The Gotham Queen

Chapter 11

The shock of her words slams into me, and I have to take a minute to process them. She wants to tell me her story? The one that no one can seem to get their greedy hands on? The difference is that I want to help her, but all the others probably just wanted to help themselves. We sit in silence for a minute, not looking away from each other.

"Okay. If that's what you want to talk about, we can. Only if you're ready to talk about it, though. I don't want to pressure you or anything." I say to her, and she looks at me. The tears in her eyes has me looking at her in worry. What has this woman been through?

"Just promise me that this will stay between us. It's not a pretty story, and I don't want anyone else to know. Please, promise me." I'm mildly offended that she thinks that I would go shouting her story to anyone and everyone who would listen. This is not my story to tell, and I have no right to do that anyway. I wouldn't want someone shouting out all my secrets, I know that.

"Leave the room please. I'd like this session to just be me and Pamela." I tell the guards, and one goes to protest, but I hold up my hand. "I can handle myself should the need arise, but I assure you that I'll be perfectly fine. Please, stand outside the room for this session."

The two men look extremely unsure about the request, but they hesitantly leave the room. I watch as they leave and wait for the door to the room to close completely before turning back to Ivy. She's looking at me curiously and leans forward when I do, so she can listen to me better.

"Pamela, I promise you that I'm not going to tell anyone. I don't go around shouting stories that aren't mine for my own gain because they aren't mine to tell. Whatever you don't want other people to know, I won't breathe a word of it." I say every word as I keep eye contact, so she knows I mean it. I do mean every word, and I would never break her trust like that. I have a feeling these guys don't have a lot of people they can trust.

Plus, if I have any hope of curing her and getting her to a better place, I have to have her trust. Any strong, good relationship is based on trust and respect, or neither party wins in the end. I know this personally, and I want her to feel comfortable talking to me. I want her to be able to see me as a friend because I think they all are just looking for someone who won't immediately start judging them and calling them crazy.

I watch as she thinks my words over, playing with her fingers. She chews on her lip as she debates, and after a few minutes of silence, she sighs as she comes to a decision. She nods her head once, then looks up at me.

"I used to be a scientist, and my profession involved the use of plant life. My division would use the plants the earth provides to try to make better medicines to better cure illnesses. We hoped that one day we would even be able to cure cancer, plague, and every other disease out there." She takes a minute to let out a shaky breath and I reach over and grab her hand. This is clearly very hard for her.

"You don't have to continue if you aren't ready to face this." I tell her softly, but she shakes her head. She squeezes my hand and takes a deep breath.

"If I don't get this out, I probably never will." I nod at her, and she continues. "I worked alongside an older man who believed as strongly as I did. He wanted to cure the world and save humanity, so we always got along well. One night, I get a call from him, which wasn't odd since we worked extremely odd hours. He was a mess, and I could hardly make out anything he was saying to me. He was going on about a breakthrough of some kind that he found, and he told me to come to the lab straight away."

Her hands clench into fists, and I squeeze her hand to let her know she's not alone. She isn't facing this alone, and she doesn't have to. The anxiety and fear that's rolling off her in waves reminds me of my own trauma, and I wish I could have someone there for me like I am for her.

"Of course, I rush over straight away to help him through this, and to see the breakthrough myself. We'd been trying for months, but we were getting nowhere, so this was a really important moment." A tear slides down her face and she wipes it off her face. "I wasn't prepared for what I had to face. The minute I got into the lab, he tried to seduce me. When I rejected him, he tried to force it, but I fought back and ended up crashing into a shelf. The shelf broke and all the beakers of chemicals shattered on me, cutting me. The various different chemicals entered my bloodstream, and it caused a chemical reaction that make me the monster that I am today."

"You are not a monster, Pamela." I tell her, but she scoffs and motions to herself.

"My skin is green because my blood changed to chlorophyl, my lips are filled with poison so I can't kiss anyone without killing them. I managed to make an antidote for it when I made the discovery that I can control plants. Then the pain from the earth hit, and all I could do was scream because I couldn't understand what was happening to me. Tell me I'm not a monster, now." She says, and I look her dead in the eyes.

"You are not a monster, Pamela. You were a victim to something that never should have happened, and I blame that man. I do not fault you for anything." I grab her hand to make sure she knows that I mean every word I'm telling her. "Pamela Isley, you are a strong, beautiful, independent woman that needs no one, nor should you ever allow anyone to ever put you in that position again. You are so strong, Pamela, and I admire you for your strength to be able to tell me this, to have the strength to start to face this. I respect you and your strength more than you know, and I want you to know that I see you as a friend, not a monster."

She bursts into tears as she smiles at me, and I smile back with my own tears starting to form in my eyes. I wish I could be as strong as her, and I pray that I will get there one day. I really do.

"You're one of the few people I'm starting to consider as part of my friends." Pamela tells me, and I smile brightly at her. I quickly stand up and lean over the table to hug her tightly. She hugs me back just as tightly as we accept the bond that has now started to form between us. I know that I will never be able to change her hatred for mankind, but now I understand why it's there. I have a better understanding of why she does what she does. She trusted someone, and then that person stabbed her in the back and betrayed her in every way possible. I know what that feels like, and I understand exactly how she feels. She just has the guts to do something about it whereas I do not.

I'll help you get there, Harleen. Don't you worry. They wanted a kind girl that obeys every demand, right? Well, let's give them the opposite of that, and we will make them pay for ever underestimating your own strength.