"What are the results?" Bruce stormed into the lab, his cape sweeping behind him. He was at a small break in his patrol, and like every break over the past few days, he'd come here. Scientists and doctors scurried out of his way as he stopped at Tim's desk.
Selina was in a glass treatment room just beyond it, lying sedated on a cot. It had been Barbara's idea to sedate her between tests in case Selina decided she was a danger again. But it had been at Selina's insistence that she was in a room locked from the outside.
"Is there anything new?" Bruce demanded. Tim looked up at him tiredly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"The latest MRI scans are in," he said, shuffling papers around on his desk.
"And?" He hedged, passing his son and pressing a hand gently to the glass. Selina was pale where she lay on the cot.
"And she experienced some brain degeneration similar to the Infected before we could give her the transfusion. We warned you this may be a possibility." Tim stood up and moved by Bruce. "Her frontal lobe was affected. She shows some signs similar to an Infected, namely the urge to bite, rage and violence, and a craving for raw meat. We got her the transfusion before the damage could become too extensive, but it can be triggered by high emotions especially fear and stress." He glanced at Batman. "I'm sorry Bruce."
"You know the rules, Red Robin," he said coldly. "But is she… still herself? I mean… is she... Catwoman?" He looked at her uncertainly.
"Yes," Tim said decisively. "There's just a part of her that's- to use the accurate word- a zombie as well. She should be able to control those instincts, but it's something she'll have to work on." He sighed. "This has actually been a big eye opener for looking for a cure. Not only do we have to find a way to flush the infection from the system, but we have to find a way to reverse or prevent the damage it does to the brain too. Selina is going to be dependent like everyone else for us to find a cure. Until then, she should be fine, she'll just have to control her more savage urges."
"Alright," Bruce said quietly. He turned away from the glass to look at Tim. "Thank you, Red Robin. I… You're doing well. Keep up the good work."
"She's going to be okay, just help her through it." Tim turned away and went back to his desk.
"And how are-" he cleared his throat- "how are you?" Bruce didn't know how long it'd been since he'd talked to Tim. All of them were separated so often that it was hard to give any of his children any attention.
"Good." He shrugged. "Busy."
"I know. Red Robin I know that this is… stressful. And we're putting a lot of pressure on you, but I want you to know, you don't have to handle it alone. I can help. There are plenty of other scientists, and Barbara is here to help too. If you need any, we're here to provide it." Bruce put a hand on his shoulder. "You're doing well. You're doing me proud," he watched him, the third ward that he'd taken in when Tim's parents had died. He was strong, clever, arguably the smartest, resourceful; Bruce hadn't been lying. He was immensely proud of him.
"Thanks, but I'm fine." He looked up at Bruce. "You don't have to worry. Steph does enough for everyone," he added with a small smile.
"Good. I'm glad you two are… well. I do worry about you, Tim," he said quietly. "I worry about all of you. Daily. Keep up the good work," Bruce commented as he walked away, gazing at Selina one last time before heading out of the labs to resume his patrol. He pressed his comm. "Nightwing. Robin. How are things at Arkham?"
"Slow. But I'm sure they'll pick up come daybreak," Damian answered.
"Nightwing?" Batman asked, and there was still no answer. "Nightwing, report."
Silence.
"I'll go check on him. He's probably just forgotten to turn his comm on. Again." Robin sighed. "Nightwing, are you there?" he tried, still to no answer.
Dick swung his escrima stick again, the sharp prongs shooting out of the end as he drove them into a zombie's skull, electrocuting it where it stood. It didn't stay down for long, and Dick sprinted further away, still pursued by the hoard of Infected chasing him. They'd been on his tail for nearly twenty minutes now, relentlessly pursuing him, their numbers growing. Dick spun on his heels and slid on the pavement, taking aim with his tranq gun. He fired a few shots, taking down a couple of zombies, before they were on him once again.
Backflipping away as quickly as he could, Dick shot the grappling hook out of the end of his escrima stick and it caught the bar of the light pole above him, pulling him out of their reach. He could feel their clawed and bloodied hands scrabbling at his legs, their frigid grips releasing as he kicked and swung up to balance carefully on the street light.
"Batman and Robin- I'm alright. Just dealing with a group of Infected I came across. Sorry to not check in."
"That's all right. Careful," Batman answered, and Robin stopped his running towards Dick's tracer, slowly turning back to return to his own post.
"Cross my heart," Dick sighed, looking down.
The zombies were crowded around the pole, snarling and moaning in frustration. Dick shuddered. The deadened white eyes of at least twenty-five infected victims were locked on him, their bloodied arms outstretched and clawing at the dark sky where they couldn't see him, but knew he was. Dick paused to catch his breath, silently hating himself as he pulled out his gun, ejecting the clip of tranquilizer darts and inserting a magazine of live rounds. Batman had modified all of their weaponry to be versatile. Dick looked down, taking aim. Some of these Infected weren't even that far along, but his jaw clenched as he began firing down, each one a headshot between the eyes, taking down fifteen of them before his gun clicked empty.
"Damn," Dick swore, replacing the tranquilizer rounds- what little there was left- and holstering the gun. He took a deep breath and dropped.
The instant his boots made contact with an Infected's face, he felt the hands on his jacket, yanking his hair; dragging him backward. He swung an elbow, and it connected with the nose of the woman behind him. She screeched angrily, and her head snapped back. Another nearly bit his pant leg as he kicked it in the face, wrenching his arms away from the victims pulling him away. All in the span of a few seconds, he had crouched, leapt up; his abs tightened, his knees came to his chest, and he spun forward, flipping clean over their heads. He landed lightly on his toes outside of the circle, but he wasn't safe for long. His speed was easily surpassed by the Infected, turning on him as he ran. He could feel them close on his heels as he drew his escrima sticks and fired his grappling hook into the eaves of the building he ran alongside, and it pulled him upward.
His hand suddenly slipped from the escrima stick and he fell the six feet he'd gone, dragged by the clawed hands around his ankle. He barely had time to gasp before his face hit the pavement. Nightwing felt his skin split over his eye as his vision went black for a moment with the force, and his fingers clawed instinctively at the cracked pavement before he regained a bit of his senses, bringing his leg up and kicking at the hands as hard as he could. They didn't release, and more tore through his pants to his leg. Crying out in pain, he pushed off of the pavement and flipped over, pulling his leg back and throwing the zombie off balance. It fell and finally released his ankle, but the others had descended on him, seven now, at least- Dick reached into his belt for a shock pellet and tossed it at their feet. It electrocuted the nearest four and they screeched horribly, falling into the others behind them as Dick jumped up- ignoring the pain- and tore his gun out of it's holster, praying his trembling hands wouldn't cause him to miss as he began pulling the trigger, firing tranq darts into the zombie's foreheads. Two were left when the trigger snapped sharply and the gun jammed. They hissed loudly as they advanced, claw like hands reaching for him. Nightwing watched as a bullet passed clean through the first one's head dead center, dark blood splattering out behind it, then the other. They collapsed into lifeless heaps.
"Do I get a thank you, or is it still a no no that I shot 'em?" Harley Quinn asked as she strolled up behind him, decocking the hammer on her revolver before reholstering it.
"Thank the ever-loving God," Dick gasped, stumbling a bit before dropping against the building beside him. He panted slightly, blood dripping over his mask and down his cheek from the cut just above his eyebrow as he looked up at her, still dizzy. He probably had a concussion. Nightwing looked down again. He was scraped and bruised, and the claw marks in his legs needed attention, but he just wanted to sit for a moment. Looking up at Harley again, he rested his head against the brick behind him and smiled. "I was along the wall when they just came pouring out of the entrance- there had to have been thirty of them- thanks for finishing that off for me," he panted, gesturing halfheartedly at the two dead zombies. "I would've been zombie chow if you hadn't shown up." Dick's breathy laugh turned into a groan as he sat up a bit, pulling a small bottle of antiseptic and some gauze pads and tape out of his belt. He yanked his pant leg up and dumped the antiseptic over the cuts, quickly wrapping a pad around them and taping it securely in place. He tugged his pant leg back down over his boot and leaned against the wall again, closing his eyes. He mopped a gloved hand across his face, leaving the electric blue stripe down the back of his hand and over his middle and ring fingers stained with blood.
"Well if ya didn't get 'em all," Harley stepped closer to him, snatching the gauze from his hand, "fresh blood is not gonna help your situation." She cleaned up the cut above his eye and put a gauze pad over it. She tilted his face to make sure the blood wouldn't run into his eyes. "There."
"Thanks," he smiled a little, watching her. "I thought you followed me all the time. How come you didn't get here to save my ass sooner?"
"Horde 'a zombies coming through the gate?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "I think I'll pass on being right on their tail."
"Gee thanks," Dick laughed breathlessly. It had been a couple of days since he'd seen her, but she hadn't changed at all. He was starting to like having her around.
"Ya know, I'm starting ta think ya just attract zombies like a magnet," she told him. "Or do ya just got a thing for 'em because I always see you with 'em." She grinned.
"I'm always with you, too," he pointed out. Harley laughed.
"But that's not by your choice is it?" She winked. Dick smiled and sighed slowly as he stood.
"You may not give me much of a choice, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it," he smirked, and then stumbled on his hurt leg, leaning against the lamppost and sucking in a breath. When she reached out to help him he held up a hand. "No, I've got it, I'm alright."
"Oh right," she held her hands up, "male ego thing. I forgot." She smiled at him. "Well ya better not slow me down." She skipped forward and grinned back at him. Dick grit his teeth and started after her, smirking.
"So where are we going, if you're leading the way?" he asked, following her, ignoring the pain in his leg.
"I dunno." She shrugged. "I just kinda wanted ta watch ya grimace in pain."
"You're a sweet girl," he snapped sarcastically. "I can't believe you don't have more friends,"
"I know! And with my winnin' personality." She laughed and elbowed him. "So what about you, huh? How'd it go with your friend?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Just friends," he sighed, looking out over the river to where the sky was starting to lighten.
"Uh oh, that sigh didn't sound good. What happened?" she asked gently.
"Nothing much. She just... Well she likes that we're friends. I mean I do, too, but..." He shrugged. "Oh well."
"But," Harley pried, nudging him with her shoulder.
"But I miss having someone to rely on, and someone relying on me. We used to have that and it would be nice to again." Dick smiled gently.
"Then time for ya to go onto part two: find somebody new. And regale me with the serial drama," she added.
"Can do," he promised. "Though ladies seem to be scarce nowadays." He turned and started walking back the way he came, knowing she'd follow him.
"Well if ya attract them as well as you attract zombies, you'll be fine." She waved it off and burst into laughter.
"Seemed to always work like that." He laughed as well, walking back towards the bridge as the sky grew lighter.
"Ah ha you did it!" Harley cried, jumping forward and pointing accusingly at him. "You did the sad 'before this all happened' reminiscing thing! Everyone does it and it's so depressin'. How can you live just wallowin' in how ya wish the world still was?"
"I don't. Well I try not to. If you think I'm bad, you should see Batman," he laughed, and then looked down, thinking for a moment. "But you're right."
"I mean can ya think how crushing it would be to think about all the things ya miss all the time? Like cell phones and ice cream. Just thinkin' about all that poor melted ice cream in those powerless freezers is enough to do anyone in," she said wistfully. "Just think about all the positive stuff. You're alive," she pointed out, "and so is that friend of yours. And ya never know, you might be able to find a girl who's not a flesh craving corpse." She grinned.
"You seem to be discrediting yourself in that category," he glanced at her, an eyebrow raised, the corner of his lips turned up in a smile. Harley looked at him in surprise before a sly smile slid across her face. She stepped in front of him, forcing him to a stop.
"Well, stud, I thought ya were looking for a relationship," she put a hand on his chest, "and I've already got one of those." She stood on tiptoe, her face inches from him. "But if you're looking for something else..." She leaned toward him before dropping back onto her heels and walking away as she smirked over her shoulder.
"I'll have to consider that offer," he said smoothly, following her again. "How is that relationship, by the way? How does that work?"
"Just like any other relationship," she said with a slow smile, "just with a little extra crazy."
"I really find that hard to believe," he commented.
"Why?" she asked, staring at him and instantly getting defensive. "Why is it so hard to believe? We may not have a perfect relationship, but I love him!"
"Hey, I don't mean you can't love him- the white skin and colored hair looks good on you, but- I just mean he seems a little... Harsh." Dick glanced at her.
"He can be a bit controlling," Harley admitted. "But he always makes me smile."
"I suppose that's a good quality," he agreed. She couldn't help but notice that he didn't try to tell her that it was a bad idea or couldn't be. He accepted it. They rounded the corner and the bridge out of Uptown towered down the street before them.
"So how have ya been since I last saw ya?" she asked, changing the subject. "Anything new?"
"A few things on the confusing side, some on the sad, a few on the good- but I don't know if I can tell you," Dick smirked. "I don't trust you that much yet."
"Well can you at least tell me how Harvey is? Have youse guys been experimentin' on him?" She demanded. "Is he okay?"
"What? No, he's fine," Dick assured her. "He was Batman's friend too, you know. The Harvey side. We're keeping him locked up for the time being, but we're not doing 'experiments'. And by the way, I don't think it's very nice that you tried to steal our food," he smirked. He would have been angry about the dead officers, as well, but it had been Scarecrow's toxins. She herself hadn't laid a finger on them, so he decided to brush it off.
"As long as you don't hurt him," Harley warned. "And not all of it," she smiled, "just enough to get by."
"That's good. Believe it or not, we don't want you to starve." Dick started walking across the bridge. The sun was barely starting to rise on the horizon.
"There's still a chance of it." She walked beside him. "Did you know the rivers around Gotham got so polluted that most of the fish population died?" It was a rhetorical question. "We were kinda environmental dicks before."
"Yeah, I figured." He glanced up. "Stay close. Don't look at them. Be quiet," he said, his voice hushed. He was in front of her a bit. He took her hand to guide her, holding her close to his broad shoulder as they passed the policemen, eyeing the pair suspiciously but they let him continue.
"Aren't you gonna get in trouble?" she whispered.
"Strict don't ask don't tell policy," he mumbled under his breath. "But, like I said, I don't trust you that much yet." She felt the cold metal of a handcuff clip around her wrist, the other half around Dick's. He grinned.
"Kinky." She smirked.
"Precaution," he corrected, continuing on his way. He didn't take his hand away from hers, their fingers laced together to ease the strain of the cuffs on their wrists. "You don't seem like a threat right now, but I don't want you pulling that hammer out of nowhere and getting the drop on me. Not while I'm showing you around civilian territory." He walked to his motorcycle. "Looks like one of us has to stretch. Do you wanna drive?"
"I'm still just left wonderin' where ya think I keep a hammer in this outfit," Harley laughed.
"It always seemed to come out of nowhere before it hit me in the face," Dick deadpanned, getting on the bike. "Are you driving or not?"
"Are ya really offering?" Harley beamed at him. She ran her hand across the bike. It obviously didn't run on gas, but besides the van, this would be the first vehicle she'd seen running in nearly a year. "I don't even know where we're going... Or what you're doin' really."
"Honestly, you were right. I've been down. I want to be a little loose for a while, and you-" he pointed a finger accusingly at her- "were being just as weepy about the past as I was. Talking about how you watched us cuz you had nothing to do and nowhere to go, so I'm giving you somewhere to go. Mornings constitute shift changes, you should know that by now. My next shift is city patrol. Nothing much happens during the day, and I have two others out and about as well- so I'm giving you a chance. This is me telling you that you can get on this bike with me and go wherever in the city that you've missed- under supervision- for a day." He watched her. He'd weighed his options. He wanted to do something nice for her. He couldn't tell why. Dick pressed his comm. "Nightwing reporting switch from Arkham to City Patrol," he checked in. Batman didn't respond, he was probably already at Selina's side; but Dick knew he'd heard. He switched his comm off again, looking at Harley expectantly.
"Really?" She beamed.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" He smiled sincerely, gesturing for her to get on the bike. Harley squealed and hugged him. She quickly climbed on in front of him, mindful of their attached hands. She froze once she was sitting.
"I never actually considered where I'd wanna go."
"It's your choice. Within city limits; when you're ready," Dick smiled, his face near her ear as he watched her over her shoulder, his voice quiet. The handcuffs didn't allow for much room between them. His hand rested outside of hers on the handlebar. "If you can't decide, just drive," he whispered in her ear with a smile. Harley started the engine and laughed at the sound of it roaring to life.
"Okay," she breathed. Her smile grew wider as the bike leaped forward. This time she wasn't going for speed like she had with the van, she didn't want to miss anything around her. Dick laughed a little behind her, his arm coming up around her waist gently so he could hold on, the hand beside hers on the handlebar coming a little closer.
"Just don't kill us," he laughed, again whispering beside her ear.
"Would I ever get ta do this again if I did?" She glanced back at him, still grinning.
"Definitely not," he agreed. He kept his head over her shoulder, avoiding her black and red pigtails whipping in the wind. She laughed, weaving through the streets. There weren't many people around, but the city had a different feel than grungy Arkham City. She slowed down as she passed a building.
"You guys still have full power?" she asked, looking at a light in a window, still turned on in the dim morning light.
"No, we have enough power for the people still here. They can't be wasteful. Power is at about twenty percent," Dick replied.
"Well that's better than what we've got." Harley shrugged. "So are there not many people left? It seems deserted around here."
"No, we're in Midtown. Most of the citizens have…" Dick trailed off, biting his lip. She seemed so innocent and unassuming, it was too easy to forget who she was loyal to. The Joker. It was difficult to pick and choose what he could and should tell her, with the assumption that everything he said would be relayed to the Joker. "Yeah. Not many people around here anymore," Dick agreed, looking down. He wished he could trust her.
"Well okay Mistah Cryptic." Harley kept driving, looking around at everything. "Is there anything I should see? What's still standin'?"
"A lot of things, actually," he narrowed his eyes as he looked over her shoulder down the street. "The Gotham City Opera House is still standing by the river, and the overgrown botanical gardens are still there. The fairgrounds and the boardwalk are still there too, though that place gives me the creeps."
"Ooo! The botanical gardens." Harley made a sharp turn around a corner. "We gotta go, so I can tell Red all about it."
"Whoa, careful-" Dick laughed. "Um… Red?"
"Poison Ivy!" Harley yelled over her shoulder as she sped down the empty Gotham streets.
"Oh, of course," Dick mumbled. He began to have the first shadows of doubts creeping into his mind. She slowed down when they entered the weed infested parking lot. There were a few abandoned cars still parked in the stalls.
"Yeah, I told ya I still had a few friends left." She smiled at him as she parked the motorcycle in the stall closest to the front doors. Dick carefully got off of the motorcycle and helped her off, holding her hand that was cuffed to his. He turned and looked up at the massive glass and metal greenhouse, sparkling in the daylight. Panes were cracked and missing, and one of the front doors was hanging off of the hinges. Dick led the way into the overgrown gardens. "Oh my gosh, how bad do ya think it's gotten with no one to take care of it?" she asked him before skipping forward. Dick cried out as the handcuff on his wrist pulled, and he stumbled after her.
"I don't know," he replied honestly, catching up to her and looking around. Various paths wound through the overgrown foliage, and flowers bloomed everywhere in the sunlight, filling the air with their sickly sweet scent.
"Wow," Harley said in awe as she looked around, "I don't know what any a these are called." She swiped her hand along a fern.
"Weird, huh? That they could all still be here, growing, filling this space-" he looked around at the glass structure caging them in- "beautiful in their own way, thriving even though they're confined to one place. And still, we don't know their names, 'Harley Quinn'," he smiled, putting his hand in his pocket as he watched her, smiling gently.
"Ooo! I think there's a name plate under here." Harley knelt down and lifted a clump of leaves out of the way. "Never mind." She stood back up and smiled at him. "It just says 'don't touch the plants.'"
"Even flowers need a little care sometimes," he laughed, passing her and leading her down one of the overgrown paths in the gardens.
"You and Red would get along." Harley tilted her head up, looking at the vines snaking their way to the ceiling. "Do ya think this is what the whole world will look like if the Infection wipes us out?"
Dick paused, considering this. "Maybe. I think… Well sure, why not?" he shrugged.
"Well at least it would look pretty." She smiled, walking close enough to bump into him.
"It'd be a pity that no one would be there to see it, though," Dick smiled, and then sputtered and flailed a hand in front of his face as he walked through a cobweb. "Except the spiders, I guess…" He stepped closer to her, glancing back at the path behind them.
"Don't tell me the almighty Nightwing is afraid of a little arachnid," she laughed at him.
He glanced at her before scowling and stepping away again. "We all are afraid of something."
"I get that, but spiders?" she taunted. "That's so cute."
"It's not- what's so- they're just gross, okay!?" he muttered, his cheeks flushing as he bit his lip. He was regretting handcuffing her; all he wanted to do now was disappear behind her in embarrassment.
"Aw you're blushing." She laughed before squealing as she ducked under a spider web she hadn't seen. She covered her mouth. "That doesn't mean anything," she threatened. Dick laughed and then put a hand over his mouth to smother it. He shook his head.
"It means nothing," he agreed, snorting again, before bursting into laughter. "Don't tell me the infamous Harley Quinn is afraid of spiders," he mimicked, grinning.
"Only when they're close." She elbowed him. Dick laughed, trying to dodge her elbow. He caught his hurt leg on one of the small fences lining the dense bushes of flowers growing and cried out, stumbling to the side. Dick tried to catch himself as he fell into the brush, yanking Harley with him; he winced and reached up for his leg, only to find her face inches from his, laying on his chest.
"Ow," he mumbled, and then sucked in a breath as a wave of pain shot from the cuts. "Sorry," Dick laughed a bit. Harley stared into his eyes behind his mask. She smiled slightly.
"I think you got the wrong impression of me. I'm not that kinda girl."
"And despite what you think, I'm really not that kind of guy," he laughed quietly.
"Good because you haven't even bought me dinner yet." She winked before sitting up. "Did ya hurt yourself?"
"No, just caught my leg," he laughed, looking around. "It's kinda pretty in here." Harley scooted away from him a little, brushing her pants off.
"Yeah," she looked at the plants around their heads, "it is." Dick laughed lightly and stood up, leading her out of the little cavern that they'd created in the foliage. They stepped back onto the path and continued through the gardens, nearing the center where a fountain once stood. It was overgrown with a creeping vine now. In the little plaza they were surrounded by the bursting colors of hundreds of different flowers, their scents all mingling in the warm sunlight streaming through the intricate glass and metal dome above their heads. Dick beamed around them, letting out a slow whistle. Harley grabbed his hand so she wouldn't yank at the handcuffs as she pulled him forward to look at some rosebuds. "These I do know the name of."
"Yeah. You're gorgeous. They're gorgeous, I mean. I've always loved red," he sighed, and he found himself watching her again. He looked around, enjoying the light. Harley smiled up at him while he was looking around. He was cute, she would admit it, and a lot more welcoming than she thought any of the Bats would be. She hadn't thought she would see life outside of Arkham again, but here she was.
"Hey Nightwing." He glanced at her. "Thanks for bringin' me here."
He smiled at her. "Of course. In my opinion, even with your history, no lady as nice as you should have to see nothing but those concrete walls," Dick chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. Harley beamed at him and laced her arm through his as they walked along.
"So now what?"
"Unfortunately, I should probably return to my patrol. But I'll walk you home," he smirked as they started back the way they came.
"I bet nobody's been in here in a year," Harley mused. "It's just sitting here vacant and full of life, and no one's bothered to come in." Dick watched her as she looked around the path. He couldn't explain the knot in his stomach.
"Like I said. They flourish on their own, but that doesn't mean they couldn't do with a little love."
This was a mistake.
She turned and looked at him, only to find him staring at her again, and this time, he didn't look away. She couldn't see his eyes behind his mask, but something about his serene expression was incredibly... Gentle. The corner of his lips pulled up.
"We'd better get going," he said after a moment. He turned and began walking again, when a six foot zombie flew out of the thick plant cover and tackled Harley, screeching horribly. Dick was yanked back by the cuff as she hit the ground, her arms pinned under its leg as it sat up and bared its teeth to lunge down at her face. The monster growled and leaned forward to bite her- but it was thrown off when Dick kicked it to the side and rolled. His uncuffed hand slipped under Harley's back, and she gasped sharply as she was lifted off of the ground, tucked to his chest as they rolled closer to the zombie. Nightwing's speed was incredible, and she glimpsed his face, set and serious, before they were suddenly on their feet. Dick swung her behind him and took a fighting stance.
The zombie watched him, vacant eyes lazily following his movements before it lurched forward. The wingding in the spring loaded holster on Dick's wrist shot into his hand, and he drove it between the zombie's eyes with a sickening squelching sound. Dropping instantly, it laid motionless at their feet. It couldn't have been more than a day old. Dick panted, checking their surroundings before pulling Harley quickly down the path. "There may be more," he said urgently, not looking back, his wingding still embedded in the zombie's brain as they rushed further from it, down the path; out the doors.
"So I was wrong about us being the only ones here," Harley gasped, still shaken. As it was leaning down to bite her, Harley had seen rope burns on the zombie's neck. Whoever the person was before he turned into a monster had probably come here to commit suicide in someplace beautiful and distanced from the world, only to become part of the horrible world they were trying to escape. She'd seen it often enough at Arkham, if you didn't shoot someone in the head, they'd turn into a monster when they died. Harley shook her head. "Have I ever told you how much I hate the smell of zombies." She wrinkled her nose.
"I think you mentioned it," Dick laughed breathlessly, getting back on the bike. Harley sat down behind him and put her hand- still handcuffed to his- on the handlebar. Dick laced his fingers gently between hers, balancing his hand over hers to steer the bike as they shot away back towards Arkham City. He was clearly still spooked as well. Harley rested her chin on his shoulder as she watched the city go past. She had somehow expected Gotham to still be bursting with life and noise. While there were notable differences between it and Arkham, part of her had kept the hope it was a practical paradise compared to behind the wall. She sighed when she saw the bridge approaching. Paradise or not, it was better than what she was used to.
"You could probably let me off here. I don't think I'll have a problem crossing the bridge this time. It's not like they want me to stay on this side."
"No," he glanced at her and slowed down as they crossed the bridge. "I mean... I'm sorry, but I can't let you off until we're in Uptown," Dick answered. I want you to get back safe. He stopped just after the bridge and dug around in his pocket for the key to the handcuffs.
In the daylight she could see him clearer than she usually did, from a distance or in the dark. Harley realized she was staring at his profile and quickly turned away. She moved to get off the motorcycle, forgetting they were attached and pulling her arm back. Dick's arm was yanked behind him, and he was pulled around with the movement; he reached his other arm up to stop her from getting up as he tried to say something. Harley shoved his shoulder. He lost his balance completely, tipping over as the handcuffs dragged Harley off the motorcycle with him. His leg twisted during the fall, and he rolled to avoid hitting it. They both tried to use their attached hands to break the fall, reaching in opposite directions. Harley landed on her shoulder, and her other arm was yanked around as Dick tried to catch himself from crushing her.
"Oh, ow, ah," Harley groaned. "That was my bad. Sorry. I thought you were attacking me. This one is all my fault." She squinted up at him. She was lying on her back with her bruised shoulder lifted up; her other arm was laying next to where Dick had managed to get his hand braced to avoid landing on her. "Sorry."
"No, that's ok," Dick smiled, wincing. She could see his eyes behind the lenses of his mask, looking between hers as he exhaled sharply. "I'm pretty beat up, people are gonna wonder what happened," he said quietly.
"Just tell 'em that ya like it rough." She grinned as she adjusted her shoulder. Dick laughed. He lifted his hand, holding himself up with the cuffed hand, and reached over to unlock them. He still held himself above her.
"Well that wouldn't be totally out of character," Dick smirked, looking at her again. They hadn't realized just how close they were, his lips inches from hers. the air was hot between them, and she smelled sweet, like cherries. Dick blinked slowly. "I should... Go. I have to go." He bit his lip, standing and moving away from her. He hastily got back on his bike.
"Well okay then." Harley stood up, rolling her shoulder. "See ya in a couple of days!" she called as she started walking away. Dick beamed, watching her go.
"Yeah. See you in a couple of days," he said, smiling a little.