Chapter Warning: This chapter contains language and references to abuse
"Transportation of the Computer Scientist in progress. Calibrating temporal and spacial coordinates. Locking temporal and spacial coordinates. Are we all set?" Future Zomboss relayed to his past self.
"All clear! Send him through! Mwahahaha!" Dr. Zomboss called out, having set up his end of the temporal teleporter.
"Initiating transportation process. Activating teleporter now!" Future Zomboss said, powering up his teleporter and sending his subject to the other end almost instantly.
The Computer Scientist arrived in Dr. Zomboss's timeline and hobbled towards his new master. Computer Scientist was a brilliant scientist and technician specializing in the composition of computer codes and programs. He used to be a normal scientist living in the 1980s until Future Zomboss hired him and trained him in reading and writing futuristic programming languages. In his time training, Future Zomboss equipped him with an advanced weapon known as the Code Corrupter. This weapon instilled Computer Scientist with a newfound ability, never before seen or used by any other Zombie. By accumulating kills with the weapon, Computer Scientist would gain increasing strength and agility until he entered a state he nicknamed "Crunch Mode". In "Crunch Mode", he would enter a euphoric trance that would transform his usually clumsy and frail self into a formidable force of nature, achieving speed and strength akin to a demigod. This ability, along with his intelligence, made Computer Scientist a more than worthy candidate for Dr. Zomboss's army.
"48 65 6c 6c 6f!" Computer Scientist spouted.
"Is that 'Hello' in Hexadecimal?" Dr. Zomboss said with a smirk.
"Of course!" Computer Scientist said with a grin.
"Well, I have already cleared you for audit. You are officially hired by me, Dr. Edgar Zomboss! Now go help the Physicists with the computers outside. They only specialize in the acceleration and collision of atoms and particles, so they are helpless in the face of computer programs." Dr. Zomboss ordered.
"Right away sir. But you must understand that I am scheduled to go dungeon crawling with my guild later tonight. We're going to discover a new legendary relic! Heeheeheehee!" Computer Scientist cackled before warping out of the room.
"Are you certain he is fluent in the reading and writing of ZAVA and Z++?" Dr. Zomboss asks his future self.
"He is more than fluent." Future Zomboss answers.
"Only one more batch of mercenaries, correct?" Dr. Zomboss asks.
"Yes. I am sending in Punk Zombie, Glitter Zombie, and MC Zom-B now. Initiating teleportation sequence!" Future Zomboss called out, activating his teleporter once more.
Dr. Zomboss's teleporter flashed with a bright blue light as three Zombies stepped out. Punk Zombie, Glitter Zombie, and MC Zom-B were a group of three friends that enjoyed music and partying, and would host parties every weekend for their peers.
Punk Zombie was a rebellious teenager with a wild sense of fashion and a defiant philosophy. He strongly believed in a sense of individual freedom, saying that Zombies should be allowed to do what they want and act as they wish, regardless of societal norms and standards. He liked wearing leather jackets with skull designs, fingerless biker gloves, piercings on his face, and a large pink and blue Mohawk.
Glitter Zombie was a fun-loving teenager who loved pop music and everything pretty and fabulous. She started out as a social butterfly, but became more and more reclusive as a result of repeated bullying from her classmates. Eventually, she only hung out with Punk Zombie and MC Zom-B, as they were the only two that understood and respected her. She had been dating Punk Zombie for a few months prior to being hired by Future Zomboss.
MC Zom-B was a loud-spirited teenager with a knack for parties and music making. He had a passion for making rap music and writing his own rap songs, and would demonstrate his talent at any parties he hosted. Even though some of his peers thought his rapping was horrible, his friends were very supportive of him and commended any improvements he made to his songs. His dream was to eventually become a successful rapper in mainstream music, a dream that he had to put on hold when he was hired by Future Zomboss.
"Ugh, teleportation makes me sick! Star Trek lied to us." Punk Zombie scoffed.
"I thought it was fun. It's not as fun as rollerblading though!" Glitter Zombie commented.
MC Zom-B was too busy beatboxing a generic Rap theme to make any comments.
"MC! Stop beatboxing for a second, will ya?" Punk Zombie called out to MC Zom-B.
"Why? I gotta keep on beatin' if there's no brains to be eatin'." MC Zom-B replied.
"Silence you three! You must obey my orders now, for I am your new leader." Dr. Zomboss spat in frustration.
"You three behave yourselves now, and listen to every order Dr. Zomboss gives you. I will leave you to them now. I have some parcels to open." Future Zomboss said before shutting off his communicator.
Dr. Zomboss placed his head in his hands and sighed, pondering how he was to deal with these teenagers.
"Alright, my future self informed me that all of you would require some training before I send you out in the field. So let's begin with your abilities. What are you capable of?" Dr. Zomboss addressed the three teens.
"Well, I already have some…experience…in hand-to-hand combat." Punk said, leaning against a machine.
"Let me guess, you've been in some fights." Dr. Zomboss commented.
"Yeah, that's right." Punk responded.
"A troublemaker is what you are. That's…fine with me." Dr. Zomboss admitted.
"So I'm good? You'll let me fight?" Punk asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, but certainly not without weaponry. You don't expect to last long fighting without equipment, do you?" Dr. Zomboss answered.
"Alright then. What do ya have in mind?" Punk asked.
"Well, I am in surplus of chemical shotguns for my Scientists. I may be able to modify one of them into a weapon that can fire…piercings?" Dr. Zomboss thought aloud.
"Shooting piercings at Plants? Awesome!" Punk said, giving a thumbs-up.
"What about me?" Glitter asked Dr. Zomboss.
"I will be perfectly honest, I do not even want to send you to fight in the war. You look like a Blover would tear you to shreds." Dr. Zomboss commented.
"Hey! Don't say things like that about her!" Punk growled.
"I will say what I want! Now let me continue." Dr. Zomboss spat back.
Punk Zombie glanced down at his feet and shook his head discontentedly. He had heard his peers tell Glitter Zombie the exact same insult in the past, and was sickened to hear it again.
"You are going to need some advanced weaponry to make you suitable for combat. I am thinking of some modifications to your…rollerskates…in order to make them a weapon fit for a soldier. They will be faster than you ever thought was possible with rollerskates." Dr. Zomboss said.
"Cool! I wanna go fast!" Glitter said with a grin.
"Might I ask? Why rollerskates?" Dr. Zomboss asked.
"What? They're the newest model." Glitter defended.
"Rollerskates are from the 70s! At least wear rollerblades, as those are more relevant!" Dr. Zomboss spouted.
"But…my mom gave these to me for my birthday…" Glitter muttered.
"Your mother? Was she old-fashioned?" Dr. Zomboss inquired.
"Yes…and she's also dead. She's not even a Zombie, she's just…dead." Glitter said quietly.
Dr. Zomboss was slightly shocked by this statement, and attempted to recollect himself.
"My apologies. Sore subject." Dr. Zomboss apologized.
"It's fine…really." Glitter mumbled.
"I noticed you are wearing bracelets as well." Dr. Zomboss commented, attempting to change the subject.
Glitter Zombie glanced at the two bracelets hanging on her right hand and toyed with them.
"Yeah, what about them?" Glitter asked.
"Perhaps I can modify those into a weapon as well. You will have to give them to me so I can turn them into a weapon." Dr. Zomboss explained.
"Ok." Glitter said, removing the bracelets and giving them to Dr. Zomboss.
"Your rollerskates as well." Dr. Zomboss ordered.
"But…I always wear them." Glitter admitted.
"You don't take them off?!" Dr. Zomboss exclaimed.
"Only when I go to sleep, or take a shower, stuff like that." Glitter clarified.
"Ugh, just give them to me. It won't take long." Dr. Zomboss commanded.
"Ok…" Glitter said quietly, taking off her skates and giving them to Dr. Zomboss.
"Thank you." Dr. Zomboss said as he received Glitter Zombie's skates.
"Don't change them too much. My mom wanted me to take care of them." Glitter said, sitting down on the floor in her pink ankle socks.
"Your mother wouldn't mind." Dr. Zomboss assured.
"How about me? I wanna get in on some of that action!" MC called out.
"Hmm…your microphone…do you always have that with you?" Dr. Zomboss asked.
"This mic is my heart and soul! Never leave home without it!" MC said.
"I imagine you could use that as a whipping weapon. I just need to modify it to make it more…lethal." Dr. Zomboss said.
"Hey, I'm down! Turn this mic into a weed whacker!" MC cheered.
MC Zom-B pulled the microphone out of his mouth and handed it to Dr. Zomboss.
"Excellent. I will return after I have made alterations to your belongings. Wait here, and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! Understand?" Dr. Zomboss instructed.
"Yes doctor." The three teens responded.
Dr. Zomboss exited the room, leaving Punk, Glitter, and MC to themselves.
"'You look like a Blover would tear you to shreds'! If I could kick his head across the room, I would!" Punk angrily spat.
"He didn't mean anything." Glitter said.
"That's what all the bullies said to you. By the way, your mom probably WOULD mind if she knew your skates got turned into a jet powered weapon." Punk commented.
"I don't know, maybe she would have thought it was cool." Glitter replied.
"Your dad's still an asshole, isn't he?" Punk said with a glare.
"Only when his newspaper gets destroyed." Glitter muttered.
"I don't give a shit if his newspaper got trashed. He has no right to treat you the way he does." Punk spouted.
"Her daddy did hit her one time for…what was it again? Wearing the gold chain I gave her? He should have come trash talkin' to me, not her." MC recalled.
Glitter Zombie buried her face in her arms and began sobbing, as she recalled the abuse her father subjected her to. Punk Zombie and MC Zom-B walked up to her and knelt beside her.
"Hey, Glitter. Look at me." Punk said as he turned Glitter's head to face him.
"Yeah?" Glitter asked with teary eyes.
"First off, fuck your dad, alright? You don't have to put up with him anymore. You have us now." Punk said.
"We're always gonna be your homeboys, ya hear us? BFFs, never gonna give you up!" MC added.
Glitter Zombie wiped away some of her tears and smiled, both at the caring nature of her friends and at MC Zom-B's deliberate Rick Astley reference.
"Thanks guys…" Glitter whispered.
"Ya know…I just got an idea for a rap! Lemme write this down!" MC said as he sat down and pulled out a pen and paper to write with.
"Glitter?" Punk asked again.
"Yes?" Glitter said.
"Do I…intimidate you?" Punk asked Glitter.
"No…" Glitter Zombie answered.
"Is that bad?" Punk asked further.
Glitter Zombie snickered at this question, knowing that being intimidating was something Punk Zombie believed to be important. What Glitter Zombie knew that Punk Zombie did not know was that there was no need to be intimidating if you were unconditionally kind to everyone.
"No, Punk. That's good. It means I'm comfortable around you." Glitter Zombie stated.
"Oh, uh…ok then." Punk responded, appearing somewhat surprised.
"You and Glitter are so fine together. I can't even be jealous right now!" MC called out.
"Eh, shut up MC." Punk spat.
"The juxtaposition between you two is real. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." MC continued.
"Aw, thanks MC!" Glitter Zombie said with a smile.
Punk Zombie glanced away and pondered his relationship with Glitter Zombie. If his other classmates had realized he was dating someone as pretty and adorable as Glitter Zombie, there was a chance that they would not be so afraid of him whenever he passed by. However, if his punk friends ever found out, they would never take him seriously again. Knowing that he was far from any of his other classmates, he wondered what would have happened if they found out now.
"Punk." Glitter spoke.
"Huh?" Punk asked.
Glitter Zombie formed a heart shape with her hands and placed them over her chest.
"I heart you." Glitter chimed.
Punk Zombie grinned at this gesture, content in the knowledge that Glitter Zombie was happy.
"I heart you too." Punk muttered as he nuzzled Glitter, her blonde hair tickling his nose.
"*howls* Check these two out! My heart is about to explode!" MC cheered.
"I said shut up, MC." Punk muttered, too busy cuddling Glitter to be bothered by MC.
Later that night, Computer Scientist is playing a procedurally generated MMORPG called "Dungeons and Brainz" with his friends. He is playing as his usual class, a Mage, as he and his friends delve down as deep as they can to find new relics to help them progress further.
"Alright, my ultimate spell is almost ready. I will use it when we reach the boss." Computer Scientist relayed to his teammates.
"Gotcha." One of his team members calls out.
"Might be a bad time to ask but, how's work over in the future?" Another team member asks.
"I am very satisfied with work here as an assassin. Who knew I had such a calling as a killer? I can still think back to more humble days, you guys and me just sitting down at our old computers crunching numbers and writing code. Where did the years go for us?" Computer Scientist rambled.
"Approaching the boss. Pop the ult!" A team member called out.
"Let's do this! LEEROY JENKINS!" Computer Scientist battle cried as he activated his ultimate spell.
As the group successfully cleared the boss room and progressed to the next room to collect their treasures, a team member asked Computer Scientist a question.
"I didn't get it. Who's Leeroy Jenkins?" A confused team member asked.
"It's a reference from 2005, I don't expect you to get it." Computer Scientist admitted.
"2005? How many time periods have you been to?" The team member asked.
"All of them… or at least the important ones. Hehehehe!" Computer Scientist teased.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here we are shifting the story to the Zombie perspective once again. I always wondered how some of the regular Zombies such as Punk Zombie and Glitter Zombie would fight in a game like Garden Warfare, so this chapter reflects some of my imagining of the concept. I will continue this for only a couple more chapters, as the only characters that are currently important are the ones being introduced in this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you.
