I'm back! There are two more chapters after this one. Sorry that it took so long, but I updated. Better late than never, right?
Oh, and I didn't end up using the OC I had planned on using. I may for another story, but for this one she wasn't really working with me well. I apologize for those of you that wanted her, but she is part of the reason this was so late. And for those of you that didn't want her, you made my choice easier.
Circus For A Psycho
Skillet
Gotham City
June 1st, 01:23
Dick glares at the warehouse for a moment before walking up to the front doors and knocking. There is a two minute wait before the door swings open, revealing Harley in all of her psychotic glory. She smiles as she catches sight of the hero. "Robin! Oh, wait," her face falls into a slight frown, "you told me I can't call you Robin. Do you have a new name yet or can I make something up? I could call you Red-"
Dick throws a punch at her face, interrupting her high pitched ramblings. She puts a hand to her face, looking at the acrobat with a shocked face. "Now talk." Richard tells her, voice going much darker than he would have thought was possible. "What did you and your boyfriend do to me?"
Harleys face lightens. "Oh, that's something puddin's been workin' on. It helps you learn the truth." She smiles. See, I'm not the bad guy. You should really trust me and not those idiots back at the mountain.
The boy growls in frustration and puts a punch in Quinn's stomach, followed by a kick to the face. "How do I fix it?" He asks while she is bent over, gasping for breath. Annoyed at the amount of time before she speaks again, Dick grabs her by the neck and turns her head to face him. "Tell me."
She smirks at him. "I don't know. I didn't help make it." He growls again and throws her backwards, her head slamming against the harsh floor. His eyes flick across the room. The table of weapons was moved from his cell to the main room, and he nearly flinches at the sight of it. Other than that the room is mainly empty, holding the usual items you would find in an abandoned warehouse. A few windows line the wall, going up three floors.
Hearing the sound of moving, he faces Harley again. She pulls herself off the floor, leaning on her huge hammer for support. "Where's the Joker?" He questions her, stepping closer, trying to ignore the weapon.
Harley frowns again, voice ringing out. "Why, so you can hurt him too. Not gonna happen." With the last word, she swings the hammer, hitting him in the side and flinging him across the room. NO! Don't fight!
The acrobat pauses, trying to make sense of why his voice suddenly doesn't want him fighting. He is forced back into action, rolling to the side as the hammer slams down where he used to be. Watch me fight, because she definitely wants to.
He darts closer to Harley, throwing a kick at her side. Ducking as the hammer is swung his way again, he moves behind her and jumps up, kicking her forwards. She stumbles, losing her grip on the hammer. Taking the opportunity, Dick grabs it and tosses it to the other side of the room, under the table of torture weapons. Spinning to face him, Quinn grabs his arm and makes him follow the hammer, throwing him through the air. He slams into the wall, sliding down painfully to the ground once more. Above him, he can see a shadow shift on the other side of the window.
If Batman comes in here I'll never be able to know what they did to me. He looks at the table he landed next to for barely a second before jumping up and grabbing three of the blades that he was made to use more than the others.Right now I hope Batman comes in here and stops you. She does not deserve this! He throws one, sinking it into the villains shoulder. Over her scream of shock, he speaks. "Now, Harley, tell me where the Joker is."
"Didn't tell ya before, not tellin' ya now." She says, leaning on a piece of wood. Slowly, she pulls out the dagger from her shoulder.
"Fine." He barked, tightening his grip on another dagger in his hand. "I have other ways to find him."
"You ain't gonna get to him. He's busy with the Bat. You're busy." She states, happy with herself. Without waiting for a response, she throws the wood at him.
He dodges, flinging the dagger at her in response. He hits his mark, the blade pushing its way through her skin in her stomach. She is going to die if you don't stop. Frowning, he walks towards her as she sinks to her knees. He leans in front of her and puts his hand around the dagger. "Good thing my schedule just opened up." Without flinching, he twists the dagger deeper into her stomach and stands.
The window behind him shatters, spraying glass on him. Ready to face Batman, he turns and is instead greeted by Superboy and Wally.. "I told them." Supey roars, glaring at Dick. "I warned them. And I was right."
Thinking of the Joker, Dick forces his body into a fighting stance as the clone of Superman jumps towards him. He back handsprings away from the landing blow that is put into the ground. Before Superboy stands back up, the acrobat runs forward and uses his back as a springboard, flipping himself across the room to the doors. He pulls them open, sprinting away from the warehouse as fast as only the most trained superhero can.
Arms circle themselves around his waist as he makes it three buildings away. Wally huffs at him, whining at Dick goes still. "Dude, just tell me why."
Biting back the response you know why, Dick grabs his friends arms. "I'm sorry Wally, I have to do this." He untangled himself from his friend, ducking under the arms around his waist. Pulling the speedster in front of him, he manages to make it to the edge of the dock. "Sorry." He says again, pushing his best friend into the waters below.
Knowing that Superboy would be not far behind them, Dick moves back to the buildings and blends into the shadows. Sure enough, the familiar black shirt appears in sight after twenty six seconds. Dick takes a moment to make sure Wally is unhurt in the water, then he runs towards the city. Towards Joker and Batman.
Mount Justice, Happy Harbor
June 1st 01:14 EDT
Conner walks out of his room, compressing a yawn. He listens for anything, trying to notice if anyone else was awake. His teams' heart rates are normal, except for Wally, who is either still awake or not sleeping well. Conner suspects that, like him, he is simply not asleep. Ever since Dick came back, he hasn't been able to sleep, waiting for the next bad thing to come after the boy. And after their team.
Only after a moment does he remember that Dick is supposed to be in the medical bay. Conner focuses his hearing, already heading that way, and he cannot hear a heartbeat. For a terrifying second, the clone of Superman runs, believing that maybe the first Robin was hurt worse than before. He gets to the door, pushing it open so it hits the wall behind it with a loud thud. Angry, he notices that the bed it empty just as a blur of flash pajamas ran into the room.
"What's wrong? Where's Dick? What's going on?" Wally questions in quick progression, not leaving enough space for Conner to begin to answer.
He turns away and heads out of the room. "He's not here." Is all he says.
Wally's face shows his confusion, mixed with a strange look that is almost like realization. He follows Conner out. "We have to find him."
Conner doesn't even bother turning around. "Why?"
Wally sighs, like he doesn't want to share a secret. Automatically, Conner wants to know what Wally knows. "Listen, with what the Joker did, Dick's most likely wanting revenge. That's where I am betting he went. We can't let him do something he'll regret."
Conner stops and looks back at the speedster. "No, I meant, why would I go?"
Wally looks him dead in the eyes. "Because, whether you're going to admit it or not, he's your friend too."
Conner looks down and sighs, contemplating what he was told. He did run to help when he thought Dick was in danger. Did that mean they are still friends? Did Dick still want to be friends with him? Resolved, he looks back up and nods, turning to follow Wally towards the zeta beams. Wally smiles and leads the way, trying not to speed off and leave his friend behind.
Looking over the speedster in front of him, Conner speaks up again. "Aren't you going to change out of pajamas first?"
Fifteen minutes later, Wally and Conner find the row of warehouses that the Joker usually operates out of. Conner and Wally hesitate for a moment, trying to decide if this is the right area, when Conner hears a crash in a building in the middle of the rows. "Over there." He states, pointing out the building for Wally. The teenager blurs to the building, using crates and random stuff laying around to help fling himself up to the second story window.
Conner receives a nod, telling him that Dick is actually in there, and he starts jogging. It's about fifteen buildings away. He focuses on the voices coming from inside.
"Now, Harley, tell me where the Joker is." Dick. Conner stumbles for a moment, and forces himself to stay balanced while listening.
"You ain't gonna get to him. He's busy with the Bat. You're busy." Conner has only heard that voice a select amount of times before, yet he recognizes it like he would recognize Batman's. Harley Quinn, the Joker's personal lapdog. He reaches the warehouse as Dick responds.
"Good thing my schedule just opened up." Without needing any further prompting, Conner grabs Wally and jumps through the window above them. They crash through the glass landing roughly across for Dick, who is standing over Harley's body. Dick turns and Conner forgets about being friends with him. Instead, his mind turns back to the way it was when Dick first came back, just a few days ago.
He growls, stepping forwards. "I told them. I warned them. And I was right." With the last word, he lunges towards the acrobat. He throws his fist out in front of him, not surprised in the least when its dodged. He goes to stand, but feels a sudden pressure on his back. Within a second the pressure was gone, but it was enough to send him stumbling a few steps forward.
He manages to stand and nods at Wally to go after him. The acrobat nods slightly, staring at the body of Harley for a second before leaving. Before leaving, Conner calms himself down. He had made plenty of progress controlling his anger, but when fighting someone he used to trust the anger controls him again. He focuses back in and heads out the door. He hears a quick and quiet "sorry" come from the acrobat, then comes splashing of a body hitting water.
He runs, finding Wally treading water by the docks. Quickly, and not to gently, he helps to speedster out, looking around with both eyes and ears to find their missing opponent. Looking down at his teammate beside him, he scowls. "I'll contact the team. You talk to Batman."