++++++++++chapter 6 : Magic Item

"Since when you got a phone?" Madison' s voice cut her out of her brief streak of happiness.

" Yeah, Hebert. Did your father got an actual job now, or are you finally managing to make your clients pay for that skinny- " Julias uninspired insult was interrupted by the deafening sound of the bell that indicated last period was about to start.

Taylor did not wait for them to recover pace. Pocketening her new phone ( Courtesy of Reiner's portals) and running past them and heading straight to Mr Mitchelson's class.

The good mood returned when the she tought again about what Reiner's message said.

" Found something to do. Kitchen close to the bridge. Club at 7." Wich was basically code for " Merchant drug kitchen or distribution center" and "Meet me at the base at 10 PM" .

Finally, something to do! Merchant drug house was a bit of a downgrade from helping to take down Lung, but she would take anything at this point. It was crazy how something as fighting people (which she wouldn't have dreamed about 2 months ago ) became almost a crave for her.

Well... At least she had Reiner, now. He seemed to handle it all well, on contrary to what Armsmaster told her. And If he could, then she probably could too.

Sneaking out of home a night was not that hard. Her father was on late ours again ( it was practically a given in the middle of the week) and he passed out as soon as dinner was over ( the 4 cans of bear helped, not that she wanted to think about it)

She arrived to find her partner already in fool garb end preparing his ... Containment-foam gun?

"Swarm, Hey !" He happily greeted, putting the weapon down.

" I told you that name was taken. I will tell you when I decide on one." She bickered, getting into the room proper to find out there was much more than one foam gun. " But more importantly, What is all of this?"

She gestured to the table, where several weapons and varied objects lay. There were some Taser guns, Taser batons, actual batons, knifes, zip-ties, , night vision binoculars, foam grenades ... What- Oh, a raid, of course.

It was silly. Maybe it was the years on growing up watching Alexandria and Eidolon beat villains with nothing but their powers , but she there was a sort of disconnect between this weapons and the work of a hero in her head.

He cocked his head slightly." I told you by message, I found a Merchant drug kitchen. And differently of patrols, where you find a mugging or two, we actually can and should take time to prepare for a raid."

" Yeah, I see it." She said, running her gloved fingers through a military style knife. " But we need all of that, though?"

He looked at her with what she guessed was a confused look (It was hard to guess with the mask) before starting to walk towards her.

He got close, a bit to close for comfort, and, without even noticing, Taylor found herself backing off.

" Hey, What are you-" she shut up as pulled a gun out of a portal and pointed to her head. " Wha-"

" How would you deal with this situation." He asked, ever so calmly. " And don't say bugs because we both know they can't incapacitate fast enough to stopping me from pulling the trigger."

Taylor's eyes blown wide underneath her mask, and she found herself relaxing slightly. "Oh! That! I , well - "

She thought and thought. A good 5 seconds might have passed before she decided to say " fuck it" and just pushed the gun away while kicking her friend between the legs.

He lowered his body, in pain, loosening his grip on the gun enough for her to take it" Augh - ouch. Yeah that works."

" Satisfied?" she looked down on him as he got back up using the wall for support.

" Pained actually. Though, less than I would be without the symbols. But that was not the point !" He sited on the table full of weapons. " The point is : Just because you can shoot lasers from portals or sent armies of little crawlers to your enemies, does not mean weapons and armor and stuff are to be left behind. I mean I am pretty sure Clockblocker and Vista find themselves wanting for gun or power armor like Kid Wins more than-... wait..." He paused mid-rant and started to look at space as If in deep thought.

" Uh, Reiner ? You- "

" The symbols! " He shouted getting up from the table in a go. Taylor gave him a worried look beneath her intimidating mask." Wasn't that about weapons? What are this symbols ?"

" The Thaumaturgical symbols from the spider's nest Taylor! I spent so much time preparing weapons for you, and completely forgot I could just give you the symbols too." He said, excitedly

" Uh, Reiner, what are you talking about?"

He started taking his overcoat off "Here, let me show you."

Keterman's costume was on the simple side of the spectrum. A white hooded overcoat that almost looked like a lab coat, with a weird symbol in the back ; a white turtleneck and white slacks ; and a bunch of plates of armor that looked a lot like a PRT trooper armor painted all-white; in his face a featureless white mask.

She resisted asking what the hell he was doing until he started taking of the armor plates. " Ok, what is the -"

He pointed out to the discarded plates. " Here, Taylor." On the flip-side of the metal armoring, the one that would be hugging his body, there were painted all sorts of arcane symbols that looked like something took out of a fantasy book.

" Ok, I am lost again, what are those?"

Reiner gesticulated widely at the things. " These are Symbols from the exiled monsters from the Wanderers library. They- Ahm... have Trump effect. Make you stronger, faster, more durable. They saved my life when hell came loose on my head the first time..." He said in a wistful tone.

" Okay, slow down for a second. Firstly I never heard about any of this guys - what kind of villains even call themselves Exiled Monsters or Wanderers Library-

Secondly, how the hell a Trump effect would work like that. I mean, Rune makes things levitate by writing symbols on them, but is not like If anyone one else written them it would be more than weird doodles."

Reiner just stood there in silence for a while." Look... Just trust me on this, ok? You can draw them yourself, and If they do not work, you just erase them later." His voice had lost the excitement and morphed into something more like a plead. "I will feel safer If you have them on."

Was this what peer-preasure looked like? Because it sounded way different than mom had described to her. " ... Argh, Ok. I will use it. But If you turn out to be going Myrddin on me, I will take your magic Symbols by force."

Reiner extended his arm for high five. That would be the first high five of her teenage life and it was over hero costumes and magic symbols...somehow that bothered her less than it should.

And who knew, If there was actually a Trump trick with this, she could proud herself on having the closest thing one could have to a magic item.

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" What in the flying d $% of a sh%$ ^ m$##$%×=+ is this?" Adam Mustang, better know as Skidmark inquired, as he looked to the weird item on his floor.

Knewlling down he could see the thing was, nothing more, nothing less than some fake piece of jewllery. A medallion of sorts, with a giant fake ruby and lots of fake diamonds.

Taking it by the little silvery collar he put closer to his face so that he could examine it better.

" Is this sh#%# yours babe? I surely do not f% ÷ remenber buying it." He asked his lover, who lazylly splet in the couch.

Shrugging, he decided to put it on, a few more golden chains to go with it and maybe it could look gangsta on-

" What the-" Jack Bright opened his eyes in a new world. He looked around, absorbing the situation, before coming to an understanding:

" Fuck!" He concluded