First Day

One would think that Superman being seen so often in Metropolis fighting monsters, aliens, and the typical supervillain, would be a simple enough warning not to rob a bank in Metropolis, especially in the daytime.

One would be wrong.

The entrance to the Metropolis National Bank was shattered by a spinning, green tornado. It came to a stop as a man in an emerald and yellow striped costume smirked at the shocked citizens. Roscoe Dillion, also known as the Top, dusted his hands off as he walked forward.

"No need to get up, boys and girls! My associates and I can help ourselves! I do ask that you lay down on the ground, and please, no one play hero."

A large, muscular man followed Top, cracking his knuckles as his bulging muscles continued to rip apart his shirt and jeans. He let out a low, dim-witted laugh. His name was Mark Desmond, or Blockbuster. He was followed by a woman in yellow and green armor, with a long cape waving behind her: Doctor Cyber, and finally an Australian man in a blue, captain's uniform. The man was playing with a small boomerang as he patted Roscoe on the back.

"Oi, nice entrance, Top!" complimented Captain Boomerang.

"All in the wrist, am I right, Cap?"

"You got that right, mate! Now, allow me to get door number two!" Captain Boomerang produced a small, silver boomerang in his hand. With a wink at his partners, he flung the boomerang towards the safe. The boomerang stuck to the large, metal door. There were four quick clicks, before the metal door was blown apart by a powerful explosion. "Alright, sheilas, let's get to work. Blockbuster, Doc, get the cash inside the safe. Top and I will ask the locals for personal donations."

The four walked forward to do just that, only to stop as a voice mocked them. "Okay, seriously? I've met the real Captain Boomerang. He does not talk like that."

"Oi, who be making fun of me accent? Jolly good, and a didgeridoo!" The four villains turned their heads to find a caped heroine standing behind them at the entrance of the bank.

The woman's crimson cape flapped in the wind as she walked forward, confident grin glowing on her painted-white face. Her blond locks flowed in the wind as she proudly rested her fists on her waist. Her costume was a bright blue leotard, with a familiar yellow crest on her chest, but rather than the famous S-shape in the center, it instead had a stylized red H.

"Clark, are you hearing this stuff? Please, boo, I'm begging you! Stop Flash before I start bleeding from the ears." Harley grinned as she produced a small rod from behind her back. She pressed down on the button of the weapon, before it began to change and grow. The small, metal rod transformed into a metal hammer, and Harley twirled it with practiced ease as she glared at the four.

"Sorry, Harley. I'll try to rein Flash in before he offends someone," an amused voice answered from the ceiling.

"Heh. Sorry. Couldn't help it," another voice apologized. "Ready, HQ?"

"Ready and rarin' to go!" Harley ran forward towards the villains as they stared in shock. "Super Harley to the rescue!" Despite the clear weight of the hammer, Harley Quinn wielded it with precision and skill. She dodged a punch from Blockbuster, before spinning around to catch Doctor Cyber's leg with her weapon. The armored woman hit the ground as Captain Boomerang produced a silver boomerang.

"Put another shrimp on the barby!" The man threw the boomerang at Harley, who ducked under the weapon, before swinging her hammer at the Australian stereotype's face.

"Gotcha! Huh?" Her hammer came to a sudden stop over her head, and Harley followed her arms to find that her hammer was being held by Blockbuster's hand.

"Grr!"

"Um... Hiya." Harley released her hammer, before running in terror as Blockbuster nearly flattened her to a pancake with her own hammer. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"What's the Joker's whore doing here?" Captain Boomerang wondered, before throwing a boomerang in front of Harley. The small boomerang blew up in front of the woman, making her come to a grinding stop. "And why's she dressed up like the Boy Scout of Steel?"

"Who knows? Maybe she got tired hanging off of Joker's coattails," scoffed Doctor Cyber.

"Huh? W-wait, what did they-?" Top suddenly threw a spinning top towards Harley, and before she could move out of the way, it exploded with a bright flash of light. Harley was blinded by the explosion, before she suddenly felt something knock her down, and pin her to the ground. When her vision began to return to her, she was surprised to find Doctor Cyber standing on her, Harley's hammer in her hands.

"Light's out, Quinny."

Harley lifted her hands to block the coming blow as Doctor Cyber lifted the hammer into the air. The supervillainess brought the hammer down, only to stop inches from crushing Harley's skull.

"Huh...?"

"Training simulation over." Harley recognized that voice. She must have been yelled at by that voice over a dozen times. She groaned, burying her face in her palms as the supervillains and the bank vanished, revealing the large, white room she was laying in. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

"Oh my god, why is Bat-Dork here...?" groaned the woman quietly.

"Quinzel." Batman's voice called out to her, demanding her attention. "You charged in there without a plan. Four supervillains, and you decided to try and take them head on. You completely forgot about Blockbuster, not to mention you relied too much on your hammer. Once you were disarmed, the fight over. You were just killed."

Harley didn't say anything. She just took a deep breath, sighing as Batman continued to berate her. "And one more piece of advice. Change your costume. If you think you deserve to wear that symbol, you're deeply mistaken. You're more likely to insult Superman than honor-" His voice was cut off. No doubt Clark was trying to defend her honor. Harley turned her face away from the cameras that watched her, sighing as Batman's words sank in.

Some superhero I am...

"That was uncalled for," Superman scowled.

He, Batman, and the Flash sat inside the Training Room's control room. Several computer screens showed Harley standing in the empty room, watching as the robots that had acted as her opponents walked back into storage. Batman sat at the computer console, eyes on the screens, rather than his angered friends.

"Look, Bat's, I let you take the control seat from me cause you said you wanted to try running some excercises, but that was... I dunno... A little harsh? I mean, this is her first training session. Maybe we should-"

"Make a joke of what she's going to be facing?" Batman turned his seat around, and glared at the two. "This is why I wanted to oversee her training. Instead you go behind my back? Did you think I wouldn't notice you two bringing her to the Watchtower?"

"Look, I'm sorry for lying to you," sighed Superman. "But Harley is here to learn how to be a hero, not to be berated and slandered."

"That's exactly what's going to happen, Clark. She murdered people. Cops, even civilians. She might have spent time at Stryker's, but a year is nothing compared to what she should have gotten. People are going to drag her name through the dirt, and they'll take your name with it."

"I'm... going to go talk to Harley. Make sure she's okay." Flash sighed, scratching the back of his neck as he walked out of the room. He quietly left as the two heroes glared at one another.

"She's going to be met with distrust and hate," Batman explained. "I'm trying to prepare her for that."

"We need to welcome her with open arms. To show that we trust her. The people need to see that, but more importantly, Harley needs that. You treating her like a machine, and constantly belittling her, isn't going to help."

"You're spoonfeeding her your naivety. Not every city is Metropolis."

"And not every town is Gotham."

Batman sighed, turning away from Superman in frustration. "You can't expect this transition to go smoothly."

"No. But I can hope my friend will help me." Superman's voice didn't sound angry. It wasn't mad, or exhausted, more pleading than anything else. "I'm not asking you to forgive her. I'm not asking you to treat her like she's anything special. I'm just asking you to treat her fairly. Yes, that can involve berating her, but it also means giving her credit where credit is due... I hope you can do, when the time comes."

And with that, Superman walked out of the control room.

"Hey, don't worry about Bats, okay? He can be kind of a hardass, but he's alright," Flash smiled, handing Harley a bottle of water. She took it and sipped from the drink, enjoying the cool chill.

"Yeah? Says you. He once decked me, right across the face. Like, pow! Can you believe that?" Harley retorted, forcing a smile onto her face. She always liked Flash. The guy was nice, quirky, goofy, and just fun to be around. Reminded her a lot of her Clarky, really.

"Ow. Well, believe it or not, Batman's punched me before too."

"What'd you do?"

"I kept singing that one Batman Christmas song for hours all throughout December. I must have sang that jingle a hundred times, before he socked me right in the face! WHAM!" Flash pretended to feel the Dark Knight's fist against his face, falling back as he groaned in pain.

Harley giggled at the sight, before looking up towards the control room. Clark and Bats were up there right now, probably talking about her. Her boyfriend was probably defending her, but Bats? He had every right to hate her. She hugged her legs close to her chest as she sighed, wondering if the Dark Knight would ever accept that she was trying to be better...

A hand touched her shoulder, firmly squeezing it. Harley lifted her head up to find Flash smiling at her. The gesture was enough to make Harley's smile shrink to a more natural state. It wasn't like no one accepted her. Flash welcomed her with open arms, and a friendly grin. He was already treating her like she belonged. Not to mention that some of the other members of the League were pretty nice to her. Cyborg was doing his best not to treat her like a freak, or a danger, at least not to her face, and Wonder Woman, despite being ten levels of scary-hot, treated Harley like a decent human being.

It probably helped that she was in bed with the team's poster boy, and one of the greatest heroes to ever live...

"Hey."

Speak of the Devil... "Hey yourself, studmuffin." Harley winked at her boyfriend, and she beamed at the bright blush that lit up his cheeks. Screw kryptonite. I'm his weakness, she thought. "Thanks for the training session. Sorry I screw-"

"Don't worry about it. It was your first time, and you did great. You got some good hits in, and you know what you did wrong. A mistake is only bad if you don't learn from it," Superman comforted.

"You sweet-talker, you." Harley held out her hand to the alien, and he pulled her onto her feet.

"Ready to head back to Metropolis? We can go patrolling together," her caped lover suggested. The smile on his face made Harley's knees weak. He was just so earnestly sweet. He was adorable, in a way. The rest of the world knew him as the calm, dedicated Man of Tomorrow, but Harley? She got to see the big, sweet kid he was deep down inside.

Oh, he is so cute. Harley's smile was still there, but she nervously began to shuffle her foot against the ground, slowly prodding at the seams of her costume as she let her boyfriend down gently. "As eager as I am to help old ladies across the street, I was thinking I'd stay here. Y'know, check out the mess hall. Maybe get in another session or two."

"No problem. I can show you where the cafeteria is, and-"

"Supes? I was thinking about hanging here on my own?"

"Oh." There was disappointment, maybe even a bit of heartache in Superman's voice. Harley hated hearing that, knowing her boyfriend just wanted to help her, but she also knew that to really understand who did and did not accept her, she couldn't have the Man of Steel watching her back. She needed to throw herself into the middle of the ocean, and sink or swim, she was going to show the rest of the Justice League that she really was trying to make things right.

It only took a moment for the disappointment to turn into a proud, and understanding smile. "Alright. You have my number if you need me. I'll see you later, Harley." Superman bid his girlfriend farewell, before waving goodbye to Flash as well. "Flash."

"Take care, Su-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't just leave your girlfriend like that, cuddlebutt! Get back here!"

Harley practically skipped towards Superman, who watched as his girlfriend grabbed his collar and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. He let out a moan of shock, before feeling her tongue slip past his lips. Harley moaned at the warm, soft lips pressed against hers, before letting out a muffled squeal of joy as her Clarky stroked her back with a single hand. The two pulled apart, and Superman's blush had only grown in intensity. It was almost as red as the lipstick Harley had printed on his face.

"Red looks good on you, cuddlebutt."

"Um... I... You too." Harley felt a little guilty making her boyfriend feel embarrassed around his friend/co-worker, but she also just couldn't help it. It was cute seeing him this way, and it was probably one of the most normal things about their relationship, and normal was a welcome change for the Clown Princess of Justice.

"Snk. Cuddlebutt? Studmuffin? Oh, man... I wish I could record all of this," chuckled the Scarlet Speedster. Clark glared at his friend for a moment, before smiling good-naturedly.

"Goodbye, Harley."

"See you, Supes."

"Bye, cuddlebutt!" Flash and Harley waved goodbye to the Man of Tomorrow, before looking at one another.

"Alright, Flash. Where can a girl get some eats around here?"

Harley Quinn was no expert on the Justice League infrastructure. Clark was slowly teaching her about the ins and outs of the organization, but the lessons were slow and in between her 'How to be a Hero' sessions. Clark simplified the whole thing by splitting membership into three different groups. There was the Core Members, like Flash, Bats, Wonder Woman, and Supes, then there were the Extended Members who joined afterwards, including Red Tornado, Zatanna, and Booster Gold, and then there were Reserve Members who were only called in on big emergencies, like the Teen Titans, or Crimson Avenger.

The Clown Princess of Justice was none of these things, but that was okay. She could work this out.

With a cafeteria tray in hand, she walked among the tables, seeing nothing but heroes and the Watchtower's maintence staff around her. A few years ago, this would have been a nightmare, but today? Well, it was still a nightmare, but more '90s film about a highschool outcast,' rather than an impending beatdown.

She hoped.

"H-hey there, Fire! Ice! What's the haps?!" she greeted, waving at the two superheroines. The two women stared at her, before slowly waving with plastered smiles on their faces. "Wildcat, looking good! Um... Good job beating up me and Joker last Thanksgiving...!" The old man glared at her, and Harley quickly picked up her step. "Um... H-hey, Etrigan, mind if I sit with you?"

"This table has no more room, trying to do so will be your doom."

"Oh. Okay..."

"Hey, Harley! Over here!" The young woman didn't expect anyone to sound so welcoming, but she turned her head to see a black-haired man in a red, latex outfit waving at her. He had a pair of goggles masking his face, but the most eye-catching detail was the man's deep, pluming cleavage window.

Yowzah. And people get on Power Girl's case? "Hey there, uh... sweetie!"

"Aw, come on, you can't tell me you don't recognize me! We fought during that whole Black Friday crime spree you and Joker were doing?" Harley racked at her memories, but the strange man was a complete stranger to her. "You hit me with a big hammer?"

Gonna need to narrow it down there, buddy...

"Here, maybe this 'll help!" The man snapped his fingers, before his face began to stretch and twist before Harley's eyes. It began to flatten into a flat, pancake like shape. "Huh? Huh?"

A rush of memories flooded into Harley's mind as she suddenly recognized just who she was talking to. She beamed at the famous hero, nodding her head. "Oh! Right! Elongated Man, right?!"

"Rig-Wait, what?! No! I'm Plastic Man!" The man returned his head to normal and motioned to himself. "Plastic Man! The Long Arm of the Law!"

"Oh. Right, right! Um, what's up?"

"Wanna join me for lunch?" Plastic Man motioned to the table, pushing away whatever annoyance Harley had unintentionally given him. He smiled at her, as Harley pondered her next move.

The man seemed friendly enough, and really she shouldn't be choosy about who she hung out with. At least someone wanted to hang out with her. "Sure." Harley sat at the team opposite of the man and placed her food down. "So... How you been?"

"Pretty good," he replied. "Stopped the Ten-Eyed Man from robbing a jewelry store yesterday."

"Really? Nice. Go justice, right?"

Plastic Man nodded his head as Harley began to eat her food. The meal was pretty good. Better than the stolen crabcakes and hamburgers Joker used to feed her. Not as good as Clark's cooking, or that nice Italian place in Metropolis, but hey, it was serviceable.

"Nice outfit," the hero commented, motioning to her Superman-inspired uniform. Harley tried to take the compliment for what it was, but Batman's voice snapped at her in her mind.

"Thanks," she muttered. "Cape's kind of a pain, but-" She shrugged lazily, unable to finish the sentence. "-y'know..."

"Oh, I know." Plastic Man grinned at her as a long red cape began to sprout of his back, stretching down until it touched the ground. Harley stared at it as she sipped her juice box.

"Is that... made out of you?"

"Yep."

"That's awesome," she chuckled, poking his costume. "Ooh. Rubbery..." She blinked, quickly pulling back as she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't apology. I know I'm awesome." Plastic Man gave the blond two thumbs up, flashing his pearly whites as Harley laughed.

This guy seems alright, she thought to herself.

"Wanna see something that's really awesome? Watch this!" Plastic's body began to shift, shrinking and morphing into something not even vaguely human. Harley rose a brow in confusion, before her eyes widened in realization. "A less imaginative mind would just turn their hands into hammers, but me? I've got some pretty impressive tricks in my bag."

A dress. He had turned into a dress. The strapless, red dress moved on the seat as if an invisible woman was wearing it, but Plastic Man's voice was still there to remind her just what she was staring at.

"I know what you're thinking, and yes. I did trick a girl or two to wear me, and no. I don't regret it." He popped back into his human form, like measuring tape that was stretched out and then released. He turned back to 'normal,' and he was smirking at her. "I'm kind of the Justice League's bad boy, you know?"

"That's... you're..." Harley scoffed, hardly believing that someone like him was on the Justice League. She didn't know whether to be grossed out, or impressed. Despite her shock, her lips were still shaped into a beaming smile. The smile lasted as she struggled to find her words, before a question bubbled in her mind. "Why... why are you talking to me? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I've been where you are now. I get it." He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as his smile turned into a flat line. He was chewing on the inside of his cheek as he stared into her aquamarine eyes. "You ever heard of Patrick 'Eel' O'Brian?"

"No... Why? Who is he?"

"He's me. You can call me Patrick, when we're off duty. Friends call me Plas on the job."

Harley's brain went silent for a moment as she tried to comprehend what she just heard. Did a superhero just give her his secret identity?! They don't do that! The only person's identity she was Superman's, and they were dating! But this guy just told her his real name... Wait, did he?

"You're not... You're not messing with me, are you?"

"Nope. Here." Plastic Man produced a small card from behind his back, and after briefly wondering where he had stored it, Harley looked at the small card. It was a driver's license, with a picture of Plastic Man's, or rather Patrick's face. His fingers covered his more personal info, but they left his hair color, eye color, and name out for her to read. "Patrick O'Brian. That's me."

"So, you were a bad guy?" she asked, falling back in her seat, staring at the raven-haired man with dinner-plate sized eyes.

"Yeah. since I was a kid. Grew up on the street and fell in with a bad crowd. Did a lot of things I regret now," he confessed. "We were breaking into this chemical plant, when a security guard shot me. I got this weird chemical mixture in the wound. My gang betrayed me, leaving me for dead. I was bleeding out, limping as quickly as I could from the cops. I ended up blacking out in a park nearby, thinking 'This is it. I'm going to die, and what did my life amount to?'"

"What happened after that?" whispered Harley, leaning forward. The story had piqued her interest, if only because she wanted to hear how a fellow criminal had become a member of the Justice League.

"I woke up on a bed, my wounds cleaned and bandaged up. A group of monks had found me and had been caring for me for the last few days."

"You're screwing with me."

"I cannot tell a lie, good lady!" Plas swore, growing a long, red top hat on his head. "The monastery was called Rest-Haven. Nice place. I visit when I can. Anyways, the monks there took me in. They helped me recover, even when I discovered my superpowers. You can probably guess how the rest of the story went. I wanted nothing to do with my old gang, and nothing to do with the Eel. So I became a superhero instead. Plastic Man was born."

"And you got to join the Justice League?"

"Wasn't easy. I thought it'd be a good idea to be upfront about my past, so when I was invited to join, I told the Founders the truth of who I was. Pretty sure Bats already knew, but y'know, I thought transparency was heroic! Some of them were okay with it, like Supes, but I don't think Wonder Woman liked me much..."

"Considering what you said about turning into women's dresses, I don't think it was the criminal background that got her knickers in a twist," laughed Harley. "But you're here. You made it."

"I'm still working on making it, but yeah. I'm doing pretty good," confessed Plas.

"So you called me over because...?"

"Us ex-cons got to stick together."

Harley scoffed at that, turning away to glare at the floor for a moment. "I did a lot more than just con people, Plas."

"Then you'll have to be an even bigger hero than me. Not an easy task, I'll admit, but hey, neither is being tutored by Superman, but you're making that work."

Tutored. Not dating. That was a careful line Harley and Clark had to walk on. Harley didn't have a secret identity. The whole world knew who she was, and they were going to know her as the same woman when she debuted as a real hero. Harley Quinn was just Harley Quinn. But Superman was leading a double life as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter. Harley couldn't date both of them, or else people would connect the dots of 'Hey, Harley was making out with Supes AND that dorky reporter. Either she's cheating on him, or... GASP! Superman is that dorky reporter!'

So Harley was going to be dating Clark, and Clark alone. As far as the world knew, Superman was just her parole officer and mentor in her rehabilitation. The folks who knew about Clark's identity would know about him and Harley, but the Extended Members of the League? The rest of the world? Well, mums the word on that...

Still, his words surprised Harley. She couldn't believe the conversation she was having with a stranger. Some B-list superhero was opening up to her, not just about his past, but about their similar situations. She smiled as he complimented her, nodding her head.

"Yeah... I can do this!"

"That's what I'm saying! Oh, hey, hold on a second!" Plas suddenly held up a finger, before stretching his torso away from their table.

Harley watched as the rubbery hero moved through the air like a long, red snake. He reached out to some woman with long, black hair and a very muscular physique. She looked like Wonder Woman's older sister, and she towered over even her boyfriend. And the outfit she was wearing? Just a bit more modest than scarlet lingerie, but damn, did she fill it out well... Plas was talking very adamantly to her, but the buff woman looked pretty annoyed at his presence, before her eyes widened.

What'd he say to her...?

Suddenly the woman was walking towards Harley, and the blonde woman wondered if she was going to get another scolding. She opened her mouth to greet the black-haired woman, but she was cut off.

"Are you Harley Quinn?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I am Big Barda."

Yeah, no kidding... "Oh. Hi. What's-?"

"I once served the Dread God Darkseid as the leader of his Furies. He and his harpy, Granny Goodness, used me as a terrible weapon of destruction. I destroyed many under their thrall." Harley watched, blinking a couple of times as she realized what the woman, Barda, was saying. "Until I met my future husband, and dearest friend, Scott Free. He helped me break the shackles Darkseid and Granny had on my mind, and we escaped my home world of Apokolips to Genesis, and then, to Earth."

"So... you're like some kind of space, warrior princess?" Harley slowly asked.

"If that's how you see it, fine. My point is this. I know what it is like to serve someone cruel and spiteful, and to break free from it. If you need a warrior by your side, or even an ear to speak to, I will... do what I can to help." Big Barda stared at Harley, and there was no smile on the giant's face, yet Harley felt comforted by a way, Big Barda was a lot like Poison Ivy. A lot nicer than people probably thought they were. Harley just knew she could trust the lady.

"Thanks, Big B."

"It's Big Barda," she corrected, eyes narrowing for a moment. Harley gulped, nodding along.

"Right. Barda. Gotcha."

"Good. Here." Barda took out a card, from where, Harley wasn't sure, and handed it to the blonde woman. "I teach a self-defense class on my off time. Attend if you want."

"'New Female Furies.' Huh. Alright, thanks."

Big Barda nodded in reply, before glaring at her shoulder as Plastic Man stretched a hand onto her. "Ain't this great?! First day here, and you've already made two fr-" Plastic Man was silenced by Barda's fist slamming into his head, leaving a small hole where his face had been.

"Talk to me again, and I'll throw you at the sun. Take advantage of her, and I'll tie you to an asteroid and toss you into the farthest reaches of space." And with that, Barda left. Plas stood there for a moment, before slowly pushing his face back out.

"She loves me. She thinks I'm cute," he grinned.

"She isn't the only one," Harley giggled, winking at Plas. "What'd you say to her, anyways?"

"Nothing much. Just told her that you're new. You used to work for a bad guy, and since she knew what that was like, I'd thought you two would get along." Plas returned his stretched out body parts to his body, before grinning. "Hope I didn't step out of line. The whole 'hero' thing is still new to me." He smiled, but Harley could see that little hint of worry in his eyes.

"Aww. Well, I think you're just the sweetest rubberband I've ever met. Sorry for pancaking your face last time."

"Happens more often than you think. Don't worry about it."

"Hm." She nodded her head, smiling as she poked at her uneaten lunch. "You know, talking to the dumb newbie who nobody likes isn't going to be easy on ya."

"My popularity's been shot since I turned into a lamp in Wonder Woman's room. I keep telling people I was just trying to help her train, but does anyone believe me? Noooo!"

Harley snorted in amusement. This was nice. Hanging out with a hero who wasn't all... on a pedestal. She loved Clark, she really did, she needed him, but they still came from two very different worlds. He was the Hero, the Man of Tomorrow, the poster boy for hope. He was all squeaky clean, and she loved that about him, but knowing that there was at least one hero in the world who was like her?

It helped.

Batman could hear fighting coming from the training room. Not a strange occurrence, obviously, but it was the voice that caught his ear. Harley Quinn. Bruce had assumed the young woman had returned to Metropolis with Clark, but it was clearly her inside the training room.

His friend's words rang through his ears as Bruce sighed through his nostril. He knew he was hard on Harley, but he didn't regret it. She needed to know that this path she was on was going to be hard, harder than some heroes' had it. She was going to be met with fear and distrust, and it was very possible that the weight of such prejudice would break her.

Make her run back into Joker's arms...

All the same, perhaps Clark was right about something. If Harley was doing something right, if Bruce could see she was genuinely trying, maybe he could offer something more than harsh criticisms. Batman opened the door to the control room, entering it to find three figures watching Harley train.

"Come on, Har! Get them! Punch em! Kick em! Whack em with that big hammer of yours!"

"Dude, be quiet, you're gonna throw her off!"

"Good form. Try to keep it up, Quinn."

Plastic Man, Flash, and Big Barda were all cheering for the ex-villainess. The muscular, alien woman sat in the control seat, directing the battle as Harley fought. Batman approached the three, and Plastic Man spun his head around to greet the Caped Crusader.

"Uh... H-hey, Bats. What's up?"

"How is she doing?" The masked detective ignored Plastic Man, approaching Flash and Barda. He glanced at the screens and was surprised to find Doctor Cyber was already down in the fight.

"Watch and see for yourself," Barda replied, with a small grin.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Top, but you're the same guy who tried ganging up on Flash with Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, and the other Rogues right? And you all lose? Weren't you the first to go down?"

"S-shut up!" Top held his hand out, and Harley fell to the ground as his powers began to induce a feeling of vetigo on the woman. She hit the ground, holding her head as the world began to spin. "Get her, Blockbuster!"

"Can't do your own dirty work, Top? Got to ask the dunderhead to do it for you? Man, no wonder you're so low on the Flash's villain list."

"Shut up!" Top screamed, glaring at the woman as Blockbuster approached her. "Back off, Blockbuster! She's mine!" The green villain pulled out a spinning top and grinned. "Light's out, hero!" He threw the top at her, and watched as it exploded over Harley's head, blinding the three with smoke and dust. "That got her!"

"You idiot! I can't see a thing," Captain Boomerang growled.

"Doesn't matter. I got h-Ack!" Top's eyes widened as felt an arm around his neck, choking him out.

"Wrong, sweetie. I got you. I thought your powers only worked if you could see me." Top was suddenly pushed forward, bashing his face into something hard and warm. "Hey, blockhead! Over here! Betcha can't hit me!" Harley laughed from behind Top.

"Raaah!"

"No, wait! You id-" Top's nose was shattered by the punch, and he was instantly unconscious by the time his body slammed into the wall.

"Ruh?" Blockbuster blinked in confusion, turning his head as Harley vanished into the smoke, laughing at the last two villains.

"Where is she?! Where is she?!" Captain Boomerang growled. He reached for a boomerang on his coat, only for his eyes to widen as he felt nothing.

"You learn a thing or two getting beat up by Batman." Harley swung her hammer, and Captain Boomerang was left with a brutal headache as his unconscious body fell to the ground.

Blockbuster roared in rage, spying the young woman as the dust began to settle. Harley looked at the boomerang she stole from the Captain and muttered to herself as she threw it at the rampaging brute. "Please be good, please be good, please be good...!"

The boomerang shattered against the supervillain's chest, and a green slime burst from the remains. They covered the large monster, dripping onto the ground in long, oily strands. Blockbuster fell to the ground as the slime stuck to it and him, and the more he struggled, the more the slime encased his body. He let out a roar, but that was all he could do as Harley counted off the robbers.

"One, two, three, four... I got them all! Yes!" She jumped into the air with joy, before noticing her costume was badly ripped. The training simulation was designed to imitate a fight, but it wasn't going to make any lasting injuries. The worse she got were a few bruises and cuts, but her costume was damaged all the same. "Aww man!" she grumbled, glaring at the small cuts on her Super Harley logo.

"You beat your first training mission."

Harley's eyes widened as Batman walked towards her, entering the training room as the bank vanished and the villains turned back into robots. Batman wasn't smiling, of course, but his scowl was different than usual. Harley raised a brow at him as she scratched the back of her neck. "Was that a compliment? From you?" she teased, trying to put on a brave face.

"More an observation." There was a quiet silence as the two stared at one another. Harley tried to smile at him, but he just scowled back. "I see you've made new friends."

"Plas and Barda? Yeah, I guess, I mean-"

"Tell me, what, if you even had one, was your plan?" Batman questioned, crossing his arms.

Harley sighed, before forcing herself to smile once more. "Well, I did some research. Did you know Top's powers are based on how confident he feels? Wait, what am I saying? Of course you knew," muttered Harley. "Anyways, I knew Cyber and Blockbuster were the biggest threats, so I surprise attacked Cyber. I knew I could use Blockbuster to help me. Dumb guys like him would do anything for a cute girl. Anyways, I kept throwing insults at Top, y'know, hitting where it hurt." She pointed at her head as she beamed with pride. "With Top all unbalanced, I used his stupidity to my advantage. I guess I should played off what they were weak to and-"

"You also took advantage of the training room's safety features. If this had been a real fight, you could have died."

Harley's pride instantly deflated and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, I know. I get it..."

"All the same, well done." The blonde woman paused, before looking at the scowling detective with shock. "You did your research and took advantage of your enemies flaws. You manipulated them to fight on your terms. You were quick and efficient."

"I... Is this real? Is this actually happening?"

"I won't mince words with you, Harley. I don't regret what I told you earlier. I'm worried our mutual friend has made this all seem easy to you. It won't be. It will hurt, and there will be days where you wonder if any of it is worth it. Days where your strength of heart is put to the test. I genuinely hope you're strong enough, but I know to prepare for the worst."

"Yeesh... Attitude like that is gonna build some trust issues," commented the woman, stepping closer. "Always expecting the worst out of people."

"I expect people to act like people," corrected Batman. "My point is this. I hope you do become a hero. I hope you and Clark are happy together. I hope I can forgive you, and trust you as a member of the League, but that day isn't today. The same goes for the people. You're going to be met with distrust."

"People are gonna think I'm a liar, or that I'm still a bad guy..."

"Yes."

"They can say what they want. Ain't gonna change how I feel. I'm paying back my debt to society, with, or without their approval," Harley swore, crossing her arms and putting on her best 'war face.' "The world didn't think of me much before I met Joker. Then the world hated me when I was his bitch. At this point, I don't care if they love me or hate me. I got all I need already."

Batman stared at her for a moment, before nodding his head. "Have a good day, Harley."

"You too, Bats. Smell ya later." He turned and walked away, and despite his ever present scowl, Harley really did smile. What a dweeb... But maybe he ain't so bad. Maybe neither of us are. Her friends entered the room after Batman left, grinning at her and congratulating her on her first win in the simulator. Harley thanked them as she made a promise to herself, and the world.

Watch out world. Here comes a whole new Harley!

END

See You, Tomorrow was a story about Clark and Harley meeting before she met the Joker. The two became fast friends, and when Harley fell to Joker's dark manipulations, Clark swore to save her.

I never finished the story, and for now, it is on a complete hiatus. Just no drive to write it, sadly. Fear and anxiety getting in the way, lack of time, other stories, etc.

But this is something of a sequel to that. A sequel to an unfinished story. Unlike the other story, this one is more of a compilation. A bunch of stories about Clark and Harley dating and their adventures together.

Here are the basic notes of what happened in See You, Tomorrow, and what you need to know.

1. Harley broke free from Joker's control and found out that Superman was her first real friend, Clark Kent. The two admitted to caring for each other as more than friends and began to date. Their personalities are like fire and ice, to many, yet the two make it work.

2. Harley spent a year in prison at Stryker's for her crimes. While there, she made friends with many supervillains who were trying to get better. Atomic Skull, Bizarro, Anomaly, and Livewire being the major ones. Poison Ivy also attempted to break Harley out of jail at one point, only to surrender when Harley explained she wanted to stay in jail. Poison Ivy is currently tending to the gardens at Stryker's.

3. After a year in jail, Harley was accepted into the Second Chances Foundation, a Justice League/Kord Enterprises/Wayne Enterprises sponsored program for incarnated supervillains. The program basically puts villains who want to reform under the tutelage and command of an experienced hero. The reformed villains then work to help redeem themselves in the public eye. The program is controversial, to say the least. Technically, all villains are supposed to be staying in a Watchtower-like satellite in space, where a selected (or several selected) Den Mother(s) watch over them.

4. Due to Harleen Quinzel being publicly known as Harley Quinn, the woman cannot date Superman in public. In public, Superman is nothing more than her parole officer and colleague. It is public knowledge that she's dating mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent, and yes, the ramifications of this story will be mentioned at some point in this story.

5. This story is not based on any specific continuity. It takes bits and pieces from the Young Justice show, Injustice, Teen Titans, the Justice League cartoon, the comics, movies, and my own thoughts. This can sometimes mean some characters will be a bit... different than normal, like Plastic Man being an Older and Wiser version of his usual self. Still a goofy pervert, but he's got a good heart.

I think that covers everything. I'll update this... sooner than updating See You, Tomorrow. If you liked it, leave a review. If you didn't, have a good day.