The elevator creaked as it carried them upward, its metal walls humming with quiet tension. Pamela stood close to Barbara, their shoulders brushing, her cheeks still faintly flushed from the earlier exchange. The dim light above buzzed, casting them both in muted shadows.
Barbara's eyes looked around the cramped elevator until they locked on to a small surveillance camera tucked into the ceiling panel. Her gaze sharpened. "...We need privacy."
A sharp crackle filled the air. Sparks leapt from her fingertips, and the camera sizzled, its lens popping as smoke curled from the ruined circuits.
Pamela tilted her head, watching the smoke drift lazily upward. One brow arched. "Barbara… do you have something to say that you don't want the security feed to hear?"
Barbara crossed her arms beneath her chest, her eyes looking forward, jaw tight. "I can't believe you let the professor live. We agreed—we were going to kill him."
Pamela's lips curved faintly, the look in her eyes sharp. "Oh? So you do remember our little hallway discussion."
"Don't act like you didn't mean it," Barbara shot back. "That bastard killed people. Turned them into plants. Do you really think Batman or anyone in Gotham can reverse that? Let's be real."
Pamela leaned against the wall of the elevator, her arms folding across her chest. Her gaze gleaming dangerously. "I never said I let him go. I may have… left a little gift inside him."
Barbara's eyes widened, her head looking toward's Pamela. "Oh my God. You dropped one of your plants into his body?"
"The Midnight Rose," Pamela corrected smoothly. "It slid right down his throat. With a little luck, it will sprout into something poetic… like vengeance."
Barbara stared. "You're insane."
"I prefer the term strategically elegant," Pamela corrected. "Killing him in front of Batman or your father would have made us suspects. This way, our hands are clean… and my rose gets to bloom."
She gave a quiet snort. "Besides, I really don't want to fight Batman. It would be… tragically easy."
Barbara's lips twitched as she nodded. "Same. If I unleashed my bioelectric field on him, he would fry in seconds."
Pamela blinked, then squinted. "Wait… are you seriously telling me no one has defeated a guy running around in tights and a cape?"
Barbara sighed. "You'd be surprised how many people forget to pull the gun trigger just because he stares at them."
Pamela deadpanned. "Wow. So he weaponizes awkward silence and body armor. Impressive."
Barbara laughed, the sound echoing lightly off the walls. "You have no idea."
Pamela's own laugh slipped free, the tension between them easing into something sharper, threaded with humor and romance.
After a pause, Pamela spoke again, her tone excited. "You know… Batman could make a good nemesis. Or maybe even a henchman. I'm undecided."
Barbara tilted her head, curious. "Speaking of which… what are we doing next? You did mention building a criminal empire."
Pamela's smile deepened, dangerous and certain. "Well, before anything else, we need financial freedom."
Their eyes met, a silent agreement sparking between them
"Time to rob some bad guys," they said in unison.
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