Demoness: Okay guys and gals the hiatus is over! See it wasn't that long now was it? Man and you guys made such a big deal about it.

Twin sister Camellia dressed as the press appears: Why were you on hiatus to begin with?

Demoness: Had to study for the SATs.

Camellia holding up incriminating photos: So you call trick-or-treating and playing videogames studying?

Demoness snatching away pictures and tearing them up: Aaah! You've been spying on me!

Camellia: It is useless to destroy the evidence I have copies. So why have you decided to return now? It does seem like a short hiatus and did you not say you might end this story?

Demoness: Don't ya know by now I tend to kid? I wouldn't dare just end something like this work of insane creativity. And I decided to come off my hiatus earlier than I had planned, mainly because Auroris is waving a mallet at me. (Why does everyone threaten me with mallets?) Anyway me dears on with the formalities.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything Batman Beyond but a BK kids toy of Inque and this idea of a fanfic. Okay now that that's done lets get it on!

Of Savages and Kings (part one)

Batman drove in the darkened sky of Gotham City night keeping a careful eye on the red car speeding down the streets beneath him. He was still wondering what had happened only a few moments ago in the clothing store. He remembered Harley stepping out dress in her newest criminal garb. After giving Nightshade a few punches yelling some lecture about never talk about a woman's figure she walked over to him; the conversation was a complete blur to him as quickly as Harley spoke tangling one subject of her nights as the Shadow with another. The next thing he knew she was hugging him and telling him thanks. He recalled staring in confusion as her watched Harley grab a pair of shades before she walked out with Erik, towing a mannequin head, behind her. Nightshade gave him a pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic look that said he wasn't the only one she had done that to. The only reason why Batman now continued on to help the two was that he knew Harley would kill Jonas if given the chance.

Batman snapped out of his thoughts noticing that they had made a stop in front of the Shamrock apartment building. He jumped out of the Batjet to stand beside the criminal couple. "So how do we get in?" He asked.

Harley looked up towards the building top pointing with her black painted fingers. "Emily's pent is on the top two floors, that's almost thirty stories up. The ground floor and rooftop are guarded heavily so it would be best to come in from the top, easier too. Complex security system: trip beams, cameras, silent alarms, and so on. Each elevator and stairwell has cameras connected straight to the security room. They can see every move you make until you get into an apartment. And if you trip off anything in there the police should show up in about ten minutes." Harley said.

"For a job this big ten minutes isn't enough for once." Nightshade sighed.

"So much for the easy silent approach. Any cameras out here?" Batman asked.

Harley pointed up toward a corner of the front entrance. "There and about three more to cover the front even more in the back." She said.

"Can they see us now?" Nightshade asked cautions not to put an end to their plans before they even started.

"No, not until you step onto the imitation flagstone walk." Harley said flatly.

"It shouldn't be so hard." Batman said thinking everything over.

Nightshade looked over the large building; the security hadn't been so difficult until Jonas requested the security upgrade not too long ago. "Yeah we've foiled worst." He said.

Harley smiled as she reached into her grab bag of dangerous toys and removed a pair of pliers and wire cutters. "Yeah, this is going to be big fun." She smiled running off to the back of the building.

***

"A twenty thousand dollars security system is about to be brought down by sixteen dollars worth of tools." Harley grinned as she rewired the outgoing calls of the system to the GCPD.

"So how are we going to do this?" Nightshade asked pleased to see Harley acting like herself once again.

Batman having already thought out a plan shared his ideas. "We have to get Luminous to confess to what he did."

"So that's the jerk real name." Nightshade noted. "Harl what do you say?"

Harley scoffed leaning against the building and folding her arms neatly across her chest. "If there's one thing I know the bastard loves to talk about how great a plan he's come up with. Over and over he would gloat about how he's tamed me. If he had he wouldn't have left me behind to die."

"He won't say anything if he knows you're alive." Batman stated the only flaw of the semi-organized plan.

Harley sighed looking up to the top of the building. "Then I must remain hidden behind the scene of things. Dammit and I thought I was going to have fun with this one." She pouted.

Nightshade's face twisted into a cruel smile; yes she had come back to him. "Sorry love, but you get Jonas to play with."

Batman opened his mouth to protest but was stopped by the sudden sound of glee escaping Harley's mouth. "Anyone here have a camera?" She asked. Batman removed a small digital recorder from his belt and tossed it to Harley. "I think he would prefer it better if I were still living at the moment." Harley added on the side.

"Why's that?" Nightshade asked.

Harley was busy looking over the small camcorder with genuine curiosity that she had almost missed the question. "Uh? Oh! I have some items that he told me to retrieve a or so night before Red here brought me home." Harley said.

"Items?" Batman asked.

"Some pricey diamonds I hid for him some place in the pent. He'll never find them on his own. Now c'mon the night doesn't wait for fairies and nymphs." She said receiving weird looks from the two.

Batman looked to Nightshade, "Don't ask." The green skinned man said slowly following after her.

Carefully the three (four counting Erik) made their way to the rooftop. Harley hoisted her grab bag over her shoulders. "It should take me a few minutes to break this system down. I could do it sooner but you do want the building to stay in tact right?" They both nodded. "Aw you're no fun." She moaned.

"Remember you're suppose to be dead." Nightshade said holding a firm finger up at Harley.

Harley slowly stepped away from the two men. "You forget Beloved, that I was the Shadow." She laughed as she suddenly vanished into the dark void surrounding them called night.

***

Rushing the front Batman and Nightshade with a young hyena made their way towards the stairwell, it seemed they had no way into the penthouse apartment from the top floor so they would have to get in from the floor beneath them. "Do you think Harley can really get the security system down in time?" Batman asked running along side Nightshade.

"You mean would she leave us to be the distraction while she went after Jonas?" Nightshade asked.

"More or less on the line of that." Batman said.

Nightshade smiled looking ahead of him at the security guards stepping in their path twenty feet ahead of them. "Yeah she would."

They came to a sudden stop as the five men pulled out five automatic weapons. Fighting in the small hall was going to be difficult. But also doing it quickly enough that Jonas wouldn't be notified that were there, that was going to be a task.

Erik growled at the obstacle ahead. Nightshade smiled patting the little savage the way he had seen Harley do time and again. "Erik, snack time!" He said. A heavily spotted blur suddenly chopped down on the leg of one of the men.

As the other five watched in horror as the exotic animal began gnawing fiercely on the ankle of their partner Batman and Nightshade attacked. With a flying leap Nightshade caught one man with a spinning heel to the cheek that sent him reeling into the near wall.

With the sudden sight of their associate flying cheek first into a wall the guards found being mauled by a hyena suddenly insignificant. But too late Batman flung his bolas capturing one in the strong binding, with a hard punch he knocked out the other. After the sudden movements had ceased all that remained was one with a small walkie-talkie in his hand positioned near his mouth.

The two fighters stood still wondering how they would be able to stop the man in time. The guard had just took a breath to speak when from out of the large ceiling vent dropped Harley.

"Boingy! Boingy!" Harley shouted raising her spring punching glove gun. With a simple squeeze of the trigger the red glove flew into the man's face catching him in the jaw and snapping his head backwards causing spit and blood to fly from his mouth. He fell backwards onto the ground unconscious never completing his call.

"Thought you had left us." Batman said.

Harley turned at her waist and smiled, "Now would I go and do a thing like that Batsy?" She asked. "Especially since you have my baby with you."

Nightshade was grinning broadly, that is until Harley bent down and began cooing to Erik in baby talk. "That right, mama don't want anything happening to her lil' baby."

Nightshade's face fell into disappointment and embarrassment. "Out-loved by a mammal." He muttered.

Harley gave Erik a final pat on the head then quickly flipped forward springing high into the air. She grabbed hold of the edge of the vent then quickly slipped inside. "Hey move you're butts!" Harley said moments before she vanished once more.

***

It wasn't long before they finally made it into Emily's penthouse. But for Harley it had taken long enough, she had long since disarmed the security system. She had easily figured out the so-called maze of vent shafts and knew just which one led to where. She had watched carefully as Jonas spoke cruelly to her mother then headed into his room. She looked down from the vent duct watching as Jonas poured himself a glass and held it up in the air. "To you Harley, my lovely Shadow, and slave. It's a shame you took your life like you did." He toasted. Harley silently pretended to thank him sarcastically.

"She did it to escape you!" A voice said. Harley looked about to see Nightshade had made it just on cue, if there was a cue to make it on time to. Nightshade slowly advanced talking all the while and Harley made sure that the camera caught it all. She watched with growing interest and a growing urge to giggle as Jonas slowly made his way towards his bookshelf were he hid one of his guns. His fingers glazed over the sleek surface of imitation wood. Nothing, she had moved it before he came in. She wanted to laugh at that but didn't dare risk her cover for such a small thing.

"She chose to jump off the roof." He said getting back to the green assailant.

Nightshade took out a machete from the back of his jade jacket. "You could have saved her. She had lost all use to you didn't she? Like you said she was disobeying you, your influence on her was wearing off. But tell me how and why?" Nightshade said lowering his weapon to his side.

'Red you're wonderful.' She silently cheered then scoffed as Jonas began to boast. He spoke of his ties with one Dr. Cuvier and splicing her with some sort of night animal. Nightshade went on asking him questions and the fool went on answering them clearing her of all possible charges in the near future in Marionette assassination and burglary.

"Just as I thought, you get that babe?" Nightshade asked looking up towards the ceiling.

"Yep!" Harley giggled as she curled into a ball forcing her legs down until the cheap ceiling material gave way under her feet. "Hello master, miss me?"

***

Harley could have laughed at the overly surprised look in Jonas's face. "Y-you're dead. He said you were dead."

Harley shook her head from side to side causing the four red and black braids bounded by leather spiked bands to sway from side to side. "Shadow's the dead one; Harley Jest is up and about and ready to inflect some serious payback."

Jonas's face twisted into scorn as he quickly realized what had just happened. Harley's black lips curled into a grin, " 'How am I going to get outta this one?' Should be something of what you're thinkin'. Listen I'll give you a ten second head start. One..." Harley began.

Jonas quickly shot by Nightshade and ran out of the room. Nightshade only watched as the man fled towards the den. "Go get him love." He smiled.

Harley tossed the camera to her green partner. "Two, TEN!" Harley shouted running out of the room after the man. Harley's eyes narrowed down on the fleeing figure of Jonas as if her where her prey and she the hunter. She watched intensely as he ran by a shocked Emily into the den also his so-called office. With amazing speed she bolted inside the dark room seconds before the door could be shut and sealed.

Jonas sank back into the dark of the room as Harley turned on locking command system then destroying it after it had done it's job. "Well, well, well, look at what we have here." Harley said giving Jonas a dangerous smirk. "Cage a tiger and you call it tamed, but is it when you're trapped in the cage with it?" She asked.

Jonas felt fear flood within him as his ex-slave slowly approached him spouting frightening statements and questions

Harley cracked her knuckles loudly. "Let's find out then."

________________________________________________________________

End part one. (Don't want to make it too long.)