Selina wasn't getting very far in the search for Bruce's whereabouts. If she'd to make an estimation, it'd be coming to six months since that last encounter under the highway. By then, any trace of Bruce's disappearance would've been washed away with the rain, or with the shuffling of weekday foot traffic. The worst part about it was that she'd been so mad at him that she hadn't even hung around long enough to see which direction he might've been headed in. Wandering aimlessly up and down alleyways near that open space was turning out to be a great waste of time. None of the homeless huddled down in that area seemed to know a thing either - or they were simply too wasted to form a proper sentence. Her best bet with Sonny had ended in some joke about his guys ripping into the 'rich boy' - didn't seem to know anything beyond then. He made it clear that Bruce was perfectly intact when he'd left though.
"Why'd you ask me here if you were going to be this way?" Bruce asked, in the recesses of her memory.
"What are you talking about?"
"The note you left in my mailbox."
"I didn't leave any note."
She bit a lip as she headed out of the alley. It hadn't occurred to her then that something might've been off. She had assumed he'd be just fine then, even against Sonny's guys - or maybe she just didn't give a damn at the time. Not like she did now. She kicked a stray can at the side of the road, causing a ruckus as it rolled along the pavement. Or perhaps she was just being dumb, guilt-tripping herself over something that really didn't concern her.
A black Ford suddenly pulled up next to her, and the window wound itself down. "Selina!" Tabitha stuck her head out, her eyes opened large. "Where the hell have you been? You've been missing for more than a week. I was beginning to think you were dead."
As surprised as she was at Tabitha turning up like that, she couldn't help but feel appreciative that someone had been looking for her. It hadn't even occurred to her that Tabs would. Through the time she'd spent with the last of the Galavans, she'd picked up quite a bit about running a business, techniques of self-defense and spotting bluffs. But it'd always been more of a unofficial arrangement, maybe even a slight inconvenience for Tabitha. She had never struck Selina as the sentimental type, but maybe... just maybe, she could've been wrong about her. "I had a personal... situation," Selina replied, as she recalled what had happened with Five - and then with Ivy in the hospital.
"A what..." Tabs asked, but continued speaking before Selina could explain. "A ton of things happened while you were away. Penguin and your friend Ivy are trying to wrangle the club out from under us with some legal bullcrap and a bunch of lawyers. Barbara's going mad, threatening bloody murder - made us a temporary alliance with Ed Nygma, which has only worsened things."
"Ivy was involved?"
"Yeah, that bitch. Working completely under Penguin's thumb." Tabitha only stopped to open the backdoor. "Get in. She's your friend, you talk to her."
During the car ride, Tabitha furnished Selina on all the details on the apparent Cobblepot-Nygma feud. She stressed on the point that she had been immensely pissed that Barbara, in her desperation to keep the club, had gone over her head and gotten themselves involved in that whole drama. "She's not listening to Butch or me. It's like this club has become her obsession. I mean... it'd be seriously wacked if we lost it to Oswald at this point, but Barbara.." Tabitha sighed. "She's barking orders at us all - like completely without respect. I don't know if I can take it any longer. She promised an equal partnership deal at the start, but now she's.... pffft"
Selina shrugged, "Hey, sometimes you've just got to put your foot down."
"You think so?" Tabitha sighed again. "I don't know what I'm more upset about. Possibly losing the club, or getting completely overlooked." She turned into 23 Oaklane, and came to a stop before a row of apartments.
"Wait... we're seeing Ivy now?" asked Selina. She hadn't sorted out the thoughts in her head, partially in regards to Ivy saving her life, and while indebted to her, be demanding action on her part to stop the Penguin deal.
Tabitha looked at her questioningly. "Why not? I've been driving around town trying to burn off some steam - now that you're here, we might as well put the time to good use."
Selina shot Tabby a look. Tabitha hadn't gone out with the intention of searching for her. Selina couldn't help but feel a bit foolish about thinking otherwise. Maybe it was better this way. After all, Selina's own motives for following Tabitha around weren't exactly pure either.
"Selina!" cried Ivy, embracing her with a hug. There seemed to be no ill-will with her, even though Selina had practically stormed out of the hospital without a word of thanks. "I'm so glad that you're alright. You gave me quite the scare when you left like that."
"Uh... thanks Ivy," she replied as she got the breath squeezed out of her. "And thanks for that... whatever you did at the hospital."
"Hospital?" Tabitha cut in. "You didn't tell me you were in the hospital."
"She was! She almost died!" Ivy exclaimed, albeit a little dramatically. Selina didn't think it could've been that bad.
"We're not here about that though. It seems that Penguin wants to take over the Sirens club, and Tabs here isn't too happy about that."
Ivy nodded, her expression quickly transitioning to what Selina would coin; a serious business-like face. There were times Ivy would unintentionally make her want to snigger - she had the appearance of a fully grown woman, and yet still perfectly resembled the fourteen-year-old girl she was on the inside. "Yeah," said Ivy. "Penguin says the club used to belong to him. Said he's going to fight to his last breath to keep it that way."
Tabitha lunged at Ivy, almost lifting her at the base of her collar. "Except it's not! It belongs to us, you twit!"
Ivy gasped helplessly, and it took Selina to separate them. "Quit it you two!" Then directly to Tabitha, "Can I talk to Ivy alone?" Tabby glared at Selina, then at Ivy, then back at Selina. Selina wasn't backing down. "I'll get to the bottom of this, trust me."
Tabitha finally relented, and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her.
"Why do you hang out with someone like that?" complained Ivy as she straightened her collar.
"Why do YOU hang out with that loser Oswald?" Selina retorted. For a moment, they looked hard at each other.
"I guess we just have bad taste in friends," said Ivy after some thought.
Selina had to chuckle out loud. "I'm learning a lot from Tabby though."
Ivy nodded enthusiastically, "I'm learning a lot from Oswald too!" Then her smile fell. "Can't help the feeling that I'm being used though."
Selina sighed as she glanced absently at the door. "Same here. Look, I don't want to cause any trouble, but Tabby ain't getting off my back till I get you to sabotage your boss."
"Why would I do that?"
The truth was that Selina didn't have a reason, apart from one. "Because he treats you like trash?"
Ivy didn't look too pleased at the suggestion. "Pengy might kill me for betraying him. Does it even matter to you?"
Selina let out another sigh. Ivy was right. How could she betray one friend for another? "I'm sorry, I'm just trying so hard to climb up the ladder - get somewhere, you know? I've never been in a position that demanded respect. Always been this street rut that nobody gives a damn about."
"Heyyy..." Ivy touched her on the shoulder. "I give a damn about you."
A smile lit up Selina's face. Ivy was right, if she had one friend in the world, it was her. "Maybe we should just let the adults fight it out. I mean... I just came out of a coma," she laughed lightly. "Give me a break."
Ivy laughed too. "Yeah, who cares about a damned club?"
Selina looked around the room, it was like a jungle in Ivy's apartment. Plants in every corner of the room. Colored flowers and fruits all crying for attention. "Maybe you should leave Penguin and start a botanical shop."
"Mmm..." Ivy agreed. "Speaking of... I've been taking up night classes at the Gotham University on horticulture-chemistry. Because nobody would let a fourteen-year-old in, I had to create a false identity and all that - that's something Pengy helped me with." She dug into her pocket, produced a red-leather wallet, and took a card out of it, presenting it proudly to Selina.
Selina read off the card. "Pamela Isley. Twenty-three years old." She chuckled. "Pamela?"
"Uh-huh! I picked out the name myself. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
With a shrug, Selina returned the card. "Why do you even need classes though? You have the greenest fingers of anyone that I know."
Ivy grinned. "I've always wanted to study about plants - I mean I've done a lot of reading on the subject, and a bit of experimentation. But to actually go to classes - it's like going to Disneyland everyday for me. That's what enabled me to help you out of your coma."
"You have a real talent Ivy, I'm happy for you." As much as Selina was pleased for her friend, she couldn't help feeling a pang of envy. Ivy knew for certain what she wanted to do with her life, but she couldn't say the same for herself. And she still had Tabitha she had to pacify. She wasn't going to be happy to hear that Ivy wasn't going to be doing anything for them. Just thinking about it made Selina groan. She stood up. "Hey, I'm going to get going. It was nice catching up."
"Yeah it was." Ivy beamed. "Know what, I might really give that botanical shop a shot. Pengy's taught me a lot about starting a business, doesn't sound too complicated."
"Make sure you invite me for the opening," teased Selina. In the midst of falling from a building, Bruce's disappearance and possibly losing the club, Ivy getting a shop of her own felt like a nice distraction. Maybe things would work out fine in the end for all parties.
She could only hope.
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