Tanya finds herself reborn into Worm after dying in her second life and she is determined to get off the hellhole that is Earth Bet.
This Is Mine (Youjo Senki/Worm)
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1.1
Inspired by A Young Woman's Political Record and A Young Girl's Quirky Retirement.
Section 1.1
The winter of the Empire was brutal;Hail was hitting the troops retreat with piercing fury. We were using this vicious flurry to cover us as we fell back. The war was finally ending, I had heard, in the form of a ceasefire treaty. I could almost touch the dream of the cushy job retirement.
The gunfire on my shields told me the job wasn't done yet. I swerved and twisted in the air with the normal aerial maneuvers trying to avoid it, but it was eerily accurate as it followed my pattern much to my shock. Once my shields broke, I could feel the bullets tear me in half, the bullets punching holes into my abdomen. As I fell, I cursed Being X for this treachery. Blind winter conditions and the normal inaccuracy of whatever railgun had hit meant that he was behind this. No human could have hit an aerial mage in these conditions.
Yet as I fell, Being X was conspicuously silent. This was unusual for him to not take the chance to proselytize.
Suddenly, something caught me by the torso and I screamed through gritted teeth at the pain.
"Captain!" Ah, Visha. Good reliable Visha. I couldn't lift my head, but I could hear her tears as she flew. "Don't worry Captain, we'll get you to the doctors and they'll help you!"
"Visha …" I rasped as blood flooded out my mouth. My eyes felt heavy.
"Captain! Stay awake! Captain!"
I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell her to take charge, that she could do it, that I wanted to live, that she was the closest thing to a friend I ever had.
I blacked out instead.
---
I was born in a dying world, of course.
I stared at the screen, no longer reading the words as I processed this news. The economics were undeniable.
I could see the writing on the wall. All the organizations of the world could not stop the decay caused by the Endbringers.
And what could I do? This wasn't the war, where I could battle my way out. The world was going to fall apart, inevitably. The Endbringers were, from video evidence, impossibly tough and powerful.
But all was not lost. There were other worlds, where the devastation of the Endbringers did not touch. Earth Aleph. I had my suspicions that if too large a group left, they would follow. But if a small enough group left …
It was pure speculation, but it was all I had. That and my powers. My parents were low-level parahumans that lived in secret. My father, Jake Mason, could literally smell danger and my mother, Monika Mason, had a bunch of small powers that combined to make her a neurotic mess through random bursts of intuition. My mother worked in an office for health insurance and my father worked as a programmer at home. These jobs, for the most part, were safe enough for their sanity.
As for me, my powers from birth were calculations. I didn't see the world in numbers; it was internal math that could solve the most obscure of problems. I could probably revolutionize the mathematical academic world if I wished. It was, on its own, fairly useless for combat.
After I formed a mage blade at age four in the secret of my bedroom, I found it far from useless, if suspiciously convenient. Of course, magic without physical fitness was useless. All the way to age eleven, I trained and planned for a way off this doomed planet.
"Tanya, get down from there!" Mother yelled. Damn, she caught me climbing our backyard tree.
"Okay mom," I said climbing down. I was done with my reps anyways.
"There were about twelve different ways you hurt yourself," Mother informed me. This was an old argument.
"And I didn't end up like any of them. I was only six inches off the ground," I said with a sigh.
"Honey, can't we just sign her up for a self defense class?" Dad asked from his computer. I perked up at the sound of that. "Money's not so tight that we can't spare it."
"I guess…" Mother said reluctantly.
"What do you think about the boxing gym uptown?" I asked.
"I suppose," she said, as she did some internal calculations with her fingers moving as she did so. "If you promise to go, I'll pay for it."
I smiled slightly, as my parents found my full grin unnerving. "Thank you, mom."
"Now wash up for dinner, I can't predict germs!" she yelled at me. I walked up the stairs and opened my room which was colored a dull blue with a soft purple carpet underneath. I had everything a child would want in my position, a desk to work, a bed to sleep, even my own bathroom of which I was using to wash up. I examined myself in the mirror;I was of modest height for the USA though taller than my second life and my muscle tone was wiry.
All my parents wanted for me was a boring salaryman life without revealing my powers. In any other circumstances, I'd have gladly followed their wishes.
It really was too bad I'd have to disappoint them.
---
I had a strange group of friends.
Firstly, there was Missy Biron. She was a young girl with dark blonde hair and a no nonsense personality that was fairly simple to figure out. She didn't like being patronized, so I didn't patronize her.
Then there was Aisha Laborn. A curly haired, dark skinned girl who fluttered in and out of school, though apparently we made the place 'tolerable'. Her flippant attitude sometimes grated on Missy, but for the most part, they got along. I found it difficult to get a handle on her, but I knew she was smarter than she pretended.
Next, there was Dinah Alcott. She was quiet for the most part, but often spoke up when necessary with strong insight. Then there was me, Tanya Mason. I mediated the conflicts in this little group and led our homework efforts for the most part. Middle school work was pathetically easy and I was usually found doing my own… projects. The teachers had learned by now that I knew the material better than they did and left me to my own devices.
We had met after some Nazi idiot's insistence on harassing Aisha had predictably ended in a brawl. At the end of it outside of the principal's office, where parents were screaming at each other, we had ended up next to each other on the chairs. With an enormous bruise growing on her left eye, Aisha had grinned widely at us and held up her phone.
"What're your cell phone numbers? That was fucking awesome."
The rest as they say, was history.
Today turned out to be unusual.
"So I was trying to convince my brother that he looked great in the white tuxedo. I told him that girls digged guys in suits," Aisha drawled, smirking. We were all seated at the cafeteria inside at a table to ourselves.
Dinah snickered softly. "Wasn't it a movie date?"
"He looked like a penguin," Aisha cackled.
I raised my head from my laptop when Missy didn't chime in with a dry comment. The rhythm of our conversations by now were well known to me. Her hair was lank and slightly greasy with her clothes creased. She looked atypically ungroomed. Fidgeting with her hands, she cleared her throat. Dinah and Aisha looked at her as well, stopping their conversation.
"Tanya, can we talk in private before the next class?" Missy asked. I closed my laptop and slid it into my bag.
"We can do it now if you want," I said. Missy thought about it for a moment before nodding and standing up. I could see Aisha and Dinah frowning as we left. As a group, we didn't really keep secrets from each other;this was something I would have to keep an eye on. We found an empty English department classroom nearby and sat in chairs across from each other. She took a deep breath.
"Tanya, I have powers," Missy said, as she twisted space so that the ceiling was right above me. I touched it to confirm before she let go and it snapped back into place.
"Hm," I said. "I see why you didn't want to tell anyone else about this."
I knew her problems at home were bad ...
"Yeah, imagine telling Aisha about this. She'd want to do some kind of stupid prank," Missy said with a nervous laugh.
"What are you planning to do?" I asked, curious.
"I dunno, I was thinking Wards. Cool costume, no chance of being kidnapped by the gangs, etcetera," Missy said, grimacing. "It's just I remembered your rants-,"
"They're not rants, they're lectures. Educational lectures."
"Your rants about the Brockton Bay Protectorate and about how useless they were," Missy continued. "I don't want to do nothing. I want to make a difference. I'm so fucking tired of the Nazis and the gangsters. But the only other group is New Wave and they're 'rah-rah unmask.' We all know how that turned out."
She looked at me worriedly, and I pondered my plans. I could see them changing before my very eyes, if I took one simple step. Purposely, I raised my left hand in the air and with a swift application of calculations, formed a mage blade.
Aware of her stare, I said, "Have you considered a third option?"
Section 1.1
The winter of the Empire was brutal;Hail was hitting the troops retreat with piercing fury. We were using this vicious flurry to cover us as we fell back. The war was finally ending, I had heard, in the form of a ceasefire treaty. I could almost touch the dream of the cushy job retirement.
The gunfire on my shields told me the job wasn't done yet. I swerved and twisted in the air with the normal aerial maneuvers trying to avoid it, but it was eerily accurate as it followed my pattern much to my shock. Once my shields broke, I could feel the bullets tear me in half, the bullets punching holes into my abdomen. As I fell, I cursed Being X for this treachery. Blind winter conditions and the normal inaccuracy of whatever railgun had hit meant that he was behind this. No human could have hit an aerial mage in these conditions.
Yet as I fell, Being X was conspicuously silent. This was unusual for him to not take the chance to proselytize.
Suddenly, something caught me by the torso and I screamed through gritted teeth at the pain.
"Captain!" Ah, Visha. Good reliable Visha. I couldn't lift my head, but I could hear her tears as she flew. "Don't worry Captain, we'll get you to the doctors and they'll help you!"
"Visha …" I rasped as blood flooded out my mouth. My eyes felt heavy.
"Captain! Stay awake! Captain!"
I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell her to take charge, that she could do it, that I wanted to live, that she was the closest thing to a friend I ever had.
I blacked out instead.
---
I was born in a dying world, of course.
I stared at the screen, no longer reading the words as I processed this news. The economics were undeniable.
I could see the writing on the wall. All the organizations of the world could not stop the decay caused by the Endbringers.
And what could I do? This wasn't the war, where I could battle my way out. The world was going to fall apart, inevitably. The Endbringers were, from video evidence, impossibly tough and powerful.
But all was not lost. There were other worlds, where the devastation of the Endbringers did not touch. Earth Aleph. I had my suspicions that if too large a group left, they would follow. But if a small enough group left …
It was pure speculation, but it was all I had. That and my powers. My parents were low-level parahumans that lived in secret. My father, Jake Mason, could literally smell danger and my mother, Monika Mason, had a bunch of small powers that combined to make her a neurotic mess through random bursts of intuition. My mother worked in an office for health insurance and my father worked as a programmer at home. These jobs, for the most part, were safe enough for their sanity.
As for me, my powers from birth were calculations. I didn't see the world in numbers; it was internal math that could solve the most obscure of problems. I could probably revolutionize the mathematical academic world if I wished. It was, on its own, fairly useless for combat.
After I formed a mage blade at age four in the secret of my bedroom, I found it far from useless, if suspiciously convenient. Of course, magic without physical fitness was useless. All the way to age eleven, I trained and planned for a way off this doomed planet.
"Tanya, get down from there!" Mother yelled. Damn, she caught me climbing our backyard tree.
"Okay mom," I said climbing down. I was done with my reps anyways.
"There were about twelve different ways you hurt yourself," Mother informed me. This was an old argument.
"And I didn't end up like any of them. I was only six inches off the ground," I said with a sigh.
"Honey, can't we just sign her up for a self defense class?" Dad asked from his computer. I perked up at the sound of that. "Money's not so tight that we can't spare it."
"I guess…" Mother said reluctantly.
"What do you think about the boxing gym uptown?" I asked.
"I suppose," she said, as she did some internal calculations with her fingers moving as she did so. "If you promise to go, I'll pay for it."
I smiled slightly, as my parents found my full grin unnerving. "Thank you, mom."
"Now wash up for dinner, I can't predict germs!" she yelled at me. I walked up the stairs and opened my room which was colored a dull blue with a soft purple carpet underneath. I had everything a child would want in my position, a desk to work, a bed to sleep, even my own bathroom of which I was using to wash up. I examined myself in the mirror;I was of modest height for the USA though taller than my second life and my muscle tone was wiry.
All my parents wanted for me was a boring salaryman life without revealing my powers. In any other circumstances, I'd have gladly followed their wishes.
It really was too bad I'd have to disappoint them.
---
I had a strange group of friends.
Firstly, there was Missy Biron. She was a young girl with dark blonde hair and a no nonsense personality that was fairly simple to figure out. She didn't like being patronized, so I didn't patronize her.
Then there was Aisha Laborn. A curly haired, dark skinned girl who fluttered in and out of school, though apparently we made the place 'tolerable'. Her flippant attitude sometimes grated on Missy, but for the most part, they got along. I found it difficult to get a handle on her, but I knew she was smarter than she pretended.
Next, there was Dinah Alcott. She was quiet for the most part, but often spoke up when necessary with strong insight. Then there was me, Tanya Mason. I mediated the conflicts in this little group and led our homework efforts for the most part. Middle school work was pathetically easy and I was usually found doing my own… projects. The teachers had learned by now that I knew the material better than they did and left me to my own devices.
We had met after some Nazi idiot's insistence on harassing Aisha had predictably ended in a brawl. At the end of it outside of the principal's office, where parents were screaming at each other, we had ended up next to each other on the chairs. With an enormous bruise growing on her left eye, Aisha had grinned widely at us and held up her phone.
"What're your cell phone numbers? That was fucking awesome."
The rest as they say, was history.
Today turned out to be unusual.
"So I was trying to convince my brother that he looked great in the white tuxedo. I told him that girls digged guys in suits," Aisha drawled, smirking. We were all seated at the cafeteria inside at a table to ourselves.
Dinah snickered softly. "Wasn't it a movie date?"
"He looked like a penguin," Aisha cackled.
I raised my head from my laptop when Missy didn't chime in with a dry comment. The rhythm of our conversations by now were well known to me. Her hair was lank and slightly greasy with her clothes creased. She looked atypically ungroomed. Fidgeting with her hands, she cleared her throat. Dinah and Aisha looked at her as well, stopping their conversation.
"Tanya, can we talk in private before the next class?" Missy asked. I closed my laptop and slid it into my bag.
"We can do it now if you want," I said. Missy thought about it for a moment before nodding and standing up. I could see Aisha and Dinah frowning as we left. As a group, we didn't really keep secrets from each other;this was something I would have to keep an eye on. We found an empty English department classroom nearby and sat in chairs across from each other. She took a deep breath.
"Tanya, I have powers," Missy said, as she twisted space so that the ceiling was right above me. I touched it to confirm before she let go and it snapped back into place.
"Hm," I said. "I see why you didn't want to tell anyone else about this."
I knew her problems at home were bad ...
"Yeah, imagine telling Aisha about this. She'd want to do some kind of stupid prank," Missy said with a nervous laugh.
"What are you planning to do?" I asked, curious.
"I dunno, I was thinking Wards. Cool costume, no chance of being kidnapped by the gangs, etcetera," Missy said, grimacing. "It's just I remembered your rants-,"
"They're not rants, they're lectures. Educational lectures."
"Your rants about the Brockton Bay Protectorate and about how useless they were," Missy continued. "I don't want to do nothing. I want to make a difference. I'm so fucking tired of the Nazis and the gangsters. But the only other group is New Wave and they're 'rah-rah unmask.' We all know how that turned out."
She looked at me worriedly, and I pondered my plans. I could see them changing before my very eyes, if I took one simple step. Purposely, I raised my left hand in the air and with a swift application of calculations, formed a mage blade.
Aware of her stare, I said, "Have you considered a third option?"
- Location
- California
A little convenient to have Tanya know Missy, Aisha and Dinah all at once. 1/3 is fine so is 2/3, but 3 out of 3 is a stretch. However, I like the idea of Tanya trying to escape the planet, and that both her parents have minor shards from what is probably the stress as well as the planet. One would think smaller triggers would be very common considering the endbringers.
Being X fucks with Tanyas fortune all the time or if he doesn't, Tanya has weird ass luck. Or both. And what better place for her to see the horror of the world to better appreciate him than to be adjacent to the wards, the Undersiders, Coil, etc. In theory anyways.
Of course it is 'convenient' for her to know all three prospective triggers. That's how narratives work. 
I have absolutely no issues with it. I actually think it's an interesting way to fit into the series because it isn't with Taylor and others, it keeps Tanya nearer her original reincarnation age during the war, lets us see characters we 'know' in new and interesting circumstance and thus can follow then derail the plot in interesting ways.
I have absolutely no issues with it. I actually think it's an interesting way to fit into the series because it isn't with Taylor and others, it keeps Tanya nearer her original reincarnation age during the war, lets us see characters we 'know' in new and interesting circumstance and thus can follow then derail the plot in interesting ways.
Last edited:
- Location
- United States
hmm. this would be 2-3 years before canon happens. unless author changed some thing about canon characters that we don't know about?
2-1 years before canon yes.
1.2
"How long were you hiding this?" Missy asked, her eyes wide with shock. I released the mage blade and my internal calculations.
"I've had my powers as long as I can remember," I said, shrugging.
"I guess I can understand why you didn't tell us earlier," Missy admitted after a moment. "But what do you mean, third option?"
"You join me," I said. "We get off this planet together."
"What?"
"Earth Bet is doomed, Missy," I stood to emphasize my point. "The Endbringers are going to end society as we know it in 20 years or less."
Missy blinked and shook her head. "What? What the hell are you talking about? If things were that bad, wouldn't we know about it? Wouldn't the government say something?"
"And cause a panic that'd have society decline even faster?" I said, shaking my head.
"That's…" Missy fell silent, her shoulders slumping.
"You see my point," I said, raising my eyebrows.
"What about Dinah and Aisha?" Missy asked. "Or our families? Are you just going to leave everyone else to die?"
"I'll… bring them too," I said. "If you're willing to tell our friends about your powers."
Missy glared at me. "That's not fair."
"I'll tell them about my powers, too."
"That's not what I mean!" Missy exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "You're forcing me to tell them!"
"That's not what I meant," I corrected, holding a hand up. "We need our friends' help to implement my plan. Telling them is significantly easier integration."
"I just … I don't know if I want to do it," Missy admitted.
"You don't have to do it immediately. The world isn't ending this year," I reassured her. She gave me an odd look.
"Thanks, I guess?" Missy said, before shaking her head and sighing. "Let's go back. Aisha's probably constructed some kind of torrid fantasy about what we're doing and lunch is about to end."
I nodded as we stood up and walked out of the classroom. We regrouped with Dinah and Aisha, both of whom were giving us looks of suspicion.
"If you want to make out, you can just do it right here," Aisha said, winking. Missy rolled her eyes.
"Leave us out of your fantasies," Missy retorted. "Dream about doing your homework for once."
The bell rang as Aisha blew a raspberry, and we left for our classrooms. I had the next class with Dinah in Art class. What? I had hobbies.
We were paired together in an exercise to draw the other person's face. Dinah turned to me with eyebrows raised expectantly.
"What did you and Missy talk about?" she asked.
"I can't tell you yet, Missy's not ready to disclose it," I said diplomatically.
"Alright," Dinah said, gracefully taking the news.
After twenty minutes, we showed each other our pictures and I scowled. Dinah was a much better artist than I was. I just started this class last year, while she had been drawing all her life. I knew what things should look like at least, I just didn't have the muscle memory.
"Do you want me to critique it?" she asked, peering down at my picture.
"No, I know what I'm doing wrong," I said, waving her off.
"If you're sure," she said skeptically. "Oh, are we still on for my sleepover this weekend?"
"Yes," I said nodding. "My father insists on buying donuts for us."
"Oh. My mother is making cake,"
"Hm. We're not telling them, are we?"
"Nope,"
The next assignment was still lifes.I worked diligently at my still life drawing — an uninspired bowl of fruit — for a few more minutes before sighing and setting my pencil down. "What are you working on?" I asked Dinah.
She blinked and glanced at me. "Hm?"
"What are you drawing?"
Dinah shrugged casually with one shoulder. "It's for a webcomic I post every now and then."
I came around the table and peeked at her sketchbook. The page greeted me with a shockingly detailed image of a girl wearing a fantasy-esque military uniform and ornate sword tenderly kissing the hand of what seemed to be a princess or young noblewoman whose blonde hair cascaded in a shimmering waterfall down her back.
"Dinah."
"Yes? Do you like it?"
"Why does this girl in the uniform look like an older version of me?"
"Does she? What a coincidence."
"And the girl in the dress that looks like Missy?"
"Also coincidence."
I stared at her and she stared back. "How long have you been publishing this?"
"A while."
---
While texting Missy about testing her powers, I was on a crowded bus, heading to the gym when the scenery of the window froze. I immediately put my back to the window as the older woman next to me turned her head to me. I could hear my heart beating in my ears as I stared at her blank eyes.
TANYA MASON, I HAVE RETURNED, she said.
"Why don't you leave then?" I said, feeling cornered as more people turned around to face me.
YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL, TANYA MASON. I HAVE COME TO DELIVER YOU FROM EVIL, a young boy said.
"Hah! If you want to save me from evil, you should just get out of my life!" I spat out.
THE BEING KNOWN AS SCION IS A FALSE GOD. THE ENDBRINGERS ARE FALSE IDOLS, he continued as a fat teenager. DESTROY THEM WITH THE POWER I GRANT YOU AND I SHALL GRANT YOU ENTRANCE INTO HEAVEN. FAIL AND I SHALL DAMN YOU TO HELL.
"As if I'd want to go to what you think Heaven is like!" I shouted, before I choked on my spit as Being X did something to me. My veins burned as I screamed, before puking in the woman's lap. She swept her hand with contempt as the vomit disappeared.
YOU HAVE THREE YEARS, she said before everyone turned back to their seats. Time resumed, leaving me heaving and wide eyed. I ran for the door and got out at the next stop, slumping on the bench. Fuck, fuck, fuck. My mind swam with designs and knowledge and magic.
Half an hour later, I got my composure under control and started walking home. Cutting through alleyways, I walked as my head reeled with pain and ideas. Being X had shoved decades worth of magic knowledge in my mind with the grace of a bullet. Brooding it over, I stared at the ground as my feet led me forward. Medical magic, orb construction, gun construction, all of the magic formulas-Then I walked into someone, stumbling back as I finally looked up. Their green and red colors told me that they were ABB. It wasn't entirely surprising as I lived near ABB territory by the docks. The ringleader grabbed my shoulder as he shoved a knife into my face.
"Hey little girl, you gotta pay the toll, now give us your credit card and no one has to get hurt," his breath smelled rotten.
I took a deep breath.
"Leave me alone,"
"Should we really rob a little girl?" one of them ventured.
"Hey, look at her, blonde and blue eyes, she's definitely a Nazi!" That was enough. I stepped forward and snapped my foot into his knee. He went howling down as I jumped on his head and shoved it into the concrete as I used it to springboard up into the air into an axe kick on the man behind him. Knocking him out instantly, I touched down in a crouch and punched into a shin next to me. It crunched, causing the man to scream. I heard a gunshot and with my shield shimmering, stared coldly at the man.
"C-cape!" he screamed, running away. Then a red clad figure appeared from the skies landing in front of the man in a stance. He punched the man straight in the gut and gently caught him as he fell. Once he had him tied up, he approached me slowly.
"Hi, I'm Aegis," he said, eyeing the groaning men around me.
"I don't have a name yet," I snapped eyeing the rooftops. I saw a glimpse of gold near the fire escape. Ah, they're there.
"You'll want to have a name. PR doesn't have a good track record of choosing names," Aegis said, smiling.
"Fine. Call me Degurechaff," I said, impatiently. "I'm going home."
"It'll help a lot if you make a statement to the police," Aegis explained.
" … fine," I ceded. I felt obligated to follow the law. "Tell your friend to get down here. Craning his neck so much will hurt.
He grinned. "Triumph!"
Triumph climbed down the fire escape quickly and I started hearing sirens. They made my head throb harder. I saw the design for a magic fueled vehicle flash through my head, in a spike of pain.
"You alright?" Triumph asked, as I held my head. Ignoring him, I staggered away and found a relatively clean spot to sit down.
Damn you, Being X. Damn you.
"I've had my powers as long as I can remember," I said, shrugging.
"I guess I can understand why you didn't tell us earlier," Missy admitted after a moment. "But what do you mean, third option?"
"You join me," I said. "We get off this planet together."
"What?"
"Earth Bet is doomed, Missy," I stood to emphasize my point. "The Endbringers are going to end society as we know it in 20 years or less."
Missy blinked and shook her head. "What? What the hell are you talking about? If things were that bad, wouldn't we know about it? Wouldn't the government say something?"
"And cause a panic that'd have society decline even faster?" I said, shaking my head.
"That's…" Missy fell silent, her shoulders slumping.
"You see my point," I said, raising my eyebrows.
"What about Dinah and Aisha?" Missy asked. "Or our families? Are you just going to leave everyone else to die?"
"I'll… bring them too," I said. "If you're willing to tell our friends about your powers."
Missy glared at me. "That's not fair."
"I'll tell them about my powers, too."
"That's not what I mean!" Missy exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "You're forcing me to tell them!"
"That's not what I meant," I corrected, holding a hand up. "We need our friends' help to implement my plan. Telling them is significantly easier integration."
"I just … I don't know if I want to do it," Missy admitted.
"You don't have to do it immediately. The world isn't ending this year," I reassured her. She gave me an odd look.
"Thanks, I guess?" Missy said, before shaking her head and sighing. "Let's go back. Aisha's probably constructed some kind of torrid fantasy about what we're doing and lunch is about to end."
I nodded as we stood up and walked out of the classroom. We regrouped with Dinah and Aisha, both of whom were giving us looks of suspicion.
"If you want to make out, you can just do it right here," Aisha said, winking. Missy rolled her eyes.
"Leave us out of your fantasies," Missy retorted. "Dream about doing your homework for once."
The bell rang as Aisha blew a raspberry, and we left for our classrooms. I had the next class with Dinah in Art class. What? I had hobbies.
We were paired together in an exercise to draw the other person's face. Dinah turned to me with eyebrows raised expectantly.
"What did you and Missy talk about?" she asked.
"I can't tell you yet, Missy's not ready to disclose it," I said diplomatically.
"Alright," Dinah said, gracefully taking the news.
After twenty minutes, we showed each other our pictures and I scowled. Dinah was a much better artist than I was. I just started this class last year, while she had been drawing all her life. I knew what things should look like at least, I just didn't have the muscle memory.
"Do you want me to critique it?" she asked, peering down at my picture.
"No, I know what I'm doing wrong," I said, waving her off.
"If you're sure," she said skeptically. "Oh, are we still on for my sleepover this weekend?"
"Yes," I said nodding. "My father insists on buying donuts for us."
"Oh. My mother is making cake,"
"Hm. We're not telling them, are we?"
"Nope,"
The next assignment was still lifes.I worked diligently at my still life drawing — an uninspired bowl of fruit — for a few more minutes before sighing and setting my pencil down. "What are you working on?" I asked Dinah.
She blinked and glanced at me. "Hm?"
"What are you drawing?"
Dinah shrugged casually with one shoulder. "It's for a webcomic I post every now and then."
I came around the table and peeked at her sketchbook. The page greeted me with a shockingly detailed image of a girl wearing a fantasy-esque military uniform and ornate sword tenderly kissing the hand of what seemed to be a princess or young noblewoman whose blonde hair cascaded in a shimmering waterfall down her back.
"Dinah."
"Yes? Do you like it?"
"Why does this girl in the uniform look like an older version of me?"
"Does she? What a coincidence."
"And the girl in the dress that looks like Missy?"
"Also coincidence."
I stared at her and she stared back. "How long have you been publishing this?"
"A while."
---
While texting Missy about testing her powers, I was on a crowded bus, heading to the gym when the scenery of the window froze. I immediately put my back to the window as the older woman next to me turned her head to me. I could hear my heart beating in my ears as I stared at her blank eyes.
TANYA MASON, I HAVE RETURNED, she said.
"Why don't you leave then?" I said, feeling cornered as more people turned around to face me.
YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL, TANYA MASON. I HAVE COME TO DELIVER YOU FROM EVIL, a young boy said.
"Hah! If you want to save me from evil, you should just get out of my life!" I spat out.
THE BEING KNOWN AS SCION IS A FALSE GOD. THE ENDBRINGERS ARE FALSE IDOLS, he continued as a fat teenager. DESTROY THEM WITH THE POWER I GRANT YOU AND I SHALL GRANT YOU ENTRANCE INTO HEAVEN. FAIL AND I SHALL DAMN YOU TO HELL.
"As if I'd want to go to what you think Heaven is like!" I shouted, before I choked on my spit as Being X did something to me. My veins burned as I screamed, before puking in the woman's lap. She swept her hand with contempt as the vomit disappeared.
YOU HAVE THREE YEARS, she said before everyone turned back to their seats. Time resumed, leaving me heaving and wide eyed. I ran for the door and got out at the next stop, slumping on the bench. Fuck, fuck, fuck. My mind swam with designs and knowledge and magic.
Half an hour later, I got my composure under control and started walking home. Cutting through alleyways, I walked as my head reeled with pain and ideas. Being X had shoved decades worth of magic knowledge in my mind with the grace of a bullet. Brooding it over, I stared at the ground as my feet led me forward. Medical magic, orb construction, gun construction, all of the magic formulas-Then I walked into someone, stumbling back as I finally looked up. Their green and red colors told me that they were ABB. It wasn't entirely surprising as I lived near ABB territory by the docks. The ringleader grabbed my shoulder as he shoved a knife into my face.
"Hey little girl, you gotta pay the toll, now give us your credit card and no one has to get hurt," his breath smelled rotten.
I took a deep breath.
"Leave me alone,"
"Should we really rob a little girl?" one of them ventured.
"Hey, look at her, blonde and blue eyes, she's definitely a Nazi!" That was enough. I stepped forward and snapped my foot into his knee. He went howling down as I jumped on his head and shoved it into the concrete as I used it to springboard up into the air into an axe kick on the man behind him. Knocking him out instantly, I touched down in a crouch and punched into a shin next to me. It crunched, causing the man to scream. I heard a gunshot and with my shield shimmering, stared coldly at the man.
"C-cape!" he screamed, running away. Then a red clad figure appeared from the skies landing in front of the man in a stance. He punched the man straight in the gut and gently caught him as he fell. Once he had him tied up, he approached me slowly.
"Hi, I'm Aegis," he said, eyeing the groaning men around me.
"I don't have a name yet," I snapped eyeing the rooftops. I saw a glimpse of gold near the fire escape. Ah, they're there.
"You'll want to have a name. PR doesn't have a good track record of choosing names," Aegis said, smiling.
"Fine. Call me Degurechaff," I said, impatiently. "I'm going home."
"It'll help a lot if you make a statement to the police," Aegis explained.
" … fine," I ceded. I felt obligated to follow the law. "Tell your friend to get down here. Craning his neck so much will hurt.
He grinned. "Triumph!"
Triumph climbed down the fire escape quickly and I started hearing sirens. They made my head throb harder. I saw the design for a magic fueled vehicle flash through my head, in a spike of pain.
"You alright?" Triumph asked, as I held my head. Ignoring him, I staggered away and found a relatively clean spot to sit down.
Damn you, Being X. Damn you.
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Lincolnator
canon and cannons both sink ships
*Cannot slam watch button hard enough*
bruh.
Please don't let this die. This is the drug I need in my life.
bruh.
Please don't let this die. This is the drug I need in my life.