LOVE + FEAR

PURGE THE POISON

"See? I told ya not to refill the bird feeders before we left!" Harley Quinn gestured at Robin with a baseball bat.

"That doesn't count as a superstition, Harls. It was one time," Poison Ivy remarked. She thrust her hands into the pockets of a high-collared pine jacket. Raven hadn't run into many infamous Gotham criminals (especially not from this close a distance), but Ivy's casual appearance caught her off guard. It wasn't flamboyant at all, like Harley's vibrant red-obsidian two-piece. For such extravagant powers, Ivy seemed...calm. In control.

"And now it's two times! It's a DS!"

" 'DS'? What does that even mean?"

"It's a Double Sign, Iv! Like this!" Harley held up two middle fingers.

"Uhuh. And here's a bouquet of them, honey, just for you," Ivy held up her left hand, all jade fingers on display.

"Aw, Ivy! A bouquet? You shouldn't have!"

"What happened to the ACE Chemicals factory?" Damian cut in, glaring at the nonchalant pair.

"Look Robin, you're adorable and all, but you're kind of getting in the way of us serving justice to some plants that Project Cadmus is experimenting on." Ivy remarked.

"And random people too," Harley added.

"Yeah yeah. People schmeople." Ivy rolled her eyes. "Ever since ACE Chemicals partnered with them, the nearby environment has suffered. Whenever we get close enough to figure out what those idiots are doing, they blow up the place."

"I can't believe half the city thinks I'm visiting these dumps because of Joker! We broke up, like, a year ago. I'm happily with somebody else!" Harley reached up on her tiptoes to kiss Ivy's cheek. "I have zero ties to that dickhead, now!"

"Real romantic, babe."

Damian turned towards Raven, his mouth unreadable as his back faced the two newcomers. "You're an empath; can you tell if they're lying?"

"It's not an exact science. But when they mentioned the explosion, nothing seemed out of place. I don't think they're responsible," Raven murmured back, sending another analytical glance at them.

"Regardless, we have to take them in for questioning. Among other various reasons." Damian hesitated when he uttered the plural term.

Raven nodded along. She didn't plan on leaving him here to sort out this mess alone. "Okay. If things go south, I'll take care of Ivy."

Raven's gaze met Harley's, flanked by cotton candy-colored eyeshadow. "ACE Chemicals' involvement with Project Cadmus sounds like an issue we shouldn't be ignoring. I think we should discuss it together, further."

"Sorry, Mrs. Tim Burton," Harley's bat rested upon her shoulder. The scarlet-black pattern of the weapon was dulled from...recent use. "I'm kinda in a Denny's mood right now. Beatin' up goons is a real calorie burner, ya know? Thanks for the offer, but—"

"It was not a request." Damian took a step forward.

Harley huffed. Her baseball bat slid down from her shoulder, into her open palm. The flowerbed beneath her feet started to spread.

"Harls," Ivy sighed and looked across the clearing. "We'd love to exchange notes and all, because teaming up with a costume-wearing teenager is a great move for a grown woman's career, but maybe now is not the best time—"

"No one is leaving until this problem is solved." The outline of Damian's eyebrows furrowed beneath his mask.

Harley Quinn spat on the ground. "You know what? Screw it. I've had enough of Bat's Brat owning Gotham. Suck it, Robin!"