6 Justice League the Corps
Ivy grinned at Talia, "Well, I did as you said and let them go. Mind explaining to me why?"
"Why do you still hunger for vengeance?" Talia responded.
"They hurt my babies!" Ivy snapped.
"They were destined to die anyway, or did you really think they would find a life here in LexCorp?" Talia asked sardonically.
Ivy's eyes narrowed, "Damn you anyway."
"You have been well paid but then again you earned it," Talia remarked.
"So you fulfilled my request?" Ivy inquired.
"Harleen Quinzel's impending nuptials have been called off and her paramour has resigned his post with the MPD and has taken up a slot with LexCorp Security. Of course, he was transferred to Shanghai yesterday so he has no means of backing out of our arrangement," Talia explained.
"I guess that pop on the jaw was worth it after all," Ivy chuckled.
"Do you need to see a physician? We have excellent doctors on call 24/7," Talia offered.
Ivy laughed, "The cellulose in my system makes me pretty hard to hurt. I'll be a little tender for the next day or two and then it'll be a distant memory. Right now, all I want to do is see Harley."
"I'll have your car brought around," Talia offered.
"That'd be nice," Ivy agreed. LexCorp had coated Rose Bud with a synthetic skin to disguise its vibrant pink paint job and its plates had been switched out for forgeries. Ivy doubted she could find her own car in the dark.
Talia made the call and when it was done, Ivy strolled off; "Thanks for everything. It's been real."
Talia could see why her father had described Ivy as single minded. Rather than plan another venture her only thought was of Harley Quinn. Pamela Isley was a creature of passion but too often passion flamed itself out. Her father should know above all others.
Booster sat on Claire Connelly's couch. Quite frankly he was surprised to be there. Claire had severed ties with him just as their relationship was getting interesting. It was as though she was afraid of intimacy and Booster had said as much upon arrival and getting past the social niceties.
Claire looked guilty but she changed the topic again, "I half expected you to come sailing in here in your costume. You used to fly onto the balcony nine times out of ten."
"Well, I had to discover for myself that cab drivers in this time are just as lousy as those in the future," Booster quipped, "Now cut the crap, Claire. We were close. Very close. In fact, I was falling in love with you when you suddenly yanked the carpet out from underneath me and told me to kiss off."
"You love me?" Claire asked with wide eyes. Eyes that were as wide from fear as from joy.
Booster scowled for several moments but finally his expressions softened, "Yes, I love you."
"Then it's a good thing I broke contact," Claire declared.
"Oh, that's bull and you know it!" Booster hotly declared as he came off of the couch. Claire was standing nearby next to the fireplace. He got into her face, "What are you so damned afraid of?"
Fire lit up in her eyes, "My life's complicated, dammit! Most men can't handle it. In fact no man has been able to handle it."
"Why not?" Booster's voice was still raised.
"Because I was born a man!" she replied hotly.
"You were?" Booster calmed right down, "No wonder you're taller than me."
Claire deflated, "I started hormones when I was 9. I've been through all of the therapy and counselors and we all agree, I'm a woman. Every bit except for one last lingering piece of manhood. People think I should be with a woman because of that but I'm a woman who isn't a lesbian. I enjoy men. I dream of men touching me…and other things."
"You should have told me you're a transgender woman. It would have made all the difference in the world," Booster said softly.
"So you could walk out like you're going to now?" she asked bitterly.
Booster shook his head, "I'm not going anywhere."
That stunned her, "What? Why?"
"Because I love you, silly," he smiled.
"But I have a…a…" Claire stammered.
"You have a penis," Booster supplied for her, "So do I, so what?"
"I don't think you're getting the picture here," she fretted.
"Claire, I'm from the future. LBTG rights are firmly established and embraced. I've been with TG girls before, pre-op and post-op. I'm a fan either way," Booster confided.
"You never let me know," she accused.
"I didn't know I needed too. I just thought you being prudish. I didn't know you were scared to death your genitalia would scare me off," Booster reminded her.
Claire laughed, "Then I only have one wish right now. A wish that I've had for years now."
"And that is?" he asked but he suspected he knew the answer.
"Take me to bed!" she demanded.
He'd been right!
"Someone want to explain to me why the Hall is surrounded by cops?" Waller thundered as she made her way to her office.
"It seems Batman, the Question, and the Huntress raided LexCorp this evening and absconded with vital electronic files," J'onn summed it up.
"I thought we were on Batman's poo poo list," Waller remarked.
"He made an exception in this case because of Talia Head's involvement," J'onn explained.
"Have you called in Max and Sue?" Waller asked.
"I summoned Max. Sue stood watch for 30 hours straight as she coordinated several operations around the world," J'onn shared.
"She did? Why didn't she let me know?" Waller wondered.
"Sue is the Chief of Operations, not you. She feels you should only become involved if the situation spins out of her control," J'onn stated.
"Dibney may be an idiot but his wife is a verifiable genius," Waller chuckled.
"She'll be happy that she's won your approval," J'onn dryly quipped.
"Where are Batman and the trouble couple?" Waller demanded.
"They're in the Library." J'onn disclosed.
The Library was the computer center. A computer center that was in crisis.
"Rip out the hard drive!" Batman yelled.
The Huntress yelped as the Question shoved her out of the way. He ripped the power cables out of the server bank. Smoke billowed out of the servers.
"I do believe we were too late," Question opined.
"Why did you download infected files?" Batman snarled.
"Because they weren't marked 'infected'. The virus was hidden within the file and therefore indiscernible to the outside." Question yelled back.
"Tonight was a waste! We saw what Talia wanted us to see and that was nothing!" Batman vented.
"It wasn't as though I had time to run the files through a virus scan, which was probably disabled anyway." Question got in his face.
"Get back, Vic, or I'll push you back," Batman growled.
"I'd like to see you try, Bruce." Question retorted.
"Enough!" Waller roared, "This isn't a playground and we don't need the yard bullies beating each other up. Question!"
"Yes?" the Question was so surprised by all of this he immediately fell into lockstep.
"Assess the damage. I want a full report on my desk in four hours time." Waller ordered, "Is that understood?"
"I can do that." Question conceded.
"Batman, where is Barbara Gordon?" she inquired.
"Why would I…?" he began before getting cut off.
"Where is she?" she repeated.
"She's at Gotham PD looking into the Mussagorsky child pornography ring," He answered.
"Thank you. We'll contact her supervisor from here," Waller said dismissively.
"I…" she cut him off again.
"That will be all," she insisted.
Batman stormed off.
Minutes later the Batmobile plowed through several police cars on its way to the highway. They took up the chase until they reached the New Jersey border. He became Gotham's problem after that.
Harley opened the door and broke into a giddy smile, "Red!"
Ivy accepted Harley's embrace. She was one of the few that Ivy would allow to touch her if it wasn't for her own pleasure. As it was, she took great joy in Harley's touch…even if her crushing grip threatened to suffocate Ivy.
"Come on in!" Harley almost yanked Ivy's arm off as she pulled her inside.
Ivy noticed that although the furnishings remained the same, the décor had changed. Harley was rattling off a mile a minute but she caught one word: boyfriend.
"How can you have a boyfriend? You just got rid of a prospective husband," Ivy was incredulous.
"Yeah, and just in time to. He was just about to figure out everything about Paulo and I," Harley said with much relief.
"Paulo?" she asked archly.
"Paulo Marconi," Harley said blithely.
"The mobster's son?" Ivy's head was swimming.
"He's not a mobster," Harley pouted, "He's an entrepreneur."
"He's creative, I'll give him that," Ivy dryly remarked.
"Paulo's not in the family firm. He works for Powers Incorporated," Harley confided.
"As what? A bookie?" Ivy snorted.
Seeing the hurt in Harley's eyes she relented, "What does he do for Powers?"
"He's a financial planner," Harl related.
"So he is a bookie," Ivy wore a knowing smile.
Harley giggled, "Kinda."
"Tell you what, Harl. You arrange a meeting and I'll tell you what I really think of him," Ivy offered. It was the best she could do.
"He'll be here tomorrow. Are you planning on staying?" Harley almost pleaded.
"I will if you ask me to and show me where I can drop this suitcase," Ivy tried to keep the irony out of her voice. It would be lost on Harley anyway, "I need to get out of this costume. I've been in it all day and most of the night."
"Well, I got two bathrooms besides the master and they've got showers so it's not like you'll have to wait in line," Harley related the facts.
Ivy kissed her cheek, "Thanks Harl."
Ivy went towards the bedrooms and Harley held her cheek where Ivy's lips had brushed. The good old days were back!
