Botanical Escalation [Gordon]

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Before Poison Ivy's eyes is a very familiar sight: The Wayne Botanical Gardens. It's probably not the smartest idea to rob the same place repeatedly, but can she help it if there is only one collection of plants in driving distance that's actually managed by those with the expertise and funding to get their hands on the specimens that she needs? If she needed your basic, garden-variety plant to further her lab work, she could find those anywhere - or perhaps among the gardens of the wealthy in north Gotham who needed just the species of shrub to suit their particular landscaping tastes. But if you want rare or unusual, there's really only one place to go.

The gardens occupy the northernmost part of Robinson Park, and she's on high alert as she walks through the park, reaching the fence that serves as the border between the two. The plants are rather quiet - they always are when the sun has gone down, though they don't exactly sleep. They still willingly tell her what she wants to know - the path ahead of her is clear of any large animals, including humans. But that's as it should be - she took the precaution of booking the gardens for a private event under an assumed name this evening to make sure that nobody else would, and then canceled at the last minute so that nobody would be expected and everything would be closed for the night. That means that she only needs to worry about the night guards, but that's no problem.

Still not sensing anyone, she finds a suitable tree next to the fence, and it's a simple matter to climb it and use an overhanging branch to help her over the wall. Enhancing herself physically really was one of her better ideas! She pauses for a moment, having landed in soft earth not far from the path that leads visitors through this part of the garden. But all is silent and still. Good! Looking ahead at the greenhouses, she has to suppress a shudder as her eyes pass over the building that houses the collection of palms - she still remembers her fight with Nightwing far too well. So cold... But she's not here for that this evening. In fact, the last time she was here she completed the theft that she'd botched that time - that one had gone off without a hitch. So this would be her third time here in fairly short order, and this time she has a different little baby to rescue.

What she needs this time is the DNA of a particular variety of eucalyptus tree - they produce a certain oil that is quite flammable and, well, she can find a use for that. Having done her homework, she knows exactly which greenhouse to break into, and as the plants around her still aren't warning her of anyone approaching it looks like this will be a piece of cake. Really, where are the guards that usually patrol the place? Perhaps they're slacking off this evening? Well, all the easier for her! As she approaches the greenhouse, she prepares herself - she knows that there's sensors on them, so the moment she breaks in the clock will start ticking down and she'll have a limited amount of time before vigilantes or the cops will turn up, and she's not eager to meet either.

However, just before she touches the lock, the sound of sirens reach her ears - several of them. Well, it can't be for her - she's not broken in yet! But something is wrong - they seem to be headed in her direction. Pursing her lips, she hesitates for a moment, before she sends her vine out to break the lock anyway. She'll figure out what went wrong later - if the police already know that she's here, well... she'll get what she came for anyway. The time she's had since her last escape from the asylum has been well spent increasing her abilities - she'll be able to escape from the police - it will just be a bit... messy.

What she doesn't realize is that the gardens have responded to her repeated break-ins by increasing their security systems - with motion sensors now covering every square inch of the gardens that the plants wouldn't trigger themselves due to the wind, she triggered the silent alarm the moment she set foot in the gardens. Having patrolling guards at the same time would be counterproductive - but they do have one in a security office watching her from the security cameras, also newly installed.

[Deleted]

The lone security guard had initiated the lock down of the Botanical gardens. Each of the exits of each green house had solid steel shutters that would block any exit that Poison Ivy would hope to use. In every sense of the word, she was trapped. The Guard could only wonder what someone like poison ivy would come up with to get out of this situation though. She has escaped so many times. Her constant robberies of the Botanical Gardens have caused the care-takers of the Gardens and the GCPD to work hand in hand with each other to make the area more secure. They were losing rare specimens, as well as tourism. No one wanted to see a garden that was subject to at least one break in every few weeks. It scared people away, even if Ivy wouldn't attack in broad daylight.

The police response was massive, the GCPD already knew that it was Poison Ivy that they were dealing with. They didn't pull out any stops to try and prevent her from escaping. Every corner around the Gardens was blocked by several patrol cards and uniformed officers. One by one officers exited their cars, drew their weapons and pointed them at the general direction of where Ivy was reported to be. Not only were there dozens of uniformed officers, there were snipers posted at the tallest surrounding buildings as well as specially equipped swat members. Gas masks and armor that protected their entire body. If anything, they knew this would be a challenge for Ivy. She wouldn't be escaping, not without a fight.

The Swat Vans soon arrived at the scene, the Captain of the Swat team, Captain Richard Aldritch exited his van and meetup with the Sergeant that was in charge of the uniformed officers, Sergeant Charlie Holmes.

"My guys are going in, tell yours to hold fire until it is absolutely necessary."

The sergeant nodded, Captain Aldritch signaling his team to follow him. 

The GPCD SWAT team started to approach the Green House Ivy was in, covering each exit as the security guard lifted the security of that specific green house so the Swat could have entry. 

"Go in, incapacitate the target, at my ready."

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Determined to get what she came here for, Poison Ivy ignores the sound of the approaching sirens at first, instead focusing her attention on the eucalyptus tree. It's much, much too big for her to steal, but she only needs a sample of it for her research anyway. "I'm sorry baby, but I need your help," she murmurs as she very carefully takes a cutting, causing only the minimum possible amount of damage in the process. She always hates to cause any form of harm to such beautiful, innocent beings, but far too often it's absolutely necessary and even the most innocent must sacrifice for the greater good.

Only when that's completed does she turn her attention to those quickly surrounding the gardens in an obvious effort to stop her from leaving. Not just the plants from the garden, but those within the park are able to tell her where they are and give her an idea of just how many. "All of this for me?" she asks herself as she measures the extent of the response - they've certainly come out in force, haven't they? But she's not yet concerned - they may think that they have her where they want her, but she's quite happy to destroy that illusion.

She's yet to have a proper fight with the police - the last time she had to face them was quite some time ago, and she was much weaker. So weak, in fact, that her response had been to run since she knew that she couldn't win. But times have changed and she's grown, changing in more ways than simply the color of her skin - now there's far more to her arsenal than vines and pockets full of poison. Now her pockets are full of something else... Seeds.

Though the steel on the doors is hardly enough to contain her, she doesn't attempt to leave the greenhouse yet. No, being confined in the building will suit her purposes quite nicely for the moment. Instead of attempting to gain a way out, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the seeds she needs. "Hurry now, mommy needs you," she says as she walks through the greenhouse, spreading them out to ensure good coverage. The plants immediately sprout, only needing a few moments to germinate and grow into mature flowers. And the moment that they do, the air begins to fill with an extremely toxic haze. Nothing that would harm a plant, of course, but quite deadly to any form of animal life - including people.

Even while the last of them are still germinating, she then selects one of the larger trees in the greenhouse and climbs into its branches, where she will be difficult to spot among the leaves. Having learned well from her encounters with vigilantes, she knows to be wary of technology that might thwart her methods - hiding is a good way to make it so that she doesn't suffer because she underestimated just how prepared they are. Especially since she knows that her body temperature and other biological processes aren't that much different from a plant's any more - even if they have fancy gadgets, they're not going to find her that easily.

[Deleted]

"Breach the door! Incapacitate Ivy now! Go go go!" There wasn't another moment of hesitation before Captain Aldritch of the GCPD Swat team gave the orders for his men to go into the breach and take down their adversary for the night. There was a team of four swat members in full body gear and gas masks at each entrance. The green house that Ivy was held up in had two entrances. There were three total swat teams of a total of Twenty-four members. The GCPD had came in full force to take down someone such as Poison Ivy. Captain Aldritch made it his personal mission to prove that the GCPD didn't need the likes of Batman to function. Tonight he would prove he is right by taking out Ivy. 

Without a moment of warning, the entrances were breached. Powerful enough breaching charges might have signed or burned any nearby plants at the entrances. Each team then proceeded throw a flash bang. It was obvious enough that they couldn't use any sort of gas against her. The GCPD had learned that much in their previous encounters. The flash-bang grenades might catch her off guard however. Each four-man squad stormed the Green House, turning on their rifle mounted lasers and looking for their target through the hazy fog that was undoubtedly from the flowers of Poison Ivy. The members took corners and tactfully moved  around the green house, keeping their eyes peeled just in case Ivy decided to show herself, or perhaps slip up. 

"Damn flowers are mucking up my gas mask. It's getting hard to see in here, Captain." One of the members of the Swat team complained. Whatever she was doing was causing the view lens of the Gas Mask to muck up. The members of swat could clean it of course, but that would mean only more time for someone like Ivy to get the jump on them. 

"Keep looking for her! If you see her, do not shoot to kill! Only incapacitate her!" The Captain yelled in his radio. He had faith in his men that they could take on such a foe like Ivy. 

They would need every bit of that faith. They were the highest trained officers that the GCPD had to offer. Ivy on the other hand. She was different. 

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Having expected the police to simply burst in like they do and being cradled high in the arms of a large gum tree, Poison Ivy is well removed from the majority of the explosions. At least physically, anyway - she can sense the harm being done to the plants, especially near the doors, and while that doesn't harm her in the least she can't help but feel for the poor little babies so harmed. She senses them mentally, after all - she knows their distress. How can they be so brutish about opening the doors? This is a greenhouse on a botanical garden for pity's sake - it should be a refuge for the plants inside! Have they no respect?

But she's sadly had to get used to just how horrible the world and everyone in it is. Rather than being shocked by their destruction, she is simply angered. She's done nothing wrong, merely put a few precious plants to a far better use than as objects for the public to gawk at. And even if she did, they shouldn't dare face her in the first place! She's Poison Ivy, not some thug on the street or even some mob boss. All of this is just as beneath her figuratively as it is literally.

As the squads storm the building she watches them, sensing their presence more from the plants in the greenhouse than she does from the use of her own eyes. She frowns to herself as she notes the gas masks - it's not unexpected that they'd have them, but it's still a small disappointment. If facing her at all isn't suicidal enough, doing it without a gas mask is simply a death sentence. But the poison from her plants does more than make the air toxic - it also makes the air thick enough to keep visibility low, which is only in her favor since she needs her sense of sight far less than they do.

In fact, it's enough that they seem to be taking their time looking around at ground level, probably being slowed by the many bushes and other greenery that she could possibly be hiding in - nobody seems to have thought that she might instead be above them. So she decides that her best move at the moment is to remain where she is, silent and still so that she gives them no reason to look for her where she actually is. But that doesn't mean that she does nothing. One reality that all plants face and thrive in is the fact that they can't choose where they're planted - wherever they fall, there they must grow, for better or for worse. Even if it would be much more pleasant to be a foot to the right or the left, they can do nothing about that.

As the men search for her, she ponders the situation - the flowers now filling the air with their toxin are wonderful plants, but their primary problem is that their poison must be inhaled to be effective. Well, prolonged skin contact isn't advised either, but that's easily solved by a shower. No, what she needs is to take advantage of how vulnerable they are even with the gas masks, and she has just the thing. Moving as little as possible, she reaches into her pocket and finds the correct seed.

Her namesake plant is infamous for its effect on most people who touch it. It's caused by an oil in the sap called urushiol, which most people are highly allergic to. The fact that it merely needs skin contact to work is why it attracted her attention, even if it's not as lethal as the chemicals she normally plays with. Of course, she's figured out how to weaponize it, first by speeding up it's reaction time from hours and days to mere minutes, then by strengthening it to drastically reduce the dose required to cause symptoms, and finally by transferring the ability to produce it to a more useful type of plant - an epiphyte doesn't need dirt to grow, it merely needs something to anchor itself to.

Placing the seed in a fork of the branch ahead of her, she silently encourages it to grow and it quickly obeys. As soon as its flower opens she gently blows on it, adding its pollen to the already toxic air. It will take a little time for it to build up enough in the air, but when it does... Well, perhaps the swat teams will believe their decision to storm the greenhouse was a bit rash. As she continues to blow upon the flower, she pulls another seed of the same kind from her pocket and encourages it to sprout as well. After all, two flowers can make twice as much pollen... and three can make even more...

[Deleted]

The swat officers look frantically for poison ivy. Even if it was rather hard to see in the green house. They would have found her by now if she was on the lower level. Maybe it just hadn't occurred to anyone that maybe she was taking refuge above with one of the larger plants. The visibility of the room only seemed to progressively get worse. The green house was kept at suitable temperatures for the plants to flourish. The members of the GCPD swat team however were in full body suits followed by bodyarmor and gas masks. For them it was getting hot. They were starting to sweat and even a few started to get sloppy and weren't nearly alert as they should be. The low visibility and heat from wearing full body jumpsuits was definitely taking a toll. 

"Sir we have no sight of the target." One swat member spoke into his radio before turning a corner. 

"Look everywhere. Look above, look below. Every nook and cranny in that green house needs to be checked. Be careful, she is highly dangerous." Captain Aldritch spoke into his radio. He knew that his men were having trouble with seeing inside of the greenhouse. He knew that they were probably being overheated by their uniforms. They were trained extremely well, they could handle it. They had to handle it. It wasn't long before the swat team started to spread their search. They checked the vents, the storage room and most importantly above. Their main search areas were the larger plants. The trees, anywhere that Poison Ivy could hide. 

"She's most likely trying her little plant tricks. Whatever you do, do not remove your gas mask or expose your skin. You'll be dead before you realize that you made a critical error." The captain spoke again, waiting for one of his men to spot her. Now the swat team was searching high and low. Still no sight of her. Perhaps if they had thermal technology it'd be easier. Maybe not even then. Poison Ivy never seemed to run out of tricks.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Knowing that it will take some time for the pollen to accumulate, Poison Ivy is patient when there's no immediate reaction. But when there continues to be no reaction, she frowns. Mostly sensing the location of those trying to locate her through the plants, none of whom have actual eyes, means that she can't see how exactly they're equipped, but apparently they've got their skin covered. Well, that's not fair at all! Humans are always cheating their way into survival when they shouldn't, so this doesn't exactly surprise her.

Still, it's incredibly annoying - if only they were in her own garden... But they're not so her options are slightly more limited than she'd like. She'd really just like for this to be simple and easy - is that too much to ask. Well, if they want to force her to play rough, then that's what she'll have to do. It's about time that she tested one of her latest inventions out in the field, anyway. And she'd better do it immediately, if the fact that some of the men down on the ground are starting to shine their lights at things that aren't at ground level - her time is clearly running out.

More seeds - these about the size of grapes - are retrieved from her pockets. And as quickly as she can, she throws one each in the direction of the men that she can get, starting with those closest to her and working her way outward - she has excellent aim and she simply needs to hit them, but some of the men happen to be positioned where a plant or other obstacle prevents her from reaching them directly. The branch she's on sways wildly at her shifting movements as she throws the seeds, but she's counting on the fact that any man she does hit with a seed won't be a problem anymore so it doesn't matter as much if one spots her position.

As each seed flies through the air, it seems to explode into a tangle small, moving vines. The plants are extremely mobile and semi-intelligent - so she instructs them to go after the men's gas masks if they can. They're strong enough to rip one right off, if they landed in a good position - something that Poison Ivy tried to assist with by aiming her seeds at their heads. But those hit elsewhere would find that the vines have other tricks - those just barely too far away from the gas mask to try to wrestle it off are content to attempt to strangle the man they've landed upon, while the others make due with trying to bind whatever part of the body that they landed on to the nearest other part - causing legs to end up tied together, or arms pinned to the side.

Rather than surveying her handiwork, since she knows that she's compromised her position, Poison Ivy now swiftly descends out of the tree, pausing only to throw more seeds in the direction of the men she couldn't get before but who wander where she can get them.

[Deleted]

Of the eight that were currently in the green house, three uniformed swat members were hit by the seeds that Ivy had thrown. No one saw them coming, not until two of the swat members got their masked ripped off. Gasping and yelps of pain heard the room, they fingers were on the trigger so a resulting spray of machine gun fire littered their area. Fortunately none of the swat officers were affected by friendly fire. The third swat officer that was hit by a seed got his feet tied up, he fell to the ground fast, managing to get his finger off the trigger just in time just so that he could prevent another accident. This was the first group of seeds from when Ivy first threw them, Only one officer managed to see her moving. He and two more were hit by the second group of seeds. One of the swat officers had the vines around his torso, squeezing. He could barely breath.

Another officer got his mask torn off, and the third got his arm snagged, his weapon falling to his feet. In a matter of less than sixty seconds. Six of the eight members of team one were incapacitated. "She was in a tree! She is moving closer to the exit! Don't let her leave!" The officer that got his arm entangled yelled on his radio comm. 

"I want all of team two in there now, replace the remaining team one. Team three I want four of you at each exit. Bring five uniforms to each exit. Now team one, listen closely. Both of you are equipped with incendiary grenades. I want you to use them. Hurt the plants and Ivy will come to us. Before both of you exit I want you to leave. Once the grenades have gone off team two will replace you." Captain Aldritch gave his orders, he knew he couldn't leave his officers in the green house after they threw the grenades. The others? They were a lost cause. Already dead. What mattered was capturing Ivy.

"Gladly" One of the swat members responded, him and the other standing Swat Officer of team one made their way to the exit. 


"Fire in the hole." Both members of swat readied and then unpinned their incendiary grenades, throwing them close to the center of the room. 


They then exited the green house, seeing Team two and team three standing by, as well as the uniformed patrol officers taking position.


They just had to wait and see the effect of their little present for Ivy.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Unlike what the officer seemed to assume, Poison Ivy wasn't making a break for the exit. Why should she? Here among the plants she's in her element - if she can't defeat them here then she can't anywhere. The only reason why she moved at all was because she assumed that her position in the trees was compromised - it's not a good idea to allow people to know exactly where you are when they have guns.

Sliding quite easily out of the tree, she's ready to hunt down the last two who dared enter the greenhouse. Or at least she assumes that she is. She can sense two more left, and they're headed toward the exit. Assuming that they're fleeing, she starts to make a move to cut them off - after all, they disturbed this sanctuary, so they deserve to die just as much as the others. But they're not quite in sight when she sees two objects being thrown back, landing just past her.

But though she immediately recognize that they're unlikely to be anything good, she's not able to identify them at first. When they land they simply smoke a lot, but then she begins to realize... "No..." she breathes, horrified. But there's little she can do about it. The entire center of the greenhouse quickly erupts in flames. Probably even quicker than the police ever realized it would - the very reason why she wanted a sample from a eucalyptus tree was because if the uniquely flammable nature of the sap. In this exhibit of Australian plant-life there are several - the leaves that they drop quite generously around themselves are much more flammable than most leaves and the trees themselves explode when they're on fire. A fact that Poison Ivy well knows, so even as she looks upon the spreading flames with horror she knows that it's all about to get much worse and that she can't simply stand there in shock - she must act even with the distress of so many plants ringing in her ears.

"Murderers..." she mutters as she attempts to get a hold of herself, finding herself torn. What's more important now, trying to save the plants or ensuring that she'll be able to get the horrible people who did this to them? It takes her a moment, but she realizes that the plants already burning are already unlikely to survive, and those about to share their fate wouldn't be in that situation if it weren't for those people who were so horrible as to light a greenhouse in a botanical garden on fire - who would even do such a thing?!? She's used to people taking absolutely no thought about the environmental impact of what they do so that doesn't shock her, but she'd have thought that the more base consideration of the financial impact would have stayed their hand at least.

Decision made, she notes the location of the extremely flammable eucalyptus trees and retreats to a particular corner that's furthest away from them, crouching among the low bushes there, knowing that's probably the safest place to be if the flames reach the trees. But as the fire grows and starts to spread, so does her rage. In fact, her rage is boiling so hot that she doesn't notice that her hands are shaking - instead her only focus is on her new goal: she can sense all the men now poised to fight her: those gathered outside of the greenhouse, all of those elsewhere in the botanical gardens, those outside of the botanical gardens but still within Robinson Park. All of them will die.

[Deleted]

The flames that engulfed the Green House set off the fire suppression system. Not only were the plants effected. Members of the first Swat Team to enter, dead or not were burnt to a crisp. Rare specimens were destroyed, years of searching for a certain type of specimen. All ruined in the span of one night because of a man who had too much ambition. GCPD Captain Charlie Aldritch looked at the green house. The flames were bright, however it didn't take him long to realize what he had done. He heard screams, those of left behind members of GCPD Swat that he thought dead by Poison Ivy. Captain Aldritch had dug himself too far in a hole he wouldn't be able to get out of. So he might as well finish the job. The perimeter was crawling with GCPD officers. The greenhouse where Ivy was alone had at least thirty men at each entrance. Choppers from the sky also were in the air, snipers at the ready to take the shot.                        

 An excessive amount of GCPD resources were used by the Captain to ensure the capture of Poison Ivy. Should the police of a major city have to rely on a man dressed in a Bat Costume? Of course not. They should be able to handle things on their own. With their training and technology. What Captain Aldritch didn't realize however is that while Gotham was a  major city. It was one of the most unique. Chicago or New York didn't have someone that could manipulate plants or a genius that used cyro technology. In a lot of ways the GCPD was usually out its depth. Those that got carried away with ambition like Captain Aldritch. Men like him doomed other GCPD officers. 

"When you see her, open fire! There is no doubt we got her riled up. Do not take any chances. She can't take all of us!" The GCPD was out in force tonight, that was true. More men than have ever been called to deal with Batman or perhaps the Joker. Aldritch had been a clean officer, however right now it felt like he was corrupt. A man using the GCPD to prove some point. All he did was endanger himself and everyone in that park. 

"Captain Aldritch, are you out of your mind!?" A voice echoed from behind the Captain. Commissioner Gordon himself had arrived. It was only expected since Captain Aldritch was using a good amount of GCPD force tonight. And men have already died. 

The Captain didn't reply, he was taken off guard. 

"Do you know what you've just done? Hm? I don't think you know the grave mistake you just made." Gordon waited for an answer. It was out of character for him to be this angry. Lives were at stake here, he had to do something. 

"You just set plants on fire in front of someone like Poison Ivy. Do you know what consequences your decision holds? She will not stop until everyone here is dead. Including you. We are the Police, we do not sacrifice city property and we especially don't sacrifice the lives of other officers to complete a goal."

"But si-" 

Gordon punched Captain Aldritch. Perhaps not as hard as he could have. Hard enough to prove him that he entered the GCPD into a horrid situation. 

"Arrest this man, I'm taking over." Gordon stepped forward as Captain Aldritch was carried away. He brought a megaphone with him. He'd have to do his very best to talk down someone like Poison Ivy. The GCPD got carried away tonight. Gordon partially blamed himself for the incident. If he could save enough lives, then maybe he'd feel redeemed. 


"Lower your weapons." Many of the officers around Gordon were scared, eventually they did listen to him. Commissioner Gordon then brought the megaphone to where he could start speaking. 

"Ivy, I know you're angry right now. If you could try to keep your composure and speak to me, I'd greatly appreciate it.The fire has been suppressed by the built in fire suppression system. You have nothing to worry about, you can talk to me." The Commissioner was taking an extremely large risk. He didn't know how Ivy would respond. He just hoped that it wouldn't be the worst. 

Part of him knew that Poison Ivy wasn't entirely evil. Perhaps he could get through to her. Although maybe it was too late for that. She was probably too angry to speak. 

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Unaware of what's going on outside, Poison Ivy remains hidden in her chosen corner. Deaf to the cries of the men not completely dead, she senses only the plants - the distress of those harmed, and even worse the agonizing emptiness where life once was but no longer. Eventually the water comes, raining from the sprinklers above. Even accelerated by the eucalyptus trees, the fire dies quite quickly - soon the last remnant of the flames is the steam rising from those places where the fire was hottest.

But it's too late - far too late - for that to curb her anger. So many precious little babies are now dead, and it would be bad enough if it had happened somewhere else, but this is a botanical garden for pity's sake - it's supposed to be a sanctuary for these plants! Though she's not so angry that she doesn't hear the words said over the megaphone. They just don't help. In fact, if anything they make her even more angry - she should keep her composure? There's nothing for her to worry about? So much pointless death and he's speaking as if it was some minor thing that they could simply talk over. No!

Gone is any desire on her part to show any sort of restraint - the only limit to her response now is the number of seeds she has with her. And the seeds that she carries with her far more than any other are vines. A very useful plant for her in any given situation - each is semi-intelligent, not needing her to tell it exactly what movements to make in order to do what she wants it to. Each can grow up to a hundred yards long if they're anchored in good soil and have sufficient water, and she has plenty of both around now.

Scattering the seeds around herself, they suddenly burst forth - growing at an incredible rate and already rushing to do her will even before they're finished. There's thirty six of them in total, but anyone watching them would be hard pressed to count them as they're hardly holding still - Poison Ivy directs them towards the closest of the police officers, each practically racing ahead of the others in their attempt to be the first to attack. Quite strong individually, as a group they break through the wall of the greenhouse as easily as if it weren't there at all.

And then they strike, each attempting to coil around one of the officers. They could strangle them or tear them limb from limb, but that's not what Poison Ivy has asked of them. No, she has told them only to capture - to wrap them up tightly so that they can't fight and then bring them to her. And she's left the bushes that had hidden her during the fire - instead she prefers to be among her vines, hidden in the thick of them.

[Deleted]

Commissioner Gordon was caught in quite the pickle. He couldn't stand around and just let his men die. No he couldn't do that. Poison Ivy was angered, she probably wouldn't be able to be stopped. And if they did manage to stop her too much death would occur in the process. Gordon started backing up, signaling his officers to back up along with him. Enough that he'd be able to increase the range that Ivy would need. They were far back enough now that they'd be at least a little safer. 

"Ivy... I know you can hear me." Gordon said on the megaphone. He knew he'd have to do something drastic to save everyone's life here. He could just leave. That'd probably be the better option. However he wouldn't leave his en behind. He was better than that. No man left behind, not for any circumstance whatsoever. "I know you're in pain. I know you can feel what happened to the plants. I'll tell you what. Leave. I won't try to stop you, my men won't try to stop you." Gordon knew this would be the best way. He just knew it in the back of his head that there was no other way. 


"I know in return if you choose to reply to me you'd ask me to leave. If you looked at the plants the same way I look at my officers then I know you'd understand. I can't leave my men behind. Those injured by the ignorance of the man that hurt your plants. You need to work with me right now. I'm going against everything I believe in right now. If there weren't men in that green house that I was responsible for I'd leave right now. We both know that I can't. Just walk out and never look back. Show that you're above this. That you're above the mindless murder that was committed on those that you hold dear." Gordon meant every word he said. Perhaps he could leave and wait for her to leave. Although that's not how things should be done. He should never abandon people he was responsible for. He just couldn't do that. 


"Please. Don't make an old man beg."

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

With the sheer amount of greenery around, it isn't difficult for her to sense the slight retreat of the officers. But they're not leaving - no, just giving her some space, perhaps. It certainly doesn't stop her anger, but she knows what to read into that gesture even though it only affects her slightly. Because when she's angry, she's... well, angry. Incredibly so. And hardly in the mood to listen to anything a man she cares so little about saying anything about how she should feel any other way.

Still, she's not to the point of being so angry that she's completely lost her head. Though she'd never admit that she ever gets to the point, she does, but though she's terribly close to it she's not past that line yet. And there's a part of her that's tempted by the idea of just leaving - it would spare her the fight, and though she's angered by the damage to the botanical garden she does trust that those in charge of it will take care of the damage. Not as well as she would, of course, but she wouldn't have the time anyway.

But that's only a part of her - most of her balks at the very idea of going now, leaving those who murdered the plants unpunished. Still, despite any rumors to the contrary, she's not without empathy. It's just that it's a bit of a foreign concept to her to apply that empathy to people except in a very small number of cases. So in spite of the man's attempts to appeal to it, the results of his efforts are quite small. Partly because she doesn't trust him at all and suspects that he's lying through his teeth and that this is all a ploy to get her to put her guard down. Still, it's not completely ineffective - something that's actually visible because her vines, sensing her mood, pause in their attack as she attempts to make up her mind about what to do now.

And when she does, they stay paused, as she hasn't so much made the decision as she has decided how she's going to make that decision. Stepping out from among the vines, she jumps out of the greenhouse through the hole that her vines made in the glass wall of the greenhouse, landing just outside of it in a display of easy athleticism. But there she stops, staring in Gordon's direction - not so much recognizing him as she is responding to the fact that he's the one holding the megaphone. "WHO GAVE THE ORDER?!? TELL ME HIS NAME!!!" she shouts her demand. She may not have a megaphone, but she has quite the set of lungs and the type of voice that carries - not to mention the fact that she's clearly furious. But she's willing to see just how sincere his attempts to empathize with her are, even though she thinks herself foolish for even trying. Just watch, he's not going to listen or care.

[Deleted]

Any hope that Ivy would cooperate faded one Gordon heard her demand who gave the order. He wasn't exactly surprised. He felt like he knew that she would have a request similar to that nature. Should he do it, should he damn the life of one man so several others could live? No, he would not do such a thing. He knew the system had problems, he knew that better than anyone. He believed in it though. He believed it should be innocent till proven guilty, everyone should get a chance. Captain Aldritch overstepped his boundaries tonight but that didn't mean he didn't deserve a trial, a fair chance. Gordon couldn't condemn anyone just like that. He was a cop, he couldn't play god. It wasn't his job to judge people, if he wanted that occupation perhaps he would have became an actual judge. His job was to enforce the law. That's all it was. That was the job Captain Aldritch was tasked with. Did he do what needed to be done? No, he made a critical error that could harm others. 

He knew that Ivy did mean business though, the vines that had been unleashed on his officers was evidence that she was no longer playing around. About six of his officers were snagged by the vines. However they weren't killed but dragged into the depths of the Greenhouse. Gordon now knew that he had to do.

Without saying another word, Gordon took off his trench coat. He then unhooked his shoulder holster and set it down along with his sidearm inside. He then took the megaphone and prepared to speak. "Now you know I can't do that. I won't do that." Gordon took a deep breath, with a heavy sigh. "But what I will do is say that I take full responsibility for what he did. It is my fault. If you want anyone... Take me." The group of police gasped, some of them were shocked. Was Gordon really signing his own death warrant over to a known killer? No, he had to be smarter than that. "I'm coming in. Rest assured that I am not armed. I have nothing that could even begin to cause you harm. Please do not harm the men that have been taken by the vines." Gordon handed the megaphone to a nearby police sergeant before he made his way into the green house. His hands suspended high into the air. Once he entered he saw the destruction, the burnt plants. The dead bodies of swat members, the charred men that were still alive suffering. 

It pained him. He took this failure personally. He wondered maybe if Aldritch was screened better this wouldn't have happened. 

"I know you don't trust me or the entire police department for that matter. I came to you, unarmed. I put my fate in your hands. Please, don't hurt these officers. You could easily kill me instead. I hope you don't of course, but I hope you now see that I meant what I said. You can leave now. All of this goes away. No man-hunts, nothing. You got what you came for... You can leave, I can go home to my daughter." This wasn't the first time Gordon did this. Putting his life on the line to defuse a situation. The officers that were taken into the greenhouse were put in danger. He had to do something, he couldn't let them die.

It had to be done. He just hoped that Ivy would try and understand his position. 

If she didn't? Well he had a good run. 

When you're a police officer there are many moments where they could easily be your last. You just didn't know if that would end up being the case. 

If it did turn out that it was your time. It was your time to pass. Then at least you went out doing what you thought what was right. 

That's how Police Commissioner James Gordon thought anyway.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

The way that Poison Ivy's eyes narrow instantly at his refusal makes it clear how she feels about it: not happy. And when he goes on to suggest that he accepts the responsibility, her scowl and the way she doesn't bother to let him finish the sentence before she jumps back into the greenhouse is yet another sign that she's greatly displeased by his line of thought as well. She continues to pay attention to what he's saying, but of course she doesn't care for anything he's saying. Instead she approaches the place where the vines have brought the six captured officers. Those not involved in keeping the captives bound have partway withdrawn themselves, pulling to a point just within the greenhouse but poised to strike - ready for the next person to walk within range.

Except they don't touch Gordon, as Poison Ivy told them not to. Partly because she believes him when he said that he was coming in unarmed, which means that he is, indeed, not a threat. That alone wouldn't have stopped her from considering him a valid target, but the other part of it is the point of the thing: any implication that the man is a valid replacement for the one actually responsible for the death of the plants is frankly offensive to her. Who does he think that she is? Does he actually think that his blood would appease her? He's not the one at fault for this - or at least, he's not any more at fault than are the other officers. Less than the ones who actively tried to attack her and the plants, even.

When he enters the greenhouse, he'd see Poison Ivy standing with the six captured officers - each of them is terrified but their struggles against the vines are fruitless, as are their screams, which fall upon entirely deaf ears. She's looking at them appraisingly, though when she hears what Gordon is saying she turns toward him with a scowl. "How dare you!" she snaps at him angrily, "'All of this goes away'? Will leaving bring those innocent babies back to life? No. Can I trust you to give the man what he deserves? No."

Turning back to her captives, she approaches the first one. "And you'll never stop hunting, because I'll never stop either. Not until the plague of humanity is cured," she states, before pulling the man into a kiss. Though he attempts to struggle away, that only lasts for a moment before his struggles cease. But he's not dead, as proved by the fact that he remains on his feet when the vines withdraw. Or at least, he's not overtly dead, but there's a certain blankness to his expression as he watches her proceed to the next one. She goes down the row, kissing each and getting the same result, except for one. She's skipped the female officer, who remains fully entangled by the vines.

Once she's finished, she looks back at the five men and says, "Get rid of our uninvited guest." And no sooner has she spoken than the blank expressions are replaced by resolve - the five turn toward Gordon and advance upon him, intent on immediately doing what they've been told and with no loss of their ability to do so. If anything, Poison Ivy's kiss has made them more focused than there were capable of being before. And as there are five of them and they're all trained police officers, she expects them to make short work of their former boss. Perhaps the only fortunate thing for Gordon in this is that 'get rid of' can be interpreted a number of ways, and the men have taken that to mean that she wants him kicked out, bouncer style. It doesn't really matter to Poison Ivy anyway - just so long as she doesn't have to put up with the fool anymore.