Hello, all. Now, I must admit I'm writing this for a weird reason. I've recently picked up Injustice 2 as a game. I play Joker and love him to death, but he's not good at all and if I wanna actually play the game, I'm gonna need a character to cover some of his bad Matchups. I've been drawn to Poison Ivy and I find her interesting. But if I'm gonna invest time in her in the game, I have to have passion for her as a character. So I'm basically trying to get to know her and thought this would be a unique exercise to do so. So, don't judge me. This is just something I thought I'd try. Also, for fans of my Island of the Earth story, I'll get back to it soon. I need to get inspired and it hasn't been calling to me much as of late. Anyway, without further banter, here's my new story.
Knocked Down
Chapter 1
"What? Move out?" Ivy asked stunned.
"Yeah," Harley said smiling. "I think it's time for me to get back out there, don't ya think?"
Ivy's red hair fell from behind her ear and landed in front of her left eye. "Why would you wanna do that? We've got everything we could possibly want here. We've been getting better together."
"I know, Red. All of that's not gonna change. I promise! It's just I can't stay here forever. There's some things I gotta do on my own. There some discoveries about myself that I can't make if I stay here."
Ivy's brow raised. "Like what?"
"Well, I wanna travel. I can too. Read this."
Harley passed Ivy a letter. It was an invitation from Metropolis University. They wanted Harley to fly in from Gotham and give a conference to their students about her relationship with Joker.
"Why does hecstill have to define you at every moment?" Ivy asked setting it back down on the table.
"He's not. They don't want me to talk about him because they care about him. They wanna hear about me. They wanna actually hear about my side and my experiences with him. They want me to warn women on campus about the dangers of abusive relationships and why they should be empowered to fight back and not stand for it. Isn't that great?"
"Yes, but why do you have to leave? I don't understand. I don't want you to leave," Ivy protested taking Harley's hand.
"Red, I have to. This is something that I have to do. This is nothing but publicity for my care center and my book. If I wanna rebuild myself and get back to the way I was before, I have to go out in the world. I need to meet people and get my name out there."
"But why do you have to go? People ruin this world and everything good in it. I don't want you to leave because I don't want you to be abused by it again. The world has not been kind to you. Why must you go help it?"
Harley reached out for Ivy's hand who took it in her own. The two sat at the table for a long moment. Ivy's compound was a long way outside the Gotham City limits. While her days as a criminal were very much behind her, Ivy never warmed up to other humans besides Harley. Her compound was still filled with her toxin that all kept all men away. It was a place for her and her plants. That's all she ever wanted. Going to Arkham meant leaving her plants and after her Bloodroots all died without her there to take care of them, she knew she needed to cutbacks.
Night Shade came over and brushed his dinosaur-like head against Ivy's leg and she patted him on the head while she continued to try to process Harley's decision.
"Because I haven't closed myself off from the world like you. I just... I wish you'd reconsider. Maybe you could come with me to Metropolis. You'd see people aren't all bad. You could come to my lectures and watch me read my book. I'd love to have you."
"I can't leave Gotham. We've talked about this."
Harley frowned but nodded understandably. She stood up, also patting Night Shade before coming over to her friend and wrapping her arms around her. Ivy felt her eyes watering and returned the embrace and held Harley close. "I love you, Red. I'll never forget what you did for me. Without you, I don't know if I'd ever have broken away from the grip that he had on me... I can't thank you enough."
"Harley, it's okay. What are sisters for? That's what we do. We help each other. He wasn't right for you. He never was. I'm glad you are going to turn it into something positive. I'm so happy your figuring out what you're turning your life into. I'm so proud of you."
Harley giggled. "Thank you for understanding, love. I'm not taking all my things. This is a second home to me and you believe I'll be dropping by all the time and spending weekend after weekend here. It'll be like I never left. You'll see. Yes indeedy."
Her cheeks flushed and Ivy only continued crying. She was so grown up. She'd come so far from being a freak in a clown suit that she'd met during the museum. She never lost her smile. She remained strong. She kept it. Through every bruise, through every cut, through every scar, Harley Quinn kept her smile and her positivity. The reality of that made Ivy cry right there. She'd helped turn Harley's life around.
"You're my best deed..." Ivy said rubbing her hand on Harley's cheek. "You'll succeed out there. Your book is gonna sell millions You'll live in a huge mansion, fuck some rich guy and it'll be every thing a girl could want."
"Think they'll have room in that mansion for a Botanical Garden?" Harley asked.
"They'd better," Ivy said pulling her friend in closer.