The Universe's Mixer

The bar needed to reopen soon and Jo still didn't know what to do about it. She had no actual way of keeping her clientele safe, short of a guarantee from a vampire that she didn't trust as far as she could throw him. Even if the bar stayed closed, it wouldn't be long before some of her people came poking around and tried to retake the bar.

She needed some sort of solution. And as much as she wanted to just go with Toot's suggestion of killing Eric, she didn't know how many vampires there were or if another one would just step in to take his place. She needed more planning to pull off something like that. And from what information she had managed to gain on the vampires in the City, there were far more than she could handle on her own. This wasn't just one nest that she could roll in and take out. In fact, from what she could gather there were several types in the City and no one was an authority on all of them.

That was why she found herself wandering the City aimlessly. She had chosen to walk and maybe there was just a little bit of hopefulness that this would be one of the times when the City decided to be helpful. Sometimes it provided what she was looking for. Other times it provided things that she didn't even realize she needed until they were staring her in the face.

Of course, other times it simply kicked her while she was down, but she was going to hope for option A or B tonight.

Slowly, Harry was building his stamina. With Karrin's help, he was getting in shape, eating better, and slowly regaining something like real tone to his body. He had been following Karrin's lead, because he knew how good she was at this whole thing, but Stars and stones, he had been aching as he built himself back. Six months of not moving and of very low nutrition had definitely taken a toll, and coming back from that would take time. He knew that. He still hated it. He had always worked out some, striving to make himself better at being able to run to, and away from, situations. But now he was starting all over, it felt like, and Harry? Harry had no patience for that sort of thing. Well, he hadn't had any. Now, he was having to learn it.

Today was one of his slowly lengthening walks on his own. His strength was not anywhere near what it had been once, but he could actually walk now, and slowly move about, and he had determined to do so. He had managed to acquire a walking stick. Nothing like the staff he was still seeking, but at least it helped him move. And carefully inscribing a few runes on it had been helpful for letting his mind heal as well. The concentration needed for the proper inscription of runes had helped him endure some real painful recovery time, and helped restore a touch of confidence when it did, indeed, help him channel his still recovering magical resources.

Walking in this new City was important, too, for he needed to discover it, to explore it, to feel it's streets as well as he had known and felt Chicago's. The more of it he did, the better he knew it, the more he would be able to do in it with his magic, and the better he would be able to navigate spells and knowledge here. He was a wizard, but he was also a detective, and more than quick wits, knowledge was the keystone to a detective's work. So, today, he was out gathering knowledge, and seeing the sights, and possibly swearing at various aches and pains a little. Ahead, on the right, he heard a scuffle from the alley there, and a voice, female, raised in either anger or fear amongst the noise. Without even thinking to do so, his steps quickened, an odd gait with the stick helping him along, as he moved toward the sounds. Harry had never been able to resist helping others, especially women, when they were in need. This had led to multiple adventures.

As he came around the corner, his eyes widened and he stared. "Stars and Stones..."

( Cut for spoilers for Ghost Story )

Jake had finally seemed ready to move out of Wayne Manor and into a new place shortly before Christmas. They'd found a townhouse that had just enough room for them both to have their space, but was small enough to be cozy. It even had a tiny back yard. It was a new start for them, and Dinah only hoped that it went well. She had gone all out with decorating and there were more than a few presents under the tree for Jake. She couldn't help herself-she'd wanted to give him the type of Christmas that every kid deserved to have. Especially after the year he'd had.

Christmas Eve presented an opportunity to give Harry the chance to meet Jake. He'd asked about it months ago, and while she'd agreed to it there had been a part of her that had been hesitant. She didn't want to introduce them and then have things not last. So she'd waited. But she wanted to spend the holiday with both Harry and Jake so now was hopefully a good time. She was just a little nervous that they might not get along.

Dinah was just waiting for the oven to finish cooking the lasagna. She'd gone with lasagna mainly because it was the only thing she could make without screwing it up. Her dad had been a great lover of lasagnas and so had taught Dinah to make them during the weekends that he'd spent puttering around the kitchen, making his favorite dish. Unfortunately, that hadn't translated into cooking anything else and with how busy both her parents had been during the week, there had been a lot of takeout and frozen pizzas growing up.

She turned to Jake once he entered the kitchen and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You'll let me know if you start to feel uncomfortable tonight, right?" she asked Jake. She'd already made it clear that she had no problem asking Harry to leave if Jake was stepping too far out of his comfort zone. She knew Harry would understand, and she wanted Jake to feel safe in his new home.

( And to all a Good Night )

Backdated. Takes place the morning after this thread

Waking up was a bit disorienting. She definitely wasn't in her bed at Wayne Manor, nor was she in one of Zee's guest bedrooms, despite the fact that she distinctly remembered planning to sleep at Zee's after girl's night out. There was an arm over her. Harry's. She smiled slightly as the memories from the night before began to come back to her. of course, once she remembered some of the things that had happened before Harry brought her home, she winced.

How had that even happened? She only remembered one glass of wine and one margarita and while she was by no means a regular drinker, even she wasn't that big of a lightweight. Not to mention the fact that her head didn't hurt, and she didn't feel even the slightest bit hungover.

( Pillow talk )

Murphy had hurried out of the house when Dinah had shown up. She really did have an interview to go to, but she hadn't been in quite as big a hurry as she'd made it seem. She'd just wanted to make sure Dinah and Harry couldn't use her as an excuse anymore. She was just as tired of being the third wheel as Dinah was.

She'd contemplated finding somewhere else to be for the night, but then she'd be just as guilty of avoidance, and that wouldn't resolve anything. So she went back to Harry's place, and this time, she knocked loudly on the battered security door, just in case Harry and Dinah had decided to have a passionate makeup session.

Dinah was thrilled to have Zatanna in the City. She might have had her reservations about her old teammate's methods, but she was glad to have a friendly face. After everything that had happened over the past few months, she was really glad to have someone to just go out dancing with. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't exactly take her to a club-not unless they wanted to risk him shorting out the sound system or something along those lines. For that matter, she hadn't seen all that much of him since they'd patched things up. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him, but they were both busy and a part of her was still proceeding with caution until Murphy was moved out.

But tonight she wasn't going to worry about that or anything else, if she could help. She'd left messages for Fred, Jennifer and Barbara inviting them out. She'd even left a message for Murphy. It might have been an awkward thing to do, but she was still trying to make amends and smooth over the rocky start they'd gotten off to. For that matter, she owed Harry's best friend a thank you for pushing her to talk to him. Not that she was sure that the thank you would be well-received, but she was grateful.

Dinah entered the bar with Zatanna at her side. The two had gotten ready together, and of course Zee looked fantastic in her little black dress, but that was par for the course when going out on the town with the mystic.

OOC note: Dinah left messages inviting Fred, Jennifer, Barbara, and Murphy BUT that doesn't mean those characters have to join, nor does it mean that it only has to be those characters. As they're out at a bar, anyone, male or female is welcome to join. Also, let's just keep this thread as a free for all instead of worrying about posting orders :)

Dinah hadn't heard from Harry after the storm. She'd left a voicemail, but no answer. She wasn't sure whether to be hurt that he was taking the whole break thing to the extreme of avoiding her this much, or worried that something had happened.

She needed to find a way to move past this. She needed closure, and she needed to just rip off the band-aid, so to speak.

She still had the key to his apartment and the bracelet to get past his wards, though she hadn't been wearing it lately. It was just another reminder of him. She really needed to get that back, as she didn't want to be responsible for it falling into the wrong hands. Wayne Manor might have been relatively safe for the City, but with the types of things that Harry's wards protected against, Dinah doubted the defenses of the manor would help at all with that.

She really hadn't wanted to stop by the apartment. She was a little afraid that dropping by the apartment might just confirm that Murphy was still living there. So she'd tried the office first.

No dice. Apparently it just wasn't her day.

So Dinah steered her car toward Harry's apartment, trying to steel herself against what she might find there.

Maybe it would be better to find Murphy there, she reflected. Maybe it would be better to just confirm that things were really and truly over, instead of the half-waiting for things to somehow work themselves out.

Key and bracelet in hand, Dinah approached the door. She hesitated for just a minute and then knocked.

To say Harry wasn't having a very good time of things was putting it mildly. He'd had worse times, true, but losing a girlfriend was usually pretty hard on him. There had been the inevitable conversation with Murphy, and then Harry had simply avoided answering his phone for a while, staying away from the apartment if he suspected Murphy was there, and throwing himself into work. He kept his training sessions with River out in open areas, away from people.

He wanted someone to talk to. Someone male. Someone to share a drink with, complain to, and then go off any bury the rest of his feelings into work or other aggressive activity.

Luckily, Jesse Custer was in the phone book.

He'd only gotten to leave a message, but he hoped it was clear enough. Harry waited at a table, nursing a beer, while Mouse slumbered underfoot. The bartender had initially been against letting the big dog in, until Mouse had given him a doggy grin, offered his paw, and rolled onto his back for belly rubs. Once again, the Foo dog showed better people skills than Harry.

[immediately follows this thread]

Harry would never have expected a response like that from Murphy. He'd never seen her act... petty before. Almost like she was.... a jealous girlfriend?

He growled under his breath. Whatever might have been, nothing had happened between them. Maybe he was an idiot about women sometimes, but dammit, Murphy knew him well enough. Telling him to go 'screw the brains out' of an inebriated woman? Girlfriend or no, Harry wasn't one to take advantage. And that Dinah had been drinking at all was more showing that something had been worrying her, upsetting her.

It occurred to him that Murphy had been drinking as well, showing the same signs. Was her reaction due to that? A bit too harsh for what she'd wanted to say?

He stepped behind Dinah, and lay a soft hand on her shoulder. "Dinah, I'll drive your car back. Let me take you home. I know you don't want to be apart from Jake this long."

The field sprite most commonly known as Toot-Toot flitted through the City mostly unseen, in spite of his growing...talent. It had been six months--had it been six months? or had it been longer?--since the last time he had heard that familiar tugging at his magical senses that was Harry's summons. Six months of silence, while he fought to keep Chicago safe for his younger, smaller, weaker companions and followers. Three whole seasons of forging new alliances in order to feed his rapidly growing 'family.'

It wasn't just vanilla mortals, or small time magic-users that were disappearing. It was the lesser fae as well; being captured and forced into servitude as they once had, before the great 'Za Lord had deigned to care for them. Oh, the crazy wizard's friends did what they could, but they had their hands full looking after their fellow humans, and it just wasn't the same.

And then it happened. A whisper, a brushing at the back of his mind. A tingle between his shoulder blades. A wish. He had to follow. He'd slipped through the veil into the never-never in a twinkling, and somehow emerged in this place between what, when, where, and who. And why? Because Harry needed him. Harry wanted him.

But now that he was here, the wishing had stopped. Was he too late? No, no, no. This was the right place. Never mind that it changed, seemingly with the lightest of light breezes, such as the one that his dragonfly wings made as he beat his way above--and sometimes below--the streets. He just needed to learn its Ways.

He would gather information at a pub--that's what he would do! Mortals liked to congregate and gossip at the pubs. And they had pizza...

For the first time since the rescue, Dinah left Wayne Manor. Alfred had been gently encouraging her to take some time away for days now, but she'd been reluctant to do so. Finally, she realized that it was time. She had to get the information that Harry had found on Roland. Had to talk to Harry, for that matter.

And she needed time away. It hurt to watch Jake wander around in a stupor, to keep her emotions in check during the times when he broke down. The small glimpses of the boy that she'd found in the Clocktower so many months ago were like little promises that it would get better, that he would get better, but those were few and far between.

So, she decided that today was as good a day as any. Harry was supposed to be at the office late but she decided to head to his place a little early in the hopes that she might catch Murphy. She'd spent too long avoiding Harry's roommate and best friend, and she owed the other woman a thank you, at least, for all she'd done to help Jake. She also knew that it was long past time to at least try to get to know her and smooth over the rocky start they'd gotten off to.

She took a deep breath, a little nervous at the attempt at peace-making, as she stood outside Harry's door. Finally, she got up the courage to knock. Key or no key, bracelet or no bracelet, she wasn't about to let herself in. Not with someone else living there.

The cemetery wasn't open after dark. Most aren't, and there's a reason for it. Everybody knows the reason, and nobody talks about it. It isn't because there are dead people in there. It's because there are not-quite-dead people in there. Ghosts and shadows linger in graveyards more than anywhere else. That's why people build walls around graveyards, even if they're only about two feet high - not to keep people out, but to keep other things in. Walls can have a kind of power in the spirit world, and the walls around graveyards are almost always filled with the unspoken intent of keeping the living and the unliving seated at different sections of the community dinner table.

Cemeteries after dark had long since stopped having an effect on Harry. He knew how to defend himself against the things within. But being aware and unafraid could still lead to being stupid and dead, so Harry brought along protection ( in the form of Mouse. )

Harry had given it three days before he called. He wanted to know how things were going with Dinah and Jake. The boy had been a mess when he'd left the asylum with her, but then again, they all had. If not for that Jesse guy, Harry thought his ears would still be burning. Acid was a bit of a bitch. He hadn't wanted to crowd Dinah, but he cared. A lot. He wasn't sure how to help, and didn't feel particularly welcome to stay. His last encounter with the boy hadn't gone well, and if he would be seen as an enemy, he didn't want it to affect Jake's rehabilitation.

Three days. He hadn't exactly expected a call from her, but he'd hoped for one. So, after grabbing a beer from the fridge, Harry leaned against his kitchen counter and dialed the number for Dinah's cell phone.

( ---- )

Taking his dog for a walk, Harry decided, was a nice, normal activity. He needed normal right now. After that adventure at Arkham, he didn't want to think about the repercussions, about the Joker's fate, or about the fragile mind of the boy they had fought to recover. He wasn't home safe yet, not by any means, but the part Harry could help with was over. The rest would have to be between Jake and Dinah.

Murphy wasn't around when he got up. After a quick lunch of Spagettios and a sandwich, Harry found Mouse waiting at the front door, lead in his mouth. "Alright," Harry said, letting himself laugh. "Wherever you want to go, Dogzilla."

Alright, maybe he wasn't taking Mouse for a walk as much as Mouse was taking him for a walk.

They ended up at the park. It had been a while since Harry had been there, but he found a tennis ball in his pocket and tossed it for Mouse. The big dog went after it, and it seemed like it would be ( a nice, normal day after all. )

Arkham Asylum loomed into view as Dinah pulled her car to a stop near the entrance to the bridge. The gothic looking manor that housed the asylum awaited them on the island, seemingly quiet from the outside.

Dinah waited for everyone else to catch up, her eyes sweeping the streets for any sign of the Batmobile. She tapped her communicator once to connect with the Clocktower.

"Are we up and running, Fred?"

She still wasn't completely confident in the plan. A part of her worried that she was just sending the people she cared about to their deaths-or worse, knowing the Joker. But she had to try, had to believe that Jake was in there and could be saved.

Dinah had spent the better part of her day tracking down building plans for the Asylum and starting to form her own plan of attack for rescuing Jake. She already knew that she could count on Harry and Murphy to show up to the planning session, which would be at the cleared out Sherwood Florist. The backroom was a large enough space for however many people were able to show up and she'd cleared the table of any flowers and now had the blueprints all laid out. Now she needed to go through the list of others that she was going to call for help.

Dinah wasn't a huge fan of calling people for help, but she knew that taking on the Joker alone or even with a group of two or three was far too dangerous. She wasn't going to risk everyone getting hurt, or worse because she was too proud to ask for help.

So, she pulled out her phone and began to go down the list of those that she would call for help. There was Fred, and Dean, who had already been helping. Alfred, who could get a message to Bruce for her, since she'd had yet to actually see or talk to Bruce outside of the suit. Even Oliver. While she wasn't entirely sure about asking him for help, they had become allies here, and if he was anything like the Oliver she knew, he'd want to help.

The only person she left out of things was Barbara. She felt guilty, and she'd done her best to avoid the Clocktower apartment that day, but she didn't want Barbara anywhere near the Joker. Or Jake, for that matter. She had a feeling that the presence of a younger version of Barbara would just be a trigger for Jake and she had no idea what the City's Joker would do if he knew that Batgirl was in town and still had the use of her legs.

Takes place immediately after this thread

Dinah reluctantly followed Harry away from Dr. McCoy and Willow. Her mind was still a haze of painful thoughts, still trying to process everything that had been discovered in the last hour. She didn't let go of Harry, a part of her calmed by his arm around her and a part of her thinking that her knees really just might buckle if she didn't have that support.

They were halfway down the street when she clapped her free hand to her forehead.

"Manners," she muttered. "Sorry, I should have introduced you back there. Well, I mean, Willow wasn't someone I'd met before. But the young man-that was Dr. Hank McCoy." She looked up at Harry, realizing that she probably should have mentioned the near miss bullet graze. Things had just been so hectic and, quite honestly, she'd been somewhat avoiding him ever since Murphy had moved in.

It wasn't that she was angry so much as just feeling put out and not capable of dealing with those emotions on top of everything going on with Jake and, for that matter, the arrival of the Oliver from another world and Barbara from the past, whom she still hadn't had all that much of a conversation with and she couldn't quite figure out what things from the future to explain and what to leave unsaid.

"He took care of me when I was in the hospital for this," she explained, gesturing to the stitches on her arm. "He was very kind and actually made sure I was able to get out of there quickly without the uncomfortable questions that generally come from this sort of injury."

(takes place at the same time as this thread)

Willow was starting to get the hang of this place. The streets changing still threw her off guard plenty of times, but at least she had a place to stay now. Apparently she was enrolled in school, doing something between psychology and computers. Not that she minded - those were both subjects she appreciated enough to be pleased about her schedule. She had her own room in the dorms as well. Another plus - she didn't want to deal with a roommate right now. Though the single bed was still unbearably lonely at times.

For now, the tactic was to stay away as much as possible, going back to her room only to change clothes or sleep. Studying was done on her laptop, wherever she wanted. Wifi connections were abundant in the City, it seemed.

Since it was a nice day, she was currently sitting under a tree, browsing a few websites for an upcoming paper on behavior modification and operant conditioning.

At the same time, Jake was enjoying his first day on his own. Without Father, that was. Father had given Jake the promised razor, and the plates that had been in his satchel. Not the satchel itself, but the plates were now stored in a low-slung leather bag lined in silk. He'd taken it from a woman and man as they were leaving a dinner place. They had slipped into an alley and made grunting noises while they touched one another. The way they were touching was violent, possessive. It had reminded Jake of a woman, sexy in a scrawny way, who had taken pills and gone to bed with sick friends. Someone he had known once, who hadn't returned the sparse love he'd tried to give.

Their grunting had driven him on, using the razor Father had gifted to him. The bag had very little blood on it when he was done, and he had emptied the contents to store the precious plates. Nothing in the bag had interested him. Both man and woman had been left in that alley, their mouths delicately carved into wide smiles even as their cold, empty eyes held shock and fear.

( Father would have liked that. )

Takes place after this

Dinah couldn’t quite wrap her head around the finality of what Joey had shared. She operated on auto-pilot at first, notifying the people who needed to be notified so they didn’t continue the search for…

The search for nothing. For no one living. She tried not to think about that.

She was relieved when she got voicemails for Fred and Dean, and Harry’s answering machine. She left each a similar message. Her voice was even, measured, almost numb. In each message, she asked to be left alone.

She didn’t know what she needed, really. But she knew what she didn’t need or want. She didn’t need someone to tell her it was all going to be okay, because it wasn’t. And she didn’t want or deserve someone to tell her that she wasn’t at fault, that she’d done all she could.

Dinah couldn’t decide if it worse to think that she’d done all she could and still fallen short, or to think that maybe she’d missed something. Maybe she could have done more, or done things differently.

She steered her bike around the City, circling around the streets on the outskirts as her mind went in a similar pattern, going around and around with what she’d done and hadn’t done, trying to find the ways she could have been better, could have done something differently to prevent this.

( It all came back to... )