DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS GO TO DC COMICS I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR WISTERIA AND THE PLOT LINE! SOME OF THE PLOT LINE IS BASED OFF ACTUAL EVENTS IN THE GAMES!
Poisonous to the Touch Alison DeLane
My long, thin, green-tinted, fingers ran against the glass chamber walls I was encased in, as I paced, back and forth. I eventually took my place in the center of my cell, and sat down on the cold floor. I looked out of the impenetrable glass, and saw my mother, Pamela Isley, sitting across from me. They kept us in separated cells, so we couldn't plot an escape together.
You're probably baffled! Let me introduce myself. My name is Wisteria Isley, and I am one season old. How do I know this? Because my mother and I can feel plants wither away in the winter, and bloom in the spring. You may have heard of Poison Ivy, the plant-human hybrid that holds no regard for human existence? Yup, that's my mom.
How I came to be was quite easy on her part though, but risky for her and her supplier. She had a psychologist that took an interest in her, and she convinced him to bring her a bouquet of wisterias, hence my name. I don't know how, but she worked her magic, and there I was. I was a sproutling for exactly three weeks, not knowing how to do anything at all. Now, about three months later...I would say I'm eighteen in human years.
Warden Quincy Sharp had a ball when he found out that Ivy had "given birth" to a daughter, who matured at a surprising rate. They eventually had to separate us, much to Ivy's fits of anger and the way she fought to keep stay her only child. She considered all plants her children, but I was special, she created me herself.
The walls of the Penitentiary were dark and lifeless, like the minds of most who were in here. It was quiet, unusual for the Penitentiary, which held the craziest of the crazies. Screaming fits and random cries of gibberish littered these halls, and not to mention the guard patrol. It was fun listening in on their conversations, it gave me something to do while passing time.
But suddenly, the guards had run out on an order, guns loaded and ready to shoot. Mother didn't know why, but when we started listening in on Joker's intercom broadcasts, it didn't take a genius to know that he, the Clown Prince of Crime, was now running Arkham Asylum.
"Ba-ats! I know you can hear me! So, before you act all hero like, and save good ol' Sharpie for me; take a good look at this!" The intercom shut off, and I looked to my mother, who sat in her cell, fully alert.
"Act like you are in pain. Someone may be coming soon. Knowing Joker, something's going on." Ivy ordered, and I curled up in a ball on the floor.
A door opened, and in walked a pig-tailed blonde, dressed in a nurses outfit, modified to her own tastes, and a mask on her face. It went from her left temple to her right, but had openings for eyes. White paint covered her face, and red lipstick covered her smile.
"La di da, da di, da-"
"Harley, you have to help me!" My mom threw herself at the glass of her cell, making the blonde bimbo shriek, and quite frankly, scaring me too. My mother looked like hell, but how she went from beautiful to a frazzled mess is beyond me.
"Whoa! Hey Ivy, damn, you look like crap! Who's this little punk? She new here? She doesn't look so hot either..." Harley asked, her Brooklyn accent chiming into my cell as I lay there. I slowly unfurled myself, and stood up.
"Harley, please, let us out. If you can't, then let the girl out, I beg you." My mother clenched her stomach in mock pain, but damn was she a good actress. If she had been truthfully in pain because of the plants, I would be feeling it too, but I was perfectly fine.
"I don' know Red...maybe I can try an' sneak ya a bottle o' shampoo, but you two aren't on Mistah J's party list...," Harley pulled a slip of paper out of her bra, and unrolled it. She looked at it while biting her lip, debating on what to do. She shoved it back in her outfit, and threw her hand in the air before pulling her badge off her dress. "Ah, what the hell! You won't cause any trouble will ya kiddo? What's ya name anyways? Mine's Harley, Harley Quinn." Harley looked at me, but I just shook my head in response. She slid the badge in an activation lock, and my door opened.
I shook out my red hair, permanently set in loose ringlets, and took a deep breath as I stretched my body. Spores fell to the floor from my hair and skin, showering down like golden glitter. I took off the Arkham Asylum jacket that was "required", and let leaves form a dress on my body that ran mid-thigh. I had vines and smaller leaves covering my body like intricate lace, but the ones that consisted of my outfit, were much bigger. I stepped out of the cage I've been in for what seemed like years, and smiled softly.
"Wisteria Isley, and thank you. I owe you one." I blew Harley a kiss and she blushed before curtseying.
"Don' mention it doll! It's on me! Besides, you're pretty cute. Come an' see me an' Mistah J in the Mansion when ya done heya, 'kay hon?" She told me before cartwheeling, and sprinting away.
"Well, that was easy. Go off and look for Catwoman. She'll help you find a way to let me out, okay baby?" My mother told me with a flip of her wild red curls. She seemed calm and collected, where to I was nervous wreck. I didn't know what to do.
I started walking towards the door Harley Quinn had left through, but it opened before I reached it, and I took a step back cautiously.
"Heya Pammy, where's that girl I- oh hey sweets! I was lookin' for ya! Mistah J wanted me to give this to ya. I don' know what it does, but he said he wanted you ta take good care of it." Harley reached into her corset, and pulled out a key card. I took it carefully, and let leaves envelop it. Harley's head flitted to the side in amazement.
"Whoa, you're more like Ivy than I thought. You know where ta go from heya?" She asked me, and I just shook my head as we walked. I felt my mother's eyes on my back as we left.
"I've never been outside of my cell, except when they split my mom and I apart." I told her with a shake of my head, and let my hand run along the concrete wall. Ivy vines formed and spread like a blossoming flower.
"You can do some cool stuff, can't ya kiddo?" Harley looked at me as we walked slowly along the corridors of the Penitentiary. I really hoped Harley knew where she was going, because I didn't know a thing. Whenever I tried to ask Mom about anything, it was always the same answer of, "You'll learn and experience things for yourself my little flower. You must be able to think on your own in a world like this one."
"Yeah, I guess. I don't really know what I can do. I just know it's more than my momma can do." I shrugged, and Harley backflips, landing in front of me.
"Whaddya mean? Why ya so shruggy 'bout stuff? Ya gotta be bold! Get out theya! Make yaself known!" Harley twirled, and bowed, but squealed when she ran into an Asylum guard.
"Oh, we already know who you are Quinn." He said with a growl, and whipped a riot control bat from the holster around his waist.
"Back up Harley." I snarled and clenched a fist, squeezed, then turned it around. Harley back-flipped, and hid behind me with her hands on my bare shoulders.
"I've got you two now, and Joker is going to go dow-AAAHHHH!" He screamed as a giant vine broke through the concrete, and wrapped him up like an Anaconda. It twisted around him until he wasn't visible, then constricted. A few seconds later, it threw the limp body against the wall, and I reached a hand out to the vine. It wrapped around my arm gently, and I smiled as it wound itself around my fingers and such. Lifting me into the air a few feet, it twirled me around a few times, then set me back down next to a stunned Harley.
"I don' know how ya did that girlie, but I gotta give ya props. That was pretty cool if I do say so myself." Harley smoothed out her outfit, and we continued walking after taking the access key card from the guard.
"So where ya headin' puddin'?" Harley asked me as we exited the Penitentiary, and I screamed as a lunatic came running at us, full intent of attacking us. Harley held up the butt of a semi-automatic she whipped from under her skirt, and hit the lunatic in his head as hard as she could, knocking him out.
"Argh! Theya, that should teach 'im," Harley growled after kicking the unconscious body before we started walking again. "Now, back to the question I asked before we were rudely interrupted."
"Catwoman. She can help me free my mother. Do you know where she is?" I asked her, and she smiled.
"Oh yeah! I was talkin' to her no more than thirty minutes ago! Come on suga', I'll take you myself!" Harley took my hand, and we ran across the west side of Arkham Island, and into a door that slid open upon her presence. Thugs looked at her, silenced themselves, but continued talking again.
"How many thugs do you two have?" I asked her, and she giggled.
"Oh we got tons! When Mistah J was out of Arkham Asylum, he managed to talk to one of his old friends, and get 'em to set Blackgate on fire an' flood it. All our crew was relocated here temporarily." Harley waved her hand that wasn't holding her semi-automatic as she talked.
We walked to the Intensive Treatment building, and I opened the door with ease.
"So you've planned this? Take over Arkham Asylum?" I said with shock. Hey, I didn't know her long, but it seems like she did a lot of stuff on impulse. We walked through the main entrance of the building.
"Yeah, and it was difficult work too, but I'm willing to do anythin' for my Joker." Harley said with a sigh, and a dreamy look on her face.
"Hey Harley, ya wanna help me out here?" A man in a green and purple tuxedo, a purple tie with a question mark on it, and a green bowler hat, sat on his cot, sulking.
Harley just kept walking and humming, the bounce never leaving her step. I stopped however, and approached the man's cell.
"Hello there. What's your name?" The man asked, and if I could, I would've probably blushed. He was quite attractive, but was probably around 26.
"Wisteria I-" "Yo Eddie! Stay away from my baby or else you'll get it! Ya hearin' me?" Harley interrupted me to scream at the man. "Come on sweetie, you don' wanna talk to this freak."
I looked at him, touched the floor with my fingers, and watched as leaves scrawled a message. I waved and sprinted after Harley, who had taken off before me. I looked back to see the Riddler looking at me with a smile.
"Okay, here she is! Heya Selina, how's it goin'?" Harley shrieked as she grinned. I assumed the two were close.
"Back so soon, huh Harley? Who's the green chick? Reminds me of Red..." A slow, seductive voice said from inside a cell. All I could do was look at my bare feet as I felt myself being examined.
"Sel this is Toxic Thorn. Thorn, this is Selina." Harley introduced, but I had no idea who she was talking to. I looked up to see the two girls staring at me.
"Oh, hey. Nice to meet you. My mom said you could help me out with something." I said quietly, and I finally took notice of who Selina was. She had short, black hair, emerald-green eyes, and fair skin. She was lean, and reminded me of my mother mixed with Harley, personality-wise that was.
"Who's your mom? I didn't think anyone in here had kids. Did you sneak her in here, Harls?" Selina smirked and shook her head. Placing a hand on her hip, she looked at me straight in the eyes.
"No! If anybody did, it was Ivy! She created this little cutie! Who'da thought, our little Ivy wanting a little kiddo!" Harley feigned being emotional, and Selina rolled her eyes.
"Alright, well if you want my help, I don't think I'm much use in here..." She mumbled, and I swiped my card in her access slot. It opened, and she stepped out.
"Well, what do you need my help with kitty?" Selina asked me and I laughed.
"I don't see any fur on my skin Kyle, but Ivy still needs releasing, and we don't have the key." I told her and she smirked with a tilt of her head.
"Come on, that's all you got to offer? Alright, I'll help you. Besides, you seem like a cool blossom," She winked a green eye at me before continuing. "I can't do it like this though. Neither can you. We need to go to the Mansion and get my stuff Sharp took from me." A growl escaped her lips at the end of the sentence, but Harley squealed with excitement.
"Yay! It's perfect! Thorn can get me Sharpie fo' Mistah J, you can get ya stuff, and we can get the codes from Quincy!" Harley was overflowing with joy. Huh, maybe she was smart after all.
"Good idea Quinn," Selina cocked her head to the side with her signature smirk, but then narrowed her eyes. "But there's one problem. We can't be running around Arkham Island when Batman's here. He'll throw us back in our cells. I saw him run through here, in fact, he even stopped to have a chat with me."
"Yeah I know...he kicked my boys' asses down heya." Harley snarled and folded her arms with a small "hmph!"
"Can we please get Selina's things..." I tapped my toes on the cold concrete and the two girls looked at me. Selina with approval and Harley with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, but I gotta run. Things to do, people to see. See ya later ladies!" Harley shouted as she ran out. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Come on Thorn, don't wanna keep momma waitin' do we?" Selina winked as she lowered her back as if she was going to do a back-bend, then sprinted out. I followed in pursuit, finding my agility and stamina surprising for never having done anything in my life.
We took a sharp right after running out of the building, and came to the door that would lead us to Arkham East. Arkham guards on watchtowers were yelling orders to each other, shining their spotlights on us. I quickly slid my key in the scanner and we ran in before anyone could shoot. Sprinting through the hall of brick, we ran past thugs and two Arkham guards.
"Alright, Arkham Mansion...Sharp's office is in the very back...so we can go through the front for a direct route...or we can slip in the back or side for a safer route." Selina panted as we neared the Mansion.I skidded to a stop, and veered to the left, heading straight for the double doors.
Two guards with guns stood watch, and I held out my hands towards them. Two vine whips shot out and wrapped around their ankles as they saw us, and knocked them to the floor. Selina pounced on one, and I tackled the other. I pressed a hand over the guard's mouth, and read his name tag as I waited for him to pass out. Andrew Miller - Guard. His eyes fluttered shut and I stood up slowly.
"Sorry Andy, but it's just not nice to point guns at a pretty girl's face." I smirked and grabbed Selina's arm before we ran in. The door slammed shut behind us, making me jump.
"I have to say, you've got some gut for a kid. How long have you been alive?" Selina asked as we walked down the hall slowly, arms linked by the elbow. She wasn't much taller than I was, and if I'm being honest...I wasn't tall. I was about 5"5' and she was 5"7'.
"Only since winter...I don't really have a choice to be afraid or not. I mean it's do or die...right?" I shrugged and folded my arms across my chest.
"Why are you saying this kind of stuff," Selina stood in front of me, her hands moving with her words, and her face a mixture of horror and pity. "You've only been in the world for a few months and this is how you're talking! Did Pammy teach you this stuff? If she did I swear to god..." I ignored her and just kept walking until I smelled blood, and heard laughter. I pulled Selina into a doorway, and held a hand over her mouth, but making sure to not release any spores. Her eyes were wide and I held a finger to my lips, and she nodded before I moved my hand.
I stepped into the hall silently, and pressed my hands against the wall, creating vines across the walls and over the ceiling. I climbed up the wall, and crawled along the ceiling.
At one point I lost my footing and almost fell, but a vine latched itself around my waist like a harness. Thank god I was a plant, not only did they protect me, but I had bonus abilities too.
"Well, what are we going to do with this doc?" An inmate asked what I was assuming, another inmate.
"I don' know. Kill her I guess, maybe we should beat her around a bit more..." They snickered and I heard crying.
"Please, I haven't done anything to you. I have two kids and a husband." She begged, and I bounded across the ivy quickly.
The three came into view; a doctor cornered against a wall, mascara running down her cheeks and a bloody lip with a wounded arm, and two inmates with Joker masks on. I growled and rolled my eyes. I dropped from the ceiling silently, and saw the doctor's eyes widen with fear. I held a finger to my lips, and held a hand out to try to assure her I was a friend, not an enemy. She was shaking, and I sauntered up behind the two thugs, and put two fingers in my lips before whistling loudly.
"What the hell?!"
"Ah, my ears!"
"Hello boys, I want you to see just how terrified this doctor is." I grabbed the back of their necks, and smashed their heads together. They fell limp to the floor and I didn't bother holding back the toxins when I touched them either.
"Wh-who are you? Please, don't hurt me." The doctor stuttered as she looked at the ceiling, and back at me. I crouched to be eye level with her, and smiled softly.
"I won't hurt you, I promise. I can help you though. Come on, can you walk?" I asked her, and stretched out a hand. She took it hesitantly, and shook her head. I wrapped an arm around her waist, and helped her over to where Selina was hiding.
"Who are you?" The doctor asked me, and I chuckled softly.
"Don't worry about it, but if you really want to know, my name is Wisteria Isley." I told the doctor, and a whimper escaped her throat.
"Pamela Isley? As in Poison Ivy? Her daughter?" She asked and I nodded before setting the doctor down gently. I unlocked the door Selina was leaning against, and her eyes were shining.
"Yes, but I don't kill unless an innocent person's life is in danger, like yours was." I explained and escorted the doctor into the room. It was a receptionist's office, and I sat her down in a chair and handed her the key.
"Don't open this door until you hear an official safe announcement, okay?" I told the doctor, and she nodded. A leaf the size of a rag grew from my hand, and the doctor flinched away from me.
"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" She stuttered in fear, and I offered her a warm smile.
"I'm just going to wrap this around your cut to stop the bleeding. My apologies that I can't offer anything for your lip." I wrapped the leaf around her arm, and it stuck.
"...thank you. You are much different from your mother. I used to be her psychologist. I was removed from that job and am now a medical doctor. If a patient is hurt and stuff like that, I'm here to help." She smiled at me and I brushed a stray hair from my face. I looked at her name tag and nodded.
"It's nothing. I'm glad you are safe now Stacie." I left the room, and heard it lock behind me. Selina was waiting for me, a tear falling down her cheek.
"You're something...you know that? I don't think I've ever seen someone who's been in Arkham use their...differences for good. You didn't even think about that, you just...acted." Selina looked at me with something new in her eyes, and I linked my arm with hers.
"Well...being different isn't a bad thing. If anything it makes you special, unique, and remarkable. So if you're going to be known for your differences, let it be a good thing, not a horror story." I explained and she smiled at me.
"You are so young, yet so old my child." She ruffled my hair, and we giggled as we walked down the hallways of Arkham Mansion.
"This is Warden Sharp's office? Damn...looks like he's a total fraud." I scoffed and Selina just nodded as she flipped through papers. The door had been locked, but locked doors don't apparently stop Catwoman.
"He is. He's a total pushover too. Can't do anything for himself." She mumbled as she read through a file.
"Really?" I laughed as I opened up a drawer and found patient files. I slowly flipped through them, and pulled out my own.
"Uh...Teri? You might wanna take a look at this." Selina said slowly as she flipped through a few papers quickly, and I set my file on the table as I took the papers from Selina.
Patient #283517: Wisteria Isley - Professor Hugo Strange, from examination of this patient, has concluded that she can not be restricted or helped with even the highest level of therapy or security. On the date of November the Fourteenth, Wisteria Isley, female, age eighteen, will be sentenced to death. Being of plant species, as chlorophyll does run in her body, she will be put to death by the electric chair or being hung from the willow tree in the courtyard outside of the cemetery.
Underneath was a signature with Quincy Sharp's printed name next to a spot labeled, Warden Signature and Printed Name:
I put the paper on the table and looked around for Selina's things, trying to get my mind off of the document. I'm supposed to die. Isn't that murder? I'm mentally sane, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm only here because...well because this is where I was born. I didn't do anything.
I opened a drawer and saw a list of confiscated items and their locations.
"Hey, you up for a scavenger hunt?" I asked Selina, and she looked at me, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Depends. What'd you find rosebud?" She asked me and I showed her the list while looking through my file. It was empty. Nothing was in it, so how could they claim me unreachable?
"My stuff is definitely in here, just not this damn room. Come on sweetie." Kicking open the door, I could tell Selina was not happy, and that now, it was down to business.
"How come you're in here? You don't seem psycho to me." I asked her as we walked down the halls to our first site; the Eastern Corridor, where her outfit and gloves were.
With a laugh and a nudge of her shoulder, she answered me. "Thanks, and I'm here because these dopes don't know how to catch a thief."
"Really? Aren't they supposedly the best?" I asked her as we walked through a door, and into the Eastern Corridor. We kept walking until we saw a showcase with a mannequin inside, wearing Catwoman's suit, and her gloves were hung in a frame on the wall next to it.
"They're thought to be, but that doesn't mean that they are." Selina smirked and kicked in the glass, she stepped inside and I turned around so she could change. When I turned back around, it was a whole new person.
In a black leather suit, the zipper pulled a bit low, high heel boots, and a cap with ears on them, Selina looked a bit more like the Catwoman I'd heard about from the guards. I took down her gloves, and cracked open the back so she could get them out. I handed them to her and she slid them on, extracting the claws with a flick of her wrists.
"That's better...Now, where does good ol' Quincy keep my goggles and my weapons?" Selina muttered to herself, and I revealed the list in my hand by pulling a few small leaves back into my arm. I looked at it, and groaned.
"We have to go back to the main hall...how the hell did we miss that?" I asked her, and she shrugged. We headed towards a small door that we had walked through, to find it locked.
"What?" I shouldered it, and Selina tried picking the lock.
"Not so fa-ast! You gave away my special key to that sweet ol' doc you saved," A man with green hair appeared on the Arkham TV, laughing madly as he rocked back and forth in a chair. He had a red smile that stretched to both his cheekbones, and his face was white. My eyes narrowed and I put a hand on my hip. "But for every action there is a result. Good or bad that is. Hope you're intoxicated with laughter!" He let out another cackle before the TV went blank, and I heard a faint beeping noise.
"Selina, who was that?" I asked her and she looked around carefully, examining the room.
"The Joker, Harley's little boyfriend. I love Harley and all, but in reality, he is such a creep!" She walked around before back-flipping away from a green gas that was quickly filling the air.
"What is that?!" I asked, my mind in full panic mode. My senses sharpened as scenarios played out in my head.
"Joker Gas, it kills you. We need to find a way outta here, fast!" Selina shouted, and I jumped ontop of a counter, looking for ways to escape.
"Whatever you do, don't breathe! If you need air, get your ass over here! I'm 100% oxygen, remember?" Selina pursed her lips and nodded as she looked for an escape.
"Get over here! I found a way!" I yelled at her as I saw a small window that a figure like her's could be thrown through. She pounced up, and I tied two vines around her ankles. I pointed to the window, and she nodded, understanding what was going to happen. The counter was a good ten feet up, so she wouldn't hit the floor, but I didn't know if I was strong enough to hold her.
Jumping, she swung back and forth, when she finally gained enough height to reach the window, she cut the vines with her claws, and flipped in the air.
I bit my tongue as my arms stung when she cut herself loose, but she made it.
"How are you getting out?" She asked me, and I shook my head.
"Get out of here! I'll find a way." I told her, but she wouldn't move. I snapped a vine at her feet, causing her to jump out of the window.
The room was filled with green fog, and I could barely see anymore. I coughed, but didn't dare inhale another breath. A door was thrown open, and I jumped as I was grabbed by the waist. Quickly, I was pulled out of the room on a zip-line of some sort. I fell to the floor in a coughing fit, the air finally clear.
When I caught my breath, I stood up to see a man who was dressed like a bat. His suit was gray and black with armor built-in, he had a black cape, and a black mask that covered the upper half of his face. A yellow belt adorned his waist, and he had huge boots on.
"Are you alright? Is anyone else in there?" A deep, rough voice came from him, and I nodded.
"I think so, and no. I was the only one. I managed to get my friend out safely." I told him and he looked at me for a second.
"Go and hide somewhere safe. If anyone comes in here, stay hidden." He told me before turning around, but I just headed towards where I needed to go to get Selina's things.
"I said go and hide."
"I don't need your help, detective. Thank you for saving me and all, but I think I'm fine now." I snapped, and he took a step back, obviously taken a back by my comment.
"I thought...how did you get out of your cell Ivy?" He asked me, his eyes narrowing, and I burst into a fit of laughter.
"Ivy?! No, no, no. You've got me mixed up, Batman. Poison Ivy is my mom, my name is Toxic Thorn. Or Wisteria, whichever your prefer." I said while laughing, and his face turned emotionless.
"This is no time for jokes. How did you get out of your cell Pamela?" He demanded an answer, so I stopped laughing, just to please the man in tights.
"My name is Wisteria Isley, I am Pamela Isley's daughter. I have been alive since winter, and was born here. They separated us after I was old enough to take care of myself."
"You're not kidding...are you?" I shook my head and he turned around, his cape flying out behind him.
"Nice to meet you too Bats!" I ran ahead of him, turned down a corridor, a set of halls, jumped over a set of thugs, and into the Main Hall.
In a cabinet, I saw a whip, and some other things, but didn't know which ones were Selina's.
"Shit." I muttered to myself.
"Need help kitty?" A familiar voice came from behind me, and I whipped around.
"Selina!" I threw my arms around her, giving her a hug. She hugged me back with a soft laugh, and opened up the cabinet easily. She grabbed the whip, some weird looking contraption, and a metal sphere.
"Alright, I managed to get my goggles while you were having a chat with over there. Come on, let's get Sharp for Harley. We owe her one, and then we can chew out Joker, 'kay?" Selina smirked and we took off sprinting down another endless maze of halls to find Warden Sharp.