-0-0-0-0-0-
A Worm Fanfic
The Taste of Peaches
By: Grounders10
-0-0-0-0-0-
7
-0-0-0-0-0-
Taylor floated in the middle of an open-air test chamber lined with concrete inches above the floor. The skies above were overcast and light-grey clouds covered the limited sky she could see above her. It had taken over an hour but while she could float without falling over she was hardly a flier in Vicky's league. Or Aegis' for that matter. Her flight was more akin to a limping grandmother with a cane than a fighter jet. As Inari kept telling her though, with practice she would get better. Now, they had moved on from flight practice to testing other powers.
"Ms. Hebert, can you hear me?" Dr. Chamber's voice crackled from the speakers mounted on either side of the observation box at the far end of the room. The metal and concrete shelter was only distinguishable from the wall by the small slit two floors up. "If you can, please wave."
Taylor waved.
"Good. Then let us begin. Yesterday, during the incident I shall avoid going into detail on, you demonstrated pyrokinetic capabilities. I would like you to try can call up those same abilities now," The doctor said. Beneath the booth, the main entrance to the open-aired chamber slid open and a cart, with no one steering it, rolled through the door carrying a potted plant. The pot had to weigh at least a couple of hundred pounds. "Please attempt to light this plant on fire with your powers."
So, just set the potted plant, a fern of some kind, on fire with her mind. Great. Easy, simple. No harder than lifting a lake, or conjuring a storm or… Taylor sighed and settled to the ground. Her feet touched the floor as the autonomous cart deposited the potted plant. The cart withdrew with what almost appeared to be panic. It was certainly wobbling anyway. She brushed that aside, probably just a loose wheel.
"So, fire…" Taylor breathed, staring at the potted plant as she sat down on the concrete floor. One of her tails found its way into her lap and she ran a hand through the long hairs. Fire, flames, heat. To be really simple the release of energy during an exothermic reaction, or something like that. Was that more simple? She frowned and hummed, trying to do what she had done the day before with the storm.
The potted plant, herself, and the air around her remained decidedly not on fire as she tried to synchronize with the concept of fire the same way she had the storm or the ocean. It was not, she had to admit some minutes later, going as well as the day before. It was starting to remind her of when she had tried to grasp lightning at first.
"Ms. Hebert?" Taylor opened her eyes, which had closed, and looked up at the booth. "It has been twenty-five minutes. Please raise your hand if you believe you have no idea where to start with this?" She held up one of her hands. She was missing something, again.
"Would you say it's like when you tried to concentrate on Lightning before?" Inari's voice crackled over the intercom, "Wave if it is." She waved.
A few moments passed. "Ms. Hebert," The doctor said with a resigned tone, "Please come back inside."
Taylor shrugged and glanced at the plant. She gave it a pat. "I guess you get to live for a bit. Enjoy it~" She said as she stood. The plant seemed to preen beneath the attention. Odd. Shrugging it off she lifted off a few inches and floated for the exit.
Inari had suggested that she try floating instead of walking for the rest of the day to help ingrain her flight skills. If nothing else it was nicer than walking everywhere. Once she stopped falling over at least.
She floated back through the entrance of the chamber. Everyone else was waiting for her. "So, why are we stopping?" Taylor asked curiously as she joined the rest of the group.
Glory Girl shrugged and floated over to her. "Something about not wanting a volcano to show up or something?" She said as she stretched.
"Volcano?" Taylor repeated, looking down at Inari.
It was the Doctor who responded. "It has been pointed out that you conceptualize your powers via association with elements, or as your projection explained 'domains', of reality. Given that your powers manifest the first time as an external expression of that 'domain' I have decided that due to your fire perhaps being, like your electricity, a lesser expression of a fire-related concept it would be irrational to continue this test so close to a major population center."
"She's worried it might be something like 'volcano' or something," Inari explained with an amused grin.
Taylor raised an eyebrow at the fox. "And who gave her that idea?" She asked.
"Well, it's still possible," Inari shrugged, "Unless you want to create a volcano in the middle of town?" Taylor had to admit that no, she really did not want to create a volcano inside of Brockton Bay. Really who would?
"Is that a danger?" Aegis asked. The Ward looked vaguely worried beneath his mask.
"Well, given yesterday…" Taylor blushed. It deepened, creeping down her neck as Aegis stared at her. Oh god, what was going through his mind? Did he think she was dangerous, or a risk, or just crazy?
"Miss Hebert's powers tend to express themselves as macro-scale phenomena during their first use," Dr. Chambers explained, "Subsequent expressions have been significantly less impressive. At least during initial practice."
Aegis nodded slowly. "Right. Well, let's try and avoid creating a volcano in the middle of town then," He was trying to sound confident, but she could still pick out the nervousness. Great, she'd already intimidated one of her new teammates.
Vicky tossed an arm over Taylor's shoulder and leaned on her, not that it was a problem with both of them floating. "Well I'm positive it's not going to happen again, right Taylor?" The blonde asked brightly.
Taylor held up a hand and tried to call up a bit of the storm. Sparks jumped between her fingers. "This is about all I can do right now," She admitted. It was strange. The lightning leapt between her fingers as she wanted, but the paths they took weren't the straight lines she expected. They arced and twisted seemingly under another's will. She needed more practice.
"Is there somewhere I can practice with this?" She asked Dr. Chambers.
"That would be the next set of tests," The Doctor replied after consulting her tablet. "This way please." She gestured down the hall before taking the lead. Taylor scooped Inari up and floated after Dr. Chambers.
As they moved onto the next lab Aegis floated up beside her. "You know, I don't think I've ever heard of someone's tests taking this long before," He said.
"Most people don't keep going back to the powers bag for more," Vicky deadpanned from her other side.
Taylor sighed. "It's just how things worked out," She said, her blush still strong. "Not like I asked for all of this power." It was frightening in a way. While she couldn't just wave her hand and summon a storm Inari had made it clear that that was only because of how young a 'god' she was. If her fuzzy advisor was to be believed then that storm she summoned was just a taste of what she might eventually be able to do.
The thought worried her.
"You did eat the peach," Inari reminded her.
"Eating a fruit does not qualify as consent," Taylor sniffed.
The fox snickered. "It was gold and the only thing that wasn't stone.
"Peach?" Vicky repeated, "What peach?"
"Not talking about it," Taylor groaned. She sent Inari a warning glare. She did not need more people thinking she was crazy.
"Why not?" Vicky leaned closer, "Come on, what peach?" Her face was leaning just into view and Taylor could see a catty look of curiosity.
"Not sharing." And there was nothing that could make her.
"Well," Inari began. Taylor's eyes narrowed and she tightened the hug. The fox made a startled squeak as she squeezed it a bit. "Okay, okay. Not mentioning it. Meany." The former goddess stuck her tongue out at Taylor. Very maturely Taylor responded in kind.
Then Inari licked her face.
Taylor sputtered in surprise as Inari snickered and Vicky giggled beside her. "Okay, I'll leave it be," The 'for now' went unsaid, but Taylor could all but feel the older girl's anticipation. She was going to keep asking. Damn it Inari.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The next lab was small in comparison to the others they had used previously. It was about the size of a classroom and divided down the middle by a floor to ceiling glass window. The door to the other side was left open as more technicians were bringing equipment online. The inside of the chamber was lined in black rubber and had a pair of silvery metal spikes sticking out of a pedestal at chest height.
Dr. Chambers moved over to the main console. "Ms. Dallon, Aegis, the two of you may take the seats along the wall for the moment. This test will only take a couple of minutes. Ms. Hebert, into the chamber please."
"Uh, what are we doing?" Taylor asked as Aegis and Vicky took the pair of seats off to the side.
"We are going to take a measurement of your electricity as a baseline for future comparison," Dr. Chambers said, "Please step inside. Your projection can stay outside if you wish. You will need both hands."
Taylor glanced down at Inari who shrugged and hopped down. "I'll stay over here," She declared, hopping into Vicky's lap.
"Presuming a bit much, aren't you?" Vicky commented, though her hands had already started petting the white fox who simply hummed pleasantly in reply.
Shaking her head at her guide, Taylor entered the chamber. A rubber-lined door slid shut behind her. "Please approach the electrodes," The doctor instructed. The electrodes were set up in an inverted V with a gap between them. Taylor cautiously approached them.
"Do I just grab them and try to hit them with as much power as possible?" She asked loudly.
"No need to shout Ms. Taylor, and yes. Take however much time you need then shock both at once." The clinical way the doctor spoke was starting to get on Taylor's nerves a bit. It made her feel a bit like a guinea pig, which was technically true at the moment. It was not a nice feeling.
Pushing her annoyance aside, her tails twitching to either side, she considered the electrodes before her. She could just grab them and pump as much electricity into them as she could. She looked down at her hands and pulled. Lightning jumped between her fingers. It was weak, barely visible and she doubted it could do much. Her throughput was probably rather low, but what if she tried gathering a charge first? Lightning was a large discharge of electricity, so if she wanted to give a good showing it was worth a shot.
Gathering lightning was nothing like controlling or creating water. With water, she was mostly pulling it out of the air or from some other source. If she had to create it, she had realized it was simpler to just pull it from 'somewhere else' to her location. It was a bit hard to quantify, but it was like the water she pulled was there, just not here until she wanted it to be here. With lightning she had to do what she considered her last resort with water, creating it from nothing.
Creating matter was probably a violation of several laws of physics, but it was an act that she could do and had practiced a few times at her house over the last week. The effort required to force water from nothing was less than what she had faced when compressing the water sphere from the day before, but it was still a tiring and inefficient process like reality was initially rejecting her work.
Creating lightning did not require her to create matter. It was, after all, just the process of electrons moving. Still, the energy had to come from somewhere and doing more than just a few seconds of weak electricity that bled off into the air was creating pressure in the back of her mind. A weight that grew with the shroud of electricity she was gathering around her hands. Glowing light snapped and crackled around her fingers. Sparks occasionally slipped loose of her grasp and spent themselves against the only thing other than her that was conductive in the room: the electrodes.
Well, at least they were getting data. When the pressure had built up to the point where more sparks were leaving her hands than she could bring up she gripped the electrodes and dumped the power into them.
There was a crack-bang and the lights flickered as she sighed and slumped a bit. Her head hurt. That had probably been too much too soon. Like her second day of practicing with water when she had given herself a splitting headache from trying to levitate an entire bathtub of water.
"Ow," She complained, rubbing her forehead.
"Ms. Hebert, was that discharge as high as you could make it at present?" Dr. Chambers asked.
"Yeah," Taylor winced and blinked as the lights seemed a bit too bright. The headache was already fading, but it left her feeling a bit woozy in its absence.
"Excellent. Please grasp the electrodes again and deliver a constant charge until either I tell you to stop, or you feel that continuing would be hazardous," Dr. Chambers instructed her without seeming to notice the headache that Taylor had inflicted on herself.
She sighed and grabbed the electrodes; the sooner she was done the better. The electrodes were warm, but not painfully so. She blinked at them as she realized that the metal beneath her fingers was actually glowing just a touch from the heat. It felt cooler than her morning toast.
"Um, how hot is this?" She asked.
Dr. Chambers turned away for a few seconds before turning back to the microphone. "Hot enough that you should be burning your hands. How are you feeling?" She asked.
Taylor looked her hands over. "Fine. My toast felt warmer this morning," She said with a shrug.
"Interesting. Please, continue," The doctor made a note on her tablet. A stable current was much easier to produce and simply let flow into the electrodes. There was no mounting pressure in the back of her head as she stood there and let the electricity flow.
"Enough," Dr. Chambers finally said and Taylor let her hands drop. Her tails and ears wilted as she stepped back and stretched. "You can leave the chamber Ms. Hebert."
"Hrn, oh that was tiring," Taylor yawned. She left the chamber to find Vicky waiting with Inari in her arms. The other girl looked her over.
"You okay? You're looking a bit pale," Vicky said after a moment.
"Just tired I think," Taylor yawned, "Pushed myself a bit too far."
"Then maybe a break is in order?" Aegis suggested, standing with a grunt, "We're passed noon. Time for lunch."
Dr. Chambers turned from her work. "If the three of you wish to visit the cafeteria you are free to go. I will come and get you in an hour to continue testing," She said. Taylor smiled gratefully.
"C'mon, I know the way," Aegis said, ushering her out of the room along with Vicky.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The cafeteria was much nicer than the one at Winslow. Not that that was a surprise to Taylor. Winslow was a shithole after all. The place should have been shut down years ago, even if it was just for a renovation. She wouldn't have been surprised to hear that there was asbestos in the walls, or that a colony of mole people was plotting world domination in the gym's basement.
The food was more than just not-quite-identifiable brown-coloured lumps. Sandwiches, small cakes, pastries and soup. All delivered in a room with nice clean white tiles and murals on the walls. Really, there was no comparing Winslow to the cafeteria at the PRT's testing facility. As Taylor took a seat across one of the cafeteria's booths from Aegis and Vicky she wondered if the other PRT facilities, like the HQ and the Rig in the harbour were as nice. Well, it would certainly be a nice change from dreary gangland if they were even half as good.
As she dug into one of the handful of sausage rolls she had grabbed, she was starving and the pastry-wrapped sausage looked delicious, Aegis leaned forward. "You know they only told me you had a talking fox when they asked me to come here today," He said.
"Really?" She tried to reply. With the sausage in her mouth, all that came out was 'rll' accompanied by a spray of pastry. Blushing, she swallowed and wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. "Really?" She tried again.
Aegis nodded. "Yeah. Hell, they didn't even tell me you were a girl until I got here. I get the feeling that they're trying to keep your presence really quiet. I can see why," He said, "Is there anything you can't do? I mean, you can fly, summon lightning. You summoned a storm and I think I heard something about hydrokinesis in there?"
Taylor nibbled on another roll as she considered what to say. If the PRT was keeping everything that quiet, maybe she shouldn't tell everything? Then again Aegis was supposed to be one of her future teammates so maybe she should share… And there was Vicky sending a hopeful look and a pout in her direction.
She glanced down at Inari who was curled amidst her tails. The fox spirit looked up from the pastry she was daintily nibbling on. "Go for it. No reason to hide," Inari said after she realized Taylor was looking for advice.
"Sooo?" Vicky drawled, leaning on an elbow across the table. Taylor could feel the curiosity rolling off the other girl.
Taylor nibbled on her roll a bit more. "Well," She began, "I guess the first thing is that all of my powers have been getting stronger. Or, maybe I'm just getting better at using them?"
"Bit of both," Inari interjected. She was done with her roll and was licking crumbs out of the tails around her. Taylor twitched and bopped the fox on the head with a tail. The licking tickled.
"Well, they get better," Taylor continued. "I started with just the tails and the chatterfox here." She indicated the comically offended Inari with one hand.
"I could just stop advising you," Inari grumbled before taking another roll from the plate that Taylor had set aside for her. Taylor rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored her.
"Anyway, I picked up the hydrokinesis thing right away, but I'm still practicing that. I mean, I could barely lift a bucket of water let alone the swimming pool I did yesterday when I started. The last week has been rather busy."
"The last week?" Vicky repeated, "You only triggered last week?"
Taylor shrugged. "I spent all my time until yesterday in the house," She grumbled. Getting poked and prodded for science might have been annoying, but at least it was getting her out of the house. "I can't exactly go out and about like this without some kind of protection, right?"
Aegis winced while Vicky nodded. "So you can't hide this then?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Nope. I've tried, but if I'm supposed to be able to shapeshift or do illusions I just can't figure out how," She grumbled. Weren't foxes in legend suppose to do both of those?
"Not having a secret identity can be annoying at times," Vicky sympathized. She sighed dramatically. "All the fans, and paparazzi, and you can't even just switch out of your costume when you want to get away from it all."
Taylor rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what any of that is like," She said dryly.
"Well unless the PRT is planning on getting you some kind of Tinkertech toy to help out, you're probably not going to have a secret identity like Aegis here," Vicky pointed to Aegis.
"I don't think they are," Taylor sighed.
"Well that's going to make things complicated," Aegis groaned.
"Why?" Taylor asked.
"You're going to be going to Arcadia, right?" The Ward asked. She nodded. "So, the lot of us Wards who do go to Arcadia tend to group up during lunchtime and the like. Getting you into that without raising suspicion that we're all wards is going to be tricky."
"Not that hard. I'll just drag her over," Vicky rolled her eyes, "Everyone knows I'm dating Dean." That must have been one of the names of the other wards. Though Taylor couldn't think of which one it would be. Triumph maybe? Or perhaps Gallant?
"We'll work it out. Anyway, what else?" Aegis turned the conversation back towards her powers.
"Well… I can manipulate things related to the ocean and to storms," Taylor said, "And yes, it is that broad. Even if I'm not really good at the storm thing just yet. I only figured out the basics yesterday." She blushed. "I don't think I'll be doing a repeat of yesterday anytime soon."
"Not sure the city could handle another one," Aegis sighed, "I spent part of last night picking up debris and helping clear roads."
She winced. "Sorry," She mumbled. He waved it off.
"No one got hurt. Not that big a deal so long as you didn't do it on purpose," He said.
She nodded and kept going. "I've also got the flight and some physical enhancements."
"Wait," Vicky leaned forward with an intensely curious look. "You're an Alexandria package? Just like me?"
"Um, yes?" Taylor said after a moment.
"That is awesome," The blonde smirked. "You are going to be so much fun to hang out with." Taylor blinked. That was not the reaction she was expecting.
"Uum?"
"How strong are you?" Vicky asked.
"Erm…" Taylor's head tilted to the side as she tried to remember what the number was. "Fifty I think?" She glanced at Inari.
"Fifty? Fifty of?" Vicky prodded as Aegis' eyes went wide. Well, he seemed to have guessed it.
"Fifty-one and three-quarters," Inari corrected.
Taylor nodded. "That… sounds right. Fifty-one and three-quarter tons," She said with a firm nod. She blinked as Vicky's jaw dropped. "What?" She asked confused.
Aegis shook his head, a strangled chuckle making its way out. "Taylor, Glory Girl can only deadlift something like ten tons and she's considered one of the three strongest parahumans in the bay."
Oh, ooooooh. She blushed again. "Oh," she said, picking up a BLT sandwich from her tray and using its bulk to conceal more of her face as she ate. It was rather good for a cafeteria sandwich.
"I- just…" Vicky took a deep breath. "Oh my god Taylor," She whispered her eyes going wide. Her plate sat empty as she stared blankly at the booth wall beside Taylor. "You… I think you could give Alexandria a run…"
"Not even close" Aegis said, shaking his head, "But she's pretty high up there."
Vicky nodded absently, fiddling with a turkey sandwich on her plate. Taylor watched with vague concern as the other girl tore a large piece off the sandwich and chewed mechanically. Aegis was also watching her as her mouth moved up and down. She swallowed then her eyes went down to the sandwich for a second before it was slowly placed back onto the tray. "Taylor…"
"Yeah?" She asked nervously.
Vicky sighed. "You said all of your powers get stronger over time. Does that include your strength?" She asked. Beside her Aegis blinked and mouthed an Oooh silently.
"It does," Inari confirmed.
Taylor glanced down at her fox, looked up at the two stupefied heroes, then sighed and went back to eating her lunch. It was easier than contemplating how the world was suddenly made of cardboard. She ran a soothing hand through her tails. Yes, much simpler.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Around thirty minutes later, fifteen minutes after Victoria had finally rebooted her brain and changed the conversation to favourite television shows, Dr. Chambers arrived and ushered them out of the cafeteria and onto the next set of tests. They were guided out of the building to the backyard.
It was mostly the same as the day before, though there was a very large burnt area in the middle of the track. They were led over to the bunker from the day before. Two more uniformed guards were standing by the door. If they recognized her they gave no sign as Taylor and the others approached. Outside the bunker, a small tent had been erected under which tables covered in electronics were set up.
"Your projection has suggested, and indeed the events of yesterday support, that you, Ms. Hebert, are capable of controlling far more than just electricity and water," Dr. Chambers began.
Taylor nodded. The storm was more than just lightning. She looked up at the cloud-covered sky. It wasn't going to storm anytime soon. She could feel that. These clouds were just… just… Her ear twitched. The clouds weren't entirely natural, at least not all of them. Many were leftover from her moment the night before. Huh… it felt as though all she had to do was reach for them and they would-
"Ms. Hebert," The Doctor continued, drawing her attention back down to earth, "At the moment we have no true understanding as to what this aspect of your powers entails. As such we would simply like you to spend at least the next hour experimenting. I am sure that if you need assistance Aegis and Ms. Dallon will be more than happy to help."
"I'm game," Vicky said. She waved from where she was floating cross-legged under the tent. "Though it kinda looks like it's going to rain."
"No chance of that," Taylor said, looking back up at the sky. "Most of these clouds are just leftovers from yesterday… hrm…" Though, they really shouldn't have been any from the day before. With the constant prevailing wind that came off the ocean, they should have moved inland by now. So why were they- it was probably her fault, wasn't it?
"You can tell?" Aegis asked. She nodded absently.
"It's just most of them, not all. I think today should have been light clouds without what I did," Taylor noted. At least she hadn't caused it to rain the next day as well. A guilty part of her wondered how much the damages were by now.
"We will be here if you require us. Please, experiment," Dr. Chambers gestured to the field before guiding Vicky and Aegis back under the tent.
"Not going to hook me up to a computer?" Taylor asked loudly.
Dr. Chambers turned back once she was under the tent. "We have atmospheric sensors set up to measure the effects on the area as you experiment. Physiological data can be gathered at a later date." With that, the woman - who was likely a mad scientist - started looking over the shoulders of her assistants.
Taylor shrugged and looked around the field. It would probably be safer for them if she got some distance before she did whatever it was she was going to do. Walking for the track she glanced down at Inari who was following along at her feet. "So, experiment," She sighed, "That's vague."
"I think you might be falling outside of their normal expectations," The fox sounded amused.
Taylor snorted. "You're just looking for another opportunity to shout 'Goddess'," She snarked.
"Now you're getting it," Inari replied smugly as they crossed the outer ring of the track. "They can't figure out what to make of your abilities. They don't follow the normal quasi-byzantine logic of powers. You don't do one thing that you can leverage into others. You have many powers. Anyone of which a parahuman would give their left arm to possess."
"Eidolon has many powers," Taylor pointed out. It said something that the only parahuman she could think of with as broadly defined powers as her own was one of the Triumvirate.
Inari scoffed. "A man who can have any power, but who has no control over which he gets? You have barely started and you already have more control over your own powers than he does. I doubt he ever keeps them around long enough to master them," She sniffed imperiously. Taylor rolled her eyes.
Changing subjects Taylor turned her eyes towards the clouds. "So, experimenting. Hrm… What comprises the storm?" She already knew the answer to that. That was how her powers worked after all. To realize a domain was to define it. To define it was to call it forth.
Inari simply took a seat a few feet away and waited.
"Let's start with something simple," Taylor decided, "I'm going to try creating some wind."
Inari nodded. "Then start by feeling the air. Scientifically speaking Wind comes about when air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure," Her guide said, "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, divine actions are easiest when working with the natural order rather than against it."
"Which is why creating lightning is so hard," Taylor noted. She held out her hands and gently dragged her fingers through the air, shutting her eyes as she did so.
"Exactly. Now, take a deep breath in," Inari instructed. Taylor did as asked, inhaling as much air as she could, it took a lot longer to stop inhaling than she thought it should have.
"Good, now hold it. Hold the air. Feel it inside you… and… let it go, slowly. Feel it as it leaves your body and mixes with the world around you. Feel it as it stirs and shifts the winds. As the pressure changes. Can you feel it?" Inari's voice was calm and level as she gave each instruction.
Taylor nodded absently. She could feel something stirring as she breathed out. She dragged finger across… something and a small gust of wind crashed into the ground, knocking dust into the air. A path, or no… not a path. A place where the pressure had shifted in response to her breath. She inhaled again, slowly. She held the air, feeling it again, then exhaled. Something shifted around her as she did.
She must have looked ridiculous, standing in the middle of a field with her eyes shut, hands outstretched, and talking to a fox. Mad. She probably looked completely and utterly mad, but she kept doing it. She could feel something, and that something became just a tiny bit clearer with each repetition.
She didn't count how many times she repeated it, but eventually, she nodded to Inari and opened her eyes. The air around her felt different than when she had closed them. She waved an arm and though she couldn't see it, she could feel the shifting of air pressures around her in response so well she didn't need to. She sighed, her breath stirring the air in eddies.
"It feels, strange…" She said, dragging a finger across a breeze. It bent and swirled around her finger before continuing along its way. She couldn't see them, but this wasn't a question of sight.
"You can feel the breeze," Inari observed. Her tail flicked side to side.
Taylor nodded. "It's… hard to describe," She admitted with a sigh that stirred the air once more.
Inari nodded. "Progress. Very good progress. It seems you might have some talent for this aspect. Now, can you do anything with it?"
Do something with it? She drummed a finger on a breeze, producing an oddly deep ringing noise around them. Inari's ear twitched. She dragged another finger through the air, hooking it around and through another breeze. She dragged the air along through a throwing motion, letting go like she would a baseball. The breeze catapulted forward, dragging the air around her with it.
What impacted the ground fifteen feet away was more than a breeze, though less than a bomb. The surface of the track for ten feet in all directions was scoured of any distinguishing marks as painted gravel was scattered across the field. A few pelted Taylor and Inari, though they were barely an irritant.
Her hair and tails whipped about in the concussive blast that swept by them. That… That was a bit more than she'd been trying to do. It seemed the wind needed a gentle touch. "Erm… Oops?" Taylor winced.
Inari snickered. "Well, a bit more violent than I meant, but that is a good use," She said. One ear twitched as she tilted her head thoughtfully. "I've seen similar applications used as weapons. Something of about that strength would be fairly safe to use against most people."
"You think so?" Taylor asked thoughtfully.
"Well, you are going to be a Ward. You're going to have to fight," Inari pointed out.
Taylor frowned but nodded. "Right, so… Right." She needed to start thinking about how she was going to fight. Unless her lightning bolts were a lot less amperage than she thought they were probably lethal. Which meant they were probably fine to use on Kaiser or someone like that, but using them on a pickpocket would end in tragedy really quickly… and probably see her on a trip to the birdcage. The last thing she wanted was to get sent to parahuman Alcatraz.
"Now, can you do that again?" Inari prodded.
Taylor reached out and felt the air. Doing that had taken basically nothing. It was simple, easy, and less concentration intensive than a bolt of lightning. Less damage, but then she wasn't trying to kill someone with it. She dragged her finger through the air again and repeated it. Ten feet away from the first impact site more gravel went flying. She frowned.
"My aim is terrible," She sighed.
"Then practice," Inari prodded with a snicker. She ducked her head as another strike sent pebbles falling around them.
"I missed by ten feet," Taylor sighed.
"You have an impact zone of about ten feet," Inari pointed out as Taylor flicked out another strike.
"I know, and I keep missing it," Taylor grumbled. Her right ear twitched irritably as she failed again. There wasn't much left of the markings on this end of the track. She continued her efforts for a few more minutes before stopping.
"Getting tired?" Inari asked. She shook her head.
"Nope," She said, "I'm good. I could probably do this all day if I needed to. I'm just wondering what the limit is for this sort of thing."
"In theory? Fairly big so long as you don't do anything like try and compress the air or otherwise make it act unlike normal wind," Inari replied.
Taylor nodded, her fingers stroking the air as she thought. Creating a single gust of wind on this scale was obviously the easy end of wind manipulation. Even now, with no practice, she could do it probably forever without worrying about anything other than boredom. Or hitting something she didn't want to hit.
It was time to step it up a bit. First, scale it up. Her fingers dug into the swirling air around her and she dragged it forward with both hands. She aimed far across the field towards the copse of trees at the far end of the yard. She felt the air twist as she dragged it, dozens of meters of air around her bending with her will as a little pressure built in the back of her mind until she released it.
Beside her, Inari dug her paws into the dirt.
A wall of force rolled across the yard. Dust was kicked up, gravel was torn from the track, and loose grass spun through the air as the wall of air rumbled across the open ground. It crashed into the trees with enough force to strip leaves from branches and snap some of those branches clean off the trees. Taylor herself stumbled as the wave left her direct control.
Taylor took a deep breath and sat down. That… That had taken a bit out of her. She could do it again. Two- no a lot more than two. Maybe seven or eight times. The effort would probably make her as tired as she had been before lunch, but she could probably do it. "Whoo," She sighed.
"Well, that was fairly impressive for a first try," Inari remarked as she released her death grip on the dirt. "Want to try compressing the air you're using before releasing it next?"
Taylor gave her advisor a flat stare. "Wouldn't that be one of those things that doesn't occur naturally?" She asked.
"Not normally, no," Inari agreed as her tail wagged.
With a shake of her head, Taylor said, "No thank you. Not today. I like not passing out twice in two days."
"Hmm… Then maybe let's move onto something else," Inari suggested. Taylor's eyes went towards the sky. Something else related to storms? Well, she could try and make it rain… She frowned at the thought of ruining more people's day just because. She could try that later. Maybe she could convince them to take her out somewhere with no one around. Someplace far, far away from civilization. Maybe Arizona or something.
So the rain was out. Anything more advanced with wind would leave her exhausted. Which left… clouds really. Hm… well, flying up to poke a cloud was probably a bad idea if she didn't want to be seen. This place was probably being watched religiously by the gangs in case anyone poked their noses out. And she wasn't exactly that good a flier… So maybe, just maybe, she could bring a cloud to her?
The thought of just making her own never crossed her mind as she looked up at the sky and stretched out a hand.
"What are you doing?" Inari asked curiously.
"Trying to grab a cloud," Taylor replied seriously. The fox stared quietly at her for a moment before turning her gaze skyward.
"I'd advise trying to call one rather than grab it," Inari suggested after a few moments of silent failure.
Call one? Taylor turned it over in her head. Well, it was worth a try. Her attempts to feel the clouds well enough to pull them down to her were failing before they could even begin. "Do I talk to the sky or?" Taylor trailed off, looking to Inari expectantly.
"Well, you are a Goddess of Storms. They should respond to your thoughts if you direct them correctly," Inari said after a few moments of thought.
Direct her thoughts, okay sure. Directing thoughts. She frowned up at the sky and reached out a hand again. 'Come to me,' She thought. Nothing. She made a little beckoning motion. 'Come to me.'
'Fall.'
'Float down.'
'Just get down here!'
Taylor tried a few dozen different ways of saying it with her mind before she frowned and let her hand fall, trying to project her disappointment up towards the sky as she did so. "That didn't go anywhere," She sighed.
"Are you sure?" Inari asked. Her voice was tinged with amusement as she stared up into the sky.
Slowly Taylor looked back up. She blinked. Did the sky seem a bit cl- With a rumble of displaced air, everything disappeared in a blanket of wet fog. Taylor blinked. "Um…" She said into the empty whiteness that had replaced the yard.
"Maybe next time you should specify how much cloud you want Taylor," Inari said with a snicker.
She flushed but privately admitted that Inari probably had a point. She stood up. The air felt thick, like a river rather than vapour. She could barely see her hand in front of her face with how thick it was. She waved her hand in a futile attempt to give herself a bit of clearance. To her surprise the small flick of her wrist sent the heavy fog scuttling away from her, leaving a clear circle five across centred on her. Inari looked up at her.
"I was wondering when you'd try that," She said, standing up and stretching.
Taylor waved a hand through the cloud and it clung to her fingers, trailing after her. She could feel the clouds around her now that she had a little space and- "Oh I'm an idiot," She groaned. "Its water. Clouds are water." She gathered a small globe of water in her hand from the air and rolled it between her fingers like a marble.
"True," Inari nodded, "But is that the only way you can manipulate it?"
The fingers toying with the marble of water paused as Taylor frowned thoughtfully. She considered the fog surrounding her. She could feel the currents of air sluggishly flowing through them. She could feel the water that made them up. She ran a finger through the edge of the cloud and watched as the material swirled around it. It was water, but it was also air.
Very strange.
She let the marble fall to the grass where it splattered. She gripped the edge of the cloud and reached deep within, gasping a vast swathe with both of her abilities. Her grip with both wavered and she stumbled back, wincing a little at a spike of pain. "Ow," She muttered.
"Having issues?" Inari asked.
"Yeah," She winced, "I tried to grab it in two different ways at the same time."
Inari winced. "Ah, overlapping domains. Tricky. Which part of yourself takes precedence. The Sea, or The Storm? I've had that happen a few times."
"Really?" Taylor asked, waiting as the pain began to subside.
"Two words: Industrial Agriculture," Inari deadpanned, "I had migraines for a decade."
"I'd rather avoid that," Taylor muttered. Having headaches every time she tried to interact with a cloud would get really old, really fast.
"Well, your issue is less conceptual than mine was," Inari said, sitting down by her feet again. "Let us start with the basics. First, feel the cloud with both of your domains. Do nothing with them. Just feel."
With trepidation, Taylor reached out with both senses. She felt the water around her. She felt the stiff, lifeless breezes flowing around. She swayed as the world seemed to double over itself. "Um, is it supposed to do the whole two is one thingy?" Taylor asked, putting a hand to her mouth. She was feeling a bit sick.
"Two is- Oh, it might be best to sit down if you're feeling queasy." Taylor immediately sat down on the damp grass. Inari nodded. "Okay, now just sit here and feel. Don't do anything but feel."
Feeling was the issue, however. Still, Taylor did as instructed and after a few minutes, during which Inari continued to provide calm instruction, it subsided. Mostly. "Now, how do you feel?" Inari asked eventually.
"Good? A little off, but better than earlier," Taylor said, petting one of her own tails as she sat on the damp grass.
"Good. Now we are going to try something. A small thing, but something," Inari said, "Reach out for the cloud with both domains. Do not grasp it. Reach for it. Feel it brush against you. Touch the cloud with your hand if you wish. Do not grasp it."
Taylor reached out with her hand and her power at once. She brushed the edge of the cloud dome she had created with one hand at the same time as she did with her powers. The interior surface of the dome rippled from that spot outwards. It swayed in her perceptions, wriggling beneath her touch.
"Do you need to stop?" Inari asked.
Taylor shook her head. "I'm good."
"Very well. Now, slowly, with both domains, grasp the edge of the cloud," Inari instructed.
The young Goddess frowned. That was what had caused her issues before, but… She took a deep breath and grasped the edge of the cloud. Only the edge, no more than the depth of her fingers as she physically reached into the cloud. It felt solid, yet spongy. It was strange, like something that was neither water nor air but wasn't truly solid either. She sat there waiting for further instruction and the longer she waited the more the cloud felt… real maybe? Clouds felt real before, right? She was struggling to find the words to describe what she was feeling beneath her hands.
"Do you have a grasp on it?" Inari eventually asked.
"Yeah," Taylor said, distractedly.
"Good. Now peel it away from the wall and set it down," Inari instructed.
She spared a confused glance for her guide. Peel a cloud? What? "Um?"
"Just peel it, and see what happens," Inari prodded. Deciding to trust Inari she grabbed the edge of the cloud and pulled. It came away in a sheet from the wall. An ethereal sheet as thick as a slice of cake that hung from her hands like cloth.
"What the hell?" Taylor stared at it as Inari nodded.
"Good job. Now lay it here," Inari tapped the dirt beside her. Thoroughly befuddled Taylor lay the strip of cloud out on the ground. "Now do it again."
"Again?"
"Again," Inari nodded firmly, "Practice makes perfect." Just deciding to go with it she repeated the process seven more times, piling each 'sheet' of cloud atop the last. By the time she was done, the pile of cloud came up to her knees.
"And what was the point of this?" Taylor asked pointedly.
Inari smirked and pointed to the cloud. "Lie down and I'll tell you," She said.
Lie- "It's a cloud, not a mattress," Taylor deadpanned, "You can't sleep on a cloud."
"Nor can you peel it apart like sheets of paper stuck together," Inari replied before waving to the mattress with her paw again. "Now, lie down."
Taylor reached out and touched the 'mattress' of cloud. It squished beneath her touch like it had been since she started holding it. It sprang back into shape as she removed her hand. "Huh," She muttered. That was not normal cloud behaviour. With a shrug, she carefully sat down on the edge of it. It took her weight easily. She stared and patted the mattress with a hand. Small bits of cloud-stuff puffed away and vaporized. She glanced towards Inari who made a 'get on with it' gesture. Taylor sighed and let herself fall back into the cloud with a 'whoomph'.
She lay there for a long, long moment. "This is really comfy," She finally said, pulling herself onto the cloud properly. Her tails curled about her as she nestled into the cloud. God, she could fall asleep on this it was so nice. She yawned.
"See~ The great Inari-chan knows many wonderful secrets~" Inari announced smugly before getting serious, "Also, how is your head? How do your domains feel?"
Taylor, who was on the verge of passing out, blinked sleepily. "I- um… Oh," She blinked, "They feel fine. My head is be-be-betterrrr…" She passed out cuddling a pillow made of clouds.
On the floor beside her impromptu bed, Inari shook her head and grinned before hopping up onto the cloud. She patted down the area beside Taylor's head and curled up, touching tail to nose tip.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Taylor."
Taylor grumbled and snuggled her tails.
"Taylor."
Her eyes opened, blinking blearily as a voice calling her name filtered through the veil of sleep. She blinked at the bright sunlight for the brief moment it was striking her face before a tall shadow stepped in front of it.
"Hey Taylor. Done sleeping on the job yet?" Vicky chirped, waving at her with a cheery smile.
Taylor stared at the heroine for a long moment. The only thought that crossed her mind was the question of why such a famous heroine was currently in her room. Then a breeze ruffled her senses as it rolled over the area. Her mind rebooted. Eyes went very, very wide. "Oh god," She gasped, sitting upright on what she realized was the same cloud mattress she had put together.. "How long?"
"Quite a while Ms. Hebert," A familiar voice spoke up from her right. Taylor twisted on the spot, disturbing Inari who grumbled and nuzzled her tail in her sleep, to face Dr. Chambers. She found the doctor a dozen feet away beneath a tent that had been set up on the gravel. She was sitting on a folding chair and taking notes on the tablet resting on her crossed legs.
The doctor adjusted her glasses with her middle finger. "I would have allowed more time, however, I am afraid we have run out of time for this particular period of experimentation. We will have to set up a proper test scenario at a later date," She said.
"Later date? For what?" Taylor asked as she looked around.
Dr. Chambers pointed the stylus in her fingers down at the cloud mattress. "I find it quite interesting that despite the fog you called down upon everything within a mile-"
"A mile?" Taylor choked. Beside her Inari cracked open an eye. A very definite smirk crossed the fox's face before the eye shut. The smirk remained.
"Yes, a mile," The older woman continued, "While the fog lifted after about thirty-five minutes you have remained asleep upon that mattress, which I may note is solid only for you and your projection, for the last three hours."
Taylor blushed heavily and buried her face in the cloud that she had been using as a very nice pillow. She could feel it quiver in the light breeze sweeping the yard. Now that she was awake, and not focusing on it, she could feel the edges of the cloud starting to fray. She could probably fix it, but would be the point now?
"Need a hand?" Vicky asked as she hovered, literally, by her bedside.
"I'm good," Taylor said with a shake of her head. She pushed herself upright and stretched, yawning loudly. She poked Inari with a tail. "C'mon, time to get up," She said as Inari batted at the tail.
One eye opened. "Fiiine," The white fox whined. She was stretching at Taylor swung her legs over the side of the mattress and hopped down. As Taylor left the mattress Inari abrupt disappeared through the cloud with a startled yelp. "TAYLOR!" Came the aggrieved protest of her advisor.
Taylor snickered and shook her head. Something was- oh. "Where's Aegis?" She asked.
"I sent him to help get things ready for the next event today," Dr. Chambers said, "I'm afraid you not only ran through the allotted time for this experiment but the next as well. As such we are moving onto the last item on today's agenda."
"Oh," Her blush redoubled as Inari sulked out from within the slowly dissipating cloud.
Vicky threw an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry about it," She grinned as she leaned on Taylor. "This happens all the time."
The doctor nodded. "We will have to schedule another appointment in the future, but at this point, I suspect it will simply be one of the standard tests all wards are periodically required to take." She made a note on her tablet and stood up.
"So, not tomorrow?" Taylor asked. She hoped not. As interesting as the exploration of her powers was, it was really getting tiring… enough that she could apparently sleep for three hours in a field. On a cloud.
Her life was getting weird.
With no sign that she had any idea of the blossoming existential crisis inside Taylor's head Dr. Chambers shook her head. "We are booked for Friday and it would be best if we could take tomorrow to finish the repairs to the facilities. In addition, we have plenty of material to analyze. We will see about scheduling you for more testing once our preliminary findings are complete. Now, this way please," With that, the Doctor turned and walked back towards the facility.
Taylor scooped up Inari and took to the air again, though only by a few inches. It was good practice. Vicky floated beside her. She was floating backwards, her arms held behind her back. "What's it like sleeping on a cloud?" Vicky asked.
"Hm? Oh," Taylor pondered how to describe it. "It's… The cloud is there for me, but its like its spongy. Not wet or anything, but just conforms to whatever pressure I put on it? It was really comfy though." She shrugged.
"You looked comfy," Victoria commented. "Hmm," The blonde hummed, crossing her arms.
"What?" Taylor asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing much. Just boggling at your luck," She said with a sigh. "I mean, first you got hydrokinesis. Then whatever you call controlling storms, and then to top it off you're an Alexandria package as well."
"Goddess~" Inari sang softly, getting a groan from Taylor.
"Don't you start," She groused. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to start thinking she had a few screws loose.
"Then there's that," Victoria snickered, "Why does she keep calling you a Goddess?" To Taylor's surprise, she sounded more curious than anything.
"It's a long story," Taylor sighed, "We don't really have time to go over it today."
"Mm, one of those. I hate ending up in the centre of one of those kinda stories. No one ever wants to listen to you," The blonde sighed, "I've got a few weird ones myself. Like the time I caught Purity kissing some guy atop Medhall."
"Wait, Purity? The E88 cape?" Taylor asked.
"Mhmm," Vicky nodded, "About six months ago. She got really annoyed when she noticed me." She winced and rubbed her shoulder. "Blasted me clear across the city before I could do more than shout at her. I landed somewhere out in the bay."
"Ow," Taylor winced. That had to have hurt.
Vicky waved her off. "I was fine, but I really wish I'd gotten a picture. No one believes me because, well, its Medhall," She shrugged. "Anyway, you run into weird things all the time as a cape."
Taylor snorted. "I think my story is a bit weirder than a gossip column story," She replied.
Vicky rolled her eyes. "Would you rather hear about the time Armsmaster and Skidmark got into a fight in a mud pit?" She asked.
"A mud pit? Here in the Bay?"
"Mhmm," Vicky nodded, "Something to do with an underground fighting ring Squealer was running. Anyway, I've got tons of stories. You up for a trade?" She leaned towards Taylor with an eager grin.
"Maybe when we have time," Taylor hedged. If she had it her way there would never be enough time.
Their group entered the building and Dr. Chambers led them upstairs via one of the staircases for once. Vicky nearly floated backwards into one of the walls and certainly would have done so if Taylor hadn't gently spun the other girl around in time for her to notice the wall. It surprised her just how scatterbrained the other girl could get when chatting. She tended to fixate on the conversation rather than where she was going.
Waiting for them in the upstairs hallway was Aegis along with a young brunette woman with long hair wearing a black PRT coat. "Dr. Chambers, I was wondering how much longer it would take you," The young woman greeted with a nod.
"Science proceeds at its own pace Ms. Sable," Dr. Chambers replied tersely. She adjusted her glasses and turned to Taylor. "Ms. Hebert, Ms. Dallon, this is Ms. Sable of the Branding Department. She will be taking over for the rest of your time here today. I hope to see you again soon Ms. Hebert. Enjoy the rest of the day." With that, she left, sweeping by Taylor with her nose already buried in her tablet once again.
"Charming woman," Ms. Sable said dryly after the doctor had left. "I've met cacti with fewer spikes than she does." She turned a brilliant smile towards Taylor. "Ms. Hebert, my name is Patricia Sable. I am a Junior Brand Manager with the PRT's Image Department. I hope you're feeling fine after today's rigorous testing?"
"I'm fine," Taylor said.
"She just finished a three-hour power nap out in the yard. She's good to go," Vicky cheerfully added.
"Power nap?" Ms. Sable asked, a rather confused expression on her face.
"Um," Taylor brushed her hair out of her face, "I might have fallen asleep after testing a few things that were a bit difficult."
"The doctor decided to leave her be," Vicky continued to unhelpfully add, "Fell asleep on a mattress of clouds. Dr. Chambers wanted to see how long they'd last. They were still going five minutes ago."
"They were comfy," Taylor protested weakly.
Ms. Sable simply nodded. "Well, it's good to know the Doctor didn't wear you out completely then. Now, if you would follow me," She gestured further down the corridor and waited for Taylor and Victoria to join her.
"What are we doing now?" Victoria asked.
"Well, due to the discussions with your father Ms. Hebert," Ms. Sable glanced over to Taylor, "Branding has several things they would like to test which are outside of power testing. More skill-testing rather than power testing, though if there is some power you have that affects these areas we would certainly be interested in knowing."
"What skills?" Inari asked as Taylor went to speak.
"That should be obvious in a moment. Your father has signed off on this as well I should add," Ms. Sable came to a stop by an ordinary-looking beige door with a keycard scanner by the handle. She slipped the keycard from her pocket and tapped it to the scanner for the second it took for the door to ID her. She slapped the red button above the scanner. There was a buzz from somewhere behind the door, then after another second a click from the lock and she pulled it open to reveal an ordinary hallway behind.
"Aegis, if you would?" Ms. Sable said to the hero.
"Come on in you two. Probably the only time you'll get to see in here Glory," Aegis said to them, leading the way into the hallway. Ms. Sable gestured after him. Glory shrugged and floated after him. Taylor followed as well. The wall on the left was a one-way mirror. Someone was watching them as they walked the length of the hallway to another steel door. Aegis waved his own ID over the scanner by the door and elbowed it open when it clicked. He stepped aside, holding open the door. The hall beyond ran to the left with dark blue carpet and brown walls.
"Come on in," He said, waving them through. Glory Girl went first, floating curiously through the doorway. She paused the moment she turned the corner and her entire demeanour changed.
"Gallant!" She squealed. A surprised voice shouted "Vicky!" in reply as she zoomed out of sight. There was an oof and what might have been a crash. Aegis sighed. She could see a bemused smile beneath his mask.
"Ms. Hebert," Ms. Sable appeared by her side with a smile, "Please head in."
Taylor settled to the floor and walked the last couple of feet into the room, nodding thanks to Aegis as she passed. The room opened up into a common room type set up with three areas. A kitchen at the far end, a table with chairs to the left, and a sitting area with a TV large enough to cover most of the wall. Two full-sized couches and a trio of plush armchairs sat around the coffee table that was buried in a stack of pizza boxes. Racks of electronics sat on either side of the TV and included several game consoles. A sign hung from the side facing her.
'DO NOT DISASSEMBLE OR REPURPOSE FOR TINKERTECH'
Speaking of tinkers, she could see a tinker in that room. The Ward's tinker Kid Win, in his red and gold armour with red visor, was lounging in one of the chairs working on a laptop. In fact, all of the wards were there.
There was Gallant in his medieval-knight inspired power armour, minus the helmet and wearing a domino mask, with Vicky draped over him on the couch. There, in one of the other chairs and looking rather disgusted at the sight, was Vista. The littlest Ward was mock - at least she thought it was mock - gagging at the kisses Glory Girl was raining on Gallant.
Back in the kitchen was an older teenager in gold-coloured plate mail with a lion-styled helmet and shoulder pads. The leader of the Wards was turning towards the commotion from where he was shaking a bag of chips into a bowl.
The final member of the Wards was wearing a skin-tight white costume with white plates, and clocks on his wrists and chest. His faceless helmet was missing in exchange for a domino mask. "You weren't lying Vista. She really is a fox." He called across the room, waving a hand to her. "Hey, I'm Clockblocker."
"Um, hello?" She waved, a blush already fighting its way onto her cheeks.
"Easy there Clock," Aegis said as he appeared at her shoulder. "Everyone, may I introduce you to Taylor Hebert. With luck, our next teammate." He patted her on the shoulder and walked around the chair to the pizza. "Tell me you left me some."
Kid Win looked up from his laptop. "Hi," He waved. The rest of the room echoed him, with Vista somehow stepping from her chair to Taylor's side in a single blurry motion.
"Hi Taylor," Vista chirped from a foot in front of her, "Hello Inari." She reached up and scratched the white fox behind an ear.
"Oooh, you know how to say hello~" Inari sighed, melting in Taylor's arms. She rolled her eyes.
"Lazy," She sighed, waving to Kid Win.
Ms. Sable chuckled as she shut the door behind them. "Alright, I see you're getting acquainted. Well, except for Gallant. Glory Girl, get off the boy, please."
It was an embarrassed blonde that stopped kissing her boyfriend and sat back. "Sorry," She mumbled, turning an impressive shade of red. Gallant sat up, a bit of a dazed look. He spotted Taylor and waved.
"Hi there. Nice to meet you. I'm Gallant," He shook his head and gaze Vicky an exasperated look. "You know if I wasn't wearing power armour."
"Oh shut up," Vicky sighed as the rest of the room, sans Vista, chuckled.
"Enough everyone," Ms. Sable clapped her hands together. Everyone quieted down and turned to her. "Now," She began, "Ms. Hebert, Wards… Glory Girl," She acknowledged the member of New Wave in the room, "This is a meet and greet so please try and get along. Normally these are entirely freeform. Tonight, however, I'm afraid I have one request that cannot be denied." She pointed to the far left corner by the table where a microphone sat on a stand next to the bastard child of a radio and a jukebox.
"You want us to sing karaoke?" Triumph asked with disbelief. The older teen sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You realize what my power is right?"
"And you are excused Triumph," Ms. Sable replied without missing a beat. "However, everyone else must sing at least one song tonight. It does not have to be a solo, but no more than a duet, please."
Taylor groaned. In her arms, Inari snickered. "This is what you meant by a 'skill' challenge," She realized.
"That it is. At the request of Glenn if you want anyone to hang for it," Ms. Sable said, earning groans from all the Wards in the room. She smiled. "I know, I know," She said in a consoling tone that said she most certainly didn't. "Now, have fun. I'll be back in three hours and anyone who hasn't sung will have to then. Bye," She waved and ducked back out of the room.
"Well," Everyone turned to Clockblocker, "Who's up for 'Don't Stop Believing'?" A bag of potato chips, courtesy of Triumph, smacked him upside the head.
-0-0-0-0-0-
A half-hour later found Taylor taking up most of a couch by herself with Vista taking up what little space remained. Inari was half-buried in the fluff of Taylor's tails with her head in the young Ward's lap. One of Vista's hands was busy petting the white fox. The rest of the Wards were scattered about the room, but they had split into two groups. Clockblocker, and everyone else.
Taylor winced as Clockblocker, who was far too sober to not realize just how bad his singing was, belted out another out of tune line about robots from mars. "You know," She said to Vista, "Listening to a hero fail at karaoke really takes the shine off them."
The younger girl snorted. "That's Clock for you," She snarked, "It could be a lot worse."
Taylor considered that. Did she really want to know? "How?" She asked. Yes, yes she did apparently.
"He serenaded Trill for fifty minutes with increasingly terrible happy birthday songs during a patrol," Kid Win said before leaning back in his chair to look at Clockblocker. "Can you shut up for five minutes Clock? We're trying to have a conversation and it's impossible with your caterwauling."
Vista leaned over to Taylor and added quietly, "That singing got them both dumped into the M/S tank for the rest of the day."
What was the M/S Tank, Taylor wondered.
Across the room, Clockblocker stopped singing. He waved the mic at Kid Win. "I have you know that my singing is a treat for the ears," He declared.
Taylor's eyes slid back to Vista. "Is he serious?" She mouthed. The younger girl sighed and buried her face in her hands.
"My fans would line up around the block for days if I had a concert. Record labels would jockey for my attention." Taylor stared for a few moments as Clockblocker continued to elaborate on his 'incomparable musical talent' while the electronic beat continued to play in the background. Then a pillow thrown by Aegis smacked him in the face. Clockblocker was grinning as the pillow dropped. "Well," He said, bowing to his very unimpressed audience, "I suppose I could rest my voice."
Vicky shook her head. "Do you have an off-switch somewhere?" She groaned.
"He does. It's called a concussion," Kid Win sighed.
"So cruel. So, so cruel," Clockblocker sighed as he hung up the microphone and turned off the karaoke track. "So, you guys think that they're still listening in on us?" He asked, dropping into one of the folding chairs.
Triumph snorted. "I'm sure whoever's been ordered to listen in probably hates you with a passion by now," He replied before turning away from Clock. "So, Taylor," He said to her, "Now that Clock is done destroying our hearing."
"Oi! My singing is not that bad," Clockblocker protested. Vicky threw a pillow at him. It knocked him off his chair. "Ow, abuse! This is abuse of the comedian! Someone call the cops."
"We are the police," Kid Win pointed out.
"Correction, we are the junior police. At best," Clock responded, pointing a finger at Kid Win from his place on the floor, "Someone call the actual police." Everyone else ignored him.
"How're you handling the tests so far?" Triumph asked.
"Fine? I think we're done for now though," Taylor shrugged, "The Doctor seemed to think they had enough information for the moment."
"I hate it when they do that," Vista groaned, "It means that you'll get called in again in a week or so."
Taylor shrugged. She wouldn't know, but Vista had been a Ward for years and had probably been through the whole dog and pony show a few times. "I don't think they know what to make of me," She sighed.
"The list of what powers you don't have is shorter than the ones you do," Vicky pointed out from where she leaning against Gallant. He whispered something to her and she rolled her eyes.
Taylor shifted uncomfortably. "I guess? I mean, I don't have any sort of master, changer, or stranger powers." No mind control from her. No transformations, and no invisibility or the like.
"So you're a tinker?" Kid Win asked.
"Well, no. I've just got flight, superstrength, durability, speed, hydrokinesis. I think aerokinesis, and whatever you call lightning…" She blushed. 'Just' was such a misleading word. "... it is a bit much," She admitted.
Triumph chuckled. "And I thought I hit the lottery with sound manipulation and a bit of super strength." He shook his head. "I know you haven't signed anything yet, but we're glad to have you."
"Thanks," Taylor nodded, looking about the room. An awkward silence was settling over them as no one seemed sure of what to say. They all seemed nice so far, even Clockblocker seemed more of a goof than malicious, but how much was them just wanting to make a good impression and how much was true?
Aegis slapped the arms of his chair and stood up. "Right, well this is getting a bit awkward. So why don't we get started on this karaoke thing branding wants us to do?" He stretched. Taylor would deny it if asked, but her eyes lingered on the rippling muscle underneath his skin-tight suit. Aegis was buff like a professional athlete and the outfit did nothing to hide that fact.
"Let's get the seats turned about. Triumph, gimme a hand?" Aegis said as he walked over to one end of Taylor's couch.
"Uuuh, guys?" Taylor said hesitantly as the leader of the Wards joined the resident flying brick in taking up positions on opposite sides of Taylor's couch.
"Don't worry. We've done this before. Just relax and enjoy," Aegis said as he bent down and grabbed the couch with two hands. Panic surged through Taylor for a moment, but a fear of being dumped on the floor, not that it would hurt, led to her freezing as the two of them picked up the couch.
She glanced at Vista as the two boys turned the couch towards to Karaoke console. The younger girl barely seemed to pay attention as she scratched Inari behind the ears. The Fox was eating up the attention and seemed incapable of realizing what was going on. 'So much for being a millennia-old goddess,' she snarked in her head.
As the couch was set down the rest of the Wards and Vicky were already in motion. Chairs were spun and couches were moved. The coffee table was carried, pizza boxes and all, to the correct side of the furniture, and the large dining table was shuffled out of the way. The microphone was moved to the center of the room, but the cables for the machine prevented it from being moved as well.
"Give me ten minutes and I could-" Kid Win began.
"No tinkering with the equipment Kid," Triumph cut him off. He pointed to the sign Taylor had noticed earlier.
"But that's referring to the racks, not the karaoke machine," The young tinker protested.
"Do you really think they'll care about the difference?" Clockblocker asked him from where he was sitting at the big table. He was snacking on a plate of pepperoni pizza.
"We know they don't," Aegis added, patting Kid on the shoulder. "Probably for the best. The machine doesn't need a laser cannon."
"Once. Once," Kid groaned to the snickering of the rest. He flopped into his chair. "So, who goes first?"
"Not me," Taylor said immediately, shaking her head firmly. She would put that off for as long as possible. Why did she have to sing anyway? What sort of plan were they coming up with that required her to sing?
"I'm sure everyone prefers having their hearing," Triumph said, cracking open a bottle of french onion dip.
"By all means, sit this one out, oh glorious leader," Clockblocker said, standing up.
"And Clock has hogged the mic enough tonight," Aegis said, taking the microphone himself. With a disappointed sigh, Clockblocker flopped back into his chair.
"Then go ahead Aegis. Show me up," Clockblocker said, settling back into his chair with a chuckle.
"So what're you going to sing Aegis?" Vicky asked.
He chuckled. "No idea," He admitted as he walked over to the machine and started going through the list. "Just need to see what this thing actually has." A few minutes later he took the binders sitting on top over to the table.
"Do you even know any songs?" Kid asked.
"Do you?" Aegis responded as he flipped through the book.
"Uuh," Kid glanced around, "Maybe we should all take a look at that list then?" He kicked down the footstool of the armchair and hurried over to the table. "Vista? Gallant?" He called.
Vista sighed. "Coming," She groaned, setting Inari aside. "Sorry," She said apologetically.
"It's okay," Inari sighed, flopping back into Taylor's tails. "I have these to cuddle." Taylor rolled her eyes, but did nothing as the ex-deity dug into the tangled nest that was her tails.
"Gallant?" Vista prodded when the armoured hero remained where he was.
"I'm good. I think Vicky has a plan?" He turned to his girlfriend.
Vicky grinned. "Duuueeeet~" She sang high and clear. Taylor felt a flash of jealousy. It was the sort of singing voice that people would want to listen to for days.
"What I'd like to know is what Branding is thinking," Gallant ran a hand through his hair. "Are they planning on seeing if we can sing jingles or something else ridiculous?"
"Oh god no," Vista groaned, "I refuse to sing for a commercial or something stupid like that. Fuck that."
"Vista," Triumph said warningly.
She huffed. "You were thinking it," She grumbled.
"Hmm," Gallant leaned forward, resting his chin on his elbow.
"Ideas Gallant?" Vicky asked.
"This isn't normal for Branding I take it?" Taylor asked.
The armoured knight shook his head. "Nope. This is just weird."
Taylor frowned and toyed with a tail. "Well… What is Branding normally anyway? I mean, this seems to be caused by me, but I thought my case was being handled by Glenn Chambers."
"You have Glenn?" Vista said, her face and tone conveying the message of 'you poor bastard' quite well.
"Gee, way to make it sound like I'm about to be sacrificed," Taylor frowned. The younger girl winced.
"Sorry, it's just we've all had at least one meeting with him," Vista said.
"He's a weird one," Triumph agreed, "Glenn is Head of Image for the PRT and Protectorate. He heads up both PR and Branding. As far as I'm aware he spends most of his time jumping around tackling PR problems in problem areas. Naturally, that means we've all had to get help from him at least once."
"I haven't," Aegis pointed out. He had stopped flipping through the book.
"That might make you the only person I know who hasn't," Triumph sighed. "Your time will come."
"Am I a problem case?" Taylor asked. She didn't think she was… Everyone winced as their ears popped.
Triumph backed up a step waving his hands in the air. "No, no not at all. Glenn tends to stick around for a bit if someone catches his eye," Triumph said, "You don't have a criminal record or anything, right?" She shook her head. "Exactly. At a guess, I'd say you've just managed to catch his eye then. He sees something in you, or thinks he does. It's usually protectorate capes, but I've heard of a few Wards over the years that he's helped micromanage."
Taylor made a face. "That sounds… creepy," She said. Her tails twitched.
"Annoying more like," Vista grumbled, "His ideas for costume are so impractical. Bleh."
Vicky rolled her eyes. "Anything that isn't head to toe kevlar and steel plates is too impractical for you." Vista stuck her tongue out but didn't deny it.
"I spent a month with him after my introduction," Clockblocker chuckled. "Bit weird, but he got it better than that lady from before." Both Vista and Vicky rolled their eyes at him.
The pressure in the room dropped as Taylor untensed. People winced again as ears popped once more. "Sorry," She apologized as she realized what she had done. "I've just been a bit nervous about this whole thing." A major understatement. The entire process was absolutely nerve-wracking and sleep hadn't exactly been easy every night since it started.
"We get it. Don't worry," Vicky floated over and gave her a hug. "We've all been… well, they've all been where you are. I just had the short time before I came out a couple years ago." Taylor leaned into the hug and sighed.
A loud clap came from the table. "Right, I'm ready. Everyone grab a book and start going through them," Aegis said as he walked around the room and passed out books. Taylor accepted one as Vicky zipped back over to her boyfriend. The blonde settled down in his lap as she flipped through the binder.
"So what're you going to sing?" Triumph asked.
"A song," Aegis said, stepping up to the machine. "Since you're not singing, try and guess what it is." He picked up the microphone from its cradle.
"Maybe I will," Triumph chuckled. The older hero leaned back in his chair.
Aegis flicked a few switches on the karaoke machine and turned to them, raising the microphone as the first few delicate bars of music began to play. The gentle reverberation of the air ruffled her new senses pleasantly
"And now, the end is near." Taylor stared as Aegis crooned into the microphone.
"And so I face the final curtain,
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I travelled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way~"
Taylor had to admit, he wasn't Frank Sinatra, but Aegis was a surprisingly good singer.
-0-0-0-0-0-
It wasn't the last song Aegis sang that night, but eventually, he had to step aside for a rather bombastic duet performance of Shania Twain's 'Party for Two'. Honestly, the best part had been watching the shades of red Vista's face had turned along with the variously disgusted faces she had sent Vicky's way. In a way, Taylor had to feel a bit sorry for the younger girl. This entire thing was probably a bit too 'grown-up' for her.
Aegis had managed to slide back in, cutting off Clockblocker, with another song, this time from Johnny Cash. Then it was Vista's turn. Her rendition of 'I just can't wait to be king' from the Lion King had Clockblocker leaning over to Triumph. Taylor was fairly sure she wasn't supposed to hear his whispered comment of "You better watch your back Triumph. She's getting ambitious." Triumph snorted and flipped him off.
Aegis was a better singer than Vista, but fortunately, her song typically benefited from a younger voice and enthusiasm. As she wound down Clockblocker went to stand up, only for Aegis to once again sweep in to take the microphone. As he started singing 'Ring of Fire' By Johnny Cash Taylor was left with the feeling that Aegis had had way too much of Clockblocker's singing.
She leaned back and let the music, as iffy as the assorted singers were, flow over her. It would be her turn eventually. She grimaced faintly. Singing in front of people. Sure they were being mostly quiet about it, but there was certainly some ribbing going around whenever someone flubbed a line or spent half a song out of sync with the background music. As Kid Win stood up to take his turn keeping Clockblocker off the mic Taylor opened the binder.
The first few pages were titles, disclaimers, and the other usually fluff. She flicked passed it to the list of music. It was a fairly hefty list. Not surprising since the binder had to be at least three hundred pages thick. Each page had at least two songs stuffed onto it. The words were small enough she had to wonder what the creators were thinking.
Probably how to fit six hundred songs into three hundred pages.
She ignored the rap section and barely skimmed the pop songs. Rock was, eh a mixed bag. Country was ignored. She just couldn't see herself being that loud. Pages of jazz, folk, and even a few marching songs were passed by without comment.
Victoria dragged Gallant up for another round as Kid Win finished.
The songs passed into heavy metal and Taylor made a face. Nope. Just nope. She paused a few pages later on a song she recognized. 'In Sumerian Haze' by Sirenia. It was rather dark, but fairly quiet. Not her usual tastes, but she knew it thanks to Emma. Her little smile wavered at the thought of her former friend. A few years back Emma had decided that she was 'goth' and that was it. For maybe two weeks, then the hair dye incident had happened and that was it for the other girl. Taylor had kept listening to the songs Emma had found for the rest of the year.
It would do, she supposed. That is, if she really wanted to get up there and sing. She gently bit her lip. The lady from Branding said she had to but… she drummed her fingers on the open binder in her lap. It meant getting up in front of people and, potentially, making a fool of herself. When was the last time she sang anyway? She couldn't remember. Probably sometime before her mother died. Before Emma turned on her.
She nibbled her lip.
She glanced down at the page again. The song wasn't her really. It was too dark, and she had enough dark thoughts going around that she didn't need to add to them. But, it was quiet. It was simple, as simple as singing could be anyway. Her ears twitched as Vicky hit a particularly high note. She could feel the air quiver like a tightly wound string as Vicky and Gallant sang back and forth.
She watched the two heroes as they sang back and forth. There was no nervousness on either of their faces as they traded back and forth. Vicky just seemed to bubble with enthusiasm as much as talent. It was impressive how open she seemed to be. No fear of failure or ridicule, just a girl and her boyfriend having fun with friends.
These people were going to be her teammates in a few days. Maybe they deserved a chance to be her friends before she tied herself up in what-ifs and maybes.
She shifted, gently brushing Inari out from amidst her tails. "I need to take my turn," She told her softly. Inari sighed dramatically but nodded her understanding before she hopped off and walked over to where Vista was getting a plate of pizza. Probably to steal some from the younger girl's plate.
Taylor stood up and followed, borrowing a plate from the pile in the kitchen. She snagged a piece of Hawaiian pizza. "I'll go next," She said quietly to Triumph.
"You sure? No offence, but this doesn't really seem like your kind of thing," The older boy said.
"She said we all had to so might as well get it out of the way," Taylor sighed before digging into the slice. It was getting towards being lukewarm at best, but pizza was pizza and warm or cold it was delicious. She ate quickly as she waited for Vicky and Gallant to finish their song. She was only partway through the pizza when they finished.
"Taylor is up next," Triumph said as Aegis and Clockblocker both went to get up again. Aegis dropped back into his seat.
"Well, she's still eating so I'll just-" Taylor hooked the time-controller around the waist with a tail and pulled him back into his armchair. "Or, maybe not." He shrugged helplessly. He gave her nearest tail a careful glance. "How strong are you? That looks like nothing but fluff, but it might as well have been steel."
"Fiftyish tons," Taylor said before taking another bite of the pizza.
"More than enough to put you in your place Clock," Aegis chuckled, "Let her have a turn. We don't need you wrecking our ears anymore."
"You're just jealous," Clock chuckled.
Rolling her eyes, Taylor finished her pizza and wiped her hands off on a paper towel before moving over to the machine. She snagged the microphone on her way by. As she tapped through the menus on the karaoke machine she could feel the eyes of the group on her. She shivered.
"So, what're you singing Taylor?" Vicky asked.
"Just something I actually know," Taylor sighed, "An old friend went through a goth phase and wouldn't stop playing this song for all three weeks it lasted."
Vicky snorted. "Three weeks?"
"Mhmm. Bad hair dye does that," Taylor snickered, "But, she never stopped playing this song. Nice and simple, if a bit dark."
"Simple? Where's your sense of adventure?" Clockblocker protested, his hands held out plaintively. "Reach for the stars. Dare to sing big."
"Unlike you, I think she'd rather avoid having the stars fall on her instead," Vista snarked.
"Cold Vista, so cold," Clockblocker sighed.
And there was the song, far, far down the list. Taylor queued it up on the player and reached for the play button. Her finger hovered over the button as she hesitated. Swallowing her nervousness she pressed the button and turned back to the group. She took a deep breath to steady herself as the first cords of an electric guitar and a violin began to play. The air rippled with the music, vibrating as it flowed through the room. She let herself sway with the air, becoming one with it for but a moment as she tried to find the nerve to sing.
She closed her eyes as she listened to the music play and waited for her moment. Just over thirty seconds in she began to sing.
"In Sumerian haze you search for another day
Guess another vail left you this way
Thoughts on a line where I leave it all behind
Nothing can mend the hurt inside"
She didn't open her eyes. Didn't look at the faces watching her. She just focused on the song. Her voice was rough to her own ears. Too sharp, too flat, too all over the place. She tried to fix it as she went, but to her own ears, it sounded like a cat trying to sing the blues. As she trailed off and let the instrumental play itself out she could feel a blush forming.
The music came to an end and she opened her eyes. Everyone was staring at her. Her ears twitched nervously and she brought a tail around to hold as the rest hung low. They weren't saying anything. They were just sitting, staring at her like statues. "So… That bad?" She asked softly. That seemed to break whatever spell was on them as Vicky bounced off the couch and across the room.
"Bad? That was amazing~" Taylor squeaked as Vicky spun her around, tangling them in the microphone cable.
"Cable, cable!" Taylor said as it wrapped about one of her tails. It didn't hurt, but it was pulling on both her and the machine. Breaking the machine was not something she wanted to do that day.
"I- Oh shit. Sorry," Vicky blushed and put Taylor down.
"That was brilliant," Vista said, appearing like magic with an odd twist of space as Taylor and Vicky disentangled themselves from the cables. "A bit dark at the end though," She frowned.
"It is. I'm not really too fond of songs like it," Taylor sighed. There was a time when she could have listened to music like it all day, but these days it just made her feel worse. She really didn't need help feeling bad. "And, really my singing was terrible. I kept going too high or falling flat. I sounded terrible."
Vicky just looked at her, microphone cable held in her hands. Taylor squirmed nervously. "What?" She asked.
The blonde just shook her head. "I can't tell if your standards are that high, or if you're just oblivious," She sighed before dropping the cable and turning to the rest of the group "Hey guys, she sounded amazing, right?"
Clockblocker started applauding while the rest nodded and grinned. "Sounded amazing to me," Aegis said.
"She sounds better than you," Kid Win said, throwing up his hands in a warding gesture as Vicky mimed throwing something at him.
"Uuuuh?" Taylor blinked at them. Were they serious? She sounded terrible. She looked to Inari. "Tell them they're crazy," She told the former goddess who was sitting on the table eating from a box of pizza that she had claimed at some point during Taylor's song.
"Goddess~" Came the ever-annoying refrain from Inari. "Face it Taylor, you're never going to be just 'okay' anymore." Taylor briefly considered throwing the microphone at Inari. She didn't, but it was so tempting.
"What is with that by the way?" Clock asked, pointing at Inari. "She's said that what, four or five times since you got here?"
Taylor groaned. "Strange power quirks," She explained. It was even technically true if you listened to the PRT.
"Huh," Clockblocker stroked his chin. "Normally that's stuff like 'can't control duration' or 'must eat chocolate to breathe fire'. Stuff like that. You don't normally hear of people's powers telling them they're gods."
"At least she's cute," Vista said, picking Inari off the table and claiming the pizza box before sitting down on the couch with both. She held a slice of pepperoni pizza up for Inari to snack on.
"Please stop feeding my power," Taylor deadpanned, "She already steals enough of my bacon."
"Feed me Vista~" Inari proclaimed between bites of pizza. Taylor just sighed as the others snickered. At least they liked her singing. She let Vicky drag her off 'stage' to sit with her and Gallant.
The last hour of the party passed with only a couple notable events. Chief amongst them was when Clockblocker managed to steal the mic long enough to sing 'I'm too sexy'. Taylor was very thankful that it only took a single tail to completely block out her sight. Somethings should not be allowed. The other notable event was when Vicky, ever irrepressible, dragged her up for a duet singing a pop song that she had never heard of before. Thank god for printed lyrics.
By the time Ms. Sable returned Taylor could say, with some reluctance, that she had enjoyed herself. The trip home was comparatively quiet and uneventful.
-0-0-0-0-0-
When Taylor arrived home she was surprised to find her dad's truck in the driveway. After the plainclothes PRT officers checked it was safe she was hustled to the garage side door and she let herself in. As she opened the door from the garage to the house she called, "Dad?" Inari scampered past her into the house.
"IN THE KITCHEN," Her dad called. She slipped down the hall and poked her head into the kitchen. Danny was sitting at the table with a box of Chinese take out and a stack of papers. "How was your day?" He asked as he looked up from the papers he was going over.
She blinked, then smiled. How long had it been since he asked her that? Months at least. It was nice to hear again. "Surprisingly, not too bad," She admitted, sliding over to the kitchen table. She peered over his shoulder at the papers. It was a breakdown of the cost of replacing steel rails for a railway. She winced at the numbers. "Better than yours by the looks of it."
He glanced down. "Yeah, but its not as bad as it looks. The rails were already scheduled for replacement next month. We're just moving the timetable up a bit. No issues with being poked and prodded all day?" He asked.
"I had a nice nap at the end actually. Then there was pizza," She said, watching him carefully.
He nodded. "That's why I didn't pick up more. Glenn Chambers said they'd feed you well." He shuffled the papers on the table into a neat pile before fishing out a thin folder. "The news said something about thick fog, however. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" He asked knowingly. She blushed.
"Oops?" She said weakly. He chuckled and sighed.
"At least it was just fog this time. The docks had a rude guest today. Here," He opened the folder and laid its contents out across the table, "Inari you'll want to see this as well." The white fox leapt up onto a chair, then the tabletop. "I had Kurt take these before the PRT showed up. What do you think?"
Taylor leaned passed her dad to get a closer look at the nearly a dozen photos. She picked one up. "Is that a great white?" She asked.
"No," Inari said with a frown. "That is a very young megalodon. Very young."
"So that boy was right. Imagine that." Danny muttered. She wondered who he was talking about.
"What's that sticking out of it?" Taylor asked. Danny shifted photos and pulled a close up of the object sticking out of it to her attention. Taylor and Inari leaned over it. "That is a trident," She observed.
"More than just a trident," Inari frowned. "That is Cyclopean manufacture. I recognize the style. Poseidon owned dozens of them. He tended to break them when things really got going."
"Cyclops? Like from the Odyssey? I thought you said the gods were dead?" Danny asked, leaning forward himself.
Inari sighed and sat down, wrapping her tail around the front of her paws. "I said the Gods were dead, yes. Anything left is either not a god, or not a god anymore. Like me. Or them," She said, pointing to the trident. "The Cyclopes are not gods. They are related, but they are not, strictly speaking, gods. Spirits, powerful ones at that, but not gods. More importantly, they, or someone with access to their arms, has noticed you."
Taylor frowned and crossed her arms. "Is- Is that a bad thing?" She asked. Her right ear twitched nervously.
"If it's the cyclops? Then it could be very good. If it isn't? I really can't say," Inari confessed. "The interesting thing I note is the symbols on the trident. Foxes and lightning bolts. The implications are very interesting."
"And worrying," Taylor muttered, "Doesn't it take time to make something like this?"
Inari nodded. "Months, years even. I can't tell you the quality of the weapon without seeing it in person though. These photos just aren't good enough," She said to Danny.
He shrugged. "I'm sure the PRT will have better photos. Not sure if they'd share, however. They carted it off to god knows where this afternoon."
"No she doesn't," Inari said, getting blank stares for a few moments as she grinned. Then both Taylor and Danny groaned.
"No, just no," Taylor sighed. She tossed the photo she was examining back onto the pile. "Well, whatever is going on I don't care right now. I'm just going to go sit down on the couch and watch TV until I fall asleep."
Danny shuffled the photos back into their folder. "I'll finish up here then join you," He said, "Movie night?"
Taylor blinked. "Sure. Ideas?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Pull something out of the collection," He told her.
"I'll go get that ready then. See you in a minute," She gave him a hug then left the room humming ring of fire. Surprise mythological creatures or not, today was a good day.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The next day dawned quietly for Taylor. Without having to head in for testing she had slept in as her dad headed out early for more meetings about the damaged rail line, then the PRT later in the day. For her though? No testing. No practice. Nothing but the quiet laziness of cuddling a pillow underneath a blanket while watching cartoons in your pyjamas. Or what passed for pyjamas these days.
In the crook of her arm was a bowl of potato chips that she slowly nibbled on as she watched the TV. In all honesty, she had no idea what was going on. It was some Earth Aleph show that had a long running story that she knew nothing about, but it was better than everything else on TV at the moment. She didn't need to know what was going on to enjoy the action anyway.
At some point into the third episode of the same series - the channel was apparently doing a marathon - she heard knocking on the front door. She ignored it. She couldn't exactly answer a door looking like she did. Not yet anyway. A second knock, louder than the first, came a few seconds later.
"Are you going to get that?" Inari prodded.
"Looking like this?" Taylor rolled her eyes and nibbled more on her chips.
Inari stretched and hopped down. "They smell familiar," She said.
"They're on the porch. How can you smell them?" Taylor asked blandly, not really paying attention as whoever it was knocked again.
"That's why I can't tell who it is. There's a door in the way," Inari said, walking in the direction of the door. Taylor yawned and pulled her blanket up a bit further. She nibbled on a potato chip. Her ear twitched at the noise of something moving in the distance, then again at a click thunk noise.
Then the door opened and shut a moment later. Taylor frowned and set her bowl aside. "INARI! Did you let- Vicky?" She blinked as the superheroine floated in from the hallway with Inari in her arms.
"Heya Tay-tay~" Vicky greeted with a wave.
"Don't call me that," Taylor said reflexively. "And- how are you here? Why are you here?"
Vicky shrugged and held up Inari. "She let me in," She said before setting the fox down.
"Who said you need opposable thumbs to operate a door?" Inari grinned. Taylor stared at her flatly, then retrieved her bowl of chips.
"Well that doesn't really explain how, but why are you here Vicky?" She asked again.
Victoria shrugged and floated over to the armchair. She frowned as she sat down in it. "Is it just me or is this chair kinda grainy?" She asked.
Taylor rolled her eyes. "There was an incident with salt-water. Be glad we got it out of the carpet and couch. Why are you here?" She asked, mildly perturbed at the intrusion on her nice and quiet day of relaxation.
"Your dad thought that you'd been left alone too much recently so he called mum and asked me to come by. He didn't say anything?" Vicky asked.
"Not a word, though he was gone by the time I woke up," She shrugged. Potato chips crunched as she nibbled.
"Hmm… whatcha watching?" Vicky asked.
"Something from Aleph. I can't remember what it's called," Taylor said, watching as one of the main characters pointed a pink stick with a heart on it at a monster. A giant pink heart destroyed the monster a moment later, drawing winces from both Vicky and Taylor.
"That's an embarrassing way to go," The other girl noted.
"Mhmm," Taylor agreed through a mouthful of chips.
"Do you have any more of those?" Vicky pointed to the bowl of chips.
"In the cupboard beside the fridge," She replied, "Bowls are on the left." As Vicky floated out of her chair she added, "And can you get me a can of coke?"
"Not pepsi?" Vicky asked as she floated by.
Taylor snorted. "Don't tell me you're that kind of heretic," She said, sticking her tongue out at the other girl in distaste.
Vicky snickered. "I'm kidding. Maybe." She disappeared into the kitchen.
Taylor shifted around and pulled herself up until she was lounging against the armrest of the couch rather than lying on her side. She nibbled some more on the chips. "Why did you let her in?" She asked Inari quietly.
"You need the company," Inari yawned from her perch on the footstool, "Your dad and I talked about it last night."
"And you didn't think to mention it to me?" Taylor frowned. Vicky was… Well, she seemed nice enough, if rather energetic. She bit her lip as she frowned. "I just wanted a quiet day," She grumbled.
"And now you can have one. With a friend," Inari replied before burying her nose in her tail and appeared to promptly fall asleep. Right. The little fox was probably fully aware of everything around her. Taylor tossed a single potato chip at the fox. It bounced off her head without reaction. She frowned and turned her attention back to the TV.
A few minutes later her watching was interrupted as Vicky floated back into the room. "You know," Victoria said thoughtfully as she interposed a can of coke at eye-level between Taylor and the TV, "You'd look good in one of those outfits."
Taylor glanced up at the other girl as she accepted the drink and cracked open the cold can. She sipped it and sighed. "Not a chance. Ignoring the fact they're way too frilly, I don't have the figure." It wasn't like she had a figure at all, as Emma and company were so quick to remind her every single day.
She glanced up at Vicky, who was still floating beside her silently. "What?" She asked, spotting the look of disbelief on the other girl's face.
"You don't- when was the last time you looked in a mirror?" Vicky asked with a tone to her voice Taylor couldn't place.
"This morning?" She replied hesitantly. That was apparently not the correct response judging by the way Vicky's look of disbelief grew rather than shrank. The snickering coming from the furry lump on the footstool supported that belief. "What?"
Emotions warred across Vicky's face for a few moments before a curious expression appeared. "Taylor, did your powers include any physical changes?" She asked.
"Well there are these things," Taylor waved a tail in greeting, "But otherwise, not really? I might have put on a bit of weight though. Nothing fits anymore." She blinked as Vicky put her chips and drink down very deliberately before taking Taylors as well. "Hey, I'm-"
"Coming with me," Vicky pulled her out of the bundle of blankets and pillows she had wrapped herself in and if Taylor hadn't reflexively started to float she would have faceplanted. While not faceplanting was nice, floating came with the issue that she was now much easier to push around.
"What are you doing?" She demanded, crossing her arms as the other girl guided her out of the room.
"Where's the nearest mirror. Big mirror," Vicky asked.
"Erm, the upstairs bathroom I think?" Taylor replied, now very confused as Vicky gently pushed her up the stairs like a rogue balloon. The padding of paws on carpet signalled that Inari was joining this little procession.
"Here?" Vicky pointed to the ajar bathroom door, the tiles visible in the opening, as they crested the stairs.
"Yeah. What are you doing though?" Taylor demanded again.
"Making you look in a mirror," Vicky deadpanned.
Feeling fairly offended Taylor reached out and caught the edge of the doorframe. "I looked in a mirror this morning," She scowled, spinning in mid-air to face the other girl. "If you want to insult me just say it." Her tails swirled around her, echoing her mood.
To her surprise and befuddlement, Vicky just stared at her with disbelief. "You-" The blonde looked down at the fox by their feet. "Is she serious?" She asked.
Inari sighed. "She has issues. I've been working on them. Slowly." Taylor scowled at the fox.
"I do not-" Her hand loosed on the doorframe and Vicky lashed out faster than she could track and gave her a fairly solid push the sent her floating back into the bathroom. "HEY!"
"Look!" Vicky pointed at the mirror as she entered the bathroom.
Taylor glanced at the mirror for all of a second before looking back to Victoria. "So? It's me." She almost flinched as Vicky reached out and grabbed her before spinning her to face the mirror.
"Look. Don't glance. Don't dismiss. Look!" Vicky demanded.
Feeling vaguely affronted, and rather nervous if she was being honest, Taylor did as asked. She looked at the mirror. Moreover, she looked at the girl in the mirror. The last time she had done so for more than just absently combing her hair was when she had first woken up a bit over a week ago. The girl back then had looked nearly identical to the her that had stared back at her for most of her life, if a bit fluffier.
The girl who looked back now was not that girl.
The girl in the mirror still had a forehead that seemed a little too big, and a smile that was just a smidgen too wide. That was where the similarities ended. Where Taylor Hebert of last week had more in common with a two by four than a girl, this Taylor Hebert looked like a girl. It was certainly an understatement. She- Taylor looked down at herself then back up at the mirror.
"I-" The girl in the mirror turned with her as she traced the body of the girl in the mirror. She looked like a model. She had hips. She had chest rather than a plank. She looked… "Is that really me?" She asked the room. Vicky leaned over and pulled her into a hug.
"Not used to looking beautiful I take it?" The blonde asked. She shook her head.
"No, I-" She turned her head and watched the girl in the mirror follow. "I look pretty." She almost couldn't believe the words as they left her mouth.
"I did try and tell you," Inari said as she hopped up onto the countertop. "Fertility Goddess." The only reason Taylor didn't smack the fox with a tail, for the sheer amount of smug she could feel coming off the vulpine, was because she was having a hard time taking her eyes off her own reflection long enough to register what was being said.
"Your fox is weird," Vicky said, getting a nod from Taylor. "See what I mean now when I said you could pull off one of those outfits?"
Unbidden Taylor pictured herself in one of those frilly outfits. A scowl and a blush appeared simultaneously. "Nope. Too frilly," She said, "And way too much skin." And now she had the figure to make that skin mean something.
Vicky snickered. "Oh, I don't know. I think I'd like to try one on at least once," She grinned. Taylor just shrugged as she continued to preen at her reflection. "Okay, enough vanity," Vicky declared after a few more moments. She grabbed Taylor and steered her away from the mirror.
"Hey!" Taylor protested.
"TV, snacks, and being lazy await," The blonde declared, "You can primp in front of the mirror later."
"I do not primp," She pouted as she let herself be floated back out of the room. A small silly smile quickly replaced it. She was pretty.
"I know primping. That was primping. We are going to go and do snacking now," Vicky said.
Taylor was still grinning like a maniac when she wrapped herself back up in a blanket. She was pretty. She giggled as she tried to take a sip of coke and pointedly ignored the amused expressions being exchanged by Vicky and Inari. Who cared if she was losing it a little. She was pretty. It was several hours before she could stop smiling, and she was still in a good mood when Vicky took off for the night after a nice relaxing day watching TV and eating snacks.
"You know," She said to Inari that night as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, "She's a bit pushy, but I like her."
"You mean Victoria?" Inari asked.
"Mhmm," Taylor nodded, leaning forward to look at her forehead. She couldn't see a single blackhead anyway. Her skin was practically flawless as far as she could tell. The longer she looked the more she could understand Vicky's disbelief that morning.
"I told you that you needed a friend," Inari sang smugly, getting an indulgent eye-roll from Taylor. She patted the white fox on the head and stretched, her eyes locked on her reflection.
"I think I'm going to need better clothes than these," She said after a long moment.
"I don't know. These certainly look good on you," Inari smirked.
Taylor adjusted her tank top. "That's the problem," She sighed. Despite herself, she smiled. In a way, it was nice to have 'pretty girl' issues.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The next day was not as relaxing as the day before. As far as things went it did not start as early as the two days of testing. It started at the reasonable time of nine am when the PRT escort arrived to take them to the PRT Headquarters. Taylor, her dad, and Inari were bundled up into the back seat of a blue SUV.
"Sooo, what are we dealing with today?" Taylor asked her dad as their vehicle pulled out of the driveway. "You didn't answer me when you were making breakfast."
"Hmm, oh," Her dad looked up from the folder he had open in the briefcase in his lap. "A few things. Assuming all goes well it though, we should be signing the wards contract today."
She stared at him. "And you didn't think to tell me yesterday?" She asked, rather annoyed.
"He did. You just nodded and giggled a bit," Inari said from her lap. Taylor flushed. She had been a bit giddy the day before.
"Still shoulda told me sooner," She muttered. Her dad chuckled and patted her on the head. She sighed. "So, assuming all goes well, I'll be a Ward after today?"
"Assuming so, yes," He nodded. "The last big thing will be going over your costume. We've already got the rest of this nonsense squared away. Carol has been a lot of help making sense of this mess quickly. She's had plenty of experience with Wards contracts in the past and it shows. And it looks like you've made friends with her daughter."
Taylor nodded. "Vicky's a bit pushy, but she's fun to hang out with," She admitted, toying with a lock of hair. The conversation drifted away from serious topics onto more mundane ones. Finally, after a wandering conversation that had included the weather on four separate occasions, the SUV pulled up to the back gate of the PRT Headquarters and was let inside the compound moments later. The vehicle drove through the parking lot then turned down a ramp into the parkade after passing through another checkpoint.
The SUV pulled up to an underground drop off where Battery was waiting as they got out. The heroine's eyes looked Taylor up and down as she walked over. "I'd heard you were having a growth spurt," She said with a shake of her head, "But I didn't quite realize what they meant."
Taylor blushed. "Neither did I?" She offered awkwardly. It was a little embarrassing that she had to literally get shoved in front of a mirror before she noticed.
Battery chuckled. "Well, I'm happy to see you doing well Taylor. Mr. Hebert, it's good to see you again as well." She held out a hand to Taylor's dad.
"It's good to see you again as well Battery," Her dad said, accepting the handshake.
"Let's get the two of you signed in. Brandish is waiting for you upstairs," Battery waved them through the security door into the building. One boring sign in, two snazzy new nametags, and fifteen minutes later they exited the elevator onto the third floor. A gold sign proclaimed 'Third Floor, Image and Wards.'
Battery led them down the blue and green carpeted hallway. They passed cubicles, offices, and several boardrooms with ongoing meetings before reaching a boardroom guarded by a single PRT trooper in full gear. He nodded to Battery as they approached. "Mr. Hebert and his daughter Taylor are here for their meeting," She told him.
The PRT trooper nodded and knocked on the door. A moment later another trooper on the other side opened the door. "Battery with the Heberts," The first trooper said. The second passed it on then fully opened the door a few seconds later and stepped aside. Battery led them inside.
Waiting for the in the room around a large conference table was Ms. Dallon, Glenn Chambers, and another man who Taylor didn't recognize. Glenn was the first to stand as they came in. "Mr. Hebert, Taylor, welcome. I'm glad you came," He said as he stepped around the table to shake her dad's hand. His hair and clothes were as eccentric as ever with him sporting a different tacky tourist shirt with blue and orange butterflies.
"I hope you've finished up with everything we talked about yesterday?" Her dad asked as Ms. Dallon stood up.
"Oh, everything is ready for your daughter to make a decision," Glenn said with a grin.
"Decision?" Taylor asked, glancing down at Inari who shrugged.
"For your uniform of course," Glenn said. He turned to her and looked her up and down. "Hrm… Yes, I think our designs will look excellent on you. We have prepared a few, all approved by your father, for you to choose from. Each one of them is a draft and we can change quite a bit about them. Today we're just trying to nail down a theme and style for you."
Taylor nodded. "We do have a few things to do before then," Mrs. Dallon said as she joined the conversation. "Danny, Taylor." She nodded to both, "How was the ride over?"
"Boring mostly," Taylor said.
"The best ones are. I hope my daughter didn't cause any problems yesterday?" Ms. Dallon asked.
Taylor shook her head. "No problems. It was nice having someone over for once," She admitted. She was still a little giddy, if embarrassed about what Vicky had pointed out.
"That's good to hear. Now, may I introduce the both of you to Deputy-Director Renick of the PRT," Mrs. Dallon gestured to the man who was still seated at the table. He looked to be a bit older than her dad, if a little shorter and with significant amounts of grey streaked through his black hair.
"Mr. Hebert, may I welcome you and your daughter to the Parahuman Response Team, East North-East," The Deputy-Director said, nodding to both of them. "We are a few minutes early, but if you could take your seats we can get this meeting underway."
"Thank you for the welcome," Her dad said as they took their seats beside Ms. Dallon. "If I may, I'd like to thank you for how your people have handled everything so far. They've shown more competence than I've come to expect from the PRT over the years."
If the Deputy-Director was offended he didn't show it. Instead, he simply nodded. "It is difficult to appear competent and capable when your opponents aren't just as good as you in their own way but outnumber you so egregiously. Brockton Bay represents a unique set of challenges within the United States for the PRT. I'm sure you are aware of how many of the most dangerous villains in the country either make, or have made, their home here over the years."
Her dad nodded. "I lived through the days of the March, the Teeth and Allfather's eighty-eight. I know how bad it can get here. That's why we came to the PRT. My daughter's safety comes first and I can't protect her by myself," He said.
"Dad," She ducked her head as he pulled her into a one-armed hug.
"All I can promise is that we will do everything in our power to prepare her for what the world has to offer," Renick said, spreading his arms wide. "She will be as protected as any other Ward in this city can be. Though, based upon her test results I have to say she may be better at taking care of herself than our troopers will be." Taylor blushed and tried to ignore the snickering of the vulpine in her lap.
"So, are the formalities done then?" Glenn asked, looking eager like a ten-year-old on Christmas day.
"Not entirely," Renick said, producing two hefty folders from his briefcase. "Copies of the contract with all the amendments agreed upon yesterday. Please go over them first." Ms. Dallon accepted the copies and handed one over to Danny before opening the other. The next hour was a quiet, and quite boring, discussion between her dad and Ms. Dallon as they went over the details of the contract with speed and attention to detail that only came from extensive familiarity with the subject.
Fifteen minutes in Battery disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a tray of snacks for Taylor and Inari. Glenn was busy texting on his phone like an oversized and overweight teenager. Finally, both her dad and Ms. Dallon nodded and shut the folders.
"Everything looks to be in order, however as agreed upon we'd like to see the potential costumes before signing," Ms. Dallon said.
"Excellent," Glenn exclaimed, sitting up and putting away his phone. "Do you mind if I begin?" He glanced around hopefully.
"I believe they did ask for you to begin," Renick said.
"Then I shall not keep you waiting anymore," The director of Image said with a grin. He hopped out of his chair and walked over to a door at the back of the room. He stepped inside and came out a moment later with a pair of his assistants guiding one of those rolling, flippable whiteboards. The first was covered in notes and the second held one of those circle diagrams used to denote approximate comparisons. This one had twelve separate points marked in pink.
A moment later four mannequins were rolled into the room and placed around the two whiteboards. The uniforms on each were all rather different from one another but ultimately seemed to have a theme of 'elegance and class'. The first on the left was very Japanese in design with a simple blue kimono decorated in patterns of waves. A paper umbrella was placed in its outstretched palms.
The second could only be described as Greek. Or maybe Roman? No, it was Greek. Definitely Greek. The helmet and shield placed at its feet said so. It was a white tunic with a long white cloth and brown leather skirt with decorative studs in the leather. A bronze shield sat at its feet. Intricate ancient greek writing was inscribed along the edges of the belt and the shield. Lightning bolts were being used as pins to hold together the outfit.
The third, on the far side of the whiteboards, was a dress. A two-layer white skirt with blue highlights that was shorter in the front and a white overcoat, also with blue highlights. The shoulder pads of the overcoat puffy and kinda silly looking. An odd pink staff rested against it.
The fourth and final one nearly had Taylor palming her face in exasperation. If it wasn't for the fact that Vicky had been at her place the entire day before she would have wondered if the other girl hadn't been whispering suggestions to Glenn and her dad. It was reminiscent of the anime she had been watching the day before. Though only reminiscent. It was a white and gold top with a skirt.
A white curve-hugging top made from some panels of protective looking material. A red strip of the same material ran down the centre and was bordered by golden lines on either side that came to points beneath the chest. A thin, almost gauzy, white undershirt came out across both hips.
Beneath the gauzy undershirt was the first of three layers of skirting. The outermost layer was a purple ruffle that extended along her hips beneath the undershirt, The next and most obvious layer was a bright red that sparkled gold in the light with a single thin gold line along the bottom. The inner layer was white and scalloped along the bottom. A choker of gold was a part of the top that left the shoulders bare and a purple bow covered its chest. A large gold star placed in the centre of the bow with a small note saying 'placeholder' on it.
On the arms were sleeves that ran from nearly at the shoulder to the wrists, leaving the hands exposed. The sleeves were tight near the top with more gold and red along the hems. The mannequin's legs were clothed in white thigh-high stockings with a gold and red border along the top that dipped to what appeared to be a gold star that had another small note taped to it saying 'placeholder'. The mannequin's small feet were wearing white shoes with a short broad heel. In the mannequin's hair was a single gold band in a smooth V along with a single star-shaped hair ornament on either side.
It was probably the most detailed of the four outfits.
"Um," Taylor frowned, looking from one to the next. "Why?" She asked.
"Glad you asked," Glenn said, stepping over to the whiteboard. "Now a lot of our design has been chosen simply due to your powerset. First, note the lack of a mask. We decided that since you can't hide your identity not having a mask would make you more approachable. As such only the Grecian inspired costume includes one and that one would be in the final version storable. Most likely through tinkertech. Next, we were faced with the fact that armouring you is nearly pointless."
"Why?" Taylor asked as everyone in the room nodded.
"No matter which material we can get our hands on, the quantity required to protect you beyond what your own durability can manage would be prohibitively restricting on your ability to walk or simply function," Glenn said, "Thus, we have limited what protection there is to providing coverage against acid or fire or other similar threats."
"From there, our overall design goals came together. Something that promotes mobility and increases your overall appeal. Something that would stand out. I believe we've managed that with most of these," He said.
"They all look impressive, certainly," Renick nodded.
Taylor frowned at them. "Can I go and take a closer look?" She asked.
"Please, go ahead," Glenn gestured to the mannequins. "This is an important decision."
Taylor stood up and carried Inari with her over to the nearest costume, the kimono. She walked around the japanese-style costume. "Not really me, is it?" She said to Inari.
"Hmm. As much as I'd like to say 'yes it is', you aren't Japanese," Inari said. She nodded. "No, not you at all. It's also the plainest of the four. The pattern they've picked for the kimono is bland and uninspired. Clearly not the one they put the most work into." Off to the side, Taylor heard the sound of money quietly changing hands.
They moved onto the next. "A lot more care in this one. Though, what am I supposed to do with a shield?" Taylor thought aloud.
"Hit someone with it?" Inari suggested.
"Eh," Taylor wiggled a hand. It was an impressive design, but it also came a bit too close to the stereotypical western idea of what a 'god' should wear. That was something she still didn't like. It would probably look really good on her though…
She walked passed Glenn and the whiteboards and moved onto the third costume. "It's… white?" Taylor suggested, frowning at the pink staff leaning against it. One of her ears twitched.
"That it is, hmmm," Inari tapped her paws together in thought.
"I think this one is a hard no," Taylor said after a moment of her own thought. It just didn't do anything for her, and the shoulders were so puffy. Not to mention the skirt. What was with the layering on that? Why cover the back and sides and leave the front exposed? She shook her head. The sound of more grumbling and money changing hands came from the side.
They moved onto the last costume. She prodded the top's panels. They were made from something that felt almost plastic-like. Not cloth, but not quite plastic either. Strange. The sleeves seemed to have an outer layer of the same material. The design spoke of an elegance of both design and function. Though…
"Ever get the feeling someone spent too much time watching cartoons?" Taylor asked Inari.
"I think they call it anime on Aleph," Inari said with a smirk, "It comes from Japan."
"So of course you'd know," Taylor rolled her eyes, but bent down to examine the skirting. The details were very well done. She turned to Glenn. "How much time did you spend on this one?" She asked.
"That one? That one was my design. The rest came from the in-house branding team here," Glenn said.
Oh. She looked it over. This was his work. She glanced over at the other three. The kimono wasn't her. The white dress was just bleh. The only real other contender was the Grecian styled outfit, but that had its own issues. "Why are their placeholders here?" She asked, tapping the gold star on the chest.
"We haven't finalized your symbol yet," Glenn said, "Not with that particular design anyway. The Grecian style is supposed to be lightning bolts I believe. The kimono features waves and the other one is… I'll be honest, I'm not certain." He flipped through some notes on the table. "I don't think I wrote it down anywhere either. Damn."
"Made a decision then Taylor?" Her dad asked. She turned back to the table and the field of expectant faces.
"Can I have a couple more minutes?" She asked.
"Like I said, take your time," Glenn said, gesturing with some of the papers he was now flipping through.
Taylor took Inari and retreated to a corner of the room. "Definitely not the white dress," She said and got a nod in return.
"Definitely not," Inari agreed, "Nor the Kimono I think. Between your nine tails and that you'd start a panic in the asian segment of this city I think."
Taylor frowned. "You think so?" She asked. Inari nodded.
"Oh definitely," She confirmed.
"Huh." The question of why could wait until later, but she really did want to know why. "I'm not too comfortable with the greek god one."
Inari stuck her tongue out. "Most of them were arrogant twits," She said, "Horrible to work with and terrible role models. Though, Poseidon was better than some. Worse than others, but better than some. The nicest one was Hades… hmm…" Her head tilted to the side as the fox descended into thought. She shook it off after a moment. "Anyway, that only leaves the one."
"I could just reject them all," Taylor pointed out.
"Which would take a while to replace, and stall this entire process," Inari pointed out.
Taylor grimaced. "Which would leave me stuck inside until we agreed on something," She sighed. She was getting tired of being inside all day. Especially after her two days of testing.
"So a decision needs to be made now, I think," Inari said and Taylor nodded in agreement. "So why don't you like the last one?"
She sighed. "Vicky is going to be unbearable," She groaned, getting a blinkered gaze, then a snicker from the fox.
"It is rather anime, isn't it? Personally, I like it. It has class," Inari said.
Taylor looked across the room at the fourth costume. It did have class. "It doesn't have a symbol to go with it yet," She added.
"Which you might be able to influence," Inari pointed out.
"Point... "
Inari's tail flicked. "I'm hearing a lot of positives," She pointed out.
"It shows a lot of skin?" Taylor offered, and got a roll of the eyes from Inari.
"You're a Goddess. That is downright prudish in comparison to some of the things I've worn over the years," Inari said, "It shows off your shoulders and maybe a half-inch of thigh when the wind picks up. I mean really." She dissolved into incoherent muttering.
"Well, it's a bit much for me," Taylor deadpanned. It was still the best option though. And… It wasn't that bad really. Vicky wore less and she wore a sundress into battle. A full proper dress. Hmm…
"Mr. Chambers," Taylor said finally.
"Yes?" Glenn looked up from his paperwork, his mohawk that wasn't wobbled precariously.
"For the symbol, would I have any say in that?" She asked, pointing to the fourth costume.
"Uh, yes of course. We run all logos by their respective heroes before finalizing anything. Most often they come to us with preferred designs," Glenn replied.
Taylor nodded. "Then I've made a decision. Number four. As is, I think, though maybe something else other than stars. I mean, I don't really have anything connected to stars so far so…" She shrugged.
Glenn's grin could have split his face in half. "Excellent. Yes, excellent indeed." Behind him his assistants once again exchanged money.
"I think that means we have our last bit of business done with then?" Renick asked, looking about the room as Taylor walked back to her chair.
"That was the last bit of contention, yes," Mrs. Dallon confirmed, reopening the paperwork.
"Then let us set out finalizing things," Renick said as he leaned across the table with a friendly smile. Then things got rather boring, rather quickly.
The next hour and a half was spent with Ms. Dallon going through and ensuring that not only did Taylor and her dad know where to sign, but what they were signing. It was interesting, to a degree, but there was nothing she wasn't already expecting from conversations with her dad. She paused on the last line she needed to sign.
"Um, this might be a little late, but what is my hero name going to be?" She asked sheepishly. Next to her Inari facepalmed.
"Not yet decided," Glenn said, "That'll also be up for debate and consultation over the next couple of weeks."
Taylor glanced to her dad who nodded. She signed the last line. As Ms. Dallon gathered the papers she leaned back into the chair. So, this was it. She was a Ward now. It didn't feel all that different yet.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The scanner buzzed as it worked. It was a low hum that thrummed through the laboratory. To Armsmaster it was, normally, just one of the dozens of tools he kept in his workshop. One of his earlier works it had proven capable of getting readings on anything he brought to it.
The scanner, a ten-foot-long tube of steel filled with technology beyond nearly anything else on the planet, beeped loudly. Its display flashed with the words 'transmitting results'. Armsmaster turned from it to back to his terminal and pulled up the results. He scowled and muttered a curse.
Nothing.
Again.
"You've been at this for sixteen hours Collin," A familiar voice said from the console beside him. "Take a break." Dragon, his friend and frequent collaborator frowned at him from the display with her virtual avatar.
"Not yet. I want to try one more thing," Collin said.
"You've said that ten times," She pointed out, "Set it aside and at least get something to eat."
"I ate recently." Three granola bars and a small tub of yogurt.
"That was seven hours ago Collin." He paused, his fingers frozen over the keyboard. He turned to the clock.
"Oh," He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I suppose I have lost track of time." He saved his work and leaned back in his chair. He looked across at her avatar. "It's a trident. An iron and gold trident. Sixteen hours of work and all I can tell, is it is a trident made of iron and gold that shocked everyone who touches it." He took a deep calming breath.
"I could bring down one of my suits if you think it would help?" Dragon suggested. He waved her off.
"No. I've been meaning to replace this old thing for a while. I suppose I'll simply have to upgrade it," He said.
Dragon nodded and they both fell silent for a few companionable moments. "Collin?"
"Yes?"
"What if you upgrade it and there's still nothing?" She asked.
"There has to be something," He sighed. "But if there is nothing then… Well, then we'll have to accept that it is not tinkertech. More likely it is something that someone with powers made with their power. Possibly something similar to what Dauntless does. Still, I can pick up the energy that Dauntless uses to upgrade his equipment. I'm seeing nothing of the sort from this trident." It was frustrating in the way that only seeing nothing when you knew there had to be something could be. It made you feel like a blind fool chasing ghosts.
"Either way you should get some food and some sleep. You have a patrol in seven hours," Dragon pointed out.
Collin sighed and spared a glance for the trident. Its secrets were eluding him for now, but time would prove him the victor in this contest of wits. His eyes rested on the one part that could be seen through the scanner: the engraved gold crossguard. "There is one thing I would like to know," He said with a frown.
"Collin?"
"Why is the trident inscribed with foxes and lightning bolts? Aren't those the symbols we could associate with our latest Ward? What was her name? The young girl with the foxtails?" He couldn't quite place her name. That alone meant he had probably been up for too long at this point. He wasn't good with people, but he normally had no issues remembering names.
"Taylor Hebert, Collin. What are you getting at?" Dragon sighed. She probably wanted to hustle him off to bed.
"Nothing, just wondering at the similarities," He sighed and turned away from the scanner after powering it down. "I think it's time for some food and sleep. Good night Dragon."
"Good night Collin."
As the door closed behind Collin and the lights in the workshop went out a sharp flickering light still illuminated the room. Little sparks of lightning jumped from the tines of the trident into the machine around it. Again, and again, and again.
-0-0-0-0-0-
A/N: Oh my god I can't believe its finished. *exhausted kitsune curls up on office chair* 58 pages, 22,600 words. I'm finished for now~ Whoooo~ *weakly cheering kitsune*
So a thank you to everyone who loves this story. I'm happy you love it~ I quite enjoy writing Fluffy!Taylor. Though I will admit I am never writing Karaoke again. That was terrible. I spent as much time on that one section as the rest of the chapter. Never. Again.
A big thank you to Gekkou_Yoko for her wonderful assistance again~ My writing would not be as good as it is without her editorial assistance.
If anyone wants to talk about my stories with me you can find a link to my discord in my signature. Please come by~ *hopeful kitsune* *Edit for : My signature can be found on space battles and sufficient velocity*
At the same time, I hav for anyone who wants to help a young writer out~ Right now the money from there is getting set aside for art. I think the next big thing I need to commission is a cover page for this story since its grown a lot bigger than I would have thought. *shell-shocked kitsune* The numbers are staggering. *edit for you can find a link for it in my signature on either sufficient velocity or spacebatttle, search Grounders10 on either site*
Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far. I hope this chapter meets with your approval~
To everyone on on the forums had some issues visualizing the costume Taylor picked. Google Star Guardian Ahri and you'll have the correct idea. Look for her splash art not the fanart.
