A haze was descending over Catwoman's mind. She couldn't string together a coherent sentence. They made sense in her mind, but in trying to vocalize them they'd come out convoluted, a random jumble of letters and sounds.
"Shh…I know, baby." Ivy cooed, stroking Catwoman's short black hair as she held the woman fast in her embrace. A vine reached out from Ivy's leotard and picked up the lipstick from where it lay in the ground, retracting to stay hidden among the leaves once more. "I'm sorry." She repeated. "But I have a very important task for you."
The plane was drawing nearer; they could see it over the tops of the trees as it approached at record place. Catwoman was focusing hard on getting at least one word out. She screwed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth until the words "one weapon" came stumbling out.
"You can't fault me for coming prepared." Ivy told her, voice soothing as she nuzzled her cheek into the other woman's. "If anything, fault them for failing to do their research."
The Batplane landed at the edge of the clearing and Batman jumped out without even turning off the engine. Ivy gave Selina one more reassuring squeeze before standing up and walking a few yards up the bank, placing herself squarely in Batman's path.
"How bad is it?" He asked as he approached. "Let me see her."
Ivy crossed her arms, increasing her physical imposition. "Not so fast, Batman."
"What do you want, Ivy?" He growled, desperation evident in his tone. "Do you want a fight? Is that it?" he continued to advance.
Ivy chuckled. "Oh, no, Darling. I don't want a fight. I want revenge."
"For who? For Harley?" Batman demanded.
"Yes of course for Harley, you sack of rodent excrement." Ivy spat. "You have now entered into the arena, and so you will meet a challenger just like the rest of us."
"Then let's go." He gritted. "I don't have time for this."
"Seems as if there's been a misunderstanding…I am not your challenger, Batman." She stepped aside and his eyes fell on Catwoman who'd been willed to her feet. "Now you will know how it feels to murder the woman you love.
"No." Batman was reeling. "I'm not going to kill her. I would never kill her."
"You know…I once thought the same thing about Harley." Ivy forced Selina forward, the lipstick allowing her to control the woman's movements like she would a plant. "And would you look how that turned out."
"Pamela, stop this!" Batman bellowed. "Selina is your friend!"
"No." Ivy grinned, her green eyes flashing. "She's my sister, and we unfortunately have a rather dysfunctional family dynamic."
"She's hurt. She can barely stand. She's bleeding!" Batman tried to reason with her.
"Mind over matter, Darling." Ivy stepped back behind Catwoman as her claws shot out of the tips of her gloves. "She won't stop until one of you is dead, of that I can assure you.
"You won't get away with this." Batman growled.
"Are you thinking your hero friends will come to your rescue?" Ivy chuckled. "Seems to me you've betrayed them. You violated the rules of the game to save a villain. Tell me, Batman, what makes this one so special?"
"Pamela, stop. You don't have to do this. You're better than this, I've seen it." Batman pleaded.
"Unfortunately, you made the mistake of sending my incentive in here with me. I don't like being manipulated, Batman." A cruel smile once again licked at the corners of her mouth. "May Hera take pity on your soul, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
Catwoman lunged forward with a hiss and a swipe, and Batman narrowly avoided her sudden charge, ducking just under her claw. He reached for a batarang from his utility belt as Catwoman squared up for another pass.
"Oh good." Ivy paced leisurely behind Catwoman. "That should inflict maximum damage."
Batman faltered, and in that moment of hesitation, Catwoman pounced, whipping her leg around and connecting with his temple. "Mph" he grunted and wobbled on his feet.
Catwoman tried to make another move, but he was prepared this time and caught her wrist as she went to scratch him. She used his grip like a lever, swinging herself forward and landing both her heels squarely in his stomach. He stumbled back once more and dropped his grip. Catwoman advanced, her lack of eyesight inconsequential with Ivy at the helm.
"Catwoman is one of the most talented martial artists in the world, Batman." Ivy reminded him. "I would recommend not taking it easy on her."
Selina came in quickly, and Batman raised his arm to land a blow, but Catwoman ducked, sliding on the ground and using her foot to whip his legs out from under him.
"Selina, don't." He implored as she raised her whip. "I don't want to hurt you."
"We find that statement demeaning." Ivy sneered. "And it's not her choice anyway."
CRACK!
The leather whip snapped across his abdomen and he hissed in pain, then his body's natural response kicked in and he grabbed Catwoman's arm, twisting it painfully. She couldn't vocalize it, but from her expression it was clear the position was none too comfortable.
Selina somehow leveraged herself to get her boot at Batman's throat. She pressed, using the strength of his grip on her arm against him, until they heard a SNAP and he had to let go of the fractured thing out of disgust for the disfigurement he'd caused.
"Can you feel her pain, Batman? In your chest, can you feel the weight of it?" Ivy demanded. "Because I could! I could feel the pain I had caused. Can you?"
Tears were once again streaming down Catwoman's face, but she still used her functional arm to scratch him, ripping the chest of his costume.
"Please make her stop!" Batman pleaded as he grabbed Selina around the throat. "She's your friend."
"So was Harley! Now she's laying in a shallow grave!" Ivy raged. "All thanks to you!"
"I didn't make you kill Harley." He gritted as he wrestled himself on top of Catwoman.
"YOU TOLD ME JOKER WAS BACK! YOU TOLD ME HE WOULD COME FOR HARLEY! YOU LURED ME TO THAT WAREHOUSE! YOU KIDNAPPED ME AND PUT ME HERE! OF COURSE YOU MADE ME DO IT! YOU MADE ME DO ALL OF THIS!" Roots shot up from the ground around her, twisting in the air with no real purpose, just the physical embodiment of her fury.
The sun began to set rapidly and only a sliver of the moon took its place. "Oh, what?" Ivy addressed the sky. "You don't want to watch anymore? You've had your fill of depravity? Too bad!" She grabbed one of the flying cameras with a root and positioned it directly above Batman and Catwoman.
Selina swiped desperately at Batman's exposed chin. Finally making contact, she left a deep gash where he wasn't protected by his cowl. He had no choice but to press her further into the grass.
"She's already lost too much blood, Batman." Ivy was strangely calm, now in control of the situation, watching her only friend sputter and choke. "The least you can do it put her out of her misery."
Batman looked down at Selina and saw the tears leaking from her mangled eyes and the blood from the slashes on her cheek.
"Go ahead." Ivy urged. "Be her hero."