64: A Growing Success
Fanfic
Sounds of sirens, screeching tires and crashes get closer and closer. A group of vans full of armed goons speed around a nearby corner, each fishtailing horribly, with one of them crashing into a wall. Suddenly, a figure leaps down from a nearby roof and throws a handful of small brown objects as she falls which crack the cement when they hit. In a flash, a bunch of thorny vines burst from one and pop seven tires between two vans. Another collection instantly sprouts a bunch of gigantic walnuts that another van smashes into, just shy of them hitting some people standing on the sidewalk.
Before the crippled vans can even come fully to rest, a group of heavily-armed mercenaries burst out of each one, wielding assault rifles and carrying a rag-wrapped bundles. As soon as they do, a collection of gigantic pea-like plants burst from the ground and start shooting large, painful, but non-deadly rounds at the mercs, taking them down rapidly, some of them (the ones carrying the bundles) even icing over. The pursuing figure, who had landed in the street, started making her way towards them, checking each bundle as she did before moving to the next.
If anyone were to see her, the thought that would flash through most of their minds was 'Gardener Meets Apocalypse'. The green overtones, straw hat, and yard implements (a small shovel, a rake, and an ax) were obvious, but the tools were each sharpened and polished, with a meticulous edge that spoke of slicing, and the outfit was tough, looked like it had armored plates here and there, and was tight and fitted to prevent anything from catching. On top of that, the bystanders noted a large collection of what appear to be bulging burlap sacks hanging from her belt, and a large (BIG assault-rifle sized) gun that glowed with what appeared to be bottled sunlight hung across her back. On top of that, a bandoleer of sunlight-filled vials strung across the girl's chest, and a pair of pistols similar in design and shape to the rifle, though much smaller (still bulky for a pistol, though). All in all, she looked like a cross between a professional farmer and a badass.
Checking the third-to-last bundle, the girl came to a halt, then immediately popped it free from its bearer's hands and hefting it in both arms, bridal-style. The figure then made her way out into the street, stopping right in the middle. A new van, this one a mix between tank and hippie van, slid around the same corner that the other cans had gone around not long before. Not even sparing a backwards glance to the nearby wrecked vehicles (which were in the process of messily self-destructing), the outfitted figure loaded the bundle into the back of her van, hopped into the driver side (which had opened for her), and sped off into the distance. As she drove away, all but the Wall-nuts crumbled into dust.
Not an hour later, a comprehensive report on the villain behind the attack, his base, and his holdings would be delivered to the nearby hero's base, and proof of the bundle's (a young girl, not even a teen) safety and defended location would be delivered to her parents. Examination by the local heroes would find the girl safe, if a bit shaken, and surrounded by weaponized plants. Not even six hours later, she would be back home, and her house would have some LOVELY new landscaping. As such, eight hours after first contact with this new threat, the villain behind the mercs would sigh and annihilate this probability, making it so it never happened.
In a warehouse on the edge of town, on the evening of the same day, a young girl (sixteen or so) would shoot awake in an odd chair-like contraption with a gasp. Getting unsteadily to her feet, she made her way over to her computer, sat down, and pushed the power-on button. As it was booting up, if you were there you would have seen in the screen's reflection that the girl had a smirk on her face. When it was running, she leaned back and started typing.
When the gist of her thoughts were down in text, she leaned back and smiled, speaking for the first time in nine hours.
"Coil, eh? Game on, then!"
A.N. So, for those who didn't notice, Taylor Hebert pinged off Panacea, who had been there to heal her, Armsmaster, who had begun to suspect Sophia's record for being to clean (she had wrecked his bike with a shadow-state bolt in a fit of pique, and he had wanted to pin her for SOMETHING!), and Uber and L33t, who had been in the hospital for explosion exposer (again). As a result, she ended up with… Plants VS. Zombies powers, basically. She had most of the knowledge of Dr. Zomboss (minus zombification, which had, as it turned out, been a fluke), Dave's plant knowledge and time-travel tech, and the ability to control her plant creations. This included a great amount of knowledge of solar power tech, some combat skill and a boosted body (Zomboss's tech specialty), and knowledge of how to build and mod the van. Naturally, she took it even further due to the tech being built by a madman and a zombie (no taste in aesthetics, either of them; though the creativity balanced out between insanity and the… deadness.). Even better, the materials were PLANT SEEDS, an old van, and a lot of other basic stuff that was easily concealed with her constructing a greenhouse. Oh, and she is a natural enemy for Masters (as Zomboss was one, giving her a solid grasp on how to fight them off.), Tinkers (again, Zomboss's knowledge, as well as Dave's genius, gives her the ability to understand their tech better, making her more able to combat them), and Thinkers (this one is mostly Dave, due to both his insanity, and his practice combating against a strong thinker [Zomboss], as well as a touch of thinker ability understanding FROM Zomboss).
Sadly, all was not perfect. Zion freaked out at the idea that plants might have the solution to entropy and spent the last of his energy pursuing that idea over the course of… thirteen minutes. He got REALLY close at the end, though. This left the Shard network ticking away with no need for a replacement head, as the old one was technically there, and no shard war. There was still a drive for conflict, but it was toned down a bit (the solution had been… almost found), and most of the shards just kept doing what they had been doing… including the Endbringers, which no longer had a reason to hold back. This is the enemy that Taylor will have to overcome.
Should be interesting! And when things get really bad? Groundhog Day, anyone? Just take another try!