Harley came up to the Watchtower almost immediately after they'd found him. Ivy was in a rage. Selina had vanished who-knows-where. Harley was alone and her hands were shaking. She was one of the few who knew best what world Danny would be waking up to.

Another of the few was directly responsible for why she was even here. They didn't meet often or regularly, but the two of them were forever bonded by the trauma they'd experienced under his white and bloody hands. Now, hopefully, their membership would grow by one.

Hopefully, because Danny better not die on her.

The wild look in her eyes when she stumbled out onto the control room of the Watchtower gratefully left few willing to argue with her. Flash of all people had picked her up and raced her to the operating suite on the space station. His solemn face was a stark contrast to her bare one streaked with tears.

"Some favors were called in," he said softly. "Dr. Midnight is in surgery with him now."

"Lemme scrub in," Harley replied firmly. "I can assist."

"I'm not sure—"

"I'm still Dr. Quinzel," she snarled. "Let me help."

Flash looked at her sadly but set her on her feet. "Scrubs are in the room to the left; you can prep in there. The sterile field starts just beyond the red line; the door leads straight to the OR."

"Got it."

She scrubbed in a daze. She wouldn't be able to recall any of the process if held at gunpoint. Her feet led her on autopilot into the OR.

Dr. Midnight and Martian Manhunter were both in the room. Flash was understating when he mentioned favors: Midnight was the leading medical professional in the meta-world. For Danny, a normal civilian, to be his patient was almost unheard of. A part of her mind rebelled at her eyes, seeing the green humanoid in classic blue scrubs, but he seemed to be following Dr. Midnight's directions to a T.

"Dr. Quinzel." His voice was calm and smooth, something that was always beneficial in a surgical setting. "Excellent timing. You have surgical experience?"

"From rotations and ad-hoc settin's." She'd patched herself up numerous times over the years and had been known to make a quick buck around the Gotham underground doing the same for others.

"Good. J'onn is keeping Danny under, but I'd still like to limit his time unconscious. I need a second set of hands to help find the tear on this arteriole."

She nodded, and they got to work.

Of course, Danny woke up the one time she left his recovery room. She was still human, and even she needed to eat and dash to the bathroom every so often. The mess hall in the Watchtower was a surreal experience, but she hardly noticed as she focused on eating as quickly as possible without getting herself sick. The Leaguers left her alone, thankfully.

Her ire skyrocketed as she saw through the window that Danny wasn't alone, nor were the visitors medically necessary. Instead, given the elevated heart rate on his heart monitor, their presence is detrimental. Considering it was the Big Three of the Justice League, she hesitated. Even she could admit not standing a chance against them.

They hadn't visibly shown they'd noticed her arrival, but Harley didn't doubt they knew she was there: two had advanced hearing, and then there was Batman. She still took a few steps out of sight, leaving just enough to peak around the corner, and did her best to listen to their muffled voices.

"You don't understand, Johnson." That was definitely Batman's gravelly tone.

Danny looked up at him slowly, his blank stare leaving the others questioning how present he truly was. "I understand more than you think, Wayne. If someone allows the problem to perpetuate when they have the power to stop it, aren't they part of the problem?"

Harley could tell Superman was starting to lose his cool, although she doubted he'd display any true anger inside the medical suite. She had a lot of issues with Big Blue, but he knew his strength. Usually.

"Where is the line then, Johnson?" His voice was strained. "If we killed anyone we perceived as being a problem–"

"There's a difference between 'being a public nuisance' and 'committing televised mass murder multiple times.' It's concerning that you're unable to see that."

Okay, maybe Danny wouldn't make it out of this in one piece after all.

"And if that's the line, then what's to stop us from going after some of your other guests?" Batman sneered. "Harley Quinn? Poison Ivy?"

This comment finally had Danny surge to life as he practically lunged out of his bed. "They don't purposefully target children and you know it."

She'd seen enough.

Harley punched the override code into the door panel and dashed into the room before the entrance had fully slid open. Danny was still struggling to keep his balance and strength– she could see his limbs shaking from the effort to stay upright and keep a hold of his sudden grip on Batman's cape.

"Danny, no! You'll tear your stitches," she chastised. With a rough elbow to Batman's side (stupid body armor), she coaxed him out of Danny's breathing room and watched in satisfaction as Danny's fingers immediately let go once the man stepped away. They could practically see the energy drain from his body as he sagged back onto the clean sheets.

She'd found the best form of defense in the world of supers was to ignore them, so that's exactly what she did. Harley turned towards Danny and began to check over and rearrange his intravenous lines and vitals monitoring cables so he'd be more comfortable, all while keeping at least two of the three heroes in the corner of her eye. She didn't think they'd attack her with her back turned right now, but that didn't mean she trusted them not to either.

With her focus trained on ensuring Danny hadn't hurt himself, she wasn't expecting the speed with which his hand shot out to clasp her wrist.

"Harls." His voice was a whisper, but she and the others in the room could hear him crystal clear. "I can't stay here. Please?"

His broken voice had her hesitating. "...They do have better medical care than most hospitals, and you were hurt pretty badly." She hated saying it, and she could tell he hated hearing it.

"I don't know if I can sleep here." 'I don't feel safe here' went unsaid, but it was still as if he'd screamed it. His fingers squeezed her wrist for a heartbeat before relaxing again.

Harley sighed but knew she'd caved. "Your mental state impacts physical healing, and this room is no longer somewhere you can relax. We'll go." She began to unhook him from all the machines, only pausing to glare at Wonder Woman when she protested. "If this were an accredited hospital, he could still leave AMA. Unless you're saying you're keeping him prisoner?"

The Amazon paused in shock but shook her head. "Of course not," she agreed easily, although Harley noticed the clench to Batman's jaw. "I wish you safe healing, Danny Johnson."

"Daniel," he spat angrily. Harley's hands froze until she saw him come back to himself and shut his eyes in shame. "Don't… don't call me that right now. I can still hear him."

Harley waited until the two of them were in the hallway before she broke the silence. "That's why I don't like 'Harleen,' either. He called me that first in our sessions." She looked down the hallway. It seemed a lot longer than it had earlier. "I'm sorry you understand it now."

"Me too."

To her surprise, Danny- Daniel stayed awake the entire time it took her to transfer him to a safer location. She wished he wouldn't fight the medication that was urging him to sleep, but at the same time, she knew how it felt to sleep somewhere you didn't feel secure.

After the confrontation he'd just had, she felt bad when she called out for the zeta tube to send them to the Batcave and he tensed against her. It was the way she'd come, though– the easiest way for her to get to the Watchtower, considering Gotham was in lock down. Of course, it was made easier since Alfred had simply let her in when she'd shown up at the door with Jason Todd and Barbara Gordon.

"They're taking the Villain Wrangler to the Watchtower medbay," Barbara had said flatly, voice taut with all the emotions she wasn't letting herself feel. "Joker got him."

Alfred had looked over the ragtag trio seriously, eyes lingering for a moment on Harley's bare face (she didn't care about makeup at a time like this), and ushered them inside without a word.

Neither Barbara nor Jason were there when she stumbled out of the transporter with Daniel, but two of the others were. The Asian girl was likely Cassandra Cain, and the older boy was Tim Drake, she was sure from the news. She'd thought he and Daniel hated each other, but that wasn't important now, especially as they both came forward to help her keep him upright.

"Help me gett'im into my car?" She asked lowly, pausing to catch her breath. Daniel wasn't heavy compared to things she was used to lifting, but it was fairly awkward to try and support his weight at a tilted angle without causing further injury. He was in no position to be carried over her shoulder.

Cassandra shook her head and left Tim to explain. "Easier to take him in one of ours. The Cadillac is armored and has enough room to lay him down."

Daniel blearily looked up at this. "Tim…? I can walk…"

"No," Tim stopped him. "We don't want you getting more injured. Be quiet and save your energy."

Daniel huffed but fell silent, only a few grunts of pain slipping out as they maneuvered him into the back of the SUV. Cassandra climbed in with him to help hold him steady across the lowered seats.

Harley's brow raised in surprise as Tim tossed her the keys. "Thought I'd have to fight ya for it."

Tim pursed his lips. "Desperate times and all that."

The drive was mostly silent as Harley wove through the industrial side of town to reach the medbay that The Penguin operated. The American healthcare industry would be proud of how anal the boss-man was with billing at this place, but for the underground of Gotham and beyond, it was a price they'd pay for when they had too close a call to handle alone. Speaking of…

"We'll have to pay," she warned Tim.

The boy shrugged. "Money's not a concern." He continued after she nodded sharply. "Where exactly are we going?"

She chewed on her lower lip as she took a turn faster than she planned to. "Penguin's."

"Noted." He opened the glove box and rummaged around for a few moments before pulling out a pair of domino masks. "Cass?" He tossed one over his shoulder and then affixed the other to his face.

"I've been." Harley had to keep from jerking the wheel in surprise as the girl spoke up unexpectedly. "He'll be okay."

Her eyes darted up to the rear view mirror and were met with Cassandra's blank, domino stare.

"Daniel?" She asked, not elaborating on the name change. She'd respect his wishes even if he wasn't awake to hear it.

"Out," Cass replied simply.

Harley sighed. "Probably for the best. Besides," she began to press on the brake, gradually slowing them down so she didn't send Daniel flying. "We're here."

Daniel remained unconscious during his intake. It was likely for the best. Harley had her hands full with getting Penguin's hired security not to shoot the Batbrats.

The man himself showed up within an hour and let himself into Daniel's recovery room. The Batbrats had taken up posts as Daniel's own security, with Cass in the hall striking fear into the hearts of the staff with her silent disappearing/reappearing act, and Tim in the room quietly observing the medical team Harley had begrudgingly allowed in.

"I don't appreciate the harassment to my staff," Penguin said bluntly, his voice his typical rasp. Harley was glad to see he'd left his cigars outside.

"We came to an understandin'," Harley replied tightly. "Charge the fine to the account on file."

He surveyed the room—the post-op nurse continued his assessment but didn't appear to be in duress, and Harley and Tim were standing out of the way against the wall.

"If it were anyone else," he conceded. "I have another form of payment in mind for Mr. Johnson."

Tim's blank domino stare tipped dangerously towards the mob boss. "Meaning?"

"Don't think that because I haven't had you bodily removed yet means I still won't," Penguin said frostily. He turned back to Harley. "Ironic that you bring him here, when I planned to contact him soon." He pulls a folded packet of paper from his inner suit pocket and hands it to her. "I expect to hear from him when he's medically cleared."

Harley didn't have to open it to guess its contents. There weren't many reasons one of the criminally inclined would want to seek out Danny—right, Daniel Johnson.

"I'll let him know."

"Good. He is welcome to remain here until he is ready for home discharge. All supplies and services will go on the account." He turned to leave but paused in the doorway. "Harley." She looked up, surprised at his use of her name. Usually, he referred to her as Quinn. "Catwoman has put the word out. The Gallery has announced its next exhibit."

"Oh." That explained where the sleek kitty had gone off to. She felt some of the tension drain from her shoulders. She could focus on Daniel here, and the others would focus on the outside world.

"I've secured the financer," she replied.

With a nod, he was off.

The boy next to her straightened slightly, and just like with his… father? Well, just like whatever Batman was, she could tell Red Robin was now speaking to her.

"'The gallery?'"

"Nothin' concernin' you, Red."

He let it go for now, and she was grateful. The steady beeping of Daniel's heart monitor lingered in the air between them.

A/N: please don't expect another update this soon lol. If Dr. Midnight is OOC- don't at me, it's been years since I've read a comic with him :(

& can someone tell me what the hell is up with all of the "art commission" bot PMs and comments?!