Alex sighed as he set Barbara's flak jacket in his sink and picked up a scuzz brush, running it under the water before using it to scrub the dried blood off the soiled armor. He had already finished wiping the blood off of Barbara's carbine and had thrown her fatigues in the wash while the others had taken her to the bathroom to help wash blood off of her. As he scrubbed away Alex grumbled to himself. While he was definitely concerned about his friend's wellbeing a small part of him thought that Barbara was just being a little bitch about the whole thing.
He had told her several times that war was ugly and that she'd most likely have to do things that would make her uncomfortable, so the notion that she could make it through a war without bloodshed was an unrealistic expectation that she had set for herself. But Alex couldn't blame her for that, her mindset that killing was evil had been programmed into her for several years thanks to working with Batman. Alex had thought he had corrected it by easing her into the combat mindset required of her, but it would seem he had failed in that regard as well.
Barbara was already a hero in her own right, and aside from her sudden anger issues, an outstanding Marine, but as Alex scrubbed the last bit of blood off of her flak he began to wonder if serving with the military was becoming detrimental to her health as she had never been prone to the violent, emotional outbursts before she agreed to serve. Setting the freshly cleaned flak down to dry Alex resolved to have Barbara stay in the rear for the time being so she could sort herself out, and failing that have her discharged. He'd hate to have to do it, but if it was in her best interest he would without hesitation.
His musings were then interrupted by the dryer buzzing and Alex walked over to the laundry and removed Barbara's fatigues and thoroughly inspected them to make sure all traces of blood were gone. Satisfied that they were clean Alex returned to the living room and set them down with the rest of Barbara's things just as Harley and Ivy emerged from the bathroom and joined him.
"How's she doing?" Alex asked as he sat down on the couch and stretched out.
"She's freaked out by the whole thing, but other than that she's fine physically." Harley frowned. "However, I think it'd be best if you gave her some time off to cope."
"I was just thinking the same thing actually. This has been trying for all of us, so I think some RnR is in order, besides the Divisions passing through Maryland now and should enter New Jersey within the week. Obviously, we still gotta be ready to respond to anything but I don't think the General will mind." Alex replied in agreement.
"Oh, glad we're on the same page then!" Harley exclaimed, a small smile replacing her frown.
Alex smiled back at her when Ivy cleared her throat to get his attention. "That's all well and good Sergeant but I'd like to have Barbara stay with me for the time being. Like Harley said she's freaked out right now and I want to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself." She asked with a worried look in her eyes.
"Hmm, that is actually a good point Ivy. Go ahead and take her, Harley and I will plan something for all of us to get together. Last thing we need right now is for Barbara to think she's alone." Alex replied, knowing that leaving Barbara to her own devices in her current state was a potential disaster waiting to happen.
"Thank you, Sergeant. I'll go tell her now." Ivy said as she gathered Barbara's things and returned to the bathroom to collect her.
"Aw, Red's so cute when she's in her Mom mode." Harley commented happily as she watched her friend disappear back into the bathroom.
"Yeah, you'd know all about that wouldn't you? Ivy told me bout how she used to have to babysit your ass constantly." Alex replied with a small laugh.
Harley just stared down at him smirked. "Oh yeah, she definitely knew how to take care of my ass, among other things..." She winked before walking towards the bedroom.
"I bet, wait... what? What does that mean!? Harley!" Alex shouted after her as he jumped up and followed behind her.
…
Ivy lugged the last of Barbara's things upstairs and into the guestroom of her home and set them down by the closet. "There, that's everything. There should be some food in the fridge downstairs and the bathroom is right across the hall." Ivy turned and smiled at Barbara who sat cross-legged on the guest bed.
"Thanks for taking me in Ivy…I really appreciate it." Barbara replied, a faint smile on her face.
"It's no trouble really. I had to babysit Harley all the time remember?" Ivy replied, earning a laugh from the younger girl.
"Yeah, I bet she was a handful, wasn't she?"
"You have no idea… Thankfully she's regained her common sense, but I still worry about her sometimes." Ivy grumbled.
"Alex was right, you really are a Mom." Barbara giggled.
"I am not a Mom!" Ivy exclaimed as she glared at her, resulting in Barbara's giggling turning into laughter. Upon seeing her laugh Ivy's features softened and she shook her head in amusement. "Alright, maybe I am a bit of a Mom sometimes." She sighed in defeat.
Barbara wiped her eyes as her laughing subsided. "More like all the time. Seriously though, I think you'd be a good Mom Ivy."
"Would that I could, my ability to have a child was taken from me decades ago." Ivy frowned as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, I had no idea. Sorry for bringing it up…" Barbara apologized.
Ivy just dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Don't be, who needs children when I have all of you kids to worry about." She replied, turning to smile softly at her. "But if I were to have a child, I'd hope for them to be like you…" Ivy admitted quietly. She had never been good at admitting her feelings to people, but given the circumstances Ivy felt that Barbara should know what she thought of her.
Barbara's eyes widened slightly at the admission and she couldn't help the smile that came to her. "You mean that?" She asked hopefully.
"Of course I do, you're intelligent, resourceful, caring. In a lot of ways, I see myself in you, or rather what I could have been." Ivy trailed off as thoughts about the life that was taken from her bubbled to the surface of her mind. She'd have stuck to botany for sure, and she probably wouldn't be as critical as she was now, but that life would always remain a 'what if.'
"What are you talking about? You're all those things Ivy! Sure, you've made some mistakes, but you only did so because you cared so much about the Earth, and look at everything you've done recently, you're a hero Ivy!" Barbara exclaimed, breaking Ivy from her thoughts.
"I wouldn't go that far…" Ivy replied, shifting her gaze from Barbara to the floor. Sure, she had done a lot of good but at the same time she doubted that barely a year of service paid back all the wrong she'd done over the years. Not to say that Ivy didn't regret her past actions, as Barbara said she'd done them with good intention, but her intentions were unimportant to how people perceived her actions.
"Remember what Alex told you in Two-Nine? Nobody asks to be a hero, it just turns out that way. I'd say you'd definitely turned out a hero." Barbara assured her.
"Well, coming from a Bat I guess that does mean something."
"Right, I don't know if I can claim that title anymore…" Barbara began to say but Ivy wasn't going to hear any of it as she jumped fully onto the bed and bored her eyes into Barbara's.
"Nonsense! You just said that I made mistakes because I cared. Well guess what? You only killed that trooper because he shot Kara and you care so much about her that seeing her hurt angered you. Sure, you could have controlled yourself more, but your reaction was completely justified and no one who was there will question your motives. None of us think you're crazy and Kara still loves you, so stop feeling sorry for yourself and get over it!" Ivy snapped. Harley and Kara had already tried the soft approach to no avail, so Ivy decided that some tough love was in order.
"But…" Barbara stammered, caught off guard by Ivy's sudden outburst.
"No buts! Alex, General Anderson, Captain Thomas and his crew, Harley, your Father! Countless others! They've all killed people! Does that make them lesser heroes than those self righteous assholes in tights on the Justice League!?" She argued, daring the younger girl to disagree.
"No…"
"Exactly! They've all killed but they're not murderers and neither are you! The world isn't black and white like the League likes to believe and it needs people like Alex and your Father who use their best judgement to make the hard choices the League refuses to." Ivy pressed on. "You killed someone in combat during a time of war, that doesn't make you a murderer and you're not crazy."
"Ok, Ivy, I get what you're trying to say…and maybe you're right. Maybe I am being too hard on myself but what I did goes against everything being a Bat stands for." Barbara replied, earning a scoff from Ivy.
"You mean those rules that Batman imposes on all his wards? Barbara, you are your own person and it's past time for you to decide what ethics you follow and who you want to be, not what Batman wants you too be."
"That's the thing though, I don't know who I am anymore! Am I Batgirl? Private Gordon? Or should I just drop everything and be Barbara Gordon?"
"Have you considered that you could be all three?" Ivy asked her as she stood up and crossed the room to the door, turning to face Barbara once again as she reached it. "I am Doctor Pamela Isley, a Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corps, and known to many as the villain Poison Ivy. I have all those titles but none of them define who I am. I choose who I want to be and that is something you need to figure out soon." She said before stepping into the hall and shutting the door behind her. Ivy massaged her temple as she headed for her own room, hoping that she had given enough to Barbara to think about.
…
Deep beneath the Appalachians in an underground bunker New Era troops scurried about, readying vehicles and checking weapon systems as Selina Kyle leaned against a bulkhead and watched, taking mental note of everything they were preparing to report to General Anderson. Earning the trust of their leader, General Nelson, had been easy enough once she proved herself by acquiring items to boost his campaign. But while he seemed to trust her his Lieutenant did not, and she often dispatched her on tasks that seemed sure to get her killed such as raiding military outposts in broad daylight, and while she was allied with the DOD, to maintain her cover her allegiance was only known to General Anderson and his team in Gotham, resulting in her being shot at more than once by Army Soldiers.
"About time, isn't it Kyle?" Selina huffed in annoyance as she turned to find the Lieutenant behind her with her arms crossed, watching her troopers load several 155mm artillery canons onto helicopters for transport. "I've grown tired of fighting from the shadows like a coward." The woman said as she turned her attention back to Selina. "Time to show the world what we can really do."
"If you say so." Selina replied uninterested. She really hated this woman and her brutal methods. She had been responsible for digging up Ivy's past and altering the process that made her to create horrid abominations out captured Soldiers, not to mention that she had ruthlessly murdered several of Selina's old peers in the past few months. If it wasn't necessary to maintain her cover, Selina would have clawed the woman's eyes out ages ago.
"Whatever, I'm not here to chat anyways. Nelson wants you to return to Gotham and tell Penguin to have the gangs ready for our assault by Monday. U.S. Forces will be here within the week and we need to control the city before they do." The Lieutenant informed her, handing her an envelope.
"Is that all? No suicide mission this time?" Selina spat as she snatched the envelope out of her hand and stashed it in one of the pouches on her suit.
"Aw, still upset over that last raid? Suck it up Kyle." The Lieutenant shot back before smiling cruelly. "But since you asked, yes, there is another matter I need attended to. As I'm sure you know our ally, Floyd Lawton, was captured last year. We need him back to deal with that band of losers running around Gotham. He's being held in Belle Reve Penitentiary in Louisiana. Once you've delivered our orders to Penguin take a platoon and break Lawton out, by any means necessary…"
…Mission Complete...