1

"Harley Quinn, nice to meet ya!"

Oswald Cobblepot frowned at the pale blonde girl sitting across from him. She seemed more aware than the others, her eyes were clear and she appeared to at least be capable of holding a legitimate conversation. He reluctantly shook her hand, "Oswald Cobblepot."

The girl's grin widened and she leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper, "Good, I was scared that they might have already gotten to you. It's awfully boring in here without anyone to talk to."

"What do you mean 'gotten to me'?" Oswald had a feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Therapy," she grimaced, "It's just a cover. They mess with your mind, make you someone else. Sometimes people come out calmer, sometimes they come out like Melody."

He followed her thumb to a woman who was talking to her peas. His expression changed to one of confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Melody used to be a kindergarten teacher. She was sent here after she murdered her abusive husband and for the first week was as functional as you or me. She went to a 'special' therapy session and came back like that."

Oswald's frown deepened, "What about you?"

She smirked, "They sent me to the basement. Trust me, that's much worse."

He shivered. Just as he was about to continue asking questions, a guard opened the door and called his name. He glanced at Harley as he stood and found himself worried by the odd expression on her face.

As he turned to walk away he heard her quiet voice, "Don't trust Strange."

He didn't look back.

Harley wasn't exactly sure how long she had been in Arkham but she did know that it had been at least a few months. Since she had been there her once shoulder length hair had grown to be just above the bottom of her rib cage. Maybe Strange's experiments caused her hair to grow at an accelerated rate?

At the thought of what had been done to her during her time at Arkham she glanced down at her pale hands. Her skin, which had once been lightly tanned, was now nearly white. Her hair had also been stripped of any color that it once had. It was like her entire body had been bleached, even her eyes were lighter than they used to be. She looked as different as the experiments had made her feel.

She had been chosen by Strange because she was intelligent. He was building an army and had been in need of a thinker, someone who could lead when he wasn't around to make decisions and gather important information when he was. Of course, she needed to be more than just intelligent to help lead a group of freaks - hence the 'gifts'.

She shook the thoughts away and her mind focused on Oswald instead. It had been so long since she had held a conversation with someone who wasn't completely insane (Strange definitely fell into that category). She had forgotten how enjoyable conversation could be and didn't want Strange to take anything else from her. There was very little that she had to enjoy anymore and she would not let Strange take away her potential friend. She would have to protect him.

When Oswald entered the common area the next day he found that Harley had saved him a seat and was waving him over. He didn't have anyone better to sit with and she could hold a decent conversation at least.

She smiled at him as he sat and it made Oswald slightly happy to know that someone was happy to see him (not many people were). She tilted her head at him, her pigtailed hair falling to the side, "So, how did you end up in here?"

"Oh," Oswald smiled at her, "I killed Theo Galavan."

"Who?" Harley scrunched up her brows.

Oswald continued to smile, though it became tighter at the thought of his late mother, "He killed my mother so I killed him."

"I see," Harley nodded with an understanding, "An eye for an eye."

"Exactly. So, how did you end up here? You don't really seem…" He trailed off as he searched for the right term.

"Crazy?" she grinned.

"I was going to say you seem a little young."

She shrugged, "I was just tired of other people trying to control me. So I killed them."

He nodded, finding the fact that she shrugged about killing people unconcerning. He wasn't in any place to be judging the girl, "I can understand that."

Harley smiled at him, "I think we're going to be good friends Oswald."