Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews/favourites/follows readers, it makes me happy. Okay so I was originally going to put Joker's POV in this but it didn't flow right, so I'm going to put it up next. I don't think I should need to say that some scenes in this story may disturb you, given who this is about, but just in case 'some scenes in this may disturb you'. Let me know what you think, I struggled a lot with getting the wording of this chapter to match my mental image.
Chapter Twenty Seven.
Harley awoke to what she assumed was the next day, as there was nothing but the flickering artificial light above her, with a pounding headache and a burning sense of spite. Her conversation with Joker yesterday, though not real, had reminded her who she was. She would show the Doctor how wrong he was about her being weak willed, she would show them how crazy she really was. They did not own her.
The slamming of the slot of the door opening had Harley raising to her knees and sliding from the shelf of a bed to the door. Griggs' face appeared behind the door, small eyes sparkling with dark amusement "Soups on" He snarked, shoving a plate of Nutraloaf into view through the slot in the door. Harley swayed in place, as though thinking deeply. Picking the mound of prison food up Harley pressed herself forward, moving her mouth close to the door as though about to kiss Griggs', who watched on with a smirk.
Abruptly Harley threw the Nutraloaf through the slot in the door, laughing madly as it hit his face, crumbling wetly on impact. Griggs' gasped, shaking his head and attempting to brush the disgusting mash of food from his face. "I do what I want, when I want. Tell the Doctor that I'm not eating until he says sorry" Harley said, flashing her teeth at griggs, who was now glaring through the door. "You crazy bitch. You'll be begging to eat by tomorrow" He hissed. Harley rolled her eyes as Griggs slammed closed the slot on the door. Harley laughed to herself once more, she would show him what kind of will she really had.
True to her word Harley refused any of the slop shoved into her cell for the next two days; the hunger pangs doing very little to deter her. Harley took to singing loudly instead of answering to whichever guard tried to tempt or threaten her into eating; Lesley Gore's classic 'You Don't Own Me' quickly became her favourite to sing, it seemed to get the biggest rise from the guard's.
"I'm free and I love to be free. To live my life the way I want. To say and do whatever I please" Harley sung loudly, smile in place as she heard heavy booted footsteps head towards her cell. There was moment of hesitation before the slot on the door slid open, revealing Doctor Morris' anxious face. Harley remained where she was, sat cross legged in the centre of the floor of her cell, though she switched to humming instead of singing. The concrete floor scraped her bare skin, as she was not wearing the orange jumpsuit normally assigned to her.
Tugging on the end of her hair, Harley pouted internally. Her hair was getting too long, the beautiful pink and blue sections of hair had faded with the growth. "Harley? I hear you have not been eating" Morris called. Harley tilted her head and moved to kneel, raising ever so slowly to stand. "Say sorry real nicely and I'll eat" Harley replied, stepping closer to the door.
Morris looked conflicted, his face flushed despite the chilled air of the Prison. "I apologise Harley" He muttered, looking as though the words tasted bitter in his mouth. "Sorry for…" Harley trailed, enjoying the discomfort the man showed. "I apologise for the electroconvulsive therapy, it was ordered-" He began, Harley cut his words off with a snort "No, no, no. Say sorry for saying I have no will power" Harley chided.
Morris spluttered for a moment, before trying in vain to pull his composure together "That's what this is about? But that's… I apologise, you do not have a weak will. You must eat" Morris finally choked out. Harley laughed in delight "And you thought I had a weak will? You fold so easily. No fun at all Doc'" Harley sighed, thrilled at the red cheeks of the man.
"Now you must eat" He spoke loudly, feebly trying to reign in control. "I must, must I?" Harley considered. "No. You don't tell me what to do" Harley said after a moment, sneering slightly at the man before laughing. Morris stepped back from the door, turning to someone out of sight "This is impossible! She's insane. I'll sign the papers" He said, frustration staining his tone, as he took one last glance at Harley before moving down the hall.
Griggs' appeared after a moment, a glint in his eye that promised pain "We're going to do this the hard way then" He said, his voice low and darkly amused. He stood back and unlocked the door, shoving it open he motioned the usual large group of armed guard's into the room, their guns raised as he shackled Harley and shoved her from the room. "You're going to learn who's in charge" He said lowly, his head near Harleys ear. Harley turned and snapped her teeth at his face before she was abruptly grabbed by two of the larger guard's and yanked forward.
Harley was lead into a large, dim hallway, with nothing but a chair covered by thick straps. Locked doorways lined the area that seemed to glow blue in the poor lighting. The guards shoved Harley to the cold ground against the grim concrete walls, where she pulled her knees to the side and laughed, running a finger against her lip where she had bitten it as she went down, tasting the metallic hint of blood from her lips. A buzzing echoed through the hall as a gated wall slid open, revealing a woman pushing a steel tray down the hall.
The woman came to a creaking halt beside the chair. She looked to be one of the nurses of Belle Reve, dressed in dark green scrubs with messy brown hair pulled back into a bun, her face was devoid of expression. Griggs pulled Harley from the ground and shoved her into the chair, he called for two of the six other guard's to hold Harley in place in the chair as the rest spread out along the hall. Griggs made quick work of strapping Harley's hands, feet, and forehead into place, finally strapping a crossing harness across her torso. Harley thrashed her body slightly, finding herself unable to move. Harley opened her mouth to spit threats at Griggs, only to have a ball gag shoved into her open mouth "You're hotter when you don't talk" Griggs mocked lowly as he fastened the ties around her head.
"Oh you're not going to like this" Griggs said to Harley, holding her face still as the nurse picked up a long, clear, thin tube from the tray in her gloved hands. She hesitated for a moment, before moving to the front of Harley, carefully avoiding her eyes. She pressed the tube to Harleys nose, then began threading it down Harley's nostril and down her esophagus. Harley choked and gagged as the pipe forced its way down to her stomach, closing her eyes she attempted to pull her head back from the awful sensation, only to be jerked still by Griggs. Though her eyes burned with moisture at the hideous sensation, she did not cry.
Unable to close her mouth, Harley could not fight the tube down her throat. The nurse tapped the tube in place before turning to the table and preparing a large syringe, tearing it from a plastic packet. From the corner of her eye Harley read the label of one of the three cans, 'Forcevite' was the bold label; followed by smaller print that announced that it was a total meal replacement. Harley felt anger burning in her stomach at the sight, she would tear them apart for force feeding her.
Griggs moved to kneel beside Harley, on the opposite side of the tray and blank faced nurse. Harleys fists tightened with the desire to smash his teeth down his throat. "You got a choice tonight! What have we got here? We got chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla" He said, his face filled with amusement as Harley glared from the corner of her eyes. The nurse did not wait for instruction as she mixed what seemed to be the strawberry Forcevite into a dish and sucked it into an enormous syringe.
The nurse picked up the end of the tube leading down Harleys nose and attached it to the syringe, slowly she began to depress the plunger, sending the horendous pink mixture up the tube. "You see, my job is to keep you alive until you die. You understand that?" Griggs said, staring into Harley's stinging eyes as she fought the tube forcefully pumping the vile mixture into her stomach. Harley whined involuntarily at the sensation of the mixture forcing through to her stomach; her chest ached, and her nose and eyes stung.
The anger within her burned deeper at the degradation. Griggs pulled his phone from his pocket with a smirk, turning the camera on Harley and himself as she gasped for oxygen around the pain. Sticking out his tongue he pulled a face to the camera "Ahhhh!" He mocked her gasps quietly "Spring break!" He added, snapping pictures of Harley and himself. As the last of the mixture emptied from the tube, the nurse stepped forward once again, pulling the tape from Harley's face she began threading the tube back out from Harleys nose.
The tube burned as it was pulled from Harleys body, she gagged at the sensation, her eyes watering. Swallowing back bile around the gag, Harley gasped once again as the tube was pulled free from her. Griggs laughed and pulled the gag from Harley's mouth "Bon appetit" He teased. Harley ran her tongue along her teeth, tasting coppery blood on her gums from the gag.
Harley said nothing for once as the guard's led the nurse away before coming back to unstrap Harley, who remained slumped in the chair; as though too weak to hold herself up. Once the restraints were removed, the guard's pulled Harley to a standing position, easing up on their usual security with her weakened stance. The anger inside Harley boiled over, she let out a maddened scream before launching herself at the nearest guard.
Harley wrapped her thighs around the man's throat, pulling her weight backwards to send the man crashing to the ground. With no mercy Harley pushed her body into an arch backwards, once in a handstand position she sent her feet back down; directly onto the guards head. Two more of the guard's rushed at Harley, guns raised, as she launched herself back upwards and at the men. Twisting and spinning so the men could not shoot at her without risking hitting one of their own, Harley attacked. Powerful kicks and punches sent one man stumbling into the nearby wall with an audible crunch as he slumped to the ground.
The other man's throat was met by Harleys teeth as he attempted to fire a shot at her. Biting down viciously, Harley ripped a good chunk of his skin out, warm blood stained her as he screamed, clutching at the wound as he fell back. Harley laughed wildly, enjoying the suffering of the men who dared to treat her as they had. Griggs and another one of the guard's stood at the gate, radios in hand as they spoke urgently, calling for medical help and back up. Turning to the last guard near her, who was kneeled beside one of the fallen guard's trying to wake him,
Harley grasped his head and began beating it into the ground. Grunts of exertion left Harley as the man fell still, his desperate attempts to push Harley off him stopping. Panting in laughter Harley felt herself being grabbed firmly from behind, Griggs calling orders to the now crowded hallway as medical staff rushed to the men, while three more restrained Harley. The guard's held Harleys upper arms to her side, yanking her easily upwards and away from the commotion in painful bruising grips.
With one final burst of rage, Harley managed to grasp the wrist of one of the men holding her, with a vicious twist displaying some of her immensely surprising strength, there was a sickening crack; followed by a sharp scream of pain. The men finally managed to restrain Harley in handcuffs and shackles, and pulled her from the hallway. Harley was thrown back into her cell harshly, where she hit the ground with a thump. Harleys shackles were not removed, as a final clanging sound signalled that the cell door had been closed. Shifting awkwardly, Harley brought her hands around to the front of her body, then moved to a seated position.
With closed eyes Harley rocked for a moment, swallowing down the churning mixture in her stomach, she began filling her head with the memory of when Joker had taught her how to use some of the more obscure weapons in his vast collection. He was a master of weaponry, Harley could watch him display his weapons skills forever.
It had been early in the evening, as Harley and Joker both favoured the nighttime they lived almost nocturnally. Joker had taken Harley to the underground level of his house, walking through the gym and to a locked door. He had pushed the door open with a flourish; revealing a large brightly lit room. The room was all white, lined with shelves and cupboards containing what seemed like every weapon conceivable.
Harley had stood in the middle of the room beaming as Joker pulled out a machine gun, mockingly pointing it at Harley for a moment, before replacing it and pulling out a duffel bag from one of the cupboards "Like a, uh, kid in a candy store. Pick some out, baby" He had rasped, watching silently as Harley took the bag and placed a number of weapons into it, including a machine gun, throwing stars, grenades, and what appeared to be a small harpoon style gun.
The night had been one of her favourites, Joker had taken her around town to show her how to use the various weapons; those who had crossed Joker had become unwilling targets for the mayhem. Joker's laughter rang in her ears with the ghost of the sound the grenade had made when tossed onto the ship of a man who had been smuggling drugs in Jokers area.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the door sliding open. The guard's had riot gear this time, large plastic shields were clutched by a couple of the men. Griggs and another man stood in front of the shielded guard's, they moved quickly, tugging Harley to a standing position and yanking her forward without a word. "Another field trip?" Harley teased, not showing any weakness as she watched the men, who warily avoided stepping too close to her.
"Shut it" The guard who clutched her arm said, giving her a tug that may have made her fall had she not had such good reflexes. "Rude" Harley huffed, as she was yet again pushed into an elevator. Soon Harley was being pulled down yet another hallway, a large steel gate blocked off the hall behind it, it was unlocked by Griggs quickly. The shadowed hallway identical to all the others in the building was soon blocked by yet another large barred gate. This must be the high security wing, she realised.
Two men stepped ahead to unlock the gate, with a buzz the gate was pushed open to reveal a large concrete room dotted with secured double doors. The room revealed two stories, a large metal staircase leading up to the second story which was not walled off from view as most areas of Belle Reve were. The middle of room held a large metal cage, a little smaller than her cell. The cage was surrounded by yet another chain link fence topped with coiling barbed wire. While the area was as grey and drab as the rest of Belle Reve, the high roof held a small section of thick, grimy glass that would filter watery natural light to the area below.
While Harley assessed the room, noting the guard's roving the upper landing section, and the guard's who had remained standing on either side of the gate leading into the room, Griggs unlocked the the large chain link gate on the fence around the cage. Pulling Harley into the small area around the cage, two men secured the gate once again while Harley was unshackled. Griggs pulled Harley in front of him, pressing her stomach to the bars while he unlocked the cage.
When Harley made to attack Griggs for daring to touch her, she was abruptly held in place by the two guard's remaining in the space with her. Once the cage door was opened, Harley was pushed inside harshly, the gate closed behind her with a slam. Turning, Harley pulled herself up close to the bars, wrapping her hands around them. The guard's had opened the gate of the fence surrounding her cell, but were waiting for Griggs, who remained standing near Harley.
"Enjoy your new cage, crazy. You get bathroom breaks twice a day." He said, his small eyes appearing dark in the light, his wide smile revealing yellowing teeth. Harley smiled at him, reaching her hand through the cage abruptly and grabbing his collar, she slammed his head into the metal bars. Before she could do any true damage, Griggs managed to jerk away, a glare in place as he stepped backwards, out of her reach. "You sleep on the floor" He said, before turning and barking orders at the men, exiting the area with the firm sound of locks clicking behind him.
Harley turned and studied the area, true to his word there was no bedding or furniture in the area. A small pile of blankets were thrown in one corner of the cage, with nothing else. Harley glanced up at the caged roof above her, staring through the small window ahead at her first glance of the sky in a long time. An idea occurred to Harley as she considered her new cell, she could be back swinging through the air.
Moving to the corner of the cell, Harley sat down and pulled he pile of sheets towards her. As she had suspected they were little more than long rags, the ends frayed and dirty. Harley laughed as began tearing pieces of the cloth into long strips, braiding the pieces together at the ends to form a long sheet, strong enough for the purpose she had made it. They would never be able to control her entirely, she thought as she studied her work, she was the Harlequin. No one controlled her.
Harley threw the sheet around her neck like a scarf, with a flourish. She wrapped her hands around the bars experimentally, judging her grip on the strong bars. Harley hauled herself up suddenly, using her momentum to scale up the bars. Once at the top, Harley pressed her feet against the bars, rocking her body outwards she launched herself to the top of the cage. Hanging on to the top of the cage Harley smiled, threading her legs through the bars and looping them to hold her weight, she let her hands go and hung upside down.
Pulling her torso up, Harley grabbed the end of the sheet and tied it firmly to the bar. Yanking on the sheet until she was satisfied that it would hold, Harley moved on to tie the other end of the modified sheet, hanging it like a hammock. Harley grabbed the sheet firmly, before unlooping her legs and dropping her weight down onto the sheet. Harley cheered for herself internally as she remained in the air, swinging on the rope. Moving upwards Harley tugged her body up onto the sheet, splaying it out as wide as it would go to hold her torso and head.
With her arms and legs dangling to the ground below, Harley looked up at the murky windows above her, staring at the navy blue sky. It must be close to morning, she thought, realising that this was the first hint of what the time was that she had seen in a long time. At this thought, Harley laughed aloud, time passing only meant it was closer to the day when Joker would find her.
Little author's note that you don't need to read: Forced tube feeding (particularly in prisons, I am aware it is sometimes necessary in hospital situations under very different conditions) does still happen, and has long since been considered by many as a torture method. If you want a little more insight read up on it, or watch the video on Youtube of Yasiin Bey subjecting himself to the Guantanamo Bay forced feeding procedure, I'll warn now, it is hard to watch.