AN: This one fought me in multiple ways AND the real world has kept me a bit busy. So a shorter update! Enjoy!
Chapter 9
"Holy fu-"
Before I could say more, I got swept away by an invisible current, created by my very big friend moving its gigantic body in the water. Distinguishing up and down became impossible. I was like a leaf in the wind, turning and tossing from the forces used against me.
Or like a fish in the current?
You get what I mean.
Dodging a lazy swipe of a gigantic claw more by instinct and reflex than anything else, I struggled towards the surface. Which was only possible because of the small arrow that had appeared on my visor. Some much needed help that Vega had given me without prompting.
The Titan was busy doing the same thing, Its massive body passing me by on my way up (?). I had no idea if it needed air to function – which was very unlikely – or if it simply wanted to get the terrain advantage.
The massive energy beam heading towards me confirmed the second option as being correct.
I could only dodge because of the upgrades to my Suit. Even so it was a very near thing. I could not feel the boiling water exactly, but the absurd amount of bubbles now occupying my space made the effect of the energy beam quite obvious.
The Titan was now standing on the edge of the solid ice, seemingly not caring that I had dodged the first attack. It simply tried again, this time with multiple lasers in quick succession. It reminded me of how the Marauder had stood over me, when I was lying in the empty pool.
I hated it.
But this thing was not only strong and tough, it was also pointless to fight. I already had everything I came for in the first place; including the sword that had apparently kept the beast in some sort of coma or stasis.
Why not let this lumbering moron rage away in this frozen desert?
"Vega, a portal to get me out of here right now would be much appreciated", another beam as big as my whole body carved its way through the now raging waters. "Before I get zapped, please!"
"I would love to, but I can't open the portal inside a liquid. You need to get on solid ground first." The AI was apologetic, but that did not make the message any better.
Figures. Everything else would have been too easy of course.
"Do you have any idea of how? I doubt my new friend here will just let me."
Actually, the Titan was less trying to directly hit me, and more attempting to keep me confined to the water. Did it know about the limitations of the portal? No, it was more likely betting on my air supply being limited.
Wait, was it smart? That would make things a lot more difficult.
"No, there is no easy way out from what I can see. Or for you to close the gap either. But your weapons should remain mostly functional, even underwater."
"So blast it until it drops?"
Well, why not. That was my go-to working strategy. Firing while getting shot at was also something I had become more or less used to. Unfortunately.
So I pulled out my trusty Heavy Cannon and started blasting.
I should revise my strategies in the future. When I had some downtime.
Because this shit was not working.
I had emptied everything I had into the fucker, and it just stood there and took it without flinching. And when I say everything, I mean everything.
I had zero bullets of any form left. None. Nada.
The Titan had wounds of course, especially the big target that its chest made, but they did not hinder it at all. Vega had not lied when he told me how hard to kill these creatures were. Also, I was submerged in the water. Again.
For the fucking hundred time.
Just when I made my escape out of the depths, on solid ground, the big asshole blew. It. Up.
I was good enough at dodging to not take more than superficial damage to both myself and my suit – both of which repaired themselves, so it was fine – but actually escaping the grasp of the water for more than a second or two?
Impossible.
There were times when I came close, especially when I catapulted myself out of the water with my new (well not anymore) thrusters and opened with some missiles or grenades, but coming close was sadly not enough here. At least those brief moments allowed me some more oxygen, which was a tiny bit necessary to keep me alive.
I was bruised and battered. I was lacking the firepower to win this in any way shape or form.
Vega and I had tried ways around this predicament of course. The first idea had been to open the portal in advance, so that I could just throw myself through it without having to wait the costly seconds for it to form.
The Titan had responded to the shiny thing appearing in its vicinity with – you guessed it – trying to blow it up. The Portal would have been fine, but the Fortress it was leading to?
Not so much.
So that was out, because varying the distance did not change the big dudes reaction. Until it was so far away that I could not reach it, which made creating it a bit pointless.
And that was my life right now. I was playing the most unfair game of dodge ball I ever had the pleasure of attending – and that includes the gym class with the trio, before I was able to escape that particular hell. I had only melee weapons left, my foe was bleeding but not caring at all about any injuries anyways and I was a tiny bit fed up with this shit.
But closing into melee range was a bit counterproductive for running away. Not that I had much of a choice left. One good hit and I was toast. I was better at dodging than the thing was at shooting, sure, but the longer this went on the worse my odds became.
The abrupt shift from water to air and back to water was challenging in a way I had not felt before.
That does not mean that I was feeling hopeless or anything. Since the beginning of the fight, my new sword had been making my hand itch. In a very literal sense. Some part of me, or someone really wanted me to use that weapon. And I knew that I could and would win with it in my hand.
But I was also very sure that that meant giving up on my new sword.
And I was not yet ready to do that. How shitty would it be if I could take it, but not leave with it? Actually, that would be right on par with the other bullshit that had happened to me, so maybe that was the solution. But I would not give this up without a – quite literal – fight.
Closing the distance to the Titan itself was – ironically enough – not that hard anymore. My consistent attempts at fleeing the fight made it look like I was not confident in winning a direct confrontation with it. Which was true, of course, but not for the reasons it probably imagined.
So the big attacks were used to prevent my escape, and everything else was following the simple, but effective, strategy of draining me of resources and stamina. I was on a timer, but it was not very close to my defeat yet. Unless I got unlucky with a dodge.
No, closing the distance was very simple.
Fighting it in some sort of mix between melee combat and energy blasts? Not so simple at all.
The Titan was not too fast with its normal attacks, that was not what made this problematic. It was meant to be a weapon of mass destruction, a gigantic siege engine. So the ranged attacks were powerful, but not meant to hit a tiny target like myself. Same thing with the claws and muscled limbs. They were supposed to rend armies or other giant foes, not a single person.
No, the problem was doing any damage to this asshole.
I had been annoyed with the whole situation, not because of the fight but because I really did not want to give up my new toy. The Titan was just another "boss" enemy in the end, like the Marauder or the ones before him. There were close calls of course, but there always were. But now? Now I was fuming.
Why?
That stupid rat-bastard broke my chainsaw!
The nerve of this idiotic creature!
I had tried to use the Doomblade at first, and it was able to penetrate the natural armor without too much difficulty. But it was not very useful for a target of these proportions. I could use it to climb around on top of the beast, sure, but if I was too long in one place – busy trying to saw out some flesh – then the danger of getting swatted went up considerably.
And I really liked myself un-swatted.
There had been two very close calls before I gave that idea up. The Titan was more flexible than it looked, with enough motivation. So I had mentally shrugged, and brought my chainsaw down on it, trying for a faster cut.
And then the teeth broke off one by one until I stopped and checked its condition. My poor baby. It was ruined! How could it recover from this? How could I recover from this?!
"Taylor stop being dramatic and pay attention! You got nearly hit twice now!"
Vega did not share my sentiment. Indeed, he seemed more exasperated than anything.
"I sorry that I am being busy mourning you insensitive-"
"I CAN FIX IT WHEN YOU ARE BACK AT THE FORTRESS, NOW GET MOVING!"
Impressive, I did not realize he could shout like that. Wait, he could fix my baby?! At a tiny bit more reasonable volume, the AI continued: "Also, I fear you will need to use your sword to get out of this. We can come back later with more specialized weapons and collect it."
Honestly, he was not wrong. Its not like the Titan would run away after getting the sword back into its noggin. And my poor chainsaw needed to get fixed ASAP.
Alright, no more holding back to save the loot.
So I grabbed my laser-sword-thing. And as if it sensed my decision to really use it now, the energy blade shot out of the handle with a low hiss, without me doing anything. Red runes humming ominously, I gave a happy shudder.
Yes, there was a reason why I had been so confident that I could win with this. This feeling did not, could not lie to me.
I had never used a sword before. The Doomblade was the closest I had ever gotten to such a weapon, but it was not even remotely the same. And yet I handled it with ease. Something in the back of my brain was cheering me on as I jumped, ducked and weaved, getting closer to the Titans head with every moment.
Every swat and attack it made I answered with the sting of the red blade. It had a bigger effect than all my other bullets combined. The wounds were tiny in comparison to the demons mass, but it actually reacted to them, an instinctual flinch every time I made contact.
I used the partly healed bloody chunks of its chest to advance faster and with less danger. The Titan was hesitant to just ram its own claws into an open wound to get at me. Understandable, but I had no qualms using it to my advantage.
This close I could see the effect my more conventional weapons had had. More ammunition would have been enough, maybe but a part of me disagreed. This creature had not slowed down at all at any point of the fight, it was still as fast as it had been at the beginning. More wounds like these would maybe hinder it, but actually killing it?
Unlikely.
I was hacking and slashing my way up towards my goal. Like a demented ant in one of those boxes with a side made of glass so you could observe their nest (do you know what I mean? I had build one of these with Emma for a project, before Winslow).
I could already see the difference between wounds made by the sword and those made by bullets and explosions: The latter healed, if slowly, the former seemed more like an old, nasty burn.
But not even that could kill a Titan. It had been without any wounds I could see as I woke it up, after fighting the Atlans and getting the sword shoved into its skull.
Or rather: It had healed all of its former wounds, even with the sword in its head.
So cutting it with this weapon was more damaging, but not lethal. Maybe if I carved myself deeper into its chest? But that was too risky, I would have no early warning about a claw or swing coming. Death was something to be avoided.
But enough with the idle thoughts, I was nearing the finish line.
Breaking and slashing through the armored skin close to the neck – I think I emerged around the sternum? - I charged at the massive beast with no hesitation. It still had no real expressions on its face, but I think I saw some flicker of fear and panic in its eyes.
Or maybe I just imagined that. Whatever, that did not change either plan or approach.
Sprinting towards the gigantic head, keeping low to the ground, I retaliated the occasional attack with a quick stab. I had underestimated the distance I would need to cross – perspective was a bitch – but I was brimming with energy and confidence both.
Honestly, the only thing dimming my anticipation to topple this giant was the fact that it would cost me my sword. And of course my broken chainsaw, that was also mildly upsetting. But I would not get into that again.
Vega was firing me on, to land the blow that would end this, and I too was excited to see the effect my weapon would have close up. And all the da- knowledge I would be able to get from that killing blow!
Marvelous!
Getting on the head was not an easy task, but this was not my first time climbing comically large limbs. It was the biggest demon yet, but the usual approach of simply abusing my strength to defy gravity still worked mostly the same.
I catapulted myself from the base of its neck towards one of its cheek bones, ramming both Doomblade and sword (and I really needed a better name for that) into the soft(er) flesh there to keep me steady. Advancing after that was a piece of cake. I was simply too fast in my ascend for the big claw to catch me.
Ramming the sword into the damn eye that had started all of this (well not really) with maybe a bit of satisfaction, I reached the ugly snout that was supposed to be the Titans nose.
I hesitated, briefly, but then I steeled myself and then sank the weapon back into the place where it had been only an hour previously.
Fighting always felt like time slowed down considerably, but only an hour? This had felt like a day of battle.
I had a first place seat of the gigantic eyes slowly closing, the titanic (heh) body falling onto its back. With me still on it.
This was going to suck.
After the violent crash and after the earth had stopped wobbling and after my vision had finally stopped spinning, I could only react with a thumbs up from my resting place on top of the big bastard.
"I'm good!"
Not that anybody could see me, but I felt like it. And then some impact shook my vision for another second and bounced off my helmet.
"I AM GOING TO SHOVE THESE FUCKING METAL PLATES UP THEIR FUCKING A-"
Back at the Fortress, with some sort of synthetic tea Vega had magicked up for me, I had finally calmed down a bit. Mainly because I was watching Vega repair my poor baby in real time in front of me. I had allowed him to use some of the materials reserved for the Atlan, to make it more durable. The sight of the poor thing having its teeth broken was not something I was eager to repeat.
I would get the sword back one day, I had marked that in my calendar, so to speak. That bastard had not seen the last of me, no Sir. But even without the sword it had been a good haul. Tons of materials, for repairs and other projects, combined with an end for all energy troubles we would have in the future.
Taking another sip of my beverage, I continued the conversation we were having.
"- so you are saying that this is another different dimension you have no knowledge of?"
"Yes. A big part of dimensions are not categorized at all, so that is no surprise, but the message and coordinates for this one are… peculiar."
Another sip. This was not even close as good as real tea, but it scratched that itch of feeling homely enough that I put up with it. For now.
"In what way? Are we getting taunted again?"
"Well, maybe? If I order them like this-", he did something on the monitor to my right, but I had no idea what – "then it looks a bit like… well."
I took a deep breath, then as it not worked, I drank the rest of the still very hot liquid in one go. It burned down my throat, but my regeneration would take care of it. I was not even sure what I was feeling at that moment. Anger? Fury, if this turned out to be some sort of cruel joke?
Hope?
Back at me stared a single sentence:
W-E-L-C-O-M-E H-O-M-E T-A-Y-L-O-R
I put the cup down, looked at my weapon being repaired for a brief moment, and then turned away. Walking towards the bridge, putting my Helmet back on while moving, I gave a single, curt command.
"Open the portal Vega."
Would I finally, finally be able to return home?
(AN: I really, really wanted to end the chapter here but I cant be that mean. Probably.)
I was suited up and ready, with a full stomach and a cleaned Suit. I myself had showered too of course. Ammunition had been fully restocked, my chainsaw was repaired and once again ready to rip and tear.
I was as ready as I could ever be.
And yet my heart was beating in my throat as I closed in on the blue shimmer. Nervous did not even begin to cover how I was feeling. Would I be disappointed again? There was only one way to find out of course, but that did not make things easier.
I had my shotgun cocked and loaded, ready in case this was some sort of trap to get me caught of guard. But I was really hoping that this was legit.
The transportation, the step through, was over in an instant, like always. But this time it still felt slower somehow. The muddled mess of emotions raging in my head was warping my perception of time, at the very least.
Then after moments that dragged on for hours, I came out at the other side.
It was cramped here. There was no space to move. I was confined, my movement caught and arrested. Metal walls, too close to fit me in my suit, were bend and deformed, a coffin formed by my arrival. And how had that happened? Usually using the portal was like stepping through a door. But this felt more like my very first arrival at the UAC facility. A sudden, jarring displacement.
It took only a few seconds before instinctual panic set in.
You can't really blame me for that; after all I knew these metal walls. I had been locked up here once before.
But this time something was fundamentally different: This puny metal cage could not hold me.
I was already outside, ripping through anything in my way like it was tissue paper, before I had realized what I was doing. The familiar corridor and walls of Winslow High stared back at me.
I was home. Or very, very close to it.
I ignored the startled students, gawking at the mess I had created. More and more were spewing out of the rooms, trying to see what was causing the ruckus.
They were not important. I wanted to see my Dad. That was what mattered here.
But their bodies were now blocking my way out, making it impossible to get through without simply crushing and pushing myself through them. An Act that would lead to injuries for sure, if not more. For a brief moment I imagined just doing that, and the satisfaction it would grant me – all they ever did was watch after all, the fucking cowards, just like when I had been pushed into the locker.
But that would not help me in my goal. I had no idea if I would win a battle with the local heroes, but even then it would put a damper on the reunion I was so desperately wishing for.
"I have made your helmet's visor reflective Taylor, they cannot see inside", came the quiet voice of my companion.
So rampaging through them was a possible last resort, if they could not see my face. Who was I kidding, I was quite distinctive. I did not reply to my friend, but I don't think Vega took it badly. I was a bit overwhelmed with things.
Luckily for me, this conundrum I found myself in, once again, had an easy solution:
I oriented myself for a second – this was my locker, or what was left. So I was on the first floor. That just meant they could not follow the way I was planning to go, at least not with ease.
Decision made, I walked through the wall next to the classroom entrance – because the door was a bit crowded – and approached the windows. Ignoring the startled screams and shouts of the people around me that got covered in dust at the very least, I frowned at the glass preventing me from going outside.
It was too small for me.
Well, whatever, I could make it fit.
As I jumped down in a shower of rubble and glass from the first floor towards the ground, I cushioned the impact with the ease of practice. A quick glance to make sure I was heading in the right direction, a last look at the new hole in the building, and I was off.
I took the road instead of the sidewalk, because I had less qualms about body-checking a car by accident then I had running over a pedestrian.
I did not intend to make anybody crash, to be clear, such an accident had killed my Mom after all, but the road was just more suited for higher speeds than the alternative.
And the looks that both drivers and the people out walking were giving me were simply glorious. Shouldn't they be used to Armsmaster? He was also in power armor (his was in blue though, with a free mouth), so what made me so unusual?
Ah right, he drove on his motorcycle. I was simply running.
On the edge of my perception I could see a blonde figure following me from the air, but they were not closing the distance yet. I ignored them. It was probably Glory Girl, the only blonde flying Cape I could think of from the top of my head. Maybe she was waiting for backup before swooping in?
As long as they didn't stop me from getting home, I could not give less of a shit. Watch me for all I care. I was a woman on a mission right now.
The small, familiar house came in sight. That view alone soothed something in me that I had not realized was missing. The old truck we owned was parked in front of it. And next to the machine, seemingly just coming back from some errand or something, was my Dad. Staring open-mouthed at me.
I sped up.
He was obviously unsure what to make of me, and was backing away hastily. I ignored the sharp pain at his obvious discomfort, he did not know that this was me, it wasn't his fault.
Glory Girl was hovering over him and fidgeting, undecided if stopping me or saving the civilian was the better call. Not important.
Fifty meters.
Forty.
Twenty.
On the last steps I ripped off my helmet, discarding it with no care. It would repair any damage to it anyways. Not important.
"DAD!"
He stopped retreating, eyes bugging out of his head. I barely heard the confused "Taylor...?" he gave in return. Not important.
I swept him up in a hug the moment he was in my reach. Carefully of course. I could not really feel the contact through my armor, but I felt the solid body in my arms. That was enough for the moment.
Don't crush him. Don't crush him. Don't crush him.
I finally relaxed as his arms hesitantly lifted up and embraced me back.
"Taylor…?" he sounded confused and and ...lost.
I hated it.
But he was holding me, not demanding answers this very moment. It was alright. I could explain everything I knew later. But right now I just basked in the presence of my last remaining family, of my father.
Now I was truly home.
Of course this state of affairs could not last forever. I had not expected it to, but I would take every second I could get. So I ignored the (admittedly pleasant, if a bit lost) female voice at first.
"Um, ma'am? Sir? Um..."
Hug more important than some random babbling. Or the whispers after.
"Holy fu- fudge, I sound like Ames! Get your shit together girl!"
I still did not move, and neither did my Dad. He had closed his eyes and was hugging me back with all his might. Wait, was he crying? I held him tighter.
"I, um, I need a statement? For, for trashing a classroom - I think? - and- and disrupting traffic and-", a sigh, "and you are not even listening to a single word I am saying, are you? Alright. Whatever."
A click, a short beep.
"Yeah, its me, no need to hurry. This is not going to escalate or anything. I have it under control."
I could not hear the reply on the other end of the line, and I did not truly care about it either. Glory Girl did though.
"What do you mean I- listen, I am not monopolizing the new cape or anything! They are hugging it out with their relative or lover or something, what do you mean interrupt them? They don't even have a mask for fucks sake, I-"
Dad my lover?! EW! That required correcting measures.
"He is my Dad you airhead!"
Alright, back to hugging.
"Did you just- did she just-" she got distracted by the other person again. "No! Shut up you are more nagging than Mom, god! Yeah yeah I keep you posted, now hush!"
A click, followed by some angry muttering.
"God, is she my cousin or my mother or what? Who of us is getting drunk on college parties? The nerve of-" and so on and so on. I couldn't help myself, I gave a short amused snort.
"Yeah yeah, you find that funny sure! I am not done yet with you, you Armsmaster copy-cat!" She sounded like she was less angry and more amused now too.
"You done soon with this hug-thing? I have places to be, you know?"
"No.", I was very good at being stubborn, as you already know. But even engaging with this conversation was already distracting me. So I let go with a sigh. Slowly.
"Alright, what do you want from me exactly?" with these words I really looked at the girl for the first time. At Glory Girl, also known as Victoria Dallon in her civilian identity.
I had seen pictures of course, who hadn't? But the difference between an image displayed somewhere and the real deal was enormous. She was of course still tall and a platinum blonde. Her dress was made of one piece, ending in a skirt. Boots reaching up to her knees and the trademark tiara sitting on her head completed her ensemble. It was all in white and gold of course. The classic 'heroic' look.
What was new was that I was actually bigger than her. A part of it was the Suit of course, which enhanced my mass, but even without it would still look down on her by a small margin at the very least.
Well, if she wasn't simply floating, like she was doing right now.
She has felt bigger on the pictures, if that made any sense? She was also looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Had your fill?"
I had stared at one of the most popular heroes in my age range like a stupid fangirl. I honest to got blushed at that realization. I was a killer! A whole race feared me! What the fuck are you doing, you worthless body?! Hell, I was probably older now than her too if I counted that stupid time-loop!
Without answering I turned around and picked up the Helmet from the ground. After putting it securely on my head again I faced the Heroine again. It hid my glowing face from view.
Now, what do I even say in that sort of situation? Lucky for me, she took pity on me.
"You are new at this, huh? Its fine, we all started off more or less awkward. Don't get hung up about it." She mustered me again. "But if you are new, your gear is pretty impressive. You a Tinker then of some sort?"
Well, what could I even say to that? Wait, why did I care about that? They could not prove or do shit to me, Vega was on my side and he was the only witness and authority about all things UAC they could reach.
"No. I am not even sure if I am actually a Parahuman." A lie, I was some sort of Brute at the very least. But this was all a confusing mess so I did not feel bad for the small deception. I had not decided what to say yet.
"So its stolen then?" Glory Girl had shifted her stance slightly, immediately more ready for combat. Oh shit, that was not the conclusion I wanted her to reach. Before I could put myself into even deeper shit by accident, Vega stepped in and saved me.
"No, she has the permission of the owner, which is me by the way." It was strange to hear his voice coming out of the speakers from outside the helmet. Glory Girl relaxed a bit again.
"Ah, a duo then? How come we have not heard about you? Are you Villains? Re-branding? What are your names?"
I took control of the conversation again. "That was Vega, he is indeed my friend and partner. I am simply Taylor Hebert."
The blonde looked at me nonplussed for a moment, before something seemed to click.
"Woah! That sounds suspiciously like your real name, how new are you?!", the teen gesticulated frantically. "You don't just share that with strangers, not even heroes!"
Ah right, the whole secret identity thing. People like her, that unmasked to the public, were very rare. But I had given up any hope of anonymity after appearing back in my stupid locker and breaking out of it. With a full school of witnesses. So I waved her concern off.
"No hope of staying undercover anyways. So no point in trying. Just call me Taylor."
"Then you call me Victoria- no call me Vicky, all my friends do that!" while saying that she had shoved her outstretched hand under my nose. "We unmasked capes have to stick together, right?"
An aggressive, energetic and kind off weird handshake later, we turned back to the matter at hand. Or were about to do so, I was a bit distracted. So this was how it felt to shake hands with a Brute? Strange, but not bad. An idle thought reminded me that she had once bragged on Parahumans Online of being able to lift over twelve tons without much difficulty.
How much could I lift?
"I still need a statement from you though. You kind of did some property damage and disturbed the peace and all that." She did not seem overly concerned with any of those points.
"Somehow I get the impression you don't care much about that.", I replied dryly.
Collateral Damage Barbie – as some haters had named her – gave a mix between a shrug and a nod. "I don't really, but usually that stuff happens because of a fight or something. You were not fighting anything, hence the confusion." After a short pause she added. "And it's protocol. New Wave is not really from the government, but I have no desire for another lecture."
"I just wanted to get to my Dad." Who had not moved from my side and was soaking up every word we were speaking. He got like that sometimes, when he was not sure what was going on. A fool talks before he knows what to say, how Mom tended to say. It suited the situation well right now, getting impatient would not make things go faster.
"Understandable, but where did you even come from?"
Before I could answer her – I was not yet sure how much I was willing to tell – a roar of a machine closing in interrupted the conversation. Turning towards the sound, a sleek motorcycle came to a halt before us. For a moment I had thought that I was about to meet Armsmaster, but that was neither his famous machine nor was it a man climbing off it.
"Hello. I have some questions for you." Green eyes smiled warmly, as a substitute for the mouth that was hidden behind the scarf patterned like the American flag. At her hips a green and black knife lazily shifted into a pistol and back again. "If you don't mind of course."
Miss Militia, one of the senior Heroes from the Protectorate had arrived at my house. And I still hadn't gotten my story straight.
Well this would be awkward.
AN: EARTH BET HAS BEEN REACHED! I REPEAT EARTH BET HAS BEEN REACHED! Till next time!
