THREE

I hadn't had an appointment with Dr. Quinnzel in over two months.

What was going on?

Then once, late at night, a guard knocked on my door then slid the panel back.

"Ivy." The gruff voice whispered.

I frowned as I sat up and glared at the eyes that looked back at me.

"What?"

"Dr. Quinnzel wants a word."

I paused.

It was a bit late for an appointment but she must want to talk about something important to call on me at this time of night.

I got up and stood in the middle, putting my hands behind my head.

The guard looked at me, a strange expression on his face as he slid the panel back in place and came into the room. He eyed me warily as he took my wrists and cuffed me.

"No funny business."

"She asked for me. This isn't part of some evil scheme of mine."

He only grunted as he lead me out of my cell and down the corridors. He kept looking over his shoulder and did his best to duck under the cameras.

This definitely wasn't official.

I went to move with him to go to the selected meeting rooms when he pulled me in another direction.

I frowned, instantly tensing up.

"Where are we going?" I growled.

"Dr. Quinnzel said to bring you to her office."

That only caused my frown to deepen.

"Prisoners aren't allowed in doctor's offices."

"She made an exception for you."

I ignored the warm fuzzy feeling that was growing and instead focused on where we were walking.

He stopped outside her office and unlocked my cuffs. I could tell by his body language that he was reluctant to do this and that he was clearly acting under Dr. Quinnzel's wishes.

"She's in there. I'll come back for you later."

I said nothing but stepped inside her office when the guard opened the door.

He shut it behind me and I found myself in mostly darkness until a voice rang out.

"Ivy?"

"Dr. Quinnzel?" I asked, peering into the darkness.

She flicked on a side lamp and the office was bathed in a warm glow.

I could see her now and wished that I hadn't.

"What...what happened to you?"

The doctor Quinnzel I knew was always presentable, perfect blonde hair, shining blue eyes and not a dirty smudge on that pristine white lab coat she always wore.

This version looked like she belonged here only as a patient and not a doctor.

Her hair was a mess, tangled and a little greasy where she hadn't washed it in days, her lab coat was ripped in places and had smudges on it, some a charcoal black, other stains looked mysteriously like dried blood. Her eyes were shining but not like I remember, they now shone with madness. she had bruises on her arms and legs, small cuts on her face and her whole appearance in general seemed entirely unhinged.

My heart gave a painful squeeze and I swallowed as I took a step closer to her.

"Dr. Quinnzel...what happened?" I asked again.

She stood on shaking legs and walked unsteadily towards me.

"I had to see ya, Ivy. I felt so bad about things between us."

I felt uneasy.

"Okay..."

"There's something else and I needed to tell someone and I was gonna tell my friends but then I remembered that I don't have any friends but then I remembered you and you're my friend, aren't ya, Ivy?"

Ivy frowned in confusion.

This wasn't Dr. Quinnzel and was it my imagination or had her voice slightly changed too? It sounded more high pitched, a nervous edge distorting her words.

"I guess...but Dr. Quinnzel-"

"Don't call me that anymore. I don't like that name. I'm not her...not anymore."

Then she laughed loudly and I flinched.

"Dr-Harleen-"

"Yes, mom?"

She laughed again but her eyes were wide and I didn't understand why she'd called me 'mom'. Did she think she was talking to her mother?

"Only my family-my good for nothing piece of shit family-calls me Harleen. No...not anymore. Ivy I want to be called what he calls me. It's the only name I know I want because he gave it to me, Ivy. Don't you see? He knows me."

I swallowed all the horror I felt.

I knew about Joker. About what he could do, about what he had done.

It was all too clear now; Joker had driven her mad and all it had taken was two months.

I stared levelly at her.

"What shall I call you then?" I asked calmly even though I felt anything but.

"Harley Fucking Quinn!" She crowed, loud enough for the whole damn asylum to hear.

I shushed her,

"Keep your voice down! And I'm not calling you that."

She suddenly stopped looking so pleased and frowned at me.

"You don't like it?"

"I'm not calling you 'Harley fucking Quinn.'"

"Why not?" She whined.

"Because your name literally has 'fucking' in the middle of it."

She waved a hand flippantly.

"Oh no, you don't have to call me that. Just Harley's fine."

What the hell was going on?!

I shook my head.

"So what's the plan here, Harley? You started up a romance at work with Gotham's most notorious criminal and now what?"

She beckoned me closer with a wicked looking grin.

"I'm going to help him escape."

"Dr, Quin-I mean-Harley you can't!"

"I can and then he says he's gonna come back for me and we're gonna rule Gotham together!"

I felt a deep, dark pang of sympathy for her.

Dr. Quinnzel was gone and in it's place was Joker's protege. Some twisted clown Princess. His Princess.

That thought alone made me seethe. He couldn't really like her, could he?

He was only using her to get out of Arkham. Joker used people, he didn't care about them.

I jumped when Harley suddenly grabbed me by the arms, those mad blue eyes looking up at me.

"I want ya to come with us, Iv!"

"I-I can't, Harley. It's...it doesn't feel right."

She frowned.

"He needs to get out of here, Ivy. He said he's come get me. We're gonna release em all! You need to come with me!"

She sounded way too excited about this.

I sat her back down, staring into her eyes as I noticed she was shaking under my hands.

"Harley, this is insane and I know that sounds strange coming from someone who got certified but Joker can't be trusted. He is in here for a reason."

"Yeah, I know and it sucks. He doesn't deserve to be in here! He's the most intelligent guy I know!"

"Would you listen to yourself!" I finally snapped and she stared at me.

I sighed and made my voice gentle.

"Joker is using you."

"No, no that's not true! He loves me!"

"Loves you?! Harley, the guy couldn't even love his own mother! What the hell makes you think he's capable of loving you?!"

"Because he said so!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed irritably.

"So you've gone from being the top psychiatrist in your field to delusional dumb fuck in under two months?"

"Two and a half actually." She said, folding her arms and looking indignant.

"Whatever! The point is that you can't even see what he's done to you!"

"Done to me? Ivy, I'm in love! For the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to love someone so much I'd do anything for them!"

"Would he say that about you?" I snapped.

She paused then looked at me with anger in her eyes. It actually made the blue in them a little darker.

"He doesn't have to. I know him. I know his mind. I treated him, remember?"

"Looks like he treated you." I muttered.

"We make each other better!"

"He made you worse! Look at you! You're not even close to the woman I remember from our sessions!"

"No, you're right, I'm better!"

Then a question occurred to me.

How do you stop yourself from hitting someone you might give two shits about?

Another one followed soon after that;

Why do you give two shits about this girl?

I sighed and turned away from her.

"I'm going back to my cell. I need to sleep."

"No, we need to talk about this."

"Harley..."

I stopped and then looked back at her.

"If you want to leave here with Joker then fine but I will not be a part of your twisted plan. As much as I want to get out of here, I don't want to be a third wheel to you and the clown douchebag of Gotham. I'd rather get out my own way."

My hand was on the door handle when she spoke up, her words turning my blood to ice.

"They're not going to let you out, Iv. Not Ever. I read your file. This is a life sentence for you."

A/N: David, yes this is based on the Harley Quinn adult animation with my own little twists and turns

Hope you're enjoying it.