THE SEAGRAPES OF WRATH: A FASHION GIRL ADVENTURE
A STORY BY ROBY GRAHAM
INTRODUCTION
This is the eighteenth story in the Fashion Girl series. Now I know you looked at the title and are wondering what is a seagrape? For those of you who don't live in warmer climates or on a tropical island I'll tell you. Seagrape plants are quite common in these parts of the world including most of Florida and coastal regions along The Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii and other such places.
The seagrapes themselves grow almost in the same manner as regular grapes do but they don't grow on vines and they are edible. In the Bahamas for example, you can buy them from any street front produce vender. Most of the plants are trees but they can also be hedges, bushes and shrubs. But the tree is by far the most common type. The leaves are oblong or oval shaped and the veins look like the leaf is smiling back at you.
Believe me a plant like that can give you the creeps. I wouldn't plant one on my property for all the money in the world. In January 2013, Fashion Girl and the other Style Chicks will encounter these plants themselves as a botanist accidentally causes the residents of Miami an interesting situation as these plants go awry and cause trouble. Can the Style Chicks overcome a situation like this? Will the plants prevail? Or will an unlikely hero emerge?
Grab a weed whacker and read further…
CHAPTER 1: BACK IN MIAMI
Since Doral the Gopher was exiled to the grounds of The Mystique Boutique in Atlanta, Fashion Girl has made it her personal mission to return once a year to Miami and personally hand the city's mayor the money made from the crops Doral grows in the big farm that sits on the mansion's property. Doral owes this money back to the city of Miami for the damage he caused by ruining most of the city's golf courses.
In Miami, Doral was once known as "El Terron" Spanish for "The Divot". The city's police force gave him that name. Once Doral was just an ordinary gopher until one day he fell into a pool that was mostly chemical runoff. The chemical mixture mutated his genes and he grew to the size of a man. He could also speak and stand erect like a man as well.
A gang of thugs took advantage of what happened to Doral and controlled his thoughts with a special doglike collar. Doral caused severe damage to almost every golf course in and around Miami. In spite of the fact Doral didn't do this damage at his own free will, the city banished him forever. Penney Dillard was able to shrink him back to the size of a regular gopher but couldn't undo the mutation.
Since he has lived with The Style Chicks, Doral has become a valuable asset to them and not a liability. He helps to keep Victoria company since she is the only one at the mansion all the time and offers to keep watch at the command center when she is needed by the others. And he gives The Style Chicks one fourth of the crops he grows as payment for their kindness.
One day in January 2013, Fashion Girl made a special trip to Miami and gave the mayor a bonus of sorts. She had returned to the States after completing a mission overseas in a small European country. A reward was offered to Fashion Girl although she couldn't accept the reward money. But this country had a custom in which it would be considered an insult not to accept the money. So she had no choice but to accept it and thanked the country's prime minister most graciously.
Instead of going back to Atlanta, Fashion Girl went to Miami to give the money to the mayor. When Fashion Girl converted the reward into US dollars, it was the sum of fifty thousand dollars which would help to reduce Doral's debt a great deal. Although the mayor was pleased with the extra money, he still had choice words for Fashion Girl. He said in an angry tone of voice, "Fashion Girl I do appreciate this extra money but do you have any idea how much more El Terron still owes the city? Do you? He still owes the city more than eight hundred thousand dollars. Since he has lived with you, he's only paid back about twenty thousand dollars and this extra money makes seventy thousand total."
Fashion Girl replied, "Your honor, I help him to sell these crops at harvest time. I have a huge farm in Atlanta and even with my insignia on the fruits and vegetables he only gets about seven or eight thousand dollars at a time. And he has given me the authority to claim the money collected after everything has been sold so I can come here to repay it back to you. And we named him Doral for the country club we helped to protect more than three years ago. Doral has become our mascot and a good friend. Believe me your honor, I know that you're angry at him and may never forgive him for what he did, you must understand or at least try to understand that he did that damage not of his own free will."
The mayor said, "You try to understand my dear that as far as you are concerned, you are always welcomed here as are your friends, but Doral did a terrible thing and must be punished for it, even if he didn't do it freely. Unless you have any other business to discuss with me, I'm due to dedicate a new office building in fifteen minutes. After all I do have an image to maintain."
In disgust, Fashion Girl replied, "What image is that? That you are the mayor of a major US city or the poster child for stubbornness? Doral is by far one of the sweetest, kindest and the gentlest creature I ever had the privilege of knowing. One of these days your honor you may need Doral's help to get you out of a major situation that you can't control. And when that day comes, you will regret it when he denies you help."
In equal disgust, the mayor said, "And you Fashion Girl are the most pig-headed, and arrogant woman I ever had the displeasure of knowing. You're very lucky that you are a super heroine because otherwise I'd throw you in jail or have you run out of town. Now if you will excuse me please." The mayor's last remarks made Fashion Girl furious but she had to realize that the mayor did have a dilemma in keeping Doral's damage a major secret. Fashion Girl also was sworn to uphold this secret as well. And of all the government leaders Fashion Girl has met, the mayor of Miami is by far the least cordial with her but he felt he had a good reason for it.
In another part of town, a successful botanist and scientist was experimenting with a new growth serum to help plants grow bigger and faster with less water and produce more fruit and flowers. The botanist tried his serum on several kinds of tropical and non-tropical plants. He put it on palm trees, rose bushes, tomato vines and a potted plant in his laboratory. He got no results. Then he went outside to see if grass would grow better with it, when he tripped on a garden hose and fell forward. The bottle of serum flew out of his hands and broke nearby a small seagrape plant.
In seconds, the plant grew triple in size and kept on growing. The plant didn't grow taller as much as it expanded in width. Then another seagrape plant nearby merged with the expanding plant. In five minutes, every seagrape plant in the nursery was merged and formed one big plant nearly choking off the other plants. The other plants didn't merge with the expanding plant just only with its own kind.
The botanist was both happy and concerned at the same time. After ten minutes, the plant broke through the fence that formed the nursery's boundary and grew outward into the street and surrounding homes. Then the botanist realized that his serum and this otherwise innocent looking plant could cause the entire city untold and unforeseen trouble and danger.
END OF CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2: GETTING OUT OF DODGE ER UM MIAMI
Once Fashion Girl left City Hall and headed towards The Glam Mobile in the parking lot, she noticed that certain plants and trees began to shake violently even though the winds were perfectly calm. Once inside The Glam Mobile and headed towards the Interstate, Victoria called Fashion Girl on the car's visual phone and asked, "Daphne are you still in Miami?" Fashion Girl answered, "I'm on the Interstate heading out why?" Victoria said, "Listen to this distress call."
Victoria patched through to Fashion Girl the audio message. The message went like this, "My name is Miles Albertson. I am a botanist and scientist. I created a growth serum designed to grow bigger plants with less water and produce more fruit and flowers. I had a fall outside my laboratory when the bottle I was carrying flew out of my hands and broke near a seagrape plant. The plant grew out more than up and surrounded my nursery and broke the fence. I had to run back into my laboratory and now I'm trapped inside. Whoever gets this message whether it's the police, fire department or even Fashion Girl, please GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Victoria said, "If you are still in the area, you should return back to help this man. But one thing what is a seagrape plant?" Fashion Girl answered, "It's a common tropical plant that grows down here. I did notice trees of the same type in the parking lot at City Hall shaking violently and there is not a speck of wind anywhere in Miami today. I'll go ahead and find this man. Contact Tiffany and Penney and put them on alert. I may need their help if I can't get the situation under control."
With the help of the Makeover 3000 The Glam Mobile's supercomputer, Fashion Girl found where this man was located. Fashion Girl said, "It's a good thing MO that he's in a rural part of town." MO replied, "Fashion Girl, that message was sent nearly an hour ago and according to my sensors, there is a large area of plant growth down in the extreme southern end of the county." Fashion Girl said, "Let's go down there and at least get this man out of his lab."
The lab was located in an extreme southern town known as Florida City the last town on the state's mainland before heading south towards The Florida Keys. Even with MO's help, Fashion Girl couldn't get near the front door. She had no idea if the plants were either poisonous or would entrap her in its clutches. Without taking any unnecessary risks, Fashion Girl took a can of hairspray out of her utility belt and sprayed the ground freezing it instantly. The plant was affected by the freezing liquid as it was stopped dead in its tracks.
Fashion Girl kicked one end of the plant and destroyed the frozen area freeing the door. She then kicked the door down and said, "Mr. Albertson, come with me quickly! There is no time to waste!" Mr. Albertson grateful to Fashion Girl hurried as fast as he could run as he was behind her as she cleared a path to The Glam Mobile. The plant almost was about to envelope the car as she sped away from the area.
When Fashion Girl was back on the main highway, Mr. Albertson said, "Thank you for rescuing me Fashion Girl. I thought I would be trapped in my lab forever." Fashion Girl then asked, "Just what kind of mad scientist are you anyway?" Mr. Albertson answered, "Oh, no my dear I'm not a mad scientist nor an evil one. I'm a very good man who obviously made a very bad mistake. Like I said in my message I'm a botanist and a scientist and was trying to perfect a growth serum to make plants and trees grow bigger, faster and bear more flowers and fruit."
Fashion Girl then asked, "Do you have an antidote?" Mr. Albertson answered, "No I'm afraid I don't have one as of yet. I was perfecting the growth serum first before I developed the antidote. I don't even have a formula written down as of yet. But I do have a small vile of the growth serum with me. If I can get to another lab, I can analyze it and possibly come up with an antidote." Fashion Girl asked, "Are those plants poisonous?" Mr. Albertson answered, "No seagrape plants are quite harmless and the fruit is edible for human consumption. But their roots grow deep down into the ground. The county prohibited the planting of them about fifteen years ago because of it, but only in certain areas and especially near water treatment facilities."
Before Fashion Girl could ask any more questions, Victoria came back on and said, "Fashion Girl, Doral is sitting here next to me and he might be able to help you." Doral then said, "Fashion Girl I may be able to help you with this problem. You must try to find and pinpoint the exact area of where the growth originated. If you do find this, you can stop those plants from growing out of control. If you don't, they will literally take over not just Miami but maybe the whole state as well."
Mr. Albertson replied with a sad tone in his voice, "It's worse than I thought. It's been just two hours since the accident and all of Florida City has been taken over by these plants, other areas will also be affected." Fashion Girl then said, "That settles it. Doral have Victoria contact Tiffany, Penney and Zara immediately. We will all need to work on this case." Mr. Albertson replied, "Fashion Girl even with all of The Style Chicks in on this case, it may already be too late."
Just then, the city's mayor came on the view screen as he said, "Fashion Girl I'm glad you're still here. Plants are growing wild around City Hall. I got back from my dedication ceremony only to find the building completely engulfed with seagrape plants. I know you can help I'm asking, no I'm begging you to help me and the city out." Fashion Girl replied, "I don't know your honor, I am still upset with you for those remarks you made to me and about Doral. Doral is a farmer and could help to stop this menace if you let him return back to Miami."
The mayor said, "You are right Fashion Girl I am sorry about those remarks, but don't condemn our city because of me." Fashion Girl replied, "I won't let the city be ruined by this sir. But Doral must come back here immediately with the other Style Chicks." The mayor said, "OK Fashion Girl I will issue a decree immediately granting Doral to return temporarily. If he is fully successful, I'll pardon him for his crime." Fashion Girl replied, "Oh yes I failed to mention that Doral hired a young family to help him with this year's crop. I'm sure they won't work for nothing. Forgive the massive debt he owes and we have a deal."
Just then a seagrape branch was coming towards the mayor's limousine and was going to wrap around the car as the mayor said frantically, "OK OK Fashion Girl, you have a deal!" Send everyone here to help out." Fashion Girl replied, "OK your honor, the others are on their way. And I'll inform my lookout Victoria to bring Doral with her." After Fashion Girl called Victoria again to have Doral come with her, Penney Dillard and Tiffany landed near the northern boundary of the Florida Everglades. Fashion Girl said, "Let's proceed west of here near US 41. There are no seagrape plants out there and we'll make it our command post and come up with a plan." Penney replied, "Boss I have no idea what you're talking about, but were are here to help." Tiffany said, "It's really quite simple Penney, Miami is being overrun by a plant and we are the weed whackers."
The Mystique Marauder happened to be pulling into The Port of Miami for shore leave when the second in command of the ship called Fashion Girl. Fashion Girl was stunned to hear that Zara was highly allergic to pollen. Fashion Girl said, "Commander I need Zara's help to complete this mission." The second in command was William Sanders who stood by Zara when her ship was threatened by mutiny. He was the only member of the original crew not to be prosecuted and was promoted to commander in helping Zara. He also takes charge of the ship when she wasn't available to command. Sanders replied, "It's the weirdest thing Fashion Girl. Zara was completely fine until we pulled into port, she started sneezing up a storm and her eyes became bloodshot almost instantly. I didn't know she was so allergic to whatever it is she is allergic to until a few minutes ago."
Fashion Girl said, "Neither did I Commander. I guess she can stand low levels of pollen and now the pollen count around here is through the roof, and she's suffering from it right now." Sanders replied, "Zara is in her room on her private deck. She has the door and windows closed because she had to take off her mask because it was making her eyes more irritated." Fashion Girl said, "I know why she doesn't want anyone to see her because without her mask on, she would reveal her true identity which she vowed to never show again. Tiffany and Penney are here with me now. Victoria is coming down soon with Doral. Doral will meet up with Zara onboard and a man who's with me now is a scientist and he accidentally caused this problem. But he will help Doral and Zara to create an antidote. I'll have Victoria meet you aboard ship." Sanders replied, "Aye, aye Fashion Girl I'll wait on the main deck for her, Mystique Marauder out."
Just as Fashion Girl ended her transmission, Penney said, "Boss according to MO's radar, those wacky weeds are coming here and quickly. If the ship is at the port, we should all go there." Fashion Girl replied, "That's a good idea, those plants won't grow in water. Let's get out of here and regroup at the port." Penney took off into the sky with Tiffany on her back followed by Fashion Girl in The Glam Mobile. Once in the air, they saw that the problem grew worse every second. And when The Style Chicks met up with The Mystique Marauder, it was time for a plan.
END OF CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3: A GROWING PROBLEM
By sunset, the plants covered half of Miami and Miami-Dade county and covering more ground with every passing second. Fashion Girl asked the local TV stations to break into their normal programming so she could alert the city and county of what is happening. Fashion Girl told people to remain at home or wherever they were at. She told them to barricade their windows as if to prepare for a hurricane. The plants began to grow through the concrete and asphalt disrupting traffic on the roads and pedestrians on sidewalks.
Visitors and tourists were trapped inside their hotel rooms. And by midnight, the entire county was grounded to a halt. Mr. Albertson said, "Oh this is terrible and it's all my fault. When the police find out about this, I will be thrown in jail for life." Fashion Girl replied, "Not if I have anything to say about it." Mr. Albertson this was an accident. An accident we can help to fix once you, Zara and Doral can come up with an antidote."
Zara called Fashion Girl to her private deck as her allergies got worse. In shock Fashion Girl said, "Zara, good heavens you look awful." Zara replied, "I feel worse than I look…" Before Zara could say more, she suffered another sneezing attack. Then she continued, "I'm sorry Fashion Girl, this is the worst allergy attack I ever had." Then Fashion Girl had an idea and said, "Zara, I'm sending Penney down here and she could cast a spell to help relieve you of the symptoms long enough for you to help us."
Zara replied, "If she can fix me up, I'll be grateful." Fashion Girl said, "Wait here and I'll get her." Zara replied, "Don't worry about that Senora, I'm not leaving here as long as I am unmasked." In minutes, Penney came to see the suffering ships' captain. Penney said, "Wow Zara you look terrible." Zara replied, "I know. I'm not sick other than I've got a terrible allergic reaction to pollen." Penney said, "Hold still and relax." Penney waved her hand in front of her casting a spell on Zara to relieve her of the allergy symptoms. In seconds, Zara was feeling much better. In relief she replied, "Thanks Penney. I really needed that. But what on earth is going on here? We've been stuck out in the bay for hours and the Port Authority won't let us in. What did we do wrong? No one will tell us anything."
Penney said, "It's not you Zara or any other vessel coming in, Miami is under siege." Zara looked out over the water and replied, "Funny the city looks quiet and kind of dark too." Penney continued, "Like I was saying, Miami is under siege not from terrorists but from plants." Zara replied, "That might explain my sudden allergy attack. What kind of plant is causing the problem?" Penney said, "Seagrape plants are the cause of this fiasco." Zara replied, "Oh yeah I know what you're talking about. I've seen those plants up in Jacksonville. But is any other area affected?" Penney said, "No I don't think so but all of Miami and the rest of the county is affected by this."
Zara asked, "What can we do about this?" Penney answered, "We brought with us onboard the man who accidentally caused this problem. He's more than willing to work with us in solving this matter. Victoria should be here as well and she brought Doral with her." Shocked and surprised, Zara said, "Doral is coming here? I thought he wasn't allowed back in Miami again." Penney replied, "By what Fashion Girl told me, the mayor will allow him to come back to fix this problem and he'll even forgive Doral's debt to the city."
Zara said, "If the mayor is going to forgive Doral's debt to the city, the situation must really be bad." Penney replied, "Zara if you are totally over your allergy, put your mask back on and come with me to meet the scientist who will help us." Once Zara put her mask back on she said, "I feel like a Style Chick again instead of a stylish mess. Where is this scientist?" Penney replied, "He should be on the main deck and is waiting to see you."
As Penney and Zara went to the main deck, Victoria landed The Freedom Flyer on the helipad and when Victoria got out with Doral, Doral was in a foul mood and he didn't hide this fact for he was upset about helping a city that had shunned him. Fashion Girl met Victoria with Doral and said, "Doral I'm glad you're here we can use your help." Doral replied with a bitter tone of voice, "Fashion Girl you know I will always help you if the situation calls for it, but I'll be damned if I will help this city out especially after they banished me for something I didn't do."
Fashion Girl said, "Doral you don't understand, the mayor personally signed this decree allowing you to come back here. What's more he will forgive your debt. If you help this city out, this city will help you out." Doral replied, "If what you're telling me is true, then that's a horse of a different color. Victoria filled me in on all the details fully. Probably by now the city is covered with plants." Fashion Girl said, "That's right. These plants aren't tall, but they are expanding outward. They might get taller now that they have covered the entire county. What do you know about these plants?" Doral replied, "Seagrapes are yummy. They are my favorite fruit. However I can't grow any up in Atlanta because it's too far inland. They thrive on the sea air and water even though some people use them as decoration in front of their houses inland. I'll meet this scientist and with his help and Zara's I think we can come up with an antidote."
Fashion Girl said, "I'm counting on it Doral as does this city. Don't be mad at the city for what one man did to you." Doral replied, "I know most people in Miami are very nice. They used to feed me and ducks bread and other goodies. But I wouldn't trade that for what I have now with you and the others." Fashion Girl said, "I'm glad to hear you say that Doral, you and Victoria come with me for the scientist is meeting with Zara about now."
Doral asked, "I thought Zara was sick with a terrible allergy." Fashion Girl answered, "She was until Penney fixed her up. She's good as new now. C'mon time is of the essence." Doral met up with Zara and Mr. Albertson. Mr. Albertson was shocked to see that Doral was a talking gopher. Doral explained that it was a long story but he has the intelligence and knowledge required to help him out.
Mr. Albertson said, "Doral I didn't mean to do this. It was an accident." Doral replied, "And your growth serum didn't work on any other kind of plant?" Mr. Albertson answered, "That's right. I tripped on a garden hose outside my lab door. I fell down, the bottle flew out of my hands and broke near the seagrape and within minutes my nursery was covered with the plants." Doral said, "Take it easy and don't panic sir. I am a farmer and have to make my own chemicals to combat insects and other pests. Zara is a marine biologist and scientist." Zara added, "But I've never made a chemical to destroy a living being."
Doral said, "Look Zara, I have to. If I didn't kill the insects, rats, and any other pests that came around my farm, my produce wouldn't be among the best in Atlanta." Mr. Albertson added, "That was the purpose of my growth serum Zara. To make plants more ecologically sound by making them less reliant on water and grow more flowers and fruit. But it seems that it only works with one kind of plant. Zara I'm all for making the world greener, but this is a catastrophe if we can't come up with an antidote. I brought with me a small vile of the serum. If we can analyze the components, we can find an antidote. I'll ask Fashion Girl if she can bring me a small sample of the seasgrape plant and bring it here. Once cut it will not grow anymore. I must try our antidote on it to see what kind of reaction it will have."
Zara replied, "I'm sure that can be arranged." Zara called for Fashion Girl to get into the city to get a small branch of the plant to bring back to the ship. Zara also assured Fashion Girl that once the plant has been cut, it won't grow anymore. The Glam Mobile was in hovercraft mode and Fashion Girl returned to the Downtown area. But the car couldn't go back to normal mode because the streets were not drivable. Fashion Girl got as close to land as she could and snipped off a two foot branch of the plant to bring back to the ship.
Mr. Albertson was right, once cut, the plant stopped growing. But it would have taken days even weeks to cut down all the plants. If that was a possibility, the plants could grow again and be harder to control. Stopping the plant in its tracks by destroying them was the only solution. Zara, Doral and Mr. Albertson began work on finding an antidote once Fashion Girl gave them the specimen Mr. Albertson asked for. Then it became a game of wait and see for it would be The Style Chicks or the plants that would prevail.
END OF CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4: FASHION GIRL VERSUS THE PLANTS
Fashion Girl, Tiffany, Penney and Victoria all spent the night sleeping on the main deck of the ship in deck chairs for they wanted to see how Miami would look once the light of day broke. Fashion Girl woke up first and looked at the city's skyline only to discover that the plants did grow taller overnight. Fashion Girl awakened the others and told them to look out to the city.
Tiffany said, "I hope Zara and Doral came up with a way to stop those plants?" Fashion Girl replied in a grim tone of voice, "I don't know Tiffany. Since I became Fashion Girl, I have never felt so helpless to stop something like this from happening. I freed Mr. Albertson by freezing a portion of those plants with my hairspray. But I don't have enough hairspray to destroy those plants." Penney added, "Boss as powerful as my magic is, it's not powerful enough to stop these plants because I can only get rid of a small area at a time. Once I do that, they'll only grow back stronger and faster. Like Tiffany said, our only hope lies in Zara, Doral and Mr. Albertson."
Moments later, a ship's ensign walked up and said, "Please excuse me Fashion Girl there is a ship to shore call for you, it's the mayor." Fashion Girl replied, "Thank you ensign. Please check on Zara's progress for me." The ensign said, "Yes ma'am at once." When Fashion Girl walked over to the radio room to answer the call, she said to herself, "The mayor must be furious with me. I just know he's going to chew me out. But what can I do? I've never felt so powerless in my life. Even when I was kidnapped or bound and gagged in my mystery solving days, oh well, here goes nothing."
Fashion Girl answered the call and said, "Good morning your honor, how are you today?" The mayor replied in a furious rage, "How am I today? Is that all you can say to me? I'm trapped in my home as are everyone else in the city and county. I bet you've done nothing to try to resolve this. This morning, I noticed those plants have grown taller. You get this and get it straight young lady; I will hold you personally responsible for this if you don't have a solution by sunset today!"
Fashion Girl said, "Your honor you may not believe this but I am as powerless to stop this as you are. The scientist who accidentally caused this problem is aboard the ship with my assistant Zara and Doral the Gopher. Together they are using their intellect to come up with an antidote to the growth serum. It seems that chopping down the plants, freezing them, setting fire to them, will not stop them. I will inform the city of how we will combat this problem once we have an answer."
The mayor said, "Again Fashion Girl I'm warning you, you have until sunset today to come up with a solution or you will be held accountable, good day to you ma'am!" Fashion Girl slammed down the receiver and was livid over the mayor's remarks. Then the ensign returned and said, "I'm sorry to bother you again Fashion Girl, Zara is still trying to come up with an antidote. I just left some coffee for her and Mr. Albertson and water for Doral." Fashion Girl replied, "Thank you ensign. Make sure when you check on them again, that they have until sunset. The mayor ordered it." The ensign said, "I will do that Fashion Girl."
Later that morning, Fashion Girl stood at the railing looking out over the city. She was indeed powerless to stop the plants from devouring the city. Tiffany came over and said, "Fashion Girl looking out at what's happening isn't going to resolve the matter." Fashion Girl replied, "I've lost Tiffany. For the first time ever, I have lost a battle." Tiffany said, "I feel bad too but there is nothing we can do to stop this unless Zara and the others can come up with an answer. You once told me that sometimes brains conquer over brawn. This is one of those times."
Fashion Girl replied, "The mayor is going to hold me personally responsible if a solution isn't found by sunset today." Tiffany said, "Zara is going to need more time than that." Fashion Girl said angrily, "TIME IS SOMETHING WE DON'T HAVE! An antidote must be found or we are in serious trouble!" Tiffany asked, "What if Penney flew to the mayor's house and explain this to him?" Fashion Girl replied, "How do you suppose she get inside? Knock on the door?" Tiffany said, "Penney has been working on a new power she's developing, the power to teleport herself from one place to the other. If she can teleport herself from here to the inside of the mayor's house and back, not only will the mayor get an update on Zara's progress, she can try to convince him to give us more time."
Fashion Girl replied, "It's worth a try. Tell Penney that she can do this and convince that big windbag of our predicament." Tiffany said, "I'll inform her right away." Fashion Girl sat back down in the deck chair and sulked for she had no idea on what to do. After Tiffany told Penney of Fashion Girl's idea, Penney tried to teleport herself to the mayor's house. She remembered the neighborhood he lived in from her last trip to Miami.
Penney materialized inside the mayor's house and said, "You're honor, Fashion Girl sent me here to explain everything that is happening aboard The Mystique Marauder. As I am speaking to you, Zara the ship's captain, Miles Albertson the botanist who accidentally started this problem and Doral the Gopher have worked on an antidote since last night. They haven't rested not even for a few minutes. So far they have found nothing."
The mayor asked, "Miss Dillard you are a sorceress, can't you do anything about this with your magic?" Penney answered, "My magic and Fashion Girl's strength are powerless against this problem. We need to find this antidote." The mayor said, "It's after noon now, your boss has six hours to find a solution!" Penney replied, "Your honor, if we could stop this, we would have. We can cut down the plants, they'll only grow faster and harder to control. We could burn them and burn the city down in the process. We could freeze them but it's too hot for that to work. Zara, Mr. Albertson and Doral are the only hope we have now. My magic can wipe out small areas at a time. It would take Fashion Girl entirely too long to pull the plants out by hand. Even if we all did that, it could take months to finish and they'll only grow back faster than we can remove them."
Just then, the mayor's house began to rumble and shake. Penney said, "Since when does Miami suffer earthquakes." The mayor replied, "It's not an earthquake, look!" As Penney turned around, she noticed the plants began to come through the floor and invaded the mayor's house. Without giving it a second thought, Penney said, "Quick your honor stand close to me as I will teleport us back to The Mystique Marauder."
Penney and the mayor left the scene in seconds as the plants completely took over the interior of his house. They re-materialized back to the safety of the ship. The mayor then said, "Thank you Miss Dillard for saving my life. But now my city really has a problem, a solution must come and soon." Victoria asked, "Your honor, what are you doing aboard ship?" The mayor answered, "Those crazy plants came through the floorboards of my house." Victoria said to herself, "Maybe the plants didn't vote for you in the last election." Then she said aloud, "Fashion Girl and Tiffany are in The Glam Mobile getting more branches for Zara and the others to find your solution." The mayor asked, "How can they drive through the streets in The Glam Mobile when the streets aren't passable?" Victoria answered, "The car can ride on water and they are near the shore to clip off the branches. They stop growing when cut. But we must find the epicenter of the original plant that grew into this mess."
The mayor said, "I used to be good in science when I was in high school, do you think Zara could use an extra pair of hands and another brain to help out?" Victoria answered, "I think she'll love it. But I can't say the same for Doral." Moments later, Victoria escorted the mayor to Zara's lab. Doral and Mr. Albertson were surprised to see him. The mayor said, "Doral, Mr. Albertson, I am here to help you find a solution and antidote. I used to be good at science and I still remember how to put a formula together." Mr. Albertson replied, "Your honor my growth serum caused this mess, and I am determined to stop it. Promise me that I won't be prosecuted."
The mayor said, "Mr. Albertson, if you can come up with a solution, I'll pardon you as well as Doral. Now let's work on this together. Let me see what you are trying to do here." As the mayor looked over at their work, Fashion Girl and Tiffany returned aboard ship with the clipped branches. When Tiffany handed the branches over to Doral, Doral notice one branch had seagrapes on it. Doral said, "This is really weird, seagrapes grow in the summer not winter, but this branch is covered with the fruit." Zara replied, "Oh that's just great, we are racking our brains trying to find a solution and you're probably thinking about lunch."
Then an idea came to Doral and said, "I think I have an idea. You know the old saying "fight fire with fire". Well folks we should fight seagrape plants with seagrapes. Zara do you have any seagrapes aboard ship?" Zara answered, "As a matter of fact I do. I bought some in the Bahamas en route here. They're sitting in the galley." Doral said, "Zara order your cook to bring you all the seagrapes and a juice extractor, we will add the juice to the growth serum and it should counteract the growth process." Mr. Albertson replied in excitement, "That should work. If it does, we'll have the antidote!"
Zara's cook brought the juice extractor and the seagrapes to the lab. Mr. Albertson added the juice to his growth serum, poured the mixture into a spray bottle and grabbed a branch as he continued, "Observe folks." He sprayed the solution on the clipped branch and it dissolved in seconds." Zara replied, "That branch was dead already, what does that prove?" Mr. Albertson answered, "Don't you see Zara, if I had done nothing this branch would have turned brown in four days. This solution sped up that process and turned the branch into a powdery dust."
Zara said, "We need to make enough of this antidote to destroy all the plants. LET'S DO IT TO IT!" Within two hours, the four made twenty-five gallons of the antidote and poured the mixture into three compressed air tanks. Zara called Fashion Girl and the others to come to the lab as they found the solution and came up with a plan.
Doral said, "Ladies I think we came up with an antidote to the growth serum. We poured the mixture into these three tanks. These tanks will spray a fine mist that will cover a large area and the plants will be destroyed in the matter of hours. Fashion Girl, I need to attach one of these tanks to the Glam Mobile, Victoria I need to do the same with The Freedom Flyer and Penney you'll need to strap a tank to your back. Your body becomes rigid in flight and you'll be able to support the weight of the tank." Tiffany added, "Penney this tank doesn't weigh as much as I do and when I ride on your back, I don't slow you down or lose altitude."
Fashion Girl replied, "I think this will work. Just tell us where to go." Doral said, "Fashion Girl you'll take the northern end of the county, Victoria you'll cover downtown and the central part of the county and Penney you'll cover the southern end of the county. Zara I need your machinist aboard ship to rig the vehicles with the tanks and Tiffany you'll remain here to monitor everyone's progress. Now let's get to work."
The ship's machinist welded the tanks to The Glam Mobile and The Freedom Flyer while Mr. Albertson fitted Penney's tank with a belt and strapped it to her waist. Once that was finished, The Glam Mobile, The Freedom Flyer and Penney flew to their respected positions and waited for Tiffany's signal. Tiffany asked, "Is everyone ready?" Fashion Girl, Victoria and Penney were ready and waiting as Tiffany continued, "OK ladies, "LET'S DO IT TO IT!"
The three Style Chicks began flying over their parts of the county as they began to spray the antidote, the plants began to wither, die and disintegrate in the matter of minutes. Tiffany said, "It's working! It's working! They are destroying those plants at an incredible rate!" Tiffany also monitored the supply of antidote and continued, "Zara you, Doral and Mr. Albertson should make more of this antidote, they others may need a refill." Mr. Albertson replied, "Tiffany may be right, let's not waste any time and make more. They might not have enough of the antidote in one trip."
After more than forty-five minutes, Fashion Girl began to run out of antidote while Victoria and Penney also ran low. They reported back to Tiffany as she instructed them to come back for another refill. This time, Zara had Mr. Albertson pour the antidote into a large vat and attached a gasoline nozzle to it. Knowing there was no time to waste, Zara and the others treated the refill as if Fashion Girl, Victoria and Penney were in an auto race right down to wiping off the windshield on the vehicles and keeping Penney hydrated. Once fully refilled, The Glam Mobile, The Freedom Flyer and Penney continued the spraying.
The second sweep did the trick as all the plants were destroyed except for the one plant that grew out of control. This plant was in the southern end of the county. Penney still had plenty of the antidote left. Mr. Albertson said, "Penney take the remaining antidote that's left and pour it right on the plant and pour the rest into the ground. It will penetrate the ground quickly and kill the root of the plant." Penney replied, "It will be my pleasure to rid this town of those pesky plants." Penney landed on the ground and found the one remaining plant. Penney did as Mr. Albertson instructed and the final plant succumbed to the antidote.
As the final plant died, Penney informed the ship that the seagrape nightmare was over. The mayor informed the city that it was safe to come out of their homes. Some people were upset by the fact that their own plants were destroyed but they quickly dismissed it as they were grateful to The Style Chicks for ridding the city of its green menace. The way the local residents were cheering and celebrating, you would think the Dolphins had won the Super Bowl or something like that and it was only the beginning.
END OF CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5: LESSONS LEARNED AND TAUGHT
Later that night, street cleaners worked to clean up the dust left behind by the Style Chicks destroying the plants. By the next morning, the mayor stood in front of City Hall with Doral, Mr. Albertson and The Style Chicks and in appreciation of what they did to return the city to normal gave each of them a key to the city. What's more, Doral was pardoned and his debt to the city dissolved.
Some people at the ceremony were angry because they learned that Mr. Albertson caused the mess in the first place and the mayor in their opinion was being a hypocrite about it. The mayor heard this and interrupted his speech to address the crowd. He said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please listen to me. More than three years ago, I banished from this city a gopher, a gopher that had ruined almost every golf course in the county. He went to live with the Style Chicks in Atlanta Georgia where he grew food to pay back this city. He stands here today a hero as he came up with the solution and helping to create the antidote that freed our city from the plants.
Mr. Miles Albertson accidentally not intentionally caused this problem. He helped Doral and the Style Chick Zara in creating the antidote. To have him locked up, or lynched in a public square would be senseless. No real harm was done and no one was hurt or killed. I learned by banishing Doral for ruining golf courses, was also wrong. They both saw the error in their ways and more than made up for them. They are heroes not enemies.
As for Fashion Girl and her Style Chicks, I also offer this apology to all of you. I realized yesterday that you too were powerless to stop the plants without the antidote. I am really sorry for putting you on a deadline and I am also sorry for ever doubting any of you. I hope you can all forgive me." Fashion Girl replied, "I think we can your honor. I admit that I never felt so helpless to stop this from happening. I sat on the main deck of The Mystique Marauder looking at those plants choking the life out of this city. No cars on the road, no lights on in the buildings downtown. Brains not brawn won the day yesterday and we can all breathe a sigh of relief."
The people in the crowd cheered the mayor and the others for their brave act and humility. Zara invited the mayor, Doral, Mr. Albertson and the other Style Chicks for a special dinner aboard The Mystique Marauder. Zara said, "I had our cook prepare the specialty of the ship, roast leg of lamb with mint jelly." As the plates were presented in front of the group, everyone liked what they saw and the smell was even more divine.
As they ate, Mr. Albertson said, "Zara I've eaten leg of lamb before and this is the best I've ever had, but I know mint jelly when I see it and this isn't mint jelly." As Mr. Albertson said this, a busboy was refilling water glasses heard this and whispered something into Zara's ear. Then Zara replied, "Mr. Albertson you are right, that isn't mint jelly. It turns out the cook had some unused seagrapes left and made jelly out of it." At that point the others except for Doral showed their disgust in Zara's remark. At that point, Fashion Girl could only say one thing to that, "Talk about poetic justice."
Fashion Girl allowed the others to remain in town to help make sure the city made a full recovery and take a breather to rest and relax until she heard of something else going down. And it was much more serious than overgrown plants. They are five young women who fight crime, injustice and protect the innocent with style for they are The Style Chicks.
END OF CHAPTER 5
EPILOGUE
The moral of the story is to not let something that happened in the past reflect on what happens now in the present. It was a lesson the mayor of Miami had to learn at the expense of his city being grounded to a halt by overgrown plants. Of course something like this would never happen in real life, but it's a story with a virtue. The virtue of letting bygones be bygones and redemption.
One thing I would like to add to this epilogue is about flaming one's work. We aren't writing fan fiction because we are paid for it. We write fan fiction because it's fun and interesting. I've been told that I'm not writing according to the original format of the franchise I'm writing about.
It makes me madder than anything else that originality and creativity is being made fun of or ridiculed because I'm not writing according to the original format. If we were to write that way, it would be downright boring. Maybe I don't write Scooby-Doo stories where they are solving mysteries and finding clues or stories about Kim Possible fighting off Dr. Drakken and Shego or He-Man and She-Ra stories that might not involve a battle with Skeletor, Hordak or both.
Flamers apparently have nothing better to do than to make people feel bad about their work or even themselves. Maybe some stories deserve to be flamed but there is a better way to go about it. Instead of telling someone they stink, why not point out to someone you're flaming exactly what is that you didn't like about the story you read. And maybe even give pointers to improve one's ability to write. I believe that when someone flames a story, chances are they are doing it just for fun and they didn't even bother to even read a single sentence.
These Fashion Girl stories aren't just fan fiction, they are original fiction. They deserve a fair chance and should be properly critiqued. Its one thing to say you don't like a story but it's quite another to make the writer feel bad about it. That's just being plain rude and there shouldn't be a place for something like that in fan fiction. We all can't be the next Charles Dickens, or the next J. K. Rowling.
The next time someone flames a story you wrote and you put your heart and soul into it remember this, the flamer MAY or MAY NOT have took the time to read the story. If I review a story of yours, I give you my promise that under no circumstances will I make fun of your style of writing and not put you down.
In the next Fashion Girl story, The Style Chicks will travel to Colombia to stop a civil war, drug smuggling and rescue a man who at one time meant a great deal to both Fashion Girl and Victoria. Until this story is completed, I wish you all peace, love and happiness and invite you to read the further adventures of Fashion Girl: Fighting Crime with Style! Thank you for reading and take care.
THE END