Author's Note: This is the fastest update I've ever done! Unfortunately I cannot give you a schedule of my posting, since it all depends on my health. All I can say is that this story is my main focus right now. Warning: graphic content in this chapter.

Chapter 7

"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain…" Her voice drifted out over the room, as her hands arranged the bullets in a slightly uneven circle around her.

Frost shifted uneasily, hoping the materiel weren't stolen from the Joker's weapon room. The three-and a half-year old was intently focused on arranging the pieces according to her own pattern.

"I'm happy again…" Considering Jaylie only spoke when she wanted something, her recent singing habit was unexpected. Frost supposed the movies she and Quinn watched were the problem. Further and foremost, he didn't think a kid of that age could have any sense of pitch and even less proper articulation.

Jaylie had collected bullets she had found lying around in the penthouse, and after trying to dissect them with a pair of scissors, she had brought them to her room. Other things in her circle included pieces of a deconstructed gun she had found, a screwdriver, a Rolex with dried blood, a pair of tweezers, and every single component of a camera that she had managed to smash into pieces – out of mechanic curiosity.

When her parents were away, she spent her time collecting her tokens and organizing everything in her room, in a way too familiar design.

Steps outside alerted Frost that his babysitting duties were over for tonight. The Joker pushed the door open, glaring at him. "Where's my spare ammunition?"" He waved his purple gun around impatiently, pushing the trigger to reveal an empty click, click.

Harley followed behind him, blowing a kiss at Jaylie. "Hello, Puddin' Pie!"

Before Frost had time to answer, his Boss noticed the circle in the middle of the floor, and the toddler sitting inside.

Slowly Joker stepped closer. He stared at her and lowered his voice, to the one Frost recognized as cut-and-run.

"You're the one who's been stealing Daddy's bullets, hmm?"

Jaylie looked up from her work. Wordlessly, she picked up a handful from the pile beside her and reached out to him. When the Joker didn't react, she flashed him a smile. "Here, Daddy."

He accepted the ammunition from her without a word, impatiently re-loading his gun. Harley relaxed slightly. "Get me more from the storage," Joker addressed Frost.

Jaylie returned to her task of arranging the leftover bullets, starting up her singing again without paying them any attention. "I'm laughing at clowns, so dark up above…"

Harley burst out giggling. "Did you hear that?" Her voice joined in on the modified song, and she made a wide pirouette into the room, dancing to imaginary music. "The gun's in my heart and I'm ready for love!"

Joker stood still for a few moments, craning his neck in annoyance as he put his gun back in his holster.

She blew a kiss at him. "Remember this, Puddin'? The rain of blood?"

"Oh, I do," he purred, grinning. He held out his hand for her, and Harley immediately latched onto him, giving him his most love-sick smile. He took a hold of her waist and they danced around the room while Frost excused himself.

Harley's eyes glazed over as the memory washed over her. She leaned into his ear and whispered: "I miss that harlequin suit. Too bad you ripped it off me."

He growled into her mouth as they waltzed around. Jaylie watched them intently from her place on the floor.

"I walk down the lane, with a happy refrain-"

Joker's darker voice joined hers. "Come on with the rain, I've got a smile on my face."

Harley quickly lost track of dancing in rhythm, and instead leaned in for a big kiss. "Let the stormy clouds chase ev'ryone from the place." Their laughter mixed together, and suddenly Jaylie tuned in.

It was the first time they had really heard her laugh. Harley reached out her hand and pulled her daughter to her feet. "Come on, Pumpkin! Show the laughing clowns!"

Jaylie's clear voice finished the song. "I'm swinging the brain against the jugular vein!"

Both her parents burst out maniacally cackling.

x

"So Batsy's been on our tracks again?" Joker walked slowly around the room.

The henchmen were assembled on their floor, some of them uneasily shifting. Frost stood on the side, eyeing Panda Man, Goat Man and some of those who had managed to survive longer.

The lower-ranked goons were frequently replaced, and Frost already knew that this was going to be a cleaning day. They were all pawns and none of them ever made it past the six-month-mark. Still they were paid well, which was necessary to keep their loyalty. Frost had made enough money to be able to buy his own Wayne Manor by now, but retiring alive from the Joker's gang was not ever an option.

Panda Man cleared his throat and spoke up. "We've been taking turns monitoring the street. No unusual activity, Boss."

Joker looked over at a group of the new-recruits, who were trying to avoid meeting his gaze. His signature smile lit up his face when he caught their nervousness.

"So no one's been here? Not even Maroni's dogs?" he asked, almost kindly.

One of them men relaxed a bit, shaking his head. "No, Boss."

Joker let his hands fall to the side in a bored gesture. "What a shame!"

Then, after a moment feigning deep thought, he called: "Harley!"

She came in through the main door, a wild smile on her face, dragging a bag behind her with one arm and a corpse in the other. Some of the new men flinched, while others kept their composure, well used to the sight.

They all watched as Harley Quinn dumped the bag on the floor, and let the corpse go. The badly beaten body of a man was put on display, still in its death throes. Harley flashed her teeth.

"Look what the kitty caught!" Joker cooed, his grin growing wider.

Harley giggled. "That's right, Mistah J!"

By now, the atmosphere in the room was uneasy. Harley looked bored now when her task was done, popping her pink bubble gum.

The Joker turned to face the lower-rank goon who had spoken to him.

He gulped. "I swear Boss, we had no idea! We kept close watch-"

"Hussssh." Joker walked closer to the man, quickly breaking his personal zone. "I know you like to keep an eye on things."

He held his arm out, expectantly, and Harley picked up an object from the bag and put it in his hand. Joker twirled the hammer in his hand for a moment, before he hit the man's forehead with a sudden, forceful movement.

The sound of the metal colliding with the skull made several men flinch, and the goon fell to the floor, gasping and grasping his face in shock. His eyes rolled back into his head and he convulsed.

Joker smoothed back his hair, carelessly dropping the hammer. "I must say, crowbars are more effective…" Harley snickered behind him.

He shrugged, then pulled out his purple switchblade and stabbed it into the upper part of the man's face, right through with one smooth movement. The man went silent. Joker withdrew the blade dripping with blood and wiped it off on the dying man's clothes before he put it back in his coat.

The other lower-ranked goons didn't move away from their dead colleague, trying to act tough. Joker turned against them, pulled out his gun and gave them all a head-shot.

"Now," he said, turning away from the dead bodies littering the floor. "Where were we?"

Frost looked neutrally at his Boss. Six new recruits needed. "Aside from this curious on-looker" – he avoided looking at Harley's victim – "we are safe. Batman has concentrated on the south-west part of Gotham lately, I have several reports confirming this fact."

Joker let the air seep out of his lungs for a long moment, while everyone waited in silence. "Good, good, can't keep the poor guy in the dark."

He readjusted his purple coat and glanced swiftly at Goat Man, Panda Man and Shark Man. They got the hint and started assembling their machine guns and costumes.

"Harley!" Joker barked, going towards the exit.

"One moment, Puddin', I just gotta put Jaylie to bed!"

Harley skipped up to the top floor and Joker grudgingly followed after. The men cleared out of the room, to prepare for whatever heist their Boss had planned for tonight, and some went back to the common room.

No one noticed the little girl slipping out from behind a stack of weapons, slipping silent like a mouse out in the open. She moved around the dead bodies that had been left behind until she finally found what she was looking for.

x

A short while later some henchmen came in to remove the dead bodies, as per usual routine. A very particular sight met them.

They stopped in their tracks, not knowing how to react. More goons noticed and gathered in the main room, curiously taking in the sight.

"We should call the Boss," one suggested warily.

Frost was about to leave the henchmen's floor when Harley came sprinting down the stairwell. "Where's Jay?"
Behind her Joker followed, looking thoroughly annoyed.

Frost glanced back at the main room where the men had gathered. Harley wasted no time pushing past him with the force of an attacking rhino. Frost followed after Joker into the main room.

The stabbed henchman was lying in the position he had been left, face-up on the floor. He was surrounded by a large puddle of blood that wasn't there before. A crimson stream was running towards the door, collecting around the other corpses.

Brain matter splattered across the puddle in big clumps, and Jaylie sat next to the man's head.

Concentrated on her task, she aimed another solid blow of the hammer in her hand, and with a crack, like breaking an egg, his skull completely opened. Her hands were covered in the substance and her dress and arms were bloody.

She used the hammer one more time, imitating the movement she had seen her father do, to let the tool sink into the brain. More tissue and blood splattered across the floor. Fragments of the skull bone was littered all around her, small sharp pieces.

When she heard the new footsteps she looked up, showing a splatter of blood on her cheek. Calmly her eyes met the onlookers as she let go of the hammer.

The room was completely silent. Harley stood still and tense, nervously biting her lip and glancing at the Joker. This was a broken rule, she knew it too well. No one made a mess in this house except Joker, and no one touched the Joker's prey. They were his and his alone unless he had chosen to share them, that was the rule.

The henchmen and Jonny Frost were frozen in place, some of them thoroughly disgusted. No one seemed to breathe for a few moments. All the attention was drawn to the volatile man in the center, whose black shoes were soaked with the blood running across the floor.

Joker slowly let out a loud cackle, growing in intensity.

"Ha! Hahaha!"

The henchmen who weren't used to his moods squirmed a little, but the tension in the room seemed to evaporate. Joker's laughter echoed between the walls, crushing the stillness. Relief flooded through Harley.

An ominous smile covered the Joker's face as he stalked over and scooped Jaylie up into his arms.

"There's Daddy's girl," he cackled, throwing her into the air, letting her fall for a bit and then catching her. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, covering the All In tattoo. "A chip of the old block!"

The henchmen silently breathed a sigh of relief as they continued with their tasks, clearing out the room in record time. Frost followed with them, needing a glass of Scotch after this pressure.

Joker glanced over at Harley with a grin. "Whaddaya say we bring her to the 'Bare it sometime?"

"Outside, Daddy?"

"Do you wanna come out and play, Princess?"

She nodded resolutely.

Harley watched with a smile, slipping into her thoughts. This was like a hazy dream. She didn't care about the past, she never had. The present was all that ever mattered, something she had learned from the man in front of her.

But she could still remember the soft flutter against her palm, the realization that something had managed to grow where acid had corroded everything, the most intimate connection with him. She vaguely remembered the heavy days in her coma, waking up to find him sitting beside her, idly listening to whatever she had said in her deep slumber, laughing at her madness that reflected his.

She remembered his dark gaze connecting with hers, and she remembered just barely wondering what she had said, what the voices had made her say to him, before she slipped away into soft darkness again. He knew about Jaylie, about J.J - before she did. The blurred dreams, the agony, the blood that shouldn't be there in the empty prison cell, all the mental images were fading away, replaced with the memory of her only living baby, that had made everything right, splendid and perfect.

Harleen's face flashed for her inner vision, staring straight at her. Is this what you wanted? Her voice was harsh, but Harley dreamily replied: "Yes, it is."

Joker looked at her when he heard her speak, and Jaylie looked too, big curious grey eyes matching her father's. Harley blinked back tears, the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Enchantress' vision was still fading on her retinas.

Before any of them could detect her mood, Harley grinned and skipped forward, kissing Joker deeply on the lips. He purred into her mouth and Harleen was fading again, back into the shadows.

.

That night, after Harley had given Jaylie a bath – she grudgingly allowed her hammer to be cleaned – she tucked her into bed. Her daughter had recently been allowed to switch her crib to a bed instead, after a lot of fussing.

Jaylie put the hammer underneath her pillow and held onto it, like another kid would hold onto a blanket. Harley kissed her nose. "Just like your father."

The girl turned to look at her. "Will I be going outside soon, Momma?"

"Puddin' said so," Harley absentmindedly answered, humming a little tune.

"I want paint on my face like you. And earrings. So they know who I am."

"I'll make you the prettiest little princess," Harley promised. "Now which nursery rhyme do you want?"

Jaylie thought for a moment before she started singing, one that the Joker had taught her:

"Who killed Cock Robin?

I, said the Sparrow,

with my bow and arrow,

I killed Cock Robin.

Who saw him die?"

He had a thing for macabre songs, indeed. Harley smiled and tuned in.

"Who caught his blood?

I, said the Fish,

with my little dish,

I caught his blood."

Jaylie finished the verse, raising a pitch above:

"Who'll dig his grave?

I, said the Bat,

with my little trowel,

I'll dig his grave."

"Goodnight, Mommy," she mumbled when she had finished, her eyelids drooping.

"'Night my little Pumpkin Pie. Mommy loves you so much."

x

x

x

The hammer quickly became Jaylie's favorite weapon. She used it to demolish or crush things she found interesting, mostly technical devices of different kinds, watches and phones Harley had collected to her. The pieces all went to the growing collection in her room, along with the toys she had, her books about hyenas and the bullets.

As her fourth birthday approached, she became more persistent about the idea of getting to leave. Ever since her experiment with the henchman, she had been allowed to walk between the different levels of the building as she pleased, but never down in the garage. The outside was still foreign, and every morning she watched the sunrise though her window.

Joker entered Jaylie's room one evening while Harley was occupied painting her nails black and pink. He had recently pierced her ears after her intense requests, and a small pink diamond was embedded in each of them. She had also made Harley draw a small "JL" on her wrist with permanent black marker, and a symbol like a diamond from a deck of playing cards underneath her left eye, in the same place where Harley had her heart.

"Hey Puddin'," Harley chirped as she put the nail polish away. "We were just finishing."

"Hurry it up, Harls."

Jaylie's eyes lit up when she saw the Joker reaching for something inside of his pocket. He pulled out a small butterfly knife with an engraved handle. He flipped it around and offered it to her.

"Thanks Daddy!" She rushed forward to accept the weapon, smiling brightly at him.

"My kid isn't gonna lack a proper knife. That's just a plain sacrilege." He grimaced as Jaylie eagerly studied the pink- and gold-engraved handle that fit perfectly in her small hand.

"I knew you'd like it, Cupcake!" Harley exclaimed, fixing her lipstick in the mirror. "I told Puddin' you couldn't go on using those stupid plastic things. How are you gonna get in a good stab with it?"

Joker huffed. "It just takes precision and some good ol' force." He smoothed his hair back, already dressed up in gold chains and silk shirt. "Now come on, so we'll get to the club before dawn."

After he left the room, Harley hurriedly went through the drawers, filled to the brim with clothes. "I got you a perfect dress for this occasion! You're going to be the prettiest!"

"The club?" Jaylie's eyes widened. She picked up her hammer out of pure reflex, keeping it close to herself.

Harley nodded eagerly. "I can't wait to show you where Daddy and Mommy goes to have fun!"

She showed her a sparkling dress with a sequin pattern, black and pink overlapping each other, with matching pink leggings and shoes. When Jaylie was dressed, she spun around in front of the mirror in her room. Harley, wearing a matching pink dress, cooed. "You're so cute I could just eat ya up!"' She used a hairpin shaped like a flower and put it in her hair, to finish the look.

When they went to meet the Joker, Jaylie asked: "What will they think of me?"

She had her new knife stashed underneath her dress, always on the lookout for Batsy and the Bad People.

Harley took a hold of her hand. "They look at you and they will see the future queen, baby."

.

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See you next time!