More than double the followers since the last WOO!
So at this point I've decided that I will just start posting whenever I feel the story is at a good stopping point.
Draco0905: once again you have nothing to apologize for. If the story makes you happy, I'm glad.
Levky: Thank you!
Mrwinterdk: I hope you like it!
On with the show!
-Date, Time-
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
[Shard]
*Sounds/actions*
-Boston PRT HQ-
"Bored, bored, Bored, BORED!" I've been here for about two days know and I don't know when they plan on letting me-
*KCHHT*
"FREEDOM! -umph" I race out of the room only to slam into something.
"Woah there kiddo, I get it, been there done that." A jovial voice that sounds like a slightly deeper Ryan Reynolds.
Looking up I see what looks like a red modified version of the outfits the PRT goons wear.
'Assault.'
"Hey there. How are you?" He says kneeling down to meet my eyes.
This is one of the few people who could take me out in a fight. My main offensive power revolves around absorbing and augmenting myself with kinetic energy, his revolve around redirecting and effectively NOPING kinetic energy. Why is he here? Isn't he supposed to be in Brockton Bay?
"Soooo, what say you and I get away from here? Kamil says you like pizza, how about we go get some?"
"Uh, um, I uh." I tried, I really did. And just ended up running back into the room and hiding behind the corner.
'Shit shit SHIT! I am not prepared for this, he is a natural trigger, with a connection to the shard network! WHAT DO I DO? HELP ME [Conduit]!'
…
'Right of course he would fuck off in the face of an active shard.'
"My god you have no idea how much you sounded like a predator there." A girl says indignantly.
"Hey, I'm great with kids! Normally." Assault said that last bit under his breath.
'Oh? Who dat?' peaking over the side I see a shorter girl in a black bodysuit and domino mask.
'Is that Battery? She has a dead shard, right? Idea!' Running out and hiding behind her leg to but a body between me and Assault.
"Oh my god she is sooo CUTE!" she says, turning and reaching to pick me up
'ABORT!' Instinctually pulling on the energy I have stored from earlier when the door broke on me. And push her towards Assualt.
"What the shit!" She shouts landing against the ex-con, ex-vill?
"Kiss already!" I just shouted the first thing that popped into head.
'I mean, they wind up together anyway.' I turned and rounded the corner.
"Woah now, I knew you'd fall for my charms eventually." and promptly stopped as I heard Assaults attempt at flirting.
'I gotta see this.' Ok I know I should be trying to flee, but. I got nothing I just wanna watch this.
"You're a dick. You know that right?" She says, glaring up at him, still in his arms.
"Well, it takes one to know one."
'I, that was not the, what? Aren't you trying to romance her? Say something ROMANTIC'
"And what is that supposed to mean?" If looks could kill.
"I mean, you are what you eat."
!
'Holy shit, BURN!'
"Oh! You wanna go there? Then what about you huh?" She pushes off him.
'I need popcorn.'
"What about me?" Now it's his turn to be confused.
"You said you are what you eat, and it takes one to know one, implying you at least think you know I'm a dick. So, You are what you eat. Dick."
"I mean, yeah, or at least I hope."
'Wait what?'
"Wait, you're gay? Oh thank god!"
'oof.'
"What? NO! I mean I am what I eat, and you're a dick and I hope to be and, I, I'm gonna stop now."
'Crash and burn! Dead on arrival!'
"Hee heee ha." I couldn't stop from gigg;ing.
"Shit the kid"
'Uh, oh.'
Turning back around I start to run, putting energy into my body I bolt. I may have smacked into a wall or two in the pursuit, I forgot to enhance my perception at first. Assault and Battery may have this love hate relationship, but damn do they work well together. With Battery attacking Assault and him using that to launch himself and her forward.
Eventually as I started to run low on energy in what I think is and office it looks nice. Short maroon carpeting, dark brown desk with a computer, forest green wallpaper. Circular window behind the desk, door off to the side of the room.
'Add a bear skin rug in here and it would look cliché. OO! SWIVEL CHAIR!' There's a swivel chair.
I run over and climb into the chair, kick the desk and promptly start spinning.
"WEEEEeeeee!"
"You are not supposed to be in here." A woman says.
Startled, I fall out of the chair. "AAAagh"
"Are you okay?"
"Who said dat?" I say popping up.
"I did, I am over here, on the desk."
Turning around I see the computer turn on and a fair skinned dark-haired lady's face pop up on the screen.
'SADAKO!'
"AAAAAHHH!" Using the last of my energy stores I lift up the chair ready to smash the ghost out of the computer.
"NO! WAIT! STOP!"
*Flush*
A brown haired man walks out of the side door to the room
"What is going on in here?!"
'Oh! Kamil!'
"EVIL GHOST BOX!" Yeah, that was me.
Just as I was pointing at the computer with one hand, keeping the chair in my other, the front door busted open to see a woman in black followed by a man in red.
"Director Armstrong, we lost the." Said the woman. Oh, it was Battery and Assault.
"Found her." Said Assault.
"RED MAN!" Now I'm pointing at Assault.
As this comedy of errors goes on I run out of energy and the weight of the chair knocks me over.
"Woah!"
*Crash*
Kamil Armstrong POV
'Why do feel like this is all Assaults' fault?'
-Time skip-
Kitsu POV
After an explanation of who everyone was, and getting me to calm down. I learned Kamil is in charge of everything here. And the computer lady is actually here for a job interview, not really but essentially.
Turns out it was Dragon, not the lady from The Ring. Funny thing is, I always thought she would be accent neutral, like a lot of news reporters are trained to be. Turns out she has a Newfoundland accent, imagine a slight Irish accent. It's actually kinda cute. What? Technically she's two years old, and this is her attempt to sound like her father/creator.
'Who I just remembered is dead, as of the, attack on, Newfoundland, a, few days, ago, huh. Now I'm sad.'
"So, know that you know the computer is not evil, promise not to smash it?" Kamil said, he is surprisingly good at calming me down. "Yes. You still promised me pizza." I want my pizza.
"I sent Assault here to take you to get some. What happened?" Time to set up the pity party and get some sympathy points!
"Too much red, I don't like red anymore, or tag." Assault and Battery actually flinch at that, I assume that means they know about the Slaughterhouse 9 incident.
"Maybe, it's time I paint the suit blue." I hear Assault whisper to battery.
"Well, maybe we can fix that, how about you and I go down to the food hall now?" Kamil says.
I'mma be menace again real quick.
'Time to be evil!' I think.
"Do they have dick?" I say.
…
I swear, if someone dropped a pen it would be deafening.
"What?" Kamil says, blank faced and understandably confused.
"Assault said Battery eats dick. And he hopes he could eat dick. Is it tasty? Can you but it on pizza?" I deserve an Oscar, an Emmy, AND a Tony for how well I kept a straight face.
…
"I mean you can put on, OH GOD WHY!" Assault started before Battery glowed and smashed her fist into his crotch, turning his almost whisper to a high-pitched squeal.
'These two are comedy gold.'
"Dragon?" Kamil starts with dangerous calm.
"Yes sir?"
"Can you keep the company while I have a talk with these two outside?" Oh, I wish I could see this.
"Not a problem, aside from the initial scare I unintentionally gave her she seems remarkably well behaved."
"Good. Assault, Battery, outside. Now." I watch as Battery drags the incapacitated Assault with her as they walk outside.
"They're silly." I say, not even trying to play at being a kid this time.
"Their interactions have proven to be quite humorous and entertaining." She says jovially.
"Huh?"
"Um, yes, they are very silly."
…
'And que the awkward silence.'
"Are you a lizard?" Master of conversation, me.
"Um, no?" Dragon says
"Can you breathe fire?"
"No, I cannot, why are-."
"Then why is your name Dragon?"
"I, like the name?"
"Okay." This got me thinking, I still don't have a name.
…
"I need a name."
"Oh? How about Elizabeth?"
"Too long!"
"Jennifer?"
"No J names."
"Charlotte?" She's starting to sound desperate.
"No, I want something unique, something that means me."
"Well, you are a girl."
"I am."
"You have fox features."
"I guess." I have an idea where this is going.
"How about a name that reflects that, how about Kitsune?"
"What's that?"
"It's a trickster fox spirit from Japanese myth."
"Can it be shorter?"
"Kitsu? It means-"
"YES!" That is the perfect name. It's short, cute, unique, and easy to remember!
"Is everything alright in here?" Kamil pops into the room.
"I. Am. KITSU!" I shouted standing on the swivel chair making lights shine behind me, since when could I do that? And promptly fell over.
"Aagh!"
*Crash*
"My tail!"
-Later that day
I am now eating my pizza, It's just a cheese, not a stuffed crust mushroom.
'Oh well'
"So let me get this right, you can make lights now?" Battery says across from me. Oh yeah, I'm still in Kamils' office. In the swivel chair at his desk. He just had someone bring the pizza up, cuz rank has its privileges.
"Yes." I say swallowing a bite, according to [Conduit] I can make limited density hard light illusions, [Conduit] didn't inform me earlier because there was never a good time to practice. And in my desire to show off I activated it instinctively.
"So you're impervious to damage, can be strong but not all the time. And now you have the ability to make lights?" Assault says. Looking at me in disbelief.
"I could always make pretty lights."
"Then why didn't you do so before?" Says Battery.
"I forgot." I say taking a bite of pizza. I can also change my appearance a little bit, but I am NOT about to tell them that. "So, what are you doing here? You can't have my pizza." Priorities.
"We, have a, fun opportunity we want to tell you about." Assault again.
"We thought you would like to join us. And we could teach you, train you. You could go out and meet people, we'll feed you-" Battery starts
"Water you, take you for walks, teach ya tricks." Only to be interrupted by Assault.
"Shut it." Battery. Time to mess with them again.
"So you two will be like my Mommy and Daddy?"
"NO!/Sure."
…
"What? Why not? Could give us some valuable experience." Assault says, wiggling his eyebrows.
"With you? Over my dead body."
"Mh, nah, I'm not a necrophile, I'd much rather have it over your very much alive body."
'Real smooth Casanova, real smooth."
I look back over to Battery only to pause as I see her blushing.
'WAIT THAT WORKED?'
As I am contemplating whether Assault has a master power, Kamil walks in from the front door talking to a guy who I don't care to describe.
"Just make sure it's done before the month is out. Okay? Thanks Jameson, you can have the rest of the day off, and if you see Weld, tell him to meet me here."
"Sure thing, he's probably in his room anyway." Nameless accountant man says as he walks off.
Looking over to us he smiles,"
"So, what did I miss?"
Time to be a little gremlin.
"Assault is not a Nectopile." I say calmly, and eat another slice. I'm almost out of pizza.
Assault and Battery both go wide eyed and look from me, to each other, to Kamil.
…
"A what?"
"It's nothing." Assault shouts.
"Dragon, can you explain?"
"Assault was flirting with Battery again, poorly." 'Oof, called out by the A.I.'
"Assault if you were not our best chance in dealing with, recent additions, I'd have you confined to you room." 'I'm right here! And what do you mean 'Best chance' huh?'
"Yes DAD!"
"Boy if I was your father, I'd beat some sense into you, and then some just for the headaches you cause."
"Ooh, don't threaten me with a goo-"
*Splat*
I threw a slice of pizza at his face.
"What was that for?!"
"I'unno, I thought Battery was gonna hit you again and wanted to do it first." I just wanted and excuse to throw food at him.
"Well, she's not wrong."
"Et tu? Battery"
As it looks like Assault and Battery were about to go at it again Kamil interrupts, raising his voice.
"Did you make the offer?!"
"We were, getting to it sir, then this idiot started running his mouth and started making it sound like we were offering to either adopt her as our daughter, or our dog."
Kamil then looks to Assault. Assault just looks away. I grab my last piece of pizza.
"*Sigh* Kitsu, would you like to live here?" Kamil asks.
"No." I know how corrupted and inefficient the PRT is. No way in hell am I putting myself in a gilded cage of red tape and PR deals. I wanna be able to actually make a difference. Not be paraded around the city as a mascot while constantly frustrated at being unable to do anything. In other words, I don't wanna end up like Vista.
…
…
…
"May I ask why not?"
"Don't wanna." I can't really say why. I'll look like a nutjob and then they'll throw me into the birdcage on principle.
"We can't let you leave unsupervised."
"Why not?"
"YOU'RE A CHILD!" Battery was the one to shout this time.
"Don't yell at me!"
'Time to think. I need a way out of here, I doubt they'll let me leave, at all really. I AM a child, a superpowered child at that. I, may an idea, if this works, I'm calling bullshit on the universe.'
"How about a bet?"
-PRT Training Room, Arena-
'BULLSHIT!'
That actually worked, the deal is, I beat Assault and Battery, plus a third unknown cape, and I get to leave. I loose, and I become their newest Ward. From what I've pieced together, they think I have a sort of grab-bag combo of illusions, invulnerability, and a power charge similar to Battery.
Faced against each other in a large metallic room. Assault and Battery about fifty feet in front of me. On the upper level there is a window where Kamil is watching us.
"Are you sure about this kid? The wards are nice, you'll be safe, and all the pizza you could ever want!" Assault says.
"Shut up and fight old man!"
"I'm not old, I'm 17!"
"Bet you're bald under the helmet!"
"You little-"
*Kzzzt* BEGIN
Not even wasting a second Battery glows blue, jumps back and launches off of Assault who spring boards her forward. After which not half a second later he launches himself forward at the same speed.
'Redirected kinetic energy, right, so long as he is aware of the impact, he can redirect the force.'
As Battery is rapidly approaches and soccer kicks me, I fly back, the thin is, I can choose whether or not I get knocked back, and just no sailing them from the start will force them to get creative, and if they do that, I can't absorb any energy.
"WAAAaaaah!" Not long after I get launched into the air, Assault jumps over Battery and down hooks me, launching me back down and into the ground. Not gonna lie, that hurt.
"Give up kid, we're stronger, faster, and smarter. Might as well save yourself the pain." This time it was Battery.
"Old! LADY!"
"That's not gonna-"
"You need to go on a diet!"
…
"I'm gonna kill a kid."
She glows again and runs forward, only for Assault to grab her by the arm and SWING HER LIKE A HAMMER HOLY SHIT! I can't help but think about how cool this is as Battery dropkicks down on my face. I'm actually driven further into the ground. She jumps off, and stands next to me. Looking up I see Assault walk over to stand next to her.
"Does this mean we win?" He asks looking over to Battery. Perfect.
"I twist my body to launch myself by my hands, enhancing my strength to outright blast myself into dropkicking Assault in the face. Feeling a satisfy crunch I cut of the energy, I don't wanna kill the guy.
"Aach, you brope my nobse!"
"Sneak Attack!" I shout. Before I can gloat further, I get sucker punched by Battery. Effectively cartwheeling me across the room and into a wall.
'Why am I constantly being put into things?!'
"Can't believe you let a little girl get you."
"Shub up!"
I break out of the wall, a little dizzy from the airborne cartwheel. Running forward I punch Battery and launch her across the room. Or at least I tried to, Assault grabbed he arm and set her down.
'Imma need to get creative here.' Stealing something I saw from Overlord, the anime. I turn and make an illusion of my arm punching Assault, while I actually punch Battery. I can't turn myself invisible, not yet.
"Ack!"
"What?" Assault is understandably shocked as the upper body of me shatters like glass to reveal I actually punched Battery. Not willing to give him a chance I close my eyes and flash bright lights in his face.
"Kitsu used flash!"
"What-Aach, SHIT!"
'Super effective'
I then run around him, jump on his back, and wrap myself around him and start choking him out.
"Ack!"
He starts thrashing around and throws himself back to headbutt me.
'Sorry buddy, but compared to electrocuting myself this is nothing! Still hurts like a bitch.' Because my nose can't break, it feels like a stubbed toe, on my face.
I look over to see Battery is actually getting up.
'Damnit! I put enough force in that punch to crack concrete! She must have activated her power last second.'
"Damn, as much as I wanna see Assault get choked out by a little girl." Assault, still trying to throw me off, but slowing down, flips her the bird. "But this ends now!" She glows blue and I once again flash a bright light.
"AAaagh!"
'If it aint broke, don't fix it.' I think as she stops her charge.
And Assault just fainted. I'm not taking any chances so I hold on for another thirty seconds. I don't put it past him to fake it. Battery recovers, glows blue and charges, I hold my hand up and start to make it light up with an illusion. She closes her eyes but doesn't stop her charge. I cut off the light and let her hit me. Only this time I crouch and don't allow knockback. She hits me like a goes down like a leg sweep, faceplanting and scorpion posing before collapsing in a heap, unconscious.
I stand back up and look to the unconscious Assault and Battery.
…
"I WIN!" I yell, throwing my hands up.
Director Kamil Armstrong POV
…
"Dragon."
"Yes sir?"
"What in the nine hells did I just witness. Because it looks like two of our best Wards, who are about to graduate and be sent to Brockton Bay as official Protectorate Capes might I add, just got trounced by what appears to be a Six-year-old little girl."
"That's because, that's exactly what happened sir."
This was not his week.
"Why?"
"If I may speculate, it appears she may have a Thinker ability." Just his luck.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, in my time with Kitsu, she has shown extreme levels of understanding when compared to others of her age, along with inconsistencies in her sentence structure, she may be instinctively activating a Thinker power, possibly a high 2 or low 3. I believe it is an ability that allows her to learn at an accelerated rate when activated, it would also explain the brief periods in which she zones out, she could be processing the information in she gains."
"So we have, Mover, Brute, Breaker, Thinker?"
"It would appear so. Should, should I send him in?" I honestly didn't think it come to this.
"Might as well, and prepare foam the foam sprayers."
"Sir?"
"We cannot allow and individual with such a powerset to be let loose in the world unsupervised, If she were older, we could negotiate here being an independent. But with her being so young that simply isn't in the cards."
"Of course sir."
"Wait. Why is she?"
Kitsu POV
After I got done posing the two unconscious lovebirds and laughing to myself. I just positioned them so that Assault is against the wall, and Battery is sideways in his lap with her head resting on his shoulder, also, she drools.
"WAKE UP!"
"Humf, Wha."
"Mmmh"
It takes a good few seconds for them to realize their position. Battery looks absolutely mortified, while Assault just smirks.
"Hey babe, enjoy your seat?"
*Smack*
I don't know if she's tsundere, or just genuinely hates him at this point in time. Either way watching this go down is better that any daytime television.
'Certainly better than the Kardashians.'
*KCHHT*
'Hm?' turning to look at the new comer I think I peed my pants a little in excitement.
"ROBOCOP!"
…
"Pfft" Assault can't keep a straight face.
"I'm Armsmaster." 'Oh, that was more disapointing'
"Oh, who are you?" I said this cuz I know he has an ego, and I wanna mess with him, get him mad. And it works as his mouth, which is the only visible part of him, develops a frown.
"I am this PRT's premier and most efficient cape."
"What does that mean."
"It means that you are about to lose."
'He even sounds like lame version of RoboCop.'
"Lame!"
"We're wasting time. Assault, Battery, leave now."
"Right/Yes sir!" They hop up and rush out of the room.
"Are they gonna clean the room first?"
"No need, this will be over soon enough."
'Dick.'
*Kzzt* "Begin"
He pulls out his halberd and gets into a ready stance, but otherwise does nothing.
…
…
"Are you gonna?"
"I am aware of your breaker state, and I would be foolish to attack when you expect it."
'I mean he's wrong about the breaker part but-' Whatever thought I had was interupted as he rushes forward and swings his halberd at my midsection.
*Kncht*
Only for the halberd to shatter against me.
…
"Mlnnn" I stick my tongue out at him.
*Chink*
He punched me in the face! Dick! At least his gauntlet broke.
"HOW!"
"I'm better than you. RoboCop knockoff"
I wind up my arm and slam into him with more force than he hit me with, sending him flying back and crashing through the doors.
…
"I WIN AGAIN!"
*Alarm Blaring*
Red lights start flashing throughout the room as hose turrets pop out of the ceiling and start shooting containment foam at me.
'WHAT THE SHIT FUCK?!"
Running through the doors I dodge as Armsmaster, who is getting off the ground, gets hit with the containment foam. Enhancing by speed, strength, and perception. I start barreling through the corridors, tearing through the doors like tissue paper, ironically enough the brief feedback of force from slamming into the doors is fueling me ever so slightly. Not enough to create a full feedback loop. But enough to edge me on ever so slightly. I actually fall into the whole enhanced issue, where I am going so fast that I can't recognize anything other than 'Person Move!' and 'Door Keep Going!'
After what felt like ten minutes of running, I make my way out of the building and run. And I keep running for what feels like another two minutes before I run out of energy and ragdoll across the ground, sore and utterly exhausted, turning to my back, I look up at the night sky, and laugh sardonically.
'Y'know, if it weren't for the fights, I would have never had the energy to run out of there.'
[Affirmation]
'Yeah, we did it [Conduit], we did it, we're free to do what ever I want.'
[Indignation]
'You already got what you want, you're here experiencing a [Cycle]. Now you get to experience as a lowly biologically life form uses your power irresponsibly and for her own gain til' she dies a horrible death, like most shards get to experience.'
[Iteration- I regret everything]
'Huh, that's new' I think before I pass out.
BONUS SCENE
Kamil Armstrong POV
What an absolute shit show. First their best and brightest upcoming Wards were defeated, then their best Protectorate got absolutely STOMPED. Now he's busy writing a massive report about the tens of thousands of dollars in damages he doesn't know the exact number, but he saw the report, saw it started with an 8 and had four zeroes behind it, and but it down before he started crying in frustration.
"Dragon."
"Yes sir?"
"You edited the security files right?"
"To make it look like a Tinker had hacked into the software system, causing a glitch that set the entire building on high alert, foaming everyone not recognized as an employee? All to save your ass in the report about how it was actually YOU who ordered the security response? Yes I did, and hope you understand that after that I am requesting a formal transfer." She sounded a mix of disappointed and pissed.
Of course she was. Between that, Armsmaster transferring to Brockton Bay to lead the Wards over there, and the morale hit Assault and Battery took, he was quickly losing his best Capes to one thing or another.
"I understand, can you at least tell me if we learned anything?" Hopefully this wasn't a complete loss.
"I have two prevailing theories, though with Kitsu gone to who knows where, we have no way of confirming either."
"What are they?"
"My first thought is that she has an adaptive breaker state, one that gets stronger the more she fights."
"Like Lung?!" Oh god that was not something he wanted to hear. "What evidence do you have for this?"
"In the beginning of the fight between Battery and Assault, anytime she was hit she flew back due to the force of the blow. However, towards the end she showed a resistance to knockback, and even started to hit harder. Then with the fight with Col-Armsmaster, he hit her full force with his halberd, I've record of that weapons parameters, It should not have broken, if it was energy absorption, then it would have stopped, and if it was simple invulnerability, it should have only chipped at most while knocking her back at least a little. But instead it shattered, as did his armor when he went to punch her. And then there was when she punched him."
"I saw that, he flew through the arena doors, those are meant to hold a Brute 6 level of force. Is Armsmaster okay by the way?"
"Aside from a bruised ego, abdomen, and five broken ribs, he'll be fine."
"Good."
"Moving on, she got better at fighting, AS, the fight went on, either she was holding back, or she got stronger during the fight." Makes sense, he saw the same things she did, she was being tossed around like a ragdoll in the beginning, only to one hit knock down one of their best not five minutes later.
"And your other theory?"
"Precognitive Thinker."
What?
"Why do you say that?"
"Sir, if her goal was to leave here, then everything that happened was as she intended it to be, from challenging Assault and Battery, to egging Armsmaster on. She even seemed to know that blunt force wouldn't work on assault, as she blinded him and then proceeded to choke him out rather than hit him even once. If she deployed the same tactics against Battery then I would believe it a coincidence. But no, she tailored her attacks to take him out, avoiding his abilities, before even knowing what he could do."
"So your telling me we either have Lung in a little girls body, or master strategist with precognition?"
"Until I know more? Yes."
…
"Damn it"
A/N okay, got through a bit here. Things will speed up from here expect a massive time skip. And Dragon is not far off with her first theory, Kitsu is very similar to Lung. Big difference in powers here is that Lung ramps up with exposure to conflict, while Kitsu ramps up with exposure to force, the difference here is that, Lung? You just have to be nearby, if he recognizes you as an active combatant, then he will get stronger, continuously. Kitsu? If you don't attack her, then she is only as strong a little girl can be. She also can't store energy indefinitely as it will leak out little by little over time.
Also, after reading TheDarkWolfShiro's fic The Tinker, I got some inspiration for adding other characters into this series. I'm thinking of adding other heroes like the Incredibles into this series, as well as others like RoboCop. I think it would be a nice addition though I'm not sure.
Hope you guys enjoyed!