Outsider Chronicles: Full Metal Worm
You know, there were a lot of things I was expecting when I got reborn into a world of traumatized Superheroes. Becoming one of those heroes was actually pretty high up my list, but when your a Tinker whos main trick only needs a bit of chalk, thats Bullshit on a whole other level!
And we're back. I know I said that this chapter would be an interlude, but I realized part way through writing it that I needed this chapter to work things through. Enjoy!
Chapter 4
The next day saw me stood in the lobby of the PRT HQ, doing my best to ignore the tense guards and gawking public. My explosive introduction had resulted in me getting a fair amount of attention on PHO, which meant that everyone knew that I was the one who took down Hookwolf and Squealer, although it was mostly the former that had everyone impressed. After all, while Squealer could be dangerous with her vehicles, she didn't have a body count.
Fortunately, I wasn't waiting long or I might have got bored and Transmuted a statue in the waiting hall.
"Flamel?"
"Thats...me?!" I said as I turned to the woman who had approached me.
The reason for my shock was relatively woman in question was wearing the uniform of a PRT officer and looked to be in her mid 20s, with blonde hair clipped up and brown eyes. She had a bulky pistol strapped to her hip and a nametag pinned to her chest that revealed her name was Riza Hawkeye. Right, cus that makes a lot of sense. Hawkeye nodded.
"Yes, Armsmaster said you'd be coming," she said, "If you'll follow me, we can get this done and then the Director wants to speak to you."
"Great, that'll be fun," I muttered as I followed her into the lift.
The actual de-briefing didn't take that long, just going over what happened during the fight to make sure they had everything correct and collaborated with what the witnesses said. I couldn't help but spot the tiny smirk Hawkeye gave when I mentioned smacking Hookwolf in the nuts, but other than that, she was cool and professional throughout, enough that I just couldn't get a read on her. I got the feeling she didn't think much of me though.
With the debriefing done, Hawkeye led me up another level and into an office where I was met by Director Piggott, Armsmaster and Miss Militia.
"Thank you Lieutenant," said Piggott as we stopped in front of the desk.
Hawkeye saluted and left the room.
"Sit."
I did so, doing my best not to squirm under the scrutiny of two powerful Capes and the Director. After a couple of seconds, Piggott looked down at the file on her desk.
"I understand that your a Tinker?" she asked.
"Yes," I said.
She fixed me with another look.
"You are aware of the dangers of being an Unattached Tinker, correct?" she asked.
I nodded. She frowned and flipped a page.
"And yet you don't want to join the Wards? Why?"
I sighed.
"Because I don't want to be a PR tool," I said.
"What?" asked Piggott.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Miss Militia, "The Wards are a place for young Heroes to hone their skills and learn more about their powers."
"True, but they also have to bend to the whims of a bunch of stuck up old moral guardians who don't know the first thing about being a Parahuman," I said, "Not only that, but the Wards are limited to patrols around 'safe' areas and aren't supposed to get involved in fights, even if they happen right in front of them. I cannot and will not do that. Not only that, but I can't guarantee that my creations that can help people will go to those that need it. I can do a lot more good as an Independent than I ever could as a member of the Protectorate."
"You mean like the medicine you gave Squealer?" asked Piggot.
I nodded.
"That potion is capable of healing any physical wound you can think of," I said, "Don't misunderstand my intentions, I have no intention of becoming a villain and I'm more than willing to work with you all, but I will not place myself under your command."
I sat back in my seat and met Piggots even gaze. Despite her well known dislike of Parahumans, I couldn't help but notice a slight glimmer of respect in her eyes.
"Well, I can't say your not determined," she said, "I wish all Parahumans were like you."
She shook her head and sighed.
"Well, thats enough of that," she said, "Do you have anything to show us so we can get some idea of what your capable of? That potion you gave Squealer was certainly impressive and the hospital director is chomping at the bit to get in touch with you."
"I'll head down there later," I said, "Some of which I have to show you will need a bit of open space, but I do have one of my more...impressive creations."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a Kakugane that was stamped with the number XII. I'd been churning them out as a just in case and was up to about 20 once the latest batch was done. I put the Alchemical medallion on Piggots desk.
"What is it?" asked Miss Militia as Armsmaster lent over it, his mouth twisting into a rather confused expression.
"I...don't know," said the older Tinker, "It does not match any known alloy and I'm detecting a rather odd energy field."
"Its called a Nucleus," I said, "It is perhaps the most powerful item I'm willing to create right now. Its most basic ability is to resonate with the Human instinct, granting enhanced healing or can be used to manifest the users fighting instinct into a weapon."
I tapped my Silver Skin.
"My costume is mine."
"What kind of weapons are you talking about?" asked Miss Militia, looking rather interested.
I shrugged.
"Could be anything," I said, "From an indestructible suit of armour, to mentally controlled napalm or gunpowder to an axe capable of controlling gravity. The only thing you can be sure of is that it will be unique to a person and it will be powerful."
"And anyone can use them?" asked Piggot.
"So long as they have Human instinct, yes," I said, "Thats why I'm fitting them all with tracking devices for retrieval if they go missing."
"Yes, that does sound like a good idea," said Piggot dryly as she poked the Kakugane.
Then things got weird. Without warning or any apparent input from the director, the Kakugane snapped open and a huge amount of light poured forth. Before anyone could do more than yelp, Piggot found herself holding a cross shaped spear with a red lacquered handle. My eyes went wide as a complete understanding of the newly formed Kakugane flowed into me (not that it was needed since I recognized it immediately) and bright blue Alchemical energy started crackling off Piggots body. The entire process took less time than it took Armsmaster to leap to his feet and draw his Halberd.
"What the FUCK WAS THAT?!" roared the Director, shooting to her feet and throwing the spear away, "What did you do?!"
"I didn't do anything!" I protested, "I said that Nuclei react to the Human instinct and the most basic one is to survive! Your body was dieing and it was your own stubbornness that kept it that way when it could so easily be healed!"
I took a deep breath and wrangled my emotions back under control.
"If I had to guess, I'd say that the Nucleus reacted to your subconscious desire to be healed and activated. Thats also where your Buso Renkin came from."
Piggot frowned.
"Buso what?"
"Japanese for Arms Alchemy," I said, "I happen to like how it sounds. Anyway, that is the weapon your instincts formed with the help of the Nucleus, a spear with the ability to completely regenerate your body."
Piggot blinked.
"What?"
I raised an eyebrow and pointed down. Sure enough, she was standing tall and strong, her legs not shaking in the slightest like they had when she stood to greet me.
"Apparently I have an instinctive grasp of what the Buso Renkin created from my Nuclai are capable of," I said, "And yours just healed you completely."
I bent down and picked up the Cross Spear and tossed it up. The Buso Renkin arched gracefully and transformed back into a Kakugane as it slapped back into my palm.
"Fascinating," said Armsmaster, eyeing the Alchemical miracle in my palm, "I can't even get a proper read on what that energy was!"
"Can't help you there," I said, "My skills aren't really geared towards any kind of technology."
I slipped the medallion back into my pocket.
"So, power testing?"
The rest of the day was spent showing off what I could do so the PRT could get an accurate (or at least as accurate as I'd let them) idea of what I could do. Technically, I didn't need to do any of this, but I wanted to at least have a fairly good relationship with the Protectorate, even if I wouldn't ever join it and this was a good place to start.
Three hours later, I was out of the PRT building and walking home out of costume. As I crossed the Boardwalk, I noticed a few men dressed in black suits that looked like the security most of the shops hired to keep from being hassled start toward me, before they abruptly cut off their approach and moved away. I narrowed my eyes. I regularly came to the Boardwalk and I'd never once been hassled by any of the security, so there was no reason for them to try today. I overclocked my mind with Thought Acceleration and quickly came to the conclusion that they probably worked for Coil. Hmm, I wonder what made him cut off his attempt? He probably tried in another timeline and it went rather badly for him.
I made a mental note to watch my back for any assassination attempts and sped up to get home quick.
When I got home, it was to find my sister sitting at the dining table with one of her school friends, sharing a large tub of ice cream.
"Hey Alex," said both girls as I walked in.
"Hey girls," I said, "So, I take it your staying again Aisha?"
Yep, in addition to Vista, my sister was friends with Aisha Laborn. To be honest, I'm not entirely surprised that the two had become friends since they shared the same caustic tongue when annoyed, but I'm pretty sure that the relationship was good for Aisha. For one thing, she wasn't as much of a rebellious brat as she was in canon, mostly thanks to Mums ability to mother anyone she met, even if said person was older and much stronger than her. Hell, I bet she could probably send an Endbringer to its room given half the chance!
Anyway, Mum had basically adopted the girl the first time Vicky had bought her home with a rather large bruise on her stomach and a black eye caused by one of her mothers boyfriends and since then, whenever things got bad at home, Aisha ended up at our house for a patch up, a tub of ice cream and somewhere safe to sleep. That had been about two months ago and since then, Mum had been on the warpath to get permanent custody of Aisha or at least get her away from the drugged up bitch who called herself the girls mother. Considering she was every bit as scary as Danny Hebert when pissed off, it was going rather well by all accounts.
"Well, don't stay up too late," I said, "And keep it down. I've got a lot of work to do."
The two girls nodded and went back to giggling about something as I headed upstairs and locked myself in my room. I had plans to make. I knew that the Empire would be trying to spring Hookwolf and I had no intention of allowing that to happen. That psycho would be getting to the Birdcage this time or I was going to make damn sure to give Othella a LOT of work to do. It had been relatively easy to get my hands on the schedule of the prison transport that would be taking Hookwolf out of the city, to easy in fact. Apparently the PRT leaked like a sieve and I made a mental note to talk to Armsmaster or Miss Militia about it. Even with my Dad being the commander of the Troopers, I should NOT have been able to get my hands on this information as easily as I did and if I had it, that probably meant that Kaiser did.
I brushed off that thought for now and knuckled down in trying to figure out the best way of going about stopping the prison break. This could take a while.
Done. I admit, I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter, but it works.
I plan on including some characters from the various series I'm taking Alex's powers from the flesh out the roster of side characters a little, but none of them will be more than normal Humans. I MIGHT include some as Capes for when the inevitable fight with Leviathan roles around, but thats not set in stone.
I actually intended to use Aisha for an important role in the story from the start, but her being friends with Vicky is a recent thing. I plan for Alex to form his own faction armed with Buso Renkin, mostly taken from the series. I wonder if you can guess who will have what?
I'm not entirely sure why I gave the director Gekisen, it just sort of happened. It does fit her though and means she'll be much better at her job later down the line. Speaking of, I could use a new name for that since I don't think Piggot would give her weapon a Japanese name. Alternatively, she might not get to use it again…
Anyway, I'm done here. Next time will be an interlude and we get to see what freaked out Coil enough that he decided that discretion was the better part of valor. We'll also get to see if the Wizard I'm using for PHO discussion boards is any good and if I'm any good at writing them. Until then, don't forget to leave a review!