Contacts

First call

Dick cursed under his breath. Batman had gotten to be too much, and he had to leave Gotham or end up turning into him. Of course, he had to leave a few friends behind. And he had been growing close to Harley Quinn, of all people. Let me tell you how it happened.

Batman, Robin, Joker, and Harley Quinn were in the mountains when the Joker kick-started an avalanche. Batman and Joker had escaped, and were fighting. Harley and Robin had been trapped in a cave. During that time, he and Harley had found a lot of similarities. When he and Harley had been dug out, Harley said, "I guess I'm off to prison, then? Will you visit me?" And she had sounded genuinely sad. So, Dick had said yes.

When Batman had gotten them back to the cave, he and Robin had gotten into another fight. He had gotten mad that Dick had gotten stuck, and that he hadn't taken Harley down. Robin had yelled that he had found a way to get a villain to come quietly: just talk to them. Batman said that wasn't going to help, and told Dick to go to his room.

When he had gotten there, he changed into PJ's, and had gotten into bed. However, his conversation with Harley was still on his mind. He had found that she needed glasses, but was scared to use contacts on the job. She loved Joker, but she was getting a little fed up with the abusive relationship. That made him think. Bruce sometimes hit him. Never too hard, and never often. But his relationship was getting abusive. Could he and Harley run away?

Eventually, he decided to run. When Harley got out, he could invite her to live with him. He was seventeen, almost eighteen. He could bail Harley out, if he needed to. She had been dragged into the life by the Joker, after all. It wasn't her fault. Not completely, anyway.

Dick grabbed a duffle bag and packed. He packed clothes, money, his belt, mask, and holo-glove. He closed the bag and opened the window. Then, he thought, "Bruce won't know I snuck out through the window. He'll think I was kidnapped." As much as Dick disagreed with the man, he didn't want him to worry. He wrote a note saying he was gone, and he wanted it to stay that way. After that, he leapt out the window, and left the Grounds.

He took a motorcycle into Blüdhaven. Bruce knew Dick loved cars, so he had bought a bike to throw off suspicion. Of course, that would probably raised suspicion. Whatever. He entered the apartment complex where he had booked a room a few hours earlier. He got the key and headed up.

Once there, he put his stuff down and grabbed his phone. He dialed Arkham Asylum, and asked to schedule a call with Harley Quinn. They asked for his name, and he answered. They then told him they could fit him in anytime. He just had to come in.

After a few hours of sleep, he got onto his bike and rode back to Gotham. Once at Arkham, he was escorted to the visiting room. After a few minutes, Harley walked in, having two guards escort her. When she sat down, they took a step back, keeping her in their sights. She picked up the phone, twirling the cord around her finger. "Yello?"

"Hey, Harls. It's me. We were stuck in a cave together." Harley's face lit up. "Ya came! I'm so happy! Honestly, Arkham has some very boring people in it. No good for conversation. So, tell me: how did he react when ya didn't beat my ass black and blue?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "Eh, not the best. We had another fight. So, I moved out." She gasped. "Ya ran from him? Ain't Cha worried he's gonna track ya down?" Dick laughed.

"No, I'm not worried. After all, he did train me to disappear. And I'm going to do that. Now, tell me: once you're cleared, how would you like to live with me?"