About a question I had concerning Harley Quinn, i didn't have Margot Robbie's performance in mind but I deliberately didn't give Harley too many characteristics so that you can create whatever image you want in your mind. The relationship they have with the Joker though is definitely not the one in Suicide Squad. That part is based on the comics where the Joker used Harley as his 'employee' and nothing more.
He stormed in the warehouse and rushed to his room, knowing that Richard was right behind him. If he had to do this, he had to do it alone. He couldn't have his men spreading the word to all of his enemies.
"So what's the plan?" Richard said, closing the door behind him.
"Let me think" the Joker growled as he took off his coat and tossed it on the couch. He turned on the laptop on his desk and took out his potato peeler as he began thinking. He kept clicking it open every once in a while as he continued pacing up and down.
"What did you tell her?" he finally asked Richard.
"I was… startled when I saw her and told her that it's me. She kept looking at me as if I was some sort of stranger. I asked her if she'd dare to pretend like she didn't know you, and when she didn't reply, I asked her if she was Mia Dawes cause I actually started to believe that-"
"Huuuh you told her her name" he said as he opened the first cupboard. Richard frowned and observed his movements.
"Yeah…" he said confused.
The Joker took out a small device and connected it to the side of the laptop. He then took out another laptop from the third cupboard and switched it on. When it was ready, he sat down on the chair and rolled up his sleeves as he began typing. Richard stared at him waiting for instructions but when he realized that he was not going to give him any, he sat down on the couch and waited.
Richard woke up by the sound of his own snoring. He rubbed his eyes and stretched as he took in his surroundings. He got up as he realized he was alone in the room and approached the laptops. On one of them, he could see a black coding screen with a white cursor flashing on the end of the code. Richard had seen this before. His brother used to use that program to find searchers in Gotham city on the internet that had to do with the mob families. He narrowed down the searches and used them for recruitment. After all, if a person clicked on a link called "why must Gambol die immediately", should at least be up for consideration for Joker's team.
He tried to understand the code but didn't succeed. At the same time, on the screen of the second laptop, Richard could see a map of Gotham city. And then he got it. The Joker was using it to find her. If she knew her name, at some point she would try to find out about herself. So if she searched it, she would appear on the map and he could then find her. God help anyone else who typed in her name though.
Richard shook his head and left the room. He took out his pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth as he left the warehouse. The night was still young and he hadn't left the warehouse for a drink in a long time. He was about to walk out of the alley and up the road to the bars when something caught his attention. He frowned and turned to one of the white vans parked in front of the warehouse. It was one of theirs. In the driver's seat, he could see a figure hunched forward, his head almost touching the stirring wheel as he did so. He approached cautiously, as the man remained frozen.
"Uh…you want help?" Richard said unsurely. The Joker stayed quiet as his hair fell greasy around his face. Richard cleared his throat and shook his head. He rolled his eyes and walked to the other side of the van, opened the passenger's seat and got in. He stayed there, not saying a word as he didn't know what was going on.
"Do you know what the first thing that comes up when you type Mia Dawes on the net is?" he finally spoke in a deep voice "Rachel Dawes' sister, kidnapped by the Joker" he said as if he was a newscaster. "Video footage" he said lifting his hands doing the quotation marks sign with his fingers. He giggled to himself humorlessly, and for just an instant, Richard was not sure if he was laughing. He lifted his head and let it drop back, as he licked his scars. He seemed defeated. Because he knew, that if she saw that without remembering who she was to him, she would hate him forever.
"Well, maybe she'll remember-" Richard began but paused when he heard his brother's muffled laughter.
"Nonononono" he said "Naha Richie. That's not how the world works" he said. Richard stared at him for a moment before lighting his cigarette.
"So what? She'll hate you for a while, until she remembers" he said in an attempt to let his brother see the bright side. But that was never the case for him.
He stayed silent as he pushed the hair out of his face. He seemed intoxicated and his eyes were glazing with fire.
"I'm overestimating her value" he said gripping the steering wheel with both hands.
"That's funny" Richard said "You've been many things, but you've never been a coward" he said as he opened the door of the van and got out. He threw his cigarette on the ground and smirked as he walked away, counting down from five to one inside his head. And soon enough he heard the door of the van slamming shut.
"A coward?" the Joker said. He was in full makeup and costume now and Richard assumed it was for another fantastic idea he had "Would you like to uh, elaborate on that Richieboy?"
"Well you just found out that the woman you-" Richard paused, recognizing the imminent danger in his brother's dark pupils and then continued slowly "cared about, is alive and because you think she won't want you back, you prefer thinking that she's of no such value to ya" he snickered as he continued walking away.
"Since she died, I have claimed the whole city for myself. You can play doctor all you want Richie but uh, even you know she's a liability" he said.
Richard paused and shrugged as he turned to look at him "Yeah you're right. Let's turn off the laptops"
The Joker crooked his head to the side "Huh?"
"You're right, she's a liability. Stop searching for her" he said again with amusement. When his brother didn't reply, he giggled to himself and began walking away. "I'll be at the bar" he shouted as he disappeared into the streets of the Narrows.
The Joker stared at him until he was out of sight and then got in the van slamming the door shut. He started the engine and drove away manically. He needed to think. Someplace quiet. Someplace he could think.
The docks would do.
Mia locked the door of the hotel room and put the key in her new bag, taking out the map of the city. It was funny how easy it was to get a room at a hotel without an ID when you had money. If you gave something extra, nobody asked any questions. Of course she was not trying to be cocky and live the big life, but, given the circumstances, she had to find a place to stay until she could figure out what was going on.
She left the hotel and wondered in the streets of Gotham for a while. It was already too late to go for a long walk but some fresh air would do her good. For the first time since she had woken up, she felt as if her surroundings were familiar to her. She felt somewhat safe and for a moment she felt her feet moving on their own, leading her through the streets of the city.
She suddenly stopped and looked around her, trying to figure out what she should do first. She took out the small piece of paper and read the words. She had to figure out who Bruce Wayne was, the man who left her the money. She stopped thinking for a moment as something caught her attention across the street. She crossed the road and headed for the small building.
Entering the internet café, she could see people working on the computers, others quietly and others playing some sort of videogames with headphones on. Next to the welcome sign across the room, she could see a 24/7 sticker hanging from the wall. She dropped her bag on the floor quietly and took a seat in front of a computer. Nice. She was willing to give two hundred dollars extra to someone to let her have a room at the hotel but couldn't invest on a laptop. She ordered a coffee from the menu and began typing.
First things first.
Bruce Wayne.
She then frowned and deleted the words. Her fingers hesitated for an instant. For some reason, she knew she wasn't going to like what she was going to find. She took a deep breath and typed.
Mia Dawes.
She began reading the results as the waitress brought her coffee.
Harley stared at the laptops in disbelief as she heard a car driving off with screeching tires. Her blue eyes shifting from one screen to the other. An animalistic exasperated scream left her mouth as she brought her baseball bat up and slammed it on the desk, effectively breaking off part of the wood. She panted as tears began streaming down her eyes. He was going to beat her up for this.
She didn't care.
"She fucking forgot all about you!" she screamed at the air as she collapsed on the couch in defeat. She didn't know why he was still searching for her. She gripped her blonde hair and pulled as she tried to ease her mind to think. She wiped her eyes and readjusted her bra, finally coming to her senses.
She always knew that the Joker was not a sweet guy. Ever since they met at Arkham, he was always in control and he wanted her to know that. Of course, when they had their sessions, he used to be so sweet with her… But after they got out, his whole demeanor changed. He became aggressive, violent and as if she was the last person he wanted to see in the world. There were times that Harley felt as if he was getting closer to him but everything were always shuttered by him asking something from her to do.
Her hurricane of thoughts suddenly stopped as she heard the sudden beeping of one of the laptops. She jumped up and approached the screen as she watched the blue dot flashing on the map.
No matter what, he was HERS and hers alone.
Mia watched the video numbly. She stared at what seemed like herself getting cut on the shoulder by the man as he talked to the camera. Mia brought her fingers up and into the top part of her blouse and touched her shoulder. She searched for a little bit until she found scarred skin under her fingertips. Not scarred like her arms and legs. This was deeper and defined. But she hadn't spent much time in front of the mirror and didn't get the chance to observe the skin on her shoulder.
She continued watching and when the video was finished, she kept reading the articles. From what she could understand, she used to have a sister. Rachel. And this Joker character killed her. Meanwhile the Joker kidnapped Mia and kept her prisoner until someone called Harvey Dent resigned and then he let go of her… and…
Uh she was so confused.
She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. No. She had to keep reading. Maybe something would trigger her memories. Anything.
She kept reading as the light from the computer began hurting her eyes. Every single thing she could find about herself, was bad. But she didn't feel like that. She felt like she already somehow knew these things. Maybe not as facts but as feelings. Deep down, something kept whispering to her that there was something very important she needed to do. And she had to do it now.
"Mia?" she heard a voice behind her. It took her some time to realize that the woman was talking to her, but when she did she turned around startled. In front of her, she could see a short, blonde girl looking down at her with blue piercing eyes.
"Oh my God!" the woman said hugging her tightly. "I thought you were dead! We never found you!" she said. Mia felt very uncomfortable in the woman's tight hug but stayed there. She was obviously someone she used to know.
"What happened to you?" the woman said grabbing a chair and pulling her close to her. Mia stared at the young woman with sympathy giving her a weak smile as she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down.
I'm sorry, I don't remember anything from before. I don't remember you.
The woman grabbed the paper and looked at it and then up at her. "You don't remember me?" she said with a disappointed look on her face. "I'm Harley. Harley Qu..Qulivan" she said "I'm Russian" she said and looked down "We used to work together, and…hang out" she said. Mia didn't recognize her. And that broke her heart. The woman seemed genuinely hurt by the fact that she didn't remember her. But it wasn't like it was her fault.
"It's ok that you don't remember" the woman continued "Maybe I wasn't that important to you" she said and Mia frowned in confusion. She shook it off and began writing down.
Do you know anything that can help me remember you?
The girl looked at the paper and then up at her. Mia could swear she saw her eyes glistening for a moment.
"There is a place where we used to hang out. We would grab a beer and sit and talk. It was fun" she said. Mia smiled and began writing down.
"We can go now if you want" the girl said. Mia looked at her and then gave her what she was writing.
Tomorrow at 10? It's too late now.
"Oh no…" the girl said anxiously "I'm actually leaving tomorrow. I mean, out of town. I won't have time to help you then"
Mia sighed and then looked out the window as the night had now fallen over the city completely.
"Come on we used to do this all the time. Let's just go" she said. Mia gulped but took out some money and placed it on the table. She couldn't miss her chance. Maybe this was the way that would help her remember.
They got out of the internet café as the wind from the chilly night hit Mia's face like a whip. She followed the girl until she stopped in front of a white van.
Mia stepped back as she got in the driver's seat popping her head out the window.
"Are you coming?" she said. Mia walked to the other side and when she got in, Harley drove off.
