DC: The Brave and the Bawdy

Robin & Harley Quinn: To Catch a Clown

Robin gave the rope a sharp tug and heard the satisfying clink of the grappling hook latching onto the outstretched flagpole. Robin held the grappling gun in one hand and gripped the rope with the other. He jumped off the side of the roof and pumped his legs at the bottom of the swing, propelling himself high upward and ahead. As Robin flew to the roof of the adjacent building, he loosened the tension on the rope and let the grappling hook slide off. Once his feet were firmly planted on the roof, he clicked the grappling gun and retracted the rope.

Robin walked over to the gargoyle that crouched at the corner of the roof, sitting against it and getting a small ear piece out of his utility belt. The device was designed to tune into police radio signals. Robin tisked as he learned that there hadn't been any sightings of Harley Quinn since earlier that night when she broke out of Arkham Asylum.

Now Harley Quinn was loose in Gotham City. Fortunately, the Joker was still locked up tight. Harley hadn't sprung him when she escaped. In fact, word was the two had had a falling out. Robin wasn't sure he believed that. He figured it was only a matter of time before Harley sprung the Joker, so the sooner she was locked up again the better.

Robin would be doing this alone. Batman wasn't around. Bruce Wayne was required on a business trip abroad that weekend. He had left Robin in charge of keeping watch over Gotham. Part of Robin cursed the luck that Harley would pick the same weekend to break out, but part of him welcomed the opportunity.

This was the first time Batman had left Robin to watch the city alone. He had been going out with Batman for four years now and had recently begun conducting his own investigations under Batman's supervision, but Batman had never trusted him enough to handle a Gotham weekend by himself. Robin needed to prove that he was ready for this. Harley would be the perfect opportunity to do just that.

"Confirmed sighting," came a voice from the ear piece, "It's Quinzel! She just went into the Iceberg Lounge!"

Iceberg Lounge? thought Robin as he fired his grappling gun, What are you planning, Harley?

The Iceberg Lounge, Oswald Cobblepot's night club, was a hot spot for crime in Gotham City. Crime lords from all over the city went there. What could Harley Quinn be up to? Robin thought for a moment that he might be in over his head. Then he dismissed the thought.

No, he thought, No, this is Harley Quinn we're talking about. She's a joke! I can handle this.

The club wasn't far. Robin arrived within minutes. By the time he arrived police were already storming the building. With the amount of crime going on in there, the police would have plenty to deal with without having to worry about Harley. Robin prepared to sneak inside, but then he saw a slender figure leap from the roof of the Iceberg Lounge to the building next door.

Gotcha.

"Stop right there, Harley!" ordered Robin, landing in front of his target.

Harley stopped where she was. She was a lanky woman whose skin had been dyed bone white. She wore black lipstick and had painted a black mask around her eyes. She wore a full body red and black spandex suit with a hood with jester tassels. She wore matching pixie boots and gloves.

"Bird Brain!?" Harley cried out her usual singsongy Brooklyn accent, "Now isn't really the time! I'm busy!"

"Sorry," said Robin, "I can't reschedule."

Harley drew a comically large black pistol from behind her back and pointed it at Robin. Robin had trained on this about a million times. The moment he saw Harley go to reach for the gun, he whipped a batarang at the center of her body. Sure enough, as she took aim the flying weapon struck the gun in her hands, disarming and making her leap backwards.