Ivy wandered through the abandoned village outside Gotham, the buildings blown to bits and large impact craters dotting the streets, the only building left standing being a modest church in the center of the town. When she had heard that Joker's gang had been decimated she'd been ecstatic, laughing at her television as the camera panned across the still burning town. Immediately after the military had swooped in to clean up the mess, removing the bodies and discarded equipment, leaving the village an empty husk. But being here in person, the flora surrounding the town replayed the events in her mind and she smiled happily as she watched the destruction.

It was beginning to get dark as Ivy completed her tour of the village and she took shelter in the abandoned church, shutting the doors behind her. Taking in her surroundings Ivy was unsettled by how eerie the church looked as the moonlight cast ominous shadows around the interior. Ivy wasn't a religious person by any means nor did she believe in ghosts or demons, but she couldn't escape the feeling that she was being watched as she strode through the house devoted to God. What disturbed her the most was a statue depicting Jesus on the cross, his eyes seemed to follow her across the room, judging her, so she remedied the issue by throwing a tarp over the statue.

With her mind at ease Ivy set about making her sleeping arrangements, removing her sleeping bag from her pack and climbing in. She didn't need to worry about being discovered, the plants outside would alert her if anyone came snooping around, and even alone as she was she was more than capable of handling herself.

...

Waking at the crack of dawn Ivy packed away her sleeping bag and munched on some of the food she'd brought along before heading north into the woods, putting the abandoned town behind her. Walking through the forest, being surrounded by nature, and breathing in the fresh air was a relaxing change from being in the congested city environment of Gotham. But the serenity was quickly broken as the noise of rotors overwhelmed the quiet.

Looking up through the canopy Ivy spotted the offending aircraft, a soviet era MI-24 gunship flew overhead in the same direction she was traveling. Penguin didn't own such a craft so it must have belonged to the New Era, how they managed to operate the craft without being detected was a mystery to her but if they owned one of those what else did they have in their arsenal?

Once the gunship was gone Ivy was alerted to a new noise, this time a convoy of expensive black cars belonging to Penguin drove down the nearby road. Ivy quickly dropped to her stomach and hid behind a shrub to avoid detection, her black and green suit combined with the swirling green patterns that covered her skin breaking up the shape of her body, her flaming red hair being the only thing that would give her away if one looked hard enough. She hadn't brought any weapons with her, the forest providing her with all the offensive capabilities she'd need, but this was a recon mission so avoiding contact was in her best interest. Once the cars passed Ivy resumed her journey, quickening her pace to arrive on time.

Using the plants to guide her, Ivy came across a clearing where Penguin's convoy had halted, armed guards patrolling around the area. She once again laid on her stomach to obscure herself just as the gunship flew back overhead, circling once before touching down across from the cars.

As the rotors slowed to a halt the gunships side door opened and several New Era troopers jumped out to secure the area. Ivy hadn't faced the troopers yet herself, but these ones looked different from the one's she'd heard about, likely using the past few months to update their gear. They now wore urban disruptive camouflage fatigues under coyote tan flak jackets, their faces covered by balaclavas and Kevlar helmets instead of the all black uniforms they used to wear. The troopers cradled variants of the Israeli Galil assault rifle in their arms and carried a sidearm on their hip. They looked more like a professional military force compared to Penguin's goons with their mismatched armor and Chinese Type-56 AK knockoffs.

One of the troopers spoke back into the gunship before two more people stepped out, one being the woman Ivy had heard about and the other an older man close to General Anderson's age. Ivy recognized the woman from Harley's description of her failed date with Alex, Caucasian brunette with ragged scars along the left side of her face where Alex had smashed a bottle across. She even carried the same shotgun she'd threatened Ivy's friends with across her back. The man was also Caucasian with short graying dark hair, his features withered with age but despite his apparent frailty he carried himself in a way that commanded authority.

Across from them Penguin emerged from his limousine and to Ivy's surprise Catwoman and Bane in tow. Penguin had likely hired the large, Venom addicted wrestler as an enforcer but why Catwoman would involve herself with Penguin's schemes was over her head.

Selina had been Ivy's friend for a few years now, the two sharing the fact that they were Gotham's most accomplished female rogues and while they fought verbally sometimes they'd never had any reason to harm each other, save when Selina occasionally grew a conscious and helped Batman out, though Ivy guessed that could apply to her now being that she was officially enlisted in the military.

The rogues crossed the field, armed goons in tow, meeting in the middle with the New Era forces, Penguin shaking the older man's hand in greeting. From her position, Ivy couldn't hear what they were saying by ear so she tapped into her connection to the Green, using the flora as her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Greetings General Nelson, I've heard much about your organization and it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Ivy never heard of this General Nelson before but she assumed by his title that he was either prior military or had an ego larger than hers and she didn't know which was worse.

"The pleasure is mine Mr. Cobblepot, have you looked over the proposal my Lieutenant brought you?"

"I have indeed and I do believe we can come to an arrangement. I can supply your lot with the munitions needed and in turn your soldiers take care of some of my competition."

So that man she'd interrogated had been right about Penguin supplying the New Era, but there had to be more to this than a simple arms deal.

"Of course, these second-rate dealers will be no problem for my men to deal with. With luck the Bat and his crew will come running to their aid, and we can take them all out at once."

Ah, there it was. Using the violence to draw out Batman…She'd be sure to warn Barbara about that when she got back.

"That would be mighty convenient, though I should warn you that the Bat isn't one to be underestimated."

Wasn't that the truth, Ivy had done that more times than she could count and it always resulted in another stint at Arkham afterwards. Had she realized her skill with firearms earlier that might not have been the case, but fortunately for them both they were more or less allies now.

"I'm aware of this, but my men are ready for him."

Right, better men have tried and failed…of course Ivy was no man but she felt that she fit that category…

"Here's hoping mate, but even with him and his lads out of the way there's still those traitorous girls, Quinn and Ivy running around playing soldier."

Marine… Ivy thought angrily, that rotund bag of ass could at least get that right, for old times' sake.

"Ah yes, them…they just show how far this country has fallen, that they would accept such scum into the Marines. I remember a time when the Corps had honor, when we didn't take their likes into our ranks. But it matters not, Quinn is just a nuisance, an ant to be squashed, and with the information we've recovered from our site in Seattle, Poison Ivy will be nothing more than a weed to be removed."

That got Ivy's attention. Seattle was her she had been…changed…into the being she was now. The process had been painful…degrading…and completely involuntarily in every sense of the word. She didn't know what they hoped to gain there but she'd make sure they paid dearly for digging into her life like it was an open book.

"I like your way of thinking, just make sure they suffer…Now I do have some concerns, you plan on taking out the Justice League and their little support groups, right? Most of em should die easy enough with some bullets but some may be more of a, let's say nuisance, than others."

"Your referring to the Kryptonians aren't you? As everyone knows they're powers are rendered useless when exposed to kryptonite or red sun radiation. The radiation, while effective, is difficult to employ in a tactical sense but if I can get enough kryptonite to weaponize they'll pose little threat to us.

"Yes, but if I'm not mistaken it's rather hard to come by, only bloke that I know with a substantial amount would be that Luthor fellow up in Metropolis and I doubt he's willing to share."

"Why share when I have the means to take. My Lieutenant is working on a plan that will strike where he least expects it, giving us the means to 'negotiate' for what I want."

Weaponized kryptonite, seemed awfully troublesome and expense just to kill a very, very, small amount of people, although Kryptonians are some of the most powerful people on the planet so perhaps it was warranted. How would they weaponize it though? Hopefully they'd shut them down before she found out.

"Seems like you got it all planned out then. Well I won't hold you any longer, we've both got our parts to play in this plan of yours."

"Very well, it's been a pleasure Mr. Cobblepot, I look forward to working with you."

The two parties parted ways for their respective vehicles, Penguin's convoy pulling out back onto the gravel road and General Nelson's Gunship lifting off and flying east towards the Appalachians. Lying prone for several more minutes to be sure she was once again alone Ivy finally stood and stretched out her limbs in preparation for the hike back.

As she walked through the forest Ivy reflected on what she'd learned, the New Era's plan being more ambitious than she or the others had originally perceived, and what role her friend Selina played in it. She wouldn't enjoy having to put her down, but if she decided to side with the enemy she knew that her superiors wouldn't think twice before shooting her. Selina may be able to dodge rounds fired from the average thug or policemen but the military was a whole different beast as Ivy was quickly learning the more she worked with them.

Ivy had a lot of new intel to report back but she decided to take a slight detour and head to Selina's apartment for a "friendly" conversation…

…Mission Complete…

Hope you guys enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, but remember to give thanks to those brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live our lives free today. Rest easy brothers and sisters, we have the watch...

Semper Fidelis