Current Energy: 17
Current Training: Aura (7/10)
Saturday, January 29th, 2011
PRT Headquarters, Brockton Bay
Your Master quickly follows Armsmaster through the PRT building to what - if you had to guess - is the gutted remains of a cubicle farm. The large empty space lacks windows, and has clear marks in the carpet where dividers, desks, and other such office fixtures have clearly been removed to make room for the ritual your Master is being asked to perform. The size of the room is such that you would honestly expect it to be excessive to your Master's immediate needs, save for one tiny fact.
There are cameras everywhere. On walls, bolted to the floor through the carpet, hanging from metal struts sticking out of the ceiling, all with a host of cables and wires running along every available surface leading back to a bank of computers near the door.
"I... thought this was supposed to be secret?" Your Master asks hesitantly, eyes temporarily crossing as she gets a good look at the odd little room.
"It is. What you see here is a suite of electronics I've come up with along with Dragon in order to expedite the Master/Stranger Screening your process necessitates." Armsmaster answers her neutrally.
"Didn't you already clear the first one? Why...?" You ask in confusion.
"We can't assume that a single successful instance is indicative of a trend. It's not protocol if we can decide not to do it. Dragon?" Armsmaster answers you immediately, not bothering to turn to look at you as he speaks and immediately changing tracks the second he enters the room, moving over to the computers near the door and beginning to boot them up.
"I'm here. Hello Nexus, M.E." A feminine voice echoes throughout the room, primarily emanating from the ceiling. Your Master looks around panicked for a few seconds before turning her gaze upward in mild confusion. You find the fact that she is only the second person to correctly state your designation interesting - although you suppose if she deals with Armsmaster regularly she might have gotten from him. Even if you don't know how exactly he figured it out.
"So, you're just watching through the cameras? You're not actually here?" She asks after a moment, and you can sense mild disappointment flowing off of her.
"I am. I hope that won't be a problem." The woman - Dragon - offers apologetically.
"Dragon has a number of issues that force her to remain stationary." Armsmaster adds for her, in a surprising display of diplomacy from the man.
"If you're hurt I could-" Your Master begins.
"I'm afraid my issues are more psychological than physical. Thank you for your offer though." Dragon offers wistfully.
"Oh. I'll just start setting up then." Taylor answers with a wince, obviously not sure how to continue with the conversation on the current topic. When no one says anything to countermand her statement she hurries off to the clear center of the room, where a rudimentary setup has already been made for her that she quickly begins to adjust, moving metal stands about and using a notepad that had been provided for her along the way to begin adding talismans to them.
[What, specifically, is your Master's semblance exactly?] Ozma asks you curiously. You for some reason find the fact that he has to specify your Master annoying, but keep that to yourself.
"Me." You answer simply, keeping your answer as quiet and muttered as possible so as to avoid being overheard.
[I am aware. However, she seems to have a variety of abilities that bear no relation to you.] Ozma points out.
"They're from previous versions of... uh, me." You explain.
[Interesting. And what are we currently witnessing?] He continues.
"The PRT are paying her to bring one of their dead Heroes back." You explain. Ozma doesn't immediately respond to that statement, and you get the distinct impression that you might have actually caught him off guard for once.
[And she can do this with anyone?] He asks with sudden intensity.
"Just Parahumans for now." You answer, wincing. Of course, you know where his mind is going with this. You might not be Oscar in truth, but you are him in all the ways that matter. That means that you are more than aware of all the losses Ozma has suffered over the millennia, all the good people he has lost to a war that cannot be won but must not be lost. A power like that of your Master's could easily turn the tides of battle in his favour, should she ever find a way to get there.
[Those portals she can make. Can they-] Ozma asks quickly, almost as if to answer your thoughts.
"No." You answer immediately. You might be the Multiversal Emulator, but you are still restrained by most conventional Shard rules. Your Master's acquired powers might work while away from you, but you yourself wouldn't be able to follow her past the Earth's moon with any real reliability, let alone to another plane of existence. You absolutely will not be separated from Taylor in that manner.
Seeming to understand your wish for him to drop it, Ozma chooses not to ask you any more questions after that, though you can tell he wants to push the point. Eventually, your Master completes her preparations and flexes her will, causing an almost intangible barrier to separate the inside of her circle from that without.
"Before you begin Nexus, can I ask some questions?" Dragon asks, breaking off her conversation with Armsmaster.
"Sure." Taylor answers, slightly distracted by her focus on her power.
"Do you create new bodies for them or do you somehow change time such that they were never dead?" Dragon asks, the slight intensity behind the question masked just barely by curiosity.
"I... guess I create a new body? It's not like I'm cloning them or anything though. It's hard to explain." Taylor answers helplessly before shrugging and continuing.
"I sort of grab their soul and force it into physical being using my power as a medium. I don't really build a body, the soul just knows what it wants to look like." She explains.
"And does the person have to be dead for you to do this?" Dragon continues, causing Armsmaster to pause and look up as though in thought.
"...No." Taylor answers carefully, her tone and body language carefully neutral. Silence reigns in the room for a second as it's occupants take that fact in. Then your Master, clearly uncomfortable, says; "Can I start now?"
"...Yes. Please begin." Armsmaster answers her turning back to his computer screen. Dragon neglects to say anything.
Much like your Master's last time performing this ritual, she places her object focus - a toy version of Dauntless' Arclance that appears to have seen some significant use - in the center of the circle, and then carefully surrounds in with a number of floating talismans that begin to rotate around the object madly, glowing with an otherworldly power that spreads from the talisman to the surroundings, becoming blocked by the barrier your Master set up. The center of the circle begins to grow increasingly bright, and then, with a flash that leaves spots dancing in your eyes, the power all vanishes, leaving your Master panting and tired in the center of the room, while standing next to a well-muscled and very naked man who is blinking at his surroundings in confusion.
Naturally, your Master responds to this by taking a dozen bounding steps away from him and towards you, carefully keeping her face turned away.
"Hey, so... I'm pretty sure I was dead?" Dauntless asks, then blinks as he realizes his state of dress, moving his hands to cover himself.
"Dragon?" Armsmaster asks tensely.
"Everything I'm reading is accurate to Dauntless." The woman answers.
"Hm." Armsmaster grunts, only then standing and walking over to Dauntless with a set of generic PRT sweats in hand.
"Your payment will be deposited in the same account as last time. You can stay and talk to the Wards or leave. Your choice." Armsmaster puts forth. You suspect his offer to stay was purely for diplomatic reasons though. Which is fine. You think that might just be the most polite way he could think of to ask you to go away now.
Taylor looks like she's willing to accept that for a second, before tilting her head in thought and speaking.
"Before I go, should... I mean I've still got Night running around in my pocket dimension. Do you have somewhere I could leave her or...?" She asks hesitantly. Armsmaster pauses in his examination of Dauntless - who is still clearly confused and mildly distressed - to think for a second, before answering.
"We'll need to prepare a cell for her. Her power makes her hard to contain otherwise. We'll call you." He answers before returning to what he was doing as though your Master hadn't spoken.
Your Master seems to feel the same way, taking the time out to roll her eyes exaggeratedly at you before slinging an arm over your shoulder to help support her weight. Again, you don't think she's that tired, but you choose not to comment, merely doing your best to support her weight as she flicks her wrist outward, her sword appearing in her hand just long enough to cleave a Gap open in front of you that you help her step through without being prompted.
You emerge into her Bedroom, where she promptly stumbles off to get changed in the bathroom, and you... do nothing. You have no idea what you should do with yourself at this moment. Past emulations have all had plans or goals of their own that they had to work towards, but you... you just sort of are. You don't have over arching goals. You just want your Master to be happy.
Of course, this is about the time when your Master stumbles back into the room, now no longer in her costume and dressed in a comfortable looking nightgown, causing you to splutter and turn away. Which is unfortunate, because she steps across the room to you, grabs you by the back of your collar before you can escape, and then shoves her other hand into the pile of clothes that had been left on the floor from the other day, withdrawing it with a suspiciously well sized set of mens sleep wear that she shoves into your hands.
"I don't- how?!" You complain as she hustles you into the bathroom to get changed. You actually do understand, you just can't fathom the reasoning behind it anymore. Your previous emulation really liked sleeping, and as such, ensured that there would be appropriate sleeping apparel available to you regardless of what physical form you took on.
"Cus I'm tired?" Your Master asks you in confusion.
"That- I can sleep on the couch right?!" You blurt out, stepping fearfully away from her.
"Obviously not." She says with a yawn, stepping out of the bathroom as though there was nothing else to say on the topic. You love your Master, but you suspect she might have gotten a little too accustomed to sleeping with your previous emulation around, a familiarity you are now suffering from. Since you are, of course, not an idiot, you get changed and turn intangible, falling into the main floor where you sneak over to the couch and take a seat, stretching the kinks out of your neck.
Which is about when you fall through the hole in reality that suddenly appears behind you, smack into the middle of the bedroom you were studiously trying to avoid.
For someone who was worried about using them at all your Master sure is getting kind of free with those Gaps.
Before you can really react to your current situation, your Master rolls over sleepily and wraps an arm around your head. Then she starts snoring.
"This is hell." You whisper to no one in particular.
[I'm sure you'll survive.] Ozma answers you dryly.
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
Hebert Household, Brockton Bay
The next day, you wake up to the sound of your Master rolling out of bed and stretching. In the interest of making sure your Master actually got a good night's sleep last night, you forced yourself to calm down and sleep yourself.
You actually can't tell if your Master just doesn't notice how uncomfortable she can make you, or if she doesn't care. You also aren't sure which is worse.
Groggily, you stumble from the bed yourself, scooping up your own clothes and turning intangible with them, leaving behind your Pajama's and disappearing into the downstairs bathroom to get dressed. When you emerge, your Master is already present, though curiously, she isn't dressed in her own costume, just a pair of sweats.
You glance at the clock, then back to your Master, a sliver of doubt entering your mind. It's six am. That means that, in all likelihood, your Master is going to want to train. That doesn't always include you. But usually, it does.
This is why you aren't surprised when she pats the couch, beckoning you over for her to lay down in your lap again.
"You know you don't have to do it this way." You grumble, having gotten mostly over how embarrassing this is the last time you did it.
"Yeah but, how am I supposed to meditate if I don't feel safe?" Taylor asks as she leans back and closes her eyes. You pause for a second before hesitantly lifting your hand to scratch at her head gently, which she hums appreciatively over.
"You... don't feel safe? I'm pretty sure I'm weaker than you right now." You point out.
"But you'd protect me anyway right? No one else would." She answers you easily. Left unsaid is 'No one else ever did'.
"I'm pretty sure you've got a whole team of Parahuman's for that now. I'm... actually pretty sure Trainwreck would be okay just killing people for you." You answer weakly.
"He's not that bad," Taylor answers defensively. Personally you're not so sure. Then again, you aren't sure that really bothers you much either.
"Still." You say.
"I used to do stuff like this with Emma all the time," Taylor says suddenly, changing the topic.
"Sleepovers and stuff I mean. I guess since this is the first time you've been my age I just sort of..." She continues, trailing off in thought. Then she says; "Should I stop?"
The part of you that is entirely made up of a teenage boy would like to emphatically say yes. However, that part of you is just that. A part. The part of you that doesn't change from Emulation to Emulation though...
"No." You answer resolutely, continuing to scratch at your Master's scalp.
Neither of you says much of anything after that, as your Master ruminates on the words you spoke to her while trying to unlock her Aura.
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
The Heap, Brockton Bay
"Today's the day." Your Master says resolutely as you exit a Gap onto the front doorstep of the Heap. You blink at her in confusion.
"Today's the day." Another female voice calls out to her from nearby. Whirling around you find Parian standing nearby, having apparently known to meet the two of you here today.
"I- I'm very confused." You say when both women turn to peer at you expectantly. Your Master grins at you, withdrawing a series of Talisman and instructions on where to place them that your previous Emulation left her.
"Today, the Heap get's its makeover." She says.
"And my storefront goes up." Parian adds. Then she turns to Taylor, tilting her masked face in question. "You can help me move everything once we're done right?"
"Sure. Your place on the Boardwalk right?" Taylor asks as the two walk ahead of you into the heap, where Taylor begins to very carefully place talismans on walls and in corners.
"Yes. I've already packed everything I'll need. I must admit, I'm somewhat wary of fully moving in..." She says with a shrug of discomfort.
"Why? I still don't know why you don't just move your whole family here. The Bay is going to get dangerous again soon." Taylor points out.
"Because that would out me to my family." Parian replies hotly.
"Which is worse than them dying as collateral in a Cape Fight because...?" Your Master points out.
"It hasn't been a problem before, and it's not going to be a problem now. Can we not talk about this?" Parian asks, slightly annoyed.
"Fine, fine." Your Master answers, frowning slightly. The two walk the halls in silence for a couple of seconds, with you trailing curiously behind them, until you reach the inside entrance to the garage. The garage, from whence you can hear the very definitive sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
"How big is this place going to be when-" Parian finally decides to ask just as a muffled thump echoes through the door and Danny flies bodily through the door, tearing the flimsy wooden thing from the wall and ending up sticking out of the drywall opposite to it, the faint lavender glow of his aura surrounding him.
"Okay, I got it! The piston is collecting too much juice! Come try it again!" Trainwreck yells through the doorway, causing Danny to step gingerly out of the wall and back into the garage with nothing more than a polite nod for his daughter and her friend.
Parian stares at the groaning man in confusion and distress as he wanders back into the garage. Your Master doesn't even miss a beat, stepping after him and continuing to place paper talismans along the wall inside as she answers Parian's aborted question.
"I think Emmy's previous self might have had a different idea of what constitutes a base than me. I don't actually know how big this is going to get." She says, eyeing the paper talisman she has just placed with some trepidation.
"Taylor, when did your Father trigger?" Parian asks quickly, stepping into your Master's line of sight and gesturing helplessly behind her with one gloved hand, to where Danny is carefully hefting a horrific-looking hunk of metal in the shape of a long-handled pickaxe. If a pickaxe had only one sharp side and the other was a huge mechanical engine of some kind anyway.
"...Recently?" Taylor offers weakly.
"Taylor," Parian says flatly, staring at your Master, who pointedly turns to look at her father instead of answering.
"Ready?" Trainwreck calls to Danny.
"Yup." He nods, rolling his shoulders and lifting the pick overhead.
"You guys better not screw the floor up with that thing." Your Master cuts in, causing both men to pause and look at each other, then back down to the slight cracks in the floor where they had obviously been testing whatever that was.
"Outside?" Trainwreck offers after a second.
"Outside." Danny answers immediately, causing both men to scramble through the garage door and out into the back of the building.
They are quickly followed by another muffled thump, and the distinct sound of someone bouncing off the metal exterior of the building, accompanied by Trainwrecks raucous laughter.
"What? Why is this my fault?" Taylor asks innocently smiling the entire time. The smile is vaguely familiar and... if you're being honest, somewhat unsettling.
"Just... just get on with it." Parian finally says when your Master's impenetrable smile becomes too much for her.
"Just about done actually. Wanna watch from outside?" She says with a grin. Parian agrees, grumbling the entire time.
Once the three of you have stepped onto the sidewalk, your Master turns to face the building, concentrates for a second, and then snaps her fingers.
Then the Heap begins to grow. And shift. And grow. The adjacent lots begin to stretch away from the lot the Heap is on, as if space itself is shrinking back in fear of what your last emulation has wrought as the building expands into a fortification that dwarfs the entire neighbourhood, casting the entire street in shadow.
"Taylor?" Parian asks quietly, her head craning to stare up at the Heap.
"...Yes?" Your Master answers after a second of doing the same.
"Why is it a castle?" She asks plaintively. Taylor turns to you in question at this, as though you have any idea.
"...Well... she... I... was basically the owner of an entire society of magical creatures so..." You offer with a wince.
"There's... I mean... there are some smaller buildings on the outside...?" Taylor points, and you turn your head to follow her extended finger. The Heap - you're not sure the name is appropriate anymore honestly - has expanded into a massive castle of polished bronze, with a handful of smaller outbuildings nearby, each one no smaller than the original heap was, and plated in a similar bronze coating. The outward appearance of the buildings and the castle is notably more pleasant on the eyes than Trainwrecks original slapdash armouring, and a winding path from the road to the castle passes by each of the three outbuildings. Your neighbours, or rather, the entire neighbourhood, have slowly started to exit their homes to stare agog at the tremendous construction that has quite literally appeared in their midst.
Then your Master's phone begins to go off.
"I'll... just go have a look then." Parian says quickly, stepping away from your Master as she withdraws her phone, groaning.
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
The Heap, Brockton Bay
So, as it turns out, your previous emulation had the wherewithal to leave directions on most of the walls in the castle, complete with annoying and vaguely insulting subtext. You aren't sure how, or why, but after the third such notice from yourself insulting your current emulation for not being Yukari Yakumo, you have started to become somewhat agitated.
This isn't really helped when you eventually emerge into the room that is supposed to contain the stone your Master uses as the central point for her ongoing attempts to enchant the Heap.
Because that room now contains a throne of bronze, which is set in front of the stone as though that was only natural.
"Emmy?" Your master asks you after taking in the otherwise fairly small room.
"Yes?" You answer through grit teeth.
"Were you a megalomaniac or something before this? Like, just a little bit?" She asks you, lifting her hand with thumb and forefinger almost touching.
"...The possibility definitely exists." You answer with a huff that causes your Master's mouth to twitch upward into a slight smile. She hadn't exactly been in the best of moods after Piggot had called to yell at her for twenty minutes. Apparently changing the cities skyline on a whim was the type of thing she would have preferred to be warned about ahead of time. Which was... fair, even if you still didn't like the woman much. Actually, now that you think of it, weren't you trying to bully her into getting healed as your previous emulation? Should you follow up on that?
Regardless, you try not to wince when your Master finally shimmies into the uncomfortable looking bronze throne and starts carefully doing... something with the stone covered in talismans in front of her.
Also cackling. You try to ignore the cackling. It's just a bit too ominous for your tastes.