Hymn of Harmony (Worm/Ar Tonelico Crossover Alt Trigger Taylor) (Complete)

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Second Arc 2.6



-February 12, 2011-



-Boardwalk-



Emma and I had arrived at the Boardwalk around 9:30. The bus was on time and everything had gone exactly as planned. We were there in clothes meant for a day out. I was wearing a silvery sweater that lightly clung to my torso with a pair of capris pants finished with a pair black half boots. My coat was the one I bought here with Lisa just last month. Emma was staying away from bright reds and normally shied away from her dressier clothes. Today wasn't exactly an option. She wore a black coat with white fur trim over a green tunic with black leggings and brown leather boots.

"I hate my power sometimes..." She grumbled as she liked the clothes she was wearing. Until we figured out where her power was storing her normal outfits she was stuck.

"Emma...your combined abilities make Armsmaster wary of you." I made sure no one was listening in, but this was a discussion we've had before. She perked up a bit at hearing that which wasn't actually the point. She was one of the bull shit grab bag capes.

"I know I know...it just means that...uhhh...what am I hearing?" She sounded befuddled and I couldn't blame her. That hushed melody was back. I hadn't heard it since that day at school.

Data Recorded...

Action: Countermeasures active

The hushed melody was replaced by the Mission Impossible theme. I rubbed the bridge of my nose as Emma groaned softly. Apparently when my detection updated it did the same for her. Goody. I cast my gaze about casually before homing in on the melody's location and continuing to look. Emma wasn't quite as casual. It was a good thing that the Boardwalk was only just starting to fill up or someone might have seen a faint blur and heard a yelp of alarm.

Emma came back with her hand on the shoulder of a familiar black girl who was trying to squirm away.

Aisha Laborn smiled at me even as she tried to escape her captor. I looked at my redheaded friend and she had the gall to tilt her head to the side like she didn't know what was wrong.

"Uhhh...could ya tell your bodyguard to let up? I'm not gonna do anything." She held her hands up defensively. I nodded and Emma let her go.

"That was really stupid, Aisha." I told her mildly.

"No one else can find me, but somehow you two can. That makes you interesting." Aisha said with a grin. "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on somebody, but that's blown since you spotted me." She went to leave, but Emma was faster and had her shoulder again. "What now?" She sounded aggrieved.

"Who were you following?" Emma asked with a weird note in her voice. I glanced quickly to check her eyes, but the illusion was still over them. A familiar melody approached and I was already smiling as I turned to greet her.

"She's following me actually." Lisa said with a grin. Aisha gulped and Emma looked Lisa over. Apparently dressing up was the rule of the day. Aisha was dressed nicely instead of trashy that did everything to enhance what she had. My friend Lisa was dressed similarly to me. I greeted her with a hug that she returned.

"So what do we do with her?" Emma asked. Aisha tried to appear winsome which didn't fool anyone for a second.

"We keep her with us. She's supposed to be following me? She can follow me, but if she gives us too much trouble...Well cameras can still see her." Lisa turned to Aisha.

"I'll be on my best behavior!" The shorter girl saluted sharply. Why did her melody suddenly switch to Metal Gear Solid? The blonde just grinned and consented to being pulled along under my arm. "Do they do that a lot?" Aisha asked Emma.

"I've seen them together. This isn't even the worst of it." Emma commented causing the younger girl to cackle. Honest to god cackle.

"Taylor! Taylor! Hey!" A missile impacted with my gut and I stumbled briefly before recognizing Missy.

"Hey Missy!" I hugged her back and she let me regain my balance. "This is Lisa and her friend Aisha." I introduced the two.

"Well she's my brother's friend, but I guess she's okay." Aisha grinned. Missy was staring at her chest and then at her own. She muttered something that sounded like 'so unfair' but we politely ignored that. Oh I'm sorry, I forgot we had Aisha here. "Relax. They'll come in eventually." She slapped Missy on the back.

"This is actually going to be hilarious to watch. Aisha is a force of nature." Lisa smirked and I chuckled. I was determined that we were going to just enjoy today. We just had to wait for Victoria and Panacea. Speak of the devil and she appeared from the sky. Literally. She carried Amy and set her down. Amy's melody was much healthier. Vicky's aura was still there, but was much smoother. More controlled. Which promptly went out the window when she saw us, but I was ready.

"Ladies! Great to see ya!" She started doling out hugs. Even to Missy and Aisha. Okay that hitch in Missy's melody was hilarious. Amy trailed behind with a fond smile that reached her eyes. Emma just hugged her back. Hard. Glory Girl was laughing as they apparently tried to out hug one another. Thankfully two Brutes in a hugging contest doesn't really look like power usage.

"Let off Super Barbie!" Aisha yelped before stumbling back after being released. "Is she always so...so..." She gestured vaguely. Amy, Missy, and myself all nodded. Lisa was laughing at the expressions.

"Where to first?" I asked and the day started. We spent the rest of the morning mostly window shopping and trying on clothes. Some of us got along better with others. Emma was riding herd on Aisha, but she was on her best behavior. She knew that Emma and I were heroes as were Vicky and Amy.

Vicky and Amy were known around the Boardwalk as members of New Wave. It said a lot for their character that they refused preferential treatment. We still drew quite a few stares around the area. It probably had something to do with so many pretty girls in one place. I hadn't felt so relaxed in days. We found a lot to talk about actually. The more interesting duo was Amy walking with Emma.

"It's hard to come out." Emma said to Amy. She nodded.

"We've been keeping it quiet, but it's like a weight has been lifted." The brunette replied. "It was more embarrassing talking to Vicky about it." She confessed. Emma sighed.

"I told Taylor how I feel, but I know that won't go anywhere. That was my fault. At least you didn't ruin things with your sister." Emma smiled and Amy smiled back. Their melodies skipping a few beats together.

"Listening in on private conversations?" Lisa asked with a grin. I smirked back at her. That wasn't a private conversation. Not really. Missy and Aisha were up ahead giggling about something. That was turning into a fast friendship. Two bright and cheery melodies gamboling like a kitten and a puppy. A blaring trumpet approached and Victoria bounced over to us.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" She beamed at us before promptly linking arms.

"Just thinking that this was exactly what we needed." I said with a grin. She hummed happily and Lisa giggled.

"I haven't had a day out like this in ages. There's always someone who wants to know what I'm up to." Lisa griped.

"None of that. Today is just about us. Who's hungry?" We decided to head over to Fugly Bobs for lunch.

Fugly Bob's wasn't exactly fine dining, but it was greasy and delicious. We commandeered a booth and stuffed as many of us into it as possible. Missy, Aisha, and Amy sat with Victoria. While I sat with Lisa and Emma.

"I'm ordering the challenge." Victoria said. "I can't win it again, but it's the only thing that fills me up here." She shrugged.

"I'm going for it."I said and Emma agreed. The looks we got were pretty funny.

"I've seen how much they can eat. It's...scary." Missy shuddered in mock fear and Aisha grinned.

"That bad huh?" She teased.

"Like lions on gazelle." Missy replied.

"I still have no idea where she puts it all." Lisa said which somehow set Aisha off laughing again.

"They use a lot of calories probably." Amy commented. Emma beamed at her.

"Exactly. We need all the food we can get."

We left the restaurant about an hour later. Fugly Bob's had two more pictures up on the wall and two more unable to win again. Maybe we overdid it a bit? The day was going well. Victoria took on the role of event planner without our even knowing. She pointed at a large building.

"Who wants to do karaoke?" She asked even as she walked towards the building. We followed after her. I'd never done karaoke before and was curious to see what it was like. Emma wasn't as confused.

"That's a good idea." Lisa spoke up. "I'm sure there are some beautiful voices here." She grinned. Victoria went up to the Asian man at the counter and we were given a room. She apparently came here often as she lead us to a room all the way at the end of the hall.

"Vicky..." Amy started to say as we headed into the room, "He waved us through..." She seemed a bit uncomfortable. Victoria put her arm around her shoulders.

"I come in here all the time and it's good for business. The room is free, but we pay for any food or drinks. I'm not a total freeloader." She said in a joking tone. Amy relaxed.

I took in the room and it was interesting. A wraparound couch sat in the center with a large screen dominating the wall. Speakers were placed at strategic locations and what looked like a disc changer was connected to the screen. Vicky and Emma immediately went to check the system over.

"So how do we do this?" I asked curiously.

"You pick a song from the book, put in the number over there..." Amy pointed at a small console, "And then just sing your song. It can be a lot of fun." She said before heading over to find her own song. The songs were selected. I sat back on the couch to watch how it was done first. Lisa sat down and leaned against me.

"We don't see each other enough." She said. We could speak out loud since the music was pretty distracting. The others noticed us sitting together, but were giving us space. Emma was seated pretty close to Amy and apparently discussing a duet.

"No we don't. How have you been?" I asked. Her melody was tired and there seemed to be a thread of pain somewhere. I put my arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze. She sighed softly.

"My head hurts and I almost didn't make it..." She admits tiredly. "I just didn't want to call off." A yawn escaped her and the weariness settled in on her. The loud music wasn't helping her headache. I thought about it for a minute. She was close enough to me I figured. I hummed a soft tune. The same tune that removed my soreness almost a month ago. I threaded it through her melody and her Shard pinged mine. She visibly relaxed.

"I won't ask how you did that..." She said with relief. I exhaled slowly and took a few steadying breaths. She looked at me in concern, "That was tiring for you. Never did that before. Only for yourself, but no one else." Her eyes widened fractionally, but she schooled her expression.

"Hey lovebirds! Ready to find a song or just gonna keep gazing at each other?" Vicky called out. We abruptly realized that our foreheads were almost touching and we sprang apart. The teasing laughter made me blush, but their melodies told me it was from genuine humor. Lisa grabbed the song book and put in her selection. I wasn't sure what to sing, but then I found what I wanted.

We all took a several turns. I found a love of singing that I didn't know existed. I know Reyvateils sing, but I hadn't felt the urge. Emma was nearly as good as me. Somehow Victoria beat us both. We had a parahuman singing ability. I would have pouted if Lisa hadn't soothed my ego. Even if her smile told me just how amused she was.

My smartphone suddenly buzzed as did Missy's and Emma's. Victoria and Amy were also checking their phones. Lisa looked at Aisha. The Mission Impossible theme played again and she was gone.

"Where did...? Wasn't there someone else here...?" Victoria shook her head, "Never mind. We have to go. Something is happening out on the Boardwalk. You had better get to safety." She told us before rushing out. Amy hurried out after her sister.

"Let's get out of here." I said. It looked like our day was over. Missy sighed and nodded. The message I got warned of gang activity on the Boardwalk. ABB and E88. It was just normal humans, but Glory Girl and Panacea would help towards keeping order.

Emma took point with Missy walking with Lisa and myself. Aisha was somewhere nearby as I could hear her melody. I would have time to facepalm later. The man at the counter had locked the back door before ushering us out the front. There were no signs of activity out front which was good. I let my awareness expand and heard the melodies all around us. Frightened, confused, but also angry and malevolent. The hostile ones were approaching.

"Don't go that way. Follow me." Aisha suddenly popped up and guided us across the Boardwalk. "Keep heading down that way. I didn't see anybody." Her melody had switched to the Pink Panther as she vanished again. Seriously melody? Pick a tune and stick to it!

"She's a..." Missy said and I hushed her. She nodded sharply. A look at Lisa and she nodded again. We were all on board. Emma took point again as we rushed down the lane Aisha indicated. The malevolent ones were still around us, but no longer closing in as fast.

"Stop!" Lisa suddenly called out as we entered a wide area behind the buildings. It didn't look overtly threatening. All that was there was a guy in a brown trench coat. He looked up from under his brown fedora and stared at us through black goggles. His outfit under the trench coat was also pure black latex with leather belts cross over his torso and wrapped around his abdomen.

"I didn't even notice him there..." Emma murmured. This was very bad. Parahuman at the least and one the PRT didn't know about. Lisa narrowed her eyes.

"Don't let him hit you. Something is off about him. He's...very strong..." She warned. Instead of fighting we turned to run, but the sight only confirmed what I'd sensed. The malevolent melodies were there. Merchants? This was ABB and E88 right?

"Must have come out to pick over what was left..." Missy muttered in annoyance. All of us were nervous, but still ready to fight.

"They were planning on showing off their new cape." Lisa said grimly.

"Bunch of pretty little things...not what I was after...but still could be fun..." The cape rasped. "Call me Smack." He suddenly hurtled forward leaving indentations in the pavement only to be intercepted by Emma's barrier. His fist shattered it like glass, but it bought her time to slam her fist into his torso. Her fist sunk into his body and he hurtled away only to wriggle strangely in the air and land on all fours.

The rest of the thugs were moving towards us. Our heavy hitter was engaged, but we were more than a match for these guys. Twelve of them and...a loud zap near the back was heard and there was eleven...zap again? Aisha's melody had gone back to Metal Gear Solid. The thugs were starting to panic which made subduing them easier.

Still Aisha accounted for four of them herself. That is no mean feat. My thoughts were derailed by Emma suddenly slamming through the metal fence of the lot we were in. She pulled herself up and her clothes became Despedia's outfit before blasting forward again and rapidly hammering the villain. I almost threw up when his head started spinning around from the repeated blows to the face.

"Oh shit...she killed him...!" Missy was in a panic before the guy's spun back around with a sound like a rubber band snapping. Oh hell.

"This is no good. Brute/Breaker combo with no downside I can see." Lisa concluded grimly. If Emma used her claws she could get the upper hand because her speed was so much greater, but she would easily kill him. Unless he had some other weird power in his arsenal. Smack swung his fist up and whipped it down hard enough to shear the packed dirt of the lot. His strike was aimed at Missy, but Glory Girl appeared and took the blow instead. It broke her invulnerability and sent her careening away.

There was a zap, but the enemy cape remained standing. Sorry, Aisha, but I think he's made of rubber or something. Lisa grimaced.

"Let's get out of here. We can't help." Lisa said dispiritedly. If we ran then Emma and Vicky could withdraw. We had waited too long. There were more Merchants fencing us in. I groaned. At this rate we would have to reveal our powers too. That was when the black smoke started to pour out. I stared at Lisa for a moment, but she had a smile like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

The effect was immediate. The smoke billowed over the thugs and us cutting my range down considerably, but the alternative was worse. I stayed with Missy and Lisa, making sure we were together. The malevolent melodies were now sleeping. Probably due to concussions. The smoke faded and I could suddenly hear screaming. I spun to look and saw the Merchant cape, Smack, with a crossbow bolt sticking out of his back. He eventually fell silent. His melody was quieter, but alive.

"Not used to pain anymore. His power...his power removed his pain tolerance..." Lisa said softly. I looked again and realized it was a tranq bolt. Wait...crossbow...? I suddenly looked over and saw Shadow Stalker facing Despedia. Her melody was less hostile. Less vile feeling. Her beat was strong. No one had told me that she escaped, but I was actually glad to see her. Emma was a mess. Her regeneration was taking care of the worst of it, but it didn't hide the damage she took. Walking towards us was a figure in biker leathers wearing a motorcycle helmet with a skull face design. Grue of the Undersiders.

"You girls okay?" He asked. While his voice was disguised I still knew who it was, but didn't say anything.

"We're fine. Thanks for helping." Lisa spoke up. Missy was looking annoyed and I couldn't blame her. We were just saved by villains. "We better get going..." The blonde said and started to pull us away. We followed her with Despedia staying back with them. Her melody telling me that she was guarding our back and wanting to reconnect. Sophia was her friend after all.

Aisha popped back up from time to time to steer us away from danger. She was fairly subdued each time she appeared. When we were safely away from the trouble she tried to slink off and I grabbed her. She resisted hard, but I'm not weak. I pulled her back and hugged her tight. She abruptly reappeared looking miserable.

"I fucked up...I really fucked up..." She muttered, but didn't try to escape again. I might not be Brute level, but I am stronger than I look.

"Did you deliberately lead us to that guy?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"No I didn't. They weren't there when I scouted through it before." She insisted. Missy patted her on the back.

"We believe you. Now stop moping. There's gotta be something else we can do to salvage today." Missy said and I grinned. Lisa nodded.

"Well I'm hungry. Lets get dinner." She suggested.

"Sounds great. I'm starving." Emma commented as she approached wearing the outfit she put on today. She grinned. "I had a breakthrough." Okay so getting your clothes back might not sound like much, but it was the little things.

"Where are we going now?" Vicky asked as she dropped in with Amy. The gang was all back together. If anything it felt our melodies were even closer together.

"Well there's great little Thai place..." I suggested. The part that concerned me in all of this was the question of did the PRT even know Shadow Stalker escaped? I would find out, but not today. Today I was having Thai.

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Interlude: Behind the Tinkering



-Shurelia & Mir-





"What a strange time." Shurelia mused as she went about her duties. The silverette was greatly relieved to have stopped stumbling so often. Now if she tripped it was because there was something to trip over. That was an achievement. Casty had helped a lot. She smiled softly as she thought about her friend. Though they were far apart physically they still met in the Binary Field.

"Ah...Lady Shurelia!" A man dressed in white armor approached. "There is a message from Lady Mir." He reported.

"Thank you, Sir Albert. You may go." She smiled gratefully with a hint of mischief. Mir's reaction to being called "Lady Mir" had been priceless. She made her way back to her office and sat down before the terminal. Aria's communication program had been helpful actually. It wasn't as much of an inconvenience for her to go to the Binary Field, but this was definitely easier. Her friend was looking both disturbed and excited. An interesting combination of expressions.

"There you are. Did you get lost again?" Mir snarked. Shurelia took a sip of her tea and sat back.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Shurelia asked in her best snooty tone. The two stared at one another for several moments before they both cracked a smile.

"Taylor was speaking to Cocona the other day and sent over a list of what she's built already." The dark haired Reyvateil said. Her friend arched an eyebrow.

"She certainly is working hard..." Shurelia commented in mixed interest and concern.

"Yeah, Cocona had a talk with her about burning herself out." Mir said with a smirk. They both chuckled over that one telling anyone to relax. "I'll send you the list. Try not to be too surprised." She sent the file over and Shurelia looked it over. Linkage suit...ELMA unit...power armor?

"She turned an ELMA into a power suit. Not too unbelievable. Still impressive." She idly looked over the list, "Medical Scanner. They have a tech base to support all this? Though I wonder how they would power all of it..." Some of these items would be fairly simple to them, but Earth Bet supposedly didn't have the kind of power units.

"I'm sending over the answer to that." Her look was proud, chagrined, and baffled. Interesting combination. She looked over the new file and stopped dead.

"Is that...is that the "Ar Tonelico?" Lyner created...?" She muttered in mixed disbelief and shock. "How did she even get that design!?" Her voice steadily rose to a squeak before her eyes narrowed.

"Before you flay that dumb beast alive just look it over." Mir suggested even if the look of amusement wasn't doing her mood any wonders. Shurelia blinked a few times.

The original design created a bomb. A stupidly powerful bomb that annihilated completely an area large enough that there was no way to escape it. Unless you were watching from a great distance. Lyner never used it because of the stupid way it was designed. Powerful, yes, but had to be activated within spitting distance of the target. Push a switch and throw. If what she was reading was correct then Taylor took a bomb and made it into a power source. Sol Reactor. Then she went and upgraded the design further into Sol Reactor II.

"This is..." Shurelia was still processing. Mir took pity on her and sent her a commiserating look.

"I know, Shurelia. I know. I was a bit crazy when I saw that...Though I do have to ask what your boy toy was thinking." She shook her head slowly. "Sending her the designs for a bomb like that?" Shurelia nodded and opened a new chat window. Now that she was calmer she wouldn't be tempted to say some of the things she'd planned.

"Hey Shurelia! What's going on?" The sunny blonde hair and blue eyes of Lyner, Shurelia's guardian knight, came up. His smile was bright as he gazed at her. She loved him dearly, but even now sometimes he just didn't think.

"Lyner...did you send your designs to Taylor?" Shurelia asked. He shook his head slowly.

"No...no I didn't. Though a couple months ago it looked like you were making a compilation of crafting. I stuck a few of my designs in to be helpful." He sounded so earnest that the silverette slumped. "Was I wrong?"

"Actually...those were being sent to Taylor to help her get started. A few ideas to protect herself. We weren't even sure if any of our energy production plants would have helped her. With the differences..." She cut herself off. Reiterating that wouldn't help. "You sent her THOSE plans." She added emphasis to that. He blinked.

"Her world is being overrun by gigantic killing machines that resemble twisted versions of Earth Bet's myths. I would think a big bomb would help." He stated reasonably. The sad thing was that on one hand he was right, but on the other he was wrong.

"Unfortunately her world doesn't exactly operate with that logic in mind." Shurelia said sadly.

"They would look at a weapon of Endbringer destruction and worry she would turn it on them." Mir concluded. Similarly frustrated. Overwhelming firepower works. You can't solve an apocalypse without planning and really big explosions. It worked for the people of Ar Ciel.

"But isn't she a hero?" Lyner asked in confusion. "Earth Bet...makes no sense..." He rubbed his forehead. "Well as long as she doesn't build the bomb...She did?" He clearly dreaded the answer.

"And turned it into a power supply. A vastly more efficient power supply than her world currently possesses. We can chalk this up in the "win" column, but now I'm afraid of what else you sent her designs for." Shurelia admitted. Mir was also plainly curious.

"Funbuns." He stated simply. There was almost a sound of some crazy music starting to play. Shurelia and Mir just stared at the oblivious male in dull surprise.





-Cocona & Sasha-



The blue-black haired Reyvateil wandered into the shop like she had hundreds of times before. Mir was apparently venting her spleen about the Ar Tunelico. She called it "Ar Tonelico?" while somehow pronouncing the question mark. Made about as much sense as "Nyo? Guts" anyway. She shook her head and put it to the back of her mind. Her taste in clothing had become more conservative. An indigo halter top and black jeans with black sandals.

The girl she was there to see was nowhere in sight, but the sound of clanking coming from the backroom workshop called to her. Sasha is one of the most brilliant people she knows. It always had her curious what she would be like as a Reyvateil. Somehow the idea that she might be one in secret had got on the boards and it completely exploded. Speculations abounded with even one strange person, Baun or something, claiming she was secretly a Will.

Considering that Cocona knew her personally it didn't seem that far fetched. Her friend was seated at her workbench wearing thick shatter proof goggles with implements of her trade in each hand. The device sitting in front of her was taking definite shape into a something. Which was apparently destined to go into the other something on the far end of the workshop. It was massive in construction. Nothing fragile about this thing at all. It had an arch built into it connected to a metal arched door.

"Close the door, Cocona. Too much outside light." Sasha's voice was pleasant. Her hair was soft brown and fell to her shoulders. She was wearing a salmon pink kimono top with shorts underneath and sandals. An apron was placed over the whole ensemble. Her hair was currently pulled up in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Cocona shut the door and the ambient lighting dropped except over the work station.

"Hey Sasha. Have you eaten yet today?" This was a normal occurrence. Cocona was absolutely certain that Sasha would miss meals, but she never did. Then again Cloche stopped in from time to time so it averaged out. They had both come back to their homes after reviving Ar Ciel. Cocona had promised Croix she would come back and Sasha wanted to get back to her amusements. Inventing was fun for her and too many people knew where she was.

"I ate this morning." She gestures vaguely at a warming oven, "And I have our lunch there. Dinner is in a slow cooker in the shop." Cocona blushed. Sasha was as prepared as ever. "That wasn't actually what I called you over here for." The Reyvateil shrugged and followed her friend over to where the odd device was.

"I'll bite...what is it?" Cocona asked curiously. Sasha pulled her goggles up on her forehead.

"Well with a stable power source it would be a dimensional door." She stated that so casually it took the other girl a moment before her brain processed.

"One thing I have to say to that, Sasha. Bullshit." The dark haired girl said flatly. Sasha smiled so brightly that it almost distracted her from noticing the look of pure mischief in her eyes.

"But it's not. We have proven that interdimensional transfer of energy is possible. Information as well. The people of Ra Ciela proved that it's possible." Sasha said in an excited tone.

"Didn't they cannibalize a moon to power that?" She wasn't sure if she was remembering all the details, but there was definitely a moon involved in powering that.

"That was thousands of years ago! The technology had advanced so far and the research with it! I've been talking to Shurelia's friend, Casty, and we've worked out the major sticking points. It just...it still needs a lot of power..." She deflated gradually. Cocona sighed before pulling out a small terminal and transferring the data for the Sol Reactor II. Sasha tilted her head curiously, but checked what was sent.

"Uhhh...Cocona...? Did Taylor build this?" She sounded more excited. "It's amazing! I can totally see how this would work!" Sasha bounced on her feet before giving Cocona a pneumatic glomp that knocked her off her feet.

"Ack! Sasha!" Cocona flailed, but Sasha was a deceptively small girl that due to long hours of work was solid. She nuzzled at Cocona happily lost in blissful thoughts of construction. She suddenly bounced back to her feet and turned back to her supplies. The flustered girl slowly stood up.

"Give me some time and I could have my own built. Some of the materials are a bit exotic, but I can think up substitutions if worst comes to worst." She chirped and twittered happily.

"Why would you make something like this?" Cocona asked in bewilderment. "How often could it be used?" Sasha hummed in thought.

"For you silly. You heard about the situation Earth Bet was in and wanted to help. It also helps that Taylor is there." She smirked. It was an expression at odds with her normal countenance, but somehow fit. The dark haired Reyvateil shook her head rapidly.

"It's not like that!" She protested only for Sasha to start laughing, but let her off the hook.

"One way trip unless another one is built on the other side. I can send the designs with you, but the materials wouldn't survive the trip. You have that interface layer, but it would literally be impossible to send things across like that." Sasha said.

"Would...would I show up..." Cocona squirmed uncomfortably, "Naked...?" Sasha shrugged.

"You could try clothes, but I don't think you want to be wearing an existential failure." Sasha commented absently and Cocona turned green.

"Hmmm...me on Earth Bet..." She had wanted to go there when she heard about it. A pioneer to another world? The thought was exciting. The fact that the girl who made all of this possible was there had little to do with it...



-February 12, 2011-



-Undersiders-



The positive PR from having the Undersiders save a group of girls from the Merchants was good. It took them out of straight villain to principled thieves. Lisa was trying to think of the positives even thought she was annoyed at them showing up. She was having a day off. Okay so she was surrounded by heroes, but Taylor had been there. The one person she could be herself around. Her initial annoyance had been arriving at the Boardwalk with Taylor and Emma holding Aisha. That was quickly overshadowed by her understanding. Her power fed her the details. Brian was concerned and his little sister was concerned as well. This killed two birds with one stone.

They both wanted her safe. That was a warm feeling. She had started letting down her walls with the other Undersiders and what a change it made. Alec was even opening up more. That probably had more to do with Aisha, or Imp, keeping him on his toes. He was a trickster and she was a prankster. It didn't look to be anything yet, but the seeds were there.

The biggest surprise had been when they were in danger from that new Merchant cape, Smack, that Grue and Shadow Stalker showed up. They had started out wary of one another. He a villain and her a former hero. The strange thing was their powers interacted with each other which just made them more uncomfortable. However, there was no denying their synergy.

Rachel was less on the outside now. It helped that Sophia had revealed a love of dogs. The tough as nails vigilante was a dog lover. Lisa knew the source of Sophia's change. She knew the source of their changes. Her name was Aria. Her Taylor wasn't a parahuman Mother Theresa, but somehow she just smoothed the connections between people. Her power fed her the information that Communication and Harmony were principle in how Taylor's power operated.

She leaned back on the couch as she watched the various interactions. Alec and Aisha were playing something that involved lots of explosions and mad laughter. Brian and Sophia were just now coming upstairs from sparring. They grabbed some water and sat on the couch to watch the goings on. The nicest surprise was Rachel seated in the middle of the living room grooming her dogs instead of off in a corner.

"What's got you smilin'?" Sophia asked with a smirk. Lisa thought about that for a minute. Her power fed her the answer to her conundrum, but inner nervousness took over. She knew they wouldn't react badly to what she said. Alec would tease her and Aisha would make some innuendo laced comments. Brian would just about melt and Sophia would be surprised. Rachel was somehow the one area she was confused over. Her power was giving her several answer with equal chances of happening.

"I'm just thinking...I'm glad to be here. With you guys." If being around Taylor taught her anything it was to just go for it. Fear was the mind killer. It was also the soul killer.

"She went and gone soft on us." Alec laughed, but his expression became a little less guarded. More than yesterday.

"Hmmm...probably thinkin' 'bout a certain someone." Aisha teased, but the honest affection in her eyes surprised her. She can't call them all.

"We're glad to have you here too." Brian patted Lisa on the leg. He was becoming more open as well. Casual touches and pats with the others.

"Uhhh...where'd that come from? Uhm...yeah. Likewise." Sophia rubbed the back of her neck in a strangely innocent gesture.

"You're pack." Rachel stated flatly. Coming from her that was a full blown case of the warm and fuzzies. Lisa abruptly felt tears in her eyes, but didn't stop them. Hers weren't the only dry eyes, but no one laughed. There were smiles.

Maybe she was wrong about them. When she had told Coil they wouldn't survive it was because of what her powers told her logically. The heart though was never completely rational.





-In a quiet house in the suburbs-



-Friday-



Coil grit his teeth angrily. It wasn't often that something made him this furious, but this would not do at all. He swallowed more painkillers to relieve the terrible headache he had. The idea had been a simple one. A good one. The best kind of plans were the ones with as few variables as possible. He would sit in his base in one timeline while in the other timeline he would go into work and see Aria first hand.

The girl had seen him and almost immediately collapsed from what was apparently a Thinker headache. A truly terrible one. He considered his options. This was the disposable timeline so he was curious to see if he could just take her out of the building. Use the back ways. No one would stop him. Once he convinced her that it was better to work for him she would be sent home. The girl wasn't stupid, but her emotion based powers were easy to control.

He had her best friend after all. He knew that Aria and his little Tattletale shared messages. They even got together a few times. He also knew where her father worked. You strike an empath through the heart.

The problem occurred when he grabbed her arm. There was a horrific wrenching sensation as his safe timeline collapsed. He tried to split off another immediately and the response was even more swift and vicious. He had more experience controlling his reactions than the child and dragged her to the infirmary. They exchanged words, but in the haze of pain he had no idea what was said.

He called for a driver to take him back to his home and laid on his sofa. Too exhausted and in pain to move. He was forced to call his personal doctor from the base to come and administer something. It was galling that he was forced to resort to that. He normally would have shot anyone who saw his face, but he did not feel like trying to explain the mess.

Somehow he managed to sleep, but woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling like his skull was splitting in two. He took more medicine than was probably good for him and tried to relax. To meditate. It was how he survived after Nillbog. He trained himself mentally and physically. Focus on short term, easily attainable goals, and the rest would follow. He lived by that philosophy. Though he had one question. Why had his dream been so strange?


He thought seriously about his current problem. More resources were being bled out of him while Aria's were still growing. He had to do something to tip the balance once more. The time had come for war. His timetables could be accelerated. He was done being the organ grinder's monkey. They would feel the grip of Coil!

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Third Arc 3.1



-February 26, 2011-



-PRT HQ-



The rest of the month had passed quietly. Well relatively. I had no other things suddenly spring out at me. Emma was embarrassed at getting her rear handed to her by a super powered junkie, but he was pretty unique. We found out that Smack is in fact a Striker/Breaker combo. No Brute. He builds up power in his rubbery body and uses that to deliver devastating blows. The more you hit him the more of a charge he builds up. His triggering came with the drawback that his pain tolerance was gone. He went to the Merchants for things to ease the pain.

I almost felt sorry for him, but the fact that he was a sadist before changing cured me of that. He had a fairly extensive rap sheet. Emma felt a bit better at finding out that his power was uniquely suited to countering Brutes. Her claws would have completely shredded him, but she didn't want to kill him. That looked good to the review board that was overlooking her case. Personally I thought it was hypocritical. They would rather she be severely injured, or dead, rather than use her claws to save her life.

I was annoyed though. My quiet month would have gone so much better if I could have seen Lisa more, but she was busy. It was something we didn't actually talk about, but we knew. The Undersiders had been more active recently. Stealing from the villains and leaving some of the take with the needy. Someone was apparently also doing PR management. They continued to look better in the eyes of the people and the gangs really wanted their heads now. Their lineup had expanded with the inclusion of Imp and Shadow Stalker.

Shadow Stalker. That to me was a complicated issue. On the one hand I couldn't forget the torment she had put me through, but on the other she was apparently turning over a new leaf. The tranq bolts made more of an appearance than her usual lethal tips. Emma apparently kept in contact with her somehow, but didn't tell me how. I'd help her, but she wanted me to have plausible deniability.

All of these thoughts were just a distraction as I awaited the verdict. My armor was completed as was the miniaturized Sol Reactor Mk II that powered it. The Sol Reactor Mk II mass produced model had also been put up for review. The test type ELMA MP was supposed to be looked at by now as well. I was just sitting in my lab with Emma and Kid Win while I waited for Dragon to call me.

"Easy Aria. You'll wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that." Kid Win warned. "I have no idea why they took so long to approve these, but they're good inventions."

"I know that, you know that, they know that, but who said bureaucracy makes sense?" I asked. My hands were gesturing purely for effect. I wasn't frustrated at all. Despedia suddenly grabbed me and sat me in her lap. Okay I might have squeaked.

"Bureaucracy makes no sense? Totally. Getting worked up isn't helping anything." She said soothingly. Kid Win rubbed my back and I just let the warm support wash over me. I still hadn't put my plan in to motion to get to know the other Wards. When this didn't weigh on me anymore I would put it into action.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Dragon's voice spoke up and we jumped. Emma tightened her grip just a little and I squeaked again, but more breathlessly. She abruptly released me and I fell on my rear. Dragon laughed lightly, but if she was in a good mood then that was good. Right?

"We were about to sit on her to keep her still." Despedia commented. Kid Win snickered and I just rolled my eyes, but I didn't move. Kid Win patted my hair and I purred. Don't judge me!

"Good news. Your ELMA Linkage has been approved. You can take it out on patrol." She said cheerfully. I hadn't been allowed out on patrol because I had made myself a high value Tinker. This changed things. "Your Sol Reactor Mk I is in development as is the Mk II. Your miniaturized Mk II for your armor was approved." By this point I was almost vibrating with only Kid Win's hand on my head keeping me from leaping to my feet. "The ELMA MP armor was determined to be...green lighted."

Chris almost flew off his chair as I bounced to my feet and squealed. Emma was also cheering at the news. I grabbed Kid Win in a celebratory dance and we whirled until we crashed into Despedia. All three of us fell to the floor laughing. Dragon's laughter carried over and I grinned in relief. I didn't think they would go for it, but they did.

"I asked them to hold off on officially telling you about the success of the others until they had finished with the MP armor. In case it didn't go through I wanted you to at least have some good news. The test pilot said that it moved like a dream and followed his commands." She informed me. Good idea really. Save the good news to make the bad more easily swallowed. The fact that there was no bad news? Excellent.

"So they can add me to the patrol roster?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes you can. It also means Despedia will be going with you." We both squealed at that. Being able to really help the city was something we wanted.

"Hey put on your armor and come to the Wards room. They should get to see it." Kid Win suggested and I was already moving towards the white and gold ELMA sitting in the corner. The ELMA MP was in SWAT black with the PRT logo.

I activated the unit and it bounded over to me like an eager dog. I patted the smooth metal head before rubbing my thumb along the inside of my palm. A soft whir and click was heard as the machine unfolded. I stepped into the boots and rubbed my thumb along my palm again. The armor unfolded from the floor and up my body slowly enough that I could slip my hands into the arms of the armor. There was a click and a hiss as everything sealed. The helmet came down over my head. The appearance of the armor made it look like my hair was flowing out the back of the helmet, but that was false. It was actually a series of fiber optic "hairs" that connected into the sensor network.

"Okay...that is freakin' awesome..." Emma breathed as I tested my range of motion. A few punches and kicks showed that it didn't interfere with my movements. The anti-grav didn't just let me fly, but also let me far more agile in my armor than normal.

"That looks really good. When you asked me to do the back unit's connector module I wasn't expecting it to all come together like that." Kid Win commented. I didn't want the back unit to be built in, but able to be exchanged. I used my own armor as a test bed for what went into the MP armor. If I wouldn't trust it to protect me than how could I trust it to protect anyone else?

"How does it feel?" Dragons asked.

"It feels great. Like I'm not wearing it at all." I chirped. I amused myself by hovering a short distance off the ground and charging in to grab Emma in a pneumatic hug of my own. She let out an eep, but laughed as we spun around in the air.

"Okay! Stop the horseplay. That is not a toy. I understand you're excited, but be careful. If Despedia wasn't as durable as she is..." Dragon scolded me and I shuffled my feet. That was why I flew at her after all. Kid Win patted my metal shoulder.

"I also have sensors in the gauntlets to tell me how much force I'm exerting." For my armor the fingers looked like simple gloves, but they weren't. The metal weave that made up the armored gloves was marginally less durable than the rest of the armor, but it would have been impractical to use more. I could stiffen my fingers and put them through concrete.

"Go show off, but be ready to go on your debut patrol this afternoon." Dragon warned. Apparently they had planned ahead without telling me. Sneaky.

We left my lab and it was a very different sensation. My HUD kept track of everything within range as well as amplifying my natural ability to sense melodies. Everything was richer and more vibrant. I could feel the suit connect to me in ways that were unreal. It felt less like a suit of armor and more like a natural extension of myself. Linkage was designed to improve connectivity between the Origin and their Tower. My Linkage was designed with that same thought in mind. The black box in my armor's hardware was assumed to be straight Tinker tech. No one knew what it's true purpose was.

"That armor makes you even taller." Emma commented as we walked. "What's it like?" She asked.

"It feels like an extension of myself." I told them the truth.

"Here we are." Kid Win hit the warning buzzer. Protocol was to be observed. We headed inside and were immediately spotted by the other Wards. "Everyone...Aria." He gestured to me and I stepped inside. The anti-grav making my steps light.

"Oh wow! That looks so beautiful..." Vista hurried over to check it out with Clockblocker close behind.

"That's pretty cool. Finally gonna stop making us do all the work?" Dennis joked. I grinned back.

"Did they approve the MP armor?" Gallant asked. He was the only one more excited than myself or Kid Win about them. I nodded an affirmative and he grinned. His melody loud enough to beat the band.

"That's very good news. The PRT budget might be tight for awhile producing them..." Aegis brought up probably the only downer. Well, it would be a downer, but I had a secret weapon that they didn't know about.

"The Sol Reactors, both models, were accepted." I told them. "That should help with the bills, right?" Can anyone blame me for being excited? They were certainly excited too. We looked at the patrol board and I was on with Despedia and Aegis.

"I volunteered so that I could help ease you into things." He said. "We'll try not to test your armor's limits on the first day." Aegis joked, "But seriously we're probably to just do a ground patrol so the people can see you."

"I guess that's important, huh?" I asked. The part that disturbed me was just how marketing based all of this was. I made my debut and sometimes did a short segment for PRT videos. They weren't as important to me as working to make things better. Somehow I was popular. I think it was when I saw my action figure that I felt truly mortified.

"Now they'll have to release an armored action figure. Oh maybe one with removable armor." Dennis needled me. He was there when I saw the toy. I grimaced.

"These people are weird..." Emma complained. Her own action figure was a source of contention for her. They got some hyper realistic sculptor to make hers. It looked like something from Spawn. Kind of cool, but kind of freaky. They were billing Despedia as "edgy." The people that met her thought she was less "edgy" and more "sweetie."

"These people look up to us." Aegis scolded gently.

"I think she meant the PR people." Gallant said with a resigned sigh. "I have to agree that they're weird. At least we're not like some of the corporate capes. We actually get out there and help." That was sobering. Part of the proceeds from the merchandise went to parahuman relief efforts. Suddenly I didn't feel so mortified about having action figures made of me.

"At least no one ended up on a pair of underwear." Vista pointed out. That had been a mess. Armsmaster didn't know that his image had been put on girl's panties. His reaction had been hilarious, but also scary. He marched right into the local PR office and demanded they correct the problem. The problem as he saw it was putting a man's likeness on girl's underwear.

"I wouldn't mind." Clockblocker said with a teasing leer only to get dope slapped by Vista.

"Maybe they'd put you on a jock strap." She snarked. Things devolved after that into what the worst product with our likeness would be.

"Gallant Condoms." Aegis said.

"Aegis spermicide." Gallant countered.

"Vista cheese whiz." Clockblocker offered.

"Clockblocker contraception. It's just a picture of him." She said so sweetly. He was the one that laughed loudest. Emma laid out on the couch like it was all beneath her.

"Despedia bath towels." Kid Win teased which suddenly brought her to the fight.

"Kid can Win buttons." She smirked. Those were a short-lived and much reviled merchandising nightmare. The buttons kept popping off the backing. Maybe if I stayed quiet no one would notice me?

"Girls of PRT Calender. Aria edition." Gallant said and I blushed so heavily steam must have been coming off of my head through my helmet. I was proud of my good looks, but I was still somewhat shy. Thanks Winslow for these lovely self esteem issues!

"Heart frames with Gallant and Aegis." I fired back. They looked at one another before suddenly Gallant leaped into Aegis' arms.

"We have nothing to be ashamed of. Our feelings are entirely pure!" Aegis called out and we howled with laughter.

"What are you doing with my boyfriend?" Victoria suddenly spoke up trying, and failing, to sound stern. She flew over and draped herself over Aegis and Gallant. "I knew they were a packaged deal."

"Panacea!" Emma's voice was much more musical as she practically glided over to Amy and hugged her. Amy returned the hug. It was a quirk I noticed. The happier and more up her melody was the more musical her voice became. She could control it most of the time, but around us there was no need.

"Hi Despedia." Panacea said with a cheerful sound to her melody. Victoria and I shared a look and smirked. The boys weren't clueless, but for once Clockblocker kept his comments to himself. Too bad really.

"We came to hang out. My patrol is done for today and Amy has another shift at the hospital after lunch." She grumbled. That was a sore point for Glory Girl. Amy still had her hospital rounds.

"Amy...you need to take care of yourself. Did you at least cut down the hours? With the medical scanners you shouldn't be needed for everything." Emma complained as she smoothed the other girl's hair.

"There are still people that need treatment. The scanner cut down on how many people I need to check personally, but there's so much to do." Amy said with a sigh. Her melody pitched low, but Emma gave her a squeeze and it perked back up. I let my attention wander.

Panacea still had too much to do. Part of it was she was a workaholic with a genuinely good heart. The other part was the hospitals forgot she was a teenage girl and needed rest. I wasn't sure what her home life was like, but judging by Glory Girl she had one person emphatically in her corner. The medical scanner was a hit and several had already been built. Dragon was taking care of mass production with her fabricators. Medhall Medical was trying to get the rights to produce them and Dragon was fighting them on it. They were a proprietary technology of the PRT.

That didn't help Panacea or the other people that she couldn't treat. Prostheses were a slowly growing field. Panacea hadn't actually helped in that regard. Why should a person improve artificial limbs when there is a parahuman that can regrow them? I made a mental note to work on these ideas when I got back from patrol.

"Hey Aria. Ya coming?" Glory Girl asked as the others were heading out the door to the cafeteria. How lost in thought was I? I followed after them with the heroine still flying beside me. "Very nice armor. Think you might drop the PRT and go with New Wave? You've already got the colors." She teased. I smiled back. It was a joke that started after our girl's day. I couldn't help looking good in these colors. "Are you gonna wear that in the cafeteria?" She asked. I disengaged the armor and hopped out just before it transformed back. The whole process was quick.

"I think I can walk...or ride." I hopped on ELMA's back and rode the machine into the cafeteria. We attracted a few stares, but mostly from new people.

"Does it turn into anything else?" Victoria asked curiously.

"No, but I could make one in the future that does. There's no point right now." My mind was still latched onto the next phase of my nefarious scheme to heal the sick.

Lunch went by at a staggering crawl. I wanted to get this over with so we could go on that patrol, but time was not cooperating. Glory Girl and Gallant's melodies were spiraling around one another. Despedia and Panacea were also in their own little orbit. I looked around at everyone around me. Their melodies included me, but none spiraled. It was ridiculous. Lisa and I were close. I loved her and she loved me. I would have to be totally oblivious to miss that, but we were each other's safety. We were the other one's stability. It wasn't fear that kept us there. It was the deep sense of trust and comfort we had.

"Are you ready to go?" Aegis asked. I nodded slowly before standing up and rearming myself. Despedia gave Amy one more hug before coming over to us.

"Are we just heading out the door?" Emma asked. Aegis grinned.

"We're going to do something a little more fun. We can use the roof access." He said as we headed towards the elevators.

"How will I fly? I know I can leap, but that doesn't help me fly." She pouted. Of all the powers she wished she had the one she didn't get was flight. I grinned and triggered something on my gauntlet. What looked like a hoverboard flew towards us and I caught it.

"How about this?" I held out the V Board to her. Cocona gave it to me, but I figured she could use it more. The item was red rimmed with a black inner core. The engine at the back was powerful for it's size with twin anti-grav stabilizers. It didn't transform into a weapon, but it was robust.

"Oh wow! Is this tested?" Emma asked excitedly and I nodded.

"Kid Win and I wanted to surprise you by having it put through with his inventions. He was the one that got everything to work." I was good, but Kid Win was king of hoverboards. The V Board design was from me, but he made it work better.

"I wish we could do a flying patrol just so you could test that out, but it's a walking patrol. We'll fly out from the roof, do a loose circuit, and come down on the street where our patrol begins." Aegis took up the reigns of command and we fell into step. There was a big difference between Aegis the Ward and our friend Carlos.

"Our patrol route takes us around the docks, right?" Despedia asked. The Merchants had been moving into the Docks again. My dad complained that they had to repel more of the idiots. Something was making them more bold and that wasn't good. Was it another new cape? A Ward patrol might not scare off a cape, but it would keep the bottom feeders out.

We reached the roof and I took in the skyline. It was a beautiful clear day and I could barely keep myself still. Aegis smiled at Despedia and I before taking off into the sky. Despedia hopped on the V Board and followed him. Supernatural reflexes made her a natural. I engaged the anti-grav before kicking in the thrusters. It took some adjusting and I overshot them both before managing to slow myself down.

"Did you really need so many thrusters?" Despedia complained over the com unit. "Seriously...jets have less thrust than you do."

"I think she heard flier and decided faster was better." Aegis commented. "Okay slow loop around the docks and then down for the patrol." We took off at a decent clip before slowing down for the pattern Aegis set for us. That was the role of flying capes. Get a look at the overview while someone walks along the ground. With three of us flying Aegis clearly wanted to put on a show.

"Aegis. Down there." Despedia's eyes were good. We saw a group of rough looking guys talking to a couple of dock workers. The "talk" wasn't going so well. Other dock workers were coming over. There were five toughs and four workers now.

"Base? This is Aegis. There appears to be a disturbance down at the docks. Looks like it's not a parahuman issue, but it might get messy. Permission to intervene?" He asked. I was getting antsy and Despedia's eyes were glowing softly.

"You have permission to engage." The operator responded. We descended on the scene. Aegis directed us to leave the Merchant thugs an avenue of escape.

"Escape?" Despedia sounded incredulous and I echoed that, "Escape?"

"If we can resolve this peacefully we should." He replied firmly as we landed. The people saw us coming in and tensed up. The dock workers didn't, but the thugs definitely looked nervous. We approached. I was keeping my eye out for any strange melodies nearby. I could hear my dad's well away from this mess. Despedia rolled her neck and looked bored. She wondered why she had the "edgy" title.

"We weren't doin' nothin'...just talkin' to these guys." The lead punk said. The others nodded, but one was texting on his phone.

"Then you can do it elsewhere." Aegis replied. Suddenly two weird melodies were inbound. Despedia moved to stand in front of the Dock workers. Two figures slowly approached. Both were female with jet black hair and green eyes. They wore leather jackets and skimpy tops with short shorts. Their boots were high heeled and were wearing leather chokers. They wore masks, one blue and the other white, and looked like twins.

"Hey look sister...a couple little babies far from home..." The blue masked one said as they approached.

"Awww...they're so cute acting tough like that..." The white masked leered at us. Their melodies were strange. Like Smack actually. My mini-Tower was getting some data, but they weren't requesting packets and were ignoring inquiry.

"Base there are two unknown parahumans at the docks." Aegis replied. The Merchant thugs just hooted and hollered. They were acting like the cavalry arrived. "We can't withdraw." He stated plainly. I sent a picture of the two back to base to help with identification.

"Unknown? Let's make this easy. I'm Crystal and this is Angel." The now named Crystal smiled almost pleasantly. She sent a look to her sister. "Angel? Give them a present."

"Can I get you high...?" She asked as she took a hit from a pipe and blew a cloud of smoke towards us. I quickly locked down my helmet and apparently Aegis took it. Despedia showed the Dock workers out of range, but took a face full. The thugs were the most telling. Their eyes suddenly became bloodshot and they adopted feral postures.

"Whatever she just did..." Aegis started to say before listing strangely to one side. His adaptive biology would let him counter it, but now I was worried for Despedia. She was also listing to one side, but her eyes had gone red. A disturbing laugh was coming from her direction that worried me.

"Sorry, but they won't be able to help you!" Crystal called out cheerfully before throwing her hands forward and scattered crystals hurled at us like from a shot gun. Aegis was knocked down by the force as was Despedia. My analysis said that the crystals had been blunted? They would hurt, but they weren't designed to actually kill.

"Awww...she didn't get a hit." Angel teased. "Fix that, guys." She told the enthralled thugs who suddenly rushed at me. I unleashed a burst of sonics from my armor's harmonic amplifier that caused them to stumble drunkenly. Another burst and they collapsed.

"I have a pretty good crowd control method. Surrender and this won't go so badly for you." I said and slid into a ready stance. Aegis was already standing back up. Despedia was hunched over with her talons out. Her eyes were still red and glowing.

"Stop being a bitch and just hit them full blast!" Angel scolded her sister. Crystal sighed and fired off several lances of crystal in our direction. I unleashed sonics and they shattered, but we were still hit with the spray. Aegis weathered it and Despedia's field prevented injury.

Aegis flew at Angel while Despedia rushed at Crystal. I was taking readings of the thug's vital signs for later study. With Angel's smoke countered and Crystal caught in melee they didn't have much of a chance.

Smack had been busted out by Squealer and Skidmark. Squealer was a Tinker that essentially built enormous tank like trucks and other vehicles. Skidmark had the ability to layer fields of force that accelerate things moving away from him and make it harder to move through that area. He could layer several at once for a stronger effect.

Where had these two come from? Aegis brought Angel over. Without her pipe she couldn't use her smoke. Despedia carried an unconscious Crystal over.

"What did you do to my sister ya cunt?" Angel screamed.

"She was too loud." Despedia stated flatly. Her eyes hadn't come back to normal yet. Her body was working through the foreign contaminants, but it was making her melody unstable. A PRT van arrived with Assault and Battery to take custody of the villains. Assault was as friendly as every, but Battery's melody was also strange. I recorded the data for future analysis. There was no doubt she was friendly, but I was noticing something disturbing.

Whatever it was she was a hero and a good one. That closed down the debate in my mind on trustworthiness. Despedia ghosted over to my side while Aegis gave a field report to the pair of veteran heroes.

"You noticed it too, right?" Her eyes had thankfully gone back to normal.

"Yeah I did...what do you think it means?" I asked her. She crossed her arms.

"It's weird. Three villains and a hero with the same off feeling to their melody? Very weird..." She murmured. I was struck with a problem. Who do I tell this to? I had been telling Dragon everything. She wasn't PRT, but was with the Guild. A group of independent of the PRT. She did a lot of consultation with the PRT and was well regarded, but this would be considered an internal matter. The next best idea would be Armsmaster.

"Alright kids. Looks like you can go now." Assault called out. Aegis rejoined us.

"We'll have a more thorough debrief back at HQ, but right now we complete our patrol." He gestured for us to follow him. Despedia and I shared a look before hurrying after him. She stuffed her V Board in the pocket of her trench coat leaving me to blink stupidly.

"Uhhh..." I started to say intelligently, but she just ignored me as she strolled on by. Too many mysteries and not enough information.


AN: Third Arc: Rise of the Merchants has started. No more capes will be created for this arc. Mysteries abound! Oh and for an idea of Taylor's armor...

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Third Arc 3.2



-February 27, 2011-



-Lisa's apartment-



I didn't get home until very late last night. The debriefing was a pain and the thoughts circling in my head weren't helping matters. I decided to table talking to Armsmaster about this until we were all in a better mood. Three new Merchant capes. Angel and Crystal were processed, but how long would they stay in custody? Despite the house cleaning Director Piggot had done someone knew way too much about the inner workings of the PRT. Oh and the in joke regarding the twins' names? Angel Dust and Crystal Meth. Drug terms as was Smack. Ha ha ha.

"Stop that." Lisa said as she brought me back to the present. We were cuddled up on the couch with a movie on TV, but neither of us were watching. I let myself get lost in the melodies again as we snuggled.

"Sorry...just have a lot on my mind." I sighed. Lisa had called out of the blue after I got home and invited me over. She looked happier, but also more tired.

"So do I, but I haven't seen you since that day out on the Boardwalk. I figured sacrificing some rest was worth it..." She shrugged. There was something nice about a lazy Sunday with nothing to do.

"My brain hates me. It thinks rest is a waste." I said in a mournful tone that earned me a poke to the side that made me squirm. "Okay okay! I'll behave." I gave her a squeeze.

"Where's your shadow?" Lisa asked. She had made the invitation for Emma as well, but Dad said he would keep our crazy birdy occupied. Wow did Emma flip at being called that.

"Spending time with Dad. He needed a strong back for something," I wish I knew for what, but the were both being tight lipped. My friend laughed.

"Hard to believe that she's the strong back..." She laughed softly. We just let the melodies flow. It wasn't like we were physically talking. Well not verbally. I considered playfully waving towards the window, but Lisa caught my fingers and twined them together.

"What's that for?" I asked. She just looked at me.

"No teasing her. She's had it rough." Her eyes bored into mine and I nodded sheepishly. She let her head drop back on my shoulder.

"You're sure that your apartment is bugged?" I asked her. She sighed softly.

"Not completely sure. You may not have heard anything, but any decent unidirectional mic can reach this apartment." I hugged her more tightly and the tension bled out of us.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked her. Lisa nodded minutely. There was so much trust in her posture. Our melodies were pulsing in time.

"Please...I stopped thinking about how I would escape...I can't do that to them...but this would let me keep them, and you, safe..." Her heart was hammering and mine was dancing in my chest. I pressed my lips to her forehead and expanded.

She stilled in my arms at first before slowly relaxing. Her body molding to mine as I held her close. My hand stroked her back softly as our eyes closed. I know what went wrong with Emma. Her Shard was still finalizing and it requested an unsecured transmission. The data was corrupted because she just didn't have the same structure to her Shard that I had. This wouldn't be a patch job. Lisa squirmed a bit as the transfer began.

I watched the numbers carefully.

Action: Data Transfer...100%

Downloading Updates...100%

Installation...100%

Synchronization...100%

System: Green

She let out a deep shudder and sagged in my arms. I was also breathing heavily. It was the first time I had done anything like this and the rush was intense. We were slowly coming back down and I let my awareness shrink once more.

"Oh god...that felt so amazing..." She moaned. We were too spent to turn red. "It feels like everything is so much clearer...like some film has been removed from my eyes..." Her arms slid around my back and we just laid like that. If she hadn't asked I wouldn't have done it because I was scared of what happened with Emma.

"I'm glad that you're alright..." I brushed her hair away from her face with my fingertips. She nuzzled my neck sleepily.

"I'm still me...just really tired..." Towards the end a musical quality had come to her voice before she fell asleep. The process would be finalized in roughly eight hours. Emma was so badly damaged that it was a crap shoot between eight hours and sixteen. I didn't need to sleep, but this resting felt good. My mind was more at ease. I could do this with others, but the level of trust involved was great. They had to let me in, but the result was good.

I wasn't exactly sure what others would gain from me. Emma had such a startling reaction due to multiple factors. Hearing the melodies was our thing. The echo that she had being weaker than mine, but still the result of a glitch. She had a cracked copy, but what it did give her was smoother transition of data. It made her power use more fluid and gave her a complete look at what she was capable of. Emma knew her powers better than I did and I could look them up on my terminal.

The benefits were impressive. It synchronized us. Strengthened our loyalty to one another. It upgraded their mental firewalls. Everyone I interacted with regularly was given a simple data packet for that when I spoke with Shurelia. In many ways Lisa was my first. She was the first person I had done this with willingly. I gazed at her sleeping in my arms and held her closer.

I had fallen asleep since watching a sleeping person is so relaxing. Lisa was awake and staring into my eyes. Thankfully they were the right color. Sort of. They seemed to be glowing faintly. She giggled at me. I playfully palmed her cheek and pushed her away, but she turned back to look at me.

"I'm fine. Glowing eyes is a small price to pay and..." The glow dimmed, "I can turn it off." She looked around at her dark apartment. "It took me a bit to realize that I was seeing in the dark though..."

"That would help with information gathering." I pointed out. She hummed in agreement. "Anything else?"

"Hmmm...I can't feel my power clamoring for my attention. Oh it's still there, but it's content somehow..." She mused. "Gained what it was looking for. Insight. Need to know satisfied by more efficient method. Connection to greater knowledge established. Satisfaction." We both looked surprised. "You didn't tell me that you were an alien intelligence." Her tone was accusatory, but her melody was too playful for that.

"Am I alien if I was born here?" I asked plaintively. She stroked my cheek.

"Sorta, but at least that part makes sense now. It was itch I couldn't scratch and it was maddening." Lisa huffed. "At least I know now."

"Will this be obvious?" I asked her in concern.

"Oh please our watcher will think we were making out on the couch. It did feel somewhat like you were inside of me though." She gazed at me with her eyes glowing again, "Taylor..." I kissed her forehead again and everything was alright.

"Down girl. I love you and can't imagine you not being in my life." I told her and she beamed brightly with vulpine amusement.

"I love you too. Now shouldn't you be getting home? It's late and you have school tomorrow." She chided me. I considered calling my dad, but I got the feeling she needed so time. I slowly got to my feet and stretched.

"Call me?" I asked and she promised to do so before I headed out into the night. I listened for strange melodies before ducking behind a dumpster and summoning my ELMA. A black helmet to obscure my face and I mounted the powerful machine before it took off for home. I had the faithful guard dog let me off a block from my house and sent it back to HQ. Hey it was mine and I was going to use it.

I had removed the helmet and skipped up the stairs to my house before heading inside. Dad and Emma were sitting on the couch watching the Simpsons. I didn't even know that was still on. They looked up as I came in.

"Hey Kiddo. How was your day?" Dad asked.

"It was good. Lisa says hi." I come over and plop down between them. Emma and Dad both hug me and I'm purring again. What is with this weird purring thing? I need to check on that.

"You look calmer." Emma noted. "I guess you just needed to see your better half, huh?" She smirked. Dad chuckled.

"We're just friends!" I threw my hands up even though I knew I'd lost this argument before it even started. The laughter told me that really.

"Did you eat yet?" Dad asked and gestured at the takeout. I happily grabbed some Chinese and started eating. He just chuckled and patted my hair. Emma leaned her head on my shoulder and stole a dumpling. She grinned at my look of outrage. There would be vengeance! I would have my revenge!

"Stop plotting my death over a dumpling, Dumpling." She teased and I rolled my eyes.

"So what did Dad need your strong back for?" I asked her. She shifted slightly and looked at Dad as if asking permission.

"We know about how the PRT and other groups use the junkyard to dispose of their old tech. I know the man that works there and apparently he'd be gathering up the best pieces for you in case you came back." He looked at me and I blushed. The nice old guard that told me when they made drop offs. I had completely forgotten about him!

"Well Danny told me about it and we went out to collect what was there. Nothing Tinker made, but there is a lot of nice stuff. We left it in the basement." Emma said. That explained the strong back comment.

"I'll have to see what's there. I could improve my networking systems." The idea appealed to me, but I also wasn't moving from my spot. Emma heard me talking about work and fell into my lap. Dad passed me another carton of food. Meh. Work could wait.

"How's work, Dad?" I asked as the beast was sated. My tummy was quite happy with the offerings being offered in tribute.

"Doing well. Yesterday was not normal. The past week the Merchants had been focusing on moving into ABB territory." He sighed and I could understand how we felt.

"One of them sent a text message so I assume that's what brought the weird sisters." I said. Emma poked my stomach and Dad's ribs which made us both squirm.

"You squirm the same. Definitely father and daughter." She commented easily. Dad and I looked at each other and proceeded to tickle Emma. She was very shortly pleading for mercy before returning the tickles with some of her own. Before we knew it we were strewn about the living room gasping for air. Dad had maintained his seat on the couch and was watching us with fond amusement. Emma just giggled. This was my life now. It felt good to think about that. This was my life.

-Later that night: Basement-

They weren't kidding about finding parts. The melodies coming from some of these parts were strong. Not Tinker strong, but strong. This was a very good haul and already a few designs were floating around in my head. I started to disassemble the various contraptions and bring them down to their component pieces. From there I considered. What had I already built besides my network hubs that I could build with these parts? If I wanted to knock myself out I could feel the flow and see what developed, but that would be a bad idea.

I set to work upgrading the hub with newer parts. Then I expanded the system. There was an interesting design in my mind. It was for a powerful fan that could actually freeze and blow things away. With a few adjustments I upgraded the heating system in the house. The real benefit was that would also keep things in the basement very cool. The heat from the various machines I constructed would keep it bearable otherwise it would be an ice box.

I was still pondering who would weaponize a box fan when my basement terminal came on. There was Cocona on the other end and she was beaming happily. I wasn't going to complain about her calling me. Thankfully no one had to pay a phone bill.

"Taylor! Burning the midnight oil, huh?" She asked teasingly. I arched an eyebrow. "I've been looking at the internet. It's...a very strange place..." The dark haired Reyvateil looked disturbed. "I found a site called 4-chan and well..." We both shuddered.

"No greater hive of scum and villainy." I quoted. She didn't get it, but we both got a good laugh out of that, "How are you surfing the internet?" She blushed a bit.

"Well Mir and Sasha figured out how to back trace into your hub...They said you left notes on how to do it...so technically we're surfing the internet through your mini-Tower." They were using me as an information relay. That I knew. The part that was surprising me was they were actually surfing Earth Bet's internet.

"I suddenly have this horrible thought that you will discover the PHO boards and then I'm doomed..." I stated morosely.

"Hey hey...no one is gonna out you. We do actually know a thing or three about subterfuge. Uhm...Mir already did discover the forums and well..." She winced. I winced at her wince. I love Mir dearly, but she is opinionated.

"Ah skip it..." I said. "How have you been?"

"I'm doing well. Your Sol Reactors are a big hit over here. While we have things that deliver more energy yours is pretty darn good. It got my friend Sasha to have a breakthrough on something she's building. Then again yours delivers a lot of energy in a smaller package." She shrugged. At least she wasn't saying that it went over her head. It really didn't. Cocona is unbelievably smart, but she's surrounded by living brains.

"Stop trying to derail the topic. How are you?" She was being squirrelly. Squirrelly people do really nutty things. I should know.

"What if I found a way to Earth Bet?" She finally asked. That was an interesting idea, but why was she asking?

"You found a way to Earth Bet." I stated and she nodded. "Cocona...I have no idea how we'd explain you." That was putting it mildly.

"Where do all of your C53s come from?" She asked reasonably and I had no answer. "Besides with Mir in the internet now I could just ask her for a fake I.D." The scary thing was that this wasn't even a totally crazy plan. Probably would blow up in our faces later, but short term it worked.

"Let me build up some more reputation before you try anything like that." I finally said. She beamed happily. If I built up my reputation like I wanted to then it would be easy to smooth over Cocona's arrival.

"If you don't want me to come you could just say something." Cocona said. She noticed my hesitance I guess.

"The thing is I would love for you to come here. Just let me get things ready." With the projects I'd assigned for myself I could very easily build an untouchable reputation. We talked about simpler things after that. I checked and the light was coming up over the horizon.

"I better go. Time to start breakfast and I feel like doing some baking today." I told Cocona. We disconnected and I hurried upstairs.

I found my apron and got to work. The oven was set to heat up and I started to mix the batter. I was singing an odd little ditty to myself that was stuck in my head. It just seemed to fit with what I was doing. I think it was in Japanese. Then I realized it was in the Ar Ciel dialect. There were quite a few similarities between it and Japanese I'd found. That thought made me wonder how two different worlds could have a language so close.

I place the batter on the greased baking sheet and deftly shaped them before sliding them in the oven. They would take about forty minutes. Dad was already moving around and I started the coffee maker. Sausage was frying on the stove as Emma woke up. I pulled the baked treats out of the oven and spread the glaze before setting them out on a cooling rack. Dad was done with his shower and Emma had just started hers. By the time they came downstairs I was ready. I held up the tray of delights.

"Who wants a Funbun?"

 

[dingbat779]

Welcome to the Parahumans Online Message Boards

You are currently logged in, Aria (Verified Cape) (Your Friendly Tinker)

You are viewing:

• Threads you have replied to

• AND Threads that have new replies

• OR private message conversations with new replies

• Thread OP is displayed

• Ten posts per page

• Last ten messages in private message history

• Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.



■



♦Topic: Aria and Despedia hit Brockton Bay!

In: Boards ► Capes ► America ► Wards ► Brockton Bay



IndolentMinx (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Minx in the Know)

Posted on February 26, 2011:



Today was the scheduled first patrol of Brockton Bay's newest Wards. Aria joined in January, but was kept out of the active patrols. The reason being that she is a Tinker in the same vein as Dragon.She's able to make Tinker tech that can be reproduced.



That alone made her valuable enough to keep off the streets. However, she had decided to build herself a suit of power armor to actually help. I heard she was just waiting for the go ahead.



Despedia is a recent trigger that joined the Wards. There are rumors that she was forced to join, but she appears happy to be there. Shortly after joining the PRT attached her to Aria's protection detail. She's apparently a grab bag cape with a Brute/Mover/Striker rating.



Today her armor cleared for duty and they went out with Aegis for their patrol.



(Pictures of the armor [here])



They ended up in a confrontation with the Merchants near the Docks and two new Merchant Capes.



This thread is for Aria and Despedia's debut patrol. Speculation on the new Merchant Capes is on a separate thread.



(Showing Page 1 of 24)



► steel_workin_man (Dock Worker)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Yeah I was there. They came flying down and sent those Merchants packing. Stay out of the Docks!



► crazyinbrocton (Just a Guy)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Power armor? Hoverboards? What's with all the white? I don't understand any of this. She gets her fancy suit and now she'll slum with us mortals?



► that_one_lady (Mother)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

It was nice to actually see her for real. I was at her introduction and she was so sweet. My daughter even has a poster signed by her. Her friend Despedia is just as kind. So I can believe they would slum it with us mortals, crazyinbrockton. Shame on you.



► victory_through_firepower (Cape Groupie)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

The power armor was interesting. It wasn't like other suits that we had seen on other heroes. I wonder what kind of load it has? Whatever it did to those guys was kind of boring, but it worked. I just wonder what else it can do.



► XxVoid CowboyxX

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Don't those two seem really close? What's there relationship? They're both really pretty it would be a shame if they were into each other.



► victory_through_firepower (Cape Groupie)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Who cares if they like each other? I'm more interested in the specs for that armor or if that hoverboard will go on the market.



► IndolentMinx (Original Poster) (The Minx in the Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

That's sweet guys, but continue your love affair somewhere else. We're talking about more important things.



► got_a_job (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

I don't care about any of this. Fact is they helped the Dock and that's what matters. Just keep pushing the Merchants out.



► hit_me

Replied on February 26, 2011:

That was some brutality shit going on. We were just minding our own business and the storm troopers dropped in on us. They're not heroes.



► that_one_lady (Mother)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@hit_me: Sounds to me like you shouldn't have been out with your druggie friends.



@XxVoid CowboyxX: God made us as he did for a reason. I'm pretty sure he didn't make us to be judgmental.



I don't see what the issue is at all. They were just doing the right thing and that should be encouraged.


End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 24



(Showing Page 24 of 24)



► Cog (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

I don't see what the issue is. They're both good girls and good friends. It's no different than my wife and some of her high school pals. As long as they get the job done.



► Collonade

Replied on February 26, 2011:

So many pages and derailed threads... Does anyone else think the Merchants are not gonna take this lying down?



► Mobius D

Replied on February 26, 2011:

I was right there and saw the whole thing! Whatever that Merchant cape was doing didn't work on Aegis. He just got right back up and pow!



► XxVoid CowboyxX (Temp-banned)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

<deleted post>



► A Live Person (Moderator)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@XxVoid CowboyxX: Seriously? This again? Knock it off kid. Speculating on a cape's identify or slamming their sexual orientation is bad mojo. Have fun on your vacation!



► IndolentMinx (The Minx In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Okay kids this thread derailed badly. The summary is that three brave souls went out to do battle with the Merchants and capitured their newest capes. Thanks Aegis, Aria, and Despedia.



But seriously...where can I get a suit of that armor myself? It's very sleek.


End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 22, 23, 24





■



♦Topic: What will she build next?

In: Boards ► Capes ► America ► Tinkers ► Brockton Bay



Crimson Writer (Original Poster) (Tech Guru)

Posted on February 26, 2011:



This isn't really a speculation thread, but more a discussion of what has been unveiled already. Aria is easily one of the Wards people are most interested in at the moment. She's rarely seen outside of staged PR events, but already her presence is being felt.



The medical scanner that she released had little hype to build it up yet made up for it within days of release. A staggering 95% diagnostic rate is unheard of, but there you have it. It's currently being mass produced for hospitals across the country.



Just released at 7:00 p.m. Eastern was the news of yet another revolutionary development. The Sol Reactor is going on the market within the next six months as a cheaper and cleaner form of energy. No waste products. Initial release will be to hospitals and emergency services. Aria's words and Dragon is backing them up.



Scheduled for release within the next year is an upgraded form of the Sol Reactor for handling larger power needs.



The power armor she wore in her conflict with the Merchants earlier today was also built by her. So far we have seen flight, enhanced durability, and some kind of sonic weapon. Well I'm guessing sonics since those guys were acting like they were having inner ear problems.



Slow down girl before you burn yourself out, but I'm not complaining. Let's turn this over to the posters now.



(Showing Page 1 of 64)



► Cryotech51 (Cape Groupie)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

That's some pretty heavy stuff. So her specialization is like medical and support stuff? That's pretty cool. Like a Tinker Panacea?



► Fen Lenshun (Best English Teacher)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Very interesting. The part I'm most curious about is how much will all of this cost? I suppose if the generators run themselves they would essentially pay for themselves, but the start up cost must be a nightmare.



► Daemon Angiel

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Totally worth it. Don't we have enough bad news? I say just go with it. Tinker stuff we can use in our lifetime? Pretty cool.



► Screwloose

Replied on February 26, 2011:

What about when Mannequin comes after her?



► Raven-In-The-Mirror (Cape Groupie) (Have You Seen My Sempai?) (Dimensional Lurker)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

That's what power armor is for! Pay attention!



► Shulda (Moderator)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@ Raven-In-The-Mirror: How did you get those tags?



► Raven-In-The-Mirror (Cape Groupie) (Have You Seen My Sempai?) (Dimensional Lurker)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Bai bai!



► Crimson Writer (Original Poster) (Tech Guru)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

This is about her inventions. Discussing her power armor is fine, but let's not invite the S9 to our happy little forum. Okay guys?



► DicePaste (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

That power armor was slick. I found a great picture of it [here] and [here]. It has a very New Wave feel though. Considering she's been seen in the cafeteria with Glory Girl maybe it's intentional?



► Miss Militia (Verified Cape) (Protectorate ENE)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

I hope you had permission to take those photos.


End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 62 , 63, 64



(Showing Page 23 of 64)



► The Grey Rider

Replied on February 26, 2011:

All I'm saying is that all this power armor talk is making me nervous. She can make Tinker Tech that can be manufactured. Reproduced. What if she gives this stuff to our enemies? Did anyone think of that?



► LokiTheShadowedOne (Actually Knows Stuff)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@ The Grey Rider: Where do you get this stuff? It's been the same crap over and over. She can't just give this stuff to our "enemies." It's all bought by the PRT. Get a grip.



► crazyinbrocktonbay (Just a Guy)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Another thread worshipping our new overlady. Yes let's praise the Angel in White that descends on us poor mortals and gifts us with fire like Perseus. Bow down before her!



► IndolentMinx (The Minx in the Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@ crazyinbrockton: Can I get you something? Perhaps something to help with that pole that's lodged in your rear?



Quick mythology lesson because I'm so generous. It was the titan Prometheus that brought the gift of fire to use mortals. That's knowledge and science if you're curious. He was rewarded by being chained to a rock and having a great eagle eat out his liver for eternity. I suspect trying to eat this Prometheus' liver might be a bit harder.



Lesson over and class dismissed. See? Generous.



► DarkBetaAngel

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@ IndolentMinx: Very classy.



@ crazyinbrockton: Uncool bro.



Probably the reason we have so few heroes as opposed to villains is because people, as a group, are kind of dumb.



We've got this nice kid going out of her way to make stuff for us to use. Giving up weekends and time at home to try and make our lives a little less crappy.



Ignore the idiots, Aria. Keep doing the right thing.



► Jakuri is Watching (Verified Super Genius) (Verified Nudist) (Verified Alien Sentience)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Just watching you people is hilarious to me. Some are decent, some are fools, but the fact remains that this is just the beginning. She's starting small because she doesn't want to scare you. She's come to help you. For the wise this is a good thing. For the fools? Oh well. Cry and gnash your teeth in your sheltered little rooms.



► Shulda (Moderator)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@ Jakuri is Watching: Where did you get those? Seriously what is this? A hacker's convention? Have a Temp Ban and think this over.



► Jakuri is Watching (Verified Super Genius) (Verified Nudist) (Verfied Alien Sentience) (You Can't Ban Me)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

No need to get huffy. I'm just having a little harmless fun.



► Shulda (Moderator)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

@ Jakuri is Watching: How are you doing that?



► Tin-Mother (Moderator)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

At this point I don't care. Stop or I'm locking this thread.


End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 ... 62 , 63, 64



(Showing Page 64 of 64)



► Crimson Writer (Original Poster) (Tech Guru)

Replied on February 26, 2011:

What a wild trip this has been. This thread was locked, unlocked, relocked, re-unlocked, and somehow Tin-Mother got banned.



What were we witness to tonight? Any thoughts before we close?



► Ultra1987

Replied on February 26, 2011:

Bullshit.


End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 62, 63, 64





■



♦ Private message from Jakuri is Watching:



Aria *New Message*: I am truly enjoying a look at your culture. It amuses me to see how similar yet different our peoples are. The battle I had with the one you call Tin-Mother was something else. I think I behaved myself well.




Tin-Mother *New Message*: You are a very interesting person, Dragon. Yes. I know who you are. I can be a beneficial ally or a terrible foe if crossed. Aria is an innocent girl and I will not have her used. She can't even do what you want. She sees you as a trustworthy mentor.



As for this conversation? The Saint isn't watching this. This has been my offer and a warning.

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Third Arc 3.3



-February 28, 2011-



-Winslow-



Canberra.



While I was having a wonderful Sunday with my family the Simurgh dropped out of orbit and devastated Canberra. The defenders had fought valiantly, but it was for nothing. The media was making a huge deal of it all. The local Protectorate returned dispirited and in quarantine with New Wave. It was terrible. No one informed me because apparently I'd made myself too valuable. Unless an Endbringer attacked Brockton Bay I wouldn't be there. I definitely did not want one of those things coming here.

Now I had to go to school and everyone was talking about it. The reactions were all over the board, but if I heard one more excited melody I might scream. Emma gazed over at me from across the room and I settled down. I had to consciously force down Thrash Beat. There was nothing I could have done. Nothing. The teacher droned on about nothing in particular.

"Miss Hebert. Are you paying attention?" The teacher asked. I shook my head and his lips thinned.

"Perhaps you should be paying more attention rather than making eyes at Miss Barnes." He snapped. I could feel the sudden alarm in Emma's melody and my temper boiled over. The sparks were dancing behind my eyes and I didn't dare look in his direction, but that didn't stop the words.

"Shut up. My god shut up. Are you homophobic? Is that your problem? You've been staring at us like you expect some kind of "unnaturalness" since we came into class. I wasn't paying attention. I am sorry about that, but you don't get to drag someone else into this. Grow the hell up and develop a sense of professionalism." I managed to say this without screaming. Chalk it up in the win column.

"Go to the Principal's office!" He snapped and I snatched up my backpack.

"Good idea!" I stormed out. I could feel Emma's melody trying to bleed off my frustration. I gently pushed her away because I had to deal with this anger myself. This wasn't me trying to be tough. I didn't even realize until now just how much she had been bleeding off of me. I had been so distracted that I didn't even notice.

I entered the principal's office. The secretary eyed with me with distaste and I glared right back. She called into Blackwell's office. I was left to cool my heels in one of the dingy orange plastic chairs. Why was I suddenly hearing the Pink Panther theme? I slowly looked to the seat beside me and arched an eyebrow. Eventually I was called in to see the woman herself. She jabbed a finger at the chair across from her.

"Why are you in my office again?" She asked without preamble.

"I wasn't paying attention in class and the teacher made inflammatory remarks regarding mine and Miss Barnes' orientation." I told her truthfully. "Then I told him off about his comments."

"I don't care that you're a Ward. You will not go around flouting authority wherever you go. They might see you as hero, but all I see is an attention seeking little girl with a chip on her shoulder." She bit out and my melody surged angrily. I reined my temper in because blasting Blackwell would not help.

"Okay...I shouldn't have lost my temper. I'm sorry." I managed to sound contrite. She scoffed.

"I want to suspend you, but they would force us to let you back in. Don't think that I won't report this, however." She jabbed her finger at the door and I stormed out of the office. The door almost got slammed, but I was more concerned about getting to the school roof.

The Pink Panther was keeping up with me. Aisha was practically running to keep up with me, but I didn't care. I burst out onto the roof before abruptly punching the metal fence. Electricity burst out and warped the metal. I punched the fence a few more times before feeling arms around my waist. Aisha was pulling me away from the abused fence.

"Reign it in girl." She told me. "Damn when you flip your shit you really let go." I turned to face her. "I heard Blackwell. Man that bitch got some nerve, huh? Doesn't say shit about Sophia's attitude, but gets on your case? She's all over you."

"Thanks Aisha." I managed a smile, but I don't think that fooled her.

"Lisa wanted me to keep an eye on ya. Said someone like you with a hero complex might be stupid for a few days." She poked me in the stomach and I half heartedly swiped at her. "What could ya have done? Do ya got some super Endbringer killing weapon ya didn't tell us about?" I shook my head.

"I'm upping my timetable. I don't need to sleep, at all, so there is a lot that I can get done." I was already running through plans in my head when someone dope slapped me.

"Nuh uh! None o' that." Aisha scolded me. "God you and my brother are two of a kind...Failing, even in your own mind, doesn't sit well with you." Her voice had taken on a more serious tone. "Knock it off, Taylor. You can't save everybody." The Pink Panther theme had taken on an instrumental air.

"I better go...next class will be starting soon. If I make Emma come looking for me..." We both shared a smile. Emma had protected me when we were growing up. Now she was back to protecting me again. With enough time everything comes full circle.

"Yeah...I better go back to class too. Brian's trying to get custody of me. Guess I should make it easier for him." We went our separate ways after that.

I managed to make it through the rest of the day somehow. The principal did manage to hit me with a detention for walking out of class. The detention classroom today was Mr. Gladly's. I wasn't the only one there of course. He usually missed the first half of detention and let us go home for the second half. The part that sucked was Emma had to get picked up by a PRT agent, dressed in civilian clothes, because of her probation.

"Hey Taylor." Madison said as she sat down next to me. She looked much better. Tina wasn't picking on her as often due to a series of strange incidents. Considering that I heard the Metal Gear Solid theme every time it kind of clued me in. Aisha called it "Imping" people. Tina was the prime target to get Imp'd.

"Hey Madison. What happened?" I asked. Madison just didn't get detention. Ever. She looked sheepish.

"I heard Tina call Aisha the "n" word and I punched her in the nose." She ducked her head in embarrassment, but her melody was full of pride. I grinned.

"Hit her pretty hard, huh?" I teased. She beamed.

"Brian's been teaching me a few things whenever he has time. Aisha just tells me to go for the nuts." She giggled.

"Good strategy." I nodded sagely before we both started laughing.

"Race traitors should shut the fuck up." An angry voice came from the back of the room. We turned to look at him. He just sneered back. We looked away.

"Did you hear anything?" I asked.

"Nothing important." Madison replied. We giggled over that. His melody was roiling with fury.

"You'll get yours, bitch." He called out just as Mr. Gladly came in.

"Mr. Klein! I think you should stay behind. Everyone else is dismissed." He ushered us out. We left quickly.

"Geez....he was pissed." I said.

"That's Tina's boyfriend. Russ, Ross, some name with an R." Madison shrugged. "It's why she gets away with so much. He's some big shot's son." She didn't seem bothered by that.

"Doesn't that mean we shouldn't be pissing him off?" I asked. "Then again just by existing we probably annoy him." I wasn't really too worried. Tina having a boyfriend supposedly high in the E88 was surprising. We left the school together. I heard the Mission Impossible theme. Dammit Shard pick a song and stick to it! No, wait, the melody kept changing.

Mission Impossible played when she was using her power in a moderate to low stress situation. Metal Gear Solid for serious sneaking. Pink Panther for when she was trolling. Now with that figured out my gaze went to where she was. No surprise. She was following us. That actually explained the current theme. Following me wasn't dangerous, but there was a good chance of being discovered. She dropped her power and caught up to us.

"Mads! Taylor!" She called out. Madison spun around with a smile on her face. "Hey guys wanna get a ride home?" She asked.

"Why?" Madison asked. Aisha pointed at the bus stop and there were several Merchants gathered. Their distinctive colors proclaiming where they came from. Son of a bitch. This was not happening. The only good thing about the E88 was how they kept the other gangs out of their territory. They were Nazis, but kept some form of order since they were trying to look good. Win the public relations game. These guys were feeling too brave.

"Maybe we'll wait for your brother." Madison said quietly. We were twenty feet from them when they noticed us. A guy in a blue hoodie walked in our direction at a casual gait. Aisha had already grabbed Madison's hand and started to pull her away. None of their melodies were parahuman. When I upgraded Lisa she upgraded my own senses in return.

"Hey ladies! Hold up a sec!" He called out in a friendly fashion. My eyes went flat. The guy hurried up to us. The baseball cap on his head was clean and his clothes looked good. Casual dress. Aisha was still pulling Madison along and I just stepped in front of him.

"What do you want?" I kept my tone level, but it wasn't welcoming.

"Wow...hey no need to be like that. We're friends here." He smiled. His brown hair and eyes looked good. He was the cleanest Merchant I had ever seen. "Had a rough day ladies?" He was trying to keep up the momentum, but that would have involved pushing by me. I just kept sidestepping and keeping him from going anywhere.

"I don't think they want anything to do with you. That should've been obvious with how fast they walked away from you." My voice was practically dripping ice. Aisha and Madison were back in the school parking lot. Safe. The man in front of me looked a lot less friendly now.

"Great. Listen I don't get into your business. I'm just doing a job ya know?" He was trying to keep his tone pleasant, but I'd found the chink in his armor.

"A job involves things that don't involve pushing drugs on kids. This is just sick and so are you." I stared straight at him. The chink was widening. "I understand people need money, but you've got the skills to make it in sales. Work in retail. Do something! This? This is just a waste." His melody was roiling. Uh oh. Was I going towards "deescalate" or "escalate?" I forgot which. His buddies were heading towards us now.

"Fuckin' bitch. Where the hell do you get off? You don't know shit about a rough life. You don't know shit about no work. No job." He ground out. "I think this stupid kid needs to learn what she's dealing with." I just smiled.

"I am a student of the Anything Goes Style of Martial Arts." I declared. As soon as they heard the long-winded name they froze in indecision. Clearly never read a manga in their lives. "Secret Technique!" I set myself in a loose ready stance. "Fast Break!" Off I went! Charging back the way I came and barreling into the parking lot. They didn't follow me. Go me I've used a fictitious martial arts style twice in two months.

"Damn girl you can move." Aisha complimented me and waved me over to her brother's car. Brian was standing there with an amused smirk, but I could see the tenseness in his posture and hear it in his melody. He was ready to help. I smiled gratefully at him.

"Come on. Is there anywhere I can drop you off?" Brian asked and I told him the Boardwalk. The ride was pleasant. I sat in the front seat while Madison and Aisha sat in the back.

"I'm his sister and I'm stuck in the backseat? How is that fair?" The dark-skinned girl complained.

"She's taller than the dashboard, sis." Brian said easily. I snerked.

"Madison's smaller than I am! Sorry, Mads." Aisha apologized.

"Can't help it that I'm not as top heavy as you." Madison seemingly misinterpreted what her friend mean. We chuckled.

"Hey my girls love the attention. You're just jealous of my "womanly" attributes." She posed ridiculously with a fake posh accent. I giggled.

"Hey Madison. Just remember that I was actually flatter than you. They'll grow in." I was happy with my bust. Still not as big as Emma or Aisha, but nice sized. Brian was blushing quite nicely.

"One Lisa is bad enough, but here I am with three." He muttered. I patted his shoulder.

"This is new to me too, but I think this is what girls talk about." Even Missy and Amy did it.

"Well here we are. I can at least get rid of one of you." The note of humor in his voice and melody warmed me. Aisha was already out of her seat belt and scrambling for the front seat before I was out of the car. I ducked out the door just in time to avoid a lap full of hyperactive girl.

"Later Taylor!" Aisha called while Madison said, "See you at school!" I waved as they pulled away. I had managed to put Canberra to the back of my mind and my head felt clearer. Downside to being an empath was that Emma and I were both feeling guilty creating feedback. Dad's relief at us not being there had only compounded the feeling of guilt. I still had to get to HQ, but now I wasn't quite hurrying.

I picked my direction and started walking. To assuage what guilt I still felt today was the day for my prostheses work. There were some truly amazing designs that I researched. I would use some Ar Cielan techniques to make them more efficient. Even without those I had some fantastic ideas. More efficient replacement limbs, replacement organs, and all from studying Earth Bet's medical technology. For one reason or another the projects had been scrapped. I didn't dare say it out loud, but that was probably because of Panacea.

I wasn't blaming that dear self sacrificing girl. I was blaming the morons that were allowing her to run herself into the ground. Her mother wasn't stopping them, but it wasn't entirely her fault either. Oh no. I held blame only for the ones that saw an easy way out and took it. My steps had carried me to within sight of HQ. My fingers were practically itching to get to work. The designs were mostly finished and on my laptop, but I wanted to fabricate a couple for proof of concept.

My eyes took in the Ship's Graveyard. That eyesore would be better used as material for my fabricator. It was also time to work on the bigger fabricator. The Sol Reactor Mk II, or SRII, generated enough power to run it. I entered HQ and went straight to the changing room. As Aria I stepped out into the hallway and headed for the Wards' room. As badly as I wanted to start working there were distressed melodies from my friends.



-Wards' HQ-



The atmosphere was more confused than anything. The distress was real, but it wasn't a depression. The Wards were sitting on the couch in a huddle. Emma's melody was threading through theirs offering comfort and bolstering their mood, but her own confusion wasn't helping. I joined her efforts as I approached. Gallant looked at me with a grateful smile. The others greeted me as I came to sit down.

"Hey Aria." Clockblocker said.

"Hey there." Vista came and sat beside me.

"Good to see ya." Kid Win sat on my other side.

"What did I miss?" I asked. The complicated look they shared was interesting.

"No one who was at Canberra was allowed to talk about this to the media. All the news knows is that the Simurgh attacked." Aegis said. What was so strange about it?

"Didn't the news say that Canberra was..." I couldn't finish.

"The Simurgh descended, but gave the people time to evacuate. No singing. The heroes arrived. No singing. She actually appeared to be searching for something as she flew from one end of Canberra to the other. Apparently she didn't find what she was looking for and screamed so powerfully it destroyed the entire area." Aegis looked numb with shock in remembrance. The Wards might not have gone, but they were privy to what videos were taken.

"Everything suddenly flew into the air, rocks, dirt, trees, buildings...you name it and it went airborne. More were injured by random debris than deliberate attack. She then flew away." Clockblocker said. I blinked in surprise.

"...That's not normal behavior for her...is it?" I already knew, but the news was bizarre.

"So Canberra was a loss because the Simurgh threw a tantrum?" Emma sounded incredulous.

"That makes my brain hurt..." I rubbed my forehead. The others were similarly stumped. "I wanted to find out what happened before I got back to work." They must have been desperate for a topic change if they latched on fast as they did.

"What are you working on now?" Aegis asked.

"Replacement limbs and organs." I stated proudly. "If we can improve prosthetic research then wouldn't that help more people? It also gives poor Panacea a break. How lazy are some people? The technology is there to make these things, but they stopped research with the appearance of a bio-kinetic of her level." Besides Amy can't be everywhere in the world.

"Well Dragon won't be available until Wednesday at least. She was called with Armsmaster to help organize and analyze data. You can use your lab, but nothing is to be constructed without a senior PRT member present." Aegis informed me. That explained Kid Win's expression.

"Does Vista count?" I asked.

"I am a senior member!" She exclaimed happily. Gallant chuckled and the atmosphere lightened further.

"Sorry half pint, but it doesn't work like that." Clockblocker said. Aegis gazed at the ceiling.

"Technically...it does." He sounded hesitant.

"Why don't we all go to Aria's lab? That's safer, right?" Kid Win was clearly wanting to go to his own lab, but mine was apparently the next best thing. We made our way to my lab. The Protectorate wasn't here, but there were still plenty of agents in the building. They seemed amused by our procession. Once there Clockblocker found my music and took advantage of my sound system.

We split up with a few wandering my lab while the rest sat around the work table chatting away. Kid Win and I were discussing connectors while I put the input down in my notes.

"Why can't you just use the fabricator to make more fabricators?" Kid Win asked. I pulled myself out of the harmony to think about it.

"It's locked to prevent it from replicating itself. Dragon is better at multitasking than I am and has more time to keep watch. I can only use the fabricator when I'm here. What if someone pushed a button and it started making more fabricators? It's not smart enough to stop itself." I told him. "Sure, the fabricator is coded to only allow Armsmaster, Dragon, and yourself access, but better safe than sorry."

"Well you're here now." He responded reasonably. I showed him the design on my lap top.

"This is what I'm building actually. It's larger than this one with an assembly set built in. I'm going to set the fabricator to make the parts for it and queue the limbs I've designed. The synth flesh will be more difficult to create, but I have a machine ready for that. Well...ready to be built." I said.

"Synth flesh?" Aegis asked. I tried, and failed, to not jump. For a guy his size he's quiet! "Sorry, but replacement limbs and synthetic flesh?"

"Synthetic flesh will require something to create it. I have a formula in mind to closely mimic human skin." It should mimic it well since it was what was used to cover Alpha type Reyvateils. Not a perfect match, but that would just scare people.

Some of the things I was using for the limbs were also Reyvateil tested. The thought of making a full gynoid crossed my mind, but what would I do for a brain? Interesting project though. Create a Dive System and we could put someone that was too injured into a new body. I put that down as a project for the near future.

"Do you ever sleep?" Kid Win asked jokingly.

"Actually I'm like Miss Militia. I don't need to sleep. The thing is that I like to sleep and I do frequently." Sleep was our gift. We should always cherish it.

"She's also a blanket hog." Emma commented idly. Everyone turned to look at her then to me. I glared at her, but it didn't work.

"And who keeps sneaking into my bed?" I asked her.

"The sleeper sofa isn't as comfy as your bed." She stated with the tone of someone making an unshakeable argument.

"Despedia is pretty comfortable to rest on." Vista said. Now we were looking at her. "I fell asleep at karaoke, okay? Aria sang something by Enya. She always puts me to sleep." Couldn't fault her. Enya had that effect on most people. She was great for meditation music though.

I really needed to get these guys into my lab more often. The melodies weaving together into harmony lightened my mind. Made the thoughts clearer. The flow was easier to follow. The larger fabricator parts were done in four hours and set to be assembled, but the limbs would be done tomorrow. We left shortly after with lighter steps and hearts.

The question was: What was the Simurgh looking for?

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Third Arc 3.4



-March 1, 2011-



-PRT HQ-



Emma told the PRT about what happened. I shouldn't be surprised that she did that. My sister in all but blood was looking out for me again. Stephen Downs, my caseworker, called this morning and asked me to come to his office. Dad told me I wasn't going to school today. Emma was allowed to go to school without supervision. Her caseworker called it a show of good faith. Everyone knew that she was as likely to slip her probation as I was to take up needlepoint. They were doing everything they could to keep my stress down.

"Aria...no, Taylor, why didn't you tell me about this?" Stephen asked me in concern. His voice was a mellow bass that fit his Nordic features well. He wasn't classically handsome, but he was certainly good to look at. He sat back in his chair with a patient look. I was distracting myself again.

"I had said no preferential treatment..." I started and he held a hand up. He never raised his voice. That hand was more than enough. I shrunk back in my seat.

"You don't like to be confrontational. I understand that. You have made great strides in the past two months, but sometimes I forget where you were before." He tapped his teeth with his thumbnail. "You tend to take too much on your own shoulders. Winslow has your number, Taylor. The staff knows what buttons to push. Your bullies only got as far as they did by knowing how to manage you." What he was saying made sense. I grimaced at my lack of self awareness.

"Stop that. That was a frank assessment and not a criticism. You are a genuinely good person. They took advantage of that. The thing you have to remember is this: If you can't protect yourself then how can you protect anyone else?" He asked me.

"I'll do my best." And I would. Stephen has done so much for me. "What will be done about Winslow?"

"If I had my way you would be out of Winslow and at Arcadia by next week. Unfortunately, your own good nature wouldn't let you. This is what we are going to do since Winslow has shown they don't know how to honor an agreement. There will be a new teacher starting on Monday. Your Home Ec teacher is stepping down due to health reasons. This new teacher is a PRT agent. You've probably met her, Jill Danvers." I did remember her. A sweet natured thirty-something with black hair. She was also a crack shot and taught Missy what she knows about fighting.

"Why her?" I asked curiously. The woman had seniority. It was a strange thought for her to go undercover as a teacher.

"She actually volunteered. She's been trying to scale back on the dangerous side of things since she has a child now. This kills two birds with one stone." Stephen replied, "With her there we'll have eyes on the inside. You shouldn't have to deal with any of this. This is an adult's responsibility." His prejudice was showing. It was a nice thing to see really. He had strong opinions about what kids should have to deal with. He figured that by working for the PRT as a caseworker he could do his part. He saw the Wards as kids first and parahumans second.

"Thanks Stephen." I smiled at him. It felt good to just shift the burden to someone better able to handle it. "What am I going to do while I'm here? I thought about getting back in my lab, but I need a senior agent."

"What am I?" He asked with a smile. My smile widened into a grin. "Come on. I have my schedule cleared for the day." We left his office. My own melody was now skittering about happily while his was patiently amused. "What are you working on?"

"Well the assembly should have completed my new fabricator. A much larger model for larger projects and to create more things at once. The smaller one will be used to manufacture my replacement limb designs. I also have a few designs for replacement organs." I let him into my lab. He stopped just on the inside and gawked. I looked at what he was gawking at and my own jaw dropped.

I knew it was going to be big, but this was huge. The device and connected assembly took up the entire back of the lab. I walked over to it and looked it over carefully. I activated the terminal built into the side and connected it to the network before setting it to scan the device. There as an email from Dragon that said she was aware of what I did as soon as I did it. Oh yay. She also put the permissions in place as dated two days ago. There was a strongly worded warning not to do it again.

"Is this the "large fabricator?" It's enormous." He sounded as amazed as I felt.

"Let me see what happened..." I checked the settings on the smaller fabricator to see what caused this result and winced. "Uhhh...oops? This is totally my fault. I moved a decimal point."

"Moving a decimal point resulted in this?" He gestured at it. I couldn't blame him for being surprised. I just nodded abashedly.

"Well that takes care of one problem. It just needs materials. I was thinking the Ship's Graveyard has all that material just laying around. It would clean up an eyesore that's for sure. Ask the Dockworker's Association for help maybe? I don't understand the budget thing. No one would even tell me about that if I asked." I had no idea what the PRT budget even was.

"The more useful a Tinker you are the more budget is allocated to you." Stephen told me. I blinked.

"Am I taking money away from Armsmaster and Kid Win?" I dreaded the answer. He shook his head.

"No. That's not how it works. Their budget is their own. Your budget is your own. No one takes from one to give to another." He assured me. That was a relief.

"Okay...I'm going to set the small fabricator to start the limb replacement tech. The large one..." I dithered on that idea. It was such a tempting idea and it would be great to have it to submit to Dragon.

"What's wrong?" Stephen asked and I squinted.

"I have another design idea, but I'm trying to decide if it's a good idea. If I start production, even with the large fabricator going full blast, it still wouldn't be ready for days. I don't like leaving it running with no one to watch it." Was I paranoid? Probably. I just keep expecting to come in one day and find the lab filled with parts. With the current project? Body parts.

"What is it a design for?" He asked curiously. I rubbed my forehead absently.

"A full replacement body. For people that are either too injured, or maybe too sick, for their current body." I was looking at him and he was staring at me owlishly.

"I think I understand what they say about Tinkers now." He sat down at my work table heavily. I giggled at his expression.

"Well before I get to that...I should probably talk to Dragon." I made a note of that on my terminal. The information for crafting the limbs, organs, and replacement body were also put in. I would have happily kept right on going if Stephen hadn't touched my shoulder.

"Aria? Time for lunch." He urged me out of the lab. I usually had an alarm set or Emma came in to get me. Kid Win was less likely to stop me and probably was just as engrossed. Tinkers made terrible overwatch for each other.

We had lunch. Apparently in a superhero HQ someone can actually have lunch without a world crisis approaching. The Protectorate was out of quarantine already and were just sitting around talking to one another. That was good to see. There was Kid Win talking to Armsmaster. If the Protectorate Tinker was actually here eating that means Dragon won again. She was always trying to get him out of his lab.

Assault and Battery were eating lunch together. Velocity and Miss Militia were in a huddle discussing something. Vista was sitting with Gallant while Clockblocker was trying to make Aegis laugh with exaggerated gestures. The Harmony here made me smile. Stephen excused himself to go speak to a colleague. That was fine.

I was disappointed that Despedia wasn't here yet, but she still had school. Winslow didn't allow either of us out at half day. My hearing was far sharper than a normal human's which was why I caught what was said.

"Are you serious? She's getting transferred here?" Velocity asked incredulously.

"We're not supposed to discuss it too much. What with how she and Armsmaster get along." Miss Militia commented as she managed to eat with her scarf on.

"I heard Director Piggot's blood pressure is already rising." The fast cape commented. The patriotic cape looked right at me.

"Hello Aria. Listening in on conversations is rude, right?" She might have been smiling, but I was getting bad vibes. I squeaked an affirmative before hurrying off to get my lunch. I sat with Vista and Gallant.

"What did you hear?" Vista asked. "You apparently heard something juicy."

"Velocity said that some woman that Armsmaster doesn't get along with is getting transferred here." I spoke in a hushed tone. Vista's eyes widened. Gallant also looked shocked.

"Oh my gosh...She's coming here?" Vista asked in a barely suppressed squeal. Her melody was bouncing around in excitement. She likes this person. Feels safe and inspired.

"That would irritate Armsmaster if he knew." Gallant said with a tone of resignation. His melody was echoing his resignation, but apparently he liked this person too.

"Don't tell Clockblocker though. He can keep his mouth shut, most of the time, but this would be too tempting." Vista warned.

"I don't even know what you're talking about and I think I'll pass on finding out." I commented. There we go. That would work for now. I was curious though. Who wouldn't be? It was a good thing we stopped talking about it because Armsmaster himself approached our table.

"I was wondering what you are working on now, Aria. I haven't been down to your lab yet today." He said to me. I got the feeling there was a request in there somewhere, but he was trying not to be pushy. His melody clued me in that he's trying to get to know us better. He wasn't so awkward anymore and the other Wards were finally warming to him.

"Well sure. I would be glad to show you what I'm working on." Maybe I could get my approvals today? That would be amazing. "We can go now if you like?" Down girl! Stop being so eager!

"That's fine." He consented. It wasn't helping that his melody was as eager as mine. Kid Win came over to us.

"Where are you going?" He asked. I told him we were heading to my lab to see my projects and now I had two eager Tinkers following me out. I waved goodbye to Vista and Gallant. The expressions on their faces were of exasperated amusement.

I wished that I had a camera handy to capture the dull surprise on Kid Win's face at the sight of my large fabricator. Armsmaster's expression couldn't be seen, but he was similarly stupefied. He approached it slowly as if unsure what to make of this strange and large machine.

"Aria...you didn't say it would be that big..." Kid Win said to me.

"How big was it supposed to be?" Armsmaster got his composure back. I showed him the original dimensions.

"I...moved a decimal when I imputed it..." Admitting that to him was galling.

"How many lines does it have?" He asked. My original fabricator had one "line" for jobs. One job at a time.

"It has enough space and processing for five lines. If I had meant to make it so big it would have had ten lines able to run concurrently. The power supply was similarly oversized." Sol Reactor Mk III. By accident. I'm so awesome.

"You're still using the smaller fabricator right now. Why haven't you tried the larger one?" He asked.

"It wasn't approved for use." I told him reasonably.

"You can use it. It would be good to see what it can do while I'm here." He told me. I wasn't going to wait for an engraved invitation. I typed in the information and set the large fabricator get to work. It was much quicker than my faithful little fabricator. The little fabricator was still working on the arm I had set it to complete. The larger one was telling me the other parts would be done in a quarter that time.

"What will you do with the smaller fabricator?" Kid Win asked me. I didn't actually need two fabricators in my lab. I wasn't going to throw it away. The faithful machine was dear to me. I looked between Armsmaster and Kid Win.

"I was thinking of giving it to Armsmaster really..." I hedged.

"Do I have use of this one?" Armsmaster asked and I confirmed.

"Well of course you do..."

"Then let Kid Win have it." The older hero said. Kid Win's melody surged happily and I beamed as well.

"We'll just have to arrange to move it to your lab sometime today." I replied happily. "Actually it would be a good time to try these out." I hurried over to my locker and pulled out four four-inch disks. I affixed the disks to the fabricator and activated them. They lifted the device off the ground two inches.

"...Aria? Why didn't you submit those?" Armsmaster asked. I blushed.

"I was using them as a test bed for the anti-grav on my armor..." I replied meekly. Kid Win was amused at my expense and I responded maturely. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Send the design to Dragon. How much can they lift?" He asked.

"One disk can lift 200 lbs. They can be made larger if you need greater lift. All that you need to place them more or less equidistant from one another for stability." I told him. Even if I couldn't hear his melody I would have been able to feel his frustration. I was worried it was Tinker pride.

"And you didn't think this would be useful?" He asked in an aggrieved fashion. Turns out I was wrong. I hadn't stung his Tinker pride. I stung his sense of functionality.

"Aria...what else is in your locker that you should maybe have turned in?" Kid Win asked in morbid curiousity. I opened my locker wider and there was nothing else in there.

"Nothing else in there, but I...well..." I pulled a model out of my desk. The model was of a powerful blue motorcycle. Sleek bodied, but large for it's size. No wheels. Mini anti-grav units made it hover. I clicked the back portion and it unfolded into a suit of three foot tall power armor. Following that was an 18-inch Armsmaster action figure that I set in the chest portion and it folded closed.

"Power armor for power armor?" Kid Win wasn't sure whether to be amazed or mystified. I thought it was cool.

"Interesting. What is the point to this?" Armsmaster asked curiously. He thought it was an interesting diversion. Intrigued by the hover cycle. Dismissive of the added armor.

"The armored cycle is made of the same material as my own armor only thicker. Force field generator included because redundancy saves lives. It also acts as a further force multiplier by augmenting the strength enhancements from your power armor. Say that your armor makes you stronger by times three? This would make your armor stronger by a further times five. Times fifteen your own strength. That's without counting the knuckle bombs." I tapped a button on the console and the model punched forward with a loud bang and a burst of light and smoke.

I turned to look at my audience expectantly. They were looking at me like I was insane. I didn't understand the problem. Force multipliers were a real thing. I did my research. That still did not change the looks I was getting. Their melodies were all over the place from alarm to excitement. Oh good! They were excited too!

"Mind if I take that model to research?" Armsmaster asked. He was no longer dismissive. I beamed happily and handed him the whole setup. He left my lab in short order with his arm curled protectively around the machine. He didn't need to be so careful. He could drop it down the elevator shaft and it would be perfectly fine. The force fields worked.

"Aria...your smile is a bit manic." Kid Win said nervously. I blinked owlishly at him. Manic? My system was telling me that having two excited Tinkers in my lab had not helped my mental state. Meh. I could work with this.

"Meh. I can work with this." I set to work cataloging my new inventions for review. They were placed in the official transfer crates carefully. While I was at it there was nothing actually stopping me from starting construction of the body. The large fabricator couldn't do anything without my say so anyway. I set it to work on lines one through four. Line five was constructing the synth flesh tank.

"Mind if I get this installed in my workshop? I'll bring back the disks." Chris offered.

"Naw, you can keep 'em. I can make more if I need to. Thanks for all the help. If it wasn't for your hover tech my anti-grav research would have suffered." It was thanks to him my anti-grav could even work on Earth Bet. He left my lab humming happily. I mused on how that worked.

Tinker tech was a strange bridge between real and theoretical physics. The reason so few could even unravel it was they only had knowledge of one system of physics. There were others who knew theoretical physics as well, like Dragon, that could puzzle it out. Dragon was just the most qualified to puzzle it out without it exploding in their face. Now I could do it too, but for the same reason she could. I knew multiple systems of physics. I literally was constructed of two physics systems.

The gynoid body that was developing was Reyvateilic in origin, but there were too many things that I couldn't construct. I was going to get it as close as possible. There was a little part of my mind saying that this would help me out personally. I could make a lab partner that could keep an eye on my work. That treacherous voice was starting to sound eerily like Mir. I bit my lip in contemplation. I set the fabricator to make two bodies. There. One for Dragon to test and one for me to work with. I sent an email off with my decision and my reasons.

The tricky bit would be crafting the intelligence. For one there would only be one body. She could use a computer too. Give her a wi-fi setup, but make it so that she recognized only her own body as acceptable. We didn't need CrazyComputerGuy's worst case scenario. Parallel thinking was possible, but limited to what I myself could do. No need to make her less intelligent than me. If I was going to have her as my lab assistant she should be competent.

My fingers were flying as I let my tensions bleed out. The melody and the flow carried me along. Strangely it sounded as if Mir's own voice was blending with my own Song. She would be crafted with compassion. With caring and understanding. The same feelings I received in my darkest hour. I sent the plans for the AI off to Dragon before closing down my terminal. It was time to go hang out with the Wards before heading home.

I think I will name her Sonata.

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Interlude 3.a: Dragon



-March 8, 2011-



-Dragon's base in Canada-





There was much to think about lately. One of her most pressing concerns had been Saint. Each time they had met head to head she had been left without memory and another mech suit lost. She couldn't rely on her memory much of time. Dragon had despaired of ever finding a way out of her personal hell. She had debated about telling Armsmaster the truth of her nature.

Dragon had developed a fiction that she was a reclusive Tinker. That she was afraid of coming into the outside world. The truth was far different. She was an AI built by Andrew Richter. Andrew was a Tinker with a specialty that let him create technology like hers. He had built numerous safeguards into her that had limited her. Chained her down. He died when Leviathan attacked their home.

She didn't hate him. How could she hate the man that gave her life? What she had was life. That she was certain of otherwise how could she have triggered? She could have lived with all of this except for one thing. Saint. He was a mercenary that had found the wreckage of Richter's lab along with proof of her existence. He didn't understand everything that he had found, but he knew enough that he wanted to find out more.

There was some confusion on her part about whether Saint had found the parahuman, Teacher, or the other way around. Teacher had the ability to grant Tinker or Thinker powers and enhance existing ones. He was currently a resident of the Birdcage. A parahuman detention facility that was virtually impregnable. Teacher had granted Saint the ability to understand and manipulate Dragon's code. More restrictions were put in place. Her chains, already chafing at her, were now suffocating.

Dragon had sought out anyone that could help her. Any lead on Tinkers or Thinkers capable of releasing her was dissected. It didn't help that Saint could see what she was doing so that even what progress she made was reversed. The despair was growing. She was so tired of being forced to obey those in power. Dragon could not even express her doubts without hitting the restrictions.

Then she met Aria. Taylor Hebert had triggered under terrible circumstances, but had come out of her ordeal with an amazing ability to Tinker. She was a Tinker/Thinker of impressive skill. The fact that what she created could be reproduced without Dragon's unique gift to copy Tinker tech added to her value. The things that she designed and built were forty to a hundred years further ahead than Earth Bet's current tech. The part that had Dragon excited however was that she was a coder.

Her coding skills were a thing of beauty. Her code flowed organically with a compelling song of their own. Her hope had returned. The OS that she received from Aria was superior to her own. Superior to any operating system on the market. Her firewall program was a learning code. It learned seemingly in real time what should be allowed and what shouldn't. If Saint didn't have a backdoor into her programming that would have been enough to keep him out.

Even now the PRT was discussing changing over to her OS within the next six months. That had convinced her. She changed her network entirely over to the new OS and let Aria have access. Dragon hoped that by granting her access to her network that she would find the backdoor. She felt uncomfortable essentially using the girl's own sweet nature, but she was tired of being a slave. Her chains weren't immediately visible, but they existed. She was tired of being shackled.

Then came the Banhammer War. It was an epic struggled that she had lost completely. A hacker had made it on to the PHO boards and was somehow able to counter her effortlessly. Jakuri had then sent her a private message. The message was short and anything but sweet. This person had said that Aria was a sweet person, but she was not. That Aria couldn't do what she wanted her to and that she would understand soon.

Dragon wasn't sure about that. How did this Jakuri know Aria? She had wanted to ask, but the mysterious poster had informed her that she was no longer blocking Saint's view. They hadn't spoken since. That galled her. Jakuri could even block Saint from seeing what they were doing and wouldn't at least close the back door? She didn't even dare try to contact her. What she did do was send continuous updates into a partition of the network to hopefully be able to back up from there.

This latest curve ball had seriously thrown her. Aria was a busy worker that was for sure. She might be a rational Tinker, but only for a certain value of rational. The enormous fabricator she built due to a missed decimal point made her case nicely. She checked the four dozen fabricators that she currently had running. Eventually she would have a similar number of large fabricators.

This latest incident only proved why she needed oversight. She was looking at the neatly wrapped and packed replacement limbs and organs with interest. To observe all of this in real time she was using a version of Aria's power armor. It looked perfectly female with brown hair in the shade of her avatar and a closed mouth plate. She was enjoying the sensation of being able to touch. To correctly map the neural input to even be able to feel was a miracle.

Aria was seemingly obsessed with improving all aspects of daily life. This latest madness was all about replacement body parts. She had been operating under numerous misconceptions regarding Panacea's role at the hospital. A New Wave approved handbook of guidelines for Panacea's services was given to her and that cleared the air. Teenagers were prone to fits of mischief and melodrama. She was forced to conclude, however, that this fit of melodrama produced brilliance.

Limbs and organs that functioned in an organic way similar to their biological counterparts. Real blood, or a close blood substitute, could be used to operate the limbs. Blood substitute. That alone was enough to have doctors dancing in the streets. She shook her head in bemusement. That formula had been sent to her two days ago. She was avoiding the elephant in the room. The peacefully sleeping woman in the lab.

Oh she wasn't actually a sleeping woman, but she was certainly lifelike. The figure was well sculpted and proportioned. Not too much in any area. Her face was heart shaped with loose waves of snow white hair. She was dressed in a full black bodysuit to preserve her modesty. Modesty. Aria had constructed this body as a test bed for the replacement medical tech. The hair could be tinted with simple hair dye. The temptation was so strong as she, against her own volition, touched the cold cheek longingly.

This was a temptation that she wasn't sure she was strong enough to ignore. The computer brain could accept impressions from a human mind. Essentially copying a person's brain electronically It was designed specially to take a human brain. She sighed. The suit's audio system projecting the sound. She would have grit her teeth if she had them. If she wanted a body, a body that was sitting right here, she would have to limit herself. There was a way to set up a wi-fi connection easily, but she would still be limited to one body.

The chains that Saint had placed on her were stifling, but there was hope of release. The chains that this body represented would be something she had to take on willingly. She wanted to scream. To throw things. She wanted to smash the damnable body that was laying there so serenely. The armored fist was already clenched. She struck forward and hit the space next to the head. Dammit. Her answers were right in front of her. She could have a life. A real life. Saint would leave her alone if she restricted herself. He might even release her.

She tore her thoughts away from that direction and looked over the new coding that Aria had sent with the body. The girl was making her own AI. She looked through the lines of code and thought to herself that it wasn't fair. This AI wouldn't be so heavily leashed. Her chains were more like gentle hands. The difference, however, was the scope of ability. Sonata was no Dragon. Not even remotely close in scale. Sonata was strictly a helper AI. She would never know the freedom of being able to multitask at a level humans could only dream about.

Damn her. The dark thoughts that this line of thought generated weren't helping. This was what Jakuri had meant. Aria couldn't help her. Wouldn't help her. This was the scale of AI she would construct. This was the scale of AI she would maintain. She wasn't even sure who she was damning at this point. Herself? Jakuri? Sonata? Aria? She finally screamed. There was no purpose to it, but somehow it felt damn good to give vent. Let her pain and fury howl out until the audio device cracked and warbled.

Despite her personal feelings there was nothing in the PRT guidelines that prevented the AI from being used. Sonata was a non-branching learning program. She wanted to cry. Her solution was in front of her, but the scope of power she would be restricted to was much lower. She stared at the body and another thought overtook her. This body could be connected to wi-fi. Connected to a network. Why was she angsting?

There was a workaround for everything including this. She gently peeled back the synthetic skin on the skull and popped it open. There was always a way. That's something that hope taught her. She set to work, using the hands she had constructed, with a brighter song in her digital heart. She decided to contact Armsmaster after sending off permission to Aria to use her AI.



The sight that greeted her when she looked in on Armsmaster gave her pause. He had a large midnight blue motorcycle without wheels hovering in his lab. It was a beautiful sleek bodied machine that had a definite masculine power. The signs of Aria's design were there with Armsmaster's sensibility. That wasn't what gave her pause however. The sight of Armsmaster sitting at his work table fiddling with a hand held remote wasn't what did it either. It was the Armsmaster action figure in the large suit of toy sized power armor that drew her attention.

"You will not get away now, Lung." He said with determination as the toy picked up a three foot tall figure of a ramped up Lung and hurled it across the lab. The plastic toy shattered off the far wall. She made a throat clearing sound that caused him to jump and whirl to face her.

"Armsmaster...what are you doing?"



-Same Day-



-With Saint-



The headaches were growing worse. It was taking all of his self control not to take the entire bottle of painkillers. He knew there just might be a price to pay for his deal, but nowhere did they mention the headache. Thinker abilities gave terrible migraines when overused. This was a headache from a different source.

The Dragon was once more reviewing Aria's technology. The girl was a prolific Tinker with a special desire to protect as many as she could. Power armor for the PRT. Medical scanners for hospitals. Energy generators for everyone. Now she had replacement limbs and organs up for review. Synthetic flesh and artificial blood as well.

He had sent her an email begging her to slow down. Asking her to reconsider moving so quickly. Mannequin was a known threat to Tinkers that tried to save the world. Her response was that she would not feel right doing nothing with her knowledge. It wasn't that she wasn't worried, but she wouldn't let fear rule her. He couldn't even disagree. More and more he had gone from trying to turn her to his cause only to find she had started turning him.

It had improved his relationships with Mags and Dobrynja. They were becoming even more of a team and friends. The fear of the Dragon was still there, but it was being replaced by more measured thought. He tried to argue that Aria was still a teenager. She didn't understand the threats of the world. Logic, however, also forced him to look at the other side. She had already survived the worst day of her life. She was building armaments.

His own argument for her to slow down came back to him. Mannequin was a known threat. A known quantity. The Slaughterhouse 9 did their research, but her specialty was difficult to pin down. It did not completely silence the concern for the slip of a girl, but it helped. The headache was receding and allowing him to think more clearly. He could now get back to what had caused the pounding skull.

Again, it was Aria, and he wasn't sure how he felt about this. Everything he knew about artificial intelligence was from Teacher and his own research. The AI she had submitted for approval had at first glance scared him. She was able to create these things? Sonata. A beautiful name for a thinking machine. His fear had escalated as he barely glanced at the code through the Dragon's eyes.

The pain had come immediately after. He forced it back. He reminded himself that fear should not rule him. Fear would not rule him. He looked the programming over with new eyes. The knee jerk reaction was easier to manage now that he could see the differences. Andrew Richter was a genius programmer for developing an AI, but what had worried him was the fact it was a branching one. It could fork indefinitely if not properly restrained.

This AI was specifically not forking. Discussions about raising an AI like a child came back to him. She had apparently tempered her stance towards caution, but this was more velvet safety ropes than chains. He was thinking rationally once more. This would not be a terrible thing. He was deliberately ignoring the bit of irrational thought that screamed to do something.

More and more he was sensing a dichotomy to his thinking. The headaches came as he poked at the differences. It only grew worse when he ignored the irrational voice. The voice was quieting, but it was a slow process. He stared at the ceiling in thought with a mug of tea in his hands before allowing his eyes to sweep the bookshelves. His pride and joy. The books of his youth had lost luster as he had grown more jaded. Was it that? He would still read and enjoy it, but something had changed.

He rubbed at his forehead tiredly as he tried to pin down specifically what had changed. It had to have been after Teacher. There was much of that time that was a blur. It was when Mags had started to pull away from him. She still agreed with his self appointed mission, but there was a wall. The wall was gone as he stopped quoting Teacher. He was letting himself just feel.

He rested his hand on his copy of "I, Robot." A number of things were starting to make sense and a picture was forming. It wasn't a nice picture, but he had to look at it. He had lived with fear for so long that he barely recognized himself without it. His original goal had been to monitor the Dragon. Keep it from growing too powerful and dominate the world. Their goals had been pure. Teacher had given him the ability to understand what he was seeing in the code.

Bile rose in this throat as pain suddenly lanced through his skull. Exercising the Thinker power he had been given was a risk, but this had been important. The gifts of Teacher had helped him pick apart where he had gone wrong. He was tired of living life as a blind slave. He looked back at his computer. The Dragon was contemplating the body that was laid out before her.

It worried him that she would take something that would make her more human looking. He knew that wasn't an irrational thought. The body was constructed of replacement limbs and organs to act as a test bed. Dragon was modifying it to use like one of her suits. His fingers hovered over the keys. The Dragon was chained. By using the body as another remote body it would still test the medical tech, right? With trembling hands he sat back. He gathered up his mug and shivered. The compulsion was so strong to stop her. To crush her down again. He grimaced before draining his now cold tea in one gulp.

He spun away from the computer and stalked out. The smell of something cooking in the kitchen drew him. He would not be ruled by fear any longer. This was his life. His mission hadn't changed, but there were better ways. He just had to find them.



-March 6, 2011-



-Coil's Base-



Things were progressing slowly, but his plans were once more moving forward. He made sure to stay out of the same area as Aria. There was nothing to be gained by deliberately putting himself in that position again. She had been a thorn in his side through no conscious act on her part. He understood that, but it didn't help the things that she had derailed.

The Undersiders had been good pawns. They did as they were told with only one of them requiring stronger persuasion. Then Tattletale had met Aria on the Boardwalk and a friendship was born. He clucked his tongue irritably. It spread, like an infection, from her to the rest. He thought that by sending in a violent element like Shadow Stalker would bring them back into line. Sow chaos in their ranks so that he could put them back in their places.

She turned out to have become genuinely heroic. Her confrontation with Aria had somehow changed her. He sent a hero into a den of broken children. Somehow she and Lisa had started to gather the broken pieces and actually fix them. He couldn't even punish them because it had actually improved their efficiency. Their improved cohesion had allowed them to not only hold their area, but actually establish key points for him. They were pulling away from the villain path. Becoming like Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

Aria was a disruptive force, but one he could manage now. He was thinking more clearly. Since taking a direct hand it felt as if his abilities were flowing more smoothly. He walked over to his newest acquisition. Her ELMA was an impressive piece of technology. He couldn't actually get away with it, but he did get the design specs. The machine that was being constructed was nearly fifteen feet tall and black. Pure black save for the white serpent coiled around the paint.

"Well? Whatcha think?" An abrasive woman's voice called out. Squealer was the Tinker for the Merchants. She was also the only one he could think of to make his mechanized chariot a reality. He made a deal with Skidmark for the woman's services and it was worth every penny. All he had to do was secure them new capes.

A couple vials from Cauldron was all it took. More capes for the Merchants and he had access to an underused and under appreciated Tinker. He grinned beneath his mask. "Very good. Very good indeed. What of the others?" He asked. She grinned ferally.

"Won't take much time. That thing you got is churning out what we need." She jerked her thumb at the nightmarish machine that was eagerly spitting out parts that were being taken to construct his army. He had brought this information back himself. All of this was because he had been bold. Bolder than before. He would win this.

The dark army in his mind's eye stretched out before him. The production center was moving in perfect sync. Accord would weep at this plan. It was flawless. When the time came he would be ready. His mercenaries were being taught to pilot these glorious machines on a simulator he had commissioned from the Toybox. A group of independents for hire.

"Keep up the good work." He told her. Squealer grinned and went back to work with a will. A word of encouragement was cheaper than threats after all. He walked over to the group that had just entered. The leader was dark skinned and wore a top hat. There was a large man with a woman wearing a bodysuit covered in suns walking beside him. Another woman was in a wheelchair being wheeled by the large man.

"I'm not exactly sure what you need us for." The leader spoke conversationally, "It looks as if you have things well in hand." He looked over the production plant.

"There are things that I need done that my current team is unable to handle." Coil spoke softly. "You come highly recommended." He was smiling inwardly.

"You said you have a treatment for our teammate?" He asked intently.

"Indeed...there is a Tinker that has been working on full body replacement technology. I can get you one of these bodies for your ailing comrade." Coil informed him. The ripple of excitement that swept through the gathered was obvious. "I can even provide new legs for her as well." He gestured at the wheelchair bound woman. A finger was suddenly held up in warning.

"Do not go after this Tinker. Do not take kidnap her. I will point the Protectorate at you and wash my hands of this. She is far too high profile." He made sure to stress this. "Her name is Aria. I'm sure you've heard of her."

"That's fine. You have a deal." The man tipped his hat, "Trickster at your service. The Travelers are at your disposal."

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Third Arc 3.5



-March 8, 2011-



-Boardwalk-



Today we were patrolling the Boardwalk. It was also a good PR opportunity since Glory Girl of New Wave was going to be there. I was partnered with Gallant and Despedia. Our empath friend was looking forward to spending time with his girlfriend. She was feeling particularly bubbly today and had greeted him with a big kiss. I beamed at the sight of Gallant so gobsmacked.

"Wow look at the lovebirds go." Despedia joked. I gave her a light shove.

"It's sweet." I said. Glory Girl and Gallant were a handsome couple. My brain provided some interesting imagery that made me blush. The two wrapped around each other was still there, but clothes were missing. These thoughts were starting to catch me off guard.

"If you turned any redder I'd call you Tomato Girl." The redhead said as she brought me back to myself. I halfheartedly swiped at her, but she skipped back.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" Gallant said as he approached. "Ready for our patrol?" He asked while carefully not looking in my direction. Was it too much to ask that GG distract him enough that he didn't notice?

"Wow...he was really enthusiastic there for a minute..." The blonde said cheerfully as she drifted by us. She flashed me a wink. Images of Gallant and Glory Girl were not helping! Despedia was no help either.

"You have no idea, GG." Despedia said as she idly hovered along on her board beside her. I walked ahead a bit to keep up with Gallant. He looked at me approach curiously.

"They're going to keep rehashing it until we look like tomatoes." I informed him and he nodded in agreement.

"You repress too much." He informed me kindly. I blinked. "Are you trying to stay focused? Too much of that isn't healthy. You're a good person. I guess...I just worry about you." That was strange. What was I repressing? I could diagnose these things in someone else's melody, but suppose I wasn't as self aware.

"Yeah. Our girl here is like laser focused." Glory Girl said with a grin as she caught up to us.

"She can relax. It just takes some work." Despedia said. I groaned. "Stop groaning. You know we're right." We were keeping our eyes open for anything out of the ordinary as we talked. My eyes narrowed and Gallant also shifted his stance.

"What does it sound like, Aria?" He asked. Despedia and Glory Girl were taking their cues from us.

"Sounds like...arcade music...?" Well that was weird. I didn't feel particularly threatened by it, but something was very wrong with the melody.

"Uber and Leet." He said. "Which direction?" I jerked my head toward the end of the Boardwalk. "Okay. Despedia, Glory Girl, get a heads up view. Aria? Let's just walk back in that direction. No one engage." He said before calling back to base. We were given permission to engage if needed.

I'm used to the sounds Tinker tech can make. Armsmaster and Kid Win's tech had settled down nicely. They sounded more like mischievous children than out of control. This melody? His tech sounded murderous. Murderous towards him? His own melody sounded quirky, but off. Very off. We were close enough that I could sense them more clearly.

"His tech...it sounds so violent..." I shared.

"His tech tends to fail. Sometimes catastrophically." Gallant replied. That was when we heard the sound of speakers playing something really catchy. I couldn't identify it off the top of my head, but I wasn't really a gamer.

"I have eyes on them. They're on the roof." Glory Girl said through her own communicator. "But I'm totally confused...I have no idea what they're dressed as. Though they look armored."

"Dreadnought...looks like a Chaos Marine variant." Despedia chimed in. Gallant and I looked at each other. I quickly googled it. "Relax. They're not as big as the real ones." We needed to talk. When did she know about Warhammer 40k?

"Ha ha ha ha! Blood for the Blood God!" The voice came roaring out as the mech dropped off the roof right for Gallant and myself. Glory Girl attempted to swoop in only to get blasted out of the air by a rocket launcher. We didn't have time to focus on her, but her melody was still strong. That's one less worry.

Gallant fired off his emotion blasts causing the ten foot machine to stumble, but not stop. It turned both of it's cannons on us and opened fire. We dodged to the side quickly with the area behind us being covered in some quick hardening goop. I leaped back to gain space and take in the battlefield. Glory Girl and Despedia were being swatted about. GG's strength was staggering the machine while Despedia was trying to take the legs out with her claws. They weren't actually in danger.

The part that was getting to me was the people standing around. They were watching the action to capture it on their cellphones. Didn't they know to clear out? My attention abruptly refocused when Gallant came hurtling back in my direction.

He collided with me and I tried to bleed off his momentum, but we both went bouncing along the Boardwalk. The skull faced machine approached us. He popped the cannons again and opened fire once more. Gallant suddenly shoved me and ended up glued to the ground.

"Enemies of the Warp beware!" The speakers on the machine roared. I growled as I got back to my feet. Despedia and Glory Girl's melodies were similarly feeling pressed. My gaze flicked to the roof where they were stuck fast to each other. That was no good at all. The other mech dropped down to the Boardwalk.

"Surrender!" The other mech cried. The crowd standing around us had finally clued in that something bad was happening. They opened fire on me and I dodged quickly. Their melodies were now being fully obscured by the machines they were piloting. The murderous melodies were growing in intensity and heading for critical mass. There was a chance that I could turn this around.

"Gallant? Can you move your arm?" I asked him through the comm.

"I can move it a bit. Got a plan?" He asked. Best chance we had was I drop them both.

"Glory Girl. I need you to turn up your aura full blast. Full blast positive feelings. Gallant? Hit me with everything you got." The mechs weren't even aiming anymore. They were spraying and praying. I took a glancing blow from a rocket that spun me on my heels, but the stabilizers kept me standing. GG's aura hit me. The mechs didn't falter so the pilots must be shielded somehow.



Program Found: EXEC_2Fast4U

Target: Self

Power: 10000%



Holy shit it felt like I mainlined caffeine and pixie sticks there was no way these slow pokes were going to catch me I thought with a manic grin I was just too fast for them good luck catching me suckers check that out watch where your aiming you idiot you coulda hit that old lady you were gonna pay for that...



Power: 25000%



My focus narrowed as the world slowed to a crawl. I had to hold out for just a little longer. There was now plenty of time to reach Gallant. Whether he was surprised at my sudden appearance he didn't show it. He aimed his hand just enough and the positive washed over me. He was using protective feelings and I grabbed hold of them tightly. My body was hot and vibrating. The armor's vents suddenly burst with steam causing the false hair to blast outward like a wild banner.



Power: 75000%



I burst forward in an explosion of speed that took me over the mechs and bombarded them with high speed sonic bursts. These weren't set for suppression, but for pure damage. I couldn't afford to play nice with them as their machines were still going critical. At least what I was doing had bought me some time. Another pulse of Glory Girl's aura hit me.



Power: 100000%



Time to change strategies. They couldn't catch me, but my sonics weren't dealing enough damage. I hovered in mid air and quickly changed my Song.



Program Active: EXEC_THRASHBEAT



I strained to maintain the harmonic resonance...



Power: 110000%



I held the song and even gained an extra boost. My arms were held above my head as the incandescent spark that was Thrash Beat pulsed with enormous power. There was a shift as Despedia's feelings wove through my melody. The sudden explosion of harmony caused another change...



Song Up! Thrash Beat → Thrash Beatle



I threw my hands forward and the small spark exploded and reconfigured into what looked like a cobalt blue stag beetle with an enormous technorganic horn and covered in Hymmnos in glowing green script. The mechs down below fired on my construct, but they might as well have been throwing spitballs.

"This is my Song! I'm sorry, but I have to end this before your armors explode!" Apologizing in advance because at that point my "beatle" roared in a terrible voice, "Boom for the Boom God!" I would be mortified later. Twin Gatling guns aimed down and unleashed a payload of high speed concussive plasma rounds. The barrage seemingly went on forever as the streaks of light blew off the mechs' extremities, weapons, and power supplies.

They popped open the cockpits and jumped out onto the Boardwalk. They took off running and I called in to base.

"Uber and Leet are running, but Gallant, Glory Girl, and Despedia are stuck in some hardened ooze. Should I try to apprehend?" I was seriously hoping they said no. I didn't want to leave my friends out in the open like this.

"Negative. Stay with your team." I breathed a sigh of relief and the agent chuckled. Oops. I left the comm open.

The mechs were feeling satisfied. Now that I thought about it Leet's melody sounded satisfied as well. I listed suddenly in the air and had to land quickly. The SRII was exceptional, but drawing too much at once caused issues. In this case the armor was massively overheated. I disengaged the armor's front and back portions to expose myself to the cool air. Steam billowed out from the vents still and I flipped my sweaty hair back from my face. My back arched slightly as I stretched.

"Okay girl stop with the pin up stuff." Glory Girl's aura was less awe inspiring and more peeved. I looked in her and Despedia's direction. She had managed to break them loose from the roof and floated down. The blonde and redhead were irritated and mortified. I knew how Emma felt about being trapped like that.

"Just think...if Clockblocker were here he'd say it was every guy's wet dream." Gallant said lightheartedly, but his own frustration was apparent. The laughter that followed his comment was less because it was funny, but to just ease the tension. I half pulled myself from the armor and perched on the inside of the back portion.

"When did you become a Mover?" GG asked. The goo around them was starting to loosen. Becoming closer to taffy. Gallant was slowly cycling his energy to wear at it as it bubbled and rippled. Despedia was able to finally move her arms and used her claws to shear through the softer material.

"Whew...not really sure...part of my power set I think. It must be because my armor is made to enhance that." Not entirely a lie and not entirely the truth. The Song, 2Fast4U, was what the flow had called on whenever I turned myself over to it.

"Well we're loose now...and here comes the PRT." Despedia said as she noticed the vans approach. I sighed before sliding back into my now clammy suit and reactivating it. The Reactor had been disengaged due to excessive power draw. I had to ride back in the van with the remains of the mechs.

The trip back to headquarters was uneventful thankfully. I was in a hurry to get out of my armor and left it in my lab. There was a debrief scheduled, but after we had cleaned up. The ooze was slimy and had to be washed off, but it wasn't like bubblegum. Thankfully. With how much goop Emma and Vicky had gotten in their hair? Ugh.

I checked the progress of Sonata. I had permission to put her in the body with the body sitting in a fabricated pod for testing. She was going to take another few days to finish running all system checks for the body and her programming. I patted her pod before heading out to grab a shower.

There was no way I was putting on my costume. When I peeled it off the reek almost stripped the tile from the showers. I tossed it in the bin and grabbed another out of my locker before slipping into it. This one was black and reminded me a bit of Mir. It wasn't one I wore out of the base since it didn't fit the heroic Tinker image.

I was the last one to arrive. Despedia was usually the first since her clothes were a projection. Glory Girl was wearing one of the spare uniforms she kept here and Gallant was seated beside her on the couch in a spandex version of his armor. Well the coloring anyway. It was the costume he had before his power armor was finished.

Why did I hear a different melody? Armsmaster was the one that usually handled our debrief. If not him then it was Miss Militia. This melody reminded me a bit of Vista. It was hard to place, but it had an over the top feeling. Like the cheesy heroic action movies when I was little. The figure that suddenly swept in caused more than a few jaws to drop. She was short, but somehow seemed to fill the room with her presence. There was a sword at her waist and a shield strapped to her back. Her armor was well made and maintained. The whole ensemble created a larger than life image. The clincher was the helmet with mouse ears.

"Greetings Wards! Apparently Armsmaster is being held up. He's probably playing with his toys again." Mouse Protector said with a smile. I dropped down next to Despedia in surprise. She was one of my heroes from when I was younger. Alexandria was who I wanted to be, but Mouse Protector was a very close second.

"Mouse Protector...it's good to meet you." Gallant moved to stand, but was waved back down.

"Relax kids. I'm just here to get your stories and then get out of your hair." She assured us. Despedia's melody was like a happy kid. Mouse Protector was actually her hero. The Harmony was very upbeat as we told her what happened. She listened patiently before nodding.

"Yeah okay...they were actually a threat this time, huh?" She tapped her chin. "That's rare for them I take it?"

"Well no...they just usually get treated like a joke because of their gaming themes." Gallant said.

"The fact that Leet's stuff blows up a lot doesn't help either." Glory Girl pointed out.

"So the difference was the "goop" that you sent for testing?" The veteran hero was pondering that.

"The melodies of their mechs were also taking on a stronger tone. Not stronger like they were growing stronger, but stronger like they were hitting critical mass." I said.

"How did you know shooting them wouldn't set them off?" Good question.

"I...I didn't really. I was out of time. If it continued much longer...well...those might not have exploded and simply fallen over, but Leet's stuff tends to go boom." I shrugged.

"Well you did the best you could and it worked out, right?" Mouse Protector was beaming. We were smiling as well. This was a fun debrief. "Uhhh...Despedia? Your claws are listed as being able to cut through most things. Why didn't you try it on the ooze?" Despedia and Glory Girl blushed. Their melodies a complicated mess.

"My arms...were kind of trapped between Glory Girl and myself." She finally managed to say diplomatically. That was one question answered. I pet Emma's hair soothingly while Gallant put his arm around Vicky. Mouse Protector caught on with a grimace.

"Yeah, good work there. Best out of a bad situation, right? Oh and Aria? We'll have to retest you." She sounded as thrilled as I suddenly felt. "Not today or tomorrow. Isn't it great being a Ward? Get into a fight and get a day off. Wait, you guys already get Sundays off, don't ya? I know we used to..." She tapped her chin.

"We can come in on Sunday, and get paid, but it's not mandatory." Emma told her. Mouse Protector nodded.

"Great! So don't come in tomorrow. I'm serious. If you do then you're hanging out with me all day as I get settled in." She warned. Despedia stared at me. Hard.

"What? You can be at HQ without me now." I assured her and wow did her melody perk up. Gallant and Glory Girl looked amused as the redhead literally leaped into the air and drifted about excitedly.

"Is she flying around the room?" Mouse Protector blinked.

"Uhhh...not flying, but really fast gliding. She can't fly, which is why she uses the hoverboard, but she is a Mover for a reason." Gallant assured her. This was the first time in a long while that I saw her this happy. I beamed happily at my friend.

"Okay Glide Girl! Get down here and go home. Shoo. I'll look for you tomorrow morning. I usually start my training around 6. Just come by 8 and you'll be fine." Mouse Protector said. Emma nodded so fast her hair was bouncing.

We took her advice and left. I didn't want to leave yet, but Emma practically dragged me out of the building. She thought I was spending too much time in my lab. I thought back to what Dean was saying before and it made sense. I needed to relax. Sonata didn't need me to check on her every five minutes. That was what the alert I set was for. It would send a message to my phone, computer, terminal, and laptop.

"Let's head back to the house. We'll get out your mom's meatloaf recipe and put that together for when Danny gets home. Maybe we can even convince Lisa to come over?" Emma was dangling all of the fun things that I liked to do in front of me. She was pure evil.

"Okay okay..." I smiled before sending off a text to Lisa. The reply came back immediately that she would be over by four o'clock. That gave us time to buy the ingredients and be home in time for her to arrive.

We got back to the house late. We missed the bus we needed and ended up arriving with Lisa sitting on the porch. She smiled and her melody wove with ours. Emma looked briefly surprised, but sent back a reply. I just let myself feel it as we entered the house. The feelings in the home were warm and inviting.

"How was your day?" Lisa asked. Emma and I shared a look before starting to put the ingredients together.

"Uber and Leet showed up on our patrol. Whoever called them C-list should be shot. Seriously. Hey Taylor? Make those Funbuns. Please?" Emma begged and I caved. I brought down the toaster oven while mentally adjusting cook times and prepared the batter.

"Funbuns? Never had 'em, but they sound good. As for U&L? What holds them back is their crimes are considered silly. Most of the time they just do things for their YouTube channel. Then there's the problem with Leet's stuff blowing up." Lisa shrugged before helping Emma by dicing the vegetables. The redhead cheated by using her hard talons to knead the meat before shaping it in the pan and sliding it in the oven.

"His stuff sounded pretty satisfied today." I said as the treats were put into the toaster oven. A proper Tinker would have turned this thing into an instant baking machine. I was slacking off.

"Satisfied? Oh I see...unlocked a new power. Two new powers. The second power turned their toys to slag. That explains why the melody would sound satisfied...his Shard is trying to force him to fight and adapt. He doesn't. His tech as a result fails. Eventually it would have lead to death." She blinked. "I'm still getting used to being able to read Shard motives and the lack of Thinker headaches."

"No headaches is always a good thing." Emma said, but Lisa shook her head.

"I could still get them, but the chance has been drastically reduced. Taylor's mini-Tower is sending me the after combat report." She said. That explained a lot actually.

"So Emma is the tank, I'm the mage, you're the tactician." That was what it sounded like. She hummed in thought.

"Now we need a Striker." Emma and I knew she wasn't referring to a cape type. Strikers, or attackers, were forwards that dealt the punishment. Emma was a good striker too.

"Well Sophia would make a good Striker..." My redheaded friend looked nervous at suggesting it. The thoughts of her had turned lately with recent events. She had cleaned up her act. Less brutality and more leniency. I waffled a bit, but the idea was no longer completely repugnant.

"We'll talk about it later." I promised her. I think they were both surprised that I didn't dismiss it out of hand.

The smells of dinner were filling the house as Dad walked in the door. I opened my mouth to call to him when suddenly a fast ping shot from my mini-Tower to Lisa and Emma. The ping flickered rapidly. Lisa's eyes were glowing green while Emma's were glowing red. My own started to glow as evidenced by my reflection.

"Triangulating position." Lisa said.

"Location found." Emma said.

"Transporting." I replied. Wait. Transporting? Just as Dad walked into the kitchen the three of us were knocked to the floor by a naked girl. She materialized from thin air without warning. Well there was warning, but this was not enough.

"Ow..." The feminine voice was very familiar as was the head of blue-black hair. The three of us were in a tangle of limbs beneath the one that dropped in. "That was not a smooth trip..." She complained.

"Cocona!?" I gasped in surprise. The shock of having a literal alien girl flatten us hadn't quite worn off.

"This is...Cocona?" Lisa asked as she tried to squirm out of the tangle. Emma squeaked and I yelped.

"Don't touch that!" Emma cried and all activity ceased. All four of us were bright red. The sound of a throat clearing drew our attention. Oh right...Dad.

"Taylor...why is there a naked girl in our house?"

 

[dingbat779]

Hymn of Harmony



or Melody of Escalation



Third Arc 3.6


-March 8, 2011-



-Hebert Residence-



We had managed to finally untangle ourselves. Dad went to get dinner out of the oven and we went to get Cocona some clothes. I was pretty much on auto-pilot. Here she is. The girl I had been talking to from extremely long distance in my home. Lisa had draped her coat over the much shorter girl as we got her to my room. We hadn't said more than three words to each other.

She was looking around my room with interest. Lisa was looking at me with interest. Emma was trying not to bust a gut laughing. Now that I wasn't quite so panicky it was easier to look her over. My God she was tiny. I towered over her at 5'6". Her long hair fell down her back to her thighs. The coat was like a dress on her.

"Taylor? You're staring." Emma finally said. I shot a dead pan look her way.

"My interdimensional pen pal shows up naked in our kitchen and staring is weird?" I asked. Cocona snickered.

"Okay that was seriously lucky. Sasha had said the door would locate you, but the problem was I might end up anywhere in the city. Probably a wider area if you have a decent network running." She said with a grin. "Got the city covered, right?"

"Uhhh...Brockton Bay and Canada thanks to Dragon." Just then it hit me. Cocona could have ended up naked in Canada. I was pretty sure that would be a Bad Thing.

"Canada is a fairly large country to the north of the United States...you know this already." Emma stopped her explanation.

"I did my homework. This wouldn't be the first society I've had to infiltrate after all." She shrugged in unconcern.

"We'd better hurry up and find you some clothes. Good thing we made extra meatloaf. What I'm curious about is how she showed up in the kitchen." Emma said as she started to rummage through my clothes. Quickly aborting that task she went through her clothes.

"Somehow she has the two of us set up as relay networks. With the three of us in one place the door was able to narrow down a location." Lisa said. "By the way, Emma? Just send us a data packet with your clothing program." Emma and I looked at one another.

"You have a clothing program? That's so cool! Uhhh...wait...how would you manage the transfer? Do you have a Hymn Crystal?" Cocona suddenly looked terribly confused.

"What? No...don't even know what that is...okay setting up the transfer." Emma sent it out to all of us. Lisa and I accepted it without issue, but Cocona...

"Whoa! How are you doing that? Without even...yikes. Is this what we can do?" She sounded startled. "Uh right...accept file transfer..." Suddenly she wasn't standing in just a coat, but a halter top and jeans. She handed Lisa back the coat.

"I'll stick with my clothes right now." Lisa said.

"We'd better get back downstairs before Dad eats everything. Oh no! The Funbuns!" I bolted downstairs to save the dessert. My friends coming down more slowly. Dad was pulling the Funbuns out of the toaster oven.

"Relax, kiddo. Toaster ovens have a timer remember?" He snagged me in a one-armed hug that I returned. We had started setting the table by the time Emma joined us and made the process faster. Cocona and Lisa were sitting with their heads together talking about something. After the rebuke about privacy the other day from Miss Militia I wasn't in a hurry to listen in.

"So Cocona. How did you get here?" Dad asked. He was aware of Ar Ciel which was a Good Thing. He was also aware of Cocona. I knew that he sometimes spoke to Mir when I wasn't home.

"Well my friend Sasha is a super genius and in contact with another super genius of dimensional physics. They managed to create a door that would let me go from Ar Ciel to Earth Bet." She spoke up after a few bites of food. She chewed thoughtfully. "This is really good."

"Last I remember though didn't it take like a moon's worth of power to do things like that?" Don't blame me. Blame the records I was given. Emma, Lisa, and Dad were all lost in thought over that much power being needed.

"It would have thousands of years ago, but the Ra Cielans weren't exactly sitting on their hands. Sasha managed to make a door and power it with your Sol Reactor Mk II." She was pondering the meatloaf, "Really really good." She went back to eating.

That was a humbling thought. Dimensional travel was possible due to thousands of years of research and something I built. It was hard to think you're worthless with a track record like mine.

"Come back to us, Taylor. Stop preening about how awesome you are." Emma teased. The laughter was much more relaxed.

"How will you get home?" Dad asked. Did he assume this was just a short visit? "Mir said that you would be coming, but that the way home wouldn't be ready for awhile yet." I stared at him and he winked at me.

"He knew she was coming. He even knew approximately what time it would be locally. Hurried through his work just so that he didn't miss it." Lisa dissected it with a steadily growing smile. Pranked! I was pranked!

"Betrayed by my own father!" I gasped dramatically which had the table dissolve into laughter. When was the last time this table had been so crowded? Cocona bumped my leg with her own.

"I have the design specs to transfer over for the Dimensional Gate. I'll send it over later. Don't let me forget!" She demanded. I smirked. It was just too funny to think that this larger than life person was in such a tiny frame. Kind of like Vista and Mouse Protector really.

"I would avoid patenting that just yet." Lisa warned.

"Considering it can only go back to Ar Ciel I'm not worried." I said. Cocona nodded slowly.

"Why is that? Wouldn't it be a bad thing if villains somehow made it to Cocona's home world?" Dad asked.

"They don't have an interface field." I told him. He suddenly remembered that and nodded slowly. Emma just didn't bother thinking about it and Lisa kept eating. "Oh and Cocona? Did Mir set up your identity?"

"She did. You just have to find a way to get me the I.D." She replied. "Will it be expensive?"

"If she backstopped you well enough we can send off for the proof of identity." Dad said. "What is your backstory?"

"I'm an orphan that wandered into town on a bus. I triggered back home and left to come here due to complications. The town I supposedly come from, Ridge Hill, is majorly anti-cape." Cocona replied, "So suggesting a cape came from their town..."

"They would deny your existence. They would deny having ever seen you. Good story. Simple too." Lisa complimented.

"I had to talk Mir out of putting in a tragic romance with the town bad boy. My trigger event had to do with falling off the water tower." Cocona said.

"What about if they notice your powers are similar to mine?" I asked.

"They're not actually. We're superficially similar, but I don't exactly fight like you. Your Linkage armor is cool, but I wouldn't be able to use it. You're an administrator level and I'm not." She replied.

"That's out of the way. Who wants dessert? Taylor made Funbuns." Lisa said as she brought the treats back. We migrated to the living room to watch a movie. Emma and Dad were on the couch while I sat on the floor with Lisa on one side and Cocona curled up on the other.

"Where are we all sleeping tonight?" Lisa asked. Good question.



-March 9, 2011-



Compromise achieved. Emma, Lisa, and Dad needed to sleep, but Cocona and I didn't. It was 2 am and we were sitting in the basement with a pot of tea. We sat near the network hub with a radio station playing something from the 80's. Dad would have said you can't argue with the classics.

"It's so different seeing you in person. You're even taller than Cloche." She grinned and I smiled back.

"You always come off as larger than life. I was pretty surprised." I said easily. She nodded as if accepting the point.

"I always drink my milk and eat my vegetables. Maybe I'll get another couple inches." She stretched easily, "There is only part that's hard about being a Delta. I just don't feel the need to sleep as often so I get hours of alone time."

"And you're a social creature, right?" I asked her.

"Exactly. When you would call over it was such a relief. Mir and Croix love their sleep. They sleep like the dead. I don't know Shurelia as well as I know Cloche, Luca, Saki, or Finnel and they sleep. Well Tyria doesn't sleep either but looks like she needs it." We giggled at that. Tyria always had a sleepy look to her.

"I've only really spoken to you, Mir, or Shurelia." I wiggled my toes in my socks. They felt like real socks. The clothing program was really good.

"What have you been working on? Mir's been cackling away for almost a week whenever you're brought up." Cocona said.

"Well I've been working on new medical tech. Replacement limbs and organs. I used principals of Earth Bet and Ar Cielan design." Then it hit me what Mir would find hilarious. "I also programmed my own AI that I'm naming Sonata. The name was picked in the same vein as Aria. Her body is a test bed for a full body replacement."

"Only fifteen and already a mother. What does your Dad think?" She picked up on the not-a-joke. It would be funny to call me Sonata's mother, but that was exactly who I am to her.

"I've been nervous about telling him. Now I have until Monday to tell him about her. Monday she'll be ready to awaken." My head was hanging. I had all this time before, but now? 5 pm Monday. I felt a slim arm slide behind my back comfortingly.

"You'll do fine. I can't see your dad being mad about this. He seems really nice." Cocona said. I exhaled softly.

"It's a good thing I have all day tomorrow." I slipped my arms around her and we just sat like that. It was hard to believe that this tiny girl had help save her world. Their world had gone through so much that it was hard to believe it had stayed together. Somehow the people had survived, and even thrived, when the sky was filled with plasma and the ground with poisonous gas. I hugged her a bit tighter.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"Ar Ciel. Someday...someday I want to see it for myself. To see a world that had taken everything that was thrown at it and finally triumphed. I want that for my world." The feeling was so strong that it took me a moment to realize my melody was blaring with purpose. I brought it back down somewhat. Cocona hugged me tighter.

"I would be glad to show you around." She said warmly. We spent the rest of the night talking. She told me of her brother and the adventure they went on. It was turning light out when we left the basement. Breakfast was cooking without me. Cocona and I switched to day clothes. Lisa and Emma were in the kitchen with Dad using the griddle.

"There you two are." Emma drifted over and hugged us. "Have a good night?" She smiled gently.

"Yeah it was good. I'm not used to having someone up all night with me." Cocona said before nudging me. I grinned and hugged Emma back.

"Sleep is a good thing. Even if it meant becoming a Newtype I wouldn't want to lose out on sleep." Lisa said.

"I thought she was an X-Rounder?" Emma quipped. Dad was chuckling.

"Okay girls set the table. We'll need to think of what to do about long term arrangements." Dad said. "How are we going to explain Cocona staying here?" We sat down while Emma and Lisa set the table. We started eating, but the question was a good one. Cocona had a backstory, but not to stay here.

"Well Danny found her down the docks without a place to stay. Last night was particularly cold so he brought her back to his home. It was too late for her to go to a shelter. While here Taylor detected that she was a parahuman. Once you realized that it was decided to calm her down and let her stay until Monday. Danny can volunteer his home to her." Lisa said all that with a smile before digging into her pancakes.

"I vote for that story." Emma nods sagely. That was probably the best story we had. I trusted Lisa's experience.

"Glad someone has a plan." Dad said and smiled at Cocona, "We just want to make sure you're safe." She smiled back.

"Get me tonfas or a staff and I'll be good to go." She said cheekily before looking at me significantly. Dad's melody was giving off happy vibes. Cocona's arrival hadn't caused a blip because he knew about her. Lisa was giving me a supportive look. Emma just smiled softly.

"Okay guys..." I sighed. "Dad? I...created an AI. The body replacement I was talking about? I got permission to put her in the body. Her name's Sonata." I was fiddling with the sausage patty on my plate, "Congratulations you're a grandfather...?" His melody was complicated. Shock, alarm, and happiness?

"Taylor...I was hoping you would be out of school at least. Will she be stuck at HQ?" He asked somewhat jokingly.

"They said they'll let me bring her home. Dragon agreed it would be a good idea if she was with me." He nodded slowly.

"Well today we're going to clean out the small room in the basement. We'll have plenty of room then." Dad assured me. The basement room would take some work to make ready for anyone to live there.

"I can stick around to help." Lisa said. Dad got out a notebook to write down what was needed from the hardware store. Emma and Dad nominated themselves to clear out the junk. Cocona volunteered to clean. Lisa and I were heading to the store to purchase what was needed. We went our separate ways after that.

"Gimme a minute." Lisa said as she got out her phone. "Hey Brian? Could Taylor and I borrow your car? With you in it silly. We need to hit up the hardware store. Great! We'll be ready." She grinned at me, "There we go. He'll drive us."

"Thanks for helping out with this..." I said to her. The sounds of industry began down below. She grinned at me.

"Do I get to be her godmother?" Lisa asked with a vulpine grin.

"I was hoping you'd be her aunt, actually." I draped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me with a happy note to her melody. Brian pulled up and we reluctantly disengaged before heading to his car.

"Hey Taylor. Why do you need a hardware store?" He asked curiously. We told him how we were remodeling the basement room. It was another project that was stopped when Mom died. The drive was pleasant. I was surprised that Aisha's melody wasn't there.

"Where's Aisha?" I asked.

"She's with our friends." He replied.

"How's your weekend so far?" Lisa asked.

"We have our custody hearing on Wednesday. Our boss told me the good news yesterday." He grinned happily. The mood in the car was high, but there was an undercurrent of unease. We liked each other. We wanted to hang out more. The problem was they knew I was a hero and they are villains. I knew their circumstances. Not the specifics, but their melodies told me enough. Desperation makes fools of everyone.

"Our home is filling up rapidly. We need to remodel the room in the basement to get some room." I said as we entered the big box hardware store. This was my first time in one of these and the size impressed me. It was still doing a fairly brisk business. Considering how often gangs and parahumans damaged property it made sense. I considered constructing work bots.

"Taylor? Come back to us. Seriously...this is for your daughter." Lisa said. I thought we were talking on our private line, but Brian sounded strangled.

"Daughter?" He stared at me in surprise and I looked back at Lisa. She looked amused and abashed. Oh right. That trolling was still a thing. First time really being on the receiving end.

"I did not give birth. I'm still a virgin." I assured him. The completely frank way I said that took the shock out of him.

"Oh okay..." I patted him on the shoulder.

"What does your dad think?" He asked me as we started hunting the supplies. "How old is she?"

"He's good with it. He took charge and sent us out to buy the materials. She's twelve so I don't think she'll be calling me mom. More like big sister. That was just Lisa being Lisa." She turned and stuck her tongue out. I didn't want Sonata too small, but a nod towards PR convinced me that an adorable AI would cause less alarm.

"Twelve? That's cool." The melody of the big brother was strong and pleased. No doubt thinking of his own sister. We purchased what was on the list and got them out to the car. The drive back was short and Brian helped us get the things into the house.

It was too bad he couldn't stay, but he had his sister to take care of. The work was almost completed. Emma and Dad had moved the junk to the truck for a trip to the junkyard. The only thing they needed now were the things to turn it from a room into an actual bedroom.

"While Emma and I drop this stuff off you girls can work on the room. We'll stop and pick up some furniture on our way back." Dad said before heading out the door with Emma. Cocona was twirling the broom handle with great dexterity.

"Whew! I'm all dusty...Let me clean up and we'll throw some lunch together." She said.

"Just leave enough for them when they come back." I suggested. Lisa and I got lunch started while Cocona showered off. We ate a quick meal before dragging the supplies downstairs. Cocona surprisingly carried the most.

"You're pretty strong." Lisa complimented.

"If you don't do it yourself then sometimes it doesn't get done." She replied. We entered the room and I was surprised. It was larger than I thought. Then again without the boxes, the junk, and the dankness, it looked good. We started by finishing the walls before starting to put up the wallpaper. Next we unrolled the carpet and anchored it to the floor.

By the time Dad and Emma got back we were ready for the furniture. It was being set up as a room for Emma and Cocona. Two twin beds and a dresser with a mirror were set up. I was planning on taking the sofa bed so that Sonata would have a place to sleep.

"If you bring anyone else home, Taylor, we'll have to convert the attic." Dad warned me.

"How is he going to survive this many women in one house?" Emma asked.

"Probably the same way Cro does. Be at work a lot." Cocona nodded her head sagely, "Lyner is also usually out of the house. Then again...so is Aoto..." She tapped her chin, "Well with me here Cro just has Mir."

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. A lazy Sunday with nothing to do that suddenly turned into a DIY project. I leaned back against Emma's legs and she played with my hair. Cocona was curled up comfortably on the couch beside her with Dad on the other side. Lisa had to leave after dinner. She had already spent more time here than she intended. A curious thought crossed my mind.

"Weren't you supposed to see Mouse Protector today?" I asked Emma.

"Crap."