Here we are! :) Hope you enjoy the quick pace of this one...
Disclaimer: I don't own Batman... :(
"Melanie," Batman begins, "I know you're in a complicated position right now, but you need to listen to me." His gravelly voice is as distracting as ever. "You also need to understand that your actions are causing your future great harm. You've gone from a hostage to an actual criminal, and it's not looking good. You actually stabbed Commissioner Gordon. That's not something that is easily written off."
"I didn't mean to stab anyone." I say, looking at the ground.
"Well you created a hostage situation and there are a lot of witnesses of the incident. That doesn't leave a lot of room for an innocent plea. Although you may have a chance at insanity."
"I'm not insane!" I say, defensive. Although judging by my new hallucinations, the statement almost tastes like a lie.
He reaches out to take my handcuffed arms.
"Melanie, why did you come to my penthouse tonight? You singled me out by name."
"It's kind of a long story." I hedge, not wanting to give up the details.
"I take it the Joker hasn't let you go…" He gestures to my painted face and outfit. "I have a difficult time believing that you've branched off on your own."
The handcuffs fall off my wrists after a moment.
"What are you doing?" I rub my wrists, trying to get the feeling back.
"Melanie, I have faith in you. You've made some mistakes, but if I were to take you in right now, Gordon would have you detained. If I were to wait a day or so, I can talk to him first, and chances are that you can get a minimal punishment if any. Do you understand?"
"I… think so." As much as I like his plan, I'm worried. What if the Joker is watching all of this? What if he figures out about my new plan? And if I return to the warehouse without Batman, what will he do?
"Good. I'll find you in forty-eight hours."
A passing car distracts me for a moment. "How?" I glance back, and he's gone.
The trip back is uneventful, and the closer I get, the more nervous I become.
I finally get there, and open the door slowly.
The Joker stands in a lone patch of sunlight streaming from a broken skylight. The sunlight creates dark shadows across his face and I can't see his eyes. His hands are balled up in fists, and his suit is a crisp and clean purple. It's an image that would make someone seriously afraid of clowns.
"It didn't work." I say.
"Lane?" He asks in a low voice.
"Yeah, it's me. As I said, it didn't work. I couldn't find him."
His face turns down in confusion, and he takes a few steps in my direction. "What are you doing here?" His voice matches his face.
"What do you mean? I followed the plan. I tried to find Batman, and failed. Now I'm back. Why do you sound so surprised?"
"I watched you last night. I saw you at the par-tay. You even saw me." He licks his lips and leans close to my face, making me nervous. "And I saw you… get arrested."
"Well, I escaped."
"Hmm." He purses his lips. "Maybe I underestimated you, Lane. Impressive." He grabs my shoulders and leers down at me.
A shocked high-pitched gasp comes from behind him.
"Mistah Jay?! What are you doin' with her?" I the voice is high pitched and whiney. A woman stomps over to where we are standing, and I hear the sharp clack clack clack of heels. "You told me she was leaving!" She shouts.
The Joker lets out an annoyed moan, and spins around. "Harley! I told you to wait! What is it with girls and ruining surprises, hmm?"
Harley? The voice didn't sound like Harleen… It was too high pitched and whiney to be her, right?
I glance around the Joker, and can't believe what I see. The blonde woman in front of me is the same size and height as Harleen, and has blonde hair pulled into two pig-tails. But as I force myself to try and piece everything together, I can't deny the proof in front of me. She is wearing a tight tank top that is black on one side and red on the other. Her pants are the same, but the colors are on the opposite sides than the shirt. She has three painted black diamonds on her left shoulder and under her right eye. She has black makeup over both eyes like a mask.
She meets my gaze and her hands ball up in fury.
"I can't believe you brought her back!" She whines. "You told me she was gone!"
"Harley!" The Joker growls, taking a step toward her. "Stop. Now."
"But Mistah-" The Joker smacks her across the face so hard that she falls over. Her hand flies to her face, and she looks up at him, suppressing a whimper.
"Harley, I told you to be quiet. Don't. Disobey me…Again." He looks back at me and giggles. "Isn't she great? She's everything I'd hoped for you and more! Too bad I wasted all of Scarecrow's gas on you… Harley here could have used it better." He chuckles.
"What are you talking about?" I ask quietly.
"I watched you all last night, and you didn't do anything that Scarecrow said you would. And for what I paid him, I expected something much more… Grandeur. But it looks like something went wrong."
Harleen gets to her feet, and scowls at me.
"What happened to you?" I ask her.
"Hmph." She crosses her arms. "I'm what the Joker wanted all along. He never wanted you."
"But, I was here yesterday… and you weren't." I struggle to make sense of everything. The Joker must have assumed me gone and arrested or rescued or whatever, and gone with a different plan. The thought of him giving up so easily on me puts an ache in my chest. Oh sure, I've been trying to get away since day one, but I thought that he would spend a little time trying to get me back, or worrying or something.
"I've been here all along, doll. I just needed to act all scienc-ey and crap so you'd trust me. Did I do good puddin'?" She turns toward the Joker who smiles down at her.
"Of course you did, Harley. Now go get everything ready." He chuckles, and she leans up to kiss him before running off.
What?! They kiss too? And she's willing? The ache grows stronger, and angry tears threaten to pool in my eyes.
"Now Lane, you've presented me with a-uh, problem now, and I'm not sure what to do about it. You see, I wasn't really planning for you to come back, and well, now you're here. You see, it's not you… it's me… Actually no, it is you." He cackles loudly at his attempt at a joke. "And frankly, I'm tired of dealing with you."
I already know where this is going. He'll pull out a knife, threaten me, and possibly even finish the job this time. After all, now he has Harleen… Or Harley or whatever he wants to call her. Why would he need me? It makes sense.
But instead of pulling out a knife, he pulls out a gun and tosses it to me. "Catch."
The heavy metal lands in my open hands roughly, and I hold it awkwardly. "What's this for?"
"Nothin' but a little proof." He chuckles.
"Huh?"
"Oh, I almost forgot." He walks behind a box, and comes back holding his hand away from his body. I stare at it mystified, and only feel confused as I see bright red contrasting with the purple gloves. He wipes his hand over my chest, smearing the red across in a bloody streak. Bloody? Is this blood?
"You never know, you might be able to save him…" He says casually with a shrug.
"Save him? Who are you talking about?" He just laughs, and flicks out a knife. Before I can react, he grabs my hair, cuts a chunk out, and stuffs it in his pocket.
"So I'll remember…" He chuckles, and twists away, leaving me extremely confused, reaching up to feel the missing piece of my hair. When he is out of sight, he calls back, "And ya never know. Maybe I'll bump into ya at Arkham… Or not." His laughter echoes around the walls, and fades until all I can hear is the sound of my own breathing.
So… The Joker just… Left? With Harleen? Am I free? Questions buzz through my head and make it hard to concentrate. I look down and see the red across my chest again prompting me to look behind the box the Joker leaned behind. My stomach churns with my unease, and I try to relax. He's just pranking me again, right? Some sort of sick joke.
I put my hand on the edge of the box, and am just about to look around it when piercing sirens seem to explode around me. I had completely forgotten about the gun in my hand, but my hand tightening around the metal frame reminds me. I spin around, the mystery behind the box forgotten, and try to find the source of the noise. I hear doors slam on both of the main sides of the building, and the sound of running feet.
"We have the place surrounded!" A male voice shouts. "Come out with your hands in the air!"
Are they talking to me? Or have they figured out that this is the Joker's hiding place?
A man runs inside the man room and dives behind a box. His head pops up and I can see the fear in his eyes. I can tell he's a new officer because his suit is crisp and clean, and his voice is shaking so bad it almost sounds like a bad stutter.
"G-g-get on the ground! I'm w-warning you!" His tone is actually very weak as well, and lacks the authority that most police offices have. Instead of cooperating, my head tilts, and I ask him a question.
"Why didn't they send someone experienced?"
His gun flies out and points at me. "I said g-g-get on the g-ground!" His voice squeaks.
This is going to end badly unless I really cooperate.
"Okay." I say slowly. I raise my hand with the gun out, and gently lower it to the ground. I move to take a step backwards when I hear someone coming in from behind me.
Two things happen at once.
My head swivels back in a moment of self-preservation, and I hear a sound like a firework. A force hits me in my left shoulder, knocking me to the ground backwards, and my head hits the concrete hard. I look around dizzily and see figures storing in around me. It takes me a moment, but I try to figure out what hit my shoulder.
A deep crimson is blossoming under my silly outfit, and a dull throbbing is beginning to form underneath it.
"Get a medic!" Someone shouts, although the ringing in my ears makes it hard to concentrate.
The figures become less and less focused until all that's moving above me are shadows. Light dark, light dark. The light patches become less and less frequent and before I really realize it, the darkness surrounds me in a blanket of silence.
Cliff-hanger! :D :D :D Don't hate me... haha. I figured this was an okay place to stop it... :) which do you all prefer? Long chapters but time in between updates, or shorter chaps with quick updates? Reviews make me SUPER happy! :D