"Seeds of Arkham"

Arkham City

Amusement Mile

08:44 P.M. (Two Hours Ago)

"Barbara, I've found her."

"Ivy? How can you be sure?

The third Robin stood up from his vantage point overlooking Poison Ivy's lair, steeling his gaze at her heavily guarded hideout.

His uniform was slightly battered, yet his emblazoned R symbol shined despite the wear and tear on his chest armor. The crimson template that colored his body armor contrasted the golden utility belt glimmering in the moonlight. Donning a cape complete with a hood that covered his short cropped har, he adjusted his steel gauntlets before activating his earpiece once again.

"Trust me, I've got a feeling," he smiled, surveying the lair from the top of the billboard that stood atop the old Gotham Casino building.

The dilapidated hotel had been utterly decimated by Ivy's bestial plants, a menagerie of her bestial plants wrapped around the building with a vice grip like none other.

Giant vines had slithered around the hotel's exterior, occasionally stirring as they strengthened their hold over the establishment. Some had shot out of windows while others snaked around the main entrance to her lair.

A tangible mist of her pheromones littered the air, mostly accumulating above the rooftop. The foul stench of rotting fruits, decomposed matter and an unwavering sense of constant danger permeated the air.

This was evidenced by the quartet of Ivy's hypnotized henchmen which were guarding the primary bridge that led to the front door, a green aura surrounding their heads as they paced around the entrance with assault rifles at the ready.

"Yep, she's definitely still home," he commented, zooming in with his visor to observe the guards and mutated flora. "I'm counting four outside, definitely more inside."

"Not to mention the hundreds of man-eating plants she's got inside. Tim, once you get inside you'll be in her world, literally. Anything and everything can be used against you. I'm not saying you're not capable, but it wouldn't hurt to have someone else watching your back," Barbara stressed, concerned.

"We can't just wait for her to make the first move here, Barbara. If I strike now, I can end this, before it even begins," he pointed out.

"What if she ends you?" Barbara countered darkly.

"That won't happen," he responded firmly.

"I know it won't, but you know what Bruce says about overconfidence. You know that once she gets in your head, it's all over from the word 'go'. Maybe you should wait for him," she suggested.

"Barbara, even you know how backwards that sentence sounds," he remarked dryly.

"What do you mean?"

"He isn't the same. Not that he was ever that emotionally stable to begin with, but it's just…different now. Ever since Joker died, he's shut himself off from the rest of us. He only talks to you when he has to, and me when he needs some of Quinn's crew scraped off the sewers," he confessed.

"Tim, you know how he is. Bruce just needs time," came her candid reply.

"Between you and me Barbs, the longer that he stays in Arkham City, the worse off he'll be. Maybe you should try convincing him to at least try talking about it," he replied.

"What Bruce went through that night at the Monarch Theatre no person should ever have to go through. Losing Talia was hard for him, even harder when he saw Joker go down just minutes later. It changed him, in ways I don't think we'll ever fully see from the outside. I'm not sure that just talking about it will ease the pain."

"Talia, I get, but Joker? The cemeteries of innocent people he's filled, the death and devastation that came in his wake, the people he's…. hurt," he started to retort angrily, before his voice faltered at the end.

"It's all right Tim," Barbara encouraged gently, alluding to the incident where Joker had paralyzed her, thus ending her career as the famed Batgirl.

"Anyways, we can finish this conversation later. What can you tell me about Poison Ivy?" he stated, quickly changing the subject.

"Bruce reported a few seismic spikes in isolated pockets within Arkham City, but besides the attempted GCPD breach a day ago it's been quiet on her end. Too quiet," she reported.

"Not for long. I have a feeling her welcoming party is a little less than welcoming," he remarked, nodding towards the overall increase in the inmates guarding the entrance.

"What can you tell me now?" Oracle piped in.

"I'm checking out at least four of her zombie-goons, packing some serious hardware. I'm guessing leftovers from that strike team that Gordon sent in," he added, his activated Detective Vision highlighting their assault rifles.

"I'm still surprised that's all she took, considering she just let them all go after that."

"Nothing surprises me anymore, Barb. Either way,I know where their weapons are going," he smirked, standing up.

"Keep my updated on the ground," Barbara reminded him, before signing off.

"Time to go back to work," he murmured, before leaping off the billboard and entering the vicinity of Ivy's lair.


The first guard was easy.

He stared blankly at the entrance to Ivy's lair, his assault rifle resting leisurely over his shoulder. His head still abuzz with the plant queen's pheromones, he remained oblivious as the Robin silently dropped down from the overlooking billboard.

As the Boy Wonder's feet hit the ground, he began silently creeping up to the oblivious guard in a crouching position leaving nothing to chance.

Just as the guard was about to turn around, Robin quickly wrapped his forearm around him before bringing him down to his level. Knowing his size disadvantage, Robin could only use leverage and the right positioning to take him down.

The man's initial squirms were energetic and violent, but eventually began to subside as Robin tightened his grip, flexing his muscles against the grunt's throat. Eventually, his flailing arms began to lay limply by his side, and within the next few seconds, the man was unconscious.

He gently dropped him on the floor before turning to the remaining three thugs.

"One on the catwalk, and two on ground floor. This is gonna be easy," he thought to himself, as he mainly focused on the two thugs still patrolling his level.

Without further hesitation, he began approaching the nearest Quinn thug, who was circling around the mountain of unopened Arkham City rations. Silently walking up right behind him, Robin brandished his signature bo staff, a three-foot wide metallic compact staff. Made of stainless still, it was Robin's most coveted gadget, and so far, his most useful.

Grasping the staff in one hand, he continued creeping towards the so far oblivious Quinn thug, assault rifle in tow. Coming to a stop right behind him as the thug paused to lean on the metal railings and gaze at the dilapidated building, Robin burst into action.

Just as he was about to turn around, the vigilante cracked the end of his staff off the base of the inmate's skull, causing him to fall to a knee. Before he could call out for help, Robin wrapped his forearm around his throat in a reverse front facelock, tucking his head underneath his armpit.

The man instinctively struggled against him, but Robin's metal gauntlet muffled his protests. His assault rifle dropping from his hands, he slapped at Robin's forearm desperately, but it was a futile effort.

Within seconds, the man's body grew limp, and Robin quietly tossed his body to the side.

"Two more to go," he reminded himself, affording himself one quick glare upstairs before assessing his options.

The one still on top was oblivious to what was happening down below, but that only complicated things. Going up head-to-head against an assault rifle isn't always a good idea, even with protective armor.

Even if he could catch him off balance with a shuriken, his version of the Batarang, the noise would certainly alarm Ivy to his position. He needed a distraction to lure the guard away from the door, and he had just the idea.

Turning to the third guard who was examining the mountain of rations absent-mindedly, he continued forward towards the unsuspecting foe.

This time however, when he wrapped his forearm around his neck and dragged him down inches above the floor, Robin expedited the process with a strong elbow right to the side of his head. The sound of flesh against flesh instantly alerted the other guard, who began advancing up the catwalk cautiously, cocking his assault rifle.

As he slumped down to the concrete, Robin quickly backed away from the steel stairs, instead retreating behind the last foe.

Producing his grappling hook, he fired the hook, which would then latch on to the metal bars. With a grunt, the hook propelled the Boy Wonder upwards, allowing for him to easily climb up and over the railing.

He was right behind the guard who was cautiously descending down the stairs, and he couldn't be more oblivious.

Standing up straight, he walked up to the oblivious grunt, and almost politely tapped him on the back.

The grunt sleepily turned around, only to be greeted by Robin's gloved fist smashing into his unsuspecting face. He crumpled to the ground with his weapon spiraling out of reach.

Not giving him a moment's respite, Robin ran down the stairs before planting his foot on the man's throat.

Before he could even murmur a response, Robin extended the staff, lifting it above his shoulder before efficiently whacking the grunt right across the face with it, knocking him unconscious.

Retracting his bo staff, he held the other hand up to his earpiece as he walked back up the stairs.

"Perimeter's clear outside, Oracle. I'm going in," he stated.

"That was the easy part. Just….be careful, okay? You know I worry."

"So you do care," he smiled, teasing the rarely flustered hacker.

"I care about Batman's partner not becoming plant mulch, Boy Wonder," she corrected with a hint of playfulness, before continuing, "Just don't let her get in your head. The last thing we need is her on the loose again."

"Agreed. Once I get done tying up loose ends, give me an update on Batman. We'll work this thing out together," he smiled.

"Will do, good hunting Tim!" she smiled, before signing off.

Robin turned to the entrance of Ivy's lair, narrowing his eyes as he noticed the vines that had first pried the gates loose. With his luck, there'd be vines twice that size inside. But then again, with his luck, she'd probably have some other 'surprises' just waiting for him.

After checking his gauntlets, he cracked his knuckles as well as his neck before walking through the double gates, and through the door to Poison Ivy's hideout.