The Birds Who Smile, a Batman fanfic by Raberba girl
Chapter 30 - Breakthrough
[rough draft 2]
He was flying. He hadn't flown in so long, not for real, but now they were rushing rushing rushing and the wind was laughing around him and it wasn't high up but it went on and on and on, so it was still good.
o.o.o
"I know it's clunky, but ya gotta protect your li'l baby lungs, honey." She promised she'd keep Batman's new little Robin-to-be safe, after all. John had been fine playing with Bud and Lou when Harley'd made a quick stop at her Gotham apartment to grab some stuff, and at the amusement park where he'd seemed more content to watch Harley have fun than have fun himself, and in Robinson Park to water Pammie's new rose experiment that Harley was supposed to look after while Ivy was in Arkham (she'd forgotten about it the past three nights, but the roses were still alive, so whoo!). No point in dropping the ball after they'd made it this far.
John finally consented to wear the mask once she put one on herself, and then he watched her spray-paint a purple line on the warehouse wall.
"Like that. Now you try." She handed him a can of yellow.
His little fingers, even if they hadn't been covered with gloves, weren't deft enough to hold down the nozzle, but he soon figured out how to hold the can with one hand and press the nozzle with his other palm. Yellow streaked awkwardly across the wall in front of him. He dropped the can in dissatisfaction and grabbed the red.
Harley smiled. "Now ya got it." She finished her painting of Wonder Woman stabbing Joker through the heart, not minding when the child, lavishing the wall with what looked like blood, rushed past her in his frenzy and slashed an arc of red over the corner of her work. No matter; Joker could do with an extra bleeding injury. "Time to move on?"
He stared at her, his chest heaving, his eyes on fire.
"Let's do it."
They made their way through abandoned bits of town. Her gleeful impulse was to paint up the shiniest, most braggy buildings, but the knowledge that that would let down Lucy's rescuer was just enough to rein her in. Maybe next time, when she wasn't with Batman's kid.
John's paintings went through the wild red of shed blood to solid black seas of despair. Harley's went from calling down vengeance on her ex to focusing on the joy of her recent freedom. She knew John was winding down when his body sagged, when he reached for different colors and slowly drew out purple and navy waves of grief.
"Okay, baby, I think we've had enough paintin'," she said, gently taking the colors out of his hands. He let her, his head hanging. "Let's go get us some chili dogs."
She drove them to her favorite little hole-in-the-wall. When she handed the boy his meal, it became immediately apparent that he was repulsed by the meat, and he didn't seem too interested in the fries after having butler-cooked potatoes hours earlier. The giant chocolate chip cookie, however, seemed to perk him up a little, so she let him have hers as well. They ate on the diner's rooftop, Harley looking out over city, John at the stars.
"crow"
"What's up, baby birdie?"
He pointed.
"You're gonna hafta grow wings or be an astronaut to get alla way up there, baby." She licked a bit of chili off the back of her hand.
"Mmamma. Ppa'ppà."
She studied him for a long moment. She looked out at the city again, at the endless string of cars moving up and down the streets, at the bright neon lights advertising lies, at the shadows that overlooked it all and lurked in all the spaces between. She glanced back at the little boy. "Come on, Johnnybird."
She drove to the bridge with the highest towers and broke into a service elevator. John accompanied her quietly, his hand lightly grasping hers. When they reached the top and the doors opened, he rushed out and stared up at the sky, turning slowly in awe.
"Pretty, huh?" she murmured, coming to stand beside him.
He looked at her. Then he looked away. He ambled off and she trailed after him. He walked along the edge for a while, then hoisted himself up backwards and sat on the fence around the perimeter, smiling softly at her. She smiled back and hopped up to sit beside him. "Fearless li'l thing, aren'tcha. Like Nightwing; you an' him both act like you were born for heights."
They sat there for a while, watching the stars and idly kicking their feet as Harley made comfortable, one-sided conversation. John eventually stood up on the railing and ambled on again. Harley walked beside him, not making a second attempt to hold his hand when he pulled it away. "Wonder if Bats's got Lucy yet." She checked her phone. There were no messages from Batman, but there were 24 increasingly angry ones from Selina. "I'm gonna hafta apologize real nice, wow..." She put the phone away again. "So you're vegetarian, huh? I know a couple a' those, maybe next time I'll ask 'em where they go for junk food."
They reached the corner and turned. Harley continued her easy rambling; John remained silent and kept on pacing with perfect balance. They reached the second corner and turned.
"Didja know in some countries, people eat dogs? I mean, meat is meat an' all, but their little faces, I could never eat somethin' so cuuuuute! Though, huh, I guess cows're kinda cute, now that I'm thinkin' 'bout it..."
At the third corner, John moved most of his body as if he meant to turn, but instead of bringing his left foot down in front of the other, he started to step off the fence instead, on the outside where he would have plummeted to his death if Harley hadn't seized him and swung him down. "What the hell, don' just step off! Look!" She forced the now angrily crowing boy against the fence and pointed. "Look, Johnny, ya see all that crap stickin' outta the tower?"
He stared, confused.
"Ya step off, you're gonna keep bouncin' against the tower all the way down, you'll feel your body breakin' an' die in agony. Ya wanna fall off this thing? Be smarter about it." She swung herself up onto the fence and rushed down it until she halted just before the next corner. "Runnin' start, see? Then ya jump," she said, illustrating with her hands. "Get as far away from the tower as ya can 'fore ya head down, then it hurts less when ya die."
John was staring at her. Slowly, he climbed onto the fence again and stood. She stepped across to the other side, leaving his path to the corner clear, then sat down and gestured invitingly. He stared at her a moment longer.
Then his face hardened, and he ran. With his eyes fixed on the stars, he leaped off the top of the tower, making it an impressive distance out before he started to drop. The burst of laughter he cried out in that moment sounded joyous.
Harley shifted into a fanservicey pose no one was around to see as she watched the boy's descent. She smiled. Then she dropped lightly off the fence, strolled over to the elevator, and rode it down to the ground.
When she stepped out, she headed over to where Red Robin was struggling to hold onto an absolutely furious John and put his grapple gun away at the same time. "Harley!" the vigilante cried. "Are you-?!"
"Crazy?" she supplied.
"He could have died, and you ENCOURAGED him!"
"Ya think I'd a' let him jump if we were alone?" she said indignantly. "I know you've been followin' us since the diner, prob'ly longer'n that."
"Still! THIS IS NOT HOW YOU BABYSIT, HARLEY!"
"Sheesh; the kid's fine, ain't he?" she pouted. "Ya got any news on Lucy yet?"
"Batman's taking her home," Red Robin said shortly. "I haven't told him about this stunt yet, but when I do, he will kill you. Not literally. But almost. Almost literally, Harleen."
"You guys're so picky." She looked at John, who stared at her with fury and betrayal in his eyes. The former didn't bother her, but the other did. "Johnny baby," she said as she approached, signing as she spoke, "listen to me. This town is full a' Bats, an' they never let anyone fall if they can help it. Ya wanna kill yourself? Here's what you do."
"Harley," Red Robin said sharply, but she kept on.
"First, ya gotta find yourself the baddest guy in town, an' I mean the worst person you know. Ya get as close to him as you can, catch his attention, and then you don't wanna die. 'Cause when ya want to, that takes all the fun out of it, see? They only wanna kill ya if you're desperate to live."
John had gone still and wide-eyed as he stared at her.
"Harley," Red Robin said, "I'm going to take him home. Seriously, you should probably not be around when Batman gets back."
"Long as Lucy's safe, I couldn't care less." She gestured a casual goodbye. "See ya 'round, Johnnybird." A few minutes later, she was gone.
Red Robin looked down at John, who had gone very quiet and still. He looked at his own motorcycle. He didn't have all the gear he needed to make sure the boy would be as safe as possible on such a vehicle, and after snatching John out of a death plunge just minutes before, he didn't feel like risking his baby brother's safety a second time that night. "Guess we're taking the bus."
o.o.o
"Do you have a gun?"
"No."
Lucy sat in the passenger seat, lightly running her hand over various buttons and panels. "Aunt Harley said she was bringing the big guns. I think she meant you."
"Yes."
There was a gurgling sound. Lucy sheepishly put a hand over her stomach.
"What would you like to eat?" Batman asked, his eyes still on the road.
"We're gonna stop for food?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Yay, I'm starving!" She thought a moment. "Can I have one of those apple pies from Bat Burger?"
"...You need protein."
"You sound like Mom."
"I'll get you a Bat-Mite Meal and a pie."
"Okay."
At the drive-thru window, the tired-looking twenty-something dressed like Red Hood abruptly stopped looking so tired when he realized who was sitting in the car outside.
"Don't worry, he's not kidnapping me!" Lucy assured him with a smile and a wave.
"Uhhh...!" As he presumably rushed off to get the food, other employees started crowding around the window with their phones out. Batman stared stoically out the windshield with both hands on the steering wheel; Lucy beamed at the cameras as she flashed a victory sign. A bag of food was eventually handed out the window, and Batman drove away without a word.
"Mmm, dish ish goo'," Lucy commented as she bit into her burger.
Batman stuck a poison-test strip into the coffee he'd ordered, then picked up the cup and sipped through a straw. Lucy giggled. "They were really happy to get the real Batman at their Bat restaurant."
"Yes."
"Thanks for buying me dinner, Batman."
"You're welcome."
"And for saving me."
"I'm glad you're not hurt."
"Me, too." Lucy focused on finishing her food for a while.
As soon as the Batmobile came to a stop and the door opened, she clambered out and rushed to her adoptive mother, who was already running down the front steps. "Mom! Mom! Aunt Harley sent BATMAN! He busted their faces, it was awesome!"
"Lucy!" Delia Quinzel snatched up her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Lucy, Lucy..." The Batmobile drove away, its departure unnoticed.
"Is Aunt Harley here?"
"Yeah- Yeah, baby. Let's go inside," Delia said with a watery smile, gripping the little girl's hand tight. Lucy's already huge smile grew even wider when she saw Harley, and she ran into the woman's arms. Harley showered her daughter with kisses as Lucy giggled.
"Mmmm, love ya so much, pumpkin! Batman treat ya good?"
"He bought me pie! And a burger, because he said I needed protein."
"He's a good guy," Harley murmured, nuzzling Lucy's temple.
Delia ruffled the girl's hair. "Come on, baby, let's get you to bed." Even though it was nearing dawn, both sisters curled up in bed with their child nestled safely between them and kept watch over her for hours as she slept.
TBC