Pandora [Worm AU/Destiny/40k]

[Kerashana]

[Rant] So, there is a story behind this... kind of. I was minding my own business working on Warlock and Death Game Taylor bit by slow bit... Then my Muse is like 'HA! NOPE you have to go write this new thing!!!' So, after being assaulted by my Muse I went and started writing this. My first attempt didn't go in the right direction. So, I started fresh and here it is.

Oh no! I've become the type of author I hate. I can't finish a single story. T_T That said, I hope you guys like my continued attempts at literacy. [/Rant]

Ok, things that are needed to be known about this Fic. Hmmm.
-- Armsmaster is called Lawgiver and is a Arc Light Titan (yes Guardian) His ghost, however is dead. He is also a Tinker, triggered when Ghost died.
-- Kid Win is in fact a Tech-Priest from a Grim Dark dimension. He goes by Magos, he is also a public cape mostly because of all the augs he has.
-- Skidmark is... well, Skidmark. But I decided to try something new for kicks. He is not a Parahuman, instead he is a Traitor Guard in service to Slaanesh with a few of his/her/it's blessings but unable to call upon Slaanesh her/his/itself. Thus the Merchnts are... well, far more interesting.

-- Unsure if any further changes will be made.

Spoiler: A Blurb on Taylor's Powers

Ok! So, Taylor's power can be summed up as Adaptive Trump. She gains weak powers based off of the shards she comes in contact with (100Ft. radius.) She can only hold ten powers at a time, but powers are melded into each other as they are come across strengthening them.

For example, she gained the ability to short range teleport from Hess, but can only take herself. If she encounters Tricster she will gain the ability to take people with her. Oni-Lee? Longer distance. This same teleport comes with a weak shroud or darkness (2Ft. from body) but from Grue it gains the ability to spread further and linger like his. And so on.

From GG and Aegis she will gain a +1 in brute rating each. Amy weak Regen. Simple things, but stacking.

Omake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scrap 01

 

[Kerashana]

I had to get out. I had to get the filth off of me, to get out of this… out of my locker. I could feel things crawling over me hungry. Then I found it. A box… well, metaphorically at least, deep within me.

Someone had chained it shut, but I could… heart it. Quiet promise of freedom, of the power to save myself. All I had to do was open it.

Renewing my struggles, I banged on the door as best I could and called out for help.

Time passed, was it hours? Minutes? Days? Or maybe just seconds. I couldn't tell you, I still don't know. What I do know is that I reached for the box, for the power.

As I opened it, the oppressive Darkness around me lifted, replaced by… me. I could feel it as a part of me, the darkness was there and responded to my will. The problem was, it was nothing but shadows. Or was it?

I pushed ever so slightly on this power, willing it to free me, and as it began to move I felt my skin already hot with fever begin to truly burn.

The pain was excruciating. Unlike anything I had ever experienced. Then it was over and I was pushing my way through the still closed door of my locker.

I was stronger now, I could feel it, and Darkness was bound to my will. Then I noticed it, threw blurred vision. My hands were red, no. My hands were clawed and my skin red.

I sprinting for the closest bathroom. Even as I ran, I tore off my filthy hoodie and the shirt underneath. They itched so much like knives stabbing into me. My pants were little better, and I did not remove my bra, no matter how much it itched.

Door swinging shut behind me, I found myself looking at a… a… a demon in the mirror. There was no better way to describe it.

She had sharp features… no, it was me. I could see myself in it, behind the red skin, horns, pointed ears, and the shimmering blue eyes.

After a moment of discomfort I found and freed a slim devil's tail from where my pants had been controlling it at a slightly painful angle

I… dad would never… how could I…

I had to get away. That was all that mattered right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

I had… I had ran, fled the school, only taking time to grab my backpack even with it filthy, what was inside wouldn't be. This was when I first learned I could teleport.

It was nothing impressive, only a few meters at a time.

I was almost in the docks when I ran into him… literally. I had teleported onto a rooftop, and my momentum carried me into him.

"Woo! Careful there… Um…" I could feel him look me up and down, but his eyes were appraising, not lecherous.

He was a tall, broad shouldered man. Clean shaven with sandy brown hair and a abs. Like really, really good abs. I would estimate him at about 20 or so, and he was wearing a pair of loose sweats.

I turned to flee, but something stopped me when he spoke. "Hey, kid. What happened? No, you know what, come with me. You can get cleaned up, then we can talk."

Everything I had been taught told me I shouldn't trust strangers… but for some reason, I trusted him, and followed him off the roof and down to a loft.

Pausing at the stairs, he called down, "Hey, Mark! Don't blow anything up, we have a guest."

There was a sound like scraping, then a sigh, "Yeah, fine." Then… this stranger led me all the way down.

The loft was… a mess. Really, horribly a mess. Still, I was led to the bathroom.

Frowning at me, he shook his head. "Go take a shower, towels are in that cabinet. I'll try to find something for you that isn't dirty. Oh, and the names, Jeff."

With a shy nod, I closed the bathroom door behind me and set my backpack down… I probably should have grabbed my shirt at least it had been clean… my pants… no clothes, still itched fiercely.

As I undressed, I listened to Jeff and Mark talk… and that was strange. I could hear them, through the closed door, clearly.

"Dude! Not cool! I was this close to repairing the hologram projector." Mark grumbled.

"Bro, trust me here. This needs to be done… that girl… I think she's a Case 53." Jeff said in a soothing tone.

"Shit you thin-" Mark's words were cut off as I turned on the water.

The shower was… nice… no good, so good. Hot water searing away the filth, and shampoo in my hair… it was heavenly.

As I got out of the shower, I felt like a new person. That is to say, better, clean… but how was I going to go home like this… Dad… Dad would freak out… right?

I turned to look at the mirror, wiping away the steam. I was as I always was, sharp features, too wide mouth, tall, and rail thin. But I had gained things, I had a six pack, firm strong muscle tone, and maybe half a cup size… maybe. I of course now had red skin, pointed ears, horns, and cerulean blue eyes. As well as my tail, but I also had claws. Not overly sharp, but there and a little disconcerting with how little I noticed them.

With a sigh, I began to dry off, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Hey, I found something for you to wear while we wash your… pants… or whatever."

It was Jeff.

With a slight frown, I checked my underwear then pulled them on before opening the door a crack.

He was standing there, holding a folded hoodie.

With a soft word of thanks, I took it and closed the door again before unfolding it. It was… large. Very large, and came down to my knees.

Nodding to myself, I fished out my wallet, miraculously clean, and slipped it into a pocket.

Then I opened the door to find Jeff still there, or more probably there again, with a hamper of clothes.

Dropping my pants in, I made my way to the couch at a motion from Jeff.

"I… Thank you… but I…" I couldn't find the words to properly say it, but I didn't need to it would seem.

Mark was a… scrawny was a word for it, but I think it was a bad descriptor. He moved with surety and a definite, if slight, muscle tone. He had shaggy blond hair and plopped down on a beanbag with a diffident disdain for the chairs around the room. He then booted up a game system of some kind. He then tossed me a controller. "Kid, don't sweat it. We may be strangers, but we know what it's like."

Catching the controller I looked at the screen, it was some kind of fighting game.

He set up a match and picked a character, and I frowned before choosing one myself. "Listen, we have to know." He pulled a paper out of his pocket and handed it over. "Do you have that symbol on you somewhere? Can you remember your past?"

Frowning, I replied, "No I am not a Case 53." I had checked while in the bathroom, after all I had read about them on PHO.

"Cool." We ended up playing a few matches, and surprisingly, I was good at this. Then Jeff walked in and Mark paused the game. "Nope."

Jeff paused for a moment, then frowned. "Do you mind… telling us? If not, we understand, triggers are never an easy thing to remember."

I for a long time… just sat there absorbing what had been said. Did I want to tell them? Could I?

"Who?" It was the only word I could get out, but Jeff nodded.

"I'm Uber, and this is Leet." He said while pointing at Mark.

Of course, it was so obvious in hindsight… But they were villains… and still, they were people. People who seemed like they wanted to help.

Nodding, I spoke, "I… alright… but can I have something to drink? Maybe some tea?"

"Yeah, sure."

Why were they so nice? Did they plan to try and recruit me? No, that didn't seem right. Anyone else, and I would be thinking that, but this was Uber and Leet, the dastardly duo. They didn't seem to want to recruit.

There was silence while Jeff… Uber made tea. I used it to get my thoughts in order.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Several hours passed as I told them… well, everything. How I wanted to be a hero. About Emma in the early years… about Mom… and how Dad had just shut down. I poured my heart out to them, and they did not judge me.

They did however get a hard look in there eyes when I spoke of school, of my tormentors, and finally of the Locker just this morning.

When I wound down with my flight, running into Jeff. There was only silence for a long moment, then Jeff spoke. "I, we, know what it's like. To get powers, to be put in a bad place. So, this is what we're going to do ok?"

I tentatively nodded as he continued. "You can stay here for the night but you're going to give me your fathers number, and I'll call and talk with him. Then tomorrow, we'll take you home…"

He paused at the hesitant frightened look on my face, before continuing again. "Kid… Taylor. Both of us ran away from home when we triggered. So, understand that I know what I'm talking about."

Shaking his head he finished, "Just don't you'll come to regret it, after all you have a… good home life. It might be hard at first… but it will get better."

With a sneer on his face, Mark… Leet, put in. "Don't worry about school either, you won't be returning to Winslow. I can guarantee that." He then stood and made his way to one of the rooms.

I was flustered, did I want to… stay here? To trust them… but I already had several times. "Ok."

I accepted Jeff's phone from him and started dialing Dad's work number.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

After the call, Jeff had left. Something about errands, but… I looked around the living room, and crinkled my nose.

This just would not do, so I cleaned it up… then started making dinner. They didn't have much, but they had enough.

"Hey, what's that… what happened to… Holy Shit, that smells good." Mark said as he walked out of one of the other rooms.

"Thanks… I figured it's the least I could do. Um… do you have a pad of paper and a pen… I've got this idea…"

He slowly blinked at me, then nodded. "Yeah, sure."

A few minutes later, I was stifling at a stool in the kitchen watching dinner while I drew up an idea for a costume. Hmm… where was I going to get myomer? Oh, duh. I could just make it.

It was then that Jeff returned with a box of pizza and a bag only to stop in the doorway to stare at the living room then me.

"Not that I'm complaining. But you didn't have to… and I brought dinner…" He trailed off lamely. Then shrugged, closed the door behind him and dropped the bag on the couch. "There are some fresh clothes in there, and I guess I'll put the pizza in the fridge."

As he put action to word, I went to examine what had been gotten for me.

It was all new, like tags still attached.

"I did my best to match your size, but I'll have to make some alterations for your tail…" He trailed off as he looked over what I had been drawing. "Huh… this… Mark, come take a look at this!"

With a sigh, he made his way back into the living room then to the attached kitchen.

When Jeff handed him the pad of paper, he froze and stared at it owlishly. "This… ok, I know it's Clockblockers thing and all. But I call bullshit, so damn hard. She can teleport and is a Tinker?"

I found myself frozen, figuratively, "Um… but everything there is current technologies. Right?"

Grunting, Mark replied, "Huh, I think your right. So… Tinker 1 maybe 2?"

Nodding, Jeff frowned, "Some kind of Modern technology specialization?"

Shaking his head, Mark replied, "Maybe. That or some kind of adaptive specialization."

"I… but… what?" No, really, what? "How does that work? I thought You where either a Tinker or something else?"

They both shrugged, but Jeff replied, "Meh, who knows… you know what? Bro, show her the workshop."

"Yeah, sure." Mark replied, but I shook my head.

"Nope, dinners just about done. Food first." I then took the bag of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

After digging thru it, I found what I could bare to wear. A loose cami top, and some hot pants jeans. Then I stopped… they didn't itch… "What?"

Checking the tags, I found… they were 100% not synthetic cloth. Pure cotton with organic dye for the hot pants and pure silk for the cami. Frowning, I sighed. Synthetic allergies were, apparently, now a thing.

Pulling on the cami top, I pulled the shorts up as far as I could… then grumbled and stuck my head out of the door. "Jeff, can you come help me with this?"

"Tail?" He called.

"Tail." I confirmed.

To be honest, it wasn't as horribly uncomfortable and embarrassing as it could have… should have been. Jeff was professional, and efficient. taking measurements and leaving the bathroom in less than 5 minutes.

Shortly after that, I was handed back the hot pants. as well as a selection of underwear that had been in the bag. Leaving me blushing again… but it was a good idea to get into some underwear tailored… har-har, for me.

It was also far more comfortable.

When I finally left the bathroom dressed, we sat down and ate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

It had been… so, odd, to sit down for dinner and talk. To laugh, to joke. For dinner to not be a time of awkward silence. It would be nice if this could go one forever, but I would be returning home soon enough.

Still, after dinner, I was led to the workshop… and "Wow… just wow."

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome huh?" Mark bragged, and? It was, it really, really was.

But wait… "Ok… um, aren't you guys laughing stocks? Doing anything for money?"

They cracked up, laughing their assess off.

Finally, coming down from it, Jeff said, "Yeah, kid. That is the image we project. But no. Listen, image is everything. What people thing? It's how they'll act. We don't want people bothering us too much, thus we act the fools. We limit what we do and pass it off as what we can do."

Turning to Mark, he continued, "Anyways, I'm going to go back upstairs. Have fun Tinkering you two… and don't stay up too late."

From there… we kind of fell into sync working… which I suppose confirms my Tinker aspect. The costume… ok, armor I had designed went through a few iterations, but ended up rather well.

It was… inevitably, a body sheath, in black and dark grey with glowing blue trim like my eyes. I had been reluctant about this at first, but Mark took a few moments to explain the reasoning behind it… and? It was a good set of reasons.

A low light source if needed, easy to assess power flow conduits, and most importantly. It made me look less Villainous and more… not Heroic, but something? It scaled the armor away from villainous which my appearance already slanted towards.

We did manage to work in a few useful systems, such as a comms gear which synced wirelessly with a cell phone he gave me. Again, something I was wary of, but the reasons did make sense, and I wasn't going to be driving. There was also an inertial dampening system to help break falls.

So, it was late when I went to sleep. So very, very later, but I dreamed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

I dreamed of two great entities circling each other in an endless dance through time, and space, and the dimensions themselves. I watched as they came to and destroyed planet after planet. Then I watched them approach the shimmering globe of earth. So many variants.

I saw myself with… the power to control bugs, as a Tinker unbound with the knowledge of aons past to bolster me. Still me, The ability to project a zebra striped woman, the control over bugs… and so, so much more; the control of the Swarm. But none of them were me. Not as I was now. I saw Scion destroying the eastern seaboard.

I woke with a start, enshrouded in darkness. What had I been… I couldn't remember. But whatever my dream had been… I could feel a lingering sense of dread.

"Taylor, comeon. It's 9:00 we should get you home and sort out everything with your Dad." It was Jeff again, he had woken me from… my dream, whatever it had been.

I groggily nodded, "Right… fine. Just give me a moment." I would have probably been scared at first, waking up in a strange place… but I think my dream pushed me past that… whatever it had been.

Stumbling into the bathroom, I grumbled and washed my face before I was truly coherent. Then came packing everything into the car, a surprisingly nice car at that, but I didn't have much to begin with. Just my new clothes, backpack, and armor. I did find something cool out while I was doing this though, I wasn't bothered by the cold anymore.

Then we were off for home… what was Dad going to think? How was he going to take it… this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Pulling up in front of the house I felt myself tense up. Could I really do this?

"Hey, you can do this kid. Don't worry so much." Jeff's words somehow made me feel more at easy. He was after all right… right?

Getting out, I grabbed my backpack and the bag of clothes he had gotten me… for whatever reason. While he grabbed the box with my new shiny armor in it.

The front door was unlocked, and I found Dad sitting on the couch.

Tentatively I smiled and said, "Hi, Dad… I'm home."

For a moment, he just stared at me, then I found myself wrapped in a bare hung crying. He didn't hate me.

"What… what happened to you?" I could hear the worry in his voice but… I couldn't… not again.

But yet again Jeff was there to help me. "Mr. Hebert. How about we let your daughter take care of her things and I'll explain everything? Then there are things I need to explain to her before I go."

As he looked between me and Jeff, I bet my lip before forcing out. "Dad… it… it was bad… I don't think… I can't…"

Frowning, Dad nodded. "Alright."

I retreated to my room, taking my box of armor with me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

While they talked in the living room, I started going threw my clothes for everything I couldn't wear… and that left me with a depressingly small wardrobe. To make matters worse, it would cost a depressing amount of money to buy the clothes I could wear.

Grumbling, I moved my armor onto my bed so I could pack the clothes into the box. Of course, they didn't all fit, but I got the majority of them in. I then put away my new clothes, and let out a heavy sigh when they didn't fill even half my dresser. With what I still could wear included.

All I really had gotten from Jeff in the way of clothes were a set of 6 panties that came together, the hot pants jeans, a pair of skinny jeans, a surprisingly long skirt, the Cami top, and a T-Shirt.

"Fucking Thinkers." That had to be it, he used his power to determine my sizes, and probably bought me so much just because of the baggy, worn state of my clothes…

I suppressed a frown as I moved my armor into the closet… Damn, I'd have to get rid of most of my jackets too.

That in mind, I checked my sheets and blankets… well, at least the sheets were fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

"Taylor… why didn't you tell me?"

I… "I… you were so broken up over Mom at first… then it kind of just…"

Sighing, Dad nodded, "It became a habit. Alright… come down stairs, Jeff wants to talk with both of us."

Standing from my bed, I nodded. "Ok… erm, I'm going to need new clothes… I seem to be allergic to synthetics."

Dad cringed, but otherwise just nodded.

Once we were downstairs seated with Jeff, he nodded. "Ok, so. There are things you need to know about being a Parahuman. About being a Cape. The first are the Unwritten Rules."

"You don't out a Cape, Villain or Hero. Don't kill, unless the target has a Kill Order on them. And finally and most importantly. Don't attack a Cape out of costume or their family; especially here in BB."

Frowning, I took these in and weighed them. They were not found wanting. "Alright, that makes sense." Not that I liked them… but the reasoning behind them at least was solid.

"Good, now. You have several options; you could join the Wards, try and go it alone, maybe even try and join New Wave."

"The Wards… the PRT would be able to give to a great deal of support. But they have a tendency to cripple their Junior Hero's effectiveness for PR. You'd be little better than a show piece."

After taking a drink from a glass of water, he continued. "New Wave, if they accepted you wouldn't be so bad. The problem there is they're more of a family thing, and if I'm not mistaken are a mess of problems they do their best to hide."

"Finally, you have Indie Capes. Or Independants. There's no real limitations so long as you aren't killing people or something like that. You are legally eligible to claim any money not obviously stolen, and can claim a bounty on drugs and weapons. The downside is that Indies don't last long alone." Here he paused for a moment seeming to gather his thoughts. "The best thing you could do would be to find other capes to make a team with… but that itself can be hard. Most Indies end up dead of recruited into a Gang… or the Protectorate. Not that the method differs between the two."

That tidbit brought a scowl to my face. "That can't be right…"

My protest sounded lame, even to me. But Jeff just nodded and replied, "Yeah, it's hard to believe. But also true. They need more capes, thus they do everything they can to get them to join."

I didn't say anymore, but I wasn't happy. Not one bit.

"There is however, a bit of good news." This got my attention, and Dads as well it seemed. "You have officially been accepted at Arcadia starting tomorrow."

"Wait! What!" Both Dad and I exclaimed at the same time.

He just gave us a smug grin and stood. "I should be going. My first client for the day is scheduled to meet me in half an hour. Good Luck."

We just stared at him as he strolled out of the house.

"So?" Dad asked.

"I… um… I don't know… I think I want to go it alone for a little bit. Get a feel for things before I make a decision." It seemed like the better idea. "But… how… how did they get me into Arcadia so fast? It has a waiting list…"

"Yeah… I think I need a drink." Dad said as he stood and made his way to the kitchen.

 

[JamesB]

It seems Taylor is stuck in a permanent Changer-state. She also apparently is a Mover and Tinker of some sort. With any luck, she also counts as a Brute to take hits.

I notice that when Uber was going over different options he didn't mention Faultline's Crew - though not a Case 53, Taylor does have the appearance of one. It's mildly interesting that Uber didn't suggest Taylor join them as "Player 3". Then again, Taylor is trying to be a hero and not a mercenary or low-level criminal.

Overall, this chapter seemed to move rather quickly, plot-wise. Taylor seems to have some knowledge that she shouldn't (like even knowing what a Case 53 is). I understand the reasons for fast-forwarding through this part (you want to get to the "good stuff"), but it can seem somewhat "telling not showing" if it happens often.

 

[Shadowcub]

A bit confused about 40K and Destiny. But so far so good.

 

[Kerashana]

Overall, this chapter seemed to move rather quickly, plot-wise. Taylor seems to have some knowledge that she shouldn't (like even knowing what a Case 53 is). I understand the reasons for fast-forwarding through this part (you want to get to the "good stuff"), but it can seem somewhat "telling not showing" if it happens often.

Click to shrink...

I'm going from the 'Taylor is/was a Cape geek angle.

A bit confused about 40K and Destiny. But so far so good.

Click to shrink...

Those bits haven't been shown yet, but if you check the preface it points at where they come into play.

 

[johnwedd]

Im gonna watch this. Don't disappoint me with lack of content. There is a nice balance of new ideas and "fan crack" potential that I would like to see play out.

 

[Kerashana]

Im gonna watch this. Don't disappoint me with lack of content. There is a nice balance of new ideas and "fan crack" potential that I would like to see play out.

Click to shrink...

Not sure were the 'Fan Crack' comes in, but more content is the plan.

 

[johnwedd]

Not sure were the 'Fan Crack' comes in, but more content is the plan.

Click to shrink...

"Fan crack" is how I think OP!Taylor + curb stomp. Better mental short hand.

 

[Kerashana]

A/N: Not sure how I feel about these two pieces, but here they are. A little bit of background of characters who are different. Give me some input, a few ideas for changes? IDK what I'm going to do with this, but here it is.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lawgiver - 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Colin Wallis sighed. It had been hard at first, learning to live like a Guardian. To fight like a Guardian. He was one of the few who remembered their lives before, one of the few who remember the Golden Age. He had been an engineer, when they first found the Traveler, and was one of the first put on the projects to study the technology.

Now, he was a gunsmith… but he couldn't stay in the last city. Instead he wondered, studied the past and pieced together what had happened.

That was how he had ended up here. He had been examining a relic when the Vex had showed up. Vex! On earth!

Luckily, it had been a small group and not an invasion. Not so luckily the relic had been destroyed in the firefight.

Which would have been better than the Vex getting it… except that he had been pulled into some kind of hyper-dimensional pocket.

Well, that was his running theory, which Ghost agreed with.

Flash Heart, Deceased D-2; Velvet, Down D-3~~~

The list just kept going. These where mortals; not Guardians, and yet. This was the beginning of the Golden Age… or close to it.

Definitely not what he remember… superheros? Really?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The man across the desk frowned at him."I suppose we could go with Titan… but I was thinking. You give off the feel of a cowboy, so maybe something like Law-Man, or Armsmaster because of all the weapons you have."

He paused at that, giving it some thought… but, Armsmaster? Really? It was a stupid name.

Then Ghost appeared and put in it's two cents. "What about Lawgiver? It makes reference to a mortal elevated above others, but who still strives to uphold the law."

The man, Glen Chambers started doing something on his computer, "Exalted? Hmm… not bad, but it could cause problem… Ah, no. Here we go, yes. That should do just fine. Well, Colin, what do you think?"

He weighed the name. It had a gravitas to it, and fit his new role well enough… "Still don't see why I can't just be Guardian, but fine."

But then sirens started to blare and Glens face paled as he tapped at his computer. "Leviathan… at Newfoundland."

It would seem that it was time to get to work. This would be his first fight against an Endbringer. But then, it wouldn't really be anything new.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Leviathan rose from the depths, and Colin cringed. Yeah, nothing new… just with a few to few Guardians.

Holstering his revolver, he drew out Invective, then Gjallarhorn.

"Time to put on a show Guardian." His Ghost said smugly.

With a nod he stepped forwards and let off a salvo into the things face, and frowned. "That should have done more damage."

From there the battle was really just a chase, and he was there every time. Yet, the beast took no apparent damage from his attack. Not until he hit it with as much Arc Light as he could muster.

That it seemed to take personally.

The next thing Colin knew, he was falling through darkness and… with a great gasp he woke. His Ghost dead before him, still sparking.

He saw something vast, and wanted to laugh.
It wasn't big in the was of cities or even the moon. It was big in the way that transcended what mortals could grasp, but he was a guardian. He had a point of reference, two infact. It was vast like the Darkness, big light the Traveler's Light.
Like the Traveler, it was breaking into fragments at it's very edge. One such fragment curving towards him.​

He came to again, with a gasp and knowledge. So many things he could make…

"No! That beast still stands." But he did not immediately leave.

Colin picked up the remains of his Ghost and wept, it would not be forgotten.

Securing it to his belt, Colin stood and made his way out of the wreckage… but he was under water. The whole of the island sunk.

Pushing his way towards the surface, he found something. A safe. He could have left it, but… enough had already been lost.

It would be a week later that he would make land in Canada.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magos - 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Chris was terrified. His parents barely paid him any attention, too busy yelling at each other. But now the Merchants had come calling, and his Dad was on the floor bleeding out.

He had to do… something.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Magos Errant Chris sighed. Just another piece of junk, not even Archeotech. No just a toaster.

Damn civilians.

That's what he had been thinking before the Slaaneshi Cultists attacked. Now it was, wow this is a sturdy toaster. The venerable machine was caked in the blood of cultists. It was sacrilege, but he had been using it as a flail. To devastating effect no less.

With a nod, he place the venerable toaster on a shelf before taking up his Laspistol and Power Axe. It was time too… what was that?

No! Help!

It came from deep in his systems, and as soon as he pinpointed its source, he knew he should have ignored it. Even as the Warp sprung up around him… but it was filled with the Emperor's light and the Omnissiah will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

"Come on boys!"

Chris looked down to himself, and felt betrayed by his own flesh.

"No! Help!" It was his mother… he had too… Magos Errant Chris looked upon the scene and grit his teeth.

Standing he felt the surety of his augmentations, his Power Axe, his Laspistol. But he was smaller… no, younger. He could feel other memories floating around, but now was not the time for that.

Not with these Slaaneshi standing before him.

Raising his pistol, he let loose a burst of cant, a pray to the machine, and fired. Even as he strode across the distance and brought his axe down on another.

The last one turned to run, but was dead before he made the door.

"Mother… I need to see to father." And he did. Father was alive, barely, and not for long. But it was a simple thing for anyone from the Imperium to handle… anyone with medical training.

His father let out a scream of pain even as Chris injected a vial of medicine and used a mechadendrite to sear the wound closed. Then he heard the sirens… ah, arbiters and medicae services. Good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

This world was a haven of Archeotech… but, ah, his memories were clear. It had never been lost. This was earth… Holy Terra and it was besieged.

He was Mechanicus… but he was also human. Terra… no, it would not fall. But he would need resources… manpower. These Endbringers wished to destroy this world? Well, he would just have to birth the first Titan of this world… but without the template…

It would not be easy, but with nothing lost he could piece it together. Given time.

As for the Wards… they were not so bad. Most definitely easier to get along with than some of the Rogue Traders he had worked with. Dare he say it, but they were even fun, but more importantly he was learning so much from this school… Arcadia. Much he knew in pieces, but here he was regaining lost knowledge. That wasn't even including the college course he was taking too.

 

[Siriothrax]

And things have immediately escalated. Should be a fun ride.

Quick point, the shotgun is Invective, not Invictus.

 

[Kerashana]

Quick point, the shotgun is Invective, not Invictus.

Click to shrink...

Duly noted, and fixed.

 

[Kerashana]

I had wanted to go out that night, but hadn't. Dad had insisted that I take time to research and plan. Damn him if he wasn't right.

We had tacked up a map of the city, and marked out the major territories. Then I had spent most of the night researching the local Cape scene.

Our computer was crap, the internet more so, but I managed it… slowly.

The heavy hitters were obvious. The E88's Kaiser, the ABB's Lung, and the leader of the local Protectorate and world's second greatest Tinker Lawgiver.

What interested me was a group of new capes calling themselves the Undersiders. A small group of four, specializing in hit and run, especially escapes. Enough so, that it was said Lawgiver was frustrated with his inability to catch them.

Other than them, Circus seemed like the best choice for targets to see how I stacked up to other Capes. Not that I would be headed out to find another cape any time soon. No, I would cut my teeth on Thugs for the moment, try and make some money.

Shaking my head, I banished such thoughts. I was here, standing in front of Arcadia. I had grabbed the skinny jeans, and one of my Iron Maiden T-Shirts. And? I felt comfortable in them, it was kind of surreal. Not feeling awkward and gangly I mean. This had to be the first time I had felt this way… in every really. Like this was what I was always meant to be, and the kind of frightened me, but at the same time… it filled me with a sense of surety.

As I made my way to the office, I couldn't help but notice all the eyes upon me. It was… a strange feeling. I didn't like it, but at the same time it wasn't so bad with the lack of malice I was used to from Winslow.

I spent less than five minutes in the office as I was led off to a side room, probably for teacher conferences, and given my placement tests. Apparently, they didn't trust Winslow.

Not that I blamed them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The tests had been… not hard, but… I don't know, I don't think they should have been that easy either. Even still, I didn't finish any faster… well, not really?

I mean, I was done by lunch and told I could go home for the day and that I would be expected to return tomorrow morning ready for class. So I was on my way off campus when I had my first encounter with the Hurricane Victoria.

She came floating over to me, upside down. "Hey, you're new! You're a Case 53, right?"

Coming to a stop, I frowned. "No, I'm not. My powers just kind of… did this to me."

She frowned slightly, like she was contemplating what I had said before grinning and holding out her hand, still upside down. "I'm Victoria Dallon, also known as Glory Girl. It's nice to meet you…?"

Taking her hand awkwardly, I shook it replying, "Taylor Hebert…"

I hadn't picked a Cape name yet, but… 'Once Pandora's box was opened, it never truly closed.' It was a simple truth of my power, I had been given a box, and I had opened it, letting loose all the evils that bound me, with only Hope to remain.

"Pandora."

Her grin became blinding as she righted herself. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Oh, I know, come have lunch with us."

I… "Um… thank you, but I have things I need to do today. I kind of plan to go out tonight… for my first patrol."

It should have been impossible, or a crime, or something, but Victoria's grin got even bigger. "That's great! We can patrol together, here let me give you my number!"

I… what? Ok, let's try that again. I said I couldn't go with her to lunch because I have to get ready for my first outing… and she instead invites me to go on patrol with her? "Um…"

Ok, I guess that makes sense… kind of? "Alright…" Fuck it! "Sure, let's do that."

I pulled out my cell phone and we swapped contact information. Then it occurred to me that we were being watched by a good portion of the school.

Eep? "Umnicetomeetyoubye!" I said in a single breath before teleporting out through the front gates of Arcadia, then again further down the street.

I apparently was not any good at dealing with lots of attention… fucking Winslow. But… for some reason I felt stronger? Yes, stronger. Was this too part of my powers? Actually what were my powers?

I could teleport, control darkness to a degree in a small area around me… ok, tiny area around me. But now I felt like I could take on anything.

Opening the front door, I found out why. I was some kind of brute, I know this because the doorknob came off in my hand. "Fucking great!"

Luckily for me? My apparent Tinker power was telling me how to fix it with no apparent changes. So, with a sigh, I went off to collect the tools. Oh, and I was far more careful with things.

After that, I moved on to my research. I had the local Capes memorized, but I wanted to go over the laws surrounding being an Independent Cape. But there was a knock at the front door. Great what now?

Getting up, I made my way to the front door, and looked thru the peep hole. No, I am not an idiot.

It was a PRT Officer. That was safe right?

Opening the door, I asked, "Can I help you?"

The officer blinked at me owlishly, before nodding. "Ma'am, are you Taylor Hebert?"

"Yes, what can I do-" I was cut off as he pulled his gun and shot me.

What! I felt the darts all three of them impact me, but I reacted on instinct. My hand shot out and I felt my claws cave in his face as everything became darker...

Click to shrink...

It was a PRT Officer. That was safe right?

Opening the door, I asked, "Can I help you?"

The officer blinked at me owlishly, before nodding. "Ma'am, are you Taylor Hebert?"

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

Slightly lifting the sheath of papers in one hand, he replied. "Due to your circumstances, there are a few papers that need to be filled out to update your files, for the government side of things you understand. I have also been instructed to ask you about what happened at Winslow, as I would already be here, instead of you having to deal with myself and whatever detectives were sent by the BBPD."

Something about what he said seemed… off, but it sounded legit… right? No. "Sure please come in."

The papers themselves were a maze to work through, but I took my time and read them thoroughly, more than once.

The first few were in fact what he had said. Updated information for Social Security and DMV; what have you.

Then there were papers trying to get me to agree to various things like an interview for Ward membership. Those went into a small pile off to the side.

Finally came the statement, but the Officer didn't rush me and seemed very understanding about the whole ordeal. When I brought up my diary? Log, of everything that had been happening to me he showed interest.

After he was done looking through it though, he seemed to be in a fowl mood and went about photographing every page.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Standing on the rooftop, I stretched and shifted, getting used to the feel of my armor. It was a nice night, and had been a relatively good evening. Dad had been reluctant to let me go out on patrol, but caved when I told him I would be going with Glory Girl. Still, he made me promise to be careful...

"Hey, there you are- Oh, wow! That's awesome, who made it for you?"

Turning, I looked up to see Glory Girl floating just off the rooftop. "Oh… er, hey Victoria. I actually made it myself."

"Pish, just call me Vicky… though I am in costume so it should be Glory Girl. Anyways… you made that? I thought you were a Mover/Brute combo." She proclaimed as she floated down and started circling me.

"Well… er? Yeah? The Brute rating is new… I didn't have it till I met you actually." For some reason my words brought her to a halt.

"Huh… some kind of Trump?" I caught her muttering under her breath, before she shrugged and continued. "Doesn't matter! Come on, I found this Merchant drug lab we can hit."

Nodding, I replied, "That sounds good, I kind of need the money. What with having to replace my wardrobe..."

I suddenly got the feeling I shouldn't have said anything, but all Vicky did was point and proclaim. "Then so it shall be!" Before heading off towards Merchant territory.

It was hard at first to keep up with her, but after a few minutes we fell into a better rhythm, then finally I seemed to get the hang of rooftop travel and that was it.

The drug lab was an old boarded up office building. A small affair with only three floors.

Looking at it, I frowned… "So, how do you want to do this?"

Vicky just kind of stared at me for a moment before replying, "I kind of just burst in."

I cringed at this, and asked, "Can we try something different?"

Her reply was a weakly forced laugh, before she sigh and nodded. "Alright. We can try something else… what did you have in mind?"

"Well…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

I appeared on the rooftop in a swirl of shadows and sucker punched the guard. Because of my new shiny Brute rating I was forced to hold back, which of course meant I didn't hit hard enough.

The guard in turn retaliated with a left jab, then a swift right hook. In answer I simply stepped forward and headbutted him while trying to ignore the pain. This seemed to have worked as he crumpled to the roof.

Meanwhile, Glory Girl had already taken down the other guard. "Wow… I think I should have showed you how to take out mooks first… oh well."

Frowning, I pulled out some zip ties and started restraining the thug.

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Glory Girl floated over to me. "Geez, you're really bad at this. Here let me show you."

And she did… and I felt like a moron.

Still, now I knew how to properly restrain a thug with zip ties. That had to count for something… right? Yeah. "Ok, Miss chuckles. Let's move on."

She just gave me a cheeky grin and nodded to the door.

The stairwell, and hall beyond were deserted. Peeking into a few rooms I saw ratty sleeping quarters, but no thugs. Then we found a large room filled with thugs…

Ok, filled was an exaggeration, but eight was a pretty large number… right? As soon as I saw them, I reacted. Stepping forward and appearing in front of the furthest back.

He was treated to my first successful attempt to sucker punch someone, and really the second real punch I had ever thrown. I felt his jaw crack and possibly break, but I was already disappearing.

To appear behind a different thug treating this one to a swift kick to the balls, and his buddy a right cross to the temple. These went better, as I seemed to be getting a hang of my strength, and I spun away and teleported to the other side of the group again bringing my leg out in a sweep, followed by my elbow into the face… and the fight was over. Glory Girl having beaten the others by then.

Standing, I paused to process what had just happened… and began to worry. I had never been in a fight before… I mean, not physically and I… "I did all this?"

Where did I even learn those moves?

"Yeah, girl! You were awesome." Somehow, Glory Girls praise didn't make me feel any better… What were my powers? Did they have a limit?

"I… I never learned to do that." I breath quietly.

This however only seemed to make her happier. "Ha! You have a Thinker power too. That's so bullshit."

Moving to help her restrain the thugs. I went over the powers I knew of. I could teleport? I was a Demon Girl? I had a Tinker rating for modern tech… Leet… Ok, that made sense. I had a Brute rating… of tiny. But that would be Glory Girl. So, some kind of Thinker rating from Uber? Maybe accelerated learning… or more probably intuitive learning.

"I really am a Trump…" I breathlessly whispered. Trumps were amazingly rare, only Eidolon and like five other people, in the world. "I think… I think I'm a trump."

Vicky perked up at this, "Really? Awesome, but why do you think that?"

"I may have been gaining powers from Capes I've been around. Like Brute from you."

"Shi-Yah! But it's not that strong… maybe Brute 1? Anyways, there are still Merchants to deal with!" She then promptly turned around and started off towards a stairwell.

Sighing, I followed, this floor was empty anyways. The second floor however? The walls here were covered in the Merchants iconography and all kinds of graffiti.

It made me feel nauseous to look at.

To be honest, I'm going to skip a lot of this floor. You never truly appreciate how debauched the Merchants are, not until you see it first hand. They did not shy away from any form of pleasure.

The only place not taken over by such things was an armory. But even then, the guards were so high we literally walked in and cuffed them without a fight.

The ground floor on the other hand was more heavily guarded. With Merchant thugs in what could be called their uniform.

We split up her with Glory Girl taking the meth lab while I dealt with the roving guard.

Hefting my liberated taser, I disappeared and the jabbed it into the neck of the closest guard.

That was the start of it, and more or less how it continued for the majority of my sweep of the floor. All the while I could hear gunfire and crashes from the lab.

And I was the one who needed training?

Finally we finished, well she finished and floated out with a big grin on her face while talking into her phone. I was really beginning to have second thoughts about my budding friendship with her. Unsure if I could handle someone with her personality.

After hanging up her phone, Vicky scoffed. "That was way easy. Not even a Cape… but you had a point. Ames isn't going to believe it when I tell her we took out a Merchant drug lab with no collateral damage." Then turning to me with a huge grin she continued, "We should do this again!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The BBPD was efficient and methodical with cataloging everything. All they had asked was that I wait till they had taken photos, and noted the sum of money before I took my spoils. They were even so kind as to, forget, the taser I had picked up.

Something about it being less hassle than dealing with thugs punched by a brute. Which had given me an idea for my armor, integrated taser gloved wouldn't be to hard… right?

Still, I managed to make 10k or there abouts from this with another sum once they processed bounties. Now I could get clothes!

The rest of the night was not so much fun, as we ended up just wandering around for an hour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

My first night out had been… interesting? Intense, but also… not what I had expected. Yeah, I had done something good but it was too abstract for me to really wrap my head around. On the other hand I had made a fair amount from a single outing.

Laying on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. "So… what? I'm the 'for fun and profit' kind of hero?"

It was something I wasn't exactly comfortable with. Fun and Profit were both things I could understand, even endorse. But in my mind they had to be secondary to helping people.

With these thoughts floating around in my mind, I drifted off to sleep.

 

[P.Hominoidea]

Slightly lifting the sheath of papers in one hand, he replied. Do to your circumstances, there are a few papers that need to be filled out to update your files, for the government side of things you understand.

Click to shrink...

"Well… er? Yeah? The Brute rating is new… I didn't have it tell I met you actually." For some reason my words brought her to a halt.

Click to shrink...

Should be Due and Till.

I'm interested in this, I do hope it continues.

 

[Kerashana]

Ok, so. I'm feeling good about this, but also feel I should put this forward for critique.

It has a nice feel to it, but at the same time... I'm worried it's too much and will need to be scrapped. So, with that in mind. Please read this and give me some input. Help me make this work. Please, and Thank You.

Spoiler: Chap 3 first part

Stepping onto campus, was an interesting feeling. For the first time I could remember, it did not feel awkward. Somehow, I felt like I belonged here. People stared at more of pointed, but there was no sense of hostility.

I made it all of two steps towards the office before I was assailed by Victoria. "Taylor!"

I turned to see Vicky making a B line for me with a mouse girl with frizzy brown hair and freckles; and a black haired boy who seemed to be at peace with the world and his place in it… I honestly can't explain it. But that was the vibe I got off of him. Now that I think about it the mousy one seemed wary and unsure. Even Victoria became easier to read, happy and smug.

Once they were a comfortable distance away from me, Vicky started bombarding me with words. "This is my sister Ames, and my boyfriend Dean. The four of us are going to be going to the mall after school. I will not take no for an answer."

The shit eating grin she had on her face left me momentarily confused. It was the type of thing you get when you trap someone into doing something that they can't actually get out of. Hmm… that isn't the best way to put it. More like she had finally managed to trap someone into something they had been constantly dodging.

With how Dean reacted, I don't think it was aimed at him. He was more indulgent, and I hadn't known her long enough to merit that… Ah, Amy.

Who promptly frowned and replied, "But… I really should help out at the hospital."

"Oh, pish. They can go a day without you. They have certified doctors for a reason." Even as Vicky spoke, I took in Amy. She was slouched as if tired and under stress, the condition of her hair further gave proof to this. Frizzy in that way hair gets when you're under way too much stress… and she just felt… despondent almost broken as she spoke of the hospital. Almost, but not yet. I could feel the strength of her resolve, fraying and brittle as it was.

I… she… she was like me. Like I had been, when I was at Winslow. As strong as tempered steel, but ever the surety of steel if tested to long and too harshly will break.

Before anyone could say anything else, I stepped up to Amy and pulled her into a hug. Personal space and any other taboo's be damned. She needed it.

"It's ok. I know what it's like to push so hard you want to just let yourself break." For some reason, my words seemed to have an impact on her, because right there in front of god and everyone she broke down crying in my arms.

As she cried, she stammered out. "It's… it's just so hard. Everyone expects so much from me… but-"

Hugging her tighter, I sighed. This really wasn't my area of expertise. I had no idea what to say, or how to react… maybe that's why I just said, "Come on, let's go find a nice place to talk in private? Maybe do something with your hair, all this stress is bad for it without the proper care."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The gym locker room was quiet as we sat there among the pitter pat of the showers. As I washed her hair, Amy just seemed to unload all her fears and sorrow on me.

Her fear she would one day do something terrible just so people didn't expect so much from her. Or that she really would botch something and be imprisoned for it. But… I felt there was more to it. Other things she didn't speak of, out of fear or simply embarrassment I couldn't say. Maybe both, but then. Everyone had their secrets.

Humming in thought, I rinsed off her hair, then shut off the water. "I can't really help you in the long run. It has to be you who does it, but I can give you some advice…"

As we dried off I continued. "Life never truly gets easier. Oh, sometimes it seems to, but that's just us learning to deal with it. Adapting. If it really is so bad… maybe it would be best to get away from everything for a time."

Pausing, she gave me a light frown, "What do you mean?"

All I could do was shrug, "If you're having problems with constantly healing people. Simply stop for a time, or only heal those who can't be treated any other way. I remember my… my mother once saying. 'Doctors and soldiers have the hardest jobs. They see death on a regular bases. It's why so many doctors and soldiers retire so young. They simply burn out."

It hurt to bring up that memory, it was of a time when Emma was still my friend… when mom was still alive.

We were both silent for a long time as we dressed… I really have no idea why, or even how we had ended up in this particular situation. But after we were dressed, Amy sighed. "Maybe… maybe… but it doesn't feel right."

She was on the edge of a knife. One side was a breakthrough that would save her from herself… the other was… not a good place. I should know, I walked that edge for a time before I got my powers. Before I met Jeff and Mark…

"Then maybe…" She stopped tying her shoe as I began to speak again, a sense of anticipation flowing off of her. As if I had the answer? No, but the hope that I would have an answer. "Then maybe, you need to just not take on such a burden. Still go heal, but maybe only three days a week. Also, find something you enjoy. Something that makes you feel good."

Finishing with my shoe's, I nodded and continued. "I've started running. It's good exercise and gives me an outlet."

Picking up the brush, I grinned. "Now, let's do something with your hair."

The 'eep' she gave in reply was adorable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

We left the locker room to find Vicky, Dean, and Principal Tyr waiting for us in the hall. The conspicuously empty hall… Oh, crap. Classes had already started hadn't they?

The looks of wonder and surprise on the teens faces was somehow balanced by the smug, knowing smirk on the Principal's own.

"Ames! Wow… just…" Vicky turned to me and asked, "You did this? I mean, I know you're a tinker, but I didn't think it also included hair."

Dean just had a slightly awestruck gape, and distant look in his eyes… kind of like he was seeing something no one else could and was boggled by it… strange.

Then again, their reactions were easy to understand. Amy no longer had frizzy hair. No, now her brown hair was silky smooth and done up in a loose bun with a few slight ringlets let to hang down as bangs.

It wasn't so hard… or maybe it was just me? I had always put a lot of effort into my hair, my one truly feminine feature. So, this much wasn't really all that hard right? Or… maybe this was like with the tests? Some bonus based on whatever my power was?

"Be that as it may, I will ask you not to do this again." Ms. Tyr addressed us. "You were lucky no one had gym this period."

She held out a packet of papers towards me. "This is your schedule, as well as school rules and special allowances for Cape. Do not abuse them or they will not be applied to you."

As I took the papers, she gave me a soft smile. "That said, Welcome to Arcadia. Now off with you, so long as you make it to your first class you will be not be marked tardy, this time."

 

[Gilgaraze Hunter]

People stared at more of pointed, but there was no sense of hostility.

Click to shrink...

I think you mixed somethings up here @Kerashana, maybe "The staring was more pointed, but there was no sense of hostility." ??

mouse girl

Click to shrink...

mousey?

I don't have time to find anything else to correct, I have to leave for work, but I'm not sure what to think of this bit, feels kinda forced. I'm not sure Amy would breakdown like that to a total stranger....

 

[Pyro Hawk]

I really, really love it...

Can't wait to see everyone's reactions!

 

[Kerashana]

I don't have time to find anything else to correct, I have to leave for work, but I'm not sure what to think of this bit, feels kinda forced. I'm not sure Amy would breakdown like that to a total stranger....

Click to shrink...

This was only first pass. done today in maybe 2-3 hours. That being said, I'm not sure. It wasn't forced, if anything, I forced it to be a little slower. Keep in mind she's a trump who gains minor powers every time she meets a new cape. She just met Gallant and gained [Lesser] Social-Fu. Now synergies this with what she got from Uber, accelerated learning.

Then again, this is why I put this up. I'm worried it's too much and I need to throw it away and start again.

Also, good luck with work.

Can't wait to see everyone's reactions!

Click to shrink...

It would be amusing, yes. Still, worried this is too much. Like I said above, may have to reroll this chapter. But I want more input before I do.

 

[P.Hominoidea]

maybe "The staring was more pointed, but there was no sense of hostility." ??

Click to shrink...

Seconded.

I'm not sure Amy would breakdown like that to a total stranger....

Click to shrink...

I disagree, assuming that this is after Victoria has told Amy about Taylor, additionally Amy is under a lot of stress and doesn't feel there is anyone who she can confide in, at this point she probably just wants Anyone to talk to.

Did Taylor selectively regenerate Amy's hair with the power she picked up from her?

Edit: Right, reaction... Functional and enjoyable, no glaring flaws in the plot. All in all I liked it.

 

[Kerashana]

Did Taylor selectively regenerate Amy's hair with the power she picked up from her?

Click to shrink...

Yes, and no. Not Bio-Tinker (she only got self regen from Amy) but expert hair care taken to 11. Or something like that.

 

[Parlencel]

Very good work as always.

 

[Night_stalker]

Intriguing.

 

[johnwedd]

I am loving this positive side of worm. Like ruthless compassion. If can be a thing.

 

[Kerashana]

Omake: Scrap 01​

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn't go out that night or the night after that. The reason was because dad didn't feel safe with me going out with no training. So I had started looking for someone to teach me.

Uber was the first to come to mind, but I decided against it. He had helped me enough, and besides if I had to fight him he would know all my moves. So, I had went about searching for someone.

And of did I find people, one that stood out was a Boxer. But I didn't want such a ridged style, something kept telling me no. That was until I had found a small dojo deep in the docks.

It was run by a tiny old lady, of I would guess chinese descent. Particularly because she taught several styles of Wushu… or chinese martial arts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Walking in, I found myself… strangely calm. This place was less a Dojo, and more a temple. Or that was the feeling I got from it.

The building had been a small warehouse with a loft above it. But now the floor was dominated by a padded mat and little else.

Sitting at a low table near the door was an old woman, tiny but somehow regal. Putting down her teacup, she turned to look at me, and gave out a 'hmm'. "Strong… but with little training. Natural talent? Or power?"

I took a few steps closer, but stopped at the raised hardwood floor. "Um… probably part of my powers? I… learn things at an accelerated rate?"

"Ah… powers." She said this with a sigh, but stood. "You of course know this Dojo's affiliation?"

We were deep in the docks, and here in Brockton Bay… Chinese dragons were not just for show. Lung… the ABB.

I just shrugged, "The Dragon of Kyushu, Lung. But I am not here for that, I am here to learn."

She gave me a slight grin, "Good, now come. Let me have a look at you."

Looking around, I almost stepped onto the hardwood section, but stopped myself, some half remembered piece of etiquette coming to mind.

Kneeling, I took off my shoes before following her over to the large mat.

She nodded in approval before taking my hand and feeling my wrist… looking for… something? But she just nodded again as if she had found what she sought.

"If I am to teach you, I would know how this," she waved at my body, "happened."

That was almost a deal breaker, part of me wanting to just turn and flee… but then, she had some kind of gravitas that prompted me to collapse there into a sitting position. It was another minute before I started to speak, and once I did, I couldn't stop.

Finally, as I wound down the story she nodded. "You are as the Dragon, so I will teach you that which best suits you. Come everyday after school, payment is not necessary. Now stand, we will begin."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

"Control yourself, let others do what they will.
This does not mean you are weak.
Control your heart, obey the principles of life.
This does not mean others are stronger."

---Southern Dragon Style Motto​

January rolled by as I slowly came to understand those simple words. I learned fast, surpassing Mistress Da-Xia's expectations. I was no prodigy, I was a Parahuman and she made sure to remind me of that. Of the fact that I could easily hurt someone, and that I should always take care with my power.

She taught me much, and even covered what I had been sure was fiction until she showed me first hand. The flow of breath, the dragons pulse, qi. It was not some fancy birthed from imagination, but rooted in the reality that is life.

Oh, it was nothing so spectacular as throwing energy, but when a strike can disable you with barely a touch, or a little old lady more than seven decades in age can leave a brick little more than dust with a single strike… well, we lived in a strange world. I could believe it.

I had also come to like traditional Chinese dresses, something I could wear without looking like my normal gangly self.

At school, I had found myself spending my time around Vicky and Amy… somehow becoming one of the popular girls? It was odd, and made stranger by the strange tangy emotion I still couldn't pin down that came from Amy. At times it would be aimed at me, others it would be aimed at Vicky.

 

[Kerashana]

Welcome to the Parahumans Online Message Boards
You are currently logged in, SpecificProtagonist
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: New Cape: Pandora
In: Boards ► America ► East Coast ► Brockton Bay ► Discursions

RogueState (Original Poster) (The Guy In The Know)
Posted on January 6, 2011:

So, we got a new Cape kicking around. Goes by the name Pandora and is probably the first recorded instance of a so called monstrous cape who isn't a case 53.

Real name is Taylor [Redacted], she is going to Arcadia High and after her first appearance there seems to have made friends with our own Glory Girl. Then that very night, they go and shut down a Merchant Drug Lab. Coppers were happy about that.

To make things more interesting she goes and says some things to and hugs, Panacea. And man... People around here really were placing too much of a burden on that poor girl from what I understand.

Facts:
--Monstrous Cape: Looks like a Demon
--Mover: Can teleport
--Brute 1-2
--New Wave: She is connected to them somehow, but it's probably just through the teenage members.
--Uber&Leet: This scared the balls off of me. The two chuckle heads started an Anti-Bullying campaign naming her as the reason. Seems to be some connection there.
--Hero: Yes she is, well, probably... I hope.​

(Showing Page 43 of 43)

► Scuttles (Cape Wife)
Replied on January 1, 2000:
@FallenPeach: I just think they would make a cute couple. Not saying they are a couple.

► AllSeeingEye
Replied on January 8, 2011:


► LaughingGod
Replied on January 8, 2011:
OH GOD!!! The ships are setting sail, evacuate the creative writing boards while you still can!
First for LungXPandora

► Clockblocker (Verified Cape)
Replied on January 8, 2011:
Well, that escalated fast. But… wait, she's a demon right? Demons have no taboo's against polygamy!

Harem!Pandora GOOO!!!!

► SpecificProtagonist (Veteran Member)
Replied on January 8, 2011:

​

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43

Madison cringed, figures Clockblocker would say something like that… though, well she was known for bad FanFiction. But before that she had a few things to do.

Opening up a new Private Message, she began to write.

■​

♦ Private message to EmpressRose:

SpecificProtagonist: I... Taylor. I need to see you to talk to you. What happened... it was wrong, and I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be so bad, I didn't think they would leave you in there.

When I went to let you out, the door of your locker had been ripped open and you were gone.

Please respond... I need to talk to you. Even if you can't forgive me... I need to say it to your face.

--Madison​

■​

Nodding in satisfaction, she pressed send. Then leaned back in her chair. What to do?

She couldn't work up the gumption to start writing right now… and she really did want to make up for what she had done. So bad… but she didn't return to Winslow. Not after the day Taylor was shut in that… that coffin.

She had ignored Emma and Sophia… that bitch, and was even now waiting for the long process of transferring to Arcadia. That had made her parents happy, not that they really cared.

Standing she stripped out of her clothes and stretched. It was time to get back out there and prove she wanted to fix things. Time to get out there and be a Hero.

Stepping towards her closet, she felt the shifting of muscles and bones. She was no longer Madison, now she was Browbeat, and if she ever ran into Sophia… into Shadow Stalker…

 

[schism]

The PHO Interlude seems to establish the chapter 3 snippet, so why didn't you threadmark it?