Bygones

Chapter 22

There are many things about Harley that people fail to realize or recognize, mainly because they're too busy judging her for something or the other. For example, how many people know about her emphatic love of fortune cookies? The majority don't save for those closest, but it's a small joy in life, like the food that comes with the cookie. The meal is delicious and amazing, too, but there's something gratifying about cracking the little treat open and pulling out the piece of paper stuffed inside. Obviously, Harley knows they aren't magical or full of karma, yet the fortunes are amusing all the same.

For example, there was one the blonde got that said, "Turn off your computer and take a hike." That was laughable because Harley hates hiking. She'd rather wax her brows or nether regions than walk in the great outdoors where bugs bite and the blazing sun beats down on your skin. No, thank you. The piece of paper was crumbled and tossed into the waste bin.

Another time, when Harley was living in her crummy apartment during the bad days of her life, she ordered Chinese takeout a lot. In this particular instance, the blonde settled down to eat and went straight for the fortune first. She cracked a cookie open, and it read, "The door of opportunity will knock." This was odd because no sooner had Harley read it than there was a knock on the door. It had only been the maintenance man alerting to the furnace being shut off for repair, but it was ironic all the same.

As the blonde's eyes adjusted to seeing Cassandra with the Joker, the whole thing reminded her of a fortune cookie. Something along the lines of, "Be open to unexpected turns in the road because life is full of surprises." It was no coincidence a list of surprising things ran through her mind: the partnership with Nygma, putting on the old costume again, meeting the love of her life, getting engaged to said love, miscarrying an unanticipated baby, Bruce taken hostage, and Cassandra falling through the ceiling. But what's really startling is the young girl being the Clown's new bargaining chip. Shivers ran through Harley's body at that final thought, knowing all too well how Joker treats his bargaining chips.

The whole thing is disturbing, to say the least, especially when the ceiling incident wasn't part of the original plan. But plans, like life, change constantly. Courage isn't planned for. It's lived in the moment, which usually happens with giant steps outside of the comfort zone. It's unfortunate, really, because the comfort zone is a lovely place to be. At least, Harley thinks so.

Snapping her out of her reflections, Bruce whispered, "Was that supposed to happen?"

Shaking her head in disagreement, the blonde responded, "Absolutely not."

With the mission's objective taking a slight detour, Harley began weighing options and thinking about what to do. The odds seem good with Nightwing undetected somewhere and Bruce now being free. Regardless, the wild card is still Riddler despite having the proper motivation to take Joker down and topple him for good. Harley heaved a sigh. She and Nygma have similar goals, but like Commissioner Gordon alluded to, trusting insane criminals is risky business. It's a chance Harley will have to take.

The blonde turned to Bruce, "I've got a plan. I think I can get Cass out of this situation, but to do so, I have to feed the drama monster. Are you in?"

The man rolled his shoulders, getting a few kinks out, and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't really have a choice. The only problem is I'm without armor and weapons. So I'm not sure how helpful I can be, but I do have mad martial arts skills," he told her with a wink.

Harley is well aware of those skills. He's used them on her plenty of times in the past. In response, his fiance' picked up a gun lying by a fallen henchman and passed it to him. Bruce held it tight, lowered it by his side, and mentioned, "I'll cover you from the shadows."