Aussie, poor Aussie, I have her editing as crazy, but we already finished. Thanks again for your fantastic job.
And thanks to you for all your wonderful comments...
"You look beautiful anyway." The blonde moved her hand and touched the fabric of Helena's blouse. "Nice fabric."
"Thanks…"
Unexpectedly Harleen moved forward and tried to kiss Helena, she moved back slightly and lowered her head.
"Doctor… I…" Helena said softly "I love Barbara, you know it, I don't want to cheat on her…"
"You haven't tried with me…"
The young woman took a deep breath. "Harleen… I don't want hurt you but… I'm not interested."
The blonde chuckled. "Maybe you will be… What would you give me if I gave you what you want most?"
"I don't need anything else, I'm fine."
The blonde lifted her hand and touched the brunette's cheek. "What would you say if told you where to find your mother's assassin?"
Helena stared at her.
"I know where he is now." Quinzel's hand brushed the brunette's fine hair off her forehead and to the side.
"How you know?" the brunette felt her heart beating harder in her chest.
"I told you, I have my contacts…" Quinzel smiled and moved forward to brush her lips against Helena's.
The brunette moved her head to the side. "Harleen I can't…"
"Do you want to know where he is?"
"Yes."
"You know I always will support you." She said.
"Tell me…" Helena said fixing her eyes on her.
"I'll do it… I want you to have your revenge." Quinzel smiled and kissed her lightly on her lips, this time the brunette didn't move back.
Helena picked up her short black coat and walked to the exit with Quinzel.
The redhead exited the elevator doors into the Clocktower feeling upset.
"Bad day?" Alfred asked noticing her mood. He stood in front of the gears of the Clock as he finished cleaning them.
"No, it's that Quinzel, now I'm convinced she knows much more about us than I like." Barbara stepped onto the platform and placed her briefcase on the desk. "Has Helena called?"
"Not yet, she must be at work. What does that woman know?" Alfred walked toward her cleaning his hands with a cloth.
"She has been insinuating that Helena has special skills." The redhead said sitting on her chair and looking for the computer mouse. "She talked about her strength and now she has mentioned Batgirl."
"She knows who you are?"
"I think so."
"Who would have told her?"
"I don't know but I need to talk with Helena about this woman." She leaned back in her chair looking at him. "And she is really interested in Helena. She is flirting with her."
"Miss Helena loves you."
"I know, but it worries me what this woman has seen inside her head." Barbara explained "She talks about anger, criminals and power with such fascination… it is like as if she loves it. She has a strange dark side."
"Did you find something interesting in your visit to Arkham?"
"Yes, I just need check to some info…" she leaned over her screen. "I don't like this."
Quinzel took Helena to the old oil factory. It had been closed for years. The young woman climbed easily over the fence and jumped onto the roof of the closest building.
She felt the adrenaline running through her body, she would finally face him. She had looked forward to this moment for years.
The brunette walked quickly over the rooftop and looked around. Quinzel said he was in one of the main buildings. There it was in front of her. Not thinking twice, she easily jumped over to it.
She entered through a window and below her was an open space filled with old oil thanks. It was huge. The place was dark and smelled bad.
"Are you looking for someone?" a voice behind her said.
She turned and noted with surprise that Batman was there.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"I came here to stop you."
"This is my war, not yours."
He walked towards her. He looked bigger in that dark costume.
"You must come back home."
"No one invited you, so you can go." Huntress said angrily. What the fuck was he doing there? She never expected to see him. She hadn't seen him in almost two years.
"Go away." Batman said standing in front of her.
"I'm not leaving until I find him."
"And what are you going to do? Do you think you can defeat him?" he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'll kill him, I'll avenge mom."
"You can't." The dark knight said "You are just a kid, go home, this is a man's work."
"Who the fuck do you think you are? You are out of my life!"
"I said, go home."
"I'm not going, I'll find him and I'll kill him."
"He will kill you first."
"Don't be so sure…"
He slapped her hard on her face sending her backwards. She didn't expect him to hit her and so she couldn't avoid the impact and hit the ground hard.
"You are stubborn and stupid." Batman said "Come home with daddy."
Batman lifted her by her lapels and threw her against some old furniture at the end of the corridor. Huntress growled and rolled crouching on the floor.
"Daddy will spank you until you understand you fucking bitch" the masked man shouted.
She glared at him. He tried to kick her but she moved to the side. She jumped and kicked him in his chest. He fell back and before he could react further the brunette used both of her fists as a hammer and hit him hard in the face. The man held her by her waist and pushed her back.
Both fell onto the top of one of the tanks. They struggled until they heard a sharp crack. The top of the old tank broke under their weight and they both fell inside the empty tank. Huntress pushed him back as she tried to regain her balance and landed on her feet.
"I know it's you Clayface!" she said holding her arm.
He smirked and morphed to his normal form. "Well, well, how did you know it was me?"
"He never calls him self daddy and he has never insulted me." Huntress was on guard. She had been waiting for this moment for years. "And I smelt your bad smell."
"You have the same sense of humor as your mother." The tall man laughed standing up. "Do you recognize this?" Clayface opened a switchblade knife in front of him and showed it to Helena.
She remembered it. It was similar to the knife he had used to kill her mother. The same one that he had dropped on the roadway in the rain.
He swung trying to surprise her but she dodged. He thrust forward but she blocked his blow; he then tried to hit her but she smashed her fist against his face. Her other fist impacted with his gut.
Clayface stepped back.
"Seems like this will be fun." He grinned noticing she was limping. He lunged his blade towards her again.
Huntress noticed some chains hanging from the racks on the ceiling, they were used to lift heavy weights, she pulled the closest one and they fell down.
Clayface tried to stab her but she used the chains to grab his arm and twist it.
He crashed against the ground and stood up annoyed.
"You love to play rude… I like it." He grinned at her while wiping his lips.
"Me too."
He tried to stab her but the brunette ducked and swept his feet making him stumble back. Annoyed he threw a piece of wood at her and she avoided it by moving to the side as she used the chains she was holding to hit his feet and make him fall...
"Are you pissed? Tsk, tsk, I'm so sorry…" she smiled.
He stood up again and tried to hit her. Helena blocked his arm but he swept his foot making her fall down.
He jumped over her and she barely had time to lift her hand to stop the descending knife.
"First I kill the mother, now I kill the daughter. That's almost poetic." He grinned and used both hands to try to push the knife down and bury it in the brunette's throat.
Helena pushed him back and got to her feet kicking him back. Clayface flipped the knife over and stepped forward to attack her.
Huntress grabbed his arm and flipped him over. Both fell to the ground and she landed on top of him.
Huntress grabbed his hand which still held the knife and pushed until the knife was poised over him. One hand on his hand holding the knife, her other hand on his neck.
"You killed my mother. Now I'm going to kill you. That is poetry." She growled.
"Oh, look at you, Helena, huh? The rage. And you look so beautiful."
Huntress growled at the man feeling the blood burning in her veins. He had stolen her mother's life, he had broken her life, her heart.
"And I enjoyed seeing her life vanishing under my hand." He grinned.
She pressed her lips together angrily and hit him harder on his face knocking him out.
She had the knife at his throat and growled. Her hand had a hard grip on the knife.
She just needed push and she could have her revenge, the revenge she had dreamed of for so long.
Push… just she needed to push.
She could see her mother smiling at her, holding her in her arms. She almost could feel her sitting beside her on her bed watching some dumb TV show.
Then she felt the cold, she could smell the blood that soaked her mother's body. She could see her dying in her arms.
She never did get to say goodbye.
A tear ran down her cheek.
She would never hear a last "I love you" from her mother's lips.
"Fuck!" Helena shouted throwing the knife against the far wall.
She couldn't do it. She wanted it so much but she couldn't do it. She hit her fist against the wall.
"Kill him!" A voice behind her said.
Huntress looked back. The lower door of the tank was opened. Quinzel appeared dressed in a very strange red costume.
"Kill him!" the blonde said kneeling to pick up the knife she had thrown against the wall.
"What are you doing here?" the brunette asked.
"I gave him to you, now kill him!"
"I'm not going to kill him." Huntress felt angry, angry with him, with all that he had done. She wanted to run, to shout, to yell. She wanted to beat him to death… But she couldn't.
"Kill him," Quinzel said "feel the power it gives you. He killed your mother, he stole her life. Are you going to forgive him for that? For stealing your home? Your life?"
Huntress shook her head. She was right, he had stolen her life and the person she loved most in the world.
Harleen took her arm and fixed her eyes on the young crime fighter.
"Kill him Helena, you will be powerful and invincible. No one can stop you. You told me no one took revenge for your mother's death. Do it, you owe it to her."
The dark haired girl turned to see the unconscious man lying on the floor.
"You were alone for years Helena," Harley moved closer "you needed to move, you didn't have a home. Your mother didn't have a chance, she died bleeding in your arms. Don't fail her, you need to make him pay for what he did."
The brunette bit her lips, she felt her anger ready to explode in every inch of her skin.
"Kill him and feel the power that your anger will give you…" the blonde pushed her "…and then let me show you the way you can be free. You told me you hate rules. No more rules, no more stupid hero codes! You can do whatever you want, your destiny is in your hands."
Blue eyes fixed on the petite woman. Quinzel cupped her face between her hands.
"I can show you the way to find your freedom. No one will rule your life, just you." The blonde whispered "I promised to be at your side, I will be, I'm here. Do it! It's what you want. Honor the memory of your mother. Kill him, make him pay!"
Helena hesitated, she wanted do it but at the same time something inside her, an unexpected force stopped her. She couldn't understand the emotions flowing inside her.
Quinzel took her hand and put the knife in it. "Revenge gives you pleasure. Do it to feel the power it gives you. We could be a team, an incredible team. No rules, just what you want."
Huntress' eyes fixed on the blade in her hand and she lifted her gaze to Clayface.
"Kill him beautiful." Quinzel smiled. "Do you remember the man that stabbed Barbara a few months ago outside her building? It was him."
Huntress looked at her incredulously, she clenched her fist.
"He tried to kill Barbara, the woman you love… It was him, he told me! He told me he was planning to do it."
"You knew he wanted to kill her?" the brunette growled and pushed her against the wall. She put a hand over her throat.
"Feels good no?" Quinzel smirked "The ire filling in your body. It makes you powerful. You feel it."
"Shut up! Why didn't you tell me what he was planning?" Huntress shouted.
"I work with criminals, you know that. They always look for me. They like to talk, they like to have someone listen to them. I listened to him, but I never thought he would do it."
"You should have told me!" the brunette released her and walked to Clayface knife in hand…
The doctor smiled noticing the tension in Huntress' muscles, her jaw was clenched, her knuckles white with the strength of her fist. It was fascinating to observe her, to see the power flowing in that young and beautiful woman, ready to explode.
The brunette stood up in front of the man and breathed heavily.
"Kill him." Quinzel whispered.
Huntress exhaled loudly and threw the knife to the floor. "No."
Quinzel blinked in surprise. What the hell was she doing?
"He killed your mother, this is what you have been looking forward to for years."
Huntress kept still.
"He will try to kill Barbara again, she will never be safe with him alive."
The dark haired woman turned and looked at her. "I'll take him to Arkham again."
"Is this for Barbara?" the blonde walked toward her "It's her again right?"
"No."
"Are you afraid that she won't support you? That means that she doesn't love you."
"No, it is not for her, it's for me."
"But you said…"
"Harleen..." Huntress interrupted her "I have hated for so many years, thinking of revenge, feeling so hurt… I hated my life, my father, Barbara, this man. I hated everything around me… and I was so empty. I wanted to die, my life didn't have meaning. Now, I feel I'm alive again, I awake in the mornings feeling like I want to stand up and enjoy every minute of the day. Barbara, she makes me feel full, she makes me smile… she is my everything." The brunette sighed and rested her hands on her hips fixing her eyes on the far wall. "Hate almost destroyed me, it pushed me away from the people I love… I don't want to go back to that darkness, I don't want to be alone again."
"You won't be," Quinzel took her face between her hands. "I'm here, I'm here for you."
"Thanks, but you must understand…"
"You are beautiful, strong," Harleen focused on her trying to catch all her attention "The world is in your hands, take it. Look at me, I will never abandon you…" Quinzel moved forward and tried to kiss her on her lips. Huntress moved back trying not to be rude
"I'm sorry…" the brunette whispered "but you know I don't love you."
"Because you don't know me, because you haven't tried with me. Let me love you and I can take you to places you could never imagine."
Quinzel moved her arms around the brunette's neck and pressed her lip's against her. Huntress closed her eyes, she felt Quinzel's mouth tracing hers.
"You are gorgeous." the tip of Quinzel's tongue asked for entrance and Huntress kissed her back trying to show her gratitude for all her help, but after a few seconds she moved her hands between them and moved her face away licking her lips.
"I can't Harleen." She mumbled.
"Kill him Huntress!" Harleen said feeling the anger filling her soul, nobody rejected her, no one had ever pushed her away before. "Take the power it will give you!"
"Nobody gives you power, you just take it." Huntress whispered.
"No Helena, this is different, kill him and feel the strength it gives you. We can work together, be invincible."
"Work?" Huntress hesitated.
Six henchmen walked inside. Huntress narrowed her eyes and looked at the blonde.
"Who are you?"
"Harleen Quinzel, or maybe you know me better as Harley Quinn…."
"You are joking…" the brunette couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was the woman they had been looking for. She felt her vision blur for an instant.
"No, I rule the underworld, I control all the criminals in this city." Quinn smirked "Kill him and join me, we can rule this city. We can have everything you want."
"You have murdered…"
"Helena, join me. Ask me anything you want, I'll give it to you. Diamonds? Jewels? Travel? Cars? What do you want?"
The young woman glared at her. "You are a criminal."
"Think of the world I offer you, a new life, power, money."
"Forget it… You are his girlfriend…" the brunette took a step back feeling dizzy. She shook her head…
"You mean Mr. J?" Quinn smirked observing her "Oh, well it's hard, but yes. You can help me to free him and we will be…"
"He sent Clayface to kill my mother, he shot Barbara…" Huntress felt annoyed, she had been pretending to be her friend, but she had just been using her. The room around her moved, something was wrong.
"Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, she is so annoying!" the blonde waved her hands "But I can fix that. Now Helena, I'm not going to ask you again… It's your last chance. Join me or die."
"Fuck you!" Huntress growled.
"You are so stupid. I'm offering you the world." Harley crossed her arms and smirked. "Do you feel sick?"
The brunette rubbed her eyes. Quinn raised her hand to her lips and peeled off a thin membrane.
Huntress glared at her and took a hesitant step back trying to keep her balance.
"Sorry my dear, when I kissed you a powerful drug poisoned your nervous system. It will make you feel a bit… dumb. I'm not a beginner Huntress, I took my precautions."
Huntress tried to hit her but she was dumb and slow. Quinn punched her hard in her gut and her other fist crashed into her jaw. Huntress turned and tried to kick the woman back.
It pissed off the blonde who charged towards her but Helena's fist hit her hard making her fall back.
Huntress cried when she felt a hard blow on her back. One of Quinn's henchmen had hit her with an old piece of wood.
Quinn took the opportunity and hit her hard in the face, Huntress almost fell but the men caught her in time. Quinn stepped up to her.
"I was sure I could convince you to join me. Why are you so stupid?"
"Bitch…" Huntress felt her mouth struck.
Harley's back hand hit the brunette's face. Helena tried to attack her but the men restrained her easily and her limbs felt so heavy.
Quinn took her face between her hands. "My sweet Helena, your fucking love for that whore screwed my plans. Why are you so stubborn? You could love me."
"I… don't date… bitches."
Maybe that had been a bad answer, Quinn's fist hit her side even harder and it hurt like hell. She growled.
"You would have been a fucking fantastic lover." The blonde said tracing the brunette's lips with her hands "You must be very good, Barbara is crazy for you. Maybe I can't have you but she can't have you either."
"Psycho bitch…"
The impact of Harley's boot against her jaw was so strong that it made her see stars. A buzz sound echoed in her ears. She could taste her blood in her mouth.
"Boys, show her who's the boss." Quinn stepped back smirking and crossed her arms.
The brunette winced feeling a hard blow to her ribs. A fist hit the side of her skull and she fell to her knees. This was definitely bad. She didn't have time to think anymore as blows rained over her, she curled trying unsuccessfully to protect , a hard kick to the back of her head made her lose consciousness.
Oracle tapped her fingers against her desk.
"How goes your research Miss Barbara?" Alfred asked.
"The woman is a ghost" the redhead said pushing her glasses up her nose with her index finger. "There is no information about her anywhere. It makes me even more worried… Harley Quinzel… Harley Quinzel…" Barbara froze suddenly. The name sounded similar to…
"Is something wrong?" the butler asked looking at her.
"Harleen Quinzel… Harley Quinn."
"The Joker's girlfriend? Could this be a coincidence?"
"I hope…" Barbara turned and typed frantically on her keyboard. She found an old file picture of a masked Harley Quinn. It was a strange picture, taken years ago after a bank robbery, it was the only picture they had of the criminal.
"Her face is masked." Alfred said.
"Yes but I can make a comparison of her face shape, the mouth and nose…" Barbara pressed some keys and opened several windows on her monitor.
"She has been insinuating things about you and her."
"Yes, I have really a bad feeling about this."
Barbara's green eyes fixed on the screen.
"It's Quinzel Alfred." She mumbled seeing the match on the screen. This was not good. It was worse than bad.
"Oh my…" Alfred said. "This is not good."
"Definitely not." She pressed a button "Huntress we have a problem."
She noticed then that the signal was off. Barbara shook her head. "It's off."
"She must still be working at the bar."
"Right." She pressed a button and a phone icon appeared on her screen. "Dark Horse bar."
"Quinzel has been looking for Miss Helena frequently." The old butler pointed out. "Do you think she knows who you are?"
"I think so, and it really worries me."
-:Dark horse Bar a voice come over the speakers.:
"Leonard, good evening, I'm sorry but I really need to talk with Helena, is she around?"
:She left the bar two hours ago. She went out with a blonde.:
Barbara turned to see Alfred was also looking worried. "A blonde? Is she small? Short hair?"
:Yes, she has been here two or three times.:
"Thanks Leonard." She cut the phone call and put her hands on the desk. "She is with her and she hasn't called."
"And her mic is off."
Barbara knew this could only mean problems. "I can turn it on but it will take me a few minutes. We need to find her"
She felt someone was dragging her. Her eyesight was blurry, but she could see lights along the ceiling. Then she passed out again and when she next opened her eyes she was lying inside a cold dark place. Her whole body hurt like hell. Where was she? She could hear the sound of the sea close by.
"Hi beautiful… Good nap?"
Huntress blinked and tried to focus on the evil woman smiling above her, but her face looked distorted and her voice had a strange echo.
"Hard time? Oh my, that's so bad… for you of course. My dear Helena," Quinn grinned as she traced her lips with her index finger. "you don't have any idea how much you hurt me. I dreamed of taking you to my bed, it's a shame you are so stupid."
Huntress tried to move her arms and she realized her hands were chained behind her back. Fuck, where was she? She looked around tying to recognize the place. Her eyes glowed golden and she felt totally disoriented.
"This will be the last time I see you." Quinn whispered "It makes me feel so sad."
The blonde leaned and kissed her as her left hand moved over her right breast and pressed it hard.
Helena felt Quinn's tongue touch her like a snake, taking, poisoning.
"So sweet." The blonde grinned and licked her cheek, she moved down and kissed her neck.
Huntress growled annoyed, she didn't want her touching her.
Quinn's hand moved from her breast and cupped her crotch.
"Do you like that?" the blonde smiled moving her hand in soft circles between her legs "Do you want me to make you feel good?"
"Fuck you…" Helena lifted her legs trying unsuccessfully to push Quinn's hand away.
"Come on, I know you like it." The criminal fixed her eyes on her "I can fuck you now… if I want," she pressed her hand hard against her center. "You love to fuck, no? You told me many times how much you liked the way Barbara fucked you. Has she touched you like I do? I'm sure she hasn't. I'm much better than her."
Huntress pulled the chains trying to free her arms, but she couldn't, she was fucking drugged.
"Forget it Huntress," Quinn kissed her jaw "you are mine now." She kissed her again and after long seconds she moved back resting her knees on either side of Helena's thighs. "It's a shame our relationship has to finish like this." She picked up Clayface's knife, and observed it closely before she moved the tip to Helena's side and pressed it lightly against her. She smiled at the brunette. "Now your life is my hands. What do you think?"
"You are crazy."
Quinzel chuckled. "That is what everyone says, but the truth is that all of them are jealous of my talent… my power." She bent and caressed the dark curls at her forehead "Like Barbara Gordon, she is a damn pain in the ass, and I should kill her."
"Don't touch her…"
"Nah, it wouldn't be fun… How do you think poor Barbara will feel when she knows you are dead? I'm going to enjoy it, it will be much better than killing her." She brushed her lips against Helena's forehead and began to trace light kisses over her face. "Of course, I'm not going to give you the pleasure of a fast death my dear. It will be more fun if you die alone and slowly… helplessly."
Huntress cried feeling the knife burying into her side.
Quinn smirked looking at the pain on the girl's face "You don't have any idea how good this feels."
"Fucking bitch…" Huntress groaned in pain. She tried unsuccessfully to push her away.
"You must understand Helena," the blonde whispered in her ear burying the blade deeper "I can't give you any chance to survive, right?"
Finally Quinn pulled the knife out and caressed the brunette's cheek. "It's time to say goodbye honey. But I would like to keep something to remember you by." With a fast movement, she removed the girl's necklace and observed her. "This will do fine."
The blonde stood up and Huntress gasped in pain as she curled over.
"It's time to say goodbye honey." Harley said pacing around the small room. "This place is part of a secret hideout, built during the second world war. Only a few people know about this place. It's a dock inside a cave that could be used to escape in case of an emergency."
Huntress looked around, she was inside a cavern, a dim light lit the place, pretty creepy.
"The high tide fills this place with water every night, just after midnight." Quinn checked her watch, "You don't have much time. So, think fast."
Quinn turned and climbed the only ladder. Once she was out of the room her men kicked the ladder until the old screws broke and it fell down into the water.
"I know cats don't like water but… well, I hope your mother taught you how to swim." Quinn laughed "I'm sorry if I don't stay but I don't like cold water."
The brunette stared at her still distorted shape. She heard the sound of the door closing and being locked.
Her side hurt like hell and she tried to stand up but the world moved around her and she couldn't keep her balance. She rested her back against the cold wall. With her senses functioning normally she could have reached the door easily.
"Barbara…" she whispered.
She was the only one who could help her, but she didn't know where she was.
Fuck. She was screwed.
TBC
