Goodnight Harley

This is a little different for me since I normally don't write Harley Quinn.

Character death/Romance

I wandered the streets not sure of what I was looking for, the Joker for once was not at my side, I know I was longing for something, but that something eluded me. I sighed and wiped my brow, a smudge of white face paint covered my black glove. I stared down at it and wondered once again how I had allowed my life to end up this way. Why had I let him talk me into being his lover and accomplice? I had been so completely warped by him that I couldn't see it. Couldn't realize it and I had been trained not to fall for the ideas of the insane. But I had, I was young and dumb. Batman stopped us time and time again. But we just kept killing people, ourselves a little bit every day...maybe it was time to just fade away?

I stared at Harley as she walked down the alley way I had been watching. She shambled down the way, leading her right to the danger of the thugs that were down there and she had yet to notice their presence. I waited almost to the last moment to leap down on them as they went to attack her. She just stood there grimly as I beat them. She didn't bother to try and get away like all the other times we had met in the past.

"Batman what are you staring at? I haven't done anything yet tonight."

I sighed and looked at the poor woman, a bit of her painted face was skin colored, had she been in a fight? And she was skinny as a stray cat...what was going on with Jokers right hand?

"Yet being your keyword of the night?"

She gave an almost inaudible snort of laughter, Not at all like the high laughter I was used to.

"Not really, I hadn't thought about being a bad gal tonight."

I looked at her closely, She looked fatigued and in need of something to eat.

"You look ill."

She nodded. Still she didn't look as if she would last much longer... Why was she in such a state? Was this an ill formed plan hatched by the Joker?

"Haven't eaten in a while and sleep seems to have eluded me as of last week."

I didn't know why she told me these things. Maybe the lack of sleep was affecting her mind. I almost gasped as she slumped to the ground.

"Joker isn't taking too good care of you if you're this way."

I muttered as I picked her up. She shook her head.

"He doesn't know how I have been for a week cuz I left."

I nodded and took her to the bat mobile. As I drove she drifted in and out of consciousness.

I noticed how his car smelled of sweat and blood faintly, all the wounds and things that me and Joker had done to him... Why was he willing to help one who had hurt him so much? I looked at him, strongly built and intelligent...why was he wasting all of that on being batman? I almost asked but stopped myself, it wouldn't do to have him angry at my daring.

"Where are you taking me batman?"

He sighed softly and replied;

"Somewhere so you can eat safely and sleep. don't worry I won't hurt you or turn you in."

I nodded off as he spoke. I must have been more tired than before...

I looked at Harley as I reached the bat cave... She wasn't breathing. I checked her pulse and sighed softly, pulling my mask off I sank into my chair. Dead. I was too late to help her, but why was she dead?

"Bruce?"

I looked up at him.

"Alfred..."

He looked at Harley's corpse, No she wasn't sleeping my dear friend. She was stone cold dead.

"What happened if I may?"

I shook my head;

"I haven't the faintest clue. She told me that she was having trouble sleeping this past week and that she hasn't been eating well either. I don't know what the cause of her death is just yet...I just couldn't. I don't know what to do."

He sighed at me and sat down too.

"Is he involved?"

The Joker, This was his fault. She was dead and she hadn't seen him in one week... But why hadn't she seen him in a week.

I stared at the coffin that my dear Harley was in, why had she left me? Why had she died? I looked up and saw Bruce Wayne. Why was he here? They hadn't really known each other had they? I looked back to Harley. She looked very different without her face paint on, she could be just sleeping...Dead. Died from lack of food and sleep. That was the coroner's report anyway; they had also found trace amounts of some kind of drug in her system. They didn't know what they were, wouldn't till the blood test for drugs came out. But my Harley had never partaken of drugs... No, that had been me.

"We therefore commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life."

The Priest. A holy man who the hell gave him the right to be a 'holy' man? Eternal life? Bull shit. She was gone and that was that. My Harley was dead and I still didn't know why she was gone.