Plant Growth Chapter 2 (Original chapter Chapter 4)
Dallon Residence
Carol Dallon looked around as the entirety of New Wave sat in the living room and decided to get things started. Clearing her throat, she saw her husband react by turning towards her, as did…Amy…and Victoria. Eric and Crystal got a nudge from their mother, her sister Sarah Pelham, while Neil, her husband, took a moment longer to pay attention.
Family. They're worse than dealing with defence lawyers.
"I assume you've all heard about the incident at Winslow High a few days ago?" she asked as an opener.
Victoria snorted. "We'd have to live under a rock to not have heard about it."
Shooting a quelling look at her niece, Sarah said, "Quite. I take it you've been contacted by the PRT?"
"No; by the person responsible for turning Winslow into a tropical garden." Carol replied, "A fresh Trigger, codenamed Avatar."
"Is she requesting your services as a lawyer?" Sarah pressed.
"Quite the contrary." The younger of the two sisters answered, "She's requested to join New Wave."
The room was silent for a moment before Neil cleared his throat and said, "I think we should start at the beginning, Carol."
"A fair point." She conceded, "Avatar was the subject to a severe bullying campaign that lasted over fifteen months by what amounts to the entire student population of Winslow either actively taking part in it or passively accepting that it happens and ignoring her. The staff were either complicit in a conspiracy of ignorance or the most incompetent people I have ever seen issued teacher's licences."
"That's…!" Amy shook her head in disbelief, "The poor girl."
"It gets worse. The Winslow Incident was a result of her Triggering after being shut inside a locker full of biological waste…by Shadow Stalker's civilian identity."
All of her family stiffened in horror at that. A Protectorate Ward torturing someone into Triggering was…very bad for the PR of the PRT and the Protectorate.
"I never liked Shadow Stalker!" Victoria snarled, her aura starting up in her anger before her sister calmed her down, "She was a snarky bitch!"
"Language, Victoria." Carol said absently, "I agree with the sentiment though. Sadly, Piggot is determined to both keep the news of who was responsible for Avatar's Trigger quiet and keep Shadow Stalker as a PRT resource. The media are being leaned on to not mention anything about who made Avatar Trigger and Shadow Stalker is being shipped to the furthest away Simurgh Containment Zone as we speak; Lausanne, I believe."
"Good riddance." Crystal opined.
"Agreed." Sarah said, shaking her head in disgust at both Shadow Stalker's deeds and the blatant cover-up that was being put into place to save the reputation of the PRT in the eyes of the public.
"You say she wants to join New Wave?" Mark asked, unusual for him, "Doesn't she know about our policy of unmasking?"
"She does and has no problem with it." Carol replied almost smugly, "She has an almost permanent Breaker power that makes holding a secret identity close to impossible for her. Much like how Victoria cannot fully control her aura, she cannot supress her Breaker ability for longer than a handful of minutes, with considerable effort."
"The PRT had her in for testing, right?" Eric asked almost eagerly, "What's her Power Rating?"
"Shaker 7, Master 6, Breaker 5, Striker 5, Thinker 5 and Biotinker 5." Carol listed. Amy's eyes went wide at the last rating.
"A Biotinker? Like Bonesaw?" Mark asked in concern.
"To be precise, Biotinker 5, specialty: Plants." His wife said reassuringly, "She has no ability to manipulate anything but plants, but she can manipulate plants from a distance thanks to her Shaker abilities. She can create plants from nothing, as was evidenced at Winslow, and she even made a plant that produces a very effective painkiller as a thank-you gift to the Wards-sans-Shadow Stalker. Which reminds me Amy; the PRT want you to have a look at one of the Wards when they take it to see if it has any untoward effects."
"OK, but if her power works anything like mine, her creations will be exactly what she wants them to be." The prodigal healer said with a shrug, "I see a fistula and I close it, I see cancerous cells and I remove them and use the biomass to replace them with healthy cells. If her Biotinker rating is any indication, she's likely even more precise than I am."
"Noted, but the PRT is instant." Carol said neutrally.
"So when do we meet her?" Victoria asked eagerly. She loved meeting people.
"She's still in the middle of undergoing a psychological review in the aftermath of her Trigger, so I'd say a week, at least." Carol said after a moment of thought, "She is, quite understandably, leery of authority figures, so I was thinking that sending in you younger ones to meet her first would probably be a good move."
"Sounds like a plan." Sarah nodded, "Crystal, Eric, Vicky, Amy? Opinions?"
"I'm game." Crystal said with a nod.
"Ok." Eric nodded in time with his sister.
"I'm in." Victoria grinned, "Whatcha say, Ames?"
Amy looked torn for a moment before nodding slightly. "OK. I want to see if I can help her anyway. There's a chance she could have infections or something from that biological waste."
"I doubt that will be necessary." Carol said firmly, "Her Breaker state turns her body into a humanoid plant unless she concentrates on suppressing it. I don't doubt that she purged any infections from her system by now."
"It never hurts to be certain." Sarah countered, "That's a very nice idea, Amy."
The healer blushed at her aunt's praise.
A Week Later
The Former Winslow Highschool Campus
"Whew. The news reports don't do it justice." Glory Girl whistled as she floated in mid-air with Panacea in her arms. Laserdream and Shielder flanked her. The growth from Avatar's Triggering had blossomed even in her absence, with the entirety of the brickwork covered by vines, creepers and other flora. Even the grounds were a veritable jungle now, with no way into the place by foot. There was, however a circular clearing with a path leading to the doors of the former school.
"Damn. Wish she'd done this to Arcadia." Shielder said enviously.
Laserdream whacked her brother on the arm. "No, you don't, because otherwise we'd be going here and this place was a gang-infested hellhole from what I hear."
As they touched down, they spotted a tall, gangly man exit the area that had once been Winslow's front doors and head towards them. He was dressed in a rumpled suit and wore glasses. A tired look on his face told them he hadn't had much sleep.
"Hello there," the man greeted them when he reached a metre away from them and stopped, "I'm Danny Hebert, Avatar's father."
"Nice to meet you." Glory Girl said with a friendly smile, "I'm Glory Girl, this is my sis Panacea, and my cousins Laserdream and Shielder."
"A pleasure to meet you all." Danny said with a tired smile, "My daughter's inside the Greenhouse, so follow me."
"The Greenhouse?" Laserdream had to ask as they started forward.
"Avatar thought it was a bit silly to call the place Winslow now that it's officially been declared derelict by the city." The man shrugged, "And it was the only reasonable thing to call a place full of plants."
"How is Avatar after…what happened?" Panacea asked quietly.
"She's…coping." Danny sighed as they approached the entrance, "I can only guess at how she's really doing; we've become estranged since her mother…died two years ago. That's what started all of this."
"What do you mean?" Shielder asked.
"When Annette…died, I fell to pieces." The man admitted unhappily, "I couldn't function as a man, let alone as a father. Avatar…did better. She had her friend Emma to hold her together, then I sent her to Summer Camp to help get over it all. When she came back though…Emma had changed. She ignored Avatar, and grew close to Shadow Stalker.
"Apparently, Shadow Stalker saved Emma from some thugs and caught her at a low point. She whispered her ridiculous 'The Strong are predators and the Weak are prey' philosophy into her ear. And my daughter got caught up in it."
"That's awful." Glory Girl frowned.
"Emma used all of my daughters secrets, the ones she had been told in confidence, to hurt her." Danny went on, "I had to stop myself from punching Alan Barnes when he blustered about Emma not being responsible due to her being Mastered. Idiot. Shadow Stalker has no Master Powers."
"Doesn't Alan Barnes work with Mom?" Panacea asked Glory Girl, but Danny heard her as well.
"Not anymore. He's been kicked out of his position and right to the curb for all the bad publicity he's brought to the firm." He said with grim satisfaction, "And Emma's been sent to a psychologist to undo or mitigate Shadow Stalker's programming."
The interior of the Greenhouse was a surprise for them all. Expecting the same green vines and plant life that was on the outside, they were taken aback by the plain and empty corridors that seemed wider with the lockers ripped out.
"I persuaded the city to hire the Dockworker's Union to move all the stuff out of the school." Danny explained, "Money in the pocket for us and good publicity to boot. Most of this place is empty now, but Avatar's got plans to make it into a home away from home, as well as a place to experiment with her plants."
"What happened there?" Glory Girl pointed out a section of the walls and ceiling that had been wholly replaced by plant life.
"Über and L33t got it into their heads to raid the place with the theme of Plants vs. Zombies." Danny said dryly, "L33t actually did quite well with his zombie robots, but they were no match for my daughter when they interrupted one of her experiments."
Amy winced. Attacking any Tinker in their workshop was foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst. This went double for a Biotinker.
"Ah, here we are." Danny said as they came to what must be the former Principal's office, "She wanted to meet you all by herself, so I'll head back to what I was doing when you showed up. Just…please be her friends. She's very lonely."
"We'll do our best, Mr Hebert." Laserdream assured him with a smile.
Nodding, the balding man wished them a good day and headed off to do whatever task he had been doing before he had gone out to meet them. Glory Girl set her shoulders and knocked on the door.
"Oh! Come in!" a voice called from within.
When she opened the door, Glory Girl and the rest of the younger generation of New Wave were confronted with the sight of a green-skinned girl, with heterochromatic eyes of glowing neon green and a warm earthy brown and long brown hair, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white cotton t-shirt smiling nervously at them.
"Hi." She said, "I'm Taylor Hebert, otherwise known as Avatar."
Once introductions were made, the New Wave contingent sat on a bench seemingly made out of vines that was surprisingly comfortable. Amy was looking the girl over with the eye of an experienced medic, but paused when she reached her feet.
"Umm…why're you barefoot?" she asked.
Taylor looked at her feet and blushed. Well, her cheeks got greener, which probably counted. "I can't stand having artificial fabrics near me anymore. They give me a rash…or whatever you'd call something similar in plants. I've worked out a deal with Parian to supply me with some all-natural shoes in exchange for some enhanced cotton that I'm growing in the old gym right now."
"Enhanced cotton?" Laserdream asked in disbelief.
"Yup. Cotton strong enough to be woven together and used like Kevlar." Taylor smirked, "I can also make fire-resistant and heat-retentive varieties as well."
"Wow." Shielder said, "Why all the secrecy though?"
Taylor grimaced at that. "Piggot. She's a paranoiac when it comes to Biotinkers, not without reason. If she had her way, I'd be stuck with just making ordinary plants."
"As you say, she has good reason…what with being one of only two survivors of Ellisburg and all." Laserdream said judiciously.
"I know, but…I'm not Bonesaw. I'm not Blasto. And I am not Nilbog." The green-skinned girl sighed, "She's judging me because of something I can't help. I didn't ask for these powers; I wanted to be an Alexandria-type!"
"Best kind of Cape to be!" Glory Girl smirked at her, "Seriously though, just don't make flesh-eating plants and you'll be fine."
Taylor raised an eyebrow at her. "You do know there are a good number of carnivorous plants, such as the Venus Flytrap, naturally occurring in the world? With North America having about 67 of them here?"
Glory Girl blanched.
"Most of them only eat insects, small mammals or small birds though, so you don't have to worry." Taylor said reassuringly, "I have no intentions of making those kinds of plants and have eliminated any that I accidentally created during my Trigger. That is what you call the event where you get powers, right?"
"Yes, it is." Panacea nodded, "We Second-Generation Capes have milder ones than First-Generation Capes, but it's still…unpleasant. Can I ask what you look like without your powers active?"
"Sure, but I can only hold it for about five minutes." Taylor warned her before closing her eyes. The change was startling as green faded to the colour of healthy skin. When she opened her eyes once again, both of them were a muted green colour similar to her father's eyes.
"Man. Feels weird to have flesh and bone instead of plants for my body." She commented as she flexed her hand uneasily, "I feel…vulnerable."
"I know the feeling." Glory Girl said, "Whenever someone managed to punch me strong enough, I'm like 'ow!'"
"May I use my powers to examine your change back to your Breaker form?" Panacea asked, ignoring her sister, "I've never seen a Breaker form with a powerful physical affect that I can monitor. I couldn't do it to Shadow Stalker, so I'd like to examine you."
"Sure. I'd actually like to see how fit I am in my human form actually." Taylor extended her hand and Panacea took it and concentrated.
"You're perfectly fit, but you need glasses." She announced.
"Damn. Guess that's why everything's blurry." Taylor cursed, "I'm fine in plant form though. What the heck?"
"To quote Clockblocker of the Wards, 'Powers are bullshit.'" Glory Girl said with a firm nod, "Looks like you get superhuman constitution and sight correction in your Breaker form."
"Lucky there." Shielder pointed out, "Glasses would be a pain to have to use in a Cape fight."
"Like with Über and L33t." Laserdream agreed, "I hear they made a run at you already. Plants vs. Zombies, wasn't it?"
"Urgh, yes." Taylor rolled her eyes, "They had even loaded their zombie robots with a weird Tinker-made weed killer that spread after I destroyed each robot. The number of times I had to regrow my vines was ridiculous. Still they thanked me for being a 'good sport' after the last of their robots was destroyed before hightailing it out of here. I altered all my plants to be resistant to that particular weed killer, plus most commercial brands of weed killer, afterwards."
"Sounds like them." Laserdream said with a chuckle, "One of the introductory things in the hero business is beating those two. No one takes them seriously, but they are something like a rite of passage for us."
"Nice to know." Taylor said with a smile before she put a serious expression on, "Listen, I got contacted on PHO by someone who told me not to join New Wave."
"Who?!" Glory Girl sounded insulted.
"Lightstar." Taylor replied simply, making the other teens' eyes widen in shock. Lightstar had been Fleur's boyfriend and had left both New Wave and Brockton Bay when she had been murdered in her civilian identity by a Nazi Cape looking to impress Kaiser.
"Lightstar is…with good reason to warn you." Laserdream said carefully, "What happened to Fleur was tragic, but it isn't likely to happen again, not since Kaiser made an example out of the Cape responsible."
By 'making an example,' Laserdream was referring to how Kaiser had crucified and almost killed the Cape responsible before delivering him to the PRT building for arrest.
"I know." Taylor nodded, "I'm more worried for my Dad than I am about myself, though. I've made some plants that masquerade as common houseplants but act as sentries for him when at home or at work, but…"
Panacea, who was still holding her hand, gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry. We look after family in New Wave. We can upgrade your security system and have Flashbang hang out with him to act as a bodyguard."
"Nice idea, sis." Glory Girl said enthusiastically, "Maybe that'll get Dad out of his funk."
"That sounds nice." Taylor said with a smile, "Oh, I'm about to change back, Panacea."
The healer concentrated as Taylor once again became Avatar, green encroaching on pink skin. One of her eyes glowed the luminous green it had before while the other darkened to brown.
"Wow…" Panacea said in a distant voice, "That was…wow. Your entire body is now exactly like a plant, the cells are full of chlorophyll. You don't even need to eat so long as you absorb enough sunlight thanks to photosynthesis. Your hair is made of plants too; spider plant, vines and the like. And…what's this…? Wow, you even have the ability to make poisons and other chemicals and deploy them from your hands. That must be your Striker ability."
"Yep." Avatar nodded with a grin, "As long as it exists in nature, I can alter the structure of the liquid and use it at once. Artificial mixes take a bit longer, but they are doable. Mostly I stick with a fast-acting numbing agent or some form of anaesthesia."
"You can make counteragents to them as well." Panacea noted as she reluctantly released Avatar's hand, "Honestly, watching your Breaker state activate with my power is…fascinating. I can't use my power on plants very well, but I can tell some things about them, and the change from human to plant is…beautiful, at least from my power's perspective."
Avatar blushed again, not used to having any part of her complimented. "Thanks."
"So whaddya say? Join New Wave?" Glory Girl asked with a grin.
The plant-girl nodded. "I'm in."
I quite like this one. Let me know what you think.