A little background before the show…

This is a follow-up story to the amazing "Psalm of the Lark" by Jessica-X, which you can find on this site. It features her own original character, "The Lark" and is used with Jessica's permission. You might notice that I said "follow-up" as opposed to sequel. That is because this story is set in my own alternate DCAU universe, and actually ties in to other stories I have written or intend to write. You can read more about that at the end of the chapter.

I own nothing but the ideas in my head, which may be a little warped. Go figure.

Chapter 1 – Captured

How the hell did I get myself into this?

For the umpteenth time in the past hour Barbara Gordon struggles helplessly, pulling against the handcuffs binding each wrist.

I'm Batgirl, dammit. Bruce trained me better than this. Normally, I'd be out of these cuffs in no time, despite the fact that these were designed and built by the Batman himself. My own damn cuffs no less, and me without my costume or utility belt. The blindfold isn't helping, either. If only I could focus, but the situation is becoming unbearable. My tormentor is exceptionally skilled.

"Please... " I hear myself say. Even as I say it, I am shocked at the pleading tone in my voice, but I can tell that it falls on deaf ears.

My captor just laughs. A soft, feminine laugh. "Finally! The amazing Batgirl actually begs for her release! Well, begging will not help you, hero. No one can save you now!"

What is it with the cheesy dialogue? Straight out of the Villain 101 handbook. I test my bonds one last time. No matter what she does next, I promise myself I will not scream... I will not scream... I will not... No! NO! Too much! My entire body goes rigid and a loud scream is ripped from my throat. She won't stop her relentless onslaught, and I keep screaming, until...

Blackness.

When I finally regain my senses, I realize that my wrists are free and the blindfold is gone. I am safe and secure, with warm arms surrounding me in a soft embrace. It takes me a moment to find my voice.

"Jesus, Harley. That... was... incredible! I've never felt anything like that once, let alone three times in a row! Seriously, were you trying to kill me?"

Harley Quinn, the once crazy, once villainous, self-proclaimed "henchbitch" to the Joker just chuckles. She wraps me tighter in her arms, pulling our naked bodies close together and gently kisses my forehead, trailing soft kisses down my face to my lips. No longer the villain, she is now "The Lark"; a superhero protector of the night and the love of my life. It's our six month anniversary.

"Of course not, silly. Between your day job, law studies, our "night jobs" and a constant lack of sleep, you've become way too uptight. Figured it was time to do something about it. Ya know... make you relax in spite of yourself. Besides, you did say you were ready to let me "try something different". Based on the way you reacted, I'd say mission accomplished."

I shiver. Harley is absolutely uninhibited in the bedroom; wild and free. She is willing to try any and everything. I'm a lot more reserved. Plus, I've never had a physical relationship last long enough before to get beyond the initial "getting comfortable with each other" phase. Dick was the only exception to that, but we never took our bedroom exploits into "adventure" territory. For some reason, Harley and I are getting to that place a lot quicker.

Blushing, I manage to say, "Yes, mission accomplished... and then some! You do realize that the walls here aren't soundproof?" I can't help but wonder why one of our neighbors hadn't already called the police. That would definitely be something, me trying to explain a domestic disturbance call to my Dad.

Harley gives me a wicked smile and slowly flicks the tip of her (extremely dexterous) tongue at my nose. "Babsy, in case you haven't noticed, all of our neighbors have moved. Mrs. Doubtchester left last week."

"What!? No, I guess I've been too busy with school... Why would she move? She loves this place. I know that she wanted to be closer to the kids, but she can't afford it."

"Yeah, but didn't you hear? Some long forgotten relative died and left her a place closer to the kids and some money. Crazy, that's the second one. Similar thing happened to Mr. Crabtree about eight weeks ago."

While she is talking, Harley casually repositions herself on her back and stretches, giving me unrestricted access to, well... everything. I am almost too lost in thought to notice the subtle move. The apartments in this building are a steal. No way one sits empty for eight weeks. The wheels in head turn... sonofabitch! Bruce. This has to be his doing. Once I get my hands...

"Babsy... angel... as much fun as it is to talk about our ex-neighbors, perhaps you should take advantage of their absence. It was kind of fun hearing ya let go like that. Still got me all tingly, if you know what I mean." She illustrates that by lifting her hips off the bed and slowly rotating them.

I suddenly refocus on the present, drinking in the luscious vision displayed next to me. My heart swells with love and desire courses through me. I pounce and pin her. She squeals loudly and makes a weak attempt to get away. That's never going to happen; close quarter combat skills have lots of fringe benefits. With great enthusiasm, I proceed to take advantage of our lack of neighbors, well into the wee hours of the morning.

(- HQ -)

No matter how hard I try, I don't think I'll ever get used to the strange hours we keep "in the Business". At least as a villain, you can pull a job at night and sleep in the next day. Now that I am the Lark, those easy days are gone. Between the nightly patrols, training and working a day job, there is precious little time to allocate to sleep, let alone devote to a new relationship. It helps a lot that Bruce has let Tim back on the team. At least now we get a couple of days off each month to focus on our civilian lives, or a secret anniversary. Fortunately for me, my much better half is in the exact same situation, or it would be a lot worse...

Boy, did she get pissed the first time I said that aloud. "Much better half". Ya'd think I had insulted her instead of dissn' myself. It's hard to get used to, honestly; being with someone who won't accept anything less than total equality in the relationship. It's not fair, dammit! She has no idea how high she has set the bar. How does anyone stand a chance of being her equal? She's beautiful, and smart, and funny, and loving, and... well, actually she's amazing at everything! Still... there are... moments. Times when I truly believe I am equal. Times when I actually feel worthy of the love she showers on me every day.

But not today. Not even close. No siree. Today... I know I am worthy. I have to be, because... Well, wait. Let me tell it from the beginning...

My name is Harleen Quinzell, aka Harley Quinn. Once upon a time I was the Joker's main squeeze and sidekick. Not that there was a whole lot of squeezin going on. More often than not, his affection towards me was expressed as a strong backhand to the face. But not all the time. Sometimes he could be gentle. He could always make me laugh... the Joker, duh! I loved him, or at least I thought I did, for a long time. Anyway, one of his countless plots against Batman backfired on him and now he's dead. I would have died the same day if it hadn't been for Barbara Gordon, the Batgirl. She saved my body that day, and my heart every day since.

Okay, that was kind of mushy, but that's what she does to me. Gets me all mushy, gooshy, gooey and happy. Horny too, but she took care of that quite spectacularly last night. Anyway... It was what she did this morning over breakfast that sealed the deal...

"I'm ready." She announces in a very casual manner before taking a bite of her wheat toast and strawberry jam. It leaves a little jam at the corner of her mouth.

With an easy familiarity, I reach up with a finger and gently wipe the jam from her face. Just to tease her, I make a production of licking my finger clean. "Ready? For what? Cartoons? More coffee? Another field test of your Batcuffs?"

She blushes furiously and lowers her eyes. I absolutely love that I can have effect on her.

When she finally recovers, she leans forward over our little two person high oak table. Her pajama top gapes open for a moment and I catch a glimpse of soft skin and perky parts. It's been two weeks since we've had any private time, so I figure she is trying to flash me until I see the look on her face. Whatever is coming next is serious. Very serious. Without thinking, I start holding my breath.

She hesitates, which only increases my anxiety. I am almost out of air before she can finally get the words out of her mouth. "No, silly. Ready to... tell them."

The air escapes my lungs with a giant whoosh and I can feel my eyes filling with tears. Oh my God! She's ready! I take a deep breath, trying unsuccessfully to control myself before speaking. "Babs, are you sure? Ya know I want to, but are you sure you're up to it? It's a huge step for us."

She reaches out and takes my hands, which I didn't even realize were trembling. She pulls each one to her mouth and kisses them, sending chills straight through me. "Harley-Que, you mean more to me than anyone on earth," she says softly, "being with you is a gift and I just don't want to hide that anymore..."

Now my whole body is trembling. Intellectually, I know I am attaching way too much significance to this, but emotionally, her proclamation is something I've needed for quite some time. For me, it is more than just acceptance of our sexuality and lifestyle. It is acceptance of me. I know that she loves me; there's never a doubt, but every once in a while...

She continues like she is reading my mind. "...if my Dad or Bruce, Dick or Tim can't deal with that, that's their problem. I love you... and I want to scream it to the whole world!" By the time she's done telling me that, her eyes are shining brightly and I can see the tears getting ready to fall.

I don't even bother to try and go around the table. I just shove it out of my way and pull her into my arms, holding on for dear life. When I finally pull back to kiss her, both our faces are covered in tears. The kiss turns into a sloppy mess. Eventually, we come up for air, but I can't even let go. I just stand there, rocking her in my arms. The longer we stand there, the more she melts into my body. At some point, hands start to roam and I start wishing she would just throw me on the floor.

Then her damn phone rings.

It's the ringtone from Ironsides. I look at her and grin. "It's your dad. Go ahead, answer it." She gives me a look of gratitude and runs into the bedroom. I can hear her talking.

"Hi, Daddy! No, I was already up... my roomie too... oh, sure, I can do that. We still on for tonight? Okay, I'll ask her... no, I heard that, too. Get back to work Dad, the city needs you. See you tonight... Love you, too!"

When she comes back into the room, there is a puzzled look on her face.

"What's up with the Commish? You guys still having Italian tonight?" Third Saturday of the month is always their night for a Father/Daughter dinner at Luciano's.

"Uh, huh." She flops down on the couch, our couch. The first thing we bought together, it is just perfect for the two of us to cozy up on to watch a movie or TV. Of course, cuddling leads to kissing and... stuff. We don't really see that much TV.

"So get this..." she pulls bare legs up into her pajama top and waves me over. "...he called to invite you to join us."

"What?!" I exclaim as I flop down next to her, "are you sure that was your Dad? I thought I was still on his ex-villain watch list. Why in the world would he invite me to your dinner?"

She shakes her head and squeezes my hand. "Harley, my love, it's been over a year and a half since you got out of Arkham. I think he knows you are not that person any more. He knows that we are close, and believe it or not, I think he actually likes you."

"Uh huh. Then why do I feel like he is always checking up on me? He gives me the oddest looks sometimes."

She just chuckles, "Harley, I grew up with man. He gives everybody those looks. Kind of comes with the job. He's been doing it for so long, it's just second nature to him. Come to dinner and it'll be fine. I promise. Finding out that we are sleeping together will probably make him forget all about the ex-villain stuff… if it doesn't give him a heart attack first."

I look at her closely and can see that she is putting on a brave front for me. The whole idea of telling her dad has her terrified. It's funny really. The Commish is a good man and he loves her as much as I do. I have no doubt that he'll be fine with this. It's Bruce I worry about. I never know how to read him. He might just decide that we can't work together any longer because being in love will put us at risk. It's been keeping him and Diana apart long enough... oh shit!

"Babsy, I just remembered! I can't go tonight. I promised Diana that I would spend the day with her at the shelters. I don't think we'll be done that early."

She smacks herself in the forehead. "Oh, crap. I forgot as well. What are the two of you up to again?"

I kiss the red mark on her forehead. "She wants company to tour some of Gotham's different battered women's shelters. Its part of a possible expansion to the ones she already sponsors in Metropolis and Central City. She asked me to tag along."

Barbara gives me a fake pout and asks, "You two seem to be spending a lot of time together. Should I be jealous? She is Wonder Woman, after all. All legs and boobs and dark smoldering looks."

"Don't forget that magic lasso. Lots of possibilities there. Tempting, but honestly, not my type."

A smile starts to form on her face. She stretches out and way too casually she asks, "and what exactly is your type?"

I take the bait and play along. "Well..." I run a finger from her chin down her throat to the first button of her pajamas top. A simple flick and it pops open. My finger trails lower as I keep talking.

"...I prefer gorgeous, curvy..."

Flick. Another button undone. Skin peaks through.

"...redheads..."

Flick. One to go. Her top starts to gape open, held in place only by two soft curves.

"...with a talented tongue..."

"Harley!"

Flick! One side of her top falls open, revealing a long line of perfect skin all the way down to her toes. I congratulate myself on hiding all her underwear before the weekend started. Lingerie or nothing at all. That's my motto! Her face is blushing a bright red, but she doesn't stop me as I run a fingertip the entire length of her body. She just closes her eyes and... purrs.

I have to tease, "Of course... she does have a magic lasso. After last night, perhaps we should see if she'd loan it to us for an evening."

Her face turns an even deeper shade of red, if that's possible. She tries to talk but just sputters. When she finally finds her voice she turns to me with an intense look. "Only if I am the one who gets to use it."

Now I am the one who gets to blush. My girlfriend might be a little kinky after all. Who knew? I shiver a little as the possibilities flash thru my head, until one thought hits me like cold water.

"Babs... Do you suppose that Bruce lets Diana..."

"Oh, yuck! You just had to and bring that up, didn't you? Oh my God, that's a thought I am never going to get out of my head." She keeps going like she is trying to spit a bad taste out of her mouth, "Ick. Ick. Yuck. Ick!"

I decide to add a little insult to injury. "Well... he did use to have a thing for Catwoman, and she carries a whip."

"Oh, you did not just say that. That's just plain wrong. Nearly as bad as... ". I wait for her to come up with something outrageous and she does not disappoint. "...saying he's got a thing for the Penguin and his damn umbrellas."

I can't help it. All of the images are way too much. At the same time, we start laughing and keep laughing until we are wiping tears from our eyes. Eventually, settle down, just sitting there enjoying each other's company.

"So..." I say, "about your Dad..."

Barbara squeezes my hand. "I was serious. You are too precious to me and it's time he hears that. It will all turn out great, Harley-Que. I've got this. No worries."

(- BG -)

I so don't have this. We've already made it through dinner and I can't find the right way to even start. "Daddy, guess what? It turns out I'm gay." or "So you know how Harley and I have been living together... well about that..." or "Daddy, I'm in love. It's wonderful, but it's not with a guy."

Any minute desert is going to arrive or he will get paged and that will be it. I'll have lost my chance and I promised Harley. If I don't do this now, it may be days or weeks before I get another chance.

"Barbara? Honey? You still there?"

Oh crap. I zoned out on him. Nice move, Babs. "...I'm sorry, Daddy. I just was thinking... well, actually, I mean, I need to... tell you... something. It's kind of... hard."

His face turns solemn. "I know that look. The last time you had that look is when you tried to tell me about your 'night job'. This looks like the same thing all over again. Is it related? It looks serious."

Figures. I was never much good at hiding stuff from him. I take a deep breath, "yes, it's serious, but no, it's not related to my 'night job'. It's... about Harley. I... we... I mean..." I bury my head in my hands and try to gather the strength to destroy his image of his little girl.

He doesn't give me the chance. He reaches across the table and gently pulls my hands away from my face. When I look up, he is giving me his best "Daddy" look.

"Barbara, honey... there is only one thing I need to know. Does she make you happy?"

I answer automatically, "Oh God, yes! More than anything in the world... Wait! You know? How?"

He looks at me in like I am missing the obvious. "Barbara, seriously? Police Commissioner? Youngest Head Detective in the history of GCPD? Even if I wasn't either of those things, I am your father. I know my little girl and I can tell when you are in love. That's why I invited her tonight; she's a part of your life now. I thought I ought to get to know her better."

"Then it doesn't bother you that she's a...?"

"She's what? A woman? I'll have you know that I'm much more open minded than that. Besides, I don't care as long as she makes you happy, and truth be told, I've never seen you this happy... with anyone."

All of a sudden, I feel like a tremendous weight has fallen off of me. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was prepared for the worst. Just knowing that he is actually okay with this is such a relief. I can't help it. I start smiling and crying all at once. I really do have the greatest dad in the world!

He squeezes my hand gently and hands me a handkerchief. As I am wiping my eyes, he surprises me again, but not in such a good way.

"So, I have to be honest. I am still a little concerned about who and what she was. If what I think has happened is true, then she really has changed. Normally, I try to stay out of this part of your life, but I have to ask... is she part of the 'night team' now? Does Bruce trust her that much?"

"Bruce...!?" SHIT! He knows that, too! What the hell do I do now?

He sees the panicked look on my face and gives me a small smile. "Relax. I'm not asking you to give away state secrets. In fact, its better that we keep this as far off the record as possible. Suffice to say, I've known for a while. I've never had a good enough reason to bring it up until now."

I should have seen this coming. He knows my alter-ego, so for both of us to suddenly have partners with blonde pig-tails... even a rookie detective could figure it out. From there, once you establish a link to the billionaire with two adopted sons, it all falls into place. I take a deep breath before I finally answer. "Yes, he trusts her. We all do. She's earned it, more than a few times now, and honestly, she is really damn good at it." Even as I say it, I can hear the pride in my voice.

"Okay, then. That's all I needed to know. I'm really happy for you, honey. Her too. I've been paying attention. She's starting to get quite a rep, although... the Lark? Really? What is with him and the birds? Please don't tell me that Black Canary is one of his, too."

I laugh. "No, but that's not a bad idea. She's already 'in the Business' and it would save us the trouble of coming up with another code name."

"In the Business? Is that what you call it now? Ha! I am in the real business. Compared to me, the rest of you are just... talented amateurs", he says with a slightly indignant tone. "I'd like to see how well any of you would do having to work in the system. Speaking of... aren't you close to taking the Bar?"

"Possibly. At the end of the semester I'll have all the credits I need. From there, it's a matter of studying and scheduling. Bruce, Harley and Tim have already started helping me study. Although, I am not certain that's a good thing. They are way tougher than any of my professors. Tim already knows enough to skate through a freshman year at Harvard."

The rest of the evening goes wonderfully. For once, Daddy doesn't get pulled away early. We spend a couple of hours chatting, enjoying our coffees, our dessert and each other's company. Now that I have opened up to him about the two biggest secrets in my life, I feel as light as a feather. Harley had been trying for months to convince me that I'd be happier this way. I should have known she'd be right. Trained psychologist and all that.

When I get home, I glance up to the windows of our top level fourth floor apartment. Our single entry light is on, creating a soft glow through the curtains. I look at the rest of the windows on the upper floors. I don't see a single light on in any third or fourth floor window. Thinking back to last night's pronouncement, I realize Harley was right. All our neighbors are gone. How the hell did I miss that?

Katarr's Head Canon

(Presented for information and context only. FanFiction really doesn't allow me to post this as a separate entry, or else I would.)

I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but as I read fan fiction, I start to build my own "head canon" of a universe where the various stories fit together. In this case, it started with shows from the DC Animated Universe:

- "Batman: The Animated Series"

- "Batman Beyond"

- "Justice League / Justice League Unlimited"

- "Green Lantern: The Animated Series"

From that base, I started to build a universe that incorporates those stories combined with my favorite fiction from other authors and finally, flesh it out with my own original works. Generally speaking, the stories I choose should all fit together in a nice neat little package. That isn't always the case, but my working outline feels pretty strong right now. More to the point, I am trying to focus on writing "fill-in" stories… basically, I want to create a "glue" that fills the gap and bonds it all together. In that universe you will find:

- Batman / Wonder Woman (no Superman/Wonder Woman – ever)

- Batgirl / Harley Quinn (the start of what you're reading that now)

- Razor / Aya (the whole freaking series was basically their love story)

A few things about how my stories look at that universe:

- My main characters take their personalities from their DCAU incarnations:

...Batman is a little lighter in tone, and although he appears destined to become the grumpy old man seen in Batman Beyond, his relationship with Diana ultimately prevents that.

...Diana was formed from clay, but recently. She is nine years younger than Bruce.

...Harley Quinn may be a criminal, but she still has a "good" side, and has yet to actually kill anyone.

...When the Justice League is formed, Earth's Green Lantern had already changed twice. John Stewart is the current Lantern while Hal Jordon and Kilowag are patrolling the rest of the Galaxy in Aya.

- I basically ignore the printed comic canon. Too confusing, especially with the "New 52" and follow on stories. The only concession I make to it are:

- The possibility that Jason was the 2nd Robin, but I don't like Jason and won't even mention him in any of my stories.

- Since Joker dies in DCAU before he can shoot Barbara, Oracle never comes into being that way. It may still happen in my timeline, just differently.