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OoOoOo
It wasn't that Bruce was on edge, so much as Batman was wary. There was something going on, and he didn't doubt in the slightest that whatever it was, it was going to be bad.
Not that it didn't stand to reason when absolute quite from the Joker was normally a sign that he would be popping up soon to do something. Batman nearly sighed. It was once again becoming the same song and dance. Though Bruce outwardly didn't care all that much, the reprieve was a welcomed sabbatical from the norm, he still wanted to get all of this over with. That went nearly double for Batman.
It also did not bode well that all the Gotham papers had nothing better to do than to print, in a rather large and eye-catching font, about how strange it was to have a lull of peace.
As if that didn't just go and invite in trouble.
It had been four days and eerily slow nights since he had freed himself along with some woman from an abandoned warehouse on the harbor. Leased to some corporation, that of course, couldn't be traced back to Joker. In fact, Batman would have been surprised had the owner even remembered it belonged to them. He'd turned the property to code enforcement via an anonymous tip because he hadn't wanted the entire night to be a waste. He had gone out of his way to drag himself out into the night to protect the city; that was Bruce though. Batman had seen it as his duty to be what the city needed, even at the expense of his free time, health, life, ect.
The list went on and on.
Bruce understood this from a necessary aspect, yet it still chaffed sometimes when people blamed the Batman for all their problems to his face. Though, in truth, they had no idea they were actually complaining to Batman. Bruce scratched his head, which had begun to itch under the force of trying to control his annoyance and concern.
Still, something was off.
Not only had Joker left him alone; no that would have been nearly rational if he were off chasing Owlman. Which, he still had no information if that had been successful or not. No, it was strange that all the regular villains of Gotham seemed to be giving him a wide berth. At first he had thought they were mired deep in some sinister plots, however, those usually were made known through his alias in the underground.
Perhaps he had put on the mantle of the Batman for too long, because it seemed almost as if they were avoiding him.
Therefore he had been both pleased and dismayed to hear about the jewel heist taking place at one of Gotham's most renowned stores. Bruce had quickly dawned his armor and mask. His blood pumped and thrummed with excitement for the battle to come. There was always some small thrill in thwarting the face of evil in his precious city.
The streets are dark and to the untrained eye they look barren. The wind caresses his face as he drives through the streets, wondering not for the first time to night what is going to happen.
The scene that greats him is the same as a thousand others he's seen. Broken glass, alarms blaring, and a lithe figure running away into the darkness. Bruce knows those shapely legs, and ruby red lips. Wide and seductive eyes watch him with an enumeration of emotions.
He dismounts with ease, from his vehicle. His voice pitched low and ready for a fight.
"What are you doing Ivy? This isn't your style."
The red head blushes slightly, plump lips pulled into a pout. Her eyes downcast as she looks unwilling to stop and have this sort of talk with Gotham's crusader. She bites her lip an apologetic sort of shrug gives him all the warning he is going to get.
Feet land gracefully behind him. Batman whirls around to see the very villain he's been hunting. Someone just as dangerous, if in a different way, as the Joker. However, Owlman is a new threat, something outside of the day to day which causes Bruce to feel a thread of excitement.
"Sorry Batman," Poison Ivy quietly says behind him, "He's not exactly someone you say no to." Bruce can feel her discomfort. "I wouldn't have given in, but he torched some of my babies. This was the only way to save the rest."
Batman gave her a cursory glance over his shoulder. "But you want him gone, don't you."
He sees it in her eyes. Fear. She will be no threat to Owlman. This deranged version of himself is too frightening, too violent, for Poison Ivy to take one on one. She steps back, into the shadows, and Batman knows she will disappear. The signal was given by Owlman, and Batman comes face to face with… himself.
"Owlman," he grounds out menacingly, "stooping to petty theft? I would have thought you above that."
"Batman," the sinister eyes bore into him. Gleaming white teeth flashed in the florescent lights around them. "How good it is to see you again."
The thrum of excitement in his veins heightens as he readies himself to take on a worthy opponent. "Owlman-"
"Batman," the one word is stressed by an all too familiar voice into a warning. Clear and simple.
A flash of purple is caught underneath the nearest streetlight. The pale face of a twisted clown with bright red lips that have haunted many a nightmare in Gotham, comes into view.
Bruce releases a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Batman blinks in reaction. 'This is unexpected,' he thinks mildly, 'has he been following me? Or Owlman?'
The Joker waves at him and Batman huffs. Bruce is both embarrassed, and amused.
Batman clears his throat awkwardly. Owlman glares harshly, drawing himself up to his full and imposing height. His expression is slightly put-off.
"Who are you?" If Owlman sounds indignant and perhaps a touch upset, Batman pretends he doesn't notice.
This is… there really are no words to describe this. Bruce thinks candidly that perhaps awkward might come close.
"Me?" The Joker bats his eyes once, the tick in his cheek twitching wildly. "Go a head and tell him Batman. Tell him who I am."
Batman resists the urge to roll his eyes. He cannot believe he is actually considering doing this, but he'd rather get the crazy circus over with sooner rather than later. So he obliges.
"Owlman, this is the Joker. Joker, this is Owlman."
"And?" The Joker prompts with a vicious smile, which chills even Batman to the core.
"And what?" Batman quips.
The Joker's smile morphs into a fierce frown as he glares at Batman. His eyes shining with a peculiar sort of madness tonight. "And," he states forcefully, "I'm Batman's arch rival."
"You've got to be kidding," Owlman bites out caustically.
"Not tonight Buck-o. I don't know what you see in him Bats. He's just so serious." The Joker returns deadly seriously until he bursts out in peals of laughter. His gaze resting solely on Batman.
Oh, great.
"I can't leave you alone for a moment, can I?" A cackle of insane laughter flows from the source of the question. His lips twist into a frown, the grotesque scars making it seem all the more frightening.
"You remind me of someone," Owlman smoothly chimes in, his features sharp and predatory.
"Hmph," Joker replies giving a face of disinterest, his eyes gleaming at Batman with that same possession he glimpsed before. The clown eyes Owlman up and down, openly leering at him. "Sorry, but you just don't do the things for me that Bats here does."
Bruce resists the urge to snap out that it wasn't the way Owlman was thinking by the rapacious stare leveled in his direction. Batman nearly shivered in disgust. There were so many things that were disconcerting about this situation; he cannot begin to fathom where to start.
The clown pulls himself up to his full height, insane eyes and lewd smile wide, his baring is dangerous.
"Are you trying to take my Batsy? Ha ha ha." The words are cold and there is a threat of death in them. "That's not funny," he licks his dry lips. Yellow teeth bared in a snarl. "Not funny at all."
Batman watches cautiously, and Bruce cannot help but feel he is caught in the middle of a catfight over him. No pun to Catwoman intended.
Bruce is highly offended when Joker comes to stand in front of him. As a human wall between Batman and Owlman. A wall in a purple suit with greasy green hair, and a smile that doesn't reach his cold eyes. Batman feels his skin prickle. There is danger and he is looking directly at it.
Owlman, for his part, grins in obvious enjoyment. His sinister gaze flickers from Joker to Batman once, then twice. The usurper's posture is relaxed, calm even, as he surveys the Joker. Batman realizes Owlman sees the danger Joker can present and is exhilarated by it. Welcomes it, and Bruce feels a knot of worry form in his stomach. This will not be good for Gotham.
"You've given me quite the …uh… runaround Owlman," the name is drawn out like a curse. "You've caught the eye of Gotham's own… he he he… dark knight." In a move faster than Batman had ever witnessed, Joker draws closer, knife in hand glinting in the florescent street lights. "I don't… I don't like that."
His neck twists as he tries to turn nearly upside down looking at Owlman, waggling his finger like a mother chastising a naughty child "See, there's something you're clearly missing. The…uh… Batman, yeah. The Batman, he's my nemesis. "
The fist is delivered into Joker's face before Batman can blink. The clown's insane laughter drifts as he flies backward, and a distinct 'wee' is heard as he lands in a heap across the street.
"Oh," The Joker all but purrs as he gets back up wiping the dust off his suit. He waggles a finger at Owlman. "I'm going to like you. Did I strike a nerve? " He asks patronizingly, putting his arms behind his back with a indulgent smile. "No, no. I get it. Reeeaaallly I do. But, you see thing is Bats and I, we're destined to do this-" he makes a gesture at them both and Bruce internally groans, "forever. So, he's mine. It's so hard to find a good rival these days… and uh… I have no intention of giving up mine." His tongue darts out to lick his lips once more with a nervous facial tick in his cheek.
"You're pathetic." Owlman growls out, eyes darting toward Batman who is almost inclined to shrug sheepishly, toward the Joker.
"Ohh oh oh oh, Now you want to talk?" Joker taunts, his laughter booming across the street. "The whole 'silent and brooding bit, huh? I've seen that plenty of times." He scowls unforgivingly. "That's boring."
Batman glowers, and Bruce has had about all he's willing to take. There are also the jewels that Ivy has stolen for some reason or another to consider, and Batman intends to find out what the purpose of them is. He flips his cloak back and mounts his vehicle again, barely sparing a glance toward either Owlman or the Joker.
"Leaving so soon? I thought we might do some catching up." Owlman's sharp gaze pierces Batman, who gives a grin in return as the Joker balks about the familiar way Owlman addresses Batman. Satisfied that he has the hero's attention, he continues "Or am I babysitting your little clown companion?"
"Batsy?" The Joker's voice is harsh, and Bruce knows he is upset. No doubt in Joker's mind he had an entire play set up to…
Well, keep would be an accurate word…Batman.
"And what makes you think I'm little?" A waggle of brows Batman can almost hear, and he knows by now that Joker is smoothing back his hair to look presentable, for lack of a better word. "You are an interesting one, aren't you?" The clap of hands, the sound of fabric rubbing together announces to Batman, that the Joker is toughly enjoying himself. He would. It's anarchy at its finest.
OoOoOo
When he finally corners her, it's in a graveyard of all places and he doesn't even want to think about how clichéd that seems.
Then again, it always seemed to be like this with them.
Them being the insane criminals of Gotham City, of course. Bruce was wondering if he shouldn't simply move to Los Angeles, and fight a different sort of crazy.
Oh, that was a good one. He would have to remember to tell that one to Alfred.
Ivy walks slowly into a pool of moonlight, her red hair shining attractively. Her pretty face seems strangely open for a deranged woman hell-bent on re-foresting every square inch of soil on the planet.
"Look, I didn't even want to steal the stupid jewels," irritation and disgust dances across her face.
"Then why did you?"
She places her hands on her hips, one side jutting out to strike a pose. "I already told you. Owlman isn't the type of guy you say 'no' to."
Batman never takes his eyes off of her; he steps quietly to gain a defensive position. Ivy often liked to attack from behind, and he makes sure not to come within close range of any trees. He cannot much help being on the grass, unless he wants to start waltzing on top of headstones.
"What does Owlman want with the jewels?"
She sighs loudly, rubbing her temples with one green-clothed hand.
"Batman, I really don't want to get in the middle of this."
"What is 'this', exactly?"
She levels a stare at him, as if her look alone could brand him the world's largest idiot for even asking. "It's pretty obvious to all of us," she inclines her head and Bruce notes her slender yet graceful neck, "criminals that you and Joker are in the middle of a-"
Batman glares at her harshly with eyes that harden in a heartbeats' time.
Ivy laughs, the sound is throaty and seductive. "No need to get all up in arms, dear Batman. I was only going to say quarrel, " she states coyly, with her vividly green eyes glistening with unvoiced amusement, and her cupid's bow shaped mouth is pulled back into a sweet smile.
"That doesn't answer the question. What is Owlman up to?" The Dark Knight has taken full possession and demands the answers. The more information he has; the better to save lives with.
Poison Ivy seems to deflate under the question. Her amusement vanishes into thin air, as if it were never there. She regards him somberly. "I honestly don't know."
"But even if you did?"
A soft pout gives him all the answers she doesn't say. "I'm no tattle-tale Batman. You ought to know by now that my lips… are for far more than trading secrets." She draws closer, and Bruce revels in her raw femininity, while Batman once again believes he attracts the crazies.
Sometimes, it was good to be Batman. This was not one of those times. He was not going to be fooled by a pair of willing eyes and… lips. Batman is unmoved. Bruce is wondering why he hasn't been knighted for sainthood yet.
Oh, that's right. Bruce is a playboy. That is all he needs to be. Batman is so much more.
Her hands trail up his abdomen, and Batman tenses under his armor. She is dangerous. She is a criminal.
"Well, well, well… what have we got here?" Batman can almost, almost feel his eyes cross at the timing. Of course. The Joker.
He seemed to be everywhere tonight.
"I know you like…uh… flowers, beautiful, " Joker's voice is like crushed glass, and he stalks closer with his scars making the eerie grin on his face just that much more grotesque. "But um… you can't have mine."
Bruce feels indignation blaze up his spine.
Joker did not just compare him to a damn flower.
