled to herself slightly.
"Our birds been jacked. LIGHT IT UP!" Flag yelled. Shots started flying. Harley and the rest of the squad took cover while the military boys kept going. Harley looked down at her phone then saw Deadshot shake his head. She didn't care. She smiled and came out from behind the cover she had. She didn't care that shots were being fired in every direction. She saw him. It's almost like when their eyes locked, there was a clear path for her to get to him. He kicked down a long rope as she took her jacket off. She jumped with ease onto it as the helicopter took off in the other direction. Harley held on with one hand and blew a kiss to her friends. She felt bad leaving them behind, but she wanted to be with her Puddin' more. She saw Waller get in Deadshot's face and she knew what she was telling him to do. Deadshot lined up his piece and shot. Harley decided to help him out a bit and played dead for a second. Once a few seconds had passed, she laughed and lifted herself up on the rope. She shimmied up the rough material and held her hand up for Mr. J to grab. He pulled her up fluidly and smiled at her.
"Puddin'!" She yelled as he clung an arm around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held them up with the helicopter handlebar. He growled into her lips and it was obvious that neither of them wanted to break it. When they did, Harley took in the sight of him. "Ya got all dressed up for me?" She beamed.
"Well you know I'd do anything for you. By the way, I've got some grape soda on ice and a bear skin rug waitin'." He growled into her ear. She shivered by the very thought of what he was implying.
"Yeah?" She said smiling. Before he could respond, Frost yelled.
"BOSS WE GOT A PROBLEM!" Frost bellowed before a fireball hit the front of the heli. Harley gasped.
"This bird is baked!" The Joker exclaimed. "Okay honey, it's me and you." He continued.
"Let's do it!" Harley said smiling. They would jump onto a roof and all would be fine. But before they could plan, the engine buckled. It made the heli bounce and Harley lost her footing. She screamed as she fell. She landed on the building below her and rolled. She ran to the end of the building and had to stop herself from jumping off. The heli crashed into a blaze. With her love inside. She lost her breath. She couldn't breathe. She felt a wave of despair come over her. Her stomach dropped and she let out a soft cry. All she could do was let out dry sobs as she stared at the fire engulfed mess in front of her.
Once Harley had gotten down from her savior rooftop, she found the rest of the Task Force, or at least they found her. She knew that all though she tried to put on her usual front, they knew she was broken. The looks they gave her made her feel weak, but she tried her best to shrug it off. Their night was interesting to say the least. Deadshot had found documentation that Flag had ulterior motive in this whole operation. He was tapping the lady who was housing The Enchantress chick. Although Harley knew why Deadshot and the rest of the Force was angry, she got it. She understood. She would lie, cheat and steal to save her Puddin'. Or at least she would have. She learned a lot about her new friends. Diablo made it clear that the reason he wouldn't bust out his big guns of fire was because he killed his wife and two kids. Harley's words following his confession were harsh and she felt the poison on her lips as she said them. But she couldn't help it. She would have given anything to save her two little ones. To have a somewhat normal life with her love. Then you have people like Diablo who took his own happiness away. She knew he didn't mean to. She knew it hurt him. But the lack of filter on her mouth was stopping her from taking all of these reasons into account. At the end of the day, they all knew they had a job to do. They honestly had nothing better to do.
They headed to the pavilion center where The Enchantress was drawing them in. Harley hid behind a pillar and watched the floating carnage and rot in the air as The Enchantress worked her magic. According to Flag and Deadshot, she wasn't the only one who saw it. So that was a good sign. The Enchantress gave Harley a sweet glimpse of what her life could be like if she joined her. It was beautiful. Her Puddin' was a nice shade of normal in a business suit and brown hair. He kissed her and their two babies with a sweet smile. Harley's vision was soon interrupted when Diablo snapped them all out of their fantasies. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. It would never happen. The Enchantress was working her dark magic on them and Harley knew it. They eventually defeated her, with a heartbreaking loss of El Diablo sacrificing himself to end The Enchantress's giant brother. Harley was shockingly relieved when June Moon came out of The Enchantress's body, literally. As Flag hugged her tightly and kissed her softly, Harley smiled to herself. At least someone left this crazy fight happy. But it wasn't over. Amanda Waller emerged from the rubble and made it clear that they were not getting off that easily. They were taken back to Belle Reve. Harley was put back into complete isolation in her barred cage. She was able to get her bed back along with an espresso machine, makeup and books. A week had passed and Harley was starting to revert back to her more insane self, if at all possible.
Harley decided she needed or perhaps just wanted another shot of espresso. As she pressed the monster machine to do her bidding, a deafening explosion broke through the back end of her concrete sanctuary. She screamed in surprise and doubled back against the bars but not too close, just in case someone was feeling "button happy" today. She saw several SWATs coming at her cage and she panicked in response. One of them melted the padlock into two halves and another SWAT came in swiftly. Before she could let out a breath, the SWAT revealed his face. It was him. It was The Joker. It was her Puddin'. He was alive. Without hesitation, she threw her arms around him and cried his name.
Then he growled into her ear as he held her tight, "Let's go home.".