nexus_crossings | Remembering the Dead

Remembering the Dead

Harley Quinn is seated on a large rock in the Nexus today. She seems to already to be in the Halloween spirit, as the colorful young woman is dressed as a circus ringmaster. But despite her colorful costume, her usual energetic spirit seems to be missing today.

She has a bouquet of flowers in her hand. And takes one of the flowers, then slowly removes the petals of the flower one-by-one, scattering them underneath her.

"This year is going to be the first time that I am not in Arkham, during a death-a-versary. And I am not really sure what I should do?" She bites her bottom lip for a moment. "How do you remember those who are gone, without letting the memories overwhelm you?"

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"Hey! I am a Mercenary too! Maybe I could teach you a few thievin' tricks."

She frowns slightly at his next question. "His name was Joker. And he sort of made me... who I am now. I lived for him. I died for him."

"He just used me up, until I couldn't do it anymore."

"A lot of different stuff. I was the Queen of Gotham once upon a time, until Batman thought me and Mistah J... Joker... were abusing our power. Batsy put me away into my gilded cage."

"Always up for learnin' more thievin'." Whatever might give him an edge and keep him alive a bit longer.

Joker. Not that odd a name in his world. But he sounds like bad people, not giving back for the loyalty given. Yondu could be a right asshole, but he looked after his people.

"... Batman? Ain't deposin' a Queen treason or sumthin'? Batman's nearly as dumb a name as Taserface."

Harley takes a careful look at him for a moment. Evaluating him quietly. "I don't think you would do good with any of my agility tricks. Ya' ain't got the body, no offense."

"But from the sounds of things, I think you would perfect with the 'make them underestimate you' gag."

Harley leaned into him again. "He liked to dress up like a big black Bat."

"And the Clown Prince loved getting under his skin. They deserve each other."

"Been told no one knows what I got the body for." Too tall, too thin, too bony... it doesn't bother him. His body does what he needs it to.

"An' I been makin' people underestimate me for decades. Don't look dangerous, not like most Ravagers." Despite the scars over his face and near his eye and the tattoos peeking out of the collar of his leathers.

A bat and a clown. "That's weird. Like, I seen some shit, and that's weird right there. Y'r better off well shot'a him."

Harley grins up at him. "Ya' missed a hella of an opportunity there, to make a flattering compliment about my body. Ya still must be hung up on your friend, huh?"

"Good. That is how you start. I can teach you how to use that to your advantage."

"Which one?" Harley smiles.

Kraglin blinks. "Ain't nice t' make comments like that." Kraglin is many things, but he wouldn't make the comment about someone male, or female, or both, or neither, or other. "I ain't a nice man, but my Mati raised us not bad."

Once he had the fin installed, it would be more difficult to be underestimated. Might get overestimated, because using the yaka arrow wasn't exactly natural to Xandarians, whatever their heritage.

"Both? Mostly y'r Joker."

It is a little surprising to hear that he wouldn't make comments about her, in that manner. And she smiles softly at him.

"Your Mati would be proud."

Harley bites her bottom lip. "One of Joker's bag of tricks is he heals pretty fast. He has been shot before. And claws his way back to get his revenge."

Kraglin laughs.

It's not a particularly pleasant laugh, but it's real. "No. No. Mati would not be proud of me bein' a Ravager. And even less proud'a me startin' a mut'ny after twenty sumthin' years."

He doesn't remember how long he was with the 99th. Doesn't much matter. Long enough that his hair has greyed and his scars gone numb.

Speaking of...

"My head's feelin' real better. This the same stuff as Joker uses t' get better?"

"But you are still a gentleman to the ladies. That is rare, honey."

She shakes her head. "No. Joker can do that all on his own, without a potion. You hurt him, and he just laughs. Then he hurts you..."

"Nah. I wouldn't get the door or nuthin'. Jus' won't make comments 'bout yer body." He'll happily grope, but only if someone gropes first.

"Sounds a bit like Cap'n."

Harley usually has no problems with groping first. But it seems to her that Kraglin still needs to heal from his loss first.

"Your Captain hurt you?" She frowned slightly. "Like... more than emotionally?"

"Me? Nah, not really. Not more'n usual f'r Ravagers." Punch ups happened sometimes. And he'd done a couple of stints in the brig while they found their equilibrium with each other as Captain and First Mate. "But other people? Sure. If it were just funny he'd laugh and hit back. If he got fucked off, that was when he'd whistle."

"I'm glad to hear that there wasn't something more... harmful." She has a lost look for a moment. And just takes comfort in leaning into him.

"A whistle? Huh?"

"Nah. Yondu was a good Cap'n. Only killed crew what deserved it."

Tullk's furious, horrified face, staring out through the airlock. Stupid bastard's should've laid low and waited for a chance to strike.

"Yeah. Had this Yaka arrow, could whistle like an angel and make it fly and dance. Ain't no one escape the arrow."

"You miss him a lot, huh?" Harley stares up at him. "Tell me more about him."

Kraglin resolutely doesn't cry, because Cap'n would've yelled at him about sentiment and kicked his shins for crying over him.

"Dunno what t' say. He was the Cap'n, even when he did dumb shit like keep Petey instead of handin' him over and not punch him in the face when he stole that damn M-Ship of his, an' collected them dumb, cute trinkets 'a his."

She reaches up to run her fingers against the side of his head.

"He sounds like he liked the simple things in life."

He twitches at the touch, unfamiliar for so many reasons, not least because of the new implant and the lack of soft touches among Ravagers. "Yeah. Guess so. Don't really b'come a Ravager 'cause you got phee-lo-sof-ee-cal outlooks."

You do it because you want money and you're desperate. You stay because you enjoy it more than anything else you've found.

She draws back her hand after noticing that twitch at her touch. Harley doesn't want to overstep her boundaries right now. She likes him after all.

"Sounds like it is more like the same reasons one gets on the Suicide Squad."

Edited 2017-10-29 03:00 (UTC)

"Pro'bly. Name like that. Weren't no future on Hrax, not f'r me. When Cap'n offered me t' join, I joined. Space seemed better 'n minin' and starvin'."

Presumably, Suicide Squad was suicide missions, not just people dedicated to killing themselves. "So y'r squad got all the shit dangerous missions?"

"The most dangerous. The ones where it didn't matter if we came back alive, or came back successful... because they thought us insignificant."

He nods along to that. He knows that. He knows the feeling, the understanding that coming back is purely optional and your death might just be preferred.

"Get anythin' good f'r it?"

"Time off our prison sentence." Harley shrugs. "And I got a Cappuccino machine the last time."

"Dunno what that is but it sure sounds fancy." A cap-pu-chee-no machine.

"It is like really, really, really good coffee. With whipped cream."

She beams at him. "Do you want one?"

good good... I love this thread so much

it's pretty damn adorable

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surprise day out for me, but i will be back to this!

have fun!

Re: have fun!

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