Justice League And The Hounds Of Hell

Chapter 26: The walls are down

Gotham was whining with sirens and chaotic evacuations from the portion of the city where the animals had taken over. The Justice League and Teen Titans got into a tight formation to help guide people out and offer support to the city's forces.

We used our grappling hooks to climb to the garden terrace of an unassuming apartment building. The lights had been shut out in the building because the gorilla had torn through not too long ago and severed the power lines. This was one of many towers now sitting in darkness. Batman swooped in to meet with us as soon as we got there.

"Did you get her to fold?" His words fell out measured and quick. He didn't want to waste time, he wanted to get this contained and finished, with as little destruction as possible.

"I let her go."

I felt him pause to study me. His lips folded into a perplexed frown.

Robin walked around my side, standing almost between the two of us. "You said you had a contingency." He prodded, ushering me along in case Batman's disapproval intimidated me.

My eyes flickered away from them. "I gave Olivia a choice and a chance that she's never had before. In case she chooses in a way that doesn't help our situation I have another plan..."

They both nodded.

I took a deep breath. "I made a deal with Poison Ivy--"

"What? When!?" Robin gasped.

I ignored him and continued. "Ronny built the toxin he's using on the animals from her blood, which means she's just as capable of manipulating them as he and Olivia are. In exchange for her help, she gets some time Ronny."

Robin shook his head. "She'll kill him."

I looked at Batman. "She is getting what I've promised." 

He frowned at me and the moments he didn't speak stretched across an agonizing length. The thick fold of the silence rose and spread, muffling everything. It was so solid I felt I could roll it up in my hands, pour gasoline on it, and burn it at the bottom of a garbage can.

His cape swung as he turned away. "This is your case." He growled. "If that's the direction you've taken, so be it. But I'm not going to let her have him without a fight."

A lump had risen in my throat. I pushed it back with a painful swallow. "I know."

"Are you crazy?" Robin gasped. He looked to Batman. "She can't be serious."

Batman glared at me over his shoulder. "She is." He pulled out his grappling hook. "Let's get back in there. We'll keep our eyes on you."

He spoke with no emotion, just indifference. I couldn't tell if he was angry or disappointed and so I didn't know how to navigate myself around him, and I probably wouldn't know until all of this was over. By then, it would be too late to take anything back if it was damaging.

He swung away without another moment's hesitation. Robin stayed glued to his place, staring hard at me. Unlike my dad, I could read him like a book, and he was one pissed off piece of literature.

"When?"

"Weeks ago." 

He twisted away. The kiss I ambushed onto him not even ten minutes ago and the tenderness that came with it evaporated. I misjudged the way he would react, I misjudged bad. 

"I can't believe it--I can't believe you."

"Let it go." I snarled. "What's done is done." 

"I can't!" His glare was a disturbing sight. The shadow of his face was long and sharp. It was unnatural for such a mean spirit to pass over him. "You still have this whole vendetta against the world. You still think you're alone when it's the complete opposite!"