Chapter Seven
Study And Searching
Barbara swung in through her bedroom window and quickly shed her outfit as a car pulled up outside. Pulling on a pair of old trousers and a hoodie, she kicked her costume under the bed and sat down at her desk, picking up her pen and looking at the homework she had completed (albeit in a hurry) the previous night.
"Babs?"
"Up in my room." Barbara called and she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. More than one set and she frowned and rose from her chair. Moving across, she opened her door just as her father raised his hand to knock.
"Hi, dad." she said, giving him a quick hug. "How was the charity do?"
"Mainly long and boring." Jim replied with a slight smile. "However, I solved a problem."
Something in his tone alerted her and she looked round her father to see a blond woman smiling at her.
"And she would be?" Barbara asked, her voice reflecting her suspicions.
"Your new home tutor." Jim said. "I met her at the charity event, she's Dick Grayson's cousin, now staying at Wayne Manor. Barbara, meet Kara Grayson. Kara, this is my daughter, Barbara."
Barbara stared at Kara in shock, having a tutor would seriously reduce her ability to search for her missing friend.
"Dad, I don't need a tutor." she whispered and Jim frowned down at her.
"Your teachers disagree, Babs. Your grades have dropped over the last month."
Barbara glared at her father, but his gaze didn't waver and after a few moments she sighed.
"Okay. But why is she here now?"
"Introductions." Kara said, moving forwards and offering her hand. "Your dad doesn't like you being alone, so after he finished interrogating me, he asked if I could pick you up from school rather than have you walk back."
"I'm not a kid!" Barbara protested and both her dad and Kara laughed.
"Just as you predicted, Mr Gordon. You want to tell her?"
"Tell me what?"
Before Jim could answer, the window exploded inwards and a cluster of wooden tendrils swarmed into the room, overturning the bed and heading for them. Before Barbara could even draw breath to scream, Kara grabbed her and with a barked command of "Run!" to her dad, hurtled down the stairs so fast that Barbara thought for a moment she was flying. Behind them, Jim started after them, but a branch wrapped round his waist and pulled him out of the window.
"Dad! Let me go! Dad!"
Kara looked up at the landing, then slowly lowered Barbara to the ground. Ascending the stairs, she peered into Barbara's now-empty room, then bent and picked up a loose leaf. Barbara squirmed past her and dashed to the hole in the wall that had once been her window.
"Barbara..." Kara asked from behind her. "Is this what I think it is?"
Barbara turned and saw Kara holding up her Batgirl outfit.
x
"What's happening?" Clark asked as he finished pulling on his suit.
"Jim Gordon's been captured by the plant that took Pamela Isley and we've just found out who that bat-wannabe is." Bruce replied, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he accessed and checked various databases. Clark and Dick exchanged glances.
"Care to enlighten us on the latter?"
"Barbara Gordon." Bruce said. "Kara left her at the police station with a warning to stay put and is on her way back."
"Correction, I'm back." Kara said as she flew down to join them. "I picked this up from Barbara's room, looks different from the last one."
"That's because it is." Bruce said, taking it from her and looking at it. "Hmmm, this plant only grows in twelve places around Gotham."
A few keystrokes changed the main screen to a map with a dozen dots blinking. "We can rule out these seven places, someone would have reported it if the main floral displays of those buildings had decided to leave... these three places are constantly in the public gaze... that leaves a flower shop and an old horticultural experimental site, now deserted. My money's on the latter."
"Do we take the Batmobile?"
Bruce frowned. "We may need it, so yes. But first, we need some special equipment. Nightwing, prep the Batmobile. Robin, Batgirl, with me."
x
Barbara climbed out of the window of her father's darkened office and scrambled onto the roof. Taking a few deep breaths, she oriented herself and started to run. She still didn't know what had grabbed her father, but she'd recognised the leaves it had left behind, her father was probably at the abandoned plant laboratory where she and Pam had used to hang out, and she was going to rescue him.
Even if it meant going against Pam.
Her hand brushed the pouch on her belt where she had placed several batarangs that her father had found at several crime scenes and put into an evidence box in his office. A brief regret flickered through her mind about her lack of skill with them, but she firmly quashed the thought and concentrated on the far more important task ahead of her.
Her father was the only family she had left. And she wasn't going to lose him.
x
Barbara dropped silently off the top of the lorry, landing with an impact-absorbing roll that was second-nature to her. Mentally-thanking her gymnastics training, she slid through the familiar gap in the fence and set off towards the overgrown greenhouse that she and Pam had once used as a secret clubhouse. Finally reaching it, she edged round to the entrance and leaned cautiously round to take a look.
"Whoever you are, come on in." Pam's voice said. "I felt you coming through the grass."
Barbara paused to check her mask was firmly in place, then stepped out, a batarang held firmly in her hand.
"There you are." Pam said from her impromptu throne made from the curved branches of the plant that had grabbed her father. "One of Batman's assistants, hmmm? He must have thought it was unlikely I was here, given he sent only you."
"What have you done with Captain Gordon?" Barbara asked and Pam laughed, the leaves that made her strange outfit rustling with her movement.
"Oh, he's safe. Having a nap, he really needed some rest. When my darling plant's recovered, I'll go back and collect the one I was really after. In the meantime, I'm afraid you'll have to take a nap too."
Warnings screamed in Barbara's mind and she hurled herself sideways as a root thrust up through the ground, curling to try and grab her. Several more roots also emerged and Barbara grabbed a shelf-strut and quickly swarmed up the the rafters.
"Good reflexes." Pam said with a slight smile on her face. "You're just delaying the inevitable, all the plants here obey my will."
"What happened to you?" Barbara asked. "It's not too late, Pamela, the doctors can..."
"Pamela Isley is who I was, but no more! I am Poison Ivy now." came the harsh reply and Barbara felt her heart sink.
"Then why did you want Barbara Gordon?"
Ivy smiled and Barbara noted that her eyes were solid green.
"An apprentice, of course. I had high hopes for her until the Batman interfered and the Batwoman knocked me into the vat."
"You tripped and fell."
"Whatever." Ivy shrugged. "I'm sure Batman told you all about it. But it made me. I was re-born that day. And I want Babs to join me. To be together, forever, in a new garden of eden..."
Barbara shuddered at the passion infusing Ivy's voice, then something made her glance back. Eyes widening, she leapt away from the vine that had almost reached her and managed to grab onto the next rafter. Swinging her legs to gain momentum, she managed to scramble onto the beam, then looked round and realised that she would soon run out of space to flee.
"You may as well give up." Ivy said, leaning back and stretching. "No-one's going to help you, I know. No-one's within a hundred meters of my new kingdom."
Barbara swallowed and pulled out one of her batarangs. Steeling herslef, she flung it at Ivy.
It missed.
Ivy looked at the metal shape that had stuck into the plant several meters from her, then looked back at Barbara.
"What was that supposed to do? Were you trying to distract me for some reason?"
As if in answer to her question, one of the skylights shattered and several figures dropped through, cloaks flaring to slow their falls. Ivy inhaled sharply and Barbara shouted.
"She controls plants! Makes them move!"
Batman nodded and the four figures promptly leapt outwards just as a spiked root slammed up through the ground. The ground shook and Barbara found herself falling.
"Gotcha!"
Barbara found herself in Nightwings arms, then he put her down . She looked round and realised that she was amidst the rafters again.
"How..?"
"No time." Nightwing said. "Keep moving, help keep her distracted. She's only one person, there have to be limits to her concentration. Batwoman's located your dad, she and Batman are retreiving him now. Let's move!"
Nightwing dove off the rafter and Barbara froze for a moment, her mind whirling. Nightwing knew who she was, but how? The only person who could have known was Kara Grayson...
A rustle reminded her of where she was and she somersaulted off the beam. Dropping, she bounced off a support strut and hurled another batarang in Ivy's direction as hard as she could. In a freakish display of accidental accuracy, it bounced off the arm of her plant-throne and ricoched upwards where it hit an old light, cusing it to drop. Ivy had just enough time to look up before the dropping light smashed into her, knocking her onto the floor.
"Oh god... is she..?"
"Still alive." said Robin, dropping to her side and checking her. "She's breathing, but her pulse is... weird. Nightwing?"
Nightwing frowned as Barbara descended to stand by him.
"That's odd, she seems to have sap in her veins... chlorophyll, weird blood cells, that costume isn't a costume, those leaves really are part of her."
"Eeew." Robin commented as he bound her hands behind her, then bound her feet as well. Nightwing moved forwards and picked her up without even a grunt of effort, leaving Barbara gaping at them.
"Got him." said a gravelly voice and Barbara turned to see Batman appearing from behind the throne-plant, followed by Batwoman... who was carrying her father as if he weighed no more than a feather. Batman looked round critically.
"Nightwing, get Pamela Isley somewhere away from any plants before she wakes up. I'd recommend Diamond police station. Batwoman, get Gordon to the hospital. Robin, you're with me. You too, kid."
"That's Batgirl." Barbara protested as Robin smirked slightly.
"We'll see." Batman said, leading them out of the greenhouse. Barbara glanced back, but Nightwing and Batwoman had both vanished. "You have no idea of what you got yourself into tonight."
"How did you find me?" Barbara asked.
"We didn't." Robin said. "Batman worked out where Gordan had probably been taken and we came. How did you know where to go?"
"Poison Ivy used to like this place." Barbara said. "It seemed likely."
Batman nodded and Barbara stopped as they rounded the corner and she saw the vehicle waiting for them.
"What... Is... That?" she asked and Robin answered her.
"That is the Batmobile, and I call shotgun."
"You are in the back." Batman said firmly and Robin's face fell. "Get in."
Robin vaulted into the opening cockpit and Batman dropped into the drivers seat. Barbara gingerly climbed up the armour-plated side and settled into the indicated seat.
x
"Will he be okay?" Barbara asked and Batman nodded.
"He'll be fine. Kara'll make sure he gets safely to the hospital."
"Kara? Kara's Batwoman?" Barbara gasped. "Then... you must be Dick Grayson." Robin scowled and nodded. "That means you and Nightwing are Bruce and Clark!"
Batman nodded and Robin spoke up. "So you know who we are, who are you?"
"Sorry." Barbara said smugly. "Independent hero, secret identity."
"She's Barbara Gordon." Batman said and Robin whistled. Barbara glared at Batman but he didn't seem to notice.
"No wonder you went after Gordon. That was brave of you. Stupid, but brave."
"This from the kid in tights!" Barbara snapped back and Robin drew a deep breath, but stopped when Batman held up his hand.
"Barbara, either you join us, or you stop tonight. If you want to continue, you need training. Lots of it. If you want to stop, you must never speak of what happened this night."
"I was doing fine." Barbara objected, then she sighed. "And I'd be plant-chow by now if you hadn't shown up. But what training do I need? I'm a great gymnast."
Robin snorted. "By school standards, maybe. But you're nowhere near our standards. I'm a circus kid, I've been doing acrobatics almost since birth. You need serious training to get up to our level. I'll be happy to help."
"If she does join us, Kara'll be her primary trainer and field-partner." Batman said. "It'll help them both improve. Since Kara's also her home-tutor, she can bring her up to Wayne Manor for her lessons. Including her school lessons."
Barbara made a face, but nodded.
"I'm in. And Batman? Thanks. For saving my dad, I mean."
Batman nodded. "Good. Now, where did you hide your clothes? I'll direct Nightwing to grab them for you and bring them to us so you can get changed and rejoin your dad."
x
"And our main story on Gotham Tonight, the emergence and capture of a new super-villain. Poison Ivy was captured last night by the Batman and his allies. Formerly known as Pamela Isley, she gained her powers in a freak accident and used them to kidnap Captain James Gordon of the newly-formed Batman Task-force. Although the police have yet to release a statement, Gotham Tonight can reveal that Captain Gordonwas rescued by none other than the Batman and his allies, who also captured Poison Ivy and delivered her to Arkham Asylum where she is being held for trial..."