CHAPTER 1 – The world of all battles
This world was crazy. But at least, she would not have to hide what she was, for difference was the norm here. There were so various quirks, people were all so special in their own, personal ways, that she felt she could act normal – provided she was careful with her powers –.
Philae sighed and looked up at the sky. She had dropped like a rock, like every other time she had travelled through worlds. She might have mastered this borrowed ability, but this bad habit of her falling from the sky never changed. Fortunately for her, she had landed in the middle of the night, and no one was around to see her plummeting like a bloody angel of death. That tiny miracle almost erased her tiredness and uncertainty, as she had no roof to sleep under. Almost.
She ran a hand in her long chestnut hair, trying to revise her options. Either she tried to find a facility for homeless people and stayed there until she was well enough to search for a better living arrangement, or she settled in a park to sleep on a bench like a stray. She highly preferred the latter. Nature put her at ease, and it was easier to dodge ill-intentioned people when surrounded by potential allies.
A loud bark snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked down on her first friend, Anubis. The black dog was jumping happily around her, his tail wiggling madly as he asked for her attention. Philae had found him behind a bin, in a dirty alley, and she had used the last of her energy to heal him out of his terrible shape. He had decided to follow her after that, and guarded her while she spent her first night in that same alley, too tired to go anywhere else. Smiling widely, she patted his head and continued along the street.
The pair was muddy, smelly and frightening at best, but she did not care in the least. Once night was back, she could go clean herself up in a pond or something, with a little push from her elemental magic. Hygiene was the least of her worries, even if it did bother her. The first was food, for her and her canine friend, and she did not have access to her money to buy some. She would have to ask for help.
Speaking of which, her brown eyes landed on a string of birds chirping on an electric cable above her head. Sparrows. Those little lovelies were small and frail, but when in flocks, they could carry quite a load. Perfect. Philae concentrated on them and whistled quietly to them. The tiny creatures stopped singing and tilted their heads towards her, listening.
Modulating her whistle, she encoded a message for them only. She asked for their help in finding edible food, anything from fruit to meat, so that she and her small charge would not die. She knew birds were quite amiable and helpful animals, crows excepted of course, and that they would try their best. And as if to prove her right, they did fly away chirping.
As she waited patiently, Anubis sitting at her feet, she observed the crowd bustling and buzzing with activity around her. People avoided her and her horrible appearance, but otherwise, they were quite funny to look at. There were all kinds of them: some looked normal enough, but other had colourful skin, or non-human appendices, and some were even animals walking on two legs! Compared to them, Philae almost felt mundane, with her elemental magic and animal bonds. But she knew these were her most harmless skills. She did not dare think of the others...
Anyway, she heard in conversations that those abilities were called "Quirks". As it were, most of the population of this world developed a Quirk by the age of four. A consequence of this was that criminality was quite high, due to the misuse of them, and there increased the number of "villains". To fight this, there were "heroes", like those she read about in her adoptive father's American comic books, only that they were a real deal here. Heroes were popular and their faces were plastered on every advertising surface, especially one bulky mountain of a man called "All Might". With his blonde hair slicked back on his head, his flashy spandex costume, and the huge smile he offered to his audience, his whole being screamed gaudiness. Maybe he was some sort of modern Hercules, a strong guy with womanising ways?
Philae suddenly caught the pitying look of a passers-by and, ashamed, she examined her tattered clothes and bruised limbs. Her purple tee and navy blue jacket were torn and bloody, exposing part of her wounded stomach, and her trousers did not fare much better. Her legs, though athletic, were not able to stand the impact of her landing completely, and her right ankle hurt. Maybe it was twisted? She needed a trip to the nearest hospital, once she was certain she could afford it. Also, her shoes needed to be replaced as they looked like they were going to fall apart at any moment. She sighed. Her stepfather would have had a fit, had he seen her in such a state. Luckily for her, he was not here to fret and whine at her darling rose looking like a tramp. Thank the gods for that.
Chirping caught her attention back to the flock coming her way. The sparrows flew to her at high speed, only to drop the load they were carrying in her hands. Paper. Intrigued, she examined what it was. Maybe her instructions were not clear enough? However, her eyes widened when she recognized the banknote she was holding. A thousand yen, as it seemed. How the hell did they find money?
Gulping, she tried communicating her question to the birds, which had taken back their place on the cable. Where did they take it from? Surely they did not steal it, did they?
Chirping. No. They found it on the street, under a stall. They went under a great deal of stress and pulling to get it out and away, before the human standing next to the stall noticed what they were doing. Philae was abashed. Not only did the creatures know money could buy food, but they endangered themselves to get it to her. Stolen or not, she just could not throw it away. Her stomach rumbled to support her decision, and she thanked the sparrows for their trouble. She called Anubis to her and set off to a shop that would sell food to them, and possibly look for a hospital. Her ankle really hurt.
Philae hummed in appreciation as she bit into a melon pan. This was a treat she could eat non-stop, and she blessed Japan for this wonderful creation. Anubis was happy devouring a cold piece of meat, lapping every single drop of juice he could let slip in the process. They had found shelter under a tree in a quiet park, away from prying eyes, and neither of them was ready to move from their spot in a long time. The warm Spring sun peeped through the leaves and kissed their relaxing bodies, and a little breeze kept them from being too hot. She might be homeless for now, but at this very moment, Philae could not bring herself to care. She was at peace.
A booming sound resonated in a neighbouring building, and the earth shook violently. Both started and got up in an instant, on high alert. What was going on?
The smell of smoke invaded the air, and screams could soon be heard from where there seemed to be something huge going on. Anubis growled. Something was coming their way, and Philae remained on high alert as she rounded the tree and peeked cautiously.
There it was. A dark mass of muscles was moving steadily on the cracked road, people fleeing from its position as soon as they caught sight of it. Squinting, she noticed that the humanoid form had four arms of equal enormousness, each almost as thick as her whole body was. Its eyes were listless and twitching restlessly, and its aura sent shivers down her spine. It looked like a glorified puppet with the lethal power of an atomic bomb, judging by its physical built.
She did not know what its business was, but it most certainly was one of those villains. And yes, soon there was a bunch of costume-clad heroes running after it, trying to stop it with various skills. But it was no use. It was as if the dark puppet was unconcerned by the blasts and kicks and punches thrown at it, and it continued advancing towards her and Anubis. Bad news.
Philae could not stop the lump forming in her throat. Had the thing – or its master – sensed her arrival and decided to check out what she was? Or maybe it was looking for something else entirely and she was just on its way?
To confirm her theories, she motioned to Anubis to stay put and ran behind a nearby tree, and then behind another, inching herself away to the left of the beast, watching its reactions. The eyes stopped twitching and focused on where she was. Crap.
As if it only needed to locate her, it jumped and bouldered towards her at full speed. She only had a millisecond to get out of the way before it crashed into the tree and redirected its charge. In the blink of an eye, it collided with her and sent her flying, Anubis' yelps of distress following her. She landed hardly on the concrete floor, next to the unmoving body of a knocked out hero. Was it a tree-man?
Philae's instincts finally kicked in and her body went on autopilot, as she jumped back on her feet and dodged another charge. A growl echoed in her head and asked for release. Her right arm tingled where her tattoo glowed.
She faintly heard the yells of the civilians and the calls of the guys who had been fighting the monster, but they sounded so far away that she did not know if they would be of any help at all. A low growl came up her chest and out of her throat before she could stop herself. She had to take it on on her own.
The puppet turned its head in her direction and raised its arms, hitting the asphalt with crushing power and sending huge pieces of concrete into the air. The earth rippled under her and inflated, and burst with a blast. She yelped and nearly got herself buried under it all, if not for her instant reactions that got her out of the trap. She could only try and dodge while she searched for something that could harm the black Hulk in front of her. It was set on killing her, and those idiot heroes looked as powerless as she was. Way to go.
The rumble in her chest intensified and demanded that she listened to it. A whisper became cry to her ears, as the spirit of her oldest ally made itself heard.
Release me, it said, let me tear it to shreds.
Honestly, Philae did not know if she would be able to use so much energy just after she travelled worlds. Her survival depended on it, but still. She could be consumed in the process if she was not careful. And she was in no condition for a careful summon.
The cry turned into a full roar, and she winced. She blocked a wide blow directed to her middle and went flying again. She knew it was only a matter of minutes before she was spent and defenceless. In her peripheral vision, she caught glimpses of people and flashy costumes surrounding them, worried but unable to help. She hoped that Anubis was out of the monster's reach.
Just as she thought herself at her limit, she suddenly picked up a faint whine coming from behind her, in the ruins of what should have been a flower shop. It was definitely human, and very young. Someone, a child, was trapped under the concrete remains of the building, calling for help. If she dodged again, they would be crushed by the sheer strength of the monster. Her whole being shook with refusal. She could not let that happen.
Her resolve reappeared, and she straightened herself. Her whole body hurt. Her head was spinning as if she was in a bloody roller-coaster of hell. Her stomach was churning and aching. Her ankle was probably swollen like a ripe watermelon. Yet, she did not care. She could not let an innocent die by the hands of this beast. She would succumb before it ever happened, especially if death was initially coming here for her.
Her fighting mode made everything unravel in slow motion. She saw the puppet launched at her. A gigantic mass of muscles and darkness hurled like a mad train. Unstoppable. But she would try nonetheless. She crossed her arms in a defensive stance and prepared for impact, her feet planted firmly into the ground. She called the remnants of her magic as the roar of her summon echoed endlessly in her skull.
It was a bone-crushing sort of contact. Literally. She felt her arms snap under the pressure of the soulless body against hers. She contained her scream though, and stood with all her might. She knew she was slowly sliding backwards, little by little, but she refused to give in. Her back creaked and her lungs burnt, suddenly deprived of air. But the whine she had heard, and the image of a child needing her protection, made her hold on.
Finally, both stopped moving. The beast was looking down at her, as if unsure of how to proceed now that it had reached its target, and tentatively raised an arm to smack her. It did not have the time to land a single blow. Panting, Philae released all the magic she had left in her body, and her tattoo blazed alight. With a roar, she freed the creature that had so desperately asked to draw blood.
The air rippled and tore. A reptile body appeared above them, glowing and crackling with red sparkles of magic. A long, brownish red dragon lowered its massive head and hovered over its prey with a sickening chuckle, white razor fangs glistening in the light. Philae felt exhaustion seize her as her summoned ally came to this world to fight.
The serpentine creature roared its mightiest, deafening roar, and the monster hunched under the air pressure. Then, fangs bared and threatening, he lunged at his enemy and snapped his maw shut around its torso, effectively lifting it up and throwing it away like a rag doll. When he let it go, he caught it mid-air with a blazing sunbeam fire. The attack drained the last drop of energy Philae had, and she fell on her knees with a pitiful moan. The puppet crashed in the cement a few feet back, writhing and smoking. Yet it stood up again, albeit slowly. The dragon breathed an angry growl as he vanished quickly, his summoner unable to maintain him any longer into this world.
Anubis ran to her and whined. She felt him lick her face, and she heard a commotion coming her way, as well as a booming voice stating that everything was fine, but she could not take it any longer. She prayed for the innocent person to be okay until help arrived, as unconsciousness claimed her and she hit the ground.