Flying Dragon

"With a haul this big, we could think about fixing up the church a little." The idea suddenly came to Roland on his way back to the church.

"What suddenly made you want to do that?" Jason asked curiously.

"Well, I was thinking we could get the church up and running, then draw in people who need help..."

"The truth."

"A proper church has a confessional. I figured I could use it to hear pretty girls' secrets, then catch them when they're vulnerable..."

"Just as I thought." Jason sighed. "We're only staying in the Abandoned Church for now, so it's not much trouble. But if you actually want to run it as a church, that comes with a whole lot of headaches."

"Really?"

"Never mind anything else. The paperwork alone would be enough of a pain."

"I could ask someone about that." Roland thought of Commissioner Gordon's friend, the district attorney, Two-Face... He probably hadn't turned evil yet, so he should be a reliable person to consult.

"Hello, Commissioner Gordon." With that thought, Roland called him straight away.

"I'm in the middle of something. Whatever it is, just tell me," Gordon said, holding his cheek. Everything had been piling up lately, leaving him so stressed that his teeth were aching terribly.

"Well, I have this church, right? It's been abandoned for so long, I thought I'd fix it up and give the citizens of Gotham City somewhere to pray..." Roland explained his idea to Gordon.

"Oh, that sounds good..." Gordon couldn't help wondering. Roland actually doing something a priest should do? Something about this feels off, no matter how I look at it. Is he trying to scam people out of donations?

At that thought, Gordon asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't know what paperwork I need," Roland explained.

"Neither do I." Commissioner Gordon was baffled. He knew a thing or two about the law, but Roland had come to entirely the wrong person for this.

"What I mean is, aren't you good friends with District Attorney Harvey? He should be good with legal matters. Could you introduce me to him...?"

"You really took the scenic route to that question." Gordon thought for a moment. "How about this? Are you free tomorrow?"

"I'm free every day."

"All right, then. Come to the Police Station entrance at five tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay." Roland hung up.

"That's it?" Jason asked. "I didn't realize you were that close with Commissioner Gordon."

"We get along pretty well... I helped him catch a criminal," Roland explained.

"Would that criminal you helped him catch happen to be me?" a sultry female voice asked.

Dressed in a light, brightly colored dress, Poison Ivy sat in a roadside London plane tree. The vines on her body threaded through its leaves, and flowers covered her.

Roland stared, unable to help swallowing. "What can I do for you, gorgeous?"

"You're asking me that...? Don't you know what you did?" Poison Ivy smiled seductively, and the tree beneath her stirred, launching an attack at Roland.

"I don't know." Roland assumed the opening stance of Liangyi Ding, silently cursing Batman.

Didn't he say he'd given Poison Ivy amnesia? So she only forgot about Batman, but still remembered me?

"Heh... Playing dumb won't help you." Perched on the tree, Poison Ivy directed the hulking plant beneath her to rain thick branches down on Roland.

Roland stomped, shattering the paving beneath his feet. Using Living Step, he slipped straight through a gap in the attacking branches and punched the trunk, shaking the entire tree and sending wood chips flying.

"Impressive martial arts! So you really were the one who rescued Bruce Wayne! And you beat me until I lost my memory!" Poison Ivy snapped.

"How is that my fault?" Roland's face twitched. If Poison Ivy had lost her memory, why had she come straight for him?

But if she hadn't, why was she blaming him for everything Batman had done?

Still, it was only a tree. Even if it could move, it couldn't withstand more than a few punches from Roland. Soon, his blows sent branches and leaves flying, and Poison Ivy began to feel the pressure from her perch.

But controlling plants wasn't Poison Ivy's only weapon. Her body could also secrete deadly toxins, capable of killing her targets or controlling their minds.

Seeing that Roland was about to tear her tree apart with his bare hands, Poison Ivy leaped down and lunged at him.

This guy is definitely a lecher. He'll catch me for sure, and then I can take him down in one move! Poison Ivy thought, biting her red lip.

"What's this supposed to mean?" Roland looked up, then froze on the spot.

Then Poison Ivy used Flying Dragon to the Face.

Roland toppled backward, and the scene became decidedly hard to watch.

"Uh..." Watching from the sidelines, Jason's jaw dropped. What was going on?

Poison Ivy's face flushed, and she secreted toxins to knock Roland unconscious.

"You..." Jason tried to step in and help, but vines instantly bound him up like a mummy.

Poison Ivy was about to speak when a huge bat-shaped shadow blocked the light behind her.

"Batman..." Poison Ivy gritted her teeth.

"Let them both go," Batman said coldly.

"Not a chance!" Poison Ivy sent the vines on her body whipping backward, but they struck empty air.

A moment later, several ropes bound her tightly, and she fell to the ground.

"What happened to him?" Batman checked Roland's breathing. Finding him alive, he clipped a device onto his hand.

"He's just unconscious," Poison Ivy said with a huff.

"Strange... Why is his blood pressure so high? Do your toxins do that too?" Batman sounded puzzled. "It's almost as if something got him worked up."

Poison Ivy blushed and turned away without a word.

"I can answer that one." Jason gave a knowing smile.

A few minutes later, Roland gradually regained consciousness, an odd scent lingering around his nose.

"You're awake." Batman stood beside him. "Poison Ivy has been subdued."

"Oh... Thanks."

"How did you get so good at fighting all of a sudden?" Batman asked.

"Uh... That's Chinese kung fu for you. Amazing, right?" Roland said. "Chinese culture is vast and profound. You wouldn't understand."

"Trying to fool me like some clueless foreigner?" Batman said in Mandarin, glancing at him. "You think I don't know what kung fu is? It takes years of practice. Two or three years would barely get you past the basics... No, you've only had two or three days, and you're already this good?"

"I'm a martial arts prodigy. Of course I'm different from you," Roland insisted.