Chp 7: Shepherd. Wrex.

She arose on the foothills of Mt. Hood as the sun dipped past the horizon. The clearing was loud from the cacophony of animals and the rushing of nearby water, but Khepri wasn't worried about making noise. Supressing any sound she made was trivial and basically instinctual at this point. She stood there for many minutes, perfectly still, until a vague feeling of irritation drifted down her mental link.

S-[Admonishment]

"You will not meet anyone standing around in a forest."

K-[Unsure]
"I don't really know what to do. Should I make a costume?"

S-[Exasperation] [Love]
"Sister, you are an Endbringer."

K-[Petulance]
"Dragon seemed okay with it."

S-[Exasperation]
"I would not use the word 'okay'."

K-[Acquiescence]
"…fine."

She drew the dirt up from her surroundings, separating it out into a fine dust, then began to weave it together into long chains of pseudo-cloth. It did not take much time for her to make a brown, hooded cloak.

S-[Disbelief]

"You only made a cloak."

K-[Defensive]
"It's a costume."

S-[Exasperation]
"It is a poncho."

K-[Approval]
"I like it."

S-[Order]

"Just add something more."

Khepri rustled the nearby leaves in a fake sigh, then set about changing her creation. She made it longer, thickened it, then added a few patterns in to it. Underneath was a simple shirt and trousers that were a slightly lighter shade than the robe. Finally, to finish it off, she formed herself a crooked staff with a small bell tied to the end.

S-[Statement]
"A shepherd."

K-[Pride]
"Yup. I like the aesthetic. Plus it's thematic."

There was a long pause before she replied.

S-[Fondness]

"I am glad that you are happy doing you."

K-[Love]
"Thank you!"

Khepri had almost reached civilisation when it occurred to her that, while her face was covered, her mask was quite recognisable.

A quick flurry of activity saw another mask placed on top, one showing the visage of a smiling young man. She finished just in time to make it onto the road without breaking her pace.

A moments deliberation had her turn towards Portland and she carried on in her slow, loping strides. Her Sister had suggested changing how she moved, so as to further throw off any similarities to her usual self, and Khepri honestly found the change relaxing.

She wasn't hurrying anywhere or slinking through her sandstorm or really on anyone's time-frame but her own. It was…refreshing. The last time she had really been able to amble like this was when-. Her thoughts stuttered, and she paused in her walking, trying not to chase the idea away. Eventually the moment passed without her having caught it and was left only with the feeling that it had been a very long time ago.

The people she saw in the first village she came across stared a great deal at her.

She waved at them, but could sense no crimes taking place, and so carried on towards the bright lights of the city in the distance.

A few peaceful hours later, aside from the drivers who stopped to take pictures of her, and she found herself on the main road into the city. The signs said Portland, and Khepri felt pleased, because this was the first time she had found a city on her own.

The main centre was still a long way away, though, but her range covered most of the city by now, so it wasn't hard for her to aim towards what looked like a gang gathering. There was a human hovering in the air, which she knew probably indicated that there was a parahuman in the building.

It was a gang. They were in what looked like an old department store, which she thought was a bit silly for a gang, and the tags on the walls proclaimed them as the 'Gresham Maws'. At least it was better than the Azn Bad Boys, she decided.

S-[Urgent]
"You have to disguise your powers!"

K-[Reassurance]
"I am! I'm going to control rock. And make sheep. And goats."

S-[Reluctance]
"You are sticking with the shepherd theme."

K-[Pleased]
"I like goats."

If she were human Khepri would've taken a breath to calm her excited nerves, but as it was she casually strolled through the wall into what turned out to be a meeting of the Gresham Maw's main group.

She had to give credit to them, they didn't freeze.

The flying parahuman was a tinker, as it turned out, and he immediately shot her with a glob of acid that slid off her robes with a faint sizzling. Two of the other members in costumes rushed forward. One was carrying a scythe while the other seemed to be rearing back to punch towards Khepri's knees.

The Endbringer swept her staff forward, knocking them down, then made the rock below the floor surge up to trap their bodies.

After doing the same to the unpowered goons she turned her attention back to the tinker, who was hovering uncertainly.

He shot her again, then fled after confirming that his shot did nothing to her. She formed a herd of sheep, rams, and goats to show to her prisoners that she was watching them then zeroed in on the calmest looking human.

Her had a phone on him, thankfully, but her fingers were far too large to use it. She decided to free his upper half and handed him the phone, hovering a large chunk of rock above his head to get her point across. She indented the words 'PRT' in it so he understood what she wanted.

The PRT and Protectorate were surprisingly thankful, although Khepri was unsure of why this surprised her.

While many of them were put off by her height at first after she demonstrated her slow movement and her Happy Mask they seemed eager to talk to her.

A lot of it was the normal nattering that humans liked to do, something that had only increased after she gestured towards her mouth in an attempt to make it clear she couldn't talk.

One of the local heroes, Mattock, hand shook her hand and explained that the Maw's, while new, had been a growing pain and the Protectorate was glad that she had helped stop them before they could really gather steam. He also called her Shepherd, which pleased her even if it was obvious, and then asked if she would be interested in joining the local team. That more than anything made her pause.

K-[Query]
"Sister?"

S-[Tentative]

"If it will make you happy. Just be careful."

Her communication with her sister took less than a second, so it hadn't turned awkward by the time she nodded. Then she struck on a brilliant idea. She moulded the mask to her face, covered her body in a similar rocky surface, and imprinted an omega symbol onto her arm.

Khepri nodded at the hero, then pulled her sleeve up to show the new 'tattoo' on her arm. Mattock let out an 'ahh' of understanding, but the grin on his face didn't waver. She was glad her mask was already smiling back.

Later that evening, after some of the preliminary paperwork for Case 53s had been done, she indicated to the team that she wanted to go outside to explore on her own. They seemed reluctant but didn't exactly want to upset the new addition to their team and eventually agreed. It didn't take her long to find a quiet alley near a free wifi point, and after walling it off she pulled out the laptop she had liberated from the Maw's then sat down with it on her lap.

Both Colin and Director Piggot were up when Khepri called again. They couldn't get hold of the Chief Director in time, but her office let them know that she would return as soon as possible.

Piggot's feed was much smaller, in the corner of the main screen, but her neutral expression was still clear. Dragon had to admire the woman for her composure, as even Colin was showing some subtle signs of nerves. She took a millisecond to gather herself, then opened up the line.

Khepri was outside, this time, and seemed to be sitting down and leaning against a brick wall. The buzzing drone of her speech was quieter than before, something which she was sure her coworkers were thankful for. It took a moment for Dragon to realise that the lower noise levels had made Khepri vastly more understandable, although it still wasn't perfect.

"Hello." She translated, slightly behind Khepri's wave.

"How are you?"

"We are good?" Colin said, but it was definitely more of a question than an answer.

"How about yourself?" Piggot continued, after it was clear that Colin was having one of his moments. Her poker face remained unruffled despite exchanging pleasantries with an Endbringer.

"I am happy!" Khepri replied, and even to human ears the buzzing sounded cheery. "I have joined the Protectorate- what."

"The Protectorate?" The poker face wasn't infallible then.

"Yes indeed. In Portland." A robe rose up out of nowhere, along with a mask, and in moments Khepri had been replaced with a smiling rock-man, a crooked staff leaning against her shoulder. Dragon was already accessing the Protectorate files and found what she wanted quickly.

"A Case 53 temporarily titled 'Shepherd' joined the Portland team barely a few hours ago, after surfacing by capturing the majority of a local gang." She paused, then. "No one was harmed beyond bruises." She added, because Dragon felt it needed saying.

"They were very nice to me. Especially- Leader. Genuine."

"I believe she means Mattock, Portland's Protectorate team leader." Dragon commented.

"I am…glad to hear that?" Colin supplied another question disguised as a statement.

"Would you mind if we ask why?" Piggot asked.

"I believe he is a good person."

"I mean why you joined."

Khepri hesitated here, long enough for them all to notice.

"Reparations. Sadness. Choice."

"You feel bad about the attacks." Dragon said into the silence, although the meaning was clear enough. Khepri's reply was halted by a beep, indicating the Chief Director was trying to join the call.

"Someone else is trying to join, if you are okay with that?"

Khepri tilted her head, but eventually nodded. Costa-Brown hadn't even had the chance to say a word before Khepri's body language changed. She sat up straight, the mask changing into a glare as she did so, and Dragon saw the slight vibrations of the building behind her.

"Negation." The Endbringer stated, then ended the call.

They turned their attention to the Chief Director.

"She recognised you." Colin said, and it was only from long years of knowing him that she caught the hint of suspicion in his voice.

A sick, angry burning feeling rose in Taylor at the sight of her now fine, straight silver hair. Her green eyes were the same colour, and she could no longer see anything of her mother in the mirror.
"I have a mother!" She tried to rise again, but the bonds held fast.
"You had a human mother. I am not human."
"But I am." Taylor growled, thinking of the way her kind had rallied against Scion.
"You were. No longer."

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, the op went okay. Turns out I won't write when I'm in pain though, as I move around way too much when doing so. Sorry about the delay and all that. Also let me know if the Endbringer talks are better this way for FFN? Also things are smushed together because no matter what I do the editor on this won't let me put more than a line gap between things, so if someone could tell me how to fix that I would be very thankful.