Roselyn Lillian Gordon wasn't the happiest individual in Gotham City at the moment when she entered Arkham Asylum and had to follow a guard down into solitary confinement where she'd see Poison Ivy for the first time in weeks. She was disappointed that Ivy broke out of the asylum again and she wondered if she'd actually take the chance and get better. Rosie used to have high hopes that the woman who she thought of as her mother would have something to be good for now that she had a family. It was unfortunate Ivy didn't take rehabilitation seriously.
Rosie wondered why she and the guard didn't take the elevator but then she remembered this was Arkham and the elevator going down there was probably broken. She refused to grab the rusty rail as she descended down the steps. She and the guard didn't speak and she didn't really care to since she was raging internally. She shivered when the cold hit her. She wondered how it could get so cold in the middle of July. Then she remembered they were going deep underground. The sad thing was, it hadn't been the first time this year she had to go down and fetch Ivy and bring her out into sunlight so she didn't shrivel up and die like a flower.
The fourteen year old was dropped off with Dr. Leland who had already opened up the high security area and led her down the long corridor. Rosie saw Two-Face and gave him a small smile and a wave when Dr. Leland wasn't looking. She remembered how he had helped her and the others escape from Arkham when she was eleven. She really didn't hold anything against him and whenever she came down there and he was behind the Plexiglas, she would make his day by acknowledging him. "I am so sorry about all of this," Dr. Leland spoke.
"It isn't your fault," Rosie replied. "It's Pammie's. She shouldn't have broken out again."
"I don't understand why she has been. She was great for so long and within two months she's broken out three times," Dr. Leland sighed. "I was thinking maybe this time you can unlock the door and you can be the first person she sees. She seems to behave more when you're around."
They approached the cell where Ivy was contained. Unlike some of the others down there, this door was made of a dark gray metal. Dr. Leland stood aside and quickly tapped in the security code before handing Rosie the card to swipe to unlock it. Rosie did just that and the door opened.
There was Poison Ivy, with chains on her ankles, on the dirty floor of the cell. Her skin had turned almost a light brown in color, similar to what happens to a dying leaf. Weakly, she looked up at Rosie but was most obviously ashamed that she had to see her like this again. The brunette pressed her lips together in annoyance before going towards Ivy and kneeling on the floor beside her, putting her head in her lap so it didn't fall to the dusty floor. Her hair was a mess and limp and she obviously needed sunlight.
Since Ivy had difficulty trusting people and couldn't bathe herself, Rosie would have to be there with the nurses who came down into the cell and stripped off Ivy's soiled clothes to bathe her. That, and Ivy needed to be submerged into the water to help restore her. Roselyn felt the redhead deserved to be down there and weakened since she had to look at all of the dead bodies Ivy had killed with poison or strangulation from her plants. Every time Ivy broke out and really hurt someone, she felt as if her own mother slapped her in the face; sure they weren't biologically related, but she still loved Pammie as she would her own mother.
Roselyn was beginning to see more and more what other people had been telling her all along about Poison Ivy. She thought Ivy was going to stop her crusade since she had done so for at least two years. Unfortunately, Ivy went right back into her old habits and Rosie was going to make sure to find her voice this time when they went out into the garden. She wasn't going to tolerate this any longer. Too many people died three weeks ago and it had been hard for Rosie to watch. She was Dodona who worked alongside Oracle to fight crime behind the scenes and help Batman and Robin. Obviously she kept this a secret, even from Poison Ivy, since she didn't need to put anyone's lives in danger in case the wrong person found out.
Barbara, now that was a woman Rosie wanted to be like. She was her mother by adoption and she was so thankful to be part of her family. Barbara was a strong, independent woman who had genius level intellect and used it for good, not evil. Rosie wanted to be just like her as Barbara was well respected in the community as well as by superheroes. Rosie realized the love she had for Pamela Isley was slowly fading into more and more disappointment and her love and respect for Barbara grew. It wasn't easy to admit at first, but after actually watching Ivy with that evil smile after she seduced and kissed a guard knowing she would kill him, had angered her.
The teen helped the nurse get Ivy into the large basin filled with warm water. Rosie made sure Ivy didn't slip into the water and drown in her weakened state and held her hand which Ivy gripped as hard as she could. Rosie didn't dare look into sickly pale green eyes because she knew Ivy was giving her a look that said she was sorry. If she was sorry, she wouldn't have done this in the first place. A couple of other nurses came in and Rosie had to pry her hand away from Ivy as they lifted her from the tub to dress her.
"How is she?" Dr. Leland whispered outside the cell.
"She's okay. Looks better after being in the water," Rosie replied.
"Will you be okay with her in the garden?"
"Of course," Rosie nodded. "I can handle her."
"We know," Dr. Leland smiled and patted her shoulder. Ivy had a little bit of fight in her now that she had become somewhat hydrated. The moment Rosie heard commotion, she stepped inside the cell, and the woman stopped struggling and let the nurses strap her into a wheelchair which had to be pushed up a large ramp. A couple of guards followed her while she pushed Ivy up the ramp. Ivy's head was still held high but Rosie knew it was all for show. The teen knew Ivy knew she herself was pissed; Rosie was going to have to talk to her and try to knock some sense into her. Barbara had told her to be nice and reminded her Ivy had something wrong with her mentally and she shouldn't be made to feel horrible about everything even though she was in the wrong. Rosie had agreed, but she wasn't sure how long she could keep this up. The green eyed girl desperately wanted to yell at her and tell her exactly what was on her mind.
Rosie pushed Ivy out all the way to the gardens and parked the wheelchair beside some benches so she would sit beside her. As angry as Rosie was, she was also tired of this new cycle that was developing. She didn't want to be one of those people constantly trapped in an endless cycle which would always lead to getting hurt. She wasn't like Ivy who would end up letting Harley back into her life. For all the teen knew, she could have already and hid the relationship.
The two sat in silence. Rosie wasn't really sure what to say to her without sounding angry. "I'm sorry," Ivy said in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I know," Roselyn murmured and reached her hand over to Ivy's. "You hurt a lot of people."
"There are enough people to go around," Poison Ivy responded. Rosie couldn't even look at her at the moment.
"That doesn't make it okay," Rosie said as she kicked the dirt on the ground.
"I'm only doing what should be done," Ivy replied.
"Then what are you apologizing for?" she asked. She didn't wait for Ivy's response when she decided it was time to leave. "I need to get going," Roselyn stood up. "I'll let the guard over there know I'm leaving." Ivy's grip was strong and she didn't allow Rosie to leave. She grasped her hand tightly as she struggled to break free of it. Rosie told herself she wouldn't get emotional in the sense that she'd end up crying, but she was and she couldn't stop the tears that fell from her cheeks. "I want to go home," Rosie's voice cracked.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?"
"You know what's wrong," Rosie sniffed. "You know how hard it is to look at the newspapers and hear the news on the TV? You think I want my mother to be a mass murderer? I don't care if you're a reincarnation of Mother Nature or some weird prophet, but if this is something Mother Nature wants it's just wrong."
"I love you," Ivy looked up at her, but Roselyn couldn't make eye contact.
"Please just focus on healing," Rosie was finally able to get her hand away. She walked over to a guard and told him she was leaving and to make sure he kept a closer eye on Ivy. He nodded in understanding and gave her a sympathetic look before having one of his colleagues escort her out.
Luckily for her, Barbara had been waiting in the lobby of the asylum. She didn't need to ask Rosie what was wrong because she already knew. Rosie was thankful Barbara had never disappointed her and she had at least one person she could always rely on. Rosie wished Pammie could be more like Barbara; she wished Ivy had some remorse about ending people's lives. Rosie remembered a time when she wanted to be just like Poison Ivy, but it was obvious she no longer wanted to be like her. The only thing that kept her going for the visitations was hope that she'd get better and finally understand the things she had done were wrong. That, and Ivy was the only other person on the planet just like her. They were both human/plant hybrids and were created by Dr. Jason Woodrue. The difference between their creations was Roselyn had been born this way while Ivy had been experimented on when she was already an adult.
Rosie wordlessly got into the taxi and absentmindedly helped Barbara into it and folded up the wheelchair. She didn't mind helping her out and it didn't annoy her even if some of the kids she used to go to school with liked to post mean things about how only a cripple would love Rosie and somehow just because Barbara was in a wheelchair it made her an invalid. This angered Rosie at first since she decided to be homeschooled to get away from the bullying, but she had learned to ignore it. She should have deleted her social media accounts like Barbara told her to; however, Roselyn used it to keep up to date on some news stories she followed and it was easier to keep her old accounts instead of make new ones.
Rosie silently rode back to the apartment and repeated the steps in reverse to help Barbara out of the taxi. She never really pushed Barbara's wheelchair as the redhead didn't depend on Rosie for everything. In fact, she could take a taxi on her own and without assistance. Rosie just liked to be useful. The teen walked behind Barbara and took the elevator up. She wondered if they'd ever upgrade and leave this stupid apartment for a house with a nice backyard and maybe a garden. Rosie missed gardening and almost made an effort to go to Ivy's old greenhouse where she had maintained Ivy's plants for a while. The thought of anything associated with Ivy lately made her upset and angry so she kept away from that greenhouse and settled tending a few potted plants around the apartment.
"Hey ladies," Dick Grayson said when they entered their home. It seemed as if Dick had slowly moved in with the two and only went to Bludhaven every other weekend. It was nice to have a man around. Rosie's anger melted away when she saw he had bought a cake for no particular occasion and it had buttercream frosting, her absolute favorite.
A number of you asked for another story with Rosie, so here it is! Please let me know what you think so far. I already have approximately 7 chapters written so I can update frequently :)
