She woke up in a hospital bed. The light shone in gently through the white curtains. Brooklyn tried to inhale and winced as a sharp pain hit her in the chest. 

“Take it slow, lady Brooklyn. You’ve taken quite the beating.” Alfred stood up from the chair on the other side of the room from which he’d remained at her side.

He put his hand gently on her chest above her breasts.

“Breathe in slowly… and breathe out.” 

She did as he said and relaxed, repeating the process a few times before her butler took his hand away.

“Better?”

She nodded. “Better. How did I get here?”

Alfred smirked and took out his phone before showing her a map with a pin on it.

“I promised your parents I would always look after you. Just because you asked to be normal doesn’t mean I abandoned that promise.”

Brooklyn sighed and laid back into her pillow, looking up at the ceiling. 

Alfred stood up once again from his chair. 

“You must be starving. I’m going on a food run, any preferences?”

She shook her head. 

“Anything is fine.” She paused. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Of course, lady Brooklyn.” He opened the door and left the room, looking right and speaking briefly before going down the hall.

A new pair of footsteps, lighter this time came into the room.

Brooklyn sat up as she looked to who had just entered the room, but barely had time to react as a pair of arms quickly enveloped her.

“Brookie!” 

It was her best friend and recent girlfriend Evelyn. Evelyn looked beautiful. A short girl of Persian and Vietnamese descent, her dark brown hair was over her shoulders in two braids. Her makeup had clearly been recently reapplied, likely due to crying. They had met on her first official day in public school three years ago and she was the only person who she had ever trusted with the details of her past. 

“Hi Evy.” She responded weakly, giving her a peck on the lips.

Evelyn sat on the bed by Brooklyn’s legs and held her hand. 

“I was so worried when you weren’t responding. I’m so glad Alfred knew about me and called me or I’d still be worrying.” She spoke, getting faster and faster before pausing.  

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Brooklyn smiled at her briefly then it faded.

“It wasn’t the punching or kicking, or the broken rib that hurt the most. He called me a girly boy.. I thought I left that all behind years ago.”

Evelyn squeezed her girlfriend’s hand and looked at her with a gentle smile.

“Brooke. I’m gay and I love you with all my heart. You girly, are no boy.” 

The two girls chatted for a while until Alfred returned. When he entered the room, Evelyn was under the blanket with Brooklyn, cuddling.

“Alright, lovebirds. Dinner pancakes have arrived.” 

Alfred and the girls dug in and finished quite quickly. Brooklyn was a sucker for chocolate chip pancakes and so despite her injuries, she finished hers first.

“You’ll be glad to know, you’re only here for the night to rest and be monitored. X-rays and such have been taken and processed and further procedures have already been scheduled. Just cleaning out anything left behind.” Alfred then looked to Evelyn. “And yes, I’ve already spoken with your mother and the doctors. You may stay overnight with us if you wish. I can take you both to school in the morning”

“Thank you Alfred.” Evelyn smiled and Brooklyn echoed her taking her girlfriend’s hand once again. 

The two girls spent the night together, mostly on their phones laughing occasionally taking selfies and joking about Brooklyn’s hospital gown.

Eventually the two passed out in each other’s arms and morning came. 

They were out by 5 AM to give time for Brooklyn to get home and get ready for school. She threw a black tank top over her stomach brace and wore a mustard yellow cardigan over that. A pair of denim shorts and a yellow headband finished the look. She’d grown a bit of a passion for makeup and applied a flawless blue smokey eye before helping Evelyn with her own makeup.

She collected her things and picked up Evelyn’s from her mom’s house and headed to school. 

 

The girls arrived at East Gotham High just before the morning bell. Running up the stone steps and into the main lobby, the two shared a quick kiss before running in opposite directions. Brooklyn turned into the hallway of the science wing of the school and met eyes with her teacher Ms. Stewart who stopped the door from closing as she let her in. “Glad to see you’re well again.” the teacher grinned as she came in. 

Brooklyn took her seat and smiled at the thin blonde woman in a lab coat. Ms. Stewart was absolutely gorgeous. She was about 5’5 with the body of a supermodel, but she kept her hair tied back and glasses on most of the time. Brooklyn had to admit, she kind of had a crush on her teacher. 

“Alright kids, listen up.” She started. “Today we’re going to be examining the differences between different plant cells and how they can be mutated. Like how we’ve altered corn to grow better and be better for human consumption.” She picked up a small controller from her desk and clicked on a projector. Ms. Stewart showed her students a slideshow about the structures of plant cells some examples of plant cells that have been bioengineered. The bell rang while she was going on a rant about medicinal qualities.

“Damn. Never enough time. We’ll continue tomorrow. No homework.” She took a breath and fell back into her office chair. 

Classes passed by quickly as Brooklyn was always so invested in what she could learn. A star student, most of it was easy despite every one of her classes being Advanced Placement. She received glances every now and then and she could never tell whether it was because of the bruises that were still visible or if someone could tell she was transgender, but they never lasted long and she never cared. Once she met their eyes, they would usually look away. 

Eventually lunch came and she met up with Evelyn and her friend Morgan. 

“Holy shit Brook, I heard what happened but I didn't think you’d still be a bit fucked up.” Morgan said as she caught a glance at her friend. Morgan was a dark haired hispanic italian girl. She gave off kind of a punk vibe, wearing mostly black and plaid. 

“I’m fine, Morgan. A lot better than I was.”  

The girls sat down.

“This city is dangerous, man. Assholes everywhere. My dad teaches me all sort of fighting and self defense techniques. Maybe he can teach you too.” She pulled her smartphone from her bra. 

“Thanks Morgan, but I have someone who’s already lined up to help me with that. So it never happens again.”

Brooklyn finished early and stood up from the table. 

“I’ve got something I need to get to. I’ll see you guys later.”

She threw away her trash and headed back to Ms. Stewart’s science room and knocked on the door. She heard some sounds inside and the door soon opened to her teacher’s face. 

“My star student returns. How can I help you, Brooklyn?”

“I had an idea and I could use your expertise on something.”

The teacher narrowed her eyes mockingly.

“And what would that be?”

“My girlfriend and I are approaching our one month anniversary and I want to get her something special. After your lesson today I was thinking maybe I could engineer a special flower as beautiful as she is.” Brooklyn blushed, avoiding eye contact with her teacher.

“What a romantic. How can I say no to helping with something so adorable? There’s still 15 minutes left in lunch, want to get started now?”

She shook her head. “Yes please.”

The two got to work immediately. Brooklyn chose a rose as the base but she wanted it to open wider than a normal rose and smell better. They spent their fifteen minutes picking a rose from the school’s garden and discussing mutagenic agents. 

“Our anniversary is next week. I’d like to keep working on it at home.”

Brooklyn said almost as a question. 

“Go for it. I trust your intelligence on this one.” 

Ms. Stewart wrote something on a sticky note and handed it to her student. 

“Here’s my number if you have any questions. Please don’t share it.”

“Of course not.” she replied as she placed the note into a side pocket in her purse.

Brooklyn said goodbye and thanked her teacher before returning to classes. She saw Evelyn in US history just before the school day wrapped.

“Wanna go to Benny’s?” Evelyn asked as they walked out the school’s front door.

“Sorry Evy, Alfred is picking me up for a while. We’re gonna go home and practice self defense techniques. I think what happened to me really shook him. To be honest it kind of shook me too.”

Evelyn turned to her and took both of her hands.

“Brookie, it shook me too. You’re my best friend and I love you. When I heard you were attacked I didn’t know what to do or what I would do if you weren’t here anymore. I get it. Stay safe.”

The girls embraced on the sidewalk before Alfred pulled up in front of them in a cheap blue sedan. 

“Do you need a ride?” 

Evelyn shook her head. “I’ll be okay. Gonna get a bite before I head home.” 

“Stay safe.”

“I will. Promise.”

 

The two arrived at their suburban home ten minutes later.

“When I told you I wanted to be normal, this car isn’t what I meant, Alfred. This looks like you’re an impoverished soccer mom.” She teased.

“Sorry Ms. Wayne, I’m not quite used to this lifestyle yet. It’s been a few decades since I was a part of it.”

They entered the house and Alfred put the car keys on the credenza.

“Drop your things and join me in the living room. I’ve cleared the furniture. We’ll get started right away.”

Brooklyn placed her purse on the staircase and walked down the hall into the living room. Two mannequins stood on the edge of the room covered in pads and Alfred stood in the middle wearing sparring gloves. She took off her cardigan, tossed it and the corner and pulled up the strap of her tank top.

Alfred tossed her a roll of tape. 

“Wrap your hands in it. Never fight with your hands bare if you can avoid it.”

She wrapped her hands to the best of her ability.

“I will not go easy, Ms. Wayne. Anyone you use the things I teach you on will not go easy. Are you ready?” 

She took a deep breath, looked Alfred in the eyes and nodded.

“Good. Now punch me. Wherever you think would incapacitate me the best, as hard as you can.”

She looked up at him with a panicked confusion and he looked back at her with a straight face. She assessed his body and pulled back her arm before throwing it forward at his gut. Her hand was caught in his. 

“Wrong. Try again.” He released her hand.

She backed up surprised and assessed him again. 

Alfred stood 5 inches taller than her. 5’10 to her 5’5. The highest she could reach without some strength being lost would be his nose. That must be it, she’d seen boxers go for the nose often.

She pulled her arm back and threw her fist towards her butler’s nose. It was caught again.

“Close. The nose is good to stagger a man, but if you really want to keep him down…” He lowered her hand to his chin. “The jaw is the place to go. The neck is a close second. Specifically the vagus nerve, right here.” and she placed her hand on the lower left side of his neck.

“The gut was a good start as the gut will likely cause an attacker to lower his neck to your arm level, but the jaw is the end goal. For a man, the genitals are also an effective target to stagger.” 

The two practiced different circumstances and how to take someone down in each. One man, one man with a knife, one man with a gun, and so on with female assailants before ending for the night. Exhausted, Brooklyn collapsed into a chair in her room. She placed her rose and started working on her flower for Evelyn. She tried different chemical compositions on each petal and attempted to fuse the cells of a few different plants into one. No success. She gave up for the night. Over the next few days, she continued to work with Ms. Stewart and on her own at home on the project after training with Alfred. It was the night before her anniversary and Brooklyn was desperate. Nothing had worked so far and the flower remained a rose. A rose was beautiful, but she wanted something special for the special person in her life. She ran through her notes and found a few more compositions she had yet to try. She used a compound of potassium chloride, ground fruit moth and a combination of different compositions she had previously attempted and found that in combining it with a petal, the petal became brighter and had an intoxicating smell. She combined it with the rose and saw the petals begin to open right in front of her eyes, splitting and duplicating into a beautiful entity only comparable to a flower depicting a red sun. Satisfied with her creation, she messaged her teacher with a photo.

“Oh my goodness, that’s beautiful! Please bring it by tomorrow before you give it to her so that I can inspect it!” she responded.

Brooklyn responded with a thumbs up, plugged in her phone and went to bed. 

 

The next morning, when she arrived at the school she went straight to Ms. Stewart’s room with the plant under a paper bag to keep it hidden from her girlfriend. 

“Well lets see it!” Ms. Stewart said excitedly.

Brooklyn placed it on the table and removed the bag.

“Wow... “ she exclaimed. “The picture didn’t do it justice. How’d you do it?” 

Brooklyn explained her process in full.

“What a strange combination of things. Only a bright young mind would even think of it.” She leaned down close to the plant. Suddenly, the plant pulsated and pollen shot out. Ms. Stewart fell backwards onto the floor coughing. Brooklyn dropped to the floor next to her teacher worried. She could have sworn Ms. Stewart’s blue eyes were green for a moment, but when she stopped coughing they were fine. 

“Are you okay?” Brooklyn asked, helping her up. 

“Yeah, I think so. I think I might be allergic but it seems fine. You didn’t seem to have a reaction.”

Brooklyn questioned repeatedly whether it was unsafe to give to Evelyn, but her teacher continued to calm her worries. 

“You were within a similar vicinity and you didn’t react. We could test it on others, but that would require test subjects and time we dont have. Just keep an eye on her when you give it to her to ensure she’ll be okay with it and I think we’ll be okay.”

Brooklyn smiled and left the classroom. The girls had different lunches today and so she hid the plant in her locker until the end of the school day and met up with Evelyn at the parking lot and greeted her with a kiss.

“Happy anniversary my love.” Evelyn started.

“Happy anniversary to you too, baby.” Brooklyn responded. “I have something for you. I worked really hard on this.” 

She took the plant out of the paper bag and presented it. “Presenting, the Evelyn.”

Evelyn put her hands over her mouth in awe.

“It’s beautiful. So beautiful.”

“It doesn’t match you.” Brooklyn grinned.

Evelyn reached out and took the plant. She took a sniff and smiled. “It smells wonderful too. Thank you.” She kissed Brooklyn again. “I’m sorry I don't have your gift. I was planning on giving it to you during our date tonight.” 

“That’s okay. I was just too excited to wait.” Alfred pulled up in front of them in the sedan. “See you tonight.” The girls hugged.

“See you tonight.” Evelyn smiled as she waved off her girlfriend.

 

Alfred gave her the night off training. He knew how long it took for girls to prepare for dates.

Brooklyn got home and immediately started on her homework. It was easy mathematics and chemistry so she finished within the hour. Once she was done she opened up her closet and pulled out a satin black cocktail dress and hurried into the bathroom to shower. 

“I'm so glad she liked her gift. I worked hard on it..” She thought as she ran shampoo and conditioner through her long straight dark brown hair. “She’s going to look so beautiful tonight… she always does.”

Brooklyn finished her shower and stepped out, drying herself off and stepping into her dress which she complimented with some fishnet stockings. She painted her face with a dark smokey eye and pulled her hair back into a black headband before stepping into the living room where Alfred was waiting, watching a soap on the television.

“My goodness Lady Wayne. I must say you look very beautiful for your date tonight.”

Brooklyn blushed. “Thank you Alfred. She deserves it.”

She lifted her feet slightly one at a time as Alfred helped her into 3” black heels. 

“I’m supposed to meet her at six.” She sighed seeing the clock. “It’s barely five and the place is only 20 minutes away.”

Brooklyn collapsed onto the recliner and crossed her legs, leaning back comfortably.

She enjoyed these moments with Alfred, just watching his soaps. He’d become like a father to her and she liked to believe he considered her a daughter of his too.

By 5:30 the two were in the car on their way to the restaurant. They were going to Carmine’s, a top notch italian in the upper east side. Brooklyn had prematurely reserved a table on the day Evelyn had gone from being her best friend to her girlfriend. 

They arrived in front of the restaurant at five minutes to six.

“Would you like me to wait with you, Lady Wayne?” 

“No thanks, Alfred. She should be here soon. I’ll call you when we’re done. Go home and enjoy your shows.” She said as she stepped out of the car. She waved off Alfred and stood by the door, a few feet away from the greeter to make it clear she wasn’t ready to enter yet.

Evelyn arrived a few minutes later driven by her mother. 

As she stepped out of the car, Brooklyn stared in awe. Her girlfriend was in a long beautiful blue dress that matched her eyes, cut in a way so that one leg was almost entirely visible. Her long curly hair bounced on her shoulders with each step. Their eyes met and the girls smiled at each other, both blushing and met with a kiss.

“You look stunning…” Brooklyn managed to get out, her words full of air.

“As do you, Brookie.” Evelyn smiled, holding both of her girlfriend’s hands.

“Should we go in? Sorry I cut it close, my mom had to get gas.”

Brooklyn nodded and turned to the greeter, keeping one of Evelyn’s hands in her own.

“Wayne, party of two please.”

The greeter scanned his list and nodded. “Wayne, party of two. Right this way please.”

The tall lanky man led the girls through the restaurant to a booth in the far corner. A colorful arrangement of flowers had been left for them as well as some lit candles. 

“Oh my gosh this is nuts, Brookie. Half the people in this room own this city.” Evelyn nervously scanned the room. “Are you sure you can afford this?”

“Dont worry about it, babe… I can.”

Brooklyn was very lowkey about her family’s fortune. Wayne was a common enough last name and as Wayne Enterprises didn’t make phones or game consoles, people her age didn’t really know the company. She didn’t like pulling from her bank account for more than the basic bills, but she wanted to treat Evelyn. She had been her very first friend in the outside world and she wanted her to know how much she appreciated having her in her life. 

“I’ve learned not to question you when you’re being suspicious. I wont get answers.” Evelyn exhaled and leaned back. 

A well dressed young waiter appeared at the end of their table.

“Might I get you young ladies something to drink?” He said with a new york accent that had a slight Irish twang. 

“Water please.” Evelyn smiled at him, biting her lip.

Brooklyn looked at her confused. “Uh, I’ll have a diet pepsi please.”

The waiter nodded “Alright, and do you need a minute to decide on what you’ll be eating?”

“Yes please.” Brooklyn confirmed.

The waiter walked away and Evelyn watched him until he disappeared into the kitchen.

“So-..” Brooklyn began, but was cut off.

“I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.” Evelyn got up from her chair and disappeared from sight, heading towards the kitchen.

Confused, Brooklyn stood up and followed where she saw her girlfriend go. She approached the kitchen door and looked in. 

As a waiter walked out she asked “Did you see a young girl about my age go in there?”

The waiter shook his head “Nope.” and continued past her.

Becoming increasingly confused, she decided to check the women’s restroom only to find Evelyn wasn’t there either. Brooklyn decided to sit and wait for a moment, hoping she would come back soon, but a few minutes passed and she remained alone. Not even the waiter returned with their drinks. She got up again and approached the greeter at the front door. I need to step out for a moment, I’ve left my purse at the table for insurance of my return.” 

“Of course, miss.” He nodded and she went outside, looking around. She tried calling Evelyn’s phone, but received no answer. She started pacing and peaked into the alleyway behind the restaurant. There she saw a young girl in a blue dress leaning up against a man, lips touching. Evelyn was making out with their waiter.

Brooklyn’s blood began to boil. “What the fuck, Evelyn?” She started charging and pulled them apart forcefully. Evelyn fell back, tripping over her heels while the waiter just fell down against the wall.

“What the fuck are you doing? On our anniversary of all days?” 

Evelyn just looked at Brooklyn with a blank stare for a moment before throwing up on the concrete in front of her. She wiped her lips and looked back up at Brooklyn. “What?...” she mumbled before looking at the waiter and screaming, moving backwards with her hands.

Brooklyn looked over to the waiter and screamed as well. There the handsome young man sat with his eyes open staring blankly into space with a big smile on his face. 

She fell to her knees beside the man. “Sir, are you okay?”

No response. She tried again, shaking him, but his limp body only fell over onto its side. Brooklyn put her fingers to his neck. No pulse.

 

At this point people had begun gathering at the street side of the alleyway having heard screams. Evelyn looked helplessly at Brooklyn before jumping to her feet and running the opposite direction.

“Evelyn wait!” Brooklyn began chasing her after her, but tripped on her heels landing on her hands as she heard sirens approach. 

Two hours later Alfred picked Brooklyn up at the Police precinct. She was to be on house arrest until the case was resolved and was to let the police know if Evelyn contacted her. 

The car remained silent on the way home. Alfred cast a few glances at Brooklyn in the rearview mirror, but her head remained down. 

What happened? She was so confused. Evelyn was not acting like herself tonight and was now being investigated for murder. The cops said he died of a heart attack, but as a healthy young man she would need to be investigated. Her running didn’t help her case.

Upon arriving home, Brooklyn immediately went to her room and kicked off her heels and face planted into her bed. However upon landing, she immediately noticed a familiar fragrance. The perfume of her girlfriend. A sweet combination of rose and cherry. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard a girl vomiting in the bathroom connected to her room.

Brooklyn jumped up and quickly pulled open the door and saw her girlfriend leaned over the toilet vomiting.

“Evelyn, what the hell are you doing here? You can’t be here.” She whispered, panicking. 

Evelyn’s head quickly turned to face Brooklyn who jumped back at what she saw. Her girlfriend’s veins were clearly visible, filled with a green liquid where her blood should be. 

“Help… us…” Her voice seemed to echo upon saying “us”, as if two people were talking in sync with each other. 

“Us? Who’s us? Evelyn, we need you to get to a hospital.”

“NO!” She screamed, her voice echoing again. 

Evelyn stood up, standing tall yet still looking sickly. Her toned skin began to turn a vibrant green. Her back bent backwards as her long curly hair began to turn a rose red, starting from the scalp and continuing down. She stood straight again, looking at Brooklyn with a straight face. Her blue eyes, now as red as her hair, she grinned. “Mmmm.. you would make a great addition to us… but as our maker I will give you a pass just this once…” 

Brooklyn was terrified. “Evelyn, please! Come to the hospital. We need to get you help!”

She laughed. “We are not Evelyn anymore… We are Poison Ivy.” She raised her hand towards Brooklyn and roots rapidly extended from a succulent, pinning her against the bathroom door. Poison Ivy walked seductively over to the terrified girl and planted her lips on hers. 

“Don’t worry, it won’t kill you… this time.”

The last thing Brooklyn saw before her eyes went dark was her girlfriend’s smile on a different person.