Chapter Eight: Ivy

Cyborg boomtubed himself and Batman onto the Earth. To the site of the volcano. A part of Batman was angry, angry that he wasn't there to be a part of this. In a way, though, how much could he truly have done? There was no enemy, no one to outsmart. Just a volcano. A tsunami. No villain.
Yet.
"This is where we were," said Cyborg. They were standing near the constructed wall. Around them ran a few trails of lava, and ash was still falling lightly from the sky. An eruption can take a long time. The people haven't returned to their homes yet, I guess they were fearful of the eruption that was still taking place thought Cyborg. Both Batman and Cyborg could explain to them how they'd be alright, but would they even understand?
"So this is where you found the herbs?" asked Batman.
"Yeah, this rose is one of the few left after the devastation."
"Take us to the fields, I need some more samples," said Batman as he crouched down, picking the rose up with a metal utensil and placing it within a small metal box. He knew exactly who he was tracking, but the detective within him knew better than to simply go on the first obvious hunch. There could be something else. Something new.
They were boomtubed to the fields. The fields were not as of yet destroyed by the lava, which meant that Batman was able to use the area properly for data and evidence. The land was very versatile in its ability to sustain plant life, if one was to believe their eyes. But they knew better, the only thing that could grow in these fields was rice and maybe a few other things, not lilies and roses and definitely not corn.
"Is that chickpea?" asked Cyborg, already knowing the answer as his computer part has already analysed it and concluded that it was.
"These plants cannot be here. The soil cannot sustain such a diverse wildlife, they would have outcompeted one another at some stage. Something, or someone, is maintaining them."
"What do we do from here?"
"Scan the fields surrounding us, look for fields and other highly vegetated areas that exhibit randomly versatile plants."
"You do know we are on a land known for its plant life, right?"
"That's why I don't have anyone with me but you. You're able to scan and log all that data and then make up an accurate conclusion quickly. I trust you."
Those were words that rarely escaped this man's mouth.
"What will you do?" asked Cyborg as he started to take off.
"I'll stay here, see if I can find any more clues."
With that Cyborg left and flew into the sky. He was a small, minuscule dot. And then he vanished. Batman allowed himself a second to see him off before he went back to his work.
He crouched on the ground, and picked up a leaf. The leaf belonged to a tree not too far away, it must have been blown over here. There were quite a few leaves around. Leaves meant that wind was something regular here, he couldn't know the extent for sure due to the eruption that was happening, but he knew enough to know that all these different plants could not have arrived as seeds blown on the wind. There was no evidence that the wind was strong enough for that. That would suggest that someone brought these over from another place. Either as seeds or as full plants. But to have a plant cover such a large distance would not be easy.
"Penny-one," said Batman into his ear piece. Penny-one, Alfred: His servant, his friend, his medic, his assistant. Alfred was all that, and so much more.
"Yes, sir? Are you not on assignment with the Justice League?" asked Alfred, his British accent so smooth and mannered. Almost not betraying a single emotion; though Batman knew well enough that this was Alfred being surprised.
"I am. I need you to run a search. I need to know if any strong winds have been blowing towards this part of the world, though I highly doubt that would yield any results."
"Any particular reason? It could help yield better results."
"I need to know if seeds could have gotten here in the past five years from seemingly all corners of the Earth."
"Just a moment, sir."
It was only a few moments before the answer came, Alfred has become indispensable to Batman, not just to Bruce Wayne.
"That's a no, sir. No winds that could possibly do that."
"I thought so. I need you to see if anyone came to this area with seeds of plants from different countries. Is there a scientific experiment being run here?"
"That search will take time, I'll send you the results when I have them."
"Thank you Penny-one. Have you had any luck on that other search I asked you for?"
"Not yet, sir. It would seem that the target has left the city, though where to I cannot be certain. In any case she is no longer in Gotham according to these findings."
"Thank you, update me when you have any progress."
"Will do, sir. Best of luck."
Batman looked down at the flowers in front of him. They were roses. He scooped a small amount of earth using a spatula he had. It was a small one, barely large enough to hold a spoon-full, but enough for what he needed. He inserted the sample of earth into a little box that would be able to scan it to give an estimation of the soil content. it'd first been developed for ecologists by Wayne Enterprise, but he had other uses for it as well. It could sometimes help him know what explosives had been used to create a bomb or some other device. Or when something was not from Earth.
The soil scanner beeped in his hand as it ran a few tests. It vibrated and then it stopped. On a screen built into the device were written the results. There was every compound that was necessary and at about the right concentrations for plant life. There was a high level of nitrate and magnesium as well as large proportions of water. The soil was damp.
With a low growl he moved to the rice area of the field. He went through the same motions as before, scooping some dirt and placing it into the scanner. The scanner brought the same results to him. Good concentration of nitrate and magnesium, not overly salty and damp soil. He did so next to a few more species of plants. All the results were the same.
He then looked at the sky. The field was open, nothing obscuring the sun was present.
Batman's scowl deepened. This is ecologically impossible. The soil is the same for all plants, the conditions are perfect for some of these plants, but not others. The damp soil and normal levels of salt will allow rice to grow, it may also explain why there could be hibiscus flowers here. But plants like the Nassella tenuissima would not be able to survive this amount of water. They would die. Then there was the issue of the sun. There was light enough to support a plant such as rosemary, but there was simply too much of it to support the fuchsia flowers that were grown around here as well. Not to mention that some of these plants were tropical and others found most commonly in the Middle East. Someone not only brought them here, but also found a way to alter their DNA in order to adapt them.
Unless it's her, then she'd be able to simply give them a power source, but this is beyond anything recorded. It's a full ecosystem without any logic, thought Batman, and his scowl, if it was even possible, deepened.
A beeping told Batman that Alfred was back.
"Penny-one," said Batman.
"Sir, I have completed the search. There is no reason why these plants are there. No person or expedition has come to that part to migrate any species, sir. And judging by the data your sample device has collected the plants should not be able to co-exist."
"Thank you, Penny-one."
"Batman," said Cyborg on the communication, "I have completed my scan and I'm heading back to you."
Batman looked up to see Cyborg approaching fast. He landed a few feet away from Batman. His great metallic body clicking and whirring as it readjusted itself, folding his wings away and forming hands as well.
"What did you find, Cyborg?"
"As you suspected, all the fields in a large part of this area have been tampered with. They have been affected much like this one with plant diversity. I received your data from the ground here and can confirm that it is the same with other places as well, this shouldn't be possible."
"Did you manage to triangulate a location of origin?" asked Batman, though it could almost be heard as a statement, as if he expected no less.
"I have an area that seems highly likely, it's at about the centre of the changed fields and is the most diverse in the area. It's a small part of a forest, but was turned into a small jungle. I can't get any readings into that place."
"You won't find any, it'll be too well guarded."
"How do you know?"
"Call it a hunch. How far is it?"
"Not very far, a few klicks down there," said Cyborg pointing northwest.
"Can you boomtube us there?"
"I can boom us to the entrance, but not much further than that. I won't know if I'll be dropping us in some swamp."
"We'll start at the beginning then."
Cyborg boomtubed them. The experience once again gave Batman a twinge of satisfaction as he thought of Darkseid, the great conqueror and how they were using his technology for their own gains. But Batman knew better than to allow himself any sense of satisfaction from this train of thought.
In a moment they were at the foot of a great jungle. If Batman didn't know any better, he'd say he was staring at the Amazonian jungle in Brazil. The trees were incredibly tall and the foliage was thick, so thick he couldn't see more than five feet ahead in the clearest areas. Everything stank of danger and mystery.
Batman started walking into the forest, unsure of what to look for, but confident he would find a clue. He always did.
"Whoever is doing this, if they originate from here, will leave a trail. Most probably. See if your scans can reveal anything as we walk. Be vigilant: we are definitely not alone here."
"Copy that, Batman."
Always the good soldier, always professional. So different from all the different Robins he had had. He had a maturity that they didn't possess, or was it his machine side that was making him so? Was his complacency routed in loyalty, respect, or calculations?
They walked further into the jungle, and very soon they didn't know which was the way back. The great green jungle was beautiful beyond belief. The green was greener, the red was redder than any flower had shown before. The colours seemed to be alive. There was some sunlight that managed to pierce the veil of the trees, casting a light twilight on the scene. It was magnificent, truly a heavenly place. But then Batman heard it: movement. A slinking noise from behind him. This jungle was more than alive; it was almost conscious. The trees seemed to rustle all of a sudden.
"Batman, I'm getting movement from all around us, it's something big."
Whip! A vine the thickness of a small tire flew at them. Batman managed to dodge at the last second, flipping over it with an elegant somersault. But Cyborg got hit. He was flung into a tree with the vine still encasing him from around. It was slowly crushing him. Batman threw a small bomb at the vine. Cyborg used the energy of the bomb to break free and aimed at Batman and fired. Except it wasn't at Batman, but a vine that was flying at him. His sonic cannon destroyed the vine completely, and the jungle seemed to yell in pain as the trees huddled for a second.
A hissing. Batman fell to the ground, dodging the sharp leaves that were thrown at him.
"We're getting close," said Batman, and continued to walk in the direction they were walking before.
"How do you know?"
"We wouldn't be attacked otherwise."
"I've never seen anything like this," said Cyborg, a hint of awe mixed with fright in his voice.
"I have. It's nothing new, just on a bigger scale."
"So I assume you know who this is?"
"It's a safe bet, but a bet is not a sure thing."
He walked along a winding path. Nothing would have said that it was a path but Batman knew better. The leaves around this area had been moved more than a few times. And here most prominently. Also, the vegetation on the ground here grew shorter than in some other places. Someone had been treading here constantly. No foot prints were visible which meant that the tread was light. Batman moved a great leaf of a tree which obscured the way, and dodged to the side.
A huge plant was there, it was a bug-eating plant the size of a man. Upon second inspection, he saw that the leaf was connected not to the tree, as the illusion would have it, but to the plant itself. The plant lunged for Batman again. This was not possible. It wasn't. A vine behind it was pushing the plant towards Batman.
Whirrr!
Cyborg's sonic-cannon burst through and destroyed the plant, turning it into a heap of goo. The vine came at Cyborg, but hit his armour with a small thud and fell. Batman cut it with a batarang.
"You ok?" asked Cyborg.
"I had it under control."
"You can say thank you, even if you had it under control."
Cyborg deserves respect, thought Batman. He earned it. But Cyborg also craved equality amongst his friends. He earned that too. He got it. But Batman doesn't thank for what he could have done himself. The question then was, was Batman lying to himself?
They moved along and finally came to their target. Batman knew it by the look of the place. It was a small clearing at the centre of which was a tree. It was thick, its circumference was vast. It was impossible for the land to sustain it. The tree was a dark green, mixed with brown. It looked like it was almost pulsating. The heart of the forest.
"Come on out, Ivy," said Batman. He heard Cyborg's little exhale of breath, he found it funny that Batman knew who it was. He always knew the answer.
The bark of the tree moved, shifted within its folds, and out came Poison Ivy. In all her grandeur. She never was quite at home with humans, but this was a bit extreme. She was standing there, in a slight pose, leaning on one leg a little more than the other, which allowed her to look quite exquisite. Her green skin was slightly greener, and her red lips redder. She was wearing a skin tight layer of leaves and vines. In a way it flattered her, but only Cyborg took note of that little bit. Her red hair was flowing and she was looking sexual and aggressive.
"Are all your enemies like this?" asked Cyborg.
"No, darling, no one is as amazing as me," said Poison Ivy, her very voice was intoxicating, "what are you doing with tin-man? Bringing man's filthy machines into my home. Isn't it enough that you've disrupted my time here?"
"What are you doing here, Ivy?" asked Batman, unfazed, not caring. Always taking note, constantly calculating.
"Why should I tell you?" asked Ivy.
"Because otherwise me and this tin-man burn down the whole place."
"You won't. I won't let you!"
Predictable. A vine from behind. Cyborg managed to grab it with his hand and then destroy it while Batman back flipped over the one coming at him from behind and threw three batarangs. They exploded and destroyed the vine.
"Enough!" yelled Batman.
Ivy was poised, prepared for another onslaught, but the vines withdrew, if only a little.
"Why are you here?" asked Batman.
"Because I left Gotham. What's it to you?"
"Why did you leave Gotham. What happened?"
"I was driven out, by a monster."
"What happened?"
"Penguin said there's someone looking for me. Someone who wanted to make me more powerful. He gave me a potion to take. My tests revealed that it will make me stronger. I took it and got stronger. More powerful. I was going to take you on when the daemon came back. He tried to take me."
"You beat him?"
"No. I ran. He was powerful, Batman. Too powerful."
"Why did he want you?"
"I knew he had a plan, he said it involved your death, which was good for me."
"And?"
He said it without even being fazed, thought Cyborg.
"He did, but he wanted to dissect me."
"Why run here?"
"I thought he wouldn't be able to find me here."
"He was the one that made the volcano erupt. To lure you out." That was completely inconclusive, but she didn't know that.
"I had to sit and watch as my plants died," she sobbed, it was hard for Batman to believe that she could feel emotions, but sometimes she did. And it was always a strange feeling. To him, this was as close to a plant weeping as was possible. Miraculous and unbelievable.
"Was he working alone?"
"No, He wanted me for his master."
"Do you have his name?"
"Yes. Helspont."
Both Batman and Cyborg went cold.