When Green Arrow and Black Canary fled from their teammates, neither one of them had a safe haven in mind for Harley Quinn. As they spirit Harley away from the scene of her crime both of them take the comms out of their ears and throw them. Next to go are their Justice League communicators and they also rip the tiny GPS beacons from their suits. Harley struggles to hold on to Oliver with her cuffed hands and watches as the heroes dump their League hardware.
"That escalated quickly!" Oliver shouts over the roar of his bike. He was being sarcastic of course. Like Batman, Green Arrow had always known that Superman and the others would eventually pose a threat to the world they protected. Power always corrupts when there's too much of it in the same room. Oliver Queen was no friend of Harley's but that didn't mean he could stand by while Clark bathed his hands in her blood. The Arrow and the Bird also had their own motivations for wanting to escape the League while they could. After much longing and heartbreak, Black Canary was finally with child. Bringing Harley Quinn along was certainly not part of their original plan to distance themselves but it happened so quickly there was no turning back now. Superman and the League would hunt the archer and his wife whether Harley was with them or not. The Canary gives her husband a grave look as they push on in the direction of Star City.
"Where in the hell are we going to hide?" Dinah yells to Oliver. Harley leans forward so Green Arrow can hear her and says something into his ear.
"Not bad you nut-job," Oliver is genuinely surprised "Not bad at all!"
As they make their way deeper into Star City their destination becomes obvious to Dinah. The Palmer Technologies building shines in the distance like a lighthouse. Raymond Palmer's last name stands proud amongst the other skyscrapers. The Atom himself was presumed missing by the public and most of the League. Only Martian Manhunter and the Canary knew he'd joined a time-travel team. When J'onn assembled the team he offered Black Canary the post of captain. Dinah turned him down so she and Oliver could focus on starting a family. Fertility problems arose and Dinah endured months of grueling hormone therapy. When it all became too much Black Canary coped by going on time-travel missions with the team in secret. Oliver had no way of knowing when Dinah was with the team and she liked it that way. Canary loved him with all her heart but Ollie could be a lot and sometimes his wife needed a vacation from his personality.
"Why Palmer Tech," Dinah brings her bike alongside Oliver's "The plan better not be to shrink us!"
"Oooh I want to shrink!" Harley exclaims as the superhero couple slow their bikes to a halt.
"No one is shrinking," Green Arrow says calmly as he dismounts "We can use the fight club floor as a bunker."
"Damn, I forgot we used to do that." Dinah sighs as she climbs off her bike.
"That's the point," Oliver steadies his handlebars so Harley can hop off "I completely forgot about it too and I ran the damn thing."
"So no shrinking?" Harley asks in a disappointed tone. She rolls her wrists and stretches her arms as much as the Bat-cuffs will allow.
"No," Green Arrow shakes his head in disbelief "What is your deal with the fucking shrinking?"
"We don't have time for this," Dinah interrupts before Ollie can go on a tangent "Let's get going, now!"
Harley remembered the hidden Super Fight Club facility beneath the building well. She'd spent her favorite anniversary with the Joker in it, beating the crap out of the heroes that had rescued her today. Using it as a hideout was a risky play but much safer than any of the other facilities and properties they had access to. The Atom encased the entire fight club floor with lead when it was constructed back in the early days so the building could withstand Superman's heat vision when they all trained together. This phase hadn't lasted long, Clark didn't have a taste for fight club so Green Arrow ended up running it until the event faded to obscurity in their memories. Except for Harley's, attending Super Fight Club was one of her fondest memories with the Joker. Green Arrow and Black Canary ditch their bikes now that the sun had set and take to the rooftops so they don't leave a digital breadcrumb trail on any cameras for Cyborg. This was the precise moment the three of them truly vanished off the grid. Dinah and Oliver knew they only had a window of a few hours to disappear into their city under a cloak of darkness. Before long Clark would have Cyborg begin a virtual hunt for the escapees. Right now all of the League's attention and resources would be dedicated to finding the Joker. Harley keeps up with the Bird and her husband despite her hands still being cuffed as they leap from building to building. Finally, they make it to the roof of the Palmer Tech building and use one of the Atom's many secret entrances. The trio find themselves in a hallway with a private elevator at the end. Completely exhausted from hours of acrobatics, the Arrow, Canary, and Clown pile into the elevator without speaking. When they finally reach the bunker level Oliver and Dinah are very surprised to find some of the lights on.
"Careful." Oliver loads his bow and keeps Dinah and Harley at his back as they move forward. The bunker was dustier than it had been during Harley's previous visit but otherwise looked the same. It was a huge, open room with a gigantic cage in the center that almost touched the cavernous ceiling at its highest point. There was a control room for the scoreboard on the furthest wall and Harley notices a few other doors she hadn't had the chance to open last time. Suddenly, the nose of a weapon pokes out from behind the furthest door and takes a warning shot at the new arrivals. Oliver, Dinah, and Harley have no choice but to hit the floor due to the room's open design providing no cover. Oliver pops up onto his knees and fires an arrow but their attacker uses the door for cover and the arrow lands in it with a thud. The door cracks and the trio roll in opposite directions as the weapon fires again. Black Canary gets to her feet and opens her mouth to Sonic Scream but then she notices a huge streak of ice on the floor.
"Leonard," Dinah calls out "It's just me and Ollie don't shoot!"
"Canary," the door opens all the way revealing Leonard Snart as their attacker "Can't be too careful today what with your Super-Bestie losing his marbles." Captain Cold and his Rogues were among the very first villains invited to Super Fight Club. That was all Barry's idea the Flash couldn't resist rehabilitating his villains. Leonard figured out Oliver and Dinah's true identities long ago from spending so much time together in the ring. He also knew the Flash's identity but Cold would never out any of the heroes. He considered himself to be a man of style and found the idea repulsively basic. After that trust was established Cold was charged with coordinating the villains on the guest list.
"What do you know about that?" Oliver relaxes and lowers his bow.
"I know there's a huge bounty on her head." Captain Cold takes the opening Oliver provided and aims the cold gun at Harley.
"Aw nuts," Harley raises her cuffed hands up into fists "Come on then Captain Chill, let's go!"
"We've fought several times," Cold keeps his aim steady and takes a step forward "Pretending to forget my name is a pretty desperate power move."
"Wait a sec," Harley cocks her head "You just tried to psychoanalyze me to throw me off my game before a fight, that's my thing!"
"That's enough from both of you," Dinah steps in front of Harley "Put it down before I put you down, Leonard!"
"Ok fine, whatever," Leonard rests the cold gun on his shoulder "Temporary truce while I get you up to speed."
"Are you going to ask what he's doing here," Oliver looks to his wife incredulously "And when did you two become such good buddies?"
Unbeknownst to Oliver, Captain Cold and Black Canary had worked together on the same time-travel team the Atom was still with. The pair understood each other and had developed a close bond during their adventures through time. It was obvious to Raymond and the rest of the crew that the two carried a torch for each other. Much to the team's frustration, neither would ever act upon those feelings due to their stoic personalities and Canary's marriage. For a lot of heroes, what happens on the time ship stays on the time ship but Dinah and Leonard just weren't wired that way. Seeing one another now, all those unresolved feelings come rushing back to the surface for both of them. Cold lingers in the door, his eyes glued on the Canary under his goggles. Dinah feels his gaze and hardens her face out of reflex.
"Obviously we're squatting." comes a female voice from behind Leonard, breaking the tension. Cold beckons for the new arrivals to join him and ducks back into the room. Harley gapes at her companions once she comes through the door and finds out that the bunker had a lounge all this time. Captain Cold's younger sister, Lisa Snart is seated in a plush armchair. The lounge has several more couches and chairs as well as a small kitchen area and plenty of high tech screens. The Snarts had the news on the main one and the state of the world was looking grim for heroes and villains alike.
"Well shit," Harley takes a seat far from Lisa "Hello again, Goldie."
"Oh hey there," Lisa says with false enthusiasm "You have fun today, Psycho Barbie?"
"Stop acting like children," Black Canary settles onto a couch with Oliver "Lenny, start talking."
"Superman spoke earlier," Cold wastes no time "Thanks to Harley's boyfriend he's decided enough is enough and you super-people will be taking over."
"What do you mean," Harley feels her stomach drop "Takin' over what?"
"The world, you dummy!" Lisa is unable to hold her sharp tongue.
"The government made a play to stop him and failed," Leonard informs them "We live in a super police state now, he's calling it his Regime."
"How many League members are behind him?" asks Black Canary.
"All of them except for Batman." Leonard wags a finger as he speaks.
"Even Green Lantern and the Flash?" Oliver doesn't want to accept that Hal or Barry could be onboard with this hostile takeover.
"What did I just say?" Leonard keeps his usual poise despite being annoyed.
"Then forget them," Dinah speaks after a moment "We'll need time and resources to take this Regime down."
"I'm sorry I don't think you heard my brother," Lisa's voice drips with trademark Snart family snark "They're locking up all of us criminals on sight no official arrests, no due process, no courtdates!"
"So they're just nabbing all the bad guys they can find and locking them up even if they ain't done nothing?" Harley's voice quivers a little as she speaks.
"Yes," Leonard spreads his hands "You're looking at what's left of the Flash's Rogues."
"Fucking fuck," it all sinks in for Harley "We have to find Batsy and his kids or we're fucked."
"Agreed," Green Arrow takes his wife's hand "Everyone get some sleep, tomorrow's really going to suck."
"Could one of you mechanical geniuses get these bracelets off me?" Harley holds up her hands and shakes the Bat-cuffs for emphasis.
"Oh sure why not," Leonard drawls "Let's free up the raving lunatic's hands so she can kill us in our sleep without being inconvenienced."
"Man come on," Harley turns to Green Arrow "I swear I'll be a good girl."
Oliver Queen sighs and beckons for Harley to come forward. "Yes!" She jumps to her feet in excitement and skips across the room to stand in front of Oliver. He starts examining Batman's restraints and realizes there's no way to pick or dismantle them with tools. It takes some convincing but Captain Cold finally agrees to use his gun to freeze the cuffs.
"Ok," Leonard nestles the gun's nose against the cuffs "Close your eyes and make your fists as small as you can."
"Wait what?" Harley closes her eyes and squeezes her fists upon hearing the cold gun fire. She keeps her eyes closed while Captain Cold works on freeing her hands. Once the Bat mechanism in the center is frozen solid Snart has Harley put her hands on a tabletop.
"Ready?" Before Harley can answer him, Leonard uses the handle of his gun to smash the brittle segment holding her hands together. The Bat-cuffs come loose and fall right off with the mechanism destroyed.
"Finally," Harley shakes out her wrists "Did you have to scare the shit out of me?"
"Nope but it sure was satisfying." Leonard gives her a smirk and goes to sprawl out on a couch. Dinah rolls her eyes, having become well acquainted with her former teammate's frosty demeanor. Oliver pulls down his hood and holds his head in his hands, his wife was right to call Harley and the Snarts children .
"So glad that was fun for you." Harley pouts as she drops into an armchair.
"Good job Lenny," Lisa glares at her brother "I hope she kills you first."
"Brat." Leonard taunts his sister from the couch he'd settled on with his eyes shut, feigning sleep.
"Jerk." Golden Glider fires back right away.
"Mean girl." It takes everything Leonard has not to grin. Harley breaks down and starts to giggle at the sibling drama.
"Okay, that's it we're going to play a game," Green Arrow lifts his head "It's called the felons are going to be quiet until sunrise."
Cold just pulls his goggles down around his neck and turns on his side to sleep. Harley stops giggling and curls up in the chair, disappointed Oliver put the kibosh on the slumber party drama. Lisa sulks and silently watches Harley until she eventually falls asleep. Black Canary lays her head on her husband's shoulder and rests a hand on her stomach.
"I can't believe that actually worked," she whispers "You're going to be a wonderful father."
"I hope so," he breathes down into her ear as he lays his hand over her stomach "Pretty Bird."
Author's note : Hello, this is your captain speaking we are now officially entering Crackship Space. This story has pulled a Snyder Cut. I'm posting my original versions of the first few chapters here for those following. I decided to launch a new story set in a similar universe it's called We're A Broken People Now. It's intended to be more grounded and cinematic. Still non-canonical and AU. Thanks for reading.