Poison Ivy's Greenhouse

It had been quiet for the last couple of days, Croc was staying low and planning, not doing any moves until today. He approached Ivy's greenhouse and looked up at the building, slightly growling.

He slowly made his way to the house and knocked on the door 3 times, then saying "ivy... it;s Croc... I have a request.." for his plan to work, he needed her help.

Croc wore somewhat better clothes, the bottom part seemed to be some sort of old time mafia pants with the suspenders hanging by his sides. Wearing the same hoodie as before and heavy leather boots as he waited for the door to open.

Croc was willing to do anything just to get what he needed, because he needed to fulfill the next step of his plan, which proves to be quite tricky to do

There was a brief moment of silence, then the door swung open.

No one stood on the other side, but as he stood there, the thick foliage covering the entrance parted, allowing him a path to walk through.

Sitting in the center of the greenhouse, in the low branches of a tree, sat Poison Ivy. She looked at him, tilting her head, and the light reflected off her eyes.

"Croc. It's been a long time." she said, her eyes holding a hint of warmth.

Croc watched the door open up and looked at the plants, he slowly stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. He knew how dangerous the plants were so he was going to be careful.

He slowly made his way forward until finding icy, he was slightly hunched forward as he looked around "hello ivy… and yes, it's been quite a while since we have spoke.."

He then coughed "now, i already know you don't want to talk to me too much so i'll get yo the point... i need plants, a lot of plants... poisonous, those venus fly traps that can swallow humans... anything that is lethal.."

He said slowly looking at her. It was clear that Croc was planning something, but what? For now He was just setting up some defences, before she did answer he spoke again

"and i know everything comes with a price... tell me yours and I'll get it" he said in his usual grumbly voice, what would happen if he swallowed a cough drop? Nevermind that now.

She tilted her head, smiling a bit.

"What exactly do you have planned?" she asked, leaning back in her tree.

"If it inspires me enough, I'll let you have some of my babies."

She gave him a long look up and down. "I'm a bit confused, please enlighten me...you never seemed like the type to have large, elaborate plans...is someone else in on this?"

He slightly growled at this, but spoke up again "I need them for my new hideout... I need a defense while I am not there..." it was true, Croc had claimed the construction site and now, it was being reinforced and built as he wanted it

"no one else is on this.. besides me, I don't want anyone else getting involved and getting hurt... so I don't need to say in full detail... I just need the plants.."

he didn't want his new base to get destroyed whale he wasn't there, so ivy's plants would help him quite a bit. Croc slowly sat down on the ground, legs criss crossed

"so... will you be able to lend me some of the plants.." he said looking at her, some of his teeth having fresh blood on them

Ivy took a long look at him, her fingers tracing the bark. Green light shone from her fingertips, but she didn't take her eyes off Croc.

"Hatter's going to come after me." she said bluntly. "So, when he shows up to try and take me down, show up and help me. I'd do it by myself, but I assume he has some plan to take me down. You'll be a factor he won't expect."

"In return..." Ivy grinned. "Look around you."

The garden had shifted, and he was surrounded by sentient plants, huge, covered in thorns. Some sprouted mouths, others had huge violet blooms that were no doubt horribly poisonous, even as they filled the air with sweet perfume.

Ivy stood, walking over to Croc and gently placing her fingers against his forehead.

"You have command of these. Use them well."

"the hatter? i can kill him and eat him in seconds..." This was an easy task for Croc, as well... Hatter was about half the size of Croc in height and muscle mass, he could easily kill him.

Croc slowly looked around and looked at all of the plants, nodding slightly at Ivy thank you... and you'll have my protection from hatter... just have one of your plants.. tap me or something, then I'll come and eat the little guy..."

He wouldn't react much to the forehead touch as he slowly stood up afterwards, as he had control over them, all of them went underground as they got transported to his new hideout

"the construction site... is under my control... if you need anything else... just come knocking" he slowly turns and heads for the exit "thank you for the plants…"

She nods.

"I'll expect to see you soon. The Hatter should be making his move soon enough..."

Ivy walked up into her jungle of trees, allowing Croc to show himself out.

The plants followed his every move as he went..

Construction Site

Black Mask's drones got shot down, one by one by Croc with a rifle. Afterwards, he entered a somewhat built base, the outside was made out of pure titanium, the only way in. Was the front door.

Once Croc stepped inside he started setting up the defenses, leaving multiple trip wire automatic gun traps and placing the deadly plants, some able to eat a human as others would poison them to death almost instantly

Croc did have a room of his own, it was a giant swimming tank as he had a mirror on one of the walls. As he passed it, he saw his old self for a second

Not the green scaly Croc, Waylon Jones, the human before this skin condition. He almost instantly turned back to look at it, and it was just Croc again. He hit his hand against the wall as tricks like those, pained him more than any other pain

He got into the tank and slowly started to fall asleep.

Wayne Manor

It was time for the raid. Black Mask's goons arrived at the manor in large trucks. They were specially trained, disabled any alarms, broke any locks. The Mansion was ransacked of anything valuable- and then some more.

Of course, while Black Mask was no doubt enjoying the plundering of his former friend's house, the true treasure lay beneath.

Deathstroke had arrived at the day of the raid and simply got in the truck with the rest of the black mask goons, loading his guns and making sure they are in top shape

Once arriving, he was the last to exit the vehicle, keeping his hand on the rifle as he entered, looking around the place. He had nothing to take from the Wayne's as he found them quite amusing

He had hoped that one day they would pay him to do a job, but atlas, nothing happened and he kept taking his shady deals. He wanted to go professional and take jobs for the higher class. But that didn't work out. He got stuck in the same position. Only because of his moral compass

he started throwing books around and flipping tables, searching for something "why are we even here..."

The Caves

Black Mask wanted to see this for himself. He brought Annie along with him. She would be useful getting through the cracks.

"To bad Penguin couldn't make it- heard Croc made a snack out of his goons."

He waited for Deathstroke to arrive. The caves would be difficult to traverse, but he hoped to find the Batcave

Deathstroke made his way soon behind them, his finger tapping the side of his gun, he glanced at the two and under his mask he had a face of disgust. He hated working with family businesses but he had to play along to get the cash

He walked up to the two and looked around "too many possibilities where Croc could be... Couldn't do it in one night so I just called it a night and got some rest before this bullshit of a mission..."

He said with a tsk as he glanced at the two "The penguin would only get in the way, without his goons... He's practically useless"

"Yes, perhaps we can use them for smuggling of our own." And I won't ask you to kill Penguin- not unless he rejects my offer. Although if you're really scratching to kill him, I won't stop you."

They reached a dead end.

"Annie, would you kindly?"

"On it sir!

She began to clear out the rubble. There was a secret door beneath.

Deathstroke nodded as he looked at the rubble in front of them. As she started clearing he aimed down his sights and aimed through the rubble, waiting to see if anything popped out, out of nowhere

"Why are you even here... This seems like a trap... And if you try killing me black mask, I'll kill everyone in this room and walk out with your head in my hand.."

He could take down Annie easily, having fire on himself was almost always. Since he started working for Black Mask, he'd always carry fire on him because of Annie

"Now explain.. What are we even looking for" he said glancing back at Annie, having a missing eye made this a bit harder to do

"Then help her disarm the trap. And I was going to see if this was true when we got to the base. But now I'm 100% certain." He got ready for the reaction "Bruce Wayne is Batman. Or rather, Bruce Wayne is the mask He wears."

Deathstroke waited for Annie to clear the rubble before walking up and pulling her back, he got on one knee and took out a small machine, and placed it on the ground, he took his phone out as the machine started moving. It moved forward and sent out a massive emp, disabling every trap.

Once hearing that Bruce Wayne was Batman he stood up and clenched his fists, turning to black mask "are you serious? You're telling me this now... I could've killed the rich prick whale he slept..."

"No... I know Batman. He's prepared for everything. Especially the top tier mercenary. Besides, I don't think he sleeps in the house."

Annie opened the door, revealing an elevator.

"Going down!" * she chirped. She took out a torch to melt the bottom of the elevator, allowing the three to go down. with cabled planted on the outside.

Deathstroke sighed and shook his head, going down the elevator and arriving at the bat cave, he kept his gun up, just incase of any bums or robots that are set to protect the place.

"What did you even want from here... This place is cleaned out dry and the bat cave would be useless to us.."

He said as he started slowly walking around, checking every corner. Every door and every cabinet, to see if he could find any papers

"Is it? Batman left without notice. It wasn't his choice. He wouldn't just pack up and leave. Here, let me show you- Annie"

She put her hands through another door and opened it up. And there it was, the Batcave- the Batmobile, the Batpod- all covered in Bat-Guano.

Deathstroke walked inside, lowering his rifle as he looked around "the place seems... Empty, no one here..." he then put his rifle back on his side as he walked up to black mask

"Get your goons to take this stuff then... The 3 of us won't be able to even clear a small portion..." he said walking past him, going for the exit/.

"I'll meet you back up top then... I'll make sure we weren't followed and if we were... I'll kill everyone that did follow" He said taking his pistol and cocking it as he walked to the van.

Black Mask nodded, he called into his radio for his most loyal men to stop ransacking Bruce Wayne's house and come down into the cave to dismantle the items there.

Black Mask moved around, looked in the Batcave. Saw the costumes for the Robins- only 3 were on display.

"Guess she meant as much to him as me. Pity, thought I really got to him that time."

Several of his goons were awestruck by the sight. Black Mask snapped them out if it for them to do their jobs.

Many of the ransacked items would be auctioned at a hefty price. But the hard drive on the Batcomputer would be Mask's alone

The Cave was looking more like a normal cave than a Bat-Cave after the Goons were done with it.

Annie took a look at Jason's memorial. "So awful what that clown did... "

"Yes he is ridiculously elusive. But that's why I do what I do, Annie. To get rid of the freaks that plagued Gotham." There was a humorous encounter quite a while ago where Joker attempted to kill Maskie for stealing his favorite job- killing Robin.

Did Black mask enjoy torturing her until she cracked? Most certainly. But it was a calculated action. Had the potential to give valuable information. Unlike just killing for the heck of it. He told himself he had nothing in common with that clown bastard. He walked up to the giant playing Card trophy and shot at it.

Bristol Streets

The raid on the Batcave and Wayne Manor was a success. Most of the junk would go to warehouses dispersed around Gotham- but the real important stuff, the hardware of the Batcomputer- went to his clandestine factory where they attempted to decode it."

Black Mask soon got a call.

"What is it?"

"Well sir, it's the drones. The ones at Ace Chemicals found nothing but... the ones at the construction site were shot down."

"Looks like we found our Croc infestation." Black Mask texted this information to both Deathstroke and Penguin.

Iceberg Lounge

Soon enough, another figure walked into the bar. He was tall and heavily armed. Having very strong body armor and the colour scheme of red and orange combined

Deathstroke had gotten the message from black mask and needed to tell Penguin about it. As he stepped inside he couldn't avoid a drink. So he walk up to the bar and order a tour de force, getting his drink, he took a straw and stuck it up his mask, slowly drinking it

He needed to get Penguin's attention, so what did he do? He pulled his pistol out and pressed it against one of the goons head and said "tell the penguin he has a guest for him... And the guest has a very important piece of information" he pulled the gun away, and as the goon was leaving to get penguin, deathstroke shot him in the leg

Leaning on the bar and slowly drinking the drink through the straw "hm... This is not a bad drink.."

It seemed they simply kept coming, for Oswald. He had been content with how the conversation had gone so swimmingly with Jonathan. It had been rather pleasant, therapeutic almost. After the other number of unexpected visitors he'd gotten, he figured Jonathan was much preferred company.

He found he was growing quite weary of hostiles simply barging into his lounge and frightening a number of his clients. He had ordered said waiter, who'd looked as if they'd seen a ghost, to escort Deathstroke into his office.

Again, he was a tad astonished by who it was. Not on the list of people he was expecting. "Deathstroke," He furrowed a brow, unconsciously fixing his appearance again.

Deathstroke patiently waited, slowly sipping his drink, once the thug came to lead him to the Penguin. He pulled the straw out and place the drink on the bar counter following him.

Once he walked into the penguins office, he pushed the thug out and close the door, slightly nodding at Penguin, "Penguin.." He slowly walked up to him and crossed his arms.

"I've come bearing good news for you... We know where the Croc is hiding, I am an associate of Black Mask and will be leading this fight... Question is, will you be present? Or will you not" He said keeping his arms crossed

Oswald eyed his goon, with an air of professionalism, as he was urged out of Cobblepot's office, before his attention was back on solely Deathstroke. He would have to have another goon punished for the lack of respect and manners they'd shown, mentally adding to his list. His staff truly had grown disorderly without his presence.

He picked up his cigarette holder and rummaged around in one of his drawers for a lighter, lighting it. Taking a drag of the cigarette holder, he side-eyed Deathstroke as he listened to his words.

An associate of Mask. That gave him some peace of mind.

And they'd found out the Croc's whereabouts? How conducive. Cobblepot considered it. His place was here, preferably, with his son. Not to mention he had a sense of self-preservation, and he was no match physically-wise for the Croc. "I doubt I will be present myself, but as of recently, I've acquired a new ally. You've heard of the Scarecrow, I figure?"

Deathstroke made sure the door was shut right and slowly turned his back to the penguin. He watched his look for the lighter and light the cigarette, his eyes showing the usual hatred.

He didn't hate the penguin, it just was the most common emotion he had, hatred. He started walking back and forth, keeping an eye on the penguin, listening to what he was saying.

"I've heard about Scarecrow, but I haven't heard about your little alliance.. If you want to explain, do so... I don't care much about this."

He waved his hand. He got a notification on his phone. He had a plan on how to stop Croc "I have a way to actually keep the Croc out of your way..."

He walked up to Penguin and looked down at him, turning his phone towards Oswald and showing an image. It was a dark skinned man, but how would this stop Croc?

"This is Waylon Jones... Also known as killer Croc before his transformation... My plan is simple, get him to come out, make him have a mental breakdown by showing him the monster he's become... And then, shooting a bullet right through the back of his neck... Leaving him useless."

"Well, Professor. Crane may be able to assist you. In case any plan of yours goes awry." Cobblepot spoke in dull drawl, and took another drag from his cigarette. He felt fatigued, as so many had come in and out of his office in a single night; and his workload had only grown.

Oswald only raised a brow in question at the sight of the image, squinting. Was there something he wasn't seeing? Perhaps this man was an asset of Mask's? He didn't quite look like he'd be able to take on the Croc. Oswald's eyes snapped back up to meet Deathstroke's when he began to explain.

Oswald masked any emotion he might've displayed; unease, fascination, concern, exhilaration. All masked by disinterest. But oh, how intriguing this was.

"You make Croc out to sound like a docile, meek foe, and not an abomination. Very well, I wish you the best." He set down his cigarette holder. "I've heard of you before. You live to succeed. I hope this time will be the same."

Deathstroke saw the Penguin's sudden head movements and nodded slowly. Putting his phone in his pocket and grabbing a small device, fiddling with it "it will work... Seeing some older arkham files on him, if he sees his old self even once, his body will tense up and freeze."

Deathstroke turned his back to penguin, and walked away as he spoke "He won't be a bother for much longer, just give me tonight and he'll be laying on the construction site floor with a bullet through the mouth..."

He hummed a slight song as he took his pistol and inspected it. Putting his hand on the door handle "have some men come over to him later on... To... Have some fun and kick that freak around" he said opening the door and walking out

He shut the door behind himself and grabbed another drink from the bar, making his way out of the iceberg lounge and out into the streets. He hijacked a random car and made his way to the construction site

Oswald was satisfied with that answer, nodding in contentment. "Very good, then our Crocodile problem will be settled sooner than I thought."

"Will do," Now that that was done with, he was able to rest up. Albeit quite uncomfortably, in his office, but it wasn't as if he'd never done so before. But, nevertheless, he would need to make sure Martin was alright beforehand.

He got up, straightening his attire and making sure he looked as presentable s he could, before stepping out of his office. It was a plus that no one was really at the lounge at this hour. He walked over to Martin's room, unlocking the door with the key he kept on himself and walking in.

His son was sleeping soundly. He sighed at the comfort of knowing Martin was safe and secure, in no way of danger. Sleep did sound pleasant.