Being dragged along by a girl both shorter and younger than me wasn't quite the dignified exit of a hero, but given the fact that I was still feeling light headed from my earlier fight I didn't feel the need to put up much of a fight. That and the fact that despite knowing Riley as the kind hearted girl who patched up my wounds from whatever fights I had managed to find myself in I couldn't forget who else she was…or rather had been.
Finding out that my teacher had taken in a member of Slaughterhouse 9 had been a shock and put me instantly on edge around her after finding out, but after learning what she had been through, what that sick freak Jack Slash had done to twist and warp her into a monster I couldn't bring myself to really blame her.
The story of how she met my teacher was one I still was light on details of, all I really knew was that my teacher had come across the villainous capes mid-rampage and by the time he was done Riley was the only member still active. From snippets I had managed to gleam that my teacher had disabled them after a drawn out brawl and then proceeded to 'beat every ounce of stuffing' out of Jack Slash with his cane if Riley was to be believed.
At first it had been a bit hard to believe, but then again I had fought two of the most terrifying parahumans in Brockton Bay within the same month after a frankly minimal amount of training with one of the most powerful collections of weapons in the world, and as my teacher had in his own words 'been doing this for a long time' I didn't doubt that he could put an end to that group.
Eventually Riley brought the two of us into a room that looked like a cross between a fancy hotel and a hospital room and motioned for me to lay down as she went to get her tools. The massive teddy bear that was Riley's constant companion within the Dollhouse helped to lift me up with the ease and gentleness that didn't make much sense given a lot of factors. Starting with the fact he was a bear sized teddy and didn't have any actual hands, and ending with the fact that I knew from what the Dollhouse had told me that it had strength comparable to a grizzly on steroids.
Still I didn't complain about the help and laid myself on the comfortable bed as Riley rolled next to it on a stool with a bag of blood in one hand and a needle in the other. "Jacket off, roll up your sleeve," her words were blunt but not unkind, and I quickly did as she asked, giving her access to my arm. In a few moments she had gotten a transfusion set up for me. "Technically we could just use one of the blood pills," she ran her eyes over my arm to ensure that the transfusion was going properly before letting out a sigh and leaning back. "But that puts extra strain on your body, which is fine if it's saving your life during a fight, but…"
"I know Riley," I cut her off before she could further go into the issues that the pills she had created to keep me in combat actually had. "This is fine."
Riley bit her thumb at that, her vision sharpening as she looked over me. "It would be so much easier if we could just replace some of the parts, maybe make some redundant organs that could hold extra blood and release it once they detected a lack of red cells in your body, maybe go a bit further and-" before she could finish the teddy bear lifted her it its massive arms and squished her body against its own, a faint white glow being released from it. For a moment Riley's eyes lost focus and her body became slack in the grasp of the massive toy, but eventually she gave a pat to the bear's body. "I'm back, I'm okay now." The bear seemed to consider her words before setting her back on her feet. "Sorry Taylor, I'm still working on that."
"It's fine, I understand it's not something you can control." I had seen it once or twice already, how the kind and gentle Riley could slip so easily into being the bio-tinker that had made grown men and women unable to sleep at night. It wasn't something she could control, years of reinforced trauma at the hands of Jack Slash wasn't easy to undo. Which was why the teacher had lent her the use of Trauma Bear.
Trauma Bear- Classification Emotional Support Doll
While possessing the strength of a grizzly bear and hidden razor sharp claws, this doll's specific use is to act as a counseling and support unit to aid those who have undergone significant emotional trauma. Its main ability allows the suppression of negative trauma responses by draining them away, allowing for any stress to be dealt with in a healthy manner over a long period of time.
The information flooded into my mind as the Dollhouse took my thoughts on the bear to be a request to check the doll's ability and description. My teacher had informed me that once I was more well acquainted with how this place worked with my new brain I would be able to prevent accidents like that. For the moment however I would just have to grin and bear it.
"So did you enjoy the dvd's I managed to bring in?" The last time I had met with my teacher I had handed over a few of the old movies that neither my dad or I watched anymore, mostly old cartoons and classic movies that had been gathering dust. It wasn't anything we would miss and I had simply lied to dad that I had given them away to a local charity. While technically a lie my dad was barely around enough to actually notice.
I turned my head and saw Trauma Bear reaching out one of his paws but paused before actually touching me, drawing itself back to a standing position behind Riley. I took a breath and allowed thoughts of my dad to flow out of my mind for the moment, that was an issue I didn't want to reach back into. I had forgiven the person he had become, or at least I told myself that enough that it didn't feel like a lie anymore.
"Yeah, I remember watching some of them with my mom and dad before…well anyway Mr. Aegis sat down and watched some of them with me so it was really nice." For a moment the mask of a small girl slipped again and I saw the horror that had been her life slip in, but she pushed it back quickly enough.
"I didn't think that he was the type for sitting down and watching movies." I smiled and Riley let out a small giggle at that comment, giving a small nod to show that she agreed with me.
My teacher, Stetson Aegis, was a mystery that I couldn't begin to solve and everyday with him seemed to only make that fact grow more solid. He was at once the kindest and most dangerous person I had ever met, able to bring a smile out of someone at their worst moment. But just the same I had seen Oni Lee after their fight and I had no doubt that my teacher's mercy was conditional.
Riley went out of the room for a moment to bring back water and some fruit, the two of us sharing it while discussing the finer points of the animated classics until I finally started to feel like myself again, pushing off of the bed and stretching myself out. While I would have probably been fine it was nice to be back at a full tank. "I'll see if I can't bring some more movies, or maybe I can take you to see a movie?"
For her part Riley simply shook her head and looked down. "I don't think I'm ready to go back outside yet. I'm getting better but going back outside scares me. I've been Riley in here, but out there I was her. And I'm worried that if I went back I'd be her again and this would turn out to just be a dream."
There was nothing I could really say to that, while I knew the facts behind her tenure with the Slaughterhouse 9 it would be an insult to her to say I really understood what that kind of situation would do to someone. I was only about three years older than her, and while my life hadn't been gentle I couldn't claim that it was near the same level as being kidnapped and forced to work with a monster like Jack Slash.
But the idea of doing nothing when she was clearly hurting would never sit right with me, so if all I could do was keep offering a hand and hope that one day she would take it then I would just keep doing so. "I'm going to go try and find teacher, thank you Riley."
She offered me a bright smile and waved me off as she started to clean up the area that had been used.
Stepping into the hallways of the Dollhouse was always an odd experience, the building itself was set up like a manor from a period piece, flawless carpet and polished wood as far as the eye can see and beautiful oil paintings hanging on the walls. It was also vast, from what little I knew about the place there were upwards of hundreds of rooms with a variety of different purposes, without a guide one would find it easy to get lost.
Thankfully I could cheat. "Dollhouse, guide to Stetson."
Confirmed, guiding to primary user
Before my eyes a line of yellow light appeared over the carpet and I followed it at an even pace and took in the atmosphere of the Dollhouse as I went. There was something soothing about this place, it was the center of my power and the thing which allowed me to act as a hero. Part of me did wonder what I would be without it, if on that day my teacher hadn't been walking through the Bay and prevented me from triggering. Would I still be a hero or would the 'infection' as Stetson had called it turn me into a worse version of myself? Before I could dive deeper into that line of thought my path ended in front of a door. I reached forward and rapped my knuckles against the door until I heard my teacher call out that I could enter.
As I entered the room I couldn't help but marvel at it, the room itself was about as large as some of the bigger storage buildings at the Dock, the light within the room maintained by a number of massive chandelier's hanging down from the ceiling. On each wall hung various Doll's, each in a state of disrepair, some of the damage being simply cosmetic but a good majority of them had suffered much graver injuries. Some were missing limbs, or had cracks in their bodies.
All about the floor of the massive room, large robbed figures skittered about on spider-like limbs, taking down a doll and moving them to workbenches. From there they would begin repairs using a variety of tools, their spear-like limbs opening at the bottom to form metallic manipulators to more easily grasp and use them.
Sitting at a much smaller desk was Stetson, a thread and needle in hand as he carefully took Sister Mercy's habit and repaired it with careful movements. "Are you feeling better Taylor?" His voice was as kind as ever, though he didn't move his eyes from the work before him for a moment.
"I'm feeling a lot better," I walked toward him and pulled up a chair near the table, watching as he went about the repair work with the skills of a master. I hadn't really understood at first why he did repairs himself when the mass production Doll's would be able to do the job with the same skill. But after fighting with the Dolls I had a better understanding of just how easy it was to get attached to them, to try and put back the effort into them that they put into fighting. Even those that didn't have personalities to them. "I just wish I had done better during that fight. I thought I had him and instead he almost took me out."
Sister Mercy had been stronger, faster, and more skilled then the nazi cape, the only reason that things had almost turned out so bad was my own error and leaving myself out in the open.
"Failure is our first teacher, so long as you survive to see another fight and take those lessons to heart there is nothing to be done then to move forward," he put down his tools and rotated his chair to face me. "However we do need to have a discussion about how to move forward from here. With this attack you will no doubt spark anger from this 'Empire', though I doubt it is anything beyond your abilities there is one small issue."
"What issue?" there was a small amount of worry in my voice, after all Stetson wasn't one to give into worry. Then again his confidence was backed by the Dollhouse, so it couldn't really be called a flaw.
"I will be leaving Brockston Bay tomorrow." he said those words so matter of factly that the implications didn't really hit me until a few seconds later.
"What?" I hated the weakness in my voice for a second, how it sounded like the same tone I had used when my father had told me about mom.
For once I really wished that Trauma Bear was in the room.
"This has been the longest I've stayed in one area for quite some time, while normally I don't mind putting roots down while dealing with situations, the world is not so devoid of conflict to allow me to stay in one area. There is simply too much to be done," his voice was apologetic but firm, and as much as I hated it I also understood.
A selfish part of me wanted to ask him to stay, the same part that seemed to fill in my idea of a reliable figure with his kind smile and gentle nature. But at the same time I knew that he had a responsibility to help that extended beyond the Bay and trying to force him to stay would only end in both of us being hurt.
"I still have so much to learn," I clenched and unclenched my hands as worry dug itself into my mind. The difference in skill between the two of us was about as large as could be, my victories amounted to a few thugs, stopping a Merchant attack, preventing Uber and Leet from tearing up a road, and my two actual fights against Lung and Hookwolf. And in the case of the last two Stetson had been there to back me up. "I don't know if I can do this on my own."
Stetson for his part reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. "Taylor, you really aren't," he said as a matter of fact. "And while I respect your growth over these past three or so months you are far from being prepared to take the world on your own. You lack experience and require guidance."
I had a sinking suspicion I knew where this conversation was going, though I couldn't exactly argue against it. "The PRT?" the two of us had discussed my joining, while he was wholly independent and had managed to stay under the radar I wouldn't have the same luxury. I had my dad to worry about and knew that the longer I went at this the greater risk I would inevitably draw to us.
"It's not the only option, this New Wave can provide you with help as well," he frowned a bit even having given the suggestion. "But that is a much smaller pool to pull from."
"Not to mention the last time I met Glory Girl we didn't exactly end it as best friends," the fight had been a stupid one, through I had to admit that as much as she had jumped the gun I had met her with my own escalation.
"There is also that group that you saved," he tapped his fingers against the desk behind him. "The Underworld?"
"Undersiders," I helpfully added, though I was a bit confused on that subject. "They're villains though…at least that's what Armsmaster said." My encounter with the Bay's premiere Tinker had been fairly exciting, seeing as he had been one of the people I had looked up to for quite some time. At least I hadn't made a fool out of myself.
Stetson for his part simply waved that off as if it had no consequence. "From what I've seen after looking into it they seem more like a group of troublemakers that haven't been given a proper chance. If they were monsters like some of the groups within the Bay I wouldn't dream of suggesting it, but if you really want to be independent then a tight knit group you could build around yourself would be a decent step."
I could see where he was coming from, at least a bit. From what I had read up on, the Undersiders were small time as far as parahuman gangs were considered, and outside of Hellhound they had seemed nice after we had worked together to take out Lung. Then again I had the Bludgeoning Angel by my side and had just brought down a major gang leader, so that might have played a role.
"If it's just money they are after I'm sure there are some funds we can liquidate around here somewhere. Gold is still valuable nowadays isn't it?" Stetson considered it for a moment. "Honestly I should set up a fund, maybe I'll visit a bank and get a card for you, just enough to get by. Eight or so figures should be fine for a start until you want to branch out."
I choked on my own spit as he casually dropped the idea of making me a millionaire as if it were an afterthought. Even with all the time we had spent together Stetson never really stopped surprising me. "How?" I managed to choke out.
"Gold is common enough when you travel as much as I do, and there are plenty of untraceable baubles that would have a high selling point. I left a note with the heads of most of the Slaughterhouse 9 that any bounty on them should go to charity for their victims, but I could go claim a few here and there." The ease of which he spoke about doing the most incredible things disturbed me at times.
"Whatever you say," I was too drained to summon up the ability to argue at this point. The one thing my teacher could do better than anything else was continue to pull out new ways of surprising me.
"That a girl," he snapped his fingers and one of the mass production puppets skittered over, using a set of its legs to hand him a box before moving back to the workbenches. "Now then, you have done exceedingly well during our time together, thus I want to give you two gifts." he handed me the box and motioned for me to open it.
Despite how I was feeling I couldn't deny a certain curiosity, tearing open the box like a kid on Christmas day to reveal what was inside. The first thing in view was a new set of clothes, and with just a glance I knew they were special. The material was a deep black that almost seemed to drink in the light around it, the outside felt rough to the touch but on the inside was more comfortable than anything I had worn before. The outfit was separated into multiple pieces, all utterly seamless. The main outfit consisted of pants, a long sleeved shirt, and a jacket with a long hood on the back. But there were also gloves, socks, and a pair of boots waiting to be worn. Underneath those was a silver mask that seemed designed to snap over the lower part of my face.
"The material for the outfit is based on a fabric I once came across, it keeps the one who wears it as an ideal temperature regardless of weather conditions, it could go in any color but black seems best, I think it's rather stylish myself," Stetson smiled a bit and then pointed toward the mask at the bottom. "That is a voice changer, it will modulate your voice to prevent anyone from trying to dig into who you are. Even the most advanced technology wouldn't be able to parse out who you are, unless you do something like repeat something only your alternate persona should know."
I gave a nod and looked down at the outfit. So far I had made do with some slightly bigger than average clothing and tried to muffle my voice and cover my face with a hood. This was a whole new step, though I was a bit confused. "Wouldn't body armor be a bit better?" I didn't want to sound like I didn't appreciate the gift, but it felt a bit lacking.
With a smile he took the shirt and placed it on his table before picking up a pair of sharp scissors and stabbing it downward. A horrible sound rang out through the room for a moment causing me to close my eyes and cover my ears. But the moment I opened them I saw the scissors had broken to pieces. "The material has a few extra features as well, up to a certain point it takes any damage done upon it and throws it right back at what hits it. I wouldn't go getting hit by a falling building, but bullets and the like shouldn't be too much of a worry. Or a speeding car if you were in a pinch."
"Thank you," I couldn't really say anything else, and from his look it was obvious there was nothing more to be said.
"Well get dressed," Stetson pulled himself up from his chair and grabbed his cane before taking a tan trilby and scarf from the table and putting them in. "I have one more gift for you before I have to start making preparations."
Remembering the fact he would be leaving soon did damper the excitement over the outfit, but not by much. I quickly stole away into a bathroom the size of a small apartment and switched into the clothing. All of it fit easily against me, practically molding itself to me. The jacket had even been designed to accommodate my long hair without any obvious bulging in the back, a fact I was grateful for. The mask was strange to put on, but not altogether unpleasant. Each side had a small opening that read my fingerprints that acted as a locking mechanism, meaning that anyone who wanted to unmask me was going to have a hell of a time.
When I turned to look in the mirror I was shocked for a moment at the person looking back, rather than the mousy girl who had nearly died in a locker I looked like something pulled out of a comic cover. I don't know if it was exactly a heroic look, but it radiated a 'do not fuck with me' aura that I had to admit to liking.
As I stepped into the hallway Stetson gave me a once over before giving a nod and a smile. "You look wonderful my girl, truly stunning," there was a small amount of pride in his voice that made my heart go warm for a moment.
"It was all thanks to you," my voice surprised me for a moment. The mask made me sound older and a tad more gruff, but Stetson didn't even blink at it and just gave a nod.
"Now then, your gift," he tapped his cane on the ground. "Dollhouse, drop us off would you?"
In less than a blink the two of us disappeared from the lavish hallways of the Dollhouse and appeared on top of a large hill overlooking the docks, and more important the Lord's Port, or more commonly named by residents the Boat Graveyard. Massive ships of all sizes sat rusting and decaying in the waters, a constant reminder of the Bay's horrible condition.
"I've taught you respect for the Dollhouse and its power, to always use it with a clear mind and firm purpose. I have also taught you to fear that power, because used unwisely you could kill a great many people in pursuit of your goals," Stetson closed his eyes for a moment and smiled as the cool breeze from the ocean blew toward us. "For my final lesson, allow me to teach you something equally important. Wonder."
He buried his cane in the soft dirt beneath our feet and extended his left arm to the side, small panels opening in it and revealing holes in the false limb. Just as I had my skull and brain replaced to use the Dollhouse he had sacrificed his arm. If I had a magnifying glass held close I knew I would see the small strands of blood that connected us to the Dolls when in use.
"Dollhouse, Inventory Select." he opened his eyes and looked straight ahead. "Black Box Collection, Nihilis." before us a figure appeared, standing about half a foot taller than me and thin with long angular limbs. Its body was black and whites moving in spirals across every inch, and its face was painted white with black coloring denoting eyes and mouth. From its head hung two long bells connected by fabric reaching to the middle of its body. "Blood Brain Connection."
The Doll, Nihilis sprung to life, its limbs animating and its head rolling. "Hello nurse," the doll spun on a single foot to face me and dipped into a deep bow with one of its legs moving up behind it, balancing its odd form on one foot. "Between you and me I had hoped you would be the first one to summon me, the old man is a bit limiting and you seem like a bag of laughs. Maybe we could rip apart those kids who nearly killed you, prank your dad out of his depression, oh oh I know, lets send the Nazi's into an Easy Bake Oven…you know for the sake of irony!" despite it being just paint the eyes and mouth of the doll moved in time with each word, its bells bouncing with each jerky movement.
"That will be quite enough, I called you here to do your duty. Need I call upon someone else?" Stetson's voice was calm, but had very much slipped into his 'you are starting to test me' mode that I had seen when dealing with some of the more active dolls.
This wasn't my first experience with an Active Doll, the Bludgeoning Angel had taken that one. However the difference between the beautiful smile and calm demeanor of that doll was utterly at odds with the hyperactive clown before me.
"Boring boring boring," Nihilis waved a claw like hand and returned its focus to the Boat Graveyard before it. "At least my art will be appreciated." the mutter to its tone was like that of a child denied a treat. But rather than continue complaining it raised both hands and began to focus.
"What's it doing?" I asked Stetson, speaking low to not interrupt whatever was happening.
"Just watch," he said with a hint of glee. "It's rare I get to do something like this without it being an emergency."
I turned my focus back to the Boat Graveyard and blinked in confusion, there was one less boat sitting amongst the rest then there was before. It didn't take long to notice that was because said boat was not balanced on its nose atop another ship, the water barely being disturbed.
I fully focused on the water and noticed what was happening, a white and black portal would appear around one of the ships for a moment and the ship would sink into the portal, only to appear and stack itself on the first ship. Again and again the process repeated, until the boats were stacked high enough to touch the clouds and disappear from sight. "Holy shit," I said under my breath, looking at the massive tower of metal before me.
When the last ship disappeared from the water I had no idea how the stack was staying stable, but it didn't even shake when the breeze hit it. "And now, for a performance!" Nihilis clapped his hands together and two of the odd portals appeared, one rising up and the other falling down the line until they met in the middle and disappeared. "Now if you check my sleeve, you'll notice I don't have anything, but if you look in the air!"
One of the portals appeared again, launching out one of the ships high above the ocean only to be caught by another, and then two shot up to be caught. Adding more and more Nihilis caused the ships to dance through the air, spinning and dancing without ever coming close to touching anything.
I could only imagine what the people in the city watching would think. I was right next to the cause and my brain was still only feeding back error messages.
"And finally," he created two portals close to each other, having the boats fall through one to be caught by the other, each ship falling faster and faster, picking up speed until it was hard to notice the difference between one blur and the other. "For the finale of this show I will ask any adults in the audience to cover their children's eyes because this much fun will ruin them for the rest of their lives, EAT SHIT YOU WEIRD ANGEL FUCK!" With a final flick of its wrist multiple portals appeared in the sky, each firing off the massive ships skyward and disappearing like a blink in the horizon. "Thank you thank you, I'll be performing all week," Nihilis gave a bow before suddenly disappearing, whisked back to the Dollhouse.
I turned to see Stetson reach out once more for his cane, his arm shifting back to its proper state as he leaned upon it. "I think that should be enough to qualify as a gift, and a good starting place. Feel free to take the credit for it."
There were no words I could summon, so instead I just laughed helplessly at the situation.
My life was so awesome sometimes.