Chapter 21

*Hey guys! I have a few announcements before I begin the chapter. I am sorry I have been so late on the updates. I keep falling into depression when I am not busy with school. I also recently lost my voice recorder which held the notes for this story, so while rewriting the notes on paper, some things have changed from the beginning idea to where I have now decided to end it. I have another chapter written out and will type it up as soon as I can, and plan to finish this at the latest end of the summer. We'll see if I actually manage that. Thank you to all who have been loyally reading this fic. It is almost over. To help me wrap this story up, please ask me any questions in the review so I can figure out continuity and wrap up any dangling ends that I started and meant to finish. Thanks again!

"Look at me Dinah," came a voice sharp enough it cut through the girl's hazy mind. Dinah slowly opened her eyes just in time to see one of Harley's goons on his way up the stairs and out of the basement where she had been unceremoniously placed only moments before. Dinah felt the hand on her chin and took in a deep breath before she forced herself to focus on the woman before her. "There's that beautiful face. That beautiful… lying face." Peircing green eyes looked Dinah over.

"Aunt Harleen, I-" Dinah began, shifting in the chair. She felt the zipties cutting into her wrists.

"Now, I don't know what is going through your mind right now, Dinah, but I can understand how peer pressure can alter the thought process of young impressionable minds."

"As opposed to a forced hypnosis?" Dinah snapped as she jerked her head away from the grasp on her.

"I admit that it was a little… much-"

"You could have asked me! You're the only one I can trust and then you did that to me. How can we move forward from that?!"

"So you betrayed ME because of that?"

"Honestly… no," Dinah admitted. Both of them knew that her dishonesty began before that.

Harley clicked her tongue at her. "That is what I thought. You've been distant long before tonight- I have too, I won't deny that, but you… I know it is because you have finally met that girl." Her eyes rolled as she said, "The literal girl of your dreams. I knew there was something else you weren't telling me. Imagine my surprise when I looked into that Gabby girl and Jamie found out for sure that there was a reason why a teenage girl was hanging out with a teacher. Why didn't you tell me you knew?"

"I only saw into her head when I fought her at the credit union," Dinah protested, the little girl in her not wanting her aunt mad at her even though she knew she had no reason to want her approval, knowing what she knew now about Harleen Quinzell. "I didn't know before that. I thought…" Dinah stopped. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry, Dinah? That you're in this mess? That you were caught in your lies? That you went against the plan?" Harley Quinn asked. Dinah didn't answer, and so the therapist went on. "What did you expect? Were you going to just… leave me to be with them?"

"Only after I found out your plan this afternoon from Phil did any thoughts like that cross my mind. Something tells me you already knew that." Dinah swallowed. "You're my family, or- or I thought you were. I wanted what you said you were set out to do. I thought I'd be normal and that Batgirl would no longer be our problem. I thought…I'd be with Gabby and I could be a normal teenager."

Harley Quinn stopped moving at this, fully turning her attention to Dinah now. "Let me share a teensy little secret with you, Dinah: You are not normal. Even without your powers, see, your pretty little head is still warped and traumatized by your past and you're never going to get over it. Do you… ACTUALLY think they'll want you in their club- with or without your powers if they knew what I know, if they've been in your head as much as I have?" Harley Queen stepped forward now, her face mere inches from Dinah's now, and nearly whispered, "So you think this girl will love you knowing that you killed your mother?"

"I didn't kill her! You said-" Dinah protested as her spine went cold with fear and anger. The flash of the explosion came to her mind, as clear as if it happened only yesterday. Then a look of disgust on Gabby's face entered her mind. Her eyes fluttered shut, and then opened again at her aunt's next set of words.

"Perhaps, but when that bomb went off and you created that force field, you could've let her in with you… but you didn't."

"I DIDN'T KNOW HOW!" Dinah shouted as tears fell down her cheeks. "I didn't…"

"You're broken, Dinah. You'll always be broken, and no absence of powers will help that. And guess what, Puddin': No one likes broken. No one except for me and Mistah J."

Gabby finally heard the rumble of the Batbike on the street below. She hurried down the ladder and through the gym, locking everything up behind her. Satisfied that things were as they were before, she walked slowly to the vehicle. The idle noise of the bike was the only sound in the silent night, and this worried her. She heard no updates from Dinah, and she wondered if she should have by now. As she mounted the bike, there was a click in her ear, and Gabby felt relief. [Hey- Uh, Oracle or Nervous Tick or whoever? Can you hear me?] It was the Huntress' voice in Gabby's ear as the teen prepared to place her hand on the panel before her to read her finger prints and command the Batbike.

[I think she means you, Gabby] The softer voice was Alfred's a moment later when the line stayed silent.

"I'm here, Huntress. What's going on? Dinah's comm. doesn't seem to be working for some reason."

[Her aunt or whatever knows the stitch. She said that she's grounded, and I doubt that means she's lost her Internet priveleges.]

Gabby leaned back on her seat on the bike, removing her hand from the panel and allowing the roar of the bike's engine to lessen in volume. Her pupils bounced around her as her mind sped up and her chest tightened. "Can you tell if she is okay?"

[Not from where I'm standing. They took her in the house, and more people are walking about outside. I think they know to expect us. I'm under the impression that you and the English man are in charge of orders for this, so… What do you suggest I do?] Huntress' voice was uncertain.

[Gabby?] Alfred seemed to prompt.

"What are you asking me for right now? You're the one at the Delphi," Gabby said, her eyes knitting into a frown.

[You wanted to be in on this instead of resting,] Barbara piped up, her voice curt and not at all hiding her displeasure for this turn of events, [so what do you suggest, Oracle?]

Gabby heard her codename stressed in her ear pointedly. 'Boy is she maaaaad at me,' the teen mused in her head. "Okay," she said, putting her hands up defensively even though no one was around to see it. "Huntress, how many people are there around the house?"

There was a pause and Gabby could hear the faintest of rustling. ['Bout a dozen.]

"You think you can lower that number without alerting your presence?

[Of course I can.] Huntress let out a small scoff. [Next time give me a challenge.]

"Be careful what you wish for," Gabby said.

[Just be careful.] Barbara added.

[Yeah, I'm good Red. Eh- Huntress out, or whatever.]

Gabby heard the click of the speaker going off on Huntress' side as a thought occurred to her. "Alfred, how are the readings coming in now that both comm. sets are divided?"

[I have your readings alone as normal, however, Batgirl and Miss Huntress' vitals are jumbled together, which I believe is confusing the system. I can't make any of it out. Why do you ask?]

"Curiosity, mostly. I was hoping it'd help see how Dinah was, but I think her earring was either taken from her or it's hidden in her clothes." Gabby sighed and leaned forward again on the bike. "I'm on my way to headquarters now, Alfred. My ETA according to the bike's coordinates is about eight minutes using the Underground tunnels."

[That sounds correct, Miss Gabby. See you then.]

Huntress, having taken out four of the people guarding the house so far, extended her enhanced hearing for anything out of the ordinary before she jumped to the roof again, using the fence to hoist her up. From there, she walked softly along the roof top until she saw two more guards standing in front of the grand porch. With a smirk, she peered a little further, waiting for one of them to take a step a little more to the right before she pounced, taking both him and his friend out before either could think to fire at her.

Inside, Harley moved across the room as Dinah stayed quiet. The woman regarded her charge and sighed, realizing the harshness of her words. She hated being this way to the girl she thought of as a daughter, but the little devil really was being bad and needed the lecturing or she would keep getting out of line and pushing boundaries. Still, did she have to unravel months of therapy for the small revenge she got on the teen? When this was over the three of them will go on a vacation for some bonding time. Maybe Mr. J will finally allow a trip to Disneyland like she'd always wanted. Dinah would like that.

Harley Quinn grabbed the only other chair in the room, placing it in front of the teen and sitting backwards upon it. She stared at the blue streaked blonde and waited for Dinah to look at her again. "So here's the thing: I'm sorry for not letting you in on the plan. I knew you would not have agreed with my methods in the next phase after receiving the machine's components. You wouldn't have helped receive them and I really, really needed those components. Since I messed up and ruined the trust between us first, I am going to give you one last chance- but this is mostly because I love you, Puddin'." Harley stared at Dinah for another moment. "About ten minutes ago, I sent our friend Mistah Lao on a little errand to get your precious girlfriend."

"Mr. Lao? You sent him?!" Dinah asked.

"Knew that would get your attention, Little One," Harley said. She seemed almost sad as she said this, watching as Dinah's face fell when the teen realized what this meant. Dinah didn't know Mr. Lao as well as Harley Quinn did, but both were well aware of the man's reputation. Mr. Lao was one of Shanghai's best assassins. Why he had agreed to come to New Gotham with the therapist was a mystery at first, until one of his rumored marks, a villain named Lady Shiva, was found dead.

Harley let this information sink in a little more and then she spoke again. "I know that even she isn't dumb enough to go home after I sent you out there to her –She's affiliated with Batgirl, after all, but should her mommy dearest be in a bit of a pickle, she'll come running. At least, she would if she's a good little girl. If you stay in line, we'll question her for what she knows about Batgirl, however, whether or not she or her mother survive the… inquiry is completely up to you."

Dinah's lips trembled. "H-Harleen..."

"Shh-sh..." Harley Quinn hushed, leaning forward to place a hand on the teen's cheek.

There were no sounds around them, and Dinah remembered all of the other times this woman had her hand on her cheek tenderly like this, when she thought the world of her aunt. "I love you," Dinah whispered after a beat. This took the therapist by surprise, the woman's hand stilling as she searched for the lie. She didn't find one. Dinah did love Harleen, or at least she loved the woman she thought her aunt was, even if the metahuman had always known there was something off about her. Dinah had thought that only someone a little strange could love a girl like her, and she took all that she could while it lasted. Dinah felt her chest ache even more as she thought that this was the last time she was going to say it, and she was also saying goodbye. One way or the other, she knew her life was about to change. Either she was going to escape and find a new life or she was going to die trying to save Gabby and her mother. This wasn't why she had said what she had, however.

"I love you too, Darlin'. Don't you know that this is for you too?" The fingers on her cheek began stroking it gently.

Dinah nodded, a few tears falling. She tried to sort her mind of the new images that transferred into her mind, to sort the new feelings that accompanied them. Harley Quinn lowered her hand and stood. She paused, considering her next move. She walked behind Dinah, who shifted to get away from her. "Now now," Harley scolded. Dinah felt the ziptie fall to the floor a moment later, and Dinah brought her hands in front of her slowly to massage the wrists.

"Why?"

"I know my actions as of late made you lose your trust in me, but I am not lying when I tell you that I love you, that I'll take care of you and want us to be together. I know you can betray me again, but I am really hoping you'll stay here an wait for us to have a little chat when I get home with your Uncle J."

Dinah tried not to show any emotion at the mention of the man now. A hand went under her chin forcing her blue eyes to lock onto green. No more words were exchanged then, but more images poured into Dinah's mind as she nodded again. Harley Quinn placed a kiss to her forehead and left the basement. Dinah heard her 'aunt' command something to one of the goons guarding the door from the other side, and then there was silence.

Dinah's eyes welled with all of the new images that filled her, transferred from Harley Quinn to her when the therapist's defences had been lowered by the teen's confession of love. Though Dinah was glad that this plan had worked, using Harleen's love for Dinah to gain access to her head, the teen felt a little sick to her stomach at what she was seeing behind her eyes. The images got scarier as Harley Quinn's twisted plans started becoming more and more a reality. Shakily, Dinah reached behind her, lifting the left half of her rear as she reached into her pocket. She placed the comm. earring on her left ear, out of sight of anyone who may come down the stairs to check in on her. She then leaned forward so that her blue streaked bangs covered her eyes and the hair tucked behind her ears came forward, adding to the blonde curtain covering the earring and the majority of her face. She then pretended to rub her ear nervously for any security cameras that may have been down there in the basement. She put her head in her hands for a few seconds, and then whispered into the air.

"Gabby?"