A Rumor of Skin

The air was warmer than he remembered, as if the stench of blood and death still lingered in the polluted air of this forsaken city. He could clearly recall the last time he had been here on Midgard and what that fool had taken him, Loki of Asgard, for. That fool, just the thought of that unworthy mortal left Loki sneering. All that fake power the clown had manifested from his psychosis was beyond the comprehension of Loki. How could a man that low and worthless have such great mental capabilities? How did he have the ability to brainwash nearly an entire city, let alone the smartest woman he had ever met?

Loki's hands ran through his slick black hair as he sighed, now thinking about the woman who had started this whole mess. She was across the street, in that horrific building where she used to work. She wouldn't leave with Loki before, but now she didn't have any other choice for freedom. He doubted that a mortal woman would be welcomed in Asgard so suddenly, especially when she would reveal to Loki's royal family where he had been slinking off to for days at a time.

At that moment none of that mattered to Loki, the only important thing in the nine realms was getting Harley out of this horrible place and keeping her safe, finally safe, with himself. All his cares for Asgard had left, the mangled love he felt for his parents and brother was now a numb spot in the cavity of his chest. Any jealousy over the crown he had was completely out his his mind. Everything that used to matter seemed so far away now, and distant.

With nothing but Harley plaguing his jaded mind, he stepped forward onto hot asphalt and began across the street and through the gates that guarded Arkham Asylum. From the outside, it looked like no other particular building he had seen in Gotham. Everything was fairly drab, even the shrubbery and gardens meant to make the asylum look inviting and peaceful. Loki knew better than this, he had seen through Harley what corrupt madness lurked inside. Harley didn't belong here from the very beginning, and she definitely did not belong here now. She wasn't mad, she was just easily molded, and Loki could fix that. He had to fix that.

He reluctantly strode into the building, the mechanically cold air shocking his skin from the heat that clung to him from outside. He ignored the unnatural chill and closed his eyes, muting the idle chatter of the nurses and families of patients, and tried to find where Harley was being kept. Finding her aura was easy, but finding her physically would be challenging for Loki. He soon realized that Arkham Asylum was laid out like a labyrinth.

Without much trying on Loki's part, any authority figure that Loki came across was suddenly busy with other tasks, and failed to notice the tall, lean man casually walking down the halls of the asylum. After what felt like ages of Loki forced to endure his gut twisting and writhing in disgust and hatred, seeing these lowly mortals in a state of utter mental decay, he found a closed iron door. It had the same appearance as all the other cell doors in the building, though it wasn't. He stood in front of the windowless door, staring at the dirty thing before the fingertips of his left hand gently found the cold surface.

Through the grime and cold surface he could feel her inside. Loki could feel Harley inside, trapped by that door but alive. She was breathing, moving, warm. She was still alive, only a part of her mind had perished. Slowly Loki's left hand, as it rested against the door, turned into a white knuckled fist with his short fingernails digging roughly into his palm. Why couldn't she just see that clown for the psychopath that he was? She had to have known that The Joker was already dying, and with no fault to Loki, so why was it such a shock that Loki chose to save her from him as if it were a natural reflex? Couldn't she see that her “beloved” was only using her, twisting her to his will?

That image, however much Loki tried to repress it, tried to forget it completely, of The Joker holding Harley from behind, a cocked gun held to her temple by the sadistic clown flooded his mind. “Kill me, or I kill her,” the phantom of sick laughter, laced with Harley's screamed pleas to let her die, filled Loki's ears until he heard nothing else. In a hate filled cry, Loki's fist collided with Harley's cell door. He had no other choice. He had no other choice. He had to kill The Joker and Harley had to understand that.

Within the padded cell Loki sensed a change. Before there was only despair, longing and sadness. Everything now was suddenly entwined with fear and curiosity. Loki's fist slid out of the dent it had left, leaving the door completely as he instantly composed himself again. He took in a deep breath of the tainted air within the madhouse before the door magically slid open before him. As it slowly revealed the woman inside he felt the mangled, twisted remains of his heart crack and fall to pieces into the depths of his stomach, which had turned to mush.

Despite her appearance, sad, broken, and frightened on her bed, Loki stepped inside before the door slid shut behind him. He remained tall and, for the most part, kept emotion from his face as he received her bewildered stare.

“You must've known I'd come...” Loki spoke lowly, the sound of his own voice shocking him with how cold he sounded. He didn't want to be cold towards her, Loki wanted nothing more than to take the woman into his arms and hold her, tell her that he would fix the damage that The Joker had caused.

Harley couldn't see that from the way Loki held himself. She couldn't feel if instantly from his presence. She couldn't see it in his eyes, she only saw the being that killed her inside when he listlessly murdered The Joker with powers incomprehensible by mankind. Se griped the starched fabric of her pants tighter as she tightly held her knees to her chest, sitting on her bed in front of him. “Why?” she asked sharply, eying him up and down in his human attire. She had seen what he really was that night. Loki was another kind of monster in jade velvet and golden armor, with horns a devil would envy.

Loki felt her simple question begin to break away at his stiff demeanor and chose to ignore it all together. “How are you?” Harley only snorted in reply, letting her knees fall from her chest and sat with her legs crossed on her bed, moving her tangled hair out of her bruised and broken face. All fear was gone in the room, replaced with Harley's spite.

“Don't-” Loki began, talking a step forward before Harley jumped off her bed, using it to separate herself from Loki.

“You don't,” she cut him off, pointing her finger as her eyes glowered at him. “Don't,” she repeated to him, slowly taking another step back.

“Don't what?” Loki stressed, overwhelmed with pity, self loathing, and impatience. He was determined to take her back to Asgard with him, and he knew that she wouldn't immediately be willing, so why had he tricked himself into believing so?

“I don't want your bullshit,” she muttered at him, her finger still raised in accusation.

“I wasn't the one force feeding it to you-”

Again Harley cut him off, “Shut up.” Loki obliged, sighing heavily, trying to force his anger out with his breath. “What do you want?”

“You,” he answered simply, his eyes the first of his features to soften before Loki looked to be encompassed with longing and remorse.

Harley's finger dropped, though her glare hardly softened. “You killed him,” she spoke quietly. “You killed him,” she repeated louder as tears suddenly appeared, stinging her raw eyes from already crying so much.

“I was protecting you.”

“You should have let me die,” Harley said, her hand moving to her unkempt blonde hair, dark roots exposed.

“Nothing good would have come from letting him kill you. If he truly loved you-”

“Don't talk about love. You don't know love,” Harley cried, breathing heavily as she tried to compose herself.

“I love you,” Loki admitted, his voice soft as he looked upon the broken woman. She looked like a physical representation of his own heart.

Harley was silent, her few tears slipping down her red cheeks and falling onto her white shirt as she stared at him, struck by his words like stones. Her demeanor had swiftly changed from angry, to sad, to nearly pitying the not-man before her. She blinked more tears away from her big blue eyes before barely shrugging. “Why'd you come?”

“I came to take you with me. Back to Asgard,” Loki spoke, his eyes sparking at the thought, ever hopeful that Harley would suddenly slip out of this hostile state and realize what's best for her.

“I don't want to go to Asgard,” Harley spoke truthfully, slicing his high hopes in two.

“You want me to leave you alone,” Loki stated, the spark in his eyes fading until they were dead, nearly black in color. He felt her thoughts around him, all she wanted was him gone. He watched Harley's shoulders fall, knowing that Loki understood, though he wasn't ready to give up on her.
Her hands left her side in another pathetic shrug before lightly tugging on her bottom lip with her teeth, debating how straight forward she would have to be. “Get out.”

“I had to see you,” Loki spoke quickly, trying not to panic though he felt as if he were suffocating.

“I want you to leave.” Harley watched Loki begin to crack, and refused to give in to him. She couldn't forgive him for killing The Joker.

“I'm so sorry-”

“Get out. Leave.”

Harley was stern, calmly telling Loki to leave her forever in this wretched place. In a short desperation, Loki said the only thing he knew that would break her. “I know that you loved him.” He watched more water well in her sunken eyes, causing her to blink as she took in those words. In that moment he hoped that she would realize The Joker's trickery, what he had forced Loki to do, only she couldn't focus on that. She only focused on her grief, feeling that she could have done something to prevent the Joker's death.

“Leave.”

“You mustn't blame yourself,” Loki spoke quickly, feeling her thoughts growing much stronger. Now she only wanted him gone more than ever, and Loki's words had backfired.

“Leave. Leave! Leave Leave Leave!”

Loki's near black eyes closed tightly before he turned around, simply giving up. Something he told himself he wouldn't do. He couldn't force Harley to see the truth or to come with him, and he saw that he was only bringing her grief. It angered him, a rage igniting where his broken heart lay in pieces in his stomach, and insured that he wouldn't feel this pain again. He would never hold anything so close to him, he would never love anything this deeply again.

Loki's eyes opened again once he was facing the solid door, with the fire burning out of control. He said nothing to the loss of a woman behind him as the door opened again, before closing behind him as he walked out. The door to Harley's cell did a very good job of concealing her hysterical screaming, a state which Loki had put her in in mere minutes, though by the time the door had shut and locked, Loki had disappeared. He wished to rid himself of Midgard for good.