Of Briars and Blades

Technology as it was accessible to the common man was amazing these days. It didn’t take much browsing about metahuman and plant related incidents to come up with a few probably leads on her smart computer phone, mostly in the woods of the Deep South... great, she thought... she was going to that place where there was redneck hillbillies, pickup trucks, white church denominations, and other wonderful stereotypes. An asian girl like her would definitely stand out. Not to mention the absence of rice, not that Diana has been eating very well lately.

And so she travelled on a boat, then stowed on a train, then hitched a ride on a truck to the wilds of South Carolina.
Thankfully though, the areas she was to investigate was very rural, virtually wilderness. Except she stumbled upon an armed camp, mostly local religious fundamentalists, dressed for sport and the hunt... and robed leaders in black armor. They surrounded a large cage that had bonfires all around, and inside the cage was an extremely large, twelve foot tall tree creature. And the thing was angry, very angry. It tried to knock down the bonfires, but the locals decided to pull the
fires back some distance.

She knew who they were, having fought their leaders- Black Knights- before. As usual they were using these fools as fodder to be killed, while they achieved some greater goal. She wouldn’t be surprised if the tree would rampage and slaughter all of them.

She didn’t know their victim though. “Treant.” Her spirit guide said, and Diana nodded. She remained hidden in the shadow and listened to their conversation.

“...Naw let’s put him on display at a circus!” One of them said.

“Naw he’s too mangy! Let’s chop ‘im up for firewood!” The other concluded, having to put some distance between the raging tree creature and the fire. The wood burning seemed to aggravate the creature to no end.

“RAAAAAAGH!” It shook its cage with awesome strength, but the materials used were surprisingly very strong.

“You will do no such thing, peasants. We will interrogate the creature. Your part in this is over, here is your payment.” A trio of Black Knights emerge from their Humvee, and toss their hunters bags of cash.

“Aw durn it. Come on Billy Bob let’s go.” The rednecks part ways with the Knights, heading for their trucks. They were in no hurry to leave yet, breaking out some cans of beer. The Knights meanwhile, bring out machinery and painful looking equipment in expectation of an interrogation of the creature.

Diana watched a bit longer before decided if she should intervene. The large tree creature caught her attention, but so did the bags of cash...

Lifting her chin, Thistle admired the shrine to her that was being constructed by 4 poorly dressed indivudals. Individuals who were the first to see the power which she had - they had flocked to her in a dozen strong number after witnessing her strength and acknowledging her claims as a goddess. They were Druids and Dryads, people who worshipped nature. And she was the closest thing to nature's embodiment that they had even witnessed. With a blink she could grow a tree, with a waft of her hand she could coat the ground in briars. And she had grown to respect them. Finally, humans who saw what she was worth - what she was capable off. She couldn't help but feel bad that, in the end, they would die too. Although when such a time arrives she will simply tell them that they too shall become part of life's cycle.

The entrance to the clearing that had become her temple of sorts parted, as a dark skinned girl ran through it - dressed in dirty jeans and a t-shirt. She fell to her knees before the Queen who stood from her throne in a sense of cautious concern. "M-my Queen..." Tilting her head, Thistle responded. "...What?" The girl, no older than 30, looked upwards at her peach toned goddess. "Some people have... they've captured one of your Treants." that caused a ginger brow to raise. Walking forward, she grabbed the girl's chin and made her look her in the eye. "Where." Sheepishly, the woman pointed. Using her powers Thistle scanned the entire direction through the plant network. 'Twas then she gazed upon the scene.






“...Naw let’s put him on display at a circus!” One of them said.

“Naw he’s too mangy! Let’s chop ‘im up for firewood!” The other concluded, having to put some distance between the raging tree creature and the fire. The wood burning seemed to aggravate the creature to no end.

“RAAAAAAGH!” It shook its cage with awesome strength, but the materials used were surprisingly very strong.

“You will do no such thing, peasants. We will interrogate the creature. Your part in this is over, here is your payment.” A trio of Black Knights emerge from their Humvee, and toss their hunters bags of cash.



Returning to her own body she pushed the lady away from her, and grunted. "Lead the others there." and with no more words, the woman threw her hands into the air. Beneath her a large and dark red rose curled from the dirt and engulfed her figure within it's perfect petals, before dragging itself back under the ground in a flash.

Back at the scene, the hill-billies continued to drink in their car. However, beneath it the dirt began to groan and crack. Then - like an uppercut - the rose bud tore upwards and smashed through the front of the truck, flipping it over. Spreading out it's petals it pulled back down and stopped, allowing Thistle to step from it. "You!" She marched forward, and pointed a hand. From her feet, roots exploded upwards and tore the ground asunder - knocking the Black Knights to the floor. Then, they curled around and restrained them by their hands.

The scruffy hill-billies crawled from the car. Marching towards them like a floral storm, she swung her foot and kicked one in the face. Crouching down, she narrowed her eyes - recognising him from the vision. "You wanted fire?" With a cold motion towards the flames, wooden vines wrapped around his feet and swung him into the air. Then they mercilessly smashed him down into the flames. And held him there. His screaming acted like background music, and the stink of alcohol and burning flesh filled her nose. Before the others could escape, Thistle's little cult came through the bushes and aptly dragged them back.  "Monsters."

The goddess rolled her eyes, planning her next move.

“NO, THISTLE! GET AWAY! IT’S A TRAP!” The large Treant could actually speak, and he tried to get Thistle to safety.

The Black Knights turned toward Thistle and her followers. The leader stepped forward.

“Oh my. It seems we are... outnumbered. You’ve saved us great amount of effort, monster. Prepare to be purged! Bartholomew! Spring the trap! Crowd suppression!”

“Bart! If you fell asleep at the wheel again I-” The knights turn toward their vehicle, and saw that the driver was no longer responsive- indeed, Bartholomew’s throat was slit in the weak spot of his armor, staining his torso’s white robes with crimson blood.

The glint of steel flashed slightly from the humvee, and a dagger found itself lodged through the eye lens of the Gatling Laser Knight’s helmet, up into his brain. He was killed instantly, dropping his deadly weapon.

“She has reinforcements! Attack!” The lead knight with the sword attempted to head towards the Humvee, but was promptly cut off by the now liberated, and very angry Treant. Thick roots burst from the ground and root him to place, as he watched his retainer battle with Diana, moving with a predatory agility.

“Strike! Strike! Parry! Thrust! Riposte!” Diana taunted the Halberd Knight, countering his rage, might and well practiced skill with the polearm. She finishes him off with an upward thrust through the Knight’s weak spot under their neck, into their skull, as the man raised his halberd for another downward attack. “Dead.”

“It’s two on one now, Knight. Better have something nice to say.” Once the melee was concluded Diana addressed the leader, pulling out her sword from the dead Knight’s jaws and wiping it on his white sarong. The knight collapsed into a crumpled heap. The ambush and combat lasted no more than five seconds; such was the refinement of Diana’s skill, honed to a razor’s edge.

“Who are you girl. You betray humanity for this monster?” The remaining Knight stood where he was, surrounded by angry hippies, a plant monster woman and a young teenaged warrior who ambushed and killed three Black Knights.

“Hmmm... If you’re what humanity has to offer, I’d rather be a monster... Now... what should I do with you?” Diana asked with a slow and malicious tone.

“Kill me if you wish, brat. More of us are coming. This world belongs to humanity! To the BLACK KNIGHTS! COME AT ME IF YOU DARE!” Like a brave fool he stood his ground with his energy sword drawn, freeing himself from his entanglement. He was ready to die for his most noble cause.

“Well, he’s on your turf plant lady. How do you wanna do this? Oh, I bet your tree boyfriend over there can think of something... I’m Diana by the way. I was looking for you.” Once the fight was over, Diana took out a certain cowgirl hat and put it on her head as she awaited their decision.

Narrowing the green pools that were her eyes, Thistle began walking towards the Black Knight - slowly. He held the energy blade in his hand, in some deluded hope that it would be enough to stop them. Or perhaps he thought that having it in his hand would allow him to die with honour. When she was in range, he swung the blade towards her incredibly enchanting face. She leant backwards before leaping forward and pulling herself over one of his shoulders, a thorny vine extended from her wrist and she wrapped it around his neck. Landing behind him, he kicked the back of his knees and pulled on the torturing tendril. His throat was getting bloody incisions along it from the thorns, and breathing was becoming a chore. Kicking him on the back, he faceplanted into the floor and the tugged on the vine tighter - keeping a foot firmly on his back.

"You said you wanted to interrogate it. What. For." With the last two words, Thistle increased the size of the thorns.


She neglected the girl for now. This was who she cared about. And then, once he was dead of course, she would find out the intentions of the deadly dancer of death. If she was hear to worship her, as her other acolytes had then splendid. If she was 'looking for her' for some maleficent intent, all hell shall break loose.





I know this is a ridiculously short post, but well, she's busy dealing with this person right now so isn't gonna responde to you just yet. Sorry Nekro. :c]

The Black Knight was strong and sturdy foe, for a human, but not even their high tech armor could withstand Thistle’s plants. He could match Thistle’s movements, perhaps even land a blow were it not for the living briars that entangled his limbs and caught his weapon. The black knight’s armor creaked then finally short circuited as its internal mechanisms slowly yielded to external pressure.

From behind his visor, he spewed forth a litany of religious latin curses before dignifying a response. “To find you, monster! You and all your misbegotten kind will be wiped clean from this world, reduced to cinder and ash!”

The thorns slowly grew and the briars thickened, and still he resisted, until he eventually killed himself in his struggle. The light behind his visor plate vanished, and his body went stiff. But, he held something in his hand...

“These Black Knights are all alike!” Diana spotted the grenade nanoseconds before the Knight reflexibly pulled the pin. She went over and kicked it high up and out, detonating midair in a would be deadly blast of white phosphorous.

“Jerks.” She said, giving the dead Knight a good swift kick.

“This hat? Oh, you like this hat? I had a feeling you would. She told me so." Diana smirked, twirling the hat around with her sheathed blade.

She put it on again and started explaining herself. “Well plant lady... Let me get straight to the point. I and a magical fox lady have hostage two very interesting women, one of whom was generous enough to let me borrow this hat. The Fox lady wants allies for a plan to take over the world... I think. Or destroy it. Now that I think about it she wasn’t clear about the details, but rest assured there’s going to be alot of humans who are going to die. And I’ve heard that you don’t like humans very much. Especially the ones who try to murder you.”

Diana paused to take a breath, then gave Thistle a smile. “Well? Sound interested?”

I’m pretty sure we can share. You can have Australia... or like... Asia. Or the Americas.” Diana suggested, wondering how on earth they’d manage such a monumental task. She shrugged to herself, not really caring for the details but more for the bloodshed implied.

“Anyway... she wants you to come to Japan with me, so we can... discuss specifics, though I’m not quite sure how you travel.” She thought of what next to say, when one of the woodland dryads came forward in a most harried fashion, speaking to Thistle in a gasping, tired southern belle voice. “Thistle ma’am yer highness, we’ve got ourselves a situation... The Air druids are calling in a whole bunch of black trucks with the maltese cross on their doors coming this way.”

Diana looked at the Dryad, then towards Thistle. “The Black Knights! They’re here for you... and your followers.” She said, pointing out the obvious along with what she knew. “I’ve fought them before. They really hate metahumans.”

Thistles followers all around, the woodland creatures, treants, druids and dryads were all aghast.

As it would turn out, the 'crusade' was actually just a bunch of rag-tag red necks with their home armaments. The Knights seemed to be absent from the attack, and thus they were quickly crushed by the combined force of Thistle's power, her own followers and Diana's vicious ability to hunt down any stragglers. Most attempted to flee, but Diana was extremely thorough, and there was scarcely evidence left of the counter attack when Thistle's followers cleaned up the battle.