The Rose and Her Thorns

Eddie slowly rose out of unconciousness slowly, the fog slowly lifting from his cloudy mind. His arm felt...strange. He expected it to hurt like hell, a constant burning pain that raged and roared up his arm. Instead, he found that it wasn't a constant pain, it was a sharp throb that fluctuated and moved with a precise timing. Ever so gently, Eddie opened his eyes the barest inch and looked at his injured arm. There was a needle, fishing itself in and out of the deep wound, sealing the deep laceration seamlessly.

In and out; in and out; in and out.

The man suddenly remembered who was supposed to be stitching and his head shot up off of the table. Sunni pinned his arm down, making Eddie gasp with pain. The girl fixed him with a wicked smile as his eyes teared up, slightly lessening the pressure on his injured appendage.

"Well, we're glad you're awake Sleeping Beauty. Does your arm hurt?"

Eddie nodded his head, only to recieve another wicked smile from Sunni. "Good. It'll teach you not to mess with me and my pack."

Wilting, Eddie turned his head and found himself staring at a strange sight. Ivy was leaning up against the granite countertops, a little red-headed baby cradeled in her arms.

Poison Ivy; she was the woman that no one could resist. Beautiful, head-strong, deadly, and graceful were all characteristics that described the Ivy that was always present in Arkham. Now, standing before him, was another side of the vixen.

She was smiling; a geniune smile that made the room around her light up. The baby was laughing and burbling happily in her arms, prompting Ivy to giggle and laugh right back at him. Her green eyes twinkled, something that was close to love sparkling in the emerald irises. The little boy lifted his arms towards Ivy's face, gently patting the mint green skin with chubby fingers. Ivy then did something that Eddie expected; she kissed the little baby on his forehead.

Smiling, the insane criminal known as the Riddler spoke quietly, startling Ivy from what she was doing. "Well, you're certainly getting cozy with the kid."

The villainess actually looked...embarrassed. Her face flushed a darker green, actually making the little boy in her arms giggle a little more. "I was just...keeping the child entertained."

Eddie snorted despite the sharp and ever throbbing pain where the needle sealed his recent wound. His sharp mind and intelligence were both coming back as the blood was slowly restored to his body. "So you weren't giggling like a school girl and thinking, 'aww! look at the cute baby!'?"

Ivy blushed some more before glaring at the man before her, the venomous gaze making Nygma look at his shoes. Without another word, Ivy took the little boy and strode into the living room, leaving Sunni and Edward alone.

The girl chuckled darkly as she put the final touches on the stitch work, the wound now clean and perfectly even at the edges. "Man, you blew that one Riddles."

The Riddler looked up at her, examining his arm first to make sure that there was no possible way it was goint to fall off. He had to hand it to the chick; she knew how to stitch a deep wound better than most doctors at Arkham did. He doubted that it would even leave a scar. He frowned as he recalled what Sunni had just said. "First, I didn't 'blow' anything. And second...how do you know Harley's nickname for me?

"Harley calls you that? Damn it! I thought I was the first one to come up with it!"

"Woah kid! Stay on track. What do you mean when you say I blew it?"

Sunni snorted, grabbed a roll of rough bandages from the chair next to hers. Before she answered, the medically gifted teen gingerly lifted the newly stitched arm and began to wrap it with gauze. Then came Eddie's worse nightmare.

"Oh come on dude! I mean, it's obvious you have the hots for her. And I'm not talking pheremone-induced hots; I mean actual fall over on your face crush."

Much to Sunni's dismay, Riddler kept cool, not blushing or stammering as she had hoped he would. "I may enjoy the occasional indulgence of looking at Ivy's aa...asssets. But I do not have a crush on her."

A tight yank on the bandage surrounding the stitches on Eddie's arm caused the man to yelp in pain. Eyes watering, he watched Sunni smirk for a moment before becoming totally serious once more. "Ed, stop denying it. I can read you like a book. Despite what you think, you aren't secretive, hard to read or God's gift to women. You are a common nerd with a mental issue."

"Hurtful!"

An eye-roll responded to Eddie's childish comment. Ripping the bandage and sealing it in place, Sunni continued with what she was saying. "You didn't give me time to finish Eddie. You may be a psychopathic nerd, but you're still half-way decent. Did you notice that when Steel attacked, you stepped in front of Ivy and Harley?"

Edward frowned, recalling what had happened not an hour before. He had stepped in front of that attacking wolf. It was instinctual. Eddie was usually the one that was all for saving his own ass. This was totally out of character for him, but thinking back on it...Eddie wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Responding to the girl's question, Nygma slowly nodded his head.

A smug smile tugged at the corner of Sunni's lips. "You just think about that the next time you're being a pompous ass towards Ivy. Or Harley. She may be a freakishly childish villain wanted in twelve states, but she loves you like a brother."

"Really?"

A nod. "Yep. I mean, why else would she support you and stay with you when she knew that there was a perfectly good oppurtunity to see a few little adorable blond boys."

Eddie frowned. Damn, this chick was good! "How old are you kid?"

"Fourteen, but I graduated high school at age twelve so I'm pretty much a geninus."

Dumbfounded, all Eddie could do was stare at the yound girl before him. Sighing, the teen in question grabbed him by his good arm, pulled him to his feet, and dragged the astounded riddling master to the kitchen door. "Come on Nygma. Your girlfriends are probably wondering what the hell happened to you."

The living room; five minutes previous

Ivy strode into the living room, baby tucked safely in her arms. Harley and the boys were watching a movie, completely enraptured by the talking characters on the screen. Frowning, she spoke, plopping down on the couch next to Harley. "What are you guys watching Harl?"

"Shhh! Red, be quite! I'm going to miss Gir and the piggy! Oh look here he is!"

At that moment, a crazy little robot stepped onto the screen, a stuffed piggy in his metal arms. Harley squealed, hugging the little brunette boy that sat next to her. "Isn't he just so cute Jay-Jay!"

The boy nodded, completely un-fazed by the bubbly blond woman's antics. On the floor sprawled the rest of the boys, lounging about with the wolves watching over them. The largest wolf had two of the smaller boys on his back, seeming to enjoy the pudgy little hands that roamed through his thick, luxurious, black pelt. The little white wolf was sitting next to the two youngest members of the family, curling protectively over them in a youthful and energetic attempt at responsibility. Next to the oldest sat the grey wolf, Steel, watching complacently as the twins laughed and giggled with each other.

Harley looked over at her best friend, a joyful twinkle in her eyes. "The kids are really nice Red. Can we keep 'em?"

"They're not dogs that you can take in off the street Harl. Besides, they've probably got a mom and dad that won't particularlly like us taking away their children."

Harley pouted, looking even more like a kid than she normally did. But her pout spree was cut short by a little voice behind them. "We don't have a mommy and daddy any more."

Whipping around, the two women came face-to-face with the little five year old that had called Ivy mommy. He had a rather angular face, with a very delicate bone structure. His eyes, which were a deep chocolate brown, were large and serene right about now. He was slender, with just enough baby fat left that you could tell he was still under age seven. The young boy was sitting on the back of the leather sofa, cross-legged and staring inquisitively at the two adults before him.

"Now where did you come from?"

The small boy shrugged, a nonchalant gesture despite the stiffness of his shoulders. "I was invisible. You looked right at me a couple a' times." He turned his gaze to the red-head in Ivy's arms. "Oh! I was wondering where Hayden was!"

Harley frowned. "Hayden?"

The boy next to the harlequin piped up, sitting bolt upright and looking across to the baby currently in Ivy's lap. "That's our baby brother's name; Hayden. That's Camden, by the way, and I'm Jaylon."

Ivy smiled at the small six year old. So formal for one his age. "I'm Ivy. And I assume you know Harley?"

Jaylon grinned and nodded energetically. "Harley's cool! I've seen you and her on the T.V. so many times Sunni lost track! And she never loses track of anything!"

Laughing, Ivy finally took note of the way the boys were behaving with the wolves. The black one was obviously the leader; that could be clearly seen from his erect posture and dominant behavior. Next came Steel, the grey wolf much more calm now, as he was wagging his tail happily. The little white wolf was the youngest, her small body lean and muscular, with a now thick coat of creamy white fur. She was on her haunches, nudging her nose into the babies bellies and making them giggle as much as she possibly could.

Now what Sunni had said made sense; they really were a pack. These wolves were a vital part of the family, as comfortable here as they would be with a pack of their own kind in the wild. They all had jobs and they all worked together to keep order in their family. These children had found order in chaos and turned it into order; the order of a pack.

A sudden yelp eminated from the kitchen and Ivy started to worry about Eddie. He wasn't exactly the tough and athletic type like Harvey/Two-Face was, and she knew that the wound on his arm had to hurt. Speaking of that particular incident, the wolf that had caused it was now staring at Ivy.

Steel stood, the twins that had been stroking him behind his ears and following the wolf's gaze as it rested on the green villainess. Feral amber eyes locked onto the woman's, sucking her in and not letting go. It was obvious that he didn't trust her, but Ivy wasn't about to show her fear of this creature.

Now the other wolves looked up at Steel, understanding showing in their eyes. They knew what was on the iron grey wolf's mind, but they weren't about to stop what ever he was going to do. The large canine strode over to the woman with the baby, eyes bright and understanding. He propped his large body up on Ivy's knee's and gently took the baby out of the stunned villainesses arms.

Harley simply stared, wide-eyed and awed by the strange sight in front of her eyes. "Wow, that is one smart wolf."

Sunni entered the room, dragging a now stitched and bandaged Eddie behind her. "Well of course he's smart. Steel and the others may be connected to me, but they were smart before they met me."

Ivy and Harley turned to Sunni, who was dragging a very dazed Eddie over to the sofa. She plopped the spaced-out Eddie on the couch next to Ivy. Lifting Hayden from Steel's mouth, Sunni smiled and whispered, "Thanks big guy."

The wolf drew himself up proudly, tongue lolling out. Harley, meanwhile leaned across Ivy's lap, tapping Eddie on the shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong Riddles? I mean other than getting ripped open by a manic wolf dog and nearly bleeding to death."

Eddie turned to Harley, eyes wide and awed, just as her's were a moment ago. "She graduated high school at age twelve."

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said, 'she graduated at age twelve,'"

All the adults turned to Sunni at that point, stunned to hear that particular piece of information. Sunni just shrugged off the shocked stares and made a face. "I knew I shouldn't have told you guys that."

Ivy frowned. "Let's get off this subject. There's enough testosterone in this room to make me sick and I still don't know everyone's names."

Laughing, Sunni turned and whistled, watching with satisfaction as the boys jumped to their feet and lined up in order of age. It was a maneuver that their father had drilled into their brain time and time again, so she was used to the ridgitity of the move. Even the wolves had been taught the move, sitting proudly at the very end of the line.

Smiling, Sunni started with the twins. They were fairly tall, with a svelt form just like their father's. Muscles stood out against their ivory skin, and they had the astounding good looks that their father had had in his youth. With their angular features, large eyes, and silky fine hair, the twins were sure to become eye-candy when they grew to be adults. Their blue eyes were a sharp, crystalline color, a metallic edge spiking the depths. With the white-blond hair, they looked like what people would believe angels on earth should look like. The one difference Ivy found between the boys were their personalities and their hair.

"This is Eli." Sunni pointed to the one on the far end. His hair was close cropped, spike with hair gel to give him a punkish appearance. Combine that with his torn jeans and black t-shirt, and you got the punk child of the family.

Pointing to the other one, Sunni added, "And this is Gabe. His real name is Gabriel, but we just call him Gabe." This twin had longer hair, styled in an emo-type hair cut. It framed his face perfectly, setting off his white teeth as he smiled. Instead of the punk clothes his twin wore, Gabe was dressed in a dress shirt and a nice pair of jeans.

Moving on, Sunni placed her hands on the shoulders of the two older brunette boys. They had already introduced themselves, Jaylon smiling confidently while his younger brother, Camden, waved sheepishly.

Sunni continued, introducing the three year old to Camden's left. He was still slightly chubby, with a round face. But instead of making him looking like a baby, the little one looked cherubic. His hair was a light flaxen color, the light catching it just right and making it sparkle like metal. Underneath the soft baby skin and fat, the adults could make out steel-hard muscles. The three year old smiled, his eyes sparkling. They seemed to shift with the light; one minute a sharp, metallic blue and the next a deep, earthy brown.

The next one was the little twelve month old. He was still chubby, baby fat resting under the surface of his milky white skin. He face was just as cherubic as Jasper's was, but his hair was the deep brown color of walnut wood. This little boy's name was Miles, and Ivy could tell that Harley had fallen head-over-heels for him and his adopted brother, Howard. Howard and Miles were polar opposites, with Howard as angelic looking as the twins were. His eyes were a deep blue; the color of the sea on a stormy day. The six month old and his year old counterpart sat together, Fang watching over them like a hawk.

"You obviously know Hayden and Steel, so let me introduce the rest of the pack." Sunni kneeled and rubbed the big black wolf behind his scarred ears, eliciting a growl of pleasure and an avalanche of thumps from his wagging tail. "This is Fang. He's the alpha-male. The pretty little white girl at the far end is Snow."

The little white wolf leapt up at the sound of her name, panting excitedly. With a silent message from her human pack-mate, Snow trotted over to Harley, placing her head into her lap so that the villainess could stroke it.

Seeing Harley's hesistation, Sunni encouraged the normally fearless harlequin. "Come on, Snowy's not gonna' hurt you."

Eddie snorted and grumbled something, shutting up at the glare he recieved from Sunni. Harley slowly started to stroke Snow's head, making the white wolf's eyelids droop from the sensation.

Sunni, I am forever grateful that you convinced me to do this.

Is she really that good at petting you Snowy?

Yes she is.

Sunni spoke out loud, the amber hue that had slowly builded in her eyes vanishing. "Snowy says she really likes you. Oh, and Eddie, Steel says that it was nothing personal when he bit you. I was just setting a trap for any intruders that might want to harm us, and he attached himself to the first human other than me he could reach."

A growl escaped the grey wolf's throat. That's a lie! I don't like these people. They're trouble.

Shut up Steel. You're not helping our cause.

I'm just saying; maybe you should tell them your sob story before you ask if we could remain in their home.

Good idea Steel.

I'm full of them you know.

"Can I tell you guys a story?"