[CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/0xjS780.png[/IMG][/CENTER]

[b]Gotham City, Moldoff Spa 
West End Resort
11:30 PM[/b]

[I][B][color=9e0b0f]What the hell is going on?[/color][/B][/I]

Floyd Lawton felt as if he were waking up from a bad dream. At least, what he'd been hoping had been a dream for the last five days. But upon exiting his unmarked car at the gate of an abandoned luxury spa resort that had since been gutted and left to rot, overtaken with vines and wild grass, Lawton felt the pit of his stomach shift. None of it had been a dream, and even now, he could feel his body moving without his own cognative imput as he reached up to the dial-pad attached to the gate to type in a set of numbers that he didn't recognize. When the rust-covered entrance creaked itself open and allowed him entry, he wondered just what the hell he was walking into. The survivalist instinct in him wanted to load at least one of the many weapons strapped to his person, but his hands were firmly at his side, and his legs were moving. He was casually strolling ahead despite his mind being a mere passenger. Even the breaths he was taking weren't being controlled by him, as if someone were pulling his every nerve like they were marionette strings. And that made one of the most dangerous up-and-coming assassins in the world very nervous, as the memories of the past few days started to creep back in.

[I][B][color=9e0b0f]Oh, shit. Not this again.[/color][/B][/I]

He'd come to Gotham on a lark just under two weeks ago, between contracts. The mother of his child, Zoe, lived in The Narrows and had maintained sole custody. Lawton's ex had never really pieced together how he made his living, but she knew it was something dangerous, and not suitable for a parent-to-be. Uncharacteristically, Floyd hadn't fought her to see the girl that was rightfully his to see. Unlike most idiots in his position, he understood why he had to be held at a distance, and not having to worry about an infant daughter made being a professional killer all the more bearable of an existence. But somewhere along the line, someone else had gotten to him. He didn't remember who, and that was what bugged him the most, but they had made some pretty convincing argument to change Floyd's mind about taking it easy. They'd put a hit out on Harvey Dent, the District Attorney, and Lawton had willfully accepted. But for some reason... his word hadn't been enough. The individual responsible wanted something more binding than a signature on a stack of papers, so they'd drugged him. 

The next thing he remembered, he had woken up on a rooftop overlooking a rally that Dent had organized, outfitted in his gear and with a full cache of ordinance. Dent was spouting off something about a vigilante. Lawton didn't particularly care about the impassioned speech, but he felt himself raise the sniper rifle towards Dent's position anyway, carrying out the agreement that he'd already made - but for some reason, under the control of another party. The only solace Lawton took in knowing this was that the bullet never made it to Dent's brain, because whoever had taken the shot on his behalf - with his finger on the trigger - hadn't counted on actually needing Floyd's experience as a sniper to pull off the kill. They just needed him to take the fall for an expected outcome. 

When Dent survived, clearly, things had changed. Even his chance run-in with The Batman hadn't been enough to deter the person now drawing Lawton to the half-destroyed spa. As Floyd stepped over the ruins of what used to be the lobby entrance, he could feel the humidity in the room grow considerably. Sweat beaded down his forehead, and he momentarily forgot that he couldn't actually reach up to wipe it away, adding to his frustration. He found himself walking down a dark, dimly lit corridor, heading directly for a steel door on the opposite end of the path. 

[I][B][color=9e0b0f]C'mon, Floyd. Whatever this is, fight it off. Take control again, dammit.[/color][/B][/I]

His own pleas were met with silence, as his arms reached forward and pushed the heavy door aside. The metal scraping against the floor hurt his ears, as did the loud ringing that resulted from the door hitting the opposite wall as it swung open, seemingly by itself. At first, Lawton couldn't see shit in the dark room ahead. But he proceeded anyway, being guided by whatever it was that had taken control of him for nearly a week. He only came to a stop whenever he could feel himself enter the center of the room. There was someone else there with him, but Floyd couldn't see who it was. He was standing in total darkness and rendered completely immobile. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"Do you like the darkness, Mr. Lawton?"[/color][/b]

A female's voice. Seductive, yet at the same time laced with a tender malice. Floyd was surprised to feel himself able to move his mouth again, at least, and control what came out of his vocal chords. Rather than curse the mystery woman who had done this to him, however, he chose to remain calm. Obviously, the chick still retained control over the other ninety-nine percent of his body, so if he wanted out of this room with some tangible answers, he knew that he had to play it cool. 

[b][color=9e0b0f]"Eh. I can take it or leave it. Though I will say, I generally do my best work in it..."[/color][/b]

Narrowing his eyes, which he suddenly realized he could do, Floyd noticed a shadow step forward as the moonlight hit the area ahead of them. The woman had a slender figure, athletic and clearly one that was alluring to the male gaze. But he also noticed that despite the shadows, her eyes were visible. Like some kind of glow-in-the-dark effect was making them stand out and appear in an otherworldly shade of green. It creeped him out, to be sure. The woman traced her index finger across Lawton's chin and he felt himself want to tense up, but unable to do so. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"If that were true, lover, we wouldn't be in this predicament."[/color][/b] 

Lawton felt his body turn as she walked past him, eventually following. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"After all, Harvey Dent's still [i]breathing[/i]."[/color][/b]

The assassin felt professionally annoyed, now. It was one thing to take control of his body and his actions, but it was another thing entirely to accuse him of being at fault for a botched kill. His record had been spotless up to this point, and this witch had fucked it up for him. 

[b][color=9e0b0f]"Can't say that I can take the credit for that blunder, given my mind literally wasn't the one calling the shots. You should've just let me carry out the contract. Would've had your man dead to rights."[/color][/b]

The woman chuckled. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"I highly doubt that, Mr. Lawton. While I admit to tampering with your actions on the night in question, I was in [i]full[/i] control of your expertise in the field. I was shooting with your level of skill, and you still missed."[/color][/b]

Now Deadshot was just pissed off. 

[b][color=9e0b0f]"Lady, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but I never miss. And I don't know what you mean by controlling my skills, but having skills and knowing how to utilize 'em are two different things. I could know how to be a friggin' plumber, but that don't change that I dropped outta Junior High and wouldn't be caught dead with a wrench. Killing is all I know how to do, and you were the one that threw me off. That's not even in contention."[/color][/b]

The woman paused, looking over her shoulder at him. Her devilish green eyes peering back through the shadows. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"My, don't [i]you[/i] have gumption? You do realize that if you continue to talk to me in that tone, I'll not only rescind your ability to speak when spoken to, but I might even go ahead and pull out one of the... what, sixteen different weapons you've got hidden under that jacket of your's? And make you use it to carve out your own frontal lobe."[/color][/b]

Lawton remained silent for a moment. Not because of the threat, but because the woman had known exactly how many weapons he was carrying on him. Nobody would know that unless they had taken a peek inside of his thoughts, or looked through his eyes. Which meant that if anything, she was telling the truth about being able to control everything about him. And if that meant he really had missed the shot, he was tempted to pull a piece out and put it to his own temple right now. He didn't fear dying. Infact, it was quite the opposite with Floyd. Most that had worked with him called him "Deadshot" because of the fact that he would literally take any risk imaginable to take down his targets. It was because he had a death wish, and had been looking to go out on some grand assignment that'd make his name famous. Then, and only then, would he amount to something.

[b][color=9e0b0f]"Fair point. But I gotta ask, why all this cloak and dagger shit? I already agreed to the job when you offered it, assuming you were the one to offer. Why not let me just play my part if you wanted Dent gone so badly?"[/color][/b]

[b][color=8dc73f]"Because this is Gotham City, lover."[/color][/b]

The woman turned around, her features now illuminated in the moonlight. Floyd was taken off guard by what he saw staring back at him. She was... beautiful. Without question, the most breathtakingly stunning woman that he had ever seen. Her eyes matched the supernatural quality of her features, infact, adding to the striking visage. But with a flick of her wrist, Floyd felt his own hand ball into a fist, immediately taking his mind off of her enchanting beauty. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"And in case you weren't aware, this is a city where trust in others is an [i]impossible[/i] concept. The police are [i]crooked[/i]. The weak are [i]desperate[/i]. The wealthy are [i]corrupt[/i]. And people like me are left to fend for themselves, taking the scraps that [i]men[/i] like Carmine Falcone and Rupert Thorne leave behind. I assigned you to the task because you had the skills I required, but I never had any [i]intention[/i] of letting you utilize them yourself. Not when I could do it for you."[/color][/b]

Floyd was knocked to the floor by a hard right hook delivered to him by his own fist. And then another, and another after that. The woman grinned in delight as he began to taste blood on his lip. Lawton stared back in horror as she knelt down to approach him. 

[b][color=9e0b0f]"W-what... are you?"[/color][/b]

Touching his nearly fractured nose with her index finger to elicit further pain, the woman threw back her crimson hair and allowed the plant life in the room to move towards her. Vines, flowers, and all manner of vegetation grafted itself onto her as if it were clothing acting on her command. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"Poison, Mr. Lawton."[/color][/b]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/Omwk3Vv.png[/IMG]

[b][color=8dc73f]"To men like you, I am Poison."[/color][/b]

The name suddenly made him realize who he was dealing with. There had been rumors of a major drug kingpin operating outside the jurisdiction of the five families. There had been a particular powerful strain of a natural ingredient, used to create everything from a potent crystal meth to a particularly addictive form of heroin, making the rounds among people who had been lucky enough to score a place in the new player's outfit. They called the ingredient "Ivy". And the woman responsible for it's creation was said to be the inspiration for the name. 

Pamela "Poison Ivy" Isley. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"But let's not dwell on my role in this little assignment, lover. I recall asking you a question of the rhetorical variety. Do you like the darkness? Because I personally can't stand it."[/color][/b]

Rising to meet a blooming flower as it greeted her, as if a young child had reached out to greet it's mother, Poison Ivy raised one hand to gently stroke it's pedals as her other hand made the come hither motion. Without warning, Lawton felt his limbs ensnared by a series of vines that were growing on their own. Lifting him up from the ground, and suspending him into the air. He tried to yell out, but he was again rendered unable to. Ivy was back in total control, of both him and the room itself. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"Sunlight is what supports photosynthesis, you see, and the darkness can only stunt a plant's growth. I thrive on growth to do what I've been doing, and have been perpetually forced to operate at night to avoid interference by unwelcome parties. The creation of my latest toxin has therefore been delayed by such inconvenience."[/color][/b]

Lawton felt his neck jerk back as another vine wrapped itself around his throat. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"Now, I know what you're thinking. Literally, because I can read your thoughts. And yes, I am quite powerful on my own. So I understand your confusion as to why someone like me would need to operate in secret at all. But it's very simple. You see, Gotham is experiencing a point of growth that I have yet to personally accelerate. The fruits of what keeps the city running belong to the labor of the five families, the police, and even a certain cape and cowled individual that we ran into the other night. If I were to try and control [i]all[/i] of them at once, I'd never get anything done. So I'm going step-by-step in my conquest of the city's functioning operations."[/color][/b]

Ivy's playful tone turned to one of immense rage, as she made the vines carry Lawton closer to her. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"And killing off poor, contemptible Harvey Dent was meant to be the first step into a much larger world. To lull his enemies into a false sense of security so that I could work my way in beyond their notice. And yet he still [i]lives[/i]. Because of [i]you[/i]."[/color][/b]

Floyd felt the sweat on his face begin to drop in buckets as the humidity levels rose even higher. Ivy's skin was unaffected, however, as she let out a pleasured moan. Even to a trigger-man like him, it was obvious that she and these plants had some sort of connection to eachother. She herself acted like she was a damn plant with legs. And maybe she was. Though the far more likely explanation was that Lawton had found himself in the clutches of one of those [i]mutant[/i] freaks of nature that the news was constantly blaming everything on. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"I'm giving you one more chance, lover. But on this try, you'll have to earn it, because I can't trust relying on your experience alone to get the job done. So I'm going to make you a deal."[/color][/b]

Lawton still couldn't move, but he was nevertheless intrigued. 

[b][color=8dc73f]"If you're truly right and the need for [i]free will[/i] is what makes you an adept killer, then I'll grant you a temporary return of your faculties. You'll get to carry out the contract on your own, with no interference from your's truly. But to both ensure that you don't decide to turn your guns on me, as I can [i]already[/i] feel you contemplating, and compensate you with something worth more to you than money that I [i]don't[/i] intend to part with, I'm going to make things interesting for you. Something a bit more [i]personal[/i], this time."[/color][/b]

Ivy leaned forward and placed her lips near Floyd's ear, whispering something particularly sinister into it that made Lawton pay immediate attention.

[b][color=8dc73f]"Do the job to the [i]letter[/i]... and I won't have to kill your sweet, innocent little girl."[/color][/b]

[B]Gotham City, West End
Rooftops
11:45 PM[/B]

[color=fff200][B]Target identified, Mr. Wayne. Floyd Lawton is currently moving out of this area. How do you wish to proceed?[/B][/color]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/qvLWONh.png[/IMG]

The Dark Knight watched from afar as an unmarked car made it's way onto the freeway overpass. The road that Deadshot had taken led to a relatively abandoned part of town, making it evident that the person who'd hired him to take out Harvey Dent was operating out of that area. And while his instinct was to head in the opposite direction of where Lawton was now heading and take down the individual who had ordered the hit before it could be carried out, something told him that the assassin was on the move to make his second attempt on Dent's life. 

He had no choice but to stop Deadshot directly, which meant a direct confrontation. Even if it meant losing out on capturing the person truly responsible for the attempt against his friend, he'd make Lawton tell him everything regardless. Now that he'd already survived one encounter, The Batman was more than confident in his own ability to pull that off. 

[color=Gray][b]"Keep following Lawton. He's on his way to Dent, and I want to catch him in the act."[/b][/color] 

[color=fff200][B]Placing heat signature on record...

Success. You will now be able to track Floyd Lawton anywhere within Gotham City.[/B][/color]

Batman smiled to himself. ACE was turning out to be more than an impressive new tool in his arsenal. With only a few simple satellite images, a succession of cycling through security cameras, and checking into Lawton's personal credit history, ACE had given him Deadshot's exact location in less than an hour. With some fine-tuning, he knew that ACE had the potential to track potential suspects at an even faster rate. Pulling out a grapple gun, The Dark Knight leapt into the air and fired off a line, swinging into Gotham proper. 

With some patience, he'd have Deadshot in police custody well before sunrise. But there was still another matter about this case that eluded him entirely, and it was beginning to bother him. There was at least one metahuman confirmed to be operating in Gotham City. His recreation of the incident had revealed it to be a woman, who had managed to block the bullet meant for Harvey in mid-air. With her bare hand. 

Given the way things were going, someone wielding that much power couldn't remain unchecked.

[color=Gray][b]"Re-establish the secure line to The Cave. I want to know the progress Alfred's made in identifying our mystery woman at the scene. She may have a larger role to play in this."[/b][/color]