Harley awoke the next day at around noon to discover that Ivy was no longer sitting by the couch. She sat up in a panic, and began calling throughout the apartment.
"Red?! Where are ya, Red?!"
Harley searched the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, but no Ivy. The few windows were all locked and closed, as was the door, so where could she have gone? Then Harley remembered the basement, which actually led to a small greenhouse that she and Ivy had used years ago when hiding out here. Harley sprinted to the stairs and rushed down them, her mind swirling with dark, unpleasant thoughts.
I hope she's OK, thought Harley as she flew down the stairs, please be OK, Red. Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod, what if she went into the greenhouse to hang herself or something? What if just gave up and decided to end it all?! She swallowed hard, afraid that what she was going to find would literally break her heart.
Please don't give up, Red, I'm coming!
Fear still gripped Harley's heart as she raced through the small, dark, musty cellar, through the greenhouse entranceway, and out into a long-neglected, glass-enclosed world that she knew would be more dead and brown than green and living.
Or so she thought.
The entire greenhouse was - green. There were plants everywhere. Small trees rose up to the circular greenhouse roof, conifers and deciduous varieties alike, hailing from both America and foreign shores. A sea of flowers bloomed throughout the conservatory, roses and willows and tulips and sunflowers, reds and whites and purples and yellows, with golden sunbeams spilling in everywhere through the overhead glass panes and down upon the nascent arboretum. The various fragrances all blended together into a truly intoxicating scent, a veritable feast for the olfactory senses as well as their visual counterparts. Water dripped and settled all around, misting leaves and fronds before finally collecting in puddles strewn about the rich soil floor.
It was so overwhelmingly beautiful that Harley momentarily forgot whey she had run out there in the first place.
"Red!" she called out at the top of her lungs, dreading that she would receive no response. "Red, are ya in here?!"
The silence was oppressive, even crushing.
"I'm here, Harley."
The voice was sensuous and seductive, one that Harley Quinn hadn't heard in a long while.
Poison Ivy's voice. The real Poison Ivy.
No matter how similar the duplicate had been, Harley thought now, she/it had never quite gotten Ivy's melodious tones exactly right. The clone had almost always been cold in its mannerisms, even labeling humans as "meat bags", but this voice was warm and enticing.
Harley scanned in the direction of the voice, and began to move towards it when suddenly there was a rustling in the trees just ahead of her. She peered into the green, wondering just what was going on, when suddenly several branches shifted to the sides and smoothly lowered a shapely figure to the earth below.
A young woman about her height now stood in front of Harley, lightly dressed in a dark green tunic complete with matching sharp-tipped elbow-length gloves and ankle-high boots. Her straight, shoulder-length hair was redder than flame, and her mostly-exposed skin was a soft, translucent shade of whitish green.
Harley was taken aback, but pleased at the same time.
"Wow," she murmured, wondering if she should rub her eyes and do a double-take. "Is that you, Red?"
Ivy smiled wickedly and placed her hands on her trim hips.
"It's me, Harls," she said matter-of-factly with a small smile. "Looking better, you think?"
Harley nodded.
"It's the look I got used to," admitted Harley, who for a second wondered if she was staring at another clone, minus the wavy red hair the duplicate had sported at Harley's aborted wedding.
"But yeah, I like it, Red. How'd you switch back?"
"I took one of my cocktails," Ivy replied, Harley knowing full-well that Ivy was a whiz with chemistry, maybe even better than the Batman himself. "I brought it with me, sort of like an adrenaline shot for someone who suffers from life-threatening allergies, just in case something happened. The change happened even sooner than I expected, maybe because of what I did to myself in my earlier experiments. I guess it just jumpstarted whatever was lying dormant inside me. Luckily I had a spare costume stored here, too, and as you can see, many different kinds of plant seeds."
He voice was steady now, much more assured, and her smile was sly.
"I felt it was time to get back to business, and my old, original, human look just isn't me anymore. Don't you agree, my darlings?" she called out, looking around and raising her arms to the glass roof. As if manipulated by unseen strings, the plants and trees in her vicinity bent low towards Ivy and stayed that way, as if paying silent homage to their re-born queen.
Harley was glad to see Ivy acting normally, but the psychiatrist inside her wondered about her friend's frame of mind. She had been so pathetic just the day before, and she hoped that Ivy wasn't putting on some front just for her benefit.
"Are you OK, Red? You look great and seem good ..."
"... but am I just trying to cover things up?" Ivy finished.
Apparently some of my psychiatric know-how has rubbed off on her, Harley thought, as Ivy clasped her hands together and looked down at the earth somewhat sadly.
"I'm still not perfect, Harley. I miss Alec terribly, and I guess I will for a while." She looked like to was going to cry, but then she took a deep breath and stiffened, almost defiantly.
"I thought about what you said, though, and you were right, Harls. I can wallow in my own grief like some kind of weakling, or I can turn around and, if nothing else, live for revenge.
"And I'll tell you, the latter sounds a hell of a lot better to me."
Her hands separated and curled into fists, though she still stared at the soil.
"Grief doesn't make you weak, Pammie," said Harley. "It makes you human."
Ivy looked up with anger burning in her emerald eyes and creeping across her jade lips. Not anger at Harley, just the rest of the world and everybody else in it.
"Being human IS being weak, Harley!" she growled. "I tried being human, and look what it got me! Now I'm part-plant again, truly in touch with nature, and I know I should have just stayed this way! And now that I'm back, someone is going to pay dearly for upsetting my life!"
Her voice rose in tone, as if she was releasing all the anger within herself at once.
"I'm right where I belong, Harls, being what I should have been all along. And woe to the Bat, or anyone else who gets in my way and tries to cheat me of my revenge! Is Momma right, my dears?"
The fronds and ferns rose and bowed again to their vixen of vines, who seemed as sure of herself as ever, as if she had never left her Gotham gardens for her mundane lab job in Louisiana. She wasn't at full strength yet, not to the height of her powers from a few years back, but that would change with time and a few more injections, especially since she had always retained her natural immunity to toxins of any kind. She was again the living embodiment of the green, and she wondered why she had ever relinquished that power for the love of a human man. A good man, to be sure, she mused, but still, just a man.
And Ivy had almost always hated men, hated all humans for the crimes they perpetrated against the plant world - the deforestation, the stripping, the burning and even the lack of recycling. Now nature's protector was back, and it would only be a matter of time before every living piece of vegetation on earth bowed to her massive ego and to her formidable will.
Ivy's fists again tightened as a particularly sinister sneer crossed her gorgeous countenance, her eyes still ablaze with both hatred and the desire for vengeance. The confidence she felt at again manifesting her plant-based powers after so long was exhilarating. Let them beware, she thought, let all humanity beware of me, just as she looked up ...
... and saw Harley Quinn standing there, looking sheepish and perhaps a little bit fearful.
"That's great, Pammie," Harley said softly, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "I'm glad to see you looking so alive again, but ..."
Ivy looked at her friend, and her fearful, maddened visage quickly dissolved into a compassionate look of concern.
"But what, Harley? Please, don't be afraid, tell me."
Harley took a deep breath, held it in, exhaled and then got her thoughts out.
"I know I was no great host when you got here this week, Pammie, and I hope you can forgive me for that." She looked downtrodden, wondering how anyone could forgive her, but she pressed on.
"I just wanna know, when all's said and done, if there's gonna be a place for me in your big hate-on against humanity."
Ivy's mood became even more melancholy, and she motioned towards herself with one hand.
"Come here, Harley. It's OK, just walk over to me."
Harley hesitated for a second, wondering if Ivy was going to pay her back for her attack two days prior; but she also knew that if Ivy had wanted to trap her, then Harleen would have had plants all over her by now. Ivy had asked for her trust earlier this week, and now Harley felt she had to respond in kind, even as several escape scenarios played out in the back of her mind just in case Ivy wanted to begin her vengeance with her former partner-in-crime.
Harley took one nervous step forward, then another, and then another, until she had crossed over the ten feet between the two women and stood straight in front of her old friend.
Ivy smiled and gently placed her hands on Harley's shoulders, and Harley shuddered slightly in response. Ivy looked a tad dismayed, but she knew how Harley must have felt, how she had felt just two days ago when their positions were reversed, and now she had to assuage her friend's feelings and show her there was nothing to fear from her.
"Easy, baby, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise," stated Ivy, who started to massage her friend's smooth red-and-black covered shoulders. She continued rubbing them until she felt Harley stop shaking, and then Ivy lifted her right hand up to Harley's cheek and rested it there softly, even lovingly.
"There will always be a place for you in my life, Harley - always. You took care of me these last few days when I needed you the most, even after all my lies and secrets of the past couple of years. You're my one true friend, and without you I really would give up."
She paused briefly, a small smile on her lips, and continued.
"I can't thank you enough for being here for me, Harls, and I want you to know I will always be there for you from now on. No more lies, no more clones, no more leaving you behind when things get too tight. If it means battling the Bat and going back to Arkham, so be it, but I won't abandon you ever again."
Harley looked up and smiled a bit, her left hand now settling gently on Ivy's inner right elbow.
"I'm glad, Red, I'm really glad to hear that, and I'm even happier to see you doing so good now - the real you, that is. And I'll always be there for you, too, Red, every step of the way." It looks as if everything's going to be good again, Harley thought. Thank god.
As if a switch had been thrown, Harley's grin then morphed into that familiar manic smile she got when she was excited, and her eyes looked slightly delirious as she concocted another impromptu off-the-wall plan just like she always had in the old days.
"So are we driving to Loo-easy-anna tonight, Ives? The airport and the train station are too dangerous to risk up here, and those clues down there ain't gonna last forever, not with all them coppers poking around," her Brooklyn accent coming out in her excitement
Ivy's face went blank, followed by a small frown. She was taken aback, not quite having expected this response, and then shook her head.
"You can't go with me, Harley," she admonished. "I can't put you at risk for something I have to do myself. I'd die if something happened to you, too."
"No dice, Red," replied Harley.
"Like you said, I'm a big girl and I hafta make my own choices," she said, "and now I choose to go with you. If nothing else, you're gonna need backup, especially since we don't know how many mooks you've got to take out."
Ivy flushed inwardly but frowned outwardly, not wanting to play this game of can-I-go.
"It's not going to be a fun trip," warned Ivy, wagging a finger. "I'm going to hurt people, Harley – I am going to hurt them badly, and most likely fatally."
Harley shrugged, as if she had expected Ivy to say that and didn't have a problem with it.
"We'll hurt them together, Pammie. No one hurts my pal Red without paying the price. You mess with Ivy, then you've gotta deal with Harley."
Ivy was touched, deeply touched by Harley's loyalty, but ...
"No, Harley, you can't. Please don't push me on this. I don't want you at risk."
But Harley persisted, stubborn as ever.
"Hey, life is all about risks, Red. There's no way I'm gonna stay behind and let my pal Pammie walk into what could be a trap, so just give me one good reason why I can't go.
"Just one," Harley stated as she held up an index finger.
She's loyal and she's got guts, Ivy thought. How did I ever leave her behind long ago - and how can I protect her now?
"Well," Ivy began, searching for a workable excuse. "Your costume will get too hot - that's it! Yes, you were overheated and miserable in it when we went down to the South American rainforest, and believe me, baby, the Bayou is just going to be another big hothouse."
Harley gently pulled away from Ivy and crossed her arms in front of her as the blonde smiled mockingly, as if to say 'Is that the best you can come up with?'
"You're reaching, Ives, but I'll be fine. Besides, this here is my summer suit!" Harley quipped, the former gymnast now rotating slowly on one foot, like a figure skater or a clockwork ballerina figurine that had just been wound up and released.
"Lightweight bulletproof Kevlar, mixed with a breathable titanium mesh weave, courtesy of my pal, The Tailor, costumer to the underworld. He ain't cheap, but he does great work. Hey, you want a new outfit, Ivy? I'll ask him, if you want."
Ivy shook her head and held her hand out as if to say "stop".
"No, no, I'm fine, Harley, thank you. I hardly wear anything compared to you. Besides, I don't want to announce to the world just yet that the real Poison Ivy is back in business."
"Not just Ivy," grinned Harley mischievously. "It's Harley and Ivy again, bay-bee - and that's the way it's always gonna be!"
Ivy smiled back - and then they embraced like two long-lost sisters who had had a terrible fight, realized how much they needed and loved one another, and had made up. Time would tell if it would be for good, but for now it was just like old times.
"Hey Red, do you still have that neat-o pink car, Rosebud?" Harley asked as she pushed back a bit from Ivy, recalling the vehicle they had used when they first met years ago and became Gotham's crime queens overnight. Ivy looked miffed.
"Actually, I brought her with me down south, Harls," she grimaced. "I'm pretty sure she just got blown to hell." One more strike against whoever Ivy was after.
Harley shrugged, still holding Ivy, who was still holding Harley.
"Nuts! I loved that little buggy. Oh well, we'll just use tool around in something else. C'mon, Red!" squeaked Harley as she took Ivy's hand and started walking towards the well-concealed garage located off to the side of the greenhouse.
"I got one of Mistah J's purple convertibles stashed here, Ives, all gassed up and ready to go. We can hit the road when night falls!"
Ivy was smiling contentedly now, just happy at Harley & Ivy being reunited again.
"Shotgun," she called, more than content to let Harley drive this time.
Harley didn't even look back, just started blabbing as she dragged Ivy along by one hand.
"Don't worry about that, Red! I'm bringing shotguns and grenade gum and exploding cigars and a whole mess of fun stuff with us!"
Harley then stopped and turned towards Ivy, one finger tapping against her own lips.
"Oh, wait, you meant the passenger seat ..."
Yes, thought Ivy humorously as she looked to the skies, we are definitely back to normal now, as she and Harley again started walking towards their conveyance and their future.
EPILOGUE
Something stirred in the Louisiana swamp that evening, something bubbled and brewed deep down in its dark, murky waters. It ascended slowly from the depths, eventually breaking the smooth, glassy surface in the shallows and rising nightmarishly into the pale yellow moonlight, a horrible caricature of humanity. A mossy, red-eyed figure in bipedal form, a shambling, muck-encrusted mockery of a man ...
But that is another story.
END
Poison Ivy created by Robert Kanigher & Sheldon Moldoff. Harley Quinn created by Paul Dini & Bruce Timm.