Glass groaned beneath her hand as Raven opened the first greenhouse chamber. Warmth rolled over her face—a humid, artificial jungle tucked inside reinforced architecture. The air smelled of soil and sterile chemicals. Rows of automated trays glided along aluminum rails, each slot filled with living plants.
Her eyes swept the room.
"Let's begin."
She moved between the tables with a predator's focus, scanning labels, noting growth cycles, root density, leaf coloration. Most people wouldn't know what to look for. Raven didn't need the tags. She recognized the killer plants by shape and scent.
Aconitum—Monkshood. Tall, elegant purple flowers packed with alkaloids. One drop could stop a heart.
Atropa belladonna—Deadly Nightshade. Shiny black berries. Hallucinogenic, paralyzing, fatal.
Ricinus communis—Castor bean. Source of ricin. A toxin so potent it made cyanide look merciful.
Digitalis purpurea—Foxglove. Pretty, but it shattered the heart's rhythm with biochemical precision.
Nerium oleander. Hemlock. Rosary pea. All waiting patiently in neat rows, cultivated under lab conditions for pharmaceutical weaponization.
"Poison is the great equalizer," Raven whispered "Even an awakened person bleeds."
She raised her hand.
Each tray shimmered and vanished into her system space. Row by row. Plant by plant.
[Apocalypse Ascendancy System Notification:] "Medicinal and Poisonous Plant Modules Activated." "Sanctuary Time Ratio: 5:1. Growth cycles adjusted for continuous yield." "Modules synchronized with Plant Ability. Now available to be set up in designated botany lab area inside Sanctuary."
Raven exhaled.
"Now my plants will do more than feed me. They'll fight for me and kill for me."
She moved on to the second chamber which had less deadly plants, but no less valuable.
Papaver somniferum bloomed soft and pale in the light. A key ingredient of morphine. Life-saving and addictive in equal measure.
Artemisia annua glowed faintly under UV lights—its leaves are essential in malaria treatments.
Taxus brevifolia—the Pacific yew. From its bark comes Taxol, a compound used to treat cancers. A slow-acting savior.
Aloe vera. Turmeric. Echinacea. Valerian root. They clustered near the back in dense medicinal rows, guarded by nothing more than an automatic misting arm.
She absorbed them all.
The third greenhouse made her pause.
The scent hit first—pungent, musky, unmistakable.
Cannabis.
She crossed the threshold slowly, eyeing the LED canopy lights and hydroponic nutrient lines. Dozens of cultivars stood tagged with strain identifiers: THC, CBD, terpene profiles. Some were clearly experimental and designed to amplify the psychoactive effects under precise controls.
Raven raised an eyebrow.
"This is some good shit."
She stepped closer, tilting one pot to read the root stock signature.
"Hallucinogenic poisons…" she whispered. "Make them die with a smile in their face. How poetic."
With a mental que, the entire greenhouse vanished into her system.
She left the grow chambers behind and entered the medical chemistry labs.
Rows of distillation towers glowed under cold white lights. Centrifuges, clean and dust-free, lined the back wall. High-precision scales waited in readiness from glass-cased workstations. Cold storage units sat ready, storing the latest fresh ingredients.
She took it all.
Tablet presses. Encapsulation machines. Extraction solvents in sealed vials. Bioreactors.
All gone.
[System Notification:] "Medical Chemistry Equipment Stored in Botany Lab Category." "Awaiting integration with Plant Ability."
She lingered for a moment, eyes on the space where the machines had stood. Her heartbeat was steady but rising—her body growing warmer again. Her Technomancer abilities, along with her plant powers are spreading in her body awakening more quickly it was only a matter of minutes before she awakened.
Back in the tunnels, the chill returned. She crossed her arms and leaned against the concrete wall near the forked passage.
Had she missed anything?
She mentally catalogued the loot: poisons, medicines, hallucinogens, chemistry gear, plant growth modules. The infrastructure was ready. All that remained was the awakening.
And once that happened…
She'd never be hunted again.
Raven turned down the tunnel, her thoughts sharp and cold.
NYU had served its purpose.
Now it was time to return to Sanctuary.
And become something more than human it was time to become the future.
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