Outsider Chronicles: Empress of Escalation
Isekai. A Genre I love to bits and one of the few that I would quite happily jump into with both feet. However, I don't care what kind of god killing powers I get out of it, finding myself as Taylor Hebert following a close encounter with the back of a locker is NOT what I had in mind!
And we're back. Nothing really to say here, so lets get started. Enjoy!
Chapter 4
A couple of hours later, I was in my room, laying back on my bed while trying to sort out my thoughts of this new reality. It was one thing to find out that Mom had been a Cape, I did know that she'd worked for Lustrum when she was at Uni after all and her being a Cape was simply one extra point. However, the idea that her sister was not only a Hero, but one of the most famous inaugural Wards in the country, well, it really put some things into perspective. Like the fact that Mom and Aunt Debbie always seemed to be awkward around each other. They mostly got on fine, but if anything happened to bring up the past or their side of the family, they got...odd.
I have to say though, I was a little annoyed with Dad. The reason Aunt Debbie was in town was because he called her about my powers and asked her to come up to give me some help getting started. I mean, I get why he did it and its not like he called the PRT or signed me up for the Wards without asking, but I would have liked a heads up. That said, I can't think of a better mentor for a new Cape than Mouse Protector. Despite her demeanor, she had a reputation as an incredible teacher and was one of the best independent Heroes in the country. If the canon version of her was anything like my Aunt, its not surprising that it took the Slaughterhouse Nine ambushing her to beat her considering I'm almost certain that she could beat most of them in a fight, outside the ones whos powers are total bullshit.
Speaking of which, that was honestly rather scary to think that it I hadn't told Dad about my powers, there was a very good chance that my Aunt would be destined for a messy end at the hands of the S9.
I shuddered and wrenched my mind away from that thought and got back on track. Apparently, the main reason Dad had agreed to let me go out tonight had been because Aunt Debbie had arrived in the city and had told him that the best way to get an idea of what I could do was to see how I'd do when patrolling on my own without backup, otherwise he would probably have told me to wait a little bit longer and actually go out with my Aunt from the start. I wasn't entirely pleased with the deception, but it could have been a lot worse. At least it was done in the name of helping.
I sighed and turned my thoughts from the family secrets and back towards the other, more important things we'd discussed before I headed to bed, namely the AAR. We'd gone over the fight in detail and Debbie and Dad had ruthlessly pointed out everything I'd done wrong, which could basically be boiled down to getting cocky and not simply bombarding the idiots from above and letting myself become to focused on what was right in front of me at the expense of everything else.
I closed my eyes and let myself slip into my Soulscape within the Boosted Gear.
"So, whats on the agenda for today?" asked Issei as I opened my eyes.
I frowned.
"I need to work on fighting groups," I said, "I've got to used to fighting solo, which is probably going to be fairly unlikely going forwards."
Issei smiled.
"Alright, then lets get started," he said and snapped his fingers.
The air around us shimmered as a number of featureless humanoid figures appeared, all armed with different weapons similar to those that would likely be used by gang bangers, from lengths of pipe to chains and even a couple of guns.
"Training montage, group combat," he said, "Complete this and I'll teach you something new."
I nodded as I summoned the Boosted Gear and slipped into a ready stance.
"Ready when you are," I said.
"In that case, begin."
The constructs charged.
Director Piggot sighed as she set aside the report she was reading and rubbed her temples. This...wasn't good. While Mouse Protector was definitely a great hero and had a positive impact on the crime statistics of whatever city she found herself in, she was also a massive pain in the neck and tended to make the Villains panic and do some very silly things. After all, not only was Mouse horrifically effective at taking down Villains, she also tended to humiliate them in the process.
She was very much the Spiderman of Earth Bet in that way.
Piggot pushed that thought away for now and went back to the report. Mouse Protectors presence would be annoying, but there was nothing she could really do about it. This new Cape on the other hand…
"What do we know about this...Ddraig?" she asked.
"Not very much I'm afraid," said Miss Militia, "According to the ABB and Empire men we questioned, she produced blasts of force, shields, somehow swapped herself with on of their men and produced a lightning attack that knocked out a large number of them. She was also apparently a lot faster and tougher than she looked."
By the time Hannah had finished listing the powers listed, Piggots eyebrows were nearly disappearing into her hairline.
"Thats...quite the range of powers," she said, impressed and more than a little worried, "Some kind of Trump?"
"More likely a Tinker," said Armsmaster, who was stood beside Miss Militia, "Her armour, especially the gauntlet on her left hand, look very much like Tinkertech. Its rather impressive that she was able to build it without being picked up though."
"She mentioned a teacher," said Miss Militia, "Its possible that they, whoever they are, helped her."
Piggot frowned.
"I'll be honest, I don't really like the sound of that," she said, "It sounds like this teacher, whoever he or she is, knows that Ddraig is a Cape and that could be dangerous."
Armsmaster and Miss Militia both scowled and nodded. Both of them were well aware of the dangers of Parahumans being under the control of the unscrupulous. It never ended well.
"At least she has Mouse to watch her back," said Miss Militia.
Armsmaster shuddered slightly, making the two ladies look at him.
"I just had a slightly worrying thought," he said, "What if Mouse Protector is her teacher?"
There was a moments silence.
"Your going to have to walk us through that one Colin," said Miss Militia, "Why would Mouse teaching Ddraig be a problem? Shes certainly good enough for it."
Colin shuddered again.
"Two of them!" he whispered, "I don't think I could take that…"
There was another moments silence, before Miss Militia burst out laughing and Emily let out a snort.
"Oh Colin, I didn't know you had it in you," said Hannah, "We'll make a person out of you yet."
Armsmaster looked slightly confused, but nodded.
"I'm a little confused at her name choice though," said Hannah, "It doesn't sound English."
"Because its Welsh," said Armsmaster, looking a little more comfortable at the change of subject, "It means Dragon and I believe that it comes from the phrase 'Y Ddraig Goch', which means the Red Dragon and refers to the, well, red dragon that appears on the Welsh flag."
Piggot looked thoughtful.
"Well thats...interesting," she said, "I wonder if shes from the country?"
"She didn't sound Welsh," said Miss Militia, "It is an interesting choice though. I wonder why she chose it?"
Piggot sighed.
"I suspect we won't know unless we ask her," she said, "Alright, for now we view her as an Independent. With Mouse Protector hanging around her, we can't do much else. I do want to gather more information on her powers though and tell the Wards to soft sell the possibility of joining up if they run into her, or at least coming in for Power Testing. The same goes for the Protectorate. Again, with Mouse, any risks normally associated with being solo are mitigated. That said, her powers would be a great boon, so I'd like to get her to sign up if possible."
"Understood," said the two Capes.
"Good, dismissed."
The two Capes saluted and left, leaving Piggot to get back to her work and idly wonder just how much chaos was likely to come from having Mouse Protector around.
I stood on the street, staring up at the gleaming white building before me and suppressed the urge to run home and hide under the covers. Seriously, I thought the extra memories and help from Ddraig and Issei would have made this a synch, but the part of me that was still the beaten down, nearly broken girl was still there, whispering in my ear that this was a horrible idea. As a result, I was stood outside of Arcadia high school, rooted to the spot while I tried to summon the courage to take the first step.
My only warning was an odd feeling washing over me, before a well manicured hand landed on my shoulder, jolting me from my thoughts. I glanced back and was somehow unsurprised to find Glory Girl, Victoria Dallon floating (literally) behind me with a wide smile. It probably goes without saying, but she was a beautiful young woman with fair skin, rather wild, golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Oh, and a killer figure, which I found myself feeling rather inadequate before.
"Hi, are you new?" she asked, "I don't recognize you and you look somewhat lost."
"I, um, yes I am," I said, "I'm transferring in today."
"Really? Then I guess you'll need a guide then," said Victoria with a blinding smile, "I'm Victoria Dallon, but my friends call me Vicky."
"Um, Taylor Hebert," I said, still not entirely sure what to make of the overly energetic blonde.
The pressure on the back of my head that was probably from her Aura certainly didn't help matters.
"Come on, I'll take you to the office," said Vicky, seizing me by the hand and dragging me into the building.
Well, thats one way to deal with nerves I guess.
"And this is the office!" said Vicky with a flourish as we finally finished the whirlwind tour of the school, "You OK from here?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I said.
Vicky grinned widely, before glancing up as the bell rang.
"Oops, I gotta go," she said, "See you at lunch Taylor!"
"Thank you!" I called.
The blonde paused and glanced back, then grinned again.
"Don't mention it," she said, "You looked like you needed help."
Then she was gone, leaving me staring after her and feeling rather like I'd just been through a rather intense windstorm.
After a moments pause, I turned and entered the office. As I did, the woman at the desk looked up and raised an eyebrow.
"Miss Dallon?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Hmm, you have that look," she said, "Now then, you'll be Miss Herbert, yes?"
"Its Hebert, but yes," I said.
"My apologies," said the woman as she flipped through a stack of paperwork and extracted a file that she handed to me, "Before you go, Vice Principal Adams would like to speak with you. Just through there."
She indicated to a door off to the side. I thanked her and headed over, knocking softly on the door.
"Come in."
I entered and found myself in a neat office with few personal touches and inhabited by a middle aged woman with the look go a stern but very good teacher who. She had graying, black hair pulled back into a tight bun and steel gray eyes behind a pair of square rimmed glasses.
She glanced away from her computer screen as I entered and smiled thinly.
"Sit down Miss Hebert," she said, "I'll be with you in a moment."
I did as I was told and waited silently as the Vice Principal finished typing and turned to face me fully, fixing me with a look that made me feel like I was being X-rayed.
"First of all, I'd like to welcome you to Arcadia High," she said, "Your entrance test results were exemplary and looking at your past grades, ignoring the ones from Winslow, I don't think that you'll have anything to worry about going forwards. I trust that you will be an asset to the school."
I smiled a little awkwardly at the praise.
"Um, thank you," I said.
Adams smiled back, just as thinly as before.
"On a more serious note, I am well aware of the...incident that happened at Winslow, as well as the horrific treatment you received from both the students and staff. I would like to assure you that that will NOT happen here and if it does, I shall be utterly incensed and will take steps to ensure that the perpetrators are removed and, if needed, charged. I understand that your faith in authority has likely been shaken, but I hope that, in the unlikely event that something similar happens here, you will place your trust in the faculty to do our jobs."
I nodded.
"I will," I said, "I'm well aware that Winslow is about as far from the norm as could possibly be."
Adams sniffed.
"Quite," she said, "Anyway, that is all I wanted to discuss with you. Please do your best from now on Miss Hebert, I shall be expecting great things from you."
I nodded and stood.
"Thank you Ma'am, I'll try not to let you down," I said.
Adams nodded and turned back to her computer. I left the room and paused in the entry area to take a deep breath.
"Well that was...interesting," I said.
"She seems rather competent," rumbled Ddraig softly, "Much more so than that Blackwell person."
I snorted.
"Calling Blackwell incompetent is an insult to all incompetents out there," I muttered.
I shook my head and slapped my cheeks.
"No, not thinking about that," I said, "Time for some real schoolwork."
I opened the pack I'd been given and found a map on top, along with my timetable. It didn't take me long to plot a route to the classroom and slightly longer to actually get there considering it wasn't that far away. I hesitated for a moment, not entirely comfortable with the idea of being under an entire class worth of scrutiny, before drawing on the warmth and confidence of the Dragon inside me and entering. Naturally, all eyes immediately turned on me since I was both very later and very new.
"Ah, you must be Taylor, yes?" asked the teacher, a rather short middle aged woman with a face that suggested she smiled a lot.
"Thats right," I said, "Sorry I'm late, I had to get my stuff."
"Thats quite alright dear," said the teacher, "I'm Mrs Knight. I hope that you enjoy your time with us."
I smiled and nodded.
"Thank you," I said.
Mrs Knight smiled back and turned to the class.
"As you can see, we have a new student joining us from the cesspit that is Winslow," she said, "Please try not to bombard her with too many questions."
There was a soft chuckle from the students as I glanced around and spotted a free chair near the window next to a short girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Anyone sitting here?" I asked.
The girl glanced at me and shook her head.
"No, feel free," she said.
"Thanks."
I took the seat.
"Um, I'm Taylor Hebert," I said, deciding that I might as well make an effort.
"Buffy Summers," said the girl.
I blinked, then fixed her with a flat look.
"I don't suppose I need to be worried about monsters attacking me if I hang out with you, do I?" I asked.
Buffy groaned and dropped her head to the desk.
"Oh fabulus, you've seen that stupid TV show," she said, "No, I am not a Vampire Hunter, nor do I have the hots for anyone who'd really like to rip my throat out. My Dad just really liked the show."
"I'm not that familiar with the show to be honest," I said, "I just know it by reputation."
That was actually true, in both lives, not helped by the fact that the TV series never took off on Bet, although there was an imported version from Aleph floating around. It wasn't exactly popular though, probably because certain aspects of it hit a little close to home for some. After all, its hard to get invested in fantasy monsters when real, Human monsters existed.
"Anyway, monsters aside, its nice to meet you, Buffy," I said, "Mind being my guide for the day?"
Buffy snorted.
"Sure, why not?" she said.
As it turned out, Buffy was a damn good guide and a pretty interesting person, being well read and knowledgeable about history and science, two subjects I rather liked. She was also apparently somewhat lacking in friends due to issues stemming from her family. I got the feeling she wasn't exactly happy with her situation since she generally avoided talking about them. Then again, I had only known her for all of two hours, so I guess I shouldn't be trying to psychoanalyse her yet.
Eventually, lunch rolled around and I followed Buffy to the cafeteria where I got a plate of rather tasty smelling beef stew and turned to follow Buffy to wherever she was sitting.
I wasn't expecting a Victoria Interrupt.
"Hey Taylor, come sit with us!" said the flying Brute as she appeared out of thin air and clapped a hand on my shoulder.
"Huh? Hey, wait!" I yelped as I was steered in the direction of a table of seniors who all had the looks of the Queen Bees hanger ons, plus one Amy, along with a group of three boys I was willing to bet were the Wards.
Naturally, I was completely ignored and its not like I could really do anything about Vicky frog matching me across the room without whipping out my Sacred Gear. I shot an apologetic look at Buffy when she turned at my shout, which Vicky seemed to catch.
"Your friends welcome to," she said with a friendly smile, "Come on, the more the merrier!"
Buffy looked slightly reluctant, but aquiested to my pleading look and followed me across the room. As we approached, I took a closer look at the people sitting there. As I mentioned, the girls were all attractive and well dressed, not to mention rather sporty looking. The first had pale skin, short dark brown hair with wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with a gradient that starts as a dark brown and transitions to caramel, brown eyes and was wearing a cocoa coloured shirt, dark brown, expensive looking trousers and equally expensive heeled leather boots, along with a beret and aviator sunglasses on her forehead. I immediately pegged her as someone who rather liked fashion if the way her eyes ran over mine and Buffy's clothes as we approached was anything to go by.
Sat next to her was a much shyer looking girl in less eye catching clothes that consisted of a short, long-sleeved brown jacket with a golden zipper over a white shirt with a broken heart symbol on the front, black leggings and sensible shoes. She had long, brown hair that covered her eyes slightly and brown eyes.
The last girl was the most obviously athletic of the bunch, with tanned skin, long blonde hair tied in twin ponytails and green eyes. Despite her...colouring for want of a better word, her features were clearly Asian and she was wolfing down her lunch like someone was going to steal it.
The final girl was obviously Panacea and her lack of deep hood and scarf let me get a good look at her. Like her sister, her skin was fair, but other than that, they couldn't be more different. Her hair was black and wavy in a way that suggested she straightened it but it didn't quite take. Her eyes were light brown and surrounded by makeup in an attempt to hide the bags under them, which didn't really work and only drew attention to how pale her skin was. Honestly, looking at her, it was surprising that no one had checked on her to make sure she was OK. She was reading a book I vaguely recognized as being from a young adult series I'd looked at and dismissed as being a poor Twilight clone. And that should tell you all you need to know about it.
As for the boys, well, it honestly wasn't that hard to identify them. Dean Stanfield was obvious, I'd seen him on TV a couple of times, albeit in the background more than anything, and the others were a pale red-head with a lot of freckles and a grin that immediately made me think he needed a twin (or not, one set of Weasley Twins was enough), a handsome Hispanic boy with a lantern jaw and dark hair and eyes and a brown haired boy with his nose stuck in a book on engineering, to the point that he barely looked up as we approached.
"Hey Vicky, who are the kids?" asked the girl in the sunglasses.
"This is Taylor Hebert," said Vicky, clapping a hand on my shoulder and nearly sending me to my knees, "She just started today and I'm helping her find her feet. This is…"
"Buffy Summers," muttered Buffy, still looking a little uncomfortable.
Amy snorted, but when everyone looked at her, she didn't seem to have moved, other than taking a moment to glance at us.
"Anyway, these are my friends and people its good to know around here," continued Vicky, "FIrst up is Coco Adel…"
The fashionista smirked and raised a hand while I nearly had a minor mental fuse blow.
"Velvet Scarlatina…"
The shy looking brunette ducked her head and I found myself imagining her with rabbit ears.
"Hibiki Sakura…"
The blonde Japanese girl (and yes, that does sound weird outside of an Anime dimension which...I'm fairly sure this wasn't). She glanced up from her bento and nodded with a breaded shrimp tail sticking out of her mouth. Nice
"And of course, my sister Amy."
Amy glanced up and nodded vaguely.
"And then there are these people who don't matter," said Vicky, waving an idle hand the the boys sat at the table.
"Oh Vicky, how you wound us with your words!" gasped the redhead dramatically, placing a hand over his heart and the other against his forehead.
"Don't give up your day job Dennis," said Vicky with a grin.
She seemed to do that a lot.
Dennis laughed and turned to us.
"So, as you heard, I'm Dennis," he said.
"You I know," said Buffy, "Mostly by reputation. Are you still in detention for that squirrel prank or have you finished?"
Dennis grinned.
"Ah, a lady of culture," he said, "Ah, but where are my manners? I must introduce my honourable companions!"
He proceeded to do just that and I was completely correct as they were indeed Chris, Dean and Carlos. With the introductions now done, Buffy and I sat down and quickly found ourselves greatly enjoying the conversation, despite Buffy's earlier misgivings. Guess whatever was bothering her wasn't that important.
Throughout lunch, I kept one eye on Amy, noting that she seemed to perk up slightly whenever Vicky let her Aura slip, then look guilty and bury her face in her book. I sighed. Great, that was one thing I'd have to deal with that I had no idea where to even begin. One of many unfortunately, but it was the most present.
I continued to consider the problem throughout the rest of the day and by the time the last bell of the day rang, I thought I had the beginnings of an idea.
"Hey Ddraig, do you think Dress Break could remove the effects of Vickys aura from Amy?" I asked as I settled back against the wall to wait for my pickup.
"I don't see why not," said Ddraig, although he didn't sound entirely happy, "Although I'm not sure if you'll be able to learn it…"
"Its just Magic, right?" I asked, "Sure, it was born from Isseis perversions, but its still just a spell at the end of the day."
"True enough," said Ddraig, "I suppose its worth a try. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, its not entirely useless as a combat spell…"
I snorted.
"Don't worry Ddraig, I won't follow Isseis path of perversion," I said.
I glanced up as I felt someone approaching and saw Vicky approaching, looking rather pleased.
"Waiting for a lift Tay?" she asked.
"Yeah, my Dads coming to pick me up," I said, "Um, thanks for the help today."
"I told you, it was no problem," said Vicky, "That said, me and Ames were planning to go shopping after school tomorrow. Do you want to tag along?"
"Who else is going?" I asked, "And why me?"
Vicky chuckled.
"Don't worry, I won't subject you to Coco's shopping habits this soon after meeting her," said Vicky, "Shes an...acquired taste to say the least. Besides, shes got a fashion show, so she and Velvet aren't available, Hibiki is hitting the gym and shopping is boring with just me and Ames. So I figure I might as well invite my newest friends along."
I blinked.
"Friends?" I asked.
Vicky grinned and shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" she asked, "You two both looked like you could use more friends."
Despite myself, I smiled. That...honestly felt nice. As over the top and short tempered as she could be, I'd quickly come to the conclusion that Victoria Dallon really was as friendly as she appeared. Unlike some people, there was no hidden agenda in her offer to be friends, just a genuinely desire to help someone she saw that needed it.
"Sure, why not?" I said, "It could be fun."
Vicky beamed.
"Excellent!" she exclaimed, "Hey, whats your number? I'll text you the details later."
"I, um, don't have a cell phone," I said.
Dad had been read the riot act by Aunty Debbie when she'd found out about that and he'd agreed to loosen up and let me have one, but we hadnt had chance to sort one out yet.
Vicky looked at me in surprise.
"Why not?" she asked.
I winced.
"Well, Mom was killed while on the phone while driving and…"
Vicky paled slightly.
"Oh geez, I'm sorry," she said, "I guess I can see why you don't like them then…"
I quickly waved her apology away.
"Its fine, you didn't know," I said, "But I am planning to get one. I can do it when we go out. For now, I'll give you my home number."
Vicky immediately brightened and nodded as I rattled off the numbers.
"Got it," she said, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Sure, see you," I said as the irrepressible Blonde flew away in the direction of her friends, who were stood around Dean's car.
"Well, that was...interesting," said Ddraig.
"Yeah, nice though," I said, "First day and I've already made some friends…"
"Keep them close Taylor," said Ddraig softly, "As cliche as it is, I dare say that those bonds will be among your greatest strengths in the future."
I snorted.
"Sure, I'll keep that in mind," I said, "You are from an Anime world after all. The Power of Friendship is strong with you."
Ddraig grunted in response and fell silent as I spotted my Dads truck turn into the carpark. I hefted my bag and started jogging over as he pulled up, waving to my friends as I went.
"Nice day?" asked Dad as I hopped into the truck.
"Yeah, real nice," I said happily, "I even made some friends!"
Dad smiled and ruffled my hair.
"Well, thats something at least," he said, "Now lets go home."
I smiled as he pulled away and leaned against the window, watching the city go by. As bad as Brockton could be and as bad as the future looked, I still couldn't help but think that it looked a little brighter.
...well, I now feel sick. I need to go blow up some alien scum to feel better. But I kid, that was fun. I do wish I could actually get what I have planned for my chapters done though…oh well, in this case its actually better to wait a bit.
Sorry I didn't show the AAR, but my attempts to write it went...badly. Trust me, this is better.
Bit of a glimpse at whats going on in PRT land. Piggot is worried, Miss Militia is exasperated and Armsmaster is completely lacking in social graces. Pretty much par for the course honestly.
To be clear, I have no plans for any actual crossovers (outside of the current ones) to appear in this story. I'm just to lazy to come up with original characters for side roles. I do have...interesting plans for Buffy though. Want to guess what secrets shes hiding?
Next time will have some action, but this one was mostly just filler, which I honestly feel kinda bad writing...eh, it let me set up some important characters who will play big roles in the future.
And with that, I'm out. I should have been in bed an hour ago, but I couldn't stop writing. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!