Getting Close to Harley: You're Just the Joker's Toy!

The best place to get close to Harley Quinn wasn't the exercise yard. It was the Medical Wing, where the injured were gathered.

People came and went constantly there, and supervision was relatively lax.

For Link, arranging a minor "accident" was easy.

The next day, while doing his routine cleaning in the Library, Link "accidentally" got his arm pinned beneath a huge, teetering bookshelf.

He let out a scream at just the right volume, getting two guards to take him to the Medical Wing without raising too much suspicion.

"Fuck. Another unlucky bastard."

The guards dumped him roughly onto an empty bed and left him there.

The Medical Wing's second-rate doctor gave him a cursory examination. Finding no fracture, the doctor slapped on a splint and left him lying there.

Link endured the pain in his arm and turned his head without drawing attention. His gaze immediately settled on the bed diagonally across from his.

Harley Quinn was curled up on it.

Her blonde hair was a mess, and bruises marked the corners of her mouth and eyes. The women who had beaten her yesterday had clearly left their mark.

Her eyes were vacant and unfocused. She clutched a battered Joker doll as though it were the only thing keeping her afloat, murmuring without realizing it, "Puddin'... You'll come save me, won't you... Puddin'..."

Her emotions were a gray swamp, full of despair and confusion, with a trace of something even she hadn't noticed... self-doubt.

Link lay on his bed with his eyes closed, patiently waiting for his chance.

An hour later, a nurse came through with a medication cart to hand out sedatives to the patients.

When the nurse reached Harley's bed, Harley shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Get away! Don't touch me! I'm not sick!" She flung her arms out, knocking the tray from the nurse's hands.

Pills and syringes scattered across the floor.

"Crazy bitch!" Startled, the nurse cursed and backed away, then hit the call button on the wall.

Two burly male orderlies rushed in, ready to force a sedative injection on Harley.

Harley fought like mad, her screams piercing the quiet of the Medical Wing.

Now.

A sharp glint flashed in Link's eyes. He focused and silently slipped a wave of irritation and weariness into the two orderlies' minds.

The orderlies, who had been bearing down on her ready to use force, abruptly stopped.

One of them yawned. Watching Harley struggle, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to care.

"Forget it. Let her scream. It won't kill anyone."

"Yeah. Fuck, I'm meeting someone for drinks tonight. I don't have the energy for this."

The two orderlies exchanged a look, then turned and left, leaving the nurse staring after them in shock.

Harley froze too. She had braced herself for an electric shock, only for them to walk away.

Breathing hard, she scanned the room warily. Her gaze finally landed on Link, the only other person still paying attention.

Link gave her a harmless, almost sympathetic smile.

"Hi," he said softly.

Harley frowned. She recognized that face. He was the Asian kid in the yard a few days ago, the one who had gotten her laughed at.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice hoarse and hostile.

"Nothing. I just don't think you need to see everyone as an enemy." Link's voice was gentle, as if he were soothing an injured animal.

"Hah. In Arkham, you're either an enemy or prey." Harley gave a cold laugh and hugged the Joker doll tighter. "Stay away from me. I don't want to talk to you."

"All right." Link shrugged and didn't press her. Then, as if talking to himself, he said, "It's just strange. Everyone outside is talking about how Mr. J has a new favorite. A girl called Punch. I hear she's crazier than anyone, and Mr. J adores her."

He spoke quietly, but his words struck Harley like an invisible sledgehammer.

The color drained from her face, leaving her deathly pale.

She shot upright in bed and stared at Link. Her voice went shrill with agitation.

"You're making that up! You're lying! Puddin' loves me! I'm the only one he loves!"

"I'm just repeating what I heard." Link spread his hands, looking innocent. "You know how it is. New people arrive at Arkham every day. News travels fast."

"No! That's impossible!" Harley shook her head wildly as tears spilled down her cheeks. "You liar! You're trying to turn us against each other! Batman sent you, didn't he?"

She tried to get out of bed and lunge at Link, but her injuries sent her crashing back onto the mattress.

Link watched her fall apart in silence. He said nothing more.

Through the [Chaos Force], he could clearly sense that Harley felt more than anger now.

Beneath that blaze of anger, doubt spread like a sheet of ice, freezing everything in its path.

The seed had been planted with words. All it needed now was one final blow.

A doctor finally arrived. At the sight of the mess strewn across the floor and Harley crying and screaming on her bed, he snapped at Link, "You! If your arm isn't broken, get back to your cell! Stop causing trouble!"

Link obediently got to his feet and prepared to leave under the escort of two guards.

As he passed Harley's bed, he stopped, turned his head, and spoke softly enough that only she could hear.

"A real king wouldn't leave his queen locked in a cage for a pack of wild dogs to torment."

With that, he followed the guards out without looking back.

In the Medical Wing, Harley's cries stopped dead.

She sat motionless on the bed. Link's final words echoed through her mind like a vicious curse.

A king... A queen...

A cage... Wild dogs...

She looked down at the grinning doll in her arms, then up at the gray sky beyond the window.

It's been so long.

Why hasn't Puddin' come to save me?

Has he really... forgotten me?

A tiny crack quietly appeared in her once-unshakable faith.