Brink of Madness

Step Two

Harley woke up to find a a present on the edge of her bed. What the heck? She looked over at her window to see that it was still closed. Nothing looked like it had been tampered with. She crawled across the bed to the present and pulled off the wrapping paper. She slowly took the top off of the box. Inside were five things: a note, a red and black bodysuit, white and black face paint, and red lipstick. She opened up the note and it read:

My Dear Harley,

Your Christmas gift is coming early this year. I am taking you with me to a little meeting tonight (just to prepare for the future). Of course, you can't go as Harleen Quinzel. It's funny; you've always been a clown at heart. If you play around with your name a little you get Harley Quinn. That's exactly who you are going to be tonight, and hopefully in the future if you let me take you there. Make sure that you are ready by nine. Step two is about to take place.

-J

She had to do what he said; there was no avoiding it. At work she couldn't stop thinking about the letter. This is what all the training was leading up to. When she got home, she took the contents out of the box and sprawled them across the floor. The bodysuit was definitely something that he had picked out. She unzipped the top of it and slipped into the costume. The top part was a long sleeve v neck. The red and black suit was tight enough to make Harley feel a little bit uncomfortable. She walked over to her mirror to take a look at herself. She was surprised at what she saw. She smiled at the thought of looking pretty, at looking tough. In this costume she could be more than just the quiet psychiatrist. She could be whoever she wanted to for a night. Now what to do with my hair? She thought to herself. If Joker was going to make her participate in anything physical, her hair could not be in her face. She tried putting it into a ponytail, but it didn't look right. Then she tried pigtails. It looked a lot better, and a lot more playful. Mr. J would like that. She walked over to the bathroom to start putting on her face paint. Harleen stop! What are you doing? a little voice said in the back of her head, you are not a criminal. Do not give into his madness. She set the face paint down and sighed. Then another voice popped up into her head. Do it Harley do it! This is your chance to be the badass you were born to be. When have you ever been given the opportunity to do whatever you wanted to do? Plus, Puddin always has your back. She looked in the mirror and smirked; she had made her decision. Her final masterpiece was white all over her face with black smeared onto her eyelids. Her lips were painted red. Look at yourself Harles. You are the real you. She grinned as excitement filled her body. The suit wasn't exactly what she wanted, but it would do for now. Ten minutes later one of Joker's henchmen barged through her door.

"Ever heard of knocking?" she hissed at him.

"Sorry Harles, it's me," Rue said and lifted up her clown mask.

"Oh gosh Rue. I thought you were a man," she laughed.

"Yeah J doesn't want people knowing that there is a girlon his team. But I can see that he thinks of you differently," she said scanning Harley up and down.

"What'ya think?" Harley asked twirling around.

"You look different in a good way. J will definitely like it," Rue smiled.

"Then let's get going before Harleen changes her mind," Harley beamed. The two walked outside and into the back of a black van. Inside sat Joker and handful of other henchmen. All of they're eyes grew wide once they saw Harley.

"Geez boss, I didn't know we were having another lady join the team," one of the henchmen grinned.

"She's mine guys. If any of you dare lay a hand on her, you're dead. Understand?" Joker growled. They all nodded.