3275/Ridi, Pagliaccia!

Ridi, Pagliaccia!
Date of Scene:	07 September 2020
Location:	April's Apartment
Synopsis:	Terry's message arrives for Harl and April, and Harl hatches a plan that involves April's multipass- Green? Green!
Cast of Characters:	Harley Quinn, Terry O'Neil, April O'Neil

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Harley Quinn has posed:
It's been one of those days for Harley... In REVERSE! Which means she just cashed in big time on some kind of job last night, which also means that Bud and Lou have received some premium meat to celebrate, now busy inside her room chomping down on it. The sounds are heard out though, along with their little cries of delight. They are so cute really... If only they didn't eat people...

But nothing will take Harley out of her mood. Nope! No sir! NOTHING! She is as happy as it comes, now lounging out on the couch in shorts, white t-shirt, bare footed and lazying. But she knows she deserves it! Things are looking good..

"I wondah how many hits I have got April on tindah this week..." it's one of those idle things she checks from time to time, peeking with an amused eagerness, her thumbs working over her phone at a speed that would put the best of millenials to shame... She's a pro!

On the TV there's a re-run of Friends going. That's for Frank, Ivy's venustrap plant who currently watches it silently. But everyone knows not to disturb Frank when Friends is on tv.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Terry has been out of touch for several days. This isn't in character for him, as he often tends to text Harl at least twice a week when things are at their busiest at the planet. When things aren't, he often comes to hang out with April and Harl.

But so far, it's been radio silence.

*ding*

An email from TTerry's personal starkmail account comes through. The reason for it dinging is because it's marked 'Urgent - Harl.' The email itself is very brief:

"Harl, I'm sorry about notifying you like this, but the video below will explain everything."

There's a link to a video from TTerry's private starkdrive. Harl's email has been pre-authorized to view it.

Harley Quinn has posed:
The tinder checkup appears to be put aside when a pop-up comes up about an email from Terry.

"Bout time!" She exclaims to noone. Well, to Frank really who just ignores her. And then her attention goes to the email, she beginning to open it. "Uhgent eh. Bettah be! So long without a woahd.." she snorts. "Saves me sendin' a strongly woahded mail askin' why...!"

Knowing Harley though it would be an email going past any PG setting imaginable! So it's good..

She even sits up to better watch the mail. A video?

"If ah get rick'olled someone's gonna get some..." she mutters. Yet she is quite curious so she presses on 'play', still not knowing the seriousness of the video.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Harl!" Terry waves at the clownette from the confines of the video. "I'm new to this sort of thing, so I'm sorry if this isn't how it's usually done... but..."

The teen is leaning on a table, looking at the camera phone, "After the Brainiac thing, when I almost died thanks to a close call here on there, I set down to thinking. I thought- you know with the life that we lead, we don't know what's going to happen next, yeah? So I looked into things."

He spreads his hands, "This email you got was from something called a dead-man's switch service. I gave it a thirty-six hour counter between codes before it sends stuff out... and I think it's a good time period. God, if you get this because I forgot to punch in the code, I'm going to be in deep shit..." he shakes his head...

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Tewwy!" Harls exclaims as if she was talking to the screen. But it's a video, Harley. She does smile exuberantly though at the image of her friend on the screen, she now slightly hunched forward and peering at her phone while she watches, eyes slightly wide.

"Uh-uh. Brainiac.., not suhe what you gettin' at but ..."

A pause when those next words come. A deadman switch.. She knows what those are. Her eyes narrow suddenly.

"Oh, you in deep twouble young man..." she gets up to her feet. "If you think this is yoh idea o' a prank."

But even the clownette knows there may be something else happening here... She isn't stupid. She knows about Warworld and the assault on it.. And the Titans, well, she could bet a kidney or two that they were involved...

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The young man takes a breath, and grows serious. "Well. If you are watching this, it means I probably have gone off to that great scratching post in the sky, if you catch my drift. Stuff around me will let you know if that's so- like, if Gar isn't posting updates on social media or, you know, a meteor struck the tower. You're keen as a blade, you've always been." He taps his temple, "I know you let people underestimate you so you're on the advantage." He taps his fingers on the table. "I didn't want to die without saying stuff to you. 'cause you deserve better. You've taught me how to fight, you've given me advice, you've been a friend. You've given me embarrassing gifts." He smiles a little, that diamond-encrusted thing made Gar laugh a good deal, at least.

"So what I'm saying is, you're a good friend to me. I hope I haven't fucked it up so that I haven't been one to you..."

"So this video? It's cause I worry a little. Of course I worry about how my friends and loved ones are going to get on. April should be receiving her own email just about now, too. But let's talk about you, okay?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
"No no no no." When the video gets to about middle the clownette turns it off. If she doesn't see the video it won't be true right?! She tosses just a couple of messages to Vorp and Gar's phone, peeking for a few minutes to see if they were received or read, just swaying back and forth and on her feet..

It's Frank that brings her back to reality. "Get out of the way of the TV! Trying to watch, yea?!" It makes Harley frown and she sits back down..

A sigh and she gets the video running again, eventually following it to the end. "YOU ARE NOT DEAD, Vorp!" she shouts to her phone even shaking it for good measure so as to give her words emphasis..

But the powerlessness of it all does abate upon Harley and she goes dangerously silent. Listening. Watching the video.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You've taught me a lot. I know from you that there's no fall so great that you can't recover, as long as you're alive. Some people give you shit about your past, but what do they know? You've held the Lasso of Truth, you've spoken the truth. That's all that matters." He looks a little sad, "So it kind of blows that I don't get to be here and see what you're going to do next. But I know that you'll keep on keeping on. Maybe you won't walk the straight and narrow, but the swirly ahead is okay, too. So..." he smiles, "I love ya, you crazy bitch. And because this is kind of one of those fancy Colonel's Bequest videos where everybody gets to watch some broken down old codger make requests at people from beyond the grave, there are some things I must bequest to you."

Harley Quinn has posed:
The harlequin now listens (and watches), without any incoming quips that are so common to her. Somehow it all has become way too real. She has figured this isn't a prank anymore which makes her all the more mad! Eyes are wide, perhaps still in disbelief...

"Walkin' the stwaight path is foh the bohing ones.." She quietly murmurs, lips curling into a sad smile for the video. "Love ya too, cat." she adds.

The asking for requests makes her quirk her brows though. "Ya mean like waterin' yoh plants..?" fine, she couldn't help inserting a quip or two..., but they come out without much strength at all.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"So... here we go."

Terry reaches for something outside of camera range, and it turns out to be a wig. It's a curly, white wig the kind old-fashioned British lawyers used to wear until around 2011. "I thought you'd appreciate the touch of authenticity."?

He then takes up something that looks like a scroll, but it's really just ordinary paper that has been soaked in tea to give that slightly piss-yellowy tint of age. He unrolls it.

"First Item. To my friend, Harley Quinn, also known as Doctor Harleen Quinzell, also known as the terror of Roller Derby, I herefore bequeath my entire collection of Wonder Woman memorabilia up to and including..." he pauses "... the replica bracelets and replica tiara that I keep hidden under my sock drawer." He clears his throat "Don't ask. Ahem. This is so that you may remember your inspiration of your new path in life."

He puts the scroll down, "And I mean that, Harley, don't you dare turn back to the dark because I croaked because so help me god, I swear by all of the tea in Wonderland that I will leave my eternal rest and come haunt the fuck out of you with a perpetual Nickelback soundtrack every waking hour of your life. And if you don't think I mean it..." he waves a finger.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Wonder Woman memorabilia?! That makes her ALMOST forget the horrible wig that reminds her of british stuck-ups. Eyes go wide again, but then she looks suspicious at the video. "Don't try ta bwibe me outta yoh death!" because of course thats what Vorp meant with it. She gets incensed for a moment, springing back up to her feet.

"Don't ya dare!" She points at the screen on of her phone, and again gets us a complaint out of Frank. But she ignores the plant now.

"Fuck you, gonna go on a rampage so big ya gonna get shot back ta life in no time because o' the amount o' shit I am causing!" She is getting a bit angry. But she is also very loud at the apartment now with her ranting.

April O'Neil has posed:
Movement out the front door, keys jingling and the door opening as April steps in from the landing outside the front door. Wearing a yellow hoodie pulled back on her shoulders, a white tanktop and some blue jeans, April strides in to the living room and sets her backpack down on the ground beside the door. She looks a bit worse for wear.

Her eyes go to Harley, she catches the last bit of what the girl is saying and opens her arms up for a hug. Apparently she's heard about it too? Maybe even watched her video already? Either way, she doesn't say nothing, she just waits for a hug from her friend.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"But there's more," Terry says after waiting for about ten seconds. It's almost as if he expected the blowout. "There's something very important. You're family, Harl. You're part of the crazy O'Neil tribe now- and believe me, you don't know the half of it of how unusual it gets. April's going to need you, and you're gonna need her. So... just think about that, okay? We need you on the side of the angels. How did I die? I don't know. For all we know I screwed up a rabbit hole and ended up falling into the sun... although the atmosphere of the Earth would have caught fire... so you would've noticed. In any case... if you feel you /must/ punish whomever caused my death, I beg of you to do it as Harley. /Not/ you-know-who. No deaths... and it's not because I'm trying to be holier-than-thou. Let me tell you a secret..."

He brings out a mirror and the teenager transforms fully into Vorpal now, leaning into the camera.

"Cats prefer to leave their enemies alive so they /know/ they've lost. If you are going to bring justice, you magnificent harlequin, then leave them alive to regret it, and then hand them over to Wonder Woman with a big bow."

The cat taps his chin. "And April is probably going to need you more than ever because... if what I know about how /I/ became what I became is true, it means that /she/ might be sprouting whiskers and a tail soon. She's gonna need your help to get through that, and I know I can count on my buddy..."

He pauses, looking slightly horrified, "The other possibility? My mom. But let's hope /that/ doesn't happen. It'll go to one or the other."

Harley Quinn has posed:
The door opens and while Harley seems to realize it's April coming in she doesn't exactly look at her just yet. She points at her screen and turns it to April. "April! Look at this!!" her tone is close to strident, altered beyond normality (Well, more than what is NORMAL for Harley).

"This must be one o' his pranks!" She might be in that denial stage still. But then Harley finally looks up, catching April's expression, the way she holds herself and with those arms open. The thought that this is all real finally touches her and she blinks once, looking all too sane for a change, Harleen instead of Harley.

She steps forward towards her friend, letting herself be embraced by April, her own arms going about April. "It's true, ain't it?" she asks, sounding all too weak..

Not that she ain't CURIOUS. So even in her sadness there's a peek over April's shoulder and down her back. Just to make sure a cat's tail isn't sprouting there.

April O'Neil has posed:
April just stands there and welcomes the hug, returning it and putting her arms around her friend. She has her bottom lipped pulled in between her teeth, because she's trying to do as she knows she needs to-- be strong --like her parents used to tell her when she was sad. She hears that last question and that's when she releases her lip and parts them to exhale, nod and flutter her watery eyelashes.

"Yeah." She says. "The Titans were involved in the event that happened in Metropolis. They were sent to space to deal with the threaet's origins. It sounds like that only some of them returned, or none of them, I'm not entirely sure on the numbers and details. I've been dealing with the fallout here in Manhattan. People are freaked out, they think this shit is never gonna stop, Harley."

She pulls back and puts her hands on Harley's elbows. "He sent me a video too, I haven't watched it. I'm not sure that I can..."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"And... that's a good amount of it. If Gar's..." he pauses, "If Gar's alive, do keep an eye on him. That little green guy means the world to me, and he's going to take this ... not well. At all. But you also keep an eye on yourself, and April. Keep an eye on each other. You guys mean the world to me. Maybe you can go out one night drinking with Colette in my memory. Don't get Ape into any bar fights."

He pauses. "Unless she wants to."

After a few seconds, he taps his chin, "That's pretty much i- WAIT! I forgot something." He smacks his forehead and shakes his head. "So... that gift. The..." he hesitates. "The banana hammock encrusted with diamonds- damn you Harley for making me say this by the way - ... I'm not really going to. Ahem. Have much use for it now. And those diamonds are, well, diamonds. Maybe consider selling the diamonds and starting a foundation to rescue young men and women from brainwashing criminal masterminds? Give them a new start in life? The Harlequin foundation. Now doesn't that have a ring to it?"

He smiles sadly, "Well. That is all now... hey. I mean it. You're great. Take care of yourself, please... and I'll see you someday. Who knows? Maybe there's a mad tea party... if there is, I'll make sure to save you and Ape a seat."

He reaches over, and the video goes dark.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley is still holding her phone between them, the message rolling on and she in silence until the screen goes dark.. She just stays there, looking down at her blank phone, absorbing the shock of it all. Maybe she should had stayed like she was before, without attachments other than to Mistah J..., nothing would hurt her then..., like she is now..

Her shoulders droop and she tosses her phone over to the couch. Eyes are a touch bright, a very uncommon sight on the Harlequin but a look at April's face and the way she is holding herself up, so close to the edge makes Harley take in a breath.

"I am goin' ta take a trip ta Metropolis soon." she says with a determined voice. "See what the Titans know about this." which probably means she will just go knock on their door.

"And we gonna get to the bottom o' what happened. Don't lose hope."

And then all of a sudden that usual smile of hers returning, manic, her piercing blue eyes glinting. "Cats always land on their feet afterall." a facade now on her expression, one to give strength to her friend.

April O'Neil has posed:
April, on the other hand, sinks into one of her sofa chairs after the phone's screen goes dark. Hearing her cousin's voice sends her back to their youth, those awkward family get togethers where she'd show up and be surrounded by all her cousins playing together. Terry had always been the one she got along with best, the one that didn't treat her quite like an alien, like the others did.

She spaces out for a moment before she looks up to Harley. "Be careful." She warns her. "Metropolis is crawling with military, police and more now. Hell, there's an entire army of ... Amazons there now, keeping the place safe, or something. I don't know if there's more threats looming or not, I don't think anyone knows. Everyone is just playing that blame game now, or speculating on it all."

She shakes her head lightly. "The Titans might not be taking any visitors either, who knows, at this point."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley remains standing for a time, the silly grin still there even if it just seems fake. But that's one way to deal with things.. Still, she -knew- this day would come, when one of those that she got close to. Those few that actually believed her and tried to steer her to a better path would eventually fall. But Harley will be Harley, which means nothing will stop her from finding the truth and do what she can for her friend. Even if it means dragging them back yelling and screaming from rad tea parties in cat heaven..

But right now answers.

"Amazons?" That perks her up but then she frowns. "An army of amazons and I wasn't invited?!" she is sort of an amazon? Maybe? In her dreams maybe.. But she remembers something about sorta training with them..

"This will actually make it easier.." a plan is forming already and she goes over to sit on the couch next to April. "And if the Titans don't wanna take visits it only means I gotta get Smiley outta retiehment." with Smiley being her hammer. Maybe she means to bash their base door down.

"Wanna come with me?"

April O'Neil has posed:
April turns her head to look toward Harley as she settles in beside her. That last question makes her smile faintly. "I can try." She tells her friend, about going to see them. She then looks forward and places her hands over her lap. "It might help, in fact, if I'm there with you. Press pass, and all that jazz." She softly exhales, drops her head back on the sofa and lets her eyes close.

"I miss him." She says. "I haven't realized how much, until I hear those horribly sad recorded messages. I mean... I get the purpose of them, but god damn, what a thing to send people. Maybe... I dunno, maybe in a few years they'll become more enjoyable to watch, like a reminder, but damn. I can't even watch the one he sent me, not yet anyway."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"I like yoh angle. Usin' yoh multipass to get through." Yay for movie references! Harley is grinning more genuinely now that the plan starts to get shape. Which for Harley is a great feat. Plans aren't something she usually does. But she will open an exception for this!

"Then it's settled. We goin' ta Metropolis!" She opens her arms wide, "Time ta rock theah woald!" It's a truly fault-proof plan (in her mind). She is so proud!

When April mentions missing him she nods though, her attention now on her and she reaches over to place one hand on hers. A comforting gesture of proximity in a shared moment of loss.

Something she learned when she was still Harleen. "I miss 'im too."