Ridley's P.O.V.

Hearing Edwards and Jon's argument made me highly uncomfortable. I knew that it wasn't just about Bruce being Batman, but also about me for whatever reason. I was about ready to completely lose it when Selina had slipped into the training room.

"They're really going at it, aren't they?" She asked.

I nodded. How long were they going to keep it up? No one could really stand it.

"Come on upstairs with me," Selina said kindly. "I got you something so we can change you up a bit. Harley's also upstairs. When she heard what we were going to be doing, she insisted on coming along."

Was Harley really here? I shifted uncomfortably. I'd become comfortable around Selina, Edward, and Jon, but just thinking about being around any others still put me on edge. Especially when it came to Joker and Harley.

"Harley's not that bad when she's not around Joker." Selina encouraged. "You'll see. She's like a crazy older sister of sorts."

She smiled at me and I shyly returned it before following her out into the hall. Edward and Jon were still in the middle of their shouting match, and Selina and I just stood there until they noticed us. When Jon fixed his gaze on me, I felt a sudden rush of fear that seemingly came out of nowhere. I shrunk closer to Selina and tried to understand why I suddenly felt like that.

After Selina lectured the guys, she guided me upstairs. I cast a worried look at Edward before following her.

"There ya are!" Harley exclaimed once we entered the living room. "I was wonderin' when ya'd be back." She flashed me a broad smile.

"I was thinking that we'd go up to Ridley's room for this," Selina said.

" 'Course!" Harley squealed. "You're gonna just love what Selina and I got for you!" She pranced down the hall and up the stairs.

Did you get me something? I signed, raising an eyebrow.

Selina sighed. "I wish I could understand you. I just don't have to time for Edward to teach me sign language. Here." She picked up a pad of paper and a pen that was sitting on the coffee table.

I wrote down my question and showed it to her.

"Yes," Selina said. "I imagine the boys weren't to subtitle on the fact that they wanted you to join us."

I shook my head.

"Figures." Selina rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I took the liberty of grabbing something that might go towards your disguise in the future."

I nodded in understanding before writing down a question that had been on my mind for a while: Why do Edward and Jon fight so much? I had already gotten some sort of response from Edward on the subject, but if I wanted to know more, I'd have to ask more than one person. The first step to learning a someone's motives was to learn about who they were as a person.

Selina frowned as she read my question. "It's complicated." She said finally. "They've always been like that, though Jon is the one to usually initiate their fights. I've had my suspicions as to why but I'm still not completely 100% sure."

Sure of what? I wrote.

"It's nothing," Selina said. "I just-"

She was interrupted by Harley yelling down the stairs: "Are ya'll comin' or not?"

"Be right there!" Selina hollered back. "Come, Ridley." She said. "We might as well go up now. An impatient Harley is the worse."

I followed Selina upstairs and into my room where Harley was currently putting a sheet over my mirror. I noted several regular shopping bags (no garbage bags this time thankfully) in a pile on my bed.

"You're just gonna love this!" Harley told me turning around and digging through one of the bags.

She pulled out really nice looking green corset with black designs. Holding it up to me, she clicked her tongue before for tossing it away.

"Green just doesn't look good on ya." She pouted. "To bad for Eddie."

She went back to digging through the bag, muttering to herself. "No, that won't do... That would look just awful... No... Got it!" She tossed a handful of clothes at me. "Take a look at that."

Holding up what Harley had given me, I studied it. It was a straight black bodysuit, but before I could examine it more closely, Harley ripped it out of my hands and tossed it on top of the corset.

"That's too much like Selina's outfit." She said. "Aww, are we ever gonna find something?"

"Why don't you let Ridley decide?" Selina suggested. "She'll be wearing it after all."

"Oh alright." Harley pouted.

I hesitantly walked over to the bags and started going through them. I picked up a purple and black corset similar to the green one, but this one actually had a piece that went around the neck. Harley nodded her agreement when I showed it to her.

"That's perfect!" She clapped her hands. "I know just the things to go with that!"

She rummaged through another bag and pulled out a pair of black to purple gradient tights and a small pair of black leather shorts.

"So your concept's gonna be black and purple then?" She asked.

I nodded silently and took the clothes from her. I was a bit apprehensive about all of this because I knew once I did this, there would be no turning back.

"Now ya just need some shoes and makeup." Harley tapped her chin. "Whatta ya think Selina?"

"I think I might just have the right thing." Selina smiled before slipping out the door. A few moments later she came back in holding a pair of black knee-high combat boots. I immediately liked them. They had small pockets on the side so I could put any necessary things in them.

"Alright! We got all the basics taken care of, why don't ya put 'em on now?" Harley suggested.

I shrugged and moved to go to the bathroom only to be stopped by Harley.

"Ya don't have ta be shy about it." She said. "We're all women here. If the boys try to come in we'll kick 'em to the curb!"

I became even more uncomfortable with the thought of either Edward or Jon barging in on us and shook my head violently.

"You're not helping things, Harley," Selina interjected. "Ridley dear, you needn't be afraid, we all have our scars." She gave me an encouraging smile. I briefly wondered how Selina knew about my scars, but then I figured that they all knew. Probably by some high profile stalking courtesy of Edward.

Shaking off the feeling of prudishness (one of the many things Richard liked to tease me about before getting shut down by Bruce), I quickly stripped down to my underwear and bra before donning on the new clothes. I had a tad bit of trouble with the shorts because they were at least a size of not a size and a half, to small. Once I put on the boots, I smoothed down the corset and gave an uncertain look at Harley and Selina.

"Ya look just amazing!" Harley squealed crushing me in a hug. I struggled, temporarily smothered by her chest before I managed to pushed her off me.

"You look very nice Ridley," Selina said. Thankfully she didn't try to hug me, though I sensed that she wanted to in an "my kitten is finally growing up" kind of way.

"Now for the fun stuff!" Harley exclaimed. How she had so much energy, I didn't know.

"Hmmm... Your color scheme's gonna be black and purple so..." She dug through yet another bag and pulled out various boxes containing makeup. "But before we do that, we're gonna have ta get rid of this." She fingered my hair.

What!? I moved away from her and shook my head.

"Awe come on," Harley whined. "Please? I'm good at cutting hair. Not as good as Ivy, 'course that girl can cut anything; plants, hair... She's particularly good at cutting people off... Anyways ya get the idea." She waved a hand.

I had the sudden image of Poison Ivy cutting someone's hair with gardening shears and suppressed a shudder. There was no way I was going to do that.

Harley must've read my expression because her face hardened. "I'm gonna give ya a haircut whether ya like it or not. It's a needed change."

I sighed and gave in, there was no point in arguing was there?

"Sit." Harley said, pointing to the chair that sat in front of my desk.

Sitting, I turned so that it was easier for Harley to cut my hair. Picking up a pair of scissors, she started to cut my hair humming a song as she did so. Not having anything else to do while she did this, I watched Selina go around and put my things away. Occasionally she asked me where I wanted something and I just pointed to where I wanted it.

"Finished!" Harley declared ten minutes later. I reached up and felt my head, surprised by how short my hair now was. It reached a few inches past my ear and I now had side bangs which kept flopping into my face. I looked around for a mirror but there weren't any around.

"We're not done yet!" Harley said cheerfully; I groaned inwardly. What now?

"Close your eyes." She ordered.

I reluctantly closed my eyes and heard Harley rummaging around behind me. I heard her walk back over before she guided me to my feet.

"No looking." She said as I started to open my eyes.

I shut them again and I felt her guide me into what must've been my bathroom. Harley whistled as she plopped me down on the toilet seat and I heard her open something. The sharp scent of bleach hit my nose and I was halfway out of my seat before Harley pushed me down.

"Don't move." She said as she started to apply the bleach to my hair. "This won't take very long."

*three hours later*

"Alrighty!" Harley said triumphantly. "We're done! Ya can open your eyes now."

In the three hours that it had taken to dye my hair whatever color Harley had picked out, I was subject to all of her stories about her and "Mishta J". It was mildly interesting, but I got bored it quickly. If humans could sleep sitting up, I would've definitely passed out. Sadly, we can't (at least not easily, and definitely not when someone's talking) so I had to suffer.

During the time where the dye had been set, Harley had also taken the liberty of applying makeup to my face. My cheeks itched a bit, but besides that, it was fine. I hadn't worn makeup a lot before, so the whole concept of it was rather new to me.

Blinking at the harsh light of my bathroom I started when Harley's face appeared very close to my own.

"Dontcha just look so cute!" Harley said with a smile. She pushed me back into my room, not giving me a chance to check my reflection in the mirror. "Look Selina!"

Selina, who'd continued to put my room back together during the three hours of beautifying (at least in accordance with Harley), turned from my bookshelf. She smiled when she saw me. "The look really suits you."

"I know right!?" Harley squealed once again, this time jumping up and down. "I just did the best job ev'a!" She pranced around my room chanting "I did it! I did it!".

"Harley," Selina warned, "you're going to-"

One of Harley's stray arms hit the lamp by my bed fell on the floor with a mighty crash. Did I mention my floor was wood? It echoed. A lot.

"-knock something over." Selina finished with a sigh.

"Aw, I'm sorry!" Harley cried. "I didn't mean it! Honest!"

I moved to pick up the lamp when I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Could you keep it down?" Edwards' voice floated through the door. "I kinda just got over a huge headache courtesy of an even bigger headache. It's not good for my IQ."

"Dontcha dare come in Eddie!" Harley shrieked.

Not heeding Harley's warning, Edward opened the door and paused when he saw me. I felt my face flush with embarrassment and I instinctively turned away from him, accidentally exposing my bare back that was covered with my scars. That damned corset.

"Ridley?" Edward asked in a strained voice.

"Get outta here!" Harley yelled, pushing Edward out the door. She slammed it in his face before turning around. "Men these days! Always wantin' to get a peek at somethin' that their eyes ain't ready for!" She snorted.

"However..." Her eyes twinkled when she focused her gaze on me. "I think that Eddie liked what he saw." She giggled. "Dontcha agree Selina?"

"It's very possible," Selina said with an amused look, "but who knows?"

"Eddies gotta crush!" Harley sang. I was 99% sure that my face was as bright as a tomato.

"Harley," Selina said, "aren't you forgetting something?"

"Huh?" Harley scratched her head. "Oh, yea! Three more things! First..." She finally ripped the sheet off of the mirror. "Look at cha self!"

I turned around to face the mirror slowly and was shocked at what I saw. The girl looking back out at me was something entirely new. Her face was framed with short pale purple hair, and her brown eyes seemed brighter somehow with the purple eyeshadow. Was this really me?

"Do ya like it?" Harley asked, vibrating with excitement like a massage chair.

I nodded silently. I did like it. I didn't know until then that I liked it. Had someone told me two weeks ago that is get kidnapped by the Rouges and made into something entirely new, I would've not believed them.

"Second thing!" Harley said, picking up and tossing me the last bag that hadn't been opened yet. "Here's ya mask."

I opened the bag and peered inside before taking it out. It was a full face mask, black with stylized silver designs on it. A large portion of the silver surrounded the eye holes which formed a second mask on top of the first.

"Try it on!" Harley said.

I obliged and put the mask on, adjusting the strap that held it in place. It was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing that I couldn't get used to.

"Perfect!" Harley said happily. "Now all ya need is ya name!"

My name? I took off the mask and frowned.

"Ya know, ya villain name! The one that strikes fear into people's hearts." Harley said like I was dumb. "What will people scream when they see ya? Look out here comes_!"

"A name just doesn't pop out of nowhere." Selina reminded Harley. "It takes time to evolve and spread."

"I know, I know," Harley said waving a hand. "But she needs a basis."

"I think that we should let Ridley explore her options on her own," Selina said. "Let her find her own way. Choose something that's right for her without us impeaching her decision."

"Alright then," Harley said, not sounding too happy. "But I wanna know what it is before anyone else does ok?"

Sure. I shrugged.

"Yay!" Harley said.

"Come on Harley," Selina said, guiding Harley out of my room. "We spent more time than I thought with this. I need to make sure that the guys aren't beating each other up and are ready for tonight's mission."

"Fine." Harley pouted. "Well, I'll see ya later Ridley! Ya one of us now!" She called cheerfully over her shoulder.

Please make that a long while. I thought silently. There was only so much of Harley Quinn that I could stand.