The Joker Made Me Do It

Chapter twenty five

<Dick/Robin's POV>

I had been taking the bat mobile to Arkham. I mean obviously it's not the greatest idea to take it out in broad daylight, but it was much faster to get to Claire with than with going with one of our other cars and I hid it when I was parking. I couldn't be letting people see Dick Grayson stepping out of the infamous bat mobile, now could I?

But now I got back into the tank after visiting Claire for the day. She told me she loved me and I told her I loved her back, but did we? Did we love each other? We didn't fully know each other. But I wanted to know her. But did I really want to deal with her and her insane thoughts? I could help her though. And it looked like Arkham wasn't helping.

'But how did he get to her?' I thought. 'How did that monster manage to get to her?' I slammed my hands down on the wheel as I drove back to the manor. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be getting worse.

"I can't keep letting this happen!" I growled to myself. "It has to stop!" She wasn't safe in there. Not where the Joker was. Maybe his hold on her was stronger when he was closer. If I could bring her back to the manor, she'd be farther away and she could get better. We could have a therapist come to see her every week, maybe even twice a week. She could get the help she needed at the manor.

"I can help her. She needs me..." I shook my head and watched the road ahead of me as I closed in on a rock wall, about to hit it when the rock moved and I sped into the bat cave. "No. She doesn't need me, does she?" I skidded to a halt and jumped out of the tank just as the roof was lifting off it.

"Bruce!" I growled loudly. I knew he was down in the cave somewhere.

There was no response.

"BRUCE!" I yelled even louder.

This time there was an annoyed "what" muttered out of Bruce's lips.

"We've got to get Claire out of there!"

"No way, Dick."

I grabbed his shoulder while saying, "but" and was interrupted as Bruce shoved my hand off and yelled, "I said no!"

I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. "Bruce, she is in there with criminals. CRIMINALS! It's not safe."

Bruce pressed his lips into a line as he turned fully to me. "Did you forget that she's a criminal too?" His face was solemn.

"WAS!" That's just it Bruce, she was one. She isn't now. She doesn't belong there. Joker is there. He will find a way to get her." My hands clenched into tight fists as I thought about Joker hurting my Claire. 'My Claire? I'm totally losing it. "I know he will."

Bruce seemed to be thinking for a moment with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose and his eyebrows scrunching together. "He's in solitary confinement Bruce. No one is going to let him out."

"But he escapes all of the time and every time he does damage before we catch him and send him back. She's going to get hurt, Bruce!" I threw my hands up in the air as I spoke and let out a frustrated grunt.

"He won't get out." Bruce tried to convince himself of it.

"Yes he will," I defended. "You know he will."

Bruce put on a masked expression for a moment so I couldn't tell a single thing he was thinking. "You're right." He admitted and I grew surprised at Bruce's defeat.

"So when do we get her? Can we get her now?" I sounded like a kid begging for a puppy. It was ridiculous, but I didn't care. I couldn't compose myself. I had to get her. I needed her. I wanted her.

"No, not right now. Then the Joker will find a way to follow us." I turned my lips to a frown and began to sulk. I wanted Claire back. I missed her.

"Then when?"

"If I can think of something tonight then we can possibly pick her up and bring her here tomorrow." He seemed to be contemplating the idea in his head whether or not he would regret it while I tried my hardest not to jump and down like a little girl at a sleepover.

"Tomorrow then."

<Claire's POV>

"God, am I going to be here forever?" I exclaimed as I shoveled food off of my plate and into my mouth.

Pam, Edward, and Selina all laughed at me and assured me that wasn't the case while Harvey looked like he wanted to murder someone and Jonathan was studying me in almost a creepy stalkerish kind of way.

"Hey, uh Jonathan?"

He didn't seem to hear me as he stared at my arms. I began to feel uncomfortable with his looking at the faded scars on my arms, thanks to Pam's aloe spit, so I moved then so that they were crossed against my chest and he looked up to my face with a confused look on his face.

"Could you stop staring at me?" I asked quietly and everyone giggled, even Harvey. That's right, Harvey Dent, Two Face the murderous psycho giggled like a teenage girl. It made me giggle myself.

"Don't take it personally hon, he does it to everyone." Pam smiled at me and waved her arms around as she spoke. Jonathan was studying my face now. I just tried to ignore him, but in a way I also didn't mind. He meant no harm, or at least that's what I thought.

I looked at my empty plate and realized I had finished my breakfast so I slumped over to the old red couch and plopped myself down on it with a huff.

"I want to go home" I whined like a child.

"It puzzles me as to why you'd be here in the first place. You're no criminal darling." Edward told me. But I didn't know what to say back. I had been a criminal. They just didn't know that. I gulped.

"If you're a criminal then you're a sneaky one." Selina purred from her chair as she stalked over and sat next to me. I've never seen any redhead other than Ivy here bouncing around Gotham. Have you?" She turned and asked Pam. Pam shook her head from side to side, indicating a "no".

"Then just who are you, Miss Watson?" Asked Scarecrow quietly and creepily from his spot in his chair. He was still studying me. I began to think of it as a calming and comforting creepiness. He wasn't scared by my scars. He just wanted to look at them.

"I don't know." I admitted. I really didn't know. I didn't remember anything about being Harley Quinn, nor did I want to.

"May I talk to you?" Jonathan asked me and I nodded and waited for him to walk over. But he only walked over and grabbed my wrist to pull me into my room while saying "in private." He then shut the door.

He then gently pushed me to sit on my bed and he sat next to me, slowly picking up his hand and raising it to my face. Then he did something unexpected. He lightly ran his fingers over my extended, permanent smile. And I didn't tell him to stop. Nor did I tell him to stop when he pushed me softly down onto the bed so I was lying on it and he leaned down to touch his lips to mine.

And I didn't stop him when Dick came into the room and stared at us, horrified.

I was in my own world.