5 Chapter 5: Waking Up

When Jekyll reopened his eyes, what met his gaze was a low and unfamiliar ceiling.

Where was he now?

Still feeling a bit groggy from waking up, Jekyll instinctively touched his abdomen - thankfully, his waist was still intact. However, there was a lingering soreness somewhere. As his hand grazed the bandage on his forehead, his memory of the injury rushed back.

Startled, Jekyll sat up, surveying his surroundings.

This seemed to be a narrow, low-ceilinged room with only a few doors besides the weathered walls. No windows. The ceiling bore a crude, high-wattage bulb, and there was a conspicuous spot covered with a wooden board.

The place where he lay was a bright-colored large sofa. As he sat up, a thin sheet slipped off him, leaving him unclothed.

Rustling.

Simultaneously, Jekyll could hear the sound of water flowing from behind one of the doors, the spray of a shower, and a faint hum of someone singing.

After taking a deep breath, Jekyll decided to look around for anything to cover himself; being in this state was severely inappropriate.

However, the only items remotely related to clothing around were a pair of black stockings mingled with assorted cosmetics on a small table beside the sofa.

But next to the stockings, an object in the shape of a card grabbed Jekyll's attention.

Arkham Asylum Staff ID - Psychiatry Specialist - Dr. Harleen Quinzel.

Seeing this staff ID, Jekyll confirmed one thing: the person who just rescued him from the Gotham detectives was indeed Harley Quinn, and this place was likely her home.

"Darling, could you pass me the stockings in your hand?"

A sweet and charming voice unexpectedly sounded from behind. Jekyll hurriedly turned around, instantly stunned by the sight before him.

There stood a slender girl, draped only in a white bath towel, her skin moist from a recent shower, appearing almost ethereal in her paleness.

Beneath her damp, loosely flowing blonde hair, her face was delicate and refined, lacking some of the vibrant makeup he'd seen earlier but adding a touch of elfin charm.

"What's wrong, Puddin'? Still a bit concussed from the knock earlier?"

Harley Quinn smiled sweetly as she took the stockings from Jekyll's hand. As her slender and fair arm extended, Jekyll caught a faint whiff of a delicate fragrance.

"Sorry to bother, Miss Harley, but I just had a few questions—Ah, sorry!"

Jekyll's words halted midway as he saw Harley casually releasing the hand holding her towel. The towel cascaded down like a waterfall, prompting him to quickly avert his gaze.

Although Jekyll wasn't a naive youth, having lived quite a number of years in the previous life, he still held conservative and innocent values instilled by twenty-some years of education.

"Questions? We both have plenty of questions, darling. I also want to ask you where you've been hiding these three years, how you survived— and you must want to know why, three years ago…"

Harley's voice gradually grew lower, tinged with a hint of melancholy, yet she didn't continue. The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence, filled only with the rustling of clothing—a situation that piqued Jekyll's curiosity.

Sis, are you Harley Quinn or the Riddler? Why do you stop midway while talking?

Hearing what seemed like the cessation of dressing behind him, Jekyll turned, intending to continue the interrogation. However, upon witnessing Harley's newly changed attire, he froze once more.

Harley now wore ordinary and casual clothing: a subtle knee-length skirt, her blonde hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head. She appeared entirely like an average, everyday woman, in stark contrast to her previously dazzling Joker-inspired appearance.

Observing Jekyll's stunned expression, Harley playfully blinked, then picked up a pair of glasses and a leather satchel from the table. Once she put on the glasses, she became even less recognizable as the former Harley Quinn in her extravagant attire.

"Sorry, darling. While I'd love to have a proper chat with you, it's time for me to head to work. Questions or sweet nothings can wait till I'm back in the evening, okay?"

Work? Evening? So, it's actually daytime right now?

Harley reached for a leather satchel on the wall hook, blew a playful kiss to the still-confused Jekyll, and began walking toward an iron door.

"Wait, Miss Harley, just give me a moment—"

Jekyll had no intention of letting Harley Quinn leave like this. He had a basket of questions waiting to be answered, so he hurriedly wrapped the sheet around his waist to cover the important parts and chased after her.

Woof woof!

As Harley opened the door, two loud barks startled Jekyll.

Behind the iron door was a robust and ferocious... hyena, staring at him menacingly, its fierce eyes filled with aggression.

"Easy, Bud, he's not breakfast, he's your owner's boyfriend."

Harley comforted the hyena like petting a kitten, then turned to Jekyll with a playful smile.

"It seems Bud can't quite recognize you after not seeing you for so long—so darling, please refrain from opening doors randomly, especially in your current state of undress—"

At this point, Harley's gaze oddly scanned the area covered by Jekyll's sheet.

"Bud loves eggs and sausages, you know."

Jekyll instantly felt a chill down his spine. Before he could react, with a loud bang, Harley forcefully shut the iron door, followed by the clicking sound of a locked door.

Am I being illegally detained in this situation?

Jekyll sighed. It seemed like he had to wait for Harley Quinn to return, regardless of his questions. Not to mention the tightly locked iron door and the ferocious hyena behind it, he couldn't roam the streets in his current state anyway.

Grrr—

Jekyll's stomach emitted a low, muffled sound. Only now did he realize that he hadn't eaten anything since arriving in this world, and he should have at least asked Harley Quinn for some food earlier.

Driven by hunger, Jekyll began searching the room. Luckily, in the corner of the table, he found a pack of crisps that seemed recently opened but hadn't gone stale yet. At the same time, he noticed a thick notebook nearby.

"Are these... newspaper clippings?"

Jekyll popped some crisps into his mouth while flipping open the notebook. It seemed to contain various cutouts from newspapers, occasionally accompanied by some neatly written handwriting.

On the first page of the clippings, a shocking headline caught his eye.

"Unveiled! The truth behind the death of crime prince Joker—Was the real hero Harley Quinn?!"

°°°

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