3075/Winter Shoots

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Winter Shoots
Date of Scene: 05 November 2017
Location: Gotham City
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Poison Ivy, Batman, Oracle




Poison Ivy has posed:
Winter is pressing hard upon the heels of Gotham, and even if the weather today is mild, Daylight Savings has stolen an hour of the evening and given it over to the night, meaning the 'safe' hours of West Chelsea Park have been somewhat truncated. The meet is set for 6:00 in the afternoon, which yesterday still would have been full in the blessing of sunlight, but tonight only clings to the last vestiges of tattered orange and red among the clouds at the horizon. Ivy herself has been missing in action for some time, now. Maybe her recent stretch at Arkham has given her much to think about. At any rate, she's here, though she may be tricky to spot, if Batman and Batgirl are looking for that long, languorous frame dripping in foliage and purring with seductive intent. If it weren't for the brilliant red of her hair, now pulled back into a severe curl of a long, vertical bun, they might miss her entirely, sitting with her back straight and knees pressed primly together on a park bench, staring off at the sunset. Her features are pale and wan, her foliage faded to only a pallor of green with darker green veins visible beneath her skin along the tops of her hands and in the crooks of her elbows. She's dressed in a simple grey wrap dress which hits just above the knee, a black belt that matches some chic-looking two-inch high heels. There's a purse on her lap, black with two white stripes, on which she holds both of her hands as she sits there still and quiet, the colors of the western sky reflecting off of the chunky glasses she wears.

Batman has posed:
    The hour is early for the appearance of the urban legend known as the Batman. Even with the last slivers of daylight creeping over the horizon the haze of darkness is barely enough for the Dark Knight to feel entirely comfortable in the long shadows that cast their ominous darkness upon the sprawl of the city.
    In the park, however, things are still eerie from the holiday. There's still the brush of leaves upon the wind, old pumpkins rotting in garbage bins, and the posters for the festival in the park have only mostly been taken down. There's a feeling on the air of rain soon, likely coming off the river at this time of the night. But for now the evening is dry, causing those leaves to rustle as they drift.
    Yet when the dark silhouette of the man in black appears, his arrival isn't even heralded by the crunch of a leaf underfoot. One moment she is sitting alone on that park bench, then the tall man in cape and cowl is there barely visible as but a shape limned by the light of the street lamp that shines upon the park's sidewalk path.
    "Ivy," That rumbling voice, "You've been away for some time."

Oracle has posed:
    The park is a good place to meet -- it limits the Bat-peoples' approach to Ivy. Keeping to the park's periphery, Batgirl makes a half-round of the park and then chooses a perch with a good view of the bench on which Ivy sits. She is only here as back-up today, keeping an eye on the rooftops and the park region to make sure that nothing else besides Batman is coming out of those shadows. She doesn't even tell the Batman that he's in the clear -- he already knows.

Poison Ivy has posed:
It's wise of Batman to bring backup. Who knows what sort of trap this might be, especially in a park full of foliage which Ivy could expend some effort in riling against the hero. But the plantlife here all looks about as tired as she does, and Batgirl can catch no sight of anything blooming into existance that should not be at present. She turns her cheek to the last rays of sunlight as they fade across her silhouette, and she sets her purse on the bench next to her, rising slowly to stand with her arms at her sides and then turn to face the Bat on his approach. "Yes," she answers, but doesn't otherwise offer any clues as to her whereabouts in the interim. "Thank you for-- " she breaks off, shakes her head and starts over, "Thanks for coming." Isn't that basically the same thing? "I wanted to let you know I was back, before I told anyone else-- or before you heard."

Batman has posed:
    The body language of the tall man is closed off, unassailable. What features he has that can be seen offer no inroads to thought nor feeling, and then his arms close over his chest as if he were standing in silent judgement of the lone woman standing before him. Which he is. His head tilts slightly to the side and he says in that quiet level tone, "The last I saw you, you were escaping from Arkham. There are still quarters for you there, Ivy. To get the help you need."
    For a moment the autumn wind catches his cloak and snaps the fabric faintly around his legs, revealing the armored uniform the man wears, and causing the shadow behind him to seem all the more ominous.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl moves quietly, shifting her position and watching closely. It's the time of year for bat-thermals, a little chilly up there on the rooftops. But she doesn't give away her presence, merely listening through the comms.

Poison Ivy has posed:
Doctor Isley blinks once, a slow, lethargic gesture, and slowly brings up her own arms to mirror Batman's stance, though it's possibly a little more defensive, her shoulders inching upward in a slow roll of distaste. "That place is toxic. I think even you know that. When was the last time anything good or healthy ever happened there?" She takes a soft breath, "I've had some time to myself, some fresh air and sunshine and quiet. It struck me-- I'm-- I'm throwing away everything I have, for nothing," she winces at the corners of her eyes, and, feeling as though it bears repeating, "For //nothing,// Batman. Nothing I've done has done any good-- in fact, it's really just the opposite, isn't it?" she's looking for some sort of confirmation of her breakthrough.

Batman has posed:
    Those irisless white eyes give nothing back to her, though she might see the slightest furrowing of his brow, hidden by that cowl that walls him off from the world. His jaw tenses subtly then he tells her, "You've done a lot of harm in the world, Ivy. And I've always felt you could do a lot of good. But that step, the step where you accept that what you've done in the past is wrong and you get a chance at redemption through your actions..."
    He shifts back and then gestures towards the bench seat beside them, perhaps looking to deescalate matters, to lower the subtle tension in the air. And even if she does not take a seat, he will there, resting on the edge of it with his cape under him while he leans forwards, keeping his eyes on her. "That step comes at the end of your rehabilitation. Once people who have better insight into your mental health than I can pass judgement." There's a pause, just silence there in the park even as the wind brushes another faint drift of leaves across the sidewalk.
    "But if you are sincere, then that is a good first step."

Poison Ivy has posed:
Doctor Isley edges backward a step or two when Batman approaches the bench, finally settling down on the far edge of the bench from him, ankles splayed awkwardly and knees pressed tight together to maintain a certain propriety in her dress. She reacches out to remove her purse from the bench space between them and set it in her lap again, looking down to it and opening it up to remove a half-eaten... protein bar? of some kind? and unwrinkle the wrapper to pinch off another piece. "I always thought I was going to save the world," she speaks to the bit of protein bar in her fingers, even if she's really addressing the Batman. "Save it from ... " she glances over her shoulder, "People like you. But I can't do it. You're always there to stop me. And there's so much good I could do, it's... stupid, the way I've been throwing it away." She chews thoughtfully on the bit of bar, then, once she's swallowed, "Do you know the expression, letting the perfect be the enemy of the good? A perfect world is never going to happen. I can't //accomplish// anything on that scale-- I've tried, I've busted my head open beating my skull against it for... for how long? When I could have been... actually doing something to help, something that-- you and I both agree needs done. Re-growing deforested areas. Helping maintain algae blooms to stabilize the oxygen levels in the oceans. I'm a fucking doctor, I can -- help. Do something. Better than nothing. The great lot of nothing I've done so far." Her jaw juts out somewhat sulkily as she gazes down in a defeated depression at the top of her purse. "If you want to take me somewhere, I'll go with you. Just not there, OK? Somewhere else."

Oracle has posed:
"Moving to Position 3," Batgirl murmurs into Batman's comm. She flits on the shadows to a new position, not sure whether Batman will take that offer. But she'll back whatever play he makes on this.

Batman has posed:
    For a time Batman looks at her sidelong as she speaks. He straightens up and frowns, looking to the side. Not to dismiss her words, or to consider them insincere perhaps. But instead so he can focus on them, on the rhythm of her voice, the inflection, the emotion. Near the end he eyes her askance, considering the micro-tremors in her physical features. She'll be able to read the skepticism in the man, though he holds his counsel to himself for now.
    Once she falls silent he looks away again, lifting a hand to the side of his head. Sub-vocalizing he asks into the comm he shares with the bat family, "What's your read?" Pamela can't hear him say it most likely, but he doesn't wait for the answer before he turns back towards Poison Ivy.
    "If you are sincere about this, Isley, then you should turn yourself in and then submit to have your treatment resolved at another facility."

Oracle has posed:
Watching through her binoculars, listening to the words and knowing all that she knows about Pamela Isley, Batgirl considers the query. Before too long, her response comes back. "Sincere or not, she's an escapee. I don't know if she could get outpatient treatment... or that she'd continue with it even if she could. But she sounds like she means it."

Poison Ivy has posed:
Doctor Isley maintains coherent eye contact with the strap of her purse. Does she particularly want to go back into treatment? Not really. But with her mood swinging so low, and with at least the Batman seeming to agree she doesn't have to go back to Arkham-- she tenses her jaw, and with a subtle swallow of apprehension she nods her head, once, a timid sort of gesture. "Alright," she whispers, breath coming shaky for a moment before she clears her throat, attempts to compose herself. "If I have your word you won't let them put me back into Arkham. I'll go anywhere else."

Batman has posed:
    Rising to his feet, Batman looks down at her and then extends one armoured gauntlet towards her, palm upwards as he tells her. "If it will help with your treatment, I will lend my voice to your cause. But I can't promise you anything, Pamela. But I will do my best. The good you could do to the world is worth the risk."
    With that said he touches a hand to the belt at his waist, a faint LED flaring to life for a bare moment before there's a low /roar/ and a rumble as a black vehicle rolls forwards down the nearest road, its headlights sweeping the park as it turns and then light streams forth from the door that opens with a hiss.