I woke up to shudders and muted talking. My eyes felt sticky, as if I had slept for a long time and now they were glued tight together, willing me to fall back asleep, fall back into my dreams. But my eyes fluttered open as I was lurched sideways. I groaned, putting a hand protectively up to my head where it had collided with something metal. My head throbbed, both inside and out, and the memories slowly seeped through. The Joker...the electricity. Slowly, with my head spinning, I sat up straight and exhaled. My head moved around and I saw that I was in a van, all metal with metal seats and sitting along them were the Joker's team. They fell silent when they saw me looking. Their head masks were off now, and they looked like the kind of people mothers warned their children to stay away from, the guys from the 'bad' end of town. But now, they were just the Joker's people. Fuck. A sharp ray of pain shot through my head again. There was wetness on my mouth and I reached up with a shaking hand to feel it frothing. The electricity. As if I had to be reminded. I had no idea what it had done to me. Nothing maybe? 

The Joker's people stopped staring and preoccupied themselves with low chatter which I couldn't discern; the thumping in my head was too loud. They didn't so much as look at me, maybe because they knew that I was Mr J's. With that thought my heart spun in a million different ways, even though he had done that, tortured me. He was just trying to free me. After all, he could've killed me by now, but he hasn't. He just wanted to free me. I closed my eyes again, trying to dispose of the invisible hammer beating at my brain. Eventually I fell asleep. 

"Oi". There was someone poking me, poking my arm. I jolted awake and a hand caught my closed fist in mid-air. I had been dreaming again. I looked up, aware that my eyes were probably puffy and red, that my hair was frazzled and my clothes dirty. A man with a bald head and a black tattoo gleaming across his face was holding my hand to keep it from hitting his hip. His eyes quickly darted around and he let it go and moved back further from me, as if I was some kind of infectious disease. Or maybe they just don't want to feel the wrath of the Joker for touching his girl. I couldn't help it. The slightest smile danced across my lips. "We're here" He announced, turning away from me.

I rubbed my eyes and smoothed down my clothing. Where is here? I opened my mouth to ask him, then thought better of it and closed it. I would find out when those big van doors opened. The van slowed and halted abruptly. This time I was ready, my hand on a handle beside me. There was silence for a moment, a thoughtful silence, and then the Joker's team shoved open the van doors to darkness, and looked at me expectantly. I swallowed and shrunk back. "Me?" One of them nodded impatiently and motioned with his gun for me to get out. I cleared my throat and stood up, walking through the archway of mob guys with bruised limbs and black guns. I climbed out and landed on thick orange dirt, like desert sand, and saw we were at ACE chemicals. The van doors shut behind me. I walked backwards, my hands reaching for the tear gas that we always carried at the asylum. It was gone. There was only blackness in this place. A low screech cut into the silence, and my head jerked to the side. A side door opened. Mr J got out. 

I inhaled as he took a step towards me, then another, then another until he was right in front of me. "Harleeeeen Quinzelllll" he rolled his head to each side, grinning madly. The moonlight bathed his face in a slippery silver glow and shadows danced across his tattoos. My heart fluttered against my will. What was he going to do? He threw his head back and stared at me through slits in his eyes, before reaching his hand onto his mouth, which I saw had a smile tattooed onto it. He moved his shoulders up and down as he laughed and stepped towards me. As he approached me I saw that he had changed his clothing. Now he was wearing a red shirt, opened at the top so that I could see his chest and a shining silver jacket over it. His pants were black and peering out at the bottom were glistening silver shoes. He looked...well he looked like a villain. He reached me and placed his hands under my chin. I leaned in to him, feeling each finger resting on my skin. He sneered at me, showing me his silver teeth.

"Do you feel more..more insane? You're looking lovely. Come. Come with me"

I breathed in and out deeply. As we walked towards ACE chemicals I heard the van drive off. We were alone. 

"This is my...my place of belonging, where I became my true self...darling...Harleen Quinzel...or now Harley Quinn?" He raised his eyebrows at me in question.

"Yes" I breathed "Yes, that's perfect." I was Harley Quinn now, oh what a genius name! I giggled and dropped my lab coat, still splattered with blood. Maybe I was insane now. Almost. I let down my hair and it fell down in perfect curls. He stared at me now. My blue shirt was a perfect match to his, unbuttoned at the top, my blue jeans wrapped tight with a black belt.

"Glasses" He proposed, taking my glasses out of his pocket, the ones that I thought he had thrown away, and placing them on my nose before pushing them back. I looked at him and smiled. He twisted his head and again we were off. 

The factory was silent, aside from the huge bubbling vats of chemicals which I could see. I counted eight, and then looked at him. We began to walk up flights of stairs until we reached a platform. He walked to the very edge of the platform and I followed. We both looked down at the huge vats, and he began to talk.

"These...these huge bathtubs were my beginning, my finding of my true self. I was transformed in those chemicals, and, darling, darling Harley Quinn, I want you to be too." I realised what he was saying, but then again I knew what he wanted from the very start, didn't I? I knew what I was in for. 

"Do you love me? Would you...die...for me?"

"Yes" I answered, with no hesitation. Nothing else mattered now. I just wanted to be with him, I loved him through everything. I kept staring into those electric eyes. 

"No, that's too easy. Would you" He paused "Would you live...for me?"

"Yes" He touched my hair, my lips.

"Do not take this oath thoughtlessly. Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes...power." He put his tattoo smile over my mouth "Do you want this...?" He whispered.

"I do" He rolled his head back.

"Say it..say it...say it...pretty pretty pretty pretty..."

"Please?" 

"God, you're so...good" He said, his hands still all over my face. He stepped back, and I knew it was time. I looked down at the chemicals bubbling at the bottom of the drop. I turned back to face him. He was staring at me, watching me to see if I really meant it. I did. 

I spread my arms, closed my eyes, and leaned back. The air flew by me, my blouse flying out in front of me. For a minute it was like I was flying, like nothing could ever end my fall.

Then I hit the chemicals. 

I couldn't scream, I couldn't open my mouth. I was enveloped in the stuff, my body burning in the hot liquid. My blouse was melting off, my jeans too. Everything was melting. I screamed with my mouth closed, my head hurting and burning. Everything hurt, there was red in my eyes and I rolled them back in my head. Stop the hurt, stop the hurt. Please. Please. I began to feel myself slip away. The pain was too much, I embraced it. I was almost asleep. Burning to death in these chemicals. But then I felt something drop into the pool with me. My body was at the bottom of the vat. I felt hands pull me up, up out of the chemicals, and I knew it was him. He had come for me. That was all I knew, before I really fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, my body was still burning. But so was his. His lips were on mine, his arms supporting my back and legs. I gasped awake, and he reached down to kiss me again. I felt my lips meet his and bliss and pain mingled together in my body. He threw his head back and laughed. I laughed too. 

We laughed together as our bodies burned.