Harper softly fiddled with the keys in her hand as she opened the door to the mansion with gentle morose footsteps and clipped breaths. It had been a while since she had seen the aged worn down home she had sought great refuge in. From the neatly trimmed lawn that stretched further than the eye could see, to its ancient bricked build that stood tall and almost historical. Ivy vines creeped up the walls and she marvelled at the beauty that such a structure could possess. But also its resemblance to the Wayne Manor which sent a twist in her heart before she shrugged it off and entered the house.
Harper could hear the faint chatter weaving through the walls, the lively chuckles coming from the dining room. The muffled voices accompanied by the chinking of glasses had her shrugging her bag higher up her shoulder before inching closer. Clearly they had guests over but when Harper heard the harsh sound of wind, she knew exactly who it belonged too.
A small smile pulled at her lips as she made her way towards her family.
" Harper!" a voice cheered when she caught sight of the tall brunette who stood at the entryway with her eyes sparkling with the familiar ease she felt whenever she was with them.
Harper's smile widened before she took a step back, her hands instinctively wrapping around the frame of the familiar woman with a stubborn personality that perfectly matched with her husband's.
" It's been a while Iris" she chuckled softly as Iris pulled her closer. The stunning wife of Barry Allen held the young vigilante in her grasp as she sent her a heartwarming motherly smile. Iris West Allen was a beautful woman. With her pitch black midnight curls that hung loosely down her back, curling around her shoulders, and framing her elegant features with chocolate skin and bright brown eyes. It was no wonder Barry had fallen so head over heels for her.
" How have you been Harper?" Iris cooed as she laced her arm through hers and all but dragged the girl towards the family who had fallen quiet at her arrival.
" I'm okay" Harper told her, looking around the table. " I'm so glad to see you all- finally"
" Well it's a good thing a little birdie told us you were dropping in from Gotham. " a voice mused as he sent Dinah a wink. Harper flashed him a grin before she rushed over to his outstretched arms, pulling the older man into her embrace. His police badge dangled at his hip, ash littered the stray pieces in his hair, his eyes holding the familiar warmth and love he always had.
" I've missed you uncle Joe" she mumbled as the man squeezed her before she took a step back.
" Is there a reason you've all gathered here. I'm sure it wasn't just to see me." Harper said as Barry slung his arm around her shoulders.
"Ever the pragmatist Little Arrow" Harper rolled her eyes as the man had his feet kicked up on the table, a beer swirling in hand as his shoulder length hair was pushed behind his ears. " Still the name shaming nerd Cisco. Burn anymore new suits?"
" Only 3" he accused as she smirked lightly " And counting" she teased as he scoffed playfully. " Blame it on him"
Harper felt Barry shrug his shoulder in innocence as she punched his side faintly. This was definitely the distraction she needed. It felt good to finally let her gaurd down, to relax and laugh. Not that she didn't miss the group but she needed a moment to herself, to be with those who looked after when she needed them most. Maybe it was selfish to run back to the mansion like Dick had said but maybe it was time she became selfish. But was it ever in her blood to do so?
" Things aren't looking great this side either " Oliver had mumbled as she glanced up at him. " What do you mean?" she frowned . But Harper didn't need to wait for an answer for long, before Dinah had pointed to the door where a young woman came barreling in.
Her eyes were wide and filled with an almost childlike awe as her eyes darted around the interior as if she was seeing everything for the first time. Her graphic t-shirt was hidden beneath a black leather jacket and her hair cropped just above her shoulders. She smiled in wonder as she tugged at the jacket.
" This place is insane! Dad, we've got to get a place like this. I've counted more bathrooms than the entirety of S.T.A.R. LABS" she exclaimed before she rooted in her step. Her eyes grew wide as she caught sight of the brunette beside her father.
Harper's questioning gaze flickered around the group as Iris smiled lightly while Barry rubbed his hand nervously at the base of his neck. Dad? Harper's eyes met the girl's as she looked startling similar to Iris.
" Is that my jacket?"
The young woman's eyes widened in panic as she looked down at the jacket Harper had pointed to as she chuckled nervously, a flash of fear shimmering in her eyes as she anxiously looked between the two.
" Uh, I- I saw it and-" she stuttered before taking a deep breath and raising her arms. " I swear I was going to return it, please don't kill me."
The group grew rigid as she fell into confusion. " Kill you?" Harper echoed incredulously as she looked at them all. Who exactly was this girl?
" Um. oh yeah. Different timeline. " she muttered to herself before she looked at Harper nonchalantly. " Well you did try and kill me actually. Twice if I recall correctly. But no hard feelings. "
Now Harper was really baffled. She looked towards Dinah and Oliver who looked at her amused before Barry took a step back, Iris joining his side as she looked them perplexed.
" Harper this is Nora." Barry introduced which caught her attention " She's our daughter"
Harper eyed him before she let out a disbelieving snort. "What?" she chuckled out carelessly as Barry sent Iris a plea for help. " Guys, uh , I don't think that's possible."
" Oh it is " Cisco grumbled as Nora shuffled awkwardly. " Time travel and the whole shabang" he gasped dramatically, his hands extending by his sides as he held the now empty bottle in hand.
" Daughter?" Harper said as she looked at Joe for confirmation. When he nodded her eyes widened. " What the fck"
" Language" Oliver scolded with a glare but she merely ignored him.
" Time travel. Are you serious?" she exclaimed." Holy shit"
" Yeah, add that to the list of the impossible made possible because of the Allen's blatant need to mess up the universe." Cisco spat out as Barry sped over and slapped the back of his head, causing the man to drop his feet off the table with a scowl.
" She's very different from Quiver." Nora whispered to her mother as Iris looked at her daughter.
" Quiver?" Harper frowned. That name, she had heard it before.
Nora looked at her parents before meeting the woman's wavering stare. " Honestly, I was a fan until you know, you started killing everyone and everything. "
Harper paled as Nora continued. " Realistically speaking, you're nothing like her. Sure you share the same face and name and literally everything else but you're a lot nicer and way more attractive when you're not trying to send a dagger through my skull which is definitely not a fun thing I'd ever want to experience. " she ranted on as Harper took a deep breath.
" How is she here.?" Harper said after a pause. " Nora's from the future and we're here to get help from Oliver and Dinah to get her back."
" How does she know Quiver is me?" Harper urged as Barry looked at her. " Another timeline. You're not Artemis like here but Quiver."
Harper swallowed as she looked at the girl. She was going to have a word with her after this. She wanted to know if what she had seen back in the Asylum, the same name being uttered from one of her greatest enemies was linked to that present. Was her darkness finally scratching the surface? Was she going to lose herself here the same way Dick lost his sanity, Jason his rationality and Harper her humanity in Nora's timeline?
She nodded in acceptance as she folded her arms across her chest.
" So what's your plan? Need an extra hand?"
" Aren't you in a war at Gotham?" Oliver rebuked as she bit her lip. " I'd rather help you guys to be honest, I'm sure Dick and them can hold down the fort without me."
" Dick?" Iris smirked." How has it been going between you two, have you guys-"
" Iris please" Barry blurted as Harper felt the heat rising to her cheeks.
" Shut up Barry" Iris hissed before she looked at Harper encouragingly. " Can we not talk about him right now? Nor my sex life."
Iris grumbled as she rolled her eyes. Dinah chuckled softly as she looked at Oliver who was growing red in the face. Whether it be embarrassment or anger, maybe a mix of both she knew how over protective he was over his daughter. He knew Dick was a good man, but at the same time he was doing what every parent does with their child. No man was ever good enough for her in his eyes. He may not have necessarily liked him but Richard Grayson made his daughter happy, despite their ups and downs.
But that still didn't still the urge to nail his head to the wall with his arrow if he stepped out of line.
" We're trying to locate Cicada" Joe had told her as she looked at her parental figures in alarm. " He still hasn't been caught" she had gaped as they shook their heads.
Harper ran a hand down her face. Barry, Oliver and even Kara had tried to track down the man but they could never get him in their grasps. He always found a way to escape but this time the heroes looked desperate to catch him, for reasons unknown to her.
" I can help you guys, you know." she told them as Barry smiled gratefully. " I know kiddo but I think you have your own battles to face."
Harper nodded reluctantly. She knew she had to return back to Gotham but that didn't settle her want to help her first family when they clearly looked like they needed all the help they could get. She bit down her desire as they all retook their seats around the table. Nora spilling some stories about the future as Cisco rambled on about design plans to Harper who corrected occasionally, a flaw that would probably end in another explosion. They had ate dinner with wide smiles on their faces and for the first time in a while, Harper didn't feel the pressure of the world on her shoulders.
Harper had caught Nora before she was about to retire to the guest bedroom as Team Flash alongside the Queens prepared for their departure come sunrise back to Central City.
She had pulled the young woman up to her room as Harper paced nervously before looking at Nora who smiled sympathetically.
" I'm sorry for whatever other me did." Harper winced as Nora chuckled airly. " It's okay, really. "
" Can you tell me about her. Quiver." she said hesitantly. Nora nodded.
" I don't know how much is the same between this timeline and mine but you two are very different in many ways. " Nora told her. " Quiver's family all perished at a heist at Star City bank, no one made it out alive but her. She had managed to spot the Green Arrow, but unfortunately the man who had taken her into his care wasn't Oliver Queen."
" Merlyn did" Harper whispered in realisation.
" He had raised her, turned her into a weapon, a force not even we could take down. She had trained so hard, killed so many for a chance at revenge. When the opportunity presented itself. Quiver got vengeance for her family. She killed the Green Arrow and Felicity"
Harper shuddered as she held back her tears. " Who's Felicity?"
"Oh yeah you don't know her. Dinah died in my timeline. Felicity was Oliver's assistant turned wife. Uh she's very lovely. " Nora stumbled as Harper nodded.
" What about the Titans?"
" There was no Titans. Well, not anymore They all died by Deathstroke's hand on an OP gone wrong. Raven joined Trigon, took all of us including Supergirl to stop them. Garfield Logan had tried to shift into other animals after the discovery of his powers but he wasn't able to shift back. He's stuck in a captivity unit for testing in Congo. "
Harper blanched.
Nora sighed as she circled her arm around the stunned woman. " I'm sorry if that startled you."
" No no it's okay" she had muttered . But was it really?. " Thank you for telling me."
" No problem. " She had brightened. " Actually there is something I'd like to ask if you'd mind. I don't want to be rude or anything it's just-"
" What is it Nora?" Harper interjected as Nora fumbled sheepishly.
" Well you see we've been trying to stop Quiver for a while now but she always manages to outsmart us. You're her basically, do you know anything that could help us? Give us an advantage?"
Harper stood still for a second. What could possibly be her weak spot that despite a different timeline would bring her to her knees. She looked at the young girl with eyes brimmed bright with the same fire burning in her father's, the same passion from her mother's and the heart of a fighter like her grandfather's. It clicked then on how she could stop herself. " If Quiver is anything like me, there's one weakness. Family" she had told her with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. " Go for someone she holds dear to her. Go after Merlyn."
Nora glanced at her in awe. Harper was anything but how Quiver portrayed her to be. She knew the brunette was more special than she let on. Having seen a photograph of her parents with her back at their home, at first she couldn't hide the bubbling envy building inside of her. How had one of her fiercest enemies become so close to the parents she had longed for.
But Nora understood now. Harper was not Quiver in her eyes but to Harper, a feeling of uncertainty loomed at the back of her mind.
"Thank you Harper " Nora had expressed thankfully.
The woman nodded before her phone buzzed, her ringtone blaring as she took it out apologetically. Nora backed away in understanding, sending her a wave before departing in rushed steps, not before bumping into the wall, looking back in embarrassment.
Harper just chuckled lightly. She had reminded her so much of Gar. The young vigilante looked down at the device in hand, Barbara's name flashing on screen. With a soft sigh she had answered.
"Barb?"
"Thank god you answered Harper, we really need your help" her urgent tone sent a chill down her spine.
Harper rubbed her tired eyes while tightening her grip in exhaustion.
" Barb, I really don't think I'm the right person to help anyone right now. You should ask Dick-"
'" That's the thing Harper it's about Dick." Barbara pressed as Harper furrowed in confusion. " He snatched Crane when we were transporting him to Black Gate. We don't know where they are or where they're possibly heading"
Dick had Crane? Why?
" Harper you're the only chance we have. We need you to tell us where he is taking Crane. We need him back in Arkham."
Harper was going to kill him. He couldn't even let her have a few days before he became a wanted man and breaking Crane out. He couldn't give her one second to mourn, to breathe.
Harper clenched her jaw, concealing her spiralling rage. " I think I have a place in mind. There's only one place no one else knows about. If I'm betting anything, he's there. "
" You'll be walking into a trap Harper." Barbara's concerned voice reached her ears.
" I know. Dick didn't take Crane for revenge, he took him to lure Jason. He's on a suicide mission."Harper raked a hand through her hair. " I'll send you the location."
" We'll send in back up" the commissioner confirmed before the line went dead. Harper threw her phone onto the bed as she went to grab her bag. So much for a break.
She gathered her belonging blindly before carefully making her way down the stairwell.
" Leaving so soon"
Harper turned lightly as Barry's saddened gaze caught her eye. Iris followed him closely as she shrugged her shoulder's indifferently. " Duty calls. You know that"
Barry sighed as Iris stepped forward. " But you just got here. You're exhausted Harper, you deserve to take a few days off."
" This life doesn't cater for breaks Iris. They need me" Harper told her heavily. They new the burdens that the job came with. Iris had seen first hand the fatigue and grief entraping Barry.
Iris sighed in defeat before pulling the girl into her embrace. " Take care Harper." Harper smiled into her shoulder before glancing between the couple.
" You guys did good with Nora. She's a good kid. Spend enough time with her before it's too late. You guys deserve it." She told them sincerely before she disappeared from their view.
Harper's fingers lightly traced the steering wheel of her Mustang before starting the engine and hitting the gas.
If Dick didn't die from his suicidal plan, he was going to die by hers.
The lovies who remember the trauma of Quiver previously get it the ones who don't , don't.
But if you've forgotten, go back to Warrior and read chapter 31 for context hehe.