Enjoying the Feeling of Freedom

[sweetcandygirl]

For the past couple of weeks or so, Harley Quinn has been exploring the vastness of the Nexus. She has not really returned to her door (and might have forgotten where she had left it). Instead, she has been enjoying the freedom of being able to go anywhere, and just living her life to the fullest. It is a nice break from reality... and perhaps the main reason why she has not tried to go back home.

And she has been surviving on her pure wits. It is nice to fend for herself.

Right now, she is leaned on a bench, watching people come and go. Inspiration hits and she gets an idea for a question. "Okay! You are stuck in the Nexus, and can only have three objects with you. What would you want to have?"

Does the question have to do the fact that she only has three objects on her person right now (besides her clothing)? Possibly...

Comments

[brother_alone]

"Do people count or does it have to just be things?"

A young man in his very early twenties looks up from this smartphone at the question being asked from where he had been standing underneath a large tree for shade so as to see the screen properly. And to get out of the sun. Summer is definitely not his preferred season.

Joshua isn't sure he's ever seen this woman around the Nexus, but there's something about her that feels vaguely familiar.

[sweetcandygirl]

"I ain't counting people, because people seem to come and go as they please..." Harley pops a bubble.

"Objects. Three things."

"Looks like you are already attached to your phone... so two more."

[brother_alone]

"Well, survival in the Nexus is pretty different than survival out in the wilderness or something."

He's already tucking his phone into his pocket so as not to be rude. Josh's not nearly as attached to his phone as his best friend is.

"To be honest, I came to the Nexus with literally nothing but the clothes on my back. Looking back on it, I'd have given anything for a camping stove and a shower. Having my phone would just be a bonus."

[sweetcandygirl]

"So did I!" Harley holds up her hands. The clothes on her back are very revealing in a fashion. With the torn shirt and barely-there shorts. "But I am glad for the things that I did have on my person."

"A shower, huh? How would you carry that around? Like your very own little rain cloud, that you could turn on at any time..."

[brother_alone]

Josh has been in the Nexus for a couple years now, and has thus acquired more things like a second set of clothes and his phone. Still, he reaches up when Harley lifts her hand to give her a high five.

Whether she was trying to or not.

It's a reflex.

"That'd be pretty neat. I thought of like a washing machine first for my clothes but that wouldn't get me clean, so. I could go with portable stormcloud."

[sweetcandygirl]

She will return the high five. It is not what she expected, but what the heck.

"I have found a few Nexus lakes. Rivers. An occasional fountain." And no, she doesn't care about getting undressed in the Nexus, where other people might see her.

"So when you first arrived, you only had the clothes on your back... how did you get by?"

[brother_alone]

"It was the middle of winter, so I hiked around in the snow until I found an abandoned shack. Broke in, made a fire and took things people left behind in the Plaza to get by until I made friends and was able to trade for stuff."

Not his proudest moments, but he managed to last the winter that way.

"I guess an axe for firewood would also have been a good choice over raincloud. No take-backsies though, I'm guessing?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"The seasons change here?" Harley gets this gleeful look in her eyes. "Man, the last time I saw snow... or had a snow fight!"

She laughed. And tsked her finger at him. "I never said that. If you had to trade your raincloud for an axe, that would be acceptable."

"Who am I to say that you can't cheat the system?"

[brother_alone]

"Yeah, though usually not as severely as most worlds. There's a resident mage or Winter Spirit thing around though so winters are almost always a bit intense comparatively to the rest of the year here."

He settles his hands in his pockets. Wonders if he ought to suggest she make some better clothing arrangements before then but decides against it. She's a grown ass woman and has months to prepare. Besides, it's a nice look for the time being.

"That's what I'd go with then. What about you? Bat, gum, and...hair dye?"

[chiron_survivor]

The young woman sitting at a Nexus terminal might as well be Harley's opposite. Her hair is brown, her clothes are plain and leaning on the conservative side. Still, she's drawn to the question, or perhaps the woman answering it. A tiny part of Adia wishes she were that brave to dress so provocatively.

"My PINpoint, for sure. It wouldn't get me out of the Nexus, but I could still send messages to my friends." She frowns thoughtfully. "A sleeping bag, so I'd have somewhere comfortable to rest... and a photo album from home."

[sweetcandygirl]

"What is a PINpoint?" No one had told Harley yet. So she is curious.

"I totally understand the sleeping bag idea. There are a few benches that one can sleep on, but they are pretty hard surfaces."

"And it sounds like you would miss home. Huh." She pops a bubble.

[chiron_survivor]

"Oh, it's a device I use to get here from my world. It can also send messages." She smiles a little, happy to explain. "There's a vending machine that dispenses them. Makes things a lot easier than relying on a portal."

"The two times I slept overnight in the Nexus, I was lucky enough to stay with a friend. But I don't have the money for a hotel." She looks over the sprawling array of couches and chairs in the Plaza. "I guess I could sleep on a couch, but... I don't know. Stuff moves around here. It makes me nervous."

"I do miss home," she replies plainly. She fidgets with the clasp on her messenger bag. "But where I live, I at least have photos of home. If I were stuck here, I wouldn't even have that."

[sweetcandygirl]

"I should get myself one." Not that she wants to use it to go back to her world. But it would be handy to have one to send messages to other people.

"Do you have to use a coin to use the vending machine?" Because if so, she is holding a bat and has an alternative solution.

"Is that why I keep waking up in different spots? Huh. Just thought it was my memory."

"You live in a place that ain't your home. Gotcha."

[chiron_survivor]

"You can get one for free." No need to damage Nexus property. She gives the bat a funny look. Is this woman on a sports team? It'd explain the colors...

"Is that common for you? Forgetting things?" She frowns in mild concern. It sounds like this woman doesn't have many options when it comes to sleeping. That's unfortunate.

"That's right. I live on a spaceship," she elaborates. "My home planet was destroyed... sometimes I think of my ship as home, but not always." She tugs at the clasp again then asks hesitantly, "Where's home for you?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"Oh! I like free!" And it is just better in general if Harley doesn't go around smashing Nexus property.

"I get distracted by new things..." Which explains why she has been having a blast exploring the Nexus. So many new things to check out.

Her eyes return to the other woman at her question. And she smiles. "Right now, it is a nice cell in Arkham Asylum." She is mentally counting in her head, to see how long it takes for the woman to back up. Or to appear to be concerned. Or frightened.

[chiron_survivor]

Adia's smile grows a touch. "Me, too. There is a free coffee machine near the vending machines, too." She points to the computer that she's sitting in front of. "Free wifi, too."

What more could a girl need? Well, besides shelter and food.

That doesn't sound much better, honestly, getting distracted to the point of not remembering where you are. But she's not about to point that out. "You haven't been in the Nexus long?" she guesses.

All Harley gets at first is a blank look. Not being from Earth means that Adia has limited knowledge of its pop culture. Arkham Asylum isn't ringing any bells... well, a cell and an asylum paired together aren't the best combination, but Adia doesn't like to judge others. "Oh..." She frowns sympathetically. "Are you doing okay here?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"A couple of weeks." Harley smiles. "I was told to mark my door. So I did. I just can't recall where I left it."

"It is a lot better here, than being locked up in a cell."

"They didn't even let me have a cappuccino machine." So the fact that there is free coffee nearby is a great selling point.

[super_cool]

Freddy knows Suicide Squad from John Ostrander, but that was before Harley’s time. And while he likes his Saturday Morning Cartoons, he never got to see her premier in Batman: The Animated Series, having died that same year, just a few months before Joker’s Favor first airs. It makes her entirely unknown to him.

He’s a fast-talker, and his hands move animatedly as he speaks: “A house, but if I can’t have a house, I’ll take a car since I don't really mind sleeping in a car, but I do mind sleeping on a bench somewhere. Second thing I'm tempted to say is cigarettes ‘cause addiction’s a bitch, but that’s dumb, so instead I’ll say a satchel filled with something shiny. That way I can buy cigarettes. And third thing’s”--comic books, definitely comic books--“going to probably have to be something similar to like what you’re packing there.”

He points toward the side of her hip, and the gun she’s got holstered. Freddy likes guns too, but less so after actually getting shot. Fuck the second amendment.

[[Ah, sorry if it's too late to throw this loser at you, but I was a little busy last week.]]

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley likes this man already. She likes how he talks with his hands. "Those benches are a nuisance to sleep on. No kidding there..."

She laughs when he notes the gun. "One of these would be all the shiny you would need. You just tell someone to give you what you want! Simple!"

[super_cool]

He likes Harley too. A cool gal with style. But she just has to be a thief, doesn’t she. Come on Freddy, what did you think she was open carrying for?

“It don’t work like that,” says the former undercover detective. “There’s no violence here. You stick a gun in someone’s face, and they tell you to go fuck yourself there’s not jack shit you can do.

"Maybe you wouldn’t even be able to get a gun on ‘em, I don’t know. I haven’t tested it.”

[sweetcandygirl]

"I wasn't talking about using it here..." Come on Freddy, give her a little more credit than that. And don't give her any ideas about testing theories.

"I meant back in my world. It helped me to survive day by day."

[super_cool]

"Oh."

Don't get him wrong, he's not judging her for the whole armed robbery thing. A couple months ago, he would have, but not now.

"Well, like I said, I'd want one for here too. That anti-violence thing messes up sometimes. I'm not sure how good a gun's gonna' be in a fight against someone like Khan Noonien Singh, but I'd still rather have one than not."

[sweetcandygirl]

It is a good thing he is not judging her. But of course, Harley has had her fair share of dealings with the 'world's best detective'. She wouldn't blame him Freddy if his past meant that he was suspicious of her.

"I have no idea who that dude is..." Harley admits. But she is sure she has faced worst people.

"But I am glad I have my little security blanket."

[super_cool]

He wouldn't blame Harley if her past meant she was suspicious of him. You know, if the subject of his former career ever comes up.

"He's some super villain that I guess really did a number on this place not too long ago. I don't know too much about it since I wasn't there." While Freddy's seen his fair share of shit before, super villains are not something his version of LA's ever had to deal with outside of fiction. That shit's new to him.

"But yeah, I'll bet. Must help you sleep. When I showed up, all I had on me was a handgun that'd been shot empty," he continues, commiserating. Because only a few weeks ago he was in the same boat as her, and in a lot of ways it's a boat that he's still in, even if he's not currently sleeping on any benches.

[sweetcandygirl]

Unfortunately for Freddy, he would never measure up to the Big Bad Bat. And thus, Harley doesn't peg him as a threat. Or maybe that is a good thing...

"Super villain... phfft..." Harley blows a strand of hair of out of her face, with her sigh. Super villains are not a new thing for Harley. Her Suicide Squad have had to deal with their fair share.

"Were you in some sort of gun fight?" Because that is how she arrived.