— — — — — —
The moment Veyron made up his mind, the formless, shapeless light in his hand transformed into a shimmering liquid metal with a silver-white glow.
"..."
"This is Element X—also known as the Tenth Metal. A little specialty of your world," he explained.
Selina hadn't said anything out loud, but with Veyron's perception, there was no missing the intense curiosity practically burning in the eyes of the catlike woman standing nearby.
After a short pause, he added, "Honestly, this might just be the most incredible and most mysterious material I've ever come across."
"That powerful, huh?"
The awkwardness from getting caught snooping was quickly replaced by anticipation—fueled by Veyron's use of the word 'most.'
"It's probably even crazier than whatever you're imagining right now. It's not called the purest form of creation itself for nothing."
As he spoke, Veyron carefully stored the silver-white metal away.
Speaking of which... that Element X reminded him of his Almighty Serum.
He was curious to see just how much stronger that substance had become since his last round of upgrades. With the level he was operating at now, he suspected the change would be dramatic.
Back then, it could create a small universe when combined with Max Soul Light.
Now?
Veyron had no idea how powerful he'd become.
No wonder Cyttorak had been so generous back then. At that being's level, leaking just a little bit between their fingers was probably more than enough power for a lower-dimensional being to spend millions of years trying to grasp.
"I've got another world to head to," Veyron said, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "I won't stick around too long here."
Turning to Selina, he added, "I doubt Shiroyasha is just sitting around waiting for me to show up, but since I already told her I'd come, it's better to take care of it sooner rather than later."
"No worries, no worries. Go do your thing," Selina replied with a wave of her hand.
"Thanks to the shared space, it's way easier to see each other these days."
She grabbed one of her cat's paws and waved it too, watching with a small smile as Veyron vanished from sight, disappearing into thin air.
Then, from the shadowy corner between the living room and the entryway wall, a head with twin pigtails peeked out.
"Meow~ Who was that man who just vanished into sparkles? I don't remember him showing up in our comics—Meow~ I mean, Gotham," Harley Quinn practically pounced toward Selina, eyes wide with gossipy glee as she circled her friend like a curious cat.
"...Can you please speak like a normal person?"
Selina sighed, thoroughly used to her best friend's chaos. "Catwoman is just a nickname, you know. It's not like I actually turned into a cat~ so there's no need to add meow to everything."
"Oh come on, who cares? Let's just say I was talking to her," Harley said cheerfully, as she grabbed the paw of Selina's cat and gave it a shake. "Right, cutie?"
"Meow."
The kitten let out a high-pitched, reluctant meow.
"See? She agrees with me!"
Harley nodded triumphantly.
"By the way, what brings you here right now?" Selina suddenly frowned as something clicked in her memory. "Weren't you going to take your crew out to grab some turf today?"
"Meh. Not in the mood anymore," Harley shrugged. "Those guys only ever saw me as Joker's substitute anyway. Back when I was feeling generous, I didn't mind messing around with them a bit. But lately? It's just not fun."
She huffed. "Honestly, I'd rather hang out with you and Ivy. Maybe we should form our own little squad. Gotham's hotties or even Femmes Fatales. Yeah, the name's a little cheesy, but with Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad being taken… we could still make a comeback, y'know?"
"..."
Selina had long grown used to Harley's irregular behavior since Joker died.
So her brain filtered out the nonsense— "Femmes Fatales." "Birds of Prey," "Suicide Squad," all that fluff—and boiled it down to one simple fact: (Harley is done with the Joker's gang. She's letting the leftovers rot.)
So when Harley tried to rope her and Pamela into a team-up, Selina didn't even bother being polite with the rejection.
I mean, seriously—why would she trade a life of eating, drinking, and rolling around in piles of jewelry for that?
"Fine, fine, party pooper," Harley grumbled, flopping against a nearby plant. "Then I'll live with you for now!"
She nudged the potted plant beside her. "Ivy, make me a bed, will ya? Something simple this time—half red roses, half blue. Thanks!"
In response, the flowers bloomed in fast-forward. Within seconds, a cozy floral bed had grown into existence, complete with a leafy canopy to block out the harsh sunlight overhead.
Selina watched, barely surprised. She'd seen this little stunt plenty of times by now. The only thing that changed each time was what kind of petals Ivy used.
Still, after a moment of hesitation, Selina finally spoke up.
"Hey, Harley, Ivy… you two wanna check out a new hideout I got recently? It's a pretty big place—kinda feels too empty just living there on my own."
"New hideout?" Harley perked up from her flower bed like a meerkat. "Wait—are you talking about that boyfriend you were with earlier?"
"Selina has a boyfriend?" Ivy asked, only now tuning in as her consciousness synced with the plant Harley had touched.
"Ivy, listen," Harley began excitedly, "I just saw—mph!"
Before she could spill more, Selina clamped a hand over Harley's mouth.
Predictably, Harley struggled. Also predictably, she lost.
"That was Veyron, just my friend," Selina said, locking Harley in a joint hold like she was putting a toddler in time-out. "Oh, and for the record, even though the place is technically a shared space, that island—and everything on it—was apparently a gift from him."
'Yeah, sure,' Harley muttered under her breath, eyes rolling. 'Totally just a gift. Not like he's interested in your body or anything.'
Selina finally let her go after Harley raised both hands in surrender, signaling she wouldn't say anything more outrageous.
"Chill Selena~ I just meant he's your friend... but he's still a boy... so boy + friend = boyfriend, Ain't I right?" Harley teased with an innocent grin.
Before Ivy or Selina could get a word in, Harley suddenly threw her arm into the air like she was trying to high-five the moon, tapping open a floating screen.
"Yo~! I noticed you're writing a fanfiction about us," she said, squinting at the 'camera.' "So about that name you gave me before—'Joker Girl'—please delete that from existence. Seriously, your naming sense is garbage."
She leaned in, smirking. "And while we're at it, is that Veyron guy into Selina or not? Hehe~"
(Author: …)
"Ohhh, so he's into me and Ivy too?" Harley laughed, her grin stretching wide with mock disgust. "Typical. Figures he was made by some trashy, pervy author like you." She clasped her hands together and slammed the imaginary screen shut.
(Author: At least I still have fans who love me... (ಥ﹏ಥ)
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Ref....
)—A/POV—(