NightQuinn

What Really Happened Last Night?

Wayne Manor, outskirts of Gotham, 7:00 AM

Once again, Dick's motorcycle pulled up in front of Wayne Manor. He dismounted and headed to the door. He closed his eyes before entering, and he took a deep breath. His eyes opened and he walked through the door, closing it behind him as he entered. With a bit of hesitation, Dick walked to the grandfather clock and input the correct time. As the clock shifted to one side to reveal the Batcave, Dick was trying to get his story straight. He couldn't tell Bruce that the Joker's girlfriend was staying in his apartment. He, quite frankly, couldn't tell anyone that. He also had to explain why a significant part of Mercy Bridge was at the bottom of the Gotham River.

Dick descended down to the main area of the Batcave, yet again, Bruce was sat by his computer, with a perturbed look across his face. Dick almost felt like walking away before Bruce saw him, but he had to tell Bruce something about last night. Bruce turned his head to face Dick. "Dick? What happened last night?" Bruce stood up, his dark figure towering over Dick.

Dick paused for a second, finalising the false story in his head. "I got to the bridge and Quinn was there," He began. "she had some bombs planted and started to escape. Stupidly, I chased after her instead of handling the bombs. She detonated the bombs to cover her escape so she got away."

Bruce sighed. "Dick, I know you're better than that." He said. "What really happened? I know that you could have at least caught her and that's why you couldn't save the bridge. I know you're good enough to have stopped part of her plan. What happened?"

"That's exactly what happened, Bruce." Dick's expression became more stern, defensive. "Look, we're not all you. We're not all Batman. You may have trained me, but that doesn't mean I can't make mistakes. Same goes for Tim, Jason, Damian or Babs. We are not just your perfect little soldiers." Dick paused before turning away. "That's...this is why I tried leaving in the first place. When I led the Titans, we knew that we were the minor leagues, the sidekicks, so we could make mistakes, there was no-one to watch over our shoulder. Ever since I became Nightwing, I've been wanting to break out of your shadow because, when I'm working with you, every little mistake that I make is a disappointment. Bruce, I may be your son, but I'm not you, nor am I perfect, we all make mistakes. So just trust me. I just made a mistake. I got distracted last night, Harley got away."

There was some time as Bruce and Dick noticed Tim, one of Bruce's other sons and another former Robin, step from the shadows. "Tim." Bruce said, trying to brush off what Dick had just said. "You look like you're wanting to talk with one of us."

"Yeah, if you two are done, I need to talk to Dick." Tim said. "Again, only if you're finished." Bruce looked at Dick, then quickly back to Tim. "We're done here." Bruce walked back over to his computer before Dick and Tim walked towards the exit.

Meanwhile, back at Dick's apartment, Harley was still lying on the bed, her ears still ringing and body still aching from the explosion from the night before. With a groan, she sat up and dangled her legs off the side of the bed. She attempted to stand up, but just trying would give her more pain. Looking around, she tried to piece together where exactly she was. She looked towards the window but the sun peaking through the curtains was too blinding. She realised she wasn't going to get much done by just sitting around so she decided to fight the pain and try walking. 

With what felt like a Herculean effort, she got to her feet. Limping slightly, she neared the curtains and peered through to see outside. She could tell by the Wayne Enterprises building that she was still in Gotham, and judging by the specific building she could see from here, she seemed to be on Bleake Island. She closed the curtains and looked around the room once more. To her right she saw a tall set of shelves filled with CD's. This was divided into sections marked: 'Tim', 'Babs', 'Jason' and 'Bruce'. There was also one section with the name crossed off. Harley decided she could at least have some fun while she was there and started looking for a CD she liked.

Dick and Tim sat down in one of Wayne Manor's living rooms on opposite couches. "What was it you wanted, Timbo?" Dick smiled, he knew everyone in the family hated the nicknames Dick gave them. He would give Bruce the name of Batdad, Tim was Timbo and Jason & Damian despised their names of Jay-Bird and Dami. Barbara seemed to quite enjoy being called Babs, however. Tim scoffed slightly before realising he was abut to get distracted. "Okay, Dick, what really happened last night?" Dick raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I know when you're lying. And I liked your mini speech, but I'm not convinced." Dick began to sigh. Tim always was a better detective than even Bruce, as much as no-one wanted to admit it. "Okay, Tim, I need you to not tell anybody about this." Dick leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Because Jason or Damian would want me dead, Babs would just refuse to speak to me and there's no telling what Bruce would do if he found out."

"Found what out?" Tim said, fighting the urge to raise his voice. "Just get to the point."

Dick took a deep breath. "Okay, last night, Harley Quinn didn't get away. In fact, she's currently lying in my bed." Tim let out a small laugh before he realised Dick was not joking. He froze and his eyes widened. Dick had some explaining to do.