Come into my parlour said the wolf to the spider.

The cave was silent, even the birds and wildlife that filled its lush forests didn’t make a sound while the pack of werewolves congregated around the injured Red Hood. Ivy had him resting on the leaves of a fern she had created from the earth beneath her feet, the peddles giving off a cool soothing moisture that aided in the healing process. A process that both awed and horrified the pack as they watched him slowly heal and regenerate from his wounds. He should have been dead, any other human torn limb from limb wouldn’t be alive, and yet here laying on a pile of leaves was a human being slowly growing back his arms and legs, his chest wounds already sealed up and bruised but no longer showing the risk of bleeding out. “Gross…” Murmured Jessie, bent over observing with the others. “I know right?” Blinked back Hitomi. “It’s like watching butter melt in reverse.”

“Hush you two…” Frowned Aloe Vera, standing back to her full height and cradling her swollen middle, looking towards the mouth of the cave, she worried about Bruce out in the city looking for the thing that harmed Jason. Calming a series of jolts inside of her, Aloe Vera looked around her and found several of the female wolves to be in the same condition she was; bloated with child and more than likely knowing who the father was. Then she noticed a large figure pass through the gate of the cave, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest… Until she heard her damn voice.

“Mama Harley’s back! And she brought FRIENDS! “Skipping into the cave with her tail wagging, the albino wolfess had a toothy smile on her snout like she had just come back from a day out shopping. In either hand were the bound forms of huntress and Oracle, struggling with their bonds, which were bent rebar from the clock tower.

“Look who I got, guess Mistah B is gonna be riding his Harley tonight for bringing his lady friends back.”

“Was the rebar REALLY necessary Harley… And the gags?” Asked Aloe Vera, her arms cross under her first row of breasts as she eyed the panicking women who were tied up, muzzled and panicking at the sight of dozens of massive werewolves looking down at them.

“Hey, you want a gift. Then its gotta come gift wrapped!” Harley chirped, letting the pair down on the ground where they struggled and squirmed to get away. Panicking further when some of the werewolves crouched down on all fours to sniff at the two women.

Shrugging her shoulders and rolling her eyes, Aloe Vera looked back to the gate of the cave only for her eyes to light up and her ears perk to who came to the cave minutes later. Batman had returned, unharmed. Stepping through the cave entrance on his hind feet, the towering alpha wolf made his way through the long entrance to the antechamber of the cave where his pack stood back to give him room. They wanted to go to him, all of them… Until they saw what he was dragging behind him. Claws bound in a rope of silk and hissing in annoyance, the arachnid creature scuttled behind Bruce but did nothing to anger him, knowing fully well even in his state he could harm her easily.

“What… Is… That?!” Gasped Aloe Vera, blinking back at the werespider in her lover’s thrall. If Huntress and Oracle were scared before, the sight of a gigantic spider scurrying in behind the biggest werewolf they ever seen, put them into a total panic.

“HOLY SHIT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!” Harley screamed, jumping into the arms of the wolf behind her.

“Enough Harley…” Answered Bruce, looking to the others and down to Helena and Barbara tight up. “You tied them up?”

“L-like it?”

Narrowing his eyes and motioning with his head towards the two women, the rest of the pack gently began prying the rebar off the prisoners, once free, Helena held the paraplegic woman close as they both looked up at the creatures that for now had no desire to hurt them.

“Who… Or what is this love?” Gestured Aloe Vera to the hissing spider that scuttled behind Bruce instinctively before it was pulled back out into the open like a disobedient pet. “She’s my mistake… One of many, but more importantly she knows what attacked Jason and where it went.”

“So, what do you expect me to do?”

“I want you to do to her what you’ve done for all of us, harmonize the woman with the beast.”

“That thing is a woman?!”

“It used to be, her name is Alexa Tarvish; she was a subject at Dr. Langstrum’s lab after I gave him our blood samples, he injected her with a mix of the lycanthropy virus and spider genetics.” Pulling the arachnid closer for everyone to see, the werespider hissed at Bruce before darting its many eyes at Aloe Vera. “Do it.”

Placing her hand on the spider’s forehead, Pamela closed her eyes, looking deep into the psyche of the chittering arachnid. What she saw were damaged memories, her mind clouded in webs and a giant hissing spider glaring back at her, then quickly snapping back and recoiling her hand. Looking back at the confused red furred wolfess, the spider scurried behind Bruce again. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s… Damaged! An aberration, she doesn’t exist in the umbra, at least not properly.” Kneeling to look at the creature, the spider hissed again with her outstretched fangs and mandibles. “She’s like Harley, the spider and woman are smashed together in the hopes that’ll function, there’s nothing left of the woman from before but somehow what’s left is still in there.”

“Meh… I knew my look would trend.” Winked Harley to the others.

“What do you call yourself little spider?”

“Arachne… Athena didn’t like it when I outdid her in weaving… Yes, Yes, Arachne is best weaver, brings such tasty morsels to her parlour.” Looking over to the two women still looking on in horror, Arachne licked her fangs. “Tasty morsels…” Before she could lunge for the two, Bruce pulled her back, causing her many legs to scuttle and flail just as he spun her around to look at him in the eye. “THEY aren’t for eating, and neither is the rest of the pack.”

“No eat, no eat, Arachne understand.” She replied with her hands up defensively.

“She’s insane.” Called out Pamela, sighing. “How many of her are there out there Bruce?”

“I don’t know, I thought I destroyed them all when they turned, at the time they were all feral, I was forced to destroy the lab to stop Langstrum from creating another plague, but it looks like I failed that too.” Getting up to her feet, Aloe Vera tilted his head down and nuzzled his snout.

“So, are we gonna have to squash a spider? Because I think I know where my hammer still is.”

“We’re keeping her alive.” The rest of the pack made gestures of disgust and surprise until they went silent under his gaze. “Like it or not, she’s like us, she’s our responsibility… And I’m tired of killing monsters that used to be people.”

Listening in on the black wolf as it spoke to the others, Oracle blinked when she began to recognise his voice and mannerisms. “Bruce? Is that you?”

*

Panic had taken hold instantly when Vicky Vale tossed the shrivelled corpse of her victim towards the rest of Two-Face’s crew, her many wounds instantly healed now that she had tasted fresh blood. Talia had done the same to a pair of Dent’s crew who had not been fast enough to put their wreaths back on, pried away from the offending objects with her teeth deep into the neck of one thug while the other struggled under her grip around his throat. With every second that passed and every gulp she drained from him, her wounds disappeared, melting away as if they never happened. All the while, the man in her clutches turned pale and thin, reaching out for help from his boss.

Looking down at his coin, Two-Face flipped it and a stern look came over the readable side of his face. “Shoot through ‘em!”

“B-but boss…” Looking back at Dent in confusion, his gang held their breath when Dent flipped his coin again, prying the machine gun from the nearest thug and aiming it at the two vampires. “I SAID SHOOT THROUGH THEM! THEY’RE DEAD ALREADY!” Opening fire without hesitation, the first shot killed Talia’s meal and the one in her grip before she darted away, just barely avoiding the bullets and joining Vicky as the rest of the crew finally decided to join in on the gunfire. Now that they were no longer caught off guard, it horrified the dozen or so men that the two were as fast as they were, darting and avoiding each bullet shot in their direction. Even more so when the pair would try to lunge for their attackers like cornered tigers; brandishing claws and fangs only to back away in revulsion to the wreaths of garlic cloves hanging from their necks.

By the time the thugs realised the two vampires couldn’t get close enough to hurt them let alone kill them, they slowly began to close ranks, moving forward and boxing the two vampires into the corner of the alley behind the former club. By then, the crew had run out of ammunition and were forced to reload, but also by then… It didn’t matter. The two vampire women hissed while being backed against the wall, pinned, the scent of garlic keeping them from making a single move forward lest the plants weakened them further.

“Hssssss… You think you’ve won?!” Hissed Talia, glaring back at Two-Face smirking back at her. “You don’t have the tools to kill us, and even if you did, our master would take revenge upon you for this.”

“No one crosses our lover OR us, he has killed others in ways that no one has forgotten… Perhaps ripping you in half would be poetic.”

His smirk never leaving the healthy side of his face, Harvey dent reloaded the machine gun in his hands and turned his attention to the sound of an explosion on the other end of the district. A sound that was picked up by the two women.

“I never do a job without a second team doing the other half of the dirty work, so far your lover boy is getting the same attention you are.”

“Bastard!” Sneered Vicky, making to lunge for the man in front of her but the moment she did the scent of garlic nearly sent her reeling with nausea. Looking around her, Talia spotted a light fixture overhead, an idea forming in her mind while the time was still right. Pulling Vicky close, the former assassin plucked a rock from the debris around them and threw it with force at the light, drowning the alley corner in darkness and them with it.

“GET’EM!!!”

Firing again into the darkened corner, the crew stopped immediately when their rifle flashes revealed that the two had disappeared. “Where’d they go boss?”

Dropping his empty machine gun on the ground and pulling out his coin, Dent flipped the silver dollar and eyed the result as it landed in his hand. “Come on boys, time to see how Dracula is faring.” Gesturing back to the two service vans in front of the ruins of the Iceberg Lounge, Two-Face and his crew went to join the others fighting a vampire of their own.