BAE - Epilogue Part 3

Dr. Pamela Isley has done some strange things in her life, but nothing stranger than waiting with a smile as the elevator opens.

“Good morning, Dr. Isley.” Lucius Fox steps out with his jacket over his arm.

With Barbara in the hospital, Ivy gets so little direct human contact. Lucius is a married man who stands for a number of things that Ivy opposes. He’s also intelligent, more or less humble, and his politics are pretty good. He’s not the worst company, and he is helping her with her projects.

It’s not lost on her that these are unusual thoughts for someone with her history to have, but more and more, Ivy has the sense that she’s not quite the same person that she used to be. Barbara’s idealism can’t change reality. People are still horrible and beyond saving, but maybe… maybe Ivy can coexist with them. To a point. This situation with Wayne Enterprises is giving her a space to breathe and think that she’s never had before.

“Good morning. Thanks,” Ivy says guardedly. Lucius has brought two coffees from the Starbucks in the lobby. “How’s Babs?”

“She sounded good when I spoke to her. We already have several projects for this very thing. We’ll get her walking again,” Lucius assures Ivy as he follows her to the laboratory area.

“That’s great. You want to sit?”

“No, I’ll be in meetings all day. Forgive my pacing,” Lucius says. “Barbara’s giving the board a taste of their own medicine. She’s pushing for some very noble things relating to Seed. The antidote, the commercial version—all of it. She wants Wayne Enterprises to lobby for regulations limiting the price of medically necessary pharmaceuticals at the local level. It’ll score big political points with the majority voting block in the Gotham/Bludhaven corridor, but it’ll cost us.”

“You’ll need to offer something commercial to balance it out.” Ivy is not at peace with this, but she’s calm enough that she can choose not to fight it. For now.

“Nothing too important. Something superficial.”

Ivy snorts. “How about an all-natural deodorant that lasts all day?”

Lucius looks impressed. “You can do that?”

“Easily.”

“And would you like to go for a swim, Dr. Isley?”

“What? Where?”

“In the swimming pool full of money that you’re about to have.”

Ivy rolls her eyes and drinks her coffee.

“What would you want in return?” Lucius asks.

“I want all K-cups to be fully biodegradable.”

Lucius takes that outrageous demand in. “Disposable plastics regulations will be tough to lobby.”

“Impossible to lobby. You can’t regulate against that, at least not with the clout you have now. But you might be able to out-compete everyone else. Lean into the coffee game.”

“With your help?”

“Sure. Buy up a few of these other brands. Start producing the good ones. Destroy anyone who tries to compete with the plastic ones. On top of that, let’s say that in ten years Wayne Enterprises won’t produce anything involving single-use plastic.”

“Dr. Isley, you’ll need something better than deodorant to sell that one, and let’s pump the brakes on using the word ‘destroy’. You’re preaching to the choir with me, but I’m only one seat on the board.”

“Oh, I have stuff. Start with the coffee. We’re building trust here.”

“How much trust do I need to build before you tell me about this thing called the Green?”

“I want to talk to Bruce Wayne,” Ivy states bluntly.

Lucius chokes on his coffee. “I’m sorry?”

BAE

“Hey, Boy Wonder.”

“Selina,” Nightwing replies neutrally.

Selina lands beside him without a sound in her Catwoman suit. They’re on the tower across from GCPD. It’s still a mess over there. The building is covered in scaffolding and plastic sheeting. A few flakes of snow tumble in the frigid wind.

“So, it’s true, huh? He really is dead. I mean… he would’ve come back for this,” she adds, gesturing with her clawed glove.

Nightwing hesitates. Whether he likes it or not, and whether he agrees or not, Selina is part of the family.

“We don’t know,” he says.

She looks taken aback that he would make such an admission, but Dick is not Bruce.

“You’re kidding,” she says.

He shakes his head.

“So what? You gonna put on the cape, kid?”

Nightwing turns to face her. He towers over Selina.

“No. Not yet.”

Selina’s genuinely crestfallen. She doesn’t always have the healthiest way of showing it, but she truly loves Bruce.

“I’m sorry,” Nightwing says.

“Don’t be sorry. Be a detective,” she snaps. “Find him! If he’s dead, I want to see a body!”

“Sure. I’ll solve a case that Robin and the JLA weren’t able to. I’ll get on it right after Gotham Insider,” Nightwing tells her dryly.

BAE

The applause is thunderous as Barbara rolls into view. She wears her old Gotham State University hoodie, her hair’s in a messy ponytail, and her wheelchair has no handles. She has to wheel it around herself. She pauses to wave, then rolls down to where Summer Gleeson is on her feet, looking emotional.

It’s their first face-to-face meeting since Barbara’s injury.

“My god,” Summer says, swallowing.

“I think you mean welcome, Babs,” Barbara says brightly, rolling into position.

“Welcome, Babs.” Summer collects herself and sits. “Welcome back. I think I speak for everyone when we say that we’re so glad that you survived that ordeal.”

“I was lucky. A lot of people didn’t make it out of there. So let’s be considerate of them. I was pretty scared though,” Barbara admits. “Just do me a favor and go easy on my dad tonight, Summer. He’s had a tough couple of weeks.”

Summer nods soberly. “Of course. Thank you for coming on.”

“Thank you for the flowers,” Barbara says, gazing into Summer’s eyes. Summer blushes and looks away. “Were you going to ask about all of our amazing progress on the Seed cure? The people of Gotham don’t want to hear about me.”

Summer closes her eyes and smiles, shaking her head. “You are a piece of work, Gordon.”

“I’ll take it.” Barbara turns excitedly to the nearest camera. “OK, Gotham. So, we are in clinical trials now with hundreds of volunteers, and legal has cleared me to say that so far, it’s looking good. Basically, anyone who’s in a major hurry to get rid of her penis should be able to get into a trial. And if you’re hesitant and you want to wait for the full process and FDA approval, that’s fine too. We’re going to have this cure shipped in no time. But that’s not the really exciting news.”

“Exciting news?”

“Very exciting. See, this gag works on multiple levels,” Barbara says, leaning close to Summer, who snorts. “OK, so uptake on the clinical trials… not so great.”

“Oh? That’s not good.”

“Ah…well…” Barbara makes a face and wiggles a hand. “Depends on who you ask. But it kind of tells us that there are a lot of women out there with Seed penises that… are not in a hurry to get rid of them. Which is to say, that they like it.”

“I see. I see. I will remind you, Ms. Gordon, that this is a family program,” Summer says to the nearest camera.

“Family program?” Barbara demands, indignant. “You made me do a sexy swimsuit photoshoot!”

“That was to promote your product, and seeing Barbara Gordon in a tasteful bikini is very family-friendly.”

“Oh my gosh! OK, look! Some women like having a penis! Let’s just deal with that right now. Which brings us to our exciting news. Wayne Pharmaceuticals actually has a number of exciting products on the way, and our clinically-tested Seed pill is one of them.”

“You’re telling me that if I want a penis, I’ll be able to get one,” Summer says.

“You can do that now, but the problem is that you have to score a sketchy pill from someone at the Iceberg Lounge or something. Next year, you’ll be able to get that pill—which will have been fully clinically evaluated and FDA-approved—from your doctor. It won’t be free, but it’ll be safe. The cure will always be free,” Barbara adds quickly. “It’s easily reversible.”

“That is exciting,” Summer says, still quite red.

“Right?”

BAE

The crowd loves Barbara Gordon, even more now that she’s in a wheelchair.

Aki Aramaki couldn’t be more tense. Her body is rigid and her teeth grind.

“Look, Babs, we can’t pretend that what’s happened isn’t going to affect what’s coming,” Summer says. “Your father has a good working relationship with Mayor Hill. And a good relationship with Viti Saxena. Your father has historically stayed out of politics, and there was no expectation that he would take a side in this election, even with his job on the line. Viti Saxena has more than once discussed the need for radical change and reform in GCPD. But now there’s talk of your father stepping aside. There are twenty million people in Gotham. Being mayor of this city is like being the governor of some states.”

“I’m not hearing a question here,” Barbara replies gamely.

“Well, your father’s no longer the only politically relevant Gordon in Gotham, is he?”

“Ahhh…” the pitiful moan finds its way to Aki’s mind, past the pounding of her blood in her ears. She relaxes, and that draws a gasp from her wife.

Breathless and spent, Viti pants hard. Her wrists are tied to the bed frame with white Shibari ropes.

Aki comes to her senses and pulls her attention away from the TV. Their sweaty bodies are still connected. She was paying attention to the TV and riding on autopilot.

“Oh god,” Viti gasps.

Aki climbs off and Viti’s chubby, softening cock slaps against her thigh. Aki grabs the half-empty wineglass from the bedside table and carries it over to the TV with a scowl.

“I’m not politically relevant,” Barbara is saying modestly. “Things are going well with our partnership with Dr. Isley. That’s where my focus is right now. I actually stepped aside and Lucius Fox is supervising that initiative. I’m only there to consult.”

Aki takes a drink.

Still tied, Viti lifts her head and stares at her wife’s bare back, shiny with sweat. Semen drips down Aki’s thighs as she glares murderously at the TV screen.