Chapter Text
There comes a time where one starts to ponder on what brought them to their current place in life. For most people, they begin their reflection during a rough patch; be it through burnout, a depressive rut, or unfortunate events continuously piling up. For others, their reflection happens in the face of uncertainty and danger; like being held at gun point or waking up to a burning house. Of course, this is a simple generalization as everyone is different.
For Dr Edgar George Zomboss, he began his reflection the moment his tag along mission with Professor Brainstorm and Super Brainz went horribly wrong.
It's not like he had anything to gain from joining them. Quite the contrary, he could have perfected his plans, worked on his machines, or finished his paperwork in headquarters while his heroes head off into danger for him. Now his impulsive decision has left him grabbing on to a malfunctioning machine, cursing himself over getting his hopes up.
While he holds on to dear life, he could at least watch the ongoing battle. Super Brainz, being the genius he is, snatches Solar Flare and flies toward the sky. And by genius he means an absolute imbecile. In response to this attack, Solar Flare lights herself and Super Brainz on fire. Sure, he is durable, but this is Solar Flare. Her hideously adorable face is nothing more than a deception to her ferocious, almost animalistic nature.
He turns his attention to Professor Brainstorm's attempts of salvaging his failure by throwing weed-killer bombs at Rose. The sorceress gracefully dodges the projectiles, flying around the zombot 1000 in search for any more faults in the machine. He shakes his head; judging by their scrappy design, the bombs were not his invention. Rustbolt's name will now be connected to this catastrophic failure, but at least he has the dignity of not witnessing it firsthand.
Super Brainz, still holding on to Solar Flares, screams as Solar Flare's flames and protests engulf him. He slowly stops flying upward, but still does not let go over the plant hero. His body hurdles down like a meteorite, and before anyone can react, his body crashes into Green Shadow.
Hearing the screams and the blast, Rose stops her spell and looks over at the fiery mess behind her. Without haste, Professor Brainstorm throws his remaining bomb at the distracted Rose. It explodes upon making contact with the back of her head, covering her entire body with the potent chemicals. She shuts her eyes tightly, coughing and gagging and flailing her arms around in a pitiful attempt to blow the gas away. Losing all of her concentration, she stops hovering and falls to the ground.
Professor Brainstorm sighs in relief, turning to look at his boss for validation of any kind. Dr Zomboss rolls his eyes, “Do not give yourself credit; it was Rustbolt's invention that salvaged your attack.”
Super Brainz drags himself away from the crater he created. His hair has frizzed up from the heat and crash, and the emblem of his suit has been completely burned off. Green Shadow lays in the middle of the wreckage completely knocked out. Solar Flare lays alongside her, fighting to keep herself awake.
Perhaps they could still salvage this attack after all.
“Waiting on your orders, doctor.”
His favorite string of words, they always make his day. “Super Brainz: to the zombot. Brainstorm: tend to him once he is here,” a wicked smirk forms on his face, “I'll deal with these weeds accordingly.”
Super Brainz, despite being frazzled and weakened by Solar Flare, slowly flies over to the top of the zombot's head. Once he lands, he immediately drops to the floor. Professor Brainstorm rushes to aid his teammate. Dr Zomboss, meanwhile, takes complete control over the zombot 1000. Although the machine lacked many of the original's features, it was still a solid attempt at recreating one of his best inventions. He could almost feel a sense of pride wash over him at the attention to detail put into the machine.
He barely touches the control panel before an explosion blasts Dr Zomboss away from it. He lands on Professor Brainstorm and knocks him down. Edgar wheezes in pain, placing his hand on his chest and gripping the fabric of his coat. A loud boom followed by the mech tilting sideways tells the two scientists the worst has happened.
The machine is falling apart.
Suddenly, a ball of blazing fire shoots toward the sky. Despite the damage sustained on her body, Solar Flare still manages to make an incredible entrance. She floats high above the zombot, glaring down at the trio of zombies. She especially fixates on Super Brainz, the one who knocked her
“Ready for another sunburn?!” She shouts in glee, her flames growing more unstable by the second.
Professor Brainstorm does not answer her question. He pushes Edgar off of him and onto Super Brainz. He mutters an apology as he quickly pulls an orange orb out of the pocket. He pulls both Edgar and Super Brainz into his arms. He hisses at the professor's touch while Super Brainz, still in his slumber, wraps his arms around the both of them and squeezes them like they're the toys he sleeps with. Solar Flare giggles at the sight before shooting toward the trio.
Professor Brainstorm feels the heat from the approaching flame. He squeezes the orb in his hand tightly, trying his best not to give away the utter fear in his voice as he manages to stammer out the word “eureka,” activating the teleportation device in his fist and sending them back to base before they could be burned alive.
The failure, the pain, the humiliation. He should have never tagged along. After all, what were the chances that he would see them again?
Green Shadow gives Rose a nod, her way of expressing gratitude. Rose gives her friend a smile in return as she helps her back on her feet. The trios of their wounds have been completely healed thanks to the sorceress’ power, though it has left Rose completely drained. For once, she is thankful for being paired up with Solar Flare's energetic self.
Green Shadow and Rose survey the scene. Large sections of the zombot 1000 had been blown apart from the explosion that followed Solar Flare's attack, scattering them all over the once peaceful area. The details of the machine's head had been left deformed from the extreme heat, and the control panel's components had fused together.
“Dang it!” Solar Flare shouts, stomping the ground. “Those jerkwads got away!!”
“Don't worry, we'll catch them next time,” Green Shadow says.
Solar Flare throws her arms in the air, “I don't want to wait for next time! The only reason I joined this mission was to fight!”
“You could always train with me,” Green Shadow suggests. “Nightcap is also a fun sparring partner.”
“It's not the same!”
While Green Shadow tries to convince Solar Flare to join her training sessions, Rose's mind drifts off elsewhere as she stares at the destroyed head of the zombot.
He is an enemy, one of their greatest enemies and the sole reason as to why they are still in this ongoing fight. If he were to die, there is a high chance this conflict would die with him.
But how could she? How could she make that kind of mistake? Sure, the weed-killer bombs fogged her mind, but the spells are not even similar! Okay, maybe the first few motions are the same, but it's no excuse for an experienced sorceress like herself! How could accidentally condemn him to one of the most painfully, emotionally devastating fates a magician could bestow on someone?
Yet again, it's Dr Zomboss.
When she first arrived at this part of time, many of her comrades told her tales about the leader of the zombie army. Many of the smaller plants portray him as a monster capable of destroying entire gardens, her comrades consider him a nuisance who needs to continuously be put down, one person even speaks of him in high regard and considers him a powerful enemy. Within all those descriptions lies a commonality: he is an egomaniac who cares for nobody but himself.
The hatred for Dave that blossomed from his want for petty revenge has motivated every decision he’s made since that science fair. Rose has seen firsthand what hate does to someone's heart; it seeks anything that can fuel for it's ever-growing flame. It incinerates any unrelated emotions and desires that dare to coexist alongside it, for fear they would flourish and be able to snuff it out for good. A man driven by that kind of ambition certainly cannot find it in his heart to care for or even love another being, could he?
Perhaps he is immune to the curse after all.
She breathes out a sigh of relief, the burden of his death being lifted off of her shoulders. She snaps her attention back to her friends; Green Shadow holds her communicator away from Solar Flare trying to grab it. From what she can piece together from the colorful words Solar Flare is spouting, it seems that Citron wants the three of them to rummage the robot for spare parts. Sounds horrible, no wonder why she is so upset.
She does not give the machine another glance as she walks over to join her friend in the verbal war against Citron, free from her worries.