As seems to be becoming the norm, sorry for the long delay. Work and life have been busy.

Reviews only take a second and make things so worthwhile for us authors. So, take a second and let us know what you think. Insight is always welcome and encouraged and they certainly provide additional incentive to get that next chapter out.

A/N: I don't own Batman or any other character affiliated with DC Comics.

The game of cat and mouse between Bruce and Isley lasted the better part of twelve minutes. If someone had been watching the two of them from the second floor balcony overlooking the massive room the sight would have probably been somewhat..comical. He moved between groups, chatting briefly with each gathering of guests before moving on to welcome still more. She seemed to be doing something similar, mirroring him and moving and nodding along with whatever was being said with an empty smile decorating her face.

In a sense, the sharks were circling one another, biding their time.

Ever reliable, Alfred had eventually shown up with an earpiece and a bag of goodies for Bruce to pocket, brushing past him and leaving it all in his palm. The communication device found its way into his ear when he seemed to absently brush at his hair with the remaining items being simply pocketed for later.

Bruce also hoped that Alfred would continue to keep Selina occupied and away from him. She was around here somewhere and he'd inevitably be forced to deal with the murderer and wanted to keep her as far away as possible. Her presence would only complicate matters. Maybe she'd recognize Isley from the bulletins the GCPD were beginning to put out. Worse, maybe she wouldn't and would get in the deadly woman's way.

Strolling nonchalantly between the mingling crowds Bruce took the time to look around.

With this many of the city's upper crust present the police reaction would be cautious at best. They'd be assembling tactical teams rather than coming in with whatever was available nearby, loathe to risk retaliation against Gotham's rich and influential. It meant he needed to buy all the time he could. She'd be in a rush now that her picture was out there circulating. Granted, it was of the much more ordinary looking Pamela rather than the exotic Ivy, but there was still always a chance she could be recognized. That meant slowing her down could prove challenging.

Bruce had briefly entertained the notion of sneaking away and having the Batman make an appearance to subdue Poison Ivy. The study was a short walk down a couple corridors, but despite his infiltration of Gilchrist's, appearing at Wayne Manor could very well raise some uncomfortable questions. For now he'd decided to see how far he could take this thing as Bruce instead of the vigilante. He'd play up the detached, empty headed playboy angle and see how long he could drag things out. For now, he also had the crowd to offer him some protection.

Eventually the game of cat and mouse had to come to an end though. Isley finally headed him off after he'd exchanged pleasantries with Ophelia Monroe and several of her close friends near the string quartet in the corner, practically bumping into him in her haste to attract his attention.

"Oh my gosh," she started, staring at him wide eyed with her hands raised as she backed away. "I am so, so sorry. I must have not been looking where I was going."

Bruce quirked an eyebrow. He wasn't going to play the part she expected. Not completely. Better to play the vacant playboy with some slight twists to keep her off balance.

"Sorry?" he said, cocking his head to the side. "Really? I kind of think you've been following me."

Fear and suspicion flashed through her eyes before she took stock of his casual, lopsided smile. "Guilty as charged," she finally managed. Isley smiled back coldly, an expression that didn't even come close to reaching her eyes. To most the expression would likely have appeared genuine enough given the distraction provided by the attire she was wearing, but to Bruce it was just downright eerie. "What gave me away?"

Bruce shrugged. "You're pretty hard to miss. Even in a crowd. That," he said, pointing to the red hair framing her face, "tends to give you away a bit. Other...attributes," he ran his eyes suggestively up and down her body, "don't exactly help either."

"Oh?" She hid the flare of anger at his blatant objectification well, but not well enough. She was a somewhat talented actress, but there were definitely cracks if one knew where to look. "I suppose I should be flattered to have the great Bruce Wayne taking notice of me. Not everyday you catch the eye of a billionaire. And I'm happy you like what you see." She smiled that same dead smile and held out her hand.

"Bruce Wayne," he answered, "but then again, you already knew that." When he took her hand though he held on after their handshake. Despite her attempt at seduction it didn't take long for her to stiffen awkwardly at the unwanted contact. "Listen," he asked, "do I know you? I mean, you look kinda familiar and I'm usually pretty good with faces. I definitely think I'd remember that hair too, but..."

"No. We've never met. That much I can promise," she practically hissed, twisting her hand out of his grip before finally trying to recompose herself. "Just...it must be someone else you're thinking of. I promise you, you've never met me before."

He arched an eyebrow "You sure? You sure we've never..." Bruce smirked at her in as suggestive a manner as possible, letting his eyes rake up and down her again. "Well, never...you know? I mean, you really look familiar. I just can't put my finger on it."

Isley rolled her eyes and huffed a bit in annoyance, managing to hide her anger relatively well. It was but seconds before the fake smile was again plastered on her face again . "No," she said with finality. "Completely positive. I'm relatively new in town."

"Oh," Bruce said before he glanced around and leaned in conspiratorially. "So, how'd you manage to score an invitation Miss...? I usually know just about everybody at these things."

For the first time since he'd seen her that evening, Isley looked a bit nervous, looking around for any nearby bodyguards or eavesdroppers. "You can call me Ivy and would you have security remove me if I told you I snuck in?" When he raised a questioning eyebrow she smirked. "What can I say?" Ivy shrugged. "I really wanted to meet the infamous Bruce Wayne."

"Not sure I like the infamous part, but have a beautiful woman escorted out? Really?" He spread his hands out and smiled that roguish, lopsided grin. "Surely you're kidding. I could never bring myself to do that." He bent in close as though he was going to whisper a secret. "I hate to reveal this to you, but you may have stumbled on one of my hidden weaknesses. I've kinda got a thing for beautiful women."

She smiled again. "I'd hardly call that a weakness, Mister Wayne."

Her appearance was likely how she got a lot of the men she'd been killing to lower their guard. The term femme fatale certainly seemed fitting enough in that case. It was probably more than effective, appealing to a man's ego like that. And now he was doing the exact same thing to her, letting her think this was going to be easy so she'd get comfortable and let her guard down. Hopefully that would be enough to catch her off guard. Thus far she hadn't exactly appeared incapable after all.

Bruce laughed. "Tell that to my lawyers," he said. "Do you have any idea how tired they're getting of all the fictional maternity cases and claims of sexual harassment?" Bruce shrugged. "Who knew having a few billion in the bank made you such a target?" He plastered on a vacant smile. "Guess I should be happy I'm so popular though, right?"

Ivy smiled again. "It made me want to meet you, didn't it."

"And I'm more than happy about that fact. Can't deny the notoriety doesn't have its perks." He frowned for a second. "Of course, there are...downsides too."

"Mmmm? Such as?"

"Well," Bruce started, tapping his chin in thought, "I don't suppose you missed out on the stories about me and the limo full of lingerie models, did you?"

The story had been fairly sensational in the gossip pages almost a year and a half ago. Of course, the entire thing had been faked by he and Alfred, choreographed to further cement his reputation as a hard partying, womanizing, carefree, spoiled rich kid. The video of him pretending to be drunk with an armful of actually inebriated, scantily clad women hanging off him while he attempted to purchase Gotham's most upscale Italian bistro so he could order a cheeseburger and milkshake had been genuinely funny and widely circulated. The fact that he'd never had a drink that night and only spent about forty five minutes with the girls rather than the hours they claimed had gone undiscovered.

He did own the restaurant now though.

Ivy cocked her head slightly. "So, it was true then? I kind of wrote that one off as being just a little too fantastic to be factual. Figured it had to be exaggerated."

"Yeah." He scratched his head guiltily, but smirked at the same time. "If anything I think they may have actually undersold it."

Isley's eyes narrowed but the devious smile was still there. She obviously thought she had her hooks in him. "Mister Wayne, are you...are you trying to show off?" she asked.

Bruce shrugged. "Well, I guess that all depends. Is it working?"

Bruce managed to keep Pamela stalled for another five minutes with minimal distractions before disaster almost struck. She'd insinuated twice in that span that she'd appreciate a guided tour of the new building, even once going so far as to run a hand up his forearm and back invitingly. Conveniently, the ever dense Bruce Wayne he was portraying managed to let the subtle signals go unrecognized. It was only a matter of time though before she started to make her attempts to separate him from the other party goers more overt.

Twenty seconds later she stepped closer to the point the two were almost pressed up against each other.

Unluckily for him, that was about the time a familiar curvy figure separated from the surrounding crowds, the other people seeming to part before her as she made her way inexorably closer to Pamela and Bruce, heading directly towards the two of them.

Selina. Shit. And of course she didn't look at all happy despite the smile on her face. He managed to take a hasty step back just before she made it to them.

"Hi there," she said, continuing to smile her typical, sly smile. Her eyes, however, were telling a completely different story, firing daggers as her glance alternated not just at him, but at the stunning redhead across from him. Bruce couldn't help it, he awkwardly smiled a little at the sudden uncomfortable air that had suffocated the small group. God help him, he had to keep up the facade of the uncaring womanizer. Unfortunately, it was also a smile that was probably not going to help his case with Selina later on. Assuming there was a later on.

And past all that, did that happen to be...jealousy he saw flashing in her eyes. He certainly couldn't think of anything else that he'd done to bring about a look like that. That didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination then. Was the ever enigmatic Selina Kyle worried about a little outside competition? Not that the redheaded black widow joining them actually was, but she certainly didn't know that. Was the woman who'd all but declared herself uninterested in some kind of formal relationship trying to stake her claim? If not for the fact that she was interrupting his conversation with a remorseless serial killer he'd probably have been touched or tickled or...something. Instead her rather sudden appearance just twisted the knife of nervousness in his gut further.

A moment of awkward silence stretched between the three of them as the woman took each other in, casting occasional curious glances at him as well.

Then, despite any irritation...or perhaps because of it...Selina reached up and softly kissed his cheek. Unsurprisingly Isley's eyes narrowed. "Oh, and who is this?" Selina asked, finally turning towards the redhead and actually acknowledging her presence verbally. "I certainly hope I'm not interrupting anything..." she turned her glare on Bruce, "...interesting."

Bruce opened his mouth to respond, but the other woman beat him to the punch. The sickly sweet smile she was wearing would probably have been enough to scare away a prowling lion for all the vehemence it carried. "Actually," she started, "we werehaving a private conversation. I'm sorry, but if you don't mind it's actually kind of..."

"Business related," Bruce interjected without thinking, hoping to preserve his standing with Selina somehow.

"...personal," Isley finished at the same time.

He grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut rather than face the scalding looks he was sure to be receiving from both directions. Seriously? Of all the things, this was what he wasn't prepared for? He could plan and scheme to take on literally dozens of armed targets, but stick him with two competing women, one with literally murderous intent, and he was at a loss. The nervous laugh that slipped out next was completely genuine as silence seemed to descend over the three of them again. The sour looks the two women were currently sending his way were also painfully similar and horribly effective. Crap.

Choosing to ignore the third party Selina decided to address him, directing most of her silent anger in his direction. "So...which one is it then?" she asked, her arms firmly crossed in front of her with a slim champagne glass dangling from the fingertips of her right hand. Unfortunately, Isley beat him to the punch, her stance equally combative.

"Does it matter?" she spat, eyeing her challenger. "Either way you'reinterrupting. Now if you don't mind..."

Selina took a step forward, her arms uncrossing as her eyebrows shot up her forehead and the knuckles whitened a bit around her flute's stem. "Oh?" She laughed, her voice rising in volume. "Oh really? Is that right? Well, I wouldn't want to..."

Figuring he had nothing left to lose Bruce stepped between them, wrapping one arm around Selina and turning her gently away from her quarry. He turned to Isley and sent her a pleading look as he began to move the other woman away. "Look, can you wait right here for a second? I need to talk to Selina for a minute. Won't take long. I promise. Just...umm...hang on."

Without waiting for a response he took Selina's arm gently and continued to lead her a short distance away, just far enough that they wouldn't be overheard. She still wasn't happy looking, but at the very least she let herself be led away rather than storming off or causing some kind of scene. Hopefully that meant she at least wanted to hear him out first before unleashing her quite literal claws. The brief respite though didn't extend to making verbal jabs apparently.

"Must be somekind of business transaction," she remarked as soon as they were out of the redhead's earshot, her voice dripping in venomous sarcasm. "She looks like quite the professional. Tell me, does she charge by the hour or by the night?"

"Selina..."

"Oh, no. You don't get to Selina me. Don't you even think about telling me I didn't hear what I heard. She looked awfully chummy and you didn't exactly look like you were discouraging it, Bruce." He opened his mouth to respond, with what he wasn't sure, but Selina didn't give him the chance, plowing right along. "And what the hell is with the snooty, rich-boy act? I thought we were past that annoying bullshit. You trying to throw out some bait and see what the trust fund brings running? Cause I don't play that game. And I appreciate being messed with even less."

Bruce put up his hands to stop her, looking as apologetic as ever. "Okay, you're angry. I get it. Look though, can I just explain things for a second? Please? It's not what you think. Let me explain and then you can decide whether or not you want to eviscerate me."

The glare remained, but this time she stayed quiet for a moment. Then her face fell a bit and she downed the contents of her champagne flute. "I know...I know, okay? I get it." she said. "Man surrounded by pretty, willing girls. I get it. Bound to happen." She pushed her hand through her hair like she often did. Her voice may have sounded resigned to her fate, but her expression hadn't changed much from one of extreme displeasure. "I already know what you're gonna say so don't. We're not exclusive and blah, blah, blah. I even said so myself. That was my call. But I mean really Bruce?" She glanced over his shoulder back at the redhead who was still standing by herself. "Her?" The fingers went through her short hair again. "And...hell, why am I even acting like this? I'm the one who didn't want labels. God, I'm behaving like some kind of stupid pubescent teenager with a crush, aren't I?"

Bruce allowed a small smile. "I think it's cute."

Unimpressed, Selina glared at him again. Apparently that may have not been the time to say something like that. "Gee, thanks," she managed between still firmly set lips. "Guess what though? You're not getting off that easily. And what was with the whole brainless man whore thing you had going on over there? Mind explaining that?"

Bruce winced. "You were listening that long, huh?" She arched an eyebrow but made no other outward signs of answering. He sighed, his brain already whirring away to construct some new kind of lie that she could buy. Once again, the truth proved far too dangerous and complicated to just blurt out. The story of his life it would seem. "Alright, fine," he said, trying to placate her. He continued to take his time, talking deliberately so his mind had time to work ahead of his mouth. "You remember when I talked about playing the part? Putting on the mask for certain reasons?" She chewed on her lip for a second, her eyes still hard, but eventually nodded. "People like her are simply another one of those reasons. It's just one more stupid reality of my existence."

God he hoped she bought this. He didn't necessarily enjoy lying to her, but what was he supposed to say? She's a serial killer targeting him that he's hoping to stall until the authorities arrive? Right. Because that was more believable. Besides, knowing Selina, if she knew that she'd find a way to stick her nose into things and cause problems. Possibly even get herself hurt.

"Miss Ivy over there happens to be the daughter of one of Wayne Enterprise's largest distributors," he said instead, glancing back at Isley. "This is all just a game to her. It's simple. She likes to flirt. Likes to think that me and her have...something going on. Usually it's just a minor annoyance that I can manage to ignore, but with the contracts coming up for negotiation soon she could really throw a wrench in things with dear old dad if I don't make nice and play along." He glanced back at Isley again, a look that netted nothing but another glare from her. "She's frustratingly temperamental that way."

The coldness in Selina's eyes softened the tiniest bit, but her expression remained grim. "Sounds fun," she said though she plainly didn't mean it. "So, that makes you what then? A corporate whore? Ready, willing, and able anytime it'll increase the bottom line? Tell me, is this yet another side of you that you've been hiding from me? Cause I'm not exactly thrilled with it"

"Um...I don't think you're quite getting it."

Selina crossed her arms again, the glare reappearing. "Then why don't youenlighten me?"

"Like I said, it's a game. Just a game. Nothing more. I've never slept with her." When she opened her mouth to say something he reiterated the point. "Never."

"And how exactly do you expect me to believe that? How could you possibly manage that without pissing off the princess over there? She can't be that big an idiot." Selina was obviously still wary, but she seemed to be buying at least part of the story. God, it all sounded so ridiculous to him though.

"Let's just say that there are others that know the game just as well as I do." He smiled. "They...lend me a helping hand when I need it."

Selina thought for a moment, studying his face. "Alfred?" she asked.

He nodded. "Amongst others. You know, it's funny how often emergencies pop up with Wayne Enterprises right when Ivy thinks things are about to happen between us." His grin widened. "It's so very, very tragic."

Selina just watched him for a second, gauging things before a slight smile broke through. This time it wasn't fake and this time her eyes weren't hard and unyielding. "You know," she said, the smile turning devious, "if memory serves there happened to be a Wayne Enterprises emergency on ourfirst date. I suppose that could have been...convenient. Something you want to tell me, Bruce?"

He just returned the smile and didn't skip a beat, happy that she seemed to be accepting things as a strange reality in the life of a billionaire. "And if I remember correctly there wasn't an emergency popping up the other night. Or the next morning for that matter." His face sobered up, expressing nothing but solemn honesty. "Selina, do you honestly think you're just another part of the charade? Because you're not a game. Not to me."

Apparently his answer finally cracked the final remnants of ice because she blushed and smiled coyly up at him, taking a slow step forward and twisting up to whisper in his ear. "Glad to hear it." Then the smile turned predatory, that sexy mischievous glint back in her green eyes. "And if it's just a thing for redheads you know you could have just said something." He met her eyes and she smiled wider. "I'm sure we could arrange for some...alterations later tonight."

Bruce couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine at the suggestive comment. The bright, positively hungry look she was sending him wasn't particularly helpful either. Sadly it wasn't time for that. He needed to stay focused for the time being. There was an opening to be had here between the two of them. One that could manage to leave him in the good graces of Selina while still accomplishing his mission with Isley so long as the true identity of the murderer remained secret.

"Actually," he said, "if anything I've kinda got a thing for dark hair and green eyes. Mostly when they're attached to a specific person. And there will definitely be a later for her. But for now, Selina, can I ask you a favor?"

It wasn't long afterward that Bruce found himself headed back to the patiently waiting redhead. Thankfully, despite the possibility that her opportunity to get him alone may have eluded her she'd apparently considered him an important enough target to wait. At the very least she seemed to want to see where things lay once he came back from talking to the other attractive woman.

Equally lucky, Selina had agreed to let him continue on with her in relative peace after a little cajoling. She wasn't ecstatic about the prospect of letting him flirt unimpeded with a woman whom she considered a wealthy socialite, but she finally acquiesced once Alfred assured her nothing untoward would happen. He'd promised her that he'd personally see to that. And so things seemed to have worked out somewhat. Or at least as well as could be expected for Selina and him and whatever the burgeoning...thing was they had.

And Christ did his head hurt just trying to get it wrapped around whatever the hell that even meant.

In the end though, her little interruption had even bought him some additional time until the police could finally make their move. That put things at nearly a solid twenty minutes since the call had initially gone out. They'd certainly be here by now, gathering and planning somewhere outside where prying eyes couldn't easily find them. By now they'd also undoubtedly have the blueprints to the manor that had been filed with the City Clerk's office to aid in their planning. It was pretty standard operating procedure in order to understand the terrain and its details.

Of course in this case the blueprints also weren't entirely complete. Not that they'd ever discover that.

Twenty minutes. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer now. He couldn't stall things like this indefinitely. Eventually Isley would get nervous and either do something crazy or stupid, lose interest and change her target, or even retreat. Any of those options was unacceptable. It was up to him to keep her concentration firmly on him.

"Well, that was...uncomfortable," she said as he finally walked back up. She glanced past him, over his shoulder where Selina was still comfortably chatting away with his butler. "And who was she? Your girlfriend?"

"Who? Selina?" He glanced back too before facing the redhead again. That was actually a very, very good question. One the two of them would eventually have to actually figure out. Of course, that was assuming there was still a 'they' by the end of the night. There was still a long, long way to go and plenty he could screw up. For Ivy though, a 'yes' probably wasn't what she wanted to hear. So, he went another way. "Uh..." he shrugged, "I guess."

She hadn't expected that. "You guess?"

Her face told the story. She thought her chances to get his attention and then get him alone had vanished along with the arrival of the alluring, dark haired woman and his less than emphatic confirmation of their relationship. He needed to keep her thinking she had him though. Otherwise it meant she might go off in search of other, easier prey. He needed to tread carefully here, but this could also be used to give Isley an easy opening.

The act might not fly with Selina, but at least she could still be made to believe he was the womanizing, dimwitted playboy everyone thought he was. At least he hoped so. Most of his attempts before hadn't been much more than surface decoration. Here he'd really have to sell it.

He shrugged again and smiled shallowly. "Well, she's one of them at least. Although if you ask me it seems like she might want to be the only one." He grimaced. "I'm sorry about that by the way. I already knew she was energetic, but apparently Selina can be the jealous type. It makes for some...entertaining evenings, but there are some very obvious downsides."

"Oneof them?" With every word her jaw had dropped slightly lower while her eyebrows climbed subtly in the opposite direction. The blatant look of disgust crossing her features was unmistakable, even her normally well schooled mask cracking before his apparent audacity. Like before though, the sharpness in her eyes shifted back to something unreadable before that too was replaced by the dawning realization that he had in fact provided her with a glaringly large opening. One that lent itself to getting the two of them off somewhere alone. Isley's predatory grin returned full blast then. "And tell me, Mister Wayne," she said, sidling slightly closer, "are all your...admirers as personable as her?"

Bruce laughed, a reaction that almost turned into a choke when he saw Selina edge up behind Pamela and wink at him before sipping from a new champagne glass, her eyebrow cocked wickedly. Wonderful. Apparently after his little explanation she now wanted courtside seats to his performance. Leave it to her to still find a way to distract him and still endanger the both of them at the same time unintentionally. Thankfully he managed to salvage things somewhat and turn it into more of a gurgling chuckle than a choked cough. "Well, it's not really their personalities I'm all that interested in, if you know what I mean?"

Selina arched an eyebrow, but this time a slight quirk at the corner of her lip let him know it wasn't about to get him in trouble.

"I see." The wicked smile stayed in place, her dark eyes seeming to grow even deeper as she contemplated the direction things were going. She'd definitely seen the opening widen. Not that he was making it difficult. "And are you always accepting applications or is there a...screening process? You know, on the lookout for more? Perhaps a...redhead to add to the collection?"

Bruce cocked his head, looking at her out of the corner of his eye as he smiled. Eventually he shrugged. "Like I said, beautiful women are a weakness," he said, before he leaned in close and dropped his voice low. "I do generally like to see some qualifications first of course. Maybe even get a sample of the...ah...goods. I mean, one must make an educated decision, right? Can't afford to be too hasty."

Isley smiled, playing along while behind her Selina rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "Oh, I think it's only natural," the redhead answered. She inclined her head to look him over. "It's easy to tell you're the type of man to have only the most...particular of tastes. Still, I think I might surprise you if given the chance." Isley leaned in to whisper in Bruce's ear. The action darkened the look Selina was throwing him. "I promise I can give you something I guaranteeyou've never experienced before."

The double meaning was impossible to miss given what he knew about the woman. Still...wow...she hadn't wasted any time in pursuing this angle. Even he hadn't expected her to jump so completely at the chance he'd presented her, rather expecting more of a flirty back and forth as she tried to get him to lower his defenses rather than the full on seduction she was going for. Granted, he'd been helping lead her along in that direction, but he'd actually been attempting to cool her off a bit by being outright disgusting. He figured appearing as a male chauvinist might trip her up at least a little. Apparently his aim had been more than a little...off. She was nothing if not motivated to get him alone.

And now he was stuck in a bit of a corner. Backtrack now and she might get suspicious, but continue moving forward and she was going to start expecting things pretty quickly and again get suspicious if he wasn't trying to get the two of them alone. Thankfully, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

"Really?" he managed, his eyebrows arching high up his forehead. "How very interesting. So, I take it that means you're looking to fill out an application? Because I might be tempted to extend the offer."

"Mmmmm." She smiled and ran a hand up and down his arm. Bruce thought he could almost make out a low growl from off in Selina's direction but chose to ignore it. "So, what say we find someplace a little more...secluded so we can discuss the details and so I can give you a bit of a...demonstration. We don't have to be gone long and I'm sure..."

"Ahem."

Unbeknownst to everyone but Bruce, the earpiece had allowed Alfred to listen in to every last word spoken during the exchange. Ever on his toes, the ever steady butler knew precisely when his presence was needed, interrupting the pair before anything further could happen just as Ivy seemed ready to lead him away by the arm.

"Master Wayne?" he asked, smiling politely, once their attention had turned his way. "I am ever so sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid there are several small issues that require your immediate attention." Bruce nodded absently, causing the eager, anticipatory gleam to vanish from Ivy's face only to be replaced by one of frustration. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Selina subtly hiding a laugh behind one of her hands. "A Missus Gleason has requested the updated menu for tonight's event and the caterer is requesting he be allowed to open several more cases of the champagne. Apparently our guests are enjoying themselves a bit more than originally anticipated."

"Right. Um...Okay. Well, I think a Mister...Jenner has a copy of the new menu. He's..." Bruce craned his neck, looking for a man that didn't exist. "...well, he was right here. Try him or, if you can't find him, try Missus Richards. She's the...uh...well, she's the large one in the bright green. Hard to miss. And as for the champagne..." he turned toward a slightly bewildered Isley. "Open...what...six, maybe? What do you think? Six cases?" She just stared at him for a second before nodding dumbly. "Great," he said. "Let's make it six cases, Alfred. And can I maybe get a chilled bottle of the Bollinger while you're at it?"

"At once." The dutiful butler nodded once and bowed slightly before departing.

"Now then," Bruce said, smiling back down at the redhead beside him. "Where were we?"

Her predatory grin returned. "Hopefully you were just about to..."

"Excuse me, Mister Wayne?"

And so the next ten minutes progressed, made up of a steady stream of guests and employees coming up to them to make simple requests or posing innocent enough questions and all carefully and unknowingly choreographed by the always clever Alfred Pennyworth. The older man himself made two more appearances, once with the requested bottle of champagne and several more inane party questions and the second time bearing a check to be signed as well as several forms that needed the billionaire's immediate endorsement. Even Lucius Fox managed to get into the act, heading the pair off near the string quartet as they attempted to circumnavigate the room to ask about some of the latest points of contention in the Gilchrist acquisition all the while wearing a knowing smirk. The entire time Isley silently fumed nearby, but stayed doggedly close, attempting to steer him away during each and every lull.

And she repeatedly failed spectacularly.

Somewhere Bruce was sure Selina was laughing hysterically at the whole farce played on the woman.

It was almost forty minutes after he and Fox had first seen Poison Ivy enter the gala when he finally received the word from his butler over the radio waves that the police were finally in some semblance of position to act. From halfway across the manor's great room he caught the older man's eye and nodded slightly, tipping his head in the direction of the study while some neophyte looking for a campaign contribution rattled on in front of him. That was all the hint Alfred needed. He immediately left to call whoever was in command outside. Knowing his hands on approach and considering the gathering of important citizens and the situation's disastrous potential that probably meant Gordon.

The study would serve three purposes really. It would give Isley the seclusion she was seeking at the same time that it removed her from the crowds and provided the GCPD with a more easily cornered, convenient target. A target that would be far less dangerous or apt to inadvertently kill a city's worth of debutantes when she was separated from all of them. Last, but not least, it also put him in close proximity to the entrance to the cave and either a quick escape or a quick change should things not proceed as planned. If it came to that though he'd definitely have to be beyond subtle in getting away unseen. The alternative would prove disastrous.

Of course all it took to ruin the carefully constructed plans of both Bruce and the Gotham City Police Department was one overzealous cop doing something stupid. Not even stupid really, simply...ill advised.

It was before they'd even left the great room, halfway to exiting the stone archway into the adjacent hallway when the man had become obvious to Bruce. Trailing them in a glaringly obvious manner, his eyes flicking repeatedly toward the two of them while he occasionally reached up to touch the earpiece undoubtedly in his ear as he listened to radio chatter. To Bruce, the man was completely and painfully oblivious to his own lack of discretion. He pushed past them in the crowd to their left at one point, going so far as to roughly brush past the elderly wife of a prominent Gotham banker and making a small scene as he made for the exit ahead of them. Thankfully Isley seemed to remain calm and ignorant of what now lurked around them, attempting to prattle on about music in a way that made her seem flighty rather than the doctoral candidate he knew her to be.

The image of her being ignorant was shattered completely once they moved through the wide transition space between the party and the outside corridor, passing the final throng of party goers before the hallway and the single, bumbling plainclothes officer trying to disguise himself amongst them. He was pretending to be listening in to a conversation when she struck, forced close due to his positioning right at the archway. It wasn't much, certainly nothing Bruce was ready for or expecting, especially given her seeming obliviousness to the man, but she raised a small, antique crystal perfume bottle and sprayed its contents in the officer's face having never broken stride.

The detective, Cottrell, Bruce now saw coughed once as he batted at the vaporized liquid before going down mere seconds later in a choking, gagging fit as the capillaries in his face began rupturing beneath the skin. One of the guests, an elderly woman in a modest dark gray dress that was standing behind him went down as well.

Her friend was the first one to scream.

By the time her piercing shout echoed through the cavernous space, causing the entire crowd to momentarily pause in a strange, hushed, questioning silence Bruce and Isley were already through into the empty corridor leading toward the eastern portions of the home. From the ballroom, more shouts and screams could be heard, rising in volume.

Bruce reacted accordingly, stopping in his tracks and glancing back the way he and Ivy had come curiously. Apparently, his hesitance was something she was no longer having any part of as she gripped his arm more firmly and tugged.

"What?" he asked absently. "There's something going on. I should..."

From behind he felt her grip his arm in one hand, squeezing tightly, her fingernails digging into his exposed wrist. Staying in character, the act prompted him to turn partially back to face her. The small bottle in her other hand rose slightly in warning. "No," she said, shaking her head once. She inclined it slightly, nodding in the opposite direction of the party. "Let's go."

"But..."

Her grip tightened on his arm, the perfume rising closer to his face. "No," she managed between gnashed teeth. "I did not go through all this tonight to walk away empty handed. You're coming with me. Now move."

From his position he could still see a sliver of the great room and some of the people inside. Already he could see the pushing, moving figures of several disguised officers fighting their way through the crowd towards where the pair had been as the masses stood hesitantly by trying to figure out what to do. Doubtless the black clad tactical teams that would soon be entering through every available exit would spur them all into panicked action and plunge the entire fiasco further into disorder.

"Don't get any ideas," she hissed in his ear, letting any remaining traces of the seductress fall away as she watched him eye the other room and a possible escape. Roughly she pushed him further down the hall and further away, an act that would normally have resulted in a broken arm for her followed by a loss of consciousness, but with her little concoction still out and ready to go he couldn't take the risk. Even as an involuntary reflex on her part a small blast could be deadly. Isley took note of where his eyes were looking though and smirked. "My own little mixture," she said darkly, brandishing the small perfume bottle before him. "A bit of Amazonian tree frog sweat, a touch of South Sea Conch venom, and some other various herbs and rare flora I've managed to procure over the years. Trust me when I say you'll be dead before you realize you've inhaled it. Just stay with me and play the part of the obedient little hostage and things might actually work out well for you. Now I'm only going to say this once more. Move."

Bruce distinctly doubted she had anything but deadly intentions towards him, but for the time being he had no play past keeping everyone else as alive as possible. Best to seem defenseless. Given the right act she may even lower her guard if she thought he was cowed enough. One way or another though she had no intention to leave him breathing at the end of the night.

"Who the hell are you?" he managed to stammer out, opening his eyes wide at her as she latched on his arm, pulling him down towards the study and library. "What do you want? Money? I have money. I can get you money. Plenty of it."

She just eyed him with disgust and kept moving.

Bruce kept his eyes wide and his voice pitched and nervous. "Diamonds? Something else? Come on, there's gotta be something. You know who I am. Know what I can..."

"You really are that dense, aren't you?" she replied, eyeing him disdainfully again. "And no, it's not money I'm after. Not from the likes of you. Rather it's the way you've gone about earning your money that's brought me here tonight. You've done a great deal of evil to put yourself where you are and hurt a lot of innocents along the way. I'm here to see that justice is done." They were nearing the end of the corridor now, having already passed the doors to the restroom and back entry into the spacious kitchen and approaching the large double doors to his study on the left. "Who am I, Mister Wayne?" she asked. "I'm your judge and tonight...well, tonight you make restitution."

"Justice?" Bruce's eyebrows screwed together in confusion and fear. "Restitution? For what? What the hell do you think it is I did?"

"Oh, this is for everything. For every blade of grass, every limb of every tree, every defenseless organism you've obliterated. This is for all of those gifts the Earth sought to give us which you saw fit to destroy. You're answering for every last one of them. I'm going to make damn sure of that."

"Jesus." Both their heads snapped to the side at the voice. Bruce had heard Bullock coming seconds before he rounded the corner branching off across from the study's entrance, but staying in character meant being startled. "Crazy really had a field day with you, didn't it lady?" he said, his service weapon aimed unflinchingly at the two of them. Isley slid slightly more behind Bruce as a four man tactical team stepped into view behind the detective. "What say you drop the...the...well, that and we can introduce you to the nice little padded cell we've got waiting? I heard its got cable."

Ivy's eyes narrowed. "So, you think you can save the billionaire?"

Bullock shrugged as Montoya and another team approached cautiously from the direction of the party to the side. "Wayne?" he asked. "Shit no, I couldn't give a rat's ass about the little fruit." He nodded at Bruce. "No offense, man. I just want as little paperwork after this shindig is over as possible. There's a game on tonight."

For a second neither side said anything or moved, just watching the other and waiting for the next move to be made. Isley was the one to finally grow impatient and continue on, her eyes constantly flickering back and forth over the arrayed police and their weapons.

"Tell me, do you really expect me to simply let him go? After all I've managed to accomplish do you think I'll be dissuaded so easily?"

The detective didn't even look angry or driven, instead appearing almost bored when he responded. "Lady, again, I don't care. I really don't. Way I see it is you've got a couple options, all of which result in either your death or incarceration. Which conclusion we get at the end of this is entirely up to you. I'm just asking you to pick the quickest one. Tipoff's at eight."

Isley just watched him for a minute, the two engaging in yet another staring contest. "There's actually another option you're unaware of," she finally said. "One far more...conducive to my well being than anything you've offered." Far from looking nervous or afraid despite being all but surrounded by men sworn to bring her to justice Isley just smiled. "Now, you're going to let the two of us go..."

"Not happening, psycho," Bullock growled from behind the barrel of his semi automatic.

"...or I kill everyone in the building, including you." She let go of Bruce's arm to produce something else out of the small clutch she'd been carrying under her arm and smiled. "Tell me Officer, still think you're going to catch tonight's ballgame?"

A/N: For those who wanted to know about Isley's original storyline but didn't get a response, it's because you didn't leave a registered review (i.e. you weren't signed in when you reviewed the story). Thus, there is no link for me to respond to you. If you want to leave me another, registered review I'd still be happy to tell you the original plans.

I had some trouble with some of the interactions this chapter and it really slowed me down. Hopefully they came out well though. I'm especially proud of Bullock at the end.