The Rose and Her Thorns

Eli ran past Batman, the wind blowing his face and filling the nine year old full of re-invigorating energy. The Dark Knight was far behind by the time he stopped on a steel grate. The platform overlooked the entire factory, clearly displaying everything that was going on below. What he saw made Eli's blood boil.

Below, the Joker was sitting on a makeshift throne, Harley strugling in his lap and desperately trying to get to Ivy and Eddie. Two-Face and his goons were backing away from the captured villains, terror creeping onto their features as they watched the psycho known as Victor Zsasz advance. He was saying something, but Eli couldn't make it out, as the building made everything softer as it traveled upward. Eddie was trying to protect Ivy, placing himself between her and Zsasz's blade.

His voice drifted upwards, now clear as Edward growled, "Piss off Zsasz."

The murderer growled right back, raising his fist to deliver a blow to the helpless villains before him. He never got to though, as the strike was stopped by a furious flash of supersonic boy. Zsasz was knocked to the ground, being repeatidly punched and kicked by an angry Eli.

"DON'T TOUCH THEM YOU PSYCHO!"

From the window, Batman called up to Robin and Nightwing, "Our cover's blown!"

A loud wail and screech eminated from the door, Sunni and the pack bursting through with a roar. The teen leading the way was a vision straight out of hell, eyes burning brightly with wild energy. Her dark hair seemed to swirl as she roared, "THE FIGHT'S ON BABY!"

A horrible howl reverberated from the pack as they attacked as one, latching onto the hired thugs with ferocious power. Drake and Steel were absolutely ripping the men apart, savagely slashing with their fangs. Batman swooped down and dragged the stunned Ivy and Eddie away from the scene. Nightwing and Robin were going after Two-Face, who had fled as soon as he saw his men start to lose huge chunks of flesh.

Eli was still fighting with Zsasz, blinking blood and sweat from his eyes as he ducked, dodged, and weaved away from the wall of psychotic fury that was Victor. The older man had managed to get in a few lucky strikes, slashing the boy's flesh unti the white gleam of bone could be seen through the gashes. They littered his arms and one was on his forehead, but still Eli fought on. To say he was in a rage would have been the understatement of the century.

With each word he spoke, Eli punctuated it with a strong punch or kick, using his momentum and speed to give it more bite. "DON'T..."

A punch to the face, knocking Zsasz to the floor. "EVER..."

The roundhouse kick Eli delivered to his gut made the psycho fall back onto the concrete. "TOUCH MY..."

"MOM!" A fist that had the force of a seventy-pound lead weight slammed into Zsasz's skull, knocking him out cold and causing him to concuss. Panting, Eli stood over him, waiting for a moment, before stumbling off to help Sunni get the Joker. Thalia and Fang were now holding down a thouroughly terrified Two-Face, who looked at the wolves atop his chest with an ever growing panic.

Sunni had Ziva, Drake, and Lyall with her, stalking up the dias to where Joker now sat. Harley sat stock-still as she watched the teen and her new comrades approach, widening her eyes with terror as she noted the blood covering them. A snarl formed on Sunni's lips, showing long canines that were coated in crimson. The voice that reverberated through the harlequin's ears wasn't the one of Sunni, but of something that was much more ancient and deadly.

"Get off of him Harley."

"No."

The girl shook with barely surpressed fury. The tone that she spoke in was horrifyingly malicious. "Move Harley. Don't make me hurt you too."

"I'm not going to let you turn into a killer Sunni."

Suddenly, a grin split the teen's bloodstained-face and she began to laugh. It was quiet at first, but it rose in volume until it drowned out every other sound present in the factory. As soon as it started, the cold laughter stopped, and Sunni fixed Harley with a stare that was hypnotic and deadly. "I hate to break it to you Harley, but I'm already a killer."

Joker pushed his girlfriend off of him with contempt, standing and brushing dust from his purple suit. "Kid, you've got guts. But you've got nothing on me. I'll kill you before you can take two steps towards me."

With a blast of air, Eli was standing beside his sister, arms crossed defiantly and an irate look plastered to his normally angelic features. "I don't think so Joker. I'm faster than you ever will be. I would knock the gun out of your hand and have you on the floor before you could say 'clown'."

A single eyebrow raised on the Clown Prince of Crime's face, the stark white of his skin glowing in the dim light. Drake's hackles raised as he growled, speaking to Sunni cautiously. He's planning something. Be on your toes.

Imperceptible, Sunni nodded and watched the Joker carefully. His eyes darted over to where Ivy and Eddie stood, the ever-present sparkle in them flaring as he reached for a pistol at his side. Almost instantly, the kids knew what was going to happen. Incidently, so did Edward and Batman.

Joker whipped out the pistol, aiming at Ivy and pulling off three rounds before he was tackled by three wrathful wolves. Nightwing and Robin whipped around when they heard the shots, followed by an agonized cry from someone. There stood Edward, blood blossoming across his shirt in three separate places. He collapsed into Ivy's arms, coughing as he gasped for breath. Tears coarsed down Ivy's face as she caught him, gently lowering him to the floor.

"Robin! Call a bus and get the first aid kit out of the Batmobile!"

"Yessir!"

The Boy Wonder ran off, sprinting to get help. Utter resentment and fury crossed Sunni's face as she rounded on Joker, who was screaming as Drake held him in place. "You JACKASS! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD!"

Harley sprang to her feet, grabbing the girl by her shoulders and shaking her hard. "Sunni look at me! This isn't you! Calm down and think for a moment. Use the giant noodle God gave ya!"

Recognition flashed in those bright amber eyes. The wild glowing soon faded back to the normal hazel that she possessed, and Sunni started to cry, sinking into Harley's grasp and sobbing. "I didn't mean to Harl. I didn't mean to."

"I know sweetheart. I know."

Meanwhile, Eddie was lying on the floor, sticky, hot blood pooling in his chest like liquid fire. He coughed and sputtered, trying to force adequate amounts of oxygen into his lungs. His head was propped up on Ivy's lap as she stroked his hair and cried, whispering that everything was going to be okay. A large hand came up and touched her cheek, smearing it with more of Edward's blood. He smiled slightly, managing to choke out a single sentence before the sound of ambulance sirens wailed into exsistence.

"Lying to yourself isn't going to help me Ivy."

The paramedics soon burst in, nearly ripping the woman away from Eddie. The police were hot on their tails, taking Joker, Zsasz, and Two-Face into custody. They were amazed as the wolves willingly gave their victims up, offering the injured psychos up to the law. They tried to take Harley and Ivy, but Batman and Nightwing stopped a detective before he could slap the cuffs on the women.

The large man was irate, bristling as he said, "And why the hell can't I take em?"

The blatent hostility didn't affect Batman in the slightest as he calmly replied, "They have other responsibilities to take care of."

Just as he opened his mouth to argue, the detective was cut off by a bunch of boys running into the old factory, nearly knocking him over in their desperate attempt to reach Ivy. There seemed to be a bunch of triplets, each one wearing the same expression, but carrying a different baby. The others were much smaller, but no less effective at getting the rather obese cop out of their way. One, a small boy of about three, was crying, holding out his arms and hugging the woman as soon as he reached her.

"Mommy!"

Even more tears flowed from Ivy's eyes and she stroked the toddler's hair, whispering, "It's okay Jasper. Mommy's here."

The others gathered around, each trying to get a hug from the plant villainess. The detective scratched his head, muttering something about the world turning upside down. The police soon left, and once again no one but the vigilantes, the pack, and the family were there.

Robin rubbed the back of his neck, coming up to Ivy and saying, "I have a question. Why didn't you just use your plant powers? That would've busted the idiots pretty easily."

The boy Robin recognized as Gabe handed Ivy the little red-head, resting his head on her shoulder. Baleful green eyes looked up at the vigilantes, and Ivy whispered, "I couldn't. There aren't any plants in the soil, and I can't make plants grow on concrete without my special seeds."

Hayden snuggled into Ivy's arms, sucking on his thumb and cooeing as she stroked his hair. Batman nodded, grasping Nightwing by the shoulder and pulling him away from the scene. Dick was about to freak out, but Bruce managed to get him away before he could.

"Just let it go Dick. Let it go."

"But..."

The glare Batman sent at him was withering, so Dick shut his mouth tightly. Robin soon came running back in, a cellphone clutched tightly in his hand. "Hey, I just called the hospital. They've got Riddler..."

Ivy cut him off. "Eddie."

"Right, Eddie. Well, they've gotten him stabilized and he's in surgery. They said that his chances are good."

Smiling, Ivy muttered something under her breath and holding onto the kids tightly. Harley came over with Sunni, the wolves following behind. "I think we'd better go home."

Standing, Ivy agreed. The plant villainess strode over to Batman and Nightwing, giving each of them a hug. "Thank you."

Taken aback, both of the men were silent, gaping at the smaller woman who had just thanked them. "Uh...you're welcome."

Soon, the entire family was striding out the door, leaving the heroes alone. It was strange, but now Ivy felt...empty. Something was missing, making a hole in her heart as she drove the kids home. It nagged at the back of her mind until she reached home, making Ivy scratch her head in irritation. Then it hit her.

Eddie. He was what was missing. Harley noticed the look on Ivy's face as they got the kids ready for bed, slowly taking Howard from her grasp and whispering, "Go see him Red. I'll stay with the kids."

"Thanks Harl."

She shrugged, watching as Ziva and Akin curiously stared at Jaylon and Camden. "Ah. What'r friends for?"