Chapter 10
A wave of silence washed over the cave as Nightwing stared at Jason in utter disbelief. Barbara covered her mouth with her hands. She looked as if she were on the verge of tears. Jason had taken off his visor and was looking at his feet. I pinched the bridge of my nose, searching for the right words to say next.
"He's with me, Dick. He's agreed to set aside our differences for the time being to help deal with Poison Ivy," I said.
Jason and I spent the next few minutes explaining what happened between Ivy and the diner fight this morning, leaving out choice elements, of course. Barbara wheeled up to Jason.
"Can— Can I hug you, Jason?" she held out her arms.
"Uh... sure?" he held his arms out in response.
They captured each other in a long embrace, and Barbara wiped her eyes when they separated. She made her way back over to the Batcomputer, sorting through more files and leaving me, Dick, and Jason in another bout of silence.
"It's good to have you back, Jay. Even if only for a few days," Dick extended his hand.
"Likewise," Jason shook his brother's hand.
Nightwing made his way over to Barbara and began helping her with her files. I waved Jason near the exit, where our bikes were being stored.
"I've got someone I need to meet up with about Ivy. I'll catch you guys later," I called out to Dick and Barbara.
"What about you, Jason?" Barbara asked.
"I've got to grab some supplies from my old hideout," he responded.
Jason and I mounted our bikes were lifted out of the warehouse. When we reached the surface, I pulled out my phone and searched for the Broker's number. If anyone knew where Harley was, it would be him. Jason gave me a two-finger salute and rode off toward his hideout.
"Hey, Sherman! I was hoping you'd be able to help me out with something," I said in a sweet voice.
"Catwoman, what a pleasant surprise. I figured after you robbed Riddler of all his wealth, you wouldn't need to resort to yours truly for a place to stay anymore. Whatcha looking for?" the Broker answered.
"It's not what I'm looking for. It's who I'm looking for. I was hoping you'd be able to let me in on where Harley's been hiding for the last little while,"
"I'm not known for disclosing the locations of my clients. The buildings I sell are called hideouts, after all. What's in it for me?"
"I can get Nightwing to leave you alone a while? That sound fair?"
"Hmm... He has been hounding me a lot more lately..." he seemed to ponder over the idea for a second, "Alright, I sold Harley an old auto-repair shop in Kingston. 'Finger's Fixers' is the name of the place,"
"Appreciate the help, Sherman. Be seeing you," I hung up the phone.
I sent Jason a text message: Meet me in Kingston when you're done. I slipped my phone into my bag and rode South toward Miagani Island. Of course, the fact that it was morning meant that plenty of people were out and about, which meant that I couldn't just speed through the streets like I can during the night. After about twenty minutes of the morning, rush-hour traffic, I made it to Kingston. Pulling my bike into a nearby back alley, I slipped into my Batsuit and grappled up to the rooftops to observe the auto shop.
"Finger's Fixers huh? Having problems with your bike?" Jason's voice came from behind me.
"The Broker says he sold Harley this place not too long ago, but it looks deserted," I said.
"Only one way to find out," Jason said as he leaped onto the roof.
I followed after him and we made our way over to an air duct. I held my fist up, telling Jason to stop because I heard voices coming from inside the building.
"Man... Why can't we put the lights on? I can't see a damn thing," a deep male voice said.
"That's what the flashlights for, you idiot. Boss says this place is supposed to be abandoned, so we gotta make it look that way," the other responded.
"I don't see what the big deal is. Why would anybody come to this old place anyway? Harley's not even doing anything wrong,"
"She's still a wanted criminal. I always get paired with the stupid ones; I swear..." the thug let out a drawn-out sigh.
"Hey! I ain't stupid!"
"Whatever, let's just finish our rounds," they walked away from us.
I looked over at Jason, "Ready to make our grand entrance?"
"After you," Jason peeled off the metal grate.
I slid down the shaft and into the ventilation ducts. I loosened the grate and dropped to the floor silently. Jason soon joined me, and we went off in the direction the two thugs walked. I peered around the corner and saw them walking down the hall with their rifles resting on their shoulders. I pointed to the one on the left and Jason nodded.
The two of us crept up behind the guards. I reached up to a low-hanging pipe and captured the thug's throat in between my legs. I lifted up with all of my strength; the thug's gun clattered to the floor as he struggled to breathe. At the same time, Jason kicked the second thug in the back of the knee, wrapping his arm around the guard's neck. When he finally stopped moving, Jason released his grip.
"Strong legs," Jason chuckled.
"Maybe if you're a good boy, it'll be your head between them," I flashed him a devilish grin.
The walkie-talkie one of the guards was carrying crackled to life. The voice on the other was cutting in and out, making the message unintelligible. Jason picked it up.
"Sorry, didn't get that. Repeat,"
"Damn these walkies. I said 'Is everything okay up there'," the thug said.
"Yeah, all is quiet up here, over," Jason replied.
"When you finish your rounds, report to Harley in the manager's office,"
"Copy that," Jason crumpled the walkie in his hand, "Is it always this easy to know where the heads are?"
I nodded and Jason sighed while raising his palm to his head. We continued down the hallway making sure to keep to the shadows. As we came to a corner, I peeked around and saw a lone thug keeping watch in our direction.
"I'll distract him, and you go in for the takedown," I said.
"Just tell me when," Jason moved to the wall opposite us and crept along until he was close to the thug.
I grabbed a batarang out of my belt and peered around the corner. Please don't mess this up, Selina. I thought as I threw the batarang just to the right of the thug's feet. It glided in a perfect arc until it hit the ground with a TINK next to the guard. He turned his back to Jason just long enough to check out the source of the noise. Jason leaped from the shadows, choking the thug out with his own gun. Jason threw his unconscious body as I approached from the corner.
"Nice throw," Jason picked up the batarang, handing it to me.
"I might have to bring you along more often if you keep giving me all these compliments. Now come on, let's go,"
The hallway widened into a large room that seemed to encompass the entire the second floor. The room was full guns, explosives, and a myriad of other weapons. Jason hid behind a couple of weapon crates near the entrance of the room. I grappled up the exposed rafters and surveyed the room. I counted six guys, all of them armed. One of them was putting together a rifle in the center of the room while two of them stood guard at a door to the western edge. Another one was sleeping in a makeshift bed composed of empty boxes and a pillow. The last two were patrolling the edges of the room, making their way toward Jason.
"Two incoming, ten o'clock and two o'clock," I whispered into my earpiece.
"I'll get the one on the left, you take the one on the right," he responded.
When the thug was right below me, I swooped down and carried him up the rafter with me, choking him out once we got the top. I tied a rope to around his wrists and hung him from the ceiling. Jason waited for the other guard to come around the corner, dragging him to the ground before knocking him out quietly.
"Four more," I said, "You deal with the one in the center and I'll take care of Tweedledee and Tweedledum,"
"Heard,"
I tied myself off at the feet and hung upside down above the two guards. Before they could react, I grabbed each of their heads and knocked them against each other. They slumped to the ground, unconscious. The thug in the center noticed his two friends slumped against each other.
"What the Hell?" he said, confused. Jason stood up and tapped him on the shoulder, smacking him across the face with his pistol as the thug turned around.
"That just leaves Sleepy," I said as I came down from the ceiling.
"Think we can get some answers out of him?" Jason asked.
"If we're nice enough," I smirked.
Jason and I walked over to the sleeping thug. Jason snatched him up by the collar and circled around behind him, raising his gun to his head.
"Listen up you son of a bitch, the nice lady here is gonna ask you some questions, and you're gonna answer 'em," Jason snarled.
"Yeah right! How about I just kill the both of you instead?" the thug spit on the ground.
"Bold words coming from the guy who just pissed himself,"
I looked down and noticed the growing dark spot in the thug's pants. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
"Just tell me what I want to know and this'll all be over soon," I said in my patented seductress voice.
"O— Okay! You're not gonna kill me, are you?" he stammered.
"No," I said.
"Yes," Jason said at the same time; I glared at him, "No..."
"I just want to know where the manager's office is. Think you can tell me that?" I ran a finger along the thug's jawline.
"I— It— It's d— d— downstairs. In the back of the building. That's all I know! I swear, please don't hurt me!" the thug pleaded.
I walked toward the door as Jason pistol-whipped the thug in the back of the head. I opened the door to reveal a metal staircase leading to the lower level. The lower level of the building where the actual auto shop was. There had to be at least fifteen or twenty thugs scattered around the room. Some of them working on various Harley-themed vehicles, some were playing poker in the corner. Others played hot potato with a hand grenade, and some were just standing around talking. Jason grabbed his pistol and shot a round into the ceiling. All of the thugs quickly turned to our direction.
"Now that I have your attention," he gestured to me.
"Harley!" I called out, "Come on out so we can discuss something."
Harley burst the door of the manager's office practically fuming. She stomped her way over to us.
"Who the Hell are you supposed tah be!? And who the Hell do you think you are, comin' into MY house makin' all this noise!?" she shouted.
I began to speak but was cut off by Harley.
"I don't like rude intruders. Kill 'em, boys!" she yelled as she slammed the door of the manager's office.
The thugs circled around me and Jason, fists raised. The two of us stood at each other's backs, waiting for someone to make the move. I grabbed my whip off of my hip and cracked it at the ground. Jason brought his fists to guard his face and widened his stance.
"We're gonna have to fight our way out of this one, aren't we?" he asked over his shoulder.
"Looks like it," I responded through clenched teeth.
"Get 'em!" one of the thugs shouted.
A large group of them charged at us, and we leaped into the fray. Punches and kicks were being thrown by both sides, most of them ineffective. I brought my elbow to a thug's jaw and swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Another one grabbed me from behind, holding me in place for a different thug to punch me in the gut. Before his fist collided with me, I ran up his chest and flipped over the one holding me. He lost his grip on me, falling to the floor head first as I landed on my feet. I looked over my shoulder long enough to see Jason German Suplex a thug to the ground and punching and kicking a couple more without missing a single beat. I turned in time to see a thug charging at me. I cracked my whip against his face, and he tumbled to the ground as the blood began to seep out of the wound. Two thugs flanked me on my left and right sides. When one made a move, I deftly handspringed onto his shoulders, kicking him in the back causing him to collide with his partner.
With the herd thinned, Jason and I reconvened amidst the unconscious bodies. The remaining thugs formed a tight circle around us. I tightened my grip on my whip as they closed in on us.
"Duck," I told Jason.
He crouched behind me as I cracked my whip all around us. The thugs recoiled in pain, and Jason and I lept into action once again. A thug approached me, fists raised. He reared back for a right hook; I moved to block it but was caught in the ribs by a hard, left kick. I doubled over, and his fist collided with my jaw. I fell to the ground, the taste of blood on my lip. The thug raised his foot to stomp on my face, and as I braced for the impact, a gunshot rang out through the auto shop. I glanced back up, and the thug's body had gone stiff. He fell to the ground and blood began to pool his head. I climbed to my knees only to notice the rest of the thugs had been dealt with. Jason extended his hand as he holstered his gun.
"Thanks for the save," I took his hand, and got to my feet.
"He would've probably killed you if I hadn't of stepped in," he said.
"Good to know you have my back then," I flashed him a smile, but the pain in my jaw made it a rather quick one.
Harley opened the door of the manager's office and surveyed the room. Her face fell when she saw me and Jason still standing, "You can't find good help anywhere these days."
"Can we talk now, Harles?" I asked approaching her.
"Selina!? Since did you start dressin' like the Bat?"
"I've had a change of career. Now, I need to talk to you about Ivy,"
"I already know about Pammy," she looked to the floor, "She said I can't see her until she's feelin' bettah though."
"Harley… Ivy is not the same as she was before…" I rested a hand on her shoulder, "She's planning to kill all humans, and I don't think she'd spare you just because of your… history."
"How do you know?" tears began to well in Harley's eyes.
"She didn't hesitate to try and kill me. If it weren't for Red Hood here, I wouldn't be here to warn you,"
"So, you saved her life..? I bet she repaid you goooooood, huh?" she said.
"Wha— No! I mean..." Jason stammered.
I facepalmed and groaned, "Anyway, can we get back to the matter at hand?"
Harley looked over Jason one more time, "Is he hot under that visor?"
"Harley!"
"Sorry! Can we at least go talk to Pammy? Please, please, please?" Harley was bouncing up and down.
"Fine, but we have to be careful," I replied, reluctantly.
Jason and I led Harley outside to where our bikes were parked. She sat behind Jason and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, resting her head on his back, "Ride like the wind, Little Red Ridin' Hood!"
"I'm going to kill the next person that calls me that," Jason groaned.
"Play nice, Little Red," I smirked.
Jason wordlessly brought his bike to life and sped off toward the Botanical Gardens. I couldn't help but laugh as I raced to catch up with him.
A few minutes later we arrived in front of the Gardens and Harley gazed up at the large, glass dome. I fell in beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Pammy brought me here for our first date," she wiped away a tear, "At night, of course... she grew a bed of grass around us and we—"
"Okay, TMI!" Jason said. Harley glared at him.
"Let's just go inside," I said, still holding Harley.
We made our way through the dark interior of the Botanical Gardens. It still smelled sweet, like summertime. Harley plucked a rose off of a wall and placed the flower behind her ear. I braced myself as I opened the doors to the viewing chamber. A number of giant vines shot their flowery heads toward us instantly.
"You again! Ready to finally meet your end, Selina?" Ivy said my name with a hiss.
"Pammy? She's with me. Where are you at, anyway?" Harley was searching for the source of Ivy's voice.
The bark of the center tree began to shift much like it did the last time I was here. Poison Ivy stepped out, looking much better than she did last night. Harley squealed, running up to Ivy and capturing her in a tight embrace.
"Harley... What are you doing here? I told you—" Ivy started.
"I know what you told me, but I couldn't wait any longah," Harley cupped Ivy's cheeks in her hands.
She closed the distance between their faces, capturing Ivy's lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. Ivy didn't resist, seeming to enjoy the short show of affection from Harley.
"Ahem," Jason coughed.
When the two of them separated, Ivy shot me a glare, "What you did was unforgivable, Selina. Your time will come eventually!"
A look of shock and pain danced across Harley's face, "Pammy, you wouldn't kill her, would ya? Selina's one of our best friends! We're the Gotham City Sirens!"
"That's all in the past, Harley. Selina has hurt me in ways I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies, and she will pay," Ivy stared at me menacingly. One of her vine creatures slowly snaked its way toward me.
Harley protectively stepped in front of me, "I won't let you hurt her, Pammy. She's too good a friend.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Ivy cut me off, "Harley, please move aside. I don't want you to get hurt..."
Harley hardened her stance in front of me, fists balled, "No! I. Won't. Let. You. Hurt. Her!"
Ivy shot vines out of the ground, wrapping them around Harley's waist. She threw away from me but was caught by Jason before she hit the ground. The large flower-vine thing snapped its jaws as it made its way closer to me.
"Pamela Lillian Isley! You stop this right now!" Harley shouted through her tears, "This is not the woman I fell in love with!"
The vine creature continued its advance as Ivy looked at Harley with a look of despair.
"Oh, Harley... I'm sorry, but Selina... she— SHE KILLED MY BABIES! SHE MUST DIE!" Ivy shouted through tears of her own.
The plant creature reared its head back and dove at me, mouth wide open. I threw some exploding batarangs into the creature's mouth and rolled out of the way. It let out a loud growl as the batarangs exploded in its mouth; Jason grabbed his guns and fired round after round into the husk of the giant plant. It let out more shrieks of pain as it slumped to the ground lifeless.
"Damn you! I cannot wait to see your blood scattered across this floor!" Ivy was turned back to us. She clenched her fists and pods all around the room began bursting open, revealing horrid amalgamations of plants and humans.
"What the Hell are those things?" Jason shouted, reloading his guns.
"I... I don't know. This is new!" I responded.
We took up fighting stances while Harley sobbed and cried on the ground. The creatures shambled toward us with clawed hands and thorny whips for arms. Jason and I advanced on the creatures punching and kicking our ways through the crowd. Jason unloaded a few shots into to some of them, but the creatures didn't stop. It was as if our attacks had no effect on them. They back us into a corner.
"We can't beat these things!" Jason shouted, firing his guns more.
"We need to retreat, think of a weakness," I threw out a few more exploding batarangs.
"Cover your eyes!" Jason threw a device into the air. I shielded Harley and I's eyes with my cape. A loud POP followed by a blinding white light filled the room as the flashbang exploded.
Jason scooped the hysterical Harley into his arms as we sprinted for the exit. I kicked the door that led to the street open and jumped on my back. Jason set Harley down as he mounted his own bike, Harley climbing onto the back. We raced off back toward Harley's hideout in Kingston.
When we arrived, Harley ushered us into the manager's office. I braced myself on the back of a chair as I caught my breath. Jason kneeled down to the floor.
"What in the actual..." he panted.
"I don't know. Apparently, Ivy can merge humans and plants now. Great..." I sighed.
Harley wiped more tears, her face-paint smearing in the process, "Ugh! I feel so stupid! Sorry I didn't believe you, Selina. You were right about..."
I wrapped Harley in a tight embrace and cried into my shoulder. I rubbed the back of her head as I rocked her back and forth. She stopped sobbing and stepped back, looking into my eyes.
"When the time comes, just give me a call. I'll be there..." Harley dragged herself behind the desk and slumped into the chair, "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a while."
"I'll talk to you later, Harles," I made my way to the door.
"Selina?" Harley said. I turned around, "Thanks... for being a good friend."
I gave her quick smile as Jason and I exited the office. We made our way back outside.
"I feel so bad for her. She has no one who loves her anymore..." I said.
Jason was silent for a second before responding, "She has you. She wasn't wrong about you, Selina. You're a good friend."
I could sense he was smiling behind his visor, "I'm headed back to the cave. Barbara and Dick need to know about this. Come by my place in a couple of hours?"
"It's a date," he chuckled.
"Open," I said to the voice reader.
"Recognized: Selina Kyle, Batwoman," it responded.
I made my way down into the Batcave. When I reached the bottom of the ramp, I was met by Robin carrying a hot dog.
"Oh! Hey, Selina. Tim Drake, Red Robin," he extended his hand.
"I know who you are Bird-Brain," I laughed as I shook his hand.
Barbara wheeled up behind him, "Oh good. You're here."
"Where's Dick?" I asked, "You all need to hear this."
"Right here," Dick stepped out of the weight room, "What's up?"
I filled them in on everything that happened from infiltrating Harley's hideout to fighting Ivy and her plant people.
"So, Ivy has zombie people-plants under her control now?" Tim asked.
"And they seem to be immune to physical pain," Dick said.
"Great..." Barbara sighed, "We should all go home and get some rest. We can of where to go from here in the morning."
Back in my apartment, I changed into a tank top and some sweatpants before sitting on the couch. I grabbed a bowl of popcorn and turned on the latest episode of Hot House: America. While the intro was playing, I heard a knock at my door. I opened it to see Jason standing there in more civilian-style clothes.
"Come on in! I just turned on a new episode of HHA!" I dragged him over to the couch.
"What in the world is HHA?" he asked as he sat down next to me.
I put the bowl of popcorn in his lap as I began explaining the rules, "... And whoever is left at the end of the competition is crowned 'Hottest in America'"
"What do they win?" he asked, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.
"Whoever wins gets a million dollars and an all-expenses-paid vacation for two in the Bahamas! It's the best reality show on TV right now," I rested my head on his chest, shoveling wave after wave of popcorn as the two of us watched TV for the next couple of hours.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of Batman: Arkham Rebirth. Things are ramping up as we draw closer to the final battle between Selina and Poison Ivy. With Red Robin back in town with a few friends and Harley Quinn on her side, Selina's chances are starting to get better. Who else will come to Selina's aid? Stay tuned to find out!