The Flower (A Fanfiction Based off of Young Justice; book 1 of the Nightshade Series)

Chapter 9 Poison

Rowen's P.O.V

The days that followed proceeded like they should. At least that's what they seemed to be like for anyone else. Ever since seeing that book on Dick's desk, Rowen was afraid. She constantly felt like someone was watching her.Often times she looked up to see if anyone was watching her from the roofs. Never found anyone looking at her. It was all in her head, but why didn't it feel that way.

As the week came to a close, Rowen breathed a sigh of relief. She had felt anxious for most of the week and looked forward to getting some privacy. She had been given a new task.

Create a liquid form of the Nightshade poison. It will benefit you to use that dart gun we've given you.

Rowen inwardly groaned. She had forgotten all about that. Probably because it reminded her of a real gun. She hated guns. Never before had Rowen willingly used a gun. Not even when her dad had wanted to teach her for self-defense. She pretty much had to be dragged out of their home, into the car, and into the firing range. Something about the bullets hitting the dummy made her cringe. She didn't like the idea of killing. Rowen wondered if she would even be able to pull the trigger, even if it was only something to make a person sleep. Still, they wanted her to do it, so she would. That's how it worked. She would obey. Rowen frowned. Would her life ever be the same again?

Rowen got started on the formula. Part of it was made out of common everyday herbs, but the other part was truly amazing. When Rowen was really young, she remembered how fascinated her mother had become with the idea of making a new plant. Only through methods of science could she do this. Doing research, she had crossbred different plants to create a plant that made a person sleep. It was an all natural way for helping a person fall asleep if they couldn't do so themselves. She called  it Rowen's herb after her daughter who never seemed to be able to sleep, who always seemed to have anxiety or fake fears. She had often made a tea out of it so that she would sleep. Rowen's mother was amazing. Rowen had never understood that science and had hoped to learn one day from her.

A tear slipped down her cheek. Now that seemed impossible. That's why she had left the note. She knew the Justice League could help, if they were willing. They might think it was a joke. That Rowen was just a petty thief and wanted attention. Tears seemed to cascade over her face now. She felt hopeless.

She mixed the herbs into a stronger and better  version of her mother's tea. She had no idea if it was going to work. There was only one way. To test it. It would be too dangerous to bring in the field. Rowen looked around and groaned. She was all alone. Her family had never had any pets. Besides, she wouldn't feel right doing this to an animal. Rowen was going to become the test dummy. They'll get a good laugh at it. Rowen was ninety percent sure that they were somehow watching her. With a sad smile, she injected the "poison" in her arm. Wincing she held her breath. Nothing seemed to happen. Great, maybe she should add something to it.

Rowen quickly ran to the fire escape. Her family's tiny apartment didn't have a lot of places to grow plants. Her mom had started growing plants on the fire escape. Whether this was legal, Rowen had no idea.  She smiled. Her mother was very bold.

Rowen began combing through all the herbs her mother had planted. Each neatly planted and labeled, it wasn't long before Rowen found the one she wanted. Valerian, an herb that was also used to make people sleep, was added to Rowen's witch brew. At least, that's what she thought of it as.

Once again Rowen was an unwilling victim. This time, things were different. All Rowen would remember when she woke up was a needle and blackness. It had worked.