On the Go
The wind was harsh and cold as Tim stalked the dark Gotham streets. His staff rattled against his belt as he continued following close behind Bruce and Harley. It was harder than one would think to tail the two. Bruce had asked him to be on standby as Harley met up with an acquaintance of hers. It was truly quite comical when Ivy (currently behind bars) of all people had asked the two to accompany her girlfriend to meet with an unknown. Apparently, they were meeting someone of note to the two women. Neither would say much, but after giving Bruce the meetup location, he could see why. The area for their meetup would be in a heavy crime area, bordering on Jason's patrol area.
The interaction had caught Bruce's attention, so he agreed to meeting the unknown. Still Tim was hesitant, buzzing with uncertainty. Nothing good ever came from accompanying Harley, and they both are aware of past escapades from the blonde woman. Despite preparations, the girl was quick and smart. It was unlikely they would get involved with a fight tonight, especially when both Ivy and Harley seemed a bit too serious for once. Surprisingly, Tim felt even more nervous knowing they were taking this seriously. He didn't suspect any malice, but he could tell there was a bit of uncertainty, lightly covered with the wit the two women always seemed to love to use when bantering with the Bats.
That's how Tim finds himself trailing the two, idly listening to the chatter from the others on their comm devices. He listens to the others discussing other open cases, occasionally typing at the keyboard. It's mostly Dick talking, but Damian and Alfred occasionally can be heard. It seems Barbra is there too, but she's currently in and out of the cave with Cass and Steph. Whatever they were all up to, he doubted Alfred would approve. They wouldn't do anything too bad with Bruce also listening in, but he had other priorities at the present.
Up ahead Harley stops abruptly, giggling as she bends down behind a large street wire box. Unlatching a hook at the bottom, she opens it up. Tim blinks as he and Bruce watch her switch the cables. Bruce watches expressionlessly, but Tim sees the white eyes on his cowl narrow. He's not too impressed with her messing with the wires but he keeps quiet, silently watching her.
Harley pauses, humming with thought as she tapped her cheek with her fingers. Eyes widening, she switches two wires before they hear a small beep, followed by a button towards quickly flashing green. Stepping back they all watch as the box opens, quickly making a hole in the ground visible, dimly lit by lights connected to the wall next to a ladder. Harley grins, clearly proud at remembering correctly. Without wasting time, she bounces to the hole, jumping in without so much as grabbing the ladder. Bruce runs to stop her, Tim fast to leave the darkness to be right on his heels. Instead of a hard thud, they hear a soft thud accompanied by Harley's loud laughter.
"Jump down, Batsy!" She calls. "If you take the ladder, it'll shock you!" Tim watches as Bruce sighs, looking down the opening. Sending a light down he sees Harley standing on top of a mountain of pillows, beaming with glee. She moves out of the way, motioning to where she just landed. Deciding to drop down and ignore the potentially electric ladder, he lands gracefully where Harley had stood. He looks back up to the opening, nodding to Tim and motioning him to follow. Tim doesn't waste time as he hears a beep next to him and the box goes to close. Jumping down, he lands not so gracefully, surprised at the cushions and pillows below him. He briefly rolls his eyes. Leave it to Bruce to make it look easy.
The opening above them closes, sealed with a click. As soon as the moonlight disappears, lights mounted on the walls come to life. The pearly white lights almost haunt Tim. It feels spooky how the lights feel so alive, bright with luminescent grace and life. Bruce seems to feel uncomfortable as well, shifting to lean on his right leg, covered by his cape but still visible to Tim after knowing him for so long.
Harley seems to welcome the light, relaxing and stretching with a newfound weight lifted. She seems to of lost some of her paleness, appearing tanner as she soaked in the light. Composing herself she goes to a lit corridor, motioning them to follow. Unable to stay hidden anymore, he sticks closer to Bruce and Harley. The comm are alive with multiple voices now, but it's when he hears Jason that he really tunes in.
"Those green lights are dope. Wonder if they're those healing type shit lights," he says. Tim hums. "They're white Jason. Can you guys not see them clearly?" He hears Dick snort at his response. "Yeah, we can see them, Timmy. Jaybird's got a few screws loose," Dick replies, laughing as a crash is heard in the background. Tim hears insults being thrown between Jason and Dick before Jason speaks again. "I don't know what the fuck you're both seeing but those are neon green. It's electric. Almost a Pit or Joker... green..." Jason goes silent at his own words, probably surprised at the mention of the man who's tormented them. Jason is not usually one to speak before he thinks, so when they all grow silent Tim can't really blame anyone. He feels almost disturbed himself.
Jason comparing the two shades of green, one of hatred, torment, and death permanently tainting his mind while the other an electric neon green, allowing Jason to relax enough to lower his guard. He was vulnerable for a moment; Tim assumes the others caught that rare moment. It's a sore subject for Jason, rarely ever making mention. He's talked about the Pit, but Joker was off-limits in his presence. In front of Tim, Bruce pauses.
Harley unknowingly breaks the tension.
"We're here boys!" She yells, pulling on a hatch door. She takes her time pulling on the heavy door before she gives them both smiles, beckoning them inside.
They follow and once again Tim finds himself flabbergasted. Past the heavy door is a large space, filled top to bottom in books, scattered papers, and several tools and mechanics Tim doesn't recognize. Everything is messy and seemingly unkempt except for the lone mattress in the middle next to a small light and an old beat-up table and chair. Clothes are folded neatly on the table, separated by outfit but they all look quite dull and well used, nothing to note or pinpoint except for potentially a unattachment to physical objects. Tim starts analyzing, trying to figure out the person they're meeting by the room alone. He assumes Bruce has already done so.
Skipping along Harley doesn't hesitate to sit in the chair, making herself right at home like she'd been sat there many times before. It's the only chair and Harley isn't known for being able to sit still, so it's an odd scene to watch.
There's silence as the two heroes watch her. She doesn't seem bothered, rather she looks a little too content as she sits patiently and twirls her hair. The blonde hair with pink and blue bounces as she messes with it, tapping her feet as she does so. There's no clear pattern to the tapping and the more she does it, the more it has Tim annoyed.
Finally, another door opens, but it's opposite to where they came in at. The figure coming in is petite, clearly drowning in a gray hoodie and loose-fitting jeans. The shoes look clean but it's hard to tell when they're already a dark color. The figure pauses, still facing away from them. They set down two pizza boxes and a bag containing two large sodas on the floor next to them before they close the door back up. Turning around their face is hidden by the hoodie, but Tim can tell that the person is male. Grabbing the pizza and sodas, they make their way to the table before setting things down.
"Hello," the male says. His voice is a bit higher than expected, almost youthful. But that isn't what disturbs Tim. What disturbs him is the chill he feels down to his bones. He can tell this guy in front of him is very different from what he'd expected.
"I only got this for Harley and myself, but I might have some snacks if you both are down to chow."