Disclaimer: I do not own any of the works of fiction utilized her in this new story, save for my own OCs and NPCs. Hope you enjoy it!
Regular writing = "normal speech"
Italics in (), i.e. ('Hello.') = 'mental speaking'
Underlined in or out of () (Busted.) = Different languages
Bold in or out of () That's right. = Higher beings speaking (subject to change)
Bold, Italics, and [] Higher beings = having mood swings
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Chapter One: The Past Affects the Future
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- Place: Unknown location, somewhere amongst the trillions of stars and solar systems existing throughout the Multiverse, and yet, in a place oh so familiar to those who pay attention to details...
All there was, was silence. Deafening silence permeated the strange, organically formed chamber that was already filled to the brim with fluidic components that only allowed air bubble to move through it far slower than they should. Suddenly, a powerful tremor violently shook the chamber! Fierce ripples swept back and forth through the thick fluids in the chamber, their creation caused by the tremor to blame for their motions before finally settling back to a peaceful trickle. Then, part of the upper area of the chamber's 'ceiling' seemed to collapse in upon itself, forming a sealed, iris-like aperture that abruptly swirled open!
Through the now open iris, a shadowy figure seemed to glide down through the fluids and into the chamber. Touching down on the bottom as the iris swirled and closed up once more, then vanished into its non-existent state, the figure remained silent and in repose on the bottom. Then, without any movement from the arrived figure in the chamber at all, a new iris swirled into being on the bottom! A few feet from the figure, the new iris opened up, releasing a flurry of air bubbles, followed up by a rising tower that was topped by a shimmering silver sphere!
The sphere abruptly glowed bright, and in response, the forehead of the unmoving figure glowed in return!
'Welcome back, Creator N'calas of Uranus Clan Lemalev.' A booming monotone voice reverberated through the fluid-filled chamber. 'All is in readiness in accordance with your recent commands, and the recent events that have occurred.'
["Good."] The alien being responded to the living machine around them. ["Have the other vessels transmitted their data archives to our hardened back-up systems here on board?"] The living machine quickly answered back.
'Affirmative. Reading all relevant data archives received and backed up without issue.' The alien being now named Creator N'calas of Uranus Clan Lemalev nodded its head in confirmation, then spoke again.
["Have all the navigational systems of the five hub vessels been connected and slaved to our control?"] The semi-sentient machine responded again.
'Yes. All five selected hub vessels have already fitted themselves into their docking clutches of this vessel.' The vessel's intelligence stated. 'All five have also engaged their gravimetric tractor systems. Only another Creator's access algorithm or a Zoalord's full gravimetric might could dislodge them now.' The alien Creator again nodded in confirmation at those words, then reached out and rested one of its armor-clad hands on the silver sphere.
["Then consider the evacuation command given."] The alien Creator stated. ["Set triple encryption protocols on all collected data archives. Begin launch sequence as soon as encryption is completed. Secondary navigational coordinates will be inputted once we are clear of the solar systems' outermost planet."] The great living machine hummed with acknowledgment, even as a second, smaller tremor shook the vessel again. The Creator took a moment to wave his hand in a different direction within the chamber, causing a glowing screen to appear and display what was happening outside.
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(*)
Archanfel lowered his weapon and stared emotionlessly at the ashes that had been the test subject prior to it donning the Armour. His cape fluttering in the breeze caused by the superheated air rising to make way for cooler air, he turned back to face his masters, the beings who used the Armour that they had tested on one of those he had been created beings who had lost an entire command ship and no less than four defense ships to a single, untrained primitive from the native species that they had adjusted to create an arm they could command.
This must not be allowed to happen again.
Archanfel didn't respond as the mental communication had not been aimed at him. Instead, he de-powered his weapon before shifting his grip on it, raising it above his head so could be reclaimed. As it was lifted out of his hands, Archanfel felt… something, sense of loss… of potential.
New weapons will be forged. Ones that cannot use the suits.
What happened today was… not as anticipated.
"Guyver." Archanfel whispered, giving the thought its closest approximation in the limited form known as speech.
Prepare the Grand Hammer for deployment and evacuate the planet.
Leave whatever cannot be taken within the four-day, we must depart.
Archanfel blinked as the Advent floated away towards the distant ships, then he turned and looked at the distant shape of the damaged ship that was sinking into the lava, its systems already working to seal the hull. Nearby lay the unit that had granted the deceased primitive powers beyond the Advent. Archanfel began moving towards it, then stopped as a bolt of lightning from the clouds forming above lanced down and struck it. For a moment, it glowed like an earthbound sun. Then, it seemed to vanish as its dimensional storage systems overloaded, causing Archanfel to feel another emotion:
Anger / Irritation.
The ground trembled as the first ship of the Advent lifted off, and Archanfel watched them leave. Motionless, he waited for the last of his former masters to depart, uncaring that the process took over five days, and only then did he begin to move. The ship that had been destroyed had been the one holding all of the records about where the caches of technology had been placed, ready for use in building outposts. He had learned the locations of five of them, and several had probably been retrieved. However, as long as at least one remained intact, he could use it as the base of his plans.
If any of the other units had been left in one of the caches, he would find it and would claim the power for himself. He would create weaker versions and use them to build his chosen ones leading the primitives to the stars, unleashing them against the Advent and seizing all that had once made them great. But he could not do it alone. He would need assistants. Helpers. Beings that he could empower so that they would be able to oversee events for him.
(*)
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Creator N'calas could watch in wonderment as the screen displayed the hovering and silent form of the Master Zoalord Commander. Truly one of their greatest creations and defenders, he could only imagine what was going through the engineered warrior's mental state after seeing just how one of the primitive organics had elevated itself higher than an Advent by simply equipping the Armour that they all wore. It was truly out of their control; no mental commands or thoughts had stopped the armored primitive until Archanfel had used the Unit Remover on him, then reduced him to ash with his power. Still, that did not prevent him from continuing on with their evacuation protocols. Under the guise of following their faction away from the planet, N'calas and his Relic would simply vanish into deep space, never to be heard from again... thanks to what his brethren had done with that Unit once at Archanfel's feet.
('They have all forgotten about the genetic coding additions I performed on the latest batch of Units.') He thought to himself. ('Thanks to that, I know exactly where that Unit displaced itself to. They think it destroyed by their actions; it is only awaiting rediscovery.')
Nodding to himself, the alien Creator kept an eye on Archanfel, even as another small tremor shook the organic vessel, this time signaling its launch from the planet below and departure from its orbit in short order. It took two days to reach the outer rim of the solar system, during which the Relic and its creator quickly stopped off to liquidate other unoccupied Advent outposts that they had the locations of in their systems. After their final resource gathering outing, suddenly, several smaller impacts began to pelt the Relic's active shielding! This quickly prompted the alien Creator to access his ship's scanners to confirm his suspicions; sure enough, the aptly named 'Grand Hammer' was passing their region of space en route to the world they had evacuated from. His thoughts went back to the hovering Zoalord, and the possibilities that might happen.
('Will you lay down and die for the Advent, Archanfel?') He mused. ('Or will that confusion morph itself into action? Only time will tell. Farewell, Archanfel; may we went again under far better circumstances.')
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(*)
A slight movement in the skies above him caught his attention and, gathering his willpower, Archanfel rose into the skies, ascending into orbit with practiced ease even as his eyes searched for what had passed over... There!
A massive meteor, easily large and fast enough to ruin the planet… his planet, should it hit! The odds of such an event occurring briefly crossed his mind; then he realized that it had been dispatched by the Advent, that the beings on the world below him would never be a threat. That his plans, embryonic though they still were, would never come to be.
This could not be allowed.
Archanfel closed his eyes in concentration, although his senses could still feel the approaching planet-killer from its very mass. Calling upon all his reserves and channeling all of his twelve crystals, he unleashed it in a blast of ravening gravitonic fury that lanced out and slammed into the meteorite! For almost a full day, Archanfel maintained the blast, slowly ripping the meteorite apart before he finally felt its central neutronium core dissipate. Drained and exhausted, Archa himself descend into the atmosphere once more, realizing that although he had saved the origin of his eventual triumph, the cost had been high. One of his crystals was cracked and he could feel it sapping his energy.
For the first time since he had been created, Archanfel knew what it was like to be tired.
(*)
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["Amazing... truly amazing what conviction can lead you to accomplish..."] Creator N'calas mused as his screen displayed the raw might of the Master Zoalord-class warrior defying the Advent's will and protecting the world beneath him. ["It would appear that he has made his choice, for good or ill, whatever that may be. I am quite thankful that we escaped when we did, and with all the accumulated research and data available. If Archanfel was able to gain access to that..."] The Creator's words trailed off as his mind explored the possibilities.
'Creator N'calas, we are now exiting the final extrasolar orbital path, and its accompanying barrier to deep space.' The living vessel spoke up, rousing N'calas from his private thoughts. 'All integrated intelligence gathering modules are operating at full capacity, as protocols requested.'
["Good; with what we have already acquired so far, both during our travels and from the disregarded outposts, we are in far better standing than when we left the planet a short while ago. Also, seeing what I have planned for evaluation, integration, and reverse engineering protocols, every scrap of intel we will be collecting along the way to our new destination can only benefit our efforts to remain impartial and outside of any other faction's control."] N'calas stated, even as he dispersed the screen before him showing the end results of Archanfel's efforts. He could mentally feel the Master Zoalord's mental and physical exhaustion from his efforts, even at this range. ('Well done, Archanfel. Well done.') He thought as he turned his efforts back to his ship's sensory arrays.
'Creator N'calas, the energy wavelengths that you described and entered into my systems pertaining to the displaced Unit are now being deciphered so that we can make use of our dimensional travel systems to follow it to its destination.' The living ship spoke up suddenly. 'It does seem to have moved more than once since its original arrival point, but we are still receiving a strong signal.' The Creator nodded at that.
["Excellent. And how long do you estimate before we will be able to effect travel upon reaching the departure coordinates?"] The Creator inquired.
'Barring any unforeseen detours or delays...three days, maximum.' The living ship replied.
["Good. I will begin overseeing the initial integration tests shortly. When two days have passed, alert me, and I shall put my work into stasis in preparation for our trip into the next leg of our journey."] The Creator spoke.
('Understood, Creator N'calas.') The living machine responded as it continued on its programmed flight path.
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(*)
- Brockton Bay, Earth Bet, present day...
It was official, yesterday had sucked.
Sophia had decided to pick up the bullying again. I'd hoped that the damned Locker would have persuaded them to back off a bit for fear of someone in authority actually doing damned jobs for once, but I was wrong. I managed to overhear her as she gave four boys who were besotted with her some duct tape and instructions to use it to tie me to a pool. She spotted me, and I ran. Naturally, she gave chase, but one of the boys must have kicked her foot by accident or something, because as I darted round the corner, I caught a glance of her falling.
Of course, the boys kept coming after me, and I had to run for ages to escape. Finally, I lost them by hiding in one of the odd places that marked where the freelance parahumans known as Faultline's Crew had been operating. Although I generally don't follow cape news that much, even I knew about Labyrinth. One of Faultline's operatives, she could apparently unfold imaginary locations into reality or something like that, and she didn't always fold them back. And this one looked… rather plain, actually. A small grouping of cherry trees with a small streambed and a wooden bridge over it.
Hearing the sound of distant voices, I ducked into one of the low bushes for cover, and abruptly paused. Half-embedded in the ground was an odd circular device. The device was an odd blue green color, with a trilaterally symmetrical shape, with what appeared to be armored panels over a coil of cables which held a metal sphere in the middle.
Odd.
I reached out carefully and tapped the edge, then the central sphere. Nothing happened, so I took a small breath and reached out to pull it out of the ground. After all, the PRT bounty for Tinkertech that was handed in to it, and despite Dad not saying anything, I knew that we were hurting for money. Taking a strong grip, I pulled hard. The device came loose with surprising suddenness, and I toppled out of the bush, the device banging against my forehead as I tried to roll to my feet, but only succeeded in sprawling.
For a moment, I thought that my vision was blurring, then I realized that I had somehow activated the device and the coils inside it were moving.
"Oh shi…"
(*)
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- The outer rim of the Sol solar system, approximately three days before Taylor Hebert finds the buried Unit...
A massive blast of energy suddenly rippled out from a point in space not far from Pluto's orbit, tearing open a sizeable hole in space-time! Through the now open gateway, the impressive bulk of an organic vessel of some kind flowed out of the portal, its multiple lower antenna legs extending outward as the portal allowed their transition back into real time. Then, just as quickly, the portal slammed shut behind the vessel! The impressive shockwave rocked the ship only slightly, its own systems aware and compensating for the backlash. On board, the living vessel's sentience and its lone occupant conversed on their current situation.
'Creator N'calas, we have arrived in the dimension where the displaced unit is currently located.' The vessel stated as its navigational systems took into account their position, and it began the turn toward the planet that held the object of their eyes. 'Tracking displaced Unit now.'
["Checking out our findings now."] The Creator replied, rubbing his chin moments later at what he saw. ["Remarkable... as we surmised, the lightning bolt that struck the Unit in an effort to destroy it did not, in fact, do so. That simply amplified its ambient kinetic energy still present from its usage and disengagement after the lone human was defeated by Archanfel and the Unit Remover."] The Creator stated as he tapped a few holographic keys and continued on. ["That, in turn, caused the Unit to rapidly commence space-time displacement to wherever it ended up at in the first place. The energy exposure also exponentially augmented its normal power reserves and power management systems, as well as creating feedback loops that would easily transfer a small portion of diminished dimensional energies into the next host, thus augmenting their own natural attributes. To what degree, for how long, and if the process was ongoing will only be solved once the Unit is recovered, or once it bonds to a new host."] N'calas commented out loud.
'Creator N'calas, I have the Unit's location.' The living machine replied. 'I have also tracked and isolated a number of dimensionally connected planets in conjunction with that one's location in space-time. Preliminary scans at this range are not very clear, but the dominant race of that world seems to be advanced members of the same slave race that the Advent created on the seed world where the 'Guyver' was first encountered.'
["Parallel lines of evolution, possibly, even in different dimensions. Intriguing."] N'calas replied. ["We shall know more once we arrive there. Is the planet's satellite a viable option for us establishing a landing spot, while later creating an outpost on the planet below?"]
'Investigating now... yes, Creator N'calas. That would seem to be the case.' The vessel responded. 'It is also to be noted that the dominant species appear to have developed superhuman abilities, not unlike some of the Zoaform experiments from before. Few transformational states detected from this range, while others seem to be able to manipulate various avenues, such as energy, psionics, or biology. Further data is required for advanced extrapolation.'
["Now how did that happen, I wonder?"] N'calas thought out loud. ["Certainly, sounds like outside interference to me."]
'Shall I increase our scanning wavelengths to search out any anomalies or background interference?' The vessel inquired.
["Low level only."] The Creator emphatically stated. ["Don't want to spook our unknown neighbors. We have yet to determine if they are friend or foe, and until we know for sure, I'm erring on the side of foe for now. There's too much to risk. Understood?"]
'Protocols established and running, Creator N'calas.' The organic vessel responded. 'Course laid in for the satellite of the solar system's third planet. Estimated travel time: two days, twenty hours.'
["Acknowledged."] The Creator responded. ["I'll be in the lab. Alert me when we arrive."]
'Of course. Creator N'calas.' The vessel responded.
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- Around three days later...
'Creator N'calas, our camouflage systems are holding strong, and my sensor arrays have located a suitable chasm and crater combination that will allow us to easily remain invisible from detection by the satellite monitoring systems around the planet below.' The organic vessel spoke up to its pilot, who had just finished up his latest experiments and locked down the lab to come to the bridge and see what was currently going on.
["Good, and how long until we begin our descent?"] The alien Creator inquired.
'Two hours, sir. Once we have reached the dark side of the satellite and are fully hidden away from view, we can... ALERT! ALERT!' The vessel suddenly blurted out over its arrays. 'Now detecting high level energy burst in conjunction with Unit activation! Repeat! Displaced Unit has been activated!'
["Already?"] The Creator responded, even as his hands danced across a holographic panel before him. ["This new host is either very lucky, or very determined to land themselves in a pit of vipers that just woke up from their stupor."]
'Establishing tracking protocols now, Creator N'calas.' The Relic ship spoke up. 'Shall I commence interface protocols as well?'
["Passive only."] The alien pilot replied. ["Let's see what they can do, while I make ready to deploy our operative to look after them."]
'Understood, Creator N'calas.' The ship answered back. 'Status update: unit entering combat situation. Monitoring ongoing.'
["Maintain surveillance."] Creator N'calas replied. ["Our emissary will be ready to depart shortly. Keep me informed."]
'Yes, Creator N'calas.' The vessel responded.
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(*)
I opened my eyes and looked round in confusion. I was outside my house, but in the back yard.
How? Was that device some kind of teleporter or something?
Pulling myself to my feet, I fumbled for my keys and let myself inside.
A nice cup of tea seemed just the thing right now.
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...Partial transcript of interview with Shadow Stalker (Sophia Hess) ...
...Interview conducted by Armsmaster (Colin Wallis) ...
...Witnessed by Battery (-classified-) ...
A: Time is now six forty-two PM; location is interview room seven. This is Armsmaster, acting as primary interviewer.
B: This is Battery, acting as witness.
SS: Shadow Stalker. What the hell was that thing, anyway?
A: We will get to that. You were in the area when the unknown Tinker appeared. Please describe him for the record, along with any other observations that you made during the encounter.
SS: Seriously? You got pictures of the damn Tinker and you want me to...
B: (Interrupting) It's protocol, I have to do similar things.
SS: Right. Fuck. Alright. Umm mm, armor. Never seen anything like it before, not metal. Looked kinda like an insect. Odd eyes and weird circles in the gaps of the helmet, they seemed to move like eyes or something. Freaky. Umm mm, the mouth had two silver orbs, one above the other, blades on its arms and one on its helmet... cannons in its chest.
A: For the record, please explain how you know about the cannons.
SS: 'Cause I saw fucking Hookwolf try to attack it! Bug-armor guy just backhanded him into a tree, then pulled open half his chest and fired a goddamn ray of death at the fucking Nazi!
B: Stalker, calm down...
A: For the record, the unknown Tinker nearly managed to kill Hookwolf. DNA tests done on the few portions of him left on the ground after the attack prove that it was him. The only reason he survived was that a reactionary air blast from Stormtiger pushed him halfway out of the blast's path, and the rest of his group were seen hauling a steaming half-carcass away with them sometime later on CCTV.
SS: Well, shit, yeah, but damn! The fucker wasn't just vaporized!? The blades that were left over, I could swear that the damn things were glowing. I think a few even melted. I almost felt sorry for that Nazi. Almost.
A: Then what happened?
SS: You showed up, tried to talk to him, and he just flew off. I couldn't do anything, and I wasn't even in my uniform, so I left and came straight here.
A: For the record, that was the correct decision given the circumstances.
SS: ...gee, thanks...
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- Back with Taylor...
I still had no idea of what had happened to that disc I'd found, but in retrospect, it was probably something made by L33T. That was a scary thought. I'd heard tales of how L33T-tech kept exploding.
It had affected me, though. I was faster and stronger. Not all that much, when you think about it, but I could jump half-again as far (and high,) and my arms were more than strong enough to let me pull myself up walls without getting tired. It really was a boon for my patrolling. Coupled with my bugs (and somehow, I was actually seeing through their eyes... L33T's tech seemed to have boosted my range to several blocks), I could find trouble and get to it quickly.
(*)
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'Creator N'calas, your assessment?' The living machine commented, even as it effortlessly rotated the bulk of its entirely into a landing position above the chosen crater below them on the moon. Pausing long enough to lock onto the crater's center, a short wave burst of energy pulses sent from the underside of the Relic ship hollowed out a small section of the crater, enough to allow the Relic an easy access descent into the crater proper.
["The host is obviously of civilian stock, no true combat training evident beyond some likely self-taught minor skills." Creator N'calas commented as he reviewed the combat logs of the now hosted Unit on the planet below them. ["The programming instincts of the Unit's self-preservation mode have obviously blended over due to the abundant overcharge still present in the Unit's dimensional storage systems. That's likely why it went for sheer overkill on that strange metal-clad shapeshifter in the first place, and what allowed the host her enhanced attributes as well.]
'And the obviously mental domination over insects and arthropods in her vicinity?' The ship queried of its pilot, even as its bulk finally settled into the crust of the moon crater around it. Then, tunneling spines shot out of the Relic, drilling away to leave hidden organic solar energy-absorbing nodules upon its surface to act as power gathering points across the satellite, while the Relic remained safely hidden behind its camouflage systems and the dark side of the moon.
["Undetermined at this time, but likely related to the plethora of powers that exist across this world, and their strange connection to that anomalous background energy wavelength we detected upon our approach."] N'calas stated as he completed his review of the host's combat, ending right when the Unit ended its self-preservation mode and disengaged in the backyard of its residence. ["Maintain surveillance. Is the dispatch pod ready for launch?"]
'All systems reading green, and our occupant just signaled its readiness as well.' The vessel replied. 'The augmented learning protocols were quite helpful during our translocation here.'
["It helps to have a ready and attentive mind. Our emissary will draw the planet's attention for now."] N'calas replied. ["When we are ready, then we will descend and join our emissary on the surface. Launch pod when ready."]
'Yes, Creator N'calas.' The Relic ship responded. 'Launch in three, two, one, mark.'
('The pod and its occupant are away.') N'calas mused to himself. ('Now, hopefully, our new addition to the conditions below will have no problems watching over our newly hosted Unit as it continues its operations below.')
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(*)
It wasn't until I encountered Lung sometime later that I discovered what else it had done to me...
"...and if any of them go down, double tap them to be sure. I want those kids dead!"
I hadn't caught most of Lung's speech, so I didn't know who he was referring to, but the important thing was that he had just declared he wanted to kill some children. That wasn't right! I knelt behind a chimney and concentrated. Every single bug in range started to gather, the flying ones swooping down to carry the ground-bound bugs. Wasps, flies, butterflies, roaches and many others all obeyed my call. Within a moment, a sky-blocking swarm was coalescing above Lung and his minions.
The sheer mass of insects was enough to be audible, because Lung looked up and peering round the chimneystack, I saw him tense up.
"There's a Master nearby!" He roared, flexing his muscles. "Find him and bring him to me!"
I ducked back behind the chimney and unleashed my swarm on the ABB, spiders weaving thread to pin them as hornets stung away, while my other bugs covered them in a living carpet. The Black Widows that I called forth, I reserved for Lung. As a regenerator, I needed to take him down fast or...
...Oh hell.
I felt the bugs swarming him being blotted out in a wave of intolerable heat, then more of them died as he moved towards me and the chimneystack. How the hell did he know where I was? Had he spotted me ducking into cover? A crunching noise snapped me back to reality, and I threw myself into a roll as a huge fist shattered the stack I was sheltering behind.
As the broken bricks landed behind me, I pulled myself to my feet and spun round... just in time to be slammed into the parapet as a large hand partially covered in scales closed around my neck. Lung's head loomed above me, his face warped enough that the dragon mask was now dangling over one ear, held by a single strap that was fraying even as I looked at it.
"''ooo ell eye!" I tried to swallow, but Lung's hand, growing hotter by the second, prevented it.
They say that when you are about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. They're wrong. It was just a word: one I'd never heard before, one that almost forced its way out of my throat in that instant.
"GUYVER!"
Lung's eyes widened an instant before a sphere of energy formed around me, knocking him backwards. Cables wrapped around my body and pulled armor plates out of thin air. My strength increased tenfold, and my vision sharpened to the point that I could see every tiny pore on the portions of him not covered in scales. Lung roared as the energy dissipated and dropped me back onto my feet. The feeling of energy snapping through me was indescribable, and as I dropped into a basic defense stance, I could feel the blades on my arms start to vibrate, making a humming noise.
"You have a chest blaster!" A female voice shouted, causing both Lung and me to half-turn to see a trio of quadrupedal monsters with four riders. The lone rider of the lead beast raised her hands to her mouth and shouted again. "You just need to pull open your chest-plate and focus!" She yelled. "You've done it before! When you took out Hookwolf at the park!"
I blinked. I had? I mean, everyone was discussing the insect-themed tinker who had used his power armor to...
...armor...
...armor just like I was wearing...
...my armor!
Reaching up, I found my fingers slipping smoothly into the space between my chest plates. Pulling one of them gently, I felt it swing open and the energy flowing through me started to pool in its heart before lancing out like a thunderbolt and hitting Lung...
...holy crap!
As his smoking remains landed on the ground below, the girl called out again. "Nice one! Thanks for the assist! Let's go!"
I glanced at their disappearing forms, then back down at the injured Lung, just as a motorbike pulled up beside him and the armored rider dismounted. Armsmaster! I wanted to stay, but I didn't know how long my power boost would last, so I turned and ran, launching myself off the roof and...
...wow! I can fly!
"Wahoooooo!"
(*)
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- A few minutes later, in the skies above Brockton Bay...
As I soared high above the city below, my head orbs guiding me like I could see as easily in the dark as I could in broad daylight, a light buzzing began to fill my head as I passed a certain height. I slowed down, my head orbs sliding back and forth, trying to find the source of the buzzing. The answer I got was quite shocking.
('Greetings, fellow hosted Unit. Enjoying your first flight?')
"What the heck!?" I blurted out as I spun around, my arm blades snapping into life. "Who's there!?"
('Please, remain calm. Be at peace, young one.') The unknown voice repeated to me. ('I mean you no harm, and I have no desire to cause you undue stress or anxiety after what was obviously only your second true combat situation.')
"Where are you?" I asked again, still only getting that buzzing sensation from my head orbs and my enhanced senses.
('Where indeed.') The voice answered back. (You're currently hearing my voice through our shared connection as hosts of the alien armor we both wear. As for where exactly I am, look up.')
I did just that, spinning my position around in mid-hover, still at the ready for combat. What I saw a moment later, coming down through the clouds, was just as surprising as when I had first heard the voice. It was also quite obvious that the person sliding through the night sky toward me, wearing an Armour like mine but looking so much more refined and powerful than mine, meant what he said. If he had wanted to do me harm, my sensors were now telling me that he easily could have done just that. His power levels, compared to mine, left me in the dust.
"I did not mean to startle you so, young one." The new guy stated out loud, the apparent buzzing from before gone at last. "I simply wanted to be sure that we were not disturbed in any particular fashion." My sensor orbs played over the new guy's form, just as much as his own set did over me.
"Are you... like me? A parahuman, who found a suit of Armor like this?" I tentatively asked, to which he gently shook his head now.
"No, young one." He said, seeming to project a gentle air to his being. "I come from the stars far away from here, from a place where the Armor that you and I wear were designed and engineered by alien scientists of ancient lineage. In that place and time, a similar branch of humanity was born from their actions. We, as their servants at the time, called them the Advent, and we treated them as gods."
"Yikes." I gulped, thinking briefly on how I had found the Armor previously. "Well, that puts to bed any thoughts that I had about the Armor being Tinkertech built by L33T, or of it possibly blowing up when I least expect it." To that, the second Armor wielder seemed to chuckle at me.
"That's a very, very remote possibility of happening, young one." He responded, and I finally noticed that it wasn't us actually using our mouths to speak to one another. The smaller silver orbs on our face plates were vibrating, sending out sound waves that the other's own sets picked up and translated back into speech for us. Wicked! "Advent technology was designed to be quite durable and resilient, especially since it's of organic origin and self-repairing to a large degree." I nodded back.
"So..." I started. "... are you here to... collect me... or are you just passing through?" Again, that buzzing chuckle.
"No, young one. You are the reason that I and the Advent whom I still serve as ally and apprentice to, have come to this world." He stated, remaining perfectly at ease as we floated up there. "Your Armor, before it arrived here, was subjected to a massive influx of energy, one that could've overloaded its systems and possibly destroyed the Unit for good. Thankfully, the opposite has occurred."
"How so?" I asked, crossing my arms over one another now that my blades were no longer active.
"Your Unit's dimensional energy storage systems - those are what grant you all that additional energy for your weapons and all that immense strength while wearing the Armor, - left a distinctive energy signature that Advent technology can easily track." The second host of the Armor stated. "So, with that in mind, and after a long while of gathering resources and cumulative data, we arrived here. Now, my mentor is currently aboard his science vessel, which is safely parked on the dark side of the moon. Me, on the other hand? I was dispatched to keep watch over you, seeing as you're quite new to all this."
"Gee, rub it in, why don't 'cha..." I groused at him. Cue the grating chuckle again.
"Peace, young one. Peace." He replied, then pointed upward, where my head orbs revealed a shimmer in the night sky. "The vessel that brought me here is right there, waiting to take us safely away from here. I imagine that you would like to contact your relatives and ensure them that you are all right?"
"Do I want to tell him that I'm okay? Sure." I mentally growled to myself at the pettiness of how I said that. The bullying, and the still present ache of the absence of my mother, was still affecting me, which he noticed a second later. "Explaining all of this? I would not know how to begin."
"I feel there are remnants of sadness in your words." He calmly stated. "I will not pry. For now, before anyone else gets wise to our location, shall we depart and take care of things on the domestic side?" I nodded.
"Sounds like a winner." I spoke. "Um, I don't think I got your name."
('No, you didn't. I prefer to give it out this way, away from prying eyes.') The second Armor user stated. ('My human form is named Daichi Masamune. My mentor, for one reason or another, found Japanese culture quite interesting.')
('Oh?") I suddenly ask, barely realizing that I just spoke to Daichi with my mind! ('And what do we call ourselves when wearing the Armor?')
('You know the answer to that question, my dear insect controller.') My counterpart chuckled back at me. The nerve!
XXXXXX
- The following day...
(*)
"In the news today, the ABB suffered a severe setback with the capture of the parahuman criminal Lung. The man who once faced off against Leviathan, and who faced down the Triumvirate in single combat, was rushed to hospital with extreme injuries. Only the intervention of the healing cape Panacea saved his life.
"Although Armsmaster was the one who brought in Lung, the cape who defeated the Dragon of Brockton Bay was the same Cape who nearly killed the criminal known as Hookwolf.
"A cape about whom almost nothing is known, except for his name:
"Guyver."
(*)
XXXXXX
(*) - taken from TheBeardedOne's Plot Bunny Ranch Ch. 10 as foundation for this story. Props, pal!
A/N: Okay, here is my interpretation on TBO's Plot Bunny combining the Guyver and Worm. I can imagine a lot of you wanting to see Taylor just muscle or out-think a lot of things with her bugs and the Armor, but let's be realistic: first time hero, only twice using the Armor, and with only its self-preservation instincts guiding her here and there. Plus, a lot of unresolved angst and social anxiety, and her willingness to trust anybody is likely in the toilet. Not to mention her support system involves a widowed father who hasn't pulled himself out of his grief in two years. Yeah, she needs help, badly.
A/N: I also know that a lot of you would expect her to again attempt to join a hero group, or again go with the Undersiders. Here, however, is a different route for you to consider, however sudden you may take it. A mentor, in the same mold as she is, experiencing very similar things as she is, but with no other desire than to be her friend, and help her learn about what she now is. Let's see just what Brockton Bay makes of not one, but two Guyvers who are ready to stand together against whatever comes their way.
Ciao!