"C-Catlady?? How…how could ya know I was here??"
Catwoman scoffed at Harley.
"How couldn't I know? You're so god damned predictable..." Catwoman walked towards Harley slowly. Each graceful step she took echoed through the tunnel.
"I think I'll enjoy this." Catwoman uncoiled her fresh whip from around her waist.
"N-now hold on a sec, Catlady! What about the whole sisterly bond we had goin'? Remembah' ?"
Catwoman rolled her eyes.
"Whatever bond we had was broken the moment you picked up that gun. I should have gutted you when I had the chance…well, no matter."
Catwoman raised her whip high above her head. Armed only with her agility, Harley leapt through the air, trying desperately to escape.
"Oh no, I don't think so…" Catwoman released the fury of her whip and entangled Harley's ankle within its grasp. Her voice grew deep and somber.
"You should have thought about your well being before you pulled that trigger…" Catwoman curled her burning claws as she drew closer to Harley's face. She spoke in a whisper.
"So what now, Harley Quinn? There's no one here…no one to call out to. No gun in sight. It's just you, and m-"
A loud crash echoed above Harley's head. Catwoman eyes rolled back as she fell to the ground.
"You know what works better than a chair to the back of a head? A lead pipe."
Harley gasped in a state of shock.
"…Puddin'?" Her eyes widened as he spoke in a soothing voice.
"Oh Harley Q, how I've missed you…"
"PUDDIN'!!!" She dove lovingly into his arms and squeezed him tightly as he dropped the cold hard pipe to the ground.
"I can't believe you're here!" Having missed him dearly, she pressed her lips against his in the purest of ways.
"Yes, my dear Harley, I've found you…but it looks like someone else has, as well." Harley glanced down at Catwoman's lifeless body nervously.
"Let's just dump her somewhere, Puddin'…I mean, we don't have ta' chain her up or nothin'… do we?" The Joker smiled inquisitively.
"Now why on earth would I have to do that?" Baffled, Harley's eyes wandered.
"Well…um…"
The Joker tightened his grip on Harley's shoulders.
"Because the word in Gotham is that someone shot Batman, enough to knock him from a rooftop. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Harley grew increasingly nervous. She felt her heart begin to race and her stomach begin to turn.
"Well…ya see, I…um…" The Joker looked down directly into Harley's eyes.
"They say it was a scared little clown girl…alone and confused." He gently stroked the side of her face with his slender fingers.
"I happen to know a little clown girl."
Harley began to tremble.
"I also happen to know, that if somehow…not that you could ever pull it off…but if SOMEHOW… Batman is…dead, YOU, my precious gem, won't live to see tomorrow."
He fiercely threw Harley to the ground and turned his back to her.
"But…he-he hurt ya, Puddin'! A-and he woulda' thrown ya back inta Arkham!"
The Joker's scream echoed through the dark tunnel.
"I'd spend a hundred YEARS in Arkham before I'd let you take away MY LIFE'S WORK!!!"
The Joker raised his hand to strike Harley, but was ceased by vengeful claws.
"I think I'd rather see you both rot in Arkham."
The Joker twisted his arm and threw Catwoman to the ground.
"Good Lord, How many lives do you have left, pussycat??"
"Enough." She thrust her boot into his abdomen, knocking him back.
"Such vibrancy! I can see why Bats fell for you in the first place!" He chuckled in sinister delight.
Catwoman answered him with a severe kick to a particularly sensitive area. The Joker fell to his knees, laughing in pain. Harley's body flipped through the air and landed directly in front of The Joker, protecting him.
"I won't let ya hurt him!!"
The Joker snickered in pain and spoke under his breath.
"…little late for that."
Catwoman sighed in frustration.
"Harley, don't make me-" Harley spun into a fierce kick to Catwoman's jaw.
"…hurt you." Catwoman took a deep breath and growled as she wiped the blood from her lips.
"Hah! And you thought I couldn't protect him, didn't ya??"
Catwoman took a step back from Harley.
"Oh no, Harley. I only doubt your ability to protect yourself." Catwoman swiftly dug her claws deep into Harley's ribs. She cried in pain as she struggled beneath the deadly talons. Catwoman glared down at Harley with hatred in her eyes. She neglected to see the defensive lunatic behind her back.
"You dare attack her…I should twist you in half…" The Joker threw his body onto Catwoman, pushing her away from Harley.
"She is mine, and mine alone."
The Joker pounded his fist into Catwoman's skull. In defense, she thrust her legs into his chest, throwing him from her body. She sneered at The Joker.
"Oh, NOW you're trying to protect her? And I thought I was fickle…" Words were the only way to convince the enemy that she was capable of defending herself. She felt dizzy from the blood rushing to her head.
Catwoman pounced on The Joker and tumbled with him on the cold concrete ground, scraping through his pale skin, leaving trails of blood behind.
The Joker stood up and with his one oppressive hand, lifted Catwoman up by her neck. She struggled for air as she clawed at his arms.
"Ya know? You can be just as annoying as Bats. Except his fears are trapped, hidden within his mind…while your fears…"
He threw Catwoman's writhing body into the tunnel's stream of dark water.
"…are a bit more obvious."
Horrors of the past suddenly crawled through Selina's mind.
"Trapped, thrown into that river, clawing out of that sack. So young. So fast. It had to be water."
She coughed and sputtered as water seeped into her mouth and down her throat. The Joker jumped into the stream with a large splash.
"Come on, Miss Kitty, where's that indomitable spirit of yours??" He gripped her neck and forced her head deep into the flowing water. She dug her claws into his arms, fighting back fiercely.
"Now there's the girl we all know and love!"
Catwoman pierced her claws into his neck, causing him to retaliate with two quick blows to her head. She dodged the third blow and reluctantly swam deeper into the filthy water, trying to escape his thirst for violence. She struggled, but managed to pull her body out of the stream. The Joker was close behind her.
Deep within her mind, she hoped desperately that he would appear. Rarely did she dare take on The Joker alone, especially with an injured yet unpredictable Harley Quinn by his side. She was sickened by the thought…
"What would he do…?"
She halted and turned to The Joker, boldly challenging him yet again with her daring eyes.
"No…he isn't here. He won't be here. I have to do this for him…for myself. This is my fight."
She pounded her fist into his face and tore her claws into his chest.
"Oh Miss Kitty, playing dirty is my job!" The Joker slammed his fist into the bullet wound in Catwoman's shoulder. He laughed in delight as he stared down upon Catwoman screaming in pain and curling her wet body.
The Joker stood before Catwoman, drenched in water and opaque blood, though he was seemingly unharmed. He took a deep breath and sighed happily.
"You know, you're almost as much fun to bludgeon as the Bat! Oh please tell me, how is Ol' Bats holdin' up? Taking the day off to recover, I assume."
Catwoman gripped her shoulder wound defensively as her mind was sparked with a devious plan. She knew now what she needed to do.
"I suppose Ms. Quinn neglected to tell you." Catwoman began to breathe deeply.
"Hmm?" The Joker's curiosity was roused. Still clutching her torso, Harley raised her head in confusion.
"The first bullet hit his leg…but the second…" Catwoman lowered her head as her voice grew in both rage and tears.
"The second…hit his chest. He died as soon as he hit the ground."
The Joker froze.