Chapter 5: Harley
It didn't take very long for the Joker to get home. As soon as he got there, he ran to his room. He set the bag down and began to set up his own miniature laboratory. With great care, he pulled out the microscope and test tubes, knowing Ivy would have his head if any piece of her precious equipment was damaged.
For his first experiment, the Joker pulled out a strange purple ball and set it under the microscope. Carefully, he lowered the lenses closer...and closer...and closer...until FWOOM! The lenses hit the ball a tad too hard. It wasn't long before the lenses broke and a sticky purple substance covered the microscope. The Joker knew well that Batman used this stuff to glue his enemy's feet to the floor.
'Pammy's gonna kill me,' he thought to himself. 'Oh well. I'll clean it off later.'
He then put a pair of Batcuffs into a small metal vat, with a special liquid inside that would hopefully help him determine just what they were made of. His only results were somehow making the cuffs rubbery when he pulled them out.
He tested a piece of Bat Rope. His tests showed zilch in what kind of material was woven into something so light, yet so strong. The Joker inspected a Bat-A-Rang. The technology was simple, yet complex, and he felt no closer to a better plan to get his archenemy than when he had started.
In a final test, the Joker dumped a few pellets into a small glass vial, then capped it quickly from the gas that came when mixed with the water. The effect produced a soft green light, beautiful and haunting.
"Interesting reaction," the Joker remarked, "but what does it mean?"
It had long since grown dark. He buried his head in hands, then reached behind his neck. He looked back at the light, which somehow made him feel calmer. He sat down and watched it, deciding to take a break from his experiments for a while.
~~~
Harley Quinn was up in her room, making something special for the Joker. Using a funnel, she carefully mixed certain ingredients into a tall old wine bottle. Occasionally, she looked up, listening for Ivy. She scooped up some powder and added it in, then removed the funnel. She corked the bottle and added it to a basket with little odds and ends: a deck of normal playing cards, a few joke shop tricks, a loaded revolver, and a few vials of acid. Harley looked over her work and smiled, then pulled a white handkerchief over it.
'He'll love it,' she thought.
Harley didn't have any rope (or any vines, for that matter, considering she lived with Poison Ivy), but she did have thread, and she had just enough to lower the basket out the window. She sighed, thinking of the one she loved, the one Ivy was desperate to keep her away from. She pulled out a hairpin and used it to pick the lock on the window, before she lifted the pane.
With a good hold on the thread, Harley lowered the basket, but then looked down at the wall beneath her room. The wall of the hideout was so smooth that Ivy did not need to lock the window. There were no hand or footholds at all, and no nearby windows. Harley looked at the alley below. How far away the street looked!
For a minute, Harley lost hope. She was greatly saddened, but looked out across the rooftops and streets of the Underworld. There, many, many blocks away, was the Joker's tower. Inside on of the rooms, a green light was glowing and pulsating. Its soft glow sparked something inside her, something that brought back her courage and hope.
Without a second thought, she leaped from the window. The wind rushed past her face as she fell. She landed on her feet, but as she did, one foot bent inward, before she fell over. One of her hands bent back the wrong way against the pavement. Despite the pain, Harley did not care. She had good agility skills, not to mention she had gotten worse from the Joker several times. Harley lied there for a minute, her hand and foot throbbing in pain. She slowly sat up, then looked at her window. As far as she knew, Ivy had not heard that.
Harley smiled then stood up, able to ignore the sudden pain that had rushed to her ankle. She leaned against the wall for support and waited a few seconds, before she picked up the basket. She was a little wobbly as she walked, but once again, she did not care. All she knew now was she was free.
~~~
Not long after Harley left Ivy came up to her room, a small tray in her hands. On it was a plate of milk and cookies, a bit of an apology for keeping her locked up all day. Ivy unlocked the door and entered.
Harley's room was dark. Ivy turned on the light. She looked around. The bed was empty, and the balance beam was abandoned.
"Harley?" asked Ivy, looking around.
The window was open. On the floor was a hairpin. Ivy growled. In her anger, she threw the tray on the floor, smashing it.
"Harley Quinn!" she screamed, scolding the air. "You ran off again!"
~~~
The Joker was back to work. Plans were scattered all around his desk and bed, with red marks of flaws and notes all over them. Bat equipment was in jars and Petri dishes. A giant chalkboard was standing in the center of the room, with random sketches and notes written all over it. He picked up the chalk and wrote the following on the board:
"Batman + Robin = double trouble – Robin = success?"
He sighed. Somehow, none of the simple equations and notes he wrote seemed to be working out quite right. He sighed, then rubbed his temples, wondering just what else to do. The Joker looked back at the light on the table. Its glow was softer, but it seemed to encourage him to move on and keep trying.
He picked up the chalk and was about to figure out how to fix the equation, when there was a tap at the window nearby. The Joker turned around. There was a basket attached to a rope and pulley, on the tree outside his window. He opened it and looked down.
~~~
There was Harley, smiling shyly. Her painted white face glowed a faint blue in the pale moonlight, and behind her black mask her eyes glimmered with love. The Joker smiled at her, giving her a smile that she had never seen before: one of beauty and fun, with a twist of romance.
The Joker pulled the basket inside and pulled off the white cloth that covered it, wondering what Harley had given him. Some tricks, some acid, some cards, a loaded gun and a wine bottle, though he could tell it did not contain wine. Curious about it, he popped the cork. A soft white smoke poured out, and took the shape of a butterfly. It spread its wings, and as it disappeared, it became a grin.
'Aww,' he thought. 'She knew I needed a smile...'
The Joker leaned out to thank her, but when he looked down, Harley was gone. The rope was swinging to and fro in the faint wind. Shrugging his shoulders, the Joker closed the window and went back to work.
~~~
Harley was just around the corner. When the Joker had smiled down her like that, she...she was shy, like she had only seen him for the first time. That smile was the best he had ever given her. That seemed to be the only reason for her sudden shyness, as opposed to her running up those stairs and into his arms.
She walked down the street, then sat down by the steps of the Joker's hideout. Harley sighed and leaned against them, closing her eyes. She looked down. There, growing in the cracks of the sidewalk, she saw a small flower. Harley picked it, and playfully pulled off its petals one by one.
'He loves me, he love me not,' she thought quietly to herself. 'He loves me, he loves me not...'
Harley suddenly looked up. She saw the Joker, just a few feet away from her. He turned and winked at her, grinning mischievously. A black cowl formed over his face, as his chalky white skin became a fair peach. Two white eyes looked at her from behind the cowl, then smiled at her. It was the Batman.
Harley gasped. Batman looked at her and laughed, a sound that sent chills down her spine and turned her very bones to ice. It was an evil laugh, unlike the laugh he had used to mock her the time she had chained above that piranha tank. She stared at him, mouth gaping in terror, horror clearly seen in her eyes. Batman sidestepped, sweeping his cloak over so she could what was behind it.
It was the most frightening image Harley had ever seen. The Joker was lying there, stomach down, his face towards hers. His eyes were closed and his lips were turned down into a neutral frown, much unlike the grin she was so used to. A black cloak, just like Batman's, was covering his body, and from underneath it, she could barely see his hands wearing black gloves. There was a deep scar on the side of his face, and blood was leaking from a few places on his body. Batman looked back at her and laughed again.
Harley felt herself wake up in a cold sweat. She cried out, then stopped, taking in big, deep breaths. In one trembling hand, she held up the flower. The petals were gone. She let go of it, then looked up. There was no Batman, and certainly no Joker in front of her...but she could not help but feeling that maybe that nightmare meant something more...
It didn't take very long for the Joker to get home. As soon as he got there, he ran to his room. He set the bag down and began to set up his own miniature laboratory. With great care, he pulled out the microscope and test tubes, knowing Ivy would have his head if any piece of her precious equipment was damaged.
For his first experiment, the Joker pulled out a strange purple ball and set it under the microscope. Carefully, he lowered the lenses closer...and closer...and closer...until FWOOM! The lenses hit the ball a tad too hard. It wasn't long before the lenses broke and a sticky purple substance covered the microscope. The Joker knew well that Batman used this stuff to glue his enemy's feet to the floor.
'Pammy's gonna kill me,' he thought to himself. 'Oh well. I'll clean it off later.'
He then put a pair of Batcuffs into a small metal vat, with a special liquid inside that would hopefully help him determine just what they were made of. His only results were somehow making the cuffs rubbery when he pulled them out.
He tested a piece of Bat Rope. His tests showed zilch in what kind of material was woven into something so light, yet so strong. The Joker inspected a Bat-A-Rang. The technology was simple, yet complex, and he felt no closer to a better plan to get his archenemy than when he had started.
In a final test, the Joker dumped a few pellets into a small glass vial, then capped it quickly from the gas that came when mixed with the water. The effect produced a soft green light, beautiful and haunting.
"Interesting reaction," the Joker remarked, "but what does it mean?"
It had long since grown dark. He buried his head in hands, then reached behind his neck. He looked back at the light, which somehow made him feel calmer. He sat down and watched it, deciding to take a break from his experiments for a while.
~~~
Harley Quinn was up in her room, making something special for the Joker. Using a funnel, she carefully mixed certain ingredients into a tall old wine bottle. Occasionally, she looked up, listening for Ivy. She scooped up some powder and added it in, then removed the funnel. She corked the bottle and added it to a basket with little odds and ends: a deck of normal playing cards, a few joke shop tricks, a loaded revolver, and a few vials of acid. Harley looked over her work and smiled, then pulled a white handkerchief over it.
'He'll love it,' she thought.
Harley didn't have any rope (or any vines, for that matter, considering she lived with Poison Ivy), but she did have thread, and she had just enough to lower the basket out the window. She sighed, thinking of the one she loved, the one Ivy was desperate to keep her away from. She pulled out a hairpin and used it to pick the lock on the window, before she lifted the pane.
With a good hold on the thread, Harley lowered the basket, but then looked down at the wall beneath her room. The wall of the hideout was so smooth that Ivy did not need to lock the window. There were no hand or footholds at all, and no nearby windows. Harley looked at the alley below. How far away the street looked!
For a minute, Harley lost hope. She was greatly saddened, but looked out across the rooftops and streets of the Underworld. There, many, many blocks away, was the Joker's tower. Inside on of the rooms, a green light was glowing and pulsating. Its soft glow sparked something inside her, something that brought back her courage and hope.
Without a second thought, she leaped from the window. The wind rushed past her face as she fell. She landed on her feet, but as she did, one foot bent inward, before she fell over. One of her hands bent back the wrong way against the pavement. Despite the pain, Harley did not care. She had good agility skills, not to mention she had gotten worse from the Joker several times. Harley lied there for a minute, her hand and foot throbbing in pain. She slowly sat up, then looked at her window. As far as she knew, Ivy had not heard that.
Harley smiled then stood up, able to ignore the sudden pain that had rushed to her ankle. She leaned against the wall for support and waited a few seconds, before she picked up the basket. She was a little wobbly as she walked, but once again, she did not care. All she knew now was she was free.
~~~
Not long after Harley left Ivy came up to her room, a small tray in her hands. On it was a plate of milk and cookies, a bit of an apology for keeping her locked up all day. Ivy unlocked the door and entered.
Harley's room was dark. Ivy turned on the light. She looked around. The bed was empty, and the balance beam was abandoned.
"Harley?" asked Ivy, looking around.
The window was open. On the floor was a hairpin. Ivy growled. In her anger, she threw the tray on the floor, smashing it.
"Harley Quinn!" she screamed, scolding the air. "You ran off again!"
~~~
The Joker was back to work. Plans were scattered all around his desk and bed, with red marks of flaws and notes all over them. Bat equipment was in jars and Petri dishes. A giant chalkboard was standing in the center of the room, with random sketches and notes written all over it. He picked up the chalk and wrote the following on the board:
"Batman + Robin = double trouble – Robin = success?"
He sighed. Somehow, none of the simple equations and notes he wrote seemed to be working out quite right. He sighed, then rubbed his temples, wondering just what else to do. The Joker looked back at the light on the table. Its glow was softer, but it seemed to encourage him to move on and keep trying.
He picked up the chalk and was about to figure out how to fix the equation, when there was a tap at the window nearby. The Joker turned around. There was a basket attached to a rope and pulley, on the tree outside his window. He opened it and looked down.
~~~
There was Harley, smiling shyly. Her painted white face glowed a faint blue in the pale moonlight, and behind her black mask her eyes glimmered with love. The Joker smiled at her, giving her a smile that she had never seen before: one of beauty and fun, with a twist of romance.
The Joker pulled the basket inside and pulled off the white cloth that covered it, wondering what Harley had given him. Some tricks, some acid, some cards, a loaded gun and a wine bottle, though he could tell it did not contain wine. Curious about it, he popped the cork. A soft white smoke poured out, and took the shape of a butterfly. It spread its wings, and as it disappeared, it became a grin.
'Aww,' he thought. 'She knew I needed a smile...'
The Joker leaned out to thank her, but when he looked down, Harley was gone. The rope was swinging to and fro in the faint wind. Shrugging his shoulders, the Joker closed the window and went back to work.
~~~
Harley was just around the corner. When the Joker had smiled down her like that, she...she was shy, like she had only seen him for the first time. That smile was the best he had ever given her. That seemed to be the only reason for her sudden shyness, as opposed to her running up those stairs and into his arms.
She walked down the street, then sat down by the steps of the Joker's hideout. Harley sighed and leaned against them, closing her eyes. She looked down. There, growing in the cracks of the sidewalk, she saw a small flower. Harley picked it, and playfully pulled off its petals one by one.
'He loves me, he love me not,' she thought quietly to herself. 'He loves me, he loves me not...'
Harley suddenly looked up. She saw the Joker, just a few feet away from her. He turned and winked at her, grinning mischievously. A black cowl formed over his face, as his chalky white skin became a fair peach. Two white eyes looked at her from behind the cowl, then smiled at her. It was the Batman.
Harley gasped. Batman looked at her and laughed, a sound that sent chills down her spine and turned her very bones to ice. It was an evil laugh, unlike the laugh he had used to mock her the time she had chained above that piranha tank. She stared at him, mouth gaping in terror, horror clearly seen in her eyes. Batman sidestepped, sweeping his cloak over so she could what was behind it.
It was the most frightening image Harley had ever seen. The Joker was lying there, stomach down, his face towards hers. His eyes were closed and his lips were turned down into a neutral frown, much unlike the grin she was so used to. A black cloak, just like Batman's, was covering his body, and from underneath it, she could barely see his hands wearing black gloves. There was a deep scar on the side of his face, and blood was leaking from a few places on his body. Batman looked back at her and laughed again.
Harley felt herself wake up in a cold sweat. She cried out, then stopped, taking in big, deep breaths. In one trembling hand, she held up the flower. The petals were gone. She let go of it, then looked up. There was no Batman, and certainly no Joker in front of her...but she could not help but feeling that maybe that nightmare meant something more...
