Author's Note: Back with another chapter to this fanfic, which will include a small, but fitting twist to a certain character introduced here.
Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
Hop Pop spent his quiet morning humming to himself while working on a small model of a green ship in his office. After a bit of polishing, he sighed proudly looking over his work.
At that moment, T'Challa entered the office. "Hey, Hop Pop, where do you keep the…" His eyes were fixed on the model ship. "Whoa. You taking up ship-building?"
"Not JUST taking it up. I've been working on this baby for five years." Hop Pop said. "What you see here is a 1/80 scale model of the famous navy warship, the Green Lady. After all this time, I just might actually finish."
"That's neat." T'Challa said.
"Thanks. Say, weren't you supposed to be playing outside with the kids?"
"I was, but I got thirsty and stepped in for a drink. It gets really easy to get thirsty in a humid town."
All of a sudden, the window broke because of a ball crashing through. It almost hit Hop Pop's boat, but he pulled it out of the way. T'Challa then caught the ball with his hand.
"Hop Pop, you all right?" T'Challa.
"Yeah. It was close." Hop Pop said gently placing his ship back on the desk.
Anne poked her head in the broken window along with Sprig and Polly. "Ooh, sorry about that, HP. We're trying to teach Polly how to play kickball."
"Which is challenging for obvious reasons." Sprig added.
"Dang it, kids!" Hop Pop exclaimed. "What have I told you about rough housing near the windows? Now, come inside and play a quiet game. Hop Pop's working."
"Yeah, I can see that." Anne said with a laugh. "Nice toy boat."
"It's not a 'toy boat', Anne." Hop Pop said. "It's a replica of a famous warship."
"Potato, tomato." Anne said before leaving with the others.
"Take it easy, Hop Pop." T'Challa said. "You know they mean well."
Hop Pop sighed. "I know. I just wish they'd listen to me for once."
"TONGUE TAG!" Sprig cried out running into the office past T'Challa with Anne and Polly. "If you get tongued, you lose."
"Kids, wait!" Hop Pop cried out, but his words fell on deaf ears. Anne and Polly just continued laughing while running around the office avoiding getting hit by Sprig's tongue.
"Anne, Sprig, Polly, hold on." T'Challa said trying to calm everyone down. "Hop Pop's trying to…"
It was too late. Sprig's tongue lashed out at the Green Lady model, which fell to the ground and snapped a couple of small pieces off. Hop Pop yelled at that causing everyone to stop and stare.
"Oops." Sprig said.
Hop Pop groaned and grunted. "Why don't you kids ever listen to me?!" He calmed down and picked up the ship and its pieces. "Okay. Everything's fine. We can still fix her. To Loggle's!"
"Okay, I'm going in." Hop Pop said quickly as soon as he and the family parked Bessie in front of Loggle's. He then pulled out a bag full of mushrooms. "Give Bessie some mushroom treats if she acts up. T'Challa, you're the only one I trust with these."
"Got it." T'Challa said accepting the bag. Hop Pop leaped off as fast as he could.
"What did he mean you're the only one he trusts with those mushroom treats?" Sprig asked.
"Yeah. How come YOU get the trust?" Polly asked.
"Probably because he figured you'd use these treats to make Bessie give you all a wild ride." T'Challa said.
"That's a little unfair." Anne said.
"Well, you DID break his ship that he was working on for five years." T'Challa said.
"Five years?" Anne asked. "Dude needs a hobby."
"That IS his hobby." T'Challa said. "You guys need to be more respectful about Hop Pop's things. Why were you playing around in his office in the first place?"
"I dunno." Sprig said. "I called out 'tongue tag', nobody objected, we ran around, and one thing led to another."
"Well, the less you all listen, the more upset Hop Pop's going to be." T'Challa said. "So please, can you try a little more self-control? For his sake, at least?"
The others looked at each other and sighed.
"All right."
"Sounds good."
"I only promise to try."
Meanwhile, Hop Pop pushed the door open running into the wood shop with his broken ship model.
"Loggle! You've gotta help me save her!" He placed his ship on the carpenter's desk.
Loggle took a look at the ship and gasped. "Is that a 1/80 scale model of the Green Lady?"
"Yeah! But she's damaged!"
"Wait here. I have just the thing." Loggle picked up the ship and carried it in the backroom.
Hop Pop stared worryingly for a second. "Those blasted kids. Why is it so hard to obey a simple command? All I asked for was for them to play a quiet game, not break everything in my study."
"Oh, is that so?"
Hop Pop was startled by a voice. When he turned, he was confronted by a frog with a black hood covering all but his mouth.
"Uh, hello." Hop Pop greeted nervously.
"I couldn't help but overhear what you said about unruly kids." the hooded frog said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I go by many names, but you can call me Apothecary Gary. You can also call me Apothe-Gary if you'd like."
"Yeah, I'm not doing that."
"Well, suit yourself. Anyway, I've got just the thing for your troubles." Apothecary Gary reached into his robe and pulled out a vial of purple liquid, which he then passed to Hop Pop. "Just rub a little of this on their foreheads, and your kids will be behaving in a jiffy. See, it has these special enzymes—"
"Enzymes?" Hop Pop asked with a laugh. "Old Hopadiah's not falling for no scam."
"Oh, it's not a scam. I guarantee, once you've tried it," Gary leaned in with a menacing tone, "You don't be able to live without it."
Hop Pop took another close look at the vial. "Eh, I don't know. In my experience, this kind of malarky never—" He stopped himself when he realized the hooded frog he was talking to was no longer there. No trace of him was left. "Apothe-Gary?"
After Loggle returned the restored ship to Hop Pop, the elder Plantar left the shop and retuned to Bessie where the kids were. He was carrying a crate with the repaired ship inside.
"Did you get everything, Hop Pop?" Sprig asked.
"Yup. Now, all I need is a quiet afternoon to fix this old gal." Hop Pop said.
That was T'Challa's cue to shoot a look at the others, who gave Hop Pop apologetic expressions.
"Yeah. So listen, Hop Pop," Sprig said, "If you need an afternoon, we'll be on our best behavior."
"Yeah. The least we can do is give you the time to fix it." Anne said.
"We're sorry, Hop Pop." Polly said.
Hop Pop smiled at that. "Thanks, kids." He waited until everyone returned to Bessie's saddle to pull out his purple vial to look at it. "Guess I won't be needing this stuff after all." He then stopped Bessie from eating it. "Shoo, girl. This ain't a snack."
"I'll be in my study if anyone needs me." Hop Pop said as soon as everyone returned to the farm.
"Take your time, Hop Pop." T'Challa said before hearing his stomach grumble. "Ooh. I forgot, I missed lunch."
"Yeah, I know, right? I'm starving." Anne agreed.
"I think there's one more Beetle Bite left in the kitchen." Sprig said.
Suddenly, Anne, Sprig, and Polly rushed across the living room on their way to the kitchen. However, on their way, they accidentally bumped into Hop Pop making him drop his ship again. It broke again as soon as it hit the ground.
Hop Pop dropped his jaw before tearing up again. "No! No, no, no!"
"Guys…" T'Challa said sternly. "What was that about being on your best behavior?"
"Sorry. It was an accident." Anne apologized. "Here, HP, let me get that for you…"
"Don't you touch her!" Hop Pop yelled.
That was the last straw. Hop Pop knew only one way to make sure the kids behaved, and tonight, he was going to use it.
Hop Pop started in Sprig's room. He made his way in while his grandson was sleeping in his hammock. After opening his vial, his poured a little bit of the purple liquid in his hand before rubbing it over Sprig's forehead.
After that, he moved onto his granddaughter. Hop Pop made sure Polly was asleep in her bucket before applying the same stuff on her head in front of her bow.
Next, he headed over to the basement. He creeped his way over to Anne before spreading the purple stuff onto her. All that was left was T'Challa, but Hop Pop stopped himself before he could approach him.
"On second thought, maybe not T'Challa. He's the only one who's ever been on his best behavior." Hop Pop said before leaving the basement. "Probably won't do nothing anyway."
"Kids! Breakfast!"
Hearing Hop Pop's call, T'Challa awoke and sat up in his bed. He then turned to Anne's bed to find that it was already empty. He looked on up and saw the basement door already open wide.
"Hmm. That's odd. Usually takes Anne ten hours to get out of bed for breakfast."
After doing his stretches, T'Challa headed upstairs. As soon as he did, he looked across the room and spotted Anne, Sprig, and Polly sitting on the couch. He waved at them, but stopped immediately after when he read their expressions. They were just sitting and doing nothing; just staring at him with creepy stares.
"Uh… Hey, guys." T'Challa said awkwardly.
"Hey, T'Challa." the kids said simultaneously in a creepy tone.
"Well, that's just unnerving." he said. "So guys, did you already finish breakfast?"
"Yes." Polly said dully.
T'Challa stood in silence still feeling creeped out. "So… what do you wanna do?"
"Whatever Hop Pop tells us to do." Sprig answered in the same tone.
"Hop Pop?" T'Challa asked looking around. "Where is he?"
"He's working on his ship." Anne replied.
Ignoring the creepy atmosphere, T'Challa headed over to the study where he found Hop Pop peacefully working on his model ship. Unlike the rest of the family, T'Challa knew he was acting normal.
"There you go, Captain Happy." Hop Pop said drawing a smile on one of his figurines. He then turned and noticed his guest. "Oh, good morning, T'Challa."
"Good morning, Hop Pop." T'Challa said before glancing out the room. "Say, did you notice anything strange about the others?"
Hop Pop began to sweat. "Strange? What's so strange?"
"Well, Anne actually got out of bed before I did, which never happens. Then, I find her sitting on the couch with Sprig and Polly, but they're not even doing anything. They're just sitting there in a trance, like they're possessed or something."
"D-Don't be ridiculous." Hop Pop said nervously. "I mean, sure they had a quick breakfast and sat on the couch, but that doesn't mean anything weird. Watch." He looked on outside his room. "Hey, kids. Why don't you go outside and play—"
"Yes, Hop Pop." Immediately, Anne, Sprig, and Polly got out of the couch and headed straight out the door. Hop Pop and T'Challa looked outside. At first, it looked like Anne and the frog kids were playing baseball, but they were playing it weirdly and spooky.
"Uh, better close these to cut down the glare." Hop Pop said pulling down the blinds.
"Hop Pop, something weird's going on." T'Challa said. "I don't know what's gotten into the others, but—"
"Now, T'Challa, let's not start assuming things." Hop Pop said nearing a panicked state. "So they're acting a little nuts today. That doesn't mean anything weird's going on or that someone needs to be blamed or anything like that. …Anyway, I better get back to my ship." He zipped back to his office as soon as he could.
"Hmm… Looks like Anne, Sprig, and Polly aren't the only ones acting weird." T'Challa said to himself. He turned back to the window keeping his eyes fixed on them. "I'd better keep an eye on them."
As the night fell, Anne, Sprig, and Polly blinked their eyes and stretched their arms out like they were coming awake. They then found themselves on the living room couch.
"Man, I feel funky." Anne said.
"Like I was a prisoner in my own body." Sprig said.
"How long were we out?" Polly asked.
"All day." T'Challa said. He sat beside them watching until they woke up. "What happened, you three?"
"T'Challa. I… I really don't know." Anne said. "I woke up this morning, Hop Pop called for breakfast, and the next thing I know, I got out of bed and headed for the kitchen as fast as I could."
"Same here." Sprig said. "The weird thing is, I wasn't in control of myself. It felt very off to me."
"I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it." Polly said.
"Well, you were acting like you were in a trance or something." T'Challa said. "Did anything unusual happen to you last night?"
"Not that I recall." Anne said.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
The scream came from Hop Pop's study. Everyone rushed over and saw the entire mess of books and tools scattered everywhere. The only thing that wasn't' damaged was the model ship. Hop Pop himself stood in the center with his mouth agape.
"Whoa, HP." Anne said. "What happened here?"
"Is this what you all think is fun?" Hop Pop asked. "I go to the bathroom, and while I'm gone, you decide to play another destructive game wrecking my room again?"
"What?" Sprig asked. "You think WE did this!"
"Oh, no. I just suggested that everything just fell off on its own!" Hop Pop cried out sarcastically.
"Hop Pop, they're telling the truth." T'Challa said. "I was watching them all day, and they never set foot out in your room."
"Enough!" Hop Pop sighed. "Luckily for you, my ship is still undamaged, so go to your rooms, and we'll talk more about this in the morning."
The kids all sighed as they headed back to their rooms. Once they were gone, Hop Pop pulled out his purple vial to look at it.
"I'll just buy myself a little more time, and then never again."
Once everyone was asleep, Hop Pop did the same thing he did the night before. He went to each of the kids (excluding T'Challa) and applied the potion on their foreheads. Once he was done, he stopped in the middle of the second-floor hallway and looked at his vial.
"Well, that's that. I can't believe I've had to use this mind-control gunk again."
"Mind-control?!"
Hop Pop was startled when he heard T'Challa's voice from right behind him. He spun around and faced the Wakandan prince, who had his arms crossed and his gaze narrowed furiously at him.
"Oh, T'Challa." Hop Pop greeted with a nervous smile. "How, uh… How much did you hear?"
"Everything. I stayed up to see if what happened to Anne and the others was going to happen again, and guess what I found out: the head of the Plantar house was applying mind-control serum on his own kids! What were you thinking?"
"T'Challa, I'm sorry." Hop Pop said. "I didn't want to, but you know the others. They just don't listen to me. I just wanted a little quiet so I could finish my ship."
"So you used an unknown potion to manipulate the minds of three children just so you can work on a model?" T'Challa asked.
"…Well, when you put it like that, it sounds wrong." Hop Pop said. "Look, there's nothing to worry about. Tonight's the last night. After tonight…"
All of a sudden, the two of them heard the sound of cluttering and stuff falling over. The two of them ran to the front entrance and stopped. Before them were Anne, Sprig, and Polly, who each had mushrooms growing from their heads, purple light filling their eyes, and a zombie-like movement and moaning as they creeped to the door.
"Anne? Sprig? Polly?" T'Challa asked. "What's going on?"
"I don't know!" Hop Pop answered.
The two of them reached the kids just as the door opened. They tried to walk forward, but T'Challa and Hop Pop kept them from taking another step forward.
When they looked outside the door though, they found their front porch occupied by Apothecary Gary. "Knock, knock."
"Apothecary Gary?" Hop Pop asked.
"Wait, you know this guy?" T'Challa asked.
"Yeah, he's the weirdo who gave me the serum in the first place." Hop Pop said. "But I don't know what he's doing here."
"I'm here to witness the birth of my new children." Apothecary Gary proclaimed.
"Children?" T'Challa asked.
"That's right. That potion I gave Hopadiah was no ordinary elixir." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a large jar full of the same purple gunk Hop Pop's been using the past two nights. "It was made with a special blend of my very own spores."
"Your spores?" Hop Pop asked.
With a smile, Apothecary Gary grabbed his hood and slowly removed it from his own head. Hop Pop and T'Challa both gasped when they saw that the frog they've been addressing was just another puppet, and on top of his head was a very large, purple mushroom who was using the frog under him to speak for him.
"Behold! My true beautiful self! You see, I am a rare species of mushroom able to control the mind of its host."
"And you call yourself Apothecary Gary?" T'Challa asked.
"Well, like I said before, I go by many names." the mushroom said. "My favorite, though, is one that I chose to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies! I am… Killgrave, the Purple Mushroom! And soon, all of Amphibia will be under my command! And who knew all I had to do was trash your room?"
"You were the one who did that?" Hop Pop asked. "But why?"
"My spores needed to be applied twice to fully take over a mind." Killgrave said. "I already knew you'd apply it the first time just to see if it worked. I just needed you to think the children were unruly enough for you to do it a second time. And it was much easier than I thought! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"You'll never get away with this!" Hop Pop yelled.
"Silence!" Killgrave said, right before pointing at his mushroom body. "Also, eyes up here, buddy."
"Oh, sorry." Hop Pop apologized. "It's just, you're glowing and that frog you're possessing has the mouth…"
"I know, right? It's totally weird. I completely get it. Now, where was I? Oh, right." The Purple Mushroom turned and cried out loudly. "To me, my mushroom children!"
At his command, more citizens of Wartwood came out of the forest and walked forward. Each and every one of them had purple-glowing eyes and tiny mushrooms out of their heads. They moaned and walked like zombies surrounding the front entrance.
"You took over all of Wartwood?" T'Challa asked.
"Well, I needed a frog village for their crop lands." Killgrave said. "Such a rich, fertile land where I can grow even more ingredients to take over Amphibia. Then, I hear about a legendary beast called the Black Panther."
"The Black Panther?" T'Challa asked surprised.
"Yes, A wild, cat-like beast that fought against the oppressive toads of Toad Tower. Word of such a beast has reached farmlands across the valley, and soon, I'll have it under my control in no time! Then nothing is going to stand in my way! Once I welcome the two of you into my family, then I'll…" Killgrave stopped when he noticed the door closed with Hop Pop and T'Challa on the other side. "Oh, they're gone."
"What are we gonna do?" Hop Pop asked trying to push his kids away from the door to prevent them from entering the mind-controlled mob.
T'Challa tapped his pendant and put on his Black Panther costume. "Whatever we do, we need to be careful. Otherwise, we'll hurt the people of Wartwood, and I don't want to hurt any of them. …Well, maybe Toadstool. Anne, don't!"
It was too late, Anne managed to reach the front door and opened it letting in all the brainwashed amphibians of Wartwood.
"Come on, Hop Pop! We're getting out of here!" Black Panther shouted. He grabbed Hop Pop and carried him through his office. He jumped out the window when…
"WAIT!" Hop Pop shouted. He wiggled out of Black Panther's arms and reached back into his office. When he pulled it back out, he carried with him his Green Lady model.
"Really?" T'Challa asked judgingly.
"Well, I can't just leave her here." Hop Pop said. "Anyway, we need to hide somewhere to think of a plan."
T'Challa looked around and stopped when he spotted the stables. "There!" He grabbed Hop Pop's hand and led him over to that very location.
The two of them made it inside the stables, but something made them stop. They turned around slowly and saw the brainwashed Polly placed right at the open door behind them staring directly at them. She then gave a loud, monstrous scream while pointing at them.
"Polly, don't!" Hop Pop shushed, but was then grabbed by Anne and Sprig, who showed up from out of nowhere.
"No! Let him go!" Black Panther yelled whipping out his claws. "Let him go or I'll…" He hesitated when he saw Anne in his way. He immediately stopped realizing he couldn't hurt her. However, it left him vulnerable to the other citizens of Wartwood, who all jumped on him and pinned him down.
Killgrave laughed as his brainwashed slaves carried him into the stables. He hit the top of the doorframe for a moment before he was lowered to fully enter inside.
"Enough games, you two." Killgrave said. "Time for your assimilation." He pulled out his jar again and secreted more purple liquid from his cap. "Get the Black Panther ready to be my ultimate weapon!"
The Wartwood citizens forced T'Challa up to his knees. Killgrave was just about ready to dip the elixir on his head.
"Get away from him, you compost-eating fiend!" Hop Pop shouted. He looked over across the stables and got an idea. He looked down at the ship in his hands and frowned. "Goodbye, sweet lady. May you find safe harbor in the great beyond."
Hop Pop turned and threw his ship as hard as he could across the stables. It landed on a gate lock and shattered into every piece that made it up. The latch on the gate opened up loosening the door.
"BESSIE, SNACK TIME!" Hop Pop shouted.
"Who's Bessie? Is that your wife?" Killgrave asked.
Bessie the family snail shot out of her holding pen in the blink of an eye. It ran right into the row of mind-controlled people and sent them tumbling over. The Black Panther landed on his feet and caught Hop Pop in his hands. He then watched as Bessie began picking off every mushroom on everyone's heads. Meanwhile, the elixir shattered on the wall leaving a large gunk of it.
"My spores!" Killgrave shouted just as Hop Pop hopped on top of him and started punching.
"Take this, you overgrown vegetable!"
"A vegetable? How dare you!" Killgrave shouted fighting off Hop Pop.
Once Bessie was done with all the other mushrooms, there was one left. And the Black Panther was happy to help her get it. He grabbed the frog that Killgrave was possessing and readied his claws to rip it off the poor guy's head.
"Ready for some fungal removal?" the Black Panther asked. "Because Bessie's always got room for the main course!"
"No, please! Don't!" Killgrave pleaded desperately. "Have mercy! I beg of you! I'm the last of my kind! Destroying me would wipe us off the planet… forever."
T'Challa stared for a moment before shrugging. "I can live with that." He proceeded to slash his claws right at Killgrave's mushroom body forcing it off the frog's head. He flew out into the air and landed right in Bessie's open mouth.
Now that the mushroom was finally gone, everyone began to wake up from its spell. Most of them were groggy and thinking it to be a dream, so they left. All that was left were the Plantars, Bessie, and the frog who Killgrave was possessing.
"Hey, buddy. Do you know where I live?"
"Nope. Sorry, Killgrave." Hop Pop said.
"Killgrave? The name's Lloyd." With that, Lloyd turned and left the shed.
"Ahem!" the Planters all cleared their throats while staring judgingly at Hop Pop.
"I know." Hop Pop sighed. "No matter how important my ship was, it didn't give me the right to use mind control on you. And I suppose I should've believed you when you said you didn't trash my room."
"Uh, no." Anne said.
"You think?" Polly asked.
"Heck, naw." Sprig replied
"I've been telling you that all night." T'Challa said.
"But… I guess we're sorry too." Anne went on. "Looks like we pushed you pretty far. T'Challa was right. We were a little disrespectful. We'll try to be better about listening to you in the future."
Hop Pop chuckled. "Yeah. I guess we're even."
T'Challa narrowed his eyes. "Hop Pop, all they did was break off a bit of a boat. You blamed us for your room getting trashed and bent everyone's minds against their wills."
"Yeah. You crossed all kinds of ethical and moral lines." Polly said.
"Like I said, even." Hop Pop said hugging everyone, who begrudgingly decided to agree. "Now, come on. I'll make y'all some mushroom soup."
Everyone laughed as they left the shed.
Little did they know that there was trouble afoot when they left. Hop Pop's little beetle friend, Jeremy, crawled over to the wall where Killgrave's spores were spilled. A bit of it fell on top of his head and started sprouting tiny mushrooms.
"I'm baaaaaaaack."