Hey everyone! I decided to write this chapter early and post it due to the whole Cartoon Network fiasco going on. It blows that we didn't get a new episode, so I wanted to post the chapter early. Hopefully this whole mess will be resolved soon. Anyway, I'm planning on posting a chapter every Friday or Saturday and I'm going to try to be consistent. If something is going to delay the chapter update, I'll try to let you guys know ahead of time. Thanks for all the feedback I've gotten so far :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any of the other characters mentioned. If I did own Young Justice, I think I'd just screw everything up, so thank God Greg Weissman and Brandon Vetti own it.

PLEASE NOTE: This story is an AU as of the Young Justice: Invasion episode "Darkest". It will branch off from the canon series as of that episode. Enjoy!

The rest of the trip had been pretty uneventful, save for the fact Mia was constantly looking over her shoulder in worry. Harper had finally gotten tired of it and insisted she walk in front of him so she wouldn't have to worry. It was painfully apparent that Mia wasn't used to people trying to help her. Harper didn't let her know he was keeping a sharp eye out for the man that was after her, the last thing he needed was for her to freak out.

They'd finally reached the run down apartment complex a mere thirty minutes later. Harper guided her up the steps of the fire escape and helped her through the window of the apartment. He let go of her arm quickly when he notice her flinch. Walking to the corner of the room, Harper struck a match and lit a few candles.

"It's not much," he said. "but you can stay here for now."

Mia nodded and sat on the dingy mattress in the corner. "I'll be gone tomorrow morning. I don't want to bother you."

Harper looked over to her and gave her a look of sympathy. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, why exactly was that guy after you?"

Mia jumped slightly and wrapped her arms around herself.

"He wasn't exactly lying when he said I stole from him," she hesitated. "all the money I earn goes to him."

Harper raised a brow. "Why? Is he your boss or something?"

"He's," Mia took a deep breath. "he was my pimp."

Harper froze in shock. For the first time, he'd really taken in her appearance. He hadn't noticed the heeled shoes, short skirt, or tube top under the large coat before. She looked extremely skinny too, he couldn't imagine the last time she ate. Not to mention she was probably freezing at the moment.

Harper paused for a moment before heading to the duffle bag in the corner. He pulled out a pair of sweatpants and handed them to her.

"Here," he said. "They, uh, may be a little big on you."

Mia looked at him in surprise for a moment before taking them. "Thanks."

Harper nodded and turned away to give her privacy.

"You know, not many people would willingly give a hooker a pair of their sweatpants," Mia laughed. "Then again, many people wouldn't help a hooker in general. You can turn around."

Harper gave a slight shrug before turning. "I'm not like many people."

"I can tell." Mia said before standing up.

Harper watched her wander around the loft awkwardly. What was one supposed to say when having a casual conversation with a hooker? He winced, realizing how mean that sounded in his head.

"So," Mia spoke up, catching Harper's attention. "What brings you to the wonderful city of San Francisco?"

Harper hesitated before giving a large sigh. "It's...a complicated story."

Mia let out a laugh and grinned at him.

"Dude, my who life is a complicated story, I think I'll be able to follow."

"You have no idea." Harper thought with a slight smile.

He took a seat on the mattress and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Basically, I found out something huge from someone I trusted and decided to get as far away from them as I could."

Mia nodded slightly.

"What about you?" Harper asked.

"I got into a fight with my father, ran away from home, and next thing I know I'm working the streets of San Francisco." Mia said shortly, wandering into the kitchen area.

Harper was about to ask how that happened but decided she'd tell him if she wanted to. He watched as Mia opened the refrigerator curiously. She let out a sudden shriek. Harper jumped to his feet as Mia sprinted over and hid behind him.

"There's a raccoon in the fridge!" she said, pointing at the kitchen.

"There are raccoons in San Francisco?" Harper muttered raising a brow.

He walked over to the kitchen cautiously. Sure enough, a large raccoon with a weird, mechanical collar around its neck leaped out and launched itself at Harper.

"Holy shit!" he swore, barely diving out of the way in time. He could literally see the muscles bulging out of its skin. He readied his arm and shot multiple blasts at it. The raccoon dodged every blast and knocked him over. Harper blocked his face with his mechanical arm and attempted to kick the thing off.

Mia looked around the room frantically for something to hit it with. She finally spotted a bow and a few arrows nearby. She quickly grabbed them, strung the bow, and prayed she remembered how to shoot. The first two arrows missed completely. She strung the third arrow and took a deep breath, concentrating.

Harper finally kicked the thing off and scrambled back. He raised his arm and readied it. The raccoon growled and leaped towards him. Before it could attack, a whistling noise filled the air and the collar around the raccoon suddenly sparked. The raccoon trashed and shrieked in pain, snapping the arrow shaft as it did so. Harper saw the rest of the arrow sticking out of the collar as the raccoon staggered to the window and leaped onto the fire escape. Harper walked to the window in time to see the creature fall into the alleyway.

He turned around and saw a shaking Mia with his bow in her hand.

"Nice shot!" he said.

"I learned in P.E when I was twelve." she said, rubbing her arm.

Harper stepped forward and noticed the large bruise forming on her forearm where the bow string probably hit.

"Though, I do suggest an arm guard next time."

Mia looked at him and let out a laugh. She walked to the window and peered out.

"Have you ever seen a raccoon that big? And what's with the weird collar?" she asked

Harper frowned. He closed the cracked window and shook his head.

"No clue," he looked over at her. "You'd probably know more about the vermin in the city than I do."

"Oh, I know about the vermin alright," she gave him a slight smirk. "I know where the majority of them live. And their jobs."

Harper let out a slight laugh. He walked to the corner and sat down.

"You should rest." he said.

Mia looked at him in surprise. "You don't want the mattress?"

Harper shook his head. "You need it more than I do."

Mia started to walk to the mattress when something caught her eye. She smiled and walked over to the bow and arrows.

"Neat hat." she said, picking up Harper's old Speedy hat. She put it on her head and laughed.

"You can have it if you want." Harper said, rolling his eyes. He honestly had no idea what the appeal of that hat was to her.

Mia grinned and walked to the mattress. She took off the hat and laid down

"You know, you're a decent guy, Harper." she said as she played with the red feather on the hat.

Harper tilted his head down and pulled his hood over his eyes, hiding the slight smile on his face. "Try to get some sleep, Mia."

~~~"Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks." -Isaac Watts~~~

"I'll tell her to open the door." Conner said, hanging up the phone.

"Was that the big guy?" Harley asked, opening the control system on the computer screen.

"Yeah, he and his girlfriend are here." Conner said slowly.

He watched as Harley pushed a button to allow the warehouse door to open. He still couldn't believe Harley Quinn of all people was helping them. He couldn't imagine how the league, let alone Nightwing, would react to it. Then again, Nightwing must have trusted her enough to give her a communicator.

Harley got up and walked to the door. She smiled slightly and moved out of the way to let Karen and Mal in.

"Welcome to the base. You guys alright?"

"We've been better." Mal sighed. "Thanks again for helping us."

"I can't believe it's just...gone." Karen said, shaking her head. Mal put a comforting arm around her.

Harley stuck out her hand. "I'm Harley Quinn by the way. You guys should be safe here."

"Wait, Harley Quinn?!" Karen asked in shock.

"Are you the Joker's girl?" Mal asked, eyeing her slightly.

Harley frowned and lowered her hand. "I'm his daughter. But, no. I don't work for him anymore."

Mal looked over at Conner, raising a brow. Conner looked at Harley and shrugged slightly.

"Her heartbeat's normal. She's either telling the truth or she's an incredible liar."

Harley rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in surrender.

"Fine, believe what you want, but I wouldn't benefit what so ever if the Light got ahold of you."

She started to walk away when Karen reached out and touched her shoulder. Harley turned and looked at her. Karen held out her hand.

"I'm Karen. Thank you for helping us, Harley."

Harley let out a slight smile and shook her hand. She looked over at Nightwing and frowned.

"Guy's been out since we got here an hour ago." she murmured. Harley made her way back to the computer.

"By the way, how many of you might be coming here? There's a lot of rooms further into the base, but I'll need to call a friend to help me get the security system hacked safely."

"Uh, there could be as many as ten if anything." Conner said.

"Even more than that when we get the others back." Mal added.

"Okay, then I defiantly need to phone a friend." Harley said, pulling out her cellphone. "And you guys should call your friends and tell them to come here."

"And you're sure this place is safe? The Light won't be able to get here?" Mal asked.

"I did a basic override that needs manual access unless you have a code. My friend and I messed with the system a few years back so only a handful of people could get in. I blacklisted members of the Light so they can't get access and won't be alerted when this place is active." Harley explained.

Nightwing suddenly gave a groan and stirred. Harley jumped and made her way to the door.

"And on that note, I'm going to make a call. Don't let bird boy know I'm the one who brought you here, just say someone else did."

"Why not?" Conner asked.

Harley hesitated at the door.

"The last time I saw him, we didn't exactly leave on the best of terms." she thumbed through her contacts page and raised the phone to her ear. "I'll be back in a bit."

With that, she was up the stairs and gone.

~~~"Trust your instinct to the end, though you can render no reason." -Ralph Waldo Emerson~~~

"Authorities are no yet sure of what caused the explosion," a news reporter said, motioning to the pillar of fire behind her. "but they have informed us that nobody has been reported injured or missing."

The young man leaned forward with his hands folded in front of his mouth. He couldn't believe this was happening. It was killing him not to know what was going on exactly.

He could hear the faint sound of his boyfriend frantically trying to contact his friends with no such luck. He'd bolted out of the room as soon as the headline "Explosion in Happy Harbor" came onto the TV. He wasn't sure what they could exactly do from New Mexico and he knew his boyfriend would bolt out the door if he couldn't contact anyone soon.

The redhead jumped slightly when his phone went off. He picked it up and saw it was an unknown caller.

"Hello?" he answered slowly.

"Rathaway, do you remember how to get to the base?" a female voice asked.

He paused for a moment before realizing who he was talking to. "Harley?! What are you...I haven't heard from you in years!"

"I know, Hartley." Harley sighed. "I'm sorry I haven't contacted you, but I really need your help."

Hartley sighed and rubbed his face. "What's going on? You in some kind of trouble?"

"No, I'm fine for now. Do you remember how to get to the base we used to hang out at?"

"The one in the warehouse?" Hartley asked. "Yeah, of course I do. What about it?"

"Good. Now, did you hear about the explosion in Happy Harbor?"

This caught Hartley's attention. "Yeah, it's all over the news, even over here."

"It was an attack on Mount Justice," Harley explained. "I went there to help them out. I currently have a few members of the League here to keep them safe."

Hartley stood up and walked to the bedroom. He knocked on the door.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked. His boyfriend poked his head out and Hartley motioned for him to come out.

"I need you to help me rewrite the security codes so the Light can't get in."

"And you're sure nobody from Mount Justice got hurt?" Hartley confirmed. He saw his boyfriend's eyes go wide before he rushed to get a suitcase.

"Nightwing got knocked out, but he seems to be coming to." Harley sighed. "I really need your help right now, Hart."

"We'll be there as soon as we can. Just hang tight." Hartley said. He gave a quick goodbye before hanging up.

He saw his boyfriend frantically trying to put their entire bedroom into the small suitcase. Under normal circumstances it'd be funny, but in this case it was almost heartbreaking.

"Miguel," he said, trying to get his attention. "Miguel...Bunker!"

Miguel's head snapped up and he stopped what he was doing. Hartley moved to the other side of the bed and hugged him.

"They're alright," he said. "Nobody got hurt. Everyone's okay."

Miguel shook slightly as he hugged Hartley back. "I'm worried about them. I mean, Artemis died less then a week ago and now this?"

"I know," Hartley said. He pulled back and cupped Miguel's face. "That's why we're going to Happy Harbor now to help out. Harley's got them somewhere safe. So just breathe."

Miguel smiled slightly before leaning forward to kiss Hartley. Hartley smiled into the kiss before pulling away.

"Also, you might wanna take the cat out of the suitcase before she gets trapped in there."

Miguel jumped and pulled the cat out before sitting her on the ground.

"We can come back for clothes later," Miguel said. "Let's just get to Happy Harbor."

Hartley nodded. Soon enough, the two men grabbed their coats and were out the door.

~~~"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." -Khalil Gibran~~~

Nightwing sat up slowly and looked around. He had no idea where he was or how he got there. He groaned and rubbed his head slowly.

"Good, you're awake." a voice said. Nightwing looked up and saw Karen standing in front of him with some water and a bottle of aspirin.

"Karen? Where are we?" he asked.

Karen looked hesitant to answer. "A friend of yours came to help us. We're staying here for a while."

Nightwing suddenly remembered getting caught in the debris field after the explosion. It was such a rookie mistake and was defiantly not part of the plan he and Kaldur had agreed on.

"Is Conner alright?" he asked.

"Conner and Mal went to contact the others and get supplies," Karen explained. "Wolf's alright too."

"And...the kids?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Karen gave him a pained look. "Aqualad kidnapped them. Gar, Jaime, Bart. He took them all."

Nightwing grit his teeth and looked down. That hadn't been part of the original plan either. Too many things had gone wrong this time around. He could only hope Kaldur was able to keep them safe. He silently made sure the flash-drive Kaldur had slipped him was still on him. He let out a small breath of relief when he felt it.

He felt Karen touch his shoulder.

"It's not your fault. You tried everything you could to save them." she said firmly.

Nightwing nodded. But, he knew she didn't understand. He needed to talk to someone who did. He needed to get in contact with Wally.

"I need to get to the Hall of Justice." Nightwing said, standing. "I need to let the League know what happened."

"Are you sure you'll be alright to get there?" Karen asked in concern.

"I'll be fine. I just need to get to a zeta tube."

Karen looked like she didn't fully believe him. She sighed.

"Mal and I found one in the area," she said. "Just exit the warehouse, go to the left and keep going until you spot the telephone booth. It shouldn't be more than a ten to fifteen minute walk from here."

"Thanks, Karen." he said.

As he made his way to the door, he couldn't help but wonder who brought them here. He knew Kaldur hadn't arranged a rescue crew to be sent there. As he neared the exit, he saw a girl with blonde hair walk in. At first glance, he mistook her for Cassie. When he saw her face, however, he felt his blood run cold and stopped in his tracks.

"Harley." he whispered in disbelief.

Harley looked up at him and was frozen in shock. They starred at each other for a long moment. Anger bubbled up in Nightwing's chest. He had no idea what she was doing here, but he wasn't happy about it. Harley frowned and moved out of his way. He moved past her without a second thought.

"Long time no see, Dick." Harley said quietly enough so only Nightwing would hear.

Nightwing almost stopped again when he heard his name. He sent her a small glare before wordlessly existing the room.

Harley glared as he left. When she turned back, she saw Karen sitting there with an eyebrow raised.

"What was that about?"

"He's was Batman's sidekick, I was the Joker's sidekick," Harley shrugged. "we don't have the best of blood between us."

Karen wasn't sure if she fully believed her, but she didn't say anything else.

Meanwhile, Nightwing stood leaning against the side of the warehouse. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down.

Checking to make sure nobody was around, he opened accessed the computer on his wrist. He went deep into the files until he came across what he was looking for.

He starred at the picture in front of him. It'd been taken years ago. His younger self was grinning at the camera, eyes hidden by sunglasses and arm stretched in front of him, holding the camera steady. Standing next to him was a girl his age with an equally large grin with bright blue eyes. He hair was hidden by a dark pink beanie and she was giving the peace symbol to the camera. The caption of the picture read: "Rob and Harlz, summer 2013". It almost made him sad to see them so happy.

With a snarl, Nightwing reburied the file and shut the computer off. No, there was absolutely no way he was going to feel remorse for this. There may have been a time when he and Harley could call each other "friends". That time was long gone and would never return.

Nightwing shoved off the wall and made his way down the rows of warehouses. He had to get to the Hall of Justice as soon as possible.

~~~"Do not tell secrets to those whose faith and silence you have not already tested." -Elizabeth I~~~

Harper woke up slowly. He had no clue how long he'd been asleep, but it couldn't have been more than a few hours. He wasn't even sure what had woken him up. Harper stretched slightly before he remembered something. He closed his eyes, refusing to look at the mattress in front of him. He didn't want to acknowledge the fact Mia could be gone. Harper wasn't sure why that would upset him, but for some reason it did.

He took a deep breath and looked in front of him. Much to his shock, Mia was still curled up on the mattress, asleep. He almost cracked a smile when he noticed her shaking like crazy. He got up to check on her and was shocked to see she was covered in sweat. Harper gently put a hand on her shoulder and flinched. He could feel heat radiating off of her.

"Mia," he said, shaking her slightly. "Mia, wake up. You're burning up."

"I'm fine," Mia muttered. "Just a cold."

She was suddenly shaken by a very dry coughing fit. Harper shook his head. He needed to get her to a doctor.

"We need to go to a hospital." he said firmly.

"No hospital," Mia begged weakly. "I'm fine, really."

Harper was conflicted. He had this clearly ill girl in front of him he hadn't known for even twelve hours, and yet he felt oddly protective over her. He knew she needed medical attention, but she was clearly adamant about going to the hospital.

Harper sighed in defeat. He knew where he could take her, he just didn't want to admit it. As another coughing fit ripped through Mia's body, Harper made up his mind.

He stood up and packed away his bow and the few arrows he had left into his duffle bag. Harper slung it over his shoulder before walking back to the mattress. He slowly picked Mia up. Mia flinched slightly.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Harper said softly. "I'm gonna take you somewhere safe."

He was about to walk out when he had a thought. He walked back to the mattress and picked up the Speedy hat. He handed it to Mia.

"Here, hold onto your hat."

Mia closed her hand around the hat and shuddered. Harper knew they had to go, now. As he made his way out of the loft and through the apartment complex, he became painfully aware of how light Mia was. As they exited the building, Mia looked up at him blearily.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We're going to Star City." Harper answered.

"Star City?" she mumbled. "That's three hours away from here."

"Don't worry, we'll get there in no time." Harper assured her.

He walked down the streets of San Francisco, desperately trying to remember where the nearest zeta tube was. He needed to get her to Ollie. As much as Harper hated to admit it, Ollie and Dinah would be able to help. Even after everything that happened, he knew deep down he could still count on them. He just hoped he could get to them in time.