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LISTEN, RED, YOU'RE NOT STILL MAD ABOUT LOSING THE BASEBALL GAME, ARE YOU
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The world around Harleen Quinzel turns cloudy and filled with little wisps of smoke-like shadows. She is back in her room in Forks, tears escaping her bloodshot eyes. No one seems to be home, but someone is there with her — outside her window, looking in. They gently knock on the window, and she jumps several feet off the bed before turning to look outside. Her eyes grow wide and she dashes to the window, flinging it open and grabbing the person — Edward Cullen — into her arms. She embraces him fiercely and scolds him for leaving.
Harleen, still in a deep slumber, acknowledges that this is just a dream. It's not real. Victoria wouldn't kidnap her just to ship her off to Forks, where Edward would magically be awaiting her arrival. This is all just a dream...
A single tear escapes her eyes as she continues to dream, reluctant to open her eyes and face reality. She looks so happy to see Edward.
She knows she would forgive Edward. Her eyes would sparkle with tears as he begs for her forgiveness, even though she would continue to swear she forgives him. Is this it? Are the walls of Rome finally crashing down on me and letting him back into my heart?
By the end of her thought, the picture before her fogs up into a muddy color, and the sight of Edward and her together disappears in a mist. A pained moan escapes her lips, and she squeezes her eyes tighter than ever, like it would magically turn this beautiful dream into reality.
Then, she sees it again — a happier version of herself hurriedly racing towards the window to let Edward in. Her relief at the sight of him. The wildly enthusiastic way she brings her arms around his neck — the way he is embracing her back, letting her warmth fill his body and make him whole. Each second this vision is playing in her mind, the more she feels like she's floating.
Her desire to see him is burning stronger than ever. Each second this vision becomes clearer, and she wants it to be true. She wants to be in his arms and hear him tell her that everything is going to be all right — that he will never leave her again. She can't bare to look at the sight before her any longer, as it only brings on a false sense of security. She feels like her heart is ripped from her body all over again.
She feels her physical body staggering sideways, and her dream suddenly becomes cloudy and non-existent as she wakes up from her dream. She stares down at her lap with a withering look, her throat obstructed with grief.
She feels an almighty retch as she turns her head, attempting to look at her surroundings, but failing miserably, as her vision is impaired by a black bag placed over her head. She tries to reach for the bag, but realizes that her hands are tied behind her.
The last thing she remembers is running away from Victoria and being stopped by a pair of hands before she completely blacked out. However, right now she is sitting on something — a chair. Someone must've drugged her and moved her somewhere else while she was unconscious.
What if it's someone who's following that stupid hit on me and is tryna kill me, she thinks. Better yet, what if it's the Bat and Amanda trying to ship me back to Belle Reve? She feels an almighty retch as she thinks of the numerous possibilities. The chill returns to her stomach and fills the rest of her chest, where the hollowing has already begun again. The pain returns in full measure.
She starts to try to untie her hands from the rope, when she hears it... music. The sounds of the keys ripple through her body at the harmony of Clair de Lune, and her memories of Edward begin to swirl around her mind to get at her again. The pain is beginning to overpower her again.
"Clair de Lune," she asked.
"You know Debussy," Edward questioned with a small smile.
"Not really," she laughed. "My nana played a lot of classical music around the house when she was alive – I only know my favorites."
"It's one of my favorites, too."
The memory leaves another scorch mark on her frayed and tethered body. She reminisces on how they had that small thing in common, the thought that maybe they weren't complete opposites. At the reflection of the glorious creature that left her behind, she tries again for the ropes, only now realizing that there are people talking behind her. There are two distant voices — a male and a female.
"Are you sure you checked everywhere," she hears the woman ask the male, sounding a lot like Victoria. "What about Long Island?"
"... No," the man answers her. "No, I haven't."
That voice also sounds familiar. Then, it clicks. It's Laurent, the man who warned the Cullens and her about James and Victoria! She mentally slaps herself. She knew she couldn't trust him! She feels like screaming. First that stupid skull man cult follower escaped and now this stupid vampire chick and her wicked, traitor associate kidnapped me? Honestly? What else is coming my way tonight? Please get this over with already. I've had enough for one day.
"I don't care what it takes," Victoria growls menacingly. "I want them here. All of them."
Harley Quinn concentrates on their conversation, pushing the numbness of her hands as she tries to figure out what they're talking about, but neither Laurent nor Victoria give away what they're planning.
"I'm working on it," Laurent reassures her.
Suddenly, she hears an air conditioner nearby turn on, and the vent behind her sends her aroma out towards them. Their nostrils flare when they catch her scent, and they dash towards her in synch.
Harley Quinn's prayers get finally answered as she regains vision of her surroundings when Laurent yanks the bag off of her head, making the situation slightly less terrifying, though her mouth is still gagged, so she cant't say anything. She seems to be in an abandoned warehouse. The music floods into her ears. She speaks through the gag in her mouth, her words sounding muffled. Victoria jerks it downwards, finally allowing her to speak.
"Hi'ya, Bat-Farts," she greets unenthusiastically, her eyes hard and narrowed on the two vampires who have kidnapped her.
Laurent snorts, meanwhile Victoria smirks as she leans dangerously close to Harleen's face, both hands resting comfortably on her thighs. "Hello, Harleen," she returns the greeting, her voice soft and sensual. "It's nice of you to finally join us."
Harleen just glares at her. "Listen, Red, you're not still mad about losing the baseball game, are you?"
Victoria, silent and still holding her smirk, straightens up and folds her arms over her chest. She decides to move on from the hostile greetings and just cut to the chase. "It's a shame, Harleen. I was rooting for you two. Edward and you made such a cute couple. Speaking of, how are you handling it? The decouple, or as kids call it this day, the break up."
A gasp escapes Harleen's lips. How did she know about that? "How do you know about that?"
Victoria's smirk widens in size. "I've been following you for a very long time, Harleen. I'm always a step away. Always. I know everything there is to know about you."
Harleen scoffs at her foolishness. How did she not notice her stalking her? Now that she thinks about it, she might even be the person behind the $2,000,000 hit out on her! She releases a deep and tired sigh, dipping her head in defeat. Things were so much easier back then... After a moment of gathering herself together, she looks up again. Defeat and tiredness has been wiped off of her face completely, being replaced with a look that shows that she's completely unbothered. "Well, to answer your question, Vic, I'm fine. We're done. He's a jerk. Whatever."
The smirk in the redhead's face transforms into a soft smile, and for a split second — just one — Harley Quinn believes she felt genuinely concerned about her state of being after the break up. "That's good to hear. Well, as I was saying... I know everything about you, except one thing. Where the hell are you hiding your lover, Ms. Quinn? I've spent months believing he had fled the country and left you all on your own. But after some time, I found that that didn't make any sense at all. He wouldn't leave the love of his life all by her own for the world to devour. No, he's hiding somewhere, somewhere close enough to where he can keep a safe eye on you and keep in contact with you. He knew we were coming, he had to. It's the only thing that can explain his sudden disappearance. But now, even after months and months of following you around, you have yet to lead me to him. So, tell me, where is Edward Cullen?"
"Heck if I know," Harley Quinn hisses, raising her voice as she leans forward, now face-to-face with Victoria Sutherland. Victoria's explanation does make a bit of sense, except for the part where she is secretly hiding Edward. Maybe he did know they were coming, and left before they could get to them, leaving Harleen behind to fend for herself... Even the thought breaks her heart, but she masks the sadness with anger. "Maybe his family and him are back in the wild where they belong with other mangy animals like your mother."
She hears Laurent let out a low whistle behind Victoria and sees the look in the redhead's face turn dangerous as she leans her head forward, merely inches from kissing Harleen. "You see, kid, comments like that are what will get you killed."
Harleen's sour look turns just as dangerous as hers. She is so angry, she wouldn't be surprised if she sees a blow of red smoke come out from her ears. She inches her face closer to hers, also, growling through clenched teeth, "Even if I knew where he is, I still wouldn't tell you."
Letting out a breath of frustration, Victoria suddenly pulls herself back and straightens her vest. She begins to circle around Harleen as she calms herself down.
Harleen puffs, the thought of Edward ever abandoning her to save himself vanishing as soon as it came. She knows in her heart that he wouldn't do that. Victoria is just trying to put thoughts in my head, she reminds herself. No one — I mean no one — can ever put themselves in between Edward and her. She knows he loved her, truly. She didn't believe it at first, I mean why would you leave somebody you love? But then she remembered everything he said to her and how he made her feel, and it finally became clear to her. He left her because he loved her. He believed he was harming her by staying in Forks...
"Tell me, Harleen, do you know why you're here," she hears Victoria suddenly ask behind her, and she rolls her eyes. When it comes to me and the widow of somebody I helped kill, there are a lot of possible answers to this question, she thinks to herself. "You're here because..."
Victoria's sentence is quickly interrupted by Harleen who speaks with annoyance. "Oh, God, stop. You're going to do that thing where you open up a weird-ass case of torture devices, while inexplicably detailing your master plan to kill the Cullens, and how you need me to help you draw them outta the bat-cave."
"I need to kill —"
Harley interrupts her once more, groaning. "Seriously, you don't have to. Really! You need to kill them as revenge for the death of your scrawny little bat boyfriend, who tried to literally kill them. And you think murdering a bunch of people who were just tryna defend themselves will heal the gaping hole in your chest, when in actuality all it will do is put a bandage over your wounds and not solve anything. I get it, Vic. I was a psychiatrist, remember? And you're really not as complicated as you think."
"And you're really not as clever as you think, because now I'm going to kill your precious..."
"Oh, Jesus Christmas," Harley blurts out, rolling her eyes. "Now you're going to say that you want to kill my precious boyfriend — who really isn't my boyfriend anymore, FYI — as a form of revenge. Christ, you're boring."
Victoria Sutherland looks like she is about to lose it. She shakes slightly, her nose flaring with anger as she glowers down at the human girl. Her teeth clench so hard against one another they would've already been broken if they were regular human teeth. Harleen cringes at the sight. Better not push it, Harley, she silently reminds herself. Then, she remembers that Victoria — vampire or not — still has feelings and has lost her husband. She sighs deeply, her shoulders dropping as she gives Victoria a look.
"Listen, sweetie," she begins calmly. "There is nothing more I'd love more than to make those chumps pay for what they did to me and 'em think I'm on their side so I could bring 'em here an' wrap 'em up for ya like a pretty little Christmas present so you could get on with yer evil plan, but that won't make me feel any better, and that sure as hell won't bring James back." Her eyebrows furrow together as she pleads with Victoria, "Red, honey, you gotta give up this crazy plan. It's really, really nutzoid. Please don't kill them. They were just tryna protect Bellsies and I."
Victoria and her associate just watch her, both quiet.
"Look, there's gotta be another way. You're tampering with very dangerous things, Red. I mean, think about it. There's seven of them and two of you. I could put in a good word for you, 'cuz after all your heart's in the right place, even if you're tryna kill us all, but give up your plan. Vicky, sweetie, honey, baby. Please, please, please, give up your plan."
But towards the end of Harleen's pleads, Victoria Sutherland races over to her at the speed of lightning, and she is met with a hard slap to the face. It is the hardest slap she has ever felt, hard enough to make her head to roll to the side from the impact. Her vision turns black, and her eyes roll to the back of her head, Laurent and Victoria's voices sounding far and distant.
Then, the cloak of blackness turns into a bright red color, and she finds a mental imagine of herself dressed in diamonds and a bubblegum pink jumpsuit, a similar outfit to the one Marilyn Monroe wore in the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Men are surrounded all around Harleen, dancing, as she sings "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend." There's even a moment where they are circled around her, waving their hands in a jazz motion, and she playfully bites one of the men's fingers. The vision ends abruptly towards the end of the song as she hears someone screaming their head off, and she opens her eyes back up again.
"Harley, James is dead!" It is Victoria who is yelling. "I'm not going to hide and continue to drown in my own despair. No, I'm going to avenge his death if it's the last thing I do. The only way to pay what the Cullens did to my James is by death, and I will do whatever it takes to make them pay."
"... Well, you can't blame a girl for trying," Harley Quinn whispers, her voice rough and raspy. Victoria just releases a deep, unneeded sigh, watching Harleen, who stares back at her through her eyelashes. Then, she begins to laugh hysterically. With side of her face stained red with Victoria's handprint, she throws her head back and just laughs maniacally. She finally calms herself down a bit after a moment of laughter, the two kidnappers sharing a look together. "Seriously, Red," she wheezes, "your plan is totally bat-shit bonkers."
There's another smack to the face, and the laughter is knocked out of her, the very same vision she saw just a minute ago returning. This time, it's more chaotic and violent, involving Harleen shooting up the men around her with an assault rifle and them falling to the floor.
"They killed my James," she hears Victoria shouting at her, her eyes still shut closed and her head dipped. "What else am I to do but avenge the death of the love of my life?"
I am so going to kill this woman, Harley Quinn thinks to herself, opening her eyes. They are stern and hard, and her teeth are clenched together as she slowly picks her head back up to glare at the vampire in front of her. "I dunno, vote Democrat, give money to Greenpeace!"
"That's for saving whales," Laurent informs her, sitting on a velvet lounge behind Victoria as he watches from the sidelines.
"Whatever," Harley replies angrily, raising her voice. She huffs and puffs, glaring at the redhead. She has to constantly remind herself that Victoria is just like any other girl who's just lost her boyfriend. In a way, she sees a bit of herself in her, as she also lost the love of her life. Calm now, she releases a deep sigh. "Look, for what it's worth, Eddie and I aren't even together no more. We haven't talked since my birthday, you really expect me to know where the hell he is? He could be in mars for all I know!"
"Well, then maybe your cousin Isabella will know," Laurent suggests slyly from his spot on the couch, smirking at the blonde.
The look of calmness quickly disappears from her face is instantly replaced with the look of pure fury as she leans forward to try to get to him, but the rope on her hands and feet restrain her from doing so. "How about quit your ballin' and here's your warning. Leave her out of this! Or else!"
"Or else what," the redhead pipes in, her arms folded over her chest as she shoots Harleen a look, smirking wickedly. "You seem to have forgotten you're the one who is restrained. We have all the power right now." Her smirk widens, showing a row of sharp teeth as she leans close to her face. "So, I'm going to ask you one last time. Where is Edward Cullen?"
Harley doesn't say anything. Victoria, now fed up with her, pulls herself back and tugs down on her vest as she joins Laurent on the lounge. "Very well," she speaks calmly. "In that case, you're useless to me. Therefore, I will kill you." Shit, Harleen thinks in her head, cringing. "Because without your precious Edward around, I can. For all your noise and bluster, you're just a silly little girl with no one around to protect her. I think this is the best option for now, anyway. Maybe your death will lure the bat out of his cave." Smirking, she motions for Laurent to start killing her, and he is on his feet in an instant, rushing towards Harleen.
Harley Quinn feels afraid. She believes in the concept of chaos, and she should be overjoyed with the vampires' insane attacks towards her. Chaos and danger is something she thrills on — it's her drug. But destroying a family of lonesome vampires, one she still wants to screw around with?
Not so good.
More than that, Harley has come to the conclusion that, despite mostly everything she has done in the past, she doesn't actually want to die. At least not yet. Not until Edward and her reunite, not until they can enjoy their last moments on Earth together.
So, Harley decides that she will put her middle school acting lessons into action, at least until she can figure out a plan to get Laurent and Victoria off her tail. After that, if Edward returns to her by the grace of God and if they both want to drink the Kool-Aid, well, then start pouring.
Laurent, coming close to Harleen's neck, stops as soon as he hears her plead, "Woah. Wait..." He retracts his head and turns to Victoria.
She hums, curious. "Hm?"
"Don't kill me," Harley begs, about to tear up.
"Ha," she cackles, throwing her head back. "Right."
"No, no, no," the blond tries again, nervously bobbing her leg up and down. "Seriously. Vicky, Red, come on. There's gotta be something, something we can figure out. You said you wanted me to help you find Edward, right? Alright, I'll do just that, just please don't kill me. Seriously, look in my pocket."
Victoria, cautious, nods at Laurent, and he reaches into one of the pockets of Harley's jumpsuit. He retracts his hand, only to find himself holding a tampon.
"Other pocket," Harleen tells him, fighting the strong urge to burst out laughing. It's so bad she has to bite her lip to contain herself.
Laurent, eyeing her, stuffs his hands into her other pocket and pulls out a small card. He then races over to Victoria and hands it to her. Victoria takes it in her hand, reading over the scratchy words. It is in fact the business card Harley drew over and made her own whilst she was at the club with the gang.
"I'm starting my own business," she clarifies, leaning in. "See what it says? Second from the bottom. I know the Cullens better than anybody. You wanna find them? I'm your gal. Emmett once lost a rare photograph of a nude Eleanor Roosevelt, and I found it in a bird's nest in Overlook Park. If you let me go, just for now, I'll get you your revenge. What have you got to lose? If yer crew of bats find them first, swear to God, you can kill me later." She holds up her left pinky as far as she can, her hands still restrained behind her back. "Pinky swear. Cross my heart, hope to fart."
Victoria doesn't say anything for a moment, thinking about it. She opens her mouth after some consideration. "I'll give you till the end of the month. And then I'm going to peel off that pretty face, and pickle it. Okay?"
Harley Quinn bobs her head rapidly, showing that she understands fully. "You got my word, Red."
Victoria doesn't respond, she just continues to eye her carefully. There is a loud beep coming from Laurent's phone, and he looks at it after pulling it from her pocket. He sighs.
"Flight leaves in an hour," he says, glancing over at his partner. "I've got to go before the plane leaves."
Finally, Victoria's ruby red eyes leave Harleen's face, and she stands up to peck Laurent in the lips. He smiles, returning the small kiss before walking off and disappearing behind the grinning psychiatrist. His partner makes her way behind her, also, releasing her from her restraints.
Harleen watches her work away at her hands, grinning from ear to ear. "... So, you're the puppet master, huh? And poor ol' Bat's your marionette.. Jeez, maybe you and me are more alike than I thought."
"Don't push it, Harleen," the redhead hisses, her touch turning aggressive. Her sharp nails scratch away at Harleen's hands as she moves quickly, the rope falling by her feet. "I can still kill you if I want."
Harley Quinn rolls eyes. Jesus Christ, Harley, what the hell did you get yourself into this time....
Victoria moves in front of her, removing the rope from her feet. "I must say," she says after a moment of silence, "that you have earned my respect for accepting to be apart of my plan. You've chosen to do what others cannot — to destroy the man you still love and long for — and for that, you've amazed me. Very impressive for just a silly little human." By now she has successfully removed the restraints and is just kneeling in front of Harleen, looking up at her.
Harley, rubbing her wrists, stares back at her. If only she knew this is all just a front until she figures out her next move. She shrugs, casual. "Well, I have to. They hurt me."
"So by causing pain and hurt onto you, you choose to do the same to them... I appreciate your style, Harley. Some of your caliber will be useful to my master plan. I cannot wait to see the pain and agony in Edward's face as he watches his family die in front of his eyes. He will watch everything he ever loved be destroyed."
Jeez, evil much? Harley keeps a straight face. "I like your style, Mrs. Victoria. It's all Victor-y."
Victoria's tone becomes threatening as she leans her face close to hers, until it's only two inches away. "But remember this warning, Harleen. I have spent many months constructing this plan. If you dare do anything to sabotage it, you will feel the weight of my wrath."
There's a long pause until Harley nods her head, then speaks up again. "Got it."
Victoria holds her face close to hers for a moment longer than needed, then smiles and pulls always. She pats Harleen's legs and gracefully stands up. "Very well. You're free to go now," she says calmly, wrapping the rope around her hand.
Harleen can finally breathe again. She takes a deep breath and stands up from the chair, her legs a bit wobbly. Fighting through it, she races towards the nearest exit, afraid to look back. But yet there's a question she's been meaning to ask her... She stops in her tracks and turns back to her, placing a finger in the air. "So, wait... yer the one who put that two million dollar hit on me?"
Victoria looks puzzled, cocking her head to the side. She looks like she knows nothing about that, fiddling with the rope in her hands.
"Nevermind." Harley nods and quietly exits.
Thirty minutes after Harley Quinn visited Lord Death Man's arcade to pick up his dead body in order for the police to never find it, only to find the arcade empty — like him and his crew disappeared out of thin air — she drags herself to her room, settles into bed, flicks the lamp, and stares out the window into the blackness of the night, wondering if anyone is looking back. Once upon a time, the idea of someone opening the shutters and entering her room filled her with blinding, unstoppable joy.
Now Victoria is coming for her revenge, and she will take her revenge on her as soon as she uses her to find Edward and his family — that, she is sure of. There is nothing that can stop her, no one to hold her back. The only ones that can protect her are the Cullens, and they are long gone.
Victoria believes that if anyone knew where Edward and his family are hiding it would be Harley.
In a way, it's actually kind of funny.
"I've spent months believing he had fled the country and left you all on your own. But after some time, I found that that didn't make any sense. He wouldn't leave the love of his life all by her own for the world to devour. No, he's hiding somewhere, somewhere close enough to where he can keep a safe eye on you and keep in contact with you."
Harley wishes that were the case — that Edward hadn't really left her and this was just a front he put up to save himself from Victoria.
She turns her face into her pillow as the hysterical, vaguely demented giggles she's been holding back in the warehouse finally erupts to the surface, and she literally laughs herself to sleep.
FIN