This story was written by Eric Thompson, as part of The 'A Multiverse Story' Imprint set in the Custom DC Universe I've been developing. I served as editor of the work while providing the epilogue to serve as connective tissue to the Mainline Multiverse series.
On the street in the heart of the most run-down section in Gotham is a bakery. The bakery itself does steady business, but the company that operates in the back of this shop is where most of the day to day transactions take place. Dillon and his small crew let people looking for something they can't exactly get through any strictly legal means. Whether it forged documents, weapons, drugs, exotic animals, if they don't have it right now, they will get it as soon as possible. That is their guarantee. Dillon counted the cash they had made earlier this morning, Three guys from his crew were sitting over on a nearby table, playing some BlackJack with an old deck of cards that Dillon's father kept in his desk in the bakery's office.
Before anyone could react, the door that connected the back of the business alley opened, and a body was thrown from outside and landed right on the Black Jack table. The body is Joey, or instead, it was. Once the other guys sat right up and backed away, cursing out loud in surprise, Dillon could tell that there was no way Joey could survive losing that much blood. It took a few seconds, but the other guys grabbed their handguns and pistols, quickly turning around to aim them at the open door. But once they saw who was standing there, they became too intimidated to make a move. She wore black jeans and steel-toed boots. A dirty shirt sporting the logo of AC/DC covered her torso, which itself was underneath a leather jacket that was dark red, with a few spots of blood on the front. No doubt from Joey, who was still bleeding on the table, drops of blood now beginning to hit the floor. One of the woman's fingerless leather gloves held a broken baseball bat, also bloody red. Her hair tied into two pigtails, and while most of it was blonde, one pigtail had pink hair, and the other had blue. Once they saw the color of her hair, there was no denying that a celebrity had entered their domain.
But there was something off. Yes, she had killed one of their own, but that is expected from time to time. Part of the reality in everything, but she was very silent. They were expecting her to start making jokes or show off her dark yet gleeful demeanor. But her face was hard, a clear indication that she is in no mood for her usual routine. At least, that's what it seems. Being unpredictable is part of her personality, so who knows what will happen.
The woman known as Harley Quinn stepped inside, looking over at the three standing and still pointing their guns at her. She gave them a nod, like how one stranger would nod to someone they accidentally made eye contact with on the street. But her attention was focused on Dillon, who was sitting behind a desk that Harley had now approached. He remained sitting, wanting to show that he isn't as skittish as the others. But he could feel his heartbeat almost as fast as one of those old Road Runner cartoons. The two made direct eye contact, the young criminal waiting for her to make the first move.
"I need a gun," Harley said, looking down at Dillon.
"Just one?" Harley nodded in response. Dillon thought for a moment before asking, "Got anything specific in mind?" For some reason, this caused Harley to let out an annoyed groan. Pulling her broken-bat up, she brought it down with the splintered end stabbing into Dillon's desk. Putting her other hand on her hip, she suddenly looked drained.
"Look pipsqueak. I just spent the last couple days doing nothing but nonstop errands." Pulling her hand from her hip, she used her fingers to start listing all the things that she did. "I had to get groceries, fight the GCPD, go to the laundromat, set some of the Penguin's men on fire…you get the idea, right?" She looked over at the standing men, who nervously and quickly nodded. Seemingly satisfied enough, she turned back to Dillon. "I just want one big gun. I do not want to think about what type I want. Surprise me with whatever you got that is of good quality, all right?" She raised her eyebrow, putting her hand back on her hip as she looked down at Dillon.
He simply stared at her for a moment. His men looked at him, waiting for some kind of signal or motion to let them know what to do. Their leader simply turned his head and looked directly at one of them. "You heard her, Derek. Find the woman a big gun that works." A moment passed where nothing happened, the guy named Derek most likely processing the order he just heard. Once he did, he tucked his gun into the back of his pants, turned to walk towards the creates lined up against the wall. He opened one and began looking through it. The rest of them waited, Harley seemed to be rooted in thought about something. She turned her head to the other two men standing and aiming their weapons at her.
"If you had to describe me as a Disney princess, who would I be?" She asked him. The two looked at each other, then back at her. Their faces were blank, but it was clear they've thrown off guard. When several moments passed, Dillon slammed his hand on his desk.
"Answer her!" He yelled at them. "Are you deaf! What kind of Disney princess is she?" That seemed to be enough to get one of them to cough and clear his throat before responding.
"Well, uh…I would have to say…Mulan." Harley tilted her head, which got the guy scrambling and stuttering a bit before forming his explanation. "I know she isn't tech-technically a princess or whatever. But I mean–she's badass! She fought those Mongols like a pro! Those were Mongols they were fighting in the film, right?" He asked the other guy who stood next to him. He simply shrugged and gave a nod that seemed to say he was pretty sure they were. He turned back to their guest to continue. "She managed to fool an entire army about her identity and became like a national hero. But that doesn't mean she is like just a fighting robot. She has feelings; she can be vulnerable. So…yea, I guess you do remind me of Mulan a bit." He finished his explanation, lowering his gun towards the ground.
Harley raised her baseball bat, pointing the broken end at the guy who had just spoken. She gave a grin at him, nodding her head. "You're a perceptive one, aren't you?" The guy simply nodded in response, admittedly a little pleased that she seemed to take a liking to him. She turned her head back to Dillon, still pointing her bat at the other guy. "If you let anything happen to him, I will come back and do to you what I did to Phil. Wait…do you know Phil?" Dillon thought for a moment but ended up shaking his head. Harley shrugged her shoulders and lowered her bat. "Well, I think you still get the idea." By the time she had finished talking, Derek had come back up, holding an AK-47, handing it over to their visitor. Dropping her bat, she grabbed it with both hands.
"You know, I don't think I ever held one of these before." Aiming it at the ground, she held it with both hands and examined it as carefully as possible. "I feel like an old school Ice Cube. Unfortunately, though, I don't think today will be a good day. But it should still end on a good note if everything goes well. Fingers crossed!" She held up crossed fingers, looking at Dillon, who did the same things back. Then, she reached over the desk without warning and grabbed him by the collar, slamming her forehead right into his face. Based on the crunch, it would be a safe guess to say that she broke his nose. The other guys held their guns back up, but Dillon held up a hand at them, letting them know to hold their fire. Even though they had her outnumbered, to be truthful, he didn't like their chances going up against someone like Harley Quinn. Managing to open his eyes back up, he saw the barely concealed anger in her eyes.
"You don't tell ANYONE I was here, okay? Not GCPD, not some curious customer who is making small talk, and especially not fucking HIM – got it?!" She practically screamed those last few words at him. Dillon didn't need clarification on who she was referring to; they all knew what she meant when she said that. He nodded at her. She kept holding him for a moment longer before finally letting go and watch him fall back to his chair, holding his face. She let out a deep breath, held her new gun with one hand, and turned towards the other people in the room. "So, I don't exactly have any cash on me, so that won't be the exchange. But I will give you a warning. For the last five blocks, I've been followed, most likely by an undercover cop or detective. So, sorry about that." Harley gave a sheepish grin and shrugged her shoulders in embarrassment. "Don't worry; our confrontation will be right in the alley right there." She pointed towards the door she walked through minutes ago. "But I will make sure that whoever tracked me won't enter your little business. But I would suggest that you should try and hide everything to be on the safe side. At least, in a way where they would still need a warrant before looking for anything. Good? Yea, we're good." Harley waved goodbye and walked right back up to the door and closed it behind her, no doubt the last image of her they will have.
She walked right in the middle of the alley, stood next to her motorcycle. She turned around to meet the eyes of the detective who had been trailing her. Montoya, pulled her gun out of her holster and aimed it at Harley, but kept her distance as she noticed Quinn's AK in her hand. "Come on, Harley. Let's not go through this."
"Through what detective?" Harley asked, trying to be naïve.
"You start firing to throw me off balance, I fire back, and we keep trying to get closer to shoot one another point-blank. Then we get in a fistfight. Just surrender right now, and we can go peacefully down to the station. Who knows? You might even get a furnished room." Montoya studied Harley, trying to pick up on any warning signs based on her stance or posture. Harley looked down on the ground, pressing her free hand against her lower back. The gun was still in her hand, but Montoya made no effort to creep up on her. She knew just how quick she is, to make any sudden move would be suicide for someone like her. But eventually, Quinn shrugged her shoulders and dropped the gun. She used one of her boots to kick it to the side.
Montoya, for a split second, did nothing. Surprised that worked with someone like her. "You made the smart decision." Harley nodded in agreement, obviously waiting for Montoya to move closer. The detective put her gun back in her holster, reaching to grab some handcuffs as she slowly approached the woman running from basically everyone in town. But when she got closer, she realized the hard way that Harley has no intention of stopping. The hand pressed against Harley's back came forward, holding a long knife in her hand and stabbed Montoya in the stomach. Gasping in more shock than pain, she dropped her handcuffs on the ground. She almost followed them herself, but Harley grabbed onto the detective. She first grabbed Montoya's gun, throwing it to the side. She then started carrying/walking Montoya to the street, where her car is parked.
"It's nothing personal, doll," Harley explained. "But I can't let anyone follow me. I mean, did everyone suddenly forget that it's wrong and creepy to stalk a woman? Sorry, I make lazy jokes when most of my energy gets spent trying to support someone physically." Harley sat Montoya down on the ground, her back resting against her car. Harley felt her for any secret weapons on her body.
"Harley…what's your endgame?" Montoya pressed one of her hands against the wound to try and stop it from bleeding. Her white buttoned shirt was quickly turning red, her hand barely keeping the worst of it inside her body. Harley found Montoya's phone, dialed, and put it to her ear.
"Hey, 911! Man, I don't think I ever made one of these before. Oh, yea, so I just stabbed a police officer, we are…" Harley stood up to look over the car. "…right across from the condemned community center. Yea, that's the one. I would love to stay with her, but since I will get arrested, I should leave. Okay, thanks, bye!" She hung up and placed the phone in Montoya's hand. "Just keep putting pressure on it, they will be here really fast. Like, I need to leave now fast!" Before Montoya could muster the energy to grab onto Harley, she had already sprinted back down the alley and hopped on her motorcycle. Revving it up, Montoya watched her drive off, the sun beginning to set and shroud the city in darkness.
Stars shine down on the dark city of Gotham. A city full of crime and vengeance was even more chaotic tonight. A great battle had waged, one that nearly destroyed the city and its fearsome protectors. One of those protectors was kneeling, staring down at a large bookstore. Her red hair was being blown behind her by the wind. She used her goggles to scan the building, seeing if anyone had stayed behind after locking it up. Once the initial scan was complete, Batwoman soared down and landed on top of the bookstore. She found a panel on the roof to disable the alarm system before opening one of the windows on top and quietly landed inside, crouching down and braced herself as she fell expertly on the carpeted floor.
Slowly standing up, she pressed a finger against the side of her cowl. Bringing up virtual copies of police reports, she scanned them until she found the one she was looking for, Harley had been keeping herself busy the last few days, hitting dozens of people and locations with seemingly no rhyme or reason. GCPD thought they could predict where she would strike next, but Kate could tell that they were struggling just to keep up. She walked around the store, going down the aisles the report said Harley had visited. For some reason, Quinn had broken into the store after it closed, tearing books from various shelves and sections, confirmed by fingerprint analysis and video footage. The report mentioned that she took the money from the registers, but Kate suspected that wasn't the main reason why Harley dropped by. She checked the sections that the footage showed Harley spent the most time in. Mystery novels, biographies, religious books, seemingly random and nonsensical. No doubt the officer who wrote up the report didn't overthink it, chalking it up to it just being Harley. While the footage seemed to indicate that, Kate wanted to go inside to confirm a suspicion she had.
Looking up at the camera, she took note of how they were positioned and aimed it. Bringing up the footage through her cowl, she pinpointed a spot a blind spot in the store. Walking over to it, it was a travel section. Everything seemed perfectly normal, no mention from the report regarding this section; Harley must have known this. Walking down the aisle, she looked on either side, trying to spot something out of place. Something that most people probably overlooked. She stopped when noticing a book on top of a bunch of other books, almost hidden within the shelves. Crouching, Kate reached out and pulled out the book. It was an atlas precisely mapping out Gotham and the surrounding area and landmarks. She flipped through the book, trying to find handwriting or to see if anything stood out. Kate stopped on a page talking about a stretch of natural forest that has been virtually left untouched.
'Why am I looking at this?' The thought popped up as Kate stood back up, examining the page. Maybe Harley isn't planning on doing some sort of big ambush or surprise attack. If this is up to date, this could be something of a memorial spot that Harley would use to grieve. It's possible. Everything she has done could have been a diversion to get everyone focused on trying to find her in Gotham. This stretch of forest was a reasonable distance outside of the city limits. But she felt like she needed more—something to confirm this hunch.
Taking her grappling hook out, she aimed it towards the ceiling where she came through. Pulling herself back up, she closed her entrance and turned the alarm for the store back on. She walked towards the edge of the bookstore's roof, trying to find anything nearby that could have been visited by Harley that the police never picked up on. Using her cowl, she attempted to access the footage from any public cameras going back in the past three days. She used fast forward, trying to see if there was anything out of place or someone that shouldn't-
She paused the footage. It was on the day Harley had broken in, about an hour before the store closed. She could see Harley across the street. It was her disguise, looking like a woman from an old black and white noir film. Maybe enough to fool someone merely walking by in broad daylight, but Kate could still pick her out. She was standing in front of a flower stand. She was holding a rose in her hand, and the footage was paused on her smelling it. There's my proof. Her cowl showed that she was getting an incoming call. Answering it, she walked away from the edge of the roof.
"Anything to report?" It was Bruce's voice that was coming through on the other end.
"No current activity. But I got a lead that I need to chase down. I think I know where Harley might be going. Somewhere outside of city limits."
"I need you here."
"You have Robin, Nightwing – Hell; you have everyone else. I need to chase this down. I know I'm right." There was silence on the other end. Not very long at all, but for Bruce, it felt like the longest he had to think for something like this.
"Fine. But make it quick. I want you back as soon as you are finished."
"Understood. I'll head out now." Kate hung up. She soared down to the street, running across to the alley across, jumping on her bike, and quickly started it up and went shooting down the road. Getting onto a highway, she didn't stay on it long before veering off-road and going cross country in pursuit.
The branch underneath Harley's boot snapped in half. She heard a few critters scurrying about in the bushes. Harley kept walking more in-depth into the forest, looking for just the right spot. Unzipping her red leather jacket, she reached inside and pulled out the rose she had gotten from the flower stand the other day. Ducking under some low hanging branches, she came across a spot that got her to grin a little bit. It was just a small patch of grass, but the trees surrounding it almost made a perfect circle. And there was enough of an opening up above where, if it was daytime, Harley could see sunlight beaming down and illuminating this small patch. But there was light coming from the moon, which in her opinion worked even better.
"All right. Let's give this a shot. No pressure, just do your best." She gently spoke to the rose she held in her hand. Walking forward and getting on her knees, she put the rose on the ground, trying to put it in what she thought was the exact middle.
"I'M BORED!" Harley exclaimed. She was in a hammock very high off the ground, and she could practically touch the top of the greenhouse they were in; Ivy was down below, gently pouring some water for some tulips.
"I told you that you wouldn't be able to do much here!" Ivy stood straight up, her head turning upwards to try and spy Harley. "You can leave, do something, and come back later."
"Do you know what happens…" Harley rolled out of her hammock, managing to grab onto the branch of a tree, swinging herself towards another tree, this one on a lower limb. Then, she simply dropped down in front of Ivy, standing up and smiling at her "…when pretty women are left alone in a mean city like this?" Smiling back at Harley, she cupped her cheek and moved forward to kiss her lips softly. Harley grabbed onto Ivy's lips as she kissed back, giggling a little bit as they did.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Ivy pulled her lips away. "Why must you always interrupt a perfectly good moment?"
"I just thought of an excellent joke. Racist as shit but still hilarious. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No, but I think killing people could technically makes you one."
"One time!" Ivy raised her eyebrows in a look that asked Harley if she was fucking serious. Looking down on the ground, Harley mumbled, "Okay, lots of times." After a moment, she looked back up at Ivy as she took a couple of steps backward out of Harley's hands. Kneeling, she gently picked a rose and held it in her hand.
"Since we are on the subject. If you are ever in trouble and need me, find something like a flower and talk to it. I will hear it through The Green, and I'll be able to track you down. I'll always be part of The Green, so don't worry about me missing a call."
"Will this work for booty calls?" Ivy smirked and put her hand on Harley's face, gently pushing her away. Harley laughed as she fell on the ground, Ivy standing over her. Eventually, she gave in and joined her on the ground, laying down beside her and just held her hand.
"I hope you're hearing me, pretty lady." Harley felt a tear roll down her cheek. "You said you would always be connected to The Green, so I should talk to something that has Chlorophyll. So, here I am. I'm seriously hoping that somehow you let your mind wander into this green or whatever just before you stopped breathing. So if you did, please come and join me here." Harley closed her eyes, trying to stop herself from crying too much. As she did so, some vines began rising from the ground.
Kate parked her bike and looked towards the edge of the forest. According to the image of the atlas, this is the correct spot that her cowl was comparing to the coordinates. But before she could step into the forest, she felt something hit her neck. Reaching up to grab it, she pulled and found herself looking at a dart. No, it was two. Then it was just one. Suddenly, Kate dropped down onto one knee. She tried to fight the grogginess she was feeling, focusing on trying to get herself to stand back up. But it didn't seem to matter how hard she fought it. Suddenly, she saw two feet pointing right at her body. She slowly tried to pick her head up and keep her eyes open to see who was approaching her. But before she could get a visual, she felt herself get punched and knocked out, the drug inside her body, making sure she stayed blacked out while the stranger walked into the forest.
"Harley…" The blonde kneeling down quickly opened her eyes and looked upwards. Unfortunately, it was not who she called for, Swamp Thing towered over her, looking down at her. There was something about how he looked at her with his nonhuman eyes that seemed…comforting in an odd way. But whatever feeling she initially felt quickly turned to anger, as Quinn gritted her teeth and stood up, her hands hardening into fists.
"I want Red! Where is Ivy?!" She demanded. "I don't know how your precious Green works, but I know it brought you back to life. So, have it do the same for Ivy!" She yelled without a care, all of her anger directed at the Guardian of The Green. He let her continue to scream and be angry. Because he knew it wasn't him she was truly angry with.
"Pamela…is dead. I can't feel her anymore." Harley continued gritting her teeth and stared at him with furious intensity. "Even if she was in here…I don't think I can bring her back. The scientist who once died in the swamp…the scientist whose memories I have is still dead. I am not him. I just copied his mind. There are those whose minds are in The Green, but they were born human, like Pamela, and can't come back. The Green is their resting place. But, I don't feel her presence among them."
Harley continued gritting her teeth, but tears were now rolling down her face. Slowly, her anger turned to grief. Ivy was gone. The full weight and realization were now hitting her like an anvil. She covered her face and sobbed loudly. She heard Swamp Thing say something else, but she no longer cared. Probably his sympathies. Useless sympathies, nothing that can bring Red back. She felt his body shrink and disappear into the ground, leaving her alone. Lost in her tears and sadness, she didn't even feel the drug dart hither and inject them into her system. She fell to the ground. Her half-open eyes stared at the rose she had put into the ground. She thought of Ivy, hallucinated that she was back in the greenhouse lying next to her. She imagined Red turning her head to smile at her. Harley smiled back at nothing as her eyes fully closed and lost consciousness.
The stranger walked towards her body. His hand reached up to his helmet, tapping the button on its side to turn his radio on. "She's out."
"Good. Bring Quinn to the rendezvous point. Flagg will pick you up in exactly one hour. Don't be late, Lawton."
"Come on, Waller. Don't you trust me by this point?" He got down and picked Harley up, throwing her over his shoulder.
"I don't trust anyone. But I make sure to have my assurances. Now hurry up. I want Quinzel ready for your squad's next mission." Waller then cut off the line of communication.
"Yes, Ma'am," Deadshot muttered to himself as he carried Harley Quinn over his shoulders, out of the forest the same way he came in. The rose remained on the ground in that little patch. Where it will soon wilt away and die, but Harley's memories will always remain.
Epilogue
Six Months pass. The rose remained, showing some age but still going strong and healthy. Footsteps began making its way through the field of grass before stopping in front of the rose.
A gloved hand lowered an open palm to it, a small bubble forming around the rose before lifting it, and the dirt that contained the soil, up from the ground.
"We've secured it, milord."
"Very well, return to the ship, better hurry though, when it comes to this universe, sensory detection tends to be the dominant norm here, especially in Gotham."
Five Months Later, Harleen Quinzel, or more known by everyone as Harley Quinn, was busy planting red and black-painted flowers on a gravestone.
She had been in the Suicide Squad for about eleven months. She hadn't any desire to escape. There was nowhere and no one to go to.
Not since...not since Pretty Girl died.
As part of the agreement in joining, Harley wanted to visit Gotham on this particular day of the year, and every year after.
She still remembers. When Joker killed her, during The War of Gotham, it was all stupid, one big joke; all just a big joke…
She still remembered her blood spilling into her arms as she held her.
She still remembered Pretty Girl's dying gasps.
She still remembered…everything.
The only person that ever gave a shit about her and genuinely wanted to help her. Poison Ivy.
Harley had a stray tear stubbornly escape her eyes, dripping down onto the flower bouquet.
In her emotional state, she never did notice the flying monitor watching her.
"I am truly sorry for your loss."
Harley whipped around, pulling out her signature baseball bat strapped to her back into her hands.
A Monitor was in front of her, staring at her.
"Uh, you loss shiny blue-eyed ball?"
The monitor moved away from her a little bit before projecting a holographic image of a hooded man.
"Harley Quinn, you have endured so much pain in your young life, abusive relationships, parental abandonment, the death of a loved one. I'm here to take it all away." The figure spoke to her.
Harley raised her brow, skepticism clear on her face, "Yeah, not interested, the last guy I had put a bullet through Pretty Girl's chest."
"Ahh, Pretty Girl, Ivy right? Well, I'm not offering myself to ease your pain, no. My offer is simple, join me in my future war across all of reality, and help me win, I will grant you the revival of one Pamela Lillian Isley, or as you know her, Poison Ivy."
Harley's eyes widened at the offer, so in shock that she dropped her bat, kneels almost buckling, mouthing, "Please, I'll do anything for her."
"Yes, I know, you've tried before and failed," Harley winced at the memory, "Cheating death is a mighty achievement, but I have studied this universe many times, and I've seen the end to be more of a suggestion, I've cheated death many times. Poison Ivy's demise at The Joker's hands was not her destiny once upon a time. Once again this fluid universe has upset the balance of history,"
The hooded figure raised his hands to the robe headpiece's edges to lower it down, revealing his face, "I am the one who will break the cycle."
Harley had a hard time understanding the actual fuck he was going on, "Uhh, sure. Look, what is it that you need me to do, Red was my only reason to keep going in life if you can bring her back, I'll do anything you ask, so long as you bring her back to me."
Lord Eric's Hologram nodded, the monitor ejecting a device from underneath its eye, "The war that is to come will require your...creative ideas, as such, use this device. It will help with your first task."
Harley Quinn took the device, holding it in her palms, "What's this for?"
The Hologram answered her question, "The freedom of The Suicide Squad."
TO BE CONTINUED IN MULTIVERSE BOOK I: THE INFINITE UNIVERSE CRISIS, HIS DARK DESIGNS!