Cambrian
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Endless Legacy Ch. 51 (DC Comics)
🕑 Added 2024-10-17 15:19:50 +0000 UTCA/N: New Minion Get! Meanwhile, Poison Ivy has regrets.
-x-X-x-
Waylon Jones doesn’t burst into tears or drop to his knees in sudden fervent worship, but then to be fair, Lucien isn’t really expecting him to. The other man doesn’t seem like the type. At the same time though, how is one supposed to react to suddenly being a normal human being after spending one’s entire life as a crocodile monster?
“… I don’t know what to do now.”
Honestly? Fair. As Waylon looks up from his hands, he looks incredibly lost. He doesn’t know what to do next. Sure, Lucien had cured him, but then there’s everything that comes after that. Lucien has an idea of course, but he doesn’t want to be the one to suggest it. Fortunately, without any prompting on his end, Blackfire comes in clutch, just as he’d hoped.
Scoffing, arms crossed over her chest, his henchwoman rolls her eyes.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? You start paying back the debt you owe.”
He couldn’t have planned it better. Waylon’s eyes light up at the idea, and he looks towards Lucien, his gratitude finally starting to truly shine through. However, before the big man can speak, Lucien holds up a hand and smiles, shooting Blackfire with a distinct ‘look’.
“Now Kamara… I’m not one for indentured servitude. If you wish to work for me, Mister Jones, you will be paid accordingly. As far as I’m concerned, there is no debt between us. If we’re to have a relationship, let it be one of employer and employee and nothing else.”
Waylon doesn’t have to think about it for long before nodding enthusiastically.
“Sounds good, boss.”
Hook, Line, and Sinker. Though a moment later, a concerned look does spread across the bald man’s face.
“Though I ain’t good for much besides muscle…”
Lucien is all too happy to wave off that concern.
“Perfectly fine. Given everything that’s happened in the past day, it seems apparent that we’ll need to expand the clinic’s security if we want to stay in business. Kamara is the Head of Security, so you’ll be working directly under her from now on.”
The two villains size each other up for a moment, but whatever Waylon sees in Blackfire’s eyes works for him, because he slowly nods.
“No complaints here, boss.”
Blackfire just huffs.
“I suppose he’ll do.”
With that settled though, it’s time to address the elephant in the room.
“Speaking of clinic security…”
Lucien turns his eyes towards Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, causing Waylon and Blackfire to do the same. The two villainesses both stiffen up, Ivy scowling defensively as she crosses her arms over her chest, still clad in the Sexy Nurse’s Uniform. Harley, meanwhile, has a wild grin on her face as she leans forward.
“Hey! So… what was that?”
Lucien just raises an eyebrow in response, prompting Harley to pout and try again.
“No! Seriously! You just like… put your hands on him and made him a normal dude! What the actual fuck was that? How’d ya do it? What else can ya do?”
Harley’s curiosity has clearly been piqued. And from the alarmed look on Ivy’s face, she doesn’t like this line of questioning. Reaching out, the plant controller grabs her partner in crime by the wrist.
“Harley…”
But Harley isn’t having it. And… despite clearly being mad as a basket of kittens, Harley also isn’t an idiot. Not by a long shot. Pulling herself free of Ivy’s grasp, she points at Lucien.
“You said you’d do worse to us both than you did to Black Mask if we spilled the beans on this.”
Lucien hums. He’s still not sure if that was a bluff or not… it probably was. Still, he can’t back down now, now can he?
“I did.”
But the threat isn’t what Harley cares about.
“But Black Mask doesn’t remember putting a bounty on you, or even giving us a million dollars. And apparently he’s suddenly paranoid, and rushing to pull himself into his shell like a damn turtle. So… what DID you do to Black Mask exactly?”
“Harley!”
Ivy’s voice sounds positively strained now, and the plant controller is glancing towards the gaping black hole of a sewer opening left behind by Waylon’s initial entrance. It’s clear that Ivy had come to the same conclusions as Harley had… namely, that his powers didn’t stop at bodies. They also extended to minds.
Unlike Harley however, who was being rather provocative with her questioning, Ivy didn’t want to push him to using those powers on the two of them. Perhaps she thought if Harley made him spell it out, he would be forced to take drastic measures. And maybe he would… who could say.
Still, smiling faintly, Lucien inclines his head in acknowledgment of Harley’s words.
“I did in fact wipe his and his men’s memories, yes. But I knew that amnesia wouldn’t be enough. So I also gave Black Mask strong enough paranoia to lock him up in a state of indecision and fear for months.”
Lucien shrugs, as if to say ‘what can you do?’. He doesn’t mention, of course, that the latter was only possible thanks to Ivy’s kiss. His ability to dose Black Mask with that toxin was only thanks to her. It doesn’t seem prudent to reveal THAT part of his abilities at this point. Especially since he hasn’t had the chance to give himself all of her powers just yet. It’s just been one thing after another, really.
“We’re leaving.”
Ivy’s clipped tone makes it clear just how on edge she is, as she yanks on Harley’s arm again. For a second Lucien thinks that the other woman is going to pull away again, but despite having a mighty pout on her face, Harley allows her partner to start pulling her to the opening that leads down into Gotham’s sewers.
From the tension in Ivy’s shoulders, it’s obvious she’s expecting him to attack, to refuse to let them go. Lucien watches them leave for a moment, considering what to say or if he should say anything at all. He doesn’t think that they’re going to spill the beans any time soon, to be fair. Especially if Ivy thinks that he’s got his father’s backing in all of this, like she implied when she told Waylon about Lex Luthor’s connection to the clinic.
… He also doesn’t think Harley would respond very well if he suggested he could cure her insanity. To be honest, he’s not entirely sure he even could. He can do brains yes, but what he does is sort of like a bludgeon, not a scalpel. That said, there is one thing Lucien knows for sure he could do for Harley.
“I could remove Him from your mind, Harley. Turn Him into an afterthought… a distant memory.”
The two villainesses are right at the edge of the sewer entrance when he speaks up. Both freeze in place and slowly turn back to face him. If looks could kill, Ivy would have murdered him in that moment. Hell, she might still try to murder him at this rate. But Lucien pretends not to pay her any mind, his gaze solely focused on Harley.
Everyone knew the tale of Harley Quinn, aka Harleen Quinzel. How she’d been taken and corrupted and twisted by the Joker into his pet, into his bitch. Not everyone knew that she was in the process of breaking free of him now though. Lucien’s future knowledge didn’t always come in handy because he was such a shut-in, but in this case having several more years of the timeline under his belt was pretty helpful.
Right now, Harley was stuck in between Ivy and the Joker. While Joker was in Arkham, Harley would usually hang with Ivy, but whenever he broke out, she almost always wound up gravitating back to him.
It would take another year or so for her to break away for real, if Lucien was remembering things correctly. Harley and the Joker’s final breakup was nationwide news, when it happened. But before then, there would be at least one more instance of the Joker breaking out and luring Harley back to his side. One more time where she would allow herself to be lulled over by fake promises of love and romance.
Right now though, Lucien knew that Harley wanted nothing more than to be free of the Joker. The longer she was out of his grasp, the more she wanted nothing to do with the crazed clown.
In a way, Lucien’s offer was as much to Ivy’s benefit as it would be to Harley… and the rest of Gotham for that matter. But of course, the plant controller didn’t see it that way.
“Shut up. Neither of us are letting you anywhere near our brains!”
Lucien just smiles as Poison Ivy makes a unilateral decision for them both right there on the spot. He can see the war in Harley’s eyes, can see how she wants to tell Ivy off for speaking for her… but also how she wants to back up her partner. Harley isn’t stupid. She sees how this issue risks dividing her and Ivy… and in the end, even though he’s confident that she yearns for what he’s offering, she lets her affection for Ivy win out.
“Y-Yeah… heh, I don’t need anything from you. Thanks, but no thanks!”
And yet, despite forcing some extra confidence in her voice at that last sentence, Harley can’t help looking back at him as Ivy finally drags her down into the relative safety of the dark sewers and out of sight.
There’s a brief pause after their departure, before Waylon Jones glances from sewer opening to the massive sewer grate he’d thrown across the entire length of the parking garage. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his bald head, the ex-crocodile man averts his gaze.
“Err… sorry, boss. I can try to fix that if you want?”
Lucien just shakes his head though, giving the other man a smile.
“Don’t worry about it, Waylon. We’re not exactly hurting for money. We’ll have professionals out to repair it tomorrow. For now… welcome to the team.”
He offers Waylon his hand, which the bigger man takes. Of course, while Waylon’s hand is still bigger than Lucien’s, there’s no denying who’s stronger now. Lucien doesn’t go so far as to crush the other man’s hand in a power play or anything like that, but he does make it clear where they both stand… and he’s pleased to see the respect in Waylon’s eyes grow once he realizes just how strong his new boss is.
It wasn’t the perfect ending to the night’s activities or anything like that, admittedly… but given everything that had happened, things could have gone a lot worse. Lucien would take what wins he could, he figured. And the rest… well, he’d deal with that when it came up.
-x-X-x-
Remove Him. Remove Him. Remove Him.
Harley is pensive all the way back to her and Ivy’s lair. She’s pensive once they get home as well. Rather than flop on the couch like she normally would, Harley sits on the edge, perching like a damn bird or something!
“He’s gotten into your head, Harley. It’s a trap. Has to be.”
Ivy, of course, understands what’s going on immediately. The other villainess had been just as quiet on their way over, even though the sewers were suddenly a lot less dangerous with Killer Croc out of the picture. Still, neither of them had said a word the entire time. Until now.
“… What if it isn’t though, Ivy?”
The plant controller’s silence is telling. Harley turns to her BFF, feeling more than a little lost.
“What if he’s telling the truth? What if he can help me?”
Ivy scoffs at that… and then scowls when she sees Harley isn’t kidding.
“So what? Maybe he is telling you the truth. Doesn’t change anything. You don’t need him, you already left the Joker behind, Harls. And you’re never going back to him. Right?”
Harley tries not to flinch. Really she does. Her and Ivy don’t fight much, but when they do… it’s always about the Joker. And Harley knows she’s in the wrong every single time. She knows she’s disappointed Ivy by going back to her ‘Mistah J’ more than once. Of course, her silence now is probably very telling.
“Harley… ignoring that the Joker is a fucking monster who gives even us villains pause, he’s personally almost killed you half a dozen times. He’s beaten you to within an inch of your life. He’s left you holding the bag and used you as a scapegoat at every opportunity! You can’t possibly say you’d ever go back to him!”
The sheer disappointment in Ivy’s tone has Harley looking up with wide eyes as she shakes her head in response.
“N-No! Of course n-not. Mistah J and I are done… for real this time, Ivy. I swear it!”
Nodding decisively, Ivy pushes off of the couch.
“Good. Then there’s no reason for you to take that quack up on his offer. He works for Luthor, Harley. Lex fucking Luthor. But more than that, we know just how dangerous he really is now. Do you think Luthor would send someone like Luke Maximillian to Gotham just to perform some charity?”
Blinking, Harley tilts her head to the side consideringly.
“… No?”
“No! Of course not! He’s making a multi-layered play! He’s going to have that blasted doctor try and schmooze with the rich fucks at the top while taking over the underworld at the same time.”
… Was that really what was happening? Harley bites her lower lip, trying to see it from Ivy’s perspective. Truth be told, Harley’s own mind could be akin to Swiss Cheese at times, so it was entirely possible that Ivy was right and Harley was just missing the forest for the trees or something.
“He’s already neutralized Black Mask and turned Killer Croc into an ‘employee’. Frankly, we’re lucky that we seemed to amuse him more than anything, or he might never have let us go.”
Harley perks up at that.
“So my plan was a good one after all!”
Ivy gives her a withering look… that almost immediately softens, even as she looks down at her somewhat risqué nurse’s attire.
“… Yeah Harls. I guess in the end, it worked out in our favor. He saw right through us, but it seems like that only resulted in him not taking us very seriously. Which is good, because I was an idiot for suggesting we approach him in the first place. We need to stay far, far away from Luke Maximillian and whatever he’s up to. It’s simply not worth the risk.”
With her piece said, Ivy stomps out of the room, likely to change out of her outfit. Harley, meanwhile, stays where she is, looking down at herself in silence for a long moment. It’s been a long time since she was Harleen Quinzel, bright eyed and innocent… and so easily corrupted. Tonight was the closest she’d come to playing that role again in a long time.
… Harley knew she could never go back to the way things were in the past. She didn’t want to be ‘cured’ of her insanity. She doesn’t want to be Harleen ever again. She was happy being Harley Quinn… for the most part. But she was also afraid. The Joker was an ever-present threat lurking on the periphery of her life.
Sure, he was locked up in Arkham now, but beyond the Asylum being a revolving door, it had always felt like the Joker specifically was only in Arkham when he wanted to be. When he wanted to get out, he’d get out. When he wanted her back… she’d come crawling back to him.
Harley’s fingers tremble until she clenches her hands into white knuckled fists. When Mistah J calls for her, she’s conditioned to run to him. She KNOWS it’s simple conditioning. She KNOWS she’s addicted to him. And she’s done everything she can to break that conditioning. But she’s failed each and every time so far.
Ivy was right… but at the same time, what if she was also wrong? Dr. Maximillian could help her. He could break the conditioning and cure her addiction once and for all. The only question was… how much would it cost, and would she be able to pay?
Comments
Josh N
Her impulse control isn't exactly the best. She knows ivy will want to be slow and methodical. That laugh in the back of her head she knows she won't be able to resist no matter how bad for her it is. She's having a clear self-reflective moment and any hesitation will just cause her to go back to normal patterns. She doesn't know he's honest but he's her only real chance to slience the mad voice.
Cambrian
Yep, good catch! fixt!
d3235
"Don’t worry about it, Waylon. We’re not exacting hurting for money." Should that be exactly?
Para
Much as I'd like option 1 to be the case it just isn't what she'd go for after being given a knock back like that by Ivy, think 2 would probably be the way she'd go if this wasn't such a big deal for her but imagine Harley wouldn't risk a second no go from more people she cares about soooo.... Option 3 desperation boogaloo?
Darrell Jay Cook
Hate to say it, but Harls is all about the impulse. She is intelligent and can make damn good plans, but, she will drop them in an instant to follow the chaotic 'logic at her core.
shadowbadger
I like the idea of the birds getting to know a bit more of what "Luke" can do. And maybe a certain "Heiress" to find out just how dangerous her next date could be.
Sith2go
Option 3, seems like a quick way for Ivy to misinterpret the situation and lead to her assaulting the clinic to "save" Harley. I feel like 2, is the safe option.
Sith2go
Until recently, Barbara couldn't stand anything either.
RanmaChaos
Went with 3, feels the most right.
Iori Daemona Angel
Option 3 is the best...
Stephen
Eternal Sunshine full stream ahead for this crazy train, Ivy can forgive
Rotaugur
I hope if she goes to the birds, barbara is not involved. Can not stand her.
Cole Deucalion
All of those are great options. I want more of ivy, Harley and the birds of prey for sure. Thanks for the chapter
redhawktiger
Honestly, Harley is an impulsive, all or nothing kind of girl. Yes, she can plan, scheme, and be patient, but she doesn't like doing such things, she very much prefers living in the moment. And based off of Ivy's attitude at the end of this chapter, I doubt she'd think she had a chance convincing Ivy's otherwise, and I doubt she'd want to go to the Birds of Prey after thier recent misunderstanding. So I really think sneaking out to go see the good doctor that's offering to sever her connection to Joker now actually is not only the most in character choice for her at the moment, but also the most likely one overall.
Nat
More Batgirl is never a bad thing
Nanaya7Nights
The options seem like a question of: - Harley + Ivy (reduced chances of immediately seducing Harley but increased chances of scoring points with Poison Ivy) - Harley + Birds of Prey (Reduced chance of Riding the Harley but increased chances of getting in the good graces of the Birds of Prey and discovering that Barbara is Batgirl) - Harley solo (Best chance of Riding the Harley)
Nanaya7Nights
I would like to pick option 3 for the sake of speeding up Harley's seduction. But ultimately I felt option 2 would be the fastest way to get Barbara to find out that Dr. Luke is the superhero Remedy. That way she would likely switch from suspicion to sympathy towards him. Hell if Luke uses the same story he gave Starfire, he could: - Get a much better shot of seducing Barbara - Maybe have Barbara cover for him to keep Batman's focus away from him - Have an in with the Birds of Prey
jp9901
Reach out to the birds of prey. Put all the eggs in one basket and hand it to the guy
Belly
I don't like easily you let Ivy go. (I don't really like her in this fic, but you've let Luke be treated and run rings around them for the last few chapters). Hoping for option 3, but I'm hoping for Ivy to work for his favor down the line.
Edward Zidd
I think it has to be two or three. Ivy is too jaded to see that Lucien isn’t playing a zero-sum game, at least in regards to them, but I can’t imagine a timeline where Harley doesn’t at least TRY any method available to break from the Joker, at least from the way you seem to have characterized her. The only question then is does she try to get help or simply go staright for the solution
Neolibwill
This is a tough vote, cause I can really see Harley doing any of the options. She loves Ivy and wouldn’t want to betray her trust, but it would be so in character for her to rush into treatment without thinking things through. So I think going for the middle ground of option 2 is the right choice. Get a second opinion from people she trusts before doing anything reckless.
Dudedorey
I like how all the options are just one option with different flavors lol. I approve.
Aaron Polomka-Cattell
Harley/Ivy double team is the way to go
