i read Silence Falls recently and I had an hour and a half left of a 9 hour upload to youtube, and came up with this.
*Moonrise pt.1*
Taylor slumped against the inside of her locker.
"Do you seek power?" asked a voice.
"What?" asked Taylor, stumbling slightly as she realized she was not in a locker anymore. Instead she was in a room. A ruined throne room of some kind.
"Do you seek power?" repeated the voice.
Taylor tried to place the voice, thinking it sounded like a woman she'd heard on TV at some point though she couldn't place it. Authoritive. An accent she couldn't place. "I don't understand."
"Do you want to go back to your life unchanged? Helpless? Not willing to stand up for yourself? Unable to help yourself much less others?"
"Who is this? What is this?" asked Taylor, looking around. She looked down. "What the hell am I wearing?"
The voice gave a sigh that sounded impatient and frustrated. "Your world has less than twenty years to survive. If things continue on their path it will be just over two years. Currently you are locked in your school locker, where abrasions on your skin are in contact with disease-bearing feminine hygiene products. Yours is a world which has given up hope, trading that for a status quo where they are constantly losing ground. Without power you yourself will die within the year."
"It's not that bad," said Taylor, though she thought about it for a moment. "Okay. Maybe it is."
"The offer is on the table," said the voice. An odd sort of wand appeared in mid-air. "Take the offer and you may be the agent of change. Power to change the path your world is on. You would still face great trials and hardships. You would be a light in the darkness of your world, and that will draw opposition."
"This is some sort of weird dream isn't it?" asked Taylor.
"Some would say that." The voice was silent for a moment. "If you accept this you will remain Taylor Hebert, but you will also be someone else. You will be able to make similar offers to the friends you make along the way, and together you can face not only the one seeking to destroy your world but all of its kind."
"I don't have any friends," said Taylor.
"No, you don't. Not now."
"Fuck it," said Taylor. "Does this thing here have to look like some little girl's magic wand though?"
The voice was silent for a moment again. There was a deep sigh, as if everyone it encountered was just entirely too unreasonable. "You would have the ability to add new items and evolve them to your tastes. What would you prefer it look like?"
"Less childish? More like something I'd actually have?" tried Taylor. "If it's got to be some kind of magic wand, how about something like..."
The wand changed into what looked like a makeup compact.
"That'll do," said Taylor, reaching out and taking the thing.
"It will take some time for the memories to integrate themselves," said the voice. "Fare thee well, Taylor Hebert."
* Brockton Bay General Hospital, Emergency Room D *
"Yes, I give permission for parahuman healing," said Danny Hebert to Panacea.
Panacea nodded to acknowledge that but then stopped as the patient lifted one arm which was now holding some astrologically-decorated box.
"Moon Princess Power. Healing!"
The world turned white.
Taylor Hebert was surrounded by sparkling motes which lifted her up and her clothing changed. When it was done she stood next to her hospital bed, looking much better.
Panacea staggered and held herself up by leaning against a support. She felt... better. The depression and ennui lifted. The stress she'd been building up - relieved. Still a bit there.
Danny Hebert stared. That the depression and stress he'd been laboring under felt as if it had been lifted at least a bit was put aside for other concerns. "Taylor? Why are you wearing a figure-skating costume?"
* PRT ENE HQ, Conference Room 3 *
"New cape. Healer type. Area effect," said Armsmaster. "Subject restrained and placed in Master/Stranger protocols along with four other patients, the subject's father, and Panacea."
"Why?" asked Director Piggot, quite aware this could go bad quickly with Panacea in isolation.
"Several individuals responded to feeling happier or less depressed, one of whom was apparently cured of her drug addiction. One patient was being wheeled by to surgery at the time of the power manifestation and was not expected to survive. His missing leg was regenerated and his wounds healed." Armsmaster looked up at the odd noise from Director Piggot.
Director Piggot was massaging one temple. "So you're saying that some heavily injured people in very bad shape had their health restored, and that they felt better afterwards constituted a Master situation?"
"The emotional uplift seemed independent of the healing effect." Armsmaster checked his HUD. "Also, when we took Panacea into custody - Glory Girl arrived and had to be containment foamed."
"Great, just great," said Director Piggot. "A healer effect. And now we have two members of New Wave in custody?"
"I was following procedure regarding a potential Master situation," stated Armsmaster.
"Colin..." said Dragon's voice over the intercom. "We really need to get to working on your social awareness software."
The intercom pinged before a voice spoke up. "Director Piggot. I'm aware you wanted your calls held, but Carol Dallon is on line 1."
"Tell me at the very least that this isn't up on the internet," pleaded a full double facepalming Director Piggot.
"Uhm," said Dragon. "It's been deleted from the PHO boards three times so far under the 'potentially revealing the identity of a cape' excuse. There are other sites however. Apparently a new healer-cape and one who can affect brains is big news. One being arrested with the other healer and hurried off to PRT containment? Yeah, this is going viral."
"Wonderful," said Director Piggot. "Can this day get any worse?"
The intercom pinged again and the same trooper's voice spoke up. "Carol Dallon is still on line 1 but you also have Chief Director Costa-Brown on the secure high-priority line."
"Ask and ye shall receive," said Director Piggot.
* Cauldron HQ *
"Impossible, how can she have no Pollentia?" asked Doctor Mother.
"The device was taken from her four times," said Agent Hayes. "The device looks like a slightly gaudy makeup kit except for the lack of actual make-up products. If the device is more than ten meters away from her, it simply disappears and reappears within reach of her. Device is resistant to materials testing."
"The healing effect revitalizes those it affects," mused Contessa. "Do you suppose it will help Eidolon?"
THAT got Eidolon's attention and switched him from "why are we meeting regarding some lame new cape" to "when can I meet the new cape?"
"A healer who has an area effect?" said Contessa. "Why exactly are we trying to alienate her? Do you have any idea how much this could change an Endbringer attack?"
"Can you Path her at all?" asked Doctor Mother.
"Not directly, I get basically a 'data not found' or 'outside search parameters' result," said Contessa. "My interpretation is that the passengers are completely unfamiliar with this."
"The importance of this new cape has just risen," said Doctor Mother. "If the passengers don't have information on her, then Scion may be equally ignorant."
Alexandria came in, taking her own seat. "The new cape's name is 'Sailor Moon' and she is being released but monitored under 'continuing to rule out Master effects' protocols. Armsmaster is being disciplined and has been scheduled for social awareness courses."
"This one called 'Sailor Moon' - that's an odd name," observed Contessa. "I would suggest some testing to see how this ability works exactly. Make the pitch for the Wards and for assistance in Endbringer fights as medical personnel."
* Wards Room *
Sophia blinked at the image. "You gotta be fucking kidding me!"
"Huh?" asked Dennis. "No, it's real. It's on at least three websites. New cape arrested by PRT personnel as well as Panacea and several patients. Then Glory Girl comes rushing in because Panacea hit a panic button on her phone. Glory Girl gets containment foamed. That costume disappears though the moment she's unconscious. Weird huh?"
Sophia glanced at Dennis before returning to stare at the paused video. "But... she's weak. Prey."
"She's apparently a more powerful healer than Panacea," said Dean. "That's not weak - that's an asset we could use around here."
Sophia grunted something and left, her door closing instead the usual slam.
"That was weird," said Dennis.
"She recognized the girl," said Dean, his emotion-sensing power letting him read that pretty clearly. "She had contempt for the girl but now she's uncertain."
"Huh," said Dennis. "Be nice to have another girl on the team, though I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted nothing to do with us after being tased and thrown in a containment cell."
* Dallon Household, January 5 2011 *
"I hate containment foam," said Vicky Dallon. "My hair still doesn't feel clean."
"Nobody enjoys having containment foam covering them, or the residue the solvent leaves behind," said Carol Dallon. "So, Mister Hebert. What do you think of your daughter joining New Wave?"
"Better than the Wards," said Danny Hebert. "Really, what did they think putting that man in charge of a bunch of minors?"
"That he's an experienced and capable hero who has trouble relating to others, and that the experience might be good for getting him over that difficulty," said Sarah Pelham. "So, Taylor, when you use your Breaker state - what exactly can you do?"
Taylor tapped the case in one hand. "Moon Healing, which is what I used in the hospital. Moon Healing Escalation, which is a broader area and more powerful effect. I can throw my tiara and it has a status-breaking effect. I have some minor physical enhancements, being stronger and able to leap small buildings in a single bound. I'm a bit tougher, but apparently getting hit with three tasers was enough to overcome that. There's more but I can't access them until I've got more experience with my abilities. I can also give out other transformation devices to those I consider friends and allies."
"What?" asked Vicky.
"It's not something to be done lightly," Taylor said. "Doing so means you're forever changed. As it is, I may be alive a thousand years from now due to accepting this power - and I have some memories of being someone else. It's kind of strange."
"Someone else?" asked Carol Dallon, thinking that sounded like a Master or Stranger effect.
"In another universe, another time, there was a Kingdom that stretched across the solar system," said Taylor, her gaze growing distant. "It fell. A peace treaty was being celebrated when it was broken by the other party. It was a war where both sides lost."
"So who were you in this other universe?" asked Vicky. "Kinda like the Earth Aleph version of Mom I guess?"
"I'm not entirely sure, I've got flashes of images and feelings and sounds," said Taylor, shrugging. "I think I was connected to the Royal Court somehow. Maybe I was the Court Physician or something."
"I'm just relieved there's another healer in town," said Amy Dallon with a stretch. "You wouldn't believe the backlog."
"That does seem to be a takeaway from that," said Carol Dallon. "Well, Mister Hebert, consider it at least. The knowledge that your daughter is a cape and that she IS a healer-type is out there despite some people trying to get that information taken down. She's got a very good chance of a gang trying to recruit her until she chooses to align with some existing group."
The doorbell rang. Carol got up to go get it, still a bit distracted by the thought of her husband's depression facing a possible cure.
"There are limitations," said Taylor. "It's like I'm drawing from a well that has a fixed amount of water that gradually refills. I'm pretty sure that eventually I'll be able to do more, but right now that's all I've got the power to do."
"Can we get back to the whole empowering other people thing?" asked Vicky.
"'Empowering other people'?" asked Alexandria as she followed Carol Dallon into the living room.