Ch.54: Tainted
1 Year Ago, Wayne Tower
"One night, Bruce. Just one night. That's all I asked for. Just for you to try and be in the light as yourself...that's all," looking at Bruce with a look that eerily resembles the gaze of a disappointed loved one, Alfred says his peace, finally unable to stay silent. "The people of Gotham need someone to look up to. To have hope in. Bruce, you can be that someone." Continuing on with his desperate plea towards the man who he saw as a son to him, the older man knows deep down that all his words, all of his pleading to appeal to the sense of Bruce could be worthless.
Still woozy from his early confrontation of the night, Bruce used everything he knew to keep himself standing. Regulating his breath, avoiding to place any unnecessary strain on his body and shifting his posture to hide his injuries, "Alfred, I'm sorry if you can't understand the importance of what Batman does for the city, but I do. Batman can make more of a difference to the city than Bruce Wayne ever could," folding his arms, Bruce tries to end the conversation before it could even begin, knowing how such a topic typically sours their usual strong bond.
They always found themselves divided on the topic, each time it came up always brought the worst of them out, a surrogate father's love against a son's ambition. Both men believe themselves to be right, both men know that they are right, "Only because you dilly-dally all your time as Batman. If you just spent one whole day as yourself, you could accomplish the most amazing things for this city and for its people. Both Batman and Bruce Wayne are just as detrimental as each other. Just look at the past few days. You almost bled to death and don't even have the respect to thank miss Kyle without stirring up another fight between you two. The court has returned to Gotham and your clone is on their side, and has all your training...there has to be something that Bruce Wayne can do about this situation that Batman cannot" Alfred tries to reason.
"Alfred, why aren't you listening to me? Bruce Wayne couldn't save Gotham, that's why I left all those years ago...so I could become something...someone that could make a difference. I returned as soon as I felt like who I was could finally make a change." His love for the man who looked after him was something that couldn't be broken or lost, regardless of how much they argued and fought. To him, they were family. Bruce cared for him as if they shared the same blood.
Bruce was never a fan of days like this, but he knew that they would never tear them apart, knowing their bond was too strong for such a thing to happen. They may disagree but they still loved each other, family for the rest of their days.
"And look where that has gotten you, Master Bruce. Miss Kyle is heartbroken and you can't even find enough strength to actually talk to her about something else that doesn't include your late-night activities. Gordon feels like you are avoiding him on purpose and the general public has almost lost faith in you. Though late in doing so. You did at least show up at the end which is more than I can usually give you normally...," knowing that this would just happen another day and then another day, and then another day always brought the man into a downer, never wanting to feel such disappointment with the boy he cared for, but he knew the risks of what would happen if he left Bruce and his antics unchallenged.
"What are you trying to say, Alfred?" Bruce asks Alfred who rests his hands over his shoulder, looking at him like he was still just a kid, the same boy who was raised and loved by him.
"In trying to create a creature that could take on the underworld of Gotham, I fear you may have unleashed a monster far greater than even you realize. If you don't start to fight it soon, I fear that it may consume you and Bruce Wayne may cease to exist and only...Batman will remain," revealing his fears to his master, Alfred knew that this was it. Once again, they would drop the argument before it could damage them. Before one of them is to say something too far, but to both of their dismay, they knew it was come up again. Because it always does.
And a fear they both share comes closer with each time, the dread that one day, they may not be able to stop and their differences would forever tear them apart.
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- Present -
Wayne Tower
"Get out of there, now! Quickly the two of you!"
Catwoman and Harley split apart, dividing the route of Batman as he now has to choose between them. Being the unlucky one, Harley found herself as the Bat's sole target as he lunges towards her, "Oh...really? Never would've thought of that one! Like I was plannin' to just stay here and let them k-AGGHHH!" Harley gasps as she feels the sharp edges of the Batarangs slice across her shoulder and down over her arm, "AGH-CRAP!." Batman then pins her against the wall, grabbing at the throat of the woman, "M-My fa-favourite j-jacket! C'mon, B! I d-don't go a-around sh-shredding your stuff!"
"For crying out loud, can't you take anything seriously?," leaping onto Batman's back, Catwoman curves her arms around his neck which made her the new centre of attention from the mind-controlled vigilante. Now with some breathing room, Harleen holds her throat and moves out of the Bat's view.
Batman grabs at Catwoman's arms and throws her off of him, hurling her across the room. He then returns his gaze on the blonde, drawing her to lift her sledgehammer, "Lesson 1: Life is only as serious as ya make it, Kitty." Flinging it at the Caped Crusader,, Harleen smirks when she sees her target catch her hammer out of the air, "Lesson 2? Ya wanna get to know me? Yer gonna need to get used to my electrifyin' personality," tapping the face of her watch, she looks to Batman as a storm of electricity exudes from the hammer and shocks him, downing him to his knees.
"Ha!" recalling her Sledgehammer, Harley grins as she shifts her hand into a finger-gun pose and points to Batman, "Good thing I didn't tell him 'bout that one, aye? He can't counter what he doesn't know...isn't that right, Red?," shifting her gaze towards Poison Ivy who stands at the door to the room, "Ya made sure to keep him conscious for it all. That's why Bats didn't check for Kitty's body before because he thought she was dead. And that's why he happily caught my hammer...because he didn't know of its other functions, a true untamed Batman would never risk grabbing it...but his human side is so distraught that it's messing up his judgement, HA! GOT YA DOWN!"
"W-what?" gasped Catwoman as she shifts to pure rage, looking to Ivy, "...Y-You sick... That's cruel...even for you."
Shrugging at the words of Selina as if they mean nothing to her, Poison Ivy returns a half-smile to the rage her, applauding the two women with a gesture that reeked of condescension, "Oh? Wow you've figured me out, but...what good does that do you? The Batman is still my slave and you're still going to be dead soon...so tell me, what does knowing that do?," batting her eyes, Ivy lands her hands on her hips, "Knowing that he's fully awake for it all if anything that makes you even more disadvantage. You're hurting him...and he can feel all of it..."
"Enough, Ivy! I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS A LONG TIME AGO!," lunging at Poison Ivy, Catwoman bares her claws and glares, "Time to plough your ass!" Lifting her eyebrows with intrigue, the Villainess holds her palm out as the vines extend to wrap around Catwoman, binding her tightly. Ivy then catapults her across the room and slams her into the wall at the far end. Rolling onto the floor, Catwoman grabs her sides and heaves as she feels the pain from the impact.
"This flower is tougher than the others, Selina," smirked Ivy as the vines retreat back to her palm, closing her fist around them, Ivy then comes to view Harleen who sprints towards, dragging her sledgehammer along the way, "All this hassle over one man? Don't you have anything better to do?" Ivy opens her hand and lets the vines reach out and constrict Harley's arms and shove her back which rams her into Catwoman, knocking the women down in one swoop.
"Dammit, Harley! Just stay out of my way, why is that so hard for you!," Catwoman snarls as she stands to the chagrin of Ivy who quickly moves to call out her vines that torpedo towards her. Catwoman sees them coming and readies her claws. Running towards the redhead, Catwoman cuts through the vines along the way and eventually gets close enough to tackle the villain against the floor, "Enough!," pinning Ivy down, Selina comes in close and glares at Ivy, "It's over! Let Batman go or I'll hurt you."
"Oh, poor Selina...you think that you scare me? Sad," taunted Ivy with a wide smirk, "Batman's mine. His soul and body belong to me."
"Wrong answer," lifting her arm, raking her claws above the head of Ivy, Catwoman hisses, "I'm done with you." Moving her hand down, she goes to swipe her claws against the woman's face but is suddenly shoved off of Ivy by the doing of Harleen who glares at her, "W-What the hell is the matter with you, psycho?!" screams Selina as she pounces back up, "Have you lost it?"
"Have I lost it?" Harleen snarls as she points to Selina, "What would B-Man think about you maimin' her? Last I checked, he ain't too big on goin' that far!"
"Oh? Now you suddenly care about him? You just fried him like half a minute ago! You do not get to judge me!."
"What are you still doing there? I said to leave!"
"Tell that to Kitty! She's the one who's makin' it personal! She's losin' it, Tally," replying to the Watchtower, Harley glances back to Poison Ivy who was already back on her feet, "B-Man's out, should be for long enough to take down Red."
"Huh?," Ivy examines Harley, shifting her expression, "It can't be...? Harleen? Oh look at you, I couldn't recognize in that getup. Long time, no see."
"Oh...you've got to be joking! You know her? How?" asked Catwoman with little patience.
"Uh-yeah, I worked in Arkham, remember?" Harleen explains as she scratches the back of her scalp, "They obviously weren't gonna let male doctors see her, so I was assigned to oversee all of her appointments. Of course, we talked, we didn't just sit in silence the whole time, Kitty."
"Lovely memories, weren't they?" Ivy looks to her palm, "Never imagined that you would be working with Selina... well, anyway...I'm going to kill you now," she smirks as the two women are cast in a shadow. Before they knew what was happening, Batman had grabbed them and hoisted them up, "Because my pet is awake, and I'm so tired to you two getting in our way." Coming towards them, Ivy holds both her hands out with a group of vines in each, "Let's make this painful."
"...Or not...that's an option, Red" Harley moves her head to look back and the blank-expression of Batman, "C'mon, B. Now would be a really good time to do that thing that you do, y'know...overcoming the odds? I know that you can do it! C'mon, B-Man!"
Struggling in the hold of the vigilante, Catwoman attempts to pry the man's hands off of her, but to no avail, "That's it? *You believe in him*? What kind of crap is that? I've tried everything. He won't listen."
"M-maybe, but B...if you let her kill us...WHAT WOULD YER PARENTS THINK?," screams Harleen as her voice echoes throughout the room, honing back into Batman's ears. For a quick glimpse, his eyes shudder and his grip on the women weakens, "Bingo!" ramming her elbow back, she slams into the man's chest which knocks him back. Batman then releases his hold and strains, holding his head in agony as he feels Ivy's influence slowly consume him all over again.
Catwoman and Harley roll out of Batman's path, directing back towards Poison Ivy, "We need to go!"
"Uh-huh," Harleen agrees as she and Catwoman make a path towards the doors to doors of the office, but Batman intervenes, moving in their way, "Oh...crud...this soon?" Right before the vigilante latches back onto them, they are enveloped by a flash of purple light. When Batman finally reaches for the two, he finds them missing from their previous spot. Ivy and himself look around their surroundings and find that the two women are gone.
Watchtower
"Agh!" screams Harleen as she shields herself with her arms, waiting for the vigilante's attack to connect, but it never came. Moving out of her state of panic and looking at where she was, Harleen was left bewildered by how she was suddenly in the Watchtower, "Come again?" Catwoman and her direct their eyes over onto Talia who supports a winded Blüd, "Uh...what just happened?"
Easing Jason to the ground, Talia keeps her eyes on the two women, scowling at them, "I told you to get out of there! Why did you not heed my words?"
"We had to try to end it there, Talia. For all we know it could've been our only chance to," reasoned Selina, removing her helmet and ruffling her hair, "But maybe we've got something now. When bringing up his parents, Bruce was able to break free of Ivy's control...maybe this is how we c-."
"We've learned nothing, Kyle" continuing to glare, Talia walks towards Selina, "What little effect that had quickly subsided. Don't expect to be able to use it now that Ivy is aware of it."
"W-wait...I'm still confused though...how'd we get here?" puzzled Harley, lifting her chin, "I'm not complaining, but I'm really kinda feeling out of it..."
Grabbing onto the railings of the steps, Blüd attempts to lift himself, straining as a result of his exhaustion, "I-I used w-what remained of my magical abilities to bring you here," holding his nose, Jason covers the bleeding from the right nostril, "I-I think that took more out of m-me than even I estimated that it would...bloody hell..." reaching for his jacket's front coat, he takes a handkerchief and holds it over his nose, "G-give me some time."
Kneeling at the man's side, Selina bats her eyes, giving an apologetic gaze to him, "Are you going to be okay?"
"F-fine. J-just...I haven't performed such an incantation since... - I guess that my human body's too frail for it. I j-just need some time, that's all" Blüd reassured Selina as he looks over her should towards Talia, "What's our next move, Miss al Ghul?"
"Me? How can I possibly lead when none of you follow my judgement. You have chosen to disobey me every step of the way."
"Well, I had Ivy dead to rights until this nutjob decided to go psycho!," directing her anger towards the blonde, Selina snarls as she fights her urge to strike Harleen, "What the hell is your problem? You've been a complete completely cuckoo all night! First, you were happy to go along with the plan that would've fried Bruce, but you decided that I was going too far with Ivy?! Who the hell do you think you are?" Losing control of her better judgement, Selina storms towards Harleen, "That shit that you pulled may have just doomed us from EVER helping Bruce!"
"Oh for - CUT IT OUT!," stepping in between Selina and Harley, Talia growls as she holds the two women back from each other, "Grow up the pair of you! I've had it up to here with your childish bickering! DO NOT test what little remains of my patience."
Moving back from Talia, Selina holds a grimace look towards Harleen, "What-? It's because of her that I couldn't-"
"Couldn't what, Kitty?" challenged Harley, returning Selina's glare with her own, "Maim Ivy? Maybe even do worse to her...? Let's I checked, that's not how B-Man does things! There's takin' a whacko down, and then there's whatever you were plannin'! B would never resort to what ya were plannin' on doin', Kitty!," leaning forward with her hands on her hips, she looses all of her previous laidback demeanour as she bites her lip, "We can't go resortin' to those tactics...it's not what B-Man would want, we...we need to do this right...make him proud."
Hearing the voice of the blonde tremble, Selina decides to ease up. Standing down from the confrontation and calming herself, waiting until she had cooled off before speaking. Looking at the influx of hurt that was shown in the eyes of Harleen, she folds her arms and breathes in, "I get it. I understand why you did it, Harls. But...I can't forgive you if Bruce is now forever lost to us... I'll never forgive you, but...I'm glad that you were strong enough to make that call, even though I hate you for it...what you did is what Bruce would've done...
"It's not easy for me either!" screamed Harleen, quickly moving to hide her eyes behind the sleeve of her jacket, "Ya think I like this? I hate this...god...I hate this so much! B-Man is one of my greatest friends, he means the world to me, but this...? Before him...before you all, I had nothin', ya think I wanna go back to that?," un-shielding her eyes, Harley looks to Selina and Talia with teary eyes and soaked cheeks, " I hate today, I hate it so MUCH! Havin' to fight B-Man, fightin' with you... I'm just sick! Sick of it all, so yell at me! Scream at me, call me crazy, go ahead...why would I get in the way of the truth..."
"Harls...," Whispered Selina, observing the pain in the blonde's eyes.
"B trusted me! He confided in me, don't ya get how m-much that means to me, that I don't wanna lose it! If I had my way, I would've let ya tear Ivy apart if it meant savin' B-Man, b-but...I don't wanna betray him...or...if worse...his memory...," holding her hand over her shoulder, Harleen hangs her head, "W-we have to be... we have to fight as he would because if...we can't save him, we'll need to carry on his legacy, and...I want to make him proud, because...he means the world to me, I want him to trust that...I was worth knowin'..."
The Daughter of the Demon, Talia sees the mood of the room, the depressed state of the others was hard to ignore, made more powerful with her own dire thoughts, "I know that we have our differences: Our methods, our way of life, our wants and desires, but... there is one thing that we all share, a single factor that connects us all," looking back to Jason Blüd, Talia for the first time this night smiles, "Bruce, Batman, whatever you wish to address him as, he brought us together, whether to his liking or not, we are here because of him, and in return, we all refuse to give up on him."
"Ha! That's what I'm talkin' about, Tally! Let's do this!," cheers Harley with her hyper-attitude returned to be fully displayed, wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, "No one can stop us when we work together!."
Selina keeps to herself until the option was no longer valid. Reluctantly speaking up, she agrees with Talia, "I want to believe that we can do this, but what will make this different from the other times that we tried?"
"I don't know...but if we can work together properly, stop fighting amongst each other, our chances will already be greater than before, but we must trust each other, possibly even with our lives," answered Talia as she addressed Selina now back to her famous scowl, "Do not make this call lightly, only do so if you are willing to throw your life on the line without a second thought, only then can we truly work as a team." Reaching her hand out, she nods to Selina, "I need you to be absolutely honest, you two, too."
"Ya kiddin'? An' miss all the fun? Not a chance!," Harleen moves her hand over the Daughter of the Demon's, "You'll need to fight me to keep me off the team!."
Looking between Harleen and Talia, Selina gives in as she too layers her hand above the women's, "Fine. I guess that I'll join you. Plus, someone's gotta keep Harls from screwing up," giving a soft smile to the two, she nods, "I also have a score to settle with Ivy."
Noticing that there was one person missing, Talia faces towards Jason, "That just leaves you, Mr Blüd, well? What will it be?"
Rolling his eyes along the way, Blüd joins the women, "I'll have you know, Miss al Ghul, I earned the title of Sir centuries ago," holding his hand over the docile side of Selina's gloved hand, Blüd feels out of place as he looks to be almost-alien to the gesture, "I'll help any way that I can. You can put your faith in me."
Across Gotham, Lincoln State Park
Several construction workers drop to the floor, bleeding from eyes as they scream as a redhaired woman treads over them like they were the very-same flowers that they were destroying, Ivy intently digs her heels into each one while Batman walks at her side. Glowering at the ravaged fields she continues the path of bodies towards the half-build houses, "My babies... I'll kill them all. Thousands of my children's life taken away just to house the human filth!"
Raising her lime arm, Ivy calls to beneath the soil and summons a swarm of vines that attack the structures of the buildings and bring it down, "This land was preserved! the filth can't even follow their own rules... They're all leaches! All of them!"
"ALL OF THEM!"
Watchtower
"Without Mr Fox here for assistance to our dilemma, I fear that this all falls upon us. Poison Ivy will finish what she is planning before he can make his return," reasoned Talia as she looks to the Batcomputer that casts a crimson glow over her, "Whatever that might be. Reports of multiple bodies have popped up across the city, all presumed to be Ivy's doing."
"Yeah, the plants kinda give it away," agreed Harleen as she blows up bubble gum, "What I don't get is why Red went after that meanie from Bruce's company? Carlyle...I think? I dunno, I'm not good with rememberin' names outside my circle."
Standing at the display case, Catwoman eyes the gadgets that are exhibited, "Well, according to the news, the one thing that they share in common is that they're businessmen, that's too much of a coincidence for me to overlook." Narrowing her vision between a tranq gun and a row of and darts, she thinks of a plan, smiling when she finalizes it, "Hmmm."
"I was thinking the same, but they're all from different companies, competitors nonetheless, I fail to see why they would all be worthy of Ivy's ire," attempting to use the Batcomputer, the daughter of the demon still finds herself locked from its network, becoming sceptical for the reason, "...Unless...they worked together under the table, that would explain the mentioning of Lincoln State Park, Ivy said that they destroyed it, she could be seeking revenge."
"No. She is definitely going on a revenge-spree; Ivy is always predictable when it comes to her *babies*." Taking the Tranquilliser gun from the case and holding it to her chest, she reaches towards to the darts that were on the side of the case, pinching it between her fingers, "Wait until she gets a load of this."
"Have you ever fired something like that before?" inquired Blüd as he snatches it from Catwoman, "Tranq or not, it's not a bloody toy, Miss Kyle." Holding the weapon vertically to his side, Jason moves to take the darts from Selina's grip, "Planning to use this on Batman?"
"I was intending it for Ivy, but maybe this can knock Bruce out long enough for mind-control to ware off," Selina willingly hands the darts over to Blüd, "It's more conformable a choice than stopping his heart, one I can easily make."
Harleen comes in to take a closer look at the tranquilliser gun, "That sounds awesome and all, but how are ya gonna get the darts through the Batsuit? It's like really, really tough to break."
Talia joins the three of them as she too shows distrust in the idea, "Not to mention that we do not how strong the dosage is, not who it's intended for. For all we know, it could be enough to take down Bane or Mr Jones, which would be enough to kill a person of Bruce's size. Or it could just be indented for an average criminal, too risky for now," explains Talia as she looks to Selina, "We need to know how strong it is before moving forward with this."
"Oh, that's an easy one to do!," Harleen picks out one of the darts from Jason's hand and examines it, shrugging as she nonchalantly jabs herself with it. Talia, Selina and Blüd all look to her with astonishment at her stupidity, "See! It wasn' th-th-th-oh...," slumping over, she drops to the ground.
"W-what the hell!" screamed Selina as she moves to check on the blonde's current state, "Harls, you idiot! There are like a hundred ways to test it without doing that!"
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1 Hour, 23 Minutes Later
"Huh..what's-goin'-one," holding her head in pain as she awakes, Harley tiredly moves to stand. Surrounding her: Selina, Talia and Blüd look down upon her as they quickly move in to assist her to her feet, "L-like I h-h-had the weirdest dream t-tha-that I k-knocked my-myself out..."
"Wasn't a dream, Harls. You actually did something that stupid," Selina scolds Harleen as she breaks away from the group, "Well, it worked and didn't kill you, that's something I suppose."
"Good. Now we have something," Talia confirmed, cantering her attention on the blonde, "Because it knocked Miss Quinzel out so quickly, it should slow down someone of Bruce's stature. It will take longer for him to fall to the dosage, we'll need to be ready for a fight until then."
"Leave the shot to me," Blüd hoists the tranquillizer gun over his shoulder, "I've had centuries to practise my aim."
"Agreed. We'll create an opening for you," Talia looks off to the side, "Get ready."
Later.
Lincoln State Park
Vines and roots constrict around the once-made structure, tearing it apart and destroying it beyond recognition. In the middle of damage structure, Ivy grimaces as she is joined by the green, wrapping around her arms, "My poor babies...murdered by them... We'll hurt them all...kill them all."
"Not happening!" calling out to Ivy, Selina lands on her knees while Talia and Harley back her. Blüd keeps his distance until he sees an opportunity to get a shot.
Ivy snarls as she treads towards Selina, grimacing as she comes closer, "Y-you! Why can't you keep your nose out of my business!" holding her palm out, Ivy unleashes a small army of vines to spiral towards Selina, "I gave you back your ability to walk and I CAN take it away!" The vines making their way towards Selina are sliced apart as Talia cuts through them with her sword. Screaming at the loss of her beloved children, Ivy sets her eyes on her new target, "You... I will kill you all! Pet, kill them!"
From Ivy's side, Batman runs past her and tackles Talia, slamming her against one of the tables. The daughter of the demon rolls out of the way when seeing the vigilante go for a follow-up strike of his fist. Talia kicks Batman away from her, giving herself precious moments to get away before the dark knight was back on her tail. Sooner than even she expected, Batman had caught up with her as he wields dual Batarangs. Swinging with the sharp-edged projectiles, Batman cuts across Talia's chest and arms before kicking her to the ground.
"Beloved..." laying on her back, Talia glares up at the vigilante, "'Iinaa ahbk..." she tells him, seeing him go for another strike with the Batarangs against her. Acting fast, she catches the man's arm and traps it between her legs, flipping him over to put her on top, "Come back to us. Your city needs you...we...I need you," struggling to keep Batman down, she looks to Blüd, "Shoot them! Do it now!"
Acting upon his orders, Jason aims through the scope of the tranq gun and catches Poison Ivy in his crosshairs, firing at her. Hitting his target, Poison Ivy instinctively goes to her neck where the dart had penetrated her. Stumbling back, she grabs onto the edge of one of the tables to remain standing, "...Y- - You... you think simple weak chemicals can take me down? I am every single toxin known to the man, every cure, and every poison! I am the everything of this world!
Ripping the dart out of her neck and crushing it in her hand, Poison aims her sights on Blüd, "And you all...are nothing!" shooting out another vine, she knocks the immortal off balance. On his way down, Jason slams his head against the piles of recage , knocking him unconscious as he drops to the floor, "I am nature and nature always wins!"
"Oh...crap...," whimpered Harley, watching Batman break free of Talia's hold and becoming free once again. The Dark Knight rises back onto his feet, throwing Talia out of his way as he heads towards Harley, halting as Catwoman jumps onto his back and constricts her arms around his neck.
Running for the Tranquiliser gun, Talia is swarmed upon by Poison Ivy and her entourage of vines that hone in on her. One by one the monstrous plant-life attempt to ensnare her, however, the daughter of the demon uses her full abilities to remain out of their reach. Rolling out of their proximity as she grabs the tranq gun, "Hold him, Kyle! Do not let him go!." Making her path back towards Catwoman and Batman, she goes to take a shot at the vigilante but is stopped as one of the vines grabs the gun out of her hand, breaking it under its force.
Before she could react, the vines trap her in their hold, thorns digging into her flesh and drawing blood. Poison Ivy smirks as she instructs her *children* to lift Talia up into the air, tightening further the more she struggled, Like a snake straggling its prey, "Try it, witch!" Leading the vines to slam the daughter of the demon into the ground, Poison Ivy recalls the green to lime palm. The red-haired villainess faces the others, watching Batman throw Catwoman off of him.
Resembling the nature of her feline friends, Selina catches herself and lands on her feet. Rolling out of the way of one of Batman's kicks, "C'mon...you know me! I love you. Please fight her, please...we need you!," backflipping away from another one of the vigilante's strikes, Catwoman kicks her heel up and knocks one of the Batarangs out of his hand. Closing the distance between them, Batman swipes across with the remaining Batarang which Catwoman barely moves out of.
"Dammit! Listen to me!," Catwoman slashes with her claws, an attempt for an attack that the vigilante stops by catching her hand, "Why? Why can't you do it...please...your strong, stronger than Ivy, please...listen to my voice, it's me!" Batman secures his hand around Catwoman's hand. The dark-haired woman feels her hand being crushed by the man's strength, "AGH! D-Don't make me do this!" warning him, she knew he wouldn't stop and that the choice was none of his own, "Fine!"
Clawing with her free hand, she slashes across Batman's chin which threw him off his game, making it easier to break free of his hold. Backing up, she tries to escape but Batman was on her within seconds, securing his arms around her neck and arm, holding her in place. He then quickly moves, slamming his elbow against the back of Selina's neck, causing to lose control of her motor functions and fall to the ground, still awake but unable to move.
"B...please...," begged Selina as watches Batman ready for another attack.
"Hey! Let her go, B-Man!," hurling her hammer at Batman, Harley aims to knock him to the floor. The blonde becomes flabbergasted as the man catches her hammer and throws it back at her. Struck in the chest by her own hammer, Harley is thrust across the room. Before she could even stand, Batman, grabs her by the throat and lobs her towards the pair of glass doors. Crashing through the doors of glass, the blonde feels herself overcome with a stinging sensation, feeling the glass that she lands on cut deep into her, bringing her to whimper in response. Unable to speak as her mind was too busy from the suffering of her body. Twisting and turning, she tries to move away from the floor of glass, but her efforts only worsen her position, digging the shards deeper into her.
Seeing the fate of her comrade, Talia scowls back at Poison Ivy and Batman, "this...? You will pay dearly witch! You dare taint his mind!" watching Batman nearing towards her, she reaches to her sword and unsheathes it, drawing it.
Showing little care for the parties involved, Ivy shifts her gaze from Talia to Selina, widening her smirk "You like my new toy, Cat?"
Selina is still grounded, injured beyond what she originally thought. Gasping at each jolt of her muscles, the dark-haired woman looks to Ivy, trembling her gaze like a wounded animal, "E-en-enough!." Poison Ivy watches her once friend's efforts to pick herself up, taking pleasure in her struggles.
"Oh, Selina... how cute..." grinning wider, Ivy opens her hand and leads the vines to wrap around Selina, securing her to the ground. Constricting against her, the thorns of the plants dig deep into the body of their captive, bringing Selina to snivel against their grip, "Where has that fiery spirit gone?" Disappointed by the softness of the woman who she knew to be a true femme fatale, Ivy loses all of her interest and turns her sights upon the last one standing, Talia.
"Oh darling, would you kindly finish her?" the redheaded beauty aims her tone towards Batman, but nothing happens. He stands there, fists trembling as he actively fought against the control of Poison Ivy, but she knew he could not last forever. Coming in close, Ivy breathes out clouds of spores that journey into the vigilante, taking away whatever chance he had to resist her. Batman's eyes turn green as his once blank expressions changes to one of rage, all directed at Talia.
Fighting her own battle to remain standing, Talia knew what would need to happen, but she didn't like it. She knew trying to appeal to Bruce was a mistake, he could not fully combat the influence of the villain, but she was desperate.
"Beloved, please..." adjuring The Dark Knight for one final last-ditch effort for him to overcome his brainwashing, Talia knew the low chances of it being able to work. Proven right as Batman begins to charge at her at full-speed.
Ivy smirks as she sees Batman knock the blade out of Talia's hand, putting her on the defensive, "He's mine for eternity, his very body belongs to me. And do you want to know what the most ironic part of this is? He wanted this!" continuing to watch the fight, Ivy sees Talia be thrown to the ground once again beneath Batman's boot, "Oh his mind...so much pain and anguish, he desired peace so much. And I gave it to him, don't you get it? He gave into me...he wanted me to ease his mind, to make all his poor troubles vanish!"
"...L-liar! He would never...never want that, not from you...," struggled Selina as she keeps at her frail fight against the vines, "He would never... He would never give in to you. That's something that you would never understand, Ivy... people are meant to feel pain, to endure hardships, that's just a part of who we are... and Bats is what it means to take all the pain and use it, use it for good. He understands that more than anyone..." her eyes momentarily shine bright green as she gains the strength to break free of the vines, "He's far from perfect, but...better than you ever could be, Ivy."
Batman and Ivy look to Selina who fights to stand, "...H-how...," turning to Batman, Ivy growls, "Enough! You could have walked away at any time, but you chose to keep coming back!" Selina kneels down, seemingly reaching for something on the ground as she keeps her eyes on Ivy.
Batman charges at her, faster and more precise than before as he glares. He grabs Selina and slams her to the ground, holding her by the throat and with Talia's blade in his other hand. He lifts the blade above her head, "...Bruce...I should have told you sooner, b-but...I'm pregnant," she watches Batman cease, seeing his eyes tremble, "H-hear that? You're going to be a father, I wanted a better time to tell you...but I'm kinda limited on options here..."
Batman fights against Ivy's hold on it, forcing himself to stop the blade from connecting with the woman below him, "I...I love you, Bruce...," whimpered Selina as she jabs one of the darts into Batman's throat, "Th-this will all be over...I promise...," Batman moves off of Catwoman, tumbling around as he fights to remain conscience, "Don't fight it, please...just...trust me, okay?" begged Selina as she sees the vigilante flail around, falling to his knees and gasping, "I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."
Selina and Ivy view Batman as he finally falls into a slumber, leaving them as last two standing.
"What...? He was mine! NO! He was meant to serve me! W-Why can't you just leave me alone!," Ivy raises her arm and causes an eruption of vines from the ground, "It's you...it's always you! Why do you always get in my way!" Ivy then sends the swarm of vines towards Catwoman.
"Ivy...," Catwoman dodges between the vines as she makes her way towards the redhead, "Grow up!" she jumps mid-run and knees Ivy's face, throwing her to the ground. Looking over the person who she once considered her fried, Selina becomes angered when hearting the redhead chuckle at her words,"...You don't get to laugh, you don't get to do anything but suffer for what you've done."
"I've done many things...especially to you, and you know it..." hummed Ivy who sits on her knees, "I can feel the chemicals in your body, I know...what you think you are, because...I made it so, oh...this is fantastic."
"What the hell are you talking about?" questioned Selina as she keeps her guard up.
"You're pregnant," chuckled Ivy as she looks up to connect her eyes with Selina's, "...You look so happy about that, which is why...I'm gonna love every second of this. When I gave you that seed, it did more than repair your broken spine...it changed you, in a sense...it evolved you," leaning her head back, Ivy widens her smirk with a malicious look in her eyes, "It reworked your body...your biology to such a point...that you are no longer compatible with any human, if you know what I'm talking about..."
"...No...you're lying, I know that you're lying! I know that I'm pregnant! I tested it," punching Ivy to the ground, Catwoman screams, "I'm done with your mind games!"
"Oh, poor Selina...you still don't believe me? Fine, It's all just chemicals, all under my control...I can make your body think whatever it wants, like inducing you into pseudocyesis. One final act of vengeance, Selina...I made you happy...before tearing it all away. You'll never get to have a family ever again," shifting herself up, Ivy revels at the rage on Selina's face, "Remember when you took my babies from me? I just wanted to repay you for that...so...how does it feel?"
"N-No! No. No. No. No. No. No. - Y-you're lying...there's no way that even you could be that twisted, no...shut up...," retracting her claws, she aims them at Poison Ivy's throat, "No...NO...tell me that you're lying! Tell me!," she begins to tear up as the truth sinks in. All the pieces come together, "No...no..."
Closing her eyes with a smile, Poison Ivy continues her cruel game against Selina, "Finally realizing the truth? Good...now drown in your misery. Forever wishing that you never crossed me."
Kneeling down next to Ivy and raising her claws, Selina hisses and is ready to strike, "I'm going to kill you!," hitting Ivy down and knocking her out while she still smiled, then going in for the killing blow against Poison Ivy, her hand is forced to a stop as Batman's hand stops it mere centimetres from Ivy's throat, "...What...?"
"It's me...it's me Selina...I'm back..." Batman reassures Catwoman as he gently moves the woman's hand down, "P-please don't let her turn you into this... Please be better than her...for me?" asked Batman, looking to Ivy, "Please..."
"B...Bruce...she...You d-don't understand! What she did...what she did to us, she... she..." she gasps as Batman brings his arms around her and holds her close, and droops his cape around her as she cries on his shoulder, "-I can't do this, Bruce...I can't! I don't know what to do, oh god, I...she's not lying, is she? She...she's telling the truth..."
"...We'll get through this...We'll do it together..."
Later
Across Gotham, Watchtower
Closing the case on the Batsuit, Bruce stares at his reflection overlaying the Dark Knight's gear. Ashamed of the things he did, regardless of how or why he did them. His empty eyes stumble on the four that were with him. First, there was Blüd, one of the last people he expected to come to his aid. The immortal man displaced himself from the others as he looks out into the distance, never quite settling on one single thing to occupy his mind space, silent as ever.
The second was Talia, both someone who he feared and respected. He watches her attend to the third person in his sights. She patches up Harleen's back, both avoiding to connect their eyes with his. Finally, there was Selina. Acting more recluse from the group than even Blüd. She sits at the steps of the lair, hugging her knees and staring at the floor. Uninterested in the world outside of herself. They won. Ivy was defeated, and it was a victory, but they felt like anything but.
Grazing his thumb against the scratches of his chin, Bruce reflects on the night's events. He remembers it all. Every twisted thing that Ivy drove him to do, it all was racing in his mind. He wanted to join them, talk to them, but he knew that he shouldn't. He did this to them. He hurt them. All because he wasn't strong enough to fight Ivy. So he just stands there, feeling out of place in the one asylum he knew. He is sure that everyone else can see him, but they don't acknowledge him out of fear of not knowing what to say if there was even such a thing that could be said between them now.
Moments pass.
Then Minutes.
Maybe even longer.
He has to say something. He has to. That's how he saw it, this was all on him and they were all waiting for him. Figuring their deafening silence as a sign of judgement upon him, he decides he has no choice but to begin because he knows they wouldn't and he couldn't blame them. They were right not to.
All or nothing was Bruce's mindset when beginning, "We need to talk." None of them turn his way to confirm they heard him, they continue on with whatever they were doing. Bruce feels something change in the air, shuddering under its sudden cold sting, it was obvious that they all heard him.
Taking a single stride towards them, but not overstepping, Bruce moves his hands into the pocket of his dark jeans, "This night was hard on us all, and I'm partly to blame. I know that it won't mean much, but I'm sorry...I know that Ivy made me hurt you, and I couldn't fight her. You all have the right to be angry at me, I deserve it all," still nothing. Watching the others act like they are ignoring him, he continues towards them with another single step, "I'm not asking to be forgiven. I just want you to listen to me...if you think I even deserve that."
Harleen shifts her body to face towards Bruce, still overcome by the affliction of glass in her back. Holding onto her shoulder, she was the first to break the apparent unspoken rule of shunning Bruce, speaking in a groggy tone towards him, "I can only speak for myself, B. I'm not mad at ya, I j-just need some time. I'm glad that you're safe though..." she whimpers in reaction to Talia pulling out another shard of glass with the use of pliers, "It's not me that ya should worry about."
"...Bruce..." Talia addresses him while keeping at her work on Harleen's back, "We're aware that this night was not one of your fruition, however, seeing you try to kill us has...changed us forever. Tonight shall be with us for the rest of our lives, regardless of how we move on."
Bruce agrees with Talia's conclusion, knowing it in his heart to be true, "It should be remembered. I nearly killed the people who I love the most...I know I'll never forget it," in the corner of his eye, he seems Selina in her reclusive state, "Ivy may have controlled me, but I was the one who gave her means to do what she wanted. If it wasn't for me those men would still be alive. That's on me along with all of the pain I caused you all." Now fully facing Catwoman, he folds his arms as he thinks of a way to talk to her, "Selina.."
"J-just don't," begged Selina, shielding herself from the stares of the others, "You don't know what I'm feeling right now, so don't even try to. I-I don't know what I am, I just want to scream, but it'll never be loud enough," hanging on the railings of the steps, she pulls herself up, "I'm a freak, Bruce. Just leave me alone, I need to be by myself." Turning her back on Bruce and the others, she leads her way towards the elevator of the lair, "I love you more than anything, Bruce...but you can't help me here."
"...Selina, you're not a freak. Stop talking like that, you're amazing!" following after Selina, Bruce calls out to her, "Please don't go."
"Am I even human? I don't know what I am. I-I'll call you when I need to talk, till then...please can you give me some space?"
"Selina..." watching the woman leave was one of the most arduous movements that he could recall, wanting to reach out to her to close the gap between them, but knowing that she did not want him to. So he stood there and decides that he has caused her enough pain for the night, "...Come back...please..."
Talia and Harleen watch Selina leave, not sharing a single look with them before they were gone.
Straightening up, Blüd finally speaks, "Do you recall when I told you: History is built upon tragedies, enough to overshadow most of the miracles, but they do happen? I meant it but said miracles won't always alleviate those tragedies, sometimes the world can be too cruel."
"...I know..." Bruce whispers.
Later.
Bruce's Penthouse
In the living room, Bruce's keen vision spots the newly placed silver trey on the glass table between the furniture, confident that the object was not there before. Immediately his tired blue eyes spring to life, fully awake at the prospect of a possible intruder, but, remembering that there was no such alarm to alert him, Bruce's mind begins to race with endless possibilities. He looks to the Penthouse's windows, coming to see the back of a man who stares through the glass frames.
"Alfred?"
Turning his head, Alfred greets Bruce with a single glance, "Evening, Master Bruce. I heard that you had quite the day, so I thought it would be wise to make your favourite beverages." Turning around and fixing his cufflinks, the humble butler keeps his eyes on the younger man, "I trust that you are calling it for the night."
"Alf-Alfred where were you?" inquired Bruce as he comes in to embrace Alfred, "I-I missed you, Al. I was so worried when you weren't at the mansion."
"Apologies for that, Master Bruce, there were personal matters that I needed to attend to, but all should be dandy now," holding his hand out towards the trey of hot drinks, Alfred's voice was full of fatherly affection towards Bruce, like they were never apart, "I think that now's the time for us to talk."
Joining Alfred in the path to the furniture, Bruce was already concerned with the cryptic way that the man spoke with, quickly growing suspicious of his true intentions "Talk? Sounds serious..." Becoming seated alongside the older man, Bruce was beginning to lose the fight against his exhaustion, battling to simply keep his eyes open, "What's going on, Al?"
"I know that Nyssa is alive, Bruce...and I know that you're working with her, you better have a good reason...otherwise the others have the right to know," Alfred puts forward, dropping all pretences as he now looks to Bruce with a look akin to a disappointed father, "Well then, chap? On with it, mate."
"H-how do you know about that?"
"Upon my return, I saw fit to head to the manner. You can imagine that it was quite the shock when I saw footage of you and Nyssa together from the Batcave, I trust that is not the last of your encounters with that woman," revealed Alfred as he leans back in the couch, resting his arm over the arm of the furniture, "We've had our disagreements in the past, Master Bruce, but, I never thought of this even being possible, not for you."
"Alfred, I can assure you that it's not what you think that it-."
"Then there are the findings you made regarding Miss Kyle's lineage, a vast invasion of her privacy. You had no such right to intrude upon that if she did not desire to tell you, that was her decision to make, Narrowing his look further, he continues, "And then there's tonight, where you nearly killed your friends," scooting closer towards the edge, Alfred leans forward, "If I knew what you would do in my absence, I would have never allowed you to return to this island."
"You've been spying on me?"
"Your my boy, Bruce. I needed to check on you every now and then, but instead of watching over the man that I raised, I instead witnessed the monster that you created, the very same foul fiend that I warned you about, and now your company is bleeding and *Bruce Wayne* is now nothing more than a mere joke across the city, in it?" voicing his disappoint, however, never crossing into the realm of anger, Alfred retains his care for the man, regardless of how he feels towards his actions.
"I-I...I'm sorry, I know I messed up royally with Wayne Enterprise, but I'm working to fix it. As soon as Lucius comes back, I'll-."
"No. Stop, Master Bruce. Your mother and father worked tirelessly to make Wayne Enterprise the empire that it was, all so that they could entrust it to you, and this? This is how you thank them? Letting it crumble away, while you parade around in a Halloween costume? You just can't magically rectify this problem, Bruce...there will be victims of your choices, I hope that you understand that, and those people will come to see you as their villain," Shifting up to his feet, Alfred looks down upon the billionaire, "I raised you to be better than that, but look at this? Your father would be disgraced by you this day, let that bear on your conscience, Master Bruce, because it's already weighing on mine."
"I'll leave you be, Master Bruce. I'll be back tomorrow to check on you."
Watching Alfred leave the room, Bruce lowers his eyes to the floor, hanging his head in shame as he replays the words of Poison Ivy in his head, becoming drowned in his guilt.
*You'll never concern yourself with the troubles again*
Leaning back against the couch, Bruce curls his arm to cover his eyes, "She was right, for the first time in years, I wasn't broken...," thought the man as he sits alone in the darkness of the room, a void of absolute silence that he dwelled in. Looking at the table, Bruce sees the phone light up, alerting him to a call. Looking closer, he sees that it was Harvey Dent who was attempting to reach him, but Bruce remains motionless and lets the phone ring.
"...I'm the poison... Everybody I love suffers..."
Remaining swallowed in the darkness, Bruce ignores the call, allowing the phone to keep ringing until it eventually stops, leaving the room in complete blackness of the abyss.
Elsewhere, Unknown
"Good. Now that our plant-related issue is solved, nothing is standing in my way," laughed Joker as he sits, holding his palms together as he still is hidden by the shadows, "I must say, my dear Harley, you did great! Ha, the waterworks and all, it was just so spectacular! Oh, it was something else..."
"Y-yeah. Glad that you liked it," Harleen stands before Joker, starting at the ground, "It was all...fake, just as ya wanted, Mistah J."
"But now...I have to give the overgrown weed some due, she might have just made things a whole lot more interesting," sorting through a deck of cards at his side, skilfully shuffling it between his hands, "They're mistrustful of good-ol' Batsy, this is great! They're fractured now, easily broken apart. They won't know what's coming..."
"Right, Mistah J. It's...g-great."
The green-haired monster finishes shuffling the deck and picks a random card from the stack, revealing it to be the Joker card. "You want to know why this has been so easy to control? Oh, Harley, it's simple" he throws the card into the air, scattering them across the room as all remaining fifty-one cards turn out to also be Joker cards, "I stacked the deck in my favour a long, long time ago..."
Next:
Ch.55: Death of the Family
N/A
Before you say anything please read this.
1. Yes I did say that Selina would not lose the baby, but technically I was telling the truth since there was no baby, to begin with. This has been the plan since I originally introduced this plot. That's why Selina was not showing signs of being pregnant, nor fearing the damage she took possibly causing a risk to the baby, because subconsciously she was aware that it was not true.
- Later, her story focusing on her blood relation to the Falcones will be followed up on and will be a main point of the story.
2. Yes, this chapter was meant to be a downer. I wanted to show that not every *win* is a victory. Even when people succeed there is usually a cost that can undermine whatever feeling of victory they had. One of my favourite things about Batman is how he perseveres through his pain.
3. Next chapter will start the Joker plot, along with Harley's true nature revealed to the others. These next few chapters will help solve a lot of grievances, such as Harvey Bullock for both his impersonation by Clayface and his imprisonment by Joker. The chapters will also deal with the Barbara Lee storyline of her being in a coma and will resolve it.
- A lot of story payoff will be happening to start with Chapter 55.