"You let go of me, you dumb bloodsucker!" cried Harley. Dracula had chosen to wake her from her trance once they arrived back at the abandoned church – he preferred his victims alive and kicking, if possible. Although he was beginning to regret his decision as Harley had done nothing from the moment she regained her senses but scream, fight, and struggle against him. Now he released her and she raced to the farthest corner of the church, crossing her fingers in front of her.
"You stay back!" she shouted. "I mean it!"
"Teach her to defy you, Master!" pleaded Renfield. "Show her the penalty for disobedience!"
"Is it a beating? I can take a beating!" retorted Harley. "Mr. J has taught me well! You can't make me do anything with pain! I'm too used to it!"
"Master will make you feel such pain as you have never known, slut!" shouted Renfield.
"Mr. Renfield, please let me handle this," snapped Dracula. "I have no intention of beating you, Harley. I am not that heartless clown."
"Don't talk about him that way!" shouted Harley. "Everything he does to me is for my own good! So that when bad guys kidnap me and try to get me to betray Mr. J, I can stand up to 'em! You do your worst, you bloodbank robber!"
"Don't tempt him, you little fool!" snapped Renfield.
"Mr. Renfield, I can speak for myself," snapped Dracula, his eyes glowing slightly red in annoyance. "Kindly wait outside, please. I can take care of this without your help."
"As you wish, Master," said Renfield. He shot a cruel smile at Harley before he left.
"Harley, I have no wish to hurt you," murmured Dracula, smiling kindly at her. "If you are willing to submit to me, having your blood drained will feel like the most pleasurable caress from a devoted lover…"
"I don't want pleasurable caresses from devoted lovers!" snapped Harley. "I wanna go back to my Mr. J! He didn't do any crap like that – when he bit me, it hurt, like it should!"
"I find you a fascinating young woman, Harley," said Dracula. "So different from the women I am used to encountering – most are completely entranced by me, so much so that it bores me. The women who really attract me are the ones who show resistance."
"You need to learn to respect women, pal," snapped Harley. "And that no means no."
"But you see, for many women, it doesn't," murmured Dracula, grinning. "It means 'convince me.' And I can be very, very persuasive, my dear."
He met her eyes. "Drop your hands," he murmured, nodding at the makeshift cross. "And come to me."
Harley gradually lowered her hands and approached him, staring enraptured into his eyes. "Good girl," he murmured, embracing her and pulling her close. He tilted her chin up, baring her neck as his mouth slowly came down…
And then he hissed in fury as Harley suddenly ripped out a crucifix necklace, slamming it against his forehead. He howled in pain as the metal seared his flesh, and fell back, his red eyes blazing in fury at Harley, who was smiling at him.
"Got ya, you Un-dead freak," she muttered. "The joke's on you now, ain't it? Don't you dare come near me again!"
Dracula hissed as he shielded his eyes from the object. "Renfield!" he snarled. "Come here!"
"I live to serve you, Master…" began Renfield, racing into the room.
"Take that…thing from her!" roared Dracula, covering the burn on his forehead. "And then take her to the vestry and guard her! I need to see to my wound…"
"Oh, let me bind it, Master…" began Renfield, racing over to coo over him.
"Thank you, no!" interrupted Dracula. "If you touch me again, I'm going to rip your head off your shoulders!"
"Same goes for you if you touch me again, you human leech!" called Harley after him as Dracula headed down to the crypt.
"Do not insult Master!" snapped Renfield, tearing the crucifix out of her hand and shoving her into the vestry.
"Why not? He insults you," she retorted. "You know, you really shouldn't work for a guy who don't treat you with respect."
"Master is the only one who deserves respect," retorted Renfield. "I am a mere insect in comparison to his greatness."
"Got some self-esteem issues, huh?" asked Harley. "As a former psychiatrist, I could probably help you with those."
"I don't want your help, strumpet!" snapped Renfield. "You are a mere insect in comparison to Master's greatness too, and you should feel honored he even deigns to look at a worthless creature like you, let alone choose you as his feeding vessel and bride!"
"And what lucky gal wouldn't wanna be that?" asked Harley, sarcastically. "I'm sure he's a real great guy and all, but I'm already with someone who's the greatest guy who ever lived, so Drac's gotta understand that I ain't gonna settle for hamburger when I already have steak."
"Master is the greatest man who ever lived!" retorted Renfield. "His power is beyond any mere mortal's! And he will reward those who serve him!"
"Yeah? How? By more rejection and insults?" asked Harley. "Anyway, if you're just serving someone in the hope of some reward, you're not doing it for them, you're doing it for you. You're being selfish, no matter how much you might profess your devotion to this guy. I mean, nobody could ever accuse my love for Mr. J of being selfish since the only rewards I get are few and far between," she sighed. "And anyway, what makes you think Drac is gonna reward you? He has a history of just kinda treating people like crap."
"It is only right that he rewards such loyalty, such unquestioning devotion…" began Renfield.
"Right, and he's a guy who always does what's right, huh?" asked Harley, skeptically. "Look, as a former psychiatrist, I've dealt with these personality types before. Self-absorbed narcissists, people who are so in love with themselves that they don't see or acknowledge any of the other people who helped them get where they are today. Thank God I don't have to deal with people like that anymore," she sighed. "Well, except Batman. But the point is, if you're holding out hope for recognition from Dracula, you're gonna have a long wait. The guy doesn't love anyone except himself."
"Don't presume to speak of his greatness, whore!" snapped Renfield. "You know nothing about him!"
"I know a egotistical psychopath when I see one," retorted Harley. "Deal with Batman a lot, like I said. I can spot 'em a mile off. And your so-called Master is definitely one of 'em. The sooner you wake up and realize that, the happier you'll be. After all, no one deserves to be chained to a selfish, cruel, heartless monster for the rest of their lives. I can't think of anything sadder than somebody serving a guy like that, day after day, being treated like crap and holding out hope of some reward that's never gonna come. Poor, delusional, obsessive bastards," she sighed. "Glad I ain't one of 'em."
Renfield said nothing, glaring at her. "I mean, you're worth a lot more than just being some maniac's doormat, aren't ya?" continued Harley. "I'm sure the real you is full of all kindsa great qualities. But Dracula's bringing out the worst in you – he's making you hide your good qualities and feed your bad ones. And that ain't healthy at all. C'mon, sit here next to me," she said, patting a chair. "And tell me about your childhood."
"I…had a very happy childhood," stammered Renfield. "A very happy childhood."
"Bet you miss it, huh?" asked Harley.
"My childhood?" he repeated.
"No – being happy," she replied. "Take it from me, the world's an awful place if you ain't."
"It…makes me happy to serve Master," stammered Renfield.
"You say that, but I don't see a smile on that face, Mr. Renfield," said Harley, shaking her head. "Not like me. I'm a happy gal. You're some nutjob's victim."
"I'm…not a victim," said Renfield, slowly.
"No, victims rarely think they are," sighed Harley. "Poor delusional bastards, like I said. You don't wanna be one of those for the rest of your life, do you, Mr. Renfield?"
She reached for some old, discarded Bible pages on the floor and turned them over, pulling a pen out of her pocket. "C'mon, sit down and tell me all about it," she said. "Dr. Quinzel is here for you."
Renfield slowly obeyed her, taking a chair next to her. He began speaking.