I don't think there is a big enough cigar to even effect the giant lol
Fate/In Glory Of (Worm)
- Thread starter Jefardi
- Start date
- Crossover Modern Superhero
I don't think there is a big enough cigar to even effect the giant lol
Iris-Iven-Ibis
Interested-Idiot-Immortal
- Location
- You know
It's not about the giant it's about sending a message
Vote closing for 03.08 soon
Aporia 03.08
[X] Preparations – Taylor doing prep work for the boring part of being a cape
If the last two times Taylor had tried to go caping had taught her anything, it was that she was woefully under-prepared.
For one, when the giant was fighting away from her, she couldn't see what he was doing at all. While he seemed to be able to understand her at a distance, it was hard to direct him without knowing what was going on.
Case in point was when he was fighting the Undersiders; she still didn't know how he ended up causing a pool of lava to appear.
Taylor did have an idea around that.
While she had toyed with the idea of trying to find some kind of technological answer to that, she had a different issue to address today. That was slightly inaccurate; it wasn't an issue so much as something that had come up during the aftermath of the fight with the Undersiders.
The giant had been able to shake his head to a question.
It was the first sign Taylor had of being able to communicate more directly with him- or rather being able to get anything out of him.
Which was why she was sitting in her basement, on a folding chair, with a notepad on the card table next to her. A rather large pot of tea was there; she imagined that she would be talking a lot and didn't want to get a dry throat.
She was going to see if she could actually talk with him again.
The muscle tensed.
In the poorly lit basement, the giant loomed, his head bent forward so as to not scrape the ceiling, even if his hair was plastered against it.
"Hello."
The giant didn't respond to the nicety. That was fine. First, establish if she was correct or not with her hypothesis.
"Did you kill anyone when you fought last week?"
His head slowly rotated right and then left past it's neutral point before returning to staring straight ahead at her.
"Did you hurt anyone?"
His head dipped minutely before returning to its previous position.
Taylor made a quick note as she hadn't gotten him to answer in the affirmative before. Now to test if he is just feeding me back what I know.
"I'm going to demanifest you and then I want you to go outside and count how many birds are within three houses of here." The giant did not do anything, though when the muscle untensed, she could tell he went outside for a moment before returning.
"Ten or less?"
A nod.
"Five or less?"
Another nod.
"Two or less?"
This time a head shake.
"Four or fewer?"
A nod.
"Three?"
When she got another minute nod, she untensed the muscle and walked outside. It took a moment to find the three birds perched looking rather unhappy on a powerline before she went back into the basement.
That was good. It meant that the giant was indeed able to store information from outside her own senses; Taylor had been worried that somehow she was subconsciously feeding the giant what she wanted to hear and that was how he was responding.
"Okay, okay… are you sentient?"
He stared at her, it's head not moving either way.
"Do you not know?"
Again, nothing.
"Are you a power?"
After nearly ten seconds, a nod.
"What… what are you? Do you know?"
This time, his head did not move. Rather, his shoulders rose before settling down in a shrug.
Taylor sighed as she took a sip of her tea before realizing something.
"Do you want any water or tea?" It seemed only polite to ask. As it was, it shook it's head. "Do you eat?" This time it nodded. "Would you like to eat?" Negative head shake.
"Are you okay with being given directions?" A nod. "Like I've been doing?" Another nod.
"Are you required to follow what I say?" An immediate head shake. Interesting; over the course of the month she had a power, her giant had yet to disobey any directive she had given him. "And of course, I can't ask why…" She tapped the notebook for a moment. "He doesn't know if he has free-will. Hmm."
"During the fight against the Undersiders, could you hear me?" She knew that the battle had been particularly destructive but she hadn't been able to hear any of it going on, for the most part. Another negative.
That was… disappointing.
Taylor had been hoping that he would be able to hear her no matter where she was- less of him physically hearing her and more of something power related as that would solve some of her issues.
"Are you happy?" It was an important question.
The giant just… stared.
Taylor felt judged.
After near half a minute, he shook his head.
"Is it because of me?"
A shrug this time.
"Is there anything I can do to make you less unhappy?"
Shrug.
"I'm sorry." And she was.
Shrug.
"Is there anything you want to do?"
Head shake.
"Okay, are you a cape?"
Head shake.
Well, at least her power wasn't enslaving another cape. That's nice.
"Do you like fighting?" If he didn't, th-
Nod.
"Good… good. Can you please not kill anyone when you fight?"
Head shake.
Taylor frowned.
"Why?"
No response.
"Can you try to not kill anyone?"
Nod.
Progress.
"Can you try to stay within earshot of me?"
Nod.
Taylor hummed.
"Can you hear better than me?" It was a question that Taylor already knew the answer to.
A nod.
"More than three times?"
Another nod.
"Ten times?" That was roughly how much better a dog's hearing was supposed to be.
Nod.
"Twenty?"
A shrug.
Taylor made a note.
"Can you hear me through other noises?"
Nod.
"Me in particular or just noises in general? Nod for first, shake for second."
A shake.
"If you fight someone, can you try and stop them without injuries, if possible?"
A nod.
"Do you know how strong you are?"
A shrug.
"More than a hundred times stronger than a normal human?"
Taylor could have sworn she saw a dismissive look in its yellow eyes at that as it nodded.
"Two hundred?"
Nod.
"Five hundred?"
Nod.
"A thousand?"
Nod.
"Ten thousand?"
Nod.
That was… a lot. Maybe he misunderstood her?
"Go by, uh…" She looked around the basement before eyeing the old washing machine that had been down here for years. "How much that weighs."
The giant looked at it before pushing it with his hand effortlessly, causing a terrible noise for a moment as it slid on the cold concrete.
"Ten thousand of that?"
A nod.
"Are you stronger than Alexandria?"
A shrug.
"Right, you wouldn't know how strong she is…"
A bead of sweat that Taylor hadn't noticed went into her eye as she pondered, causing her to have to rub it out. It took a moment before she realize that in the excitement of getting information out of him, she hadn't been paying close attention to the time limit. She was starting to feel exhausted. At this point, a month out of the hospital, she could get eighty, nearly ninety minutes out of him being manifest. It had been barely fifteen but she was approaching some kind of limit- getting him to respond was shortening the time limit.
Still, she had gotten some information out of him. As well as agreements.
"Do… do you want clothes?" He was, after all, a mostly naked man. Eight feet tall, if she was able to guess right, but still naked. It was a question that had been sitting on her mind since the start.
A shrug.
"If you're sure."
With that the muscle finally untensed.
Taylor let out a haggard breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in as the giant disappeared in a flurry of golden blue motes.
She might have gone over her limit slightly.
Time for Taylor to hang out with friends.
Who to hang out with?
[] Nikki – Just spend time with Nikki
[] Joanna – Just hang out with Joanna
[] Both
What to do? Pick one.
Nikki's suggestions:
[] Hang out with birds [This option is disallowed if Joanna comes with. Nikki doesn't know Joanna well enough to show the birds]
[] Become a Mallrat.
[] Acquire cheap food. Consume a hideous bob. From Fugly's.
[] Go to the boardwalk and window shop. Be a poor tourist.
[] Go to the Movie Theater.
Joanna's suggestions:
[] Go to park
[] Play a board game
[] Gun Range [Will be chaperoned by Joanna's mom] – Available next week
[] Movies at Joanna's house
[] Go for a Hike.
Taylor's suggestions:
[] Hang out at Taylor's house.
[] Write-in
Author's note: Normally, the prep vote would not entail talking at the giant, but the fact of the matter is that it's technically not experimenting with her power so much as trying to establish boundaries for what he can/should do. If the vote had gone for power experimentation, it would be a lot more breaking things involved.
The prep option will be more important later; it'll have subvotes when that occurs.
Anywho; time for a social vote for Taylor. Go forth!
If the last two times Taylor had tried to go caping had taught her anything, it was that she was woefully under-prepared.
For one, when the giant was fighting away from her, she couldn't see what he was doing at all. While he seemed to be able to understand her at a distance, it was hard to direct him without knowing what was going on.
Case in point was when he was fighting the Undersiders; she still didn't know how he ended up causing a pool of lava to appear.
Taylor did have an idea around that.
While she had toyed with the idea of trying to find some kind of technological answer to that, she had a different issue to address today. That was slightly inaccurate; it wasn't an issue so much as something that had come up during the aftermath of the fight with the Undersiders.
The giant had been able to shake his head to a question.
It was the first sign Taylor had of being able to communicate more directly with him- or rather being able to get anything out of him.
Which was why she was sitting in her basement, on a folding chair, with a notepad on the card table next to her. A rather large pot of tea was there; she imagined that she would be talking a lot and didn't want to get a dry throat.
She was going to see if she could actually talk with him again.
The muscle tensed.
In the poorly lit basement, the giant loomed, his head bent forward so as to not scrape the ceiling, even if his hair was plastered against it.
"Hello."
The giant didn't respond to the nicety. That was fine. First, establish if she was correct or not with her hypothesis.
"Did you kill anyone when you fought last week?"
His head slowly rotated right and then left past it's neutral point before returning to staring straight ahead at her.
"Did you hurt anyone?"
His head dipped minutely before returning to its previous position.
Taylor made a quick note as she hadn't gotten him to answer in the affirmative before. Now to test if he is just feeding me back what I know.
"I'm going to demanifest you and then I want you to go outside and count how many birds are within three houses of here." The giant did not do anything, though when the muscle untensed, she could tell he went outside for a moment before returning.
"Ten or less?"
A nod.
"Five or less?"
Another nod.
"Two or less?"
This time a head shake.
"Four or fewer?"
A nod.
"Three?"
When she got another minute nod, she untensed the muscle and walked outside. It took a moment to find the three birds perched looking rather unhappy on a powerline before she went back into the basement.
That was good. It meant that the giant was indeed able to store information from outside her own senses; Taylor had been worried that somehow she was subconsciously feeding the giant what she wanted to hear and that was how he was responding.
"Okay, okay… are you sentient?"
He stared at her, it's head not moving either way.
"Do you not know?"
Again, nothing.
"Are you a power?"
After nearly ten seconds, a nod.
"What… what are you? Do you know?"
This time, his head did not move. Rather, his shoulders rose before settling down in a shrug.
Taylor sighed as she took a sip of her tea before realizing something.
"Do you want any water or tea?" It seemed only polite to ask. As it was, it shook it's head. "Do you eat?" This time it nodded. "Would you like to eat?" Negative head shake.
"Are you okay with being given directions?" A nod. "Like I've been doing?" Another nod.
"Are you required to follow what I say?" An immediate head shake. Interesting; over the course of the month she had a power, her giant had yet to disobey any directive she had given him. "And of course, I can't ask why…" She tapped the notebook for a moment. "He doesn't know if he has free-will. Hmm."
"During the fight against the Undersiders, could you hear me?" She knew that the battle had been particularly destructive but she hadn't been able to hear any of it going on, for the most part. Another negative.
That was… disappointing.
Taylor had been hoping that he would be able to hear her no matter where she was- less of him physically hearing her and more of something power related as that would solve some of her issues.
"Are you happy?" It was an important question.
The giant just… stared.
Taylor felt judged.
After near half a minute, he shook his head.
"Is it because of me?"
A shrug this time.
"Is there anything I can do to make you less unhappy?"
Shrug.
"I'm sorry." And she was.
Shrug.
"Is there anything you want to do?"
Head shake.
"Okay, are you a cape?"
Head shake.
Well, at least her power wasn't enslaving another cape. That's nice.
"Do you like fighting?" If he didn't, th-
Nod.
"Good… good. Can you please not kill anyone when you fight?"
Head shake.
Taylor frowned.
"Why?"
No response.
"Can you try to not kill anyone?"
Nod.
Progress.
"Can you try to stay within earshot of me?"
Nod.
Taylor hummed.
"Can you hear better than me?" It was a question that Taylor already knew the answer to.
A nod.
"More than three times?"
Another nod.
"Ten times?" That was roughly how much better a dog's hearing was supposed to be.
Nod.
"Twenty?"
A shrug.
Taylor made a note.
"Can you hear me through other noises?"
Nod.
"Me in particular or just noises in general? Nod for first, shake for second."
A shake.
"If you fight someone, can you try and stop them without injuries, if possible?"
A nod.
"Do you know how strong you are?"
A shrug.
"More than a hundred times stronger than a normal human?"
Taylor could have sworn she saw a dismissive look in its yellow eyes at that as it nodded.
"Two hundred?"
Nod.
"Five hundred?"
Nod.
"A thousand?"
Nod.
"Ten thousand?"
Nod.
That was… a lot. Maybe he misunderstood her?
"Go by, uh…" She looked around the basement before eyeing the old washing machine that had been down here for years. "How much that weighs."
The giant looked at it before pushing it with his hand effortlessly, causing a terrible noise for a moment as it slid on the cold concrete.
"Ten thousand of that?"
A nod.
"Are you stronger than Alexandria?"
A shrug.
"Right, you wouldn't know how strong she is…"
A bead of sweat that Taylor hadn't noticed went into her eye as she pondered, causing her to have to rub it out. It took a moment before she realize that in the excitement of getting information out of him, she hadn't been paying close attention to the time limit. She was starting to feel exhausted. At this point, a month out of the hospital, she could get eighty, nearly ninety minutes out of him being manifest. It had been barely fifteen but she was approaching some kind of limit- getting him to respond was shortening the time limit.
Still, she had gotten some information out of him. As well as agreements.
"Do… do you want clothes?" He was, after all, a mostly naked man. Eight feet tall, if she was able to guess right, but still naked. It was a question that had been sitting on her mind since the start.
A shrug.
"If you're sure."
With that the muscle finally untensed.
Taylor let out a haggard breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in as the giant disappeared in a flurry of golden blue motes.
She might have gone over her limit slightly.
Time for Taylor to hang out with friends.
Who to hang out with?
[] Nikki – Just spend time with Nikki
[] Joanna – Just hang out with Joanna
[] Both
What to do? Pick one.
Nikki's suggestions:
[] Hang out with birds [This option is disallowed if Joanna comes with. Nikki doesn't know Joanna well enough to show the birds]
[] Become a Mallrat.
[] Acquire cheap food. Consume a hideous bob. From Fugly's.
[] Go to the boardwalk and window shop. Be a poor tourist.
[] Go to the Movie Theater.
Joanna's suggestions:
[] Go to park
[] Play a board game
[] Movies at Joanna's house
[] Go for a Hike.
Taylor's suggestions:
[] Hang out at Taylor's house.
[] Write-in
Author's note: Normally, the prep vote would not entail talking at the giant, but the fact of the matter is that it's technically not experimenting with her power so much as trying to establish boundaries for what he can/should do. If the vote had gone for power experimentation, it would be a lot more breaking things involved.
The prep option will be more important later; it'll have subvotes when that occurs.
Anywho; time for a social vote for Taylor. Go forth!
Hmm...I'm on the fence of who to hang out with, but I figure that Joanna will be more interesting.
[X] Joanna – Just hang out with Joanna
[X] Go for a Hike.
I assume that she has a hiking routine figured out despite being in a wheelchair? Since it's her suggestion, I mean. I don't want Taylor to come across as someone who just forgot that Joanna doesn't have working legs.
[X] Joanna – Just hang out with Joanna
[X] Go for a Hike.
I assume that she has a hiking routine figured out despite being in a wheelchair? Since it's her suggestion, I mean. I don't want Taylor to come across as someone who just forgot that Joanna doesn't have working legs.
[X] Joanna
[X] Play a board game
[X] Play a board game
Voting for 03.09
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Both
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
Last edited:
BBBence1111
Harbinger of Bad Luck
- Location
- Magyarország
How does that work, we go over to her place and watch the movie without Johanna?
[X] Both
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
[X] Both
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
Zedman7054
Eternally 3rd
- Location
- United States
[X] Joanna – Just hang out with Joanna
[X] Go for a Hike.
Let's hang out with our angry friend.
[X] Go for a Hike.
Let's hang out with our angry friend.
- Location
- Oklahoma
[X] Both
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
Deadweight Hero
I can't beat the demon lord help-
[X] Both
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
- Pronouns
- He
I'm terrible at small talk. Sit in silence? idk
Aporia 03.09
[X] Both
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
It was truly strange that in the matter of about a month, the idea of going to hang out with friends -plural even!- was just a standard weekend for Taylor.
...sometimes she didn't think it was real. That it was some scheme to crush her from the trio. How else could they top the locker? Though...
That would be crazy, right? They'd have to get Joanna's mom in on it and she didn't seem… like the sort? From what Taylor could tell.
...it just felt odd to have a social life.
Arguably this was the most active one she ever had. Before high-school, her social circle was really only one person and her hanger-ons. Taylor didn't think they counted, however.
Truthfully, she should be far more hesitant to get in a vehicle with either of the girls she'd met in the literal last month. If it wasn't for the giant…
…
…
...she'd always have the giant, at least. He cou- wouldn't abandon her.
The doorbell going off pulled Taylor from her thoughts, grabbing her backpack and the snacks she was going to bring, she opened the door.
"Are you ready?" Nikki asked neutrally as the door opened. "Are you bringing that?" She questioned, pointing at the food in Taylor's hands.
"...yesss?" She looked at the big bag of cheetos. "Why?"
"I did not think you would be a fan of cheetos. Frankly, I suspected trail mix." Nikki responded. She motioned to the car. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah." She closed the door and locked it. "Kinda? I didn't have any popcorn to bring. Next best thing."
"Fair enough. Do you think we will ever have a sleepover?" Nikki asked, stepping to the side to let Taylor through.
Taylor gave Nikki a look, "Maybe?" Truthfully she wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea. Being able to get away from people seemed better. It also reminded her a bit too much of her time with Emma...
"I've never been to a sleepover before." Nikki mused as Taylor got into her car.
"They're alright."
Nikki shrugged curtly, walking over to the car "Would you like to sit 'shotgun' today?"
"Uh." Taylor gave a slow blink. "Sure?"
As the few times that she had been in the car, it was weird to go from it looking like it was falling apart on the inside to being a… functional vehicle on the inside. Strange.
"You have Joanna's address?"
"Yes. She texted it to me after we exchanged numbers." Nikki started the car and pulled out into the street.
"Oh." Made sense.
Taylor didn't really have much to say; their friendship wasn't one based on similar interests. She didn't think Nikki cared much about Kiss of the Spider Woman or Altered Carbon. Likewise, Taylor didn't really have much to say about art- Nikki seemed good at it, but Taylor didn't know what to say other than it looked pretty or nice.
Though, there was one thing she knew she could always bring up.
"...how have the birds been?" Ever since Nikki had taken her to the park, she had been getting the occasional bird picture from her. It was honestly mostly what she was using her cellphone for.
"Nova has been acting up. Ivan's being trying to woo Tilli. But recently another murder has shown up. They've been territorial." Nikki mentioned. "Been trying to get them to act nice. But it is slow."
"How do you do that? Get another group to be nice to them?"
"Mostly breaking up fights and offering good foods to those that are not acting territorial." Nikki answered. "But it's a slow procedure. Must be some grudges there."
"Don't they peck at you?" Taylor didn't see any beak marks, or what she figured would be beak or claw marks on Nikki. "I thought you aren't supposed to get between animals and food."
"Sometimes. Thick cloves and full sleeves prevent any damage. But my birds are very smart, and they know me. Know how it works." Nikki hummed. "Even if Ivan is a mean one, if he sees good food he'll behave."
"Like french fries?" Taylor's brow furrowed. "What's considered bad, then?"
Nikki seemed to pause. "Nothing… bad. But the regular seed is bland compared to a fried potato." She replied.
"Do you ever worry that you'll make them too reliant on you?"
"No. Because I mostly use it as a treat. Besides, Brockton Bay is a city. A small city, but a city. There will always be bugs or scraps for them to eat." Nikki replied, a smile on her face "Besides. I am not leaving."
"You aren't moving away for college?"
Nikki shook her head. "I do not plan on it. No. Do you?" She returned the question as she came to a redlight.
Taylor bit the corner of her lip as she thought. She always thought she would go to Brockton University, growing up. Times had changed.
"Maybe? If I could? It's expensive." She shook her head. "I don't know if I'll be able to get into anything other than community college. Or what I want to do."
"Where do you want to go?" Nikki asked as she signaled her turn. "You have an idea for what you wanted to major in?"
"I don't. I just…" It was hard to describe the feeling. For so long her goal had been just to endure highschool, not to think about what came after. "I want to see places other than here. Maybe I'll come back." She shrugged. "It's years away."
"Understandable." Nikki hummed. "You read yes?" She asked. "Do you have anything we could possibly read together?"
She blinked slowly at the non-sequitur.
"Uh. Maybe? What did you read growing up?"
"Fiction. I doubt you would recognize anything, it was all in Russian." Nikki answered.
"Nothing by Fyodor Dostoevsky? Leo Tolstoy? Mikhail Bulgakov?"
There was a stretch of silence in the car. Looking in the mirror, Taylor could watch a deep crimson blush spread across Nikki's face despite her flat expression.
"I… have not read any of their books. I admit, I lied." Nikki shifted. "I did not want you to think lesser of me for my actual taste in books, Zane Grey's works."
"Oh." Taylor was flummoxed at the admission. The name didn't sound Russian at all."Um. Whose Zane Grey?"
The blush reached Nikki's ears. "He writes about cowboys." She mumbled under her breath, only loud enough to be heard.
"You like Westerns?"
Nikki shifted in her seat. "It sounded nice. Frontier Justice. The freedom. Self Reliance. It was...interesting to see a world without capes. What it looked like before technology came along as it did. How humans lived in a hostile environment and made it into a home to live in, if not strive in."
"Did you ever read about the arctic expeditions?"
"Heard of them. Yes. Never read admittedly. It is unlikely I will ever end up there, after all. But there was a chance that I moved to Texas, before I came here of course."
Taylor gave Nikki an odd look. "Because cowboys are in Texas."
Nikki's blush went down to her collarbone as she simply nodded in response, her eyes firmly on the road and not making contact with Taylor's through the mirror.
The second-hand embarrassment was real as Taylor turned towards the window.
At some point they had started to enter rich suburbia, the kind that was a step above the white picket fence dream. It was the kind of neighbuorhood the Barnes lived in. Where if there was a gate at the front of the community, it wouldn't look out of place. Well-maintained gardens dotted the yards, the kind that didn't come from someone casually managing them.
When they came to a stop, Taylor had to give the house a second glance.
It was big.
Like properly three stories-type big.
A long drive-way curved across the yard. The plot of land that it sat across was also large; perhaps two of its neighbours' put together? Consequently the house looked like someone had hit the 50% more button compared to the next by lots.
Taylor stared.
Nikki stopped and stared as well. "I knew the Ander family had money, Medhall and the pharmaceutical companies it branches off into being in their ownership, but I did not expect it to be this apparent."
Taylor had to stop herself from giving Nikki an incredulous glance. She was pretty sure the Russian girl came from some kind of money. Who else just handed off a smartphone like it was nothing?
Why are both my friends rich?
"That's Joanna." Nikki motioned as she pulled herself out of the car.
Indeed the girl was at the front door and walking towards them, on her legs, which seemed to be working, even if she was having difficulty walking with wobbly or uncertain steps.
"Well." She asked as she nearly fell against the car, grinning at the two. "How do I look?"
It was genuinely weird to see the girl standing under her own power. Taylor gave a thumbs up, "how's it feel to have tinkertech?"
"Yes. How does it feel." Nikki parroted Taylor's words, her gaze laser focused on Joanna.
"Still numb and can't have kids. But I can shower now and actually get out of bed. So, honestly it's an improvement that I'm quite happy with. We might shell out the cash for a better version in the future, one that's a total replacement of my spine."
"So, how does it work?" Taylor couldn't see any visible tinkertech on Joanna. "Is it an implant or...?"
"Yeah, implant, it's skin level, doesn't touch the muscles. Just stimulates the nerves to make them, you know, move." Joanna motioned to her house. "Hell, I'll show you a bit of it, but I'm not lifting my shirt in the front yard."
"Oh. That doesn't seem too... invasive." Taylor commented as she followed Joanna into her home with Nikki at her heels.
The inside of the house was...surprisingly spartan. The few bits of furniture that decorated it were well worn and equally loved. Bought more for comfort than appearances, some of the furniture didn't even match.
"Oh good. The girls made it." Joanna's mom stood in the kitchen with all the windows open, which faintly smelled of something burnt. "I was going to cook, but frankly I'm far better at grilling. So how do you all like Pizza?"
"Any kind works." Nikki stated. "Can we see the tinkertech now?"
"Yeah?" Joanna blinked. "A cape geek?"
"In the Motherland, having an interest in capes was not a good idea." Nikki stated.
Joanna and her mother shared a look.
"Pizza sounds good." Taylor offered, awkwardly, to break the developing silence. When her speaking drew attention she had to force herself to not huddle inwards. This wasn't Winslow. No one here was going to take issue with her literally talking. "I like pepperoni?"
"Pepperoni sounds good right now, a real american classic." Joanna's Mom nodded.
"Sure I can show you both." Pulling off her shoe, Joanna almost tipped over before she leaned against the wall, she lifted up her pants leg to show incredibly thin strips of metal laced almost into the skin of her calf, not even a seam where the metal ended and the skin began.
Taylor stared at it. I didn't think tinkertech looked so... Bland.
"That's a lot less than I thought it would look."
"It's not exactly meant to be flashy." Joanna stated as she rolled her pant leg down. "After all, we paid good money for it to be more discreet, and it couldn't be so large as to not interfere with me wearing clothes."
"Understandable." Nikki noted as Taylor nodded in agreement.
"So… are you gonna actually kick that guy who keeps staring at you now?" A guy kept staring at Joanna every few minutes at lunch during the last week and kept looking like he was going to say something before cutting himself off. One of the many colourful things Joanna had said involved his butt and her foot.
"That's Theo, he's my cousin, and yes. I will." Joanna nodded.
"Joanna Meadow Anders." Miss Alyssa spoke up as she snapped her phone shut. "Theo does not deserve your ire for being a spineless blob of a boy, he had to grow up under Max and his corporate double talk and I can tell you from experience that living with my brother is colder than a slushball and twice as unpleasant. His sister Anny tho? Yeah kick that shithead's ass as much as you want."
"Yes, mom." Joanna sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Alright, do we want to wait for the pizza to arrive before we start watching movies?"
"What movies do you have?" Taylor had been idly curious about it; whether these were new movies that Joanna wanted to watch or something older.
"Mostly older stuff." Joanna stated.
"Most movies nowadays have capes in them. And most of it is shit because of that." Ms Alyssa stated as she set the phone back on it's charger. "I'm assuming the pool isn't going to be used today?"
Joanna shook her head.
"I'll keep the cover on it then. Alright, you girls have some fun, I'll be up in my office doing some work, so don't blare it at full volume!" She gave the three of them a little wave before making for the-the ramp that unfolded into a set of stairs as Ms Alyssa hit a button by the wall.
Taylor blinked. Looked outside at the still very much early February weather and then back at Joanna. "Pool?" The tone in her voice was that of bafflement.
"Heated indoor pool." Joanna explained starting to walk only for her legs to buckle slightly, causing her to fall against the wall with a curse escaping between clenched teeth. Taylor had barely started to move before she had caught herself.
"Are you well?" Nikki questioned, taking a step towards Joanna before she was waved off. Her eyes never left Joanna.
"Fine. Just-Just an adjustment period for it. Not easy walking after months stuck in a wheelchair." Joanna explained, gingerly pushing herself off the wall. "Look, I'll go set up the DVD player. The long skinny counter?" She pointed to one at the edge of the kitchen area, built into the wall. "It's got junk food in it, pick what you like, okay?"
"Okay." Taylor held up a bag, "I bought cheetos, if you like them. And trail mix."
"Sweet. Thanks-" Joanna stopped. "oh, the game room is where we'll be watching movies. I'll be back to show you to it, if you want to wait?"
"Sure." Taylor… was leery of walking around to new places in the house. The house that she had never been into. It had been a long time since she had been to a new friend's house… actually she couldn't remember the last time. She had known Emma for so long…
Black hair swayed across her vision as she shook her head slightly as she went into the kitchen to see what snacks Joanna had.
"That is an excessive amount of snacks." Nikki noted and Taylor had to agree as they opened the cabinet, revealing shelves full of just junk food, all semi-neatly organized. A shelf for chips, a shelf for chocolates, shelf for hard candies/gums/gummies, and a shelf for snack cakes.
Who eats all of these…
It was a reasonable question; both Joanna and Ms. Alyssa seemed fit. Even with Joanna not being able to walk, she hadn't seemingly gained weight if the photos she'd passed in the hallway were anything to go by. Maybe she had siblings?
"I was browsing some of LimbMaster's available operations." Nikki offered to the open air, pulling Taylor from her musings, even if her voice was a touch lower than usual. "Some interesting options in there."
Green eyes glanced at the Russian in askance.
"But all her work appears different than that." Nikki noted as she picked up a bar of white chocolate. "I think Joanna is using LimbMaster as a cover-up for some Medhall experimental surgery. Or simply a lie to impress us."
Taylor blinked.
"Can't tinkertech do anything? Maybe LimbMaster just made it, uh, differently? Than normal?"
"You saw her in person, right? Did she have anything for sale that resembled that?" Nikki shrugged, the motion jerky. "Just an idle thought, since I browsed her catalog."
"She didn't have anything that subtle…" Taylor hummed as she flipped through some of the snacks before pulling out a bag of swedish fish. "Mostly she had limbs for sale. Whole ones. Not… partial ones like that. It could be something specially made for her?" Her head tilted. "I guess all things would be specially made for each person, though."
Nikki paused. "Discreet is not… Of course… Right. Given the chance, would you use the indoor pool?" She questioned.
"Um. Maybe?"
Nikki hummed flatly, then nodded. Her eyes flicked around the room, never stopping on anything for more than a few seconds.
With that… Nikki-ness out of the way, it wasn't long before Joanna came back to lead them into the game room.
"This way." Joanna beckoned for the two of them and walked down a hall, two french doors were opened to show a large room, with a massive flat-screen television on one end of the room. Several bean bags and one easy-chair were set up around it.
There was even a surround sound system installed too.
"Impressive." Nikki noted.
...Taylor was pretty certain that this room might be worth more money than her dad made in a year.
"So I put Demolition Man in, we can watch that first. I have some Earth Aleph movies if you want more recent non-cape films." Joanna offered
"I am accepting of any movie." Nikki strutted to a beanbag and slowly allowed herself to sink into it. "I want the experience."
"Sure." Taylor didn't really have a preference, per se. As long as it wasn't horror.
Jump scares sucked.
"What all do you have?"
"Action flicks mostly." Joanna answered. "A few horror, and all the holiday stuff."
"I have seen very few American films since I have come here." Nikki stated. "Action films are rare back home."
"Why actions films and not comedy?"
"It is often that American films of action, having them fighting criminals like that who control our homeland." Nikki stated, turning her head to look at Taylor. "Action can inspire, comedy not so much."
"Terrible place. So, Taylor. What movie do you vote for?" Joanna asked.
"Demolition Man? I'd like to look at what you have after, though."
"Oh right. Uh. Yeah. We got time and snack so-" Joanna turned "I was asking what kind of movie, but we can start with action."
"That works."
The giant watched as the girl spent time with the cripple and birdgirl, eating food and watching the illuminated rectangle.
It didn't seem like there was much point to the activity.
Then again, the girl seemed to be far more relaxed than it's previous master had been.
Perhaps there was something to it?
Taylor had a pretty good, if lazy, day.
[] Patrol – Go search for trouble [QA +1]
[] Research Local – Find out what's going on with the cape scene in Brockton Bay
[] Power experimentation – Taylor is going to mess around with her power/prep for exciting part of cape life
[] Preparations – Taylor doing prep work for the boring part of being a cape
[] Cape social (Taylor doesn't know any capes yet) – Talk to another cape
Author's note: I LIVE!
Apologies for the long delay; I ended up traveling, catching COVID (unrelated, surprisingly) and just having a terrible time of having free time to match up with my beta/editor.
Anywho, here, have a chapter! It's bigger than normal!
Taylor likes Cheetos. She does not like cleaning them up. Hence why bringing them to someone else's house.
[X] Movies at Joanna's house
It was truly strange that in the matter of about a month, the idea of going to hang out with friends -plural even!- was just a standard weekend for Taylor.
...sometimes she didn't think it was real. That it was some scheme to crush her from the trio. How else could they top the locker? Though...
That would be crazy, right? They'd have to get Joanna's mom in on it and she didn't seem… like the sort? From what Taylor could tell.
...it just felt odd to have a social life.
Arguably this was the most active one she ever had. Before high-school, her social circle was really only one person and her hanger-ons. Taylor didn't think they counted, however.
Truthfully, she should be far more hesitant to get in a vehicle with either of the girls she'd met in the literal last month. If it wasn't for the giant…
…
…
...she'd always have the giant, at least. He cou- wouldn't abandon her.
The doorbell going off pulled Taylor from her thoughts, grabbing her backpack and the snacks she was going to bring, she opened the door.
"Are you ready?" Nikki asked neutrally as the door opened. "Are you bringing that?" She questioned, pointing at the food in Taylor's hands.
"...yesss?" She looked at the big bag of cheetos. "Why?"
"I did not think you would be a fan of cheetos. Frankly, I suspected trail mix." Nikki responded. She motioned to the car. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah." She closed the door and locked it. "Kinda? I didn't have any popcorn to bring. Next best thing."
"Fair enough. Do you think we will ever have a sleepover?" Nikki asked, stepping to the side to let Taylor through.
Taylor gave Nikki a look, "Maybe?" Truthfully she wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea. Being able to get away from people seemed better. It also reminded her a bit too much of her time with Emma...
"I've never been to a sleepover before." Nikki mused as Taylor got into her car.
"They're alright."
Nikki shrugged curtly, walking over to the car "Would you like to sit 'shotgun' today?"
"Uh." Taylor gave a slow blink. "Sure?"
As the few times that she had been in the car, it was weird to go from it looking like it was falling apart on the inside to being a… functional vehicle on the inside. Strange.
"You have Joanna's address?"
"Yes. She texted it to me after we exchanged numbers." Nikki started the car and pulled out into the street.
"Oh." Made sense.
Taylor didn't really have much to say; their friendship wasn't one based on similar interests. She didn't think Nikki cared much about Kiss of the Spider Woman or Altered Carbon. Likewise, Taylor didn't really have much to say about art- Nikki seemed good at it, but Taylor didn't know what to say other than it looked pretty or nice.
Though, there was one thing she knew she could always bring up.
"...how have the birds been?" Ever since Nikki had taken her to the park, she had been getting the occasional bird picture from her. It was honestly mostly what she was using her cellphone for.
"Nova has been acting up. Ivan's being trying to woo Tilli. But recently another murder has shown up. They've been territorial." Nikki mentioned. "Been trying to get them to act nice. But it is slow."
"How do you do that? Get another group to be nice to them?"
"Mostly breaking up fights and offering good foods to those that are not acting territorial." Nikki answered. "But it's a slow procedure. Must be some grudges there."
"Don't they peck at you?" Taylor didn't see any beak marks, or what she figured would be beak or claw marks on Nikki. "I thought you aren't supposed to get between animals and food."
"Sometimes. Thick cloves and full sleeves prevent any damage. But my birds are very smart, and they know me. Know how it works." Nikki hummed. "Even if Ivan is a mean one, if he sees good food he'll behave."
"Like french fries?" Taylor's brow furrowed. "What's considered bad, then?"
Nikki seemed to pause. "Nothing… bad. But the regular seed is bland compared to a fried potato." She replied.
"Do you ever worry that you'll make them too reliant on you?"
"No. Because I mostly use it as a treat. Besides, Brockton Bay is a city. A small city, but a city. There will always be bugs or scraps for them to eat." Nikki replied, a smile on her face "Besides. I am not leaving."
"You aren't moving away for college?"
Nikki shook her head. "I do not plan on it. No. Do you?" She returned the question as she came to a redlight.
Taylor bit the corner of her lip as she thought. She always thought she would go to Brockton University, growing up. Times had changed.
"Maybe? If I could? It's expensive." She shook her head. "I don't know if I'll be able to get into anything other than community college. Or what I want to do."
"Where do you want to go?" Nikki asked as she signaled her turn. "You have an idea for what you wanted to major in?"
"I don't. I just…" It was hard to describe the feeling. For so long her goal had been just to endure highschool, not to think about what came after. "I want to see places other than here. Maybe I'll come back." She shrugged. "It's years away."
"Understandable." Nikki hummed. "You read yes?" She asked. "Do you have anything we could possibly read together?"
She blinked slowly at the non-sequitur.
"Uh. Maybe? What did you read growing up?"
"Fiction. I doubt you would recognize anything, it was all in Russian." Nikki answered.
"Nothing by Fyodor Dostoevsky? Leo Tolstoy? Mikhail Bulgakov?"
There was a stretch of silence in the car. Looking in the mirror, Taylor could watch a deep crimson blush spread across Nikki's face despite her flat expression.
"I… have not read any of their books. I admit, I lied." Nikki shifted. "I did not want you to think lesser of me for my actual taste in books, Zane Grey's works."
"Oh." Taylor was flummoxed at the admission. The name didn't sound Russian at all."Um. Whose Zane Grey?"
The blush reached Nikki's ears. "He writes about cowboys." She mumbled under her breath, only loud enough to be heard.
"You like Westerns?"
Nikki shifted in her seat. "It sounded nice. Frontier Justice. The freedom. Self Reliance. It was...interesting to see a world without capes. What it looked like before technology came along as it did. How humans lived in a hostile environment and made it into a home to live in, if not strive in."
"Did you ever read about the arctic expeditions?"
"Heard of them. Yes. Never read admittedly. It is unlikely I will ever end up there, after all. But there was a chance that I moved to Texas, before I came here of course."
Taylor gave Nikki an odd look. "Because cowboys are in Texas."
Nikki's blush went down to her collarbone as she simply nodded in response, her eyes firmly on the road and not making contact with Taylor's through the mirror.
The second-hand embarrassment was real as Taylor turned towards the window.
At some point they had started to enter rich suburbia, the kind that was a step above the white picket fence dream. It was the kind of neighbuorhood the Barnes lived in. Where if there was a gate at the front of the community, it wouldn't look out of place. Well-maintained gardens dotted the yards, the kind that didn't come from someone casually managing them.
When they came to a stop, Taylor had to give the house a second glance.
It was big.
Like properly three stories-type big.
A long drive-way curved across the yard. The plot of land that it sat across was also large; perhaps two of its neighbours' put together? Consequently the house looked like someone had hit the 50% more button compared to the next by lots.
Taylor stared.
Nikki stopped and stared as well. "I knew the Ander family had money, Medhall and the pharmaceutical companies it branches off into being in their ownership, but I did not expect it to be this apparent."
Taylor had to stop herself from giving Nikki an incredulous glance. She was pretty sure the Russian girl came from some kind of money. Who else just handed off a smartphone like it was nothing?
Why are both my friends rich?
"That's Joanna." Nikki motioned as she pulled herself out of the car.
Indeed the girl was at the front door and walking towards them, on her legs, which seemed to be working, even if she was having difficulty walking with wobbly or uncertain steps.
"Well." She asked as she nearly fell against the car, grinning at the two. "How do I look?"
It was genuinely weird to see the girl standing under her own power. Taylor gave a thumbs up, "how's it feel to have tinkertech?"
"Yes. How does it feel." Nikki parroted Taylor's words, her gaze laser focused on Joanna.
"Still numb and can't have kids. But I can shower now and actually get out of bed. So, honestly it's an improvement that I'm quite happy with. We might shell out the cash for a better version in the future, one that's a total replacement of my spine."
"So, how does it work?" Taylor couldn't see any visible tinkertech on Joanna. "Is it an implant or...?"
"Yeah, implant, it's skin level, doesn't touch the muscles. Just stimulates the nerves to make them, you know, move." Joanna motioned to her house. "Hell, I'll show you a bit of it, but I'm not lifting my shirt in the front yard."
"Oh. That doesn't seem too... invasive." Taylor commented as she followed Joanna into her home with Nikki at her heels.
The inside of the house was...surprisingly spartan. The few bits of furniture that decorated it were well worn and equally loved. Bought more for comfort than appearances, some of the furniture didn't even match.
"Oh good. The girls made it." Joanna's mom stood in the kitchen with all the windows open, which faintly smelled of something burnt. "I was going to cook, but frankly I'm far better at grilling. So how do you all like Pizza?"
"Any kind works." Nikki stated. "Can we see the tinkertech now?"
"Yeah?" Joanna blinked. "A cape geek?"
"In the Motherland, having an interest in capes was not a good idea." Nikki stated.
Joanna and her mother shared a look.
"Pizza sounds good." Taylor offered, awkwardly, to break the developing silence. When her speaking drew attention she had to force herself to not huddle inwards. This wasn't Winslow. No one here was going to take issue with her literally talking. "I like pepperoni?"
"Pepperoni sounds good right now, a real american classic." Joanna's Mom nodded.
"Sure I can show you both." Pulling off her shoe, Joanna almost tipped over before she leaned against the wall, she lifted up her pants leg to show incredibly thin strips of metal laced almost into the skin of her calf, not even a seam where the metal ended and the skin began.
Taylor stared at it. I didn't think tinkertech looked so... Bland.
"That's a lot less than I thought it would look."
"It's not exactly meant to be flashy." Joanna stated as she rolled her pant leg down. "After all, we paid good money for it to be more discreet, and it couldn't be so large as to not interfere with me wearing clothes."
"Understandable." Nikki noted as Taylor nodded in agreement.
"So… are you gonna actually kick that guy who keeps staring at you now?" A guy kept staring at Joanna every few minutes at lunch during the last week and kept looking like he was going to say something before cutting himself off. One of the many colourful things Joanna had said involved his butt and her foot.
"That's Theo, he's my cousin, and yes. I will." Joanna nodded.
"Joanna Meadow Anders." Miss Alyssa spoke up as she snapped her phone shut. "Theo does not deserve your ire for being a spineless blob of a boy, he had to grow up under Max and his corporate double talk and I can tell you from experience that living with my brother is colder than a slushball and twice as unpleasant. His sister Anny tho? Yeah kick that shithead's ass as much as you want."
"Yes, mom." Joanna sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Alright, do we want to wait for the pizza to arrive before we start watching movies?"
"What movies do you have?" Taylor had been idly curious about it; whether these were new movies that Joanna wanted to watch or something older.
"Mostly older stuff." Joanna stated.
"Most movies nowadays have capes in them. And most of it is shit because of that." Ms Alyssa stated as she set the phone back on it's charger. "I'm assuming the pool isn't going to be used today?"
Joanna shook her head.
"I'll keep the cover on it then. Alright, you girls have some fun, I'll be up in my office doing some work, so don't blare it at full volume!" She gave the three of them a little wave before making for the-the ramp that unfolded into a set of stairs as Ms Alyssa hit a button by the wall.
Taylor blinked. Looked outside at the still very much early February weather and then back at Joanna. "Pool?" The tone in her voice was that of bafflement.
"Heated indoor pool." Joanna explained starting to walk only for her legs to buckle slightly, causing her to fall against the wall with a curse escaping between clenched teeth. Taylor had barely started to move before she had caught herself.
"Are you well?" Nikki questioned, taking a step towards Joanna before she was waved off. Her eyes never left Joanna.
"Fine. Just-Just an adjustment period for it. Not easy walking after months stuck in a wheelchair." Joanna explained, gingerly pushing herself off the wall. "Look, I'll go set up the DVD player. The long skinny counter?" She pointed to one at the edge of the kitchen area, built into the wall. "It's got junk food in it, pick what you like, okay?"
"Okay." Taylor held up a bag, "I bought cheetos, if you like them. And trail mix."
"Sweet. Thanks-" Joanna stopped. "oh, the game room is where we'll be watching movies. I'll be back to show you to it, if you want to wait?"
"Sure." Taylor… was leery of walking around to new places in the house. The house that she had never been into. It had been a long time since she had been to a new friend's house… actually she couldn't remember the last time. She had known Emma for so long…
Black hair swayed across her vision as she shook her head slightly as she went into the kitchen to see what snacks Joanna had.
"That is an excessive amount of snacks." Nikki noted and Taylor had to agree as they opened the cabinet, revealing shelves full of just junk food, all semi-neatly organized. A shelf for chips, a shelf for chocolates, shelf for hard candies/gums/gummies, and a shelf for snack cakes.
Who eats all of these…
It was a reasonable question; both Joanna and Ms. Alyssa seemed fit. Even with Joanna not being able to walk, she hadn't seemingly gained weight if the photos she'd passed in the hallway were anything to go by. Maybe she had siblings?
"I was browsing some of LimbMaster's available operations." Nikki offered to the open air, pulling Taylor from her musings, even if her voice was a touch lower than usual. "Some interesting options in there."
Green eyes glanced at the Russian in askance.
"But all her work appears different than that." Nikki noted as she picked up a bar of white chocolate. "I think Joanna is using LimbMaster as a cover-up for some Medhall experimental surgery. Or simply a lie to impress us."
Taylor blinked.
"Can't tinkertech do anything? Maybe LimbMaster just made it, uh, differently? Than normal?"
"You saw her in person, right? Did she have anything for sale that resembled that?" Nikki shrugged, the motion jerky. "Just an idle thought, since I browsed her catalog."
"She didn't have anything that subtle…" Taylor hummed as she flipped through some of the snacks before pulling out a bag of swedish fish. "Mostly she had limbs for sale. Whole ones. Not… partial ones like that. It could be something specially made for her?" Her head tilted. "I guess all things would be specially made for each person, though."
Nikki paused. "Discreet is not… Of course… Right. Given the chance, would you use the indoor pool?" She questioned.
"Um. Maybe?"
Nikki hummed flatly, then nodded. Her eyes flicked around the room, never stopping on anything for more than a few seconds.
With that… Nikki-ness out of the way, it wasn't long before Joanna came back to lead them into the game room.
"This way." Joanna beckoned for the two of them and walked down a hall, two french doors were opened to show a large room, with a massive flat-screen television on one end of the room. Several bean bags and one easy-chair were set up around it.
There was even a surround sound system installed too.
"Impressive." Nikki noted.
...Taylor was pretty certain that this room might be worth more money than her dad made in a year.
"So I put Demolition Man in, we can watch that first. I have some Earth Aleph movies if you want more recent non-cape films." Joanna offered
"I am accepting of any movie." Nikki strutted to a beanbag and slowly allowed herself to sink into it. "I want the experience."
"Sure." Taylor didn't really have a preference, per se. As long as it wasn't horror.
Jump scares sucked.
"What all do you have?"
"Action flicks mostly." Joanna answered. "A few horror, and all the holiday stuff."
"I have seen very few American films since I have come here." Nikki stated. "Action films are rare back home."
"Why actions films and not comedy?"
"It is often that American films of action, having them fighting criminals like that who control our homeland." Nikki stated, turning her head to look at Taylor. "Action can inspire, comedy not so much."
"Terrible place. So, Taylor. What movie do you vote for?" Joanna asked.
"Demolition Man? I'd like to look at what you have after, though."
"Oh right. Uh. Yeah. We got time and snack so-" Joanna turned "I was asking what kind of movie, but we can start with action."
"That works."
The giant watched as the girl spent time with the cripple and birdgirl, eating food and watching the illuminated rectangle.
It didn't seem like there was much point to the activity.
Then again, the girl seemed to be far more relaxed than it's previous master had been.
Perhaps there was something to it?
Taylor had a pretty good, if lazy, day.
[] Patrol – Go search for trouble [QA +1]
[] Research Local – Find out what's going on with the cape scene in Brockton Bay
[] Power experimentation – Taylor is going to mess around with her power/prep for exciting part of cape life
[] Preparations – Taylor doing prep work for the boring part of being a cape
Author's note: I LIVE!
Apologies for the long delay; I ended up traveling, catching COVID (unrelated, surprisingly) and just having a terrible time of having free time to match up with my beta/editor.
Anywho, here, have a chapter! It's bigger than normal!
Taylor likes Cheetos. She does not like cleaning them up. Hence why bringing them to someone else's house.