Disclaimer: The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission.
Knightshade
Chapter 3: The Confrontation
Batgirl let out a small sigh as she swung through the city. It had been three day since her talk with Catwoman and the revelation it brought regarding her feelings for Ivy. She finally got to a point where she felt she would confidently talk to her about those feelings. But first she had to actually find Ivy. Which was turning out to be a lot harder than she originally thought. Whatever Ivy was planning this time she was seriously laying low for it. Or maybe the whole reason she broke out was just to talk to her.
Course I'll never know if I don't find her, Batgirl thought as she landed on a nearby rooftop.
She walked over to the edge of the roof to look out over the buildings and streets below. She knew it was next to impossible to just stumble across Ivy way up here, but at this point she didn't know what else to do. She had already checked out the old Baudelaires' store and found no trace of Ivy at all. Even the underground garden she had was completely gone. So she moved onto keeping tabs on all the big industries in Gotham that had reputations for being less than environmentally friendly and still there was no sign of Ivy. Whatever she was planning this time she was doing a good job of keeping a low profile.
Maybe she really did just want to talk to me and is patiently waiting my reply, Batgirl considered. Course I can't really given her one if I can't find her so it's not really that good of a plan, now is it? Or maybe she's gonna come visit me again. But that could lead to a whole new set of problems.
She sighed again then put her right foot up on the ledge of the roof so she could lay her arm on her thigh and rest her head in her hand as she tried to think of her next move. She drummed her fingers against her cheek and rolled her tongue absently around in her mouth while mulling the situation over in her mind again.
"Yeah, I got nothing," she finally muttered after a few seconds.
She stood up straight again and stretched her back to work the slight kink out of it and was about to fire another zip line to scour another part of the city when she heard a loud, terrified shriek.
"HELP! Someone! He stole my purse!" a woman's hysterical cry rang out.
Batgirl whipped her head in the direction of the plea and saw a rather well dressed blonde woman in fur coat standing in the middle of the sidewalk with a horrified expression while a man in dark clothing and shaggy looking brown hair was running away from her with a white leather purse tucked under his right arm. The young super heroine readjusted her aim so that a swing of the zip line would bring her right down on top of the fleeing felon.
"A hero's work is never done," she said with a smirk just before she launched herself off the building.
Her aim and swing were true and within seconds she was planting both her heels into the mugger's sternum. The impact sent them both rolling along the sidewalk, but Batgirl was able to flip herself up into a standing position while the mugger laid on the pavement and groan in pain. The redheaded hero reached down and snatched the purse from his splayed opened hand.
"Sorry but this bag really clashes with your outfit," she quipped.
"My purse!" the blonde woman cried as she ran up to Batgirl. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Don't worry about it," she replied as she handed the purse back. "It's what we masked heroes do."
"I know but still, let me give you something," the woman offered as she started to rout around in her purse.
"I appreciate the offer ma'am but really your thanks is all I need," Batgirl tried to wave off politely.
Unfortunately their little sidebar provided enough of a distraction for the mugger to reached a shaking hand into his coat and pull out a pistol. He held it up with the intend of shooting Batgirl in the back but the blonde noticed this action and let out another terrified shriek.
"Look out!" she screamed.
The warning kicked in Batgirl's trained reflexes and in one swift move she had pulled a Batarang from her utility belt and threw it at the mugger. The tip landed perfectly inside the barrel of the gun which prevented him from firing. While he stared at it in shocked surprise, Batgirl moved forward and punched him right in the temple which knocked him out. She pulled the Batarang from the gun barrel and slipped it back into her belt then pulled out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed his hands behind a nearby street light.
"There, that should do it," she remarked as she dusted off her hands then looked back at the other women. "If you really still want to help call GCPD and tell them to pick up our friend here."
"Oh yes, yes of course," the blonde nodded vigorously as she pulled out her cell phone. "And thank you once again."
"All in a night's work ma'am," Batgirl replied with a small salute before she zip lined off again.
"Well that helped with my frustrations a bit, she thought as she swung throughout the city. Still need to try to find Ivy though. But maybe later. It's getting kind of late and I really should try to get some sleep before class tomorrow. Yep sleep sounds good about now. Just hope the night doesn't have anymore unpleasant surprises for me.
Back in her dorm room, Barbara was in a quite pleasant sleep when a light rapping noise from the window slowly brought her out of it. Her face scrunched up in annoyance at whatever it was that was trying to ruse her from her slumber but her eyes popped up when she realized what it exactly it was. It was the same sound she heard the first time Ivy had visited her. She clicked on the lamp on the night stand then pulled herself out of bed. She grew a little anxious as the tapping sound increased a bit, the resolve she had felt earlier finding Ivy and telling her her feelings suddenly fading under a bundle of nerves. There was also the fact that she was afraid what would happen if Kara where to wake up. She peered over at the other bed in the dim light and thankfully found that it was empty.
She let out a relieved sigh before she made her way over to the window and pulled the blinds back. Just like before Ivy was on the other side of the window sitting on one of her vine transports. Barbara quickly opened the window and practically pulled the green girl inside. She then stuck her head the window to see if anyone noticed before she shut it again and pulled the blinds closed. When she was sure the coast was clear she looked back at her former friend.
"You've got to stop doing this!" Barbara chided her.
"Hey you're the one who pulled me in here rather quickly," Ivy replied with a playful smirk.
"That's because I don't want anyone to know you're here."
"Awww, so you do still care about me."
Barbara's eyes widened a bit and a slight blush came to her cheeks as she turned her head away and stared down at the floor.
"Well...yeah. I mean despite everything I still think of you as my friend," she mumbled.
Ivy smiled softly as she walked over to her shorter girl and placed her hand under her chin to gently lift her head up.
"And I still think of you as my friend Red," she said softly. "Even more so now."
Barbara swallowed nervously and blushed even more.
"Y-yeah...you told me last time you were here," she stumbled a bit.
"So what's your answer?"
The younger Red stared up into her friend's green eyes for several tense seconds as she tried to remember what she was going to say to Ivy when she found her again. The only thing she could really focus on was the rapid beating of her own heart. She took a few deep breaths to help calm her rattled nerves then brought her right hand up to gently lay it on top of the hand Ivy had under her chin. She then slowly lowered both their hands and entwined their fingers as she looked up into the other Red's emerald eyes.
"Ivy...Pam, I've been giving this a lot of thought. A lot of thought," she said with a slight roll of her eyes. "And after doing some deep soul searching the only thing I can really say is...yes. Yes I can return your feelings."
For a moment Ivy stood motionless as she processed what Barbara had just told her. After a few seconds of awkward silence, her fingers tightened their grip as a cheerful smile slowly graced green lips. It was a smile full of hope and joy. A smile she hadn't had in a long time. A smile it felt good to have again. Unfortunately it was quickly deflated by one word from Barbara.
"But," she spoke up, looking away from the taller girl's eyes.
"But what?" Ivy asked in a slightly irritated voice.
Barbara took another deep breath and locked eyes with her friend again.
"We can't really be together if you keep living this life of crime," she explained. "I know the environment thing is important to you and it's important to me too. But you can't go around attacking industrial plants or corporate heads or trying to replace people with plants!"
"Are you still on that?" the green girl asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes! Because that's exactly the kind of attitude that will keep us from being together."
Ivy scowled at her for a few seconds before she pulled her hand away from Barbara's and turned her back to her. She began to pace a bit as she mulled over the proposition. Barbara watched her anxiously, her muscles tensing up just a bit in case she needed to dodge an attack. The tension continued to grow thick throughout the small dorm room until Ivy finally turned back towards the shorter redhead. She gracefully walked back over to her and Barbara had to force herself not to take a few steps back in precaution. The villainess' hands reached out to grab hers and hold them gently but tightly. Once within her grasp Barbara looked back into Ivy's eyes and saw a surprising softness and sincerity in them.
"Alright, I'll do it for you Red," she said softly with a gentle smile. "For you I'll go back to Arkham and turn over a new leaf."
Despite the overwhelming joy she felt, Barbara couldn't help but cringe at the horrible pun.
"Really?! You just had to put it like that?" she asked in disbelief.
Ivy shrugged with a grin. "What can I say, I couldn't help myself."
"Right. Well...anyway are you going to go back to Arkham peacefully or do you really need me to call my dad?"
"Way to ruin the moment Red," she mocked with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, I'll go back by myself, but why rush it? I'm much more happy staying here with you and enjoying this little number you have on."
Barbara arched an eyebrow in confusion at Ivy's statement. She then raised them both in shock and embarrassment when she realized why she had been looking her up and down. She had been so caught up in the moment that she had forgotten she was only wearing a long purple T-shirt barely fell past her hips to cover her panties and left her legs completely exposed save for the pair of socks on her feet. A deep blush came to her face and she tried to pull her hands away from Ivy's to pull down the shirt a little bit, but green girl merely strengthened her grip.
"You're going the wrong direction Red," she purred seductively.
The next thing Barbara knew, Ivy had yanked her towards her and their lips locked into a soft kiss. As with the last time Ivy had suddenly kissed her she was surprised but this time she was able to overcome her shock and actually returned the kiss. Their fingers untangled from each other and instead wrapped around their waists as the kiss grew more heated. Barbara's head spun as everything seemed to be happening all at once and when she finally could process what was going on she realized they were slowly making their way over to her bed. She came to this realization just as her legs bumped against the mattress which caused her to topple onto it and take Ivy with her. The unexpected movement caused them to break their kiss long enough to laugh at the bit of clumsiness.
"Thought you were supposed to be an Olympic hopeful?" Ivy joked with an amused smirk.
"I am when I don't have someone distracting me," Barbara shot back.
"So does that mean you want me to stop?"
"Not on your life Red."
They quickly repositioned themselves so Barbara could lay her head on the pillow before they resumed their impromptu make out session which was quickly turning into something more. Their hands again roamed over each other's bodies and Ivy's began to pull up the end of Barbara's nightshirt a bit.
"Oh Red," the smaller redhead sighed after she broke the kiss again.
"I know Red," Ivy breathed hotly.
"Ivy," she sighed again.
"Miss Gordon."
That one seemed a bit weird. Why would Ivy suddenly get so formal with her?
"Miss Gordon!"
There it was again. Barbara opened her eyes and saw Ivy glaring down at her with a very nasty expression on her face.
"MISS GORDON!!"
Barbara let out a surprised shriek as her head snapped upwards. For a moment the world was only a strange blur and she could hear muffled giggling around her. She blinked her eyes a few times to try to get them to focus and when they did she wanted nothing more than to close them again. Apparently she was not in her dorm room with Ivy on top of her doing very pleasurable things. Instead she was in the middle of class with the other students laughing and mumbling as her professor glared angrily at her.
"Welcome back to the waking world Miss Gordon," he said snidely to her. "I trust you had a good rest."
"I...um...well..." she muttered helplessly.
"I'm sorry if my lecture's boring you but I would have assumed of all people here the commissioner's daughter would be interested in this criminology class."
"I-I am. I promise! I just...had a long night is all," she explained lamely.
"Well in the future I suggest you wait until the weekend to do your partying"
Again another round of laughs started as Barbara dipped her head and slowly slid down into her seat to appear as small as possible. Thankfully she didn't have to deal with the humiliation that much longer as class ended not soon after her rude awaking. She quickly shoved her things into her backpack, slung it over her shoulder and raced out of the class as fast as she could. She didn't slow down until she was out of the building and halfway to where her next class was held. As her pace matched that of the other students around her she let out a small sigh and shook her head to clear out the lingering cobwebs.
Okay that was just a weird, she mused. I mean it's bad enough I feel asleep in class but that dream...
She grew a bit flustered as bits of the dream flashed through her mind. She shook her head more vigorously to chase the thoughts away.
Okay this whole thing is definitely weighing on my mind more than I thought, she rationalized. I know I could deal with it if I could just talk to Ivy about it but I've had no luck at finding her. Like at all. I'm beginning to think someone's just having fun watching me squirm.
She pushed those thoughts aside as she opened the door into the hall for her next class. She was really hoping her next class would be a little more engaging and keep her thoughts from lingering back to her current problem. She just wanted to have a little while where she wasn't thinking about it. Unfortunately she arrived early and would have to wait until the last class let out. Hoping it would keep her mind occupied she grabbed a copy of the school paper from the stand near the entrance then sat down in front of the class door and started to flip through it.
As usual it was filled mostly pretty plain stories about school activities and its various sports teams and a few things happening elsewhere in Gotham. The entertainment section had an article on some local bands and the movie reviews were okay but nothing really held her attention. What did catch her eye, however, was one of the opinion articles about an old greenhouse the university owned but left abandoned for years now. According to the article, university officials stopped caring for it because it began to cost them too much money to keep it running given that it was a few miles away from the university. The author of the article made a case for the university to reopen and refurbish is by redirecting a few funds from other programs, but she had this sneaking suspicion someone else had already moved in.
It's probably a long shot, but it would make sense. It's close enough to campus for her to be able to get to my dorm room quickly enough and far enough away so that no one would notice her. Heck a lot of people probably don't even know about it. And what better place for Poison Ivy to hide than an abandoned green house? Barbara theorized. Feels kind of convenient though. I mean, what are the odds the school's paper would lead me to both Catwoman and then Ivy right when I needed to talk to them? Million to one I bet. Probably be have better odds playing the lottery. Still I've got no other leads so I might as well check it out tonight and see what happens.
"I really should have played the lottery," Batgirl grumbled to herself.
Once the safe cover of night fell, Barbara had quickly donned her costume and made a beeline for the abandoned greenhouse. She had carefully hidden her bike then scaled a tree a few yards from the glass building so as not to give herself away and to get a better look at what was going on inside. Much to her surprise when she took a peek at it through her binoculars she found it filled with lush plants and shrubs. Certainly not something one would expect to find in a greenhouse that had sat unused for years. It was, however, what one would expect to find in a greenhouse currently being used by Gotham's resident plant girl.
It was a revelation that still confused Batgirl a bit.
"I mean seriously, two good leads in the past week?" she mused quietly. "Who knew the school paper could actually be useful? Or maybe someone up there actually does like me."
She mused over that fact as she lowered her binoculars and put them back in her utility belt.
"Well let's hope my luck holds out and I can actually get in there without alerting Ivy. Last thing I need right now is to get into a fight with her and her killer plants."
She fired a zip line towards one of the trees overlooking the greenhouse and swung carefully onto the roof. She used all her gymnastic skills to plant her feet on the steel structures between the cracked and broken panes of glass. She prowled around the roof for a moment until she found a whole big enough for her to slide in through. She paused when she heard soft music coming from the inside of the greenhouse. It was classical music but she couldn't quite tell which composer it was. She could understand the intent though. It was the kind of music used to sooth plants and make them grow bigger. Despite the situation, Batgirl couldn't help but smile a bit. Even before her transformation, Pam always did treat plants like pets or children. There was something oddly reassuring that at least that part of her personality hadn't changed. In fact it had probably been in enhanced more than anything.
Come on Barbara head in the game, she scolded herself. You finally found her so don't waste anymore time and just do this thing.
She nodded to herself determinately then dove through the broken window and landed soundlessly on one of the metal beams high above the greenhouse's floor. She stuck to the shadows to avoid detection and from what she could see Ivy was preoccupied tending to some potted plants. With any luck she could make a loop around and get behind Ivy before she could notice she was there.
Unfortunately for Batgirl her approach didn't go as undetected as she had hoped. While Ivy hadn't noticed her arrival the plants populating the greenhouse certainly did and they were quick to inform their mistress. It was only a slight shift in the leaves on the plants but to the green skinned redhead it was a loud warning cry.
"Yes I know she's there," she said in a soothing tone to the plant she held in her hands. "I just want to give her a little more rope before I spring the trap."
Ivy continued to take care of the potted plants on the table in front of her, acting completely oblivious to the fact that Batgirl was slowly sneaking up on her. The right side of her mouth crooked back into a smug grin as two of her vines silently trailed behind the hero to set up her own trap. She waited for her to get a few steps closer until she finally couldn't contain herself anymore.
"You know Batgirl..." she started calmly, not even turning around.
The unexpected remarked caused Batgirl to stop in her tracks in surprise.
"...not to take away from your impressive stalking skills but it very hard to sneak up on me in my own element. Now I on the other hand..."
She let her statement be finished by the two vines behind Batgirl that quickly shot forward and wrapped around the young heroine's ankles and pulled her into the air. Batgirl let out a surprised yelp at the sudden sensation of being yanked off the ground and being turned upside down. Once she recovered from the bout of dizziness from being tossed around and a bit of blood rushing to her head, she pulled out two ice tablets from her utility belt and tossed them towards the vines. They froze over instantly and became brittle enough for Batgirl to swing herself upward and shatter them with two well placed punches. She flipped down to the floor of the greenhouse and stared back at Ivy.
"I really hate those ice pellets," Ivy grumbled.
"Ivy, listen, before you do anything else I'm not here to fight you. I just want to talk," Batgirl tried to reason with her.
Ivy glanced off to the right as if she were thinking the proposal over.
"Nope, not in the mood to talk right now," she replied then cocked back the hand holding the plant. "But I am in the mood to play...catch!"
With that she toss the small plant forward. It's leaves separated into something that resembled a gapping maw of some kind of nightmarish creature. The roots broke free from the pot they had been confined to and began to flail around in tendril like fashion, just waiting to wrap around something and most likely squeeze the life out of it. Batgirl only had about three seconds to take the sight in before the plant wrapped it's leaves around her head. She threw her hands up to block the roots but they just wrapped around her wrists. She stumbled blindly around the greenhouse in a panic as her air supply was being cut off by the leaves over her mouth and nose.
Ivy just smiled wickedly as she watched the hero thrash around violently.
"Do you like it?" she asked gleefully. "It's something new I've been working on. I admit I got the idea after watching an 'Alien' marathon, but it's such an effective little thing. Don't worry though, it won't ingest you with a plant spore that will brust out of your stomach, it'll just choke you to death."
Oddly enough, Batgirl found no comfort in that fact. Of course she wasn't really paying attention to Ivy's ranting as she was preoccupied with trying to get air back into her lungs. After several seconds of struggling she was finally able to free her left hand from the root tentecal's grasp and routed around in her belt for a bit. She pulled out a small aerosol can and held it as closely to the attacking plant as she could then gave it a good spray. The plant loosened it's grip as it convulsed wildy and Batgirl could swear she heard it let out a squeal of pain. When it was done thrashing, it laid limp against her face and she quickly yanked it off so she could take a few deep breaths. She glanced over at Ivy who was staring at her in confusion and anger. Despite herself, Batgirl couldn't help but smirk a bit as she held up the can.
"A concentrated herbicide," she explained. "Or as Robin likes to call it 'Bat Plant Replant'."
Ivy continued to stare at her.
"Yeah, I don't like it either."
"How much of that stuff do you actually have?"
"Enough to handle your little face hugger plants there."
The green girl scowled deeply for a second before her face took on a more calm expression.
"Fine. Then I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. Get 'er boys!" she commanded angrily.
The ground shook a bit as two large Venus Fly Traps erupted from the depths of the greenhouse and started to swoop down on Batgirl.
"Oh I hate those things!" she muttered as she tossed away the dead plant in her hand.
It smacked against the stereo on a nearby table playing the classical music and inadvertently switched it over to the radio. Had she not been busy dodging the killer plants, Batgirl might have found a certainly irony in the station playing Three Day Grace's "I Hate Everything About You" but instead she focused on staying alive while the music blared throughout the greenhouse.
Every time we lie awake
After every hit we take
She grunted as branch from one of the larger shrubs lashed out and knocked her to the ground as she tried to jump away from one of the fly traps.
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet
She rolled away as it came down on her but she was slapped in the face by another one of the shrubs. She glared angrily at it but didn't get time to do anything else as she flipped away from another attacking Venus Fly Trap.
Every roommate kept awake
By every sigh and scream we make
All the feelings that I get
But I still don't miss you yet
It wasn't long before she flipping and jumping all over the place as it seem liked every plant in the greenhouse was out to get her and knowing Ivy's state of mind they probably were. She tossed a few more ice pellets around to slow them down and bounced off some of the remaining glass walls to out maneuver the plants. As she continued to avoid all the killer plants she couldn't help but muse over how this was not how she wanted this meeting to go.
Only when I stop to think about it
She knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park, so to speak, but she hadn't expected it to devolve into a fight for survival quite this quickly. To make matters worse she really wasn't sure how much she could actually fight back since these plants were essentially Ivy's children and hurting or killing them wouldn't exactly put her in her good graces. But of course she wasn't about to let herself become mulch either. Added to all this were her new found feelings for her former best friend and the feelings she knew Ivy had for Barbara Gordon, but not for Batgirl. To say the whole situation was complicated was putting it mildly.
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
She back flipped onto to the head of one of the fly traps and sprayed a blast of her herbicide directly into it's gapping maw. The plant shuddered and started to thrash around violently before it started to topple over. Batgirl steadied herself for the ride as she kept track of Ivy and prepared an attacked directly on her to try to give herself some breathing room.
"Sorry Red," she whispered under her breath before she launched herself off the dying plant monster.
She soared through the air in a flying kick position and buried the heel of her foot directly into Ivy's abdomen. The villainess let out a pained grown as the wind was knocked out of her and she was sent sailing backwards.
Every time we lie awake
After every hit we takeEvery feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet
Batgirl took a defensive stance when she landed and watched Ivy carefully as she slowly pulled herself up.
"Look I'm sorry I had to do that but we really need to talk," she tried again.
"I've got nothing to say to do you Bratgirl except...DIE!" Ivy shouted, seeking even more vine tendrils after the redheaded heroine.
"Great this is going so well," Batgirl muttered as tossed a few buzz saw bladed Batarangs towards the vines.
Only when I stop to think about it
She launched a zip line towards the roof to try to get some height advantage but it was snapped in half by the other fly trap.
"Right, forgot about that one," she mused as she fell.
She used one of the vines flailing about to break her fall by grabbing it and swinging herself onto it. She ran along the length of it until she could jump off of it to try to land safely on the ground. Unfortunately this was right when the other fly trap decided to swoop underneath and swallow her up.
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
She punched and kicked against the inside of the carnivorous plant to keep from being melted by it's acids. Thankfully they seemed to be rather slow acting and mild at first but she really didn't want to find out if it got any worse. She fumbled around a bit before she found two more buzz saw blade Batarangs and used them to cut throw the creature. It whipped around wildly in pain before it spit her out and sent her crashing to the ground. She groaned a bit in pain as she slowly picked herself up and rubbed her aching head.
"Oh Batgirl," Ivy called out in a mockingly sweet tune. "Those 'Face Huggers' were just one of the things I've been working on. I'd like you to meet my other project."
Batgirl watched wearily as the vines and shrubs moved aside to reveal a large shrub shaped like a rhino that most people would find on some rich person's lawn or on the grounds of an upscale hotel. The main difference between those ones and the one she was currently facing is that those ones usually don't move. Actually charging was more like it and it was heading straight towards her.
"Oh you've got to be kidding," she mumbled to herself.
Unfortunately she was too sore and disoriented from her fight to get out of the Venus Fly Trap that she couldn't move in time and had to brace herself as the shrub rhino ran into her. She let out a yelp of pain as it's thorny horn jammed itself into her stomach and she was picked up by the charging beast. It continued to run through the length of the greenhouse until it crashed through some of the panes of glass.
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
The leafy beast continued to charge through the field where the greenhouse sat until Batgirl finally found the strength to drop an ice pellet into it. Like the vines from earlier it stopped dead in its tracks as it froze over. The sudden stop resulted in Batgirl being tossed off of it and rolling along the damp grass a few feet. As she laid there recovering from the, thankfully minor, injuries she could still hear the song from the greenhouse's stereo wafting through the cool night air.
Only when I stop to think
About you, I know
Only when you stop to think
About me, do you know
She let out another groan as she ignored the pain in her muscles and tried to pull herself up again. Unfortunately before she could even get to her knees a large vine erupted from the ground and wrapped around her body, holding her tightly. She struggled as much as she could but it was no use. She could only watch helplessly as Ivy strode confidently open to her with a satisfied smirk on her face.
"So now that I've caught my prey what oh what should I do with it?" she teased as she leaned against the edge of the vine and put her face directly in front of Batgirl's. "I suppose I could just kill you now but that seems too...easy after all that hard work. Guess I'll just send a message to Papa Bat and let him know I have one of his favorite kids. But first...I think I'll have a little peek under that mask."
Batgirl's eyes went wide in horror as Ivy slowly slipped her thumbs under the edges of her mask.
"No! Wait! You don't want to-" she started to protest.
But it was too late. With a quick flip of her wrists Ivy had pulled back the black cowl to expose Batgirl's true face. Needless to say she was stunned into silence. She had always wondered who that annoying redhead in the mask was but she never would have suggested it to be...
"Red?" she asked in an almost whimpering voice.
"Hey Red," Barbara replied with a weak smile.
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
You hate everything all about me
Why do you love me
"No. No," Ivy muttered as she backed away and shook her head in horror. "It can't be! You can't be Batgirl!"
"But...I am."
Ivy continued to shake her head in disbelief. This couldn't be happening! The only person she ever really liked. The girl she cared about. The one she came to...love. She was...was Batgirl?!
I hate
But they had just been fighting! They had been fighting ever since Batgirl showed up to help Batman against her when she first became Poison Ivy. She was just another do-gooder trying to stop her! She wasn't her best friend!
You hate
But she wasn't her best friend! She was her enemy! Always stopping her plans and putting her back in Arkham! What kind of friend was that?! Just like she said she wasn't her friend, she was her enemy. And she had to pay!
I hate
She whipped her head back towards the captive Barbara, no Batgirl, and was about to send a command to her vine to crush the life out of the traitorous witch. But the command left as quickly as it came when she saw the expression on Barbara's face. There was a hint of fear in there of course, but it was mostly remorse mixed with sadness and compassion. She could swear she even saw a bit of...love in those big, brown eyes.
You love me
"No. No," she continued to whimper. "It wasn't...supposed to be like this."
She buried her face in her hands as she slowly fell to her knees. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as it slowly dawned on her that she couldn't bring herself to kill her best friend and the object of her affection. It was just made worse by the fact that that girl was also her worst enemy. Friend? Enemy? The same? She just couldn't...couldn't handle it. What was she supposed to do now? Where did she go from here?
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
As the conflicting emotions finally overcame Ivy and she broke down into a sobbing heap, the control she had over the vine holding Barbara wavered and it slowly unwound itself. She quickly pulled herself free and slipped her mask back on incase someone else happened to walk by. It was only out of necessity that she did so because she really didn't want to face her friend with the face of an enemy. She needed to be comforted right now, but Batgirl also knew the last thing she wanted to look at was the mask of the girl she had just tossed around like a ragdoll.
But of course that was the whole crux of the matter. She wanted nothing more than to comfort her crying friend but they were still a super hero and a super villain. By all rights she should have used this time to secure Ivy and take her back to Arkham. But that wouldn't help tension between them at all, would it? So she had to decide whether she wanted to be a hero or a friend right now.
"Screw it, I'll be a hero later," Barbara said with a newfound determination.
She walked carefully over to the still sobbing Ivy, not wanting to startle her and start up the fight again but she also wanted her to know she was there for her. She placed her hands on the other girl's shoulders and kneeled down in front of her. Ivy picked her head up out of her hands and stared up into the pure white lenses of Batgirl's mask with her now red and puffy eyes. For the longest moment they just stared at each other, neither of them really sure what to say in this situation. The wind blew gently around them, blowing Barbara's cape a bit as they continued to stare at each other.
Their statuesque stillness was finally broken when Barbara slowly leaned forward and placed her lips over Ivy's warm, green lips in an unexpected kiss. They were quite frankly both surprised by the action, but Ivy quickly overcame her surprise and placed her hands on the small of Barbara's back as the younger redhead reached up to stroke a green tinted cheek. They held the kiss for several perfect seconds. Forgetting all the troubles it would cause and pain it might bring later and instead focused on how good it felt to be in the others' embrace.
Sadly this moment came to an abrupt end when Ivy's eyes snapped open and she pulled way almost violently from Batgirl.
"Wha...?" the confused redhead mumbled.
"No! You...I...we..." the plant girl stammered incoherently.
"Red what's going on?" Batgirl tried again.
"No...You...just...ARGH!"
Ivy roughly shoved the other girl away before she sprang to her feet and called another vine up from the ground. Instead of attacking the confused Batgirl, however, she merely used it to ride off into the night sky. Batgirl continued to stare and blink blankly as the vine slowly disappeared back into the earth to signal that Ivy was now long gone.
"Wh-what just happened?" she asked herself in confusion.
Then she felt it. A slight shiver going down her spine as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up even under her tight costume. She hadn't heard the approach but she didn't need to turn around to confirm it, she could just feel that he was standing right behind her.
"I think we need to have another talk," Batman stated in a low, grim growl that made the shiver in her spine even worse.
Oh...crap, Batgirl thought helplessly.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Once again this chapter took me much longer than I meant it too but in addition to work just being exhausting I've also had to deal with some...unpleasantness that kind of ruined the writing mood for me for awhile. Let's just say it's not been a good last two weeks for me.
But enough about that. The chapter's done and the story is getting thicker! Barbara's finally come to a conclusion about her feelings for Ivy but as you can see things didn't quite go the way she wanted. Not only did Ivy run out on her in a confused daze but big, bad Batman caught...well you'll just have to wait til the next chapter to see just how much of that exchange he caught and what the fall out will be. Yes I know I'm horrible but hey it's just too much fun to write cliffhangers.
I do have to make a few notes regarding some of the images in this chapter. Mainly that some of them where inspired by some very excellent pics over on DA. The first being Babs' sleep attire in the dream section of the fic. It was inspired by Shoxxe's very lovely piece found here:
http:// shoxxe. / art/ Batman-Barbara- Gordon-Nightie- 84853993
And of course TM2DB's great colorzation of said pic here:
http:// .com /art/ Babs-No-peeking- 95624599
The scene of Batgirl and Ivy kissing was inspired by AngelicKitty89's wonderful pic, that she did two years ago for me, right here:
http:// angelickitty89. / art/ Batgirl-and-Poison-Ivy- II-81888776
All of which should work if you just fill in the blanks cause of FF.N's stupid linking rule. I recommend you check them all out as they're all great pics. At least I think they are.
The use of Three Day Grace's song "I Hate Everything About You" was originally planned for my Kim Possible fic "Seeing Double" but at the time I couldn't remember who sang the song so I couldn't look up the lyrics and went with another song. But once I was able to look up the lyrics I realized they worked quite well for not only this fic but that scene in particular. In fact I'm quite proud of how it turned out and I know not everyone is into songfics and if you're not sorry but I really liked it and suggest checking out the song.
Alright that's enough of my ramblings. I'm off to rest up and hopefully get started on the next chapter soon.