Ch. 3: Harley

"So, Mistah J, what's this big surprise ya got for me?" Harley asked, tugging on the Joker's purple-clad arm. She had been helping Poison Ivy take down (aka destroy) a corrupt nursery over the past few days and had just now gotten back.

"Well, Harley, I know how much you'd like a sign of hoe committed to you I am, so-"

"You got me a ring?" Harley squealed excitedly.

"No, Harley. I got you something even more, shall we say, binding than a ring," the Joker replied, leading her down the hall to a small room. Pushing open the door a bit, the Joker allowed Harley to pear inside.A little girl in a sleeveless yellow dress and pink sandals was lying on her stomach doing a puzzle on the floor. Her shoulder-length red hair was freshly washed and the room was well-heated, allowing her to remain in her summer-like garb despite the howling November wind outside.

"Oh, Mistah J!" Harley breathed, turning back to her puddin'. "Is she gonna be ours? Am I gonna be her mommy?"

"Step-mother, Harley."

"Step-mother?" Harley asked, her face falling slightly.

"Yes. You see, Kara- and that's Kara with a 'k,' by the way- has only known a mother. Her real dad died before she was born and that's where I come in. And since you're my girl, that makes you her step-mom."

Harley glanced back at Kara, who had not noticed the pair. The Joker gave his girl a little nudge."Well, go on in and bond with her, Harley." With that, he strode back down the hall, muttering,"Got a family to support now. Where're my men? I need…"Harley watched him leave and then pushed the door open all the way. Kara glanced up, her green eyes locking onto Harley with interest."Are you Harley?" she asked in her clear little-girl voice."I sure am." Harley replied, kneeling down next to her. "Want some help with that?" she asked, pointing to the puzzle."Yeah! This puzzle's hard." Kara grinned at Harley and suddenly, Harley felt that being a step-mom wouldn't be too bad at all.

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Harley and Kara spent the next two hours putting the puzzle- a black background with squiggly designs f all colors- together. Both quickly developed a liking for each other and Harley was quickly beginning to think of Kara as "our daughter" in regards to the Joker. Kara herself felt at ease around Harley and while she didn't think of Harley was a mom-figure (yet, anyway), she was certainly glad to have the other woman around.

"Where'd the Joker go?" Kara eventually asked, as they finished up the last of the tricky pieces.

"I dunno. He tends to run off at times, but never for long. Unless that stupid Batman catches him, of course."

"Batman? He can't find us, can he?" Kara asked, suddenly worried. She had a pretty good idea of what would happen to her if she was found by the so-called hero Batman.

"Don't worry about Batman, sweetie, he's not comin' near you. Me an' Mistah J'll see at that."

"That's good," Kara replied, snapping in the last puzzle piece. "There. Done.""And just in time, too. Wanna help me feed Bud and Lou?"

"Who're they?"

"They're our pets. They'll need to get used to you, so you should probably stay near me or Mistah J for a while, but they'll love ya soon enough. We feed them bones and raw meat that we keep in a special little fridge for them. After that, we'll see what your da- I mean, Mistah J has planned." Kara didn't seem to notice the slip in Harley's words and followed the older woman obediently. Harley herself was very pleased; she found she liked having a step-daughter with the Joker.