Heard a few people wanted an update so I'm here to give a little
3rd POV
Harley knew something was up with Ed, he was acting way too smug whenever she was around. There was even more of a look of arrogance that crossed his face than usual, but she didn't think much of it. There were millions of reasons that the Riddler would be acting like that.
He could have found a way to escape (which was slowly becoming difficult as Arkham updated its security every breakout which was surprising), he found out a secret which he could hold over another's head, or maybe he won something and was acting prideful about it. Those were a few answers that popped into her head. The first one, in particular, she wanted to be true. Harley hadn't been able to see Gotham in about a month and that was a month too long.
Maybe she could find out if it was an escape plan and join after Mister J came over to the Asylum. That way they could be free together. At least until the Clown Prince of Crime orchestrates another plan that'd, eventually, get either her or him, sometimes both, back to the Asylum. But if it meant spending more time with J, she'd do it over and over again. That's how would always be.
Now things started to clear up which guess was true when Harley walked to the corkboard in the Rec Room, only to find Eddy standing right next to it.
Now Harley had a very good reason for why that she didn't tell anybody about her little visits to the Doc, which was simply that it was embarrassing.
In Arkham, you gotta be tough, and visiting a therapist isn't a tough thing to do. But being with the Doc has been the most fun thing she'd ever done in Arkham. They played games, watched movies, and even shared deep and personal thoughts. Even when Harls was an old employee and usually recognized the tricks people would usually play, she couldn't help but get captivated by the doctor's warm and fluffy presence, even when they weren't introduced on friendly terms at first.
So it was no wonder why Harley decided to try to shoo away the self-proclaimed genius, so he wouldn't go spreading how she'd gone soft.
She walked to Ed, a big grin smacked on her face, "Well what do ya know? The big bad Riddler standing around. Don'tcha have somewhere to be?" It wasn't really lying, so she didn't stutter, but merely an attempt to get him moving.
It hadn't worked.
Edward looked Harley straight in the eyes with a smirk, "Au contraire, my dear clown, for I am exactly where I want to be. As are you."
Harley squinted her eyes. "Enough games, Eddy, tell me what you this is about." She crossed her arms too.
"You should know that I'm all about playing games. But I'll give you something: I followed the clues, the spots, the holes to cut into, and all your lies unfold." Ed gave an easy one at best. He knew to give her some chance of answering within seconds, so the conversation would proceed.
Harley got the answer immediately. There was only one thing she was lying about lately and it wasn't stealing extra bread from other inmates, it was the Doc. That could be the only explanation, Ed would be standing near the corkboard and talking about her lies.
"And w-why would seeing a-a doctah be of your concern? Huh, Eddy?" She tried her best to lie through it, pretending as if the small information didn't bother her at all.
Edward chuckled, "I wouldn't say that it isn't my concern. It merely showed up in the over the conversation with the good doctor. And let's not that 'street cred' you care so much about." Harls tried to speak, but Ed stopped her midway. "Nobody would want that little secret to get out, yes?"
Both didn't really know what the other was talking about. Harley thought it was solely her image while Ed was talking about using Danny for her gain.
She contemplated what to do. Edward seemed to be well invested in her story, going as far as going to a session with the doctor. This meant a favor would be made. Harley knew the way it worked. And she did know Edward always kept his side no matter what. He may be a sore loser but was always true to his word.
"Let me guess, one favor and you keep hush?"
"Aren't you a smart cookie? I'd like to keep that for later, that wouldn't be a problem, correct?" Harley knew that the last question wasn't a question. Right now, it wasn't her choice. Besides, it was easier this way than to kill him. That would be too much though, so no.
With a sigh, "Not a problem."
____________________________
Sometime later (after work) , Danny's POV
I knew banks were unsafe. Banks were the most popular place in Gotham, for robbing of course. Even when knowing all of this, I still came to the Gotham City Bank to exchange my giant jar of coins into bills.
I was clothed normally. An old green shirt with a plaid jacket on top along with casual blue jeans, I had a black and white striped backpack slung over my shoulder with a few 'just-in-case' stuff.
The next thing that happened was sort of expected. Being in a bank and all.
A large boom came from the ceiling, which slowly came down. The lights also went out. Screams resonated in every direction, as people tried to run for cover. The ground itself was shaking, causing people to fall as they attempted to rush to the exit.
Then everybody heard. The frightening laugh echoed through the building, leaving people scared out of their wits. Everybody knew the laugh and feared it. They all feared the Joker.
As the dust cleared, he stood powerfully on top of the rubble, a pistol in hand.
And where was I in the middle chaos? Was I taking a stand and facing the enemy with my fighting spirit? Or was I cowering too, scared as the rest? The answer was neither.
What I was doing was keeping my place in line, not flinching as some rubble fell on my head. I kept a secure hold on my coin jar, not wanting it to spill. I had already counted it to exactly $30 and if I even lost one coin, then I wouldn't get exact bills.
"Now, now, folks! Gather around or you'll gather a lot of bullets in your chest!" And the clown laughed aloud, people immediately surrounding him. Suddenly, two burly men in clown slammed the bank door open, both holding large machine guns.
"We all know the game, don't we folks? Money from the folks first then the bank!" He laughed, pulling out a burlap sack. People started to empty they're pockets, pouring their valuables into the sack.
I sighed as walked to the front of the line, looking at the terrified bank teller.
"Isn't their a panic button?" I asked in a whisper.
"All the electricity's out, nothing's happening." She told me, fear coming off of her. Fear was coming off from everywhere and it was a little overpowering, so I toned it down with my ability. It was much of hassle to manually keep it down and everything. But it was overwhelming. Empathy could be such a burden.
"Oh, can you still exchange my coins?" I lifted my jar toward her direction. "It's only 30." The bank teller's eyes widen with absolute disbelief. I guessed it was a little weird of me to ask in the middle of a robbery.
I kept a steady look at her face, tried to at least. It was still dark and the only light fell from the destroyed ceiling. Then I remembered I had night vision for one of my powers, so I quickly activated it.
I was still confused about the night vision with my powers. Clockwork said something about it 'clearing my vision even in the darkest of times' or some mumbo jumbo like that.
As I watched her face, it turned into fear within a second. I heard some footsteps come from behind and I tense a little.
"You there!" I craned my neck to the side in a casual sort of way, as if I wasn't called by the Clown Prince of Crime himself.
"Yes?" He looked taken back with my carefree voice for a second. He bounced right back up with his eerie, maniacal laugh.
When he stopped he gave me a sickly of a smile, that actually sent shivers down my spine. This man seemed to be legitimately terrifying by nature.
I kept my cool though, trying to maintain a calm demeanor.
"You must really have a death wish talking that way to me," He spoke aloud.
"But anyways, I didn't see you coming to waddle yourself over to the boys here and dump your goods. So how about you do that?" Right after he said that, he cocked his gun in his hand right next to my head. I could see that he had the sack in his other, absent-mindlessly waving it back and forth.
I think he expected me to shake out of fear, panicking towards the burlap sack and pouring in my belongings inside of it. Maybe even killing me afterwards once he'd had his fun.
But he forgot one thing; Guns are a long-range weapon.
I put my jar of coins into my left entirely, and quickly spun to face him. In one swoop, I rammed my jar right into his face. He yelled in pain and his gun loosened. I used my other hand to snatch it.
My jar fell to the ground with a ginormous clattering of coins. Now my whole bank trip's useless, I shouted angrily within my head. I'm not sure the police would let me gather up all my coins from the bank floor.
I saw that his henchmen were alerted by the screams of their boss and the shatter of my jar. and I leap over the bank teller's desk and scrounge underneath it. I pull down the terrified teller before an assortment of gunshots was heard right behind me.
"Stay here," I whisper as I travelled down the long desk. I had the slightest advantage from the night vision. It was easy to keep to the dark, seeing how there was only one light source.
"Find that, brat!" Joker barked, and then the scrambling of henchmen were heard.
I picked up some rubble from the floor and threw it to the other side of the room. I peaked over and saw them shoot towards where the sound echoed.
It felt like a video game, honestly.
Now I didn't know what to do. I couldn't risk trying to help the hostages in case the henchmen start shooting. I couldn't use my powers because of any witnesses or without drawing attention.
Then the heroes came crashing down. Specifically the "Big Bad Bat" and the "Walking Stoplight". Harley's words, not mine.
"Joker! Release the hostages!" Batman in his menacing voice yelled.
I made it to a particularly dark corner and risked it for a second. I used invisibility, which was harder in my human form, and started to get closer. I may not be able to help directly, but I could in some way.
Besides, they made me destroy my jar. Never gonna forgive them for that.
When Joker turned to Batman with a slightly bruised and bloody faced, I saw the duo's masks contort for a second.
"Batman," Joker said with a bit of a wobble in his voice thanks to pain. "So glad you could make it but it seems I have to go. As you could see, I'm not at my best."
The Dark Knight glared and threw a batarang and Joker only managed to dodge by a little.
"Wowie!" He shouted. "Guess that's my Que go! Toodles!" Joker started to run.
For an unknown reason, an invisible foot managed to trip Joker and fall straight on his face. And for another unknown reason, Joker couldn't seem to get up. Almost like someone was stepping on his back to keep him down...
Batman and Robin started to battle at the henchmen, easily disarming them and causing them to pass out. Pure amateurs, as if Joker hired the most incompetent knuckleheads.
Batman dashed to the tripped Joker, I made it to move just in time, and cuffed him immediately.
I saw from the corner of my eye one of the henchmen reach for his machine gun. I walked over and pushed my foot down on the hand and kicked the gun a little.
Batman seemed to busy with taking down Joker that he didn't pay attention to the sliding sound. Robin did though.
The boy spotted the guy's hand immediately, and I moved as quick as I could.
His mask contorted, almost in confusion, but it went away as soon as it came.
"Time for Arkham, Joker." Batman said menacingly. I was glad, honestly, that I had turned my empathy off. Even though the hostages were cheering for Batman, I could see the slightest fear from them.
Too much emotions was honestly tiring.
I snuck behind one of the desks and re-emerged. I stepped out as the hostages started to trickling away and followed.
What a waste of a bank trip.