In Love With A Good Man

Chapter 20: In Return

Poison Ivy was totally relaxed in her little hideout deep in one of Gotham's biggest and densest parks. It was the middle of the night, and she was humming to herself as she tended to her 'babies'. They chirped and snarled excitedly as she fed them.

"Here you are, darlings. Don't be greedy now. There's plenty for everyone." Ivy said, petting the living plants before giving them their meal.

However, the peace of the moment was interrupted by the sounds of thumping. Low thuds in the grass caused the ground to rumble more and more as they got closer and closer. Hearing this, Ivy prepared for an attack. And sure enough, that's exactly what was coming her way.

Out of nowhere, a huge monstrous green reptile came crashing into the forest, knocking trees over. Ivy's killer plants immediately attacked it, wrapping vines around it and biting at its arms and legs. However, it started grabbing the vines and stalks of the plants and ripping them out of the ground.

"Ahh! No!" Ivy screamed out, grabbing her head in distress as she heard the pained screeches of her plants. "Killer Croc! Get out of here! Stop killing my babies!" She yelled at the monster.

"Poison Ivy," Killer Croc growled at her when he recognized her. "You should know better than to try and tell me what to do," He said as he stalked towards her. "It's been awhile. You're looking...delicious as usual."

"You keep your scaly paws to yourself, sewer rat." Ivy said spitefully.

Killer Croc growled again and lunged at her with a roar. Several of Ivy's plants grabbed onto him, pulling him to the ground. Ivy gasped in surprise before turning around and rushing towards where she slept.

"We have to go! Get out of here, all of you! Run before he kills anymore of you! Please!" Ivy urged her babies before grabbing what she could carry and sprinting out of the park.

As she distanced herself from Killer Croc, she could hear her plants screeching in agony again and again. Despite her orders, they were still fighting with the giant crocodile in order to give her the best chance of escape. When they cried out, Ivy would cry out in turn.

"I'm so sorry, my children. Please forgive me." Ivy sobbed, feeling guilty for leaving them. Once she was away and hidden in the subway tunnels of Gotham, she pulled out her phone and called Harley.

"Huff...huff...hello? Hello, Harley?" Ivy tried to catch her breath.

"Red? What's wrong, hun? You sound outta breath!" She noticed.

"Yeah...Killer Croc just attacked my hideout and took over my turf. He-he was ripping my babies...out of the ground." Ivy got choked up as she told her what happened. Harley gasped in surprise.

"No way! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" Harley asked urgently.

"Mhmm, y-yes I am," Ivy answered with a nod. "But I don't have anywhere to go right now. Batman already shut down Toxic Acres last month, and with Killer Croc stomping around in the park...do you know of any places where I can stay temporarily?" She asked.

"Yeah! Hold on for a sec, I'm comin' to getcha! Where are you?" Harley asked.

"Um..." Ivy took a moment to look around. "I'm at the subway entrance on 5th Street. Are you sure you want to come out here, Harley? It may not be safe." She pointed out.

"You kidding?! My best friend needs my help! Sit tight, Red! Ol' Harley's comin' to rescue ya!" Harley declared before hanging up the phone...

After almost 30 minutes, Harley came down the steps and into the subway station, "Ive? You in here, love?" She called out to her as she searched.

"Harley?" Ivy peeked her head out from behind the steps. "You didn't have to come..." She said as she stepped into the light.

She was going to say something else in protest to Harley coming, but her words faded away due to shock. She couldn't believe it. Harley hadn't come alone: Casey came with her.

"Hey, Ivy. Nice to see you again. Sorry it's under these circumstances though," He said as he and Harley walked up to her. "Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked as he looked her up and down.

"Um...no, I'm not." She answered.

"That's good. Casey's got his car up top. We'll take you to the house." She said.

"What?" Ivy's eyes widened.

"You're gonna stay with us until you find a new hideout!" Harley revealed. Ivy shook her head.

"Harley...that would be too dangerous. I can't." She protested calmly.

"It's already decided, Red. Casey and I talked about it. Now stop yappin' and let's get in the car, alright?" Harley insisted, gesturing for Ivy to follow her up the stairs.

"What do you have with you?" Casey asked.

"Just...just some clothes – that's all." She answered quietly.

"Ok...I'm sorry that this happened, Ivy." He said sincerely.

"Thanks." Ivy sighed before finally relenting, grabbing the few clothes she'd escaped with and following Harley and Casey to his car.

Casey opened the door for Ivy and she sat down in the back with her clothes piled on her lap. Casey and Harley sat in the driver and passenger seats. On the way, Harley was asking questions about what happened, but Ivy wasn't in the mood to answer, so it was a quiet ride back home.

When they arrived, Casey and Harley escorted her inside, "We got an air mattress for you in my office. You can stay here as long as you need to, okay?" He said as he led her to her new room. Ivy looked around at Casey's stuff and tossed her clothes on top of the air mattress.

"Thank you...thank you both for your help." Ivy said slowly.

"You're welcome. I'll leave you alone now. Try and get some rest, alright? Goodnight." Casey said to her before leaving and going upstairs.

"Goodnight." Ivy dryly said in return before sitting on the edge of her air mattress.

"Aww," Harley hummed sympathetically, sitting down next to her. "I'm sorry this happened, Ivy. But we'll take care of ya. I can promise that!" She said, wrapping her arms around Ivy and hugging her from the side.

"Thank you...but I would've rather you found me an abandoned hideout to stow away in temporarily. This is your boyfriend's home, Harley. I hate to impede on your new life." She argued. However, Harley adamantly shook her head.

"Nuh uh, Red. That's not it at all."

"No? You don't think you two could be in danger housing me here?" Ivy pointed out. However, Harley put a hand on her friend's leg.

"Ive, do you know how many times you helped me when I needed a place to stay because Mr. J kicked me out? I don't even know how many! I stopped keepin' track after six! Now it's my turn to help you and put a roof over your head, 'kay?"

"Okay." Ivy agreed, managing a little smile. Harley hugged her again, and this time Ivy hugged back.

"Hey. I forgot to get these earlier, so I brought you some blankets and some pillows." Casey said, coming back down and entering the room with a stack of pillows and blankets for her.

"Thank you," Ivy sniffed a bit, reaching out and taking them from his hands. "I appreciate you letting me stay here, Casey. I realize that you both are taking a risk to help me...and that you're going out of your way to-"

"Don't worry about it," Casey said, crouching down a little to be more eye level with her. "You've done a lot for Harley and for me. This is the least we can do." He said. Ivy looked him in the eyes and nodded again.

Ivy wasn't used to being shown genuine care and kindness like this...but she was glad that it was coming from them.