Throughout their most delicious, most expensive dinner in the luxurious five-star restaurant, they felt calm and happy. Sophie was tickled to death about being able to "pay" for their dinner with the money she had stolen, and they were as elated as five year-old kids on Christmas Day. Now that they knew Superman was nowhere to be found in all of Metropolis, they were all extra giddy. For some reason, just the thought of taking on Supergirl by herself, should it happen, didn't seem to bother Harley or Ivy at all. They had encountered her countless times before, one such time when Livewire had come to Gotham, and they had held their own against her. Ivy had jokingly said many times before that Batgirl was Gotham's own pesky little Supergirl, and Supergirl was Metropolis' own pesky little Batgirl.
Sophie herself didn't fear Supergirl like she had before "meeting" her, although she was ticked that she had waited so long before flying to her rescue (but she still thanked her lucky stars that she'd come at all.) But, after seeing that Kara really was just this city's own version of a pesky little Batgirl, she found her more of an annoying nuisance than someone to fear.
Quickly changing her train of thought, Sophie took a huge bite of the gigantic piece of chocolate cheesecake she'd ordered for dessert and savored every bite. Cheesecake was her absolute favorite, and she felt like she was eating a little piece of heaven. It was like the icing on the cake of their already amazing day.
Harley took a sip of her champagne and looked from her precious Sophie to her beloved Ivy, and she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. She felt happy. She came to realize, shockingly, that she hadn't thought about the Joker at all since they had arrived in Metropolis. She had been too busy with her two girlfriends to waste a single extra second thinking about how much she missed him. She couldn't believe it. Ivy had told her all she needed was a little distraction and she had promised she wouldn't think of him. Harley of course hadn't believed a word of what Ivy had said, but as it turned out, she had been right. And Ivy usually was right about many things.
Harley's heart felt completely full, and she couldn't help herself as she kissed Sophie's cheeks and grabbed Ivy and kissed her forehead. She just really loved them both so much and felt so lucky to have them both. She grabbed her champagne glass and held it up, a grin on her face. "Come on, cats, let's make a toast! To the best day we've ever had, and to what's gonna be the best night we're ever gonna have," Harley said happily. "Nothing can go wrong, tonight! I have such a good feeling about it. We're girls on fire!"
Ivy grinned at Harley's sudden outburst. She lifted her glass as well. "To," she lowered her voice a little as to not be heard, "everything going according to plan tonight!"
Sophie swallowed her mouthful of her dessert and lifted her glass of soda, joining her two friends. "To...um...to cheesecake!" She cried, dissolving into loud giggles. Obviously, the most important thing on her mind at that moment.
Grinning, Ivy and Harley clinked their glasses together, then with Sophie, who made sure to keep one hand free to take a bite of her sweet cheesecake without missing a beat.
As the waiter came for the bill, Harley and Ivy had managed to flirt with the him enough to distract him, and after paying the bill, Sophie had "accidentally" ran into him, knocking his remaining notebooks on the floor. As they hurriedly cleaned the mess on the floor, Sophie swapped their notebook with an empty one, getting all their money back. The three girls rushed out of the restaurant as fast as they could, laughing all the time.
Sophie unfolded the money and fanned it through her fingers. She held the bills under her nose and sniffed deeply as she skipped and twirled happily quite a good ways in front of Harley and Ivy. "Oh, I just love the smell of fresh money in the cool night air!" She kissed a few of the bills, giggling. "Next time I'm gonna aim for some shiny diamonds! Oh, yeah, that'll hit the spot! I just love shiny!"
As Sophie twirled down the street, she passed a tall, blonde man, who noticed Sophie's hand full with cash as she waved it around, giggling and carrying on on her great mood. In a flash, the man snatched the money out of her hand with one quick swipe. Sophie gave a loud, shocked, angry shriek.
"Hey, that's mine!" Sophie cried, her voice squeaking at the last word.
The man chuckled and flipped the bills through his fingers like the pages of a book. "Yeah, well, now it's mine."
"But that's not fair!" Sophie said, stomping her foot in an angry rage. "You...you give it back to me right now!" She demanded.
Even from as far back as they were, Harley and Ivy had seen the commotion and had quickened their pace.
"Hey, come on, Red! We gotta help!" Harley said, breaking into a run.
The man looked down at the tiny, adorable, golden-haired child with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. He snickered. According to him, from the looks of her, she was probably going to burst into tears at any moment. He knew there was absolutely nothing threatening at all about her. "Oh yeah? Why don't you make me, you stupid brat?"
Without missing a beat, Sophie gritted her teeth and roundhouse kicked the man square in his face with so much force, it knocked him to the ground just as Harley and Ivy had managed to reach them.
"Help who?" Ivy said through a chuckle, glaring at the man now in a heap on the pavement.
His nose bleeding, the man gasped in shock as he looked up at Sophie in pure shock at what had just happened. He wasn't sure, but he thought her sapphire eyes sparked fiery red at that moment. "I said give it back. Now!" With all the force she could muster, Sophie furiously stomped directly on his wrist which held the bills. She twisted her foot as hard as she could, making him yelp in pain and release the money.
He scrambled to his feet and looked at her, his eyes wide and his wrist throbbing in agonizing pain. "Y-you're crazy, kid!" he cried, his voice squeaking as he shakily pointed his finger at Sophie. "You're crazy!"
Sophie glared at him, both her fists clenched, now. She scoffed at him and gave him one last good kick in his face, sending him to the ground once more. "You're not kiddin'."
The two older girls smirked at the man, their arms crossed over their chest. The man didn't speak another word, he just hightailed it out of their way as fast as he could. He wasn't going to take any chances on the others, that was for sure.
Ivy grinned widely at Sophie, who stooped down to collect the money. As she stood again, she gripped the bills tightly in her hand, the rage still inside of her at the nerve of him trying to steal from her. "I stole it, first. It's my money, not his!" Sophie mumbled, slowly brushing a few bills across her cheek. "It's mine."
"Well," Ivy said, still grinning from ear-to-ear. "I guess he'll think twice about trying to steal candy from a baby again, won't he?"
"Yeah he will," added Harley, chuckling as she did a back flip down the sidewalk. "Nobody messes with any of these girls and gets away with it!"
After the commotion, all of their adrenaline had been heightened a great deal. Sophie had decided it was probably better to put the money back into her bag, just in case any other Metropolian got any bright ideas of trying to steal from her. She, after all, wanted to save all of her energy for the great heist later that evening. Their job that night was very simple, and Harley and Ivy had it planned down to every step, which comforted Sophie somewhat. She would just rather take a backseat to this plan, especially seeing as she knew how much it meant to Ivy that the plan be perfect. Later that evening, as they changed into their costumes and Harley and Sophie did their "war paint" as Sophie called it, they ever so often could glance at each other and burst into loud, excited giggles.
The newly-opened exotic plant museum had barely had the ribbon-cutting ceremony when a shipment of rare plants imported from Honduras had arrived for display. Ivy had practically drooled when she read they would be so close to Gotham City. She felt so strongly, almost as if the plants were calling to her, telllin her that they were waiting for her to come to them. Using just a few leaves from the Devil's Eyelid plant, Ivy could create an array of deadly possessions toxins, possibly to finally get rid of Batman.
The museum was catty-corner to the Second National Bank of Metropolis, which was open agonizingly late hours. The three sly crooks gripped their bags as they hid in the bushes near the bank. They weren't going to risk making their move until the last bankers had locked up and left for the night. Better to have no witnesses. All it took was for one of the bankers to catch a glimpse of three shady figures entering the museum for the cops to be called, and even worse, for Supergirl to be notified, which is the last thing any of them wanted. Even if it was just Supergirl, the less superheroes they had to fight, the better. Ivy just wanted to go in, get the plant, and get out.
Sophie sat on the ground and began drawing in the sand with a stick while they patiently waited for the workers to finish up. First she drew a picture of a cute rabbit, and after, a fluffy sheep. Then, Sophie drew about thirty different animals as fast as she could, her mind going a million miles an hour. After awhile, she started drawing self-portraits of herself and Harley and Ivy. She made it a point to give Harley and Ivy long rabbit ears, and she stifled a giggle as she pulled Harley's sleeve and showed her her creations.
Harley grinned, shook her head, and shushed her, but not before giving her a good poke in her stomach as a warning.
Finally, after twenty silent games of tic-tact toe, (many of which Ivy had won, much to the dismay of Harley and Sophie) they saw the lights start to go off inside the bank. Sophie squealed quietly and threw the stick down, her stomach fluttering with excitement. She had to cover her mouth with both her hands so she wouldn't scream out louder.
Ivy smiled and put her arm around Sophie, giving her a little squeeze. "Are you ready, darling?" she whispered, trying not to laugh at her apparent joy.
Sophie hugged Ivy back, excitedly. "Yes!" She replied in a hushed whisper.
The girls watched as the bankers gathered their belongings, exchanged pleasant good-nights and have a lovely weekends, set the security alarms, climbed into the cars, and headed to their respective houses. Finally, the coast was clear, and they were able to stand up and strength their legs after having to wait an agonizingly long time.
Sophie could barely contain her excitement, hopping back and forth on her feet. "C'mon you guys! Let's go, already! Let's go!"
Harley grinned, too. "I'm with her!"
"Hold on a minute, guys,' said Ivy, putting her hand on Sophie's shoulder. "I know you're excited, but it's better if we wait just a little bit, at least until everybody is good and far away. We really don't want to risk a thing tonight, and you never know if anyone could come back. It's better to be safe and just wait a little longer."
Sophie stopped bouncing and looked up at Ivy. "Oh, wow! That is a good idea. You're so smart, Aunt Ivy! You know everything, don't you?"
Ivy laughed and kissed Sophie's forehead. "I wish, sweetie."
Harley frowned and gulped a little after hearing Sophie's remark. She glanced back at the bank, trying to take her mind off it. She kicked a stray pebble on the ground, sadly. Why didn't Sophie tell Harley that she was smart, too? After all, Harley herself had been the one who had even told Ivy about the new museum. If it wasn't for her, they wouldn't even be there. Harley wondered if she would ever be able to get used to sharing Sophie, even with someone whom Harley loved like she did Ivy. She just wanted Sophie to still think she sun shone over Harley, just like Sophie seemed to think it did for Ivy. Harley knew her Ivy was such a clever woman, and she did always seem to know what to do in any situation, but still. Harley always secretly hoped Sophie would continue to think that she was the best rogue ever, like she always had when she had first stumbled her way into Harley's life. Now, Harley wasn't so sure where she stood, and every so often, the more time they spent together, Harley feet more and more unsure.
"Hey Red," Harley said slowly, a tiny smile creeping onto her face. "Can't we just...run in and grab a few bags of cash before hitting the museum?" Harley was always thinking of money, and luckily Sophie had taken after her in that aspect of crime, too. It was evident, seeing as how excited Sophie had been when she has stolen and re-stolen and then re-re-stolen the cash earlier on. Harley rubbed her hands together excitedly at the potential new part of their plan. Harley knew Sophie would jump for joy at being able to get more money, especially since she'd had an epic tantrum earlier that night with the random man on the street. "I bet they've got loads of dough in there, don't you think so, honey?"
Harley turned to Sophie with a huge grin. There was no way Sophie would turn down a chance at getting more money. It was exactly what she always wanted.
"Well," said Sophie, slowly, biting her lip as she thought it over. "I...I maybe think we should get the plants first, don't you think so, Ivy? I mean, that is what we came for, right?"
Harley let out a tiny, shocked gasp. She wasn't used to Sophie not agreeing with her ideas, and she felt hurt by it. Sophie had always agreed with her and had been on her side. Then again, Harley had been the only other person Sophie had worked so closely with, other than the Joker...but Sophie knew just as well as Harley did, to never second guess the Joker if you wanted to keep your head attached to your body. So, evidently, when Sophie had a choice, she might not always agree with Harley, and it came as quite a harsh blow to her.
Ivy grinned. "That's exactly right, darling. Come on, Harl. We gotta stick with the plan, alright? We'll hit the bank after we steal the plants, okay?" Ivy also couldn't complain about getting more money. More money was always a good idea.
Harley sighed, her tassels drooping a little and her stomach aching a bit. "Yeah...right, okay. Whatever you say, Red."
Sophie giggled quietly, oblivious to Harley's little mood change. "Just think, Harley, the faster we get the plant, the faster we can get some money from the bank, right?" She reached up and pulled Harley's hat over her eyes, giggling louder. "I bet ya you're just mad because I stole more money on this trip than you did!"
Harley pulled her hat back up, her bad mood again miraculously shattered by the ever-positive, giggling kid. "I'll show you mad!" Harley cried, grinning. She chased after Sophie, who began doing cart-wheels, handsprings, and every other kind of flip she could imagine, giggling the whole time as she avoided Harley. Somehow, the sugar from her massive amount of cheesecake and soda she'd had had just kicked in, full force, and she was raring to go.
Ivy shook her head with a small smile as she watched her the two silly partners run, flip, and laugh like two maniacs in the street. "Come on, you two! Knock it off! We're wasting time! You're both acting like a bunch of...like a bunch of-"
"Clowns?" Harley and Sophie cried together, both giggling like crazy.
Harley had somehow managed to catch Sophie mid-flip and swung her over her shoulder with one flourish. "Okay, now that I caught he little jumping bean, we can get down to business!" Harley grinned at Ivy, as Sophie sighed heavily, realizing she was now defeated.
"Aw, c'mon, Harley! I wanna play! Can't we go play some more? We still have time for a little fun, don't we?" Sophie asked, as they started to walk towards the museum.
"We don't," Ivy said, half grinning at seeing the pure disappointment on Sophie's face. "You just have a bit of...a lot bit of a sugar rush right now. You should save your energy for the job. You're gonna need it."
"Oh I'm not worried about my energy, Aunt Ivy," Sophie said, matter-of-factly. "I'm sure I still got so much left over."
Harley giggled loudly. "I'm sure of that, too, sweetie."
Sophie paused a moment, then gasped loudly. "Hey, I know! We three should drink some wine before we do this job! Pink wine!"
"No," said Harley and Ivy together, sharing a smile.
"Okay okay," Sophie said, waving her hands. "You two can drink some pink wine."
"No," they replied again, without hesitation.
Sophie paused again, thinking deeply. Suddenly, she brightened, and burst into a huge grin. "Then, I can drink som-"
"Shhh!" Ivy suddenly interrupted, clamping her hand firmly over Sophie's mouth, muffling her words. As much as she liked her, Ivy had enough of her talking for that moment. Now it was go-time.
They had reached the museum, and within a second, Harley had flipped Sophie back onto the ground with a loud thud.
"Alright, you two," Ivy said, stepping over Sophie, who still lay on the ground. "Are you ready?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few huge plant seeds. "It could be dangerous, you know." She grinned a little mischievously.
In a flash, Sophie jumped up from the ground and hugged Ivy tightly around her waist. "Danger? Ha! I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger. Hahaha!"
Harley smiled a little. "Then let's get ready to rumble!"
Ivy threw the seeds down, and it sprouted a huge vine, which carried the three criminals up to the roof, Harley and Sophie laughing and giggling with excited glee. As they climbed down from their free green elevator and glanced down into the dark museum, their eyes lit up. Now it was really time for business.
