Will the real Taylor Hebert please stand up?
chapter 13
I heard Taylor make the comment, but it took a moment for the statement to process. Naturally, I went to full panic mode immediately.
Naturally, it was too late.
I knew damn well what a god of mischief could do with a wish like that. Even those lizard-people had known that and they'd only been there a couple of minutes at most.
* Brockton Bay General Hospital, June 13 1995 *
"It's a boy."
Opening eyes to a blurry world, I immediately realized what had just happened. Nor was I happy at all about this turn of events. I tried to form the word "cancel" and then "exit" but apparently I was reduced to baby noises.
This was going to be a long and frustrating reset, wasn't it?
* Docks, Brockton Bay, June 14 2006 *
"18, 19, 20..."
Being trapped in a young body, unable to access any of the at-the-time hard-won abilities or even the draconic things that were literally a part of me that had been added later, was like being in a prison of flesh.
Still, there were things that I could do.
"31, 32, 33, 34..."
And there had been the Hephaestus-designed Universal Interface that did something like out of a computer role-playing game. It was designed to manage inventory, keep track of general health and abilities, allow for private messaging (primarily in-universe for coordinating with other operatives), analyze situations to a limited degree, and allow even an unofficial volunteer group of celestially-based agents to have a chance of success in helping the natives of a society to saving lives and doing good.
"45, 46, 47, 48..."
I couldn't do my goal yet, physically couldn't get there at this stage of physical development. Which was one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a 10km run every day. Ares, who isn't always as bad as he is usually portrayed, heard about One Punch Man and became a big fan of the series. He got everyone who would listen to partake in that kind of exercise, and I'd done that prior to becoming a dragon while working with Hephaestus. After I became a dragon, things had gotten too easy and I had to increase things.
"50. Next sit-ups."
I was six years old. A very precocious six year old, but as a relatively normal human I was stuck with human limits. At least where I couldn't cheat a bit.
The Docks were a safe place with the rioting going on, there were enough tough guys around that the rioters weren't likely to show up and start burning things down.
Two very large guys were watching over me during my morning work-out, calling out pointers occasionally showing me moves because I was seen as the son of the Boss who was trying to learn self-protection.
I was cheating, of course. I couldn't do much, but just access to first-order spells included a Cure Wounds that took care of any overindulging in exercise issues that would have been the envy of a lot of physical therapists.
I was careful of not doing anything too obvious. It amused my parents that even though neither of them were religious, that their son prayed in the morning and at night. That said, I couldn't help but be a bit odd and a fast learner.
Danny on more than one occasion would give me a look that he at least suspected something was off about me.
And yes, I was definitely Taylor Hebert and I was definitely a boy-version of Taylor Hebert. There was no immediate hitting-it-off when an equally young Emma Barnes was introduced to me because boys were icky in young Emma's summation.
There were things different from my first life, the last time I'd lived a life that was entirely human. More than just having access to first-level white-mage spells.
"Taylor?" asked my father, leading a couple of strange men in suits my way. "These nice people are here to talk to you."
My gaze fell upon the badges and I frowned. Apparently just trying to be physically fit and spiritually centered was sufficient to draw the PRT to me. Even with the city having riots going on.
This was not an ideal situation.
* Hebert Household, June 15 2001 *
Annette and Danny Hebert looked at their son, then down at the report on the table in front of them.
"'Corona Pollentia, not present. No indication of Gemma. So, not a parahuman and not governed by PRT authority.'" Danny looked puzzled but slightly relieved.
"We have questions," said Annette Hebert. "How?"
"Ah," I said. "I had really hoped to put this conversation off until I was much older."
My parents, at least in this timeline, exchanged a look.
"How familiar are you with the concept of reincarnation?" I asked, not even bothering to try and act my physical age. Obviously, my attempts at THAT had failed already.
"That's where you reveal that you're the prince of some ancient kingdom or something, right?" asked Danny, a certain amount of sarcasm in his tone.
"No, that's Shirley McLaine, I think," I answered. "I've never been a prince of Atlantis or something similar. More a dirt farmer in pre-revolution France. A blacksmith in Warring-States China. A priest who died in the sacking of Rome in 1527. Roman soldier. Babylonian cabbage farmer and seller. And others. Sorry about this."
Both my parents stared for a moment before Annette spoke. "Well, I've wondered why everyone who remembers being reincarnated was royalty or some important figure."
I shrugged. "Memories are stored in the brain normally, which is part of the flesh. Trying to remember events from a previous life is like trying to play a song without any record of it other than the idea of music. Except in very specific cases."
"Like you," said Danny. "Are you our son?"
"Yes," I said. "I am, here and now, your son Taylor Hebert. I just remember living other lives. Having other skills and talents. Also knowing that this is a world with dangers that others didn't have."
"Parahumans," said Danny.
"Exactly," I said. "Being fit means being able to run away when I need to. Among other things."
"Among what things?" asked Annette, obvious from her expression that she felt she was halfway down the rabbit hole already.
* CAULDRON HQ *
"How can that child have NO Corona Pollentia, and WHY do all of our Thinkers have such reactions when observing him?" asked Rebecca Costa-Brown as she glanced over the reports.
"Path to Victory... there. Still zeroing in on the child of Annette and Daniel Hebert," reported Contessa. "But flashing to other things as well. The path is uncertain. Perhaps because of his age. And why do I get the feeling that the universe is smirking at me?"
"Right now he's a potential point on the path?" asked Eidolon.
Doctor Mother hmmmed briefly. "There are some anomalies on the initial DNA testing. Also a bit low on heartrate and high on oximetry. I'll have more answers by the end of the week."
Rebecca Costa-Brown frowned slightly but decided she had bigger problems to address at this point. "On to this new cape in Pungo in Virginia. What do we know of this 'Bombshell'?"
"Doctor Madblood, that's a radio DJ turned TV horror movie host turned Tinker specializing in mechanical bio-enhancement, was injured by Bombshell on Saturday when she decided to make her debut by attacking the studio he was recording a comedy skit," said the technician. "Bombshell is a former stripper who seems to get stronger and more invulnerable the less she wears..."
"Powers are bullshit," grumbled Rebecca Costa-Brown.
* Hebert Household, May 9 2005 *
The water going out had shifted the Ship Graveyard a bit, but it was the storm surge that followed that really caused problems.
Pictures on CNN showed the devastation as Leviathan destroyed Newfoundland, and the names of the capes who had died scrolled past on the bottom of the screen. There were a lot of names.
Bonedancer - dead. Xilbong - dead. Earthmover V - down. Bogdog - dead. Lycanine - down. Roguespierre - dead. Pewpew - dead. Wayward Son - MIA. Jaegernaut - down. Krispy - dead. Triplicate Man - down, down, down. Spurt - dead. Razorbeam - dead. Righteous Roundhouse - dead.
Danny stirred on the couch. "That's depressing."
Elfwitch - down. Luckyshot - down. Ibis - dead. Backdraft - down. Wizbang - dead. Raygirl - dead. Sabra - dead. Skitzo - dead. Victorian - dead. Steampunk Willy - down. Treeman - down. Lumberjill - dead. Nitro-Ginny - down. Chemicole - dead. Dermot - down.
"Wasn't Steampunk Willy that Tinker from Texas specializing in steam engines? Isn't he a little underpowered for something like this?" asked Annette.
"He was partnered with Victorian, I think, there was a piece on the complicated relations between heroes on different teams," said Danny. "I think that was one of the pairs. So was Righteous Roundhouse and Wizbang if I recall."
"Right, Victorian was the one in the corset," said Annette. "He wore it well."
Lazarus - dead... correction - down. Doctor Madblood - down. Stimulant - dead. Hentai Girl - down. Winsome - dead. Microburst - dead. Railgun - down. Lil' Shoggoth - down. Tomodachi - dead. Kenny - dead. Shotgun Sally - dead. Pangolin - dead. Howitzer - down.
"Street's flooded," said Annette as she checked outside the window.
"I'm pretty sure the Docks will have some further damage," said Danny, not looking forward to the cleanup.
Voltstrider - dead. John Steed - down. Rumtum Tiger - dead. Velociraptor - dead. Duskrunner - dead. Storm Knight - dead. Black Rook - dead. Panzerclaw - dead. Virgo - dead. Cajun Queen - dead. Mister Whipple - dead. Lumpkin - dead.
Taylor stirred, twitching every so often when the battle became even more one-sided than it usually did.
"Wait, what?" asked Danny as Taylor abruptly seemed to glow.
When the image on the TV screen flickered and changed, and the music started playing, he exchanged a look with Annette and knew that things were getting even more complicated.
* Taylor *
I knew the song, of course. It was the "Velvet Room" theme from the Persona series, or "Aria of the Soul" by its title. I knew the thing that looked superficially like Igor from the same location and series, it was Toltiir of course. Neither the cat nor the Igor were really its form as it didn't really have a form in the normal four-dimensional sense.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room," said the image on the screen. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance."
I didn't correct him as sometimes, a lot of times actually, the wisest course was to let the Elder Reality-Warping Entity have its fun. As both of my this-timeline parents were apparently going to be let in on this, I was also a bit curious as to what was going on.
Igor-image continued. "This place exists between Dream and Reality, Mind and Matter."
"It's our living room," token-protested Annette.
Igor sighed as things went off-script. "Look out the window."
Annette got up, looked out the window, turned almost chalk-white, and much more unsteadily made her way back to the chair.
"May I continue? I have a whole speech here," said Igor.
I got up, looked outside, confirmed it was n-dimensional space that the nice worldwalker had described as the Blind Eternities and then sat back down on the carpet. "No. I get the gist of it. You're not the usual bestower of superpowers around here but you're getting ready to do something along those lines, right?"
"Essentially," said Igor with a grin.
I nodded. This was just a temporary, throw-away, timeline - probably waiting for the real Taylor to say that she was cancelling it and it would be reset. Might as well see if I could finagle superpowers for the parents while I was at it.
"Done," said Igor.
"What was done?" asked Danny, a bit concerned as both he and his wife were now wearing costumes. As his included a black fedora, black gloves, and a black trenchcoat that he thought looked pretty good on him - he was hoping it was just the clothing and he'd get to keep them.
"You now qualify for a Stranger-8 rating," said Igor. "You can go unseen, unheard, unsmelt - vanishing and reappearing at will as you travel through shadows."
"WHAT am I wearing?" asked Annette Hebert.
"Magical girl costume," answered Igor.
"No," said Annette Hebert.
"No?" queried Igor.
"It looks like a figure-skater outfit, which is fine if you're a figure-skater or very young, this is NOT me. I'm an English professor. Not Sailor Moon."
"Fine," said Igor as her outfit changed to something more professional. "How about improbable aiming skills?"
"Like throwing a piece of chalk at a sleeping student?" asked Annette. "That I can find uses for."
"Now we get to you, young Taylor," said Igor. "The main reason I'm here. Prepare for YOUR destiny."
"Okay," I said, hoping that this wasn't going to be lame.
"So, sign here," said Igor, flipping a scroll out of the TV.
"This looks like a Naruto summoning contract," I pointed out as I unrolled it and looked it over.
"Basically," admitted Igor. "I found a Naruto-type universe where there were dragons instead of toads and went with that."
"Because dragon-ninja are even better than toad-ninja," I guessed.
"And dragon-samurai, dragon-artificers, dragon-wizards, and so on," confirmed Igor's image.
I cocked my head to the side. Rule of Cool was something I could get behind. "Naturally, I need to spend time in the dragon's realm in order to learn some of their techniques?"
"Any dragon dockworkers?" joked Danny.
"Sure, have fun," said Igor as I finished signing my name. Or at least my name in this universe.
* PRT ENE HQ, February 12 2011 *
The little coffee maker ground and dripped and was preparing a nice cup to help start a day of boredom and frustration and anger management issues. Emily Piggot looked out the window as she let the coffee machine do its thing, her e-mails for the day stacking up as the various security options went over the accumulated crap, and the very early morning events play out their usual order.
Through the window she could see the sun rising, the streets beginning their early morning congestion as cars began their usual migration, and the flapping in the distance of large leathern wings over the Docks. Everything she usually...
Wait. What?
The intercom crackled. "Director? We have reports of..."
Now looking with a pair of binoculars, Director Emily Piggot interrupted. "Dragons."
"Yes, Maam."
"When Armsmaster..." Emily Piggot stopped, considered, and changed her mind. "Is Miss Militia present? I think she might be the better choice to investigate."
"I think Armsmaster is already en route," came the voice over the intercom.
"Get Miss Militia en route as soon as she's available, she at least has the concept of diplomacy down. Armsmaster is liable to be... Armsmaster."
* Docks *
"It's entirely legal, they've got green cards and joined the Union," explained Danny Hebert.
Armsmaster looked at the two muscular humanoid dragons that were apparently working. Both of whom were wearing safety vests that had been modified with fasteners and extra openings for the wings. "But..."
"Emerald, need you to move some equipment over at bay six," said a large darkskinned dockworker.
One of the dragons nodded and set a small ornamental tree into a pot. "Be right there."
"Lavender, can you give me a lift to some of these ships? I got to inspect and tag them."
"Sure, let me just finish up here," said the light-purple dragon.
"Named for their coloration?" asked Armsmaster.
"They can speak our language plus their own, but as their language is hard for humans to pronounce - they choose their color as their name for human language purposes," said Danny. "Without the colors, it's harder to tell them apart."
Armsmaster looked from one dragon to another and noticed that one had more horn-like spikes at several places on their body while the other had thicker-looking scales. He decided not to comment.
"The little dragons... are basically dogs, if you excuse the wings and fire breath and chameleon kind of blending with the background thing," said Danny. "Still waiting for paperwork to get back regarding exotic pet licensure though. May have to make a few calls."
Armsmaster cycled his visor through some different wavelengths and noticed two such creatures riding around on shoulders in the dockyard. Itty bitty dragons. Once he knew where they were, he could spot them fairly easily. He wanted one immediately. That he could outfit with a little camera and forcefield vest to provide aerial support.
"The beauty of those though is that they're empaths and they can shield their owners from mental intrusions," said Danny Hebert. "I expect if we can get the paperwork done they'll be really popular."
Armsmaster blinked and regarded the creatures again before his head snapped back to stare at the Dockworker's negotiator. "They do what?"
* Brockton Bay ENE HQ, later *
"They do what?" asked Director Piggot.
Armsmaster read off the copy of the application for the exotic animal import/ownership. "Block Master effects for their owner. They also apparently sense emotions and react to them."
"They'll need to be tested, lots of testing," said Director Piggot. "Did you find out anything about the HOW and the WHY of these various dragons appearing?"
"Apparently Taylor Hebert had a sort of trigger event during the sinking of Newfoundland," said Armsmaster. "At least according to his father. This allows him to go to a world where dragons are the dominant species. He has since been trained by various dragons in some skills. The green cards were just issued today, which is why there are now dragons working for the Dockworkers Union."
"Dragons," muttered Miss Militia.
"The boy was tested a few years ago, and had no Corona Pollentia," said Armsmaster as he checked something on his tablet. "So for him to have some cross-universal ability has implications."
"Can we get some testing done on any of the dragons in question?" asked Director Piggot. "An anti-Master defense is something we need to investigate as a high priority. Though retesting Taylor Hebert might be useful too."
* Cauldron HQ, February 16 2011 *
"We had two Thinkers on hand who tried to get a reading on Taylor Hebert. We now have two Thinkers who are heavily medicated because of whatever they saw when they saw that child. One of them was talking about revelations and angels for some reason. The other was talking about impossible angles and a cat. Of some concern is that the Simurgh was observed watching events and has since appended her orbit to not come anywhere near the United States Northeast."
"I thought she was already doing that," said Eidolon.
"She's being blatant about it," said Alexandria.
"So what were the ratings?" asked Eidolon.
"Striker - mainly skills picked up being taught by ex-military dockworkers over the years. Nothing particularly parahuman but a lot stronger, faster, and better trained than your average 16 year old. The main concerns were his Tinker, Master, and Trump abilities."
"'Tinker'?" asked Eidolon.
"What else would you call this?" asked Contessa as she pulled a ring out of her pocket, put it on, and promptly vanished.
"Wha?" asked Eidolon.
Contessa pulled the ring off, becoming visible again. "Ring of Lesser Invisibility. Works once per day. Turns the wearer invisible - including to security cameras. Effect lasts one hour or until a breaking condition occurs. Those mainly are: attacking someone, taking the ring off, or encountering a fog or paint or similar substance whose disturbance will reveal the wearer. He made this as his Tinker rating test. Apparently is working with the dragons to make a series of holy weapons because he feels such are appropriate for Endbringer battles."
"Holy hand grenades?" asked Eidolon, a bit off-balance because the ring obviously worked.
"Apparently the first one is a knife whose wounds cannot be regenerated from," said Contessa. She looked at the ring in one hand. "I have to return this before it is missed, but I find myself wondering if he takes commissions."
"Bringing a knife to an Endbringer fight?" asked Eidolon.
"Knives are among the easiest weapons to make from my understanding," said Alexandria. "Not to say they're easy, but they're a first step in weapon-making. At least according to the notes that were taken. That ring was the third such item produced."
"The other items he's thus made successfully are another ring and a pendant," put in Contessa. "The PRT have requested both for testing. Apparently his parents were given them. His mother's ring sharpens her senses and reflexes slightly. His father's pendant allows him to determine when someone is lying, but he has to activate it and it only works for a brief period a day much like this ring."
"That sounds... useful," said Eidolon.
"For someone who's job is literally negotiating? Yeah," said Alexandria.
"Then there's these, drakons or chibi-dragons," said Contessa.
"I need DNA samples at the first opportunity," said Doctor Mother, surprising absolutely no one.
* Roof of former Donald's Dock, Dock Area, Brockton Bay *
"Weird," said Grue. "Impressive though. That guy, or dragon, or dragon-guy there. What would you say, seven feet tall and built like he could bench press a pro football team?"
"Yeah," said Tattletale. "The weird part though is my power is giving me a bunch of error messages."
"What?" asked Grue.
"It's like..." Tattletale frowned and made a couple of gestures. "Everyone that doesn't have one of those little dragons or isn't a dragon. I can read them like normal. The moment a dragon lands on 'em though - I get a 'content blocked in your country' or something like that. 'Data expunged' or 'Not Available' kind of thing."
"Weird," said Regent. "Uhm, Rachel. Why are your dogs acting funny?"
Rachel Lindt looked at him like he was stupid, then pointed. "Dragons."
"Fair enough," agreed Regent. "They probably smell like great big predators. Cause they are."
Rachel grunted.
"Hey, there's a kid there who's leaving the compound and his little dragon is off catching pigeons. What do you get off of him?" said Grue. "He was hanging around the guy who acted like a boss earlier."
Tattletale looked at where Grue was pointing, saw some guy walking outside the Docks and...
"What the hell happened?!" asked Grue.
"She's down. My god, look at her eyes! Pinprick pupils. What's she mumbling?"
Rachel held Tattletale down, ignoring the foam from their Thinker's mouth, and keeping her from flopping around and hurting herself. She might not be a Brute but she was a lot stronger than the other girl.
"Eyes and wings. Dragons and angles. Something about Viking gods and a guy with wolves and ravens. Something about a cat?" relayed Regent.
"I SEE YOU," said Tattletale quite clearly but in a voice that was not her own and very nearly had the listeners crap themselves. Two of the dogs did, then put their forepaws over their heads and trembled where they lay. Tattletale's eyes rolled up and she fainted.
"Uhm," said Grue. "I vote if we ever see that kid, we go a different way. Avoid like hell."
Rachel grunted something that sounded like agreement.
* Taylor *
If my guess was correct, the real Taylor Hebert was out there somewhere and all she had to do was cancel this timeline to reset everything. That she hadn't might mean she hadn't been inserted yet. OR she had to cancel in my presence. OR the Elder God had gotten bored and moved on to other pursuits.
So I was, for the time being, Taylor Hebert and I had a variant version of the Dragon Rune from Suikoden on my chest. Which meant that I could summon dragons, go to their universe, and learn a bunch of stuff from the dragons there.
In some ways this was OP. One hour of every day was spent in the realm of the dragons. On Tuesdays I was learning runecraftery and enchanting. Three days of the week were learning taijutsu, ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and genjutsu. Spellcraft was Thursday. Saturday and Sundays were for practicing everything under very discerning eyes to see what I needed more drills on.
That said, there were things that the PRT wanted that I was obliged to do for their records.
One such task was going to good old Brockton Bay General Hospital and healing a couple of people using my spells so that Panacea could check out the results and determine how good a job I was doing.
Chibi was with me, the little drakon curled around my shoulders like some living scarf that would trill at people we passed on the way. He'd eaten and "done his business" as we left the docks, so that should be good.
Since drakon were empathic, noting who he looked happy to see and who got a snarl was interesting. The ones who immediately squealed about how cute he was seemed to be more of the former for some reason.
Brockton Bay General was about what you'd expect from a major hospital in a second-rate city, but older and more decrepit. Part of that was budget, because Brockton Bay itself wasn't doing that well. If you included the occasional battle damage from some Merchant going after their supply of drugs, the tired expressions of the personnel who were overworked and underpaid for trying to care for the number of gang violence victims, and the grunge that typically accumulates in old well-used buildings - you had the idea.
We got directions (and stares) from several people to where Panacea was supposed to be. Sometimes I would ask someone and they just did the staring part, and sometimes we'd get directions and a comment about how they'd been putting in WAY too many hours lately.
"Oh, you must be... A dragon?"
It turned out to be a girl about my own age who was a messy-haired brunette.
"Yes," I said, rubbing my shoulder-perched dragon under the chin. "This is Chibi."
Chibi warbled in response.
"May I?" asked Panacea, her hand stopped in the act of reaching out. Upon my nodding, she touched Chibi along the eye-ridge and-
Wow, her pupils had expanded quite a lot. That didn't look healthy at all.
Chibi made an inquisitive noise as the girl seemed frozen in place.
"You all right?" I asked.
* Amy *
As always, touching something gave me a complete scan of its biology. The structures and what they did and if there were any injuries or problems.
There were no injuries or problems, but there was a wall of data bearing down on me. It was entirely different from anything I'd ever scanned. It felt as if my power had suddenly gone from sulking drowsily in a corner to suddenly having the most fascinating thing on TV.
It wasn't a reptile despite having a coat of fine scales covering its body.
It wasn't a mammal despite having a number of musculoskeletal structures in common with cats.
The ribcage was split in two with a shoulder-like structure halfway in that supported its wings.
It was warm-blooded but shed excess heat in the dorsal fins and through some means she couldn't quite grasp. It would pant like some creatures to shed heat by exhalation - but that wasn't all.
It had a number of internal features that looked bird-like to her, especially the respiratory system, but it most definitely was not a bird.
Was this what dinosaurs had been like?
Everywhere she looked there was something new, something different, something that gave her the feeling her power was fist-pumping and dancing in place over the excitement of how incredibly strange this creature was.
It was a cute little dragon and it was rubbing its head against her outstretched finger in a manner very much like a somewhat affectionate cat.
"Eh?" asked Amy, dazed, as she became aware that several doctors had come over and started talking to her and she hadn't realized anything outside. "What? Sorry, I - I was distracted. Yeah."
* Nurse Dallas *
The worry had been that young Panacea had thrown herself into work to such an extent that she wasn't having a life outside of school and hospital work. That she didn't spend any time being a sixteen-year-old girl doing whatever it was that such did nowadays.
Upon seeing the young girl stare at the young man, she thought maybe here was something more typical of teenage girls. When she saw Panacea's poleaxed expression and how she didn't even seem to notice the dragon trying to get her attention pretty much clinched it.
When she exchanged a smirk and wink with another nurse, she found her opinion/interpretation confirmed by second opinion. Well, well, indeed.
Then the overhead gave out a series of tones followed by a message. "Your attention please. Your attention please. Code Silver Three, Main Building ER. Code Silver Three, Main Building, ER."
* Taylor *
"Code Silver Three?" I asked.
One of the nurses stopped smirking at me and answered. "Active shooter, Merchant. They raid us for narcotics every so often. E88 or Lung's groups generally don't as they get treated here and you don't want to be banned from a hospital or face other consequences. We have safe rooms installed since the last time. If you'll..."
"There's the bitch!" yelled someone.
Panacea blinked and seemed to suddenly become aware of what was going on.
"Come on, bitch," said the lead of the three Merchants. "With their precious little healer hostage, we can clean this place out."
I went through options really quickly and came up with one answer for three Merchants. "Panacea? Would you like to be elsewhere in a hurry?"
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all," said Panacea, raising her hands.
"Good," I said, putting an arm around her waist. "Reverse summoning."
* Panacea *
There was a brief smoke cloud and when it cleared we were no longer in the familiar halls of the hospital.
Again there was the oddest feeling as if my power were somehow separate from me and was staring around in fascination and squeeing like a fangirl confronted with their favorite movie star.
It was night. It was mostly dark with a few lights scattered about the various cave openings in the surrounding mountains. There were also three moons in the sky.
Three. Freaking. Moons!
Giant ferns, other plants I couldn't recognize that looked like squat short palm trees and red grass.
Insects that were just plain huge. Something that looked like a humongous turtle with spikes on its shell that slid into the local river.
A dragon sailing in the distance overhead that was just too freaking big to have a logical explanation for how it was able to fly.
"Summoner! You came!"
I threw off my daze enough to see a much smallerbut still large dragon approach.
"What is it?" asked the human boy who'd come for having his healing stuff checked out by me.
"A fresh clutch of drakon hatching, bring your mate!" exclaimed the dragon as it turned and raced off.
"She's not my... oh bother."
I blinked and fought down a blush. Okay, so I had a massive crush on my sister Vicky. That didn't mean that a well-muscled boy who associated with dragons was potato salad in my eyes. And why was my power still seeming to be something separate from me and saying yes if it would get me more information?
"Come on, they prefer to have the summoner around for these things," said the boy whose name I had completely forgotten after focusing on his DRAGON.
Wait. A hatching. I got to attend a hatching of dragons?!
"Lead on," I said with a grin. One hand found my phone and I started taking pictures. Vicky would go nuts that she missed all this!
The smaller (but still small car-sized) dragon was wearing something like a medieval tabard and led us through what seemed like something you'd see in one of those old martial-arts movies. Posts, targets, racks showing a number of weapons, and dragons that were pausing in their activities to observe the two humans going by.
After a few minutes we entered a tunnel which led down to a cavern that was much warmer than it was outside. A sandy floor, a number of eggs roughly the size of ostrich eggs, and a couple of dragons with medieval spear-looking things.
I looked around, feeling as if my power was only interested in the animals present but the elaborate carvings in the walls were at least as curious to me. Some sort of writing system paired with artwork, kind of like what you'd expect to see in some Egyptian tomb.
The eggs hatching drew my attention back to the drama of birth.
"-which is why there's no mother drakon," Taylor was saying, only then registering that he'd been talking to me for awhile.
"Ah, right," I said to cover it. "I-"
It was weird, it felt like being stared at or being touched feather-light by multiple individuals though it faded to a single point of contact after a few moments. There were three of the little hand-sized drakon that had hatched. Two of whom were ignoring me after a few seconds. One though had cocked her head and was regarding me with a higher intensity.
"KLEEEE!" squeaked the pink-white drakon as she clumsily headed towards me and that feather-light touch seemed to expand. I suddenly understood her. She was mine, she had seen me and chosen me. I could reject her, or I could accept her. Once I chose either path it was forever.
I was out on the sands, peeling bits of eggshell still clinging to her as she trilled and rubbed against me. I didn't realize I'd dropped my phone until later. There was a wash of love and acceptance from the little dragon-creature.
I felt tears tracking down my cheeks as I looked up at the only other human present. Who had apparently scooped up my phone and was recording this. I'd thank him later. "Dart. I'll call her Dart."
"Huh," said Taylor. "Well, I suppose this could work out. Maybe."
* Dallon Household *
"Young lady, where do you think... you've... been?" Carol Dallon found her rant just trailing off into confusion.
"Is that Amy?!" exclaimed Vicky as she almost-flew down the stairs. That was when she stopped and stared.
"Do you like peanuts, Dart?" asked Amy as she went to the kitchen counter and opened the little jar.
The little drakon sniffed, made a pleased-sounding warble, then grabbed the food with her forepaws and started nibbling at it in a squirrel-like manner.
"That's a dragon," said Vicky.
"Yeah, she's a drakon," said Amy, emphasizing the "ck" sound.
"You have a dragon on your shoulder," said Carol Dallon.
"Drakon, Mom," corrected Amy.
"Does he breathe fire?" asked Vicky, causing their mother to swivel her head to look back and forth for a moment.
"No, SHE's not that type of drakon, see the pink-and-white? She does a sonic attack," said Amy, "or at least when she's older. She'll weigh about as much as a cat when she's full grown. Taylor was showing me where he gets his dragons when I got the chance to take this cutie home. Who's a cute lil' drakon? You are, yes you are!"
The little drakon gave a happy little trill.
Vicky was staring when the little dragon-thing half-furled wings and stared directly at her.
"Vicky, your aura! Dart doesn't like it, she thinks you're trying to influence me!" said Amy.
"Wait, what?" asked Vicky.
"Vicky, get control of your aura, the dragon apparently thinks it is a threat..." Carol Dallon paused as she read the body language of the thing, which was enough like a cat she could interpret it. "Wait. It reacts to Master effects?"
"Yeah, or hostile emotions," said Amy. "As long as it is in contact I've got some protection from that sort of thing according to the dragons."
"I think we're going to need to have a talk with this... Taylor?" Carol Dallon eyed the still-wary dragonling on Amy's shoulder.
Both family members stared at Amy blushing slightly (mainly from remembering all the excitement of having genuine dragons around her) and came to conclusions.
* PRT HQ ENE *
"It's all over the PHO and other websites. Apparently Miss Dallon had her phone with her when they escaped the Merchant attack, then took video and shared it with her sister. Her sister then posted it online and it went viral," said Deputy Renick.
"And the music?" asked Director Piggot, closing her eyes and massaging the bridge of her nose as if getting a massive headache. Or just feeling another source of stress creeping up on her.
"Oh, that was added later," said Deputy Renick. "It's from an Aleph movie called 'Aladdin' titled 'A Whole New World' and it does seem a bit applicable."
"A bit. Did we get the idiots who thought that taking Panacea hostage was a good idea?" asked Director Piggot.
"Not a problem, when Glory Girl found out her sister was missing - she was more than happy to register her displeasure until the hospital pointed out that the more injured the individuals were - the more likely they were to actually receive narcotics as patients."
"So 'Summoner' doesn't create projections, these are exactly as stated - dragons from an entirely different world. Not only can he summon them - he can travel to that world and take at least one person with him when he goes," said Director Piggot. "I..."
Noting she'd trailed off, Deputy Director Renick checked where she was in the video and then nodded. "Yeah, that's most people's reaction to the Big One."
"How big..." asked Director Piggot.
"Panacea is standing next to one of those trees at one point, so it was extrapolated as being around three hundred feet in length not counting the tail. Maybe four hundred feet total."
"...Any chance we can get that one for the next Endbringer fight?" asked Director Piggot, picturing something bigger than Behemoth just biting the Endbringer in half.
"Should we contact Summoner and ask?" asked Deputy Renick.
"...Politely," said Director Piggot. "Very very politely."
* Dragon Realm, February 18 2011 *
The smoke cloud cleared. There was a whine of servomotors as Dragon shifted her power armor and deployed a number of sensor systems.
"Go-class star, gravity 101.7 percent of Earth, atmosphere thicker by 1 percent. Slightly higher oxygen content," said Dragon as she slowly pivoted in place.
"Let me catch my breath," wheezed Taylor. "You're massive enough it was a bit of a trick, especially with two of you."
"Plants superficially match fossil records of giant fern species, red grass uses a non-chlorophyll-based method of photosynthesis. Will request samples. Evidence of early development of six-limbed creatures in unidentified small pseudo-reptillian insectivores." Dragon attempted to look everywhere, but because of her nature actually could do a pretty good job of that. "Temperature slightly higher than Brockton Bay despite apparent elevation. Unable to determine if this is a seasonal difference as this is a different world entirely. No satellite contacts as expected. Intermittent radio contact, probably handheld devices."
"I got them a few walkie-talkies a couple of years ago," explained Summoner.
"You okay?" asked Miss Militia, looking very nervous.
"I will be," said Summoner. "Just a bit of a strain doing this much mass. Biggest dragon I've ever summoned is about the same mass as you and Dragon put together."
"Why are some dragons wearing armor?" asked Miss Militia.
"Same reason humans wear armor," answered Summoner. "Which is also why they have weapons when they come standard with claws and teeth."
"No modern weapons?" asked Miss Militia.
"We like crossbows."
Miss Militia eeped, and in mid-leap had a pistol in one hand. Dragon made a noise like a modem trying to connect.
"Midnight Blue is a stealth operative," said Summoner.
"We noticed," said Dragon.
"How does one ton of dragon manage to sneak?" asked Miss Militia as she dismissed a pistol.
"With skill and confidence," answered Midnight Blue, white teeth flashing against dark scales.
"I should have been able to detect you nonetheless," pointed out Dragon.
"With great skill and confidence," appended Midnight Blue.
"That doesn't explain a thing," pointed out Miss Militia.
"Okay, you guys wanted a view, let's get a view," said Summoner finally. "There's a 'scenic overlook' up that trail. Midnight, can you give Miss Militia a ride?"
"Oh, hey, now," said Miss Militia, backing up a bit as she assessed the sizable dragon looming over her. "Maybe we can just walk?"
* PRT HQ *
"-and that's pretty much it regarding the newest intel on the cape Chariot."
Contessa stirred and moved a piece of paper towards the center of the table. "It's time for this step."
"What exactly will this do?" asked Alexandria.
"Like powers, this Taylor's abilities increase with use," said Contessa. "So, in the long term, it will increase his usefulness. In the short term? It will demonstrate some usefulness."
"Some people will freak out nonetheless," mused Eidolon.
"People who don't have anything better to do will always find something to get riled about," said Contessa dismissively. "Door to a world where everyone is sensible."
Nothing happened for a long time.
"Point taken," said Eidolon finally.
* PRT ENE HQ, February 23 2011 *
"He's doing WHAT?" asked Emily Piggot, crossing to the window and pulling out the binoculars. "My god. How many dragons is he summoning?"
"One every few hours," said Armsmaster. "It was an exercise suggested in an e-mail regarding Endbringer attacks. As Summoner's abilities require an energy outlay to summon a dragon but relatively little to keep a dragon in this universe, seeing how many dragons he could summon over a long period would allow for things like search-and-rescue operations."
Emily Piggot watched as one dragon seemed to vanish mid-flight and then reappear higher up. "Is that... Glory Girl riding a dragon? The girl can already fly, why is she riding a dragon?"
"If you have to ask that question, you probably wouldn't get it," mused Miss Militia. "It was... like one of those rides at a fair where you go up and face a freefall."
"No, I don't get the appeal of spending two hours in line and seventy-five dollars in order to experience a few moments of terror," admitted Director Piggot. "Other than some people are just plain crazy."
Another dragon vanished in the distance and then reappeared, this time closer to the PRT building and zipping by at high speed.
"Who authorized Vista to go riding dragonback?" asked Director Piggot.
"She requested time off," asked Miss Militia. "Some sort of personal business."
The dragon did a loop and corkscrew. The little girl in the back fist-pumped and showed every sign of being extremely excited for some reason.
A distortion in the air was flown through and then the dragon reappeared as a dot much higher up.
"She can do that now," said Director Piggot. "Wonderful."
"Well, at least they're staying away from airlanes," offered Miss Militia.
"I'll take what I can get," replied Emily Piggot.
* Docks, February 24 2011 *
"Yeah, that's my limit," said Taylor, spreading his hands. "I can't pull anyone else across without passing out at this point."
"I see," said Carol Dallon.
"Okay, I admit, your boyfriend's got some cool stuff," said Vicky as she watched another Dockworker ride a dragon overhead.
"He's not my boyfriend," protested Amy. "Honestly, why does everyone think that?"
"Oh, 'cool toys', that reminds me," said Taylor, checking his pockets. "I got this for you."
"Got to say, weird choice of gifts," said Vicky.
"Metal bangle with what looks like Viking runes?" asked Carol Dallon. "Looks a bit expensive."
'What IS this?" asked Amy, holding up the bracelet.
"Enchanted item," said Taylor. "Does it make any sense for the healer to be wearing a cotton robe? When we're likely to get involved in major fights with groups like the Merchants around here? So, once a day, you can activate that and have it put out a protective field. Lasts one hour."
"Ohhh," said Vicky. "A force field bracelet. Coolness."
Carol Dallon nodded after a moment. "That seems a thoughtful gift."
"Not sure it'll ever get used," said Vicky. "It's not like we're going to get pulled for some Endbringer fight."
Sirens began sounding.
Everyone, Taylor included, turned to stare at Vicky.
Carol facepalmed. "Victoria."
"OH COME ON!" yelled Vicky at the sky.
* Simurgh *
As the Simurgh, she was precognitive. When a precog says they have a bad feeling about something, that should be taken seriously.
So when the Simurgh started fighting the command to go to Canberra, Eidolon got a massive headache but the Simurgh WAS going to Canberra.
The Simurgh's top speed was well over Mach 10. That she was going about as fast as a reconditioned Ford Pinto on a mud track was less a statement about her speed and more about her reluctance.
She couldn't precisely see dragons or those in contact with one, there was something about the pseudo-dinosaurian species that seemed to screw with mental abilities, but she knew it would be bad. Not bad for them either.
Still, Canberra was a long long way from Brockton Bay. Maybe this would turn out okay.
Maybe... oh shit they can teleport.
* Canberra, Australia *
One minute the skies were clear, the next there were blurs and suddenly there were DRAGONS in the skies.
"Endbringer Battle Control, this is Red leader, standing by."
"Gold leader, standing by."
"Blue leader, standing by."
"All dragons assume attack formation."
"I FRAKKING LOVE THIS!"
"Can the chatter, Glory Girl. And stop humming the Star Wars theme."
"Attack formations, defend Australia!"
"Blue Squadron, attack the Simurgh! Gold and Red fly defense in case she gets past!"
* Cauldron HQ *
"Door to salted popcorn."
Everyone blinked and regarded the woman who was now munching out of an extra large tub.
"Seriously?" managed Alexandria, jerking a thumb at the screen. "Endbringer fight. You're eating popcorn?"
"You're missing the strafing run," pointed out Contessa.
"Can I have some?" asked Eidolon. "I just took some migraine pills and could use a little something in my stomach."
"Probably better with something more solid," noted the Numbers Man.
"Door to really good ham sandwich?" tried Eidolon, who was a little surprised when a small portal opened and he could reach in and pull out a sandwich. He wasn't so surprised he couldn't put a twenty back in exchange, but he was pretty surprised. He tried a bite, managed a pleased sound, and sat back to watch.
"Oh, they don't all breathe fire," said the Numbers Man. "What are all those attacks?"
"Plasma, particle beams, balls of acid, lightning, frost, some sort of shadow substance," said Doctor Mother as she watched and jotted notes down without looking at the paper. "Needles of an unknown metallic substance, shards of crystal, some sort of homing ball of radiant energy. Oh, look, that one has a light saber."
"Pretty sure that's not a light saber," grumped Alexandria. "We've got to go and help out."
Everyone took their attention off of the displays to regard Alexandria for a moment before turning back to the display.
The camera angle jerked to the side and down at something happening at ground level.
* Medic Area *
"He's passed out," noted Amy, holding the boy up.
"Exceeded his limits," noted one of the doctors.
"What's that out in the water?" asked a nurse, pointing.
Something was rising up out of the water.
An old woman glanced over at the shape emerging, then continued the slow approach to her objective.
* Simurgh *
This was extremely annoying. The dragons kept harassing her and her screams weren't affecting anyone nearby because dragons. She could literally feel her effect being ignored like water dribbled on a duck's back.
Damn crazy dragon crap.
Then she was rocked by several attacks because she'd stopped dodging to stare at what was coming out of the water. "F*ck this. I'm out of here."
There was a pause in the attacks out of sheer shock at not only the Simurgh speaking but what she had said.
She used the opening to run at full acceleration. She was NOT getting into a fight with bloody damn GODZILLA (or close enough) of all things.
* Medic Area *
"Huh?" asked the groggy Summoner.
"Amy! That was... AWESOME!" said Glory Girl as she dropped next to her sister. "Did you see that, did you see how awesome that was?!"
"No casualties in an Endbringer fight," said Panacea, looking at all the medics standing around. "I think that's a first. Not that I'm complaining."
"Right, right, but I was awesome y'know," said Glory Girl, still hovering a foot off the ground. "I flew behind one of the dragons and punched the Simurgh when we broke through that debris field! I need to get a t-shirt with that. 'I punched the Simurgh, ask me how.' Something like that."
"Yes?" asked Amy at the old woman who was standing nearby ready to poke Summoner with her cane. "Do you need something?"
"Hey, you shouldn't poke Amy's boyfriend, that's HER job," said Glory Girl, grabbing the end of the cane. Upon being aware of Amy glaring at her, she appended that statement. "Just kidding."
"Just had to have a word with you," said the woman as the boy stirred. "Cancel!"
Summoner blinked as he came fully awake. "What? oh."
"What happened?" asked Amy. "Why did everything stop?"
Still holding the woman's cane in one hand, Victoria Dallon blinked and looked around. "Why did all the color vanish? What's going on..."
The world faded away to be replaced with an expanse of white with a single black cat.
"What is this, what's happening?" asked a beginning-to-panic Panacea. Her sister hovered in front, ready to defend.
The cat blinked. Amy and Victoria Dallon vanished.
Male-version Taylor sighed and shifted into dragon form.
"You're ten times her age," pointed out the real Taylor.
"Eh? No, not what was going on. I was her age, and we were just friends," noted the dragon as it went off to sulk about the ending. "It was nice to have friends, family, again..."
Original flavor Taylor rolled her eyes. "Okay. Two ideas here..."
The cat cocked his head. "Okay. Go ahead."
"One, don't need this guide," Taylor said, indicating the sulking dragon.
"Okay," repeated the ancient elder god, dismissing the mentor. There wasn't any need for him at this point anyway as Taylor had the basic idea down.
"Two," said Taylor, "how about this-"