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"Demental Overload": A young woman named Antonia has just been on a date with a much shorter man, and her friends are ribbing her about it. She admits that she liked him very much, but she is more anxious about getting a job than a man. She would even resort to off-the-books work. Her friend

Quote1 As far as your blur of activities, have you ever considered getting help? Maybe some sort of life assistant? Quote2
Poison Ivy

Harley Quinn (Volume 2) #15 is an issue of the series Harley Quinn (Volume 2) with a cover date of May, 2015. It was published on March 4, 2015.

Synopsis for "Demental Overload"

A young woman named Antonia has just been on a date with a much shorter man, and her friends are ribbing her about it. She admits that she liked him very much, but she is more anxious about getting a job than a man. She would even resort to off-the-books work. Her friend notes that she found a website with just that sort of odd-job listings posted, and recommends it.

Meanwhile, Harley Quinn is busy at the pet-shop picking out 122 birds to buy, and picking up some food for her many, many dogs. After dropping almost two thousand dollars on that, Harley begins carting it all home, wishing she could apologize to Mason Macabre for choosing her roller-derby team over a fancy date with him, when she was stuck at work and strapped for time. She attempts to talk to his mother, but she hangs up on her, just making Harley feel worse.

As she passes by a newsstand, Harley notes that Brooklyn is in a bad state, with killings, robberies, and arson plaguing it. In fact, a nearby law office is on fire, and Harley realizes that there are still people inside. She calls the fire department, but learns that it will take them too long to get there. Impulsively, she rushes inside the building herself. Ripping the blade from a paper-cutter, she discovers an arsonist holding someone at the muzzle of his flame-thrower. He calls himself Tinderbox and he believes that this law firm treated him badly and misrepresented him. Harley rushes him, cutting his legs with the blade, and then kicking him through a window. She then urges the victim to escape while she sprays herself with a fire-extinguisher to get safely to the others trapped in the building. Unable to find a way for them to get down easily, Harley looks down at the rather large form of Tinderbox on the street, and supposes that he might break their falls. Despite saving everyone's lives - except Tinderbox, who is rather squished by the end of the ordeal - Harley discovers with consternation that her pet food has been stolen in the interim.

Meanwhile, in nearby Manhattan, some altogether quite racist customers of the "Tanduuri 2 Die 4" restaurant refuse to pay their full bill, prompting the owners to call on young Shona to deal with them. Angrily, she follows the customers outside with a baseball bat and challenges them. She explains that despite what they may think, she and her parents were born in New York, and the country is as much hers as theirs. They owe 42 dollars and an apology. When they refuse again, she and her bat go to work. Satisfied with herself, she returns to the restaurant, where her mother chastises her for aggravating these people into calling the police. Angrily, she throws Shona out of the restaurant, refusing to let her risk the family business over her temper. Her grandmother, though, is thankful.

Grumpily, Harley returns to the pet store to buy more food, to replace the stuff she lost. Unfortunately, upon returning to her building with the food, she discovers that someone crashed a car into the front of the building. Outside, Big Tony warns that someone is waiting for her upstairs, and adds that he thinks she should talk things out with Mason. As she feeds the dogs, she discovers that she mixed up her work schedule for the day. Sighing, she heads upstairs to her loft and discovers that Poison Ivy is waiting for her in a bubble-bath, having helped herself to the facilities in her friend's absence. Ivy offers Harley an invite to a conference with her in Miami, where they can spend three days relaxing and sight-seeing, besides the one-night conference itself. Unfortunately, Harley can't go, because she has to work. Deflated, she admits that she just wants to sleep. Sympathizing, Ivy suggests they get some take-out, while Harley does some needed venting.

Elsewhere, in the Bronx, a woman named Carlita works on her cousin's laptop to try to find a job when two thuggish types threaten to take the laptop from her. They swipe it right out of her lap, and she warns them to give it back or she'll kick them off the roof. They don't believe her, so she grabs the device back, and kicks one of them right over the edge, where he falls and lands uncomfortably on the railing of the fire-escape. She warns his friends to get away before she gets really mad.

Ivy notes that Harley is obviously quite stressed - perhaps from focusing too much on the daily news. Harley admits that she's bothered that so many bad things are going on, and she doesn't have time to deal with them herself. Ivy reminds that nobody elected Harley the saviour of the human race. Harley counters that nobody made Ivy the saviour of plants, either. Ivy admits her work is only a drop in the bucket, but she suggests that Harley trim some fat in terms of the commitments she has.

Some time - and some wine - later, Harley has worked herself into tears, venting about her failed date with Mason. Ivy suggests that she let him cool down and then explain. As for her other issues, she wonders if Harley might benefit from having an assistant. Tipsily, Harley assumes Ivy is talking about herself, and pins her to the floor in a gleeful embrace. With tensions of all kinds high between them, a knock at the door diffuses them, and Harley peels herself up from on top of Ivy to answer it. It's Mason with a bouquet of roses and an admission that he has heard her many phone messages, and he forgives her. Before he understands what's happening, Ivy rushes over and grabs the roses to put them in water and keep them alive. In the meantime, Mason apologizes for the faux-pas, and invites Harley on another date on a day of her choosing.

Afterwards, Ivy admits that she can see why Harley's so excited about the date, but returns their subject to the idea of an assistant. Harley responds that she has an idea for that matter. They create an online want-ad looking for a few "brassy lassies" willing to make the world a better place and take a bite out of crime. She has twelve spots available, with pay to be determined based on the quality of work.

All around the city, girls like Antonia, Shona, and Carlita happen upon the ad, and hope they've found the opportunity for them.

Appearing in "Demental Overload"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Tinderbox (Single appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:






See Also


Links and References

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