JMJ

Chapter Three

The Knight and the Moon

"I know we're right in the middle of catching Gas-Lamp, but what do you think's really the story behind that new bat?" asked Robin.

They were in the Batmobile as they spoke and there had been relative silence on their way to the docks. Robin felt Gas-Lamp Wickers was as good as caught now without his hostage. He could not help but ask. They already had Barbara Gordon taking off as Batgirl now and again, and with her around the whole city felt like there were ten people donning the bat persona. Now with Lunabat it made everyone act like there were hundreds of Bat-hero-wannabes.

When Batman did not answer right away, Robin went on with a careless shrug, "I mean, I guess, we have to say that it's better than another criminal, but Bullock is right in one thing that the rest of Gotham can't help but see it as a convention."

"There have been other people who have tried to fight crime in this city and gave it up over time," Batman replied calmly indicating that he felt this Lunabat had not become their business as of yet.

At least, there was no annoyance in his voice.

"I don't know," said Robin. "This one seems like a real wild one. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was—ah!"

Batman suddenly swerved as an oncoming vehicle nearly rammed right into them from around a corner, but it did not seem to have them in mind at all. It was coming from the docks. It was possible it was some of Wickers' men, if not Wicker himself judging by the reproduction Model T body despite its newer engine. The police must have already been after him. Now suddenly aware of the Batmobile, whoever the driver was, he realized he was cornered.

But before either Batman or Robin could say anything, and before the Batmobile itself was perfectly reengaged again for the chase, they saw something wave behind the runaway vehicle like a huge yellow and purple kite. Before either of them could say for sure if the sudden siren-like shriek was coming from the kite itself— or at least what had originally looked like a kite— it swerved with the runaway vehicle in such a way that it rammed right into the Batmobile windshield.

Robin and Batman blinked almost stupidly as they gawked at the wide-eyed face staring back at them through the glass. The rest of the body of this face was dressed in purple, black, and gold and she looked more like a clown than a member of the "bat family". At least Barbara had had the sense for keeping with the theme. The look on her face at present made it more like she had stepped off the set of a comedy show or circus arena to mock Batman rather than to join him.

The woman blinked.

Then prying her face from the window with a near-swoon, she was ripped from the vehicle as she was still holding onto the line that linked her to the fake Model T, but the vehicle itself was in the process of crashing. As the woman took flight, she just barely managed to grab her mask from flying off, revealing some of her bright blond hair as she let out an "Eeep!"

Once she was out of their main vision, Batman frowned.

Robin grinned and threw his arms around the back of his head.

"Just another night in Gotham!" he said.

"C'mon," was all Batman answered.

They jumped out just as Lunabat kicked a particularly big, gruff guy with a gun coming out of the vehicle.

"Hyah!" cried Lunabat as she kicked and she turned to Robin with a grin. "Oh, uh…hey, Robin."

She sounded disturbingly familiar.

Another guy tried to attack from the other side of the car, but Batman threw a batterang that caused him to drop his machine gun before he could fire more than a few shots.

Inside the vehicle, there was the shiny glint of a tiny gentleman's Victorian gun. Well, almost like a lady's little white gun. But the owner knew its bite.

"My dear, Batman," he whispered to himself as the third of his guards tried to attack and fail. "It won't be that easy."

But hardly had he cocked his quiet little weapon and aimed it through the back window already damaged from the ride and furthered by the crash, when Robin simply opened the door. The man in old-fashioned spectacles turned and fired, but missed his mark by a long way. He tried to fire it again, but Robin already had him.

Lunabat opened the other door, but Batman moved like a hawk past her and grabbed Gas-Lamp as old and pale and quivery as an old lamplight about to go out.

"Hey!" said Harley once Batman had his opponent cuffed and ready for the police like the rest of the crew.

"Hey, Batman, we make a great team, huh?" cried Lunabat.

Batman was heading back for the Batmobile as police sirens rose. He graced her with little more than his infamous pout and squint as though she was not there, but just as Robin was about to say something instead, Batman said opening the top of his car, "Out a little late for trying to prove your reformation, aren't you, Quinn?"

He said it just loud enough so that only Robin and Harley could hear just in case the prisoners were listening.

Robin's eyes widened.

"Hey! No fair!" cried Lunabat. "How'd you know it was me?"

"Well, come to think of it," said Robin crossing his arms. "You do just act like your old persona in a bat-suit."

Lunabat pouted.

Batman frowned.

"It won't take long for others to know who you are too," said Batman now having to speak up because of the sirens.

He took his seat in the Batmobile. Robin slipped into the passenger's side.

"People knew who I was before," retorted Lunabat. "Look, it's not like I don't know the risks, okay?" She smiled broadly and shrugged wider. "I want to make up for what I did, really! That's why I'm doing this. To help you with the city. You're kinda outnumbered y'know? I got the skill and the grit, right?"

"You wouldn't rather live a normal life?" asked Batman, almost kindly.

Lunabat could not help but notice.

The sympathy behind his sternness and the near softness in his eyes behind his glare made Lunabat wonder if Batman would not rather have a normal life himself deep down inside. It was a rather new concept to her to think about Batman that way. In the old days she always figured him as some kind of weird nerd without a life, but it was Batman himself who said he had once had a bad day. Coming from Batman, it did not take someone with a psychiatric degree to know that had likely been one seriously horrible day. The kind of day that makes a person unable to go back. The kind of day that separated happy-go-lucky people like Veronica Vreeland from people like Batman.

She was not going to pretend to understand Batman entirely, but Lunabat did feel a sort of bond in this feeling of an inability to have normalcy. Harley Quinzel was sane, this was true— or at least reformed in the sense that she had no desire for crime, to blame other people for her problems, and especially to keep herself out of abusive relationships, but what did normalcy really have to do with sanity?

Lunabat opened her mouth, but just as she was about to speak, the hood was already sliding shut.

Batman might have spoken more. Lunabat liked to think they could have had a real conversation, but those pesky sirens were too close now. The lights were there, blinding the alley. The engine of the Batmobile came to life, and Lunabat was forced to step back as it took off. She too, slipped off into the shadows just as the police stepped out of their vehicles to pick up the trash.

If only there had been more time to explain herself. If only Batman was not so hard-headed when it came to these sorts of things. Lunabat rolled her eyes as she found her fancy new Lunabat motorcycle funded by Veronica in an alley.

Well, they would run into each other again, Lunabat was more than sure.

Maybe without Robin, she thought as she sped off in the Lunacycle and leaned with a pout nearly worthy Batman as she hunkered over the bars. That would be nice.

She would explain herself then. It was not like she wanted to be in Batman's way, and although, she wouldn't mind working together (well, okay, that was her real desire) but if Batman liked them working solo, that was good too. A knight usually only had an equerry or squire or whatever. A hero and a sidekick. Batman and Robin. It made sense. Robin was probably his son, anyway. After all, Batgirl was kind of half and half working with or without Batman. Hey, maybe Lunabat could team up with her, but she wouldn't mind settling this business with Batman first.

Lunabat was flexible. The moon shone on the city just as well as the ocean or the emerald hills of Ireland. Whatever. It was all good, but she hoped she wouldn't have to work entirely alone forever.

She stopped to perch on an old grotesque on a gothic-styled building. She stared at its miserable tongue-lolling face and its hollow eyes with a strange sort of sympathy for it, but she was more interested in a glint of green through the window suddenly. A trio of succulents were growing on the other side of the glass.

Her days with Poison Ivy passed through her mind and she sighed.

It seemed that a person could not have it both ways. In terms of having a good time with someone, it did not get much better than her days with good old Red. The problem was, of course, that good old Red was not so good, and with Harley trying to be a hero, it just was not going to work.

If only, thought Harley. If only we could both kick butt together for good like we used to kick butt for bad.

Poison Ivy could have been some hero if she wanted. Her support of the weak could certainly be turned into something heroic. The way she had tried to save Harley from her relationship with the Joker had touched Harley at the time like no one else had even when she had felt it unnecessary. Isley could easily be against cruelty to nature without killing people over it. She could easily be against abuse without hating all men. Even in those old days, Harley had never one hundred percent liked that little tidbit about her, but then back then, she had accepted everyone's "quirks".

To be honest, she felt that a lot of her companions in Arkham had valid points that they could use for good if only they were not blinded by their own hatred for people— and many of them were just honestly mentally ill besides. When she had been one of them, it was their good points that she had always loved. The parts of them that made her feel they were misunderstood, lost, and forsaken like the true bleeding heart psychiatrist she was. Maybe in some ways they were, but not enough to condone their behavior. Harley had had to face that fact that there was nothing to misunderstand about their cruelty. No matter their good qualities, no matter how forsaken, they buried what good they had in their response to the world, helping to make Gotham the pit that it was, the cruel world that they all unanimously hated so much. If everyone could have just given it up, how the Justice League would have nothing on Batman's X-Rogue gallery on the fight for justice.

Lunabat smiled and shrugged.

Did Batman ever feel that way?

She supposed that he did, or something similar, with how he had tried to help her. It made Harley wonder, not for the first time, if Batman had ever been a criminal himself, and that was why he had made such a strict no-kill code and why he was so morose. Changing sides may have been pretty self-explanatorily logical for the world as well as oneself, but that did not make it easy even after the choice had been made.

Lunabat tried to console herself with the fact that she was not entirely alone. Batman had Robin, and Lunabat had Veronica.

Veronica did not entirely understand this sort of life, this was true, but had Robin at first?

Besides, Lunabat did like being the older sister to Veronica. It made it different than being the younger sister as she had been to Red.

Lunabat could not help but smile with wistful amusement, though, as she thought again of the League of Arkham Reformers.

Oh, well!

She shook her head and headed out for home. Her face was really starting to sting from hitting that Batmobile too. Her neck and back were probably going to feel it in the morning, and it was probably going to take a lot of makeup to cover her cheek bruise. Bumps and bruises were pretty much the same that way no matter what side a person was on.