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The Taste of Peaches (Worm AU)

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Grounders10 said:
She knew little of lightning, but then what mistress needed to know the intricacies of her weapon. She was not lightning. She did not flash and jump. She did not arc and crackle. She laughed, her voice booming across the sky as her hounds nipped at the heels of those beneath. As her army blotted out the sun and the moon and drowned the world beneath.
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Proper godly thinking, that.
Good to know 'Storm' was the right bet after all. Gods of storms also being gods of oceans is pretty common sense for civilizations that are ocean based.
It's also common sense that such gods have moods that are best described as 'mercurial'. Although 'stormy' is also an unsurprisingly apt choice as well. Sophia and Emma should really start praying for mercy now. And hey, Taylor might even hear it.
 
Okibruez said:
Proper godly thinking, that.
Good to know 'Storm' was the right bet after all. Gods of storms also being gods of oceans is pretty common sense for civilizations that are ocean based.
It's also common sense that such gods have moods that are best described as 'mercurial'. Although 'stormy' is also an unsurprisingly apt choice as well. Sophia and Emma should really start praying for mercy now. And hey, Taylor might even hear it.
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Now I have a vision of Sophia and Emma being followed by a thousand foxes each, everywhere they go, all staring at them, all the time.
"Hey, you prayed for mercy," notes Taylor. "I could've used a lightning bolt or a tsunami..."
 
Kryslin said:
Now I have a vision of Sophia and Emma being followed by a thousand foxes each, everywhere they go, all staring at them, all the time.
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Nah, as a fox/trickster goddess Taylor would be more subtle then that. It'll always be in the corner of their vision; a flick of a tail, a flick of a long ears, omething dashing around the corner of an obstacle that when they look nothing is present, etc etc. Just something to slowly and carefully ramp up the paranoia.
 
jwolfe_beta said:
Nah, as a fox/trickster goddess Taylor would be more subtle then that. It'll always be in the corner of their vision; a flick of a tail, a flick of a long ears, omething dashing around the corner of an obstacle that when they look nothing is present, etc etc. Just something to slowly and carefully ramp up the paranoia.
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Yup. But that's after they pray for mercy. If they don't, well...
Cleverness and trickery can lead to some pretty impressive revenge, but there is a certain je ne sais quoi when gods just throw around their power with no regard for mortal laws or limitations.
None of the Trio would enjoy either of those, that's for sure.
 
Okibruez said:
Yup. But that's after they pray for mercy. If they don't, well...
Cleverness and trickery can lead to some pretty impressive revenge, but there is a certain je ne sais quoi when gods just throw around their power with no regard for mortal laws or limitations.
None of the Trio would enjoy either of those, that's for sure.
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I agree wholeheartedly. Now I can just imagine the Character Assassination that Inari might distribute if she regains some of her power ...
 
wingnut2292 said:
It's not that they are going to try to force Taylor with a costume she doesn't want. I take it as making pseudocode prior to actually writing out computer-code. It's a though-flow high-concept layout. It's useful for figuring out what you want to do and what work it's going to entail. It is kinda seedy in that Glenn is looking to seed the garden of Taylor's mind. But a lot of what people think look cool... may not be. Or maybe a liability in a fight.

Glenn's challenge here is to take a teen with a damaged ego and an outed identity who sadly is gifted with the body of a goddess, and is going to be judged by the public by that. You could wrap Taylor in a burlap sack, and it wouldn't be effective. Putting Taylor in a bikini and cape is just plain wrong. So Glenn's challenge, as it actually is with all new parahumans he works with, is joining the talent's desires with the realities of the tyranny of public perception and the job of being a hero. For Taylor, that means reforming her view of herself. It also is Glenn's job to keep voters distracted/mollified so that they don't panic and start asking their leaders for accountability/safety/action. Because a worried populace insisting on safety from elected leaders is the best way to get an X-man style humans vs parahumans conflict going.
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Indeed, and the really important thing for the author to decide is if they are going to use early-Worm Glenn who was laughably incompetent at his job and actually had a negative understanding of marketing and branding. Or if they will instead go with late-story Worm Glenn who finally seemed to catch a clue and did things like release the video footage of the Behemoth fight to help guide public opinion in a direction he found helpful even when it could cost him his job.
 
zhuull said:
Indeed, and the really important thing for the author to decide is if they are going to use early-Worm Glenn who was laughably incompetent at his job and actually had a negative understanding of marketing and branding. Or if they will instead go with late-story Worm Glenn who finally seemed to catch a clue and did things like release the video footage of the Behemoth fight to help guide public opinion in a direction he found helpful even when it could cost him his job.
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I wouldn't say that he had a negative understanding if branding, but rather the PRT/Protectorate had needs and he acquiesced to them. 'Freedom within the framework' it's called. You can change eveything - except for the things that are important. The format/planogram/workforce utilization charts of the business is sacrocant. Only the C-suite can change it. (Unless a whistleblower challenges the format.)

Later on, 1) it was after the Echidna and the revelations there, and 2) Behemoth's death proving that the Endbringers could be killed and that humanity isn't in the civilizational version of a fighting retreat.
 
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Chapter Six
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    A Worm Fanfic

    The Taste of Peaches

    By: Grounders10

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    6

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    Three hundred channels and nothing to watch. Victoria grumbled as she floated upside down over the couch. She jabbed, gently, the next channel button and sighed. Make that three hundred and one channels of nothing to watch. She flipped the channel again. Three oh two channels.

    Victoria Dallon was bored, completely, utterly, unbelievably bored. The sort of boredom that could drive a normally level headed rational girl to things like trying to find a tv show to watch, after having already flicked through the entire five hundred listed channels and failed to find anything, while floating upside down. It was, she had to admit, not exactly making the shows any more interesting than when they were the right side up.

    Further boredom, and the possible repercussions of her efforts to alleviate it was put on hold when the front door of the house banged open. "I'm home!" Her mother called as she entered.

    "Welcome home Mom!" She called back, floating over the couch towards the doorway to the kitchen. "How were things at the test centre?" She asked as she entered the kitchen. Her mother was already there, shucking her coat off onto the back of a chair.

    "You know I can't tell you." Her mother replied.

    "Awww, Mooooom." Victoria pouted. It was a nice pout, well-practiced and capable of winding her boyfriend around her finger nearly every time.

    It went without saying that her mother was not her boyfriend.

    "Where is your sister?" Her mother asked as she opened the refrigerator, completely ignoring the devastating pout levelled in her direction.

    "Responding to something at the hospital. Dad's with her." Vicky sighed, abandoning the pout since it had clearly failed its duty. "Amy wanted me to come." She added.

    "You are grounded." Her mother replied, pulling out the Tupperware with the leftovers of that night's dinner.

    "I know." Vicky groaned, "I'm booooooored." She pouted again.

    Her mother snorted and walked passed her to the microwave. "Then maybe next time you won't fly into a billboard while texting on your phone." She replied after setting the timer on the microwave. It whirred to life with a hum as her mother turned back to her.

    "And Dean won't be available tomorrow," Vicky grumbled. This was the last day of her grounding, and frankly, she couldn't be happier. If only there was someone to celebrate that fact with, like her boyfriend who she had been texting when she floated into the billboard.

    A ring from her mother's cellphone interrupted them. With a sigh, Carol retrieved it from her purse and, with one eyebrow raised at the flip phone's caller ID, answered it. "Hello, Danny." She said.

    Danny? Oh, that was her mom's new client, the one she refused to say anything about. Vicky surreptitiously floated closer. Her mother took a step around the island countertop, keeping the distance open.

    "Yes, I'm sure. Tomorrow is completely booked… I see." Her mother nodded, frowning. "Yes, that would leave her alone there. I understand, but this meeting has been scheduled for six weeks. Yes…" Her mother frowned as she tapped her fingers on the countertop. "You may just have to cancel tomorrow." She paused, her eyes sliding from where they had been staring at the far wall towards Vicky. They narrowed in that way that she had long learned mean her mom had just had an idea.

    "Mom?" Vicky asked warily, floating back towards the living room.

    "One second Danny," Carol said before turning to her daughter. "Victoria, you said you had nothing to do tomorrow?"

    "Yeah?" She replied with a raised eyebrow of her own.

    "Good." Her mother went back to the phone. "I have an idea, Danny. Would it be alright if my daughter Victoria met her at the testing centre… The tests don't require our presence, just your consent. You already signed off on the list earlier… I'm sure your girl could use someone her own age… Well yes, she is a couple of years older, but your daughter has been cooped up since this started with only that fox to talk to."

    Fox? Vicky tilted her head to the side. So, Danny's daughter was going to the testing centre and couldn't otherwise see people? And was a couple of years younger than herself. That sounded like someone trying to become a Ward. Dean had been rather cagey with his responses when she tried to talk him into going out tomorrow, so maybe it was something to do with this? Maybe he was helping?

    "And Taylor has no power to sign anything at the moment, so that isn't something you need to worry about Danny. The PRT isn't going to risk things at this juncture, especially after today's display. Danny, please, as your Lawyer I am advising you that you are being paranoid. Yes. Yes. Not legal even if she was of age… Yes. Good, I'll make sure to drop her off on my way in then. Excellent. Have a good night Danny I'll see you on Thursday for the next round of negotiations." She closed her flip phone with a final click.

    "Soooo, I'm going to meet a new ward?" Vicky asked, smirking at the startled look her mother sent her.

    Carol sighed. "Too smart by half sometimes," She chuckled. "Yes, you are. Taylor Hebert, she's got quite the range of powers. We just need someone to be with her through testing. I have that meeting with the Shindler's and apparently something urgent has come up at the Docks for Danny."

    "The docks?"

    "Danny is the hiring manager for the DWU. With how many people they've lost over the years he basically runs it these days." She replied, retrieving her food from the microwave. "Now, a few things you should know about tomorrow."

    As her mother started going over the list of expected tests that they had signed off on Vicky buried a sigh. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, but maybe if she was lucky she'd get to see Dean. Either way, hopefully, Taylor could be a friend. There just weren't enough female heroes in the Bay.


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    "And the total damage of last night's freak hurricane continues to mount with damages forecasted to top a hundred and fifty million dollars before this afternoon." The news anchor said, pointing to a chart beside him.

    Taylor groaned as she nibbled on her breakfast of eggs, bacon, cereal and toast. "I fucked up." She grumbled to Inari.

    The fox scoffed. "A Goddess coming into her power will always create a display, Taylor." She said.

    Taylor nodded, then stopped mid-bite. Swallowing, she turned an annoyed look on Inari. "So what would have happened to the house if I had figured out how to do that in the house?" She asked pointedly.

    Inari had the decency to look guilty. "I'll admit," she said, "I underestimated how big the display would be. I've coached many young godlings, over the years, however, they were all demigods at the end of the day. This was… It was a mistake I will try not to make again. I must remember that you are a Goddess, not a Demigoddess. Coming into your powers will bring forth far greater displays than a meagre demigod."

    "Again with the goddess," Taylor muttered, frowning at the tv as the news station continued covering the

    "You still don't believe it," Inari observed. The fox's tail flicked to the side.

    "Parahumans are weird." She replied.

    "You saw the fortress, you walked its halls. You climbed the mountain." Her guide replied, "You felt it beneath your feet and ran your hands over the statues left behind."

    "Did I?" Taylor poked her bacon with her fork. "It just… Did I? Or did I just hallucinate the entire thing? I mean…" The world, despite its impossibility, had felt so real. But… Her train of thought derailed when Inari booped her nose with a paw.

    "Denial is such a silly thing from a Goddess, you know?" Inari smirked, "If you doubt its existence, then we'll just need to go back there."

    "Can we?" Taylor frowned. "I don't even know how I got there in the first place."

    "Then we will need to work on that. I know Ammy told you would know it when you needed it, but I think we need to be there sooner rather than later. Don't you?" Inari observed.

    Taylor nodded, chewing her lip as she thought. "Yeah…"

    Inari tipped her head to the side. "But that isn't the root cause of your doubt, is it?" She said, sighing. "You've been bombarded with the exploits of parahuman all your life. You see them on cereal boxes." She pointed to the Alexandria themed cereal box on the table. "You hear about them on the news, in the paper, on the street. The heroes, and the villains, with powers that are utterly impossible for a normal human to repeat. That you have powers, yet aren't one of these people… It seems so utterly impossible."

    Taylor frowned but nodded hesitantly. That sounded… right. Though... Her ears flicked in irritation.

    Inari nodded wisely. "We'll work on that. You know how your own powers feel, I can promise you that a parahuman's powers are very different. Maybe when we see Miss Militia or Battery or one of the others next you can ask them and compare." She suggested.

    "If they'll answer." Taylor sighed. Something like that had to count as personal and really 'how does your power feel' just sounded like one of those creepy questions a stalker would ask.

    "We'll see," Inari said, crunching on a bit of cereal. Taylor blinked and looked down at her bowl. Despite her having stopped halfway through it had been licked clean.

    "INARI!" She growled and the fox spirit laughed even as she jumped off the table to evade Taylor's lunge. Five minutes later Danny entered the room to find Taylor sitting at the table eating another bowl of cereal while a morose Inari hung from a hand of water in the air beside her.

    "Ungrateful…" Inari muttered.

    Taylor hummed and smirked. "Don't take my food." She replied before looked up at her dad. "Good morning~" She said cheerfully, drawing a smile from him.

    "Good morning, Taylor." He said, giving her a hug as he raised an eyebrow at the white fox. Inari looked up at him with a soulful expression of sorrow.

    "Save me?" She asked hopefully. He chuckled.

    "Be glad she's happy with just this." He said, giving the fox a pat on the head before moving off to the coffee machine. He ignored the look of exaggerated betrayal Inari sent him. "I'm surprised you're up so early." He said to Taylor.

    Taylor shrugged. "I've been up for over an hour, when did I fall asleep last night?" She asked.

    "Pretty much the moment you got to the table." Danny said, "You were snoring in seconds."

    She flushed. "I don't snore." She said.

    "Nope, she doesn't," Inari confirmed from where she was hanging. "She purrs instead."

    Taylor glared at the fox while her dad chuckled. "Get used to hanging." She sniffed and went back to her cereal.

    "Well, it's good you're up so soon," Danny said as he plundered the bacon she had left on the stove. "After you passed out, they asked you to come back in today."

    Taylor paused. "Today today?" She asked, glancing down at the clothes she was wearing. They were the same ones she had put on after the chlorine incident. She gave herself a sniff and frowned. She needed a shower.

    "Yep. The pick up will be in about… three hours or so, around ten." Her dad said, noticing her frown. "More than enough time for a shower. I put the bags with your new stuff by the foot of your bed."

    "Oh." That would explain why she hadn't noticed anything when she stumbled out of bed earlier. She took another spoonful of cereal. "I'll do that once I'm done with this then." She said, "So you'll be coming in as well?"

    "No, I won't be." He frowned. "There're a few things down at the office I need to take care of today. Carol won't be meeting you there either. She has an appointment with one of her firm's big clients today."

    "Oh. So I'll be on my own then?" Taylor sighed.

    "Oi! I'll be there." Inari said, waving a paw. A tail came up and laid itself across her muzzle as Taylor looked at her dad expectantly.

    "Not exactly. Carol will be dropping off her eldest daughter there today. She's been through this before." Danny said.

    "Glory Girl is going to be there?" Taylor squeaked. The hand holding Inari up popped, soaking the fox with water before she bounced off the floor. Standing up with all the regality that a wet fox could muster Inari ran out of the kitchen trailing a line of water behind her.

    "I did say Carol's eldest." Her dad replied, sipping his coffee. He smiled. "Don't worry about it too much, Little Owl. You'll do fine." He said, walking over and hugging her. "You did brilliantly yesterday."

    She sighed and leaned into it. "Did I?" She asked. "Everything kept breaking."

    "Which was what was supposed to happen for a lot of that equipment. They expect testing to be hard on the equipment Taylor." He chuckled.

    "I got high." She mumbled into his shoulder.

    "And Armsmaster temporally dislocated one of the elevator shafts." Her dad replied.

    Taylor blinked. "What?" She asked, trying to process that.

    "When I asked how things could have been worse Dr. Chambers had a few, amusing examples to give." Danny chuckled, taking the seat next to her. "Apparently Armsmaster tried to experiment with some technology they had seized a while back from a minor Tinker villain. Something about making an elevator that would deliver you to your destination before you arrived."

    "That's… not possible." Taylor frowned. Time travel, reverse time travel, had been conclusively proven to not be possible, at least that's what Mr. Gladly had said.

    "Well, now the elevator takes anywhere between six seconds and six hours to travel between floors," Danny said. Taylor snickered.

    "Oops."

    "Yeah. They're waiting on some Tinker from Canada who specializes in this sort of thing to come down and sort it out." Her dad chuckled before stealing her last piece of bacon.

    "HEY!" Taylor pouted. First her spirit fox, now her dad. What was next? Was a bird going to fly in and steal her toast? She stuffed the last piece of toast, whole, into her mouth and glared at her chuckling dad. He patted her on the head, ignoring her glare, before going back to his not stolen meal. Ignoring the way her tails flicked irritably side to side.

    She would have her revenge for these thefts. It would be slow, steady, and deliberate, but most of all, it would be delicious.


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    The ride over to the test facility was a bit nicer than it had been the day before when it was still dark outside, though she had to wonder if anyone had seen her jumping from the garage into the back door of the van they had sent for her. It had only been a second or two, but if someone had been looking… Not that it was likely, their neighbourhood was thoroughly middle-class and to Taylor's knowledge, everyone on their block worked weekdays.

    Hopping out of the van at the testing centre she found Dr. Chambers waiting for her along with a red with silver trim suit-clad young superhero wearing a red helmet. A silver shield stood out prominently on his chest. It took her a moment to recognize him. He was Aegis, a ward who had joined the program late the previous year.

    "Good morning Dr. Chambers." She said, looking at Aegis curiously.

    "Good morning Miss Hebert. This is Aegis, he will be helping us with a few things today." The Doctor said.

    "Pleased to meet you, Taylor," Aegis said, holding a hand out to her. She shook it hesitantly. "You, uh, don't mind if I call you Taylor?"

    "Um... Nice to meet you too, no, I mean yes it's fine." She said, trying not to blush as she realized that yes, the suit on his upper body was in fact skin tight and showed off his physique in a rather distracting way.

    Her efforts were doomed from the beginning as Inari piped up. "Oooh, he's a cute one Taylor. Maybe you can ask if we can keep him." She whistled.

    The blush that Taylor felt form at that comment was matched in intensity only by the flustered glare she sent Inari, who smirked back up at her. "I am so sorry," Taylor said, looking back up at Aegis, who was looking down at Inari with… The helmet hid so much of his face it was impossible for her to tell what he was thinking.

    "That's-" He coughed into a hand, "That's alright. I was warned ahead of time."

    Inari sighed dramatically. "Sabotaged before I even had a chance." She lamented, drawing a chuckle from Aegis. Taylor's blush receded a bit.

    "We have one other who we are waiting on before we begin Miss Hebert. If you and Aegis wish to -" The sound of a car descending the ramp into the parkade interrupted the Doctor. "Nevermind."

    A silver Buick sedan turned the corner and came to a halt in front of them. The doors popped open and Miss Dallon stepped out of the driver's door. From the right rear door stepped a girl a couple of years older than Taylor with long platinum blonde hair and a body that was just as model-worthy as Emma. She was wearing her costume of a white mid-thigh dress, white boots, over the shoulder white cape and golden spiked tiara. She smiled brightly on spotting them.

    "Aegis!" She waved, "How's summer been?" She asked brightly, bouncing over to them. The act causing Taylor's eyes to unconsciously bounce up and down with her. She was beautiful in a way that made Taylor feel inadequate, even if she couldn't quite stop staring...

    "Good enough Glory. Well, other than last night." Aegis replied with a shrug. "Things got a bit hairy when that storm hit."

    Taylor's blush, nearly gone, returned. "Sorry." She said, getting looks from both Aegis and Glory Girl. "That was my fault." She explained.

    "Your fault?" Glory Girl echoed.

    "There were some unexpected developments during yesterday's testing." Dr. Chambers said, "Though, Miss Hebert, the PRT would prefer if you kept things quiet on that front. While we are protected from lawsuit over unforeseeable incidents that occur during testing by law, it does not look good when it comes out."

    Taylor blushed more. "Right…"

    "Well, Victoria understands discretion, so you won't need to worry about her blabbing about this, right Victoria?" Mrs. Dallon said from her car.

    "Lips are sealed Mom." The young superheroine mimed zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key.

    "They better be. You'll be lucky to get away with a month if it doesn't." Her mother replied before smiling at Taylor. "Have a good day Taylor. Try not to let my daughter get you into too much trouble."

    "Mom!" Glory Girl went pink and frowned at her mother.

    "Enjoy the day Victoria. Have a good day Doctor, Taylor." Mrs. Dallon climbed back into her car and it accelerated around the next corner of the parkade, heading for the ramp back up.

    Glory Girl sighed and turned back to them. "I hate it when she does that." She groused before focusing on Taylor and smiling. "So, you're the new Ward. I'm Glory Girl, you can call me Vicky." Her brilliant smile was radiant.

    Taylor's ear twitched and she sent a glance Aegis' way. The young hero had taken a step back and was shaking his head. "Vicky, aura." He said sharply.

    "Ah, whoops." Vicky blushed. Something about her seemed to diminish and Taylor blinked.

    "Nice to meet you." Her tails flicked to the side. "I'm Taylor, don't have a hero name yet." And she had no idea what to call herself. Her guide was Inari, so that made that impossible, well awkward at least and insufferable.

    "And she hasn't signed on quite yet. That is part of what these tests are for. To help determine the suitability of certain costume designs." The Doctor said, "Now, let us get you both signed in. We have a lot to cover today." She turned and headed into the reception area, pausing to wait for the three of them, and Inari, to file past her.


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    Signing in was as simple as last time and they were soon piling into an elevator. Taylor took a moment to check for signs as they got in. She didn't want to take the wrong one and get stuck in it for six hours. Assuming her dad hadn't just been pulling her leg.

    The elevator was as crowded as the last time she got into one, with most of the space being taken up by her tails. It was fairly embarrassing actually. Most teenage girls didn't take up as much room as several overweight sumo wrestlers.

    "What are you using on these?" Victoria asked as she petted the tail that had accidentally pushed her against the wall. She seemed to be conflicted as she ran a hand through the fur near the end.

    "Shampoo?" Taylor shrugged, "Oh, and conditioner." She added a moment later. She just treated them like her regular hair, and it seemed to be working for now.

    "..." Victoria stared at the tail in her face for a long moment before shrugging. "Huh." Then the door slid open and they piled out. "Why did we take the elevator? No offence, but I don't think Taylor fits too well." Taylor blushed, but she had to agree. Elevators were quickly becoming her least favourite form of travel.

    "It was quicker." Dr. Chambers said leading the way towards down the hall to the familiar 'Enhanced Physicality Test Lab'. "We'll be taking care of a couple of tests that we had to skip due to time constraints yesterday. We have also set up the jump test for flying."

    "Ooh." Taylor could hear the glee in Victoria's voice. "You can fly Taylor?" She asked.

    "Kinda?" She wiggled a hand. "I wobble a bit." If flying could be compared to walking her flying was like a drunken Scottsman on New Years' Eve. She stumbled as Vicky slammed into her side with a one-armed hug.

    "Eeeeeh, flying partner~!" She said, picking Taylor up and spinning her around. Taylor could hear Inari snickering as the world spun.

    "Ms. Dallon." Dr. Chambers cleared her throat, Vicky stopped and Taylor blinked as the world continued to wobble. "Please put Ms. Hebert down. We do have things to do today."

    "Right. Sorry." Vicky apologized, setting Taylor back down. She held out a hand as Taylor stumbled. "Are you okay?"

    "Fine, just dizzy," Taylor said, shaking her head. She immediately regretted it since the world wobbled worse for a few seconds.

    Aegis chuckled. "Don't worry, she does that to everyone who flies." He said.

    "No, I don't," Vicky said with a frown and a huff, crossing her arms as she floated beside Taylor.

    "Excuse me. Every hero who flies." Aegis corrected with a grin.

    "Better," Vicky said with a smirk.

    Dr. Chambers sighed and shook her head before heading into the test lab. "This way." She said. Taylor, her balance restored, followed after. The doctor led the way over to a machine buried off to one side. "To start with we need to get an idea of your durability." She said tapping the side of what looked like the cross of a drill press and a jackhammer. There was a clearly marked spot beneath the sharp center tool for her hand.

    "And it works by?" Taylor asked, giving the device a wary look.

    "This device will use a variety of tools to apply pressure to your hand. It will stop when it either detects bruising, blood, or you ask us to stop. Any injuries are designed to be minor in nature and will serve as a test for basic regenerative abilities as well." The doctor said before pointing to a few chairs by the door. "Aegis, Glory Girl, the two of you may sit there for now. Move." The two heroes did as asked, zipping across the room to take their seats.

    "Left hand in here." Dr. Chambers said, pointing to the opening. With some trepidation, Taylor slipped her hand into the marked spot.

    "OH MY GOD! YOUCANTALK~!" Taylor winced and yanked her hand back on instinct as Vicky squealed and scooped Inari into her arms, crushing the fox to her chest. Taylor was fairly sure that the other girl had hit frequencies not normally audible to humans. And it had hurt.

    Shaking it off, and slightly amused by Inari's fate, Taylor put her hand back into the device. Unlike the other tests Dr. Chambers stood by the device and loomed while watching the control panel on it. "Alright, beginning test one. Impact resistance." There was a whirring sound and a flat hammer-like tool slid into place where a drill bit would normally be. There was a hissing noise, then a bang like an air cannon as the hammer slammed into her hand. There was a slight pressure, but no pain.

    "What was that?" She asked.

    "Five psi." The doctor said, "Firing ten in three, two, one." The follow-up strike did nothing to her. The doctor continued upping the amount. For a while, it just tickled, but eventually, it started to feel like something more than a vague pressure. She flinched as a powerful one smacked into her.

    "Ow." She said.

    "I see. Do you wish to continue?" Dr. Chambers asked.

    "What was that equal to?" Taylor asked. The doctor hummed to herself and checked the readings.

    "Since I know you lack the knowledge to properly compare this, let me put it this way. That was you sprinting into a brick wall at your full sprint." Dr. Chambers replied.

    "Ow." Taylor winced. Her hand hurt, but it was already fading. If that was what running into a brick wall was going to be like she'd have to avoid it. That actually hurt, though she did have to wonder how much of the wall would be left after she hit it. It might hurt a bit, but she'd probably win out over the brickwork.

    "Yes, ow. I think we are safe to say you are more than durable enough to survive your own accidents." Dr. Chambers said, "Now if you don't want to continue this we can move onto the pressure test."

    "Please." Her hand was going to hurt so much after this. The pressure test was simpler than the impact one. The device simply applied force until she complained. That turned out to be an issue actually. While the impact test had started to inflict pain relatively quickly. With the pressure test slowly ramping pressure kept going up, and up, and up until the Doctor frowned and tapped her keypad. The machine stopped increasing the pressure and instead released her.

    "Well, I'm going to need to have something brought in to test any higher than that." Dr. Chambers sighed.

    Taylor pulled her hand out and gave it a look. Not even a mark. "Huh, what is the maximum for this?" She asked.

    "Twelve thousand psi." The doctor sighed, "I've been trying to convince them that we need something more impressive here, but there hasn't been that sort of brute coming through here to warrant more. I'll need to get something shipped in. Still, your resistance to pressure is vastly higher than I would have expected, interesting. Now, blade resistance. Hand back in please."

    Wincing nervously Taylor put her hand back into the device. The device whirred and a blade slid into the place of the hammer. Closing her eyes she tried to ignore the machine as she felt a soft pressure on her hand that rapidly increased. She flinched as the blade finally broke her skin and the device stopped before withdrawing.

    "Strange." The doctor said as Taylor opened her eyes. She stared at her hand. The wound had already disappeared, but where it had been was a small line of a golden liquid.

    "Um… INARI!" She called, "MY BLOOD IS GOLD!"

    "GODDESS!" The fox called back from Vicky's lap. The blonde ran a lock of her hair through her fingers and stared at it as though trying to picture it as blood.

    "Excuse me, if we could get that into here." Dr. Chambers held out a small test tube and Taylor held her hand out. The golden droplets were scraped into the test tube, leaving no sign of their presence on Taylor's skin. Taylor ran a hand over where the wound had been. Nothing remained to show it had been there.

    "Your regeneration is exceptional, at least in a small scale. Hopefully, we won't have to test it on a larger scale." Dr. Chambers noted as she stopped the test tube and slipped it into a protective case before handing it off to an assistant. "As much of an analysis as you can. I'd rather not get more if we don't need it. Repeatedly stabbing a minor with a knife generates far too much paperwork." She said to Taylor who blinked and frowned.

    It had better generate a lot of paperwork. She didn't exactly like being stabbed.

    "Now, that is your durability test, at least as far as we can test without bringing in specialty equipment or sending you off somewhere out of town." Dr. Chambers continued, "Now, I believe we have a few flight-related tests to run. First, Glory Girl, Aegis. Please come over to the jump pad."

    Taylor followed her over to the side where she had tested her jumping and accidentally learned to fly with a frown. She was fairly certain that Dr. Chambers was probably just a few regulations shy of being a mad scientist. Probably. Unless she had been joking… She probably hadn't been.

    The jumping test pad had been removed and the floor was now covered in padding half as high as the original singular pad. Not that anyone who could fly really needed padding.

    Victoria, Inari in her arms, joined them first floating six feet off the ground. Inari hopped out of her arms onto the pads and shook herself before stretching. "You hug a bit hard Vicky." The fox said to the blonde floating beside her.

    "Sorry." Vicky floated down to something closer to Taylor's height as Aegis joined the. He was also floating a few inches off the ground.

    "Now, I'll leave the two of you to help Ms. Hebert acquaint herself with flying. I will be observing from the station over there if you need me." Dr. Chambers pointed to the station she had used the day before, then promptly left.

    "Well, let's get to it then!" Vicky shouted and flew up to float a dozen feet over the pads. "Come on up and let's get started."

    Taylor stared up and frowned. How was it she- oh right. She rose from the floor, wobbling unsteadily as she did. Five feet off the ground she suddenly tipped to the side and started to spin. A hand caught her. She blinked and looked over to see Aegis keeping her steady.

    "You know, most fliers are pretty instinctive." He said.

    She blushed, partly from his comment, partly from how close he was. She could see his eyes through the opening in his helmet. "All of my powers start like this." She admitted.

    "Then you just need practice." He said, guiding her up and over the pads. "Right, Glory get down here. Let's start with something a bit more simple than that. Unless you want to explain why you placed her in a position to go spinning off through a window?"

    The blonde huffed but floated down. "Okay, okay. Stability first, height second." She sighed as she floated down the pads a few meters. "Right, I'll stay here and you there. Taylor can float from one of us to the other until she gets used to it."

    Taylor groaned as Aegis agreed. It was like being a toddler learning to walk. Inari, it seemed, picked up on her thoughts as the fox started sniggering. She sent a glare Inari's way. It bounced off the iron hide of millennia of experience with things far worse than a teenage goddess' annoyance. This was going to suck… Hopefully, they weren't filming this.


    -0-0-0-0-0-​


    Being head of hiring at the Dockworkers Union of Brockton Bay was a rough job. The union was short-staffed in the senior management area and had been for years. Over time, as others with experience had left for greener pastures, more and more responsibilities had been 'temporarily' handed over to Danny. These days he basically ran everything important at the Union, and not because he wanted to.

    Being at the top of the totem pole had its drawbacks. The biggest one was how little time you seemed to have at the end of the day. But there were others, like having to miss out on Taylor's second day of testing. He didn't truly trust the PRT, at least not when it came to testing. Dr. Chambers was far too cold for him to trust fully with Taylor. At least she wouldn't be completely alone at the testing centre. He wished he could be there, but things had been piling up and the Union couldn't run too long without some senior management.

    His truck pulled into the parking lot at ten-thirty and was making his way towards the main office building when a familiar tall and broad-shouldered man came running across the yard. "Danny, there you are." His old friend Kurt shouted as he came to a stop beside him. "'Bout time."

    "No trains are coming in for the rest of today anyway Kurt. We have plenty of time to get the tracks re-" Danny said. Kurt cut him off.

    "I was about to give the PRT a call." His friend said grimly.

    "The- What?" Danny stopped in his tracks. "What's going on, Kurt? Did something happen? Have the gangs-"

    "Not the gangs. At least it isn't like anything they've done before." His friend said, "Come on."

    Danny held up his hands, loaded down with his lunch bag and briefcase. "Can it wait a couple o' minutes?" He asked.

    Kurt nodded. "Probably." He admitted. They made the trip up to his office in a couple of minutes and just as quickly headed out again.

    "It showed up a half-hour ago," Kurt said as they hurried across the busy work yard. "Washed up between piers 3 and 4."

    "Washed up?" Danny asked as they walked around a parked forklift.

    "Yeah. Some kinda fish looks like a shark but… the damned thing is too fucking big." Kurt said, shaking his head. "No way it's natural. That's not the only problem though."

    "How big are we talking? And what else is there?" Danny asked.

    "Well… that big." Kurt said as they turned the corner and the gap between Piers 3 and 4 came into view. Sprawled out, half on land and half out, was the single largest shark Danny had ever seen. Living in Brockton Bay and working on the docks for most of his life Danny had seen sharks before. Some caught, some washed up. He had even seen a Great White brought in once. This thing though…

    "Jesus Christ," Danny muttered as they walked over to it. It had to be at least six meters long, possibly seven.

    "Yeah, Joey thinks its a Megalodon. Aren't those things supposed to be extinct?" Kurt asked as they stopped a dozen feet away.

    "Yeah… is it dead?" Danny asked, watching the beast for signs of life. There weren't any flies or other bugs around it, which was odd if it was dead.

    "Yeah, pretty sure. Cause of death if rather obvious. This way." Kurt said and led him around the beast to the other side. The cause was indeed, rather obvious. Jammed deep into the gut of the beast and sticking out in blatant defiance of gravity was a strange trident. Its shaft made from an odd sea-green material while the prongs, most of which were buried in the beast's gut, was an impossibly shiny gold.

    Danny stared at it for a long moment. "Is it safe?" He asked, staring at the trident.

    "Just don't touch the trident. Last guy to touch it is getting patched up for electrical burns." Kurt said, frowning as Danny approached the trident. As he got closer the details on the shaft became more easily visible.

    His wife Annette had been an English Professor with a love for the classics, and a love for the originals when possible. A consequence of that was that he could, even after all these years, recognize Greek. Hell, he could tell the difference between ancient and modern, even if he couldn't read them. Ancient Greek was carved in spirals from the base of the prongs all the way to the end of the trident, broken only by the occasional line of alternating lightning bolts and foxes.

    He frowned. "Damn it." He muttered. This was, he suspected, something to do with Taylor.

    He peered at the golden prongs of the trident. At their base, inlaid into the gold, was another fox with a lightning bolt clasped in its jaws. Small lightning bolts trailed from the fox up the three prongs until they disappeared in the guts of the beast.

    "There goes that hope." He said, turning away from it. There had been a part of him that had hoped that his daughter was just a parahuman with a, particularly odd projection. This though… He scowled. He still wasn't entirely convinced, but he had to hand it to the fox, this was one hell of a trick if it was one.

    "Call the PRT." He told Kurt, "Let them deal with this."


    -0-0-0-0-0-​


    A/N: First off, a thank you again for my adorable editor @Gekkou_Yoko your assistance is invaluable, especially since you know so much more about mythology than I do~ *Bowing Kitsune*

    To my patrons, thank you again for supporting me. I hope you enjoy this chapter~

    To everyone else, whoooo~ Two Chapter (one rather shorter than the other) for one story in about a week of each other.

    If you're happy with this story and want to pitch into my fund for fanart of other things please feel free to toss a few dollars a month my way via patreon~ *Hopeful Kitsune* Otherwise, discord is in my signature, please come and discuss things with us~
     
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    • Let's see
    Goddess of Fox's, agriculture, industry, and fertility.✅🛐🦊🌱🛠🍼
    One trident of Poseidon ✅🔱🌩🌊
    One hammer of Thor ❌🔨🌩
     
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    Honestly thought it would be a sea serpent, though a megalodon is decent enough.

    Though, where did the thing come from?

    Supposedly Poseidon's trident was forged for him by his uncles the Cyclopses, so it's most likely a gift from the former sea god.
     
    Okibruez said:
    At some point, Taylor's going to accept that she's a goddess, that physics are a suggestion to her, and that she's neither 'human' nor 'mortal.'
    Until then, Inari yelling 'GODDESS' at her will remain amusing. Probably.
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    Well, I see that Taylor's gotten the traditional... Ichor I think it's called? of a deity. At least, of a Greek deity. And yes, it is and will be for a long time, funny for us who know the truth.

    Also, really? A Megaladon? Why do I have a feeling that now that Taylor's around, the mythological world's 'waking up' if you will... Which means that a lot of people around the world are going to be wondering where the hell all these bio-tinkers are hiding... Not to mention seriously concerned at the fertile abominations to sane wildlife spreading across the globe.
     
    Pyro Hawk said:
    Also, really? A Megaladon? Why do I have a feeling that now that Taylor's around, the mythological world's 'waking up' if you will... Which means that a lot of people around the world are going to be wondering where the hell all these bio-tinkers are hiding... Not to mention seriously concerned at the fertile abominations to sane wildlife spreading across the globe.
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    Kitsune servants when?

    "Wow. I think I have fangirls, Inari. Nice costumes, but they've all got different numbers of tails."
    "What? OH HEY GIRLS, OVER HERE!" *cue small fox standing on Taylor's head and waving wildly*
     
    Hehe quite amusing, Inari is going to be grabbed by Vicky all the time isn't she. More standard power testing stuff though, overall. The ending was pretty interesting though. At least she won't need to look for a weapon, although... she won't need a PRT made costume will she? She can just make something instinctively can't she? If that's true, poor Glen. Hopefully the PRT won't put up too much of a fuss about the trident. Wonder if Taylor can change how it looks.

    Wonder what they will make of her blood though. "There is nothing in this sample that has anything to with blood, no red cells, or white cells or anything. It has more in common with stellar matter than blood."

    I thought Great Whites could be like 5 meters plus, pretty sure there was one last year off Aust that was getting up towards 6.

    Also, does Atlantis still exist? :D
     
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    Well, looks like Taylor just inherited a weapon/tool from the old god of storms. Shit is about to get real.

    Amusing side note, at one point as a kid I got asked one of those 'If you could be any animal what would you be' and answered 'A Megalodon Shark' because i'd only recently found out about them and thought they were awesome.
     
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