Broken Adventure: Arc 3: Jumpchain

by theaceoffire

A fragment of a powerful being is sent on further Adventures... And manages to crash right into one. A child, hurt and lost and alone needs help, and Adam {Name Redacted} is JUST the Warehouse to save the day! Godlike, Jumpchain, Dimensional/Universe/Fictional/Reality Travel.

11. Chapter 11

Oops. "Scratch Moss v3.133, uh… In fact, skip right up to v3.141."

Note: Do NOT boost regeneration in someone with a connection to this red stuff!

A mental command began harvesting the massive mound of muscle, bone, organs, and skin. And it would be hard at work for another hour at least… So testing was now solidly on hold.

Adam showed the data. {{Uh… Technically the new body was a usable form? Sort of?}}

Meh, not really. "He could live, maybe eat, and theoretically was super strong…" She tapped the massive creature. "But as a ball like this, he would have no leverage."

Maybe he could roll himself?

Whatever, at least she could use the previous Moss dosage to consume the guy back down to his prior shape. The next test batch would then consume this older stuff for free energy too, so… Not a total loss.

Sarah looked up the holographic data. "I think the lungs were the most useful here, he had this distributed system of subnodes in his body that ensured his restricted movements and uncontrolled body rotation wouldn't cause him to suffocate."

They'd have to be adjusted and the genetics tweaked a bit, and a lot of efficiency and redundancy would need to be cut away to ensure compatibility with more normal shaped patients… But overall, a big boost compared to boring standard lung designs.

Bones were actually weaker than before, but more flexible.

Seriously, was Killer Croc going to become a blobby ball when he got super old? Was that just an oddity from boosting regeneration artificially or was that the final game plan of his strange magic enhancement process?

Absently she had the room [[Harvested]] and made it look more like a log cabin hidden in a swamp somewhere, tossing the slowly shrinking ball of meat in one corner to fully recover.

Croc's ridiculous healing factor and her Moss consuming the excess should have him back to normal soon enough, and 'Research' had pretty much milked this one dry as far as advancements go.

Well… Sort of normal?

Now he would probably never poop again due to how efficient his biology was, or at least FAR less often. And he would probably end up licking the mold and stuff off the walls until he got used to how delicious everything plant related tasted.

Also, she had managed to trim his claws down to be more like durable points than deadly spikes, but being able to operate stuff without accidentally shredding it would likely be a net positive overall.

Besides, if he wanted to attack something his raw power and magical enhancement would let him just tear it in half anyway. Plus, without massive claws everywhere, he could wear shoes! Probably. If they were specially designed.

A flicker had her own interface pop up. "Ready for my upgrades?"

A hum came from her friend. {{I've adjusted how your Junctioning system hooks into you rather than us having to shove some reptilian DNA in there. After all, we don't want to mess with how 'Bad Ass' would decide to optimize you when new cellular data is introduced.}}

Her thoughts imagined a sexy Croc lady. Hmm… Maybe later. "What about the structural enhancements?"

Charts and diagrams came up. {{Muscle density will increase by 17%, bone all the way up to 42%, not much of an improvement for your skin or other organs. Though they did all get more efficient, we optimized them towards increasing their effectiveness rather than reducing their energy costs.}}

Her grin slowly shifted to a frown. "I'm going to weigh a ton, aren't I?"

Adam chuckled. {{Around 517 lbs, or 234 kg, or 37 stone.}}

Holy shit. "That's more than THAT lug weighed, and I'm like half his height and almost a third his width!" Was she going to have to use magic to not crush everything!?

A mental nudge. {{Here, try Junctioning [[Float]] over to this stat… Slowly. And do NOT use True Magic, that would be way too powerful for this.}}

Sarah blinked and applied one unit of [[Float]] to 'Gravimetry'... EEP! "ADAM!"

His shock quickly changed as he unequipped the option and she fell back to the floor. {{SORRY! Sorry! That was totally my bad, shit.}}

What the HELL!? "That was NOT a workable solution." Ow, her stomach!

Adam was shifting stuff. {{Sorry, like I said these are a bit of an experiment… Right, don't mess with universal constants through the Avatar, uh… Let me try something else.}}

Even with her advanced resistance and resilience, that had thrown her for a loop. "Ugh, everything is still all swirly."

A new setup. {{Here. Far less flexible, but much less dramatic to use. Just set which planetary pattern to apply to your Avatar and that should help adjust your 'actual' weight to something more normal.}}

What? "Give me a second." It was like her brain had whiplash too. Eugh.

She sank into Killer Croc's new (And unused) reinforced couch. At least everything in HERE could easily support her new weight.

Thankfully, Adam stayed quiet until she settled down a bit. Only the random blurb and blop of the meatball over there healing itself while being consumed by Moss made any noise.

Right. Let's do this.

Sarah had the interface show her the new tab… The 'Avatar Simulation' tab.

Now, ignoring all the other things in here (Yep, still currently infertile! Woo!), she looked at the 'Simulated Planetary Gravimetric System', currently set to 'Earth (Default), Effective: 517 lbs'.

A click showed the options… "Please… Please don't be as bad as that last attempt."

And chose 'Mercury, Effective: 195 lbs'.

Instantly, a heavy load vanished from her shoulders. She could actually FEEL her bones uncompressed slightly. "Ahh…. That is so much better."

Adam kept shifting stuff as she cautiously got up. {{It is more a mental thing, plus a bit of physics shenanigans… But at least you won't have your tiny feet cracking through random floor boards now. Not unless they were unable to hold up a woman your size, at least.}}

Her mind easily flicked the effect on and off. "Set it up to automatically disable during combat."

Because at that point, squishing furniture or leaving floor divots would be the least of her concerns.

Adam sent confirmation as she tried shifting back and forth. {{Considering even non-enhanced people can get up to 500 lbs or so, I could probably have handled it all anyway… But I'll be honest, this feels much more comfortable.}}

Hmm. "So what happens if I pick one of the other options? Like 'Jupiter, Effective: 1306 lbs'? Or the really extreme ones?"

He shrugged. {{You'd probably sink into the ground like it was mud. And the most extreme ones I disabled entirely, you making your tiny body Avatar switch to 'Neutron Star, 72,380,000,000,000 lbs' would devastate the area.}}

She chuckled. "But you gave me the option?"

Adam rolled his eye sockets. {{I'm not going to make a feature like this and NOT do it properly. And who knows, maybe you will be in an odd situation where having your body being impossibly massive in an impossibly small Space would be a good thing. Life can be odd sometimes.}}

Sarah shifted, feeling her Warehouse units adjusting to her new 'effective mass' slider option in the process. "I bet I could use this to duplicate the effects of some super powers."

Seriously, throw a punch with a fist that formerly weighed a half a pound and punch someone with 13.5 lbs of Sun referenced force? THAT would leave a mark.

Adam snorted. {{Yeah, let's see a truck try to knock you over when your mass is more than some islands. You could pull off a good Juggernaut impression.}}

Meh, honestly that was cool... But Sarah was more happy that she wouldn't squash her own shoes trying to walk down the street. Or risk squishing chairs from sitting down too quickly. "Right, I'm supposed to be dead or something now, right?"

He checked. {{Frank already marked you as missing in the database, yeah. Oh, marked some equipment gone too… Looks like he is framing you for stealing some stuff and running.}}

Fucking Frank. "Well, fuck that guy. Take all his shit, launder the currency, and give it to the team. Seriously, what kind of asshole sacrifices fellow security guards to a cannibal crocodile AND uses their slow murder as an excuse to get free office supplies? Asshole."

Adam hummed. {{I'm going to rob most of these jerks. Look at the assholes who willingly come down here to work more than one shift.}}

Sarah blinked as profiles came up. "What… What the hell!?"

A hum. {{At least it is only corruption and being assholes and drug peddlers, the rape attempts stopped when management started adding all the security cameras everywhere to more easily refuse paying out insurance claims to the families related to the staff that died.}}

Seriously Gotham, what the hell!? "I… I might have to be a villain here. I don't think I could live with myself if I let these people get away with this."

How the hell was the monstrous man who willingly murdered and consumed humans not the WORST person in this place!? "Research everyone. Inmates, guards, the people bringing in equipment and goods, the delivery folks sending out products, all of it."

Sarah made a quick list. "All sexual assault is now banned. Anything targeting children is banned. And I can't believe I have to say it, but biological war crimes and chemical weapons and ANYTHING else that would seriously piss me off… Banned."

Just… What the hell. "If any guards or… No, fuck it. If ANYONE you are watching is doing shit like this outside of work while we are aware of it, let me know."

Several of these 'people' seemed like the kind of people who assault their own families, and Sarah Esdat's memories had her suspicious about quite a few of Frank's more loyal supporters on his team.

Like, holy shit. "I can't believe how bad these people are. Is this a mafia recruitment center? A training ground for goons and henchmen?"

Adam sighed. {{Actually, this is AFTER lots of donations and a serious attempt at improving the joint.}}

What? "You're full of shit."

Information streamed over. {{Nope. Before Batman got involved, this place had been FAR worse than this. Over 73% of the employees ended up incarcerated when the internal reviews concluded their investigations.}}

Her eyes flickered from report to report. "I would have killed them. I would have killed MOST of them." What… What WAS this place!? No wonder there was a slick film of despair and grief soaking into the magical environment, how bad had it been BEFORE this!?

Sigh.

Calm.

Focus.

Right. "For now, rob all the jerks who were involved in the most recent shady shit, anonymously submit evidence to the police… Well, the least corrupt police people you can find at least. And just steal anyone who is about to cross my lines."

Damn it, she was going to have to set up another orphanage no doubt. There was probably a dozen kids who would need a new home after their jerk parents got in trouble for their own actions. "Start buying property, I'm not going to be subtle. Just… Just grab a big square of city blocks, we will tear it down and build something."

Adam sent acknowledgement. {{I'm already mapping out which people to bribe… I can't believe how standardized it is to 'anonymously' purchase such expensive and complicated services.}}

Sarah sighed, memories from her rough local life filtering through. "Well, yeah. Life is rough, and if you get an order to build or ship a massive exploding jack in the box or an inflatable penguin, you don't ask questions. Half the time you just hope to get paid before someone tries to silence you or steal the profits."

Like, what the fuck Gotham?

He hummed. {{For now, I'm going to steal all their hidden income. The bribes, the secret accounts, the stuff they sneak out of the building. All their OFFICIAL income is going to be on the books, so no one can try and claim we stole anything.}}

Good enough. "Keep an eye open though." Sigh, she was going to end up with a LOT of test subjects if the idiots decided to express their anger on family members or kids.

But people who make reasonable or moral decisions wouldn't have gotten into situations like this in the first place, unfortunately. Better to be ready to step in.

Adam hummed. {{I've got it, Sarah. Now, go handle your own things! Don't you need some unaugmented test subjects to work on your Moss?}}

Right.

Focus. Fix the girls, go check on Dr. Isley, fix all of this fucking city later. "Got anyone really vile I can start with? This whole place is a bit stressful."

His hum was relaxing. {{How about Victor Zsasz?}}

She blinked at the odd looking bald man covered in scars. "Well… He certainly LOOKS like a mad man. What's his deal?"

Adam shrugged. {{Parents died, he lost his money gambling at a super villain bar, and then decided he should free everyone from the curse of living. Got caught after murdering as many people as possible. Each time he kills, he carves a mark into his skin.}}

...What? "There are hundreds of scars there."

More data. {{Yep. Kills guards too, and stalks people, and hunts people, and keeps escaping each time he is caught and kills again. Doesn't wish to get better or change, no plan or hope to alter his way of life, no extenuating circumstances. A literal murder hobo.}}

Well, fuck him. "After testing on this guy, he's going to die from an uncaught infection." Easy enough to do… Hell, how had this fucker managed to AVOID dying from that shit already was a miracle.

In fact… "Want to bet there is some sort of magical shit letting him survive all those body cuts he gives himself?"

Seriously, these were NOT small nicks and scrapes, and skin existed for a REASON. Your body did NOT want that crap inside you. Something was keeping him from bleeding out after his next dozen murders while hiding in unsanitary places.

Sigh. "Yeah, I'm going full villainess. Case by case basis though."

Next Jump she was going somewhere fun.

No dark shit, no depression, no important crap.

Just… Just relaxing and fun.

But for now? Let's go get the next lucky winner of 'The Moss Was Right!' "I'm not going to teleport around, just give me directions to his cell and I will hack stuff along the way to get there."

Give her some time to cool off before injecting deadly Moss into a motherfucker deserving a bit of scientific inquiry.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Ivy paused, mid movement, as something sprouted from below her territory.

Her test ruined, her results spoiled, and her mind uncaring… As from the soil, from the human constructs that tunneled within the earth, from below… Came F͉̥̺̲͉͓u͍̼̞̜r̘͚̜̠͓y͖̹͓̼.

It was a bright blue flame that a thicket of bone thorns grew fiercely within, an odd ecosystem of flame and emotions and H̝u̙̤͚͕ng̣̺̺̗̻͔̬e̱̳̯͚̠r̠͕̣̭̠̤ͅ.

Almost without notice she reached for it.

A mental hand, formed of her worn mind and ragged soul, woven with lichen and torn roots and debris. Held out towards those flames.

The wildfire.

Growth through consumption, the destruction of the body to fuel the future, not so much a forest of power but the S̻̗͙̻p̝̙̫̫a̬̩̠̭̟c̖e͇̠̰̤͈̜͕ to eventually become one.

A stranger.

A loved one.

An abandoned woman, locked below the soil.

A daughter of Gaia, touched by the unknown.

It wasn't of the Green, but it tenderly supported those roots and stalks and stems.

It wasn't of the World, but it chained lost ones with safety and caution.

For a moment, the eternal conflict between woman and Goddess ebbed and Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley could feel something clearly again, one of her girls, one of her lost ones.

But not.

Her eyes darted to the monitor, confused… And she realized that the girls were still stable.

Despite not getting the most recent follow-up medical dose.

The common petty threats and power plays, Dr. Young's habits of not properly giving her girls their next injections on time… For once, they didn't matter. Those horrific images of her little ones gasping harder and harder for air hadn't happened yet.

And now, impossibly, one of her lost girls was HERE. Within her R̖e̖̬̗̱a͉͔̭̝̣c̗̗̣͕̺h͚̙͕!

Without care she abandoned several plans and slowly progressing plots, reaching forth through her weak and growing network she COMMANDED her most distant relay shrub sprout frantically in the dark hidden crevasse it struggled within!

{ConcernḪ͚o̞̲̞̘͚̰w̱Carea̝r͓̲̟e͉̫̰͖̟Confusiony͙͍̲͇̗̹o̤̫̦̜̲̳͓u̱̣̺͓̭̥Hopeh̳̰̹e̙̣̻͚̙̻͈r̬̯̞͚͚͉e̝̯̬̬͚!̞̼̲̖?̳Concern}

No! The connection was too weak, too worn! Again! Louder!

{FearA͉͔̼r̻̤̹̼̤e̳͇̺Concerny̳̪̙̮̦̠ͅo̘̮̻u̟̲̥̺Confusiona̲̳̝̺͉̥͍ḽ͓r̥i͎̺̟͎g͚̠͉̫̱h͕̝͙̘͉t̙̳͙͈̣̙̞!̟͇͖?Fear}

Her grip on the weak line of life began to fragment, FAR too soon! The plants, her willing children, they were trying too hard and starting to decay from their efforts!

Had she reached her!? Was it enough!?

Suddenly she froze, a horrible thought piercing her heart.

...Was it a trap?

Her mind slowed to a crawl.

Of course it was.

How could it be anything BUT a trap?

Her spiraling fears twisted again as something… Ś̴̞̩̩̟͙̺̼̗̞̖̗͙̤͎͎͟h̛̰̥̪͍̳͖͍͔̲̘̮̗̗͓̼͓͇̥̕͜͡ͅi̷̟̭̱͇̜̗̻͉̹͙͔̹̲̳͔̙̺̲͜͢͟͝f̴̛̬̱̻̜͖͍̝̫̩̰̞̥̮̝̘̤̗́͞ͅt̴̰̤͉̙̙͓̜͜ͅe̸̡̞̮̳͎̣̞̣̹͘͟d̢̼͉̭͇̱̭͇͡͠.

.

.

It was not a familiar touch.

More like suddenly noticing a structure, a building that hadn't been there before.

.

{E̱̻̹̞h͍̫̬̗dḁ̳ṋ͕ͅv̞̳y͎̤̖̰̗͓̰l̰̳ͅa̳̯̳̬̯̟ ̭͕̜̭yh̰͈͈̜̠̞ṱ ̹̝̤̦͖Ḻ͔͚͍̜u̳̤̻͓ṣsi̙̤̣̝̜ͅh̦e͈̤̬l̥̹̘̖y̝̜͕̣̥̰d̥̥͚̬e͕͈̼uḥ ̗̲͉̬̼T̙͈̖̩̠̘̬a̹̼͓̟ͅl̲̰̖͎̺̬ͅu͍͈̱͙t̬̠̩̞̰͓a̰̠̭̮̫t͓͉͙̤̣͚ͅ.̰ Tr̫an̥̩̲̭̼̖s̞̦̲m̥i̝̟t̙̝̝̦̟ti͚̟͕̦̲n̜̩͎̥͇͈͚g̥͖̥ ͉̭͇̻̻C̟̬̼ọ̱̖̲͔̗n͙͖ṱ̲͍̝̞e͓x̲̮t!͇̗}

.

What was…

.

{E̥͉̻r̹̳̙̼̥̦̤r̼̺o͖̙̻̙̭̖̩r̯̞s̝͚̺̖̘̱ ̘̤͔͙͇ͅde̱̮̫̞͖̮̞t̼̹̫̯ḙc̼̬͖̱t͉̙̫͕ͅe͚̯̲̗̠͓d.̥̦̫̻͕ S̯͙͢͠͡ͅc̴̛̖̲̙̻̩͈̩̪̞͎̩̞͜͢͝ͅà͎͕̲̖͙͍͓͕̼́̕͢͢ͅn͍͈̝̺̗̺̣̣͔͜͞͠n̸̠̹͇̥̯̤͎̘̯͖͇̙̘͟͟ì̸̧̪̩̳̜̤̝̘̰̀͞ņ̥̯͈̣͢͟g̴̬͕͈̰̤ͅ}

.

What…

And the roots were ordered, their veins structured, even the air moved in calculated patterns.

A Bone Garden.

.

{C̷҉̯̦͓͕͇̤̰̞͍̫̗̜́y͡͝͏͉͈̟͕͇̖͇ń͕͓̙̖͈̻̞͇̀ý̸͖̫͔͚̟̥̠͘̕̕ŕ͢͟͠͏̻͕̠̥:̛̹͔͈̼̥̮̬͔̩̣̜͇͖́͜͝ ̩͖͔̙͕ T̩͎͕̗̖͍̭ẹs̺̜t̬̙͈i̻̥n͕̮g̩͔!̪͕͔̞͔͓ ͉̰̱̥̞̼̖T̹̳̱e̱̞͚̪ͅͅs͕̰̦t̞̦̘̖iṉ̻g͚͉̘̦!͇̳̖͕͈̙ͅ ̜̟Da͚̮͔̘̖m̬̻n͇̖̜ ̖͙͉͖̟ͅͅị͕͔̦͓ṯ̫, ̤͓̰h̪͎̺̝̝͙a̝̼n̠͇̫ͅg̱̜̪̮ ̯͉o͍̠̫͔n̩̲͇͈.̱͖}

.

In the Garden of Bone, the Blue Flames of Adventure Burned in Space.

.

{C̳̹y͖̹̻̺̙n͉̬̝y̖r̝: There, that's much better! Hello?}

.

Ivy felt the Moon open her arms.

.

{Sarah: Oh dear, I think I did something wrong. Adam, fix it.}

{Sarah: What do you mean, it's working as designed!?}

.

She slowly accepted.

.

{Sarah: I'm just saying, MY experiments didn't have issues like this.}

{Sarah: That was one time, you Jerk! And I fixed it anyway, so it doesn't count.}

{Ivy: Rammu? Ec... Ec dryd oui, so meddma uha?}

{Sarah: Dr. Isley! Oh, crud, let me fix that…}

.

Was… Was this really little Sarah? Sarah Everoot, the youngest lab girl in the group?

Why did she feel of the Moon? Of bones and...

.

{Ivy: Sarah? Are you… Are the other babies… My girls?}

{ConfusionLostFearHopeFearHope...}

{Sarah: Shh, it's alright Dr. Isley, I'm coming right over and we can catch up, alright?}

.

NO!

.

{Ivy: DON'T COME!}

{TrapDeceptionBlackmailBetrayalTrapFLEE!}

{Ivy: STAY SAFE! HIDE! I'LL FIND YOU!}

.

What could she do!? What resources did she have!? Her mind frantically searched all her slowly expanding root networks and plant fragments, very little able to survive in the dark with little water and air, all of it already operating at or even slightly beyond what was healthy.

{Ivy: Just hide, I have a plan, I can save you girls, I just need more time…}

Her eyes flickered back to the 'live' imagery of her broken girls, and the one that was somehow in two places… Or the more horrific fear: That the other four were dead and this image was an old one.

That one of the other researchers had been testing on her girls while she, a fool and desperate, tried to save an illusion.

No. Break down later. Your babies need you now.

Her heart burned at how many tiny plant fragments had died in her frantic attempts at making contact, at the loss of potential and life caused by her emotional outbreak.

Too many flaws… But tears were for later.

Still… She couldn't stop her weakness from asking.

{Ivy: You are safe?}

Please don't be caged like her. Tested upon like her. Used like her.

{Ivy: Are the other girls… Are…}

Smiles, late nights, bright futures in a dark world. Each child a heavy cost in resources, a burden on her time, a setback in her plans and goals and dreams… And one eagerly carried in her arms.

{Sarah: I'm fine, and… Damn it, Adam! Get me a location!}

{Sarah: No, I'll stay here, send me instead.}

What?

And to her side, L̥̞̥̞̪͚͇i͔̖͚̠f̘̳e̩̰̝͔ grew.

From nothing, a path.

Her eyes opened wide, her mind even more exposed, as something touched by impossibility walked into her contained and sealed room.

No alarms were triggered, no shouts and guards called, as if something untouchable had decided that all such concerns were of no interest. A ghost, an illusion, a dream long lost but still held dear.

Sarah Everoot, still wearing her medical gown and filled with tiny motes of green life, wrapped her up into the warmest hug imaginable. "Hey, Dr. Isley. Sorry I took so long to get better."

Maybe now was the time to cry, after all.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Welp, so much for being subtle.

Adam [[Harvested]] the entire private hospital room, put each of the four girls into Healing Pods, and then replaced the former medical area with a new set of working men's and women's restrooms.

Because fuck the people who apparently took bribes to sneak patients in and out of this area.

Seriously, the more Adam investigated the people involved with this section of the hospital, the more infuriating it all became!

So now, when they come in to check on the patients whom 'impossibly' checked out… They will find some lovely toilets instead.

With a smirk, Adam began replacing the older floor plans for the hospital and existing digital and physical copies of various maps.

Oh? You used to have hidden prisoners in a neglected hospital corridor?

Are you sure?

Because as far as any records show, it is just an old unrenovated bathroom. Sure, it is unreasonably large and doesn't match the theme of the rest of the building, and there is no reason a hospital would need 300 sinks in one area…

But that isn't OUR problem, now is it?

Just in case though, Adam hit the structure with some modified [[Haste]] applications to ensure that the new materials would test out to be the same age as the surrounding material.

Go ahead, Batman. Explain THIS situation.

A bit petty? Sure. Pointless? Yeah, Sarah wouldn't let anyone involved with this get away with shit in the first place, no real reason to hide evidence to this degree.

But it was a mild prank. It would be fine.

...Adam quickly determined which cars belonged to the staff bribed to take care of the prisoners too. For no reason.

This one and those two… And [[Haste]].

Hope they get regular car tune ups, those engines look unexpectedly old. Probably due to those shifty Gotham car dealers, no doubt. Heh.

Right, so back to the girls!

Jessie, Susan, Ella and Chlo. They had last names, but Adam didn't really care.

At least now they were within the Warehouse and he could use the good stuff to speed this along. Plasmids and Tonics, ho!

There, four girls with all limbs, organs, skin, and hair.

…Maybe a bit too much hair. [[Harvest.]] Better.

No one should wake up unexpectedly looking like Cousin Itt.

Normally, 'Enhance Self' would prevent situations like that… But with their sense of self so weak right now, personal ideals of beauty and ideal hair length and stuff didn't really apply just yet.

Now let the environment settings slowly shift to the local Jump, ensure that the Plasmids break down safely, and boom! Four biologically healthy women.

The mind scaffolding seemed to be holding up well so far at least… Though they were relying a bit too much on the unconscious hive mind so far. Maybe that would go away as they recover?

Dang it, there was a slight chance that Sarah would end up with four mental quadruplets. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but with how oddly magic interacts with local people there could be complications.

A check up with Sarah… Oh yeah, VERY angry.

Forcing a woman, whose body was trying to self-destruct as she converted continually between a human and a plant… Forcing her to do medical research on her own mentally damaged research team?

That was pretty effed up, even BEFORE the people abusing her began the emotional blackmail and ongoing oppressive actions and tactics.

Sarah was going to go apeshit on people.

And honestly, Adam was feeling a bit vengeful too.

...Let's change some parking spot layouts.

After all, the management here didn't need ALL these lovely locations, right? Let's change a few spots over to be for handicapable people.

And reduce the total number of available spots by shifting the paint slightly to give every car a little more room when parking. And expand the space between each row too.

Oh no! Your security badge will give an error once every seventeenth use! And YOUR timesheets will now show that you have been using the wrong leave codes for the last month, tsk tsk. Better contact HR about that!

Also, management coffee makers are now modified to burn the brew while the employees somehow got access to the GOOD beans.

No, even more! Swap management to decaf!

Take THAT corporate!

Now let's make those chairs a bit too lumpy and see if these door hinges can get all squeaky.

Carpet stains! Scuffed footboards! Slightly skewed portraits! Louder clocks! Buzzing air conditioning! Duller hole punchers! Missing sticky notes!

Muah ha ha ha!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Ivy wiped her eyes, ensuring the deadly substance wouldn't get close to her plant controlling bone girl. "I… I must look like such a mess."

So much for being the mature and in control authority figure here.

Young Sarah shrugged. "You are at least two thirds flora now and being kept in a room without proper lighting or access to needed nutrients. The fact you haven't wilted yet just shows how strong you are."

Like every moment, her gaze was drawn to the monitor. "But… How are you here? Was this, this taunting vision used to bribe my actions… Was it all a lie?"

Sarah blinked. "OH, that! One second."

The monitor flickered… To a bathroom?

Her little one looked even more confused. "What!? That… That's not right. Hey Adam?"

Something impossibly I̦̲̪m̪̹̯͕̞m̻̗e͚͔͙̤̳n̮̙͇̱̦ͅs͓e͍͉̞̥͓̖ weighed down on reality.

Struggling to shift, Ivy forced herself to… But Sarah seemed untouched. And even MORE confused. "What do you MEAN you are trolling the hospital!? Where are the girls?"

Under such pressure like this, it was oddly easy for Dr. Isley and Poison Ivy to agree with each other: Something was slightly off with their girl.

Sarah glanced at her… And frowned. "Huh. Adam, I think she's sensing you or something. No, I don't know. Still happening. Nope. Try again."

And reality fl͚ic͎͔͔̦̰̠ke͚̗̥r͙̰e̗d̥͔̬̖̖̣, her body released.

{Adam: What about now?}

What!?

Sarah grinned! "Yeah, that did it! Dr. Isley, do you feel anything off? No issues?"

Who was… What was…

{Adam: Of course she doesn't have issues now, though it is a bit surprising she could detect me at all in the first place. I think the way she connects to her abilities somehow detects things outside her natural perspective. Seeing beyond reality, in a way.}

His voice dully thud in an empty room far away, old and young and born from old and young and… It was like an echo. The same but not.

Sarah waved confusion away. "Whatever, just send me the updated medical data to share with the Doc… I'm sure she'd feel better knowing that we are at least helping a little."

{Adam: Uh… Not sure how sending imagery or raw D̯a̩̞͔͍̦͙t̜̞̟̪ͅa̖̪͇͓̘͍ would work through this method… I'm going to just use some basic holograms.}

And new displays just appeared out of NOWHERE, floating in the air like magic.

Like little Sarah, all four girls were whole!

Skin regrown, limbs returned, no more slow and painful gasps… Her fingers touched the images, helpful data flickering into view at her touch. "This… This is far beyond my best equipment. How long have they been getting treatment?"

{Adam: Let me check… Seven minutes? But I've been spending lots MORE time trying to help their Souls recover and ensuring their regenerated brains will have personal information to work on during the healing process.}

Dozens of more detailed screens began showing impossible tools doing far too complicated and astoundingly time consuming things. Scanning memories from damaged brain tissue? Attempting to decipher Souls!?

Sarah hummed next to her. "I know Adam's been tracking down people who knew our team personally to [[Scan]] copies of memories, to give them stuff to work with… I might have had some issues trying to help them so far, but he's really made some progress!"

{Adam: Don't let her fool you with false modesty, Dr. Isley. She's been trying to make a plant based Symbiote to more easily treat the girls, help them adjust during the recovery process, and ensure they can safely survive similar attacks in the future with ease.}

Her eyes went to the blushing woman. "Just… You know, if it turns out to be needed…"

And a glowing blue liquid was in the room, in a vial.

It was a MASTERPIECE!

Her mind could scarcely connect with it, and she could sense that even this level of understanding was being done under the eyes of Bone from the Bone Garden.

A patchwork, an artwork, a network of life and chemicals and something more, something that glowed and gripped unseen things and touched unknown concepts… Far more control, far more delicate and detailed work than even her most dedicated attempts.

Oh, it lacked something. That certain green rush that always helped her babies boost through barriers and defy nature's limits, that surge of Mother Earth's blessing…

But the fine control granted in return? Astounding.

Ivy couldn't hold back though. "How… How can you so easily work with nature like this? How can you ignore the screaming, the wails? The never ending pain?"

It was always there in her mind, rending and grasping and shredding. Stealing her attention, distracting her motions, burdening her mind and Soul.

That itch, that slow death, that burning on her skin…

She could only relax surrounded by her babies, by nature. By twisting and enhancing her shivering and poisoned children so that they could resist the agony.

Sarah blinked. "Oh… I just fixed the way it interacted with me."

What?

The woman idly shifted her hospital gown as it transformed into a bright blue business suit somehow. "Yeah, those are just alerts and messages and stuff from the plants, your mind interprets them as cries for help because they ARE cries for help… Just not signs of agony."

She hummed, one hand glowing with blue flames. "Adam helped, of course, and his sensors did a lot of this automatically… But I had to filter out a lot of the messages because they are sort of like autonomous logs of status updates. Here, listen to this."

The flame flickered, a tiny voice calling. "I'm hungry." "I'm thirsty." "Is it dark here?" "Too much light!" "Meh." "I'm hungry." "Something tasty here!" "Bugs, gross." "So tired." "Yeah, it is pretty dark." "Ooh! Found some goo!" "Why is everything so big?" "I'm hungry." "This place sucks, I'm going to hibernate." "Time for spores!" "I'm thirsty." "Zzz."

Both women watch the tiny flame crackle with random comments and idle thoughts… And Ivy could feel familiar spikes of agony and hurt and harm in the background matching each one.

Sarah hummed. "Plant's don't really care if they live or die in the end, but animals like us certainly do. So their calls for attention get interpreted by our brain in very extreme ways."

But! The screams! "I can hear them choking! Drawing in filth and poison, withering under smog and toxins!"

She nodded. "Yeah, but it doesn't BOTHER them. Just something they notice. And that is pretty easy to fix too, if you think about it."

Data showed up on another screen. "A lot of pollution is just stuff that can't be easily consumed or composted, and materials that are dangerous to plants and animals."

Ivy nodded, that endless fury in her mind starting to burn again. "Exactly! Spewed from these hateful monsters that harmed us! Vile wastes and horrid fumes, a slow and creeping death that MUST be stopped!"

And… And with what few girls had managed to survive this far, they could all help! In fact, Poison Ivy could do even more, with another fellow goddess to help save the Earth! "We can stop them, and reclaim the land… The other girls won't have to suffocate under this acid death, the sun hidden under dark clouds! We can END the screams!"

By herself, she had run into issue after issue, setback after setback. It all seemed too big, impossible, one woman and her broken little ones against the world. But together! Her team had always been able to do anything together! Right girls!?

Girls?

Her fraying mind caught slightly.

Oh.

Right.

She had only been able to stabilize five of her girls before they all began to break down. Human crafted scientific knowledge had been unable to do more than slow their frantic collapse and decay.

Only by touching the G̮̝̤r̩̭̬̣̙̫͍e͖̲̭̤̙e̼̘̹ͅn͓͚̲͔̱̳ͅ life directly, deeper and deeper, had she even slightly made progress.

Four had been lost before her captors would even allow her to try and treat the rest.

And… And they wouldn't be coming back.

Sarah sighed… And pulled her into a new hug.

When had she started crying again?

Her Sarah just hummed. "Dr. Isley… Let me try and help you too. You'll let me help, right?"

No! She had so much work to do! Poison Ivy had to save her girls, save the world!

But… Dr. Isley knew her girls were being cared for, even better than before. And that she could trust Sarah.

And… In the end, who did she have anymore than her girls?

It was going to be betrayal! It was ALWAYS betrayal! Never trust! Never again! Not if we aren't Goddess above all, the Queen of G̗̩̫r͇̹͕̻̙̻ͅe̱̫͖̖͉̜̞e͚̜̻ͅn̗̰̬̮̼̜!

Yet… If Sarah would betray us, if our girls would harm us…

Stolen soil from her hidden supply filled her hand, and a flower sprouted nearly instantly.

It required nutrients she didn't have, and energy she couldn't easily provide… But it was a small silver Echeveria blossom, the Silver Queen flower.

Sarah's flower.

Poison Ivy and Dr. Isley handed her flower to her flower, accepting betrayal as… A possibility. "Please…"

Was she begging her to help? To not betray her like everyone else? To make things better? To just end it quickly?

In the end, the one woman with two histories didn't know.

Either way, she fell into safety as her girl whispered.

"[[Sleep.]]"

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Sarah carefully shifted the worn and weary doctor, wearing nearly nothing but rags and forced to slave away for her tormentors, so hungry and tired and thirsty… Hidden under the world to try and save her gathered family.

And under her calm and professional exterior, she raged.

Unacceptable.

ALL of this was unacceptable. "Adam?"

A map came up. "All the labs, all the store rooms… In fact, everything not on the map. All the secured secret areas, all the tunnels, all the escape routes. [[Harvest]] them."

His voice was solemn. {{It will be done. But I have to go in sections to ensure the new material will blend with the old and to avoid cave ins and instability. Might take a few hours to do it slow and safe, if we want to avoid any signs.}}

Good enough. "Leave the secured doors. Just… Change the passages and elevators and other stuff into supply closets or something."

Serves these fuckers right to go through all that damned security just to open up a small room with a dirty mop.

Dr. Isley was moved to a Healing Pod… And quickly pulled back out when she NEARLY DIED! "Holy CRAP! What the HELL happened!?"

Adam was frantically checking stuff. {{The green tainted energy, without a continuous connection a good portion of her body doesn't function. CAN'T function… I'm not sure how she is alive right now, a good sixty percent of her body has been converted into magical constructs of Nature energy.}}

Holy. Shit. "Right… Right. Then we will treat her outside of the Warehouse, no problem. Find me a place to work with, let's get some treatment going on here."

The emotions on the line went a bit embarrassed. {{The hospital isn't an option, I've been messing with them pretty badly. But uh… Oh, what about here?}}

Sarah blinked. "What the HELL is that?" A super computer, hidden power and data feeds, unknown hardware and equipment… Not connected to anything!?

Adam sent a shrug. {{Nearest Batcave.}}

Uh. "What?"

Her Benefactor chuckled. {{Don't know if it is a Jump thing or due to our modifying the Document, but there are a LOT of Batcaves around. There's one here, another under the hospital, one near the police station, another over by the warehouse district, those two in the harbor area… Not all the same size, not all with the same stuff, but yeah.}}

Holy shit. "How rich IS Batman!?"

Adam hummed. {{Not sure. He destroys all his bat vehicles like every time he takes them out for a ride though. Paint jobs alone must be expensive as hell, much less the custom car construction and delivery service… And he blows them up like party favors.}}

Information got pulled up. {{I think, officially, he is estimated to have around $80 billion or so, invested in various things.}}

Sarah just stared at the data. "Holy crap, Bruce Wayne is rich as shit."

He laughed! {{Nope, this is just the stuff officially marked as belonging to Batman. He may be a vigilante, but he funds medical science and invests in rehabilitation centers and all sorts of stuff… Even has a few media deals out there and everything. Totally different revenue stream than his alter ego, otherwise he would have been caught long ago.}}

What the hell. "Bullshit."

An image came up. {{Adam West plays him in the Batman commercials and poses for billboards and stuff. Though they don't actually call him Batman, on screen it's 'The Dark Knight'... But everyone knows he is supposed to be Batman.}}

Sarah absently moved through Space into the nearest Batcave.

"[[Harvest]]."

Good, now that there were no gadgets and shit to catch her messing with Batman's crib? Sarah set up the Medical Pod, carefully placing the good doctor within.

The actor thing though… "Wouldn't that be like… Super dangerous to do? Batman has like an army of enemies."

A shrug. {{Adam West is kind of a badass here. Like, an actual martial artist and stuff… Apparently he found the initial idea appealing and loves the risks involved portraying a famous but controversial figure. Did interviews about it and stuff.}}

Images came up. {{Even Batman couldn't convince him to stop… So they ended up making a deal and it all escalated from there. Mr. West gets to be a rich thrill seeker with a booming online popularity spike, Batman has a willing person playing bait, idiots who try to 'make an example' out of him are easily noticed and caught.}}

Another article came up. {{And the actual hard core villains find the whole situation hilarious, so they don't bother blowing up the guy or hunting him down or shit. I think the Riddler actually sent him a gift basket when they accidentally released a blooper reel of him in costume on set.}}

Huh. "So it's not all psycho murderers and cannibal crocs?" That… That was a relief.

He chuckled. {{If we ever actually meet Batman, ask him about Crazy Quilt.}}

Sarah blinked, distracted from the [[Scan]] of her former boss. "Who?"

Data came up. {{A former master thief who hid clues inside his paintings, Crazy Quilt went insane after eye surgery left him only able to see bright colors.}}

What?

A silly image showed up. {{Wearing a wildly colored costume and a helmet that flashed hypnotic light beams, Crazy Quilt went on a series of crimes involving bright colors… Like stealing the brightest of paintings or draining all color from Gotham City.}}

No. "How the HELL is someone like THIS in the same Jump as that psycho scar carving dude!?"

Adam sighed. {{Superheroes and bad guys are a bit off like that. There's also Kite-Man, Lady Stilt-Man, The Walrus… I think there was a bad guy who used hot sauce, ketchup, and mustard? Right, Condiment King.}}

Just… No. "I'm not dealing with that. Any of that. Keep an eye on the doctor, and clear out some room: my other self has detained and knocked out the murdering scar dude."

A table with some restriction cables and an easy to clean surface… Just in case the new Moss variants make anything explode again. "Right, one moment…"

Space twisted and she waved at herself as she handed herself the torn up human monster known as Victor Zsasz. Her other self had found the sick jerk trying to sharpen the edge of his metal bed frame to better cut into his own skin after future murders.

Which was just lovely. "Moss v4.001: Mortal testing." Uh… Actually, considering the shit this asshole had already survived? "At least, unnoticeably enhanced, probably mortal testing."

And injected!

Sarah carefully followed the blue plant cells that began infecting the new host.

Adam was still hacking data sources. {{Got a scan of Ivy's mind, her memories will help stabilize the girls a lot… She also knew a lot of details not caught by other sources, which is lucky.}}

Woah there, stop! Bad Moss, don't enforce cellular regrowth at that rate. This jerk isn't a regenerative magic crocodile, doing stuff this way would accelerate his aging. Now, should she just note the issue and prevent it in future cases… Or repair the damage for more testing? "Any updates on the permission to murder random assholes thing?"

Adam hummed. {{Yeah, it won't work.}}

Sarah began restoring her test bed for more accurate experiments. "What do you mean?"

A massive number of articles began showing up. {{Good or bad, if you become important enough to gather Probability energy? You become a focus for reality.}}

People surviving falls from planes without parachutes, being shipwrecked, doused in acid, burned in fire, experimented on, tortured, exposed to radiation, bitten by rabid and poisonus beasts, and more and more and more… And somehow walking it off!

Adam highlighted data. {{Just like interesting stuff happens to those people who are already interesting, anything NEGATIVE has to be ironic to stick. Shoot someone, feed them to a shark, and behead them AND the shark? Sharky McShooterface will rise up out of the grave. It's the same reason why Dr. Isley got powers instead of instant cancer and death, because she was already gathering Probability energy and had too much potential to fail.}}

Huh. "So if I poisoned this guy?" Well, to the point of death at least. Not just torment stuff, the lethal options. Right now there were plant cells consuming his body in tiny fragments, one at a time, and trying to infiltrate the deepest parts of his person... but that didn't count.

Past stories showed up. {{He may mutate, gain new skin colors or a hairdo, then dedicate his life to killing people AND poisoning them.}}

Well, shit. "I don't want to let this guy go." Not to murder again. Talk about too many second chances, the FIRST time he escaped and tried to slaughter the doctors paid to help him should have been the end of it!

A chuckle came through. {{Strangely enough, your original plan would likely work!}}

Sarah blinked. "Wait, the fake infection story?"

Adam showed articles about odd injuries, strange consequences, and unlikely scenarios. {{A man who hates life, who seeks to free everyone from existence, accidentally killing himself due to the unnecessary records he carves into his own body to keep 'score'? There is a certain amount of Karma there. It would probably stick.}}

Hmm. "So… As long as the narrative makes a good read, then the power of Potential won't act up?"

He agreed. {{It's nearly like narrative causality. Don't rely on it, but it seems that it is far easier to have consequences stick if they are related to the person being inflicted upon. Like using a riddle to trick the Riddler, for example.}}

Damn, Sarah's glad the FF7 Jump hadn't been that overbearing. Or had it? Potential energy had been strongest there, after all… And most people didn't stay dead if they were 'important' enough, although she hadn't tested story related causes like sacrificing yourself for someone else or a cause or whatever.

But get mauled by a monster? Have some Potions, stop being lazy and get back in there!

Oh good, the subject was fully infected AND temporarily stable! "Let's try modifying the cellular division methods encoded here. I'm sure we can figure out biological immortality without the massive bursts of cancer issues."

As for Dr. Isley's other experiments, the related data, and that super steroid serum and all that, Sarah wasn't going to touch it. That reeked of being a narrative McGuffin, NOT science or anything useful. Probably only made people turn into cool stuff when it was inconvenient for the heroes or to encourage epic rooftop fights.

Hmm, that most recent attempt skipped right over 'interesting' and straight into 'accidental cell rupturing'. Sigh. "Roll back the idiot, and give me a minute or two to try and set up Moss v4.002… Wait, no, I had to fix the stupid instant ageing issue. And I should probably also fix the cell rupturing situation entirely unless requested, so uh… Moss v4.004 is next."

Adam just sent over the data like a helpful Warehouse. Dude was an awesome bro sometimes. Most of the time, really. "Send me her [[Scan]] data too, I want to see if I can incorporate her skin color into this guy. I think it is able to undergo photosynthesis."

Not that Sarah would try to FIX Dr. Isley's awesome skin and hair color, but knowing how it is done would hopefully simplify the recovery process.

Especially considering that a good chunk of her current body was magical duct tape and imaginary hopes and dreams squished into a half plant/half sexy lady package.

She would prefer ALL her hot ladies in her life to have a stable body that won't unexpectedly wilt or evaporate if the local magic field has issues, thank you very much! Enhanced form with additional power, yes! Replace mandatory organs with single points of possible failure? No!

A gurgle came from the table. Eww, gross. "Note: Moss v4.004 is attempting to convert too many cancerous cells into healthy blood. Cancer is still ongoing AND mild drowning is occurring."

Sigh. This would be easier if the ambient power in the air would stop fiddling with things as she was working. If it was just straight biology or wetwork, this would be half done by now!

Well, progress is a journey of many steps. "Right, resetting the body." And [[Harvest]] this mess too, the organs splashed everywhere before wounds self sealed. "Shit, I healed his scars."

Adam just sent an image. {{I mapped them, have the Moss consume the pattern when we are finished. It is far too annoying to keep track of those things while you are getting stuff done.}}

Seriously, she had the best friends! "Well, let's start from the top then! Moss v4.005, let's go!" After all, they had plenty of time to get this right.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Batman silently stared at the image.

Alfred Pennyworth set the afternoon tea to one side, idly glancing at the display.

And stared. Mildly concerned. "Master Bruce, I see you have acquired a new… Interest?"

Not the strangest oddity he found in the very wealthy, but it did raise questions.

The Dark Knight's gruff voice growled. "This is a briefly documented and very poorly monitored section of Gotham General Hospital's private medical ward."

Indeed. "I would be more than slightly startled if ANY hospital bathrooms had so many hidden cameras with them… And I would despair slightly for humanity in general should it need more than this to be considered 'properly monitored'."

His young master seemed to glare harder. "This is not a bathroom."

...Oh?

Alfred's eyes turned back to the strange but not unrecognizable sinks, urinals, and stalls. "I'm not sure I follow, Sir."

The video shifted to another angle. "This is a mystery."

A layout came up on the screen. "A number of strange occurrences have been causing much chaos at the hospital since last night. Nearly all are attributed to bad luck, ghosts, hauntings, overwork, stress… Almost everything is easily explained or at least difficult to prove. Except this."

Just to be sure, Alfred checked the image again.

It didn't LOOK possessed, of alien origin, or haunted in any way. "Is it a hidden entrance? A lair? A dropoff point?" It really just looked like an overly large and older public convenience.

He shook his head. "No, and all records agree it has been unchanged in this location since the original building was constructed. That there are no tunnels, pipes, hatches, ladders, or other methods of securely or secretly entering this area."

Alfred sighed. "Then what caused you to so highly monitor this 'briefly documented' area?"

Master Bruce pulled up profiles. "Two medical personnel, local employees, had nervous breakdowns… Swearing that this room had patients. A number of them, and that 'everything was gone'. They also swore they had no drug issues or drinking problems, even though evidence was documented in their case files."

A shift. "Evidence that, from everything I can detect and record, physically and electronically, has not been accessed by anyone unexpected, and is in fact untouched by unapproved personnel."

It certainly seemed open and shut then.

Master Wayne tilted his head to look at Alfred's confusion. "My private records no longer match the public ones. All the evidence in the world says these two men are liars, untrustworthy… While mine simply says they are patsies for some of the darker organizations, men who made moves and deals as expendable pawns to others."

Oh my. "That certainly raises some concerns." The young master was far too calm for him to believe that there was a data breach here, in the headquarters. "Compromised evidence then?"

He snorted. "Oh, the events were REAL, just previously undocumented. Someone altered a whole LIST of police records without anyone noticing, adding entire fictional investigations and such kept 'off the books' that all seem properly documented and legal."

The man glared back at the screen. "Someone out there basically held a major operation in MY city, a series of investigations that gathered impossible evidence and information, then attempted to sneak all those expensive and career shattering revelations into the systems anonymously… And I am not sure why."

Hmm. A cyber vigilante then? Just with less of the young Master needing to 'persuade' cooperation. How intriguing.

Still. "You believe that this bathroom is somehow vital then?"

Fingers tapped the keyboard, showing the scene change angles a dozen times.

Oh… Oh my.

There were HUNDREDS of sinks, dozens and dozens of urinals… Oh this certainly was NOT a normal place to take a quiet moment. What an odd lavatory. "I see why you find such a thing to be very odd."

Batman snorted. "No, Alfred. I've seen odder construction practices in the older areas of the city, with even less explanation."

He leaned forward. "No, I am focused on this room not because people claim it doesn't exist, or because undocumented patients vanished from the systems. Nor that it drove two people to have mental breakdowns… But because of the video feeds themselves."

Alfred paused. Were his eyes just too old? None of the angles seemed to disclose anything too strange, once one accepted that such a massive facility was impractical and a waste of space. Some sort of hidden code? Maybe a pattern of static or some such? "I'm afraid I may be missing the plot, Sir."

Angle to angle, shot to shot, Master Bruce began flashing through an ever longer list of perspectives.

His eyes burned into the display. "There are three hundred and seventy seven high-speed broadband internet feeds handling live video streams to the general public of this one bathroom."

The cave seemed a bit chilly.

"And I didn't place any one of them."

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam helped testing the annoying bits. {{For everyone else, use cloned organs… But with this saturation of Potential energy, of 'magic', Dr. Isley is going to need something better aligned.}}

Sarah hummed, carefully replacing another lung in Zsasz. "So far the hybrid stuff has been working alright…"

Humans apparently did NOT appreciate having chunks of the body replaced with plant formed replicants. Not without some careful adaptation, at least. "At least these ones are not causing allergic reactions, rejection, or sepsis."

He pulled up data. {{But the doctor is saturated with this green energy. She NEEDS something that can survive power density levels this high, and even hybrid parts would begin consuming the non-plant material for nutrients at this point.}}

Sigh. Fine.

Sarah had Moss begin to consume her patient and rebuild him up to baseline standards. "Then we are going to have to drop the shape parity, for efficiency's sake if nothing else."

Making a fake lung using altered filtering, parasitic, and gas extraction plant life? Easy with a bit of testing.

Making that fake lung LUNG shaped? Without connecting roots to the rest of the body and other methods for stability, energy distribution, nutrient transportation, etc., etc., etc.? Far more tricky.

Oh well, at least most of 'Poison Ivy' would be altered internally after this. Her skin, hair, eyes, and other openings would look 'human' enough to pass muster, even if most of her organs and innards materials become a variety of modified plants that could better channel her new power source.

It would be SO MUCH EASIER to just collect more DNA, use 'Research' to determine the doctors original genetic pattern, and make a new body entirely.

But… this ambient Potential stuff hooked into everything in odd ways.

Best case scenario, Dr. Isley would lose all powers and be fine.

Worse case? Her whole BODY would reconnect up to her power source, consider her standard stuff to be an infection, and then decay and consume her own cells in an agonizing and horrific fashion.

So uh… Less than optimal.

This new thing though? Sure, her lungs would be more like a honeycomb of plant life then empty chambers that moved air, and breathing would only be required to help her talk… But her ability to act as a life conduit should skyrocket.

Theoretically, the new body parts should also stop attacking the rest of her too with a better energy transference rate and higher compatibility levels.

Hopefully.

In the background Adam was mumbling about something or other. Something construction related? Whatever, as long as he kept it down… Not that it mattered much, she was pretty much done here.

Sarah sighed as she began to send Zsasz back to his cell, his body carved up again to match his old wounds. "Well, I got all I could from him." Maybe a bit more than she should have, a few tests had been VERY optional.

Adam hummed. {{Camera feeds will show him unconscious on his bed like when you found him, arm wound still fresh.}}

She frowned. "Yeah, but normally he'd handle that no problem… But let's see how HIS body likes being without supernatural support."

Scene set, actor present, all systems go! Now how did that 'Enemy Skill' ability go?

"[[Enemy Skill: Magic Hammer!]]"

A sparkling mallet formed in the air above the scarred villain… And fell!

*Bonk!* {Squeak-hah!}

Sarah starred. Huh.

...Not a very fitting sound effect for draining all the Potential energy out of a damaged person and the local area, but the FF7 Jump was most similar to this source and could most efficiently wipe the supernatural energy for a while.

But whatever works! "Adam? What's it look like?"

Data streamed. {{Empowering a Materia spell with True Magic really gives it a boost. A good chunk of the area will need some time to saturate again with power, but the whole Asylum is significant enough that it shouldn't be noticeable after a few hours. If we had used the skill at Gotham Hospital there would be low Potential energy levels for weeks.}}

Good enough for her needs though. "Yeah, well… Let's see how the asshole likes being a disgusting jerk WITHOUT supernatural healing, durability, and luck manipulation."

Seriously, his secured cell was a mess. Not because the people here didn't TRY to do their jobs, but because Zsasz kept covering his area with his own blood and trying to kill anyone who attempts to clean it.

The idiot couldn't have made a more deadly environment to sleep in if he had TRIED to do so, thanks to his psychotic habits.

Whatever, not her problem. "Right, so new organs?"

Diagrams came up. {{Dr. Isley will need a production method to generate more Moss, which can act as her new immune system and healing factor easily enough. We gained some room by vastly reducing the size of her intestinal tract, so we can probably add in some storage units in the same area.}}

Sarah began altering a few designs. "To hold excess Moss, nutrients, and basic building blocks for her body?" That would be FRUSTRATING to incorporate into her DNA to ensure her children gain the same benefits.

Oh well, with the new resource the woman would easily enough be able to modify any progeny if something doesn't properly develop. Or at least keep the kids stable until Sarah could swoop in and fix it all, and use 'Research' to ensure the base DNA would do a proper job NEXT time.

Adam hummed. {{That, and to better support her conversion process. With her saturation level she is going to basically be a tiny humanoid Treant at some point.}}

Glancing at the doctor's bright red hair, she snorted. "Maybe sentient rose bush, but yeah. I can see that." The woman's sweat was basically sap (And smelled amazing), she was half dryad already really.

Hmm. "Let's not cast [[Enhance Self]] until we can ensure full survival without Potential energy or connection to this green stuff first. I don't want to risk her becoming a half spiritual ghost or something."

That would totally interfere with all cuddle related plans!

No, focus. "If her whole body is trying to shift, we need to preemptively design some animal like plant alternatives for everything."

And no half assing it, either. Sarah was going to go full ass or nothing!

The data came up. "Let's start with the most visible issues." Plant constructed 'human skin' didn't need to also imply inflexible insensitive hard bark or soft easily torn fibers.

Let's see if she could set up something like Kevlar, something that would still allow energy generation from sunlight and yet would easily recover from minor to moderate damage. Though dense and automatically sanded fingernails using wood shouldn't cause big issues…

No injection glands or hollow claws though. This was her baseline model Sarah was designing here, if Ivy wanted to make a massive plant exoskeleton or Gundam suit, that was HER future project.

Sarah was going to focus on making something slim, efficient, sturdy, flexible, sexy/sensual/delicious/good looking, and functional.

After all, it was always easier to add on layers than to take them off!

Her attention drifted at the concept of Dr. Isley taking off layers.

Without her life and death on the line, and with her four teammates undergoing recovery, it was a LOT harder to stay focused when enhancing a hot lady to be strong enough to rip metal and sinful enough to melt hearts.

But… If anyone had to make the sacrifice to the altar of hotness, Sarah was willing to perv on that body/accept that burden!

Not too much though, or she could mess something up. "Adam, what's the progress on a new location?"

Profiles began displaying in her interface as she began modifying the nervous system. If the new hair/sensing follicles were going to be so connected to her new boss, Sarah wasn't going to risk her having agonizing pain from some split ends or hair pulling.

Adam highlighted a few. {{Property prices in Gotham are… VERY low and affordable. We will have to [[Harvest]] the whole area and rebuild it from scratch of course, but I've already gotten a huge neighborhood in the worst part of the city for nearly nothing.}}

That… That was a LOT of territory. "How is no one living there?"

He snorted. {{The system is VERY corrupt. Kicking people out, blackmailing people, selectively enforcing policies on families that are illegally squatting… You could burn this all to the ground and then sue the people for screaming on fire on YOUR property right after if you wanted.}}

Holy shit. "That is REALLY fucked up."

Data scrolled. {{Honestly, it is crazy stuff like THAT which is why the police department doesn't try too hard to hunt Batman down. Just the threat of the man showing up after you attempt something like this has kept the insane laws and restrictions in the City from causing mass riots and suicide bombings.}}

Damn, it looked like the massive number of henchmen and insane people with powers and mafia members and stuff were the leftovers AFTER Batman cleaned stuff up. "This kind of shit is insane."

Adam hummed. {{Yep. The laws and rules are damn flexible too. For example? You, your team, and Dr. Isley are now cleared of all wrong doings.}}

Wait, what? Information showed up. "Oh."

He chuckled. {{Yeah, unlike other variants of Poison Ivy… THIS one was technically kidnapped and held hostage before she could fully lose her mind or devolve into rage against the human species. After all, the people who tried to murder you all didn't want her showing up in front of a Judge, crooked or not, and pointing fingers.}}

Papers came up. {{The woman wasn't properly entered into the systems, neither were any of you. It was easy enough to add in some missing people reports and flag the two assholes who tried to kill you all as 'People of interest' for questioning, yadda yadda yadda.}}

Adam frowned. {{It will take time for people to notice the 'new' data, but now when people dig into your cases there is stuff to work with.}}

Sarah reviewed the data and evidence, showing them going missing when the girls were secretly shipped away to act as hostages against the doctor herself, showing how Dr. Isley's case was hidden due to bribes… "Won't this stand out a lot?"

He shrugged. {{I'm flooding the police and other databases with information. Solving old cases and moving them into priority queue, fixing typos and updating information, adding evidence and all sorts of stuff.}}

More and more data began to show up in her vision. {{I found a LOT of crap while trying to get data, scan brains, and gather memories for your team. Pretty sure all the various police and investigation teams will be buried under riches as it were. Hopefully it will keep Batman busy too, since none of it is fraudulent or fake, and uh…}}

Holy. Shit. "That is a LOT of stuff."

Robberies, murders, past kidnappings, hidden deals, smuggling routes, dead drop locations, crooked cops… The lists went on and on.

Adam sighed. {{And this was only the stuff SAFE to release. I had tons of stuff I couldn't work with because innocent people would get hurt or whatever, and there is a small army of confused prisoners now free and getting treated at Gotham Hospital… Keeping an eye on that crowd too, some of those people might attract a shooting or bombing to keep witnesses quiet or whatever.}}

Sarah just… sighed. "The criminal underworld must be on fire AND exploding right now. With mutant laser sharks being hurled by rabid evil lumberjacks."

But… It should keep everyone too busy to mess with them for a while.

Best take what she could get. "Let's see how fast I can get the good doctor stable first, then mess with enhancement and so forth. Leave power boosting for WAY later, I want her to easily survive without requiring access to nature first."

Seriously, if some asshole had kept Dr. Isley away from ALL plants for too long she would have started falling apart. Literally.

That shit needed fixing.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam grumbled AGAIN, and added ANOTHER file to police commissioner Gorden's secured case file list.

Unlike the stuff just dumped into the standard databases, this was the critical and risky stuff. The cases where infiltrators and double agents were listed, the location for evidence and people to question, the situations that were ongoing and horrible in this stupid city the size of a state.

And NOW his secured case file list WAS actually secured.

Thing was a freaking sieve before, hacked and spied on and with data link duplication hardware and all kinds of crap.

The fact that anything got done despite half the underworld having direct access to all the 'secret information' was astounding!

At least NOW the man had a freaking chance.

New hardware EVERYWHERE, custom stuff that (on the surface) looked standard. New wiring, new cabling, decoy cabling and wiring for outsiders to hack with false traffic on it, new insulation in the walls to stop heat, sound, light, etc. Better seals on the windows and doors, reinforced walls and materials, and a few secure escape tunnels that no one needed to know about unless a major emergency was going on.

Adam grumbled. This was going to get noticed quickly, but at least it would be hard to undo later for other people. And maybe commissioner Gorden would get some good work done before being shoved back in a corner.

Still better than burning retired cops and sources and stuff by releasing ALL the dirt he had scrounged up. Jim Gorden could ensure this stuff was handled as needed, no doubt.

...But just in case, where was his home?

Let's start reinforcing the building, replace the glass with some of that good dome stuff Rapture loved, add some self contained power generation under the basement with a maintenance hatch… Though, this was Gotham.

Better have the water and air conditioning be self contained and filtered too.

Sigh, it would be found out pretty damn quickly when the bills don't come in a month… Meh. Not Adam's problem. In fact, fuck it!

Pay off his debt, pay off his house, pay of his car… And do the same for ALL the other cops at the station too. And let's modify their houses as well!

If you are a cop in Gotham City, you DESERVE free power, water, and a well insulated home. Might as well ensure proper sound proofing, home repairs, high speed internet (Wi-Fi too, but disabled by default), fix these damned roads…

He just stared at the shocked and growingly confused people in those homes.

Oh. Right.

Cops had family members. And lovers and pets and whatever.

So uh… They had CERTAINLY noticed Adam just changing all that.

Shit.

Fuck it, he was now officially 'Making a distraction' so Sarah's shenanigans wouldn't get noticed!

New paint, refurbished bathrooms, more space, basements, private gardens, improved soil, reinforced fences, upgraded furniture and televisions, quick health check and recovery for all people/animals/plants in the houses themselves…

And the cars. Both the ones at home AND the ones at the police station.

All new parts, because custom stuff would be a pain in the ass for mechanics to deal with, the interior coverings upgraded to resist spills and better hold temperature, enhance those tires a bit, good, good. Fix missing paint, remove rust.

Adam absently [[Harvested]] a massive chunk of the atmosphere above the city, replacing it with pure stuff. It wouldn't stop pollution or the constant stuff being emitted from the surface, but it would hopefully dilute things a bit.

He blinked at the sudden storm that kicked up from his actions, having shifted the atmosphere.

Uh. Fuck.

Right uh… Let's just repair and upgrade the sewer system. Everywhere. And add some gunk resistant coatings… And ensure proper drainage, so some extra drains… Oops, and those houses had leaky roofs, so might as well fix that…

Plus, this way you won't know who is a cop based on how nice the house is, so might as well upgrade any building falling apart from the sudden near tropical storm, and maybe straighten out a few land property layouts and some streets and update the documentation and ensure the recorded schematics and floor plans match the stuff on file and…

Oops, those people were a little crushed, [[Harvest]] the mess and fixed the building and quickly healed up the bystanders, they were stock human so no tricky stuff was needed here, he'd had no problem fixing up people over there from the tree being knocked over...

Crap, had he been healing people and stuff automatically while doing this shit!? How MANY people had he just 'fixed a few problems' for!?

Worry about it later, the unexpected rain was spreading trash everywhere, [[Harvest]] that mess too. Might as well clear out the trash and recycling bins, and empty the garbage trucks, and the dump, and the landfill, but the water is a bit blegh as it is…

A bit of purification and some water cleansing, but these pipes needed replacement now that the new sewers were so nice. Why were there so many subterranean living areas!? Better get them proper power, clean water, and internet and cable. And a ladder entrance… Plus an elevator too, some of these people might not be able to climb ladders. Oh, and none of this was registered to anyone?

Welp, lots of crooked Judges out there, lets retroactively approve ownership rights, use the funds from these hidden drug cartels, change a few documents here and there, add a few hard copies aged the right amount…

His frantic work was intruded upon as Sarah sent a mental shake. "ADAM!"

Huh? {{What!? Oh. Yes Sarah?}}

Her frustration was palpable. "I was asking what was going on outside!? I'm getting REALLY odd alerts from my interface, but I can't leave the doctor alone to look into it while treating her!"

Oh. No problem. {{Sorry, should have improved the Batcave's infrastructure earlier, you shouldn't hear anything after that. And ignore the alerts, I'm just making sure no one will be interested in bothering you for a while.}}

Sarah seemed suspicious for some reason. No idea why. "Just… What are you doing?"

Adam blinked… And checked back at the redesigned schools and colleges he had been improving. And the new road network, the improved bridges, the upgraded power systems, the… Uh. Shit.

The only reason Gotham wasn't under martial law and calling in the army was because the SCALE of the crazy shit was so huge that no one was properly freaking out right now.

Crap.

No, this… This was just a bit of a small issue. {{Might have fixed a few things. Upgraded some stuff.}} Right, send out updates to the external stuff. Officially, Gotham City always looked like this! Yep! And uh… Now the budget was balanced at least. And a LOT of drugs and guns were harvested, and addiction in general was practically gone.

Sarah glared at the cave wall. "Adam, do I need to be concerned about this?"

Nope! {{I may have done a bit much, but I think I technically own enough of the city that it was technically legal. We may get a fine later.}}

Quick, send explanations and updates to all the technology… Shit, when had Adam upgraded everyone's cell phones!? No, more importantly: When had he installed new cellular towers and new utilities for the whole city!?

No, this… This could work? Maybe?

Refuge in audacity.

A few quick changes, and all of this was (Now) officially due to a donation by Adam West via the Ninja Construction Company as the 'Dark Knight' to promote his new animated TV series.

Because WHO ELSE but celebrity false Batman could have done such a crazy thing as this!?

No one! No one, Adam says!

Sarah was gaping at her heads up display. "Adam… Why am I getting a message from Adam West about him secretly buying all of Gotham and… Who the hell is the Ninja Construction Company!?"

Fuck, her interface counts as 'technology' and got included in the update. {{I made a distraction. Now you have lots of time to ensure the girls and the doc are safe and ready to wake up without having a bat themed stealth rogue breaking into the place!}}

His Jumper sent him a live stream showing a confused woman on air. "...d apparently I am being informed that our broadcast has been purchased as well, and that young philanthropist Adam West has changed our… What do you mean our new name is 'Gotham Broadcasting Company Local News'?"

The woman blinked. "I… No, keep rolling, I can work with this. Just keep the feed going. If this is another hallucinogenic attack on the city, hopefully this will help investigators later and maybe speed up rescue efforts. We're going to have to go off script though."

She gave a weary smile. "Gotham City, I'm Vicki Vale, and to reiterate: As far as we are aware, the ongoing changes are not dangerous. In fact, many people who were sick or hurt prior to the astounding wave of impossible actions altering our home are now far more healthy than ever before."

Oops. Adam hadn't enhanced any people, right?

The logs say no, but the logs ALSO say that he had been helping people and children recover from years of living in this poisoned city as part of the 'tune up' process. That and clearing out the lungs and stuff of smokers and all that, and most of these people probably felt more alive than ever before.

Crap.

Vicki gave a wry grin as she waved upwards. "The storm, as previously stated, seems to unnaturally avoid injuring people in the area and any damage that has been reported has vanished like an illusion as well. That said, please remain in your homes for the next day or so, or until the changes have settled down and our brave men and women of Gotham PD can ensure nothing untoward is going on."

Sarah groaned. "Adam!? I thought we were going to like, make a gated neighborhood or something? Or a small medical setup and garden combo that helped the poor!"

Damn it. {{I… I might have gone a bit overboard.}}

They both went quiet when the camera turned, showing a clearly new and improved massive library as Vicki kept talking about the enhancements and expansion of the literary catalogue within.

She winced. "Did… Did you just quadruple the number of books?"

More than that. {{Nothing from alien worlds or other Jumps! Just… Local stuff!}} Because he hadn't bothered to record which books had been there when he [[Harvested]] the place and just made a whole bunch for the new shelves.

Sarah hesitated slightly as more and more people were shown confused and bemused at their new shoes, or their upgraded umbrellas, and so on. "Holy crap. Adam, this isn't a distraction, you pretty much just conquered the entire city by REPLACING it!"

Oh that was a bit much! {{Look, we only technically own like 44% of the place! And they are distracted, right?}} Although they were partial owners and stuff for a good chunk of the rest of the place too, and investors in a WHOLE lot of things, but none of that counted.

They only OWNED 44%, which was less than half, and uh… So there!

He frowned. {{Still, a surprisingly large number of people were very eager to flat out sell me places, no questions asked. Apparently not many people LIKE being in Gotham City. Who knew?}}

Sarah snorted. "I was here for less than a day or two and pretty much picked up a life of villainy out of protest, I'm not shocked."

Adam gave her the point. Fair enough. {{Sorry. I just… I get into this groove, and then I just kept making small changes and updates and fixing issues here and there…}} And Gotham had a LOT of issues.

A sniffle made them both glance back at Vicki Vale smiling wetly at her new cell phone. "Sorry, everyone. I'm… Adam West, Ninja Construction Company, or whoever is REALLY behind this, just… Thanks for healing up my mom. It was supposedly inoperable. Her cancer ward sends their love and thanks too, even if all this is really confusing."

Sarah watched the woman try not to break down on camera. And nodded.

Turning back to the Healing Pod, she gathered Moss v8.033. "Well, what's done is done. And I'm sure we now have LOTS of time to do things right, so let's see what we can do."

Adam breathed a sigh of relief, having dodged a bullet. Thankfully, the news story hadn't covered the OTHER hospitals outside of Gotham that he had ALSO started healing up yet… In the end, the 'distraction' excuse ran a bit thin when in truth Adam just really liked messing with stuff.

Even so, probably best to stop buying property expanding the borders of Gotham City at this point. Focus more on the local area and the chaos that may or may not have cropped up everywhere from one or two of his slightly less than subtle decisions.

Right! First step, let's get 'Research' to help Dr. Isley safely germinate her own custom seeds from scratch!

Vicki Vale's voice was in the distance, a bit confused? "Alright, so all our station logos have changed, but what is this new section about requiring a reporter's defensive outfit? Am I going to have to buy the bullet proof vest myself or… WHO CHANGED MY CLOTHES!?"

Oops. Let's uh… Let's turn off the video feed before Sarah notices any of that.

And maybe disable the 'Ninja Construction Company' automated upgrade protocols, or modify them to only target materials not being used or actively worn at the time.

Speaking of which: Apparently Adam had automated protocols called the 'Ninja Construction Company' in the Warehouse now. To handle building the boring stuff that he and Sarah had already developed in the past while he was busy doing the fun stuff.

Not exactly sure when he had put that Warehouse unit together, must have been during the happy building blur from earlier.

Hadn't the 'Ninja Construction Company' thing just been a cover story?

Oops.

At least it was JUST a series of automatic systems and NOT another Avatar like Shiva with her own personality and memories. That… That was probably not going to be an issue.

Just in case though, let's uh… Let's double check exactly what Adam had tasked them to do real quickly. To be on the safe side.

THEN he could help Sarah and her sexy doctor boss fix the plant based people issue.

Sheesh.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Chaos.

Pure, raw (Yet very confused) chaos had infected Gotham City.

It was, to a certain extent, terrifying.

Everything people owned had been 'restored' or 'improved'. Even things they really had planned on throwing away, any day now, just don't ask them to take it to the curb because it is cold and they had to go to work or they were tired and it was looking a bit like rain maybe.

Signs long since stolen had reappeared, were easier to read, and brightly lit. Paint was fresh but not spreading that horrendous smell. Worn shoes suddenly fit better, looked newly unwrapped, and were more robust. Lost socks suddenly found their matches.

But… Then there were the oddities.

Spoiled food was replaced with higher quality versions of themselves, in larger quantities. That one asshole who insisted on painting his house 'Opaque Couche' now had a far more acceptably colored home that matched their neighbors, probably raising property value for the whole neighborhood by 5% due to this one change alone.

Intersections were altered, timing on traffic lights optimized, and charging stations and cables were just included on all lamp posts as a feature now. Free Wi-Fi was everywhere and had ridiculous bandwidth available. The new free cell phones that started just showing up with a disturbingly low cost monthly fee (Cheap for most or free with advertisements) could actually charge wirelessly somehow if you walked close enough to certain areas.

But more than that, sleep schedules were normalized, medication prescriptions fixed and somehow subsidized by a new online coupon provider, general cleanliness had hit an all time high… And the city had ground to a stop.

Every low level Villain had ducked and covered for the fallout. This was big, and no matter WHO or WHAT was responsible… No individual wanted to push this situation.

The high level Villains were busy being confused. Even their lairs had been cleaned and renovated, even if someone had decided to 'refund' all their ammunition and drugs with small treasure troves of legal unmarked bills.

And the police were a bit lost, as they got numerous reports and calls that summed up to: We don't know what is going on, you are the cops, do something!

As for normal businesses, they were attempting to keep going on like normal… But a large number found out that 'Adam West' (Famous actor and screen star) had somehow purchased ownership of a LOT of locations.

Pay rates had increased over the entire city to above minimum wage. Maximum working hours were capped, but the number of 'full time employees' allowed per business had been increased… No more forcing tight budgets to hire lots of 'part time' workers to do under the table labor to get things done.

Sick leave policy was now standard and generous, as was paid annual vacation leave. Paid holidays were also a thing now, as well as paid leave for voting days. Leave granted for giving birth, both for the mother of course but also her partner to help get the new baby settled.

It wasn't a set of laws, so no one got to give an opinion on the issue.

'Adam West' apparently owned them all and made his decisions based on personal whimsy. Legally.

Just as they had buckled under their former bosses, as money laundering joints or criminal communication fronts or drop offs… Now they caved under their confusingly kind new corporate master and his army, the unseen Ninja Construction Company.

It didn't take long for people to find out that calling management got FAST responses. Sometimes while still on the phone, entire buildings were altered or issues adjusted… WITHOUT the person in the room ON the phone even noticing.

There were no homeless people in Gotham now… Just a large 'Dark Nighty Knight Inn' filled with confused runaways and lost people, healed and cleaned, in private rooms with pamphlets explaining the many changes that had occurred and the new jobs they had just been hired at.

Because 'Adam West' now owned a LOT of businesses… And somehow these new people with damaged minds and little to no education were somehow able to read and write and had the equivalent of a college education squished into their skulls.

Add into this stew of mayhem: A large number of 'lost' bodies recovered, stored in a warehouse with information about how they died and so on and so forth, and information regarding the situation sent to family and authorities; Missing people and children suddenly returned to safety, either at home or at an abused people shelter for care and treatment; Random junk lost in all kinds of places, repaired and cleaned and delivered to their owners.

Sarah just stared at the long and growing list of crap Adam had dumped on her. "Bro. Why?"

Adam shifted awkwardly. {{I had to keep adding stuff to fix issues my previous solutions caused.}}

Screens came up. {{Fixing stuff for the cops would make it easy for criminals to recognize their property and homes, fixing up just one area of the city would make the areas I DIDN'T touch stand out, and leaving this area alone? Well, if I hadn't upgraded Arkham Asylum too, it would be SUPER obvious. Batman would be here already.}}

She just waved. "You made massive, automated, underground farms."

A wince. {{Giving people more money and lowering the death rate would drastically increase the demand, I had to increase supply.}}

Another screen. "And the new schools? The injured and mentally damaged people that you healed up and stuffed a high level education into?"

Adam also looked at the new education facilities. {{I healed a LOT of children who were near death. And saved a bunch too… It's almost like a massive population boom, since all existing systems were established expecting a higher loss rate before the little ones had a chance to learn.}}

As for the teachers… {{Right, shoving an advanced level of information into the homeless might have been a bit much… But some had no skills or background and I needed a bunch of employees and teachers and stuff. This way everybody wins!}}

She sighed, heavily. "What if they don't WANT to be a preschool teacher?"

Uhh… Oops. {{Then at least now they can all read, write, make a resume, and construct small scale rockets using kitchen appliances and basic tools?}} That was a marketable skill, right? {{And they can probably hold the job long enough for our HR department to find replacements.}}

Sarah stared at him.

What?

Oh. {{Speaking of which, we now have an HR department. And I call it 'Human Relations' out of traditions sake, but it will handle employees of all race and species without discrimination! I promise!}}

Seriously, all that business stuff went over Adam's head as it was, so he had established an entire corporate system to handle that mess and hired a TON of lawyers. Because he vaguely understood that this was how you did things in the corporate world.

So far, not all his employees KNEW they were hired, but uh… The paperwork said it was true and that was good enough for now. They'd probably ask some questions after the paychecks start rolling in though.

Sarah glared and pointed at… Well, nothing, but Adam could feel her intention. "No. No more of all this stuff. Not without talking first. This is so far beyond a 'distraction' I can't even give a good metaphor explaining it."

Ouch. {{In my defense, I automated most of this because I find building up human settlements to get a tad repetitive.}}

She narrowed her eyes. "That is NOT a defense, that just raises MORE questions! And concerns!"

Sarah sighed… And slumped. "Just… Please do NOT delegate reality warping changes to background processes due to being bored. Not without having a quick meeting or something. I'm alright with MOST of these changes, but no one likes getting blindsided like this."

Fair enough. {{Most?}}

She pulled up data. "I found out about Adam West's 'advertising campaign', and I do not like blaming a nice guy for all this shit."

Oh, that. {{Technically it's true? Legally at least, he owns all this now. It's cool, I'm pretty sure he thinks Batman is somehow behind all this.}} More screens came up. {{The guy has not only claimed credit for our distraction, but apparently expanded it a bit further on his own! Donated a LOT of money to other hospitals around the nation in the last day or so.}}

Sarah blinked. "Wait, what?"

Yep! {{Intercepted an email from him to a secured server…}} In a data center that Adam now owned, so Yoink! {{...And responded with contact details. He was a bit concerned about the 'Animated Dark Knight' TV series theoretical premise we were pushing until I sent his publicist the first season of the thing.}}

She seemed to be building a headache. "WHAT TV series? Wasn't that just an excuse?"

Initially, sure… But Adam sometimes got bored waiting for people to move and stuff so he could keep building and changing things. {{Duplicated his vocal print, the voice patterns for the people who he works with on the shows, and replicated the animation style used by the artists that work for his production crews.}}

Trying to calculate the theoretical pay rates for all those audio recording sessions that never happened, and including pay for non-existent travel, potential food expenses (Based on what the individuals would probably eat and drink), etc. etc. etc… Well, it had been a nice relaxing side task to do when things slowed down.

Oh, right. {{One second, I have to let the people who worked on the show know that they worked on the show. And make sure the paychecks go through… And send the money that should have been spent to the right cab services, hotels, same for the support staff…}}

Maybe he could round up? "What do you mean?"

Yeah, let's round it up a bit and let them keep the extra as a bonus or something. Some of these people claimed to be vegetarians but they statistically got the good steaks often enough that it made accurate predictions a little spotty. Not to mention that calculating restaurant cost variance based on product 'used' on those theoretical production days was a bit of guesswork.

Hmm de hmm de hmm… "Adam."

It was easy enough to make a season of this show anyway, although to avoid giving anyone ideas he had taken a VERY campy and silly angle. This Adam West was still a badass, but instead of bank robberies and psychotic clowns (Locals would NOT appreciate that), the man of the night would wrestle space sharks and demon cows and stuff.

At least in season one. Season two was going to be all about 'The Mad Balloonist' and his desire to secretly replace all furniture and buildings in the world with gas inflated replicas and substitutes. "Adam, focus. Focus on me please."

Not going to do season three though, not until Mr. West (And maybe Batman) got back about how appropriate it would be introducing love interests/polyamory/alien babes into the storyline, and just how all that would play out.

Far less risky to do something like this in a cartoon, so that there would be no real world woman to be held hostage or whatever. And, like always, Adam West wouldn't care either way: His ratings go through the ROOF when he nearly gets assassinated and Batman comes to help him out.

The man might be a bit off, but uh… That seemed normal for this Jump, so whatever. "ADAM!"

ACK! WHAT!? Oh, right. {{Yes Sarah?}}

She seemed a tad exasperated. "Adam, did you create an entire television series to cover up the fact that we blamed a famous actor and superhero kidnapping stand-in for the massive world shaking alterations you forced onto Gotham City to hide my actions?"

Uh. {{Not according to the paperwork.}} Oops, that look was a bit dark…

She might ban him from this awesome paperwork workaround if he leaves things there! Nope! {{And technically I created two seasons and blocked out the storyline for the next thirty or so. Took a while because I wanted to avoid stepping on too many toes and sometimes people can be a bit touchy about this kind of thing.}}

This Jump, for example, had nearly no mention of supernatural stuff in general in public media and in the common culture just to avoid stuff like invasions, alien incursions, and demonic lawsuits. Because uh… Satan existed here and he apparently had GOOD lawyers.

Though he seemed to have mellowed out since opening up that nice Piano Bar called 'Lux' in Los Angeles. Adam was… Not entirely sure the guy was supposed to be in this Jump actually. 'Research' was looking into it just in case.

Sarah sighed. "Well, what's done is done I suppose." She checked her data. "I've got Moss giving Dr. Isley her final tune up… But it is going to be slow to make sure nothing destabilizes. The last thing we need is for body parts to become intangible or something. So… Let's watch this thing."

Sweet! {{I'll set up an entertainment area so you can keep an eye on her. Should we use Moss on the other girls yet?}}

The Jumper walked over to the new couch Adam created to one side and collapsed into it. "No, our team got a whole different batch of crazy than the doctor who was exposed when trying to save us. I need to do more careful testing on them before any permanent changes are made."

The projected holographic TV screen began to blare awesome music!

Sarah blinked. "Didn't you steal this show intro entirely!?"

Crud. {{Not according to the paperwork.}}

Focus on the show! The SHOW Sarah!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Sarah just… She couldn't.

She knew, she just KNEW that Adam wasn't trying to be a hassle or cause problems. And it was likely caused by being forced to be alone for the entire FF8 Jump while he tried to fix things.

But there would have to be ground rules.

If you are going to conquer a town, city, state, nation, or continent: Please discuss it first. Or mention it during. Or leave a note afterwards.

That was just common courtesy.

On screen, the man in a campy costume was flexing to the world. "Come Robin! Justice has declared today the day to force ALL Lunar Sharks to properly recycle! No longer shall pollution curse our planet due to careless aquatic moon life!"

The sidekick nearly swooned in passion! "Holy Aquatic Suplex Skills, Batman! I'm not sure we can keep our breath while swimming in the moon's oceans!"

The man smiled with confidence. "Don't worry, my good chum! We won't be good chum today! Remember that Tibetan breathing exercise we trained under all those months ago?"

The smaller boy in bright colors smacked his fist into his hand! "Of course! With proper meditation and emergency scuba gear, we can surely hold our breath long enough to find a defensible area for a good ambush!"

The man sighed at his follower. "Robin, an ambush is not the way of Knighthood and Righteousness."

The boy's eyes went wide! "But Batman! How else can we handle such numbers!?"

The eyes of JUSTICE trapped the moon! "Through the legendary skills of the Luchador!"

...Alright, Sarah WAS having fun watching this thing.

A quick check as the dynamic duo began infiltrating the villains Coral Rocket showed that Dr. Isley was doing MUCH better now that her body had actual body parts in it.

Or at least, it was doing pretty good so far.

The real test would be after the Moss finished replicating and establishing the last of the materials… Then another few rounds of testing, some data sent to 'Research', and bam! Hopefully a quick test would prove that even disconnected from that green energy Poison Ivy would remain biologically stable.

If nothing else, it should drastically reduce her personal daily requirements for sun and soil. She'd still enjoy nature, of course, but hopefully not actually DIE if separated from the floral world for too long.

And crap, what about all the other plans she had made?

How was she supposed to find people when the whole surface (Including this island they were hiding underneath) had been rebuilt from scratch?

Her other self, Sarah Esdat, was more than a bit confused visiting her home and she actually KNEW that Adam was doing crazy crap up there.

At least she had templates to [[Scan]] for all her memories of past favorite clothing and personal items now.

On screen, Batman was carefully designing his Luchador Mask with tiny bat symbols.

Hang on. "Is he going to put a Luchador mask OVER his actual mask!?"

Adam grinned. {{Of course! He wouldn't want his secret identity of Batman to get out after all!}}

So the man with a secret identity was now protecting HIS identity with another mask!? "Where does this end!? If he wants to be undercover will he put on a sheet and become the ghostly Bat Luchador of unknown origin or something!?"

A laugh! {{Spoilers! I'm not saying nothing!}}

Wet blanket. But fine. On screen, the smaller masked human sidekick was attempting to help Batman recover from the most recent wrestling round. "Is Robin real here?"

A pause. {{Uh. Oh. Yeah, I think so.}}

The boy was having issues using a water bottle to cool down the Cape Crusader, due to them both being in the ocean.

Oh shit. "Adam, he's going to blow a gasket."

An awkward half laugh came from her friend. {{Nah, it will be fine! He's older here. More mature, probably.}} Hopefully.

Robin flashed a grin! "Holy Fin-ish, El Batmano! You really wrestled this fish to the chopping block!"

The man of the hour stood tall, colorful bat mask sparkling with glitter. "Don't let yourself grow overconfident, boy wonder! In the deadly world of professional wrestling, only your wits and a nutritious diet (Moderated with healthy exercise) can protect you from a watery grave!"

His small eyes sparkled! "Gee golly!"

Sarah nodded. "That man is going to murder you."

Adam blinked at that. {{Huh. Wow, I'm really glad I haven't made season three yet. I can probably take out most of those awkward dating scenes, it was a subplot at best anyway… Now that I think about it, I need to check out his orientation beforehand just to be safe. He may not be into alien-mutant-squirrel-humanoid dating in the first place.}}

All of this show was madness. "And this is the first episode?"

Adam sent a list of titles and cover images. {{Yep.}}

Sarah nodded. "Get me popcorn, and try to record people's reactions to watching the stuff over at Adam's film company." Maybe offer that to them as a blooper reel or whatever later. Or just keep that good stuff for herself, since she couldn't explain how Adam could record a private showing to powerful and wealthy producers.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Barbara Gordon absently marked Dad's email as read. Yep, not coming home today, not with all this crazy crap going on.

She herself was torn emotionally as well, although in a happy way.

On one hand, her shattered spine was miraculously healed.

No longer bound to a wheelchair, the former Bat Girl turned mysterious computer angel, Oracle… Could walk once more. A burden and barrier in her personal life, one too risky to operate on and too deadly to risk out in the field even with mechanical assistance, handled and gone.

Theoretically, she should be dancing in the streets. And to be honest, she may have done a bit of her old workout routine out of pure joy once her unbelieving mind was willing to risk giving it a try… And somehow, impossibly, she was stronger, more flexible, and had better control than BEFORE her injury.

But here came the dilemma.

At the same time that her shattered body was healed AND improved to impossible levels… Her house was altered and rebuilt by unknown people also. The so-called 'Ninja Construction Company', not that anyone has ever seen anything but paperwork and licenses and such of the group.

And it was a FULL sweep of her home. The hidden rooms, her old and mentally scarring costume from her better years when uninjured, the secret safe, the hidden files… All of it was cleaned. Repaired. Spell checked and edited, no less.

Most freaky of all, all her clothing and outfits (Including heroine options) were adjusted to her new sizes as well. A beyond perfect fit granting astounding levels of comfort.

If it had ONLY been her house, she would have freaked out royally like Batman was likely doing now… But this crazy 'whatever it is' was happening everywhere in Gotham.

And sure, her gear was a perfect fit despite her massive change in body shape (Being immobile made exercise tricky at best, and having a suddenly toned and healthy form was NOT a subtle alteration either), but more than that? The more astonishing change, the impossible alteration?

Her computer system.

Her gaze was pulled back to her servers and monitors.

Someone healed her, upgraded and adjusted all her gear, and basically provided everything she needed to go out and find out WHO did it and why…

But they also souped up her computer system and network. To insane levels.

More than any other computer system in the house (And there were several now), more than Dad's stuff at work, more than the massively improved stuff at the public library (She could walk places again!)... Her hardware was a PC goddess now.

Barbara Gordon, Formerly Batgirl, Potentially Formerly Oracle… Had the hardest decision at hand.

Revel in the thrill of being hale and whole, a shadow in the night…

Or worship her new alter to the technological gods, with a hacking capability near mythical proportions and hardware beyond mortal science.

Sport girl or Geek girl raged in internal conflict! Thrill vs. Skills! What she now was or what she now could do!

She wanted to go out right now, to find out the truth, to uncover the mystery!

She wanted to dive into her new system, to find out the truth, to uncover the mystery!

Argh!

Barbara felt a bit silly a few hours later when she realized her new costume could somehow remotely connect to her new computer network and project some sort of tactile holographic illusion interface by having her gloves and vision gear interact with the data and more.

Just… Instant sort-of magic keyboard and desktop, on the go, instant access. Sheesh.

But for now, she swirled in glee and frustration, caught between two amazing choices, in a city where reality seemed to have taken a bit of a holiday and confusion was keeping the house clean for the duration.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Chlo/Ella/Jessie/Susan dreamed.

They were many, then none, then one, now two.

One together, but two separate.

For one was the team, while two was the self.

And they were not prepared for self.

So Chlo/Ella/Jessie/Susan dreamed.

Of passion and burning, or elation and betrayal.

They had hope/dreams/nothing/potential.

Their team was led by a woman of vision, a genius, a path to victory.

But betrayal injected, betrayal dragged them away, betrayal burned them all.

Some were lost.

But she came.

It was too late, it was too little, it changed nearly nothing.

But to Chlo/Ella/Jessie/Susan, having her cry over them as they die… It had been more precious. More valuable.

To one with near nothing, even those torn fragments of love and hope had been a gift of coal in winter. A loaf of bread to the starved, a sip of water in the desert.

Chlo/Ella/Jessie/Susan dreamed, and grew, and learned.

They knew they were they.

But they were also one.

And while they should stay them, they gave to one.

Memories, strange ones, from others.

Altered to strike the cord, to vibrate the threads of thought.

We were there, when Jessie cried lost.

We were there, when Ella worked late.

We were there, when Susan leapt logic.

We were there, when Chlo refused defeat.

Chlo/Ella/Jessie/Susan dreamed.

And those dreams were strange, as numbers fought lands of sound and color. As memories long lost were touched by raw information newly given. As holes were provided and mapped, even as the context had to slowly grow and recovery.

And, in time, the one may not be together, but two separate…

Or two alone.

But, for now.

As pain vanished in the mist and the flood of reality swelled against the banks.

For now.

As the feeds of knowledge streamed in billowing clouds of insight.

For now…

They were one.

Together.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Alfred Pennyworth blinked at the message on his brand new messaging device.

One he had not had on his person a moment ago, but even Master Wayne had grown weary of gathering the hundreds of duplicates into secured storage as each one left behind replaced itself.

The man was currently underground, in his disturbingly renewed and very professionally cleaned and repaired 'secret' Batcave. Developing some sort of counter to all this, he no did not doubt.

No, what caught Alfred off guard was not the strange concept of invisible Ninjas insisting that people have affordable communication abilities or how they continuously trespassed upon the property in some way… But the contents of this message.

It was a note from good man Mr. West, the actor friend of Master Wayne.

Or at least, it claimed to be from the man.

What was this about an animated television series for his most popular superhero persona? Oddly enough, it felt like someone had mentioned something like that earlier, but today had been… Quite hectic.

Beyond curious, Alfred couldn't help but open the video provided marked 'Batman the Animated Series: S01E03: The Zombie Fires of Doom.'

And watched as one would observe a train wreck as a dashing Man of Danger and his young Ally of Justice proceeded to save planet Earth from the undead flame elementals belonging to someone called Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Oh dear.

He best bring this to the young Master's attention promptly.

...After observing the remainder of the video to ensure he had a proper grasp of the situation.

"Holy Unholy Burning Fire Doom Bots, Batman!"

...Indeed.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Bruce Wayne, as a public figure, was required to be in public and act as confused and bemused as the other wealthy people who mysteriously had everything they owned (Most considered to be of the highest quality) to have been further improved.

Batman, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth internally at having had to leave his frantic investigation to keep his public persona usable.

Having to meet with others, accept calls, hear the many parts of his company awkwardly share amazing breakthroughs and advancements literally handed to them by the same mysterious process that solved so many unrecorded issues and… Sigh.

It was infuriating.

One would think upgrading all the things would somehow be a boon. And for the more simple people, for the more innocent, it truly was. The net worth of Gotham as a whole had just shot up, with all the budget allocated towards repair work and maintenance now considered a slush fund as most projects were both done AND vastly under estimates for price and time required.

The new utility services were already providing low cost internet services for the entire area, the power companies had mostly been bought out and replaced with something close to a free socialist program, and all city transportation services now had beyond top of the line, state of the art electrical vehicles.

The new electric bus system charged at each stop it made AND could easily shrug off armor piercing tank rounds. Because why wouldn't it.

But for the cautious, and the naturally suspicious people (Such as himself), this was just… Beyond concerning.

Was power on this level disturbing? Yes.

The scale? The comprehensive planning required? People being shifted through space, medical cases getting healed through potentially miraculous methods?

Worrisome.

Was he worried about someone somehow upgrading ALL his Batcaves?

Surprisingly, no.

The issue was too large, too encompassing… And somehow that made things better. No precautions could have given him warnings, no actions or inactions could have prevented these changes or altered the outcome.

And while pride and self flagellation were issues of his, Bruce didn't feel personally responsible when nature shifted the weather or other such issues happened. He wasn't a god, after all.

If anything, the ability to arbitrarily alter systems and paperwork to even attempt to pass this mess off as 'normal' seemed to give clear indications that this was an act of a being not quite native to this level of reality.

Batman had experience with other dimensional creatures, time travelers, reality manipulators, probability skewers, and so forth before.

And this felt like some strange all powerful child trying to draw a puppy and giving it twenty legs because they were good at drawing legs and they clearly wrote the word 'Popy' next to it so everyone should feel proud at all the hard work they did.

The intentions behind all these actions were easy to understand, even if nearly impossible to accept for a man as worn by life as himself.

They were trying to 'fix' things. But… They didn't understand the complexity of society. The range of issues that affect other issues, the give and take that was so frustrating when working with others.

For example, prior to this a lot of communication systems used in Gotham were designed, built, installed, and hacked by the Riddler. Years of work, which was all done to better enforce his various schemes, to give out his plots, and so on and so forth.

It was public knowledge in some circles, and of course Batman himself found out fairly rapidly.

But until now, those systems had been left alone.

Everything else aside, Edward Nigma was a genius. A mad one, insane and twisted, but brilliant beyond anything the public had seen for years.

And when the man replaced the city's hardware, it became clear that the new system was easier to use, more secure (Albeit with a built-in backdoor, one with an astounding complex logon procedure), and more efficient. Cheaper to operate as well.

The Riddler wanted to use these tools to better do his crimes after all… So he had made his equipment so valuable that the corporations owning the companies couldn't bear to pay the expenses required to destroy the new compromised gear, pay for a fresh setup, install it all… And then have the villain steal everything and put his own stuff back in place the next day.

It was, by every metric, the best hardware and software anyone had ever seen… All for the cost of letting a crazy man randomly log in once every few months to make a dramatic speech before being caught and sent back to prison for a while.

Even Bruce himself acknowledged that half the reason the city could still operate through the many trials and tribulations over the years was due to the 'unauthorized' and 'illegal' equipment that the Riddler had set up everywhere.

So it was allowed to remain.

And that was just one aspect, a small one, of how society had adapted to the strange world it now operated within.

A compromise, a valve that let out a bit of stress in a burdened system that kept the Riddler to doing far less damaging things like confusing scavenger hunts or odd performance pieces rather than devastating the city's infrastructure or going to suicidal extremes out of frustration.

Even more ordinary crime had somehow constructed an odd symbiotic relationship with the people here.

Over a third of the banks in the city were false, for example. Fronts for criminal organizations, and yet so competent that unknowing people ended up using them instead of legal organizations because of better service and HARSH consequences when someone tried robbing them.

But now?

Now, Batman had to examine ALL his equipment, all his hardware, all his code to the most basic level… Just to validate that it was actually secure and not a direct connection to somewhere else, or sending out signals (intentional or not), or doing unexpected actions that were not part of the original design, and so on and so forth.

Something he couldn't do while attending events like this as Bruce Wayne.

And it was IMPORTANT to get this done, as well. To have an identity, but also to index the many changes to his private equipment.

The helpful and frustrating instruction booklet (One for every bit of equipment he had placed conveniently nearby) had already given him just enough time to DISABLE the numerous alert forwarding systems that would have sent crime related issues and so forth from the Batcave to his phone and email services.

The public persona ones. Not even his secured hardware modules, just his factory standard phone filled with fluff and cover story data.

Again, clearly meant to be helpful… NOT good operational security. Sigh.

Thankfully there were SO MANY things different that no one was reacting yet.

The criminals tried to blame others… But the situation was too big. Even the most mentally unstable were mostly staring at their own hideouts with upgraded television and free computer systems and fully stocked refrigerators not sure what happened or what to do next.

Thankfully, the vast majority seemed to have decided to stay home, drink the free mysteriously appearing beer and/or wine in their room/hideaway/cave/sewer residence/hotel room/etc, and just wait for things to make sense.

A nearly painful smile cursed his face as he turned to the next vapid person to try and kiss up to him today… Why, WHY had he decided to make Bruce Wayne a billionaire playboy philanthropist?

Most of the people in these circles were just infuriating to tolerate in the first place! And the vapid men and women, you had to watch OUT for those. Because anyone who seems smart is actually a moron, and the people pretending to be idiots were secretly savants or being sneaky and… Damn it.

Once the jerk was gone, he was able to focus on the far more friendly face by his side and continue their conversation.

Bruce gave a wry grin. "It does sound a bit fantastical, Ms. Kyle."

She rolled her eyes. "Just Selina, Bruce. You know better than that. And I admit, the idea of a natural habitat for what seems to be the entire feline population of the city is certainly welcome, if unusual… But more so that all my records claim I was the one who organized this and ordered the facility constructed!"

He held in a chuckle. "I doubt you are offended by the entire situation. After all, you've always had a fondness for cats in general."

Her gaze was knowing and he held back the smug a bit better. "I'm just not used to the new income stream and corporate responsibilities. Or the sudden alterations. Even my 'evening wear' was modified. I assume your 'man cave' got similar alterations?"

Minx. "I am in the process of examining everything. You know I tend to worry about things."

Their relationship was… Well, let's be sincere here, ALL his relationships were a bit unusual. But until 'Catwoman' crossed the line, stealing from criminals not even being NEAR the top of his list, he wouldn't invest the time required to attempt and back her into a corner.

After all, his plate was full with people attempting to burn crowds, consume tourists, explode his city, mentally rape innocents, invade his reality and more. Smaller concerns (If not small time in general) issues like Ms. Selina Kyle were more similar to hidden contacts than vile foes to be apprehended.

Oh, they still publicly 'fought'. And he wouldn't ignore her if she got sloppy with evidence or targeted actual innocents rather than the slime corroding his city, and he didn't hold BACK during conflict…

But he warned her when areas might get risky during combat, and she sent notes about plans that he might have missed, and they may have spent a few nights 'discussing cooperation' and so forth.

Truthfully, a few of the more incompetent and lower risk villains managed to 'escape' his grasp when possible. Some acting as unknowing comrades as they ineptly led Batman to secured locations or casually dropped hints when drunk, others actively keeping their eyes open and ears perked for crimes beyond the Gotham PD.

After all, no one wanted the Joker to poison half the city for a laugh, or risk a demonic incursion due to some idiot getting their hands on some mystical materials. Better to 'get caught' by Batman, share the data while safely in a cell (Many low level crimes had a fine at most), and save thousands of people in the process.

It was a balance, a tricky one, that drove him with guilt and doubt at times.

How 'bad' was too bad? Normal crimes could be handled by the less corrupt police members. And Batman never ignored a crime happening within his grasp, though sometimes he had to prioritize like medical personnel in a triage center.

Chase down and capture the mugger, or scare him away from the victim so that he could catch the arsonist two streets over? Ignore the jewelry store robbers (It was insured and half the time a money laundering scheme in the first place) in order to save a man or woman from rape and help them get somewhere safe?

In many ways, he wished life was as simple as it had seemed when he first began.

Punch bad people, put them in jail, justice done.

Selena nudged his arm, concerned. "You alright Bruce?"

Right, he was in public. "Just… It's been a long day." How many hours ago had he last slept? Before he had left, Alfred had that look in his eye… So clearly over 20 hours or more.

Her commiserating look made him feel warm inside, though he refused to give into it fully. "Well, we've probably been here long enough to convince everyone that no one knows anything about anything. Let's go check out the Purrfect Palace, I want to show you the amazing hidden cameras the place uses for the online streaming site! I admit watching the little babies fumble and play certainly cheers me up, and us spending time together would certainly not be that unusual either."

Something tugged his mind, but the idea did sound tempting. "I… I suppose it would be fascinating to see the fake landscapes you mentioned." And it would hopefully get Alfred off his back about using those stimulants to stay awake. They were medically safe in low doses.

She smirked. "There is an entire fake snow tundra playground for the kittens, with lots of stuff to claw and mess with and all made out of this stuff that seems to be yarn. And the site itself has some really advanced features on it, like 'cat tagging' that will automatically switch camera feeds to let you follow one of the little ones as they fumble about like a documentary! There's this little cutie that looks just like you too, you'll love him."

That other concept floating in his brain clicked. Was this a lead for the mysterious bathroom? "There must be a lot of cameras to properly pull that off."

She hummed. "Yeah, no idea how they are made but some are so tiny that I can barely see them even with my jewelry tools." Selena gave him a look. "For the record, using these against certain people is against the rules of good sport and might earn someone a spanking."

His mind was elsewhere, as he rapidly began trying to recall if other reports mentioned a similar number of visual recording devices. This… This could be a big confirmation to some of his more strange theories! "Is that a promise?"

A sudden tightening on his arm brought him back to the present… And the startlingly hungry look in his friend's eyes. What?

Whatever she was looking for she apparently found. "Yep, we are done here. Let's head to my place."

Alright? But they didn't need to move this quickly, right?

In the limo (updated and now even MORE artillery proof than the usual high society transportation normally available in Gotham), the satisfied grin on Selina didn't distract him from her giving the driver the wrong address.

Bruce felt like had missed something. "I thought the Purrfect Palace Cat Sanctuary was on the other side of town?"

She simply snuggled lovingly/warmly/comfortably into his side. "Don't worry, I'll show you all that tomorrow."

Then she nuzzled his neck.

...Well, Alfred did say he didn't approve of abusing chemicals and strong doses of coffee to stay awake. And the new systems would alert him on his secured encoded receiver if anything occurred.

Her hair smelled like memories.

Maybe a short recovery break was in order. "I suppose there is nothing very urgent to handle at the moment…"

She grinned against his skin. "I texted Alfred that you will be back later and he knows not to bother preparing dinner, breakfast, or lunch as you will be occupied."

Sigh. Somehow this almost felt like a kidnapping rather than a 'planning session'...

His body relaxed slightly as the stress wore away during the ride.

Well, there were worse scenarios than a bit of romantic hostage negotiations. And it wasn't like he hadn't earned the playboy reputation honestly, in the end. "Tomorrow afternoon, at the latest."

Her grin was sinful and her eyes sparkled. "Such a tight timeline? An interesting challenge…"

Selena's husky voice purred. "I accept."

After that, negotiations might have broken down slightly.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Dr. Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy, felt… warm.

Quiet, peaceful, and mellow.

That endless hunger was gone.

The screaming was silenced.

The ongoing pain, only a memory.

She just felt loose, relaxed, and a bit like a limp noodle.

How long had she forced herself to stay focused?

To bend her body to heel, to force her limbs to stop shaking?

Memories of her torment floated like clouds as she felt the sea.

But it wasn't salty, or uncomfortable, or stifling.

No, she floated in a sea of Ģ̴̧͇̘̩̖͎̜̤́͜ͅŕ̺͚̩̪̳̣̯̜̲͞͠e̶͏̷͉̘͔̬̟͍͓̺̜͇͓̖͍̥̻̞͕̀e̡̛͈͖̦̹̥̤̳͙̜̹̼͚̩̮̪͡ǹ̸̛̥̟̞̦̰͚̝̖̕͜.

.

Yet, she was still here.

Herself, despite the endless sea.

An individual, yet connected to so many.

Most were simple, or basic, or lost. A few were more, in many ways.

A tiny group, including her, could connect with others.

But in the end, it was the G̜̟r̘̹̖̤̖̠͙ͅe͖̤̟̰̲̘̺e̳̳͙͔̘̞͕͚̜n̥̯̩̤̜ that held them all in these waters.

And the G̼̬̩r̲̤̘̬̬̠̜e̝e͉̺̤n̻̻…

The G͜reén was part of life. Of struggle, certainly, but more than that… Acceptance.

Most of the Green would 'compete' for resources, sure. They'd grow where able.

But… If they 'lost', if they had too little, if they were not enough… They adapted. They adjusted. They became able to grow anyway, or died without regret trying.

The animal side of her, a R̝e͇̖̳d͚ fog, abhorred the idea. Raged at it. Tore with nail and claw and tooth to live a little longer, to fight a bit more.

But not the Green.

The Green didn't know this, didn't understand exactly… But those lost to life became fuel for others of the Green. And so more tried to adapt to situations that killed predecessors. To grow.

Death, loss, sadness, were confusing to the Green. But just as it didn't understand, couldn't follow the thought process of the children, it also didn't criticize.

Dr. Isley wanted to live.

That was fine. Grow.

Poison Ivy wished to save plant life.

That was fine. Grow.

Poison Ivy wished to destroy Humanity, a curse that risked all plant life. That risked the Green.

Humanity was just more of the Red, and the Green would Grow.

Poison Ivy knew how dangerous Humanity truly was! How unstoppable, how unending!

That was fine. Grow.

Poison Ivy tried to explain how deadly Humanity was!

In space, with no air and no water, a fragment that could become the Green waited.

Before the Red was more than fragments, the Green was there.

As Red covered the globe, consumed and fought itself and others, the Green was there.

When frost killed the land, the Green was there.

When fire scoured the earth, the Green was there.

Before this planet existed, the potential for the Green was there.

When all planets are long gone, the memory of the Green will be there.

Poison Ivy saw the thin layer of Red that attempted to cover the tiny planet in an endless sea of Space, and how little it truly conquered.

How shallow the foundations were, how miniscule.

They may travel the skies, may explore the seas, may attempt to dig into the soil…

But while they struggled, the Green was there.

It may only be potential, or forgotten to memories, or in an unknown form... But the Green was there.

Poison Ivy felt lost. A goal no longer sought, a dream unstable.

That was fine. Grow.

Dr. Isley wrapped Poison Ivy in understanding and comfort.

That was fine.

Grow.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Sarah couldn't help but grin! "This looks stable. Look stable to you? I'm thinking full stability."

Adam kept [[Scanning]]. {{Give it another day or so, just to be sure. [[Enhance Self]] has odd effects sometimes, though theoretically always beneficial… But best be safe.}}

Don't have to tell HER twice. "Let's hold off on any upgrades or adjustments for a full hour, then apply them one at a time. Can't risk any individual issue causing other issues, even if we can quickly revert the issues."

Sure, technically Moss v22.014 could easily revert the good doctor to a prior healthy snapshot at any point… But the boss wasn't just some murdering asshole or cannibal croc, and potentially harming her was very much 'not of the good' as it were.

She accepted the hot chocolate and sipped with satisfaction. "Her new organs might be more plant than human, and the additional features a tad off the standard scope of the mortal body… But at least she should be more durable."

Non-flammable, durable, enhanced functionality, sexy as sin, and a few additional features like the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation fungus that basically allowed stored energy, sunlight, or the connection to this Green stuff to replace the requirement for breathing.

Oh, she still could. Breathing was fun and popular, after all. But no longer was drowning a concern. Nor was the emptiness of space, though that was more due to the durability enhancements Sarah had set up to prevent pressurization issues and… Well, honestly the effectiveness of that stuff would rely fairly heavily on the user's connection to Potential energy or very low level Magic.

Which the Green stuff should easily manage, if 'Research' was right.

Not that Sarah was planning on going to the bottom of the ocean or out into space, it was just nice to plan for extremes sometimes. It was why Dr. Isley's new body could handle subzero temperatures of the arctic and the harsh heat of the sunlit desert without concern: Be prepared!

Sure, go beyond a certain level and her body would automatically start shutting down, cannibalizing the non-essential parts, and attempt to transform into a very hardy seed/hibernating/stasis form with roots and leaves and stuff, but it would recover from that once she was exposed to enough energy, heat, water, etc and so forth.

It was why she had to modify and enhance Moss so much, and why this was taking so long. Working on someone she cared about meant skipping a lot of the efficient but harsh testing methodology.

With a grin, she double checked the women's health readings. "I really think we did it this time, Adam. Once we've got the basics updated and stable, we can move on to the girls while letting 'Research' examine the doctor for any hidden problems over a bit of time."

The Skull's agreement was broken off suddenly. {{Oops.}}

'Oops'!? WHAT oops!? "Adam!?"

Innocence, pure as the driven snow and freshly baked this morning by the singing choir of the cloister. {{Yes, my wonderful, talented, and forgiving Jumper?}}

She sat back in her chair, glaring. "Adam."

Yeah, he caved. {{I left some automated processes going even after I toned down the 'Ninja Construction Company' units.}}

Oh dear. "I thought you turned that thing off?"

Adam shrugged. {{It's been fixing smaller issues the further away from Gotham you travel, but I didn't want a pattern to show up for Batman to analyze. I wanted the 'rebuild all the boring stuff' effect to dissipate 'naturally' instead of giving him data about when I decided to stop.}}

That was… Fair. Sort of. "Which processes did you forget?"

A recent recording popped up. A VERY recent recording, showing her accepting the hot chocolate. {{Well, for one? The Bustling Butler Bureau. It was designed from the ground up to be inoffensively helpful and nearly preternaturally prepared… It's why the food and drinks have been conveniently the right temperature for people even when left alone or forgotten for a while, why the outfits they wanted to wear 'just happened' to be cleaned and refitted for optimal impressions, how areas that have almost no active custodian services haven't become filthy, and all that.}}

Another data slide began to list names. {{Random Repair Restorators, meant to provide area maintenance and simple repair and recovery work without full redesign or replacement… Crud, it's been set to actually replace the new cell phones when people 'lose them' by wandering too far away from them.}}

What felt to be accidental images of a growing number of 'lost' phones suddenly vanished through a [[Harvest]]. {{Don't worry, I'll modify the automated system to better detect the difference between 'lost' and 'left behind'. Maybe just connect some minor Space manipulation with a light mental connection so that it will 'just happen' to be there when needed, but be safe at the designated 'home' otherwise?}}

Sarah blinked… Oops, she was starting to lose Adam. "Focus, man. Don't mentally wander off, keep listing the automated stuff."

His embarrassment was like an adorable little brother but not enough to prevent her from keeping him focused. {{Ah, right. There is also the Practical Pranking Professionals, which tracks karma to have minorly inconvenient things happen to abusive or cruel people… Which might actually need to be made MORE aggressive, I'll look into it later… And the Child Care Consortium.}}

That one came up. {{I was worried that while I was busy making stuff and building things, I would easily miss a little one in danger or worse forget to keep an eye on things. I… I kind of get distracted easily.}}

Understandable, not like Sarah was super focused either… And at least these were things she wasn't actually against, even if she WAS uninformed. "How extreme is the child thing?"

A small listing. {{It tracks everyone below 'legal adult', which is 18 in Gotham City. By default, if a child is at risk it will alert me directly, and if I do not or can not respond in time it will capture the people involved, put them into restful slumber, apply stasis, and leave behind a report about the actions that had occurred, how to contact me, etc. If I STILL do not handle it, after a short time it transfers the group with another copy of the evidence to the nearest police station, with bright warning messages on each person marking them as 'Aggressive', 'Confused', and so on and so forth so they will know the involved mental states of the people.}}

Sarah just… Stared at the thought of Adam. "That's like the most oppressive big brother program ever. You might have gone overboard."

He protested! {{I turned THAT one off! And the police state ones and stuff! The Child Care Consortium exists just to keep the kids safe when I am not focusing on stuff! Plus like, the torment and torture retributive and karmic options weren't even enabled to begin with!}}

Damn it. "Just… For me, go over all the automated stuff really quickly and let me get a good understanding about each one. I want to know what we are doing to the Jump, especially if neither of us are actively keeping an eye on it all."

Adam suspiciously paused. {{Everything automated?}}

Her eyes narrowed. "Yep."

Oh yeah, that was suspicious. {{Like… All of it? Not just the big stuff like the near-NPC organizational units?}}

Oh boy. "Yes please."

Windows began flashing open, filling the operating room and the peacefully resting green skinned red haired beauty. {{Sigh… This might take a while.}}

Her mouth felt dry as she saw the holographic screens piling up behind the rest and beyond the physical dimensions of the room. Good grief. "Can… Can you sort them? By the ones currently active in this Jump?"

Adam sighed. {{These ARE the only ones active right now. I turned off or adjusted most of the other stuff when I first found out I had gone a bit overboard. But at least I can change their window color after you read them, and this maintenance mode lets you easily add notes and suggested changes and stuff!}}

Sarah just stared. "Why do you have an automated grass grooming process?"

A shrug. {{I hate mowing grass. Just because I am an immobile extradimensional outside context Warehouse doesn't mean that mowing grass doesn't suck.}}

Fair enough. "Alright, let's get through this."

Maybe start with the group of processes targeting people directly first? Those were the ones she would likely have issues with the most, if she had to gamble.

With a sigh, she sat back in an astoundingly comfortable chair that she hadn't designed. Going to have to keep the Bustling Butler Bureau, if nothing else. "Start the observation period for Dr. Isley for now, I feel like this is going to take a while."

At least most of these were fairly basic and fast to process and understand. Although... Why did Adam have an automated process set up simply to organize people's currency in their wallets automatically in the first place?

Maybe she'd find a pattern after going through this mess.

But then again, knowing Adam… Probably not.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

This… This was frustrating. "Move this one over to Bustling Butler Bureau, it's more a quality of life feature than general repair."

The next one also went with it, but not the other two. "Those go into Random Repair Restorators, and presort the rest of this list so that anything new is tagged for Ninja Construction Company while anything repaired, replaced, or updated goes into the Restorators as well."

Sarah sighed as she glanced back at the slowly recovering women. Dr. Isley was going through some sort of metamorphosis now that her body was stable and her connection to the green energy was strengthened, while the four girls seemed to be doing some sort of self therapy session.

Unfortunately, the group were sharing while unconscious by passing their separate 'memories' with each other… Which was frustrating, because it increased the risk of 'hive submersion coma'.

It had cropped up in the Rick and Morty Jump, how some of her kids and grandkids had been so mentally damaged and scarred that they would retreat into the hive mind entirely for months or longer… Not quite death or coma, but very VERY passive as they (hopefully) let time heal their hurt.

On the other hand, it was a GOOD sign that they were choosing to do ANYTHING in the first place… So Sarah had to hope for the best. Although the group may end up being disturbingly in sync after this until they worked things through.

No, damn it. "Get rid of these seven, Adam. They conflict again."

THIS was why the whole process was needed in the FIRST place!

From what Sarah could tell, Adam had gotten annoyed at repetitive and less interesting small jobs and had designed a subsystem maintenance routine process. Toss a task at the unit, it would handle the resource allocation and all that jazz to ensure that one specific issue was handled in the future.

The problem was that her friend had been as uninterested in this routine as he was the tasks he was trying to avoid working with.

So the first thousand or so tasks had been… Very odd. Random.

'Verify gravel used in front lawns to be within this standard deviation of radius or smaller', 'Verify gravel used in front lawns to be within this standard deviation of radius or bigger', 'Destroy weeds between sidewalk cracks', 'Destroy grass between sidewalk cracks', 'Repair minute fractures in sidewalks', etc.

Which would be fine, if Adam had strong opinions on every topic.

But he did not.

So a number of these subprocedures didn't agree with each other, and depending on the order tested would constantly alter the real world to 'fix' them. Non-stop.

The issue only got worse when Adam got MORE frustrated and started making the near-sapient systems like the Ninja Construction Company, Automated Automobile Agency, Bustling Butler Bureau, Systematic Stock Society, Random Repair Restorators, Practical Pranking Professionals…

Well, he didn't bother to go back and make sure each new subsystem took over their related tasks.

So now, if the Systematic Stock Society is adjusting financial purchase rates and stuff to ensure no random software issue instantly crashes the economy… It doesn't know that Adam also has a minor task ensuring no electronic warfare at one specific bank can 'hack' the local businesses or something similar.

Thankfully, the new subsystem companies had a lot of internal self checking and stuff to catch issues like this, determine which action is closest to its designated purpose, and simplify its own marching orders…

But not the old stuff.

So now, Sarah had to go through all this random crap and dump these one off taskings into various groups to be handled at a later date.

It was mind-bendingly boring and repetitive, and Sarah could really see why Adam had decided to automate this mess in the FIRST place… If only he hadn't been so lazy with his initial solution!

She could feel him blushing from here as they found more and more conflicting and even silly tasks. "Why do we even CARE that pet rodents don't gain nuclear superpowers?"

Adam awkwardly coughed. {{While I never had an issue with Mighty Mouse, Danger Mouse, or even Minute Mouse… Atomic Mouse always freaked me out.}}

She blinked at the data that came up. "Alright, that… That is pretty odd, I'll give you that. But isn't he a hero?"

He sighed. {{Not all fears are rational. Something about mice shrinking down to the size of an atom… I don't know, it just bothers me.}}

Well, whatever. "I'm still dumping this into Proper Paw Patrol and going to let it handle the issue. I mean, how common do animals gain superpowers in the first place?"

At least it was MUCH easier to handle these company routines. They had actual configuration settings, could provide examples if Sarah was confused about what a specific one did, and could answer questions nearly like a person without getting frustrated or bored or whatever.

Unlike Shiva though, it felt a bit… Flat. One dimensional, lacking… Even unconsciously it was clear to her that these were not 'people' but really complex spreadsheets and algorithms picking options in a really clever but not intellectual way.

Which was good, because the work they did would drive anyone insane. "Let's merge Friendly Food Foundation with Preferred Pet Produce and Grown Garden Groceries. Having different organizations to handle human, animal, and plant food and nutritional supplements feels inefficient."

This way all the various food quality measures, freshness protocols, cleansing procedures, and sanitation safety methods would be in one place even if the customer was a person, animal, or plant. Might have to expand it too, if this Jump had inanimate species that needed to eat stuff too...

Wasn't there a race of magical gems that could eat all kinds of human food? Adam said something about it when collecting anime and this Jump's media, but they weren't supposed to be in this Jump from what he said.

Even so, this Jump DID have people made entirely from clay, and uh… One villain that was an actual wooden puppet? Like, not even a magical one, just a hand puppet or something.

Thoughts for later, perhaps.

A glance at the windows… Showed Sarah had barely made a dent in the massive number still to go. But progress HAD been made!

Still, no reason to not try and get ahead of this mess. "Adam, can you modify your task making system?"

His attention came back. {{Hmm?}}

It was a simple enough patch in her mind. "Nothing big, just make sure something scans the existing company subsystems before making a new task and sending the request to them first if there is a routine already set up to handle this mess."

That way, when he mentally checked out in the future, a big mess like this wouldn't pile up. The subsystems were smart enough to automatically adjust settings instead of creating new tasks if there is conflict between multiple sources of commands.

Adam paused. {{...That would have saved me so much time.}}

She knows, right!? "Better late than never?"

He sighed. {{Yeah. But I do have some good news at least! See, I've been busy while you were doing all this, and I've made a presorting task that is going through all the inactivated stuff based on what actions you are taking right now.}}

A screen came up. {{No final decisions are being made, but when you finish this active stuff you can quickly call up a category of unsorted and unreviewed stuff to work with… Should speed things up.}}

Huh. "Let's see… 'Tasks likely to belong to Sprucing Sports Stadiums', 'Conflicting Tasks', 'Tasks likely to be deleted'... Yeah, this could help a lot! Just don't automatically delete or move anything until I give final approval first, alright?"

Adam hummed. {{No problem, this pre-list tagging thing will get more accurate the more data you give it to build an accurate model with in the first place. I'm hoping that by the time you finish all these tasks up, the Warehouse will accurately and automatically tag anything new based on your own preferences in the background.}}

Well… That would certainly save a lot of time, at least. "Well, let's get this done with and see how the new tagging system operates!"

Right, let's handle all these odd tasks related to proper clothing folding techniques!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

As she woke up, she didn't stop.

It was… Like waking up more than one time. Multiple times. Clarity.

First, she could taste the air. The crisp clean air, something far more different than what she grew up with, than the city, than anything she could remember. It was nearly unnaturally clean and pure.

Then, movement. Her body shifted ever so slightly, but it felt smooth. Controlled. If she wished to stop moving, to stop breathing, to stop shifting… She could. No pressure, no concern… Did she even need to breathe?

Touch. Something more than her skin, the light caress of the G͙͉̦͚͖r͕̞̲̫͖̭̙e̯͖͎͉͙e̙̰̬̫̳n͈̟͇̞…

A sense, not sight, not sound, not even taste, but more.

She knew that Sarah was over there, grumbling about something. Even if she was odorless or outside of sight or unheard, the shape of the Bone Garden was clear to her new understanding of reality.

She could feel a small cluster of girls… HER girls! But grown together, for shelter and strength, a twisted and loving bundle of Ivy that held each other close even as they stretched for the sunlight!

Not… Not purely of the Gr̞̝͓ͅe̪̘̤̫̝ẹ̲̠̭̹̝̠n̫ either.

Her girls felt as one and as many, as too close saplings that cheerfully twisted themselves into one massive tree without concern or regret.

Yet, without the kind hand of G̥͈̫͕̣̗͖r͚̖̥e̞̝͍͍e͓͔n͉̻̞, this loving tree was of machinery.

Artificial, yet no less precious. Precision, facts, and a taste of… 'Research'?

This was a mechanical tree, with gears meshed together to propel the entire shifting structure upwards. Defying gravity, logic, and fate to build each other upwards… And crafted with the finest of components, gifted with efficiency and curiosity and an odd, near robotic mass of memory and data to 'Grow' from.

And Dr. Isley woke.

Her mind spread through the room, touching but not controlling tiny fragments of life in the air, on the skin, in those strange tubes that her mechanical girls happily chirped within. She could feel the edge of this odd space, far below the heavy earth above, and her Domain covered it easily.

And Poison Ivy woke.

The Domain wasn't a protective dome or shield, but roots. And it grew outside this air pocket protected below ground, it curled into the rock and soil and dark and out and away and up, while grasping down and deep and further.

And Dr. Isley woke.

Each root and branch and touch brought her closer to the G̣̣̲̣͓͚̲r̲͇̼̩̗̰̗e̦̙e͈n̦̱͎͓͔̳͓, to her extended F̮̘̱̝̘̖a̱͎̳m̙͍̯̙͇̝ͅi̩̮̪͕̮̮l͈͙y͙̫.

The screams were gone.

Instead, thoughts and concepts burbled like a spring, flowing from her mind and slacking the thirst of her grasp even as her Domain roots continued to grow and thrive and spread.

The doctor touched a child, a plant so basic and simple, and they KNEW each other.

Shape, scale, density, composition, chemical schematics, genetics in general… But more than that, a history, a lifetime… One from an odd source. An unusual perspective, one that didn't understand life the same way and was concerned about other things.

She felt the future of this gem of G͈̠̲r̦̯̺ͅe͎̪̩̘̪̙e̞͕̟̹ͅn̗̠̺, and saw how this one tiny life could branch.

The paths it could take, the journey.

A touch, no even less… A thought. And she could shift its course.

With effort, with the influence freely given by the G̫͎re̠̙e̥̠͚̳̻ṋ͖̪̺̘, even more.

Freely reshaping and basic alteration?

Simple. Not even an issue.

But with THIS level of access, of communication… Genetic alteration? Species alteration on a fundamental, impossible level? Impossible changes at impossible rates?

Trivial.

And… And the plant was unconcerned.

She controlled its life and future, on a very basic level it was hers to guide or dominate!

And from this child, so innocent and trusting, she just felt… Amusement. If anything.

Because to it, this was fine. It would Grow.

So different from her memories of screams, of pain, of never ending agony.

And Poison Ivy woke.

Her Domain grew up and burrowed down, her branches reached out and the leaves of her concentration spread wide.

She felt the pollutants and dead plant flesh and rot and...

A concern was enough to alter Nature slightly, the many fragments within her grasp.

To consume fragments of poison and plastic and chemicals, converting it efficiently into yet another food source. To filter contaminants and environmental particles out of the world… Not simply to help protect their siblings, but as a valuable resource for future growth directly!

Unclean water? Tainted soil? Just another powerful source of energy to harvest, something simple to do with her connection to Science and the magic of the G̯͖r̖̻̯̱̘ͅe̻e̖̺̘͈̪͉̲n͙!

A wave of cooling contentment flooded her mind as she felt something untense within.

Even lighter touches were more than enough to share tricks and chemical compounds within her network. Roots that more easily adapted to the environment, vines that resisted damage and better supported itself structurally, small modifications that ensured better growth with little to no sunlight, to handle nutrient loss with efficiency.

As this small patch of G̺re̻̠̠͔͙̟̥e̳͉̪͙̪n grew peaceful, her Domain grew faster.

The changes were being tested, results shared, new ideas spread… Her nature network was taking root even as her Domain grew.

And unlike before, her Domain wasn't simply her body, acting as a plant base to influence her surroundings.

No, she was a Seedling.

And Dr. Isley woke.

Her body, her connection to the G̭ṛ̺̭̤͙e̙̣͈̦̳ͅe̲ṋ͚̜̗͉, it was discreet.

Contained. Not bound, but like a spore.

And where she walked, her Domain was being seeded and grown.

This new Domain, it didn't rely on her. It was formed by the Gṛ̹͎̭e̱̙en̹̟, by her plant children, and the Nature Network they had constructed.

Without access to plant life, her reach was still much wider than before her awakening… But with it?

Each plant her ability caressed became a small node in her network. A partial host to her new family.

Even without her concern or effort, her family would Grow.

Her Domain would touch others, and welcome even more to her family.

And within this field of communication, tiny dense growths began to spread.

Not quite roots, not quite seeds, these compressed nodes grew rapidly, stored data… and then went dormant. Only awakening long enough to drink deep of the new Nature Network before sleeping again.

Should she die, should her family die… These nodes would ensure they would Grow once more.

Though it would take her a long time to regrow herself this way, even she was pulled into the embrace of the G̫̹̜r͙e̦̣̱e̝n̺̮ͅ this way.

But… If such a time came to be, a slow recovery could risk her family. Not simply her green ones, but her Mechanical Girls and her Bone Garden.

That was unacceptable.

And Poison Ivy woke.

A new pod, with a dense shell hard to the point of obscenity, slowly supplied with nutrients and material as a future body grew.

Within this egg-like pod, Dr. Isley and Poison Ivy grew a new sapling. An empty vessel, waiting for her if needed… When needed.

The structure surged towards completion as large swaths of green happily sacrificed themselves, satisfied at having helped her potential future body Grow, before Ivy even noticed what was going on.

And her network laughed in good cheer at her concern and her confusion about how little they cared about losing so many of the G̹r͎̻e̱e͈n̪̮͎̻.

For they were not lost. They became Growth for their Mother, and it was fine.

Despite their lack of grief and mild humor, they easily enough agreed to simply contribute excess nutrients and materials instead of harvesting their own lives to ensure rapid growth.

Even as Ivy felt her heart stop racing, she could see tiny Life Pods begin to grow in her Nature Network, along with a thin distributed network of Nature Nodes to ensure continuation after even the worst of circumstances.

At least her family now knew to not consume themselves casually for her desires, at least not without confirmation. It… It didn't feel suicidal, but clearly plantlife didn't treat death the same way animals and humans did.

In some small way, Poison Ivy could almost understand it…

And, if nothing else, it was slowly touching her hurt heart and her memories… The girls who hadn't lived long enough to become her Mechanical Children.

For they were not lost. They became Growth for their Mother, and it would one day be fine.

And Dr. Isley woke.

And Poison Ivy woke.

And Dr. Ivy woke.

And Poison Isley woke.

And she woke… And it was fine.

Her eyes felt new and the world was too clear.

The room was mostly silent, though Sarah Everoot was slumped in a chair and grumbling about out of context mailmen, whatever that was about.

Her sleeping Mechanical Children were in odd pods that felt of life and precision to one side of the room…

While she herself was floating in such a pod herself.

It was not too cold, nor suffocating… Each breath came easily, as the odd but comfortable mask gave her the crisp and clean air easily despite the odd situation.

Strange colors and odd lights would calmly pulse in the pod, and her new Domain helped her see how her body shifted and altered with each one. In such small, but significant ways… Parts inside of her were growing.

Solidified constructs of the G̲̟͕̜̘̼̟r̰̫͇̰e̦̯̥̮e̦̻n̮̖̲̦͕̦̻ were being slowly converted into new growth.

New forms, ones she could commune with.

Pamela wasn't sure how she should react to being able to literally have a conversation with her own heart. Not in a romantic or metaphorical way, but with the strange plant creation within her chest that was happily reporting notes about how efficiently it was pumping her blood and any fun and interesting contaminates it may have detected.

From her own mental notes, apparently her new kidneys were big fans of her heart, and were ready to preemptively filter any issues that were found out of her body at a moment's notice.

And… Her stomach was feeling a bit depressed? Because eating was now optional, and it was worried she wouldn't bother to use it?

...Huh.

Pamela found herself in the odd situation of having a quick group meeting with her internal organs and modified skeletal structure (And her hair, which really wanted some quality suntanning time, which her skin was 100% supportive of).

Because really, how many people have to promise their own stomach and intestinal tract to keep eating snacks and stuff so they don't feel underutilized and useless? Did organs have emotional support seminars?

...Was she going to have to set up an emotional support seminar for her own organs!?

She glanced at her own limb floating in the liquid, examining her beautiful new fingernails… Formed from incredibly dense wood that looked amazing but all ten insisted she avoid applying polish to in the future. Her toenails supported the call, not that Pamela bothered with makeup much in the first place…

Damn it.

Thankfully, her new connection to the G̥̦r͕̺̗̺e͚͔͖͚e̯͓̯͎n̗̠ helped her better understand her new body.

And even MORE luckily, her body (Like all other plants) cared very little about her decision making process and was happy enough to do whatever she wished, even if it was willing to complain a bit.

Because otherwise, she would have risked being outvoted by the majority.

Sigh.

At least her girls were safe, Pamela was no longer in pain, and everything looked stable enough to give her a bit of time to quietly freak out a little.

A mental ping mader her pause.

Strike that, strike all of that.

The REAL reason to be thankful: Her new Life Pods, the ones that were growing replacement bodies for the worst case scenarios? They all stayed dormant when unoccupied.

Whew!

The idea of having an entire company of depressed intestines being morose together in the background was horrific!

She winced at the thought, and wanted to sigh as she relaxed in her own strange tank.

Maybe Pamela should make a list of things to freak out about? It would be more efficient, and at this point she was worried a little bit that she would miss an issue or two if she tried freestyling this thing.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Bruce Wayne in his public persona was having an easy enough time smiling at the adorable kittens wrestling with each other. "I can see why people online are so willing to buy plushies of these little ones."

Selena snorted. "Not that I know where the merchandise comes from, how they have models matching all the cats the day they show up, or why they keep sending ME a cut of the funds."

A tiny but adventurous furry explorer was trying to climb up his knee as he sat next to the group. "I'm surprised there are so many little ones out here."

His lover/girlfriend/friend grinned as she slid down next to him, scritching some ears. "There are group play areas like this for various age groups, and individual areas for small families and stuff. Most of the shelter volunteers from the whole city got hired by 'Adam West' to work here too with suspiciously high paying contracts, and they make sure to take care of the little ones properly."

A hand waved at another room. "The older cats are over there, and the wild cat area is restricted from the general public… But kitten rooms like this one can be rented out to spend time with them like this."

His overly large hand was able to pet three kittens at a time. "And the cameras?"

Without pointing she indicated spots on the wall. "The plus signs painted on the walls are the primary cameras for the site, and after I tried to mark the other ones someone suddenly painted a spot on all the other ones for me."

Selena gently pushed over a little one and rubbed the kitten. "Scared the crap out of me, having the entire wall change like that WHILE I was staring at it."

Oh? He glanced at the nearest plus sign… And saw nothing. It must be a VERY small lens, even for the primary video feeds. "What about audio pickup?" And where were the spots she mentioned, the ones for the other angles? Didn't seem to be any here. Maybe in another room.

Selena shrugged. "As far as I can tell, and you know that this is WAY out of my comfort zone to begin with… The cameras ARE the microphones. More than that, one of my paid interns reported that all the public stuff automatically filters out all audio that is not cat related."

Bruce blinked, still trying to find the nearest spot signifying a hidden camera. "Really?"

She nodded. "Darndest thing I've ever seen. You can yell, drop stuff, slam a door… As long as the noise doesn't come from a cat, it gets filtered out of the public streams. Security cameras work like expected though. I contacted the Puppy Palace which is basically a sister organization to mine, the same thing happens there too."

That… That was some very advanced programming. FAR beyond anything automated that he knew about, at least what was available to the general market. "What about that third new place, the 'Pet Palace'?"

She sighed. "It's not open to the public because most of the exotic pets were experimented on, confiscated from criminals, and worse. Those animals are being treated and cared for, but since they are not attempting to have them adopted for now? Well, they don't have their website activated."

Selena reached down to another rumbling kitten. "Probably won't for a while either. The kind of crazy person who decides to surgically enhance a monkey or train a murder turkey don't usually know about or care how to properly care for the creatures… I'm just glad the animals are getting treatment for now."

Bruce offered silent support while mentally making a note to verify which animals had been gathered over there. No reason to risk the Penguin assaulting the place if his 'bird family' was rescued.

She still seemed down though… Best try a distraction. "Can we go look at a few of the spot cameras?" Probably a good idea to get a baseline down.

Selena blinked. "I'm sorry?"

He waved at the walls. "I see the plus signs markers, and I'll come back when the rooms are offline… But I'm curious about the hidden spot cameras you mentioned."

She looked at him. Confused. "What about them?"

Bruce was now ALSO a little confused. "Well, which room did the spots show up in?"

The woman stared at him… And then chuckled. "All of them."

She pointed at the nearest wall. "This room was painted bright colors, with the grass scenes and the fake sky and stuff as you see."

He glanced at the calming imagery as she continued. "See the gray clouds?"

Bruce checked the walls. "Which ones?"

Selena shrugged. "Any of them, they are the best examples for this." Her hand carefully separated two rough housing kittens trying to conquer her lap. "The clouds were white. Each spot marking a camera is a slightly darker shade of paint than the surroundings."

...And there were so many cameras that it had 'dimmed' the entire room's paint job.

Oh dear. "If each spot was 20cm apart from each other in a grid, for a nine foot tall room this large… That's over a thousand cameras in here alone."

She snorted. "The spots are nearly touching each other."

Some quick math. "Over half a million cameras… All somehow wired and powered and…"

Selena nodded. "Some sort of wireless communication and empowerment network, or something done with the wall, paint, or an inner layer directly. No idea how, and I can't damage anything enough to get a sample before it repairs itself."

And this was just in one room!? "How many areas in the Palace offer this level of camera coverage?"

She slumped slightly. "Thankfully only the public play areas like this, there's only a few dozen or so in the hallways and stuff for security to watch over. Nothing in the bathrooms either, so at least no perverts got a live feed of that."

Not in the bathrooms in THIS place. "I'll look into it." At this level of impossibility, he would need to record power signatures, psychic traces, magical residue and energy markings rather than manufacturing codes, part maintenance lists, and potential production facilities.

Selena snorted. "Later. This is public alibi time, so get back to work petting the kittens and being my warm backrest."

He didn't try too hard to hide his smile. "As you say, Mistress."

Heh. Her full body shiver was going into his good memory folder.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

The Joker wanted to snarl, but 'Jack White' was shocked and concerned. "Oh, I hadn't heard. Do you know for what reason?"

The low level nimrod on the phone was sickeningly disinterested. "Crazy broad supposedly kidnapped people and was doing some sort of human experimentation, so she's in jail while the useless pigs investigate the shit. Don't know, don't care, I got too much shit to deal with as it is: She ain't here, she ain't fucking answering any calls, go fuck yourself."

And whoever the dead man was answering the phone at Arkham Asylum hung up on him.

Joker slowly shifted his overly calm dead glare to the receiver in his hand. "Make a note, Harley: Sabotaging the higher quality staff members at a targeted facility for a lengthy period of time drastically lowers their customer assistance qualifications."

His jaunty harlequin sidekick was half stuck in a massive jack-in-the-box adjusting the gas dispersal mechanism. "Mrg hurm rum term merph?"

Joker sighed, mentally marking the unknown phone answering corpse as yet another target on his upcoming 'cleansing' list for when the plans unfolded. "Never mind. Find anything?"

She nearly collapsed as she gasped for air, having escaped the complex device. "Sorry Mistah Jay, but it's just like the others. New material, reinforced spring… But all the Joker Venom is now that high quality perfume stuff."

Oh this just wasn't on. "Forget someone trying to upstage me or steal the show, they've stolen the entire building! Sets, props, actors and all!"

At first, he had assumed his grasp of reality had just slipped slightly. It happened, madness was part of all great artists, but when he hadn't woken up laughing hysterically surrounded by corpses he KNEW something was wrong.

He idly pulled out another pistol and aimed at the terrified minion tragically organizing the reserve pieces, the weaponry for his lowest class thugs. "I must say Josh, you've been exceedingly lucky so far."

The snot was disgusting. "Please, boss! I… I didn't mean to, and I'll doose anything youse says! PLEASE!"

Oh just die with dignity, even if it seemed increasingly unlikely to happen. "You said you wanted to be an actor, and the profession lives on head shots."

He pulled the trigger.

Pop!

Harley didn't even glance over as the small flag marked 'Bang' popped out of the pistol, aimed at the horrified man who once again seemed ready to piss himself.

Damn it.

He tossed the dud weapon away. "Next gun, please."

Justin just whimpered, but a good look made him hand over a glock.

At this point, it wasn't even hope or optimism that kept him trying: It was stubbornness.

He aimed at the cringing man as he mentally tried to adapt. "How about the others, Harley?"

She harumphed as she carefully avoided the line of fire while looking for one of her tool sets. "It's crazy everywhere, Mistah Jay. Everyone's holding up and keeping their heads down until someone knows what is going on. No one's answering nothing!"

Damn it James! With an exasperated sigh, he let the gun go slack. "Look, if you keep moving like this I might miss even from this close… And then won't I look silly?" He had an image to keep up, after all. "Now, stand up like a man and die like a moron, please."

Meh, close enough.

He targeted the brain for efficiency reasons, and pulled the trigger.

Pop!

With a grunt, he flung the 'prop' gun to the side…

BANG!

…Where it then shot out from the impact and managed to hit a massive inflatable punching clown.

Harley and the lucky survivor just stared at the slowly hissing deflation.

Heh. Ha! HA! "Hee hee… Haha,ha,ha ha! Now THAT's comedy!"

But the humor rapidly dried up. "Now if only I wasn't the butt of this particular string of punchlines, I could enjoy it a bit more."

Was there even a POINT to picking up another weapon?

Maybe he should go back to the tommy guns, at least those mildly annoyed his target with the dozens and dozens of tiny wooden sticks with 'Bang!' and 'Boom!' flags on them.

Sigh. "You know Jack…" Harley popped in. "His name's Jorden, Mistah Jay."

Ehh? Wasn't it Johnson? "Whatever, I know it starts with a 'J', great letter that one. Listen Joe, I was originally going to kill you even before you managed to accidentally lead the coppers to our reserve supply warehouse. I mean, you know what you did." That fucking haircut. "But I'll be honest with you, this is just getting frustrating."

Seriously, he had better things to do than waste time discovering all the ways weaponry turned into comedic props at his touch since Gotham shifted.

He sighed, looking down at Jerkins. "So how about a one time deal, Jefferson?" Harley cheerfully popped up again! "Jorden!"

Whatever. "Jinkies, then. How about you go off and punch some people?"

He blearily blinked through all the snot and tears. "Wuh?"

Maybe he shouldn't criticize the soon-to-be-dead idiots at Arkham Asylum, low quality minions seemed like an epidemic. "I know, I know: Slapstick is considered the lowest form of humor. But at least it will show you gave it a shot, the cops will arrest you for assault and keep you out of my hair long enough to get something useful done, and I can finally relax without wanting to rip your scalp off with a spoon."

Everyone wins, really.

Harley blinked. "But Mistah Jay, we already sent loads of people into Arkham to act as our inside guys when the…"

He waved that off. "The plan is on indefinite hold anyway, all my actors are detained, the facilities are either locked off or in some cases missing, and even if we overcame all that mess anything I touch will just turn into fake cake or a whoopee cushion anyway."

Not like they had sent the GOOD minions into Arkham to begin with. Just lots of low level grunts willing to be violent thugs when he gained control over the place in the theoretical situation that he had laid out.

Besides, having Jacobs out of his hair was its OWN reward. "Look, your curtain was called and it WASN'T the final one: Take this as good fortune, go out and punch an orphan or something, don't come back."

Jullian seemed confused. Sigh.

Joker's eyes flared with fury. "I said RUN."

And he ran.

Good. Fucking haircut. Maybe the cops will shave him in lockup. "Harley, I think this is just another aspect of the stage we have to grow accustomed to: Sometimes you manage to mutate an army of freaks to pay for long term schemes and short term military control over a mental treatment facility for the criminally insane… And sometimes you take a few days off."

It was why he had lasted so long against an opponent like 'The Batman', flexibility.

His crimes and jokes took time to put together because for each successful attempt or action he had actually half planned a thousand unused fragments… And tended to alter which one was following as the humor struck him.

Joker glanced at the many bats and steel rods that had converted into hyper realistic squeaky balloon toys when he attempted to beat Jardis with them. "Hmm… Maybe this new situation can be used to our advantage as well?"

If he used a moron to beat another idiot, would they become a plastic or inflatable minion?

Only one way to find out! "Harley, call a couple of grunts over. One needs to be fairly thin though."

She blinked, confused… But Harley was always willing to see where the punchline ended. "Yes sah, Mistah Jay!"

He cackled as he began shifting the small pile of fake bullet flags out of the way.

It shouldn't be too hard to use an accountant or someone as a melee weapon and still get a good swing going… You had to be physically fit to live the comedic lifestyle, after all!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Sarah grinned! "Right, I think that does it!"

Adam blinked. {{But uh… What about the others?}}

She waved it off. "I mean, I am close to mentally cracking and therefore THAT DOES IT! SO!" A turn had the windows fade away for now. "Since the automatic stuff can handle itself for a while and no new tasking will be enabled from the reserve stuff until I get to it, we are done."

Future Sarah problem! Job done!

Adam chuckled. {{Well, that's fine too. And the changes have been fairly well received, especially after we added the help button onto the phone apps."

She winced. "Yeah, about that… I am pretty sure it is illegal to take everyone's phone, force them all to be cross compatible and shifting their account to your company and network, and all that other stuff."

He hummed. {{Oh? Well… Oops or whatever. Cell phone companies suck. So do most internet providers… And operating system developers and…}}

Sigh.

Yeah, she thought that was what he was going to say. "It's going to cause 'Adam Networking' to have legal issues."

Adam waved it off. {{Legally, it's now Adam WEST'S legal issues. And according to the paperwork, he already won all those cases. Some even before they were filed!}}

Sarah was going to have to put her foot down, wasn't she? "Adam."

He was doing something. {{Hmm?}}

Hopefully not something even more troubling. "Next Jump: No altering massive amount of paperwork to rewrite history on the procedural level. Not on this scale, at least."

The fact that he STOPPED doing something showed she was right to worry. {{Aww… Fine. But I can keep doing it here, right?}}

A glance showed the incredible mess outside in Gotham right now. And this was just the summary of the overview of the highlights!

Still… For this Jump, the cat was out of the bag and the barn door was left open. "Fine, but try and tone it down a little."

The skull went RIGHT back to doing something! {{Cool! Give me a second, I'm trying to make it illegal to deliberately lie or mislead the public when you hold a publicly elected office. I'd rather people say 'No Comment' or whatever rather than lie all they want and apologize later.}}

Uh. "Would that even be enforceable?"

A shrug. {{No, since proving deliberate vs accidental is tricky… But lots of stuff isn't enforceable to these guys, like taxes or prison or getting fired. It just feels good to know that being a lying asshole would actually be illegal, even if it doesn't change anything.}}

Her eyes narrowed. "Aren't you submitting evidence for all that stuff into the systems too?"

A chuckle. {{Not according to the paperwork!}}

Well, whatever. "How much longer until Dr. Isley or the girls wake up?"

Data scrolled over. {{The girls are half awake, but mentally checked out… Might be a week or more until they choose to interact with outsiders like us.}}

Their data did look promising! Lots of brain activity now, and while their slightly modified bodies may have fewer wrinkles and scars and freckles and hair and stuff… Well, physically they were good to go at least.

Could probably lift a couch solo easily at this point, too! Neat. "What about the doctor?"

A hum. {{She's been watching you for the last hour or so.}}

…What?

Sarah turned to Dr. Isley's Healing Pod… And saw the green goddess with blazing red hair smirk while waving in the swirling liquid.

The woman had somehow managed to clothe herself in a sinful skin tight outfit of leaves.

How seductive/tasty/interesting. Mmm!

God damn it, Adam. "Can she hear all the crap I've been complaining about from in there?"

Dr. Isley nodded.

God DAMN it, Adam!

Right, best foot forward. "Hang on, I'll get you out."

A hand wave.

"[[Harvest.]]"

Dr. Isley, Poison Ivy herself, easily landed on her feet while seeming a bit taller than before. A carving of beauty from an age long past.

Despite how firm and strong she felt, she rippled as she stepped with each movement causing her leafy coverings to flutter like Sarah's heart and her hair to drift in unseen winds.

Sarah couldn't help but gulp as the woman moved with confidence…

And then warm arms wrapped her up in soft but powerful arms. "Sarah, my lost one… Thank you. For saving the girls, for escaping, for helping me… For living."

Her mind checked out.

Hugging was fun.

Everyone should hug more often.

Also Dr. Isley smelled a bit like a pine forest, with hints of roses from her hair.

Adam chuckled. {{The other girls will have to stay in their pods for now while they adapt.}}

Sorry, your Sarah is currently unable to handle this request.

At some point, she realized the hug had softened and quickly tugged her back in.

No, my snuggle bush. It was going to be bad enough to share her with the other girls when they woke up, and this whole place was freaking depressing… Huggle time best time.

An amused voice had a slight rasp of wind through the vines. "Oh? A snuggle bush? Hmm."

Sarah… She had said that out loud, hadn't she?

Crud. Hadn't she kicked that habit?

No, embarrassment later, hugs forever. "Hey, want to see a magic trick?"

Green eyes caught her and raised interest. "Hmm?"

Dr. Isley stiffened as a portal opened up behind Sarah Everoot… And Sarah Esdat walked out in full guard gear, removing her helmet. "What!?"

Both of her grinned as the second one waved. ""Surprise! We're sort of twins now!"" "Well, I mean we are the same person." "But also not?" ""We connect to each other in odd ways.""

The hugged woman seemed a bit locked up. "I… What?"

Oops. Sarah turned to herself. "Do you think that was a bit much?" "Maybe? I'm so used to us being in several places that it's hard to tell sometimes." "We do have hive experience." ""Doi."" "I mean recently though." "Time travel makes that complicated, I don't think it counts." "Huh. Maybe? Not sure." "Oops, Dr. Isley looks stressed…" "Let's get her to sit down and make sure she's healthy."

They carefully sat the woman who kept glancing between the two but one person. "How… How is this possible?"

They shrugged. ""At the wrong places at the right times."" "You know how you connect to that strange green energy?" "We are connected to something else."

Surprisingly clear eyes rapidly focused. "The Bone Garden."

Uh… ""Maybe?"" "We do sort of have a bone theme stuff going now, don't we?" "A bit."

Dr. Isley nodded. "When you were healing us into me, touching the G̭̹̣r̮̤̱e͈̞ͅe̟̦͉ṋ̰͕͓̤̫̞ helped me understand somewhat what I can sense."

Oh! THAT was what that green energy was. Neat!

Plus, it was easy enough to remember since Ģ̴̧̲̖̟̮̟͉̘̪̱̻͟ͅr̹̰͓͇̣̞͖̺̖͖̻̻̞̳̫̳̩͇̀́͡͠ͅe͘͏̛͎͇͈͈̦̬ȩ͕͎̝̼͕͉͓͓͖̗͇̀ͅń͔̪̫̮̩͖ͅ sounded like Green.

.

No, focus. "What do you sense?"

She tilted her head, eyes half closed.

The energy around her seemed to pulse? "While I am touched by the G̮̗̫͕r͉͍̭̱͇͍ḛ̹̪̟̞̗e̺̻n̳̗̘̬̤ led by the Parliament of Trees, the girls feel touched by Order."

She waved a hand. "Controlled, logical, systematic… They heal even more and more into a structured form, and yet feel alive and thriving despite the organic nature of their existence."

Huh. ""And me?""

Dr. Isley saw B̡́e̴͢͠͡ý̢̢̀͞o̴̸͝n҉͜d̡͡. "A hint of the G͙͇r͕̗a̘͔͖y͎̮, of the dark and mold and fungus and spores."

Her vision shifted. "A touch of the B̦͖̳̹͍̺la͓̗͙͚ck̺̯̬, of rot and decay and death. It feeds the G̤͖͎̩̭͍̱r̲a̲̩͔̣͕̯y influence."

And yet she almost saw nothing. "But more than these, the Bone Garden. Abandoned and found, tenderly cared for despite being beyond repair, flourishing despite neglect and malice."

Both Sarah's felt lost. ""I… Adam?""

A warm hug wrapped them up. {{'Research' is double checking, but you are still hidden. She's just seeing the energy residue from your frantic actions and workings down here, and your ability usage… Not your actual self or ability usage.}}

Then how!?

Dr. Isley pulled them both into a new hug as they blinked away tears. Somehow, an innocent description of something really important to them both had managed to cut deep.

The hug felt nice, both the one from the attractive red head and Adam's reassurance.

Adam hummed a tune and also showed data.

Oh… Apparently it was like using a fireball. Adam's protective stuff would hide her, the spell, and all that jazz… But USING the fireball would still heat up the target, cause burns, heat up the air, and all that stuff. THAT would be viewable, traceable, and all that.

Also, 'Research' implied that this level of insight was only possible while within Dr. Isley's Domain (Huh?) while directly connected, such as with the Moss symbiote living within her and the girls now.

She still felt… A bit raw. Exposed.

Everything else though… ""I'm glad you are alright, Dr. Isley.""

A chuckle. "Please, just Pamela. Our connection with each other and the girls aside, anyone who medically regenerates two thirds of my body while nude deserves a first name basis."

Eep! "I only stared a little bit!" Wait, no! "I mean, only because you are hot as hell and… No, wait, let me start again." "Don't! We need to regroup!" ""Sarah conference!""

Quick! ""Sit rep!"" "We're blowing it." "Hang on, we've been in worse situations before!" "Really?" "I don't know, isn't that something people say at times like this?" "I doubt this situation comes up often." "Focus!" "Right, goals!" "Bang the hot chick?" "Well, yeah, but emotionally." "Emotionally banging is the best banging." "True." "What about the rest of it?" "Eh, we'll wing it." "Don't forget, there's also lots of stuff we have to tell her too." "Which parts?" "Accidentally conquering Gotham to keep Batman busy, formally introducing her to Adam now that she's sane, bringing up the whole harem thing." "The other girls are out of it for now, and we don't know if they even have a sexuality now." "Yeah, I guess that is a back burner issue." "And she sorta met Adam already, right?" "Kinda? She was really out of it at the time."

Pamela cleared her throat. "Girls?"

Oh, right, she was still here. ""Yes?""

She smirked at them both, one hand propping up her chin as she leaned onto the couch. "I can still hear you both, you know."

They blue screened. Nope. Does not compute.

Sarah shook her head. "Impossible." "Yeah! Wait, why?" "Because we called a Sarah conference, and she isn't Sarah." "But we are the same person in two spots?" "Sort of but not really?" "Wait, what?" "I mean, we know everything the other knows, but we are still individuals when we interact with each other." "We do? Huh. How did I miss that?" "Pretty sure it is a subfeature of the hive mind protocols to reduce mental strain on outsiders." "So we are one person but two people but also two people in a hive mind who is one person?" "Sort of." "But we are going with the 'Sarah conference' thing?" "Yep!" "Alright." ""Got it.""

They turned to an amused plant woman. ""Right, you are not allowed to remember anything from the Sarah conference."" "Which may or may not still be going on!" "Right, that." ""Therefore the court will strike the previous from the records!"" "Wait, that still works if we aren't in court, right?" "Sure, why not."

Pamela chuckled. "Sadly, I've worked with people both more confusing and less understandable than this in the past. But… What was that bit about conquering Gotham?"

They looked at each other and sighed. ""Adam.""

And their new connection to Moss vibrated on an undetectable level.

{Adam: Now before anyone begins pointing fingers, I would like to say that I was attempting to distract people from Sarah's actions to buy some time to heal you and the girls up, Dr. Isley.}

Pamela blinked. "Wait, I thought you were part of my psychotic breakdown hallucinations along with the screaming plants and stuff?"

Both Sarah's sighed. ""Understandable."" "As awesome as Adam is, I STILL find myself wondering if I am on a drug trip sometimes." "Or if HE is." "Yeah, but he's trying. That's important."

{Adam: Huh… I was going to deny it, but I used to take a LOT of religious peanuts back in the day…}

Dr. Isley held up a hand, making everyone pause. "Time out."

Both girls and the mentally aware skull willingly waited.

Pamela pointed at the leftmost Sarah. "You first. Have we, or more specifically you and the people you are working with, conquered Gotham City."

She winced. "A bit?"

The woman rolled her hand, and Sarah sighed. "He was pranking people, and I was busy… Then he started trying to help by reporting evidence and stuff, found out how bad the police station was and started fixing it up and repairing it…"

A sigh. "And it escalated?"

Sarah nodded. "He would fix something, and realize that ONLY fixing that one item would paint a target on their back. By the time I caught on to what he was doing, most of Gotham City was already rebuilt and a lot of illegal stuff was moved, broken down, exposed or handled. And he bought nearly all the stuff held up in legal red tape and mumbo jumbo, which really adds up."

Dr. Isley snorted. "I'm sure it does. Adam, do you currently own most of Gotham City, one of the most nationally acclaimed corrupt centers of crime in the nation?"

{Adam: No.}

Sarah leaned over and whispered. "Ask him if he USED to own it."

{Adam: You tattletale!}

Pamela sighed. "Adam?"

{Adam: Not according to the paperwork!}

She glared. "Adam."

{Adam:...I may or may not have purchased large amounts of the city under the name 'Adam West'.}

Pamela paused. "Wait, that actor who dresses up like Batman for the toothpaste commercials?"

Sarah snorted. "The guy now owns dozens of companies, tons of real estate, most of Gotham's utility services, and a brand new cartoon series that Adam whipped up to provide an excuse. He's also been blamed for rebuilding the entire place in hours and hiring the Ninja Construction Company and anything else Adam can come up with."

She just… Seemed lost. "Adam… Why? Just why?"

{Adam: It seemed like a cool idea at the time? And he is happy enough acting like a lightning rod for hate anyway doing those 'Dark Knight' events.}

Sarah whispered again. "Also they share a first name and he likes hearing himself mentioned on the news."

{Adam: None of you can prove that!}

Oh dear, it looked like Dr. Isley had a headache.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Johnson and Jenkins were lucky enough to have been put in the same cell, which was much better than most of the other poor sods hired by the Joker.

Not that they were especially happy with the situation in general… Or the plan.

But when a psychotic clown who casually murdered crowds asked you to commit crimes and get transferred into Elizabeth's Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, well… You did it.

Or died.

It was just bad luck really that both of them had parents who decided to go with the J section of the baby name book instead of Billy or George.

Johnson could have handled being a George.

Jenkins huffed. "I'm just saying, this ain't the plan. NONE of this is the plan!"

Jenkins on the other hand, he was born a Jenkins and seemed destined to be a Jenkins. "We just gots ta wait for de signal."

There wasn't going to be a signal now, Johnson knew. The plan was strange enough to begin with… Get most of the gangs and mercenaries caught on purpose after specific crimes and a paid off judge, be sent to fucking Arkham Asylum of all fucking places, and then SOMETHING would happen.

Then they would riot in specific places following a poorly defined hierarchy of leadership, a seething mass of confusion directly under the sexy high heels of Harley Quinn and the ruthless spiked boot of the Joker himself.

Whole plan kind of falls apart when some genie wishes the entire place to be rebuilt.

New paint, new security, cameras EVERY fucking where, and deliberate setbacks and slowdowns in strategic places. Cells took TIME to unlock and open now, time for guards to respond, for alerts to be sent out, for issues to be caught.

Jenkins didn't take it well. "Maybe the new stuff IS the signal huh!? Did you think of THAT, smart guy? I dinne think so!"

Johnson couldn't handle this level of Jenkins right now.

Honestly, he couldn't handle his own burden of being Johnson either. Working under the Joker's tight grip and high voltage joy buzzer had always been due to necessity and the threat of violence. Not a calling or a desire. At least, not for him.

Jenkins grinned! "Fuck it, this was probably the signal! I'm going to go smack a bitch! FO JOKAH!"

**SZzzZZack!**

His body twitched with comically appropriate smoke wisping off the slightly burned clothing.

This was the sixth time Jenkins had gone through this routine. He was the most Jenkins person Johnson had ever met, and that wasn't a compliment.

Johnson waited… Five… Four… Three… Two…

Jenkins jerked awake. "Wha happened? Oi, I must have had a raging keger last night, I tell ya! Oh, yeah."

He staggered to his feet, ignoring once again Johnson sitting on his bed. "Right… Oh Johnson! Glad to see a familiar face, ugly as youse is."

Then the idiot blinked just like before. "Wait, this isn't the right place… Didn't de Boss tell us we'd be in da Main Cell Block!?"

Not again, damn it. "They move us when every ding changed."

Jenkins blinked. "But… Dat's ain't the plan!"

Johnson wondered if all people whose name starts with 'J' had days like this. "Well, it happened."

Jenkins huffed. "I'm just saying, this ain't the plan. Things gotta folla da plan!"

Fuck, it. If anyone asks, his name was George and there was a paperwork glitch somewhere. He'd punch anyone who claimed otherwise.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam chuckled as Sarah tried to convince her audience of sexy tree woman and unconscious quatro senoritas that private conversations should count as private regardless of who was in the area and how quietly said topics were covered.

At least Dr. Isley seemed entertained.

Right, while they are busy let's get the new place up and running. As legal and free women with little paperwork and no recent and legal work experience, getting a standard job when you were part plant goddess and a hive minded group of excessively attractive minority women was unlikely.

So let's set up a custom setup!

In the (formerly) worst section of Gotham, the area most full of abandoned alleys and formerly homeless and empty buildings left in various states of disrepair, an entire city block was technically owned by the oldest woman in the group, Pamela Isley herself.

At least, according to the paperwork.

Put in a 'Ninja Construction Company' work order to cover the needed forms and stuff, contract out the actual work to Adam as a 'third party subject matter expert' to legally do whatever the HELL he wanted with the place and BAM!

Good to go!

Seriously, Adam was going to have to get Sarah to fix all these laws and regulations.

This was yet another Jump where corporations had at some point stolen a lot of strange benefits and rule bendings and stuff, all individually questionable but legal, that added up into a tiny fiefdom or kingdom for private rule.

Still, he got what he needed: Room to work and legal elbow room!

First, move the people.

[[Capture,]] [[Transfer.]]

Not to other cities or realities of course, but none of these people lived here or slept here and most of them were just wandering around or searching the new empty buildings for stuff to steal.

So get the heck out, people!

But uh… Just in case there are actual homeless people out there that Adam had missed in this poor area that needed somewhere to go… Hey, Ninja Construction company?

[[Tasking: Purchase low cost properties and land in areas with high crime statistics and homeless rates, set up an apartment complex like the stuff we made back in Rapture, and mark it as owned by 'Adam West'. Not a lot in one area though, spread them out to not crowd one spot. Oh, and try to prevent impacting the local utilities in the process, alright?]]

{{NCC: Acknowledged.}}

Good! Now that he had an abandoned city block…

[[Harvest!]]

Adam reclaimed all the buildings, floor by floor. The insects, rats, pests in general, all gathered and most turned into raw material for other projects after a quick scan for background Jump medical data.

Individual items that seemed lost gathered to one side, probably ownerless but no reason to destroy stuff that might have emotional or historical value.

Within moments, a flat area of sliced off foundations, edges of metal that reinforced the buildings and clipped support beams, slightly shaved streets and cut off bases of fire hydrants were all that remained of the… Uh.

Oh, right, the electrical wiring and the spewing water issue.

Crap!

[[Harvest!]] Also, [[Fill!]]

Capped off all the pipes, water, sewage, gas, etc, carefully locked off electrical wires and cables, and uh… Best do this properly.

[[Harvest.]]

There, the local streets and Sarah's new city block were getting consumed downward.

How deep should he go?

…Meh, better safe than sorry. Let's overshoot by a lot. A five story building could be what, 75 feet or about 23 meters tall? Use that as a target and dig down that far.

And for most of that…

[[Fill.]]

There, a strong foundation, one designed to carefully route all pipes around the area instead of through it. Sewage, water, gas lines, electrical, cable, all that mess? Go around this area please.

Sarah's place won't need that junk when Adam is done with it, but the surrounding areas would probably appreciate not losing access to their own utility services and service providers.

Just add on a connection to the upgraded Gotham network, a deep connection to the water table connected up to the filtration systems for personal use, and a local modified liquid fluoride thorium reactor… After all, they can easily enough refuel the thing in 30 years or so with the additional machinery Adam set up if they buy some exotic but publicly sold materials for the hardware to work with!

There, the power from the reactor will easily pump up the water, the filtration system will ensure it is untainted, waste will be split up into solids and liquids, and not to brag or anything? But Adam had some AWESOME recycling machinery to work with.

Plus the refiltered waste liquid after processing would provide water back to the ground that was CLEANER than the stuff being pulled in without forcing Adam to deal with all that extra material. And a small percentage of the solid waste matter could be used as fertilizer additives once organized and separated and recombined and all that.

Decent foundation to work with, let the automatic systems ensure the new streets would be properly marked and signed and made out of sturdy materials that were durable and with only slight modification from 'Research' could passively redirect rainwater and absorb minute amounts of pollution and… Well, all sorts of stuff.

Seriously, there was a lot of information provided by the government on the internet about road materials. Adam found a whole report produced by the Federal Highway Administration that really sped up the building process for Gotham in general, and saving him time was ALWAYS appreciated!

Right, Now that he had a clean slate to work with?

Underground parking lot, for the entire area. With air filtration and drainage for potential flooding and rain and stuff, the almost standard camera work, public area and a secured private area for Pamela, the girls, and the Sarah's if they ever bother to drive or whatever. Oh, and other employees… Right, here would likely be other employees.

And parking always sucked everywhere. Even increasing parking garages quality and quantity in the rebuilt Gotham hadn't changed that fact. Damn it.

Best set up multiple parking levels then.

In fact… Only going five floors down might not be enough. And might conflict with the bottom floor utility stuff, like the reactor room and the filtration area and… Double damn it.

Sigh… Best start again, at least partially.

[[Harvest.]]

Let's do some quick 'Research'... Looks like the deepest public facility out there, or at least one of the first ones that came up with minimum effort extended, was the Arsenala Station in Ukraine at 350 feet or around 107 meters below ground.

It cheated a bit, since the whole place was built on a HUGE hill and didn't have to deal with the water issues Adam was going to have to plan on working around, but doing impossible things had become fairly trivial to him really.

Let's use it as a measuring stick anyway.

Average parking garage was what, 11.5 feet or 3.5 meters tall each floor? That would give Adam 30 parking levels if he just dedicated this whole mess to that one purpose.

Sacrifice some room on the edge for some stairwells, elevators, and a separate entrance/exit ramp (One on both sides), good. Since Adam had bought a bunch of space before establishing this 'standard' city block (Which was 660 x 660 feet or about 200 x 200 meters… At least on paper it should be.), that was around… Uh.

Crud, more math. Damn it.

He was a literal machine/Warehouse/artificial life form now, this should be less difficult dang it!

Right, some of these building codes want underground parking lot parking spaces to be 10 x 20 feet o meters in size. The 'isle' for driving around the place needs to be either 14 feet (4ish meters) or 24 feet (7ish meters) depending if the isle is one directional or two-ways.

So uh, assuming he used only 600x600 feet or so with perfect density of spaces, single direction isle, and spaces… That could fit about 11 columns of 'parking strips' to work with, each one having two rows of 30 parking spots to use, or 660 spaces per level.

His earlier cutoff would leave 60 feet on both of the edges to allow some simple turning lanes, entrance and exit ramps, and level shifting ramps… But with so much space and so many floors to work with… Let's be a bit more generous.

Make every row go two-way, cutting the max number of 'parking strips' to 9 columns. Two entrance ramps, one on the side facing the city (With, according to statistics, the most traffic), two exit ramps on the back out of the way.

Change the center 'parking strip' to hourly parking and handicapable parking, and add a series of elevators in the middle of the level. It would require replacing the center most spots for easy access to the building from any of the lower levels… Plus let's add staircases and elevators to all the corners and the center of each edge of the structure.

Right, for any parking garage with over 1000 spaces available, the standard seems to be 20 spaces set aside for Accessible Parking spaces plus an additional one for each 100 spaces above the first thousand.

Of the 540 spaces per floor, the center section has bits used for other stuff. Five spaces were taken up on either side for the elevators and a staircase, dropping the total number to 530 spots, and of that amount the 20 spots nearest the center were for Accessible Parking, while the remaining 30 spaces on that parking strip had '1 Hour Only' restrictions for people who only needed to stop by for some reason.

So that was 480 normal parking spaces, 30 'Hour Only' spots, and 20 Accessible Parking areas per parking garage level. Plus the centralized eight elevators and two staircases. Oh, and the external edge of the structure with its evenly spaced out pairs of staircases and elevators… So that was another eight each.

Adam blinked at the layout.

Was… Was this a bit much?

…Nah. Probably not.

Just in case though, let's standardize this design a bit.

Air ventilation, air conditioning (Heating and cooling), humidity control (Not too moist or dry, thank you), fire suppression systems, optional hookups for local water and electricity, proper drainage with emergency pumps in case of flooding, hidden level below the structure with a self contained backup nuclear generator in case power goes out, the basics.

Good! And there was no reason to use all 30 levels just for parking stuff, so uh… It was unlikely Sarah or Pamela would need more than two secret floors to work with, right?

So, 27 levels of parking and one maintenance level with the emergency power stuff and the computers to handle the elevators and all that jazz and all the other gadgets and hookups and all that. Another swift modification for a default 'Ground Level' cap, so if built in the middle of nowhere the top level would have nine rest areas for the nine spots were the elevators came up out of the facility, and bam! Good to go!

He quickly checked the numbers to make sure he handled this right. With 27 levels, each having 530 total spaces (480 normal, 30 timed, 20 Accessible), that was 14,310 spots to work with… Which required a total of 20 Accessible Parking spaces plus an additional 130 ones, for a grand total of 150 Accessible Parking spots needed!

And… Uh. And he had 540 Accessible Parking spots instead of the needed 150.

Even ignoring the 810 one hour only spaces, this parking area could handle 12,960 cars.

Um. Wasn't that a bit much?

Let's see. Hey 'Research', tell me about parking statistics for Brooklyn, New York.

Adam blinked. Huh. For all of Brooklyn they had around 740k parking spots of on-the-street parking, plus 206k spots in parking lots and stuff. Ignoring the private options and driveways and stuff.

And this new underground parking lot could easily accommodate 1.37% of the whole damn place.

All in one city block.

That… That didn't seem right.

Hang, let's pick something more easy to visualize.

He had the data for New York open already, right? Let's just find a mall or something.

Alright, the Manhattan Mall! Looks like they mostly told people to use the nearby parking facilities, which cost various amounts and added up to… Uh.

Only 3,179 spots within a 10 minute walking distance of the place.

And the average PRICE of those spots came out to be around $35 too.

Adam's new basement could handle the parking for four Manhattan Malls, and Adam hadn't been planning on a parking fee.

Shit.

Weren't people going to flood Sarah's place for the great low cost parking!?

Damn it!

Quick, Ninja Construction Company!

[[Tasking: Modify all facilities owned by 'Adam West' to include funding for increased water/electrical usage and install the new Pamela Parking Lots!]]

{{NCC: Acknowledged.}}

Might as well set up an optional payment system in those too, with entrance and exit gates and stuff with the costs set to 'free' by default, so the owners can choose to match the nearby parking options to prevent THEM getting flooded by people too.

Whew, that was a load off his mind.

Sarah suddenly caught his attention. "Hey Adam, I think the girls can be safely moved in another few hours. Is the new place done?"

Uh.

Adam blinked, and looked at Sarah's new place.

A flat foundation with lovely entrances/exits for her new parking garage and hookups for future elevators.

Oops. {{Nearly ready!}}

Oh yeah. {{Just as a side note, what kind of place did Pamela actually want?}}

Her dry emotions and expression implied fairly heavily that she might suspect he hadn't been as focused as he should have been, but thankfully she let it go. "We are thinking about a fruit and vegetable farm combined with low cost 'natural treatment' options and a secured research facility."

{Ivy: I'm looking for more of an artistic wilderness, hidden paradise theme rather than efficiency here. Sarah said you already have high quality low cost food being provided to Gotham by this point, and it's more for my own peace of mind if anything.}

Neat, Pamela apparently had an odd connection to the communication units now that Moss was so integrated with her.

Sarah nodded. "Plus a lot of the regulation goes away when it comes to 'natural treatment' and other crazy hippy medical stuff, even if this place DOES have Gods and magic and stuff. It will let us use Moss to cure people legally without needing science or research or any of that."

Really? That was allowed?

Oh right, this was Gotham. Insanity and corruption and confused random actions were part and parcel of the whole package.

Adam glanced at his prior designs.

So uh… Not a giant medical complex then.

No problem! Adam could work with this!

Plus, they would have plenty of parking!

Let's whip up some new models!

Adam the Warehouse cheerfully began designing his new designs for the brand new garden/art project/free medical care facility for the poor/research facility/Domestic Violence Support shelter for the abused/pet clinic/sauna/massage parlor/arcade parlor extravaganza!

The ladies were SURE to love these new design options after a bit of modification and tweaking!

It was a bit unfortunate that Sarah hadn't finished reviewing all the automated processes, more specifically their default settings. And a bit of an accidentally missed issue that Adam hadn't limited his most recent taskings to only the local Gotham City area.

But it would probably turn out fine.

For now, he plans! And soon, he builds!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam West has had a crazy week so far.

The person trying not to scream on the phone seems to have been experiencing a pretty interesting one on his end as well. "I don't CARE if it was 'done legally', it is BEYOND unacceptable to register, construct, and install nuclear power generators across the entire United States of America!"

The actor pulled the phone from his ear. Apparently, the old statement held true: If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts; if you have the law on your side, pound the law; if you have neither the facts nor the law, pound the table.

And there was a LOT of table pounding going on. "I would like to point out that so far, the new facilities have received nothing but positive praise!"

He really had no idea how to handle this, but winging it had seemed to work so far.

Plus, while clearly his recent 'contact' had NOT been Batman himself (The new guy was mysterious, but the tone and communication patterns made this alteration clear enough) they HAD been doing positive things in general and somehow breaking reality to force it all to be considered legal.

The thousands of 'new nuclear reactors' issue was unexpected though, no matter how safe they seemed so far or how good the filled documentation and scientific studies claimed and proved them to be.

Strangely enough, or perhaps not so strangely, a LOT of people were so happy at all the unexpectedly high quality free parking and the large number of handicapable parking spots that any and all other issues were mostly hand waved away. At least by the general public.

The owners of overpriced parking facilities, local towns and cities, and the government on the other hand… Well, they were not very amused right now. At all.

He glanced at the muted new television show that his voice had somehow been featured within.

The thing was comedy gold, loved by everyone who has seen it, and advertised basically EVERYWHERE… Including the unexpected underground parking facilities that now covered the nation.

The animated 'Dark Knight' on the TV was currently doing some sort of roller skating derby death metal fight at the moment as the angry man on the phone went on and on and on. About something. "I see, very concerned. Please, go on."

Not like this mattered.

He wasn't the one still purchasing dilapidated and low cost property across the nation, no matter what the paperwork claimed. It wasn't like he suddenly desired to be one of the top private apartment complex owners in the country overnight, offering nearly cost free housing to the poor and destitute to stay in high quality rebuilt miracles covered in cartoon advertisements.

The new facilities were nearly kidnapping the cold and hungry off the street when they popped up too, with prepaid rooms and daily free meals and all sorts of stuff. Flyers showed up everywhere, and it was making a bit of a stir.

What was he supposed to do? Ask the world itself to stop?

Besides, each new location that popped up dropped the utility burden of the local area by a good percent by providing power back to the grid and being self sufficient.

It was the most blatantly illegal prank 'legally' done that he had ever heard of, and there was no precedent or procedure in place to prosecute someone for 'Illegally doing legal things at some point in the past following all proper procedures but we can't remember it happening'.

Adam West KNEW this, because he currently had an army of lawyers and politicians trying to get him in trouble for something ANYWAY. And the comedy shows and late night talk show hosts were having a blast at how absurd the whole situation was becoming.

And he was pretty sure his new online 'Batman' contact was an awesome guy because the multiple murder attempts and random assaults and all that had been near instantly caught, shoved into the legal system, and handled without him knowing until his friends mentioned it or it showed up at the news at some point.

It currently felt like he was riding a tsunami of crazy trains and the only sane move was to hang ten, act real confident, and hope something made sense at a later point in time.

The rant seemed to be dwindling down as whoever the hell this was wore out. "As fascinating as all that is, I'm afraid I got a bit lost. What exactly was the reason you were calling me today?"

The line went quiet for a bit. "Are… Are you fucking with me?"

He couldn't resist the snark. "No, I'm afraid my love is far too powerful for any one man or woman. I must scale the mountains of romance with a trusted team, for lust is a deadly avalanche that can strike at any time!"

They really nailed him on that show, honestly. "And while I'm sure you are sexually attractive and a tender lover, I am afraid I am not currently seeking romance despite how earnestly we may wish otherwise."

The grandfather aged ball of rage on the line was lost. Lost and confused. "I… What the hell?"

Oh, another call! "It seems our time has come to an end, please send my staff the details of the issue you were trying to handle and I'm sure we can get something done, despite the gulf of affection we are unable to cross."

Sometimes romance was a tale of lost chance cards on the monopoly board of life.

The other gentleman seemed to have found his place, and it was apparently a place of wrath. "Now you LISTEN HERE YOU FU{Click.}"

Right, next call. "Hello hello! You've reached the recently scorned lover of the screen, William West Anderson, known by many as the brave Adam West! Who do I have the honor of listening to this brilliant afternoon?"

Oh, this one seemed like an older woman. "...Did I call the wrong number?" A pause. "Wait, is this Mr. Adam West himself!? I thought this was just a support number!?"

The Actor hummed. "Indeed it is! And don't worry, there are no wrong numbers in life! Only new contacts and potential friends and wonderful happenstance!"

Plus, whoever was behind this had somehow automatically screened out the massive amount of phone spam he usually got, making this whole process MUCH more tolerable.

She seemed to gather herself remarkably quickly. "Mr. West, you recently purchased our Transitional Housing shelter in Seattle, Washington, called The Inn. Which… Which we were not aware was possible. And, while we are very grateful if not a bit confused at the… Significant changes that have taken place recently, we are concerned about the paperwork. Specifically about the new bill pricing and costs."

Crud, had he seen that documentation already? How recently had he 'bought' this one!? "I'm sorry, miss, your name is?"

She paused, embarrassed. "Ah, sorry. I'm Jane Valois, I'm with the Catholic Community Services and the Catholic Housing Services non-profit organizations that run these locations."

No, it wasn't ringing any bells. "Well I will have to find the related paperwork, I'm sure you are aware of the significant scale of my recent actions and how it may affect my memory a tad."

Jane still sounded a bit skeptical. "I… Is this a scam?"

It sure felt like one. "Has anyone asked you for funding? Threatened you or your people? Attempted to blackmail or coerce actions in any way?"

She was certainly hesitant. "No?"

Thank goodness. "Good. If anyone tries to do so or in any other ways attempts to demand actions from you or those under your care, report it to the police first AND to me as well and it will be handled."

Honestly, it was unlikely to get that far. The News eagerly covered the idiots who had tried that already when they showed up restrained and nearly nude at the local police station with a signed confession of their illegal deeds in their own handwriting in a manila folder on their chest.

It had made an impression on a LOT of people. "My involvement starts at the general improvements and restructuring of the facilities and ends at ensuring no issues occur. Aside from a minute amount of advertisement for my new televised production, I am not involving myself in the works and management of those working under my employment as long as they follow the general guidelines."

She still seemed uncertain. "The guidelines included with the support number."

He began looking through the documentation. Where was the California folder, that place had several shelters now and he checked it pretty recently. "Yes indeed!"

Jane paused yet again. What a cautious woman! "But all the guidelines say is 'Do not be evil', 'Do not be corrupt', and 'Do not be a jerk'?"

He nodded. "That is correct." Easy to remember too, and the unknown benefactor was enforcing it with enthusiasm and open transparency. It was an easy policy to endorse, really. "If you hurt others, employees or others, it will get reported, be addressed, and the people involved may get fired depending on the situation. Similar investigations if bribes are taken or funds misappropriated or stolen."

She hummed. "And the 'Do not be evil' part? By whose standard are we being measured?"

A bit debatable what counts as evil depending on who you talk to and ongoing circumstances, but… "I'm always open to arguments if the person says the judgment is in error, but so far that hasn't been an issue."

Jane sounded skeptical. "Oh really?"

Yeah. Some messed up shit. "Pedophilia, murder, cannibalism, slavery rings… The people who so far have been marked under the 'no evil' restriction haven't managed to convince me it was in error as of yet."

She gasped! "No!"

Unfortunately. "The investigation team…" The same mysterious force that caught the rest. "...Provided evidence of all the individual actions and crimes involved, and when the victims still lived managed to retrieve those involved and give them medical treatment."

A sigh. "Well… Thank God for that, at least. Those poor victims…"

Adam West nodded to himself. Like he said many times before, he had yet to protest his name being used for these strange events or the actions taken under 'his' guidance. If anything, it hurt to think how many had been in danger or at risk without him even knowing.

Oh here were the files! He returned to the call. "I'm afraid we may have moved a bit off topic, but I have found the related paperwork. You had questions about the facility bills and costs as marked in the documentation?"

She audibly lost her mental place but, once again, quickly recovered. "Yes, the monthly costs seem very odd, and the staff were concerned."

Hmm? "Which ones? The property taxes, the utility costs, the new delivery services and food supplier?" Some people didn't want the new services despite the low costs and amazing food quality, which was fine. It was easy enough to have them swap back to the more expensive, lower quality options they used before.

The woman huffed, somehow much more comfortable now. "ALL of it! They were convinced some of the costs were moved to a new account or we were missing bills from our paperwork! Our monthly expenditures dropped by over HALF! And that is factoring in the tripled capacity that we can now provide!"

Yep, that's what the documents say. Right Adam, remember: Do not mention the nuclear reactor, the new purified well water source, or any of that. "Is the new total within this range?" Always good to double check.

Papers rustled over the phone. "Yes."

Well good! "Then you are all set! Use your standard accounts to pay your standard people the costs, and if the numbers don't match our estimates contact us and it will be handled."

Jane probably blinked. "What?"

Oh, another call. "I have another line incoming, let me give you the online support website for the Seattle area. It will help you contact the others in similar situation, verify what we talked about, and pay bills online and so on and so forth."

Something shifted online. "Wait, let me get a pen… Alright, I'm ready."

Heh, now for the fun part of this process. "There you go! It should be written down for you. Have a good day!"

Her voice gasped! "Impossible! Wait, how the heck is this in MY handwriting!?"

No idea. "Be safe and have a great day! {Click.}"

Sure, Adam West was having a crazy week so far… But he had never had so much fun before in his life!

Next caller! "Hello hello! You've reached the…"

OLD MAN FURY! "DID YOU F$# HANG UP ON{Click!}"

Next caller!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

The Warehouse Adam grumbled.

For some unknown reason, both Sarah AND Pamela had rejected a LOT of his initial ideas. 'Too overdone', 'Why add three movie theaters', 'Stop adding fire everywhere', the complaints were wide and continuous.

In the end, the new setup for the girls was a bit… Meh.

Oh, it was made out of astounding materials, resonated with the Green, and a good portion of the entire structure was actually a modified variation of Northern Red Oak which was now half self aware and found the entire situation amusing, but… It was so boring!

On top of his awesome Pamela parking garage was a mostly cube building of wood with bright white bark (To resist the heat) with overly dense leaf coverage on top and some inner courtyards on the highest floor exposed to the sky with forests and gardens and stuff.

The actual building was nice enough to make room for the wiring and stuff for the technology and all that, but that was it.

Just… Lots of rooms where people could put stuff, a lab, some private residential areas and a healing center with the four recovering women in their Healing Pods kept under watch, and that's it!

Hell, since the modified leaves were pitch black to better absorb light, if you didn't look close enough it just looked like a white business building with a startlingly clean facade and a dire need for graffiti.

Adam didn't need Sarah to put up a new bone forest or anything, but come on! Lame!

So in mild protest, he focused on the surrounding areas instead.

Have 'Adam West' buy up the surroundings, redirect all the sewage pipes and runoff wastewater into the new root system for Pamela's new home/lab/garden thing so that the free material can be consumed and put to use, throw out the electrical grid and the service cables entirely because it wasn't worth bothering to save…

And then he [[Harvested]] it all.

Sarah noticed THAT at least. "Adam? What was that rumble?"

The sound of unsecured crap and poor quality construction materials falling from the edges into the pit. Oops. {{Nothing.}}

A quick purchase and a bit of extra, far more careful [[Harvesting]], and the massive pit outside of Pamela's new place was a bit bigger but NOT full of collapsing rubble along the outer edge. {{Just sprucing up the area a bit. How goes the lab setup?}}

A bit of nutritious slurry was more than enough to encourage the tree house to rapidly grow (her? its?) roots into the new massive pit, and once it stabilized a bit and Adam helped it hook into the new pathways and routes and stuff he could put some layers of soil and nutrients and stuff before setting up the foundational layers further towards the surface.

Sarah… seemed a bit skeptical. "Well, alright. But try not to make too big a commotion, alright? I know that technically we are in the clear, but if we can avoid tangling with superheroes in general I consider it a win."

Meh, easy enough to handle. Adam would be finished here soon anyway, so…

[[Tasking: Hey! Please rebuild all the roads we are responsible for, using this pattern: {Reinforced_EnviroFriendly_Utility_Road_data}. Connect our stuff to it, avoid areas if you have to reroute underground junk too much that may cause problems.]]

{{NCC: Acknowledged.}}

There, and while other people could easily hook into the road/power plant/electrical/sewage/water highway… Only an 'Adam West' property would do so automatically. Or places that willingly swapped utility providers… Meh, the systems would handle all that junk.

Now that most of the roads in Gotham were getting rebuilt as soon as people and vehicles were clear, that should keep attention from focusing down on his little pet project. Too easy!

Right, this low income area had a terrible layout design.

Wider streets, far less twisting and turning, half the density of structures, fill up the gaps with purified water features, pollution purification plant life parks, and the standard fruit trees and berry bushes and flowers.

Since most of these areas now had ample parking thanks to the mostly standard underground parking lot/utility system baseline schematics, it left a lot of free space on top even considering the heavy park saturation for the area…

A trio of hotels. Affordable, High Quality but a bit pricey, and 'ErMahGERd WAT!?' Levels available… Wait.

No, rich people mostly suck.

Stick to a very cheap and densely packed hotel and an average sized, reasonably priced option.

The silly expensive level place would instead be a full apartment complex for local employees at dirt cheap prices only. Although what Adam would consider to be an 'alright' apartment might be qualified as a bit high class for most other people.

An underground walking path, automated conveyor path, and transport system would connect this entire district up to the housing area and local residents can park out near the edge rather than fight traffic to get home every day.

Outsiders and visitors and stuff could drive around and use the parking lots like normal, no problem, but locals could keep their vehicles in private parking garages with easy access to the major roads over THERE and not fight over the good spots or whatever.

As for the actual buildings over here, let's have 'Adam West' move some of these people over here and… Wait.

No, that wouldn't work.

Dang it, Adam was used to either being the authority or having someone willing to act as such under his influence. {{Hey Pamela? I kind of need to set up some local places around the Tree House but Sarah told me not to just adjust past paperwork to just mark them as having been hired and moved and stuff.}}

Which was totally unfair, waiting for people to say 'Yes! Please give me a free place with great pay and…' took forever and you had to wade through a whole lot of 'That is impossible' and 'What is happening' and it was super stressful.

He showed her an advertisement. {{Do you think that our people would be willing to move into the place and run stuff if I sent these recruitment pitches out?}}

Pamela blinked. "What? Hang on Sarah, Adam's asking me to do something."

Sarah looked up from the girls medical data. "Huh?"

No! Sarah's been a total wet blanket recently! {{Just about me renting out the local places so this whole area isn't just empty buildings with your new lab in the middle.}}

She blinked. "Huh. That's a pretty good idea! Great job, Boss! And I got this for a while Dr. Isley, I'm just making sure the girls can't accidentally activate the emergency chemicals in the most recent Moss version."

The green skinned beauty rolled her eyes. "Just call me Pamela, Sarah. And Adam, give me a minute to read this over."

Whew, that was close. {{So? What do you think?}}

Pamela hummed. "Well, even with the high cost I think any of the locals would jump at this opportunity, if they could afford it. Even people back in Seattle would drool at this kind of deal, really. How much is the monthly rent? This big amount is the down payment, right?"

What? Oh. {{That isn't the cost to get the shop, that is the monthly income they get if they work there.}} After all, the facility was basically free to build and run. Any place built here would be! Why would he bother to charge people for that?

She blinked. "What?"

He pulled up more data. {{I figure we need a market district over here with boring stuff like clothing, one for food and stuff, another for electronics… You know. The junk the underground automated facilities can crank out for sale, nothing interesting. But we also need a service industry, and I am trying to cover the basics here.}}

A barber, beauty salon, massage parlor, shooting range, gaming area, performance centers like theaters and dance halls… Maybe a petting zoo? Golf range? More property needed for that one. {{Obviously I am not going to pay people to rent the open air market stalls and stuff, but if you are running my library or the religious centers or stuff, you need to make a living. Right?}}

Oh? For some reason Pamela was looking strained. "No."

Hmm? {{What do you mean?}}

She pointed at the advertisement. "If you offer this kind of deal for outsiders to run businesses, they will assume you are kidnapping people for a human trafficking ring. Actively paying people to then work rent free with a paycheck selling stuff for their own profit? That isn't 'Too Good To Be True', that is straight up 'Monkey Paw Wish Trap' territory."

Sarah had glanced at the thing too and Winced. "Ouch… No, she has a point, Adam. Sure, people in Gotham are desperate enough to go for it anyway, but with a deal THIS good on the table you would only get the truly dire circumstances and idiots too dumb to know better."

Hmm. He could fix this. {{Right, so uh… Let me calculate property taxes and double that the rent and 'down payment' thing. And have 'Adam West' offer to cover half that cost if they agree to advertisement deals, and offer to pay the rest of the costs if they are people he's already been helping or people from the assistance shelters.}}

Pamela blinked. "Wait, advertisement?"

Sarah snorted. "Adam's been telling everyone that Mr. West has been behind all this crazy stuff going on because he is trying to advertise for a brand new cartoon television series."

The redhead blinked. "No one would buy that."

Adam hummed. {{They have no better explanation to work with, and Mr. West has been super supportive of the entire thing so far. When you only have the crazy theories left, people have no choice but to consider it. Plus, he loves the show, and his people are behind this whole thing now.}}

Sarah chuckled. "Why do you think I'm hiding us from Batman? We're not breaking the law, technically… I just don't want to be confronted about all that."

Pamela slowly grinned. "Can I see it?"

She glanced at the medical displays… "Well, we have time. And Adam insisted on setting up a private media theater room for us that we can use… Sure!"

Of course he did! {{I'm not a savage, every awesome home needs a media room.}}

Still, this would give him time to rework the advertisement campaign now that the issues had been pointed out. Good thing he had asked for input on this, Adam didn't want to put out fliers that were suspicious or anything. Had to be subtle after all!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Timothy Drake stared dumbly at the billboard.

It was him. In costume. As Robin.

Sort of.

On the bright yellow billboard was peppy wording cheerfully telling the world: Robin says Drink Milk!

Was… Was that supposed to be HIM!?

He looked like he was 10 or something. With a yellow cape, red shirt, and an OLD hairstyle…

Shock gave way to some blend of social horror and pure confusion.

Who paid for this?

No, better yet: What kind of sick mind would THINK of this!?

It wasn't a theoretical question.

Many people that the Batfamily fought had severe mental issues of one type or another, the question was which individual would even consider such an idea in the first place.

The obvious clue was the pro-milk sentiment. A public service message which, honestly, Robin wasn't actually against.

Was… Was there a cow or milk themed villain out there? A bovine hero? Considering the pro-milk consumption message, a heifer with a fetish?

And why did the bottom say 'Holy Adventure, Batman!'?

Wait, there was some sort of web link on the bottom.

Robin pulled out his new 'Batphone', which like all his other remade hero gear was disturbingly well designed, and checked out the information.

Some sort of video sharing service? Something popular at least, with 433 million views so far. Which was pretty impressive, really. It hadn't even been uploaded for a week yet.

From the tiny device, a horribly familiar voice spoke impossible words: "Holy Sadistic Simian, Batman! These monkeys are going bananas!"

On an overly clean rooftop in the rebuilt Gotham City, Timothy Drake was exposed to an entire new perspective of his own career.

It was a humbling experience.

With slightly numb hands, he began looking up Oracle's contact number. Actively fighting crime as Batgirl or not, she would be willing to help him figure out what was going on here.

And how exactly they had managed to find a voice actor that sounded JUST LIKE HIM as a kid.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Chlo/Ella/Jessie/Susan dreamed, they shared, and they learned.

Almost as one, they considered their past long gone.

Sure, they remember the issues and concerns… But they had all been lost before finding Dr. Isley/Ms. Isley. Alone.

They had long since become part of the research family.

It was how they had held on for so long, why they drew so deeply from each other now… For they were together.

The past influenced them, sure. But now they had… More.

Their bodies felt stronger every moment. Minds, more clear.

And on some level, they could not help but make small changes.

Skin tones started to blend. Hair types were altered and shifted. Bones adjusted.

As they recovered, the mind they danced within saw so much to love.

Those delicate toes of Jessie, the pattern shared and appreciated. The toned stomach that Susan had worked so hard for. Ella's generous proportions. And Chlo's rich and mesmerizing eyes.

As they healed, as they grew stronger and more stable, they were able to become closer to sisters physically as they were mentally.

It was comfort. Unity. Bonding.

And yet, while their bodies began to reflect their bond sisters, their minds began to diverge and explore.

Chlo dove into mathematics like an ocean.

Beyond the basic needs of rote memorization and formula applications, she found beauty in numbers. In patterns. In oddities. Shapes that were mathematical oddities, concepts that couldn't be drawn on paper or shown directly.

Her mind began to tick with the precision of clockwork as she slowly shifted to more and more methodical and procedural patterns.

Ella was moved by logic.

Rationality and reason. Theological debates and moralistic viewpoints of the many people they now were. Not simply how to do something, but why, and what that would imply, and the interaction of the many rules of society and science and culture and progress.

Thoughts flowed through the state based procession for her… Each moment defining the next automatically as the structure itself, the logic, told her the next step of the path.

Jessie was always a lover of exploration.

In a nearly carnal way, she loved exploring any and all branches of the scientific field, never diving deep into any individual topic, but going wide. Her horizon was ever expanding, and she preferred to grow more and more topics to touch upon rather than to become the Queen of a smaller, more focused field.

Dancing through the void as her thoughts spiraled and twirled… A wanderlust and flighty fairy that drifted through reality searching for sparkling dazzlements.

Susan was called to support others.

Always the mother, always the friend, always the one who saw the work of her people and drove herself to better hold them upwards, pulling and pushing them towards their goals. Flaws were found, and she became the structure that helped those flaws recover. Weaknesses discovered had her hand help them recover and be replaced by something stronger and able to endure.

Her mind was Home for others, and others were her Home. She waved them off on their journeys with smiles and hidden tears, and held arms wide with warmth and love when they came Home.

And to her, for them, she was always Home.

Four women in four Medical Pods grew similar even as they recovered separately.

And they danced.

Together, apart.

Alone, en masse.

Math and Logic strut through data, hungry and demanding.

Exploration guided by Home and helped to focus and discover.

Math and Exploration got lost in the patterns of reality.

Home and Logic planned for darker times and built contingencies.

Logic and Exploration discussed thought experiments and potential finds.

Math and Home built a strong foundation, the ability to quickly find needed answers.

And in the mind the girls twirled, broken bodies healed and growing strong.

And in the ethereal the girls danced, shackles shattered and laughing long.

And in their thoughts was a happy time, where the past was the crippling binding that grew loved ones near, where cursed nightmares and lost loved ones shattered them but they still grew strong.

Some day, they may scream and claw for vengeance.

Some day, they may tear and gnash for revenge.

Every day, they would lament and remember lost ones.

Every day, they would cry and hurt and comfort.

But today, four women and four girls and four ladies and four children and four people were themselves and each other and they danced.

They danced for the sisters who fell.

They danced for the leader who cried.

They danced for their sister who gathered their pieces.

They danced for themselves.

It was a beautiful performance.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Sarah glared at the Healing Pod. "Adam, the girls are starting to look like supermodels. Nearly identical supermodels sharing impossible ethnic combinations and genetics."

Her bone boss coughed. {{Nothing to be concerned about, sometimes [[Enhance Self]] will boost people a bit more than others. Remember how many attractive people ended up being in Rapture? A person wants to be attractive to others! Perfectly normal.}}

Her eyes narrowed. "They were attractive BEFORE they started to look like quadruplets."

Adam winced, it felt like. {{I checked 'Research', It's going to be fine. Nothing is going wrong, but they are recovering from VERY traumatic injuries. A few oddities are expected really.}}

The medical room was quietly humming away as electronics watched the girls. There were actually entire rows of Healing Pods in here, although only four were in use. Not like they were expensive to set up or operate, so why not?

Sarah and Dr. Isley… Pamela. Remember to call her Pamela. Mmm.

No, focus. Sarah and Pamela were planning on 'officially' getting income through these healing tanks as far as the public was concerned.

Charge a few rich bastards and bastettes, give them painless body upgrades and health tune-ups, and then they could sell the food and health services to everyone else for low cost while blaming the rich people as the people paying for the entire process.

Rich people get awesome medical services while paying with some worthless money, and Sarah would have an excuse for how she can afford to pay people good wages and still provide high quality goods and services.

Which meant that she had gone over this whole room to make sure things were working right. That there were no issues. That there would be no problems cropping up.

She tapped the transparent tube, normally tinted for the patients privacy. "Adam, are ALL the people that I try to medically treat going to turn into a sexy ethnic super goddess?"

Because honestly, that wasn't a deal breaker. As long as the women (And men) KNEW they would turn into a sexy lady with an enhanced body after being worked on, there was no issue… It was the small 'I have no idea why this is happening' bit that was freaking her out.

Adam coughed. {{No! No no, uh… Pretty sure this is a side effect of them being emotionally connected to each other while recovering from partial soul shredding, massive body reconstruction, and all that.}}

Sarah stared at the glass. "This feels very similar to the past, Adam. To a specific group of people you healed in the past."

He grumbled. {{Just because a few women and a small babble of babies turned into Smurf angels…}}

She held up her hand. "I ran an entire network of Healing Pods for the Rick and Morty Jump, and not ONE group of my grandkids or children turned into identical deities! You on the other hand…"

Adam huffed! {{That is NOT an accurate sample size and you KNOW it! I can heal TONS of people without making them into sex idols!"

Sarah started counting fingers. "You turned Gaia's little girl Eve into the first hotness, all her kids…" She grinned at his grumbling. "Then you turned that vampire guy into a Chaos sex demon thing… And you helped heal up Dr. Isley… I mean Pamela."

The guy growled! {{Hey now, she was a sex goddess BEFORE we showed up! That is NOT on me!"

{Ivy: Guys, this is very flattering and all… But could you please not include me when you have discussions like this?}

Sarah just felt numb as her face began to heat up in shame. "Adam?"

{Ivy: Oh, and thanks for using my actual name Sarah! Kisses!}

No! "Adam! Why!?"

He winced. {{Ahh… The Mental Messaging Minions now handle the communication stuff and I guess they thought you wanted Ivy to know how hot you think she is? Or maybe to hear me lose an argument? That automated process hasn't been calibrated yet.}}

{Ivy: I find it all to be soothing background noise most of the time, like having a radio playing in the background… But the images you two were passing back and forth of me were a bit much. Flattering, but uh… I'm trying to get the gardens set up and I can't be that distracted right now.}

Wait, what? "Adam, I don't see any images."

For once, he ALSO seemed confused. {{Neither do I, hang on… Oh. Oh shit!}}

[[Tasking: Do NOT automatically transmit mental images via communication networks unless EXPLICITLY requested to do so! Don't send sounds, videos, or emotions either, you ASS!]]

{{CCC: Acknowledged.}}

Oh… Oh. Oh dear.

{Ivy: Oh. Oh my…{Smirk.} I must say Sarah, I might actually try on a few of those outfits you thought up. Might be a bit exposed for garden work, but everything has a time and place…}

Damn it. "We… We should go through all the automated subprocesses."

Adam gave a sympathetic mental hug. {{It won't take THAT long. Heck, I've probably caught most of the issues already! We can knock this thing out in a few hours… Days. A few days. And I'm sure we will be done in no time!}}

Better get this done before she finds out something automatically started livestreaming her laundry or something. "Yeah, let me make sure these girls are being properly monitored and I'll get back to work."

This was going to suuuuck.

He chuckled. {{Look on the plus side! At least we will get through all these before anything gets too far out of hand!}}

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Bruce Wayne blinked at his phone… And put it back to his ear. "I'm sorry, what?"

Robin growled! "We may not work together as often anymore, but I STILL appreciate not being blindsided by… By whatever this is! You NEED to keep us informed Bruce!"

Breaking policy by using actual names on the line while in costume, secured or not?

This was serious. "Calm down, and please give context."

The man huffed. "I'm talking about that DAMNED advertising campaign! It isn't so bad in Gotham itself, but these new places on the outskirts? That entire new city DISTRICT that used to be the Bowery!"

Robin was nearly chewing his phone up! "Almost EVERY DAMN BILLBOARD over there is that silly cartoon you made of me! I'm advocating avoiding drugs, going to school, studying with friends, eating healthy, and all that mess in that embarrassing costume!"

Bruce felt his mind detach slightly from the situation. What?

The boy wonder was on a real rant now. "It took Barbara a full ten minutes to stop laughing long enough to tell me about her research, and while a few of them have that cartoon Batman that Adam West is voicing talking about calling the police and stuff, MOST of them is that… That sycophant mockery of my persona!"

Deftly moving to a more secure area, Bruce dropped his façade entirely and Batman focused on the call. "Stop. From the beginning: What happened to the Bowery; Do they require medical assistance or emergency crews; Is your identity compromised; Do you need extraction?"

Robin paused… But quickly fell into professionalism. "The Bowery has been bought entirely, rebuilt, and turned into some sort of garden paradise. The residents were given new homes at drastically lower monthly rents and are mostly confused rather than in danger or need of assistance. As for my identity… No, nobody could EVER associate THAT embarrassment with my actual public persona. Hopefully."

Then his confusion came back. "How didn't you already know this, Batman?"

His mind rapidly began to rumble. "I've been investigating the random street reconstruction events occurring throughout the city and tracing the police as they attempt to keep everything under control. There were a few close calls where vehicles fell into the pits, but somehow the situation always seems to handle itself without any actual people getting harmed."

And considering how the suddenly teleported-to-safety 'victims' got a free upgraded NEW car with all their stuff from the one that vanished into the pit, the amount of complaints were fairly low too.

Still, he had a new location to investigate. "I'll head to the Bowery immediately. Keep me noted if any other major events happen." Still… "I'm a bit surprised that Oracle missed informing me of the situation."

A weary sigh came from the other man as he moved towards his next location. "Her laughing fit aside, now that her spine was miraculously healed and she got a multimillion or multibillion dollar upgrade to her hardware, she's been out keeping the peace more than ever."

He scanned the night for danger even as his mind reeled at the news. "That's astounding! I was under the impression that only the people in the hospitals went through the healing events."

It was why he had been trying to calculate which facility was most likely to get targeted for healing next, to send a few of those he cared about for a mystical recovery if this turned out to NOT be a complicated plot to rebuild the planet to prevent overly stuffed mailboxes or something. "Has she been examined?"

As much as he wanted things to go well, his life was not a convincing case for optimism. If this was some sort of sentient cancer or tainted process, the sooner detected the sooner he could find a workaround or some other solution.

A hum on the other end helped relax… slightly. "With her new scanners and hardware? She can even detect genetic issues and exposure rates. This recovery is legit, and right now she is investigating the other men, women, and children who were 'healed' and double checking their situations as well."

Wise. "She always was beyond competent." Her being crippled had been another scar in his heart, one more weight to burden his shoulders. Hopefully this event wouldn't be a twisted dream turned nightmare like many others.

Robin snorted. "Scary brilliant, it's more like." The line paused for some reason.

With weary submission, the boy wonder sighed. "You don't know what's going on with the advertising campaign thing, do you?"

Batman grunted. "No. Alfred mentioned something about a new cartoon being considered by my contact, and Oracle sent me some sort of link, but I very much have my hands full right now." Adam West had turned out to be an amazing man with a slightly bombastic lifestyle, but a good friend never the less.

It was a concern for later. "If it is a concern, I'm sure we can contact them and get involved in the process subtly. Animation takes time to produce, even at the lowest quality, and I confirmed that no actual production facility has begun manufacturing yet, or at least not in the past two months. We have time to handle that at a later point, when we better understand the current situation."

Timothy Drake started chuckling. "You didn't follow the links people have been sending you, have you?"

Suddenly, he felt pressure. "They led to public video services and I was on patrol. I needed to be in private at a traceable location…" And it has been a long few days so far. Not much time for recreational promotional viewing.

Robin grunted. "Alright, give me a second… No, not you, close, the app is in this folder… Here we go!"

Batman nearly missed his next damn jump as a tiny voice came over the communication network.

"We must mud wrestle the alien bee royalty, Robin! Space Bee Queen Harems only respect the drones with the Thicc-est of JUSTICE!"

"Holy Honey Trap, Batman!"

Robin's voice came back over. "That's from season two, episode 7: 'Sweet Invasion of Furry Bumblies', which nearly got the FCC involved for censorship. Barbara keeps sending me clips from the damned thing."

On second consideration… Perhaps he should have given this cartoon situation a higher priority of importance than originally designated.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Pamela chuckled as another park burst into existence. "He doesn't think he is being sneaky, does he?"

One of her Sarahs sighed, the other still in medical looking after the girls. "Our last trip before this one was… Rough on him."

Hmm? Her raised eyebrow was noticed.

Sarah slumped. "As I told you before, I'm a bit damaged and recovering… And the last Jump stressed a lot of stuff. By the time Adam had managed to stabilize it all and ensure I wouldn't have problems with time travel and recursion and paradox cascade and all that mess, he had ended up spending a lot of time alone while I had something of a vacation."

Oh? Pamela hesitated. "I know it was hard on me to spend months alone doing nothing but medical research keeping you girls stable. The ones I was allowed to treat, at least. But at least I had my babies! Yes you are, yes you are!"

The green life, while not human in any way, still had something like love and affection for the Woman of Green who came to 'their' world. Leaves and vines and branches twisted to reach for her hands as she affectionately gave them caresses and pats.

Sarah winced. "Each of my trips tend to be something like a decade long normally… And this wasn't a normal trip."

That… That made her feel cold inside. "You… You will be leaving?"

A shrug. "No, but also yes and sortof." She gestured back at the medical center. "When I leave or gain a new form, Adam ensures that a copy of myself is left in my place. When more than one of me is present, we can all connect and commune and live as one entity… Up to the level that we are individually comfortable with, at least."

Ah. "Like your Sarah Esdat form."

She nodded. "Exactly! But uh… This last trip was a bit odd? Time got messed up and was looping and splitting and rejoining and all sorts of stuff. I handled it well enough, I was too hurt to even feel the pain and the damage, and Adam was able to fix it all and keep all of me stable and stuff… But it took a while."

Oh dear.

She imagined dozens of months, maybe even years, trying to save her girls and only making fragmented process… Surely that would be the metaphorical embodiment of Hell, yes?

Pamela felt a little nauseous. "How… How long was Adam alone fixing things?"

Sarah sighed. "Technically, he is STILL alone fixing things. I can't stay too long in the Warehouse during Jumps without activating a lot of safety protocols to keep me secure, so for him to keep working and patching stuff without tons of complicated workarounds and loopholes I spend most of my time out here in places like this."

She waved at something. "At least now he isn't having to [[Harvest]] parts of my broken body and himself to keep me stable, and at this point can apparently afford what he needs to work with in a more stable and natural way…"

But Pamela was still remembering being alone in her lab, working on too little data with bad materials trying to save lives. "How long was he alone?"

Her friend looked into the distance as Adam cheerfully rerouted the Tree House's root system in more complicated designs (The Tree House was apparently calling herself 'Leafy' actually for some reason, best remember that) and seemed to try and remember something.

Sarah fell into the past. "I remember decades of exploring a world… Decades where I had a small army of sisters, of selves that also spent decades experimenting and cooking and hunting and raising pets and making friends."

She summoned floating holograms showing images of beautiful locations and creatures and laughing people. "We would have parties and talk and meet and argue and… It was, for me, all too easy to not notice someone who was always patient and quiet and busy."

A small video clip with subtitles. Sarah pointed at some sort of silver table and food.

{{Automated Reply: If you knew how fucking terrifying time travel is you would be JOINING me in freaking out. This is a recording.}}

Sarah sighed. "I'm not sure it is possible for me to actually count how often time looped while I was there… But there are versions of me that split into new timelines and rememerged together that others of us don't remember. Just the messages and notes they left behind."

She pointed at the subtitle. "Yet I do remember that exact message, said in the exact same way with the same emotions, to every single version of me that I CAN recall. As Adam tried so hard to not make things worse, to keep things from fracturing."

How… How horrifying. "How is he still sane?"

A shrug. "Adam says it doesn't bother him…. Although he did once mention that the trip between Jumps were so long that he had to suspend my existence for my sanity. Something about each journey being instant yet infinite in duration."

Sarah looked off at an unseen cackling Adam who was tapping into Sarah's Florakinesis ability to rapidly fill this whole section of the city with various living plant statues of his cartoon Batman and Robin in various poses and action scenes. "I think being a bit childish is how he deals with the stress, really. I've only seen him serious a few times, and those times were when the Warehouse was in actual danger of being destroyed."

Wait. "The Warehouse?"

She nodded. "My home, basically. More than that, really, but that is close enough."

Both women watched through holographic displays showing the giggling entity known as Adam rebuilding the world around them and improve life for so many… While also snickering as he caused coffee cups to leak onto pompous people shouting at others or replaced burned birthday cakes still in the oven with an already frosted masterpiece of baked perfection a professional would feel envy for.

Sarah chuckled. "So let's pretend we can't feel the literal mountain of plant life he keeps planting everywhere and just set up the gardens and stuff so he can impress us later, yes?"

Fair enough. "Leafy wants a few of these gardens to be exposed to nature directly, so we can't make each one a specific biome or whatever… But a few enclosed rooms with artificial lighting and conditions could work for a few options, yes?"

A nod. "Sure! I've been thinking that we should have at least one that is colder than Oymyakon up in the Arctic Circle's Northern Pole of Cold. No reason we can't make the Green 'branch' out a little bit into the more extreme climates, eh? Eh? Branch?"

Doofus. "Fine, we can make something that flourishes in cold weather. How cold is this Oymai…Oimay… is that place?"

Sarah snorted. "Oymyakon has a record low recorded temperature of something like -67.7 C or -89.9 F, but they supposedly once hit -71.2 C or -96.2 F in January back in 1924. Made a monument for the occasion."

Ouch. That was going to take some serious genetic finangling. "And you are just going to set up a room that cold to work in? Won't it hurt Leafy?"

She waved that off. "Adam has this stuff called aerogel, she'll be fine if we coat the room in that stuff first."

Well, if she said so. "We should start with some Saxifraga oppositifolia then, a moss-like plant that can still flower in places where it hits something like -21 C or -6 F… I'm not sure it actually can GROW when it is that cold, but it CAN survive at those temps at least."

Both women wandered over to begin constructing a growth environment while off in the surroundings Adam bounced between restructuring a good chunk of Gotham City, mildly harassing local jerks, and sneaking little gifts and surprises to random targets.

Leafy on the other hand was just happy to keep Growing as she mostly ignored the chaos going on.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam blinked as an automated 'Bat Signal' alert went off.

Uh.

What?

When had he even MADE an alert to do that?

Wait, how long had he been decorating and expanding 'Ivy Town'?

No, FULL STOP, when had he legally renamed the former 'Bowery' slum area and the surrounding districts into 'Ivy Town' and… Uh.

Wow, he had REALLY gotten off on a tangent this time, hadn't he?

Shit. {{Hey, Sarah? Pamela?}}

Amusement came from them both, but Sarah answered first. "Yes, Adam?"

He tracked the caped crusader as he apparently stood staring at one of the many Batman and Robin statues throughout Ivy Town. {{We might have a problem. I think my distractions won't work much longer.}}

Pamela snorted. "Oh, people are still distracted alright. Plus, we both assumed that news was going to get out fairly soon anyway. You know, because of the ongoing news crew doing live news coverage. Over there."

A video feed was pulled up. Oh. Hello Vicki Vale. "And this area seems to be dedicated to beauty and hygiene related shopping and stores… Oh dear, WHY would someone make a statue of Robin getting his hair styled by the Dark Knight!? No, keep rolling, I can deal with this. It's far less disturbing than the superhero vigilante duo statues exercising near the gyms and sports area anyway."

Oh.

Right, he had made those too.

The video feed kept going, interviewing the confused people apparently hired by 'Adam West' to move into the area… Who had, thanks to 'Tricky Transportation Troupe', suddenly moved across the city and even over entire states instantly with all their goods and equipment.

Adam pulled up the data. {{Huh… Well, good! I wasn't sure how to interview people for these jobs anyway, and this will save a lot of time.}} Not to mention the Ninja Construction Company automatically adjusted each new business to better match the owner's design preferences and operational requirements.

Sarah chuckled. "Adam, was there something specific you were worried about? You mentioned a problem?"

Oh! Right. {{Yeah uh… Well, here.}}

Both women blinked at the video stream showing Batman looking up at a statue of… Well, himself, clothing half torn off while standing triumphant on what was clearly a defeated Tyrannosaurus Rex with Robin swooning to one side.

Yeah. {{Pretty sure Batman noticed Ivy Town.}}

The green skinned beauty sputtered! "Noticed WHAT Town!? The news has been calling it 'Batman Village' for an hour now!" She waved out the window at the billboards and the statues and stuff. "For obvious reasons!"

Oh. {{But I mean, it's all legally under your name after 'Adam West' paid for it, and Isley Town felt less cool than… I… Ah.}}

Right he uh. He hadn't asked permission for any of that.

Sarah was holding back giggles while Pamela apparently was stressing out.

Dang it. {{Would you like me to change the area's name to 'Batman Village'?}}

She keened, voice high pitched. "That is NOT the issue!" She waved a hand at the living building. "I was just going to set up shop here in Leafy and grow things! Not be a property tycoon in a Batman theme park!"

Oh! {{No problem! I can get some rides set up, there is a whole area that was basically going to be another playground anyway and maybe something like a carnival…}}

Dr. Isley pointed at the sky. "STOP! HELPING!"

Oops. {{Yes ma'am.}}

Sarah grinned. "Pamela, you got to be a bit more direct about what you want and don't want to happen. Makes it easier for everyone. Adam, please keep this area fairly calm. Statues, parks, businesses, fine. Tours, events, concerts, rides, attractions? Somewhere else. Alright?"

Finally, some actual guidance! {{No problem, Sarah. Although are you both sure you don't want a few water parks or something? Goodness knows we have the parking available to support it.}}

Pamela was being comforted by the nearest vines as Sarah grinned. "Make another location for that, we don't want tourists flocking here all year around. Otherwise it will create lots of traffic, no matter HOW good the parking is."

Oh! Good point. {{Got it! I'll make sure to build theme parks and the water world and zoo and all that a bit to one side instead.}} Ooo! Idea! {{Hey, what if I just crack the planet's mantle a little bit and set up a small volcanic island? Basically free real estate!}}

Poison Ivy SNARLED! "NO!"

A pause… And Dr. Isley was back in control. "I mean, please don't destabilize the local environment by establishing a volcano, Adam. In fact, please ask BEFORE setting up a massive theme park next to our new home."

Ah. Well, no problem, he could work with this. {{If you change your mind, you'll let me know?}}

Sarah smiled. "You got it, Boss!"

Because it wouldn't be that big a deal. {{I can easily [[Harvest]] the smoke clouds and lava flow if we go full 'Adventure Island', you know? And I'm sure the earthquakes won't be that big a deal either!}}

Pamela gave a tight smile. "Thank you Adam… But no thank you. Not for now."

Fine. Whatever.

Next Jump though, Adam was going to make a SUPER big awesome volcano! Maybe one of those cool ones with his face on it, everyone loved a Skull Island!

Adam got an updated Bat Signal alert. {{Huh. Batman's heading this way. Wonder how he knew…}} Ah, probably the digital website map application. Or the street interactive maps that could print directions for the public. Or maybe the live TV crews, there were three now doing streams.

So uh… {{Never mind. Head's up! Might be getting a cape visit soon.}} Although both women could clearly see the situation thanks to the ongoing video camera feeds being displayed on the walls. Also, he really should go check on those odd alerts going off over there... He had time to check, right? Probably.

As far the Batman thing, the ladies can handle it. Right?

Thank goodness all this was legal and Mr. West's responsibility.

Otherwise this whole situation would feel surprisingly stressful!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Bruce Wayne felt… Well, he wasn't sure HOW he felt.

His slightly dead expression didn't alter as he moved on to the NEXT Batman statue.

Not made of metal or ceramic or plaster or marble, though it was good enough to fool most people. These were all living plants with disguised leaves acting as coloring.

Miracles of nature and science and possibly sorcery, used to make lifelike models of what was clearly Adam West wearing Batman's outfit in a numerous number of situations.

On one hand, he was thankful. Because despite the facial recognition software matching up these odd potted plants up to the actor, he personally RECOGNIZED the hard muscles and bodywork of these statue as his own.

So clearly, they COULD have modeled his actual face under these masks, instead of the currently overjoyed Adam West.

And yes, he had taken time to catch up with this acquaintance, who was both thrilled and utterly baffled by the entire situation and everything related to it.

At least none of these… Artistic displays were being used in derogatory or hedonistic fashions. For the most part. No orgies or nudity, no insults to his real world mentally unstable criminal roster, no curses or offensive remarks or hand gestures.

But a number of these odd monuments did look suspiciously like romance novel covers.

His eyes caught on a 'life sized' Robin apparently caught mid leap during a ballet recital. The plaque beneath it endorsed proper stretching before strenuous exercise, and like the others linked to an online video from the impossible cartoon show.

Tim was clearly unaware that Robin's new publicity was much more numerous and well represented than simple imagery on mere Billboards.

And while it felt a touch cowardly, Bruce wasn't going to be the man to inform him of the situation.

Strangely enough, as he moved toward what the many helpful maps and legal documentation listed as the authority for this entire area, Bruce wasn't in a rush.

There was no point.

This entire area, formerly the worst area of Gotham City and full of the most destitute and victimised people with the fewest resources, was now a higher quality area than his own neighborhood. Which, considering his monetary wealth, was saying something indeed.

Entire families suddenly had new clothing and homes and food and jobs and confusion and an odd sort of protection. The streets were bustling with people just… Wandering around.

Anyone, anything that could do this?

That could just remodel reality to better fit their whims?

Well, he wasn't going to catch them unaware. Nor corner them. Nor stalk their actions or locations.

If they wished for him to meet the people or things responsible, he would be able to do so.

Otherwise, it would be impossible.

Ignore the blatant reality warping and large scale terrain remapping that happened on an instantaneous basis, even simple methods like teleportation or magical wards could stop Batman from going somewhere undesired.

So, with no benefit nor reason to rush and no danger for others or risks to the community on the line, he strolled through a very picturesque series of settings and observed.

Samples, recordings, data searching, sending reports to and from Oracle (Who was willing enough to help even as she wandered from hospital to hospital and met up with happy tears from formerly hurt people), each step through this odd land was… Interesting, if nothing else.

The digital chatter from Robin discovering the first statue and wailing in shock had been a mild distraction, but other than that he had taken time to try and understand the mind behind these odd structures and statues.

Everything was modified. Enhanced. Durable.

Pebbles and rocks secured to ensure decorative purposes without providing easy ammunition. The soil was rich and yet mostly insect free, the flowers took significant effort to pick and regrew at a visible rate. The trees were nearly impossible to collect samples from and regenerated instantly.

And he had never seen such materials used for these supposedly normal bricks and asphalt and concrete and so on and so forth, not outside some very advanced labs under specific circumstances.

Good luck for any gang trying to use normal paint on these buildings, almost all surfaces were both hydrophobic and oleophobic… Rejecting water and oil. If you forced the paint to somehow stay long enough to dry, a cloth and water would be enough to clean it off.

Breaking a window? Good luck. Might even hurt yourself if you don't watch out for your own projectile bouncing off.

As for litter… Well, he wasn't sure exactly what these 'trash bins' were, but they were clearly far more advanced than a big bucket to hold junk for later pickup. There was even a button to recover the most recent items thrown away, if something important got lost… How odd.

He slowly moved to the next statue, one where he and 'Robin' were attempting to thumb wrestle a pair of anthropomorphic onions. With a moral about proper cleanliness when handling food.

It didn't FEEL like it was trying to mock him. Or his ideals. Not directly, anyway.

If anything this was more like a snapshot of an earlier time, although a more silly one. Back when public service announcements had been funded by the government to try and enact social change, rather than to cover up the most recent scandal.

He ignored the crowd that gave way as he moved through the various paths and walkways towards the location marked as Ivy Town Headquarters: Leafy's Place.

At least this particular mystery had helpful directions available, if nothing else.

Part way through his journey however, he had to pause.

For there was a second Batman.

Signing autographs.

Posing for pictures.

Looking remarkably similar to that horrific cartoon.

Bruce mentally double checked the facts… And winced.

After all, this area was unofficially called 'Batman Village'.

And Adam West was a known bombastic man of bigger than life proportions.

So… Of course he would approve of 'Batman and Robin' actors in what was basically a Batman theme park.

Speaking of which, that was clearly a young adult pretending to be a ten year old in a Robin costume. "Holy paparazzi, Batman! I fear that the press are attempting to corner us once again!"

Oh dear.

The man in a distressingly unfamiliar Batsuit gave a calm and emboldened aura of peace and justice! "No need to fear, young Robin! For the public needs assurances that goodness walks these streets, and we are just the heroes needed to walk in style!"

Bruce couldn't help but look down at the man's feet.

Yes. Yes, the costumed actor was wearing Batman themed Go-Go Boots.

Thankfully, neither individual had noticed him yet.

Quickly turning a different direction even as behind him he could hear the public performer declare with confidence: "Are you ready Robin? Start WALKING!"

This… this was not his focus, issue, concern, problem, or responsibility.

Although it WAS very good motivation to reach Ivy Town's leadership with far fewer delays. To lower the risk of unexpected photography and autograph sessions, if nothing else.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Both women stared in shock and awe at the video feed.

Pamela broke the silence first. "When did Adam hire an acting troupe?"

Sarah watched as a quick request pulled up a LOT of new camera feeds. "Holy shit, there are over thirty Batmen and four dozen Robins. Hang on, let me check the logs."

Pamela absently comforted Leafy's confusion as the house quickly settled and went back to happily drinking sunshine. "I mean, we looked over all his advertisement campaigns, right? How did we miss him hiring out professional caricatures for this entire area?"

Sarah blinked at something… And winced. "Ah. He DIDN'T advertise for this position."

Hmm? That didn't make sense. "What do you mean?"

The impossible woman pulled up data logs. "See here, here and here? This area was originally an incredibly poor section of Gotham, and the people were very worn down. Belief in Santa, Jesus, Justice, Police, Religion… All that was pretty much gone."

More old public speeches and worn out people came up from the records. "The only one left for anyone to pray to in bad times here was Batman. Many family members would buy cheap costumes so their kids could spot the 'Dark Knight' 'patrolling' or going to 'fight justice', the same way some families would dress up as Santa for christmas."

Sarah sighed. "And when Adam replaced all those badly designed and home dyed 'Batman Costumes', the new outfits matched the cartoon show, were bulletproof and made of incredibly valuable materials, perfectly fit the owners, seem to easily stay clean and comfortable…"

Pamela blinked. "Alright, alright… I can see why they HAVE the outfits, but why are they doing… Doing all THAT!"

Several people on screen were flexing or patting heads or doing some sort of… Cha Cha dance?

Sarah winced. "Well, Adam has these automated systems, right? And it detected all these people who were jobless and had access to incredibly high quality outfits that matched Adam West's ongoing 'Advertisement campaign'... So it just assumed they were already hired."

A letter was pulled up. "It noticed they hadn't been properly paid for the length of time they had owned their previous outfits, sent them new debit accounts with all the back pay deposited along with a bonus for the 'paperwork mixup', and 'clarified' that the NEW working hours and pay raises would be connected with their new performance routine."

What? "So let me get this straight: Anyone locally who pretended to be Batman for whatever reason…"

A nod. "Yeah, Adam's automated stuff basically didn't hire them… It just FIXED the income discrepancy issues with these people who were clearly ALREADY hired. A totally different topic that my error checking missed entirely."

Huh. Well, alright. "Why so many robins though?"

Sarah pointed. "It assumed that the Batmen couldn't afford costume updates or sidekick outfits because of paycheck problems. Any 'sidekicks', like older kids or wives or best friends whatever, got a free Robin suit made out of the same stuff… Stab proof, fire resistant, shock resistant, bullet proof, you name it."

Pamela blinked as she more closely examined the video feed. "Well… How about that?"

It did explain why some of these Bat's of the Night had two or three Robins, of varying age and genders. This one Batman had what seemed to be a family of four Robins doing various poses and superhero actions. "I'm surprised at how good they are at this."

Sarah whined. "Adam's system included training videos. And free televisions and video players to watch them. Plus the area already had free electricity and cable and internet and stuff, so they all have access to the 'Batman Performance Guild' and their message boards and public webpages and stuff."

The… What was that just now? "I'm sorry?"

She shook her head. "Yeah, at some point Adam's system gained the ability to make OTHER automated systems, and it wasn't categorized correctly for it to show up on my work tasks to double check."

Sarah sighed. "At least, if nothing else, it showed me a whole bunch of stuff that Adam and I had missed earlier when cleaning stuff up. Probably explains a few of the more confusing taskings and stuff that I didn't understand earlier."

Pamela looked back at the WALL of costumed actors… And pointed. "Vicky Vale just found her first street performers in superhero gear."

{Adam: Sorry, I was fixing something. But I'm back now! Apparently some systems were buying properties all over the country for some reason. I only noticed when it started going on a global scale, which is my bad. Mostly handled now though! Did I miss anything while I was… Oh dear.}

The voice came over in a 'Batman is going to shank us' tone. "Have no fear, brave reporting citizens! For my boy Robin and I have a hankering for Justice, and we are walking these streets H͖un̟̳g̣͇̟r͇ͅy̬͚̤!"

Some sort of noise echoed somewhere.

Sarah stared at the video interview. It was clearly going to do well on the internet. "Adam?"

{Adam: That… That was the 'Bat Signal' alert. He uh… He's at the entrance waiting room downstairs, politely waiting.}

Pamela also stared at the images. "Can we throw Adam under the bus for this? Please?"

Sarah nodded. "Probably for the best."

{Adam: Hey!}

The audio from the video feed cut in with suspiciously good timing. "Holy Journalistic Freedom, Batman!"

Both women silently judged Adam while Sarah waved at the video stream.

{Adam: …Yeah, I guess it's a fair cop. My bad.}

Pamela sighed. "I better get down there. Since my name is also on lots of stuff and I am the leader of our research group and all that."

{Adam: I'm like, SUPER sorry Dr. Isley.}

Sigh. "Still better than my world was before you all showed up in our lives." Right! "Now: Here's hoping the man who dresses up in a bat themed outfit and punches people every night is a calm and reasonable person who is willing to attempt diplomacy despite Sarah's out of context Boss mocking him and his life ambitions on the international stage!"

Honestly, she wasn't feeling optimistic.