The Bargain

Author's Note: Some time has passed since I wrote last time, so I bring you another fic: Poison Ivy and Scarecrow come to deal in which they ensure that they have a successor that can follow in their footsteps. This plot is my own, and I hope that this is an original idea. None of the characters belong to be, but to Warner Bros and DC Comics. Only the child is my creation. Enjoy!

'I don't want to wear a suit!' snapped Icabod in front of the mirror.

The son and the father were in the son's room, helping with the dress ups. Icabod sat on the bed, dressed in more of a formal white shirt and black trousers, including a black tie. However, he definitely wasn't going to put on the jacket.

'I'm not going to a funeral,' he complained, 'I think this is enough.'

'This most definitely is not enough,' Jonathan Crane replied firmly, 'now put it on.'

Grumbling, the son put it on. If there was one thing he disliked, it was jackets. They make a person feel as if in a cage of politeness, and it limited free movement. When Icabod told it to his father, the father would reply,' Why do you need free movement? You never jump on trees or cause hooliganism.'

Icabod just was very controlled for a child his age.

'How much time do we have left?' Icabod asked.

Jonathan glanced at his watch, 'Five more minutes until we leave. It will take us ten minutes to reach Harley.'

'We will be leaving now,' said a voice behind them,' I'm finished.'

Jonathan smiled and turned around,' Pamela, always on time-'

He was cut off when he saw her. Standing on Pamela's place was not the modest, calm Pamela Isely-Crane, but more of a reflection of the charms of the former Poison Ivy. She was wearing a velvet green dress that outlined her attractive figure that seemed preserved over the years. It could hardly be thought of that this woman had a child. Her hair was down, as usual, but there was a strange mysterious touch to it that wasn't shown for many years. She didn't wear much make-up, she didn't have to- she the beauty nature gave her.

She was elegant, yet powerful.

'How do I look?' she asked, the wisp of a smile highlighting her beauty.

Jonathan Crane searched for the right words, and her could only come up with, 'Beautiful.'

She took it as a compliment she greatly valued, for Jonathan Crane rarely complimented people.

'We she should hurry,' she said, before she swirled away and went down the stairs.

Throughout these years, Pamela and Jonathan were never really close. True, they lived together, raised a child, respected and were loyal to each other, but never in a sense of feeling any powerful emotions. They were basically two worlds that worked together to a certain aim.

It is difficult to imagine how such a marriage worked out, where a couple slept divided in separate rooms, had different ideas and never had any loveable words to share with each other, but these two are a living proof.

After all, even in the past people were used to arranged marriages and probably never felt much towards their partner. But they had something that Jonathan Crane and Pamela Isley lacked in their marriage: physical contact.

Jonathan Crane never saw his wife undressed and in her underwear, as a consequence of living in separate rooms. Another reason for that was that they never went on summer holidays, but were completely dedicated to their work.

However, over these past years, Jonathan had felt a certain pressure building up within him though his associations with Pamela. This pressure was like a wire that coiled itself more though each passing year. He did not know what it was, but was sure that it was powerful emotion like hatred or anger. He never was sure about that and ignored it.

But now when he saw her this very night, he was reminded again of this coiled little pressure. Jonathan was sure that soon enough, this coil would spring, and he would find out what it truly is.

He didn't have to wait long.

'Red! Johnny Boy! It's so great to see you!' squealed a familiar voice as the door to Harley's house opened.

There, standing on the entrance of her house after thirteen years, was Harleen Quinzel, the former Harley Quinn. She had changed slightly: a few lines that weren't there before now were gently etched in her face, her eyes looked a bit older but almost everything else from the blonde hair to the toes wasn't any different. She was wearing her trademark silly grin and a black dress for the party.

'Harley!' said Pamela, hugging her long missed friend.

Harely returned the hug and then turned and shook hands enthusiastically with Jonathan. Then she turned to the third visitor.

'Oh my God!' she cried,' Da baby's grown up! He's even taller than his mom! Come here you!'

Before Icabod could say anything, Harley gave him a bone-crunching embrace.

'I forgot to ask,' said Harley, pulling away,' watcha call him?'

'Icabod Silvanus Isley-Crane.' Pamela promptly answered.

'Fancy that! It figures actually, but at least ya didn't give him some ol' snobbish name Johnny here would give him!'

'It I who actually gave him the first name,' said Jonathan impatiently.

'Ya know what Johnny? It shows. Come on in!' Harley skipped to the point and opened the door wider to come in.

They seemed to come a bit late to the party. Most of the guests were there, and had started some conversations. However, most of them notice the couple come in with their child.

'Is that who I think it is?' murmured a person.

'Poison Ivy and the Scarecrow?'

'Who'd thought of that?'

'Jonathan! Pamela! There you are!' called a very familiar voice with a soft English accent.

The one of hosts of the party, Jervis Tetch, the former Mad Hatter, had come forward to meet them. He looked older than before, gray hairs now bursting at the edges and mixing with the blonde hair. His gray-blue eyes now shone with happiness when he saw his old friend. Dressed in a blue suit and white gloves, he shook hands with them.

'Pamela, you still look frabjolous! Jonathan, you didn't change much either,' Jervis started talking, engaging them in a conversation.

Icabod turned away, and then went to search for those who were his age. He didn't have to look far- at the other side of the room, there were four children, talking amongst each other. One of them, the oldest, spotted Icabod and then turned to him.

'Well, well, isn't that the Strawman's and Plant-Trap's kid?' he asked, grinning in a strange way of his. The boy was tall, dark-haired, with a sharp-pointed face and dark eyes. Than grin he wore on his face was familiar, and Icabod knew only too well who it was, for he saw the picture of the boy's father many times in the newspaper.

'Icabod Isley-Crane,' Icabod introduced himself,' and you must be Jack, son of the Joker?'

'After you put it so fancily, I'm he, in flesh and blood,' Jack Junior boasted as if he was something to be admired of.

'Don't pay attention to his oversized ego or it'll choke you to death, as my dad says,' a girl joined in. She was above average height, dressed in plain white trousers and shirt, but wearing a certain jacket with a little green question mark sewn in as a badge. Her gray-green eyes were familiar along with the dark red hair slicked back in a high ponytail. She gave a sphinx-like smile as she said,' Pandora Nygma. Nice to meet you.'

'If anybody had a big deal with "egos", it surely is your dad,' smirked Jack, as Pandora ignored him,' The only thing that can get into his head is how he created the biggest puzzle that even he cannot solve.'

'Come on, stop it Jack,' came a quiet voice of another girl. This one was a small, blonde, with a dainty blue dress on her and with large blue eyes.

'Ah, and this is my little bug of a sister, Alice,' Jack introduced her in a mock gallant fashion,' You can just wonder how she came into this world without being dropped by her mum.'

'My mother left me when I was a month old,' came a boy's cold and calm voice. That was none other than the son of the Penguin, for a person could easily recognise the long black hair which he kept tied back in a low fashion and was probably the only child here dressed in a tuxedo. He inherited luckily his mother's height, sea-colored eyes and slimmer form, but he still maintained his father's bird-like nose.

'Aurelius Cobblepot,' he was the only one who held out his hand politely,' pleasure to meet you.'

One of the things that Icabod's father had taught him that had to do with psychology was to observe people. Jack Napier Junior was obviously proud of the fact that his parents were none other than the greatest criminals of Gotham, Harlequin and Joker. His little sister Alice, was influenced by her father's quiet nature and didn't yet seem to have a backbone (which she inherited from her mother). Pandora Nygma wanted to carry on with the family tradition by trying to behave in the enigmatic ways of her father the Riddler.

Up to now, the only person Icabod considered to be an influential figure was Aurelius Cobblepot. The boy had the exact way he held his body upright with dignity and seemed to be born with class. He didn't say much but his presence was known. Icabod wished he had such an influence, instead of being just another shadow in school (an unfortunate trait he got from his father).

The Joker's offspring snapped him back to the world,' So did your mother drop you, hated you or by some chance left you to drown?' with the oh-so "charming" smile of his.

'Well, I'm still standing here, so I don't expect she tried to do anything like that,' Icabod answered back, his voice matching the fake sweetness Jack offered, 'Did someone try that with you?' He cursed himself mentally for stooping to his level.

'Oh! Touché.' Jack's grin widened even more.

Icabod just couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something with a cruel edge to the boy's voice.

The rest of the night went well. Icabod got on well with his peers, while the adults had a nice talk that filled in what was happening throughout the last years. It seemed rather difficult for them to accept the Pamela Isley chose Jonathan Crane of all people to be with, not forgetting the conceiving of a child with him.

Nygma even tried to take it a bit more,' Pamela, my dear, why didn't you chose me?'

She would only reply,' Because you weren't ready to have a child and I was.'

Slowly, the families left one after the other as time passed. Jonathan Crane and Pamela went off too with their child home.

Back at home, Icabod went immediately off to bed, while Jonathan and Pamela stayed downstairs a bit longer.

'Can you imagine Harley getting off with Jervis like that?' asked Pamela.

'Rather strange. Even if they are married each other they still do not share strong emotions with each other,' Jonathan observed.

'Like you and me.' Said Pamela. This had caused him to think about it even more.

'Pamela…… so we practically had no feelings with each other for thirteen years?' Jonathan said slowly.

She gave a small jerk, but immediately calmed down, 'True, but we still get along with each other, don't we?'

Jonathan was silent. Pamela got up, bade him goodnight and left up the stairs. As he saw her slim figure retreating to her bedroom, he had a thought that flashed through his mind and then almost immediately disappeared. It was too quick for him to grasp it, but he felt as if it was the first sign of some loss of control.

He definitely didn't like it.

Author's Note: And another chapter finished! Please bear with me with the upcoming ones, feeding me with very nice reviews. Ahem…… so go and post something…… quickly, before I do something drastic (if there is something I can do, that is)!