[I do not own Teen Titans or any characters mentioned in this story. Hey! New Chapter! Have some Crowe hanging with the Gothamites! Also, just for reference, I see this Harley as less Batman the Animated Series and more DC Bombshells. I don't know why? I think it's because I just associate that Harley with being Joker obsessed...Anyway, have some motherly Harley and bored Crowe!]
Crowe sighed sadly, staring up at a warehouse ceiling in boredom. Kyddie was off on some important HIVE scheme, none of the titans were any real fun to hang out with, and Jinx was busy with Kole tonight. Crowe stood up with a quick push, trudging around the empty house and kicking whatever was in his path away.
Crowe groaned boredly before flopping back down, blaming mostly Kyd for his lack of entertainment. His melancholic stalemate didn't seem to last much longer however, as he heard a clacking of so familiar heels and could practically feel the psychotic, boisterous energy radiating off of his kind-of adoptive mother.
"Harl!" Crowe yelled excitedly, running to the sound and more than appreciative for something to distract him.
"Hey Jo-Jo!" squealed the older woman with glee, happy to find her favorite apprentice wasn't too busy. Harley would never admit it, but Joey had changed her a lot since they'd met. She was much more independent, no longer needing to feel loved by an abuser, and Joey gave her the feeling that always kept her going. Even if Joseph wasn't her biological son, she still cared for him like one and enjoyed finally feeling important to somebody, like a mother.
"Aw, I was trying to scare you silly!" Harley whined in her childish voice as Crowe sent her back with a hug. Though Harley herself was pretty short, she was still about a head over Joseph as she hugged him back and ran her fingers through his hair.
"When's the last time you brushed all this mop? If you need a brush I can always-" Harley began before being interrupted by Joseph.
"Harley, it's fine. I'll brush it later." Joseph said with a roll of his eyes.
"So, what's a little rebel like you doing all by yourself on a Saturday night? You're a teenager, don't you have plans?" Harley asked worriedly as she put her hands on Crowe's bare shoulders.
"Ugh! Everyone is either gone, or too up-tight, or busy with their girlfriend! I don't have anything to do...if it's not too much to ask, do you think I could maybe hang with you tonight?" Crowe said, making his exasperation clear before asking Harley of her plans timidly.
"Oh of course hon! I was plannin' on going out on the town with the girls, so as long as you don't have any plant allergy and you're pretty resistant to cold, I'd love to bring you!" Harley squealed again, excited to finally prove to the girls she was in fact capable of being a mature adult.
"Cool, so where are we going?" Joseph said as he walked out of the dirty warehouse with Harley Quinn.
"Ever heard of Georgina Lounge? It's this cool place the girls only just now told me about, it's like Jump City's Trinity, a place that only villains know about and meet up. Only rule is, no law breaking in the lounge itself." Harley recited by memory from Pam's monotone voice.
"Oh by the way, I finally got myself a ride! I was starting to get jealous of your little motorcycle so I got me one too! Ta-da!" Harley said bubbly as she led Joseph over to a nearly identical cycle to his, both of them the same style as Robin's, only painted differently.
"This...looks kinda familiar...wait. Harley...you didn't!" Joseph said excitedly.
"Yeah I did! Remember that cycle Batsy used to ride around in, before he developed the Batmobile? He-he! All it needed was a little touch up and a load of paint!" Harley said proudly, watching amusedly as Crowe seemed unable to decide from impressed she pulled it off or scandalized that she pulled it off without him.
By the time the blonde duo had made it to the secretive place, Crowe didn't know what to think anymore. He'd never seen so many big name villains in one place in his life, and not one of them seemed to be scheming or laughing at some hero. He saw the penguin, the penguin, sharing a drink with the riddler, both in semi-civilian clothing. He spotted Captain Cold, Killer Croc, Bane.
Before he could very well take it all in however, Harley had dragged him over to a table where three more than familiar women were sitting. While most of every other villain and villainess were wearing their plain costume, it seemed Killer Frost, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman had different ideas.
"What? A girl can't look nice once in awhile?" Ivy asked Joseph jokingly, nudging him with her elbow.
Harley plopped down next to her partner in crime, practically cuddling up to Poison Ivy. Joseph had a feeling something was going on between the two, but he'd leave it alone until Harley decided to talk.
"What!? Why didn't you guys tell me we were dressing up? I've got tons of costumes!" Harley whined as Pamela and Louise shared a quick look with each other.
"I believe you just answered your own question Harls." Catwoman purred as she took another sip from her glass.
Harley gave a very indignant 'hmph!' before resting her head on Ivy's shoulder, pouting as Ivy chuckled and booped her nose. Crowe soon plopped down himself, Catwoman eyeing him slightly before finally speaking.
"Aren't you a little young to be in here kid?" She said condescendingly as she sipped from her glass again. Harley looked panicked for just a moment before interrupting Crowe's soon-to-be smart remark.
"Actually! You remember that kid I told you about, the one who managed to break into Deathstroke's lair?" Harley said nervously.
"Wait, it's this guy? He's barely a teenager! Look at him, he doesn't belong here, he belongs in a middle school!" Catwoman said insulting, rudely pointing at the petite boy.
"Well...I suppose neither of us are where we're supposed to be are we...Selina Kyle? I mean, if you lost your way to the Gotham petting zoo all you had to do was ask. Then again, I think the pound is much more your style, correct?" Joseph purred back at Catwoman with a feigning innocence smile.
Selina felt herself stiffen up, but for the first time in awhile she honestly didn't know how to respond. She was so used to Harley or Ivy just taking her remarks, and petty heroes simply feeling shocked. No one had ever actually fought back except the Bat. It didn't help that she didn't know which remark to be more offended by, the fact that this child had indeed outmatched her hacking, or that she was being compared to a mere ally cat.
"Speechless? My my Selina, you've lost your touch. The first time I decided to venture into Gotham to raise my status as a nuisance, my first move was to research those who already claimed this as their city. Including you Kyle. Stiff, monotonous, next to no background history, but an obvious appreciation for the bat himself." Joseph continued snarkily as the other two girls watched in awe.
"Don't worry, I won't tell. In fact, for a long time I looked up to you. Despite everything, you are in fact one of the most successful thieves in Gotham, and you've come face to face with the Bat and lived to tell the tale many times. I'd like to be your friend Selina, as long as you'd like to be mine." Joseph said finally.
Selina finally regained her composure before smirking and reaching over to ruffle the younger boy's hair playfully.
"Love to, Harley's right, you're pretty impressive...for a kid that is." Selina said as the other girls let out a deep sigh of relief.
Crowe nodded appreciatively before the group went back into their previous conversation.
"So...I found this place in the outskirts of the city that is loaded. High-dollar jewels, necklaces, the works. I was thinking that maybe instead of sitting here gossipping like a bunch of old birds…" Pamela said slyly to the group.
"Sounds nice, but...what are we gonna do about boy scout over here?" Selina said, gesturing lamely at Crowe.
"I was actually thinking that maybe we could bring him. With his extensive knowledge of Gotham, and his exceptional combat history, he'd make an excellence accomplice." Ivy said in her deep voice, ignoring Crowe's glare.
"Well I was thinking maybe we could all stop talking about me like I'm not sitting next to you." Crowe snapped.
"I'll only go if Harley or Ivy does. Sorry, but trust is earned." Crowe said confidently as he glanced at Harley Quinn expectantly.
"Well yeah! Let's go get some pretties!" Harley said excitedly as Ivy smirked confidently.
The foursome made it to Trolly's Jewelery eventually, Catwoman nearly cackling at how easy this would be. The store owner must have been new, he hadn't had any security cameras set up at all yet.
Harley easily broke open the glass of a large window in the front of the store with her hammer, flipping into the dark building with the others trailing behind her.
"Pretties!" Squealed Harley as she broke open a glass case filled with ruby studded necklaces. She greedily snatched them up, letting them all dangle from either her neck or her arms, not noticing Crowe's relaxed smile.
Crowe looked around warily, he knew for sure whatever he took he'd return eventually. The only question was what he was willing to come all the way back to Gotham for.
Crowe moved further into the abandoned shop, spotting the girls with random items. Catwoman had in her hands an onyx gem, and Poison Ivy was just stuffing a bag with excess jewels she found in the back of the shop.
That's when Crowe finally spotted it, the same snake head cane Wykkyd had been trying to get his hands on when Kid Flash attacked them. Kyd Wykkyd was known to museum curators and art historians everywhere not just as a thief, but also as a feared scourge. Joseph himself thought his plight to collect those dusty dirt-old knick knacks as nerdy most of the time, but Kyd Wykkyd liked what he liked he supposed.
Crowe easily got to the cane and twirled it in his hands like a baton before laying it in his hands and trying to figure out what the attraction to this thing was. The last time Kid Flash had ruined Kyd Wykkyd getting to it, he was more upset than he'd ever seen him, so there must be something more to the cane than just aesthetic appeal. Then again, that was long before the two were an actual thing, before Kyd Wykkyd had ever even met Crowe. Kyd still only knew him as Jericho, and Jericho only knew him as 'that one dweeby vampire villain'.
He held it upright to look into it's menacing ruby eyes, only to be surprised by a blinding white light coming from it. He quickly turned it away from his face to rub his eyes, when he looked toward the cane again to see it projecting an image onto the floor. Crowe slowly picked it up and backed away from a close wall, letting the image come up like a screen. What he saw made him gasp.
"Elliot?" Joseph whispered, eyes filled with disbelief.
The cane was projecting an image from the future, and obviously a very important one. Elliot and Joseph were standing across from each other, holding hands in front of a large group of people. Elliot in a very uncomfortable looking suit, and Joseph what looked to be his bride. Crowe blushed and gave a small smile when he realized that he really didn't have anything to worry about. Screw Robin, screw Slade, screw the world. He also realized why Elliot was upset before, it seemed he had grown a crush on Joseph sooner that Joseph had realized.
Joseph held the snake head to himself, tapping the top lightly to shut down the image.
"Boy Scout! C'mon, we're leaving. Can't give the Bat enough time to realize we're here." Catwoman shouted from the upper room of the shop.
Well, at least he'd have a pretty interesting story to tell Wykkyd when he got back.
[If you don't agree with my very slight Ivy x Harley then I'm sorry, I could've made it much more obvious. I myself think it's cute, but that's my opinion. Reviews and requests are majorly welcome and wanted!]