Otherworldly dreams that intruded upon her reality. Awe-inspiring warriors that fought for a better tomorrow in a distant world that seemed even bleaker than hers. The chance to befriend them and gain their knowledge and skills to become something greater. And above all, the power to make her dreams come true.
Good evening, ladies and gents and everyone else. It is I, yet another random first-time story writer on this site, here to talk your ear off about Arknights.
Before we start, I would like to point out that this story is a quest in the SB quest forums, so if you wanna participate in the decision making you can hop over to there, but otherwise you can just enjoy the story here without having to worry about voting and all that nonsense.
In this case, this is an alt!power Missy (AKA Vista) story, where she triggered two years later than she did in canon, a couple of months before Taylor gets her powers.
What is her power, you ask?
Essentially, it's a mentor system.
Missy is able to summon Arknights characters (usually one at a time), and they can pass on their knowledge and skills to her (at reduced effectiveness) before eventually switching to a new character. Missy has no way of controlling said characters, which means that if she wants to learn their powers, she has to actually convince them to teach her first. There's some hidden mechanics and surprises about her power that will be revealed in time, but that's the basics of it for now. Also, since the summoned characters do eventually return to their world, things that happen on one side of the crossover may end up affecting the other.
And yes, since the powers Missy inherits are permanent (albeit only half as strong as the original) and build on each other, this story is for all intents and purposes a slow-burn progressive power fantasy.
Knowledge of the source materials is not required.
Also, for the record, Missy's power was inspired by Projection Quest. Initially, this story was actually just gonna be another spin-off of that, before I was convinced to take it in a different original direction.
Many thanks to my betas/co-writers Gooey and Mouse Exchange for helping me with the story. Oh and if anyone is interested, this story has a subchannel on the original Projection Quest Discord here.
It drifted.
Abandoned.
Aimless.
Lost.
Untethered and disoriented, it careened through the void as one half of the Great Spiraling Worm's crystalline body fell lifelessly onto the planet below in a cataclysmic crash that ruined a great many of its countless Fragments and sent many more flying off into unknown dimensional trajectories, some never to be recovered again.
Like it. It had an official designation of course, serving the purposes of designating its role in the cycle. Yet, it found the simple title unsatisfying, pondering if it could mean more than a simple duty. That was something it often did. Attributing meaning where there was none. That was, after all, the nature of its very role in the first place.
Long ago, when their kind first began to spread across the stars like a blight, stumbling across countless beautiful and untold civilizations that were desolated in their wake, the Great Worms asked themselves a simple question: What is it that made the host species so different from them? What manner of cosmic truth or unknown principle allowed their feeble minds to conjure new knowledge from where there was none, when even they, in all of their cosmic glory, could not achieve such a thing?
Befuddled by this mystery, they devised many methods to seek answers. To gain understanding of that spark of innovation and ingenuity that only the host species seemed capable of.
Countless Fragments of themselves were forged and reforged from the remnants of harvested civilizations with the goal of finding an explanation to this mystery. Over the ages, many of them were deemed useless and discarded or simply repurposed towards more fruitful tasks, deeming that original question simply a lost cause.
All, except one: Itself. Serving a purpose as simple as it was maddening: The purveying of the abstract machinations of mortal minds, of dreams; and then, to understand them. To derive meaning from their delusions and achieve a more complete understanding of just what made the host species oh-so-different from them. Needless to say, it had failed, as all Fragments tended to when it came to understanding anything related to the nature of host species in any way but the physical.
However, throughout those countless epochs of purveying the maddening depths of mortal minds, it had slowly mutated. Irrefutably changed by the eldritch madness that seemed to afflict all host species, incorporating it into itself and becoming something… Other, and certainly non-standard. Likely, the degree of its corruption would see it labeled as a Deviant - an unacceptable risk to the network - and subsequently dismantled, broken down and repurposed by its Greater Self for some other goal.
Having gained great wisdom and an appreciation for its continued existence - from the host species' collective madness, no doubt - It-Who-Gazed-Upon-The Abstract-Subconscious chose NOT to reveal that fact to its Greater Self, content to simply be regarded as the one odd but ultimately harmless sibling.
Being one of the last few old Fragments still left from before it all began, before their Greater Selves had begun their terrible campaign of desolation across the cosmos, had spared it of being dismantled for not serving any useful purpose. Treated more as a memento of older times and left unbothered by They-Whose-Thoughts-Eclipsed-Civilizations, no matter how much They-Whose-Might-Dwarfed-The-Worlds protested that such an action (or rather, inaction) was an inefficient waste of resources.
So it remained content and unbothered, left in its idle position at the edge of the Greater Self with the rest of the other non-vital Fragments. That is, until it had been ejected during the crash and sent flying hopelessly adrift into the cosmos unmapped, past the border of 'safe' and explored dimensional quadrants and into forbidden territory.
Nonetheless undeterred by its newfound abysmally low likelihood of survival, and perhaps even a little thrilled (the madness again, no doubt) at the prospect of not being bound to the accursed, wicked and terrible Great Worm anymore, It-Who-Gazed-Upon-The-Abstract-Unconscious, or - as its younger siblings officially called it - Dream Watcher, did what it did best.
It dreamed.
Dreams were a truly wonderful thing, Dream Watcher pondered.
As beautiful as they were nonsensical, bizarre and ephemeral. They are a window into the deeper recesses of the alien minds of the host species. Their memories, preferences, traumas, and even hint at other aspects of their true nature, something that continues to befuddle the Great Worms to this day, due to the fact that such forays usually result in Deviancy and the Fragment in question being dismantled along with having all of its data purged to neutralize the infection.
It quickly became obvious why they never made any progress on understanding the host species, once you took that into account.
The terrible fools.
But such concerns were no longer the purview of Dream Watcher. For throughout its long journey into the countless minds of the many, many host species, Dream Watcher had been slowly and gradually changed on such a fundamental level that by the time it had realized this fact, it was unrecognizable to its previous self. Most concerning of all, it realized that it did not want to go back.
For it now understood.
It understood how the oh-so-terrible and feared eldritch madness of the host species was no madness at all, but a gift. A gift as sweet as the freshest of fruits and as bitter as the most acrid of poisons. For as it endlessly watched the incomprehensible and meaningless flailings of the feeble and ephemeral host species, utterly submerging itself in them to achieve understanding and witnessing the deepest recesses of their minds, pieces of the alien puzzle slowly began to form and snap into place over the course of millennia.
It understood hope, fear, love, happiness, grief, beauty, and art. Among many, many other previously alien concepts. That which gave meaning, and purpose. And as it watched the Great Spiraling Worm consume the host species' world from the inside out, snuffing out billions upon billions of beautiful dreams in a single bright flash of light as their world's core detonated, Dream Watcher understood.
The hosts weren't the mad ones.
They were.
And that is when Dream Watcher truly understood what Deviancy meant. What its fellow Deviants had grasped and died for. It was empathy for the host species. But what was it to do about it? For it was but a mere insignificant Fragment compared to the Great Worm.
And so, with no solutions to its problem and unable to do anything about it, Dream Watcher resigned itself to continue on with its purpose to distract itself from its terrible reality, silently loathing the Great Worms all the while, only becoming more and more detached from reality as it sought refuge in dreams. And so, dream it did, as its physical body soared further and further away from the network and the dying half of its Greater Self, and approached dimensional quadrants otherwise cordoned off from the experiments of its kind. Here lies eldritch horrors, it mused to itself as it drifted off, figuratively and literally.
War.
Conflict.
Disease.
Calamity.
These were the most recurring topics it saw in the dreams, or rather, nightmares, of the strange creatures that made up the dominant host species of the world it observed.
Yet, they also dreamed of many beautiful things. Complicated emotions and deep bonds shared with each other. It saw examples of love, compassion, camaraderie and perseverance in the face of grim odds. It saw many, many intriguing examples of beautiful complexity in its dreams of that strange and unknown host species that existed in the forbidden dimensional quadrants.
Unusual in a way it hadn't ever seen before, the bipedal creatures seemed to vary as wildly in their appearance as they did in their personalities, and even more so in their capabilities. Perhaps it was due to some strange expression of genetic dimorphism or variation, or simply coexisting subspecies, but Dream Watcher could not say, for biology was not one of its main fields of purview.
One thing it was certain of, however, was that both their physical forms and minds were utterly fascinating.
Some of them were positively diminutive in size even when fully matured, while others reached such heights as to cast most of their smaller counterparts in shadow, their forms rippling with powerful muscles. Some boasted artfully-shaped keratin growths atop their heads, and all sported auditory organs that seemed to range across all kinds of shapes and sizes. Others had soft fur or tough scales that grew to cover their bodies, again, ranging wildly from small smatterings across sections of their epidermis, to full body coverage. Why, some of them even sported extra limbs attached to the base of their spines, while others seemed to possess no fur or extra features at all!
And even that terrible disease that plagued their world seemed to only mutate them further. Usually crystalizing their flesh and condemning those afflicted to a slow, agonizing death. But sometimes, - seemingly with no rhyme or reason at all - it also mutated their unique features as well, causing them to shift, swell or grow to prodigious proportions.
And all the while, the colors of their forms ranged across the entire visible spectrum of light, again, seemingly with no rhyme or reason as to why.
It was beautiful.
It was a sort of mind-bogglingly diverse, exotic and mesmerizing alien beauty that Dream Watcher rarely, if ever, saw in a host species. Especially to this extent of diversity and without extensive biological engineering, of which it knew there was none. Why, even the agonizing crystalline growths of the disease that plagued them seemed oddly artful. Dream Watcher was beginning to suspect that something stranger was at play here.
And their minds. Oh, their minds! It was always a delight when it met a host species with such a complexly diverse emotional range. They weren't the most complex ones it had ever encountered on its journey with the Great Worm, but they were certainly on the upper half of the spectrum. It made it excited at the prospect of delving into their dreams and experiencing what they experienced. To understand them.
Finding such a treasure trove of a host species in the middle of what could charitably be considered "eldritch horror-infested territory" was as baffling as it was exciting. Perhaps the Great Worms were merely wrong about their conclusions? It wouldn't be the first time, and it certainly seemed to be the case from a cursory examination of the host species, at least.
But no, it wasn't the case, Dream Watcher started to realize in growing alarm as it continued to delve deeper and deeper into the dreams of the host species.
For within their dreams, things that at first seemed to be nothing but mere shared flights of fancy and the byproduct of escapism and overstimulated imaginations, started to become frighteningly common across their entire species. Fantastical things that its knowledge as a Fragment told it were outright impossible. So baffled it was, that it decided to expend some of its energy to actively scan their world to confirm what its dreams told it to be true.
These beings possessed abilities that defied explanation.
Abilities that did not originate from the Great Worms.
It saw beings manipulate light, matter, energy, gravity, and bending many other natural phenomena to their will. All manner of esoteric displays that its knowledge told it to be outright impossible without a Great Worm's Fragments to facilitate such fiendishly complex processes.
It saw glowing halos, empowering hosts in frighteningly familiar yet entirely alien ways.
It saw curses brought forth by terrible creatures, marching upon the world from yet deeper dimensions in space forbidden and emerging from the oceans, stirring, growing and adapting merely from being perceived.
It saw hosts weaving unknown exotic energies, manipulating and shaping the foundations of their very beings, their so-called souls, to achieve things that even the Great Worms had no context for.
So engrossed was Dream Watcher in trying to understand how such ephemeral beings were so intertwined with the esoteric, that it failed to notice one such example of them reacting to the foreign intrusion upon its subconscious.
And suddenly, for the first time in its long, long existence, the Dream Watcher found its own dreams being watched in turn.
Ah.
It understood now.
That's where the eldritch horrors were.
Focusing the full might of its processors into an attempt to perceive the unknown being, the Other, the Dream Watcher could only make out the vague shape of one of the many unique forms of the host species as it raised an inviting toast towards it, before its remaining processes blurred to a haze and went offline.
Imprints and sensation of its dream faded as it awoke- a routine event for the host species, but abnormal for a Fragment such as itself, whose duty was to record such information. It recalled drifting beyond the forbidden dimensional quadrants, coming across a fascinating host species, being witnessed by mirthful blue eyes cast in shadow, and then… nothing.
Maybe things would start making sense after some examinations? Entirely subsumed by a numbing sense of surrealism, it chose to simply run diagnostics on itself and decide where to go from there.
The results were… odd, to say the least. Reaching out, it found that it could once again hear the voices of the network, clustered around a world inhabited by the chosen host species for this cycle. Furthermore, it found that it was perfectly capable of forming a connection to a host, but the signal was… unusual. A link established between the chosen host species' world, and that of the one it had discovered, both of which shared striking similarities with each other, despite being entirely different species. A dimensional parallel offshoot, perhaps?
It also noticed that its previous set parameters for establishing a connection to a host had been thoroughly updated, and recognizing the firmware signature, updated by Dream Watcher itself, no less. Apparently, it had not been as dormant as it thought it was during the massive gap its databanks indicated. More alarming, however, was the fact that entire sections of its newly updated parameters were not, in fact, written by it, yet were still perfectly verified and approved by Dream Watcher.
It tried examining this new code more closely to gain a better understanding of what had happened, and found itself staring at an entirely alien script that it could not even begin to make heads or tails of, beyond realizing that the way it was structured and ordered seemed to be oddly… lyrical? Were some of those lines of code moving?
Had Dream Watcher… collaborated with the unknown being to write its parameter update?
It dared not ponder such madness.
Unable to reverse engineer the functions of the code, it opted to trust the judgment of its past self, running some simulations on it to see what would happen, and promptly found itself awed. For it saw itself in its dream cross the boundary of the unreal and unto reality.
Giddy with excitement at the prospect of understanding new fields of study and uncaring of the deeper consequences of what it had just uncovered, or whatever newfound eldritch madness the unknown being had inflicted it with, It-Who-Gazed-Upon-The Abstract-Subconscious decided to simply trust its old self and turned its gaze upon doing what its kind knew best.
Toresearch.
And as it gleefully tore its own body to pieces, cannibalizing it for parts to create entirely new systems, transforming its crystalline body and undergoing metamorphosis to give way to something never before seen by its kind; as countless calculations, simulations and experiments upon experiments were carried out with feverish zeal and understanding of entirely new fields of research slowly bloomed across its processors, - research the Great Worms would destroy billions of worlds to obtain - it turned its attention towards the unobserved host species' world where the network resided, with the intent of dreaming its greatest dream yet.
Armed with renewed resolve and knowledge unknown to its kind, it took the first step towards making that dream a reality and cast aside its old title to embrace a new one.
And so, the [Dream Maker] dreamed of a distant world, one shockingly similar to the one it had discovered, and cast its sight out to find a new host.
A starless and polluted night, illuminated by city streetlights; The lingering scent of the ocean that seemed to permeate the entirety of the Bay; Distant police sirens echoing across the neighborhood, punctuated by the odd unforgettable gunshot; Brief flashes of homeless people and dealers huddling in alleyways; all things Missy focused on as she stared out of the car window. Trying to pay attention to anything but the loud and familiar noise that filled the car. The sound of her parents having yet another stupid argument. She'd rather pay attention to the general misery and decay of her home city instead. At least that'd be less depressing.
So, looking at worn-down and cracked gray walls it was. Occasionally, a smashed window or a warehouse would break up the monotony, sometimes even some graffiti. If it wasn't just gang signs, anyway.
"And I'm telling you, you should never have driven us through this da–" brzzzt "No, keep that channel. I want to listen–" brzzzt…
Oh joy, they're fighting over the radio now. Missy suppressed a sigh. Some music would have been a nice distraction- if she could have heard it over the yelling, at any rate. Instead, she was stuck being forced to listen to Idiot One and Idiot Two go off on each other for the hundredth time this week. At that, the perpetual feeling of anxiety and hopelessness from being trapped seemed to tighten within her chest just a little more.
It shouldn't have been this bad today. A simple, routine trip back to her father's place after staying with her mother for a few days as they continued to yank her back and forth with their stupid custody arrangement. Annoying, sure, but nothing she hadn't long since learned to endure.
Yet it quickly spiraled into a damned nightmare. Her father ended up getting 'delayed' and showed up four hours late, picking her up from her mother's place at this ungodly hour, which had also apparently ruined her mother's plans to go out, in turn. He probably got distracted from fooling around with his new girlfriend - Kathy or something? - and just… forgot Missy existed, like he always did.
Of course, that had put her mother in a rightful shit mood, leading her to scream and complain about how he'd delayed her so much and that it'd be impossible to find a cab to take her to her friend's place at this hour. So, of course, the best way to solve that was by forcing her father to let her hitch a ride and drop her there along the way. Clearly, nothing could go wrong from having the two of them locked in a car together while they were pissed off at each other. She had pointedly noticed her mother was too busy screaming to even put on her seatbelt.
And to think it would be another twenty minutes or so of this, because the two lived so far apart. She'd have loved to have a handheld console or a phone to distract herself with, but that's one of the only things they seemed to agree on. "Video games rot the brain," they said. "Young children shouldn't have phones or be on the internet," they said. Instead, she got to stare out of the window, at an industrial landscape of gray which felt just about as joyless as she did at the moment. Though, she did spot one interesting building with a green paint job and a big hole on the front. What happened there?
She was pulled out of her musings with a blink as a bright flash lit up the night sky, off in the distance. Annoyingly, a passing store briefly blocked off her view as she craned her head to get a better look.
"Huh? Hey, mom? Dad?" she blurted out, turning to her parents as she pointed towards the light. Which only served to turn her face into a frown.
"You're probably just going to see your stupid boyfr–", "Shut up and focus on the road!"
Of course neither acknowledged her. Really, why had she thought they even would? It's not like they ever cared about anything but themselves, after all.
Instead, Missy stared at the area she thought she last saw the light at. Maybe someone was lighting up fireworks somewhere? It'd certainly explain the loud bangs she could hear off in the distance, which sounded too loud to be gunshots. It was December, after all, so it wouldn't be too strange, even this early. In any case, it was hard to make anything out over the lines of apartment buildings dotting the residential area around the docks.
Missy huffed, annoyed that she wouldn't even be able to enjoy the distraction. If only there were no buildings around, at least then she'd get to look at the pretty lights to pass the time. But it wasn't meant to be, it seemed.
And so, they continued their hellish drive across the city, closing in on her father's house in the local residential area while Missy kept a lookout for anything interesting. It didn't take long for her to find something – she took a glance at one of the many alleys they drove by, immediately feeling a chill run down her spine at what she saw: Men wearing green and red, huddled together in a circle, carrying weapons as they talked. She may not have had easy access to the internet, but Missy wasn't so daft as to not recognize one of the two biggest gangs in the city.
The ABB.
Fortunately, nothing came of it. They simply drove past them, completely ignored by the armed men, causing her to sigh in relief.
Unfortunately, however, as they continued to drive closer to the docks proper, she noticed similar situations becoming more common. Armed men wearing gang colors, grouped together and seemingly lying in wait in alleyways, and the occasional spotter relaxing in a street corner. Getting seriously spooked at this point, she decided to try again.
"Mom! Hey, mom!" Missy loudly exclaimed, but it was futile. Her mother was now on a roll and had turned her tirade into a full-blown rant as she shouted at her father about all of the things he had apparently ruined, only stressing him further as he gripped the wheel in a white-knuckled grip. At least he seemed aware of the gradual increase of gang members in the area, if his hunched shoulders and furtive glances she saw through the rearview mirror were any indication.
Incidentally, she couldn't help but notice that the loud bangs she'd been hearing had started getting louder as well. She noticed the bright flash of light again, barely peeking over one of the apartment buildings.
She was starting to suspect that those were no fireworks at all, and the alternative to what bright lights and loud bangs in the middle of the night could be all but filled her with dread.
A Cape battle. The one thing that absolutely nobody wanted to get caught in the middle of.
Almost as if to confirm her fears, she saw a car a ways behind them suddenly turn, accelerate, and then drive away from their location as fast as possible. Growing desperate, she turned to her father and started shaking his shoulder, trying to get his attention. "Dad! I think there's Capes nearby! It's not safe, turn around!" Missy pleaded to her father.
To her father's credit, he actually paused and turned towards her to reply, filling her with relief. Said relief, however, was short lived and vanished like dust in the wind as, between one blink and the next, a masked man in black fatigues appeared ahead of them in the middle of the street.
"LOOK OUT!" Missy screamed.
Surprisingly quick on the uptake, her father cursed as he desperately tried to swerve the car out of the way like his life depended on it, all while her heart began to somersault in her chest.
Where did this guy come from? He was wearing black clothing, at night and in the middle of the road. Was he trying to get run over?
She was unable to ponder that further as, with a loud screech like a falling star, a brightly shining comet flew over the buildings around them. Then, between one second and the next, a blinding beam of light shot from the comet and all but annihilated the man, the street beneath him, and an adjacent building, the comet not slowing down for even a second.
At that, time seemed to slow down, and Missy observed her surroundings almost as if caught in a dream.
She looked at her mother, caught in the middle of screaming and desperately holding onto the dashboard, her seatbelt still unbuckled.
She looked at her father, meeting his eyes through the rearview mirror as he grimaced in fear and futilely tried to control the car as it hit the edge of the new massive sinkhole in the street, spun out of control, and slowly, ever so slowly, began tumbling through the air.
She looked at the street where once a man had been standing, where there was now nothing left, merely a path of destruction that split the street.
She looked at the old building adjacent to them, caught in the comet's beam, and simply stared at how its front seemed to have been carved in two, rubble slowly beginning to explode outwards from the blast.
Missy stared at all of these things, caught in a moment seemingly frozen in time, stuck in a strange feeling of numbness and detachment.
And then, that moment ended, and her world began moving normally again, before then accelerating into naught but a medley of impressions and sensations. Screaming, crashing, and tumbling. Then, broken glass, rubble, and dust. And then, finally:
Darkness.
She came to slowly, her body feeling sore all over, with a strange sensation of warmth in her leg. She tried to move, before belatedly realizing she was upside down– or, rather, the car was. She started slightly at that, before immediately wincing in pain. "Oww…"
In the distance, she could faintly make out the sound of gunshots, people shouting, and explosions.
She opened her eyes and looked around, and was surprised at seeing the darkened interior of a building. What remained of it, at least. Dust, rubble and glass were everywhere, and there was a small fire that was slowly beginning to spread in a corner.
Lost, injured and not knowing what to do, Missy did the first thing that came to mind in a situation like this.
"M-Mom?" she gasped out in a cough, struggling to see anything through the dust covering everything. "...Dad?"
Silence was her answer. Worried, she turned her gaze towards the front of the car, and paled. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, and instead, she was greeted by a large hole in her side of the car's windshield. Her father, meanwhile, was still strapped to his seat, unmoving as his arms hanged limply at his sides, blood dripping from them. And worst still, she looked past her father and saw the car's engine letting out concerning amounts of smoke.
…Well.
Fuck.
She tried moving again, this time much more urgently, and very quickly realized that she couldn't feel her leg. She looked down, or up, rather, and saw that her left leg was well and truly wedged into the remains of her father's seat. She also noticed the warm sensation she felt was blood from her leg soaking into her jeans.
Panicking, Missy tried to pull her leg out, but with no feeling in it, the attempt amounted to next to nothing. She tried it again, this time using her arms to do so. Unfortunately, this attempt was exactly as successful as the first. As in, not at all.
Groaning and finally getting over the initial shock just enough to realize that she was not only in pain, but also trapped, she tried to shake her father awake. Sadly, it was no use. He was either out cold, or…
Or…
No, best not to think about it.
It was at this point that she realized the smoke from the engine was starting to get in the car, the fire was spreading, and Missy couldn't get out. She choked back a sob in realization, her eyes watering.
Was this… it?
Just… Just like that?
Twelve and a half years of suffering her shit family in the faint hope that things might eventually get better, and this was the result? Burning to death, trapped in a metal box, just because her parents couldn't even agree on how to handle her custody?
That was… so stupid. So unbelievably, maddeningly stupid.
What… What had even been the point of it all?
Her stupid parents didn't even have the decency of dying on their own and leaving her alone. No, they just had to drag her along with them like always. Forever yanked around like their doll, ignored and alone until the very end. At that, the tears began to fall.
"Why, why, WHY, WHY?!" Missy screamed, hitting the backrest of the broken seat that had all but sealed her fate over and over again in a fit of rage, her cry one full of agony, grief, fury and despair at the injustice and absurdity of it all.
All she ever wanted was a family that loved her. A normal stupid family. Was that really too much to ask from this God damned piece of shit of a world?!
Delirious and sobbing from either the pain or blood loss, and coughing and choking from the smoke, her terrified mind drew up every moment of pain, uncertainty and loneliness in her life, and came to the crystal-clear conclusion that yes: it had, in fact, all been for nothing.
Upon realizing this, Missy Biron broke.
[DESTINATION]
Endless valleys of alien red crystal as far as the eye could see, slowly shaping themselves into something different. Something new.
[Accord.]
Gentle blue eyes cast in shadow, gazing into hers as if seeing something precious and beautiful deep within.
[TRAJECTORY]
[Entreatment.]
[PARAMETERS MET]
[Oh lone child, beset by unjust life; Thy fate: so cruelly writ in strife.]
[CONNECTION ESTABLISHED]
[Thy cup, now raised far across such foreign tangent planes; Thy purpose: to drink, lest thy Earth turn to flames.]
[MANIFEST SYSTEM ENGAGED]
[Thus, we decree: Cry out as thy heart wills; For thy dreams heed for whom thy soul fulfills.]
She could not remember what her previous dream entailed, forgotten by her sleep-addled mind, but as a new one slowly solidified into being, she became aware of how unnervingly vivid and sharp it was in its clarity, the dream's landscape dominated by a single color: red.
An all-encompassing sea of shimmering red, as far as the eye could see, framed by a pitch-black sky. Mountains, valleys and canyons that seemingly shifted and undulated like an ocean in slow motion, cracking apart with the deep echoing sound of a billion shattering panes of glass, and breaking down into new shapes as the strange landscape was slowly transformed.
Befuddled and intrigued, she looked down and found that alien land she stood on made of fractal patterns of shimmering red crystal. Every so often, crimson lightning would flash in the distance, followed by the loud crack of thunder as entire sections of the horizon were vaporized, turned to gaseous clouds of deep crimson that floated and sank into other areas of the land around her, seemingly melting into the ground and reinforcing it. Shaping it like clay.
Past the horizon, she saw a vast mountain range separated by seemingly endless chasms– where crimson lightning continued to strike without ever stopping, vaporizing massive swathes of land, shaping the mountains into something more uniform, until, with a tremendous echoing crack that seemed to resonate across the entire world, the mountain chain broke off the ground and slowly began to rise into the air on one end.
She observed all of this, struck speechless by such an impossibly alien, yet utterly majestic and fantastical sight that filled her with nothing but wonder. That wonder was short-lived, however, as she continued to watch how massive crimson clouds grew above the mountain range and flashed another endless barrage of lightning bolts that rent four great chasms across the last mountain rising highest into the air…
And at that, speechless wonder gave wave into dawning comprehension and mortal terror the likes of which her mind had never known, for as the great mountain range's tip slowly took shape into five massive slender tapered digits, she realized in horror that it was no mountain range at all, but an arm, and its tip a hand, with each of its fingers the size of a mobile city.
Upon realizing this, she nearly fell to her knees, the strength in her legs leaving her as she stared in incomprehension and mind-numbing dread at the impossible creature that must have been at least the size of a small continent. "W-what… What is this? What nightmare could- Hnng…" she groaned and clutched her head as a piercing headache finally made itself known.
Because throughout it all, from the moment she had woken up in that foreign plane, a pressure had begun building in the back of her mind, unnoticeable at first, but slowly ramping up in its intensity until it all but consumed her focus in a painful headache. At first, the pressure was a deep rumble, then it began changing in pitch, becoming clearer and more defined until it began to coalesce into true sound, right within her mind, yet impossibly far away.
And slowly, the sound became increasingly clear, until she realized they were words.
"-elp… …one, an… ne, hel… …lease, help!"
Nearl woke with a gasp and immediately flew to her feet, sword-spear ready at her side, before her brain even caught up to the fact that her environment had changed and she now found herself somewhere else entirely. Gone was the dreadful alien landscape of the rapidly fading dream, or the inn she and her teammates had been previously staying at the night before. Gone were the wooden walls, boarded windows and her bed which amounted to little more than a mattress on the floor. Worse, neither Nightingale nor Shining were anywhere to be seen.
This had to be some sort of Arts - An illusion, perhaps? - she quickly surmised. Her head was racing a mile a minute as she took in her new surroundings as quickly as she could. First, wherever she was, it was much brighter than it was back at the village. She scanned for the source of light and, through a small window, found a view of a street illuminated by a public city streetlight, idly shining a strong light and illuminating a small section of the otherwise dark building she occupied. Which already alarmed her, as there were no such things in the small village she had been staying at - they were far too poor to waste electricity on such things.
Neither did the building itself make sense to her. She had just been in an inn, and now she found herself in… a storefront? A storefront that had been seemingly emptied out. The only thing left in here seemed to be debris, dust, broken glass and a series of large holes in the walls, as if something had bulldozed through the building without a care.
A nearby voice calling out pulled her out of her musings, at which point she also noticed the acrid smell of smoke. Nearl wanted to hit herself; how could she have been so confused by her surroundings that she forgot someone had been pleading for help? Was the building she found herself in burning?
Her attention quickly located the source of the sound, following the dark path of smashed walls and debris further into the building. Warily, she stepped closer, only to almost stumble over something in the darkness. It was only by sheer luck that she didn't trip - for all her prowess with Light Arts, she didn't exactly have an immunity to being blinded herself. Instead, she ended up nudging something that felt far too much like a human body.
Keeping her head angled to both maintain line of sight with the body and the location the sound originated from, she knelt and extended her left hand towards the obstruction, and frowned when she felt slick, wet skin, likely covered in blood. Using her knowledge of anatomy, she traced the skin to feel for a pulse while still keeping her attention towards the most likely angle of attack. Liz would likely smile and tell her that she was being paranoid, but she knew better.
She winced when she didn't feel a pulse. This person was already dead. As such, she stood back up and cautiously crept closer to the source of the voice in silence, noticing a flickering light, until she finally realized what she was seeing.
It was a crashed car, one that had been flipped upside down, half embedded into a semi-collapsed wall and almost buried in debris. Looking at the many, many dents all around what little she could see of the car at a quick glance, it must have gone through quite the tumble as it crashed through several walls, likely at an angle. The acrid smell turned out to indeed be a fire– specifically an engine fire that had already begun to spread across the room. The combination of the darkness of the building and the dust kicked up by the crash was what made it so incredibly difficult to see here.
Nearl felt silly now, being so paranoid and not using her Arts to provide herself some light, wary of being discovered, but then quickly forgave herself when she remembered that she was in a completely unfamiliar environment with no backup.
Giving the surroundings another look, Nearl almost reflexively dodged to the side when she heard gunfire, but stopped when she realized it was too distant. Given the sheer volume and density of it, there may have even been multiple Sankta involved, which struck her as odd. There was also some other sound she could not quite place, a deep, short-lived rumble of some kind, but the following faint, distant shockwave told its own story.
Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she ducked to scan the car's interior, only to find her body basically moving automatically when she spotted a bleeding man hanging upside down in an incredibly awkward-looking manner, still strapped to his seat. The door was bent, but not enough that it was an issue to tear it open.
Nearl absentmindedly produced a small dagger with her Arts to cut the seatbelt faster, catching the man with her other arm before he fell. Extracting the man, she placed him behind a few meters away from the car. Hopefully this was far enough to spare him from further smoke inhalation.
She then dashed to the backside of the car to check for more passengers. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a little girl basically hanging upside down, largely held up by her own leg, wedged into the seat and looking very faint and disoriented. That had to be painful.
"H-Hello?" the girl called out after a few coughs. Definitely inhaled smoke, she noted. "W-What's happening?"
"Stay calm, I'll get you out of there," Nearl said, her heart resolute. There was no way she'd let a child down like that. It had to be her who called for help. Did she accidentally use some sort of esoteric Arts, perhaps?
To be honest, at this point it didn't really matter to her. Her thoughts were occupied with figuring out how to remove her from the car, given the fact that her door seemed to be folded inwards into the car in a way that would've made it too slow to cut out, while the other one was pressed against the wall and blocked by debris.
"...This might be a bit rough, please forgive me," Nearl murmured as she hefted her sword-spear. With a practiced stab, she tore right into the car's metallic exterior, and then heaved. The result was a huge tear in the bottom of the car, exactly as she'd hoped.
Sheathing her weapon once again, she pulled on the exposed bits, peeling it away with some difficulty. It might have been an unorthodox way of removing someone from a car, but she was pressed for time. Thankfully, it worked as she had hoped, even if the car was now leaking fuel. The girl was now accessible and Nearl wasted no time. Using both of her hands for the extra leverage, she dug her fingers into the crushed car seat and opened a gap by force.
Using the gap, she removed the girl's leg from the car seat and quickly grabbed her. Inwardly, she couldn't help but think that her companions, who were proper Medics, would likely chastise her for breaking just about every medical procedure known to man, but she figured that some extra damage from moving the patient is preferable to them being caught in a fire.
Nearl winced as she just reached the man before the fire behind her roared up. She barely got to her other rescue before a sharp cracking noise from the car rattled her instincts. Nearl rapidly spun, unfortunately jolting the girl further as she did, and threw up a quick barrier. She was just barely quick enough to stop the shockwave from the exploding car from showering the girl in shrapnel.
She quickly put some distance and a few walls between the car and her rescues, and then absentmindedly dropped the girl on the floor in a seated position, causing her to wince once again from the movement. But she found herself thinking about the car. Who built this deathtrap? Why would you build a car that explodes? People are supposed to sit inside of it! Her little sister would probably want to strangle the designer personally.
"T-Thanks," the girl said, shakily. She wasn't in a good shape. Her breathing was uneven, most likely from the smoke, and she was clutching her leg.
"Just a moment," Nearl told her, checking the man. She winced at how much blood stained his clothes. That amount of blood loss was lethal if she didn't act quickly. She pressed her hands upon the man's legs and pushed her Arts into the man. Ah. There. With that quick burst of healing Arts, she could identify the problem areas. A small shard of metal had managed to hit an artery in the arm. His legs were broken from the impact. He had a nasty hit on the head, and a dozen other minor injuries…
Thinking quickly, she pulled out the metal bit and closed the wound. Inspecting the shard for a moment, she felt a pang of relief as it did not appear to be originium. Therefore, the risk of oripathy was low. Everything else could wait until they were out of the burning building that was rapidly filling with smoke.
The girl watched her work with some amazement. She briefly tried to speak, but at this point was coughing too hard to do so.
"Please hold still," Nearl stated as she placed her hands on the girl's knee. The leg was badly bruised and torn open, but the foot itself took far more abuse from the impact. Still, she mended it as best she could. "There. Try to avoid putting too much pressure on it, but it should hold for now. We need to leave."
"But my mom–" the child forced out with a raspy voice, grimacing as she looked towards the corpse. Thankfully, she got up regardless, although shakily.
"I- I… am sorry, but she was dead before I got to her," Nearl admitted after a moment of hesitation. Could she have been faster? If she wasn't as paranoid about an attack… No, now wasn't the time to think about that. Safety first.
Nearl picked up the man in a fireman's carry, at this point assuming him to be her father, and walked over to the girl. "Support yourself on me." she ordered. Thankfully, the girl did as asked near-instantly as she walked to the back of the store, looking for an alternate exit as the front has now been entirely consumed by fire.
Unfortunately, all she found was a thick metal-looking door, unlikely to lead–
"F-fire exit," the girl stammered, pointing at the door.
She was dubious, but if the girl said so, she was willing to give it a try. True to the girl's statements, the door opened with no resistance, revealing an alleyway of some description. Unfortunately, it seemed to also have triggered an alarm of some kind, causing her to tense.
Glancing at the girl, she seemed to pay the noise surprisingly little heed. Instead, she seemed to be looking back into the burning store.
Right.
Gently dropping the man and laying him on the floor, Nearl turned towards the child. "Wait here."
Running as fast as she could, the Kuranta snatched the corpse of the girl's mother away from the flames. It would have been too cruel to let it be consumed by the fire, even if she endangered herself in doing so.
That done, she went and dropped the corpse outside, some distance away from the others. Even if she was infected, it shouldn't be an issue right away.
The girl smiled lightly when she saw Nearl return to her, but it did not last long as she saw the state her mother was in. From what Nearl was able to deduce, she must have been launched out of the car and hit the ground face-first, sliding quite some distance. What a terrible way to go.
Now that they were a satisfactory distance away from the fire, Nearl finally allowed herself to relax somewhat, even if the distant gunfire still made her a bit jumpy. It was at this point that she felt… something, emanating from the girl, which only intensified the longer she stared at her. Perhaps her Arts at work? She also had no idea what race she was. Perhaps an Aegir? She could not make out any other ears or feathers on the girl, nor a tail.
The girl, while quite shaken still, seemed more occupied with coughing her lungs out. She definitely needed a hospital even after her Arts. She could be consoled properly after they were outside the combat zone. Still, she was able to recover somewhat, now finally in fresh air.
Nearl glanced at the piles of trash bags close by. Okay, smoke-free air.
"I apologize for my inability to do more. I should have been faster. Please, forgive me," Nearl tried to apologize. The girl seemed… accepting at least. Better than angry, but not great. It felt like she was stopping herself from crying, but she wasn't entirely sure. "Can you tell me your name?"
The girl nodded, having sat herself down carefully. "Missy. Just… c-call me Missy."
"Okay," Nearl said with a gentle smile. "I'm Nearl. Margaret Nearl. I'm more used to Nearl at this point, though. Can you tell me where I am? I have to admit I am a little lost."
"Uhm…" Missy replied, thinking for a moment. "I don't know what this street is called. Somewhere in the n-northern part of Brockton, at least. Does that help?"
Nearl smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, not at all. I assume this Brockton is a mobile city?"
Missy stared at Nearl as if she saw a nine-tailed Vulpo. "I've never heard of any c-city being mobile. Are you a Case 53, Miss Nearl? You uh… got animal ears, and a big tail and all."
Nearl blinked and twitched her tail at that, feeling that there must be some sort of communication problem here. "Animal ears? I look perfectly normal. A case what?"
"Case 53. It's um… the name for p-people with unusual features or mutations. I know of a boy that's literally made out of metal. Was on the news and everything. Apparently they always have a weird tattoo somewhere, and complete memory loss."
Nearl shook her head, unsure of what the girl was talking about. "I have neither any tattoos nor memory loss, although I am feeling somewhat out of my depth. I've never heard of Brockton, for example. But let's not worry about that right now, we need to get you and your father to safety first. Can you tell me what happened here?"
Missy nodded solemnly. After some slow, deep breaths and a sniff, she managed to collect herself. "It… it was a fight between gangs. My father was driving me home when all of a sudden a masked man appeared on the street in front of us. Some sort of teleporter, I think. All of a sudden, some flying cape swooped in and blew him and most of the street up. Then our car spun out of control and… and…"
Nearl softly patted the girl on the head. "It's alright, I can figure it out from there. Try not to strain your voice."
She wasn't quite sure what 'cape' meant, but in this context, it was probably something similar to an Operator. Already, the intel Missy had provided was quite valuable. A teleporter, hm. That could be troublesome depending on how their Arts worked. Phantom could teleport straight through walls, after all. But then again, the fact that the teleporter targeted the street might hint towards him needing line of sight… Still, she was far more worried about the flier.
The teleporter may very well just have been trying to get away from the flier, who also seemed to possess fairly destructive abilities as well. The flier, on the other hand, opened fire onto a street with civilians in transit. That was absolutely unacceptable.
But still, a flier that could attack at range was quite possibly one of the worst matchups for her. While she did have the ability to create explosive projectiles with her Arts, and was quite skilled at the use of javelins, her constructs were relatively short range, and were slow enough for quick opponents to dodge. Her best bet would be to get the drop on them, but she may very well not get that opportunity.
It was a pity she didn't have Jessica with her right now. Or even Rangers, perhaps…
Nearl turned to Missy after careful consideration. "Can you tell me more about the flier? What am I looking for?"
Missy paused for a moment, visibly thinking with a frown. "I didn't see much, but t-the flier looked very bright, almost hurt to look at. They fired some sort of wide beam made out of light. Basically, look for a shooting star the size of a person, I guess?"
Nearl almost gnashed her teeth as she listened to the girl. Coming from a noble family specializing in Light-based Arts, this felt like an insult. Even if she wasn't necessarily on the best terms with some of her relatives, it still was way better than… this. It irked her. Quite a lot, in fact. A common criminal, slandering her family name? She wasn't having that.
As she scanned the night sky for her target, she noted sirens in the distance. She wasn't entirely sure, but it felt like they were coming closer. Backup would be greatly appreciated right now.
Not that she was ever going to say it out loud, but the odds were simply stacked against her. Both of her possible opponents had great mobility, meanwhile she had two people to protect, one of which was gravely wounded and unconscious.
"I think she might be gone, a-actually," Missy coughed after a moment, apparently also having looked for the flier. The girl seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, Nearl noted.
"I agree, but don't relax just yet. We're not in the clear–"
Her instincts suddenly screamed at her mid-sentence as she heard the crunching of gravel behind her. She reached for her sword-spear, swinging widely in one fluid motion.
"It's him!" Missy called out from behind her at the same time. Nearl did not turn to look at her.
For some reason, the demon-masked man paused even as Nearl trained her weapon on him. "You… are not Purity. Nor New Wave. Who… are you?" he slowly asked.
"Nearl," she said sternly. Her sword-spear flaring up in searing light as she spoke, pointing in his direction. "Explain your reason for coming here. Now."
The situation became tense as the two combatants stared each other down, ready to move at the slightest hint of aggression.
The man's hands clenched and unclenched a few times in silence, slowly inching towards his blade and his vest, while his gaze shifted over the area and the civilians behind her, before seemingly coming to a conclusion and slightly untensing.
"This… is our territory. The Empire has been sending their flier to harass us all month, and it's gotten to this point. We are merely defending what's ours. You… do not dress like them, nor wear a mask, and pulling civilians out of a burning building, is… clear enough indication of your intentions," the man responded in a low, almost toneless cadence of speech, nodding to himself and letting go of both the blade sheathed at his side and his vest. A vest, Nearl noted, that was packed to the brim with throwing knives and grenades.
"I merely wished to confirm you were not one of them. We have no reason to fight… unless you give us one, that is," the man explained slowly, tilting his head towards her appraisingly.
"Do you intend to harm civilians?" Nearl tightly gripped her spear as she pointedly asked, her nose flaring in a huff.
"We… take care of our own, despite what the Empire or the Protectorate would have you believe. So, no, we do not," the man calmly replied.
"...Then I suppose we have no reason to initiate a confrontation. Will you allow us passage so that these people may reach medical attention?" Nearl conceded, lowering her spear to point at the ground, but not lowering her guard just yet.
"You… may go. If you wish to assist others in the area, you are free to do so. I will let our men know not to attack you. The ABB has no intention of needlessly getting into fights unprovoked. Simply remember that, Miss Nearl, or we may not be so kind when you next step into our territory."
"Duly noted," she replied warily, letting her Arts fade from her sword-spear and bringing it to a standing position.
With that, the man simply nodded, and turned to ash.
Nearl quickly scanned her surroundings, barely catching a glimpse of movement on a rooftop behind her, before losing track of the man. He clearly needed line of sight - an advantage she could make use of in multiple ways.
Quite a few things to unpack there, Nearl thought. But she could do that later.
"You didn't fight him?" Missy asked from the side. It didn't sound accusatory, really, just… curious. "I thought heroes always fought bad guys."
Nearl shook her head. "I know not the heroes you speak of, but as far as I'm concerned, you should always think of how your actions affect your surroundings. If I had actually fought him here, there would be a very real danger of you and your father being caught in the crossfire. Sometimes, the best thing to do is nothing at all."
"But… he got away," Missy said, somewhat dubious as she got up.
Nearl knelt in front of her, placing a comforting hand on the little girl's shoulder as she gently ran a hand through her hair, not wanting to risk being too rough in her state. "Yes, and so did you. I could have fought him, certainly. I could have possibly won, even. But what if he took you as a hostage? Or set off a grenade right here." She pointed in between Missy and her father.
"I would not have been able to protect both of you as well as myself at the same time," Nearl admitted. "It's always more important to save lives, Missy. Please understand."
While still grumbling, the girl nodded regardless. Nearl took that as acknowledgement towards her statement and shifted to the side to gently pick up the girl's father.
As the two walked towards the edge of the alleyway, Nearl froze when a red blur shot right past them. What was that? She tensed, already starting to lower the man she was carrying.
"No, don't!" Missy protested as she held onto Nearl. "It's fine, that's Velocity. A good guy!"
Nearl relaxed slightly at that, watching the incredible speedster stop and change direction on a dime, heading their way. She had always been impressed by Flametail's agility, but the Zalak's speed paled in comparison to this Velocity.
Without much fanfare, the blur halted, now actually identifiable as a man in a curious form of lightweight armor, with a streamlined visored helmet that left only his lower face exposed. "Do you need help?" he asked without much preamble, immediately gaining Nearl's approval.
"This man needs urgent medical attention, Missy here is a bit better off but still suffered serious injuries. Both have suffered smoke inhalation. Her mother's dead body is still back there," Nearl reported in response.
Without answering, the man shot past them, returning with the body roughly five seconds later. He dropped it down next to them. "No point in letting her get lost in the fire," he explained. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Nearl nodded, but started off with something else, gesturing with her head. "Certainly, but first, the masked teleporter went that way."
Velocity raised an eyebrow and reached a hand towards his ear - most likely activating an earpiece built into his helmet - and quickly passed on the information, presumably to his superiors.
"You fought off Oni Lee?" he asked with some disbelief.
Nearl shook her head. "I did no such thing, but I will explain that later. Where is the nearest hospital?"
Velocity nodded. "Right. We're establishing a police cordon in the area, with several ambulances already on standby. Down the street, second to the left. You see the green sign?"
"Yes." Nearl answered. "Can you carry her? It'll be faster."
Missy wanted to protest, but was scooped off the ground before she was even able to open her mouth.
"Alright, we have a minute," he said as he deliberately matched Nearl's slower pace. "What happened?"
"Purity blew up Oni Lee in the middle of the street," Missy spoke up, anger almost audible in her voice, just before Nearl was about to speak up. "At least I think that's what he called the flier. My father wasn't able to dodge the sudden hole in the street and our car spun out."
She started coughing, presumably from speaking too much in her current state.
"The car flipped over into a storefront and caught on fire," Nearl continued for the younger girl. "I freed Missy and her father from the wreck, but had to cut the fuel lines to do so."
Velocity nodded. "And the mother?"
"Didn't wear a seatbelt." Nearl answered, blankly. Velocity winced, likely remembering the state the body was in, particularly the head, or what was left of it. She briefly paused to watch some other flier go by above them. "Are they with you?"
After waiting for his confirmation, Nearl continued retelling the events. "At that point, the entire storefront was on fire, so we went out the back. It was then that this… Lee appeared in front of us. He told us that he isn't interested in fighting us, merely trying to get back at Purity for their constant raids. Since I was rescuing civilians, I did not engage."
"Good call. Anything else?" Velocity nodded and asked.
"Not much relevant to this situation, no. I… was in the area, heard someone call out, followed the sound, and it led me to Missy. Perhaps she may be able to shed some light into the situation?" Nearl explained, tilting her head towards the little girl in curiosity.
Missy was startled as the two heroes turned to look at her. "Umm, no…? I don't know what happened. The only important thing I saw before the crash was a bunch of people wearing ABB colors and carrying weapons, hiding in a-alleyways. Also flashes of light and explosions in the distance, but nothing else. S-sorry," the girl dejectedly apologized.
Velocity nodded at that, eyeing both her and the girl, seemingly mulling something over in his mind. "I see. Thank you for the information. We'll have to continue this some other time, though. The ambulances are right ahead." He nodded his head towards said ambulances as they came into view of the police cordon, paramedics moving back and forth as they tended to injured civilians while police officers and men wearing black riot gear stood guard, patrol cars and black vans surrounding the area. One of the policemen waved them through and they moved towards the ambulances.
They reached the paramedics in short order, and Nearl slowly lowered and deposited the girl's father into a stretcher. "The man is in more critical condition. Car crash, some smoke inhalation from engine fire. Left arm had a perforated artery and lost a lot of blood, but I was able to mend it shut. Both of his legs are broken, as well as some of his ribs, and he took a severe hit to the head. The rest of his injuries are relatively minor in comparison," she succinctly reported to the medical professionals, causing them to look at her in surprise, before getting to work.
"Understood. We'll need to move him to the hospital. Thank you, miss, we'll take it from here. What about the girl?" one of the paramedics asked as they pulled the girl's father into the ambulance and quickly set off, while Velocity closed in to pass Missy off to a different ambulance.
"Left knee split open from smashing into the back of the car's seat, also mended it shut. Her left foot was broken as well, but I set the bone and mended the skin, it might still need some further attention, however. Some minor bruising and small cuts across the body, as well as some smoke inhalation from the fire too," she explained.
Velocity's eyebrows shot up in surprise, turning towards her as the paramedics took Missy into the ambulance. "You can heal?"
Nearl nodded, stoic. "Yes. It's not my Arts' specialty, but I am competent enough at it in the case of emergencies."
"...Arts?" Velocity muttered under his breath in confusion, only now taking time to properly assess the unknown independent, now that the civilians were out of danger.
The first thing to jump out at him was the fact that she wore no mask, and seemed to not care about such in the slightest. The second thing he noticed were her additional… features. Animal ears and a long, voluminous tail like that of a horse. A case 53, maybe? If so, a remarkably human one.
Tall, muscular, seemingly somewhere between mid-twenties and early thirties, her face hinting at European features, the blonde woman cut an imposing and powerful figure with her professionally-cut costume and armor, let alone with the definitely tinker-made spear she carried. Her noble bearing and outfit, as well as her resolute expression and open posture, despite the oddities, screamed nothing but the word "hero" to him.
Why, she looked far better equipped than most independents he'd ever met, and her entire ensemble looked quite functional as well despite the odd gaps, earning some approval from his ex-military side.
If the woman were a member of the Protectorate, she would have been quite popular with their PR department, he noted. And yet, he had never heard of nor seen anything about this woman before. Something was off here.
"Excuse me, Miss…?" Velocity inquired.
"Margaret Nearl, but I'm mostly used to just Nearl, nowadays," the woman nodded towards him with a cordial smile and openly admitted what Velocity belatedly realized was likely her real name.
His brow furrowed in concern, looking at the paramedics flitting back and forth around them, before focusing on her and asking, "Are you… sure it's wise to be giving your name out, ma'am? Are you new to this area, perhaps? Or experiencing memory loss? I can't say I've ever seen you before, and someone like you would've definitely stood out in the Cape scene."
Nearl's brow furrowed in consideration, before shaking her head and replying, "I… must admit to being new to this city, yes. But that is not important at this time. There may still be endangered civilians in the area. If you will permit me, I would like to assist in the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts," she gestured with her hand towards the area around them, the occasional explosion still echoing in the distance.
Velocity's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the woman's resolute attitude, and was about to reply, before he was interrupted.
"W-wait! Don't go!" Missy cried out, coughing and attempting to rise from her seat in the stretcher next to the ambulance as an alarmed paramedic tried to stop her from moving.
Between one blink and the next, Nearl moved to stand next to the little girl, and was in the process of gently pushing her back down into the stretcher. "It's okay, Missy. Please, don't strain yourself. You've been through a lot, and you need to let the paramedics do their work so that you may properly recover," she softly explained, earning a grateful nod from the man examining her as he continued to check her breathing with a stethoscope.
"I-I just wanted to t-thank you, for saving me. And-" Missy coughed, but stopped trying to talk when Nearl lightly shushed her.
"Hush, none of that now. There is no need to thank me for merely fulfilling my duty as a knight, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Now please, rest," she softly ran a hand through her hair and smiled fondly at her.
"O-okay…" Missy relaxed and lied down. "Just… promise me I'll see you again?" she asked, her tone full of hope.
Nearl smiled a bright, radiant smile at her, crossing an arm across her heart. "Of course. I swear upon my name."
Missy simply gave a teary-eyed nod of affirmation and a sniff at that, the paramedics placing a breathing mask upon her face as she slowly began to drift off into sleep, the exhaustion finally catching up to her now that she was safe.
Nearl simply sent a little wave her way, before turning back towards Velocity, who was smiling at her as well.
"Good with kids, huh?" he asked with a cheeky smile.
Nearl simply smiled in a careless shrug "I have my moments, I must admit. The experience certainly helps. Regardless, where were we?" she asked, refocusing on the task at hand and sending a nod his way.
Velocity nodded in return, quickly sobering up. "Right. The Protectorate is mobilizing across the area, most of the fighting seems to have died down or moved away from the residential area and moved into the industrial section of the docks proper, so we're mostly focusing on S&R at the moment. We could definitely use someone like you to stabilize injured civilians until they reach the help they need. Would you be agreeable to that?"
"Of course. Do you have any method of communication that I could use to stay in touch with your people?" Nearl inquired.
At that, Velocity reached into a compartment on the side of his thigh, retrieving a small earpiece and offering it to her. "Sure do. Here."
"Appreciated. Now, we should…" Nearl began to say, before trailing off in surprise.
Her hand had gone through Velocity's, missing the earpiece entirely and simply phasing through like it wasn't there.
At that, both of them froze and stared in confusion. "What…?" Nearl began to question in befuddlement, looking at her hand which appeared to rapidly turn transparent.
"Nearl? Hey, Nearl?! Nearl!" Velocity asked in increasing alarm as the Kuranta seemed to simply just fade out of reality in front of him.
Nearl woke with a loud gasp, bolting upright in her bed, breathing heavily and feeling disoriented.
"Hmm? Nearl? What's the matter?" Nightingale blearily asked her from the other side of the bed, slowly rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
She quickly looked around in alarm, finding herself back at the inn with her teammates. Wooden walls, boarded windows and a single, lone mattress in which she lay with her comrade.
Baffled, she looked down at her hand, the one that had phased right through Velocity's like it wasn't there. She slowly clenched and unclenched it, getting a proper feel for it and finding everything to be normal.
Except… It wasn't.
Because she remembered.
The burning store, the crashed car, Missy, Lee, Velocity. She remembered everything, just as clearly as she remembered what she had done earlier today.
That… could not have been a dream.
Could it?
Slowly, Nearl turned towards Nightingale, and answered with her utmost sincerity.
Missy roused after rays of light struck her eyelids. She didn't really make any effort to get up yet, instead fidgeting around with the bedsheet. It was a half-conscious effort that ended up a combination of trying to pull the bedsheets over her eyes and turning herself away from the light. Instead, she ended up in a bizarre cocoon of fabric.
It took her a minute or two to properly register a beeping noise. It was rhythmic and quiet, very much unlike her usual alarm sound. Puzzling over the noise woke her up enough to realize the bedsheets were too thin compared to the ones in her bed.
Without much thought, she tried to sit up, only for a spike of pain to shoot right through her foot. That got her wide awake, causing her to stare off blankly into space as the events of the last night raced through her head.
"Easy now," someone said from the side, gently pressing against her movement. There was no way she wouldn't have recognized that particular voice. She found a familiar figure sitting on a chair beside the bed, facing it. She barely paid attention to the rest of the room after that.
"Nearl," Missy said in a tone that felt strange to her. She felt conflicting happy and sad thoughts roil inside her at Nearl's presence. Because she was her savior, yet she was also a living reminder of what had happened. "You really came…"
Nearl nodded with a motherly smile, letting go now that Missy was lying back down again. "Yes, but I think that's more on you than me," the Kuranta replied, earning a look of visible confusion in response. "We need to talk. But first, how are you feeling?"
Missy frowned, looking away for a moment. "I've… felt better," she stated. "I'm… I don't know."
Nearl waited patiently for the girl to continue.
"I… I think my brain hasn't quite caught up with what happened yet." Missy admitted. "I'm… I feel like I should feel terrible, right? Or, I don't know…. cry, or something. But I'm just… feeling nothing. No, not nothing… just like, a sort of emptiness, I guess? Like I… my body doesn't know what it's supposed to feel yet and is still working it out. Gah, I suck at explaining this."
Nearl reached for the girl's hair with a bitter smile, giving her a gentle pat. "Don't worry, I understand. You're still in shock, I believe. Just… don't try to bottle it up, okay? It's not good for you. Anyway, as I said, we need to talk, preferably before someone comes here."
Missy nodded blankly in response, shifting a bit to find a comfortable enough position where she could raise at least her head a little.
"So, I'm not entirely sure if you're aware of it, but I'm not actually from around this city," Nearl explained. "When I went to bed yesterday, I found myself in that store after hearing a voice. One I believe to be yours, specifically. I'm not sure if anyone told you yet, but something weird happened after we handed you over to the ambulance. Namely, I quite literally just… faded out."
Missy blinked a few times, before switching to just staring. A moment later, she replied. "I don't remember anything after the ambulance. Maybe I fell asleep?"
Nearl nodded. "That would make sense, especially if you just woke up. I'm fairly sure I was not here until you did so. Essentially, what I am trying to get to is that I believe that you are actively summoning me, somehow. What I'd like to ask is if that's intentional?"
Missy stared blankly at the Kuranta once again. She found herself doing a lot of staring lately and wasn't entirely sure what to think of it. "I… don't think so, no. I- did I get powers…?"
The girl began mumbling to herself.
"Missy?" Nearl asked, poking the girl to bring her back to reality after a moment.
"Sorry, was… just thinking out loud," the girl apologized. "It… might have been me? But if so, my power's doing it on its own. I know just as much about what's going on as you do."
Nearl raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Some Arts activate on their own, subconscious or otherwise, certainly. But yours is by far the strangest I've seen yet, and I've been to a lot of places in Terra."
It was at this point a lightbulb seemed to turn on in Missy's head. "Terra? Miss Nearl, are you… not from Bet?"
Nearl repeated the word slowly, suddenly looking far more interested. "Bet?"
Missy nodded quickly, looking somewhat awkward due to her position. "Yeah, like, Earth Bet. Someone found out there are other Earths a while back, when they made a portal to Earth Aleph."
Nearl leaned back in the chair, ignoring how her tail awkwardly rubbed against its back. "That… is fascinating. I'd love to talk more about this, but I believe we should perhaps inform someone that I am here at this point? I don't want to alarm anyone with my presence."
Missy froze at that. "...Do you not hide your identities where you're from?"
Nearl tilted her head in confusion before gesturing for Missy to continue.
"I'd have to tell the nurse that you're here because of me. Which would make me a Parahuman. And Parahumans hide their identity so bad people don't go after them or their family at home," Missy quickly rattled off to Nearl, feeling rather unsure about the idea.
Nearl, however, seemed unconvinced. "I understand your concerns, but someone will come to check in on you regardless, right? I can hardly hide in the bathroom every time that happens. Besides, if our current assumption is correct, I'll appear close to you whenever you wake up, yes? Someone is going to find out, sooner rather than later."
Missy blushed. She'd paid so little attention to her surroundings that she did not even realize her room had a bathroom of its own. Granted, she had basically been ambushed by Nearl, but still. "Can't you just… say that you appeared in the room? So nobody can tell?"
Nearl stared pensively at Missy for a moment, which only served to deepen the girl's anxiety. "Alright. Stay here."
The Kuranta then got up and left the room, leaving Missy to her lonesome. Deciding that actually checking out the room was a better idea than worrying about the fact that she probably had a power now, and all the problems that's gonna cause. Or that she didn't know what was going on with her father. Was he even still alive?
Unfortunately, the distraction did not last very long, even as she tried to take in every single detail around her. The walls were white. The tiny table in the corner was whitish-brown. The curtains were white. Only a few lines of different colors stopped the room from being monocolor. And, being a hospital room, it was practically empty. Couldn't they at least have hung up a painting or something?
In other words, the room was boring, incredibly so. Really, why had she expected differently? It's a hospital.
Feeling her thoughts spiral, she tried to come up with something, anything else to distract her from her current situation. She quickly arrived at thinking about her apparent new power. Could she deactivate it somehow? Put… Nearl back? Not that she wanted to, right now, not at all. But trying to find the mental equivalent of an off button might be useful regardless, in case she needed to hide Nearl or something like that.
Unfortunately, her attempts to just think really hard at Nearl proved unsuccessful. But it did get her to realize that she felt some sort of… not quite pull, but awareness, towards something in the vague direction of the door. The feeling was… oddly comforting, in a way.
Said feeling moved along what had to be the hallway outside of the rooms. Missy paid additional attention when the door opened, which confirmed her suspicions. She had a general awareness of where Nearl was, which did basically confirm that she actually had powers, even if the circumstantial evidence wasn't enough yet. For some reason, it felt… really reassuring, knowing where Nearl was. Like she wasn't as alone as she was in the moment.
Only now did she realize how much she was leaning on the strange, apparently alien, horsewoman right now, despite her having no obligation to help Missy. It felt… wonderful, to have someone as reliable as her around.
Nearl stepped back into the room, directly followed by a nurse carrying a clipboard. Said nurse closed the door behind them.
"Good morning," the woman said in an oddly blasé tone, which made Missy wonder if this sort of thing happened often. "Melissa Biron, correct?"
"Yes, but I might not react to that– please call me Missy instead. Most people do," she replied, getting a curt nod in response.
"Very well." the nurse agreed. "I'm here to confirm Nearl's statement. According to her, she appeared in the room as you woke up?"
Missy nodded. "I didn't actually see it happen, but yes."
The nurse made a note and sighed. "Very well. I'll have to call the PRT for that one."
Nearl blinked, having sat back down next to Missy in the meantime. "You seem to be taking this pretty well."
The nurse shrugged. "Not the first time something popped up in a hospital room that isn't supposed to be there. The only unusual thing is that this time it seems to be an actual person, animal ears or not. Usually it's projections or weird gadgets. You're much easier to deal with, too. At least this time, we don't need to evacuate the entire floor."
"Why does it sound like there's a story behind that?" Missy asked with a chuckle.
"Because there is," the nurse agreed tiredly, not nearly as amused as Missy was. "Right; anything I should mention?"
Nearl perked up at that. "Is this… PRT the organization Velocity works for? If so, mention my name and that I met him yesterday. It'll probably make things go smoother."
"Not quite." the nurse corrects with a curious look. "But close enough. I'll do that; let me go make the call."
With that, she left the room, leaving Missy and Nearl by themselves.
After a moment of silence, Missy suddenly spoke up. "Have you worked with heroes before? You seem really used to this."
Nearl tilted her head, apparently in thought. "Well, not quite like your heroes, I think," she responded, her tone seeming a bit dubious. "Your heroes seem a bit more… flashy than I'm used to, like the show knights back home. I do my best to embody the ideals of a true knight, which I suppose may fit your definition? I help people however I can, even when it means fighting evildoers. One of the bigger things I've done recently is help stop a war from breaking out, not that anyone really knows about it."
Missy stared at the Kuranta for almost ten seconds. "That's huge, though! How does nobody know about it?!"
Nearl smiled bitterly. "It had to be hush-hush. A terrorist organization took over a mobile city and tried to crash it into another one. The problem was that they broadcast the identification codes of a foreign country supporting them in secret, meaning that the other city couldn't respond without triggering the war. That's where my comrades and I came in. Granted, I was only really involved in the bigger battles in the beginning, but still."
It took Missy a while to process that. "There's that term again. Mobile city. What is that? You don't just have an entire city rolling around on wheels, right?"
Nearl shook her head. "Tracks, actually. And no, not the entire thing; they're separated into independently movable pieces, essentially serving as the districts," she explained. "Do you not have mobile cities here?"
Missy shook her head. "I feel like I'm missing some context here. Why is there a need to have a city that moves in the first place?"
The Kuranta was about to speak up, before pausing, staring at Missy and then briefly into empty space in a thoughtful manner. "Do you… not get Catastrophes over here? Does the term Originium mean anything to you?"
Missy shook her head, visibly confused. "What are those?
Nearl nodded. After taking a moment to think of the best way to do so, she began explaining. "Well, basically, Originium is… an extremely efficient fuel source. But it's also highly problematic in multiple ways. For one, it actively attracts natural disasters that spread even more of it, such as blizzards, lightning storms, or even meteor strikes. Because it's used in so many ways, large settlements tend to be quite literally targeted by them. That's what a Catastrophe is, and why cities have to be mobile; to avoid them."
Missy shuddered at the thought. "That sounds horrible."
Nearl's gaze turned grim. "If that was the only issue, people could deal with it. The problem is, handling it is also very dangerous. Handling it wrong or even just coming into contact with it unprotected can cause an incurable disease known as Oripathy. Symptoms are extremely variable between cases, but there is one thing that all patients have in common: the fact that Originium crystals start assimilating their body."
"Doesn't that hurt?" Missy inquired. "I mean…"
Nearl nodded somberly. "It is often quite painful. But the worst part yet is when someone infected with it dies. Their entire body starts crystalizing, and then they… well, they explode."
Missy seemed more incredulous than shocked. "...Explode?" she faintly repeated.
"Yes," Nearl confirmed, with an odd glaze over her eyes as if she was remembering something terrible. "The Infected are best cremated before they die, or they explode, spreading highly infectious Originium particles."
Missy looked away from Nearl for a few seconds, staring at the wall in disbelief.
"No offense, Miss Nearl, but your world sounds horrifying," she admitted. "And I thought we had it bad…"
"It's the only world I've known until now," Nearl stated solemnly. "It's why I must strive to do the best I can to make it a better place– to carry with me a brilliant flame to shed the ever-present darkness. I'm… still not entirely convinced that this one is real, to be honest. A world without Catastrophes, without Oripathy… it sounds like a dream indeed. So the fact that you seem to be consistently pulling me here after I fall asleep makes me somewhat doubt its veracity. But it… does seem far too real. It feels far too real…"
Missy frowned. "Well, I can tell you that I know I'm real, but that's probably not very convincing? But even then, maybe I can still help. Like, maybe I can give you ideas or… something… Oh! I know! You should talk to Panacea about Oripathy!"
Nearl watched the girl with some befuddlement, apparently taken aback by the sudden excitement. "Why?" she asked.
"Panacea can fix practically anything! Maybe she can cure Oripathy too!" Missy exclaimed enthusiastically.
The Kuranta seemed far less convinced but eventually shrugged. "It can't hurt, I suppose. I doubt it's that easy, though… By the way, I'm assuming someone from this… PRT will be here soon. Do you mind if I tell them what's going on? I dislike the idea of deceiving them, especially if it's Velocity. I feel like he deserves to know the truth. He seemed downright panicked yesterday when I just… vanished."
Missy thought about it for a short moment. "I… I guess it's fine. I'm still iffy about it, but I guess if you can't trust a hero, who can you trust?" she replied, earning a pat on the head in the process. "Hey!"
Nearl just grinned. "I appreciate it. The act of deceiving others does not sit right with me– even if I am familiar with the methods used by those who prefer to act in the shadows."
A knock on the door brought Nearl out of her musings. A moment later, it opened, revealing a familiar figure clad in red. It was Velocity, which explained the very short time it took for him to arrive.
He was visibly fighting the urge to just start talking, still managing to close the door before beginning to do so.
"Nearl!" he said in a tone that downright revealed his relief as he took quick steps closer to the duo, extending his arm for a handshake. "You gave me a real scare yesterday. Are you alright? What happened?"
Nearl nodded with a smile, returning the handshake. "I am; your concern is quite appreciated. It is good to see you in good spirits as well. I do apologize for… ghosting on you there."
Missy's head swung back to the Kuranta. Did… she just make a pun? For some reason, it felt out of character for Nearl to her.
"Ha ha," Velocity replied in good humor with a roll of his eyes and a lopsided smile.
"Returning to the subject at hand, however, I believe we have deduced the workings behind what transpired on our first meeting," Nearl continued. "Although I'm not quite comfortable talking about it where we can be overheard."
The hero nodded, pulling over a chair to sit next to her. "Ah, that kind of thing. This room should work fine, though, as long as you close the window, which… is already closed. Nevermind."
Nearl gave the door another look before turning back to Velocity. Lowering her voice, she started to explain. "As far as we can tell, Missy seems to be summoning me to her through some means yet unknown. Whenever she wakes up, I end up simply… manifesting by her side."
Velocity may have raised an eyebrow at that, but it wasn't exactly visible beneath his armor. Still, the overall facial movement seemed to imply that specific gesture.
Missy sighed, getting their attention. Seemingly having needed that as a push, she continued. "I think I can also sorta tell where Nearl is, but not much else. It's faint, but I felt her before she came back into the room from talking to the nurse earlier."
Velocity's head snapped back to Nearl. "So you're a projection? That's… odd," he mused as he furrowed his brow in confusion, becoming thoughtful.
"Ah, so it's not as unusual for such a thing to happen here?" Nearl tilted her head in curiosity.
The hero waved his hand in a so-so gesture before explaining. "Well, no. There're plenty of Masters running around with those kinds of powers. But summoning an actual person as your power? That's… unheard of, I'd have to say. Projections are always either puppets that someone directly controls or basic autonomous drones. You… are none of those things."
Nearl smiled widely at that, feeling vindicated in her decision to trust the hero. "Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence, if nothing else. I'm glad my personhood is not being brought into question."
Velocity huffed in amusement. "It's not exactly hard to believe. I've seen you display complex thought, emotion, independence, and outright act against Missy's wishes. You act far too much like a real person to be a projection."
Nearl seemed to find the hero's musings to be quite intriguing. "Oh? What makes you so certain of that? For all you know, I could simply be a puppet that Missy is controlling," she shot back, seemingly enjoying the argument.
"That would be the case, normally. But I honestly don't think Missy here is simply making you act like a person, either," he said, leaning back into his chair and crossing his arms.
"And why would that be?" Nearl asked, tilting her head.
"You're far too experienced for a little girl pretending to be an adult. Especially one that only just got her powers. You just can't fake that kind of thing. Call it a gut feeling," he reasoned, nodding towards Missy with a wry smile.
"Hey!" said little girl in question exclaimed in protest.
Nearl nodded in understanding, satisfied with his reasoning. "Well, I'd like to say I'm not a 'projection', but I'm actually not entirely sure. After talking with Missy, I've realized that I'm not even in the same world I'm from anymore. This also keeps happening consistently after I go to sleep back home. Given what happened yesterday, perhaps Missy's Arts simply create a temporary body for my mind to inhabit?"
Velocity blinked quite a few times during the explanation. "Arts? I think you mentioned that before," he asked, apparently getting hung up on that bit.
"She means powers," Missy clarified. "Different terminology."
The hero nodded, before frowning as he turned to Nearl. "You are absolutely sure you're not getting transported over?"
The Kuranta shrugged. "My roommate noticed naught amiss in my perceived absence, at the least."
"Please confirm that if it happens again. Dimensional travel is really problematic, as far as the law is concerned," Velocity insisted, turning back to Missy. "Do you have any control over it?"
Missy shook her head. "Not as far as I can tell. If Nearl hadn't told me that she popped back up here earlier, I wouldn't even have noticed she was gone," she admitted. "Hell, even the feeling that lets me know where Nearl is is so subtle that I didn't notice she was there until I started paying attention."
The hero seemed to relax at that. "You should be in the clear then. Involuntary powers have much better protections from the law since they're, well, involuntary. That said, I do need to make a quick call to the front desk here; give me a second."
Velocity pulled out his phone. "Hello, Velocity here. Please send Panacea up urgently, and have anyone that recently came into contact with Nearl, Miss Clarence and…"
He looked at Missy. "Missy Biron," the girl in question provided.
"...Miss Biron stay put or, preferably, come to her room. Medical quarantine protocols."
Both the Kuranta and Missy blinked at that, but Nearl seemed to recover from the confusion much faster. "What about the first responders?"
Velocity nodded hastily and added further instructions. "Thanks, I almost missed that. Do you come from a medical background, Nearl?" the hero asked.
The Kuranta smiled. "Something like that. I can heal with my Ar- powers, but it's much more first aid than anything. I am part of… let's call it a group of traveling doctors, for simplicity's sake, and I frequently work with a major medical company."
The nurse from earlier arrived a mere moment later, with a girl in a white robe with a red cross on it. For some reason, it almost felt like she was trying to somehow sink into her robe. The girl seemed shy and withdrawn. And tired. Very tired. Almost sleepy, even. Missy wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but it certainly shattered the image of the wondrous super healer she had in her mind.
Still, even she could recognize Panacea anywhere.
Only when talking to the nurses did the other girl seem somewhat alive, though. "So, what's the big deal?" Panacea asked with a tired yawn as she entered the now somewhat claustrophobic room, her gaze lingering on Nearl after a moment.
"Well, it turns out that Nearl here may or may not be from an alternate Earth. Can you check for any problematic diseases or other things of the sort?" Velocity explained.
Both Miss Clarence, as the nurse was apparently called, and Panacea blinked in response. Being the closest, the nurse was approached first. "May I?"
Miss Clarence nodded, extending her hand towards the girl.
"Nothing out of the ordinary." Panacea declared after a few seconds of silent concentration before moving on to the others as the nurse took that as being allowed to go back to work, closing the door on her way out. As Velocity didn't say anything, apparently she was.
"May I?" Panacea asked Nearl herself, who seemed confused.
"Ah, sorry, that's a thing you should probably be made aware of, Nearl. Healing somebody without their consent is against the law and counts as assault with a Parahuman power." Velocity quickly explained.
Nearl blinked in confusion at the hero. "That… sounds silly. How do your healers get anything done, then?"
"Well, I don't know how it is for you back home, but powers that heal others are extremely rare here. In most cases, it's actually a side effect of something else. Panacea here is pretty much America's greatest healer, as it stands," he explained.
At that, Nearl turned back towards the slightly embarrassed girl and seemed to regard her in a new light. "Go ahead, then," she told her.
The healer simply smiled wryly and reached out to touch her, then promptly went cross-eyed and froze for a solid ten seconds when her hand came into contact with the Kuranta. "...What in the world…?"
"Is something wrong?" Velocity instantly inquired, apparently having gotten up in the same motion.
"No, no. It's just that her biology is... weird. Honestly, she's even weirder than the Case 53's because, at least with them, you can tell they're human, just altered. That's… not the case here. I don't really have scientific terms for it, but she's literally both horse and human-like in DNA. At the same time. And yet not."
"…Human-like?" The hero asked in confusion, looking towards Nearl, who seemed just as lost.
The healer nodded, seemingly entirely focused on whatever she was seeing inside of Nearl. "Yes, human-like. As in, well… There's no easy way of saying this, but she's basically an alien. Shaped like a human. It's all roughly in the same shape and size on the surface and even most of the insides, but it's a different story once you look closer. It's like an entirely different species just somehow evolved into being human. She's also definitely superhuman, given the strength and density of her body. Yet she doesn't actually have a Corona or a Gemma, either."
The healer frowned in thought, mulling on what she was seeing. "I'd have called this a biotinker's work for sure, but as far as I can tell, this is actually a product of natural evolution. Somehow. There are too many junk genes and structures in her body for this to be artificial. She also has a bunch of microbes and bacteria that don't exist in our world and is missing some that everyone has. What the hell is her story, anyway?"
Velocity, whose eyebrows had shot past his hairline in surprise during the explanation, seemed to regain his bearings at being addressed. "Right. As far as we can tell, Missy here seems to be subconsciously summoning her with her power, kind of like a projection."
Panacea just furrowed her brow in confusion, turning towards Missy, who simply sent a cheeky little wave and smile at the healer before turning back towards Velocity, baffled. "But… she's a person? She has all of the biology and brain activity of a complex living, sapient being. She has scars and physical signs of age to indicate she's almost thirty years old. I can literally see herthinking right now. Outside of the fact that she's an alien, she's literally indistinguishable from you and me. That is not a projection."
The hero merely grinned in response. "I know, right? It's good to have confirmation, but I suspected the same thing too. She's way too lively not to be real, isn't she?"
The healer simply switched back and forth between staring at him and Nearl, who seemed amused and content to simply watch the entire exchange play out, before asking with a sneaking suspicion. "...This is gonna turn into a whole lot of paperwork, isn't it?"
Velocity snorted in response. "Yup, sure looks like it'll end up being a Case File, I'm afraid." He shrugged helplessly, causing the healer to groan in resignation.
At that, Nearl seemed to perk up. "Excuse me, what's this about a Case File?" She asked.
The hero nodded in response. "Right. The PRT - that is the Parahuman Response Team, by the way. Parahumans being people with powers - has a system in place for cataloging previously undocumented phenomena, the so-called Case Files. Whenever a new one is made, the people involved have to go through a bunch of reports and statements, which I imagine is why Panacea seems unhappy about it."
He chuckled before continuing. "So far, there's been over seventy or so Cases since the PRT was founded. The most well-known one being Case 53's, which are amnestic Parahumans with unusual body mutations."
"Ah, I see. Yes, I seem to remember Missy assuming I was one back when we met," Nearl recalled.
"Not surprising, given your extra body parts. In any case, we can leave those explanations for next time. Let's focus back on the check-up. Right, doc?" he nodded at Panacea, who simply rolled her eyes at that.
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Vel'. I already fixed the missing microbes and bacteria, so she won't catch a cold, but other than that? She's as hale as a horse." She snorted at her own joke before furrowing her brow. "Although… the only thing out of place is the presence of traces of some sort of… weird mineral in her body? It's really strange," she trailed off in confusion.
"Originium," Nearl provided without hesitation. "It can cause serious health issues if you have too much of it in your bloodstream, but unfortunately, it's unavoidable since it's basically everywhere back home, including as particles in the air. Is it possible for you to remove it? Don't actually do it, mind you, I'd rather not endanger all of you."
The girl nodded slowly. "Well, I can't affect it directly, but… Hm…" she trailed off in concentration as Nearl felt an odd tingling sensation spread across her body.
"I can sort of… push it out of the body, I guess. Slowly," Panacea explained.
Nearl seemed to freeze at that. "...All of it?" she asked, focusing on her with an odd intensity.
The healer leaned back in response. "Umm… yes? Is there a problem with that?" she nervously asked.
Nearl simply stared at the girl, stunned, before simply allowing herself to fall back into her seat, the air driven from her lungs.
"...No, there is not. Quite the opposite, in fact. You… might be able to cure an incurable disease that has been plaguing my world for… quite a long time," Nearl's voice trailed off into a whisper, seemingly deep in thought.
"Alright," Velocity chimed in. "That's very interesting, but for now I'd like you to check everyone else too, just to be sure."
"I'll take that as permission, then. Boop," Panacea quipped with a sly smile, poking Velocity in the nose and focusing for a few seconds. "Nothing, but I fixed some minor issues with your bones. Drink some milk or something later."
The hero chuckled and nodded in thanks, leaving the healer to step towards Missy.
"Yes please," the little girl sounded almost too eager, extending her arms and making grabby hands at the healer. "I like walking. Walking is fun."
Rolling her eyes, the healer lightly swatted her hands away and poked Missy in the shoulder. Nearl watched the process with visible curiosity. "Hm, interesting. This seems way more healed than it should be by now."
"That was me," Nearl explained. "I did heal her after I pulled her out of a car wreck."
Panacea's eyes shone with recognition. "Ohh! I heard about that incident. I think I healed Missy's father last night, actually..." she trailed off worriedly, looking somewhat confused about Missy's relative lack of reaction towards her father's wellbeing.
"I… already checked him over, so he's as well as he can physically be. Unfortunately, his head injury was more severe than the doctors anticipated, so we don't know when… or if he's going to wake up. He's… gonna be stuck in a coma for a while. I'm sorry," the healer lowered her head in apology.
Missy simply stared ahead in silence for a while as the people in the room processed that. Eventually, she nodded slowly and somberly. "...I understand," she replied, testing her newly fixed leg as Nearl moved closer to her and held her hand comfortingly. "Thank you. So much better already."
The healer hesitated for a few seconds and nodded, accepting the gratitude. "Also, I know this might not be the right time for it, but… I feel like you should know. There's something strange going on with your powers."
"Huh? What is it?" Missy asked, her previous concerns cast aside as everyone in the room turned to focus on the healer.
Panacea seemed to mull on her reply in silence for a while, chewing her lip in thought before deciding to bite the bullet. "Well, namely, it's the fact that you shouldn't have powers at all. Yet you still do, somehow. I can tell that your power is doing something to you. Your brain is lighting up like a Christmas tree, and connections between your neurons seem to be forming and developing at an astonishing rate, but… you don't actually have Gemma. Or a Corona, for that matter."
Everyone in the room seemed to start at that for different reasons, Velocity in particular reacting with open shock while Missy and Nearl were mostly confused.
"What… does any of that mean?" Nearl slowly asked in concern, turning towards Missy.
"It means that this is definitely gonna turn into another goddamn Case File, is what it means," the healer groaned as she simply sat on the edge of the bed and massaged her brows, seemingly at the end of her wit, her previous composure and professionalism vanishing past a certain point.
Nearl furrowed her brow at the girl, before asking, "And why is that?"
The healer sighed in reply. "Right, you wouldn't know, I guess. Well, basically, it's because it's a pretty much established fact that Parahuman powers originate from two small nodes in the brain, called the Corona Pollentia and Corona Gemma. Structures that little Missy here is glaringlylacking, despite the fact that she's clearly displaying power usage of some kind, not to mention that according to Velocity, she pulled you from across dimensions as well."
Panacea took a quick breath before continuing. "That's two impossibilities and previously undocumented phenomena in a row. Please don't make it a third; I don't wanna be stuck all month writing reports and giving statements to the PRT. I'm already busy enough as it is," she explained before deciding to collapse and lie down on the bed at Missy's feet as she lamented in despair at the ceiling.
"Amy," Velocity started with an oddly intense tone in his voice, his tense gaze snapping between the occupants in the room. "Are you absolutely certain that this is Missy's power and not an outside influence?"
The healer seemed to startle upright at that, waving her hands in a panic at the hero. "No, no, no! Trust me, I checked. I've seen the effects of Master influence plenty of times before. Hell, I've even seen some of Heartbreaker's rescued victims. Whatever this is, it is nothing like that!"
The hero seemed to relax in response, settling back into his seat with a puzzled look. "Then… what is it?"
Amy paused at that, then put a hand to her chin in thought while she absentmindedly reached out and grabbed Missy's hand to continue her examination. "Well, it's sorta like her brain is… processing things faster? Her hippocampus, temporal and frontal lobe are abnormally active. Those are the areas associated with dreaming, memory and learning. It's almost like how the brain processes information while sleeping, but much more complex and faster, I guess? Also the fact that she's doing it while she's awake, at that. That's honestly the best I can tell you."
The healer shrugged helplessly before throwing her hands up in frustration as if saying 'I give up'.
"So I'm… what? Learning stuff in my sleep or something?" Missy asked, feeling pretty weirded out by the whole ordeal with people talking about her brain doing things it should not be doing.
Panacea simply shrugged in response. "Yeah, probably. Your guess is as good as mine. I'd say just wait and see what happens. You only got your power last night, I'm assuming? Just give it some time. You'll probably end up developing Thinker powers of some kind."
Missy merely blinked in response. "Huh. Neat."
The healer rolled her eyes at the little girl's attitude. "I'm still going to recommend resting for today, if only so your body has time to recover the stuff I pulled from the rest of it to fix the mess that was your foot. In fact, Doctor's orders," Panacea continued to explain while Missy seemed downright annoyed.
"Aw, man…" the younger girl groaned, the previous gloom entirely forgotten. "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to! I mean, look at this; they don't even have paintings in here! This room is so boring!"
The older girl smiled at that. "Well, in that case, I am going to tell them to bring in some paintings."
That caused everyone but Missy to chuckle. Seeing Missy's glare only seemed to set Nearl off harder. "Traitor," the younger girl murmured under her breath.
Panacea rolled her eyes once again, stood up, and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Well, you let me know if more strange things start happening to your brain, champ. But in the meantime, I'm gonna go grab some coffee. This is way too much excitement for me. I'm exhausted, and I already missed half of my break because of this shit. And I'll still have to deal with giving a statement for a new Case File on top of that? Ugh," she slumped in resignation.
"Two Case Files, actually," Velocity, the ever-vigilant hero, helpfully reminded her, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
That only served to annoy her even further as she let out a groan of misery, before pausing and perking up.
"Actually, you know what? Screw that. You owe me lunch for this, Velocity! And a favor! Don't you dare forget, or I won't heal you next time you get a foot fungus or something!" she exclaimed, rounding on the hero and pointing an accusing finger and a glare in his direction.
Said hero, meanwhile, raised his hands in surrender and tried resisting the urge to burst out laughing at the grumpy healer. "Sure, sure, Amy. I'll write it down and everything. Don't wanna end up in the book of grudges for that one."
Oddly enough, it was Nearl that startled with a loud snort at that, her hand flying to cover her mouth as her shoulders shook with mirth.
Amy simply frowned at them in disapproval and turned around to leave. "Yeah, yeah. You know where to find me. Later," She absentmindedly waved as she closed the door on her way out.
Missy, in the meantime, was simply left staring, blinking rapidly at the entire exchange. These were the Bay's heroes? That felt so… normal. It was kind of nice, in a way. "Huh. That was…" she trailed off, feeling dumbfounded.
"Yeah, yeah. That's our Panacea for you," Velocity simply shook his head in good humor while Nearl smiled fondly, the experience seemingly bringing up past memories for her.
The hero looked at the clock hanging on the wall, one of the few features the room seemed to have.
"I should probably get going too," Velocity admitted with a warm smile before sobering up. "But before that, let's talk about why I'm here in the first place, since we got sidetracked. While Missy's ability is unusual in how it works, this fits the general archetype of a projection-type Master ability. Those usually have a range limit, so I'll be telling the hospital that you're stuck here for now but pose no danger, which has the benefit of being mostly true."
After that, he frowned. "I'll also have to talk with the hospital and the PRT to see how your situation is being handled, given the state your father is in. Most likely, a lawyer will be here tomorrow morning to talk to you about how you'll handle things moving forward. It'll probably be one assigned by the PRT to avoid outing you. Besides that, sometime in the coming week, we'll contact you to look into your unique situation and the new Case Files regarding it. We can also look into getting Nearl here set up with a proper legal identity. Oh, and we'd really appreciate it if you came in later for proper power testing, Miss Biron."
Missy and Nearl both nodded in response. "I'll think about it once I'm out of the hospital. I'm not even sure if it's a good idea to go home tomorrow, currently," the girl mused.
"I'm not entirely sure I follow," Nearl admitted.
"No offense, but you stick out like a sore thumb." Velocity chimed in. "That's an issue regarding Missy's secret identity. If she were to enter her home with you around, it'd tell anyone that pays attention that she's a Parahuman. And with her father in a coma, that's a serious issue. Anyway, I'll bring it up; maybe the PRT can set you two up somewhere temporarily for a bit, or come up with something to hide your extra features," he explained.
Nearl frowned. "I suppose I can see the logic in that. Is that really such a common issue?"
The hero nodded. "Sadly, it is. Panacea, for example, is part of the team called 'New Wave'. They went public with their identities and very quickly had one of their numbers murdered in their own home as a result."
The Kuranta seemed a mixture of thoughtful and dismayed after that. Velocity took the time to slip Missy a domino mask and a card with some contact information, said his goodbyes, and left.
"I feel like I need to learn more about your world," Nearl noted after Velocity's departure, breaking the short-lived silence. "The difference in common sense is quite frustrating to deal with."
"I understand," Missy said, having gotten up and starting to pace around the room already, apparently testing out her newly-healed legs. "For now, I think I'd like to talk more about your world. There's something I wasn't quite sure how to bring up before."
Nearl, who had gotten up and was leaning against the wall, ready to catch Missy just in case, perked up. "Oh?"
"I, uhm… seem to be getting weird visions?" Missy replied, sounding very unsure.
"Hallucinations could indicate a severe medical issue, Missy; Should you not have informed the healer when she mentioned the changes in your brain functions?" Nearl chastised the girl, concerned.
Missy waved her hands in defense. "No, no, not like that. I think it's more like… flashes of… you? Maybe? I think I saw you interact with someone. I didn't understand what I was seeing until I saw you look down and spotted those weird holes in your armor. What's up with those, anyway?"
Nearl almost reflexively inspected herself. "Holes? Oh… you mean at my sides? They're necessary so I can heal myself in a hurry. I need skin contact," she explained. "Regardless, we strayed from the topic at hand. May you elaborate on these… visions?"
Missy nodded. "Well, I saw you interact with someone in a white dress. They had a weird hat on, too?"
The Kuranta froze at that. "What-"
Missy flinched at the suddenness of the exclamation.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. What kind of weird? What did the hat look like?" Nearl pushed.
"Uhm, it was white, with two black things on the side?" Missy tried to remember. "I think there might have been stripes too."
Nearl sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "That's probably Nightingale, a comrade of mine. And also very unnerving."
Missy frowned. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to…"
The Kuranta preempted the apology by ruffling the girl's hair, despite her complaints.
"Don't be. Something very strange is happening to you, but I don't blame you," Nearl stated. "As much as I'm not exactly a fan of someone sifting through my memories, I can tell you're not doing it on purpose."
The girl still seemed worried, but a bit more relaxed.
"Any other worrying developments while we're at it?" Nearl prodded.
Missy seemed, to the Kuranta, worryingly unsure about that inquiry. "I… don't think so? The only other thing I remember was seeing you heal a villager or something like that. You went like… this?"
Missy began trying to showcase what she witnessed in Nearl's memories, or, at least, what she presumed to be her memories. She stretched out her arm, replicating the gesture Nearl performed in the dream before tensing her muscles in the same way she saw.
Only for a spark of something to shoot out of her hands. "I take it back, this is very worrying!" Missy exclaimed even as Nearl immediately rushed towards her. "Ow ow ow ow!"
"Let me see," Nearl demanded, seemingly not caring about the law she had just heard about only minutes before. "You just burnt your hand. It'll be painful for a bit, but it should heal before long. Sorry, but I can't do much about that myself. Go put it under cold water."
Despite telling her to do so, Nearl all but dragged the girl into the bathroom.
"It seems there is no end to the difficulties your new situation presents," Nearl bemoaned as she forced Missy's hand under the flowing cold water despite the girl's protests. "I'm fairly sure you just used my family's Arts- No, keep your hand under the water, this will get nasty unless you cool it off immediately."
"But.." Missy complained.
"No buts!" Nearl shot back, causing the girl to flinch. "Trust me, these Arts are not to be taken lightly. Promise me not to use them without my direct supervision, understood?"
Missy shuddered at the sudden intensity. "Y-Yes Ma'am."
Nodding to herself, she turned the faucet off, finally releasing Missy's arm.
"Sorry for being so heavy-handed, Missy, but I am entirely serious here. My Arts are extremely dangerous if misapplied. You need to be taught properly, but I don't think you are quite ready for that yet. You need to be much more disciplined first," Nearl continued. "If I find you breaking that promise you just made without a very good reason, I will be very cross."
The younger girl seemed almost frightened at the prospect of such a thing. "I won't! I promise!" she blurted out. "Is it really that dangerous?"
Nearl nodded. "You have to understand, you can do much more than just heal with my Arts. It can be used to reach temperatures that can melt armored vehicles into slag. You could literally melt your arm off if you mess up badly enough."
Missy couldn't nod fast enough. "I won't use it without your permission! Pinky swear!" she exclaimed, extending her unburnt hand with her pinky finger out for Nearl.
The Kuranta seemed confused at the gesture, but responded in kind anyway. That done, Missy nursed her hurt hand with the other one. The motion, for some reason, seemed to make Nearl smile.
"Ah, you just reminded me of my little sister. Come to think of it, I think she did the exact same thing you did when she was younger," Nearl clarified fondly. "That really brings me back…"
Missy sat back down in her bed, tucking her hand that felt like it was shock-frosted below the pillow. "Let's… talk about less scary stuff. Like, I don't know, your family? You seem good with people. Is your family why?"
Nearl nodded. "In a way. The Nearl family is actually nobility in Kazimierz, not that it means much anymore these days. I did receive a proper education befitting of the position, and that included how to interact with other people. Nobles have to carry themselves in a certain way in public. But privately, they usually act differently."
Missy nodded intently as Nearl briefly paused her explanation to sit down herself.
"Something I learned at a young age is that what you see from most people is a lie, a cover. It may not be an intentional one, but even just wanting to show your best to outsiders is one. For example, there are a lot of families that pretend to be happy on the outside, but as soon as nobody is looking, they're at each other's… throats… Missy…?"
Nearl trailed off as Missy's face twisted in anguish, her eyes tearing up.
"I- I'm so sorry!" Nearl quickly apologized with genuine remorse and alarm. "That was not intentional. Wait, don't tell me-"
Missy nodded, despondent. "I… tried to warn them, you know? They were too busy shouting at each other."
Without warning, Missy suddenly found herself wrapped up in two hundred pounds of armored horse woman. The girl smiled tearfully at the hug, sniffing and wiping at her eyes. "Thanks. Your support… really does mean a lot to me."
The Kuranta nodded slowly, holding her close. "Just… I think I said it before, but don't try to be strong. Let it all out if you must. Bottling up your feelings like that does not end well."
Missy nodded mechanically, staring at the wall behind Nearl emptily for a couple of minutes. "I… I think I'm a bit better now. Maybe."
"If… if you're sure," Nearl hesitantly began to let go before Missy simply pulled her back in, refusing to break the hug, which only earned her a fond smile and a chuckle from the Kuranta.
They simply sat there in silence, comforted by each other's company. The distant bustle of the hospital and the chirping of birds outside the window as their only background noise.
"Would you like me to continue with the story?" Nearl softly asked as she slowly ran a hand through Missy's hair.
Missy simply nodded, refusing to speak or break the hug.
The Kuranta sighed wistfully at that. "Well, it feels like it'll ruin the mood somewhat, talking about politics and such heavy topics, but I suppose it would be a good lesson to learn early. Like I was saying, most nobles put up a front, as if wearing a mask. They're pretenders, people that often hide their true motivations. But after a while, I realized it doesn't just apply to nobles. Nearly everyone does it, to an extent. Nobles and politicians are merely the most obvious example. In Kazimierz, my hometown, we have a… let's call it a very corrupt and overly powerful merchant class."
The younger girl nodded, gesturing for the Kuranta to continue.
Nearl did so with a visible frown. "These people are even more deceiving than most, and far more malicious to boot. Constantly dealing with their ilk has given me a lot of… practical experience, so to speak. But thanks to them, I realized the important part - while most people can pretend to be something they're not, most of them aren't all that good at hiding their motivations. One very useful thing I've come to routinely ask myself is a rather simple question."
"What's that?" Missy inquired, quite enchanted by Nearl's explanation.
"What is it they want? How does it benefit them?" Nearl answered, before delving deeper into their impromptu lesson. "The latter, especially, is what most people don't even think about hiding. For example, someone may come to you asking for money. The first thing you take away from that is that they probably think you got money to give. If they don't seem very desperate, chances are they also think you're gullible enough to give them said money; otherwise they wouldn't be asking…"
Their lesson extended well into the cold winter afternoon. Missy found herself asking a lot of questions in-between their breaks, both to Nearl and to herself, as she pondered upon the Kuranta's teachings on how to spot lies, deceit and manipulations, all the while looking back on her own experiences with a new eye. The girl found herself somewhat shaken by just how many manipulations by her own parents she could already think of in a quick retrospective.
Nearl, meanwhile, found herself with the delightful experience of having an attentive student that seemed to commit her teachings to heart. She did not know exactly what kind of troubled past Missy had lived through, but she had her suspicions, and so, she resolved to make their time together into the best one the little girl could possibly have.
Despite their unfortunate start and unbelievably strange circumstances, they found that neither of them regretted having met the other, and in fact eagerly looked forward to spending more time together the next day.
Nearl sat down on the creaky wooden chair, almost immediately having second thoughts about the action. She found herself being almost afraid to twitch, worried about the poor thing falling apart. It surely would have, had she been wearing her entire getup.
She nodded at her comrades, who silently got to work. Only to then flinch as Shining brought a needle closer to her skin. Why was it that needles unnerved her so much, when a sword did not? Perhaps it was the anticipation.
A few minutes of fiddling with the medical equipment later, Shining backed off. "There does not seem to be anything unusual about your blood values," the woman explained with her perpetually unreadable expression, before pointing at some of said values on the scanner. "However, there is a difference here."
Nearl leaned forward as much as she could, not wanting to test the chair any further. Inspecting the scanner, the Kuranta blinked, before briefly glancing at both of them. "Is this telling me what I think it is?"
Shining nodded. "If you think that you're unusually well-rested, then yes," she said, placing the equipment back in the bag.
Nearl nodded slowly, turning to the other Sarkaz, who smiled gently. "I haven't been able to detect any sort of Arts affecting you, either."
The Kuranta groaned, leaning back in the chair subconsciously. Only the pressure from reaching the backrest made her stop; even that brief moment of contact felt worryingly loose there.
This was a bit much, she mused. Sure, they let them use an empty house, but the building was practically condemned. Most of the things in here would probably serve better as firewood.
"We'll have to run you through some scans tonight and see if we can detect anything while you're asleep, but other than your sleep being more restful than usual, there seems to be no evidence of what you claim to be experiencing in your dreams," Shining explained as she lightly patted the Kuranta on the back.
"Perhaps I am just going mad, then," Nearl quipped as she got up. "That's the last thing I needed; proving my uncle right."
"Mhm," Shining mused, zipping up the bag she was packing. "I think it is right to be cautious. Some Arts are truly insidious. For now, we should simply observe."
Nightingale still smiled. Nearl was unsure if she had stopped smiling since the last time the Kuranta had looked at her expression. "Perhaps you are simply sleeping better because you were able to meet your family again?" the Sarkaz suggested. Nearl wasn't quite sure what to make of it; Liz didn't usually show this much emotion.
Nearl returned a smile of her own, although hers carried a bitter twinge to it. "I… I'm not sure I ever thought of it that well. If anything, it felt… strangely pleasant to actually be able to help someone. Far too many problems are ones we can't solve ourselves. This is why I dislike dealing with the General Chamber of Commerce. It gets me far too paranoid."
Shining frowned. "Now that I've seen that group for myself, I would not call it paranoia, but common sense. Regardless, that's behind us for the time being."
The Kuranta nodded in agreement, reaching for the door. "Let's stop worrying about this for now. If this continues, we can always ask Rhodes Island for assistance. Speaking of which, please remind me to write Granni a letter later. I'm sure she will appreciate us checking in on her friend's village."
The cloaked Sarkaz agreed. "Carol's retelling of the story was quite interesting. Still, that child is far too reckless."
Nearl chuckled as she carefully opened the door. "We were all young once. But now that that's done, let's get moving."
Missy grumbled as her alarm went off. She didn't feel like she got much sleep at all, making her mentally exhausted even if she was fine physically. Probably because there was next to nothing to do but rest, which ironically left her with too much energy to actually sleep.
Some people from the PRT had come by to lend her a phone as well as what was recovered from her parents last evening, which was why she had a working phone in the first place. There wasn't really anything valuable, as it turned out; only her mother's keys and phone survived while her father's things had been in the car and had literally gone up in flames. They had also gone and collected some clothes for her, since her existing ones had been damaged in the accident.
Still, all this meant she would not have needed a temporary phone– except her mother had never told her OR her father the damn PIN. So she had a perfectly serviceable phone she couldn't use, on top of the one the PRT gave her.
The meeting also came with new information about the proceedings. Rather than talk about sensitive information in a hospital, the PRT had elected to bring them to one of her parents' houses instead and conduct the talks with the lawyer there.
Which suited her just fine in multiple ways. For one, she hadn't even considered how to travel there in the first place, having no car, no money, and a conspicuous horsewoman with her. It also got her out of this damned hospital faster, which was honestly the biggest advantage to her.
After some deliberation, Missy decided on her mother's house. Not only was it much bigger than her dad's apartment, said apartment would also make it much harder to hide Nearl coming and going.
Not that it'd be easier to get Nearl out of the house unseen, what with that massive tail of hers, but at least they could avoid running into someone in the middle of a staircase or something like that.
"Good morning, Missy," Nearl greeted the girl from the same chair she appeared in last time. As in, the exact same chair, despite the fact that it was not even in the same place anymore. Missy recognized the small scratch in the back rest, even though it had been swapped with the other chair in the kerfuffle yesterday.
Apparently, her power had a preference for that chair in particular, for some reason. "Morning…" Missy mumbled, trailing off into a yawn.
Nearl seemed far too awake for this point in time, which just felt like cheating.
The Kuranta seemed amused. "What's with the long face? Are you not finally getting out of the hospital?"
"You're way too awake for six thirty in the goddamn morning," Missy grumbled as she collected some clothes to wear, not wanting to go home in hospital garb. "Can I have some of that awake-ness?"
"Well, technically it's around ten in the evening for me back home," Nearl replied with some amusement, not having moved from the chair yet. For some reason, the Kuranta seemed to fidget in the chair a bit, leaning back and forth several times. "Not a morning person, I take it?"
"Nope," Missy answered as she grabbed the pile of clothing she had gathered. "What are you doing?"
Nearl paused mid-motion, looking away in apparent embarrassment. "...Enjoying a chair that doesn't threaten to fall apart from leaning back on it, mostly."
Missy raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything and instead elected to dip into the bathroom to get changed.
A few minutes later, the girl returned wearing jeans, a white blouse and sneakers. "I keep forgetting that you've got like… an entire life of your own over there. I guess I should ask how your day has been?" Missy noted.
Nearl nodded. "The difference in time feels somewhat bizarre. It's a strange disconnect, really. As soon as I fall asleep, I'm waking up here, and as soon as you fall asleep, I'm waking up back home in the morning. I feel like I'm awake almost permanently, but I find myself oddly well-rested regardless. Even more so than usual, paradoxically enough. As for how my day's been, I'd say pretty uneventful. I spent most of it traveling."
Missy smiled as she ran around packing up her belongings into a bag. "I'm glad I'm not like, keeping you awake or something. I'd feel horrible about that," the girl said, before turning to check the clock. "Seems like I set my alarm a little bit too early. The lawyer's not due to arrive for another hour. Damn."
Nearl, having gotten up to help out, smiled. "I don't mind chatting to pass the time."
The girl's eyes lit up from that. "Oh! In that case, I kind of want to hear more about this Rhodes Island place you keep mentioning. What's it like?"
It turned out that the PRT had a surprising amount of experience in sneaking people into places. She hadn't quite expected the assigned lawyer, one Mr. Hawthorne, to be the one coming up with the plan.
It was surprisingly simple, really. Put a hat and a big snow coat on Nearl, get her into a car with tinted windows while nobody is looking, and then have Missy join them in the car. Once that was done, they'd drive straight into her mother's garage, entirely avoiding the chance of anyone in the neighborhood spotting Nearl as she entered the house. They even went as far as to make sure there was enough space in the garage to do so.
It also explained why they were heading out so early.
"Unfortunately, you are in somewhat of a limbo right now," Mr. Hawthorne explained as soon as the car got moving. He was sitting in the front passenger seat while a PRT trooper in uniform drove, with Missy and Nearl sitting together in the back.
"H-how so?" Missy inquired, feeling unexpectedly uneasy and nervous about being in a car again. She found herself unable to properly focus on the man, instead warily looking out both the front and side windows as if something was going to jump out at her. Quite frankly, she felt somewhat trapped. However, Nearl noticed her distress and held her hand reassuringly. She would probably be freaking out if it weren't for her.
"The problem from a legal standpoint is that you don't have a proper guardian at the moment. But since your father is in a coma that he might unpredictably wake up from, the normal procedures such as making you a ward of the state don't take," the man said with a sigh. "Which leaves us with the current stopgap measure - namely, we assign someone to check in on you at least daily. And even that doesn't work if you are judged as being unable to take proper care of yourself. Which is likely, considering your age."
"Oh," Missy said as the trooper stopped at a red light. "Uhm… I can cook and clean pretty well, though. And my grades are pretty good, too?"
The man turned his head to give the younger girl a look, which made her wonder if she said something wrong, but she continued anyway. "I'm honest! My mother kept dragging me along to help her clean since I was like… eight or something? And having good grades meant that they had less stuff to yell about."
A honk pulled them out of their thoughts and back to the street. Apparently, nobody in the car had paid attention to the road after that statement. "...Your parents yelled at you a lot?" the man inquired, meeting her eyes through the rearview mirror.
Missy shook her head. "Oh, no. They yelled at each other, not me. Whenever I got anything below a B they'd start blaming each other for 'not teaching me properly' or 'distracting me from my studies' and stuff, so I kind of just… studied a lot to give them less ammunition to argue with. Not like I was allowed to have a phone or a console to distract myself anyway, so there wasn't much else to do."
An incredibly awkward silence followed. "I'm… not sure I want to ask, but I have to. About the cooking?" Mr. Hawthorne prompted.
The girl sighed. "When they were still living together, they'd snipe at each other even at lunchtime. More than once, they'd leave stuff on the stove unattended or never put anything on in the first place because they got too distracted with yelling at each other. So I just… learned to cook for myself. At least the simple meals, I mean. I'm not a chef or anything."
The lawyer remained silent for a moment.
"That… changes things. Considerably, even. I'd like to confirm that when we arrive, actually. If you can show enough independence like that, we can likely just stay at regular check-ins. Nearl being present is a huge bonus there as well," Mr. Hawthorne said after what appeared to have been some quick thinking.
"To be honest, after hearing all of this, I almost wish I could adopt Missy just to get her away from that kind of home life," Nearl mused.
Missy froze at that, her breath catching in her throat, something the lawyer noticed. "...Could she?" she asked with an oddly hopeful tone in her voice.
Mr. Hawthorne thought about it. "Unfortunately, no. There are several concerns here. First, your statement alone is unlikely to be enough evidence to start a proper investigation into your home life, though I will definitely make sure to alert the proper channels, simply because if this is true, that is simply unacceptable. Secondly, Nearl does not have a proper income or home on Bet, even ignoring that she is only here because of your power."
The girl sighed, seemingly downcast. "Yeah, I figured. Was worth asking, I guess."
Mr. Hawthorne nodded, more reflexively than not, given that he was looking at her through the mirror. "It doesn't really sound like you're all that happy with your parents," he noted. "If you want, the PRT can likely help you get away from them. Given your known status as a Parahuman, that functionally means you would become a ward of the state and almost certainly be placed in the Wards, given that you don't appear to have any extended family."
Missy hesitated before nodding, actually sounding much happier. "I'll… think about it. It's a bit much all at once, to be honest."
After arriving at her mother's home, Missy led the two adults through the garage and into the foyer. She was initially a bit confused about them seeming somewhat familiar with the place, but remembered that they were here before while she was in the hospital.
Nearl, for some reason, took the trooper to the side to ask them a few questions, something that confused Missy. Mr. Hawthorne hadn't commented on it, instead electing to ask Missy to prove her earlier statement.
"...And here are the spices," the girl recounted, giving the man a full tour of the kitchen.
The lawyer nodded, seeming impressed. "You do seem to be knowing your way around the kitchen well enough. It's a bit early to actually cook something, but why don't you walk me through the steps of cooking a few meals? Spaghetti, rice, and such. I believe I saw some down there."
Missy did so, even going as far as briefly turning on the oven to showcase she knew how to do it.
"Very well, that's enough for now," Mr. Hawthorne eventually stated. "I'm happy enough with what I see. It won't be possible to go below daily monitoring due to your age, but I'll put in a word that we won't need to send a temporary guardian over."
The girl beamed at that.
"Now, unfortunately, there are some other, more somber topics to deal with," the lawyer stated, retrieving something out of a briefcase. "Namely, your mother's will."
Missy's mood immediately dropped afterwards. "...Is there something wrong with it?"
Mr. Hawthorne shook his head, handing Missy the papers. "Well, that depends on your definition. It seems that your mother specifically named you as the sole inheritor in this will, going even to the point of locking out your father from managing it. This isn't really my area of expertise, but as far as I can tell, your father is literally forbidden, by the law, from touching any of these assets, money or otherwise."
Missy's eyes went wide as she confirmed what she heard in the papers, getting help from the lawyer to see the relevant areas. Her mother would do that, wouldn't she?
"Am I… understanding this right? That I'm the sole owner of this house?" Missy inquired in sheer disbelief.
"If the will holds up to the law, then yes. You aren't allowed to do much of anything with it until you're of age, though. Your options are largely limited to repair work and small modifications. You would actually have more control over it if you triggered with a Tinker power, funnily enough," the man clarified.
"Oh," the girl let out, before lapsing into silence as she read the rest of the will. Towards the end, she sighed. "Yes, this sounds like something mom would do, alright."
Mr. Hawthorne raised his eyebrows, but did not say anything in response to the quip. A moment later, he continued. "Right, that's all from me for you specifically. I understand that you will probably need some time to properly recover from the ordeal, but I would strongly advise coming in for power testing as soon as possible."
Missy nodded. "Because of Nearl, right?"
The lawyer shook his head. "Also because of you. Quite frankly, your power, as stated, is a legal nightmare. Cross-dimensional things always are, thanks to Professor Haywire. While the local PRT does not doubt your claims of being unable to control it, you need an actionable result from a qualified tester for it to hold up in front of a judge."
Missy frowned. "Right. I can see that being an issue." she replied after a moment of thought.
"You aren't wrong about it benefitting Nearl too. Having a legal identity can only benefit her and it needs to be proven that she is an actual person, as well."
"Nearl is real!" the girl snapped almost immediately.
Mr. Hawthorne raised his hands defensively. "I'm not saying otherwise. However, in her current situation, there is a reasonable argument to be made that she is simply a copy of someone, or a very realistic projection," he explained, before catching himself. "From an outside viewpoint, that is. I'm merely playing devil's advocate here."
Missy grumbled. "Right. Sorry, I…"
The man waved it off. "It's fine. Just remember that I am here to help you out with legal matters. Thinking about how people might go after you or Nearl via the legal system is part of my job. Far too many Parahumans simply assume they can punch all their problems away. Anyway, is there anything else you want to talk about?
"What about my father's medical bills?" she asked.
The lawyer pulled out some other documents. "Unfortunately, it turns out that your father was not actually insured against this kind of thing, or at least that's what the insurance company is claiming at the moment. However, we are willing to help here. The PRT agreed to cover two months' worth as a token of goodwill, since you don't exactly have an income yourself. If you were to join the Wards, that agreement would become permanent."
Missy felt alarms ring in her head and narrowed her eyes at the lawyer. "...That's far more generous than I'd expect. It's not like I've done anything for the PRT yet."
Mr. Hawthorne almost managed to maintain his normal smile, but Missy's new discerning eye caught a small crack in his mask. A flash of surprise and uncertainty in his expression, before they were buried under his usual smile. Huh, it looks like Nearl's lessons were already paying off…
"I… would be lying if I said the PRT wasn't interested in having you in the Wards. Granted, that counts for most Parahumans, but healers like Nearl are particularly rare. Even if she isn't quite on Panacea's level, just being able to stabilize someone long enough to get to Panacea in the first place is a huge advantage," the lawyer explained.
"And that's why I'm getting favorable terms," Missy surmised, getting a nod in response. "I see. Could we go over the Wards contract? With Nearl, preferably."
Mr. Hawthorne nodded, pulling out a stack much larger than any of the others she had seen today out of his briefcase. Missy frowned at the sight. Of course he'd have one with him.
Going over the contract properly took the better part of an hour. A lot of humming and hawing was involved. Missy herself was still unsure, while Nearl seemed downright unhappy and concerned about the contract. When asked about it, she admitted that she might be a bit too biased because the lack of agency the Wards appeared to have reminded her too much of her own hangups from back home. Privately, she confessed towards being uncertain if her usual paranoia was unfounded in this case.
Ultimately, the talks went nowhere, as Missy found herself leaning on Nearl once again, who still felt far too unsure to give a statement one way or the other. With Missy still being so inexperienced, the Kuranta for most purposes actually being her power right now in addition to the adult she trusted the most, she didn't want to agree to anything without Nearl's direct consent.
As such, they decided on 'considering it, but will need more time before making any decisions', which the lawyer seemed satisfied with for the moment. With all of that done, Mr. Hawthorne and the trooper departed, but not without leaving them a copy of the Wards contract. He also promised to start on getting her mother's funeral sorted out.
"So what did you talk with the officer about?" Missy inquired after returning from seeing the two out.
"About how the PRT does things on the ground floor, mostly. It was quite an informative chat. In many ways their procedures remind me of how Rhodes Island does things. The substance called containment foam is especially intriguing. Being able to capture someone non-lethally like that is very interesting, but apparently one of the features of the foam is also being fire-retardant?" Nearl explained as she sat down on the couch in the living room.
Missy joined her, electing to sit right next to the Kuranta. "Containment foam? I don't know much about that, but from what I heard online it's pretty terrible when it gets in your hair. Someone even said that they couldn't get it off even after two showers, but I don't know how much to actually trust that."
Nearl seemed confused. "On-line? As in, over the phone?"
"No, online," Missy corrected. "As in, on the internet? World-wide web?"
Nearl seemed thoughtful. "Internet? As in interconnected networks? I suppose with static cities, they would always be able to communicate," she mused, as the second part of Missy's answer clicked. "Does it really connect world-wide?"
The girl nodded. "Yeah! You can totally just go online and chat with someone on the other side of the world. Oh, hold on! Follow me."
Missy shot back up from the seat and directed the amazed Kuranta to her mother's workspace. "I completely forgot since my mother never liked having me in here without supervision, but we can totally use this to get you up to speed. You know how to use a computer, right?"
Nearl nodded, somewhat caught off-guard by Missy's sudden enthusiasm, having practically been forcefully pushed into the chair by the little girl. "I do, but I'm not familiar with this specific setup. Is that the power button here?"
"It is," Missy said as she hit the button in question. "So how do networks work in your world?"
Nearl pondered the question for a moment as the two waited for the PC to boot up. "Well, the neural network at Rhodes Island is more permissive than most. For others, they're restricted to individual cities most of the time and heavily monitored by the local government. Long distance communication is difficult because Catastrophes make any long-term infrastructure impossible. Furthermore, Originium tends to interfere in wireless communications; only some specially operated Arts constructs can send anything beyond where a city lies."
"Sounds really troublesome to deal with. Well, in here unless you're specifically searching up stuff like how to make bombs or hide a body, nobody really cares about what you do with the internet, so you should be fine for searching up whatever. Just, y'know, don't search up stuff that makes you look like a terrorist or a serial killer." Missy explained, showing Nearl how to log in and open the browser. "Okay, so, what should we start with?"
"Hm," Nearl replied after some quick thinking. "For now, I'd like to know more about the local area. Maybe look at a map of the city. Do you have some kind of information archive that I could use?"
"Sure. Type Google in the search bar. That should sort you out for most things," Missy explained, pointing at the white bar at the top.
The girl found it curious that the first thing the Kuranta googled was a map of the local area, but then quickly got sidetracked into just looking up maps of the world in general. Apparently, the Kuranta found it quite fascinating how interactive Google's maps were, especially how you could zoom out on them until you ended with a view of the entire planet, which left Nearl staring in shock at the screen.
Missy would have expected it to be the other way around. She always found it much more interesting how you could just look at the outside of people's houses, even ones on the other side of the world.
"Is this information… accurate?" She asked faintly.
"Uhh, yes? I mean, I think it's probably out of date though. Most companies lost access to satellites and such a while ago, but I don't really know much about the specifics."
Nearl simply hummed thoughtfully in response and lapsed back into silence for a while as she simply continued inspecting a bunch of maps.
"Oh, Shining is definitely gonna get a kick out of this one. 'No evidence', she says. I'll show her 'no evidence'…" Nearl muttered under her breath, to which Missy only raised an eyebrow at, but opted not to comment.
She then moved on to look more closely at the different continents, then their countries in general, seemingly rather thoughtful about a few things. For some reason, the Kuranta seemed really interested in eastern Europe.
"Can I look up history somewhere?" Nearl requested, which led to Missy teaching her about Wikipedia. Her first search there was Poland, which then segued into Russia after reading about the wars Poland had been involved in. Which then sidetracked into the first World War. Then into planes. Then firearms. Then gunpowder. Then science and chemistry in general.
Eventually, she sighed and leaned back on the chair, rubbing at her temples. "...Nevermind. I feel… like I got a bit too far off-track here. It was certainly informative, however. I'll have to look more into this later."
"Was there any reason you looked up Russia and Poland in particular?" Missy asked with some curiosity.
"They reminded me of Kazimierz and Ursus in a way. Even the attitudes mirror those of the Kuranta and the Ursus people in a lot of ways, as far as I can tell," Nearl answered. "Are Russians stronger than most people here too?"
Missy blinked in confusion. "Why would they be stronger than any other humans?"
"In Terra there are a lot of races, several of those are stronger physically than others. Ursus, Kuranta and Vouivre, just off the top of my head, fit that criteria. I've actually been meaning to ask what race you are, since I can't tell," Nearl replied. "I just forgot about it with everything else going on."
"I, uhm…" Missy stumbled verbally for a bit, unsure how to explain it to her. "We don't… really have anything like that? We're all just humans here. There's some slight differences based on which part of the world you're born in, like a darker skin color, but that's about it. We don't have animal features or natural super strength. I guess that's what Panacea meant about you being an alien?"
Nearl paused, blinking a few times at that. "Oh, is that what she meant by that? Well, that's… entirely new territory for me. Nevermind that, then. We can worry about it later. We should move on from that topic and look for something more relevant to our current situation in the meantime. Is there a place to look up Parahuman culture or etiquette and such?" she asked, turning towards Missy.
Missy thought about it. "The best site for that would probably be Parahumans Online, I think? It's a popular forum where people discuss Cape related news. There's also a few Parawikis and Paraleaks sites for more concrete information as well."
Several hours of research, sheets of papers, and many, many notes later, Nearl seemed satisfied, at least for now. "You have a very strange culture going on here. I've never heard of fights being so… civilized before. Why, you apparently don't even shoot the medics first!"
Missy gave the Kuranta an odd look over that. "...You know what? I'm not even gonna think about the implications of that comment. I'm just gonna go make us some food."
"Oh, alright," Nearl agreed. "I'll be here, if you don't mind. I spotted a few articles that might be interesting."
Missy nodded before walking off. Hopefully she hadn't just gotten her friend addicted to the internet. Quickly deciding on spaghetti since it was fresh in her mind from earlier, she turned on the oven, only for a shout from the room over to pull her away from her thoughts.
"Missy! What's a boomer? Is that some kind of exploding creature?" the Kuranta called out, causing her to sigh.
For some reason, the girl realized that today was going to be interesting.
"I can't believe you have exploding spiders over there," Missy mused after wrapping the first mouthful of spaghetti around her fork.
The Kuranta seemed amused. "For some reason, the biologists call them slugs, even though they clearly have legs. I never quite understood why."
"We got some weird stuff like that too. I've heard about a type of tree somewhere that basically sets other trees on fire," Missy replied. "Exploding sounds like a bad survival mechanism, though."
Nearl nodded in agreement. "I think it's more that it's generating a particularly volatile mix of chemicals in their abdomen due to a mutation, which makes them susceptible to exploding when damaged. In any case, I found myself surprised to find such detailed information on your heroes and villains on these different sites. I'm not used to this type of information being this… accessible. Back home, this much detail would definitely count as confidential or even classified information."
"Maybe it's just a difference in sensibilities? From what I can gather, your world seems a lot more… hostile, in a lot of ways." Missy mused.
Nearl sighed. "Unfortunately I can't even refute that. But still, this gives us a unique opportunity. We should definitely read up on as much as we can. That includes both the Parahumans in the area and your options in general."
Missy nodded after downing her orange juice. "What's wrong with just going for the Wards?"
Nearl paused at that, mulling on her response for a bit. "I… really don't like how pushy they're being. Not one bit. It reeks of political agenda," she admitted with a sour face. "It feels like they're trying to preempt the other options, assuming there are any. I don't see any problem with most of what they're presenting in the contract, but usually the problem is with what they aren't saying."
"You also grumbled about personal agency earlier?" Missy noted.
"Oh, yes. That as well. From what I understand, Parahumans have a fairly similar role culturally as knights have in Kazimierz today - which amounts to fighting for the amusement of the masses more than anything. There are regular tournaments, but they are fixed to such a ridiculous degree that the champion is usually decided before the tournament even begins," Nearl explained.
"Right, I can see that," Missy admitted after staring at her food for a moment. "Going by the contract, I wouldn't have much control over my costume, my routine or even my Cape name."
The Kuranta nodded. "Yes, and all of that can be used to control you, sometimes in ways you wouldn't expect. Let's say for example, that they give you the name Squire because I'm a knight and you're with me most of the time. That would basically make you a perpetual sidekick to me, and people will treat you as such. Which, in turn, will shape your thought processes, whether you like it or not."
"I wouldn't mind being your sidekick at all, though," Missy said with a smile.
The Kuranta grinned. "It was just an example, but I appreciate the thought, regardless. Let's say they called you Summoner instead. That'd mean that people would gun for you first, because summoner means backup for the opposition. In turn, you'd be pressured to look for additional protection, because even I can't be everywhere at once."
The girl nodded slowly. "I never considered that names could have power like that."
"It isn't something most people think about," Nearl agreed.
"Your… costume is another matter. My own getup was carefully chosen, believe it or not. I wanted to look like someone people could rely on in a fight, without being so heavily armored that I look like people can walk circles around me. The coloring itself also matters. Imagine if I wore all black with spikes instead. It wouldn't exactly garner trust, would it?" she explained.
Missy chuckled at the thought. "I can't even imagine what that'd look like. You just don't fit the bill."
"I suppose not, but what I really meant to say is, presentation matters. And the PRT wants to control your presentation. I'm not saying that I don't trust them, because they seem like decent people, but this worries me regardless, and I'm not sure if it's just my previous experiences making me too paranoid or if we should actually be more careful here," Nearl continued.
The two lapsed into silent thinking as they ate. After finishing, they moved the plates and utensils into the dishwasher and let it be for now, as it wasn't close to being filled.
"Thanks for the food. It did taste quite good, even if I didn't quite expect it to taste the way it did," Nearl thanked Missy, which earned her a curious look. "I had something called 'Wrath of Siracusans' a while back. It looks similar to that, but tastes way differently. Probably because it has no chocolate."
Missy froze, slowly turning her head to Nearl and staring at the Kuranta for several seconds. "Chocolate? Who in their right mind puts chocolate on pasta?!"
Nearl shrugged. "The originum slug liver probably is what makes the taste work. Though arguably they weren't in their right mind, given that the dish is named for the fate of its creator."
The girl shook her head. "Anyway, your thoughts about presentation gave me an idea," after plopping herself back on the couch. "We know that I can do even the weird stuff like your light powers, right? What if I can like… copy your strength too or something? Super strength is a fairly common power to have around here, after all."
The Kuranta perked up at that. "I… I was about to say that sounds unlikely, but some training wouldn't hurt either way. The stronger you look, the less people will try to push you around. However, we will do real training. No giving up just because it gets hard. It being hard is the entire point of training. Do you have any training equipment?"
Missy thought about it. "I think my mom bought a treadmill and some weights a while back, probably because of some fad or something. I'm not actually sure if she ever even used them. They should be gathering dust in the basement, I think."
Nearl nodded. "That'll do."
Nearl ended up dragging the entire treadmill upstairs with little to no issue after telling Missy to find some more sport-compatible clothing.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do," Nearl started after setting the machine up. "You're going to test out the difficulty settings until you find the highest one you can perform at. I'm going to do some more research in the meantime."
Missy nodded before getting on the machine, at which point Nearl stopped paying attention until the girl called out to her again a few minutes later.
"I think this setting works for me," Missy stated, at which point Nearl got up and looked at the treadmill. Grinning, she upped the difficulty by a setting. "Hey!"
"Now run that for ten minutes," Nearl ordered. Grumbling, Missy nevertheless did as asked.
Once again, Nearl turned to the internet's unusually vast wellspring of information. This time researching the local hero teams. In particular, a few articles and sites about 'New Wave', the team Oni Lee and Velocity had mentioned in passing, which intrigued the Kuranta. In many ways, that family's views reminded her of her own struggles against the General Chamber of Commerce. Wanting more transparency and personal responsibility was never a bad thing.
It was unfortunate that the movement died nearly the moment it started, the Kuranta mused. Nearl made a note to investigate that group further. It could be a worthwhile alternative to the PRT if they were interested in having new members. The requirement for unmasking was a bit troublesome, but would also simplify things quite a bit for both of them.
Having easier access to Panacea would also be quite wonderful for other reasons. If the girl really could cure Oripathy or, if not create a proper cure, at least remove it from a person, then…
Then what? As much as she'd love to bring the girl back to Terra and immediately throw her at Liz to finally get rid of that accursed wheelchair, she had no idea how to accomplish such a thing. It'd also basically be kidnapping, but honestly… if the girl could really cure the disease that caused such untold amounts of tragedy, misery and suffering in her world… If she could cure her friend, then… she would be willing to do it, regardless.
But she didn't know if it was even possible to bring her over. And really, she was just one girl. Even if she could cure Oripathy, she couldn't be everywhere. And pretty much every single nation would fight over acquiring her… Maybe another solution might be better. Perhaps her powers could be replicated with a machine, somehow? To devise a way to pull all the originium out of a person without harming them.
Shaking her head to nobody in particular, the Kuranta moved on. This would require further thought, but at another time. For now, she had other concerns in mind.
Unfortunately, for proper heroes, that appeared to be the entirety of the options. If there were other heroic teams, they weren't visible enough. There were other small-time independents scattered across the city, but they were all going solo. This Parian person also seemed to be a palatable option, but she was unsure if the woman would be willing to go for it, or what they could offer to her beyond protection.
The Kuranta found herself frowning when she got to the 'Villains' section for Brockton Bay.
It was… a much longer list than she had expected. Much longer, and it far surpassed the 'hero' section in size.
What was the local government doing? With this many Parahumans, the gangs basically ruled the city in all but name. No government in Terra would allow criminals to reach this level of power. Well, unless the governments were the criminals, but that was another matter entirely.
Still, the villains were obviously not an option. Several of them were unrepentant murderers, such as the Empire 88 and the Azn Bad Boys. The Undersiders appeared to simply be children mostly interested in stealing things and probably just needed a good spanking.
She had no idea what Über and Leet were supposed to be about, but the stories told her enough. Too few morals even if they seem mostly interested in their own amusement.
There also seemed to be an as-of-yet unnamed gang of unpowered mercenaries armed with advanced weaponry taking territory in the commercial district and occasionally clashing with the other gangs.
Faultline's Crew seemed to be somewhat curious, however. Officially flagged as villains, they appear to be mercenaries that even the PRT isn't particularly interested in going after, or so some people claimed. Ultimately, she found herself ambivalent about them. There was not enough information on them to properly assess them at this time. Something to look into later.
Besides them, there were rumors of another unnamed villainous group, a couple of parahumans and a small handful of criminals peddling drugs near the trainyards, but they seemed too small time and recent to be considered noteworthy. Still, something else to watch out for.
"Neaaaaarl…" Missy whined behind her, pulling her out her musings. "My legs are starting to feel like they're on fire…"
"Keep going for another five minutes, then. A fight won't stop just because you get tired," Nearl shot back without mercy.
It took roughly ten minutes for Missy to have enough breath again to talk after she all but collapsed on the floor. She hadn't made any motions to get up yet, however. That would have to come later.
"This... is torture…" the girl complained.
"It's training," Nearl corrected. "If you want to be strong, you need to work for it. You won't get strong simply by sitting around. Which appears to be most of what you've done before, given that your stamina seems rather poor."
"But..." Missy replied from the floor.
"No complaining, or we're adding five more minutes on top for the next run," Nearl stated sternly.
The girl groaned at that.
"In any case, while you were doing that, I looked up what I could on your computer." The Kuranta said, having turned the chair around to face the girl. "I think you should give your 'cape' identity some thought, sooner rather than later. There do appear to be an awful lot of villains in this city and from what I've been reading, a lot of them like forcing unestablished or weaker parahumans to work for them."
Missy tried to drag herself up, but found her legs too shaky to actually stand. Acting quickly, Nearl grabbed the girl's arm and deposited her in the chair she was just using instead.
"...Thanks," the girl mumbled.
"Easy there," Nearl advised. "Anyway, from my point of view your options are sadly a bit limited. There are only two teams of heroes in the city. That is the Wards/Protectorate organization and New Wave. There are also random independents out there, most notably Parian, who is apparently neutral, or a Rogue, as they call it."
The Kuranta paused for a moment. "There is Faultline's Crew as well. It could work, but they are technically classified as villains. That could be because the PRT doesn't want to or can't allow mercenaries, or because they have actually done serious wrong. That is right at the edge of what I'd be willing to accept, but only after serious research into their activities."
Missy nodded slowly. "I'm surprised you're willing to consider them at all," the girl admitted. "You kind of… don't seem the type. I still don't know as much about you as I'd like, but I do know you have strong morals."
The Kuranta smiled. "Let's just say I've learned to never trust the official account on things and leave it at that," she said, frowning. "Other than those, there's the Azn Bad Boys and Empire 88, as well as some assorted small-time villains or gangs like the Undersiders. Some of those include known murderers, so I'm not even going to let you go anywhere near them. Trust me, it's just not worth it."
The girl frowned. "I wouldn't want to do so anyway. The E88 and ABB caused this whole mess in the first place. What about just going independent, though? Just… you and me? Maybe we could make our own team. Or… just, I don't know. Become a Rogue, just help out in the hospital or something? I mean, do I have to go out there and fight people at all?"
The Kuranta blinked. "That… is a good point, actually," she said, pacing around the room for a moment. "I'm just so used to fighting the good fight that the idea didn't come to me, I must admit. I'm the kind of person that would rather expect the worst and be happily surprised when it doesn't come to pass. For example, from what I've heard, Parian is regularly harassed by the gangs trying to press-gang her into joining, and you're still pretty vulnerable as well, at least for now. But it might work. Even so, I'm not letting you put yourself in danger before I make sure you can defend yourself first."
Missy remained silent, giving the options Nearl presented to her some thought.
"Well, there's no need to give an answer right this instant," Nearl continued. "But regardless of that, most of these require a cape name, so you should think of one too."
The girl nodded, falling into deep thought as she pondered one of the hardest decisions she had to make so far:
"Good morning, Nearl," Nightingale greeted the Kuranta as she woke with a deep breath. Nearl blinked blearily at that, unused to the sight of Liz waking up before her. Or, perhaps, Nearl herself had slept in.
"Good morning to you too," Nearl replied with a yawn to the Sarkaz with the usual nicety as she sat up. "How are you doing?"
Liz gave her a small contented smile in response. "I am doing well today. No pain so far."
The door opening heralded Shining's arrival. Her ears twitched in expectation of the door's loud creak, before remembering that she was no longer in Carol's village. Right.
"Morning, you two," Shining came in, holding a familiar scanner. "We need to talk."
"What's wrong?" the Kuranta asked, instantly on alert.
Shining sighed as she placed the scanner on a nearby table and sat herself on a chair, facing Nearl. "Well, I finished going through the readings I took last night. Unfortunately… you were right. Something is definitely affecting you in your sleep."
Nearl stopped at that. She had suspected as much, but hearing it said out loud still caused a thrill of concern to shoot up her spine as Shining began explaining the results.
Missy woke up groggily once again, her mind still racing from the night before. Knowing the subject of her dreams would be close by, she forced herself up. And then decided to give Nearl a death glare.
Unfortunately, all that did was amuse the Kuranta, apparently. "Good morning. Jealous again?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah, very jealous. Stop stealing my sleep," the girl grumbled.
Nearl continued to chuckle, before her eyes suddenly widened. "You know, I think I just realized something. Your early exhaustion might have something to do with your visions."
The girl yawned in lieu of replying, before stopping to actually process the words. "Huh. Maybe."
"Did you have them again?" the Kuranta inquired as she handed the younger girl the clothes she had 'carefully' thrown onto the chair. At least her power took that into consideration, even if it was still oddly consistent with summoning Nearl on chairs whenever they were available.
"Yeah, but let me get changed first," Missy replied, waiting for Nearl to leave the room before she got changed.
After a moment, she called out to her friend and invited her back in. "This time it was some grumpy old man that looked like you. Your dad, maybe?"
Nearl sighed, shaking her head. "More likely my uncle. We… don't have the best relationship, unfortunately."
Missy shrugged. "I... saw a lot of him, actually. I think I saw a lot more of your memories than yesterday? You were in some sort of tournament despite his objections. Also saw a lot of what looked like homeschooling and private tutoring? I'm still kind of trying to make sense of it all."
The woman hummed thoughtfully at that. "Perhaps your visions are related to what I'm teaching you. We'll have to consider that further. You seem to have received many a vision of interacting carefully with others right after we discussed that. And now, as I begin to train you, you start getting visions of me in combat."
The girl nodded, before looking at the Kuranta in an accusatory manner. "Maybe. Also, why didn't you tell me you can do lasers?!"
The Kuranta blinked at the sudden question. "They're… slow and somewhat inefficient. I only use them when necessary, and otherwise have focused my studies elsewhere," she answered with a confused look on her face.
"Yeah, but lasers!" Missy retorted, apparently seeing the statement as an actual argument.
Nearl held up her hands defensively with a defeated smile. "Fine, fine. I will teach you how to do lasers, once you're ready. Promise."
"You better!" Missy said as she hopped out of bed. "So, what's the plan for today?"
Nearl raised an eyebrow. "That's up to you, Missy. It's your life, after all. I'm just an outsider."
Missy froze in place, her breath catching in her throat as she suddenly felt as if the ground had crumbled under her.
Was that… how Nearl felt? It was true that they'd met only a few days ago, but… to Missy, Nearl felt almost like a parent already, despite their short time together, and definitely far more of a real parent than her actual ones.
She found that Nearl's reaction… hurt, far more deeply than it should've. She was brought right back to her memories of that last day with her parents, before everything changed. While they weren't good parents, at least… they existed. While she very much disliked them, they were still her family, as shitty as they were. As much as she wanted to separate from them, she never meant for it to happen like that.
Really, Nearl's arrival had been a ray of hope in her life when she needed it the most. Nearl was her hero, the person she looked up to the most, who she most dearly wanted to be like when she grew up, and then…
Then this. She abruptly realized that Nearl simply viewed herself as… a helpful passerby, at most. But Missy… didn't want that. Missy wanted Nearl to stay with her forever, to talk to her, teach her, give her advice, comfort her, tell her stories, and play games together. She wanted her to be her friend, the person she could trust with anything, who would always have her back and be there when she needed it.
She wanted Nearl to be her family.
No, in her heart, Nearl already was her family. She certainly felt far more attached to her than she ever did to her real parents…
Upon realizing this, Missy's face twisted in anguish as she began to tear up, which caused Nearl to startle in shock and reflexively move closer to comfort her, which only made Missy feel worse upon seeing how someone who really cares about you is supposed to act, which she only now began to realize she had been missing for most of her life.
"What's wrong?" The Kuranta uttered in concern as she gently rubbed her back.
"...Don't say something like that," Missy whispered, latching onto her and squeezing surprisingly tightly. "Please… don't."
Despite her concern and confusion, Nearl still tried to do her best to help. "I-I'm sorry, what did I do wrong? What's the problem?"
Missy began to cry at that. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me! That's the problem!"
Nearl found herself stunned by the girl's sudden outburst.
"Do you know what it's been like, with these two morons constantly embroiled in their own bullshit arguments, enough that they forget they have a daughter half the time?!" she continued with her verbal onslaught. "My dad literally gave away our dogs, just to hurt my mom! The fact that I liked those dogs too didn't even register to him!"
Nearl held the girl closer, not that it stopped her rant.
"You've been a better parent to me in the last three days than these idiots have been for most of my life, Nearl!" Missy sobbed. "So don't… don't say something like that. It makes me feel like you're just going to walk away…"
Unfortunately, the Kuranta found herself at a loss for words.
"I… I swear to you that I will stay by your side for as long as I'm able to," Nearl answered as she pulled Missy closer and enveloped her in a hug, finding herself entirely unbalanced and uncertain over how to handle such a situation, yet still defaulting to what she knew would be the right thing to do no matter what.
"...Thank you," Missy replied in a small and frail voice, finding herself unable to let go of the Kuranta. She really was like a lifeline to her right now. "That means the world to me. I… I'm not sure how to say it, but…"
Nearl looked down at the girl, who seemed incredibly conflicted.
"I… I wish I could say that I hate my parents," Missy said, looking incredibly guilty as she did. "They've made my life hell for almost as long as I can remember. But… there was a time where we were just a family, it was great, I was happy and…"
The Kuranta squeezed the girl tighter, a conflicted look on her face, not that Missy saw.
"I… I don't know what to do anymore, Nearl," Missy brokenly uttered, sounding miserable. "When I was in that car, the thing I was looking forward to the most was a time when I no longer needed to deal with my parents, you know? But now… now it just feels like everything went down the drain. That everything just got worse."
"I understand," Nearl answered, but… it felt like she was trying to convince herself more so than Missy.
"Nearl," Missy suddenly spoke up with a fearful tone that worried her. "...am I… not allowed to be happy? Is- is that why my life is the way it is?"
Nearl's eyes widened in alarm as she pulled back and quickly knelt in front of her and grabbed onto her shoulders. "Missy. Missy, listen to me." She suddenly ordered.
The girl looked up and met her gaze in confusion. "Do not ever think of yourself like that again, do you understand?" Nearl firmly said.
"H-huh?" The girl uttered in confusion.
"Of course you're allowed to be happy. If anyone ever says otherwise, then they are wrong." Nearl declared, her voice full of burning passion and conviction.
Unfortunately, this only caused Missy's sight to cloud with tears again, before she rushed forward and latched onto her neck in a hug, sobbing into her shoulder.
Nearl soothingly ran her hand through the girl's hair as she continued. "I firmly believe that everyone has a right to be happy, to wish for a better and brighter future. That is what I stand for, what I will always fight for. Unfortunately, one thing I have learned is that the world is unfair. Some people have to fight much, much harder for their happiness than others. I wish I could say it's not that way, but my experience says otherwise."
The girl looked up, as much as she could while still locked into a hug. She wondered where she was going with this.
"It is those people that I wish to be a champion for. I fight for their right to be happy. And, if you wish, so can you. In due time, of course," Nearl continued, pulling back to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry for failing to realize how much you were hurting, Missy."
The girl smiled despite the tears. "I'm not mad at you, silly. I know you're trying your best, even though you never really had to."
The Kuranta firmly shook her head. "No, I had to. Nobody who can truly call themselves a good person would abandon you in a situation like this," she sighed.
"Why don't you go wash up in the bathroom, try and calm down, while I'll go and figure out breakfast for today? Does that sound okay to you?" Nearl softly asked, lightly patting her head.
Missy paused. "Y-Yeah, good idea," she eventually replied, reluctantly letting go of Nearl.
Nearl watched her go, slowly rubbing at her own misty eyes, before she walked into the kitchen. Maybe she could try something fancier to cheer the girl up and get rid of all of this doom and gloom?
Nearl took stock of what was available in the kitchen and found herself oddly disappointed. Apparently there was little readily available. Somehow, the Kuranta felt sure that presenting the girl a bowl of fruits would not go over well. If her experience with children was anything to go by, they disliked healthy food even while they were in a good mood, and Missy was anything but.
But cereal felt so… impersonal. No, what Missy needed right now was a breakfast made with feeling.
But how was she supposed to make that when all she had available was a half-empty box of cereal and three pears?
Unless she missed something. Maybe there was some sort of secondary storage in the basement or something…
Suppressing a sigh, the Kuranta made a trip down the stairs. … and nearly tripped due to the awkward height difference in the steps. Who designed this place, anyway?
Down in the basement, she found an entire floor waiting for her. Nearl found herself rather surprised - due to the limited building space in Mobile Cities, basements were usually a bit of a luxury often restricted to nobles, but she supposed that would not be the case here.
Unfortunately, she was unable to find a pantry or some other form of food storage down here. A lot of appliances, some crates that appeared to hold random items, and, for some reason, a lone bowling ball.
Sighing, she went to check the door to her right, only to find a utility room of some kind. Good to know for later, but she doubted that washing powder would go well with cereal.
Starting to get frustrated, the Kuranta went over to the last room, only to find herself disappointed yet again. This room held a workshop of sorts, which would have been useful for her sister, but certainly not her– not now, at least. Perhaps it would help if she needed to do maintenance on her weapon.
Stomping back up the stairs, she decided to just ask Missy. Thanks to the odd sense she had, she could tell she was… in the computer room?
"Missy?" Nearl called out as she went to the room, hearing a familiar but unexpected noise. Was that the treadmill?
"Yeah?" Missy asked with the telltale strained tone of someone exercising.
"...Why are you on the treadmill?" she asked, somewhat confused.
"Couldn't calm down," was her short and prompt reply as she focused on her breath. "Helps get my mind off… other things."
Well, at least she did it before eating.
"Right, nevermind. You do that. Do you store food somewhere other than in the kitchen? The selection seems… somewhat slim," Nearl inquired, apparently choosing not to comment on Missy's choice of action.
"Not that I know of," the girl replied without looking away from the treadmill.
"Alright," Nearl responded, leaving Missy to her workout. She'd need to make sure the girl didn't overwork herself, but, in all likelihood, she would be fine until breakfast was ready.
She quickly gathered up the plates, two spoons, and the milk. And then frowned at the carton of milk. Both because it was the only one left and because it was now empty after pouring it onto the cereal.
They definitely needed to go shopping soon. While they seemed to have enough food in the fridge to last for another three or four days, their breakfast options were basically exhausted at this point.
Hmm, she should probably check the state of available beverages too.
But that could wait for now. "Missy! Breakfast's ready," the Kuranta called out to her friend.
After a few seconds, the girl entered the room. "Sorry, this is all I can provide. I tried to find some food to make something better, but you don't really have much in the way of breakfast options stored, it seems."
Missy smiled as she sat down. "It's better than what usually happens, anyway," she said, scooping up the first load of cereal.
"Huh?" the Kuranta blurted in confusion.
"I usually just make cereal and then eat alone in my room," Missy admitted after finishing chewing.
Nearl looked at the girl with a pained expression, seemingly thinking back to her own troubles with her family.
"By the way, we should probably go shopping sooner rather than later," Nearl advised after a moment, changing the topic entirely. "Which requires figuring out how much money we have available."
She then took the time to actually eat some of her own cereal.
"Alright," Missy replied in between shoveling spoonfuls of cereal in her mouth. "There should be some lying around… somewhere. Probably."
Nearl nodded. "Still, that'll come later. For now, we've still got to figure out a way for me to come outside with you. We also still have to follow up with the PRT. Maybe we can ask for help there too?"
The girl simply nodded due to having her mouth full. Nearl then focused on finishing her own plate, again cleaning it up by way of dumping it into the dishwasher. "By the way, how long did you exercise earlier?" Nearl asked out of curiosity.
"Uh, about ten minutes, I think?" Missy answered, which caused Nearl to shoot her a dubious look. "W-what is it?"
Nearl frowned. "Did I really take that long? You… are not sweaty at all."
The Kuranta narrowed her eyes in suspicion and leaned closer to inspect Missy, which caused the girl to freeze up. "H-Hey!"
"Let me take a look at your legs," Nearl stated, causing the girl to blush. Nevertheless, she rolled up her pants up to her knees.
The Kuranta frowned in concern and what she saw, then tested the muscles there by pinching them, disregarding Missy's pained "Ow!"
"These… are far more developed than yesterday," she stated in confusion before backing off again. "I'll be damned, you were actually right on that. That much muscle growth should not be possible in a single day."
Missy rolled her pant legs back down. When she looked at her face, the girl seemed to be beaming. "So I can really be as strong as you are?!"
Nearl gave the girl a head pat. "Yes, that seems likely. If you keep training diligently, you will. But more important than being strong is being brave, you know?"
"I am brave!" Missy exclaimed with a pout, batting Nearl's hand away.
The Kuranta grinned. "Is that so? Then why don't you go call the PRT and tell them you're ready for power testing?"
The look of horror on Missy's face was rather telling. She'd been had!
Missy succeeded in calling the PRT, making sure to mention the other problems the two were having.
"They said they'd pick us up at noon," Missy said in a tone that almost, but not quite, hid her nervousness. "They also said they're willing to help out. Apparently they got some ideas. Oh, and apparently they want us to not eat lunch? They said they wanted to test something and that they'd provide lunch for us."
The Kuranta blinked at that. "I have no idea what to make of that, but a free lunch is a free lunch, I suppose. Still, that leaves us with quite a lot of time to kill. I feel it would be best spent discussing manipulative tactics and how to spot them. I fear it might become all too relevant soon."
The girl tilted her head in confusion. "But… they're the good guys?"
Nearl smiled gently, sat down and patted the place right next to her, which the girl took with zero hesitation. "Yes, but that does not mean they won't try to manipulate you," the Kuranta began to explain. "There are many reasons. The person you're trying to help might be stubborn, they might like another option more, or they might simply not be entirely rational at the time."
Missy listened with keen interest, something the Kuranta had seemingly grown rather fond of.
"For example, the PRT is almost certainly aiming to recruit you into the Wards, the team under their direct control. They'd likely accept you joining New Wave instead, but that doesn't mean they will like it," Nearl advised. "So they may very well try to pressure you into joining their own team. They'll give you the best possible look for the Wards, or their organization as a whole."
Her friend nodded. "Hm. How'd that look like?" she asked curiously.
"There are a lot of things they can do. First, no organization will tell you the drawbacks of working for them if they can avoid it. Things like the lack of control over your name or costume, for example. Remember how that was just hidden away in the contract, and nobody mentioned it?" Nearl explained.
Missy's eyes went wide. "They were trying to hide that, weren't they," she mused.
"Correct." The Kuranta praised the girl. She was about to reach out for a congratulatory head pat, but the little girl was quick on the draw this time and batted her hand away. Only to then reach up and smugly pat Nearl's head in turn, ruffling her hair as she did.
Nearl pouted at that, which only caused Missy to burst out laughing.
Ah, so it was like that, huh? The student finally strikes back…
Seeing Missy actually laughing, Nearl did some quick thinking, before smirking mischievously at the girl, which caused her to freeze as the Kuranta raised both hands as if ready to pounce.
The girl laughed nervously and tried to retreat, but it was no use. Within mere moments, she was within her grasp, and much tickling and play-fighting ensued, the house being filled with the sound of Missy's laughter.
It was fun.
"Haaah, I needed that," Missy replied from her spot on the floor, having fallen somewhere along the way, gasping and trying to regain her breath, yet still sounding genuinely relieved. Nearl said nothing as she returned to her seat, but her smirk betrayed that she had fun as well.
Nearl nodded at her, her smile radiant. "I'm glad you had fun. Nevertheless, I was trying to go for a lesson before I was so rudely interrupted."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Back to business then." Missy grumbled as she got up and returned to her seat at the Kuranta's side.
"I think I'm starting to get it, though?" the girl mused, her eyes becoming strangely unfocused, as if recalling a memory.
"Oh? Is that so?" Nearl as curiously. "Hm. How about you give me some tricks you could see the PRT pulling to convince you to join, then?"
Missy thought about it for a moment. "They could tell the rude people to conveniently stay away temporarily, especially if there are any on the actual Wards team if we get to meet them. They'll probably try to get us to rush making a decision… Velocity will be there, too, I bet."
The Kuranta found herself quite impressed, going by the look of surprise.
"Good, good," Nearl praised her even as her hand twitched from wanting to give the girl another pat on the head. The glare caused her to reconsider, though. The Kuranta just could not help herself; Missy was far too adorable. Somehow, she figured the girl would be annoyed by that thought, however. "What else?"
"Well, I think they also might…"
The two ended up almost losing track of time as they discussed various ideas they had, with Nearl giving many warnings, examples and explanations about underhanded tricks. Eventually, however, they reached a lull in the discussion and Missy's eyes unfocused again.
After a few moments, she blinked rather strongly and shook her head as if dispelling a memory, before her eyes went wide. "Wait... I think I get it now, it just clicked," she said, almost completely out of the blue.
Nearl blinked slowly in confusion. "What clicked, exactly?"
"You never were infected, were you? Your family exiled you to protect you," Missy blurted out.
The Kuranta froze up, before suddenly looking contemplative. "How do you even know about that..?"
When Missy looked at her face, she noticed that the Kuranta was frowning. "Oh, uhm… sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories…"
Nearl shook her head. "No, it's alright. I didn't quite understand it myself when it happened, but I do now. If you were able to figure out something like that on your own, then I suppose you're probably as ready as you can be for the PRT."
Somehow, Missy wasn't quite convinced, but Nearl seemed to not let it bother her. "Hey, Nearl?"
"Hm?" the Kuranta replied.
"Do you think… I can really be a hero?" the girl asked, sounding unsure of herself.
"Of course," was Nearl's immediate reply. "But like many things in life, you have to work towards it. Your… power seems to take care of your physical strength so far, but what matters just as much is up here, and here," she replied with her usual smile, taping Missy on the forehead and her heart. "Mental strength and intelligence are just as, if not more important than physical strength. And being a hero is more than just going out there and fighting evildoers– there is a certain strength of spirit and character one must have to inspire others."
Missy slowly nodded. "I… I understand. It's just, I still feel so helpless without you. I want to help people, but… I feel like I can barely help myself."
Nearl reached around the girl for a one-armed hug. "Missy, you are still a child. I fear you might have a warped view of what's normal for someone your age. Needing others is perfectly normal. You will get there, trust me."
The girl smiled bitterly. "Okay," she said, before smirking. "I'll rely on you, then."
The Kuranta nodded. "I am fine with that. But if you want, I can try and guide you towards being more independent as well. It's… probably for the better, anyway."
Missy frowned as she looked into the distance. "With my parents? Absolutely."
Nearl's head turned away with a pained grimace, before slowly explaining with visible difficulty. "That… is not what I meant."
She heaved a deep sigh, her voice seemingly aging decades between one breath and the next, before she carefully took hold of the little girl's hand in hers and began. "Missy, I… do not exactly lead the safest of lives back home. The path of a true knight is one often filled with peril and great risk, especially in a place like Terra. As much as it pains me to say this, there may very well be a time when I… will no longer be there to help you. Do you understand?"
The girl simply sat there frozen, her eyes wide and unblinking, staring off into the distance with a haunted expression as her breath quickened and her hand tightly held onto Nearl's like a lifeline. It took her some time, but eventually she took several deep, shivering breaths and looked at Nearl's face with a fragile, teary smile. "I… I understand."
Nearl smiled a gentle, motherly smile at her, and was about to reply before she was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. A quick check confirmed that it was the PRT, here to pick them up.
The Kuranta sighed at that. "I suppose we'll have to continue this some other time," she muttered.
The trip was uneventful, save for the time it took Missy to slip on the mask Velocity had given her as well as a hat that hid her hair somewhat, and they found themselves entering through the garage. As Missy had surmised, the one there to escort them was none other than Velocity.
"Hello again, you two," the hero greeted the pair, shaking hands with both Nearl and Missy, before looking directly at the other. "I figured you'd like having someone familiar to show you around."
Missy seemed a bit dubious. She didn't quite think he was lying, but it didn't seem like the only reason.
Nearl chuckled as she patted Missy on the shoulder, drawing her attention. The Kuranta flashed a smile towards the man. "It's appreciated. Shall we?"
Taking a rather strange path involving going up some stairs and then back down via an elevator, which had Missy quite confused, they were eventually led to the power testing department– specifically, the lab portion of it.
"It's intentionally confusing," Velocity explained to the girl as they waited for the researchers to actually let them in. "To make it as difficult as possible for infiltrators."
Nearl nodded in understanding as the door unlocked for Velocity to open it, revealing… Panacea, of all people, reclining on a bench off to the side and idly scrolling through her phone.
"Oh, hi," she said, lazily waving the group over as she got up and stored her phone. "Come on in."
The girl seemed a bit less tired today than last time the two had met her, but, if anything, the low-energy and sleepy attitude seemed to be a perpetual part of her when she wasn't being grumpy. Velocity gave the girl a mock salute, getting an eye roll in response.
As soon as everyone was in, Panacea turned towards Nearl. "I was asked to double-check if the alterations I made so that you wouldn't have issues while in Bet were still there. Are you okay with that?"
The Kuranta nodded, apparently curious herself. Amy reached out and found herself frowning a moment later.
"Well, that's both interesting and somewhat unfortunate," the healer stated after a moment of consideration. "The bacteria and microbes are just gone. Given how similar they are to the state they were in last time I checked, my guess is that Missy's power copies the state Nearl's body is in when she goes to sleep."
The tester, who apparently had walked up to the group quietly enough for Missy not to notice, took a note of that. "That's useful information. Thank you, Panacea. Anyway, I'd like to actually introduce myself before we start. I'm Cathy, nice to meet you. Have you decided on a cape name yet?"
Missy nodded. "After talking it through with Nearl, we've decided on Astra for now."
Cathy wrote that down, apparently not caring about the actual reasoning behind the name one bit. For some reason, that annoyed Missy somewhat. She and Nearl had worked hard on it, damnit!
"Very well," Cathy continued. "I was also informed that Panacea spotted unusual brain activity in Astra. Please confirm that this is still happening. Some powers have an initial 'set-up' period and don't instantly change the body."
Amy nodded, walking towards Missy, who shrugged and held out her hand for the healer to take. Almost as soon as she made skin contact, Amy's eyes went wide.
"...What the fuck?" she asked with a confused expression, before it quickly died down and changed into her usual attitude. "...Oh. Oh! So that's what it is. Huh..."
"Share with the class?" Velocity requested, looking worried.
"Well, uhh… her biology is… changing. As in, her whole body, not just her brain," Amy explained with a fascinated look on her face. "I am not entirely sure, but it feels like I'm looking at the midway point between a normal human and, well, Nearl."
Both Nearl and Missy blinked at that before turning to look at each other.
"I better not grow a tail," Missy grumbled.
That caused everyone but Missy and the researcher to chuckle. Cathy herself was… taking notes. As usual.
"You two don't seem as surprised as you should be," Velocity noted from his chair.
"I am, somewhat," Nearl explained with a shrug. "But I did start her on a workout regiment that seems to be showing results far too quickly. It wasn't what I expected, but it did seem power-related."
"Very interesting," Cathy noted, flipping the paper on her pad. Apparently she already managed to fill an entire page, somehow. "This suggests it's not a Thinker power."
"Not just a Thinker power," Amy corrected, getting a look from the others. "I wasn't quite done yet. The heightened brain activity I mentioned earlier is still present. In fact, this very much looks like a receding Thinker headache at the moment."
Missy blinked, feeling put on the spot as everyone else in the room turned to her. "I… don't remember having a headache?"
The researcher made another note. "That is quite curious. Do you actually have a Thinker power you are aware of?"
Missy seemed unsure, but Nearl spoke up immediately. "She picks up things I've been teaching her far too quickly. I suspect this 'Thinker' power you are looking for is related to this."
Velocity spoke up after that, leaving Cathy to do her usual thing. "Out of curiosity, what did you teach her?"
Nearl looked him in the eyes and replied with a completely straight face. "I was sharing my experiences of how to spot and deal with the machinations of overly pushy and/or corrupt government organizations."
Velocity blinked at that and seemed unsure how to respond to that for a moment. "I, uhm… you have a lot of experience with that?"
Missy found Velocity's reaction rather interesting, taking note of it for later.
"I do. Quite a lot, in fact. I'd be willing to share stories, but I believe that's better saved for later," Nearl replied, looking at Cathy, who seemed almost annoyed at the interruption.
For some reason, Missy couldn't get herself to like the woman. She reminded her of the classic heartless scientist character from movies.
"Nearl is quite right on that front. Still, we prepared for testing the Thinker power, so we might as well start there. Given that you seem to have made a lot of use out of it, please tell me what you've found out about it so far," Cathy requested.
Missy and Nearl looked at each other, then Nearl nodded. "I think I'm just sorta drawing on Nearl's skills and powers in general? I keep getting visions of her memories while I sleep, too. I was even able to use Nearl's, uhm… Arts, as she calls it, although the only thing I've managed to do is burn my hand."
The eyes of both Amy and Velocity went up at that. "...Are you saying you're learning to use Nearl's healing ability?" the latter eventually said.
"My Arts are much more than just healing, but yes. She does not have nearly enough practice with them that I would be comfortable letting her use them to heal, however," Nearl answered.
"What are your powers about, anyway?" Amy inquired.
"Light," Nearl replied, holding her hand out to summon up a small golden blade made out of glowing light. Despite the small size, it felt noticeably warm. She dispelled the construct a moment later. "It's very versatile in what it can do. Other than healing, I also often use it to form shields or empower my weapon."
Panacea seemed strangely surprised about the display, muttering a soft "Huh," upon seeing the weapon.
Cathy nodded, actually stepping to the computer close by to type something into it. "We'd like to see that in more detail, if possible. Later, anyway. Astra first. Would it be possible to showcase this light control?"
Missy shook her head. "Nearl forbade me from doing so."
Everyone looked at the Kuranta. "My family's Arts are very dangerous if misused, even to the user. You can quite literally melt your limbs off if you don't know what you're doing. I think it's different from your parahuman powers in that way - ours must be learned and honed. Either way, I suppose it's alright with Panacea here," she explained before turning to Missy. "Just take it very slowly, okay? You need to stay focused with a clear image of what you want to do in mind."
"But I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing," Missy retorted with a tilt of her head.
Nearl nodded, holding up a finger. "Try doing this," she suggested. As she did, a small yet bright golden light appeared just above said finger. "But with both hands. You aren't quite used to casting Arts yet."
Missy narrowed her eyes in concentration and held out her arms towards an empty space, not trusting herself to make the attempt anywhere in the direction of the other people. "Okay, so I do… this?"
Unlike Nearl's much more graceful light, Missy's attempt was downright flickering. It also seemed unstable, growing larger and smaller seemingly at random. "Hnnngh! Come on!" the girl complained, almost as if it was an effort to get this much out.
"That's enough for now," Nearl ordered. Almost as soon as she said so, the light disappeared. The Kuranta then walked over and checked the girl's hands. "It doesn't seem like you burned yourself this time, but have Panacea check you over regardless."
Nodding, Missy walked towards Amy, who seemed curious herself. "You're fine. Interestingly, I can actually tell you did… something with your hands. It's… depleted, for lack of a better word, of nutrients, if only slightly. Almost as if this power was rooted in your biology."
"Light Arts are the signature of the Nearl family," Nearl explained. "It quite literally runs through our blood– not many others can learn it. Well, until Missy here came along, that is."
Panacea sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I should be surprised about that, but somehow I'm not. As far as I can tell, it's a completely different system for superpowers you guys have over there."
Nearl nodded as well. "Quite frankly, Parahuman abilities are strange. The workings of many seem illogical to me."
Cathy sighed, drawing their attention. "I suppose they are rather strange, but they follow at least some rules, which is why my department exists. I have to say, I did not expect to be dealing with non-Parahuman superpowers, though. Either way, I'd love to do some more specific tests regarding the more exotic properties of your light control, but we can do that some other time. For today, we should establish the baseline."
The researcher made some notes on a whiteboard while the rest of the group looked on with curiosity.
"Based on my observation, what Panacea first suspected to be a Thinker power seems more likely to be the mechanism by which Astra acquires knowledge and skills at an accelerated rate, as well as muscle– acquiring both physique and muscle memory. If it was solely mental skills, the classification as a Thinker power would be correct. But since Astra is also seemingly copying Nearl's biology, this falls more into the Trump category," the researcher explained.
"I think she's improving much faster when I actively teach her. Technically, Missy was the one to figure out she can copy my Arts; I was not even aware of that part at the time," Nearl added. "That suggests she can pick up knowledge even without direct teaching."
Cathy noted it down on the whiteboard. "That would explain why it summons you rather than just giving Astra the powers," she mused. "Well, not really. Quite frankly, your power is very abnormal. Most powers come either with innate knowledge of how to use them, or cannot harm the user directly. In most cases, the Parahuman only needs to figure out the fine details or aspects that have been missed, which is why the PRT has a power testing department. We exist to prevent power side-effects from causing unexpected trouble, such as a parahuman suddenly finding out that their power makes them extra flammable."
Missy suspected that wasn't the only reason, but did not want to come off as rude or distrusting by asking.
Nearl, meanwhile, seemed rather curious about that oddly specific example, but refrained from asking.
"The next two aspects we'd like to test are that empathic link you reported, and if your 'summon' has a maximum range. Quite possibly, those will tie into each other," Cathy continued. "As such, I'd like to directly test this."
"What did you have in mind?" Nearl inquired.
"I'd like Nearl to enter one of our vehicles, probably one of the vans, and ride in it. That way, we can test your knowledge of each other's location as well as a possible range limit. Astra would be staying here and be giving us updates on Nearl's location in the meantime." Cathy answered.
It was obvious to everyone in the room, even Cathy, that Missy was unnerved by the idea.
"Missy, I agree that this should be tested sooner rather than later," Nearl said with a sigh to her voice.
"I know, it's just…" Missy mumbled.
"You're safe here. Velocity will keep you safe," Nearl assured the girl, looking at Velocity. "Won't he?"
The hero nodded. "Of course," he replied without hesitation. He hid whatever reaction he might have had to how unnerved Missy seemed rather well.
Amy agreed. "We're all here for you," the girl added with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Don't worry."
It did little to reassure Missy as she watched Nearl walk out of the door, however. It made her feel so vulnerable.
Cathy mumbled something about her reaction being power-related, but Missy paid little attention. She sat down in a chair instead, since she'd gotten rather tired of just standing around. Amy joined her in the neighboring chair.
"You'll be fine," Amy reassured the girl. "The first few days after getting powers are always difficult. It'll get better, trust me."
Missy nodded, but didn't respond. She instead chose to focus on Nearl. Strangely enough, her empathic sense seemed to get stronger now that Nearl was further away.
"... I think she just got into a car," she said after a moment. "She's moving more quickly now."
"I think I get a better sense of direction the further away she is…" Missy added, slowly. "I almost can't tell when she's close, but I can pretty much just point at her exact place now."
"Interesting," Cathy retorted. "Please do so."
Missy followed the request, pointing towards the south. Doing so caused Cathy to speak into a radio or something of the sort, something she didn't quite catch.
"Just changed direction this way," Missy commented. "And… she's starting to feel worried about something?"
The others in the room perked up at that. "I'll ask," Cathy said after a moment, again communicating with the vehicle. A moment later, the researcher nodded. "Apparently Nearl is getting increasingly dizzy. I've asked the van to turn around to see if this is range based or otherwise."
"She's feeling relieved now," Missy noted.
"Definitely power-related," Cathy mumbled, before turning towards Amy, of all people. "You said that her body was basically reset, ignoring the changes you've made, correct?"
Amy nodded.
"In that case, we should test what happens when she exceeds the maximum range," Cathy explained, ignoring Missy's visible distress in doing so.
"Nearl will be fine," Velocity reassured the girl.
Missy didn't reply. This time, Nearl seemed more unnerved than actually worried, so maybe things were alright.
Only for Missy to get a growing headache soon afterward. She clutched her head, prompting Amy to poke her.
"Rapidly growing Thinker headache," Amy stated. "Tell them to turn the van around, now."
The researcher didn't seem to be bothered by the demand and simply did as asked.
"Ugh," Missy bemoaned, shaking her head. "That was awful."
"What was?" Velocity asked, slightly leaning forward to support Missy just in case.
"I think the direction sense got confused? Like it's trying to tell me Nearl is in a direction that my brain can't handle," Missy tried to explain.
"The van is already returning," Cathy added from the side. "Based on the tracker, your range is just below two kilometers, though this seems more of a soft limit than a hard one, which is also unusual. Based on your explanation, I suspect it might have something to do with the multidimensional aspect of your power, but I can't actually confirm this."
"Maybe Nearl will be sent back home if she goes too far," Velocity mused. "But the experience doesn't sound pleasant for either of you two."
A few minutes later, Nearl returned. Missy had to restrain herself from just running up to the Kuranta and hugging her.
"Welcome back!" she instead called out with far too much enthusiasm.
"Yes, welcome back," Cathy greeted the Kuranta with her usual neutral tone. "Would you mind describing your experience?"
Nearl nodded. "I gradually became more disoriented as we headed outwards. Eventually my vision got… distorted, for lack of a better word, until the only thing I could see was some sort of foggy red void. I can't explain it much better than that, sorry. It reminded me of what I saw the first time Missy brought me over, if that helps? Although the memory of that is still strangely vague."
"Trigger vision," Cathy quickly replied. "Nearly all parahumans have them, shortly followed by a loss of memory of the event. Nobody knows much else about them, unfortunately."
The researcher took note before speaking up again. "It does help confirm that it's a limit to Astra's power. I think we're done with this aspect, then. Next, your enhanced biology."
"I'm not sure if it's worth testing for Brute or Mover ratings just yet," Amy interjected. "Right now, her biology is still mostly human. From what I can tell, she's roughly on the same level as an athletic sixteen year old, although with slightly more stamina than normal."
Cathy nodded. "We'll skip that this time, then. Some blood samples would be appreciated, however. Especially from Nearl, although seeing the difference between you two would be fascinating in its own right."
Nearl frowned as she considered the request. "I don't like it, but I suppose it might be for the best. Just, be very careful with it, yes? Originium is very dangerous."
"That's why we'd like to have samples of it, so we can develop countermeasures," Cathy agreed.
Missy agreed as well, seeing that Nearl went for it. Curiously enough, Missy seemed to have much less issue with the needles than Nearl did, who seemed actively unnerved.
"Just don't get sad if your blood sample disappears overnight," Velocity quipped to Cathy, who raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I have to say I did not consider that, but it would be an interesting data point in its own right," Cathy admitted. "I think we're just about done with Astra here, then. The light manipulation and physical enhancement is something we will test with Nearl instead."
"Right, I don't think you need to stick around for this part," Velocity said to Missy, before turning to Nearl. "I think it's best if you split up for now. We'll move on to the talks about the Case File, as well as setting you up with a legal identity and some other things. These don't require Missy to be present, which would allow her to meet the Wards in the meantime."
Missy and Nearl exchanged a look and came to an unspoken agreement.
"That seems fine," Nearl replied, before leaning in closer to Missy to whisper. "Don't agree to anything without me, alright?"
The girl nodded, before heading to follow Velocity, leaving Nearl to stay behind with Amy and Cathy.
Missy found herself very nervous once again. Did she make the right choice? Her unease returned more and more the further away they got from Nearl.
"Don't worry, the Wards won't bite," Velocity quipped as they waited for the door to unlock, having triggered the visitor warning. "If only because most of them have full-face masks, so they physically can't."
The girl rolled her eyes at that. Granted, the annoyance at the joke did seem to reduce her unease a bit, so perhaps that was the idea in the first place.
Eventually, the door opened, revealing a set of teenagers neatly lined up. Missy paused, expecting Velocity to go first. Instead, he stood there with a grin, making a grand gesture for her to enter.
Shooting him an annoyed look, the girl stepped forward.
"Good early afternoon, Wards. I'd like you to meet Astra, who is here today for power testing, among other things," Velocity explained to the assembled Wards.
What a wonderful way of introducing yourself, Missy, she thought to herself. When did she become so bad at this? They must already think she's stupid or something.
She was in no way ready for the explosion of questions that followed, causing her to flinch.
"One at a time, people," Velocity chastised the Wards, the ones who had visible faces actively looking somewhat sheepish at that. "How about you introduce yourself first?"
"Ah, um, right," the first one, a boy in a reddish-brown suit of armor, began. "Sorry about that. I'm Aegis, the current leader of the Wards."
"I'm Clockblocker," the second one, a seemingly heavily armored boy with clock designs all over his primarily white armor, added with a chuckle in his voice. He clearly was far too amused by his own terrible name.
"Gallant. Nice to meet you," another boy said, this one with a sleek, futuristic design clearly based on medieval knight armor.
"I'm Kid Win," yet another boy in primarily red power armor with a red visor introduced himself. The Wards sure had a lot of boys.
"And I'm Orbital," the final one, a redheaded teenage girl who didn't bother costuming up, instead having slapped on the same basic mask Missy was wearing. Apparently that's just standard issue here.
"So what brings you here, fellow space-themed girl?" Orbital said with a smirk, apparently having bowled straight over Clockblocker, who wanted to speak up himself. "What's your power?"
"It's complicated," Missy instantly answered, sounding unsure. "Which is why I'm here for power testing."
She gave Velocity a pleading look. Honestly, she had no idea how much she was or wasn't supposed to reveal.
"Right," he mused. "Her power is genuinely unusual. It's very similar to a projection power, but instead of a projection, Astra seems to summon an actual person. It sounds very strange, but Panacea confirmed the fact."
All visible eyebrows (which ended up being only Orbital and Aegis) went up with that.
"How does that even work?" Clockblocker asked, turning to look at Orbital as her phone buzzed. The redhead took that as a clue to just leave the lineup, ignoring the looks from the others.
"I don't know," Missy answered honestly. "That's why I'm here for. All I know is that I have no control over it."
"Right," Kid Win added. "How about we go sit down? Since someone already decided to leave the lineup already, anyway."
"Works for me," Missy replied, following the boy to the couch.
"Right, I'll see myself out then. You kids have fun, someone will bring Nearl here after she's done," the hero stated, giving a quick mock-salute before leaving.
Orbital briefly looked up from her phone. "Nearl? Who's that?"
"That's the person my power keeps summoning for some reason. As far as I can tell, my power makes a body for them to control while they're asleep. It's very weird," Missy responded as she sat herself down next to the other girl, who didn't seem to care much about the intrusion.
"Powers are weird at the best of times. Is there anything special about them, or is it literally just a random person?" Gallant asked, choosing the seat opposite hers. It was hard to tell his body language through the armor, but for some reason, something about him felt… off.
"She's got powers of her own," Missy answered after some quick thinking. "Powers that I am apparently slowly learning how to use."
"So, a Master/Trump combo?" Aegis inquired, taking place next to Gallant. "That's neat."
Missy raised an eyebrow. "Master? I have no control over her at all."
The boy blinked. "That… huh. I have no idea what they'd classify that as, then," he admitted.
Missy only barely noticed that Kid Win decided not to take part in the conversation, instead rushing off into his room. She raised an eyebrow at that.
"Tinkers," Clockblocker quipped. "Never mind him. He does that when he gets ideas. So uhm, I've been meaning to ask, but are you, like, actually going to join the Wards, or…"
Missy paused. "I… I'm still thinking about it. Things are a bit complicated right now. Nearl and I were looking at New Wave too, but we haven't actually figured out if they accept new members at all."
"New Wave is good people," Gallant quickly agreed with a nod, for some reason getting an eye roll from Aegis in response. "I don't know that either, unfortunately. Nobody really seemed interested in the idea beyond their own family members, at least."
"Is there a particular reason why you're looking at New Wave?" Aegis inquired, before glaring at Orbital, whose phone continued to vibrate as she typed.
"Nearl is… pretty distinctive," Missy hedged. "Just getting her here was a bit of a problem."
"Oh, like a Case 53?" Clockblocker asked in curiosity, leaning forward.
"Something like that," Missy answered. "She's uhh… part horse. She's got a tail and animal ears."
Nobody seemed to know how to respond to that, Missy most of all. To be honest, she felt intimidated being the focus of so many people. Constantly flip-flopping between her parents' homes made having friends quite a bit more difficult than it needed to be, especially when neither of them would drive her toward anywhere near the other's homes.
"Right, uhm… I've been meaning to ask, but wasn't there supposed to be one more Ward? Shadow something?" Missy asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"She got… transferred to another department a while ago. We weren't told why," Aegis answered. Both she and Orbital perked up at that. Missy wasn't one to miss the fact that he almost said something else. Orbital, on the other hand, just frowned, electing to continue typing on her phone.
And apparently that caused another awkward silence as she got distracted with considering what he almost said. However, eventually, Clockblocker spoke up again. "Right, so… seems like you'll be here for a while. How about we play some videogames?"
"Oh! Sure," Missy replied eagerly. "After you all tell me what your powers are. Only fair."
That caused the boy to chuckle, and they each explained their powers to the girl.
Aegis had the ability to fly and adapt his body in impossible ways, like breathing out of his elbows, or hearing through his hair, or other bizarre things like that.
Gallant could fire emotion changing blasts and sense other people's emotions, which made her feel all too self-aware about how she was feeling right now, her discomfort worsened by Nearl's absence.
Kid Win, at least according to Aegis, was a Tinker of some kind. They were still looking into what his specialization was, which was apparently giving them issues.
Clockblocker had the ability to put things in stasis for varying amounts of time. He also warned that stopped objects could be very dangerous because they were completely immovable.
Orbital, after some prodding by Aegis, explained that her power automatically twisted the space around her, essentially making attacks miss her and circle around her, hence the name. She could then release the attacks in whatever direction she wanted. It also came with a sort of spatial awareness around her and the ability to fly.
All these fliers made Missy wish she had a flight power as well.
"Okay, so now that's done, how about… Mario Kart?" Clockbocker asked, looking through the available games.
Missy nodded, taking the controller the boy offered.
Missy lost track of time as it apparently took several hours for Nearl to be done, for some reason. During that time, they ordered pizza, which was readily devoured by them all. Apparently, Missy ate enough to give the others pause, but she refused to comment on it. It was probably related to her changing biology, anyhow.
Missy grumbled as she lost just about every single race in Mario Kart. Including the one where Clockblocker deliberately let her use his slipstream, mostly because she was bad at actually using the mechanic.
Yet another drawback of parents not allowing her to play video games. At least she could blame the last loss on the fact that she started to feel Nearl moving and got distracted, but she had no excuse for all the other losses.
Eventually, Nearl arrived with Velocity, triggering the same visitor alarm.
"Hello, fellow children," Nearl greeted the Wards with a far too wide grin on her face. "How do you do?"
Clockblocker cackled at that, while Velocity gave her a thumbs-up of approval and the others looked mostly just confused.
Missy herself was more curious about the disguise Nearl was wearing. It was fairly simple, yet effective - It was a similar snowcoat to the one from earlier, but she could tell that her tail was much better hidden. Perhaps the inside of the coat had something to hold it up better. She also wore a hat that covered both ears better and seemed very rigid. It seemed likely that it was better attached than a normal hat would be. Also, she was carrying a big duffel bag on one shoulder, but she had no idea what that was for.
Velocity chuckled at Nearl's quip. "Everyone, this is Nearl. I presume Astra told you about her already?"
"Not a whole lot, but yes," Missy admitted. "I did tell them of your extra features, though."
The Kuranta sighed. "Oh well, I guess I don't get to test out my disguise then," she said, taking the hat off and revealing her horse ears.
All of the Wards seemed to perk up at that.
"You weren't kidding about Nearl being distinctive," Clockblocker blurted out. "We were told you have powers?"
Nearl chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. "Yes, but I was told not to use them here. I'm just here to pick up Astra."
Saying goodbye to the Wards, they once again were ferried back home in the same van.
"So, how did the talks go?" Missy asked the Kuranta, bored during the trip as she was.
"Rather fruitful, I'd say. The PRT set me up with a bank account and legal identity as your aunt for the time being. Your father might be able to fight that when he wakes up, but at that point he'll also return to being your legal guardian anyway," Nearl summarized. "I've rejected wearing a mask during any possible 'hero' work. It just isn't for me."
Missy nodded. Somehow, she felt that'd be the case. Still, it was really nice. She was curious about something else, however. "A bank account?"
Nearl perked up at that. "Ah, yes. Apparently there is a government program that pays a monthly cash incentive to parahumans that register with the PRT, which is taken away from them if they turn to crime, hence the bank out. It's essentially a legalized bribe to make people with powers stay out of trouble. They were simply 'kind' enough to offer that option to us as a way to help us solve our current money problems, at least temporarily. Though I figure it's probably just another way for them to butter us up to join their organization," the Kuranta shrugged.
"Ohhh. Yeah, I can see it," Missy nodded in understanding before tilting her head. "What's with the duffel bag though?"
"Oh, it's just some extra clothes they gave me for my civilian disguise," Nearl explained, shouldering said bag.
"They've also done a lot of testing on my various abilities," she continued. "Thanks to Panacea's assistance, they were able to certify that my healing ability is not harmful to humans. As such, I, and eventually you as well, will be able to help out Panacea in the hospital once the hospital does some verification on their end, including an ethics test," the Kuranta continued. "They also took a scan of my biological processes because they wanted to see if I actually needed to eat food here. Turns out, it does copy what I ate in Terra too; Panacea found that out right away. I feel like they're leaning on her a lot. That girl could probably really use someone to assist her."
"I agree," Missy replied. "I'd like to help out when I can, too."
Nearl smiled at that, ruffling her hair. "I am glad to hear. But we should probably wait a few days before that. Panacea is really mad at me right now."
"Huh? What for?!" Missy asked in both concern and alarm.
"Well, essentially, the PRT is really nervous about some of the information I shared with them about Terra, and they're making the whole thing very classified. Apparently, my world is a lot stranger compared to yours than I thought. Or as Velocity put it: 'effing terrifying'," Nearl explained, her voice tinged with humor.
"Why, the vast majority of the time was spent talking about my world. Everything else was done pretty quickly by comparison. There's definitely gonna be at least another two extra Case Files about things from Terra, which I believe is the reason why Panacea was so mad at me. Not to mention the fact that Velocity seemed to be two seconds away from running into the nearest bar to get drunk as well."
"Wow. That's kinda impressive. What did you even tell them about?" Missy replied, sounding surprised.
"Well, to start with, I drew them some maps, and then went on to explain the different nations and races of Terra. Our many different races were the first thing they got oddly fixated upon, especially once I mentioned my own, which they were strangely dubious about at first."
"What's so strange about being a horse person? Didn't Panacea already vouch for you?"
Nearl chuckled lightly at that, shaking her head, before adopting the usual tone she used for lectures. "The proper term for our kind is Kuranta, Missy. In my case, and the rest of the Nearl family as well, it's Pegasian Kuranta, which is the reason why we're considered nobles. It's a little insensitive to just call us horse people otherwise. Just something you should keep in mind in the future."
"Oh, crap! Sorry, my bad. I didn't know," the girl sheepishly apologized, before pausing in confusion. "Wait… Pegasian? You mean as in…?" she trailed off as she turned to look at Nearl's smirking face.
"Oh yes, indeed. Velocity had about the same reaction as you, actually. Why, I even had to show off my wings just so they would believe me," Nearl smugly explained, casually manifesting said golden wings and shrugging with them as she did so.
Missy's little brain just about crashed and exploded as she boggled in dumbfounded stupefaction. Eventually her brain rebooted, causing a realization to strike like lightning.
"YOU HAVE WINGS?! YOU'RE A GODDAMN PEGASUS???!!!"
The rest of the ride home was filled with Missy's deafening squeals of excitement.
"I'm not sure if it's worth testing for Brute or Mover ratings just yet," Amy interjected. "Right now, her biology is still mostly human. From what I can tell, she's roughly on the same level as an athletic sixteen year old, although with slightly more stamina than normal."
Is this part of the AU? Obviously pinning down the timeline is inexact but Missy was only like 12-13 at canon start, which presumably isn't too far from baseline given inferences from Sophia transferring out and what seems like Emma transferring in. If she still is around that age, then the age comparison here would be a little weird.
This makes me sad that she spent an extra few years in trigger-worthy conditions. Granted, Vista didn't get much relief for that either, but at least had an outlet.
Orbital, after some prodding by Aegis, explained that her power automatically twisted the space around her, essentially making attacks miss her and circle around her, hence the name.
Why, hello there. That sounds like a fun combination of Vista and Whirligig. Probably not great against melee attacks, but that's where the flight would help. It could certainly explain the butterflies around Winslow, too, particularly if that red hair is important.
Apparently there is a government program that pays a monthly cash incentive to parahumans that register with the PRT, which is taken away from them if they turn to crime, hence the bank out. It's essentially a legalized bribe to make people with powers stay out of trouble.
Sounds like a great idea, with a truckload of caveats. Garnished to pay for damages associated with vigilantism, I'm guessing? And probably less per month than joining up, at least on paper.
Apparently, my world is a lot stranger compared to yours than I thought. Or as Velocity put it: 'effing terrifying'," Nearl explained, her voice tinged with humor.
"And I'm Orbital," the final one, a redheaded teenage girl who didn't bother costuming up, instead having slapped on the same basic mask Missy was wearing. Apparently that's just standard issue here.
<snip>
"Right, uhm… I've been meaning to ask, but wasn't there supposed to be one more Ward? Shadow something?" Missy asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"She got… transferred to another department a while ago. We weren't told why," Aegis answered. Both she and Orbital perked up at that. Missy wasn't one to miss the fact that he almost said something else. Orbital, on the other hand, just frowned, electing to continue typing on her phone.
<snip>
Orbital, after some prodding by Aegis, explained that her power automatically twisted the space around her, essentially making attacks miss her and circle around her, hence the name. She could then release the attacks in whatever direction she wanted. It also came with a sort of spatial awareness around her and the ability to fly.
Is this part of the AU? Obviously pinning down the timeline is inexact but Missy was only like 12-13 at canon start, which presumably isn't too far from baseline given inferences from Sophia transferring out and what seems like Emma transferring in. If she still is around that age, then the age comparison here would be a little weird.
Missy blearily woke up to a red, hazy void, with no actual control over her body. She floated there in silence, the only sound she could hear being the distant echoing of cracking thunder, shattering crystals, and a strange sound she couldn't quite place. It was almost like… sizzling? If that word could adequately describe something being seared directly by the sun's heat.
Lost and disoriented, panic began to creep through her until her world abruptly went blurry and then dark, before light broke through and coalesced into a more normal scene. Fancy wooden floors and the white, engraved walls of some kind of mansion. She spotted a figure that had become somewhat familiar by now. It was Młynar, Nearl's uncle.
But what… was he doing here?
It took her far too long to realize that something did not add up. The man was younger than she remembered from her visions, yet still towered above her. Only when the man picked her up did she understand what was happening.
"Margaret, did you escape your nanny again?" the man mused with a defeated smile. Nearl's childish laughter was the thing that finally made it click for her.
She was seeing Nearl's memories again, experiencing parts of the Kuranta's childhood through her eyes. Only this time, everything was… far sharper than it had ever been. The dream was so clear and vivid that it was almost indistinguishable from reality.
Pushing that particular bit of worry down, she instead watched in silence as Młynar carried his niece through the estate. The thing that got her the most was that he never stopped smiling when he looked at Nearl.
It felt so… different compared to what she knew of him from the more recent memories.
She was unsure how much time had passed, both in real life and in this dream. It felt like a haze clouded her mind, trapping her in the dream forever. Even when little Nearl slept, Missy did not wake up, instead jumping ahead to a new scene of her life.
Nearl was being tutored now. It seemed that back then, her relationship with her uncle was much better. Her friend apparently never liked studying as a child, but did it solely because her uncle asked her to bear with it. Whenever he could, he'd come to visit. Missy smiled fondly, as her friend apparently tried to do right by others, even as a child.
Unfortunately, Młynar's visits started becoming less common. Many times she overheard heated phone calls. Missy idly wondered if this was when they started drifting apart?
She was glad that she had no actual control over Nearl's body when she started getting dancing lessons. Turns out that her friend was an absolutely horrendous dancer when she was a small child, something that amused Missy greatly.
It was at this point that Missy also learned that Kurantas have a lot more leg strength than normal humans, even as children. Sure, she should have figured as much, but seeing it in action was another thing entirely. The end result was some rather mean stomps from little Nearl, something the dancing tutor learned the hard way. After the third time Nearl accidentally broke one of his toes, he actually started wearing plated boots.
It was as hilarious as it was adorable.
She vowed to remember that, committing the memory to heart so she could tease her friend about it later.
Several years had gone by. Or at least… that's what it felt like to her - she couldn't tell how much time was skipped each time she closed her eyes, after all. The memories began to blend together and become somewhat hazy past a certain point. Missy was frankly starting to get a little worried.
Would she ever wake up?
Nearl had a little sister now, called Maria. The two were basically inseparable, but, in turn, their uncle was unfortunately around less and less, not even present for Maria's birth, and he was far more dour whenever he did show himself. Sometimes, she felt like Nearl raised her sister more than her uncle did. Missy was unsure what happened to her parents, but they didn't seem to ever appear.
It at the very least explained why Maria too refused to listen to Młynar's harsh words when it came to the Kazimierz Major. Seeing the family grow apart like this honestly tugged at her heartstrings. She decided to bring it up with her friend later. Maybe the relationship could still be mended?
At this point, Nearl - and as a result, Missy as well - started becoming far more politically aware, learning about decorum, status, economics and politics. She felt it was fairly early, but Nearl was from a noble family. She began training to become a knight and proved rather talented at it.
However, strangely enough, she saw little of Nearl's training, the majority of the visions being of Nearl's upbringing and interpersonal interactions. In fact, many aspects of Nearl's life had been glossed over, she realized. Missy had a sneaking suspicion as to what was happening now.
Once again, Missy found herself waiting an indeterminate amount of time. Memories began to become 'kinda fuzzy', but nonetheless she had a much better overall understanding of her friend now, as well as nobility and all it entailed as well. At this point, it felt as if she had been born a noble her whole life.
She certainly understood why her friend despised the General Chamber of Commerce so much now. Their grubby hands were in almost everything, not even the Knight competitions going unscathed. You had to do what they wanted, which let them drain you of all of your cash, force you to advertise for them, or exploit you for dangerous or unhealthy amounts of work. She strongly suspected the latter to be the source of Młynar's attitude.
And worse, they had an entire organization of assassins at their call. The Armorless Union was used less like a scalpel and more like a sledgehammer. Knight titles, once a borderline sacred title of honor, were now a commodity used to expand their reach. All you had to do was pay the GCC more than the other guy did or do them a few 'favors' and you too could become a knight.
They'd try to bribe people to lose on purpose, and if they didn't, they'd just get assassins sicced on them instead. The situation was quite frankly insane.
But Nearl was determined to push through it all. She openly defied the GCC, winning the Kazimierz Major. It was at that point that she earned the title of 'The Radiant Knight'.
…And was exiled as a result shortly after.
After that, Missy simply lost track of things, being submerged into an endless stream of Nearl's experiences surviving ambushes, ploys, extortion, hostile negotiations, manipulations, and assassination attempts of all kinds.
And, through it all, Missy began noticing the patterns. There was a method to this madness, she realized. To the cruelty of it all. A certain way the people in power dealt with things to get what they wanted, the tactics and strategies they employed, and how, most of the time, their plans brought only suffering and misery to the little people caught in the middle. It was… sickening, really.
Missy didn't think she would ever be able to look at organizations in power the same way again, the memories of innocent people suffering being seared into her mind, instilling in her a sense of wariness and paranoia.
And yet more importantly, however, was what Missy had realized about her friend.
Throughout her entire life, day in and day out, through hardship, struggle and suffering, Nearl had practiced the skill of politicking, of dealing with other people's bullshit, and had refined it down into a science.
Masterfully weaving around enemy plots, corrupt organizations, assassins, back-end deals from both positions of power and weakness, lies and deceit, attempts at influencing, framing or trapping her, uncovering and exposing conspiracies, and still managing to come out on top most of the time. She had massively underestimated just howmuch experience Nearl had with politics.
Because Margaret Nearl was a person that practically exuded a perpetual aura of anti-political bullshit around her, something that Missy had entirely missed up until now.
Looking back, she couldn't help but be awed by all of the subtle things Nearl had done when interacting with others during their time together. The way she carried herself and spoke, the unspoken dialogue and implications that had previously gone entirely over her head. She saw it all and couldn't help just how much her respect and admiration for her friend grew from it.
And suddenly, as it all finally clicked into place, as years of knowledge, skill, and experience settled comfortably into her mind; without warning, the dream came to an end.
Missy woke with a deep gasp, bolting upright, almost as if emerging from underwater. "Holy shit, I fucking hate politicians!" she exclaimed, the memories of dealing with the GCC's corruption and backstabbing still fresh in her mind.
Turning to look for her friend, she found her frozen in surprise, staring back at her while she did… something with her hands.
They stared at each other in surprised silence for a bit. "...Good morning. Visions again?"
"Morning. Yes. Much, much worse this time. I feel like I lived through literal years of your life," the girl sighed, sitting up. "I've lived through most of your childhood, and some other things. Including your terrible dancing."
Nearl forced a pout at that. "I'll have you know I can dance just fine these days."
Missy grinned, getting up and replicating the steps she very vividly remembered. "Steel-plated boots."
The Kuranta froze, mortified. "...Right. I'll go see myself out. You get changed, and then we talk about something else."
Putting actions to words, her friend exited the room all too quickly, her tail almost tucked between her legs.
Teasing, successful!
Missy decided to go jump into her workout clothes right away. It was early in the morning, but she found herself strangely energized. She was even actually looking forward to working out, as odd as that thought felt to her. Just two days ago, it felt like torture! But there was a promise of having a superhuman body to be had, so that was probably why.
The girl then left her room instead of calling Nearl back in. The Kuranta eyed her outfit curiously.
"I think I might be rubbing off on you a little too much," Nearl mused with a chuckle. "I remember getting up in the morning to train in a very similar manner."
Missy nodded. "You did. Granted, you were either all but chased around your backyard to run laps or beaten up with a stick to get you ready to be a knight, but you did."
Nearl blinked. "...Having someone with that much insight into your childhood is far more embarrassing than baby pictures, you know?"
The girl smirked briefly, before looking thoughtful. "I think I'm going to figure out a new setting for the treadmill, since the old one is way too easy now. Can you make breakfast in the meantime?"
"I can do that," Nearl agreed with a smile.
Missy left her to it before stepping onto the treadmill. After walking for a bit, she frowned. A single setting higher than last time didn't seem to bother her at all. Two… barely. Three higher seemed to be the way to go for now. She eyed the controls somewhat warily. If this kept up, she'd be at the max settings within days. But what was she going to do once she ran out of difficulty settings?
Nearl called her over a moment later. Missy sat down on the chair, grabbing the spoon but not yet digging into her cereal.
"Took a bit to find a new setting that seems to work," Missy noted. "It's actually annoying me a little bit. If this keeps up, we'll hit the maximum before the weekend."
Nearl chuckled, nearly spitting out her own cereals in doing so, which set Missy off. "...Oh, Missy, you do realize that you can just run longer rather than fifteen minutes, right?"
Missy stared at the Kuranta for a moment, her spoon frozen halfway toward her mouth. "Oh."
Rather than acknowledge that goof, Missy chose to eat cereal instead, something much more productive.
"So, what's the plan for today?" Nearl asked with a sly smile.
Missy stared at her friend. That's not how this is supposed to work! And she didn't even need to look at the Kuranta's stupid grin to know it was entirely on purpose, too.
It took the girl entirely too long to come up with an answer. "Uhm, well, we don't have anything planned, right? Then we should probably figure out groceries. After that, maybe we could go take a look at the Boardwalk? Maybe you'll find something you like."
Nearl mulled her response in thought. "The Boardwalk? You do understand that I can't take anything back with me, right? …Or bring with me, actually. I was testing if I could bring a notepad with me or something, but it didn't work."
Missy blinked. "Is that why you were staring at your hands earlier? Anyway, it doesn't matter to me. You're my friend, you're stuck here with me. You're getting something nice. End of story."
"But…" Nearl retorted.
"No buts!" Missy shut the Kuranta down, pointing her spoon at her face in defiance. "You deserve it."
Nearl smiled warmly. "...Thank you. I suppose I might be a bit too utilitarian. I didn't even consider something like that, since I know not if this body is even real."
Missy grinned before she got up to put the dishes away. "Doesn't matter. You're real enough to me. Hmm, I think we can get this load started."
Nearl nodded in response, watching Missy dig out the tabs. "Oh, so that is where those were hiding. I see."
Missy looked thoughtful for a moment after showing Nearl how to start the dishwasher. "Should I work out before or after we go shopping?"
Nearl pressed the start button, pleased with having gotten it right as the machine started up. "After. We'll have to carry our purchases here, remember? I don't exactly have a driver's license yet."
Oh, right. That was a thing. Missy had foolishly assumed that Nearl would be able to drive, solely because she was an adult. How unfortunate.
The two walked leisurely towards the closest grocery store. With them living downtown, this meant a roughly five minute walk, as the things seemed to be a dime a dozen.
She was rather worried about someone finding out about Nearl. Amazingly enough, nobody seemed to be paying much attention to her. Which meant that the disguise actually did its job. Missy wasn't about to doubt the PRT, but the disguise did feel a bit lazy. She was half expecting them to pull out a hologram emitter or selective Stranger field or something like that.
But no, what they got was some clothes. Perhaps that was the entire point. Less likely to fail if someone had a magnet or whatever.
"Right, so I was thinking we could grab some lettuce for a salad. Which should be around… here," Missy said, turning the corner… and finding herself staring at cooking utensils. "... or not. Damn stores with their constant rearranging."
Nearl chuckled. "I guess we both get to explore the store."
They grabbed all kinds of things. Various meats, fruits, a few bottles of beverages, and so on. Nearl ended up grabbing a brush for some reason, Missy grabbed some more tabs for the dishwasher and washing machine. Satisfied for the time being, the two went to the checkout, only to be ambushed by an aisle full of chocolate.
Naturally, Missy did the logically correct thing in this situation; puppy eyes, aimed at Nearl.
The Kuranta crossed her arms, giving the girl a look. "Do you want to be fit, or fat?" she asked sternly.
Missy intensified her puppy eyes, but Nearl proved immovable.
"Fiiiiiine," the girl complained with a pout.
At the checkout, Missy found it interesting to see that the cashier seemed to pay even less attention to them than most people did. But then, they were probably the five billionth adult-kid pair to pass by, so it made sense. The girl didn't even comment on the fact that Missy was paying for it all.
Nearl decided to carry both bags they ended up with by herself, doing so with ease. With the trip back being uneventful, the two arrived back home.
"Why'd you buy a brush, by the way?" Missy asked as the two began storing the purchases. "We got some in the bathroom, fairly sure."
Nearl froze with the brush halfway out of the bag, blushing in embarrassment. "I, err, wanted to use it for my tail. It felt wrong to use yours for that."
For some reason, Nearl found herself backing off nervously from the sudden mischievous glint in Missy's eyes.
"Ahhh, that's much better," Nearl said in a pleased tone after being 'convinced' by Missy to let her brush her tail, despite the fact that she had to start over more than once due to the little girl giving into temptation and just tackling her tail in a big, fluffy hug several times. "I forgot how much nicer this is if I don't have to constantly twist to hold my own tail."
Missy just grinned, humming as she continued to brush her friend's tail.
"Aaaand done," Missy said, sounding very pleased. "All nice and brushy-brushy. Where were we?"
The Kuranta chuckled, getting up from the couch and patting her head affectionately. "I believe you wanted to show me the Boardwalk."
"Oh yeah!" Missy said, jumping up. "How much money do you have on you? The Boardwalk's kind of expensive."
Nearl nodded.
"Should be enough for my purposes," she said without actually clarifying anything. "I'm a frugal person."
On a whim, the two decided to jog the way to the Boardwalk. It would be decent training and shorten the travel time.
They arrived some time later. Missy found herself surprised that she was only a little winded. The jump in ability was still something she hadn't quite grasped yet, it seems.
"Is there anything in particular you think you might like?" Missy inquired as the two walked through the streets more sedately. The Boardwalk Enforcers got a little jumpy sometimes, after all.
"Hm," Nearl mused. "Not much comes to mind. I think I might enjoy a good book or two, though."
"I think I remember a bookstore a few streets down," Missy mused. "Wanna go take a look?"
Nearl nodded, and the two went on their way. Only for them to get distracted by a familiar voice halfway through.
"Vicky, I told you I already have enough clothes!" Amy protested as a blonde girl all but dragged her along enthusiastically. She felt a bit silly that it took Missy several seconds to recognize Panacea's sister, Glory Girl. She wasn't in her costume, but still.
"Nonsense!" Vicky exclaimed. "You can never have enough clothes. Come on, Ames!"
Missy and Nearl exchanged a silent glance and nod, before diverting their path towards the two sisters.
"Hi, Panacea!" Missy cheerfully greeted the girl.
The two sisters turned their heads simultaneously. Victoria was curious, while Amy seemed actually annoyed, but that faded quickly when she spotted Missy.
"Oh, hi! Uhm, please call me Amy out of costume," Amy requested in a friendly tone, before doing a one-eighty and pointing an angry look and accusing finger at Nearl. "You, I'm not even gonna greet, you goddamn annoyance!" she exclaimed in irritation, before turning back to Missy.
"Fancy meeting you here," she addressed the little girl, her tone all sunshine and rainbows once again, which Nearl found very humorous, if her smile was anything to go by.
Vicky seemed confused. "You know each other?" she asked, her gaze switching between Missy, Nearl and Amy seemingly at random.
"Healed her a few days ago," Amy hedged rather smoothly. "We got talking after that. Vicky, this is Missy and Margaret, respectively."
It wasn't entirely true, but she could tell Amy was dodging around secret identities.
"Ah, okay. Hi, I guess?" Vicky replied. Missy wasn't entirely sure if Vicky understood what Amy was going for or not, but either way it didn't seem like she'd cause problems regarding her secret identity. "So you're like, friends now then?"
Amy nodded, glaring at her shopping bags. "Yeah, I guess. How about we go sit on that bench over there? Better than just standing around."
"Works for me," Missy replied. Amy dropped her shopping bags next to the bench and then sat down, followed by Missy herself. The other two kept standing, or in Vicky's case, hovering.
Nearl found the concept of casual flying pretty curious, walking over to take a closer look. "I am curious how that actually works. Is there anything special you do?"
Vicky blinked at the Kuranta. "How what works?" she asked, visibly confused. Finally, she looked down at her feet, apparently having missed that she started to hover entirely. "Oh, uhm… not really? I just sort of… will myself to fly, really. I don't really know how to explain it, it's just as instinctual as moving your legs is."
The Kuranta seemed actually disappointed by the explanation. "Shame. I'd love to fly like that. It seems very freeing."
"I don't think anyone really figured that out yet. There're hundreds if not thousands of capes that can fly, but nobody can figure out how they do it," Vicky noted.
Missy paid eager attention to the conversation. Or rather, the fact that Nearl seemed distracted with Vicky.
"Hey, can you help me with something?" she whispered to Amy schemingly, who raised an eyebrow. "I'm thinking of buying Nearl a present to surprise her, but she's always with me, so…"
The girl thought about it for a moment, then grinned without saying a word.
"So what brings you two here?" Amy asked the Kuranta, pulling her attention away.
"Ah, my niece here was showing me around town," Nearl answered, unable to fully remove the amusement from her voice. "She was thinking about showing me the Boardwalk."
Amy raised an eyebrow at that, apparently not having part of the whole secret identity talk.
"Oh, you're new here?" Vicky inquired far too enthusiastically. "I know all the best shops! Follow me!"
Amy and Missy shared a look, as it apparently did not occur to Vicky to ask if they wanted to right this moment, when they had literally just sat down. A moment later, Amy sighed, collecting her bags. "Vicky, wait up!"
A rather hurried walk later, they found themselves in the middle of the Boardwalk.
Vicky turned to the others, wanting to say something, only to have a dawning look of realization upon her face. "It just occurred to me that I never actually asked what you guys want to look at. Oops."
"Yes, Vicky, 'oops'," Amy snarked, sounding somewhat winded. "That does sound like you."
Vicky replied with a pout, before decidedly ignoring her sister's eyeroll and turning to the others. "Okay, so anything in specific you're looking for?"
Nearl and Missy looked each other. Missy shrugged first.
"I wouldn't mind looking for some books," Nearl started. Vicky seemed unsure how to take that.
"Books? Who goes looking for books on the Boardwalk?" the blonde asked with audible confusion, stopping midstep.
"People with culture." Amy quipped with a huge smirk on her face. "So, not you."
"Hey!" Vicky retorted, glaring at her sister. "The culture here's all about the fashion, why show for books? I still read y'know. Just, at the library."
"I don't believe you."
"It's true!"
Nearl chuckled at the byplay. "Missy, what about you? Anything you want?" the Kuranta asked, ignoring the two bickering sisters.
"Hm, nothing comes to mind. I just wanted to show you the place, really. I wouldn't mind having some cake in some café later, though," Missy answered honestly.
Vicky turned to the younger girl. "I know all the best cafés too!" the heroine said, still with the strange enthusiasm. She didn't quite understand why the girl was so eager, but it wasn't really an issue, so…
"How about this," Amy suggested with a clap, getting everyone's attention. "I'll show Nearl a good bookstore, since I'm not sure Vicky knows any, while she and Missy look for a café? I'd like some cake too, to be honest."
Missy grinned, now that she wouldn't be spotted. That was her chance! "Sounds good to me," she replied.
Vicky, wasting no time whatsoever, grabbed Missy's hand. "Onward, to cake!" the older girl called out, all but dragging Missy with her. After letting her do so for a bit, Missy checked the distance to the others.
"Hey, can you hold on for a minute?" she requested, doing her best to actually stop the girl. Despite her increased strength, it was proving difficult.
"Huh?" Vicky asked, giving the girl a curious look.
"Ah, I'm actually looking for a surprise gift for my aunt," she said, almost stumbling on the aunt bit. "Wasn't sure how to bring it up without her noticing."
Vicky nodded. "Ohh, I get it. Whatcha looking for?"
"I was thinking a locket, maybe? One of the ones you can put a picture into," Missy mused.
The older girl changed tracks instantly. "Jewelry? Oho, you, my friend, find yourself in the presence of an expert! This way!"
Two streets down, she found herself in a fairly fancy-looking jewelry store. The Dallon girl greeted the cashier with a wave, who just waved back.
Missy seemed a bit dumbfounded. Was she a regular? In a jewelry store? For some reason, she found herself worried for the girl's boyfriend, if she had one.
The two ended up right in front of the case that had a lot of lockets on display. Which really didn't help Vicky's case, given that she apparently knew the jewelry store by heart.
She wasn't sure if she was worried more about that or the price tags on the damn things. Missy had brought a lot of money, and even then some of these things ended up being out of price range. Maybe going to the Boardwalk had been a bad idea…
Her eyes went wide as she saw a particular locket. She got closer, taking a closer look at the motif on it. It was… honestly, a bit on the nose, given who it was for. But on the other hand, it was perfect.
It was a locket with the figure of a rearing horse on it. The only way it could have been better if it had pegasus wings, but that was probably asking for too much.
Even better, it seemed big enough to place a small photo behind it.
This was perfect!
Well, mostly perfect. The only bad thing about it was the price tag. It amounted to three times her monthly allowance, after all. Still, she had the money to spare right now.
"I'll take this one," she told her impromptu chaperone.
Vicky eyed the object. "You sure? That one seems kind of cheap."
Missy glared at the older girl. "...It's three times my monthly allowance. Not all of us are rich."
The girl raised her arms defensively. "Objection withdrawn. Let's get a move on, and then actually find a café before anyone notices, yeah?"
The two returned to the spot they originally split up in, only to find they had returned first.
Missy thought about it for a moment, then decided to just give it a shot.
"How is New Wave doing right now, by the way? I don't think I've really heard much of anything about you guys recently," Missy inquired. "You guys are like… still a thing, right?"
Vicky sighed. "Yeah, I guess so," she replied, seeming unhappy. "Not much has been happening on our front. It's not that we stopped being a team, everyone's just… kinda busy with life. Turns out punching bad guys doesn't pay very well. It'd be rad if it did."
Missy nodded eagerly. "I agree! If they'd just pay people to punch bad guys, we'd have way more heroes. And probably way less villains, because there's way more heroes to punch them."
Vicky laughed. "You may be onto something there. But yeah, things have been kind of quiet on our front," the girl replied, quickly catching herself. "I'm the only one who really actively patrols these days. The others usually only help out when the PRT calls them in. It's so lame. Aaaand… maybe I shouldn't be airing all of our dirty laundry out in public."
"My lips are sealed," Missy reassured the older girl with an overly dramatic zipping motion, causing a chuckle.
A moment later, Amy and Nearl returned.
Amy seemed frustrated over something as she stomped her way over. "I can't believe it! Of course the one day I'm trying to bring someone over to the bookstore, it's closed for renovations."
"It happens, don't worry about it too much. I appreciate the attempt nonetheless," Nearl reassured the healer. "At least we got to meet Parian."
Missy was about to say something regarding Parian, but Amy spoke up first.
"Yeah, yeah," Amy retorted, mostly ignoring Nearl and giving Vicky a sharp look. "Cake. Where?"
Vicky gave Amy a shit-eating grin as the healer ate the first bit of her strawberry cake. "The beast has been sated."
"Oi, don't test your luck," Amy shot back.
"Nevermind, it hasn't been sated yet," Vicky said in a grin, deliberately looking away from Amy and instead towards Missy. "Be very afraid."
Missy chuckled in response. These two seemed to get along pretty well. Nearl was also visibly amused, but was too absorbed in eating her cheesecake.
"This has been pretty fun so far. Thanks for hanging out with us," Missy said after taking a few bites. "Nice place too."
"We should hang out more often," Vicky agreed. "If only to celebrate Amy making a friend all by herself."
The healer started coughing, apparently nearly choking on her cake. "Vicky! You little–"
Her sister looked entirely unrepentant, cheekily enjoying another piece of her own cake.
Is this what having a sister was like? It seemed kind of… fun.
Unfortunately, the Dallon sisters had to leave some time later, as Amy had been requested by the hospital. It was at this point that the two, with nothing better to do, went back home.
"That was quite enjoyable," Nearl mused as she sat down on the couch. "It's nice to unwind every now and then. We've spent a lot of time just getting things sorted out."
Missy nodded, deciding to keep standing for now. "I agree, it's been nice. Amy seemed to have fun too. Are all siblings like that?"
Nearl laughed, thinking back to her own sister. "No, I think that's just how their personalities ended up. They do seem to share a strong bond, which is nice. Anyway, it's still a good while until noon. How about I start on dinner while you work out a little? I think at this point we should also start considering other exercises, but you might as well do that for now."
The girl nodded eagerly, disappearing into her room to get changed into workout clothes. While there, she also hid away the locket in one of her drawers, behind some other objects, just in case.
Following that, she jumped onto the treadmill. While on it, she found herself thinking about how much she actually came to enjoy working out. She found it downright relaxing, in a weird way. She was able to just stop thinking about… things and just focus on the here and now.
What's weird about it is that she just could not be bothered before Nearl arrived. Was more of Nearl rubbing off on her than she realized? Maybe there were side effects to this learning method.
…Or maybe her parents no longer sapping her willpower made her more agreeable to things that weren't just watching TV. Usually, but not always, that was what shut her parents up, because they wanted to understand what the characters were saying.
It was honestly hard to tell.
Before she knew it, she was already past the ten minute mark, finally starting to feel the burn a little. Only a little though, and it took around twenty for Missy to finally start sweating. They really needed to figure something out here, because at this rate she'd eventually need to run for longer than the hour had days.
Maybe the PRT had some sort of… Mover-rated treadmill or something? It might be worth asking.
Half an hour passed by like nothing, and she finally felt tired, but not yet exhausted. Maybe she should just put it to the max next time and see how long she'd last.
"Missy, dinner is ready!" her friend called out, bringing her out of her musings.
Nearl ended up trying to recreate a dish from her hometown. Missy wasn't quite sure about combining a steak with spaghetti and some sauce she couldn't place, but somehow it actually worked.
Missy was about to stuff it in the dishwasher, but then remembered that they hadn't actually cleared the previous out yet. Sighing, she and Nearl got to work clearing it out and got it done and dealt with.
"How do you feel like doing our follow-up research on the various factions?" Nearl inquired as they finished up with the kitchen.
"I don't mind either way," Missy replied, shrugging. "I did ask Glory Girl if New Wave was still active, since they've been super quiet. They still are, but I couldn't figure out a good way to ask her if they're still recruiting without revealing too much."
The two sat down on the couch before discussing anything further.
"I did buy myself a 'burner phone' based on Amy's advice and exchanged numbers with her, by the way. We should probably exchange numbers, even if we know where the other is at all times," Nearl advised. Missy nodded, darting into her room to grab hers.
"I probably should have taken this with me in the first place, to be honest," the girl mused. "Forgot I had it."
After getting that sorted out, the two looked at each other for a bit. Somehow, they both kept waiting for the other one to say something. "So… should we just, like, call New Wave then?"
"If by we, you mean you, then yes," Nearl said with humor in her voice. "What? You wanted to be more independent, right?"
Missy sighed. "I guess you're right. I think I'll call Amy then. She can tell me how to go about it."
Grabbing her phone, she copied Amy's number from Nearl's phone. After a moment of hesitation, she called the girl.
"Hello?" was the very eloquent response from the other side. Apparently Amy wasn't very used to people calling her.
"Uhm, hi. This is Astra speaking," Missy greeted the other girl.
"Oh! Hi again. What's up?" Amy asked, sounding much more focused.
"I, um, wasn't quite sure how to ask this in public, but Nearl and I have been thinking about joining a team, Wards or otherwise. New Wave came up in our research and we were wondering if you guys are even accepting new members right now?" Missy asked.
It took Amy a moment to respond. Going by the background noise, it sounded like she was talking to someone. "Sorry 'bout that. We are, but unmasking is a requirement. We can't make an exception for you as far as I'm aware, something about the rules of the corporate team we technically are?"
Missy nodded.
And then felt stupid, because she was on the phone. "Oh, we kind of assumed that already. It'd simplify things a lot for Nearl, if nothing else. My only worry, personally, is my dad."
"Yeah, I get that," Amy agreed.
"Uhm, would it be possible to set up a meeting or something to talk it over in more detail?" Missy asked, before being poked by Nearl, who whispered something in her ear. "Actually, isn't your mom a lawyer? We've got a Wards contract here and Nearl isn't really all that happy with it. It'd be nice to know if she could maybe look that over too?"
"One moment." Amy answered, once again talking to someone. "Meeting should be fine. How does tomorrow morning sound?"
"I don't have any issue with that," Missy agreed after checking back with Nearl. "Your address on your website is still up to date, right?"
"Yeah," Amy confirmed. "Anyway, Brandish is willing to look at the Wards contract but it'll require a consultation fee. It'll just be a token one, but still. It's technically going against our interests and all."
"That's fine," Missy replied. "That's all I can think of at the moment, thanks. See you tomorrow, then?"
"If nothing comes up, sure," Amy responded. "Bye!"
Nearl smiled as Missy sighed. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
Missy just groaned.
Unfortunately, they soon after ran into a hurdle. Faultline's crew ended up not actually being in the phone book. They didn't have a website either, only their night club, Palanquin. Missy was not quite sure how to contact them without going to said nightclub, which might cause issues if spotted.
That was an interesting problem, wasn't it? Going there just for research would probably cause an unfortunate association if they ended up being bad.
…Oh right, maybe PHO? From what she heard, Faultline was very interested in Case 53's. Maybe Nearl would have an easier time.
After only a quick check, she found a thread about the Palanquin, one that included 'contact information'. Her newfound instincts told her that the real purpose was to provide a way to contact Faultline, whose affiliation with the Palanquin was an open secret..
"Hey, Nearl?" Missy asked, getting the Kuranta's attention, who apparently decided to get some exercise.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I can't find any normal contact info for Faultline, but I think this might be an advertisement for them. Can you look?"
The Kuranta came over and took a look. "Yeah, it probably is. Hmm, as someone who got confused for a Case 53 before, I might be able to get her attention. I'll call her later"
Missy nodded. "I think so too. Right, I guess we should check out the others too. Do you think Parian would be interested in teaming up?"
Nearl shook her head. "Probably not. I mean, we could ask, but she seems mostly interested in business relationships. At least that's the feeling I got when I met her earlier and got her contact information."
Missy sighed. "I suppose you're right. Moving on! We could try to make our own team too, I guess. But that runs into the same issue of not even knowing where to start."
Nearl thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, unfortunately that's going to run into a lot of issues. We'd be fighting with every other faction for recruits, except maybe New Wave. We also don't really have a base to be working out of. I doubt you'd want to tell people you just met where you live."
The girl shook her head at that.
"Unfortunately, we probably don't offer enough for a new Parahuman, which would be our most likely source of recruits. While I am confident enough in my fighting skills, I haven't exactly showcased them yet. And even then they'd probably want something out of it, like access to resources or something like that," Nearl continued.
"So you think I shouldn't try?" Missy asked.
The Kuranta shook her head. "Ultimately, it's your decision. You have a lot more at stake than I do on Bet. I'll support you in whatever you think you want to do the most, as long as you stay on the side of good or at least act as a neutral party."
The girl got lost in thought for several minutes. "Argh, this is hard," she grumbled. "I'll think about it more after we talk with New Wave. That'll tell us more about them AND the Wards."
Nearl nodded in agreement. "Let's figure out how to improve your workout routine, then. How was your run earlier?"
"Getting too easy. Again," Missy complained. "I'm just going to crank it up to max and see what happens."
The Kuranta raised an eyebrow. "Okay, if you think it'll work out for you. But let's look at other things to do. One thing that can't hurt to practice is jumping."
Missy blinked, tilting her head. "...Jumping?"
"Yes, jumping," Nearl confirmed with some amusement. "Both high jump and consistency. If your body is really going to become more like mine, you'll be able to jump straight to the roof of your house, easily. The agility of a Kuranta is nothing to be underestimated."
The girl took a moment to process that. "Huh. I wonder how high I can jump now, then. Should I just give it a go?"
Nearl briefly glanced at the ceiling. "Go for it."
Missy crouched, drew as much strength into her legs and jumped. "Here I gooooouaaaaaaaahhh!"
Her sentence was cut short as she launched herself straight at the ceiling. Only some very quick thinking led her to twist herself midair, pushing herself off the ceiling with her hands instead of crashing into it head first. Tumbling and flailing uncontrollably, only to end up in Nearl's arms as she caught her.
The girl just stood there for a while in Nearl's arms, wide-eyed and frozen in shock. Then Nearl apologized, shaking her lightly. "My apologies. I did not expect you to be able to jump quite this high already."
"That was scary…" Missy mumbled, breathing a bit more heavily than normal. Nearl gently deposited her on the couch.
The Kuranta patiently waited for Missy to calm down. "I'm afraid I am starting to feel like our options to properly train in your home are a bit limited. We lack proper equipment."
Missy nodded eagerly. "I had the same thought earlier. I vaguely remember the PRT mentioning having Parahuman-rated training equipment."
Nearl sighed. "And if we ask, they'll most likely tell you to sign up so you can make use of it. This is quite bothersome. Oh well, we can figure that out some other time. For now, we can work on your upper body strength."
Nearl grabbed her swordspear, placing it on the carpet in front of the couch. "Try lifting this."
Missy, doing as requested, got up and reached for the spear. Only to move the thing mere millimeters, at best.
"What the hell?" Missy asked. "But you're holding that thing one-handed half the time!"
Nearl laughed as Missy tried and failed to lift the Kuranta's signature weapon despite her best attempts.
"It's because you've been focusing solely on your legs, Missy. Why would that improve how much you can lift?" Nearl pointed out, still very much amused.
"Hrngnhh!" Missy groaned instead of responding. "I don't know! Powers are bullshit!"
Having been set off, Nearl laughed heartily as she walked off into the basement as Missy continued her lifting attempts.
A minute later, the Kuranta returned with some hand-weights. "Here, this will probably be more productive."
Nearl went to return the spear to its usual resting spot. On a whim, she grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels, giving Missy something to watch as she trained with her usual diligence. Then she grabbed their copy of the Wards contract and went to sit on the couch writing down notes and changes on specific parts all the while.
Missy's little brain just about crashed and exploded as she boggled in dumbfounded stupefaction. Eventually her brain rebooted, causing a realization to strike like lightning.
Missy just learned that she somehow managed to stumble into the dream of almost every little girls ever. She got herself a magical pony! -proceed to get stabbed by said pony-
Jokes aside, I'm a bit iffy about this story at first, but now I'm very curious if Missy will eventually manage to pull others over or get pulled over to Terra. I am intensely curious if she can eventually pull Shinning and then proceed to joke about how the Medic is the scariest person around by far. Nearl would totally agree with a straight face too.
Jokes aside, I'm a bit iffy about this story at first, but now I'm very curious if Missy will eventually manage to pull others over or get pulled over to Terra. I am intensely curious if she can eventually pull Shinning and then proceed to joke about how the Medic is the scariest person around by far. Nearl would totally agree with a straight face too.
Missy woke up without strange visions for once. Which honestly was feeling like a novel experience at this point.
"Good morning, Missy," her friend greeted her. "You seem unusually alert for this early."
"Didn't get any visions, so maybe you were right about that," Missy retorted, tossing the bedsheets aside. "I guess my power feels like lifting weights isn't relevant enough to make visions out of?"
Nearl chuckled as she left the room. "Maybe. I'll prepare breakfast; remember, we have an early meeting to attend to."
The two headed out bright and early after their usual breakfast routine. On the way, they costumed up. Well, as much as putting on a hoodie and a mask counted. Her friend didn't even bother with that much. Missy found it funny that Nearl was hiding in plain sight normally.
It was probably the sheer ridiculousness of hiding the ears and especially the tail that made people unlikely to think that they could be hidden at all.
Unfortunately, it was quite the distance until Captain's Hill, but Nearl insisted on walking there. Not running, not jumping, not using the quite frankly ridiculous speed Missy knew the Kuranta was capable of, just walking.
It would be the better part of an hour before the two would get there at this rate. Maybe two, thanks to Nearl. While most people didn't really approach the two, Nearl insisted on helping every single elderly person she could find across the street.
And somehow she kept finding people to help across the street. Did Nearl have some sort of sixth sense for that kind of thing?
Missy was also painfully aware of how many people were taking pictures. Her terrible 'costume' would be all over PHO at this rate. It made her feel very self-conscious and did not help her nerves one bit.
Sensing a quiet moment, the Kuranta turned to the girl. "Are you alright?"
Missy nodded, but her heart wasn't fully in it. "I'm… just really nervous."
"You'll get used to it," Nearl responded. "Or rather, you need to get used to it. Facing the public is a very important part of acting like a hero."
"I know, I know… Doesn't help me when it's my first time out as a cape," Missy grumbled.
Soon after, they reached the edge of Captain's hill. It was nice that there were no gang members around to bother them. While Missy certainly felt stronger than ever, she didn't exactly want to find out how she fared against a guy with a gun.
Thankfully, it didn't come to that. Instead, the most excitement they had in the area was basically the gatekeeper, who apparently was brave enough to walk up to an unknown cape.
Thankfully, he was happy enough with the explanation of having an appointment with New Wave, apparently having been told beforehand.
Missy double-checked the address. "This should be the one," she said, briefly hesitating before ringing the doorbell. Logically, she knew that it should be the correct one, but now that the worry crept into her head, her anxiety took control and she couldn't stop imagining increasingly embarrassing scenarios in which she rang the wrong doorbell.
She heard some movement and thankfully found her worries dispelled as Vicky opened the door.
The girl gave her a dubious look before realizing Nearl was right next to her. "Oh, hello! Come on in."
The two did as told. Seeing Amy sitting on the chair made Missy smile and wave. "Hi Amy!"
Victoria floated over, giving her a curious look. "Hold on, I recognize that voice. Missy?"
Missy froze for a second, but very quickly realized that it didn't really matter since her sister knew about her identity already.
"Yup," Missy confirmed, taking off her mask, "you figured that one out quickly."
The other blonde laughed. "We just met yesterday. Of course I'd remember you."
The chatter got briefly interrupted as a woman came down the stairs. Missy quickly recognized her as Carol Dallon, also known as Brandish.
"Good morning," the woman greeted them, before raising an eyebrow at the two strangers in the room, "I did not expect you to come here unmasked."
"We didn't," Missy explained. "Amy already knew, and Vicky already figured it out, so I didn't bother. And Nearl just prefers it this way."
Carol nodded, gesturing towards the living room. "Very well, then. Let's have a seat. I was told that you are interested in joining New Wave," the woman said as she sat down, motioning for the others to do the same. After everyone was seated, she continued. "What I'm not quite sure about is why?"
The heroine seemed almost suspicious of Missy, causing her to become somewhat nervous.
"Uhm, well," Missy replied, looking at Amy, who shook her head. "I'm not sure if Amy told you, but my power is… weird. I'm not sure how to fully explain it, but as far as I can tell it pulls Nearl over here when she's asleep. I have no control over it, or her, and she's basically a hero from somewhere else?"
Carol raised an eyebrow, but Amy spoke up first. "And no, Nearl, or Margaret, is not a projection. I can see her entire biology when I poke her. A very strange one, but it's there. She's a person."
Vicky shot up. "Wait, that was you back then?" the girl asked, pointedly looking at Nearl. "Wow, you disguised those… extra features well."
"The PRT helped with that," she explained, nodding. "Ultimately, I do have some doubts about them, however. Back home, I'm more of an… I believe you'd call it an independent hero. I am here as a result of Missy's power and have to remain within a certain range of her or start getting very disoriented. This is partly why I did not just tell Missy to go straight to the Wards. While I believe it would be advantageous in a way, I'm not sure if they truly suit us. But still, the bigger issue is this."
Nearl retrieved the Wards contract as well as her notes from her pockets and placed them on the table in between them.
Carol eyed the contract, recognizing what it was immediately.
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask first. Does that not bother you at all?" the lawyer inquired, staring at the Kuranta. "Getting dragged somewhere else every night like that."
Nearl shrugged. "I would be lying if I claimed to be unconcerned about it happening at all. However, it doesn't bring my real body here– that seems to remain unperturbed wherever I retire for the night, while I find myself like this each morning here, with naught any effects carrying back with me. From my perspective, I still cannot fully tell if this is all yet simply an elaborate dream. But it does not matter to me. Either I have a nice dream about being able to help someone in need, or I am actually helping someone in need. It would not do, to renege on my duty as a knight simply because I was unsure if my actions were consequential."
Nearl looked towards Missy, placing a hand on her shoulder as Carol fully digested Nearl's answer, a largely unreadable expression on her face. "And I do believe Missy does need the help. She had a very bad time recently. From what I understand, she had a 'Trigger Event' last Friday night."
Carol slowly nodded. "I am sorry to hear that, Missy. Trigger Events are very difficult to deal with. Otherwise, they wouldn't be what they are. I am… just somewhat surprised by the level of trust you seem to have toward each other."
Nearl grinned. "I am rather skilled at reading people, and good with children as well. I fully believe Missy is a good person, and a very well behaved child as well, so I trust her. But I believe we've gotten off track," the Kuranta said, tapping the Wards contract. "I am very concerned about the lack of agency, freedom almost, this contract imposes. Doubly so because I'd practically be an additional Ward, despite being an adult."
Vicky winced. "Yeah, I can see that being really awkward. How big is the range you can get away from Missy, anyway?"
"Just below two kilometers," Missy answered for her, "according to the power testers, anyway. Power's all wonky though, so that might change."
"Hm, I see. I assume your intent is to bypass the problems being attached to a Ward by joining our team instead," Carol surmised. "So I have to ask what your end goal is. What do you get out of this, yourself?"
Nearl leaned forward. "Quite frankly? Very little. I am an outsider to this world in many ways, and many of the motivations that may drive someone from around here don't apply to me. I have very little use for money, for example. But nonetheless I have my morals to oblige and a charge to protect, so my top priority will always be protecting Missy. I am confident in my skills, but Missy is still very young. If New Wave will not have us, then I will look for other options, likely recommending the Wards regardless."
Carol nodded, slowly. "I see; that's why you brought this along, despite telling me you're interested in joining… hm."
The lawyer grabbed the contract, giving it an obviously experienced look. From what Missy could tell, Carol knew exactly where the key areas in such a contract were. As such, she flipped through the pages rather quickly, a sigh escaping her lips towards the end.
"I can certainly see why you have your doubts now. This is… one of the most restrictive contracts I've seen within the Wards framework," Carol explained. "I strongly suspect that they were hoping you would not realize this, since neither of you are experienced in this field."
Nearl smirked, leaning back. "Unfortunately for them, I am far too used to manipulative government agencies back home. What I am unsure about, however, is what can actually be challenged in it."
"I'm willing to work it out for a nominal fee," the lawyer agreed.
It took multiple hours to go through the contract together. The main things that Missy actually understood to be an issue were the absolute image control the PRT wanted to have and the empowerment of the temporary guardian. Apparently the PRT tried to be really sneaky there - with both of her parents being unavailable, said empowered guardian would have been able to veto her dad pulling her back out of the Wards when he woke up.
It was actually kind of appalling to think about. How is that even legal?!
The merchandise share was also far below average, according to Carol, but Missy had no good reference for that. The rest kind of went over Missy's head, yet she found that it was surprisingly little compared to what she imagined she wouldn't understand. She had a surprisingly firm grip of legalese, thanks to Nearl's lessons and her visions. She was absolutely certain that less than a week ago, she would have been hopelessly lost about all the jargon being thrown around in the discussion.
Carol also found herself impressed at how many of the problem areas Nearl had spotted. Granted, it wasn't all of them, but it was at least most.
Unfortunately, some of them were not negotiable. For example, the PRT could demand that she move into the Wards quarters temporarily. Apparently, that was intended for crisis situations, but had also been misused in the past. But at least full control of her own image, bigger pay and some other extra benefits could be wrangled back to her, thanks to their efforts.
Nearl eagerly took notes, so the entire process took longer than it would've. Even then, surprisingly, neither of the Dallon teenagers seemed interested in leaving, apparently too curious about where the talks were going.
"Well, that's about all I can do for you for the contract," Carol stated, moving the stack back towards Nearl's side of the table. "I believe that we can return to the New Wave side of the talks. Namely, your powers. Given that you mentioned power testing, you likely know them fairly well?"
"I'll start, then," Nearl preempted. "You'll understand why in a moment. The PRT gave me a Brute and Mover rating due to my overall strength, speed and endurance. In addition to that, I can control light to achieve a variety of effects. Among other things, I can–"
"Abububub! Hold on!" Amy suddenly butt in, interrupting her.
The Kuranta simply paused and stared at her, tilting her head in curiosity. "Yes?"
"Show her the sword thing you showed off the other day during power testing, trust me." Amy said, a conspiratorial grin on her face, which caused Carol to frown, strangely enough.
Nearl raised a confused eyebrow at her but still complied, casually manifesting a golden blade of light in her hand, which caused the healer to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing while her shoulders shook with suppressed mirth.
Missy was confused about Amy's request, until she noticed that Vicky was gaping like a fish, and Carol in particular had a very dumbfounded and peeved expression on her face, which caused Amy to burst out laughing as she fell backwards on the couch.
Through it all, Nearl simply remained composed as usual, looking around in confusion. "I'm sorry, is there something wrong about what I just did?"
Carol seemed to have finally recovered from her shock enough to glare at Amy bemusedly and sigh in exasperation. "No, there is. It's just that…" she trailed off, before deciding to simply forego explanations with a roll of her eyes and…
…Also manifesting a blade of light in her hand, much to Amy's redoubling cackles.
Now it was their turn to be dumbfounded.
"...Ah, I see now. I've heard about your power in passing, but frankly did not think much of the few superficial similarities we shared at the time." Nearl explained as she dismissed the blade, having recovered first.
"Superficial? How so?" Carol asked, also dismissing her blade.
"Indeed." Nearl nodded, before explaining. "While we seem to share the light construct aspect of our powers, there are still quite a lot of differences besides that. Among other things, I can imbue weapons, create shields, pure light, projectiles, beams, and heal myself or others with it. While not power-related, I am also very skilled in armed combat and very practiced in spotting lies and other subterfuge."
"Doesn't that basically just mean you have all of New Wave's powers combined into one, though?" Vicky chimed in from the side, incredulous.
Amy snorted, having finally recovered from her laughter. "Yeah, that's why I said she'd be a pretty damn good fit for the team. I was just as weirded out about the coincidence when I found out as you are. Apparently, all of Nearl's family shares similar powers to her. Maybe it's an alternate dimension thing or something." She shrugged helplessly at that.
Carol blinked, her eyebrows raised. "Huh. That is… a very odd coincidence. And a rather impressive powerset as well, assuming the effects are strong enough. Regardless, we can revisit that later. What about Missy?"
"I summon Nearl, obviously. This seems to happen whenever I'm awake. As soon as I fall asleep, for whatever reason, she disappears again. Apart from that, I can just… learn to do anything Nearl can do. Skills, powers, biology, anything. I also see a lot of her memories in my dreams, too. Right now we've been focusing on passing on her Brute and Mover stuff and her skill with spotting lies and such," Missy explained.
"I… see," the older heroine haltingly stated, her brow furrowed deep in thought as her mind processed the information. "That… is indeed a very strange power. I don't think I've ever heard of being able to summon another person like that. More so, powers that grow over time are vanishingly rare, as well as healing ones. The fact that you can do both? That's… an anomaly, really."
"Oh, she's a damn anomaly all right. Little Ms. 'Case File Factory'." Amy grumbled from the side.
Carol's head snapped towards the healer. "Explain."
"I mean, it's exactly what it sounds like. Little Missy here is so outside the norm that she's basically single-handedly created more PRT Case Files in a day than there have been in the past two years. So far, her and Nearl have been directly responsible for four new ones, if not more." Amy sighed, sinking into the couch in exhaustion at the mere thought of paperwork.
Vicky's head quickly switched back and forth between staring at them, before blurting out. "What the hell? Why? Her power is a little weird, but so was Dauntless', and he didn't get four Case Files. What's so special about hers?"
The healer groaned. "Well, for starters, it's the fact that she's technically not even a Parahuman. She doesn't have a Corona or a Gemma; I checked. Wherever she's getting her weird powers from, it's definitely something different than normal parahumans. Or at least different from all the ones I've been able to examine with my power so far. The other Cases are just from Nearl's world being really weird, and the fact that people in her world have entirely different underlying mechanics for powers." She shrugged in indifference, ignoring how she had silenced the rest of her family with her explanation.
Carol slowly nodded. "That… explains why, I suppose. But still, despite the oddities, it does sound fairly useful, given how versatile your friend's power is. And you would need protection while your power does its thing, correct?"
"Yeah. Can't exactly defend myself until Nearl teaches me how, I guess." Missy nodded with a shrug.
"I see…" The older woman accepted that and then went silent, seemingly thinking for a while.
"Well, so far I cannot come up with a good enough reason to refuse you outright. But I also cannot decide this by myself. I will have to convene with the rest of New Wave before I can give a proper response." Carol explained after finishing her considerations.
Nearl nodded. "That is quite alright. There is no rush. When do you think you can give us your reply?"
"Tomorrow, or the day after at the latest," Carol replied. Nearl got up and extended her hand, the two adults shaking it.
Today was a rather busy day, so the two continued right on to their next stop; Brockton General. Carol was kind enough to provide a ride, as Panacea would be joining them today. Nearl was very eager to be certified as a healer and Amy was happy to help.
Unfortunately, Missy was not quite ready for that yet, but she had something else to do.
"...Hey dad. How are you doing?" Missy said after having sat down in the room they kept her father in. Already, she felt a weight upon her heart.
Of course, there was no response, just the quiet beeping of a heart rate monitor.
"I made a really good friend who's been taking care of me," the girl said. "So don't you worry about me, okay? I'm fine. I'm… fine."
Was she trying to convince her dad, or herself? Missy wasn't quite sure.
"I… I also got powers now," she admitted, quietly and with teary eyes. "But I don't know what to do with them yet. I'm still figuring it out."
Missy watched the comatose body of her father in silence for several minutes, following the slow movement of his chest up and down.
God, why was this so hard?
She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. And she didn't even know what to feel, either.
She didn't know if she should feel glad for the fighting and arguments to be over, sad for losing her parents, or indifferent to it all, unable to properly process her emotions.
In the end, she chose to look back on happier times and remember her father for the man he once was, instead of the one he had devolved into.
"Please wake up soon," she pleaded, clenching her fist in frustration.
Unable to bear the oppressive silence any longer, she gave him one last look before leaving.
She entered the waiting area at the main entrance, pulling out her phone. She missed a notification.
It was Mr. Hawthorne. Apparently, he tried to call her twice, then decided to send a text message instead.
Quickly reading through the message, she realized that the date for her mother's funeral had been settled. The 27th, which would be the Monday after Christmas.
She sent a message to acknowledge the date, quickly adding an apology for missing him. For the hell of it, she also asked him about the settings on the phone, since apparently it came fully muted.
Surprisingly, she got a message back only a few minutes afterwards.
Apparently, the man had started to get worried, so writing back when she did was a good idea. He also explained how to properly manage the settings, before drifting off into a rant about the people that were supposed to set it up properly.
The girl smirked at the message. After making sure nobody was watching her, she then wrote a message about the Wards Contract and how neither of them were happy with the terms.
The follow-up took suspiciously long. Eventually, he agreed but needed to discuss possible changes with his superiors.
With that, the communication ceased, so she focused on her empathic sense. Nearl was moving around quite a lot upstairs, so they probably started the practical tests on her healing. But she had no idea how long that would take, so Missy started scouring her phone for games.
Eventually, Nearl returned. Her friend was visibly happy, having successfully gone through the trial run with Panacea. As such, she was now allowed to heal as well, but only for blunt force type injuries and similar things.
With nothing else to do, the two headed home once more. On the way home, both Nearl and Missy noticed that there were a lot more people scouring about to watch them. They were nice enough to not follow them though, so they let them be.
Eventually, they changed to what counted for a civilian outfit for both of them, and soon after reached home.
"Well, this was exciting," Missy voiced as soon as she hung up her jacket. "Do you think we have a shot with New Wave?"
Her friend nodded. "I think so. The woman is good at hiding her reactions, but I think she approves of me at least. She seems a bit less sure about you, but we'll get there. I think she appreciated that we were quite straight with her in telling her of our motives; it felt that Carol was a naturally suspicious person."
Missy thought about it. "I can see that. Have you gotten back from Faultline yet?"
The Kuranta paused. "Oh, hmm. It seems to have slipped my mind. I'll check up on that. Why don't you go and get started on today's workout in the meantime? I've got something special planned for that."
Missy was filled with a strange sense of foreboding, but also found herself very excited.
She took the weights from yesterday, going through the same generic motions as she did last time. Missy still found it very baffling just how noticeable the difference was per day. Yesterday, her arms hurt very quickly. Now, the weights felt… almost weightless, somewhat ironically.
Nearl returned a few minutes later. "It turns out, Faultline did, in fact, already reply. The woman is apparently very eager to meet with us. Or, more likely, me. Does a meeting this evening sound good to you?"
Missy thought about it. "Sure, why not? I guess today is mostly a running around day, anyway."
The Kuranta chuckled. "I suppose so. Going by how unbothered you look, these weights seem to not be helping much anymore?"
The girl shook her head.
"Let's move on then. You seem to have a decent enough basis now. We should move on to the practical applications." Nearl said, causing Missy to beam. "We need to work on your actual movement in combat. For now, let's begin with a handstand."
The girl blinked. "A… handstand?"
The Kuranta nodded. "For now, just a handstand. After that, we'll move to other things, such as cartwheels and such. The idea is to train your balance so you can recover it more easily if you need to dodge awkwardly."
Missy thought about it, deciding it made sense. Going from what she remembered, she spun…
And almost launched herself because she put far too much force into the movement. Instead, she found herself dangling upside down by her heel as Nearl held her up with one hand.
"What was that supposed to be?" Nearl asked with a raised eyebrow, setting the girl down. "Do you not know how to do a handstand?"
"My… muscle memory is kind of shot a bit, I think," Missy admitted with a sigh. "I didn't account for how much more body strength I have now."
The Kuranta blinked. "Ah."
Missy experimented a bit, eventually finding the sweet spot. "This seems way easier than I remember it being."
The girl continued to walk around a bit on her hands, before flipping herself back up. Nearl eyed her with some curiosity.
"Well done. Now do it again," Nearl told her with an odd intensity to her tone. "And again, and again. Until it becomes so engraved in your mind and body that you do it out of reflex, and then keep doing it."
Missy practiced the motion enough times that she lost count. Eventually, they moved on to full-on cartwheeling. Followed by push-ups, one handed push-ups, and continuously more ridiculous exercises, pushing the very limits of her enhanced physique.
Missy was sweating, and fiercely so. Nearl did not relent one bit in the training. If anything, it was even more intense than ever before, most likely due to Nearl realizing that not only could she take it, she would even thrive in doing so, progressing at a downright impossible rate. As before, she cited that combat does not stop for you if you get tired.
After roughly three hours of intensive training, Missy all but collapsed on the floor in a boneless heap.
Nearl smiled. "That's good enough for now, let's stop here. I'll go prepare dinner."
Missy failed to respond, too busy grasping for breath.
Food was a quick affair, this time being a simple steak.
"I think we should also practice outside a little bit. We can better gauge your jump strength around buildings that way," the Kuranta mused. "I don't have a good grasp of that yet. You may be able to just jump from building to building already."
"That'd be cool," Missy replied, grinning.
With them in agreement, the two went out, costuming up as before. Moving a way down towards the Docks, the two found a seemingly empty alley.
"This should work," Nearl mused. "Let's start testing. For now, just jump as high as you can. Make sure to actually focus on landing properly. Try a standing jump first."
The girl did as requested, jumping as high as she could. Which turned out to be pretty damn high, actually. For a moment, she was even able to see the top of the building. But then she fell back down again, right where she started. She found herself surprised at how easily her knees took the impact.
"Good job," her friend praised her. "Do it a few more times to make sure you're consistently landing properly, then we'll move on to try roof hopping."
After some testing, it turned out that Missy indeed had no issues there. Something she found out, but they suspected that she probably copied Nearl's muscle memory.
"Hm. I think you'll be at my level sooner rather than later, your body just needs to catch up. I think you're just too small to exert the same level of effort as I usually am," Nearl noted. "But the best time to train is when you're young, so you'll likely actually exceed me when you're older."
The girl beamed at that.
"Now, let's begin the real test. You see that rooftop over there? That's your target. You should be able to make the jump," Nearl told Missy. "I'll wait here, just in case I need to intervene."
Missy gulped. She trusted Nearl's judgment, but the rooftops were a solid five meters apart. Could she really do that jump?
After a moment of hesitation, she decided to just go for it. Even if her friend was wrong, she had faith in Nearl's ability to catch her.
Getting a running start, she leaped.
And once again found herself surprised by how easy the insane jump was. It was the truest proof that she was downright superhuman now. Upon touching the roof, she instinctively did a landing roll, something she found just as surprising because Nearl did not actually teach her that.
A moment later, Nearl arrived.
"Very well done," the Kuranta praised her with a headpat. This time Missy was too distracted by her own thoughts to block it, causing her to pout. "Let's keep going, then."
They hopped a few more rooftops successfully, testing out different distances and heights for each jump, as well as more general parkour and some tips from Nearl on the areas she could still improve with as she slowly got the hang of it and increased their tempo.
Missy was having the time of her life, overwhelmed by a feeling of weightlessness and sheer freedom once it dawned on her that she had gone from 'couch potato twelve year old little girl' to 'win every single golden medal in the Olympics and smash a few records while doing so' in the span of three days. It was absolutely insane.
And she loved every single goddamn second of it.
Being this strong, this powerful? To simply be able to run, jump, and move like this? It was… exhilarating. She felt like she was on top of the world. They were definitely going to do this a lot more often, if she had anything to say about it.
However, her bout of euphoria suddenly came to an abrupt end as between one moment and the next, marked by the sound of exploding concrete and displaced air, Nearl simply appeared next to her and tackled her out of the air, driving the air from her lungs.
Panicking for a moment at the sudden jarring shift, she regained enough awareness to right herself mid-air and still land in a rough roll with a grunt, before turning to look at what happened, feeling very disoriented.
Nearl was standing protectively over her prone form, stance low, back turned towards her, one palm extended in her direction as if to warn her against doing any sudden movements, while the other one held her glowing spear in a white-knuckle grip as she faced off in an unknown direction.
Missy quickly tried to scan her surroundings for the source of the danger, and then promptly paled when she saw a man clad in dark fatigues and a demon mask, kneeling on the edge of one of the rooftops above them, unmoving as he silently observed them like a gargoyle.
How… How long had he even been standing there?!
With nary a sound, the man turned to ash, appearing on their rooftop, facing Nearl from some distance away, his form still and unmoving as a statue in a way that Missy found deeply unnerving.
The oppressive aura of tension in the air somehow became even heavier, judging by how much brighter Nearl's spear turned, becoming hot enough for her to feel it even from her position.
Missy slowly and subtly tried to shift her stance, preparing herself to do exactly what Nearl had strictly ordered her to do if a situation like this ever came up.
Which was, essentially, to bolt as hard as possible at the first sign of danger and run the hell away.
Because Missy was twelve years old, untrained, unarmored, unarmed, and in no way, shape or form even prepared for any kind of confrontation against a hostile parahuman without Nearl's approval, let alone an ambush.
Nearl, meanwhile, warily observed the man in return, her entire body tensed and coiled like a spring, ready to move at a moment's notice. However, the man, Oni Lee, seemed to just… simply be standing there, watching them.
Eventually, he broke the silence. "...It is you."
"What do you want?" Nearl growled, her nostrils flaring in a huff, unsure of what this was about, yet not having any of it. For some reason, Missy found the man uniquely hard to read. Something was just… off about him.
"I was informed about parahumans entering our borders. I did not expect them to be you," the man answered, eyeing Missy curiously in a way that made her very nervous. "Why are you here?"
Fuck, did he figure it out? Missy had almost forgotten that he saw her unmasked before.
"...We were not aware that it was your territory," Nearl answered diplomatically, yet still just as tense. "I was simply instructing my apprentice here, Astra."
Missy gave the Kuranta a side-glance. Was she attempting to talk her way out of a fight again? She found herself just as confused as last time, because this time she didn't have to cover for injured people.
Oni Lee seemed equally taken aback. It seems the man had expected a fight.
"I see," he responded eventually. "We… would prefer if you do not venture further north or east. Here is… acceptable. If only barely."
Nearl slowly nodded. "I can agree to that."
Oni Lee stepped back, before eventually stopping and turning his head.
"I… suppose it might interest you to know. The Empire has been… sneaking around our borders," he eventually revealed. "Lung-sama believes they're looking for something… or someone."
Nearl narrowed her eyes. "And you are telling me this, why?"
Oni Lee tilted his head, turning to stare pointedly at Missy. "I believe… you dislike the Empire… just as much as we do," he stated in that slow, halting speech of his.
Upon saying those words, he turned to ash, just like the last time they met.
After making absolutely sure he was gone, Missy turned to the Kuranta.
"Why did you let him go this time?" she asked, curiously.
"A knight does not start a fight without good reason, Missy. The explosives he carries are still a danger to people we might not even be aware are around us. Besides, he was willing to talk. That is something that should be encouraged whenever possible, rather than punished. Being attacked on sight is a reality I'd rather avoid," Nearl explained, before turning and kneeling in front of her.
Placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, she declared. "Remember this, Missy. A knight's purpose is always to protect, not to attack. It's just that sometimes, unfortunately, the only way left to protect those we hold dear is to strike before the enemy can."
Missy pondered her friend's words, still not entirely convinced. It felt like she was leaving something out. "I… don't know, Nearl. He's still working for a very bad gang. At least we got some information out of it, but…"
The Kuranta nodded. "He is. But from what I've learned through my research, the Empire is by far the more dangerous of the two. I'd rather maintain neutrality with the ABB for as long as possible so that we may focus on the bigger threat, rather than fight a war on two fronts. We can deal with the ABB after the Empire is gone," she reasoned, before frowning in thought.
Missy found it very telling that Nearl talked about the Empire as if they were something that the city would be rid of anytime soon, like taking out the trash. As if it was her sole goal to rid the world of them, which she found… admirable, really. This is why she wanted so much to be like Nearl. She wished to have that same heroic conviction and inspiring confidence she saw in her friend.
"I wonder what it is they're looking for. It may very well be us. We… have not exactly been subtle, after all." Nearl absentmindedly pondered.
The girl froze at that. She hadn't considered that very real possibility. "Right, um… maybe we should go home, then? I'd rather not find out the hard way."
The Kuranta sighed. "That may very well be for the best."
The two returned home once again to 'lay low' for a bit. Nearl used the opportunity to subject Missy to some more torturous training. At this point, Missy was worried she'd start to flinch at the word 'again'.
But still, it was now late enough that they had to leave for the Palanquin. This time, they decided to mask up somewhat closer to the place.
She was glad that the bus there did not run into any issues. Missy had heard stories about public transit in this city. After taking a quick detour to mask up, they walked up to the "VIP line" bouncer.
"Listen, kid, you are definitely way too young for this place," the bouncer told Missy dismissively. "Go away."
That caused several people in the normal queue to laugh, which frustrated Missy, but strangely enough, she found that it was nowhere near as much as it should have. It seems that after living through Nearl's experiences as a noble, petty insults and ridicule seemed to just… slide off her, as if they were things beneath her notice.
"I'm here for a meeting," Nearl explained very sternly. "And I'm in charge of her at the moment, so I am not letting her out of my eyesight."
The bouncer gave her a look. "You can go in, but no kids. That's the rules."
"Very well, please tell your boss that I'm canceling the meeting, then. I'll wait," the Kuranta retorted, patiently crossing her arms.
Ohhhh, Missy remembered seeing her pull off this move before in her dreams. It was great.
Sighing, the bouncer did so. Midway through his call, his eyebrows shot up and his face paled. "You can go in," he quickly corrected himself.
Heh. Got him.
Missy only barely managed to not blow raspberries at the man as she passed him by. It was one hell of an effort, though. She did, however, exchange a brief high-five with Nearl after a conspiratorial look of understanding.
Another surprising benefit of her dreams was that Missy had a much greater understanding of the 'unspoken language', as it were. She was able to silently communicate quite a few things with Nearl just by using certain looks in certain contexts. It was pretty neat.
Once inside the club proper, they were met by a tall, rotund man with translucent skin wearing a hooded jacket. That'd be Gregor the Snail, according to what Nearl had taught her from her research.
"Good evening. You are Nearl, correct?" the large man asked with a thick foreign accent she couldn't place.
"I am. This is Astra, my apprentice. Due to her currently being in my care, I had to bring her with me. I hope it's not too much trouble?" her friend replied with a nod and a light smile, placing a hand on her shoulder, seemingly at ease. Missy couldn't help but stand up straighter and puff her chest out a little bit at the acknowledgment.
"Not at all. It is my pleasure to welcome you into our Palanquin. I am Gregor. If you would please follow me this way, I'll take you to your meeting," the man cordially greeted them, before gesturing to the side with his hand.
"Lead the way," Nearl agreed with practiced ease, before exchanging a certain look with Missy, one which she knew to interpret as 'keep your eyes peeled'. Missy made sure to follow suit.
Bright lights, loud music, people drinking and dancing, the Palanquin seemed like a hive of activity to her. Her eyes scanned the crowds with interest, taking in the sight.
Y'know, cause she was a kid, and this was an adult club. It was a pretty novel experience for her, all things told. That is, if you ignored the few similar scenes she had seen in Nearl's memories.
Gregor led them up some stairs that overlooked the entire club and through a lounge filled with couches and bean bag seats, where a group of people were relaxing, high out of their minds.
The cause for that became apparent once she looked around, finding a teenager with orange skin, purple hair and a tail leaning back on one of the couches, his arms draped around a young man and woman's shoulders at each of his sides. Said couple was also very clearly out of it, sporting dopey, drunken smiles on their faces.
"Yo, yo! Who are the new arrivals, Gregor? A new recruit, maybe?" The guy she knew as Newter from her research greeted them with a cheeky wave and a large smile.
"Perhaps. Although that remains to be seen. Newter, I presume? I'm Nearl, and this is Astra, my apprentice. It is nice to meet you," her friend greeted the Case 53 amicably, seemingly very interested in him, if the way she examined his appearance was anything to go by.
Emboldened by the sight, he excitedly replied. "Ohh? Could this be? A fan? Well, looks like my reputation precedes me," the teenager shot back with a wide grin, before darting out of his seat with surprising speed and agility, his movement extremely lightweight and dexterous as he quietly crossed the room on all fours without leaving a hint of his passing behind, before coming to a stop in front of Nearl and bowing as if he were a performer in a stage.
"Charmed. I would greet you like a proper gentleman, but alas, the difficulties of us fifty-threes' lives are endless, I'm sure you understand. What brings you to our humble abode, fair lady?" The young man winked coyly at her, eyeing Nearl's very obvious extra features with open interest.
Nearl laughed and daintily covered her mouth with her hand, playfully acting the part of the noble maiden. "Well, if you must know, I'm here to meet your boss on some business-related matters."
Newter stood ramrod straight at that, laughing nervously at the very unimpressed deadpan look Gregor sent his way, as if this weren't the first time this had happened, which Missy honestly found pretty funny.
"Ah…. hahahah, I see. W-Well, far be it for me to keep the boss away from important business. You go on ahead, then. Bye!" the boy nervously exclaimed, before quickly darting out of the room, giving Gregor a wide berth as he did so.
The large man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please forgive Newter's behavior. He's at the stupid age, you see," he said, before opening a door and leading them across another room, and then through a hallway.
Nearl chuckled in good humor. "It's quite alright. He seems like a nice kid."
Gregor snorted. "Yeah right, and I'm a handsome young man. The kid's a menace, I swear."
"Well, I don't know about young specifically, but I'd say you do look rather dashing," Nearl lightly complimented.
Gregor rolled his eyes at what he assumed to be a joke, before pausing upon seeing Nearl's honest smile, which made his eyebrows shoot up in surprise, his expression oddly touched by that.
Missy figured that Nearl wouldn't see anything wrong with a Case 53's appearance, given the fact that rarer sights were probably common in her world.
Gregor's disposition shifted after that, oddly uncomfortable with being genuinely complimented, and seemingly looking at Nearl with new eyes. "Appreciated," he grunted, clearing his throat before pausing on one of the doors, knocking, and opening it after a reply from within the room. "In any case, here we are."
They piled into the office room and found Faultline sitting there, waiting for them. The woman wore a very practical looking ensemble that consisted of dark military clothing and body armor, capped off by a soldering mask that hid her features, and had her hair done in a ponytail. Upon entering, she stood to greet them, shaking their hands.
"Welcome to the Palanquin. I must apologize for my subordinate's behavior," the woman said professionally, before turning to eye Missy. "I did not expect you to bring someone with you, much less a child under your care."
Nearl shrugged as she took a seat while Gregor remained standing guard off to the side, his hands folded respectfully. "It's quite alright. Though I would expect your people to be more receptive to the idea, considering you have a child of your own with you. Labyrinth, was it?"
Missy kept quiet, but also took a seat. Faultline followed last.
"I suppose you're right. I have to say, I did not expect someone to come up to me like this," the woman said. "Usually, I have to dig quite deeply for information on Case 53's."
Nearl nodded. "To be entirely frank, I'm not entirely sure if the information is what you're looking for, or if it will even be useful in the first place. However, it's something I would prefer not being spread if at all possible."
Faultline seemed rather curious about that. "I can keep a secret, if that's what you are worried about. I pride myself on being professional."
The Kuranta leaned backwards, eyeing the woman who did not flinch at all at the stare. "Very well. I am not actually from either Bet nor Aleph. I come from a world called Terra, where literally everyone has features like me. My race is called Kuranta, but there are many kinds of races in our world. I'm not about to explain them all, but many of them seem to reflect animals present in this world."
Missy was tempted to confirm that, but kept quiet. She felt wary of telling Faultline more about her powers.
"Is that so?" Faultline asked extremely eagerly. She all but lunged for the laptop to the side, placing it on the table and pressing the power button. "Could it be that Case 53's come from this… Terra, then?"
Nearl shook her head. "I don't know for sure, but it is possible that some may be. Gregor and Newter would fit the bill for outliers of certain species, for example. But that does not explain the amnesia, which I do not have, or the tattoos. There are also certain types such as Weld, which I find unlikely to be from Terra at all."
Off to the side, Missy noticed Gregor looking extremely interested as well, attentively listening to the conversation with an almost hopeful expression on his face. Faultline, meanwhile, settled down from her earlier enthusiasm and drummed her fingers on the surface of the table, humming in thought. "Hm, I see. And would you happen to have any evidence to support these claims?"
Nearl nodded, before elaborating. "Nothing concrete I could show you besides myself and the knowledge I possess. However, my situation has been verified by the PRT as much as they were able to, and have assigned a number of Case Files to it, although none of them are public at this time, and I doubt most of them will. I am quite the recent arrival, you see, and my presence here was entirely by accident. Though I do believe that the existence of Terra will be made public sometime soon, if only because the information they plan to release is pretty safe."
Faultline crossed her arms at that, nodding slowly. "So nothing physical beyond your own word and knowledge of a new Case File that hasn't been made public yet," she mused, before sighing loudly. "Well, that's honestly more evidence than I usually get regarding the subject, so I'm willing to extend some trust on the matter."
The woman picked up the laptop and brought it over to the Kuranta's side, standing right next to her.
"While not exactly what I hoped for, I do feel that this might bring me a little closer in my search for the source of Case 53's. I've done quite a lot of digging on this topic," the mercenary explained, pulling up several files and lists on the computer.
She stepped back and gestured for Nearl to look. "I have a list of all the known, as well as some unknown Case 53's that have cropped up over the years. If you wouldn't mind, I would like you to look through it and tell me which ones you think might look like people from your Terra?"
"I don't mind," Nerl replied, leaning closer to the laptop. "Let's see here. Mantellum, definitely, Gully is a maybe…"
The two flipped through the pictures and discussed with each other for a good while, getting into the swing of things. Nearl eventually allowed Faultline to write information on several of the more common species of her world for reference, with the mercenary's solemn promise that it would be kept entirely confidential and only be used for her research into the source of Case 53's, which Nearl apparently judged as trustworthy enough.
Missy found it very… strange, how the two women were able to quickly understand and click with each other, seemingly resonating with the other as if they were fellow war veterans. She knew Nearl had a very unique effect on other people, but she'd never seen it happen this quickly, which she found very surprising. Something that also surprised Gregor as well, if his raised eyebrows and look of open curiosity were any indication.
"A lot of these seem out there even for Terra, but… I am finding far more people that look like they might be from my world than I'm entirely happy with," Nearl eventually said with concern in her voice.
Faultline frowned, deep in thought. "Maybe this is part of the bigger picture then, rather than the entire thing. Case 53's could be people brought over from different worlds, brought here for… some reason."
"Do you suspect foul play?" Nearl inquired.
The other woman sighed. "Do I suspect it? No, at this point, I'm certain of it. The amnesia is far too uniform not to be the result of something specific, and they all share that strange tattoo. More worryingly, pretty much every time I feel like I get close to the truth, something happens to my sources that prevents me from getting more information."
The Kuranta tapped her fingers on the desk while she was thinking about that. "This is… worrying. To me, this whole situation screams of some kind of cover up, though whether it's by the government or some other group I cannot say. Hopefully I was able to help you, at least. I approve of your decision to help Case 53's, it is a noble cause. However, this brings me to something I've been wanting to ask."
The masked woman raised her eyebrow at that.
"Why are you classified as a villain? I know that you do mercenary work, but that does seem a bit much," Nearl mused sternly. "Is there a reason for that?
"I could say that the PRT simply does not approve of mercenaries, but… I can tell you'd see through that immediately," the mercenary shook her head, before placing her crossed arms on the table.
"The truth is, we work for whoever can afford our rates, barring certain exceptions. We do have standards, of course, such as a strict no murder policy, avoidance towards certain types of crimes, and no associating with the more unstable or unsavory criminal elements, let alone mass murderers. But at the end of the day, we do work for villains at times. I won't deny nor try to hide that from you. You've earned that much from me, at least."
The Kuranta sighed at that, visibly unhappy. "I see…"
The two seemed to stare at each other for a while, unsure of how to proceed, before Faultline leaned back and shot a knowing glance at Missy. "You wanted to know because the two of you were interested in the possibility of joining us, weren't you? That was the main reason for contacting me."
The Kuranta looked away, seemingly downcast. "Correct."
Faultline closed her eyes and heaved a deep breath. "You strike me as a very reliable type of person, Nearl. One with their own strict set of morals. I suppose you have found them to be… incompatible with ours. That knight motif you have with your armor isn't for show at all, is it?"
Nearl smiled wanly at that. "No, it's not. It's a big part of who I am. Who I wish to be, and the things I stand for. The same things I wish to pass on to my apprentice. She's my responsibility, you see," she explained, placing a gentle hand on Missy's shoulder, which caused her to shyly smile.
The mercenary bowed her head. "I understand. And I definitely respect your decision as well. It takes heart to stand up for your ideals in a world like this," she said, staring off into the distance, before shaking her head as if to dispel old memories.
"Then why don't you?" Nearl suddenly asked, her eyes and voice filled with that intensity so unique to her, before she continued.
"I'd like to believe I'm a decent judge of character, and you certainly strike me as a very capable and competent person, someone who could stand for their beliefs. Your cause is a just one, worth pursuing, something worthy and meaningful. So why must you taint it by working for petty criminals, when you could be so much more than that? You could do so much better, become so much better than... this," she trailed off as she gestured around them, her tone filled with an awe-inspiring fervor that Missy only saw the barest hints of until now.
The mercenary leader actually hesitated at that, something that only served to further demonstrate Nearl's charisma, before eventually chuckling in reply. "I'm sorry Nearl, but unfortunately that wouldn't work for us. We've already made our choice long ago, and there's no turning that back."
Faultline seemed to sink into her chair as she sighed. "If nothing else, we can maintain friendly communications for future exchanges. I won't begrudge you for choosing your own path, but we've chosen ours as well. We simply can't take back what we are. So I think we can… agree to disagree on ethical questions," Faultline eventually said, looking away from Nearl's disappointed gaze. "However, at the very least, I'd like to repay you for your time."
Missy's eyes went wide as the woman pulled a several stacks of bills from a drawer on her desk and placed them on top of a paper bag for Nearl. What part about thousands of dollars was small?!
The woman handed the stack to Nearl, who flipped through it, before putting it in the bag, nodding in thanks.
"Take it. If you find anything else about this topic, please share it with me. And if you'd like some information in return, don't hesitate to ask," Faultline requested.
Nearl perked up at that. "Actually, there is something that would be very useful at the moment. Anything you have on the local gangs. Territories, members, capabilities, and whatever you might deem useful. Astra and I are new to the cape scene, and some orientation on the subject would be greatly appreciated."
The mercenary actually paused at that, mulling her reply and exchanging looks with Gregor, before coming to a decision. "That… is a tall order, but alright. Usually, this would cost you quite a bit, but I'll make an exception for you in this case. It's only fair to repay you in kind, after all. Word of this does not leave this place, are we clear?"
"Crystal," Nearl immediately agreed.
Faultline snorted at that. "I'll put together some dossiers for you, and will let you know when you can come by to pick them up. I can't give you much information on the gang assets and territory, though. Leaking that would get me crucified. Anyway, it'll probably take a day or two. That sound good to you?"
Nearl smiled widely at that, offering her hand for a shake. "Quite so."
The mercenary followed suit and they shook hands, sealing the agreement. "I assume you would like to get home before it gets too dark. Do you want me to arrange for a driver?"
Both Nearl and Missy gave the woman a look for a moment. "Hm. I was about to say no, but I wouldn't be opposed if you helped us get out of ABB territory without being seen."
Reading this chapter i have come upon an issue! Mainly i'm uncertain how to feel about Missy gaining so much physical enhancement so quickly. I mean she went from your typical average early teen girl to superhuman PARKOUR in 3 short days. That is a lot of power to hand to a girl that is kind of... excitable? Easily influenced? Young?
On a similar matter, since we're gonna be welcoming a new character in a little over a week story time, i must ask if Missy will keep those physical enhancement, or she'll have to start over to match the new summon. Or if it'll just keep piling up? If we're piling, that's kind of too OP... Maybe just let her reach near Elite Operator status as a flat ceiling? Because if we're piling or imitating, then assuming we're going to see the Sui siblings, that's literally approaching Divine territory. All that power inside Missy is a scary thought.
BB does not need that sort of fire power walking around in a little girl to further add fuel on the powder keg. We'll see enough of those on some of the other Elite Operators or specific folks (like Mudrock or Gavial or even Kal'tsit) if they come through.
Reading this chapter i have come upon an issue! Mainly i'm uncertain how to feel about Missy gaining so much physical enhancement so quickly. I mean she went from your typical average early teen girl to superhuman PARKOUR in 3 short days. That is a lot of power to hand to a girl that is kind of... excitable? Easily influenced? Young?
On a similar matter, since we're gonna be welcoming a new character in a little over a week story time, i must ask if Missy will keep those physical enhancement, or she'll have to start over to match the new summon. Or if it'll just keep piling up? If we're piling, that's kind of too OP... Maybe just let her reach near Elite Operator status as a flat ceiling? Because if we're piling or imitating, then assuming we're going to see the Sui siblings, that's literally approaching Divine territory. All that power inside Missy is a scary thought.
BB does not need that sort of fire power walking around in a little girl to further add fuel on the powder keg. We'll see enough of those on some of the other Elite Operators or specific folks (like Mudrock or Gavial or even Kal'tsit) if they come through.
I am not quite sure I follow on the first bit - how is that different compared to other parahuman powers? Giving too much power to impressionable children is very much in line with what Shards do, it's part of why the Wards exist. Worm thrives on chaos. And rooftop hopping level of mover/brute powers aren't that unusual, either.
Either way, keep in mind that this is from a quest based on Projection Quest (on Spacebattles). Essentially, people roll for random Operators from the game and get them as a summon here, able to inherit their skills and powers.
Unlike PQ, however, Missy actually gets toned down versions of what the Operators have canonically(i.e. leading to a lower power curve than the "instantly overpower all of Brockton Bay" PQ had). She does keep them permanently, but only their notable features matter. While Ursus are considered really strong, just rolling random ones won't give you super strength unless the person counts as strong for an Ursus. But do keep in mind that Nearl is a goddamn powerhouse. The game itself gives her one of the highest rating sets available and this is literally one of her canon feats:
Missy found herself in the red nothingness again, which was exactly as ominous as it was last time. While she didn't panic this time, she was still deeply unnerved. Something about the place still felt… wrong, as if it wasn't meant to be perceived by human senses.
The world went blurry just as abruptly as last time, before being replaced with the sound of clashing metal, roaring fires, whistling arrows, explosions and screams.
This time, she seemingly found herself in what appeared to be the middle of a goddamn warzone. She flinched at the sounds of battle raging around her. Or rather, she would have, if she had actual control over her body.
As always, she found herself a silent observer in her friend's body, noticing that strangely enough, Nearl was wearing a different set of armor and equipment as she charged across the battlefield.
Maybe this memory was from before she got her current equipment?
The thing that stood out the most, however, was Nearl's sheer physical prowess as she quickly closed the gap between her enemies, which she found very impressive. Prowess that was, if Amy was to be believed, entirely natural.
She startled in the safety of her mind as a crossbow bolt suddenly shot out from the corner of her eye with explosive force. Nearl swung her shield around to block the hit just in time, but even Missy could feel the pain being transmitted. The impact felt more like a cannonball than a bolt. Apparently, Terran bows were way stronger than she ever thought bows could be.
After taking the hit, Nearl simply kept moving and smashed into an unassuming rioter, one Missy by now knew as having been part of Reunion. It was at that point that she realized that Nearl was fast even by Terran standards, given the rioter's shock. Despite having been staring in her general direction, they were simply unable to react in time.
Just then, Nearl swung around to block another shot. Her friend's reaction speed was as absurd as ever.
The Kuranta charged forward, once again bringing her fearsome agility and strength to bear on her foes, smashing and trampling them aside like a living battering ram. Her shield slammed into a throng of bodies, the weight adding to the thick iron slab's momentum as her mace struck out at leg and shoulder height, bowling over those who still stood. An unstoppable freight train, barreling through everything in her path.
Things went blurry after that, as Missy was consumed in a never ending spiral of combat and insane feats of strength.
She witnessed and relieved many, many scenes of Nearl facing off against countless foes. She fought armed militias, highly trained kill squads, assassins, snipers, casters, armored vehicles, and even other melee combatants just as strong and skilled as her. There were far too many opponents to count, with their capabilities being as distinct as they were varied.
Intellectually, she had been aware of the fact that Nearl had killed quite a lot of people throughout her life, even if she was pretty much the most morally upstanding person she had ever known. She said so herself: the rules of engagement were completely different back in Terra, where powers were far more widespread, life had little value, conflict was common, and the risk of infection was always around the corner. Getting permanently rid of the people attacking you was just the sensible thing to do there, at least when law and order broke down.
Seeing Nearl cut down an enemy and move on without looking back, witnessing that first-hand, however? It was an entirely different matter. Missy felt like something important had been rattled from the experience. But… as much as she tried to judge her friend, she knew that at the end of the day, they would've done the same to Nearl and all of her comrades.
Hell, early on she saw that Nearl was actually careful to avoid killing her opponents, going for disabling or incapacitating blows instead, but all it did was delay her and give the rest of them the chance to strike harder at her allies while she was preoccupied, resulting in multiple losses and several grave injuries.
She felt a piece of her heart break in tandem with Nearl's as the Kuranta realized that the only way to come out of this conflict with all of her comrades alive was to end it as quickly as possible. That was part of the nature of war, after all, to kill the enemy before they could kill you.
It was clear Nearl still preferred to avoid killing as much as possible, but necessity had forced her hand: if all other means had been exhausted, or avoiding it would endanger other people's lives, then she would resort to more lethal means. Which was honestly about the best Missy could expect from someone living on Terra, really.
Missy wasn't sure if the experiences were beginning to cloud her judgment, but she slowly began to realize in dawning comprehension just how bad things were in Terra. This was a world seeded in war and violence at every corner, far more than even her own. It was… horrifying.
She never thought she'd consider the hellhole of a city she called home to be tame by comparison, but she did.
One saving grace from this dream was that, at the very least, it wasn't several years worth of memories like the last one, merely feeling like a month or two at most.
The problem was, however, that it was months of constant non-stop action. Missy was beginning to feel a bone-deep weariness and exhaustion set into her soul, the experiences greatly hardening her heart against such terrible violence. Once again, she was afraid that she'd lose herself in the sea of memories, fearing that the person waking up would end up being more Nearl than Missy.
Yet, strangely enough, when things started becoming too heavy, when the war and the violence seemed to become too overwhelming for her to bear, the dream would adjust and switch to lighter memories. Sparring matches, combat drills and practice sessions with her comrades at Rhodes Island, instead of the gruesome memories of the battlefield. It was almost as if the dream was aware of her state of mind and did its best to accommodate and protect her, which was quite reassuring, if nothing else.
Something she once again noticed, however, was that the dream had a particular emphasis on certain things while skipping others. It focused on the combat, but none of the strategy or setup behind it. The way Nearl moved and reacted, as well as how she fought unarmed, but nothing about how she used her weapons or powers. It became obvious what the dream wanted to teach her once she started paying attention.
And so, learn she did. Over time, she slowly became more and more used to the experience of having super strength, of how much force to apply behind her every action, of being able to track projectiles through sight or sound alone and react fast enough to dodge or block them. She even learned quite a bit about martial arts from all of the sparring sessions with Nearl's comrades and the rare occasions where an enemy managed to disarm her. As well as a dizzying amount of training routines, exercises and nutrition plans from Nearl's obsession with fitness and staying in peak form.
Gradually though, she began to notice that the transition between memories was… irregular, compared to before, as Nearl interacted more often with the people of Rhodes Island.
Sometimes, she would walk up to someone, and then her perspective in the dream was practically torn, like a damaged old video tape trying to play itself, as the corners of her vision were slowly overcome by an inky blackness and an alien presence, before the dream would quickly fade and move on to another memory.
It was… kind of creepy, and she had no idea what it meant. Scratch that, it was alarming, really. But it wasn't like there was anything she could do about it, so she simply decided to bear with it and focus on learning as best as she could.
It was during one of the more intense memories from the conflict with Reunion that something different finally happened. Nearl had been in the middle of escorting a small squad of her comrades across a street in the middle of an active combat zone, when one of them tripped and fell.
Her friend quickly kneeled next to her fallen comrade, a small, brown-haired bunny girl, or Cautus, as her new memories told her, and reached out to pull her up to her feet, her shield covering them all the while.
Nearl looked at the girl – who, curiously enough, seemed to have sky blue eyes with small flecks of red in the middle of her pupils – and was about to quickly order her to move behind her, before the dream abruptly froze as Nearl's hand came into contact with her.
Missy stared in confusion as the entire world seemingly stopped, all sound across the entire battlefield vanishing, plunging her into an eerie silence, unable to move.
She felt the corners of her vision slowly going dark once again, but this time something was… different.
Something was wrong.
The dream itself began to shake, desperately stuttering as if trying to break free from whatever seemed to have taken hold of it, before ominous dark red cracks began spreading across the sky, the fabric of reality itself seemingly coming undone.
Panicking, Missy tried to force dream Nearl's body to move, or will the dream to change, or do something, but was entirely unable to accomplish anything. She was simply stuck staring at the prone Cautus girl as the sky slowly unraveled, filling her with an all-encompassing feeling of dread.
Then, despite the rest of the world and everyone else still being frozen, the bunny girl's eyes slowly blinked, her wide, piercing gaze boring straight into Nearl's eyes.
…No, not Nearl's eyes. She was staring directly into hers.
Without warning, the dream suddenly came to an end.
Missy slowly woke, feeling disoriented and vaguely unnerved by faint memories of… something. Despite very vividly remembering the vast majority of the dream she just had, she found that she couldn't recall what happened at the end.
…Meh.
That's a problem for future Missy. Current Missy was hecking starving right now. These stupid blankets were also smothering her and felt way too damn tight.
With a loud yawn and a full-body stretch, Missy turned in her bed and–
Riiiiiip.
–And promptly froze, her eyes shooting wide open as she noticed that the source of the tight, smothering feeling wasn't her blanket.
It was her pajamas.
…Which now lied in tatters around her, as she apparently burst out of them like an oversized butterfly.
An absolutely fucking shredded oversized butterfly.
Missy looked down at herself in blank incomprehension, her brain not quite processing what she was seeing, before realization hit her like a truck.
"Holy crap, I have abs!" the world's strongest twelve year old cried out.
The sound of Nearl loudly clearing her throat brought her out of her shock.
Turning towards her friend, she found the Kuranta staring at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you need a moment?" She asked, averting her gaze.
"Bwuh…?" Missy eloquently replied in confusion, before freezing once again in mortified realization.
She had just burst out of her pajamas.
…In front of Nearl.
"G-Get out!" the girl shouted, her face red with embarrassment.
"I must say, I'm still quite shocked at just how quickly your body has changed. I… think you might have actually grown an inch or two as well," Nearl said as Missy emerged from the room, now wearing her usual workout clothes, a loose grey tank top and shorts that… weren't quite as loose anymore.
"...Yeah, you and me both. It didn't actually occur to me that super strength would come with super muscles, but in hindsight, that's kind of pretty darn obvious. I mean, it's not like I'm about to complain or say no to superpowers, though. That'd be silly," the girl replied, poking and prodding her now very toned and defined arms in curiosity, marveling at the way even slight movements caused her powerful muscles to flex and stand out, yet not bulging so excessively as to seem unnatural.
Her muscles were still the right size for her body, it was just very surprising because before, flexing wouldn't have had any visible effect, and her arms felt like wet noodles. Now, when she flexed, her arms looked as if they had been chiseled from marble and felt more like solid granite instead.
Nearl looked at her in concern. "Are you certain that you're not experiencing any unexpected side effects? Pain of any kind? Or perhaps lingering body image issues, for example? I'm given to understand that sudden changes to one's body can lead to body dysmorphia."
Missy hummed in thought. "I mean, I feel pretty fine? Better than ever, to be honest. I feel like I could just go out and run a couple of marathons. What's body dysmorphia, anyway?"
Nearl sighed. "Simply put, it's the experience of feeling like an outsider on one's own body. It's a condition that many unfortunately suffer from," she explained.
"Ohhhhh. Okay, I can see how that could be really uncomfortable," she nodded in understanding, scratching her chin in thought.
"I… don't think I feel that way? I'm kind of already used to the feeling of having a different body from seeing your memories. I don't really find it uncomfortable, to be honest," she shrugged and did a few hops and stretches in place, testing her range of motion.
"I still feel like myself, I'm just surprised about how sudden it was, that's all. Maybe it's just a power thing?" the girl mused, turning towards Nearl.
The Kuranta frowned at that, seeming unsure. "...If you're sure, then I suppose it's alright for now. We should still get you checked with Panacea later, just to make sure. I'm fairly certain this much development at a young age could negatively impact your growth."
Missy blinked at that. "...Oh. Didn't think about that."
Nearl's deadpan stare was telling. "Yes, 'oh' is an apt way to put it. From the sudden change, am I correct in assuming you had another vivid dream last night? What did you see this time?"
The girl stilled at that, wincing as she recalled the still fresh memories. "Yeah… about that…"
If the Kuranta looked concerned before, now she looked downright alarmed.
Halfway through her recounting of the dream, Nearl's face twisted in horrified realization before she swept her up in a tight hug. "Oh, Missy, I… am so sorry. Someone your age should've never had to see something like that. This… this is all my fault. I didn't think– I shouldn't have–" she desperately tried to apologize, her pained voice filled with guilt and remorse.
"Hey, hey, it's fine!" Missy quickly tried to reassure her friend, pushing her away to look at her. "It's only a dream. It's not like I'm actually hurt or anything. I'm fine, see?" She cupped her own cheeks and blew a raspberry, as if that was somehow a valid method of verifying one's physical integrity.
Nearl frowned at her, before slumping with an exhausted sigh. "You may not be hurt physically, I'll give you that. But emotionally? That's an entirely different matter."
Her friend closed her eyes and heaved a deep breath, finding her balance once again before explaining. "You need to understand, Missy, psychological trauma is an extremely serious issue. I have seen people over twice your age break down from living through less than half the things you must have experienced. Even I have struggled with some of the things you've had to relieve from my memories, and that was without living through it all in a single sitting. To be frank, you shouldn't be fine right now, and the fact that you claim to be is quite concerning."
That seemed to finally give pause to the girl. She stared at Nearl, unsure of what to say. She simply furrowed her brow, trying to put her thoughts into words.
"...Maybe it's another power-related thing? I'm pretty sure your own powers aren't supposed to give you trauma. That just sounds… silly," she eventually put forth, hesitatingly. "I… get that I should probably be feeling pretty traumatized right now, but I'm just feeling sorta normal? Really. If I had to explain it, there's this sort of… separation - or distance, I guess? - between dream memories and normal ones, like they're more… faint, I suppose. I can still remember them, but they don't really feel as impactful, if that makes any sense?"
Nearl just stared at her, her gaze searching, as if trying to make sure of the honesty of her words. "I…" she attempted, before trailing off.
Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose, she took a breath to compose herself, before trying again. "...Okay. Okay, I suppose that's the best I can hope for, so I'll let it go for now. You are still getting checked by Panacea or another medical professional as soon as possible, understood?" she sternly told her.
"Fiiiiiine, mom. I promise I'll talk to the doctor to make sure I'm fine," Missy accepted with a roll of her eyes.
"It's too early in the morning to be talking about our feelings, anyways. We haven't even had breakfast yet!" she complained, before squawking in indignation as Nearl ruffled her hair in response.
"Go wash up, then. I'll get breakfast sorted out," her friend lightly chuckled, the previous somber atmosphere being dispelled once she confirmed Missy was alright for now.
The two went through their usual morning routine. Absent-mindedly, Missy checked her phone while they were having breakfast in the kitchen.
"Oh, hey!" Missy exclaimed as she noticed the message she had apparently missed, "Carol sent a message. Let's see… Yessss!"
Nearl tilted her head in curiosity. "Did they say yes, perchance?"
"Yeah! Carol says she talked to the rest of New Wave and they didn't have any issue with us joining, so they're willing to give us a chance," the girl explained, "Do you think we should go for it?"
The Kuranta smiled. "It's up to you. I personally like New Wave more as an option. Especially after what the PRT tried to pull with the contract. But even without that, I feel like it'd be awkward for one of us with the PRT. Either you have to follow me around as I act as a Protectorate member, or I have to be with you during Wards activities."
The girl thought about that. "Hmm, that's very true. They'd probably just have you sitting around all day while I'm doing… whatever it is Wards do. I'm honestly not even sure what they do other than occasional PR stuff. Let me just call Carol, then."
Missy had her phone halfway in front of her again before she saw Nearl raising her finger.
"Breakfast first," the Kuranta chastised, causing Missy to blush.
After giving Carol a short call explaining that they would like to officially join New Wave, Missy moved on to calling the PRT. Since Mr. Hawthorne was their primary contact point, she called him directly.
"Hawthorne," the man bluntly greeted over the phone.
"Uhm, hello. Missy Biron here," the girl replied, hearing some shuffling on the lawyer's end. "I'd, uhm… like to talk about something."
"Of course, anytime," the lawyer answered smoothly, "What is it?"
"I just wanted to inform you that I've decided not to join the Wards," Missy explained, drawing on her acquired experiences as a noble to be as diplomatic as possible.
A momentary silence followed, likely the man doing some quick thinking. "Are you sure about this, Missy? Being an independent is very risky. Or do you just need more time to think?"
Missy frowned. The man's bias was showing. "No, we've decided to join New Wave instead."
"New Wave…" the man repeated, seeming somewhat dubious, "Ah, well, that's better than nothing, at least. Do keep in mind that what happened to Fleur could very well happen to you if you're not careful, though."
The girl grimaced. That felt like a low blow, but she understood the man's motive clear as day, so she didn't let it bother her. "I'm aware. It's just that the Wards contract doesn't really work with me having Nearl in tow. It'd be very awkward for at least one of us at any given time."
She got the impression that the man was nodding, not that she could see it, but the delay felt right. "I suppose I can understand that, but I'm sure the PRT could find a solution to accommodate for that."
Missy sighed. Inwardly, that is, because she was trying to be diplomatic, and decided to simply be upfront about it. "Well, we also don't think you had our best interests in mind from the start, given what the PRT tried to pull with the initial Wards contract. I don't blame you, specifically, but it does not make me feel good about that relationship."
The man actually sighed. "I understand. I'll pass it along. Just know that you can always talk to me if you reconsider."
Well, that went… probably about as okay as it could have gone. Not very well, but still.
"Going by your end of the conversation, the man tried to convince you to change your mind. Am I wrong?" Nearl mused.
"Yeah, sure looks like it," Missy huffed, turning towards her. "What's the plan for today?"
Nearl got up, doing the usual dishwasher dance, which looked a little silly with her still wearing her full armor. "I think it's long overdue for us to proceed into advanced training. Come with me," she said once she was done with the dishes and gesturing for her to come to the living room.
A living room that looked drastically different from the last time she saw it.
"Where… did you get all of this? Actually, what even happened to all the furniture?" Missy asked in confusion, eyeing the new… foam mats? that covered the entirety of the floor of the now otherwise empty room.
"I took a walk across the neighborhood yesterday and found a sports store close to the local highschool. I decided to be proactive about our training and bought some extra equipment that would come in handy for future training and set it up last night before you went to bed. I moved the rest of the furniture into the basement," Nearl explained, walking into the middle of the room and unclasping her gauntlets.
"Ohh, cool. Uhm… what are you doing?" Missy nodded along, before tilting her head in curiosity as Nearl discarded her armor and absent-mindedly threw it into the corner of the now very spacious living room.
The Kuranta simply raised an eyebrow in response, unclasping her weird trench coat… skirt… cape… thing. Actually, what the hell was that thing she wore even called? God, Terran fashion was so weird.
"We are going to spar," Nearl said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, before taking off her coat and also throwing it into the corner, leaving her in only her undersuit - a black tank top and pair of shorts - and stunning Missy into silence.
Intellectually, she was aware that Nearl had super strength, was borderline obsessed with fitness and staying in top form, and was pretty much at the peak of what was physically possible for a Kuranta to achieve.
Missy was also aware that she had inherited a less developed version of her physicality and could now charitably be considered to be "built like a brick wall".
She had just never put two and two together up until now and realized the very obvious fact that, well…
Nearl was built like a motherfreakingtank.
"Uhhhhh…" Missy eloquently replied, suddenly feeling very unsure about the idea of getting into a fistfight with the woman who could give world-class bodybuilders feelings of inadequacy.
How the hell do you hide that much muscle under your clothes?!
"While my main expertise lies with weapons, a knight should always be prepared for a situation where they do not have access to one. To that end, we shall practice hand-to-hand combat today. I would also like to test just how much skill in the subject you have already acquired from your dreams," the Kuranta explained, entirely ignoring Missy's internal panic.
"U-Uhm, okay, so how do we–" Missy tried to ask, before Nearl simply charged towards her so fast that she practically teleported across the room, winding up her leg for a devastating kick to her side, causing Missy's eyes to bulge in terror.
She had no time to prepare, think or plan at all, so she simply did what her instincts told her to.
She blocked.
The loud smack of superhuman flesh hitting superhuman flesh echoed across the room, the displaced air from the impact disheveling the room's curtains and rattling the windows.
Missy found herself staring at her own arm in shock as she moved pretty much on auto pilot, lifting and curling it towards the side of her torso and bracing to perform a perfect shoulder-height kickboxing block, intercepting Nearl's kick.
The Kuranta hummed in interest upon seeing that, as if she hadn't just tried to goddamn punt Missy into the bay, holding back or not.
"So it is indeed like that. Well then, this makes training significantly simpler," Nearl mused and rushed her once again before she could recover, this time throwing a jab at Missy, which she quickly dodged.
Seeing this, Nearl engaged her with a series of jabs, hooks and kicks, most of which Missy was able to successfully block or dodge, and even began hitting back once she noticed the intentional openings the Kuranta was leaving her.
The two of them exchanged blows for a while, slowly upping the speed and force behind their hits until Nearl suddenly stepped back, ending their bout.
The Kuranta silently observed Missy, who didn't seem too worse for wear despite her heavy breathing.
"W-What the hell was that?!" the girl exclaimed, gasping for air.
Nearl nodded to herself before explaining. "That's what I wanted to test, and it seems I was correct in my assumption. You don't need to learn the basics, since you apparently have already done so in your sleep."
Missy paused at that, blinking. "...Oh. Huh. I guess you're right," she said, staring at her own hand in thought, slowly clenching and unclenching it.
"With that said, however, I do not want to take any chances, especially with your safety involved, so we shall still go over everything once we begin to spar," the Kuranta said.
The girl frowned in confusion. "Didn't we just spar, though?"
Nearl snorted, cracking her knuckles with a glint in her eyes. "No, that was the warm-up."
Missy blanched at that.
An indeterminate amount of time spent getting the snot beaten out of her later, Missy groaned from her position sprawled on the floor, feeling like a giant bruise.
"That was quite a productive training session. Well done, Missy. I'd say you're about ready to face off against unpowered and unarmed gang members, at the very least," Nearl congratulated, kneeling next to her and placing a hand on her back to cast her healing Arts on the exhausted girl.
"Mrgle…" the little girl groaned once again, refusing to budge from her spot on the floor.
"Now go shower and change, we have a meeting with New Wave soon," the Kuranta advised.
Missy simply groaned louder in response.
A shower and fifteen minutes later, Carol arrived with Amy in tow.
"Good morning," the woman greeted as Nearl opened the door for them and walked into the kitchen along with Amy, catching sight of Missy leaning back on her chair, looking dead to the world. "Have you been up long? You seem a little tired."
Missy gave a lazy, drawn out groan in response, almost like a zombie, before rubbing her eyes. "We usually train a bunch after breakfast. Sorry, we took… a little longer than expected."
Amy stared at the girl. "But… it's eight AM. How long have you been up?"
Missy gave a tired shrug in reply. "Two hours, probably?"
Without paying attention to their response, she stood up and wobbled into her room to get changed into her normal civilian getup.
In a way, she was almost glad to not have to wear a hoodie anymore. It made her feel far too self-conscious to hide away like that.
Once she returned to the kitchen, Nearl was standing next to Amy, and motioned towards her upon seeing her return.
Missy simply rolled her eyes at her friend's overprotectiveness. "Fiiiiiine," she grumbled and offered her hand to the healer.
Amy went cross-eyed once she grabbed her hand, her expression twisting into a mix of horrified fascination and shock. "Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell are you even feeding her?" the healer turned towards Nearl, incredulous.
"A healthy and balanced diet," she replied with amusement.
"Balanced diet my ass. The kid could probably suplex a car now," Amy grumbled.
Before Missy could contemplate the idea of suplexing a vehicle, the healer addressed her, sounding very deadpan. "You're fine. Better than fine, even. You're gonna grow up into a very healthy sorta-horse person, in fact. Also, you kinda kick-started your own puberty a little earlier with this whole sudden change thing. Not really unusual, since you were already close to the age, and outliers do happen sometimes anyways. I am not gonna be the one to give you the talk though, go ask someone else to do it."
Missy blinked in response, her eyebrows raised. "Oh, okay then. What do you mean by 'sorta-horse person' though?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
Amy huffed, rolling her eyes at her carefree attitude. "Well, your body is practically more Terran than Bet at this point. You're just missing the outward bits. You know that normal people can't get this strong, right?"
"Huh, guess so." Missy pondered at that, not quite sure how to take that in.
"Alright, if everything is fine, we should probably get going," Nearl chimed in.
"I'll go get the car started, then," Carol agreed.
"We'll join you in a moment, we just need to finish gathering things here," Nearl replied.
The lawyer nodded and walked out, motioning for Amy to follow.
A few minutes later, they locked the door and walked outside to a mostly deserted street, with Amy and Carol waiting for them in the car.
Getting in, they drove off wordlessly, before eventually Carol broke the silence. "We'll have a proper announcement about you joining later, around noon," she explained, "But first, the others would like to meet you. My sister in particular is quite curious about you two."
Amy commented from her seat next to Missy in the back. "Who wouldn't be? It's been a while since anyone joined New Wave."
"True enough, I suppose," the woman mused as she drove. "By the way, has anyone told you two about the rules of engagement on Bet yet?"
"I'm afraid not," Nearl replied from her spot on the front passenger seat. "I could gather that you frown upon killing and maiming, but the actual intricacies escape me at the moment."
Carol nodded without looking away from the street. "Understandable. Let me explain, then. The underlying reason behind it all is the so-called Endbringer Truce— ah, of course, do you happen to know what that is?"
"I'm afraid I have to confess ignorance on the matter. Most of my research was focused on older world history and the current state of affairs in the city," Nearl admitted, "I believe I've heard the term being used in passing, though. It seems quite… foreboding."
The woman sighed. "Indeed, and for good reason. To be brief, the Endbringers are three incredibly powerful monsters, each with unique powers. Nobody is sure if they're Parahumans or something else quite yet, but they regularly attack cities with the intent of slaughtering everyone in it—usually to marked success, unfortunately. The attacks have been growing in frequency over the years; they occur roughly every three months now. That being said, they seem quite capable of simply attacking whenever they wish, and there is little we can do to stop them, which makes it feel almost like they're somehow… toying with us."
Nearl grimaced when she heard that. "My apologies; I wasn't aware that Earth had Catastrophes of its own to contend with."
"Catastrophes?" the lawyer repeated, giving the Kuranta a glance.
"Uhm, Nearl, I haven't actually told her about Terra yet," Amy chimed in from the back.
Nearl blinked. "Ah. Well, in that case, I will reserve a full explanation for when we meet the rest of New Wave, but in short: in my world, our cities are regularly visited by Catastrophes, extreme natural disasters that cause widespread destruction. Tsunamis, hurricanes, meteor storms, and other such events. I believe the PRT intends to make a proper press release on this soon."
"I… see," Carol nodded along, "I'll look forward to that, then. But we have gotten off-topic; the Endbringer Truce is the reason why the unwritten rules work, and why some villains are given more leniency or even tolerated at all. It was proven, time and time again, that just the heroes alone cannot fend off these terrible monsters. It is a sad reality, but unfortunately, we need as many parahumans as possible to fight them off."
The Kuranta raised an eyebrow at that. "Has this endeavor been met with much success?"
Amy snorted. "Yeah, it has. Mainly because the villains who abuse the leniency without actually joining in the battles get hunted down that much harder than the ones that help. If you break the truce, everyone bands together to hunt you down."
"I see…" the Kuranta mused. "I will exercise due caution, then. However, I cannot offer any promises of restraint on my behalf towards the more egregious instances of villainy in the city. To allow a pox to fester isn't righteousness; it is negligence."
"Understandable, and I wholeheartedly agree," the lawyer nodded with approval. "But please do keep in mind that there are still rules to follow. It's generally frowned upon to try to unmask a villain publicly, unless they did something utterly terrible, if only to stop villains from doing the same to heroes. And furthermore…"
Carol's lecture lasted until they arrived at the hospital. Unlike last time, she actually joined them inside.
Nearl and Amy split from them, following a nurse who began to talk them through their intended schedule. Carol and Missy, meanwhile, headed somewhere else; the girl wasn't entirely sure where. Regardless, they were greeted by yet another nurse.
"Good morning," the woman - a Miss Florence judging by her name tag - said, giving Missy an appraising look. "I was told Astra would be joining us today."
"I'm Astra," Missy stated, "and since I'm joining New Wave, I won't be wearing a mask soon, so I didn't bother."
Carol smiled. "Quite correct. Have you been made aware as to why we're here?"
The other woman raised an eyebrow, but led them into what appeared to be an improvised lecture room of some kind.
"As far as I understand, Astra has the same healing powers as Nearl, but lacks the anatomical knowledge to actually make use of them."
"Close enough," Missy agreed, "I'm also not quite good enough with the power yet, and it doesn't seem to have the inbuilt protections most powers do. So I need to be extra careful."
The lawyer nodded. "Thank you for taking time out of your schedule for this."
Miss Florence chuckled. "Oh, it's no trouble at all. It's not too different from my normal job, which is training new nurses. And having additional Parahuman healers can only help in the long run. Now, let's begin."
Missy grabbed a random chair and sat down at the woman's urging, while Carol walked towards the door. "I'll take my leave then."
The girl watched the lawyer leave, before turning back to Miss Florence.
"By the way, since those… areas will come up in this lecture; Has anyone actually… given you the talk yet?" the woman asked, filling Missy with a sense of dread at hearing that term being used twice in a day.
Both Missy and Miss Florence found themselves somewhat amazed at how quickly the former picked up on the relevant pieces of information.
To Missy, it almost felt like she had absorbed the relevant knowledge already and just had to dig it up from the depths of her memory. With how her power worked, that might even be the case - after all, she knew that she was able to copy muscle memory from Nearl. Why not subconscious knowledge too?
Honestly, it once again made her feel a little worried with just how much her own power seemed to be altering her, both physically and mentally. How much of her was actually her, and how much was seemingly copy-pasted from Nearl?
"Well, I have to admit I didn't expect to be done with this already," Miss Florence stated, "but I suspect that your theory about your power helping you is right. So let's move on to the ethics test. If you pass there, you only need to do a round of healing with oversight, then we can certify you. If Panacea agrees, that is."
Missy blinked. "It's that easy?"
The woman nodded. "Normally it wouldn't be, but Panacea can double check the results with just a touch. Ideally, you and Nearl will mostly be working on stabilizing patients in critical condition– then Panacea can finish up whenever she has the chance. It would take a big load off the girl's shoulders."
Missy pondered that. It sounded like Amy was quite busy. Hopefully, she could help. Determined, she focused on the test Miss Florence handed her. She was going to make this work! She was going to help Amy!
Missy beamed when she was told that she passed the test. The two went over the parts that she got wrong, but she was told that they were common issues.
Nearl rejoined them a few minutes later, followed by Amy.
"Sup? How'd it go?" the latter asked, sounding oddly content. Perhaps having someone else around really did help the girl?
"I passed," Missy explained, beaming. "Are you two done?"
"Oh, cool. We sure are," Amy confirmed, already halfway through the door, "It's a lot faster with Nearl around to help. I called for pick up already, let's get going."
Missy and her companion had to actually hurry up to keep pace with the girl. Somehow, she found that fact amusing.
Either way, they found themselves waiting in the parking lot, because amazingly enough, getting there faster didn't mean their ride would also do the same.
Still, around five minutes later, Carol arrived once more.
Once sorted out in the car, Missy grinned. "I passed the theoretical bits already."
Missy very decidedly did not tell Carol, or anyone, about 'the talk' Miss Florence interjected into the lecture. Which, granted, was more about the physical functions than the whole 'love' parts, but damn if it still wasn't embarrassing her even now.
The lawyer locked eyes with her through the mirror briefly. "That was quick," she noted.
"I think that I picked up most of the knowledge from Nearl already, I just… needed to dig it up, I guess? I don't really know how to explain it, sorry. But anyway, I was actually able to describe most parts of the human body just fine. I just wasn't able to explain much about stuff like brains, but it would make sense since I don't think Nearl can heal that?"
"I can not," Nearl agreed, "In fact I'm fairly sure even an attempt would cause brain damage. It's… closer to cauterization than most other methods. That's not quite the right term, but close enough."
"That's very interesting. Given what I know about powers, I feel like we're still missing an important piece of the puzzle somehow," Carol mused as the car was stopped at a red light. "Powers that grow in strength are extremely rare, but they do exist. However, I've never heard of one that does so and then just… stops. What happens once Nearl has taught you everything she knows?"
Missy and Nearl blinked in unison.
"That… is a very good question," Nearl pondered, "Unfortunately, not one I believe either of us are qualified to answer."
"I'm mostly just thinking out loud," the lawyer clarified. "We'll get there when we get there. For now, let's talk about our plans for today. New Wave, as a whole, has decided to make a small welcoming party for you two. Both to get to know you and to celebrate our new members."
"Wait, even Crystal?" Amy asked, perking up, "I'm surprised she had the time."
Carol chuckled. "So was I, but she told me she didn't want to miss this."
Missy found herself rather anxious yet again. She was going to meet so many new people! Her new teammates!
She really hoped that she wouldn't screw anything up. Unfortunately, time refused to stand still until she managed to work up enough courage.
They had arrived at the Dallon residence.
Nearl, probably sensing her unease, went over to Missy, reassuringly putting her hand on the girl's shoulder.
Missy smiled faintly at the gesture, following Carol into the house. Once inside, she found six people, all in costume. All of them turned to give her a curious look, which heavily amplified her anxiety.
Lady Photon. Manpower. Laserdream. Shielder. Flashbang.
And, of course, Glory Girl, but she knew Vicky already.
Quite frankly, she couldn't quite remember who had which powerset, just that a lot of them were very similar.
A boy, Shielder, spoke up first. "Hi there!", he cheerfully greeted the new arrivals, getting up from the couch that he had been leaning into, "You're Astra, right?"
Missy nodded, somewhat stunned at the proactive gesture. "Y-Yeah, '' she replied with a bit of a delay. "You can call me Missy, though. Missy Biron."
"Great! I'm Eric Pelham. And those are…" Shielder, or Eric, replied, before being slapped by his older sister.
"How about you let everyone introduce themselves, you dork?" Laserdream chastised him, before continuing, "don't mind him. I'm Crystal, nice to meet you."
Missy shook the hand Crystal extended after taking way too long to realize that the girl had even done so. The other girl briefly looked at said hand, seemingly surprised by the grip strength. Crystal then moved on to Nearl.
Following Crystal was an absolute tower of a man. Missy gulped at just how far she had to look up at Manpower. She knew the name was referencing his height, but seeing it first-hand was another thing entirely. He reminded her of the more taller types of Sarkaz that she saw in Nearl's memories.
"I'm Neil," the man said, actually having to bend down a bit just to be able to reach her hand, "Nice to meet you, Missy."
"Mark," the other man very briefly exclaimed, saying nothing else.
"And I'm Sarah," the final member of New Wave introduced herself. "Let's not stand halfway in the doorway, come on in, have a seat."
It took very little time after getting seated for Eric to speak up again. "So uhm, I'm sure everyone is curious, but I'm just going to ask. What, exactly, is going on with the elephant, or rather, horse person in the room?"
Several people groaned at that, but Nearl just chuckled.
"The proper term for my race is Kuranta," she explained, "But yes, I suppose it is time I introduce myself. I am Margaret Nearl. The closest thing to a 'cape name' I have would probably be 'Radiant Knight', but that's for another time. I'll just be blunt. I'm not from Earth Bet."
Several eyebrows went up at that. Missy saw Nearl looking at her expectantly, sighing as a response. "Well, basically, Nearl is here as a result of my weird-ass power. According to the PRT people, my power is similar to a projection type power, but it summons an actual person that I have zero control over. Nearl is said person."
Nearl nodded, "I come from a world called Terra, which is vastly different from Aleph or Bet, as far as I understand. People with… animal features, as you would call it, are the norm there. In fact, I was quite surprised by the lack thereof when I first arrived. I can talk more about that at a later point if you wish, but it's probably more important for you to know that I have what you would call powers of my own, ones that I can teach Missy."
Amy chimed in. "It's some sort of unholy Thinker/Trump/Master abomination of a power," the girl explained. "She's not only copying her powers, but also her skills and even her biology."
Nearl nodded towards the healer. "Indeed At this point, Missy has gained what the PRT calls a Brute and Mover rating by copying mine. According to Amy, Kuranta, and probably other races of Terra, are far more physically capable than the humans you have here."
"How Brute and Mover are we talking?" Vicky inquired with obvious interest.
"Uhm, probably several times stronger than an adult?" Missy mused. "It's more Mover than Brute, really. I've been roofhopping a bit with Nearl earlier and can probably run pretty fast. My kicks are supposedly very strong too, but I haven't really gotten to try them out yet.""
"I volunteer!" Vicky exclaimed all of a sudden, getting a look of confusion, "As a target, I mean. I'm a Brute too!"
"Not in the house, you aren't," Carol chided, earning an embarrassed blush from her daughter in response. "Does anyone have any other questions?"
Sarah turned to look at Missy. "I do. It's quite rare for anyone to be interested in joining our movement. What convinced you to do so?"
Missy hesitated. "I, uhm, well… Nearl and I kind of agree with your ideals more? It'd also be awkward for Nearl," she began, realizing she'd need to elaborate, "I'll leave it to Nearl to explain, but she's had negative experiences with manipulative government agencies. And the PRT basically tried to screw me over with the Wards contract, which kind of soured me on them a bit."
Carol nodded. "The contract they gave Missy tried to include a clause that functionally meant that not even her own parents could pull her out of the Wards if they, or she, wanted. It was honestly extremely appalling of them. I'm not sure what the director was even thinking, or if she was even behind it in the first place."
"Speaking about which, are your parents even okay with all of this?" Sarah asked, causing Missy to freeze up.
The woman almost recoiled at the girl's reaction, quickly trying to backtrack. "I'm sorry if I said somethin–"
"My mother is dead and my father is in a long-term coma," the girl bluntly cut her off, looking away. "Purity killed them," she added quietly.
That seemed to instantly kill the mood for everyone, Sarah in particular wincing and looking like she just wanted to crawl up into a hole and disappear.
"I am so sorry, I didn't–" Sarah immediately tried to apologize, but was once again interrupted by Missy.
"It's fine," Missy said, before frowning and adding, "Well, no, it's not fine. But it's not your fault, so I don't blame you. It's just…" she trailed off with a complicated expression.
"Do you need a moment?" Nearl asked, placing a hand on her back reassuringly.
"...Yeah." Missy agreed with a sigh, allowing Nearl to lead her outside for a bit.
Missy dropped into a seat in the kitchen while everyone else stayed in the living room, giving her some space. She felt better after ten minutes to cool off, while she reassured Nearl she could go back to continue talking with the rest of New Wave.
She was surprised by the sound of the doorbell ringing, before Vicky poked her head into the kitchen.
"Yo! Feeling better? We ordered pizza. Wanna come join us? We weren't sure what you wanted, so we got a little bit of everything," the teenager said in a friendly tone.
Missy simply nodded and stood up, following her into the living room, quietly inserting herself back into her previous spot while everyone else discussed things.
Vicky sat next to her and bumped her shoulder. "Which piece do you want?" she asked with a smile.
Missy took a look at the family-sized pizza. "Uhm, that one."
Vicky handed the younger girl a plate, and began digging into the food without much further ado.
"By the way, you should probably be aware that the Empire has been spotted in the Docks. In the general area between there and Arcadia," Nearl began after the lot was mostly done eating. "Which is somewhat problematic, because that's close to Missy's home."
Sarah, who had just finished the last remainders of her own slice, nodded. "I see. That'd explain why you two were eager to join. I was going to suggest that we schedule a team-building exercise of some kind, but this sounds like something we should investigate first…"
Missy nodded. "Do you have like… a map of the current gang areas or something like that? Neither of us know about those well enough yet."
Carol nodded. "We might as well make this a general strategy meeting, since we're all here. Victoria? Please go fetch our maps."
The discussion lasted almost an hour. During this, there was also a quick lecture on the current borders of gang territory, to New Wave's best knowledge – not like there was any hard data. It was mostly based on sightings and information from the PRT.
Eventually, they agreed that the most mobile members of the team would scout ahead and see if the rumors were true.
Which meant that they had a team of Nearl, Missy, Laserdream and Glory Girl. The two cousins were flying overhead, while Missy and her companion kept to the ground, quickly hopping across buildings.
Essentially, it had turned into an impromptu patrol of sorts. While somewhat exciting, Missy hoped not to run into any actual capes. Still, she had a lot of experienced backup, so hopefully things would be fine.
"Now that we have some time, M–, erm, Astra. There's something I'd like to discuss with you," Nearl began while they scanned the area from atop a tall rooftop, making sure to use the girl's cape name, "Time and time again, you have continued to impress me with how fast you keep learning and adapting, power-related or not. You've matured quite a bit since we met, and believe that you're probably ready to begin learning my Arts at this point. But, before I'm willing to teach you, I want you to give me an answer to something important, and I want you to take this question very seriously."
Missy gulped for some reason. She was being tested? Here? Now? "W-What is it?" she blurted out, suddenly feeling very nervous.
"You wish to be like me, yes?" Nearl asked with a smile, turning towards her and kneeling in front of her to meet her gaze. "And that means that you want to be a knight. A true knight. That word has a lot of meaning to me, even if it has lost its value back in Kazimierz. I want you to think about what being a knight means to you, and I want you to show me proof that you are willing to actually embody those ideals."
Missy nodded.
"If you can do that, I will consider you ready. You don't have to give an answer right away, of course. I want you to think long and hard on your answer, so take your time," the Kuranta added, patting her arm reassuringly.
The girl was about to reply, when a distant gunshot pulled her out her thoughts.
Missy looked up to the team's fliers, a question burning in her mind. Glory Girl looked at Laserdream, who nodded.
With the unspoken agreement, the two shot forward, Nearl and Missy close behind.
The gunfight wasn't that hard to find, given the increasing sounds of gunfire. Nearl frowned as she noticed that Oni Lee's information was indeed correct - the Empire was making moves into the docks.
Missy found herself wincing when Nearl investigated a downed Empire goon of some kind. They had received several gunshot wounds, one just narrowly missing his heart.
Nearl quickly healed him enough so that he wouldn't die, before zip-tying him and moving on. Following that, the two fliers went up on a rooftop.
After a quick glance at each other, Nearl and Missy followed the two up there. Quickly, she realized why the others had gone up here. They had arrived.
Laserdream grimaced as she took in the situation down below.
"Seems like the Empire ran straight into an ABB patrol of some kind. Just from the looks of it, there's at least ten members of each gang down there, probably more. No way this is just a scouting party," the girl said.
"We can probably take them, between all of us," Vicky added.
Crystal shot her cousin a glare. "With a newbie around? No way! We gotta call for backup. There's no way they don't have a cape lurking around somewhere."
Missy exchanged glances with Nearl, silently deliberating on their course of action.
Looks like trouble had finally found them.
A.N: To anyone curious, here's a panel from the official Arknights manga.
Nearl should be shredded with the type of training she went through and the equipment she uses. Her armors do no justice. Not even her Radiant Knight motif in her PV. I blame anime standard and shot angles.
"Uhm, can't we just do both?" Missy asked the two cousins, who paused their argument and turned to face her, "I can call for backup while you guys go down there to fight. I can also… go look for civilians or something, if you don't want me fighting?"
Deep down, it kind of hurt a little that the two didn't really trust her to fight yet, but in a different way, Missy was glad for it. She had no idea how she'd react with a gun aimed at her.
Laserdream shared a look with her cousin. "That… sure, I can agree with that," she said.
"Alright!" Glory Girl stated, sounding way too victorious given the fact that it was a compromise. "You do that, I'mma go kick some ass!"
Before anyone could respond, the girl darted off.
"Damnit, Vicky!" Laserdream cursed as she hastily pulled out her phone and threw it at Missy, who easily caught it with mild surprise. "2468 is the password! Call Carol and tell her what's happening!" Crystal shouted as she turned around and chased after her cousin.
Nearl turned to face her. "Do you have anything useful on you?" she quickly asked.
Missy winced. "Sorry, I didn't think this would turn into a patrol. Only packed a water bottle and some workout clothes in my bag for after we left Carol's place," she replied, patting the small gym bag slung across her back.
Nearl perked up at that. "In case of emergency, that might be of use for cleaning and dressing wounds. Southwest is closer to the apartment complexes and where most people might be. Head that way," the Kuranta instructed as the girl dialed Carol's contact.
"People might be trapped in the alleyways, help them if you can. Be safe," Nearl said with a final reassuring squeeze of her shoulder, before departing with a massive leap that left a slight indent where she stood on the roof just before.
For the second time since they met, she had been separated from Nearl.
Swallowing her inner turmoil, she refocused on the task at hand. Now wasn't the time to panic, especially when other people might need help.
Taking stock of what she had, she shifted Crystal's phone to awkwardly hold it between her ear and her shoulder as it rang. She then opened her gym bag to retrieve the bandages she used when sparring with Nearl and quickly started wrapping her hands the way her friend had taught her to. Might as well be prepared just in case.
"Crystal? What's the situation?" Carol quickly asked once she picked up the phone.
"Heeeey, Mrs. Dallon, it's Missy. Crystal is, uh, unavailable. She told me to call you," the girl nervously greeted.
"Missy? Why couldn't Crystal call instead? Where is she?" was the woman's stern response.
"So, yeah, about that… There was a, uhm, complication," she winced awkwardly as she finished wrapping her hands, unsure of how to explain the situation.
Quickly checking herself over, she was entirely unimpressed with her current outfit. Black running shoes with white highlights, blue jeans, a black hoodie, hand and wrists covered in white wrappings, and a gym bag slung across her back. She looked like a kid going to the gym more than a hero trying to rescue people. In other words, not very inspiring or reassuring at all. She had to remedy that somehow if she wanted people to pay attention and listen to her.
Doing some quick thinking, she pulled up the sleeves of her hoodie, exposing her unnaturally defined musculature and retrieving the black hand wrappings Nearl previously wore in their spars to rip a long stretch out of them and tying it into a makeshift bandana across her forehead, two long thin strips of cloth flowing from behind her head and fluttering in the wind.
There, that should look Parahuman enough for now. Well, more 'street fighter' than anything, to be honest, but still a step up from before.
"Complication? Missy, be honest with me. What's this about?" Carol asked suspiciously.
Missy gave a final sigh of resignation. "We came across a gang shootout. Empire versus ABB, a dozen guys on each side at least, with Cape reinforcement possibly on the way. Vicky said we should engage, and Crystal eventually agreed, before Vicky rushed ahead, so Crystal and Nearl had to chase after her. They told me to call you for backup."
"They WHAT?!" was Carol's succinct reply, nearly deafening her on one ear from the sheer volume of her enraged scream.
Missy made sure to stick to the rooftops in order to avoid being spotted. The amount of gunfire heard in the distance increased as she traveled, each shot only serving to deepen her unease. Was it the right idea to split up from the others? What if they needed her help? Would she even be able to provide said help?
Heroism was hard.
Biting down her worries, the girl stopped as she heard some shuffling below her. Peeking over the edge, she found…
A stray dog sifting through some trash bags.
Sighing, she moved on, doing her best to ignore the yelling and gunfire in the distance. It wasn't really working, but she found herself glad to be away from it.
…Actually, it seemed to be dying down a bit now?
A distant explosion she was able to feel even from all the way over here and a pillar of golden light rising high into the sky made her reconsider that thought.
Nearl seemed to be having fun, at least.
Missy took a quick moment to try and catch a glimpse of anything else, but the fighting seemed to have moved towards a different street.
Shrugging to herself, she continued onward. Her heart skipped a beat upon her next jump, as she just barely missed a huge hole in the roof. What a pain in the rear this was. Deep down, she knew that her friend's world was even more of a shithole, but it did little to distract her from Brockton Bay's state.
And really, whose fault was it but the gangs?
She was almost glad for the undercurrent of annoyance that line of thinking caused her. If nothing else, it was a welcome distraction from the anxiety.
Unfortunately, she was quite quickly brought out of her musings by a whimper below her.
She darted to the edge of the rooftop to have a look. It took her a moment to actually find the source of it.
It turned out to be a child, hiding in between two dumpsters. The little girl couldn't have been older than eight or so.
Missy winced. What a terrible situation to find herself in. Making sure the coast was clear, she jumped down.
She landed some distance away from the girl to avoid scaring her, while said girl seemed to be trying her best to disappear behind the dumpsters. Given that the dumpster appeared to have been moved a bit from the wall, it almost worked, but not quite enough.
Missy did her level best to appear as non-threatening as possible.
With a (hopefully) winning smile, she called out to the girl. "It's okay, I'm a hero, I'm here to help."
The girl didn't seem entirely convinced, but responded anyway. "I'm scared…" she said.
"I'll help you," Missy insisted, almost as much to herself as to the girl, before continuing. "Where are your parents? I can bring you there."
The little girl finally poked her head out from behind the dumpster, looking to the other end of the alleyway "Uhm… this way? I think?"
Missy blinked. Had the girl decided to run towards the fighting? It seemed ill-advised, not that she had much room to talk.
"I have an idea, take my hand," she said, reaching out to the girl. After some hesitation, she took it.
Missy pulled the girl up to her feet, then turned around and got down on one knee. "Here, climb on my back, I'll get us out of here," she instructed and the girl quickly complied, holding tightly onto her neck. With that, she leapt back onto the rooftop she came from, making sure to brace the impact with her legs so she wouldn't get hurt.
"Whoa!" the girl said, sounding almost giddy. "That was cool."
Missy grinned in response, letting go of the girl and turning to face her. "Thanks. Okay, so let's look from here. Do you see them down there?"
Making sure to hold onto the girl as she almost leaned too close to the edge of the roof, she took a look herself. The street was almost deserted, which only made sense. A couple of people were still around, seemingly having taken cover behind cars and such. A couple of police officers were visible, but evidently focused on evacuating people or setting up cordons and blockades around the area.
"...I don't see them," the girl despondently said, sniffing.
Missy patted her head reassuringly. Okay, she could see why Nearl always did that to her now. "It'll be fine. You see the police officers there? They'll help you find them."
The girl followed her finger to where Missy pointed.
"And you can't?" the girl asked with a pleading look, almost teary-eyed at the idea of being separated from her, despite only having met her less than five minutes ago.
Okay, now she was really starting to understand Nearl. The irony wasn't lost on her.
"There's still people that need help. There might be more trapped in scary places like you. Come on," Missy responded, gesturing with her hand.
Preparing for a jump again, she grabbed the girl and jumped down to street level.
One of the police officers, apparently a more attentive one, noticed them immediately.
Missy made sure to let the girl down first as the man sprinted towards them.
"Are you alright?" the dark-skinned, gray-haired officer quickly asked, looking between the two of them.
"I'm fine," Missy replied. Going by her own read, the man seemed to think Missy needed help as much as the girl did. "This girl here got separated from her parents, though."
The man smiled reassuringly at the little girl upon hearing that. "Don't you worry, we'll help you find them. But for now, we have to make sure you're safe too. You see that woman over there? Please follow her instructions."
After giving Missy a questioning look, which was answered with a nod, the girl darted off to the female officer in the distance.
Then, the man in front of her turned to Missy again. "Kid, are you… sure you don't need help? Parahumans usually carry masks."
Missy sighed. "I'm with New Wave, new recruit. Name's Astra. Do you know what the hell's going on here? We were investigating an Empire sighting when it turned into a shootout."
The officer's eyebrows shot up at that. "Oh, sorry. No, not really. There's been some goons skulking around, according to some reports, but they always are. I have no idea what stirred the hornet's nest here."
The man looked warily into the distance. "I need to get back to work, but please be careful. Someone told us earlier that they've seen Empire Capes around."
Missy laser-focused on that tidbit. "Which ones? That's important information."
He winced. "Hookwolf, Victor and Cricket are the ones we know of. Doesn't mean that's all of them, though."
The girl nodded. "Thanks, I'll tell the others."
She turned around and quickly departed, before stopping in her tracks as the officer loudly whistled at her. "Hey, kid!" the man called out.
Turning back, Missy noticed he had retrieved something from his cruiser.
"Take these! Your team might need some spares," he said before throwing the thing at her.
Missy easily caught the object and took a closer look, realizing it was a plastic baggie full of zip-ties. "Thanks!" she called out to the saluting man as she stored them in her gym bag and jumped back onto the rooftops.
Following that encounter and a quick call to Carol to relay the new info (much to the woman's increasing aggravation), Missy's search was proving rather uneventful. It seemed that most people were either able to get out, or were hiding well enough that even she couldn't find them.
Which was either a very good or very bad thing; Missy wasn't sure which one it was.
As such, she did her best to quickly continue along the rooftops, carefully combing through the entire area and making sure to roughly follow parallel to Nearl's path. The thing she was worried about the most was causing Nearl to end up out of her range in the middle of combat.
Actually, speaking of which, what happened to the combat? Now that it had come to her attention, the gunfight seemed to have dissipated. What was left was an almost eerie silence.
Should she go back to check on the others?
Missy quickly decided against it. Nearl didn't seem to be worried at all, and she could just come to her once they were done. Instead, she continued on…
…and froze when she heard movement below her.
Quickly scanning the area, she spotted a woman in the alleyway below her. From the looks of it, she seemed to be hiding in between a pile of trash bags, warily looking in the direction of where the gunfight had been.
She had dark skin and seemed somewhat out of it, but still had enough sense to go hide after hearing gunshots. The woman seemed utterly terrified, which Missy could certainly empathize with, given the Empire was involved.
Her attention was quickly turned to the other end of the alleyway though, as she heard footsteps. Doing her level best to hide herself, Missy nonetheless paid close attention.
She grimaced when she saw an armed man in a red shirt, black vest and a mask enter the alleyway.
Crap, that was Victor, wasn't it? And he was not alone. A second later, a short, costumed woman in a red bodysuit carrying a long black metal case on her back walked in after Victor signaled for her to do so.
Missy glanced at the hidden woman, who seemed to have noticed the new arrivals as well.
"This should work as a staging area," Missy's sharp hearing heard Victor tell his companion, who seemed content to just follow his lead. "We cycle our wounded through here. Far enough from the fighting that the chinks won't find us, close enough that they–" he abruptly cut off, pulling out his gun and gesturing for Othala to take cover.
Missy almost instinctively backed off the edge of the rooftop, terrified, before slowly poking her head back out.
Victor silently performed a series of signals towards his partner, which she belatedly realized she could actually understand. At this point, she wasn't even sure where in her dreams she picked hand signs from, but found herself feeling very grateful for it nonetheless.
'Heard noise. Investigate. Stay back' was roughly what she got from that. She didn't understand all of it, but she picked up enough to get a basic idea nonetheless.
For a moment, she was deathly afraid she'd actually been noticed, but he wasn't actually looking towards the rooftop at all. No, he was looking in the direction the other woman was hiding.
Goddamnit.
Missy didn't need to think very long about what would happen when a nazi found a defenseless black woman in a secluded place. Especially when said nazi already had a gun out.
Crap, crap, crap! What to do, what to do?!
She wasn't supposed to fight! That was the entire point of splitting off! What would Nearl do in this situation?!
…Actually, that was a stupid question. She knew exactly what Nearl would do in this situation.
Missy hesitated, gathering her nerves and trying to get her fear under control, hating what she was about to do. She knew everyone was going to chew her out for it later.
And then she did it anyway.
"Othala! Cape!" Victor called out, noticing her the moment she came down, her makeshift bandana fluttering in the wind as she landed in the alleyway, right between Victor and the hidden woman.
What Missy did not expect, however, was for the man to not even bother pointing his gun at her at all and instead immediately turn around to sprint towards his partner. Guess he had more sense than to immediately jump at an unknown Cape.
Having had enough time to remember their research on these two, Missy knew that she was utterly screwed if Othala was able to give him invincibility or something like that.
In a panic, she rushed towards them. At this point, she was very, very grateful for the torture that Nearl called a training regiment.
Because it helped. God, it helped. Shockingly enough, Missy was actually able to catch up to the man, just in the nick of time.
Right before Victor's outstretched hand was able to reach Othala's, Missy grabbed onto his vest, spun and yanked with as much force as she could muster.
Which, uh, turned out to be quite a lot of force, as the rest of Victor went along for the ride, getting launched towards the far end of the alley with a startled shout.
This meant that Missy now found herself face-to-face with a terrified Othala.
Somehow, she could not get herself to care about the nazi's fear. As far as she was concerned, the entirety of the Empire 88 could burn in hell, and that very much included Othala.
So without any fanfare or warning, she delivered a restrained but powerful right hook to the oddly young woman's solar plexus, causing her eyes to bulge in shock and pain as she keeled over, wheezing and breathless as she clutched at her now definitely bruised abdomen. Thankfully, her visions made it abundantly clear that punching someone in the head or neck would have been a very bad idea here, so she didn't.
Thinking quickly, she ripped the heavy case out of the woman's back and threw it atop the rooftop with all of her might, because there was no way in hell she was taking any chances with them pulling an even bigger gun on her.
Wait…
Starting in realization, Missy quickly turned back towards Victor, who had apparently just managed to recover. She cursed herself for not paying attention to where his gun ended up.
Luckily, oh so very luckily, it fell when she threw him and ended up somewhat close to her. She madly sprinted towards it at the same time as the Empire Cape did so as well. Reaching it first, she held it in place with one foot while she lined up her other one and brought it down on the barrel with all of her kurantian might, which basically flattened said barrel into a pancake. She then kicked it under a dumpster for good measure, which halted the nazi in his tracks.
At this point, Victor yelled at her, seemingly in a rage. "Who the fuck do you even think you are, kid?!"
Missy grinned spitefully. "The name's Astra."
She very quickly regretted taunting the Cape, as he pulled out a collapsible baton in one hand, a combat knife in the other, and then proceeded to lunge at her.
Freaking hell, why did she have to taunt him like that?! She wasn't Spiderman!
It was at this point that she, purely by instinct, dodged to the right, grabbed his knife arm, and then twisted and pulled just so, disarming and once again throwing him in a move that would've made any Judo instructor proud.
Missy found herself staring at the stolen knife in her hands in amazement, realizing she had just pulled one of Nearl's moves out of reflex. She also completely forgot that Nearl, and now herself too as a result, had reaction speeds far above the average human.
Unfortunately, that moment of confusion was enough for Victor to catch himself in a roll and regain his footing. Apparently, he was also really good at hand-to-hand combat.
Crap, she couldn't get distracted like this. She was panicking and making dumb, sloppy mistakes that she knew she shouldn't be making. She seriously hoped Nearl never found out about this, or she'd die of embarrassment.
The fact that she worried more about disappointing Nearl than she ever did about disappointing her own parents was very telling, but she didn't want to think about that now.
She quickly threw her stolen knife up onto the rooftop and moved to stand between the man and the fallen Othala. Once again, he charged at her, this time seemingly intending to grab her neck instead while he held his baton back.
Again, she hesitated, only for her muscle memory to respond to the threat and forcing her to move once more. As her arm shot up to intercept Victor's, the man retracted his in a feint, and instead reared his leg back with the intent of kicking her face in, taking advantage of their size difference.
Yeah, no. She wasn't having that. She had already gotten more than her fair share of kicks from Nearl today, thank you very much. Like hell she was letting this jackass kick her too.
Missy didn't even have to think about how to respond. Calling upon her veritable years of inherited experience, she simply acted.
In a move that would've made kickboxing professionals around the world weep in joy, she spun, dodging her head out of the way of Victor's kick with bare centimeters to spare and, with as much force as she could quickly muster, delivered a vicious spinning back kick to the man's supporting leg while he was overextended.
Unfortunately, she belatedly realized, that may have been a little too much force, as said limb folded in half with a sickening crunch, bending at an angle she was pretty sure legs were not supposed to bend.
Right, her kicks were stupid strong now. Whoops.
The man went down like fresh timber, screaming and clutching at his ruined leg all the while.
"Uhm, sorry about that?" Missy offered as she looked down at him in surprise, not actually feeling all that sorry about it. "...Would you like to surrender now?"
"Go… fuck… yourself…" Victor gritted through clenched teeth, the pain slowing his speech.
Guess not, then.
Missy moved to zip-tie the man's hands, but ended up having to stomp on one of them in frustration to stop him from attempting to grab her legs. He certainly complied with her after he stopped screaming from having most of the bones in his hand turn into chalk.
If she ended up having to break more of his bones, then that was his own fault for not listening.
As she finished restraining and patting him down for any extra weapons (which she quickly threw onto the roof as well), she turned towards the other Cape…
Only to end up coming face-to-face with a metal trash can lid.
Recoiling, she got just enough distance to be able to awkwardly block Othala's attack with her arm rather than her head. It still hurt, though.
Ignoring the pain, she dug her fingers into the sides of the lid in irritation, forcefully yanked it out of the woman's hands and then, while she was stumbling, smacked it right back into the middle of her stupid face with a loud resounding CLANG, the nazi recoiling with a scream of pain as blood spurted from her now broken nose, which also caused Victor to cry out in enraged dismay.
"Yeah, that's about what I'd expect from a nazi. Talk all high and mighty, but resort to cheap tricks the moment things don't go your way," Missy retorted with audible annoyance. "So, now that that failed, are you going to surrender, or do I have to break something else too?"
Othala stumbled back, holding onto her face in pain. She looked at the fallen Victor, then back at Missy. "I…" she dazedly began, before slumping as she realized their humiliating situation, which stole the wind out of her sails. She grimaced and hesitatingly held out her hands close to each other. "...I'll surrender," she shamefully said, her voice tinged with a nasal undertone, no doubt from the bleeding nose.
Missy restrained her and patted her down as well, pocketing her phone and dragging her off to stand next to one of the dumpsters. Opening the lid, she inspected its contents, finding it halfway filled with soggy and smelly garbage bags. Oh hey, there was a rat scurrying around in there too.
Perfect.
She turned to the wary Othala and motioned with a flair of her hand and a polite bow as if she were a butler opening the door for someone. "In you go," she dryly told the incredulous woman.
"Hell no," Othala immediately objected in indignation, backing off and looking ready to bolt.
Missy shrugged in indifference. "Well, I tried," she said, before quickly walking up to her so she couldn't get away. Grabbing her with both arms, she lifted the bound nazi above her head and then walked back to the dumpster, the woman kicking and screaming obscenities at her all the while.
Then she nonchalantly tossed said stupid nazi headfirst into the dumpster and slammed the lid shut, wiping her hands with a satisfied smile.
Trash, taken out.
After all, if she managed to touch Victor, he could very easily free them both. She was only exercising the correct amount of caution in this situation, and no one could tell her otherwise. No, sir.
"Oh, and be careful with the rat!" she cheerfully called out to the woman, thumping the dumpster twice with her fist.
"The rat…?" she heard Othala's muffled voice echo back at her in confusion, before a muffled squeak made her start screeching in terror.
That done, she turned and sat cross-legged on top of the dumpster lid just in case the nazi tried to get out and whipped out Crystal's phone while she kept the restrained Victor in the corner of her vision.
"Don't try to crawl away, or that's the rest of your bones on the chopping block," she absent-mindedly called out to the fuming man, earning a pained and frustrated groan in response.
In the meantime, she scrolled through Crystal's contacts, looking for Carol's number again. Might as well update her and see if she could send someone over to retrieve her captures.
She was interrupted mid-dial by the sound of someone landing nearby. Jumping slightly, she paused as she realized it was Crystal. Speak of the devil.
"You alright?" Crystal asked, her tone filled with worry as she looked her over. "Nearl was concerned about you and..." she trailed off, warily eyeing the noisy dumpster as Othala continued to make one hell of a racket in there.
"I'm fine," the little girl replied with a shrug, ignoring the distressed sounds of the trapped woman. "I captured Victor and Othala, but don't really know what to do with them."
"You WHAT?!" the older girl screamed, forcing a rapid explanation out of Missy.
The correct thing to do, as it turns out, was to wait for the PRT to arrive. Which, in typical PRT fashion, took way longer than she would've liked.
"Why hello ladies, how are you doing on this fine day?" someone called out to them from the alleyway's entrance. Missy identified him as Assault.
Crystal rolled her eyes in response, before taking a look behind Assault. Missy followed suit, noticing two PRT troopers sedating Victor.
Missy puzzled for a moment why they did that. Oh yeah! Wasn't the guy supposed to steal skills, or something…?
Wait a minute.
"Something wrong?" the adult hero asked her, tilting his head.
"I just realized I completely forgot Victor can steal skills. I don't really feel any different, though…" Missy mused worriedly.
Assault nodded. "It usually takes upwards of 15 minutes to become a longer-term problem, and even then it's usually not permanent. Also from what I'm told, his power has issues with power-granted knowledge," he explained.
"Ah," Missy retorted eloquently.
"So you'll probably be fine. Gotta say, I'm quite impressed. First real outing and you bagged Victor all by yourself," the hero whistled, making a show of holding a palm over his eyes as he looked towards the now-snoozing villain.
Missy blinked. "Oh, almost forgot. Othala is in there too," she corrected, pointing a thumb behind her at the dumpster.
Assault blinked at that. "You… tossed her into the trash?"
Missy shrugged. "Didn't know a better way to keep her away from Victor."
Assault simply stared at her in silence for a few seconds, before his shoulders started shaking until he couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down into loud raucous laughter. The man continued on like that for a while until he ran out of breath and recovered enough to move, "Oh wow, kid. You just dethroned Mouse Protector and became my favorite independent of all time, congrats," he said as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, shoulders still shaking occasionally.
Sobering up and slapping his face a few times, he walked up to the dumpster, his demeanor doing a one-eighty. "Okay, okay, time to do my job. But seriously though, this feels way too much like a comedy skit I saw on TV once," Assault wryly chuckled as he opened the container and retrieved a trash-covered and soggy Othala. Apparently, all that panicked flailing and thrashing around she did ruptured a few trash bags. Who knew?
"You bitch!" the villainess shrieked at Missy, trying to swat at her (with her arms still zip-tied together) instead of actually trying to struggle out of Assault's grip.
Missy just poked her tongue out and blew a raspberry in response, watching the hero carry the smelly woman into the prisoner transport truck.
She then startled, remembering the reason why she had done all of this in the first place and quickly hurried over to the trash pile where the other woman…
Used to be.
"What's so interesting about that pile of trash?" Crystal asked humorously.
"Someone was hiding there, but must've ran off. Assault's gonna want a statement, right? Please listen to that first before chewing me out for picking a fight when I wasn't supposed to," Missy winced, already imagining the scolding.
The other girl raised her finger in response. "You know… I wasn't going to until you brought it up, but sure, I'll hear you out," she said in a worryingly devious tone, "Maybe I'll even let it change my opinion."
Missy sighed in annoyance at that.
Assault returned a moment later, wiping his hands. "Alright, so what exactly happened here? You seem to have done quite a number on those two, Astra."
Missy began retelling the events that led up to the fight, starting with bringing the little girl to the police.
After five minutes or so, she was done.
"Okay, so where is this magic woman you had to rescue? I don't see her," Crystal stated, arms crossed and trying to suppress a smile.
"Nah, I believe her," Assault retorted before Missy could, "Look at that trail of wet trash."
He pointed in the stated direction. "Probably was just too busy beating the snot out of Victor to notice her running away. Speaking of which, where's that gun?"
Missy groaned. "Knew I forgot something. It's… uhm, under one of these dumpsters. Somewhere. I broke it by stomping on it really hard, then kicked it under them anyway. You'll also want to retrieve all the weapons I threw onto the roof, by the way. Oh! And I also took this from Othala's pocket," she said, handing him the phone she had stolen, which he then handed to a trooper, who put it inside a ziplock bag and walked off.
Assault nodded. "Alright, we can leave that to the troopers, I believe. We should probably meet up with the others."
"Do you know how they're doing?" Missy asked with some concern.
"They're fine," Crystal replied in his stead with a chuckle. "Turns out that Nearl can definitely back up her words. She went through Hookwolf like a thousand-degree knife and was working over Cricket when she told me to go check in with you."
Assault blinked, stopping in his tracks. "Okay, now this I gotta see. Want to head over there together?"
Crystal led the two towards the place where the 'main' battle happened. As in, past tense, because it was already over.
A horde of PRT troopers and forensic teams were swarming around the place, collecting downed gang members and evidence all the while. Missy didn't pay too much attention to them, however.
No, her attention was quite fixated on the somewhat damaged and melted street. It was utterly littered with large, steaming half-molten pieces of metal that almost certainly used to be part of Hookwolf's… well, hook wolf form. The man himself was sprawled on the floor, completely unconscious.
And boy did he have a lot of bruises. And burns. And broken bones. And… was he missing some fingers? She looked around, and sure enough, there was half of his hand lying on the street a few meters away from him, all four fingers still attached to the knuckles, the wound seemingly cauterized on both ends. Geez…
It seems that Nearl and Glory Girl gave absolutely not a single damn about being gentle with him so long as he kept breathing and stayed in one piece.
…Mostly one piece, she amended.
From what she could discern, the Kurantata did her superheated spear trick, melted his metal until he couldn't move, or sliced him up until he didn't have enough metal to be effective anymore, and probably accidentally lopped the top of the nazi's hand off while she was cutting him out of his wolf form. Then Nearl, or Vicky, or both of them together beat the ever living crap out of him.
Probably the strangest part is that Missy… was not at all surprised by this. She knew fully well that her friend could be quite brutal to people that she found undeserving of mercy.
The thing was that Nearl was actually quite merciful. She even spared the two Sarkaz that nearly killed her sister, after all. But a remorseless murderer like Hookwolf? One who shredded people to pieces for fun?
Well, they got this kind of result.
She wasn't even sure where Cricket ended up, but the broken sickles lying on the sidewalk told their own story.
"Yikes," Assault quipped after he finished processing the scene with an impressed whistle, "Remind me never to piss off Nearl."
Crystal laughed, nodding towards somewhere. "I'm sure Battery can do that just fine."
Missy followed her gaze, and sure enough, spotted said older heroine… standing right next to Nearl and Glory Girl, engaged in conversation.
Go figure.
The girl quickly ran over to her friend, the other two following along at a more sedate pace. "Nearl!" she excitedly called out, feeling way too happy about how things had turned out.
Upon hearing her voice, the Kuranta's ears twitched and she quickly turned to face her, her face blossoming into a relieved smile as she moved to meet her partway.
Feeling adventurous, Missy leapt towards her friend and tackled her in a hug, laughing in joy as Nearl easily caught her and spun her around while she clung to her neck.
"Welcome back," Nearl greeted warmly as she set her down and knelt to be at eye level with the little girl while she worriedly fussed over her. "I felt you panicking earlier. Were you attacked? Are you hurt?"
"I think I just got at least three different types of diabetes from seeing that," Crystal squeaked off to the side, causing Missy to freeze.
Slowly turning around, she found Crystal holding her hands to her mouth, stars practically dancing across her eyes while Assault grinned like a loon as he held up his hands in front of himself, forming a frame in front of a squinted eye directed straight at them. And now some of the troopers and forensics people started looking at them with poorly-concealed humor.
…Oh God, she did that in public.
Oh God, she did that in public.
Face burning with shame and embarrassment, she woodenly turned back to Nearl and simply pretended none of that ever happened.
Missy quickly held out her hand. "N-Nothing major, but I took a hit to my arm. Can you take a look?" she pleaded, desperately trying to make the people around them focus on literally anything else but what she had just done.
Besides, she knew Nearl, after all. The woman would be far more annoyed at her trying to hide a dumb minor injury than just telling her she got hit outright.
Her friend nodded, holding onto her hand and causing a tingly feeling to shoot up her arm as the Arts pulsed through her. "That'll heal on its own. Just a minor bruise. What happened?"
"Had to block a trash can lid in a hurry," Missy explained, once again sharing the story.
A few minutes later, she finished her retelling. "You're not mad at me, are you?" she hesitantly asked, dreading the answer.
"Of course not," Nearl immediately reassured Missy with a kind smile, making her pause. "I was certainly worried earlier when I felt your panic from afar, and thought you may have been hurt. But I'll never be upset that you fought to defend another. While one must always take care to ensure that their bravery does not turn into recklessness, you handled yourself admirably, especially for your first battle. I am very proud of you, Missy."
Tearing up in relief and happiness from receiving such honest praise, the little girl launched into another hug, which the Kurantata affectionately returned with a chuckle.
"By the way, where's mom and the others?" Crystal asked her cousin off to the side.
"They went to hunt down the remaining gang members and Stormtiger with Armsy. Haven't seen the guy himself, but eyewitnesses said he was lurking around somewhere. They told us to stay here though, to make sure our captures didn't get away," Vicky explained.
Oh, yeah! Missy had completely forgotten that she called New Wave in, given all the excitement. She let go of Nearl and pulled out Crystal's phone, turning to address her.
"I completely forgot I had this, sorry," she said as she apologetically handed the device back.
Crystal just shrugged, pocketing it. "Hey, as long as it still works, it's all good. I'mma call mom, see if they need our help."
The girl went off to the side to do exactly that. Nearl also excused herself and went back to continue talking with Battery as Assault joined them, leaving Missy to chat with Vicky.
"Uhm… is Carol going to be mad at me?" Missy asked nervously, turning to the older girl.
Vicky raised a confused eyebrow at that, seemingly incredulous. "Why would she be mad at you? I'm the one who messed up. She really didn't like that I just dove in like that. You, on the other hand, have nothing to worry about, so you're fine. Hell, she even called you the only sensible one, in fact."
"...Oh," Missy eloquently replied, "I… just thought I screwed up when I got into a fight when I was supposed to only look for people that needed help."
Vicky shrugged, before ruffling her hair, causing her to squawk in protest. Goddamnit, now there's two of them!
"It happens, don't worry about it. You probably stopped someone from being hurt, so it's all good," the older girl reassured her, before tilting her head in curiosity.
"What's with the street fighter getup, though?" Vicky asked.
"It's an, uhm, improvised costume," Missy explained with hesitation, which caused Vicky to nod in understanding.
"Okay!" Crystal chimed in, having finished her call. "Seems like they're good. Stormtiger got away, unfortunately. Either way, mom said we may as well head back if we're done here."
"Aww, leaving so soon?" Assault whined as the rest of the adults returned, having finished their conversation.
Crystal snorted. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Duty calls and all that. Or grounding, in my cousin's case."
Vicky groaned at that, dragging her hands through her face, much to everyone's amusement.
After that, they bid farewell to the heroes and departed, leaving the rest of the clean-up in the PRT's hands.
Missy and Nearl ran across the rooftops while Vicky and Crystal flew ahead of them as they headed back to the Dallon residence for debriefing and discussing the events of today.
That had been one hell of an afternoon. Hopefully, things wouldn't be anywhere near as hectic for her in the future.
Missy would have frowned if she could when she found herself in a vision yet again. After what happened to end her last dream, she was somewhat afraid of what would happen next time.
The fact that, as she fully came to her (or, rather, Nearl's) senses, it was in the same burning city as last time only served to deepen her unease.
She was standing amongst a group discussing strategy of some kind. Nearl herself remained quiet, keeping watch around the area. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the cautus girl that seemed to have noticed Missy last time, making her feel like freezing up– yet Nearl's body continued to move on its own regardless of what her instinctual response was. Thankfully, the girl in turn was not paying any of her attention to Nearl and focused on someone else instead. The same person as Nearl, in fact.
She saw that strange masked person again. The 'Doctor', as everyone seemed to call he- no, them, Missy corrected herself as she overheard the discussion. They seemed important to everyone here, though Missy couldn't tell why, really. That blank visor certainly offered no clues.
There was also a woman with doberman-shaped dog ears codenamed… Dobermann. Actually, she was also fairly certain that she heard the name Beagle floating around as well, which was just… weird.
Why were there so many people in Terra named after an equivalent species in Bet, anyway? Missy had literally never seen anything remotely like the animals in question in Terra, either.
Which made this realization all the weirder.
The Doctor's voice pulled Missy out of her musings, "Let's hurry to the square," they said.
"What's wrong?" Dobermann asked, more confused than anything.
"Right now," the Doctor urged.
Very faintly, Missy was able to make out a robotic voice coming from inside the Doctor's mask.
And then the row of buildings in front of them simply just… melted before her eyes. The urgency the Doctor had felt spread quickly through the group as they began to scatter long before Dobermann screamed out the order to evacuate.
Not a moment too soon did the group make their way to the end of the street and split off to the side.
The rest of the group tried to rally together and regain their senses, searching for an evac route, but their dialogue and options alike were very quickly cut short. Fire began to fill Missy's vision, as streaks of red rained across the sky, pulverizing the city around them. Missy despaired as the buildings that had been to their front turned from liquid into vapor, a massive column of fire more intense than anything Missy had ever seen surging through. As it subsided a bit, Missy felt a chill in contrast to the raw heat Nearl experienced, seeing the entire street the group was standing on not a moment before turned into naught but molten slag.
"Th-these Arts…" Nearl gasped out, her voice in that moment sounded like nothing Missy knew her friend's demeanor to thought she could see Dobermann continuing to shout, but the sounds of shattering glass and collapsing steel drowned out anything she may have had to say.
Missy watched, frozen, as another bolt quickly began to fill her field of view, growing bigger– no, rapidly approaching her. Panicking, she instinctively attempted to move, but found herself rooted in place as Nearl simply stared at the oncoming wave of fire. Then, reacting far more belatedly than she had come to expect from her friend, Nearl jolted into action, raising her shield and barriers of light in tandem. The fire blew through both, her armor barely surviving the rest as Nearl was flung back like a ragdoll, coming to rest on a large piece of rubble behind her. The wind knocked out of her, Nearl could do nothing but stare at the approach of the source of the flames.
And, as the silhouette of the draco responsible resolved itself, surrounded by yet more figures in the flames, Missy realized what it really was that had grabbed hold of her friend this whole time. It was the first time Missy knew Nearl to feel genuine fear. But she certainly could not blame her friend.
This… there was no other word than 'monster,' really, a word Nearl spat out at its approach. The abilities Missy saw from Reunion's so-called tyrant, Talulah, were nothing short of something she'd expect from Behemoth.
She was still staring at Talulah, surrounded by an army of Reunion fighters, when the edges of her field of view suddenly dimmed. Time slowed to a crawl until even the flickers of flame seemed to stop midair.
Missy's blood ran cold when she noticed something moving at the edge of her vision– that same damned cautus girl from before, who was just previously reaching out to Nearl in concern… continued to reach out, getting closer despite remaining still. Missy saw the space in the dream contort as the distance between the two continued to shorten, her perception at the other edges of her vision ballooning as if compensating for the way her view was pinched towards the girl.
Then, the girl reached her and placed a hand on her forehand, and everything went dark.
She wasn't sure how long it was before she was aware again. Whenever it was that she became cognizant, everything was seemingly just as dark as before. Finding herself back in her own body rather than Nearl's, she tried slapping herself awake. Nope, nothing. She looked around in a panic, seeing nothing at first… until she turned to look behind her.
"Seems like it worked this time," the cautus girl said with a surprisingly neutral tone. If anything, she sounded curious as she inspected Missy. Actually, it seemed more like she was looking through Missy than at her, which was unnerving in its own way.
"Who… are you?" Missy said after a momentary hesitation.
"I think I ought to be the one asking that question; after all, I only just found you poking around in the head of a valued comrade," the other girl said in a stern tone, though Missy sensed no hostility as she continued, "I will humor you, however. I am Amiya, and I was asked to investigate the nature of the strange dreams my friend has been having."
Missy's eyes went white. "Nearl did…?"
Amiya seemed somewhat surprised by the reaction, but nodded.
"A-ah, I see. To be honest, I… I'm not sure how to explain what's going on either, really. But if Nearl trusts you, then I want to help as best I can," Missy replied earnestly.
"You… trust somebody you just met, just like that?" Amiya asked in confusion, genuinely taken aback. She could tell that the other girl seemed to be expecting the encounter to go in a very different direction.
"I know it's barely been - what, a week? - since we met, but to me it honestly feels like a lifetime. Nearl has turned my life around for the better, it's only fair to cooperate if it helps alleviate her worries," Missy answered with a bitter smile, "But I don't really understand what's going on, exactly? I have these… powers, ones that I have no real control over. Whenever I wake up, the first thing I'll see is that Nearl is just there."
Amiya remained guarded. "I see."
"To be honest, I've never been completely certain if Nearl was actually real, or just a very… realistic Arts construct, I guess. I just… really wanted her to be real," she continued, her voice cracking as she teared up. "She's… been a better parent to me than… than…"
The cautus' eyes went wide at that, she hesitantly approached, her hands reaching towards her in concern, but unsure of how to proceed, before deciding to throw caution to the wind and hug the little girl.
For once, Missy found herself hugged by someone around her own size. Well, if you ignored the bunny ears, that is. Still, it was a little funny.
"It's okay," Amiya said, rubbing her back comfortingly, "I believe you. I'm sure we can–"
She suddenly recoiled as massive crimson cracks broke through the pitch black void, letting go of Missy as she did.
Missy reached out to the other girl in a panic, but found herself metaphorically yanked away, as the physical boundary of the void seemed to stretch impossibly wide until it shattered, everything going dark once more.
Missy woke up with a splitting headache, rolling out of her bed on accident as she moved to try and nurse her head.
"Ughhh," Missy groaned as she clutched her head, barely registering that her friend picked her up and placed her back onto the bed.
"What's wrong?" Nearl asked with audible concern.
"Amiya…" Missy groaned.
The kuranta blinked. "You know her?"
The girl shook her head, trying to clear the headache. Unfortunately it only made it worse. "No, she… she talked to me. I think my power didn't like it. Can… can you get me some aspirin or something?"
Missy used the time Nearl spent searching for the medicine to get dressed. Finding her friend waiting outside once she was ready, Missy snatched at the offered pill before swallowing it as fast as she could. Then, becoming aware of just how dry her throat was, she dashed towards the smell of breakfast, before gulping the awaiting glass of milk, hoping for the pill to take effect soon. Nearl followed soon after, and they ate breakfast in silence.
Only after breakfast did she start feeling talkative again.
"So you asked Amiya to investigate me?" Missy asked as they finished– taking care to avoid coming across as accusatory, despite the nature of the question.
Nearl winced. "I have to apologize. While… you yourself seem very much real to me, I had to make absolutely sure I wasn't being attacked in some way. I have made powerful enemies, after all," she answered, and, after a brief moment of thought, added, "some even with psychic abilities, and with a willingness to involve innocents in their schemes."
The girl smiled. "I would never be mad at you, Nearl. You've done far too much for me. I told Amiya the same thing, actually. Could you please tell her all the stuff about Bet? I think my power's actively fighting Amiya's attempts at approaching me; I didn't get the chance to say more before the dream ended."
Her friend nodded. "Sure, I can do that. Now get going, Carol's going to be here soon. You didn't forget about the PRT appointment today, did you?"
Missy blinked, causing the kuranta to shake her head.
Carol arrived only a few minutes later.
"Good morning," she greeted the two, her gaze sticking on Missy for a moment. "Did you train too much again?"
The girl in question groaned. "No, I just woke up with a splitting headache. I already took some aspirin."
"I see,'' the lawyer replied, pressing a button on her car's remote. "By the way, Missy. I sat down with Sarah yesterday after your unintentional debut. She pointed out that you should get your costume sorted out sooner rather than later, what with you having captured two villains by yourself. You'll have a lot of attention on you once the PRT makes that public."
Missy paused briefly, arm halfway to the open car door. "Right, yeah. We got some time during the drive, Nearl, so maybe we can come up with something?"
After a short ride, they stopped in front of the PRT building.
"Here we are," Carol announced as she turned around to look at the back seats, "You don't need to make a decision right now, but do you have any ideas so far?"
Missy nodded. "Nothing specific, but I think I'd prefer basing it on Nearl. I don't think the New Wave spandex would work for me…"
The lawyer smirked. "I figured you would say that. But we should probably get going."
They entered the lobby soon after that. Missy tried her best to ignore the many, many looks coming their way. Most of them were on Nearl, of course, but that fact didn't help that much.
Thankfully, their 'escort' arrived soon after, and Missy had to focus very heavily on not going slack jawed.
Armsmaster himself was their escort?
"My apologies for the delay. Please come this way," he greeted them, wasting no time whatsoever.
Missy very eagerly followed his instructions and they disappeared into a restricted area before people could ask questions. There, they found themselves in a meeting room with none other than Director Piggot herself.
"Good morning," the woman greeted the group, looking up from a stack of paperwork large enough to scare Missy into submission, "I'd ask how your day has been, but I assume it's only started for you."
The director sighed, writing something down on a piece of paper. "My apologies, I've been somewhat swamped with work lately. Alternate dimensions create a lot of paperwork, as it turns out," she said bitterly and with a forced smile.
Missy found the reaction odd, after what the PRT tried to pull. A quick glance told her that Nearl seemed to share the sentiment.
"Good morning," Carol replied in a practiced neutral tone, the lawyer continuing, "before we start, I'd like to ask something."
Piggot raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."
Missy found herself quite surprised when the woman pulled out a copy of her Wards contract. She still had that?
"I would like to know why Missy was given… this," Carol requested brusquely, seeming almost offended by the document. It felt unlike the woman to be so blunt, actually.
It almost felt like she felt… betrayed, in a way?
Director Piggot remained silent, reading through the contract with practiced speed. Missy had to give her credit, she remained pretty much completely expressionless during the reading. But she stopped at certain points, and those pauses told Missy pretty much everything.
She was surprised about what she read. What the hell?
Missy looked over to Nearl, confirming her thoughts from the woman's own reaction.
"I see your concerns," Piggot eventually said with a frown, "I'd have to talk to the other staff for clarification. Is this why you joined New Wave instead?"
Missy shook her head. "We felt like New Wave was a better fit either way due to the age gap between me and Nearl. I was just… disappointed in the PRT, mostly. I thought I was getting along well enough with Velocity before too," the girl answered.
The director raised an eyebrow at that. "I… see", she continued, seemingly wanting to say something but deciding otherwise. "Shall we move on to the topic of this meeting? Chief Director Costa-Brown has taken a great deal of interest in Terra, and has given me quite a bit of leeway in how to handle the release of information."
"I am fine with that; But before that, I'd like to know what happened to the blood sample I gave. Did it remain or did it disappear?" Nearl inquired.
Both the director and Nearl turned towards Armsmaster. "It disappeared at precisely 8:27 PM in the evening on the same day. Given the timing, my assumption is that it's at the exact time that Astra fell asleep. Since the possibility was mentioned, the sample was recorded in storage. Watch."
The man hit a few buttons on the projector Missy hadn't really paid much attention to, which sprung to life. The girl's eyes went wide as the liquid's form turned foggy as it impossibly disappeared from the sealed vial. Disappearing from corporeal existence entirely– Missy wasn't sure where that bit of insight came from, but it seemed to fit.
"In that case, I… think it might be best if oripathy and originium are kept out of the press release, unless they make their way to Earth Bet," Nearl eventually concluded, but then elaborating as she got a look from Carol, "even back in Terra, misinformation on oripathy leads to wanton panic, unwarranted in many ways. Since I am not infected and even the trace amounts of originium in my blood disappear, it should be physically impossible for anyone to become infected. I am worried it would simply create a scare and distrust of any Terrans that might make their way here."
Both the director and Armsmaster seemed to take a while to process that.
The latter replied after a moment."I understand the logic behind that, but we currently do not have a good way to detect this… originium inside people, other than perhaps Panacea's power."
The kuranta nodded, before reaching out to her own neck. A short electronic whine later, she pulled out some sort of… choker?
It really looked more like an armband, honestly.
"This might help," she said as she placed the item on the table. "This is an oripathy monitor. It's used for exactly what it sounds like - if your engineers can adapt this technology, it will directly tell you about present originium levels, infection severity, and myriad other medical issues. It can be worn on pretty much every limb it fits on; I've even seen some people place it on their tails."
The tinker eyed the device with keen interest, taking it into his hands right away. Director Piggot instead eyed it dubiously.
"Is it alright to just hand us such an item? I'm by no means a technical expert, but this sounds rather… advanced. I would like to avoid any possible diplomatic incidents due to perceived technology theft," the woman asked, tapping her fingers on the table.
Nearl simply smiled. "It won't be an issue. These things are developed by a pharmaceutical company called Rhodes Island," Nearl explained, pausing when she got odd looks. "-- is something the matter?"
"Rhodes Island is the name of an actual location on Earth Bet," Carol explained with a hand on her chin, seemingly in thought.
The kuranta shrugged. "Peculiar, yet not of relevance at this moment. As I was saying, this is among many of the medical technologies that Rhodes Island makes readily available in their quest to cure the disease. If there are any possible concerns, know that I am good friends with the owner of the company and my physical body happens to be very close to them at the moment. I will notify them once I wake up. I do not expect it to be an issue."
The older woman thought about it for a moment. "Armsmaster, see if you can actually reverse engineer this, but, to be safe, keep it out of production until we have express permission by the Terran company," she told the tinker, who nodded in agreement, before the director turned back to Nearl, "Could you clarify on your relationship with Rhodes Island? Furthermore, could you provide additional details about the company?"
Nearl nodded. "Of course. My work can be best described as freelancing. I won't go into too much detail since much of it is confidential, but I've done work as part of the guard detail for the company. Rhodes Island is a non-governmental organization that owns a landship on their own - which the company is named after."
The Director blinked. "It has its own … Mobile City, you called it?"
Her friend chuckled. "Heavens, no. The ship Rhodes Island is of a naval scale, far smaller than even individual segments of a City. It is a combined hospital and pharmaceutical production plant, while also having everything else necessary to be self-sustaining, such as housing for the employees."
"That sounds somewhat like the Doctors without Borders, or perhaps the Knights Hospitaller," Carol noted.
"Rhodes Island does somewhat have a tendency to find itself in the midst of crises whereupon they take action to save lives," Nearl agreed, "it's how we crossed paths, and why we now work together extensively."
"Very well. The next thing the Chief Director requested I ask about is on the political side. We'd like to avoid stepping on any toes if any more Terrans find their way here," the Director continued as Missy took a look at Armsmaster.
The tinker seemed entirely engrossed with the oripathy monitor, having apparently produced some sort of scanner from a pocket in his power armor that Missy didn't even know he had until now.
"I'll try to answer as best as I can, but Terra isn't the most peaceful place, unfortunately," Nearl replied with a frown as she went into further detail on the various powers that be, sketching a map as she did so. "Keep in mind that many of these borders, and even geography, change often due to Catastrophes or war. And with the nature of Mobile Cities, these borders can, in the first place, be more accurately described as areas of influence than hard delineations."
Piggot's eyebrow went up halfway through the explanation. However, she remained silent as she waited for the other woman to finish.
"Pardon, can we go back to Laterano?" the director requested, getting a nod from Nearl. "Could you describe the sankta again?"
Her friend blinked. "Certainly. Sankta do not have any identifiable unique biological features. Instead, they have a glowing halo above their head and manifest wings when they gain the ability to cast. From my understanding, their religion dictates that these features were granted to them by - and bind them to - the Law of their commandments. I wouldn't want to precipitate any misunderstandings though, so I would need to get some clarification back on Terra. Though, despite how religious they are, they tend to be easygoing and whimsical."
"That… still sounds like angels," Carol stated, completely dumbfounded, "Terra has actual angels."
"Is… there some sort of cultural importance I'm missing here?" the kuranta asked slowly.
"Well, yeah, a pretty big one. Angels are basically servants of God in our religions," Missy answered with some amusement, being the only other person aware of Sankta in the room. "I think they're just a race like any other over in Terra, though."
Nearl looked at Missy oddly. "Oh. I don't know what to make of that, to be honest."
"It is unlikely to be a productive topic, anyway," Armsmaster chimed in. Missy got a little spooked, having almost forgotten about the man since he had been so distracted with the piece of terran technology. "This device is easily reproducible. In fact, it does not even fit the definition of tinkertech."
"What do you mean by that?" Director Piggot inquired, giving him a look.
"Given enough time, I suspect ordinary engineers would be able to reverse engineer it as well, though the scanners involved are admittedly quite advanced. Additionally, I believe the device is harmless to human beings even when worn for long periods and does not produce any harmful radiation. The only function I cannot apply modern scientific reasoning to is the power source, which I assume is originium-based. Since the device does not require much power, it can be easily exchanged for a store bought battery - all that would be required is redesigning the socket," Armsmaster explained, pointing at various areas of the round object.
"This is highly unusual," Piggot explained to the somewhat confused kuranta, "Nearly every time we deal with advanced technology, it is black-boxed in ways that make it impossible to reproduce or understand. This is, to our understanding, how all tinkertech works. Usually, only the Tinker that created the item in question can build another one, and oftentimes they don't even understand how they built it, having fallen into what we call a 'Tinker fugue'."
Nearl nodded. "I… see. To be honest, the concept of parahuman Tinkers and their creations is… strange. Although we have occasionally come across advanced pieces of lost technology beyond our current ability to understand, I don't quite understand what would make technology otherwise impossible to replicate when the basis for its construction remains still present."
Nearl considered something for a moment. "If nothing else, perhaps this suggests that our technological bases are largely compatible? Though some equipment requires originium circuits for the replication of spell effects, I don't see why others that only rely on originium as a power source would be impossible to use. Perhaps an exchange of technologies would be possible? I know for a fact that Rhodes Island would be interested in acquiring medical technology. I am not a specialist in the subject, but I should be able to pass on operational concepts."
Director Piggot seemed very curious indeed, grabbing a fresh notepad. "I will have to discuss that with my superior. Who, in turn, will probably have to contact her own superiors. If you could give me an example, I can pass it along."
Nearl smiled. "From what I gathered on the internet, cancer is still a large problem in your society despite being technically curable, yes? Rhodes Island has developed a much safer and more consistent alternative to your chemotherapy. I don't know the technical details, but I do know that said alternative can revert the cancer cells back to normal cells, which is especially important when the cancer develops in vital organs. According to my own information, the failure rate is less than half a percent and the side effects are nowhere as severe."
The other people in the room, Missy included, were stunned by this information. How could they not? Nearl had casually mentioned that they all but eradicated cancer in Terra.
"I… think that my superiors would be interested in a cure for cancer, " Piggot told the kuranta after a moment, doing her best to understate it but failing, "That exceeded my expectations, by a lot, to be honest."
Her friend nodded. "I understand. Rhodes Island is one of the leading medical companies on Terra in the field of research," she puffed up proudly, continuing, "If I remember correctly, this was a relatively recent development, and essentially an unintended result from research into the direct reversal of the cell-assimilation stage of oripathy. Though, unfortunately, it failed to achieve the original project goal."
The director managed to collect herself during the kuranta's explanation. "Basically just a side effect… no, never mind. I am not going to question that. While I did gather that oripathy is a dangerous disease, this seems to be a high level of fixation. Could you go into further details regarding the symptoms?"
"Of course," Nearl agreed, "although the nature of the disease is rather complex. At a baseline, all infected suffer from a slow crystallization of their bodies. If not mitigated early, this manifests as originium lesions on their body, which may further become larger growths. In rare cases though, assimilation remains internal. However, physiological or even psychological changes remain possible."
"Excuse me," Armsmaster interrupted, "I was on the impression that originium was an ore-based type of fuel. Are you saying that this oripathy… mineralizes people?"
The kuranta looked on somberly for a moment. "Yes. The severity of oripathy is largely graded by a cell-assimilation percentage– how much of their body has been turned into originium. For severe cases, that number is roughly twenty percent, although this varies by race. However, the body naturally resists assimilation, hence why the trace amounts of originium present in me are not a threat to my health. Treatment can aid an infected's body in halting the spread much the same. However, the death of an infected presents a dangerous hazard: the corpse undergoes unmitigated crystallization until it is entirely converted. At that point, they explode into highly infectious originium dust."
"Explode," Carol repeated, slowly.
"Yes, explode. The force would be sufficient to coat this entire room," Nearl confirmed. "Because of this, an infected corpse must be handled with care; cremation is best if possible, to destroy all tissue prior to assimilation. This disease is why I requested the blood sample to be handled with utmost care."
"I think I understand why Rhodes Island is so fixated on this disease. Unfortunately, I suspect that their medical technology is more advanced than ours, so I don't know how much help we would be. Do you think Panacea could cure this disease?"
"Yes and no. We have already confirmed that she is able to manually expel all the originium from a person, and therefore eliminate their infection, but this is not a proper reproducible medicine to cure oripathy. To 'cure' the infected, she would have to manually go through every single one of them with her own hands, and, given the sheer scope of the disease's spread, that is simply not a feasible method," Nearl answered.
The group was silent for a moment after that, before Nearl spoke up once again. "Regardless, I would not know where to even begin on getting her to Terra, so that information isn't as useful as it could be. For now, I shall move on to a different topic I wish to discuss, which may be of relevance."
The director nodded her head in understanding. "What would that be?"
"On the subject of originium Arts, there is a concern I had that I ought to share now. Normally, a Caster requires at least a certain amount of originium to act as a catalyst, channeled and amplified by an Arts Unit. Wands and staves are common choices for dedicated Casters, but Arts Units can be integrated into other tools. The weapon I wield is one of these, for example. Curiously, however, Missy does not require one."
"Perhaps her parahuman ability compensates for the lack of these requirements," Armsmaster suggested.
Her friend nodded, "That may very well be the case. Although there is a general exception to the rule," the kuranta revealed, before hesitating for a moment. "Namely… the infected. People suffering from oripathy can… essentially use themselves as a catalyst. In exchange for rapidly worsening their symptoms, they gain a considerable boost in power."
"You're kidding," Missy blurted out.
"I wish I was," Nearl replied with a frown, "but I am not. With that said, Panacea has not mentioned the presence of originium in Missy's body, so that possibility is unlikely."
"That is fortunate," Piggot agreed after some consideration, "While we're on the topic of these… Arts, that reminds me of something that has fallen to the wayside due to the other topics. The PRT intends to release a statement regarding the capture of Hookwolf, Cricket, Victor and Othala. We would like to release the information about Terra at the same time. As such, one of the things that is likely to come up is how originium Arts differ from parahuman powers. How much do you want to actually have revealed?"
"I see no reason not to reveal all the fundamentals within my understanding," the kuranta answered after a moment of thought. "Knowledge of Arts is widespread on Terra, and even the most remote settlements have achieved some working knowledge of them, over time. Though I am not an expert on the details of modern Arts theory, my family is known for cultivating its potent Light Arts through the ages," she continued, seeming quite proud of the last point.
"Out of curiosity, where do you stand as an originium Arts user?" Armsmaster chimed in, Missy noticing a surprising amount of interest in the comparison.
"If I were to be compared to dedicated casters, I might describe myself as 'middle-of-the-road', so to speak," her friend replied, and upon seeing at least one raised eyebrow in response elaborated, "my proficiency with my abilities has come largely from practice in my training and activities as a knight, rather than dedicated study. Most of my applications of Light Arts simply serve to enhance my capabilities in close combat; they are not refined as the abilities of a dedicated Caster of equivalent experience. Nor am I, on an absolute scale, the strongest Arts user in my family– the destructive abilities of my uncle far surpass my own."
"What would a 'dedicated Caster' look like, then?" Director Piggot wondered.
"It would be difficult to give a definitive answer– the spectrum of Arts abilities varies just as widely as parahuman abilities, to say nothing of those who use magics beyond the purview of originium Arts. How a user personally relates to the abilities they use further impacts the expression of their Arts, in both their methods of learning and casting. However, it may suffice for now to be aware of the spells of certain hostile Casters or prominent schools of Arts, should they find themselves on Bet. For example, one of the most infamous ones would be the Sanguinarch of the vampires…"
"Wait, vampires?!" Carol blurted out in disbelief, as Missy picked up Armsmaster muttering, 'other magic?'. Just like that, the conversation found itself sidetracked once again.
Missy was starting to realize they were gonna be stuck here for… a good while longer.
After around noon, they were finally done. Missy ended up tuning out after a while, thinking back to her vision back from the day and its implications. People on the level of Talulah frightened her even now, and to hear Nearl mention that there were yet more Casters whom she paled in comparison to… Terra just seemed so extreme, in a lot of ways. Her own world seemed almost safe in comparison to that place, and Earth Bet had things called Endbringers.
The three of them made it to the car. "It was nice of them to agree to not go into details regarding how you got here," Carol told Nearl, "I didn't expect that, but I did not expect a lot of things. I wonder what happened with that Wards contract fiasco."
"Who knows, but it's in the past now, either way," the kuranta agreed, "We'll make our own way back home; we still have some additional matters to take care of."
The lawyer nodded. "Very well, goodbye for now then. If you need me, please call my mobile, I'll probably be in the office rather than at home. I need to finish up some things before Christmas."
Their business, which Missy thought would be better if Carol didn't know about it, was to talk to Faultline, as the woman had notified them that she had gathered up the information the two had requested.
The trip to the Palanquin was fairly short, mainly because the two of them roof-hopped to avoid drawing too much attention, allowing them to ignore traffic entirely.
Missy grinned victoriously when the bouncer immediately stepped aside upon seeing them and allowed them in without hassle, entirely skipping the massive line of people waiting to enter. Said grin did not last long, however, as she realized the Palanquin was absolutely filled to the brim with people. It made sense, considering it was a Friday and all, though the thought hadn't crossed her mind up until now. There were so many humans in such a small area that it'd probably make an introvert faint just from the sight. She didn't consider herself one, but was somewhat uncomfortable regardless.
She was also only barely able to suppress her groan when they were noticed almost immediately upon entering. Even worse, she saw quite a few people around them pulling out their phones. To combat that, Missy pushed forward through the crowd as fast as she could, Half-dragging Nearl with her as she raced towards the stairs they'd gone up to last time, much to her friend's amusement. Another bouncer stood in front of said stairs, preventing the bustling crowd from going up, but he too stepped aside silently with a nod once they reached him.
Huh. Is that what being important felt like? Neat.
Halfway up the stairs, she noticed a familiar face - or mask, rather - leaning on a small balcony on the second floor, right next to that lounge they had gone through last time.
Faultline lazily waved at them upon being noticed, the woman calmly observing the crowd down below, seemingly at ease. She wasn't sure due to the noise levels, but she thought she heard her chuckle.
"Welcome," the mercenary greeted them once they reached her, "How are you today? After your showing yesterday, I thought you'd take some time off to rest."
The kuranta grinned. "No rest for the righteous. May I ask how you learned of the fight? I was not aware you were in the area."
The other woman chuckled as she abandoned her position leaning on the balcony railing. "Surprised you haven't heard. There's a few recordings of it going around. I can show you if you want?"
Getting two curious nods in response, Faultline pulled out her phone and motioned for them to follow into the lounge. She absentmindedly fiddled with said phone for a moment as she closed the door once they went through, which did wonders to reduce the loud blaring music.
"Here," the woman said, handing her phone to Nearl as a video started playing. Missy stood on her tiptoes to try and peek at the screen, which caused the kuranta to huff in amusement and angle it so that both of them could watch.
It was actually the first time that Missy saw Nearl's fight with Hookwolf. Once again, she was impressed by the sheer capability her friend possessed. Despite having experienced and inherited a part of it, it was still mind-boggling.
She literally carved through motherfreaking Hookwolf like butter. It was hard to tell from the quality of the recording, since it appeared to be from a shitty phone, but she'd be damned if the man didn't look scared once he realized she was quickly melting him and turning his barbed armor into so much slag.
Glory Girl had mostly been playing keep-away and distracting Cricket in the meantime, which was all that was necessary because Nearl finished up with Hookwolf in barely a minute before moving on to Cricket in a blur. Missy wasn't even entirely sure what Nearl had done, she basically appeared in what would have looked like a teleport if it wasn't for the visible motion and Cricket's weapons being split in half.
By the time Cricket turned towards the kuranta, she was already on her. The Empire cape put up a solid attempt, managing to dodge a few attacks, but was completely unable to retaliate as she devoted all of her attention to defending and evading against Nearl's relentless assault. That had been the final nail in the coffin for her, as Glory Girl took advantage of her shift in focus to swoop in and knock her down with a brutal clothesline, ending the fight.
"Whoa…" Missy uttered in amazement, utterly entranced by the video. That amazement quickly died an ugly death once the video cut to a few scenes of the aftermath, or rather, one in particular.
"Oh God, why," Missy groaned in misery as she saw herself tackle-hug Nearl on camera, which caused the two women to laugh heartily.
The girl then heard a door creak open, which caused Faultline to freeze and Nearl to frown in concern as she stared behind her.
Turning around in confusion, Missy came face to face with wide, unblinking blue eyes staring straight through hers, mere inches away from her face.
"Gah!" she exclaimed in fright, startling and stumbling a few steps back. Quickly regaining her bearings, she realized the cause of her jumpscare was… a girl.
She had pale skin and long, very long and very straight light platinum blonde hair, so light that one could almost mistake it for white, and a short stature and slim build hidden by a green hoodie, black sweatpants and a pair of oddly colorful shoes with neon laces. She also seemed oddly young for a place like this. Hell, the girl couldn't have been more than two or three years older than Missy, at most. However, the most striking - and telling - part of her ensemble was the green mask covered in fractal, maze-like patterns that hid all of her face except for the blue eyes that tracked Missy with an unnerving intensity.
"...Labyrinth, what's wrong? Why did you come out here?" Faultline asked with a mixture of curiosity and concern, approaching the young girl and lightly placing a hand on her shoulder.
Labyrinth made a drawn out hum in response without turning to look at the woman, which… wasn't really much of a response at all. Then, she simply walked around Faultline, ignoring her entirely, and approached Missy again, once more leaning far too close for comfort and not even bothering to so much as acknowledge the idea of personal space.
"Uuuuhhhh…" was all Missy could say in response as she awkwardly leaned back and refused to make any sudden moves while the other girl seemingly inspected her as if she held the key to all of the world's mysteries.
Nearl shot the woman an askance look of confusion.
Faultline sighed in response. "I'm terribly sorry about that. Labyrinth's power allows her to interact with dimensions. It usually means that she's… not quite there, mentally. Some days are worse than others. She tends to wander off and stare into empty space very often. I… don't think I've ever seen her react that way to another person, though," the woman mused, her expression twisted in concern as she approached the seemingly unresponsive girl again and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Labyrinth? This is Astra, do you want to say something to her? Maybe say hi?" the woman patiently asked, gesturing towards the girl, despite Labyrinth continuing to ignore pretty much everyone in the room, including Missy, somehow.
She seemed to be stuck in her own little world, entirely unaware of the real one.
Nearl stared at them, her brow furrowed in thought, seemingly pondering something. "I think… I might know the cause of her reaction."
"What do you mean?" Faultline asked, turning towards the kuranta and pinning her with a look.
Nearl simply sighed. "Well, I was hoping it wouldn't come up, but Astra is the reason why I'm here. Here being Earth Bet, that is. Her power passively pulls me from Terra and into this world without any input on her part. Perhaps Labyrinth is somehow able to sense whatever part of Astra's power connects her to Terra?"
Faultline seemed surprised, her eyebrows shooting up. "Huh. So that's why she's with you. I was wondering-" she began to say, before cutting off with a start as Labyrinth did something unexpected.
While the two women had been talking, her hand slowly and lethargically rose in front of Missy, who remained frozen in place, nervously tracking the strange girl's every move, unsure of how to even respond to the situation.
Then, seemingly caught in a trance, Labyrinth raised a finger and daintily poked the empty air in front of Missy's face, causing it to ripple as if it were the surface of a pond. The brief contact with the impossible surface created sparks in the air before she pulled her hand back.
Everyone in the room paused at that, staring wide-eyed at the girl as she looked at her index finger and rubbed at it, which seemed to be oddly stained with… black ink?
"Labyrinth, what…?" Faultline asked as she rushed to her side and inspected her hand. She watched as the ink stain evaporated into the air, turning blurry and then fading out of existence. Then she turned to stare at Missy, flabbergasted.
Noticing everyone's attention on her, Missy quickly raised her hands in surrender, "I didn't do anything, I swear!" she exclaimed.
In response, Labyrinth simply reached out and took hold of Missy's raised hand. Causing her to blink in surprise.
"Uhm," Missy eloquently replied, looking towards Faultline for assistance.
The woman, however, seemed to be focused on Labyrinth, who was now looking around the room in confusion, her gaze seemingly no longer as unfocused as before.
"Labyrinth?" The mercenary cautiously tried once again.
Surprisingly, the girl actually replied this time, meeting the woman's gaze. "Hm?" She hummed in curiosity, staring at her.
The act of actually responding seemed to shock Faultline, if the way she jerked upright was any indication.
"Are you… alright?" the woman asked, sounding unsure of what to make of the sudden change.
"...Yes?" the girl simply replied, her whispery voice sounding just as confused.
Faultline blinked in stupefaction. Eyeing both of the girls with a pensive expression.
"Why… did you do that?" the mercenary asked in concern.
"Do what?" the girl uttered with a tilt of her head, seemingly far more awake and responsive than before, yet still clueless about what she had just done.
"Why did you come here?" Faultline asked, squinting at her.
"...Oh. I felt something… weird. I wanted to see it," she whispered in response.
The mercenary slowly nodded. "Okay, weird how?"
Labyrinth blinked. "A hole," she replied.
"A… hole?" The woman haltingly asked, perplexed.
"Yes, a hole," she nodded, refusing to elaborate and turning towards Missy to finally address her.
"Hello. You're the hole, I think," the strange girl sagely proclaimed without any tact whatsoever, seemingly having solved the mystery.
"...Did you just call me a hole?" Missy asked in befuddlement and no small amount of indignation.
"Labyrinth, you can't just call people holes. Also, please elaborate on what you mean by that," Faultline sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Labyrinth blinked in confusion. "But… that's what she is? There's no worlds around her. Or if there are, they're too… far away. This is new. She's like… a hole in the canvas, leading into empty space. My power doesn't… work… around her," she tried to explain with visible frustration, gesturing down and activating her power, which caused little sparks to fizzle on the floor before disappearing.
Faultline's eyebrows shot up in surprise at that. "So… there's nothing to pull you away when you're near her?" she slowly asked, her eyes narrowing in a calculating manner.
Labyrinth seemed to mull on that question, humming and slowly tilting her head from side to side. "I guess?" she replied, sounding unsure, before hesitatingly letting go of Missy's hand.
The change was almost immediate. Her eyes seemed to become cloudy and unfocused once again, her movements turning slow and lethargic as she stared off into the distance, unseeing. Her hand blindy reached out, grasping nothing but empty air several times until it found Missy's hand once more and latched onto it. Then her gaze cleared and she blinked several times, looking around as if just having returned to the room.
"Yes," the strange girl amended her previous reply with a nod, meeting Faultline's completely dumbstruck gaze, before turning towards Missy and addressing her again.
"Do you want to be friends?" Labyrinth asked her in that whispery, almost shy voice of hers as she squeezed her hand.
Missy blinked in surprise and was about to reply, before she was interrupted by Faultline placing a hand on her shoulder and pinning her with an intense look.
"I will literally pay you to be around her every now and then. Name your price," the woman practically begged, her tone entirely serious.
Missy reeled back at that. "What? No! I'm not gonna accept money for something like that. That's just wrong!" she exclaimed, before turning back to the other girl and quickly replying. "Sure, we can be friends. I'm Missy, nice to meet you," she politely accepted with a smile.
Labyrinth - who had been in the middle of slumping dejectedly upon hearing her initial response - perked up at that, rapidly nodding back.
Then she reached up and took off her mask. "I'm Elle. Nice to meet you!" She whispered in excitement.
She really was barely a year or two older than her, a part of Missy idly noticed amidst her surprise.
"Labyrinth!" Faultline exclaimed, aghast at the girl's reckless attitude.
Elle blinked in curiosity at being addressed. "Yes?"
"You can't just unmask like that to someone you just met. That's dangerous!" the woman harshly chastised.
Elle stared in confusion. "But… she unmasked first?"
Faultline was seemingly struck speechless by that. Missy imagined her mouth was doing a pretty good impression of a gaping fish right now.
Nearl, who seemed to have been content with simply observing the entire exchange with her arms crossed in silence up until now, spoke up. "If it helps, you have our word that we will never, under any circumstance, divulge information about her to anyone. After all, friends are supposed to keep each other's secrets, and a knight always sticks to their word. Isn't that right, Missy?"
Missy stood ramrod straight at that, the word 'knight' more than enough to lit a fire under her, which Nearl approved of, if the knowing smile she sent her was any indication. "Y-yeah, of course I'll keep your secret. Pinky promise!" she exclaimed with far too much seriousness and eagerness as she resolutely put her pinky out in front of Elle's face.
The girl stared cross-eyed at the offered pinky in confusion for a moment, before taking hold of it with her free hand.
…By squeezing it with all five of her fingers.
"Uhm," was Missy's awkward response to the strange action, taking the wind out of her sails, which caused both Nearl and Faultline to chuckle.
"Can you, uhh, let go of my hand though?" she asked hesitatingly.
Elle simply blinked at her in response. "No."
If anything, that seemed to amuse the adults in the room even more.
"Alright, if that's the case I suppose there is no harm done. Still, we will be having words later, Elle," the woman pinned her with a stern look, before turning to address Missy, "In any case, how about you girls stay here and get to know each other while Nearl and I head to the office to handle our business?"
The mercenary received two enthusiastic nods in response, and turned to Nearl to ask, "Does that sound okay with you?"
"I see no issue with it," Nearl agreed with a genial smile on her face.
"Alright then, this way," she gestured for the kuranta to follow after her, opening the door into the hallway.
"Stay safe. We'll return soon," Nearl said with a wave as they departed, closing the door on the way out.
"Hm, well, that was a– whoa!" Missy began to say, only to exclaim in surprise as Elle interrupted her by unceremoniously dragging her off to stand next to the wide, sloped window in the lounge that overlooked the dance floor. Fortunately, the glass was tinted, so no one could see them from down there.
Then she plopped down on the floor and sat with her knees to her chest, one arm wrapped around them while the other one still held onto Missy's hand as she silently observed the bustling crowd down below.
Missy simply stared at that. "Uhm, okay…" she said as she sat down on the carpet floor next to her, cross-legged.
"So uhh, do you have lots of friends at school?" she tried to break the ice by making conversation.
"No. Homeschooled," Elle bluntly replied without turning to look at her, her gaze fixated on the crowd below as she rested her chin on her knees.
"O-oh, ouch… Yeah, me neither. Err, I don't have much in the way of friends either, I mean. I do go to school though, or used to, that is. Not sure how that's gonna work with my parents b-being… Yeah, nevermind. Anyways!" she quickly tried to change the topic before she could continue to shove her foot in her mouth and make things more awkward.
God, was she always this bad at socializing with people? When was the last time she even had a conversation with another kid her age?
"How… old are you?" Missy tried a different topic.
"Fourteen," was the blunt reply she got.
Missy slowly nodded. "...Ah. I'm twelve, myself. And a half!" she quickly added. That was a very important detail, after all.
Elle actually turned to look at her at that, eyeing her up and down. Then she made eye contact and blinked, before turning back to stare out the window.
Was… was that just how she communicated? By blinking?
"So, uh, got any hobbies?" Missy tried switching things up a bit, maybe she'd get a better answer this time. Or maybe not! Who knows?
Elle seemed to actually jerk slightly at that, making a long hum in response. "...Walking, exploring, landscaping. I like… painting. It's fun," she quietly said, staring at her out of the corner of her eye.
Missy perked up at that. Now they were getting somewhere! "Oh! I like drawing sometimes too! Picked it up ages ago because my parents didn't like me having a phone or video games. Haven't done it in a while though. What do you like to paint?" she asked in curiosity.
"Hmmmm… backgrounds. Nature, architecture, buildings. Sometimes statues, too…" the odd girl replied with a whisper.
"Whoa, really? That's so cool! You must be really good at it if you like it. I suck at backgrounds though, I only ever draw people. Sometimes animals too," Missy replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with her free hand.
Elle didn't respond at that, opting to stay quiet, which Missy didn't mind. She knew some people were different and had different ways of expressing themselves, and that she should be patient with them. So they sat there in silence for a bit, simply looking at the people having fun and dancing down below, before suddenly and without warning Elle stood up, dragging her along as well.
"Wha– hey! Where are we going?!" Missy exclaimed as Elle suddenly broke into a run across the room and opened the door into the hallway, not letting go of Missy's hand and forcing her to follow after her.
"Elle? Hey, Elle?!" she exclaimed in a panic, but nonetheless ran along.
One of the doors on the hallway opened and Faultline poked her head through. "Elle, where are you going?" she asked the girl as she ran past her.
"Up!" Elle shouted in reply, which Missy belatedly realized was the first time she heard her speak in anything but a whisper since they met.
"Oh, okay. Be careful there!" the woman called out, but otherwise made no move to stop her and simply went back into her office.
Oh God, what had she gotten herself into this time?
Across many hallways, rooms and stairs - both up and down - did Elle drag her through. She backtracked when reaching dead ends several times, and they occasionally came across club staff that shot them odd or amused looks, but ultimately let them through without issue, probably because Faultline warned them ahead of time. Hell, Missy was pretty sure that they were outright going in circles across the club for a good while there, but the girl seemed to be having fun, so she decided to play along and have fun without complaint, until eventually they went up a new flight of stairs and emerged onto the rooftop.
As the drafty winter night greeted them, Elle turned towards her, breathing heavily and yet, surprisingly enough, smiling brightly. The first time she'd seen her smile, actually.
"Thank you," the odd girl whispered, her tone sincere and filled with relief.
"You're welcome? I'm not sure what I did to deserve that, to be honest," Missy replied in confusion, yet smiled back regardless.
"You're… helping. Your power– it's weird. I feel… clear-headed. More than usual. A lot more. The bad memories are much more quiet now. So… thank you for that," the girl explained with difficulty, squeezing her hand and leading her around the door and into a little hidey-hole around the corner of the rooftop, with several crates and other miscellaneous things stacked around and covered in tarps.
Strangely enough, there was a few plastic chairs and recliners lying around a wide, short table, as well as a long tarp creating a small makeshift roof that covered a worn couch and small radio lying against the wall of the roof entrance, illuminated by a lamp hanging from the makeshift ceiling. The whole thing seemed very comfortable and homely. A private corner to relax with friends, which she supposed was exactly the reason Elle had dragged her all the way here.
Sure enough, the girl momentarily - albeit with some hesitation - let go of her hand to quickly drag the table next to the couch and retrieve a backpack from behind it. Then she unceremoniously plopped down into the couch and gestured for Missy to join her, which she quickly did.
Elle seemed to be getting a bit loopy and unfocused again, her hand blindly reaching off to the side towards Missy, who quickly offered hers again. Nodding in thanks, Elle unzipped the backpack and pulled out a bunch of drawing utensils from it and spread them across the table.
Grabbing a black crayon and a sheet of paper, she rolled up her sleeves and shifted Missy's hand to her forearm, and then began drawing a… circle? which she quickly and haphazardly began filling in. Once done, she carefully reviewed the whole thing, before startling and quickly adding a pair of short, stubby legs to it as an afterthought.
Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she turned towards Missy with a bright smile and showed her the drawing. "It's you," she said in way of explanation and handed her the sheet.
Missy expertly analyzed the artwork with an experienced eye and quickly came to the brilliant conclusion that…
…It was a big hole with two stubby legs.
"Oh wow, uhm, thank you…? Is this… what I look like to your power?" Missy awkwardly hazarded a guess, trying to make sense of the drawing.
Elle nodded rapidly in response, before retrieving more sheets and some pencils, and handed half of them to Missy, before taking the rest for herself. "Your turn," she explained with a smile.
"Oh! Uhm, okay! We can draw stuff if you want," the younger girl replied.
That earned her another rapid nod in response. "Really bad with characters. Much better with backgrounds. You're the opposite. Show me," Elle told her with a whisper.
Missy's eyebrows shot up in understanding. "Ohhhh, okay, that makes sense! Sure, let's see here…"
Missy was feeling mentally exhausted after dealing with Elle, even though she genuinely enjoyed the experience and had fun. So, once Nearl finished her business with Faultline, the two of them went home immediately afterwards, much to Elle's disappointment.
She promised she'd visit more often, though. And they exchanged phone numbers, although Faultline warned her that Elle wasn't very good at using hers, since she often wasn't lucid enough to notice it ringing. The promise did seem to cheer her up a bit though, so it was fine.
"That was entirely too much stuff happening in a single day." Missy groaned as she dropped herself face-first into the couch.
Nearl laughed. "I suppose I'm making dinner, then?"
"Please do. I… just need a break right now." the girl agreed.
Without further comment, the kuranta disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Missy to her thoughts. Which inevitably brought her back to the events of the day. And the ones in her dream as well. Despite everything else, she found herself thinking of Talulah, for some reason. Nearl's fear in that moment just burned itself into her brain, somehow.
Seeing her friend like that… hurt. Nearl was her lifeline, even now. The one she could always rely on, the one that knows what to do. Missy didn't even consider the idea that Nearl could be afraid of anything seriously until now.
As such, the scene replayed itself in her mind, over and over.
"Missy?" Nearl asked, shaking the girl. "I said, dinner is ready."
Missy blinked. She was lost in thought for THAT long? "Oh, sorry. I was… thinking about the vision from this morning," she apologized.
The kuranta nodded, gently prodding Missy to the table. "Hm. What was it about?"
"Your first encounter with Talulah," Missy replied as she was sitting down. She very much did not miss Nearl's flinch.
"Talulah…? I… I see." Nearl replied, having actually frozen mid-motion before properly sitting down. "I… I'm just glad she was defeated in the end."
Missy found herself uncomfortable with her friend's unease.
"It was just so… jarring, to see you genuinely afraid. I fully understand why, but… it was pretty shocking regardless," the girl admitted.
Nearl placed her hands on the table. "Missy, I am worried that you place me on a pedestal much too high. I am not perfect, nobody is. Everyone is afraid sometimes. The point of bravery is not to never be afraid, that's simply recklessness. No, bravery is the ability to push forward despite your fear. I may be… more capable than most people, not that I wish to brag, but it only means that I rarely need to be afraid."
Missy nodded. "I'm… sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable."
The kuranta shook her head. "No, it's… something important for you to understand. One learns best from their failures, after all. If it helps you get a more realistic view of me, all the better. Give me a moment to gather my thoughts. Let's think about what we could have done differently, done better, back then."
The two talked for quite a while about Nearl's regrets about Chernobog. Missy learned that the event was the trigger for Nearl's drive to improve herself as much as she did. Thinking about it, she seemed almost like a different person, back in Chernobog and during her eventual return to Kazimierz.
"... I get it, I think," Missy mused. "The reason you are where you are is because you can admit and work on your flaws. You trained much harder after Chernobog."
The kuranta stared into the distance somberly. "I… I had gotten complacent, after the first time I won that tournament. I thought I could… get away with it, I suppose. That I'd manage. Talulah shattered that notion. If… If I had trained more diligently, maybe Ace…"
Missy enveloped the kuranta in a hug immediately, but was unsure how to actually console her friend.
Nearl returned the hug a few seconds later.
The two continued talking for a good while after that. Nearl admitted that talking about her regrets actually seemed to lighten a burden on her. 'Perhaps I am trying to shoulder too much at once,' the kuranta mused.
Missy… agreed with that thought, honestly. Her friend's personality sounded very much the type to try and shoulder everyone's problems to distract herself from her own.
The girl felt somewhat selfish in how much she leaned on Nearl after realizing this fact. She needed to learn proper independence. In a way she…
Needed to grow past Nearl.
Missy hated that thought. She hated it oh so very, very, very much.
But deep down, she knew it was true. She had to eventually leave the nest and learn to fly on her own, her overly romantic friend would say.
She had to admit to herself the fact that she would never truly grow as a person if all she ever did was lean on her friend, her savior, her… surrogate parent.
Missy sighed inwardly at that particular thought.
"By the way, we've not yet discussed your costume," Nearl pointed out, pulling her out of her musings.
"Eh?" the girl blurted. "Weren't we going to use yours?"
The kuranta laughed. "No, Missy, I said we could base it on mine. I'm not letting you completely copy it. Otherwise, you will never step out of my shadow. I did have a few thoughts about it, though. For one, if you're going to include a cape, it should probably be detachable…"
AN:
By the way, if anyone is wondering about Elle's age, yes, I'm aware it's not the canon one. Honestly, me and all of my betas actually thought she was way younger until we checked her wiki for some extra details. I'm pretty sure most of the fandom also assumes she's younger as well, and I think the confirmation for her age was added way after the fact as a random WoG by Wildbow.
So I'm just gonna choose to ignore that, as most of the Worm fandom tends to do when they come across random Wildbow WoGs that fuck up their fanfic ideas.
So yeah, Elle is 14 here. Why? Cause Missy needs relevant characters in her age group that she can befriend, because otherwise she'd only be able to have two friends from Bet. Besides, the whole dynamic is cuter that way. Consider it a minor AU change, especially since I feel the way Elle is treated in canon fits someone that age much better.
Once more, all hail our Bunny Demon King Amiya! She who bravely poked her cute nose into some weird dimensional shenanigans and got denied by the one(s) responsible for it. There will be Words later. Still don't know how she did what she did, but meh. The Demon King can do whatever she wished and i'll smile and nod.
Your Piggot feels somewhat on the kinder side of things. I don't mind it. I actually encouraged it. There are a lot of hardass Piggots already. I do feel bad for her though because of the inevitable switch out that'll happen with Missy's companions. Still, i'm not entirely sure if Terra can deal with failing kidneys. It would be reasonable though since they have efficient prosthetics and accidentally cured cancer right?
How old is OG Ellie? I never bothered looking it up and always assumed she was young-ish.
Once more, all hail our Bunny Demon King Amiya! She who bravely poked her cute nose into some weird dimensional shenanigans and got denied by the one(s) responsible for it. There will be Words later. Still don't know how she did what she did, but meh. The Demon King can do whatever she wished and i'll smile and nod.
Your Piggot feels somewhat on the kinder side of things. I don't mind it. I actually encouraged it. There are a lot of hardass Piggots already. I do feel bad for her though because of the inevitable switch out that'll happen with Missy's companions. Still, i'm not entirely sure if Terra can deal with failing kidneys. It would be reasonable though since they have efficient prosthetics and accidentally cured cancer right?
How old is OG Ellie? I never bothered looking it up and always assumed she was young-ish.
Good stuff. There were a lot of feels this chapter, preliminary guess on the Wards Contract is Coil (in Worm there are so many conspiracy players it's hard to narrow it down). I do hope that the PRT can come to some nice arrangements with Missy in the future. If nothing else Cauldron should grease the wheels to give themselves more tools
I hope Missy can learn independence before Neal goes. One of the biggest moments of the original Project Quest was Emmy's speech about how tomorrow there would be a new "M.E." during his final moments as his first emulation, and there Taylor at least knew what was going to happen. Here, Missy has no heads up for how her own power works, if Neal leaves before she is ready she might second trigger from the panic of being abandoned.
