I don't own Pokémon or Worm.
Chapter 1-8 – Transform
Danny rubbed his head. When Lisa had informed him that Taylor had been in danger, well... if he hadn't been so worried about his only daughter, he would have thrown her out there and then.
Well, that and if she hadn't pulled Miss Militia's personal phone number out of nowhere. She hadn't been kidding when she said she was a thinker.
The worrying had eventually given way to exhaustion, and he had fallen asleep, though late enough that when he woke up, he was still exhausted. He stumbled down the stairs in a bit of a daze.
"Coffee, just how you like it!"
Oh right, she was still here wasn't she. "Thanks." He grabbed the cup and took a sip. It was a bit stronger than usual, but given what little he knew about Lisa, she probably had expected that he'd need the extra pick-me-up.
"Taylor will be okay," Lisa said out of the blue. "There isn't a parahuman that she couldn't take down. Even if she was outnumbered, well, that's what Miss Militia's for." She took a bite out of a bagel. "What's worrying me is why she didn't just teleport away. Not even my power can explain it."
"Why are you so worried about Taylor?" Danny asked. "It's not like you knew her beforehand, and I doubt it's entirely out of self-interest."
Lisa chuckled. "Got me. Yeah it's more than self-interest, but..." A pained look shot across her face. "Look, I'd really rather not talk about it, alright?"
Danny sighed. "Alright, I know I was patient with you before, but if you're going to be staying here, there are going to be rules you need to follow."
Lisa smiled. "Rule one. If I bring any harm to Taylor, I get thrown out."
Danny flinched slightly, but nodded. "Rule two. If you have any information that regards Taylor being in danger, you will disclose it."
"And rule three?"
It was Danny's turn to smile. "I'm sure I'll think of something."
The implied threat was not lost on Lisa, who flinched. "Right. No more being a smart aleck."
"Bingo."
"Mew." A picture of the pink menace of a parahuman appeared on the screen above Director Piggot's head as Armsmaster spoke. "Since her first appearance, she has been proving both a thorn in our side and a potential asset to the Protectorate, possibly both. So far has defeated three parahumans of Empire 88 without any difficulty, and later that day defeated Shadow Stalker, who was likely under a Master effect, possibly a Trump effect as well."
Piggot frowned. Why couldn't the Hebert girl triggered with something harmless, like simple teleportation, or maybe insect control?
"On all encounters, her personality has been childish and somewhat naive," Armsmaster continued. "On her encounter with Glory Girl, she reacted to being pursued by acting as if it was a game, and when confronted, burst into tears. When confronting the Empire 88, she mistook Rune for an independent hero, leaving her for New Wave to capture. However, in meeting with both Miss Militia and the Wards, she has been found to be open, trusting, and having a strong sense of both justice and mercy."
Another slide showed up, one of the v-shaped flare from two nights ago. "She is also incredibly powerful. According to her meeting with the wards, she classifies her powers into 'moves', 'abilities', and 'stats'. The stats give her a brute and mover rating, while increasing the power of her 'moves' and 'abilities', and the 'moves' and 'abilities' are, in essence, Eidolon's power, though whether she is weaker, as strong as, or possibly even stronger than him, is as of yet unknown."
"So basically," Assault spoke up, "She's a cute kid with dreams of being a hero, with power rivaling one of the most powerful capes in the world." Piggot frowned at that. The worst thing about that description was that he was probably right – and no matter how well-meaning children can be, they have a tendency to mess up.
"Maybe even stronger," Aegis mused. "From the way she described her power, it sounded like she had barely even scratched the surface. Given how powerful her 'V-Create' was, she could very well have enough firepower to level a city if she wanted." Or if she missed, or put a bit too much power into an attack, or-
"I'm more concerned about whatever was affecting Shadow Stalker," Miss Militia spoke up. "If it made her strong enough to give Mew a hard time, it could easily affect a more powerful parahuman and make them near undefeatable. Imagine if they decided to affect Lung."
There were many shudders around the room. Piggot frowned. "Get it together. We've got two new and very powerful parahumans, and we can't afford to take either lightly." Speaking of that second parahuman, though... "Armsmaster, what's Shadow Stalker's status."
Armsmaster frowned. "Concerning. Whatever affected her seems to have also affected her Gemma and Corona."
Piggot's eyes widened. "Are you saying that she might be just as strong when she wakes up?"
Armsmaster nodded. "We can't be sure if she'll still have the Master effect as well, but something that Panacea mentioned... intrigued me. According to her, some pathways in Shadow Stalker's brain that were closed before have opened – pathways that are already open in a normal human brain."
"So what does it mean?" Assault questioned. "That she'll be sane when she wakes up?"
"Potentially, though if so, she might very well need therapy anyway." Piggot groaned at that. First Eidolon-lite and now this. Why couldn't anything be simple?
Taylor groaned. 'Urgh... could someone get the number of the moon that hit me?'
"Oh, you're awake!" Taylor turned to see... oh God, was that Dragon? Yep, that was dragon, using a screen of some sort. "Don't worry, you're in the PRT HQ. You took quite a beating last night."
Oh yeah... Sophia. Taylor shivered. She could still remember how... cold she had been. But still, she didn't deserve to get beaten up that badly, as much of a bitch as she was. 'Is Shadow Stalker alright?'
After a few minutes without any answer, Taylor slapped her face with her palm. 'Right. Of course telepathy wouldn't work through microphones.' She started looking around for paper and something to write on, only to find nothing suitable. 'Great. Just great.'
"Ah right, you can't communicate using sound." A touchscreen came from a panel from... somewhere. "Will this work?"
Taylor nodded, picking up the stylus in her mental grip. Her control wasn't as fine as she'd like, but she managed to write out Yeah, thanks.
Dragon smiled. "That's good. You should be cleared to go home soon, so just sit tight, alright? Once they ask questions about what happened with Shadow Stalker, you'll be free to go.
Taylor nodded and leaned back in the bed. She still didn't feel right here. It wasn't quite as bad as the aura around Shadow Stalker, but the whole place still felt like a generator full of Joltik. She hoped she would be let out soon.
Besides, she really wanted to get started on making Pokémon.
AS: LAST CALL FOR FIRST CREATION!
With that out of the way, no new moves this time. And so ends Transform!
And as always...
TH: READ!
LW: AND REVIEW!
