Author's Note: So because of my new job, I may post a bit slower, but will still have a chapter up at least every few of days. Also I write most of the time in the middle of the night because I'm a big insomniac so I blame anything that doesn't make sense on that, as I also haven't had a chance to edit this properly. Big thank you to 'happyfan3928' for commenting on every chapter, it means a lot, same to all of you who have supported this story. Next chapter will be an interesting one I think, more what Harley likes to do (other than Joker) and some show of the ways Joker shows his (love?, trust?) for Harley will be in it. Enjoy! Sorry about the wait.
Chapter Twenty.
Harley was almost bouncing off the walls by the time Eileen arrived the next afternoon, she had tried to distract herself with working out in Jokers gym, which occupied the sublevel, but had been far too excited about the night's events. She had suppressed her feelings and desires for so long, it felt amazing to let them burst out in whatever form that happened to be at the time.
Harley had thrown her arms around Eileen the moment the elevator doors had opened and she was revealed, a stern looking Frost stood beside Eileen. Harley didn't think she had really ever seen his face move, which was strange for a person who worked for a man such as Joker. He always came through though, and Harley had a great time trying to shock the man.
Eileen carried two large black garment bags easily, even with her frail appearance. Frost carried two shoe boxes in his thick arms, a strange look for the man. He placed the boxes down on the couch as quickly as possible, as though they had been burning his arms. Eileen disentangled herself from Harley quickly, looking tremendously disgruntled.
Joker laughed from his seated position at the display "Show me what you have for us, Eileen" He commanded, though there was not as much of the usual underlying dangerous tone to his voice when he spoke to her. Eileen nodded, a woman of few words as ever, and draped one of the garment bags over the back of a chair, before moving to unzip the one she still held.
Inside the bag was a spectacular suit; a metallic silver suit jacket with black lapels was paired with a matching tie, and a deep red button up shirt, along with his usual slim, black pants. Eileen put the garment bag containing the suit back down onto the back of the chair, and stepped forward to open the top shoe box. The shoe box contained a shiny pair of black Italian leather dress shoes, with what appeared to be hand stitched silver thread lining the leather, completed with silver tipped aglets on the shoe laces.
Joker leaned forward, studying the outfit for a moment, before clapping slowly, his shark toothed smile in place "Magnifique! You never do let me down, Leeny" His voice appeared delighted, but dark venom of the threat of what would happen if Eileen ever did fail him tainted his voice. Eileen had remained stoic since she had appeared, and though her face remained impassive, Harley saw her shoulders relax slightly once Joker had declared his approval.
There was a moment of silence before Harley broke in "Oh please can I see my outfit now!" She insisted. Joker laughed as Eileen reached over and pulled forward the second garment bag, she unzipped it in a fluid motion, holding it out for Harley to inspect.
Inside was an amazing garment, it was a floor length, deep red dress that shined in the bright lights of the lounge, giving an appearance almost like fire. The front and back of the dress dipped low, accompanied by a thigh high slit up the left side. The amount of skin showing would serve three purposes; she would draw the eyes of all who were in the room, which was an excellent distraction should she need it, she would be able to move freely, without material around any of her joints restricting movement, and lastly, she would look great in this dress, which was for her own enjoyment (as well as Jokers).
Harley began clapping "I love it! It's going to look wonderful" She sung happily, before moving forward and opening the shoebox herself. The heels were tall, black, and glorious with sparkling red gems along the lower edge of the shoe. They had a closed toe, with a thin ankle strap, and pencil thin, sharp heels. Harley tested the heels with her palm, they were unusually strong, exactly as Harley had requested. She may be crazy, but she wasn't stupid, the high heeled shoe was a weapon no one considered.
Harley again threw her arms around Eileen "Scary Poppins you're the best!" She exclaimed. Joker laughed "I'm sure it will be, uh, unforgettable" He slurred, patting his knee in a motion for Harley to sit down on his lap, to which she happily complied. "Frost take Eileen down to the garage, have one of the boys take her home. Make sure they're all dressed for the occasion tonight" He commanded, mindlessly tugging at Harleys hair.
Harley leaned back against Joker and reveled in the bliss she felt at being close to him, she knew he felt the same, even if he would never say it in so many words. Joker and Harley discussed the plan for the evening, the warm afternoon sunlight bathing the room in a golden glow. Joker pushed Harley off of his lap onto the couch suddenly, before Harley could ask why, he reached underneath the couch and produced a large, wrapped, oddly shaped package.
Harley beamed "You got me a present, Puddin'?" She gasped. Joker sent one of his chilling smiles to Harley, it froze most in place with fear, but it warmed Harley at every glance. "I designed it myself. Open it, open it, open it" He chanted lowly, handing the package to her.
Harley ripped open the packaging, taking a moment to laugh at the Batman wrapping paper. Inside lay a heavy bat, it was covered in writing and drawings, most prominent being the words 'Good Night' written along its length. Harley stood and gave it a practice swing through the air, before tapping it against her palm, it didn't feel like pure wood, she thought.
Harley gave a shriek of excitement and jumped onto Joker, kissing him vigorously. "I love it! What's it made out of J? It feels too heavy to be just wood" She questioned, running her fingers over the bat. "It has a vanadium steel centre, the wood is more of a cover, so they won't expect it when you crack their skulls open" He answered, the poison back in his velvety voice.
"Wow, It's perfect, thank you Mister J" Harley purred, considering the metal alloys strength, it would be fun to test. "Go get ready Harls', being late would be rude" Joker said, patting Harleys behind as she jumped up, she swung the bat over her shoulder, before grabbing her new dress and shoes and making her way to her dressing room, laughing loudly.
Harley hung her dress carefully before seating herself at the vanity, the golden lighting of the room, giving her an ethereal glow. Carefully she applied her makeup, translucent powder (it was difficult to find skin products pale enough for her skin tone), exaggerated red and black smokey eyes with large winged eyeliner, thick mascara, a shining highlighter to her cheekbones, and a scarlet lipstick completed her rather outlandish look.
Harley ran her fingers through the blue and pink locks of her hair, she wanted to tie her hair up into pigtails, but decided against it; she was going to look fancy tonight. She curled her hair into loose ringlets, and teased it out around her face, applying liberal amounts of hairspray to hold the hair do. Harley twisted her face back and forth in the mirror, studying her look. She beamed at herself in the mirror, perfect.
The dress ran silkily through Harleys fingers as she pulled it from the garment bag. She slipped it on over her deep pink undergarments, and held the dress in place with an arm, as she put her flexibility to good use in zipping up the dress. Harley slipped a garter style thigh holster up her leg, where she stashed one of her gleaming golden guns, before stepping into her new high heels and fastening the ankle strap. A spritz of sweet floral perfume, and Harley was done.
Picking up her bat and swinging it over her shoulder, Harley walked with a flourish towards the lounge, where she could hear Joker and Frosts voices echoing from. As Harley entered the room she captured the attention of the two men in the room. Joker gave a loud whistle "Give us a twirl, baby!" He called. Harley complied, throwing her arms out in a dramatic presentation of herself.
Joker opened his arms, as Harley stepped forward and kissed Joker briefly "You look so handsome" She cheered, studying him. He cut an equally intimidating and handsome form in his perfectly tailored suit, flashes of guns in their holsters glinted from under his suit jacket. He held his usual tall dark red cane, the silver skull head top gleaming brightly. Joker caught sight of the small golden 'Joker' necklace Harley had put on, having had it made for her earlier. "Mmm, I like it" He growled, nipping at her neck briefly.
Joker led Harley and Frost to the elevator, as Harley practiced swinging with her bat, getting used to the weight of her new weapon. The garage held about fifteen of Joker's goons, all dressed in a strange array of masks and costumes; including clowns, bears, and even Batman masks. Harley's favourite outfit was the man in a full body panda suit.
Joker began ordering the men into two large white, windowless vans, which seemed to have originally had 'Laughter is the best medicine' Printed along the sides, but a roughly painted red 'S' had been painted in front of Laughter. "Slaughter is the best medicine" Harley read aloud, laughing as the men gathered their massive guns and loaded into the vans.
Joker lead Harley to his favourite sleek purple car, where she hoped into the passenger seat quickly. "Alright boys, let's go join the party!" He called, earning cheers from the men, as he eased into the driver's seat and peeled out of the garage. Harley looked over to Joker, the cool night air breezing through the car as Joker laughed, speeding through the dark streets.
Joker pulled to a halt down the dark side of the large Gallery building, it was an impressive construction of glass and steel, gleaming brightly in the inky night air from the bright lights within. Harley stood out of the car and swept around next to Joker, hooking her arm in the crook of his. In front of them, the two vans of goons pulled to a halt, the men piling out, weapons in hand.
Joker moved powerfully through the group, who moved out of the way of the pair without a word, one of the men held out a large gun for Joker to take as they walked past. The goons held back slightly as they moved silently behind Joker and Harley. Joker grinned at Harley before he pulled her forward into the lights of the Gallery. "It looks like we're a little late, Mister J" Harley said, as they moved to the entrance, glancing around at the elegantly dressed people milling around drinking champagne and making uncomfortable small talk.
"All the better for our entrance, Harls" Joker teased. Joker stepped into the grand hall and raised his gun, shooting the first security guards he laid eyes upon. Screams filled the air as Joker laughed with Harley, moving her forward into the front of the room as the goons filled the room, locking the doors behind them, and arranging themselves to block all the entrances and exits.
"Now everybody sit" Joker called over the screaming, when there was a moment of hesitation Joker raised his gun and began shooting into the panicked crowd, watching as bodies fell to the ground lifelessly. "I said sit!" He yelled, the crowd dropped to crowd, looking strange sitting on the floor in their elegant attire. "Good dog" Joker laughed maniacally.
"How rude, I haven't introduced my new, uh, lady. The one and only Harlequin!" He announced in a sing-song voice, his words echoing around the polished white marble of the halls walls. Harley held her arms to the sides and bowed with a flourish. Harley beamed around at the crowd, looking as though she had been awarded a trophy of some sort.
"Harley Quinn, nice to meet 'cha" Harley called happily, swinging her bat over her shoulder. "See I actually organised our little date to this shindig because someone has been bad" Harley continued, scanning the crowd, her smile never faltering. "Reporter Angela Marks, come on down!" Harley called liked a game show host. When the woman did not stand, Harley bent down at the waist, slowly running her hand up the leg exposed by the slit. Reaching the top of her thigh, Harley whipped out the gun in it's holster their and shot a Gallery curator in a fluid motion.
Cries and screams ran through the crowd as Joker laughed "I'd do as she says, if she wasn't so crazy I'd say she's insane" Joker called, continuing his cackling laughter. A stern looking woman rose from the crowd, dressed in a sensible black dress with her dark brown hair pulled back loosely, she was a boring figure. "I-I'm Angela Marks" She said, trying to hold back the tremors of fear she felt, she picked carefully through the crowd, and moved to stand where Harley indicated at the front of the room.
"See, Angie, you told some lies about me. That can't go unpunished" Harley sung, moving forward to bare her teeth at the woman in an imitation of Jokers grin. "Please, Harleen, I know Joker is making you do this. The man is evil, you don't have to do this" Angela pleaded. Harley stopped smiling and swung her bat viciously at Angela's side, sending the woman screaming to the ground.
"My name is Harley Quinn, and no one messes with my Mister J!" Harley ground out, punctuating every word with a swing of her bat to Angela's head and body. Breathing heavily, Harley examined her work. What had been Angela was now little more than an unidentifiable mess of a body. Blood and brain matter pooled along the golden tiles as Harley lent down to wipe her bat off along the bottom of what had been Angela's dress, making little difference as it was as equally covered in the bloody pulp as the rest of her.
Joker's laugh called to her as she joined him with her own laughter, sounding more insane than ever, but feeling freer than she could ever remember having been before. Crying, screaming, and vomiting noises filled the air. As Harley leaned down and tugged the thin, bloody, silver watch from Angela's body. "Now to stop any troublemakers, my boys are going to distribute some presents to the crowd. You let go of those and we'll all go Kaboom!" Joker called, watching as the masked men spread through the crowd, pressing what appeared to be unpinned grenades into the hands of people, seemingly at random.
Once the sobbing crowd was occupied with keeping the grenades from exploding, Joker motioned to his men to take the prearranged works of art that Harley had decided upon, dousing the rest in gasoline. Joker turned to a man in a tuxedo who sat beside a large grand piano looking terrified "Play something, this place is dead" He called, laughing at his joke. The shaking man, sat at the piano quickly, and began playing a beautiful tune.
"Tchaikovsky, Waltz of the Flowers" Harley recognised, turning to Joker, who held his arms out with a flourish. Harley beamed and stepped into his arms. As the goons gathered the artwork, and splashed gasoline around the room, and the crowd sobbed in terror on the floor, Joker lead Harley in a manic dance around the room, holding her closely and spinning her at random intervals. The pair laughed wildly as they danced in the midst of the chaos.
Once the song came to a close, and the men had finished with their work, Joker and Harley exited the building, with a call to the room to not move a muscle. Joker and Harley exited into the cool night air with a thrill. The men hurried to load the vans and leave, Frost having taken the time to pull Jokers car around front. As Joker and Harley were about to slip into the car, a dark figure dropped down from above.
"Batsy! You're late to the party!" Joker called in delight, as the menacing figure stood ahead of them. "Stand down Joker. Harleen Quinzel, step away from Joker" He said, his low voice as rough as the gravelled ground below their feet. Harley rolled her eyes, swinging her bloody bat over her shoulder "It's Harley Quinn, nice to meet 'cha" She trilled.
"Ahh, ahh, ahh" Joker cut in "You don't get to talk to my Harlequin" He scolded, menace seeping into his tone. Batman threw out an arm quickly, flinging what appeared to be a batarang at Joker, Joker side steeped with an eerie ease, though the blade cut deeply into his forearm. Joker laughed, though before Batman could make a move, Harley pulled the small lighter carefully stowed in her cleavage, and lit it audibly.
"I don't like anyone touching my Puddin'" Harley called, beaming smile back in place, as she moved the lighter to dangle over the trail of gasoline that lead into the Gallery. Batman stopped in his place, while Joker continued to laugh loudly at the scene playing in front of him, content for the most part of the night to see what Harley would do. "See the lovely crowd in there are holding some explosive gifts. If the room were to say, light up, I think they might make some fireworks" Harley announced, dangling her lit lighter teasingly over the gasoline trail.
"Hand over the lighter Harley" Batman growled. Harley pretended to think for a moment, swinging her bat mindlessly. "See the trick is that those little grenades don't go off when they let go, they're on timers" Harley revealed laughing along with Joker "Ain't my Puddin' so smart, making those?" Harley added, blowing a kiss to Joker.
"Tick tock, Batsy. You can try and stop me, or you can try and save all those people from the fire, when the bombs go off in, oh, sixty seconds" Joker rasped, glancing at his beautiful watch. Batman let out a slight growl as he moved to run into the building. Harley dropped the lighter as he entered "Oops!" She called, watching the fire trail slowly inside the building.
Harley and Joker entered the car and sped off before seeing what the outcome would be, they would let Batman have his attempt at a heroic moment. Joker pulled Harley to his side, as they sped into the night, and kissed her roughly. The blood spattered faintly across her face smearing across his as they laughed.