© Ellie Goodson 2016

Chapter Seventeen-Attack of the Two Faced man

~Arabella Jones~

It was odd, seeing all of the girls without their war paint. Watching curiously as Harley bounced around the room in fleeced pyjamas, blonde pigtails flying around and not a scrap of make up on her face. Glancing every so often at Ivy, who wore her red hair in a tight bun and had a silk green cardigan resting over her shoulders. But the most curious one was Catwoman. The woman was relaxed against the wall, cropped black hair in the style of bed hair mess. Her body was covered by an all in one onesie, which was black with kittens on it. Her face was clear of any make up, and so she looked a lot younger than I had thought she was.

I looked down at myself, conscious that I was still in yesterday's clothes. My white shirt was creased and my trousers were a mess from constantly walking around. My hair was a complete wreck and I had black crescents under my eyes. "Hey Bella, did you even sleep at all last night?"

"No. I couldn't." I shrugged off Ivy's concern, clicking my neck to relive the stiffness. "So what are we doing today?" I asked, rapidly changing the subject.

"There's something I need to do whenever we're ready." Catwoman answered, her name was actually Selina Kyle, and Catwoman was her 'villain' name. "An old friend I need to visit." Her words were secretive and sly, making me question her actions.

Shrugging off whatever concerns I had about today's plans, I fiddled with the end of my shirt, hopelessly aware of the fact that I looked like a mess. "Want to borrow some clothes?" I glanced up at the graceful cat lady, but felt doubt drip into my stomach.

"Um...I don't think I could pull off anything you own." Even her onesie was skin tight and pulled in all of the right places.

"We'll find you something." Selina turned on her heels, and started jogging over to a room I hadn't been in before. I followed like a lost dog, sure that the following events would end up extremely embarrassing.

When I arrived at the black room, which had golden lights and a few cats sprawled on the bed, Selina was pulling out several pieces of clothing from draws and her wardrobe. "I see that you don't wear anything flattering. It's about time that you make yourself look good." She picked up a couple of bits of clothing from the bed and threw them in my direction. "Try these on. I picked something that was still...mutual but something that was...wow." I frowned at the clothing before turning to walk to the bathroom, slightly scared of what she had picked.

Dumping the clothes onto the floor, I saw that Catwoman had given me: a pair of black, skinny jeans with ripped knees, a tight fitting plain black top, black biker boots and a white denim jacket to cover my arms. I pulled on all of the clothes before looking hesitantly into the mirror. My hair needed sorting desperately, so I pulled in out of its ponytail before redoing it so I looked a little more...sane. Wiping over my face, unnecessarily as I didn't wear any make up, I pulled my ponytail tight once more before leaving the bathroom. I didn't exactly feel like me, I felt different. More...stronger and braver. Like a new and improved person, not the meek and mild psychiatrist that I was always portrayed as.

Leaving the bathroom, I prepared myself to face the music and watch the girls' reactions. When I arrived back in the main room, Harley was now in her jester suit, Catwoman was wearing her leather, black all in one and Poison Ivy was snaked in vines once more. "What do you think?" I threw my arms in the air, letting them fall by my side in a relaxed and uncaring position. I felt each of their eyes scan over my body, before receiving several nods of approval.

"Good, good. Now that everyone is ready, we need to go." Selina pushed the window open before jumping out of it. Ivy and Harley followed soon after, with me trailing behind them.

Catwoman was pouncing down several steps at a type, movement fast and hyper. Pamela was jumping from vine to vine, getting lower and lower every time. Then there was Harley, who was simply jumping over the banister of every set of stairs, landing gracefully on her feet. And then there was me, who was sprinting down the stairs, jumping several of the last ones. "You know, with a bit of training, you could become quite the criminal. You've got the ability for a quick escape already. Speed and flexibility, and I bet you have some strength on you. I know you've told me that you have heart issues, but with some training and help that can easily be solved." Ivy told me, one of her vines pulling her hair into an up-do.

"I'll take that as a compliment. And I take that as an offer, which I'll take you up on soon." It occurred to me then that I had been able to not worry about the Joker for the morning, but the second that thought came to me, dreading thoughts of the Joker flooded my mind. God, my heart ached for him. Every bone in my body craved to be back in his presence, but I knew that I couldn't go back to him. Not just yet.

Following the lead of Selina, I hung back with Harley as we roamed the bright, Gotham streets which were polluted with litter and graffiti. "I know that you feel something more for the Joker than you should." The jester remained to stare at the sky as she spoke, but every part of me knew that those words were for me.

"Harley, I-"

"Don't worry. I still love and care for the Joker, but he's never needed me. I was just there for him, and I accepted that. But he needs you; he's gone through so much effort to keep you. The clown is intriguing and his charm is irresistible. There was no way that a girl like you wasn't going to fall for him."

"I just...I can't explain it. Harley, it's just him, and everything about him. Everything about the Joker pulls me in, he's like a drug." I sighed and let my head fall back. "I probably sound like a love sick puppy."

"You do. But that's fine, I was like that back in Arkham when I first fell for the clown. But let me warn you, you're like a second me. Just don't fall for the same tricks I did. I don't think that he'll hurt you because he wants to, or use you like he did me, but if he does, then leave him. Otherwise you'll just be stuck, like I was. Before Ivy and Catwoman helped me. Now I'm just in love with the memories."

Lost for words by Harley's kind and reassuring speech, I simply nodded my head at the jester. "Black suits you, you know. We should let you join our little group. You can become a criminal with us. It'd be fun."

"You know what, Harley? I'd like that very much." I smiled at the jester, who squealed a little with excitement. Her joy was contagious; no one could be depressed or furious in the presence of Harley Quinn.

The conversation had taken longer than expected, and after a couple more minutes, we found ourselves approaching a large building. The bricks were faded, but the lights were on and working, proving that it was inhabited. "Where are we?" I asked, watching the building curiously.

"Two Face also managed to break out of Arkham. Selina's here to...have a few words with him."

"This isn't going to end well, you know that right?" I finished the words while joining Catwoman and Ivy, turning my head to face both of the women.

"Bella, it never does."

Without saying a single word, Selina began to sprint towards the building. However, instead of running for the door, she headed straight for the brick wall, pouncing up it like the cat she was. "Ivy, do we get to go after her this time?" Harley asked, hope clear in her voice. Obviously, they didn't usually get to chase after the crazy cat lady, and this didn't seem to be the first occasion that this had happened.

"No, Harley."

We all waited patiently for half an hour or so, as the cold wind blew against us with severe gusts. "That's it, I'm going in." Ivy threw her hands in the air in an angered gesture, storming ahead. Harley ran after her, hands out stretched like a lost girl. I jogged after them, not wanting to be left alone in a time like this. Vines and all manner of plants made their way up the building, anchoring themselves on whatever they could get a hold of. "Climb." Ivy ordered, jumping up the plants herself. Obedient, Harley and I started clawing our way up the building, both careful not to grip the vines too hard. It didn't seem like a good time to annoy Ivy, the anger rippled through her so hard that her body trembled.

The window was left open from Catwoman, and all three of us slid into the warmth simultaneously. Even Ivy sighed in bliss as heat coated us beautifully. The heat reminded me of certain someone that I craved, and I had to try with all my might to forget about him for the moment. I rolled my shoulders back, mentally preparing myself for anything. As a young girl, I had taken on several different classes in self-defence. Having a childhood like I did, and living in a place like I did, it was the smartest thing you could've ever done.

Tied to a post in the middle of the room, was an unconscious Catwoman with a heavily bleeding forehead. Before any of us could move to help her, dozens of men and women burst through the door, charging for us. Without thinking, Ivy, Harley and I prepared ourselves to fight and back each other up until the end. We were heavily outnumbered, but there was nothing we could do to change that apart from fight.

Ivy had her vines and plants for weapons, we all knew that she could summon all forms of poison, the most dangerous laid on her lips. Harley had her flexibility and hidden strength. I had my own hidden abilities. I took on the first man that got closest, grabbing hold of his wrist and twisting it with such force that I felt the bone crack. I then gutted him in the stomach and kicked him to the ground. He quivered on the floor in pain, and a small part of me felt severe joy as I watched mercilessly. The next attacker was a woman, thin and wiry. She cartwheeled around me, and after getting sick of watching her circle around me, I kicked out and sent her flying into the wall.

I was given a moment to check how the others were doing. I saw that Harley was taking on several men at once, and needed some support. I checked to make sure that Ivy was okay, and saw that a dozen men and women were hung by the necks by vines, and I knew that she was doing just fine. I sprinted over to Harley, jumping onto the back of one of the men. When I had a secure grip on his throat, I slammed my head into his, knocking him out cold. Everything went fuzzy for a minute, and my vision cleared enough in time to see a man, in a half burnt and half creased suit come out of the shadows. With half a human face, and half a monsters face, sickeningly graphic, Two Face approached closer and closer to the three of us-pleasure and amusement twisting his face into pure evil.

Two Face clapped his hands together, and like that, all of the men and women just stopped and left. Just stopped and simply walked away. Confusion spread across the faces of Harley and Ivy, before they saw Two Face, then anger took over. "Really, this is just too amusing. What are the chances? Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and a newbie, all in one night. And I got a show." Before any of us could say another word, or make a move for Two Face, all of the lights went out. And soon after, I was knocked into unconsciousness. Falling to the ground with a thud, along with Ivy and Harley.