Hey there, folks. If you follow my other major project at the moment, Cazador, you may have noticed me mentioning something else I wrote a while back, named Pixy. Up until now, it's only been posted on SB, but I had a bit of free time, so I figured why not bring it over to FFN, in case any of my readers happen to not like/not know about SB. I make no promises about steady updates or anything like that; this was pretty spur of the moment when I wrote it, and any further updates will be similarly unplanned, but that doesn't mean I won't ever write anything else for it.
So, without further ado, enjoy!
Taylor let out a yelp as she fell, the various bits of scrap electronics she had managed to scrounge from the junkyard spilling out of her backpack. She sat up, glaring at the section of shattered sidewalk that had caused to trip.
She didn't cry. She had cried when the Endbringer sirens went off, and her mommy and daddy had scrambled to pack the most important things in their house. She had cried when the tsunami wave appeared on the horizon, moments before the shelter doors had sealed behind her. She had cried when the ceiling above them shook, and the first cracks appeared. When she woke up who knew how long later, and learned that both her parents had died when the shelter collapsed, she had cried.
She didn't have any tears left to shed, now. She didn't have anything left but herself and the few belongings that hadn't been washed out of the backpack she had been carrying that day.
Emma was gone. Mister Barnes had moved her and her family out of the city soon after the attack; claiming that they'd be back once the city got a little more cleaned up. That had been almost a year ago.
Kurt and Lacey were missing, presumed dead, last Taylor had heard. Just another pair of names among the hundreds killed or swept out to sea by Leviathan's waves.
Everyone else Taylor could think of was either gone or missing, leaving her all alone.
Taylor crawled over to the very same backpack she had been carrying that day, the bag now holding scraps of metal and circuitry. Alexandria's masked face looking up at her, as if mocking her, teasing that all her efforts would be for nothing, that she would fail where every other cape had failed so many times.
No.
Steeling herself, Taylor stood back up, heaving her backpack onto her shoulders. She had to try. The Endbringers had killed her Mommy and Daddy. She was going to kill the Endbringers.
Quietly, Taylor inched the basement door shut. She wasn't afraid of Mister Creighton finding her. No. Heroes weren't afraid of meanies like him. But if he found out about her, found out she was a Tinker, well…
She shuddered to imagine what he would do. She knew that the guys who came over every week were part of the Empire, and she had read PHO enough at the library to know that the gangs would pay a lot of money for her abilities. She didn't doubt he would sell her to them, if they found out.
Taylor let out a sigh, creeping down the stairs.
She was safe, for now.
Finally, she came to the sheet covered object that was her weapon. She was going to destroy Behemoth, overwhelming him with more power than even he could handle; she would boil away Leviathan's water, leaving him with nowhere to hide until he too came apart under her assault; and she would melt the Simurgh's wings, sending her plummeting to the Earth, just like Icarus. (Mommy would be proud that she remembered that story.)
Pulling off the sheet, she took a moment to admire her creation.
Trinity.
She had learned the name from her research at the library. The dictionary said it meant a group of three, but when she had searched the internet, she learned it was also the name of the first nuclear bomb. It was the perfect name for her weapon; she would use one Trinity to destroy another. Hers may not have been nuclear, (She had ideas for nuclear weapons, too, so she knew the difference.) but it was easily just as powerful. It was no mere missile, either.
It was the size of three men, the device long ago having become too heavy to keep on the table. She had decided to heed the warnings when the table began creaking, managing to slide the missile on to the floor without damaging it too badly. Thankfully, she hadn't put in the explosive filler yet, otherwise she would have turned the house, and indeed the better part of the city, into a flaming ball of destruction; the Polynitrogen she had made was as unstable as it was powerful. When she had first tried making some, she had decided to test its explosive capability in the backyard.
A single drop had exploded with enough force to knock her on her butt and leave her ears ringing. Making enough to fill the missile would be tough, but it would be worth it in the end.
Setting her backpack on the floor, Taylor pried open a panel on the missile's nose, revealing a partially complete guidance system. It wouldn't do for her to launch the missile, only to miss the target by a mile. When the time came, she was only going to have one chance.
Taylor froze as she heard a knocking upstairs.
"Hn..?" Mister Creighton snorted to wakefulness, his voice muffled by the door. "...Damn kids," She heard him shuffle around, cursing at her for not answering the door, and at the uninvited guests now knocking at the door. "...'Ello? Who the hell're you?"
"Good afternoon, I'm here on behalf of the PRT." The voice at the door was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She knew she had heard it somewhere before. "Are you the current legal guardian of one Taylor Hebert?"
"The kid? Yeah, she should be around somewhere. What'd'ya want the brat for? She ain't in trouble, is she?"
"We believe she may have triggered as a parahuman."
Taylor's blood ran cold. Mister Creighton knew she had triggered. She had to do something, anything to get away from him now, or the moment they were alone, Mister Creighton was going to sell her to the gangs, and then she'd never get to finish her work. She crept up the stairs, cracking open the basement door. At the door stood Armsmaster himself, a couple of PRT troopers standing behind him.
"A parahuman? What the hell makes you say that?"
Taylor gasped. Armsmaster was Brockton Bay's local tinker, having quickly risen to prominence for his abilities; remarkable even by the standards of other Tinkers. If anyone could help her, it was him. She opened the door the rest of the way, the hinges squeaking as she stepped out into the main room. Armsmaster looked up, staring her dead in the eyes.
"Miss Hebert?"
"Mm-hm." Taylor shook her head. Armsmaster stepped forward, his powered armor letting him push Mister Creighton to the side with barely any effort, much to the man's displeasure.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Uh-huh!" She nodded again. "You're Armsmaster, the hero!" Taylor darted forward, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the basement door. "I gotta show you something!"
She nearly yanked his arm off in the process of pulling him down the stairs. If she could impress him enough, he might decide to help her! He was a hero! Maybe he would even carry her weapon into battle against Leviathan himself!
Taylor's heart swelled with possibilities. When she finally let go of him, Armsmaster stood up near silently, the muffled whine of his suit's servos the only sound in the room as he looked around at the basement. The walls were plastered in notebook paper, the sheets covered in calculations and formulae for things like railguns and laser cannons in between notes on her current project; Trinity wasn't Taylor's only idea, just the easiest to make. The others would need energy on a scale that she couldn't hope to achieve even with a decade to tinker. Armsmaster could help though! He could go up to the PRT and tell them "Taylor's gonna make a big bomb that's gonna kill the Endbringers, so you should just give her whatever she asks for."
Yes. Perfect. She wouldn't abuse this power at all.
Well, maybe a little. But not too much.
Taylor shook her head, turning to Armsmaster, who was kneeling over the partially assembled missile.
"...You built this?" He said slowly.
"Mm-hm!" She raced to his side, prying back the same panel she had been working on earlier. "I almost finished the guidance system, so then I just gotta put in the propulsion system and the warhead, and then it should be ready!"
Armsmaster was silent. Did she do it? He wasn't looking too hard at it. In fact, he seemed to be keeping his distance, His jaw set in a line. Did she mess up? Was her work so bad that Armsmaster found it physically offensive?
"Miss Hebert," He finally said, "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to the PRT Headquarters."
Taylor nearly jumped with joy, she was smiling so much. She couldn't wait to ride Armsmaster's motorcycle, and look at all the cool stuff in his lab, and-!
"Lock down the area, bring in an Ee-Oh-Dee squad as well." Armsmaster muttered to one of the PRT soldiers as he led her upstairs. Taylor didn't know what Ee-Oh-Dee was, but she must have done something right if they were coming, right?
Taylor practically sprinted outside, where Armsmaster's motorcycle stood in all its glory. She couldn't believe she was actually going to be able to ride with Armsmaster!
The man himself followed her out moments later, Mister Creighton trailing behind him shouting obscenities.
"This is private property! You can't just barge in here! I'll sue-!"
Armsmaster turned around, frowning.
"Taylor Hebert is a Parahuman; therefore the PRT has full jurisdiction to investigate the area and instate any measures it deems necessary to ensure the safety if the local populace." He opened a small port on his armor, pulling out a business card. "You can contact this number for reimbursement of damages and costs due to PRT operations." With that, he spun back around, leaving a dumb-struck Mister Creighton. Looking to Taylor, he nodded at his bike. "Let's go."
Grinning wildly, Taylor practically skipped after him, ready to become the hero she had always dreamed of becoming.
Emily looked up at Armsmaster from her desk, the man standing solemnly before her.
"So, what can you tell me about her?"
Armsmaster cleared his throat, looking down at the report he held in his hands.
"Taylor Hebert, age eight, provisional codename 'Bomber'. Daughter of Daniel and Annette Hebert, both deceased in the attack last year."
Emily nodded. Leviathan had caused a few triggers both in his attack, and in the following months. Most of them were dead now, but obviously not all of them.
"Following the death of her parents, and with no family capable of taking her in, she was placed in the foster system, and currently resides with a 'Michael Creighton'," Armsmaster's eyes narrowed, "His file indicates no criminal history, save for a few misdemeanor charges. However, he has shown sympathies with the local Empire 88 gang in the past."
"What about the girl herself?" Emily grunted.
"Miss Hebert seems to have triggered as a Tinker. Her only creation thus far is a missile with a Tinkertech warhead, which she claims should have a yield of several terajoules, and is intended for use against Endbringers." Armsmaster slid a few pictures across the desk, depicting the weapon in question. "She also seems to have a strong sense of justice, and has indicated a definite intention to join the Protectorate, given the chance."
Emily sighed, relieved. Hebert might have only been a child, but one more cape was one more cape, old or young. Regardless of her personal opinions on the matter, she'd take whatever she could to keep Brockton Bay from falling any further into chaos.
"Good. Answer any questions she has, introduce her to the other Wards, and send her home with the standard paperwork-."
"That brings me to my second note," Armsmaster continued, "Miss Hebert has made a single request regarding removing herself from the foster system."
Raising a single eyebrow, Emily leaned forward.
"Explain."
Armsmaster nodded.
"She has made several claims that paint her guardian as incompetent, if not outright abusive. She requested that, upon her joining the Wards, she be moved to a new foster home."
Piggot sat silently for a moment.
"Fair enough," She finally said, "I'll contact the Youth Guard; that sort of thing falls under their purview, but I can't imagine they'll complain if you really are correct. Maybe this time they'll actually be some help for once."
"Perhaps." Armsmaster nodded humorlessly.
"Anything else you needed to note?"
"I did have one request, Director." Armsmaster set the stack of documents detailing Taylor Hebert's history on the desk, folding his hands behind his back. "Given Miss Hebert's powerset, I believe she would benefit from the mentorship of a fellow Tinker to guide her development into a hero."
"You mean yourself," Piggot surmised, "Where are you going with this, Colin?"
"I… Would like to request to be considered for guardianship of Miss Hebert myself."
Piggot's brows shot up incredulously as she sat up in her seat.
"Really?" Her tone was less disbelief, and more bemusement. "I have to ask, Colin; what on earth makes you think that could possibly be a good idea?"
Armsmaster let out a slow breath, steeling himself.
"I am well aware of my own… difficulties when dealing with the emotions of others. However I feel that, given proper mentorship, this girl could be a very effective Tinker in her own right, on the same level of Tinkers such as String Theory. If I were to take the role of her guardian, then I believe she would benefit from having a guardian capable of empathizing with issues only another Tinker could understand."
Piggot leaned back in her seat, her hands laced in front of her in thought.
"Which parenting website did you pull that particular quote off of?" She finally said. "We both know you've got all the empathy of a brick, so I highly doubt you came up with that little piece of wisdom on your own. That said, I think I know what your real plan is, here." Her eyes narrowed. "Most people would frown on using another person for your own benefit like that, much less a young girl."
Colin grimaced. She… Wasn't wrong in her guess, to be entirely truthful. Endbringer-killer might be a bit much, but if the rest of her Tinkertech was as powerful or more so than what he had seen in that basement, she would most definitely end up as a well known cape. If he were known as the person who got her to that point, it'd be a huge boost to his own career.
"This is a living person, Colin, not a machine. You do understand that, right?"
Colin said nothing under Piggot's withering stare. Finally, she sighed.
"If you're serious about this, it's your funeral; I'll pass your request along to the Guard. This is all their problem, not mine."
Nodding, Colin turned to exit.
"And Armsmaster?" She added. "If this ends up coming back to bite me, it's your ass."
Walking into the waiting room where Taylor sat holding a bottle of juice one of the personnel had gotten for her, Colin stopped to observe her for a moment. She seemed to be deep in thought, murmuring to herself as he approached, tapping her shoulder. The girl returned to consciousness with a jump, and looked up at him hopefully.
"Miss Hebert," Colin started, Piggot's words still ringing in his head, "Taylor. The director has approved your requests. Once the appropriate paperwork has been filed, you'll officially be a Ward." He held out a hand. "She'll also be making the appropriate calls to see about having you moved out of your current foster situation."
Taylor's eyes went wide and more than a little misty. Then she jumped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. Colin thought he felt something splash on the back of his armor, but decided not to mention it for the time being.
"Thank you." she mumbled.
Colin stood motionless for a moment, unsure of how to respond. If anyone saw him, they didn't say anything. Finally, he wrapped his arms around her, tentatively returning the hug.
"...If you'd like, I could introduce you to the other Wards?"
This wasn't so bad. He could handle this.
Colin sighed, looking at all the destruction wrought on the surrounding area.
He was getting very tired of handling these problems.
Moving cautiously, halberd at the ready, he spotted an unfortunately familiar pair of figures, one dark and shrouded, one light and armored.
"Pixy, Shadow Stalker. Report. Are you two unharmed?"
"I'm fine," The darker figure grunted, "A little singed is all."
The lighter grey figure, though only just with all the scorch marks covering her armor, waved jauntily.
"Evening, sir. One Parahuman and six, seven, eight... How many did you say, Stalker?"
"Nine."
"Right. Nine unpowered thugs, neutralized and ready for transport."
Armsmaster's eyes narrowed.
"You didn't answer my question, Pixy."
The girl sighed, slouching over dramatically.
"I'm fiiine, Dad. I promise. The Caliburn suit you and Dragon helped me with is holding up fine too." She patted a still smouldering section of armor a few times, giving him a thumbs up.
"That was still a pointlessly risky move, attacking Lung without backup."
"We thought he was going to kill kids!" Pixy protested, "I mean, granted, it turned out he was talking about the Undersiders, but still. We were justified."
"The Undersiders?" Armsmaster raised his halberd defensively.
"Don't worry, they left," She sighed, "Popped up to thank us for saving their asses before Miss Triggerhappy here chased them off."
Looking back and forth between the two Wards, Colin sighed. Taylor's dedication to protecting the innocent and her skill in fighting were certainly commendable, her tendency to throw herself into needless battles in the name of those things was… less so.
"You're both on console duty when you return, until further notice."
The girls groaned. Colin frowned.
"Yes sir…" Taylor muttered, activating her suit's jets.
With the faintest smile, Colin watched the two girls go. Turning to Lung, the unconscious cape's form encased in several gobs of containment foam, he frowned. The regular thugs looked well enough, but he was going to need to have a word with Taylor and Sofia both about appropriate force when it came to Brutes.
He resolved to talk to Taylor about over breakfast tomorrow.
Alright, so, a little backstory on the AU elements:
-Leviathan attacks BB early, sometime around 2002-2003ish.
-During the attack, Leviathan kills Danny and Annette among others, leaving Taylor orphaned, shuffled off into the foster system, and promptly forgotten about.
-Taylor proceeds to Trigger during her time in foster care with a negligent, basically abusive guardian.
-Rather than her canon power, Taylor triggers as a Tinker, with a specialization in Installations and Oversized weapons, such as the ones commonly seen in Ace Combat.
-Armsmaster originally has an idea to act as her mentor and essentially use her potential to further his own career, but eventually learns to be an actually decent father figure. Think Despicable Me 1, but in Worm.
-Instead of the fictional superfighters from Ace Combat, Taylor instead has suits of Iron-Man-esque power armor, each of them corresponding to different aircraft from the series
There's a few other elements I'll feed you guys as they become relevant, whenever I happen to end up writing more for this, but this is what I had.
Hope you folks enjoyed it!
