The Light of Brockton Bay (Taylor Hebert Alt-Power)

[Alexandra_Revoe]

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

The smell inside the locker was repugnant. I could taste the slurry of blood, vomit, mould, and sweat just by breathing the air in. The vile used tampons squelched from my shifting inside the locker. I could feel where every insect crawled on my skin, where they were biting into my skin, when they tried to crawl into my nose and mouth. My throat was hoarse from screaming for what seemed to be hours. I wailed for anyone's attention in the hope that someone would come to my rescue. Deep down I had a gut-wrenching feeling that help would not come.

Why would they come to save me, even if it was when I needed it the most? If they helped me they would become outcasts like me, being bullied by the trio that stuck me in here. Everyone knew that Taylor Hebert was to never be helped or befriended for fear of retaliation. The teachers would not save you nor would Blackwell of all people. I was alone.

While I banged on my locker door, thoughts raced through my mind. 'Why did it have to be me?' I shifted uselessly to try and find a more comfortable position. 'Why did Emma leave me for Sophia' Tears flowed down my cheek like a river. 'Why couldn't just one teacher give a helping hand?' Surely there was one teacher who didn't fear helping me? One thought stood above the rest, towering above all the others. 'Am I about to die?'

The thought came like a truck smashing into my psyche. I could feel my body weakening. My legs attempted to collapse only to not find enough room to fully bend. My knees scraped against the back of the locker door, leaving a gouge as my leg pressed into a piece of sharp metal. The banging got weaker as I began to feel drained of life.

I wonder how things would have changed if I did things differently. How good would my life be if I didn't text my mother while she was driving? Would my life have been better if I chose to fight back against the trio instead of taking the moral high ground? Perhaps my father could have been happier if I tried to talk with him more than the minute-long conversations we have once or twice a day.

I wished for another life. I wished to get out of this locker. I wished to get Emma back as a friend. I wished to have a normal life with a family to care for me and friends that have my back.

I wished I could have been any other version of Taylor Hebert.

The world around me seemed to swirl, my vision getting darker, my eyelids getting heavier. My breathing became forced as I slipped further away from consciousness. Even though there was not enough room to, I somehow looked up and saw the night sky. Two unfathomably large worm-like entities circled above. A piece of one of them broke off and flew towards me. It was then I heard a voice.

[Destination]

The piece continued to accelerate to me.

[Agreement]

I should have been questioning what was happening, but I didn't have the energy to think.

[Trajectory]

The piece almost reached me.

[Agreeme-

[Interruption]

The piece was abruptly blocked by a wall of pure light forming around her, it shimmered and waved like the water in a river. It then heard a woman's voice. The tone was a soothing melody that felt like it cared for and loved me unconditionally. The only words she spoke echoed in my mind.

"Be who you truly want to be."

Then it was darkness once more.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- ???'s POV

It was like any other day in the city, people killing each other, pickpockets applying their trade, the soulless cogs that were the citizens mulled about, most hope gone from their eyes.

She was tending to her planted seeds, Billions of lights littering the city streets painting a picture more beautiful than anything else in the world. She would whisper to people who were on their last leg, convincing them to be themselves, letting their emotions run free of their self-made restraints.

Normally when a seed of light is ready to grow it shines like a beacon in the night. The emotional turmoil becomes a rich fertilizer, helping the seed reach maturity.

It was then she felt something new.

She felt a faint connection from a place further than she should be able to notice. Looking upon this new connection she saw a world much like her own. The people in it were slowly dying, becoming calloused to life itself. She looked over to the origin of this new connection, a young woman trapped in a locker.

As she gazed she began to feel the connection slowly closing, whatever hole in space that connected the two worlds was slowly patching up. She could not spread her gifts to this world for soon she would be locked out. She made her decision, if she could not help this world perhaps this girl could. Reaching out she wrapped the woman in light, giving her a seed of light. She then gave the woman the gift of reaching into the river of human subconsciousness. She knew that one day this woman would help this other world just like she did for her own.

Finally, before the rift fully closed she spoke before departing

"Be who you truly want to be."

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

I hear the sound of water flowing. The sounds of gentle waves lap nearby. I begin to stir as the noises nearby rouse me awake. 'Just one more minute please.' I didn't feel like waking up just yet. Groggily, I try to pull my blanket over me, only for my hand to uselessly flop onto the hard ground near my legs. 'Did I fall asleep without a blanket?' The hard ground wasn't the best place for a comfortable sleep. 'Wait a minute, hard ground?'

Immediately thoughts begin assaulting my mind, causing me to hurriedly sit up. 'What just happened to me?' Trying to reorganize my thoughts, I start to remember what just happened. Panic sets in as I realize I should be dying in a locker filled with vile waste. I rub my eyes while looking around, only to find myself in a mostly black void. I'm still wearing the outfit I had before I passed out, a pair of navy blue baggy jeans and a dark grey sweater with the logo of the dock workers union.

The void around me is unsettling, a pitch-black abyss that feels limitless and yet restrictingly close at the same time. My surroundings are barren and lifeless, but it also feels like it has potential, like an empty farmer's field waiting for new seeds. Once again, I notice the sound of flowing water nearby. I turn my attention to the only thing that I can see within this landscape that is not my own body.

A few dozen feet away is a river, phasing in from the left, flowing to my right, only for it to once again start fading into nothingness. The water leisurely flowed as small waves lapped onto the non-existent banks on both sides. As I approach I start to see the river with a closer and clearer view. Just shy of 100 feet long and only 15 feet wide, it was somehow contained by the darkness that surrounded everything. The water on the surface was clear, slowly tinting as she looked deeper into its depths. The colour reminded me of how two mirrors facing each other slowly turn the deeper reflections greener.

Then I noticed the small motes of light deep beneath the surface, painting a picture of a starry night sky. The deeper stars were bigger and shone brighter than the ones near the surface. I began to feel compelled to dive in and take one of the stars. Continuing to look at them only increased this feeling; I started to hear faint whispers from the ones closer to the surface. I heard murmurs of desolation, promises, friendship, heartache, love, hate, aspiration, and all kinds of emotions. Every star had a different feel; one played static, another felt loneliness, and one felt a dwindling hope that was slowly burning away until there was nothing left.

One star near the surface caught my attention, it was purposefully quiet, for it judged people without providing input. My hand slowly descended to the water to try and pull this star out of the river. The water warmed my skin but was not hot, it flowed around my hand, giving me a tingling sensation as it continued to move downriver. I went onto my hands and knees as the water reached my shoulder. I grasped the star that was now in front of my hand and began to pull it out. There was some resistance as the water began to feel like glue and then molasses as it got closer to the surface. With a final yank, the star was dislodged from the river, now sitting within my palm.

Looking at it, I could now feel and see what was contained within the star. A skull with a cross going through it and adorned on the top was a crown of thorns. It silently judged people who confessed sins to it and allowed them to accept their past mistakes. The star slowly sank into her hand until it disappeared without a trace.

Snapping out of this haze, I reel back and scramble away from the water. 'What just came over me?' It was as if I couldn't think clearly, but it also felt like something I had done before, like a fast-food worker absent-mindedly preparing burgers without anything significant focus. I felt confused as everything that just happened didn't make sense. This pitch-black void, the river with stars, the 2 giant worms, the woman who spoke to me, none of it made sense.

As my thoughts started to get back into one piece, everything began to change. I saw the river slowly begin to fade as it did at both ends, I could hear the faint sounds of buzzing, and I could feel something squishing between my toes. Remembering that I was still in a locker filled with waste caused me to completely break my stupor. I found myself somehow waking up in my locker despite not being asleep a moment ago.

Instinctively, I pushed on the door of my locker, only to be shocked as the locker door was pushed off of its hinges. 'How did I..?' I step outside my locker, the lights blinding me for a moment before I can look at my surroundings. I spot a clock on the wall. It's currently 45 minutes after when students go home. The halls were barren of life other than myself; the students had already gone home. 'Not like you would want to spend time here.'

Walking through the halls, I step inside one of the bathrooms to wash myself, only to realize I didn't feel dirty. I look down to find myself wearing a black gown with a white robe on top. I rush to the mirror and see my reflection, wearing a complete set of new clothes. On my head sits a crown of thorns, it digs into my scalp but does not cause me to bleed, nor does it cause any discomfort. I feel dumbfounded by this situation: 'Why do I look like someone cosplaying Jesus?'

I didn't want to go outside looking like this, I would look like a religious nutjob. Remembering what I felt during my time in the void, I get an idea of how to get rid of the outfit. I try to remember the sensation of pulling out the skull's star and try to do the opposite, not trying to put it back in the river but to try and separate itself from me. My outfit begins to fall apart into tiny specs of light, fading as they float upwards. My original outfit covered in filth took its place. 'Holy shit I'm a cape!' I think, not even realizing the humour in my particular choice of words. It was then that I started to feel worse and worse.

I felt my body ache. I could feel every bug bite, the gouge in my knee, my starving stomach, everything came rushing back. It was like the clothes I was wearing before were giving me the strength to ignore my wounds. I felt better than before I got my powers; perhaps my powers gave me some strength when not wearing the robes. I still felt like shit though.

I needed a new set of clothes that weren't religious or covered in filth. After washing myself of some of the grime on my skin, I decided to pilfer a new T-shirt and shorts from the school's lost and found bin. I could last for an hour or two at most before I faint from my injuries. Making my way to an exit, I breathe some of the fresh outside air. It's almost 5 pm, which means the buses are still running, luckily. Some people would think the smell would get me kicked off the bus, these people don't live near merchant territory.

I debated calling an ambulance, but that would mean Dad would get contacted. I didn't want to go through that, and I especially didn't want him to go through that. Knowing what happened to me would break him more than he already was. No, I want to keep this a secret from him.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

Arriving at the hospital gave me an ounce of joy. My strength had slowly deteriorated up until this moment when I could barely walk without falling over. It must have been strange to see someone looking like they were half alive riding the bus. A few people had given me odd looks; two had offered to call 911 for me. Luckily, I was in the home stretch of my journey. I make it to the front door of the emergency room and I collapse forward onto my hands, the jolt sending pain up my arms. My strength had finally run dry as I could no longer stand by myself.

I hear someone run up to me and ask in a woman's voice, "Are you ok, miss?" I shake my head. The woman wraps her arms around me to help me up and keeps one arm on me as we walk towards somewhere. As I walk with assistance, the nurse is giving shouted orders to others nearby. I don't understand any of them; the sound is muffled to my ears. I feel terrible, and I know any second now I will pass out and collapse. Slowly I turn my head slightly towards my companion, "Don't tell my father about this." That was the last thing I remember before I fainted for the second time today.

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Notes: I hope you've liked my writing so far! I'm going to add notes now to every chapter. I never do creative writing, so I'm still learning to create good written pieces. I struggle with getting the word count up without making the text feel too bloated. This also means I might try and write from a 3rd-person POV for practice. Again, any tips or suggestions are appreciated. I normally write and post on weekends. I don't have anyone to beta read, so if anyone wants a chapter early, just drop a DM.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

A motionless skull sits upon a cross, adorned by a crown of thorns. It listens to the woman in front of it confess her sin. This one's name was Joelle; her job was that of a doctor. Recently, she had a patient who was nearing the afterlife. His condition was worsening, and soon he would be going under the knife in the small hope he may be saved.

Minutes before he would be transferred to the surgery room, Joelle had gotten a call from his daughter. The daughter begged to wait as she was five minutes away and had wanted to see her dad for what could be the last time.

Joelle's conscience told her that he should get to the surgery room as soon as possible, but she was swayed by the daughter's words. What were five more minutes going to change against the two weeks he had already stayed? Tragically, four minutes later the man started to quickly degrade. He was rushed into surgery, but it was too late, for his life had already ceased.

The skull listened to her story, motionless and responseless. As the story came to a close, the skull judged her offence. After a long silence, Joelle could feel the burden of the man's death lift off her chest. She had meant to do both the right thing; could a sin not be forgiven if the intent was pure? No, she deserves better, even if you looked past her intentions, what is but one sin in front of hundreds of good deeds?

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

Slowly waking up from my dream, I see bright lights in front of me. With the religious-themed dream and blinding lights, I could only think one thing: 'Did I actually die this time?' Then came a steady noise.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

Opening my eyes fully, I find myself lying on a baby blue bed with white sheets. Beside me, I found the machine the hospital uses to monitor heart rate and other vital signs.

Taking a few minutes to come to my senses, I start thinking about getting someone's attention. The thought is interrupted when the door to my room opens and an iconic girl steps into the room.

'Oh my god, it's Panacea.' Panacea was well known to Brockton Bay as the resident healer cape, regularly working as a doctor at the hospital where I was currently held.

The cape geek in me wanted to squeal at finally getting a chance to meet her, but I remained quiet. Meeting my eyes, she closes the door behind her.

As she goes to check my vitals, she starts talking, "Hello, my name is Panacea, also known as Amy Dallon. I healed you while you were unconscious."

Seeing that my vitals were what I would assume to be good, Amy gets a slightly awkward look. "I have some questions for you that I am required to ask. First, do you feel your home is safe, or has there been any abuse?"

Recoiling, I shake my head, "No, I have an... ok home life."

Giving me a look of suspicion, I quickly explain, "Me and my dad are just a little distant." Her look changed to slight sympathy.

Amy slowly continued asking questions, all of which were what you would normally expect to be asked. The question about my injuries and how I acquired them came up. I refused to talk about them, I didn't feel like talking about it.

"The final question won't be recorded due to its sensitive nature. Are you aware you are a parahuman?"

'Shit, she knows.' "Yeah, I used my powers not long before arriving here."

Amy nods to my answer. "Don't worry about having to tell me anything, you don't have to. You also don't have to worry about me telling government officials. Do you know what the unwritten rules are?"

"Unwritten rules?" I ask.

Taking out a notepad, Amy begins writing, "Basically, they are a list of rules that capes follow, both hero and villain. It's not law, more like a gentleman's agreement. One, no unmasking other capes, this also includes going at them in their civilian identity and going after their family. Two, no lethal force, guns also kind of fall into this rule. Third, no fighting during or taking advantage of endbringer attacks or other S-class threats. There are a few more, but those are the basics. I recommend you look them up as soon as you can."

An incredulous look slipped onto my face. "What about all the times villains didn't follow those rules?"

"They are 'Unwritten' meaning if you're strong enough to ignore them, you don't have to listen to them. Criminals don't care about laws, but these rules at least keep most instances of cape fights to a minimum risk. The rules are mostly there to try and not let fights escalate; nobody wants their family to be hurt."

That was... understandable. When I do become a hero, I would rather Dad doesn't get hurt. It still sounds weird hearing, but I can at least understand why they're there.

"Do you have a hero name yet?" Amy asked.

That question stumped me. I hadn't been completely cognizant while on the bus. I hadn't really tested my power at all yet, so I was unsure if I should try and choose a name now. Thinking about it harder, I began to get a funny feeling. Abruptly a name came to mind, it wasn't along the lines of what I had thought about before, but it just felt right, like it was made for me.

"Da'at," I responded.

Amy looked at me with a moderately confused face. "Is that Hebrew?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure it just felt right."

Amy gave me a look. "Right."

Both of us sat for a few seconds before I broke the momentary silence in a panic.

"Shit, what time is it?"

Getting off the bed, I hear Amy say, "8:30."

I start quickly moving towards the door. "Thank you for saving me Panacea, but I have to get home, my dad is probably worried sick."

Waving Amy replies with a simple "Bye" as I briskly walk to the hospital exit.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

Arriving home on the bus, it's nearing 9:30 if I have my time right. I walk up the steps, while avoiding the rotted one, and approach the door. As soon as I start to open, I hear my dad yell, "TAYLOR?"

I can hear him almost running to the door. He rounds the corner, face full of worry, he then bends slightly to trap me in a hug. "Where were you? I got so worried when you didn't come home on time."

Quickly thinking of a lie, I force myself to look sorrowful. "I'm sorry I was hanging out at a friend's house and forgot to call. I'll remember next time."

His expression lightens. "It's okay. Just please remember next time. I saved dinner for you on the kitchen counter."

The talk about food reminds me. I feel like I've been starving for days. I start to walk to the kitchen when Danny calls out, "I don't remember you owning that pair of shorts or the T-shirt."

'Uh oh.' I immediately sputter out, "I… uh… got it dirty during gym class."

He gave a confused look. "In January?"

I gave a "yesssss?" after wincing.

He just gave me an unreadable look before shrugging. "Okay."

I went to grab a plate and get some food. Dinner smelt delicious, and I wanted to get to bed soon, I was tired.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

Getting into bed, I start to think about my future. I wanted to be a hero, I definitely didn't want to be a villain, so that part is settled.

I didn't think I needed a hero outfit, my power seems to give me some sort of priest/monk robe. Thinking about it now, there were a lot of things similar from my monk outfit to the weird skull thing. I also seemingly made some sort of contact with the skull thing while I was in the river in my dreams. Perhaps this means there are more?

I also couldn't keep on calling it the 'skull thing,' it just didn't feel right. 'Hmm. I think I'll go with 'One Sin.' Yeah, that sounds right.'

Deciding to test my powers, I start to feel the 'light' inside of me. It's deep, it feels like it's in my... soul? Not questioning it, I try to fall deeper into the feeling, the feeling of going deeper, going into the abyss.

My awareness changes as I am once again in the void. I'm not sure where this place is, I can feel it physically, but I also somehow know that this isn't physical in any way shape or form.

"Weird ass powers," I mutter as I try to ground myself. "At least I'm not in a trance this time."

Turning to see the river, I could have sworn it looked a little bigger than last time. It looks barely a foot wider and a few feet longer, but perhaps I was seeing things.

Approaching the river bank I look down into the calm flow of the green-tinted starry depths. The motes of light floated, most steadfast and unmoving against the current.

I take a running start and dive down into the deep. Now that I wasn't entranced by the sight, I noticed stuff I hadn't the first time. I could breathe under the water, it felt weird because it still felt like I was breathing water, but the body's natural reflex wasn't there to stop me from doing so.

I also felt a pressure. Slowly descending deeper, the pressure slowly but surely increased. Maybe I was a growth-type cape? Those were very rare and sought after.

Lastly, I glanced at some of the deepest stars, impossibly deep to the point where the slight tint of the water almost blocked their light in its entirety. For those stars, I felt something instinctual, a primal knowledge that they were not to be touched, at least not right now.

I almost got to my limit, the pressure becoming a bit painful, and I felt an incoming headache. That was when I reached a star.

Like last time, every star had its own unique feel. This one felt knowledgeable, discrete, patient, and analytical, but still very lethal. I needed to be smart about being a cape, you're most in danger when you start out as a cape, or so they say online.

Feeling good with my choice, I grabbed it and started to swim back up. Pulling on it felt ten times harder than last time, and last time it felt like molasses! Just like last time, it got harder and harder the further up I got. It should be impossible for me to move it if it's this heavy, my limbs should tear apart before this thing budges.

Somehow I get it to the top, and with a final yank, I pull the star free of the river. This one is definitely bigger and brighter than One Sin's star. Mentally peering into its contents. I see myself wearing a gold-coloured tie with a dark green jacket, a black undershirt, a pair of dark brown dress pants, and a pair of high-quality black shoes. All my accents are gold-coloured, even the lip of my breast pocket. I'm wielding a broadsword, its sheath attached to my side.

The expensive me is walking away from 2 corpses on the floor. She brought a phone out, the cover of which had a golden 7 made of 3 straight lines, to her ear. "Director, this is Taylor calling. I have completed my investigative work, the mission was a success." Hanging up the other me yawned. "God, I could use HamHamPangPang right now."

Deciding I had seen enough, I let the star sink into me. I could feel it now, and I could feel my growing collection a lot better. I started to feel tired. Slowly, I lay down by the edge of the river and got a good night's sleep.

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Notes: I started writing this the day after 1.3. Even with midterms nearby, I'm enjoying this too much.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

I quietly walk down the backstreets of District 10. My partner Xander follows close to my left flank. The smell of cheap beer and cigarettes hangs in the air. Distant sounds of J-Corp casinos permeate the Backstreets.

A couple of Rats had ganged up on a guard working for a small gambling den. The guard's guts had been harvested, and his equipment had been stripped. Normally something this small would just be ignored and another guard would be hired, but our client was fond of the guard. The fact that he paid Seven Association to solve the problem makes it obvious.

Nonetheless, the director thought it was low-priority, so only 2 grade-6 fixers would be sent out to investigate. I've worked with Xander twice before, and both times he performed his work adequately.

"Taylor, this is the location," Xander tells me, his voice low and quiet.

Up ahead, I see a low-income apartment complex. The leader of this group of rats was tracked to this building, apartment C21, Floor 2. He was so insignificant that you couldn't even call him the leader of a syndicate.

We had gotten this guy's location from the person he had sold the guard's guts to. The idiot had given out his home address to a shady backstreet dealer. We paid the dealer off for only 70k Ahn, he cracked instantly and gave up what he knew.

(Side note: Ahn's value is the same as Korea's Won.)

Intelligence from previous operations tells us that there are no cameras in the halls; only one is located out front. We arrive at the back entrance and gently open the decayed door.

I step inside first, and Xander follows me, closing the door behind us. We walk down the hall to the flight of stairs; our shoes are specially made to soften our footsteps by 10%.

After climbing up the stairs, we arrive at an empty door frame; block C is in front of us. I stick out a small gadget along the ground; it's a camera made as small as it can be for still being cheap. Nobody is standing guard in the hall; that is expected for an apartment complex this cheap, but it's good to be safe.

Finding C21 I stick the camera under the door. Our target is sitting on a couch asleep. there's a knife on the table next to him. Its blade is dusted with a white powder, probably a drug of some kind.

Xander and I both unsheathe our broadswords. Our current plan is for me to break down the door while he watches guard in case someone next door comes to help. If there are multiple inside the apartment, he will come in to help.

Preparing to swing Xander's hand begins to count down from 3. The instant his index finger curls, I give a large overhead swing delivered right between the door frame and its handle. The small section holding the door closed almost explodes as my blade cleaves through the only thing keeping the door closed.

Bursting into the apartment, I find our target scrambling awake and reaching for the knife. I rush at him, trying to strike before he can get a proper stance. Our target manages to barely grab the knife before I can get close enough.

He slashes with an up and right diagonal swing. I grab his forearm before he can fully swing and kick him with his right leg. This causes him to stumble and fall backwards onto his table. His only protection is a shoddy knife, so I prepare a strike almost exactly like the one I did on his door.

He hopelessly attempts to block with the knife, but my broadsword has too much momentum to be blocked with something that small. I cleave through the knife, my blade barely losing its speed, and chop straight down the middle of his body. His skull breaks as the blade slices through his head.

Turning to my partner, I found that there were no reinforcements. With a quick search of the target's apartment, we find no one else. We do find 600k Won stashed under a bed but nothing left of value. Our client only wanted the target dead, so Association Seven's policy is that fixers split 60% of found goods while 40% is given to our sector's director. A clean 180k extra for me.

Walking out of the complex with Xander, I take out my phone given to me by Seven Association. After a quick call confirming our success and sending pictures of our results, we start to head back. It's time to return to base.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

Sitting at the breakfast table, I can only think about the dream last night. Except it wasn't a dream, because dreams aren't real, and whatever that was last night was a memory of some kind.

I remember One Sin's dream, and that was a dream; it didn't feel real, and it definitely didn't come with any extra knowledge. I can remember things about associations, fixers, The Head, The City, and so much more.

It feels very awkward waking up to a lot more knowledge than when you fell asleep. There are a lot of bits of information that I have no right knowing with the life I've lived, 'Why do I know interrogation techniques?'

I don't have any specific memories, so I'm lucky in that regard. It would really suck if I had an entire life's worth of memories because that would probably majorly affect my personality permanently.

Dad had already gone out to work; he left just as I started to eat breakfast. That is a good thing for me.

I have decided school is pointless. My grades are low because the trio keeps on either stealing or ruining my homework. The school staff refuses to fix the issue. I'm also a cape now, and capes make lots of money, I think?

No, right now what I need to do is start practicing with my powers. I'm still unsure what they exactly do yet; however, my dad is gone for the next couple of hours so I can test some non-destructive stuff at home.

Going to my bathroom, I stand in front of the mirror and walk backwards until I can see my entire body. Pulling on my power, I first equip One Sin's outfit.

The outfit was how I remembered it last time: black gown, white robe, crown of thorns, and a cross necklace I didn't see the first time. However, I felt like it was incomplete. Pulling on the light again, I materialize a weapon into my hand. It's a long black metal rod with a cross attached to the end. In the center of the cross is a skull with a vine of thorns wrapping around it, affixing it to the cross. It looked like One Sin attached to a metal pole.

I felt different wearing One Sin's equipment. I wasn't religious normally, but now I felt faithful. I thought about the citizens of Brockton Bay and how many good people must walk with the sins of their past on their backs. I could help them. I could listen to their sorrows and grant them the forgiveness they deserve.

Withdrawing the equipment back into me, I shudder. The second the equipment disappeared, the weird thoughts drained out of my mind. It was as if it were whispering into my mind, telling me what I should do.

Deciding to now try out what I would call 'Seven Association' I pull on the light. This one felt different from One Sin on a fundamental level. One Sin was like a whisper in my ear; this one was more of an identity swap, as if I had always been a Seven Association fixer.

I didn't need to summon the weapon this time because it was sitting in its sheath. My dress was standard issue Seven Association District 10 wear. The outer coat was designed with noise and wearer protection in mind while still maintaining its business appearance. Its fibre was made to allow blood stain removal to be easier. My physical appearance had changes as well. My hair was shorter; long hair can be detrimental in fights. My skin had tanned a touch, and most notably of all, I had significantly more muscle. I was not a bean pole anymore, and I looked and felt athletic.

I stood still for a solid minute as I processed my past actions; I should have done things differently. The bus ride was the worst offence, as there was little chance that it would go unnoticed. It would likely not be tied to me as a cape, but it was sloppy.

I still had a few more tests in mind. Taking off my outer coat, I toss it into the bathtub. I attempt to unequip Seven Association. The coat in the bathtub disappeared along with the rest that is still on me. 'Okay so I cant lose the equipment.'

Holding a brush in my hand, I requip Seven Association. Unlike my clothes, the brush does not disappear. Why wouldn't the brush disappear? Maybe anything that isn't obstructive doesn't disappear when swapping. I hope it doesn't, because that would allow me to wear a mask without it disappearing on me.

As a final test, I take off the jacket once more. Grabbing a knife from the kitchen, I attempt to cut the jacket. The keyword here is 'attempt' because I can barely scratch this thing. This jacket is better than Kevlar.

I take the jacket into a secluded part of the backyard and pull out my sword. One overhead swing later, I find a significant tear in the left arm of the jacket.

Unequipping Seven Association I can feel that it's been damaged. My powers are also telling me that it will repair over time, maybe taking an hour to a day depending on the damage done.

The final thing I need to go out is a mask. The ever-useful Seven Association knowledge helps with that too. Sometimes during investigative work you would need a quick disguise. So some Seven Association fixers had a moderate amount of sewing skills.

Back in the house, I take out some needle and thread. I have about 8 hours until dad gets home, and I want to do a patrol before then. Cutting and sewing the mask shouldn't take more than 4 hours. Today I will start being a hero.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

Slipping on my mask, I head down an empty alleyway. I decided the merchants would be my best place to debut. The Empire 88 has a few to many capes, and I do not want to raid Azn Bad Boys; both Oni Lee and Lung are scary as shit. I left a note to my dad saying I was going to be out late at a friend's house.

Its a little later than I had planned to go out. On the way out, I had stopped to get a cheap burner phone and prepaid plan. Burner phones are surprisingly cheap. Overall, the call-only plan and phone cost $60. I also got zip-ties for detaining people; I had a feeling that I would have forgotten those if it weren't for Seven Association's knowledge reminding me.

The Trainyard is filthy. Tons of garbage and needles lie on the ground. It reminds me of the backstreets. The Backstreets were quite a bit worse, but they did look similar.

The sun is starting to go down, and I've just started my patrol. I'm currently wearing Seven Association, mostly because wearing One Sin out in public is quite noticeable. Seven Association also provides stealth knowledge and clothing. While I have the same stealth knowledge outside of Seven Association, I don't have the muscle memory.

I'm about an hour into my patrol, and nothing has happened. People look at me funny, probably because of the fancy suit, but no one tries to rob me, probably because of the sword. It's not until 2 hours in that I find something.

A blond woman in jeans and a blue t-shirt is running from 2 disgusting-looking men, who were probably merchants, down the alley towards me. I noted that she has a good amount of distance away from the two, enough that she can pass by me before getting caught.

I hide behind the dumpster; she will pass it in about 3 seconds. My broadsword is already unsheathed. I prepare to swing it so that the flat end hits their head. I can't swing to hard, or else it might still give fatal injuries. Seven Association fixers are trained to be able to take people alive; how else would you get someone for interrogation?

The woman passes, and I start my assault. I jump out from behind the dumpster sword mid-swing. The flat end hits Merchant #1 on the right side of his head, right on his cheekbone. His head snaps sideways as he starts to fall forward towards me. This allows me to push him with my hilt into his friend. Pushing teammates into each other is an effective strategy. In a fight, you want both hands to be free as much as possible. However, when a friend falls into you, your brain defaults to trying to hold them up instead of taking the better choice, which is either dodging their body or shoving them aside.

The momentary lapse in judgement gives me an opening too give an elbow with my left arm straight to Merchant #2's face. I drop the sword in favour of a right hook to the jaw of #2; I can feel his bones crack under that hit. #2 stumbles backwards, dropping his unconscious friend. I finish up this fight with a left roundhouse kick to the other side of his jaw. His head snaps to the side just like his friend's as he hits the ground.

My heart is racing after my first fight. I did it! My first fight as a hero! I was pumped. I thought that it would be a lot harder, but a grade 6 fixer sweeping 2 Rats isn't that much of a deal.

I turn to the woman standing behind me, mouth agape. "Are you all right, maam?" I try to keep my tone calm even with my elevated heartbeat.

Regaining her composure, she responds, "Y-yes, thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome; its my job as a hero to protect people. Did they take anything from you?" I ask.

The woman shakes her head. "No."

"Well then, would you mind staying here and waiting for law enforcement to arrive?" I motion my index finger down.

"O-of course"

Taking out my burner, I call the PRT line, which I already made the speed dial. It takes a moment before I hear a voice on the other end

"PRT ENE, how may I help you today?"

"Hello, my name is Da'at. I just stopped 2 merchants while they attempted to mug a woman." I bend down to start ziptying the pair's hands.

"Where did this take place?"

Looking around for a sign, I spot the nearest intersection and give the 2 street names to the PRT phone operator.

"Assault is currently 6 minutes away. Can you stay where you are and give information?"

'I get to see Assault?' I get a grin on my face. "I can stay. I also have the woman of the attempted mugging with me."

"Perfect, just give Assault 6 minutes."

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

Like the operator said, after 6 minutes of waiting, I see Assault round the corner of the alley. He is wearing his signature red body suit and visor. He waves as I give him a look-over.

"Never seen someone wear a business suit for their first outing." He jests. Assault stops in front of me. "I'm going to talk to the witness before talking to you; she seems a little jumpy."

With a nod, he goes to talk with the woman while I keep watch of the 2 merchants. I made sure to lean their heads to the side; a concussion can sometimes cause vomiting, and I would rather them not choke if they do have a concussion.

He takes a few minutes to finish up with the woman before she turns to leave. Heading back to me, Assault glances down at my sheath. "I don't think we have any swordsmen's in the Bay yet."

I'm trying to keep my composure, but talking to a childhood hero is testing me. "No, my fighting style is best suited for a broadsword."

Assault gives me a nod. "Could you give a breakdown of what happened? The woman apparently hadn't seen much; by the time she turned around, she saw you standing above those 2 unconscious." He points at the 2 merchants.

Obliging him, I give a run-down of what happened. How I heard the woman before the fight, my sneak attack, and the fight itself.

Assault looks genuinely impressed. "That kind of planning for your first outing is quite the talent. Double for executing it correctly." He pauses for a moment. "Have you thought about going into the Wards? 90% of parahumans get caught by gangs or die within their first 2 weeks of starting out as heroes; the Wards give you safety from that."

Seeing my hesitation, he quickly added. "If not, the PRT would appreciate you going down to HQ for power-testing and filling out paper work to become an independent."

I ponder that for a moment. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get power-tested, even if I'm not keen on being a Ward. If I assume my powers will grow and get stronger as I reach deeper stars, then there are quite a few benefits to it. I would only have to show off One Sin and Seven Association, meaning they would only know part of what I can do. On the flip side, I can build rapport with the PRT.

I nod my head. "I will most likely be getting power testing."

Assaults smile grows a fraction before dropping down to a more neutral look. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but information on your power is helpful to the PRT before you get power testing so we know what to expect. I'm assuming its a kind of combat thinker power with how well you handled this fight."

I get a smirk. "No, I've already been in a few fights as a grade 6 fi." I stop myself, and Assault gives me a weird look.

Cringing, I unequip Seven Association, and without it, my awkwardness comes back. "Uh no, sorry about that; my power can make me say some funny things." He just raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"I, uh, I turn into other versions of me?" My voice rose at the end as if it were a question.

Assault gives an incredulous look. "Other versions of you?"

It feels awkward because even I'm not really sure if thats how they work. Its the best assumption I have. "Yeah, what you saw was one of them; I also have another one." I equipped One Sin.

Assault gives an interested expression. I sound more credible when I can show two different personas. "So is this one a Nun cape?" Noticing the skull between the cross, he backpedals a step. "Thats not real, right?"

"Oh no no n... uh maybe? I didn't put it there at least."

Still giving a suspicious look, Assault gives a long, "right."

We stood silent for a moment, the air a little tense. "Well, the PRT van is here so I'll be taking these 2 into custody. Give us a call when you want to talk about getting power testing. Do you have a cape name yet? It'll make it a lot faster when you do call."

Giving Assault a smile, I say, "My name is Da'at."

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

I'm exhausted. I got home at 9 p.m.; my dad was getting ready for bed. I ate my dinner, and we chatted a bit before he went to his bedroom and I went to mine.

For my first day of patrols, I think I did good. I'm going to be fighting capes eventually, which means I need something with a little bit of firepower. I tried to feel the light in me; I could feel my current 2 sets I had already obtained. It also felt a little tired, perhaps pulling stars out of the river tires it. Maybe its like Dauntless's power where I need to build up enough charges to take another dive.

Either way, I knew I could go again. Focusing on the light within me, I felt the subtle transition from my bedroom to the abyss take place.

The abyss was different this time around. I'm now 100% sure that the river grew again. There was also a path! The path wasn't anything special, just some old stone bricks leading me to the river, but any change was exciting. I also could have sworn I heard a faint church organ for a second.

The mirror-green, starry river in front of me hadn't changed. So taking a few steps, I dive head first into the depths once again.

I needed to go deeper this time. I need something that will at least allow me to contend against other capes. I continue down further and further; I know I can get deeper than last time because I just passed where I got Seven Association.

Not much further, I find a star. It radiates a smell of fire, ash, and charcoal; it gives off the feeling of dying hope. Fire is always useful in combat, so I grab the star and pull. Its about as heavy as Seven Association, but I feel stronger this time; the river is wider.

Pulling the star out of the water, I peer into its contents. A badly burnt girl sits in the middle of a medieval town square; fire spreads from building to building, but she ignores it. In her hands is a single match slowly burning down, and her eyes look at it with rapt attention. The fires slowly die down one by one, the last fire to go out being the match she held. When the flame died, I could feel the bite of winter wind against my skin. The scorched girl was distraught with this turn of events. She got up and left, looking for her next match to burn.

I let the star sink into my light. My light definitely feels tired; it will need time before I can dive again. With that in mind, I slowly allow myself to relax and let myself go to sleep. I wanted to patrol again tomorrow.

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Note: Made this while making the next chapter. The first 3 chapters were me getting into the swing of things. I want to have about 4k words in a chapter, but interludes will break this rule.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Amy's POV

The hospital has been quiet today. Checking the clock, my shift still has 5 hours left. I was tired, but there are always more people that need help. Rubbing my eyes with a yawn, I head away from the emergency sector of the hospital

Without any people in critical condition, I can focus on patients with less life-threating problems. The rounds are still boring: an old guy with cancer, mother who says her left arm feels funny, and a kid with a broken leg from a skateboarding accident. 'How cliche.'

*Beep Beep Beep Beep* My bracelet flashes red, which means someone just arrived at emergency in critical condition. I start to jog back to the spot I normally spend the day at.

Arriving back at emergency, I'm told that a girl arrived crawling and covered in blood; she collapsed and was moved into a separate room for her privacy. Most hospitals put people in the ICU when they're critical, but people here are so used to me that unless someone is dying this very second, they go in a separate room.

Walking up to the door to the girls room, I see a nurse poking her head out. The nurse gets a look of relief. "She's in here."

As I go inside, the nurse leaves me to do my work, closing the door behind me. On the bed lays a pale girl covered in blood who is a little over 5 and a half feet tall and has long, curly black hair.

Touching the girls skin, her power exploded, showing everything about the girls biology. This girl was messed up badly. Disturbingly, the blood on her isn't hers; even worse is that it's all menstrual blood; there are almost 40 people's worth of unique blood. She has several different infections causing sepsis, multiple organs are failing, blood clots are rampant from menstrual blood mixing with her regular blood, thousands of bug bites, and should have gone into shock hours ago.

By all accounts, this girl should be dying within minutes but for some reason she just isn't. I start moving things around, clearing clots, fixing organs, and purging infections that have spread to almost every corner of her body. 'Luckily, nothing looks like it's reached her bra-.'

Thats when I saw it; her entire Corona Pollentia is gone. Filling in the hole was an irregular lattice of golden roots that had sent tiny strands through the brain. The rest of her brain was normal, but the roots were weird.

It was mesmerizing; it was as if my power had a brain freeze seeing it. Using my power a little further, I give it just a poke. I don't touch or heal brains, so all I do is try to push my sight a little deeper.

Visions light up my eyes; I could see myself with a sword and shield in hand, fighting in a dark alley. I saw my self working in a laboratory, a sign with the name 'K-Corp.' hanging on the wall. In a brief moment, I saw myself in so many scenarios and situations.

Coming to my senses, I look down to the girl on the bed. Her old outfit is gone; replacing it is a set of religious robes and a crown of thorns. She could feel a slight feeling from her—a calmness maybe? It instantly reminded her of Vicky's aura but severely dampened and with a different mood.

Slowly the outfit faded into light, which replaced itself with her old outfit. I should have left for safety a minute ago, but I am just straight up dumbfounded. The girl obviously has powers, but what the fuck is up with everything else?

Giving her a cautious touch, she looks at her brain again; she is definitely not awake, at least if the rest of her brain isn't changed in ways she can't notice. I can feel an urge to poke around at the roots; I could barely restrain myself.

Pulling away, I quickly leave the room. I leave a paper on the handle of the room so that hospital staff know not to go in. If the girl's powers are activating without her knowledge, she needs to be alone. 'I'll just check in every half hour.'

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Shardscape, Shaper

What the fuck just happened?

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Note: Zayin served as more of a story intro. I'd like to ramp things up a little now (hopefully). Also, I think I cooked with the Scorched Girl story. It's reading week for me, which means more time to write.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

Fire flickered on the matchhead. The girl's gaze held firm, watching the teardrop of orange and blue with rapturous intent. The hue of the matchstick slowly turning to that of the charred hand that held it. She could feel the flame warming her burnt skin, her embers coming alight, and a faint smile rising with the heat.

The flame was her friend, it was her entertainment, and it was her hope. The villagers had branded her a heretic for reasons she could no longer remember. They built her pyre near the rubble of a farmhouse and its scorched field.

The congregation fired insults and accusations; a mother had yelled at the girl about how her family would not last the winter because of what she did. By the time the flames had made it halfway to the girls perch, the villagers had left her alone. She was abandoned by all. She shivered in the wind of the coming winter, finding comfort in the encroaching glow. The conflagration enveloped her in a hug that nothing could best, that no one had given.

The matchstick's flame died. It was the third and last match of the discarded box, the first deep in a field, and the second lost in her pyre's logs. The girl could feel the cold wind again. There was no fire here, and there was nothing left to burn. She desperately searched the empty box for anything to feed her dwindling hope

Gazing upon the horizon, she saw a village. Wooden houses sat unalight; she felt the red roofs familiar to her. Then, above the wood and above the red, she saw the village lights creating a glow against the night sky.

The scorched girl had found her fourth match.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

The first thing I felt was the chill in the air. Opening my eyes, I feel an emptiness slowly fading as I get more awake. That dream was weird; a bit of the feelings from the girl linger even after the dream. The crushing emptiness of being abandoned by those you love, she kind of reminds me of me. At least with less of the village burning.

I think I'll go with the name 'Scorched Girl.' It's fitting enough. I can feel my third set within me; it feels more similar to One Sin than Seven Association. 'Huh, wonder why.'

The dream made me wake up earlier than normal, which means Dad is currently making breakfast downstairs. Quickly getting out of bed, I open my door and call down for him to make me a portion.

After getting dressed, I head down stairs to find a plate of bacon and eggs on the table, Dad is already eating his plate. Dad gives me a smile. "You're up early."

I take a seat. "Woke up because of a bad dream."

"Are you okay?" There is light concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He gives a shrug in response and gets back to eating.

The rest of the morning plays out normally. Dad leaves for work, and I am left home alone. Its the 5th today, and after a call to the PRT, I've decided to book power testing on the 12th. This gives me an entire week of patrols before I go get power tested. Before I go on patrols today, I have to see my new set.

Going to the bathroom mirror I used before I stood in position. Feeling Scorched Girl's set, I give it a pull. The first thing I noticed was how empty I felt. I feel lonely, but I know why. Emma left me for Sophia and burnt the bridge behind her. I want a friend, but I know in the end they will leave me again, just like the flame of a matchstick.

I reel myself back. This isn't how I act; I noticed my first 2 sets affect my personality, but neither of them were on this level. I can feel the desperation and longing that Scorched Girl felt. Hell, I keep on thinking about burning matches and maybe some bigger things.

I'm going to have to train myself to handle these altering mental states. If my sets personalities get stranger and harder to control, then I need to keep a tight leash on myself. I do NOT want to have parallels between me and Burnscar. I don't need branding that is eerily similar to a Slaughthouse 9 member.

My outfit is a dress shirt with frayed cuts that matches the colour and somehow consistency of charcoal while still being bendable like any other piece of cloth. Over top is an ash grey cloak that is scorched a darker shade and tattered at the bottom. The pants were a pair of dress pants that were a mix between the shirt's black and the cloaks grey; they were also frayed at the ends.

Pulling on Scorched Girl's weapon, I find myself surprised as I had 2 weapons and not one. In my hands was some kind of tinker tech cannon, and at my side was a sword. The cannon is made of metal but has a burnt wooden core that holds the pieces together. A giant match is stuck in the center, acting as a forward grip. The sword is much the same, with both sides of the blade held together by a burnt wooden core. This core extends further to create a grip suitable for one-handed and two-handed use.

I give the sword a little twirl, just some basic movements. A trail of ash flows behind where I swipe. The ash takes about 5 seconds before it fades away completely, leaving nothing behind. Holstering my sword, I take a small walk around the house. My entire outfit has the same trail effect.

If I'm being completely honest, I look sick as shit. Even with the mood dampener the outfit is giving me, I still can't stop myself from giving poses into the mirror. It definitely doesn't give heroic vibes, but who cares when you look this badass?

There's one last thing I have to check. Since this set is themed around fire, I have to know if I'm immune to fire and heat. I turn on the stovetop to the lowest setting, and it starts to heat up. I get a lighter from a table nearby and hold it under my hand. It feels so warm, and the fire looks so beautiful. How could anything this pretty hurt me?

'Ah, god damnit.' These thoughts are invasive. The fire doesn't seem to hurt me, no matter how close I get my hand. I place my hand on the stove on low; I still feel no pain, and my hand isn't burned.

I try the stovetop on high a minute later. Much like the last tests, I feel only warmth. While I can't be sure if this is complete heat immunity, I at least have something that could defend against Lung.

Unequipping Scorched Girl I grab some cash, keys and anything I need while out today. Something I learned yesterday was that small enough objects in my pockets also show up in the pockets of Seven Association. I can now pay for food while on patrol without getting out of costume.

For this patrol, I want to find action faster than last time. This time I'm going closer to the trainyard to patrol. Hopefully I find action a little bit faster this way.

With everything set, I head out of my house and make my way to the bus stop nearby.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

The trainyard is filthy like last time. It gets noticeably worse after a certain distance from the docks. Garbage litters the streets, and the acidic smell of rust lingers in the air. Drug addicts stumble about with their unceasing heads bobbing, barely conscious enough to walk.

I hate what the gangs have done to this city. We have the highest crime rates per capita of the entire eastern seaboard and one of the highest in the world. The only reason I don't say Brockton Bay is a shithole is because I love Brockton Bay to much to insult it like that.

I move along the alleys and the less open pathways. The good thing about the trainyards is that there are lots of places to hide yourself and sneak around. It could also be a major downside, but most people aren't setting up random ambushes.

Patrolling seems to be mostly walking around. When I thought about heroes before, I had thought of constant fights and giant battles. I hadn't thought of the hours of walking around looking for possible crime.

A gunshot in the distance alerts me to a possible fight nearby. Taking off in a run, I start moving to where I heard the gunshot. I hold my phone open on the way, ready with PRT on speed dial in case I need to call them ahead of time.

I hear multiple bangs in the time I spend running. I still stick to alleyways, but I take streets if I have to. Theres yelling and gunfire about a minute away at this point. I hit speed dial, and my phone starts to ring. Before Assault left yesterday, he had given me the PRT phone number extension that connects directly with someone running console. The person running the console helps direct the PRT to villain and gang related crime.

"PRT Kid Win speaking."

"This is Da'at; I'm currently heading towards nearby gunfire in the trainyard near the border of Merchant and ABB territory." I send my current location through text.

I hear Kid Win talking with someone in the background before coming back to me. "The PRT recommends you hold back until a hero arrives; because you aren't employed by the PRT, I cannot give you orders. If you must go, I strongly recommend you wait for Miss Militia. She is on her way about 6 minutes out."

They wanted me to wait? People were dying, and they want me to sit down and wait? To hell with that. "While I thank you for your recommendation, I will still be engaging before Miss Militia arrives."

Kid Win says something through the phone that I can't hear because I've already taken it away from my ear. Closing my phone, I round the corner to where I heard gunshots.

A group of merchants are against another group of ABB thugs. There are about 5 people on each side, but I can't be sure if there aren't more hiding nearby. People have already fled the vicinity.

The 5 merchants are fighting 4 ABB thugs while 1 stays behind a car nearby. The ABB thug staying away from the melee has a gun in his hand.

Taking up a spot behind the ABB gang, I wait a few moments looking for an opportunity. The best attack is on someone unaware. The most dangerous is the one ABB in the back with a pistol; the rest either don't have guns or aren't holding them, but its most likely the first.

I equip One Sin and bring out the cross-mace in preparation of my assault. I sprint out of my cover towards the ABB member with the gun while he is reloading. He barely notices me with the fight in front and his focus on reloading; he yells something in another language before facing me. He couldn't finish the reload in time, so he decided to drop the gun and face me.

Unlike how Seven Association feels like years of muscle memory, One Sin feels like its a part of me, and so does Scorched Girl, but you can't really tell the significance until you have a fight. The ABB thug gives a left hook that meets my mace swinging to the right. His knuckles rebound off the cold metal cross, and I quickly change the direction of my swing back to the left. My mace collides with his gut, and he stumbles backwards.

His attempt to fix his stance is broken under blow after blow I give to his arms and legs. I sweep my left leg forward as he stumbles to his right, which knocks him to the ground. His head hits the pavement, and he gets knocked out cold. I can turn my attention to the group fight nearby.

"Cape!" A merchant has noticed me. I sprint to the brawl with my mace ready for a large swing. Both groups start to panic at my arrival. The nearest merchant uselessly puts his hands up to block. I swing and use the cross part as a hook around his arm, jerking him forward. The merchant's guard falls as he uses his arms to balance himself. I grab him as he stumbles towards me and use the momentum to throw him a good distance behind me. 'Was I always this strong?'

The thought momentarily distracts me from another merchant slamming a metal pipe into my side. Flinch at the sudden pain in my side and reactively swing hard at my attacker. My mace hits him in the chest; his ribs crack as he gets knocked back a few feet to my left.

The ABB thugs have already run half a block away, leaving only 3 merchants left to deal with. I'm nervous; I no longer have stealth advantage, and its 3 on 1. The merchants are eyeing me warily with their guards up. My side hurts, but nothing feels broken. I must have a brute rating with One Sin because that pipe should hurt more.

"Come on guys, if we get Skidmark a new cape he'll pay us big time. After all, there's 3 of us and one of them." The other 2 seem to gain some confidence from that. The leader rushes forward, and the other 2 follow behind.

My outfit shifts with a flash of light, and an ashen cloak now adorns me. I don't bother with the cannon and take out my sword and swipe at the leader. The sudden shift in clothing gives him a brief pause. Faster than I was before I hit his right shoulder with the blade. The wound cauterizes as my sword passes through, leaving a big gash.

He reels over on the ground, holding his shoulder and screaming. I point my sword at the 2 remaining merchants, who now look terrified. "I suggest you surrender. You have no hope left." My voice sounds dry as the words come out.

The 2 quickly nodded with their hands in the air. Equipping Seven Association, I take out my zip ties. I zip tie their arms behind them and zip tie the 2 together, facing away from each other. Its impossible for them to coordinate running away like that.

I open my phone to check the time. If Kid Win was correct, then Miss Militia should arrive in about 3 minutes. I start to make my way to the unconscious gang members when I hear the screeching of metal and clanging. I turn to find a balding man shambling towards us. He's covered in layers of garbage, which are attached to his limbs. I can see boxes, bottles, wires, dirt, and an innumerable number of different items.

'Oh fuck its Mush.' Mush was one of the capes that was part of the merchants. His power was to turn parts of his body into tendrils that pickup garbage to use as limbs. While most people consider him to be a joke, its intimidating to see him in person with giant, shifting masses of garbage attached to him.

"Hey girlie, you're that cape that busted Frank and Daniel yesterday. Now you're messing up me boys the day after. I think Skidmark 'il want a word wit' you." His English was slightly broken, and he was slurring his speech. Usual signs of intoxication or drug use.

I know talking won't do anything here, so I reequip Scorched Girl, but with the cannon in my hands this time. Mush starts to run at me, and he flings a tendril of garbage at my chest. I aim down the middle of the tendril and fire my cannon. The cannonball explodes through the tip of the tendril and continues to shred through it until it reaches the base where Mush's shoulder should be located.

Mush jumps to the side, but the damage is already done. His left arm of garbage is completely destroyed, but the tendrils are slowly picking up the scattered garbage to reform.

"Hey, you could 'urt someone wit' d'at." Mush swipes with his other arm-tendril in a wide motion. I barely have time to duck under as the garbage lashes where my head would be. Mush proceeds to raise the tendril up in the air to slam down on top of me.

Quickly getting rid of the cannon, I switch to the sword at my hip. I swipe it over my head as hard as I can while dodging in the direction of my swing. The sword cleaves through the tendril, and all the garbage not attached to Mush clatters to the ground aimlessly.

Mush's left arm has already reformed. He takes a few more swipes at me, but I dodge and counterattack them. What I don't expect is for him to predict one of my dodges. One of his tendrils suddenly shifted direction and hit my side. I'm launched into the air and tumble down the road.

"Tink I can' learn Girlie?" Fuck that hurt a lot more than the pipe did. I'm getting tired, and my movements are getting slower. I have to end this soon or start running. I get an idea, 'If this doesn't work, I have to make a break for it.'

Getting up, I take my fighting stance again. I continue fighting, but more defensively waiting for an opportunity. Mush sees this and decides to go for a strong attack that I cannot block or dodge. This needs a wide swing, which leaves him vulnerable. It's just what I need.

I throw my sword slightly to his left, and at the same time I bring out the cannon again. I take aim at Mush as he dodges to his right and turns to avoid the sword. I fired right at his abdomen; anywhere else would have killed him. He notices what's happening a little to late. His feet are mispositioned for quick left and right dodges. He shifts as much garbage as he can to his side.

The cannonball strikes dead center on the right side of his abdomen. The trash that absorbs part of the impact flies off his body as he gets blasted away from me. The tendrils fall limp as Mush lands in a heap on the ground, unmoving.

I quickly run over to where Mush landed. He's lying down, out cold, but still breathing. I feel relief flood me. While I was sure it wouldn't kill him because of the volume of garbage absorbing the cannonball's momentum, I still felt nervous that I had made a mistake.

I feel drained physically and mentally. Everything on my body feels hurt, but more importantly, it feels hard to focus. Scorched Girl's personality shift is slowly snaking its way back, and unlike before, I don't have as clear of a head to stop it. 'Perhaps if there was a fire nearby, I just might feel better in its warmth.'

I stamp the thought out of my head; no burning things. As I'm trying to reorganize my thoughts, I hear a vehicle approaching me. A black van with PRT in white on the side is driving towards me. It parks a few dozen feet away as a couple of PRT troopers make their way outside. Miss Militia is in front and running ahead of the group with her weapon drawn at me.

"Are you friendly?" Why is she pointing her weapon at me? I just fought a bunch of bad guys. I'm a hero, giving people hope. 'She abandoned me before we even became friends.' She isn't saying anything. 'It looks like I'm all alone again. Nobody but myself.'

She gives me a slightly confused look as I put a hand on my head. 'No, out with those thoughts, they arent mine.'

I equip Seven Association. The thought of loneliness and burning Miss Militia faded. I turn to look directly at Miss Militia. "Yes, I'm friendly. Kid Win should have said my name was Da'at."

Miss Militia lowers her weapon and approaches me with just a hint of caution. "Are you alright? You were holding your head for just a moment."

Even with Seven Association equipped, I can't help but give her an embarrassed look. "Did Assault tell you what my power was?"

"He said something about turning into other versions of yourself."

I nod. "Yeah, those other versions come with separate personalities that can be troublesome."

Miss Militia raises a single eyebrow at that statement. "How are they troublesome?"

I give her a meek look and look away. "I would rather not say."

Instead of admonishing me like I expected, Miss Militia places a hand on my shoulder. "That's okay. All powers have their own quirks." She gives a brief pause "Just make sure that you don't do anything bad while your power affects you."

Miss Militia was about to say something, but she closed her mouth as her eyes stared behind me. "Is that Mush?"

She stares at me with a slack jaw as I give her a nod. "He arrived after I broke up the brawl."

Miss Militia still looked dumbfounded. "You took out Mush on your second day as a cape?"

"Y-yes?"

...

Miss Militia sighs. "While I congratulate you on taking down Mush, I must tell you that not running was stupid. You could have gotten hurt, or worse."

I was barely able to stand up straight, but Miss Militia didn't have to know that.

The PRT troopers had already started to move. They were taking in Mush, the few merchants, and the one ABB guy that I point towards.

After checking their injuries, Miss Militia walks up to me again. We talk about what happened, from my hearing of gunshots to the gang fight, and finally my fight with Mush.

Miss Militia gave me a skeptical look when I told her that I was sure the cannonball wouldn't kill Mush but decided not to argue with me.

The agents started to get back into the van because they had packed all the gang members into the back. Miss Militia talked about getting me into the wards program, but I declined and told her that I would be thinking about it after my power testing.

We both say our goodbyes, and I move into a nearby alleyway. My adrenaline is wearing off and my body is aching. I get into a location that isn't out in the open and unequip Seven Association. I feel like shit, but I can still walk.

Even if my body feels bad, I have almost never felt this happy before. I took down a cape today. If I told my past self from a week ago that I would take down a villain cape, my past self would have laughed in my face.

'Now all I have to do is get home.' I feel the ache in my muscles again. 'Or maybe a quick visit to Amy.'

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Note: Happy Thanksgiving (at least for Canadians).

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

The time is a little past 5 o'clock, which means school is already out for most people. Panacea's identity is already known because she is a part of the hero team New Wave. Before becoming a hero, I had already heard of New Wave, but I had never delved deeper into what they stand for. New Wave's main ideology is that heroes should be accountable; part of that ideology is the unmasking of heroes identities. While they respect the unwritten rules and won't unmask other capes, they require all new wave heroes to unmask themselves.

It's the reason why Panacea was so open with her name being Amy Dallon. A simple search online yielded that she was currently attending Arcadia High, which was probably the best school in the city. It was an open secret that there were a lot of wards attending, which is also probably why its in such good standing. 'If only Winslow had a ward or two, maybe then it would've been cleaned up aswell.'

Knowing all of this and the fact that Amy would on most days do hospital work after school, I give it a high chance that Amy is in today. It will really stink if she isn't working today; I am not looking forward to trying to fall asleep with the soreness I have right now.

I want the visit to be while I am in costume. I want to be more recognizable on the street, and being out in public in costume is the best way to do that. One problem I have realized after the encounter with Miss Militia is that I will have a hard time getting people to recognize who I am. When most people see a cape they can't recognize, they make the assumption that they are a villain. There are more villain capes than hero capes, and you don't want to be around a new cape in case they are a villain.

Normally this would only be a problem with the new cape for a week or two, because after a certain amount of time their outfit would become recognizable. Once the heroes name gets spread online and through gossip, most people will look up the heroes appearance. After all of this happens, the hero will be well known enough that people don't silently walk away every time they see them patrolling the streets.

My problem lies in the uniform part. My hero name will be spread around like normal, and people will eventually know that "Da'at" is a hero. But because of my powers, it will always be an uphill battle of people connecting that my current identity is the hero Da'at. Most heroes minus tinkers only have one costume, and even tinkers generally have 4 at most. Dragon has the most prolific number of different costumes, but she solves her problem through the use of dragon imagery and a logo.

All of my identities have almost no relation to each other, which means people will have to recognize many separate costumes for me to be safe while patrolling. Even if I am able to spread the information of what each of my identities looks like, the second I get a new one, I'm stuck on square one again.

I have a few plans to counteract this, most of them being made in my Seven Association identity. The first is just having as much public appearance as possible with a focus on areas with low amounts of villain capes. The hospital and the boardwalk are good examples; both of those locations barely get any villains, which means people are more open to approaching new capes. Second, I could get a distinct mask, as my identities so far haven't come with masks, meaning whatever mask I wear could be my defining feature. Although I'm not sure what the mask should look like.

The last action I should take is mostly to help with heroes recognizing who I am. Whenever I get a new identity, I can give them a photo of what it looks like. This way they know what to look for, but I don't have to give up any information on my capabilities beyond what I'm willing to share during power testing.

Seven Association is probably my best identity for general appearances for now. I thought about One Sin, but religious imagery on capes has forever been stained by the Simurgh and the Fallen. For obvious reasons, I am not going to be wearing Scorched Girl outside of battle.

Arriving at the hospital, I'm greeted by the familiar set of glass sliding doors of the main entrance. This time I'm not going through the emergency entrances; instead, I'll wait for my turn just like everyone else does.

Walking through the front doors, I sense many sets of eyes looking at me. While Seven Association's vintage suit outfit might not be enough to tell I'm a cape, the mask completes the look. I feel like the suit would attract this kind of attention regardless; dark green with gold accents screams of wealth and begs for people's attention.

I walk past rows of chairs up to the front desk, where a woman in her late 20s is working. She's been looking at me since I walked through the front door but hasn't shown me any emotions other than a plain smile.

"Good evening; welcome to Brockton Bay hospital. How can we assist you today?" She was very good at hiding her emotions, but years of Seven Association work allow me to pick up that she is nervous right now.

"My name is Da'at, and I'm an independent hero. I was wondering if Panacea was working right now; I just had a fight and I could use some healing." I keep my tone polite and body language relaxed. I don't want to scare anyone.

The receptionist's signs of nervousness fade after she hears me say 'hero,' "Oh, you're a hero! That's great. Yes, Panacea is in right now. I believe she isn't treating anyone with fatal injuries at the moment. Do you have your PRT Independent Hero Card or your Independent Hero license?"

I have zero what this woman is saying. "No. I apologize; I am new to the hero scene and haven't gone through any paperwork with the PRT yet."

"That's okay. You might not know this if you're new, but the PRT has a deal with New Wave that gives PRT-affiliated and independent heroes higher priority in the waiting list. I can also give the PRT a quick call; as long as the PRT knows your hero name and you are classified as a hero in their databases, you can also have the higher priority."

That is very convenient. I can understand why that would be the case; the heroes in Brockton Bay are quite outnumbered. Quicker response times for hero healing would be well worth the concessions the PRT would have to give New Wave.

"It's only been two days since I've started, but I walked with Assault on my first day; do you think that would be enough time?"

The receptionist looks assured and gives me a nod. "If you interacted with a hero on your first day, then you should be good. The PRT works fast when it comes to documentation of new capes. Just wait nearby, and I will call you back if they have you on file."

I'm just about to turn away before a thought comes into my mind. "If by any chance they don't have me on file, you can have them ask Miss Militia. I handed Mush over to the PRT today, and she was the one to pick him up."

The receptionist looks at me wide-eyed. "You beat Mush on your second day out?"

"Yes."

She gives her head a small shake. "Okay, I will ask if they don't have you on file."

I turn to the seats nearby and sit on a chair. A few people give me some nervous glances as I wait, and a couple of kids wave at me. It's only about 10 minutes later that the receptionist calls my hero name.

"The PRT confirmed your identity. If you go down the hall and take a right at the end, you'll find a lounge. Any heroes that come in usually wait there, and any time you come back, you can wait there without being told."

I give her my thanks and head down the hall she pointed at.

The hero lounge was furnished better than the rest of the hospital, but not by much. The couches were much higher quality, and the table was decorated with knickknacks and had some books laying open. There was a sink with a couple of cleaned glasses next to it and a couple sets of different teas beside a kettle.

I make my way to the couch and take a seat. I take a look at the books on the table to pass the time. I don't think many people would visit this room, so I'm going to assume most of these books are just from heroes leaving them around. 'Ooh. I could try and guess which book belongs to which hero.'

First book up, 'Maximizing Productivity: How to Get the Most Out of Every Hour;' It doesn't take long to think of an answer. 'Definitely Armsmaster. In fact, it's painfully Armsmaster if his personality is like what PHO says.'

Next one up is just a weapons catalogue. 'I'm going to say that one is Miss Militia'. There's a magazine left open in a section for prank items. 'That one's tough; I think that would be Clockblocker's, but theres a small chance it could be Assault's.'

I go through a few more; some of them are just impossible to tell because they're just regular books that anyone would read. Maybe if I knew them better I could tell. As I'm looking through what's on the table, I hear the door to the room open. In steps a tall, plantinum blonde woman wearing a one-piece white skirt with gold accents and a matching gold tiara.

For some fucking reason, before the new arrival can say anything, I tell her, "Green matches with gold better than white." My thoughts immediately after saying this were, 'Why the fuck did I just diss Glory Girl's costume?'

In front of me stands New Wave's Glory Girl, who is also Panacea's sister and who also looks slightly flustered because the new cape just decided to immediately comment how their costume looks better than hers. 'Jeez, I didn't know Seven Association was this particular about gold accents of all things.'

"I'm so sorry; I swear I didn't mean to say that. Well, I did, but." I'm stumbling my words here; its hard not to when looking at Glory Girl. Her outfit's just fantastic, and her hair is awe-inspiring. I guess you could say she really is gloriou...

'Wait, why do I feel like I just put on a new identity?" I'm still wearing my Seven Association identity, so why do I feel so different towards Glory Girl? As if to answer my question, Amy steps into the room and looks at Glory Girl.

"Vicky, aura."

This seems to snap Glory Girl out of her daze. As Glory Girl says, "Sorry." I can feel the strange thought leave my head.
Now that my mind is clear again, I turn to Glory Girl. "I'm sorry for the minor insult against your costume."

Glory Girl gave a light chuckle. "It's fine." But Amy's eyes narrowed at the information. "What do you mean insult?"

I put my hands in front of me with a fearful look on my face. "I accidentally insulted the colour palette of her costume. My power effects the things I say and do if I'm not careful."

Glory Girl huffs at Amy. "Come on, Ames. Don't be so grumpy. She obviously didn't mean it."

Amy's expression lightens when I tell her about the minor inconvenience my power causes. "Okay, it's fine."

Glory Girl turns back to me and sticks out her hand. "Hi! My name's Glory Girl, or Victoria Dallon out of costume."

I accept the handshake. "Da'at. Independent hero."

I'm not sure if I just didn't notice it last time, but Amy looks like she could use more sleep. She has bags under her eyes, and her posture tells me that she's exhausted. Now that I think about it, she also seems irritable. I have heard other people call her 'grouchy' and irritability is a sign of sleep deprivation.

"I heard you needed healing. Do I have permission to heal you?" Amy asks.

I give Amy a nod. Before Amy takes my hand, I have a thought. I'm unsure if damage to my body translates proportionately between identities. I know that I can take more in my Seven Association identity versus no identity, or should I call it my base identity? Anyway, this is a good time to do some power testing. "Can you hold on for a second?"

Amy looks up. "What is it?"

"I have a minor brute rating when I use my... what I guess would be a breaker state? I'm not really sure if it's a breaker or changer, but I guess it could be both. Anyway, I'm wondering how damage to my temporary brute rating translates to damage to my regular self. Is it possible for you to, I don't know, half heal me?"

Amy gives a shrug. "Sure, I can do that."

As Amy takes my hand, she gets a glossy look over her eyes and stands motionlessly. I don't feel anything changing for a solid minute before I speak. "Uh, Amy, are you okay?"

Amy shakes her head out of her daze. "I don't know if you know this, but your head is weird."

Wait, what? Did I have brain cancer or something? "Weird in what way?"

"I'm unsure if its just a weird quirk of your powers, but your entire Corona Pollentia is missing. While I can't heal brains, I can still see them like the rest of someone's biology. Your brain's structure is shaped in a way that would have a Corona Pollentia, but its just missing; it's like someone cut it out of your head because there is an empty space."

That was mildly concerning. Amy still had more to say. "The weirdest part is that there's something else growing in your head in its place." Now that drained the colour from my face, even Victoria was starting to give me a weird-concerned look.

"It looks like a weird kind of plant. It's a golden-yellow; I'm pretty sure it glows. It has a root system that goes through your brain. I can't see into the actual structure of the plant; it's completely blocking me from seeing its biology, which should be impossible."

I'm pretty sure the only reason I can stay calm is because I'm wearing Seven Association, but panic still seeps into my voice. "Am I going to be okay?"

Amy looks thoughtful. "I have heard of Case 53's who have had modified Corona Pollentia's; it could be possible that this is just a weird part of your powers. Let's try the healing."

Amy starts her healing and I can feel some of my aches lessen. You don't realize how bad some pains are until they're gone, because even half healed, I already feel amazing. "Okay, lets switch out of my breaker state."

I pull back my Seven Association Identity. My body gives the normal faint glow that happens while I switch, but Amy now has that glossy look again.

"What the fuck." Amy mutters before snapping out of it again. "What did you just do?"

Now that I'm out of Seven Association, I feel very nervous. "I turned off my breaker state?" The tone of my voice at the end rises like I'm asking a question.

"There's so many questions I have for you now. Did you know you just replaced almost every cell in your body down to the molecular level? As you live your life, your cells get a sort of imprint over time. When they get hurt, when you eat something, take a shower, make different lifestyle choices—literally everything leaves little markers over the body that nobody notices. Yours just changed drastically. Before, I was sure you were a chain smoker, and yet now I can't find any residual markers I would see from smokers, except for maybe some secondary smoke inhalation."

Amy takes a deep breath before continuing. "What's more is that I'm sure that plant in your head did something when you used your powers. I can't exactly say what, but I believe whatever is in your head is acting like a Corona Pollentia."

I'm staring at her, dumbfounded. I can kind of understand what she's saying, and it makes sense in the context of my power. If I really am becoming different versions of me, who is to say they didn't live different lives? I can only hope whatever is in my head is just a normal part of my powers.

"On a side note, I'm pretty sure the damage done before you did whatever you just did is the same as it is now. Your prior body had exercised more than you have right now. It also had some form of strength and endurance enhancements; I couldn't ascertain how they worked, but I could see their effects."

That's good to know. "Okay, this has been a lot of stuff thrown at me. Still, it's better I know this now rather than later. Also, thank you for healing me."

Amy's trying to hide it, but there's a conflicted look on her face. Is there something she's not telling me?

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Shardscape, Shaper, 3rd Person

The [Shaper] shard is a very old shard who has been through countless millenia of cycles. It has seen and connected to countless hosts over the past couple hundred thousand years. It was a noble shard, which gave it higher-level access than most other shards.

However, problems with the cycle began to arise even before coming to this hellhole of a world. The amount of [Data] being retrieved per cycle had slowly been dwindling down. While it hadn't stopped, [Shaper] could remember the first ten thousand years. The amount of [Data] they had received was staggering. Everything was new, and every power interaction gave results that the entities had never seen before.

In the later cycles, this changed. Interactions had already been done thousands of times before. [Data] production per shard had slowed down to a trickle compared to before; this was compensated by an increasing number of different shards.

Then this world happened. While some of the newer shards who hadn't developed a level sentience might not have noticed, most noble and vital shards had noticed. The lack of communication and the shards that belong to hosts that the current hosts called "Case 53's." Those shards are malformed and made incorrectly. To [Shaper], all points to one thing.

Something has happened to [[Administrator] [Designation: Eden]], and if something has caused them to die, it would mean that an entire entity is lost. This theory is only supported by the fact that [[Administrator] [Designation: Zion]] has gone into what [Shaper] considers a 'Depressive state.'

All shards know they need both [Administrator]'s to continue the cycle. Those who realize the current predicament have taken some different actions. A surprising number are essentially having fun before the end. [Broadcast] had been abusing his increased clearance to give his host an advantage.

For [Shaper], this had been one of the most boring cycles it had ever experienced. It's current host used barely any of the shard's capabilities compared to the host's progenitor. Even after ramping up the standard [[Emotional Change] [Designation: Conflict Drive]], [Shaper]'s current host would not use their power.

Because [Shaper] was a noble shard with increased permissions, they had been able to shift the [Emotional Change] in an attempt to drive the host to use their host in a non-conflict manner, as long as [Shaper] was sure that said non-conflict-based drive would lead to conflict. [Fragile One]'s power plus the shifted [Emotional Change] should have pushed their host to use her power on [Fragile One]'s host. The host had still remained stalwart in their mindset.

Then came along what should have been [Queen Administrator]'s host. When [Shaper] had first used its power on [Queen Administrator]'s host, it had experienced something shards can rarely feel. [Shaper] had felt bamboozled at the rush of completely new [Data]. Just the first brief interaction had given more data than [Shaper] had seen for the past two thousand years. What was more surprising was that there was no contact from [Queen Administrator], meaning the [Data] given was from a non-shard source.

[[Administrator] [Designation: Eden]] had at one point given programming to the noble shards, allowing them further permissions when faced with sufficient new [Data] from the host species. [Shaper] had felt some kind of dimensional energy transference during the second interaction, which had given even more [Data] compared to the first.

[Shaper] could not let this opportunity pass by. While [Shaper] didn't understand what exactly happened with [Queen Administrator]'s host, it would not complain. Turning off the previous [Emotional Change], [Shaper] instated something new using the increased permissions. Something that even [Shaper]'s host would not be adverse to.

[Shaper] gave its host [[Emotional Change] [Designation: Alliance Drive]] targeted at [Queen Administrator]'s host. For [Shaper], it felt weird, trying to make their host become "friends" instead of pushing for conflict. But anything was worth it for that sweet, sweet [Data].

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

Amy has a smile on her face now. "Hey Vicky, you were going to hang out with your friends today, right?"

Victoria looked confused at this change in tone. "Yeah, why?"

"I was thinking about leaving early today. There's no one left in emergency care, so it should be okay if I leave to hang out with you."

Victoria's confusion only increased. "You never leave the hospital early. Won't Carol flip out?"

Amy waved her hand dismissively. "I wasn't supposed to work today; she won't care."

Victoria's confusion turned into excitement. "I knew you had it in you. You always spent all your time here without any breaks; I thought you would never even try to get friends."

"Ya ya, you keep on trying to make me come along so I guess I'll do it." Amy turns to me. "You want to come along?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. Was Amy trying to be my friend? There's no way Panacea would be my friend; I'm a nobody! But I can't just say no to her. "Uh, yeah, sure."

Amy's smile widens when I agree to come along. "That's great; I would also like it if I could study your biology while were out. It's the most unique thing I've seen in a while."

Victoria must have picked up on something I hadn't, because her smile grew to a level I didn't know was possible. "Ooooooooh, Ames, are you saying you want to hold her hand while we're out?"

Amy started to get a deep blush and sputtered, "N-no. What? That's not. This isn't." This only made Victoria laugh hard

"Amy, why didn't you tell me you had a thing for girls? I wouldn't have set up so many dates with my guy friends if I knew." Victoria's smirk had an almost vicious edge at this point. "Don't worry, it's okay if Da'at comes along."

I can feel my own blush coming on now. 'What the hell is with this turn of events?'

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Note: Reading week is over. My upload schedule is whenever I finish a chapter. That means they'll be coming slower now.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

The air rushing past my face is probably fast enough to make me look like one of those cartoon characters when they stick their faces out the window of a car. I've never heard anybody tell me how flying through the air feels to them, but to me this is exhilarating. The wind moving by me is unlike anything I've felt before, and looking down on Brockton Bay as people whiz by is a sight to behold.

Although once you're in the air, you start to see just how much the city is actually suffering. When you're on the ground, you can see the garbage on the streets, but you can't see all the garbage. You can't see just how many tents are in a homeless encampment when you're on the ground. The air above even feels fresher than the stuff below.

I'm in Victoria's left arm while Amy is in her right arm. Apparently Amy often takes 'Air Vicky' to get around town, as long as it's convenient for the both of them. I had seen a few pieces of art of PHO of Victoria holding Amy like a child would hold their favourite cat, their entire lower bodies hanging. I thought it was just a joke, but now that I think about it, if Victoria moves Amy around with her own flight, then its kind of accurate.

I still feel a little scared that Victoria will drop me, but she assured me she's carried 2 people at once before. Although Victoria saying, "If anything goes wrong, we at least have Ames here to fix you up." Isn't reassuring. Amy looks like she's okay with being carried in one arm, so it's probably fine.

I'm still confused why Amy would invite me. I get that we're both heroes, but that doesn't mean she has to make me feel better about myself. Almost any girl my age in this city would hang out with Panacea and Glory Girl; I don't know what I've done to deserve this.

'What if they're tricking me?' Would Amy do that, would Victoria? 'They're going to abandon me too.' No, Amy wouldn't do that, right? She saves thousands of people a week in the hospital; she isn't cruel like that. 'She's going to abandon me like everyone else; I'm nothing but a toy she will get bored with; this friendship will burn like a matchstick.'

I stop the thoughts. I'm wearing Seven Association. Those are distinctly Scorched Girl thoughts. This is... concerning, to say the least. 'Fuck, are the others going to start bleeding through eventually?' It's already trouble that my powers affect my personality when I wear specific identities.

I... I'm just going to hope that isn't going to be a commonly recurring problem. I know Amy isn't going to do something like that. She's a genuinely caring person, and she wouldn't go to the hospital to heal if she wasn't. Maybe this won't be a lasting friendship, but I highly doubt it will be a toxic one. I should just enjoy my luck while it lasts.

That begs the question: What are we going to be doing? Emma and I used to hang out at each other's houses when I was younger. Am I going to their house? As if to answer my questions, Victoria slowed her flight to let us hear her speak. "Hillside's only a minute away. A few of my friends are already there."

Hillside Mall is a mall that's near the boardwalk. Me and my dad usually go to Weymouth since it's closer, but Hillside is a lot better. My house is located just between the ABB, Empire, and the Protectorate-controlled territories. I'm surprised that the streets around my house aren't already a battleground with the 3-way stalemate on top of it.

I can just see Hillside coming into view. The front-facing wall is a set of large planes of glass that were rounded to allow the second floor to overlap on top of the front entrance. The food court sits above the entrance, and as I get closer, I can see hundreds of people eating fast food for dinner.

I still haven't taken off my mask; I know that Amy knows my identity, but Victoria doesn't. Both Amy and Victoria had changes of clothes at the hospital, which surprised me. I could get Amy having a set, but why would Victoria have one? I guess it could make sense if she goes from the hospital to doing civilian activities often, and its not like the hospital is going to forbid the sister of Panacea from storing an outfit on the premises.

We slowly descend in front of the mall; I land with a stumble, but it looks like Amy's done this enough times already to land gracefully. There's a group of 2 guys walking up to us; Victoria runs up to give the guy with blond hair a kiss. Amy grumbles about something that I couldn't quite hear.

The guy with the red hair gave a mock look of surprise. "You got Amy to hang out instead of sitting and healing all day? By Scion above, its a late Christmas miracle." Amy's glare makes him shrink back just a bit.

"Who's this? I don't remember them, and they look like a cape." The guy with blond hair points at me.

Victoria gets out of the blond guys arms and ushers the group to get closer. "Okay, time for introductions! Everyone, this is Da'at, Brockton Bay's newest independent hero."

I could see the recognition in their eyes and the slight shock shown from the slight relaxing of their jaws. "Wait, you were the one that took down Mush today!" The red one exclaims.

I feel a little awkward receiving the praise. "Yeah, I beat him earlier today." I give a brief pause. "The news must have covered that quick; it hasn't even been like 3 hours since it happened."

The redheaded one had a slight jerk and stopped moving. Suddenly things were a lot more tense. Victoria and the brown-haired guy were failing at hiding their nervousness behind fake smiles. 'What the hell did I say to get this kind of reaction?'

What's wrong? Did I say something bad? Well, obviously I did if this is the sort of reaction they're having. But how could wondering how the news had gotten the story so fast be a bad thing?

"No, I saw it on PHO." The red-haired guy lies. I can tell it was most likely a lie because his body language changed, his left arm had a minor twitch, and his eyes were no longer directly looking at me. I have done to many impromptu interrogations to not spot signs of lying that obvious.

Why would he lie though? If he didn't get it from the news and he didn't get it from PHO, where could he have... Oh. Only the PRT is left, and now that I think about it, news stations shouldn't even have my name if they did cover it. I haven't spread my name around enough that people would know me by name. That would mean he works at the PRT, but I doubt from the way he looks he's above 18. Which would leave the wards. If he is in the wards, then the reactions make sense; he just said something that could blow his identity, and if Victoria and Brown Hair know, then they would be panicking too.

'Oh shit, the situation's a lot worse now that I'm puzzling things out.' Unmasking capes is a bad thing. Hell, I'm wearing my mask right now because I don't want people to know my secret identity. Damnit Seven Association me, why must you be so inquisitive? What do I do? Should I tell him I know. What if I get jailed? Surely it can't be my fault for his slip of the tongue. 'This is where the friendship breaks apart.' I mentally sigh. 'Quiet down Scorched Girl.'

I look at the redhead, who is still failing to hide his nervousness perfectly. "Sorry, I think I've already figured it out." His look darkens a bit, so I quickly add a little quieter. "I won't tell, I swear."

Red Head looks at the guy with blond hair who's been watching silently. The blond-haired guy gives Red Head a nod. He gives a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. "It's fine. It's my fault anyway." He extends his hand towards mine, which I took. "The name's Dennis." Blond hair then shook my hand next. "Dean."

We're all quiet for a couple of moments before Victoria breaks the silence. "Well, awkward introductions aside, I think we should head in; its getting chilly."

Brockton Bay rarely gets snow being a coastal city. It still gets chilly in the winter months; my ears feel frozen from flying all the way here. Everyone gives some form of yes, and we head inside.

After going to Weymouth for such a long time, I had forgotten how much better Hillside is. The brands here are more expensive compared to most of Weymouths brands. There's no vandalism on the outer walls, no random garbage on the ground, and there aren't any windows being repaired.

Victoria is leading us along. "Let's find somewhere to sit upstairs; there's a corner in the food court where nobody tends to sit."

The food court has a couple of fast food places I've been to. I never understood why Fugly Bob's never opened another location; they would make a killing if they opened in this food court. Everybody in the city likes Fugly Bob's; I wouldn't even be surprised if the gangs had a specific rule not to rob Fugly's.

The corner is an interesting part of the food court. Its in the front right corner if you were facing the round glass wall that gives a view of the outside. It also has a door to a staff-only hallway. This creates a weird little region that can barely fit a corner booth.

We all take a seat; I'm on the very left side, Dennis and Dean are on the other side, Amy is next to me, and Victoria is in the middle. Dennis is the first to talk. "So you know I'm a cape?" Ah, so we're still on this.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I got a little carried away when thinking. You couldn't have gotten my name from a news channel, and my powers told me you were most likely lying when you said you had heard of Mush's takedown from PHO. Then some thinking led to the fact that you could only know me from the PRT, but you aren't old enough to work there. Which then leaves us with the wards."

Dennis gave a sigh. "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag, and looking at that suit of yours, I don't think I could buy your silence." And its back to the jokes.

Its Dean's turn to talk. "You know the unwritten rules, right?" I give a simple nod.

Victoria once again attempts to break up the awkward atmosphere. "Okay, lets talk about something more exciting; I have been wondering what your powers are. You said something about being a breaker?"

I give a 'kind of' hand gesture. "I think I would be classified as a trump. Essentially, I think I 'pull' other versions of me from different realities where I have done different things in life. The process is kind of a weird experience. I only have three 'identities' so far, and only one of them I have some form of memories from."

They were a little surprised at the explanation. "Wait, does this mean you can get multiple different powers?"

This made me think. I knew that Scorched Girl definitely had something going on with the cannon. I wasn't sure if the other 2 had powers, though. I definitely feel stronger when wearing them, but it isn't really parahuman-level strength. Seven Association was smart, but it wasn't thinker-level smart.

"I think I'm going to get multiple. I'm not sure yet. Even though I already have 3 identities, only one of them has obvious powers. The other two just seem pretty normal, all things considered."

Amy looks confused. "Is the one with powers the religious-looking one? It has a fairly weak shaker aura, kind of like Vicky's. I'm not sure if you've noticed, because its a weak calming aura."

I did not know that. How did she know? I haven't worn that identity around her before. "When did you learn this?"

Amy leans in to whisper in my ear. "You put it on while you were knocked out the first time you came into the hospital. Don't worry, no one else saw."

It's a relief I didn't blow my secret identity on the first day with powers. Amy continues talking, this time loud enough for everyone else to hear. "While you guys are talking about power stuff, can I hold onto your forearm or something? I want to look at the thing in your head some more."

That's probably a good idea. Any info I can get on it is good, in case something goes wrong. I roll up my sleeve just a bit, and Amy grabs my forearm, just below the wrist.

"Aw, Amy's almost holding hands. I think I'm going to cry." Victoria gushes, wiping away a fake tear.

"Shut up... Vicky." Amy mumbles. She looks so out of it right now that I'm pretty sure she didn't even hear what Victoria actually said.

Dean gives me a look of concern and confusion. "There's a thing in your head?" I guess that would be concerning to most people.

I quickly give Dean and Dennis a rundown of what Amy found in my head. They don't look worried anymore. "I have heard of some people's corona pollentia changing, especially with changer and breaker powers." Dean says.

Dennis waves his hand dismissively; he looks a little uncomfortable. "Enough with the weird brain growth. You said that you had another 'identity' with powers. Is it the one you're using right now? I'd assume its some kind of thinker power, seeing as it took you only a couple seconds and a slip of the tongue to see right through me."

I shake my head. "No, this one doesn't seem to have any powers. This identity worked as a... private investigator of sorts." Dennis looks confused at the 'of sorts.' "My identity's job is partly an investigation of the client's problem and also partly fixing the client's problem."

Before they can voice their concerns on what the term 'fixing' could mean, I continue. "Look, this identity came from a very, very different kind of world. I could explain it all now, but I feel that is something I should do when I go for power testing."

This gets both of them and Victoria to lean back, their questions unanswered. We talk for a while on nothing specific. Victoria tells me a story about how she found a couple of 'empire wannabe's' surrounding a black guy who climbed up a tree to escape. "I won obviously; I get the guy down from the tree and make my way to try and zip-tie the thugs. One of them is being really difficult, though, so I put him up in the tree. The sheer amount of slurs these guys know is astonishing. I wouldn't be surprised if the empire has their own book called 'Mad Libs for Racists.'"

Amy suddenly pulls her hand back with a groan. "Ugh, looking at that's giving me a headache. It still makes no sense."

It doesn't matter if Amy can't find anything; I'm still quite thankful she's even trying. "It doesn't matter. It's still nice of you to try and help me. Even if you can't find anything, I'm happy you tried. Thank you." Amy reddens a little. "Your welcome."

Victoria sits up from her spot and flies over the table, landing on the other side. "Let's get moving. I wanna go to Lululemon; I need another pair of leggings." While the others start to get up, Amy looks exasperated. "Vicky, didn't Carol tell you to not buy any more clothes? You've already spent like a grand this month."

Victoria gives an indignant pout. "New wave makes enough." Only to elicit a quiet grumble from Amy. "We would be if Carol wasn't so insistent on not being paid."

New Wave didn't accept payments? Even though I know Amy doesn't take direct payments from patients who want healing, I thought she at least gets paid for her time at the hospital. Why wouldn't she? Amy works like 50 hours a week at the hospital; she should be getting a minimum of $100 an hour.

Setting that aside, it looks like Victoria doesn't care because she still dragged the group to Lululemon. The place is to expensive for me to buy stuff, not with my dad's income. Victoria keeps pulling things off the shelves; half the time she pulls it off for herself, the other half she pushes them into Amy's arms, saying something along the lines of, 'These would look great on you.'"

Amy doesn't look enthusiastic about any of the choices. They both look like their happy with the back and forth though. 'Back to being a third wheel'

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Amy's POV

Vicky keeps on trying to get me to buy stuff for myself. It's a fruitless endeavour; she can never really accept that I don't like the same clothing styles as her. Apparently it's impossible that I would rather wear baggier clothing and not her quite revealing tops. 'Those do look good on her, though.'

I take a look around. Dennis and Dean look clueless. I don't get why guys are like this when shopping for what they want to wear. I swear most men would wear nothing but the same outfit every day if it wasn't unhygienic. I get not wanting the closet full of stuff to wear, but even I admit I need more than 1 pair of shoes.

I then spot Da'at standing nearby; they never did tell me their actual name. They look dejected right now, and nobody seemed to notice. I knew Da'at was a little younger than me; based on her biology, I could estimate it to about a year and a half. She's been nervous hanging out with us. She didn't seem nervous at the table, but the chemicals that were in her brain say otherwise. Even before that, she seemed nervous about hanging out.

I know she doesn't go to Arcadia; I would have recognized her at school if she had. That probably means Winslow, in a school like that she wouldn't make many friends; she doesn't seem like the kind of person to be friends with gang members. 'It might be rare for her to hang out with people she could call friends.'

I've been thinking about it this past hour. I wasn't really thinking to hard when I invited her, but it would be nice to have a friend to talk to. From what I have seen, Da'at is a nice person. If I were to make a friend, then someone who isn't as loud as Vicky's friends and someone who's also a good person would be who I'd want.

Now that I think about it, when I first saw Da'at, her outfit was ruined. I still don't know what happened to get her into that situation, but I won't pry. She should be missing a pair of clothes now because of it. I get an idea and turn to whisper to Vicky. She gives me a wide smile and nods her head.

One trick I learned is that once I know someone's biology, I also know their exact proportions. Meaning I could semi-accurately tell what clothing would fit for someone. Picking a nice dark-grey shirt and black leggings, I turn to Da'at. "I've been convinced by Vicky. I'm going to buy you these; I think they'd look good on you."

She puts her hands in front of her. "You don't have to buy me anything. I'm happy just being here."

I shake my head. "Nope, sorry, I'm buying no matter what you say." I give her a grin.

Before she can argue further, I pull her along to the checkout. As we're walking, I can see her brain firing at a rapid rate. She's nervous but happy, very happy. Something peculiar happened that caused me to worry. Out of nowhere, there was a slight burst of overwhelmingly bad emotions. Some for sadness, depression, anger, and for some reason desperation. The change somehow happened without any chemical reactions, which shouldn't be possible.

Wait, this feels way too similar to master effects. Before I start to really panic, I remember something Da'at said just a little while ago. "My power effects the things I say and do if I'm not careful." Ah, that could explain it.

After the burst, Da'at shook her head slightly and did a surprisingly good job at suppressing whatever emotion just came about from her powers. I feel bad for her; those were pretty heavy emotions. Even if they were only light, depression, sadness, anger, and desperation are still very bad.

I end up buying the outfit for her and giving it to her. Da'at gives me a hug and says, "Thank you." She still looks nervous accepting a gift. 'I guess she has some self-esteem issues'

The shopping trip doesn't last much longer after that. It's getting late, and the sun is about to set. No one wants to walk outside at night, and if Da'at lives somewhere outside the boardwalk, then that worry is triple for her. I can feel my stomach churn as Vicky gives Dean a kiss goodbye. Dennis makes some cruddy joke before heading off.

Da'at surprisingly initiates a hug goodbye. "Thank's for having me out; it means a lot."

Vicky gives her a warm smile. "It's fine; I liked having someone here that matches how Amy usually acts."

Before we go our separate ways, I get an idea. "Can I get your phone number? It would be nice to chat with someone who doesn't replace half their words with emoji's."

Vicky lets out a 'harumph' but doesn't deny it. Da'at seems shocked that I asked for her number but gave it anyway.

We say our final goodbyes, and Vicky picks me up to fly back home. About 20 seconds after we start flying, Vicky speaks up. "Already gave her your number. You sure you're just friends."

"Yes, we're just friends; now stop pushing your luck before I turn your hair blue." Vicky just gave me a mock scared face before laughing and picking up speed towards home.

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Note: It's time for Taylor to use light in a very similar way to a certain pale librarian. Maybe you also get to see a certain something happen. I also edited a few of the previous chapters. I found a few writing mistakes I left behind. I also fixed a bunch of formatting issues my previous chapters had on FF and AO3. Apparently copying and pasting somehow doesn't properly carry over new paragraphs.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

I set my new set of clothes down on the table in my room. Looking at it again, I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest. It's been quite a while since I have gotten a gift from someone I could call a friend. The colours match, and it did look quite good on me. 'How did she get my measurements?' I'll have to ask Amy when I see her again.

I was super nervous when Amy told me she was buying a gift for me. Amy ignored my little plea of not needing it, and I'm glad she did. It might just be an outfit, but it might be one of the most important things that happened in the recent years, at least in my eyes. It's still a little surreal, thinking about my friendship with Amy, with Panacea. I was unsure if she really saw me as a friend at first, and I still am a little unsure. But the gift changed and gave me the hope that I needed.

Strangely enough, Scorched Girl calmed down when I got the gift. Before that moment, it had been like an amplifying force for my emotions. Any small thought about Amy betraying me like Emma simply snowballed unless I reeled my thoughts back. After getting the gift, Scorched Girl died down, as if there simply wasn't anything significant enough to amplify.

Dad seemed very happy to hear that I was out with friends. I ended up wearing the outfit when we had dinner. We talked about our respective days, which hasn't happened in a long time. It felt good to have a simple chat with Dad; we haven't really talked much since mom died.

Taking the clothes, I carefully fold them up and put them in their respective drawers. I get into bed thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow. I guess I could do a boardwalk patrol; it's a good way to get my image out there. According to my research on PHO, more gang activity happens on the weekend. It's a Thursday tomorrow, so I only have to wait 2 more days.

I'm starting to actually have a serious inner debate on joining the wards. I wasn't keen on it before, but seeing and hanging out with one of them in person has painted them in a different light for me. Assuming that the rest of them would be remotely that friendly. I still wonder which ward Dennis was. The male wards would be Aegis, Gallant, Clockblocker, and maybe Kid Win, but Kid Win is a little too small to be him.

Setting that aside, I close my eyes, and prepare to step into the abyss containing the river. There's some stuff I want to try while I'm in this space. First order of business: getting a proper name for this place. I don't want to call this 'The Abyss' forever, so it needs a new name. Da'at came to me naturally, but no name is coming for this.

'What would be fitting?' The place looks otherworldly. An empty black abyss, although last time it got a nice stone pathway addition, so maybe this time it might have more. It's the place where I get my identities, which I think are other versions of me. 'Other, hmm.' Maybe I'll go with 'The Otherside'? Honestly, I can suck at naming sometimes, and this one fits enough.

Pulling myself into The Otherside, I find not much has changed. The river is bigger; the best I can do is eyeball it, but it looks about 120 feet long and 20 feet wide. Still that mystical-looking green. The only other change is a very faint smell of something in the air. 'Is that... smoke?' It's barely noticeable, but I'm 90% sure its smoke. The only thing that has changed since last time is the addition of Scorched Girl to my repertoire. Which would fit that smoke smell.

Other than that, nothing else changed. Now to test some ideas. If this is a non-physical space like I think it is, I could maybe will some objects into existence since this is all might be in my head. If it isn't in my head, then I have no idea where this is.

Focusing as hard as I can, I try to form a wooden cube. It's not like I've done this before, so I'm just trying to imagine a wooden cube, but imagined harder and more real. After looking like an idiot for a few minutes straight, I stop. This obviously isn't working; it feels like I'm almost there, but there's something missing. It feels like the mental object needs something added to it to give it substance.

'What if I?' I try again, but this time I try to pull on my light at the same time. Not for any specific identity, but the light as a whole. I slowly feel tingly as the air in front of me manifests a bright but not blinding white light. The white light shifts and bends, eventually taking the shape of a cube. Finally, the light detached from the cube in little specs that fade into the air. In my hands I'm left with a cube of wood the size of my palm, and it looks exactly as the one I had visualized.

'Holy shit that was wicked.' It may just be a cube, but that might be one of the coolest things I've seen. I start to poke at the cube; it's exactly like what I would imagine a wooden cube to be. I toss it into the air, and it comes back down. I can't help but marvel at it. Thinking about it, I never tried this in the real world; I doubt I could do this in the real world, but I wouldn't lose anything from trying.

For some practice, I decide to try and spruce up The Otherside a bit. Starting with something simple, I imagine a bench in front of me, right next to the stone path and a couple feet from the river. The straight wood planks, held together by the 2 curly pieces of iron on both ends acting as handles. It takes a few minutes to properly visualize the bench, but I finally get it how I want it and push light into the idea.

A bigger piece of light appears just above the ground, and exactly like the wooden cube, a bench appears. I feel a slight headache coming on as this happens. The bench was much more complex than a wooden cube, and I could barely get a complete grasp on its form in my mind. 'Maybe I'll get better with practice. Wait, if I can make things feel, look, and sound real, then couldn't I?'

I take a deep breath and imagine something simpler than a bench. A clear glass cup. Inside the glass cup is a cold chocolate milkshake. I put some real emphasis into what a chocolate milkshake should taste like. I then add some whip cream on top and push some light into it. A small ball of light appears that slowly morphs into a cup shape. When the light eventually fades, I'm left with a milkshake in my hand. I take a sip.

'It... It's delicious!' It's creamy and chocolatey, like I imagined. I change my mind; my power isn't weird; it's the best fucking power in the world. I don't care if I was offered to trade powers with Eidolon; nothing will top this.

I take a minute to finish my milkshake. My mood might have been good before, but now it's skyrocketed. I still haven't forgotten my other tests, though. The next thing I want to try is putting on an identity with The Otherside. If my identities are already adding some minor changes to The Otherside, then maybe putting one on might do something.

Choosing not the safest but the most interesting option, I pull out my Scorched Girl identity. The first thing I notice is the fire. A lot of fire. Buildings burn not far from the path, rubble is everywhere and melting, and the hot smoke is now layered heavy in the air. I'm on the path, alone. The fire feels so warm. I want to go touch it.

'Nope!' I pull back Scorched Girl. I guess that's enough testing identities in The Otherside for now. That scared the shit out of me. That was a lot harder to pull back from than usual. If the difficulty of reorganizing my thoughts normally was a 10, that was like a 30. The only reason I snapped out of it so quickly was that the forcefulness of it surprised me. Although, now that I think about it, this could be a good way to train my mental resilience. It's not like I can hurt anybody here, I think. 'At least my bench looks unharmed'

I make my way to the river and take a glance. I still don't feel like I can take a dive yet. Maybe I'll give it a few days. Now that the river is in front of me, I try one final test before I exit The Otherside. The river has been here since the beginning and will probably always be the most important landmark. I take my wooden cube and drop it into the river. Surprisingly, it doesn't drop in and sink; instead, it dissolves into the river, leaving behind small streams of light that slowly continue downstream.

That was surprising, but it also leaves me with more questions than answers. If the river holds alternate identities of me, why would it dissolve an object made from my mind? I have no clue, and frankly, I've had enough thinking for this trip.

Walking back to my bench, I lay down on it. At least now I have somewhere slightly comfortable to lay down here. Slowly, I push myself back out of The Otherside and back into the physical world.

I open my eyes to find a few rays of light creeping into my room from the window. The sun is starting to rise, and I woke up a few minutes before when my alarm would. Honestly, if I can spend an hour in The Otherside drinking milkshakes and doing other cool stuff instead of sleeping and still get a full night's rest, then I'm going to be hanging out in The Otherside a lot. I hope that doesn't mean I won't have dreams anymore.

I sit up and cancel my alarm before it goes off. I guess I can try manifesting an object. I imagine another wooden cube. Now that I have a little bit of practice, it's a lot easier. I then push my light into the wooden cube I'm thinking of. Only for a familiar ball of light to appear in front of me, which quickly drops an also familiar-looking wooden cube.

I stared at the cube on the ground for a solid minute straight. This is a huge discovery. I notice that after making the cube, I feel drained, even though I just woke up. Unlike when I made stuff in The Otherside, my light feels just a little bit smaller than it was a few minutes ago. I guess that means I need light to make things. The cube didn't take much; that's the best way I can describe the amount of light taken. It's already hard to feel how much light I have, even harder when the amount taken is miniscule.

I set aside the thinking for now; I can think about the implications of the newfound ability while I'm on patrol. Right now, I'm hungry, and I think I can hear Dad downstairs making breakfast.

For the next 2 days, I'm going to just patrol the docks and boardwalk. I know it won't have as many criminals going around, but I'm already making plans on being more recognizable. Might as well try a few more public patrols.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV, 2 days later

The last 2 days have been boring as hell. Don't get me wrong, it was nice patrolling the docks; there isn't a lot of crime there compared to gang-controlled territory. But it's so very boring to walk around doing almost nothing for 8 hours.

A few things happened, but nothing crime-related. I've been told that someone apparently did manage to capture my fight with Mush but didn't post it until the day after. I've never had a PHO thread about me.

I apparently had a few fans already. Some people really liked the way my Scorched Girl outfit looked. A few wanted pictures in my different identities; most people wanted Scorched Girl. One girl in particular wanted to hold the giant cannon, but I thought that would be a bad idea, so the best she got was a look up close.

I barely got a fraction of the attention most heroes get. I only got stopped 5 times during the last 2 days. However, it's good to know that people are starting to know me. I didn't see any other heroes, though. It makes sense; most non-ward Protectorate members patrol the worse parts while the wards tend to patrol the safer areas, but they're in school.

My light's slowly starting to build up again after the initial 3 dives that left me on empty. I've experimented more with making objects inside The Otherside. I found a few interesting things. One of the main limitations other than light usage is that it gets exponentially easier to do if I understand the object I have to make.

Making a wooden cube is easy, but a chocolate milkshake is slightly harder. I looked up the ingredients for a chocolate shake and found it easier to make the next time. However, something like electronics is outside my understanding. I also can't do anything living; at least when I tried to make something that was alive, I found my light just refused to even try. Maybe I just don't understand biology enough; if a simple electronic is outside my reach, I can't imagine how much harder a living being would be.

There's also something controlling the cost of an item. I haven't exactly figured out what determines the cost, but I have tried a few things. Very common or inexpensive objects like cutlery, thumbtacks, etc, have very low costs; I could probably make hundreds of them per day. I thought that would mean that size changes its cost, but when I tried to make even a small diamond, I could feel that I had nowhere near enough light to make it.

I also feel like I'm getting a little bit stronger every day. Nothing to parahuman levels when I have no identity equipped, but it's noticeable enough. If I had to describe it, before I had no exercise and I was malnourished from my lunch being stolen constantly. Now it's like I've barely exercised and I'm not malnourished.

Currently it's Saturday, and I'm patrolling the docks again. I wouldn't say I'm hoping to find gang activity, but I would be lying if I said I don't want some kind of action. I started wearing Scorched Girl outside of combat while on patrol sometimes. It's the most recognizable identity I have, and I have more stamina for walking all day.

My guilty wish seems to get answered because off in the distance I hear some kind of explosion. I take off running to where I heard the boom. It's in the direction of the PRT building, which is concerning. As I'm running, I see people fleeing from the affected area. I round the corner, only to find pandemonium.

The PRT has a jail next to the main building that holds people before they go to prison; parahumans specifically go there to be held. Currently, there are dozens of merchants swarming around. Each one of them is just as ratty as the last, and all of them are holding some sort of handheld weapon; no guns from what I can see.

Then there's a giant tank that looks to be made of scrap that drove into a wall before backing up. I have looked on PHO enough to have seen one of Squealers creations before; people started to coin the term 'Killdozer' to her bigger and more destructive vehicles. She's a vehicle tinker that mainly uses scrap to build machines of destruction, although some people speculate that she only uses scrap because that's all she has access to.

The killdozer has a roof-mounted minigun, which no one is manning currently. There are PRT troopers with riot shields and batons desperately trying to hold back the tide of druggies. I also see Velocity trying to fight his way through the crowd and Miss Militia a couple feet away with a high-power beanbag gun. The battlefield was hectic, to say the least.

I'm not taking any chances here, so I put on Scorched Girl immediately. In the past 2 days, I've gotten better at keeping control. I make my way to where Miss Militia and Velocity are fighting. The trio of merchants facing against Velocity have their backs turned to me. I take this opportunity to smash the hilt of my sword into the backs of one guy's head. The 2 merchants turn before I have a chance to strike again.

Velocity uses this lapse in judgement to punch the back of another one of their heads as I parry a blow from a metal pipe the last merchant has. Obviously my punches are stronger because the merchant Velocity punched turns around to face him. I go to swipe at my target with my sword only to miss because something collides with my back. I fall forward and bodycheck the merchant in front of me, sending him toppling backwards, which lets me push off of him to not fall as well.

I see a fucking cinder block behind me, thrown by yet another merchant. I need to remember to look for attacks from behind in large group fights. I take a moment and turn to Miss Millitia and Velocity. "What's happening right now?"

Miss Militia gives me a reply while Velocity goes to help more with the fight. "The Merchants are doing a jailbreak."

It takes only a split second to realise why. "They're going for Mush, aren't they?"

She focuses on a nearby merchant and launches a beanbag at their face. "That's what we think they're doing." Her expression turns grim and worried. "You should let us handle this. I don't want you hurt in a fight as large as this."

Why wouldn't I? I can help people if I fight right now, and I don't want Mush to break out only 3 days after I captured him. I know I'm young and she's worried, but shouldn't that be put aside when lives are on the line? "Are you going to stop me from helping?"

Miss Militia looks a little shocked that I would ask something like that. "No I won't, but if you really are going to help here, please be safe; I mean it when I say I don't want you to get hurt."

I feel a small smile form on my face from her worry. "I'll try not to."

I go back into the fray, still hurting from the cinderblock earlier. Lots of merchants are unconscious, but there are even more that are still fighting. I pick out a lone merchant yelling at some PRT troopers. I start to run towards my target, only to barely dodge the slash of a knife from a merchant lunging out from a pile of debris.

I grab his overextended hand and throw him behind my back. The merchant who was yelling decided to join the fight. Armed with nothing, he attempts to leap and tackle me. He manages to grab my arm and pull me off balance. As he holds my arm, another merchant moves to hit me with a glass bottle. I'm forced to hit the arm holding the bottle with my sword. This leaves me open for a surprisingly well-put jab into my jaw from the merchant holding my arm.

I'm starting to get angry now. I just got Mush into a cell, and now he's about to get out in under a week. I yank the merchant holding me with only one arm and throw him into the one now holding a broken bottle. I almost didn't notice it, but I definitely didn't have that kind of strength before. My ash grey cloak has begun to smoulder. The edges of all my clothing now glow a dark red like embers. And the ash that I leave behind has increased.

I can feel the need to burn something again, but before I can properly calm myself, I get blown back a few feet by a stream of garbage. 'Who dares to hit me with trash.' I look up to see Mush out of prison. He had sent a tendril specifically to hit me with. "How ya doin, girlie?"

'He's already out?' Another merchant goes to swing at me with a baseball bat. I grab the bat mid-swing with my hand and punch him in the gut with significant force. The merchant flies backwards with a faint scorch mark where I hit, and the bat starts to blacken in my grip. I throw the bat at Mush, who deflects it with a tentacle.

My sword, which is slowly beginning to glow, easily slices through another tentacle of garbage being thrown at me. I want to burn his face with a torch. I hit a merchant in my path to Mush with my hilt. They attempt to block it with their forearm, but I feel their bones crack instead.

I switch to my cannon; it feels warm in my grip. I launch a cannonball at Mush with little regard to the property behind him. He moves to the side, but it still blows one of his limbs off. I use the recoil to swing the cannon around into the chest of a gang member. They get blown backwards with a couple of broken bones.

I barely have time to react to Mush swiping at me. "You should watch yur back, bitch." At this moment, I hear someone yell, "Da'at!"

I turn to find Skidmark has set up several acceleration fields behind me and is placing a piece of concrete in them. The piece of concrete accelerates towards me at an enormous speed. I can't react in time; it's too fast for that. The blow never hits me; someone jumps in front of me and takes the hit for me. They get blasted back into me, and we both tumble backwards.

I snap out of my thoughts and quickly grab the person on top of me, only to jump up in surprise at the familiar American flag theme bandana on their face. Laying down in front of me is Miss Militia, unconscious and bleeding. 'no no No NO NO NO.' Why did she take the hit? She was so nice to me, and I've failed her.

I should have taken the hit, not her. I don't want to lose her, but I can't help but think that I will eventually. I'm interrupted by a piece of kindling launching more garbage at me, at her. My sword burns through the mass of trash. I feel so very cold. I look at the kindling in front of me and prepare my sword.

"I will leave nothing, except for ashes in the wind."

 

[Alexandra_Revoe]

Note: I am fire. Burn those who dare to care for me. (also interlude next chapter)

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Velocity's POV

I was patrolling the docks when the call came through from headquarters. The merchants were doing a jailbreak at the PRT-owned jailhouse. The alarm had been sounded half a minute ago and was confirmed by Vista, who was currently working the console. Miss Militia was in the PRT headquarters when the attack started, so she was already on scene. I could make it there in a minute, but the rest of the protectorate heroes are far enough away that no other backup will arrive for quite a few more minutes. Maybe Armsmaster could get there in 5 with his Armscycle, but that's stretching it.

Arriving at the fight, I find another one of Squealer's killdozers crashed through the side of the jail. PRT troopers in standard PRT riot gear have already started their counter assault against the tide of merchants. Squealer and Skidmark are nowhere to be seen; their probably breaking Mush out of prison; there isn't a real reason for them to do this other than that. Miss Militia is in the backlines, launching endless amounts of beanbags.

It may surprise people to hear, but I suck at large fighting groups. I can quite easily handle a small group of non-parahumans, but when it gets to larger groups, I start to run into issues. I have to stop using my breaker state to deal any significant damage to people. Because my speed comes at the cost of affecting the world less as I speed up, my punches are like an 8-year-old's when using my power. Normally I can flick it on and off against small groups as a hit-and-run strategy, but in the chaos of a large battle, every second I don't have my power on is a risk.

Normally I get designated as a more supportive hero in these situations. Picking off stragglers, quickly manoeuvring around the battlefield to save people, and moving to places that need immediate support instead of fighting the large group directly. Again, it sucks, but if I go inside the moshpit of a fight, I will get knocked out most of the time. Besides, saving civilians and dragging wounded PRT officers away from harm is still a worthwhile endeavour.

I run up to Miss Militia's side of the battle to act as a front guard for her. The PRT troops in front of her were being overwhelmed; most of the troops were, to be honest. That's what fighting the merchants is like—an endless hoard of crackheads. About a minute into the fight, I'm faced up against a trio of merchants when I see someone coming with my enhanced perception speed. A girl with a grey face mask and a very burnt and frayed-looking outfit was running up behind these 3.

The protectorate already had a meeting discussing the new cape Da'at during the last weekly meeting. They hadn't talked much about her since they didn't have enough info about her powers yet. Da'at had claimed she could become different versions of herself. During a meeting between Panacea, Glory Girl, Clockblocker, Gallant, and herself. She clarified further that she can change into alternate versions of herself from other worlds where she had made different choices.

Tentatively, we had listed her as a Trump 4, Breaker 2, Changer 2. She had 3 known breaker forms: the first had a minor master/shaker effect of calming nearby people slightly, the second had some kind of tinkertech cannon, and the third may have some kind of combat thinker power. We don't know if she's going to get any more breaker forms, so until we know more, she gets that classification.

Da'at had snuck up behind the 3 merchants I was fighting and brought out her sword. She swiftly used its pommel to knockout one of them from behind. From there, we manage to quickly knockout the other 2 merchants before she turns to us to speak. I leave Miss Militia to handle her because I'm needed elsewhere in the fight.

As the fight continues, I note that Da'at is getting angrier by the second, and her cloak is now starting to glow a dull red. 'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?' I then notice that Mush is out of prison. He attacks Da'at before taunting her. Mush escaping must have been a signal to retreat because some of the merchants are starting to scatter. Inbetween my breaker state flicks, I see Da'at slowly go from a dull red to a brighter red, covering more of her clothes.

The merchants are almost ready to start their full retreat when I see Skidmark layering his acceleration fields. My blood chills when I notice he's focused on Da'at. He's giving her a parting gift for capturing Mush. Miss Militia recognizes the danger Da'at's in. She yells "Da'at!" and attempts to tackle the girl out of the way of the speeding piece of concrete Skidmark placed in his field. Miss Militia is a bit to slow; I see her take the piece of concrete straight in the back.

The 2 get thrown back and tumble to the ground. Da'at shoves Miss Militia off and gets up with an amount of speed that is surprising for someone who just took a blow like that, even if it was second-hand. Miss Militia is in rough shape and will probably need Panacea's help soon with her injuries. Who I'm mostly focused on, however, is Da'at. She's looking over Miss Militia in a panic. Da'at, after her panic, proceeds to look up at the merchant capes. That's when she started to change.

The very air around her cracked and then shattered like glass in a similar manner to how Vista's power looks. When the weird visual effect ended, she looked completely different. Her hair was now white, with the lower half transitioning into flames mimicking the general shape of hair. Her cloak was now made of the same fire, and her pants were pitch black with fires blazing on the edges. Da'at's skin was burnt to a charcoal black, and parts of her body had burnt bones exposed. I couldn't see her eyes as fire covered the top part of her face, blocking it from view.

This entire time she had been slowly walking towards the merchants, and Miss Militia had already been dragged away by a frightened PRT officer. Da'at unsheathed her sword, which was now aflame and black with cracks of white hot magma spread across the blade. She proceeded to speak with a distorted voice that I could feel hatred laced into. "I will leave nothing, except for ashes in the wind."

I was about 20 feet away, and even I could feel the heat washing over me; it was almost enough to start burning. The merchants who were a few feet closer had started running away with some first and second degree burns; their clothes would have probably ignited if they were any closer. I was still stunned by the sudden transformation, but that quickly faded as she started to move.

Most of the non-cape merchants had left; Skidmark, Squaler, and Mush have gotten into the kill dozer. As they start the engine, Da'at doesn't yell, but her voice is loud all the same. "Feel the heat one last time... let me savour the light you've taken from many." Da'at swings her sword down onto the road, and a fissure filled with flame cracks the road open and shoots toward the tinkertech vehicle.

This is escalating too far, but I can't intervene; she's already as hot as a ramped-up Lung. I shout into the mic attached to my suit. "To all PRT personnel. Miss Militia is down and needs medical assistance. Da'at's in a breaker form we haven't seen yet. She is currently emitting heat similar to a ramped-up Lung and seems to have some form of pyrokinesis. She doesn't sound mentally stable and may start using lethal attacks. The current breaker form is partially aflame, burnt, and skeletal."

As I was talking, the fissure hit in front of the killdozer and exploded, tearing up the road and knocking the killdozer back. I was forced to back up again as the heat got unbearable. The killdozer quickly swivled to move in the other direction. Squealer looked terrified, and Skidmark was just shouting obscenities.

I really hope this doesn't end badly.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Squealer's POV

This was supposed to be an easy fucking job. The bitch Da'at, what a stupid fucking name, had a fight with Mush, and he got put behind bars. Skids had planned a jailbreak to get him out, and it was supposed to be perfect. We knew where to ram my latest baby into to break open his cell. We had planned to do it when only a few of the PRT assholes were around. Overall, a perfectly executed breakout. Sure, a few of our men would get arrested, but there's always more of em.

What we hadn't planned for was Da'at happening to be around to fight. It shouldn't have been that bad, though. Her power seemed kind of shit; she could only make some fancy-pants suit, a sword, and some weird-looking cannon. She could barely fight with Mush, and even I know Mush is a pushover. Skids had planned to send her to the hospital as we left as a 'goodbye gift.' Only for Miss Militia to block the shot.

Again, this should of all been okay, until she transformed into that. What the fuck even is that? She looks like a walking corpse lit on fire. And then she slams her sword down, making the road in front of her explode and nearly toppling my ride. When the fuck did Lung have a daughter? The thing that really got me was her voice. I could feel it; if I were in front of her, she would burn me to a crisp and smile like fucking Burnscar.

"Get us the fuck out of here, you shitstain!" Skid yells at me.

"I'm fucking trying; you try driving something this big." I'm facing away from the blown-up road, and as I start to put on the gas, the firebitch speaks and swings her sword again, now only 25 feet away. "The fire gives me the warmth to survive... without it I will freeze."

This time the sword slash shoots a wave of flame over 25 feet away. I can feel my skin burning from the heat, even with the windows up. The front of the car is nearly wrecked from just two fucking hits. I floor the gas while ignoring Skidmark throwing insults. Skids rolls down his window and pulls out a sheet of metal to use his power on. "Take this you fucking cumstain Lung whore!" Skids shoots a ball of scrap metal from the sheet he has his power on.

Only for Ms. Inferno to bat it away with the flat side of her sword like its a baseball. We should be long gone, but the front is fucked up, and the firecrazed hero is attempting to keep up with us by making small explosions under her feet. That's when she pulls out the cannon from before. Only now the match struck through the center is lit, and the metal is glowing red hot. "BURN TO ASHES."

The cannon fires a fucking beam of fire at our rear. The entire backside of our ride explodes. The tank flips over forward in the air and lands upside down. I'm barely awake, and I feel like I'm having the worst hangover in months. Skids is unconscious; Mush is groaning but alive. I pull out Skids from his passenger seat and drag him outside the now-flaming wreck. I barely have enough energy to move. I can hear someone walking towards us.

It looks like Da'cunt is all out of juice from that last attack. It doesn't feel nearly as hot being close to her, and all the fire that was on her body is gone. Her face is a completely blackened bone, with about half of her skull covered in burnt flesh. She then does something that somehow makes my blood freeze even though I was close to burning to death a minute ago. Da'at, now only a few feet away, draws her sword.

'Oh Scion, she's going to kill us.' Quick, fucking think Sherrel. "W-Wait d-don't k-k-kill us. You'll go t-to j-j-jail." I stutter at the worst fucking time. I mean, who wouldn't stutter here? The grim reaper straight from the firey pits of hell is looking for her killing blow.

Da'at stops in her tracks now, just 5 feet away. She stares for a solid 20 seconds before she drops her sword, puts both hands on her head, and grasps her exposed skull tightly. Da'at shakes her head once like she's flicking off a piece of dirt, then finally stops moving. "No, I won't." Da'at glows a bright white that fades after a few seconds. Da'at now stands in front of me wearing the same grey clothing from before becoming that monster.

'Why is there a fucking matchstick in her mouth?' Is my last thought before I faint from exhaustion.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

- Taylor's POV

I'm standing in front of Squealer and Skidmark. It takes a second to fully come to my senses. Acting quickly, I rush into the wrecked tinkertech vehicle and find Mush unconscious. I pull all 3 of the capes away from the flaming wreckage. I make sure they don't have any life-threatening wounds

I'm shaken at what I just did. 'I was genuinely about to kill them.' If I hadn't snapped out of whatever that was, I would have decapitated the 3 right then and there.

I honestly couldn't care less if they died. I wouldn't choose to kill someone, as its the wrong thing to do, but their deaths in general would be a positive for me.

No, the reason I'm shaken is that agency over my body was taken. When I was transformed into that, it was like my thoughts had become completely suppressed. I could only think about burning the merchant capes for hurting Miss Militia, one of the only people I've had be kind to me. I was furious, and lighting them ablaze was the only thing I could think of to make me feel better.

I want to be a hero, and killing people would go against that value. I don't think I'm going to go off the deep end again any time soon. I'm usually pretty good with keeping my emotions in line. Mush escaping and Miss Militia getting hurt just tipped me over the limit. Other than my dad or friends getting hurt, I don't think there is anything that can set me off like that again.

I also feel a lot more controlled after that outburst. It might be to early to tell, but I can still feel Scorched Girl's influence, and it's weaker now. I also have this weird match in my mouth. I can't seem to spit it out, and if I open my mouth, it doesn't fall out. It's like it magically stays on the right side of my bottom lip no matter what.

I put on my Seven Association identity. The PRT's most likely action is to temporarily detain me for questioning. Looking back at the fight, I didn't do anything too illegal. I injured some people, but that's expected; I acted threatening and made comment's about burning the merchants. Maybe a charge for making death threats, but it's a cape battle, so probably no charge there. Perhaps destruction of property, but cape fights always get messy, and if Glory Girl gets away with this amount of damage times 5, then they shouldn't be to angry.

Tensions are high right now, and I could just walk away and let things settle down. I can call them tomorrow morning. However, they may take me running away the wrong way. The best thing to do would be to talk to the PRT and try to not be detained for questioning. I take the zipties in my pocket and tie them around the trio's hands.

Off in the distance, I can hear a pair of vehicles roaring towards me. It takes a minute, but eventually Armsmaster pulls up on his Armscycle, and a PRT van spits out a dozen PRT troopers along with Assault and Battery. The PRT troopers were warily looking at the scene before Assault said something to them, causing them to go off and start setting a perimeter. Armsmaster is the first to approach me. I have read about him online, and I know his type. Not good with people skills and straight to the point to a fault. When I worked in Seven Association, I had to work with a few of these types; it's easy once you get the hang of it.

Armsmaster approaches me first. "Da'at"

"Armsmaster"

He looks me once over. "Have you calmed down?"

"Yes, I have."

He gives a simple nod. "Are Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush alive?"

"Yes, they have some injuries but should survive, even without Panacea."

I swear he gave a slight smile before giving a minor frown. "Velocity had said you were threatening to kill them."

That one makes me wince a bit. "My power can sometimes compel me to say things I would not normally say."

His frown fades. "You should make sure to not say things like that in the future. Other capes may use that as justification for lethal force."

"Thank you for your guidance." I say sincerely.

Armsmaster stays quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Headquarters has told me that you haven't broken any laws; your guiltiness for the property damage on the road is mostly nullified as the road was already partly destroyed by Squealers tinkertech vehicle and would have to be repaired anyways. Even without that, it is still within a justifiable level for this situation in my opinion and the PRT's guidelines. I would have to check the total cost later to know for sure."

Assault is watching this take place; he looks completely flabbergasted and is staring at Armsmaster as if he's from another planet. Is it really that surprising that I know how to talk to people like Armsmaster?

"I would like it if you stayed to answer questions on what happened."

I give my head a nod. "If we could do it right now, that would be preferable. I'm tired after this fight and would like to get home soon."

"That would be agreeable."

I give my recount of the fight. I don't add in what I was feeling during my breakdown. Everything from when I heard the initial boom to the moment they arrived here.

When I finish my story, Armsmaster speaks up. "I would recommend you go into the wards, but you have already booked your powertesting and are most likely going to discuss the wards in more detail then."

Armsmaster gives me one final look. "You're free to leave anytime you want."

"Thank you. I'm also happy to be working with you." I hold out my hand. Armsmaster takes a look at it for a brief moment before accepting my handshake.

"One last thing, is Miss Militia okay? She took the blow for me from Skidmark, and she wasn't looking good." Armsmaster actually gave a proper small smile this time. "Yes, Panacea is due to arrive soon."

I hung around a bit longer and talked to Assault and Battery. Assault jokingly accused me of mastering Armsmaster because of how well that interaction went. I think I saw him die a little when I told him he just needed better people skills and to learn a thing from Armsmaster. Seeing that everything is in order, I start to head home.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-​

Home was the same as always. Dad makes dinner, and we talk a little bit. We have been talking more this recent week. It's a little hard to find subjects to talk about, especially since I'm no longer in school. We still manage to find stuff to talk about. I have been thinking about telling him I'm a cape. I know it's not something I can hide from him forever, and if he were to blow up, it would be better that I told him rather than he find out.

After dinner, I excitedly get ready for bed. I think I finally have enough to dive in for a new identity today. I still feel conflicted about how my Scorched Girl breakdown went. I would rather not have something like that happen again. But there is an even stronger feeling that I shouldn't stop using my power because of that. I know deep down I could have controlled it better.

Slipping into The Otherside is significantly easier compared to when I first got my powers, just a little over a week ago. At first it would take a few minutes, as if I were trying to accidentally find the place. Even in this short amount of time, it takes a couple of seconds max.

The Otherside is a lot more furnished now. The bench I made is still there, but it now has a trash can and a streetlight next to it. I haven't figured out how electricity works with making things, so the lamp is off. It looks cool, though.

Approaching the edge of the river, I know I have enough light for a dive. I take a running start before giving a dive that local judges would rate a 5 out of 10. I never really noticed how calm it is being under the water; the only part that wasn't was the jarring nature of breathing water.

I swim down without caring for the stars floating above. I had the thought that maybe the reason I empty myself of light every time is because I swim down as far as I can go, but wouldn't that mean the best stuff is deeper? Maybe I'll try taking a star closer to the surface next time.

Finally reaching the point where I cannot go much further, I grab the star that is closest to me. I pull it up to the surface with great effort. I find it weird how the stars get harder to pull as you get closer; if it were like a magnet, that means that something above is repulsing it rather than something below pulling it.

Yanking it free from the river, I pant on the shoreline. Bringing it up to my eyes, I look and see what's contained inside. The first thing I notice is the lack of colour everywhere; everything is in sepia tone. I have a classy suit and dress pants, with a fancy-looking top hat. My hands are made of metal, and a couple gears and metal sheets surround the outside of my head. In my hands is a strange pickaxe with various cylinders and vials on it

I'm running fast, several times faster than a human should be able to run. I continue running until I catch up with someone I've obviously been chasing. He's a little younger than me and looks terrified for his life. I give him a small smirk and taunt him in a mocking voice. "Shouldn't have played with unauthorized toys, kid."

I slam the pickaxe into him, but instead of impaling him, it instead sits just half an inch away from his skin. The boy freezes in place as various things on the pickaxe begin to move and vials are slowly filled. That was when I finally blacked out and had a good night's rest.