Must Love Hyenas

11: Untested Prototype

Harley wasn't thinking about Batman or anything else. Her entire focus narrowed to John as he vanished in a giant splash of green. Vaulting over the railing but maintaining a hand on it temporarily, Harley directed her own fall to land on a lower catwalk. Sprinting to the far end, she ignored the steps leading down to the ground floor and simply jumped the last few feet, landing in a roll. When she came out of the acrobatic maneuver, Harley slammed a fist against the emergency purge controls.

Ace Chemicals had been built in the early years of Gotham when pollution wasn't a major concern, so a number of release systems had been designed to flush the contents of the chemical vats into the harbor if the need should arise. The plant had been closed down long before environmental laws had been enacted, so no one had updated the internal systems to change their function.

When Harley triggered the release, the green mixture in the vat spiraled down a drain and into a large pipe before spewing brightly into the waters outside the chemical plant. Harley raced outside, already hearing the wail of approaching sirens. She didn't know if they were coming for her or not; she didn't care either. The approach of the police would at least encourage the Batman to depart as he was apparently trying to maintain a low profile in regard to public awareness of him. Harley didn't spare a single thought more about Batman because she was only concerned about John, and she had to get to him before the currents in the harbor swept him out to sea.

Bursting out the rear door, Harley found John hanging by one arm from the metal bars of a grating over the end of the pipe. He didn't look conscious with his head drooping and his other limbs resembling a puppet without its supporting strings.

Harley scrambled down the rocky embankment toward the edge of the harbor where the pipe let out. Taking a firm hold of John, she pulled him away from the green tinted waters and back toward solid ground. She put her head against his chest, ignoring the green sludge from the vats transferring from his formerly white shirt to her cheek. Her own rapid breathing and racing heart prevented her from hearing a pulse, but she did feel it when his lungs took a breath of air. Elation filled her veins almost as much as her own blood; John was still alive!

"J, do you hear me?" Harley pleaded, cupping his face in her hands.

"Can't a guy die around here in peace?" John asked with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes, he looked at Harley and snickered.

The release of tension in her caused Harley to briefly join in with his laughter.

"I was so sure you were going to die," Harley admitted.

"Everyone dies at some point, you know," he told her with a wide grin. He propped himself up on his elbows while regarding her with a more serious expression. "Since we can't know when it will happen, especially in Gotham, wouldn't you say you had to get in all the good things while you can?"

"Yes," Harley agreed, slightly puzzled by his philosophical question.

"In that case," John concluded. His sentence trailed off as he abruptly leaned forward, wrapped an arm around Harley and kissed her passionately.

Although Harley was taken aback by John's unexpected behavior, what surprised her even more was her instinctive reaction when she encircled him with her own arms and returned the kiss with an equal amount of intensity. During their time at Arkham, she'd known they'd been growing closer, but it wasn't until this moment she realized how much.

When the kiss ended, John ran a finger across her lips, wiping away the green residue from the vats he'd transferred to her. Her contact with the laughter inducing chemical was already having an effect as she giggled without really knowing what was funny. He apparently found it amusing as well as he quickly joined in, the two of them laughing nearly uncontrollably together on the shore of Gotham harbor.

A screech of car tires ended the moment of merriment, followed by Wilkins' shouted insistence. "Come on! We've got to go!"

"Coming and going, coming and going," John muttered while offering a hand to help Harley up the steep slope to the roadway. Harley and John snickered, sometimes separately, sometimes in unison at things only amusing to themselves.

The moment Harley and John were in the car, Wilkins slammed on the accelerator and sped away from Ace Chemicals. He took several corners on two wheels, trying to get as much distance as possible before the police arrived at the plant and started a search for them.

"Not so fast," John warned before grinning with delight and adding, "you might get a ticket."

While John started laughing so hard in the back seat he was nearly in convulsions, Harley only chuckled mildly.

"I think this stuff's wearing off," Harley mentioned, wiping away more of the chemical from her cheek with a handkerchief. "I wonder why he's still silly."

"Was he on any other medication or drugs?" Wilkins questioned.

"I had him on a dosage of a fear neutralizing gas," Harley answered.

"That's probably it," Wilkins guessed. "The two substances are interacting. I'll have to do some tests to know what the new effects will be, to say nothing of their predicted duration. It could be permanent."