Hard Lessons
Pamela was nervous. It was her first official day at the new job and the young scientist was nervously expecting her first assignment from Lex Luthor. Yet her boss seemed to have some more important stuff to do and tired of waiting Pamela decided to grab a fresh issue of Daily Planet. She didn't know enough about Metropolis and reading the most popular newspaper seemed like a good idea to learn more.
It was only a matter of time until Pamela found the interview given by her boss to a local journalist. At first, she liked how the conversation went. This Lois Lane had a similar set of suspicions about Lex Luthor as Pamela. He is indeed putting too much emphasis on his name, he seems authoritative, some details of his past are suspicious. Then red-headed scientists reached the point when she herself was mentioned and Dr. Isley's beautiful eyes went wide in shock.
"He couldn't say her that. He couldn't. Such a brilliant man would never lower himself to this no matter what problems our relationships had" Pamela kept saying to herself rereading that part of the interview again and again.
So, when Lex Luthor eventually did come to her laboratory, he found her sitting near the newspaper with watery eyes. "I see that you have read that article." He said calmly "I hope it won't influence the level of your work"
"No mister Luthor." Pamela quickly answered doing everything to not let her voice to tremble. She hated to be spotted in such moment of weakness and only know she understood that there is a very good chance that he actually believed Woodroe's word. After all why one wouldn't believe such a brilliant man. "Just put me to a test. Tell me what product you want me to develop and I'll start immediately to deliver the best I can."
Lex gave her a rather warm slime "I am sure you can a lot. But your first assignment won't be to this lab. I want you to accompany me to Gotham"
"To Gotham?" Dr. Isley asked in surprise.
"Yes. To Gotham. Pamela, LexCorp is a big family and we don't take attacks on our family members lightly. Time for doctor Woodroe to learn this. And your knowledge of him will help me" Luthor's voice sounded different any other time Pamela talked with him. There was steel in his voice. She didn't even find mental strength to object that such a brilliant man as Woodroe is too important for the wellbeing of humanity to take hostile actions against him. The only thing she said back "As you wish mister Luthor. I am ready to go any moment"
...................
Three weeks passed since they arrived in Gotham. She was in one of the local LexCorps' buildings waiting for her boss once again. Pamela still couldn't believe that Luthor would dedicate so much of his personal attention to this when he has a multibillion corporation to run. They already learned quite a lot of unpleasant thing about her former professor and lover. He stole money from the university. He accepted bribes. He cheated her with at least one other student. She couldn't understand how such a brilliant man could fall this low. At least, she thought, all of this is soon to be over and she'll get back to her real work. If she only knew what will Luthor bring this time
"Here" Luthor went straight to the point right after entering to the room "My men acquired some of Woodroe's journals and other stuff. I glanced over it, it is all about botany. I am sure you can make sense of it sooner than I"
"What do you mean acquired? Did they steal it? It is i-" Pamela shut herself up noticing how Luthor looks at her disapprovingly "very well, I'll look at it."
................
She was in Metropolis again. In her lab. She was reading all those disgusting journals again for the first time since the shock she received in Gotham. This time to catalog it and use in her further researches. Her hate for Woodroe grew with each new line. He casually described how he used the pheromone to seduce her. How she became more submissive in relationships with him. How she started to admit his briliance more often. But the worst part was yet to come. One simple line. "Perhaps Pamela can be the first test subject for injecting plant cells in a human"
"What a brilliant idea to use me as a lab rat, bastard" Pamela said aloud and then completely lost control over herself. Calling his idea brilliant was the last straw. She was still under the influence of the pheromone. It is when calm and shy young scientists started to smash nearby expensive equipment in a blind fury.
When Mercy arrived to Pamela's lab she found the botanist breathing heavily in a quite damaged lab.
"Do you have any idea how many thousands of dollars you just ruined?" Security chief asked crossing her arms at her chest. She was sounding annoyed because she was annoyed. Both League and Ivo were driving her mad and when automated security system reported noise in Pamela she assumed that someone went after one of two Luthor's high profile scientists she didn't want to strangle.
"I... I am sorry. It is just..." Then Pamela proceeded telling Mercy everything that happened. She needed to let it out of herself and Mercy was the best candidate available
"It is a pity that I am busy with all those idiots trying to kill Luthor" Mercy said after hearing the whole story. "Else that guy would have lost more than his job. But you know, hippy, " Mercy often called Pamela that "just accept the fact that men are pigs. Woodroe, Ivo, all are the same. They think they are better than us. They try to use us. They don't care about us. Don't let them to get your skin"
"Yes. You are right. I'll never let any other man do something like this to me" Pamela said with a cold determination in her voice. "But not all men like this scum, right? Lex treats me very differently"
"Lex is one in billion" Mercy replied with a smile "Of course he is different. But others are more like Ivo just less ugly"
"Don't start about Ivo... I barely resist my urge to strange him. " Pamela looked around at the devastation she caused and sighed "Looks like I'll need to work some time for free"
"Don't worry, I'll have it all replaced. But next time, when you'll want to break things, just go to the shooting range, OK?"
"OK" Pamela smiled and returned to an unpleasant task of cataloging Woodroe's discoveries.
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Not sure how canon this may be. But I am aiming at a much softer version of Pamela going "all men are sexist pigs to be exploited" then in canon and still having some parallels with canon
