Bang Bang!

Harley was finishing her make-up for an invite only New Year's Eve get-together with Pamela and Amelia. She had decided to wear a retro flapper's dress for the occasion. Something that was thin enough that the humid heat of the Amazon wouldn't bother her (and was made of a material that was eco-friendly).

She had finished curling and styling up her hair. And was just putting on some lipstick and eyeshadow while she waited for Amelia to arrive at her place.

Harley is coming to term with who she is as a person. And has accepted a lot of herself over the past few years in the Nexus. The biggest challenge was accepting the Joker's Toxin that still remained in her body, and how it could have any ill effect on her at any time. In a way, it was like even though Joker himself was dead... he still had that little bit of control over her.

And so Harley needed to find a way to embrace it, and not think of Joker whenever it got the best of her.

One of those ways was to allow herself to be violent. And that was the nice thing about the Viper's Pit. The fighting areas had many different set-ups, even ones where you didn't have to worry about the anti-violence field.

Harley was waiting by one of those fighting areas, blowing a bubble. A big sign near by... "Fight Harley Freaking Quinn. $10."

And way at the bottom, was the small print "All funds go to the Feed Harley Quinn Foundation"

Harley has been a little restless the past month or so. While there is still some random jobs she gets from the Nexus, and from her world, it really has not been keeping her busy enough. And she needs a distraction. A distraction from the bad stuff that went down in her life … and just needs to surround herself with good friends. And a party.

So she decides to throw a "Girls Only" night at her Coney Island roller derby. She gets the place set up with decorations, lots of liquor, and lots of food. There is a place for people to get up and sing karaoke in one corner. And a quieter couch area in another corner.

The main focus is on the roller derby rink itself, where Harley is currently skating a few rounds.

She convinced a certain Angel messenger to deliver the invites out to as far as he could, so anyone from the Nexus could drop on by. The only rule of the night... was this was a Girls Night only.

[This is an open post. Tag others as you wish]

Harley was different after ending things with Joker. Not a lot of people could see it. Especially since she still acted pretty much the same. It was normal for her to check the exits of every room she entered. It was typical of her to rollerskate through the Nexus, humming a tune to herself, with her bat on her shoulders. It might be a little weird for a few to find her business card stuck on lamps posts and bulletin boards, advertising herself as a Vigilante for Hire... but not too off base.

For even the closest of her friends, the difference would be hard to see or notice. And so for the most part, she kept on doing the things that made sense to her. She kept checking in on Thor, or those in the village. She keeps a careful eye on the children, mostly out of sight. But protecting them in her own way, just in the background, as they go about their day. She also keeps a careful eye on Loki too... not yet approaching him, nor avoiding him... just being ready for him to call out to her. If and when he does.

It is Ivy who truly knows that there is still pain and suffering in her friend. That there is something unspoken that is still traumatizing to Harley.

And one night... they visit the greenhouse in the village together, without saying a word to anyone else. Ivy finds a spot where they can dig a deep hole, and uses her abilities to nourish the soil. She plants a seed, and covers it with dirt. And pulls Harley to her, so the other woman can rest her head on Ivy's lap and get her hair stroked by Ivy's fingers.

"It will be a difficult journey to start new again. To put away your past, and find yourself... but I have faith in you, Harley." Ivy whispers.

"I feel so empty. Like I miss him... even though I know I shouldn't." Harley closes her eyes, and just lets a few tears fall.

"You are trying too hard to be everyone else's strength. Their protector. Harley... you need to be your own protector right now." Ivy advises.

"I just want to be strong enough for them. To let them know they can rely on me..." Harley whispers.

"They already know that Harley. They respect you." Ivy leans her head closer to Harley. And sighs. "Let yourself mourn the loss of a love you once felt. It is okay to mourn that love. We all hated the man. We all want you to feel that your love is precious. And there is a better place for it."

Safe in Ivy's arms, surrounded by the darkness and the plants of the greenhouse, Harley wept. She wept for the love she once had for Joker. He might have never returned any emotional investment himself... but for Harley it was all too real, all too raw, and it hurt to have it gone.

Don't worry about me
I'm just a bit of a broken doll
Cracks seen and unseen
Due to quite a few falls …

Harley is still very damaged and broken after her last encounter with Joker. She has a lot of bad nights, when all she does is lay in the middle of the floor of her panic room and laughs at nothing. She never really slept well in the first place... but these days she hardly sleeps at all.

Often it is just her laughing all night, curled up on the floor.

Other nights, she is taking down yet another Joker Gang on her world, beating up those who are tied to her ex-lover. Getting covered with blood and guts.

Some nights she is on her roller derby skates and spinning around the entire space of her panic room, just humming to herself. Those same nights she will get out her aerial silks, or an aerial ring, and just let herself escape the madness and the laughter for a few seconds of dance. Her movements are often poetic and sad. Chaotic and unplanned. No night ever the same.

There are a few moments when she is able to embrace a moment of joy and happiness, that makes it worth struggling with every other moment.

Like when she is visiting Thor, and helping either him, or those in the village regain their own sense of community. Or when she finds Dyane crashed out on her couch, and makes sure the woman has blankets and a plate of food and water waiting for her when she wakens. Or when she is anonymously dropping off donations for the Eirleos group at the Crossroads Cafe (keeping her distance because she doesn't want to upset Runa again).

She has days where she can take care of some of the kids, giving Loki some time and space of his own. But she can't given them her nights. Her nights are still too dark. Too hard. Too many monsters under the bed.

She has moments where she can go out for coffee with Adia and Caspar, or have a nice visit with Amelia. But there are still times when she will just space out and stare into the nothingness...

There are times when she stands in front of the memorial in her panic room, and traces her fingers over the faces of the people that are no longer in her life. Or takes out the feather that Beezlebub gave her, or traces her fingers over the worry beads that Aziraphale gifted to her. And tells herself that she does have people watching over her.

Every breath. Every moment. Every second is Harley slowing trying to reconnect the pieces of her own identity. Of who she wants to be. The Valkyrie. The Warrior. The Protector. The Harley Quinn.

She knows she can't do that when she is broken. And no one is going to pick up the pieces but her... but she is going to find a way. She will come out of this stronger and more determined than every.

She is... Harley. Freaking. Quinn.

It is a typical night at Harley's Coney Island apartment. As Harley sips margaritas on the rooftop, admiring the fair rides as the sun sets, and the lights on each ride light up the sky. One can hear the audible cheers and happy screams from amusement park attendees.

One would think that the constant fair sounds would make it harder to hear anything else. But for Harley Quinn... she knows exactly when the window on the first floor is broken. And the sound of people breaking into her house.

( NSFW (Violence Warning): Don't Touch Harley's Stuff )

It was really nice that Coney Island had appeared in the Nexus. Harley had quite a time in her element, and it was great that several other people had a chance to relax, enjoy the rides and the food, and just spend quality time with their loved ones.

And there was some cleanup required afterwards, so Harley was busy making sure that the Nexus plaza was back to normal (no garbage or debris around), and that those from Coney Island that had traveled to the Nexus were back in her home universe where they belonged.

She was cleaning up some garbage one day, when she felt that 'someone is watching me' sixth sense. When she stood and turned, she spotted an elderly man dressed in butler attire, and wearing pale white make-up with bright red lipstick over his lips, who was walking towards her. Right away, Harley knew who it was -- Jeeves, as she called him, one of Joker's loyal goons (who actually was part of Joker's gang for as long as she remembered).

Fuck fuck fuck She cursed silently, wondering if the appearance of Coney Island had accidentally brought Jeeves or other Joker goons to the Nexus. Out of caution, Harley had her bat in her hand. She knew that Jeeves himself would not attack her (he was not the type), but wanted to be prepared just in case there were other Joker goons around who would attack her.

"Miss Quinzel..." Jeeves spoke in a raspy voice, as he held out a package. Harley shook her head, refusing to take it. She did not want anything from Jeeves, especially since it meant that he was delivering a gift from Joker.

Jeeves tapped the gift-wrapped box, and held it out to her, insistent that she take it, despite her refusal. And he just stood there, holding it out for her, while she shook her head. That was the one thing about how loyal Jeeves was -- Harley knew that he would keep on trying to do his job (which was to deliver this package), and would eventually neglect himself by not eating or sleeping, if she kept on refusing to take the package from him. And dammit... Jeeves was still okay in her eyes. He never abused her, he never yelled at her, and he had taken care of her a few times. So Harley didn't want him to punish himself, just because he couldn't finish his task.

Harley took the box from him and sighed. "Fine."

Jeeves continued to stand there, and he signaled for Harley to open the box in front of him. Harley rolled her eyes at that. Of course Joker knew that she was likely to burn the stupid thing, without even seeing what was inside. Of course he told Jeeves to make sure that she opened the box, to see whatever stupid gift was inside.

"I really hate that man..." Harley put the box down, and took out her Ice Dagger to unwrap the gift with -- not daring to touch the wrapping paper or the ribbon with her hands. Sure she couldn't get poisoned, but she didn't want something nasty on her hands right now.

Inside the box was a large photo album. Harley arched an eyebrow, and stabbed the front of the album to bring the object outside, planting it on the ground too. Using the dagger to turn the pages (refusing to touch the book out of principle), Harley noticed several torn photos of her and Joker at the start of the book. It was like a very creepy montage of their lives together. He even including little newspaper clippings of their crime spree in Gotham.

Once upon a time... the old love-sick Harley would have been over the moon with the effort. But the wiser Harley Quinn of today knew that it was all part of some sick game that Joker was playing. And sure enough... near the end of the photo album, the pictures changed. There were several photos of many different Nexus locations in a stylized black-and-white tone, with splashes of red streaking across each of the photos. Harley knew enough of Joker's photography techniques to recognize that he had taken these photos himself... which meant that he had access to the Nexus.

As she turned a few more pages, where there were portrait mosaics -- of unknown faces, made from several photos of different people. And Harley started to recognize some of the pieces of photos. That was Caspar's eyebrow in one photo... and Amelia's lips in another... and Cricket's eyes in a third... She felt her heart beat fast and hard in her chest.

Jeeves walked away from her, as Harley sat down to slowly stare at the torn up photos of several of her friends, and some people that she just met (Danny), and some people she did not recognize. She knew then and there that Joker was telling her that he could get to any of these people, that he had gotten close enough to get their picture, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Joker was in the Nexus. This was serious. Harley had to make some text messages.

A large truck is docked at a big box store, located near one of the busier residential areas, and several men are filling the truck with all sorts of necessity items. Blankets. Clothes. Non-perishable food. Bottled water. Toiletries.

Harley sits nearby, in a pristine red prada suit, and a pair of bright purple heels. She is holding a clip board as she checks off a list of supplies that she had requested. All purchased by funds donated by Wayne Enterprises.

It is a little weird being in Gotham again. But it is for a good cause. Once the truck is loaded, Harley will get them to the Nexus -- and to the Eirleos charity.

There is a lot on her mind right now. She can't help but think about the sight of Natasha, Steve, Thor and Rocket in the Nexus -- and the look of shock on their faces from what they had faced.

Harley can't imagine the trauma. Half of life just gone in a flash.

It made her think of the troubled in her own world. Of how living in tight quarters during the Winter had reminded her so much of Arkham, and the poor conditions the worst of the worst are forced to live in. How over such a simple thing as food and she had gotten into a heated argument with Jim Kirk.

And she had put some of Wayne Enterprises donation into a few soup kitchens and crisis centers before making her large order at the box store.

Her mind drifts to Loki... the last she saw of him, he was at Thor's side, before they both disappeared. And she knows the other man is taking care of his brother. She really hopes the two brothers can bond from this.

"Excuse me, Miss?" A small child tugs at Harley's sleeve.

Harley looks down, with a bright smile at the girl. "Yes?"

"You are Harley Quinn. Right?" The child is shivering with fear.

"Don't be scared, sweetheart. I am not here to do anything bad." Harley hates how she still gets that look from some people.

"It is not that... I was told to give you this..." The child shoves forward a small pink box, wrapped with a purple ribbon. Just the sight of the purple coloring gives Harley a feeling of dread in her stomach.

The child runs off, before Harley can ask any questions. She closes her eyes, and opens the box. Inside is mostly empty, except for a tiny rumbled $100,000 Federal Reserve Note, that is shaped into a broken heart. And there is blood all over the 'tear' of the heart.

Harley drops the box into a garbage bin located nearby. And then finishes signing off on her shipping forms, before getting into the truck and driving off. She will doesn't look back. Determined to not let the gift get to her.

Two brightly dressed women approached the Nexus apartment that Harley once claimed as her own (and had shared with some 'Wayward Boys'). Harley was wearing the brightest jacket in the world, that seemed to be fashioned together with strands of parade tape and police tape. And beside her, was none other than Pamela Isley 'Poison Ivy', who wore flowers that fashioned a dress over her body.

"Doesn't look like I need my key..." The door was busted in after all. Harley kept a bright smile on her face, even as she entered the apartment and was faced with the disaster that was made after those scavenging for supplies during the Winter had 'taken advantage' of the open door policy.

"Greenhouse was over here..." Harley leads Pamela to the greenhouse. Many of the fruits, vegetables and flowers were killed completely during the winter. Pamela tsked her lips lightly. And assured her friend that she could handle this area on her own.

Harley made her way through the rest of the apartment. There was little left of her make-up or hair extensions in the bathroom. With a slight shake of her head, Harley sighed, as she found one lipstick that had not been taken. She felt fine not wearing the extensions recently, after sacrificing two to Hazel, the Autumn spirit. So this was not a horrible loss for her.

Heading to the living room, Harley was not surprised to see that her silks had been taken too. It looked like someone had cut them down. She stared up at her aerial set with a slight sigh. "Well, I hope they made good blankets for whoever took them..."

She didn't bother looking in the 'extra rooms' that belonged to Loki or Cricket. That was their space, and she was sure they would take care of their own salvaging attempts.

Harley headed to her bedroom loft, that overlooked the living room. Everything had been thrown around. And her closet -- well most of her clothes were now gone. Good thing she had run into Alex... it looked like she would need a whole new wardrobe from him.

The bedroom certainly had been given a once-over a few times, with drawers open in the nightstands and dresser. And anything that had any value was taken. Someone had even taken the artwork off the walls! Harley laughed to herself.

Good thing her gun safe was not kept in the wall. No... unlike most other people... Harley had a floor safe. And it had been underneath one of the nightstands. The nightstand was empty, but it was never moved off its spot. And why would anyone think of it? The floor looked the same. There was no indication of something different in this area. Harley moved the nightstand away, and removed the false panel to get to her safe. It was fingerprint and passcode protected. So that was another good way to protect what was hers. Inside... safely stored during the winter... was her gun.

"There you are..." Harley grinned, picking it up with a bright smile.

As bad as things were... Harley knew she could pick up and start again. And that was her plan.

Adrenaline.


     The rush of the heart beating quickly... for each expedition. For each mission accomplished.


There are those that fail. There is blood. And loss.


     And there is more and more crowded into the safety of the tents set up in the plaza.


People breathing.


     People crying.


          People bleeding.

               The stillness of a life taken by the storm outside.

She doesn't know where Cricket is. Hopefully he is safe in their apartment.

    She doesn't know where Loki is.


          She has seen little of her friends. And the ones she has seen...


They are tired. They are worn.


               They are exhausted.

There is no room to breathe.


          No room to scream.


               There is no free space anymore. Every corner, every nook is needed.


There is another mission to take. Another expedition to go on...


     She finds a corner. And sits...



          And laughs.


               Just laughs softly to herself.


          Until it stops. And she stands again. Time to face the Storm.