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Dick decided to spend his weekend back at the Wayne manor, for once. The sudden visit wasn’t influenced by his coworkers at the police station forcing him to take some of his paid time off.
Not at all.
Being back at the manor was nice; it brought back many memories for Dick that would otherwise slip away into his unconscious mind. Sure, the memories were bad sometimes, but Dick liked to think most were good. He didn’t often think about how differently his life would have turned out if he hadn’t taken up the mantle of Robin. He didn’t see any point in it; life turned out the way it had, and now he got to enjoy a family most people couldn’t even dream up.
“Grayson, may I ask you a question?” Speaking of family, Damian had finally decided to make his presence known.
He’d been standing just behind the door of the library, where Dick was reading a book, pacing back and forth for the better part of half an hour. Dick had heard him when he first walked up and almost knocked on the door (being a vigilante for most of your life makes your hearing sharper than anyone could think), but he decided to let Damian be.
Damian was a boy who needed to do things on his timeline. Pushing him into things he’s not ready for will only make him bare his teeth at you.
So Dick waited for him, and Damian eventually gathered the courage.
“Sure, bud, what’s up?”
Damian looked at the floor instead of making eye contact like normal, which meant Damina thought this was a particularly dumb question. “I have been doing some thinking, and I’d like to know what Gotham’s reactions were to you when you debuted as Robin.”
This was not the question Dick was expecting.
“What exactly do you mean? Like the press or something? There are probably articles floating around that you could find.”
“Articles only tell part of the story. I’m curious to know from first-hand experience what the reactions were. We now accept Robin as part of Gotham City, but viewing it from an outside source, I have realized how strange the role of Robin can seem.”
“Huh.” Dick had never thought about it that way, but when Damian brought it up, it made quite a lot of sense. It’s not every day a nine-year-old is out wearing a cape and cowl to fight crime.
Leave it to Bruce’s biological son to even think of this.
“Well, I guess for the most part it wasn’t that crazy. Commissioner Gordon sat me down in his office and made sure I understood the dangers, but after I brought in my first crook, he seemed less worried. The city didn’t seem to care either; if anything, they were thrilled to have someone who would talk to the press. Not that Bruce let that happen often.”
“I guess accepting Robin was quite easy for the civilians of Gotham, considering the variety of other things one must accept to live in this city.”
Damian seemed pleased with the answer Dick gave him, which he took as a silent win. Appeasing Damian was never an easy task.
“Yeah, I remember most of the people we fought were a little put off at first and mostly ignored me. But after the second or third time of seeing me, they treated me as much of a threat as they did Batman.”
Dick smiled fondly, remembering the old days. Back when he was just a kid, just the thought of Bruce approving him to go out on nighttime patrol felt like an extreme privilege. He’d never admit it, but whenever Bruce told him they’d be going up against one of the big dogs like Penguin or Joker, it gave him a thrill like nothing else.
Speaking of Joker, though, Dick suddenly remembered something he’d long since forgotten. It was a strange story to be sure, amusing to Damian if nothing else, so Dick decided he’d share.
“Now that I’m thinking about it, though, there was one person with a strange reaction.”
“Who was it?”
“Harley Quinn.”
15 Years Ago
Dick could barely contain himself from vibrating in his seat. He was thankful the Batmobile’s engine was so loud that it covered up most of his fidgeting.
It was a weird thing to get excited about; most kids his age got this happy when being told they were going to Disney World or for a Christmas present they’d ask Santa for. He couldn’t imagine many kids would be excited to go head-to-head with Batman’s arch-enemy, Joker.
“Now listen to me, Robin, when we get in there, I want you to stay behind me. Joker’s laughing gas can be extremely dangerous. I don't know how many thugs he’s going to have with him.”
“Do you think he’ll tell a bunch of jokes? Are they funny jokes? They can’t be that funny if he has to use his gas on everyone, right? I bet my jokes are funnier.”
Batman turned and gave Dick one of his signature stares of disappointment, and Dick knew it was time for him to be quiet. Batman had that mysterious air about him, and Dick tried hard to have that too. He didn’t quite have a handle on it, but it’d had only eight months.
Once the two got into the building, Batman started to look around for clues. He’d told Dick that if he found anything, not to touch it and instead call him over, but surely the button on the side of the building didn’t work, right?
Dick was just tall enough to reach it, and he was inching towards it when suddenly the lights came on, ones he recognized as they used the same ones in the circus. Dick could appreciate Joker’s commitment to a theme if nothing else.
“Well, look who we have here. It’s the Bats.” Joker then turned his head and looked straight at Dick. It sent a chill down his spine that he’d never felt before. “And it seems as though the rumors are true, the Bats has found himself a little bird to follow him around.”
“I’m Robin! And I’m Batman’s sidekick.” The outburst surprised even Dick, but Joker just laughed and turned his attention back to Batman.
“Feisty little thing, isn’t he? Well, you know what they say: a bird past its bedtime is more dangerous to itself than anyone else. ”
“This is between us, Joker. What have you done with the guards you took hostage from Arkham Asylum?”
“Oh, you know here and there. They were getting on my nerves, and you know how sensitive those are. Especially when they’re going batty waiting for some attention.”
Dick was right, his jokes were funnier.
It wasn’t time to think about jokes, though, because Batman put his hand behind his back and made it into a fist, their signal for Robin to be ready for a fight.
“They’re innocent people. Families are missing loved ones, and I won’t let you get away with this.”
Batman then threw a batarang straight at Joker, who managed to evade with what seemed like practiced ease. Dick was amazed; he’d never been able to escape a Batarang before.
“Innocent people who locked me up! I never did anything wrong in my whole life, and they treat me like trash.” Joker then pulls out something which Dick recognizes as a venom cannon. “I think if you just look at it from a different angle, you’ll see my side. A frown is just an upside-down smile.”
Joker shoots the gas at Batman, who evades it, as does Dick.
“If you want me, Bats, you’re gonna have to come and get me! And as a little bonus, I have someone to play with your little bird while we have our chat.”
“Mr. J, the hostages are all locked up in the back.” The woman then looks down at Batman and back up to Joker with an apologetic look. “Oopsie, didn’t realize we had company.”
Joker rolls his eyes but just points to Dick. “Deal with Batman’s little friend down there, I'll handle the big man.”
With that, the night turns from a simple interrogation to a full-on fight. Batman goes first, lunging for Joker and yelling at Robin to defend himself as much as possible. Dick gets ready, standing in his battle stance, ready to face the woman who is now cartwheeled toward him, impressive, but he refuses to lose focus.
That focus is hard to keep track of when the woman stops her cartwheeled inches in front of Dick, not attacking but instead reaching her hand out.
“Harley Quinn, nice to meetcha kid.”
Her smile is so bright it seems genuine in a strange way. Dick looks at the hand in front of him, unsure whether to trust her or not. Batman did say to always go in assuming the bad guys were there to hurt him, but Harley didn’t seem like that. On top of that, his mother’s voice rang in his head to always be polite to others.
“My name’s Di- uhhh Robin. It’s nice to meet you as well.”
Their hands shook, and Dick didn’t know what to make of this situation. It didn’t exactly come in Bruce’s handbook of Villains 101.
“Oh, you've got yourself a secret identity already. Make sure you don’t slip up and reveal it. Lots of folks will be after you then.” Harley leaned down to get on eye level with him, speaking to him, not like a little kid but a person.
“You don’t want to know my secret identity?”
“Nah, Mr. J says it ruins the fun for him. Beating the Bat isn’t about knowin’ who he is, it’s about breakin’ his mind.”
Dick took that information in. Strangely, it echoed something Bruce had said early on in his training. It doesn’t matter who you’re fighting; if they’re trying to hurt Gotham, they need to be taken down. It isn’t about personal grudges, it's about sending a message.” Dick shuddered at the thought of Joker and Batman being two sides of a coin.
“So how long have you been at the crime-fighting thing?”
“Eight months. Haven’t you seen me on the news?”
“Arkham ain’t exactly keen on keeping us up to date on the latest happenings in Gotham City. But good for you, learn any cool moves? Fight any big villains? Penguin came in a little before we left. Were you in on that?”
Dick nodded excitedly. Taking down Penguin’s latest scheme had been his first big mission. He even got a good punch in on Penguin (which then led to being punched in the gut and having bruised ribs that took forever to heal) while they were fighting.
“My first big mission with Batman.” Dick did another once-over of Harley, analyzing how much he could trust her. She was working with the Joker but seemed trustworthy. “After the mission, Batman gave me a long paper about all the things I did right and wrong. He gave me a C minus!”
“That’s awful! Mr. J always criticizes me, too. I mean, come on, we’re not in school or anything, it's crime. Or I guess crime-fighting in your case. ”
Seems being a sidekick is tough on both sides of the coin. Harley mentioning Joker, though, reminded him of a question he’d been curious about since he started fighting crime. Well, if anyone was going to talk, it would be Harley.
“Miss Quinn, why did you start doing crime? Batman says you had a good life before you started working with the Joker. Why be a bad guy?”
“Love, sweetheart. I used to be a physiatrist, but then I met Mr. J, and well, now I’m yours truly.” Harley looks over at the two still fighting, something misty yet complicated going over her eyes.
“Isn’t he evil, though? Why would you love someone evil?”
“Love’s a bitch, little Robin. It ain’t exactly kind to those it catches. You’ll learn that someday when you’re older.”
Dick couldn’t imagine loving anyone so much that he’d follow them into a life of crime. Sometimes, just seeing a kiss on TV grossed him out. He assumed it was one of those adult things he just didn’t understand. Like when Bruce would sneak down to the Batcave after he thought everyone else was asleep and sit staring at his suit.
Suddenly, a Batarang was flying directly towards them, and both Harley and Dick had to jump to get out of the way.
“Robin.”
“Harley.”
Both parties looked over at their counterparts, shades of disappointment and disapproval on both of their faces. At least Dick wasn’t the only one getting scolded.
“Why are you speaking to the enemy? I asked you to take care of Harley, not have a conversation.”
“I’m sorry, I just thought-” Batman’s stare was enough to silence him.
“Harley, I do remember asking you to destroy the little twerp.”
“But Mr. J, he’s just a little kid, and a cute one too. I was distracting him so you could have your big fight.”
Harley tried puppy eyes, but Joker was unimpressed, simply pointing to Robin and drawing a finger across his throat.
“Sorry bout this kid. You know how it is, the boss gives you an order and you’ve gotta follow.”
Dick nodded; he understood, but was prepping once again for a fight. Hopefully, his skills would be adequate to deter Bruce from scolding him too much.
Present Day
“After that, there was a new rule. No speaking to any villains unless given express permission.” Dick sighed, remembering the early days were rough sometimes, being so close to the death of his parents, but that was one moment he could look at and smile.
“It is a wonder you survived as Robin for as many years as you did. The fact you were able to become Nightwing is nothing short of a miracle.” Even though Damian’s words were harsh with a brutal undertone, Dick could tell he was still in a sort of awe.
Dick shrugged. “I’m a talkative guy, always have been, it’s in my nature to attract people. Besides, Harley became an ally all these years later, so it all worked out. Who knows, maybe she held on to that conversation all those years, and that’s why she decided to join us.
“You are quite the interesting person, Grayson. I can only wish to be as delusionally confident as you are one day.”
Dick couldn’t help but laugh at that.