Chapter Nineteen: True Freedom

The skyline of Gotham was a beautiful thing to behold at nighttime. Harley was perched on the rooftop of an old industrial building in the Narrows, staring across the river to the dazzling lights of the heart of the city, lost in her thoughts. It had been several days since the revelation of Thomas' plans and still she couldn't shake the feeling of sorrow that flooded her every time she thought of him. His loss in her life was immeasurable, the friend who was able to look past her flaws without exploiting them. And yet, that was exactly what he did, pushing her further and further until she was primed to kill the man she loved.

She sat on the ledge of the building, her feet dangling over the side of the roof. While the air still held a chill, she embraced every goosebump that wracked her body, wanting so badly to turn back the clock to a simpler time. But there was no way to do that. Only to move forward. Mr. J had been less demanding of her recently, as if he now trusted her to keep her own form of control. There were no threats of the basement or cuffing her to the bed. She was her own person and he recognized that. But it didn't mean he let go of his hold over her entirely. She would forever be linked to him.

A squeak caught her attention as the door to the roof opened. The footsteps on the gravel, paced evenly, told her exactly who was sneaking up on her. Harley didn't turn her head to confirm, merely kept her eyes on the skyline. The person stopped behind her, slightly to the left, but not joining her on the ledge. For some time, they said nothing, the sounds of the Narrows floating upwards towards them and basking them in the noises of the filth below. But Harley could still hear herself breathing, deep and calm, despite the tension that filled her.

After awhile, she finally spoke, never turning her eyes towards him. "This is one of the best views of downtown. The way Gotham wants to be. Not the dirty hole that we're standing in."

"You and I both know that it's just a mask, though," he said. Her friend, her betrayer, her weakness, her strength. Thomas Elliot. Hush.

"The lights twinkle like fireflies," Harley said. "I wish I could catch them in my hands." She dug into her pocket to retrieve a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "But they would burn like the sun, I think." Lighting the cigarette, she watched as the smoke drifted away from her, until it disappeared into nothing.

"Maybe, but you'd enjoy it all the same," he commented.

"I would."

The conversation came as easy as any other they had in the past. It felt good to be in the moment again with him, even if it was to be their last. Silence fell over them once again but it wasn't uncomfortable. As Harley took another drag from her cigarette, she thought of all those little things that couldn't have been faked. The way their eyes met when they joked around. The food he'd order for her, always knowing her favorites. The little touches, glances. It couldn't have all been an act to play on her emotions. There was something real about it all. She couldn't deny it.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Thomas asked.

"Your death wouldn't have brought me any joy," she said before sucking in more smoke. "And a part of me just couldn't. Couldn't bear to see you die. Stupid, I know, after what you did, but my heart has always ruled my actions."

"There's nothing wrong with that." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

For the first time, Harley turned her head to look up at him. No costume for him this time. Just his red hair shining in the neon light of the bar across the street, his eyes darkened in the dim lighting. A crisp, white, button-down shirt that carried his strong scent to her nostrils. His expression held the same sadness that she felt. Bridges burned, connections gone. But he needed this final exchange as much as she did. No Mr. J meant more honesty between them.

"It wasn't all a lie," he said, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"You used me." And the heartbreak of his betrayal could be heard in her voice.

"I did," he acknowledged, almost choking on the words. "But as time passed and I got to know you better, it became about more than mere revenge. There's something special about you. You don't flinch when faced with the horrible truth. I respect that."

"Why didn't you just give up, then?" Harley asked. "Ignore your petty schemes? You claim so much but you still pressed until there was nothing but dust. Do you even realize the price you paid? I think it might be more than you can bear."

"I know." He sorrow became more tangible. "I paid a heavy cost. But I don't regret it."

She smiled sadly, turning her head away. "Yes, you do. I remember when you asked me if I had any regrets. You wanted a mirror to reflect yourself but I couldn't be that for you. I never could. Even back then, you questioned what you were doing. Questioned if you should continue. You chose the wrong path." She shook her head. "Because the truth is you bared your soul to me in ways you didn't expect to. No amount of lies you tell yourself can ever take that away. Some part of you will always be inside of me."

"And visa versa."

"But I can live with that knowledge. Can you?" She chuckled softly to herself, despite her grief. "And the sad reality is, I would have done it for you, had you been honest. I would have killed Mr. J. You gave me so much hope that maybe my life could be better. I could be free and perhaps I could find some balance inside myself. Be happy with who I am." Harley felt the tears stinging at her eyelashes.

"You still can," he insisted. "And I still want to be there for you. Could we just start over?"

Another one of his fantasies. A fairytale for lost souls. But for a moment, she lost herself inside of it. A life where she lived with her ginger prince, finding contentment in his warm eyes. Someone who understood her, could peel back her layers and dig deep to console her. In some ways, Thomas knew her better than Mr. J. But the simple truth was, Thomas could know every detail about her and still not truly get her. That was something only Mr. J could do. Thomas would never comprehend her darkest desires, the need for blood and passion. He was too reserved for that. He might be a force to be reckoned with in Gotham, but he wasn't even close to the same wavelength as her and Mr. J.

"Wishful thinking. Too much history between us, Thomas." Harley laughed to herself. "I'm capable of many things, but I can't simply wipe the slate clean of your deception."

"Let me make it up to you. God, how I wish I could tell you all the things I couldn't before. I want you to know how I feel," he said. He was trying to play on her emotions, knowing full well the key to her mind, but it was too calculated. She knew his bag of tricks all too well.

The cigarette between her fingers burned against her skin, forgotten and now turned to ash. Tossing it off the roof, she saw the metaphor for what it was. Thomas' warmth was so close to her, his hand still resting on her shoulder. The temptation to lean back into him was strong. But she was clinging to a dead memory. Unlike him, she didn't live in regret. Harley may have felt foolish for believing, but she wouldn't blame herself for falling for it. For caring about her friend. She would move on. It would be an easy adaption for her. But she wasn't sure if he ever would.

"And I love you too," she said, responding to his unspoken confession. "But that doesn't change anything between us."

His hand dropped from her shoulder. "So, what now?"

"You go back to your world and I go back to mine."

"And if our paths intersect?" he asked.

Harley smiled widely, already feeling her mind slipping away from him. The influence of Thomas was gone. Lost to the wind like ephemera. It never took her long to get over anything. And while he would be a part of her forever, her emotions were fueled by something much more powerful than friendship or love. She could no longer be swayed by him. Her mind set on the one thing that really mattered in her life. The one man. The only man. Her Mr. J and his beautiful symphony of terror.

"The tide's coming in," she said, watching the downtown skyline as it burst into color, flame sparkling in the distance. The boom took a second to reach her ears, the sound of the real Mr. J back at work. The explosion was breathtaking, as most of his displays were. She wished she could have been present to feel the heat against her skin. But she had a different job.

Turning her head back to Thomas, she grinned as his eyes widened, taking in the destruction before his eyes. "You get a free pass this time, on account of our former friendship. But if you ever take a run at Mr. J again, I will let the monster inside of me loose. And you will beg for mercy before the end."

Thomas nodded, accepting her statement with a serious expression. "Then it's over."

"It's over," Harley agreed.

He leaned down and pressed a light kiss against her cheek. A goodbye. When he pulled back, she swore she could see tears glistening in his eyes. But that wasn't like Thomas to shed tears over loss. He was too internal for such a display. It must have been her imagination. He turned on his heel and walked away from her, his shoes crunching against the gravel once more. As far as endings went, it was bittersweet. They both lived, but they would never be able to rekindle the fire between them. Harley watched until he disappeared behind the rooftop door.

Then, she sighed, turning her head back to the skyline of Gotham, a cloud of smoke rising from the ashes of Mr. J's latest amusement. Thomas' earlier words came back to her about Gotham. "Just a mask? Time to remove it, then."

Her cell phone rang. It was time to go to work.

While the news and police followed his work, they didn't see the endgame. Always slow to the punch. Fooled by the shiny distraction. They thought him the source of all the madness, his explosions, his laughter. He played the role of the flashy one. Idiots, as blind as the Bat. They didn't see. They never saw. And GCN ate up everything he did with a huge fork and a Cheshire grin. They might never make the connection. The explosion was merely the sideshow. The main attraction was taking place over the river with his Harley.

A merry chase around town, pulling the police away from their sources. Another call. Another claim that he wanted the Commissioner to come clean with the truth. The Dent situation. But Mr. J was far past that. Dent could live on the hero for all he cared. But it was a nice card to play when pulling the rug out from under them. Diversionary tactics. Worked like a charm for his girl's emergency surgery. And they all fell for it time and time again.

"Think the Barbie will fuck it up again?" Doc asked from the driver's seat.

Mr. J smiled. The police were following the flashy purple car driven by his temporary henchmen, not yet realizing that their target had slipped away into a mundane Ford Taurus. Eventually, when the bodies were looked at, they'd take a look at the security footage to see the truth. A wave to the traffic camera before jumping into the passenger's seat. This was the final run of the Taurus before ditching it far away from the house. Livingston already had a new car prepared for them and was shutting down tracking across the city, just in case the police got wise. Doubtful but caution made the journey smooth. Harley's work was too important.

"This time, I asked for wholesale slaughter. She'll be fine providing she makes it out alive," Mr. J mused.

"Why now?" The constant cigarette in Doc's hand was smoking up the car, obscuring vision.

That would be the question, wouldn't it? The same question the police would be asking when they discovered the corpses in the Narrows. Ample opportunity but never acted upon. But he needed his girl to be ready for it. To stop looking at the world through rose colored glasses. To see the users, the schemers. She was never shy about killing. She would have done it before if he asked, not truly understanding the purpose. But the betrayal of her friend sent her into the spiral he needed. He wanted her to appreciate why she was doing it. Now, she would.

Somewhere across town, Harley was entering a room. A secret room with secret plans. The secret alliances to be forged. They thought to keep the location from him but his eyes were always watching. She would show herself, be welcomed because of prior relationships. And then she would listen. Get the dirt, the plans, see how each of those secret men played their hands. How they each wanted to rule Gotham. She would finish what he started. By morning, there would be chaos. By morning, the underground would rip itself apart. By morning, every head of every mafia family would be dead. It would be glorious.

"Why not?" Mr. J said in response.

Several hours later, he got the call. Her twinkling voice full of fire and amusement filled his ears with tales of her exciting evening of murder. And he was as proud as a father. Little Harley had grown up.

The weight of his body pressed her further into the bed. It was different this time. She wasn't trapped or under his controlling grip. Her hands were free, her nails digging into his back as he bit harshly into her neck. Smears of his makeup all over her body. The pain created ecstasy inside her body, as much as his frantic thrusting did. It was primal, carnal, real. Her legs wrapped around his torso, pushing back with all her might. His breath smelled of beer and his body held the lingering scent of death. Her skin still reeked of blood. A combination that sent her senses reeling. It seemed the same as always. And still, it was so different.

It wasn't just the freedom afforded her. It was the look in Mr. J's eyes as he stared down at her, as if he was devouring her essence and giving it back all at once. He had never looked at her like that before. Harley thought she had seen everything from him. She had held him as he cried. Felt terror as he turned his death gaze on her. Loved him when he did something unexpected for her. Reveled in the cries of his victims. But this was new. They'd fucked many times before. But this was the first time that they made love.

Harley couldn't help the tears of joy spilling down her face. This was the proof. He was lifting his grasp on her, considering her an equal at last. Mr. J no longer just tolerated her, wanted her around for the hell of it. No, he needed her. Needed his Harley. She could feel it in his gaze, his pumping hips, his tongue licking away her tears. Their dance had changed yet again. She had proven herself to him, became more than just a puppet. And for this one moment, she allowed herself to believe that he loved her as much as she loved him.

Her orgasm caught her completely off guard. She writhed against Mr. J, the pleasure flooding her as she gripped his back as if holding on for dear life. It was powerful, not as earth shattering as the one where she took control, but it was far more beautiful. She tugged down on his head to kiss him, moaning with the sensation until her shuddering subsided.

His thrusting stopped and he peered down at her, a curious expression on his face. "You just came." His voice held disbelief.

"Yeah," she said, catching her breath and wondering why he seemed so surprised. Then it hit her. There was no pain to incite the climax. It came out of nowhere and took her over. There was no pain. None at all. Her face lit up in pure wonder and she smiled at him. "Oh my god!"

Without a word, striking like a cobra, he bit down into her shoulder. She could feel his incisors drawing blood and felt the wave of renewed bliss crawl over her body. Her receptors hadn't changed. The same response as always and yet, she was able to reach her peak without the need for pain. It didn't take long for her to realize why. Love. Her mind sank in the memory of her conversation with Thomas about not being able to love someone that she feared. But when she allowed herself to believe Mr. J loved her back, the fear was gone. It dissipated completely and it sparked a rawness inside of her that she never knew existed. An experience she would never forget.

As she thrashed against him in rapture, he withdrew his mouth, dark red tinting his yellowed teeth as he grinned down at her. "Just testing. Not broken." Then he began to move inside her again.

Harley stretched her arms above her head to grasp the base of the headboard, using it to push back against him. She was too bewildered by her recent experience to concentrate on her own pleasure, so she settled for making his own come quicker. It didn't take long before his eyes darkened and he pressed himself deep inside so she could feel his release. A groan escaped his lips, perhaps her favorite sound from him and she smiled as he collapsed on top of her. Her fingers were about to let go of the headboard when she felt something behind it, something cold, metal.

She tilted her head upwards and tugged on the object, feeling it come loose in her hands. Bringing the small object to eye level, she couldn't help but laugh. The key to the handcuffs on the headboard. This key was how Mr. J freed himself before. "Son a bitch."

Mr. J's head lifted to look at her. When he spotted the key in her hand, he shook his head, rolling off her. "Took you long enough."

"It was here the entire time? I could have freed myself anytime?" Her tone sounded mad but she wasn't in the least. She felt more stupid than anything else for missing it.

A shrug from Mr. J. "Details." He climbed off the bed, heading for the bathroom as she placed the key on the nightstand. He turned on the faucet, splashing water over his face. She watched as the remainder of his makeup disappeared with handful of water. After drying his face with a towel, he looked over to her. "You ever hear about the Stanford Prison Experiment?"

Harley nodded, moving over to her usual place on the bed and rolling on her side to face him. "Yeah. Every psych student has to read about it. Volunteers were assigned as either prisoners or guards. But it got out of hand and they had to stop it. A case study on how vile humanity can be when given an ounce of authority."

He tossed the towel behind him carelessly and climbed into the bed. "I was thinking about conducting my own version of it."

"Complete with shivs and guns, I take it." She had to laugh. "I can see the bloodbath now. Could be fun."

As he settled in, Harley laid her head on his chest, listening to the rumbling of his chest as he spoke. "We'll work on the details in the morning." His breathing, then, deepened. Mr. J was ready for sleep.

The significance of what he just said wasn't lost on her. Including her in his planning. He wanted her input. He had never done that before. She was right. He was seeing her as an equal, as much as he could. He would always be the top dog when it came down to it, but Harley was his alpha bitch and he wouldn't forget it. She smiled against his chest, content with the new revelations of the night. Thomas had given her a gift, even if he didn't know it. She saw the world in a new light because of his actions and Mr. J fostered that belief into existence. It brought them closer together. Harley was born again. And the dance would continue.

She pulled away to look down at his closed eyes. "Goodnight, Mr. J," she said, planting a light kiss on his lips.

Grumbling, he pushed her away, clearly annoyed by her actions. "Go to sleep, crazy woman."

With a smile, she lay back on her pillow, her eyes staring at cracks in the ceiling. Yes, the dance would always continue for them. Back and forth. And she would glide with him, happily, as the city burned around them. Silently, she thanked Thomas. He showed her both the beautiful and ugly sides of the world. And her former friend revealed something even more important to her. He made her realize who she truly was. No longer lost or defined by others. She was Harley Quinn. She didn't need to be anything else.

"I'm not crazy," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm free." And she meant every word.

END

A/N: Well that's it folks. My apologies for the delay on this final chapter and any mistakes within. I've been having problems with my hands recently that make it hard to type but I fought through it to make sure you had closure.

I want to thank everyone for reading this and I truly hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope each of you can take a moment to let me know what you thought of this story in a review. Feedback is great to help improve my writing for future stories.

As for the future of Harley and Mr. J, there will likely be a third story to this series at some point. But for now, I'll be working on "Angels", my Crane fic. Again, thank you all for your support! Cheers!

Auri