Rebirth 1.4
SkyRig
Wake the f#ck up, samurai.
- Location
- Someplace in California
- Pronouns
- He
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Ugh, five more minutes…" I grumbled as I slapped my hand down on the clock, only to wince when I heard plastic and metal crumple. I peeked over the sheets pulled on my head and, to my displeasure; my alarm clock was now a crushed mess. "Not again…" I pulled my hand away, flicking off any bits of metal and pieces left from my clock and sat up. I glanced around the room and found none of the Wards in their bunks. I was the last to wake up, it seems.
"Ugh, great…"
With great reluctance, I tore off my comforter and hopped out of bed. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened it up to see if I had any messages.
FROM: Dennis
Come on down to the mess hall when you wake up! I have some friends to introduce to you!
I glanced at the digital clock at the bottom of the screen and grimaced. It was not remotely close to noon. Who the fuck would wake up at this ungodly hour?
I threw on a PRT-issued top and sweats and left the room. Three days passed since I made the decision to join the Wards. Since then, I have repeated the same motions I did before I Triggered; wake up, take a shower, prepare for the next day, etc. Of course, what was not part of my daily routine was power testing and making friends with the same people I used to see on TV or read about online.
Well, except Armsmaster—Colin Wallis when he was not wearing his armor. Fun fact about Mr. Wallis, he is nowhere near as charming as he is on TV. For starters, he is not a people person. It isn't that he sucked at socializing, since I saw him chatting away with Triumph about something involving the normal PRT troopers, it's just that he would rather be in his lab than talk with anyone else. Unless that person was Dragon, in which case he could talk for hours as Ethan implied.
I placed $10 that Dragon was the one who would confess. The pot was sitting at close to a quarter mil, as I would later learn.
I haven't had much of an opportunity to interact with the other Wards, except for maybe Dennis and Chris. Dennis and I struck a quick friendship after our talk while he was on console duty. His sense of humor was something of an acquired taste, but he was nowhere as bad as what PHO made him out to be. I rarely saw him without his trademark smile, which I was certain would make plenty of women online swoon if give the chance. Despite his smile, I could tell he was troubled by Sophia's loss and my being here.
To be honest, I still felt out of place and awkward, and a little distrusting of everyone here. I know they had their reasons for doing so, and they couldn't possibly have known what she was up to in her day-to-day life, but I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact they brought in Sophia. That can of worms also made me think about whether or not the smiling and pleasant faces around me were masks to hide the ugly sneers underneath. How many Wards like Sophia were there, pretending to be something they weren't?
Evidently, I was not the only one to share in those feelings. Chris felt the same way when I first met him. He was fiddling around something, some kind of drone I think, swapping out parts and cleaning others. Like Dennis, he also apologized for something that was completely out of his control. I forgave him for the same reasons as Dennis.
…okay, well, not quite. Ashamed as I was to admit it, there was no way I was going to pass up the possibility of Tinker-grade armor as an "apology." I still would have forgiven him regardless even if he didn't bring it up. As we would later learn, however, the reason why Chris wanted to make me armor was to see how my power affected it.
In power testing, I was given various armaments and equipment to see if I had any Trump aspects. As it turned out, the answer was yes. Regular guns equipped with rubber bullets could pierce through armored dummies. Kitchen knives could cut into stone and concrete with frightening ease. Defensively speaking, padded armor worn by riot police could take bullets fired by Miss Militia, which was nothing to sneeze at when she was rocking AK-47s.
The idea that I could enhance anything on my person gave Chris a few ideas, which he hoped would help him find his Tinker specialty as he called it.
…now that I thought about it, would that make me his guinea pig?
All of a sudden, I don't feel as trusting toward Chris.
I reached the mess hall, greeting troopers and Protectorate suits amicably along the way. Dennis was sitting at one of the tables near the far left, accompanied by a girl who looked to be in middle school and two familiar faces. The girl I accurately guessed to be Vista, and the other two needed no introduction. Unlike most capes in the city, the New Wave did not need to hide their identities and proudly showed themselves off to the world.
Glory Girl and Panacea were maybe the most famous members, one being a Mini-Alexandria and the other being one of the most talented healers in the world. Neither was in their costume, the former playing around on her phone and laughing while the latter was reading a book.
"There you are!" Dennis grinned. "I'm loving the bed hair, by the way. Looks great with your horn."
I gave him a flat glare and the middle finger. "You are a demon. I refuse to believe someone can be so chipper this early in the morning."
"Not an early riser, I take it?" Chris asked.
I shook my head. If needed, I could wake up early in the morning, but recently I was in no mood to do so anytime soon while dealing with this.
"So, while everyone knows who these lovely ladies are, let me be a gentleman and introduce them," Dennis gestured to the two capes next to him, both of who now noticed me. "To my left is Victoria Dallon, also known as Glory Girl or Collateral Damage Barbie depending on the day of the week. And next to her is her sister Amy, AKA Panacea, the best doctor in the world."
"And I'm Missy," Vista grinned up at me. "Nice to meet you, Taylor! For the record, so nice to have another girl here. It's like a Sausage Fest with the Wards sometimes, I'm telling you!"
I snickered into my hand.
Amy rolled her eyes and went back to her book. Victoria, on the other hand, glared mildly at the redhead. "For the record, I have no destroyed any buildings in the last month. And secondly, that nickname lost its shine when Hookwolf of all people started calling me that." She turned back to me and grinned, extending a hand. "Anyways, nice to meet you, Taylor! For the record, I love the tattoos. They look fucking sick."
"Um, thanks?" It was the first time some complimented me on my looks, though I'm not too sure if I should be happy about that. "So, what's New Wave doing here?"
"Contrary to what you might expect, they aren't here to join the Wards sadly," Dennis sighed in the usual over-the-top fashion. "Vicky's here to see Dean, actually. You know, Gallant."
"Ah, so they are dating."
"And they smack lips all the time too!" Chris chimed with a grin.
The blonde heroine shot the Tinker a glare. "We don't do it all the time, you ass. We do it in moderation! We're not horny monkeys, thank you very much. And I'm not just here to see Dean. I'm also here to see Taylor."
I blinked. "Me?" Why in the world would New Wave want to meet with me? I'm nothing special and I haven't made a proper debut as a Ward yet.
"It's more like she wanted to meet the new girl," Amy clarified for me. "That, and the PRT wanted me to look you over regarding your…changes."
"Speaking of, what's with the horn?" Victoria asked me curiously, floating off the ground and looking at the thing popping out from the back of my neck. "Doesn't that thing make it hard for you to sleep right?"
"It certainly cost her a few pillows," Chris snickered. I glared at him in mock anger. "But yeah, I've been curious about it myself. Changer forms are more than just aesthetic changes. There has to be more to your Second Trigger than just improved bug control, glowing tattoos and a horn."
Second Trigger. That's the second time I've heard that term before. My mind drifted back to what the Director said to me before, when discussing my options going forward. "What exactly is a Second Trigger if you don't mind me asking? I thought a person only Trigggered once?"
"They usually do, but it is possible for someone to Trigger again," Amy said. "Second Trigger is exactly what it sounds like; it's the second worse day of your life that makes you stronger, enhances your power and even gives you a new set of abilities. They aren't common, though. Honestly, Double Triggers are more common."
At my confused face, Dennis added, "Double Triggers are when you undergo two Trigger Events back to back. Which, of course, means you can't experience a Second Trigger event."
"And Second Triggers typically outdo the first one," Victoria frowned. "And you pretty much topped all of them by getting outed in the process. Speaking of, how are you doing? I mean, getting outed like that is…"
"I'm doing fine," I lied. "But I could be better."
The truth was that I was miserable. Don't get me wrong, I was happy I could finally become a hero, but at the same time, it cost me so much. We had to leave Brockton Bay for who knows how long, everyone knew I had powers now, and I got shown off killing someone in self-defense. Regardless of the reasons, everyone was going to be looking at me like I was a threat. That I was unstable or dangerous, or so Glenn told me. Therefore, I had to prove them wrong; I had to prove to everyone that I was only dangerous to the gangs and wanted to save and protect others.
All of that, I knew, was going to be as hard as I expected it to be.
"When's your next power test session?" Dennis asked.
I opened my phone, looking through the texts. "My first one today doesn't start until an hour."
"Cool," Missy smiled. "That means you can hang us with us for an hour! I can introduce you to Carlos while we're at it!"
"And get your check-up out of the way," Victoria added as she looked to her sister. "If Amy doesn't mind, that is."
The freckled healer shrugged her shoulders. It was better to get this out of the way, I guess. She bookmarked her page and got up, walking around the table and sitting down next to me. "Give me your hand, please."
I held out my hand. "This isn't gonna hurt, right?"
"Not unless I'm using scalpels and needles," Amy replied cheekily as she took her hands into mine. Her hands were small and smooth, almost delicate to the touch. She tightened her grip for a moment, face scrunched up in concentration. Seconds later, she looked utterly baffled. "What the…" She squeezed my hand tighter and frowned, confusion becoming more and more prominent. "This is… How is this…?"
The Wards, Victoria and I all glanced at each other. Missy turned to Panacea in worry. "Uh, is everything okay with Taylor? I mean, there's nothing wrong with her body, right?"
Amy didn't answer.
"Ames? Hello, Amy Dallon? Earth to Panacea?" Victoria waved a hand in front of Amy's face. When her sister gave no reaction, she snapped her fingers. Amy jumped and let go of my hand. "Okay, seriously, you're making us worry. What's up with the new girl that you went into the zone?"
"I was what?"
"You were out of it," Chris pointed out to her. "Vicky was trying to get your attention, but you didn't notice."
I was starting to get worried. What was it about me that made Amy act like that? "I'm not secretly dying, am I?"
"What? No, you're not. Your perfectly healthy," Amy shook her head. "But your biology…" She sucked in a breath and stared, hard. "I'll be frank, I barely even recognize it as that of a human being's. Your cells, bone structure, muscle fibers, nervous system; they function like a human's, but their make-up is all wrong…"
Shudders ran down my backside. "What?"
"That's not all. Those aren't tattoo's on your body, they're a lymphatic system that's recycling stuff in your body, stuff I can't make heads or tails of."
Wait, they're what?!
"Wait, hang on a second, did you say her tattoos are a lymphatic system?!" Dennis spluttered. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that just a bunch of nerves and organs that dump waste and toxins in your body?
"They are, but that's not what's weird. It's her horn."
"W-what is it?" I smiled shakily. "Y-you're not about to tell me it's some kind of extra organ or something, are you?"
Panacea shook her head. "It's not an extra organ, Taylor. It's a second brain."
"Ugh, five more minutes…" I grumbled as I slapped my hand down on the clock, only to wince when I heard plastic and metal crumple. I peeked over the sheets pulled on my head and, to my displeasure; my alarm clock was now a crushed mess. "Not again…" I pulled my hand away, flicking off any bits of metal and pieces left from my clock and sat up. I glanced around the room and found none of the Wards in their bunks. I was the last to wake up, it seems.
"Ugh, great…"
With great reluctance, I tore off my comforter and hopped out of bed. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened it up to see if I had any messages.
FROM: Dennis
Come on down to the mess hall when you wake up! I have some friends to introduce to you!
I glanced at the digital clock at the bottom of the screen and grimaced. It was not remotely close to noon. Who the fuck would wake up at this ungodly hour?
I threw on a PRT-issued top and sweats and left the room. Three days passed since I made the decision to join the Wards. Since then, I have repeated the same motions I did before I Triggered; wake up, take a shower, prepare for the next day, etc. Of course, what was not part of my daily routine was power testing and making friends with the same people I used to see on TV or read about online.
Well, except Armsmaster—Colin Wallis when he was not wearing his armor. Fun fact about Mr. Wallis, he is nowhere near as charming as he is on TV. For starters, he is not a people person. It isn't that he sucked at socializing, since I saw him chatting away with Triumph about something involving the normal PRT troopers, it's just that he would rather be in his lab than talk with anyone else. Unless that person was Dragon, in which case he could talk for hours as Ethan implied.
I placed $10 that Dragon was the one who would confess. The pot was sitting at close to a quarter mil, as I would later learn.
I haven't had much of an opportunity to interact with the other Wards, except for maybe Dennis and Chris. Dennis and I struck a quick friendship after our talk while he was on console duty. His sense of humor was something of an acquired taste, but he was nowhere as bad as what PHO made him out to be. I rarely saw him without his trademark smile, which I was certain would make plenty of women online swoon if give the chance. Despite his smile, I could tell he was troubled by Sophia's loss and my being here.
To be honest, I still felt out of place and awkward, and a little distrusting of everyone here. I know they had their reasons for doing so, and they couldn't possibly have known what she was up to in her day-to-day life, but I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact they brought in Sophia. That can of worms also made me think about whether or not the smiling and pleasant faces around me were masks to hide the ugly sneers underneath. How many Wards like Sophia were there, pretending to be something they weren't?
Evidently, I was not the only one to share in those feelings. Chris felt the same way when I first met him. He was fiddling around something, some kind of drone I think, swapping out parts and cleaning others. Like Dennis, he also apologized for something that was completely out of his control. I forgave him for the same reasons as Dennis.
…okay, well, not quite. Ashamed as I was to admit it, there was no way I was going to pass up the possibility of Tinker-grade armor as an "apology." I still would have forgiven him regardless even if he didn't bring it up. As we would later learn, however, the reason why Chris wanted to make me armor was to see how my power affected it.
In power testing, I was given various armaments and equipment to see if I had any Trump aspects. As it turned out, the answer was yes. Regular guns equipped with rubber bullets could pierce through armored dummies. Kitchen knives could cut into stone and concrete with frightening ease. Defensively speaking, padded armor worn by riot police could take bullets fired by Miss Militia, which was nothing to sneeze at when she was rocking AK-47s.
The idea that I could enhance anything on my person gave Chris a few ideas, which he hoped would help him find his Tinker specialty as he called it.
…now that I thought about it, would that make me his guinea pig?
All of a sudden, I don't feel as trusting toward Chris.
I reached the mess hall, greeting troopers and Protectorate suits amicably along the way. Dennis was sitting at one of the tables near the far left, accompanied by a girl who looked to be in middle school and two familiar faces. The girl I accurately guessed to be Vista, and the other two needed no introduction. Unlike most capes in the city, the New Wave did not need to hide their identities and proudly showed themselves off to the world.
Glory Girl and Panacea were maybe the most famous members, one being a Mini-Alexandria and the other being one of the most talented healers in the world. Neither was in their costume, the former playing around on her phone and laughing while the latter was reading a book.
"There you are!" Dennis grinned. "I'm loving the bed hair, by the way. Looks great with your horn."
I gave him a flat glare and the middle finger. "You are a demon. I refuse to believe someone can be so chipper this early in the morning."
"Not an early riser, I take it?" Chris asked.
I shook my head. If needed, I could wake up early in the morning, but recently I was in no mood to do so anytime soon while dealing with this.
"So, while everyone knows who these lovely ladies are, let me be a gentleman and introduce them," Dennis gestured to the two capes next to him, both of who now noticed me. "To my left is Victoria Dallon, also known as Glory Girl or Collateral Damage Barbie depending on the day of the week. And next to her is her sister Amy, AKA Panacea, the best doctor in the world."
"And I'm Missy," Vista grinned up at me. "Nice to meet you, Taylor! For the record, so nice to have another girl here. It's like a Sausage Fest with the Wards sometimes, I'm telling you!"
I snickered into my hand.
Amy rolled her eyes and went back to her book. Victoria, on the other hand, glared mildly at the redhead. "For the record, I have no destroyed any buildings in the last month. And secondly, that nickname lost its shine when Hookwolf of all people started calling me that." She turned back to me and grinned, extending a hand. "Anyways, nice to meet you, Taylor! For the record, I love the tattoos. They look fucking sick."
"Um, thanks?" It was the first time some complimented me on my looks, though I'm not too sure if I should be happy about that. "So, what's New Wave doing here?"
"Contrary to what you might expect, they aren't here to join the Wards sadly," Dennis sighed in the usual over-the-top fashion. "Vicky's here to see Dean, actually. You know, Gallant."
"Ah, so they are dating."
"And they smack lips all the time too!" Chris chimed with a grin.
The blonde heroine shot the Tinker a glare. "We don't do it all the time, you ass. We do it in moderation! We're not horny monkeys, thank you very much. And I'm not just here to see Dean. I'm also here to see Taylor."
I blinked. "Me?" Why in the world would New Wave want to meet with me? I'm nothing special and I haven't made a proper debut as a Ward yet.
"It's more like she wanted to meet the new girl," Amy clarified for me. "That, and the PRT wanted me to look you over regarding your…changes."
"Speaking of, what's with the horn?" Victoria asked me curiously, floating off the ground and looking at the thing popping out from the back of my neck. "Doesn't that thing make it hard for you to sleep right?"
"It certainly cost her a few pillows," Chris snickered. I glared at him in mock anger. "But yeah, I've been curious about it myself. Changer forms are more than just aesthetic changes. There has to be more to your Second Trigger than just improved bug control, glowing tattoos and a horn."
Second Trigger. That's the second time I've heard that term before. My mind drifted back to what the Director said to me before, when discussing my options going forward. "What exactly is a Second Trigger if you don't mind me asking? I thought a person only Trigggered once?"
"They usually do, but it is possible for someone to Trigger again," Amy said. "Second Trigger is exactly what it sounds like; it's the second worse day of your life that makes you stronger, enhances your power and even gives you a new set of abilities. They aren't common, though. Honestly, Double Triggers are more common."
At my confused face, Dennis added, "Double Triggers are when you undergo two Trigger Events back to back. Which, of course, means you can't experience a Second Trigger event."
"And Second Triggers typically outdo the first one," Victoria frowned. "And you pretty much topped all of them by getting outed in the process. Speaking of, how are you doing? I mean, getting outed like that is…"
"I'm doing fine," I lied. "But I could be better."
The truth was that I was miserable. Don't get me wrong, I was happy I could finally become a hero, but at the same time, it cost me so much. We had to leave Brockton Bay for who knows how long, everyone knew I had powers now, and I got shown off killing someone in self-defense. Regardless of the reasons, everyone was going to be looking at me like I was a threat. That I was unstable or dangerous, or so Glenn told me. Therefore, I had to prove them wrong; I had to prove to everyone that I was only dangerous to the gangs and wanted to save and protect others.
All of that, I knew, was going to be as hard as I expected it to be.
"When's your next power test session?" Dennis asked.
I opened my phone, looking through the texts. "My first one today doesn't start until an hour."
"Cool," Missy smiled. "That means you can hang us with us for an hour! I can introduce you to Carlos while we're at it!"
"And get your check-up out of the way," Victoria added as she looked to her sister. "If Amy doesn't mind, that is."
The freckled healer shrugged her shoulders. It was better to get this out of the way, I guess. She bookmarked her page and got up, walking around the table and sitting down next to me. "Give me your hand, please."
I held out my hand. "This isn't gonna hurt, right?"
"Not unless I'm using scalpels and needles," Amy replied cheekily as she took her hands into mine. Her hands were small and smooth, almost delicate to the touch. She tightened her grip for a moment, face scrunched up in concentration. Seconds later, she looked utterly baffled. "What the…" She squeezed my hand tighter and frowned, confusion becoming more and more prominent. "This is… How is this…?"
The Wards, Victoria and I all glanced at each other. Missy turned to Panacea in worry. "Uh, is everything okay with Taylor? I mean, there's nothing wrong with her body, right?"
Amy didn't answer.
"Ames? Hello, Amy Dallon? Earth to Panacea?" Victoria waved a hand in front of Amy's face. When her sister gave no reaction, she snapped her fingers. Amy jumped and let go of my hand. "Okay, seriously, you're making us worry. What's up with the new girl that you went into the zone?"
"I was what?"
"You were out of it," Chris pointed out to her. "Vicky was trying to get your attention, but you didn't notice."
I was starting to get worried. What was it about me that made Amy act like that? "I'm not secretly dying, am I?"
"What? No, you're not. Your perfectly healthy," Amy shook her head. "But your biology…" She sucked in a breath and stared, hard. "I'll be frank, I barely even recognize it as that of a human being's. Your cells, bone structure, muscle fibers, nervous system; they function like a human's, but their make-up is all wrong…"
Shudders ran down my backside. "What?"
"That's not all. Those aren't tattoo's on your body, they're a lymphatic system that's recycling stuff in your body, stuff I can't make heads or tails of."
Wait, they're what?!
"Wait, hang on a second, did you say her tattoos are a lymphatic system?!" Dennis spluttered. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that just a bunch of nerves and organs that dump waste and toxins in your body?
"They are, but that's not what's weird. It's her horn."
"W-what is it?" I smiled shakily. "Y-you're not about to tell me it's some kind of extra organ or something, are you?"
Panacea shook her head. "It's not an extra organ, Taylor. It's a second brain."
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