Chapter 1: Paradise
Harley leaned back in her chair and let out a soft burp. She stretched, and her shirt pulled up above her belly button. She laid a hand on her swollen stomach and rubbed it contentedly. That had been a huge meal, and her belly was hard and firm under the layer of softness she was getting. She'd noticed it a few days before, and she found, surprisingly, that she liked it.
Ivy liked it too. She lingered in the doorway to her lush garden for just a moment, observing with satisfaction. Harley looked so happy, leaning back with a clean plate in front of her on the little wrought-iron table. Ivy had made sweet Harley quite a feast, and she hadn't expected her to finish it so quickly.
"How was it?" Ivy asked, crossing to Harley. She stood next to the table with her hands clasped behind her back, feeling like a diligent server and finding that a charming idea.
"Delicious," Harley replied. "As always." She looked so beautiful right now, Ivy thought. No clown makeup, hair down, wearing just a tee shirt and black jeans instead of an elaborate costume. Those jeans were looking awfully tight, though. "It's amazing what you can, uh, produce, y'know?"
This made Ivy laugh a little. She walked over to the side of the room and brushed aside a spray of leaves to reveal a large, multicolored fruit. She gave it a gentle squeeze. It was just perfectly ripe. "I can grow any kind of plant I like. Anything I could imagine… or you could imagine." She plucked the fruit and came back to Harley. "Some desert."
"Oh, Ivy, I'm so full…" Harley protested. She was eying that piece of fruit, though. Ivy knew how enticing it looked. Strange, alien in shape, and plump, with ripples of soft pastel colors on its tender skin. It could taste like anything.
"But you must try this. It'll be… indescribable."
"That's how it's all been." Harley smiled and reached out for her desert. Her shirt was still hiked up over her belly, and when she leaned forward, her new softness creased into a sizeable roll.
Seeing that pale roll of fat flustered Ivy. "I, um… thank you."
Harley bit into the large piece of fruit, and dark purple juice ran out of the corners of her mouth. Her eyes went wide. "Is it, is it alright?" asked Ivy, worried that she'd made a mistake. Harley smiled, though, as she chewed. She swallowed loudly and exclaimed, "Oh, Ivy! It's wonderful."
"Really? I'm so glad."
"I've never tasted anything like this in my whole life! How... how do you do this?"
"I, um… it's hard to explain. Maybe I'll figure out how to describe it sometime and I'll try." Ivy could feel her face flushing. Harley was making her almost giddy. It was not something she was used to. Not in the very, very strange few years since her accident. "I've got to go take care of something. I'll be right back." Ivy headed for a back doorway, almost completely hidden behind a tangled liana. She paused before going through to get one more look at Harley devouring the fruit she'd concocted. That thing was sweet and juicy but also very dense.
There was a rusty spiral staircase on the other side of the door, with vines and flowers tangled all the way up its handrail and draped across its steps. Ivy ascended quickly. The sound of a helicopter grew louder At the top, she had made thick trunks of plant matter bar a door leading out onto the roof. She waved her hands, and the plants receded. She opened the door just a crack and peered out.
A police helicopter hovered very close, and a spotlight on it swiveled immediately to fall on her. The pigs didn't miss much. She scanned the rooftop, mentally reaching out to a dozen razor-sharp thickets that would lash out at the first sight of SWAT officers—or worse —on the roof. She didn't miss much either.
The roar of that chopper was deafening, but with her plants in the way, at least the sound was dampened in the garden. A megaphone suddenly cut through the din, though. "What do you want, Ivy? Let's talk!" The voice was familiar. God damn, Gordon must be the most hands-on police commissioner in history, Ivy thought. Why would he be out here?
She squinted through the intense spotlight beam, trying to see the sky. There! Sure enough, there it was: the Bat Signal. He must not be far off. Maybe creeping right above her ready to pounce, or maybe about to deploy some gadget he'd worked up to kill her beautiful plants and break in. But she could feel every fiber of every plant in the place, and, even concentrating all her attention for a moment, she couldn't sense any disturbance. No one was here except her and Harley. Well, and…
"The hostages are still alive, Gordon!" she yelled out into the night. "You have the live feed. You know what happens if one of your pigs takes me out."
"You haven't made any demands, Ivy. Tell us what you want!"
She slammed the door and waved her plants back into place to secure it. There could be no negotiation. She didn't need to tell him what she wanted. What she wanted was right here, downstairs, happy and full.
Ivy started back down the stairs. She shook her head. She was running out of time, and there was no way to get out. She'd thought about it, considered all the angles, but it just wasn't feasible. The only thing to do, she figured, was to make the most of this time. She forced the dread from her mind, and her thoughts turned back to Harley. Just then, a flower bloomed on the vine wrapped around the railing on Ivy's left. She stopped and stared at it, surprised. It was beautiful, with large yet elegant petals, black at the base and streaking into pale red. Striking. Almost like an orchid, but not quite. A wholly new creation that just happened. She gently plucked it.
Ivy continued down. She waved the coils of vine away from the floor, revealing a metal hatch. The last of the green tendrils pulled it open as they slithered away. She knelt down and gazed in at the scene below, just as long as she had to. She saw nothing unusual.
Back in the main garden room, Harley was finishing the last of the amazing dessert fruit. Its skin was almost bready, and its juice was thick, as if it had grown as jelly. It was so strange, like a giant pastry. Harley figured Ivy could make an actual pastry if she wanted to. She surveyed the garden, seeing the standing water where Ivy was growing rice, presumably for a meal tomorrow. With her powers, Ivy could grow fully matured rice in a few hours and probably make it soft and edible right off the plant. In the days Harley had been hiding out here in this lush indoor garden hideaway, she'd been served all kinds of grains and vegetables and strange fruits. She was in awe. She'd never thought Ivy would use her powers for something like this. And she was thankful. Before coming here, she'd been on a diet of Arkham cafeteria food.
Harley finished the last bite of the delicious fruit and licked some juice off her fingers. Her stomach growled in objection. She was so utterly stuffed. It felt so good, though. She really wanted to unbutton her jeans, but wouldn't that be weird when Ivy came back? She poked her finger into the soft fat on her belly. She'd certainly gained a lot of weight. All the food she'd put away today would definitely be adding to that.
Ivy walked back in and saw Harley playing with her tummy. It was almost too much. She forced herself not to get too excited and said, her voice weak because of her now very dry mouth, "I've got something for you."
Harley moaned—out of pleasure, Ivy wondered? "I really couldn't eat another bite," she replied.
"O-oh, no, it's not to eat." She sat down opposite the stuffed girl and showed her the flower.
"Oh." Harley was genuinely surprised. Ivy noticed her hands shaking a little. Harley would see that for sure, right? She quickly withdrew them. "It's beautiful," Harley added.
In Ivy's mind, a response blared again and again like a fire alarm. So are you! So are you! But she couldn't say that. She swallowed and said, "It, uh, it just showed up. On its own."
"Really? That happens?"
"No. It doesn't." Ivy hesitated, then went for it. She reached across the table and held the flower to Harley's head. On her mental command, the stem laced itself into her two-tone hair and secured itself perfectly.
Harley was startled by the sudden gesture, but she smiled. And blushed. It was very obvious with her stark, pale skin. She looked away for a moment then returned her gaze to Ivy. "How long are we going to stay here?" she asked.
The question came out of nowhere, as far as Ivy was concerned. She tried to think fast, but she couldn't come up with a convincing lie. "For as long as we'd like, I suppose."
Harley nodded, looking pleased. Ivy started to get up, but Harley gently grabbed her hand. "Ivy… you're so sweet doing all this for me. Really."
"Thanks. It's no big deal."
"No, it's not. It's been a long time since I've been this relaxed." She patted her stuffed belly. "Or this well-fed."
"Well, hang on, 'cause I'll keep it coming."