growthinthedarktimesâ:
Ivy wondered if it was real. Did Chuck have a wife? Or was he just nuts like so many of them were? Harley would probably know. Maybe Ivy would ask her if she could take her head out of the Jokerâs ass for more than five minutes. If she didnât know, maybe Ivy could spark her attentive side that had an interest in things other than clowning around and letting the Joker hit her. She furrowed her brow as he self-deprecated, considering him. âWhy do you think youâre a joke?â She asked. âIs it the kite thing?â It was probably the kite thing.Â
âI hate you marginally less than most people,â she allowed. âBecause you donât piss me off by acting like such a beetle.â It was true. He was strange, and he was a little bit bumbling, but she didnât dislike him half as much as so many other humans who didnât care at all about anything but themselves. There werenât many people that would rescue a yellow carnation and bring it to her for saving, after all. Most wouldnât even care.
âItâs the life force of plants,â she explained. âLike a network of roots communicating and interconnecting. But itâs not so easily explained. I just⌠feel it. The Green is prehistoric. Older than life beyond plants. And it demands attention from me often.â She caught the change in his eyes again and her interest piqued once more. Definitely wanted to talk to Harley. Maybe they could steal his files from Arkham. A little road trip back home.Â
âLike i said,â she answered, âLucy will be staying with me.â She thought that explained very clearly how safe Harley thought her child was with her father. âJoker isnât capable of mercy, Chuck,â she said. âHe saw an opportunity in you. Makes sense, given how much he pays you to do for him.â
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âHmm? Oh no! Itâs just the truth, see remember when Mr. Joker and Riddler were having that huge fight in Gotham? Making everyone choose sides? Batman made me get involved to try and figure out what Mr. Joker was doing, Riddler got mad and the Charlie went away for a while. When he came back I was Kite Man.â he grinned, âThen Ridder and Batman took out all Mr. Jokerâs people except me cause they knew I was the weak joke whoâd tellâem where Mr. Joker was... I did too.â he shrugged, âBut I made kites they messed with Riddlerâs people too, so neither ofâem won in the end!â
âThatâs better than I usually get! See? Youâre nice to me.â he laughed, âArenât beetles important to nature though?â Chuck asked, rubbing the back of his head, âOr is that bees? Well probably both.â he said, nodding to himself. âBugs are pretty cool. I liked to look atâem when I was a kid, I was outside a lot anyway cause of my kites.â His Grandad had taught him and heâd taught Charlie, it was nice to pass the skill on. Â
âHuh, so all plants talk to each other?â he asked, not really understanding it, âAnd you can poke your head in and listen to talk toâem as well? Thatâs cool! Hey, do plants like it when people sing toâem? I think I heard that once...â he trailed off, tilting his head and going glassy eyed for a moment as he watched Charlie play, flitting from plant to plant and being careful not to step on any trailing leaves or vines.
âWell thatâs good, youâre clearly a great Momma, look at all the plants.â he chuckled. âHuh... Well an opportunity is more than most people would see in me.â he shrugged, âSo Iâmma still take that as a win.â He didnât get many after all. âSo, if there anything I can do to help while Iâm here?â he asked brightly, willing to lend a hand if he could.












