The Marvelous Adventures of the Superbat Family

Harley and Ivy

Wednesday afternoon found the three of them sitting in the waiting room of Harley Quinn, Psychiatrist.  Billy was practically eating his lip and Clark was talking about his week in an attempt to calm him down but to no avail.  Finally the door opened and Poison Ivy stepped out, wearing a black pantsuit.

“The three of you can come in now,” she informed them.  She smiled at Billy who sent her a nervous one before going through the door.

“Hello,” Harley waved enthusiastically at them.  She was perched on the edge of her desk and wore a red dress.  “You must be Billy; I’m the one and only fantabulous Harley Quinn.”

Billy giggled and Harley beamed at him.  “You’re funny,” he said.

“Why thank you, I try.”  Harley and Billy chatted for a few minutes until he relaxed enough to ask a few questions of his own.  “So Batsy thinks you have autism.  All I’m going to do is ask you a lot of questions and have you fill out a form or two, okay?  If there’s something that makes you uncomfortable we’ll stop.  Ready?”

Billy didn’t look very enthused but he nodded.  “Sure.”

For the next two hours Harley asked Billy (and occasionally Bruce and Clark) questions.  To Bruce’s relief she was very professional and didn’t crack any jokes.  They didn’t know much about Billy’s early years so they couldn’t use that as a reference.

“You’re in luck,” Harley smiled.  “You do have autism but you are on the high-functioning end of the spectrum.  Until a few years ago we would have called it Asperger’s.  The best way to treat this would be for you to attend social skills training and get some cognitive behavior therapy.  It’ll help you learn social cues and it will definitely help with your emotional outbursts and meltdowns.  It also wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to attend a different school.”

“That’s what Mr. Bruce said,” Billy sighed.

“I would definitely consider taking him up on that offer,” Harley winked.  “It must be difficult going to a regular school.”

“It is,” Billy admitted.

“If nothing else we can at least look at a few,” Clark offered.  “I know there’s one near my apartment or we could look at some in Fawcett City,” he added.

“Thanks for the help, Harley,” Bruce stood and offered his hand.

“Not a problem, Batsy,” Harley giggled as she shook his hand.  “It was nice to meetcha ya, Billy, feel free to call anytime,” she held out her card which Billy took.

“Thank you, Ms. Quinn,” Clark also shook her hand.

“Weren’t they nice,” Harley grinned as the three left her office.

“I suppose,” Pamela sighed.

“I hope you don’t mind but I took the liberty of getting some brochures for different schools,” Bruce laid the brochures on the table, gaining unimpressed looks from both Clark and Billy.  “Just look at them, that’s all I’m asking.”

“Okay,” Billy sighed.  He grabbed a random brochure and started looking at it.  After a moment his face screwed up and he handed the brochure back to Bruce.  “They wear uniforms,” he sounded slightly horrified and Clark couldn’t help but grin.

“They look stuffy,” he agreed.  He leafed through the pile then held one out.  “This is the one that’s near my place.  They have a dress code but they offer personalized tutoring and have outdoor activities.”

Billy perked up a little and happily browsed the brochures.  Clark smirked and Bruce’s eyes narrowed.  He dug out three more and thrust them at a startled Billy.

“These are good to,” he said quickly.  “No uniforms and they have extracurricular activities too.”

“Here’s some more in Metropolis – they’re awesome.”

Billy looked between the two men, his eyes narrowed.  “Wait a sec – are you guys competing over who gets to adopt me?”

“Well…yes,” they admitted sheepishly.

Billy stared at them for a long moment then sniffled, a huge smile on his face.  “You really want me.”  It wasn’t a question but they treated it like one.

“Of course we want you, Billy,” Bruce longed to wrap the boy in a hug but refrained.

“How could we not?” Clark smiled.  “You’re a great kid, Billy, there’s nothing wrong with you.  Whoever told you that was lying.  You can go to whatever school you want and neither of us will be upset.”  Seeing that Billy still looked conflicted something occurred to him and he said, “You don’t have to choose between us you know.  You could alternate weekends like you do now and alternate between school and breaks.  You don’t have to decide anything right now but I promise, when you do we’ll be waiting right here.  You can’t get rid of us.”

Billy sniffled again and nodded.  “Thank you,” he said quietly.  “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

“You deserve to be taken care of,” Bruce said firmly but gently.  “You deserve to be able to go to school and have friends, not worry about whether or not you’ll be able to eat.  You shouldn’t have to worry about where you’re going to sleep at night.”

Billy chewed on his bottom lip for a moment then nodded.  “Okay.  I’ll let you guys take care of me.”