XIV

Harley felt her heart vibrating inside of her with excitement as she got into the passenger seat of the Batmobile. Bats got in next to her and closed the hatch.

"Wow… this thing is nice," she said, impressed not just with the car, but with herself. Things were actually going exactly as she had planned. "It's different though… then the one I remember seeing on the news a few years ago."

Batman said nothing.

"Geez… it's a tank… I bet it's air-tight in here too—you could drive into the ocean and not get wet."

"Where are we going?"

"How about you let me drive?"

"Harley. Where am I going?"

"Hey, Bats?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted you to know… I wish there was another way," she broke the vile concealed in one gloved hand and in a split second she had covered her mouth with a gas mask hidden inside her hat.

She waited ten seconds to open the hatch and take the mask off. The gas acted quickly—knocking Batman unconscious, before it filtered out of the car. She clumsily hauled Batman from the driver's seat and into the passenger side. "Sorry Bats, but I really wanna drive."

The blood rushing to his head made for disorientation that much more potent than it normally would be. As his mind caught up to him, he was surprised to realise that he was still wearing his cowl, but his cap, belt and weapons were gone. He was hanging upside down, chained to the reach of a crane and dangling over about three hundred feet of clear air and then a pile of concrete rocks and rubble.

"Oh, are you awake? That's funny, that stuff usually lasts a bit longer…"

Batman groaned, "The Joker?"

"It's just you and me, Bats. Mistah J didn't know nothin' about it until I called him a few minutes ago. He should be here soon… I knew he'd want to be here to take off your mask himself."

"Why, Quinn?"

"Because, I'm sick of the game. But I don't want to fold, Bats… You started all this. Maybe you can finish it."

"You still think this is a game?"

"What would you call it?"

"Crime."

"In costume."

"You and The Joker take it to another level."

"I just follow his led… Except today. This is all me, all by my lonesome."

"Do you think he'll be proud?"

"I think he'll be happy to finally waste you… Then the two of us can settle down."

"Men like The Joker don't settle down. They keep charging until death takes them."

"…Maybe. But maybe not. I know how to read him better than anyone. He's tired. He'd never admit it, and he'd never slow down for his own good, but he wants to stop."

"You're wrong. You're wrong about so much, Quinn. The Joker is going to kill you one day. As soon as you're not useful—as soon as you screw you, he'll off you like any other hired punk he's ever owned."

"My puddin' loves me. You don't know us, Bats. This isn't the story of a helpless little innocent girl being taken in by the big scary monster—I went looking for him."

"Because you don't really understand him."

"I'm the only one who understands him."

"Harley. You've got to listen to me. I talked to Gordon about you… he's convinced you're not too far gone. He wants to help you get your real life back together—he wants to save you from The Joker. Gordon believed that you're just as much a victim of him as the other people whose lives he's destroyed. I only trusted you tonight because of what Gordon said about you. He can help you come back to yourself."

"Charming, Bats," for a fleeting second there was shadow of true regret hanging over her, "But, I'm not on your side… Gordon has sympathy for freaks. I appreciate that about him, I really do… it's a shame Mistah J will probably kill him."

Light reflected down below Batman's head. Dizzy and sick from hanging upside-down, he could barely make out the image of a car pulling into the site down below.

Harley leaned over the edge of the roof. "There's my guy… wait here," she scurried to the half-finished stairs and descended to meet him halfway down the steel and glass monstrosity.

"Wait here," he repeated her words, looking around desperate for some route of escape. He struggled against the bonds and cuffs around him, but they were secure.

Harley bounced down three floors—she could hear The Joker ascending the half-finished building below. They met each other on the third floor beside a large wall of glass that looked out towards the brightest parts of city.

"Hey, Mistah J! We've been waitin'-" Harley was cut off as the back of The Joker's hand connected with her jaw. He hit her so hard that she actually lost her balance and fell onto her knees in front of him.

"Worthless," he gathered the collar of her costume in one hand and hit her again with the other, "rubbish. Stupid girl… This doesn't require, much thought. Little clown—why would you, tiny marionette, succeed in conquering my Batman."

"No, no, no, Mistah J! You don't get it—I'm just an extension of you, ain't I? Whatever I do, it's yours—that's why I waited for ya!"

"You don't wait for me—you're never ahead of me, understand, Harlequin? The only reason I kept you around this long was because you could keep up with me—what does this mean? Why would I be happy to know that you, little girl, defeated the other side of me." He shook her—backing her into the window. The glass shuddered behind her. It was unstable; not yet properly solidified in place in the frame.

"I'm sorry, alright! I'm sorry—he's upstairs, do whatever you want—but you've got to know it was an honest mistake, I only did it cause I thought it would make you happy!"

"Enough of this," The Joker said, mostly to himself, he shoved the palm of his hand into her face and pushed her hard into the glass.

"STOP!" The glass cracked behind her, Harley's nailed were digging into his wrists, trying to pry him off of her, "STOP IT! PLEASE!"

He slammed her hard into the window again—the glass shattered this time, and with a shrill cry, Harley was hurled into the air through the storm of broken glass—toward the rubble below.

The Joker didn't even wait for her to hit the ground. He turned around and marched up the stairs, without looking back.

"Where is Quinn?" he had heard the window break and Harley's screaming—but he had to ask anyway.

"Outside," The Joker walked slowly towards Batman, "You know… I'll let you in on this. We're old friends, after all. And you deserve to know; I'm conflicted. I threw a bit of a tantrum and told the good Doctor that I wanted you dead… and uh… now, here you are." He smacked his lopsided lips, his tongue lingering for an extra second on one corner of his mouth. "See, Bats, I got over it, is the thing… I don't want you dead—but what am I supposed to do? Give you a bandage and send you home?"

He groaned, his vision was starting to fade out again from the strain of hanging upside-down for so long.

"This is a nice set-up… an opportunity that might not come up again."

"She got much closer to killing me than you ever did."

The Joker growled and flipped the knife in one hand, "Well, now I'm just not sure whether to unmask you now, or wait till you're dead."

Behind The Joker, Batman noticed a slight black figure lurking. Selina. She had come up the stairs and was moving silently towards the Batman's affects; his cape, belt and weapons.

"Cute kid… she had her tricks," he blinked, shuddered. Then he looked away from Batman's covered face for a moment, his hair falling over his blackened eyes, "We were… two peas who hated the pod. And, fair enough, she did come close." He stepped right up to the edge of the roof and leaned over so that they could look into each other eyes. He took his adversary's head in his gloved hands and pulled him close, "But, she didn't kill you. Because she couldn't. Because, no one can. Maybe, one day, I will change everything, and take your life. Maybe tonight. I will be the one to pull the proverbial lever and watch you dangle." The Joker slipped his purple fingers under the cowl…

Fun Fact: I bought a really cute pair of red and black diamond patterned tights the other day.

Song of the Chapter: Apocalyptica, "S.O.S. (Anything But Love)". For those of you who really dig Angst!Harley, this song is pretty much the pinnacle of 'angry battered girlfriend' perfection. I tried my best to make a more cannon-friendly version of her for this story, but I can understand why some people found that difficult to pull off with this newer, darker incarnation of The Joker. I dedicate this song to Angst!Harley.