Tobias was trying not to shake too much, but the simple fact of the matter was that the hyenas scared the ever-loving hell out of him. They had become less compliant after Harley had left, more like wild animals (which, technically, they were). They sort of listened to the Joker, but it was the tiny blonde they seemed to recognize as their true alpha. Tobias had witnessed the chaos when a stocky thug he only knew as Bowser shoved one of the beasts - and promptly had three of his fingers bitten off. Tobias had been relieved when they had been locked up.

It was true that Tobias had absolutely no intention of provoking them whatsoever. It was also true that he wished Ivy's plan didn't involve them. He could hear Bud and Lou just behind the door next to the bathroom. He knew Joker had been slipping in there just long enough to feed them late every evening.

Pretending he was headed to get water for Ivy, red cup in hand, he passed a few of Joker's henchmen, and was ignored. Just to be safe, he actually did duck into the bathroom for a moment. Okay, so he was stalling, really, but he had to gather some courage! He took a deep breath and started to step out towards the hyena room.

Suddenly, the door leading out opened and a small group of men entered. They hurried past Tobias, not noticing him in the doorway of the small bathroom. Only one small figure, bound and gagged and thrown over one man's shoulder, locked eyes with him.

Kylie!

His fear was replaced by rage.

Working fast, he pried the hinges off the door that held Harley's beloved pets. He shoved it slightly out of place, trusting Bud and Lou to do the rest on their own. They were strong enough, and restless from being cooped up for months. They would pull through for them.

His task completed, Tobias charged after the larger men who held his sister captive. Had he not done this from behind, he never would have stood a chance. His sudden shove, however, fueled by adrenaline, was enough to knock the man holding the little girl off balance. Kylie nearly tumbled to the floor, but Tobias caught her.

"What th' hell d'ya think yer doin' ta my baby sister?" The growl sounded as if it came from a much larger, stronger man. Unfortunately, that did not mean Tobias was no longer a too-skinny teenaged boy suffering from malnutrition. He was overwhelmed in seconds, tied up, and then the Joker appeared. An uncomfortable-looking Omar loomed behind him.

"Just a precaution," the Boss smiled, as if these were reasonable negotiating techniques being implemented at a business meeting. "Can't leave a little girl all alone in a junkyard to fend for herself. That would be... irresponsible!"

He laughed and snapped his fingers and the siblings were shoved into the room with Ivy.

(:)

The screams were a surprise.

Almost immediately after the girl was taken inside, a myriad of voices arose in a wave of panic. Batman, Robin, and Harley, taken aback, looked at one another for a single moment. Then Harley stood and ran openly across the empty lot toward the door.

"What is she doing?" Robin was clearly exasperated.

"Don't worry," Batman said calmly. "You and I can climb that old scaffolding over there and see if there's a skylight. If there is - "

"Yeah, fine, but what about her?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Harley Quinn in a Batgirl suit, looking to rescue her girlfriend, barges in the front door alone... Would you be looking at the skylight?"

"No," Robin admitted. "I'd probably be checking myself into a psychiatric hospital..."

(:)

Tobias landed on the floor beside Ivy with an audible thud. He moaned and rolled over just in time to see Kylie crash into Ivy's lap. He was about to tell his sister not to worry, not to be afraid, but the small girl wasn't waiting for reassurances. Her arms were bound, but not her legs. She made a living missile of herself, launching her body - head first - into the thugs. She managed to barrel past two of them. It was the Joker himself who caught her and shoved her back inside. This time, the door was slammed shut and locked before she could recover.

A frustrated animal scream emanated from behind her gag. She ran at the door and began kicking it, throwing herself against it, and screaming things around her gag - words her brother hadn't even known she knew. Tobias was a bit shocked. This was not her normal behavior. He supposed getting kidnapped had put her in a rather foul mood. Ivy, on the other hand, regarded the girl with apparent pride.

"Don't waste your energy, little one," she advised. "We have to be ready to run, and you'll be all tired out."

The red head ripped off her bonds at last and untied the two children. The rage in the girl's eyes was not unlike her own. Tobias looked mostly worried. He held Kylie's hand (which she seemed to merely tolerate for his sake), and turned to Ivy with an exhausted expression.

"Now what?" He sounded hopeless.

"Depends," the woman replied. "Bud and Lou?" Horrified screams and a series of crashes outside their makeshift cell answered her. She smiled. "Lovely."

(:)

Omar watched, in fascination and without a word, as the two hyenas broke out of their filthy room and charged through the warehouse with the joyful, reckless abandon of the recently liberated. As Bud and Lou bounced off of the crates and walls, grateful for the exercise, the large man parked himself on the stairs going up to the office. It seemed to be the safest place to watch the show.

And what a show it was!

Joker's men, caught off-guard, began to run around, frantically, searching for anything they could possibly use to herd the hyenas back to their little prison. The boss burst out of his office, a grimace of humor and anger plastered on his face, just in time to see Lou playfully rip the seat out of one lackey's pants. Omar barely resisted the urge to pull out his phone and record the proceedings - especially the sight of Lou, fabric still in his mouth, bounding happily after the now-bare butt of his associate.

For a guy who called himself "Joker", the boss looked pretty displeased with the scene in front of him. He stood rigid, a death grip on the railing, at the top of the steps, sneering at Omar's wide grin. He stared, motionless as the fearful screams of his henchmen echoed through the building. Finally, he pried his clenched fingers from the rail and walked slowly down the steps to peer towards the room where he'd locked up Harley's beasts. A moment later, the door burst open. A blonde figure stormed through the chaos, unimpeded.

Joker's smile became far more genuine. He paused, wondering about the Bat get-up, but quickly dismissed it. Surely she would fill him in in the joke soon enough. He made his way towards her and held his arms wide, anticipating her gleeful giggle, the weight of her as she wrapped herself around him.

"Ah," He purred. "There's my girl, come home to her Daddy!"

She smiled back.

With anger dancing in her eyes.

A fist found his nose and he saw stars.