[hr][h2][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5180054][color=8dc73f][i]Myrtle Gardner - Wallƒlower[/i][/color][/url][/h2][hr][h3]Eighteenth of November (Morning)[/h3]
[i]A bright red ball rolled into view, and a tiny, little smiling blond girl reached to grab it--just as a taller girl snatched it away. The smaller one looked up, wide-eyed, and outstretched her arms, silently pleading with pouting lips for the ball. The other girl offered it, and just the little one reached for it, the other kid raised it up out of reach. She jumped for it, the other raised it higher, laughing, then tossed it over her head. A crowd was gathering now, and they were tossing the ball again and again over the young child's head. She jumped and jumped, and soon the other children were chanting, [/i]"Monkey in the middle! Monkey in the middle!" [i]The little girl stopped jumping and tears began to form in her eyes. 

But the scene around her faded and transformed. The girl was older now, wearing a green cloak and mask, and the crowd that surrounded her was vastly different. It was a gang of Empire 88, with ghoulish, drooping faces and glowing red eyes. They were armed with knives and guns, and they were drawing in closer and closer. [color=8dc73f]"I-I don't want to hurt you..."[/color] Wallflower warned in a whisper, her eyes darting around in fear as they approached. [/i][color=8dc73f]"Please, just go away..."[/color] [i][i]she spoke louder, hugging herself tight and closing her eyes. Switchblades flipped and guns cocked. [/i][/i][color=8dc73f][b]"JUST. GO. AWAY!" [/b][/color][i]Wallflower screeched, thorny vines flying out around her. 

When she dared open her eyes again, she was surrounded by a massacre, and not all of them were villains. Again, the scene had changed, and now she was surrounded by her mother and father, her sister, Kotov and Ray, and all kinds of civilians. She was standing in the ruins of Manchester, whose sky was red and pillars of fire and smoke came from the toppled buildings. Giant vines writhed around the buildings that still stood and roots wove around the cityscape, piercing bodies and blossoming into black roses. Wallflower stood alone, crying in the desolate wasteland.[/i][hider=The End][img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/914094df-cd49-4caa-94db-41a8d48c8469/d2ariut-dae8b5ab-0238-4607-94f4-8ff1aef20e5d.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOTE0MDk0ZGYtY2Q0OS00Y2FhLTk0ZGItNDFhOGQ0OGM4NDY5XC9kMmFyaXV0LWRhZThiNWFiLTAyMzgtNDYwNy05NGY0LThmZjFhZWYyMGU1ZC5qcGcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.StnZMLegzq_lakHrM9NKcmX5jE0xPsnMOBIUDFdY188[/img][/hider][hr]
Myrtle awoke, crying alone in the dark, and just laid for what felt like an hour in bed. She was curled up in the fetal position and clung to her blankets, crying into her pillow. She was afraid of her power, yes, but she was also afraid of herself and whatever else it was that had taken root inside of her.

It was only after her alarm went off that Myrtle wiped her tears away and forced herself into motion. With a deep sigh, she got out of bed and grabbed the hedge clippers from her nightstand and started clipping at the jungle that had once been her bedroom. A shower and an hour later, Myrtle was off to work.
[hider=The Workplace]
[img]https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KzrP4vUxJBQ/X8ADs4M4nAI/AAAAAAAAEXY/ufkjBnT3wRUZfo8wOEi7-nPdXVkYrEnhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/United-states-post-office-sign.jpg[/img]
[/hider][hr][h3](Evening)[/h3]About nine hours later, Myrtle stood wearing her postal clerk uniform in front of her open locker. She was just staring at her reflection in the mirror inside with trembling lips and pain in her heart. If anything, the hours of mindless work only allowed her feelings to fester. 

With tears welling up in her eyes, the girl suddenly grabbed her oversized hoodie and forced it over her head, not even caring that her hair got messed up, then grabbed her bag and slammed the locker door in frustration, sending a reverberating echo through the locker room. She stormed out of the post office, covering her eyes with one soaked big sleeve, hoping nobody would see her cry.

The disheartened heroine left the post office from the employee entrance and stood sniffling, alone in the parking lot. [color=8dc73f][i]"I-I want to help p-people..."[/i][/color] Myrtle weeped into her sleeves, barely audible. [color=8dc73f][i]"--b-but what if whatever is inside me doesn't want to... what if-if it wants to hurt people?" [/i][/color]Myrtle asked the sky, which only answered with a single snowflake. With a shiver and a sigh, Myrtle set out to walk home.

The sun had set already, so the streets were crowded and bustling with young college students as well as long-time residents. Streetlights and string lights twinkled and people were laughing and smiling and having fun. Myrtle smiled sadly as she watched them, people running and jumping around with their friends, some helping their drunk friends down the sidewalk. Sometimes Myrtle wished she could have a life like that, but deep down, she knew that was not the life she was meant to have.

The girl was startled by the jingle of coins. She looked to see a middle-aged, grimy, and unshaven man dressed in tatters. Myrtle flinched back, as much by his stench as his sudden appearance. [b]"Spare some change for an old man?"[/b] he asked in a gruff voice, shaking his can again, then coughed into his sleeve. 

Myrtle was a sucker for the less fortunate, so she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill and some coins then dropped them into his can, before hastening her step and continuing down the street. [b]"God bless you, young lady!"[/b] the man called after her, raising a hand in a wave. 

She didn't slow down until she entered a shady alleyway, where at last she came to a stop in the light of a lamp post. She just stood there, sobbing quietly into her sleeves.  Snowflakes were falling more quickly now, glistening in the light and settling in her hair.

[b]"Hey now... what do we have here? Are you [i]lost[/i], little lady?"[/b] a voice cooed further down the alley. Myrtle's head shot up to see a group of about three guys, all just dark, snickering silhouettes. A chill went down her spine and she froze in fear, realizing she wasn't in costume. [b]"Come here, we'll show you the way..."[/b] one of the men said seductively, gesturing with a finger. 

Myrtle suddenly bolted, heading East in the direction of the police station and hospital. Several sets of footsteps could be heard, slowly gaining on her. The small girl ran blocks as fast as she could, ignoring the pain in her lungs and the stabbing feeling in her sides. Her glasses were fogged up with her breath, and it was so difficult to see, but if she could just find a place to hide--yes! Myrtle grabbed a railing and slid herself under a dark stairwell, just as her pursuers rounded the corner. The three guys stampeded past, yelling and shouting, none the wiser that she was watching through the slats in the stairs, holding her breath. The footsteps faded away and Myrtle took a deep breath, kneeling there in the dirt. 

A minutes passed and it was not Myrtle who emerged, but Wallflower, with renewed determination in her eyes. She grabbed her bag off the ground and tucked it out of sight under her cape, then clenched her fists and closed her eyes, whispering to herself, [color=8dc73f][i]"I'll do it... I'll protect those who can't protect themselves... But I'll do it my way... My powers do not control me...[/i]I control my powers!"[/color]

Wallflower then picked a rusty pole off the ground and slammed the railing, sending an echo down the alleyway. She dropped the pole and continued in the direction they had run. In one hand was a selection of seeds, and would be ready for a fight.

[b]"Hey! You hear that? I think she's back that way!"[/b] one of the gang members shouted from afar. Soon, thundering footsteps were heading back in her direction. Wallflower kept going, with vines snaking along the edge of the alleyway and at her side. She stopped in the middle of the alley, keeping to the dark.

[b]"We've gotcha now! Heheheh!"[/b] one of the men sniggered as they came in from the other end of the alleyway. Wallflower raised her hands to her face, pretending to be scared, and backed up. [b]"Don't you run again, girl! We'll take care of you--promise!"[/b] Wallflower turned and ran away, and the three chased but they didn't get far before-- FWUMP! All three fell over on their faces, tripped her vines. Wallflower stopped in the light of a lamppost, revealing her mask and costume. [color=8dc73f]"That's for messing with an innocent girl!"[/color] Wallflower yelled with her hands on her hips and a smug smile growing on her face as she watched the three villains struggle as her vines wound around them.

[b]"It's her--that witch who fucked with us the other day!"[/b] the biggest guy barked, struggling harder. [b]"Hey, you're right! Let's pulverize her! Teach her for messing with the Empire,[/b] one of his comrades joined in. The two of them groaned and swore as they tried to get free. [b]"Won't you quit it for just a second! Let me take care of [i]her[/i]," [/b] the [url=https://64.media.tumblr.com/245b7475a2075b5bbad528241ceb9082/tumblr_n4pxrmWRGe1tu27i3o1_500.jpg]youngest[/url] one snapped. The other two immediately stopped, and Myrtle raised a brow.

But then it became all too clear. One glove slid off the boy's hand and he touched a vine. Immediately, a pang of pain went through Myrtle, and she lost all sense of vines she was controlling. Her confidence vanished as she realized she might be getting in over her head--one of them had powers, too! 

The three thugs got back to their feet, withered bits of vine falling all around them as the two bigger guys laughed and cracked their knuckles. The one in front, tall but probably only about eighteen in age, put his hands in his pockets, and then tilted his head and smiled on one side. [b]"May I have this dance?"[/b]

[color=8dc73f]"Wha-what?"[/color] Wallflower stammered, fumbling for new seeds-- and when she looked up he was nowhere to be seen. She felt a push, and she fell backward-- only to be caught in his arms. Seeds went flying out of her open pockets and scattered all around her on the ground, and she tried to use her power but found herself gazing into his endless, black eyes as he twirled her around. Why was it that she was suddenly feeling so tired? Her eyes fluttered, almost falling asleep...

[color=8dc73f]"No!"[/color] she cried out, finding the will to push him away. Her head was dizzy, and her skin was feeling strangely cracked and wrinkly, but she was not going to go out without a fight. 

[b]"This one has spunk! Heheh!"[/b] one of the goons laughed. [b]"We'll see about that,"[/b] the young, powered one retorted. 

Rose bushes grew all around Wallflower, shielding her. He was fast, sure, but getting through a hedge of thorns would be no easy task. Now, safe from attack, she would lash out with thorny rose vines--[color=8dc73f]"Huh!?"[/color] Myrtle gasped, as the young man suddenly was standing behind her. [b]"I wasn't done dancing, little rose,"[/b] he breathed into one ear. 

[color=8dc73f]"But I was!"[/color] Wallflower returned, jabbing him in the side with one elbow. The boy stepped back into the thorny wall, doubled over in pain and now caught in the branches. Rose vines began to grow out of the wall and encircle him, but he only smirked. [b]"That won't work on me, bae."[/b]

With one touch of his ungloved hand, the hedge began to wither away and turn to dust. For a moment, she just stared at the boy with his black, soulless eyes and sneering smile. She was helpless to stop him and her world was crumbling around her. 

The boy disappeared and reappeared right in front of her in a cloud of black fog, and pushed her to the ground. She hit her head hard on the pavement and fell in and out of consciousness. She felt a heavy weight on her--what was it? It was the boy she had been fighting. He was sitting on her waist now. 

[b]"You could have just let me have that dance. Now, look what you made me do. You're bleeding,"[/b] he tsked. [b]"You are lucky I like you--for now. Don't dare cross us again," [/b] the young parahuman boy warned.  Her eyes fluttered again and everything went black... 
[hider=Trouble][img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6055/6354704891_4d1b75efbb_b.jpg[/img][/hider]
[@Xandrya]