SEL Chapter 10

Ivy meets Lucius at the elevator. He looks exhausted.

“Coffee?”

“I’d rather have a beer,” he says, following her to the sofa. They sit, and Ivy picks up the remote, crossing her legs.

“You have to drive home,” she reminds him.

“I know.”

They only have to wait a moment before the news goes to Barbara, who is giving her statement from her campaign office just a block from Wayne Tower.

Barbara appears in her chair, wearing her glasses and a Gotham Knights polo with her hair up.

“Good evening, Gotham,” she says with a visible air of self-deprecating exhaustion. It’s late, after all. “I’ve been told that this couldn’t wait until tomorrow.”

Lucius rolls his eyes. Ivy looks on, face neutral.

“My opponent has said some things, and they’re not that unreasonable. Pamela Isley is a powerful woman, and you can argue that people are afraid of her for a good reason. I’m happy to submit to any tests that my opponent proposes to prove that I’m not under anyone’s control. GCPD records long predating my campaign will confirm that Dr. Isley’s chemical influence is easy to detect if you know what you’re looking for. But even then, I guess some people would worry that I’m just being manipulated the old-fashioned way. After all, even before people knew about Dr. Isley’s powers, no one blinked an eye when she was with someone like Bruce Wayne at a party, talking him into doing things. If you’re worried that a vote for me is a vote for Pamela Isley, maybe you should be. We aren’t exactly the same person, but we have a lot in common. It’s one of the reasons I like her so much. Pam’s top priority is the environment. Mine is poverty. You’d be surprised how much overlap there is between those. And both of us are open about our willingness to take a stand against corporate interests. Criminals and immigrants are not the reason that you can’t pay your rent. I’m sorry. My dad was the commissioner for twenty years. I’m all for being tough on crime, but we also need to be tough on the people who are really taking everything. And they’re going to fight back, like they are now. My opponent is married to a Wayne Enterprises board member. How do you think she found out that Pam and I were close? Change is scary to the people on top. So, you know? I think I’ll be a slightly gentler mayor than Pam would be, but I think we’d be more similar than different. And Gotham, if you’re worried about me and Dr. Isley on a personal level, I don’t know what to tell you. She’s smart, she’s beautiful, and suddenly being in this chair has not been easy for me. Running for mayor is actually kind of hard too. A lot of people have been supporting me lately, and Pam’s one of them. I’m glad that I’m not with Wayne Enterprises anymore; I liked working with her, but I like hanging out with her better. I want to be transparent. I’m happy to take any questions about this from a policy perspective, but keep it classy. I won’t kiss and tell.”

Lucius mutes the TV and lets out a long breath, leaning back. After a moment, he looks over at Ivy, who hurriedly sniffs and wipes her eyes.

Lucius says nothing and manages to suppress another sigh. Barbara has taken all the weight out of the punch that Viti tried to throw, but as he watches Ivy, he wonders if she hasn’t inadvertently made things more complicated. Barbara is a genius and a surprisingly good actress. That was a performance, but enough of it was from the heart that Ivy’s clearly feeling things. The sorts of things that she couldn’t feel when she was in the full-on throes of hormonal chaos from her powers.

Ivy folds her arms a little huffily and looks at him. There’s not much light from the TV, but it’s enough for him to see that she’s blushing. He’s never seen her blush before.

“She’s got my vote,” Ivy mutters.

“You’re a felon,” Lucius reminds her.

SEL

“She’ll lose votes for that,” Stephanie predicts. She’s sitting in Bruce’s big chair in the cave, wrapped in a towel. She’s taken another shot of the horny regenerative ****, and her shoulder’s starting to feel better. The downside is that she’s the opposite of sleepy, but she can’t show that to Alfred, who stands beside her. “Some people will like it that she doesn’t act like a politician, but some don’t. You know?”

“I expect you’re correct, Ms. Stephanie.”

“Alfred, I don’t think the disruptor worked. They didn’t hit me with the things again, but they did use them when they threw that girl.”

“I tested the device. It effectively disabled even Master Bruce’s most advanced suits. It works.”

“It didn’t work tonight.” Stephanie doesn’t doubt Alfred, though. She frowns and looks up at him. “What does that mean?”

He grimaces. “There is one possibility.”

“What?”

“That it isn’t technology that you’re dealing with.”

“Oh, no,” Stephanie moans. “The spooky stuff is supposed to be Kate. Didn’t she fight a cult? Wasn’t that like her twin sister or something?”

“Elizabeth. She’s still at large. And Ms. Kane is busy with her studies. You’ll need help.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Ms. Zatanna is performing at the Iceberg Lounge tomorrow. Perhaps you should attend.”

“Can’t we just call her?”

“Ms. Zatanna would condescend to do favors for Master Bruce due to their shared history. I expect her to extend you no such courtesy.”

“What? I only made…” Stephanie counts on her fingers. “Like eight or ten catastrophic mistakes that were a huge deal and totally avoidable. Are you telling me I don’t have the same street cred as Batman?”

“You don’t even have the same street cred as Batwoman, and Ms. Zatanna never returned her calls.”

“Why was Kate calling her? For help with spooky stuff?”

“I believe she was making romantic overtures. In fairness, Ms. Zatanna does invite that sort of attention.”

“Yeah.” Stephanie rubs her face. “OK. I’m going to a magic show.”

Alfred arches an eyebrow. “I will procure tickets. Or just the one?”

No. That would be too sad. Stephanie already has plans for tonight, but tomorrow? Who should she go with? Who can she go with? She and Tim aren’t speaking, Dick’s off doing Dick stuff and they aren’t close anyway, Barbara’s too busy, Kate’s… Kate would make time, but Stephanie just doesn’t click with Kate’s tired, angry lesbian vibes. Maybe she really should go solo. On the other hand, magic shows are fun. It’s not really like a romantic date or anything. She could invite Mel and Pol. That would be a great hangout; she’d just have to excuse herself after to go talk to Zatanna. Not a big deal.

Should Stephanie invite Mel and Pol to Zatanna’s show?

Or go by herself?