Six Years Ago

I preferred the daytime, but damn if bad guys didn't have it right about the night. It was always easier to move unseen in the shadows. Something akin to a ghost beneath low lamp lights. I could get in and out of places without anyone ever noticing and it was exhilarating.

At first, anyway.

The lack of excitement in my break-ins were dull to say the least. But ever since I've made it a point to  make my presence known? The adrenaline has been mind- blowing. Half the stuff I have crammed in my little dingy studio space I didn't even want. They're just casualties of thefts of opportunity.

And whatever I walked away with tonight would be no different.

Christmas time in Gotham City isn't any less dark than the rest of the year. Rarely anyone put up any sort of Christmas lights, least of all the city officials. They were all too corrupt to care about making their dank city even slightly cheerful for its inhabitants. They basically made criminals' jobs easy.

Who needed a mask when the shadows enveloped you so perfectly?

As if to prove my point, four figures dressed entirely in black made their way passed the same jewelry store for the fifth time in less than twenty minutes. They didn't have anything to hide their identities and clearly no sense to hide their intentions either. Even if my mark hadn't been the same as theirs, I would've known exactly what they were up to.

For the sixth pass, only one of them returned to the front of the shop. I bent on the edge of the rooftop across the street, intrigued by whatever tactic they were about to employ. The dark figure banged aggressively on the glass of the shop, its rattling loud enough for me to even hear. It was a bold and odd choice on his part; and then I saw a beam of light from within the store.

The night guard.

"There's no way he's dumb enough," I scoffed under my breath. The guard came to the door shining his flashlight on the growingly aggressive person on the other side. From where I was standing, they seemed genuinely confused and then... they opened the door. "Wow. So they are that stupid, okay."

The person I'd been watching gestured wildly behind them and pushed their way into the store, almost as if receiving no resistance from the guard. I was expecting them to get thrown out almost immediately; get pushed around, something like the effort they employed against me. Instead, the guard made his own wild gestures at the would-be-thief, though his were more decidedly on the annoyed side. They must've known each other; the guard being the heist's inside man.

Apparently, I was doing the whole criminal life wrong.

I was growing more and more curious of the situation as I watched the two silently argue before it all ended abruptly. And I mean abruptly; one second they were arguing and the next I was watching the guard disappear sharply into the shadows behind him, his flashlight acting as a swirling vacuum in his wake.

His companion was frozen in shock for a moment before his fear kicked in. He threw the jewelry shop door open again in an attempt to flee, but barely made it three steps outside before being dragged back in. I just saw the edge of something metal glint in the slight light from outside, a cord of some kind wrapping around their ankles and pulling taut. I watched as the side of his feet went out from under him.

Then he was gone, too.

"Huh," I breathed out as I straightened on my feet. "Color me curious."

I stepped forward off the ledge, dropping down just a few feet before I landed a little joltingly on the freshly grown moss covered branch beneath me. With a slight bend of my knees as the branch curved downward, my shoes slid freely along the growth, making me feel like Tarzan as I tree surfed across the street. When the branch came to an abrupt halt, I jumped and landed lightly on the balls of my feet just in front of the door. I threw a quick glance over my shoulder just to make sure the branch shrunk back to its normal size and place on its tree.

After all, there was such a thing as drawing too much attention.

Turning back to the door, my eyes darted around the inside of the store, but I saw nothing and no one. In fact, aside from the flashlight that had rolled itself into a far corner, there was no sign that anyone had been inside there at all recently. The mystery of it made the adrenaline build in me, my skin flushing with heat and I pulled the door open just enough to slip inside.

I took slow, careful steps deeper into the store, looking around for the men I knew had to be in there. Still, somehow, I found no one until I reached a back door that was cracked open just enough for me to see something move behind it. Despite knowing better, I pushed the door open just a little more to get a better look. What I found was the four guys I'd spotted earlier, plus the store security, bound together on the floor, unconscious.

"Well now, who did this?" I mused aloud, unable to keep the smirk from crossing my face.

"Guilty," said a deep voice from beside me in the dark.

The adrenaline I'd felt before, kicked into overtime, the nerves in my body buzzing into action as I turned, just barely missing the fist that swung out at my face. I ducked in time to avoid it, somersaulting forward and pulling my hood taut around my face to keep it hidden. I didn't know who my opponent was, but clearly they didn't play by the criminal rules.

I spun to face them again and they had their body turned half away from me, hidden beneath a cloak. Then with nothing more than a gust of air, they threw something sharp in my direction; several somethings. I dived to the side to get away but still felt the cold sting as one of them sliced by my arm. I quickly looked at the wound, a little more than a scratch, and then shot the stranger a glare in the dark. "This was my favorite sweater, you dick," I snapped, lunging at them.

They came at me head on too, both of us course correcting at the last minute, I dropped and slid across the floor with one leg outstretched in an attempt to sweep their feet out from under them. Countering that, they dove and flipped overhead, landing behind me unscathed. In the time it took for me to spin on to my knees and back up on my feet, I heard a metallic click before being slammed in the chest with some sort of rod or staff.

Between that across my collarbone, the two seconds time advantage and the use of their own weight and brute force, my opponent slammed me against the wall. My head cracked into it just hard enough to echo through my ears as star-points of light formed behind my eyelids. I groaned, trying to blink it away and take in the man in front of me.

The room was still dark, but my eyes had adjusted just well enough to see.

He wore a black eye mask that framed his dark eyes nicely and rested on his cheekbones in a way that showed off their sharp structure. His jaw was a sharp line and his hair rested untamed and slightly framing his face. He had on what looked like a tactical armor, a distinct shape cut into his left chest plate.

Even disguised in armor and shadows, there was something beautiful about him.

My head throbbed as his narrowed eyes met my gaze head on, but I refused to let him know he'd gotten the best of me, no matter how briefly. Besides, I always had more than one backup to ensure I got away. It wouldn't kill me to have a little fun with him first. "Not that being pinned against the wall isn't giving me fun ideas, but attempting to knock me out is putting a damper on them," I taunted. "Even I have my limits."

"Who are you? Why are you here?" he demanded, ignoring my words. I just stared at him in silence, his annoyance spurring him to press closer to me. "Why are you here?"

"I- I'm sorry, I can't seem to hear you," I lied calmly, assessing just how close he'd gotten to me. Technically, he was probably in a good enough spot where he was, but a part of me wanted him close for a whole other reason. "Did you say something?"

"Enough of your games," he growled out, pressing his staff into me harder and bringing his face just inches away from mine. Exactly where I wanted him to be. "Give me answers."

"I haven't even begun to play games," I chuckled. I breathed out lightly, watching the dusting of my pheromones cross the small space and be inhaled by him. I watched him blink rapidly a few times before giving his head a shake; a sign the spores were setting in. He staggered back a step, still managing to keep a good hold on me to the wall. I considered dosing him a little more, but I wasn't trying to kill him.

Not just yet, anyway.

"You seem a little dizzy there, buddy. Maybe you should take a breather. You know, head home, get some rest--"

"What did you do?" he snapped, bursting with an energy I wasn't expecting and pinning me even harder to the wall. Definitely the complete opposite of what he was supposed to do. "What the hell did you do to me?"

I would've given a snarky remark in return, but his sudden strength was cutting off my air supply. I didn't want to give away all of my secrets, but if I didn't react soon, I wouldn't last long enough for it to matter.

With one hand slapping at his wrist, trying to loosen his grip even slightly, I shoved the other into my sweater pocket and grabbed the piece of vine I had hidden there. It was situations like this that made me grateful for carrying it. I could manipulate plant life, but only when it was close enough. A lesson I learned the hard way.

I focused on the smoothness of the vine, willing it to grow and aid me in my time of need. I felt the buzz of the power running through my veins, into the plant as it rapidly grew outward of my pocket and did my bidding. I watched it curl up and wrap around the staff at my neck, tying tight around his hands and pushing him back.

His eyes widened as two more vines found their way around his ankles, another around his waist. A rush of air filled my throat as the vegetation took on a life of its own, throwing him across the room. It slammed him into a filing cabinet as I bent over to catch my breath, binding him to it so that he couldn't free himself.

I couldn't help but let out a laugh as I watched him try, though. "It's probably best if you keep still, you know," I said, straightening up and walking towards him. His glare was fixed on me, but I could see the surprise behind it. He even seemed a bit intrigued, rather than afraid like anyone else would've. "Moving around will only aggravate it and if you do that, it'll get worse--" I trailed off slowly, surprised to see him actually listen to me.

Maybe the pheromones were working now?

"You aren't the usual breed of criminal," he said, unnervingly calm. I came to a stop before him, meeting his eyes easily. They weren't the glassy eyed, love-struck my pheromones usually made them; which meant that they hadn't worked. For some reason, he'd just decided to listen. And given the simplicity with which he took out all the thieves before me, it wasn't because he couldn't handle himself.

I gave him a small half smile, tucking my curling hair behind my ear in my hood as I half taunted him. "Does that mean you like me? I think it does."

"You have abilities I haven't seen in awhile," he replied as if I hadn't spoken. "Abilities I only know of one villain ever having and you aren't her. Which makes me think of only one way you could have that ability. You're Poison Ivy's daughter."

I stared at him blankly before spinning on my heels and walking over to the desk on the other side of our unconscious friends. I sat atop it, leaning back on my palms behind me, legs crossed in front of me. Facing him again, his features morphed to annoyance once more at my silence. "I wish I could say you were right, but alas, I cannot," I answered honestly, if not a little dramatically. "I know nothing of who my parents are or may be."

"So, you're an orphan?" he asked quietly, almost gently even.

"Something like that," I answered around a lump in my throat. I cleared it, pushing on. "Why don't you tell me about this Poison Ivy, though. A name like that, she has to be some kind of badass, right? Depending on what you tell me, I just might claim her as mom."

"You've never heard of Poison Ivy?" he said skeptically. "You're kidding." When I didn't answer for a full minute, I watched the realization dawn on him. "Shit. You really don't know, do you?"

I sighed, my own annoyance bubbling up. "I also don't know who you are, but honestly after the last few minutes of conversation, I'm willing to bet you're Captain Obvious. I've heard a lot about you."

"Actually, I'm--"

"Robin!"  a female voice yelled from further back in the building.

I jumped back on my feet, not intending to meet one of his friends who was likely to be as skilled as him. I liked the adrenaline rush of being noticed where I shouldn't be, but I wasn't a masochist. I bounded over to the office door to head back out the front door entrance, only pausing long enough to look back when the presumed Robin called out "Wait!"

"Sorry, Stud, I'm not ready to meet your friends just yet. Maybe next time, though." I winked, hurrying away as I heard a crash in the distance. I shut the door behind me, calling out to my vine mentally to free him but barricade the exit. I needed the extra time to put the distance between us.

I should've known that effort wouldn't have mattered in the end.