SquidgeWorld Archive

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Ivy sat quietly in the waning sunset near a stream, pondering. She'd always preferred this time of day for thinking.

/None of this makes sense. Why would Tommy say Wayne is Batman? I know nothing of their history./

She shook her head, musing. /Does he love me, or is it infatuation? Even I can tire of empty adoration. It isn't enough. And Wayne...is an enigma./

A slow smile curved her lips, emerald in waning sunlight.

/There is something about him. I've always felt it, even when we first met. But my goals were different then. I thought he was eye candy, someone to play with./

A frown.

/I know differently. There is a...darkness, a secret about him. He's nothing like the public persona. A very dangerous man./

Another smile.

/I like that. He hides his intelligence, but why? The pretense, it's as if.../

Ivy stood abruptly, inexplicably annoyed. Slender fingers idly toyed with a tree branch.

/How would a rich playboy know about botanical science? There is more I would know about this Wayne. And he is so very...delicious. There was something in his eyes these past few nights. I know it!/

She hummed, thoughts taking a pleasanter turn. /Yet, I made a critical error long ago. When I researched, I only did a cursory background check. All I found out was that he travelled the world. Nothing insidious. Perhaps I should have done more digging./

Memories.

/The only man I ever wanted was the Bat. And he fights me, resists me. Like.../

"What?!"

Ivy stared at her feet, surrounded by soft grass. /Wayne wanted to kiss me. I nearly kissed him again, but this time was different. How?/

She paced aimlessly in a small clearing. /Wayne treats me in a similar manner. He comes close, then pulls away. Just like.../

"The Bat?"

/No, Tommy may have been mistaken. They're nothing alike. Not in body language, but.../

Ivy sat again, deep in concentration. "Think, woman. Put this together."

She thought about every encounter with Wayne. And the Bat. Nothing seemed obviously connected, but she couldn't shake a feeling...

Wait.

Batman had a hero complex. Always the Dark Knight, always honorable. He'd even taken a bullet for her, once. A while back Wayne defended a female companion when Ivy and her cohorts were extorting wealthy men at his mansion. She gave him a poison kiss for his gallantry.

Similar behavior...coincidence?

Her mouth opened slightly, amazed at her turn of thought. More similarites.

Like...

Their size.

Batman was a big man, all muscle and stength. But he moved like an athlete. She'd seen Wayne at a distance and up close. The man was built, with huge shoulders and square jaw. Radiating power like an aura. He _stood out_ in a room of other handsome men. Where would a playboy get a body like that? She'd noticed the bulges his tux couldn't hide. The height would work, again similar.

Eyes like the green narrowed.

/Tommy was so adamant. Have I been tricked somehow? That other 'Batman' could've been an imposter./

Ivy always prided herself on her intelligence. She knew everything about biochemistry and plant physiology one could know. Her kisses always left a memory imprint on her brain, a means of identifying individuals. Pheremones. Personal scent. And...

Teeth gritted, an unnamed rage building. She'd kissed both Batman and Wayne enough times to know. It never dawned on her until now.

"FOOL!!"

Vines burst forth from the ground, twisted and knarled. Ivy stood in the center, fists balled. Hair red as flame swirled wildly.

"The most obvious clue, and I've overlooked it all this time!"

So many kisses. Too many. She knew his feel, his taste...the texture of his skin.

"Lies. Trickery!"

Stalking across a small footbridge, she stared at her reflection in the waters below. A cold smirk formed.

"So...he wants to play games. I warned him he'd never be free of me. And to think...I once couldn't choose between him and Wayne!"

She smiled, sticking a finger in her mouth.

"I'll have something special for him when next we meet...a kiss like no other. And none of his tricks or antidotes will save him."

She twirled, laughing in delight. "Yesss...a mutating love potion. Willpower will fail him at last!"

"Some women just can't accept the truth."

"What?!" Ivy spun at the intrusion. A dark, lithe shape approached from the glade.

Catwoman.

"What the hell do you want?" Ivy snapped, annoyed. "You aren't welcome in my garden."

Selina snorted, palming her whip. "Why not? It seems pretty empty."

"Don't start a fight you can't win."

"Houston, we have a problem."

"Meaning?"

Selina sat against a rock outcropping. "It's time we had a little chat."