Hello, my lovlies!

I'd like to apologized for the lateness. Unfortunately, one of my fics of plagiarized and the event made me REALLY reluctant to write anything. It took me a while to get over it. But I did! :)

New chapter! Yay! I wrote this one a bit different from the others, let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: Story is mine. Nemo is mine. The words are mine. Everything else is DC's.

The Queen

It was well known that Joker was the King of Clowns.

Simply put, he was the King.

He was Batman's most feared Rogue. His number one enemy. His archnemisis. The Joker was a force to be reckoned with. He knew how the Bat worked, what made him tick. Sure, Gotham had other Rogues, all of which were dangerous in their own rights. But they all functioned with some kind of plan, some kind of rational goal in mind, something they wanted. The Joker had no such goal. There was no plot or scheme to get some amount of money or some priceless treasure. No. There was none of that. It was all to see how the Bat worked.

The Joker wanted to see how far he could push. Wanted to see what is would take to make the Bat break.

And he took it farther than any other Rogue ever would have dared.

He did the unthinkable.

He killed the Bird.

He killed Robin.

And everyone thought the Bat would break.

But he didn't.

The Bat didn't break. But he was broken.

And the Joker knew. He knew and he just sat in his cozy cell in Arkham and laughed and smiled and taunted. Because the Bird was dead and the Bat was angry. The Bat wanted to kill the Joker and the Joker wanted him to. And the Bat almost did.

But he didn't.

And time passed and a new Bird was born and bloody wounds turned to painful scars that would never fully heal.

And most people forgot.

Most people.

Except for the Bats. Because the Bats never forget.

And the Rogues. The Rogues didn't forget either. Because something changed that day; something about the relationship between the Bat and Joker became real to them. Something they couldn't place before.

And it became an unspoken law in the Underworld that Joker was the King.

They were not loyal to him. They were not friends with him. They were not his subjects. Gotham was not his kingdom.

But Joker was the King.

Time passed and moved and changed and this is one thing that stayed the same.

Joker was King.

And every King had a Queen.

The Queen was always there. Even when she was not wanted; even when she was abused and hurt and broken. The Queen supported her King with everything she had. And she was both respected and pitied for it.

Because the King had eyes for one person and one person only. And it was not his Queen.

But still the Queen endured, following faithfully.

For what was a Queen without her King?

Harley hummed as she went over her plans again. Her Joker, her King, was in Arkham and she was not. And that was not right, for if she was free, then surely by all rights, the Joker should be free as well.

"Oh Mista J will be so pleased," Harley squealed to Bud and Lou. The hyenas grinned up at their mistress, sitting faithfully by her side. "We'll go on a romantic getaway for two! Rob a few banks, maybe a museum or two, have a romantic candle light dinner…" she trailed off with a love sick sigh.

"That sounds lovely."

Harley jumped and spun around, Bud and Lou jumping up and snarling at the intruder.

"Hey! How'd ya get in here?" Harley asked, pointing an accusing finger at the intruder.

The figure stepped into the light, revealing the form of a woman. She was dressed in all black: black pants, black boots, and a black sweatshirt, the hood pulled over her head leaving her face in shadows. But her eyes, her foggy, hazel eyes somehow shined in the darkness. The figure shrugged casually and tucked her hands into her sweatshirt pockets.

"The door was open," she said simply.

Harley deflated some, blinking in surprise. "Oh," she said simply, "Well that doesn't mean ya can just waltz in uninvited! Who are ya anyway?"

"Nemo."

"Nemo? I'm pretty sure I've heard that somewhere before…" Harley trailed off tapping her chin in thought before her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers, "That's it! You're that little girl Mista J took once!" Harley suddenly glared, "Well he's mine now and ya can't have him! Go get ya own!"

Nemo simply tilted her head to the side. "Own? Nemo does not want her own?"

The Queen of Clowns blinked. "Huh? Then whatcha want?"

Nemo shrugged again before dipping into a low bow. "Nemo wanted to meet the Queen, that's all."

Harley frowned. "Queen?"

"Every King needs a Queen," Nemo said, stepping forward. Bud and Lou start growling again, but as the woman gets closer, they whimper and back away, ears pressed flat against their heads. Harley pays them no mind, watching the stranger in front of her. "Nemo wanted to see what kind of Queen the King of Crime would take."

"Oh," Harley said, rubbing the back of her head and blushing slightly, "I don't know what to say. Ya really think I'm a Queen?"

Nemo nodded solemnly. "The Queen rules the kingdom when the King is gone and the King rules the Queen. The King takes and the Queen loves. Takes and loves takes and loves. But does the King love the Queen back?"

"Well of course he does!" Harley shouted, now angry that someone dares to question her relationship with Mista J.

But Nemo just looked at her, hazel eyes bright and misty and knowing, and began to slowly pace around her. "Does he?" There is no taunt in her voice. No insult. There isn't even curiosity. "Does he really? The King takes and takes and takes and kills and laughs and takes and the Queen follows in his shadow, waiting and loving." Nemo stopped behind Harley and the villainess found herself unable to move as lips brushed against her ear.

"The King has everything. Everything," Nemo whispered, "But what does the Queen have? What does the Queen have that is truly hers? The King has the Kingdom and the Queen, but what does the Queen have? She does not have the Kingdom. She does not even have the King."

"That's not true," Harley chocked out, feeling tears burn the backs of her eyes.

Nemo just hummed and rested her chin on Harley's shoulder. "Isn't it?" she asked softly, "Isn't it? The Queen has nothing. Nothing at all. And she is blind to it." And then Nemo's voice took on a sad edge and she's leaning into the other woman, almost as if to offer comfort. "She has nothing. The Queen of Nothing. But she will not see it. No matter how she is abused. She is blind. She is foolish."

And the Nemo's weight is gone and, despite her hurtful words, Harley finds herself suddenly empty, cold rushing into her and leaving her numb.

"And still she follows," Nemo's voice echoed from the shadows, "And still she loves. Because he is the King of Crime. And she, the Queen of Fools."

So yay or nay to this chapter?

Until next time,

Elri~