By: Kagmichiru and DracoCron

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to us, except possibly Whisper and some of our own interpretive work.

We're gonna try our best to keep up the rate of posting every weekday, but it's becoming difficult as we approach the climax!

The elevator slowed to a smooth stop as it hit the fortieth floor, and Whisper stepped out of it, striding briskly. She didn't want to slow down, didn't want to give herself time to have second thoughts about what she'd just done until the two of them were safe in her garden. Behind her, Harley followed in her footsteps with intent concentration. Whisper punched the passcode to open the doors and immediately went to her mat, kneeling down and slowly running her hands over her face and through her hair.

What have I done? What have I done? Why did I do it? And why would Nigma…why would he…

She realized suddenly that Harley had taken a place next to her on the mat. "You… you saved me," the other woman said quietly, puzzled gratitude in her voice. "Why?"

Whisper continued running her hands anxiously through her hair, trying to center herself and slow her racing mind. "Because...Mr. Nigma said that he was using you as bait for the Joker, that he didn't mean for you to be harmed. But I was afraid that you'd try to make it through the maze yourself, and—and that something would happen to you." Abruptly, she rounded on Harely. "And I was right! You tried to flee and you were almost killed! Why did you move from the spot where he left you?! You knew the maze was lethal!"

Harley raised her hands in defensive surprise. "How was I supposed to know that moving would be more lethal than staying put? He put me in a maze, I assumed something bad would happen if I didn't find my way out of it!"

Whisper glared at her for a few more seconds, then lowered her gaze in defeat. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I know you weren't trying to kill yourself. I just…I just wish you'd stayed put." she finished miserably. And she knew, in the back of her mind, that any reasonable person would have done what Harley did. It could be reasonably assumed that staying put in a death trap would be suicide. But why…why, why, why had Nigma put her there, if her movement could have resulted in her blood on his hands?

Harley seemed to sense Whisper's inner turmoil. "Don't worry," she murmured. "I know how you feel. I—and thank you, for saving me!" She took Whisper's hand in hers and pressed it, as though to physically impress her sincerity.

Whisper didn't reply. She tried not to look at the other woman.

"You…weren't supposed to do that, were you?"

Whisper shook her head. "No. No, I wasn't. If you'd told me that I would end up betraying Mr. Nigma even yesterday, I would never have believed you."

"'Betraying him?'? Harley asked, scowling. "Did he need me to die?"

"No, of course not! All he needed was for you to be trapped long enough for the Joker to come save you. But that didn't happen, and I intervened before—"

Suddenly, Harley burst out laughing. "He tried to net the Joker and Batman showed up instead…that must be an interesting dilemma. That's like putting out bait to catch fish and getting…well, a bat." She sobered slightly. "Batman…who do you think will win? Your boss, or Batman?"

"The Riddler will, unquestionably." Whisper was solemn. "On any other field of battle I'd give it to Batman, but this is Nigma's domain. All Batman has to do is misstep and he'll be in a world of trouble. The place couldn't be designed better if Nigma had been planning for him to invade."

Harley was silent at that. "If..if Batman loses…what do you think will happen to him?"

"He'll probably to Batman the same thing he did to you," Whisper explained, "but he'll use more restraints. If he can use Batman as bait for the Joker, that's still his ultimate goal." She frowned then, and hesitantly voiced one of her darker thoughts. "Restraints… it's odd that he didn't restrain you. If he didn't want you to wander…and I'd expect that any prisoner would."

Harley raised an eyebrow. "Odd? I'm guessing that's not 'odd in a good way?'"

Whisper shook her head. "I…I don't know yet. Thinking of Mr. Nigma as—questioning him at all is new to me. I've always…trusted his plans before."

Harley favored Whisper with an easy, crooked grin. "Welcome to my world." She paused, then, her smile fading. "Batman...if Nigma's smart enough to use him as bait, Batman is the best—maybe the only bait he could've asked for. The Joker wouldn't have walked into a trap for me. He would for the Batman."

Whisper stared at Harley for a moment in silent incredulity. "He wouldn't come for you? You defended the Joker and saved his life, and he wouldn't come to get you back?"

Harley shrugged slightly and bowed her head. "I don't think so. Not unless he had something up his sleeve. Maybe it's better for your Mr. Nigma that he didn't come...I'm sure he would've brought the house down if he did."

Whisper smirked. "This building? I think not."

Harley shook her head, grinning faintly again. "You might be surprised. He…consistently defies expectations. But hopefully we'll never have to find out if he could or not." Then she paused. "If you've betrayed Mr. Nigma… are we safe here anymore? Should we be moving out, or…?"

Whisper sighed. "No, we should stay here. I seriously doubt he'll harm either of us as it is. I've served him for years, and he's never shown me any unkindness. When he comes, I'll explain. Moving from here would only look suspicious."

Harley gave a tiny scoff. "How serious are these doubts of yours? Because after our little 'maze adventure'—"

Abruptly, Whisper closed her eyes and flung herself back on the mat. "Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore. All I know is..." She swallowed in sudden nervousness, struggling with herself. "All I know," she said in a strained voice, "is that I don't want you to get hurt." Once the words were out of her mouth, she let out a heavy sigh. She'd never professed care or loyalty before, to anyone but Nigma. Now, finding herself with the urge to do so felt…odd, strangely difficult and dangerous.

She turned to see that Harley had blushed pink. "Th—thanks," the other woman stammered. Then, even softer: "It's more than I did for you."

Whisper rose to a sitting position, smiling at Harley. "Don't worry about it. I know better than anyone what it's like to be scared and confused like that. To be surrounded by chaos…"

Harley laughed harshly. "I'm not sure I deserve that much credit."

Whisper's expression softened. "There are a lot of things you don't deserve, Harley, but credit isn't one of them. I can see it in you. You have a strong spirit, it was just pulled into the wrong circumstances." And I… but she wouldn't allow herself to finish that thought.

Harley let out a helpless little giggle. "No, I put it there. I put myself there. I should have known better, I really should have. I should have known that if a man like that was…dangerous. I should've known something was wrong, when I enjoyed being with him..."

"But now," said Whisper firmly, "You can correct any errors you made. And... I don't know what Mr. Nigma will do when he finds out I've disobeyed him, but I promise to help you to the very best of my ability."

"That's assuming that either of us survives," remarked Harley, leaning her head back on the mat.

"Why wouldn't we?"

Harley grinned at her. "You—you remind me of me, do you know that? When I first met him, when I first let him out, I didn't realize how bad he was. I thought I'd done all the calculations, but I was wrong. It's impossible to really get it through your head until you see them in action."

Whisper closed her eyes. "Do you really think…Mr. Nigma is as bad as the Joker?"

"I don't know. But I'll tell you one thing, normal men do not hire assassins." She paused. "It's...it's funny, they almost do remind me of each other." She giggled suddenly. "Have you noticed the color schemes?"

"I did, actually," said Whisper, smiling reluctantly, even as her lower lip trembled. Purple and green…green and purple. Nigma's flawless, unchanging appearance against the Joker's intentional mask of ruin and death. Chaos versus order…they were disturbingly precise opposites, but she was no longer sure of Nigma's complete benignity.

Whisper dropped her head into her hands and didn't move for a long time.

Harley leaned over her, clearly concerned. "It'll be okay," she said, and wrapped her arms around Whisper in a timid embrace. "Your Mr. Nigma," she whispered, at least looks sane on the outside."

Whisper looked up and let out a shuddering sigh. "What's happening to me, Harley? Ever since he found me, I knew that I was in the right place, for the right reasons, but now..." she shook her head and splayed her empty palms, afraid to finish the sentence.

"I think everybody feels like that sometime," said Harley, laying her hand on one of Whisper's.

"I just never thought it could happen to me again," said Whisper quietly, leaning into Harley's hug. Despite everything else, the embrace was comforting. She realized suddenly that she couldn't remember being embraced by another human being before. Nigma had been a father to her, an older brother, and entire family…but he always kept his distance. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him display physical affection.

"Again?" Harley asked her softly.

"Do you remember?" Whisper asked her. "Back in my old life..." she shuddered, "I had no idea of anything; I had no purpose, I didn't think the world had a purpose, often I wasn't even sure what was real and what wasn't... I don't ever want to go back to that. I couldn't take it."

Harley nodded. "I remember. I'm just thinking...thinking that it's the first time for me I've had my world fall apart, and that I managed to screw it up all for myself." She smiled painfully. "But I think you're much better off this time." She paused. "Is… is Nigma truly your only reason for being?"

"For the longest time, he was," Whisper replied. "I just wonder... what it would be like to have another reason for being." The thought felt almost blasphemous, but under circumstances, blasphemy might become necessary.

Harley smiled. It was a real, genuine smile, different from the sardonic humor Whisper had seen her display before." Harley said softly.

Whisper returned the smile, overjoyed to see any trace of the Joker's presence wiped away from Harely's manner. "Just so," she agreed. "But…" She swallowed, suddenly feeling, in a low-key way, more nervous then she'd been in a long time. Just say it, she told herself. It's time to tell her.

Harley frowned concernedly. "What's wrong?"

Whisper opened her mouth, but at that exact moment, the door hissed quietly open.

The Riddler stepped through. He was calm, but his prescence colder and more intimidating than Whisper had ever seen him before. Her blood chilled.

"I thought I would find you both here," he said curtly. "Please explain."

"Master!" Whisper found her voice weak. "I…" Explanations and excuse began to flood her brain, but she found herself unable to utter a word of them.

Harley grabbed tightly onto Whisper's arm. "I think this is the part where we run."

The Riddler turned to her, and Whisper felt a surge of fear. "On the contrary," he said, pointing his cane at Harley, "you will remain where you are."

Harley's eyes were darting frantically around. "Whisper, tell me this place has a fire escape!"

Whisper quickly shook her head, stunned and frustrated. Surely he wouldn't…why is she acting this way?

The Riddler turned to Whisper and smiled.

"I admit, you disappointed me, Whisper," he said. "It appears that the Joker's disciple has deduced before you did that I intended to kill her all along. I knew that the Joker would never rescue her; the man has made it clear that he's incapable of caring for another human being. All I needed you for was to attract Batman. I did desire, Dr. Quinnzel, to try to bring you over to my cause. But when that failed, you could hardly be allowed to stay here. I noticed right away that you threatened Whisper's loyalty to me; a skill learned from your master, no doubt. And that simply could not be allowed."

Harley straightened up, her fists balled. "Then punish me," she demanded. "Don't punish Whisper for being a decent person!"

The Riddler raised his cane towards Harley, and a bolt discharged from its tip. There was a sizzling noise and Harley stumbled backward, emitting a squeak of surprise as she fell on her rump.

"Be silent," said the Riddler calmly.

Whisper, shook her head and rose from her stunned state. A protest began to form on her lips, but the Riddler turned his cane towards her and emitted another discharge She gritted her teeth as she felt the electrical bolt course through her body, falling to the ground beside Harley.

"Now then..." the Riddler continued, his tone satisfied. "I admit I didn't count on Whisper coming to rescue you before my maze had a chance to kill you. And sadly, if she was willing to compromise her loyalty to me despite the trust I have already shown her, she is now a threat.

"Although I do have a few things to thank you for, Dr. Quinnzel. Though you failed to attract the Joker, I have you to thank for the fact that the Batman is currently in my custody. I'm sure he'll prove to be much more…efficient bait, than you did. And," he smiled broadly, "thanks to you, I know how to trap the Joker in a living Hell."

Whisper groaned quietly, lifting her head to see Harley shaking her own head in dismay. As she got her bearings back, she looked up at the Riddler, who had withdrawn a small metal box from inside his jacket. The device was horrifyingly familiar.

"You have both proved extraordinarily useful for me. And now…" he said quietly, "not without regret, I must kill you both." He dropped the puzzle box to the floor with a clatter, turned on heel, and left.

For what seemed like an eternity Whisper lay immobile, staring at the box. He couldn't have…he wouldn't.

Harley struggled onto all fours and grabbed Whisper's arm, shaking it roughly. "Come on!"

Still numb and unthinking, Whisper allowed herself to be dragged onto her feet and back through the greenery, away from the deadly box.

As Harley led her, struggling through one of the dense, vine-laden paths, there was the sound of a searing explosion. Distantly she felt the heat as a cloud of napalm blossomed from the area where they had just been, gold and orange fire blossoming through the trees.

My plants…my poor, innocent plants.

Harley turned Whisper around to stare in her face, shaking her shoulders roughly. "What do we do? What do we do? Come on, I know you're traumatized here, but I don't want to die!"

That last line broke through into her consciousness, and she felt herself go into combat mode. This was no longer her garden, burning, destroyed by her master's own hand. This was a combat situation, and the enemy had gotten the advantage…

"I have weapons!" she shouted over the growing roar of the flames, dragging Harley towards her cache of supplies. "In here!" Nigma must not have taken into account her stockpile of equipment for the missions he sent her on. Or…or perhaps he had, and he knew they wouldn't save her. Whisper beat the thought back, refusing to accept it.

"We might be able to get past these windows! Get to that corner over there!" she directed Harley, pointing.

As Harley complied, sprinting, Whisper pulled aside a false bush to reveal a small, metal chest. She opened it and removed two of the question mark tranquilizer pistols, two small grappling guns, and an explosive Puzzle Box. She attached the Box to the window, quickly setting the timer, and ran to join Harley outside the perimeter of the explosion. She covered her ears and threw herself to the ground, turning just in time to see the reinforced glass shattering.

Harley laughed triumphantly as the smoke cleared, revealing blue sky beyond. "You did it!" she clapped her hands together. We're out! Now just tell me it isn't twenty stories to the ground."

Whisper paused, wincing. "Actually, it's forty."

Harley giggled abruptly, then clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she muttered, "Nervous reaction. So...uh, how did you manage this last time you were trapped in a room and one of those things exploded?"

"I used an extension cord. Unfortunately, I don't have any of those here—and I don't think that the vines in this room that are still intact will reach that far." Whisper looked at Harley, fighting back panic as she considered their options.

Harley was staring at the smoke gathering at an alarming rate below the greenhouse's domed ceiling. "Whisper… how far is it if we go up?"

This scene was rather fun to write; we hope you enjoyed it! Please review! No worries for Gordon and Joker fans; we'll be back to them tomorrow.