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Chapter 11

Gotham, Abandoned Chemical Plant; June 21st, 02:56 EST

Poison Ivy watched the breaking news footage of the attack that had rocked the Gotham Airport just a handful of hours earlier. Her green eyes gleamed with pleasure as she watched the sheer chaos and panic that had unfolded in the wake of the unexpected strike, the area that they were still attempting to contain.

Mesmerized, she absentmindedly reached over and took another grape from the bowl, popping it into her mouth and chewing slowly. Her eyes widened with delight as a small gasp escaped her lips, the camera slowly panning the area to show all of the emergency personnel racing about to control the situation as blue gas hung in a thick cloud over the destruction.

Everyone was dressed in white hazmat uniforms including the Public Safety Squad. It was somewhat disappointing to her, but it would only be a matter of time before those who had already been exposed began to show signs of her specially designed virus.

Then, the chaos they were attempting to suppress at this very moment would seem so benign.

Ivy took another grape, biting into it as she caressed the leg of her lover lying in bed next to her. "You did very well, love…very well indeed."

"I'm so glad that you approve," Alex replied with a leering grin as his hand moved to caress her abdomen. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss to her bare shoulder, more absorbed with the beauty he was in bed with than the chaos that he'd helped create. "How soon before we make our next move?"

"Soon enough," she reassured him as she nibbled on another grape. "Did you manage to get the other devices into place without being detected?"

"Exactly where you wanted them planted," he confirmed as he leaned closer to nip and kiss along her throat.

Ivy's eyes fell closed despite her desire to watch the pandemonium that she had created playing out on the television, the feel of his mouth moving along her neck stirring her need all over again. "You are definitely good…in more ways than just one."

Alex smiled against her throat as he pressed himself fully against the length of her. "I live to please you in every way imaginable."

Pamela purred with supreme satisfaction as she rolled over on her side to face him, her hand moving to stroke his face. "That's what I love to hear because you and I are in this together for the long run."

She moved to brush his brown hair from his forehead, knowing that he was only saying those things because he was under her complete control, submitting fully to her every command because of her pheromone toxin. It was rather disheartening to know that he wouldn't say those things to her if it weren't for her control over him and yet, at the same time, she cared very little.

Life had dealt her a painful hand, being unable to bear children. She deserved this chance at happiness no matter the lengths that she had to go to obtain it, taking what she could get however she could get it no matter the cost. "How are your experiments coming? Any progress?"

"Making some progress, but not as much as I had hoped," he confessed between kisses. "I'll need some more time before our next set of spores will be ready for use."

"I'm so glad I chose you to be my partner in crime," she purred, her lips curling into a seductive grin. "Together, we will be the new Adam and Eve of Gotham."

"I'd like that," he huskily murmured with a grin. "Do you think Batman is on to us with the assault at the airport?"

"Probably, but it's too late for him to do anything to stop us now," she told him, luxuriating in the feel of his hands exploring her all over again. "Not even the great Batman will be able to create an antidote in time to save Gotham."

"You are truly a brilliant woman, Pamela," he said as his fingers stroked her hair. "You have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I'm so privileged to have been chosen by you to rule by your side."

Ivy laughed a melodious sound that caused the plants that surrounded them in her makeshift bedroom to bounce lightly in response to the pleasant vibration. "That you are, love. Soon, Gotham will be ours and no one will be able to stop us. Not even Batman and his sidekicks will be able to prevent what is about to strike."

The breaking news about the attack at the Gotham Airport was swiftly forgotten as both began to lose themselves in each other's touch. Their little celebration was just the beginning, the tip of the grander scheme that lay ahead. Soon, Gotham would be a virtual paradise, a haven for all living things.

Wayne Manor; June 21st, 0645 EST

Alfred bustled around the kitchen, doing his best to keep his mind off the countless worries that besieged him at that moment, the biggest of which was currently quarantined on the Watchtower. It felt as if things were rapidly falling apart and there was no good end in sight any time soon.

Pouring a large glass of orange juice, he placed it on the tray that he was preparing for Tim, hoping that Dick would be returning soon. The last time that he had checked in had been over five hours ago, only long enough to let him know that he was fine and that he was investigating the attack at the airport.

He had checked his status several times since then through the uniform that Bruce had helped design for Nightwing, checking his vital signs and his constantly shifting position. He was just thankful that Miss Zatara had been there to assist him as well as keep a close eye on him. It didn't hurt that she was a very resourceful magician.

Sleep had been a thing of luxury once more, escaping his grasp as he spent the night worrying about the young man as well as keeping watch over the teenager still recovering from his gunshot wound. It had also given him more time to worry about Bruce and Diana and the precarious situation they were currently in.

It didn't help his simmering anxiety in the least when he had learned last night that Bruce was showing signs of infection. Bruce hadn't come right out and admitted that he was beginning to decline in health when they had chatted, but Alfred had picked up on it nonetheless. Not all of his surrogate son's skills had been learned overseas.

Between the three of them, Alfred swore that they accounted for ninety-five percent of the gray and missing hairs on the top of his head. If things didn't begin to turn around soon, he thought for certain he would go off his trolley once and for all. Leslie would have to lock him away in Arkham with all the other insane inmates.

Of course, they had survived far worse dilemmas than this over the numerous years of Bruce gallivanting around as Batman, throwing himself into every dangerous situation he could possibly get himself into, but, at that particular moment, nothing really came to mind.

Placing a fork and knife on the tray, Alfred turned to find a weary Dick dragging himself into the kitchen with Zatanna following close behind him. Both of them looked as if they had been dragged to hell and back, neither one appearing to even register that he was present in the kitchen.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in this morning," Alfred muttered with a frown. "Both of you sit right down and I'll make you some breakfast."

Dick rubbed his face with his hands in an attempt to banish the exhaustion that gripped him, but to no avail as he plopped wearily into a chair at the kitchen table. Zatanna followed suit by slipping into the chair next to him, removing her hat and setting it on the table with an audible sigh.

Alfred looked from one to the other and back again, waiting for some sort of response or information about what they had found, but neither seemed at all willing to divulge a single thing. "Are one of you going to tell me what you found or do I have to beat it out of you with my spatula?"

Dick leaned back in his chair, releasing a ragged breath. "It was horrible, Alfred. You have no idea what we've been dealing with all night long."

"Yah, it sucked," Zatanna agreed as she leaned forward to hold her head in her hands, her elbows resting on the top of the table. "Never call me in to assist you…ever…again."

"Oh, come on, Zee," Dick chided her. "It was bad, but it wasn't that bad."

Zatanna's head shot up out of her hands, a shocked look on her face as she stared at Dick in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? Were you at the same airport disaster that I was at last night?"

"Yah, but—"

"Yah, but what?" she exclaimed, incredulous. "It was a nightmare, Dick."

"Is someone going to enlighten me?" Alfred cut in as he worked at preparing their breakfast.

"The device found at the courthouse was a decoy…a fake," Dick informed him, angry with himself for not having caught it sooner. "The real trouble was at one of the terminals at the Gotham Airport."

"I caught that much from the news," Alfred dryly said, the frown on his face revealing his growing exasperation. "What did you find at the airport?"

"According to the video tapes that we were able to review, there was a man who entered the airport with a backpack," Dick continued. "He walked past a cart with luggage, pausing to deposit it there before leaving."

"Is there any way to identify this man?"

"He was wearing a plain black jacket, jeans and a Gotham baseball cap," Zatanna said. "Nothing to really identify him or who he could be working with."

"Well except that we think that Poison Ivy was behind it," Dick added. "Zee was able to get a sample of that blue gas before she banished it to a safe place. We just had a sample sent up to the 'Tower to be tested to see if it's the same as what Bruce and Diana were exposed to."

"Were there many people exposed to it?"

"We think about a dozen or so," Zatanna answered. "They are all quarantined at Gotham General right now having tests run on them."

"What makes you think that this is Ivy's doing?"

"I found a couple more blues spores at the crime scene that were just like the ones that I found at the crematorium," Dick said. "As horrible as it is, I'm hoping this will help crack the case wide open and give us the answers that we need to save Bruce and Diana."

"I'm sure that we'll find something to help them soon and stop this before any more people become infected," Zatanna reassured Dick, reaching over to cover his hand with her own.

"I just wish we knew if Ivy was truly behind all of this and what she's really up to," Dick grumbled. "It just feels like every time we've finally got a lead, it blows up in our faces."

"Literally," Zatanna snorted in agreement.

"Any other ideas about who could be behind it?" Alfred asked.

"Bruce has been working up a psychological profile and has generated a list of suspects in case this we isn't all Poison Ivy's doing," Dick told him. "He's not convinced that it's actually her behind all of this."

"Well, at least Master Bruce has had something to keep him occupied while he's confined to isolation," Alfred commented with a small smirk as he finished making breakfast. "I can only imagine the absolute bear that he has turned into up there with not being able to do all of the analysis and investigation himself."

Dick smiled as he nodded his head in agreement. "Relying on others to run an investigation is definitely not one of Bruce's strongest qualities."

"Heck, relying on anyone for anything isn't his strong suit," Zatanna chimed in.

"Poor Master Bruce," Alfred tisked to himself. "Hopefully, Miss Diana will be able to break through some of those issues while she's trapped up there with him."

"Alfred, it would take more than a few days in isolation to make any sort of headway with Bruce," Dick stated. "It would take years even for an Amazon."

"Poor Bruce isn't even here to defend himself," Zatanna said.

"Oh, he knows we talk about him and his issues," Dick reassured her. "Hey, how's Tim doing?"

"He slept all night," Alfred replied as he set plates of food before the weary duo. "Leslie already stopped by this morning to check on him and said that his wound looked good. He should be up and about in another day or so."

"That's some good news we can hang on to," Zatanna said as she eagerly dug into her breakfast.

"You should go up and see him before you leave, Miss Zatanna," Alfred suggested. "I'm sure he'd appreciate seeing someone other than just me or Leslie."

"I'll run up and see him before I go home and get some sleep," she readily agreed. "I can't stay long, though. I'm about to fall asleep in my scrambled eggs."

"I'll go up and check on him too, but later," Dick remarked. "I need to eat and get back down to the cave to see if Barbara has made any progress with analyzing that second set of spores that I sent her."

"You need to get some sleep, Dick," Zatanna told him. "You look like you've been run over by a truck."

Dick looked up from his plate to scowl at her. "Gee, thanks, Zee. You sure do know how to make a guy feel good about himself."

Zatanna reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder as Alfred picked up Tim's breakfast tray and discreetly exited the kitchen. "I'm just saying that you need to look after yourself as well. You're not going to do anyone any good if you run yourself ragged right now."

Dick smiled despondently at her. "I know, but we can't lose Bruce over some stupid virus. I know we've had our differences over the years, but I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost him."

"I know," she replied with a sympathetic nod. "Bruce is too stubborn to let something like this take him out and so is Diana. In fact, I think they are two of the most stubborn people in the whole universe."

"It's just hard to think of him not coming back you know?" Dick confessed. "Even when we weren't getting along, I just always knew that he'd be there if I ever needed him. Not matter happened, Bruce was just always there whether you wanted him to be or not."

She could easily see the guilt that weighed on him, his thoughts taking him to past mistakes and angry differences between surrogate father and son. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Dick. We won't give up until we've found an antidote for them. Gotham needs you now more than ever and so does Bruce."

"Thanks, Zee," he softly said. "You were a huge help tonight. I'm really sorry you had to miss your second show. I know that was hard for you."

Zatanna flashed him a warm smile as she shrugged a shoulder of indifference. "Actually, last night turned out far more exciting than my show ever would've been. It was fun running around with you. We should do it more often."

Dick leaned in a little closer, his lips curling with pleasure and the sudden change in tone. "It was fun running around with you too. Maybe we can run around together again sometime soon when this is all over."

Zatanna leaned in as well. "I think I'd really like that."

"Oracle to Nightwing."

Dick groaned in frustration as he pulled back from Zatanna, reaching for his commlink. "What is it, Oracle?"

"I think you're going to want to see this."

Watchtower Isolation; June 21st, 07:21 EST

Diana sat propped up in her bed eating her breakfast, her attention solely fixed on the man who was standing a few feet in front of her bed. She couldn't help but be captivated and fascinated by the perfectly sculpted specimen that was methodically working his way through his Tai Chi exercises.

She studied his every movement, the slow steady sweep of his right arm, the practiced grace with which his chiseled body obeyed his every command. There was such a profound strength in him that went far beyond just the physical, encompassing the mental and emotional as well.

She couldn't help but watch the way that he moved, blocking out the pain that she knew that he had to be in at that moment. He pushed himself through it, though, not even pausing in his exercises to take a break. If it weren't for the rare winces that her meta hearing picked up on or the variances in his breathing, no one would probably even suspect it.

But she knew. Although difficult to read even on a good day, there were some things that she just knew about him. They were so similar in so many ways that some aspects about him were more than obvious to her. She just wished that she could read his heart as well. It was the one thing about him that was a complete enigma to her, something that he kept carefully hidden from everyone.

Bruce pushed away the throbbing pain that thrummed through his body, compartmentalizing it as he worked his way through the exercises that he had done for years now. It helped to clear his mind, helped him to focus and provided him with a measure of clarity. He needed that now more than ever and not just because of the urgent need to discover who had created the virus that was trying to take them out.

Some of it had to do with the woman lying in the bed behind him; the one that he could feel studying his every move. Her gaze was practically burning straight through him, peeling back the layers of distrust and anger, his insecurities and fears, the bitterness and loneliness. It both excited him and scared him to no end. As badly as he wanted her, he knew that he could never have her for his own.

It certainly wasn't helping him being quarantined with her for who knows how long. The longer that he was here with her, the more tenuous his hold on his self-control was rapidly becoming. He had always prided himself on his gritty determination and drive, his iron will and control that could withstand anything that life threw at him—except for her.

The Princess of the Amazons had proven to be his greatest weakness. He'd never truly had an Achilles' heel until she had burst into the world, larger than life and shining brighter than the sun. While he knew that he and the world were far better off because of her and for knowing her, it certainly didn't help him in his decision to avoid developing any romantic feelings with anyone. He'd decided long ago that love was something that he couldn't afford in his life, dedicating himself fully to his mission.

However, his feelings for her had been steadily growing stronger over the last several months and he had to put a stop to it no matter how hard it was going to be for both of them. Once this was resolved and she was no longer in danger, he was cutting all ties with her as well as the Justice League. He had allowed things to go on long enough, allowed himself to become too emotionally involved with her.

He would continue to provide financial funding and support to make sure that the League and the Watchtower were able to continue functioning for many years to come, but as far as Batman was concerned, he'd never be a member again. Gotham would become his sole focus once more.

Bruce knew that Diana and Clark would be furious with him and try their best to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up. There was nothing that anyone could do or say that would cause him to come back. It was for the best for all of them, but most of all for her.

"Bruce, you need to rest," Diana said, breaking into his thoughts that had been storming around her. "You're in no condition to be doing that right now."

"We've already had this discussion. You need to worry about yourself instead of me," he darkly rasped without a pause in his exercises or to even look back at her.

Diana glared at his back as he continued his exercises, thoughts of throwing her breakfast tray at him momentarily flitting through her mind. She was mad at J'onn for giving him enough oxygen tubing to allow him to get up and walk around isolation without having to be forced to stay in bed.

Before she could begin to come up with a response for him, he spoke again. "Glaring at me isn't going to make me stop either, Princess."

Diana's fingers curled around the edge of her tray, her irritation with him expanding by the second as she began to wonder if the man truly did have eyes in the back of his head. She didn't know how he always managed to get under her skin so quickly. No one got to her like he always seemed able to do, igniting her irritation.

"Fine," came her clipped response. "Then teach me Tai Chi."

"What?" Bruce froze in the middle of a move, turning around to find her already climbing out of her bed much to his frustration.

"You promised to teach me Tai Chi," she repeated, hobbling over to him.

"When was that?" he demanded with a heated glower.

"After our sparring session a couple of weeks," she reminded him, wincing as she accidently put too much weight on her broken leg. She paused for a moment to catch her breath before continuing to make her way towards him.

"Yah, because you're in great condition to be doing Tai Chi right now," Bruce icily retorted with a sneer. "You're in too much pain to be doing these moves. Go back to bed and rest."

"I'm no worse than you are," she shot back, undaunted. "Now, show me how you did that last move."

Bruce scowled angrily at her, his expression dark and threatening as he folded his arms against his chest. "No."

Diana rolled her eyes, her hands coming to rest on her hips. "Your big bad threatening Batglare won't work on me, Bruce. It never did before and it definitely won't this time. Now, did you start with your weight on the ball of your left foot?"

"You are the most infuriating, obstinate person I have ever met," he angrily growled, refusing to back down as well.

"Funny," she stated, unruffled by him. "You just described yourself. I guess you know how I feel dealing with you all the time."

They pair glared angrily at one another, neither willing to back down at that moment. Bruce stared at her, his heated gaze boring into her equally obstinate blue eyes. He knew in that instant that he wasn't going to win this battle. He never seemed to win when it came to a battle of wills with her.

"Fine," he growled, his arms falling to his sides as he studied her. "If you have more pain because of this, it's not my fault. I will have no sympathy for you."

"I never asked for your sympathy," she retorted. "Now, start at the beginning."

Bruce turned away from her, a scowl still firmly in place. "Weren't you paying attention when you watched me go through some of them a few minutes ago?"

The cocky arrogance of the billionaire came through with his question, inflaming her anger even more. "I was too busy trying to figure out the best way to get you back into your bed without breaking you in two."

"You had your chance to break me at the compound and I'm still standing, Princess," he smugly reminded her. "I'll guarantee you won't get a second chance."

Diana's raven eyebrow cocked at his arrogance. "Oh really?" she responded. "And what do you know that I don't know?"

Bruce instantly regretted his choice of words. Piquing the princess's suspicions now would only make isolation that much more unbearable especially if she discovered what he was planning to do when this was all over.

"Nothing," he curtly said with a shake of his head. "We're going to start with something simple."

"Bruce, you don't have to go easy on me," she stated. "I'm not going to break."

"I know," he replied, a measure of his annoyance diminishing. It wasn't her fault that he was struggling with his self-control and the feelings that she always managed to inflame within him. "You need to know the basics before you can move on to the more complicated exercises."

Diana studied him for a moment before finally speaking again. "Alright, go ahead."

"I'll teach you Tai Chi if you promise me two things," Bruce told her, turning to face her again.

Diana's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she was intrigued nonetheless. "Let me hear them and then I'll decide if I agree to them or not."

"First, you will stop if you have too much pain," he said. "Second, you promise to teach me your Amazonian exercises."

She thought for a moment, coming to a decision. "I agree to both of your terms."

"Good," he murmured with a smirk of victory. "Let's begin then."

Diana moved to stand next to him, more than ready to learn. It helped to get her mind off the perilous situation they found themselves in, her fear for Bruce growing with every day that passed. He refused to concede the fact that he was steadily worsening, but she could see it and it scared her.

"Follow my lead," he told her as he slowly began to take her through each move.

He watched as she followed his instructions, noticing the graceful way that she moved. Though broken and battered, she held so much power within her frame and yet maintained such femininity. She was all warrior and, at the same time, very much all woman. Mostly definitely all woman.

She was the perfect dichotomy of strength and sensuality, beauty and fortitude. She never ceased to amaze him no matter what she did, captivating him with how she approached everything in life from a fierce battle to a friendly sparring match. She was so unlike any other woman that he had ever known.

"Good," he told her. "Keep your left elbow up."

"Like this?"

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod of his head. "Now, turn like this…bringing your arm around."

Diana mimicked his move precisely, doing her best to hide the pain she was in. Her leg was throbbing mercilessly, but she ignored it. She finally had Bruce focusing on something other than the case for a little while and she was going to make sure it lasted for as long as possible.

There wasn't anything that he could do from quarantine on the Watchtower and yet the obstinate man thought that he should have been able to solve the case and create an antidote for the virus they had been exposed to. This was so far beyond his control, although she knew that he carried the full burden of the guilt of it all on his shoulders. They were both going to have to trust in their friends to come through for them this time.

Bruce frowned as he watched her careful movements, knowing that she was in pain. The stubborn Amazon wasn't about to stop for a moment no matter how much it was hurting her. He had warned her that he wouldn't have any sympathy for her, but knew that wasn't true. It was his fault that she had been blown up in the first place.

He felt absolutely helpless isolated up here, unable to investigate this case or work on creating an antidote for whatever it was that was trying to kill them. Relying on others to do something that he did best, knowing that the life of the woman that meant everything to him hung in the balance made him ill to his core.

"Nightwing to Batman. Gotta talk to you, Bats."

"What is it, Nightwing?" Bruce asked, turning away from Diana. "Do you have something on the attack at the airport?"

"What attack?" Diana exclaimed as she turned towards Bruce, her eyes wide in shock.

Bruce had the decency to at least look chagrined for not telling her about what had happened last night in Gotham, but his city was his business, not hers. Besides, there was no substantial proof yet that what was happening with Gotham and Poison Ivy was connected in any way with what they were going through now.

"I found a couple more spores at the airport similar to what I found before at Ivy's last known hiding place," he revealed. "Oracle analyzed them and they are identical to the spores at the crematorium. Zatanna was able to get a sample of the blue gas we found at the airport. I'm sent it up for J'onn to examine and compare with what you and Diana were exposed to."

"Any reports yet on the people that were exposed?"

"Gotham General is still running tests on the dozen or so that were exposed," Dick revealed. "Hopefully, we'll know something later today."

"Do we have any evidence that Ivy is involved in this?"

"Not yet, but I still think she's going to be our best bet."

"I'm not so sure about that, but for now she's our top priority," Bruce told him. "We can't let her infect Gotham."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he flatly stated.

"Yah right you're fine," Dick grumbled. "You could be bleeding to death and you wouldn't tell anyone."

"I'm having some shortness of breath…that's all," Bruce relented with a huff of annoyance.

"Now, was that so hard?" Dick asked, amusement lacing his voice. "How's Diana? Are you driving her crazy yet?"

Bruce glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, noting the way she was staring him down with a very irritated expression gracing her face. He knew he was in for a very stern lecture when his conversation with Dick was over.

"She's as annoying and stubborn as ever," Bruce muttered as he momentarily returned her glare. "How's Robin?"

"Better," Dick replied. "Should be up and around in the next couple of days."

"Keep me posted," Bruce stated, his voice all Bat and all business. "Batman out."

"You are going to start at the beginning and tell me every single thing that you've been hiding from me," Diana threatened him, her fierce glare actually making him a little hesitant.

"I don't even know for sure if it's connected to what is happening to us," Bruce told her as he began to make his way to his bed.

A sudden wave of dizziness swept over him, making his legs feel like rubber. He felt himself begin to fall only to have a strong hand grasp his upper arm and keep him upright. He turned to look into Diana's concerned face.

"I've got you," she softly murmured, fear brimming in her blue eyes instead of anger. She helped him climb into his bed, pulling his covers up over him. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

"I just got a little dizzy," he confessed, squeezing his eyes shut against the nausea roiling through him with the dizziness.

"That was not a little dizziness," Diana countered. "You almost fell, Bruce. I'm calling J'onn."

Bruce instantly reached out and grabbed her hand, keeping her from leaving him. "Don't…it's starting to pass."

Diana studied for him a moment, her lips pursed in disagreement as she settled into the chair at his bedside. He didn't look like he was doing any better. He looked pale and his breathing was ragged again despite the fact he still had his oxygen on.

"You're going to be the death of me, Bruce Wayne," she murmured, sadness permeating her eyes.

Bruce gave her his patented playbook smirk in an attempt to reassure her. "Feeling is more than mutual, Princess."

"You are going to tell me everything that you've been hiding from me," she sternly told him. "Now, start with the attack in Gotham."

Bruce sighed wearily, knowing that he wasn't going to win this battle either. In fact, he wondered if he was ever going to be the victor when it came to battles with her. He knew there was one battle that he wasn't going to let her win. He could not lose the battle for his heart or it would only lead to heartache and grief for her.