Inflorescence • Poison Ivy's Daughter

chapter four ~ family ties

Calla grinned swinging her legs over the back of the bike and wrapping her arms around the boy's waist. With a jerk the bike lurched forward into action, speeding down the street. 'Aren't you a little young to be driving, Jay?!' she shouted into his ear.

He laughed, 'Calla, I'm 15, that so close to being legal its embarrassing.'

The bike turned into a tight alleyway, lit up in pink by a flickering sign reading ROSETUM, Calla had been told that it was an old love hotel that had shut down years ago. Now it lay here, entirely forgotten, rotting from the inside out.

Calla got off the bike as the boy removed his helmet, his ivory skin glowing in the pink light and black hair ruffled from the helmet. Calla stepped back to take a look at the bike, 'So how did you manage to get this sweet ride?'

Jason scratched the back of his neck, 'You know... gathered some parts from around the place. Junkyards and stuff.'

Calla raised a brow, 'Junkyards?'

'Alright, I may have nicked a few parts here and there, but not everything.'

'You better watch yourself, Jay, some guys are touchy about their vehicles. Messing with them is gonna get you in serious trouble one day.'

He smirked mischievously, 'Only if I get caught.'

His smirk caught on her and making her smile back, 'Seriously though kid, come to me if you need something. I'm not entirely useless.'

'I'm not a kid anymore Greeny, I don't need your help with everything. Besides, this was something I wanted to do myself.' he polished the speed dial with the end of his sleeve.

Calla stepped forward, 'Well you did a bloody good job,' She grinned rustling his hair, he smirked back up at her, his hair a bigger mess than before. 'Here take this.'

She took his hand and placed a silver watch inside it, 'Whats this?' He asked.

'I nicked it on the way here, looks to be around seven hundred. Should give you a few months worth of groceries.'

Jasons face turned to stone, 'I'm not a charity, Calla. You can't keep giving me stuff.' He stated firmly, holding it out for her to take back.

'I know that Todd, but you're also not an idiot.' Calla said pressing his fingers tighter around the watch, holding his gaze.

He sighed, reluctantly pocketing the watch into his leather jacket, nodding tersely in thanks as he revved up his bike.

'Later Jay,' Calla waved, stepping away from the bike.

'Seeya Greeny,' he replied, sliding his helmet on and pulling out into the streets of Gotham.

Once the sound of the engine had faded, Calla prompted herself onto a dumpster using it to leap off and grasp the bottom of the fire escape ladder. Using the strength in her arms she pulled the rest of her body up climbing the ladder to the top of the building. Most people believe this hotel to be unsafe, filled with unrepairable damage and completely unlivable. Not a complete lie, but also not the whole truth. The place was completely wrecked, in all rooms except one, the penthouse. Calla had moved there almost nine years ago and had managed to transform it with her mother. The top floor didn't have any rooms, the walls had given way long ago, leaving an empty, large space with a glass ceiling. They had placed a wire framed king bed in the center, a bathtub connected to a water tank against the left wall, and built a simple kitchen in the corner consisting of a sink, stove and mini fridge. The area was cluttered with potted plants of different varieties filling the empty spaces and hanging from the ceiling, creepers covered the exposed brick walls on and a large oak tree which took up the back right side of the room helped affirmed the frail support beams and sprouted from the wooden floor. The evening sun filtered through the array of leaves, forming streams of golden light the dance around the room.

'Hello babies,' Calla cooed at the plants as she plucked a ruby red apple from a small tree. She bit into it as she peeled her uniform off her, dressing in black leggings and pulling her hoodie back on ontop of her sports bra. She plucked a pink piece of paper that was stuck to a spike on a cactus, the note read:

On the job tonight, Sorry Petal.

Could you please take care of the babies for me,

Love Mom xx

Calla crunched down on her apple before crumpling the note and throwing it with skillful aim into the trash. She selected an old vinyl from her collection and put it on as she filled the watering can and got to work watering the plants.

The sun was almost fully set by the time her phone rung, its final rays casting the sky in an amber fire. 'Hey mom, how's work?'

A panting voice answered her, 'About that love, somethings come up.'

Calla lept from the bed, grasping the phone with both hands, 'What do you mean mom?'

'I ran into some....unexpected issues.'

'It's them, isn't it? Mom, did they find you?'

'Hush Petal, don't panic, I'm going to be fine and so are you. You're a smart girl, you'll manage on your own for a little while.'

'No-mom where are you?'

'I lov-' high pitched static cut through the speakers of the phone.

'Mom? Mom?!' Cursing Calla dropped the phone, pulling on a pair of black sneakers. She had to help her mother, even if that meant exposing herself.

with a sigh, she closed her eyes, releasing the grip on her powers and feeling as a surge of energy surged through her. Mahoney waves flowed from her scalp, outgrowing the previous mousy brown until the locks reached her knees. Her beige skin transformed into a glowing bronze as she felt the pulsing of energy and adrenaline through her veins, the feeling almost euphoric. She opened her eyes, revealing them to no longer be the simple hazel, but now an electric green, glowing in the evening hue.

It had been a while since Calla had felt such power, it disgusted her how much she enjoyed it. She looked at her wrist as a vine sprouted from her vein, growing and twisting up her arm. 'Freak.' she hissed at herself as she slid open the window and flung herself out, her new strength helping her leap onto the neighboring roof with ease. Luckily for her, she knew her mother well, well enough to have a good enough idea where she could be.

The plants covering the LexCorp plant were a bit of a giveaway, they twisted around the building like a giant octopus trying to squeeze the life from its prey.

Calla approached it, pressing her palm against one of its large branches. She felt the pulsing of its energy underneath, faint but there. It was dying and she was running out of time. She climbed on top of the branch, following it to an opening on the roof of the plant, she slipped through the hole landing soundlessly on the ceilings catwalk. She looked down onto a maze of large metal tubes, intertwined with a number of vines. In the midst of the maze was her mother, deep red hair mattered with sweat, blood dripping down her green outfit, the strained expression on her beautiful face as she struggled to keep a hold on her wall of vines protecting her from the two people on the other side of it.

Batman and Robin, the Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder. Attacking her own mother with full force. Ivy faltered a gap forming in her shield, her eyes widened as a Batarang was thrown straight for her.

White rage coursed through Calla as she found herself leaping from the catwalk, her foot landing with extreme accuracy onto the flying blade, as she landed with a crouch in between the two in place of the shield.

'Hello boys,' she grinned, 'pleasure to finally met you.'

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hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter I really enjoyed writing it now that things are starting to get interesting.

I made it a bit longer to make up for last weeks being so short, sorry about that.

Don't be shy to give me any feedback you may have it's massively appreciated.

Hope you have a great day