In Another Life VII

Chapter 17

The Joker had been woken up in the middle of the night and dragged into a van by the Arkham guards. The van deposited him in what appeared to be a prison yard, before the prison guards dragged him down a long, barred corridor and into a cell, before locking the door and leaving him.

"Boss?" whispered a familiar voice.

"Roc, Jerry, boys!" said Joker, surprised as he looked around the surrounding cells.

"What are you doing in Blackgate, boss?" asked Rocco. "And at this time of night?"

"I...dunno," said Joker, slowly. "But I can't imagine anything good."

The cell door opened and another familiar figure entered. "There, y'see, I was right!" said Joker, grinning. "Nothing good! What do you want, pig?"

Henderson just glared at him, and then struck him a blow across the face. Joker fell back, trying to regain his balance and trying to fight back, but that was difficult since his hands and legs were still cuffed together.

He licked the blood from his lip, grinning. "Oh, I get it. A little police brutality payback for making you do bad things while you worked for me, is that it?"

"This isn't for me," growled Henderson. "It's for Harley."

Joker snorted. "You shouldn't be defending that cheap tart. She got exactly what she deserved."

"Don't talk about her that way," snapped Henderson. "Don't insult her just because she outsmarted you, the great Joker. That's really why you were so angry at her, isn't it? Because you don't have the guts to be angry at yourself. Because in the end, you were just as stupid as any other man when a young, attractive girl shows an interest. She gave you the bait, and however smart you think you are, you fell for it. You're no different from everybody else in that respect – when someone flatters your ego and presses your buttons, you're putty in their hands."

Henderson punched him in the stomach, and Joker fell to his knees, gasping for breath. "You're an idiot," growled Henderson. "Did you honestly think a woman like that would want someone like you? That a young, beautiful, smart, fun girl like Harley would have any genuine interest in some sick freak?! She's not dumb enough to fall for a man like you, a man who can only offer her a life of crime and pain and misery! If you had stopped to think for one second you would have known she had to be a setup! But you didn't think. You just enjoyed the fantasy, and now you're gonna pay the price for being blinded by your own disgusting desires. The moment Harley gets here, you're gonna really start hurting!"

He kicked him to the ground. "So why don't you laugh now, clown?" he hissed. "Isn't it funny? Don't you always enjoy the punchline to your jokes? Or is it not funny anymore now that you're the punchline? Can't stand being made a fool of, huh? You can dish out sick jokes, but you can't deal with one being played on you?"

He kicked him again in the ribs. "Why aren't you laughing, clown?" he demanded. "Go ahead, laugh! Now the joke's finally on you!"

"No," murmured a voice behind them. "It's on you."

"Harley?" gasped Rocco, as they all turned.

It was indeed Harley Quinn who stood there, dressed in her usual black and red costume and clown makeup. She held a hammer in one hand and a gun in the other, a gun which she had pointed straight at Henderson.

"Uncuff him," she commanded.

Henderson stared at her in disbelief. "Harley, what are you..."

"I'm busting him outta here," she said. "Plus the rest of the gang too, of course. So uncuff him now."

"No, Harley, you can't...you don't..." stammered Henderson. "The mission's over..."

"I know that, Matt," she snapped. "And now I'm free to choose what I want to do and who I want to be with. And this is my choice. Uncuff him," she repeated.

"But Harley, you can't seriously...you don't...you don't love him!" shouted Henderson.

"Yes," she whispered. "I do. I know I told you it was all an act, but I lied. I didn't sleep with him for the sake of the mission. I slept with him because I love him. And it may be crazy, but I don't care. If it is, I don't want to be sane anymore."

"Harley, you're just...confused from your ordeal," stammered Henderson, trying to explain it away. "You're trying to make yourself feel better about...about what he did to you, so you've convinced yourself that you're in love with him, but it's not true! You're a victim of..."

"I'm not a victim!" she shouted. "Harley Quinn is who I am! Now uncuff him, Matt – we don't have much time! That bomb alert I raised to distract the guards is only gonna distract them for so long before the real bomb goes off..."

As she said this, there was a rumble, and then a huge explosion took out the wall at the end of the hall. Harley grabbed the keys from Henderson, and began unlocking the neighboring cells. "Get outta here, boys!" she shouted. "Now Matt, for the last time, uncuff..."

She trailed off as she turned back to see Henderson holding a gun against the Joker's head. "No!" Henderson hissed. "I'm not letting that scum out there to murder innocent people again! I'll see him dead first, and do us all a favor!"

"Put down the gun," she commanded, raising her own level with his face.

"No," he repeated. "You're not as far gone as that – you won't kill a police officer to save the life of a homicidal manic who's murdered thousands of innocent people! You're not that crazy, Harley!"

Harley stared back at him, trailing her fingers along her gun and thinking of Mr. J. "Yes, I am," she whispered.

And then she pulled the trigger. Joker felt the bullet whiz past his cheek, and then felt blood splatter onto his face. And then Henderson's body fell to the ground.

Harley didn't waste a moment, grabbing the keys to the handcuffs from his belt and freeing the Joker. "C'mon," she said, grabbing his arm. "The guards are coming."

Joker shook her hand off and bent down to pick up Henderson's gun. He then strode past her toward the hole in the wall, ignoring her presence completely. Harley stared after him, deeply hurt. If this hadn't proved her love for him, nothing did. Why wasn't that enough? And if he still continued to be cold and cruel toward her, she had given up her life and her sanity for a man who would never again return her love. That wasn't just crazy – that was stupid.

Nevertheless, she raced after him into the night. She no longer had a choice.