I disclaim the use of the characters in this story to their original owners. The plot belongs to me, thank you very much.
And without further ado, I give you: Poison Ivy
The night was quiet for overtime at the lab. Doctor Pamela Isley stood before a concoction of volatile chemicals, adorned in the prototype of the newest hazmat suit. As the brunette studied the chemicals, scribbling down notes in her log book, she noted that the new substance began to thicken and steam.
"Excellent." The young woman muttered to herself, breaking the silence in the large laboratory. Pamela moved away from the beaker and stalked across the room to another flask containing a bubbling blue liquid, which she picked up from it's place on the hotplate with a pair of metal and rubber tongs. Turning swiftly and being sure not to spill any of the liquid, she glided back to the beaker, whose contents were now about to bubble over the side of the glass. The beaker was moved from the hotplate and placed on the counter as Pamela carefully began to pour the blue liquid into the beaker, and swirled the two concoctions together.
A small clang was heard from the other side of the lab. Dr. Isley pivoted around, scanning the room quickly and carefully. Nothing.
"I-is someone there?" she asked into the dim light of the lab; another clang was heard, this time from behind, followed by a mad cackling. Pamela swerved to look behind her, her eyes widening at the sight she beheld. Her hand flew to the underside of the counter, flipping the silent alarm.
"Y-y-you're t-t-the…" Pamela stuttered, backing away as the figure walked towards her.
"The Joker." Said man stepped into the light of the lab, revealing his horribly bleach-pale skin and signature purple suit. A smirk was etched onto his face as he began to laugh.
"Hey, Puddin', I found it!" a female's voice came from where Pamela had been working on her concoction.
"Uh, don't touch that!" Pamela shouted at the other female, who was dressed as a harlequin jester. "It's unstable. You could blow us all sky high!"
The Joker grabbed hold of Pamela's shoulder and pulled her into a loose choke-hold, bringing a pistol to her head. She shrieked and closed her eyes tight.
"Where's the fun without a good old BOOM?! Right Harley?" He cackled madly as he pulled the trigger. Pamela screamed as she grabbed her head and dropped to the floor, shaking. As could be assumed, the pistol in the Joker's possession was merely a toy. Still, it had the same effect on the brunette as a real gun would have had. Harley bagged the simmering mixture that had been forcibly unattended as a shadow loomed overhead.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the Batman swooped in, knocking the Joker to the ground; this in turn causing Harley to turn swiftly and gasp in shock.
"Mistah J! You, Batsy, are gonna pay for that!" Harley ran in to start a fight with the Dark Knight as Pamela shuffled and hid behind a counter, crying silently and removing her hazmat helmet, figuring that since the solutions had successfully mixed, there would be no harm. The young scientist covered her face with her now ungloved hands, listening to the sounds of the Batman going up against the female jester. Pamela stopped listening when another shadow loomed over herself; the Joker.
"Hey, Batsy! Lookie at what I've got!" the Joker dragged the shuddering brunette up by her loose hair, "Here, catch!" the Joker threw her at the Batman, running and grabbing Harley as the two clowns made a mad dash to the door.
The tall man took the time to examine the sobbing brunette before he ran to chase the two fleeing psychopaths.
"Are you alright, Dr. Isley?" the Batman asked her in a deep voice. She could only nod in response, her words failing her.
"Stay here." The Caped crusader took off after the escapees, his jet black cape trailing behind him.
Pam backed herself up to the desk and leaned back on her outstretched arms, attempting to calm herself. It was working; until she heard a faint clicking and the maniacal cackling of the Joker from outside, followed by a strong yell of "NO!" before she was caught in a large explosion. Glass from beakers and windows shattered and sprayed everywhere, chemical and toxins spilled to the floors, marking the falling walls and ceiling with their arterial sprays. Pam was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, barely able to breathe as she felt something hit the back of her head, knocking her down and to the other end of the lab. Another explosion shook through the collapsing building as the glass wall next to the brunette shattered, sending a rain of shards onto her semi-conscious form. The second story began to fall, as the floor where the woman lay descended rapidly to the ground below. Vaguely, Pam could make out the wailing sirens and cracking yells and screams of bystanders.
As the piece of concrete and tile halted at the edge of the cliff behind the laboratory, Pamela's unconscious form was thrown over the edge and into the flowing waters below. She woke up seconds before she hit the surface of the ominous water, gasping in air to brace herself for the oncoming rush of the menacingly freezing liquid. Though softened by the water, the swift current of the river and its mediocre riptide dragged her feeble body under, forcing the air from her burning lungs; Then, there was complete darkness
oOo
A fire was crackling, illuminating the inside of the cave with a soft red glow; the river could be seen and heard from the inside of the cave, echoing like a seashell off the walls as the sparks from the flames drifted up into the air.
Groaning, Pamela presented a shadowed presence in the cave with the fact that she was awake.
"You're up?" the shadowed figure spoke from her left, stoking the fire with a medium length stick and then tossing it into the fire to be burned with its brethren, "Good. You've been through quite a bit. I'm Ryan." Ryan brushed his semi-long blonde hair from his hazel eyes as he moved his shabby form to sit beside her on the floor, next to the mattress she'd been placed on.
Pam attempted, just then, to sit up, wincing slightly as she felt the after effects of her spill; a piercing headache and a sharp pain in her ribs.
"You don't have to listen to me, but you probably shouldn't be doing that…" He looked her over, a small perplexed expression covering his features, but he shook it off, "I'm no doctor, but I think you might have a few broken ribs and you banged your head pretty hard…" the blonde drifted, tilting Pam's chin up to check a small cut that she had gotten when the beakers had exploded, "What the?"
Pamela shot Ryan a questioning look, raising her hand to her neck to feel for the scrape. Nothing.
"Uh, anyway, you should probably lie down." He stated quickly and quietly, placing a hand on her chest and pushing her back down onto the mattress. Pamela had to agree with him, as her head was starting to make things spin, "So, ugh, where exactly am I?" she pondered aloud, rubbing her eyes with her palms.
"My cave." Pam looked a the teenager with a look of confusion crossing her pained features, "Ah, my dad kicked me out last year when he found out that I was gay…been living here ever since." Ryan finished bluntly, shrugging after catching the woman's confused look, she nodded slightly in response to his informative statement.
"So, I'm assuming that you're Pamela Isely?" He asked her after a few short minutes.
"I am. Why? And-" Pam began, before Ryan tossed her a newspaper with a surprising headline: 'Gotham City Doctor, Missing in Action- Presumed Dead'
She began reading when she saw her name in the article.
"Everybody's been looking for you, but you were too unstable to move. I didn't want to move you…" he shifted to lean back on his outstretched arms, "You know, you really don't look like the Pamela Isley in the picture…your hair is ginger and your eyes are green."
"What? What are you talking about? My hair is brown, and my eyes are blue." She felt for her long hair and brought it into her line of vision. Ginger. She took in a sharp breath, her hands shaking. Ryan reached into one of the many pockets in his jeans and pulled out a mirror, which he handed to the shocked 22 year old. Pamela took the mirror unspeakably quickly, glancing at her new self. Re-looking over her appearance a few times, she dropped the mirror onto the mattress and began sobbing into her palms.
"Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong?" Ryan whispered softly to her, shifting toe wrap an arm around her frail form and hugging her to his chest, "Don't cry. I think you look very enchanting." He smiled for her which, unfortunately, caused her to sob harder onto his shoulder.
"The chemicals!" she cried out, muffled slightly by the boy's shoulder.
"Huh?"
"The chemicals that spilled in the lab when it blew up! They must have mixed…I must have been infected with something and I don't know what!" Pamela shuddered, slamming her fist on the ground next to the mattress. A pink flower erupted around her fist but quickly withered, as if it was controlled by her swirling emotions. The both of them stared at the wilted flower in shock and quickly stole glances at each other. Both of them had their mouths slightly agape, and Pamela, attempting to calm and recompose herself, began massaging her wrist, coughing slightly.
"Uh…toxic chemicals? Now you can what? Make plants?" Ryan asked Pam, gently taking her wrist and looking over her hand, Pam followed his gaze.
"I guess so…and you aren't concerned with this why?" she asked him, looking at her other wrist and hand as Ryan let the other go.
"Uh…"
"Well, I'm waiting."
"No point in hiding it if you're so secure about your powers then, I suppose…I can create force fields with telekinesis. That, my pop never knew about." Ryan proceeded to show her his special ability by focusing on the fire, where a translucent blue sphere had materialized around it. The fire began to snuff as it used up the oxygen inside the force field. As quickly as Ryan had created it, he dismantled it to keep the fire going.
"Interesting…" Pamela stated, looking the blonde teenager over.
"Excuse me?"
"I said it was interesting. I've had a friend since kindergarten who has powers that she's kept secret…uh, in your opinion, would I be well enough to move if you helped me?"
Ryan didn't know what she was getting at, but answered her question with an affirming nod, nonetheless, "Where to?"
"Are you sure I'm the one that hit their head? I just told you I had a friend that has powers. Now, how far are we from the site of the explosion?"
"Uh, about a half a mile away from the east exit of Gotham. Don't you live near here?" The teenager asked, helping her stand. "Get on my back." He instructed, bending down so she could get onto him. He straightened after he held her in place by her thighs and she lightly wrapped her arms around his neck, "Don't try anything funny." She stated, leaning her chin onto his broad shoulder.
Ryan laughed lightly, "I'm of the homosexual orientation, Pam, can I call you Pam? I give you my word that I will NOT try anything funny." He reminded the, now, redhead.
"Heh, sorry." She smiled as he walked out of the cave. Ryan created a force field around them and they were lifted to hover shortly beneath the clouds.
"Go South from here. We're going to my friend's house. And yes, you can call me Pam. By the way, how long have I been out?"
"Oh, about four days…"
oOo
"There," Pam told her younger friend, pointing down over his shoulder and motioning to a large, Victorian style mansion with a large flowered trellis gracing the entrance of the walkway.
Ryan brought the two of them down silently in front of the manor, onto the dark street.
"I think I'm ok to walk now, Ryan. You can put me down." Pam smiled at the tall blonde as he let her down off of his back; however, he kept a steady hold on her waist to keep her from falling if her legs decided to give out.
They walked to the large white double doors and Pam took a breath before she rang the doorbell. Barking could be heard faintly from the inside of the manor followed by a "Kaluah, shut up! Get off the door!"
The left door opened, revealing a short, ginger-haired woman, with tear streaks on her cheeks, "Yeah, what the hell do you-" she gaped at Pam, jumping up and enveloping her in a hug, "Pam what the hell happened to you?! All the news stations say that you were killed!!"
"Ugh! Lori, crushing not hugging…"
"Oh, sorry!" Lori watched her friend as Pam rubbed her sore ribs, "And who are you?" she turned to Ryan, a concerned glance covering her face.
"Ryan Wheeler. I kinda treated to her wounds…" Ryan started only to be wrapped in one of the small woman's hugs; bone-crushing they were.
"Well, don't just stand there, come in and tell me what happened. I'll make tea." Lori directed, allowing her guests to enter the threshold before she herself walked in and closed the door behind her.
Tea was made and Lori took a seat between Pam and Ryan on the couch that was placed cleanly in the center of her family room in front of a plasma TV.
Pam sighed and began to tell her story to the shorter ginger, Ryan filling in with information on the four days that Pamela was unconscious.
"Pam, you have to understand now…that to everybody, and I mean everybody, Pamela Lillian Isley is long dead. Three explosions in a lab full of toxic chemicals…never a good sign. I knew I sensed something different about you though…you've been tainted, haven't you?" Lori placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "You need a new name, hunny…You can't be you anymore."
Ryan sighed, got up to sit next to Pam and leaned his head on her right shoulder, "It'll be alright! You have Lori!" Pam thwacked him upside the head.
Ryan grunted and asked, "What the hell was that about?!" he rubbed his head.
"I've got you, too, Ryan."
"Huh? But you barely know me…"
"Yes, but you saved my life. I'd call that friendship, I would." Pam smiled, giving him a side hug, but wincing when she turned.
"Hm…your ribs are gonna take some time to heal…"
"Yes, yes." Both redheads nodded in agreement.
"But what has me curious is that all of your cuts are completely healed within four days." Ryan raised a questioning brow, biting his black painted fingernails.
Lori shifted and hunched her shoulders forward, "Maybe an effect of the toxins? Didn't you say you could grow plants?"
Pamela nodded, opening her palm where a yellow tulip, which had sprouted from the ground in front of the three, had landed, its stem still attached to the hole in Lori's floor.
They were all silent for a moment, "You do know that you're going to be paying for my floor, right?" Lori asked turning to Pam with a completely serious look on her face.
"Uh," Pam looked at her friend with a questioning look on her face, "Wait…if I can grow plants then," Pam concentrated on the tulip's stem, and just as quickly as it had come forth, the stem broke from the tulip and receded back into the ground, "Yes! I knew it!" Pamela concluded, handing the flower to Ryan who took it and began inspecting it all around.
"Okay, I follow you, but I'm not so sure that blondie over here does…care to explain what you knew for his sake?" Lori asked, jabbing her index finger in Ryan's direction.
"Hey!" Ryan looked slightly offended but he only gave a small huff and said nothing further.
Pam snickered at their small interaction, replying with, "Well, I figured that if I could grow plants and stuff, then maybe I might be able to control them!"
"Now that is just fucking sweet." Both Ryan and Lori stated bluntly, Lori continued, "Hunny bunny, you could be a,"
"Superhero!" Ryan finished for the little ginger, smiling like a maniac.
oOo
Pamela remained silent for a short while following Ryan and Lori's suggestion.
"Uh, look you two," she shifted uncomfortably on the couch, a hesitant look on her face, "What you're saying is, well it sounds amazing, but I'm just a botanical scientist. I can't be a-a-a superhero!" Pam stood abruptly, and stalked off to the kitchen to lean over the sink. Lori jumped up and followed, as did Ryan
"It's a long-shot, I know. But you've got the heart, you've got the powers. Hun, you healed from THREE explosions in FOUR days! You can't tell me that you-"
Pam cut Lori off, "Tell you what?! Tell you that I don't think I have what it takes to be one?! I know I do! Because you're telling me! But I just can't!"
"Look. Pamela, we all have powers. I know it's hard. Just go rest and take some time to think about it, alright?" Ryan asked her, placing both her hands on her shoulders. Pam sighed, but nodded in agreement as Lori walked her up the stairs to a spare bedroom.
oOo
Lori came down the stairs twenty minutes later and found Ryan sitting on the couch, staring at the yellow tulip that he still held in his hands.
"She's completely healed." The redhead stated, taking a seat next to Ryan, also staring at the tulip.
Ryan picked up his head, "What?" he stared at her intently, sitting back in the couch.
"You heard right, Ryan. All the bruising on her ribs is completely gone. Look, we'll talk more tomorrow since it's getting late. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want."
The blonde teenager looked surprised while he asked, "Really?!"
"Yeah. Just don't try anything funny, alright?"
"Huh, you know, Pam said the exact same thing when I picked her up to carry her. You don't have to worry there. I'm gay."
Both of them stood, "Come on Ryan, I'll show you to your new room."
End Chapter 1: Part 1