Palmer Technologies Building - Star City
On that first night in the bunker, Black Canary had fallen asleep imagining all the ways her new roommates would drive her up the walls. Being trapped underground with Harley Quinn, the Snarts, and Oliver's personality did not seem healthy or conducive for Canary's already-stressful pregnancy. For the moment, contacting Batman is decided to be too risky by the "adults" Dinah, Oliver, and Leonard. They couldn't chance Cyborg discovering their location, when it came to the digital world he was nearly omnipotent. If Cyborg caught wind of them talking to Batman it would be game over for the refugees in the bunker and the Bat Family. It was either a miracle or dumb luck that they hadn't been found yet, now was not the time to find out which. So long as they didn't draw attention to the Palmer Tech building the bunker would continue to work as a hideout. The Atom had clearly lived there at some point, probably while he was mid-divorce with Jean. He'd been generous enough to leave behind a store room stocked with food and basic 're grateful to find Palmer Tech sweats and T-shirts amongst the supplies in the storage room. Jokes are often made about superheroes living in their suits and for a moment they'd all privately pondered the logistics of literally having nothing to wear. A door in the lounge previously thought to be a closet turns out to contain a washer and dryer, fortunately Raymond thought of everything while building his future bachelor pad. The only amenities Dinah and Oliver knew about previously were the lounge and locker room attached to the massive cage area, causing them to wonder what other secrets the Atom engineered into this place. The facility is Spartan in comparison to the luxurious Watchtower but they quickly learn to make the space work. Due to his time on Lian Yu Oliver Queen adapts instantly and his unbreakable spirit keeps the others from spiraling. He gets the group on a schedule right away, designating time for meals, training, and rest. Oliver was far from the responsible one on the Justice League but he'd quickly recognized Team Bunker would implode if he didn't step up. They take turns picking out dehydrated or frozen meals from Atom's stash and keep the news on in the background during mealtimes. There was next to nothing about the Bat Family on the news, just rare glimpses of them on patrol and every channel repeating the same reports from day one. For all appearances it seems the Bat Family just want to be left alone to do their thing in Gotham. Oliver Queen knows Bruce Wayne well and has a hunch Bruce didn't ask them to save Harley purely out of kindness. Batman was a calculating, stone-cold tactician, Green Arrow knows his old friend must be working an angle to free the world of one power-mad Kryptonian. Whatever Batman's plan was, it depended on Oliver and Dinah keeping Harley alive and hidden. Once it becomes apparent that this was their new normal and no longer an extended sleepover they start coming up with more entertaining ways to pass the time. Harley becomes mesmerized with archery after seeing Oliver practice one day and begs him to teach her to shoot like him. The Arrow is glad to have a student to focus on and Harley turns out to be a natural with a bow, bordering on gifted. Initially there was some resistance to the rigorous training schedule but the Arrow and Canary do whatever it takes to drive this odd team forward. At first none of them train together outside of Oliver and Dinah. Harley taking up archery is the first step toward Super Fight Club being reborn. A few days later Lisa Snart asks Dinah for help with her hand-to-hand combat, realizing she'd need more than a high-tech gun to survive in this new world. Before long the entire group is sparring together multiple times a day. The introverted Captain Cold gets his workouts in but spends the rest of his time perched near the top of the cage with his nose in a book while the others train below him. Mostly, he does this to keep his distance from Black Canary though he can't help glancing down at her every few minutes or so. Leonard watches her execute a perfect whip-kick that knocks Lisa back against the bars of the cage. Canary grins and puts up her hands, gesturing for Lisa to come at her again. Harley was with them when today's training started but she'd disappeared at some point. She'd taken to raiding the other floors after office hours so they just assume she's off exploring the building again.
"Lisa," Green Arrow ducks under the bars to join them "I'll distract her, see if you can land a hit."
"Let's do it!" Lisa steadies her stance and waits for Green Arrow to make his move. Leonard actually lowers his book a few inches to watch the clash.
"Bring it," Dinah laughs as she and Oliver square off "I won't even use my powers."
Green Arrow feints left, keeping his hands and feet moving like a boxer. Black Canary feels Lisa closing in behind her so she back-bends into a handspring to give herself more space. Lisa's hands tear out to knock Dinah off balance but the Canary is too fast. When she lands Oliver and Lisa are advancing again on both sides. Dinah waits for them to get a tiny bit closer, then she drops down and performs a sweeping kick that knocks both of them to the ground. Oliver gets back on his feet grinning. Lisa lets out a shriek of frustration as she jumps up from the floor.
"You sweep me off my feet, Pretty Bird." Oliver levels his hands and slowly circles his wife. Leonard is unable to stop himself from letting out a gagging noise. Both Dinah and Oliver pause to look up at Captain Cold.
"Something wrong, Leonard?" Dinah glares up at her former teammate. Lisa makes her move while she thinks Canary is distracted and ends up in a headlock.
"Damn it!" Golden Glider cries once the Canary releases her.
"I know it's like trying to fight water," Oliver winks at his wife "Come face me, let's fine-tune that combat movement."
Dinah leaves them sparring in the cage and goes to get a drink of water from the lounge. The moment she stops moving a wave of nausea hits her. Black Canary grabs onto the counter in the kitchen area to steady herself and takes a deep breath. She'd been fool enough to start thinking her morning sickness had passed. Unfortunately it was back with a vengeance and liked to strike at random times throughout the day.
"Canary," she looks up and sees that Cold had followed her "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Dinah squeezes her eyes shut and leans on the counter "Did you really come all the way down from your nest just to bother me?" To say Dinah was becoming a little hormonal would be a massive understatement.
"You've been off your game," Leonard crosses his arms "Oh yeah I noticed what's the deal, Canary?"
"Just leave me alone!" Dinah shoves past him and runs for the closest bathroom as her nausea intensifies. She locks the door and falls to her knees in front of the toilet. Only she and Oliver knew about the pregnancy and for now they intended to keep it that way.
"Well, if that's how you want it," Cold speaks through the door "You got it." The moment Dinah hears his footsteps walking away she starts puking her guts out. When the urge to vomit finally recedes she sits back on her knees and tries to regulate her breathing. She shouldn't have bothered, a few moments later Dinah receives the scare of her life. Harley Quinn suddenly pops into existence in the bathroom with her.
"I knew it!" Harley says triumphantly. Dinah lets out a tiny shriek and falls back onto her butt in surprise. Any other day she would've cold-cocked Harley out of reflex. Leonard was right about the Black Canary being noticeably off her game.
"Jesus fuck Harley," Dinah puts a hand over her heart "Don't do that ever again!"
"Sorry," Harley sits on the floor with Dinah "So, who's the baby daddy and how far along are you?"
"Leave me alone, you nosy, psychotic, kleptomaniac," Dinah notices Harley is wearing one of the Atom's prototype shrinking belts "Where'd you find that?"
"Don't change the subject," Harley grins wickedly "Spill!"
"Wouldn't you rather be shooting arrows or using that belt to fuck with Ollie and the Cold siblings?" Dinah makes a half-hearted attempt to blow Harley off.
"We been down here a while now," Harley hugs her knees and Dinah watches her personality shift from wicked to childlike in a matter of seconds "You and Ollie didn't really know me, didn't like me, but you saved me anyway."
"What's your point?" Dinah never knew what to make of Harley Quinn even before they ended up living together. Oliver was so good with Harley and handling her had come so naturally to him. So much so that Dinah sometimes questions her capacity to be a mother. Maybe she just didn't possess the maternal gene. Black Canary had never been able to wrap her brain around the Clowns' relationship. Harley certainly wasn't dumb and it was obvious her skills had surpassed the Joker's long ago. Why repeatedly return to an abusive madman with an inferiority complex?
"Why would you do that," Harley's voice cracks a little "Mr. J tried to take me with him after Metropolis burned but I couldn't stand another second with him."
"I didn't know that," Canary had just assumed the Joker left Harley behind to distract and slow down the heroes "We saved you because Batman wanted us to."
"Bullshit." Harley peers out at Dinah from behind her bleached bangs, taking on the air of a cocky teenager challenging a parent with that single phrase.
"You needed our help," Dinah blurts out, emotionally exhausted from the few minutes spent with Harley and her rotating personalities "Also, friends don't let friends do murders in broad daylight, we were trying to help Superman too."
"I was ready to die," Harley admits even though the shrink in her disapproves "But I'm real grateful you didn't let me….I got a daughter."
"I'm sorry, you have a what now?" The words fly out before Dinah even knows what she's saying.
"I had a little girl with my….ex," Harley takes a deep breath "He don't know, rotten bastard didn't even notice how fat I got before I disappeared to hide my pregnancy."
"Do you see her?" Dinah is starting to understand why Harley was such a glutton for punishment.
"I do, believe it or not Waller's real good that way," Harley pushes her bangs back off her face "I was scared and alone in the world so I went to the Wall, she got me medical care and arranged for my sister to get custody."
"That must've cost you dearly." Black Canary is very aware of the way Waller runs Belle Reve and her Suicide Squad.
"It did, I'll never be free of that devil lady," Harley cracks a bright smile out of nowhere "Making sure Lucy would be safe was worth it and I got visitation privileges between missions."
"Lucy Quinn, isn't that something?" Dinah tries to picture what the Clowns' spawn would look like.
"Quinzel, actually," Harley corrects Dinah "She thinks I'm her aunt, the kid deserved a shot at normal."
"That was very selfless of you." Dinah can hardly bear to imagine the pain of having to part with her child-to-be once he or she was born. Surely she'd die of a broken heart.
"Uh huh," Harley reaches out and pokes the Canary's shoulder with a finger "Now it's your turn to share."
"I'm somewhere between twelve and fourteen weeks," Dinah finally opens up to Harley "Ollie is the father, why would you even ask me that?"
"I'm bananas not blind," Harley tugs on one of her pigtails "The sexual tension between you and low-rent Mr. Freeze is stifling especially down here."
"Leonard and I were teammates once," Black Canary holds a perfect poker face "We've all known each other a while, big deal."
"I thought you all knew each other from fight club," Harley claps her hands together suddenly "Hubby don't know about the team, do he?"
"Listen, you crazy bitch," Dinah points a finger in Harley's face "If you betray my trust I'll finish what Superman started and I won't be nearly as gentle."
"Calm down, girlfriends don't snitch on each other," Harley holds up her hands in passivity "Why did you keep the team a secret from Ollie?"
"This team was special," Canary bites her lip, knowing Harley wouldn't leave her alone until she got the full story "They travel in time, ok, getting pregnant wasn't easy so I started going on missions to distract myself and get some space from all the disappointment."
"Sounds like a textbook case of Atychiphobia," Doctor Quinzel briefly surfaces "Plus a serious lack of coping skills."
"I tell you I've time traveled and your response is to diagnose me?" Dinah is actually relieved to be speaking with Harleen for the moment. Harley would've asked a million questions like a little kid.
"Time travel, huh," Harleen isn't fazed "So, was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Icy a particularly large distraction?" She can't stop herself from giggling at the joke. Great, Harley Quinn had rejoined the conversation.
"Oh don't even," Canary quickly changes the subject "Want to hear the really crazy part?"
"Have we met?" Harley's eyes widen in anticipation.
"When we found out I was pregnant I just assumed the hormone therapy finally worked," Dinah plays with the zipper on her leather jacket "Thing is when I went back to the fertility clinic my doctor was shocked, said she was going to stop treatment because my body wasn't responding."
"You think the time travel got you pregnant?" Harley asks.
"Oliver got me pregnant," Dinah rests a hand on her stomach and smiles "I think the time travel made that possible."
"That's amazing," Harley's hands come up to her face "You might have a time baby!"
"A time baby?" Dinah snorts a little as she laughs.
"No, seriously," Harley insists "What if your kid is born with, like, time-manipulation powers or something?"
"Oh, shit." Dinah couldn't laugh her off completely. Stranger things happened in the Temporal Zone all the time.
"Didn't think about that, did ya?" Harley breaks down cackling but stops when Dinah starts puking again. She quickly gathers the Canary's hair in one hand and rubs her back with the other while she throws up. "I was just playin' there's no such thing as a time baby."
Dinah nods and rests her forehead on a leather sleeve. If this child was born with any powers other than her own Black Canary was going to have some serious explaining to do to her husband.
Gotham - The Batcave
Selina's words echo in Bruce's head while he cautiously inspects Red Hood's helmet. He takes his sweet time because he knows the Cat is absolutely correct, Batman or Bruce Wayne must have history with whoever is under the hood. Bruce didn't truly have trouble finding the EMP gun or any reason to think the standard charges they carried wouldn't take out the helmet. Red Hood's knowledge of all things Bat Family evoked a feeling Bruce hadn't experienced since he was a child, panic. He didn't want to know who was hiding under that helmet. Batman had many regrets and failures over his lengthy career, one of them must have birthed the homicidal vigilante before him. Of course he'd rather die than admit that to another living soul so he lets the team believe that stunt he pulled was all for the sake of "looking cool". The helmet turns out to be completely fried from the enormous pulse and Bruce doesn't find any tripwires or other nasty surprises. The Bat Family doesn't know that yet so he retrieves a tablet and starts running diagnostics to give himself a moment to clear his head. Batgirl gets the power rebooted and is able to uninitiate the lockdown, taking back control of the Batcave from the rogue blast doors retract into the ceiling and the overhead lights come back on. Huntress had stumbled her way to a chair and sits bent at the waist, in pain and very much aware of how lucky she was to still be alive. Catwoman retrieves a med kit for Dick after walking away from Bruce and is currently in the process of sterilizing Nightwing's stab wound. The corners of Dick Grayson's mouth twitch in pain as Selina begins to stitch up the gaping puncture in his calf. The Cat had always been an exceptional seamstress and early on she'd translated that skill into patching up her own flesh wounds. Dick does his best not to wince as Selina quickly works to close the wound, she was quite efficient but lacked Alfred's gentle touch. Red Hood has been awake nearly this entire time, silently watching the Bat Family work. It takes everything he has not to snicker at the way Dick cringes when Selina tightens the sutures and ties them off. He hadn't seen them all together like this in many years and truthfully, he'd missed them.
"Hiya Brucie," Red Hood finally drops the charade "You look like you've seen a ghost and you haven't even seen my face yet."
"Well, good morning, sweetheart," Helena instantly comes flying out of the chair to stand behind Bruce "Can I fuck him up now?"
"Calm down, Huntress," Batman sighs "Is anything going to blow up in our faces if I remove your helmet?" He asks Red Hood.
"No, but you already knew that," Red Hood laughs, without the distortion tech his voice is disturbingly familiar "When are you going to tell the kids you bailed because I spooked you with my Bat skills?"
"Shut up," Helena's hands fly out and snatch the helmet off of Red Hood's head "What the…" her voice catches in her throat and she drops the helmet, stumbling back a few steps in shock.
Barbara comes to see who could provoke such a reaction from the mighty Huntress and simply drops her jaw, floored by this revelation. Catwoman helps Dick limp over and both react similarly to Barbara. Bruce buries his face in his hands, wishing it had been literally anyone else under that helmet.
"Boo," Jason Todd lunges forward, rattling the Bat-cuffs against the pipe his arms are cuffed around "I knew the looks on your faces would be worth all the blam-blam-blam stabby-stabbing!"
"Jason," Dick sinks to his knees, more floored than he'd been by the vicious stab wound "You died, you were dead!"
"Did not." Jason mocks him childishly.
"We had a funeral," Barbara says absentmindedly, as if she's reliving that day "We mourned you, for years."
"Did not," Jason shakes with petulant laughter "Cat got your tongue, Bruce?"
"No, but I'll get yours!" Selina cocks her arm back to punch Jason but Bruce catches her fist before it connects with his former Robin's face.
"I came for you that night," Bruce says softly "We dug through the rubble of that building for days looking for your body."
"Where have you been, you little brat?" The shock had worn off for Helena and now she was full of fire and fury.
"There was nothing to find because I didn't die." Jason starts laughing again in a way that eerily reminds the Bat Family of the Joker.
"Nonsense," Bruce feels a chill roll down his spine "No human could have survived that explosion and clearly you're suffering from Pit Madness."
"Is that what you think," Jason throws his head back and continues to howl with laughter "Poor, murdered, Jason Todd resurrected in a Lazarus pit by an enemy perhaps, a loaded gun to point at the Bat?"
"Jason, please," Nightwing is devastated to see his kid brother this way "Tell us who brought you back."
"How can all of you be so fucking dumb," Jason stops laughing and rolls his eyes "I told you I didn't die." He raises his voice and speaks slowly as if Bruce and the others aren't intelligent enough to comprehend human speech.
"Then what the fuck happened that night?" Barbara snaps, that famous Gordon temper lurking just beneath the surface as she rounds on Jason.
"That took forever I honesty thought you'd never ask," Jason flashes a smile and for a split second the Bats see their former Robin "The Joker let me go."
"You're full of it," Selina almost laughs "The Joker never lets anyone go, I should know."
"He talked about you while he beat me to a pulp," Jason's cold, dead eyes fixate on Selina "You made him so proud that time you stole Carmine Falcone's ledger from his desk while the old man was sitting at it."
"Nice try, kid," Selina gives him a dead-eyed look of her own "All of Gotham heard about that."
"It was a beautiful lift," Jason goes from dead inside to smiling sweetly "Quite the impressive feat for little more than a child."
"Thanks," Selina says in a flat tone "You done yet?"
"He said you fell ill that winter and nearly died," Jason holds his momentarily sweet demeanor "He kidnapped and killed his way through various doctors until you were made well again."
"He's telling the truth." Selina's face drains of any trace of color and she walks away to compose herself without another word. Hearing her broken friendship with the Joker referenced in such a way had emotionally gut-punched the Cat. Jason Todd smirks at her retreating back, thrilled the Joker's words from the night he was reborn held enough sway to hurt the only woman Bruce had ever fallen in love with.
"I don't understand," Bruce searches Jason's eyes for any trace of the person he used to be "Why didn't you come home?"
"Why would I," Jason stares back defiantly "The Joker freed me to do the work you don't have the balls to do."
"I really just cannot with this shit right now!" Helena throws up her hands and storms off to calm down. Hearing anyone praise the Joker had always been difficult for Helena. Her clan had been wiped out along with the Falcones and Maronis back when the Joker seized control of all organized crime in Gotham. The Clown Prince had the crime families massacred only to eventually grow bored with being a cartel boss after spilling all of that blood to achieve his goals. The ultimate insult was watching second-rate gangsters like Penguin and Black Mask run her family's legacy into the ground after the Joker sold off his criminal empire.
"What work," Barbara narrows her eyes "You mean killing every scumbag you come across?"
"Bruce's dumb rules almost got me killed," Jason's voice drips with venom "Joker proved it that night and now he's proven it to the world, the way you do things doesn't save anyone!"
Before Bruce or anyone else can respond, the Batcave starts to vibrate ever so slightly. A streak of yellow lighting hits the cave and the Flash comes screeching to a halt before them. Barry looks from Jason to Bruce and then back at Jason.
"I swear I didn't do any freaky time-travel stuff," Flash blurts out upon seeing Jason "But I should go find out if someone else did, be right back!"
"Whoa, Barry, Barry," Dick holds up his hands to pause the speedster "It wasn't you, we just found out that Jason's been alive all this time."
"Hi, Barry!" Jason wiggles his fingers at the Flash.
"Oh good that's great," Barry lets out a sigh of relief and lays a hand over his heart "Glad to see you alive, Boy Wonder."
"Barry, Barry, Barry," Jason visibly cringes "It's been such a long time I forgot how exhausting your whole deal is."
"Well, that wasn't very nice," Flash gives Jason's armor a second glance "Ooooh I get it you're evil and edgy now, how original."
"If believing in absolute justice makes you evil then, sure," Jason's smile flickers somewhere between his former identity's and the Joker's "I'm evil as they come."
"Batman, is he going to be a problem?" The Flash asks while crossing then uncrossing his arms as if to say he didn't have time for this.
"We honestly don't know yet." Barbara says in a calm and matter-of-fact tone.
"Everyone that isn't me stop talking right now," Bruce thunders out as he stands and faces the Flash "Barry, what the fuck are you doing here, trying to get yourself killed?"
"I'm not a kid anymore or a rookie in the field," The Flash stands up for himself "I followed the protocols we agreed on, they'll never know I was here."
"You're talking about the Regime," Nightwing says slowly "Are you….with us?"
"Well, yeah," Barry raises his eyebrows "Did you really think I'd just, like, be down with taking over the world?"
"Barry," Bruce clenches his fists to keep his frustration in check "Tell us why you came!"
"Shit, Bruce it's bad," a look of panic comes over Barry's face "They've lost it you have to be ready!"
"We need you to focus," Barbara snaps her fingers in Flash's face "What in the hell is going on?"
"They're coming," Barry finally gets the words out "The Regime is coming to Gotham, right now!"
Author's note: Apologies for the cliffhanger. If I didn't cut here you'd be reading a short novel. Which side will Jason choose? How long will Flash survive as a double agent? Where is the Joker? Why is the Regime coming to Gotham? Most importantly, is Black Canary having a time baby?! The gloves are coming off and I can guarantee punching in the next chapter. Reviews = a box of raisins :P and a pony