Shockley
08-06-2010, 03:05 PM
Minnie dumped a pile of crisp, green plant matter on her rough wooden workbench. The tiny room was lit by the diseased green light which filtered in through the open doorway. Something oozed from the chinks in the stone walls and dribbled down in viscous runnels. The atmosphere was all a perk of holing up in the Undercity's Apothecarium.
She wasn't really an Apothecary, of course. And she wasn't technically supposed to be occupying the room, and she wasn't precisely paying rent or anything, but she figured no one would probably miss a little out-of-the-way cubby, and she was just a poor little woman all alone in the world, and she really deserved to have something, didn't she??
Yes, she did.
Anyway, it was time for Science. Minnie opened up a drawer in her bench and produced a pair of thick rubber gloves, stained with various forms of chemical waste. She pulled them on and wiggled her fingers, enjoying the squeaky-squeak sound of rubber on rubber. She didn't precisely need protective gear, since she was already dead, but you couldn't very well be a Scientist without gloves. Scientists needed goggles in order to be respected, too, so she flipped her Science-Goggles off of their peg on the wall and secured them over her eyes. Everything grew to about twice its normal size. She vaguely remembered finding her Science-Goggles on an old woman's corpse.
She turned her attention back to the pile of plants on her bench. She rubbed her hands together, making the rubber gloves squeak-squeak-squeak in anticipation. She'd been sure to get all the plants' roots, too, because something needed to be all-the-way-alive in order to be made undead--or so she thought, she couldn't really remember, but it was good to be careful just in case!
She grabbed a chemical at random from the row of jars at the back of her bench. She didn't actually know what any of the chemicals were supposed to do, except she knew that acid burned things and blasting powder exploded them. But that was okay because she knew all about how Science worked. All the best discoveries were made by trying to do something completely different. So the best way to invent Undead Plants for her Undead Garden would be to try to do something else, like burn them all to ashes.
Holding the chemical jar in one hand, she picked up a plant by the roots. The plant beneath it moved.
"Wot?" She dropped the plant and the jar. The jar rolled off the table and shattered, splattering its contents all over the floor. Minnie ignored it, leaning in to get a closer look at the moving plant. "Wotchoo doin'? Plants ain't supposed ta move!"
The plant turned and looked at her with its shiny black eyes. It waved its feelers. It spread apart its veiny green leaves...and buzzed. Minnie cackled.
"Oy, you ain't a plant at all! Yer a bug what looks like a plant! That's pretty clever! Clever Bug, ya want to be my sidekick?"
She didn't give the Clever Bug a chance to respond. Of course it wanted to be her sidekick!
"Jus' sit tight a moment and I'll make yer into an Undead Clever Bug, and then ya can be my sidekick forever! How's that?"
She grabbed the acid and the blasting powder from her row of jars. That was as likely to do it as anything! Popping out the corks with her teeth (and losing one in the process), she poured them both onto Clever Bug and--
BLAM!!
In a burst of red light, the plant matter and Clever Bug were all gone, replaced by a large black burn mark in the center of the table. Most of her chemical jars lay shattered on the floor. Their spilled contents bubbled and hissed where they comingled. Minnie scratched her head.
Or tried to. She looked at her wrist. Her right hand was gone.
"Oh, not again, I keep losin' my bloody 'ands." She clapped her remaining hand over her mouth. It wasn't polite to swear. Silently chiding herself, she scooted her stool back from the workbench and got up to search for her right hand.
She found it sizzling in a puddle near the door. After shaking it out of its rubber glove, she held the fractured bone tight against the stub of her wrist and muttered a simple mending spell. The yellowing bone and tattered flesh fused together again. Minnie wiggled her fingers, grinning. "Right then! Almos' just as good as new."
She placed her hands on her hips and scrutinized the ruin she'd made of her workroom. "Guess it's back to the drawin' board."
But she didn't mind. That was just the way Science worked.
She wasn't really an Apothecary, of course. And she wasn't technically supposed to be occupying the room, and she wasn't precisely paying rent or anything, but she figured no one would probably miss a little out-of-the-way cubby, and she was just a poor little woman all alone in the world, and she really deserved to have something, didn't she??
Yes, she did.
Anyway, it was time for Science. Minnie opened up a drawer in her bench and produced a pair of thick rubber gloves, stained with various forms of chemical waste. She pulled them on and wiggled her fingers, enjoying the squeaky-squeak sound of rubber on rubber. She didn't precisely need protective gear, since she was already dead, but you couldn't very well be a Scientist without gloves. Scientists needed goggles in order to be respected, too, so she flipped her Science-Goggles off of their peg on the wall and secured them over her eyes. Everything grew to about twice its normal size. She vaguely remembered finding her Science-Goggles on an old woman's corpse.
She turned her attention back to the pile of plants on her bench. She rubbed her hands together, making the rubber gloves squeak-squeak-squeak in anticipation. She'd been sure to get all the plants' roots, too, because something needed to be all-the-way-alive in order to be made undead--or so she thought, she couldn't really remember, but it was good to be careful just in case!
She grabbed a chemical at random from the row of jars at the back of her bench. She didn't actually know what any of the chemicals were supposed to do, except she knew that acid burned things and blasting powder exploded them. But that was okay because she knew all about how Science worked. All the best discoveries were made by trying to do something completely different. So the best way to invent Undead Plants for her Undead Garden would be to try to do something else, like burn them all to ashes.
Holding the chemical jar in one hand, she picked up a plant by the roots. The plant beneath it moved.
"Wot?" She dropped the plant and the jar. The jar rolled off the table and shattered, splattering its contents all over the floor. Minnie ignored it, leaning in to get a closer look at the moving plant. "Wotchoo doin'? Plants ain't supposed ta move!"
The plant turned and looked at her with its shiny black eyes. It waved its feelers. It spread apart its veiny green leaves...and buzzed. Minnie cackled.
"Oy, you ain't a plant at all! Yer a bug what looks like a plant! That's pretty clever! Clever Bug, ya want to be my sidekick?"
She didn't give the Clever Bug a chance to respond. Of course it wanted to be her sidekick!
"Jus' sit tight a moment and I'll make yer into an Undead Clever Bug, and then ya can be my sidekick forever! How's that?"
She grabbed the acid and the blasting powder from her row of jars. That was as likely to do it as anything! Popping out the corks with her teeth (and losing one in the process), she poured them both onto Clever Bug and--
BLAM!!
In a burst of red light, the plant matter and Clever Bug were all gone, replaced by a large black burn mark in the center of the table. Most of her chemical jars lay shattered on the floor. Their spilled contents bubbled and hissed where they comingled. Minnie scratched her head.
Or tried to. She looked at her wrist. Her right hand was gone.
"Oh, not again, I keep losin' my bloody 'ands." She clapped her remaining hand over her mouth. It wasn't polite to swear. Silently chiding herself, she scooted her stool back from the workbench and got up to search for her right hand.
She found it sizzling in a puddle near the door. After shaking it out of its rubber glove, she held the fractured bone tight against the stub of her wrist and muttered a simple mending spell. The yellowing bone and tattered flesh fused together again. Minnie wiggled her fingers, grinning. "Right then! Almos' just as good as new."
She placed her hands on her hips and scrutinized the ruin she'd made of her workroom. "Guess it's back to the drawin' board."
But she didn't mind. That was just the way Science worked.