Winston spent much of the ride back to Suburbia asking James all sorts of questions. James had no problem in answering all of them with the response "That's classified."
While the two chatted, Grace had found a comfortable spot to lie down and rest for a bit, while Nebula sat by her staring out the window. She couldn't help but admire the beautiful landscape that surrounded Suburbia, the miles and miles of luscious green fields and the forest whose trees were taller than buildings.
She turned her attention from the view to see Static scratching at his left cheek. She got up and walked over to him and found that he had a nasty looking gash right by his jaw.
She looked at Static in horror before beginning to heal the mark. "Static, stay still so I can fix this." Static didn't say a word , he just complied with Nebula's orders. Once she had finished, she looked at him again "Why didn't you say anything! If that had become infected, who knows how much more serious the damage could have been."
Static hadn't meant to upset her, he just didn't think it was a big deal. He looked at her and saw the worry in her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry Nebula. I've just been distracted by my thoughts. This whole situation seems strange."
Nebula shook her head in understanding before responding "I know what you mean, that force was way too well organized. Not to mention the weapons that those soldiers and scientist were using."
"And those gargantuars didn't come at random, they were sent at the same time. Zomboss is a genius but he's currently commanding his troops in the East, the Garden Center is too far away for him to be able to control any zombies." He reminded her.
Nebula considered this before giving Static a grim look "Then it looks like Zomboss has created smarter zombies, and new technology for them to fight with." They both shuddered at the idea of intelligent zombies with the capability of organizing themselves and attacking with new devices and weapons.
"We can discuss all of this later. For now, let's go thank the plant responsible for sending us help." Grace interjected. Static and Nebula followed her off the ship where they saw Winston and James walking ahead.
Winston turned around and spoke to Static and Nebula "You two, wait here for one of their scientist. They'll take you to the lab and show you some new plants they've been working on. See if there's anything useful then meet Grace and I back here."
The two frowned before nodding and taking a seat next to the ship. Winston and Grace followed behind James as he led them down a series of halls and doorways. Grace wasn't entirely sure how they'd find their way back to the rest of the team, but she was pretty sure they'd eventually navigate their way back through the halls.
As they arrived at a giant metal door, James walked over to a control panel and entered a series of numbers before scanning his eye. "Welcome Agent Pod" a computer voice greeted and the door opened up.
Inside were plants of different varieties, all working different jobs. Some sat at computers typing lines and lines of mission information, while others ran back and forth delivering papers to plants who would file them. Winston noticed a cactus sitting in a chair in the center of the room, watching a video feed of the Garden Center on the main monitor.
She turned around to face the two newcomers, smiling and throwing her limbs up at the sight of them. "Well, if it isn't my new favorite plants. No offense Dave." She called to a sunflower working next to her.
"None taken." He answered without looking up from his work.
She looked back at them before continuing "Let's get down to business, shall we. I'm the director of a very powerful organization that can be of great importance to you and your team. I can give you supplies, intel, and most importantly permission to continue your operations as Garden Ops. I will do all of this on one condition, you agree to work for me."
Grace looked at her quizzically before asking "And what does that mean?"
"It's simple, I give you a mission and you complete it. If any problems were to occur I would take the blame, the council can't really touch us."
Winston looked confused "How come."
She laughed at him before responding "Well they don't know where any of our operations or employees are, just that we exist. The only problem with this is they don't give us a lot of funding."
"Well if that's the case, we'd be happy to work for you." Winston said. He loved the idea of being able to work outside of the limitations of the council and their idiotic rules.
The director reached over, grabbed an envelope, and handed it to Winston. "Great, there's your first paycheck. It's based of how many zombies you vanquished and how successful your mission went." She explained.
Grace took the envelope from Winston and ripped it open to find 12,000 worth of coins inside. She smiled and put the money behind her back. The two thanked her before turning around and walking towards the door.
"We'll let you know if there's a mission available, until then just relax." The Director informed them before turning back around and resuming her work.
Minutes Earlier
Static and Nebula only had to wait about a minute before they were approached by a peashooter. She was a navy blue color, and when she saw them she started running until she collided into Nebula.
"Nebula! What are you doing here?" Nebula looked at the peashooter for a second before hugging her back.
"Diana, it's so good to see you." Nebula exclaimed. Once they separated she got a better look at her friend. She now had a certain glow to her, and it looked like her leaves had energy flowing through them. "You look amazing, what happened to you."
"Well I work here, which means I sometimes end up being part of the experiment. I can go into specifics later but first tell me what you're doing here." Diana replied.
"Well we aren't too sure ourselves." Static answered. "We were just told to wait for you so you could take us to your lab."
"I was told we had some new recruits I needed to show around, I guess that's you two. Follow me." Diana led them down a short hallway. When they arrived in the lab, they were both surprised to see how small it was. There was little room to move around, and there was one computer available to work on. There was a tiny dumbwaiter in the wall and papers were everywhere.
"Hey Reginald! We've got company so put a smile on for once in your life." Diana called to a cactus sitting a tiny desk. He turned around, gave them a quick nod of acknowledgement, and went back to his work. Diana sighed at his action before turning and explaining to the two "He takes some getting use to, but he's a genius and makes amazing GMO discoveries."
Nebula thanked Sullivan for pairing her with a partner she could communicate with before asking "So what's it that you wanted to show us?"
Diana walked over to the dumbwaiter and pulled three small nuts from it. She made room on her desk and threw them down onto it. Before any plant could blink the nuts had grow to half the size of a cactus, and now formed a protective wall on the desk.
Diana turned to face the two and began explaining the plants "These are instagrow walnuts, made for distracting zombies and holding down positions. They can take quite a few hits before they'll break."
Static looked to Nebula thoughtfully "Those would be useful for Grace. It could help her hold a position and protect the garden."
"I have something else she might find useful." Diana said as she walked back over to the dumbwaiter. She pulled out a potato which she then proceeded to throw into the ground. The potato went into the floor, then a potato mine sprung up.
Nebula inspected it closer and Static began filling empty containers with the nuts and potatoes. Diana laughed at his reaction and went back to get another item out.
Static Looked over in surprise and asked "There's more!"
"One more thing, this one's for Winston. Be warned though it is highly experimental and could possibly blow his stomach up." Diana warned them. She tossed a bag of beans over to Static and gave him the instructions "He can only eat one at a time, any more will blow him up. They take about 45 seconds to become fully grown and ready to be fired. I'm still worried that they won't work so please be careful."
Reginald spoke for the first time "She's not giving herself enough credit. I expect them to work flawlessly, even if I am jealous I didn't think of the idea first."
Diana looked at him thankfully before turning back to Nebula "Next week you and I are doing lunch."The two shared one last hug before Nebula and Static left the room.
Nebula turned to Static and asked "Who was your roommate."
"William." He grimaced. Nebula frowned when she heard this. She had unfortunately talked to William many times. He was a close minded, ignorant fire flower who thought he was entitled to everything. His parents were extremely powerful and hated chompers, which was a trait that they passed down to their son.
"Well, it's a good thing that I'm your partner, and not him. Besides, he doesn't deserve roommate like you." Nebula comforted him. Static gave her a small smile but still seemed upset.
The two made their way back to the ship where they found Grace and Winston waiting for them. Winston was already prepared to give them their next set of orders "Alright we have a few days before our next mission so you two have some free time." Winston pulled half of the money out of the envelope "This is for you two. Your first paycheck, you two have earned it."
Static and Nebula took it before giving Grace the container filled with the experimental plants. "You two know our address right? Just visit us whenever you need anything." Grace told them.
Winston and Grace left and Nebula turned to Static "Hey my family wanted to know if you wanted to stay with us tonight, spend family night with us and all."
Static smiled at her "I'd love too, but first I've got to stop by my house."