Chapter 23: Sand Mansions
Harley wasn't sure what had gotten into Bruce. Yesterday he had been smiling and playful, acting like the Bruce she had grown to known and to love. She felt privileged that she had been the one to break through the Batman's hard exterior and coax out a side of him that he himself never knew existed. No one in a all of Gotham, heck, the world, would ever think to see the man behind the cowl smile and crack jokes. To hug someone tenderly and to place sweet small kisses along the neck and cheek of someone. After all, if anyone had that mental image of the Dark Knight doing that they would bust out laughing. So the fact that she was one of the few people to see this side of him, and probably had been the one to create this side in the first place, filled her with joy.
However, the second day at their beach vacation, Bruce's mood turned sour. Sure he did his best to flash and smile and let out a fake laugh, but Harley saw right through that. She knew him, more than he probably knew. As her and the rest of the Bat Family played in the sand and the ocean, Bruce was off to the side, with a scowl on his face. He looked deep in thought, as if the many gears inside his mind were going into overdrive, either planning something or trying to solve some dilemma that Harley knew nothing about. Of course, as soon as she or one of the others addressed him Bruce would mask that scowl and smile and pretend. Bruce was hiding something from Harley and it bugged her more than she liked to admit to herself. Perhaps something bad had happened after she went to bed? Harley could only guess. But what she did know that this new mood of his wasn't new to her or anyone at all. He was acting like his old self. Acting like he was wearing the Batsuit and was about to square off against some dastardly foe.
It was one thing to act like Batman WHILE being Batman. However, outside the suit Harley wanted him to be Bruce, her Bruce. Leave the Bat on the streets of Gotham at night, not bring it home around her. Maybe she was being selfish, after all, protecting Gotham was Batman's sole mission in life. Whatever the case, Harley was going to get to the bottom of Bruce's crabby behavior. She walked out of the water and plopped down beside him underneath his beach umbrella.
"What's wrong with you today Bruce?" Harley asked, grabbing a towel and drying herself off, "You're acting like you got sand stuck in your...no no parts."
Bruce gave her a baffled look, most likely at the no no part of her sentence. The bewildered look was soon though replace once more with his fake smile he had been wearing all day, "Nothing's wrong Harley. Why would you think that?"
Harley gave him a look that said "Really?" before replying, "I'm not blind sweetie. I can tell something is bothering you because you got that Bat-scowl thing going on."
"Bat-scowl thing?"Bruce asked, not sure what she meant by that. To answer, Harley placed her hand over her face, obscuring her big smile. When she removed her hand, her smile was replaced by a long frown with her best impression of angry eyes.
"This...this is what you look like when you go out of Batman."Harley answered, with a mocking deep tone to her voice.
"Ok first off, I do not sound nor look like that."Bruce countered, getting defensive.
"Yeah, you do Bruce. All the inmates at Arkham use to hold contests to see who could do the best Batman impression. Usually Joker won, although surprisingly Riddler could do a good Batman too."Harley said, accidentally distracting herself and losing her train of thought.
"Ugh. Whatever that's not the point."Bruce replied, slightly irritated. Not at Harley but at the fact he knew she was right. He's even caught other heroes trying to do their best Batman impression, "I've just been distracted is all. I guess I'm worrying if Gotham is safe. Green Arrow is a good man, but he's lazy in my opinion."
Harley sighed to herself. She could tell he was lying but she decided to let it drop. This was just how Bruce was. Tried to solve any problems he had by himself. She guessed it was mainly because he didn't want anyone getting hurt but she also guessed it was partly because anyone else brought into his issues would just distract him and slow him down. They were going back to Gotham tomorrow and she wasn't going to let Mr. Grumpy Guss poop all over her party.
"Well you can sit here and brood then. I'm going to go build a sand mansion." Harley stated, getting up and crawling a few feet away from him and went to work on her creation.
"Wait don't you mean sand castle?" Bruce asked from the shade.
"Nope. Castles are so dirty and boring. Mansions are where it's at!"Harley replied, turning her full attention to making her mansion of sand. She was pleasantly surprised when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist from behind as Bruce came up, resting his head on her shoulder and watching her work.
"I'm sorry Harley. I didn't mean to be such a killjoy." Bruce said, kissing her softly on the cheek. Harley wanted to shake him off but melted at the simple kiss. She giggled and smiled back at him.
"Well you can make it up to me by working on the mansion's golf course Brucie"Harley stated as Bruce released her and shifted himself to her side.
"You like to play golf?" Bruce asked incredulously as he began work on it.
"Heck no! No one likes golf. It's just a requirement to have for rich folks and their big mansions." Harley retorted, pounding the soft wet sand into the left wall of the mansion. Bruce decided not to comment on the fact that he was rich and did not have his own personal golf course.
The rest of the day was wonderful in Harley's opinion. Bruce acted like her Bruce and not to brag but in her view their sand mansion was spectacular. Even though Bruce had to add a secret cave underneath the mansion but compromise is key in a relationship so she let it slide. Sadly, the vacation had to come to an end. She could tell Bruce was already getting antsy about getting back to Gotham. Guess he gets paranoid if he doesn't watch the city 24/7. Still, the trip to the beach was much needed and Harley couldn't complain. Sure, Bruce still hadn't told her what had been eating him lately, but she was confident she could weed it out of him.
As Wayne Manor came into view and their car wheeled into the driveway Harley had to admit she was glad to be home, despite having an amazing time at the beach. She noticed Alfred standing by the front door of the mansion, smiling and waiting patiently for them. As they parked Alfred came to greet them, opening the trunk and gathering a few of their belongings.
"So how was the trip Miss Quinn?" Alfred asked politely as her, Bruce, and him made their way inside the manor.
"It was wonderful Alfred. We actually saw the sun instead of the usual Gotham gloom."Harley answered, laughing softly, "You should have came with us Alfie. You could definitely use the sun."
"I'm afraid I would burn in a matter of minutes Miss Quinn."Alfred retorted, "My delicate and wonderful skin is too sensitive."
"So what you're saying is you hate the beach right?" Harley questioned.
"Precisely."Alfred replied simply, casting a half-grin at her.
"Alfred I'm going to need your help in the Batcave."Bruce said as he made his way over to the grandfather clock, which camouflaged the secret staircase, "We'll only be a minute Harley."
"Are you seriously going to go out vigilanting already?"Harley questioned, "We just got back."
"No I just need to go over some stuff. We won't be long."Bruce replied as the clock slid to the side, revealing the staircase.
"Well I'm beat. I think I'm going to head on to bed." Harley said, yawning a bit. "Don't keep me waiting. I need my cuddle buddy to sleep well."
Bruce chuckled slightly at that, "I'll try to hurry."
"You better."Harley said, stretching a bit as she slowly made her way upstairs to their bedroom.
Bruce and Alfred made their way down the stone steps and into the Batcave. The lights inside the cave suddenly came on, which caused the bats inside to screech in protest and take flight. The pair paid them no mind, having long ago gotten use to the furry residents beneath Wayne Manor. Bruce turned on the computer, causing the giant monitor screen to came alive and cast them in a blue light. He typed in a set of commands and a file called "GodWar" appeared on screen. He started shifting through the many pages in the file, which was accompanied by a picture of each individual Justice League member, with a detailed dossier on them.
"Sir...GodWar...what's going on?"Alfred asked, almost at a loss for words. The file was a last resort of sorts, and if he was bringing it up something bad was going to happen.
"The Justice League wants Harley." Bruce explained, "They somehow think I broke the law by not taking her back to Arkham, despite the legal system being on my side."
"So they are wanting to take Miss Quinzel back to Arkham? That's absurd."Alfred replied, trying to hide his rising anger.
"It is." Bruce agreed, "It also seems they won't be persuaded otherwise. So I'm forced to do this."
"Surely not everyone agrees with the Justice League."Alfred said, "Even with this countermeasure Master Wayne you can't take on the entire League by yourself."
"I won't be." Bruce answered, "and I've been in contact with some of the other members of the League. We won't be alone in this fight. Also, I want you to alert the rest of the Bat family about the situation. This is going to get ugly."
"Just a shot in the dark sir but Miss Quinn does not know anything about this does she?" Alfred prodded.
"No she doesn't." Bruce replied, "She would feel awful about what's about to transpire. She may do something rash and just give herself up to go back to Arkham. I can't allow that...I can't lose her Alfred."
"I know...I know."Alfred said, laying a hand affectionately on his shoulder, "We won't let them take her."
"You know what this means don't you?"Bruce asked, scanning through the files on-screen.
"Yes...It means we're going to war."Alfred answered, gulping a bit as the file on Superman appeared on the monitor.