Epilogue – Started A Joke

"Come on. You're six foot four; she's a tiny little girl." The guardsman declared to his subordinate. Harley giggled. His wrist had broken so easily though.

She pouted pretty, asked the pretty man for a quarter for the jukebox. Needed some music for the circus. He'd tried to tell her no. Only one man told her no. So she'd broken his wrist and then the others had backed her into a corner like she was a small thing but her laughter stated otherwise. Made her bigger. Made her dangerous. Like he did.

The world flashed candy colours again, her mind tumbling memories. She was strapped down, a green haired prince admiring her pearls. Then there was pain, something through her nose like acid but not acid. Pudding flavours. Where was her puddin'?

"Miss Quinzel. Miss Quinzel." A stern, womanly voice called her back and with a deep breath the candy hues flickered away. Harley looked around. Wrong side of the table.

Her eyes fixed on the older lady. She glared. Ignored the questions, the words. She didn't want a hotel stay, she wanted home. She wanted her puddin'.

"She's unresponsive again today." The doctor declared, a bolt of irritation striking through Quinzel. How dare they assign someone so useless to her? Wasn't even going to put the effort in to even give a half-assed attempt at pulling the mess apart and making something out of it.

"Givin' up so soon doc? No wonder Arkham never hired you!" She cried out, launching forward the minute she was uncuffed from the table. They didn't see the missing pen when they pulled her off the woman.

Laughing as she was dragged back to her cell, it was a relatively normal hotel room with bars to lean against and play on. But there were signs this place was something else. The extra guards, the lack of any words or symbols anywhere giving away what the building was or where it was. And the other cells. There were ones designed to hold the other crazies in. Those colourful characters she would have itched to pull apart and analyse once upon a time. This was some place special. Some place new.

It was also some place dull.

"I'm bored." She complained to the two men that remained from her escort. She pouted and one of them rolled his eyes and ignored her. But the other man, he had that look in his eyes. That one she knew how to play all too well. "Won't you play a game? I'm bored." Harley pouted again, leaning through the bars and reaching out to the man that was humouring her.

A wide grin as he got closer, closer. Close enough. A magic trick as the pen disappeared and he screamed and clutched his eye. She laughed making short work of the other guard as he made his way into her cell. She skipped down the hall, prancing from window to window with a delighted laugh before something hit her in the back and the black shadows battled with the cotton candy colours until she dropped to the floor.

When she woke up she had a new room. Penthouse sweet. A cell in the middle of a rather open area with more guards. Her mattress on the floor. If Joker was here he'd be sour at the game. They hadn't even given her a new mattress. All these precautions and they were too stupid to give her a new freakin' mattress. How was she still locked up?

Coyly she played along the rest of the day, through the next. Again and again until on the third when the lunch bell rang. Class was out, in came the good little boys. Mr In Charge wasn't there today. But she wanted his attention. Had to thank him for the pudding.

"Morning boys." She greeted as they prepared themselves to grab her, unassuming sitting in the middle of her cell atop the mattress. The mattress with the tear, the hiding place of all her treasures. Carnival music played. One, two, three, four, five. A full hand, she wanted to keep playing but someone ended the game with a final jolt that flickered a memory through her skull. The next time she woke up all she had left were the rags of her clothes and a tattered sheet. They'd built another cage around her cage. How was she getting home now?

He'd eluded Bats. Disappeared time and again, continuing his game of cat and mouse. But the fun had been drained out of it. Out of gift baskets, out of theme parks. Punchlines were drab, chaos tasteless. Everyone saw he was on edge. His men were more cautious of him than ever. He was on a hair-trigger.

Lying back on his throne he glanced to the door as he heard laughter from beyond. It wasn't hers though. Where was Harley?

She hadn't shown up in Arkham, Blackgate. None of the usual places. They'd taken her somewhere else. Somewhere he'd never heard of. Somewhere he couldn't find her. He shouldn't care, it shouldn't matter. He was finally free of her. Free of this poison, red and blue toxin in his veins.

But he did care. That bolt of irritation, a snarl in the back of his throat every time the thought occurred to him. At the edges of his mind there was acknowledgement somewhere. An unwanted visitor as he dug the knife into his arm rest, the one that had been fished out from where she had disappeared. Frost knew that look on his boss' face.

"Sir." He answered obediently. Joker was going hunting. He couldn't work on his routine like this; and with what Batman had done lately; he wanted to make sure he put on a good show. One that Gotham would never forget.

"Find her." Was Joker's warning growl before he disappeared. He'd move to his next safe house soon. For now he was stuck in a violent trance as haunting laughter split through his mind. Doctor Quinzel. Stupid little girl falling in the dark because he'd led her down into it. He'd intended to leave her there. But she'd become something so much more; she made a home in his darkness. He'd started a joke, one that he'd played on himself.

((A/N: I was tempted to try and work this into something longer because it is the shortest thing I've written for a story but I think it's time to finish and shelve this one. Sorry for dropping the ball on this and the last chapter. Things just got crazy, and well, that's not stopping. Which is the reason I try to finish things before I actually start posting so I have plenty of time to fine tune as I go in case life happens. Ah well, next time. Still happy with the start of it. Maybe one day I'll rework it, maybe not. Tempted to do a one-shot for an idea I have about a conversation with Batman and Joker but that might have to wait.

Hope the mess isn't so bad this wasn't enjoyable. Thanks all to those who have commented, added to favourites, and followed. Constructive criticism is still cherished, and thank you for joining me.))