Chapter One
Leaves. Vines. Moss.
Carly sighed. This was her life, more plant than human, some sad experiment of her father's. Of Hydra's. When she'd sucked the life out of her targets, she'd never known she would suck their life force into herself. So, when she destroyed an entire forest, she became one with the vegetation.
Now, Carly couldn't tell where she ended and the plants started. When she lay down, she put out roots. When she was exposed to sun, little flowers grew from her mossy skin. She didn't even need clothes, some cross between Swamp Thing and Cousin It. Her power had a life of its own, and she had to constantly reign it in.
And as Hydra's latest Weapon of Mass Destruction, her duties had multiplied. She was always on a mission, always intimidating some warlord, threatening some small country with destruction of their crops or homes. Never did anything for herself, not even as much as see a movie. And boys? Forget it. Since she'd inadvertently killed Lance, she wasn't contemplating boys. It was too dangerous. Her love was deadly.
But she had to admit, as she huddled in the Venezuelan forest, her body longed for a man's touch, her lips for a kiss, her eyes for a smile. She'd accepted that her life as a simple teen was over. She would never be normal. She'd never go shopping, never go to college. Not that she'd ever thought she'd do that, not as a Hydra agent, or whatever they called themselves now, sworn to the Cause of World Domination. She was Hydra's greatest weapon, and an even greater one lay inside her, waiting to burst out some day, should she die. Which gave her great incentive to avoid anything life-threatening.
Sure, her organization was evil, whatever that meant in today's world. But they accepted her. No—they used her. What did it matter? It wasn't like S.H.I.E.L.D. would roll out the red carpet for a freak of nature. Literally, a freak made of nature. At least Hydra gave her missions. If she was captured, aside from spending time in jail—or worse—for Lance's death, she'd never see the light of day again. So, she had to throw herself in with Hydra.
Not that she didn't have conditions. She would not kill. Not again. Destroy crops, sure. Make trees grow into the sky, whatever. But no harm to people or animals. Not by her touch.
Like that was enough. She'd seen the gory results her "missions." Rooms full of bloody bodies. She told herself that at least she didn't pull the trigger, she just busted the door down. Did that really make her innocent? Hardly. Therefore, every mission, every month, it became harder and harder to drag herself out of bed, ignoring the shouts and threats leveled against her. What could they do? With a flick of finger, she could make their hearts explode. And if they really pushed her, Carly might inadvertently release the monster inside.
At last, she refused. She was done being Wild Flower, Earth Goddess. Anyone even approaching her room was turned back by a wall of thorny brambles. It worked, for a while. Then her father arrived.
"Carly," he'd said over the intercom, as if he hadn't abandoned her as a little girl, letting her think him dead. "I have something for you. It's different. Please. Can we just talk?"
Carly let him through. He couldn't even look at her, with her green skin, jade teeth, mossy hair. Even her eyes looked like a meadow. More like a swamp. She was hideous. "Not interested."
"It's a solo mission. In a jungle. Alone. Just surveillance. No engagement."
Carly propped herself up on an elbow. She'd been begging for this, to prove that she was more than a weapon. "Go on."
"But we'll need something from you first."
Of course. 'The Catch.' She slumped back down, rolled away. "No. I've done enough. I've sacrificed enough. No more deals. No more shuttling in and out of blackened limos and hiding."
"But Carly dear, listen—"
Carly jumped out of bed and stood, her vines forming a train behind her, leaves fluttering. "No, you listen. I'm done. I'm a goddamn goddess and I want people to start treating me that way."
She had no idea where that came from. But too bad. No more getting pushed around. No more laying here watching basic cable and Netflix. She spread her arms, and her vines crawling around the room.
"Yes, yes you are a goddess." Her father visibly swallowed as he eyed her roots and branches. "You and I, we need to stick together. We're family."
"Some family. You only talk to me when you want something from me. And you never asked me if I even wanted these powers."
Dad held up his hands. "Look, we didn't know what the serum would do. We thought it would turn you into the next Steve Rogers. Instead, you're far more than that."
"I'm a freak!"
Carly turned from him, unable to look him in the face. She didn't even believe him. He'd known the serum was faulty. Yet, he gave it to his own daughter.
"It's had unintended consequences—"
She turned back. "No, it didn't. You know it would turn me into some kind of life-stealing demon. Into 'The Hydra.' One that you could control. Well I'm not going to be controlled anymore, and The Hydra is mine."
Carly slumped back onto her bed, arms crossed over the vegetation that covered her breasts. Did he even know that with the barest of thoughts, she could destroy him? She had the power over life itself. A power she'd never asked for. About time that people began to respect that.
"Fine," he breathed. "Do the assignment. Then we'll talk, okay?"
"I want a say," she said, voicing the thoughts that had rumbled in her head for a long time. She forced the words out. "I want a piece of the organization. A command. Nothing big. I've trained all my life for it. I want a rank. I deserve it. I was promised it."
Carly wondered how Dad felt now. He'd come in, hoping to bargain, and now he'd leave knowing he'd better have something big on the table. She tensed, waiting for him to shout her down, tell her how Hydra owned her, that she better do as they say.
"Okay," he said, surprisingly. "We work together, we can go far. I'll pull strings. But Carly, you are going to have to do things for me—"
"No killing. Nothing lethal. Never again. Understood?"
He nodded, the lines on his face deeper than ever. "Yes. But that's something you should keep to yourself."
Now, she huddled in the deep jungle, hot on the trail of some rebels. Hydra hadn't said much about them, only that her mission was to find their secret base and report back. They would take care of the rest. Still morally ambiguous, if the intention was to wipe out the rebels. She's still be an accessory to murder.
So here she was, becoming one with jungle, absorbing its essence until all her vines and leaves matched. She'd simply wandered the forest for a week, her power pulsing with every tree she encountered, close to feeling something akin to joy. The forest was beautiful, the birds cheerful, and she was free. She studied the thousands of plants and flowers, absorbing their essence, feeding them in turn. Sure, they had embedded trackers and communication gear in her skin, but she could easily disable them. And there were the bugs that tried to bore into her or eat her leaves, damn pests. But she had a freedom she hadn't felt in years.
The first voices she'd heard in days echoed through the jungle. She crept closer, every inch of her blending in with her surroundings. She didn't want to spook them. These could be the rebels, and all she had to do was trail them.
