The Harlequin and the Bat
This is the story sequel to: The Harley and The Ivy.
Important notes: I do not own Batman or any portion of the franchise. I give all credit to DC Comics and respective owners.
Chapter 22
Bill led Ivy up to his room; he took a deep breath and sighed. Ivy was worried 'Does he know I told Barbara and the others about his…condition?' Ivy wondered in her mind.
"Ivy…I know you told Barbara and the others." Bill sighed, Ivy was taken back slightly but maintained her composure "I'm not mad…I'm glad you told them…I don't want any more secrets…especially between us." Bill turned and sighed
"So why did you want me to come up?" Ivy asked crossing her arms
"Because I wanted to say: I'm sorry. You were right, I should've forgotten the list long ago…but it's kept me going…" Bill confessed
"But you don't need it anymore. Leave Crane to rot in Arkham; if you go to Arkham who knows what'll happen. Besides…what will you do if you get to Crane?" Ivy said while holding her arms around Bill's neck.
"Simple…one last game of chess." Bill said plainly
"No: breaking limbs?" Ivy asked; Bill shook his head. "Head smashing?" he shook again "no gunshot wounds?"
"Bruce let alone Arkham won't allow guns." Bill joked
Ivy smiled and kissed him "What else did you want? I hardly think you asked me up here to give me an apology."
"No, there's more…Ivy *whisper*" Bill whispered into her ear which made her blush (or blush as much as a, green skinned plant woman hybrid can)
"Seriously?" Ivy asked
"Dead serious…" Bill said kissing his girlfriend again
(Tim's POV)
Tim is hidden outside of the door trying to eavesdrop for Harley and Barbara. 'Damn it. I can't hear what their talking about! Got to tell what I do know to Harley and Barbara.' Tim thought as he went downstairs he saw that Harley and Bruce had gone off to talk about something, but Tim told Barbara what transpired between Ivy and Bill.
(Harleen's POV)
"Bruce what's wrong?" Harleen asked figuring that it had something to do with Talia. Bruce and Harleen were in a spare room that wasn't being used for anything.
"Sonia…she…" Bruce started trying to think of the words
"What did she do? If she hurt you…" Harley started
"No, no…she gave me some medicine…it caused a massive pain in my head but…but it made me remember." Bruce said solemnly
"What did you remember?" Harley asked
"I remember…that Talia…drugged me…she made me think that she was…" Bruce trailed off
"Was? Was what?" Harley asked
"Was you." Bruce answered with horror in his voice
Harley was taken back, she couldn't believe it…but everyone seemed to be silent on the subject. "Bruce…I…" Harley began
"I…I slept with her…she controlled me…I had no freewill over it…I'm sorry…I love you and I broke that trust…" Bruce spoke sadly "I treated her…like I would treat you."
"Bruce…it was Talia who did this to you. To us. She's jealous, if you did all the things you would've done for me…then she must've been heartbroken knowing that you love me more than you loved her. Before Arkham, I talked to people who were in your position, I told them it wasn't their fault and I'm saying the same to you: it wasn't your fault!" Harley said while looking into Bruce's eyes.
"You really are something Harleen Quinzel…" Bruce smile and kissed her hand.
"I know…" Harley hugged her boyfriend "Now…can we please have just one day without any crazy crap happening?"
"I doubt it. In our line of work…no such luck." Bruce grinned as he hugged Harley back.
(Dick's POV)
*Downstairs minutes earlier*
"So, what did you give to Bruce?" Dick asked Sonia
"It's a special tea leaf that is sweet tasting; but if imbibed with memory loss the pain comes for a short while then ebbs away. It doesn't have an official name but it is called: the lost memory brew, the drunk's worst/best friend and memory's weave." Sonia explained
"At least it doesn't have a dangerous sounding name or side effect." Barbara sighed in relief
"That's correct for the name part…but if eaten raw the tea leaf can be fatal. But brewed it's more or less safe." Sonia added.
"More or less? What do you mean: more or less?" Alfred asked his daughter sternly, for fear of his master and adopted son.
"Well…if the tea is not properly prepared and brewed it can be poisonous." Sonia replied "Don't worry for your…our master, I know how to properly prepare it."
"Hey…" Tim said behind them "Bill knows about what we were talking about the other day…" he spoke solemnly.
"So…what's he going to do? Challenge Crane?" Barbara asked
"Yeah…to chess." Tim answered
"Chess? No limb ripping or anything?" Dick asked
"They just went through that, he said: only chess." Tim went through it.
"But the question is…who wins?" Barbara asked thinking about Bill and his track record with Crane in the past.
*the day turns into tomorrow*
Bill arrives at Arkham he's carrying a chessboard under his good arm; Two-Face has escaped wreaking havoc upon Gotham with his goons, Crane remains inside the Insane Asylum whiling the time away with his Suicide Squad serum for Amanda Waller. Inside Bill is approached by the two thugs he has previously encountered.
"Hey, lads…what's with the death glares?" Bill joked
"They are here to ensure that you don't try and ruin my work…Impact." A female voice was heard, she had found out Bill's identity, Bill turned around and smiled
"Miss Waller, a surprise to see you here…visiting hours is it?" Bill asked innocently
"Don't play coy with me Bill; I know Crane is on your list. That's why; I've brought a little insurance to make sure you don't mess with my plans anymore." Waller explained as one of her men injected Bill with something.
"ARGH! *sucks in through teeth* What was that?" Bill asked while rubbing his neck
"Just something we give all our volunteers…" Amanda smiled
"You mean: a pain in the neck?" Bill joked
"No…a nano-virus injection; one wrong move and you'll meet your maker. In which case: a mixture of chemicals and a suit of armour." Waller smiled
Bill looked up at Waller's men then back at her… "Not wrong there. Can I go now?"
"Of course…What's that under your arm?" Waller asked as Bill was walking into Arkham
"I wanted to play one last game with a rival. Check inside it if you want." Bill handed the case to Waller's guards. Waller gave a nod to allow it, the guards searched the contents: sixteen pawns, four rooks, four knights, four bishops, two queens and two kings.
"Nothing out of the ordinary Ma'am." The guard spoke clearly with authority.
"Very good…make sure he is…escorted, when seeing his rival." Waller spoke with some amount joy in Bill's pain.
"Thanks, thanks a lot…" Bill said aloud then softly then going into Arkham 'complete psycho…now I know why she's called Suicide Waller!' Bill thought
Inside there was the same receptionist who had served him last time. "Ah! Mister Bill…I-I-I…" he stammered.
"I'm here to see Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow." Bill spoke slowly
"Y-y-yes…of course…s-s-security please get: Jonathan Crane from his cell please…" the receptionist spoke over the phone. "Y-y-you can go and see him now." The receptionist pointed the way to the visiting rooms.
"Don't be so nervous. You won't see me here for a while. Have a good day." Bill smiled politely
Inside the visiting rooms Crane was sitting with a bag of sweets by his side, he smiled past his broken glasses and his healing wounds. "Ah…Bill you've brought the board I see. I've brought the sweets."
"Good; I'll set up the board. Now the wager…" Bill said getting the pieces and board
(Harleen's POV)
Bruce and Harley had gotten over the rough patch in their relationship due to Talia. They flew down to find Two-Face's men robbing the Gotham Bank.
"Typical of Dent, always with the coins" Dick said over the Bat-Caller
"That may be true, but Harvey is still dangerous. We should be cautious." Batman spoke over the caller.
"I'll sneak around you take the front assault." Bat-Shard said pointing.
"Good call Shard." Batman said (Harley has taken up the moniker 'nickname': Shard, because she thought it was a mouthful saying her full title Bat-Shard…it's only a recent decision) "Be careful."
"You too…Paladin." Shard teased while smiling
"Ha-ha! Paladin…" Tim laughed
"Hey, watch it!" Batman said pointing at Shard
Shard slipped down the back passage to see that Two-Face was twirling his infamous coin "You don't think we were hasty in doing this job do you?" asking his goons. "Then again…" he flipped his coin then catching it. It landed heads up "We do have to pay the bills for our escapades! Boys, we take everything!"
'Bills…speaking of which, I wonder what Bill is doing now?' "Nightbloom where is Impact? Nightbloom; do you copy?" Shard whispered in her caller
"Who the hell is Nightbloom?" Dick asked
(Ivy's POV)
Ivy stayed down in the Bat-Cave and observed a special medicinal capsule, one for full body healings (imagine the giant tube thing that Luke Skywalker was in when he was recuperating in after the run in with the snowman creature) and sighed the she wasn't paying attention but looking at the special sphere that was forming within the tube. 'Bill…you're a mad man…but you're my mad man.' she thought lovingly of her boyfriend.
"Nightbloom; do you copy? Over!" Shard exclaimed over the Bat-Caller.
Ivy noticed that time then raced upstairs longing at the tube. She then heard Dick over talking about Nightbloom "Where and who the hell is Nightbloom?"
"She means me! Nightbloom here, what's your message Shard?" Ivy groaned then answered Shard's message.
"Didn't Bill talk to Two-Face a month or so ago? Cause he's got his coin back and on a rampage." Shard explained while sounds of fighting were behind her.
"He did, he gave it back to him being a nice guy…I expected Dent would do this…never expected it took this long though." Dick explained
"Typical…I love that man but he's got such a moron at times." Ivy explained
"Pardon my intrusion but where is Master Bill." Sonia interjected
"Isn't he there with you?!" Shard worriedly spoke
"He said he had a score to settle." Sonia explained
(Bill's POV)
The board was set, the pieces were in place…Bill has the upper hand; each move was thought out, pawn to take rook, knights to take bishop, bishops sacrificed for access to the knights.
"How long has it been that we've played, Brom?" Crane asked moving a pawn forward
"The day before my release: almost two years ago." Bill answered taking one pawn with another
"Remind me…what is the score between us?" Crane said with a smile moving his knight in view of Bill's Queen
"Forty-nine for you, forty-nine for me." Bill answered "First to fifty wins." Bill reminded the thin sized villain while taking Crane's knight with his Rook.
"It feels strange that we only have this last one match to do…I do enjoy these battles of intelligence." Crane smiled as he took Bill's pawn "Anyway, how is Miss Harley and Miss Ivy?" that struck a nerve for Bill
"They're fine, thank you Ichabod." Bill took a pawn by mistake, he aimed for a different piece…Crane was playing dirty now.
"It's just that Bat-Shard, seems to be awfully familiar…customer of yours?" Crane asked slyly taking Bill's left hand knight.
"There are always people coming into my shop…still it's better than being under the thumb of Waller…she's a right Pain. In. the. Neck." Bill said rubbing his neck and taking Crane's rook.
"She got you too?" Crane asked taking Bill's last bishop…Bill only had a few moves left before the wager loomed over them.
"Yeah…and it's not good…" Bill said moving his queen into check of Crane's king.
"Yes…but now it's over." Crane spoke taking the queen, seeming smug…but
"Yes…it is. Checkmate." Bill used his Black Knight and took the White King, the move opened Crane's eyes, he couldn't see the move but it was plain as day.
"You beat me…fair and square, forty-nine to fifty, you win. Well done…Bill." Crane offered his hand like a gentleman.
"It was a good game…Jonathan. But a deal is a deal…" Bill reciprocated pointing out the wager.
"…Here. The Fear Toxin, I hope you know what you're doing…and as promised…to a terrific rivalry." Crane raised a glass of water.
"To a great rivalry." Bill waved goodbye with the toxin in the chessboard; as Crane drank the water he began to hallucinate, the water had fear toxin in it.
Bill managed to slip by Waller's men, but he was being followed by them. Each pace he placed was perfectly timed by the guards…
'Crap, I can't shake them…I hope I can get to a safe house before getting to the Manor.' Bill thought, he walked talking on his phone. "Hey, Victor…It's Bill; hey are you going to that costume party? Yeah that's right five minutes…see you there then." Bill hung up the phone.
At the warehouse, Bill entered it calling out to Victor but the bodyguards and Waller were not able to enter. "Ma'am we must insist that you remain behind. It's not safe for you…remember what this boy did to Edward Nigma and Hugo Strange."
"I know the risk. But Bill has something we need." Waller answered before seeing the door creak open.
"Yeah okay I'll meet you outside. I think it's going to be a bit cold out so…bring your jacket." Bill spoke misleading Waller and her men. Bill had Mister Freeze's gun and froze them in place…well their feet and bodies only, he let them move around. He wasn't that cold hearted after all, not a true bad guy. "next time: ask before you sneak around a guy."
"I'll get you for this you monster!" Waller explained
"Yeah, yeah…where is the nano-virus antidote?" Bill asked
"You'll never get it…not under all this ice." Waller explained shivering
"It's in your jacket pocket…great." Bill said sarcastically then breaking the ice with his hands
"How…?" Waller questioned
"I may not be Impact without my total gear on…but I am strong!" Bill explained before freezing them, Bill threw back the gun to Victor.
"I was going to move anyway…" he joked and smiled
"That's good; maybe…maybe somewhere tropical…the Antarctic perhaps?" Bill joked "see you later Victor." Bill waved
"Goodbye Bill. Stay out of trouble." Victor mentioned
"Starting today…I think I might!" Bill smiled
To be continued
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