As soon as Batman entered, he was hit in the face with a sudden gust of humidity, before fully taking in the church now partially reclaimed by nature.

The ceiling was completely covered with a swampy canopy, with tongues of moss dripping down from the edges of the walls.

As he stepped forward, his foot was nearly caught in a narrowing crevice, prompting him to instinctively step back as yet another vine snaked across the spot he just stepped on.

The floor was a broken crevice, with colossal roots breaking through the concrete. The brown roots littered the floor as they circled around the decayed floor tiles. He could spot some vines slithering across the floor as he strode forward, disappearing into the widened cracks forged by the roots.

Wandering through the literal concrete jungle, he quickly noticed six man-sized cocoons unnaturally slumped against the wall, a greenish goo emitting from the protective shells that encased the captives. Stopping at one of the cocoons, he could barely made out an inmate, judging from his uniform to be one of Penguin's thugs.

His eyes were closed in a sleepy, almost dazed manner with pheromones surrounding his entire body. Reaching out to the cocoon, he managed to obtain a sample of the mysterious gel by holding his finger underneath it, the liquid dripping on his glove. Just as he was about to analyze the liquid, a sudden rumbling beneath his feet caused him to stop his investigation and direct his attentions to the front of the church.

Resting his eyes on the center of the sanctuary, he finally managed spotted Ivy's hostages: the former Arkham City medical staff, still in uniform. The hostages were all lined up at the back of the church, their backs against the wall and hands tied with floral restraints.

First, he spotted Aaron Cash, easily discerned by his indignant expression as well as the other two officers assigned to protect the medical squad, Eddie Burlow and William North.

The other doctors flanked them in line, relief permeating their frightened expressions and muffled voices as he approached.

His observant glare then trailed downwards towards the steps, where a Penguin and Two-Face thug as well as one TYGER guard had gathered. Kneeling in a worshipping position around the pulpit, they did nothing as the Batman drew closer.

Approaching them from behind, he instinctively braced himself for combat, but that seemed to be the furthest things from their minds.

Following their entranced gaze, the slits on his cowl narrowed at the sight that had captivated them.

Towering before him was a human-sized, gargantuan cocoon, seemingly sprouted from the ground up with a luminescent glow that lit up its fleshy exterior.

Inside the floral chamber, he made out her lounging form bathing in the almost ethereal glow that the cocoon produced.

The self-proclaimed goddess continued to recline back languidly inside, her scarlet hair cascading down her feminine curves.

It wasn't until he took a menacing step forward that that Ivy seemed to acknowledge his presence.

The cocoon slowly peeled open from the top down, dividing the chamber into two separate halves.

His eyes then fell upon the toxic temptress herself, with a halo of pheromones escaping the cocoon and partially obscuring her.

A harmony of her erotic laughter, hypnotic to the untrained ear, rang out as the villainess rested comfortably on her leafy throne.

The remaining pheromones settled in his direction. Naturally, his iron-hard will deterred him from even considering the lustful promises carried by the pheromones.

However, the same could not be said for the men kneeling around him.

"I love you Ivy," one of the inmates awed, completely entranced by her pheromones which were now caressing his head.

"You're my everything Ivy!" another one droned dreamily.

She merely continued to laugh at the inmate's subconscious declarations of love for her.

"You can poison me anytime Ivy," came the TYGER guard's reply, his voice equally as dreamy.

"No, I love you more Ivy!"

"I'm nothing without you Ivy!"

"Marry me Ivy!"

The emotionally charged replies kept on coming much to her utter delight, and the Dark Knight's chagrin.

"Now now, no need to fight my loves! There's enough of me to go around!" came her eventual reply, amused by their competitive displays of infatuation towards her.

An intoxicating sight from top to bottom, her alluring nature had certainly been reflected by her attire. Shedding the baggy jumpsuit custom for Arkham City inmates, she only retained her standard issue jacket, largely unbuttoned to contain her cleavage. She wore no pants, instead revealing her long, shapely legs and bare feet, symbolic of her connection with the Earth.

Both her toes and fingers were painted scarlet red, the only visible contrasts of red from her otherwise floral complexion. Her groin area was covered with a leafy foliage resembling woman's panties, stretched to fit her hips.

Despite her human like appearance, Ivy was clearly more plant than woman. Thanks to her now flora-infused genetic coding, naturally synthesized chlorophyll flowed through her veins leaving her skin pigmented a leafy green from top to bottom. She had a slender, exotic figure, with an almost impossible hourglass figure.

Her lush lips, moist with enough toxin to paralyze an elephant, curled into a devious yet seamlessly seductive smile with her emerald eyes focusing in on him.

Along with her fiery red hair that flowed down her back in untamed locks, her other distinguishing feature could be found all over. Vines that had bonded with her skin resembled body tattoos, serving to emphasize her connection with nature and by proxy, her children.

Her pheromones accentuated her appearance, of course, but Batman easily saw beyond the glossy facade that the hypnotic mist offered. Despite her sexualized look, he knew exactly who and what she really was.

Ivy's eyes lingered on him for just a second before suddenly shifting to the right.

Still smiling, she gestured forward with her right hand. A lone vine, slithering out of the leaves, snaked around her forearm. Displaying an uncanny act of intelligence, the vine leaned in like it was going to whisper something in her ear.

"Yes dear?" she prompted, ignoring the Dark Knight and instead focusing on the apparently anthropomorphic vine.

Instead of responding with an audible response, the vine merely maneuvered its body around, a unique form of body language that only she apparently understood. The vine gestured wildly at Batman for a second before coiling around her arm again.

Purring her understanding, letting the vine wrap around her forearm as a means of comfort. She massaged the vine with one finger, calming it down.

"Yes, I know he's here. I know what he did to our family last time. But I won't let him hurt you again," she assured the plant in a genuine display of maternal empathy.

Her entire mood then shifted, with eyes staring down at him through a mask of palpable fury.

"I'll kill him first. I'll kill all of them for what they've done," she snarled, her voice echoing throughout the church. Sensing that its "mother" was troubled, the vine instinctively coiled around her waist.

Ivy merely stroked it with her palm whilst intensifying her glare at Batman, a glint of pure hatred in her jade eyes.

Sensing their mother's emotional animosity radiate off of her, the vines around her began wrapping around her protectively.

Batman countered with a glare of his own, standing his ground even as her entranced henchmen began to advance towards him menacingly.

"Leave us," she suddenly ordered, waving them away.

Stopping in their tracks, the three obeyed the plant queen's command and backed away from the caped crusader.

Her hateful glare dissipated very soon after, replaced by a wryly grin as she casually inspected her fingernails. "Come to gloat, Batman? I knew your human arrogance would bring you here eventually."

"It's over Ivy. Strange is dead," he told her.

As expected, the botanic beauty merely snickered, merely emphasizing her apathy for humanity.

"Shame, he would've made excellent fertilizer for my babies," she lamented, a hint of slight disappointment in her voice.

She then added with a sneer. "But you'll do quite nicely, lover."

"What happened at the asylum Ivy, was nothing against you or your kind. You were a threat to Gotham, and had to be stopped," he replied stoically.

"By destroying my children? They did nothing to you!" she snapped in a booming emotional outburst, her eyes now glowing with rage.

Batman remained stoic throughout her outburst, completely composed before uttering his retort.

"You're right Ivy. Your children did nothing to deserve it. They only destroyed an island full of people, half of them innocent, and tried to take the lives of thousands more in Gotham," he replied sarcastically.

"You and your precious Gotham," she spat mockingly. "Once I'm finished with you, the meat will have their reckoning."

"Those were the same people who rescued you from the asylum greenhouse," he pointed out, to which she scoffed.

"Yes, and they were also the same meat-sacks who threw me into this place. Mother Nature does not forget, Batman," she countered coolly, before the pain of memory flooded her eyes. "After the Titan had its way with me, all I wanted was to be alone. And because I did nothing, Strange burned my garden down. So now, I'll have to build a new one here."

Her eyes then flickered towards her hostages. "Their bones will provide such rich food for my babies, don't you think, darling?"

His patience was quickly growing thinner and thinner. "Your vendetta is against a dead man, not those people. I'm offering you a chance now to save your plants."

"The only thing you can offer me, little man, is your head on a stick," she sneered in turn, venom dripping from every word.

"Grudges against me won't help you, and it certainly won't help your plants. Surrender now, or I'll have to be a bit more…persistent."

"Sorry love, but I'm afraid flattery will get you nowhere, except perhaps an early grave," she chided him, stroking the vine once again.

"The man responsible for destroying your plants is dead. His legacy blew up with the rest of Wonder Tower. What do you have to gain here?" he reasoned, regaining his cool composure.

"Everything, darling," she purred knowingly, her eyes now fully resting on him. "But I'll start with you, Batman. We have unfinished business, after all."

"Start by letting them go. This is between you and me," Batman ordered.

"My war is against all humanity, darling. You're just another cog in the machine that has poisoned Mother Nature for too long," she declared ambitiously, her eyes gleaning insanely. "As far as these meat-sacks are concerned…"

Her lips then curled into a vindictive smirk. "They should be honored to have a role in the new world. After all, my next crop will certainly need their nourishment."

Ignoring her teasing laughter, the Dark Knight started to reach silently into his utility belt. As her leering features flickered back over to her captives, he discreetly unclipped a steel Batarang from his belt.

"I am telling you to stand down, Ivy. Now," he stated forcefully.

"You say this as if you can stop Mother Nature love. You may have delayed the inevitable at the asylum, but my children have been growing all over Arkham City. We are everywhere," she smiled at him.

Click! As if on cue, a distinctive clicking sound emitted from behind Batman. Out of his peripheral vision, he could spot the hypnotized TYGER guard behind him, the muzzle of a fully loaded assault rifle tapping at the back of his neck.

As expected.

Craning his cowl slightly over his shoulder, he spotted the Joker thug and Penguin thug brandished metal bats on both sides of him.

"Mother Nature does not forgive your sins, Batman. My children look forward to sharing the pain you gave them back at the asylum. And once we're done with you, the meat-sacks will finally see what's left of their precious 'hero' without his armor and toys. They'll see only a pathetic little man who thought he could challenge a goddess," she mocked mercilessly, her lush lips coating each biting word in venom before being hurled at the unflinching Dark Knight.

Taking a quick glance around, Batman factored in the cocoons, which housed the inmates and police officers still in the brainwashing process. He then turned to the inmates, who stared at him blankly, their weapons still trained on him.

"This is your last chance. Stand down or I will put you down, " he warned one last time, his eyes narrowing.

She merely laughed at his threat.

"Defiant to the end are we darling? I'll remember that when I'm-"

Before she could even finish the sentence, Batman exploded into action. With a quickfire draw, he hurled the Batarang at her with ease, the polished steel whistling in the air as it neared her throne.

She instinctively flinched, involuntarily summoning a shield of vines from her throne to assemble themselves into a protective shield. The Batarang harmlessly bounced off of the vines, completing its trajectory as a distraction.

At the same time, Batman threw down a smoke pellet, the grenade exploding into a dense fog as soon as it touched the floor. Within seconds, it had enveloped the caped crusader, providing an improvised cover for the Dark Knight who had been anticipating her inevitable retaliation.

With the smoke covering him, Batman activated his Detective Vision, identifying the remaining hostiles surrounding him.

Catching the gunman off-guard, the vigilante suddenly shot his elbow up, knocking the rifle muzzle awry. The TYGER guard instinctively pulled the trigger, causing bullets to pepper the ceiling above.

He then spun around, tearing it away from the mercenary. Now in control of the firearm, Batman slammed the metal stock right between the eyes, staggering the mercenary while he methodically disarmed the rifle, removing it piece by piece.

Shaking away the cobwebs, the TYGER operative swung at Batman desperately only for his fist to be easily swatted out of the air by the detective.

Batman promptly responded with a powerful right cross, decking the man cleanly in the jaw and knocking the paramilitary professional off his feet.

With one already immobilized, Batman then directed his attention to the closest threat, the Joker thug who was blindly swinging his bat around in his discombobulated state.

In fast succession, Batman sidestepped past him, while simultaneously hooking his spiked forearms around his neck to apply a firm sleeper hold. The inmate's muffled grunts eventually became silenced with the detective's steel grip tightening against his neck.

Seconds later, his body slackened up allowing the Dark Knight to quietly drop him to the floor.

Now with only one hostile left, Batman lunged at him with the smoke radius starting to shrink.

Unlike the others though, the Penguin thug could see Batman coming, squinting his eyes to spot his shadow. He managed to swing his weapon at him, but to no avail.

Batman easily ducked the futile blow, the bat whistling through the air above him. Springing up right on top of him, Batman surprised him first with a powerful uppercut to the gut that nearly had him double over. He then followed up with a downwards right hook to the side of the head, knocking him unconscious in one fluid motion.

The brainwashed goon crumpled to the floor at his feet.

He turned around only to see one of Ivy's spiked vines hurtling straight towards him, catching even him by surprise. His eyes widened in shock, he barely had time to raise a Batarang before the vine whipped across his face, sending him flying backwards.

Unceremoniously knocked off his feet, the Dark Knight involuntarily corkscrewed through the air before landing hard on his back. The momentum from the blow sent him skidding across the floor before he bumped against a gnarled tree root.

Quickly recovering with the vine still hurtling after him, he instinctively reached for his belt, producing another Batarang.

Just as the vine was about to attack him again, he hurled the projectile at it, watching as the two collided in mid-air. Thankfully, the Batarang was victorious, and impaled the vine right through its mouth, one of the twin blades dislocating its entire jaw.

The vine then flopped to the ground lifelessly.

The smoke dissipated into thin air just as he recovered from the surprise attack, revealing a very angry Poison Ivy.

Her once smug grin was replaced by an infuriated snarl, her poison-laced lips now seething in rage. She was now standing up, her fists clenched in rage. To her left and right respectfully, stood two monstrous Venus fly traps which had burst through the ground.

"A battle against me Batman, is a battle against Mother Nature. And that is a battle you will lose, little man!" she sneered.

As if to prove her point, she suddenly extended her arms out. Vines slithered out and around her outstretched arms, forming a sort of protective armor over her. She let out an almost orgasmic cry as her children began to converge with her.

Shaking off the effects of the fireball, he snapped out another Batarang, preparing to fight as her body functioned as a conduit for the vines to wrap around.

Ivy let out an almost ecstatic moan as the vines enveloped her in a mass of green.

"Come to me my loves! Together, we are unstoppable!" she screamed gleefully, her voice reaching almost unprecedented levels of ecstasy.

He gritted his teeth irritably as the vines lifted Ivy into the air, the plants still latching around her like the goddess she proclaimed herself to be. Levitating from the floor in an almost angelic position, some of the vines wrapped around her detached from her skin, instead plunging into the ground.

Batman took a few steps back in preparation, knowing full well that this was mere theatrics compared to what came next.

Just as she said that, the cocoon on the ground rose up to meet her. She laughed as its two halves closed around her, swallowing her whole. Enveloping Ivy in a vine-covered chamber, the plant monster rose high above the ground, with Ivy as its captain.

"We will crush you like the insect you are."