She had seen the heroes on TV. The uniformed men called them terrorists, and some people believed that, but most people still called them heroes. They were said to be beneath the wreckage at the Thunder Museum, which was partially destroyed. She had once seen the Museum from the back of the flower shop's delivery truck. Even though she had supposed to have kept herself hidden from view, even having to wear long clothes, a hat, and a scarf around her face—Madame Rossetti explained to everyone that she had a “skin disease”—she had managed to sneak a peek at the once-magnificent museum, with its tall steps and its tall columns. Flor said that it was meant to look Romanesque, whatever that meant.
So Audrey knew where to find the heroes, and she went directly to the Thunder City Museum, travelling via thick but long vines that carried her like a royal princess along the rooftops downtown. There was not much visible flora to be seen in the city, but weeds and fungus were everywhere. She used what she could find to make her way to her destination. The vines would remain for less than an hour before disintegrating once more.
At the Thunder Museum, she saw many policemen with shiny lights atop their cars circling the area to keep bypassers out. Within that circle were many uniformed men who were not police, crawling over the wreckage and checking it with handheld objects that lit with blue and green. Even if she grew a very long vine, she would not be able to get into the museum without being seen. She needed to try something else.
There was a manhole a couple of blocks away, beyond the police perimeter at the museum. Audrey was easily able to open it up by expanding the lichen at its edges, popping it off. She crawled inside and found herself in the sewer. She had seen human-like fighting turtles do the same on a cartoon a week ago.
Walking through the sewer toward the direction of the museum, she noted that the part of the sewer underneath the museum had collapsed. It was not difficult for her to grow vines that pushed open a stable entrance for her. Once she was within the wreckage of the museum, she found a particularly large hole beneath the wreckage that had been covered over, and she dropped down into it upon her vines. She hoped that she would meet the heroes there, in the underground, very soon.
