Chapter 19: Ivy's Road To Redemption:

Some time after the interrogation, Ivy had a moment to herself. She began think of one more thing that she wanted to do: get on the good side of the GCPD. This wasn't going to be easy. But it was something she was going to have to do.

Fortunately for Ivy, Joana said he'd talk to the Officers for her. Joana talked to some of the GCPD officers, saying it was time to give Ivy the benefit of the doubt for tonight.

Ivy used the small houseplants in the building to try and listen to her friend vouch for her.

"Crane's toxin killed almost every plant in the city, so aside from the few remaining houseplants in the precinct, Ivy doesn't have much to work with anymore, meaning it's unlikely she can do much even if she tried."

Joana made a good point, even if she wanted to do something heinous, she couldn't as almost every plant in the city was dead. Ivy was practically on a scale of little to powerless.

But still, even in spite of Ivy being practically powerless, Reyes, Ramirez, and several others rejected this.

Especially Reyes, "Uh uh, no way, Joana, She may have been useful in getting the freaks under control, but I still don't trust her. This woman brainwashed my husband two years ago during Joker's takeover of the asylum, might I mention he might not ever be able to walk again?" Reyes was still was utterly enraged at Ivy was utterly enraged at Ivy for brainwashing her husband.

Ivy was listening in on this. Being that she wasn't the person she once was, now felt awful for this. She would eventually have to apologize to this woman for what she did as well.

Joana continued to try and sway their feelings and opinions.

"I know, Reyes, and believe me, if someone did something like that to my little girls and my wife, I'd be enraged, it'd probably take a while for to forgive them, I probably wouldn't even forgive them at all...But Miss Isley has been proving that she's better than what she was and is trying to become a better person. It's about time you all give her the benefit of the doubt, at least for tonight."

Ramirez spoke, "Fine Gordy JR, we'll play it your way, but I ain't promising nothing after this is all over with."

"Fair enough. Now, are you all ready to go and speak with her and voice your feelings about her?"

It was at this point that Ivy stopped listening in on the conversation and prepared for her own conversation with them. Ivy was a little nervous, but overall prepared for it.

Ivy saw Joana come into her quarters. He came to give her the heads up about his colleagues. "They'll be here soon, I just wanted to make sure you're prepared for this, they can be, a little intimidating."

"I'll be fine, thank you Joana."

"Alright good, I'll let you do this alone. This is a battle you should overcome yourself."

"I understand."

"Alright, I'll go bring them here now."

Joana walked out of the office and went to go find the group of Officers to speak with Ivy. She felt more nervous than she had ever felt around somebody.

With not much time left before they arrived, she mentally prepared herself for what would be a challenging task. Part of her wanted to back out, but Ivy was stronger than that. She wasn't going to let fear overwhelm her.

And fear made her think of Scarecrow. The person who had nearly killed her. He wouldn't let him get the psychological satisfaction.

Even Joana came back with about seven or eight GCPD Officers. They all had neutral or stern looks on their faces. This made Ivy a little worried.

"Good luck." Joana whispered to Ivy before he walked out of the room, leaving Ivy alone with the GCPD officers. Ivy never thought in a million years the people she practically tormented as a criminal would be so intimidating.

The tension in the room was felt between Ivy and the officers...more so on the offices' side than Ivy herself.

"Hello officers..." Ivy meekly says. The expressions on their faces haven't changed much at all. Their serious expressions remained present. "Let me just say firsthand that I'm sorry for everything I've done to all of you over the years, I know it probably doesn't mean much, but I promise you that I will not rest until I prove that I can be trusted by all of you."

"Pfft, you've got A LOT of work to do if you want to prove yourself." One officer added.

Ivy expected the hostility from them, so she wasn't surprised by her mostly negative reception.

Officer Reyes spoke, "You've hurt and ruined the lives of so many people. You've poison many people, brainwashed them. My husband was one of those people, Ivy. He might not ever walk again." Ivy now felt horrible. "Give me one damn good reason why we should trust you?"

"Believe me, Miss Reyes, what I did to your husband is wrong, and unforgivable, and I am sorry in more ways than one. I wouldn't blame you for being highly critical of me, you have every right not to trust me, but I promise you I'm working hard to you officers, and all of Gotham that I can be a force of good. I want to undo the mistakes that I've made over the years, starting with you brave men and woman."

The officers huddled together in a group as to where Ivy could not hear them. Ivy could see that some of them still had looks of uncertainty over their faces.

Officer Ramirez broke off from the huddle and wanted his share regarding what they should do when it came to Ivy. The reformed meta-human's heart was racing as the officer prepared to speak.

"Now look lady, Joana says your alright." This made Ivy feel a little better. "However I always thought that Gordy JR was just soft on the crooks. I usually form my own opinions on matters, especially those involving superheroes and villains. And so far? You've still got a lot stuff to answer for...but you did help with getting the freaks under control, and this night has been pretty freaking weird, so I'll only accept the you for tonight due the weird circumstances."

Ivy felt somewhat better. It wasn't perfect, but she didn't want to push her luck. At least for the time being, they'd accept her because of the events of tonight.

The third officer in the group decided to share his opinion regarding Poison Ivy. "I personally don't trust you, but then again, I've never really believed the word of super criminals unless it was proven true with evidence to back it up. However, if Batman, Cash and Joana trusts or at least tolerate you enough, who am I to judge against that. What the hell? I'll oblige you working here for tonight."

"That means a lot to me, thank you officers." Ivy respectfully says.

Reyes spoke. "You ain't off the hook, the rest of the boys have got to share their jury duty."

There were four more Officers that needed to share their bits regarding Poison Ivy. Feeling better about her chances at earning their trust, Ivy awaited for them to say their bit.

The fourth cop of the group spoke up, "Here's my take on things. Ivy you haven't done anything to affect me personally, but that doesn't excuse everything you've done to people, including some of my colleagues, over the years. I'm a fair man, so I'll go about it like this: If they decide to trust you, so will I, but if they don't trust you, same goes for me. Seems pretty simple in my book."

"Fair enough, officer." Ivy simply replies.

"Now I don't know what the hell's going on here," The fifth officer says, "Tonight's been all over the place, rioters running out of control, the Arkham psychos running the joint, etcetera, and then there's you, Poison Ivy, who's supposedly one of the good people all of a sudden, give me a good reason why we should trust you?"

"I'm not excusing my actions over the years, don't get me wrong, however, I'm simply just trying to repay my large debts to Gotham and its people." Ivy hoped this response would suffice.

The cops thought about it. They huddled up again and like before discussed the current situation with Ivy. All she could really do was sit by and patiently wait for them to finish judging her.

The fifth officer of the group came up from the huddle and began to give his share on their public opinion of Ivy. "You've got a lot to answer for, and I mean A LOT...but, you've made much more progress than the other EX-Arkham freaks in rehabilitating yourself, I personally still don't trust you, but you've proven yourself useful after all. I'll oblige...for now."

So far, Ivy's reception has been bittersweet, but she understood why.

There were two more officers left to speak. The sixth officer spoke. "You've a lot of good men and women over the years, I don't know if you can be forgiven for that, they say scars heal with time, but you...I don't know."

the seventh and final officer of the group shared his insight. "Like my good friend said not to long ago, you've got much to answer for, you've been proven wrong on occasions, and right on some occasions. I think me and my friends should take a vote on your fate, sound fair to you?"

"Yes officer." Ivy politely replied, "You're very generous."

"Good, now give us a minute."

Ramirez, Reyes and the other officers in the group huddled up once again to discuss the final decision of what to do about Poison Ivy. This was it.

Ivy was ready for this. In fact, she was anticipating this. As the officers continued to whisper in their huddle, Ivy decided to kill some time by thinking about random things. The first thing she wondered was if this is the type of thing Batman had to go through when he first appeared on the scene in Gotham.

In fact, Ivy gushed at the thought of what a younger Batman would've looked like, not that a mature and older Batman wasn't handsome.

Eventually, the officers finished their huddle came to a conclusion regarding Ivy.

Reyes spoke up first, "Okay red head, here's the deal."

Then Ramirez, "Me, the lady and the rest of the boys have decided that we'll accept you as one of us for tonight, got it?"

"I understand." Said Ivy.

Reyes spoke again, "However, here's one thing we want to make perfectly clear, so listen carefully. If Batman decides to lock you up once the ordeal is over, me and the others that aren't Joana won't defend you from it."

This is obviously something Ivy understands, so it didn't phase her much. She was just grateful that the officers were willing to accept her for tonight. "I understand officers, thank you. Your gratitude means a lot to me."

The walked out of the room, leaving to mingle and do as she pleases.

Eventually deciding to return to Barbara, Ivy wanted to chat and socialize with her, and talk about other things with her.

"Oh, hey Ivy." Barbara greeted.

"Hello, Miss Gordon," She politely returned. "How have things been going for you so far?"

"I've been good, you?"

"A little shaken up, but overall I'm fine."

Barbara spoke up again, and what she said was about to surprise Ivy. "By the way, I wanted to congratulate you for interrogating the Militia. And the other criminals." Barbara then smiled. "Weak bastards, they're all talk and no action when backed into a corner."

Ivy formed a small smile in return. "I appreciate it, Miss Gordon. Don't tell anyone I said this, but I personally took joy in tormenting Lynns, he did something to me. And doesn't know how to talk a lady."

Barbara smiled, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you." Ivy replied.

"My only regret is that the Joker died. I would've loved to see what you could've done to that bastard. As you can see, he left me 'thoughtful' 'parting gift." Barbara emphasized the sarcasm in her voice, referencing Joker paralyzing her in the process.

Hearing his name again, Ivy immediately fell back into a worried state.

Hearing his name again, Ivy immediately fell back into a worried state. Even if Crane was defeated and locked up, she still had no idea how to deal with Joker.

While loathing to give the madman credit, Ivy had to admit that the psychopath's knack for brilliant schemes can't be denied. After all, he took over Arkham Asylum and injected her with TITAN and turned her into a raging psychopath all in the same night.

"What's wrong?" Barbara asked, Seeing the look on Ivy's face. "Is it about The Joker?"

"How'd you know?" Ivy asks, sounding surprised.

"My father's been a cop for a long time, I picked up A lot growing up. I can read you like a book...I can also tell if you know something that I don't know."

Ivy had a small nervous smile, "Your father raised you well."

"I know, so spill...did the Joker have some kind of deathtrap unaccounted for? What's the sitch?"

Despite Batman telling her to keep this a secret, Ivy couldn't hold it in anymore. Barbara was his ally, and he shouldn't keep this from her.

Ivy eventually gave in and told Barbara about what was going on with Batman. "Remember during the Arkham City incident where Joker and Harley briefly captured Batman? That maniac infected him while he was captive."

"But I already know about the TITAN sickness, Batman cured himself of that months ago." And that's when it hit her: the cure was only for the TITAN sickness, not for Joker's own infected blood. "Wait, I already know that the four Joker Infectees were detained by Batman weeks ago."

"No Miss Gordon, they've already been taken care off, but there's still the problem of Batman HIMSELF. As the last Joker-infected victim, Batman kept it buried in him for the last 9 months, but it merely slowed down the process, not stop it. Joker's blood behaved like a prion infection, transforming everyone infected into him. Exposure to the fear toxin had accelerated the process, and Batman told her that after tonight, there won't be a Batman anymore."

There was a brief silence in the room. Although Batman had already explained this to her, she still couldn't believe that it was actually happening. "But I won't allow that to happen, I will not allow Batman giving me a second chance go to waste. He changed me and made me a better person. Mark my words: I will not allow his own actions to cost him his life."

Barbara nodded in understanding. "I understand, and don't want stress, I'll keep quiet about it. I've gotta look back on my notes on the TITAN formula, the sickness from it, and how Scarecrow's toxin ties into it."

"Interesting, i hope it can help him."

"Maybe there's a way it can counter its effects."

Seeing the Batmobile pull up to the GCPD, Barbara gave Ivy her communicator frequency. "If you need to reach me at anytime. We'll talk more about TITAN, Joker's Blood & the Fear Toxin later."

"Alright, see you later, Miss Gordon." Ivy turned around to walk away.

"And Ivy." She turned around at the mention of her name. "Call me, Barbara."

Ivy smiled. "Will do."

At this point, Batman returned with Deathstroke in custody. Ivy walked over to greet him and the GCPD's newest prisoner. "Batman." Ivy greets.

"Ivy."

"By the looks of it, I take it you've brought down. another one of the Arkham Knight's allies, shall I interrogate him as well?"

"No, it'd be a waste of time, as a soldier, Slade had been subjected to huge amounts of torture, making him just as strong-willed as me, so your pheromones won't work."

Deathstroke himself had finally spoke up, "You know, it's never personal, Batman, I only come after you when the money's flowing in. You have my respect, Dark Knight, your resourceful, just like me."

"I'm flattered." Batman sarcastically says.

The hired assassin turns his attention towards Ivy. "I know who you are to, Pamela Lillian Isley, AKA Poison Ivy, I read your file before taking this job. One day, I hope we will meet as adversaries. You look like you you'd put up a fight."

Ivy wasn't phased or bothered by Slade in the slightest, "You don't scare me at all, little man. You're no different than the average person in a costume trying to harm someone."

"One day, we'll see, Miss Isley, one day."

Having heard enough, Batman finally started walking him towards the main cell. Before doing that, he turned his attention towards Ivy, "I need to ask you something, Give me a minute, I'll be back."

Batman and Deathstroke disappeared from Ivy. She was left thinking two things, what could Batman ask of her this time around, and that for a hired assassin and the newfound leader of the Militia, he was surprisingly polite and respectful.

Eventually, Batman returned to Ivy, who was anticipating the newest favor Batman would ask of her. "I need a favor, Ivy."

"Of course, anything. Do you need me to interrogate more people again?"

"Not necessarily now, but there's now only one more person left out of Crane's allies: Nygma. He might know where Crane's hiding at."

"I see."

Batman continued. "Riddler kidnapped Selina, forced me and her into doing many of his riddles before finally freeing her. I don't know where Selina went, but Nygma said that if he solves all his riddles, he'll face him in a final confrontation."

"He won't stop you, none of them ever do." Ivy says, giving Batman her full support. "But how do I tie into this, Batman?"

"It's simple, Nygma still doesn't know you survived the fear toxin, you can serve as the element of surprise if he decides to cheat during our confrontation."

Ivy now fully understands Batman's plan. "That makes sense after all, I've heard stories of how whiny and petty he can get when he doesn't get his way."

"I know, so? Are you in?"

Ivy didn't need a moment's thought about this, "Of course, I owe you a lot."

"Good, we're leaving now."

Ivy agreed to help Batman deal with Riddler, and the two of them proceeded out of the GCPD precinct. Some of the cops even looked their way as they progressed out of the building.

Before Ivy got into the backseat of the Batmobile, she wondered if this is what being a hero truly meant and felt like...