SEL Chapter 30

Barbara is glad that she knows where she stands with Ivy, although it stings that she’s done something so consequential for Aki and Viti. It’s clear now that as pleasurable as it was at the time to have something with both Ivy and Summer, it was a mistake. One doesn’t need orgasms when one is running for mayor; one needs loyal allies. In fairness, she hadn’t expected to be seeking an elected office.

Her campaign offices are crowded and busy. Despite all the activity, it’s clear even to the youngest volunteers that they’re on the back foot. Barbara still has a lot of punch and energy behind her progressive platform. Gotham is a big city with a lot of people who want change, and those people far outnumber the tough-on-crime elite that are backing Viti Saxena. The trouble is that even a little old money talks much more loudly than seven or eight million working-class people do. And there’s no old money behind Barbara, not even Wayne money. Bruce could probably get her elected easily.

She sighs as she wheels her old-fashioned chair to her desk and scoots herself into place to get to work. She enjoys analyzing data and devising strategies, so that makes her well-suited to this challenge. The problem is that she needs to be outside kissing babies, not staring at the computer. She’s a better campaign manager than candidate.

She reviews her schedule and resigns herself to the day’s plans just in time for a knock at the door.

“Yup,” she calls out.

An aide leans in. “Lucius Fox.”

“He’s here?” In person? That’s odd. “Let him in.”

Lucius comes in dressed for the day in a navy suit with three pieces. He looks good, and he’s carrying his briefcase. As always, since Barbara launched her campaign, his expression is severe.

“Someone went after Vicki Vale,” he says bluntly, closing the door.

“I heard.”

“I want you to have this.” He puts his briefcase on the table and opens it, lifting out a compact, black object. At a glance, it looks like a very dramatic external SSD. “Manual here,” he says, placing a flash drive beside it.

“What is it?”

“It’s a battery. The design is Kryptonian, but I’ve been tinkering with it since your fall. It can send electric charges through your nervous system. You attach it to your lower back.”

Barbara’s eyes widen. “You think it would let me move?”

“It will. It has nanites designed by Victor Stone that fill in the blanks. But it takes a lot of electricity. It’ll buy you thirty seconds of function. Maybe a minute.”

“I can’t go from zero to sixty, Lucius. My legs are atrophying.”

“I know. It’ll also inject you with a small amount of diluted Venom. Your legs will work. I can’t predict how it’ll affect you otherwise, and moving will only damage your original wound even more. This isn’t something that you use lightly, Ms. Gordon. Hopefully, you won’t have to. But do you remember being onstage, in the line of fire, without the use of your legs? Because I do. The debate is coming up soon, Barbara.” Lucius taps the device. “Just in case.”

“Thank you.” Barbara is moved.

“Aki’s behaving strangely today. She knows something we don’t.”

“She has the upper hand.”

“I hope that’s all it is. Better brace yourself.”

Barbara snorts. “I’m plenty braced, Lucius.”

“Good. I think this gets worse before it gets better. Aki is fully committed. She knows she only has one shot, and this is it. There’s nothing she won’t do. The money—her wife is the DA. If she loses, there will be questions and an investigation into these campaign finance matters. They could be in hot water. But if they win, they make it all go away. That makes them even more dangerous. They have something to lose.”

“Dangerous people? In Gotham?” Barbara shrugs. “If you say so.”

Lucius puts his hands on the desk and leans in.

“You can joke all you want, Ms. Gordon. You won’t be joking when Viti Saxena is the mayor, Aki Aramaki is running Wayne Enterprises, both of them owing favors to god knows who, appointing whoever they want to be police commissioner—and you stuck in that chair.”

Barbara swallows. “That’s fair,” she says. “Thank you, Lucius.”

He stands up and buttons his coat, then leaves the office.

That takes some of the shine off the morning, not that there was much to begin with.

She has a call coming in from Alfred. Determined not to be snappy at him of all people, she forces herself to smile.

“Morning, Alfred.”

“Good morning, Ms. Gordon. I wanted to make you aware that Ms. Vale was attacked in her home last night. Ms. Bertinelli intervened, but she wasn’t able to prevent Ms. Vale from being injected with Seed. An act of retribution from someone she had offended, it seems.”

“God. At least she’s alive.”

“Quite. I believe this illustrates that this election is causing some collateral damage.”

“Say what you mean, Alfred.”

“I just thought you should know.”

“We have to stash Vicki somewhere safe. She has more enemies. They aren’t all nice enough just to use Seed.”

“Ms. Bertinelli has already seen to it.”

“Good. I hear you, Alfred. I know it’s messy. I want it to count for something, too.”

“I know you’ll do what’s right.”

Ouch. Barbara sucks her breath in through her teeth.

“Love you too,” she says, and hangs up.

Another aide leans into the office, one that Barbara doesn’t recognize.

“Got a sec?” she asks.

“Uh, sure,” Barbara replies, pulling off her glasses to rub at her eyes. The aide slips inside, closes the door, and takes a chair in front of the desk. To Barbara’s credit, it takes her about half a second to see past the glasses and dye job. She sighs deeply. “You don’t work for me, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena Luthor’s face lights up.

“Good eye. I just had my nose done, and you still nailed me. Is it true what they say? You never forget anything?”

“I don’t forget much. It has pros and cons. What are you doing here?”

Barbara doesn’t really have to ask. Lena Luthor has disguised herself, infiltrated her campaign, and gotten herself a face-to-face with a mayoral candidate. Barbara doesn’t need to be the world’s second greatest detective to figure this one out.

“I think you know. The debate’s coming up, and I’ve been in this game long enough to know that’s where it’ll be decided,” Lena says, taking off her fake glasses and toying with them. “I see your opponent pulling ahead in ad spending. All spending. She and her wife are cute. You look homeless.” She playfully bites the glasses. “If only there was some money you’d left in some jacket and forgotten about.”

“Forget what you want in Gotham in the first place. Why me and not Viti?”

“Viti doesn’t have Poison Ivy on a leash.”

Getting into bed with Lena isn’t the same as getting into bed with Lex, but Barbara knows enough about Lena to be confident that she’s not going to let a little thing like the environment get between her and what she wants. She’s also rich, which means it’s unlikely that she’s fully onboard with Barbara’s fairly left-leaning agenda. She’ll want favors.

“Come on, Barbara.” Lena leans forward. “You want to go into this debate on defense? Or do you want to kick some ass? All I need in return is for you to keep doing what you’re already doing. Help keep Poison Ivy calm and domesticated. Mayor Gordon. It’s got a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Sounds safe. Reliable. Like your dad. Hell, you can help him get his job back.” Lena shrugs. “I think we’ll make a good team.”

Should Barbara accept support from Lena Luthor?