Chapter Text
Pamela Ivy Isley was born in a suburban home in one of the many alleyways of the Narrows. Her parents weren't rich. Her mother didn't work, her father spent all of his legal money on alcohol and outside love, meaning that, in order to sustain his family, he had to turn to illegal means. She didn't have any dolls or toys growing up, only her mother's garden which they used to plant most of the things they ate. One of the few things she was taught by her mom was how to take care of it and soon she became closer to the plants than people. Plants didn't yell, didn't call you names or hit you. They never judged and always listened to what you had to hear. Soon, she learned that unlike with people, the love you gave to plants was always rewarded as they bloomed beautiful flowers or grew something yummy that you could eat. She no longer wanted to be called Pamela, Pamela was a human name, her grandmother's name. All her grandmother did was blame her for her mother being stuck with her father, but Ivy? That was a plant name and the name she wanted to be known for. She was Ivy Pepper, not Pamela.
Ivy was 11 years old when her father died. He had never been a good dad, he screamed and smelled bad, but Ivy was still sad. He'd been shot dead by a cop that also smelled like alcohol, Harvey Bullock was his name. That was when she decided she didn't like the smell of alcohol.
Her mother passed away two weeks later. Ivy had noticed the woman had been crying a lot, even more than usual, but she didn't know it would be that bad. She arrived home from school and smelled something really bad, so bad she couldn't even smell the flowers. The girl left to investigate it, finding out it led to her mother's bedroom. When she opened the door, she saw her mother hanging from the ceiling, her neck twisted in a weird angle. It was her mother that smelled bad.
Ivy ran away from her home that night with just her backpack. She didn't have a mom and dad anymore and she didn't want to be with her grandmother. The woman was mean and butter, more bitter than lime. She didn't need other people, not as long as she had plants. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring her plants with her either, so in the end she was completely alone when she ran. Ivy was sad that her mother and father were dead, but she was more sad that her plants had to be left behind.
For a few months, Ivy was alone. She had no plants nor people to talk to. The girl started to feel a lot sadder all the time, wondering if it was how her mother felt too. One day, she smelled something nice coming from above, it was the smell of flowers blooming. The smell came from the rooftop of an abandoned building where a tree had somehow managed to grow. It was weak and small, but alive. That was what mattered. Ivy was no longer alone.
Some more time passed. Ivy started growing more plants on the rooftop until her garden was even bigger than before. That was when she met another human. Now, she saw people every day, she often had to steal and even beg for something to eat, but this was the first time since her parents died that she actually met someone.
Ivy was caught stealing from a tourist that was quite unhappy with her action. He screamed and shouted at her and threatened to take the red head to a police station when a hand tounched his shoulder. When he turned to look, a gloved hand punched him hard on the face, allowing Ivy to free herself and run back to her roof. The girl thought she hadn't been followed, only to find the same girl who saved her standing there, offering half of the money on the guy's wallet.
The girl's name was Selina Kyle, although she was called Cat by most people. She was athletic and agile, a little older than Ivy and with a sharper tongue than even her claws. The two of them became friends instantaneously and Selina began visiting her almost every day, sometimes she even brought a few other friends, other girls much like Ivy herself who had been treated poorly by their family and were now all alone. Ivy didn't mind as long as they respected her plants, after all, they were still her best friends. Still, with Cat around Ivy started to think that maybe, just maybe people weren't that bad after all.