Chapter 23
Interlude: Of Benefits with Friends
When the beta closed, the silence didn't last.
It echoed.
Because the 100 who got in?
They had stories.
The 100
Across the city:
Mystique—currently serving as Principal Darkholm—completed every difficulty tier in 19 hours under three different usernames. She submitted bug reports under all of them. Thorough. Terrifying.
Clark Kent finished the beta casually, politely, and with alarming optimization.
Tony Stark attempted to mod it within the first hour and sent Barbara a twelve-page "friendly suggestion" document with monetization enhancements and one line that simply read:
Add flamethrower sunflower. Call me.
But mostly—
It was their friends.
And that mattered more.
Peter's Run
Peter played like someone who had experienced real loss and refused to let even pixelated zombies win.
He calculated angles.
Protected every sunflower.
Named his first Helia "Aunt May."
MJ leaned over his shoulder the entire time.
Gwen took notes.
Felicia "accidentally" leaned closer whenever he cleared a wave.
By hour 18, Peter looked exhausted.
By hour 24, he looked proud.
"It's not about damage," he muttered softly. "It's about protection."
MJ kissed his cheek.
Felicia smirked.
Gwen smiled quietly.
And somewhere in the logs, Barbara marked his run as emotionally optimal.
Yang's Approach
Yang brute-forced it.
High-risk, high-reward.
Torchick animations modded in immediately.
She lost three times.
She laughed every time.
Blake quietly built perfect sunflower economies beside her.
When Yang unlocked the Latin Zucchini variant, she shouted:
"I KNEW IT WAS REAL."
Blake nodded calmly.
"It whispers."
They both agreed that whispering vegetables improved the aesthetic.
Wednesday's Experience
Wednesday played in total silence.
No wasted moves.
No emotion.
When the bucket zombie appeared, she murmured:
"Predictable."
She unlocked the secret Midnight Mode.
Completed it.
Then sent Jake a message:
The plants are disciplined. I approve.
High praise.
The Addams
They were not part of the 100.
They didn't need to be.
Gomez had already visited the source.
Morticia had touched the soil.
Wednesday had harvested anomalies personally.
They were smug.
Profoundly smug.
Gomez sent a voice message:
"Watching others long for what one already possesses is a uniquely satisfying pleasure."
Morticia added:
"Scarcity is romantic."
The Invitation
When the 24 hours ended, Jake sent a message to the chosen circle.
Come to the farm. See where it started.
They came.
Peter.
MJ.
Gwen.
Felicia.
Yang.
Blake.
Shirou (dragged by Rin and Sakura).
Wednesday (already there).
Principal Darkholm (observing).
Tony.
Clark.
The sunset painted the fields gold.
Helia stood at the center, radiant.
The Reveal
Jake didn't give a speech.
He just walked to Helia.
Waited.
The sunflower glowed.
Generated a sun-orb.
Clark's eyes widened slightly.
"…That's not symbolic."
Tony's glasses flickered with readings.
"That's actual stellar mimicry."
Barbara folded her arms.
"Leyline amplification."
Kara tried to look casual.
"Totally normal farm stuff."
Jake caught the sun-orb.
Held it.
Turned to Clark.
"Want to try?"
Tony immediately said, "Yes."
Clark hesitated.
Then smiled.
He accepted the glowing orb.
It dissolved into him like warm daylight.
The effect was immediate.
His posture straightened.
His presence sharpened.
His eyes brightened.
The sky above dimmed slightly—
And he glowed.
Not dramatically.
Not explosively.
Just… full.
Like noon in human form.
Tony's jaw dropped.
"You're charging. At night."
Clark blinked.
"…That's new."
Kara stepped forward.
"I want one."
She absorbed a sun-orb too.
The glow on her skin intensified.
Her smile widened.
"I feel amazing."
Jake stared.
"…Okay, that's cool."
Barbara was already recording data.
Principal Darkholm murmured thoughtfully:
"Fascinating."
Tony folded his arms.
"I want five."
"No," Barbara said immediately.
The Explanation
They walked the lanes.
Peashooters demonstrated controlled fire.
The soil hummed faintly.
Jake explained the breach.
The summoning.
The leyline convergence.
How panic turned into farming.
How farming turned into a game.
Peter looked at the rows of glowing plants.
"…You turned danger into something people could understand."
Jake shrugged slightly.
"Fear's easier when it's on a grid."
Yang grinned.
"And shootable."
Blake nodded.
"Structured chaos."
Morticia, who had quietly arrived without anyone noticing, added:
"Cultivated darkness."
Jake didn't question when she got there.
You didn't question the Addams.
The Experience
They let everyone plant one.
Just one.
Peter planted carefully.
Yang enthusiastically.
Wednesday precisely.
Tony over-engineered the placement.
Clark knelt gently.
The soil responded to all of them.
Helia glowed brighter as more hands touched the earth.
For a moment—
There were no secret identities.
No sidekicks.
No billionaires.
No alien legacies.
Just friends in a field at sunset.
Building something strange and beautiful.
Later
Tony sidled up beside Jake.
"Date night, Kent and I are coming back."
Jake blinked.
"…For farming?"
Tony smirked.
"For science."
Clark smiled apologetically.
"It's fascinating."
Kara crossed her arms.
"You're not taking samples."
Barbara added:
"Without a contract."
Tony sighed.
"You're killing my fun."
"Yes," Barbara said calmly.
The Quiet Moment
As the others wandered—
Jake stood between Kara and Barbara.
Helia glowed behind them.
"You realize," he said quietly, "this is insane."
Barbara nodded.
"Yes."
Kara smiled softly.
"It's ours."
He looked at the field.
At the people laughing.
At Clark glowing faintly in the dusk like a walking sunrise.
At Tony trying to reverse-engineer a Peashooter.
At Wednesday calmly observing everything like it was a funeral she enjoyed.
He exhaled.
"It was just supposed to be a game."
Barbara glanced at him.
"It still is."
Kara nudged his shoulder.
"And more."
Helia generated another sun-orb.
It hovered between them.
Warm.
Steady.
Shared.
And for the first time since waking up on that train—
Jake didn't feel like he'd been displaced.
He felt planted.