Full Moon Knights

Chapter 7: Harley's First Full Moon; A New She-Wolf in Town

Harley was running for her life, away from something, until she nearly tripped over on a rope bridge. Suddenly, behind her, Alpha was running towards her on all four towards her. Harley reached for the bridge, running until she got to the center. Which was when Alpha hopped up on his legs, and called out to Harley, "Harley, wait! Please, let me help you!"

Harley stiffed her back, as her face was in anger, and she turned back at Alpha, "You?! Help me?!" She stomped her foot down, as she yelled out at him, "You knew all along and didn't say anything! You knew what was gonna happen! You knew that something was changing in me! I thought you were my friend; that you cared about me! You should have told me and helped me… but you didn't!"

She then groaned, and curled up on her knees in pain, as Alpha tried to walk towards her. But her clothes started to tear, her shoes busted open as her feet stretched out, and her skin was being covered in gray fur. She looked up to him, as her face was halfway in transformation, as she glared at him, yelling, "NOW LOOK AT ME!"

Alpha stepped back, as he looked at her, in regret and guilt, "But I tried, Harley. I…" suddenly, he heard rope snapping and wood straining, as he saw behind Harley that the bridge was becoming undone. "HARLEY!"

She blinked, and turned around, as the bridge snapped, as it went. And it took her with it, as she fell down. But she looked up at Alpha, as she cried out, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" She then vanished, as the whole scene went black.

Alpha looked around, but then he looked in shock, as he saw Harley that night, in the alleyway bleeding. He ran over to her, gently cradling her, as she weakly looked up to him. She weakly reached up to his face, gently caressing his right cheek, as a tear came down her face, smudging her makeup, "Why didn't you tell me, Peter…"

Peter awoke in his bed, shooting up in a cold sweat. He finally calmed down a bit, as he looked at the alarm clock. He got out of bed and made his way through the bathroom and quietly entered Harley's room. As he walked in, he saw Bud and Lou curled up on her couch, and then turned to her bed. As he walked over, the covers were kicked off, and she lay sprawled on it. She shivered for a moment, until Peter brought the blanket back on her. Afterwards, she seemed to be satiated and curled up in her bed, warm and snug again.

Peter crouched on the side, and gently lay his head and arms atop, looking at Harley's content face. "At least this is all Peter Talbot can do for you," he told himself. He looked saddened at her, wondering what was going on in her head, "I wonder what you're dreaming, Harley? Happy dreams? Memories? Maybe a mix of both?"

Her left hand fell down at his side, almost begging him to hold it. Not waiting to say no, he gently took it, as she grasped it, as he did hers, and sighed, "I promise I'll help you tomorrow. And I'll tell you everything."

The Next Morning

As the sun rose up, the morning soon began, as Bud and Lou stretched up. They were about to pounce up to wake up their 'mama', but stopped as they two seemingly saw the cute sight before them. Apparently the guy, Peter Talbot, was resting at the side of Harley's bed, gently holding her hand still. Once her alarm clock went off, Harley reached with her right leg, displaying impressive flexibility, and kicked it across the room.

Harley gently sat up, and sighed, feeling groggy all over, "Mornin' already?" She sighed, as she crashed back first into her bed, looking up at the ceiling, "Oy. These late nights were easier when I didn't have a real job to go to." At that moment, last night came flashing back to her, as she groaned in annoyance, "Oh man, last night…"

Ravencroft had learned of Harley's backstory back in Arkham, recognizing her as Harleen Quinzel, that Quinzel, which had turned over to the Joker as Harley Quinn. "Great, now she knows who I am. Or who I used to be," she groaned to herself in worry. "Once she tells everyone, I can just kiss my job and social life in Everett goodbye."

She got up, dreading the day to come, but suddenly notice something, as something anchored her left hand. "What the…?" she turned to her left to see Peter, resting on the side of her bed, holding her left hand. She gained a surprised look on her face, as she came to realize this, "Peter?! What the…?" but then she looked at him sleeping. He seemed rather at peace, which made Harley blush at the sight of it, and warmly smiled, "I don't know what I'm more surprised about. The fact that he stayed here to watch over me… or the fact that he made that move before I did."

But she needed her hand back, as she gently nudged him to wake up. "C'mon, Peter. Wake up, sleepy head," she gently nudged him with a gentle voice.

He finally stirred awake, but groggily looked up to her, with a half-tired smile on his face, "Good mornin', Harley…" But once he remembered what and were he was, he shot awake, as he quickly let her hand go, "Oh! Um, sorry, I came in to see you after I woke up to make sure you were alright." Harley knew he was lying mostly because he wanted to make sure she was alright. Bud and Lou made a groaning whimper, both knowing Peter was full of it, as he blabbed on, " I mean, after I saw Magpie take you like that, I…"

Harley put her hand up, with a small smile, to stop him, as she commented, "Peter, that's better than what a few people I've seen dragged into the kind of life I used to have would have reacted." She then sternly tapped his nose, as she and he were now at the same eyelevel. "You may be stronger from where we were kids, but you're not on a super hero who deals with this every night."

Peter blinked a moment, but sighed, "Yeah." But inside, he was dreading over in the pit of his stomach, 'I haven't told her yet, and it's almost like she's figured it all out all ready.'

Harley then scooted over to Peter, as she looked to him, rather apologetic, "Besides, I'm the one who should be sorry. I keep worrying you with all these costumed newbies dropping into my life."

Peter sat up on the bed, and surprising Harley more, brought her in for a hug, which surprised her more. "It's not your fault though," Peter reasoned with her. "Things get a little challenging when people are given a second chance to rebuild their lives."

Harley gently pulled away, as she looked up to him, "No, but I somehow keep getting dragged into their mess." Peter gives her a worried look, but she was well more noticing how close they were to each other. Peter noticed this as well, and the two pulled way, blushing from embarrassment for reasons odd to both of them. Finally, Harley snapped out of it, as she jogged to the bathroom. "Well, no time to feel bad, I have to get ready for the day and work."

Peter nodded absentmindedly, but then realized what she said, "Wait, what? Today?"

Moments later after cleaning up and grooming herself, Harley walked out of her bed room in her professional attire. But as she got out, Peter popped up, "Wait, Harley."

She stopped, as she turned to see Peter, dressed casually. Confused on the look, she asked, "Peter? Why aren't you dressed for work?" but then she seemed to figure it out, as she stated, "Ah, I get it. Casual Friday, right?"

Peter shook his head, "No, I don't go in during a Full Moon. Sort of a phobia for me in some cases."

Harley seemed confused by that, but shrugged, "Well, can't stop me right now. I gotta try and salvage a reputation now that Ravencroft knows about the old me." And then walked to the stairwells.

But Peter followed after her, as he started talking as they went down the stairs, "Wait, Harley. I don't think you should go out tonight. I mean after what happened the last few nights, you should take a rest."

Harley looked to him, and waved out with a smile, "Relax, I can handle myself fine. Besides, it's an easy shift. Just clean up and lock everything down for the night."

"Yes it does sound easy," he said, as they got down to the main level. But he ran in front of her to prevent her from leaving, as he stated, "But maybe you could call someone else to do it and spend the nig…"

"What is it about tonight that has you spooked," she asked, interrupting him. She stopped to think for a moment, but then asked, "Is it because you're worried about me getting kidnapped again, or is it because you think I'll run into trouble I can't handle?"

Peter knew he didn't want to do this, but he quickly lied, "I just thought you might like to have a quiet night after the last few incidents, that's all."

Harley frowned at this, feeling like she had no say in it, as she got into his face, despite the height difference between them now, "I've had enough of this game, Peter! You know full well that I can deal with criminals and capes! You were fine the last few nights, but what makes tonight different?! Is it because you think I'll run off with that furball, Alpha?"

Peter blinked at that, as he shook his head, "What? No, it's just-"

"You just want to keep me away from the night because you think I'll go back to my old ways with Alpha," she asked, jabbing her finger into his chest, and cornering him to the door. "Well!?"

Peter was silent, and a little bit freaked, as he finally answered sincerely, "I'd just thought you'd like a break, that's all. I mean, it's been a rough week. Even you should get a break or two."

Harley huffed as she crossed her arms, huffing to the side, "It sounds more like you want to keep your property to yourself."

"You're not my property, you're my friend," Peter replied.

"And friends are supposed to be truthful with each other. You know everything that happened to me and still trust me," she angrily stated. But then calmed a bit as she pleadingly looked to him, and asked, "So why won't you trust me with the truth?"

Peter was silent on that, until he spoke up, "I..." But he looked conflicted as she turned for the door, as he hesitated to answer her. He tried to reach out for her, "I just don't-."

Haley whipped around to him, looking angry. "What? You don't want me to have a life again? If that's it then you're just as manipulative as the Joker with your secrets." She then opened the door, as she stomped out of there, leaving while ignoring Peter.

But just as she was about to leave, she crashed in face first into someone's chest, as she backed away a little. Once her head had stopped spinning, she looked up to see who she had smashed into.

He was a Caucasian man of twenty-seven, short brown hair combed back with spikes at the end, brown eyes, and in Harley's case, medium build of muscles, making him quite a hottie. He was wearing a black shirt with long white sleeves, blue jeans, black boots, and a dark blue jacket tied around his waist.

The big guy asked her, out of concern, "You okay? Hope I didn't hurt ya."

Harley regained her equilibrium, and saw who she had bumped into, as she regained focus, "No prob, eh…"

"Sizemore. Thomas Sizemore," he introduced himself. "But everyone calls me Tom."

Harley looked at the big guy in front of her, as she nodded, "The name fits." She held out her hand, "Harley Quinzel."

"Harley, wait!" Peter called out as he chased after her.

But it was too late as she huffed, "Sorry. I'll talk to ya later about tenant stuff. I need ta get outta here and away from that guy." She walked past Tom, and then slammed the door behind her, leaving in silence. Peter lowered his head in shame as he stood there in the dark.

Tom looked back at the door, and then at Tom, as he asked out of curiosity, "Girlfriend?"

Big T walked in, seemingly witnessing the scene, as he stated, pointing to Peter, "He wishes."

Free Spirit Nursing Home

As soon as she got in, Harley tried to bury herself in her work. Though her boss told her after the events of what happened to her, she could go home and take a break. But due to the stress of what she had gone through back at Talbot Hall, she needed to work that day. Though nobody was in for a therapeutic problem, and Ravencroft wasn't in at all; apparently, she had taken the opportunity to take leave to clear her mind.

Harley groaned, as she combed through her hair, looking at the door in front of her, "Dang it. I should've taken the offer and taken the day off." But then she looked back and saw a picture she had framed on her desk. It was back ten years ago, when she and Peter were sixteen and still in high school. Along with them in the picture was a six-year-old Jean, who brought the two together. She frowned, seeing Peter's smiling face, and huffed, leaning back in her chair, "No. I want him to stew what he sewed."

Knock Knock

Harley snapped out of it for a moment, as she straightened herself out to look professional, as she called out, "Come in."

The door opened, and revealed Hannah Borgman, with a lunch in her hand, as she waved to Harley, "Hi there, Miss Qui… I mean, Harley." She giggled in embarrassment, as she apologized, "Sorry. I forgot you wanted me to call you Harley."

Harley smiled, as she waved it off, as Hannah walked in, "It's all right Hannah. What's up?"

"Jean told me what happened," Hanna answered, as she sat down parallel to Harley at her desk. "I wanted to make sure you were doing all right."

"I'm okay, thanks," Harley politely brushed off, shrugging it off like what happened to her the past week was nothing. "That's one good thing from my time in Gotham, experience dealing with the costumed types."

Hannah nodded, but mischievously chuckled, "I bet Peter was relieved that you're safe as well."

At the mention of his name, Harley hung back, gagging in annoyance, "Ugh. Please don't mention him. I'm in no mood to think about him."

Hannah seemed a bit intrigued on that, as she asked, "What happened?"

The blonde sat right back up, as she explained the situation, "He said I should take the day off from work after the last two nights. Like he doesn't think I can't handle myself with criminals! It's like he thinks I can't take care of myself!"

"I'm sure Peter doesn't really think that," Hannah defended. "Jean and I pretty much know that Peter's the kind of guy who feels like he has to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Including yours."

Harley seemed a bit calmer then, as she took her glasses off, and stated, "Yeah, but it's not like he's Superman. He can't always look out for me."

"Yeah," Hanna nodded, but giggled, "Although I think it's actually pretty cute considering he's got a major crush on you."

Harley chuckled, "yeah, guys are like that…" but then looked in shock, as this news came into view, "Wait, what?"

Hannah realized what she had just said, and immediately got up, as she quickly made an excuse, "Sorry, gotta go. I just stopped by to vising Uncle Sy, and I have to get back to school before lunch is over."

But Harley beat her to the door, as she stopped her to ask, "Hold on. What do you mean by 'crush'?"

Hannah struggled to keep it in, nearly sweating to the point of breaking, until she finally stated, "Peter's got a massive crush on you! Jean told me this, but I kept my mouth zipped for ten years when me and Jeannie met, so I can't talk anymore."

She managed to get through Harley, and get to the door, but not before a shocked Harley questioned, "Ten years?! He's felt this way about me for ten years?!"

Hannah turned around quickly, as she advised, "You didn't hear this from me." And bolted out of there as fast as she could.

At that moment, all Harley could do was walk calmly to her desk, and then just crash into it as she plopped down. Apparently this news took a huge toll on her, as she blushed like crazy at this information. The thought of Peter thinking about her as more than just a friend was… "As a psychologist-therapist, I'm supposed to be ready to handle anything," she told herself, and then looked back at the picture of her and Peter from long ago, realizing back then when they were teenagers was when Peter must have seen her more than… what she was to him.

She sighed sadly, feeling guilty for what she did to him now, as she looked up at the ceiling, "… anything but this."

Everett City Police Department

All the while Harley was trying to get her anger out for the day, Mikey wasn't having the best day of his life. He, Sonia, and every other cop were rounded up in the case meeting room with Rojas pacing back and forth in front of them. Presented to all of them were pics of Professor Pyg, Mr. Toad, and Magpie were posted up. Not only that, but pics of also Alpha were shown as well. At the moment, Chief Rojas was pretty much quiet, with anger written all over her face. Although he had looked that way with anyone who worked in the department before… this was an all-new anger that only showed when he had enough and was gonna put his foot down. Hard and painfully down.

"Three years ago, Everett and Seattle had the lowest crime rate in the capital," Rojas began, as he looked to everyone, a scowl planted on his face. He then picked up a newspaper, waving around, as he stated, "Yesterday, after the incarceration of Magpie, we were declared "Scariest City Ever"." He then calmed down a bit as he pointed to the board with Alpha's mugshot, "And that was before this guy showed up."

But then one of the officers, a Caucasian man in his forties with dark gray hair named Barnwell, pointed out, "Yeah, but Chief, most of these guys either hit the road or are incarcerated in Sea Ridge Penitentiary."

Rojas stomped over to him, where Mikey and Sonia stood together on this, as Rojas got into his face, "And who exactly received credit for these said busts? Was it your, Barnwell?" He then glared daggers at Corvis and Alana, "And I know you two weren't credited for the arrest of Margaret Sorrow, aka Magpie, right?" He then looked out to the other cops, "Anyone know?"

Everyone was silent and murmured, until Rojas got in their faces, "Exactly. Alpha. It's always this werewolf freak! And a while ago, it was some nut job who thought he was a vampire helping alongside him. Now it's just this guy. Well, I'm sick of having freaks and vigilante freaks turn this department into a laughing stock. So say hello to the new Zero Tolerance Policy against all Freaks."

Mikey gulped at that, as he asked, "Does that include the Lunar Knight?" Rojas turned to him, and glared like he was gonna kill him for saying that. But Mikey sighed, as he corrected, "Alpha, sir?"

"Especially him, and anyone who tries to help him," Rojas shot out with venom in his voice. "No exceptions!"

Sonia looked to Mikey, as she asked, "Lunar Knight?"

"It's what the press called him when he first showed up," Mikey shrugged.

Sonia nodded, "Sounds catchy from what I've heard… or seen."

"And starting tonight, during the Full Moon, it's an all-out manhunt for Alpha," Rojas stated. He then looked to Corvis, as he clarified, "Yes, I know all about the Full Moon being a night where werewolves change uncontrollably. That means tonight, he won't have anywhere to hide on a night like this. Capiche?!"

At that moment, no complaints were made… until Sonia spoke up, "Chief? I'm new here, and I haven't been on this force for too long. But I've seen and read enough to know, in this situation of going out on a limb. But… wouldn't it be wiser to maybe… if we work alongside Alpha… Everett PD would have more success in capturing these super criminals."

Everyone groaned or hissed in anticipation of her getting chewed out. But Rojas thought about it, almost in a mocking sense but made it non-noticeable, as he walked over to Sonia, "Hmmm, have a vigilante work with us, eh?" He then got into her face, and yelled out, "Maybe you should wear spandex and be his sidekick!" He then pulled back, but jabbed his finger in her shoulder, stating, "Things may work differently over there in Gotham, but let me remind you this important fact: this isn't Gotham. Nor is it Metropolis, Central City, Starling City, Happy Harbour, New York, or wherever costumed freaks go and are accepted by Police. The day that we accept that freak's help, is the day I'm off the Force!"

Rojas finally calmed down, as he pulled away, looking to everyone, "Now I want the Special Crimes Unit made ready for tonight, pull every precinct you can get. We're catching this freak, and I want him caught before morning, or the next Full Moon. I don't wanna have to wait another month for that time frame." Everyone left to get ready for the night of the hunt, including Corvis and Sonia.

But before they left, Rojas stopped him, "Corvis. Alana." The two stopped as they turned around to look at Rojas, who sternly stated, "A little free advice: if you two want a future in the PD of Everett and Seattle… be careful where you plant your flag."

The two walked into Mikey's new office. Rojas had moved them into a more private establishment. At the moment, Sonia slammed the door behind her, as Mikey was packing up for the day, "That fat-headed…! With that kind of thinking, it's no wonder Black Mask and Tobias Whale are tearing this city apart!"

"Yeah, I don't like it either," Mikey said, as he packed his camera away. "But until someone better than Rojas shows up, or at least if we're lucky and he dies of either a drive by or jelly donut gorge, we're all stuck to his way of thinking."

"It's just that even in Gotham, we knew better than to go after guys like this that were too much for us to handle," Sonia stated. But then she stopped, as she saw Mikey getting ready to leave, and asked, "You're off duty?"

"During a Full Moon," Mikey replied. "Some kind of a schizophrenia or something during that night. It's a family thing."

Sonia arched an eyebrow on that, "Seems a shame. You spent so much talking about wanting to see werewolves, you miss your chance out on the Full Moon."

Mikey shook his head, "Nah. I learned that a werewolf can change whenever they want to on their own. It's on a full moon where it's uncontrollable, as well as when they're at their most powerful, especially for someone who was turned recently. New Moon… they're just as human as you and I."

He then went for the door, as he opened it, but Sonia stated, "You know for a guy who's never had the chance to see a werewolf… you know an awful lot about them."

Mikey seemed to sweat drop, almost as if she was implying she knew. But he smiled, as he looked to her before leaving, "Well, when this whole werewolf thing started back in my high school days, you go through all the myths and legends to find an internal logic to all of it." He then stepped out, but waved back to her, "You have a safe hunting night, Sonia." And closed the door behind.

Sonia leaned on her desk, and looked at the closed door, as she shrugged, "Good night to you too… Scope."

Meanwhile

Back at Talbot Hall

It was closing in on the full moon rising, as Mikey had made it to Talbot Hall for their nightly change. Well, for the Full Moon of course. Peter had implied that since Rojas was going all war on not just the criminals but him and the others, they figured they'd keep away from the city on this particular night. However, at the moment, Mike and the others were berating Peter on his decision on keeping Harley out of the dark on this long.

Needless to say, Mikey was pulling his hair, as he openly berated Peter, "DUDE! ARE YOU FREAKIN' SERIOUS!? You were gonna tell Harley on this, but she stomped out before you can tell her?!"

Peter was finishing getting his uniform on, as he adjusted his right gauntlet, "After what she's gone through, before and after the bite, I think it finally got to her." He sighed, as he rubbed his right hand, "But then again, I haven't really done any better for her at all."

"You should've told her sooner," Jean scolded, looking a mixture of worry and anger. Worried for Harley and angry at Peter.

Even Tom, though he had no clue, crossed his arms, as he stated, "I have to agree. I mean, I haven't known this Harley as long as you guys have, but I know you should have told her sooner than at the last minute."

Peter sighed, as he slouched in annoyance, and turned to them, "I know. But what was I supposed to say?" He then mockingly said, "Maybe something like, 'Hey, long time no see. I bit and turned you into a werewolf to save your life, and didn't tell you because I didn't want you thinking I wanted to throw you in an asylum again'." He sighed, as he combed through his hair, "Yeah, that's never the best thing to start a conversation."

Jean, understanding what Peter was mauling over, as she tried her best to ease him, "Well, it would be better she hear it and saw you as the wolf than how she's going to find out tonight."

Peter and the others were silent on the matter. Until he finally turned to look at them, serious as ever, as he replied, "That's why I'm going to be there to explain things when she first transforms and before the SCU find her." he looked out the window, as it had fully become night time, as the Full Moon would soon come out. He opened the window and leapt out, readying for the change, and would soon leave to hurry to Free Spirit Care.

As they saw him huff it while still in human form, Jean sighed, as she spoke aloud, "I don't know what worries me more. How Harley takes this or if the SCU gets them."

Late That Night

Free Spirit Care

Harley's Office

Harley was looking over some files of her patients, including that of Mr. Borgman. It seemed pretty clear that he did work with the military, so the cybernetic implants and prosthetic limbs seemed accurate. She seemed rather entranced with the whole espionage and cyborg mission stuff. It was evident when she read it, "Man, this stuff is awesome. Not so much in the league of ninja awesome, but awesome no less."

At the moment, she seemed relaxed, but then stopped to look at a photo from when she and Peter were teens. They were happy and posing along with a young six year old Jean with them. She just had to smile at that, as she put the file down, and just seemed to forget her annoyance from the morning. She then sighed, as she looked at it rather depressed, "Man, I'm a real jerk and idiot." She shook her head, as she realized what she had said in the morning was just wanting to hurt him, as she ran her fingers through her hair, "You really know how to stick it in someone's mouth."

She then stood up, and nodded, "Alright, I'll clean up here, and go home to apologize straight to Peter." She stacked the files away, as she grabbed her briefcase, making her way out, "Maybe I can treat 'em to some free seats at the Derby game tomorrow. Maybe have a movie with him later, and some pizza…"

But blinked as she realized that last part, and remembered about the crush he had on her. She looked in rather nervous fright, as she asked herself, "Wait. Would that be considered as a date?" She groaned, "Ugh, I'm not ready for this. I mean it's sweet, and Peter's a nice guy; an improvement over Joker, but I dunno if I wanna ruin…"

As she opened the door to her office, Harley slumped over, but leaned on the door frame, as she grabbed her forehead, feeling a little dizzy, as she groaned, "Oh man… ugh. What's with the wash over of nausea?"

She felt her forehead, and felt she was burning at the touch. She looked at her hands and noticed her skin was turning slightly red, like she had gotten a sunburn or at the very least a hot shower. "What the…?" she lightly wobbled, making her way down to the treatment center, as she grumbled, "Must… go… to bathroom. Might… throw up…" and staggered her way to get to it.

Bathroom

Harley had managed to get her way into the bathroom, while she stumbled near the stalls. She managed to lean on the wall, back first, huffing and puffing. She was sweating hard, and her skin had taken a shade of red all over her body. Harley moaned and gritted her teeth, as she clawed at her shoulders. With a little effort, and much coordination, she crashed herself onto one of the hand sinks.

The light shining through the windows offered a little illumination within the dim bathroom area that Harley had left herself in. Harley weakly managed to lift her up on the sink, trying to look at herself. As she did, she saw her skin was turning red with heat, and looked worried if she was sick or something. Suddenly, she fell down on the floor in a heap, barely able to lift herself up or even stand, as she held her head and stomach in pain.

"Ugh! What's going on with me," she asked herself, the heat becoming too much for her to think. She rolled on her stomach, and lifted herself up on her knees. At that moment, an unbearable itch washed over her, as she scratched her chest; her white blouse and bra underneath her work clothes becoming tight and unbearable. It was almost as if all the clothing on her was beginning to shrink. Her shirt, skirt, pantyhose, everything she was wearing was feeling tighter with every second. She flipped off her glasses, as they scattered on the ground, as she wiped her face of beading sweat, as her breathing became irregular, nearly falling back to the ground, but propped herself up with her right hand, clutching at her chest with her free hand.

Her chest was heaving up and down, as she breathed in and out. But despite her burgeoning nausea, she was conscious enough to look around, trying to figure out what was happening to her. As she tried to crawl out of the bathroom to a phone, a burning sensation in her legs prevented her from getting any further to the door.

And suddenly, an overwhelming pain shot throughout her entire body. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Harley fell back down on the floor, flat on her back, her chest arching up, as she felt a pain shoot up all over her body. She writhed in pain on the frigid tile floor, clutching her hands, which the fingertips were becoming swollen and inflamed. Suddenly, her fingertips bulged. Fractures started to form along her nails until they splintered into pieces with climatic snaps. And in their place, long, dark, and glistening claws erupted from the bloody stumps.

Harley brought her hands up, and stared at them, witnessing her new claws, as she gasped for a scream. But the pain was causing her to squeak out groans and gasps; there was no time for screaming. She managed to scramble to her feet in her high heels, nearly falling back to the floor as claws burst from the toes of her shoes, ripping through her black high heels, as well as the pantyhose stockings.

She collapsed on her knees again, and groaned, "Ugh! I can't take it anymore! I'M BOILING HERE!"

She grabbed at the hems of her shirt, and ripped it open powerfully, as well as her jacket. She ripped off her bra as well, exposing her breasts, as she crashed on all fours, letting her bare chest out, and gritting her teeth, and clawing at the ground with her sharpened clawed nails. Then, as if someone had put a plan in the back of her skull, her nose slowly began to stretch outward, along with her mouth in a small dog shape, and following it, her nose began to darken in a glossy black.

She managed to weakly get on her knees, and scratched the bare skin on her arms. Following it, a powerful itch was creeping all over her body; her legs, back, neck, feet, butt, even her chest and shoulders were becoming itchy. But it was getting worse around her chest. She tried to scratch everywhere she could, but the remainder of her clothing was suffering from her claws. But at the moment, Harley really didn't bother to care, as she gritted her teeth, crashing on her back, and scratched her front more and more furious, until she couldn't take it anymore. But as she looked at her chest, she paled as she saw that the source of the itch. Growing on her arms was white fur, as well as on her chest and slowly to her stomach; a patch of white fur was beginning to cover her bare breasts and growing down to her stomach, underneath her pencil skirt's waistline.

Her transformation was accelerating, as her entire body was growing larger from her petit frame to a frame similar to Wonder Woman's. The remainder of her clothes and high heel shoes were squeezing the blood out of her skin, like a frickin' python crushing her in an attempt to eat her. Suddenly, her skirt's waistline was ripping one by one, until she couldn't take it anymore, and ripped it off with a roar of frustration, leaving her only in her panties, pantyhose, but kicked off her high heels before it got worse for her.

As she recovered from stripping down to all but her panties and pantyhose, she noticed that the white fur was growing all over her much quicker now. The hair began to thicken and smooth out. Mere seconds later, she was covered from head to toe in a thick luxurious coat of white fur. But if she had noticed it more, she would have seen that on her forearms and thighs, were growing two different colors of hair, as well as on her shoulders and back. Her hair free, it too began to change color and seemed to bounce a little.

Just as she was about to see what was going on, she felt a piercing sensation centered on the small of her back. Harley arched her back up, as she nearly screamed out in pain, but managed to do her best, as she felt something bulge out from top of her rear. A tiny bulge had appeared on her cccyx. It grew outwards, becoming longer and stretching out the black material of her pantyhose, as well as the white material of her panties. Finally, it shredded out of the top, tearing up the back of her panties and pantyhose. It was a long, bushy black furred tail with a red tip on it.

Harley got on all fours, as she arched up like she was doing yoga, as an incredible tension was building up inside of her. But whatever was happening to her, it wasn't finished.

Harley's arms and legs began to twist and stretch in impossible ways. She remained on all fours on the floor, as she groaned and whined out through the growing pains she was experiencing.

At the moment, Harley's feet elongated or strengthened, tearing the remainder of her pantyhose, pushing her upper body along the ground, as her legs strengthen as well, and helping to shred the rest of her pantyhose and panties off, leaving her body completely in the nude. But her calves continued to grow the white fur, while her outer thighs were growing patches of red fur now. She arched her back up, looking like she was doing yoga, without having to balance on the balls of her feet. But then suddenly, her arms, back, and chest began to swell and ripple a little. It was like her bones and muscles were being rebuilt or growing more than they were before, but it still retained her feminine body. The muscle growth/change progressed down to the rest of her body, as her chest and stomach began to tighten a bit under her fur. Shaking a little, and tearing up from it all, Harley arched her back up, and looked up to the roof.

Naked, having a tail, canine feet, slight muscle build, and her body fully covered in fur, say her face, the final stage of Harley's transformation was beginning to reach the climax. As she moaned, her voice remained the same but straining from the pain and exhaustion.

Suddenly, her teeth lengthened out into fangs, as her face started to cover up in white fur, and then her ears began to grow into points, then relocating on to the top of her head. She struggled to try and get back up but her change was keeping her from going.

Once she was fully transformed, she arched her back up again, as she looked up, her eyes had changing from blue to golden yellow. The growing pains and transformation ended, as her head was raised up, and she let out a beautiful female howl; the howl filled up the bathroom and the hallway of the empty therapy building, drowned by the sounds of the outside.

Elsewhere

Peter had finished his transformation, and howled out up to the moon on the roof of the vet building. But he stopped, as he heard with his wolf ears the piercing sounds of a female werewolf. And this one wasn't Jean's howl. He blinked as he realized the situation. "Harley."

He immediately bolted after the sounds, as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. However, he was unaware of a police chopper nearby, belonging specifically to the SCU.

Back with Harley

"Mmmm," Harley's soft voice escaped her lips, as she moaned, slowly awakening.

She slowly started to push herself back up on the palm of her hands, getting back to her knees. The first sensation she had right at the moment was a sickly sweet aroma. Her nose twitched, sniffing the air taking it around her. She shuddered, as a number of powerful scents, most of it coming from the toilet and garbage can, reached her nose and became familiar with them. Her eyes fluttered open and shut, finally allowing her awareness to return to her.

But now, everything felt so… so weird now. Harley was having trouble putting it in words. Her mind was full of thoughts, desires, and sensations: half-dreaming and half awake. She vaguely recalled something about fur, claws, and a tail, but it soon drifted away from her.

Slowly, her mind became more organized and lucid, like it was before. Her body stirred better, as she sat up on her knees. But the taste of blood in her mouth made her shiver a bit as she held her mouth. But then her yellow eyes opened wide, as she felt fur on her lips… and her hands, as she looked down at it. It was covered in white fur, and looked down further, only to discover that on the back of her hand and all around her forearm and elbow was black fur. The same was on her other arm, which made her start to worry a bit.

She started to get back up, but stumbled a little on her feet. She knew something was wrong, but she still couldn't remember what the heck was going on. Her eyes wandered over to the hand sinks and the mirror…

And there, starting back at her, was a white, black, and red furred wolf-like creature standing on its hind legs. In her spot.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Harley screamed out, stumbling backwards, but easily caught the sides of the stall she nearly crashed into. She looked down at the rest of her, and realized she was the creature in the mirror.

"N-No," she whimpered aloud.

She slipped on the slick bathroom floor, landing flat on her butt. A sharp pain shot through her bottom and backside, as she struck the ground, as she let out a female but rather cute yelp. She instinctively twisted her body around, and stared down at her own rear. She had slightly but not permanently bruised her tail.

"My tail," she thought aloud, as she reached from behind… and gently stroked the furry stock sticking out from atop her fine toned butt.

She blinked in surprise, "I have a freakin' tail?!" She looked at it again, as it wagged to her, almost saying hi to her for the first time. She finally accepted this rather annoyingly, as she grumbled, "Oh swell. Suddenly I have a tail. But I'm also covered in fur that resembled my old Harley Quinn persona. Oh man, that's a rich joke."

Harley quickly scrambled back ot her feet. It wasn't easy though for her; even if she retained her human shape, her feet had stretched out a bit, making it hard for her to have to stand on digitigrade legs. Shivering a little, she slowly walked back to the mirror on shaking legs, until she caught herself on the sink. She then looked back into it, taking in the wolf that was her reflection.

She was it. She was this creature. A female werewolf. Her mind reeled in confusion at this point. So many questions were going on through her head at this point. How the heck was all this possible? When did it happen? How did it happen? She shook her head and silently prayed that all this was a dream. But sadly, it wasn't, as she looked at her reflection. Somehow, she knew without a doubt that this wasn't a dream. She was now a werewolf.

Taking a moment to clarify herself, she thought, as she looked at herself. She was different from what she was before. Very different. Every movement of her transformed body, not matter how slight, awakened with a new sensation, both wonderful and empowering at the same time. The biggest change was her skin. Being covered by fur was beyond words for her. She could fell it pressed against her legs, armpits, and everywhere else, as she rubbed herself. She could feel the slightest breeze from the AC all around her. It was strangely intoxicating, refreshing, and exciting all at the same time.

She looked at her pelt from head to toe in the mirror, feeling the fur all over her. She was mainly covered in white fur from head to toe, but that was her underbelly, inner thighs, calves, feet, hands, and face. The rest of her was her trademark colors for when she was once Harley Quinn, much to her annoyed irony of a joke on her. She had red fur on the outside of her thighs going at the end of her hips and outside of her butt, and ending in points at the outside of her knees. There was even red fur on her shoulder and outside of her neck, and upper back which ended in the middle at two points, and her face was outlined with red fur edging at the white of her face. Black fur rested on her forearms and the back of her hands. Her tail was all black with a red tip on it, with red ears crowning the top of her head. But her hair, now free and flowing, was what really surprised her. It was both black and red, spit down the center, with red on the right, and black on the left side. In truth, she looked amazing, even to her.

She was at awe with this, as her mind was not used to this form being what it was. Being so foreign to her… and yet so beautiful in itself. But at the moment, it felt that feelings of consistence were fading away. It was almost as if the werewolf part of her was awaking… allowing her to feel familiar and used to it.

She no longer felt frightened or invasive; now she felt… natural, almost welcoming this part of her. She then looked down at her tail, as it took her a few seconds to learn to control it on conscious. It was strange, having a tail. It was even stranger as she saw it wagging, while her hips and butt remained still. Gradually though, she became comfortable with this new appendage.

"Hmmmm," she thought to herself. "This ain't so bad. Why was I…?" But she stopped as she shook her head, as she tried to be rational about all this. "Oh, for cryin' out loud, Harley. You're dreamin'. Just pinch yourself, and…" and Harley pinched her butt with her claws, but didn't take into account of her claws. "OW!"

She pulled her hands back, remembering her claws, as she groaned, "Okay, these are definitely real. I either inhaled a large amount of Joker Toxin that finally took into effect making one hell of a hallucination… or this is some kind of weirdo prank Peter and the others pulled on me when I was sleeping." She growled a little, as she balled up her fists, "Oooh! Just wait 'til I get my claws…"

She stopped herself, as she groaned, "Oy. Did I just say claws?" She slapped her forehead, as she tried to rationalize this, "Okay, Harley, keep it together."

She tried to step back to think this over… but nearly stumbled a bit as she lost her balance on her new feet. But she grabbed the sink again to rebalance herself, as she sighed, "Oy. I'm never gonna get used to these feet."

She then reset herself back up in a standing position, but then blinked as she fully took in not just the fur, tail, nose, ears, and claws. Her body had also changed a bit in physique. She had a body that looked to belong to an amazon supermodel. She felt her boobs to how firm they were, but also soft. She traced her hands down, feeling her impressive waistline, and hips, as she reached from behind, cupping her butt. She went wide eye to feeling it as well, as she turned around to see her rather feminine tight butt, as well as the side, seeing she had a rather impressive and athletic hourglass figure, similar to when she was human.

"Holy crap! Big boobs, thin waist, and a tight sexy ass…" she put her new form in detail and height. She then squealed a little, freaking out, but rather in joy, "I'm a sexy furry Wonder Woman version of me!"

She then began to make poses, sexy ones, to emphasize on herself. As she made pose after pose, she looked, well… what anyone would look if they took their body and the body of a canine, and fused them together; her canine and human characteristics complimented each other rather beautifully.

She was, in fact to her, both beautiful and exotic.

She smirked a little as she hugged under her boobs, "Man oh man, Peter would just be drooling if he got a glimpse at this naked bod." But then stopped, as she realized what she had just told herself. "What? Why would I care what he'd think about me," she asked herself, wondering why she seemed to glee at teasing him. "He's my best friend. I mean, he'd never see me like that." But then looked worried, as she had to doubt about it, "Would he?" But then she became saddened, as she thought, "Maybe… he'd freak out about this. I mean, the last thing he need would be this on his shoulders."

But then she noticed her tail wagging, and frowned at it annoyed, "What are you happy about?" The tail stopped as it drooped down.

But then, as she regained her serious thinking, she had to think, 'Okay, I need to do something about getting out of here.' And then looked at the pile of torn clothing and shoes all over the floor, "But first…"

A Few Minutes Later

Harley had managed to get her briefcase back into her office, as well as swept up all her torn clothing. She bagged it and put it under her desk for safekeeping. Once she knew it was safe, she had to make her way out of the building. The front door wasn't an option, so she made her way to the stairwell on the maintenance fire escape way. Walking up there, especially on the stairs, was a bit difficult, considering her hind feet. She was starting to walk on them on straight and even floors, but stairways were a bit difficult since she wasn't used to her balanced body.

She nearly tripped and fell, but kept herself balanced when she grabbed the railings. She finally was able to get to the roof, as she opened the doorway, and stepped outside. Once she got out, she felt the world all around her in her new form. Gently but more casual, she walked up on the rooftop, as walking in hind legs was no longer a problem. Apparently, it was much like walking on high heels or on the balls of your feet… which it was similar to both in this situation.

For Harley, what she was experiencing was hard to put into words what she was experiencing when she had changed into a werewolf. In fact, she doubt that words could accurately describe this amazing sensation. What she saw, heard, smelled, or felt was beyond what humans could comprehend. The only thing she knew at this point was that this felt fantastic, amazing, glorious, exhilarating. She held her arounds out, looking up at the sky smiling at the glowing orb that was the moon. Now she knew what the dreams she had after the night she was thrown out the window by the Joker. They were telling her she was getting a new life, in more ways than one. She was no longer a human, but neither was she was wolf; she was a combo of the two, the best of both worlds, as it were.

She took a deep breath, as she remembered her dreams, and gazed upon the city before her with her new Lycan eyes, "Man, my dreams didn't do me justice when I ran in them." She blinked as she thought about it, "Running, eh?" She looked down at herself, and then out at the world itself, as she felt giddy all over, "Hey, I'm a werewolf now. I can give it a try."

She walked over to the ledge of the rooftop to look over at the other one. She looked down gaining the height of the place, and then back at the roof across. The feel of vertigo nearly hit her, until she took a huge deep breath, and blew out, as she whispered, "Tali-ho."

She walked back from the ledge of the roof, until she disappeared from sight… and then screamed out, "BANZAI!" as she ran to the ledge, and hopped off the ledge from a huge sprint. She nearly flew as she reached the other end, but missed the ledge. She grabbed at the wall, digging her sharp claws in it, as they left claw marks until she stopped a few feet from the fall.

She blinked as she had caught herself from the fall, as she pulled her left hand out, and examined her claws. She smirked at the sudden realization on this, as she was newly astounded on this, "Cool. I'll never have to cut my fingernails again."

She climbed up on the wall, as she grabbed the ledge, and flipped up in a gymnastic style, and landed gracefully. She turned around, and smirked at all this, "Eat yer heart out, Spider-Gwen." She then looked around her, and then smirked, "Okay, let's try it like in my dreams: runnin' on all fours."

She cut on both legs, racing on the rooftops on two legs at first, but once she felt she was fast enough, she leapt up forward, and then landed on all fours, running like a wolf would. She cut through the rooftops at top speed, jumping and running. The sprint was great, but the risk of getting spotted or caught was frightening yet strangely heart-poundingly awesome for her. She was just a bit disappointed with no one was spotting her at all.

She ran as softly as a cat on her thick, padded but slender lupine female feet. She raced through until she came to an alleyway canyon jump, until she hopped down, grabbing onto the fire escape. She then flipped backwards, using her claws to slide down, and then leapt over to the last part of the fire escape, until she climbed back up it, reaching for the rooftop of the other building she was on. Once she was up, she raced on the ledge, like a trapeze artist, and hopped onto a pipe that connected to a lower building. She slid down on it, until she hopped off and crashed into a pile of discarded boxes.

She rolled out of the pile laughing on her back; her heart beating with excitement and joy over the parkour run she had just experienced. A million new interesting scents wafted in the breeze above the rooftop, and her ears picked up endless multitudes of sounds emnanating all over the city. She felt… free. More than when the Joker made her into his sidekick/on-off girlfriend, which he did less to keep that kind of relationship except for the occasional hug or sweet words.

As she lay on her back, spread out and savoring the crisp night air, she looked about, taking in every detail of the night sky. She let her limbs stretched out, letting her elongated feet wiggle her wolf toes and claws in the air, and her tail dust the ground as it swooshed with glee. She brought her left hand out, using her claws to comb her hair with them, smiling of her little jog.

She looked up at the moon, smiling and lost in thought, gazing up at the glowing white orb. Harley was entranced with the view, and she felt like she was under a spotlight at this.

As she watched the free show, she wondered, "How'd this amazing thing happen? I mean I know it's impossible… but here I am now." She giggled, as she thought, "I wonder how Peter would feel if he saw me like…" but she blinked, as she sat up, remembering Peter, as she sighed sadly, "Dang it. How the heck am I gonna explain this to him without him freaking out?" She arched an eyebrow, and thought, letting a small smile spread on her face, "Hmmm. Maybe he's one of those guys that likes furry girls."

"Miss Quinzel?"

Harley yelped, as she jumped up, whipping around, and taking a kung fu pose, as she warned, "Back off, bub! I know Kung Fu!" But then blinked, as she saw it was none other than Alpha, and it looked like he had run a mile to simply get here. She sighed, as she relaxed herself, "Whew, it's you…"

"Sorry about the startle, Miss Quinzel," Alpha apologized, as he calmly tried to approach her. "I was just looking for you back at Free Spirits, but I…"

"Wait, wait, hold the phone," Harley stopped him, as she sternly looked at him, "How the heck do you know I'm Harley Quinzel? I never said anything." But then she looked at her hair and fur, and sighed, as she deduced, "It's the fur color pattern, isn't it? The diamond-shaped fur pattern on my hips, the jester collar design on my back, and the whole white, black, and red fur color just spells out Harley Quinn, right? That's how you knew?"

Alpha shook his head, as he pointed out, "No, I figured it was you because you wear the same perfume and your hair and fur smell like the same shampoo I picked up the first day I met you."

Harley blinked at that, but arched an eyebrow at that. She looked around for a moment, as she cautiously grabbed the left side of her locks, and brought it up to her nose sniffing at it. She detected a faint scent of Herbal Essence, and sure enough she could tell the scent Alpha was talking about. She looked to Alpha, and said, "One minute." And then grabbed her tail, bringing it up to her nose, and sniffing it.

Once she was done, much to a confused Alpha, she nodded in agreement, "Okay, I smell like what you said I smell." She smiled, as she giggled pointing at her nose and ears, "These new heightened senses are a kick."

Alpha sighed innerly, 'At least she's taking this change easy. I was afraid she'd freak out and panic.' Deciding to help her now than later, and hopefully tell her the truth as well, Alpha walked up to her slowly, as he assured her, "Okay, Miss Quinzel. Look, I know you might be a bit confused on this. But believe me when I tell you this: you may be a werewolf, but you're not a monster."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Harley stated, seemingly breezing it off, "When I woke up, I didn't go all rabid or Cujo on anyone. In fact, all I did was go parkour on the rooftops."

Alpha blinked, as he mumbled, "Okay then." He shook his head, as he asked, "So… do you feel any different, Miss Quinzel?"

Harley thought about it, as she scratched the back of her head, but the shrugged, as she turned to look at him, "Nope. Can't say that I…" but then went wide eye, as she looked at Alpha. "I… I…" she mumbled, as she looked at him in a dreamy way.

In her point of view, Alpha had become… attractive in a way. Her yellow eyes went wide as she looked down at his lower body, and then panned upward to his face. The way the moonlight shined on him was rather giving off an exotic effect on him. She imagined romantic music being played in her head, romanticizing the view and him in the process. She looked at him in a dreamy stare at this point, feeling the effects of the full moon on her pheromonally… and quite possibly awakening something she was suppressing about this guy in general.

Alpha looked back to her, and noticed the puppy love look she was giving him, and blinked, "Uh… you okay?"

However, she responded by tackling him on the ground, with her straddling him atop, as he blinked, "Miss Quinzel? Wh-Wha…?"

Harley looked down at him seductively, as she grinded against him, while she looked down at him, smiling, "You know, there is something a bit off about me. Lately, iv'e got this itch that needs scratching. Big time." She then leaned down, as they were face-to-face, as she was dangerously close to kissing him, "Maybe you can rev this Harley up, and I'll find out how you got the name Alpha."

Alpha was sweating under his fur, going wide eye with shock, 'Oh man, the Full Moon's really doing a number on her hormones.' He shook his head, as he tried to reason with her, as she traced her finger on his chest, "Listen, Miss Quinzel, this is your first Full Moon. You're gonna feel euphoric, hungry, maybe even hormonally unbalanced…"

"Oh, believe me, I'm feelin' something, and it's only getting more unbridled with you around me," she smirked, as she cupped his face to hold him steady, as she leaned in whispering, "And it all starts… with a kiss…" but before theyr lips connected… a flash of Peter entered her head. It seemed to snap her out of it, as she pulled away and got off of him.

As he got up, her back was turned to him, as she cupped her muzzle, a little shocked she would do that to him. Her senses regained before she almost raped the poor guy, all because of a massive hard-on. But it was for the right guy, but she almost did it to the wrong one. Alpha managed to walk up to her, as he asked, "Miss Quinzel?"

"Harley, please," she asked, feeling embarrassed on that. A moment of silence between the two hung over them, until she looked to him, and apologized, "Sorry, I guess I was… projecting what I…" and turned her back again, as she sighed, "What I finally realize what I felt for someone else this whole time."

Alpha blinked, but then sighed, as he crossed his arms, "Oh. Does his name start with J and end in Ker?"

Harley chuckled at that, as she shook her head, "Hehe, no. No, not at all. Even when I was in that relationship, all I ever got were hugs, an occasional compliment, and a slap to the face or thrown out on my butt." She rubbed her arms while hugging herself, as she looked out at Everett, and finally replied, "It's this old-new guy I've…" she stopped, not sure if she was certain, but sighed, as she asked, "Have you ever known someone for so long, you saw them only as a friend, only when you find out they felt something more than just that? And when you find out, you're not sure at first how you feel about then. But the longer you thought about it, the more you think it might work and want to be more than just that? Knowing that the friendship you had was a sign that something even greater could come out of it"

The black and smoke gray werewolf was a bit taken by that, but relaxed, as he starched the back of his neck, and replied, "Yeah, I… I kind of feel that way towards someone. In particular. Why do you say that?"

Finally Harley turned to face him, and sadly smiled, "Well, I think I just realized that, and this guy… I think I'm…"

But their conversation was halted, as a bright searchlight shined on both of them, as they shielded their eyes. There hovering at them was a police chopper, as the pilot hovered at them, while the officer blew the horn at them, "ALPHA. THIS IS THE POLICE. YOU AND YOUR COHORT ARE UNDER ARREST. BOTH OF YOU ON YOUR KNEES, PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEADS, AND STAY IIN THE LIGHT."

Alpha groaned, 'Talk about massive interruptions…'

Harley, on the other hand, was siently freaking out, 'Please don't throw me in jail, Please don't throw me in jail, Please don't throw me in jail, Please don't throw me in jail….' But suddenly, Alpha grabbed her right wrist, and pulled her with him, as they bolted off the roof, as she called, "Hey, what are ya doin'?!"

"Getting us away from the cops," Alpha implied, as they hopped off the roof down below to escape.

The officer pulled into the chopper, and called out, "Stay on them!"

The pilot nodded, as they gave chase as best they could. They chased after the two werewolves, who were running on all fours, leaping from rooftop upward to downward, making it impossible for them to at least get a bead on them. It also didn't help things much that the chopper was too big for that big of a pursuit. However, the CB broadcasted they were heading downtown, almost to the point of getting to the forest. At that point, Rojas reported that Deadly or Lethal Force was authorized on them. The officer pulled out his 9 mil, and carefully aimed at the two, and fired. However, the bullets missed them by the hairs on their tails or heads.

Harley yelped as she leapt out, "Please tell me those aren't silver! Or is that a myth?"

"Nah, Silver hurts, and it can kill if by the head or heart," Alpha replied, as the two leapt to the other roof. "Lead bullets don't do anything, but it still hurts getting shot!"

The two ran to an edge and hopped back on two legs, as the chopper was below them. But the officer had them dead in sights, as he shot at them. Alpha grabbed onto Harley and leapt down, with her screaming at the move, as they landed on another ledge, and continued to bolt on the rooftops with the chopper in pursuit, as the officer tried to hit them.

"Take me down; I gotta get closer," the officer said.

But before they could even get close, both Alpha and Harley hopped down into a crevice between buildings, disappearing out of sight. The two landed on a rooftop bridge, as Alpha steadied the newly transformed female werewolf. She sighed, "Whew. You'd think after what my former profession was, I'd be used to runnin' let alone gettin' shot at."

Alpha eased her a little, as he sympathetically smiled to her, "Believe me, I'm still getting used to being hated this much."

However, the sounds of guns being cocked got their attention to look in that direction, as Rojas's voice shouted, "FREEZE!"

The two werewolves looked and saw nearly two precinct of cops surrounding their only ways out, with Rojas in the lead, as he declared, "Give it up, Alpha. You and your sidekick there are surrounded. I've got four precincts targeting you all over the city, and there's nowhere left to run. Surrender!"

Alpha and Harley backed up a little, but stopped at the edge, as they felt cornered. However, Alpha looked to Harley without turning his head, as he asked, "Miss… um, Harley, do you trust me?"

Harley blinked, "Huh?"

"Do you trust me," Alpha asked again.

Harley was a bit quiet, but nodded, "Yeah…" but then frowned, as she asked, "You're gonna do something stupid, aren't ya?"

He nodded, then grabbed her, and they both dived off the ledge, with Harley screaming. Rojas and the men tried to shoot them as that happened, but they missed, as they ran over to the ledge. They suddenly saw a grapnel line shoot out, as the two swung over to what appeared to be a half-condemned building in place.

Rojas radioed his other units, "SCU, all units! Head for the construction site at Langley! The wolves are there. Send in teams to flush them out! Dead or alive!"

Condemned Building

As the police were surrounding the place, with search choppers circling the area, and SCU squad members ran and stomped out like storm-troopers, Alpha managed to swing in a shadowed area near the seventh floor, as he landed with Harley in tow. Harley leaned on the wall, holding her stomach, and gulping, "Ugh, I'm gonna throw up."

Alpha blinked on that, as he looked to her in disbelief, and asked, "This is coming from the girl who snuck in to the Terror Incognita on my 11th Birthday. I lost my lunch on that ride, giving everyone a puke shower, while you were laughing your head off. And you're telling me that a grapnel line swinging is the one thing that'll throw your stomach out after all this time?!"

Harley recovered, as she leaned on the wall, but then blinked as that information came out. "What," she asked, looking at Alpha, who seemed to realize what he had just said. She was a little shocked on that, "Nobody knew about that. I mean, the only ones who did were me and…" It then hit her like a brick, as she managed to recover, and focused on Alpha.

She walked over to him, as he asked, a little nervous, "Uh, Harley?"

The red-black and white werewolf girl looked at him sternly, and then grabbed his face, smooshing the fur on his cheeks in to smooth it out to make it more human. He groaned as he generally tried to break free of her bizarre facial search. She then took his nose and tried to smoosh it in, as he honked, "Harley, knock it off! My nose!"

She then cupped his cheeks again, and stared in his face, rather hard, as he looked at her in a mix of confusion and surprise. But then she slowly became surprised, as she took her hands off, and slumped a little, as she finally spoke, in a deadpan voice, "Oh. My. God." She blinked, as Alpha, who looked slightly stiffed in a shocked but quiet stance and facial expression, completely off Alpha's character, as Harley spoke normally, and slowly pointed at him, asking to be certain, "Peter?"

Realizing now that she had found out, Alpha relaxed, as he slouched in defeat, and shrugged, innocently smiling at her, "Yeah, that thing I wanted to tell you about? Surprise."

THWACK!

In a split second, Harley ran up to him, and punched him hard, causing him to falling crashing on his back. She shivered in anger, as she bolted out of the room and into the darkened and broken insides. Once he recovered, Peter chased after her, and was managing to keep up with her in the swiss cheese insides of the building.

She looked behind him, as she seemed PO'ed, as she shot out, "Why the hell are you following me?!"

"Because you're the one running away," Peter replied.

"Stop following me," she whined out.

"Well, they won't," Peter replied. "Rojas has his SCU forced trained not to stop unless they lose sight of us."

"I'm talking about you, dingle-brains," she shot out angrily. "I'm through with your kind of help! Leave me alone!"

"Harley wait," he pleaded, but she wouldn't listen.

The two managed to run into a broken lounge room, but Harley leapt up into a hole up in the ceiling, and was out of sight. But Peter leapt up after her, but then looked around, as he saw what the room used to be. It was a gym, half broken with I-beam pillars, and most of the equipment either half destroyed or rotting. Peter could tell she was still there, but not where due to her perfume or the smell of mold and other scents. He carefully looked around, hoping not to aggravate her even further.

"What part of leave me alone do you not understand," Harley spoke up, but was still out of sight.

He stopped, as he carefully scanned the room, as he called out, "Harley, listen. Let's stop this, and we can go home."

"I don't have a home, thanks to you, you jerk!"

"Yes, you do," Peter reasoned with her. "No one ever said that adapting back to normal like would be easy, but you've come so far. No one knows you're a werewolf, but if you run now, then the liaison from Arkham will have a warrant for your arrest put out, and they will put you back in Arkham." As he walked around, he was unaware that she was behind one of the I-Beam pillars with a glare on her face. "If Rojas's men capture you, then everyone will know about this, and then it's straight to a science table, not Arkham. Please, Harley. I don't want you to throw this chance away."

As he walked nearby, Harley suddenly jumped out, and flip-kicked a blow on Alpha. As he recovered back on his feet, she stood up straight as a board with shaking fists at her side, as she spat out to him, "This day goes from bad to worse no matter what I DO!" She then charged at him, attacking Peter with kicks and slashes at her claws, as she yelled out, "I'm sick of being shot at, called a freak, and being kept in the dark!"

She then managed to back-kick Peter in the face, causing him to stagger a little. She hopped up to one of the tables, and looked at him frustrated, "You either have a serious procrastination problem, or you get a thrill seeing people surprised like this!" As Peter recovered, she leapt at him, and kicked him hard into the wall. Before he could walk it off, she ran up to him, and pushed him hard, pinning him to the wall, as she glared at him, yelling angrily, "You're a real jerk for waiting til the last minute, you know that?!"

Peter groaned, as he reasoned with her, "I planned to before the full moon, but I couldn't find a good time since you were so focused on getting your day life back together." He then looked at her saddened, "And back at Gotham, when you crashed out of that building, and I saw you lying there bleeding with broken bones, I couldn't just let leave you to die like that. You didn't deserve to die like that."

Harley frowned at that, as she punched him in the face, and pulled at his collar, so she was face to face with him, as she spat out, "So you think I'd prefer bein' a furball and located to a town where it's hunting season all year round?!" And then threw him at the side, as she backed up, "I tried to be nice, to be all good; be what everyone wanted me to be, but if being normal leads to things like this, then I say screw it!" She then grabbed a barbell and lifted it like her traditional mallet, and was ready to swing at him. "Maybe I am better off as what the Joker made me. That's probably where I truly belong! Let's get back ta basics!"

"That's not true! Don't even think that," Alpha shouted at her, causing her to flinch. But he calmed down, as he looked at her, with sympathy and apology in his eyes, and his voice, "I'm sorry and you're right about one thing. I should have told you before the full moon. But I was worried you would think I was trying to put you back into Arkham." He then looked to her pleading, but accepting any choice she would make, "But please don't do this. I couldn't bear being enemies with you. If you really want to fight and end me, then do it to me, not the town." He then put his arms out, leaving him open to any attack she would do to him.

She shook a little, until she yelled out in anger, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M ANGRY AT YOU ABOUT!" She scrunched her face in anger, as she lowered her head, as her voice seemed to soften, "That's not… why I'm so miffed at you. I don't wanna hurt you either; you've gone this far for me. Farther than anyone else would have to help me, even after what I did as the clown girl."

She sniffled, as she looked to him, and showed she was crying, "I'm angry because you didn't tell me about what happened to you. This whole werewolf thing. I don't know when this happened to ya, but if it had something to do with that night long ago when we were sixteen… " She dropped the weights down, as she tried to wipe away the seemingly endless tears that flowed down, as she cried, "… why didn't you tell me back then?"

As Harley cried out, Peter walked over ot her, and gently brought her in for a hug, as she gracefully accepted it, crying in his chest. He patted her on the back, as he stated, "I tried to, believe me. I wanted you to be the first person outside the family to know this. But the whole werewolf thing started for me at birth, actually. It's a hereditary family thing."

Harley pulled away, as she sniffled, looking at him no longer sad, but confused, "What?"

Suddenly, the two were tackled by the SCU, who had managed to find them in the rundown building, and pinned Harley to the ground, while Alpha was held at gunpoint by one or two of the officers.

The first officer wrestled with her left arm that flailed around, as he finally pinned it down, along with a few other officers due to her strength. "Alright, I think we got 'em."

The officers training Alpha at gunpoint smirked, "Same over here. This throw rug's not gonna budge an inch if he likes getting shot at."

The other officer holding Harley down joked, "Hey, you think she'll make a god throw rug?" but the officer didn't answer, as he looked in one direction away. He turned to look, and they all saw grenades from the SCU officer's belt scattered near a few fuel tankers left behind. And the pins were gone.

They looked to the hand the officer had pinned down, and saw on Harley's hands were the rings. They looked to her, as she smirked, "Nice job, John Laws."

The officers all ran out of the room, as fast as they could. But the grenades went off, shaking up the whole place, as the explosion rocked the whole place, as well as causing it to split. Unfortunately, Harley was on the other end, as it fell down, taking her with it, as she screamed in a panic. Alpha paled at that, as he ran over to the ledge, as he saw her fall. But luckily she was falling towards a billboard with a spoon on it for cereal. She was caught on it, but was shot out, flinging up in the air, as Alpha swung himself on a nearby roof to see where she landed.

But he paled, as he saw her, clinging onto a Coca Cola bottle with a straw billboard. He knew the fall alone wouldn't kill her, but if her head was crushed in anyway, she'd be dead. She grasped at the straw with both hands and feet, using her claws to dig in, but she felt the straw giving way.

She gulped at this, "Talk about grasping at straws." She felt the straw breaking more, as she gulped, "Oh well… least I'm going out on a joke."

Finally, the straw broke, as she screamed out, falling down to the streets below. But becoming a bit splat on the street didn't happen, as a black and smoke gray blur swooped in, and caught her. Alpha had swung in with his grapnel line, as he nearly crashed into an alleyway away from the site, as he slid on both sides, using his claws, until he grabbed a fire escape, and then landed on the ground, with Harley safely cradled in his arms. She seemed a bit limp at first, but then she lightly grabbed his shoulder, and groggily looked at him.

"I think I made a mess on your back and tail," she groggily said to him, as she weakly smiled, but then plopped on his shoulder, seemingly passed out from what had happened to her.

Later On

Talbot Hall

Harley and Peter managed to sneak back to Talbot Hall, as they used the sewers to escape. Though Peter didn't mind the smell, though Harley was starting to regret it. Once they got back, they entered through the window of Harley's room, alerting both Bud and Lou. They raced up, but stopped, as the saw the creatures were humanoid wolves. At first they were about to attack, but stopped, as they recognized the scents of both of them, including Harley. The two hopped on the bed, as Peter gently lay Harley on her butt in a sitting position. He pulled his gauntlets off, as he asked, "Feeling any better?"

She nodded, "Yeah. How about you?"

"I'm alright," he confessed. "Turns out that drainage pipe washed off the supposed puke." He gently stroked her hair, as he stated, "Glad you didn't get any on you; that would have been annoying." He then had to ask, "You still mad about before?"

She shook her head, "Not as much."

Peter sighed, as he sat next to her, "I'm sorry. I did wanted to tell you sooner, but with all that was going on, I didn't exactly have the right time or place to do so. And I didn't know how to say it without having to sound like I belonged in Arkham."

Harley was silent for a moment, until she shamefully looked away, not thinking to look at him for earlier before all the werewolf stuff, "Yeah, well. I'm sorry too for comparing you to Joker. I guess finding the right words for something like that would've been hard considering my past."

Peter nodded, but looked away, "But still..."

"No still," Harley pointed out, as she turned to him, and turned him to her, as she looked at him, serious, as she stated, "Back then, I went too far with the Joker comment, because you've done more for me than that psycho ever did for me."

The two fell silent for a moment, as the two were so close to one another, and both aware of one another's crush. But then she sniffed the air, and pulled away, sniffing her arm, "But before we go any further, I need to wash up."

Peter sniffed around, and picked her scent up, as he nodded, "Yeah, you should." But then sniffed himself, as he commented, "I'll go after you too."

She nodded, as she stood up, but looked to him, "Okay, but once we're both cleaned up, will you…"

"I'll tell you everything, Harley. After all, we've got the whole night anyway," Peter said, as he smirked. She smiled too, as she walked to the bathroom, hiding a blush on her white furred face.

Afterwards

Once both of them had a chance to clean off, they both sat in Harley's room. Though Peter had put on a pair of black spandex shorts, knowing he'd change back once morning hit, and Harley was wearing a red bathrobe. Both sat indian style on the bed, as Peter began the story.

Peter scratched the back of his head, as he sighed, "Well, to begin this, I'll have to start with my grandfather, who was turned."

Harley blinked as her ears perked up, "Your grandpa's a werewolf?" but then scrunched her face, as she asked, "What about your dad?" But then grew surprised, "Wait, does that mean Jean's…?"

Peter nodded, "Yeah, but my dad and I were conceived during a New Moon, which pretty much puts the Lycan virus in a state of inert. Meaning when my grandpa and grandma conceived my dad, he was just born a normal person, and he passed onto me the virus, which pretty much remained dormant."

"But how did your grandpa end up like that," Harley asked.

"Well, as you know there are two ways a werewolf is made: they're born or made. In my grandpa's case, he was made." He leaned a little, as he began the origin, "He'd been turned back when he was no younger than early twenties. It was way back when he was a hunter for the thrill of the hunt with a good rifle… before the endangered species laws had come up, due to them not caring about nature itself." He then shook his head, as he continued, "Anyway, he received the gift/curse back in India, in the Hindu Koch. The natives directed him and a hunting party to a hidden cave way up in the mountains, where no soul dared to venture. Where, according to legend, lived a very strange creature that the people dared not hunt due to it being unkillable by mortal man and weapon. And after a week of hiking, climbing, searching and surviving… he had found the cave. And in it, the strange creature that everyone feared to hunt."

"A werewolf?" Harley asked, as she seemed excited.

Peter nodded, but went on, "Well, um… at first, it wasn't in appearance, the creature you'd picture, like you or me. It was actually a boy; a wild feral boy no younger than we were when we were teens, but in the middle of his transformation. At first, he thought it was an orphan someone had left to die up in the mountains. So he decided to try and reach out to help him. Little did he knew that by doing so, invited trouble, as he attacked him with such a ferocity and power that could only belong to the strongest animal you'd find in the jungle and bit him right on the arm. So after getting his arm treated, he went back down the mountains, returned with the party, thinking he'd been made the butt of a joke."

Peter sighed, "Though he found out otherwise when he turned into a werewolf in front of Grandma…"

"And bit her," Harley gasped.

"No, actually, he acted the same. My grandmother was a Roma, a Gypsey," Peter explained. "Apparently, they're experts in supernatural forced, but more specifically for werewolves. Since the term Roma means Human, and originated in Rome. Which is where the Lycans were first made, by the Gods themselves." He then sighed, "So after my grandmother learned the truth, she helped him in learning to control his newfound abilities, form, and instincts. And then some time later, they had my dad and uncle, who they conceived during a new moon. After that, he explained to his sons of the situation. Time skip to adult years, my dad met my mom, and had me. Though for me, the Lycan virus was pretty much dormant, and I spent my childhood growing up…"

"The way you were then," Harley deduced, but then asked, "But Jean seemed fine when she was young. If she was conceived during…"

Peter shook his head, "No, she was conceived during a regular moon lunar cycle, not a new moon. When the doctors found a human puppy in the maternal ward playing around, they thought it was some prank. But someone else thought differently, and tried to track down the family. Fearing for us, our parents had us stay with our grandpa, while they tried to lure away whoever was trying to find us."

Harley remembered the plane crash, and asked, "You mean someone… murdered them?"

Peter shrugged, "I think so, I'm not sure." But Peter went on, "So anyway, my grandpa had us keep the whole thing secret, evne when I met and befriended you." Harley had to blush a little, but hid it as Peter went on, "So, I went on through my life, until that night during Spring Break when we were sixteen, the wolf that attacked me and killed Roland, was in fact a werewolf."

"But you were born a werewolf. How did getting bitten by another one change you then," Harley asked.

"I think it was the shock of what I went through that woke up what was already inside me," Peter guessed. "I wanted you to be the first to tell after my first change, sharing this little bit about my new life with you, but then you moved away."

Harley seemed ashamed by that, as she held her wolf toes, but then asked, "So what happened after I left? What put you on the path of being the Lunar Knight of Everett?"

He sighed, as he combed through his hair, "It was two years later after you moved. Back then Tobias Whale and Black Mask suddenly came in to our town, and started their war. My grandfather was stern to prevent me from doing something foolish. But I did something dumb anyway: I stood up to Tobias Whale."

"That was dumb," Harley stated.

Peter nodded, "Yeah, but after that, I was aware that I wasn't capable or equipped to doing anything. So I left, around the globe, training myself, and finding anyone I could learn from to even combat anyone like that, or the guys you recently met." He sighed, as he finished, "And around the time I bit you, that's pretty much all I can…"

But was suddenly glomped over, as Harley crashed atop of him, pinning him down. His dark fur blushing, he asked, "Uh, Harley…?"

"I'm really pooped out; I wanna sleep now," she moaned, as Peter got the idea, and was about to scoot out. But Harley grabbed him, pulling him back. "Stay. Please?"

Peter seemed a bit taken by that, but conceded, as he wrapped his arms around her. Bud and Lou hopped onto the bed, and rested near their feet, as the two werewolves finally nodded back to sleep.

The Next Morning

As the sun rose, Harley, now back in human form, stirred awake. She woke up, asleep on Peter's chest, as she bolted up in surprise, seeing him human again. She smiled seeing him asleep like a little kid, as she mused, 'He really is cute when he's not so serious all the time.' She gently nudged him, as he stirred awake.

"Huh, wha.." he garbled, half asleep, but awoke, as soon as he saw Harley in her bathrobe, next to him. He sat up, as he groaned, "Hey. Did you have a good sleep?"

She nodded, "Yep, slept like a baby next to ya as a body pillow." But then suddnely slapped Peter, shocking him, as she sternly stated, "That was for lyin' and keepin' me in the dark for this long."

Peter rubbed his sore cheek, as he sighed, "Yeah, I figured I deserved that."

But then suddnely, she pulled him in, and hugged him tightly, causing both of them to blush. Peter out of surprise, and Harley… realizing her own feelings but not telling, as Peter asked, "Ah, and this?"

"This is to say thanks for never givin' up on me," she confessed. "Ever after what I said yesterday and last night." She pulled away a little, but still had her arms around his neck, "You could've given up on me, but you kept going."

Peter smiled a little, as he returned the hug, "I don't blame you for it. You were feeling confused, angry, betrayed, and scared with everything that was happening."

They broke away from the hug after a while, as Harley had a happy look on her face… that turns into annoyed, as she jabbed him in the chest, "But if you ever keep me in the dark about something like that for so long again, I'll make you wish that it was Batman you were fighting."

Peter blinked a little, but smirked back, "It's a deal then."

"PETER!" Jean called out, as the door to the shared bathroom opened, revealing a disheveled and panicked Jean, as she stated, "Is Harley okay? I didn't hear from you at all last night, and neither did Mikey, so…"

But then she stopped as she saw Peter in his underarmor boxers, and Harley in nothing but a bathrobe in each other's arms. Jean blushed a little, as she smiled, "Oh. I see, um…"

Harley shook her head, as she put her worries to rest, "Don't worry, Jeannie. Peter told me all about it. We're good. And he was just keepin' me company until morning."

Jean sighed in relief, as she was relieved, as she chuckled, "Oh, what a reielf. To be honest, Tom, Mikey, Joey, and Sakura were all worried while we were in the forest. When we didn't hear from you guys, we assumed the worst."

But then Harley blinked at that the first part about Mikey, as she looked to Peter, asking, "Wait. Mikey's a werewolf? You turned Mikey?"

"It was a life/death situation for him since he was caught in a drive shooting by Tobias Whale," Peter defended. "He gave me permission to do it."

Harley raised an eyebrow, as she asked, "And this Tom guy, and the Joey and Sakura?"

"They were born werewolves by their father," Peter explained.

Harley sighed, as she fell back, looking at the room upside down, "This is gonna take a while to let sink in."

Next Chapter: Training Days; The White Winged Devil