All the things I did,

Just so I could call you mine,

All the things you did,

Well I hope I was your favourite crime


There's something wrong with the tea.

It's almost the exact colour of her eyes - with the same luminescence - she can't differentiate them against the hue of the hazardous green liquid when she stares at her reflection on its surface. It's steaming lightly, either from heat or due to chemical composition; Nova can't be sure without further inspection.

But she can't shake the feeling that to do so would be considered rude.

The Joker sits across from her, eyes set on her with expectancy. He has his own cup in place on a saucer before him, but from the angle, she can't quite determine its contents. Nova watches him watching her, the realisation dawning quickly that he won't drink until she does first.

Hypothetically, if she did drink the tea - no matter what he's put in it - Nova's natural immunity to all forms of poison should guarantee that she survives no matter the substance. But realistically, she knows that Joker knows that as well - so the question isn't whether she's going to die, but rather what his intentions are in getting her to drink the spiked tea. In the past... he's demonstrated a clear and repeated pattern of maiming and killing indiscriminately - people he likes, people he hates, people he couldn't care less about - all are fair game in the mind of the Joker.

You're not exactly useful to him either, are you? You're not serving a purpose or playing a role in any of his little games. Face it: he's out to kill you and he'll do it with a smile on his face.

Shut up. Joker's a lunatic but he knows that killing me would be a waste and a direct affront to Poison Ivy.

Maybe, but it's just as likely that he knows how little she actually cares about you. He probably knows all about how you let her down, what a disappointment you are to her. Everyone knows you failed in giving her that edge over Batman when it came down to it last year. You're useless, and everybody knows it.

NO, I AM THE ONLY OTHER MEMBER OF HER SPECIES. SHE MUST CARE. SHE DOES.

If you're so important to her, then why did she pretend you didn't exist after the two of you were arrested? You sent her a gift, didn't you? Batman caught Matthews before he could deliver it to her, but she must have heard about it. Doesn't it hurt, knowing that you're nothing to her?

Nova physically trembles in her seat, unable to argue with the voice inside her head any longer. Her eyes are slightly too wide as she looks down at her tea, and Joker picks up on it quickly - he'd been speaking to her, she realises.

"Got lost in the ol' maze upstairs, sprouty?" Joker leers, wide grin borderline crocodilian. "Have a drink. Clear your head. It'll do you a whole lot of good." She doesn't like the way his voice descends in pitch until he's almost growling the words out. Henchmen occupy all corners of the room around them, and she knows that she is trapped. Joker let her out of one cage just to herd her into another. Harley left a while ago, at the behest of her paramour - she has things to attend to, apparently - no doubt something to do with the 'bat infestation' mentioned previously.

Nova's truly alone here, so maybe it's time to step up.

She crosses one leg over the other casually, bringing the cup towards her face so that she may smell its contents. The tea is warm, after all.

"What kind of tea is this?" She poses the question carefully, trying to identify the properties of the steaming liquid in her cup. It smells a little like chlorine, but there's something about it that she can't deny she recognises, somehow - there's even some trace of actual tea in there, too - thankfully no weedkiller, but it wouldn't be beyond Joker to find an alternative.

"Oh, it's a titan of the industry, of course! Very famous blend, you know - wouldn't dream of serving a good old chum of mine anything less than..." Joker has his eyes trained on her, tracking the teacup's proximity to her face. "You know, sprouty..." Joker switches tactics very abruptly, tone once again abandoning all pretence of civility. "I'm starting to feel a little offended."

"It's just... such an unusual colour." Nova is treading a fine line between diplomacy and disrespect, she knows, but what kind of an idiot just drinks something given to them by the Joker?

"Well, you're not one to judge!" Joker crows, smacking the table with mirth. The motion causes his teacup to wobble, spilling some of its contents - regular tea - whatever he expects her to drink he certainly won't be imbibing himself. "Look at you! Did you ever consider that maybe your Uncle Joker just wants you to feel at home when you drink your tea? Hmm?"

Enough.

"What's in the tea, Joker?" Her tone is dangerous, it almost rivals his own when he responds in kind.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, kid."

It's all the reassurance she's gonna get. Nova holds his gaze a moment longer, wondering if this look in his eyes is the same Dead Switch saw before he marred her face permanently.

While she still has the nerve, she downs the tea.

It's bitter, somehow a little spicy, and it burns slightly as it goes down her throat. Nova coughs but doesn't feel like she's dying. Joker observes keenly - like he's using a magnifying glass to burn ants in the sun - no small amount of genuine enjoyment evident in his reaction. He claps, laughing as she splutters and watches as she shows him the empty teacup before she places it back down on the saucer.

"There. It's done." Nova asserts, though her voice is a little husky.

The Joker grins.

[ I ]

The plants are screaming!

They're crying out in desperation, begging her to help them - they call for Nova too - or are they screaming about her? It's impossible to tell with so many voices wailing all at once, a cacophony so loud it forces her to her knees. Ivy claws uselessly at the concrete, wishing she possessed the strength to tear it away and allow the earth beneath it to breathe. She could communicate with her children better if she were closer to them, be one with them - and feel truly understood as she understands them in return.

Anyone who was keeping her from doing so will pay.

[ N ]

Nova turns to spare the Joker's cronies one last glance as she sets off for the Penitentiary. They're watching her very closely, eyes slightly too unfocused to not be chemically influenced. She smiles at them, forcing the muscles in her face to portray an expression of love for them she could never actually feel. They fall for the bait, waving enthusiastically and barging at each other for the right to be the focus of her attention.

That's enough for now. She can foster that opportunity later.

The doors to the Penitentiary are locked up tight - sealed with whatever technological capabilities Bruce Wayne's money has bestowed upon this place - Nova consults with the plant life surrounding the vast building but there's nothing to be done. No weak points. Bruce Wayne's influence is not only far-reaching, it turns out, but thorough.

Nova lets out a frustrated scream, regretting it when the plants that had come to surround her suddenly shrink away in fear. She softens immediately, beckoning them to her until they cocoon her so that she can nurture them by way of an apology. She's easily forgiven, as mothers often are by their children, and by the time she's done comforting them, they're more than happy to crawl up every inch of the building in search of any weaknesses. They probe as they go, desperate to please her. Despite this, and the thoroughness she kindly enforces, there's nowhere she can target as a breach point without knocking the whole building down.

Once again, she's left with no choice: Nova will have to find Harley.

Or, rather... she could wait for Batman to come stampeding through the area, as he's obviously going to do. Either way, she doesn't feel content to just sit around while Ivy suffers inside. Whatever Joker made her ingest has her feeling amped up and restless. The thing is...there's no way for Nova to find Batman unless he explicitly wants to be found, which leaves her with one, overly excitable option.

Harley it is. Again.

Nova mutters to herself as she stalks off, lecturing herself about the dangers of inspiring dependence and accidentally forging relationships with disgusting meatbags. Nature blooms around her as she goes, and the general carnage of a mass breakout at Arkham Asylum roars merrily in the backdrop. Her best bet is to-

What's that?

A familiar concoction of chemicals in the air catches her interest. It's nauseating, almost entirely processed waste and tainted fibres, but it's still strangely nostalgic. She can't quite put her finger on it, but she recognises this disgusting, manufactured cherry flavoured crap from somewhere. It reminds her of... someone. A behaviour of an acquaintance, perhaps, but who?

Without even really meaning to, Nova starts to follow it, casually sidestepping or decapitating other inmates whenever necessary.

She abruptly comes to a stop when she rounds a corner and detects gunpowder residue. A very small, very reluctant smile spreads as it dawns on her who the trail is likely to be leading her towards. More confident in pursuing this path now, Nova continues on until she's facing one of the doors that lead into Maintenance. Readying herself by brushing herself down to remove some of the debris from her altered jumpsuit, Nova knocks on the door.

It takes a few seconds but then it swings open to reveal Dead Switch, taking a long drag on a cherry flavoured e-cig and looking her up and down in open inspection. There's no hint of surprise in her expression, and neither is there open hostility - which is always good - but it does occur to Nova that her fellow villainess looks slightly harried. Another of Riddler's great projects must be underway.

"Oh, hey." Deborah greets her, nonchalantly. "You got any cigarettes, by any chance?"

"No," Nova deadpans, not even attempting to hide the disgust that colours her tone at such a question. A brief silence stretches out between them as they maintain eye contact, and then Dead Switch breaks out into a vague approximation of a grin. She steps aside and gestures for Nova to come in, following her through as she does so.

"Before you tell me what it is you want... I gotta show you something. You'll like it, I promise. Come on." Dead Switch leads the way, navigating them through a short corridor until they come out on the other side to find a complex of open-plan maintenance rooms, filled with several groups of terrified humans... all sporting bomb collars on their necks.

Nova doesn't try to suppress the smile this time.

Oh, she knows me so well.


And now,

Every time a siren sounds,

I wonder if you're around,

'Cause you know that I'd do it all again