Chapter Eight

Nightwing suddenly stilled on the rooftop beside her. The pair were sat, legs swinging off the edge, eating what Bird-brain called his ‘patrol snacks’ which was literally just a load of granola bars and various candy or other sweet treats that were mostly sugar.

Harley had pointed it out, but the guy had just shrugged and grinned as he savagely bit the head off of a gummy bear. Say whatcha would, but if anyone deserved it, it was him.

They usually snacked and chattered together, then continued the patrol their own separate ways. Somehow, he always managed to find her, and it hadn't slipped her notice that he started bringing extra snacks after the first time. Apparently this was some kinda ritual for him, and she wasn't about ta interrupt it.

Which was why it was so weird when Nightwing went all still and shit like that. Weirder still when he got up and-
“‘kay, I gotta ask, where the fuck are ya keepin’ all that crap?” Harley bluntly let her thoughts slip out as he pulled some kind of device from somewhere.

Sure, it was rude, but c’mon! The suit was damn near skintight! She knew from experience how difficult it was to fit pockets and such onto clothes, or a suit-whatever, and still have ‘em fit that closely.

Unfortunately, it appeared that wasn't gonna get answered today, as he slipped something from another pocket…somewhere. He paused when he was going to put it in his ear, looking at her.

His hand moved down as he turned and focused on her. Damn, that was some intensity, and she couldn't even see his eyes through those white lenses in the mask.

“Harley. I need to go. You should go home tonight.”

That brought her train of thought to a screeching halt, “I'm sorry, ya what?”

“I said you should go home tonight. Leave the patrolling.”

Uh huh. Okay. So, uh, “Why the fuck would I do that?”

He grimaced, “It looks like some of the Rogues are on the loose. I know you can handle yourself but…”

She cocked a hip and waited for whatever bullshit he was about to spout.

“...I won't be able to concentrate if you're out here alone. Not when you're a prime target for their retribution.”

Fuck. Fucking shit. Shitting fuck. That was a real difficult reason to argue against. She quietly cursed under her breath, both at realising she was going to agree, and to the weird cushy burning in her chest.

“Ugh. Fine. Getcha ass outta here. I'll head to bed, or some shit.”

She hated how good she felt when she caught the expression of relief on his face. He was putting the earpiece in, and she caught him talking through it as she jumped off the roof to head home.

“Nightwing to Cave. Sitrep?”

Oof. He was about to head to work with the bats. She still didn't know the full situation there, but she knew enough. He was not gonna be a happy birdie later.

Harley sighed to herself, wishing she knew where he was staying so she could cheer him up after. When'd she become all emotional and shit, huh?

—

“Nightwing to Cave. Sitrep?” His voice didn't tremble, and sounded just as cheerful yet serious as he had tried to make it.

“Cave speaking.” That was Alfred's voice, thank god. Dick wasn't sure if he could have dealt without the older man's quiet authority tonight. “There has been a breach at Blackgate. Of the escapees, only the Mad Hatter and Killer Croc were notable. Batman and Robin are currently accosting Killer Croc. Red Robin and Batgirl are aiding the GCPD is capturing the various petty criminals. The Mad Hatter remains unaccounted for. Red Hood has been following his trail, and tracked him to an apartment block that is only a few blocks from the Bludhaven boundary.”

He paused, apparently expecting something, then added, “As is protocol, Red Hood is waiting for reinforcement before breaching the premises. Both yourself and Black Bat are expected. She is on her way.”

Dick sighed softly to himself. It had to be Jason. He could take the frosty glares from Steph and Tim, and the way Damian tried to pretend he didn't exist unless it was relevant to the mission at hand. Hell, he could even take the heart-numbing sadness that surrounded Cass’s silent stares whenever he wasn't looking.

But Jason- a scoff cut over the comm, “Get over yourself Dickhead. If we're such a fucking inconvenience, stay at home.” Apparently his sigh hadn't been soft enough. Nothing he did was enough.

He **** the smile into his voice, “Sorry Jay! Just a bit tired from work. I'll head over now!” That was a huge lie. The work bit, not heading over. He was already on his way, as soon as he answered the comm. But he hadn't been to work in weeks. Pretty sure he didn't have a job anymore, or they thought he was dead. Not like anyone at the department really cared to check, anyways.

No, Jason always knew what to say to hurt. To Dick, his words were far sharper than any knife the Red Hood carried, and they always hit far harder than any gun he had. The truth hurts, after all.

—

Fucking typical Golden Boy. Doesn’t respond to the comms call, then tries to pretend they’re all happy fucking daisy. Bad enough they needed him to show up in the first place, but then the dickhead has the gall to scoff?

The green raged. Jason seethed. A hand gently settled on his forearm. Cass. The grip pulled him back from the green. He nodded a sharp thanks.

Nightwing dropped onto the rooftop behind them with only the lightest crunch of gravel. He started talking, “Heya guys-”

“Fucking finally. Took your damn time, Goldie.”

A pause in the air. Jason turned to face the man, and was met with a bright smile, “Sorry! Hell of a commute from Bludhaven, you know. I mean, there were these pigeons in the way of the rooftop on 42nd and-”

Jason scoffed. The green pulsed. “Shut the fuck up with the jokes. We have a job. Do it, and then you can get the fuck away again.”

A hard noise came from Cass. Her mouth didn’t speak, but her eyes said plenty about her thoughts on his treatment of Nightwing. Jason ignored her, and turned back to the apartment block, “Lower floors are empty. Top five occupied, but there’s no way into the penthouse without going through the other floors. Pretty sure Hatter’ll be holed up there. Each of us take a floor, then meet on the one below the penthouse.”

Nightwing inhaled and opened his mouth to speak. Red Hood shot off his line and jumped towards the building before he could speak. He didn’t give a fuck what the asshole had to say. He fucking lost that right.

Jason curled his limbs in and braced moments before smashing through one of the windows and landing straight into a collection of masked henchmen. Poor brain-washed fuckers. Was almost enough to make him feel bad. Almost.

He was a little over halfway through the floor’s group when Dickhead’s voice came over the comms, “I think everyone’s down for this floor. Found a keycard attached to a lanyard on one of them. Anyone need a hand, or should I head up alone?”

Of fucking course the golden boy had already taken his floor. The green pulsed. “Fucking overachiever. Stick to your own shit, I don’t need your help.” Jason’s voice growled across the comms.

There was another of those little near-silent sighs he gave, the kind Jason only heard because of a lull in the noise of combat. The green strobed at the sound. What fucking right did the asshole have? What-

Cass’s short reply cut off the building rage, “Many here. Use help.”

The green almost growled. Jason pushed it down. Cass was more important than the justified rage. He threw himself back into the fight, to distract the green.

—

Cassandra struggled with understanding her family. They had taught her what love was, yet seemed unable to see how it flowed through every interaction. She could see it, and sometimes hear it. The slight twitches forwards. The small gifts left for one another. Suits repaired without thanks or applause. **** to protect, rather than to hurt. It was everywhere, to her. Every little bit filled her chest with that warmth she knew to be love.

She watched her brother- that was another of those words that gave her love-chest-feeling, she learnt- as the last henchman was restrained. Dick was different to the others. Yet also the same. Small twitches happened, but they were a part of constant movement. Gifts were given openly or hidden where no-one would know who gave it. **** was…

Cass ignored the slight chill that ran down her spine as her eyes flickered to an **** henchman. Dick’s **** was comforting, yet it had become more frightening recently. He protected, as Bruce-Batman-Father did. **** to prevent damage to his chosen people. Recently, it was different. There was more. She had not realised because he was not at home-manor.

Jason held back rage, and anger, and bloodlust.

Dick held back ****. Cold, frozen, unrelenting. Mechanical. She recognised it, even in a different form. She had seen it in Cain-Orphan, and in Mother.

It worried her. Dick’s **** was not real, and that upset her. She still loved her brother, and worried for him.

—

Dick had only been there twenty minutes, and he was already tired and wanted to go home. Jason practically radiated rage with every motion whenever Dick was nearby, and Cass was unavailable as he expected her to be. Even if they weren’t on a mission, he was sure she would be the same.

Not to mention how much he hated fighting Jervis’ goons. They were all so freaking weirdly quiet, or they made that creepy laughter when the masks told them to. Awful vibes, really. Tetch wasn’t much better himself, mind, so that wasn’t much of a surprise.

‘Hell’, Dick thought as the trio of vigilantes prepared to breach the door locked with the keycard, ‘I bet he’s in there now, doing some creepy shiz.’

The scanner beeped and flashed green as he swiped the card. Red Hood and Nightwing burst through the doors, taking a side each, with Black Bat following hot on their heels. The three scanned the room in a mere moment.

‘Fucking called it.’

A handful of brainwashed goons stood around the edges of the room, whilst the Hatter was clacking away at some lopsided, haphazard DIY computer station which looked like a **** device all on it’s own. Connected by several wires and cables was a creepy metal medical table that had a random blonde chick strapped down to it crying. All in all, creepy and unwelcome.

Nightwing called out, “Jervis, have you tried asking the girl out first, or do you usually just jump straight to the **** and mind control?”

He ignored the scoff and eyeroll from his brother beside him, as the Hatter seemed to leap a few inches into the air with panic at his snark, then bare his yellowed teeth, “Oh me, oh my! You weren’t invited for tea!”

The man snapped his fingers and pointed at the two vigilantes beside Dick. Almost immediately, the various henchmen around the room surged and fight them.