Book One: Harley/Ivy
Gotham City, February 14, 2:25am
Harley Quinn stood on the roof of a building that neighbored the Gotham Botanical Gardens doing her best to ignore the numbness settling into her fingers as the curled and uncurled around the handle of her baseball bat, her fingers weren't the only things numb she'd lost feeling in her cheeks and most of her torso about 15 minutes ago but her current costume didn't provide as much warmth as it did movement. She was wearing her blonde hair up in her signature pigtails but the red and black dyed tips and her bangs were the only parts poking out from under her red knit stocking cap, around her neck was a green scarf Ivy had given her for Christmas, over her shoulders she wore a half red half black leather jacket that barely reached her midsection, under that she wore a sleeveless black and red leather corset style top that ended above her belly button, her legs were covered by her signature red and black leggings, her feet were blocked from the cold by a pair of knee high combat boots one red and one black placed opposite the sides of her leggings, her face was free of almost all makeup seeing as she'd abandoned her white grease paint when she'd left Joker to rot in Arkham to be with Ivy but her lips were painted bright red and around her eyes was a domino mask that made her icy blue eyes stand out.
Her blue eyes were currently focused on one light within the botanical gardens as it moved around, the security guard on his nightly rounds to ensure all the plants and flowers on display were left undisturbed and that the current star of the gardens was still there. She'd been watching the guard make his rounds for the past ten minutes quickly noticing that he was taking his sweet time with the task unaware of the threat standing across the street in the snow. Finally the guard had completed his rounds and headed back to the door which led to the security office making Harley blow out a huff of air that danced up into the air above her head in a wispy white puff before she removed her bat from her shoulders and jumped into action easily clearing the gap between the buildings and landing on her feet on the glass roof of the gardens.
Looking around she found what she was after, a panel that during the summer could be opened to let in warm air and sunshine, and went over to it carefully opening it being careful not to make a sound as she slipped inside and dropped down to the ground below. Once her feet were on the floor she looked around at all the plants her eyes searching for a certain one until she found it across the glass room making a smile spread over her lips.
"There you are."
She moved closer to the plant prize but stopped a few feet away looking at the walls near it before her fingers unhooked a button from the holster on her thigh and she took out a little canister which she quickly pulled a pin from and rolled across the floor until it hit the base of the plants pot seconds before letting out a thick cloud of green tinged smoke. As the smoke cleared it revealed a system of red laser alarm beams making her smirk and take a few steps back.
"Piece of cake."
Poking her tongue out the side of her mouth she raised her hands above her head and with a running start leaned forward onto her hands pushing off the floor to easily weave her way through the beams without tripping a single one so she was standing beside her goal a large smile on her face. Looking above her her smile turned into a smirk seeing that security had neglected to put alarm triggers above the plant making her job a lot easier, working quickly she opened another button on her thigh holster and took out a small grappling hook device and with a well aimed shot secured the hook through the window she'd come in propped open by her bat then wrapped the extra line around the pot of the plant before pressing a button so the small but strong device began to lift her and the plant off the ground.
When she was halfway up to the window something caught her attention as it whiles past her head making her eyes narrow as they searched the semi darkness before landing on the bat shaped metal embedded in the steel support of the wall. A growl escaped her lips as she looked back down where the plant had been and sure enough there was a thin green beam the smoke bomb had failed to reveal and she'd tripped it, looking around again her eyes searched for who had thrown the batarang but before she could locate them she was knocked from her position by a hard blow to the jaw sending her back to the ground where she caught herself by flipping so she landed feet first.
Once on her feet she searched the darkness for whichever member of the bat family she was facing, she didn't have to look long as the sound of someone landing behind her made her smirk and whirl around landing a solid kick to the woman's side sending her skidding across the ground.
"Well well well if it isn't bratgirl! Fancy seein' you here all on your lonesome, no big bad bat breathing over your shoulder tonight?"
Batgirl looked up at the blonde standing over her with narrowed eyes as she pushed herself up onto her elbows.
"I don't need his help to stop you Quinn."
Harley smirked putting her hands on her hips.
"Oooh cocky little thing ain't ya? Alright let's see what you got baby bat."
With those words Batgirl pushed herself up lunging at Harley ready to land another punch to her jaw but she quickly found herself flying back as Harley kicked out and buried her heel into the young woman's stomach. She landed hard on the ground a few feet away pain gathering in her torso but she forced herself to her feet, what kind of hero would she be if she didn't put up a fight but just as Alfred had warned when the outside hidden alarm beam had been tripes while Batman was dealing with another criminal Harley was a seasoned criminal all too familiar with the ways Batman taught his sidekicks.
Harley watched as the young woman got back up and drew a batarang from her belt and threw it making her smile and easily side step the sharp metal.
"You'll have to do better than those toys girly or better her just give up before invest your pathetic hide."
Batgirl smiled as Harley was distracted by the batarang and moved to make her attack landing a series of punches on the other woman causing her to stumble back jaw clenched and lip bleeding. Wiping the blood from her chin Harley leered at the girl in the bat costume.
"Alright the kiddie gloves are off, you wanna play dirty I'll play dirty."
Batgirl didn't like the sound of that but before she could react Harley pulled another canister from her thigh holster and pulled the pin throwing it at Batgirl watching as it released a cloud of smoke quickly engulfing her and making it hard to see. Taking her chance Harley ran forward and began attacking Batgirl moving after every couple hits when the girl would try to strike her through the smoke until with a solid kick to her side Batgirl was sent flying a few feet away as Harley smirked.
"Give up bratgirl, it's pointless your beat so just stay down like a good girl and I won't kill you got it?"
Batgirl looked weakly up at the harlequin rasping for a proper breath, one of her ribs was surely broken and her body was most likely covered in deep bruises while her energy was sapped. Harley nodded once seeing her opponent was beat before turning her back and running at the glass wall easily scaling it enough to grab the grapple and pull herself and the plant out the open window then disappear into the night.
Abandoned Gotham botanical lab/garden, February 14, 6:00am
Pamela Isley, better known as Poison Ivy, woke as the dawn was just breaking over the city skyline and quickly took notice of the empty space beside her in the bed, a space normally occupied by a snoring Harley Quinn, in the space was a small note making her brows knit together as she sat up and lifted the note to read it.
'Go look in the greenhouse. Xoxo Harley.'
A small smile tugged at the corner of Ivy's mouth seeing how Harley had signed the note before she got up and followed its instructions going to the greenhouse that was filled with rare and thriving plants. As she walked through her green eyes searched for anything out of the ordinary until she finally found it, in one of the few open flower beds was a large Corpse Flower in a pot waiting to be planted, around the pot was a red ribbon with another note that she took as she kneeled beside the flower.
'To my beautiful garden goddess, a flower that caught your eye saved from the clutches of amateurs that would poke and prod and probably kill it because they have no clue how to take care of it. Happy Valentine's Day all my love, Harley'
Ivy smiled wider seeing her girlfriend had signed her name with a little heart at the end before she looked around herself once again wondering where the blonde was so early since it seemed she clearly wasn't in the hideout.