Botanica's History
Botanica was a Maximal scientist with a unique flora-based alternate form that was drafted into the resistance against Megatron's Cybertron.
Botanica captained the same type of exploration mission that the Axalon originally undertook. After landing on a planet dominated by mobile plants, her crew adopted new alternate modes to study this alien ecosystem.
hen they received Megatron's fake distress signal, Botanica left the planet and returned to Cybertron, whereupon Megatron's automated defense system shot down her ship. The attack and subsequent crash damaged her higher reasoning circuits, leaving her operating on basic survival instincts. When Optimus Primal and his Maximals investigated her ship, they found her in a feral state. In her plant mode, she attacked them and then fled underground, spreading seeds as she went. The seeds immediately sprouted into various plants, the most insidious being rapidly-growing vines. Primal worried that, left unchecked, the plants she was producing would destroy the technorganic balance he sought to create. She was somehow drawn to the technorganic orchard (and, Cheetor noted, its pipeline to the planet's organic core). Catching up with her there, Primal noticed that she was sparking the way the Maximals had when they were infected with Megatron's virus. This gave him the idea to reformat her into a technorganic body, which restored her sanity. After explaining the story behind her unusual beast mode and the circumstances of her arrival, she pledged to help Optimus's group. This was lucky for the Maximals, who were immediately set upon by Vehicons. Botanica converted to robot mode and unleashed a chain-lightning attack that reduced a phalanx of Tank Drones to dust. With the threat over, Botanica turned her attention to the ailing orchard, altering the overhead lighting and allowing the plants to flourish once more.
While the other Maximals continued the fight against the Vehicons, Botanica took up residence in the orchard, tending to the plants. She chose not to fight, arguing that the more the Maximals fought Megatron, the more they became like him. Although Cheetor and Blackarachnia resented this, Primal accepted her reasons, and also reminded his team that they were more than enough to fight Megatron and Thrust. However, Botanica soon received a vision from the Matrix, which showed her how much pain Cybertron was in. Botanica abandoned her pacifism and joined in the fight, saving the Maximals from a trap Obsidian and Strika had sprung
Botanica later accompanied the Maximals to the surface, where they watched Megatron reinforce his position in anticipation for his next move. She was then tasked with accompanying Rattrap to the Citadel as the Maximals searched for the captured Sparks, or any clues to their current whereabouts. She wasn't too happy with her assigned partner. Botanica and Rattrap only managed to find the empty canisters that once held the captured Sparks in Megatron's old haunt, and moved on. As the pair walked away, they were attacked by Strika and her drones, and quickly forced to run away at full speed. They wound up in a holographic pleasure booth. Rattrap was ecstatic about what they had stumbled upon, while Botanica insisted they stay focused on the situation at hand. While Rattrap was distracted by a virtual vacation, Strika caught up to them and resumed her assault against the Maximals. But as Strika advanced towards Botanica, the Vehicon inadvertedly stepped into one of the holographic booths, and Rattrap took advantage of the situation to entrap her in the holographic vacation Botanica had just then pulled him out of. Rattrap began fishing for compliments from Botanica for his quick thinking, but Botanica simply stated that the chip wouldn't last forever, and dragged Rattrap away from the building. The both of them later reconvened with the other Maximals to learn that Megatron was keeping the captured sparks within the Grand Mal.
On her subsequent mission, Botanica was teamed up with Rattrap, Blackarachnia and Optimus, and tasked with infiltrating the Grand Mal. Within the floating fortress, they encountered Thrust and his drones but nonetheless managed to make it all the way to Megatron's inner chamber. There, they were pinned down by the Vehicon leader's defenses. Megatron attempted to remove Botanica's spark, along with every other Maximals’, in order to fuse them to his already ascending essence. Thankfully, Nightscream blasted Megatron's spark with a sonic blast, freeing his comrades. The Maximals then took control of the Grand Mal.
With Megatron presumed dead, Botanica returned her focus to the orchard, with the help of a reluctant Rattrap. They began arguing over the other's respective priorities, but eventually kissed. Despite pledging to delete it from memory, they showed obvious concern for each other. Spark of Darkness When the still alive Megatron launched an attack on the Maximal-held Grand Mal, they were forced to raise the shields, which cut Botanica off from the organic core. Rattrap jettisoned her into an escape pod with a field projecting the same harmonics as the Grand Mal's shields, saving Botanica's life but also allowing Megatron to fire through the shields. Botanica met up with Silverbolt, Blackarachnia and Nightscream on the outside. They then doubled back towards the Grand Mal, which had been brought down in their absence. En route, Botanica had located a power conduit, and helped Rattrap connect it to the fortress for one final stand against the Vehicons. As the pair were repairing the Grand Mal's systems, they danced around the subject of one another's feelings awkwardly. As the confrontation against Megatron's troops began, Botanica sensed that the technorganic orchard was under attack. She headed underground with Nightscream and Rattrap to defend it against the Vehicon Moles obliterating the trees. Though the trio held their ground for a time, they eventually fell in battle, and their sparks were extracted by Vehicons.
When Megatron was finally destroyed and Cybertron reformatted, Botanica awakened, Spark restored to her body. As she returned to the surface, she finally admitted her romantic relationship with Rattrap.
