(Taylor POV)
Over the remainder of the week I was stuck inside my house, dad and I decided to figure out exactly what powers I had, as well as any limitations. There were 2 main ones, bringing Lego figures to life, and expanding them to full size. In addition, when they were full sized, they were way more durable than they had any right to be. Dad spent a good 15 minutes whacking at the ATV with a sledgehammer before a piece came off. Plus I needed to actively will a model to shrink before it did so, it wouldn't just shrink on its own if I went to sleep. Although we weren't testing when we found that out, after the shock of finding out I had powers, I forgot to shrink my ATV before going to bed. A weird thing about my powers was that while I could remotely operate any vehicles while they were small, while they were full sized, they actually needed to be driven. Luckily it seems that it doesn't necessarily need to be me who drives them, although I generally could do so better, I still giggle when I remember dad hitting the tree in our backyard.
Then came testing my limits, and boy were they finicky. First off, any movement a model had was what they were capable of if they were just a model, I couldn't just make a line of 2x4 standard bricks and have it behave like a snake. Speaking of which, my power seemed to work better with vehicles and structures than with animals, just animating a Lego horse gave me a headache, to say nothing of trying to grow the damn thing, would probably just kick me into next week. On the other hand, I had an easier time if I made something that belonged in the Lego City line, especially if it was construction equipment. It also got easier the more familiar I was with the model, especially if I named it, just calling the ATV the Prowler lessened the drain from barely noticeable to virtually nonexistent.
That was the last thing we discovered about my powers. When I grew my models, they seemed to draw energy from an inner reserve I had, kind of like a cellphone draining a battery. If something had less of a drain than what I recovered naturally, I could theoretically leave it enlarged indefinitely. The drain grew based on the number of bricks and the complexity of the model, a solid cube using x amount of bricks had the same drain as a hollow one, but less than a vehicle using x amount of bricks. One odd thing was that I seemed to use less power when creating my own designs vs following the instructions, a bulldozer I made using the book had almost double the amount of draw as a race car I made using the exact same parts.
The only exceptions to these rules were minifigs. They had a draw when I animated them, even when small, and I couldn't control them beyond giving them simple instructions. On the plus side, they seemed to gain the skills of whatever costumes they were wearing, a doctor minifig could serve as a GP, a construction minifig fixed that leaky pipe under the sink, etc. They were also a workaround to the 'can't remote control enlarged vehicles' rule if they had the right costume, although the less said about the stunt driver, the better.
Over the course of the week, 3 new powers made themselves apparent. The first was that I could look at a pile of parts, and in my head I could instantly see what I could build with them, and how. The second was that I could put models together fast, real fast, commercial time-lapse build fast. Combined, these two powers meant I could go from pile of parts to finished build in seconds, which would be a lifesaver in the field. The last was that any build I made weighed as much as it did when it was small, but only to me, I could put the Prowler over my shoulder and carry it up the stairs, while dad struggled to lift the front end.
Based on research on PHO, I tentatively classified myself as a Master, with secondary classifications of Thinker and/or Tinker, and possibly Striker.
Of course, such things couldn't last forever. Soon enough, Monday came, and with it, Winslow.
"Looks who's finally back."
I spared a quick glance at my tormentors. Emma, my former best friend until she one day, she just... wasn't. Sophia, the track star and specialist in physically tormenting me. And Madison, the groupie who was just... there.
"Wow, you're even weaker than I thought if a night in a locker had you out of school for 3 weeks," Sophia jeered.
"You're as worthless as the Ship graveyard," Madison chimed in.
"I don't know about that," said Emma, "I'm sure all that scrap metal is worth something, I can't think of anyone who would pay a cent for her ugly ass."
I turned and walked away as they started laughing. They never saw anything coming as a trio of cream pies appeared out of nowhere and hit them in their faces. As they sputtered and wiped their faces clean, demanding to know who threw them, they never saw a pocket on my backpack zip itself shut, or heard the quiet giggling coming from it. As for me, I was lost in thought. Their material, while weak, had given me an idea.
If there was one benefit to me triggering, it's that the week dad and I spent testing my powers had closed the gap between us that had formed when mom died. We still weren't as close as we had been before, but we were slowly getting there, there was actually some conversation at the dinner table, on the rare occasions we were able to share it. Luckily the time off he had taken due to my hospitalization hadn't expired yet, so I was able to bring up my idea to him that night.
"You know how I want to be a hero right?"
Dad's grip tightened around his disposable chopsticks, the thought of me fighting villains scared him, not that I could blame him. "Yes, I assume you've come up with an idea about that."
I nodded, "I was thinking about starting off by doing something small. Brockton Bay would be a lot better off if I dismantled the Ship Graveyard."
Dad couldn't help but chuckle, "And how is scrapping a dozen container ships small?"
"It is compared to fighting an Endbringer."
I winced as dad's face paled, that probably wasn't the best example to go with. "I sincerely hope that was a hypothetical situation."
"Of course it was, I'm not going to even think about volunteering for an Endbringer fight without a lot more experience." That being said, dreams of punching Leviathan in the face with a giant Lego robot were sweet indeed, the damage he did to global shipping just by existing was the main reason Brockton Bay was as bad as it was. "Seriously though, I think it's a good idea. I get to practice using bigger models, Brockton Bay loses a major eyesore, and the money from selling the scrap steel would be a major boon for the economy." Dad put down his chopsticks and laced his fingers together, placing them in front of his mouth. I had seen that pose before, dad only did that when he was really thinking hard about business things. "You don't think it's a good idea?"
"No, I think it's a great idea. The problem is whether or not it's a legal idea."
I mentally facepalmed. Starting my hero career by scrapping a bunch of boats might not be such a good idea if there were actual owners who could sue me for stealing their property. "We need a lawyer."
"That we do." Dad reached for a newspaper that lay forgotten since breakfast and started flipping through the classifieds. After a minute, he found someone we could both agree was probably the best choice.
Carol Dallon, Specialist in Parahuman Law
Replies to Reviews
IcelandicDragon217: Glad to see you're excited, I hope you found the shenanigans in this chapter, although subtle, pleasing.
ian25rebel: Please ensure that all bricks are thoroughly cleaned before submission.
Mecaldar: It will go many interesting and funny places.
Sukodori1: In response to your review, I have created a chapter that is mostly exposition. My laugh is an evil laugh.
LawlessWriter: I doubt any of them made the Path go, 'Okay, we're going to half to scrap basically everything, we should be ready for you in a few months'.
OstermanA: That, and she's got a new bikini that she hasn't had a chance to use yet.
pg2016: It's Lego, if it's not fun something has gone horribly wrong.
AnimeA55Kicker: This story is going to be less 'Taylor builds giant Lego models and kicks ass' and more 'Taylor subverts the Entities' plans for conflict with the Lego virtue of teamwork and smacks idiot balls out of peoples' hands'. That being said, I have... plans, concerning Lung and Leviathan, M rating isn't there for show.
CLouis94: Ask, and ye shall receive.
