The Harlequin and the Bat
This is the story sequel to: The Harley and The Ivy.
Important notes: I do not own Batman or any portion of the franchise. I give all credit to DC Comics and respective owners.
Warning: Violent scenes to come. These stunts are done by highly trained professionals and should not be imitated by anyone. Except those proficient in martial arts training and weapons, even then it shouldn't be imitated.
Chapter 10
'Bruce is Batman…the man I love, the man I treasure; is my first real crush? Have I always been this blind? But isn't this a good thing? Bruce is Batman, Batman is Bruce the two only good men who've ever believed in me are the same person?' Harleen began to tear up as she touched her new necklace; she knew this was meant for her but was she feeling love for Bruce or for Batman?
Bruce saw her touch the necklace and smiled 'She's speechless, she likes it…doesn't she?' He asked "Harleen…are you okay?"
"Bruce…I…" Harleen started but then received a call from Ivy. "I've got to take this." and left for the door.
Bruce got a message from his Bat-Caller. "Err yeah me too."
"I'll give you a straight answer when this is over. I promise." Harleen spoke giving a small smile
"I'll hold you too it." Bruce smiled
On opposite sides of the door were Harleen and Bruce listening on their phones
"Harley…" Ivy's voice started
"Batman…" Commissioner Gordon's voice came through
"It's Scarecrow!" they said in unison
Harleen raced towards the door hoping to avoid running into anyone, but unfortunately Alfred saw her.
"Miss Harleen, where are you going?" He asked sounding concerned.
"I-I need to think on some things Alfred! I'll be back soon!" Harleen said running off
"But you've only just arrived!" Alfred reached out for her but she ran off.
(Bruce's POV)
"Harleen I need to…Alfred what's going on?" Bruce asked wanting to know.
"Miss Harleen Sir, she just left!" Alfred explained
"Where did she go? Did she say anything?" Bruce asked his elderly friend.
"She said she needed to think on some things." Alfred answered
"What things?" Bruce asked
"I don't know; she ran off before I could ask. But she said that she'll be back soon." Alfred gave the full answer Bruce would ask for
"Harleen…what's going on…? *groan* the city is under attack from Scarecrow, I have to go Alfred." Bruce groaned going to suit up.
"Does Miss Harleen know?" Alfred became concerned
"No she doesn't. The Batman is going to have to protect her!" Bruce said looking determined to save his girlfriend and stop the fear inducing Johnathan Crane.
The sound of a motorcycle came from outside, Alfred went to investigate but Bruce went to stop Scarecrow.
(Harleen's POV)
Harleen called for Bill's store, crying she begged for him to pick up; she needed to talk to someone Ivy couldn't know…at least not yet, Bill was one of the only sane people she could talk to.
'He can't be…he just can't be!' Harleen thought thinking of the necklace, Bruce and Batman. The love she had harboured for the Dark Knight and the blossoming love for Bruce were conflicting within her. She contacted Bill over her hand-free phone.
"Harleen…what's up?" Bill asked with the news on in the background.
"Bill I need to suit up!" she said wiping away a tear, she hijacked one of the motorcycles Dick owned at the home.
"What? Harleen the suits you fought in haven't been mended! They could tear and make you exposed! Is that a Motorbike I hear?"
"Bill! Are there any suits that you have?" she said racing to his store.
"Yeah the Default; Harleen it's not like the other suits, it's just like Batman's suit. If you get shot it will get pierced!" Bill explained over the phone.
"It'll have to do! I have to stop Scarecrow!" Harleen cried
"Yeah okay I'll get it ready…Harleen where are you?" Bill asked
"Outside your store!" Harleen's hijacked bike reached Bill's store, screeching to a halt.
"God almighty! The Hell, Harleen?!" Bill said ducking for cover for fear she was going through the windows.
Harleen went into the back to find the suit; she took off the new necklace Bruce got for her hours before, Bill saw that she was upset and went to ask: what.
"Harleen, what are you…what's with the necklace? Harleen!" Bill called out but she didn't listen she used the motorbike and rode off.
"What the hell is going on with her?" Bill asked himself, he then examined the necklace "Is this what's gotten her so upset?" leaving him dumbfounded
Scarecrow was spraying his fear toxin to hundreds of different people, each of them screaming in terror clawing and running from imaginary fears.
"Run, people of Gotham, Run! You will fear The Scarecrow!" he cackled behind his stitched sack mouth.
Bat-Shard arrived first jumping off the motorbike at the last minute causing Scarecrow to be knocked down.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with fog machines Scarecrow?" Bat-Shard quipped
Scarecrow pushed the motorbike away from his legs and held the fog emitter at Bat-Shard. "Ah…Bat-Shard; the newest pain in Gotham! Tell me are you scared?" he asked in a taunting voice
"Of you Crane? No!" She said defiantly…but this wasn't Crane. Crane was: thin, spindly, he used flips and dodging martial arts. Not powerhouse muscle moves
The fake Scarecrow laughed maddeningly. "Not Crane…he didn't like my questions, I left him lying in his house!" he said spraying the toxic mist.
"What? Whoa!" Bat-Shard used her grapple gun to escape to the heights. 'Left him lying in his house? Did this guy kill Crane and take his place?' Bat-Shard thought
(Bruce's POV)
Bruce suited up and took some gas-masks; with Crane he couldn't be too careful. He jumped into the Batmobile and raced to Scarecrow's location.
'Where are you Harleen? What have I done? That stupid necklace…it all started with the necklace…Bat-Shard saw me look at it with a glance, but was Harleen at the scene? God…is she…? No she would've told me…wouldn't she?' Batman thought to himself trying to keep his mind on saving Harleen 'I've got to find Scarecrow!'
"Oracle, where's Scarecrow?" Batman commanded
"He's on Ninety Seventh Street. Bruce, what's going on?" Oracle asked
"Scarecrow is causing mayhem!" Batman responded
"Not him! Harleen! When we heard about her we were worried about you! You should've called us!" Oracle retaliated
"It's about the necklace I got her. The one Bat-Shard saw me buy!" Batman answered
'Oh God…she must've figured it out' Barbara thought "Look; did she take off without saying anything?" Oracle asked
"No, she said she was going to give me a straight answer and be back soon. She's gone Oracle!" Batman sounded upset and that wasn't a good thing, when Bruce gets upset, he really gets depressed.
"Okay, if she said that, then she really means it. Ivy told me…" Oracle continued
"Ivy? Poison Ivy?" Batman asked
"Yes, Poison Ivy! How many "Poison Ivy's" are there in this city? Anyway we talked and she said if she needed to give an explanation or need to think she always came back. Harleen did it all the time with when she and Ivy were living on their own." Barbara explained "You have to trust her."
"I do trust her Oracle…but I don't want secrets between us. When we get back I'm going to tell her." Batman explained
"…Tell her what?" Oracle asked hesitantly
"That I'm Batman." He ended
'Bruce…you really do love her. Oh God…Harleen's feelings. Damn it why didn't I ask her if she wanted to come forward earlier?' Oracle thought hitting her forehead "Batman, listen you've got to know…"
"I'm going after Crane. We'll talk later!" Batman cut Oracle off
(Barbara's POV)
"Damn it Bruce!" Oracle yelled then she called Tim and Dick.
"*Yawn* what's up? I've got to take Tim to school in a few hours." Dick said in a haze. Rubbing his hair
"*yawn* And I can't be late for the field trip…what's up?" Tim asked holding a robin plush Harleen made for him
Barbara looked at them both and explained. 'I'm sorry Harleen…they have to know.' She thought.
(Harleen's POV)
Scarecrow laughed maniacally "Come out little Bat. This won't hurt…well it won't hurt me!"
'This guy is defiantly not Crane!' Bat-Shard thought to herself 'Crane's a psycho but he isn't this maniacal! She armed her Shard-Star and threw it, it knocked into his trigger hand making it bleed.
"Little. Bitch!" Scarecrow yelled "I'll get you for that!"
"Not before I get you first, Crane!" Batman appeared and threw a punch in his face.
"*groan* I'm not Crane! Crane's, Dead! Gah!" Bat-Shard landed on him with her tonfa.
"If you're not Crane; then who are you?" Bat-Shard yelled.
"A pissed off man!" Scarecrow threw her off and then punched Batman. Scarecrow continued to hit Batman left and right in the gut, but had his hand s were stopped after two to three hits. Batman threw him to the ground, but was grabbed by the ankles and dropped to the ground with a thud.
Bat-Shard flipped her tonfa to the offensive and struck. Scarecrow seemed to know every move she made and blocked them he threw a punch as she blocked it in defence stance he winded her in the gut. He linked his hands together then threw them down on her back. She landed face first into the gravel. "Stay down Bat-Bitch!" he taunted.
'This guy is strong. What is he?' Batman thought as Scarecrow came towards him.
"Scared Batman?" he jeered as he threw the caped crusader across the road. "Crane's Fear toxin, Bane's Venom…I'm unbeatable!" he taunted
'Venom? That explains it!' Batman thought "Bat-Shard get up!" he called out to his comrade, but was thrown to the lamppost by Scarecrow. He was knocked out
"Stay there…I've a surprise for you." he sneered as he went over to the fog emitter Bat-Shard came too.
She saw him pull a gun out 'He's going to kill him! No…Not Bruce!' she thought
"Say pleasant dreams Batman!" as he fired the gun the projectile flew towards his heart.
"No…!" Bat-Shard threw herself in front of the projectile and was hit in the arm.
"You. Stupid. Bitch! Now I've got to reload!" Scarecrow said looking for a spare in the bag-pack.
(Bruce's POV)
Bat-Shard began to shudder in Batman's arms, this made him come too. "Bat-Shard. Bat-Shard! Argh!" he yelled in pain his arm was severely hurt.
"Don't worry. You'll be joining her!" Scarecrow said maliciously
"Ichabod! *Roar*" a voice roared out and a running man bulleted into Scarecrow. It ploughed him into a car and then a building wall. Scarecrow and Batman saw the man…it was man wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and black matted hair, his eyes were covered by a Venetian mask, there was nothing noticeable about him…But his arms, his arms were gloved with strange metal gauntlets. He threw Scarecrow down to the ground like a ragdoll.
"Who the Hell are you?" Scarecrow demanded
(Impact's POV)
"I'm Impact! And you've just…Ticked." He threw a punch to Scarecrows gut which rocketed him into a nearby car. "Me." Impact raced towards him shoulder barging Scarecrow's chest causing his blood to spew from his mouth "OFF!" Impact grabbed Scarecrow by his neck then threw him to the wall. This guy was beating Scarecrow like a kid with a pillow where Batman and Bat-Shard were punching him, like he was a reinforced wall.
"You…how are you…doing this? I'm flowing with Venom!" Scarecrow spluttered as blood poured through his mouth
"Read the label: Venom must take constantly or suffer crippling withdrawal symptoms and loss of super-human strength!" Impact joked but retained a scowl on his face.
"It has to be constantly supplied?!" Scarecrow coughed in disbelief
"Damn straight goon brain!" Impact pressed some buttons on his gauntlets as Scarecrow ran towards him not admitting defeat.
Impact threw a punch.
And for that split second he smiled…
Impact didn't smile during that whole fight and then…
BOOM!
"AAARRRGGGHHH!"
Scarecrow screamed as his internal organs were being forced back into the opposite direction his body wanted to go. His body flew through a car roof causing him to flip then land back first into the nearest building.
Impact walked over to the crippled body of Scarecrow and ripped off his mask. It was a beefy goon, one of the ones that tried to rob Bill's store.
"You? I expected Crane!" Impact roared.
"He's dead! *cough*" he spat blood into Impact's face "She's dead!"
"What did you do? Speak!" Impact roared
"Crane's new formula…Two-Face's DNA…get an Ouija board *gargled laugh*" he was insulting. He was unconscious in seconds.
(Batman's POV)
Batman stayed with Bat-Shard through the entire fight trying to get Bat-Shard back. She kept muttering "B-b-b…" as her eyes were becoming: pin pricked and her body was shaking.
Impact came over and examined her, "Thank you. We've got to get her to the Batcave!"
"No, joke!" Impact said then carried her. Bat-Shard's body was shaking like mad, she was muttering something; they didn't know what to say about it and what it meant.
At the Batcave, Impact got Bat-Shard on the examining table Dick, Tim, Barbara and Alfred got the supplies ready to examine her and Batman. He had a broken arm, easily fixed but Bat-Shard was crying now, what the hell was going on with her.
Poison Ivy came through the top doors and saw Bat-Shard on the examining table. "Oh God, Harley! No, no, no! What happened?" and dropped Scarecrow's bag-pack
"Goon with Crane's Toxin…mixed it with Dent's DNA. She got hit." Impact said solemnly.
"Why is Poison Ivy here? Our secret is blown! What did she mean by Harley? Argh!" Batman yelled as Alfred patched him up.
"B-b-Bruce!" Bat-Shard cried in fear.
"Harley! Harleen!" Impact and Ivy called out
"Har…Harleen?" Batman said getting through to Bat-Shard; he carefully removed the cloak and mask. "Harleen…?" his heart sunk…his new partner…the woman he loved…the person he cared for, she was dying from Crane's fear toxin. "Who knew?" Bruce spoke through his teeth as he removed his cowl; "Who. Knew?" he roared demanding an answer slamming his fist on the table.
"We did…" Impact answered for both him and Ivy
"I did…" Barbara answered
"You did…When?" Bruce turned to Impact, he removed his mask sighing. "Two days after Penguin."
"Bill…?" Ivy looked at her friend in disbelief, she'd never seen him wear anything other than street clothes. "The day after Penguin…" Ivy said looking in terror of Bruce, she'd never seen Batman's real face and at this point she didn't want to.
"Since…the amusement park." Barbara said touching her left leg holding Dick's hand with her right.
"So everyone knew except me?" Bruce exhaled
"Not us…not since tonight." Tim answered truthfully
"Master Bruce, calm down." Alfred tried to calm his master.
"Calm down?! How can I be calm? The love of my life is dying, my arm is broken and the man who can give me the antidote is dead! How can I be calm?" Bruce yelled, Bill pulled Bruce in front of him and hit him in the face knocking him to the table.
"You think you're the only one who's hurt? I've known Harleen since Arkham! She's my friend! Look Crane may still be alive; the guards said that the toxin Crane was using was contained in six vials! Ivy's got the vials here…" Bill said holding the bag up then lowering it "We can make the antidote!" the atmosphere seemed to have calmed down. "Oh and by the way…he wasn't dead."
"Ivy; get it ready. We start immediately!" Barbara commanded "Bruce you stay here with Bill and keep an eye on Harleen…we'll work on the antidote."
Bruce breathed heavily then stared at Harleen "oh…okay…" he calmed down and walked to Harleen who was still shaking in fear. Bill put his hand on Bruce's shoulder, after injecting her with a sleep inducer.
"I'm making a trip to Arkham, could use your help." Bill told Bruce.
"I…I don't want to lose her." Bruce began to tear up. Holding his eyes to stop the tears then holding her hand.
"You won't…we won't." Bill reassured Bruce then looked at Ivy "You two get to know each other, I'll talk to Crane." Bill walked off
"But I thought you said Crane was dead?" Ivy looked up.
"Goon rules one-zero-one: When you have what you need, leave people alive so you can get more." Bill said going to the stairs.
"Hey!" Dick said looking at Bill then throwing a bunch of keys at him. "Take the Ferrari."
Bill caught the keys, smiled "I don't have a licence." Then walked off.
"Harleen…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Bruce said to his beloved
(Harleen's POV)
'Bruce, I'm scared…I'm breaking…the Joker…he's after me! The black sludge, the red blood; I'm drowning! Help me!' Harleen thought.
Trapped inside her own mind, Harleen saw the foundations of her psyche personified:
Harley Quinn, dressed in her red and black clown dress that seemed stitched together onto her skin: every diamond, her gloves threaded with her veins, her eye mask was stitched with blue buttons in place of her blue eyes the holes were trickling with blood, her hat was torn and broken the front exposed a lunatic cuckoo clock with her as the cuckoo, her smile was stitched with bleeding thread making it look like Joker's grin in an empty void. Her signature hammer was wrapped with barbed wired and a Joker stamp.
Bat-Shard, her costume that Bill had made for her, it was hollow, the suit was ripping at the seams, her tools were toys, her mask that covered her face was covering a faceless mannequin, her arms and legs didn't have anything filling them, but yet they moved. The tonfa she used as her main weapons were splintered and broken in half.
And Harleen Quinzel, she was there, dressed in her beautiful silver dress Bruce gave her with the necklace she was given hours ago. Her legs and arms were tied in purple with green trimmed ribbon and black with grey ribbon. She couldn't move; she was isolated and alone with no-one but her psyche to keep her company, but they just stared at her…waiting, watching…being ready for something about to happen
'Bruce, Ivy, Barbara, Bill please…save me!' she thought wanting this nightmare to end.
To be continued
I hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter as I have writing it.
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The next chapter coming up soon.
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