Chapter 5 ending with Poison Ivy
Danny huffed as he sprinted down the alleyways and mostly empty streets, wanting to put some distance between himself and Bucket head. His pace slowed as time stretched on, finally relaxing as he came to realize that he had finally lost his pursuer.
He found himself in a run-down park. The plants had long since overgrown the paths and structures of the recreational space. Danny plopped himself at the base of a gnarly oak tree, leaning against the trunk and letting his heart calm its rapid tempo.
"Man this place is full of wackos!" The teen muttered to himself, now feeling exhausted after the burst of adrenaline.
Little did he realize that he wasn't alone in the park. His first warning was the rustling of foliage. At first Danny dismissed it as just the wind or some sort of animal, but the nagging feeling in his gut convinced him otherwise.
Despite common sense, Danny decided to call out.
"Hello? Someone there?" As soon as he said those words out loud, Danny scolded himself. He's watched horror movies and the like. He should know better than to attract attention to himself!
Of course nobody responded, not that the silence convinced the halfa that he was alone. He slowly pulled himself to a crouched position, ready to bolt if trouble struck.
What he least expected was to be wrapped in vines. Danny let out a yelp of surprise as he was hefted into the air.
"Who do we have here?" A silky voice cooed, sending chills down the teens spine.
Stepping out of the brush was a woman. The first thing Danny noticed was how her fiery red hair contrasted her green skin, while her attire caused the teen to blush. She was clad in a skimpy green dress… and not much else. It vaguely reminded Danny of Sam's attire when she was first controlled by Undergrowth.
"W-who the heck a-are you?" Danny stuttered out, his nerves getting the best of him.
The woman gave a smirk. "You can call me Posion Ivy doll face," she said. A vine went to stroke the teen's cheek. "What's a sproutling like you doing amongst the big, bad weeds of Gotham?"
Danny squirmed a bit. "Just passing through. I had no idea this was your park, honest! If you'll let me go I'll be out of your hair."
Ivy giggled at the teen's nervousness. "Oh don't be like that! I'm not going to hurt you."
At her declaration, the vines released their hold on the teen. Rubbing his arms, Danny watched the plant lady wearily but not fleeing.
"Uh, thanks."
Ivy hummed, before her eyes swept over Danny's rumpled form. "Tell me beansprout: why are you all alone? Did you run away from home?"
Danny shook his head. "No, I didn't run away. I'm… just displaced at the moment."
"Displaced? And what of your family?"
"They're not here," Danny replied vaguely, but the answer was truthful enough. Danny knew well enough that he was a terrible liar.
Poison Ivy's facial expression soften at the statement and what it could possibly mean. Pamela may be one of Batman's rouges, but she wasn't a heartless psycho. She looked at the homeless boy in front of her.
"I don't suppose you have a place to stay for the night?"
Danny shook his head. "Not really." Danny wasn't in the mood to regale present company with how he ended up in the middle of a gang war and was chased by a man wearing a bucket.
"I have some safe houses set up in the city, one is nearby. You can sleep there for the night."
Danny gave the lady a questioning look, quite surprised by the offer. "Why would you help me?"
"No one should be sleeping on the streets, especially children. If you're worried I'll harm you while you sleep, I promise you I wouldn't."
Danny weighed the options in his mind before letting out a breath. He looked at the green woman with reluctant acceptance. "Okay, lead the way."
