Chapter 2 - Giving Taylor and the Protectorate Some Exposition!

Taylor

"-aking up. Prepare for combat."

I groan as I look u- ohmygoditsarmsmasterohmygoditstheprocterate!

Miss Militia's eyes seem to crinkle, and the gun she was pointing at me falls to her side. A red-clad cape snickers, a silver and blue woman - Battery right?- elbows the aforementioned cape, and the rest of the Protectorate seem to relax, even Armsmaster drops his stanc- wait why were they pointing weapons at me in the first place?

I stand up and blink. "Wait, did I say that ou-"

Instead of my voice coming out my mouth, a nasally, deep one comes out instead. My hands fly to my mouth… and I notice that my hands are not made out of flesh and bone.

Plant cells, my brain supplies.

Armsmaster steps forward.

"Miss, try and calm down."

Assault mutters something under his breath.

"And maybe do something about the smell?"

"Smell?" I try to sniff, only for my brain to tell me I don't have a nose. I then instinctively reach out with my senses.

I feel a gas around me- Methane oh.

"It's.. methane?" I answered.

Armsmaster frowns (even more than he usually is).

"And how do you know that?"

I blink (huh, I do have eyes). "I… don't know?"

My instincts tell me to focus on the gas in my hand.

And then my hand ignites.

I let out a yelp, and immediately dropped to the ground and started rolling. That's what I'm supposed to do right? Armsmaster fires some weird mist from his halberd, which puts out the fire and causes me to stop rolling… only for it to reignite once he stops spraying.

However, this time, I'm rational enough to realize it doesn't hurt.

"Uhh, is fire supposed to not burn?" I ask timidly as I get up, still on fire.

"Nah, but Swampfire is a special case."

I blink. The voice came from behind me. I turn around… and see an oversized rubber ducky?

Alex

I am desperately trying to rein in my laughter.

Watching Taylor, stop, drop and roll was like watching Ben do it all those years ago on Cartoon Network sent waves of nostalgia through me. If only she had Ben's sense of humo- actually no. That would be bad.

Huh, Taylor looks exactly like Ben's Swampfire. Guess this proves that Methanosians don't have a gender.

"Ergh, hello?" Taylor asks in her nasal voice.

"Hi!" I chirp. "My name's Pokedex!"

"Uh hi… My na-" Taylor starts.

"Whoa there stranger, you're a cape now. Don't use your real name!"

God, I totally sound like one of those helpful game companions, maybe the one from Slime Rancher?

Taylor blinks again.

"Cape? Like, I have powers now?"

Dropping my friendly tone for a deadpan one, I respond:

"Did the spontaneous ignition that didn't hurt you give a clue yet?"

Taylor's face ignites in flames, probably due to embarrassment.

I give Miss Militia, who had her gun trained on me before the conversation between Taylor and I speak up.

"How did you know about her trigger?"

Switching back to my friendly tone, I smile with my eyes and "answer" her question.

"Powers are bullshit."

I hear Assault snicker, see Militia's eye twitch and Armsmaster gives an unamused grunt.

"Ummm…"

I spin around to look at Taylor, who's meekly putting her hand up.

"Were you the one who sent the watch?" She said pointing at her chest. On said chest, was the logo of the Omnitrix. Huh. Perceptive.

"That question has a two-part answer, stranger!" I chirp.

"Yes, I did. But you can't call it a watch; its official name is the Omnitrix!"

Armsmaster points his halberd at me.

"You gave a new trigger to a piece of untested Tinkertech?" He demanded.

I snort.

"The Omnitrix is not Tinkertech, and is more tested than your halberd is, Halbeard."

Assault giggles again (best Protectorate member, don't me) and I think I could hear Armsmaster grinding his teeth. Really shouldn't do that, it's bad for your mouth!

"Also, stranger here didn't trigger." I noted.

The entire Protectorate looked at me like I was crazy. Wait, but I am craz-

"So what happened to her, if she didn't trigger?" Battery inquired.

"Because I'm fairly certain that transforming into a 6-5 pyrokinetic, inflammable methane monster isn't normal?" Miss Militia finishes.

"Um… also, am I stuck like this?"

I smile with my eyes again. Is this what Tattletale feels like, lording over people who don't know anything about the situation? If so, I understand why she just does not shut up.

"Oh, that's easy. First off, you can turn back to human form, stranger! As for the two lady capes, the Omnitrix turned the stranger into a Methanosian!" I say.

Silence.

Taylor

"You know, a Methanosian?" Pokedex says.

"Like, an alien?"

What the fuck.

I can turn into aliens?

"With a 30-minute transformation period, 5-minute recharge period, and less if you turn back early!"

IT CAN READ MY MIND!?

Pokedex switches back to his(?) deadpan tone.

"No, you're just saying things out loud."

I sit down and try to process what's happening, while also trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Sorry, for not explaining better before I gave you the Omnitrix, but you were already in the locker, and I didn't think I had the ti-" rambles Pokedex.

I cut him(?) off.

"You knew?" I whisper.

He looks down in shame. His eyes express sadness.

"Yeah. I just got here, and I didn't have time s-"

"Thank you," I say with as much gratitude and emotion as I can extract from my heart. I barely cared that he knew about the bullying beforehand and DID NOTHING-

NO. Bad thoughts Taylor. He helped, and I even got to be a cape for a little while. Sure there was no way he was letting me keep a superpowered watch, but he did more than the entirety of the school combined. It was something. Better than nothing, I guess.

He brightens up again.

"No problemo! If you don't mind, I'd like to help you figure out your new powers, since I just kinda dumped them on you and called it a day."

My eyes widened. "I get to kee-"

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

I look down, and the Omnitirix is beeping while emitting a red light. Before I know it, I'm back in human form, but I'm not wearing what I wore into the locker.

I had a black jacket that was highlighted and trimmed with emerald green. That theme persisted to my pants, which were skintight, and more akin to leggings (WHYYYYYYY) Underneath that, there was a green shirt, lighter than the highlights and trim, and across that was a black "X" that had a white border. That same "X" also appeared on the jacket, on my right breast (or lack thereof) albeit a miniaturized version. I look down at my feet, and see… basketball shoes? Same colour scheme as my outfit.

Assault whistles when he glances at my feet. "Are those… Jordan 1's?"

Pokedex also looks impressed. "Damn, if I knew I could get those out of the Omnitrix, I would've given you the Scarab."

I start feeling my face and realize that I'm wearing gloves. They're fingerless, again mostly black, with green highlights.

A glance at Pokedex, and I freeze as an analysis of him appears in front of me. Wait, where are my glasses? I reach to my face and find a visor, which helps explain my eyesight. I then finally notice the… uh…

"Um, Pokedex?"

"Yeah, stranger?"

"Why am I seeing that you're a Porygon-2?

This time Pokedex lets out a whistle. How do ducks whistle? Oh wait, it says here that Pokedex isn't an actual duck, he's… an artificial intelligence? Nope, not touching it. The first person who's been relatively friendly to me in nearly two years is not a program. Please no.

"Damn, you got a heads-up display too? Azmuth had some serious fashion sense."

I feel a headache coming along. "Azmuth?"

Pokedex - Or Porygon-2? - frowns with his eyes. "Okay, I think I need to do an in-depth explanation." He(?) glances meaningfully at the Protectorate. "In private."

Armsmaster and Miss Militia both move to speak, but Pokedex cuts them both off.

"I promise that I will give the PRT an explanation later, but right now we have a very confused teenager, who may possibly be feeling the effects of the shock wearing off."

As he says that my legs give out.

"-and there it is."

"Look, I'll come in, and register and do whatever the heck y'all want me to do - except join - but give us a day; we'll come in tomorrow."

Pokedex blinks, and quickly adds an addendum. "Correction, I'll come in tomorrow. It's stranger's decision to do what she wants."

I feel warm over the concern. Sad that the simple addition of a phrase is the most care anybody's shown me since… I can barely remember.

Miss Militia speaks up.

"That would be fine."

Pokedex chirps a noise of happiness. "Great!"

He(?) then looks at me. "Mind if I teleport you?"

I nod.

"Peace then, heroes!"

And we warp away.

Author's Note: Taylor's costume is inspired by the male Persona 3 protagonist's Dancing Moonlight costume.