Once again Harley found herself in the magnificent bathhouse created by Washu. At least this time she had stripped off her own clothing and hadn't needed any help. If you could call letting the last few scraps of her clothing to fall off to be stripping.
She had to suppress a laugh as Mihoshi tried to help Catwoman undress. Harley knew Mihoshi had to be straight, after all Mihoshi had confessed to Harley last time that she was after Tenchi, but for a straight woman Mihoshi seemed to really like helping other women disrobe.
Catwoman had lept backwards as Mihoshi came very close to her and tried to examine her costume looking for a zipper to unzip.
"What is it with blonds always wanting to feel me up?" She hissed.
Mihoshi took no offense and merely shrugged. "The last time Harley was here she was incredibly shy and we had to coax her into bathing with us. I figured it was a cultural thing in your dimension and we would have to coax you too."
Catwoman to be honest was slightly uncomfortable bathing with others but she wasn't a shy person. You kind of had to be a bit of exhibitionist to run around in a skintight cat costume after all. So with a shrug of her own she quickly shed her costume and quickly scrubbed herself down as she saw the other women doing and then climbed up to ease herself into the very hot water of the huge elevated soaking bath.
The small black kitten Delilah sat on the edge of the bath and began to clean herself, every now and then shooting a glance at her mistress as if to say, you are crazy to bathe in water rather than just licking your paw and rubbing it over yourself the proper way.
Ivy, even though the experience of group bathing was new to her as well, removed her costume without any coaxing at all. A quick scrub with the soaps and she too began soaking blissfully in the almost scalding hot waters of the bath.
"I love how you incorporated the trees and plants in here." She murmured as she slowly closed her eyes enjoying the heat of the bath and the fresh scents of living plants surrounding her. She could almost convince herself she was in some steamy swamp with her eyes closed.
Harley began to inch her way towards Ivy. It wasn't like she was going to try anything with everyone in the bath with them but she yearned to be as close to her as she could be. Her progress stopped however when Ivy opened her eyes and looked around curiously.
"Where's Ryoko?" she asked.
Immediately Harley closed her eyes and raised her hands to protect her face. Sure enough seconds later Ryoko appeared fully nude above the center of the pool and cannonballed into the middle splashing hot water over everyone's face.
"Ryoko!" A sputtering Ayeka hissed at her.
Harley couldn't control the giggle that built up inside her. It was just so similar to the last time she was here. It was like she had never left. In some ways she wished she hadn't have left to go back to Gotham with Batman and the Joker but in other ways she was happy she did or she would never have acted on her feelings for Ivy.
Speaking of which...
Harley began her determined inching around the edge of the pool trying to reach Ivy's side once again.
Ivy unaware that Harley was making her way to her side and still curious about the blue haired space pirate Ryoko suddenly moved from where she was at, just as Harely was about to arrive at her side and moved over to where Ryoko was smirking at the dripping and highly annoyed Ayeka.
Harley couldn't help the slight frown that came over her face. Ivy had talked about nothing but what she planned to do to her while they were in Gotham's dimension but as soon as she got here it seemed like she had eyes for nobody but Ryoko.
Feeling a gentle touch on her back, Harley spun around to see that it was Mihoshi that had come up behind her in the bath.
"The scars on your back have faded. Surely you weren't in the dimension you came from long enough for all of those to have faded?" The blond space patrol officer asked her.
"It's kind of a long story." Harley said glancing over at Ivy who continued to ignore her as she asked question after question of Ryoko.
"I think you will have time to tell us." Washu's voice called out as she climbed the stairs to the elevated soaking pool.
Harley forehead crinkled with confusion. While it was undoubtedly Washu's voice that had spoken it had a deeper, almost sensual tone to it that was lacking in the diminutive scientist's voice before. As Washu climbed the stairs and came into view Harley's mouth dropped open and she couldn't help but stare.
Washu no longer appeared as a little girl but was now a tall voluptuous woman, her mane of spiky red hair brushing her shoulders. Harley could feel her face flush as her eyes almost against her will traveled to look at Washu's now adult breasts. They were even bigger than Ryoko's.
"My god Washu, you are gorgeous." Harley said without thinking and then promptly blushed so deeply she looked like a tomato.
Washu could resist a grin. She had speculated on Harley's sexuality when she was here last. Harley's devotion to the Joker hinted strongly she was heterosexual but the few glances at Mihoshi and Ryoko that Washu had caught Harley doing when in the bath her first visit hinted that if she wasn't also bisexual she was at least bi-curious.
Washu also noted that when Harley had commented on her beauty, that the one named Ivy had shot a jealous look at her and then frowned in Harley's direction. A action that Harley missed completely being only able to stare at Washu for the time being.
"That's right, isn't it? I didn't wear my adult form any the first time you were here did I Harley?" Washu asked as she eased herself into the hot water.
A dumbfounded Harley could only shake her head. Almost as if she didn't realize she was doing it, Harley began to move around the pool towards Washu.
Washu, the greatest scientific genius in the universe had to suppress a giggle. While she didn't 'swing' that way it was still nice to know she could knock a woman's socks off the same way she could a man's when she wanted to, and without even trying.
"You were going to tell us what has happened to you since the last time we saw you and who your friends are?" Washu gently prompted the blond ex-criminal as she moved next to her in the bath.
Harley with a visible effort shook herself free from the brief fantasy she had been engaging in and stopped staring at Washu.
"Oh of course. How rude of me not to introduce everyone and explain..." Harley paused as she looked around. "Where's Sasami? I just now noticed she's not with us. I want her to meet Ivy too."
Catwoman, her eyes still closed gave a soft snort as if to say, sure forget about me why don't you?
"Oh and Catwoman too of course." Harley added.
Ayeka who had been glaring at Ryoko while Ryoko told some of her exploits as a ex-pirate to Ivy suddenly looked up with an expression on face that clearly said, 'uh-oh. I knew I forgot about something.'
The door to the bathing chamber slammed open and a very irate young girl's voice called out. "I better not find you in here sister! After spending all morning telling me and Ryo-ohki to clean the kitchen I better not find out the rest of you snuck off to bathe again without me!"
There was dead silence in the room as everyone in the soaking pool turned to look at Ayeka. Ayeka for her part slowly sank down in the water till just her eyes were just above the surface. Ryoko started to snicker at her.
An angry meow meow MEEEOOOW floated up from the bathing room floor causing Ryoko to suddenly stop and slide down deeper in the water as well.
A highly irate Sasami climbed to the top of the stairs that lead to the steaming soaking pool, on top of her head an equally annoyed Ryo-ohki rode. Sasami was nearly a perfect demure princess, as her sister Ayeka constantly reminded her she should be, but this time she was going to really tell her older sister what she thought of her setting tasks for her and Ryo-ohki and then sneaking off to bathe with the others.
The words died on her lips however when she noticed here were more people in the pool than she was expecting.
A woman with coal black hair was sitting slightly apart from the rest and was looking at her curiously. Next to Ryoko was a woman with bright red hair like Washu's but she had the oddest light green tinted skin. And sitting next to Washu was...
"Harley?" Sasami asked in shock.
"Sasami!" Harley happily cried as she rose from the water and moved to the edge to greet the young girl she had come to think of as like a sister whom she once thought she would never see again.
"Harley!" Sasami shouted back just as gleefully and raced to meet her. At the edge of the soaking pool they embraced in a hug.
This time it was the slightly smaller Sasami who's face was pressed between Harley's breasts.
"I've missed you so much!" Sasami said, or at lest tried to with her face between Harley's breasts.
"SASAMI!" Ayeka shot up from where she had been crouching down in the water. "It is not proper for princesses to be embracing naked women in a bath!"
Sasami released Harley and stepping to the side peered past the ex-crook to fix her sister with a glare. "Ayeka, why didn't you come and get me when Harley showed up? Why did you bring her to the bath without letting me know?"
The annoyed Ayeka suddenly turned meek and slid back down in the water. "Well there was some confusion and I didn't have any time and..."
"Come join us Sasami." Washu said temporarily saving Ayeka from her sister's wrath. "Harley was just about to tell us what has happened since she returned to her dimension and why she brought some friends back with her for a visit."
As Sasami quickly removed her robes to get into the water, Ryo-ohki leapt off of her head and hopped over to where Delilah was watching.
"Meow?" Ryo-ohki said.
Delilah looked at the cabbit, blinked and then looked over at her mistress Catwoman.
"I certainly don't want to be rude towards our hosts but what is that creature?" Catwoman asked as she inched over to take a better look. Appearance wise Ryo-ohki looked more rabbit than cat with the large floppy ears but her meow was all cat.
"It is my ship." Ryoko replied with a grin.
"Ryo-ohki is a complex creature that I created." Washu added more helpfully. "She is a brilliant combination of a cat, a rabbit and a unique life form that allows her to transform as my daughter just said into a sentient spacecraft."
Catwoman peered at eye level at the cabbit who seemed content to peer right back. Her nose twitching slightly as she scented the strange woman. "It can become a spaceship? Big enough for someone to actually ride inside?" Catwoman asked in shock.
"She." Sasami stated as she slid into the hot water of the bath. "Ryo-ohki is a female."
Ryo-ohki deciding that the strange woman was no threat, meowed at her happily and turned her attention back to Delilah who was still looking at her quizzically.
"Meow...Meow...Meeeeooow?" Ryo-ohki said to Delilah Delilah after a moment meowed back and before long the two were meowing and purring as if they were old friends and having quite the conversation.
"Well with her being a female at least I don't have to worry about her getting my Delilah in trouble." Catwoman said and turned back to face the others in the bath.
Ryo-ohki in ship form is one of the fastest, most maneuverable ships out there." Ryoko said with pride.
"She is the ship that you were talking about?" Ivy asked enthralled. "The one that made fools of the entire Jurian fleet and Galaxy Police?"
Ayeka started to purple in rage, while Mihoshi raised an eyebrow. "Now that is not fair Miss Ryoko. You know Ryo-ohki has never faced the entire Galaxy Police."
"Just enough to know what would have happened if we did." Ryoko said with a grin.
Ayeka suddenly gave a shrill high pitched mocking laugh. "What can you expect from a monster woman like her Miss Mihoshi? She couldn't tell the truth if she had to. It must come from not having the proper upbringing in childhood unlike some of us had."
Dead silence dropped over the bath a moment before a bucket of ice water appeared above Ayeka dumping its contents on her making her squeal and drop down lower into the hot water. The bucket hovered a moment and then poofed out of existence.
"I tried to do the best I could Ayeka" Washu said calmly. "But you know good and well that Kagato stole my little girl from me and he wasn't big on teaching manners or deportment."
A truly repentant Ayeka looked over at Washu. "I am sorry Miss Washu. You are quite right it was wrong of me to taunt Ryoko with something she had no control over." Ayeka then turned to face Ryoko. "I apologize Miss Ryoko." She then held out her hand to Ryoko who took it in hers.
"That is quite all right Ayeka. I know you royals always speak without thinking." Ryoko answered back. A eyebrow twitched on Ayeka's face.
"And I know how you ex-space pirates sometimes have trouble understanding, let alone accepting a proper apology." Ayeka replied
The group in the bath sighed as they noticed the two women now had their hands locked in the handshake as they both tried to force the other to submit by attempting to crush each others' hands.
"So Harley? You were going to introduce your friends to me and tell us why you have come back?" Sasami asked turning everyone's attention away from the juvenile display of Ryoko and Ayeka.
Harley enthusiastically nodded her head and then pointed at where Ivy was watching Ryoko and Ayeka as if silently cheering on Ryoko. "She is my good friend Poison... Er, I mean Pamela Isley." Harley stuttered slightly.
Ivy looked over at them. "My nickname back home is Poison Ivy. That was what Harley was going to say."
Washu sized the woman up. "You were a criminal back in your home dimension like Harley I take it?"
"Not quite. I didn't steal for money or the thrill, I worked to try and destroy the companies and men who ravished the environment. Our home world is becoming a poisoned place that is barely able to sustain life. I was just trying to do what I could to make people realize it. Also I tended to work alone while Harley hung out with The Joker." Ivy nearly grimaced when she saw the sad look that came across Harley's face at the mention of the sadistic clown they had left behind in Gotham.
"My unique specialty is the ability to communicate and control plants." Ivy rushed to cover up her little faux pas. A vine across the Washu created hot springs suddenly shuddered to life and began growing till it was between Ayeka and Ryoko, who in shock dropped each other's hands to look at it in wonder. The plant suddenly sprouted a long wicked looking thorn in Ayeka's direction while at the same time a flower blossomed on it in Ryoko's direction.
Harley couldn't help a tiny frown cross her face at the implied symbology that Ivy was using to show off. It was obvious that Ivy didn't like Ayeka but did like Ryoko.
Ryoko reached out and lightly touched the flower as if to test if it was real. "That's some trick kiddo." She replied appreciatively. Harley couldn't help but notice that Ivy's skin darkened slightly greener in reaction to the praise.
"Is that why your skin is slightly green? Because you can talk to plants?" Mihoshi asked innocently.
Ivy looked over at the Galaxy Police officer and nodded her head. "It is my unique blood chemistry. Plants react to me and I have immunity from all know poisons or toxins."
Mihoshi turned to look at Harley sitting next to her. "Buy why is Harley's skin turning light green too then?" She asked.
"It is?" Harley asked as she stared down her own nose trying to see. Finally she lifted her arm out of the water and held it up to look at it. "It is! Hey Red! I'm getting the tint too! Isn't that great?!"
"Maybe it would help if I took over the explanations?" Ivy asked Washu as Harley started turning and twisting trying to see all parts of her own body to make sure the tint was an all over green and she wasn't splotchy anywhere. Ivy felt like barking at her that it wasn't some kind of tan but a natural side effect of her blood coursing through Harley's body so of course it was all over, but she decided to let the younger woman discover that for herself.
Ivy explained about Harley returning to her own dimension and being locked up with The Joker and what the Joker had attempted to do. Ayeka shot her an annoyed look and purposely looked over at her younger sister as if to say that was not something she should have told about in front of younger ears but Ivy didn't care. Life was sometimes ugly and mean and she didn't see the sense in trying to keep the facts from young people.
Sasami moved closer to Harley and Harley stopped her inspection of herself to reassure Sasami that she was all right and that the Joker had been stopped before he could hurt her too much.
Ivy waited till Harley and Sasami settled down before continuing with her story...
Meanwhile back in Gotham City dimension.
Two motorcycles raced up to the dark shape sitting in the middle of the street, their headlights briefly lighting up the motionless body of batman lying cocooned in the metal mesh netting of the Joker's trap.
A few seconds later a unmarked nondescript dark van pulled up. The door opening to reveal a man dressed in a gray costume. On his head a chauffeur like hat perched but coming off the hat was a veil that totally obscured the person's face.
The two riders on the motorcycles removed their helmet revealing Robin and Batgirl.
"Quickly cut Batman from that mess." Alfred's slightly altered voice came from underneath the veil of the chauffeur's hat.
As Batgirl made to go towards Batman's prone body the Batmobile suddenly revved it's motors and gave off a warning growling noise from its engine.
"Head towards Batman directly from the front, not the side." Alfred instructed. "The Batcomputer doesn't recognize you yet and thinks you are a threat."
Batgirl and Robin raising their hands in the air started to slowly move toward Batman once again. The Batmobile gave a slight chirp and the headlights came on fully illuminating them and Batman's body. Recognizing Robin and Batgirl the Batmobile slowly backed a few feet away from the prone Batman granting them access to him.
As soon as Robin and Batgirl freed Batman's body from the netting Alfred rushed to his side. With Robin's help he pulled Batman to the dark van and loaded him inside. While Robin kept a vigil outside , Alfred slid the door shut blocking off sight from potentially unfriendly eyes. Removing his concealing headgear he then turned on the van's internal lights and began to examine Batman.
"Master Bruce, can you hear me?" Alfred said loudly as he removed the cowl covering Batman's face, secure in the knowledge that the van was nearly soundproof.
Batman's body however made no reply.
"Is he?" Batgirl asked nearly in tears.
Alfred ignored the young woman for a moment to pull a nearly melted covering off a special port in the side of the Batsuit and plugged a cable into it from a machine. Flipping a few switches Alfred peered at the monitor built into the side of the machine.
"Master Bruce's heartbeat is regular and so is his breathing. He has some nasty electrical burns on him from where the batsuit's internal electrical insulation failed and he is of course unconscious but he should be okay."
Alfred replaced his covering hat and reaching up he turned off the van's lights and for good measure made sure he was blocking Batman's head from line of sight of the van door. Batgirl slid the side door of the van open and climbed out to report to Robin.
"Is he going to be okay?" Robin asked, never taking his eyes off of the surrounding buildings.
"He has some bad electrical burns on him and is unconscious but Al..." Batgirl stopped as Robin raised a warning hand. "Our friend says he should be fine."
"I'll bring in the Batmobile and you take your bike and set the other bike for autodrive to follow you back. Our friend will bring Batman along." Robin stated.
"What about Harley and Ivy and Joker?" Batgirl asked.
Robin stopped in the road. "Without Batman we haven't the faintest clue where to start looking. Harley and Ivy are on their own, at least until we can get Batman awake and find out what he knows." Seeing the concern on Batgirl's face for the two female criminals or at least for Harley, Robin softened the stern look he was wearing. "We can only hope that they are somewhere safe and we find them before The Joker does."
Batgirl finally nodded her head and went to get her bike.
Unbeknownst to Robin, Batgirl or even Alfred they were much closer to The Joker than they knew. Less than a mile away The Joker sat in a darkened warehouse, the only part of him visible was his ghastly smile and the mad shine of his eyes. Soon it would be time to open the portal and go retrieve his property and the naughty plant bitch that took it from him. They would both pay, and pay dearly.
The Joker's insane giggles could be heard and his henchmen moved farther away from their boss.