Author's note: I KNOW, I'M THE WORST! I'm sorry! I said I'd post ages ago, but I got stuck! :(
Thanks Teo for beta reading this for me. I wanted to have it up before I left for the Olympics, and he raised to the occasion. Now with that said, I'm afraid I've to tell you guys that the epilogue will only be up AFTER the Olympics, because I'll be in Rio working :D
I hope you like this final chapter of Bloodstream!
9. A CHAPTER OF CLOSURE
There are some feelings one just can't describe – the hallucinating excitement of the summer rain, the incredible rush of doing something reckless, the overwhelming long of a forbidden love, the rough burn of skin in skin. All those things were happening that day at the same time in a dusty room of the last building before the Narrows began (no, not Narrows anymore. The name "Arkham City" already was catching on for a couple of years now).
Under the sound of the streets and the bay and the massive Arkham clock and the people losing money downstairs, there were moans and groans and humping and a noisy bed that made everything better. After everything, it was nice to feel good again.
Silver St. Cloud was at the door when she arrived, cigarette between fingers as she watched the rain pour. Poor girl looked so miserable, as if something had sucked the life out of her. She was all smeared eyeliner and smoke now, and it was hard to understand how it happened. It most certainly wasn't his fault. No, he had way too much energy to bring anyone down like that.
"It's you, aren't you?" asked Silver, letting out a continuous line of smoke for a few seconds. "His new tool."
That was the word Selina had used to describe Silver a while ago. It was funny how tables turned in that city.
"You sure are his type – blonde, petite, a foot on insanity. Am I wrong?" there was no answer, though there wasn't much agreement on the 'insanity' part. "Must be, to be here," she continued, and finished her smoke, throwing the cigarette butt on the wet sidewalk. The other girl started to walk again. "He likes ass play," informed Silver. "But it must've not be a problem, you lesbians do everything, right? You just better be flexible."
"I am," she replied and headed upstairs.
And boy, she really was. All those years in gymnastic paid off.
She liked his weight on top of her, the way his red hair fell on his forehead wet with sweat, and how he grabbed her – for there was no holding with him, just grabbing -, and it felt great.
"Roller derby doll, what do they call you on the rink?" he asked, curiously analyzing the colorful points of her blonde hair. She had gone for red and black this time.
"Arlequina," she told him, and he smiled. God, he was beautiful with his marvelous chest hair and sharp grey eyes.
"Harley Quinn," he said, making the English version of the name into two different things. "Sounds good, don't it?"
Harleen nodded, but she was distracted by his scar, the way she'd been since she first saw him shirtless.
"It does, J," she wondered, her fingers traced the deep line that went from his heart to his left shoulder. "What happened here?"
Jerome sighed, but didn't push her aside physic nor metaphorically, which probably was a good thing. Right?
"Selina Kyle happened."
"She did this to you? Why?"
"We had a small disagreement," he explained, and touched the space between her eyebrows to keep a frown from growing.
"Is that what she meant by letting you live last time?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that, but-"
Jerome was interrupted by Harleen's phone, that buzzed, and she looked for it among discarded clothes.
"Speaking of the devil," she showed him the screen with Selina's name on it before picking it up. "Hi Selly, what's up?"
Jerome observed as Harley's posture changed, as she tensed and sat on the edge of the bed.
"What?" she breathed. "Really? Who did this? Holy shit…"
He kept watching her one-sided exchange, feeling that his brow was frowning now. The call was only a couple of minutes long, but it was enough to change the whole mood of the room.
" What is it?" he asked as soon as the call ended, almost a command, and Harley took a deep breath.
She didn't answer right away. First, she put her phone aside, tried to tame her hair a bit, and then she looked at him without turning all the way around. She was crying, silent as a flower.
"They found Pamela in Central City. Their parents are taking a chopper first thing in the morning."
"Chopper? That's fancy."
"They have some pretty neat friends," she replied, drying her cheeks with the heels of her hands.
They fell silent for a few seconds, because they both knew what Ivy "Pamela Isley" Pepper's return meant, and then-
"What are you gonna do?" Jerome asked, and it was just an ask. Harleen sighed.
"I don't know."
[...]
Time does tricky things to people when they roll out of their worst spaces. It collides and cuts, holds you down afraid of changes, whispers secrets no one ever thought would know just to mock the beliefs of its residents, beeping the heartbeat of a stranger.
But Ivy was no stranger, and her captivity had no beeping, so time was tricking her, tickling her eyelashes, toying with her senses.
She was growing conscious and with that the memories came in full speed – the herbarium with Jonny and the impossible plants (how many days did they spend there together?), and the mean look in the guards faces as Woodrue accused him of treason, took him from her the way they took everything, everyone from her.
No – she protested on the verge of waking up, practically reliving the way his hand was snatched from hers.
No.
"It's okay, you're okay," someone assured, and she blindly looked around, looked at her hands, felt her body, her face. When did she sat up was an unknown fact, but it seemed like she was in a hospital room, though there was no IV inserted in her veins. "Ivy."
Ivy's head snapped up, eyes wide, breath sharp. It was Selina. She had been rescued and she was fine, safe. Rescued and fine.
"Selly," Ivy breathed, and threw her arms around her sister's neck. "Oh, my God."
She held tighter and felt Selina's arms strong around her as well. Selina smelled of summer rain and cinnamon cappuccinos, she was soft and wider than Ivy remembered, and because of that, the redhead let go a bit.
"What the fuck is that?!" she exclaimed, her eyes going from Selina's face to her round stomach. Ivy tentatively touched it, first the tip of fingers, and then splayed her hands on the bump. "Holy shit, Selina, what the fuck?"
"Seriously?" the other girl replied, but her annoyance was so fake it didn't even tickle. "You're gone for ages, and that's the first thing you've got to say?"
Ivy kept holding Selina's belly and the baby gave her a little kick that made her gasp.
"You're fucking pregnant! I leave for a little bit and when I come back you have a baby on the way? I thought it had been a few months, not, like, seven years!" Selina rolled her eyes and Ivy was ready to add some comment to it, but she frowned, removing her hands from her sister's bump. "Please, tell me this is some surrogacy to get money and not a billionaire incubated."
"You're so strange," answered Selina instead, and Ivy moaned.
"How did that happen?"
"It's a long story."
The two girls just stared at each other for a few seconds. When they parted, they were on bad terms, had been for a while. They didn't even remember why the beef had started anymore. Ivy and Selina had been through alot together, and whatever it was that bothered them before could stay in the past.
"What took you so long, though?" joked Ivy, changing the subject for now. "Where am I?"
"Well…" started Selina with a smirk and sat more comfortably on the bed. "It wasn't easy, but we found you in Central City. Right now, you're in S.T.A.R. Labs, and you were rescued by the Flash."
"WHAT? S.T.A.R. LABS? CENTRAL CITY?"
Selina's smile widened, it was rather obvious that Ivy would freak out and she would savor every second of it for sure.
"That's right. They helped me find you, the Flash and his clique of nerds."
Ivy's eyes were wide, her face for sure with the best expression she could ever wear. Being a nerd herself for that technology oasis that Dr. Wells built, all the amazing things the S.T.A.R. Labs scientists had achieved… that was the kind of thing she aimed for when she chose her major – not the fact that they worked with an actual superhero, but the fact that they were doing something extraordinary.
"I can show you around," Selina interrupted her thoughts, making her attention snap back to the girl in front of her. "But I think you'd like a shower first, to wear your own clothes and all."
She pointed something at Ivy's right, and the redhead followed. There was an open bag on a chair, and out of it was easy to identify jeans and shirts and skirts that were hers, a lot of things she never thought she'd see again, and that feeling was so deep, Ivy even felt a bit lightheaded.
"My clothes," she mumbled, and Selina chuckled.
"And an actually private shower," the older girl added. There was a closed door by Ivy's right as well. "Don't worry, people kind of live here, basically, so it really is private. And they were only monitoring your vitals, so you can take all that stuff off," she vaguely pointed at the wires glued to V's chest, and the younger started to pull them out, making the vitals machine protest. Selina got up and turned off the sound. "You can go, I'll be here when you're finished and I'll tell you everything you want to know," she assured and Ivy nodded.
A bit unsure, Ivy tested her feet on the cold floor of that room. Her toes touched the ground and it wasn't cold at all, just slightly cool like the rest of the room. They had left a pair of flip-flops for her and she put them on before standing up. Her body was strong, she knew, but her mind was so confused yet, that it felt like weakness.
Ivy stood up. Her knees didn't buckle the way they did the first time the Woodrue people made her stand. At the time, they had realized (not soon enough) that she wasn't of good use for them if she was weak. She got the bag of clothes from the chair and felt a pair of sneakers inside as well, which made her heart a tad happier. She was going to go back to her own self, slowly, steady, and that was insanely wonderful.
When she looked at Selina, before heading to the bathroom, she noticed how the other girl was watching her closely, as if ready to catch her at the first need, the way she had been since they were kids – one running from her raging father, the other looking for shelter -, and it warmed Ivy's heart even more.
"Selina?" the redhead called, and the Cat raised an eyebrow, signaling that she was listening. "Your boobs look amazing."
Selina snorted a laugh and that eased the rest of the tension. Now she could shower in peace.
[...]
When the door of the bathroom opened, it revealed a freshly showered Ivy with damp hair, wearing a pair of jeans, her old green All Stars and a sleeveless blue top that matched her eyes. When she left Gotham, Selina had packed some of Ivy's things out of instinct. Say what you want, she always believed that she would find her sister.
"Is that a…?" asked the redhead, pointing one of the cups the older girl was holding.
"A Flash? You betta."
With shinny eyes, Ivy skipped to Selina and held the offered cup with both hands, feeling the warmth of the beverage on her skin. The smell of cinnamon cappuccino with extra caffeine was traceable from miles away. Ivy loved the traditional CC drink, tried to reproduce it any chance she got, and was getting pretty close to the original flavor last time she tried. Her favorite snack to go with it was-
"Cinnamon rolls?" a modulated voice asked from behind the redhead, who jumped surprised. Ivy straight up squealed and Selina was so glad she was recording it.
"YES!" she basically screamed, taking the paper bag from his hand and opening it. Selina was actually impressed with how easily she balanced the cup and the bag, rushing to take a bite of one of the rolls. "Oh, my God, so good!" she mumbled with her mouth full. "I've been eating hospital food for so long, I think I forgot how actual food tastes like. Is this vegan? Fuck it, I don't really care. I'll care tomorrow."
The Flash and Selina exchanged a few looks and smiles as Ivy drank and ate talking nonstop – long enough for Selina to decide that she had enough footage already to send to Harvey.
"Gee, I could cry, this is so good, Sel!" continued the youngest, sitting on the bed. She was on her second roll already. "Do you know why there's so much cinnamon in everything that has your name?" she asked the Flash, and he shrugged.
"Because I'm a cinnamon roll myself?" he asked at the same time she said "Because you're a cinnamon roll yourself."
"Yes! Exactly!"
The Flash laughed, and it was funny when he did it with that vibration going on.
"Selina told me that," he told Ivy, who looked at the other girl over her cappuccino cup.
"Yeah, she loves to kill my jokes," said the redhead and then looked down at her half-eaten cinnamon roll. She took another bite of it, drank a little more of her beverage, and then looked at him. "You're really tall."
"That's not true. Have you seen the Atom?"
"I haven't," she replied licking her empty fingers. "Answer me that: do all superheroes have, like, a secret whatsapp group or something? You all seem to know each other."
"Well…" started the Flash, but it seemed like he knew he didn't need to answer that. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Ivy told him. The sincerity was both palpable and surprising. "Physically. But I'll be fine. I owe you a thank you."
"You don't owe me anything," he replied. "Selina did all the work. We wouldn't even know what was going on at the grow house if it wasn't for her. I'm glad we found you in time."
Ivy looked at Selina and smiled. There was a bit of sugar on her chin.
"Yeah, me too."
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, but I have to go. Selina will show you around, and if you need anything, the staff will help you, okay?"
Ivy stood up again and smiled, offering a steady nod as answer. With a blink, he was gone, and she looked at Selina again, blue eyes shining.
"You seem unsurprised."
"I've been working here, V. This place is as crazy as the GCPD."
"You've been wo-shut up!"
Selina smiled and offered her arm.
"Wanna go for a walk?" it was a bit of their Central City internal joke – to walk so close together – and so Ivy took the arm, letting Selina lead the way.
"His smile is a killer, though, am I right?"
"Yeah, he's a charmer!" the sisters laughed, and Selina held Ivy's hand tighter. "I was so worried I'd fail you, V," she confessed.
"And I was worried you would all forget about me."
Selina shook her head.
"You've no idea how impossible it is," she assured, side-eyeing the taller girl, and saw how Ivy swallowed a lump. "We would look forever if we needed to."
"That's a big statement," observed the redhead, and Selina shrugged.
"It's true. Remember how Jim never let go of the Wayne Murder until it was solved?"
Ivy sighed.
"Yeah, I should've thought about it when I was there, I think, but I was so scared…"
Selina slowed down near the main hall, knowing that the control room would be crowded. That corridor had been redecorated with minimalist benches every five steps along the wall.
"What happened there, V?" she asked, turning to face Ivy. "You mumbled about drugs and hallucinations…"
Ivy took a deep breath, her eyes observing the space she was in. They had visited those laboratories the previous year, right before Ivy's classes at Gotham U started, and walked those corridors, led by one of the employees, a girl Selina now knew was Jesse. For such a vibrating place, it was interesting how its corridors were windowless.
"Woodrue had some people from his other job to get me," the redhead told her, not making eye contact. She was concentrated now on picking the skin of her fingers with her nails, a sign that she hadn't had enough vitamins in her system. "I don't know why they chose me, but Jonny thought it had something to do with IQ, you know?"
"What the hell," mumbled Selina, sitting on one of the benches. Ivy sat by her side.
"I know, I don't get it. I try to put everything in order to make some sense of it, but it just doesn't. They never cared to tell me what they were doing to me or why neither. All I know was that they injected this drug called Venom in my system and it was…" she trailed off and took another deep breath. It probably wasn't cool to remember the cloudy days of her captivity. "You know Hugo Strange?" she suddenly asked, and Selina nodded.
"Which part?"
There was a lot of weirdness around Strange, a long list of crazy to call him, but he was also a very successful at making the mad people behave, like Aaron.
"The god complex," said Ivy. "As if he was beyond life and death. That's how Woodrue sounded."
Selina held Ivy's hand again, her body turned to the redhead. She would never know the dimension of the absurd that V had to go through all those months, but she could try her best to rehabilitate her sister into this mad world of theirs, make her best to assure that she would be okay the way she said she would. Mentally. Because physically she seemed fine, unlike the other people who were under Woodrue's care in the other cases.
"Wanna know what's the worst part?" Ivy asked, a rhetorical question evidently. "He had always sounded like that, but mostly about plants and the environment. It seemed that he always had all the answers, and I thought it was because he was so incredibly wise, but it was just craziness, like everything in Gotham. How could I not know the crazy?"
"No one did, V, we're just so used to it, it seems normal," argued Selina. "He managed to stay clean for years. He might not be as wise as you thought, but he's undeniably clever."
"Yeah, that he is," the other agreed, and then frowned at Selina. "Was?"
Holding her breath for a second or two, the older girl shook her head and saw how Ivy's eyes blurred a bit.
"He was nowhere to be found, I'm sorry. Something must've tipped him off to flee."
"Most definitely," agreed Ivy dreamily, she looked like she was trying to put the pieces together in her head.
They fell silent for a moment, both girls absorbing the presence of the other. It hadn't been even twelve hours since Ivy was rescued, and every minute mattered, especially for Selina. Because of that, they hardly stopped touching each other, as if to make sure that they still were there, like twins used to contact in the womb.
"You look fine," Selina said after a while. "Physically, I mean."
Ivy nodded.
"I didn't at first. I don't think they knew the best way to do their job when they started on me, I don't know… I had no notion of time there, they kept me drugged for way too long. Just after some weeks that they really started to take care of me, you know?"
Selina nodded, even though she didn't know, and Ivy sighed.
"I don't think I would stay sane if it wasn't for Jonny," she confided. "Where is he, by the way?"
In some way, Selina was waiting for that question from the moment Ivy woke up, after all, it wasn't hard to put two and two together once she found out that the screaming person on the next room was Jonathan Crane, but it didn't make the answer easier to be delivered.
"Ivy…" she started, and then thought better. Under a sad look of her sister, Selina breathed in and stood up. "It's easier to show you."
They passed by the control room without looking inside and headed to the elevator to the upper level. Upstairs, S.T.A.R. Labs looked even more like the high technology facility it claimed to be, walking the line between hospital and Star Trek spaceship. Selina was sure Ivy was dying to ask questions about everything – the inauguration tour they took didn't include the level two rooms -, but the redhead had something, someone else in mind for the moment.
They stopped by one of the first doors, one that was open, of a bright, large room. Despite the clarity inside, outside the window they could see the pitchy black sky dotted with stars. In the monitor that read Jonathan's erratic vitals, they could read that it was little past midnight. Selina knocked on the door, catching Jesse's attention, who was concentrated on something in her notepad.
"Hi Selly," she greeted, her voice low. "Did you get to pack everything in time?"
"Had a little help," admitted Cat with a small smile.
"Pack in time for what?" asked Ivy, and Jesse's smile widened; she stepped closer and offered her hand. Selina was under the impression that Ivy only took it because she would want to be friends with these S.T.A.R. Labs people as well.
"In time to be here when you woke up, of course," continued the scientist, and V nodded, her eyes drifting to Jonny.
"Hi Jesse," Ivy greeted, never taking her eyes from the unconscious boy. "What's up with him?" she asked, and Selina braced herself in more than metaphorical ways.
"We didn't know at first, all we knew was that he was in incredible pain," explained Jesse. They both saw how the redhead flinched under the words, walking in his direction. They followed her, keeping a respectable distance. "We couldn't figure out why, for he has no bruises nor anything internal, and then the Flash found his file, with all of his father's work inside."
Ivy was by Jonathan's side already, one hand holding his, tracing a scarred line on his skin with her thumb, but at the mention of his father, she looked back at them. Selina was around when Ivy found Jonathan's hospital files, around the same time Alfred was hospitalized.
"Don't say it," the redhead mumbled, her voice small, and Jesse moved on her feet uncomfortably.
"They developed a new fear serum," the biochemistry said, even when asked not to. "Apparently with the help of Jonathan's own research, from what we found and gathered. And they injected a highly concentrated dosage on him."
"The bully flower," Ivy sighed, sitting on Johnny's bed. They seemed really close – the way she checked his heartbeat by resting a hand on his chest, how she pushed the hair from his face when he moved, driven by his nightmares – and Selina made a mental note to ask questions later.
"We are working on an antidote," Jesse assured. "But for now, we had to put him on an induced coma, or his heart would explode. Maybe literally. He was under a lot of stress. But we'll find a cure. However, his home is in Gotham, and Wayne Enterprises said that they'd have a place to treat him, if he was to be transferred."
Ivy scoffed.
"They are not taking him to Arkham," she protested, and Jesse shook her head.
"No, not Arkham. You know how Wayne Ent. can be secretive about their work, but they said that professor Strange would take care of Jonathan's case if needed."
"No," Ivy was adamant.
"I had Jim personally taking care of his case," Selina said. "This way, we can nose in any moment and find out what is going to happen."
Ivy looked at her sister then, surprised mixed with hope in her eyes.
"You did?" Cat nodded. "Why?"
"Because you care. So I care. And since Jim dealt with the Crane case back in the day, he knows Jonny well."
Ivy smiled, and then looked at Jonny again, her fingers in his hair fondly.
"I told you we'd be fine," she said, and then turned to Selina, as if she just remembered something. "So you talked to mom and dad?"
"I did, first thing as soon as you were out of that hell hole," replied the older teen. "Alfred was there and offered a chopper to bring them here, so they'll come tomorrow morning, just in time for Sunday lunch."
With shinny eyes, Ivy sighed, and Selina's heart hurt a little. It would be awful to break the spell of the reuniting, and she'd been working hard to avoid that moment.
"I really miss them, I miss mom," Ivy confessed, maybe in her quietest tone. "How is the baby?"
"Getting big," answered Selina smiling. "Red hair, like yours, but she doesn't have many yet. She's smiley and adorable, even though she's a bit of a crier. But she's really cute. I don't think she remembers me much, but mom and dad would always have her with them when we were skyping or facetiming, so who knows?"
"What's her name?" asked V, standing up, and Cat found a chair to sit.
"Barbara."
"Barbara?" echoed Ivy.
"Yes."
They were silent for a moment or two.
"Like the Gilmore Girls?"
"Yes."
More silence. And then, both said at the same time-
"Jim's work."
Selina laughed.
"Exactly."
"Gosh, he's the worst," Ivy laughed a bit as well. "So many names in the world…"
"I know, right?" agreed Selina. "But I backed him up, just for kicks. We call her Barbie."
Ivy was shaking her head.
"You backed him up," she repeated, sounding amazed. "No wonder I'm Bab's favorite."
"You'd never allow it," attested Selina, both hands on her belly, and Ivy shook her head.
"Like hell I would," she confirmed. "But what about this one?" Ivy pointed at Selina's stomach. "What will you call it?"
"Him," corrected the older girl. "I'm calling him Connor."
Ivy's shoulders relaxed and she shook her head again, smiling.
"Of course you are. How did Jim take it?"
Selina took a deep breath.
"He doesn't know," she told Ivy. "None of them do."
"How come?"
"I left before I started to show," explained the pregnant girl. "And before that, when I was getting sick and everything, they just thought that my system was crashing, because I was working so hard and under so much stress, and Bruce had left the country."
"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Ivy, getting up. Jesse had left the room and they didn't even noticed when. "He left? When you're carrying his child? That bastard!"
"He doesn't know," Selina told V, who stopped halfway through her pacing. Her face said it all, but she verbalized anyway.
"Typical Selina."
The older teen didn't even flinch.
"Mom and dad can't know either."
At that, Ivy went on a I'm-very-serious mode, brow slightly frowned, spine straight, hands on hips.
"Come again?"
"I'm not telling mom and dad, and neither should you," Selina explained calmly. "Neither will you."
"But you said they'll be here in a few hours!"
"And I'll be gone by then," informed Cat, letting it all out at once. To her surprise, Ivy stepped back, her guard down.
"You won't be here when mom and dad arrive? You won't be going home with us?"
Selina swallowed and shook her head.
"I got a job offer," she told V. "In Metropolis."
"But you're pregnant."
"Yes."
"You rather be far from us when you're that vulnerable?" asked Ivy, genuinely worried.
"I won't be alone," explained Selina. "I'll work for Fish."
Ivy needed a minute to figure out who the hell Selina was talking about.
"I thought she was dead."
"No one is ever really dead, are they?" wondered Selina. "Not when they matter. Not when it's Gotham."
"Why did you kept him in the first place, Sel?" asked Ivy, the question she really wanted an answer to, and Selina lowered her eyes to her round baby bump.
"I don't know," she confessed. "You disappeared. And Bruce left. And Barbara needed me. Everything was so chaotic. Had he stayed, I wouldn't bat an eye, you know that. Or had you been there, you'd talk some sense into me," Selina looked up at her sister. "But you were gone, and time passed. I don't know why I let time pass. I guess… I needed something to be permanent, in my control in the middle of the chaos. That doesn't mean I'm gonna keep him, I just need time to figure out what to do, that's all. Time to breathe. Away. So don't tell Jim and Babs, please. It'll all be over in three months, that's all I need."
She knew Ivy would side with her, but it was hard to ask anyway. It was easier to sink with this boat when she was far from home, and Ivy would had a lot of trouble to keep that secret for her.
"What if you decide to keep him? How are you gonna do it?"
"I don't know yet, I don't have a plan," Selina confessed, and Ivy rolled her eyes as if saying 'clearly'. "But I have Fish and the Pond to help me. I'll figure out."
"You know that's a Wayne you have in there, right?" asked Ivy, though it was more of a judgement than anything else. "You have any idea of the consequences of letting a Wayne loose?"
Quietly, Selina nodded.
"That's why I can't go back to Gotham like this," she pointed generally at herself. "Why I can't have him there. And the less people knowing, the better, because as soon as they see me, they will know it's his. Damn, these people here figured out, and all they had to do was check paparazzi photos! You feel me?"
Ivy nodded.
"You are the stupidest smart bitch I've ever known," commented the redhead. "But okay, I'll keep your goddam secret. Just… give me a call when the little fella decides to pop? I want to be there with you."
Selina smiled, her chest felt oddly light after that talk.
"Of course. Yes. I want you there with me."
For the moment, it settled things.
[...]
That (rest of) night, Selina slept in Ivy's bed under the redhead's argument that she already had slept for way too long, and woke up really early to give Babs and Jim a call. When they picked up, they were on the car heading to the Wayne Manor, little Barbie on the back seat beat them in energy by a long distance.
"Alfred said that we'll get in CC around 9 a.m.," said Barbara struggling to find an angle that would catch her, Barbie and Jim on the camera. "I can't wait to see my girls again!"
"Yeah, about that…" started Selina, feeling anxious and guilty. It would be so easy, at this point, to just tell them. But she had to think not only about herself new, and out of everyone, Connor was more important. "I need to go somewhere, it's urgent."
"What?" exclaimed Jim, just half of his face showing up. "What could be more important than a family reunion? We haven't seen you in months."
"I know! And I miss you guys so much!" she really did. "But I got this job offer when I was in Star City, and they agreed to wait until I found V. I didn't think they would actually wait, but once the rescue hit the news, I got a call. They are sending someone to get me in an hour."
"Get you where? What job is it?" asked Barbara, frowning.
"Personal assistant at Lex Corp., in Metropolis," that wasn't a lie.
"You are going to work for Lex Luthor?" said Babs impressed, and Selina shrugged.
"More like for Lex Luthor's personal counselor. She's going public."
"The legend?" asked Jim, and Cat nodded. "You met her?"
"Yeah, years ago. I've worked for her before."
"How come?"
"Damn it with the mystery," Ivy commented, getting up from her seat and standing behind Selina. "It's Fish Freaking Mooney."
"Ivy!" shouted Barbara, making the phone tremble. She put it closer to Barbie's face, so they had a pair of big blue eyes curious eyes staring at them. "Look, baby, it's your sister, she's back!"
"Hi, mom," greeted V.
"Oh, my God, Ivy," Babs teared up, the camera back on her.
"Barbara, we're only a couple of hours away," interrupted Jim, but he tried to look at the camera anyway. "We're coming, baby."
"And I'll be here. Unlike certain people," she poked Selina, who poked her right back.
"I really miss you guys," the older girl said pouting a little. "But this is a huge opportunity. We'll see each other soon, I promise."
"You're lucky we're in such a good mood, young lady," said Jim. "Don't think I didn't process the part about Fish Mooney being alive."
"I've always said she was," pointed Selina. The car stopped and they got out, Jim got Barbie from the back seat. "Look, I've gotta go, but I'll call as soon as I get there, okay?"
"Do you really need to do this?" asked Barbara. They all knew it'd be her last try. Selina was never one to be talked out of anything. The girl nodded.
"Yes, mom, I do."
"Then okay. We'll talk more later."
"See you soon, mom!" Ivy waved, and the call ended. "This sucks, you know?"
"I know," replied Selina heading to the control room. Everyone was there, even the SC people that had come to the rescue and didn't go back home yet.
"You know this is crazy, right?" said Felicity as soon as they came in the room. "You've worked so hard to get your family back together, why leave?"
Selina shrugged again.
"There's no way I can protect a Wayne in Gotham, or at least keep him off of the radar," she told them. "And it's safer for everyone if they don't know."
"As long as you don't hide him from us," commented Caitlin, making Selina look at her. "I'd like to see him when he comes out."
The teen smiled.
"Are you kidding me? You're his doctor, I'm calling you as soon as the first contractions hit."
Caitlin smiled and made a small celebration with her arms before she hugged Selina.
"Call whenever you need, okay?"
"Okay, don't worry," replied Selina, and then she looked at all the others. "Guys, thank you for joining me in this crazy crusade. I know I sounded insane when I got here, but you jumped in, helped me, and now I have Ivy back. I owe you all big time."
"You owe us nothing," said Barry, stepping forward. "It's our duty and it was a pleasure."
They were all huggers, so Selina received a hug from each and every one of them. All her things were in her T-Bird already, so all she had to do was to get into her car and drive north.
Under the reception desk, Selina stopped to retrieve her whip on the way out, and shoved it inside of her bag. Outside, in the parking lot, both she and Ivy took a few moments to observe S.T.A.R. Labs, the second time in the past year. There wasn't a big staff on a Sunday morning, and most of the lights were off in several windows. Despite the dark sky, it looked just like it had when the girls had come to the opening the previous year.
"I can't believe I'm here," Ivy wondered. "That you worked with those people."
"It's surreal, I know," replied Selina. Ivy looked at her.
"I'm proud of you, you know?" she said, making the other girl raise an eyebrow. "You've overcome so much."
Selina scoffed.
"Shut up."
"I mean it. Would fourteen years old Selina ever do something like you did? Spend months on a journey filled with dead ends just because of one person?"
"Ivy…"
"A lot of bad things happened to us, Sel," continued the younger girl as if she hadn't been interrupted. "You were this close to suicidal, and I was so, so close to homicidal. But a lot of good happened as well, and I like to think that the good stuff wins. Even if we're bad people most of the time. Even if we have heaviness, or darkness that threaten to consume us when we're vulnerable. You showed me over and over that we can thrive and overcome. You're the baddest bitch I've ever known. That's how I know I'll be alright. And you'll be alright. I guess… what I'm trying to say is… thank you. Really. For never giving up."
"Don't be ridiculous," replied Selina, pushing down any emotion. And then she said it. "You're my sister."
Their relationship was odd, but they kind of had agreed without words to never admit what they had – that sisterhood cultivated in cold streets and comfy comforters. But Selina had pulled the sister card during her search, and now it was out.
Ivy nodded soberly.
"That we are," she agreed, and Selina opened the driver's door. "Do you really have to go?"
"I don't want to, but…" the older girl pointed generally to her stomach.
"It's not even that big yet," pondered Ivy. "Maybe we can hide it, like they did with Melissa Fumero in Brooklyn Nine-Nine!"
Selina scoffed.
"As if they fooled anyone."
"Yeah," Ivy agreed. "I figured out in, like, episode four," she sighed.
"Besides, Barbara is a hugger, Jim is a detective…" continued Selina. "I think they will find out pretty fast."
Ivy leaned on the T-Bird looking up at the S.T.A.R. Labs again.
"If only Gotham wasn't such a bitch."
"If only," agreed Cat, and then she looked at Ivy. "I called Harleen, but I don't know if she's coming."
Ivy said nothing.
"Did I do wrong?" asked Selina, and the other girl shook her head.
"How is she?"
"She was worried," Cat replied. "Compromised. She helped a lot, really. There were clues that I wouldn't have without her. But we haven't talked much the past couple of months," she opted to leave out the part where she had to call the Penguin to take the blonde from the Deck of Cards. Selina didn't know what happened after that. Maybe Harleen had found some sense to put into that crazy head of hers. "What's up with you and Jonny? Did you sexed him?"
"God, Selina," Ivy shook her head, and then- "Yes. Don't laugh!"
Selina raised her hands in surrender.
"I'm not! It's just… you always had a thing for him, didn't you?"
Ivy shrugged.
"I don't know. Maybe. He's just a good person punished over and over for it, it's really unfair," she looked at Selina and laughed a bit, humorlessly. "Why are the Gotham children so fucked up, Sel?"
The other girl laughed as well. It wasn't funny.
"Maybe that's the question to forty-two, I suppose," she replied, and Ivy raised an eyebrow that meant 'NERD!', that Selina ignored. They sighed at the same time. "Tell mom and dad that I miss them, please? And hold Barbie extra tight, because she's adorable?"
"Sure thing," Ivy said, and then punched Selina's arm lightly. "Take care, okay? Of yourself and Lil' Wayne."
Selina smiled, caressing her round belly.
"Tell me one last thing before you go, though?" asked Ivy, before Selina got in the car. "Forgive me for not being here when he left?"
"It's not your fault," Selina stated, but Ivy looked guilty anyway. "Look, having Connor was an unconscious decision at first, but it was a decision I made. I'm fine. I'm sure you had your own decisions to keep under your control as well."
Ivy nodded. Selina knew her well.
"I gotta go," said Cat, one hand on the driver seat. "Fish would send someone to meet me at the city's limit."
"Are you seriously going to have lunch with Lex Luthor?" wondered Ivy.
"I don't think so," confessed Selina. "But if I do, I'll try to snapchat everything."
The girls smiled, Selina's addiction to social media was one of their infinite internal jokes. They looked at each other. They didn't need to keep touching each other as much, like the previous night, but they allowed one more hug.
"Stay away from kidnappers until I return, please?" requested the eldest.
"And after that as well," guaranteed the younger, smelling Selina's fluffy hair. It was longer now, like hers was longer since they last saw each other.
Selina got in the car and closed the door, sending one last look at Ivy and the Labs behind her before buckling up and starting the car. The girls waved a final goodbye and she drove away, seeing through the rearview mirror that Ivy stood in the parking lot until she was out of view.
It felt ironic how she came all the way there to find her sister, just to leave within twenty-four hours. It felt wrong, in a sense. But there was too much going on with her now, and she had other decisions to make – away from home, from people who could cloud her reasons.
She drove off up north, to Metropolis, to see if she could start fresh, but there was no way Selina could say she didn't look back at least a couple of times.
The moment she turned on to the highway, her hair was suddenly blown with the wind, but all the windows were closed, and then Barry was there, on the passenger seat. She didn't even acknowledge him, eyes on the road.
"That's a neat car, did I ever tell you that?" he casually asked.
"About fifteen times, if my count is correct."
"Kids these days have such cool stuff…" he continued wondering.
"I thought I had said goodbye already," observed Selina, risking a quick glance at him.
"Yeah, but I had to tell you that I know something, and the others can't know I know it."
"Had to?" the girl echoed, and she could practically feel Barry's smile. "Okay, what is it?"
"You're Catwoman," Barry deadpanned. He didn't even try to build suspense, he just said it.
He was so factual about it that Selina didn't even find space to feel surprised, offended or worried.
"Yeah?" she replied casually. "How come?"
Barry laughed.
"It's a shame you're leaving town, Selina, because I'd love to learn how to be that chill."
"Are you gonna arrest me?"
"Are you admitting you're Catwoman?" he replied, and she shrugged, hands on the steering wheel. "Don't need to, I already know. But I'm serious, it's a shame you're leaving. You actually remind me of someone."
"Funny," said Selina. "People say I have such a unique face."
He shook his head amused. Barry seemed energetic, but also very calm, and Selina knew that he was waiting for her to ask, so she asked.
"How did you guess?"
"I watched you," he said satisfied. "I mean, I know how a person who just did something incredible and no one knows look like. And your face as Felicity showed us the footage said it all."
"That footage was bullshit, there are better VHS tapes at the GCPD."
Barry shook his head, kind of agreeing.
"True. But your face. And the Catwoman outfit I found when I helped you pack," he admitted, and Selina smiled for real this time.
"Busted."
She kept driving. He didn't move.
"So?" the girls spoke first. "Did you call Joe to block all the exits or something?"
"Nope," answered Barry. "I told you I didn't tell anyone."
"Why not?" she frowned. Truth was, she hadn't even told Ivy about that part of the trip yet.
"Because I trust you," he said. "Probably shouldn't, you know what they say about Gothamites, but I oddly do. And it's not because you know about my secret, I just… get it."
Selina tilted her head to the left a bit.
"Interesting talk," she commented. "Does that mean the Flash is letting a criminal go?"
Barry took a deep breath mixed with a dramatic shrug.
"I had a rogue just like you a few years ago, and, you know, he was smart, had his priorities, but in the end, he was also a hero. Is."
"Please, tell me you're not comparing me to Captain Cold," she begged.
"How did you…"
"Sara," she cut him, and he shook his head smiling a little.
"Look, I know you have a lot of figuring out to do. That's why."
She didn't reply for a long time, and they were close to the city's limit already. Two black SUVs were parked next to the "Come back to Central City soon" sign, easy to spot already, and the darkening sky indicated that rain was coming to the Great Lakes soon, and then-
"Thank you."
They both looked ahead, at the people getting out of the cars, and Selina let out a sharp breath when she identified someone very similar to Fish among them.
"That's your ride, I guess," commented Barry, and she nodded, slowing the car as they got closer. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "I suppose I should get going anyway."
She risked a longer look at him, and they both smiled.
"Good riddance, Catwoman," said Barry.
"Godspeed, Flash," said Selina.
And he was gone.
Selina parked in a couple of minutes just behind the SUVs and it was true, Fish Mooney was there. She had so many questions for the boss lady strutting to her passenger seat, but where to start?
On her insane heels, Fish tried the door; it opened easily for her, and she looked at the teenage girl inside. Selina was sure her eyes were huge and amazed, and there was a real chance she was glowing extra hard when the woman smiled.
"Nice ride," Fish said slowly. "I'll be your co-pilot today, what do you think?"
If possible, Selina's smiles grew wider.
"Yes ma'am, hop in."
[...]
The chopper arrived 45 minutes after Selina left, and the whole S.T.A.R. Labs crew was waiting at the heliport with Ivy. In her chest, it felt like her heart would explode under the Labs' sweatshirt, fingers clenching the backpack that Selina had left for her, the expectation of seeing her family again, finally, at last, was almost overwhelming. The chopper landed, the door opened, and the first thing Ivy Pepper saw was Jim's blonde head as he stepped out of it.
Ivy Pepper had held on to time her whole life: the seconds that ticked in slow motion when she first hit an orgasm (it was under Kory's touch, on his bed at the Bradley's, and it was insane), the minutes that counted down to the 4th of July fireworks she got to see practically every year at Gotham's Botanic Garden with her best friends, the hours that took in dazed expectation before anything grand happened, like her Gotham U acceptance letter arrival, not even anxiety breaking the spell of the boiling energy inside her. She didn't have to count time in any other way to know when to treasure a memory. At that moment – that factual, real, otherworldly moment – Ivy could see the many ways in which life could be right. Walking to Barbara, Jim and Barbie, hugging her parents, being there (even if "there" still was far from home, even if it was starting to rain) reminded her what family was supposed to feel like.
That was enough.
"You're safe now, baby," Barbara said with tears in her eyes.
"We've missed you so much," Jim held her close.
Finally, she was with whom she had to be.
