An Unhealthy Attachment

CH 5: Date With a Bat

"You heading in, Commissioner?"

"No, I think I'll wait a while longer" Gordon returned, his gaze never leaving the sky as his officer continued to watch him.

"Uh, you're sure? Because Batman hasn't been showing up lately..."

"Yeah, I know" Gordon softly acknowledged, "but at least we know he's out there...there was a time when he insisted he'd be turning in the cape and cowl for good."

Sipping at her coffee, Officer Charlotte Ramsay nodded once before mumbling, "Yeah, I remember you telling me that... Look, I've gotta go, but don't stay up here too late, alright? I think you know by now how much of a worrier Barbara is."

Gordon grinned. "Yeah, but that's what I love about her... Go on home, Ramsay."

As Charlotte re-entered the MCU building, Gordon sighed and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. The stars overhead glittered like broken glass scattered across pavement, but he paid it little mind since all he could think about was Gotham's masked vigilante. To realize that they'd nearly lost their protector placed a twinge of fear within Gordon's soul, for without their dark knight, crime lords and other slime balls were sure to try and reclaim their throne. Gordon wasn't entirely sure what had changed Batman's mind in the first place, but he knew he sure wasn't complaining.

As Gordon checked his watch for the time, he couldn't help but stiffen the moment he felt something sharp and cold to the touch press against his neck.

"Where's the Batman?" a soft, surprisingly sweet voice hissed. "And no funny business, either, 'cause I've got a knife to your jugular."

Careful not to move, Gordon warily demanded, "How on earth did you get up here? This is a secured building..."

"Never mind all that" Rachel snapped, "just answer my question and I'll let you go."

Noting her jittery tone and ragged breathing, Gordon allowed a smirk to grace his lips once he realized he had some leverage against his assailant. "First time, huh? You seem kinda nervous."

"W-what?" Considerably taken aback by his observation, Rachel scowled before pressing the blade more securely against the commissioner's throat. "Stop playing mind games with me...all I want to know is where the Batman is so I can speak with him."

"With a knife?" Scoffing, Gordon mockingly apologized, "Sorry, ma'am, but Batman's the type who prefers a polite conversation, not some juvenile stick-up."

"Not according to my past" Rachel snapped, her temper flaring as she gave the commissioner a push that sent him sprawling to his knees. "Your gigantic bat symbol in the sky suggests that you and Batman converse on a regular basis...is this true?"

Still keeping his back to her, Gordon dismissively nodded before demanding, "Yeah, what of it? If you're going to ask if I know his identity, I can full-heartedly assure you that I do not."

"But you're his friend" Rachel decided. Now holding her knife over Gordon's head, she drew her arm back while shouting, "No friend of the Batman deserves to live!"

As she brought her arm down, Gordon rolled out of the way and retrieved his pistol from his holster, Rachel giving a cry when he shot her knife out of her hand in a burst of fiery sparks.

Diving for the fallen weapon, Rachel cursed when she felt Gordon grab her by the ankle and pull her toward him. Limbs flailing, the former attorney shrieked when he yanked her arms roughly behind her back, his knee digging into her spine as he slapped a pair of hand cuffs tightly about her wrists.

Breathing heavily, Gordon wiped at his mouth before announcing, "Lady, I'm taking you into custody...anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Processing all of this information with disbelieving ears, Rachel struggled about on the concrete roof with the hopes of escaping, but this only further succeeded in scratching up her cheek. When she peevishly allowed Gordon to help her back on her feet, she hunched over her shoulders and bitterly followed him back into the building.

--

"Name?"

"Harley Quinn."

Gazing skeptically back at Rachel over his glasses, Gordon sighed before muttering, "Alright, let's try this again. This time when I say name, I want you to answer truthfully, alright?" When Rachel nodded her assent, Gordon folded his hands and asked, "Name?"

"Harley Quinn."

Frustrated, Gordon slammed his fist down onto the table before running his hand over his face. "Look" he irritably began, "I've already gone through the databases, and there is no one with the name Harley Quinn. Now either you get serious with me, or I'll be forced to keep you here in the slammer overnight."

Rachel frowned. "Wait, you don't have me in your databases? That can't be possible since I work with the Joker..."

"What?" Looking over the sweet, innocent face in front of him with severe doubt, Gordon gave a grunt before returning, "Listen, ma'am, I know there are some psychotic fan girls out there who would love to be the Joker's partner, but..."

"I am his partner!" Rachel irefully interrupted. "Perhaps you're new to the field, because the Joker and I have been ridding the streets of scum for years... Did you at least hear the story about my accident? I have a feeling that it was in the paper for a few days, if not weeks."

Staring back at Rachel in disbelief, Gordon immediately decided that the woman was mad. Of all the years that the Joker had terrorized Gotham, he'd always gone solo. The thought of him having taken a misguided little blonde under his wing was preposterous!

Sighing, Gordon raised his hands in an almost placating gesture, but before he could try and convince Rachel that she was quite wrong, a loud series of gunfire sounded from down the hallway.

Astounded, Gordon rose from his chair with a look of panic across his rugged features. Now turning to Rachel with a warning glint in his steely eyes, he pointed a finger at her and growled "You stay here!", his Italian leather shoes slapping against the tile flooring as he bolted out the door.

Stunned by his sudden egression, Rachel rose to her feet just as the gunfire and agonized shouts began to grow louder. Subconsciously touching her throat, the former attorney eased her way toward the door before peering out the tiny pane glass window, her eyes widening when she saw man after man tumble to the floor and writhe amidst their own pools of blood.

"Oh, God..."

Placing a hand over her mouth due to her nausea, Rachel gave a cry when the Joker's face suddenly pressed against the glass.

"Well, hellooooo, beautiful!" he exclaimed, his hand now motioning her away as he urged, "Uuh, couldja step back a bit, please? I kinda wanna blow this thing up..."

Immediately getting his meaning, Rachel backed away from the door just as the Joker placed some type of explosive on the tightly secured bolt, her body jumping in surprise as the door caved in amidst a mini explosion of sparks and debris.

Cackling, the Joker spun in through the now demolished entryway, his head cocking to the side as he remarked, "Well gee, I'll admit I didn't know you had it in ya, kid...getting arrested on your first night back on the job? I'm pretty impressed."

"H-how did you know where to find me?"

The Joker grinned. "C'mon, do ya really think I'm that dumb? I knew you'd go looking for the Bat right after out little chat-tuh, so I followed you here. And now that I have, I've gotta thank ya for such a good time, baby, 'cause it's been one hell of an evening!"

Blinking, Rachel moved to further question him when he suddenly lunged for her wrist, a cry of surprise escaping her throat as he wrenched her after him through the doorway.

"Hey, there they are! Freeze!"

Cackling, the Joker began whooping amidst his laughter as Gordon and his men opened fire, Rachel screaming as a bullet hit the light over their heads and shattered it down upon them in a shower of glass.

Completely unphased by the startling occurrence, the Joker urged Rachel onward until they were rounding a bend and entering a new hallway. Quickly whipping her head around so that she was glancing over her shoulder, Rachel gasped when she noticed Ramsay aiming directly for the Joker's head.

"No, don't!"

Before the Joker could even react, Rachel threw her arms about his waist and wrenched him down to the floor, a grunt escaping his lips just as the deadly bullet smashed into the wall overhead.

Glaring disdainfully at Rachel over his shoulder, the Joker shouted, "Be a tad gentler next time, will ya!? I'm precious cargo!"

Far too frightened to reprimand him for his rudeness, Rachel took the Joker by the arm and pulled him back up to his feet, his slick shoes sliding along the tile as they continued their seemingly futile getaway.

"Units, I repeat, I need all units! Block off all possible means of escape!" Gordon shouted, his hand shakily pocketing his walkie-talkie as he continued to race after his team. By now their help was sure to be on the first floor, but he somehow felt deep within his heart that they weren't going to be of much assistance.

Holding up his revolver, Gordon grinned in triumph when he and his team rounded the bend, for he realized that Rachel and the Joker had finally reached a dead-end. Also seeming to notice this, Rachel turned to her partner with a look of fear in her eyes, but the Joker merely grinned back at her in response. With a loud giggle, he withdrew his pistol and shot the window out in a blast of scintillating shards. Wrapping his arm around Rachel's waist, the Joker then gave a whoop of a laugh before urging her stunned figure forward and leaping with her through the gaping hole.

"NO!!"

Reaching the window far too late, Gordon seized a fistful of his hair before giving an ireful fusillade of curses, his eyes peevishly following after the couple as they ran hand-in-hand toward Rachel's motorcycle, both miraculously unscathed because of the awning that had caught their fall.

Looking up and spotting Gordon in the window they'd just fallen from, Rachel trembled as she hopped onto the motorcycle, latched her arms securely about the Joker's waist, and closed her eyes. She felt him stiffen briefly at the close proximity of their bodies, but he soon relaxed within her grasp and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.

Keeping her eyes firmly closed, Rachel tightened her grip about the Joker's waist as they steadily increased in speed, the wind violently playing tag with her hair as the motor roared like the beast she so gratefully clung to.

Just when Rachel was finally beginning to grow a little comfortable with her partner, a large, looming shape of silken black rushed overhead and slammed directly into the Joker's midsection.

Screaming, Rachel shielded her face as the motorcycle went careening over onto its side, her body flying straight from the vehicle before landing painfully onto her back. Blinking the blinding stars from her eyes, Rachel shakily pushed herself up by her elbows in order to investigate what had happened. There, barely ten feet away from her was the Joker, a masked vigilante repeatedly slamming him against the pavement as he continued to demand answers.

Moving to assist her partner, Rachel smothered a cry of pain once she discovered that her back was disconcertingly stiff. It wasn't broken, but the fall had definitely jarred her body enough to have hurt her spine. With a malicious sneer over toward the grappling men, Rachel coolly spat, "So is this another lesson of justice from you, Batman? Why don't you leave the Joker alone and fight the one you've truly wronged? The one you've unnecessarily punished?"

Startled by the sudden vocalization, Bruce glanced over to the side and beheld the soft, ovular face of a woman he'd honestly never seen in his life. The tremendous anger behind her blue eyes, however, clearly said otherwise, a wince tearing across her features as she shakily rose to her feet and swayed about.

Still swaying due to her injuries, Rachel disdainfully shouted, "Fight me! Stop being such a goddamn coward and accept your punishment...fight me!"

Confused by her anger and nonsensical words, Bruce allowed the Joker to fall out of his grasp as he focused all of his attention on the ireful blonde. "What do you want from me?" he growled out, his voice harsh and raspy.

"What do I want?" Laughing to the point that she appeared insane, Rachel shook her head before remarking, "My God, you're unbelievable! You killed my parents to end my partnership with the Joker, so the least you could do is stop lying and own up to the fact!"

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you!"

Trying to smother his giggling, the Joker took Bruce's current disposition to his advantage and tossed Rachel his pistol, her reflexes going into play as she dove for the weapon and raised it up so that it was aimed directly at Bruce's heart.

As she did so, her eyes suddenly locked with his, Bruce's blood running cold as a flash of recognition blitzed out across his stony irises. Those eyes...it couldn't be...

BANG!

Stunned by the sudden blow, Bruce gave a pained grunt as he toppled backwards and landed on his side, his breathing growing labored as the sensation that he'd been punched in the chest only intensified.

As Rachel warily approached him, her deep blue eyes narrowed considerably amidst her ingrained ire. Helping the Joker back up to his feet, she then righted the motorcycle and returned to her former position, her partner giving a whoop of a laugh before revving up the engine and tearing off across the asphalt.

Groaning, Bruce slowly sat up and rubbed at his sore chest, a sense of dreaded sadness overtaking him as he undeniably found himself thinking of Rachel.

A/N - Whew, so how was that? Good, bad, laaame? lol I'm only asking since I feel like I've lost a good portion of my readers, but that's completely understandable...I write too much. :-P And SORRY WERTZY, I know you wanted Harvey in this chapter, but I couldn't fit him in... I PROMISE he'll be in the next chapter, though, because the following couple chapters are very important. Nice little turning points for our love-uh-ly characters. :)