❙❚ ISSUE #24 ░░░░ VOL. 5
❛ WAR OR JUST ME ❜ ┆🌹
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The war had ended, and the first thing Rosie did was board a plane that would land in Washington, D.C., on her way to a ceremony held at the White House. She landed wearing a uniform adorned with medals, and the United States flag crowned in a rose garden fluttered in her auburn hair. Tired but happy to be honored, to speak with her words and experience, after being adored and respected, she said:
"Friends and fellow countrymen! Today is a day of celebration, a day when we can leave behind the horrors of war and look towards a future filled with hope and joy. We have overcome the common enemy and demonstrated that when we work together and fight for a just cause, we can achieve great things. But this victory is not ours alone; it belongs to all who have fought and sacrificed to reach this moment. It belongs to our brave soldiers, our allies around the world, our loved ones who have suffered and waited at home. It belongs to all those who have dreamed of a more peaceful and just world.
Now, we must look to the future and work together to build that world. We must commit ourselves to respecting and protecting the rights of all human beings, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. We must strive to promote equality and justice worldwide and ensure that the forces of evil never again threaten the peace and security of our world. But above all, we must celebrate this moment and enjoy the life and freedom we have earned. Let us celebrate together, with joy and gratitude in our hearts. And let us always remember that when we fight for what is right and work together, we can achieve anything. Long live the United States of America, and long live peace and freedom throughout the world!"
And that was Poison Rose's final public appearance, and she swore it by all the soldiers who had died by her side. In the hotel room where she was staying to reclaim her freedom, Rosie admired her reflection in the mirror with a nervous air and a queasy stomach. She needed to calm down or she would ruin all the work and time her friends, Nancy and Robin, had put into her. One week after setting foot in her homeland and answering the call of hundreds of women who awaited her with flower arrangements and gratitude banners, she decided to find solace in her two great friends who were waiting to embrace her.
Nancy had prepared an outfit for her big day. It was custom-made, in a dull green color. She had made her a long jacket with beige buttons and pants of the same tone—quite daring, Rosie thought. Women didn't go around wearing pants and suits, but Robin had insisted that she present herself that way, and they had convinced her. Rosie turned around to check for any loose threads. She had a light tie with dots that blended into the fabric of her shirt, and on her feet were polished black loafers. She tied her hair up in a high ponytail and applied heat to straighten out the small natural waves. Nancy had bought her makeup and taught her how to highlight her features. Red lips and a sharp eyeliner to kill a man. She applied colored powder to hide her reddened nose and the traces of nightly tears. The girls said she should show the new CEO of Vought the woman she had become. She was supposed to look intimidating, as if she were the strongest man in the world and didn't care about other people's feelings, not even those of the person who loved her most in the world.
Rosie smiled at the mirror and picked up the script Robin had prepared for her, which she had been rehearsing for three months. Everything she needed to do to give her best performance in resigning as Poison Rose from Vought was written there. Every word and every gesture was filled with notes pointing out her flaws and what she shouldn't do: "Don't look down, look into their eyes. Don't whisper when greeting them, open the door wide and walk with footsteps that resonate throughout the office. Don't apologize every two sentences, and stop fidgeting with your fingers!" They had been practicing day and night, putting her in different situations, and she was supposed to be ready to face them and take to the streets.
Rosie looked at herself in the mirror one last time before stepping out... and the tears came back.
She had ruined everything, as always: her makeup was smudged, anger had undone her high ponytail, and she hated the clothes they had made for her. She didn't want to go; everyone would notice, they would stare, whisper by her side, point fingers, and talk. She couldn't bear it. She should go to Nancy and Robin's house and never leave again.
"—You'll break down there, but remember it's for your freedom," her only friends told her during every rehearsal. She had her script; she just had to stick to it. She had rehearsed it a thousand times. She needed to be brave for once and do something for herself. How had she gone to war and done things that put her in extreme danger without hesitation? How was it that resigning seemed harder than that? She was a superhero! She had superpowers! She could tear down mountains, pave paths, bombs fell on her and she survived.
"Come on, Rosie," she said to herself, fixing her appearance again: the makeup, the hair, the clothes, the smile. "It's for your freedom. Resign, and you'll be free to live your life as you please. You'll do good under your own name," she whispered to the reflection in the mirror. "You can do it, like Nancy told you: 'Walk like a model, you're the one in charge.' I'm like him, I have powers, better powers!"
She drank the entire bottle of water and stepped out. The first step was taken; now she just had to go down and walk a couple of blocks to the new Vought Tower.
"—Walk as if you were the owner of the city; the world is yours, nature gave you the keys to take care of it and keep it in harmony, but... I can destroy it at any moment," Rosie said to herself, fearful that people would recognize her face. She didn't have her superhero costume, but her attire was unusual among women in dresses and men in black. "—I'd rather be seen for my clothes than for being her or him."
"Poison Rose!" someone shouted, but she kept walking.
"Poison Rose! Poison Rose, can you come to my house? My daughter is a fan of yours!" A woman stood in her way. Rosie smiled politely and found it extremely difficult to say no, but in the end, she accepted a piece of paper with the address and a meeting scheduled for tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
"Poison Rose! Where's Soldier Boy? We want to see you together! Congratulations on the engagement!"
She remained silent and reached the entrance. The security personnel recognized her and let her in without any fuss, although she saw them making a series of gestures to notify someone over the phone that the superheroine was in the building. Rosie walked to the elevator and got in alone. She pressed the top button, the one for the highest floor where the office of the new CEO, Frederick Vought Jr., was located. A fool who was given the position through inheritance now that the Nazis were no longer breathing down their necks, hunting them down to kill them.
Rosie felt sick, and the nerves attacked her once again. No, she couldn't do it; they would say no. They would throw the folder in her face and laugh. It had always been like that. They never gave her anything, never listened to her, and forced her to do things she didn't want to do. They exposed her naked, stole her childhood, never let her make decisions. "—I have to do it, press the damn doorbell." They turned her into Poison Rose, and today they were going to kill her.
The doorbell rang, forcing her feet not to run away.
"Come in, darling!" Frederick Vought Jr. shouted.
This was her chance. He was an idiot and couldn't handle the company. She had the physical advantage and better bargaining power. Rosie just had to remember the script. But there was a small problem. She forgot everything.
"Hello, Mr. Vought," Rosie walked towards the seat she was invited to with a gesture of the hand. "I'm here to discuss my contract with Vought. I would be delighted to make some arrangements because... I am dissatisfied with several points, and I would hate to have a bad relationship with Vought." Her hands were sweaty, and she had to clear her throat several times because the knot that formed prevented her from speaking clearly. Oh! She forgot to use a confident tone!
"What are you talking about, Poison Rose?"
Script, script, script. "Sit up straight, with hands interlaced and resting on the table, cross your legs, and tilt your head slightly upward."
"Mr. Vought, I am very grateful for the opportunity you have given me to work in the war. I have found..."
Frederick Vought Jr. clicked his tongue, rolled his eyes, got up from his seat, and searched for a cigar in a cabinet filled with books and alcoholic beverages, which also had a golden telephone. He looked her up and down and took a puff.
"Hello, beautiful. Tell Soldier Boy we have a problem in my office. Yes, tell him to come immediately."
Why did she even try? She knew she never got what she wanted. Good things only happened to good, pious, and helpful girls. Sometimes it was very difficult to meet those standards, and during the war, she had to do things she didn't want to do that were neither good nor helpful nor pious. Rosie wanted to leave. She would tell Nancy and Robin that she tried but was not heard. They would be very angry. What if she lost her friends? What if she disappointed them so much that they would no longer speak to her? Frederick Vought Jr. called Soldier Boy—why did he have the misfortune of him being in the building?—and it would create a scandal. She couldn't trust him at all, and if he got involved, he would do it in favor of Vought... And she would have to talk to him, look him in the eyes. She couldn't bear it.
Rosie stood up from the chair and knocked over one of the decorative plant pots, causing soil to scatter across the room. Plants she had grown blocked the exit and crawled up the walls like dancing snakes.
"I don't want Soldier Boy here!" she shouted. "Sit down," she commanded, but he ignored her. "Sit down now, or I'll fill this office with mustard gas in a second."
Once she had demonstrated her toxic powers, she was taken seriously. The CEO quickly sat down, maintaining a false sense of composure as a leader. He loosened his tie and begged for a little more air to calm his anxious lungs.
"There's no need to get aggressive, Poison Rose. I thought you were a good woman."
"And I thought you could listen."
"Here I am, listening to you, but you're avoiding all the decorum. Get straight to the point."
She had to calm down a bit and remember the script. Lili said not to show how she controlled her hormones to induce happiness, as if sipping a glass of wine. It didn't say anything about doing it without her physical affirmation of thumb over hand. Rosie calmed her anger unnoticed and sat back down as the script instructed. If he wanted her to be direct, she would be.
"I resign as Poison Rose. Sign here," she handed him the folder of documents to formalize her resignation.
Frederick Vought Jr. remained silent for a moment, trying to decipher if he had heard correctly. His eyes wandered to the plants blocking the exit and those moving behind him, encircling him like a snake attack.
"With all due respect, Poison Rose, are you crazy? You can't resign as Poison Rose. That's what we created you for. My father worked on Compound V for years so that you wouldn't come and resign from your powers. I don't understand! How can you not want to be Poison Rose? If you want to quit, you will pay back all the wasted money, and you will pay for the next Poison Rose because I will make one. Yes, I will create another Poison Rose. I'll make her just like you and make her Soldier Boy's wife. How about that? Do you still want to resign?"
"Make thirty Poison Roses, I don't care. You can make her anyone's girlfriend, I don't care. I'm not going to pay because you owe me money. Why am I being paid much less than Soldier Boy when I did the same job? I understood if that percentage difference was for press and marketing work, he sells more than me. But the military? The war? Why is my hundreds of thousands of crates of food less valued than Soldier Boy's work? Why is my performance in the war paid less than his? You can talk to any soldier, officer, or general, and they will tell you that I participated in the war more than him, had more responsibilities, and won more battles. I resign as Poison Rose, and I don't want to be recognized as her. I don't want my face associated with her name. But I am willing to negotiate a contract for myself, Rose Harrington. I will continue to go on any military mission, with or without your command. If you are interested in my power, we can negotiate a new contract. If you're not interested, I will offer my services to another arms company or another country. But I'm not leaving here without you signing my resignation. I'm willing to kill you if you don't sign it."
Her body was trembling. She was so bad at reading other people's emotions that she wasn't sure if she should continue threatening with her powers or stick to the script. She felt uncomfortable with herself for threatening to kill. She would never do that. She would become just like him—heartless, rude, destroyed. Rosie had to stay true to herself. That's why she was there.
"You are not valuable to my company, Rose Harrington. You were the lab rat who told us about Compound V. Now we can make thousands of Poison Roses, better ones. I'll commission one who can't speak."
"That won't end well," she responded with anger. "You can't silence me, nor any Poison Rose or Soldier Boy. Because I know, this society will see many people with powers, drowning in money, but you will never create a superhero."
"That's not our business, Miss Harrington," the Vought CEO snatched her folder with the papers and read them silently. After a while, he put down the pen and signed.
"I wish you luck in your life. You're free."
Rosie silently gathered her belongings and quickly headed towards the exit. She opened the door (undoing her plants) and came face to face with Soldier Boy. A few brief seconds where their eyes met after months of being apart. Rosie regained all the abilities that made her a rational being and almost ran out of there, fearing that the chase would begin again. She took the stairs, afraid of getting trapped in the elevator with him, descending so quickly that she nearly stumbled down a few floors. Damn, he didn't look bad at all, as if being apart hadn't affected him. Oh no, the tears wanted to come out.
But at least she was free.
Rosie reached the ground floor and looked around nervously, afraid that Soldier Boy might be there. Fortunately, he wasn't, and she was able to step out onto the street. She tried to blend in as best as she could, looking down at the ground until she spotted a public phone. Good news had to be shared.
"Girls!?" Rosie asked eagerly, pushing the heartbreak out of her mind.
"ROSIE!" both girls shouted. "And? How did it go? Don't tell me you changed your mind," Nancy said, and Rosie could swear she was making a face as if she wanted to destroy an entire house out of frustration.
"I'm free!" Rosie exclaimed a bit loudly, causing several people to turn and look at her. Rosie jumped up and down, her tears of pain turned into tears of liberation. "He signed it, I no longer belong to Vought. My powers are mine, my body is mine, and I can do whatever I want with my life."
Nancy and Robin screamed so loudly that Rosie had to move the phone away from her ear.
"Rosie, we are so proud of you, oh, our little girl," Robin said, taking the phone, projecting the voice of one of the smartest women she had ever known. "I knew it, ever since I took care of you at the base, I knew you would make changes. Look at you, the most important woman in the war, the real soldiers... the ones who fought alongside you, they respect you, they call you a heroine and not the imposter."
"Let me have a turn, Robin, I also have a speech," Nancy took over the speaker. "Rosie, go get your Medical degree. Now that you have this proof that you can speak with your own voice and get what you want, go to Harvard and talk to whoever you need to talk to secure your place there."
"Your words mean so much to me. I was so lucky to meet you both, and I'm grateful that you gave me the opportunity to discover myself, not as Poison Rose," Rosie replied.
"Oh, don't cry, Rosie. You've cried enough. Go apply and then come back to us. We'll throw you a party and celebrate," Nancy comforted her. "You made Robin cry, oh, now she's making me cry."
"Don't cry, or I'll cry even more and ruin everything..." Rosie suddenly ran out of words. There he was, just one block away, surrounded by people, but desperately searching for someone. "I have to go. I'll call you as soon as I'm in Massachusetts. I love you!"
"Well, yes, good luck! Don't forget everything we practiced!" they said one last time, but Rosie had to hang up immediately and run.
She covered her face with her briefcase and let her hair down to cover herself even more. She didn't want to be recognized. She prayed that no one would shout her name so she could run to her hotel. Fortunately, she arrived without being seen by Soldier Boy and packed her bags in less than ten minutes. The faster she could board the train, the farther away she would be from Soldier Boy.
She was free. Now she could decide how to live.
📝... author's note
Hello, sorry for the lack of frequent updates. Between university and work, it's nearly impossible, but I make time for you.
My girl Rosie is free from Vought, and I'm happy for her.
I know you had to endure reading about oppression, physical and mental abuse, and a misogynistic perspective in Rosie's life, but she's finally asserting herself. Patience was required; it took her ten years, slow but steady.
I also know you're lost with the update of volume 5 and the tweets and the graphic from a Twitch channel 👀👀👀. These are present things that I leave as clues for you to come up with theories. Have fun because everything will be clarified soon.
You might be wondering... What about the wedding? And the engagement? What happened? Well, this is my story, and I always write the things that come to me. A new theme emerged, and I'd like to implement it: overcoming a problem. We can all relate to it, and in Rosie's case, I wanted to explore a type of depression that she carries silently. She has always been told not to cry because it bothered the doctors, not to make a fuss because it irritated others. Well... these are the consequences. I'm very excited to delve into this narrative, and I feel it becomes interesting because you, as readers, won't have the complete context of what happened until Rosie feels comfortable sharing it, per se, speaking it aloud.
Xoxo. Vote and comment because it keeps me motivated to share my writing, and don't let Toxin flop :(