Full Moon Knights
Chapter 6: Secrets All Around; a Magpie in the Night
Late at Night
Warehouse District
Deep within the abandoned warehouse districts, something afoul was happening. Through one of the windows, flashes of light were shining through, indicating someone was going crazy with the power lines. Inside, there was groans of agony and pain, and definitely from a male's voice, as sparks of electricity were heard. The source of the groans was from a Caucasian man in his thirties, balding and round, dressed as some sort of scientific tech head doctor. He was latched to a chair with a strange helmet-like headband delivering shock after shock of electricity, as his eyes were rolling in the back of his head. And he wasn't alone either, as someone stood by and watched.
Standing seven feet from him was a Caucasian woman in her twenties, with fair skin, a slender body to die for, black fingernails, with white shoulder length hair, and black makeup around her dark eyes to make it look like she had a mask on her face. She was sporting a black leather outfit with a bustier with a netlike top covering the rest, black leather tight hot pants, thigh length high heel leather boots with a black pantyhose, shoulder length fingerless leather gloves, and neck feathers giving her the appearance of a bird.
The lady smiled, as she rested her left hand on her left hip, smirking at the scene, "That's it, Joe. Just a little longer."
And then finally, the machine whirred down and stopped shocking the man. He finally collapsed on the floor in a heap, exhausted from what had happened to him. The lady then gently took the headband off the man, and stared at it, mesmerized, as she went wide eye, and smiled, "Shiny, shiny."
But she stopped, as she turned her attention to a stapler left on the ground, as she put the headband away. She immediately slipped on over, and picked it up, reading the shiny copper label on it, which read PROPERTY OF MISKATONIC PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. She frowned at the name for reasons unknown to her, but bagged it anyway in a white hand satchel to where she placed the band for safekeeping. Once she was done, she bolted out of there; the sounds of high heels following her as she was running for a climbing rope she had used earlier to break in.
And she would have made it, if not for a gray hind leg foot kicking her, sending her flying into a crate. However, she successfully back flipped up on it, recovering rather gracefully, as she looked to see who… or in this case, what had kicked her. There, coming out of the shadows was Alpha himself.
The lady frowned, as she shot out, "Hey. You just hit a girl!"
"Hardly. I just hit a crook," Alpha stated, as he walked over to her position. "You know, you've been giving me quite a run. It was weeks ago when I heard about a thief that was stealing from six warehouses. There was plenty of cash in the vaults, but all that was stone was high-tech electronics. Don't get me wrong, cash is easy, but tech like that is worth millions."
The lady perked up a bit, as she crouched on the crates, looking down at the Wolfman, "Really? Millions? I only stole them because the way they sparkled in my eyes." It was her turn to make small talk, "Though, I gotta say. I heard rumors about a man dressed up like some wolf. I thought it was some Batman lookalike, but you're something else, Mr.? Wolfman, maybe?"
"It's Alpha, actually," Alpha corrected.
"Ooooh, Alpha. Like the Alpha Male bit," the lady smirked. "Name's Magpie." She then saw Alpha's armor, and seemed entranced by it, as she hopped down to his feet, and then circled him, while tracing her fingers on his armor. It made him flinch a little, which caused her to smile, "Oooh, nice armor. Shiny, shiny." She then gently smoothed her hands across the surface of the back, as she asked, "Can I have all of it?"
Alpha turned to face her, as he maintained his fierce exterior, "Sorry, but I'm still wearing it."
"I don't mind a male striptease," Magpie teased. "If you take yours off, I'll take mine. It'll be even stevens."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Alpha replied, as he pulled out a pair of cuffs. "How about a shiny pair of bracelets instead?"
Magpie mockingly thought it over, and shook her head, "Hmmm, no thanks."
But then she backed away, as she balled her hands up, and shot them at the sides. Once that happened, her fingernails extended into three feet sharp black claws, and then attacked him. She charged at him, slashing at him with her claws at first, and then attempted a roundhouse kick. But he caught her ankle before her heel connected with his face, and threw her back. She landed back on her feet, as she smirked at him, "Oooh, agile as well as powerful. I like'em like this." She then waved off, "Sorry, Alpha. But this birdie's gotta fly."
She then slashed at some nearby ropes, which held up crates above Alpha. He saw it in time, dodging out of the way, and looked to go after Magpie. However, when the dust settled, she was gone, as was her satchel… and his cuffs. He huffed, as he groaned, "What is it with this town and guys like me and them?"
At the moment, he rushed back into the office, and saw the same man down and out. He knelt down, as he gently asked, as the man came two, "Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah, I think so," the man sighed.
"Do you know why Magpie came here," he interrogated. The man shook his head in a negative, and then Alpha asked, "Can you tell me who you are?"
"I… I…" the man tried to say, but he came blank, as he rubbed his head, "I don't remember…"
The Next Morning
Talbot Hall
Kitchen
Everyone was down at for breakfast, with Mikey stopping by to pick up a meal. Jean was working at the stove, wearing an apron, as the TV was turned to a morning showing of the WB show, Angel. At that moment, Mikey walked in to greet everyone, as he waved, "Hey, guys."
Jean whipped around, as she flipped a flapjack, and smiled, "Oh, good morning, Mikey. I see you're here for breakfast."
"You know it, as well as to give Peter and Harley a lift back into town," Mikey replied, as he pulled up a chair next to the Conundrum… who eyeballed Mikey's camera. Mikey saw it, and gently scooted from him, being weary of what would happen. He then cleared his throat, as Queenie passed him a mug of coffee, "I just got back from the Pretty Dolls Parlor and boy is it a mess down there."
Big T swallowed his breakfast, as he gulped, "Funny how you make it in time for her breakfasts and are late every when she's not cooking."
Mikey arched an eyebrow, as he half-smirked, "Are you implying I favor Jean's cooking over the others?"
"Oh no, I'm just implying you have rather unusual timing for someone who works until early morning every night whenever someone else does the cooking," Big T stated. It was obvious he was clearly implying that Mikey disliked the other tenants cooking without saying it. Though no one else seemed to mind, especially Goat Boy and the Conundrum.
"Now guys, its breakfast time," Jean halted, as she got between them with a warm smile. "You should eat up before it gets warm." The two gave each other a friendly glare before noticing that Jean was almost ready for them, by calmingly looking at the two. Her eye-contact made them stop and enjoy eating.
Big T held up a forkload of pancakes, as he nodded, "Another great breakfast Jean. I never get tired of this cooking!"
"Indeed," Queenie said, as she got up to clean her plate. "It's much better than what was served at the circus."
Jean smiled at the comments she was given, "Thanks everyone." But then she looked to see Harley's spot empty. "Does anyone know if Harley's up yet?"
"Right here, Jeanie," Harley replied, as she walked in dressed for her job at the therapy center. She looked rather professional, as she was dressed in a black pencil skirt, red button up shirt a matching black jacket, black pantyhose, and matching red high heels. Her hair was gone in an upper ponytail, while it was stylized in shoulder-length hair, with her glasses in hand. "Good morning."
"Oh Harley," Queenie replied, as she walked over to Harley, and pulled her into a hug. "We all heard what happened to you yesterday. It must have been horrifying, you poor dear!"
Harley painfully wheezed out, "It was a new experience, I'll say that much. Thanks for the concern Queenie," but she lightly tapped the shoulder, as she cried out in a wheeze, "… can't… breathe!"
Queenie realized this, and let go. "Sorry."
Jean smiled, as she readied another plate of flapjacks, "Good morning, Harley. Ready for some breakfast?"
Harley smirked, as she forked a piece from the plate Jean made, "Don't mind if I do." She plopped it in her mouth, as she tasted it, and immediately shivered, as she hummed a satisfied reaction. "This is great, Jean!"
"Thank you," Jean smiled, but then looked to her in concern, as she asked. "But are you all right from last night? Everyone was so worried about you."
Harley tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her left ear, as she shrugged, "Yeah I'm all right, thanks to-"
Suddenly, the broadcast that was on was changed to a news report, as it was announced to everyone, getting everyone's attention. "We interrupt our regular scheduled programming to bring you a special announcement." The news reporter was a Hispanic tanned man in his thirties, semi-curly black hair, and was wearing a blue business suit, as he sat in place reading the news, "This is Carl Chuck Gumbe, giving you the latest report on the Pyg and Toad incident. There has been an important update on the Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad incident. Professor Pyg's hideout was discovered to be at the Pretty Dolls Parlor. We go now to Vicki Vale live on the scene."
The scene then changed to downtown near the Pretty Dolls Parlor, to which the cops were currently investigating the scene. On camera, the reporter Vicki Vale was on the scene. She was a young Caucasian woman of her twenties, pretty, slim figure with medium long auburn hair tied in a ponytail in the back with a bang hanging loose on her right side, and green eyes. She was dressed in an aquamarine green button shirt, black pencil skirt, and high heels.
"Thanks, Carl," the woman smiled, as she looked at the camera. She was standing outside of the Pretty Dolls Parlor as police had quarantined the scene. "This is Vicki Vale of Channel 6 News in Everett. I'm outside the Pretty Dolls Parlor which was discovered to be the hideout of Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad who recently kidnapped Simon Stagg, the owner of Stagg Industries. Last night, the SCU discovered the whereabouts of Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad and found a large number of people kidnapped by the eco-terrorists inside, including Simon Stagg, and a large amount of people who look as though they were put through some kind of surgical process that left them dead. The Special Crimes Unit, or SCU, are continuing their investigations inside the store, but unfortunately Pyg and Toad were nowhere to be found by the time they arrived. The people who were kidnapped all claim that the vigilante werewolf going by the name Alpha was the only reason they are alive right now."
She then walked over to Chief Rojas who was overlooking the scene, with a serious face, and a stern glare. "With me now is Chief of Police in Everett, Angel Rojas." She then got his full attention, as she gently pointed the mic to him, as she began interview. "Chief Rojas, how were you able to discover he location of the eco-terrorists hideout?"
"The kidnappers' location was found thanks to the hard work of Everett's finest men and woman in the police department along with the help of citizens of Everett who reported seeing Pyg and Toad in the area," Chief Rojas answered. "The citizens found in the basement of the parlor and are currently under the best of care at Everett General under police protection to ensure that they are not kidnapped again. Although Pyg and Toad escaped, they won't do it a second time if they appear again."
"That's good to know Chief, hopefully they make a speedy recovery," Vicki replied, but then the questions came up. "What of the citizens saying that the vigilante known as Alpha was the one who saved them from Pyg and Toad? Is there any truth in the reports that the vigilante is an actually werewolf?"
"Has anyone ever seen this Werewolf vigilante," Rojas asked. The answer was just a bunch of silent mutters and blank faces, indicating that not one of them ever saw him. Then Rojas cleared up the silence, as he quoted the last part, "That's because these werewolves are nothing but urban legends. They're just a bunch of nuts wearing fur suits and masks. Though if they are real, in person and/or monsters, I'll personally have all these monsters locked up. Whether human or freak, anyone who takes the law in their own hands is a vigilante. And according to the law, that makes them a criminal, just like the punks and scum they claim to fight." He then turned away, and walked back inside EGPD HQ, "End of discussion."
"Thank you Rojas," she responded, and then looked at the camera. "There you have it folks. This is Vicki Vale of Channel 6 News."
Big T frowned on this report, as he sighed, leaning on the table, "And there's Rojas with his anti-werewolf and vigilante bit. Every time he's on, it's always 'werewolves are bad guys too'," he responded with a mocking tone. He then turned to Mikey, as he had to ask, "How do you stand working with that guy, Mikey?"
"Rojas isn't that bad, it's when costumed ones come up that it gets hard," Mikey replied. But then grumbled, "Though he is kind of a hardass when it comes to that promotion to detective that I wanna get. Instead, he's got me running computer files, evidence locker detail, and has me clean the bathrooms every now and then." A small pause came, until Mikey groaned, "Okay, that guy's a major jerk."
"That pompous jerk!" Harley shot out, stomping her right heel down, as she flipped it out, "Alpha was the guy who saved them and me from those two maniacs! If anything, he should be thanking him!"
"Don't let it bug you, Harley," Peter said, as he walked in, yawning and stretching out. "Rojas has been working to get the arrests of vigilantes and criminals in costumes in Everett, ever since Black Mask and Tobias Whale started calling for help out of town."
Harley immediately went from angry to smiling, as she waved to him, "Morning Pete." But then frowned, as she pointed at the screen, "But this guy's saying that Alpha is just as much of a law breaker as Pyg and Toad are!"
"He's just doing his job, that's all," Peter replied.
Harley set her plate down, as she folded her arms, and stated the facts, "Gordon does his job and still lets Batman and his fan club run around fighting crime! If Alpha was in Gotham, he be sharing the front page with the Bat!"
"This isn't Gotham, Harley," Mikey politely stated. "And not everyone can be like Gordon when it comes to vigilantes. If Rojas was in Gotham, it would be Batman he'd be dissing, not the wolves around here."
"Mikey's right, Harley. Besides… he has to catch Alpha first," Peter stated, as he went for breakfast. As the two sat down together, Peter asked, "Are you feeling any better from last night though?"
"Yeah, much better," Harley replied, as she seemed a bit flustered with his concern, tucking back her hair behind her left ear. But then went back to normal, as she sighed, "As for the anti-Gordon, I guess like you said, him catching Alpha won't happen anytime soon." But then she took notice of Peter as he took a sip of coffee. He was looking really tired, almost half asleep, "Say, you look like you didn't get any sleep last night. You okay?"
"I wouldn't have either if I was as worried as he was last night," Queenie defended, as she helped with the dishes. "He was more worried than any of us when Jean came home and told us what happened." Peter had a blush on his face as he ate his breakfast in a rushed way. "He was so worried, it gave me new inspiration for parts of the show I'm working on for the main character."
Peter gulped his breakfast down, as he gasped from the quick food gulping, "Can you blame me or any of us? By the way, Harley…" and smirked at her when he said it, "You look great for work today."
Harley blushed at that comment; it was painfully obvious to the others that Harley took Peter's compliments to heart, as she never got complimented that much by someone who cared. "Thanks Pete," she smiled to him, but then turned to the others, as her inquisitive mind peculated on one subject matter. "Hey, do any of you know anything about the werewolves here though? Like when did they start popping up, where did they come from, and who this Alpha is."
Everyone stopped what they were doing, almost silent on the matter at hand. Which to Harley seemed a little stunned or silent on that question. It was almost as if they weren't expecting her in particular to ask that kind of thing.
"No one can say when they started or where, but it's clear from all the incidents that Alpha's one of the good ones seen, if there are any others around," Goat Boy suddenly said, as he finished his breakfast and wiped his face with a napkin… and then ate said napkin.
A stunned expression was on Harley's face from having witnessed Goat Boy eating the napkin which she hid. "Thanks, Goat," she replied, but then moved closer to Peter, as she whispered, "Did he just-"
Peter nodded, as he whispered back, "Yeah, he did. It was part of his act when they all worked back at the circus. But ever since then, he gained a taste for it. Though the Conundrum could eat more than he does." Goat boy didn't notice their conversation, so it didn't really matter.
Harley nodded in a dumfounded way, "Uh huh."
"I can tell you where the werewolves came from," a new voice popped up at the kitchen's doorway.
Everyone turned around, as Harley looked behind her to see a new face show up for breakfast. It was like she had been there the whole time and no one noticed. She appeared as a woman in her thirties or forties, but looked unbelievably beautiful. She was a tanned woman with long black hair tied back Victorian style, as well as wearing a black, gray, and red Victorian gothic dress with black gloves and all.
"WHOA!" Harley hopped up, as she hugged Peter… close to her chest, as she nearly freaked out. "Where did you come from and how long have you been sitting there?!"
The lady merely chuckled, as she took a cup of coffee, and smiled to Harley in her 'embrace' with Peter, "I just arrived a few seconds ago." She then nodded to Jean, as she complimented, "My compliments to you, Jean. This coffee is the best that have ever passed this lips of mine."
"Thank you, Malava," Jean replied, as she looked to Harley, who had embarrassingly pulled away from Peter, and he as well, as Jean made introductions. "Harley, this is Malava Sizemore, or Madame Macabre from her time at the circus. She was the fortune teller and the supernatural expert there. She's also the mother of Tom, Joey, and Sakura. She's also an owner of a wax museum in town. Though, she brings her work home to finish most of the time."
Harley stood up, as she was about to meet and greet, "Oh great to meet you, I'm-"
"Harleen Quinzel, or Harley," Malava nodded, as she explained to a surprised Harley. "Yes, Peter's told us all about you." And shook her had back, "Great to finally meet you. Now as for the werewolf questions you had, such as the origins."
"Well I actually want to know-"
"It all started before the time of ancient Greece, when warriors battled each other for honor, a time when travel methods were simple-" Malava said, as she went into story mode.
"And people worshiped gods instead of technology," Mikey poked in.
"Like you're one to talk," Big T muttered, as they both went into another glare session.
Malava nodded, "Yes. Now pay attention. As I was saying, in a time before ancient Greece, a king known as Lycanos who ruled Acadia was turned into the first werewolf along with his followers by an enraged Zeus, the King of the Gods for his human sacrifices for ancient blood rituals."
Harley, feeling a little weirded out, nodded, "Uh… thanks for the history lesson, but I actually wanted to know about Alpha. Like who he is, and how to contact him specifically." The room grew silent with very nervous faces, which Harley noticed, 'Wow, it's more quiet in here than when Lock-Up was in charge.' Harley then spoke up, "I take it no one…"
"Oh Harley, look at the time," Jean suddenly and gently pushed both Peter and Harley to move, "You two better finish up or you're going to be late for work."
Harley looked at the time to realize Jean was right, "Oh no!" She grabbed Peter in a hurry, as the two were hoofing it, "Thanks, Jean! It was delicious! Talk to you all again tonight!"
Mikey followed after them, as he finished his coffee, "Well, catch ya later then. I gotta carpool these two again." He then sighed, "Tom better get back from his little trip with his siblings out to sea. He could stand to help with the driving." He then looked to everyone, as he stated, "You know, you guys could try and get a driver's license, or have it renewed."
Big T shrugged, "Sorry, bud. I can't reach the pedals. Blockhead's on another gig…" and then pointed to Goat Boy and Conundrum, "And those two would probably eat the cars."
Mikey huffed, as he followed after them. But as they were gone, they all sighed in relief, as Malava looked to Jean, asking, "Harley still doesn't know yet? This Saturday is the coming Full Moon, and she's not even prepared."
Jean nodded, "I know. I hate my brother's procrastination problem."
Later That Day
Everett Police Department
At the Everett Police Station, Mikey had just arrived, as he entered the busy station. Going through the crowds, paperwork stations, and cuffed thugs, he went straight to his desk… which had crude drawings or blurry photos of UFOs and other cryptids. As he cleared it off, while looking tired of the gag, which was when the other cops noticed him, as he sat down.
"Well, look who's here. Spooky Mikey," one of the officers called out from a group of three. Mikey paid no attention, as he straightened his station out. "So what's the paranormal explanation on last night's incident? No wait, let me guess. Those two were animals turned human and wanted revenge against animal cruelty."
He and the other officers started laughing, but Mikey didn't deter from looking over files. A stack of files of cases that were labeled useless: campers disappearing, people disappearing with rat droppings, scratches and such, as well as people with violent mood swings popping up from time to time.
Another officer jabbed his friend with an elbow, "Maybe they were aliens who used poor human disguises for their yearly hunting season on Earth." The officers laughed again with Mikey ignoring it while getting ready for work.
However, the laughter ended when a familiar throat was being cleared, as they all stopped, seeing Rojas walking up to them, glaring, "Think we can find something better to do with our time gentlemen? Such as getting ready for patrol?" The officers immediately stopped and finished getting ready. "Corvis," Rojas called out to Mikey, who shot up at attention. "I want to see you at my office as soon as you're ready. I have a new assignment for you."
Mikey sighed, knowing he was being dumped a new assignment that would have been ignored and filed away, as he nodded, "Yes sir, Chief." Rojas left the room as the other officers got back to making fun of him behind his back.
"What do you bet the supernatural expert will be doing today," Officer one mocked. "Checking the lockers again for an intelligent rat colony?"
"Maybe in the bathrooms again while trying to prove the shampoo has brainwashing materials," the second officer mocked. They silently laughed more as Mikey finished and left for Rojas' office.
Mikey headed to Rojas' office and knocked on the door. "Come in, Corvis." Mikey entered and was motioned to take a seat and sat down, as he waited to hear what his job would be today. "Corvis? Did you catch this morning's news report about Pyg and Toad?"
Mikey nodded, "Yessir, along with your comment on the vigilante."
"Good, then I'll get right to the point," Rojas replied, as he turned around, and slammed his hands on his desk. "This Alpha character has been getting out of hand lately along with the new criminals crawling into Everett. That's where you come on, I want you to find out who this guy is, and where we can find him so we can stop him before things get worse."
Mikey was stunned by this new development, as he thought, 'Of all people to pin the job to, he chooses me?!' He also voiced his doubt, as he asked, "Me? But I'm just a photographer."
"One with an excellent attention to detail," Rojas pointed out. "Anywhere this Alpha shows up, I want pictures and anything he leaves behind. Gather as much info as you and you're new partner can so we can figure who is and bring him in. Hopefully this partner can get you out of the paranormal game as well."
Mikey gained a surprised expression, as he asked, "Partner? Since when and why do I need a partner if you want me to do this?"
"Since I figured two heads will be better than one. I'll try to find others so we can get a team like the SCU for the sole purpose of tracking this werewolf down," Rojas answered, as he walked to the door. "You didn't think I send you to find a criminal alone did you?"
He then opened the door, as a new figure walked in, as Mikey got up, and was stunned to say the least. Who stepped in was a Hispanic young woman in her twenties, slim but slender figure, lightly tanned skin with brown eyes, and short cut brown hair with bangs that stuck and framed her face, which had a slightly beauty mark under her left eye. She was dressed in a long sleeved turtleneck shirt, with khaki jeans, brown shoes, a brown belt, and a gun holster vest. To say the least, Mikey was trying very hard not to drool.
"Michael Corvis, meet Detective Sonia Alcana, formerly of Gotham PD," Rojas introduced her. "Their loss; our gain."
Sonia put her hand out for a handshake. "Hi, pleasure to meet you, partner."
Mikey, a little shaky but regained his composure, accepted the handshake. "Same here. And welcome to Everett."
Rojas then sternly walked back to his desk, as he sighed, "Now that you two are acquainted with one another, find this Alpha, and bring him in! Start with going back to the Pretty Doll Parlor and see if our investigators missed anything along with showing Sonia around Everett."
After the two left, Rojas sat back down at his desk and which showed the files of Pyg and Toad on it. 'Two eco criminals come to Everett, then there's that new girl jumping around erasing people's mind that Bennet is covering,'
He then picked up another with Harley's profile along with the papers stating she was cured from Arkham. 'All in the same week that Joker's former clown girl comes to town. Coincidence, or is Everett on the verge of becoming the next Gotham?' He then leaned back, becoming deep in thought.
Free Spirited Living Home
Pinkie Pie, opened the door, as she stuck her head in through it, smiling, "Good morning, Applejack. You ready for br-" But she stopped, as soon as she saw an empty room. She gasped in shock, but became angry, as steam shot out of her ears, with her pupils ablaze with rage, as she growled in a slightly distorted voice, "No pony breaks a Pinkie Promise!"
She then bolted out of the room and outside. Near a train station, Applejack was tapping her hooves uneasily, as she gulped. But then went wide eye, as she heard a familiar voice, although it sounded like she was possessed, "APPLEJACK!"
There, running at her, in a rage-fueled fury, was Pinkie Pie, as she screamed out, "YOU PINKIE PROMISED!" Applejack yelped, as Pinkie Pie roared out, "APPLEJACK! COME BACK HERE!"
Back in reality, Harley was watching the whole scene on screen of an Ipad Peter had given her. As soon as she got it, she downloaded her favorite cartoons: Looney Tunes and MLP Friendship is Magic. Harley had to stiffen a giggle at this, as she smiled, "Oh, Pinkie Pie. You bipolar goofball…"
"They say laughter is a great therapy."
Harley bolted up, putting her Ipad down, as she looked to see the owner of the voice. She was a woman of Harley's age, Caucasian, with dirty blonde hair cut shoulder-length, brown eyes hidden behind glasses, and wore a white button up shirt with a black pencil skirt, and black shoes.
The woman smiled warmly, as she asked, "You must be the new girl I've heard about."
Harley smirked, as she held out her hand out for a handshake, "That's me. I'm Dr. Quinzell."
"Dr. Bethanie Ravencroft," she replied, as she accepted the handshake. "Welcome to the Free Spirit Assisted Living Home."
Harley smiled, "Thanks."
"So how are you enjoying it here so far," Ravencroft asked.
Harley shrugged, as she fiddled with her glasses, "It's pretty good, quiet, and the old timers here have some great stories."
"Yes, they have some great stories from their days," Ravencroft confessed to Harley. "I have to admit, when I started here, it felt like night and day compared to Gotham."
Harley blinked in surprise at that tidbit of information, "You worked in Gotham too?"
Ravencroft nodded, "Yes, but only for a year. I than moved to Everett when the job I had there failed. So you were in Gotham too?"
Harley nodded in a reply, but made sure to keep her story straightened, "Yes, I moved there with my family when I was younger and was there for a long while."
"Really?" Ravencroft asked, sounding rather intrigued. "I bet it was hard with all the costumed vigilantes there. Like that Joker guy and his sidekick."
Harley innocently shrugged, but in her head, she was screaming out a correction fierce, 'Sidekick!? I was the scumbag's partner!' But she politely responded, "It was at first but after a while, you get used to it."
"So what were-"
"Dr. Ravencroft?" They turned to see who had popped up. It was an attractive Caucasian girl like Harley, except she had short brown hair combed to the left, brown eyes, dressed in a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt with a gray pencil skirt and black shoes. She seemed kind of bubbly, as she responded, "I'm sorry to interrupt you're break, but there's an urgent call waiting for you."
Ravencroft assured the girl, "It's all right, Cassie. You wouldn't interrupt unless it was important." She looked to Harley, as she apologized, "I'm sorry Dr. Quinzel, but I must get the phone."
Harley, on the other hand, waved it off, as she simply understood, "It's all right." The good doctor then left as Harley turned her attention to Cassie, and made her introductions, "Hi, I'm Dr. Quinzell." She held her hand out to shake, to which Cassie accepted.
"Hello, my name is Cassie. I'm Dr. Ravencroft's secretary," Cassie politely introduced herself, but looked at Harley hard in thought, which kind of made Harley feel a little uneasy, as Cassie asked, "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"
Harley innocently answered, "I'm not sure we have. Sorry about that." But deep down, her fears were screaming, 'Please don't recognize me as Harley Quinn! Please don't recognize me as Harley Quinn! Please don't recognize me as Harley Quinn!'
"No, it's all right." But then she looked at the clock, and Cassie had to cut her introduction short with her, "Well, I have to get back to work now. It was great meeting you Dr. Quinzell and I hope you enjoy working here."
Harley smiled, "Thank you." Cassie then left after Dr. Ravencroft, as Harley gave silent sigh of relief, as she crashed back into her hair, pulling her glasses off, rubbing her temples, and looking rather distressed, 'They didn't recognize me. The less people who know about my Harley Quinn days, the better.'
Late that Night
Alpha was currently patrolling the area on the rooftops, looking for any trouble of the sorts. So far, nothing but a bunch of vandals defacing property. They were easy enough to scare straight and run away. So the only real agenda was Magpie, to whom he had Humphrey dig up anything on the man with apparent amnesia. Though he had to make quick on it and find Magpie. There was only two nights left before Harley's first transformation. If she did that without any guidance or understanding of the situation, she'd freak out and would cause a mass panic if she ran through Everett in that kind of condition.
But something also nagged him in the back of his head, 'But if I do tell her, there's no telling how she'll react.'
Harley looked at him, sympathetically, as she hugged him, "Of course I'm not mad. You gave me a new life."
Harley slammed him hard, as she screamed out, "Damn you! Because of you, I'm a worse off freak than when I worked with the Joker! I hate you! I never wanna have to do anything with you or anyone associated with you! EVER!"
Alpha then sweat dropped, "I don't even wanna know what the third option would be."
THWACK!
Alpha skidded from the impact, as he flipped over, as he saw what… or who, had hit him. It was Magpie, getting up from a powerful double-foot kick. Magpie twirled the handcuffs in her hands, smirking at him, as he got up, "Sorry about that. I saw you running on the rooftops, and I thought I'd join up with you."
Alpha cracked his sore neck back into place, as he wiped his right side, "And kicking me was your way of running with the pack?"
Magpie innocently shrugged, as she started circling him, "You know, after I last met, I couldn't help wondering what makes someone put on a bat costume." She then stopped in front of him, and got a close-up to his face, "Something to hide?"
Alpha arched an eyebrow, as he denied anything, "Who said this was a costume?"
She smiled, at that part, as she placed her hands on his chest, leaning in, "Oooh, I like that."
Alpha noticed Magpie was gently trying to open the armor, but didn't give her the chance, as he politely pushed her back, "Not gonna happen. I want to know why you did what you did to that man back at the warehouse."
"Braxton? He stole something from me a while back," Magpie shrugged. "So I stole the same thing from him in return."
"Which is why I need to stop you before you do something more that could hurt someone," Alpha stated.
Magpie smirked, as her claws gently sheathed out quietly behind her, "If you wanna stop me… " and lunged at him, "THEN FIGHT ME!"
Elsewhere
Driving down near the place where Alpha and Magpie were having their little discussion, Sonia was driving around town with Mikey to give her a tour. Around the time, it was quiet and rather uncomfortable on one end. Until Sonia spoke up, asking, "So, Spooky Mikey, right?"
Mikey sighed in an annoying term, evident he didn't like the title. "Please don't call me that," he groaned a plea. "Everyone at work calls me that. Mostly because of my theories."
"Werewolves and monsters," Sonia guessed. "Seems hard to swallow anyway."
Mikey nodded, "They don't believe in the supernatural aspect. I mean, they believe the whole aliens in Metropolis, metahuman mutants, and the whole Urban Legends of the Dark Knight. But when it comes to vampires, werewolves, demons, and supposed secret societies like the Illuminati, League of Assassins, or even the fabled Court of Owls, they look at me like I'm the butt of a joke."
Sonia had to feel a little sympathetic on this guy, as she guessed, "I guess people think the world's strange enough as it is than to have to look at a world with vampires and werewolves."
Then the police CB radio broadcasted at that moment, "10-31 at the Slums." The two looked to each other, as Sonia speed out of there, while Mikey put a siren on the roof as they sped off.
Once they arrived outside the area where the commotion was going on, Mikey got out, as Sonia scolded, "Hey, wait for backup!"
But Mikey didn't go anywhere, as he looked upward, pointing up, "Up there!"
Sonia looked up, just to see a cackling girl that looked like Lady Gaga attempt to hop to the other building close by. However, a grapnel line was shot, lassoing her feet, and pulling her back. The occupant leaned on the ledge to try and yank her back up. Magpie looked upward, after a long fight, as she saw Alpha attempting to yank her back up. She began to hyperventilate, almost feeling caged that Alpha was about to take her in.
But he pleaded to her, but tried to calm her, "Stop wiggling! I can't pull you up if you wiggle!"
Magpie seethed out, "No one is going to cage this bird again!" She then shot her clawed fingernails out, and slashed the cable, causing her to fall down.
Alpha went wide eye, as he cried out, "NO!"
She fell flat down, straight down into a parked car near Sonia's car. The crash impacted hard enough to blow the tires and dent the car; it was like a meteor or a bowling ball crashed into the roof of it. The two looked in panic, as Sonia grabbed the radio to CB an ambulance, as Mikey ran up to check her, and saw she wasn't moving. He pulled out his camera and took pictures of the scene, mostly for evidence.
Suddenly, and amazingly, she flinched a bit, causing Mikey to jump back. He thought it was a body spasm; a death rattle of sorts, but was proven wrong otherwise. As she was able to get back up, slowly and sat up… and opened her eyes. She immediately shot up, and ran, as Sonia ran up to a rather stunned Mikey. She looked at the car to where the woman was at, but saw it was empty, as she looked to him and asked, "Where's the body?"
Mikey pointed at the direction Magpie ran, as Sonia saw that Magpie had taken off, as she disappeared around the corner.
Mikey blinked, as he looked to her, and asked, "You just saw her fall off a skyscraper, crash into a car, got up, and ran off without so much as a scratch or broken bone, right? Or at least the last part?"
Sonia, a bit stunned, turned to Mikey, and nodded, "Yeah, you're not crazy."
Mikey nodded a relief, "Thanks."
On the rooftop, Alpha was listening as well, though his appearance had shown both he and Magpie were in a huge fight before her attempted leap off the roof. He was covered in cuts mostly, but bruises as well, as she had gotten in a few good kicks. He blinked, as he tried to figure it all out, "Caged again?"
Later On
Talbot Hall
Peter's Room
After the fight, Alpha had made it back home, and changed back to human form. Peter had taken a shower and wore his pajamas, but was hard talking on the phone. He had luckily gotten to Mikey on the phone, but the latter had to say he needed to be discreet, since his new partner would question him later. Though Peter still had trouble believing Mikey now had a partner, or that Mikey would become someone else's partner. Though for the moment, Peter talked seriously, "I think Magpie may have been a prisoner, and this Braxton guy might have something to do with it."
"Yeah, I thought that too, and I had Humphry do some references on him while I looked through the place Magpie broke into," Mikey replied. "Apparently, Joe Braxton and Miskatonic Psychiatric Hospital were working with cases of extreme and intensive care. Something to do with rewiring a criminal's brain to make them good again. Though they moved their work to Arkham in Gotham, where the really big intensive treated convicts were there to experiment. The headband you described was a device used to remove all aspects of being a criminal from the person's mind: their habits, memories, anything related to being one."
"Mind control on dangerous super-criminals? That just sounds dangerous and immoral," Peter voiced his opinion. "I can't imagine the project went well with that kind of path."
"Without a doubt. That's probably one of the main reasons why the idea was scrapped," Mikey went on. "Most of the subjects were unaffected or had their mind wiped completely. The only two that worked on the project was the guy, Joe Braxton, and one Bethanie Ravencroft."
"Well, we know what happened with Braxton, but where's this Ravencroft," Peter asked.
"Well, that's where it gets interesting," Mikey chimed. "It seems that after the project, they moved to Everett to try other less drastic tests, but both went their separate ways after the Mind Wipe project. It seems Ravencroft's working at the same therapy job that Harley started at today."
The black haired man gained a surprised look, "All in Everett, what are the chances of that?"
"About slim to none if by coincidence. Unless..."
"Hold on Mikey," Peter stopped him before he went further. "Let's just go with coincidence right now and focus on the main issue at the moment." His face was deep in thought as he was trying to piece it all together. And then it clicked. "Namely Magpie, she must be one of their test subjects who wants revenge on the two. Which means Ravencroft is next!"
"Bingo," Mikey stated. "My new partner, Sonia's probably on the verge of figuring this out too since she's got the file and is looking into this case as well. All that leaves is figuring out who Magpie is."
"Which should be easier since she has a connection to Braxton and Ravencroft," Peter deduced. "Did the file say about any patients that the treatment worked on?"
"I'm afraid that's where out good fortune ends buddy," Mikey sadly answered. "I wasn't able to get a picture of the candidate list for the experiment before I had to turn the file to Sonia without her being suspicious of what I was doing with it. I did managed to catch one name though. I'm on my way to the lair to see what Humphry can find out about the patient."
Peter smirked at this one lead, "Great. What's the patient's name?"
"Someone named Margaret Sorrow. Says she was a kleptomaniac that was sentenced for ten years. But apparently, she got early release when she volunteered for the experiment."
"I've never heard-" Peter started, but stopped, as the door opened up unexpectedly making Peter hang up in a hurry.
Harley popped up, in her PJs and with a smile, "Peter! So there you are!"
Peter blushed a little, seeing her in tight black pants and a red spaghetti shirt that exposed her midriff. "Harley, you're home!"
"Yepper!" She cartwheeled over to his bed, and crashed on it, flat on her back, and looked up at Peter upside-down, but smiling indicating she had a good day. "I got home a little while ago, had a quick bite, and now I'm ready for a nice long sleep."
"That's great," Peter smiled, as he sat down. But as he did, he strained from it, as he winced.
Harley noticed this as she sat up, looking at him in worry, "Peter, are you okay?"
Not wanting to go in details about the fight, Peter white-lied, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore from work. The animals weren't in a good mood today."
Harley scooted behind him, not buying it, as it seemed more than just animal handling, "You sound stressed though. Probably from whoever just called you." Peter seemed silent, but didn't turn to face her. Harley knew he was hiding something, and smirked in mischief. She pounced at him, pinning him down with her on top, as she grabbed the bottom of his shirt, "What you need is a nice massage to relax the muscles before bed."
Being shocked from the pounce attack she gave him, he tried to stop her, "Harley, wait!"
But it was too late as she managed to get his shirt off. Once it went off, Harley's smirk faded, as she looked in shock, seeing Peter's front. There were scars on his body, but they seemed faded, barely noticeable, but only those who looked hard. She also took notice of a strange Chinese tattoo in lettering on the lower right side of his six pack, and a strange brandmark on his left peck. To say the least, Harley was shocked and confused by all this, seeing all this on her childhood friend's body. A guy she knew who avoided conflict.
She gently traced her hands on his arms, and chest, ignoring the blush that Peter was getting, as she was lost in thought, 'What the? What kind of fight did Peter go through to get these?' What has he been doing all these years? Trying to learn Kung Fu like Batman?!'
She looked at Peter whose face was both a mix of embarrassment and saying 'the cat is out of the bag'. Finally getting the guts to ask, she asked aloud, "Peter, what happened to you after I left? Don't tell you became the school's punching bag again."
Peter finally sat up, as Harley got off his lap, and sat next to him Indian style. 'I can't tell her everything, but I can at least tell her the main points,' he thought as he sighed in defeat. "It's nothing huge, but I figured you would be worried about it. But no, I wasn't beat up after you left. In fact, all the bullies that took Roland's place kept their distance after the attack. After high school, I felt confused as to what I should do. So I left Everett for a while and looked for my place in the world. As I traveled, I ran into some... rough individuals. There were some that I thought I could trust, which turned out to be a big mistake."
Harley had a stunned look from that, as he went on, "If any good came out of it, it helped me decide on what I was going to do with my life. So I went back to Everett to start my career as a veterinarian. The rest you already know." Though he had purposely left out the werewolf part and anything else he had to keep quiet on.
It was then that Harley pieced something that had been going through her head for a while since Peter showed up at Arkham that day, "So that's why you... didn't know about my... activities until later on."
Peter nodded, "Yeah. I tried calling you when I got back, but the employees at Arkham Asylum told me they didn't know where you were. As for the life of crime part, I didn't know until I got the call from Dr. Leland. We don't hear much on the crime in Gotham here."
Harley then looked at him, a mixture of sadness and slight worry, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's not that big of a deal and... it's not a part my life I like looking back on," Peter shrugged, not wanting to go further in. "Besides, most of the scars are from less friendly animals that I look at."
The blonde girl gained a sympathetic look on her face, as she sadly smiled and turned away in thought, "I guess I can relate on that. Every time I think of my time with Joker, it hurts inside, like the night I found out who he really was. Now every time I think of the jobs I did with him, it hurts." She then smiled, as she remembered some good times. "But there were two good things that came out of it." Peter looked at her in curious as to what they were as Harley continued, "Like meeting Red, Poison Ivy, one of my best friends, and of course my babies, Bud and Lou." She then turned to Peter, as her smiled seemed to brighten only at him, So there must have been some decent people you met while traveling right?"
Peter thought about it, and replied, "Well… there were two people, but I haven't seen them since. Of course, one of them would probably punch me in the face as his way of saying hi."
Harley couldn't help but chuckle at that, her smile appearing again, "Sounds like you have a reason to be glad you haven't seen him." They both had a good laugh at that. But as soon as the laughing ended, Harley got up and yawned, stretching out. "Well Pete, I'm hitting the sack. You get some rest and get better. I want you in tip top shape for my game on Saturday." She then lightly kissed him on the forehead, as she smirked, "Good night."
As she went for the door, Peter realized about the night before Saturday. Peter sat up, as he looked to her, and called out, "Harley, wait…!"
She turned around with a curious look on her face. As she curiously asked, "Yeah?"
Peter paused for a moment, but then finally sighed, "Thanks. And you have a good night too."
Harley smiled as she left for her room through the bathroom. As she stopped in the middle of the shared room, her face was deep in thought, as she hugged herself, 'He's not telling me everything. He's still hiding something from me. Could he have become a criminal like me and feels ashamed that he got away without being recognized and I didn't?'
She sighed, not knowing what to think at this point, or how to ask him without having to hurt him. As she entered her bedroom and closed the door, sighed, as she leaned on the door, where Bud and Lou were sleeping soundly. "I don't wanna do that to him; I've already done enough to him with having to babysit me like this."
She slid on the floor and looked just as depressed as when she thought back to when she remembe3red the beginning of how she met the Joker. However, if her mind hadn't been elsewhere, she would have seen the shadow in the room… with white hair, and shiny long black nails, smiling at her.
Meanwhile
Peter's Room
At the moment, Peter had a frustrated look on his face, as he was pounding his head in his pillows, groaning while his voice was being muffled, "Idiot! The full moon is tomorrow night, and you just let a golden opportunity to tell her the truth!" He pulled up, groaning, "I seriously need to tell her what's gonna happen… but I'm too freaked out how she'll react."
Suddenly he heard a sound from Harley's room. He got up, and went through the bathroom to her door, listening. "Harley," he called out to confirm his fears. "Are you all right?!" not getting an answer, he opened the door and went into her room. However, all he got was to witness Magpie pick up an unconsciousness Harley as she was about to go out the window. "Magpie!?"
Stopping for a moment, Magpie turned around, as she was a bit taken by someone knowing her so soon. "Oh a fan of mine," she cooed, but apologized, "Sorry, but I already have someone on my mind. Also I'm borrowing your girlfriend. You can have whatever's left of her when I'm done. Later, handsome." And then she jumped out the window, disappearing from sight.
Peter ran to the window, as he called out, "HARLEY!" but the two were long gone, as Peter leaned on the windowsill, and pondered 'How did I not know she was in the building? What does she even want with Harley? And more importantly, where's she taking her?'
He thought hard for a moment, but then it clicked as he looked out in surprise.
Miskatonic Psychiatric Hospital
The old asylum had been left behind after the Clean Slate project had been scrapped. Now the old building was left out, condemned to fall apart like a rotting wound. And it was easy for Alpha to find the place, as he was on the rooftop, leaning on the broken in observatory roof, leaning down to look at the surgical room and audience balcony. He hopped down, landing gracefully on the ground. He was about to begin his search for Magpie, but it seemed she made it easy for him.
For unknown to him, she had pounce-jump kicked at him, which he heard enough time to block her but it sent him flying and crashing into a wheeled gurney. Once she was safe on the ground and he was getting back on his feet, she began to pummel him with punches, to which he caught the last one. She twisted enough to break free and deliver a round-house kick. He dodged it enough, and gave his own right kick, sending her flying and crashing into some of the O2 tanks. Alpha charged at her on all fours, but she jumped up, and kicked towards him a barrage of scalpels near her. He hopped back up on his legs, and swatted the scalpel projectiles away, as he tried to punch her, but she flipped down, and head locked him with her legs, and catapulted him to the wall.
He easily regained equilibrium enough to crash into the wall feet first, and launch himself back at her. In the process, he double-kicked her into the tanks again, as she slowly got back up. But before they could go on with the fight, Alpha tried to reason with her, as she got back onto her feet, "Look, I don't have any interest in hurting you, Magpie."
"Haven't you figured it out; I can't feel pain," Magpie hissed in annoyance. "It was just another piece that they stole from me. I would've thought survival from a skyscraper would have been evident of that."
Feeling sympathetic for her, Alpha walked up to her, as he offered her help, "Let me help then. I know what it's like to try to fight your own nature." He then stopped five feet from her, as he finished, "Believe me, if you don't get help, you'll lose the fight for good."
Magpie's anger disappeared, as a look of realization hit her, and then of sorrow, as she hugged her shoulders for a moment. And then to surprise Alpha, she ran up to him, and hugged him, as she whimpered in his chest, "But I'm afraid, Alpha."
Trying to forgo the surprise of having an attractive girl like her hug him like that, he placed a consoling hand on her head, as he asked, "Afraid of what?"
Her hands slid over to his sides, feeling exposed areas in the armor, as she smirked without him seeing it, "That I've already lost."
SHKNICT!
Alpha winced as he pulled back, clutching his left side. As he did though, he felt weakened and dizzy, as he collapsed on his knees, and looked up a calm Magpie. She sheathed her nails back, as she walked over to him, to which everything was getting blurry and distorted. He weakly asked, "Wha… what?"
" -sh-sh, hush, my big bad wolf," Magpie gently placed her fingers on his lips, kneeling down to his level, as she gently grabbed his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you interfere any further. Just relax, and let the curare do its work." He then collapsed on the ground, as his eyelids got heavy, as Magpie gently cradled him, "Just go to sleep~." He tried to fight it, but whatever she injected in him was working fast, as he closed his eyelids, falling asleep.
Magpie then sat down, and lay on his chest, looking at his unconscious face. His black fur seemingly shine in the moonlight, as she ruffled his head, "Shiny, shiny…"
Moments Later
Alpha groggily awoke, as some kind of light was shining in his face, seemingly awakening him. However, when he tried to get up, he found he was strapped on one of the lab gurneys. And to make it worse, the same headband device that Magpie used on Braxton was on his head. As he tried to figure out what was going on, Magpie's voice called out to him, "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacy."
Alpha looked up to see Magpie using one of the operating lights as a bird swing. Once she saw he was wide awake, she smiled, "Don't worry, I didn't force you to turn back. A person's secrets are the only sacred thing they have."
"Magpie, I meant what I said when I offered to help you," Alpha reasoned with her once again.
"QUIET!" she screamed, as she hopped down from the light swing, and then viciously round house kicked him. Once she realized what she had done, she quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry about that. That was rude of me." She then honestly replied, as she walked up to him, and leaned on him once again, "I do appreciate the offer, but I've already gotten it long covered." She then pointed at the helmet on his head, "Braxton built this thing to remove memories; to reformat the brain's hard drive by wiping it clean." She then tapped the helmet, as she smirked, "But I figured out a way to reverse the process: to put the memories back."
"So why did you kidnap Harley Quinzel," Alpha asked. "She doesn't have anything to do with this."
"Oh, that's where you're wrong," Magpie replied. Suddenly, a woman's scream was heard in the far back, getting both their attention, as Magpie smiled, "My memories await." But then she looked back at Alpha, "But yours have to go." She then gently held his cheeks, as she smirked at him, "I'd say it's been the best fund I've had with a guy, but you probably won't remember that." She then leaned in, and gave him a deep kiss, before pulling back.
She pulled away, and walked over to the controls, and grabbed a lever. She then looked back to him, as she gave her goodbyes, "Goodbye, Alpha. Maybe when I come back, I'll have your memories reprogrammed… to have you as my lover." And flipped it.
Alpha began to spasm, as electricity danced around his head. With that done, Magpie walked off to wherever she was going, unaware of a shadow atop the observatory dome.
Meanwhile
Magpie had walked towards a lab, and opened the door. There, placed next to a wall with x-rays of peoples' skulls and brains were Harley and Ravencroft, strapped to gurneys themselves. Magpie gingerly walked in, as she seemed happy, "Sorry for the long wait. I had a cute puppy dog to take care of. Housebreaking him in, of course."
Ravencroft finally asked, "What do you want from us?"
"Straight to the point. I like that in a doctor," Magpie smiled as she walked over to Ravencroft. Her smile then disappeared, as she leered at her, and shouted out to her angrily, "You took my memories! I want them BACK!"
"I can't," Ravencroft confessed, seemingly frightened at this point. "The idea of reversing the process was never conceived. The procedure was designed to remove the criminal part of the mind."
"YOU'RE LYING!" Magpie screamed, as she brought her nails closer to Ravencroft's face. She saw the fear in Ravencroft's eyes, but sighed, as she backed away. "Fine, if you won't help me…" she then turned to Harley, as she walked over, "then I'll just get her to help me."
Ravencroft looked at Harley in confusion, as she asked, "Her? She's just some girl you grabbed from her room."
Magpie turned around, and angrily shouted, as she pointed at a confused Harley, "No! She was there when you were experimenting on me! She can help reverse what you did!"
Now more than ever, Ravencroft had a confused look on her face. "What are you talking about? Braxton and I were the only ones on the project, there was no one else on the project."
"She was in on it," Magpie stated, as she looked at Harley and back at Ravencroft, "You had her working on getting your next test subject ready! That one with the white skin! I heard you saying you planned to use him next!"
Harley sighed, shaking her head, "Not one of my proudest moments in my life." But then she blinked, as she looked over to Wait? How did you know I was working on Joker? I don't remember seeing you at Arkham Asylum."
'The Joker? We did plan to use him next, but the project was put on hold before Jeremiah Arkham could sign for him. The only other doctor that tried to help that psycho was...' Ravencroft thought, still looking confused, until she had taken a closer look Harley as she pictured her with glasses and her hair up in a bun. "Harleen? Dr. Harleen Quinzel?"
Harley looked to Ravencroft, and gave a sympathetic smile, "Yeah, that's me."
"Exactly," Magpie said, as she pointed her right index nail at Harley. "You were in on it, and now you're going to do what Ravencroft refuses to do!"
"Wait, hold it," Harley tried to reason with the kleptomaniac. "I admit it, I knew that Dr. Ravencroft was working a new rehabilitation for inmates at Arkham. But I was still new at the time, I didn't have clearance in the wing where she, and Dr. Braxton were working in!"
"It's true! Only Joe Braxton, Jeremiah Arkham, Quincy Sharpe, and I were the only staff members that knew about it," Ravencroft tried to reason with her. "Harleen was more focused on the Joker than anything."
Magpie glared at the two dangerously, "FINE! If asking won't make you restore my memories, then it's time for something more... persuasive."
Harley and Ravencroft looked nervous at what Magpie just said, as Ravencroft asked, "What do you mean by more persuasive?"
Harley shrugged, "Oh knowing her, she'll probably put us through what she was put through. Basic eye for an eye routine."
"If you don't give me back my memories," Magpie stated, as she looked to the two. "Then you'll know what it's like to lose your past like I did! After it gets done with the Wolfman!"
"See? Told ya," Harley stated. But then looked in shock, as she asked, "Wait, Alpha? You have Alpha?"
Magpie turned to face her, and smirked, "Oh, you know him too? Yeah, I've got him… getting a clean slate in his head."
Back in the Operating Lab
Alpha was still strapped to the table, as the device was trying hard to rewrite his brain. However, someone leapt down, and threw a few kunais at the controls, shorting them out. Once the machine died down, the figure tore off the helmet off of Alpha's head, and threw it hard at the wall, smashing it to pieces as it fell to the floor.
The figure also undid the straps, as Alpha fell into the guy's arms. As Alpha came two, he saw how his savior was.
Like him, he was a werewolf male, same build, but his fur was brown, and had light brown fur on his palms, fingers, biceps, and triceps, face chest, stomach, inner thighs form feet to mid-calves, and on the bottom of his tail as well as the tip. Unlike Alpha, he had yellow eyes, and that he had baggy hair in his face, but save for a patched combed on the right, showing his left eye.
He was wearing a full-body black and purple spandex body armor suit. He had purple armor plating on his shoulders, chest, abdomen and upper back, knees and elbows, as well as flexible greaves and ankle guards, as well as a little armor on the front of his feet. But in the middle of his chest from down to his pelvic area, the armor was a flexible black weaved armor. On the suit, were black parts on the outside and inside of his thighs, but stopped under his knees and on the sides, which was shown from the back of his calves, and had black thigh pouches strapped around them. His feet were in heelless and toeless spandex-like footwear. His forearms were in long fingerless gloves that ended at his elbows, where the elbow armor pads were at. But the outer part of the gloves had purple forearm and back hand guards, though they weren't as high tech as Alpha's. On his back was a metallic black and purple backpack with a black Atari insignia on it. Though the backpack seemed more high-tech in some areas in design.
The werewolf gently grabbed his head, as he looked at him, "Alpha? Alpha, are you still in there? If you are, answer these questions: what's my name, what color is the moon and day sky, and more importantly… what of donuts?"
Alpha's grogginess left, as he regained his footing and pulled away from the brown werewolf, as he answered, "Mikey Corvis, aka Scope. The moon is glowing white, the sky's blue, and from the last time I remembered donuts are plentiful. Which is a weird question to ask of me." But then he blinked, "Wait, how'd you know where I was?"
"Tracking device," Mikey, or Scope, replied. "After I didn't hear from you, I had Humphrey activate it, wolfed out, and suited up to track you down."
"Good, because we've got…"
They suddenly heard screaming, as it came down the hallway. They chased down after it, as they heard more of it. Once they reached the double hinged doors. At that moment, Alpha and Scope busted into the room, stalling Magpie enough to surprise her. But before she could retaliate or attack any of her hostages, Scope pulled out a kunai, and threw it right at her. She easily dodged it, but not in time, as it skimmed her head… taking the platinum hair off her head.
At that moment, Harley and Ravencroft looked in shock, as Harley asked, "Cassie?"
Magpie blinked at that, but then caught a glimpse at the mirror. Once she noticed her reflection, all that was seen was Cassie, Ravencroft's secretary… as Magpie. She pulled away, trying to make sense of what she was looking at, as Alpha pieced it together. And so did Harley, as Magpie asked, "What is this?" She touched the mirror image, and was starting to panic, "Who's face is that?"
"You seriously don't know," Harley asked, and then she deduced it all together. "I get it. You're suffering from Multiple Personality. Two personalities that share the same body; though the only problem is that they're unaware of each other."
Magpie turned around, looking on the verge of angered panic, "What are you talking about?"
"Margaret Sorrow was part of an experiment Braxton and Ravencroft were conducting," Alpha explained. "For your participation, you received early released."
But Magpie wouldn't hear of it, as she defiantly and stubbornly stated, "No! They took my memories! THEY STOLE THEM FROM ME!"
Alpha shook his head in a negative, disagreeing with her, "I'm sorry, but you did this to yourself. Margaret Sorrow volunteered. The experiment was meant to strip the bad out of criminals, and in your case it worked. For a while anyway." Magpie looked at him in confusion, and then at herself in the mirror. "They gave you a new name, a new face, a new life. But sometimes the bad is just too strong. It has a way of coming back."
But Magpie wouldn't accept that answer, "No! Lies!" she punched the mirror, cracking it severely, as she turned to face Alpha, "I just want to know who I am," she then looked at both Harley and Ravencroft, as Scope was getting Harley free. "… and they can give that back to me!" Magpie extended her fingernails into claws, and attempted to kill both Scope and Harley.
She pushed Alpha out of the way, and charged at them, but before Alpha could stop her, gunshots were fired. The shots blew her nails off, as she crouched on the ground picking them up carefully. The four looked to see Sonia Alcana at the door, pointing her gun out police style.
"Don't move, any of you," she ordered the two wolves, and then aimed at Magpie, as she warned, "That goes for you too, Bird Girl."
Magpie gently picked up her shot-off nails, as she whispered, "Shiny, shiny." And then she threw her nails at Sonia. One of them cut at her arm, and made her cry out in pain. In the confusion, Magpie jumped up, knocking Alcana out of the way, and ran out the room. Alpha attempted to follow her, but was stopped by Sonia, as she shot at the door, getting up slowly, while cradling her gun arm.
"You're not going anywhere!" she shot off.
Alpha sternly stated, "We don't have time for this, officer. Help my partner get the doctors out, I'll stop Magpie." He then ran out the room, leaving them behind.
Sighing, Sonia holstered her gun and began to get Ravencroft free. As Scope slashed at Harley's restraints, she asked, "And you are?"
"Scope. Alpha's partner," he replied, but then smirked as he pointed to himself, puffing out his chest, "But you can call me the WolfMan Wonder."
The women stopped for a moment, as they looked at him, and Harley, with an arched eyebrow, "Really?"
Back with Alpha
Alpha ran down the hall to catch up to Magpie, but he didn't have to go far, as he heard Magpie crying out, "NO!"
He ran to the source, going back to the operating lab. Once he opened the doors, he saw Magpie crouched at the pile of parts that used to be the helmet. She looked defeated, realizing her chances of getting her old life back were gone. "My memories. I'll never get them back now," she then turned around and glared at Alpha, almost to the point of crying, as she nearly whimpered out, "What have you done?!"
"We can find another way to help," Alpha reasoned with her. "Margaret Sorrow, the person that you were long ago… she's still in there."
Magpie looked at him sympathetically, but then turned away, as she lowered her head and closed her eyes, as she whispered, "Margaret Sorrow's gone." She then opened her eyes, as a vicious grin spread on her face, "There's only the Magpie now." And extended her nails out, as she attacked.
She launched a double kick at him, knocking him back, and would have gone for the eyes… until a mop stick slapped her in the face. Magpie looked as did Alpha, and saw Harley, standing with a mop handle stick in hand using it like a staff. She glared at the villainess, as she ordered, "Back off, Lady Gaga!"
Distracted long enough, Alpha fired a sonic howl at her, sending her flying to the machinery. Crashing into the controls caused them to immediately short out, and before Magpie could act, it electrocuted her. She spasmed and screamed out, just as the place lit up like a Christmas tree, until it finally died down, and Magpie slipped to the ground unconscious.
The two walked over to her, as Magpie let a moan of discomfort escape her lips. "She may not feel pain, but she'll definitely be sore in the morning," Alpha commented. He turned to Harley, but saw that her face said she didn't forget what happened during their last encounter. He sighed, as he tried to clarify what had happened, "First off, Miss Quinzel, I know I didn't leave a good impression after our first encounter. So before anything, I'm sorry for kissing you like that. It was-"
Harley stopped him from going further, as she held her hand out, "Save it, Wolf Boy. Do you really think I'm going to let that slide with a simple apology…" and then jabbed a finger in his chest, as she looked up to him eye-to-eye. "… or the fact you saved me again?"
Alpha shrugged, "Honestly no, but I came to stop Magpie because I wasn't about to let her hurt anyone else."
Harley sighed on that answer, as she rolled her eyes back, pulling away from him. 'Just what I need, another Batman without the brooding.' She then turned around, crossing her arms, and smirked, "Well, I guess since you came to help, me even though you knew I was angry at you… I can let that kiss slide."
Alpha arched an eyebrow, as he asked, "So, we're good then?"
Harley walked up to him as she held her hand out for a handshake. Alpha held his hand out to meet hers. Only for her to grab his hand, and kick him in his crotch with a loud impacting slam.
"OWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Alpha fell on his knees in pain, trying to breathe. At that moment, Scope and officer Alana came in, witnessing this, as Scope felt like he had been kicked under there as well.
Harley looked unfazed by Alpha's painful expression, as she knelt down, smirking at him, "Yeah, we're good. For the kiss you gave me." But then she grabbed his cheeks, and pulled him in for a kiss on his nose, as she pulled back and smirked, "And that's for saving me. Again."
Alpha, although a bit flustered on the nose kiss, managed to get back on his hind feet, as he looked to Scope and Officer Alana, and asked, "Is Doctor Ravencroft safe?"
Scope nodded, "Yeah, a bit shaken but she'll make it."
Sonia walked over to Magpie as she explained, "She didn't know that Cassie was once Margaret Sorrow." And cuffed her, "Though it would make sense. Different face, different memories. What I can't figure out is why she brought her and Dr. Quinzel here?"
"At a guess, Magpie subconsciously drove her here to try to undo what she did to her, or out of revenge," Alpha replied.
"Well now Margaret… Cassie… Magpie or whatever she goes by is going back in the bird cage," Sonia stated, as she turned to the two werewolves. Harley looked a little worried, figuring she'd try and arrest them.
But not until Alpha asked, "So I guess we're getting the same treatment?"
Harley looked at Sonia, worried on what to do: she could stand back and do nothing, as the werewolf duo were carted off to prison, maybe put on firing squad. Or two, risk her freedom by helping them and then get carted back to Arkham. But those fears were taken away, as Sonia Alcana holstered her gun, and sighed, "No. not from what's happened tonight."
Scope arched an eyebrow, as he looked at Alpha, who had a calm confusion on him, and then back to her, as he asked, "Why? I thought your boss gave orders to arrest us vigilantes?"
Sonia shook her head, "Vigilantes are just people lost in the scramble for their own gratification. Those kind of people can get locked up and/or destroyed. You two… you're more like legends."
The two wolves, including Harley, looked at that in perspective, but Alpha asked, "What about Rojas? What does he think?"
Sonia turned her back to ensure Magpie was secured, as she answered, "He thinks you two are criminals that need to be put in jail. But he doesn't realize that there might be criminals that are too much for normal people like me."
"And you," Alpha asked.
Sonia shrugged, "I like to think you two are trying to do good for the city." But when she turned around, she and Harley noticed at the two were long gone, but looked up, as she saw Alpha's tail disappear. She sighed, as she pulled out her phone to call the ECPD, "but then again, I could be wrong."
Harley smirked, as she saw where Alpha was leaving at the rooftop, "Glad he's got more personality than B-Man."
Although Harley smiled, she was still unaware of the situation, as the moon was coming close to becoming Full.
Next Chapter: Moon of the Harley Wolf; Harley's Hunting Season