Ch.55: Death of the Family

Unknown

"Oh memories, memories. Forever the cruel mistress. Binding you down to your shallow, empty world, twisting the knife of reality right into your sides, really sticking it in you. Kicking you while your down, spitting on you. Mocking you. It's a wonder why people even bother trying to play along with it, acting like it's all a part of the plan. I don't. Like. That. - Not. One. Bit," the man who laughs hides in the shadows as his eyes fall upon Clayface and Harley, "Well then? Get moving! I've waited long enough for my dear Bats. You have your parts to play, go and raise some hell."

The Next Morning

Wayne Tower

"Give it to me straight, Lucius." Bruce stood at his desk, looking towards the Head of R&D. The life in the billionaire's eyes looked drained, his face was void of any and all distinctive features. He looks defeated, a loss that would forever haunt him, and his legacy.

"I did the analyses of what you asked for, Mr Wayne and... I'm sorry. There's nothing that we can do to reimburse this company to supplement its losses," Lucius looks to the screen of the tablet in his hand, "Not in time to avoid doing this."

"I was afraid that you were going to say that," holding his arms over his chest, Bruce breathes in, "What sort of damage are we looking at?"

"A bloodbath, Mr Wayne," Lucius averts his eyes from the tablet, "But thankfully only figuratively speaking, by my most modest estimate, Wayne Enterprise will need to cut roughly between 120 and 234 jobs, as early as next week."

"And by *Wayne Enterprise* you mean me," avoiding eye contact with Lucius, Bruce glooms his gaze downwards at his desk, "I'm the one who has to make the announcement. This is all my doing and now people are going to suffer because of it."

"You're already in a rough state, Mr Wayne. Needlessly beating yourself up won't magically solve this. You need to have your head in the game," Lucius advised as he moves his view onto Bruce and holds the tablet at his sides, "This is far from ideal, but you need think in the long term, Bruce. Being unfocused is what got you into this mess."

"I know. I know, Lucius. I... Thank you, Mr Fox," Bruce says defeated. Lucius nods before leaving the office. On his way out the doors, Fox nearly bumps into Harleen. The two share a smile before they go on. Quinzel joins Bruce as she looks over the man's dejected gaze, focused on her, "What are you doing here? I told you to stay home."

"C'mon, B. Ya can't get rid of me that easily, I'm afraid yer stuck with me," coming over to stand at his shoulder, Harleen lifts her chin to connect their eyes, "I hate seeing ya like this, B. Ya can bounce back from this, I know that you can."

Separating himself from Harleen to walk around the desk, Bruce sighs, "I'm fine, Harls. Absolutely peachy. I'm not the one who's about to be told that I'm losing my job all because my boss is a completely selfish, irresponsible, incompetent moron! No, I'm going to be fine. I'm the one person is this that will be fine, everyone else will be the ones that will pay for my mistakes," breathing in and out, he holds his hands to his face, "Things were impossible enough, but now I'm worried about Selina, too. So forgive me if I'm not up for *bouncing back* right now."

"Kitty's a tough girl, B. It's not like she is solely dependant on your affection. She has a life outside of you," explained Harleen as she watches Bruce, "So ya need a life outside of her," she smiles when Bruce faces her, "When was the last time you went out that wasn't in a Batsuit? C'mon, let's have some fun on the town. It might be just what ya need."

"I'm really preoccupied here," Bruce returned to his desk, "I-I just do not have time for this."

Snaking her hand over, she snakes her fingers around Bruce's to get his attention, "Hate to break it to ya, B. But you're not in any mindset to make these heavy decisions. C'mon, please? Just have some fun, clear your head. Believe it or not, too much brooding can be bad for ya." Lightly tugging on his arm, Harley seems to play some sort of tug of war against Bruce's own regret, "Come on. Just like an hour or two, that's all I'll need to liven ya up."

Usually, Bruce wouldn't dare defy is moral code, but there was something about the blonde that always managed to make him play along with her antics. Maybe it was her smile that was able to break through even the stormiest of days. Perhaps her baby blue eyes that were full of youthful joy, seemingly untainted by the cruelness of the world. Whatever it was that the blonde was using to bind him under her spell, it worked just as well as she hoped.

Giving in, Bruce exhales, "I'll give you an hour. Any longer and I'm leaving."

"Great. Meet me at Dini's at 5. An' dress casually," rushing out of the room, Harley makes sure to not give Bruce enough time to object to what she had said. Standing there on the spot, Bruce's eyes track the blonde on her way out.

Elsewhere, Bludhaven

Walking through the halls of the medical facility, Harvey Bullock heads towards his destination. A room off to the side of him. Entering, he is greeted by an awake James Gordon who lies in the bed. Clayface played his part, wearing the mask of Bullock with perfection, "Hey there, partner. How are you holding up? I would've come sooner but H.R was being a pain in the butt." Making his way to Jim's bedside with a friendly smile, he sits down.

"Good to see you, Harv," repositioning to sit up, Gordon's eyes flinch as he feels a sharp pain in his sides, "I wasn't told that you were coming."

"Huh, really? And after all the grovelling I did for Waller, she couldn't have the decency to tell my pal? I tell you, she is making things even worse without you to keep her in check." Harvey removes his hat and holds it against his chest in one tired movement, "We need you back, brother. Please tell me that you're near a recovery."

"You know me, Harv. It takes more than an attempt on my life to keep me down," Gordon strained his words as he fights to keep himself up, "You holding the fort well?"

"It's been a hectic couple of days, partner. Crane had the bright idea of unleashing a whole lot his toxin crap in the streets, but the Bat stopped him. Then Ivy decided to come out of hiding, which didn't end well for her either," Bullock answered, shrugging as he moves to make more space for Jim, "You should've seen Waller blow a gasket when she found out that our friend is outdoing her men."

"From my count, that only leaves Cobblepot, Nygma, Tetch...and Jeremiah. Batman's cleaning house all right," rubbing the back of his neck, Jim looks to Bullock, "Hate to be a bother, Harv, but there's a coffee machine down the hall. Could you help a guy out? I'm running low on caffeine."

Bullock stands up and walks towards the door to the room with a nod "Sure thing, Jim. I could use a refresher myself."

"Harv, wait," calling out to his partner to stop him, Jim continues when Harvey faces him, "Remember when you were told that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes? I always thought that was made up. I never believed in it, but when I was bleeding out on that street, it all came rushing back."

Bullock remains silent as he listens to Gordon.

"But whoever came up with the *life-flashing before you eyes* phenomena was wrong about one thing. When I thought I was dying, I did see my life...but none of the good. The only thing I saw was my last few years. All my mistakes, my regrets, everything but the good," moving his eyes off Harvey and to the floor, Jim sighs, "I played along with Waller to keep my family safe, but they're anything but. I don't know what to do."

"That's rough, brother," Bullock puts his hat back on and shares a look with Gordon, "What can I say to you? We all screw up, but what matters is that we try to make things right. You're a good man, Jim. You'll figure it out."

"Like you did when you got that tattoo? You should've known getting your college sweetheart's name tattooed on your arm wasn't going to end well," chuckled Gordon as he watches Harvey leave, "She broke up with a week later, too. Oh, that must have been rough on you. You had to wait months before you could get it removed."

"Yeah. Live and learn, partner. Don't make my mistake," Harvey replied which brought out a sudden shift of Gordon's expression, the once trustful gaze now turned on its head. Bullock's eyes tense up as he closes the door on them, looking back to Jim.

"There was never a tattoo was there?"

"No there wasn't. I knew that something was off" trying to stand Gordon screams, "Who the hell are you?"

Knowing that the charade was finally up, Bullock shifts his body and takes on his true appearance. Growing several feet and bulking up, Clayface reveals himself with a scowl, "What gave me away? I was perfect! I had everything down!"

"Oh, c'mon. Not even Harvey is perfect at being himself," Gordon shoots back.

"This was meant to be pleasant, Gordon! I was going to bring you unharmed, but now you're forcing my hand!," shifting his hands into claws, Clayface begins to walk towards the injured commissioner, "My boss didn't want you to miss the celebration." Clayface then grabs Jim by her arm and lifts him up, "He was very precise about wanting you there."

Meanwhile

- Across Gotham -

"C'mon, grouchy-butt, would it kill ya to smile?" Harley leads Bruce through the floors of the club, engulfing them within the large crowd and under the heat of the neon spectrum of lights. Their voices became harder to hear among the ever-growing dense formation of the dancing Gothamites. Settling on a spot on the dance floor, Harleen grabs Bruce's hands and begins to guide him into a soft sway, "I know ya said only for an hour, but I'm only gonna start countin' once ya start makin' an effort, B. So star groovin'. "

The blonde came to the scene in the red and black dress that had been the topic of the man's detest over serval occasions. With her garment, Harleen also wears tights and heels to form a suitable outfit for parties. Her hair was unfettered, drooping around her shoulders, with an addition of a black choker. She smiles, friendly as always.

Bruce made sure to dress less bombastic than his *partner in crime*. Instead, he adopts a discrete look of a white sleeveless shirt, black denim jacket and dark jeans. Nothing fancy. Nothing that would quickly give away his identity to the masses that surround him. Even going to the length of making his dark hair look unkempt. Ruffled with strands sticking out at its sides, making sure to not give off the slightest idea of who he really was.

The flashing lights would do the rest. Making it impossible for people to focus on him.

"You can have all the loud music that you possibly want, but it won't make me want to get *grooving*," knowing that he wasn't doing the work that Harleen wanted of him, Bruce couldn't help but focus on the scene outside of their small bubble. A sea of unknown faces washes over him, unaware of any of the people's names. Feeling straight out of his element, Bruce disliked undergoing such alien-feelings. The lights make him feel nauseous with their quick-changing, the people around him made him feel closed in, like he had no control over his own actions, always being pushed or shoved by passer-by clubbers who collide with him.

"You can do this, B. This should be a walk in the park for ya," caressing the man's plan with her thumbs and smiling at him, Harley leads him back with her, while keeping eye-contact to give some layer of comfort to Bruce, "...Except for the walk in the park where you fought that Slade-guy, definitely not that." Swaying her hips in tune with the music that blares, she invites Bruce to join her, "Show me yer moves. Ya know that you wanna."

"No, I think you're doing more than your part to embarrass the both of us," Bruce bit his lip, looking for any way out of the hell that was coming his way, dancing. The mere thought of it made his spine shudder harder than someone like Bane ever could. An exaggeration? Maybe, but not as outlandish as one would think.

He then sees the look given to him by Harley, a gaze that screamed he had no say in the matter. An assertion proved right as she leans her back against his front, grabbing his hands to bring around her waist. Looking with a wider grin, she nuzzles the back of her head against his shoulder, "Start dancing, B. Or I'm gonna become the cutest paperweight to ever exist." Like when someone would accidentally hold their hand against the stove, Bruce quickly moves to retreat his hands from the danger zone.

"H-Harls, what are you doing? This is n-not appropriate," disrelished Bruce as he feels the blonde's palms secure around his hands, his voice drowned out by the frantic clamour of the crowd, along with the shrill song that blares.

Lifting Bruce's arms up her abdomen, Harleen stops when they were around her chest, smiling, "Relax, B. This is just meant to be fun, c'mon! This is how a lot of people blow off steam. Ya need to connect with Gotham."

"I'm all for that, but this is a little too..." Bruce watches Harley's expression shift with the current song that played, creating a large smile on the woman's face.

[Who can turn the world on with her smile?. Who can take a nothing day. And suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?]

"Oh my god... I love this song," squalled Harleen as she breaks away from Bruce and leads him deeper into the crowd, "Please? Please Brucie, can ya please dance with me? Please? Please? Please? This is my favourite song," entreats Harleen as she already locked her grip onto the man's hands, "Just one dance, please? Then we can go. Can you do that?"

[Well it's you, girl, and you should know it. With each glance and every little movement you show it]

"Fine, but you are never to speak of this...ever," yielding against Harleen's and her tries to break his stoicism, Bruce joins her in the movement, doing his best to mirror her to the best of his abilities. Bruce knew that he was lost, feeling like a complete stranger when it came to the night. Finding the idea of dancing too inapposite for him, a complete whiplash from the way he conducts himself. But he persists against his judgement to at least humour the wants of his friend.

So he does dance, nothing too flashy that would make him stand out, but also just enough to be making an active effort for the blonde.

[Love is all around no need to fake it. You can have the town, why don't you take it. You're gonna make it after all]

"Ah, you're totally getting into it, B! That's the spirit," Cheered Harleen, marvelling at Bruce's movements, "This is your city, B! Move like it!"

Entering into the floor of people, a group of men wearing clown-masks hone in on Harleen and Bruce, carrying crowbars, knives and even guns. Shoving past those who were not of interest to them, the masked men strategically lurk towards the billionaire man, still allowing themselves to be concealed by the multitude of Gothamites.

"This all still seems like too much, Harls," holding his hands to his ears when feeling an ache in his eardrums caused by the loud music blasting, "I preferer less noisy places, but...Hey, it's not as bad I first thought. You are certainly showing me up with your moves," still dabbling in the blonde's wants, Bruce rocks his legs in tune with the beat while he continues to cover his ears."

[Love is all around no need to fake it]

"Lot's of practice, B! One of my favourite mentalities is: Work hard, play hard. Ya gotta let yerself have some fun some times. Constantly being miserable won't help ya at all, ya gotta balance the seriousness with the pleasure," becoming more lively in her movements, she holds her hands to him, inviting him closer, "Some times ya just need to be a regular person, B." Seeing Bruce hold her hand, she smiles and pulls him closer to her, "An' regular people like to have fun."

[You can have the town, why don't you take it]

The Joker gang were now in proximity with Bruce, nearly breathing down his neck. Still, the deafening music and sickly lights messed with all of the man's senses, keeping the danger from ever being discovered by him in time. Harley moves closer and wraps her arms around the dark-haired man's neck and draws him towards to her, their lips nearly touching until Bruce moves away.

[You're gonna make it after all]

"I t-think that's enough, Harls. I don't know what you thought this was, but I'm ending it here," prying the woman's hands off him, Bruce looks behind and is greeted the sight of a grotesque clown-like mask that stares back at him. His eyes widen upon seeing the figure swing a crowbar his way.

[How will you make it on your own?]

Instinctively catching the crowbar in his hand and elbowing his attacker to the ground, Bruce made sure to check back on Harleen, "Get out of here." He is then swarmed by the entire group of Joker's followers, each one looking more haunting than the last.

[This world is awfully big, and girl, this time you're all alone. But it's time you started living]

Moving out of the rage of one of the swings of what appeared to be a broke pipe, Bruce kicks back the aggressor as is then subject to serval unorganized attacks from the group, so cluttered that goons even got in the way of each other.

[It's time you let someone else do some giving]

The crowd has become wary of the ongoing in its centre, quickly panicking and running which made it impossible for Bruce to distinguish friend from foe as everything was now a blur. The fleeing men and women barge past him, throwing him off balance while the Joker Gang still had their sights set on him. Knowing it was too much of risk that fighting back could result in him accidentally harming innocents, Bruce was put in a rough position, unable to fully defend himself against his attackers, who he knew wouldn't share his concern.

[Love is all around no need to fake it - You can have the town, why don't you take it]

The best he could do was evade the attacks thrown his way. Each time he would throw a quick glimpse to see if he could find Harleen, but she was gone. Maybe she was pushed out by the evacuating crowd. Continuing with his best efforts dodge the strikes of his attackers, Bruce was aware of the large density of the masses was going to end up hurting his chances. Having to worry about whether a connection against him was either from the assailants or was just from someone who were trying to escape became a challenge.

[You're gonna make it after all]

The lights. The music. The barrage of people. It all worked against him, almost as if it was the perfect trap. Designed to limit his options while those who ambush him are given the advantage, not caring for collateral. In such an unwinnable game, it was only a matter of time before he would lose. Struck in the sides with a wooden bat, hard enough to make him spit and wheeze, Bruce recoils as he holds his sides. Bruce is unable to see where the attack came from, everything was a mess.

[You're the one most likely to succeed]

The next affliction came in form of a pipe smashed against his shoulder, then before he could recover, he was further stricken by the stock of gun slammed against his forehead. He plummets to the floor, unable to stop his descent.

[Just be sure to keep your head, 'cause girl, you know that's all you need]

Lying on the ground, Bruce gazes up to find himself surrounded by the clown-like group, trapping him in their circle as they stare down at him. Staggering breath and broken, unclear words escape his mouth, delirious from the pain, mixed with nausea created by the lights.

"That's enough, boys! Ya wouldn't want to displease Mistah J, would ya?" breaking through the line of henchmen, Harleen stares at Bruce. Her once friend gaze now turned sour, even malicious. Lifting her leg over him, Harleen sets her heel on his chest, "Sorry 'bout this, B. But we'll need to have our dance another time..."

"W-what...?" Bruce's eyes widen under the gaze of the woman who stands over him.

"Shhhhhh. There will be plenty of time for talkin' later, B," Harley is handed a bat from one of the men at her side, "When I said I like to play hard, I meant it. I'm really, really like to get messy," swinging the bat against Bruce's scalp to knock him out, Harls eye's tense up when she sees the man fall unconscious, "Take him. I have other things to see to."

[Everyone around adores you]

Later.

Gotham City Library

Mounting the ladder of the floor, Jason Blüd currently moves to reorganize the books on the shelves. At the bottom of the ladder stood Talia as she looks up to him, "You've been up there far longer than it should take to arrange those books, Mr Blüd. Is there a reason for this? Perhaps you're trying to put off something?"

"Why would I feel the need to do that? I've lived for nearly two thousand years, Miss Al Ghul. I more than anyone, am aware that it is pointless to delay the inventible," looking down to the daughter of the demon, Blüd fixes his glasses, "I'm merely giving the history of human literature the respect that it is due. I know the dangers of forsaking the past all too well."

"For someone who's lived countless lifetimes, one would think you'd pick up how to lie convincingly, but here we are," watching Jason slide down the ladder to join her on the ground, Talia steps away to create room for him, "Are you forgetting just who my father was? I was born in the shadows, thus I'm typically hard to be deceived."

"Come out with it already if you must, I am a busy man," Blüd walks through the rows of shelves with Talia next to him.

"Very well, throughout my life I've seen men risk everything to obtain power, even sacrificing their souls to do so. It's driven them to the brink of destroying themselves and those around them," they walk out of the bookcases and towards the front of the floor, "I know the legends of you. I know the truth behind Jason-Of-The-Blood, so I ask you: You had limitless power, power most men would kill for, I want to know why you willingly gave it up. Why you split yourself from the demon, Etrigan?"

Now at the front desk, Blüd picks up a pile of several books, "Because with all that power, Etrigan wasn't the demon, I was" lugging the books along towards the trolley at his side, Jason could feel the stares from Talia.

"Does it have anything to do with this?" showing her hand, Talia holds a black and white vintage picture of a woman, chard at its edges, "Something happened between you and this woman, correct? From my estimate, this looks to have been taken in the 1800s, the Victorian era I presume."

"Where did you get that?" Jason takes the photo out of Talia's hand, "You had no right to-."

"Closed off yet so desperate to help us when we're desperate, if those are not the qualities of a man who seeks redemption, I don't know what is," watching Jason pocket the photo, Talia sees the care he gives to it, taking measures to not crease it, "You're trying to atone for something."

"That is none of your business, Miss al Ghul," averting his eyes when hearing a noise in the distance, sounding like tumbling books, "Do you hear that?"

"It's a public library."

"Not after 6 it's not," looking back to the direction when hearing the same sound again, Blüd treads towards its origin, "You out there, need I tell you that you're trespassing. Come out now or I'm calling the authorities," calling out to the maze of bookcases.

"With pleasure, " a coarse voice answers back from the floor above. Jason and Talia then are thrown off balance when something nosedives from the upper floors with enough force to shake the ground, cracking it where he lands. Clayface, a hulking mass of concrete-like flesh greets them with a grin of sharp teeth and pale yellow eyes. Shifting his right hand into the form of a morning star, Clayface laughs, "I'm here to return my books, here's my library card."

Swinging his shifted hand towards the duo, Clayface misses as Talia shoves Blüd out of the way of lethal blow, "What kind of creature are you?" asked Talia as she swerves out of the path of another strike from the bulked behemoth, "I have no knowledge of you."

"The kind that can do this" remoulding his hand into a curved blade and swings at Talia but is slowed by his weight which made Talia able to quickly dodge all of his swings, "Keep running girly, you'll wear out eventually while I don't even breathe!"

Without her weapons, Talia was limited to running, a fact that disgusted her.

Changing his hand once again, Clayface reverts back to his hand as he liquidizes and surrounds Talia, coating her entire body. Reforming with his hands locked around the woman's arms, "The boss formally invites you to join him at his party," grinned Clayface as he lifts the woman off the ground, "It's to die for," he then holds Talia against his chest, submerging her in his body, "One down, one to g-." Thrown across the room as he's struck by a violet beam, slamming into one of the bookshelves which cause a domino effect on all the others.

"What hit me?" Clayface moves from the rubble of books, looking up to see a Blüd stood at the desk with his hand cast in a glow of purple that was fading.

"Release her now or I'll tear her out of you," firing another spiral of light at the creature to knock him back once again. Loose pages flutter around the fallen Clayface. Approaching Clayface with anger in his eyes, Jason readies another strike, "Do the smart thing here son. I hate resorting to violence," aware of his magical powers being at their end and that he's working working on fumes., Jason keeps his poker face as he watches Clayface return to his feet, "Last chance."

"You're almost outta juice, I know you're all bark," Clayface then forms his hands into duel blades, "I'm more of a biter," beginning to charge at Blüd like a bulldozer. Jason then fires the rest of his power, enveloping the villain in a darkening magenta. Using his blades, Clayface blocks the incoming blast and continues without being hindered. Finally, Jason's magic fades, depleted completely and he's left defenceless. Transforming his blades back to fists, Clayface slams Blüd across the room and has him collide against the desk, fading quickly into unconsciousness.

Picking up the immortal and holding him over his shoulder, Clayface looks towards the exit, "Easy."

Wayne Tower

Research and Development

"Bruce has always been quite the challenge, Lucius, but lately...he's becoming even worse, and we enabled him to do so. Even to this day, he's unable to see the path that he's heading towards. I fear for him, I really do, but this is because of him. His refusal to be Bruce Wayne has destroyed him," Alfred's voice speaks from Lucius's phone on the side.

Working at his station, Fox looks through the monitor at his side, "He's taking it hard, Alfred. I'm not astatic with the ordeal either, but what choice do I have? Mr Wayne is relying on us to be by his side, and we made that promise to him. Everything has just been crazy lately, no wonder he couldn't focus."

"If Master Bruce wishes to be an impossible man, then he must come to deal with being held at an impossible standard, Lucius. It pains me to see my boy like this, but he's responsible for this. I just hope that this will be a wake-up call for him."

"I've learned not to underestimate Bruce. He'll find a way, he always does," looking back to the screen when an alert catches his attention, "An alarm just tripped in Bruce's place. You want me to call the cops?"

"No. I got a feeling that I can take a guess of who it is."

Later.

Barbara Kean's Apartment

"When I told you that I did not want to talk to anyone, I meant it. This better be good, Harls or I'm going to hurt you," warned Selina as she sits slouched on the couch as she looks at the blonde, "This better not be Bruce's idea."

"I assure you that it's not. I just wanna see how ya are. Sayin' that you've had some hardships is an understatement," replied Harleen who stares down to her, "It's been nearly a week since Ivy pulled that cruel joke on you. We're all worried about ya. I know that ya must be feelin'-"

"Feeling? What the hell do you know about the way I'm feeling? You don't know crap about me and don't even try. I'm sick of everyone thinking that they know what I'm going through, all of you better stop." Standing to be eye-level with Harley and snarling, "I can't even tell Barb about what I'm going through, so why would I even think of talking to you about that? I...I apricate you coming here, but I've had enough of you all. Just leave me alone."

"Fine. I'll leave, but there's somethin' that I have been wantin' to tell ya first."

"I said enough. Get out!"

"Oh, I think you'll want to hear this punchline, it's a killer." Harley snakes her arm behind her back and slides a knife from out of the cover of the sleeve of her jacket. She watches Selina stare her down, probably under the impression that she was making a really sick joke, showed by the disgust in her eyes. Standing motionless, they both stare until finally, something tips Selina off.

The look in Harley's eyes, it made it clear as day that she wasn't trying to make an ill joke, but rather she was earnest with her baleful gaze.

Then it happened.

Harley makes the first move. Swinging with the knife with Selina in her crosshairs, the confrontation was no longer avoidable. All it took was a single second for the knife to make its way towards her, but within that time it all became clear. All the pieces finally fit together to uncloud the mystery.

And like a cornered animal, Selina pounces.

Her reflexes guided her, controlled her. Grabbing Harley's wrist to bring the momentum of the knife to a sudden halt, less than a few centimetres from her chest. A millisecond later and she would've been a goner. No words are exchanged between then, their eyes do the work, all of the work.

Hitting back at her attacker, Selina twists the blonde's wrist and rams her stomach with her knee, watching her tumble over to the floor. Still silent, they keep their eyes trained on each other, watching each other like crows upon a dying prey, awaiting the moment to strike.

"...You...," Selina didn't know what she was feeling. Absolute anger. Confusion. Hatred. They all make her feel something that she has never experienced before, even in her darkest days, "...You... after everything we did for-..."

"Oh, Kitty...I'm just gettin' started," leaping up to her feet, Harley takes several veers with the knife while she laughs, "I'm gonna skin this cat!".

"Like hell, you are," Selina eludes the path of the knife's swings. Her reflexes were too fast for her to fall to frail attack like that. Biting back with her own strike that came in the form of a fist that she throws at Harley's face, then kicking her off balance. The blonde falls down once again but is faster to react, using her own agility to cartwheel away from Selina. Quinn then drops her knife, instead, going for the dual red and black handguns at her side, aiming them at the dark-haired woman.

"Hope for your sake that the whole *cats having nine lives* isn't just a myth," she then fires upon the other woman, simultaneously shooting the guns. Watching Selina run from her, she twists her body to track the fleeing woman with her fire, "Dance, Kitty, dance! Move as if yer life depends on it - spoiler alert!: It totally does!" laughed Harleen as she continues to spray bullets across the room, facing towards the couch when she sees Selina take cover behind it.

"You psycho!," yelled Selina as she ducks out of the path of bullets spewing at her as she's covered in fluff from the shredded couch behind her, "I knew you were crazy! I'm so going to kick your ass!"

"Huh? Say that again, kitty. I think the gunfire is screwin' my hearing! Speak up! I can't hear ya screamin'!" giving a quick glance down to her handguns, Harley realizes that she was out of ammo, "Agh...fine...I guess I'll have to this the old-fashioned way."

Selina emerges from her cover, hurling one of the tattered pillows at Harley's face which ruptures it completely, coating the blonde in the filling. Coughing up some of the fluff as she wipes her mouth. "Did ya just throw a pillow? What is this, a sleepover? Serious, I wouldn't even do that!" looking back up to see her opponent charge at her, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...it's a distr-" Coming at her with absolute ferocity and rage in her eyes, Selina catapults herself and blond to the ground, but not quick enough to have stopped Harley from hurling one of her guns at her throat.

Rasping at the harsh collision of the gun against her exposed neck, Selina moves off course which paved the way for Harleen to gain the upper hand, putting herself on top of Selina as they laid on the floor. Clawing against each other to throw the other off, "Heh, looks like ya...fallen for me, aye?," laughed Harleen before she was shoved off by the woman below her. Selina now sits on top of her, pinning her down as she glares down with burning eyes.

"...You... Just wait until Bruce finds out abou-."

"Ah...about that, Kitty. I have a sneakin' suspicion that won't be happenin' anytime soon," grasping the back of the dark-haired woman's hair, Harley yanks her down and locks lips with her, biting down hard. Tumbling backwards and holding her hands over her bleeding mouth, Selina gasps at the stinging ache of her bottom lip. Getting off the floor with a grin, Harley licks her lips for one last woe towards the woman, "Ya a real good kisser ya know that? I almost wanna do that again."

"You c-crazy! I think you took a chunk of my mouth...agh!"

"Yeah-yeah, so what? I like it rough!" using her remaining handgun, Harley pummels the hurting woman with it, bashing her across the skull. Lying on the ground motionless, Selina's whole world dims as the last thing she sees before falling unconscious is the look of evil in the blonde's eyes. Remembering that dream she once had, where the Grip Reaper was at her bedside. Her mind finally unclouds as she sees through the veil of shadow and realizes it's true form, Harley looking over her with the same malicious gaze and grin.

She was right. Her subconscious warning her of the danger ahead of her, and she didn't listen until it was too late.

Then darkness.

Across Gotham

Bruce's Penthouse

With night returned to the city, darkness penetrated the windows of the room and casts an expansive gloom across the whole place. From within the murk Alfred surveys his surroundings, armed and ready for the cause of his concern. Moving in through shadowy rooms with caution, planning each movement he took far in advance. The muzzle of his gun crosses paths with the back of a woman who stands at the centre of the void. Steadying his aim for insurance as he is already privy to the intruder's identity, not taking any chances.

"If you thought you could break your way into here and go about your day, then think again, love."

Nyssa shifts her body to face towards Alfred, showing no concern for being held at gunpoint, "Would it be remiss of me to say that I did?." The rest of her body follows after the lead of her neck, fully confronting the older man with her signature smirk as she cavalierly toys with a knife. Watching the hands of Alfred, she sees his grip on the gun was flawless, absolutely perfect. His hand was steady, not showing any signs of faltering. This clued her in on the fact that he was all too willing to shoot her if she gave him a reason to do so.

"I'm sensing some hostility from you, Mr Pennyworth. I take it that there's still some bad blood between us." Doing everything she could to put the feeling of control in Alfred, Nyssa choreographs her movements accordingly. No sudden moves that would put the man on the edge. Him pointing a gun at her was the least of her concerns, what really perplexed her is getting him to listen to her. A thing that she figured would be more likely to happen if he believed himself to be in charge.

"You havin' a laugh, mate? You had me kidnapped, tortured me...while you sent a clone to keep tracks on Bruce," Alfred sternly replies with a scowl to match the unsympathetic look that was given by the oldest daughter of Ra's al Ghul, "And that doesn't begin to cover all of your heinous actions. You're a murderer, a terrorist and you tried to kill my boy. Give me one good reason to not shoot you."

"As if there's anything that I could say that would deter you from pulling that trigger. What is a single reason compared to the hundred that you have for shooting me?" Hovering her thumb across the curve of her knife while keeping eye contact with Alfred, Nyssa smiles, "If you were wanting to shoot me you would have done so already. You trained in special forces, no? You would have fired by now if you desired me dead."

"Are you sure that you want to take that gamble? You've already died once, I wouldn't be pushing my luck if I were in your shoes, missy" Keeping his weapon trained on the woman with his iron grip, ready to make a kill shot, Alfred sees little change in her expression in reaction to his continued warnings.

"Very well, I see that you are still not willing to listen to me just yet. I have little time to keep playing this game with you." With her training from the League of Shadows, the eldest daughter of the demon quickly closed the gap between her and the man but failing to make it before he fires a single round. The shot missed her, but she was still impressed by the reflexes of the man as she considered his age. Holding the curve of her knife against Alfred' throat, she mentally declared herself the winner, "My disdain for you is strong, but not enough to blind me to the real threat."

Nyssa is then taken by surprise as the butler forced her hand off to the side, quickly following up by slamming her to the ground. Though highly skilled in combat, Nyssa's Achilles heel always returns to haunt her, pride. Underestimating her enemies always became her undoing, but try as she might her habits die hard. Looking up to the man above her, Nyssa sees the muzzle of the gun aimed right at her, "Are you by any chance familiar with a form of advice as old as time? Beware an old man in a profession where they usually die young. There's a reason why I made it this long."

Caressing her jaw while looking up to Alfred, Nyssa shows little worry regarding the man's new-found position, "Duly noted, but if you do not listen to me, Alwatwat most certainly will not."

Unknown

Leaving the realm of darkness as he awakes, Bruce finds himself pinned down by two of the masked henchmen from before. Ahead he sees something lurking in the shadows, in the form of a man but with something very sinister about them.

"W-what's going on? Who are the hell are you?" Bruce squints at the shadowed figure, tensing up as he sees them come closer. His whole reality then shatters upon hearing laughter, the kind of maliciousness that only one monster could voice, "No..."

Catching a glimpse of the man in the shadows, he could make out a pair of blood-red lips that are curved into a grin, "I gotta say, Brucie, I never understood the fascination with wanting to figure me out! Like why would you want to do that, that's what I want to know, darling."

The laughing draws closer.

"It's like...with those horror movies, people always want to know what the monster is. Where it comes from. What it wants. So they demand answers, no...they need them! You see they never shut-up about wanting to be let in on the little secret, but then...it happens!"

And then closer.

"Then voila! The wait is finally over and the misguided masses get the precious answers that they wanted, but then something happens! They're disappointed by the long-awaited revelation! It just makes 'em feel empty on the inside."

"To them, the once terrifying monster is just like all the rest, just a hollow shell, a tired shadow of its former self."

"I don't want that with us, darling! That's why I'm different because you see... Not even I can figure myself out, but you, my beautiful Brucie can call me...Joker," stepping out of the shadows, he was finally revealed to the dread of the dark knight. Joker. A man's whose skin is white as snow with sprawled up green-haired and eyes and blood-red lips. Suited in a purple overcoat over a white unbuttoned shirt, green waistcoat and black gloves, "Welcome home, darling.""