Thirty-Two

Batman had been staking out Ivy's greenhouse for the past week. There had been no activity from her in that time, but Bruce knew better than to snoop around her precious babies. He knew that she'd find out (probably through the plants) and be pissed.

So he kept his distance from the sacred building and just kept a watchful eye. Batman was certain that she'd have to be back relatively soon to check up on her plants.

The time since Maddie's disappearance had been rough for everyone. Bruce reported her missing to the GCPD, but did not voice his hunch about Catwoman's involvement to them (seeing as it would expose their relationship) or to Andy and Tommy when they returned to the mansion with news from Frosty. They were only able to tell him what he already knew: neither Joker or Riddler were responsible this time.

Bruce was still disturbed by the fact that Riddler knew of his sexual history with both Selina Kyle and Talia Al-Ghul. His riddle revealed that he knew of Bruce Wayne's past with Selina, and he later implied that he knew of Batman's connection to Talia, but what he did not say concerned Bruce far more. Does Riddler know that Bruce Wayne is Batman? Or just that both Bruce Wayne and Batman have sexual history with Selina and Talia?

Riddler was certainly intelligent enough to have figured it out on his own, but the question was if he had actually done it. Knowing Batman's identity would ruin the mystery and the fun of everything, so would he risk that just to satiate his curiosity? Or did he unconsciously connect the dots and practically get slapped across the face with the realization? There was no sure way to tell.

What was easy to tell was that Ivy had finally returned to her temple of a greenhouse. Batman stood from his outpost on the roof of a low nearby rusted building (or shell of one, anyway) and cautiously approached the greenhouse. The last thing he wanted to do was anger or offend Ivy in any way. There would be no way she'd ever cooperate if that happened.

"Pamela!" He called as he came closer.

Ivy slowly turned around, and the panicked look on her face quickly morphed into a smirk as her expression became visible to him.

"I call you by your stage name, Batman. It's only fair that you do the same," she tutted.

"Ivy, then," he corrected himself. "Where is Selina? I know you two have moved. I'm looking for her. Things were left amiss between us and I wish to change that."

"Batman, you shouldn't lie to women that aren't interested in you. Your so-called charm fails to mask your lies from the likes of me. We both know why you're here, and we both know why you want to see Selina. Cut the shit," Ivy chastised.

"Fine," Bruce's face hardened beneath the cowl. "I know Selina took Madeline. I need to know where she is so I can return Maddie to the proper custody."

"How funny," Ivy laughed. "Selina's just left to do the same thing."

"She's bringing her back to Wayne Manor?" Batman asked, surprised.

"I think you two have different ideas of proper custody," is all Ivy chose to say.

The answer leaped out to Bruce instantly.

"Surely you don't mean...?" He wondered, hoping that he was wrong.

"Every little girl needs her daddy," she smirked. "Madeline is no exception."

Batman turned to go. He needed to get to Arkham as soon as possible so that he could prevent Catwoman from reaching Joker with Madeline.

"And Batman? One last thing," Ivy called.

He turned around, only to be met with four of her wild vines, which wound themselves tightly around his limbs and lifted him into the air like a starfish. Bruce struggled to use his forearm blades against the plants, but they wisely stayed away from them.

The vines transported him to the center of the jungle that was Poison Ivy's greenhouse and held him there on display for their mistress to see. She laughed at the struggling Batman suspended by her vines.

"I promised Selina I'd buy her some time," Ivy explained. "But if I'm being honest, I'm doing this more for Madeline than anything. She idolizes Joker, and he treats her like his princess. I don't care how crazy that psycho is—the best place for that girl is by his side every time."

"I'm sure Madeline left out the part of the story where he backhanded her with a loaded gun and brutally murdered her mother," Batman huffed, still wriggling in the plants' holds.

"That's ancient history," Ivy brushed it off. "Anyways, I only really came here to keep you busy for Selina, so I'm going to leave now. If you could not harm my plants, that would be preferable. Otherwise, I'll have to hunt you down and wreak my revenge, and that's honestly just too much work. I'd offer to come back and try for myself what Selina so loves about you, but I don't swing that way. Men disgust me. Anyways, tohdaloo!"

With a shrug and another triumphant laugh, Poison Ivy left, leaving Batman alone hanging out in her greenhouse. He didn't cease his struggling. If anything, his efforts doubled when Ivy left. He needed to get out of there and stop this madness.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

Selina found that ventilation systems were very handy for covert travels—in other words—breaking and entering. But with less breaking and more entering. Trespassing was probably more accurate really. Selina was an angel—she didn't break and enter!

Madeline was a different story. That little hooligan was such a bad influence on her Auntie Selina. One look at her face and Selina was willing to commit murder if she so required it. Breaking into Arkham? No problem! Selina was the coolest Auntie ever!

So now the pair were crawling through the dusty air vents, trying to be quiet and subdue their urges to sneeze from the dust particles that were disturbed by their movements and floated up to tickle their nostrils. It was hard enough to maneuver silently, let alone sneeze that way, especially for Madeline, who was not as used to covert operations as Selina was.

The pair were so absorbed in their own issues, they didn't notice the other body in the vents until they were crashing into it, causing a harsh thud and bang to ripple through the vents.

"Ow!" Selina squeaked. "My nose!"

"Selina? What in the blazes are you doing here?" Eddy asked of the pouting feline.

"Eddy? What the hell? I could ask you the same question!" Selina hissed.

"I'm breaking out. Obviously," Riddler scoffed. "The question is, why are you breaking in? Unless—don't tell me you brought a certain someone with you."

"Uncle Eddy!" Maddie squealed from behind Selina, tuning into their conversation after her head finally stopped spinning. Both adults quickly hushed her, and she covered her mouth apologetically. "Did the mean police catch you, too?"

"Surprised?" Selina asked Edward.

"A bit, yes. I thought that you would have kept her for yourself. You do have a habit of keeping strays," he pointed out.

"Well, this one has a family already, so it's only right that I return her to it," Selina declared, extending Edward's metaphor.

"Auntie Selina? Can I see Uncle Eddy please? I haven't seen him in a long time," Maddie asked quietly, nudging at the back of Selina's thigh.

Remembering the last time Madeline had seen Riddler, Selina had to withhold a snarl, and instead threw a harsh glare Eddy's way as she scooted over and let Maddie pass her. The girl hugged the life out of Eddy the best she could in the cramped space. Riddler was surprised by her enthusiasm, but reluctantly returned her embrace, finding that he didn't entirely hate it.

"Daddy lied to you on the phone," she told him. "He didn't actually want you to throw me in acid or kill me."

Riddler snorted at her matter-of-factness and nodded. "Yes, I know."

"We should play another riddle game some time," Maddie suggested, going completely off topic. "It was so much fun winning the last one."

Selina chuckled into her hand at the flush that flooded Riddler's face as Madeline declared that she'd beat him at his own game. That girl certainly is something special.

"Actually, I think I need to get going before the guards find my cell empty. If they haven't already, that is," Eddy changed the subject.

"Let's cut a deal. You tell me how to get to Joker's cell and I'll tell you how to get out," Selina suggested.

"How do I know you won't lead me into a trap?" He asked suspiciously.

"I have Maddie with me," she whispered, rolling her eyes at his skepticism. "And besides, you'll have to trust me for the same reason I'm trusting you. Madeline."

Riddler looked over at the girl who was occupied with trying to get dust particles off her outfit that Ivy had given her, then playing with those same dust bunnies. He sighed. He was probably going to regret this.

"Alright," Eddy agreed. "It's three lefts and then a right. His should be the second vent in the ground after that."

"Thank you," Selina sighed. "Now, to get out, go straight twice, then a right, and then two lefts. You'll come out up high, so be wary. And there may be guards patrolling there, so exit when the shift changes."

Riddler nodded, processing and storing the information like data in the supercomputer that was his mind. He surprised all three of them by pressing a parting kiss to Madeline's head as he crawled past: a final goodbye.

Maddie waved goodbye to her uncle's back as he crawled down the tunnel and out of sight. Selina grabbed her attention by moving forward again, following Eddy's directions as she repeated them to herself in her head and under her breath. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to memorize the layout of these shafts one day. Just for future reference.

Maddie made sure to stay close on Catwoman's shuffling heels so as not to get lost in the maze of tunnels. It would be all too easy to lose her way in the system and get stuck. How scary would that be? All alone in the dark, dusty tunnels for who knows how long? No thanks.

Soon enough, the pair had taken that final turn—a right, if you'll recall—and were approaching the second vent in the tunnel. Selina peered through the slats and into the cell, and sure enough, there was a flash of green sitting in the corner, looking like he wanted to choke slam someone.

Selina used the nails on her gloves like little screwdrivers, twisting the screws and pulling them out. She then caught the vent hatch before it could fall and silently pulled it up into the tunnel with them. She stuck her head out the new hole and tried to signal the scowling clown.

"Psst! Joker!" She hissed at him. She quickly caught his attention as he looked up to see that familiar feline face peeping down at him.

"What the fuck?" He asked immediately.

"Shh!" Selina hushed him. He was about to go off on her and get her caught, as he didn't know what she was playing at, but she held out a single finger, telling him to wait. His curiosity demanded to know what she was up to, so he listened.

Selina came back into the vent and turned to Madeline. "He's down there. I'm going to lower you down and you can talk to him before we help the both of you get back up here and sneak out, okay?"

Maddie nodded her head, her heart pounding in her throat, it felt like. Selina took her hands and slowly lowered her through the hatch.