7 A Meeting Between Two Troubled People

"Who da hell are you?!" the woman practically screeched, her voice slurred beyond believe, going back and forth between sobs and angered yelling as she spoke each word. She took a swig of her vodka before continuing, not even giving me a chance to answer her, "I come here to mess up Mr. J's gang and ya beat me to it! You bastard! Idiot!" she said before breaking into sobs as she collapsed to the floor, dropping her mallet and just hugging her bottle of vodka.

I didn't say anything and just looked at her as I continued to absorb the corpses around us. With my hearing, I could pick up on her mutterings.

"I jus' wanted to prove I'm worth the trouble to Mr. J...I wanna prove I ain't useless...!" she harshly whispered in between sobs and I guessed that something had happened between her and the Joker. But then again, what kind of surprise was that? Not a very surprising one. He's the Joker for god's sake. I doubt he'd be a good boyfriend. Or whatever he was to her.

I went to walk past the crying mess, not wanting to get involved - I had my own issues to deal with, after all - but imagine my surprise when a wooden, over-sized mallet collided with my chest due to my mind being elsewhere and concentrating on bigger and more important things. Though I guess letting my guard down while near an overly-emotional crazy woman was a little stupid, no?

Luckily, my reaction speed was quick enough to react in full and my chest morphed into the black and red armor I used to survive Barbara's Batarang explosion back at the Zoo. You know, the berserk one.

The mallet simply crushed itself when it hit the armor, the armor's durability and density having been pushed to unimaginable heights. I'm pretty sure I could tank a few shots from some...tanks. Heh.

Ahem, anyway, as I was saying, I could easily take dozens of shells from dozens of the latest tanks without breaking a sweat and while not even moving an inch.

I guess that's what you get when you absorb and combine the genes of Turtles, Tortoises, Ironclad Beetles, Crocodiles, Armadillos, and Pangolins to make your armor. Throw in the virus and put those genes through millions and millions of harsh evolution while the virus enhances and mutates it to be better...and well, you've got armor so strong and dense that I doubt that armor-piercing rounds of any kind could pierce my armor.

Let alone a wooden mallet.

Looking to the side I saw the emotional woman looking up at me with teary eyes, still with that same crazy tint to them. Though this time I saw an incredibly...fragile side to her. Like she and everything about her, was about to collapse.

"Why did you do that?" I asked indifferently, giving her a sidelong gaze, "I understand you're unhappy but I'm not the person you wanna mess with right now, Ms. Quinn," I practically growled as I remembered my night, before I just kept on walking, leaving the crazy woman. But she apparently didn't want that as she threw herself at me, trying to tackle me.

But I spun around and gave her a backhand that sent her flying into a few boxes, crushing them and sending a cloud of dust up into the air.

"I'm warning you. The next time I'll crush your head," I said with a sharp tone before going to walk away again, but this time I was stopped as I heard her sobs alongside the tears dropping to the floor. With my enhanced hearing, it was like being next to a church bell as it chimes; loud as hell.

But I still stopped instead of walking away. Why? Because I'm an idiot, that's why.

Plus, I don't like it when people cry. Or maybe it's because I wanna focus on someone else's problem so I can ignore my own? I've always been like that. Listening to other's doubts and focusing on them to avoid focusing on my own. It's an incredibly human thing to do, honestly. Ignoring your own problems, that is.

Though using such a phrase is...unusual when I'm not even a human anymore.

"What's got you so upset, Ms. Quinn?" I asked without turning back, "You usually look so happy whenever your robbing banks or blowing up buildings. Even when Batman takes you in, you still end up smiling psychotically. So what's got you so down? Should be pretty serious if you're not around the Joker--" I was stopped as a bottle of vodka impacted the back of my head, smashing open against the armor that morphed their as soon as the bottle touched my hair, "Ah, so it has something to do with the Joker, right?" I turned around, my yellow eyes scanning over Harley's face that was switching between anger and sadness like it was some kind of spinning prize wheel.

"Shut up!" Harley shouted, slurred and still obviously drunk, "Ya don't know what your talkin' about!"

Hearing her, I walked toward her and seeing her anguish and her pain...well, it truly did help me numb my own. "Oh, I think I do know what I'm talking about," I quipped, "Let me guess: You finally walked away from him, right? Or did he throw you out? Either way, it can only be good for you," I said, less of a quip and more sincerely. I wouldn't pretend to know the dynamics or their 'relationship' but I could draw some conclusions.

It was probably an abusive relationship. With Harley on the end of said abuse. While I can definitely say it wasn't a good thing for two crazies to be together anyway; they'd just keep feeding off each other's crazy and they'd only get worse in their mental instability.

"What...?" Harley asked with a confused tone, seemingly completely shocked I'd even say such a thing, "How could it be a good thing? Huh? If it feels this bad, how could it be good?!" her confusion and shock turned to anger as she looked at me.

I simply shrugged in reply before getting closer to her and squatting in front of her collapsed form, "Well, it hurts because you loved him, I guess. But just because you love someone, doesn't mean they're healthy for you. You should know that. Weren't you like some kind of super brilliant psychiatrist before you fell in love with Joker or something?" I asked with a nonchalant voice.

I wonder how deep this sadness of hers goes?

Hearing what I said, Harley lashed out with a hand, trying to slap me, yet I dodged it with ease, her hand practically moving at a snail's pace. I could have dodged all her attacks but using my armor required much less effort. The only reason I didn't use my armor against her hand was because it would have broken all the bones in her hand upon impact. Don't want that when I simply wanna chat with her.

"I'm not that person anymore!" she hissed, "I'm Harley Quinn! Not some stupid psychiatrist, constrained by the law and held down!"

Rolling my eyes, I replied with a slightly patronizing tone, "Well, you're still her no matter what you say. You're just a different version of her. Everyone changes throughout their lives. You just evolved from that 'stupid psychiatrist constrained by the law' to what you are now. Just because you've changed doesn't mean you're a different person," I explained, partly to her, but also toward myself. Holding up my hand, I smirked, "I guess I live under that principle otherwise I wouldn't know what to do with myself," I split my hand and arm into many different writhing tendrils before carrying on, "I used to be a normal human researcher working under Amanda Waller before I was forced to become this to survive; a living virus," I said with a cold hatred clear in my voice as I reassembled my tendrils into a normal-looking arm and hand. Not hatred at myself but Waller.

What I said seemed to shock Harley quite a bit but she just sniffed before rubbing her eyes and consequently smudging her make-up even more, and looking up at me.

"You used to work for Waller?" she tilted her head at me, curiosity clear in her voice.

Knowing she was trying to focus on my problem, I shrugged as I answered, "Yeah, but that's not the point--" and I was cut off by Harley standing up straight and leaning in at me with one of her eyebrows raised. It was a weird look, especially with her make-up all ruined.

"Is she why you became all tentacle-like?" Harley questioned, "Because I used to work for her as well, and I can totally see her doing this to someone!" she exclaimed, seemingly taking some amount of joy in my problems. Yet I didn't mind, I was using her and her problems in the same way, so it was only fair, I guess.

Plus as soon as I heard her say that she worked for Waller...well, let's say that I got a bit excited.

I leaned over and kept my face close in front of her's, my eyes wide and gleaming, searching her face for any possible lies she could answer with. My face was twisted in a hateful smile that tried to look nice and gentle, yet failed horribly. My excitement was only pushed further by my hatred and my anger, mixing into a volatile emotion.

"You worked for Amanda Waller?" I asked, "Could you tell me everything you can about her and her security detail? Everything about the building she works in? Everything about emotional and mental weak points?" I stated with a happy voice, carrying on with a more twisted tone, "Anyone around her that I can kill to inflict the most pain possible? Anything she cares immensely about?" I stopped before touching my forehead against Harley's, peering into her slightly fearful blue eyes with my predatory yellow ones.

"Tell me everything you can, and I'll let you live, Ms. Quinn," I whispered forcefully, my smile twisting under the hatred inside me that was pushing for me to just absorb Harley and get it over with.

But the last vestige of humanity inside of me; the last bastion of morality inside my twisted mind...it was telling me not to. That she hadn't been a threat to me since she entered the warehouse and that she was just an emotionally fragile person right now. She didn't deserve to die right now. Maybe if she started killing people in front of me, I'd react and end her.

But currently, I could see her for what she was; an abuse victim. Mentally and emotionally twisted by the man she loved. She needed help, not death. Help I couldn't give, sure, but help nonetheless.

"I-I ain't into t-tentacle play, ya k-know?" she tried to play her fear off with a joke, yet I just backed up slightly before disconnecting my hand and having it jump onto her before it morphed into a personal prison that wrapped around her and kept her secure and sitting.

Still squatting in front of her, just a bit further back, I kept my twisted smile on my face, "Stop stalling and just tell me what I need to know, Ms. Quinn."

And so started a very long hour of questioning.

. . .

Of course, I knew Amanda Waller had a special squad to do her dirty work for her...yet I didn't know that it was made up of enhanced Villains. As much as it hurts me to compliment that wretched woman that's...quite clever. No one cares for the Villains, so who's gonna stop her from using them like disposable soldiers? On average they have more skills than the average soldier anyway, and they're more powerful.

One of this so-called 'Suicide Squad' that interested me was a sea-dweller called King Shark. If I could absorb him, a Villain who could go toe-to-toe with the likes of Aquaman...well, I'll be ever so closer to my dream of freedom. Freedom from the JLA and their constant pressure to not do 'bad' things, that is.

Hypocrites.

From the details I'd gained from Harley - all of it being checked through my multitude of experiences on how to see a lie, that I'd absorbed from people - I knew that I could practically waltz into the Government building under a disguise and kill Amanda and the people who were in cohorts with her. But if that Suicide Squad were around her...then I've got a banquet and my fulfilled revenge waiting for me, haven't I?

...The fact I was thinking of absorbing people as a banquet doesn't bode well for my mental state, does it?

There was more information but the most important thing? I could kill Amanda Waller and all those who'd betrayed me. There was just a single squad of enhanced people in my way.

There was only one last problem...

"So, where we going?" an annoyingly cheery voice spoke from my side, "I have a friend with an apartment nearby, we can crash there and get her in on the plan to take down the Ex-Boss lady!" the annoying entity pumped her fist into the air, her tears from before gone and replaced by an excited glint and joyful smile.

Sighing, I gave a glare to the annoying woman, "As I said before, you're not coming with me. Also, stop following me. You've given me the information, I've let you live; so go away," I dismissively said, scowling slightly.

The annoying woman was no doubt, Harley Quinn. The woman who just wouldn't leave me the fuck alone.

I'd tried jumping away but she'd somehow grabbed onto me and wouldn't let go, I tried running and she did the same thing. Hell, I'd even tried using my shapeshifting abilities to run away yet she'd find me like some kind of bloodhound finding a prized fox. I genuinely don't know how. She just explained it as luck, but there had to be something more to it, right?

Anyway, after that, I gave up and just kept walking, hoping she'd get bored. But that never happened.

She's...so annoying. Though I guess being around her isn't too bad?