Chapter 2

You probably noticed the weird italics thing near the end of the chapter. Ignore it I was trying to do that to the word "everyone." Sorry.

Ivy wasn't sure if she should be shocked our angry. She was going to go with angry. She lashed her vine towards their unwanted visitor. He jumped out of the way and into the apartment. He turned out of the way to see Harley's familiar red-and-black printed wooden mallet swinging towards his head.

Darkness.

"So, what are we going to do with you?", Ivy asked in a low tone. He opened his eyes and saw his world was literally turned upside down. He looked at his feet to see that he was suspended by a string of vines. He looked back at Ivy with a scowl.

"Let me go, Ivy."

"Tempting, Bats, but no dice!", Harley piped up.

"I think it'd be wise to listen to Harley, don't you think?", said Ivy. "She is the one with a giant wooden mallet."

"I think a nice round of pin the hammer on the Bat is in order, dontcha think, Red?" Ivy nodded her agreement.

"Before I start enjoying your... "generous hospitality"... how about I tell you why I'm here," said Batman.

"But that makes it so much less fun," replied Ivy.

Batman merely looked at her with a face that said I'll get you when I get out of here.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Fine! We'll let you go."

Harley looked at her with incredulity, with a hint of outrage.

"Red! The whole point of trapping a Bat is so you can kill it!"

Ivy tsked at her and waved her hand, telling the vine to retreat. When it let go of him, Batman backflipped, thudding onto both feet.

"You're no fun anymore," Harley whined.

"Now, Harley. Batman's right. We have to show our generous hospitality."

Ivy turned back to Batman, her demeanor changed from sweet to angry. Harley joined at her side.

"So, what is it that you want, Dark Knight?," asked Ivy.

Batman's attitude changed. His face darkened as he remembered why he was here.

Harley and Ivy's hearts began to race. They knew, when he addressed them, that that look meant serious business. The looks on their faces changed from anger to genuine concern.

"Batsy? What's happened?," asked Harley.

"This is very bad news. For both of us," replied Batman.

"Just tell us already!," cried Ivy.

"The Joker's back."

"WHAT?!" The cry echoed through the entire apartment. Ivy turned towards Harley, who stood with an appalled and slightly disgusted look on her face. She looked down, defeated, and retreated to sit on the couch.

"Harley..." Ivy reached after her. Harley shrugged her off and sat on the couch. Ivy gasped softly, then wheeled back, advancing on Batman.

"YOU TOLD ME HE WAS DEAD! YOU TOLD US HE WAS DEAD!"

Batman staggered back a little bit, taken aback by the fiery redhead's fury. But then he shook his head, regaining his demeanor.

"We never found a body. Judging from the damage and the height of the fall, I assumed-"

"YOU ASSUMED?! ASSUMPTIONS NEVER GOT ANYONE ANYWHERE! WHY DON'T YOU STOP ASSUMING AND-"

"Red."

Ivy turned towards the sad Harley.

"Red, it's not Batman's fault. It's not yours. It's mine."

Ivy sat next to Harley on the couch and began stroking her dirty blonde hair.

"Harley, you can't blame yourself for what happened..." Ivy replied.

"It's not that I blame myself. It really is my fault. He came after me. He wanted me, not you. It's my fault."

Ivy sighed, not knowing what to say. She turned back to Batman, who had turned away, speaking to someone on his comm. He sounded exasperated.

"Thanks, Barbara."

He turned back to the two women seated on the couch.

"There's been a development. Joker has set bombs all over Gotham. Green boxes wrapped in purple bows. It's probably a distraction from what my sources say is his real gig at the docks."

"Why are you taking this so calmly?," asked Ivy.

Batman sighed again.

"We've known about this for a while-"

"YOU'VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR A WHILE. UNBELIEVABLE!"

"We never looked into it, because we were almost sure he was dead. And if he really was the Joker, he wouldn't be going so small scale."

"Well, that's just it, isn't it?," said Ivy. "You were almost sure he was dead. And the Joker's plans are never revealed outright."

"Don't think we don't know that by know, Pamela."

"Then do something about it. We were happy before you brought this into our lives. Can't you see that? We don't need this."

"I understand. I guess I'll be leaving now."

"I guess you will."

Batman left the apartment. As soon as he closed the door, Harley started sobbing. Ivy heard her with her back turned. She forced herself to keep her tears down, but her eyes burned. She sat down next Harley and rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.

"It's all right. Harley, everything's going to be fine."

Harley shrugged her off a second time. She stood up, face puffy, and advanced on Ivy.

"No, Red. It's not going to be all right. You don't get it."

"Harley, I promise you-"

"No, you can't promise anything! You can't promise me shit! You couldn't promise me anything when the fucking Joker was after us! You couldn't promise me that he was dead! You couldn't promise me I was safe! You can't promise anything! Damn you, Pamela Isley! You fucker. Damn you to hell!"

Harley stormed towards the door, opened it and left. She slammed the door so hard Ivy's plants suffered.

Ivy stared after her, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe what had just happened.

Ivy began to cry.

What do you think so far? I know in some people's minds it might be low-res crappy stuff, but roll with it.

EXCELSIOR!