C'est La Vie (Worm/MTG) #03.1
A/N: Puts out portion one of next serving.
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There was always a teething period to figuring out something to do with my power: Be it actually regaining my sanity in the hospital when I'd gone a little crazy from the sensory input of being connected to my swarm, or figuring out how to speak through them.
Right now, though… right now, as I tried to head out, it was watching myself through the eyes of my monstrously enlarged Whiptail in real time. I watched myself turn away while pulling on my glittery golden poncho even as it wobbled dangerously and begin tipping on its small wheels. I watched as my one exposed eye widened in panic while trying to get the fabric to settle over my shoulders as I spun.
I listened to myself pleading for it to stop, begging— "Nononono!" —while lunging back to catch the handtruck against my chest to keep it upright and a hot flush crept up my neck as I watched myself all but hug the hand truck.
The enhanced vision allowed by the enlarging had saved me from having everything spill out across the lobby floor, but at the same time it was a little disorienting and watching myself flail about in real-time did a definite number to my self-esteem.
There were always downsides. Watching yourself look like an idiot just happened to be one of them in this case.
Still holding onto the hand truck— and holding it up —I looked sideways to the open front doors were letting in enough light to illuminate the room and where the now nearly Bastard sized arachnid sat. Watching. Judging me for not being ready while it patiently waited there like some demented pet.
Well, ok, that was a little silly, but that's what it felt like. Their brain hadn't really changed in spite of its exponential enlargement, it'd just gotten bigger with the Green filling in the gaps. However, there was still something about the Whiptail now that I couldn't quite put my finger on...
But regardless, what I did it know was that it had it easy. All it had to carry was the rolled up gurney pad, somewhat intact tablecloths and placemats I hadn't used for packing material, and a few lightweight bits and bobs lashed to its back. A few, maybe ten pounds, max.
Handy though, and I already had a laundry list of things I could use it for, but damn did 'detrimental' not properly convey the problems that came with it. And that's not even taking into account the near debilitating headache I'd gotten immediately after it'd started growing. Definitely not something to do often until I got a better handle on whatever this stuff was.
Oh, saturating it with the Green had worked. It had beyond any expectations I might've had— the Whiptail hadn't exploded for one thing. But the amount of Green wasted in the process meant I could have a dozen Whiptails the size of dinner plates for the price of a single Bastard sized one. Until I refined my control there was simply too much waste for it to be practical, especially as it's up-scaling hadn't done much for its carrying capacity.
A Hercules Beetle on the other hand… Yes, please.
But utility, or lack thereof aside, watching myself in real time while I was watching it was just a little unsettling… and distracting. With a thought, the Whiptail rose up and unfolded its spindly, six-foot legs and scuttled outside to clear debris from the wheelchair ramp.
And watching it awkwardly fit through the doors only emphasized its downsides. The just made the thing a little too awkward to be practical.
Returning to the hand truck at hand I tentatively stepped back and watched the stack of three large, opaque yellow-white plastic food tubs wobbled in place.
Because of course, as much as I'd've liked to simply grab my things and go, the actual act of leaving obviously had to be unnecessarily more complex than that.
My lips thinned into a line and I gave the wobbling stack the stink eye before grabbing the handle as it started leaning a hair too far. Still overbalanced then. The floor didn't help, but it was still overbalanced.
No other choice then.
Stepping close, I wrapped my arm around the top box and pulling it tight to my chest carefully lowered it to the floor. Then repeating the action with the second, I pulled the lids off all three and began shuffling things about.
Really, if it weren't for the fact that I was the one who'd packed the crates, I might have said something was conspiring against me. It was a stupid thing to get caught up on and one I'd overlooked by not taking into account how large a part having two hands would've played in keeping the hand truck stable.
Unfortunately, there were only so many things that could be moved around before the situation called for more drastic measures.
-I-
More than a few minutes later I was rolling my judicially bound bounty down the cleaned up wheelchair ramp. Stopping at the bottom, the Whiptail and I briefly tugged at the cord wound about the tubs and hand truck, and pulling a few knots tighter I half dragged the hand truck through the leaves and loose dirt to the much smoother— if still rather leaf ridden due to the interlacing branches that had grown out overhead —hardpack drive and began the long walk back to the lonely mountain.
The hand truck bumped along behind me as I made my way to the( far brighter(?) main road, its small wheels rolling over the uneven surface along and giving off the occasional squeak that made an oddly comforting addition to the chorus of the jungle's wildlife.
It offset the sound of me just walking by myself… and wasn't that depressing.
But regardless, so long as I didn't dwell on it too deeply I should have a pleasant enough walk with the bird calls and cicadas to keep me... company…
I blinked. Not that being by myself wasn't anything new of course. But… Being alone, with no one around…
Well, not no one. Depending on how I defined 'company' the Whiptail could qualify as a pet of sorts and despite knowing it was there I checked back over my shoulder to visually confirm I was following along behind me. Damn quiet that thing was.
Also not really a pet if I was being honest. What was there though? A dinosaur? I snorted. Well, that would be a bit much. But what about a toad or a snake? There were plenty of those around and a terrarium wouldn't be too difficult all things considered. Although, the glass would be a bit problematic— or I could not make it overly complicated and use one of the tubs once I emptied them out or came back for more.
If not that though… one the opossums I occasionally felt lumbering around the mountain? I knew those could be kept as pets but like the snake, it would have to be found very young if I wanted it to be docile. They had certainly enjoyed eating the little dinosaur after I'd tossed it and the marsupials were scavengers.
Maybe a bird? Nests weren't exactly hard to find so that could work and I'd practically be certainly be spoiled for choice.
The corners of my lips turned up as all too easily I saw myself trying to teach a big red parrot how to speak.
It probably wouldn't even be that hard and having something simple to take care of something would be nice, not to mention having the companionship. Admittedly it'd be responsibility beyond having a goldfish, and one that might make things a bit more difficult depending on what it ate, but… I smiled as the idea gained traction and details came together and let off my flyers to hear the birds a little better.
Not long after I turned onto the main road, though, as the giant gate appeared in the distance, I heard something else among the noises of the jungle. Something other.
Stopping in place I listened and soon enough the sound became more pronounced and a faint, but distinctly rhythmic, "Whoomp-whoomp-whoomp" sound registered. Just barely there over the sounds of the jungle but unmissable now that I'd heard it. I landed my fliers to eliminate their white-noise buzz and listened while quickly readying to stash the hand truck into the jungle and if something big was coming.
However, as quickly as it came I dismissed it as being the footsteps of the giants that lived here; the rhythm of the sound was simply too steady, too... regular, and none of the worms in the ground felt it, even at the edge of my range. I narrowed my eyes. The flyers did feel it, though. It was in the air. Wings? Winged dinosaurs had existed and if those were on the island… I wasn't hard to imagine one dive bombing me from outside my range. That may be a problem, but… No, not wings, they'd have to be ridiculously big if that were the case.
Turning to face the jungle I cocked my head toward the sound as it grew louder, rising in pitch while the "Whoomp-whoomp-whoomp" became more pronounced— heavier, almost concussive, and the same… the exact same. Rhythmic, repetitive and something I'd realized had been noticeably missing since my sabbatical from civilization that made it stand out all the more. It was mechanical.
I blinked as I identified that sound. Definitely not wings then. Or rather, not wings in the conventional sense.
Less than a minute later the fliers at the outer edge of my range were buffeted and scattered about by localized gusts of wind, while at the same time a small number of ants a hundred feet in the air were added. The vibrations I could feel through them cinched it and looked up as the sound of chopper blades became a droning roar and a neon-orange helicopter tore past, flying just above the treetops.
My hair whipped about in the harsh downdraft, getting in my mouth and tousling into a birds nest of knots. I absently combed it back as I turned to track the helicopter, though quickly enough it was out of sight and tracked it through the position of the new additions to the swarm.
I watched as the helicopter's flight path took it directly over the Visitors Center before the ants briefly disappeared from range. Then it must have circled around as it re-appeared, this time going much slower and slowing even further until it was hovering above the overgrown building.
People. Though potentially more important, people not arriving in a tinker-tech craft. Although at the same time that didn't necessarily mean anything.
But still, people, and they went where I'd just come from… because of course.
I breathed in then let it out slowly as I weighed what to do. There were people, but… people.
Did I want to risk exposing myself? Were they aware of the alternate Earths? Did they have parahumans? Had this been one of the thousand world's touched by the fighting or were they spared? Did they know of me? Did they know what I did and what I had to do?
I grimaced and scratched my neck while watching as they continued to hover, albeit while slowly moving around an increasingly large area.
Announce myself to whoever was aboard, hide and watch, or be frozen by indecision until they leave and be left wondering...
"To hell with it," My eyes snapped up to the jungle, seeing through the trees to where the helicopter was hovering. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Dragging the hand truck into the scrub encroaching on the road I propped it against a tree and dove into the jungle.
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