Planning Ahead

[Deleted]

Aug 26, 2016 19:25:26 GMT -5 @mrwayne said:

Bruce frowned at the information that streamed across his desk computer. From his office in Wayne tower, he could just barely make out the green spot that was Robinson park. He turned from the computer and looked at it. As he stood up from his desk and folded his hands behind him, he looked out of that bank of Windows at the overgrown park. Five people went missing last month, presumed dead, last seen near Robinson Park. They were vagrants, low level criminals, or people too stupid to know any better, but it was the principle of the matter. Bruce was disapointed...not angry, vengeful, or self righteous...he was disapointed in her. True, she was a criminal, she's killed in the past, she didn't even seem to bat an eyelash. But he knew there was good in her. Her friendship with Harely Quinn was evidence of it. She truly cared when she wanted to. There had been robberies, muggings, even the occasional bank heist. But Ivy was never one for blatant murder or wanton destruction and Bruce really thought she was getting better.

He sighed and sat back at his desk, "retinal scan. Access code Jason."

-VERBAL COMMAND APPROVED-

Bruce held still as a blue light scanned his retina. When it finished, there was a ping and the windows were shuttered. A metal shutter closed over the door and his desk sank into the floor. Bruce stood up and his chair sank similarly, "bring up an aerial scan of Robinson park." The darkened room light up with blue light as a hologram appeared depicting the overgrown area. Bruce placed a hand on his chin and watched it carefully as it slowly rotated. There was a perimeter of plants surrounding the entire park. It could be assumed that was where the foliage was at its thickest. Inpenitrable by any conventional means. The plants had formed a thick canopy above the park blocking most of his veiw from the satellite. He could only assume ivy had done this on purpose, Isley was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Cant hit it from the sides, or the air.....but maybe...

"Computer bring up a map of the sewage system, focus on the tunnels beneath Robinson park." He waited for the computer to answer his request and smirked gently at the result. He found his access point.....and his bargaining chip. The roots had grown right through the old sewage lines and were feeding themselves the nutrients there. He would wait till nightfall.....then he would make his move.

Batman stepped through the darkened sewage tunnel, the only light coming from the glowing eyes in his cowl. He had been walking for nearly an hour, he had to be getting close. He had seen hundreds of roots growing down through the tunnels, but he couldn't be sure he was in the right spot until he saw it. The massive green root that nearly blocked an entire section of the tunnel. It was still moving as it furthered its grip into the concrete. This was the place. Batman looked down the tunnel and spotted more of these roots all similarly moving and undulating. He pulled out his explosive gel dispenser and went to work on spaying down each one he found. He pocketed the detonator and looked at the ladder to his left.

He slowly opened the manhole cover and stepped out carefully under the cover of night. Ivy would know he was here soon enough, if she didn't already. Batman looked about the abandoned aviary. The glass structure was crawling with life. Plants moved and twisted of their own accord and the sounds of bugs and small creatures living among the plants filled the room. If ivy didn't already know he was here, she would after he sprayed a bat symbol into the trunk of a nearby tree. With the touch of a button the gel ignited sending the tree ablaze almost instantly...now he waited...even if the plants grabbed him and held him, he would wait. Patiently, menacingly, as if this were all part of his plan....because it was.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Truth be told, Poison Ivy was aware that Batman had entered her realm even before Batman did. Well, she didn't know for sure that it was Batman at first - merely that there was someone down in the sewers. But this didn't immediately alarm her - though the world of the subterranean is, of course, linked to the world of the surface, she's accustomed to dealing with people who treat these as different things. Whatever worthless sewer worker that is wandering around down there doesn't matter to her, just so long as they leave the roots alone.

But whoever it is does do something to some of the roots - it's a chemical of some sort. Not herbicide - she'd be able to distinguish that instantly. Whatever it is, her plants consider it to be neither helpful nor harmful - though anything applied to a root that isn't beneficial and also coats it so that it can't draw up nutrients is at least an annoyance. Though that someone would be down there applying something to the roots without actually harming them causes her suspicions to be raised. She heads to the area above, trying to decide how best to proceed.

Fortunately, whoever it is has decided to take the guesswork out of the situation for her by climbing out of the sewers. Unfortunately, that person is Batman. Plants are designed under the presumption that whatever part of them is underground is relatively safe when compared to what is above ground, so the roots are far less sensitive than branches and especially the leaves. Though if he expects to be attacked on sight, he's insulting her intelligence - instead, the plants in the aviary turned greenhouse withdraw if they can. Rooted to the ground, they can't exactly get up and leave, but the vines especially can pull away a fair degree. But the tree he's chosen cannot, of course, escape his attention.

When the fire is ignited, the plants nearby seem to renew their efforts to put as much distance between themselves and the blaze as possible. Though what is far more helpful than distance is that fact that it's quite humid and the fire is therefore hampered from spreading. But that doesn't help the targeted tree, who can do nothing for itself. But someone can, and she does - it takes Poison Ivy only a few moments to turn on the sprinkler system above the tree, which quickly combats the flames. It's not quick enough to prevent the tree from becoming severely damaged, but maybe, just maybe, it's fast enough to save it.

Still, this action is not without its consequences - the sprinklers are controlled from only one point, and it's not a difficult location to determine based on the open construction of the pipes - which means that even though she's not immediately in view, as there are a few trees left between them, she has still revealed her exact location to Batman. But either she's not unaware of that or she simply doesn't care whether or not Batman knows where she is, because she doesn't bother to move or conceal the direction her voice is coming from when she speaks. "There are nicer ways to get my attention, darling," she comments, the anger evident in her voice.

But though she's angry, she's evidently willing to talk, though perhaps only briefly - her temper tends to have a negative effect on her patience. But if she wasn't willing to talk, Batman would be smothered in vines right now. It's been a long time since they last had the opportunity to actually chat - of course they've had their run-ins, but usually that's a straightforward fight from start to finish without a pause for an actual conversation.

And much has changed since the last time that wasn't the case - she's been getting stronger. And the very fact that she's allowing him to know her location is a new thing. Relatively recently she'd allow her plants to do all the fighting and hide herself at all costs - and for good reason. She isn't known to be much of a fighter personally, easy to defeat when confronted directly. But Batman has caught glimpses of her even more recently, running around with more speed and agility than she was before, and presumably this is a part of the reason why she's willing to let him know where she is now. She wouldn't do such a thing unless she thought that she was safe to do so. On the other hand, she's also not known to be shy about attacking when she thinks that she can win, so in spite of that show of confidence her behavior also indicates something else - she's being cautious.

[Deleted]

Curious....he didn't expect a blatant attack when he showed himself, but he at least expected a retaliation to the ignition of one of her "children". The sprinkler system activated and batman looked up. The open pipes all lead to a central location. He followed them out of the aviary and towards the rear end of the building, speaking as he walked. His voice was filled with menace and if ivy listened closely, it sounded almost paternal. Like a father scorning his child, "I'm not in a very nice mood. You made sure of that....five people dead ivy." He rounded the corner and stood in the shadow casted by the dimming light on the side of the aviary,. Only his glowing white eyes and his long flowing cape would be visible through the darkness, "You're out of control. Look at what you're doing. This is your one warning...if you turn yourself in, I'll spare the plants. Refuse....and not only will I take you in myself, but I'll burn every plant from here to Bludhaven"

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

If Batman thinks that Poison Ivy doesn't intend to do something in retaliation for the injury and possible murder of the tree (because that's exactly what it is in her eyes), then he's mistaken. She is merely waiting to see first whether it is wise to do so now or later. Much can be lost of she reacts with too much haste, and her plants will no thank her for revenge that comes at too high of a cost. And Batman is up to something - she knows that simply by the fact that he's here. He wouldn't dare come here without a plan, and she's already determined much of it.

So she waits until he speaks, fleshing out a bit more of his plan with his words. None of which cause any reaction at all, until he ends with his threat. Her eyebrow lifts and she immediately scoffs, "Five people? This is about five people?" That clearly amuses her, though that emotion is merely a ripple in her voice and across her face, only slightly disrupting the anger and deadly seriousness that she otherwise feels. "You would declare war against me over something so small?" she asks in disbelief, quickly adding, "Yes, I know darling, you care about them, but why risk so much over so little?"

A part of the reason why she can afford to feel so arrogant becomes immediately clear the moment that she's in view - there are a large number of plants behind her, currently shrinking back away from Batman just like the others in the aviary, but there are a large number of vines among them - which would be quite useful to her if this conversation came to blows. There's also quite a few plants around that Batman has never seen before - they're new - and what exactly they do is unknown to anyone except for Poison Ivy herself. Which doesn't mean that they're dangerous - she has reasons to create plants that are completely harmless - but the odds that at least one of them isn't some new horror is quite small. She remains standing next to the controls of sprinkler system as Batman comes into view, apparently seeing no reason to move.

"And what kind of a fool do you take me for, Batman?" she asks, "Do you think that I don't know what will happen to all of my precious babies here if I surrender? All of the plants you've coated with that explosive down in the sewers would be killed, just not by you, and many more besides. What you threaten to do if I don't come quietly is barely worse! Even assuming that you can take me in, if I resist I can at least get the satisfaction of killing the hundreds if not thousands of people who would get caught in the crossfire. Don't tell me that is the best 'offer' you've got, darling - I don't believe it." And now she's tipped her hand about why she's willing to talk: she's prepared to negotiate. Assuming that he's also willing to do so and presents her with something that she actually finds reasonable, anyways.

[Deleted]

His eyes narrowed when she laid her cards on the table. His hand balled into a tight fist and he grit his teeth. She was right. Another unforseen ripple in the plan, but one that could be adapted around. He let the anger show on his face, let her really belive she had caught him. Let her think she had outsmarted the bat and when she grew comfortable and perhaps even a little cocky, he would make his move, "You want me to let you walk away from this? You want me to just ignore those five people You killed? You know I can't do that Ivy. You're smarter than this. Think about it."

He frowned at her. This wasn't going well. She wasn't scared and why should she be? They had does this enough times for it to become routine. Perhaps this needed a different approach "Pamela...listen to me. You need help. Let me help you get it."

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

When Poison Ivy sees the anger in Batman's expression increase, her own expression of anger becomes colored with a certain smugness. Her powers have been growing considerably as of late, and she takes what satisfaction she can in the fact that she seems to have caught him somewhat off-guard with how much she knows. But she's indeed interacted with him enough times to know him quite well.

No, she doesn't know who the man is behind the mask, but she's familiar enough with him to understand more or less how he ticks. In this one respect they're quite similar: they're both manipulators. And to manipulate someone you need to know what they want and what they're willing to do to get it - in his case he has some ridiculous need to protect all of the annoying people who keep getting in her way, and unfortunately he's willing to do pretty much anything to get that and he's proved to be extremely resistant to any distractions from that goal. Which greatly reduces her options when it comes to dealing with him - it's quite irritating, actually.

Which is why when he states his inability to ignore the deaths of five people, as insignificant as they may be, she gives an annoyed exhale and says, "I know. We seem to be at a bit of an impasse..." While she's openly skeptical that he'd be willing to get into what would no doubt be a very messy fight with her over such a small number of people, it doesn't surprise her that he'd want to do something about it. But he knows much about what she wants and what she's willing to do for it as well.

It isn't completely accurate to say that she isn't scared, but it's true that she sees no reason to surrender. When the consequences of that are just as bad as a loss, she might as well fight and hope for a victory instead of giving up without even trying. And though the results of her past fights with vigilantes are considerably mixed, the recent strengthening of her power and especially the recent successful takeover of Robinson Park have left her feeling quite confident. But if that confidence had reached a point to where she felt that victory was a foregone conclusion, she'd have no reason to talk right now. Especially not when there's a tree not a hundred feet away still smouldering thanks to him.

What he says next annoys her so much that she immediately wrinkles her nose in disgust at the very idea. "Oh, not that again! Darling, I've left Pamela Isley far, far behind me, and good riddance to her! She couldn't accomplish even a fraction of what I've done, even with all the interference of you and all of your little friends. Besides, how would you 'help' me, darling? Throw me in Arkham City? Do they even pretend that there's anything rehabilitational about it?" she questions, scoffing at the very idea.

[Deleted]

He narrowed his eyes at her. Okay, sensitivity to her illness wasn't going to work. Time for an ultimatum. He let his voice grow dark, agitated, and menacing. Ivy, and every villain Batman's ever come across, would know this tone well. It was the tone he used when he had no more patience. When the criminal he was facing had exhausted all their leeway with the dark knight. It was low, gravely, and filled with rage, "I'm through negotiating with you Ivy. I gave you a chance to make this right, now the only option you have is surrender. How much pain you receive before the end result is the only thing you have within your control at this point. That...and how much pain I dish out to Harley Quinn when I take her in. Make your decision now, but if the next words out of your mouth aren't 'I give up'...You're next few months in Arkham will be spent in a hospital bed."

He reached into his belt and gripped the detonator. His thumb poised over the button, ready to depress the plunger and begin his assault...

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Of course sensitivity to Poison Ivy's 'illness' was never going to work - she doesn't believe that she has one! If all of humanity disagrees with her worldview, that's only because she's superior to them and certainly not because she's crazy. There is, perhaps, a small part of her that privately thinks that maybe, just maybe, she goes a bit too far sometimes - some last shred of humanity - but Batman is the very last person she would admit that to, even if there's evidence like her friendship with Harley Quinn that proves that it exists.

But she does indeed recognise the tone that Batman's voice takes on now. It surprises her slightly, and her eyebrow lifts - my, isn't he a grumpy one today? Yet she is otherwise unmoved by his words - does he really expect her to be afraid of violence at this point? Well, except when he mentions how much he's going to hurt her best friend, implying that it will be her fault - now that's just cold! Her lips purse and her expression becomes stony at that, and she looks quite offended.

Though she's about to fire back some words of her own - quite possibly about leaving Harley out of it - his last statement causes her to pointedly bite her tongue and compose her expression. Not because she's afraid to speak, but to make a point. She's being incredibly patient right now: he's quite likely killed a beautiful tree just to get her attention when he didn't have to, said a number of rather insulting things, and has threatened her best friend. Is it not abundantly clear that she doesn't want to fight? Of course it's equally clear that she doesn't want to surrender either - and if he insists upon a fight she's prepared to give him one. But she's pretty sure that there's some middle ground here - some room for negotiation.

Yet Batman has already declared the negotiations over, in spite of the fact that they've hardly tried - she wouldn't count him making unreasonable demands without even asking what she thinks about the situation as a negotiation. Is he on some sort of a time schedule that she doesn't know about? Or perhaps he's trying to take some ultra-moral high ground where he won't negotiate with 'criminals' - which would be rather hypocritical of him, if you ask her. But if he's going to insist on nothing less than her complete surrender, he's not going to get that. And since she doesn't want to fight him either that means that the only way to respond to his ultimatum is to remain silent.

And with any luck, her silence and stillness will point out to Batman just how hasty he's being - he has all the time in the world to decide what to do at this point. Perhaps he'll use that time to recognise that he has options besides attacking her or insisting on her surrender, but perhaps that's giving him too much credit. He is, after all, a man - and men seem to be quite fond of resorting to violence even when it isn't necessary.

[Deleted]

Of course he knew he was being impatient. He knew he was rushing this. Five people were already dead and every second this park stays in her control, he runs the risk of another falling victim. So far she'd been lucky. Adults had been the only ones fallen victim thus far, but this used to be a popular spot for kids. The park even boasted the largest playground in central Gotham. Who knows how long it would be before a child decides they don't want to listen to the warnings. That they want to go to their favorite play ground despite their parents telling them not to. Batman couldn't tolerate loss of life in any capacity, but with this monstrosity in his city, the risks were that mush higher. Not just loss of life, but the loss of a Child's life...that was why he was rushing this, why he was feeling impatient, why he felt there was no room for negotiation.

No room he felt, until he saw Ivy's demeanor. He narrowed his eyes and prepared for some action. When none arrived, he stepped forward, "If you want to talk, we do it down at lock up... After you relinquish your control over these plants. Turn around and put your hands behind your back."

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

"Relinquish my control?" Poison Ivy repeats after him, as if making sure that she heard the words correctly. A very large vine - as thick as her arm - slides slowly out of the foliage behind her, rather snakelike in its movements as it curves partway around her, only to stop directly in front of her. "I don't control them, darling, I ask. And they listen to their mother. And I don't think that they would ignore me if I asked them to - would you?" she asks rhetorically, her hand stroking along the vine in exactly the same way that Selina would touch a cat.

"And I am not going anywhere - especially not with you," she adds, her voice taking a new note of hostility, "How do I know that nobody would hurt my little darlings while I'm away? You obviously don't care at all about their wellbeing." She's just as concerned over her plants as he is about the children - even more concerned about them than she is about herself. Yet only a few minutes ago he caused one to explode - just to get her attention - and even more are set to explode even as they speak.

A part of her is more than willing to do whatever Batman would demand just to save them, but she has far, far more plants to worry about than just those relatively few whose roots have reached the sewers. Which means that she's in a rather difficult situation - she has to risk the few in order to ensure the safety of the many. And to say that wears on her is to put it mildly, especially when Batman is being so unreasonable. Forcing herself to take a breath and calm her voice, she continues to stroke the vine as she adds, "Of course, I realize that you have no reason to trust me. But is there nothing I can do to reassure you long enough to have a conversation? Besides surrender to you? That's a bit extreme, you know..."

[Deleted]

His gaze almost seemed to peirce through her as she spoke. His better judgement seemed to be taking a backseat tonight. Alfred spoke up in his ear, "sir, you can't really be thinking of trusting her? Thus wasn't part of your plan...sir? Sir?!" Batman pressed a button on is calm and Muted the comm.

He saw the seriousness I  her eyes. He knew she cared for these plants like kin, but at the end of the day, they were just foliage batman would never fully understand her devotion. To him it was an illness, she was obsessive compulsive and that all she was in his eyes. But perhaps for the first time, he'd seen it In her eyes. This wasn't a change of heart, batman wasn't about to forgive all of her transgressions and crimes, but it made him pause and listen to her plee.


He pulled the detonator out of his belt and held it behind his back. He didn't know what to expect anymore, but if Ivy tried anything, she was going to regret it, "If you're lying to me, you can't even begin to comprehend the pain your plants with experience..." then...he simply waited for her to make her case.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Giving his words a light scoff, Poison Ivy remarks, "I only lie when I can get away with it, darling." Of course, with a response like that it's impossible to tell whether she's saying that she's telling the truth or that she's lying. And either way, she could be lying.

Still, it seems like she might be finally getting somewhere. Which is good - she was close to losing her patience. Seeing as she has Batman's attention properly now, she figures that she should begin with a question that she should probably get answered first. "First of all, what five people are you talking about? When and where did I kill them?" she asks, sounding somewhat annoyed at having to ask the question. Because no, she doesn't know - she doesn't keep track. Why should she when they mean nothing to her? And she's killed hundreds of people in her lifetime, so guessing which ones in particular Batman has a problem with now is beyond her. Perhaps he's referring to people she's killed recently? But she doesn't recall killing that many people recently... Well, maybe she did, but she doesn't remember, really.

But if she wants to get Batman to leave her alone without getting into a very messy fight, she needs to find out exactly why he wants to have that very messy fight in the first place. If she can figure out how to satisfy whatever his complaint is in another way then perhaps she can get him to leave her alone.

[Deleted]

His grip on the detonator tightened. There was no proof and there probably never would be. Those five people were missing, presumed dead, not confirmed. But he was convinced Ivy knew, she had to. Even if she didn't keep track, she had to have known what her plants were up to, "If I could prove it, we wouldn't even be having this discussion, so don't play games with me Ivy...you want to talk, so do it. Be glad I'm even giving you the chance and tell me what you want with this place. "

His words dripped with venom. Malice and rage, built up over this already drawn out conversation. He wanted to take her down....but he couldn't. Not without risk of casualties that is. The park was built on a rather narrow street and if Ivy willed it, she could easily spread her vines to the adjacent apartment building. The fact that she hadn't even tried yet was something in and of itself, but the fact remained; if batman played his hand too early, she could hold an entire building of people hostage. That was why he didn't strike yet, whatever his move was, it had to be hard and fast enough to knock her out without a struggle. Alrhough, if this could be resolved through a conversation, he would take the opportunity. The only problem was, he already knew what ivy wanted and he couldn't allow it. She wanted to stay in peace here, she wanted to make this her new home. Unless, she proved him wrong, he was already preparing for her to make her unrealistic demands...

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

"Proof?" Poison Ivy asks in surprise, having not expected him to take that meaning from her words, "Who said anything about proof? If you say that I killed five people, I believe you - I've killed a lot of people. And I have no reason to deny it - there's too much evidence that I've done too many things for me to even dream about claiming that I didn't do it. So why bother? All that means to me is that everyone seems to believe that I'm crazy. Which is ridiculous, but if that's what they want to believe then why should I care?" Her attention turns back to the vine as she talks, and she continues to stroke it, seeming almost to be talking to it instead of to Batman.

Though she looks back at him as she adds, "I am asking you which five people because I honestly don't know which ones you're talking about. Am I supposed to be keeping track of all the people I kill?" Which is a ridiculous thing for him to expect in her eyes. People don't matter - not to her anyways. She recognizes that they matter a great deal to Batman for some reason, but she doesn't share that viewpoint at all.

"And all I want with this place is to protect it. And don't tell me that it doesn't need my protection - when the GCPD throws incendiary grenades into a greenhouse in a botanical garden, don't even pretend that the plants are safe!" she answers, rage coming quickly to her voice. All around her, the plants react to the sudden flare up of her mood, shifting slightly as if it has made them feel uncomfortable, or perhaps even encourages them to be ready to act, though none of them do anything that seems actually threatening. In fact, the vine in front of her seems to be encouraging her to calm down, nudging her like a dog might - encouraging her to pay attention to it instead of to her angry thoughts.

She's referring to the incident that began this whole mess in the first place - at the northern end of Robinson Park is the Wayne Botanical Garden. She'd broken into the gardens and was detected by the police, which resulted in a standoff, which was broken when the captain of the SWAT team (Captain Aldritch, who has since been charged with negligence in this matter) decided to throw incendiary grenades into the greenhouse where she was hiding. To say that his upset her would be putting it mildly - the resulting battle had involved a thirty foot tall tree monster and resulted in much loss of life (on both sides, though of course Poison Ivy's side was entirely made of plants). In the end she'd made a bid to take over the entire park, over a square mile in size, and the best course of action had been to rescue the survivors and leave her to calm down - since she didn't attempt to expand beyond the park and there was nobody left alive inside, risking even more lives didn't seem like the wisest choice at the time.

[Deleted]

He listened carefully to her. It showed on his face and in his eyes. He heard her, he was trying to understand. He thought he had a grasp on it, Ivy had holed up in the in the botanical gardens and instead of doing the right thing and contacting the MCU, Captain Aldrich saw it as a way to boost his career. Batman had been keeping tabs on the man ever since he became Captain of the swat. It didn't surprise him that Aldrich decided to charge in chasing a hero cop headline.

When he spoke it as measured and calm, "Captain Aldrich has been charged with negligence for his actions that day. He's been suspended pending a further investigation... Ivy I'll make you a deal. If you surrender and go back to arkham, I won't kill these plants. I'll talk to gordan and we'll relocate them. That is the best offer you're going to get out of this. You're not going to walk away....I think you know that. Take my deal or the next one I offer won't be nearly as generous."

He could have been lying. There was no way to tell for sure. It was obvious he would say just about anything to get her to stand down, but there was a chance he was telling the truth. Batman has accomplished some unbelievable feats in he past. Relocating some giant plants seemed like a cake walk in comparison. The only problem being, there was no way Ivy could tell whether he was lying or not. It was either trust the dark Knight, or risk throwing away this deal and getting into a fight with him. They'd done that before and it never ended in ovys favor...