Sighing in frustration, I lean back in my chair, eyes roving over the same data that's been on my screens for the last two hours. The sun will rise soon and I'm no closer to creating an antidote from the sample I took from Ivy than I was when I started.
Rubbing a hand down my face, I stand and make my way to the medical bay, both to check on Diana and take a blood sample. Perhaps I can separate Diana's DNA from Ivy's toxin, though I dread the possibility of waking her. If what she said about how she feels under Ivy's influence is true, then I'd hate to disturb her from any peace she might be getting.
I remain silent as I prepare a syringe, trying to stall before sighing and turning towards Diana. She's snuggled up beneath the blanket and her face is free of all stress and worry, a small smile on her lips as her head laid to the side. Without allowing any further delay, I gingerly grab her arm and stick her with the needle inside her elbow, watching as I pull the plunger up and the vial fills with blood.
My eyes flicker to Diana's face and her smile is gone but she's still asleep.
Once the vial is full, I withdraw the needle from her arm and step back, pulling the blanket back over her arm. Her eyelids flutter and her head rolls towards me. I freeze, debating whether or not to tuck her in more securely as that could wake her if I haven't already.
"Bruce," she breathes and I immediately lean in, drawing the blanket closer around her.
"I'm here, Princess," I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead.
"Love you," she mutters and my lips can't help but stretch into a grin against her forehead.
"I love you," I reply, pressing another kiss to her head before pulling away, having felt her settle back against the cot. I brush some hair from her face as she drifts back to sleep and begrudgingly turn to leave.
"Master Bruce, I really insist you rest."
"I can't, Al, not now. She needs this antidote."
Alfred had descended into the cave twenty or so minutes ago to see me in the same spot I've been for the last hour or so. I had quickly brought him up to speed and informed him of my current mission.
"She is resting and so should you." We've been arguing in circles since I'd finished catching him up.
"I can't-"
"You can."
I stand, fighting the urge to slam my hands down on the desk and wake Diana. "I. Can't." I repeat. "You have no idea what she's like when she's awake."
"You've handled far worse."
"That's not the point, Alfred. She's my wife. I have to resist her, for her sake, but I don't want to. And I cannot allow myself to give into her while she's in this state."
Alfred sighs and moments later, I feel his hand on my shoulder.
"Please, rest, at least for thirty minutes. I will continue working on this."
"I-"
"-can," he finishes for me. "Change out of that dreadful kevlar and go lie down on the couch in the library." His tone is soft but also holds an edge that leaves no room for argument. I hold his gaze that is steadily turning into a glare before sighing and moving towards the case that holds my suit.
However, I've hardly removed my belt before an alarm sounds from the computer. Alfred releases a sigh of his own as I refasten my belt and approach the computer once more, brows furrowing in confusion as I read through the report.
"She's supposed to be at Arkham Asylum. Why-no, how, is Ivy already free?"
"Perhaps her toxin was able to influence the officers sent to pick her up. Was she conscious when you left her?"
"No, but perhaps you're onto something. She may have still been emitting the fumes that influenced Diana, even unconsciously." Placing the cowl over my head, I begin descending the steps to the batmobile.
"Call me immediately if she wakes. I can't imagine her reacting well to me not being here."
"No, if what you've told me is anything to go on, I expect she'll be quite upset."
"You can say that again," I mutter under my breath as I snatch my gloves off the hood.
"You!" Ivy screeches the moment I drop into the middle of the road, a block or so away from her. Despite the still visibly angry skin on the side of her face, Ivy's shaved half of her head so there's no more uneven patches of hair, and those toxic yet vibrant pink flowers bloom along the line where hair meets shaved scalp. "You did this to me!" She shrieks and while in other circumstances, I may have been concerned that the chemicals I spilled on her were deadly, nothing other than Diana had mattered to me in that moment. I know that I should be concerned that I would so willingly put aside my morals just for one person but I would do anything, anything, for this person.
"You did that to yourself, Ivy." I don't shout, knowing Ivy's hearing is boosted by using plants in the area to relay things back to her.
Her snarl is evident even at this distance. I begin to walk towards her, eyes flitting around the street to find the best way to finish this quickly. I don't want to know what Diana will do if she wakes and I'm gone.
"How's your fellow hero? Has she gotten a taste of you yet or is her husband able to keep up with her?" Ivy teases snidely.
"I'll go easy on you if you tell me how to reverse the effects." I'm met with a bark of a laugh.
"You'll go easy, huh?" she has also begun to walk closer to me. "Do you think Wayne is smart enough to figure out that the more he satiates her, the more desperate she''ll become?" That was what I'd been dreading, hence fearing that giving into her would make it worse on her rather than better, despite the moment of clarity she had afterwards. "Maybe Wayne won't be enough for her? Maybe she'll go crawling to one of your other super pals, like Superman, perhaps? He might be able to keep up with her for a while."
"What's the point of this, Ivy? What do you hope to accomplish by doing this? What does this achieve? How do people going into a state of neverending desire do anything for you?"
"Well, normally, I'd tell you to figure it out for yourself, since you're the so-called 'great detective' but, since I'm rather enjoying the state of turmoil this has put you in," I notice men begin to step from between buildings, ranging from cops to civilians. "If everyone is so busy trying to screw each other's brains out, they'll be too distracted to do anything else. Too distracted to eat, to drink, to rest. I will admit, the passion wasn't the initial plan, but I won't say it didn't work out for me. I just wanted to have people resort to their base instincts." A wicked smile has curled over her lips before her eyes raise up over my head, the sinister smile turning into a smirk.
I refuse to look behind me and give Ivy the opportunity to get the drop on me but I quickly run through what could be taller than me and deduce it must be a plant of some kind. I snag a batarang from my belt to cut through wherever is preparing to wrap around me when a shot rings out, impacting the back of my shoulder. The kevlar absorbs most of the force but not all of it and it's enough to jolt me forward and into Ivy's plants that suddenly burst up through the concrete.
Still having a hold on my batarang, I ignore the pain in my shoulder and bring my fist up, slicing through the vines before they have a chance of tightening around me and sticking me with their toxic thorns.
I spin on whoever shot me, not surprised to find a guard with a hazy look in his eye, his form sluggish as he holds his gun out weakly in front of him, eyes unfocused. Ivy must be able to control which pheromones she releases seeing as how this cop is acting like one of her usual victims rather than crazed like Diana.
Firing my grappling gun, I yank the cop towards me and into my fist to send him sprawling to the ground unconscious when Alfred's panicked voice suddenly echoes into my ear. "Master Bruce, Mistress Diana is gone."
"Gone? What do you mean, gone?"
"Gone as in she was asleep moments ago and then she shot out of here like a bullet. I have no idea where she's gone nor where she's headed."
Dread settles into my stomach, knowing exactly where she's headed. I keep my gaze trained on the sky as I call to the WatchTower.
"Batman to Superman."
"Superman here." Clark replies only seconds later.
"I need you in Gotham. Now." I can't take out Ivy and take on Diana at the same time.
"Who's gotten out of Arkham and caused enough ruckus that you need me?" Clark asks teasingly.
"It's not me. It's Diana." Just then, I spot her flying up over a row of buildings only a few blocks away.
Clark loses the teasing tone. "I'm on my way."
"Ooh, look who's decided to join the party?" Ivy laughs, hands placed confidently on her hips like she knows Diana is here for me and not her. With my attention being fully on Diana, I miss the vines that leap from the same hole the previous plants had formed and they don't hesitate in wrapping tightly around me and pushing me towards Ivy. "I really do think Wayne should be more concerned. I know you're quite the handsome devil and all, but she really seems to have the hots for you." I lock my jaw and brace for impact as Diana speeds towards us, her focus solely on me.
And both Ivy and I's assumptions were correct as Diana slows just enough to land feet first in front of me before tearing through Ivy's vines, regardless of their spikes, and latch tightly around me.
However, I've barely reacted when Clark appears above us, trying to understand the situation. "Take Wonder Woman!" I shout up to him, trying to get a good enough grip on Diana's lasso that still hangs from my belt.
Ivy's attention is now on Superman, her grin stretching wide. "Take her and stay back!" I order, finally getting a good enough handle on the lasso to wrap it around Diana's waist. And though unsure if the lasso needs to actually restrain her to cancel out her powers or just wrap around her, it convinces Diana to let go of me and try to connect our lips. I turn my head away and fight to grab ahold of her wrists without losing my grip on the lasso.
"Superman, now!" I shout, needing Clark to do more than watch and risk Ivy taking advantage of him too. I've only managed to wrap one wrist with the lasso but Diana darts away, realizing what I'm attempting to do, practically backing herself into Clark. He wraps his arms around her tightly and flies up, pulling her away from Ivy and myself. Her lasso hangs from one of her wrists and I only hope she doesn't have enough capacity to use it against the Kryptonian.
"This ends here, Ivy. She can't go on like that, no one can continue like that."
"You sure do sound concerned for someone who's just her teammate." Ivy ponders aloud as the flowers covering her head begin to push out more of their dangerous fumes.
"Get her out of here!" I shout up at Clark but I can hear him grunting and struggling to contain the Amazon.
Ivy darts forward, pushing herself as close to me as possible as her plants snap at me from behind her, trying to force the toxins up my nostrils. I feel the overly sensitive feeling begin to tingle along my skin as the pink fog seeps into my system, quickly overwhelming me and nearly bringing me to my knees. It affects my concentration as I fight to remain as unbothered as possible.
But with Ivy in such close proximity, it takes no time to be completely distracted, with all of my focus on remaining upright and at least somewhat sane. Ivy leans in close, eyes darting between the white slits of my cowl. "I do desperately wish that I could see your eyes at this moment, pupils blown wide and pleading." Ivy tilts her head this way and that as I struggle to control my facial features.
Her grin is seductive as she leans in closer and I hear Clark groan from above me following a thud. Just behind Ivy, Clark lies on his back in an indent made in the pavement by his impact. And a second later, Diana's in front of me once more, pounding Ivy into the ground and knocking her out cold, not hesitating to whirl on her heel and throw herself at me.
The sensations of her arms tightening around me and her jasmine scent mixing with Ivy's toxins that still linger in the air nearly drive me mad and I nearly throw Diana to the ground to ravage her beside the unconscious villain.
But then I notice Diana's lasso is still dangling from her wrist and using my last shred of control, I snatch it and wrap it around Diana, canceling out any of her powers and pushing her away from me.
"No," she whimpers as Clark finally pulls himself up and begins to move towards us.
"Take her," I gasp, shrinking away from her the second Clark has a good enough hold of her. She still struggles but not as intensely with the lasso wrapped around her, her eyes pinned on me as I try to create distance between Ivy's toxins along with Diana and myself.
Clark thankfully seems unaffected and that's when I recall his ability to breathe in lethal fumes unaffected and I've never been more grateful for his Kryptonian heritage.
As the overwhelming feeling begins to fade as I continue taking deep breaths of fresh air, Clark moves slightly closer, still keeping a firm grip on my wife who tries to lunge at me. "What on earth is going on?"
I take one last deep breath before standing straight and as stoic as possible, noticing people beginning to peak out of shops and neighboring buildings they'd hidden in when Ivy had begun her attack. "Ivy's been experimenting with her pheromones. Diana was caught completely off guard and I haven't finished a cure for it yet. I was hoping she'd remain sleeping while I dealt with Ivy."
Clark nods, eying the nearly savage Amazon in his hands. Her hair sticks to her forehead, her skin is flushed, her chest is heaving, her eyes are wide and pleading; she looks like a barely restrained wild animal.
Just then, sirens can be heard and they swing around the corner, three cop cars all pulling up a few blocks away. "Keep her over here. I've got to handle Ivy."
"What about her fumes?" Clark eyes the weaker stream of pink smoke that is still being weakly pumped into the air.
"I'll be okay." Is all I tell him as I give him and Diana a wide berth to reach Ivy, leaning down to scoop her up and hearing Diana grow more unhinged behind me.
"Christ, Diana, chill out!" Clark tries to reprimand but it goes unheeded.
"Looks like you've got your hands full," Jim calls out once I'm closer. Propping Ivy more against my chest, I press the button on my gauntlet to summon the batmobile, knowing Ivy can't be placed into a police car without affecting the cops driving.
I simply nod, waiting for the back hatch of the batmobile to open before lying Ivy inside and making sure she's completed restrained.
"What's going on with her?" He nods down the street to Diana who seems to have calmed a little.
"Ivy's been experimenting with her pheromones." I repeat to Jim what I'd told Clark. "Wonder Woman had an unexpected reaction to it. I haven't managed to create an antidote for her yet." The batmobile closes with Ivy secured inside and I step back. "I'll take Ivy to lockup. She got loose before as she's still emanating her toxin, even while unconscious. The batmobile can filter out her toxins to prevent any incidents like that from occurring until she's locked up."
Jim nods before turning to give directions to his men behind him when I hear Clark call out Diana's name. Seconds later something slams into me at full force, knocking me back into a nearby brick wall, somehow managing not to knock us through it. My shoulder and clavicle are screaming as the weight that plowed into me is roughly yanked off and I crumple to the ground.
"Batman! Are you okay?" Someone asks but it's fuzzy as I try to blink away the swimming in my vision. My head must have slammed against the wall, giving me a concussion.
"No, no! Get off of me!" I hear someone else screaming, which only makes the pounding in my head worse.
"Batman?" The first voice asks again and my vision thankfully begins to clear, Jim focusing in and out of view.
"I'm okay, Jim," I try to assure him but the impact of being rammed has me fighting the urge to roll to the side and throw up.
"Are you sure? That was quite the hit there. She's definitely not in the right state of mind right now." I glance past Jim to see Diana bucking and rearing in Clark's grip as he fights to hold onto her without hurting her.
Jim stands back and offers me a hand, thankfully to the shoulder that isn't on fire, and I allow him to pull me to my feet, unable to help the way my grip tightens on his hand as everything begins to swim again.
"Woah, there. Are you sure you're alright? Do you need a paramedic?" I lock my jaw and release Jim's hand, stepping back.
"No, I'm fine." I growl, eyes locking with Clark. "Get her back to the cave. I'll be there as soon as Ivy's been secured. Hopefully her antidote is finished." Clark hesitates before nodding and lifting into the air with a still-flailing Amazon. I can only pray Alfred's got that cure figured out and ready.
A/N: This is not where I originally planned to end the chapter but I've been trying to get this chapter finished for the last three weeks and I feel like I write about two sentences a week so here's what I've got. This hasn't been proofread so I apologize for any errors.
Thx!
AMM