Hey guys! It is I, the Phoenix, back with another chapter of Hero Complex!

Admittedly, it's been a while, but as the Lockdown continues, my work keeps piling up, dragging me down into the goop.

Also, the reason it took me like half a month to update this chapter was because the DC Universe is not an easy franchise to write fanfiction for. There are so many variations on the same character that it is near impossible to nail their characters down. Especially in this chapter, which focuses mainly on Harley's bond with Magnus, where I had to basically reconstruct Harley's mental state from scratch. Hopefully, I did a good job.

Anyways, the reception for the new Hero Complex has been great, although some people are still complaining that I gave too many spoilers in the first chapter. You have to understand, I had to make the first chapter the way it was in order to show people what general direction the rewrite of Hero Complex would take, because there were some issues with the last draft that I wanted to nip in the bud. If you don't want any spoilers, I posted in the beginning of the chapter to just skip directly to chapter 2.

Oh, and in response to dragon-cloud16, thanks for the compliment, and it actually has been revealed that the Infinite Dendrogram World is NOT a Game. In fact, it is a parallel World, that the Control AIs have connected to Earth in order to create new Masters. And yeah, the Control AI can be seen as benevolent versions of the Entities from Worm. They're also incredibly powerful, being able to take on Grand Servants with ease at full power, except they're highly specialized, which is their only true weakness.

Jabberwock can keep evolving, making him one of the strongest among them, Red King can make space his b*tch, Rabbit can manipulate time, and so on.

All Thirteen together could probably defeat Darkseid and his whole army with ease.

By the way, I wanted to point out that this fic fuses the Comics, the Young Justice cartoon, and some elements from the Arkham games, although not much in the latter.

As Magnus will soon find out, the timeline is way out of whack, making it impossible to predict what will happen next. Speaking of which, Magnus' personality may seem way different from the way he is in the first chapter, but his personality shift is part of his development. It will make sense soon enough.

I'm still taking suggestions for Magnus' Job Build, as it isn't final, although he does have a general pattern.

One last thing is this; PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

In the end of the chapter, I tend to address controversial elements of the chapter and clarify some things, so please check it out.

Anyways, that's all I wanted to say for now, so let's get on with the show!

Chapter 3 - Bonds Forged

{Maiden of Mischief, Harley Quinn}

Doctor Harleen Frances Quinzel, or as she was now known, Harley Quinn, was a very complicated person, even by her own former standards.

She had been born into a family that could only be called dysfunctional at best. Deadbeat parents and an equally lame brother who were all perfectly alike in that they cared neither for her nor even each other.

They were the reason she had studied psychology extensively; to understand what made them the way they were.

Unfortunately, while she did in fact learn a lot, she never truly found the answer to the question that had driven her to pursue psychology in the first place.

As such, desperate for an answer, Harleen had made a decision that would change her life forever; she decided to work at Arkham Asylum.

Her intention was to see if she could piece together the mystery behind her family's abnormality by studying the people who had ended up there. After all, it was already the most infamous Asylum in the country; all kinds of mentally ill patients were present; from deranged psychopaths to chronic kleptomaniacs, if there was a type of mental illness, then Arkham probably had someone with the condition you were looking for.

Not long after, she met him.

Mistah J. The Clown Prince of Crime himself.

The Joker.

Meeting him for the first time, and the events that followed, was what resulted in Harleen Quinzel being replaced by the person known as Harley Quinn.

Physically, she had nothing to show for it, but mentally, she had almost become an entirely different person.

Only traces of the psychologist she had once been lingered in her mind; the Joker's brainwashed slave, Harley Quinn, was now in charge.

God, what a fool she had been.

How long had she been chasing after him, seeking love from someone she knew was incapable of any form of empathy?

Her insane attachment to Mistah J was what led to half her problems. She had long since passed the point of the absolute fanaticism she once held towards the man, but every time she confronted him, she would lose herself and revert back to the mindless drone she used to be.

She couldn't help it. Despite knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that he did not and would not love her, a part of her was still attached to the insane criminal, one that simply refused to go.

That fact combined with The Joker's natural talent at manipulation, usually led to her returning to square one whenever she tried to break away from him. He knew exactly what to say and how to behave to get her back under his banner the moment she showed up to bash his skull.

Her current stint at Arkham was a little better in that regard though.

After he had left her to die for the umpteenth time, leading to her getting saved by and then jailed by Bat-Brain and his troupe of BatKids, Harley made what was possibly her thirteenth promise to herself to stay away from The Joker and his influence.

Things at Arkham had proceeded the same way they normally did; she played nice and ran a few missions for Whaler (Waller), curse her obese black (no racial slur intended, this time) heart, and then waited for an opportunity to break out. Everything seemed pretty normal, though Harley felt strangely confident in her newfound independence, since this was probably the longest time she had stayed away from The Joker; nearly a full year.

However, what remained of Harleen Quinzel seemed to mock her, knowing that any resolve she built up would crumble like sand before The Joker. Just like it always did.

And then he showed up.

Admittedly, she had been curious when she was informed, rather rudely, if she did say so herself, that she would be receiving a cellmate.

It was pretty surprising, considering that she was one of the people who never got cell buddies, as she liked to call them, along with others like Snowcone (Killer Frost) and her best friend Red (Poison Ivy), due to them being 'exceptionally psychotic' and 'very dangerous'.

She pouted at the first one and preened at the second one. Psychotic was a rather misleading assessment, considering all Frosty literally wanted was some good old cuddlin', and Red wanted to save the trees.

Although the fact that she wanted to do that via genocide and terrorism probably led people to imagine that she was psychotic.

Harley personally called it impatience, because since when did doing anything the nice way actually work? If Red decided to do things the Heroic Way, she would've been ignored easily for decades, and her plants would just keep on dying. Becoming an eco-terrorist was the only option that gave fast results.

On the other hand, without a doubt, they were dangerous.

That was an indisputable fact. They wouldn't have survived in Arkham for very long if they weren't dangerous. The small fry knew not to mess with them and the guards and doctors were scared sh*tless of even their shadows, so Arkham was basically just a breeze for them.

The only real complaints Harley had was that the food sucked and the jumpsuits were way too tacky for her tastes.

Otherwise, the place could double up as a reasonable fun boarding school, if you took their visits to the psychologists as 'classes.'

What did that make Batman then?

The truancy officer? The upset parents who threw their children into boarding schools to begin with?

Anyways, she was curious to see what kind of nut job Old Sharpy (Warden Sharpe) decided to throw in with her. After all, if they were confident enough to throw someone in with her, then that meant whoever that someone was, they were probably just as dangerous and most likely a brooding a*shole like Batsy.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Although, for possibly the first time in her life, being wrong about something didn't lead to her getting shot at, blasted, beat up, or just plain old bad days.

White (Magnus) was... different. Unique.

A soft-spoken Scandinavian boy with a crippling heart disorder, who, frankly speaking, should have been the last person to be placed amongst the crazies in Arkham, herself included.

The first day, she had observed him, with a rather uncharacteristic show of subtlety and restraint.

Maybe the psychologist in her wasn't completely gone, because she'd unconsciously set herself to trying to understand his persona, to see if his whole 'sick child' thing was just an elaborate ruse that hid a terrifying monster behind it, if only to affirm whether the teenager actually belonged there in Arkham with them or not.

The answer was not as clear-cut as she'd expected it to be, and it had led to her making probably her best friend outside of Red.

White was definitely everything he appeared to be. He was innocent, pure even, especially compared to them. But he was also just as broken as they were.

Not in the way that required him being placed in an Asylum, especially a hellhole like Arkham, but one that was the result, the mental toll, of what his own illness had done to him.

Although, that fact was one of the reasons that White had even survived Arkham, especially when he had been in the Male Ward with people like Bane and Croc.

The other would be that White had a natural charisma, a presence that tended to draw others to him, and made him quite likable. He was straightforward, blunt, honest and respectful, which was a breath of fresh air for many of the people admitted in Arkham.

Meeting someone who treated them like normal people, and with actual respect to boot, was quite unprecedented, and it was that fact, combined with his other qualities, that had endeared him to a number of Arkham's more dangerous inmates.

This of course, made it so that the small fry stayed away from him, lest they face the wrath of his supporters.

She heard old Zsasz found that little tidbit out the hard way, at the jaws of that overgrown crocodile no less.

As for her personal feelings?

He was someone she cared about.

Harley knew that she tended to be a sucker for people that were nice to her, even a little bit, considering her forlorn childhood. She'd lived a life devoid of love, and as such, tended to respond rather passionately when it was given to her.

It was the reason she'd followed the Joker for so long, waiting for the same kindness he had showed her during their sessions. He'd made it look like he actually cared about her, and she fell for it, which led to her putting on the old costume for the first time. However, in no uncertain terms, that had been a total sham. He'd never actually cared for her; he'd just use her and thrown her aside without a hint of regret.

On the other side of the spectrum, it was also why she'd become such good friends with Red, who was indeed a true friend, despite her issues regarding The Joker.

White was definitely in the latter category, which is why she'd become rather attached to him.

He was a good listener, and a kind person who'd treated her with respect and patience that outstripped even Red's by a large margin. He was the type of person who didn't deserve the sh*tty hand he was dealt.

Although, there was one incident in particular that had cemented her affections, and had accelerated the growth of their relationship by a large amount.

One regarding, of course, The Joker.

{Several Days Prior}

"... Hey White?" asked Harley from her place on the top bunk.

She had been unusually quite all evening, and now, as they were about to go to bed, she finally spoke up.

"Yes?" asked Magnus, showing no real emotion in his voice. The younger boy tended to be like that most of the time, no doubt due to the mental repercussions of forcibly suppressing his emotions all the time to prevent his heart rate from rising. Although there were times where he showed emotion; they were just really rare.

"Do you... think Mistah J ever loved me?" she asked finally, putting the question out there.

A heavy silence hung in the air for a few moments.

Harley thought for a moment that he wasn't going to answer, and was prepared to let it go. After all, anyone who knew even a little bit about her and her reputation would know that it was a loaded question. She regretted asking it the moment she said it aloud.

Whatever parts of her sanity that remained cringed at the fact that she'd asked that question to a teenager she'd only met a little under a week ago. But, strange enough to say, she trusted him, at least enough to ask the question and expect at least a decent answer. If there was one thing many people had noticed about Magnus, it was at he tended to be blunt and logical, with an impeccable sense of judgement. He never showed any bias and it was obvious in the way he interacted with people.

Possibly, according to her psychologist's intuition, it was another facet of his... unique upbringing.

Fact of the matter was, his clinical way of dealing with things, in her eyes, nearly guaranteed that Harley would get a true answer. She'd asked this question to Red and even Selina once, but she'd never felt satisfied with their answers. Red would get mad at her for even asking the question, in which she was admittedly justified, while Selena just said 'No' and never really elaborated.

Harley had felt bad for asking them as well, because honestly, the answer was kind of obvious. Their frustration with the question was to be expected. In fact, the evidence all supported one particular answer. And yet, there was that part of her that simply couldn't let go of its precious Puddin', despite the rest of her knowing her feelings wouldn't be returned.

The same part that would raise its head whenever she got within proximity of the man and his silver tongue.

She knew the reason why too; The Joker made her feel important, like no one else ever did. She'd grown up without acknowledgement, and as such, jumped at the first person to truly give it to her, and had been unable to escape that hole ever since.

It was dumb of her, she knew, but she really couldn't help it. That was just who she was; a lonely, bitter person who kept drifting back to a person who clearly wasn't treating her right like a loyal dog.

Harley was about to turn over and try to get some sleep, her mood having fallen due to her own actions, when she heard a slight shuffling from underneath her.

Blinking owlishly, she looked down to see Magnus struggling to get up, holding onto the bed post in order to get to his feet.

Quickly looking out their cell to see that the guards weren't near, Harley quickly flipped down from her bunk and stopped him from trying to exert himself even further.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed, with a slight trace of worry, examining him with a critical eye to make sure he wasn't in any danger. "Don't push yourself, White!"

He turned to look at her, his eyes conveying an intensity that she hadn't seen before.

"I wanted to sit next to you for this." he said simply, a slight amount of frustration visible on his face due to his own weakness before it vanished. "Can you help me up? I think we have a few minutes to talk. The guards usually check out the cells on the other side of the block with the Metahuman inmates around this time."

Harley wanted to protest, but the look in his eye discouraged her, not to mention her own burning curiosity compelled her to obey.

She easily lifted the teen, who was only four feet and ten inches tall and painfully underweight thanks to not having eaten a single true meal his entire life.

The most he had ever eaten in his life was a full carton of sugar-free Jell-O, and it was showing, though he wasn't malnourished enough to be called a truly anorexic person.

She placed him on the top bunk and then hopped up next to him, placing an arm around his shoulder for support.

He nodded in thanks, and took a deep breath.

"Harley, this isn't a question I'm supposed answer." he started, letting out a small exhale after gathering his thoughts. "Even if I tell you an answer, I don't think it'll really help. Instead, I'll help you come to an irrefutable conclusion of your own, whatever that may be, by listing the facts, as I see them. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." she said quietly, meeting his eyes. She was already surprised by his answer, although she should have expected it from him, enough so to continue listening. The few times she had asked the question in the past, she'd just received a clear no.

That wasn't the case here.

"If so, I need you to promise me something. Promise me that you'll tell me the truth, regardless of what that may be. That's all I ask."

She wasn't sure what compelled her to make that promise. Maybe it those leftover fragments of Harleen. Maybe it was her. Maybe it was both. But she still made the promise regardless.

"I promise."

"Okay." he said with a small smile.

"I trust you."

Those three words alone nearly threw her into turmoil.

Magnus couldn't have known how much those innocent words meant to her. He was being sincere, something she could tell easily because of her own knowledge and the fact that he was a terrible liar, and that was something that made those words, and the gesture they represented, all the more meaningful to her.

No one had said those words to her, ever. Not Mistah J, not her parents, not her brother, and not even Red, especially in matters regarding The Joker.

And yet, White, no, Magnus, was placing his faith in her to be honest, and to answer him in kind, about the one person who she couldn't trust herself around.

She... she didn't know how to react to that kind of faith. Especially in someone like her. But she could start by honoring the promise she had made him.

"Let's start with something small first." said Magnus calmly, unaware of her rapidly fluctuating emotional state, as she unconsciously drew his small frame closer to her own body. "Do you think the Joker is capable of love?"

The question threw her for a loop. She... hadn't really considered that before. She had always been thinking about his hypothetical love for her, but not about whether he even could love someone romantically.

"Think back to all your interactions together. Not love towards you specifically, but towards anyone and anything in general?"

Harley thought.

She honestly thought, pushing aside her own rosy versions of the memories of her time spent with Gotham's most infamous Villain, and delving into what she found.

It took a minute, but she found an answer, one which made her feel hopeless.

"No, I... don't think so."

Magnus nodded. "Many people don't pay attention to what The Joker actually says all the time, and are more focused on what he's doing and who he's killing, which makes sense in a way, though it doesn't help us here. The Joker is a person built completely around the concept of hatred. From my own analysis, everything he does is to stimulate anarchy. His sole motive is to ruin as many lives as possible, in order to create more sociopaths like himself. The 'One Bad Day' he's talked about multiple times with Batman suggests this; a successive series of traumatic events and loss transforming a person and erasing their sanity. And he's succeeded, creating notable psychopaths, many of whom follow him as his own grunts. Does this mean he's incapable of love? I can't say. However, I have a theory of my own."

"..."

He was right. And that made sickened her, especially towards her own behavior. Nearly two years of following him around and she'd been unable to understand what he was really after, and what his philosophy was. Yet, Magnus had broken it down using evidence anyone could have found. No, this was something that she could have easily figured out. But she hadn't even tried to.

"The Joker is in love with Batman."

"!"

Now that jarred her out of her increasingly self-destructive thoughts. A statement so absurd she was momentarily unable to respond.

"M-Mistah J, loving Bat-Brain?!" she said incredulously, teeming with disbelief. "N-No, that ain't possible!"

He looked at her sympathetically.

"Does he always talk about Batman, even when he isn't there?"

"Y-yes?"

"Does he commit crimes specifically to draw Batman's attention?"

"Y-yes..."

"Does he always try to get 'up close and personal' with Batman whenever they fight?"

"..." Harley couldn't speak anymore, instead looking increasingly mortified as she began to think back, her own answers beginning to paint a picture she didn't want to see.

God, how could she have been so blind?!

It was obvious. Of course he loved Batman, he practically drooled all over him whenever they met. In fact, Mistah J only did things to attract Batman, and usually just tried to escape if any other Hero showed up, usually by throwing her under the bus.

"... Did he ever ask Batman out?"

'You better show up at the ferry by five, Batsy. We're going to have a fun time together!'

As if struck by lightning, Harley just sat stock still as her brain connected the dots Magnus had laid out for her.

Batman of all people had stolen any chance of her being acknowledged by Mistah J.

Once again, it made sense. The Joker usually wasn't happy when someone else one-upped or injured Batman, and tended to make it well known, usually committing a crime afterwards to keep Batman's attention on himself.

Heck, he often got more agitated than ever if Batman didn't show up to stop whatever crime he was committing. That gleam in his eye whenever he saw the tall, muscular dark knight, it could mean only one thing!

...

...

...

She never even had a chance in front of Batman, Mistah J's sole purpose for living.

Magnus awkwardly patted her on the back in a vain attempt to comfort her, but continued, knowing that putting it all out there was better in the long run.

"Love or no love, fact of the matter is that The Joker is obsessed with Batman." said Magnus.

The stress he put on the word caught her attention again.

"I can only speculate, but I think his goal is to make Batman become a Villain like him. A psychopath." he continued quietly. "Whether he has any actual connection to Batman, I can't say. It's possible Batman could have been responsible for whatever might have happened to him, the same way Livewire was created by Superman."

True. That was something Red had told him when it had come up in a discussion. After all, the three of them had worked together in the past.

Could it be possible The Joker and Ol' Batsy had the same kind of connection? Did Batman create The Joker?

Harley suddenly realized, with terrifying clarity, that she actually knew almost nothing about The Joker. She didn't know his real name, what drove him to crime, whether he had any family, etc.

She'd just been content to follow along with whatever schemes he came up with, without giving it a second thought.

God, how pathetic was she?

Harley was snapped out of her daze by a hand clamping on her shoulder. She turned to look at Magnus, who seemed... angry? But not at her. Rather, it was aimed at someone who wasn't there.

Still, it was the most emotion she had seen him display.

"Stop it." he said, a little forcefully, making himself a little more intimidating, though his body was frail. "The Joker's the one who's trash. Stop beating yourself up for what he did to you. That's what he wants. That's how he controls you."

"B-but, i-it's my fault!" said Harley, nearly in tears. "I'm the one who threw everything away to follow him. I'm the one who's so pathetic I lose any backbone I have whenever he opens his mouth!"

Neither of them noticed that Harley had slowly switched to a more sophisticated manner of speaking, one she had used long ago, as a student, in a life she left behind.

"You can't blame yourself for that. The Joker's only talent is manipulating others. If not you, he would have done he same thing to anybody else. Heck, I'm sure he could find a way to even break Superman if he put his twisted mind to it."

And if the Injustice timeline was any indication, Magnus was a hundred percent correct.

"But enough about him. We could talk for hours about what kind of person the Joker is. But we don't have that much time, and it ultimately drags us away from what's important; you. Harley, why do you believe The Joker cares about you?"

That was the ultimate question. In order to at least try to cure her obsession with the man, that was the root issue that had to be dealt with. Her own perception of the man, the feeling that reinforced her twisted beliefs.

Harley looked down for a second, unable to meet his gaze. The intensity in his eyes was unsettling. It was like locking eyes with a dragon. That it was for her made Harley feel warm and fuzzy inside, but that clashed with the nature of their conversation, which made her want to throw her arms around her head and hide.

"He always comes back for me. Even if he hurts me, beats me and... abuses me, he's always come back, even if it takes a while. Then he says the sweetest things, and I can't help but fall in love with him all over again." she said quietly, telling the truth, as she had promised.

"Harley..." said Magnus sadly. "I can't say I know what love feels like. I... thanks to my condition, I can't ever really create a stable relationship with anyone, you know? I'm a cripple, in the worst ways possible, so it would never work. Therefore, Ive never really cared about things like that. I've never had a crush on anyone. Heck, you're the first girl outside my mom I've ever talked to, and my first friend too. But... I do know that The Joker doesn't love you. Even if one is insane, love is love. You don't hurt the people you care about, not that much, not that often."

They both sat in silence for a few moments, letting their thoughts run. Deep in her heart, she knew he was telling the truth.

But still...

"Why then? Why does he always come back... for someone like me?"

It was phrased as a question, but even someone as socially inept as Magnus could understand the plea behind the words.

'Why does he even pretend to care about someone as worthless as me? Why not just abandon me and move on? Why?!'

"Because he's afraid of you." said Magnus, with full confidence.

Once again, Harley had no words. What he had just said didn't make any sense to her.

The Joker was afraid? Of her?

The thought was so absurd she laughed out loud.

"White, that's impossible. There's no way Mistah J is afraid of little Ol' me."

"Wrong. You're the only true threat The Joker even has. You've been with him for almost three years; you know how he operates, how he thinks, even the way he fights. The real reason The Joker keeps you under his thumb is because you're better than him in every way. If you struck it out on your own, you could completely take over Gotham's Underworld."

Harley felt her cheeks warm up from the praise, but kept her mind focused on every word the white-haired boy was saying.

And just like everything else he said, it somehow made sense. He never told her any solid conclusion of his own, not without backing it up with factual evidence. He was giving his views, but was presenting the facts as they were for her to come to her own conclusion.

Taking her lack of response as a sign that she wasn't fully convinced, Magnus continued.

"He's just trying to snuff your potential, because you're more talented than him in every way. The only things the Joker's good at are making jokes so lame he needs to use a chemical weapon to make people laugh at them, using trick weapons straight out of a five year old's worst nightmares, and a bit of knife fighting, at least enough to keep up with Batman. But you? You're incredibly smart, skilled in psychology, have athletic abilities that make Olympic Gymnasts look like anorexic nerds with asthma, the tactical acumen to use the, properly, knowledge about weaponry you no doubt picked up during your time with The Joker, and are capable of sending grown men flying with a large blunt weapon. You're literally better than him in every way, which is why he tries so desperately to keep you under his thumb, because you really don't need him, and the moment you realize that, you'll become way more than he'll ever be. And that's one thing The Joker can't stand, especially from someone he considers beneath him. You're an amazing person Harley, and he's just jealous of it."

Harley's mild flush had exploded, coloring her bleached skin a faint reddish-pink.

That right there was more praise than she had ever received in her entire life, delivered over the course of a minute, stated as if it was fact, and not up for debate.

"D-do you... really think so?" she asked shyly, looking away from him.

Over the course of the conversation, the criminal known as Harley Quinn had been systematically stripped of her layers, leaving behind a damaged girl who only wanted to be loved and acknowledged, who wanted to feel like she was worth something.

"I do. And I'm sure Professor Isley knows it too. And that's what The Joker is afraid of. Because I have come to a conclusion that The Joker's worst fear... is being obsolete. Being forgotten. He wants you in order to keep you from ever surpassing him, and because your attention makes him feel good about himself. That's what the evidence points to. And I think it's spot-on."

To be honest, when it came down to it, there's really nothing that illogical or hard to understand about 'insane' people. Most of the time, they were just people who let their base desires influence their whole personality and their actions, or were forced to by a medical condition or some kind of trauma.

The Joker was just a slightly more homicidal bully who wanted attention from Batman and the World, for the sake of proving that his twisted beliefs were right.

"In conclusion, never and never will love you, because that's simply not how he operates. But that's not because there's anything wrong with you; in fact, it's the opposite. You're simply too good, and that's why he tries to impose himself on you. You're not his possession, or his slave. You're your own person. And in the end, that's all that really matters." finished Magnus, having said everything he wanted to convey.

The whole conversation took about 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

And for the first time in a while, Harley felt... closure.

"Thanks, White." she murmured softly, hugging him gently to avoid aggravating his condition.

In return, after she let go, Magnus smiled at her. It was a true, genuine smile, one that she hadn't seen on his face before. It was enough to cause her face to heat up in response.

She felt her heart beat a little faster as she stared at him, idly realizing for the first time that despite being a near-anorexic teenager, he was undeniably attractive, with features that made him seem like he was sculpted from ice, such as his white hair and piercing blue eyes.

Harley dazedly shook off the strange feeling that had overtaken her in time to hear his last words to her.

"It's no problem." he said, somewhat shyly.

He then rubbed his head sheepishly.

"After all, you're my friend, and I want you to be happy."

{Present Day}

Since that night, they'd had a few more conversations on a similar vein, because unlike Red, White was a logical thinker who tried to look at things from multiple perspectives in order to come up with a definite conclusion, even for topics he may have had a bias towards, something he tended to openly acknowledge. He was mentally flexible, making him an easy conversation partner for more serious issues.

Over the course of the next couple of days, she had slowly started to see The Joker from behind the glass window, in a way she hadn't before.

Having already been sick of him and trying to break away, as well as not seeing him for almost a year, which was kind of weird, although it was probably because he had taken some pretty nasty injuries when she last seen him and he was planning something big in retaliation, Harley had answered the question that had plagued her with finality.

No, The Joker did not care about her, and never would.

It was something that made her feel hollow when she first realized it, but not for long, as she came to another concrete realization..

She didn't need The Joker or his bullsh*t. She had people who genuinely cared for her, and even a few people she could call friends.

It wasn't over though; that much, she knew. Harley was certain she would have to face him again, maybe even soon.

But this time, she was certain her resolve was stronger than anything he could say.

She was drawn out of her thoughts as a familiar figure was wheeled in.

A large smile appeared on her face, and she skipped towards him with a light heart.

After all, she had a socially awkward redhead and a crippled semi-albino who cared about her, and they were all she needed.

{No Job, Magnus Grey}

Life in Arkham followed a rather dull but thankfully ordinary schedule.

Wake up, meet the doctor, stay with her until the evening so that he got his daily dose of nutritional supplements, and then convene in the female common area, and then back to the cell for lights out.

If it weren't for the lack of any sort of recreational activity, which made perfect sense considering the 'hobbies' some of the inmates got up to, it seemed just like any other prison.

Level if it was technically an asylum.

Although that classification was something that Magnus had given up on when he had first woken up in Arkham, mostly because of several inmates who definitely were not insane.

A good example was Floyd Lawton, or Deadshot. Another would be Oswald Cobblepot, or The Penguin. A third would be Selina Kyle, or Catwoman.

Neither of them were insane. Deadshot wanted money, Penguin wanted money and to keep his empire, and Catwoman just liked stealing things, although Magnus was unsure if that was due to kleptomania or some other reason.

Fact of the matter was that Arkham had long since gone from an Asylum to help the mentally ill to a dangerous melting pot full of VIP members from Batman's Extra-Violent Book Club.

Hell, he had been sentenced there, so that should have been obvious.

At least the women's block was a lot better than he expected (no, not like that, you perverts) in the sense that none of the people there were as downright demented as Zsasz or the Joker.

His experience with the former soured his few days at Arkham, although he had made friends with The Riddler, Deadshot, Bane and surprisingly, Killer Croc of all people.

Bane was actually an easy one to understand. Eduardo Dorrance, from what Magnus remembered, was also thrown into a nasty prison for some crime his father committed. It wasn't too hard to see the parallels between them.

Deadshot was also from a similar standpoint. Magnus was about 67% sure he had a daughter, and there was also the fact that he seemed to be a pretty decent person. He was just dedicated to his job, and there was nothing wrong with that, even if the job in question was assassination.

Edward Nygma, if that was even his real name, was a little more complex. Magnus couldn't quite remember what his deal was, considering The Riddler was in his opinion a rather mysterious member of the Bat Villains, but initiating an intelligent conversation was apparently all that he needed to form a rather amicable relationship.

Killer Croc was honestly a hit or miss. Magnus remembered nothing about his backstory except that he had some sort of mutation that made him that way, and so didn't know how to react when he met the guy for the first time, during lunch.

If Magnus hadn't become something of an expert at suppressing his emotions, a Skill he had to master in order to avoid getting a heart attack just for being too happy, he was sure he would have at least lost an arm, if not his life.

Thankfully though, things apparently couldn't get worse than being stuck in Arkham Asylum, at least at the moment, so he'd been relatively lucky.

Apparently looking him in the eyes and treating him with respect was the way to go with the tall reptilian man, who was surprisingly jovial once you got to know him.

It was truly an eye opening experience, no joke intended.

And it also reminded Magnus that these people weren't comic book Villains. Not anymore.

They were real people, with real emotions, feelings and goals.

Sure, they may have had a pre-set backstory, but the way they behaved and the actions they took were no longer dependent on a script or a comic.

It was also terrifying, because it meant Magnus didn't know how they would respond to certain situations and dialogues, and because he had no semblance of control or predictive ability when it came to these people.

There were tons of variations of the same character in the DCU, and as such, due to the fact that they were now real people, Magnus had given up on trying to manipulate or coerce people and events with whatever meta-knowledge he had.

Instead, he would approach everyone with honesty and respect. The stress of trying to play mind games with these people could end him quite easily, not to mention that they would outsmart him at every turn, being seasoned veterans. He was in no way arrogant enough to try and manipulate people like The Riddler or Lex Luthor.

Plus, it just felt... wrong, to try and score some kind of opportunity from these people using knowledge from his old World.

He wasn't the type to do so back in his own World, so he wouldn't do it in this one as well.

He'd survived two weeks by following that creed, so Magnus was pretty sure his strategy of having no strategy was working pretty well.

After the incident with Zsasz on the morning of Day Three, Sharpe had him transferred to the Female Special Ward in order to provide a 'safer environment' for him, at Doctor Young's request (read: furious protests).

In Magnus' opinion, that entire statement was total, 100% Grade S bullsh*t.

This was Arkham. The women here were just as deadly as the men. And he was a defenseless male teenager being thrown in the middle of them, like a lone, crippled sheep in the middle of a pride of lionesses.

There was literally no worse matchup.

Magnus was only rather morbidly comforted by the fact that his heart would give out rather quickly if they tried to do anything to him, although that knowledge didn't really help him get any sleep on the first night.

He may have been good at suppressing his emotions, especially his fear, but he was just a normal boy. Moving from his home life to a place like Arkham filled him with overwhelming fear. Fear of what the people or even the place itself would do to him.

Fortunately or unfortunately though, it seemed that he was somewhat decent when it came to socializing with women, a fact he didn't really know until then considering the only woman he had ever met in his life was his mother.

And honestly, while his perception might be slightly skewed because he'd never had any friends or social exposure beyond his tutors and parents, Magnus found that their company was genuinely interesting, if not more than a little strange.

He idly rubbed his arm as Aaron wheeled him towards the female common area. He had been given his 'meals' for the day by Dr. Young, and had finished his daily session, so it was off to the common and then bed time.

Magnus wondered if this was the closest he would ever get to public education, as strange as that sounded.

He nearly sighed as he poked the almost visible bones on his left arm. His heart condition had done no favors for him in any aspect of life.

He couldn't go to school, and was thus homeschooled with the aid of several highly qualified and highly expensive tutors.

He couldn't walk for more than a minute, and running was definitely out of the question, so he was either bedridden or wheelchair-bound.

Similarly, he couldn't eat either, most foods being too spicy for him to tolerate while having more than a nibble or two of a sweet would lead to hyperglycemia-induced heart attacks.

Since the day he had been born, Magnus had been surviving off of nutrient supplements, usually administered by either IV drip of in rare occasions, chewable gummies.

For that reason, many sites on his body were marked by puncture marks left behind by the syringes, which tended to feel pretty weird. Thankfully, DCU technology made it so that his daily 'meals' could be administrated using a patch that was applied on the skin, so it was much more pleasant than normal.

However, it didn't really soothe the part of him that wished to actually enjoy a hearty meal, at least once in his life.

Magnus quashed the emotions that were trying to well up in him.

'Now isn't the time to whine about what I want and couldn't have. Even if the last two weeks have been interesting, and maybe even fun, it doesn't change the fact that I'm in more danger than I've ever been in before. Personal issues can wait for later. Showing weakness of any kind in a place like this is just asking for trouble.'

With that thought, he calmed himself, falling back into the same, nearly emotionless facade he had upheld since he could walk and talk.

After all, in his case, it was possible to die just from being too happy, so he had to keep a strict lid on his emotions to make sure he didn't over exert himself.

From an intellectual standpoint, Magnus knew that doing such a thing was not mentally healthy, but he honestly didn't care.

He didn't have a choice.

Aaron left him then, as he wasn't able to go any further, and Magnus gently wheeled himself the last few feet into the common area.

He didn't have to wait long before a cheerfully grinning Harley hijacked his wheelchair and brought it over to a rather populated table.

He looked blankly at the cards on the table, as the other occupants noted his appearance.

"Poker?"

Harley grinned at him. "Arkham Poker. You know how to play, White?"

"Can't say that I do, sorry." he apologized, his mild-mannered nature drawing smiles from the people around him.

"Here, I'll show you the ropes." said one of the occupants, a beautiful Indian woman with long black hair and green eyes.

Before he could respond, his wheelchair was hijacked again by yet another mischievous woman, this one with white hair and red eyes, who leaned down to kiss his cheek with a wink before wheeling him over to a vacant spot to the right of the woman who had called out to him earlier, and plopped herself down on his right.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of you." she said saucily, earning a fierce glare from Harley and a few looks of exasperation.

"Jaina, tell your other half to stop being a creep. He's fifteen, for God's sake." said another beautiful woman, this one with short black hair and green eyes, and remarkably American. She smiled warmly at Magnus though, uttering a greeting, a maternal look entering her gaze.

"I've tried, Selina." said the Indian woman, Jaina, exasperatedly, looking at the white haired woman. "She won't listen though."

"I'm telling you Jaina, my bunny instincts don't lie! He's the one, I'm sure of it!" said the white-haired woman, pouting at them.

"Besides, he didn't say no~." she said, leaning against him and pressing her sizable bust against his arm.

Pamela Isley, better known as Poison Ivy, winced as she heard her best friend's teeth grinding.

Magnus blinked owlishly, meeting her gaze without so much as a flinch or a blush.

"Say no to what?" he asked curiously, earning a round of laughter from the other occupants, while the white-haired woman slid off of him comically, shell-shocked.

"Hah, in your face, Rabbit!" said Harley smugly.

{Rabbit Owned Counter: 1}

Magnus blinked again, looking at the (probably) imaginary cloud of gloom hanging over the head of the collapsed Rabbit, before looking at the victorious Harley.

Then he turned to Selina and Jaina, some of the few responsible women at the table. "Was it something I said?"

That earned another round of laughter, confusing him further.

"Nothing, really. You just stole her pride as a woman, without even trying." said Caitlin Snow, Killer Frost, with a laugh before dealing the cards she had been shuffling.

If one were to take a look at them, they would notice that the woman on Magnus' left was absolutely identical to the woman on Magnus' right, the only differences between them being the color scheme of their features.

That was because the two of them were the same person. Well, sort of.

Jaina Hudson, the White Rabbit. A Metahuman Villain whose power was basically a case of Split Personality Disorder gone horribly right. She had a type of bio fission ability that she used to manifest a clone of herself, Rabbit, who had her own personality, and tended to be much more wild.

Magnus wasn't too sure about her origins or her reason for becoming a Villain though. She wasn't very prominent in the comics he had read.

He and Jaina had a rather amicable relationship, but Rabbit acted weird around him. Kind of like Harley, now that he thought about it. The two of them weren't really friendly to each other though, for some unknown reason, even if they had similar personalities.

Magnus decided that he still had a lot to learn about people. Studying popular media was not a good way to learn social interactions.

Anyways, Magnus looked on with interest at the surprisingly furnished poker table as Killer Frost finished dealing the cards, and a depressed-looking Rabbit flopped onto her chair listlessly.

It was amazing how he was experiencing all sorts of new things in one of the most dangerous fictional institutions to ever exist, such as playing Poker with Supervillainesses.

If that was actually a word.

Then he had a question.

"Hey, this is a form of gambling, right?" he asked curiously, getting nods in return.

"We usually give out IOUs or other kinds of favors for this kind of thing, darling." clarified Ivy, answering his unasked question and scooping up her cards. "Though we usually start off with hard cash."

"I can bet neither of those." he said sheepishly.

"It's no problem. Here, take half of mine, White!" said Harley, pushing the chips towards him.

He nodded in thanks, getting a happy smile in return, before his ice blue eyes narrowed onto the cards and he slipped into his focused state.

The first few hands moved slowly with small pots as everyone waited for the last few to arrive and give Magnus time to get used to the rules without losing too many chips.

The pots then began to rise towards their usual level, ten thousand dollar chips moving across the table.

It was surprising to think that they had that much money to throw around, but all of them were either prolific thieves or had some sort of well-paying day job, so it wasn't too outlandish.

The play was rather fierce that day, a tension settling over the table, though Magnus remained cheerfully oblivious to it all. No one had had any spectacular hands yet, nothing better than a pair or a three winning any hands. There was a moment's excitement when Magnus and Ivy spent almost a minute staring at each other, gauging their confidence in their respective hands. Ivy folded on her pair of threes, which was a pity because Magnus was a born poker player, having mastered the art of controlling his emotions and reactions, and won with a five, seven, eight, ten and knave, which were worth nothing because they were mixed hearts and spades.

The remaining occupants of the table stared at the diminutive form of the boy who now had almost double the amount of chips he had started with, thanks to his hefty win in the last round, making a note not to underestimate him ever again.

"Damn, that's impressive." said Selina with a whistle. "Can't believe this is his first time."

"Beginner's Luck." said Magnus with a shrug.

They bought it, and the game continued.

...

...

...

Ten minutes later, they weren't buying it anymore.

"How?" asked Caitlin, looking across the table at Magnus, who now had every chip on the table neatly stacked on his side.

The others were equally flummoxed, and Magnus blushed in embarrassment.

He'd won almost every round, taking to the game like a duck to water, somehow getting a better hand than them nearly every time.

Jaina got a Flush?

Too bad, because Magnus had two pairs of threes.

Selina got a Full House?

Too bad, because Magnus had a pair of Queens, a pair of threes and a Joker.

It was utterly infuriating, but none of them could really bring themselves to be mad at the white-haired boy, because he was really modest about winning and their hearts faltered at his childishly happy expression whenever he raked in his winnings.

"I guess my Luck's a bit better than I thought it was."

"Now that's an understatement." said Ivy with a snort.

"No fair!" wailed Rabbit, who was facedown on the table. "I'm a Rabbit, so I should be the luckiest!"

"Wait, does this mean I win?" asked Magnus incredulously, looking at his newly earned poker chips, which were worth approximately 280,000 Dollars.

Huh. Since he was in another multiverse, he no longer had access to his inheritance or his sizable bank account, so maybe he could rebuild his fortune through Poker?

It was something worth looking into later.

"No." said Caitlin, who had a shark-like grin. "It's time to up the stakes."

"Not for me." said Jaina, throwing her hands up in surrender. "I think I've had enough this time."

"I'm beat." agreed Harley, backing out as well. She didn't mind having lost because Magnus looked like he was having fun, and that was enough for her. Besides, she wanted to see how far he could go, and wanted to give the spectacle her full, undivided attention.

"Ooh, but I'm still in!" said Rabbit, looking determined. "I'm going to win this! I need to prove that I'm the luckiest!"

"Considering the trend right now, I don't think that's happening." remarked Selina with a grin, though she opted to remain in the game regardless.

This was around the time that the game began getting a lot more adult-rated, and she wanted to keep an eye on Magnus and make sure he didn't get involved in any of that, though from the way Rabbit was eyeing him, she didn't have much confidence that he would go unmolested for long. Literally.

Magnus did not belong in Arkham. Selina knew that Sharpe was off his rocker, but this? Throwing a sick teenager into Arkham, the most infamous Asylum on the planet?

As soon as she got out, she was going straight to Bruce with this, because this was ridiculous. The only reason he'd survived was because he was a total cutie, and treated even people like Croc with respect, which had earned him a lot of brownie points from some of the inmates, who in turn kept him from being attacked by the other rabble.

She herself had a soft spot for the kid, and she knew Jaina, Ivy and Frost did as well, while Harley and Rabbit were a little too affectionate.

For that reason, they tended to keep the boy within their midst at all times, as to prevent the other inmates from getting any ideas. This was a necessary precaution because the guards actually did nothing unless someone was about to die or escape, meaning people could enter and leave their cell at will. Admittedly, security was a little stricter at night, but not by much.

It also did help that Harley was basically his bodyguard, and took her duties rather seriously. Honestly, it came as a welcome surprise, because Magnus was a much better influence on her than that guy, by a huge amount.

The girl really could use someone who treated her right, which Magnus was admittedly doing pretty well.

Still, Harley was unstable at best, as Selina couldn't bet that she wouldn't kill the boy if The Joker asked her to, and Magnus really needed better influences in his life. She knew Bruce would see that he was cared for; the man had a talent for adopting strays, who more often than not joined him on his crusade, though that clearly wasn't an option for Magnus.

Who knows though, maybe Bruce could find a way to treat his condition?

She could only hope, and pondered silently while the cards were dealt, and then it was time for the stakes.

"Okay then." said Ivy, who was one of the four that were still playing. "I'll immunize the winner."

A low whistle came from Caitlin. "Wow. Confident, aren't we? Fine then. I'll help out in whatever schemes you guys plan for a whole week if you win."

"I think I'll bet the same." agreed Selina, raising a mental eyebrow at Ivy's play.

Ivy's expertise with toxins was not to be ignored. If she immunized you, then almost no poison on the planet could do more than give a stomach ache.

Harley had gotten that treatment, if she recalled properly.

"I'm betting me and Jaina as slaves to the winner for the rest of the time we're in Arkham!" said Rabbit cheerfully, crashing the Indian woman to choke.

"Wait, you can't do that!" said Jaina, scandalized. Magnus could understand her indignation. He would be pretty upset if his bioprojection sold him into slavery over a game of poker as well.

"Sure, she can." said Ivy with a smirk. "Technically, you're both the same person."

"Doesn't that seem kind of extreme though?" said Magnus, worriedly. "Is this normal?"

"Nah!" said Harley, waving a hand. "I mean, it usually gets interesting right about now, this game's really gettin' up there!"

Jaina was trying to choke her clone, as conspicuously as she possible could, as Magnus pushed 50% of his winnings onto the middle of the table.

"It only seems fair." he said. He actually felt that it wasn't enough for what the others were offering, especially Ivy and Rabbit, but it's not like he could really bet anything else.

"Fine then." said Caitlin. "Since we're all in agreement, let's do this."

What followed in the next few minutes was probably the fiercest matches of poker to ever grace the halls of Arkham Asylum.

Finally, they were right back where they started, except now Jaina and Rabbit were currently set to be Ivy's slaves, something the black-haired woman was glaring daggers for.

Over the course of the game though, to an outside observer, it would appear as if all the players were old friends, something that was somewhat surprising considering the lineup of players.

There were many ways to bond, and poker was one of them. The Villainesses of Gotham tended to be much more amicable to each other compared to their male counterparts, almost at the level of good friends, and now Magnus had unintentionally entered that circle, receiving a healthy amount of respect.

After all, it took a truly strong person to keep going through life with a condition as crippling as his.

Mental strength was a strength on its own, especially in a World where telepathy was an actual thing.

True, more often than not, there were those who would scoff at such a notion, but there were those, especially those who suffered from a condition of their own, who would find a form of kinship with the boy.

Anyhow, now they were at the climax, and Magnus realized with a start that he was having more fun than he had in ages.

He suppressed his joy of course, but the sense of satisfaction he felt when hoarding poker chips really appealed to him.

They all looked pretty confident in their choices, and with Magnus raising the pot with the rest of his winnings and Ivy throwing Jaina and Rabbit's slave deal back into circulation, they were locked in an intense staring contest, the likes of which had never been seen before.

Caitlin nodded. "I don't think we'll be betting any more after all this." she said with a smug expression on her face. "So, let's see who has the best cards, shall we?"

Rabbit had a superior look on her face as she laid down her cards. All Diamonds, the highest a nine. "A Flush." she said confidently. "What are the odds, eh?"

"Pretty good," Selina said, laying down her own flush, this one of Clubs and Queen high. "Don't worry you two, I won't work you too hard."

"Too bad, because I will." Ivy said with a grin as she laid out her cards one by one. "I got a flush as well. Queen high with my second being her son, a Jack."

"I know I'm in solitary, but I'm sure we can work something out."

"You won't need to," Caitlin said with a smirk. "You see, I got a Queen and a Jack as well."

"That isn't worth much on its own." remarked Jaina, who seemed to have resigned herself to a temporary life of slavery, although she swore to herself that she would make her counterpart pay for her transgressions.

"How about the Queen's sister, flanked by the Jack's twin brothers?" the Ice-themed Supervillainess asked, revealing her cards to show she did indeed have a full house, Jacks over Queens.

"Sorry, Ladies and Magnus." she added in a very insincere voice. "It looks like my luck's won out."

There was snicker from Harley, who had moved across the table to stand behind Magnus, followed by high pitch giggling as she looked at Caitlin.

"You sure about that, Snowcone?" she asked between giggles. "Really, reaaaaalllly sure?"

"What do you have, Magnus?" Jaina asked, trying to move around to see what the blonde woman had seen in the boy's hand.

Magnus allowed himself an uncharacteristically wicked smirk, before laying down his cards.

They were a Joker, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Clubs, Ace of Diamonds, and the Ace of Spades. A five of a kind. Specifically five Aces, the best hand in the game, able to beat even the well known Royal Flush.

"No. F*cking. Way." said Caitlin, stunned, before grinning. "Well, victory is yours then."

Magnus was about to respond before a weight settled in his lap and he was face-to-face with Rabbit, who winked at him.

"So..., when should I get the chains, Master~?" she asked saucily.

She wasn't too sure as to why, but Magnus had an almost magnetic presence, one that kept nudging her to obey and bow before him. It was as if she was in the presence of a superior being, a leader or a King, and she loved it. She knew Jaina felt the same way, but she was far more controlled than herself. And the best part was that she had an innate feeling that Magnus still hadn't Awakened, so to speak. He was capable of much more than he let on, and her instincts were screaming that at her. It did help that he was quite the looker, even though he was ill, and shockingly charismatic, which only accelerated her attraction.

Sure, he was sick, but Rabbit knew that his disease wouldn't be a problem for long. She could practically feel it.

"Um, could you get off of me, Ms. Rabbit?" he asked politely, a bead of sweat rolling down his head as he exerted himself. "You're kind of heavy."

Ouch.

{Rabbit Owned Counter: 2}

She slid off of him with a despondent cry, earning a look of exasperation from basically everyone except Harley, who was glaring at her.

"You know just what to say to a woman, don't you darling?" asked Ivy, amused, as Rabbit tried to get over the shock of her blatant rejection, an amusement she shared with Jaina, who began to drag her downed clone towards herself. In Arkham, after all, they were forced to remain separate, as a security thing.

"I'm sorry Professor Isley." said Magnus apologetically. "But I can't exert myself physically without putting myself in danger."

"Just call me Ivy, Magnus." she said pleasantly. "And there's no need to apologize. I understand."

The conversation was halted from proceeding any further as the bell rang, signifying that it was time to go back to their cells.

"Well, I guess that's it for today then." said Selina, as a pair of bored-looking guards walked in.

Harley grabbed the handles of his wheelchair and wheels him towards the cell, humming a tune to herself, while the others fell into step, forming a loose semi-circle around him as they moved back towards the cells.

Magnus himself was getting tired, his stamina almost completely spent. His condition, combined with the fact that he was slightly malnourished did not give his stamina any benefits, although it was apparently impressive according to his former doctors that he could stay awake as long as he could, which was almost around the time a normal person could.

Everything flew by in a blur, and he was back to his cell in a blur, and struggled to get out of his wheelchair, his sleepy mind unwilling to send the proper signals, when he was gently picked up and placed on his bed.

"S-e-t -r-am- W-hi-e." he heard dimly from his cellmate, before he fell into blissful sleep.

And neither him nor Harley noticed the strange silvery-blue markings that were beginning to form on the back of his left hand.

{Near The Entrance of Arkham Asylum}

Hector Nolan yawned as he looked out into the night sky.

As usual, guard duty at Arkham was boring as hell, or just downright disturbing, like when dealing with people like Dollface and Killer Croc.

Of course, things got interesting really quick whenever there was a mass breakout, but everyone knew what to do in those cases; hide, and wait for Batman to show up and catch all the little freaks before throwig them back in again.

They had no chance against the people they guarded, and they knew it.

Why did they take this Job then?

Because it was actually pretty easy, if not boring. They didn't really have to do anything, because unless there was outside interference, nothing usually happened, and the inmates couldn't riot or break free. The holidays were non-existent, admittedly, but the pay was good, and no qualifications were necessary except that they had to be sane and have no criminal record.

He rubbed his eyes blearily, thinking of his wife back home, when he was nudged on the shoulder by his parter, Christopher Kinsbursky.

"Hey, did ya hear, Hec? Apparently, Batman's caught The Joker and he's on his way now. Sharpe gave us all an alert to be on our guard though." he said.

Hector stiffened in surprise, but understood the point.

"Not that shocking. The freak always has something planned. For an insane maniac, he has a way of getting loyal minions." he said, though his face shifted into one of worry.

"Don't look so nervous." said Christopher, patting him on the back jovially. "With Batman there, nothing'll happen!"

Hector wasn't so sure. For some reason, he had a gut feeling that the night had only just begun.

An hour later, as the alarms began to blare, he would be proven right, as the wheel of Destiny continued to turn.

Aaaaand that's a wrap, ladies and gentlemen!

Magnus and Harley form a bond, and we get a little insight into how Magnus interacts with Gotham's ladies. I wanted to include the boys as well, but that'll have to wait for later, because there was no way to bring him in. And in the next chapter, Harley has to make a difficult choice.

I honestly wanted to make this chapter longer, or at least make another interaction chapter, but the problem with the original Hero Complex was that I stalled for too long.

Besides, the only important Bonds he forged worth noting are with Harley and Jaina, or at least her counterpart.

Just to clarify, Harley is highly emotionally attracted to Magnus, no doubt due to him just being a sweet guy in General, something she never had in her life. I did research on her for almost a week before writing the first segment of this chapter, because I wanted to nail her mental state just write. She is at the point in the timeline similar to the start of the Harley Quinn cartoon series that just came out, where she wants to escape The Joker but finds herself going back to square one whenever she faces him.

Magnus, who is the complete opposite, didn't really have to work as hard as he did to win her affections at that point in time.

His Bonds with the remaining are closer to neutral, although they definitely care about him, especially Selina, except for Rabbit. Although, Rabbit is so strongly affected because Magnus isn't fully human. There have been a lot of hints dropped throughout the chapters as to what he really is, but the reason Rabbit is so physically attracted to him is because of a Skill he doesn't even know he has.

It will be revealed in the next chapter or the one after that, though. All I'm saying is that it has different effects on men and women. The effects on women should be kind of obvious though, but it's more subtle than you think in those aspects.

Rabbit is another minor character that's hard to get down, though I think I have a basic picture. White Rabbit is like Mina or Tooru from MHA, with way more perversion, while Jaina is more like Momo.

Also, I did another week of research just for what Magnus said about The Joker. Keep in mind, that this is MY interpretation of The Joker and how he operates. Magnus said this in order to ease Harley, and I believe it is mostly right. If you disagree, that is okay, but don't start flaming me just because you disagree with how I portrayed both Harley and The Joker, because portraying them correctly is REALLY FREAKING HARD.

By the way, is it just me, or, minding the age gap, is Magnus and Harley's little partnership kind of sweet? It might be just me, but I've kind of felt that way as I wrote.

Anyways, that's all I wanted to really talk about, except for the fact that I urge you not to roast me for the Poker Game. I didn't think they would play Uno or Go Fish for fun, and while it may seem odd that they would bet using real money, like I said, the Gotham Villainesses seem to hate each other much less than the Men.

Also, more insight as to how Arkham's inmates feel will be revealed in the coming chapters. They're all surprisingly human, when you get down to it. DC really is a morally gray universe, even without trying.

Finally, keep in mind that I'm open to suggestions. If you feel like I made a continuity error, then kindly report it in a manner that isn't overly insulting. DC fanfics are a lot harder to make than you realize, especially for someone who tends to focus on character development first and foremost, as some of you have no doubt seen with my other stories.

Okay, that's all I wanted to say. The next story to be updated will be Event Horizon. Also, if there are any Villains or even Heroes you want to see joining up with Magnus, both romantically and non-romantically, just let me know, along with a bit of justification.

That last part is because people have been asking me to pair Magnus with Wonder Woman, and I don't know how to make that work.

I know there are stories out there where the girls fall for the MC at first sight, without any background, real reason or emotional development, but I CANNOT write like that.

On another note, stay safe you guys, because the pandemic is only spreading.

Spatialphoenix here, burning to ashes.