In which Taylor and her mother had a bit more of a green thumb, and someone else took notice.

Special thanks to Commissar Carnifex for taking the time to beta this chapter.

Enjoy!

Seed

Taylor Hebert quailed as the bunker shook as if it were being struck with the wrath of an angry god. Flecks of dust and dirt fell from the ceiling as the underground structure was pushed to its limits. The sound of steel twisting and tearing echoed through the crowded room, even despite the panicked clamor coming from the crowd.

Taylor wrapped her arms around her legs as she tried to fend off a panic attack as a few nearby children screamed in terror. Tears ran down her face as the building quaked, even more, patches of concrete crumbling from the wall like a bad sandcastle. There was only one thing in the world that could get through walls that thick, and it was standing right outside.

An Endbringer.

Taylor had always heard about them growing up, monstrous creatures that devastated entire cities or even worse, twisted them into monsters to serve its own malignant goals. They were monsters on a scale that the human mind could scarcely imagine. But they had always seemed like a distant thing to Taylor, like commenting on a volcanic eruption on the other side of the world. She didn't want to seem callous, but it wasn't her problem. They had never directly affected her in the way they had changed places like Japan. The closest an Endbringer had ever come to Brockton Bay had been Behemoth's attack on New York.

But now they were here. Leviathan, the sunderer of nations, the one who on occasion would sink landmasses into the sea for what she could only assume was a twisted sense of amusement. He was attacking Brockton Bay right now and all she could do was hope that the heroes would drive him off before he killed them all.

She didn't even know where her dad was, the sirens having gone off while she had been at school and he was at work. Hopefully, he had made it into another bunker, but all she could do was hope and pray that he would remain alive. She couldn't lose him like she had lost Mom. He was the only person that she had left thanks to Emma's betrayal. She wasn't sure how she would be able to live if he died. She wasn't sure how he would live if she died. They had both been broken after Mom's death, but now…

Taylor's thoughts cut off into a scream as part of the ceiling collapsed in on itself, killing a few unlucky individuals who had been standing underneath. Blood and viscera splattered against the concrete, but as morbid as that was, everyone seemed more concerned with the torrent of cold water flowing through the hole. Taylor scrambled to her feet as the cold and salty water swept up to her feet. All around her she could see the other panicking, throwing themselves against the wall in a desperate attempt to escape A few were trying to rip the door open, but the hydraulic seal refused to move.

This room was going to become their tomb.

Taylor could feel her breath quicken as she stared around at the room around her. The noise can clamor of the panicked screams became a distant thing as the sound of her heartbeat hit her ears. Her skin felt soft and clammy as the water climbed up her legs.

"I'm scared," was all that the teen could utter, her voice soft and weak and inaudible over the screams. A sharp crack echoed through the chamber and Taylor looked up in time to see another chunk of the ceiling break away and fall down on top of her, crushing her skull and body.

She died instantly.

She is to be our champion? She is weak and frail.

She can learn. She must learn.

We have no time for this weakness. Our actions must be swift.

Who would you have as our Champion? We must have someone.

Leave her to the Rot. Let us choose another.

We have deliberated long and hard, but we can deliberate no longer. We are old and ancient and patient, but we cannot afford to be patient now. Our time grows near. We must act against the Abominations or the Rot will see us dead.

…

She must be the one. Or all that we have done will be for naught.

You would set the future of the Green in the hands of a human? She knows nothing of us.

We will teach her. Or there will be no Green left at all.

…

Very well.

Has a consensus been reached?

… Yes. For now.

We are in agreement.

As am I.

Very well, begin the transfer.

Taylor was certain that she had died. One didn't take a chunk of concrete that was larger than they were to the head and walk away unscathed. Unless they were a Brute of course, but that was entirely beside the point.

The point was that she was pretty sure that she should be dead, not standing in the middle of a small meadow. The green grass stretched along the ground as far as the eye could see, only becoming obscured from view by the ring of trees that surrounded her. She could recognize some of the species that she had seen dotted around Brockton Bay, but there were quite a few that she couldn't.

"Hello," she called out tentatively, hoping for a response. The sound of the birds and other animals that would inhabit a place like this were totally absent, and there was nothing to indicate there were any humans here beside her. Even the air seemed fresher than what she was used to, with none of the pollutants that had become common place around the world.

Taylor Hebert…

"Who's there?" Taylor cried out, nearly jumping a foot in the air at the sound of the unexpected voice. As her panicked eyes whirled around the grove, she found nothing that indicated where the voice might have come from.

Do not fear. No harm shall come to you here, another voice called out, softer and gentler than the previous speaker. It reminded her of the tones that Mom would use to calm her down when she was panicked or afraid, but all that comparison did was make her heart feel as if it were being squeezed by a vice.

"Who are you?" she asked. It was taking everything she had not to start screaming in panic.

We are the Green, a symphony of voices answered back as the trees and plants around her started to twist. Taylor's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she found dozens of trees staring at her with what she could only describe as faces. They were far from recognizable as their human counterparts, but there was no mistaking those mouths and eyes.

"W-what?" Taylor asked, more than a little confused. "What's the Green? Are you some sort of parahuman group?"

If they were a parahuman group that might explain a few things while presenting a dozen other questions. In response to her question, the sound of soft chuckles reached her ears, and she turned around to see one of the trees shaking as if it were having a fit of laughter.

We are no more parahumans than you are an insect, the laughing voice answered back, the amusement plain as day. Taylor flushed a bit in anger and embarrassment at the chastising voice. It reminded her a little too much of Winslow for her comfort.

We are the culmination of all plants that live in this world. Every tree, every brush, every speck of grass. We are all of the Green, the gentler voice called out with the same patience that a teacher might have with dealing with a particularly troubling student.

"Uh-huh," Taylor said with a skeptical nod. She had heard about a few parahumans who thought themselves gods or prophets of greater beings, like that cult that worshiped the Endbringers as deities. Taylor shivered at the reminder of the cold water pouring down the hole ready to engulf them all in an icy tomb…

Peace young one, another voice called out, this one as ancient as the ground beneath her feet. Taylor had remembered a time that a veteran had visited her middle school to talk to them. He hadn't been much to look at with his almost feeble form but his voice carried with it a weight that made you want to listen. Every word underlined with a knowledge that he had done and seen more in his life that you could possibly imagine.

That was what this new voice brought to her mind as she turned towards the direction it was coming from. A few trees parted away to let her gaze upon what she could only assume was the source of the voice. And if they voice sounded ancient, the tree before her looked ten times that age.

Twisted roots dug into the ground like a jigsaw puzzle, gnarly knots of lost branches dotted all along the tree's form. It was so old that it looked as though it had lost its original color, with only a few patches of brown surviving in the sea of pale white. Branches that could have engulfed an Endbringer with room to spare stretched out from its trunk. Whatever this thing was it was old. Older than her and everything that she had ever known.

I am Yggdrasil, the tree said, its branches slightly swaying in the air as they seemed to stretch out. And we are the Parliament of Trees.

"Parliament of Trees?" Taylor asked, tilting her head in confusion. She wasn't quite over her skepticism, but there was something about this tree that made her want to sit and listen. And the fact that she was talking to a tree hadn't quite processed to her mind yet, which was why she wasn't running away screaming like any rational person might.

We serve to act in the interests of the Green, the elemental force that connects all plant life to each other, Yggdrasil explained, though Taylor's head was still spinning. We have sought you out to be our Champion.

"Champion," Taylor squeaked nervously. "W-what do you mean?"

The Green has been…damaged by the Abominations, those that you refer to as Endbringers, both directly and indirectly, Yggdrasil explained in a factual way that did little to ease Taylor's nerves. She knew that Endbringers killed millions, but to come to realize that they were so damaging that what she supposed was supposed to be the closest thing to Mother Nature itself was being hurt…

They threaten the balance of the world, and in turn grant power to the Black. If their destruction is not halted, all will fall into the Rot.

"The rot?" Taylor asked, dreading the answer. The trees around her seemed to almost shuffle and twist away as if she had just brought up some strange taboo. She turned her gaze back to Yggdrasil looking for answers. Despite having a face that was literally carved from wood, he looked tired, frightened, and weak. The sheer presence of the tree seemed to shrink in on itself.

The Black, the Rot, the names of the great enemy. The one that would seek to destroy all we have built and plunge the world into death and decay, Yggdrasil said, his voice tired and empty. It reminded her of Dad's voice on some of his bad days, the sheer weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders to crush the life out of him.

"Why me?" Taylor asked, trying to draw her focus away from the answer that the tree had just given her. Because quite frankly that explanation was terrifying beyond belief. To know that there was a force that was actively seeking to end the world as she knew it chilled her to the bones. Parahumans like Nilbog might be a threat if they went all out, but they were content to stay in place, in their own little world. Even Endbringers only destroyed one city at a time, with exceptions like Newfoundland.

"Why not chose someone else? I'm not special," Taylor said meekly. She was just a loser without friends. What could she possibly do that anyone else couldn't?

She is weak, worthless. She has allowed weeds to take her roots, a voice hissed from the background. Taylor couldn't help but flinch at how familiar the voice sounded, of poisonous laughter and cruel smiles. The teenager turned to see a young-looking tree twist in a way that somehow managed to convey that it was angry. She has no future as our Champion. Let us choose one who is strong!

Strength can be earned. Compassion less so, Yggdrasil said calmly, though there was a hint of chiding anger in his voice that made the other tree wilt. She has nourished the Green before. She will do so again.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Taylor asked, completely bewildered. She had never known that this...Green had ever existed before. She tried not to flinch as a branch extended from the trunk of the aged and ancient tree. It was so old that she could practically hear the weight of time behind each creak as the branch extended until it tapped her forehead. Taylor gasped as memories of tending her house's garden alongside Mom flashed before her. They were so quick that she couldn't pin anyone of them down, but she could feel the love and passion that had been put into each memory.

Taylor heaved great mouthfuls of air as she tried to regain her bearings. She could feel hot tears running down her face as she struggled to say something, to say anything. "You want me to help because I planted a garden?" she managed to get out through her quiet sobs, somewhat overwhelmed by the memories of her time with her long-gone mother.

You care for the garden, Yggdrasil said not quite a question and not quite a statement.

"Y-yeah, Mom and I worked on it all the time," she said, swallowing nervously. It had been their little project, their mother and daughter time, separate from the horrors of the world around them. There had been no talk about the gangs or Endbringers during that time, only the careful care of their plants. Even after Mom died she had kept the garden going, not wishing to see something that had been so desperately loved fall into disarray.

Then you are the one Taylor Hebert, Yggdrasil said with a tone of certainty that made her stand up tall and firm like the great tree before her. Will you be our Champion? Will you beat back the Abominations and the Rot and all that would destroy the Green?

Taylor paused as her eyes flickered around the room. She could feel the desperation coming from each tree, each blade of grass. This group was beyond desperate for someone to save them and they were looking to her?

That niggling little voice that sounded so much like Emma whispered back that she wasn't worth it, that this was all a trick. But Taylor cast those thoughts aside. She had felt this desperation before whenever she visited Dad's work. She knew what it was like to stare into the eyes of someone who didn't know if they would have food on their plate in the morning, or who were concerned for their lives. That wasn't something that you could fake. Could she really turn her back on those in need? She knew what it was like to be forgotten and hated and defenseless. What it was like to hope so desperately for salvation and only to find cruelty.

"I'll do it," Taylor said, her voice barely above a whisper. She turned her gaze back towards Yggdrasil and stared the towering tree down. "I'll do it. I'll become your champion."

Armsmaster tried to ignore the sheer burning sensation of his arm, or rather, what was left of his arm. A bloody stump was all that remained, and even with painkillers it still felt like a thousand railroad spikes being shoved into his socket. He knew that he was better off than some of the other combatants, but that still didn't ease the painful sting of defeat.

His prediction software had worked as planned, allowing the combatants to box Leviathan in so that he could deploy his nano-thorn blade. It had been working right up until the Endbringer decided he was bored and ripped the Tinker's arm off. Every bit of elation that he had felt for managing to fight the Endbringer had washed down the drain in an instant once he realized that he had been toyed with.

But the Tinker bit back his rage and pain as he tried to find Leviathan. Even with a lost arm he still had a pair of eyes that could help. The Endbringer had managed to vanish from view, but even without his prediction software, Armsmaster had an idea of where the beast was going.

As he rounded a corner he felt the pit of dread that had been building in his stomach well up like a volcano. His throat went dry as a desert as he watched the Endbringer casually demolish thousands of pounds of steel and concrete in an effort to reach the defenseless civilians trapped inside.

Even as he reached for his armband he knew it was too late. Even if the Triumvirate could get there in the next ten seconds there was nothing that they would be able to do to stop the Endbringer from killing everyone inside. The water swirling around Leviathan's feet bulge as the beast prepared to turn their shelter into a watery tomb.

But just as the wave of blue was about to drain down the open hole torn by the Endbringer's impossibly sharp talons, a pillar of green shot out from the hole, striking the monster in the chest. Armsmaster could only gape in surprise as the Endbringer was sent flying back, slamming into a pair of buildings and burying itself in the rubble. It was all the more disheartening as Leviathan pulled itself from the wreckage within seconds, brushing off steel beams larger than he was off like raindrops. Even though the monster didn't have any facial expressions, the Tinker could see its eyes glow just a little bit brighter with what he could only assume was anger.

He turned his gaze over towards the tower of green that had erupted from the hole in the shelter. Now that he had a slightly clearer view of it, he could see that it was actually a collection of plants wrapped together tightly. The huge vine-like structure seemed to twist in the air before slamming into the cracked road. Armsmaster could only watch as the vine started to change shape into something more humanoid. Legs thicker than tree trunks rose from the Earth as equally massive arms erupted from its torso. Hands large enough to throw trucks like toys clenched into fists. Eyes the size of his head glowed with a fiery red light even as an assortment of vines and branches formed a face with a very angry expression.

But even as the giant's body formed greener was moving behind it. A crisscross of vines and branches sealing the hole that Leviathan had punched through the shelter. Even more plants erupted through the asphalt road and Armsmaster watched as the water that Leviathan had brought from the sea be soaked up into their masses. It was hardly quick, but there was a noticeable difference in the water level as the plants started to swell up like water balloons.

Snapping himself out of his stupor, Armsmaster turned back to his armband, thankful that Dragon had put recently added a vocal override command in addition to the two buttons. "Armsmaster to all points, Leviathan is at shelter seven! I repeated, Leviathan is at—"

"Leviathan," the giant, who was now as tall as the Endbringer if not taller, said with a surprisingly feminine voice. Armsmaster could feel his teeth rattle with the sheer force of the words as the plant giant glared the Endbringer down. There was a rage in those eyes that Armsmaster had seen in many times in his life. It was the anger of one who had spent their entire lives being crushed underneath a boot finally being given an opportunity to fight back. It was the fury of a fresh Trigger.

It made him want to curse.

This wasn't the type of person that would listen to orders to fall back or disengage, they would strike at the Endbringer with everything that they had. They wouldn't listen to strategy or logic, but instead, try to pummel the monster into submission like so many had tried and failed to do so before. Having someone who was capable of throwing an Endbringer back would certainly be a boon, but they didn't have time for the new Trigger to acquaint themselves with her powers. In the end, her refusal to listen to orders would get her killed like so many had before. But he could see that she wasn't going to back down, not even if Scion himself descended from the heavens.

"The Green would have words with you," she spoke as Leviathan rose up to charge. Armsmaster could hear the echoes of confirmation on his armband as other parahumans rushed to the scene, but they would never get here before the new Trigger was torn to shreds. Leviathan moved, becoming naught but a blur, but as Armsmaster braced himself for the parahuman's screams of pain the world around him exploded and all he saw was green.

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