It's a catatonic euphoria.
Harley and Dick have just put their daughter to rest, and the Joker announced that he wasn't about to let them live peaceably. After a dream making sense of recent happenings, Dick was compelled to take over Bruce's patrol due to his broken arm, and to prevent any further damage between he and Selina.
Dick and Harley set off into the night to work the Batman's patrol shift, and it's as if their masks separate them from the grief of their secret identities. Out here, they haven't lost a child; out here, it's all fun and games.
"Harley," Dick sighed, twirling his mask in his hands, "let's go."
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" she called. "I'm a girl, I can't decide what to wear, I don't want to hear about it." Dick leaned against the desk. "Are these really what I wore before?" she yelled around the corner.
"Half the city could have been robbed by the time you figure out what shoes to wear, or whatever…" Dick shouted back. He turned around and pulled up the crime log for the evening, keeping track of every exchange made over the police radios.
"Okay, you gain like a billion pounds and not rethink your wardrobe," she countered. "And have hormones," she added. "That's probably another thing…" she trailed off. Dick rolled his eyes.
"Well while you decide how to look best while crime fighting, here are the crimes that have happened so far tonight: three muggings, one count of rape, a string of small bank robberies, a few holdups… You know, then there are the standard car thieves, home invasions, things like that. The bank robberies may be worth looking into," he pondered.
"Okay, okay," Harley sighed, coming around the corner still tying up her left pigtail. "But why did no one tell me how completely tacky the pigtails look?" She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. Dick grinned.
"Because they don't look tacky. They look hot." He laughed, putting his mask on. Harley snorted.
"Sure. But was this always this uncomfortable?" She twisted around a little. "What was I thinking on leather with gymnastics? I would wear the other one, but there is no way I am painting my face." She pursed her lips, pulling at the bottom of her corset. He tossed her a sleek black coat to put on.
"We'll have to get you a new one," Nightwing smiled, cocking his head a bit. "Leather and gymnastics is a no-go, but you do look fantastic." Harley laughed.
"Well thank you fiancee, but I'm going out in this outfit not staying in." She winked.
"You never had any trouble mixing work and play before," Nightwing pointed out, walking towards his motorcycle. He glanced over his shoulder at her.
"See that's where you're wrong." Harley smirked. "It was all play, I just made you work for it." She trailed her hand across his chest as she walked past him, swaying her hips. Nightwing grinned and followed her.
"You want to drive?" he asked, stopping beside the bike.
"Afraid I might distract you again?" she asked. Nightwing laughed.
"Not at all. Now do you want to drive or not?" he asked, reaching around her to scan his thumb on the bike, and it roared to life. Nightwing bit his lip as he pulled his glove back on.
"That depends," Harley grinned mischievously, "on whether or not you're going to be a backseat driver." She suddenly leaned forward and kissed him, tugging at his bottom lip with her teeth. "Because then you can stay behind while I drive," she murmured, her body close to his. She grabbed her helmet from behind him, stepping away and pulling it on before getting on the motorcycle. "You coming?"
Nightwing laughed and got on the back, and wrapped his arms tight around her waist.
"So where we heading?" Harley turned her head to look back at him. He smiled over her shoulder at her.
"The bank on Fifth and Harrison. It got robbed a couple of hours ago."
"We're going where the robbers already finished?" she asked.
"Gordon agreed to wait for us to give us a quick brief of the case."
"Awesome." Harley revved the engine as she turned to face forward again; she paused. "I did warn you that it was Jason who taught me to drive a motorcycle right?" She smirked, peeling out. Nightwing's arms tightened around her waist in surprise, and she heard him laugh. Harley sped out of the cave, smiling to herself. When she made it into the city, she slowed down a little, but still wove her way through traffic. She braked beside Gordon's police cruiser. She put down the kickstand, pulling off her helmet with a big grin.
"Good evening, Commissioner."
"I saw a dozen traffic violations in about two blocks," he told her.
"Put them on my record," Harley laughed.
Nightwing's hair stuck in every direction, the lenses of his mask wide, a smile plastered across his face. "We're um… here to get the info on the bank robberies," he stuttered, giggling like a middle school kid.
"Don't look so smiley," Gordon told them.
"So what do you got?" Harley walked over as he pulled his notes out.
"This is the third robbery tonight." He started flipping through his notepad when Harley stopped him.
"Wait. The first bank was SN?" she asked, looking at his notes. "Was the other one Gotham West?"
"Yeah, how did you-"
"-Oh come on!" Harley laughed. "You don't know where they're going to hit next?" She looked between the two of them. "Do you really not know?"
Nightwing stared at her blankly, trying to smooth his messy hair down. Gordon tapped a foot impatiently. "Would you care to share with the rest of us?" He gave Nightwing a quizzical look, and the boy held his hands up innocently.
"Oh come on coppers. It's only the most common bank robbing strategy in Gotham. I've done it, and I sure as hell wasn't the first, I think it was started back in Falcone's day, and I think even Jason considered doing it." She grinned. "Let me just bask in the glory of outsmarting the police for a moment." Gordon shot her a look. "Okay, okay. The method is to rob the three little banks, here, SN, and West, because they're in a triangle and most importantly, three separate precincts. Then the hope is, while the police are all tied up with those three, you hit the crown jewel right in the center, Gotham National. It's a fifty fifty shot of it working really." She shrugged. "The police can either be totally swamped, or out and ready to swarm at the drop of a hat. In my experience, it was the latter."
"That's because the GCPD knows their stuff," Nightwing grinned, holding up a hand to high-five Gordon. He ignored it.
"So we head to Gotham National before they get there, and wait in cover."
"If my costume change took as long as he was complaining it did, you may want to hurry. Ooo! Call in backup!" Harley giggled. "I've always wanted to say that." Gordon ignored her tone.
"I'll get officers on scene. Although with the way you drive, you may be there first."
"I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment." Harley pulled her helmet back on. Nightwing shrugged as she got on the motorcycle, and he grinned at the Commissioner.
"Isn't she perfect?" he laughed, and then grabbed her waist as she tore down the street. Nightwing wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and pressed his lips against her neck under her helmet, smiling against her skin. He couldn't hear her giggle over the wind.
She slowed the bike and drove it into the alley by the bank. She parked the bike by a dumpster, getting off.
"Show me what you got, pretty boy." She smirked, taking her helmet off and setting it on the seat. Nightwing got off, smiling.
"Right here? In the street?" he joked. "That's a little risque," laughing, Nightwing pushed her until her back was pressed to the wall and kissed her slowly. When he stepped back, he smiled and bit his lip. "Come on. We've got a job to do." The alarm on the bank sounded.
"Oh look, you're letting them get away. Some hero," she teased. "Do I need to show you how it's done?" Nightwing laughed and glanced down the side of the building. He glanced up, and then grinned.
"Try to keep up," he quipped, and then fired a grappling hook at the roof of the building, shooting upward to stop on the ledge of a corner office. He pried out the already half open window, diving into the building. He hurried through the offices, listening to the voices. He crept down the stairs toward the lobby floor. Harley burst in the front doors.
"Batman's out there!" She pointed back out the doors. "Get down!" The robbers stared at her in confusion. She made it to the first one, grabbed his gun, and punched him in the face before diving behind the teller counter, laughing.
"What the hell is she doing here?!" one of them cried, all of them focusing their guns on where she'd disappeared. Nightwing couldn't help it; he burst into laughter, leaning against the pillars near the door to the lobby. One man turned in surprise and fired blindly, but Nightwing had already vanished.
"She's something, isn't she?" he called, laughing as he crept along the wall in the dark. The robbers hadn't even made it to the safes yet. Nightwing glanced across the room and caught Harley's eye. Three more. Two: your side. Count of three, he mouthed, and then grinned at her, holding up three fingers.
"Three!" Harley cried, flipping over the counter and pistol whipping the robber nearest to her with the gun she still held. Nightwing slid out and took the knees out from the one closest to him, kicking the gun across the floor. When the man hit the ground beside him, Nightwing swung a leg up and hit him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Jackknifing to his feet, he grinned when he saw that Harley had also incapacitated the third robber. "Don't worry," Harley grinned, "I got him."
"God I love you," he laughed, beaming.
"Don't praise God, sweetie. He didn't do anything." She laughed as police sirens approached outside. Nightwing crossed the lobby and took her into his arms, kissing her passionately as the police came in through the doors. Nightwing grinned against her lips and then grabbed her hand, disappearing up the stairs before the officers could say a word.
"Don't worry officers," she called behind her, "he'll take me into custody." She giggled as she heard them yelling in confusion, trying to gather themselves. She let Nightwing pull her along back through the offices. "Are you going to leave me to find my own means again? Or you going to take me with you this time?" She cocked an eyebrow at him, still smiling.
"A protege needs to know how to work when their mentor isn't there," he quipped, dropping down to the street from the window with her in his arms. He grinned at her.
"Mentor my ass," she snorted. "And I don't have any fun gadgets. You run around with just a cork gun and see how well you do." She poked him in the chest.
"Well, we'll have to change that. You're part of the family, now, you'll get gadgets. And you-" he poked her back, walking back toward the bike- "Are still barely a superhero. Level one at best. Bart Allen has more field experience than you. That's a scary thought."
"As a hero maybe, but I know how criminals work," she countered. "That's a big bonus."
"That doesn't count," Nightwing laughed, flipping open the minicomputer on his wrist. "Let's see… we've got a couple of break-ins. Are you still in the mood for robberies? There was a couple of home invasions- a mugging in progress on Twelfth Street…"
"I don't know. What do you suggest, mentor?" She smiled.
"Oh, here's something. Break in at 'The Right Start'. Sounds like some fitness thing. Okay, let's go. Corner of Carson and Cliff." Nightwing started the bike again.
"Are you driving this time?" she asked, leaning against the bike. "I might want to see how you can handle this."
That stupid, gorgeous smile broke across his face again, and Nightwing bit his lip. "You know, I am a terrible show off," he got on the bike, revving the engine. He raised a dark eyebrow at her behind his mask, grinning. Harley chuckled, trailing her hand over his shoulder as she moved to sit behind him.
"It's not showing off when I already know what you've got." She kissed his neck as she straddled the bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. Nightwing turned his head to kiss her over his shoulder, and then sped away down the street.
It was as if their masks held their emotions at bay- the mourning, the agonizing days before- all seemed like a dream. Untouchable and unable to touch them. In the dark of Gotham, they were allowed to smile. They could laugh and play their games before they had to take their masks off and face their other life again. Nightwing turned a corner. "I'm not impressed," Harley murmured next to his ear, her voice carrying through the wind. Nightwing laughed.
"I'm not going to put you in any danger. You know that," he smirked, stopping in front of the building. He cut off the bike.
"You're right," Harley pulled her arms away, leaning back, "you probably have a concussion. I shouldn't even be letting you drive let alone fight crime. Point to the right me so I know you're still not seeing double," she told him, bobbing her head. Nightwing was still staring across the street.
"It's… a baby store. The silent alarm was triggered cuz somebody's robbing a baby store," he said quietly. So much for escaping our other life. Harley grabbed his arm.
"Why would someone rob a baby store?" Harley breathed. It all came crashing back; she took in a ragged breath to calm herself. "How long ago was the alarm triggered?"
"Are you okay?" Nightwing asked quietly. "About eight minutes."
"I'm fine. Let's go." She stood up, waiting for him. Nightwing nodded. He crossed the street with her. They peered in through the smashed glass door.
The small store was dark, a few shelving units knocked over. Nightwing's boots crunched in the glass as he stepped over the threshold. The air was cold, and Harley pulled the leather jacket over her corset tighter around her waist. Nightwing's breath caught the light in a silvery cloud from the lips of his silhouette in the dark. He switched to the night vision on his mask.
"This place is too much of a mess to tell whether or not any of the inventory is missing, not until the owner gets here. But… Thermal scans indicate no one else is in the building but us. The entirety of the cash register was emptied…" Nightwing walked back around the counter, stepping carefully over the scattered baby supplies. "The police should be here any moment." Glancing up, he cocked his head. Nightwing stared at the security camera in the corner. "That's state of the art. A little high tech for a small business. Well hidden- the thief might not have even seen it. I mean, nobody would be expecting a small business to be able to afford cameras at all, let alone one that is that nice…" Nightwing babbled on as he pulled out his minicomputer. "Now that I can hack…" He smirked, typing in a few commands. Harley walked closer to him and looked over his shoulder. He smiled. "And done. The video feed should be…" he trailed off, fast forwarding it a bit to the correct time. Harley nudged him, smiling.
They watched the video, and the window smashed inward as a man in a long coat and a hat swept through the store, knocking over shelving units as he hurried to get to the register. Nightwing narrowed his eyes, watching another man come in, identically dressed, picking things up off of the ground.
"They're… ok, so some of the inventory was taken. Why the hell would anyone rob a… a baby store?" Nightwing looked at her.
"Look," Harley pointed at the video, "formula, diapers, clothes even. They're getting practical baby stuff."
"There's two of them. We may be looking for a couple, down on their luck- we can check the hospitals around here, see if there were any newborns delivered to couples…" Nightwing paused, and then shook his head. "They wouldn't live too close by so as not to be suspected, but they'd have to be able to get away with what they stole-" Nightwing walked to the front of the store again. "Not enough snow on the streets or the sidewalks to show whether they had a getaway car or not. The video feed doesn't show any headlights, though. This looks like an amateur job." Harley followed him out.
"I don't know. That's a lot of stuff. You wouldn't be able to carry it far without being noticed." She glanced around. "Maybe we should check traffic reports. Stolen vehicles or speeding. If they are amateurs, they hopefully messed up along the way."
"Hopefully," Nightwing agreed. "Let's go."
"Where to, mentor man?" Harley mock saluted. Nightwing smiled a little, stepping out of the store. Red and blue flashed over his face, and he held his hand up against the bright headlights. "Nightwing-" Harley stepped forward in alarm, but he held up a hand.
"It's the Commissioner's vehicle."
Gordon stepped out, looking at the store front.
"Perp was already gone. But there's footage, should be an easy catch."
"Good. God, I feel like I'm working with one of my ex-cops. Grayson. He was a good kid." Commissioner Gordon smirked. Nightwing laughed. "Okay, well… I think we can wrap it up here, if you want to look at a murder we've hit a dead end on. We can't get any warrants or do any searches until the morning, and I doubt anything will get underway until after Christmas," Gordon handed him a file, glancing at Harley Quinn at his side. He smiled a little.
"Sure, no problem, Gordon," he flipped the file open.
"You know, I think I like having you on our side," Gordon nodded at Harley.
"Harles," Nightwing breathed. "Look."
Inside the file was a photograph of the murder victim. Nurse Olivia Martinez.