At the Beginning

In the Dark of the Night

Harley lay sprawled across a ledge, high in the rafters above the ballroom floor. She could hear the voices from below and so she rolled to her stomach to look down at them. She watched as Jason and Roy began their con with Y/N as their unknowing apprentice. She laughed when Jason used tickets to the Russian circus of all things to trick her with. She sighed when Y/N finally said yes.

"Of course. The first interesting thing to happen in a decade and it is about that scrawny little brat who took away my puddin. And to top all off, it ain't even her. Newsflash, boytoys, the youngest of those stuffy old Grand Duchesses died with the others during the revolution." Harley said, sitting up and watching the group leave. "Sad. I kinda thought she and that dark haired one would be cute together. Oh well." She caught a gleam from the corner of her eye. The Joker's reliquary was glowing and spewing green fog. "Uh, you stupid thing! You better not have sprung a leak or my Puddin is gonna blow his lid! Even if he is dead, you aren't allowed to break on me now, you middle school craft you!" She said as she grabbed it up. "Kinda spooky, though. This thing being good as dust for ten years and now it decides to put on a light show? What if that dame really is the real deal?"

Harley had no time to muse on this thought as she was suddenly transported away. She saw flashes of the ballroom, the Earth's core, and then what looked to be space as she zoomed by.

"What kinda acid trip was that?" Harley cried out as she stumbled. She tried to steady herself as she heard someone curse nearby.

"Who dares disturb me? In my own personal Hell? You'd think purgatory would have more privacy than this." A familiar voice said before she was grabbed by the neck. The man picked her up and slammed her against a nearby wall.

"Mistah J!" She croaked, grabbing at his arm as her world went fuzzy once again.

"Harley? What the devil are you doing here, kid?" Joker said as he released his grip on her throat. She gasped and fell to her knees. Joker tapped his feet impatiently as he watched her regain her breath. As soon as she recovered, she looked up at him and smiled.

"Didya miss me, Puddin? Life wasn't the same up top without my Mistah J beside me." She got up and tried to hug him, but he held her at arm's length.

"Sure, Harls. Whatever makes you happy." He said quickly. "Now tell me what you are doing here."

"You used to be fun." Harley pouted. She sighed and pulled away. "You know that brat? The one that you were chasing on the bridge? Turns out she isn't as dead." The Joker froze like he was a statue. Not so much as a hair on his head moved. "Mistah J?" Harley asked quietly.

He turned wordlessly and punched a hole through the wall. When he pulled his arm out, his hand was missing.

Harley giggled and pointed to the stub. "Very funny, Mistah J. You always did now how to make a situation better with humor."

Joker turned to Harley with a smile. "You know. It probably would have been even funnier if I had planned it." Harley turned paler than the powder she had put on her face. Joker calmly turned and retrieved his hand from the wall. He stuck it back on his wrist and flexed a few times. "Well, what do you know, Harley? The cure for arthritis in the wrist is getting it cut off and then put on again." He laughed hysterically as Harley chuckled nervously.

"Now, this little brat. Y/N? Right?" He continued after Harley's nod. "How certain are you that she is alive?"

"I saw her with my own two eyes, Puddin. She looked to be still kickin to me." Harley watched carefully as Joker just nodded calmly.

"I would punch another hole in the wall, but I just got my hand back on and you never pull the same gig twice. That just makes for bad entertainment." Joker said as he sat down. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You know it is pretty sad. That was supposed to be a good quality curse, but then again. I did sell my soul for it and I wasn't a girl scout to begin with. Still, I wish I had that artifact they gave me."

"Oh you mean the oversized lava lamp key chain thing? It is what brought me back you, Puddin." Harley said as she held it up. Joker's face lit up and he rushed over to her. He ran up and grabbed it from her so quickly that she fell with a thud onto the ground. Joker kissed the reliquary as Harley pouted and rubbed her behind. "You know sometimes I think you love that glow stick more than you love me." She whined.

"That is by far the most intuitive thing you have said all day, Dr. Quinzel." Joker said mockingly as he walked away. Harley quickly got up and followed him. He led her down a dark corridor to a large room with a large cauldron in the middle. It began to glow and froth as Joker brought the reliquary closer. "You missed, Daddy, didn't you? Oh, we are going to have some fun!" He laughed as he patted the side of the cauldron.

"So what are we going to do now, Puddin?" Harley asked as she watched the Joker grab something and throw it into the mixture.

"We are going to do nothing." Joker growled at her. Harley started and jumped back. "I am going to investigate what is going on with this little thorn in my side and then I am going to figure out how I want to kill her. You can sit there and shut up while I concentrate."

Harley huffed and sat down. Joker smirked and turned back to the cauldron. An image was beginning to form in the vapor above it. He laughed and rubbed his hands together. "Let the fun begin."