I'd like to thank Aaron W, RebelByrdie, Magician Girl Mirani and KiD'Jonnz for their kind and thoughtful reviews.

Batman & Benson 6

Chapter Ten

Pug just kept smiling, as if it were all no big deal, while he and the rest of the Joker's boys were being led away in handcuffs. Pug had been in prison before, and while it was a major bother, it was something he could easily handle, as long as he didn't talk.

"Give 'em nothing!" was always his best piece of advice to other criminals. Pug prided himself on being a professional criminal, and pros never squealed, especially to the cops.

When he and the other criminals were led out to the mall parking lot, Pug took a deep breath of the cool night air. It might be a while before he got out of the slammer this time. He was looking at probably five years max, if not more…but that was all right; Pug could do that kind of time standing on his head. What was important that the Joker knew that Pug was trustworthy, even while behind bars.

Yet just before he was about to step into the paddy wagon, a man's voice called out, "Hold it. I've got this one."

Pug was stunned to see none other than Commissioner Gordon walk over and then lead him away from the others who boarded the paddy wagon. He was accompanied by two detectives, a hot looking Latina chick, and a big, burly guy who looked like he had an attitude problem.

Pug figured they were going to try and sweet talk some information out of him. But he was more than ready to stonewall them. The four of them walked around the corner of a building, well away from the cordon of cops that surrounded the mall. Pug soon found himself standing in a narrow alleyway with his three potential interrogators.

"Take the cuffs off," Gordon ordered the detectives.

The burly guy looked at Gordon as if he thought this wasn't a good idea. "Hey, Commish, you sure?"

"Positive, Harvey," Gordon replied with a nod. "Remove the cuffs."

Harvey grumbled something about "what's this world coming to" as he removed the handcuffs from Pug's wrists.

Gordon then waved his hand in a gesture for them to leave. "Let's go."

But before he left with the detectives, Gordon turned to Pug and said, "You might want to just make it easy on yourself and tell him what he wants to know right away."

Pug stared incredulously after them as they left him alone in the alleyway. He just couldn't bring himself to believe that the commissioner of the Gotham City police department had just set him loose in an alleyway. And just who the hell was Gordon talking about, anyway? Who was Pug supposed to be talking to?

As he turned to run down the alleyway, Pug muttered, "They're nuts if they think I'm just gonna stand here and-"

Pug let out a horrified shout of fear as something grabbed him by his right ankle and effortlessly hauled him up into the air. Pug's legs and arms flailed as he was lifted several stories high; the ground fell away from him at such a rapid pace he thought he was going to be sick.

"OH SWEET JESUS!" Pug screamed.

He spun around, and saw that his foot had been caught by some kind of shackle that was attached to a cable. Once the cable pulled him up to the roof, Pug found himself staring face to face with the Batman.

"I heard you say Jesus' name," the Dark Knight said. "Are you a religious man, Pug?" With that, he pulled out a bat dart and held the sharpened end against the cable. "Because, if you wish, I can send you to meet Jesus right now."

Pug stared with horror down at the ground below. The cable didn't look like it was strong enough to hold him to begin with. But cutting it would only mean certain doom at this point.

"DON'T CUT IT, PLEASE!" he pleaded.

Batman pulled him close so that they were face to face once more. Even while staring at him upside-down, Batman's countenance was a fearsome sight to behold. "THEN TELL ME WHERE THE JOKER'S HIDEOUT IS RIGHT NOW," Batman roared. "AND YOU'LL LIVE TO SEE THE DAWN."

Pug gladly told the Batman everything he wanted to know…and then some.

B&B

Sam stood with the others in the Batcave, mesmerized, as she watched the surveillance footage from the Showcase Square Mall. The mall's cameras showed the Tumbler was leaving the mall, after having stopped in front of a jewelry store. Batgirl and Huntress had examined the damaged storefront windows before they quickly got back into the Tumbler and drove off.

"It appears that they are leaving," Alfred said. He sat in the main chair in front of the computer, working the controls. He switched the monitor to a view showing the Tumbler exiting the mall and racing through the empty parking lot. "Indeed, they are leaving."

"But they never even helped Batman. What happened?" Rachel asked. "And what about Bruce and Dick? Are they leaving as well?"

"My apologies, Rachel," Alfred said, as he searched the console. "But I am unable to locate the Prowler anywhere in the night sky above the mall…which, I suppose, is the whole point behind its design."

"Can we call and find out if they're coming back?" a worried-looking Alex suggested.

Alfred gestured to a flashing light on the Batcomputer console. "It would appear they are calling us."

Olivia's voice could be heard in the Batcave over the Batcomputer's speakers: "Hey, guys, just wanted to let you know that Babs and I will be home soon."

"Oh, thank God!" a relieved Alex said with a sigh.

"We were watching Batman battle that…that thing, whatever the hell it was…in the food court," Rachel spoke up. "But the Tumbler never arrived. We were so worried about you guys."

"That's because Batman diverted me to The Hit Factory, the music store, to help Robin fight the Joker…and Two-Face."

"Oh, my God," Alex said with renewed horror. "Are you two all right?"

There was a slight chuckle on the other line. "Considering we've just turned The Hit Factory into a drive in with the Tumbler? Yeah, Alex, we're doing fine."

Alex exchanged a wide-eyed look of puzzlement with Sam. "You drove the Tumbler through The Hit factory?" Alex said, stunned. "Why'd you do that, Liv?"

"They were all out of the Giggling Guppies, and I just hate that!" Olivia replied. "From now on, Alex, it's downloading music for me, or nothing!"

Sam burst into a smile as she listened to the speakers emit hysterical laughter from both Olivia and Barbra.

"Superhero humor," Barbara said, by way of explanation.

"Sorry, Alex, but it's been a long night, and we both needed a laugh," Olivia confessed. "Or, at least, I did. I'll give you all the details when we get back. Oh, and Rachel: Batman and Robin are staying in the city for a while longer. Batman is determined to get the Joker."

"Why did you stop in front of the jewelry store just now?" Rachel asked.

"Jeez, you guys can see everything, can you?" Olivia said with mock annoyance. "It looks like the jewelry store was just robbed…by Poison Ivy. I'll fill you in on all the details when I arrive later."

"Thanks, Liv, see you in a while," Rachel said. After they switched off, she slowly shook her head. "Killer Croc, the Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and that strange silly putty guy, all in one place at the same time. Bruce must be exhausted."

"That big prisoner escape at Arkham Asylum sure is coming back to haunt us," Alex commented.

"It's over, for now," Sam said, "at least, for Olivia and Barbra."

When the Batcomputer emitted a pinging sound, Alfred checked the console and reported: "There's someone at the main gate."

Sam frowned. "Olivia wouldn't be coming in through there, would she?"

"No," the butler replied. He gave her a solemn look. "It's Logan Cade. He's requesting entry."

Sam's eyes momentarily flared in shock at this news. She glanced up at the screen that showed the front gate and saw Logan sitting in his beloved Pontiac GTO.

"Samantha," Alfred said gently, "shall I permit him to enter?"

"Yes," she replied, without a second thought. "I'd like to speak to him in private, if that would be all right?"

Alfred nodded. "Of course, I shall direct him to wait in the main study."

Sam turned to leave, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Alex, who gazed at her with concern.

"I'm all right," she told Alex. "Really. I think I'd rather just get this conversation over with. The sooner the better."

Sam took the elevator up to the main mansion, then walked to the study on the ground floor. While she waited for Logan, Sam began to nervously pace back and forth, until she stopped herself.

'I'm not the one who has some explaining to do here,' she reminded herself. 'He does.'

"Samantha?"

Sam glanced up to see Alfred standing by the doorway. "He's here."

Sam nodded by way of saying to let Logan in. She gritted herself for the blowout to come. 'I should have brought the picture in the newspaper with me,' she realized. 'Would have been good evidence to wave in his face!'

"Thanks, Alfred," Logan said, as the butler showed him into the room. When Alfred left them alone, closing the door behind him, Logan gazed at her with a sheepish look. "Hey, babe…."

And when she heard him say 'babe', that was when the smoldering volcano within Sam finally erupted. "Don't you dare call me babe!"

Logan held his hands up, almost as if to ward off a blow, and said, "Sam, wait…."

"For what? For you to tell me that you were out with Eva Loggerina?" Sam snapped. "It's too late, Logan. I already found out…thanks to the local newspaper!"

"Honey, just hold on," he pleaded.

"And I don't want to hear the word 'honey' from you, either! What, did you seriously think that I wouldn't have heard about it?"

"It's not what you think," Logan told her. "For one thing, I wasn't out with Eva Loggerina."

Sam gasped in shock at the very notion that he would even try to lie his way out of this right now. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare treat me like I'm some kind of a dumb floozy who'll just accept anything that you tell me. Because, I'm not! And aside from that, Logan, I saw you in a picture with that…that woman!"

He nodded. "I know. I saw the photographer take our picture. Jean warned me later that you might see it and get the wrong idea, and so that's why I came over as soon as I could. To explain to you what really went down."

Knowing that she'd finally cornered him, Sam put her hands on her hips. "So you admit it. You were out with Eva Loggerina?"

"I was out with someone who was pretending to be Eva Loggerina," Logan replied. "You remember I once told you about a mutant, one of Magneto's gang, named Mystique?"

Sam nodded, her eyes growing wide. It suddenly dawned on her where this was going. "Yeah, you said she was a shape-shifter…."

"That's who I was really with last night. That's who you actually saw me with in the photo. Mystique," Logan said. "We tracked her to the restaurant, where she was meeting with somebody while in the guise of Loggerina. When I confronted her, Mystique threatened to raise holy hell in the restaurant, which would have injured, or killed, dozens of innocent bystanders. We couldn't have that, so I escorted her outside, where that moron photographer took our picture, and I wound up in the damn society page with a crazy bitch posing as a famous fashion model."

"What happened once you got outside?"

"Mystique ran me through with claws that she grew out of her hand, then she got past the others by impersonating me," Logan said, with an irritated look. "It probably wasn't our finest moment. But at least we prevented the meeting, whatever was supposed to happen. Loggerina has an uncle who's a diplomat in the French embassy. That was who Mystique was meeting with there."

Sam felt her rage towards him slowly diminish as the realization struck her that his story made perfect sense. That, and the obvious fact that he wasn't lying to her right now. "Are you all right?"

"I'm good. I'd offer to show you the scars as proof, but they already healed. You can call Jean, or Scott, if you want; they'll back me up."

"No," Sam said sadly. Now she felt like a complete idiot. "I believe you, Logan. And I'm so sorry. It's just that, when I saw that picture of you and Log…uh, Mystique, I went a little nuts."

"I know." He gently grasped her by the arms. "But I would never do that to you, Sam. I'm with you, and nobody else. Understand?"

"Yes!" Sam said, as she tightly hugged him. "Oh, I feel like such a flaming twit."

"Nonsense, I'm the idiot," he said. "I should have contacted you the first chance I had, but things were a little crazy for us."

After they had kissed, something occurred to Sam. "What happened to the real Eva Loggerina?"

"She's alive and well. Professor X found her tied up and gagged in a motel room. That was where Loggerina said Mystique had left her. We still don't know why Mystique took over for Loggerina, or why she wanted to meet with her uncle, but it couldn't have been for good reasons."

A chill rose up Sam's spine when she thought about dealing with a shape shifter, and she realized that, no matter how crazy things got with her in the MCS here in Gotham City, Logan usually dealt with even more bizarre situations on a daily basis with the X-Men.

"So," Logan said, as he affectionately rubbed his hand under Sam's chin, "what's been cooking here in Gotham?"

A smile crossed her lips when Sam thought about the evening that the Dark Knight just had to contend with. Logan actually had it pretty easy in comparison. "Well, for starters, Olivia went out as the Huntress once again, and she helped Batman battle Killer Croc, the Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and a new guy who looks like a walking blob of putty."

Logan started laughing, until he saw that she was wasn't joking.

"Seriously?" he asked.

She nodded. "Seriously."

"Cripes," Logan muttered, "and I thought I had it rough…."

"Come down to the Batcave. Liv and Barbara should be returning anytime, now. We'll get the full story from them."

"Ok," he said, smiling slightly. "Hey, does this mean I can call you 'babe' and 'honey' again?"

"You can call me whatever you want," Sam replied with a grin.

B&B

Olivia smiled as she brought the Tumbler to a halt on its pad and parked it. The massive engine ceased rumbling when she switched it off. She glanced over at Batgirl, who just smiled broadly at her and said, "Now tell me that you didn't have fun."

Olivia instantly flashed back to a fearful moment in the music store, when Two-Face had gotten the drop on them, and things looked very bleak…until the Batman had charged in and saved them all. But just before she had been rescued, Olivia had been thinking about how much she wished she had her gun with her just then.

"Yes," Olivia lied. She had a forced smile. "It's been a blast."

She kept the forced smile on her face while she hugged Alex and greeted the others. The smile abruptly faded when she saw Logan standing there with Sam.

"It's ok, Liv," Sam quickly said. "Logan explained everything."

"That was Mystique with me in the picture," Logan told her. He then held up his hands, as if to commence a mock battle with her. "We square, Huntress?"

Olivia smiled, and this time, it was genuine. "Just keep treating her right," she said, with a gesture at Sam, "and we will be."

"Not a problem," Logan replied as he hugged Sam.

Satisfied that Sam appeared to be doing better, Olivia retreated to her private changing room to remove the Huntress outfit. She then stood in front of the ceiling-to-wall mirror, clad only in her bra and panties, and stared at herself carefully. The realization had occurred to Olivia that, standing there in the music store, with Two-Face having just gotten the drop on them, she had felt naked and vulnerable without her gun.

'What am I doing?' she suddenly thought. 'This isn't who I really am.'

There was a knock at her door. "Liv?" Alex called.

"Come in, sweetie," Olivia called, as she quickly got dressed. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. After wearing the Huntress boots all night, Olivia had decided to give her feet a rest by going barefoot.

Alex entered and regarded her with concern. "You all right?"

Olivia smiled. Only Alex could see past her mask, both the literal, as well as the figurative kind, into the depths of her very soul. Remembering back to when Two-Face had gotten the drop on them, Olivia had grimly realized at that moment how she would never see Alex's beautiful face again.

And so she now gently pulled Alex into a loving kiss and a hug. And while Alex seemed to have gratefully accepted this show of affection, she pulled away and still gazed with concern at Olivia. "You're scaring me, Olivia," she said warily. "What happened out there tonight?"

"I'll tell you all the details later," Olivia thoughtfully replied. "But I think I've come to the realization tonight that I'm just not cut out to be a superhero, Alex. It's just not me."

Alex stared at her in wide-eyed shock behind her glasses. But before she could say anything, there was another knock at the door.

"LIV!" Barbara said excitedly. "YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!"

'What's wrong now?' Olivia wearily thought, as she and Alex were led over to the Batcomputer by an excited Barbra, who had exchanged her Batgirl outfit for shorts with a sequin-decorated t-shirt that read: 'Excuse me for being a DIVA!'

"What is it, Babs?" Olivia asked, as Barbra sat down before the Batcomputer.

"I checked the security video from the jewelry store that we investigated," Barbra said, as she rapidly typed something on the keyboard. Olivia was amused to see that Babs was expertly typing without even looking at the keys. "And I found footage of Poison Ivy! I wanted to wait until you and Alex were here before we finished playing it."

Olivia watched, fascinated, as Poison Ivy slinked around the jewelry store, collecting various necklaces, rings and other assorted glittering items.

"Man, you folks really had a busy night on your hands," Logan muttered. "No wonder Bats had everybody out in force tonight."

"And it was still all they could do to contain the situation," Sam added.

"Whoa!" Olivia said, startled, when she saw Harley Quinn join Poison Ivy on the security footage. Olivia was stunned to see the Joker's girlfriend was working side by side with Ivy.

"Ok, so this is a new development," Rachel said, intrigued.

"Could Ivy be working with the Joker?" Alex suggested.

"You'd would assume so," Olivia said, as she watched as Quinn and Ivy cleaned out the jewelry store. "This could be another diversion set up by the Joker."

Then, what Olivia saw next made her gasp in shock.

On the security footage, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn stopped what they were doing so they could embrace each other passionately. And Olivia could clearly see that this wasn't just a friendly hug. Then, almost as if not to leave any doubt, Ivy and Quinn kissed each other on the lips.

"Oh, my…." Alfred said, stunned.

"All right," Rachel whispered, her eyes comically wide. "Now this is an extremely new development…."

Olivia carefully watched the hungry, almost panicked manner in which the two women groped each other while they kissed. For a moment, it actually looked as if they would just forget everything and go down on each other right then and there. But Harley suddenly waved a finger in Ivy's face as she broke their embrace and started to collect the stolen jewelry they had put down in the heat of the moment. Ivy reluctantly went about collecting her share of the jewelry, as well…but not before giving Harley a little slap on her behind.

"I might be wrong," Olivia said, as she watched Ivy and Harley leave while holding hands through a back door, "but somehow, I don't think the Joker has any part in this equation."

B&B

Gordon and his people raced over to the abandoned clinic as fast as they could, with emergency lights flashing and sirens blaring. Harvey and Renee, both wearing bulletproof vests, followed right on the heels of Margret Preen and her SWAT team as they bashed in the door.

"Clear!" the SWAT personnel shouted, as they checked each room.

"Clea-what?" Preen said, startled by something she found.

When Gordon, who also wore a vest, saw what it was, he really wasn't surprised to find the Batman was already in the room, carefully examining a stretcher.

"Keep clearing the building," Gordon ordered Preen. "It looks like the place is abandoned, but let's make sure, shall we?"

"The Joker left behind several booby trapped devices," Batman said, as he still intently examined the stretcher. "I disarmed them. You'll find them in the back room."

"Might as well call the bomb squad, while we're at it, to take care of them," Harvey said, as he took out his police dispatch radio.

"We'll clear the rest of the building, sir," Preen said with a nod. Then she led her team further down the hallway, leaving Gordon, Bullock and Montoya alone with the Batman.

"I suppose it was too much to ask," Renee said, "to have the Joker still be here, waiting for us."

"The Joker knew this place would be compromised," Batman replied. He was busy removing something from the stretcher with a cotton swab. Once he had what he wanted, Batman then sealed the swab within a small plastic container. "He's long gone. Other than the bombs he left behind, there's nothing here that we can use."

Gordon pointed at the container that Batman had just placed in his utility belt. "What's that?"

"Blood, from this stretcher," Batman replied.

"Blood?" Renee said, as she regarded the stretcher with a frown. "But it looks green."

"That's because it's blood from Poison Ivy," Batman replied.

"She slept here?" Gordon asked.

"She was kept bound here, Jim," Batman explained. "There's a greater concentration of blood on the wrist and ankle straps, which suggest someone was struggling against them."

"The Joker kept Poison Ivy prisoner?" Gordon asked, taken aback. "Why?"

"That's what I intend to find out," Batman said.

Preen returned. "The building's completely clear, sir. No further nasty surprises left by the Joker. And we found the bombs right where Batman said they were."

"Bomb squad's on their way," Harvey reported, as he put his radio away. "I told them what to expect."

"Good, the Batman was just telling us that he thinks Poison Ivy had been held captive here," Gordon said. He pointed at the stretcher. "I want this secured. It's evidence."

"Will do, sir," Preen said. Then she stared past Gordon with a puzzled look. "But, um, sir, the Batman….."

"Yeah, don't tell me…I know," Gordon said with a weary sigh, "he's already gone…."

B&B

As he pulled into the parking area of the Hartford family compound, Tom Enrick thought it strange that the front gate had been left ajar. But nothing was more stranger than the frantic phone call he had received from his benefactors, who requested that he'd come over immediately.

When Tom had asked what was the matter, Joseph Hartford, the family patriarch, would not say…only that Tom's presence was required at their home pronto.

As Tom walked over to the main doors, he wondered what the problem could be. He knew that he had been trailing Rachel Dawes in the polls, but the elections were still far enough away for him to pull an upset. Besides, he knew that the Hartfords also had an army of private investigators who were busy trying to dig up whatever dirt they could find on Dawes.

But Joseph had sounded urgent, almost panicked, on the phone. And Tom wondered if there might have been a problem they'd encountered.

He rang the doorbell, and the door opened. But instead of Hadley, the family butler, Tom was stunned to find himself face to face with the Joker.

"Tom old boy, come in, come in!" the Joker said, as he stuck a gun right into Tom's face and pulled him inside. "Please, I insist!"

"W-What's going on?" Tom asked, dazed, as he allowed the Joker to manhandle him right into the living room.

There, Tom saw Joseph and Missy Hartford, along with Hadley. They were all bound to chairs with tape. Missy Hartford, despite being a trussed up and gagged hostage, bore a look of absolute displeasure, if as she simply did not abide this behavior.

The Joker had Tom sit down in an empty chair, where he was taped up securely. "I don't understand," Tom said, still stunned. "What's happening?"

"We're playing a new kind of parlor game, Tommy boy," the Joker replied. He appeared to be downright casual and friendly. "I promise that it'll be even more fun than charades and 'Guess That Song'!"

The Joker then held up the biggest knife Tom had ever seen and then added, "We get to find out who screams the loudest…right before they die."

Tom didn't wait until the Joker began cutting into him, he began screaming wildly in a high, shrill crescendo the moment the Clown Prince of Crime raised the knife right above his head.

And although he wouldn't live long enough to know it, Tom had easily won the contest.

B&B

They arrived back at Wayne Manor just before dawn. As Batman piloted the Prowler into its hanger bay, he could see faint sunlight forming in the eastern skies. Once the hanger bay doors shut above them, the Dark Knight finally allowed himself to relax.

'Both Two-Face and Killer Croc have been taken down,' he told himself. 'Not a bad night, considering. Now we've just got to capture the Joker, as well as this new threat…this Clay Face character.'

"Oh, man," Robin said, as he stood up next to the Prowler and stretched. "What a night! And it's not really over, is it?"

"It is for now," Batman told him. He got out of the Prowler and stepped down into the hanger bay. "Just take it easy and get some sleep. We'll take up the chase once more tomorrow."

"I think it is tomorrow already," Robin said. "I'm gonna grab a bite to eat, first. Want to join me?"

"You go ahead," Batman told him. He produced the container filled with green blood from his utility belt. "I need to get this checked, just to make certain that it's from Poison Ivy."

"What could the Joker have been doing with her?" Robin asked.

"I don't know, Robin." Thinking back to the amount of blood on the stretcher, Batman actually couldn't help but felt sorry for Posion Ivy. Being a prisoner of the Joker was no easy thing to handle.

Robin looked deeply affected by the forlorn crime scene that they'd encountered in the Joker's former lair. He was so affected that, once the building has been cleared of any threats, he'd excused himself and waited by the Prowler. "You think he killed her?"

Bruce pulled off the cowl and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know that, either, Dick. But even if he did, you need to understand that, sometimes we just can't save them all."

Dick had removed his Robin mask. "Yeah, I know. It's just that I can't stop thinking about what she might have gone through, what she might have suffered, at the Joker's hands."

"I always tell you and Barbra to stay focused, to keep your mind on the task at hand," Bruce said. "But now you need to learn to switch it off. If the Joker did kill Ivy, then we'll make sure that he pays for that. But we're off the clock, now, Dick. We've done everything that we could do tonight. It's time to give it a rest. Understand?"

Dicked nodded. "Got it. I'm going to go change."

"See you later." Bruce headed towards the lab, where he deposited the blood sample on a tray. Then he went to go change into his civvies. By the time he emerged from his private dressing room, he saw Dick was already headed upstairs.

It was obvious that Dick was deeply bothered by the sight of the blood-stained stretcher, not that Bruce could blame him. Like Bruce himself, Dick had been exposed to some of the worst violence and gore that the streets of Gotham City had to offer. But sometimes, all it took was a small patch of blood to get the imagination going, making one wonder what horrors a victim might have suffered…or is still suffering.

Bruce realized that it was hard to maintain your sanity in an insane environment like this. And while he was extremely grateful for the help that Dick, Barbra and Olivia often provided, he wondered-not for the first time-if he did the right thing by bringing them into this dark world. At least Olivia was already a cop; she'd already built up a thick skin against the daily horrors of the streets. But Dick and Barbara, especially Barbra, were still just kids.

"Hello, stranger," a familiar voice called out.

Bruce smiled when he saw Rachel emerge from the elevator. Barefoot, she was clad only in an oversize pajama top with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

They embraced and kissed lovingly, and for a brief moment Bruce forgot all about testing the blood sample. It had been a while since he'd felt the tender touch of his lover and best friend, and all he wanted to do right now was to fall into bed with her and sleep for a thousand years while in her arms.

"You'll be happy to know that Killer Croc has been apprehended," Bruce informed her once they ceased their kiss.

She nodded. "I saw on the security footage from the mall. It was nerve-wracking to watch you take on that big clay guy."

"His name's Matthew Hagen, and he used to be an underling for Scott Thorne," Bruce told her. "He killed Thorne."

Rachel shook her head, frightened. "It's easy to imagine his hands squashing Scott Thorne's head to a pulp."

"There's more good news," Bruce added. "Harvey Dent is also in custody."

Rachel was so relieved to hear that, she smiled broadly at him. "Why do I get the feeling that the Batman might have had a hand in his capture?"

"He might have helped, a little," Bruce said. "You'll have to excuse me, Rachel, but I need to test a sample of blood that I believe comes from Poison Ivy. We found it at the Joker's hideout. Apparently, it looks like he's been keeping her prisoner there."

"Oh, God," Rachel replied, with a shocked looked. "That explains a lot!"

"What do you mean?"

She grabbed his hand and led him over to the Batcomputer. "You really need to see this video."

When Bruce saw the video of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn robbing the jewelry store, everything fell into place. Seeing Ivy working alongside Harley was still something of a shocker for him, because he had Ivy pegged as being a loner. But when he saw them kiss passionately, Bruce nodded in understanding.

"She's finally found her true love," Bruce said, as he paused the video on their kiss.

"Who?" Rachel asked. "Ivy?"

He nodded. "I just wonder if Ivy realizes just how unstable Harley truly is."

"Olivia seems to think that they're working independently of the Joker," Rachel said.

"She's right. They are. That kiss only proves it. Well, there's no urgent need to test the blood now, since I've just now discovered that Ivy's still alive and is presently active."

"Looks like she's getting pretty active with Harley right there," Rachel said, as she gazed at the image of them kissing. "If these two truly found true love, you'd think they'd just run off into the sunset together, or something."

"They need money for their revenge against the Joker," Bruce said.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't, but I'm willing to bet on it. If Ivy's being aided by Harley like this, they must have a very good motivational force: which is usually revenge. For Ivy, it would be revenge for being held captive by the Joker. And for Harley, who's a classic case of a battered woman, her revenge might be because she's simply had enough of the Joker's abuse."

"Just when we thought things were cooling down with the capture of Harvey and Killer Croc," Rachel said dismally, "it's actually only heating up again."

Bruce gently rubbed her back. "Is anybody else still awake?"

She shook her head. "Just me. I sent Alfred to bed. I waited for you guys on the sofa upstairs, but wound up falling asleep. Dick inadvertently woke me up when he started making something to eat in the kitchen."

"You wanted to tell me something earlier tonight," Bruce said. "What was it?"

Rachel looked momentarily uneasy. "Um, Vince Sezary has come up with an idea of having you appear in one of my political ads. But I'd understand if you'd really rather not-"

"Yes," Bruce said simply. "If you need me, I'll do it."

A great wave of relief appeared to have washed over Rachel's features. "Really?"

"Really," Bruce conformed with a nod. "You've been a hell of a district attorney, Rachel, and this town needs you now, more than ever. If it takes me appearing in your ad to help get you reelected, then just say where and when."

"Thank you so much!" Rachel said, as she kissed him. "You hungry?"

Bruce swept her up in his arms. "Just for you."

They went upstairs to the master bedroom and went to bed. An hour later, after some delicious lovemaking, they were fast asleep.

B&B

~ The Following Day ~

Alex glanced at her watch as she walked into the small courtyard in front of the District Attorney's office. She had maybe forty five minutes for lunch, and wondered if she'd had time to make it to that little Thai place over on Broadhurst.

Today was a typical day for the Gotham City SVU ADA: starting with a meeting with a rape victim about her upcoming court case, then taking the pre-trial deposition from a scumbag rapist, who had his attorney present. Yet despite the usual busy day, Alex's mind kept coming back to what Olivia had told her after they had retreated to their private suite at Wayne Manor last night. Olivia made it clear that she loved helping out Bruce whenever and however she could as The Huntress, but she told Alex that she didn't really see herself doing it on a full-time basis.

"I don't want to be cruising the streets as The Huntress," Olivia had said, "looking for trouble every night, you know? I think I can be of even better help to Bruce on a daily basis right where I am, as a police inspector."

As much as Alex loved seeing Olivia live out her potential as a superhero, there was a part of her that still felt relieved to hear Olivia say this. It was hard enough being the life partner of a cop, but the thought of Olivia going out every night, looking for rough trade as The Huntress, frightened Alex to no end. She still wasn't very comfortable with the idea of Barbra doing it. But at least Bruce always made sure Barbra teamed up with someone, like she did with Olivia last night.

Olivia had no plans to make any great announcements, for she wore the Huntress outfit infrequently to begin with. But she expressed her desire to only go out as the Huntress on very special occassions, such as last night, or back when she had rescued Alex when she was captured by Cadmus. Alex really had no problems with this decision, and showed her support for her lover by giving Olivia a comprehensive back massage to work out the aches and pangs from her night as The Huntress.

It was while firmly kneading Olivia's bare shoulders that Alex was pleased to see a prone Olivia was already out like a light, just barely ten minutes into the massage. She had kissed her sleeping beauty on the cheek and whispered, "You'll always be my hero."

Alex smiled warmly at that pleasant memory as she checked her cell phone for the directions to the Thai restaurant. She might want to also check to see whether or not they're too busy; that way, she can-

"Alex!"

She glanced up in the direction where she heard her name being called. But all Alex saw were a row of columns that guarded a narrow walkway. Then she saw a man in a baseball cap peer out from behind one of the columns at her. He waved furtively at her, calling her name again.

Alex, who had been abducted more times than she'd cared to remember, was understandably wary as she slowly walked over to the man, who remained hidden in the shadows. She made sure to stand well enough away from him, so she could easily break into a run should things go south. "Yes? What do you want?"

The man pulled the cap off of his head, and Alex was both surprised and relieved to see that it was Bruce Banner.

"Bruce!" she said, stepping behind the column with him. "How are you? Is something wrong?"

"You could say that," he replied, in his usual gentle tone. "Are you still running the Cadmus Underground?"

Alex stared at him, stunned. "No, of course not. That's been pretty much disbanded, ever since Cadmus itself collapsed."

"That's really too bad," Banner said, disappointed.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Because things really haven't changed too much, Alex," he told her. "We're still being hunted…."

Alex just stared at him in horror.

To Be Continued...