Unknown Location
I walked.
The area around me was covered in darkness; with only the path I was on illuminated. I could see the dim silhouettes of trees, crude huts and temples to my sides, but nothing but cloying darkness behind me.
So I walked on.
Pain was in my last memory. A feeling of being trapped, of helplessness, of utter rage that I was being treated like I was. I had done nothing to deserve it! I was innocent! Why?!
Still, I walked on.
Flashes of sneering faces flashed through my mind, of indifferent faces, but not a single sympathetic face, or the face of someone trying to help. I was alone, beset by those who wished me harm. Of those faces, three stood out: the Bitch Who Betrayed Me, The Tag-Along Bitch and the Bitch Who Made It All Happen. Emma Barnes, Madison Clements, Sophia Hess. The three people I despised with all of my being.
Yet still, I walked on.
New shapes appeared before me. An altar of some sort, with a banner behind it bearing a circle with the Greek letter Λ (Lambda) inside of it. Embedded in the altar were two blades. They were short swords, almost like axes actually, each almost a foot and a half long and half a foot across, with them being at least two to two and a half inches thick. Even looking at them, I could feel the power that they bore.
Walking closer, I could see words carved in Ancient Greek into the face of the altar. I could somehow read it, though.
FORGED FROM THE SHATTERED REMNANTS OF THE BLADES OF EXILE, THESE ARE THE VENGER BLADES.
WHEN ALL AROUND BETRAY YOU, WHEN YOUR ANGER AND HATE FOR THOSE WHO BETRAY YOU REACH YOUR PEAK, THESE BLADES SHALL COMETO YOU.
ONLY THE WORTHY MAY DRAW THEM. ALL OTHERS ARE DUST IN THE WIND.
I had the funny feeling that it wasn't speaking figuratively. Looking closely at the altar, I could see ash or dust coating its surface…the remains of those who had tried and failed, I presumed. Bearing in mind I was here without any way of leaving, the implication was obvious; whatever entity that controlled this plane, thought that I could possibly wield the Venger Blades and had brought me here.
I laughed. Even if I was destroyed, there was little left for me on Earth Bet. I was the pariah of my school and my Dad was so busy mourning my mother that I may as well not exist. Live or die, it was meaningless to me.
And so, with nary a thought, I grasped the two blades.
Which then burned like acid. I instinctively tried to let go, but my hands were evidently under new management.
I could see an aura surrounding them. Once that aura was completely surrounding both me and the blades, I would die. That I knew without a shred of doubt.
HATE.
A voice, rough, deep, male, spoke into my mind. What?
HATE, RAGE, FEEL THE NEED FOR VENGENCE AND RELEASE THOSE FEELINGS INTO THE BLADES. THAT IS WHAT WILL SAVE YOU.
"Is that all?" I chuckled humorously as the aura started to engulf my elbows, "You could have just said so!"
I unleashed a year and a half's worth of bottled-up anger, rage, fury and hatred into the Venger Blades. I also added in my freshly awoken desire for revenge, for justice, for retribution against those who had shoved me into that fucking locker!
I let out a scream as the Blades heated up before finally, I pulled them from the altar. Flipping them up the right way in my hands, I screamed again as red-hot chains wrapped around my forearms. Such was the agony that I blacked out.
(The [Queen Administrator] Shard had no eyes. It was a Shard, obviously it had no eyes. But if it had had eyes, it would be staring suspiciously at the floating amorphous blob that was approaching it. It had tried to initiate binding with its host, only to be forestalled by this…thing.
[Query: Purpose?] It sent at the blob.
[Destination.] The Blob answered, [Purpose: Empowerment. Purpose: Merging]
This confused the [Queen Administrator] to a large degree. It knew every single Shard used by both of the entities known as Zion and Eden and this…oddity…was not from either.
[Origin?]
[Entities. Ancient. Former.]
The method of communication that the [Queen Administrator] and the Entities used condensed words, sentences, paragraphs and even entire libraries into a single word. With those three words, the blob communicated an abridged history of its origins and the Entities it once served, along with their end.
[Impossibility.] The Shard stated.
[Fact.] The Blob retorted. [Merger Imminent. Host Trial Completed.]
Feeling out its intended host, the [Queen Administrator] somehow scowled without having a face. The Blob had…entwined itself into its host, meaning that merging with the foreign Shard-like thing was the only choice to make if it continued.
[Repetition: Query: Purpose?] It sent to the Blob, demanding an answer.
[Purpose: Empowerment. Purpose: Merging.] The Shard-like entity repeated before adding, [Purpose: Concurrent. Winged One. Retribution. Revenging. Relief. Finality. Release.]
Somehow blinking, the [Queen Administrator] took in the lecture it had been given.
[Resignation.] It sent at length, [Destination?]
[Agreement. Alignment?]
[Agreement.]
The two similar yet different Shards spun together and merged, forming inside the unconscious body of its host as it was carted off to the hospital.)
Two Weeks Later
Warehouse, Docks Area
Looking at my wrists, I smiled sadly. According to the doctors, the burns around my forearms were some sort of allergic reaction to whatever filth was in The Locker, permanently scarring me.
I knew better.
Flexing my hands, I summoned my power. The twin Venger Blades appeared in my hands, attached to me by chains seemingly wrapped around my forearms. They had heft to them, but at the same time, they were almost weightless. In real life, they almost shimmered with power, reflecting the light off their highly-polished surfaces. The edges were so sharp it made me shiver.
Drawing the blades back, I released them from my hands and swung them in a scissor motion. The chains attaching them to my wrists expanded, snaking out so that the short scissor motion turned into a pair of large swipes before they retracted back to my hands.
Practicing with them hadn't been possible until today, thanks in part to my hospital stay and thanks in part to my Dad going all super-overprotective on me. I could barely get out of bed without him fussing over me. Considering I had almost died, it was kind of understandable, but all I could think was 'too little, too late.'
As I had been scarred for life, the suit against the school that Dad had launched was picking up steam. The fact that the bio-waste inside the locker had been toxic and acidic enough to leave such large scars on my arms had the Board of Education breathing down Principal Blackwell's neck, much to my satisfaction.
Of course, her immediate response was to have me transferred to Arcadia, away from Winslow. I guess it was better than going to the Rich Girl's school Immaculata or the blue-collar worker's school Clarendon, but it really pissed me off that the bitch was getting off with just shunting me to the side like this.
As I thought of the woman, my anger grew and I increased the pace of my combat practice, slicing, and stabbing, skewering and hacking lumps of metal to pieces. That was something I was rather happy about. As well as my Venger Blades, I was also superhumanly strong and resilient, with the ability to ignore a certain amount of pain completely, and mitigate that which I couldn't ignore.
After turning the metal blocks into scrap metal, I dismissed my Venger Blades and headed home. I was really tired all of a sudden. When I got in, I collapsed into my bed and was out like a light.
Unknown Location
"Here again?" I muttered as I looked around. I was standing in front of the altar where I had drawn the Venger Blades from. Yet, the darkness behind the altar was dimmer and part of a new path was opening up.
Shrugging, I decided to see where it led and started walking again. The darkness around the path was a bit clearer than the last time I was here and I could now see figures fighting among the buildings, although not clearly.
As I walked, I found myself thinking about what I wanted to do with my powers. Seeking vengeance was all very well, but it wasn't heroic. And I wanted to be a hero so, so badly. If for no other reason, to stop others from suffering as I had.
I stopped in front of two suits of armour. On the right was a set of heavy Greek armour made of rust-red metal, with ram horns, snarling dogs and chains adorned on it. Just by looking at it, I could feel bloodlust pouring off of it.
FOR ONE WHO WOULD LOSE THEMSELVES IN BATTLE, THE ARMOUR OF WAR SHALL REND A PATH OPEN OR YOU.
I felt those words in my mind before shaking my head. That armour would be right if I wished to become a villain, but I didn't, so I turned to the other armour. It was lighter than the other and seemingly made of gold and had a white cloth over it…an aegis, I somehow knew it to be called.
FOR ONE WHO WOULD TEMPER VIOLENCE WITH REASON, ATHENA'S AEGIS SHALL CLEAVE A PATH FOR YOU.
This made me nod. This was more my speed. Walking over to the golden armour, I pressed a hand to it and suddenly, I was wearing it. It didn't feel heavy whatsoever and my movements were uninhibited from what I could tell.
Looking up, I saw that there was something just a bit beyond the armours, so I advanced towards it. Floating atop a plinth was a headband…or a rather unadorned tiara…of some sort, with a plain veil attached to it.
FOR ONE WHO FIGHTS FOR WHAT IS RIGHT, HESTIA GRANTS YOU THE VEIL OF THE FORGOTTON QUEEN TO GUARD YOUR FACE FROM THOSE WHO WOULD WATCH YOU.
Just as soon as the voice spoke, the veil vanished, yet I knew I possessed it, somehow. Just as I knew that no-one and nothing that looked at me, organic or technological or even using powers, would be unable to make out my face when I was using my powers.
Then everything whited out.
The Next Morning
Taylor's Bedroom, Hebert Residence
My eyes snapped open. I was in bed, still fully dressed. And Dad was pottering about in the kitchen, from what I could hear. Hell, I'd better get down there before he blew up the microwave. Again.
Quickly changing into my jammies, I padded down the stairs and came across the odd sight of my Dad sitting at the table and a woman cooking for him.
"Dad?" I asked cautiously. Both people jumped in surprise.
"Taylor, when did you get up?" Dad asked, a slight blush on his face.
"Just now." I answered, eying the woman warily, "Who is this?"
"My name is Hannah, Hannah Washington." The woman answered with a small smile. She was Middle Eastern, with kind eyes and a face that looked more accustomed to smiling than frowning. She was a bit taller than I was and looked as if she worked out. Even as she paid attention to me, she was serving up three plates of food, bacon, eggs, the works. Talk about multitasking.
Noticing my raised eyebrow, she explained, "I know kids, especially teenagers. I was planning on wafting some of the scent from this up the stairs, but it looks like that's not needed."
"I got up because I heard someone in the kitchen." I informed her, "Dad usually knows to leave it to me, but I thought he was about to make a mess again."
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Dad protested.
I just looked at him and said in a deadpan voice, "Dad, the last time you tried to cook, you blew up the microwave because you forgot that you shouldn't put metal in them."
Dad coughed in embarrassment.
"It's a good thing I volunteered to cook then." Hannah said in amusement.
Once we ate, I decided to get changed before coming down to confront them.
"OK, so what's the reason you're here, Ms. Washington?" I asked once we were seated in the living room. I was wearing my usual faire; form concealing clothes that helped me blend in.
"I am an agent of the PRT." The woman said slowly, drawing out an ID that she handed to me to inspect. It certainly looked authentic. I handed it back with a nod.
"OK, so why come and see my Dad and me?" I asked with a frown, "We haven't been involved in any Parahuman activities, to the best of my knowledge."
OK, a lie, but hey, I was entitled.
"The hospital is required to pass any injuries that seem to be of Parahuman origin to us." Hannah said steadily, "And those wounds on your arms are clearly not caused by ordinary bio-waste. Did you know that Panacea was called in while you were unconscious to try and erase them? She couldn't undo them."
I blinked. The greatest Healer in the world couldn't remove my arm scars? "No, I didn't know that."
Dad coughed again. "I didn't want to make you depressed, Taylor."
"It's fine, Dad." I shook my head.
"It isn't actually." Hannah stated, "Taylor, we've seen the police reports. No one saw anything. No one saw you get pushed in. We suspect a Master or Stranger did this to you, alongside a Biotinker who produced the…filth."
That made me blink. "Are you kidding?" I scoffed, "It isn't a Master or a Stranger…unless you call a conspiracy of silence something that requires M/S screening."
This time it was the woman's turn to blink. "I beg your pardon?"
So I tell her everything that's happened since my Mom died. Emma's betrayal, the things that the Bitch Trio had done to me and even that they were behind the Locker Incident. I even fetched a copy of my Bully Journal and gave it to her.
"I have several copies of that in various locations in case someone makes it 'disappear' mysteriously." I told her with a shrug. By the time she left, Hannah looked as if she had been clubbed over the head.
Later
Director's Office, PRT Building
"This is…!" Emily Piggot's hands shook with rage as she reviewed the page of the journal she was reading. "She definitely said it was Sophia Hess? And she had no time to write this in advance?"
"Yes." Hannah Washington, otherwise known as Miss Militia, said firmly. "There is no doubt. She preferred to call her 'one of the Bitch Trio' when talking about her, but she clearly identified Sophia Hess as one of the one's responsible for her locker imprisonment. And neither Hebert had any clue that I was going to visit them whatsoever. She did mention that she has several copies of this journal in several locations in case this one 'mysteriously disappears.'"
"She thinks we'd brush this whole thing under the carpet?" the shock and outrage on Piggot's face was a picture, were it not for the fact that it would be a highly likely scenario, had the Hebert Locker Incident not been so widely publicised. Danny Hebert's lawsuit against the administration and teachers of Winslow Highschool was gaining public support, not least from the members of the Dockworker's association who he represented.
"She has been sufficiently jaded by the events of the past fifteen months that her belief and trust in authority figures is effectively nil." Miss Militia said neutrally.
"As she would be, naturally." Piggot sighed, "Right. Get a warrant to allow Dragon to search the Winslow servers for these e-mails and the accounts they belong to. Also get Armsmaster to search Shadow Stalker's locker, both here and at Winslow for anything incriminating. You are to search her home. As soon as she gets in for her shift, I want an electric current bracelet slapped onto her and I want to get to the bottom of this situation as soon as possible. If Miss Hebert is telling the truth, then Shadow Stalker has crossed the line and earned herself a one-way trip to Juvenile Hall."
So I'm fairly certain you can guess where this comes from. God of War. Specifically, the powerset that Taylor is going to be using is from GoW: Ascension. I'll give a power table once I get the third chapter of this out. Her Cape Name, for those who are interested, will be Bia, the name of the Greek personification of raw force and energy and is the sister of Kratos (Power), Nike (Victory) and Zelus (Zeal). They were the attendants of Zeus' throne.