Now that you've seen how Batman beat the Knight (my version anyway), it's back to the battle for the GCPD headquarters.
Early heads-up: some things and events may be mixed because I either forgot to write them in earlier or it made sense to place them in certain times. You'll see in this chapter.
I liked the Cast Shadows story to whoever asked me if I read it. I can't believe I never read it all those years ago . . . I was too busy kicking ass in high school P.E. at the time of its publication. One person in one of my classes back then was obsessed with Poison Ivy and always mentioned wanting to write for DC Comics one day. I never saw that person again and I'm not even sure if that person's alive or dead today considering it's been 14 years since then.
Free advice: NEVER drink anything, water, soda, whatever, before going to a movie theater. I did that recently and during a good part of my film, my bladder was so fuggin' full to bursting, I could barely focus on the movie. I tried to resist the urge to piss because I didn't wish to miss anything, but I couldn't fight it any longer and I made a mad dash to the little writer's room! Better to miss a piece of a performance rather than piss my pants or end up in the ER for kidney problems. Since then, I've made it my personal policy to always wait until AFTER viewing a movie in theaters. Much better.
The GCPD was taking blow after blow from the cannons and machine gun turrets of enemy tanks outside. They would not stop until they brought the entire building down to the ground or were obliterated and Batman had already gone out to deal with them and the occupants inside were left to shelter themselves from the massive attack.
Barbara Gordon was busy working on her computer with Poison Ivy standing beside her. Ivy was keeping her promise to Batman that she would watch over Barbara during his absence and she acted as a bodyguard to her.
Barbara had locked down the main hall's elevator entrance completely in the event enemy forces desired to use it to enter the building and kill everyone from inside.
Suddenly, all lights and electronics inside the GCPD, including Barbara's computer, turned off. It was a blackout.
The instant that happened, most of the occupants began to panic and half of the station's officers were trying to calm them down and the other half were prepared for a firefight against any invaders who breached their way inside in the dark now that the station was vulnerable.
Because there was no power now, the only sources of light to use were flashlights and battery-powered electric lanterns which someone brought out and shared whatever there was to everyone else.
Barbara got an electric lantern one and turned it on. It was colored green, which she found kinda ironic for a certain reason.
"Does this place have any anti-breaching technology besides the one you're using?" Ivy asked Barbara.
"Some, but it's not designed to last forever and can be penetrated with heavy force or by someone with intellect similar to my own. Also, with the electricity disabled, that elevator is not operable, but it's also not protected either, meaning that, even without power, militia soldiers can still come in, assuming they find a way to use the elevator despite the outage." Barbara said as she tried to find a way of restarting her computer.
It was useless. She had no way of continuing her work online without the electricity.
Luckily for her, she still had the means to communicate with Batman via her earpiece and radio. The building's power failure was from a blackout, not an EMP, therefore, her said devices still worked. If only her computer were battery operated. She figured she should have gotten a laptop here instead.
"Good thing you can still talk to Batman with that thing." Ivy said about Barbara's radio.
"Yeah. I'm glad this outage is not from an EMP." said Barbara.
She suddenly got a call from Batman. Now was her chance to inform him of their new problem.
"Batman, the power's gone out in here. The schematics say there's a generator on the outside of the building. Go!" she said and got off.
"What do you think happened to the building's generator?" Ivy asked.
"Probably a slight malfunction. We need it to restore power to the building. Plus, besides my security code, Batman's car is inside the station's garage and the entrance is electronic and with the power disabled, it's trapped inside. He can't drive it out of here. But if he succeeds in reviving the power, he can turn the tide of the battle in our favor." said Barbara.
Another message from Scarecrow played.
"GCPD. THE HOME OF GOTHAM'S BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN. A BEACON OF HOPE IN A CITY OF CHAOS AND DESPAIR. WATCH AS I OBLITERATE IT AND THE LIVES OF ALL WHO COWER WITHIN ITS WALLS!"
"If only the outage shut that off." Barbara said. She was getting tired of hearing Scarecrow's voice throughout Gotham and frankly, so was Ivy.
I can't wait to get my toxic green hands on him . . . Ivy thought with inner anguish.
If my legs were still functioning, I'd beat Crane to oblivion! Barbara thought and remembered the time she brutally beat someone to the point where her opponent bled until Batman stopped her. That moment terrified her in later days, but at this time, she felt Scarecrow deserved one from her right about now for how he treated her.
Another message from Batman was in bound to Barbara who answered.
"Oracle, the generator's destroyed." he said.
"Dammit! Okay, there's a backup in the underground parking garage. But it should have come online." Barbara replied with a hint of light suspicion in her voice.
"On my way." said Batman.
"Looks like the parking garage below you is jammed open, but not enough for vehicles. You can access the generator from there." said Barbara and ended the transmission.
"You say that this spare generator you know of is inactive?" Ivy asked.
"Yes, but how can that be if we're-" Barbara said and stopped mid-sentence upon realization dawning on her.
"Oh no . . ." she said with worry.
"What's wrong?" Ivy asked.
"The second generator's inactive because some militia members have already made their way inside the station's garage and are tampering with the backup generator." she said.
"They're here?" Ivy asked.
"Only in the garage. If they destroy that generator too, returning the power will not be possible and we'll be in more trouble than we already are. That will surely play a large part in our demise at the hands of the militia." said Barbara.
"If that's true, then I should go and get rid of those soldiers before they succeed." Ivy asked.
"No, stay here. Batman would not want any interference or for you to get hurt again. Let him handle them." said Barbara.
Eventually, the power came back on. Batman had restored the building's electricity.
Barbara and Ivy saw the computer starting up again and minutes later, it was back online.
"Yes, it works again." said Barbara and she reconnected the computer to Batman's signal and was back to where she was.
"Oracle, the backup generator is online." he said to her.
"Good, let's get you out there. Head to the car and I'll . . ."
She stopped when she saw something very interesting and amusing at the same time on the computer.
"What? No way!" she exclaimed.
"What is it?" Batman asked.
"There's a a vulnerability in the militia's network. Idiots! I think I can hijack their drones." Barbara said with a grin.
Because of Barbara Gordon's abilities as a skilled hacker, the militia's chances of success just went south and Batman's went north.
"Good. Get ready for a fight." he said and returned to his duties.
Barbara then typed at her keyboard quickly to get started on her hacking idea.
"Will this mean victory for him?" asked Ivy.
"Positive. As large and dangerous as the militia may be, there's no such thing as a perfect military force because even high and powerful forces are open to errors and these guys have theirs. Like with business contracts, all technology has a loophole and I'm going to exploit theirs for Batman's benefit." Barbara explained.
Her computer showed Batman still inside the building's driveway tunnel as well as the network of the militia forces, open for her to hack.
"Let's hope he wins." said Ivy.
"He's Batman. He always wins. Ready Batman?" Barbara said to her and then to him.
"Ready Oracle." he said.
"I'll be out there fighting alongside you." she said and she and him began a combined countdown.
"5 . . ."
"4 . . ."
"3 . . ."
"2 . . ."
"1 . . ."
Barbara activated the garage door.
"Let's finish this." said Barbara as Batman drove his Bstmobile back onto the open streets, prepared for battle.
Ivy watched in silence as Barbara led Batman against the rampaging tanks, feeding him instructions on his targets, hacking them, giving words of encouragement.
Barbara Gordon was like a military commander and Batman was the soldier. In every battle like this one, there's a soldier doing the fighting and a commander telling him or her what to do because, due to the stress of combat, the soldier wouldn't know what to do if the commander wasn't there giving orders. By working together as a team, they accomplish more than either could on their own. Although Batman sometimes does succeed in missions by himself, but large conflicts like right now was one of a few exceptions where he needed help.
During the fighting, Barbara mentioned something about making Scarecrow pay for kidnapping her and her father and using them both as leverage against each other with deserving anger in her voice.
Minutes later, the fighting ceased and no more blasting sounds were heard.
"What happened? Did Batman win? Is he alright?" Ivy asked, breaking her silence.
"Yes!" Barbara said happily, much to Ivy's relief, and the computer wiz contacted him.
"All drones destroyed! We did it! No wait . . ." she said up until noticing something else happening now that ruined her happy mood.
A helicopter was seen flying over to the station's rooftop and was dropping off more militia troops.
"That's not good." said Ivy as she saw the screen that showed the live feed from above.
"Scarecrow's dropped infantry on the roof. They're going to bypass the security lock. I can hold them off, but not for long." said Barbara.
She typed again until she got what she wanted.
"Batman, I've got control of the security and utility systems on the rooftop. I can take the bastards out, you just set 'em up." she told him.
Barbara and Ivy watched the surveillance feed of Batman appearing on the station rooftop and fighting the soldiers by himself. Barbara helped out Batman by activating the traps on the roof which Batman used to injure and incapacitate some soldiers. He mostly used the traps on the large ones as they were tougher to take down than the regular ones.
Batman had finished with the first round of militia soldiers before a helicopter arrived and dropped off more and another fight ensured.
As Barbara was about to resume her duties, the elevator suddenly dinged, much to everyone's surprise.
When the doors opened, out stepped a few militia soldiers, armed and dangerous. A few simple foot soldiers and one heavily armored man with a large chaingun in his hands.
Their appearance caused the civilians to scream and panic, Barbara included though not actually screaming, and the police officers in there were prepared to shoot the intruders.
Unknown to Barbara, Ivy created, from her forearms, a set of twin vines with hard ball bearings at the tips. She held both vines in her hands and started jogging toward the soldiers. Since Ivy was healthy and clean again, she was now able to fight better.
As the chaingunner was about to open fire on everyone in the building, Ivy quickly lashed at the large man first with her vines like whips. She struck the chaingunner hard enough to make him drop his weapon to keep him from firing at anyone.
The other soldiers, who believed Poison Ivy to be dead earlier, were too stunned by the woman's presence to defend themselves as she attacked them next by slamming them against a wall and tripping their feet with her vines.
When they were down, Ivy used her vines to toss their weapons away with such strength, except the chaingunner's due to it being too heavy and being a risk to throw if it slammed into someone, while also ripping their mask helmets off with her hands and blew her pheromones on them the instant their faces were exposed.
In seconds, the defeated militia soldiers were now under her control as they were currently making goo-goo eyes at her.
"So beautiful." one said to her.
"I love you." said another.
Ivy ignored their comments and stayed focused.
"Don't worry everyone, I've got them. They won't hurt you anymore." Ivy said to the frightened people all around.
They gave no response except ones of aftershock and fear.
A few cops approached the scene, armed and ready.
"You're controlling them?" one of them asked.
"Yes. They aren't a threat as long as they're under my power." she said.
The militia soldiers stared at her like zombies.
"Are there any available cells left in this building?" Ivy asked the officers.
"There's a few left." said one of them.
"Lead the way. I'll come along so I can cure them of my pheromones once they're detained." said Ivy.
"As you wish." one of them said.
"Follow me." Ivy said to the brainwashed soldiers.
"Yes, Ivy. Whatever you say." they said dumbly and followed her to their destination.
The officers looked nervous as they walked with the militia soldiers next to them, but reminded themselves that Poison Ivy was controlling them, thus making them unable to attack, and she was working for Batman now.
The other detainees in the cells grew nervous when they saw Ivy again. They were utterly terrified of her.
Ivy stopped for a brief moment to address them.
"Anyone of you gentlemen have anything smart to say to me?" Ivy said to the prisoners to keep them at bay as she was in no mood to hear any insults aimed at her.
"No, Ivy! Nothing smart at all!" they said in fear.
"Good. I suggest that you keep it that way." she said and kept walking.
They approached an empty cell and one of the officers opened it.
"Get in." Ivy said to the soldiers and they obeyed without question.
When they were inside and the cell door closed shut, Ivy freed them from her control and the soldiers were back to normal.
"What the hell?!" one said in surprise.
"You're still alive?! Scarecrow killed you!" another questioned after seeing Ivy standing in front of their cell.
"She's a freakin' zombie!" another said.
With her job done here, Ivy began to walk back to rejoin Barbara, ignoring the militia soldiers' eruptive yelling and cursing.
As she walked, more screaming was suddenly heard from the main room and Ivy and the officers rushed back to see what the ruckus was.
When she made it back, she saw everyone staring and pointing at the chamber holding Kirk Langstrom. But he was not human-looking anymore. He had morphed back into his Man-Bat form and was screeching and smashing himself against the chamber's glass, trying to break out.
Everybody was terrified at the sight of the contained bat monster. What if he really broke out of his cell? Even some of the villains in the large cell were beginning to grow nervous. Unlike them, Man-Bat had no allegiance to anyone. He had no loyalty to anyone or anything whatsoever. He was driven only by the simple instinct to hunt and kill any helpless prey he could find, fly away in the face of danger and wait until the urge to kill and feed arose again.
I wonder if that cell truly is strong enough to contain him. I assumed it wouldn't with me previously, but him . . . Ivy thought to herself.
Suddenly, Langstrom was able to penetrate the glass and it cracked and shattered to pieces on the ground.
He was free!
Everyone screamed and ducked for cover or ran away while some officers aimed their guns at him out of training instinct, but held their fire due to people being around and not wanting to risk hitting anyone by mistake.
Man-Bat screeched and started to fly around, causing mass panic and going after anyone at random.
Someone tried to shoot Man-Bat only to be incapacitated when Man-Bat spat saliva at the person's face and eyes.
"My eyes! Oh god, I'm blind!" yelled the victim while rubbing at the afflicted area frantically.
Barbara grabbed the nearest object she could find to use as a weapon should the mutated scientist fly in her direction. All she got was a large book which was really a manual of police rules.
As the carnage unfolded, Man-Bat then spotted Barbara, much to her fear, and he flew in her direction.
Seeing what was about to commence, Poison Ivy quickly rushed right over there, summoning her vine whips again.
Man-Bat was getting closer to his target, but before he or Barbara could attack one another, the mutant scientist was suddenly grabbed and thrown away by Ivy's vines. He crashed against the cell that contained the super-criminals. It didn't shatter, but it did cause its occupants to jump out of surprise.
Man-Bat recovered and charged after Ivy in a fit of rage.
Ivy lashed her vines at him again, slapping him with overhanded and underhanded swings before restraining him in mid-air and pinned him down to the floor. She struggled to keep him in place as he thrashed violently, trying to free himself.
Barbara was worried for her because Man-Bat might free himself and attack Ivy.
Ivy, while still restraining Man-Bat, aimed a vine in front of his disfigured face and sprayed a misty chemical at him, releasing just a small amount to affect Man-Bat only and not anyone else inside.
Soon, Man-Bat was slowing his movements and within seconds, he was unconscious.
Ivy kept her vines on him until she was fully sure he was truly incapacitated.
When nothing else happened, she released him and retracted her vines.
Barbara wheeled herself toward the scene, seeing Ivy stare at the unmoving bat monster.
"He's unconscious, isn't he?" Barbara asked.
"Yes, I gave him a gas sedative." Ivy replied.
"How long will he be out?" Barbara asked.
"I drugged him to be out for about 48 hours. Two days. Long enough to find a new place to detain him in since he just destroyed his." Ivy said and the two women glanced at the now-shattered chamber.
Two officers approached the scene, cringing at the sight of Man-Bat, but relieved that he's knocked out.
"You alright, Miss Gordon?" one asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." she said.
"Where are we gonna put him in now? We can't lock him back in that chamber because . . . well, it's busted." one said.
"Actually, Dr. Langstrom could be placed in the interrogation room for the moment. It's not much, but as Ivy just said, he's not going to be active for two whole days, so he won't cause any problems until he wakes up tomorrow night." said Barbara.
The cops liked that idea and they carefully picked Man-Bat up and carried him away.
"Are you alright, Barbara? Any wounds or injuries?" Ivy asked Barbara.
"I'm fine. No wounds on me anywhere. Well, none from Langstrom anyway." Barbara replied, referencing her own scratches.
She then looked at Ivy with a face full of gratitude.
"You protected me from him before he was able to strike me down." she said.
"I couldn't stand to see you get hurt by Dr. Langstrom or those dimwit soldiers and I gave Batman my word to keep you safe during his absence and I don't wish to break that." said Ivy with sheer honesty.
"Thank you, Ivy." Barbara said gratefully and returned to her computer to finish where she left off. The incidents with the militia men and Kirk Langstrom kept her distracted from aiding Batman in his battle against the militia on the roof. She hoped her absence did not affect his performance above.
It didn't.
If only Scarecrow hadn't killed every plant in Gotham with that wretched toxin of his . . . Ivy thought bitterly. She was thinking this because she believed that if even one plant besides the ones within her body had survived the cloudburst radiation, or if the gas was never unleashed at all, the militia forces would not have stood a chance out there against her. The invaders would be defeated faster and Gotham would have been relieved of them sooner than later.
The fighting above soon ended because Barbara and Ivy saw on camera that the militia soldiers were all on the ground in defeat.
"He beat them." Barbara said.
"We're safe again." Ivy said.
"Yes, they won't be breaking into the GCPD building anymore." Barbara said.
While Barbara and Ivy were busy watching the fight between Batman and the militia on the computer, there was a confrontation going on between Aaron Cash and a man dressed in a fancy-looking business suit on the other side of the hall.
The suit-wearing man was Jack Ryder, a reporter for Gotham City's news stories and one of the most famous of the city's press members aside from Vicki Vale.
"You can't go out there, Ryder! It's too dangerous right now!" said Cash.
"I must. There's something interesting and newsworthy going on right now at the Lady of Gotham statue as I speak and I want to know what it is. It's my job as a member of the press to venture out for newsworthy stories for my company. It's also in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the 'Freedom of Press' part! You can't stop me from doing that! Didn't you pay any attention in school?" said Ryder.
"Legal rights or not Ryder, going out there at this time is suicide! Just wait until after this invasion thing is over and then you can pursue your story later. You're not exactly like Batman or his crime-fightin' friends. He even told you to stay put in here earlier. You really wanna risk your ass over a goddamn story right now?" Cash asked.
"Officer, if you don't step aside right now, I'll drag your sorry behind to court later on and sue the living crap out of you for denying me my First Amendment rights and for preventing me from doing my job and we both know who emerges victorious from that kind of legal battle. Do I make myself clear?" said Ryder defiantly.
Cash wanted to counter with something, but held back because Jack Ryder got him there. As stupid as the reporter was for what he wanted to do, Cash could not stop him and had to allow Ryder to proceed with his task or he and the department would be facing a class-action lawsuit by Ryder which he was allowed to do and the GCPD was going through enough problems as it is and could not handle any legal problems at this moment, especially from this man.
"Fine Ryder, it's your funeral and when Batman hears about this and saves your ass from whatever danger comes at you, I'm gonna be waiting here with a big heaping bowl of 'I-Told-You-So'." said Cash and stood down, allowing a path for Ryder.
"There. Was that so hard? Tell Batman where I'll be when he gets back." Ryder said snobbishly and walked past him.
"Ace reporter? More like 'Ace Retard'." Cash whispered.
"I heard that!" called out Ryder.
"You were supposed to." said Cash and he walked over to Barbara to tell her of this.
"Barbara." he said.
"Cash? What's wrong?" Barbara asked.
"It's Jack Ryder. He's done something really stupid." he said and told her.
When Barbara learned what happened with Ryder, she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"I'll let Batman know when he has free time. Thanks for letting me know." said Barbara.
Cash nodded and walked away.
"Oracle, I've cleared the rooftop." Batman said when he survived the fight and called her.
"I know. I saw on the monitors. Good work." she said.
"How's everything inside?" he asked.
"Well, a few militia soldiers managed to break into the station during your fight, but they were subdued and are now sitting in a cell." said Barbara.
"I'm sorry for not preventing their break-in." he said.
"No worries. You couldn't have seen them slipping by, but we're safe. Also, Dr. Langstrom changed back into his mutant form and broke out of his chamber cell. He was either trying to escape into the city or kill anyone he could." she said.
"What?" he asked.
"But he failed and has also been subdued and is unconscious for the next 48 hours." she said.
"48 hours? How did you-?" he asked.
"Poison Ivy stopped him along with the militia intruders. She hypnotized them into imprisoning themselves and used her sleeping chemicals on Langstrom during a fight with him. She said she drugged him for two days until better containment for him can be found." Barbara said.
"Is Ivy alright?" he asked.
"She's fine. Here, I'll put her on for you." Barbara said and aimed the computer camera to show Ivy to him.
"Hello Batman. Thanks for stopping those militia men on the roof. Everyone inside is safe. I prevented Dr. Langstrom from harming Miss Gordon and everyone else here." she said.
"Did Langstrom try to hurt her?" he asked.
"Yes, but I stopped him before he could. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe the stress of the conflict outside and the breach must have triggered his transformation. That, or whatever you gave him earlier prior to his arrival didn't work or wore off." said Ivy.
"Thank you for protecting her, Ivy." he said.
"It was my pleasure, Batman." said Ivy.
"I also have news of my own. With the Arkham Knight gone, the militia has a new leader." he said.
"Scarecrow?" Barbara asked.
"Slade Wilson." he answered.
"What? As in 'Deathstroke'?!" Barbara asked in surprise.
"Yes. He's back and he's taken over as new commander of the Knight's militia, starting with the attack on GCPD." he said.
"I thought he doesn't take part in assassination jobs unless he's paid to do them. Like Deadshot, he too trades blood for money." said Ivy.
"I'm going to guess Deathstroke already received payment for this invasion otherwise he wouldn't be here helping cause all this chaos." said Barbara.
"He did. He admitted it to me through my communicator." said Batman.
"Yeah, I bet ol' Slade's as rich as you, Brucey-boy. For all I know, one of you could buy this country with all that dough in both of your pockets if you wanted to. It would be 'The United States of Bruce Wayne' or 'The United States of Slade Wilson'! Sounds catchy, wouldn't you say? I would have loved to have a country of my own, but I'd call it 'Jokertopia'. Oh yeah!" said Joker.
"How will you find him?" Barbara asked.
"He'll find me and I will take him down when he does." he said.
"Wasn't Deathstroke one of the bounty assassins who hunted you seven years ago during the Christmas incident?" Ivy asked.
"He was and he failed. I'm going after him right now." he said.
"Okay, but before you do that though, you might want to head over to the Lady of Gotham first." said Barbara.
"Why?" asked Batman.
"That reporter guy, Jack Ryder, recently left the station to follow up on a lead over there. Cash tried to stop him, but Ryder just started shouting about 'freedom of press'." Barbara said with a light hint of annoyance in her voice at the last part of her speech.
Batman rolled his eyes from hearing that. He gave Jack Ryder explicit instructions not to leave the police station, but it seems he ignored it and now he was open to random danger.
"I'll find Ryder and return him safely before he gets himself killed or worse, Oracle." said Batman and departed.
"Question: how come he addresses you as 'Oracle'?" Ivy asked her.
"It's . . . a name that was suitable for me when I started working for him after my paralysis accident. Think of it being similar to 'John Doe' or 'Jane Doe'. The codename is to keep me safe from his enemies who want to use me against him, which has already happened earlier unfortunately." Barbara answered.
"Makes sense." Ivy replied.
Batman later returned to the station with Jack Ryder safe and sound and brought along someone else nobody expected.
"Batman's back with Jack Ryder and it seems he's also brought an extra catch with him." Ivy said to Barbara and the computer genius turned around and saw both Ryder and an additional person in custody by Batman and the police.
It was Joseph "Deacon" Blackfire, Gotham's infamous religious man who took his beliefs way too seriously to the point of causing trouble.
Batman stuffed Blackfire inside the cage cell with the others. He ranted about God and other holy things, much to the annoyance of his new cellmates.
"You're going to be in here for a long time, Blackfire." Batman said to him.
"Child, these bars cannot hold me. When the time comes, God will dissolve them like the hot wax of a candle and I will be free." said Blackfire.
"I'd keep praying if I were you." Batman said sarcastically.
"Oh, I will. I'll pray for everyone, for all of Gotham's lost children. Especially you, Batman. I'd do one special just for you. We could have done great work together. God's work! If only you would open your heart and accept His love. There is still time to save your soul. We are made broken, my child. Only the Lord can save us!" said Blackfire.
Yeah right. Batman thought just as Joker's hallucination showed up again.
"You gotta hand it to Deacon 'Blackbeard'. Anything that gets the homeless working should be encouraged.Y'think this Blackfire's a real priest, Batsy? It's just, I owe Gotham Church an apology for that incident with the hydrochloric holy water. That was one hell of a baptism. Speaking of religion, I think your plant admirer's a Catholic because, a few days after the showdown between us back at Arkham, I heard one guard say that there was a Catholic priest visiting Ivy to perform Last Rites for her when she was close to dying from the TITAN strain she was infected with, courtesy of yours truly, of course. From what I've heard, she used hidden spores or something else plant-related to restore herself back to health. Perhaps that's where she got the idea for her draining seed thingy you used on Jason. As for that priest guy . . . I don't know what happened next. I don't know if he's alive or dead and frankly, I don't really care. I was locked up in some deep dark cell with only a hanging lightbulb to keep me company, so I was left out of what came next."
Deacon Blackfire then began a few conversations with the other prisoners.
"This is our city, Deacon. We're the law around here." said Two-Face.
"Man's law is not equipped to deal with Gotham's injustices!" said Blackfire.
"Let there be light, Deacon! Easy, I can do that!" said Firefly.
"Cheap pyrotechnics do not scare me, child!" said Blackfire.
"Pyg on the cross, Pyg with nail, Pyg on cross, Pyg with nail!" said Pyg.
"From what hellish pit did you emerge?" he said to Pyg, clearly disturbed by Pyg.
Not willing to listen to the verbal match going on anymore, Batman walked over to Barbara and Ivy.
"What's he doing here?" Barbara asked about Deacon Blackfire.
"He and his cult followers captured Jack Ryder and attempted to offer him as a sacrifice. I prevented that and brought them both here." he said.
"Did he say anything about Scarecrow?" Barbara asked.
"No. I don't think he has any ties to Crane whatsoever." he said.
"He doesn't. I never saw Blackfire at Crane's meeting. Was his behavior influenced by the toxin or is he always like that?" said Ivy about his behavior.
"Blackfire was unaffected by the gas, most likely due to his strong, religious beliefs." said Batman.
"To put it simply, he's always like that. Behavior-altering chemicals have nothing to do with Blackfire's personality. It's all his own creation and some people are mentally resistant to those kind of things, like Batman is to your pheromones." said Barbara.
"True." said Ivy.
"I see you have additional followers of your own besides the police, Batman." Blackfire called out from his cell, causing the vigilante, the hacker and the botanist to glare at him with looks that said "shut up".
"The paraplegic daughter of James Gordon and . . . Dr. Pamela Isley? Gotham's most infamous botanist? Well, I'll be dipped! I heard that you had departed from this world after that cloud of death rained down upon Gotham hours ago by that sinner, Scarecrow. But it seems that the Lord has spared you from death too early for a reason only He is aware of. This must mean that the Almighty Father has selected you to become another servant of Him in the future. You would make a fine addition into the cult of our all-knowing Father, child, so long as you abandon your practice of plant science for it is one of Satan's methods upon Man." Blackfire said to Ivy.
"Like hell I'll join him or stop my botany." Ivy whispered while rolling her eyes in embarrassment from the thought of being part of Blackfire's religious cult.
"You leave them out of this, Blackfire. They are not yours to manipulate for your worthless cause." Batman said with a warning in his voice.
"Not yet, but they will in time. They just do not know it for now." said Blackfire. "You know Batman, I could punish you through this sinful nation's legal system for stopping me from performing my rightful duty to God. After all, despite this nation diving more and more into the world of sin, it is my constitutional right to worship freely without interference or censorship from anyone, not that it can protect anyone from God's judgment in the end, and you, sir, violated my rights."
"You're right about a piece of that, Blackfire. You do have a right to religious freedom, everyone in this country does. All religions, even cultism such as yours, are perfectly legal and can't be trampled upon as stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. constitution. But you're also wrong at the same time because there are limitations to it. While you can't be denied of your right to worship, it doesn't mean you can kill in the name of your beliefs as you almost did to Mr. Ryder earlier. That's still murder, so technically there is no unlawful violation here. You're able to file a suit against me if you wish since that's also legal, but it will still fail for the aforementioned reasons because no judge in existence will ever favor your kind of case." said Batman.
"I may not like Batman one bit preacher, but he's got you there on the First Amendment part being limited and how the courts will never let you win. I was a lawyer at one point in my life, you know." said Two-Face. He still knew most laws due to his past working for it.
"I am well aware of your past profession, Mr. Dent, and offering sacrifices has been one of man's bound duties to the Almighty ever since we were put on this Earth by Him. Many of His prophets before me have done it and I was meant to as well. It is written in the Holy scriptures and, like my rights, you also violated that too and we all know what God does to those who break his holy laws. No legal system can outdo God's system no matter what." said Blackfire.
"Like Batman said Blackfire, religious freedom in this country does not include ritual sacrifices of people or animals. There's a big difference between being a religious devotee and being a mentally-deranged murderer. You're a combination of both and that's what makes you dangerous." said Barbara.
"Mr. Ryder was to be sent to face God's judgement for his many past sins, Miss Gordon. I was to be the one to deliver him to our holy Father and Gotham's so-called 'hero' standing beside you, defied the Lord of His command. Not even your 'superhero' status can prevent God's wrath upon you for your act of defiance, Batman. You and your friends must repent while you are still among the living or you too will be spending eternity facing torture and misery at the hands of the fallen one as everyone else here will one day for their sinning against God. Even you cannot capture and lock away God or Satan. They lock you away." said Blackfire.
"Can I put him to sleep like I did with Man-Bat? He's beginning to become bothersome to me." asked Ivy.
"I actually agree with her." said Barbara.
"Me too, but that won't be necessary. I'll be back with Slade." said Batman and he left to find Deathstroke.
Ivy hoped Batman would do well against Deathstroke. She's heard, and sometimes seen, what that man was capable of doing.
Barbara and someone else whom Ivy didn't know of nor could hear, instructed Batman during his later vehicular battle against Deathstroke and a few of his minions.
"Do you know what every guy who's fought with me and walked away has in common, Batman? I got them next time." said the voice over the comms that Barbara knew came from Slade Wilson.
As the unseen battle commenced, Ivy then got an idea that would allow her to still help out despite being indoors.
Why didn't I think of this during the tank assault? She thought to herself.
"Barbara, tell Batman that I have a faster way of stopping Deathstroke." Ivy told her.
"You do?" Barbara asked.
"Yes, put him on for me." Ivy said.
"Batman, Ivy here says she has a way of stopping Slade." she said to him.
"Really? Tell me." he said.
Barbara handed her mic to Ivy and she placed it on her head and ear.
"Batman, while Crane may have destroyed my plants all over the city, I realized just now that his toxin could not have affected the plant life dwelling beneath the sea around Gotham. It missed them as it only focused on the surface. I can sense that they're still alive and I can connect with them. I was thinking that you get Slade and his tanks close to the bay areas, any place you can reach, and when that happens, all I have to do is telepathically link my mind to the plants in the water and have them assault tanks. It can save time and the trouble of fighting him." Ivy said.
"That's . . . not such a bad idea, Ivy. Okay, I'll lure Slade and his tanks near the ocean and when he's there, you attack him." he said.
"Deal. Just tell me when he's close to the ocean." Ivy said.
"Got it." he said and Barbara slid herself aside and watched as Ivy did her job.
Sometime during the battle, Batman has managed to lure his foes close to the ocean.
"Now Ivy!" he said.
"Here goes!" Ivy said and she closed her eyes and focused hard. She was able to telepathically see through the underwater plants and vines. She was also able to detect the enemy tanks, including Deathstroke himself, near the shorelines of the battleground.
With her senses, she got every plant she can control to spring to life and had them launch a surprise attack on the tanks.
"What the fuck?!" Deathstroke was heard saying through Barbara's frequency.
Some were thrown away and were either totaled or blown to scrap.
"It worked. You've managed to destroy Deathstroke's tanks in seconds where it would have taken Batman minutes to do. Only Slade himself remains." said Barbara.
Ivy made the ocean plants wrap themselves around Slade's tank and suspend it upside-down in mid-air. Deathstroke was trapped now.
She then saw Slade exiting his tank and Ivy quickly grabbed him with a couple of extra vines before he could escape and wrapped him tight enough to completely immobilize him.
Through the ocean plants, Ivy saw Batman stop his car, exit and approach the scene and Ivy lowered the trapped mercenary low enough for Batman to knock him unconscious with a single blow to his masked face.
"Thanks Ivy. You've made my job quicker." he said to her via the plants.
Ivy made the vine inch, with Deathstroke still bound, toward the Batmobile, released Deathstroke in Batman's waiting grip, and watched him stuff the downed soldier inside the backseat, hop inside the driver's seat and drive away.
With her job done, Ivy retracted the plants back into the ocean and released her telepathic hold on them.
"Wow. I can't believe you did that." Barbara said.
"Neither could I." said Ivy.
She hoped that what she did would not give herself away to Scarecrow too early.
Batman came back to GCPD with Deathstroke in his grip, walked toward the cage and shoved the assassin inside.
"You think it's wise to put me in here with all these lesser warriors? You might not have any prisoners left when you return." said Deathstroke.
Batman silently closed the cell door.
"Gather 'round kiddies. Uncle Slade's got another tale from the trenches. Ask him to tell the one about the mass graves. It's a hoot!" said Joker.
"I hope whatever they paid you was worth it, Slade." said Batman.
Deathstroke looked and saw Ivy standing beside Barbara, neither woman looked back as they were at the computer.
"So Poison Ivy survived her gassing and you got her to fight for you. No wonder I lost back there. The chance to fight you is always worth it, Batman." said Deathstroke.
"I'm flattered." said Batman.
"You should be. When a man earns my respect, that means I do not rest. I devote all my energy, everything I have, to killing him! I'm going to make it my personal mission to kill you when I get out of here, Batman." said Deathstroke.
"Beauty is Pyg's specialty! Pyg can make you young again! Pyg can soften the scars!" said Professor Pyg to Deathstroke.
"I knew a guy in Hanoi. Used to make wallets out of dead Vietcong. You guys would hit it off." Deathstroke said to Pyg.
"Ever handled a flamethrower, old man?!" Firefly said to Deathstroke.
"Ever seen a napalm drop at night? Most beautiful thing in the world." said the assassin.
"You have killed, but your tally of death is nothing compared to the millions God has consigned to the fiery pit!" said Blackfire.
"My soul doesn't need saving, preacher man. I sold it a long time ago." he told him.
Rather than approach Ivy and Barbara again, Batman went to check on Jack Ryder first who was inside the other interview room different from where Ivy and Hatter were previously.
He had told Jack Ryder to leave Gotham with an escort earlier. The reporter refused and it almost cost him his life.
"You gonna rub it in his face, Bruce? I would if I were the one who saved him. He owes you big time!" said Joker.
"You were lucky, Ryder." he said when he saw Jack Ryder sitting at the room's desk, going through some papers.
"Thanks for saving me, man. I mean, I had it under control. It was all part of the act, you know. Getting up close and personal." said Ryder.
The idea of saving a man who intentionally and stupidly put himself at risk for the sake of his career irritated Batman. Still, he had to save him no matter how stupid Ryder's plan was. There were people who put themselves on the line too such as cops, military soldiers, paramedics, delivery workers, but Ryder's reason was out of selfishness, greed and stupidity.
"Next time, I'll leave you there." Batman said. He never meant it, he only said it to scare Ryder for his stupid decision to venture into Gotham when it was completely unsafe.
"Ha, cute. If I died, who would you talk to?" Ryder asked humorously.
"Be warned. I'm not saving you again tonight." said Batman firmly.
"What, this? Purely above aboard. Queen Industries launched a new company last week, Q-CORE. I'm doing a follow-up piece about the owner. A real sharp shooter." said Ryder.
"I'm sure." said Batman.
"I'll send you a copy. So, Batman. Book titles. I'm thinking 'Blackfire, Black Heart: Jack Ryder Uncovers A True Story Of Modern Day Human Sacrifice In Gotham'. Or maybe just 'The Cult'." Ryder asked.
"Not my problem, Ryder." he said.
"I'm going to be famous, Batman. Those sacrificial victims didn't die for nothing." Ryder replied.
Batman wanted to sock Ryder in the face for that remark. It sounded completely disrespectful to those who died by Blackfire's hand. He was implying that those whom Blackfire killed had to die in order to achieve his upcoming fame. But hurting him would raise questions from the station's occupants and he restrained his growing anger.
"This moronic reporter wants to make a book on the crap he went through with Blackfire after almost winding up as a sacrifice and he's using the poor sacrifice victims as inspiration for his idea? You should angrily tell him that he should show some goddamned respect to the dead like a real man. What a nutjob . . . and I should know 'cause I was one once and I still am in your head, Bats. I think you should get ahold of whatever leftover toxin Scarecrow might have stashed, infect Ryder with it and have it scare him into reconsidering his book plans or whatever stupid thing he tries in the future like tonight. He'd probably shit and piss in his pants if that happened! Hoo-hoo-hoo! That would be so hilarious!" said Joker.
Disturbed by Ryder's idea, Batman left the room and regrouped with Barbara and Ivy.
"I'm almost close to Scarecrow." he said.
"Good. There's just one more obstacle to take care of before dealing with Crane." said Barbara.
"Riddler. He said he'd face me if I first solved all of his bothersome riddles hidden throughout the entire city and now that I have, he has to make good on his promise. But I'm going to need some help with him and Selina's long gone now." said Batman and he looked at Ivy.
"What?" Ivy asked in confusion. Barbara wondered the same thing.
"Ivy, now that you're healthy again, how would you like to help me apprehend Riddler?" he asked her.
"You want me to come with you to catch Nygma?" Ivy asked.
"Certainly." he said.
"Alright. I could use the exercise to try my new healthy form out. When do we leave?" Ivy said.
"Right now." he said and walked out of the building with Ivy following him.
"Whoo-wee! The new Dynamic Duo of Batman and Poison Ivy! You need her because, you know, you ditched Robin the Boy Wonder. I can't wait to see how 'Salad-Girl' will do against Riddler. Maybe she'll give him an itchy riddle to solve. Get it, 'itchy'? Because of her ability to make people break out into hives or have serious itching with her toxic touch like she did with Cobblepot earlier? Ah, you get me, Bats! Maybe you should give her a cape and mask to wear just like you and your other super-friends do, except Nightwing and Catwoman, of course. They don't wear capes 'cause it's not their thing." said Joker.
Batman was starting to grow irritated and weary of Joker's hallucination popping up every time. He wondered if Ivy could help get rid of his problem with her knowledge and abilities when this was over.
When they made it outside, Ivy got into the backseat again, Batman got into the driver's seat and the two took off into the city.
They were going after Edward Nygma.
Finally, another chapter completed. What do you think? Good or bad? Half of what you've read is re-written material I removed from my last chapter because I gave some of the plot details too early.
Up next is Riddler and Ivy will be joining Batman again for the upcoming fight against him. How will it go?
I hope you all had a good X-mas and a Happy New Year. I know I did. I was gone for a while on holiday break and I had little access to my laptop. I got a bass guitar for X-mas and I've been playing the hell out of it since. My fingers are kinda sore as I type this. I wonder how the hell other pro bassists tolerate that kind of pain?
With the exception of the Deathstroke battle, I skipped most of the fights Batman has with his enemies because I didn't want to spend too long in writing them and focus on Ivy again. We all know how the battles ended in the game anyway, so I didn't bother adding them, unless it involves Poison Ivy.
The scene where the soldiers breach the GCPD is what happens if you die during the tank invasion scene.
Ivy's "vine whips" are borrowed from "Injustice 2". She has a move that lets her whack enemies with a vine like a whip or mace. Though I have to admit that she is hard to control in that game. A fan of my fics admitted it to me and I agreed with that person. I can't control one of DC's interesting characters in my favorite fighting game . . .
I'm now also the new owner of a kitten I found near my home. It was cold outside and the kitten was shivering and so I invited it in my home for warmth and snacks. The cat gobbled them up like mad. I later took it to a vet and had it examined for illnesses, injuries or tracking chips in case somebody else owned it. None came true and I decided to adopt the cat myself. I've yet to decide a name for it.
I'm almost done with this fic. Just a few more chapters left and I even have a sequel in mind after this story ends, but it's to be a mini-sequel rather than a full one. I've never done sequels before.
I'm also thinking about bringing back my "2 endings" idea for this fic. One where Batman's unmasked as in the game and one where it doesn't happen.