Chuck Brown

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 Joker’s ass for more than five minutes. If she didn’t 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. “Why do you think you’re a joke?” She asked. “Is it the kite thing?” It was probably the kite thing. 

“I hate you marginally less than most people,” she allowed. “Because you don’t piss me off by acting like such a beetle.” It was true. He was strange, and he was a little bit bumbling, but she didn’t dislike him half as much as so many other humans who didn’t care at all about anything but themselves. There weren’t many people that would rescue a yellow carnation and bring it to her for saving, after all. Most wouldn’t even care.

“It’s the life force of plants,” she explained. “Like a network of roots communicating and interconnecting. But it’s not so easily explained. I just… feel it. The Green is prehistoric. Older than life beyond plants. And it demands attention from me often.” 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. 

“Like i said,” she answered, “Lucy will be staying with me.” She thought that explained very clearly how safe Harley thought her child was with her father. “Joker isn’t capable of mercy, Chuck,” she said. “He saw an opportunity in you. Makes sense, given how much he pays you to do for him.”

-

“Hmm? Oh no! It’s 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.” he grinned, “Then Ridder and Batman took out all Mr. Joker’s people except me cause they knew I was the weak joke who’d tell’em where Mr. Joker was... I did too.” he shrugged, “But I made kites they messed with Riddler’s people too, so neither of’em won in the end!”

“That’s better than I usually get! See? You’re nice to me.” he laughed, “Aren’t beetles important to nature though?” Chuck asked, rubbing the back of his head, “Or is that bees? Well probably both.” he said, nodding to himself. “Bugs are pretty cool. I liked to look at’em when I was a kid, I was outside a lot anyway cause of my kites.” His Grandad had taught him and he’d taught Charlie, it was nice to pass the skill on.  

“Huh, so all plants talk to each other?” he asked, not really understanding it, “And you can poke your head in and listen to talk to’em as well? That’s cool! Hey, do plants like it when people sing to’em? I think I heard that once...” 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.

“Well that’s good, you’re clearly a great Momma, look at all the plants.” he chuckled. “Huh... Well an opportunity is more than most people would see in me.” he shrugged, “So I’mma still take that as a win.” He didn’t get many after all. “So, if there anything I can do to help while I’m here?” he asked brightly, willing to lend a hand if he could.

Tony stared at the kid for what felt like a solid minute until he rolled his eyes behind the mask, already done with the conversation. This was too important for some kid in an all too uncreative costume to ruin it for him, so he chose not to respond and instead maneuvered his way further into the building — he made sure not to trip the alarm, as he had been so graciously and needlessly forewarned.

“‘Mourning kites’ are not a thing.” He returned stiffly as he toed open the next door that lead down to the basement just enough to sneak a tiny, robotic camera into the crack. It dropped down the flight of stairs wordlessly. The room was pitch black and dead to boot, but his mini spy could see well enough for the both of them. He was looking for something.

“I’m insulted you think I’m new to this,” came Tony’s next comment when the camera returned to his possession. He then stood and pointed to a shelf not three feet from them. “Wire. I’ll bet you the rest of your shit is in the other room there.” He nodded to the expanding room lined with shelving. 

-

“Well I could make them a thing!” Chuck said reverently his eyes going wide as his head filled with all sorts of ideas, this could be a business! A trend could catch on, mourning kites at every funeral... weather permitting. But first he needed to whip up the prototype. He was sure the bat-kids would like it. Something from him as an I’m sorry. Then he could work on getting them out to other people.

“Well I dunno who you are,” Chuck shrugged, “You could be new, could be old could be middle-aged but then I don’t even know what middle-aged is, everyone seems to have different brackets for it.” he poked his chin in thought before watching the other work with wide eyes, “Oooh, gadgets.” he said, walking closer and (somehow) not setting off the alarm.

“I’ll get the wire in a minute, I’m more interested in what you’re doing!” he said, looking the other up and down, “So who’re you? Skull-Face? Skullduggery? Bone-Head”? he guessed, not even trying to be rude, just making guesses. “Cool robot by the way. I have one that floats, I call it the kite-cam!”  

Conner’s brow furrowed and a slight growl escaped him. “That doesn’t mean you can just take what you want from a store…” He stated. “Put them back. Now.” The word came out sharply and commanding - almost threateningly. “Don’t make me force you… you don’t really seem like a ‘bad’ guy that needs to get hurt over something so stupid…” Conner remarked, cracking his neck slightly. Everything in him was telling him to just put a stop to this nonsense right now, but something about the man’s demeanor seemed to be enough to make him stay his hand.

His expression turned into one of slight confusion. “No, I don’t remember seeing anyone when I came in.” He pointed out, but tried to process what exactly the man meant by not everyone being able to see his son.  Kite Man? The hybrid picked through his knowledge for a moment before shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know any ‘Kite Man’…” He stated. Maybe he was a city-based criminal from somewhere else. He wasn’t overly familiar with every heroes individual rosters of bad guys.

-

“Isn’t that kinda how this whole ‘villain’ thing works?” Chuck asked, scratching the top of his cowl a little in confusion. He sighed and shook his head, “Okay okay, Mr. Bossy-Boots. But you’re gonna have to come with me, my memory for a lot of stuff isn’t great and I gotta put it back in the right place. I worked in a hardware shop when I was about your age and there’s nothing more annoying than people just shoving things back in any-old place.” he was a criminal, not an asshole. “Though you do make me laugh,” he chuckled, “All that ‘don’t make me force you’ stuff. Learn that from your Pa?”

“Why?” she asked. Why would his wife have hated him? Because of his brand of weird, perhaps? Or maybe she had grown tired of his perkiness. Ivy supposed there was any number of reasons someone could grow to hate someone else, but she didn’t really know all that much about Chuck. “And if you want more, why not find a new wife? Or skip the wife and adopt one of the many children who need someone?” Chuck was crazy, but no more so than Harley and Joker. And Ivy didn’t think he would hurt a child. The opposite. A child might actually help level him out. In general, Ivy was wary of humanity, but children were an exception. They could be saved. Taught. They were not destroyed by their environment yet. Much like plants, children could be cultivated to thrive. 

A big heart. Ivy paused, her fingers running over the leaves of one of her plants as she looked up. Nice. “Most people wouldn’t call me nice, Chuck,” she said. And she wasn’t to most people, frankly. She didn’t see the point of being nice to the worms eating her garden.    

Raising a brow, she shook her head. “They’re plants,” she said succinctly. Some are needier because they require more complex cultivation, but many plants exist in perfect harmony as the Green wills it. I keep the ones that would choke the others separate. But even weeds have their purpose in the Green’s design.” She spoke fondly of her children as they seemed to sway with an undetectable wind. 

“He is smart, yes. And that’s his saving grace, I think. Because he’s also insane. A liability.  And he’ll abuse anyone who gets in the way of what he wants to do. Even Harley. Even Lucy.” She spoke with venom, her hand curling into a fist at her side as the plants around her seemed to grow restless with the change in her energy. “He kills people for sport. Tortures them for fun. The way he sees the world is through a mask of insanity and narcissism. Your son is right to be afraid. Many people should be. He should have been dealt with long ago.”

-

“Oh lots of reasons. We met when we were real young, she was so smart and driven and I was studying to become an aero engineer. We got together and har Charlie before either of us were ready, y’know? I love that boy but we started fighting a lot, I wasn’t earning enough money for us to live as well as she’d have liked. In the end she told me she couldn’t like that anymore and left me for a guy she’d used to work with, some lawyer fella.” he shrugged, “I wouldn’t have minded by she tried to keep full custody so I could only see my boy at weekends... then she bad-mouthed me around him.” he sighed and looked down, “But he never stopped loving me. Charlie’s a good boy; he hasn’t let her words change that.” As for another wife? Chuck laughed, “Who’d wanna marry me? I’m a joke.”

The words were matter-of-fact, even spoken with that same easy smile. “Ehh, I’m not most people, and I think you’re nice. You wanna look after a whole bunch of the world and you’re kind to me.” he smiled at her, “Lots of people ain’t.

“Sure but like, don’t they have any kinda personalities?” From the way she spoke to them or about them Chuck wondered if she had full on conversations or talks with them when she was on her own. “What’s the Green?” he asked, tilting his head before going glassy-eyed for a moment, “Heh, Charlie wants you to know green’s his favourite colour. I swear he changes that every week.”

“His kid? No.” Chuck shook his head, “I don’t think he’d do that...” Chuck looked a little nervous as he said it, “I mean kids are kids y’know, they gotta be kept safe and loved.” He was more worried about those thoughts that the restless plants around them (which probably spoke volumes about his survival instincts). “It’s just,” Chuck shrugged, “Back in the day I and a bunch of other people were tricking out a car for Mr. Joker; he killed everyone else involved but he let me live.” Chuck didn’t know why but Mr. Joker’d let him go that night.  

Eddie had to laugh at that comment; he knew the feeling, but still he was grateful for the part. “Well.. gee, thanks. I really appreciate it.” At least now he wouldn’t be as behind as he was expecting to be. Maybe he’d be able to finish it by May.

“A propulsion engine? Dude, what for? I’m, uh, I’m putting together a super computer, for data mining. It’ll take me a few more months, but I wanna see if it’s worth the hype now that it’s died down a little.”

-

“No worries at all kiddo, just put it to good use and we’ll call it even.” he said with a big grin. “Ohhh I can’t tell ya! It’s a big secret.” He couldn’t just let people know he was Kite Man, secret identities were important!

“I… what?” Conner’s brow furrowed together in utter confusion. What was with this guy? Seriously, what was he on? He had to be on something - he didn’t even seem the slightest bit concerned about being caught in the act of theft by a Kryptonian of all people. “Because it isn’t yours!” Conner answered him. “You have to put it back because I’m not just going to let you waltz out of here with whatever you like.”      

His eyes returned to normal as he continued processing the man’s odd behavior. Was this what criminals were nowadays for Star City? It was definitely unfamiliar territory for him. “Of course he has a son. I guess, two technically. You’ve never heard the name ‘Superboy’ before?” Conner questioned. Strapping? Conner quickly shook his head. “I don’t think they care one way or the other if some random guy off the street congratulated them on their kid’s birth or not.”  Grumbling, he dropped his arms to his sides. “Just who are you anyway?”

-

Chuck laughed, “Well yea. But technically what do we actually own these days? I mean I could stick a flag into the ground and say I own a piece of land but it’s not legally binding is it?” he shook his head, “It’s all part of the bigger system and what I take now I can repay in the future when I’m in a better place to do so.” Sure it hadn’t happened yet but maybe some day! “And I wasn’t gonna waltz out of here,” he said, utterly serious, “I was gonna go back up the vent. Oh, you think you could give me a boost up there? You’ve got the muscles for it.”

Ivy listened to him speak, her head cocking as she studied him. Chuck went in and out and she noticed, interested in the way that anyone is casually interested in atypical psychology. A furrow formed in her brow. How did someone convince themselves that their child wasn’t dead? Charlie must have existed, right? Chuck didn’t just dream him up? Either way, it made Ivy sad. That was surprising. He was just so pitiful, it was difficult to lump him in with the rest of the trash. 

His question made her laugh. She couldn’t imagine having a favorite, honestly. “I’m connected to all of them in some way,” she said simply. “I love them all for different reasons. A mother doesn’t play favorites.” She was only partially teasing on this last, as every plant she grew was as precious to her as a child. Something she nurtured from its birth.     

“Maybe she will. The child of Harley Quinn and the Joker? I’m sure she can see all kinds of things that aren’t there.” Maybe that was rude and generalizing, but any child half-comprised of the Joker was bound to have some problems, right? It was inevitable, even if the other half of her was Ivy’s brilliant but newly-twisted best friend. 

“He’s a plague, Chuck. He chews people up and swallows them. He twists them and changes them and carves permanent smiles onto their faces so they forget they were ever once not him.” She shook her head before turning away. She wouldn’t hear of anyone else defending the Clown. She got enough of it from Harley.

-

Chuck laughed, “Spoken like a true parent. I gotta say I always pictured myself having more than one kid. Course my wife pretty much hated me by that point so I couldn’t see it happening. But now? I don’t know how I’d cope. I love that boy so much.” he smiled wistfully, “Dunno how my heart would have room for any more, y’know? You must have one of the biggest hearts every if you can love’em all as much as ya do.” he chuckled, “It’s nice. You’re nice.”

He said it like an absolute, a pure fact that couldn’t be argued. “Gotta ask though? Do they fight? Like are some a little needier, some get mad? Some going through angsty teen phases? God help me when Charlie gets to that point.” he laughed again, watching his song prance around the plants, utterly content.

“Gonna be a special girl! I mean, Dr. Quinzel’s super nice super smart! Plus she can do all those gymnastics. Her kiddo’s bound to be a star. And I guess Mr. Joker’s pretty smart too all the stuff he does up here,” he tapped a finger to his temple, “I dunno how he comes up with me. Always makes me wonder why folks thing he’s crazy y’know?” Chucked asked, “The guy knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Tony was no newcomer to breaking and entering - nor was he new to dimwits who seemed to have luck on their side. While some would lob him in that category from time to time, his thought process, while expanse and multilinear, was still linear. He could never understand the true looseness of someone like that. Especially someone like Kiteman.

Of course Tony knew the name, and the getup. God, the getup. He’d never met the guy, never wanted to judging from the guy’s track record, but it seemed his misfortune to run into the very same during a rather important and impromptu mini solo heist. There was nothing in the description that a certain nut case with an affinity for kites would be present. Was he even involved with the same job?    

“What are you doing here?” Tony growled as he moved confidently through the space without tripping the alarm - granted, he’d already cut it, but he was going to keep it his secret for just the moment.

-

“Wow, you mad bro?” he asked, voice still friendly despite the other’s less than approachable tone. “I was just tryin’ ta warn you. Trust me you do not wanna have all the police coming around when you’re in the middle of getting the stuff you need. Makes getting home a real pain in the kite-string.”

He turned back to survey the materials on the shelves when he remembered the guy had actually asked him a question. “Oh yea!” he turned around quickly, grinning happily, “I’m just stealing some stuff to try and make a bat-shaped kite. Figured I’d give it to bats’ kids, y’know, kinda like a grief gift... a mourning kite? Ohhhhhhhh, I wonder if that’s a thing?” he asked, more to himself then the other guy.

“Anyway, I’m looking for some strong wire, a little mylar, maybe some ripstop nylon? You can make kites outta lots of stuff but gotta make sure it’s gonna last. Otherwise you’re halfway through a good fly-zone and bleh! Hole in the kite.”      

“No.” Conner answered his first question simply enough and kept a stern gaze upon him. His gaze narrowed as the man gestured over his basket nonchalantly. “What? I flew–no. No, I do not want anything and you’re putting all of this back right now.” The statement was more of an order. What was this guy on? He was way too chipper for being caught in the act. At the question about who he was, Conner stepped into a shaft of light that poured in from the street lamps outside, letting it more clearly illuminate the ‘S’-shield emblazoned on his chest. 

“Superboy… so I strongly suggest just doing as you’re told.” Conner remarked. For dramatics, Conner let his heat vision build up in his eyes just enough to create a red glow that burned vividly against the dark inside the store. 

-

“You flew? Hey, me too! Well, not exactly flew, more that I glided. But it looks real similar from a distance.” he informed the other with a smile, though it dimmed a little at the order to put all his stuff back, “How come? It took me a while to get all this together. I gotta tell ya this place ain’t the most organised.” he stage-whispered, like the shop owner would hear and get made at them. He squinted a little when the other stepped forward, taking a few seconds before he realised what symbol was on the other’s chest. Again, his reaction was surprising:

Typical someone would grab the same part that he wanted at the same time. It was the one of the last things he needed, and he knew Best Buy would have the final piece, so without this, he was boned for at least another six months until another one came in from China. He could wait - but he really didn’t want to.   

Still, when the jinxer offered the piece instead, Eddie had to return the favor and protest. “Oh, no, it’s cool. I can get this somewhere else, probably… Besides, you got here first. I’m, uh, I’m okay.” 

-

“Nah,” Chuck chuckled “Don’t worry about it kid, I don’t really need it all that much anyway. I’ve got a bad habit of grabbing stuff I don’t really need.” Which did nothing to help his dire financial situation.

He picked the piece up and plopped it right into Eddie’s basket, “So, whatcha making with all that stuff?” he asked, “I’m trying to whip up a kinda propulsion engine myself.” It was fun talking about building stuff and, since he didn’t really have the chance to do it often, he jumped at the opportunity.  

Ever since getting the definitive news about Bruce, Steph had found it difficult to stop crying. Something small would remind her of him, something seemingly insignificant, and she’d find herself tearing up all over again. 

In all of the confusion and subsequent fallout, there hadn’t been any opportunity for her to reach out to Chuck until now. She’d agreed to meet for breakfast, a meal Steph was definitely not inclined to turn down, and showed up with her hair neatly braided to one side. She had a class to teach later. Finally she was getting back to a normal schedule, in spite of her vigilante life being (in a way, quite literally) up in the air. 

But she wanted to see him. By now, she knew he had to have heard about what happened to Bruce. Everyone knew. Bruce wasn’t her adopted father, she wasn’t part of the family in the way that Tim was, but she was still Batgirl. She was still one of them. “Hey,” she said softly, smiling faintly a she sat across from him and let her bag drop on the floor. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

-

Chuck had been real upset when he heard about Batman, the guy had been nice to him and it was awful he was gone; Charlie had cried about it all night and Chuck had held him till he fell asleep.

Not wanting to bother any of the family he’d kept to himself but he had reached out to Stephanie, his niece, the thought still making him smile. However, when she didn’t respond he figured she just needed space so he’d carried on as best he could. Hearing from her a little while later brought a smile to his face and he’d gotten up early and been for a run to work off some excess energy.

When he arrived (wearing jeans and a tight-fitting tank top) he got several looks of interest from other customers that went completely over his head and he sat and waited. As Steph arrived he was up and pulling her chair out straight away, “Hey,” he said quietly, not hesitating to take her hand in both of his and squeeze, “Don’t worry about it kiddo. How are you?” he asked, expression open and earnest.  

Charlie. The child that Chuck spoke about often. She softened. Because there was something truly broken inside of him that made her feel… bad for him. He was one of the few men on this earth that didn’t make her want to vomit or to tear him limb from limb and the fond way he discussed his child–rest his soul–was one of the reasons. She wasn’t a psychiatrist like Harleen was, but some of her curiosity had rubbed off on Ivy. She wondered what the other woman would think of Chuck. Did she have an opinion? She’d have to ask next time she saw her. “Tell him not to trod on any of them, and he is welcome.” Cocking her head, she wondered if it was wrong to play into the delusion. And she wondered if she should care if it was. “What are his favorites now?”   

“I’ve seen Harley. As far as I know, she’s bringing her daughter to stay with me, because Joker’s off the fucking tracks.” She shook her head. “Not that he isn’t always. But it’s different now that he’s murdered Batman. Apparently that was an accident. But he’s an idiot and a dangerous one.” She shook her head. “You’re better than interacting with him.”

-

“Oh he wouldn’t, he’s a good boy that way. One time he found a sad looking bee and the floor and had me give it a little honey to send it on its way.” he chuckled, “Literally wouldn’t hurt a fly.” he watched Charlie flit from flower to flower a little like a bumblebee himself. “Careful kiddo, you might trip over a root,” he said, looking past Pamela to the lush plants growing behind her. Hs head cocked to the side, eyes unfocused for a moment before nodding, “Good boy.” He looked back to Pam, “Right now he liked those purple ones over there, he said they remind him of his favourite action figure cause that’s purple too a-” Once again, he cut off for a moment before continuing, “I dunno Buddy, lets ask her. Say Dr. Isley, which plant’s your favourite right now?” 

Conner wasn’t certain exactly what he was expecting when he decided to investigate the sounds of shuffling and activity inside an otherwise locked store as he passed overhead. His cells were running low on solar energy after patrolling for several hours, so his flight capability was dwindling. Still, there had been enough to carry him to the store in question and onto the roof where it seemed the point of entry had taken place.

Working his way inside, he was surprised at the sight of a man carrying a basket as he browsed the shelves and aisles. The dim lights that carried into the building from the street outside barely illuminated the material on his suit as he cleared his throat. “What are you doing?” He questioned bluntly. “This place is closed for a reason.”

-

Chuck jumped about a foot in the air when someone spoke, almost falling straight into a display of old computers. “Holy enchilada!” he yelped, looking over and squinting some to see what looked to him like a teen in the room with him, “Huh, we you always there?” he asked, completely ignoring the other’s question, “Cause I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed ya, I’m not the most observant a lot of the time.”

Chuck Brown. Kite Man. Ivy sighed. It could be worse. Could be better, but certainly could be worse. The tension left her shoulders. Ivy didn’t feel that Kite Man was much of a concern. He could barely hurt a fly. “It’s you,” she remarked, noting that he called her ‘Dr. Isley’ in spite of everything. She wasn’t really Pamela Isley anymore, though. Was she? Pamela Isley had been gone for such a long time. But then he mentioned a ‘fella’, and she was turning, her gaze settling on a wilting Dianthus caryophyllus, a poor thing shoved into a too-small pot and left on a windowsill by a careless pack animal with no appreciation for its contribution.

“Come here, sweetness,” she purred to the plant, ignoring the existence of Chuck completely for a moment as she lifted it to eye level, her power attempting to reach out to connect with the compressed roots screaming out for help. Poor darling was suffocating. Ivy’s fingers squeezed hard and the terracotta shattered around the digits before falling to the well carpeted earth beneath them. Soil and dirt roiled through her fingers as the roots began to twist and caress around her fingers and wrists in gratitude. “Look what they’ve done to you.”

Her gaze was back on Chuck through the leaves of the flower. “Humans are parasites,” she said with a sigh. “Thank you for bringing it to me.” As she spoke, the roots reached the earth and Ivy let her power carefully settle the plant into the dirt beneath them. The Green met its returned child with a warm glow that made Ivy’s heart swell. Good. An innocent reunited with its maker. “Was that the only reason you came?”

-

Chuck grinned and nodded, like she’d given him a friendly greeting rather than simply verifying his presence. “Yup-a-ro!” he confirmed, naively looking around all the other plants, vines and flowers growing around them, though he was careful not to step on anything, he didn’t want to upset any of them. “Huh?” he titled his head then realised she was talking to the plant and chuckled, letting her take it from him and do what she did best. Meanwhile he and Charlie wandered around a little. Chuck didn’t know the first thing about greenery but all the colours were nice to look at, and Charlie was happily running from bloom to bloom and smelling each one in turn.

By the time he looked back at Ivy she’d already fixed up the little plant (who was now not looking so little) and grinned again, “Wow, fixed’em up real easy. You’re good at that.” he said brightly, bending over a little to get a better look at the now thriving plant. “Charlie really likes it here,” he told her, “I figured he can run around a little and sniff all the plants he likes. He used to like bluebells best but y’know how kids are, he changes his favourites every five minutes.” Of course, there was not sign of a child of any sort running through Ivy’s domain.

“No problemo! I’m happy to help.” he answered, glossing over the parasites comment, “Uhh... I think so? I saw the plant, thought of you, Charlie figured he’d come say hi as well, he likes your hair, and now here we are! So how’ve ya been? Don’t think I’ve seen ya since Gotham! Have you seen Dr. Quinzel Yet? Or Mr. Joker? He stops by my apartment sometimes when he’s got some work he needs me to do.”  

Things sure had gotten a lot crazier around here lately. It was like back before the ban. When he’d just been an aero engineer in Gotham. Wow, that seemed like a lifetime ago. Chuck chuckled to himself at the thought and chuckled even more when he found a loose vent near the roof. Why did so many of these places never deal with the roof?

Oh well.