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Brockton Bay II

Taylor Hebert is a shy and awkward teenager. And like most shy and awkward teenagers, she was being bullied in her school. The bullying got to the point where she was trapped in a locker filled with filth—causing her to trigger. Of course, as if to jest with her, the power she gained was the control of bugs. However, Taylor has a fire in her—the desire to become a hero. With that, a bullied teen gained superpowers and aspires to be a hero.

And that would have been fine, had it been not her; for she is destined for great things. Which is why she had the fortune – or misfortune, according to most – of stumbling upon Lung and his people from the Azn Bad Boys, one of the local gangs in Brockton Bay, in her debut. Originally, she had only planned to monitor their conversation, perhaps report it to the local Protectorate team if something happened. However, that changed when she heard something that made her blood run cold.

"...the children, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot." said Lung. "You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?"

Those following the dragon agreed to his demands. And that prompted Taylor to use her insects to move. She commanded her insect host to attack the tattooed form of Lung, keeping back those that are particularly venomous. Their assault towards his face and crotch had angered Lung, and he had summoned forth flames to burn them away.

This only made Taylor more determined, however, and she kept her bugs on the assault. That proved to be futile, however, as Lung started ramping up his own power. He exploded and fire was set into the vicinity, killing much of the swarm; in addition, metal scales had already started to grow out of his skin. And so, Taylor had to be more creative: with the other insects as a distraction, she focused on a wasp and maneuvered it to blind Lung.

Another explosion, and more fell to Lung's flames of rage.

Once more, Taylor tried the same tactic. This time, with a honeybee. She succeeded, but at the same time, it made her quest harder, as Lung responded by setting himself on fire. And he started to transform further. Taylor opted to retreat, but the sound of her footstep alerted the dragon. He heard it as clear as day, and he turned towards her.

With a roar, he jumped towards her, reaching the building Taylor was hiding in. Soon enough, he reached her position, and she had to use pepper spray to blind him. Using the fire escape, she escaped down on to the streets, but Lung, even with his blindness, was able to follow her. Even so, this is rather lucky of her, as she has escaped the cramped arena. However, the streets left her exposed, which is why she started running as fast as she could.

And then suddenly, one of the most surreal things Taylor will ever experience in her life happened. A muscular crying long haired boy about five years old wearing nothing but a headband came roaring a challenge to the beast of metal and fire chasing after her. The tears flowing down the boys face turned into large balls and flew towards Lung, and contrary to Taylor's expectations, the tears had an effect on Lung.

"I deem you guilty, foul beast!" shouted the boy. "Feel the wrath of a Judge of Israel!"

In response, Lung roared, and let out a blast of fire towards the boy. Taylor tried to help him, but was tackled into the ground by a black and white cat. It meowed at her and motioned to an alleyway, it seemed to be telling her to escape. However, she can't do that when a young child is fighting on her behalf.

Said child laughed uproariously as his skin reddened. He yelled, "Wounds and pain only serve to strengthen me, monster! Come, my friend! Let us show this beast our power!"

The cat meowed to him, as if agreeing with his statement. Then, it hissed at Lung before spitting out a hairball. Said hairball was then thrown by the cat towards Lung and blue flies started to appear from somewhere. The boy, the cat, and the flies faced Lung without fear and fought with all their might. Seeing this, Taylor, too, entered the fray once more.

This time, she did not hold back. The now blood red child and the cat fought fiercely against the dragon. She has realized that this is how she should fight in order to defeat him. And so, she had called forth as many insects as she could. With the great swarm, she renewed her assault on Lung.

Unlike before, her efforts have been rewarded. The child's now bloody tears kept dousing Lung's flames and the cat and its blue flies kept the transformed man distracted. This allowed Taylor's stinging insects to inject their venom into him. And that has slowed down the being of fire and metal.

However, that didn't really stop him. And he kept ramping up. Yet, despite growing stronger, he was no longer able to hit the child, and the cat's agility made it so that it was never hit to begin with. Taylor, however, is not as agile as them, and had to fight from far away. Even so, the battle of attrition is starting to tire her.

Then, a midnight blue and silver cape arrived on a tinkertech motorcycle of the same theme. Like a modern-day knight, he charged at Lung with his halberd couched. He was too fast and the venom has affected Lung too much. And so, his halberd struck true and the dragon slumped into a heap.

Vans then started arriving and people dismounted from them. They secured Lung while the knight went to Taylor, the child, and the cat. He frowned when he had a good look at the blood-red child. Though he got taken aback when the boy addressed him.

"You! You stole my kill!" yelled the child while pointing at him. The cat beside him also hissed at him.

"W-wait, don't fight him. He's Armsmaster, a hero," said Taylor to the boy.

"Yeah, and I'm the Judge of the Lord's people!" replied the boy. Then, a voice entered his ears.

"Samson, don't fight," said Isaac. "I think they just want to talk."

He growled and yelled, "Bah! Fine. You win this time, knight!"

Then, before their eyes the child transformed. Gone are his long hair and headband, and his skin is no longer crimson and his muscles are no longer as defined as before. Now, standing before them is no longer Samson the Judge of Israel, but rather Isaac, the Sacrifice, the Boy of Change.

"Hello," he politely greeted the two older humans. "My name's Isaac Moriah, five years old. U-um... I-I don't know where I am."