Chapter Text
It was a calm day in the hall. He was here because it was soon a meeting, and he liked to be here early. Seemingly Hal, Diana, and Arthur had the same idea, as they lounged in the living area. Arthur was watching the news, Hal and Diana finishing up a game of poker, using matches instead of money.
He heard the door to the entrance open, he looked through the wall to see who it was. It was Batman, carrying someone princess style, he couldn't see clearly who, but they had blond pigtails and paper white skin. He signaled to the other heroes that it was nothing to worry about.
He watched Batman go through the door to the meeting room.
“Holy themed chairs Batman!” The person, a female voice with a Brooklyn accent, said. Batman smirked at the comment, miniscule, but more than any of the leaguers had ever succeeded with.
“He just smiled.” Clark whispered, stunned.
“Who?” Asked Hal.
“Batman”
Hal stared at him in disbelief. “You can't be serious” He said before the doors opened.
Batman walked in, bloody and cape torn, carrying a girl in scantily clad half red and half black, also bloodied and beaten.
“Yay! Your friends are here, Batsy!” The girl smiled.
“They're not friends.” Batman grumbled.
“Oh, stop with that! You can have friends and still be emo!” The girl hit him loosely in the face with a baseball bat she held, themed in red and black.
Batman simply continued walking to the couch, placing her down beside Arthur.
No one ever dared speak to Batman like that, let alone hit him with a bat, and he had thought anyone who'd dare would be killed. not ignored.
“Shut up. let me treat your wound.” Batman said, moving to magically produce a med kit from his cape.
“Youre so mean! you aint even introduced me yet!” The girl said, bonking Batman on the head with a fist. Batman continued to ignore it. She turned to look between Hal, Diana, and Clark, Arthur being on her other side. "I'm Harley Quinn! Batsy's old enemy now turned good!”
“You still kill” Batman grumbled, cleaning Harley's wound.
“Only the bad ones! ya'know, the ones who deserve a lil killing” Harley argued back, squirming to look at Batman.
“Sit still.”
“It's my wound, I can do what i wanna!”
“Fine. bleed to death for all i care” Batman dropped what he was doing and stood up.
Harley's face changed from happy to distressed in seconds. “No, no, wait! You wouldn't let a friend whom you love and adore so very much die, now would you?” she said, sounding unsure.
“No, I wouldn't." Batman sat back down to continue with his work. “Im not the Joker”
“Now why bring up that huh? just to be mean?”
“Sit still.”
“Yeah, yeah, shut up!” Harley crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch cushions.
Clark stared, horrified. Was this happening? Was Batman being…. friendly?! He looked to Hal, who stared back in equal if not more horror, and Diana looking sweetly at Batman and Harley, he looked at Arthur, to find that same horror he and Hal had.
“How long have you known each other?" Diana asked innocently.
“About twenty!” Harley responded with cheer, sitting back up.
“Sit still.” Batman grumbled, grabbing Harleys waist and pushing her back into the pillows.
“Twenty? hours, days, weeks?” GL aksed.
“Years” Harley smiled back at him, moving up from the cushions again. Batman dropped his equipment and stared at Harley with his best Batglare. “Twentys right, yeah?” she asked, unfazed, looking at Batman.
"Yes." Batman grumbled and went back to stitching up Harleys wound.
Did he just give up with the batglare!?
“Who's this lady, Spooky? How do you know her?” GL asked, sounding like a fed up dad.
“A friend.” Batman answered simply.
“I thought you were… all… you know… alone and stuff?”
Harley started laughing, keening over, holding her wounded stomach in laughter. Batman moved swiftly out of the way of an unintended head butt. “B-bat-bats- with-without-” she broke down into laughter again. “Without people! That's- that's a good one, greanine!”
“It… wasn't a joke.” GL mumbled, and Harley started crying out of laughter. “What's this mean, Spooky!?” He said, turning to Batman.
“I… have a big family…” Batman muttered, looking towards the floor. Harley laughed impossibly harder. Batman was… a family man?
“Oh, oh, I can't- ah- I can't breathe!” Harley laughed.
Something seemed to snap in Batman and he produced a tiny syringe from under his cape.
Harley held up a hand, the one not clutching her stomach. “not- not like that!” finally her laughter died down. still chuckling she said, “Batsy's got a BIG family, I mean it! He has a problem at this point!”
Batman pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled something unintelligible.
“You ain't tell em yet?” Harley said in surprise. Batman shook his head. Her eyes turned comically wide. “They don't know about any of em!?”
“im protect-” Batman tried.
Harley cut him off by waving her hand in his face dismissively. “blah, blah, protecting, blah, blah. Ya know you're paranoid as hell, right?”
Batman did not answer, he simply glared at her with another signature batglare. “Will you let me fix your wound now?”
“Oh, right, I forgot I'm bleedin to death here!” Harley laughed, but gave back access to her wound.
Batman continued stitching her up.
“Ya didn't answer my question btw!” Harley continued speaking.
“It's not paranoia, I don't think it will happen, but it might.” Batman answered lowly.
“fine. Ya anxious as hell”
“Hm.”
“I'm sorry- lady- you're not terrified of him!?” Hal finally asked, exactly what had been on Clark's mind. This woman had not a single scared bone in her body.
Harley shouted a laugh, like a hyena, looking up at the roof. “no, no” she tuted at them “he's a good old softie!” as she said this she patted Batman repeatedly on the head, it looked more like slapping.
“I am if you sit. still.” Batman answered through gritted teeth. Clark had never seen him angry before, it was terrifying, even more than normal. Harley froze in place.
“He- he can be scary sometimes.” she said nervously.
“Takes a while to get mad at you” Diana smiled warmly.
“Like I said! Big softie!” this time she did not move when speaking.
“I can see that” Diana nodded.
Now that Harley was still, Batman made quick work of the wound, finishing stitching and bandaging it right before the meeting would start.
“I'm done with the worst, now go home and fix the rest” Batman said, standing up again.
Harley jumped out of her seat, stretched and did a cartwheel around Batman, landing in front of him again. “What bout your wounds?”
“I have a meeting” Batman said, gesturing at the door to the meeting room.
“A won't be happy” Harley tried.
Batman sighed. “It won't be long. I've been through worse.”
“If ya say so!” Harley said, skipping out the room. Batman simply stood and watched where she'd been.
“I'd like to meet you family” Diana smiled, once the door was closed.
“No.” Batman said swiftly, turning heel and going into the meeting room.