Some quick AN:

gabe. .1997: You have to remember the bullying was going on for a year before Sophia became a ward. Winslow staff just does not care, and it only got worse when she did join. Also shipping died with the boat graveyard which happened before Leviathan. He did not destroy international shipping, as was pointed out to me by someone else.

It was perfect.

The beautiful carpeted floors, the lacquered wooden walls, the darkened interior, optimal temperature conditions for storing paper and, the row upon row of empty bookshelves, ready to be filled. Actually that part wasn't perfect, but soon, soon it would be! To top it all off, I was in very good health! I took in a long, deep breath (afforded the option by my asthma's recession today); the place even smelled like a library. I could live my entire life here. I could spend a hundred years just reading by candle light, getting my meals and more books through Koa.

Well...dad wouldn't be too happy about that. And I guess regular light would be more effective, but it didn't really fit the aesthetic of the place. Eh, that's where magic would fill in the gaps.

This couldn't have been easy to put together. I knew Brockton Bay pretty well, and these old warehouses have been rotting for decades, unused since the time the boat graveyard pretty much killed shipping in the Bay. They would have needed groups of workers to completely redo the whole building. Fix any structural damage, recreate entire sections to my preferences (or at least what they were able to determine my preferences would be through Contessa, damn was her power creepy), and make it habitable for someone to live full time here. Plumbing, cooling, gas, the works. This would have taken at the very least a month or two, which lined up fairly well with when I first came to their notice. Had they really been planning this since they first found out about me? Was this supposed to be a sign of good faith, or something to bribe me with if I wasn't completely on board? Was I over thinking this?

Possibly. All I really knew was that they better have given these jobs to the dockworkers.

Whatever, I could be creeped out by Contessa and angry at their presumptions later. I wasn't going to let anything spoil this moment.

The set up was perfect for my work. While the majority of the room was dominated with bookshelves, a path had been set straight down the center, from the entrance to the far wall, bisecting the library. Tables were interspaced along it, some small some large, but the shining jewel was set directly in the middle. A beautiful, ornate, wooden desk, with a tall, regal chair to sit in. Super comfy too! Pillow backings and everything.

I set a book I had brought with me down on the desk and lay on the floor. God, it was so soft. I could fall asleep on this. I rolled around for a bit, just enjoying this childlike glee. My own place! No one else to bother me, no dad to walk in on me at inappropriate situations, plenty of space to do work and keep all my books right on hand. Perfect. Just perfect.

"Am I interrupting something, Miss Taylor?"

I froze, and slowly floated off the floor into a standing position. During my inspection of my new home, Koa had stepped through the portal carrying boxes overflowing with books, tomes, diaries, and journals. I really couldn't choose which books to leave at the house and which to take with me, so I considered it wisest to take everything. I'm sure dad would be happy with a little less clutter, and if I ever needed a specific book or three while at home, well that was why I had Koa on call. She could hop between dimensions as quick as could be.

"Hello Koa. No, I was just...testing out the durability of our floor. Lots of different things that needed to be determined about my library. Plenty of variables."

"Of course Miss Taylor, of course." Koa walked over to the closest table and set the box down. She took a look around before letting out a long whistle. "Wow, Lexi really set us up."

"Lexi?"

"Now, now Miss Taylor, I can't let you know all my secrets. A succubus doesn't kiss and tell." She said with a dramatic gesture and wink.

Well that was just a straight out lie. I had heard more about her torrid affairs through the ages than I had ever been interested in knowing.

"I highly doubt Alexandria would be interested in anything like that, especially with you. Last I saw, she escaped your clutches after the books I enchanted put a stop to your...advances." Let Koa sit on that thought for a while. Perhaps with a worry of books attacking her at any lewd comment that comes out of her mouth, she might cut down on them. Not likely, but the hope was there. Besides, it wasn't exactly a lie; I had enchanted those books, just not with a cease-and-desist function. "Once you're done moving the boxes through the portal, be sure to sort by type and then alphabetize from there. Then start filling up the bookshelves. I want this place to look its best as fast as possible. This is going to be our base of operations after all."

Yukari had pulled through and gotten a portal in place by this morning. I had a feeling she could have set up the portal during our meeting, but chose to do it while I was asleep just to be a creep. Maybe a subtle way of saying not to mess around with her, maybe a show of strength to let me know how easy it would be for her to get revenge if I decided to double cross her. Whatever, I owed the gap demon a few favors and I wasn't going to renege on that.

I could worry about the subtleties of magical politics later, I had more important things to focus on. There was so much to do in this new world, I just didn't know where to begin. Luckily, Alexandria had left me a list, either anticipating how scatter brained I would be, or worried I wouldn't bother to deal with the more pressing matters without some prodding. Both worries with some credence to them. Apparently she had been busy yesterday, because there was a ton of stuff she thought I needed to get done, all outlined in detail with her thoughts on the matter included for reference.

First of all registering with the local justice league, the protectorate, was probably a good idea. I still needed to start looking up laws and figuring out what was and wasn't fine with the local populace. Witch hunts had continued up until not that long ago, if you consider the average life span of a magician. Hopefully they had a helpful pamphlet or two to get me acquainted with what laws I shouldn't be breaking and which ones I could as long as I didn't cause too much of a fuss. I also needed to grab some money form the brand spanking new bank account made for my superhero identity, continue with some research, get through a few books that have been sitting on the backburner, start browsing the local PHO forum (what are the odds? This one even had real life superheroes on it!), find out the local groups of heroes and villains and get acquainted with whatever history happened since Scion showed up.

As you could guess, that list was composed in the order I was planning on doing them. I wasn't really interested in trudging through some boring textbooks on World Politics, even if they did mention an epic battle between superheroes, capes or parahumans as they called them here. Perhaps I'd have Koa plow through a few and then write down the important bits.

With a careful note on what I would classify as important. I wasn't making that mistake again.

Another important note: apparently this world had people who could heal injuries. That little tidbit at the bottom caught my attention rather quickly. Alexandria had already sent off a letter to this woman, Panacea (clever name, very subtle), who I could get in contact with to arrange a doctor's visit and hopefully deal with some of my chronic illnesses. Normally this would be bumped up to the top of my list, but I was feeling particularly well today. I would make note of it. Something to remember on one of my worse days.

In more long term goals, I needed to schedule a meeting with a cape up in Chicago as soon as possible, see if we could work together to synergize our powers. I had hopes for this sort of thing; the powers these capes had seemed odd and out of tune with the world around them. I really wanted to begin studying, figure out what made them tick. Get a better grasp on what they could do and how best to augment, understand and mimic their effects using my own magic. For some reason she wanted me to get in touch with this man in particular; I'm sure she had a good reason and I hoped he would be fertile ground to start my research on.

That same basic set up was the majority of the long term projects recommended for me, at least the ones that didn't involve things I had already been working on before Alexandria's visit. Speaking with a few parahumans here and there to see if my power could help or synergize well with theirs. Perhaps attempt to find ways magic could work right alongside superpowers. It was an intriguing concept, completely undocumented as far as I was aware and the research opportunities called to me like a long lost lover. A field I could really make my mark on, using magical theory on abilities that could lead to unprecedented results and entirely new spells!

But I was getting ahead of myself. Before I got into all that I still needed to do some chores, get everything sorted out. And I was going to finally get to do something I'd yearned for ever since I'd learned my first levitation spell.

I was going to fly.

-

I put on my costume, which was just barely that. I had gotten a surgical mask that covered most of my face and a mob cap that matched my dress (nightgown as Koa put it). Clark Kent eat your heart out. Koa had been good today so I allowed her to accompany me on my outing. Her costume was worse than mine; she wore a similar face mask (look, it was all I could afford with what I had in my wallet) and that was it. Although she made no attempt to hide her wings, which I guess counted as a costume.

Now that I thought about it, her human appearance was more a costume than the reality of what she was. She had more in common with Clark Kent than me, having to take on an alternate persona in order to fit in with the every-man. Ugh, never mind, I was getting distracted. I could worry about this existential nonsense later. Without much delay we were off, flying over my fair city.

Bizarro-Brockton was not what I expected.

I guess I wasn't really sure what I was expecting. Maybe people flying through the sky or giant battles happening downtown, anything to really set it up as Bizarro-world, but not that much was different. I mean, this was my city. This was Brockton Bay. The library, the boardwalk, the Medhall building, hell they even had Fugly Bobs. Everything was so eerily similar that I could almost forget I was in a whole other world. There were just a couple things separating this from the Brockton Bay I knew and loved.

For one, it didn't have a Taylor Hebert until a few hours ago.

For the second, there were a bunch of weirdos in silly costumes running around, fighting each other. Maybe not on as grand a scale as I would have liked, but they were there. I guess that remark could also be applied to my world, but the weirdos there were wearing wizard robes and medieval armor, not masks and spandex. Completely different.

It was like a painting of a scene compared to a photo. For all the similarities, it was a skewed copy of the original. The area just seemed more run down, more decrepit. This was the stark difference between a city that was slowly dying and one that had already passed and just hadn't had the decency to lay down and rest. Everyone was hunched just a little bit lower, the weight of the world just that much more of a burden. Their worries so deep, that they had begun to manifest in how the populace held themselves. The worse areas were much, much worse, and the rich areas only stood out as a greater contrast.

I guess it was a bit harder to root out gangs when the Red Skull and his legion of Neo-Nazis were messing up the city. And I had also heard something about a dragon, a real life dragon running a gang! I wasn't too sure on the details, I really needed to look up some more things about the state of this world's Brockton Bay.

I was honestly kind of surprised I was allowed to just move in without some long talk on responsibilities or who to watch out for. I guess they would want me performing and working where I would be the most comfortable, but Brockton was a shithole even before you got supervillain gangs involved.

Or perhaps they thought having me reminded every day of what I was fighting for would be a good way to keep me focused. Well, I have to admit, it was working. The stakes were made a little more apparent, a little more real, when it was your own city dying in front of you, rather than just a number listed at you. I was starting to see why Alexandria, who was apparently a pretty big deal here, would come out to some random girl's house on a different reality just off the hope she could do something, anything, to help.

Well they didn't need to worry, their trust was in good hands.

I would be getting to work just as soon as I was done strafing the downtown skyline.

Ok look, I realize I had a lot of things to get started on but all work and no play makes jack a dull boy. Sure, I could be getting in contact with the "protectorate" or start researching the minute differences in magical potential here, but this was something I could never do on my world. A lot of magical acts could be covered up, have the general populace convinced they were tricks or that there must be some other explanation, but no one could mistake a person flying through the air. Newspapers would get wind of it, other magic users would start asking questions, and I would get in a ton of trouble.

Here though, I was just a new cape. The skies were mine and let me tell you, there is nothing more relaxing than soaring through the clouds, looking down on the average man, the wind in your face, the sun overhead.

This was freedom.

My method of levitation wasn't well suited to traveling fast, but the leisurely pace I got around the city was good enough for me, and far faster than walking. I didn't need to break the speed of sound to have some fun; if distance was a problem, that's what portals were for.

My fun little trip ended quicker than I would have liked. Well, maybe that was for the best. It was all well and good to fly around, but I did need to get registered before the wrong person started asking questions. I didn't know if I needed a flyers permit, or some equally obnoxious bureaucratic nonsene, to fly around the city. With the lay of the land thoroughly mapped out (another reason to bring Koa, once she knew something she knew it) the two of us stopped at our first destination: the Brockton Bay Central Bank.

Also something to keep in mind for later ventures: apparently a cape floating down out of the sky is akin to a celebrity pulling up in a limo. People were pulling out phones and recording us before we even landed and, while no one seemed brave enough to come up and harass us for autographs, we had a group of people following after us. Was this what I was going to have to put up with every time I came out for a little bit of money? Next time I am coming out as Taylor. What do I care; my dad was at work in a whole different dimension. This costume stuff was more humoring Alexandria more than to conceal my secret identity.

It only got worse when we entered the bank.

Now apparently, if you walk into a bank with masks on the security thinks that you're some kind of threat. Especially when it is obvious that one of you isn't quite normal or human. Absurd, I know, but easily resolved. A quick chat with a man, gun at the ready for all the good it would do against Koa, and we got in line for a teller.

Someone else in this super-secret organization called the Number Man had set up an account for me. He had opted for my superhero persona possessing the money because at the moment my real life identity didn't exist. They were still working on getting together a passable ID and forging documents for me. Still, I wanted to check out how much money they had seen fit to send me. I needed to buy groceries, and maybe a book or two. I'm sure an interesting new world like this would have a few books worth checking out. I was hoping for enough money to afford groceries and other amenities for a few months. I was wrong.

To put it simply, I was loaded.

Well maybe not loaded, loaded, but I had enough money to last me a damn long time. Enough to not bother myself with looking for a job or having Koa sell gold illegally through pawn store owners she charms. I could even have her stop robbing gang members now!

I should keep that in mind, something else I would have to check the legality of when we got signed up.

I withdrew enough money to last us through the month and we headed out. The next step on our outing indeterminate. While finding this Panacea sounded like a good plan for long term health benefits, I also didn't want to find myself on the wrong side of the law. Sure, Alexandria could fix any legal trouble I ran into, but it would leave a bad first impression to the local superheroes. I didn't want a stain on my career already and it would be a little difficult to move that whole library to a more understanding city. Koa swerved around a rather mousy girl in a hood as we made a route for the exit. Yes, getting registered was probably the best way to go forward.

Just as we passed through the door and began walking outside, a vicious series of barks emitted from the back of the bank. Koa and I moved just a little bit faster, attempting to ignore the noises. I knew the same thought was running through our heads; dogs had the ability to sense evil and Koa wasn't anywhere close to a "good" alignment. Setting off a bunch of security dogs could be embarrassing and tie us up for a little bit. Definitely longer than the chat about our costumes.

Maybe if we played it off as discrimination…

I took a glance back to see if anyone was following us, but no, the door remained shut. I also noticed the windows were covered in a black sheen, some darkness that made it impossible to see what was going on inside. Ok, well, that certainly didn't seem normal. Koa took a look too, the two of us looked at each other, and then we continued walking. We rounded a corner and decided to have a quick discussion.

"I'm going to be really busy today." I noted to Koa. I should point out that I noted this fact, I did not whine.

"It's not our problem, we aren't even sure what that might have been." She said back to me.

I nodded along. "Right, that could have been anything. Maybe we just misheard what was going on."

"I believe those windows were like that when we walked in. Some tinted windows, a few dogs barking and we're acting like the bank is getting robbed."

"You're right, it's just some nerves. Makes sense after they stopped us like that."

Morals sufficiently secured, we lifted off and headed to the second stop of our day: the protectorate headquarters. Then, after twenty minutes circling around the force field, and ten minutes speaking with a security guard at the beach-front checkpoint, we were off to the PRT headquarters.

Seriously, how was I supposed to know where to sign up? The giant blue beacon seemed like a pretty obvious hall of justice.

The PRT building was located after a bit of flying (surprisingly it was the building with the giant PRT logo on it) and we found our way inside. I had a nice conversation with a woman at a desk who, after a few concerned smiles at some of my questions, handed us a bunch of paperwork to register with the protectorate and a series of pamphlets to help condense the ideas contained in the reams of paperwork down into something almost understandable. The stack looked much more intimidating than it really was, especially since it was effectively doubled, having to register two parahumans.

I had decided to register Koa as a Case 53. It had been the only option outlined by Alexandria's letter that seemed sensible. Koa's anatomy wasn't truly human and anyone who took a look deeper than a cursory glance would realize her body should not function the way that it does. There are very few non-Case 53s who have such a messed up biology beyond their control, so it seemed a smart move to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. It also might help explain her lack of family and general inability to conform to normal human interaction (at least I hoped it would). As well, if I had gone for the other option, admitting she was a projection created by me, than I would be the one held accountable for any shenanigans she got herself into. Hahaha, no. That was not happening. Koa was now a Case 53 I had found shortly after I had triggered, and made good friends with.

A quick glance through the paperwork showed it outlined laws, benefits of signing with the protectorate, different ways in which we were required to work with law enforcement, and a number of ways we would and would not be held accountable for breaking laws, fighting, or using our powers. It was horrendous to look at and was almost as bad as the paperwork I had Koa sign during our first interaction.

Speaking of that…

I gave Koa a look, then looked back at the papers, gave Koa a look, then looked back at the papers. It took her a moment, but she begun to realize what thought was running through my head.

"Miss Taylor, please, no. I swear, I'll be good for a whole week. Please don't make me do this." Her eyes darted to the paperwork and back to my face, crocodile tears leaking out. She clasped her hands under her chin, attempting to look as pitiful as possible. "I couldn't even get through the contract you made me sign, please I'm begging you, don't make me do this."

Unfortunately for Koa, I still remembered the shower prank she had pulled on me last week.

I showed no mercy.

Koa spent several hours wiping away tears, complaining to herself and browsing through complex legalese, while I read through a few books I had brought with me. It never hurt to be prepared, and I was well enough to carry them around. We kept getting the odd look every time someone new entered the building but it wore off pretty quickly. I assume, unlike with the bank, masked heroes were much more common here than just waltzing around in everyday life.

The odd looks were really the only things I noticed, before I got too caught up in my book. It was just theory, nothing as concrete as some of my other spell books, but the ideas! Synthesizing elements in order to empower an attack between the two. Well obviously I knew of that, the elements were a pentagram for a reason; one element contributed to another while weakening a third. But combining different elements, elements that should be incompatible! Combining more than two different elements into one attack! No, I couldn't bother to pay attention to what was happening around me. In fact, it took several different pokes, shakes, and a few yells of "Miss Taylor!" before I realized several hours had passed since we first sat down.

By the time I finally looked up, the paperwork had completed itself. "Good work Koa," I said to the bedraggled succubus. She just offered a low shuddering moan in return (the pained, heartbroken kind).

I gathered up the assorted forms, did a quick check to make sure they had all been properly filled out, and headed up to the woman at the front desk. It was a different woman this time, which just goes to show how long I had been engrossed in my studies, but she had apparently been briefed on our reason for being there. Or at least deduced it on her own after I handed the paperwork to her. We exchanged a few short words but there wasn't really much left for us to do here. Not unless I wanted to meet one of the higher-ups, which I did not. I still had a library to furnish and a book to finish.

"Alright Koa, I think it's time to head ho-." I cut myself off. I was talking to no one; my succubus was missing.

Luckily, a quick scan of the room located her; there weren't that many people walking around with two pairs of devil wings. One problem solved; new problem, she was talking to someone in blue power armor. I was pretty sure the man had to be important and was entirely sure he was a super hero; I didn't see any of the other soldiers in the room wearing something nearly as intricate or eyecatching as what he had.

God, she was like a child: acting out when you made her do chores. I hurried over, dread growing as I caught the middle of whatever conversation she had managed to draw this man into. Koa was running her hands through her hair, curling it into little rings at the bottom.

"So that's a nice weapon you have there, long, hard and...durable."

The man just scowled, attempting to move around her, towards the elevator she was standing in front of. She just strafed with him. "Yes, my halberd comes equipped with a number of different tools and functions to suit the various needs I have while patrolling the city. It also must have a high durability in order to be combat effective towards parahumans with brute ratings."

I wasn't sure whether he was trying to act incredulous towards her obvious advances or hoped being boring would drive her away. A pathetic attempt at best. Koa would not be so easily subdued. The only way I had found to combat her remarks was to ignore everything she said, and even that had a partial success rate.

"Mmm, well I'm always interested in big, long weapons wielded by nice, strong men."

Throughout the short snippets of conversation the man's frown only got worse and worse. I really hoped he did not have a girlfriend; a super powered lover out for Koa's head would not end well.

"If you continue blocking me, you might find out how effective I can wield it."

"Oooo, how forward~. Well if you're ever looking for a sheath to-ahhhhh!"

I had decided to intervene by grabbing Koa's ear and pulling her down to my level. Now admittedly that wasn't that much shorter than her normal height, but when someone grabs your ear and pulls it, they really do grab your attention.

"I apologize!" I spoke promptly and loudly, sure to get my voice over Koa's annoyed screech of pained surprise. "I hope my associate has not been bothering you Mr…"

"Armsmaster." Asking his name seemed to have only made him angrier, which I hadn't thought possible. His scowl just seemed to become more intense. It was a little hard to tell, he was continuing the trend of helmets covering almost the entire face, but I knew, I just instinctively knew, he wasn't happy.

"Yes, Armsmaster, I am very sorry. I hope she did not interrupt anything important. Koa. We are leaving. Now."

"Aww really Miss Taylor?" My face accepted no rebukes. "Alright then, I'll see you around later hunk." She said with a few winks and nudges to the ribs.

I offered Armsmaster a series of apologies before dragging Koa off towards the exit, her pleas to release her ear from my grasp firmly ignored. He didn't move, didn't even nod, just stood stoically, watching the two of us walk off. His frown did not alleviate by an inch. Not until we were almost out the door did he finally let out a sigh, pronouncing his judgment on Koa.

"At least she isn't worse than Mouse Protector."