Her office decorum, or lack thereof, represented her personality quite well. The minimal artwork were dark shades of grays and reds, crafted into splotch-like designs, with sharp edges. It didn't resemble anything really, just poorly drawn triangles and squares. I wonder how much she paid for this mediocre artwork. The bookshelf behind her was filled head to toe with nonfiction books on guns, criminology, world famous dictators, and strategies of war. Huh, this was definitely Waller's office.
She had explained a small part of what she intended on having me do for my next "mission," and slid the thickest file I've ever seen across her desk directly in front of me. I had yet to open it. I was still trying to wrap my head around her idea. She had to be insane.
We stared at each other for a few moments, we were both daring the other to speak first. I took a deep breath and rubbed my bald head awkwardly.
"So you think the Joker is still alive?" I questioned, eyeing the file in front of me. Harley's file.
Waller didn't say anything. She simply nodded.
"Okay," I took another deep breath. "And you believe that he will come to Belle Reve to take Harley?"
She took a sip out of her mug of hot tea and nodded again.
"So what exactly does this have to do with me? Cause I'm really not seeing why I'm the only one needed for whatever kinda beef you have with Harley's 'friend'," I did the air quotes as I remembered our conversation about getting the Joker to help us escape back in Midway.
"You, and Dr. Quinzel seemed to have formed a special connection. The only shot you ever missed was the one you took at her, she choose you and the rest of the inmates over the Enchantress's promise to save the Joker. Also, I heard you two took a beating from Griggs's men in an attempt to keep each other from getting hurt. How sweet," her smiled seemed full of power and manipulation.
However, I wasn't gonna bite. This wasn't adding up.
"Okay, again, What in the Hell does this have to do with me? And secondly, Dr. Quinzel? What is she a MD?"
She took another sip of her tea, "PhD," she set down her drink and pointed at the file, "All you will need to know is in there. Also, We are fairly sure the Joker will come here to get Harley, and she will turn him down,"
I heard myself laugh, "How exactly do you expect anyone to pick prison over freedom? Hell, I'd go with J if he busted me out,"
She gave me a dark stare, "We both know you wouldn't set foot near that man, and we both also know that Harley Quinn is a lot of things when she's around the Joker, but-"
"Free ain't one of them," I cut her off.
She nodded solemnly. "Harley Quinn is a very mentally ill and unstable woman. Her obsession with the Joker makes her a total wildcard. And she won't be useful on missions until she sees that she is capable of being a whole person by herself," she reached across my desk, lifting the file. She flipped for a moment until she found what she was looking for, and handed it back to me.
The pages were full of notes on Harley from various psychiatrists, listings of possible mental disorders, and medications. Also, photos of her body coated in bruises, probably soon after she as captured. I couldn't tell if the bruises were from Batman or the Joker himself. Considering how Batman will beat the shit out of most of us before handing us in, but Boom once told me he heard that Batman saved Harley from drowning, before handing her over to the guards at Belle Reve. So, all theories point to the injuries coming from J after all. Maybe that's why she doesn't seem to mind taking a beating from Griggs, it might be nothing compared to her life with him.
I felt my fist clench and crumple part of the file. I scammed the words on the page.
"It says here she might have possible Stockholm Syndrome?" I read before looking back to Waller, waiting on her to tell me what the fuck all this is and why she's sharing it with me.
"It's a mental illness where hostage victims start to feel empathy, sympathy, or, in her case, love for their captures," Waller was back to casually drinking that damned tea again.
"Did the Joker kidnap her?" I didn't get it, Harley seems too happy to see her 'Puddin' for it to be just some big tortuous mess. But then again, she did say the last thing he did before he allegedly died was try to kill her. Maybe she's just convinced that's what love is.
"No, he didn't kidnap her. That's why other theories point to a quasi-Florence Nightingale Syndrome, where a doctor falls for their patient. However-"
I didn't get it, "He was her doctor?" She held her hand up, starting to get quite irritated with my constant interruptions. But I didn't care, none of this made any damn sense.
"He was her patient. So the psychiatrists here believe that she was manipulated and taken advantage of by her patient, instead of the other way around like it usually is. She's quite an interesting patient apparently. I can definitely see the allure she or the Joker may have on most mental health professionals,"
"Wait wait wait. Harley was a psychiatrist?" I didn't like looking clueless, but none of this shit was making sense. The more Waller talked, the less I understood why I was needed. This meeting was about Harley and J, not me.
She nodded, "At none other than Arkham Asylum,"
Holy shit.
The silence was uncomfortable and filled with tension and unanswered questions. I didn't even know where to begin. Harley was a doctor? How fucked up did the Joker get her? Why did Waller have me going over her file? Was the Joker alive? And, the one eating at me the most, what the flying fuck am I doing here?
I was starting to get pretty anxious. Irritated? Uneasy? I'm not really all that sure anymore. Too much information was thrown at me at once, and I still wasn't even sure what this "mission" was supposed to be.
All I was really certain of was that I had had enough. "Okay, Waller. Why am I here? Don't bullshit me. Tell me exactly what you are expecting me to do," my voice was harsh and threatening. I was tired of trying to figure out what she needed me for.
Waller's smirk faded into a grim line on her face. She took a deep breath. "Harley isn't strong enough to leave the Joker on her own. She just needs some support and a little push. That's where you come in,"
I didn't like where this was going.
She continued, "We were able to get Doctor Moon-" she referenced to the door behind me where Flag was probably standing on the other side. "-to keep her Enchantress under control because Flag helped her realize how important she was to the bigger picture,"
I didn't even wanna hear this anymore. I stood up, Harley's large file that was once in my lap toppling to the floor, "You want me to manipulate Harley into leaving the Joker? You want me to babysit her and brainwash her into believing she should stay your little slave? Do you know how fucking crazy that sounds?" I was fuming.
She looked up at me from her seat, completely unfazed by my outburst.
"You wouldn't be manipulating her. You'd be showing her a life without the Joker. A life she where she could potentially reenter society. A life where she can have a family. That's what she wants, but she still believes the Joker will provide that for her eventually,"
I considered what she said, but I still didn't feel right about it.
I looked at her thoughtfully, "I don't feel right pretending to be in love with her,"
Her eyes snapped up at me and her face grew irritated. "You think I wanted Flag to go soft on me? He was supposed to keep her in line, not fall in love with her," she growled at me. "That is rule one of your mission. If you fall in love with her, the whole thing will be ruined. You'll lose focus, and there's too much at stake for that,"
I never thought I'd feel bad for Flag, but it must hurt having someone pull strings that hurt the person you love most. If Waller ever had the reins of Zoe's life I'd lose my shit.
As if she read my mind, "We both know you won't kill Harley Quinn, but maybe you'll fix her. I made you this offer before, and I'm not doing it again. Fix Harley Quinn. Do it for your freedom and your kid,"
A/N: I hope this chapter isn't too much. It's really long and has a lot, but I really wanted to get into the psychological aspects of Harley. I hope this is as interesting for you all as it was for me to write.
Next chapter: Deadshot is granted permission to have regular visits with Harley. And he makes a decision on Waller's proposal.