"The strongest bonds are forged not in battle, but in the quiet after."
---
Wayne Manor — Training Hall
The rhythmic sound of punching gloves filled the air.
Nika adjusted her wrist wraps, watching Tara spar against Damian with fluid precision. Her back tattoo flexed with every move.
When Damian called a timeout, Tara turned and smiled at Nika.
"Your turn, ghost girl." She teased, brushing sweat from her brow.
Nika laughed softly. "I prefer 'artistically deceased' thank you very much."
Tara grinned and offered her gloves. "You're seriously rocking that skull look, by the way. It's giving 'don't mess with me but also buy my merch.' "
"Funny," Nika said, slipping the gloves on. "That's exactly what I was going for."
Quinn & Ink, Later That Afternoon
The neon lights buzzed softly, their magenta hue spilling across the tattoo chairs. Harley hummed to herself as she rearranged some ink bottles.
Ace floated nearby, cross-legged in the air, eyes glowing violet as her psychic energy formed shimmering geometric patterns around her.
Tara sat at the counter, sketching a tattoo design — a stylized ouroboros wrapped around a crescent moon as a part of her school's art project.
When the bell over the door rang, Harley looked up.
"Well, if it ain't our little bone princess! You brought company?"
Damian followed Nika inside, still skeptical. "You said we were just visiting—"
Harley waved him off. "Relax, bird boy. No needles near ya today."
Nika smiled, stepping further in. "I wanted to show them where I first met King."
Ace landed softly, her psychic light fading. "You're the one he pulled from dead, right?"
Nika nodded. "That's me. The freak who keeps coming back."
Ace tilted her head, eyes curious. "You don't feel like a freak."
Nika smiled faintly. "You don't float like one."
They both laughed. Light, real laughter that echoed off the walls like music Harley hadn't heard in ages.
Moments Later
Tara rolled up her sleeve to show Nika the ink winding across her arm. The lines shimmered faintly, almost alive.
"Biomechanical ink," she explained. "It reacts to emotion. Got it redone by Harley herself."
Nika leaned closer, impressed. "That's beautiful. Like circuitry made of feeling."
Tara smirked. "Okay, I'm stealing that line."
Ace piped in, eyes wide. "And your makeup — it's not all makeup, is it? The bone-white and black?"
Nika shook her head. "It's part of me now. My skin changed after… well, after everything. I just paint the lines sharper."
Ace smiled. "You look like a ghost that made peace with haunting."
Harley chuckled from the counter. "Oh, I like that one! Gonna put it on a T-shirt."
Nika laughed softly. "Maybe make it my brand."
Later — Rooftop Behind the Shop
The four of them sat on the edge of the roof as the city lights flickered below. Harley was inside cleaning up, humming "That's Life" off-key.
Tara tossed a soda can to Damian, who caught it midair.
"You ever think," She said, leaning back, "we're the strangest after-school club in the world?"
Damian cracked his soda open. "Without question."
Ace giggled, dangling her legs off the ledge. "Strange, but safe."
Nika nodded quietly. "Safe feels strange sometimes."
They all looked at her — and she realized it wasn't pity she saw in their eyes. It was understanding.
Tara nudged her shoulder. "You're not the only one with ghosts, y'know."
Nika smiled, faint but warm. "Yeah… but maybe this time, we haunt them back together."
For a while, no one spoke. The neon glow from the sign below painted them in violet and blue.
The sound of Gotham at peace — rare, fleeting — filled the silence.
Downstairs — Closing Time
Harley peeked out the door, watching the kids on the roof. She smiled, shaking her head.
"The world's gone mad." She murmured, "but at least my shop's full of the right kind of crazy."
Behind her, King's shadow loomed briefly in the glass reflection — calm, silent, protective.
He didn't enter.
He didn't need to.
For once, his world was healing itself.
Read 57 chapters ahead on P.A.T.R.E.O.N
patreon.com/Danzoslayer517
New tier available. For 14 dollars you get access to all my stories in Patreon.