Chapter 7
Thick, gray clouds had moved in over the city and were threatening rain by the time Batman and Robin made it to the headquarters of Gotham's finest. From the adjacent rooftop, there didn't seem to be any sign of a disturbance. Everything appeared quiet.
"We've either beat the Joker here, or we're way too late." The older man said quietly.
"More than likely, Joker's waiting for us to get here before he springs his trap." Tim replied, never taking his eyes off the windows of the Police station.
Batman silently contemplated this possibility as he withdrew his thermal binoculars and scanned the building, knowing that nothing was ever this simple when it came to the Joker.
The readout on the goggles showed eight individuals inside the building, all of them at desks and each of them radiating a perfect 98.6 degree temperature. The longer Batman studied the environment inside the building, the more the situation became apparent. None of the people were displaying any movement. It was a trap.
Sudden movement caught Batman's attention and he quickly glanced up to the second floor and found another human form, this one quite obviously bound and gagged on the floor, radiating a steady 99.3 degrees and writhing in a futile attempt to get free.
"Hostage. Second floor. I'm going in." Batman said, standing and firing a swing line to the roof of a nearby building.
"It's a trap! You can't go in there alone!" Tim protested.
"No choice. If anything happens, you get him out of there."
With that, Batman leapt from the rooftop and felt the icy wind slice past his exposed lower jaw and billow the heavy cape behind him. He tucked his chin into his chest and rolled at the last minute, exploding through one of the windows to find exactly what he had expected.
At each of the desks that lined the room, a mannequin sat in a playful pose, each of them strapped with a small thermal heater and each of them painted with a familiar hideous grin. Batman disregarded them for the time being and began searching for the stairs, continually waiting for something to fall on his head or someone to leap at him from the shadows.
As he neared the back of the room, a dormant television set whirred to life, causing Batman to instantly tense and ready himself for combat. The static on the screen soon flickered to crystal clear, however and the image that came through made Batman instantly clench his teeth in rage.
"Hiya Batsy!" The Joker's unmistakable voice rang from the television screen. "You know, if there's one thing I can say about you, old boy, it's that you're predictable. Always swinging in just at the last minute to save the day and ruin my fun. It's kind of pesky. But I'm afraid this time, you're just too late. You see, I'm throwing a little welcome home party for myself and I find I'm short on guests. You and the rest of your merry brood are invited of course, but that's not quite enough for the shindig I had in mind, so I decided to extend the olive branch to some of our pals over there at Gotham PD. In fact, I think one of them is a close, personal friend of yours. Isn't that right, Jimmy?"
Batman watched with mounting fury as the camera panned right and revealed the already bruised and bleeding body of Commissioner Jim Gordon, strapped to a chair and breathing heavily.
"Don't mind the wear and tear, Bats," Joker continued, "Just trying to get our friend Gordy here in more of a party mood. And the same goes with the rest of the fellas over here. Everyone will get their turn, I promise you. So what do you say, Batsy old boy? I'll give you until midnight, day after tomorrow to come and find me and put a stop to all my shenanigans as you're so annoyingly prone to do. You win, I'll go quietly back to Arkham. I win, well, let's just say that if I win, you'll be sending your condolences to the grieving widows of Gotham's finest. Let the games begin!" Joker sounded off with a wild laugh as Batman kicked the television set across the room and was met with the tiniest sense of satisfaction when it shattered against the wall and the pieces landed in a pile on the tile floor, a trace of black smoke billowing up from them.
Batman continued his search and did eventually manage to find the stairs. He cautiously proceeded up them and nearly made it to the top when he felt his knee brush a thin, nearly invisible tripwire in front of him. Instinct told him to pull back but it was too late and he heard the metallic mechanism click from across the hall and let loose with a flurry of small darts, all of which missed him by fractions less than an inch. As they stuck into the wall, a familiar scent emanated from them; Sickly sweet, with a hint of sulfur. Joker Toxin.
If Joker had gotten the materials to manufacture his trademark weapon, the situation was far more deadly than Batman had realized. He hurried up the remainder of the staircase and made a beeline for the only remaining police officer in the building. The man was still writhing around on the floor, trying desperately to escape his bindings. Batman quickly made it across the room and helped the officer to his feet.
Click.
A single sound echoed off the walls of the empty room and Batman looked down to see an active hand grenade, painted with a smiley face, sitting where the officer had been. He hadn't been writhing around to escape, he had been trying to keep the spring loaded release mechanism in place.
Without thinking, Batman grabbed the officer and dove to the nearest window, even as he felt the heat and the force of the explosion at his back. He fired a line in midair as soon as he was through the glass and felt it go taut. He pivoted his weight on the line and his back smashed against the concrete of the adjacent building with the force of the blast. It hurt, but he'd live. He retracted the line and pulled himself and the officer to the safety of the rooftops.
Something wasn't right. Joker was a madman, of course, but this wasn't his usual modus operandi. There was no build to this. Nothing to gain. Even in his pointless schemes, Joker had always made sure Batman knew about them. The showdown between the two of them was the payoff for the Joker. So why the secrecy this time around? Why hide? It was almost as if he were using himself as a distraction. A decoy to draw Batman away from something bigger. The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes as Jervis Tetch's warning echoed in his ears.
This is just the beginning
Hours later and the sun was up, gleaming off the steel spires of Gotham City and giving the whole place a golden glow. It almost made the city seem cheerful. And, depending on who you asked on this particular morning, that's exactly what it was.
Dick had been surprised and a little disappointed when he woke up alone, but quickly smiled when he heard movement out in the kitchen. Out he wandered in nothing but a pair of jeans. He had been unable to find his shirt, but understood why when he got to the kitchen and found Harley, her golden hair tied up in her trademark pigtails, making coffee wearing his white dress shirt and nothing else. He stood in the mouth of the hallway for a few silent moments, watching her. She was humming to herself, a smile painted on her face as she maneuvered around the kitchen looking for this or that, completely content. Every so often she would reach for something on a higher shelf and the tails of his shirt would ride up, giving him a peek of her butt from beneath the flimsy material. As he stood there, he contemplated the maddening question of how she could manage to be unbelievably cute and undeniably sexy all at the same time.
For no readily apparent reason that Dick could find, she happened to glance in his direction and her blue eyes lit up when she saw him.
"Good morning." She greeted as her smile grew.
He returned her smile and began walking to the kitchen. "How'd you sleep?"
"Fantastic. Your bed's really comfy." She replied as she set a cup of coffee down in front of him and leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Thanks." He sipped his coffee and continued to watch as she helped herself to a glass of orange juice and leaned against the counter, gazing out the window at the skyline. "You got plans for the day?" He asked, bringing her attention back to him.
"Nope. Not yet anyway. I want to start looking for a job within the week, but I kind of want to take things slow for right now."
"Good. How'd you like to spend the day with me then?"
Harley's face lit up again at the idea of having a whole day together. "Sure! Doing what?"
"Whatever you want. Sky's the limit." Dick replied with a smile.
Harley was ecstatic, but a bit intimidated by that idea. Nobody had ever taken into consideration what she wanted, let alone been willing to cater to her for a whole day. She was a little unsure how to approach the situation.
"Maybe we could start with a little shopping?" Harley suggested.
"Sure. We'll go from there." Dick replied.
"Let me grab a shower first." Harley said, her excitement building the more she thought about the idea of having a whole day with her Bluebird to do whatever she wanted.
Dick smirked at her as she ran out of the room, heading straight for the bathroom. His mind, for some reason, wandered back to old memories of Harley when she had been the Joker's right hand. When she had been the enemy. Dick could remember quite a few times back when he was still wearing the red and yellow that Harley had given him quite the beating. Whether it was recent circumstances or just nostalgia, Dick smiled at the thought. It still seemed surreal; Harley Quinn, his…
Dick stopped in mid-thought and realized how far the situation had gotten. Was Harley his girlfriend? Of course they had been intimate with each other on over a dozen occasions now, but had his image of Harley shifted that much over the past couple of days? Did he trust her enough to consider his girlfriend?
She manipulates, Dick, it's what she does. She's playing with you.
Tim Drake's voice floated into his mind and he shoved it away. He wouldn't believe that. Harley wasn't that kind of person.
But she was, once.
"No!" Dick shouted aloud, thankful when he heard the steady sound of the shower running. She hadn't heard him. But the question remained, how much did he really trust Harley? How much could he trust her?
Dick shook his head, tossing aside the ever escalating doubt that seemed determined to creep into his mind. Harley deserved a chance. She needed someone to believe in her.
"Bluebird?"
Dick's attention instantly turned to Harley, who stood across the room, clad only in a wet towel.
"Yeah?"
"You okay? You looked like you were on another planet for a sec."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just kind of got lost in thought for a minute."
"Well, I'm gonna go get ready to go. You should probably get dressed." She said with a smile as she turned and headed for the back bedroom.
Dick watched as she walked away, the doubt in his mind loosening its hold, but refusing to let go completely. He wanted to trust her more than anything, but couldn't shake the memories of all the things she had done. He hated himself for judging her on her past, doing the exact thing he had shouted at Tim for doing last night.
He again shoved his thoughts to the back of his mind and got up, heading to the back bedroom to get dressed, hoping that the events of the day would lend him some much needed certainty.
The fluorescent lights of the Batcave burned brightly, as they had all night. The dark circles under Bruce Wayne's eyes were highlighted by the glow of the multitude of computer monitors in front of him. He stared, emotionless at the security footage of the Gotham City Police station, watching as the Joker's thugs, aided by the cover of a gas cloud, stormed the complex and took out the officers, one by one. Each of them were bound, gagged and blindfolded, then hauled out of the building and into a waiting van, which drove off into the night.
Bruce had already tracked the license plate and traced the interior GPS on the vehicle, which had already been abandoned near the docks in Gotham East, most likely nowhere near the actual location where Joker was holding the kidnapped officers. As much as Bruce hated to admit it, he was back to square one.
"I'm back." Tim's voice came from the stairway.
"Anything?"
"I checked over all of Joker's old hangouts, turned up nothing. Wherever he is, he's covering his tracks really well this time."
Bruce turned his attention back to the computer screen, not really paying much attention to the display. Anything he could have learned from the security footage had already been taken note of. A rush of rage washed over Bruce, tinged with guilt and a sickening sense of failure. These men were depending on him to save their lives. He would not quit. Besides, with most of the greater metro Police Department kidnapped, the streets would become a criminal paradise.
Bruce stood up and briskly marched down the small staircase to the lower platform where his workbench sat.
"What is it?" Tim asked, following after him.
"Need to think." Bruce replied grimly.
"And you think tinkering with your gadgets is going to help?"
"Hasn't failed me yet. Hit the remaining police broadcasts, see what you can turn up."
Tim nodded and took Bruce's chair at the computer, hoping they would get lucky.
Hours had passed and Harley was having the time of her life. She and Dick had hit just about every store in the mall. He had bought her more beautiful dresses and outfits than she could count. She had taken a moment in the dressing room of one of the shops a while ago, a moment to take stock of the situation and realize that she had never been through anything like this. No one had ever catered to her in this way. No one had ever bought her expensive things or taken her out just to enjoy her company. No one had ever cared about her this way.
That was it.
Dick cared about her. That was what was different. It hit her like a ton of bricks and seemed so simple all at the same time. The Joker had never cared about her. She had been a toy to him. A tool. An expendable asset that he enjoyed playing with from time to time. But he had never cared. Dick cared. And he was the first person Harley could remember that did.
The tears came then, falling like liquid diamonds down her cheeks. The disastrous mess her life had been was suddenly laid out in front of her, clear as day. She had been used and manipulated for so long that it had become commonplace. She had accepted it because it was normal to her. Joker had picked away at her self-worth for so long that she had been nothing but an empty shell; a husk of a human being by the time she had finally made it out of Arkham. She had found Nightwing and expected things to go bad, but they hadn't. She had gravitated toward him out of habit; out of necessity. Harley had needed someone there to validate her existence because she no longer saw herself as worth seeing.
But everything was different now. She had found someone who cared about her. Dick cared about her and that one detail made her remember that she was a person. Not just a person, but her own person. She could make the decisions. She could choose what her life would look like down the road into the distant, unknown future.
As she dried her tears, Harley Quinn decided that her past, spent in darkness and pain and blood would no longer matter. And her future would be bright and wonderful, with the sun shining on her through a clear sky. A blue sky.
The day carried on and as the sun set, Dick's fears and doubts had disappeared. He couldn't explain it, but he felt… right. Whenever she gazed at him with those sparkling blue eyes or smiled at him, he felt it in his bones. Harley was different now. The minute traces of her criminal persona were gone. And in their place was someone altogether new. Someone lovely and sweet. Someone he wanted to hold and comfort. Someone he wanted to protect.
Someone you love
Dick didn't shove that thought away. He held onto it and examined it, even considered it. Maybe that was it. He glanced at her and caught the dying rays of sunlight played across her face and her sapphire eyes sparkled at him, a coy smile planted on her delicate lips. For the first time, Dick really realized how beautiful Harley was, and didn't hesitate to take advantage of the moment and kiss her deeply, feeling her lean into him as he did. He finally pulled back and took another silent moment to study her in this light, perfect contentment clearly seated on both their faces.
"Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?" Dick asked.
Harley was taken aback by this and the surprise was evident by her expression. It took only a moment for an even bigger smile to replace the one that had vanished only a few seconds before.
"No." She replied, unable to tear her gaze from his cobalt eyes. "But why don't you go ahead and tell me now?"
"You're gorgeous." He said, smiling as she pulled him in for another kiss.
The sun was gone only a short while later, leaving only an orange haze in the sky as Dick pulled up in front of Ivy's apartment to drop Harley off. Her smile hadn't vanished as they walked, hand in hand up the stairs.
Both their smiles vanished, however when they caught sight of the door, half-smashed and hanging off its hinges. Dick, acting out of habit, quickly moved himself in front of Harley and cautiously approached the apartment, peering inside.
The lights were still working, but flickered, casting eerie shadows on the carnage. Shards of glass and mangled plants were scattered across the floor and a few of the walls had been smashed through. The kitchen table was overturned, as were both the couches in the living room. The TV had been kicked in and was still smoking from inside the screen, while the curtains had been ripped off the wall and were lying on the living room carpet in tatters.
As Dick maneuvered himself through the kitchen and into the living room, he caught sight of something behind one of the couches. The prone and bleeding form of Poison Ivy, partially covered by the remains of a curtain, was on the floor, unconscious. Dick quickly ran to her and checked for a pulse, appalled at the physical damage that had been done to her.
Harley, who had begun crying, stood by as Dick checked her best friend's vitals. It took her a minute to register that this was actually happening. It felt like a bad dream. How could a day so perfect end like this?
A small sound, much like a weak moan came from Ivy and Dick pulled back from her as her eyes slowly opened. Harley was the first to step forward, eager to know if Ivy was going to make it.
"Red?" Harley squeaked, small tears still clinging to her cheeks.
"Hiya, Goldilocks." Ivy said weakly. Harley managed a smile as Dick stood up.
"Who did this to you?" He asked.
"Joker and his gang of worthless pukes. Think I killed a couple of them, but there were too many. They were looking for you, Harley."
"Me?" Harley asked, looking worriedly from Ivy to Dick and back again. "I guess I should have seen that one coming."
"Did you tell them anything?" Dick asked, concern very evident in his voice.
"Give me some credit, Grayson. I told them squat. I'm not about to betray one of the only friends I've got. Especially not for that fucking sideshow reject."
Harley smiled and squeezed Ivy's hand. "You're one in a million, Red." She said proudly.
"You bet your ass I am." Ivy replied with a smile as she struggled to sit up.
"Take it easy." Dick warned, trying to get her to lie back down. Ivy shooed his hand away and managed to pull herself into a sitting position up against the overturned couch.
"Quit fussing, Grayson, I'm not made of glass." She said with a scowl. Harley quickly came to sit beside Ivy, checking her injuries out. There didn't seem to be much wrong with her, other than a few scrapes and cuts, along with a pretty nasty bump on her head.
"They trashed my damn greenhouse, didn't they?" Ivy asked, looking to Harley, who nodded. "Damn it! I'm going to have to get to my other hideout; I've got herbs there to recuperate with. In the meantime, I want you to get somewhere safe." She placed a hand on Harley's chin, looking directly into her eyes as she spoke. She next turned her gaze to Dick, and held an equally serious tone when she spoke to him. "Get her somewhere where that damned clown isn't going to find her."
"Consider it done. Are you going to be alright?"
"I'll be fine. Get out of here before they decide to come back."
"Red I don't want to leave you alone. Not like this." Harley squeaked.
"I'm a big girl, Harley, I can take care of myself. Now go."
It took some doing, but Dick finally managed to get Harley to leave Ivy's apartment and get back on the bike. A million thoughts and fears swirled through his mind now, but none of them were the same as the ones that had been eating at him this morning. No, these were different. These were worse.
"Where are we goin' Bluebird?" Harley asked as they ventured through the city.
"We're gonna drop in on some friends of mine. They can keep you safe."
There was a silent moment while Harley put two and two together and realized exactly what Dick meant. She clung tighter to him as the bike raced through the night, toward the forest outside Gotham North.
*NOTE* Thanks to those of you who bothered to give a bit of positive feedback. I had almost given up on this and it turned out all I needed was a few kind words to bring me back. More to come. Promise.
