Warnings: This chapter is a beast at 30 pages long. It might seem a bit like déjà vu of the first chapter, and that's intentional. Also, it's ten kinds of fucked up and I know a lot of you are probably gonna scream at the end of this chapter. I apologize in advance. I blame it on my shitty state of mind for the last two years every time I tried to work on this chapter. I kinda hate it. But fuck it, the damn thing's been nearly written for so long. I'm not re-writing it. Bear with me. I know this chapter is gonna be a roller coaster…
Trigger warnings: Panic, anxiety, and fear in large quantities. Pain, non-con sex, mentions of death and murder (kinda typical for Batman related stories). Ye be warned.
Part Five
I've been up in the air, lost in the night.
I wouldn't trade an eye for your lies.
Your lust for my life.
Is this the end, hey?
You were the love of my life, the darkness, the light.
This is a portrait of a tortured you and I.
Is this the, is this the, is this the end?
-Up In The Air, By: 30 Second to Mars
/
He should have known better.
Things had been going to well for to long. Eventually things always tipped in the other direction. There had been no major villains to fight in weeks. He had been able to visit Ivy and William nearly every other weekend. Bruce still gave him suspicious looks, but otherwise, had left him alone about his relationship with the woman in Florida. William got bigger and stronger every time Dick visited. Ivy reminded him with every visit why he was so in love with her. It was all perfect.
It was to perfect.
Things couldn't stay good forever, especially not in Gotham for the vigilantes that defended the city. Certainly not for Nightwing, who had a villaness in particular after him for revenge. Maybe he shouldn't have been so dismissive of Harley's threats about getting even. She had proven more than once that she was capable of being dangerous on her own. She was not the only female villain he had pissed off over the years though. He really shouldn't have been surprised to find out that Harley had broken out of Arkham again. He probably would have noticed a lot of things more quickly if he hadn't been patrolling with his head in the clouds, day dreaming about his next visit to Florida. This was a lesson he should have learned the first time he got captured when Harley was involved. It was his fault for landing in this situation.
That didn't make him feel any better.
He found himself alone, once more, in a dark, empty building with a mad clowness stalking him. Panic sparked through his mind as Harley's girlish giggle whispered through the darkness seconds before he lost consciousness in a blinding flash of pain.
/
He woke up, suddenly, and scrambled to his feet—or at least he tried. He barely made it a few inches before he was jerked to a stop. Fear clawed up his throat, lodging against his voice box and gripping his chest like a giant fist. He was chained to the floor by his wrists and his ankles. He was stripped naked with only his mask left to cover his face. Why she hadn't taken it off him was a mystery. Every worst case scenario and wild escape plan ran through his mind at warp speed as he swung his head around to scan his surroundings.
He was back inside the first house he'd been imprisoned in. Until his dying day, he would remember every detail of this dilapidated house. The paint had long since peeled off all the walls. The floor was made of scarred, ancient wood with gaps in between many of the slats. There was no furniture except the threadbare old sofa on which he lounged with Ivy so many times. He was laid out on the same old futon. He had a different set of chains with no padding in the manacles this time.
Harley was sitting on the couch, staring at him with a crazed gleam in her eyes.
"Good to see you're awake," She smirked. "I hate waiting for things. And I want to play with you."
He forced himself to breathe normally as he shoved down the horror that shuddered through him at her words. "Harley…"
"Before you waste your breath pleading to my "good" side," She stood up and stalked towards him. "I have been dreaming of this moment since we last met."
Nightwing went still. He forced himself to breathe past the panic curling in his gut, burning through his chest like acid, and choking him. He could feel the tension coiling in her. He did not want to provoke her. There would be no talking his way out or appealing to her. This was not a situation he had ever believed to be in again; especially not in the same house. Unfortunately, he had not figured out how to free himself while naked yet. He was going to have to wait for an opportunity or for someone to find him. Neither option was a good one.
"Harley," he tried to placate her.
"Shut up! You ruined everything!" She screamed, leaping on him. "Mister Jay won't even look at me! He hates me now!" His breath was choked from him as she grabbed him by the throat and squeezed tight. Spots of light exploded in his vision when she smacked his head down so hard not even the futon padding could soften the blow. "Then I started to think as I sat alone in my cell. No Poison Ivy and no Mister Jay to go back to. You ruined that too. I HAVE NO ONE!" Her hands loosened for just a moment. "I have nothing left. And all I could think about was how I wanted to bring you as low as I am."
Abruptly, she let go and jumped to her feet. She disappeared into the bathroom for a moment. When she returned there was an over bright smile on her lips, which gave her a more maniacal look. Harley held up a tube of lipstick and a bottle of pink pollen with a nasty grin. Nightwing felt bile rise up the back of his throat. He struggled to get away, but there was nowhere to go. This was worse than déjà vu. It was all happening again and he was just as helpless to stop it as last time. "Not so brave now, huh? I'm going to use you up and toss you aside like you're nothing. So you know just how I feel. The one thrown aside. The one no one wants anymore." Harley snarled as she poured a generous handful of the dust into her hand. She grabbed his jaw with her other hand.
He jerked his head back, clamped his mouth shut, and held his breath in defiance. He knew he was only delaying the inevitable. She let go of his jaw to punch him in the gut. The blow was hard enough to make him gasp. His next gasping lungful of air was filled with the taste of sex pollen. It melted like honey on his tongue tasting of sunshine and sweetness. He hated it! He waited for the effects to start. He blinked in surprise when nothing happened. He felt no ensuing rush of heat through his body. There was no sudden loss of control over his hormones or the overwhelming need to rut with closest person to him. The lack of sensation was almost anticlimactic.
Surprise and rage flashed across Harley's face when she realized the dust was having no effect. She quickly applied the lipstick to her lips before grabbing his face. He struggled, trying to thrash his head away. Her grip was just strong enough to hold him still to press a swift kiss to his open mouth. He cringed at the bitter taste that flooded his mouth. The taste made dark memories threaten to overwhelm him for a moment. Panic made his world tilt until he forced it under control. Again there was nothing. He felt no different. There was no overpowering need to please her.
"Do you feel like pleasing me now?" Harley asked sweetly.
"No." He snarled. He spat to the side in an attempt to get the taste of drugs out of his mouth.
"Why didn't it work?" snapped Harley. She glared at the tube of lipstick before chucking it angrily across the room. "Don't tell me that stuff expired!"
Nightwing was just as confused as the clowness. The drugs had been effective when Ivy had previously used them. In fact, she'd confessed that the drugs grew more potent with age when left to sit. He could only assume his recent genetic mutations were playing a part in his resistance to Ivy's drugs. He was more than grateful now for those changes. The longer he was able to keep a clear head the better chance he had of escaping.
"It doesn't matter!" Harley declared with a wild grin. "There are other ways to get the same results! I just have to go visit a friend." She hopped to her feet and clapped her hands.
Shit, Nightwing thought. This was getting worse by the minute. He needed to escape while she was gone or he'd have no chance at all. There was no way he was going through this again! This time there was no Ivy to protect him or make it even remotely enjoyable. He had no doubt that he wouldn't make it out of this encounter alive if Harley had her way.
"And just so you don't go missing while I'm gone…," Harley smirked, grabbing a bottle of chloroform and soaking a rag with it. "You'll be taking a nap."
Harley grabbed his face, and pressed the cloth to his mouth. He tried to hold his breath again, but a swift punch to his solar plexus had him gagging on the sharp taste of chloroform. In seconds, the drug was flooding his senses and leaving him reeling. The room began to fade around the edges as Harley leaned in.
"Nighty night, birdy!" She sing-songed at him.
The dark narrowed in until all he could see was her Cheshire cat smile then that too was gone…
/
Nightwing startled awake with a sharp gasp. Harley was humming dementedly as she prepped a syringe full of pink liquid with a needle.
"Now this lovely little drug," Harley grinned as she held up the syringe, "is still new. It's just starting to get popular here in Gotham. It's part aphrodisiac and part psychedelic. It's supposed to give the user the wildest high while sending your libido into overdrive."
Nightwing swallowed back bile. He'd never done drugs in his life. Even pain pills had to be forced on him. The only ones he'd ever had the misfortune to cross were Ivy's concoctions. Drugs scared him. He'd seen to many incidents of what happened to the people who got addicted. Drugs caused wars, starvation, and good people to become evil. He struggled to scramble away but the chains yanked him up short.
"Aww, there's no reason to be scared, bird boy," Harley purred. "It'll wear off."
He flinched hard as she stabbed the needle into his arm.
"It's not the drugs you should be scared of," Harley smirked; her eyes glinted with wicked intent.
The world around him seemed to grow suddenly brighter and sharper. He blinked rapidly as shapes in the room began to grow significantly more interesting. Colors in the room, in Harley's costume, and even the blue in clowness' eyes appeared more intense and vibrant. The fear in his mind slipped away to nothing. In a moment, the world had lost all meaning and was replaced by an intense need for touch and sensation. Overwhelming lust seemed to curl like tendrils of fire into his loins then up into his balls then his cock. He seemed to be unbelievably aroused in only a few heartbeats. He shifted restlessly. His eyes went wide as his back and buttocks rubbed against the floor, shivering at the pleasure of the friction on his bare skin.
His eyes swept across the room again taking in the dizzying, sparkling lights above him. A figure in dizzying swirls of red, white, and black crouched in front of him, bringing into focus a leering, wide smile set in an evil white face. He scrambled to get away but there was something on his wrists holding him down. Panic shot down every nerve. This time the pain of whatever was cutting into his wrists didn't stop him. He kept on yanking on the cuffs until blood dripped down his fingers.
"Awww, am I scaring you?" That leering face asked him, wide smile seeming to split its face in half.
Nightwing whimpered and fought harder still.
"Shhhh…don't worry birdy. I'll make it all better."
He relaxed when the figure backed off then disappeared out of his line of sight. She hurried into the bathroom to rinse the makeup from her face. When she returned Nightwing seemed to have settled back into the total euphoric state he had been before seeing her costume.
Nightwing had never been so high in his life. Everything felt surreal and yet too real. His skin felt to tight for his body. Every brush of the floor and shackles against his overheating flesh felt amazing. His brain felt adrift in a sea of colors, sounds, and intense need. The only thing he knew for sure was that his cock ached unbearably. He needed to be touched. He shifted his hands trying to reach for his dick and got stopped up just a smidgen to short by the chains. The cuffs scraped across the thin skin of his wrists, making him groan in delight.
"Uh uh, Birdy," a soft, lilting voice caught his attention. "You don't get to touch."
His mouth fell open on a gasp as a beautiful woman like the vision of an angel appeared above him. White blond hair framed her face to tumble over her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes seemed to glow almost fluorescent to him. She was completely nude, making his body ache even more at the sight of her bare womanhood. His hands inadvertently rose towards her as if in supplication for her to relieve him of the agonizing arousal building steadily within him.
"You want me bad," she realized with a wicked grin.
He nodded breathlessly as his fingers brushed over the delicate skin on her ankle. She stepped over him so that her feet were bracketing his hips. He had a brief flash back of a beautiful redhead standing over him much the same way. He blinked and the momentary hallucination was gone. His eyes trailed up the length of her body before settling on her gleaming smile. His cock throbbed hard as his fingers grazed over the soft, sleek line of her calves. To his sensitized skin, she felt like the most amazingly soft thing he'd ever touched. He wanted to feel more of her. She dropped to her knees to straddle his hips just above his erection. He keened in delight as she rubbed her damp sex across his abs. He arched his hips, struggling for more of any sensation he could get. She laughed in mean delight as she rose up and broke the contact between them. His hands gripped her thighs trying to force her back down, but she shoved his hands away with a growl.
She leaned forward to bite his throat, where she'd learned long ago was his most sensitive spot. He yelped as a bolt of intense ecstasy sparked down his nerves to his cock. The peaks of her breasts brushed furtively across his chest, making him ache to get his mouth on them. His hands drifted up her thighs once more, back around to the firm, soft globes of her ass, and then boldly down to tease her womanhood from behind. She sighed in delight as he slipped one finger inside her. She dragged her nipples down his chest as she slowly sat back. He pressed another finger inside her, groaning as her walls clamped around him. He rutted his cock up against her backside, desperately wishing he could bury himself inside her. She felt incredible. He reached up to touch her breast and growled in frustration when he couldn't reach.
"I'm going to make you beg," the woman whispered into his ear. "I'm going to use you and then…I'm going to kill you. You'll look so pretty covered in red…"
Nightwing blinked but couldn't make sense of what had been said. He knew the words meant something, but the meaning slipped his mind. He took a shuddering breath when the woman moved to sit up and her bright blue eyes mesmerized him again. How could she have such amazing, glowing eyes? He forgot the question almost immediately in the soft press of her body against his. The slide of skin across skin made him shiver and keen again. He wanted more—needed more. He couldn't seem to grasp for the words to say what he wanted.
A moment later, she took his cock in hand and guided him inside her. He finally got what he wanted. The rest of the world blanked out around him, except for overwhelming pleasure. All he could do was hold on and scream as she drove him mercilessly towards orgasm, over and over, without letting him come.
/
Ivy smiled as the phone rang in the front pocket of her apron. Dick rarely called her when he knew she was working. She took a moment to pull the gloves off her hands before answering it. "Hello, Bird," She answered cheerfully.
There was a long moment of silence. Anxiety suddenly made her chest burn and her breath catch.
"Umm…Poison Ivy?" A young man's voice carried through the phone. It sounded distantly familiar.
Ice seemed to freeze her heart in her chest. "Who is this?" Her voice lost all of its warmth. For the first time in ages she sounded like the villaness she used to be.
"Robin," the hesitant voice replied.
Terror seized her. Dick would never let anyone touch this phone unless he wasn't around to stop it. The boy didn't need to explain for her to know instantly something horrible had happened to Dick. "Where is he?" She gripped the phone tight.
"I…we don't know!" Robin blurted. He sounded panicked. "We've looked everywhere. It's just like last time. No trace left except a scrap of Harley's costume and this phone."
Ivy nearly broke the phone as rage swept through her. Harley had her Bird! She would kill that stupid clown bitch. How dare she touch what belonged to Ivy!
"We—I need your help!" The boy begged. "Batman would kill me if he knew I was calling you. But I don't know what else to do! He's my brother and I can't-!" Robin broke off abruptly.
They knew Nightwing wouldn't survive this time. Harley hated him to much.
"I'll be there tonight." She promised. "Meet me on the roof of Gotham Botanical Garden. I'll need some help collecting a few things. I have a few ideas of where she might go."
"Ok. I'll be there." Robin sounded relieved.
"Don't breathe a word of this to anyone." She warned the boy.
"I won't. I promise." He swore. "Just hurry."
She hung up abruptly. Her first impulse was to drop everything she was doing and race towards Gotham. But she couldn't do that anymore. She was a mother. She had a life. There were things she had to take care of before she could go running off anymore. With a thoughtful frown, she removed her apron and hung it on the peg at the greenhouse door. She walked in to the flower shop through the back door straight to the front counter. Jennifer gave her a questioning look from a few feet away where she was helping a customer when Ivy picked up the phone.
The phone only rang twice before Patricia answered it. She rattled off her prepared flower shop greeting before Ivy could cut in. "Pat!"
"Pay? What's up?" She asked, sensing that there was trouble.
"I have to leave town immediately. I have to go back to Gotham. I need you to watch William for a few days. I don't know when I'll be back." Ivy told her sister.
"Pay, you promised!" Patricia sounded scared.
Ivy swallowed thickly. "I know what I promised. I am not going back for that. My Bird needs me. He may be dead before I can reach him. This isn't about me."
"Oh, Pay," Patricia gasped over the phone. "There's got to be someone else who can-."
"No." Ivy was stern. "He's mine. I will get him back. Just please, watch William for me. I will come back. And this will be the end of it."
"Ok." Her sister took a shuddering breath. "Ok, I will. Just…don't let that city destroy you again."
"It won't." She gripped the phone hard enough to make the plastic crackle. "Thank you. I love you so much, Pat. I'll be back as soon as possible. Good bye."
"I love you too. Be careful. Good bye." Patricia hung up the phone.
Ivy set the phone back down in the cradle. "Jennifer!"
The girl walked over. "Yes?"
"I'm going to be gone for a few days. Can you open and close the shop by yourself?"
"Of course!" Jennifer answered. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing I can't fix." Ivy smiled, but it held a bitter edge. "Make sure you feed the flowers in the greenhouse every morning and evening."
"Alright. Take care. Hope everything works out well." The girl smiled brightly.
"Thank you." Ivy patted her on the arm before slipping out the front door. She still had so much to do. She hurried towards her apartment, making a list in her head of all she'd need. She hoped that she wouldn't be to late. She prayed that Nightwing could hold out until she could get to Gotham. Harley would not draw breath again if her Bird died. Ivy would not allow him to slip away from her. He was hers alone. As much as she dreaded returning to Gotham she would do anything to keep him at her side.
/
The night was deceptively calm as Robin landed on the roof of Gotham Botanical Garden. A light breeze was playing through the leaves surrounding the building. The downtown lights lit up the low hanging clouds with a reddish glow that Robin had always found disturbing. There were no cars in the parking lot, save two from the security guards watching the place. It was quiet.
He tensed, whirling around with a batarang poised in his fingers, as something shifted in the shadows behind him. A quick blink did not dispel the image of the beautiful, red haired woman standing near the roof hatch. The last time Robin had seen Poison Ivy, she was still sporting her green, figure hugging costume. This Poison Ivy looked suspiciously like any other mother he might pass on the street on the way to school in the mornings. It was really freaking weird.
"You took your time getting here," Ivy remarked.
Robin cleared his throat. "Yeah, I had a hard time making up a convincing lie to throw Batman off." Batman should be on the other side of the city pursuing an empty lead.
"I need you to help me break into the Gardens." Ivy stated calmly.
Robin's eyes went wide. "Break in!?"
"If you want to save Nightwing, I need to get inside this building. I hid some of my plants and belongings in the Gardens when I first used it. Without them, I can't help." She answered, as she peered through the skylights.
"But I-?" the boy started to protest.
She turned her head to glare at the young vigilante. "You called me. I will get in with or without you. You are wasting time."
Robin took a deep breath. "Right."
"So help me." She pressed sternly.
"Ok." He glanced down at the skylights then over to the hatch that led down into the Gardens from the roof. "Ok." He stood and headed over to the hatch. The lock seemed simple enough. It was quick work to pick it open. He slowly pried the door open, waiting for a squeak or a grind from the hinges, but there was none. He glanced back at Ivy, who nodded approvingly. It was so weird to be helping her. She was still classified as a wanted criminal in Batman's database. But if anyone was going to help him find and save Nightwing in time it would be her.
He stepped back to allow her to slip past him down the stairs. He followed her closely, keeping an eye out for any security. Ivy seemed unconcerned as she moved through the darkened building with familiar ease. He wondered how often she used to come back here to stash things with how comfortable she seemed to be in the Gardens.
At the back of the Gardens, a small tool shed was pushed up against the wall. It seemed like any other normal backyard shed. Robin knew better than most that looks were deceiving, especially when Ivy directed him to pick the lock. The deadbolt was even easier than the hatch on the roof. She pushed the door open, stepping in without any hesitation, despite the pitch dark interior of the shed. She flipped the light on. Robin flinched back and glanced around quickly. Not a soul was in sight. The tension eased out of his shoulders a little.
Ivy went to work pushing several tool boxes, buckets, along with other odds and ends out of the back left corner. The last thing she pulled up was a folded up tarp. Underneath it was a handle to an obvious trap door in the floor. She yanked it up and reached inside the square cut out to pull up a large metal security box with a numbered lock on it. The box was open in a matter of seconds. Robin couldn't resist leaning in to see what was hidden inside. He blushed brightly when he saw the green tights and signature leotard Ivy had been known to wear.
"Let me change." She smiled at him, enjoying his discomfort.
"Yeah, sure." He backed out of the shed. "I'll wait…over there." He pointed at a random tree a dozen yards away before hurrying towards it.
Ivy shook her head and pushed the door mostly shut in his wake. She stared at the costume for a long moment. A sharp burst of fear made her chest feel tight. It had been over a year since she'd put on this outfit. She'd promised herself that she never would again. The same promise had been made for returning to Gotham. Yet, here she was staring down at a piece of her old life that she just wanted to set on fire. With trembling hands, she pulled the outfit from the box and began to pull it on. It made her feel as though slow poison was crawling over her skin. The old anger, hatred, fear, desire, and crazed need to feel any kind of passionate emotion was like a shroud being pulled over her. She remembered that this was how it felt to be Poison Ivy. She had been driven by some desperate desire to take, control and destroy just to feel something other than disgust in herself.
For a wild moment she wanted to rip the costume off and fling it back into the hole where she'd found it. "For Nightwing," she reminded herself sternly. "For my bird." She resolutely pulled on her boots then fixed her gloves. This was not who she was anymore. For one night, she could act like Poison Ivy. She would not let that being consume her ever again.
She pushed open the shed door and strode out. Robin sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the familiar villainess. With normal clothes on, he had been almost fooled by her. Now there was no avoiding or pretending. He was helping a wanted fugitive. He felt a little sickened at the idea of what he was doing and what Bruce would do to him when he found out. On the other hand, he could also see why his brother had gotten obsessed with Ivy. He rarely looked at the villainesses in any way but as a threat. It was hard to ignore how beautiful Ivy was in that outfit. Not a curve was hidden from sight. Robin swallowed as she moved past him. He forced himself not to stare.
He followed after her as she moved purposefully further into the densest part of the Gardens. It felt more like a forest now with the tall trees surrounding the walking path. Ivy hurried along until she reached the thickest grouping of trees. Winding ivy vines curled up around the trees and over their limbs.
"Oh my pets," Ivy purred in delight.
Robin watched in amazement as she touched the ivy. Instantly it responded to her. The ivy uncurled from one of the trees to curl around her hand. It acted much like a cat rubbing itself affectionately against its owner. It slowly climbed up her arm to wind around her shoulder then down around her waist until it had fully detached from the tree it had been living upon. The ivy vine continued to crawl until it settled down both her arms. Robin shivered at the sight and prayed again that he was making the right decision.
"Now," Ivy said, resolutely, as she turned to face the young vigilante. "I know exactly where Harley will be. She'll want to punish him. So she will take him back to the same house we kept him in. To her, it will seem like a twisted kind of justice."
"That's…really sick." Robin swallowed.
Ivy smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. "When we get there do not interfere."
"But I thought-," Robin began to protest.
"Stay out of it." Ivy's tone brokered no argument. "This is a fight between us. It has been a long time in coming. I do not wish to harm you on accident. Stay out of the way once you free Nightwing."
Robin stared at her for a long moment in consideration. It was really bizarre to be hearing a villainess tell him she was trying to protect him. "Ok. I promise." He swore, but amended in his mind 'unless something happens and I can help'.
"Good. Let's go," she swept past to leave him hurrying to catch up in her wake.
/
Ivy had given Robin the coordinates to the safe house. Robin had sworn that he would never drive Batman's car without permission. He figured it wasn't a broken promise if the car was driving itself. He punched the address into the GPS and let the autopilot take over. He refused to let Ivy sit in the driver's seat. Batman would never forgive him for letting her in that sacred spot. His life was already close to forfeit for even letting her in the car and for borrowing it in the first place: along with the lying and sneaking around to help a villain.
The car flew down the streets with ease. Tense silence filled the space between him and Ivy. He glanced at her as furtively as he could. Admittedly, he could see why his step brother had been attracted to her. She was beautiful, but she was terrifying. Right now, she reminded him of a rose whose thorns had been dipped in venom. It was probably a horrible mistake to involve her. Desperation had been the driving force behind his decision. He refused to regret it. He would never lose family again if he could do something about it.
The car stopped a block away from the safe house. They left it parked behind another abandoned house in an alley. Robin made sure to triple check the locks before finally leaving it behind. Ivy did not even try to hide her approach. She was a woman hell bent on revenge. He stayed a few paces behind, letting her take the lead as promised. He had no desire to get into the middle of the epic female fight that was about to take place.
Ivy marched up the stairs. When she reached the door, she touched the tip of her finger to the door lock. Acid seeped from her gloves and melted the lock out of the door. She slammed the door open. Satisfaction rippled through her as it smashed against the wall with a terrific bang. Harley jumped up with a shriek from Nightwing's prone body. A knife fell, clanging to the floor, from Harley's unmoving fingers. Blood was smeared across her fingers, belly, and thighs stark against the paleness of her bared body.
Harley shrank back in fear as Ivy advanced on her. The red head hardly noticed Robin slipping in behind her, keeping his eyes averted from Harley's naked form. Ivy stalked forward until she was looming over Nightwing. She glanced down to assess his injuries. His throat was deeply bruised with finger prints. A thin cut was slowly seeping blood just above his left clavicle. Nail scratches lashed across his chest, stomach, arms, and thighs some deep enough to draw blood. More cuts followed the paths of some of the scratch marks. It appeared they had interrupted before Harley could begin to seriously maim him.
Nightwing stared up at Ivy with pupils so dilated she couldn't even see the blue of his irises. He was covered in a sheen of sweat and smeared blood. His chest heaved with rapid drawn breaths. It was obvious he had been drugged. Despite all that, there was recognition in his gaze. His expression was one of open relief and hope. Ivy felt relief wash over her. He was not lost to her. That did not quell her anger though.
"You dared to touch what was mine!" Ivy hissed as her eyes glowed green with rage.
"You never came back! You left me! And it was his fault!" Harley shouted, gesturing wildly at the vigilante who was slowly pulling himself up to sit at Ivy's feet. "He took Mister Jay from me! He took everything!"
Ivy did not feel any sympathy for the woman she had once called her best friend. In her peripheral, Robin was cutting off the shackles from Nightwing's wrists and ankles. "You have always been entirely to co-dependent upon other people. Joker has been using you all along. I have been telling you for ages that the Joker never loved you."
"YES HE DID!" Harley screamed. "Mr. J did until HE ruined it!" She pointed at Nightwing and sneered. "And he made you leave! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME. IT WAS ME AND YOU AGAINST THE WORLD!"
"I may have loved you once, but not anymore. You were to wrapped up in Joker. I got sick of it." Ivy replied steadily. "I left on my own. Nightwing had nothing to do with that." The lie slipped easily from her lips. She reached down to run her fingers through Nightwing's hair when he leaned against her leg for support. "I told you what would happen if you touched my things." Her voice went cold and furious once more.
Fear sparked through Harley's eyes again, but it was quickly covered up by anger. "We were supposed to share him from the beginning! He's just as much mine as yours!"
"Harley…," Ivy shook her head as a mean smile spread across her lips. "How do you think Batman knew where to find you when you left the safe house to get money?"
The clowness's eyes went wide in shock. "You sold me out."
"I don't like to share, Harley. Especially not pretty things I intend to keep for a long time. Nightwing is mine." Ivy's fingers tightened on the back of the vigilante's neck. Nightwing tipped his head forward in submission, groaning softly.
Harley screamed in fury. "HE RUINED EVERYTHING! I'LL KILL HIM!" She sprang forward, fingers curled in like claws.
Ivy was ready. The vines that had been wound around her arms looking like nothing more than decorations to her costume instantly came alive. They slithered fast as lightning down her arms before shooting forward like angry vipers. Harley shrieked as they coiled around her before she could dodge their winding reach. Ivy's furious attack was over almost before it had begun. Harley fell to the floor with a loud thud. She screamed in agony as thorns sprang out to bury themselves into her flesh. She struggled, but it only drove the thorns in deeper. Then her screams took on a higher pitch as she writhed on the floor. Blood oozed up from the wounds and started to fizzle as it hit open air.
Robin started forward, baterang out and crouched ready to fight. Harley's screams had finally forced him to break his promise to stay out of the situation. He stared in shock at Ivy's dispassionate gaze as her former best friend writhed on the floor. He lurched forward as if to help Harley.
"Don't," Ivy warned. "The thorns are poisoned."
"But you're killing her!" Robin cried in dismay.
"It's only what she deserved. She knew better than to take what's mine." Ivy glared at the other woman. Harley was sobbing now as she went limp. There was no remorse in Ivy's eyes as she watched the other woman suffer. She startled when Nightwing's hand gripped her ankle. She jerked her gaze away from Harley to her lover at her side.
"No, Ivy," Nightwing breathed. "No."
Ivy's fingers curled into fists at her side. "She hurt you. She intended to kill you. Like for like, my love."
Nightwing shook his head. "Don't do this. Not for me. Think about what you are risking…"
Don't let that city destroy you again, Patricia's voice rang in Ivy's ears. She had promised it would not, but something about this city unmade her. She was risking everything for a moment of revenge. Her eyes drifted back to Harley, who was lying deathly still now. The only sign of life were the tears still dripping from her terrified eyes. Revenge was not worth losing her life and the family she had now.
"Enough, my pet," she called off the vines. The thorns instantly disappeared, but the vine did not release Harley from its constricting grip. "I hope Harley that you remember Nightwing's kindness. I would have let you die."
Harley sniveled pathetically where she lay.
"What about the poison?" Robin asked worriedly.
"Call an ambulance to come get her. I will not help her." Ivy said coldly. "There is someone more important for me to take care of right now." Nightwing's shaking had not gone unnoticed. His condition was noticeably worsening.
Robin looked torn. He glanced between Harley and his step-brother who looked horrifyingly pale and sick. The boy wonder reached into his utility belt to push the remote button to call the Batmobile to them. He shook his head before hurrying to Nightwing's side to help Ivy pull him to his feet. Together, Robin and Ivy maneuvered the older vigilante out of the old house. The Batmobile was parked out in front of the house by the time they struggled outside. It was a struggle to get Nightwing loaded into the car that was only meant to hold two people. He ended up on the floor board with his head in Ivy's lap, clinging to her thighs as he began to shake harder.
"Hurry," Ivy hissed at Robin.
"I am," the boy grumbled. He triggered the car's autopilot to head for home. The car took off down the road. When they were far enough away he hit the phone call button on the dash. Ivy said nothing as he quickly made an anonymous call to 911 for help in the abandoned house they'd just left. "Will she die?" Robin couldn't help but ask.
"Only if they don't reach her in time." Ivy answered, her voice distant as she caressed Nightwing's cheek.
Robin glanced down at his step brother. The older vigilante did not look good. He seemed almost delirious, barely moving and breathing rapidly. "How much time does she have?"
"Fifteen minutes or so. It's a simple enough poison. Quick. Effective." Ivy replied. "Easily cured."
Robin didn't say anything after that. He wished the Batmobile would hurry up in getting them back to the batcave. Batman was already going to kill him for so many things that had happened tonight. Ivy apparently knew all their identities anyways. What difference did it make at this point if she knew where the Batcave was? It was too late now if she ever decided to betray them. Nightwing had put them all at risk, but Robin had to trust that his step brother knew what he was doing.
By the time they made it back to the Batcave, Nightwing was shaking, sweating, and trying his best not to vomit as drug withdrawal started to truly affect his system. The two carefully helped the older vigilante out of the Batmobile. They stumbled their way over to the medical area before sitting him down on the clinic bed. Nightwing had never felt this physically horrible in his life. This was why he'd stayed away from drugs. He knew the after effects were never worth the high they induced. To his vague amazement, Ivy started issuing orders to Robin and the boy listened.
"I need a first aid kit," she was saying. "He needs clothes and some blankets. Hurry!"
Robin scrambled away to get what she'd asked.
"Bird," she breathed, cupping his face in the palms of her hands. "My poor Bird."
"I feel terrible," he shuttered hard.
"I can make it stop." She soothed. "But you must trust me."
Nightwing blinked up at her owlishly. "You know I do."
"Good." A moment later her eyes turned poison green like they had back in that house with Harley. A shiver of fear coiled down Nightwing's spin. He suppressed the urge to cringe away from her hands. He did trust her. He loved her. He clung to that as his body shivered and sweated through another onslaught of withdrawal. She leaned forward to kiss him. He relaxed into her kiss, opening his mouth as her tongue swept across his lips. When her tongue touched his, he stiffened in pain and tried to jerk away. It felt like an agonizing electric current followed by scorching heat that blazed a trail from where her tongue touched his down through every nerve in his body. Her hands clamped on his jaw as he struggled to get away from the agony pouring through him. Then just as suddenly as it started, it was over. She pulled away, caressing his jaw for a brief moment, before letting go.
To his utter surprise, he felt good. The withdrawal effects were completely gone. The only pain left were from the deep claw marks and bruises littering the length of his body. He looked up at her in astonishment. "What'd you do?"
"I have naturally high immunities as you know. It neutralizes the effects before they can harm me. I merely passed along a dose of that immunity to you in my saliva." She explained briefly.
"That really hurt." He rubbed his chest where the lingering memory of electric fire seemed to have settled.
She smiled apologetically. "My genetics have never mixed well with others."
"Ours did, apparently. We made William." He reminded her, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.
"Only after I altered yours first." She remarked quietly. "Which is why I was willing to risk sharing more with you just now."
Robin's approach ended the rest of the conversation. She let go of Nightwing's hand to reach for the first aid kit the boy had brought over.
Robin tossed some loose sweat pants at his step brother. "Here put these on. It's really uncomfortable staring at your nakedness."
"It's ok to be jealous. Not everyone can look as awesome as me. " Nightwing smirked at the boy. "Don't worry. Someday you'll grow big and tall too."
Robin scowled at his step brother. "Shut up and put on the damn pants!"
Nightwing's smirk only grew as he quickly shimmed into the pants provided for him. He glanced over at Ivy to see her smiling in amusement at their antics. He could barely believe she was here in the batcave with them. She was the first ex-villian to ever step foot inside Batman's hideout.
"Maybe…," Robin shuffled his feet a little awkwardly. "Maybe we should go upstairs. Cause you know Batman's gonna be pretty pissed about…um, this whole situation."
"He's not moving until I've cleaned his wounds." Ivy said firmly.
"The lady has spoken." Nightwing grinned, but it looked a little worn around the edges. He was exhausted and still in pain. He really just wanted to get patched up as quickly as possible so he could go to bed. Ivy quickly unpacked the items she needed from the first aid kit. She opened the bottle of antiseptic, poured it on to a cotton ball, and set to work cleaning out the long gashes across his ribs.
"Why is she here!" Batman's voice snapped out of the darkness, low and angry.
Ivy flinched, but to her credit did not show any other sign of fear. She continued wiping the dirt and blood out of Nightwing's wounds. Robin tensed up like he wasn't sure if he should stay or run from the ensuing verbal fight.
"Because she deserves to be." Nightwing spat back, cringing as the antiseptic stung.
"You know the rules." Batman snarled. No one brought people into the Batcave without his permission.
"I've never been much for following your rules, remember?" The younger man replied, sounding tired.
An angry growl rippled through the cave, making even Robin cringe.
"Look, I called her," Robin jumped in. "I knew she'd be able to help, and-."
"Tim, it's alright." Nightwing waved him down. He was done with keeping up disguises. It was useless anyways. Ivy knew who they were so there was no point in keeping up appearances for her sake. "Bruce, she's known about all of us for well over a year and she's never said a thing."
"How does she know in the first place?" Batman snapped.
There was silence in the cave for a few seconds.
"Because I let her see." Nightwing finally answered. He glanced down into Ivy's beautiful face and smiled gently. She smiled back up at him, remembering the first time she'd looked into his eyes.
"You told me they never took your mask off."
"I lied." The younger man pronounced as though intoning nothing more exciting than the weather. "Harley doesn't know if that makes you feel any better."
"It doesn't." Batman's voice floated out of the darkness again. "When did you find her?"
"When I went on vacation. It was a coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidence."
Nightwing shrugged and winced at the motion. "Then call it fate. I'd no idea she was there."
"I didn't want to be found." Ivy remarked softly.
"And Payton Ives is just a convenient cover." Batman growled.
"No," Ivy answered firmly. "I am Payton Ives. It's my life now. I would never have come back to Gotham if I could have avoided it."
"And the boy…William?" Batman finally emerged out of the shadows to glare at her. "A ruse? Another plant life being you created to mimic humans?"
She glowered. "I don't grow monstrous plants anymore. William is our son." She reached over and gripped Nightwing's hand tight.
"Our?" Robin looked like he'd been punched in the gut. He looked at his step brother like he'd grown a third eye.
"You were supposed to be unable to bear children." Batman remarked drily.
Ivy's fingers clenched around Nightwing's. "That is what I thought. But William is ours. I bore him in my womb and birthed him the same as any woman. And I was with no other man, but Nightwing during the time frame I could have conceived."
"And you knew nothing about her pregnancy?" Batman cut his eyes over to Nightwing.
Nightwing shook his head. "Nothing. But I won't give William up now."
"Holy crap!" Robin's voice echoed off the cave walls a moment later. Realization had suddenly sunk in for him. "Dick, you're a dad!?"
"Yeah. William's my son. And before you ask, Bruce, yes I did a DNA analysis. You can run another if you want." Nightwing answered. Ivy looked over at the younger man with a brief look of sharp anger. He glanced at her with a brief expression of apology. "Like it or not, Bruce, she's a part of this."
Bruce reached up and ripped his cowl off, throwing it down on to the computer console. He dropped down into his computer chair and steepled his fingers in front of him. Anger still boiled with in him. He didn't think he'd ever been so angry with his surrogate son. "Were you ever going to tell me?" Bruce murmured quietly.
"No." Dick peeled the mask off his face and set it aside. "I would have hid them away from you forever if I could have."
"Sorry," Tim muttered guiltily, feeling like it was his fault.
"You did the right thing," Ivy reassured him. "Thank you."
Tim stared at her in stunned disbelief for a minute. "You're welcome." He finally managed to get out.
"You knew, Tim?" Bruce inquired; his tone dark and angry.
Tim's shoulders hunched up to his ears. "Dick made me swear not to tell. I didn't mean to find out."
Bruce scrubbed a hand down his face. He hadn't felt so betrayed by his family in a long time. The first time he'd felt like this was when Dick had left. He'd been bitter and angry about that for a year. It'd taken the two of them a long time to forgive each other. Now there was another rift driven between them; built on lies and misleading not just from Dick, but from Tim as well. There was one thing he valued above everything; loyalty.
Heavy silence filled the cavern as Ivy finished bandaging Dick's injuries. It was weighted with so many words that needed to be said, yet none of them seemed to have the courage to break the silence.
"I'm sorry," Dick finally whispered. "I didn't want to hide my family from you. I was afraid of what you might do. You seemed so hell bent on making Ivy pay for what she had done. The only one that deserved punishment was Harley."
Bruce could understand why Dick had taken that course of action. He hadn't listened when Dick had tried to explain. He had wanted Ivy brought to justice. His moral code demanded it. He never forgave anyone who hurt his kids. In his eyes, Ivy had done far more harm than Harley ever had to Dick. Those months after Dick's return had been terrible. Dick had suffered like someone who was mourning the death of a loved one. Bruce had hated to see the young man go through that. He'd tried to offer what consolation he could, but he'd always been lousy at such things. He'd vowed that he would make Ivy pay.
Yet, here she was sitting in his domain beside Dick like it was where she belonged. To his dismay, he could admit that they looked good together. There was obviously a great deal of attachment, probably even love, between the two of them. They had a family together. The very idea was astonishing. He would not quite believe it until he ran his own tests. She did look different. She seemed calmer, focused, and centered in who she was now. The only time he'd seen her so sane was the time she'd married that professor and pretended at having a family. She'd been very convincing then. He hadn't quite been fooled though. He was still suspicious now.
He couldn't quite believe all the evidence suggesting that she'd changed her ways though. Obviously, she still had enough anger and resources to pick up being Poison Ivy in a moment's notice. She had nearly killed Harley in her rage. It was the call Robin had made to 911 that tipped Batman off. He had seen the EMTs wheeling out Harley on a stretcher when he'd gone to the condemned house to investigate. The clowness had been covered in blood and very close to death. He'd overheard the EMTs discussing poison cures. It wasn't hard to deduce what had happened.
Watching Ivy now with his foster son, knowing what she had done to Harley, made him doubt her true intentions. Had she really only returned to Gotham just to save Dick? She had been off the radar for a year and a half. Never had she been gone so long. She'd always returned within at least 6 months with another scheme. He was not quite sure what to believe, and that bothered him most of all.
"Please, believe Dick," Ivy's voice made him look up. Her face was open and earnest. "I no longer want be Poison Ivy. I have a family to be accountable to now. I have people I love that make me want to better myself. This is the last time you will see Poison Ivy in Gotham. I swear it." She sounded determined in her resolve.
Bruce stood up abruptly. "I need some time." He stalked up the steps without a backward glance. The secret door at the stop slammed shut in his wake.
Ivy took a deep, shuddering breath. She knew just how close she had come to ending back up in Arkham. Although she might have seemed calm while Batman had been there, inside she had been truly terrified. Batman had the power to destroy her whole world if he chose to and never had she been so acutely aware of it.
"Come on." Dick stood up carefully. "We all deserve some sleep after the night we just had."
"Yeah," Tim smiled crookedly.
Together, they all headed up the stairs and in to the manor above.
/
Dick brought her to his room. Alfred still kept it ready as though he expected the young man to show up at any time. It was something Dick would have to thank the old butler for later. Right now, what he wanted was a shower and to sink into the cool cotton sheets on his bed. It was strange to see Ivy inside his room. No woman had ever been in here. Not even Barbara when they had dated. It had never occurred to him to bring a woman into this room in the Manor. Ivy was special.
She didn't say anything about the lavish carpet, drapery, or furniture in the room. Beyond all that, it was rather bare. There were a few pictures on the wall. She walked further into the room, stopping by the bedside table to pick up the framed picture that sat there. It was the portrait the newspapers loved to run of Dick and his family mere days before they were killed. She smiled sadly then set it down.
Ivy turned around to see Dick slowly peeling his clothes off. She moved to his side to help him slip out of his shirt. They made their way into the bathroom in silence. Ivy turned on the hot water tap to the bathtub.
"A shower will do just fine," Dick protested.
"I intend to bath you then dress those wounds properly," Ivy replied evenly.
The young man didn't argue. He was too tired. The idea of a bath as she tended to him honestly sounded a helluva lot better than a shower. She helped him into the tub when the water got to an acceptable level. She gently washed his hair, scratching her nails lightly across his scalp the way he liked. He shivered and despite everything his cock twitched with a hint of interest. No matter what happened, she would always be able to arouse him. He glanced up at her beautiful face. She had that crease in her brow that always showed up when she was concentrating. He sighed happily as she began to carefully wash him clean of the blood and grim.
"Fuck, I love you," he breathed as she leaned forward. Her breasts brushed across his left arm.
She smiled lightly at him. "I love you, my bird."
"You do know you are gorgeous right?" He whispered into her ear.
"Save that for later." Her smile widened into a grin.
He relented for the moment. He let her finish cleaning him up. There were no complaints after she got him out of the bath, dried him, and sat him on the edge of the tub to dress his wounds. He was compliant as she directly him back into the bedroom. She turned the covers down then directed him into bed. It had been a long time since someone had tucked him in. It wasn't until he was comfortably ensconced in his blankets that she took care of her own needs.
Ivy stroked the vines on her wrists, waking them then urging them to twine around the bed posts of the four poster bed. Dick smiled as his bed suddenly took on the feel of an indoor garden. Oddly, he did not feel threatened by the semi-alive plants. He trusted Ivy. He watched as she pulled off her gloves and boots. Their eyes met as she shimmed out of her leotard. His breath caught as her breasts were revealed to the cooler air, tightening into rosy peaks. She bent over to peel the tights off her legs. When she straightened at last she was fully nude. Her womanhood was dusted with fine hairs the same bright red as the hair on her head. The full curve of her hips and the thickness of her thighs made Dick's heart race with lust and appreciation. She was perfect in every way to him.
She disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes to tend to her needs. When she returned, she walked around to the other side of the bed. A moment later, the covers were pulled back and Ivy slid under them to lie down beside Dick. He rolled over to face her. He reached out tentatively across the meager space between them to rest his hand on the curvature of her waist.
"Make love to me." She whispered, wrapping her arms around him.
He swallowed hard. "Ivy, I-."
"Don't worry. Just take me. It's alright." She urged him gently. She knew what he needed to feel was control. Harley had taken away his ability to choose. Ivy wanted to give him relief and control back after what had been done to him.
He pressed her onto her back before moving to lie over her. He buried his face in her neck and reached down to slip her thighs up around his waist. He didn't fumble at all as he pushed inside her. She sighed contentedly as he slid fully within her, buried as far as he could. He didn't still feel close enough. He didn't move for a long moment. He shuddered in her arms as he let the sensations of her body flood him with a sense of peace. No one else made him feel this way when he made love. No amount of drugs or sex could compare to how it felt to be inside her: to love her completely.
After a moment, he began to rock inside her slowly. The feel and scent of her skin made the world seemed to fade around him until he was lost in the moment. It was a different kind of high than the drugged induced euphoria. This was real, tangible, and beautiful. She held him close as his thrusts picked up a little more speed and depth. There was no rush to completion. It was unhurried and intimate in the way Dick so desperately needed in that moment. When his hips began to quake with impending release, Ivy scraped her nails across his scalp and whispered I love you in his ear. He came with full body shudder but barely a sound. A moment later, she arched beneath him as she climaxed. Her sharp gasp of release made him shiver before kissing her breathless. He continued to rock into her drawing out her pleasure until it her body finally relaxed under him.
"Thank you," he sighed, rolling off her to the side.
"No need to thank me," she smiled, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "I needed that as much as you."
He huffed a laugh before reaching over to tug her up against his side. "I love you."
"I know you do." Her smile almost looked sad in the darkened room, but Dick wrote it off as a trick of the light. "I love you too. Now go to sleep, my bird."
They settled in beneath the covers, warm and safe, and within moments Dick drifted off to sleep. Ivy took a deep shuddering breath before slowly lifting her arm to look at her skin. The green tint had crawled up the entire length of her arm. A quick glance showed that the other arm was in much the same state. She swallowed hard as bile crawled up the back of her throat. She had felt sick and weak since the car ride back to the Batcave. Fear made her chest feel tight and every breath felt restricted. Her hands shook as panic threatened to overcome her. She closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. She let it out in a long, steady exhale. The fear dissipated a little as she forced herself to relax. She held Dick tighter. She prayed to whatever deity that was listening that somehow the inevitable would never happen.
/
Bruce passed the floor of his study, brooding over what had happened in the batcave only moments before. He came here when he needed to think. It was his father's study. The walls were lined with book shelves filled with his father's journals, newspaper clippings, and accounting books. An old radio sat on a table by the door. Little had been changed in this room since the original owner had passed away. Bruce could not bear to alter a thing.
Family meant everything to him. His father and mother had been a loving, honest source of support in his formative years. They were gone before they could teach him how that love could extend out beyond the family atmosphere. Bruce guarded his love closely. It was extended on to those he considered family. Dick had been the first person Bruce had opened his world up to in every way since his parents' deaths. Dick was the first to become family outside of Alfred. Perhaps, he did not realize how much he altered Bruce's life. It had been difficult at first to learn to open up and let this child in. To learn to trust and love this other human who like him had lost the only family he had known.
The night Dick had thrown his Robin mask to the ground and left Bruce had been devastating. Bruce had been stabbed, beaten, tortured, and maimed in so many ways. Nothing had hurt as badly as watching Dick turn his back and leave. Bruce had been determined to cut Dick out of his life. But they were family. Bruce could not let go of his love for his surrogate son. He tried desperately, but Dick had changed him. It was because of Dick that Bruce found him taking in yet another lost boy. It was hard this time to invite Tim into his life, to open up again, and to love as well as trust this new surrogate son. Hope always remained that Dick would come back; that the hole missing in his world would mend.
When Dick finally came back, Bruce's world felt righted back on its axis. He was not surprised that Dick refused to move back in. They were not that healed yet from the wound of ill spoken words. Yet, his family had been reunited. His world had expanded again with Tim, Dick, and Alfred in the center of it. He would protect them with his life. They meant everything to him. They were the few that understood and knew how powerful his love could be.
He frowned thoughtfully. Lack of trust and faith in his family had torn them apart once. Yet, it was challenging to let go of his suspicions towards Poison Ivy. Her schemes were manipulative, sneaky, and designed to hurt her targets at the very heart of their weaknesses. He would never forgive himself if allowed anything to harm his son.
A knock on the door made him glance up. Alfred appeared in the door way a moment later at Bruce's beckoning. The old butler was carrying a tray of tea and sandwiches. He always believed his ward needed something to fortify his appetite before bed. Alfred set the tray down on the desk before folding his arms behind his back.
"I'm sure you are aware that Poison Ivy is currently in the Manor," Bruce remarked, dropping down into the desk chair.
Alfred poured the younger man a cup of tea then placed it in front of him. "I am, sir."
Bruce took a sip of the tea and dragged the plate of sandwiches closer. "I don't like it."
"One could hardly expect you would after what she and Harley had done to Master Dick," the old butler replied easily.
"Dick lied to me. He hid her from me. She deserves to be in Arkham." He drummed his fingers on the desk rapidly for a moment. He stilled. "They have a son, Alfred."
The butler's eyebrows rose in surprise. "A son?"
"His name is William," Bruce sat back without touching the sandwiches. "I find it difficult to believe after the last debacle with the ready-made family she created."
Alfred hummed thoughtfully. "I doubt Dick would lie about something as serious as that."
Bruce shook his head. "No, but he could be deceived."
"Do you trust your son?" Alfred asked shrewdly.
The younger man scowled.
"It is a simple question, Master Bruce," the old butler stated.
Bruce got to his feet and paced past the desk along the length of the book shelves. "He betrayed my trust, Alfred. He should have told me! Now I am left wondering how much of this is by her design or if he's telling the truth!"
"Do you trust you son?" Alfred pressed.
The younger man stopped with his back to the old butler, who was more like his father.
"Family is never easy. Sometimes it takes someone to extend an olive branch in order to keep a family together. Love and trust must be offered in order to be returned." Alfred stated.
"I trust my son," Bruce sighed, shoulders drooping slightly.
"Then give the young man a chance. Trust his judgement with Poison Ivy. If he is wrong then you are ready and prepared for the fall out. If not, then perhaps you have a larger family than you thought," Alfred smiled when his ward looked back at him. "Eat your sandwiches, Master Bruce. You must keep up your strength."
Bruce's lips twitched in the barest hint of a smile. "Thank you, Alfred."
"You're welcome, sir. Good night." Alfred left the room, shutting the door silently behind him.
Bruce sat back down at the desk to eat the sandwiches his butler left. Bruce decided to trust that he'd given Dick the right morals and knowledge to make the right decisions. Dick was his son. Bruce needed to learn from the past and hope that this was not another disastrous mistake.
"My trust," he murmured, low and gruff, "is not easily won, but I will give her a chance."
/
As much as Bruce disliked having Poison Ivy in his Manor it was necessary. Now that he'd had some time to control his temper he was able to think rationally again. It was a good opportunity to investigate and understand everything that had happened last night. After a few hours of sleep and talking with Alfred, the need to know the whole truth had taken priority over his feelings. He was after all still a detective. There were certain things he must know before he would bestow a blessing of acceptance on Dick and Ivy's relationship. He had returned to the Batcave in the early dawn hours to begin his research into Payton Ives/Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy all over again. That was where Tim found his foster father hours later.
He dithered behind Bruce's back for a moment as he debated whether or not to tell his foster father what he had seen last night. "She got rid of his withdrawal symptoms." Tim finally blurted out to his foster father.
Bruce spun around in his chair. "What?"
"I saw it. She kissed him and the withdrawal effects just went away." The boy explained briefly. "I heard her tell Dick that she dosed him with her own natural immunities in her saliva."
Bruce drummed his fingers against the arm rest as he thought about that. "That shouldn't have been possible. Harley has admitted that Poison Ivy had to give her immunities through injection. All of her poisons and toxins have to be introduced into the person's system via outside means such as with lipstick or needles. There is no documented event of her being able to use only her saliva to dose someone."
"So you're saying her kiss shouldn't have been able to do that?"
"Yes." Bruce's fingers tapped a little harder as his brain processed through the possibilities. "Unless of course the person was already predisposed to her DNA and thus, her immunities."
Tim's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the very idea that Bruce was suggesting. "You think Dick's been changed?! But how?"
Bruce gave him a withering look.
"Oh! Ewww!" Tim's face twisted up into a look of disgust.
"She shouldn't have been able to bear children. Yet somehow Dick impregnated her. If it truly is his child…" Bruce's gaze seemed turn inward as he pondered. "Could Dick have been exposed to her DNA for so long that it altered his to the point that their bodies became compatible…?"
"You'd need DNA samples to test that theory. Hers, Dick's, and the kid's." Tim realized.
"That won't be necessary," a soft voice made them both startle. They looked up towards the steps that led down into the cave from the mansion.
Bruce scowled at the red haired woman who dared to step foot down into his lair. "Why won't it be necessary?"
"Because his DNA has been altered." Ivy replied, walking down the stairs. "That is why we were able to create a child."
"Does that mean he's gonna start being able to manipulate plants and create poison?" Tim looked horrified.
"No." She smiled. "It merely means he has a more protected immune system, especially after my kiss earlier. His DNA has not changed dramatically. My own drugs no longer affect him. Dick told me Harley used my sex pollen and mind altering drugs on him. They did nothing. That's why she used that experimental street drug instead. It only affected him so strongly because his new immunities did not have time to protect him. I believe over a more extended period of time that drug would have stopped working."
"And your son? What of his abilities?" Bruce inquired with a dark look.
Ivy shook her head. "I don't know. He's to young yet to tell. I have refused all shots from his doctor and he has yet to be ill. But if you are truly interested in seeing for yourself…" She swept the rest of the way down the steps and across the floor to where Bruce sat. She pretended to not see his tense reaction to her close proximity. She pushed up her sleeve before thrusting her arm at him. "Take as much blood as you need for a sample."
Bruce glanced up in surprise. "Why?" The green tinge of her skin hadn't escaped his notice.
"I'd rather you not try to obtain it through some other subtle means," She smiled. When his expression darkened, she sighed. "I no longer have anything to hide from you. I am not Poison Ivy anymore. That was her last appearance."
"Are you going back to Florida?" Tim cut in curiously.
She nodded. "Yes. My life is there now." She gestured at Bruce. "Come now. I am not fond of needles. Please make it quick."
"No." Dick's voice echoed through the open space of the cave. He came stomping down the steps with a glare aimed at Bruce. "I already had tests taken. If you're so damn curious look for yourself." He reached Bruce's chair and thrust a CD case into his step father's hand. Ivy stepped back to tuck herself against Dick's side. He slipped his arm around her waist to give her a reassuring squeeze.
"Who ran these tests?" Bruce asked warningly.
Dick answered curtly. "Dr. Waters."
"You took this information to a civilian?"
"I've known him since I was 14. I have trusted him with my life. I wasn't about to let you run these tests. Not with your attitude about Ivy. I didn't want you anywhere near my family." Dick scowled at the older man.
Bruce sat back in his chair. His expression didn't seem to change, but Dick knew the signs. His step father was reeling. Dick sighed regretfully, letting go of Ivy, so he could reach out to grip Bruce's arm. "I'm sorry. I couldn't trust you with this. This isn't something any of us have ever dealt with before. I have a family. I wanted to protect it. Hide it. Because I wanted it to be all mine. I didn't want to share it. I was scared you'd try to destroy it—even unintentionally."
Bruce glanced down at the CD in his hands. "I am still not convinced this is not just another hoax. She nearly had us believe that she had changed once before." He and Ivy's gaze met from the few feet of distance between them. She did not flinch from the intensity of his stare. "I'll look over these results."
Dick took the hint and backed off. "We'll leave you to it then." He took Ivy's hand before heading back towards the stairs. He knew things were not fixed between him and Bruce. Maybe they never would be. The trust between them had been strained to the breaking point. He refused to feel guilty for his actions. He felt justified in hiding his family. The battle for justice was never ending for Bruce. If he felt like his family had been wronged, he wouldn't stop until vengeance had been exacted.
Dick was so lost in his thoughts that he barely reacted in time to catch Ivy when she suddenly fainted beside him. "Ivy!" He exclaimed, catching her before she hit the floor. Panic seized him at the pale greenish hue that suddenly tinged her skin along with the sweat that seemed to have broken out on her brow. He effortlessly lifted her up, startled by how light she felt in his arms, and hurried her over to examination table. Bruce and Tim were beside him in an instant. Dick ignored them as he automatically checked her pulse, which was fast and weak. Her breathing was shallow. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what. It terrified him. His hands began to shake as fear overwhelmed him.
"Step back, Dick," Bruce said firmly, pushing his step son out of the way.
"No!" Dick instantly resisted. Anger flashed through him as Tim stepped in to hold him back.
"You are not thinking rationally! Stand back!" Bruce snapped.
His step father's sharp reprimand was enough to snap Dick out of his momentary panic. He shuffled back, but waited anxiously as Bruce looked over the listless woman. Ivy moaned faintly as Bruce pressed his fingers against her throat to check for swollen glands. He frowned as he continued to check over the woman. Her skin temporarily darkened to a greener color wherever his fingers pressed. Her symptoms almost looked like extreme anemia.
"I need to look at a sample of her blood," he said definitely.
Dick gritted his teeth. "No."
"She might be anemic, Dick, or something worse. Let me look." Bruce tried to reason calmly.
"Fine." The younger man snapped.
Bruce quickly gathered what he needed. In a matter of moments, he had drawn a vial of blood that looked more like chlorophyll then human blood. Dick took a glance at the vial before looking away quickly. Even a glance, was enough to send a faint shudder of disgust through him. The amount of toxins it would take to do that to a person's blood had to be phenomenal. Now, he had part of that inside him. It was one thing to read it on a computer screen or a print out. To see the evidence what had altered his DNA was entirely different. It frightened him more than he cared to admit even to himself.
Bruce poured a small amount from the vial onto a telescope slide before imputing it into the computer to be scanned. A few brief moments, then suddenly the blood was magnified on screen to amazing proportions. Cells were suddenly visible floating through green plasma. As they watched several cells seemed to break apart and then disintegrate. No new ones appeared to replace those that had just been lost.
"Her cells are dying!" Tim gapped. "But that's…," He glanced over at his step brother, "really bad…" he trailed off.
Dick felt sick to his stomach at the implications.
"I am withering," she said faintly.
They all spun around to face her. She was watching her cells die on the screen with an expression of sorrow. She did not look surprised. She seemed resigned.
Dick sank down onto the table beside her. "What?"
"Plants grow, bloom, and then bear their fruit or crop. After that they wither and die. The plant works towards one purpose…to reproduce and then its life ends. That is nature." Ivy explained gently. "My body put all its effort into creating William to be perfect and healthy. I bore him and now my body is fading."
"Wit…," his voice faded out before he could finish the word. "What does that mean, Ivy?" Fear was already beginning to claw its way up his throat and squeeze his chest tight.
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "You know what it means."
He jumped to his feet. "No!" He paced several strides from the table. "That can't be it! It's got to be something else. I refuse to believe…you're not a plant!"
"I'm not entirely human anymore either," she reminded him quietly.
"But…withering?" He shook his head. He turned back around to gaze at her forlornly.
She smiled sadly and said nothing.
"How long?" He whispered, dragging his fingers through his hair.
"Months," she answered ambiguously.
He slid his hands from his hair down to cover his face. He took a deep shuddering breath and let it out slowly. "Have you fainted before this?"
"No." She replied. "I believe I pushed my body to far when I saved you from Harley and got rid of last of the drugs in your body."
"God," he breathed.
She closed her eyes and sighed softly. "I would do it again."
He hurried back to her side then took her hand. "Ivy."
"Please…don't say anything else. Just take me up to the garden." She reached up to him. "I want to sit amongst the flowers."
He swallowed thickly past the swell of emotion in his throat. He lifted her up bridal style before ascending the steps from the Batcave into the living room. He felt Bruce, Tim, and Alfred following him from a respectable distance. He appreciated that more than he could possibly say. He was glad they were near, but he didn't think he could stand to have them any closer. He could barely process what was happening yet. He still couldn't seem to believe that the woman in his arms that he had come to love was fading in his arms with every step he took towards the garden.
He settled down in a bed of endangered roses that Batman had saved from his first fight with Poison Ivy. It seemed like so long ago. He was careful not to scratch himself on their thorns as he sank down to the dirt. He arranged her so that she sat sideways in his lap with her head pillowed against his left shoulder. She smiled faintly at the sight of her flowers. They were a bitter sweet memory. Sorrow filled her at the evidence of the first break in her psyche. Yet, joy also swelled inside her that they had been saved by someone other than herself. They would live on; a legacy for other generations.
"The roses," she sighed, reaching out to run her finger tips over the delicate, soft petals. "Where I began…so must I end."
Dick swallowed hard. "Let me take you to a doctor."
"There is no doctor that could help me." She answered. "There is no one else like me."
His arms tightened around her. "Let me try. Please."
"I am tired, Bird. I have fought for so long. Many years spent fighting for the wrong reasons. Few precious months spent fighting for what truly matters. Let me rest." She relaxed back against him.
"William needs you." Dick pressed.
"William needs his father. A good man. A hero." She smiled. "He does not need the legacy of a twisted villainess."
"It lives on inside him. He'll need you to help him." Dick shot back. "You're not a villain…not anymore."
"Then let my legacy fade out on a high note…before I fall back. I couldn't bear it if he ever looked at me with fear or disgust. I love him to much," her voice waivered.
Dick turned his head to press his check against her soft red hair. "I can't let you go. Not like this."
She smiled slightly. Her breath was growing shallower by the minute. She leaned more heavily against him, her body molding against his and reveling in the feel of him against her. She closed her eyes. She breathed in the scent of him, spicy and masculine, so uniquely a part of him. She didn't regret a moment of her life that brought her to this point. She'd had to fall, wallow in the darkness, before she could climb back out in order to deserve his love for even a moment. She had made her most perfect creation because of this man. Though pregnancy and birth stole the life from her body, she would gladly do it all again. William was beautiful, wonderful, and the only truly good piece of herself she had left. He was untainted and purely innocent in a way she had not been for a long time. She'd rather die now then corrupt him, even if only by accident.
"Raise William to be a hero," she whispered. "To do good and protect others as you do. He will need you."
Dick hitched a sob as he hugged her tight. "I will. I promise."
She opened her eyes to gaze upon the sweeping garden that surrounded her. Everywhere flowers were in bloom. Wind whispered through their stems and petals softly as a caress. The blue sky over head was nearly cloudless and brilliant. The sun shone down in warm rays to make the flowers' hues stand out boldly against the green landscape surrounding them.
"Beautiful," she breathed. Her skin had grown clammy as her heart stuttered in her chest. She reached up to touch Dick's cheek. "My bird," she murmured. "I love you."
He nuzzled into her hand. "I love you, Ivy."
She smiled and her hand dropped gently into her lap. She closed her eyes as the last breath left her body. Her heart beat faded away into silence. Dick trembled as he curled himself around her limp form. Tears spilling down his cheeks, as grief overcame him. It had happened so suddenly. Only an hour ago, she had been standing beside him seemingly fine. Now she had slipped away from him forever. She was gone before he had truly grasped he was losing her. The soft breeze ruffled his hair as silent tears dripped from his cheeks into her hair.
He didn't know how long he sat there until his tears finally stopped. He raised his eyes from her still frame and looked at the blooming roses all around him. Carefully, he reached out to pluck one before placing it gently behind her ear. A soft smile remained curled on her lips. She looked like she had only fallen asleep. He hoped where ever she had gone that it was to sprawling gardens and rolling green hills. She deserved peace and beauty after all her struggles. He stayed out there amongst the flowers until his legs went numb. Only then did he stagger to his feet to carry her inside.
/
To be continued…
/
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I FINALLY FINISHED THE NEXT CHAPTER!
I make no promises for when the next one will be out. My inspiration to write has only recently risen from its grave.
Thank you so much to all the wonderful people who have read this and reviewed (or Kudoed on AO3 as well). Your patience and encouragement as been what's inspired me to continue working through this story. I know where I want it to go. It's been extremely difficult to get it to flow.
Some sources I used to get a better grasp on Poison Ivy's abilities.
www. cartoonwatcher batman/ batman-characters/ character-poison-ivy. php
www. youtube . watch?v=8e_kxoD9w6Q