Powers are weird.
Not an especially insightful or helpful remark, but it was a very true one.
I should know that most of all. My powers would technically be described as a 'grab-bag' set, powers that seemed to be dribs and drabs of stronger powersets grouped together. Grab-bags were generally speaking seen as bottom-tier Capes, power-wise.
I was not your typical grab-bag cape.
A Week After The Locker
It all started when I was released from hospital after recovering from being locked in a locker full of the foulest and most disgusting toxic waste you could imagine.
For twelve hours.
According to the doctors, it had been something of a small miracle that I hadn't contracted a serious infection from being exposed to the stuff for so long. I was just glad that, as a result of the biological waste that had traces of several strong contagions as a result of being left to rot and ferment over winter break, Winslow had been closed indefinitely until it could be completely decontaminated. There were also pointed questions being asked of the custodial staff and the regular staff for such a thing being allowed to happen.
Dad and I were rather pleased by that, and he took me for a meal out to celebrate the idiots who had enabled my year and a half of suffering getting it in the neck.
I should have known that whatever deity that hates me wouldn't let me have a break.
On the way home, we got caught in a four-way fight between the Empire 88, Merchant, ABB and the Protectorate. Our car was sucked into Mush's giant golem form, ripped apart by Hookwolf, smashed and burned by Lung and blown up by Bakuda.
It was then that I Triggered, seeing Dad's legs disintegrate in the Tinkertech explosion's wake.
Luckily or unluckily, I also blacked out when that happened. Waking up in the hospital again had been a bit of a shock. Apparently, when someone Triggers, it knocks out other Parahumans within a certain distance of them, so the PRT knew that someone had Triggered there. Fortunately for me, there had been over two dozen people nearby, not including my Dad, who were just as likely to have Triggered.
As for my Dad…Panacea couldn't fix his legs. They were gone, destroyed by Bakuda's damn bomb. Dad didn't have enough body mass for the world's strongest healer to regenerate them, not without crippling him. I could tell that this really bothered her when she explained it to me, which had started gears whirling in my head.
"Does it have to be biomass inside your patients that you use?" I had asked her, "Couldn't you use an external source?"
She had looked startled at that, then thoughtful. She promised to do some experimenting before getting back to me, which was nice.
A Week After Taylor Triggered
Dad was…well, he'd lost his legs. No way was he OK, mentally at least. Fortunately, the Dockworker's Union owed him big time for all the work he'd done for them over the years and didn't try and give him the boot. Instead, they made his office and the way to it disabled friendly and told him to come back when he felt up to it.
"You're going to have to go back to work, Dad." I informed him as I wheeled him into the kitchen, "Watching TV all day is supposed to be my job as a teenager."
That made him smile briefly. "Well, I'd hate to usurp your duty as a teenager." He drawled.
I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm before looking sadly at where he sat on the wheelchair, the space where his legs should be empty.
"None of that." Dad said sternly, "This wasn't your fault, Taylor. It wasn't anyone's fault except for Bakuda's for throwing that damn bomb."
"It's just…I'm free from Winslow…" I said with closed eyes, "And you paid the price for it. Why did the price for my freedom come so steeply?"
"It wasn't to do with you, Kiddo." He said seriously, "It was shitty luck, nothing more. No one could have predicted a gang war starting just as we were heading home and it was bad luck that Bakuda chose that particular grenade to throw. Now she's on the edge of getting a kill order because she did kill three people with another of a similar type. Once that happens, she'll be someone else's problem."
Regardless of what Dad said, I still felt guilty.
The Next Day
Dad was finally heading into work today. Kurt, my godfather, was picking him up. It was no surprise really. Kurt and his wife Lacy had been Dad's oldest friends since they were teenagers, so they were very supportive of us both.
This also meant that I could practice my powers since I was going to be home alone. I was now registered as a home-schooled student, for multiple reasons. Not wanting to go back to the hellhole known as Winslow was one, having to look after my Dad was another.
After I helped Kurt load Dad's wheelchair into the trunk and saw them off with a wave, I re-entered the house and close the curtains in the living room. Standing in the centre of the room, I breathed out and whispered the words that triggered my powers.
"For dreams and honour."
In a flash of light, my clothes transformed. My jeans were replaced with blue combat trousers, while black boots appeared on my feet. My t-shirt was replaced with a blue polo neck vest and I gained a brown belt with an odd symbol on it. Metal pauldrons appeared on my shoulders, leather gloves on my hands, my eyes changed colour from brown to a luminous sky blue and my hair changed black. Finally, a blank-faced helmet appeared over my head and a thin sword in my hand.
[SOLDIER 3RD Class, ready for deployment]
I had no idea who that synthesised female voice was or why she said that every time I transformed, but it got pretty annoying after a while. Holding up the sword in my hand, I focussed on it and information appeared in my mind.
[SOLDIER Sword]
LV1
A standard issue close combat weapon issued to all levels of SOLDIER, it is the first weapon you must master before moving on to others weapons.
ATK +10
1 Materia Slot
That was more than I'd gotten all of the times before. Why was I a soldier? And why was it in caps like that? What did it mean by ATK+10? And what was Materia?
Shaking my helmeted head, I dismissed my transformation and reverted to my original appearance. Maybe by actually practicing using my sword, I would learn something new? It was worth a try at least.
It took me about half an hour to finish what little work I had left for my schoolwork. Freed from the idiocy of Winslow and the Bitch Trio sabotaging my work, I had redone a lot of the stuff I was supposed to do and found it a lot easier when not being beaten into submission by the entire student body every day. Then I went out.
Finding an abandoned house to transform in was easy thanks to the gang war. Each time I transformed, the process became quicker and easier, with the initial transformation taking two minutes and now taking less than ten seconds.
I finished transforming and had just sheathed my sword over my shoulder when a small window popped up in front of me.
Name: Taylor Hebert
Rank: SOLDIER 3rd Class
Level: 1
To Next Level: 1000 EXP
HP: 500/500
MP: 500/500
ATK: 50 (+10)
DEF: 50 (+10)
MAG ATK: 40
MAG DEF: 40
Feat Points: 0
Weapon: SOLDIER Sword (LV1)
Armour: 3rd Class Armour (LV1)
Accessory: None
Materia: None
"Okaaaaayyy…." I whispered in confusion, "What the hell is all this?"
I already knew what the [SOLDIER Sword] did, so I tried pressing the [3rd Class Armour] and lo and behold, a screen popped up.
[3rd Class Armour]
LV1
The standard-issue armour issued to 3rd Class SOLDIER operatives. It is resilient, hardy and offers reasonable protection from bullets and blades.
DEF +10
1 Materia Slot
Again with this Materia stuff! What the heck was it?!
Shaking my head, I close the second screen, only for another one to pop up.
Please select three feats to be integrated into your combat style.
There was a long list of things I can choose from and I am taken aback at how many of them are to do will efficiently killing things. Steering clear of those, I choose three that are helpful and nonlethal.
[In a Single Bound LV1]
Allows you to jump up to two stories in the air.
[Back of the Blade]
All strikes do not cause death.
[Greenhorn Materia Hunter]
Raises chances of acquiring Materia from defeated enemies by 20%. Does not stack with other Materia Hunter feats.
The first gives me a way of getting around the city quickly, the second means I couldn't kill if I wanted to and the third will hopefully let me find some of this dratted Materia stuff so I can find out what it does!
Every instance of combat you take part in is assessed and a number of Feat Points (FP) is awarded to you based on that assessment. Once you have accumulated enough of them, you can purchase additional feats. As you level up, more feats become unlocked. It should be noted that there are a maximum amount of feats that you can have equipped at any one time and some feats are incompatible with one another and thus cannot be equipped at the same time.
Useful to know.
Leaving the house, I leapt into the air and landed on top of the house across the road. It took me less effort that it did to get out of bed in the morning. With a grin beneath my metal helmet, I started jumping from roof to roof quite easily. Any distance between a meter or so and two stories was cake to jump and it amazed me that something so amazing was within my capabilities now.
Reaching taller buildings made me realise that my jumping limit was two stories point blank. Not that I was restricted to only jumping up two story buildings, but that if I stood atop a building and jumped two stories up to another one, it was perfectly allowed.
Looking around, I saw that my explorations had taken me to near Brockton Bay General Hospital. Why on earth would I willingly come back here? I'd had more than enough of hospitals for the next years.
The loud BANG coming from the hospital had me moving in that direction before my mind caught up with what it was doing. Then I realised why. Panacea had a schedule for visiting the hospitals of Brockton Bay and today was the half-day at Arcadia, ostensibly for 'work experience' but in reality so that the Wards who went there, a totally open secret, could head for patrols. It also helped the New Wave healer and her sister to visit the hospital.
Thing is, no one attacked hospitals in Brockton Bay. Marquis, a villain from when I was a newborn, had laid down the law in that regard; no attacking hospitals or public transportation or you bring down both the heroes AND the villains on your head. Even although Marquis had long since been sent to the Birdcage, the new villains that had risen to replace him, minus Skidmark of the Merchants, all tacitly supported the 'Marquis Rules' and enforced them as well.
That begged the question of who would be stupid enough to attack a hospital in the Bay, coincidentally the exact same hospital that the world's most powerful healer was working in. It was either the Merchants or a new player and I don't know which option worried me more.
Landing in the hospital carpark, I looked around and scowled when I saw that the automatic doors of the hospital had been unnecessarily blown off their tracks. That just screamed either impatience, desperation or both.
A nurse, black, male and with a large bloody lump on his head, was slumped against the wall next to the entrance. I kneeled next to him and asked, "Are you OK? What happened here?"
"Th-the Travellers…wandering…villains…!" he gasped, "Panacea…going for…Panacea!"
A cold lump filled my stomach. Oh hell. They were breaking an unspoken part of the Endbringer Truce: Do Not Kidnap or Attack Panacea.
"Who the fuck are you!?" an angry voice yelled at me from behind. I stood up and turned to see Victoria Dallon, Glory Girl, glaring at me. She was the strongest Alexandria-type in the Bay and she was very protective of her sister. I had to step carefully here.
"I only just arrived here myself, Glory Girl." I said softly, raising my hands in a pacifying gesture, "The Travellers are responsible for all this. They're here for Panacea according to this gentleman here."
"Bloody fucking…!" Glory Girl snarled and she sped off into the hospital through the entrance. Not a bad idea, actually.
I picked up the man in my arms and carried him into the hospital, handing him over to another nurse that came forward at my request.
"The Travellers' target is Panacea. Where is she?" I asked.
The nurse looked at me suspiciously.
"Look, I'm a so-new-it-squeaks hero here, so I know you probably think I'm with the Travellers, but I really don't want Panacea to be taken by them." I said urgently, "Do you?"
One last moment of hesitation and the nurse nodded. "Chemo ward. That's where she's supposed to be right now. Three floors up."
"Thanks." I nodded and ran off to the elevators. Unfortunately, the Travellers had been here first and they were all melted wrecks. Grinding my teeth at the delay, I leapfrogged from wall to wall before drawing my sword and jamming it into the third floor doors, prying them apart in one smooth motion before landing.
Sheathing my sword again, I looked around and followed the signs to the actual chemo ward. Short of the brain itself, Panacea could heal almost any disease, so there was a massive waiting list for her time because, despite the fact she could heal most injuries and diseases in minutes, there literally wasn't enough time in the day for her to help everyone. The fact that she did so much at such a young age was something I found impressive and inspiring.
Point is, she's almost certainly still there…if the Travellers haven't gotten to her.
Bursting through the doors, I came face to face with the target of my search. Dressed in a white costume that was instantly recognisable the world over, Amy Dallon looked at me with wide eyes. "What on-?"
"Villains are here for you, Panacea." I said briskly, "Don't know if it's assassination or kidnapping, but either way, you need to get out of here, now."
"Sis!" Glory Girl rocketed through the doors, uncaring of the fact she smashed said doors into kindling. She looked at me suspiciously as I picked a splinter out of my hair. "How'd you get her before me?"
"I asked directions." I replied dryly, "Any sign of the Travellers?"
"They're wrecking the place floor by floor." Glory Girl answered with a scowl.
"Why are they breaking the Endbringer Truce and the Marquis rules?" I hissed with a shake of my head, "Get Panacea out of here, stat. I don't care what they want her for; we have to make sure they don't get her."
"Sorry, not in the cards." A male voice said. I spun around to see a group of people not much older than me wearing uniforms of red and black. The only nonhuman member of the group was a red and black gorilla thing with spider legs jutting out of its back.
"So you're the Travellers." I stated, "Yeah, I'm going to have to say that you're screwed here."
"Damn right!" Glory Girl growled, Panacea behind her.
"Sorry, the Healer's coming with us." The male in a top hat spoke up again and pulled a revolver from his pocket. Just as quickly, I drew my sword.
[Activating Combat Mode!]
So this is in memory of my favourite FFVII character, Zack Fair. Some of the mechanics are from Dissidia: Final Fantasy (it's a crime he was never made a character in those games) and some are just standard game logic. A lot of people complain that I don't write these properly or that I could do better in some of them, but this Asylum of Plot Bunnies is to inspire other people to write fics, not for me to write a bunch of stories haphazardly for no reason.
Taylor, who will go under the codename SOLDIER for the moment, will eventually gain access to the Digital Mind Wave (DMW) once she moves up a rank to SOLDIER 2nd Class, and then the Buster Sword just before become SODLIER 1st Class.
Brute : 4 (Possesses superhuman strength and toughness)
Mover: 5 (Able to leap up to two stories at a time. Possesses superhuman reflexes and reaction times.)
Shaker/Trump: 12 (Is able to manifest combat gear that becomes stronger with experience and time. Can alter own power to become stronger. Sword surrounded by a field that prevents anyone cut by it from dying. When enters combat, locks down the area with a powerful forcefield that cannot be exited by those within and cannot be entered by those without combat abilities. Able to generate seemingly random boosts in combat ranging from invulnerability to special attacks.)