The cheerful chirp of the birds hidden away in a nearby tree sounded outside the window. Long eyelashes curled in slumber opened slowly. Chocolate hues were soon lit with the spark that came with the consciousness after a good night's sleep. Jubilation Lee was slowly coming back into herself as she regained consciousness. At first she thought she was in her bedroom at Dani and Rahne's but then she realized she wasn't. The room was bigger than her bedroom back home. She uncovered herself and started to sit up slowly.
Her head was spinning. The vertigo she encountered was nothing like what generally happened when she woke up in the morning. Her fingertips brushed against the clothing she wore by accident. She was wearing a kimono that had a beautiful floral pattern on it. “What the hell?” She muttered in English.
The loud sound of her exclamation caused the door to open to her room. There was a Japanese woman in her 40s that entered the room. She was also wearing a similar kimono and her black hair was pulled up into a tight bun behind her head. She bowed to the young woman who was sitting on the bed. “Good morning. I am Akiko. I am here to serve you, Lady Asami.” The woman spoke perfect English as she addressed Jubilee.
Jubilee canted hee head to the left. “Asami? My name is Jubilation, Jubilation Lee. Where am I?” She asked.She felt something around her neck. She reached for her neck discovering that she had a metal collar. Being a mutant, she knew what those collars were for all too well. She extended her right hand and gestured with it.
Nothing.“Is there a problem my Lady?” The older woman had visible concern on her face. She immediately stood at Jubilee’s side. “How may I assist you?”
A solitary tear ran down her left cheek. “I want to go home. I want to see my Moms. I want to see my boyfriend.” With that inhibitor around her neck, she couldn't fight back and find anyone. She was stuck here, wherever it was. “I don't even know where I am.” Jubilee had never felt as alone as she did now.
Akiko knelt at Jubilee’s side. She took the girl’s hand and squeezed it gently. “You are in the Ouareau Forest Regional Park in Montreal. You are safe here. The evil of the Jinrō will never threaten you again. The Prince will always protect you and I will tend to your every need.”
Jubilee squeezed the hand of the woman who tried to console her. It was a response to the kindness of this stranger. “T-the Prince? Who…? Riku…?” Some of her memories were starting to resurface. The last thing she remembered was being at the food court in the mall. She started to have flashes of Riku's face there at the Mall. She winced slightly. The onslaught of these memories trying to break through was starting to overwhelm her.
“Here. Let me get you some tea.” Akiko patted Jubilee's hand. “Just rest for a moment, alright?” The older woman had actually brought in a tea tray with a pot of green tea on it when she came to check on Jubilee. She slowly poured the tea and brought the cup to the girl. “This will help you feel better. I'm sure.”
The girl took the tea cup and raised it to her lips. She sipped at first letting her mouth savor the taste. She took another sip before handing the cup to Akiko. “That was good. Thank you.”
Akiko bowed. “It's my pleasure. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She was kind enough to the girl knowing that the Prince wanted to keep her safe and treated with dignity.
Jubilee was thankful she had no visible marks as far as she could tell. She just couldn't remember what happened. She had no idea how long she had been here. Akiko said she was in Canada. The whole thing was still spinning around in her mind. “I need a phone. Please. I don't know where mine is.”
A worried look tainted her countenance. “I am so sorry. I cannot provide you with a phone. That has been forbidden. Why don't you rest. I'll prepare you some food. You must be starving.”
Jubilee's heart was broken. Riku had her here. She was sure of it. “Alright.” She breathed softly. There had to be a way to contact her Moms and Taka. She would figure it out somehow. She knew the best thing to do was to wait at least for now.
~*~
Riku was waiting when Akiko left Jubilee's room. “Did she drink the tea?” He asked. He was most interested in finding out the current status of the woman he'd loved for so long. The plan was to treat her well and let no harm come to her. She would choose him over Himura. He would not lose
again.
“She did, my Prince. Now she is hungry, so I must prepare her something to eat.” She bowed to him in respect. She was already fond of the girl just like she was Lady Asami.
Riku handed her a small vial of a deep red fluid. “Just as you did with the tea, put this in her food.” Akiko bowed to him and took the vial. She knew what she was doing. She knew the end result as did Riku.
It wouldn't be long now.
The boy said nothing. His face was saturated in tears and covered in shame. He was a freak. He was a mutant. He had seen plenty of them around with all sorts of disfigurements. Now he was one of them. No matter how many times he carved off the feathers from his body, he healed practically immediately. The wings were very big at the moment but they were big enough to be noticed. “I…I'm sorry Dad.” His pitiful voice quaked with fear and physical pain from what he was doing to himself.
Iroh rejoined his brother in the main throne room where the fire continued to burn after the display of the Firelord's power. Ozai watched his older brother who had been the ruthless blight of the Earth Kingdom, was a shell of his former self. Lu Ten's death did what Ozai knew it would. It broke Iroh. “You bring news of my son?” Ozai spoke callously to his brother knowing Iroh would never challenge him.
Trembling digits wrapped around the end of the brush that sat at her dressing table. She started to run the bristles through the knots in her hair that used to look like spun gold. She had been a leading psychiatrist at Arkham at one time. The community of psychotherapy had healded her as brilliant for everything she'd accomplished in so short a time. She was Harleen Quinzel PhD. One of the smartest women in all of Gotham City was given a tough nut to crack. The world called him The Joker.
He had actually been charming at that first meeting. His records at Arkham were quite clear. He was clinically insane with homicidal tendencies. He was known to charm his way into the good graces of any given situation but then leave bodies as evidence of his true purpose and ultimate goals. Everything was a sadistic game to him. Harleen knew that as sure as she knew her own name, but yet the trap was sprung.
The day came where she turned her back on everything she knew and respected. She helped the Joker escape Arkham. Harleen Quinzel became Harley Quinn. She was the female counterpart to the Joker. Her inhibitions were set free. Her sense of morality was gone. All that mattered was to make Mistah J happy. She did that with vim and vigor for the next several years. They were absolutely unstoppable, well mostly unstoppable. She found herself back in Arkham but this time as a patient. She orchestrated her own escape once and found the Joker waiting for her.
