Celestial's Entertainment

by overlyred

000000

1. 1

Celestial's Entertainment

I had been walking home from work. Simple thing really, I did it every day. I would walk about ten minutes to the bus stop, get on, ride it for about fifteen minutes, disembark and then walk for another five. Reverse it for the trip back home, plus a couple of minutes depending on traffic. Usually the sun was setting just as I was leaving home and an hour to rise from when I came back. Was saving up for a car, now that I didn't have to worry about paying off those damned hospital bills anymore. Or having to worry about dealing with family.

Same trip as always. Only something was different this time. I remember I was thinking about the hello my puppy dog Whiskey would give me the moment the front door would open. He would run up to me, his big ears flapping with each step, right before he would jump on his hind legs while his front ones would be raised begging to be carried. It was just what I would need every morning back from work. Just that little bit of unconditional love. The screeching of tires and brightness of approaching lights, quickly drove that thought from my mind.

What might have been an impact turned into… a state of nothing. I felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. Guess there was nothing after death. Just nothing.

You'd think I would feel despair. All that I had was impotent annoyance. Well this was bullshit. I think I might have preferred going down. Better to deal with something, than just being stuck with nothing to do in darkness. At least I think that it's darkness.

Then again maybe after a few days of eternal torment I might have a different opinion. Who knows.

Was I just going to be stuck in this fucking Limbo of nothing until I dissapeared into nothing?

As if to answer my question something miraculous happened. Like a switch being flipped nothing turned into something. And boy, was it something. One by one, lights flickered on. Above me, below me, around me behind me until the world was once again bright and uncovered from mystery. The lights weren't just lights. I could now see that they were stars each one shining brighter and more full of energy than the sun that my planet had know all its life.

The space between the stars were nebula's of star dust. There was no bleakness of void in them, instead rainbows of colors that were dotted with the stars. Yellow, orange, blue, green, purple and many more surrounded the stars and I. Like a painting of what someone thought outer space would look like instead of the bleak dark reality that it really was.

It was the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen in my life. Now death, if the car crash wasn't just a hallucination. Please be a hallucination.

Amidst the many stars that illuminated the space around me there were some that were closer than the rest. All of them connected together forming around forty constellations altogether.

Without knowing how or why, I could feel that each glowing star held its own secret. Each one held a secret of power that I knew would connect to me. It was like each one was conscious and… eager to connect to someone. Eager to to connect and eager to be used.

Higher above the constellations that promised enticing power, was something that terrified me down to the core. A being vaguely humanoid, it's arms looking to be made out of cosmic dust and clouds of stars of all kinds, dwarf, red giants brown dwarfs even those that were on the verge of supernova. One arm held a hammer that glowed a brilliant red, comprised entirely of supernova stars. In the other, swirls of light whirled in a pinwheel like motion, glowing brighter with each strike of the hammer, the creation in the making becoming more and more real with each strike.

Eventually I could finally make out a vague shape of what the giant celestial being was making. It was pinwheel like, with the center shining brightest while the rest died down to individual lights after each swing. More and more forming far more clearly with each successive swing. It was creating a galaxy, stars and all.

I was shaking like a leaf. Holy shit. What THE FUCK is that!? What was I watching?

Was this how the world was originally created? By some weird celestial thing hammering away at nothing with a hammer of literal explosions creating fucking galaxy's?

Good news everyone I have solved the questions that everyone has asked at least once! I now know how the world was made! Fuck-ing hooray!

Thats when I got a good look at it's head. It looked… incomplete. It's head was shaped what a normal head would look like, you know if you discounted that it looked to be made of space clouds and stardust. It's "face" wasn't really a face. It was an open hole that gave a wonderful look of the hollowness inside. Where the hell was it's brain?

Well, it wasn't REALLY hollow. The edges of the hole glowed with the light of yellow suns, constantly shifting as more twinkling stars made their way inside of the hollow head. As if they were being sucked in and… being… used… for something else. Oh. Guess he wasn't just making the galaxy completely out of nothing.

Still, I think that there are more stars in the galaxy that he is making than what he is taking in.

Dammit stop letting your thoughts wander Mia!

That's when the hollow head of the giant finally turned to look at me, the hammer in his hand continuing to pound away at the creation. Even without it having any eyes I could feel them on me. Watching me, studying me. Looking for something in me that I couldn't grasp.

"Get a good look? I expect dinner before the date." The words are out of my mouth before my brain could decide that it was a stupid thing to do.

The red hammer comes to a stop centimeters- from my view, pretty sure the distance is WAY farther than that judging by his size- away from the spiraling newborn galaxy.

Crap, crap, crap, CRAP please don't squish me with your nova hammer!

I brace for impact shutting my eyes closed. When nothing happens I crack one eye open to see the giant being… shoulder's shaking. His head is ducked slightly, with the hammer momentarily forgotten hanging loosely in his giant hand.

Is he laughing at me?

No noise comes from him, but judging by the way that he throws his head back gripping it with his free hand the answer is yes.

I would be indignant if I wast relieved that I wasn't exploding from being hit by the force of an exploding star.

After having his laugh the giant strokes his chin, his hollow gaze somehow coming across as satisfied and amused. Don't know how he can do that without a face, but he could.

"I like you." I hear them without a sound having been made. Because he hadn't spoken a word. Yet, I could understand exactly what he had meant to say. Like speaking was unneeded for him when communication could be done like that.

That made indignation make a speedy return. "Well big guy, if you like me maybe you could tell me where the hell I am!"

He cock his head while his shoulders shake once in the form of a slight chuckle. "You are currently nowhere. Didn't notice the galaxy that I was working on?" He says as if it was obvious.

My eyebrow twitches. "Yes, because obviously I've seen a galaxy being made before. Oh wait!"

Another chuckle, before he returns to his previous posture of hammering away at his current project. "Well now you have." Slam. "To finish answering your question you are currently in a newborn world. Was bored so I decided to make another one." Slam "Guessing you died and your soul got sucked in here by accident. Happens sometimes when absolutely nothing is being turned into a brand new universe."

Those words are like a bucket of ice water being dunked on my head an going through my skin. Annoyance gave way to dreaded realization. I was dead. The crash wasn't just a hallucination. That was it I was done. My life, over.

I could feel the trail of tears from my eyes dripping down my face through the empty rainbow of space. I try to contain my voice, only to fail as a sob breaks through my throat. My legs fail me as I fall to my knees gripping my short cropped copper hair with my hands while I wailed and sobbed.

I would never see my dog Whiskey again. Maybe my roommate would take care of her, they loved each other after all. At least I would never have to deal with my family ever again. Assholes. I had just gotten a promotion too. Managed to get off of the lines at the factory and gotten a position at one of the offices. Gone just like I was. Fuck.

What was more depressing was that when you really looked at it I didn't have much in my life. But fuck it what I had was mine dammit regardless of how small it was. It mattered to me and that was what was important.

I don't know how long I stayed down crying my heart out, but through it all the hammering of the continued on. Steady and constant. Instead of annoying me somehow the hammering helped me calm my nerves and slow the beating to match the rhythm of the hammer.

The Celestial Giant remained silent through my breakdown. Not phased at all by the display of emotion. When I managed to get my head back up he finally spoke up.

"Get it all out of your system?" How does he manage to convey the gentleness without having a voice?

I nod, then sniff. "What now?"

He hums. "Now we decide what to do with you."

I would be scared if I didn't know I was already dead. "So where do I go? Is it the pearly gates for me, or am I going to get my ass dragged down to hell and chained up?"

"Heh, you got some spunk on you kid." I was twenty four dammit. Not my fault I looked young. "Normally I would just send you on your way to wherever your soul was supposed to go. Where exactly I don't say. I make it a point not to step on any toes of those of higher power. Things get messy a lot less often." A sort of wistfulness is conveyed through the words. "Like I said, I like you. So how about another chance at life?"

I blink at that. Did he just say that? And if I did, is he actually being serious? Could he even do that?

A sigh escapes the giant. "In order, yes I did just say that, yes I am being serious, yes I can do that. Do you not see the literal galaxy that I am making?" His not-voice practically drips with sarcasm.

Wait how did he know what I was sayi- "You've been thinking out loud."

Well this was embarrassing. Time to stop that.

"Just like that you would give me another chance?" I ask trying to keep the hope away from my voice.

His massive shoulders shrug again. "You made me laugh while I was like this. Been a while since I had that happen. Usually people just scream or crumple inside of themselves. Been a while since someone with an actual back bone managed to give me a retort."

He flicks some star dust that had splashed on him with another hammer strike. "Giving you another life is a simple party trick to me. Not much of an effort compared to what I am doing right now." He flicks his wrist causing cosmic wind to blow on the almost blinding galaxy in front of him, the stars cooling down and dimming after. "Question is would you like to go back to your normal life, or would you like something more?"

I narrow my eyes at him."What do you mean more?"

He scratches his chin. "Well like I said I did this because I got bored. Being's like me have pretty much done it all. With enough power and time you eventually realize that you have done everything and you don't have anything to do." Another blow on the galaxy. "I'm making this, but I wont be able to see the results until at least a few million years from now. Like a lot of my other projects."

His hollow head fully turns to look at me. "So people like me have to find some way to entertain ourselves."

"What do you mean by… "entertain?" I ask nervously.

"A friend of mine grabs a human up and lets them jump from to world every ten years, giving them powers at the beginning of every year. She watches what they do through every year finding amusement in it. I am thinking of doing something similar."

More sounds of the hammer on the stars. "My offer, is that I shall drop you into a world of my choosing with access to my power. One of the more... dangerous ones. The more interesting I find you the more power that you will gain." He hums "Though for most of them they will only be the beginning of some of my powers. You will need a LOT of time before you get anywhere near what I am capable of."

Silence reigns the space that would house a new galaxy, my poor brain trying desperately to comprehend what he just said. "So you're telling me that because you get bored easily. So your solution is to give little ol' me pieces of your power and dropping me on a random universe just so that you can watch what I do? All this while you wait for your countless of projects to finish which would probably take a lot longer than I would live."

"Yes."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" I yell at him, my exasperation no longer being held down by what little patience I had left. "I am a literal stranger! You shouldn't just be willing to give up pieces of your powers just because you got bored! If your so bored why don't you just- I don't know- turn into a normal human and live for a little while!"

He scratches his chin again. He does that a lot. "I've already done that twice. Like you said your a stranger. I don't completely know what you are going to do when you are going to be dropped off. I could take a peak ahead, but where is the fun in that?"

How the hell could someone this… nonchalant have the powers that he does? Seriously weren't you supposed to either go complete asshole, or wise old man when you became a god? He was making a new fucking universe and he exuded the energy of the pothead that I used to hang out with in high school.

Oh, god I had a fucking headache now.

"Why on earth would I even take that offer?"

He shrugs again! "Why not? Yeah I could return you to your home, but haven't you ever wanted to see the fantastical happen? Or better yet be able to do the fantastic? Either way after I've had my fun watching I would just put you back to where you came from healed up as if nothing happened. If that is what you want."

That was it? That was his response. Just "Hey you want to see some cool shit and do cool shit?" that was one of the laziest ways that he could have asked that question. Just as I am about to tell him to fuck off, (I'd already been kindof an ass and he wasnt blowing me up yet, so why not keep going.) the constant hammering that had faded into the background stopped.

He had let go of the hammer in his grip and it now hung motionlessly in the uh- air? Space? Whatever in the air and both of his hands were now holding his finished creation. A spiral galaxy.

The angry words caught in my throat at the sight. Each star glistened in the nothing light, shinning brilliantly at their first dawn. Though I couldn't see them I knew that there were newborn planets and other space objects orbiting their new stars. At the center, the galactic core's glow had died from a blinding nova, to a far warmer luminescence.

"Hmm, very well. We shall see how this one shapes up in a few million years or so." The galaxy hovers gently within the giants cupped hands as the being inspects his finished project. Without another word he gently throws the galaxy in his hands upward, the conjunction of solar systems flying away through the space that we were inhabiting. Within seconds the youthful glow of a new galaxy was gone from my view, no doubt traveling farther and faster than it had appeared to my eyes.

The celestial being grabs hold of the hammer once again, using the other to draw together more star dust and whatever the hell else he was using to make these galaxies. Once he had gathered enough, he began hammering away at combined massive elements moving on to another galaxy as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"So what's your answer?" He asks while continuing his work. "I literally have all day, but I don't really know how long your soul will be able to last without a body. So you better decide quick home, or world to power?"

Well decision time. Go back home that was familiar but boring, or go somewhere dangerous that will give me the ability to do what he just did? I should do the smart thing.

I should. But after seeing that how could I not be a bit more curious?

"One question. Will it be worth it?" I ask with a shaky voice.

"Speaking from experience I think so.". He continued to work on the next one giving me no more consideration for my question. That was all he was going to say apparently.

There was more to the answer he gave me than he wanted to say. 'Experience' he said. Did that mean that he used to be human?

The smart thing, Mia, do the smart thing. I repeat over and over again in my trying to smother the part of me that dreamed of the amazing and fantastic of my imagination. He did say that I would only be scratching the surface with what he would give me. That it would take experience and time before I reached anywhere near what he was capable of.

A fraction of creating a new galaxy was enough to make me decide.

He did say I could go home the moment after the accident happened once he got bored.

Well, I always was a betting girl. He didn't need to hear my answer to know it. A giant grey hand grabbed a sprinkle of stardust and began to mold it with one hand. With a flick of the wrist he sprinkled it on me, and I could feel as reality began to shift and change around me.

Oh, I forgot to ask. "What's your name?"

"Don't have one. Haven't in years. Oh, before I forget, I am giving you a few things to start it off. Don't worry it should all be pretty clear when you wake up."

Oh that's goo- wait, wake up?

--

"Hijo de se puta madre!" I scream at the uncaring cloudy grey New England sky. 'Dangerous' he said. That was an understatement! Stuck in Brockton Bay with nothing but my phone and the clothes on my back. No money or identification to even show that I exist in this godforsaken hellhole.

At least he dropped me off in a building that looked to be abandoned.

The place had definitely seen better days judging by some of the patchy painted walls, and the various windows that had boards nailed to them instead of glass. Unfortunately there was no furniture inside of this place. No, I wasn't including the incredibly ripped up mattress with stains a various colors that I did not want to know the origins of.

Deciding to go through my pockets again, because why the hell not, I stop as my hand finds something that hadn't been there a moment ago. Taking it out I find an ornate silver key shaped like a hammer in my hand.

Seeing the key I suddenly knew what it was for. Finding one of the still intact doors inside of the building I slot the key into the keyhole. It was a perfect fit. The twist was smooth, and with almost eager ease the door swings open.

Stepping through I find myself inside of a cube like area, the walls and floor the purest of white, absent of any color. So this was how I got started with some of that Giant's powers?

Talk about a rip-

In a blink I was back in the nebula of rainbows and stars, minus the giant with the supernova hammer. The constellations from before were back, only now that feeling of eagerness and excitement was multiplied a hundredfold, and I could feel as some of them connected. Eight of them from various different constellations formed a bond with me.

Two of them were so small that I almost didn't notice when they made a connection. The first was an art set. The paint was any color that I could want, it would never dry if left out, it would never run out, and if I ever lost it, the set would find its way back. This applied to the crayon, brushes, drawing pages and canvas.

Huh neat.

Second, was one called Habitat Constructor. A little device that could create building's from broken down materials. Not just the building's, the furniture for the building's and various other odds and ends were added. That wasn't the interesting part though. The interesting part was that it could break down objects into materials for any of the blueprints inside of the Construct. Only caveat was that whatever I build has to be connected to the ground. Well, with enough junk I wont be homeless at least.

The next one that connected was when the pain started. It was called Scientist Supreme. That sounded tacky. It then proceeded to download a bunch of science bullshit into my brain with excited intent. Formula's ahead of anything that I had ever learned, engineering beyond anything that I had ever attempted with my few attempts at maintenance work, and knowledge of the human body that my brain had never been able to memorize before when I tried to read a medical textbook.

And this was a small star that had connected. I think I was screaming the whole time the knowledge was being arranged inside of my mind. Like 90's tech trying to run programing from my time.

When the pain finally died down and I wasn't just thinking 'ow,ow,ow', I was able to process the rest of the connections. Largest of all was simply called 'Factorio Database'. A bulky computer containing schematics and blueprints for a helluva lot of tech, ranging from trains and railways all the way to weapons grade tech that we were nowhere close to creating. I didn't have the details for everything that it held that would have to wait until I could actually take a look at the terminal and study the info. Something that Scientist Supreme would probably help out with. Headache still wasn't worth it. Wait, wasn't Factorio a game that was under development? Holy shit were the powers that I was getting from games and shit?

Next connection came through. Surpassing the Creator. It was a smaller mote, bigger than Scientist Supreme but far smaller than Factorio Database was. Yet what it did was probably the best gift that I could have received from any of these abilities. I was now free, well and truly. My will and life was free to do with what I wanted. Not to be bound by anything ever again. I knew it in my heart.

Well, I didn't have to worry about being mastered by the winged bitch, or Heartbreaker at least. I hope.

The last connection chose that point to rear it's head. Or rather his head.

"Dear me, where am I?" A pleasantly accented voice questioned behind me would have surprised me if I didn't register the next star that welcomed me with open arms. I almost didn't believe it.

Slowly turning around I catch sight of the person that had literally appeared from nowhere eyeing the blank white room with open curiosity. He stood out like a priest in a satanist church. Only the opposite.

Handsome features, high cheekbones, a straight nose, blue eyes and trimmed beard wearing a stylish white and black tunic underneath a red cape like cloak and a matching hat sat comfortably on his head. His boots were brown leather, and big almost reaching all the way up to his knees. There were pouches attached to his belt, some of them with rolls of parchment peeking out of the top of the bags.

Our eyes met, and I could feel the connection between the two of us. And judging by the peaceful expression on his face he could too. He places his hand on his heart, taking a neat bow at the waist.

"Madame, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Leonardo da Vinci, at your service." He gave me a dazzling smile that would have made my heart flutter if I didn't know that he batted for the other team.

Of course I responded with something equally elegant. "Uh… hi? How you doing?" Holy crap this was Leonardo da Vinci. The guy who is still one of the greatest inventors that ever lived! Who designed a flying machine in the 1500's that proved to work so many centuries. Not even mentioning his accomplishments in art, engineering or anatomy.

"Madame?" Oh. I think my brain short circuited for a little bit. He was staring at me with confused and concerned eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." I quickly apologised.

A gentle smile. "I said, what is your name?"

Shaking off what hero worship I could, I gave him a grin and held my hand out. "Mia Itzel. It's an honor to meet you, Leonardo."

His eyebrows rise as he takes my hand with a firm shake. "You know who I am?"

"Of course I know who you are! Practically everyone has heard of you by now!" He is taken aback by this. "You are the man who before anyone else believed that humans could fly! It took a while but eventually we did."

Immediately his face turned to shock, and then wonder. "I was right?" A question asked with the trepidation and hope of a child worried that his dreams were a lie. Guess he didn't know anything about the current time.

Just as I was about to ask him about where he was from I felt the Forge move and connect to three new stars. One in the Magical:Toolkits constellation, one in the Facilities Mundane

Constellation, and the last in the Skills Enchanting.

First up were a pair of silver needles that could be used for intricate tattoo making and some high quality ink. Apparently they would be able to create amazing tattoos regardless of the skill of the wielder. The really interesting part was that with certain inks I would be able to create tattoos with magical qualities. Interesting, but useless without the proper tools.

The second was probably the cause of the room shaking and rumbling. Da Vinci and I both went to the floor surprised by the sudden quaking as the new Workshop was added to the blank white room. With shaky steps both of us approached the new doorway that appeared on one of the walls of the room.

The Workshop appeared to be a metal one. With some basic tools and furnace with working with metal working. I wasn't going to be making swords or other weapons anytime soon, but with resources and time I was sure I could. I had a feeling that creating stuff like that would be somewhere in the forge.

That was when the really interesting ability hit me with all of its force. Memories, experiences, and an affinity for magic that I didn't have a moment before.

I could remember my first journey into Egypt. The hot desert sun bearing down on my skin, butterflies in my stomach as I approached with the person that had found my potential. Training underneath strict masters to harness and use the magic that slept within me to bring it to light. My affinity for charm crafting and proficiency in storing pre-prepared spells into jewelry saw me rise quickly through the ranks of the Nomes, eventually becoming an expert in my craft.

Suddenly I was free of the memories and back in my own body. I gasp out.

How was that possible? How could I have those memories when I had never been to Egypt? When until this moment, magic didn't fucking exist!? Yet, those memories were real. I knew they were. I remember the feeling of the clay when I was fashioning my shabti. The pride upon becoming a full magician of the House of Life. Those memories were mine. That unsettled me more than anything else did.

Also wearing a leather jacket was making me uncomfortable with the way my magic was reacting to it.

I notice Leonardo watching me out of the corner of my eye, observing my reactions with an expression of understanding. "Another connection?"

I nod before a thought strikes me. "So you know about the forge?" He nods. "Then how come you didn't know my name?"

"I do not know." A hand to his chin. "I know about your abilities. I know I am to provide you assistance. That it was something that I had agreed to. Other than that, you my friend, probably know more about our situation than I do."

Great. In addition to making shit, it appeared my powers also gave me helpers. At least it was Leonardo da Vinci! ...I think it was going to take me a while to completely get used to it. Well no better way to get used to it than actually talking to the guy.

"Since I know more than you do, I guess I should start with what world we are in right?" His expression immediately brightens up and I can see the open and almost childish curiosity that gleamed in his eyes. Regardless, I had a feeling that the two of us would be getting along.

Maybe that was a start in actually surviving through this world of people constantly making really dumb decisions all the time. Speaking of, after this I should probably get a lay of the land.

—

Leonardo was taking the news pretty well. Then again, the guy did agree to a second chance on his deathbed. I think that he was just happy to have another chance at life. For now the two of us had left the workshop and closed the portal to the pocket dimension behind us and were currently searching through the abandoned building that we were in. It was a two story dilapidated house in a neighborhood that didn't look much better.

Then again I wasn't that unused to being in bad neighborhoods like this. Only I had to deal with regular gangsters instead of asshole's with superpowers and a constant need to look for a fight.

There were a few pieces of furniture that were still sturdy enough to be of use, a few chairs, a table, a ratty couch that luckily was free of any stains. I was still going to clean the shit out of the thing when I managed to find some soap.

Searching the restroom, lo and behold I actually managed to find some soap and other toiletries in one of the pantries. Guess whoever had lived here or used this place wasn't in the mood to bring these along with them.

A call from Leonardo on the second floor had me climbing the creaky stairs. He had found a door that was locked from the inside. "I tried to take a look at the lock, see if I could find a way to open it, unfortunately, I have never seen a lock this well made before."

He looks embarrassed at having to admit that. I pat him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. A lot of things have changed in the past five hundred years. Locks and keys happen to be one of them. I'm sure that with enough time you'd be able to find a way to crack it."

He gives me a smile. "So, how are we going to get in?"

"Simple." Taking off my leather jacket and shoes I feel the flow of magic begin to flow far more freely than before. I would say that I had never done this before but according to my memories, I had. Focusing my magic I speak the divine word. "W'peh"

The hieroglyphs appear in the air and I can feel my power flow outward into the world, causing the world to listen to the first divine words in all of it's life. With a click the lock to the door opens allowing it to swing freely when I turn the knob.

"What was that?" Da Vinci asks with his eyes full of wonder.

A smile. "Magic." A brief summary later on what exactly the Magic Specializations star gave me only had his eyes sparkling even more. I swore that I would give him a few more demonstrations later when I actually had the supplies to work my hand at my craft. My craft. Guess those memories really are mine.

Putting my shoes and jacket back on we venture into the nicest room inside of the building. Not that it was much of an accomplishment. A few faded photos were hung on the wall, of a family of five. Three children, two of them girls one a boy, a woman with pretty features and warm hazel eyes. The last of the family was an older man probably the girls father by the absence of a ring on the womans finger. While he had a content smile on his face, I could see the way that he stood, at attention with alert eyes.

Id seen that look before. Some of the guys that I had worked with at the plant had been veterans. Almost every single one of them had those two features. Straight back, and eye's that are ready for anything. The man in the photo had seen action before. In what war I don't know. I couldn't really place his age and by how faded the photo looked, it had to have been a few years since this was taken. I wonder if any of them are still around. Judging by the fact that this house was like this I doubt it. The thought made me sad.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts I continue to the rest of the room. The bed while old and with dust on it, looked to be far more comforting than the mattress that we had found downstairs. The real jackpot were the clothes that were still inside of the closet and the dresser.

"Oh thank god." I grab one of the shirts of off the rack measuring it to my own chest. Hmm too big. Curse my tininess. "Hey Leonardo." I call him away from the window that he had been taking the view from. "Take this."

He misses the shirt with his hand instead catching it on his face, the sleeves hanging loosely from either side of his head.

"What's this?" He questions as he takes the shirt off of the purchase of his head.

"That is for you. Can't have you walking around in those clothes outside." His response is an offended look with his left hand gripping the front of his tunic inspecting it to see what I could possibly be talking about.

I sigh. "Look this isn't the 1500's anymore. If you walk around looking like you stepped out of a painting, we are going to draw attention. For now we need to keep our heads down as much as possible.

Leonardo digests my words and with a bit of a reluctant nod takes the shirt that I passed him. Some more rummaging inside of the closet had us finding a pair of jeans that were a little to big and some shoes that were just the right size.

Had to put an extra hole in a ratty belt that was left hanging in the closet. I left the room letting him change on his own while I searched a few more of the rooms on this floor. No food or cash to my dismay just a few more ruined rooms with pieces of furniture that were barely left standing. Well for now we would have to make do with what we had.

That's when I felt the forge connect again. This time the star that connected filled me with a bit of giddiness. Innate Talent Magic Item creator. I now had an even better knack at creating magic Items. What this meant for creating shabti, or some of my other charms was something that I really was looking forward to. Though this pushed my crafting farther than my time at the House of Life had, I was still missing something that was essential to this ability.

Creating magical items would be rather incomplete without knowing any magic. While what I had qualified, I had a feeling it wasn't what was originally needed for this power. Maybe the key would come to me from another connection to the forge.

Can't really worry about that right now. Have to gather what resources we had and gather info on this city. While I knew about the major capes from the gangs, the actual territories and who held them were what we needed to know. I just hope that we didn't have to deal with any Nazi's soon.

The footsteps behind me ring me out of my musings. Leonardo stood in front of the doorway to the bedroom messing with the collar of the shirt slightly, trying to make it just a little bit more comfortable.

I shake my head as I step forward undoing the neck button. "You don't have to button it all the way to the top if it makes you feel like something is strangling you."

"Apologies, I wasn't sure how you wear these garments" I shake off his apology with a smile. Not surprising when you compare to what he was used to wearing.

Brushing off some dust off the shirt and making sure that he put everything else on properly I let out a quick huff. "Well your dressed. Now we can actually go out and explore this place."

Immediately the slight discomfort Leonardo had been showing left being replaced with open enthusiasm. Being in the future was one thing, being on a continent that had barely been 'discovered' in his life time was an entirely different subject.

"What are we waiting for then?" He proclaimed loudly while he raced down the stairs to the front door.

"Leonardo, wait!" I call after him, dashing after his rapidly retreating form.

I had a feeling that this was going to be a regular occurrence.

--

Well guess I was right, this place is a dump. I think to myself as the two of us travel through the dilapidated buildings, trash filled street, and graffiti covered walls. Appears the Giant decided to leave my ass in one of the worse part of the city. I think. Brockton Bay was a crap hole in Worm so maybe this is just the normal of this place. Not including the nicer parts of the city the heroes bothered to patrol.

I had a feeling I would find out in time.

On the bright side, having Leonardo with me was helping my mood. The man's couldn't help but sparkle at the advancements and changes that history brought. Instead of focusing on the more depressing bits of the city, he chose to gaze with wonder at car's that passed us by, the electrical wiring, taller buildings, and the working streetlight that we could find.

Sun was still up in the air not setting yet, but I could tell that nighttime was probably going to come soon. That meant we were probably only going to walk near the area before heading back to the building that I had woken up in. Not the safest place, but it was all that Leo and I had.

As we kept venturing, ...south I think, the buildings became better maintained, less graffiti was on the walls, and you could see a street corner or two without a glimpse of trash, or a guy who was definitely not a drug dealer.

Hmm that might mean the building that we were in was Merchant territory. Probably one of the safer gang related areas to be in. At least for me. My brown skin would probably have me hunted down in the Empires territory, or thrown into a brothel in ABB territory given what I had on my chest and didn't below my waist.

This was a right mess now wasn't it. Leaving the city was an option, one that I really wanted to use, but if I did then I would give up any advantage that I had. One of the best lesson my experience as a magician as a magician taught me was that knowledge was power. And while I knew a great deal about Worm and Brockton Bay, I did not know everything that was out there in the world.

Plus there was a chance that the Giant would get bored if I just decided to hole up in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention all the S class threats that 'happen' to find me by myself. No, id rather hide here in this hellhole where I actually knew shit instead of the other hellholes in this world.

That meant preparing for whatever bullshit was going to be coming my way.Had to find a newspaper soon

Several gunshot's snap me out of my musings and I immediately through myself behind a beat up parked car. I turn towards where Da Vinci had been, only to find him behind another parked car that had been near him. Huh, guess he had good instincts.

He looked about as panicked as I was. "Merde, how do they have a cannon?"

Cannon? Right, they didn't have any pistols back then. "That wasn't cannon. I'll explain later." I've been saying that a lot lately.

Motioning for him to stay down, I peek above my cover. Running along the street towards us were a bunch of guys who looked like they desperately needed a sandwich and a shower. One of them a shorter white guy, with greasy dirty blonde hair, the other was a taller skinny black man that was in lead.

Following close behind them were two guys wearing nicer clothing and happened to have shaved heads and swastikas tattooed in various places that were visible.

Goddamn Nazi's.

I was going to just hide and let whatever was going to happen, happen. But now there were Nazi's involved. Who were trying to kill a bunch of homeless looking guys who might be Merchants. I couldn't tell if they were Merchants though. I could tell that those were Nazi's chasing them though.

This was going to be tiring. Opening a simple door without a magic medium was one thing, but using actual combat magic was another. Tool less magic was not my strong suit. But as long as it meant I could knock a few Nazi's out then it just might be worth it.

Rapidly I throw off my jacket and shoes feeling my magic flow more freely. Grabbing a bottle that had been near me I toss it quickly over to Leo.

"Quick," I hiss out, "throw this near one of the bald guy's!"

While bewildered he nod's and takes aim over the car before throwing the glass in his hands. He actually manages to hit the guy at the back in the head with the bottle, given by the look on Leo's face that wasnt what he meant, causing his fellow pendejo to turn towards the sound.

That's when I decide to jump in. I could go on how I beat that guy down barehanded, using magic to empower my body so that all 5 foot 3 inches me could go toe to toe with guys that looked almost 6 feet tall. That's not what happened. I never got the hang of empowering my body like that.

All I did was bash the dumb ass with a rock that I had grabbed off of the street floor and the guy crumpled like a jenga tower. Rather anti climactic I know. I'm disappointed too.

His buddy though was still conscious. A little busy trying to get the bits of glass that were stuck on his face off. Hi s eyes were closed shut having gotten some blood on them from the wound on his forehead. Quickly scanning the area seeing that no one was around I muttered under my breath. "Tas" The two gang members were bound in thing strips of magic unable to move their arms or legs.

Bottlehead only started to struggle even more when he felt his limbs lock up under the strips of magic. Going over to him I lean into his ear and whisper "Sleep," feeling even more magic leave me on account of using English instead of Egyptian.

In a blink the guy is out cold just like his friend. They'll wake up in a few minutes and the binds should disappear by the end of the hour.

The guys that they had been chasing obviously didn't care about the extra noise cause they were already a ways down the street and hadn't shown any signs of stopping any time soon.

Well, at least none of them got hurt. Wonder why the Nazi's were after them anyway.

Right need to get out of here ASAP. No one had seen anything, and I wanted to keep it that way. The glint of the handgun by the guy I bonked with a rock caught my eye.

First let's loot the Nazi's of course. I can hear the crunch of Leo's shoe's behind me as I pocket the handgun, and begin to rifle through the guy's pocket's. "Leo, grab anything inside the other guy's pockets while I get this guy."

"Do you really believe this is a good idea?" The Renaissance Man asks while he crouches down doing what I told him.

"Not really, but we need cash and info and this might be the best way to get it." Quickly pocketing the contents of the man's pocket's I rush to put my discarded clothing back on.

By the time that I finish putting on my clothes back on Leo had finished looting the knocked out guy and was walking toward my side. "Alright come on let's book it."

We take off in a rapid sprint down an alleyway running through different twists and turns too throw off anyone that might follow us. Along the way I take the things that we looted of off the E88 members and throw them quickly into the Duat, careful not to slow down our pace.

After some time of running we slowed into a light jog finding our way back to the building that was serving as our home.

It was night time by the time that we arrived back, and I could feel exhaustion wracking my body, both from the run and the uses of magic without any mediums to focus it.

Leo noticed the exhaustion on my face because the moment that we arrived home he pointed me up to the stairs. "You are tired. Signora you need to rest, it is already dark anyways so it would be best if you sleep." I wanted to protest against this, but the heaviness on my eyes and the slight tremble through my body forces me to agree and slowly stumble up the stairs.

Of course we lock the front door and the one towards the only bedroom that counts as one. Before going to sleep though I put the key into the closet door changing it into the portal for the Workshop.

"I got a feeling that you aren't tired like I am. One of the thing's that popped in there was a database for technology that is waaaay ahead of anything that you might know about. Figured you would want to check it out." That curiosity sparks back into his eyes and without another word he races into the workshop to look for it.

I didn't even tell him about what it looked like. He might not even know what a database means. Eh he was smart he could figure it out on his own.

Sleeep tiiiime~! Just as my head is cushioned by the old pillow I can feel another star connect. I pass out before I can even process what power I got.

Everything was dark, and I waded through what felt like quicksand. As I struggled forward I didn't know where I was or how I had I gotten here. But I knew that this was where I was supposed to be, or at least I was safe.

Eventually with the same steadiness of a sunrise light illuminated my surroundings. Or rather it was the light of sunrise. I was looking upon the earth as the light returned to it. It was… beautiful.

From darkness, the blue of the ocean returned and along with the white of the clouds. Just as I was truly beginning to enjoy the view, my line of sight shifted upward.

Upward towards the star-filled void of space. Only it wasn't just the void that greeted me. A shadow, small, almost unnoticeable stood out from the usual emptiness. Slowly my sight magnified gradually to the shadow that I knew did not belong.

It was humanoid, though far larger than a normal human should be with what looked like wings surrounding Wait, wings?

Feeling's of dread and panic filled my soul as the woman-shaped figure became clearer and clearer.

Until I finally got a good look at what was looking at. I would call her angelic if I didn't know what the damn thing really was. Numerous wings, far larger than she was, surrounded her most of them spread out around her with three of them wrapped around her body. It looked like it was protecting its modesty, but I knew that the damned thing had no real concept of it.

Why was I seeing this? My view changed once again shifting from upward back down below onto the Earth. More specifically down to the continent that was directly below.

Australia greeted me down below.

Holy shit. Looking back up the Simurgh floated almost gracefully its empty gaze facing forward, but I knew what it was scanning.

It was February. I knew that now. The attack on Australia would happen sometime soon. And I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

If I tried anything then the winged bitch would see it happen. It couldn't see me because I wasn't really here. I was here as a ba, the part of my soul that contained my personality, human head on a bird and all. The moment I took action because of this though, she would know because of the events of the future that she would see. Note to self, make a headrest so that I don't do this every night when I sleep.

Then I would get a visit from her. While Surpassing the Creator's might protect me from going mad, it wasn't a certainty. I was nowhere near ready to take on any of the gangs in the city, let alone the Endbringers.

That meant I had to do nothing and let an entire city be attacked and later quarantined. Goddammit.

With that thought, my vision blurred and in a blink, I returned to darkness.

--

I woke up with a raging headache and a sinking feeling in my gut. And it wasn't just from not eating since before getting run over. I could see the glimpse of sunlight peek through the dusty curtains of the window.

For a little while, I just lay in the borrowed bed inside of the crappy abandoned building that was currently my home. Maybe it was a bad idea to sleep on this thing without having to clean out the sheets? Eh, whatever.

I hated that I knew what the future had in store, but I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. Knowing that the Forge could make me go toe to toe with any of those monster's and the golden bastard only made it worse.

That kind of power was still so far away from me. Meaning that a lot of people were going to die by the end of the month. Even more of them would be driven completely mad or turned into ticking time bombs that would enact whatever planned the winged bitch planted into their heads.

God, shit was so fucked.

While the powers that I was connected to were useful, they weren't even training wheels for the rest of the arsenal that remained locked away. My most useful tool was the Magic Specialization star, though that would be useless without making any actual charms. And I doubted that I would be able to make anything that could make me go head to head with some of the terrors that were out there.

Well, I gotta start somewhere. Right, no more feeling mopey! I was going to make some of the best goddamn charms I could.

My stomach decided that now was the time to share its hunger with me.

Right after I got something to eat and a cup of delicious, delicious coffee. Right after a good stretching, I hopped out of bed, not bothering to fix the crumpled sheets behind me, heading towards the open doorway of my workshop.

Had to grab Da Vinci, dude was probably st..ar...ving. The fuck?

The pristine white walls were no longer blank anymore. Instead being completely covered wall to wall with pieces of paper, and canvas that had drawings, design's and words scrawled in neat and tidy penmanship.

Some of the designs were of tech that I had never seen before, and concepts that I wouldn't have understood before Scientist Supreme connected to my brain.

High industrial machinery, automated factories, automated train's, weaponry, and forms of power that would be used to generate the energy needed for each and every one. All of this was written and drawn to excruciating detail, with many of them having small notes scrawled around certain subjects or drawings.

Did Leonardo do all this? There were even some pieces of paper on the floor, though some of them had big X's drawn on them.

I was still careful not to step on any of them as I made my way through the entrance way to the door to the metal workshop. Stepping inside I find Leonardo sitting on the chair that came with the room pouring over a giant clunky terminal that looked like it belonged in the fallout universe. He had a piece of paper over a canvas writing and drawing while stopping to glance back at the screen of the terminal every now and then. His hands steady and sure as they neatly copied whatever it was that he saw.

That's when I felt the Forge connect again. A smaller mote in the Magic constellation. Only it should have definitely been a bigger mote. I had years of experience in utilizing magic. Even though I didn't truly understand how I did when the House of Life didn't exist in my world. I knew what magic felt like, knew how to keep an eye on my inner reservoir to make sure that I didn't burn myself into ashes through overextending and using more than I had.

The way that if felt was like… something that constantly flowed throughout my body. Like blood flows though my veins.

This new power was different from that. The new magic flowed through my body, just like the one that I was used to, only this one felt stronger. Like the difference between a trickle of water and a stream.

So many idea on how I could use this form of magic and that from the House of Life training together swam through my head. Could I use both in conjunction with each other? Could they be used for either thing freely? Or was there some force that prevented that from happening? I hadn't even used magic much yet since gaining the memories yesterday and I was already giddy with trying out new ways to use it and advance my craft.

I hadn't even gotten into what the ability was.

Magic Style: Arc of Embodiment. I don't know where this particular power came from, but if I had to guess, probably a shounen. It was quite literally giving my thoughts form into the material world. The mere thought of it made me giddy at what I could make with it. Ok let's test it out.

Now what to- I got it!

Holding my hand out I remember the staff that had been given to me when I ascended beyond a mere scribe in the House of Life. It had been a little above three feet long, with dark wood making up most of it with the top being fashioned into the shape of an ibis out of ivory. In my memories it had been a familiar weight in my hands. I focus on it. How smooth the wood felt against the palm of my hands, how sometimes when none of the teachers, who I couldn't even remember, weren't looking I would twirl the staff around in my hands. The feeling of pride when I first received it and used it to channel my magic into my first personal charm.

Wisps of red and white form around my hand, coalescing together until it solidified into the object I had been imagining in my mind. Just like that, I was holding the staff from my memories in my hand.

Dios mio. Just by thinking it I could create it out of magic and willpower. I had the feeling that I was just scratching the surface of what I could make with this new form of magic, and how fast I could create.

There were some caveats though. I couldn't create life. Yeah I could make a body, but it wouldn't be alive. Though I could control it like a puppet I think. That was something that was absolutely not going to happen thank you very much. I had no real desire to be a necromancer knock off.

I also couldn't create anything that would interfere with the phenomena of the world. Things like storms, natural disasters, etc. What specifically fell into that category I would have to test out.

Still, I might have just solved our supply problem. And, huh, I could feel something else that hadn't been there before. Reaching out through my connection to the forge, I could feel another star that I didn't recognize. Right, I remember now. I got it when I passed out last night.

Designing for Armageddon. This one was almost just as bullshit as Embodiment was. I knew how to make things last now. How to ensure that they wouldn't be withered by time. It wasn't just a skill though.

No, it was more of a fact. Anything I make would be able to survive through aeons of time. I could literally make a wooden spoon and the thing wouldn't degrade. It could still be broken apart if it was smashed into the floor, the ability only made it slightly more durable. Time though, was something that my creations would be safe from. I had a feeling that this would synergize really well with my charm crafting and with Embodiment.

The rustling of paper and shuffling footsteps break me out of my musings. Leo was taking the page that he he'd been writing on, placing it over on the neat pile of paper on the far side of the wall. He returns back to his seat, head bowed already writing on a new sheet without even noticing me by the doorway. Without a care in the world the Italian man takes his seat and resumes taking whatever notes he was from the Terminal.

It was actually kind of cute, how absorbed he was into whatever he was doing he was in. Though this did mean that there was no way in hell I was leaving him to guard duty. I'd been standing here for a good few minutes and he still hasn't noticed me yet.

I clear my throat. Nothing. Again. Once more no reaction. "Hey!" Predictably he remains oblivious.

Fine. Time to use my new magic for something important. This one took me a little longer to actually materialize and there were a few moments when it felt like the construct was going to break down before it was completed. Focusing more on some of the characteristics of the item, like what it was made of, what purpose it served, made it more real to myself and the world.

Something to keep track of for future Embodiment's.

Once the tool was fully formed and I knew that it wasn't going to disappear from the world I took slow careful footsteps until I was standing a few paces behind Leonardo. Don't know why I bothered wasn't like he was likely to notice.

I waited until he finished the page that he was writing on to put my new tool to use. Pulling the string at one end, and careful to point the other away from either of us and the notes that were scattered around, a loud pop echoed through the small room while tiny bits of confetti fluttered through the air.

Leonardo jumped in the air, screamed with a rather high pitched voice and immediately dove for cover hugging the sheet of paper to his chest as he fell to the floor. I tried I really did to keep my composure.

Oh who am I kidding? I was cackling the moment that I saw him jump in the air. For the next minute or so I struggle to form coherent sentence's, all while Leo angrily fumes and yells at me in Italian. Though I can understand a few bits and pieces knowing Spanish.

Was that childish of me? Probably. Would I do it again? Oh yeah.

Eventually I'm able to actually fill air inside of my lungs without having them come right back out in a fit of giggles. Enough that I was able to shakily say. "I-I-I kept ca-a-lling you,and you didn't move an inch!"

While he still fumed at me, I could see that the tips of his ears were slightly red from embarrassment. His tongue presses against the inside of his bottom lip making it stand out.

With steadying breaths I compose myself enough to actually be able to hold a conversation.

"You know it's morning right?"

Owlish blinking eyes with a slight frown of contemplation. A few seconds of silence before he quickly clears his throat. "Well, it is bit hard to tell the time without a window to watch the sky."

Guess he's done this before. At least the way that he immediately defends himself, instead of trying to see if I was joking. I had a feeling that I was going to have to keep on eye on him so that he doesn't do this more often.

Deciding to give him just a little bit of mercy, I gesture to the pages that were neatly stacked and hung up on the walls with something that came from the art kit. "Guessing that you figured out how the terminal works."

His eyes seem to glow. "Yes I did! Such a marvelous machine. Information all at the tips of your fingers without the need for parchment or a quill to document. That is before I even consider the absolute treasure trove that this wonderful contraption keeps inside."

Like lightning he grabs my hand pulling me towards one of the walls with strength that he definitely didn't look like he had. Grabbing my shoulder in a one armed hug and using the other to point at the notes while he begins to rapidly babbles.

"I don't completely understand everything that is in this expansive document. It is all so far ahead of anything that I have ever dreamed of! Machines that have no need for a human to work, sources of- fuel I believe it was called- that that are used to rune the machines, weaponry that I had only an inkling of a dream of. Methods of smithing that would have been able to provide an entire army with weaponry and armor with only a single person manning everything. AND THE MECHANICAL SPIDERS!"

On and on Leonardo went completely and utterly lost in the discovery of technology that might as well be magic for him. Methods and ideas that he had only started to scratch within his dreams throughout his entire lifetime.

He didn't care that he didn't come up with any of the concepts. The Renaissance man was just happy to be able to immerse himself completely with the knowledge that it was possible. It was infectious.

I had known the man for less than a day and already I enjoyed his company more than anyone I had ever met in my life. I wonder what that said about me.

"Why did you write all of this down?" He stops in the middle of his energetic spiel before replying with a slight shrug and a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

"I tend to remember subjects more clearly after committing them to page. It is more to make sure that, what I learn stays within my memories.

He had just started to get into a page that had diagrams of trains and notes written neatly all around it when his stomach rumbled.

He stops mid sentence glancing down at his stomach. Before he could even utter a sentence my stomach decides that now is the time to let us know that it was hungry too.

A bit of an awkward silence before I let out a little chuckle. "Wanna get something to eat?"

--

A quick check on one of the phones that we stole, and some time and cash later found Leonardo and I at a little breakfast house on the boardwalk. The difference between this place and the area that we were currently holed up in was like night and day.

No trash, graffiti signs, gangsters hanging out around the street, or building's that looked like they were from a post apocalypse. It wasn't anything too fancy though. Just a nicer neighborhood that actually looked safe inside of this hellhole.

We decided to sit somewhere at the back of the place where we had a nice view of everyone else inside of the room. Leo had chosen it. Guess he knew we would be talking about things and knew that it would be best not to let anyone overhear.

We had ordered two nice breakfast meals for each one of us and were waiting for the meal when Leo decided to voice a question.

"You look uncomfortable." He comments quietly while watching around us in case anyone approaches.

Guess I was a little obvious. "Yeah I kinda am." A raised eyebrow.

I sigh. "It's just… this part of the city is nice, but the rest of the city, or at least what we have seen, obviously isn't the same. This place the nice building's people walking around without a worry, it feels wrong while the rest of the city is such a shithole."

"Ah." Leonardo says understandingly. He takes a sip of his orange juice, giving an appreciative smile before returning to a bit of a somber mood. "I have been in many places that were the same as the area that we were in. Poverty it appears, is a curse that refuses to leave civilization no matter how many years pass."

It clicked in my head then. That was why Leo wasn't so surprised at how much of a shithole everything was. In his time, city's for the most part were like this place was, to some extent.

Only back then it was the rich aristocrats that couldn't care less about how the rest of the city was as long as they're lives weren't affected by them.

Brockton Bay on the other hand was dealing with superpwered gangs, the PRT, and whatever weird shit Cauldron had done with this place to keep it in a constant state of controlled territory.

This was before you added in the Endbringers, or the Nine visiting the place. Shit I really have to save the world don't I? If I don't then it wont just be going down, it's going to be the rest of this damned place as well. And who knows how many other worlds in the process.

My mind stays in that headspace through the meal and the walk back to the home that we were living in. Remembering what I did about what would happen in the future, who was involved, where the hell everyone was at,and most important of all what the hell I could do about it.

Just as we were getting to the house I felt a new connection. It was a small one from the Efficiency constellation. It was called The Right Tools and even though it wasn't a very powerful star, it was probably one of the best that I had gotten.

Smiling I rush to the room opening the door to the workshop Leonardo walking quietly behind me. Stepping into the metal workshop I type through the terminal landing on a random file. I land on the steel furnace blueprint describing in detail how I would need to build it.

Right Tools, would help to speed not just this along, but also almost any piece of tech that I could create. Already looking at the blueprint I was getting ideas on how to jury rig a few pieces of equipment to speed along the process of building it. Tools that I would be able to use in future projects other than this.

I could just use Arc of Embodiment to imagine up any piece of equipment, but already I could see the limitations of my magic. Yes I could create pieces of equipment by just thinking them up, but would they last long? Would they wear down quicker the longer that they were used? Would they break down after a certain amount of time?

I didn't know the answer to these questions, so I think that it would be best to test them out. In the meantime I would build things normally, look for supplies out in the world to use for actually building some of the stuff in the Factorio database.

Some of the schematics in there were definitely way to far ahead of what I could reasonably do without some of the other machines. Not to mention that other's required entire factories worth of production just to create one of them.

It wasn't like I could just start a factory in the middle of Brockton Bay without having the rest of the city coming after my ass.

Some of these though I could just conjure up. Looking at the schematics for a simple pistol I focus on the size of it, what it is made of what it will be. Wisps of red and white form around my hand solidifying within seconds into a 9mm pistol.

Da Vinci gasps behind me having not known about one of my newer tricks. I explain what my new magic can do as I focus on the next diagram. A sub machine gun.

It takes longer to make this one give form, probably because of it's size and the fact that unlike with the pistol I had never held one fo these before. The pistol took less than five seconds to solidify. The sub machine gun took half a minute.

Well now I had two new guns that I could use. No ammo though, that would be something that I would have to make later.

For now I was going to leave these here in the workshop and wait to see what would happen to them with time. I still had the pistols that we took from those Nazi's in the Duat so if I needed some protection I could just summon them out.

Leonardo was busy studying the two guns, being careful not to point the barrels in any of our direction during his inspection. He begins to slowly disassemble the two guns while glancing over to the diagrams that were on the wall for instructions.

"Astounding. These are completely identical to the design's on the terminal." He says while laying out the pieces of the weapons on the table. "Well, after some time and experimentation with this new ability of yours we just might have solved our supply problems."

Da Vinci was right. Speaking of supply's.

"I think that I should go out tonight."

"Go out?" The man from the past asked.

"Yeah. We need money. We can't just live out here in this building for long. Eventually someone is going to notice us going in and out of an abandoned house." Not to mention I wanted a place with fucking electricity and water. I missed having a shower and a coffee machine. Mainly the coffee.

"I assume, given your tone that this is going to be dangerous." His tone had changed to a wary one.

I nod. "There really aren't many legal ways for us to get money. This place is already a crime riddled hellhole partially because of the lack of good paying honest jobs. Add in the fact that neither one of us exists in this world."

His face shifts into a grimace and a reluctant nod. "Exactly what kind of… untoward activity will you be doing."

"Well, its both a good and bad idea." At his raised his eyebrow I kept going. "I'm going to be stealing from the gangs."

Immediately his eyes changed to a disapproving gaze with the corners of his lips turning downward. "THAT, is the best that you can come up with?"

I cringe a little bit at his incredulous tone. "Look I know that it seems like a bad idea-"

"Signora, it's quite a bit more than 'seems'."

"BUT," I continue on "It really is one of the better choices that we have. We can't just make new identities without any money, and the ones that are willing to trad in favor's are going to be asking for way to high a price in return. Trust me." I wasn't going to get chained to the PRT or the fucking pedo snake. Note to self make sure to give that prick as much hell as possible.

"I do not believe that this decision is wise."

I sigh. "I don't either Leonardo. But we don't have many options. " The moment I uttered those words I felt the Resources constellation connect to a smaller star cutting my pool of connection in half. And it couldn't have come at a better moment..

"I take that the forge provided a beneficial boon?" Leo asks when he sees the wide smile that spread on my face.

"Oh," I singsong out. "Let's just say that I am feeling lucky~."

"Well, signora Mia regardless of whether you feel fortunate or not, do you really believe that you would be able survive battle with any of the groups in the city? From what snippets you have told me many of them are formidable."

I let out a little huff. "Yeah but those are mostly the capes in the group. And what are the chances of that happening?" The moment I let those words out of my mouth I realized just how stupid it was to even think that. And by the narrowed stare that Leonardo was giving me he did too.

"OK, I know how that sounded-"

"Signora Mia do you even know how to properly fight?" His question cut me off before i could get another word in. Before I could even give back a witty retort he continued on. "We don't even know the city well enough and you want to go out gallivanting and doing battle with people who know the city. At night no less!"

The Renaissance Man grips his hands together in a pleading gesture. "Mia, what you have is extraordinary, but both of us are strangers in a strange land. Your opponents will have the advantage of home territory and numbers. Both things that we are lacking."

Each good point that he brings out does more and more to bruise my ego and make me realize just how stupid the thought was. I had always been the type to leap before thinking that it had been a good idea.

It's just… I had magic. Honest to goodness MAGIC that let me create shit from my mind. I could weave spells into items with what I got from the Magic Specialization star. I felt like I was on top of the fucking world.

And I was letting it go to my head. Shit, was I really thinking that going after gangsters without learning more about this place was a good idea? What the fuck?

I bite my lip. "You're right. We need to learn more, but," a long weary sigh escapes my lips, "We are going to need to find a way to get money."

"Can't you just create it using your ability?"

I shake my head. "They would find out eventually, plus I'm pretty sure that I would not be the first super powered person that tried to pass off fake money." After all, if the PRT had thinkers watching the stock market, I was pretty sure that they had something in place for tinker made fake cash.

"Well, if I remember correctly we still have some from those barbarians that we mugged yesterday. We should be fine for the time being, for now I believe that we should bolster up and gather information."

"You're right." I agree readily with the young looking man.

"So where would be the best hub of information in this day and age signora?" Leonardo asked chipperly probably glad that i had listened.

A place popped into my head that I knew the Renaissance man would enjoy.

A Cheshire like grin broke on my face. "I know just the place." He follows me out the door as I take out one of the phones from the Duat opening up the map app once again.

--

Just like I thought, Da Vinci lost it when we stepped inside of the Brockton Bay Library. Books were expensive as hell back when he was alive, and having an entire building of this sized filled to the brim with them caused the stars in his eyes to shine. When I told him that libraries like this were kinda common in the more stable countries he practically radiated joy.

I wasn't going to mention the internet yet, one mind shattering revelation at a time.

At the moment I had managed to get to a computer with internet while Leonardo was busy gathering books on all manner of subjects. Last I saw him the man had a stack that rose to his head. I wasn't worried about leaving him alone. I knew there was no way he would leave this place and the books unless I pried him away from them, plus given our earlier talk he was definitely the more level headed person.

The past few hours I had decided to take my new friends advice and gather information about this place.

It was February 23rd at the moment. Which meant that the winged bitch would be making he attack on Australia tomorrow. The Truce would go into effect the moment that happened, so there went attacking the gangs any time soon. If there was one thing that the parahumans actually agreed to, it was the promise to not cause any trouble when one of those monsters decided to attack.

Leo and I didn't need that kind of heat coming after us.

Other than that I was trying to learn as much information about the players inside of the city, also refreshing my memory about the abilities of the capes in each of the gangs.

Empire is entrenched in some of the nicer parts of the city. No surprise there given that the head of the gang is the CEO of a big company. ABB holds docks, and the Merchants only hold places for as long as they need it. They don't have the firepower to actually be able to hold their own against any of the other gangs, so there is that. \

The house that we were currently holding up in was in an area around the center of the city. Given the fact that I hadn't really seen much ABB gang activity, that probably meant it wasn't that important territory wise.

I would still have to actually explore the city before I knew where the hell everything was, but with time I would get there.

Actually planning what to do in the long run would have to wait until Da Vinci and I spoke. I didn't want to do anything without talking with him first. Anything I did put him in danger too.

It wasn't just that we were in the long haul together, I could tell from the star that connected Da Vinci and I, if anything happened to me he would be affected too.

This wasn't just my life anymore. I couldn't throw it away. Another reason to think before I leapt. Maybe it would be enough for me to think before I did something stupid.

Travelers were still in Boston having been seen fighting with some of the PRT there, probably on orders from Accord. Meaning Noelle was hiding somewhere in the city. Another eventual problem that I knew I would have to deal with. I might be the only one that could deal with whatever broken piece of her shard caused her to become what she is.

I had a feeling that it was going to be a royal pain in the ass. Not to mention interfering with a shard, albeit a dead one, would cause the winged bitch to come down and try to brainwash me into one of her bombs. Though it might not work, it was the one Endbringer that I wanted to stay the hell away from as long as possible.

Stretching my limbs as I get up from the chair, finished with what research I had done. There was only so much surfing the web could do. If I wanted to actually gather more information I would need to develop magic, or tech to actually be able to from my own intelligence network.

Waving a hand in front of me to chase away a fly that had decided to get too close. Instead of just buzzing around like most of the assholes do the thing actually went away. Neat.

Looking at my watch made me realize that the sun would be going down sometime soon. Guess that was why there were fewer people inside of the library. Time to go.

Walking through the little computer section of the library I pass by a tall girl that had a thick mane of curly brown hair that made me a little jealous. I could never get my hair to that length without it annoying me into cutting it. She was plain faced, nothing really standing out except for her wide mouth. I think that she's a teen since she exudes awkwardness and the way that she was kinda tall and gangly.

Oh I remember being a teen, never fucking again. I was still pissed that I held out hope that I would grow taller all through high school.

Didn't take me very long to find Da Vinci. Just headed toward the table that had the largest pile of books. The entire table was swarmed with stacks of books immaculately stalked to make sure that none of them would tumble down when a new one was added to the stack.

It was a literal mini fortress of the written word, with the only opening where the head of Leonardo Da Vinci was firmly planted on an open text peacefully snoring away.

Oh yeah, he didn't sleep last night because he got too excited about the Factorio Database. Well, I think to myself as I grab hold of a fairly thick book from the top of one of the piles, time for a wake up call.

--

He was still mad at me and giving me the silent treatment as we got closer to the house. I don't even think that it was because of the slam on the table, I think he's just sulking because we couldn't take any books home with us.

The sun was already down when we got to the open doorway to the house that I knew I closed when we left.

Without a word, Leo and I cautiously stepped inside wary of anyone that had entered into the house while we were gone. He took a place behind me eyes vigilant for anything out of the ordinary.

I did the same, materializing a 9mm pistol with a full clip of bullets in the chamber. In my free hand wisps of red and white materialize a small club that I quickly hand over to Leonardo behind me. No way I was trusting someone who had never fired a shot from a gun with one.

Living room, restroom, and the kitchen were free of anybody. With slow almost quiet steps we both climb up the steps of the dilapidated home. Unfortunately some of the steps creak and groan like an annoyed ghost that made me cringe with each one.

That's when I felt the Size constellation connect again. I think that this one gave me the most from just one connection. To top it off I knew where this one came from. RWBY.

Tinkerer was the name of the power, giving me a knack for making, modifying and maintaining things. I could now make anything from a giant scythe that was also a sniper rifle, all the way to a coffee mug that could double as a missile launcher.

There was more to the power than just that though. Along with it came a crate of dust ammo, Aura, a weapon made specifically for me, and combat training in how to use it. The gear was waiting for me inside of my workshop.

This wasn't like Scientist Supreme where I had a bunch of information downloaded into my brain, or Magic Specialization where I had years of experience. It was more like muscle memory that I always had that, but didn't know how to use. Just like that I had training that could be equal to that of an army recruit. If they had superpowers.

Already I could feel the new aura flow through me, healing me, toughing up muscles, forming a barrier around me purging anything that would be a detriment to my health. And this was just the basic aura with no years of honing how to use it.

More thought on how to use this power would have to wait till later though. For now we had more important things to focus on.

Continuing up the creaky fucking stairs I ready the pistol in my hands that I knew I could make shift into a sword, or whatever the hell else I could make it do. Focus Mia focus.

The rest of the rooms were clear and the only one that remained unchecked was the sole cleanish room that I had slept in last night. I take one side of the doorway while Leo takes the other. While his club was at the ready, it still looked like he was uncomfortable holding it. On the other hand, the pistol in my hands felt far more comfortable than it had before.

At my signal we both burst into the room slamming the door open, with Leo moving into one side of the room, and I the other both of readying our weapons for anyone inside.

Only to completely freeze.

Laying on the bed, startled and woken by our sudden entrance given the bleary, blinking blue eyes was a girl that looked to be in her teenage years. She wore weathered and filthy clothing, some of them looking to be a bit too big for her, while what slightly pale skin we could see was streaked with dirt. Her blonde hair wasn't much better in that department, completely matted and greased with dirt and filth. She was thin, approaching gaunt but not quite there yet.

The most obvious thing though, was the extreme roundness of her tummy. Great, a pregnant homeless teenager.

I do the only right thing in that situation. Holding my gun low, suddenly very awkward I utter the obvious greeting that always comes from said awkwardness. "Uh… hi?"

The girl responds with even more eloquence than I do. "..Hi? Who the fuck are you?"

I don't know why, but the way that she said that pushed my buttons.

"What do you mean? This is our place!" I loudly retort.

She gives me a withering glare. "No it ain't. This place has been empty for years. Everyone knows that."

"Well we've been here for the past two days, so it's ours now!" I didn't care that I sounded like a kid, this brat's tone was irritating me.

"Guess by that logic, it should be mine since this place was completely unlocked when you left. News flash, when you leave a place with no lock, someone is going inside and doing whatever they want. What, you didn't learn this back in elementary pipsqueak?"

I could feel my eye twitch with every word that came out of her mouth. This cheeky brat was smirking too! I was holding a gun goddammit, I should be intimidating

"You know I have a gun, right?" I gesture to said weapon held in my hand, careful to not point it at her.

Blue eyes shift over to the weapon in my hand before dismissing it with the same glance, that damn smirk never leaving her face.

"Yeah, you aren't going to use it though. If you were, it would be pointing at me right now."

I think this kid was a bit stupid. "I could though."

A giggle came from her mouth. "Aw, it's kinda cute how you're trying to be scary with the big gun in your hands. Newsflash you're as intimidating as a puppy."

Intimidating as a puppy my ass! I would never hit a teenager, let alone a pregnant one, but this one was testing my patience.!

I think that da Vinci could feel my tension rising up with every word that we said to each other, because he that's when he decided to join in the conversation. "Signora's please, let us take a moment to calm ourselves and have a civil discussion. There is no need to have this sort of hostility."

"Oh and who is this pretty boy?" The blonde girl asks eyeing him up and down.

"Sorry to burst your bubble honey, but he swings the other way." Leonardo gives me a puzzled look at the phrase. Duh, they probably had a different way of saying back in his day. Probably 'heretic' or 'blasphemer'.

She simply rolls her eyes at this. "Oh well, hey could you leave? I was trying to get some shuteye."

My eye twitches again. Before I could say anything Leonardo places a hand on my arm. Looking over at him, I could see the pleading look in his eyes begging me to calm down.

I take a deep breath trying to calm the irritation that was welling up inside. 1...2...3...4. OK.

Turning back the blonde girl is looking at me with a raised eyebrow and expectant eyes. Though now that I had calmed down I could see that there was a hint of worry there. And her hands were shaking just a bit.

Huh. Guess she was trying to play it tough with me. Still a stupid thing to do though.

"Fine you can have this room kid. But we are taking one of the others. We don't mess with you and you don't mess with us OK?"

A relieved look flits through her face, the tough girl act disappearing for just a second before it comes back complete with the smirk and bitch eyes. She gives a confident nod, but the tough bitch facade was already gone. She was still trying to keep it up though.

As her mouth opens I interrupt her. "Listen kid, I get you gotta be tough out here. But next time someone with a gun is telling you stuff it might just be a better idea to not argue."

"Please I know that. I've been out on my own long enough to learn that." She replies with a hint of an edge in her voice. "Most gangs in this city would have started with their guns pointed at me and making demands. The moment you get cornered alone, is when you lose." A defiant, angry smile dominates her face, with her eyes shining with rage. "If Im already screwed, I am not going to die kissing some bastards feet for my life." Her hand goes to her stomach conveying the hidden message.

Her life and her child's would already be in the hands of scum, and she would rather both of them die than whatever they would do to them. That was a line of thought that made me uncomfortable, but one that I could understand on some level. There were literal Nazi's and ABB slave traders that kidnapped women off of the street.

"But, you? Nah. You look too soft to put a bullet in my head." While her tone had shifted to that same haughty one that she had been using I could hear another one underneath. A warmer one.

Did she really decide to act like that because of a gut instinct? Jesus Bendito how was this kid still around.

I sigh again. "Whatever kid. We'll take one of the other rooms in this house. How long are you going to squat here with us?"

Instead of a sarcastic quip she decided to actually answer the question. "A couple of weeks. Don't worry I won't cause you two weirdos any trouble. I just need this place for a little while."

The last few words come out meekly, quite a difference from her earlier bravado. That's when what she said and some of the other pieces clicked together.

Shit. "The baby's due soon." No emotion in my voice. Just fact.

Blondie doesn't react besides a quick nod. "Should be within the month."

Well fuck me sideways. I shouldn't get involved. Celestial Giant knows that I already have enough on my plate.

But fuck that, this was a baby!

"I take it there's a good reason why you came here instead of getting any help?" She gives a shaky nod at Leonardo's quiet question, her eyes avoiding looking at either one of us.

Well, the specifics could wait. I could already imagine a lot of different reasons why a teenage girl that barely looked of age would be homeless with a baby on the way. That kind of stuff was common enough on my world, so no big surprise that this happened here too. Besides, I had a feeling family was involved and that hit a little too close to home for me to do nothing.

"Alright well, we'll see you tomorrow brat." Without letting her get a word in I spin on my heel walking out the door, Leonardo following and closing the door behind us.

Entering one of the other rooms that was in a state of disrepair, I lock the door behind me. Heading to the other door inside of the small bedroom I insert the workshop key as Da Vinci decides to speak up. "We are going to help that young madam aren't we?"

There was an approving tone to his question with undertones of curiosity. "Yeah. I always had a soft spot for runaways teens."

"Personal experience I take it?" he asks, much more quietly.

I nod. "Don't worry Leonardo, it isn't that big of a deal anymore. I got over it a few years ago." I slowly create a wax candle with magic while retrieving a lighter that we mugged from one of the Nazi's yesterday giving light to the darkened room. Seeing that night had completely taken over outside I open the doorway into the white space. "It can wait though. We need to make some beds to sleep on."

"Very well." We both enter the entrance to the workshop, the new items that had arrived with the connections. There was a large crate about that looked like it was lifted straight from a Call of Duty game. It was big, completely made out of metal, and no doubt held a crap ton of ammo inside of it.

That was the boring part of it though. Yes, you heard me right the box full of ammo was the boring bit.

Because resting on top it was one of the most beautiful things that I had ever seen. They were twin metal gauntlets that I knew with a glance were made specifically for me. The gauntlets were big enough that they could cover the entire length of my arms. The metal that comprised them was thick and expertly pieced together, with gaps and grooves all along the arms in the shapes reminiscent of feathers and scales.

Even though the metal was thick and looked to be heavy, it wasn't bulky. Though the areas around the wrists were slightly bigger than the rest of the suit. Given what I think were hidden gun barrels on the underside of the wrists, I was gonna guess that the bulges on some parts of the gauntlets were pockets of ammo. Wonder how many bullets could be fit into these things.

It was colored in red, greens and orange, each of the colors filling the feather and scale shapes into a rainbow of the three. The plates on the knuckles and the back of the hands the most red with the thumb and pinky fingers were orange, the index and ring were green, and the middle finger was red.

I could also tell with my Tinkerer ability that, given the gaps and grooves along the arms, it could shift into another form. What it was I would have to find out on my own.

Honestly the gauntlets looked like they should be in a museum or art exhibit. Not as a weapon.

Lifting them both up, I was surprised by their weight. While not light by any means, I was expecting them to be a hell of a lot heavier.

Da Vinci already has stars in his eyes as I pass over one of the gauntlets over to him for inspection while I begin to don the other. It was way easier to put them on than it should have been. And just like I thought, it fit my right arm perfectly. Honestly some of these powers were starting to get kinda freaky.

Don't know why weapons that were made specifically for me were the point that worried me, but they were.

The last item on top of the crate of ammo was what looked to be a phone case. I knew it was basically a smartphone on steroids, that could stretch out the screen to the size of a tablet. Something that I could tinker with later.

That's when the workshop started shaking again. Instead of falling to the ground I mange to stay on my feet supporting Leonardo who was holding onto me for dear life.

When the shaking stopped a new doorway appeared on one of the walls of the entrance room, the room shifting to accommodate for the new addition.

Without a hint of caution Da Vinci rushes inside still holding the other arm of my new weapon. He was going to do that every time a new room got added wasn't he? Aw well, at least I know he isn't dumb enough to touch something that he inst supposed to.

Following the eager Renaissance Man I find myself inside of a room straight from the future. Or rather the future where the mass effect was a fact instead of just a myth. A spacious room filled to the brim with devices and tech that was more advanced than anything my world had seen so far. I knew from the connection to the star that this was the Research and Development lab filled to the brim with technology that does what it says on the tin.

Everything that you could possibly need to get started with the formation of a new colony. State of the art fabricators, medical equipment for biological research, terminals with advanced software and hardware perfect for any research and development needs. Everything within this room had the feeling of sleek and new with its shining grey metal and impeccable white surfaces. At the center of the room was the main terminal that coordinated everything here.

Of course Leonardo was already at the terminal carefully navigating through the menu's.

"Hmm, it appears unlike the more robust terminal inside of the other room, this one is lacking in actual information or technology to develop." Leonardo mutters either to me or himself. Probably the former.

At my approach he makes some room so that I can see what's on the terminal. Navigating through the terminal I found her was right.

Development was up and running, waiting to be fed any blueprints and materials to get to work. The Research side of the terminal was completely empty, waiting to be feed information to catalogue and analyze.

This room felt… incomplete. And feeling the rest of the constellation's I could tell that there were other ones, that connected to this one. That was as far as I could tell though. I could 'feel' around the other constellation's but actually delving into them for what they offered was just beyond my reach.

I get it. No Peeking.

But that didn't mean that this was useless. Oh, no. I knew just how to use this room.

"So Leo, how about you make this your lab?"

His blue eyes owlishly blink at me. "Scusi?"

I smile at him. "Yup. This is your room. Though I am going to be using the development side of this place."

"Uh, uh, wait- why am I receiving this room? This is yours!" He stutters out.

"And it giving it to you! You're a scientist Da Vinci. You need your own space to do research at your own pace, and with the way that this terminal is wired up, I have a feeling that you will have this room wrapped around your finger in no time."

While he was behind the times on quiet a few subjects I think that he is going to be able to absorb any info like a sponge. Already he was operating tech literal centuries ahead of anything that he encountered while he was alive.

Right now while I could understand quiet a bit more than I used to, and had the engineering know how, Leonardo was the better scientist. An entire life of studying, experimenting, and observing to come to a conclusion on how things worked. While I might get to that level someday, Leo was there now. It made sense that he should get the first techy lab to himself.

Before he could argue I continued on. "Listen Leonardo, nothing you say is going to make take it back. It is yours now to do what you wish, so just have fun with it."

After a few seconds of silence and the opening and closing of his mouth, he utters a reluctant and embarrassed. "Very well…thank you."

"It's no problem." I couldn't help but smile at the embarrassment on his face. Looking closer, I think that I could see his eyes watering slightly. Well if anyone deserved a state of the art research lab, it was definitely Leonardo da Vinci.

That's when the goddamn shaking started again. I could feel another small star connect with me and this one actually made my brain stop working for a second. House of the Witch. The Celestial Forge actually gave me an entire house that was meant for a witch.

Guess all those people that called me that before were right now.

Life was good. I munched on freshly made pancakes topped with strawberries, hints of nuts, a dash of butter and maple syrup poured over them. Who made them? I don't know. Every time I open the oven brand new pancakes are ready-cooked to perfection for either me or Da Vinci.

I was the only one awake inside of the house that was now built into my workshop. It came with a nice single bedroom, kitchen, living room, and potion room. The potion room was filled with tools of the craft and a pantry that contained various different potions that varied from slimming down my weight, all the way to combat enhancement.

It also had a few potions that would never see the outside world like those fucking 'love potions'. I'd die before I gave someone Heartbreaker in a jar.

Most importantly though it came with a washroom, and WORKING PLUMBING! It didn't have a shower, but I didn't give a damn. Being able to wash away the murk and grime from the last two days was absolutely heaven's bliss~. Yes, I know it was only two day's but I died damnit! That made it feel like it had been longer than that.

While this house was filled with the bare necessities, it lacked furniture. Luckily this was no problem. With Ark of Embodiment, all it took was Da Vinci and I designing new beds, and figuring what they would be made off. From the stuffing in the mattress to the wood in the bed frame.

These took longer to materialize and I could feel that I used more magic as well. Guess the bigger it is the more I spend. There were still limitations to most of my new abilities that I didn't know yet.

Another thing to add to the list of 'Things I Need to Do.'

Finishing up my breakfast I leave the house with Leonardo remaining out cold. That's what he gets for staying up all night yesterday. Though, I had a feeling nothing would stop him from having these all nighters. I still got them every now and then too.

I leave the portal to the workshop open as I head out of the bedroom that we had decided to use last night inside of the abandoned building. While I knew that nothing would happen to anyone inside of the workshop, I would be the only one able to open it back up leaving anyone inside trapped until I let them out.

It would be useful for locking someone up, if it didn't involve leaving them to wander around where I keep all of my high tech/magical crap.

Knocking on the door I receive a frantic "Who is it!?"

"Your roommate from last night. I brought breakfast!" I call back.

A second of silence before the sound of footsteps approach and the lock to the door opens with a click. Opening the door, the young woman eyes me with confusion and a hint of distrust. That is before she see's and smells the fresh pancakes that were sitting temptingly on the plate in my hands.

Topped with blueberries, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. Pretty sure I saw a hint of drool when the girl's mouth hung open. Ha.

She quickly recovers giving me a gauging stare. "What's the catch?"

A shrugged shoulder. "Info. Plus that you need to eat more. For you and the baby."

The stare-off lasts a few seconds longer ending when she reaches and grabs the plate with eager hands. "What do you want to know?"

We head inside of the room with her taking a seat on the bed devouring the delicious breakfast while I decide to lean on the wall.

"First off, your name. Can't just keep saying 'oy you'."

"Judith. What's yours?" She manages to say in between bites.

"Mia."

Within seconds she finishes the double stack of pancakes, having consumed them in just a few bites and no silverware. Just her hands and mouth. She was wearing the first genuine smile since I had met her. She looked nicer like that.

Judith released a content sigh with her eyes slightly watery. That might have been the first decent hot meal that she had in a while.

Her head turns to mine. "So where the hell did you get the food from?"

"Secret."

She scoffs. "What you got a kitchen stored away somewhere in here."

"Yes."

Another scoff. "Riiiiight."

Oh but honey it isn't. I don't even try to keep the grin from my face. When the truth is completely ridiculous and no one will believe it, it's just as good as a lie.

"Anyways, I want to know more about this city." I say while taking out a map that I had gotten off of the Library yesterday. Never knew when one might be handy, and wouldn't you know it that was now.

"What's there to know? It's a shithole."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, anyone with a pair of eyeballs could see that. What I want to know is where I can walk around without getting lynched by Nazi capes, or kidnapped by wannabe Yakuza."

Her eyes flash at the word Nazi's. Not at me, otherwise, she wouldn't even be talking to me if she was one. Past history? As a blond and blue-eyed girl? Now isn't that funny. That could wait for later though.

"Well, this area for one. Isn't important enough for any of the gangs to be interested in. Sometimes Merchants will hole up in one of the buildings for a little while. Least til the PRT starts sniffing around. About the only good thing that they do."

Hmm, no love for the heroes huh?

From there it's mostly a rehashing of what I already knew, only confirmed by a local which is always good to do with any information. She did go into far more detail though than what I could find online. Specific places to avoid, when it's ok to go to this place and when to avoid it like the plague.

Things that only a local would know about. Information that I would really need if I wanted to survive in this city. Didn't want to go out cause I took a wrong turn at the wrong time.

Eventually I got finished with the questions about the area and started asking about what I really wanted to know. Her specifically.

"Are you really planning on having that baby on your own?"

Her bored eyes turn into a glare burning holes into mine. "Yeah. You got a problem with that."

"You bet your little dumbass that I do! No way in hell can you make sure the baby comes out alright without any help. Either you die, the baby dies, or you both die."

She throws a snarling face at me. "So what? Not like I have much of a choice! If I go to a hospital I might as well be throwing our lives away!"

"From the empire?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Judith flinches at my deadpan question. Bingo.

"Girl, look at me. Do you really think there is any way in hell I would ever sell you out ot those pricks?" I ask her, cutting of any form of argument that she could try to make. She actually looks at my arm as if remembering that I was a darker shade of brown. That actually got a good chuckle out of me for some reason.

Clenched jaw with her eyes trained on me, debating on whether or not to say anything.

Eventually the silence was broken by her angry voice.

"My parents. They're Empire." I could recognize the hate in her voice. I'd hear it in my own when I mentioned my parents.

Another reason to want to take care of this kid.

"I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess the baby's daddy isn't white." I keep my voice calm and steady, despite the boiling blood in my veins.

She shakes her trembling head, her eyes watery with held back tears. "He wasn't."

I felt my stomach drop at the hidden meaning. Shit.

"How bad was it?"

She scoffs. "Does it matter? All I know is that one day he didn't show up to school. And he wasn't answering any of my calls or messages. Skipped school and when I showed up at his house, the cops were there. That was enough to let me guess what went down." She takes a steadying breath. "Didn't even go back home. Knew if I did my parents would make me get rid of it." She places her hand on her stomach, gently but with a firm hand.

"After I left, a bunch of the homeless around here found me and took me in. At least, the ones that aren't Merchants." A small but genuine smile spread's across her face. "None of them really knew me. After a couple of days of seeing me wandering around, they took me in. When i told them about my parent's, none of them cared."

The old bed creaks as Judith shifts her knees underneath the covers. "There are about fifteen of us that hang out in this neighborhood. Has the best places that no one cares about, so we squat in different places every night."

"Is that why this room is in such good condition?"

A simple nod and a gesture to the frame on the stand.. "The family in the picture used to own this place. They were good people from what I heard. About a year ago though, they disappeared."

"And the cops left the place alone?" I ask incredulously.

She snorts at that. "You got any idea how often that happens here? In this city? As long as it isn't cape related the cops don't give a shit, not to mention the PRT. The amount of 'normal' crime that gets ignored or forgotten because everyone is focused on heroes and villain would make anyone lose their shit."

"Anyways the rest of the house is like it is cause some assholes managed to get in here and ransacked the place a while back. Some of the bigger guys in our group managed to scare them off before they could fuck this room up though."

"If you were with a group why are you here alone?" I asked her.

Judith shrinks into herself at that question. "...I wanted to leave. Two days ago a couple of Empire goon's were sniffing around and started threatening two of our friends. The Nazi pricks chased them for a little bit shooting at them, before our guy's managed to outrun them."

Wait? Two Nazi's chasing two homeless guys? Holy crap were those the guys Leo and I helped out a few days ago? Small coincidence. Psh yeah right. I reckon the giant had something to do with this.

"When I heard about that I wanted to leave. I don't want anyone getting killed for me. Not when Dwayne's family already got killed for it." Her knuckles tighten around the bed sheets. "They didn't want me to just leave though. Eventually we agreed to have me hide out here. Or at least I agreed. The other's wanted someone to come with me, but I wouldn't accept that. If those Nazi bastards found me I didn't want anyone else getting hurt."

"Where are your friends now?"

"I don't know. They could still be somewhere in the area, but I told them to move somewhere else in the city for a little while. At least until the heat dies down from the Empire."

"By the time whatever that happens the baby is going to come right?" A nod. "Alright then. I can help you."

She raises a blonde eyebrow at me. "So you really aren't homeless? Cause the moment that you came in clean, with a plate of pancakes I knew that you calling dibs on this place was bullshit."

I shake my hand in the maybe gesture. "Eh, yes and no. If I help you, anything that you see you tell no one. Ever."

Narrowed eyes glare at me. "Why would you want to help me?"

I give a simple shrug as I stand up. "I know what it's like to have asshole parent's and be on your own. So, yes or no?" I ask as I outstretch my hand.

She looks at my hand, before her blue eyes peer into my brown ones. Searching for whatever that she needed.

That's when I felt a dim star from a new constellation connect. Aesthetics and Flare. I could now make any weapon I create into a work of art. Ideas and intuition that were completely alien filled my head. Or rather, angelic and demonic. It wasn't invasive, but I did have a new want to try it out. Maybe I could work on some of the things that I already made.

A steady hand taking mine snapped me out of my daydream. Gone was the searching look that Judith was giving me replaced with one of determination and curiosity.

I give her a warm look devoid of a smile before I lead her towards the room that Da Vinci and I took ownership of.

I could hear her gasp when she spotted the portal to my workshop, though she did continue to follow me instead of stopping in her tracks.

Stepping into my workshop she stares at the blank white room in wonder and curiosity, the various notes and pieces of paper having been moved into Leo's new workshop last night.

"What is this place?" She asks in wonder heading towards the clunky Factorio Database that sat on one wall of the Entrance room.

"This is my Workshop." I respond casually.

Her eyes freeze when she sees the colorful twin gauntlets of Honest Rush that sat on top of the munitions chest.

She takes a nervous gulp. "You're a cape. A tinker."

I shrug. "Sort of. I got powers, but not like anyone else."

"What do you mean?"

"They're magic." Not a complete lie, but not the whole truth. Most of my most useful abilities are in the realm of fantasy instead of just science after all.

She scoffs at that. "Magic isn't real. Are you one of those crazy capes like Myrddin?"

"Sure you could say that."

She rolls her eyes at me before just deciding to go with it. "Alright then, what's your 'magic' then?"

Hmm what to tell her. It has to be some version of the truth. Don't know if this room is free from the winged bitch's view and the less info I give to that bitch the better. If what I remember what right, it probably already knew more than enough about me by just fucking flying up there in Earths orbit. Fuck stop thinkin about it!

Judith looked at me with expectant eyes waiting for an answer. Well, when in doubt go with the truth. At least the partial truth.

"I randomly get new powers. Don't know if they come with time, or if something makes them trigger, or what more will come. I only know when I get them. The only thing that they all have in common so far is that they help me make things."

Apparently the news manages to shock her into making an impression of a goldfish given the way her mouth kept opening and closing with no sound coming out. Eventually she manages to learn how to make sounds again. "Are you telling me that you're a Tinker version of Eidolon?"

Huh, I didn't think about it that way yet. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"I suddenly feel a lot more safe now." She says in the best deadpan that I had ever heard.

"Ha, Good. Now come on let's give you a checkup."

"You're a doctor?" She ask while following me into the metal workshop. It was the only room with somewhere to sit, and i didn't want to tire myself too much yet with overusing Ark of Embodiment.

After taking a seat on the workshop chair I materialize a stethoscope in my hand. She flinches a little at the wisps of white and red. "What the hell was that!?"

I chuckle as I put on the hearing device. "I told you before. Magic."

She grumbles at my answer, but remains still letting me hear the steady beat of heart clearly. The checkup goes smoothly, Judith staying silent except for any questions that I might have.

Honestly she was lucky to be as healthy as she was after spending a few months on the street. No notable diseases or illnesses. Unfortunately she was suffering from malnutrition, which was NOT a good thing for the baby. Which might be a problem.

Yeah we had unlimited pancakes, but that wasn't going to be able give us a healthy meal three times a day. Ark of Embodiment couldn't create food, and even if it could I had a feeling it wouldn't do anything to feed us the nutrients that we needed.

We still had some cash that we managed to snatch from those Nazi's but that would run out after a few days. Faster once the baby came into the picture.

Something to keep in mind in the coming days.

After finishing up was when the sirens cried out. The Endbringer sirens. Terror struck into Judith's her pregnant form shaking like a leaf in the wind. When the sirens went quiet, every bit of fear washed away from my body in relief.

"Oh thank God. It isn't here." The sheer relief and joy in her voice was enough to make me grit my teeth. This is what people had been reduced to by the monsters that plagued this world. Grateful that another city was being destroyed instead of them.

Of course, it was natural. Anyone would be thankful that a disaster wasn't going to hit them. The fact that this was a normal occurrence that happened every couple of months though was something that filled me with a fury I don't think I ever felt. Not even when I ran away from home all of those years ago.

Not at Judith for feeling the way that she does, but at those fucking monsters that are constantly terrorizing this planet.

Worst part is if I kill one- fuck stop it! No more thinking about those damned monsters. Don't know how much that winged bitch could read from my mind. That was a thing that it could do right?

Fuck I needed to step my game up if I wanted to survive this hellhole of a world.

As if responding to that thought I felt the Forge connect again. And this one was a game changer. The star was a bigger one about the size of the Factorio ,though just a little bit smaller. Workaholic. Any time I made something, I now made five times that. Or three times the size of it.

A vicious smile graces my lips. I would have a lot of fun with this.

Judith still hadn't shaken off the relief of not being attacked by a monster. Touching her shoulder knocks her out of the daze that she had been in. "Alright you're fine. We'll need to get some actual food into you soon but for now you are healthy as can be.

Her relieved expression changes to a calmer one. One that says 'Oh good my baby is ok.'

Taking out my phone, which was in desperate need of recharging, I saw that it was a little past noon. Good. I still had most of the day left to actually make things.

For now I looked to Judith. "You want a bath?"

The look of pure joy on her face was one that I could understand on a spiritual level. "Can I hug you?"

I laugh at that. "After you take a bath. Speaking of, lets get you some new clothes."

Looking at her I imagine a simple long white blouse that would be big enough to cover he belly, and a simple set of comfortable jeans. While I didn't know the exact measurements, simply focusing on clothes that would fit her was enough to have them form. I catch them in my hands when they finish forming spreading them out to eyeball if they would be the right size.

Then four copies of them fall to the floor next to the two of us.

I decide to ignore that for now, crouching down to pick them up after handing the first set over to the teenage girl that was staring at me.

"Hmm, might be a bit big, but I think I did a good job on my first set of clothes don't you think?" She doesn't say a word simply staring at the clothes that I had appear out of thin air. I chuckle at the gobsmacked expression that she had on her face. "Come on, let's get you to the washroom."

Leading her to the Witch's house I could feel her staring at the home that was added to my little safe space yesterday. Of course the young woman doesn't believe a word that I say about his place being magical. I think with enough time she would. By the way, note to self destroy those love potions before I leave the house.

After showing her the washroom, I swear that I could see tears in her eyes as I walked out the door.

Returning to the bedroom that Leo and I shared I found the Renaissance Man missing with the bed that he used completely made. As opposed to mine which I left a wrinkled mess. Ugh now I have to make it.

Completing that and throwing the love potions that the house generated into the Duat for safe disposal later, I find Leonardo had already gone into his R Lab. He was at the large round terminal rapidly typing away at the holographic keyboard. Huh, he got the hang of a keyboard faster than I thought he would.

"I heard your conversation with the young signora earlier." Leonardo says without turning towards me or stopping his hands. "Are you sure that the decision was wise?"

His tenor voice is blank, not giving away any hint of emotion. "Ok, It was probably a stupid thing to do. But I'm hoping that it was the right thing instead."

A low thoughtful hum. "Good answer." He says with a gentle approving tone. "I take it she is taking advantage of the facilities?"

"Yeah. She couldn't wait to jump in there."

"It is interesting how things have changed . When I was alive it was a rarity to have private washrooms. Now it is the norm." He says with a slight chuckle.

I give an agreeing grunt while I take a slight peek over his shoulder. "What are you working on?"

"Transferring the information that I had written down into this… I believe you called this a 'computer'. I believe it would be beneficial to have this information catalogued here, instead of just within my handwritten notes."

"Made any other new discoveries?"

He sighs. "Only that I realized just how little I ever discovered or knew when I was alive. So many things and ideas that I never even dreamed of." The words sound sad, but his voice had taken a earnest and hopeful tone. "I cannot wait to discover more."

His typing stops abruptly. "Speaking of things that I do not understand. You have obtained actual magic. Not science but true magic, correct?"

"Yup." I say drawing the hieroglyph of Toth in the air, while materializing a simple dagger in wisps of white and red. At least I meant to make one. Instead I had one solidify in my hand while four other's fell to the floor.

Leonardo didn't even bat an eyelash as the small knives clattered to the ground. He'd already seen me use both briefly but this time his mind was completely focused on the act. It wasn't just something that I did out of the blue like when I made those guns yesterday.

The laser like focus in his eyes were actually kind of unnerving. Leonardo was never intimidating, but there was something about the way his eyes changed when he found a subject that needed his complete focus that kinda creeped me out. Like he could see and understand more than anyone ever could. As if he could see right through whatever he wanted too, at least with time.

Really, time money and the technology of his time were the things that kept many of his inventions just out of reach. If he just had those, maybe we would have take to the skies a lot sooner than the twentieth century. Then again, that was all hypothetical. He was here now, learning every piece of knowledge that he could get his hands on. Even if it was something that he would never be able to use.

"Could you do that again?" He asks quietly not taking his eyes off of the things that I created, while reaching for a notebook and pen that probably came from the Art Set.

The next hour and a half was simply Leo and I talking about the intricacies of magic, both Magic Specialization and Ark of Embodiment. Giving him a few demonstrations of embodying a few item's, and showing him a few divine word hieroglyphs. Most of it was just me talking and Da Vinci, excitedly writing everything inside of his notes with a few questions here and there.

His eyes shined when I told him, while I couldn't tech him any of my magic from the House of Life, he could still used any charms that I prepared in advanced. While I wanted to keep him away from the fighting that I knew would eventually find us, I wanted to make sure that he wasn't completely defenseless.

I had a few ideas for what I could set up for defenses in here, though I would have to figure out how to power some of them, considering how much power some Factorio tech needed to function. Something to figure out later.

When I told him about Aura the old man in a young body grabbed me by the shoulders. "You can give it to me!?"

"Maybe! I said maybe!" I yelled out startled by the suddenness of his hands on my shoulders and his raised voice.

He laughed while he let me go, writing down everything that I could tell him about Aura. From the superhuman capabilities that it could give you, all the way to the semblance that was unique to every person, an extension of one's soul.

"Like I said Leonardo, I'm going to need some time to actually learn how to use my Aura let alone unlock yours."

"Signora Mia time does not matter. You have the ability to unlock the powers of someones very soul. To allow humans to reach the abilities of legends and myths. It is something that I will gladly wait for, no matter how long it might be. Think of the mere possibilities that it could have for the rest of man to attain this?" He says all of this with the gentlest and peaceful expressions that I had seen on his face since he appeared in front of me yesterday. The sincerity behind the words and the way that he was looking at me caught me off guard for some reason.

I think that it's because it had been such a long time since anyone had ever talked to me with that kind of sincerity. With such open honesty.

It actually manages to leave me speechless for a few seconds. Thankfully Leonardo doesn't notice having returned his attention to his notebook writing down what thoughts popped into his head.

"So what is your semblance Mia?" He asks while his hand continues to fly's across the pages.

Managing to get some control of my emotions I shrug in what I hoped looked natural. "Don't know yet. For some people it takes experience and time to know what they're semblance is. Usually when they use it for the first time it's in the heat of the moment. At least, I think it is."

More note taking. Before Leo could ask another question we heard footsteps from behind us.

"Holy shit what is this place?" Judith exclaims from the entrance to the the futuristic research room.

"This, young signora is my lab." Leonardo says as he puts down his notebook and approaches Judith with an outstretched hand. "Leonardo da Vinci. At your service."

That manages to throw her for a loop as she shakes his hand. "Like the Italian guy?"

"One and the same signora." Leonardo confirms with polite grin on his face.

The pregnant woman scoffs at that. "Right, like I'm going to believe that you're the same guy from the Renaissance."

"Well, just indulge me for now then?" He responds with a wry smirk, completely nonplussed at her disbelief. I think he was just happy that she knew who he was from history.

A roll of the eyes, though with an amused grin on her face. "Alright, whatever you say Leo."

She takes a cursory glance around the room, taking in all of the handwritten notes that were hung around the walls, and of course the high tech equipment that stocked the room. The blond goes to a wall reading through some of the high quality notes that Leonardo had made yesterday. "So what's this room for?"

"Research and Development. What it says on the tin, researching and advancing crap, while building up more." Something that I would more than happily abuse. Still didn't know the limits of what I could Embody, but now with the R Lab I didn't have to worry that much. The more complicated something was, the harder it was for me to create it out of magic. Not to mention the more magic I would have to use to create it.

With the R Lab that won't be a problem for much longer. All I had to do was make some stuff, it could even be just simple components, and then feed them into the machine which would then build it with the mass forger that came with the Lab.

Just like that I had fixed most of my supply needs even more than before. The limit of overextending my magic capacity was now out of the window, and I had something that most other tinker's would kill to get their hands on.

I can't help the widening smile that threatens to break through my face. Now I just had to pick something to start working on. While Factorio tech was something that I wanted to work on, I still had to actually read through most of the schematics. I had skimmed through a few of them yesterday, but I would need to go through the rest later.

While I was pondering what to work on next was when the forge connected again. A new constellation with a smaller star that was actually two joined into one. Thing is this was one of those stars that came with a lot more than just what was inside of the star.

Outside in the entrance hall an audible thump made Judith and Leo jump with worry until I waved it away. That was some standard gear that would be given to a new initiate of the Andromeda Initiative. One hard-suit complete with shields, life support and jump jets. YAY! More maneuverability was never a bad thing after all. The last thing in this little pack was an M-3 Predator Pistol.

This wasnt even what came with the star.

Oh this was so, so, good. Activating my new personal computer a holographic orange gauntlet sprang to life on my arm. Something that I remembered fondly from hours of going through one of my favorite games.

"What's that?" Judith asks while Leonardo is immediately in my personal space, his eyes glued to the orange future computer.

"This is an omnitool. Computer, scanner, communications device, micro fabricator and last minute weapon if I need it." I say with a voice full of excitement. I had a FUCKING omnitool! One of my favorite computers that I had ever seen in anything! Oh I was going to have so much fun with this.

Just like that I had made that scroll from RWBY redundant. Except the aura reader, would have to figure out how that worked and integrate it into the omnitool.

A beep from the main terminal made the three of us jump in surprise. After a few taps on the holographic keyboard Leonardo gave a thoughtful hum. "Fascinating. You're omnitool is now connected to this lab. And best of all, I know have the schematics on how to create another one."

It made sense. The R Lab and the Omnitool both came from the Mass Effect Universe. It made sense that they would connect to each other once I got them. Plus now, we could make some new omnitools. It would have to wait until later though.

Now that I had this little thing I could start to actually use the research side of the lab. Scanning things instead of having to constantly bring things here, or inputting data manually. Just like that Leonardo didn't have to individually put every document into the Lab. Now i could just scan the Factorio terminal, and voila all of the blueprints would be instantly downloaded into the Lab.

Plus if I was reading through the functions of the omnitool correctly, it could convert raw materials into medi-gel, liquid coolant for heat sinks, and make power cells. Somehow! It felt like Christmas!

I would have to do some research on most of this tech. While Scientist Supreme made me a hell of a lot smarter, it didn't mean that I could understand everything about how most of this tech could do. Sure I could remake some of these out of parts, but I wouldn't be able to understand how most of it worked. For now at least.

Given the way that Da Vinci was staring at the omni tool I was going to have to let him have one later. After a very intensive course on how to use the piece future tech. And the internet. I had been delaying that for as long as I could.

While our resident painter was busy examining the still glowing gauntlet on my arm I notice that Judith was giving me a bit of an apprehensive look.

"So your power just gives you random stuff and more tinker specialties, but what exactly are you two? Are you two rogues? Indie Heroes? I know you aren't villains."

Good question. Did I want to be a Hero? A little part of me wanted that. What kid didn't dream of being a superhero once in their little dreams of imagination after all? But I wouldn't be playing the same game that the rest of the world was. Where true threats would be left out in the world to fester allowing more trauma, therefore leading to more trigger events. All in the hope that someone would come along that could kill that golden ticking time bomb.

Regardless of any of that, what did I want right now? "Honestly, right now I just want to be left alone. So I guess you could say that we're rogues. But-" I tighten my hands into fists. "-if I see anything going on, I won't just wait to the other side and watch." Not like other people did with me.

Quickly squashing the more icky feelings that were welling up, I try to put on a smile. A genuine one that I think I pulled off. "So yeah, I just want to build stuff and maybe make some cash on the side for now. That's it."

Judith had a strange look on her face. If I could describe it, I would have to settle on… relieved, but there was something else mixed in. Something that I couldn't put my finger on. Leonardo meanwhile was just pleased. Guess he was happy that I wouldn't be out there trying to pick fights with villains.

"Alright, Leo let's get to work on making some actual gear. I can handle making some charm craft. Should be simple enough with creating them with my Embodiment. Could you give me a hand designing a few things? I think you're the better at that sort of thing than I am."

Leonardo places a hand on his heart and gives a little bow. "It would be my pleasure." I bet the reason he was so eager was the prospect of using that lab of his for more than just cataloging notes.

"Alright, soooo I guess I can just hang around here? If that's ok? I kinda wanna watch what you two make. Never seen a tinker work." Judith asks abashedly oddly enough. Thought her normal mood defaulted between sassy, insubordinate or angry. It was nice to see her act like a teenager.

I shrug. "Sure if you want. I'm going to warn you though it's going to be a little boring for a while."

I receive a snort from that. "What else am I going to do? I don't think that you have much in the way of killing time, right?"

She had a point there. Gotta remember to get my hands on some book's or something. I might have a future tech computer, but I knew next to nothing about hacking.

From then on Leo and I got to work in the metal workshop with Judith sitting on a comfy chair that I created after Leo finished designing it.

There were a few mishaps when I tried forming amulets. Instead of making five of each I tried to focus on making them bigger. I forgot to adjust the initial size of the amulet so I got an amulet that was almost the size of a soccer ball. That wasn't even including the string that was meant to go around the neck!

It took some practice, but eventually I managed to get the sizes right. The ones that I had messed up with could still be used, I just couldn't carry me out in the field. On the bright side, because the initial size was small enough already, the amount of magic that I was using wasn't going to be an issue. Though, I would need to learn how to create items with workaholic. While having five of each item that I make wouldn't be much of an issue, hey more materials for building crap later, I would still prefer to not have to deal with that out in the field.

Eventually, with some help from Da Vinci, I managed to make myself one amulet, a black sheet of linen, a shabti (wax statue), and three charms in the forms of rings. Nothing too fancy, the amulets were simple wood in the form of hieroglyphs while the rings were silver bands.

Funnily enough, conjuring them up was the hard part. Imbuing them with magic was far, far easier than I thought it would. A little too easy considering the memories from the House of Life that I had. Usually it would take longer, and more magic.

Right I remember now, Magic Item creator probably had something to do with it. It did give me a knack for creating anything that counts as a magic item.

Compounding that with the actual experience of charmaking made charging them with spells child splay.

The amulet was a simple charging amulet, meant to store power to be used at a later date. Not useful now, but it would be eventually. Never hurt to have a backup. The black linen and the shabti were of the more sneaky nature.

It was an invisibility cloak. Imbuing it with the divine word I'mun and carrying the shabti in my pocket would let this little beauty work. Judith was disappointed to find out that you need one of the statues to actually use the cloak. I don't want to know what the teenage girl would do with it.

The three rings were each imbued with the ability to bind, silence and strike. While I was never good at using divine words outright, imbuing charms with them was a very different matter. Now it was as simple as thought and intent. By the third ring it already felt like instinct. Placing the rings on my fingers I could feel the weight of magic within them.

Now I didn't need to wear any clothing made from plants to use these.

With the more magical side of the process over, I started on the more technical side.

Which wasn't something that needed a lot of work honestly. The hard-suit was already past what the early schematics of the Factorio database could provide. Besides maybe the power and modular armor, it was something that was far more useful for what I would need.

Given what training the Tinkerer star gave me, I was definitely more of an agile fighter. I had gauntlets as my main weapon for crying out loud. The hard suit had in built shields into them, along with the jump packs, that combined with what I could eventually pull with my aura, would be a boon in a fight.

The armor was exactly the right size for little ol' me. It also came with a jumpsuit that could be worn underneath the armor. It was little too skintight for my liking. I wasn't exactly in bad shape, I worked out when I could, but I was a little bit on the chubby side. Though now that I actually start looking, I think that I was actually a little thinner. Not something that I would have noticed if I wasn't dreading having to get into that skin tight jumpsuit.

Anyway, the armor was the initiate armor that was mostly white, with the inner thighs and fore arms a dark blue that nicely accents the white. While I liked how the armor, I was going to make some modifications, as soon as I figured out how. It just seemed a little… sterile was a good word for it. If I was going to prance around in a costume I would want it to be a little bit more colorful.

Though I would make a stealth set of the armor. Had a feeling that I would have to do at least one stealth mission at some point.

While the agile armor was something that appealed to me, it wouldn't hurt to have something of the more heavy ordinance variety. Never knew when it might be better to pack a heavy punch instead of being able to run away. A project to work on later. The more complicated something was, the harder it was to materialize it properly.

We spent more time studying the armor and it's systems than we did actually working. The shields system ran off of eezo, that I think would be able to replenish itself with time. Whenever new gear arrived here into the workshop I knew that if it was damaged, destroyed or lost it would always appear here again after some time.

Though I don't know if that applies to Leo, and it wasn't something that I was ever going to find out. I wouldn't let it.

The scanner helped immensely with learning how this tech runs. Enough that I could make pieces of the armor through Ark of Embodiment, minus the shield systems. I fed the five pieces of armor to my ever growing pool of resources happy with the work that we had been doing. I still couldn't harvest some of the element zero inside of the gun or the shield systems. While the scans could tell me everything about it, that didn't come with instructions in how to properly handle Element Zero.

And considering that exposure in Element Zero could lead cancer, and other side effects to babies in the womb, there was no way in hell I was fucking with that. Not until the Forge got me a star that made me an expert at that, or I managed to figure it out on my own.

By the end of my various bits of crafting and materialization, I was starting to feel the dip in my magic reserves. Nothing to drastic, but enough to make me notice. I was still close to running at full capacity, but I hadn't yet used this much magic since I got my ability.

Leo and I still weren't sure how fast, or what exactly let me recharge my magic. Right now we were thinking that it was a combination of food, rest and time given that after waking up and having breakfast I was back to capacity. Not to mention I had much more of an appetite than before. Seriously I went through five plates of pancakes before I started to feel full.

Looking at the watch on my omnitool, not even an hour had passed after our little crafting session. Huh.

"Are you two done already?" Judith asked from her little perch, having stayed completely silent through most of the crafting, minus that little bout of excitement at the invisibility cloak.

"For now, yeah. At least actually making anything. Now we are going to do the really boring stuff when it comes to tech. Research to figure out how some of this stuff works."

She takes on a curious expression at that. "So, you don't know how everything that your power gives you works?"

"Nope. It's like a roulette so far. Sometimes I'll get something that I don't know how to use, other times I'll learn how to make new tech, but I don'd have the supplies for it. It's all if I get lucky or not." I keep some of the more esoteric abilities to myself for now.

"I thought that most tinkers just had crap pop into their heads?"

"I told you, I'm different."

"Right, 'magic'" She says sarcastically.

If this was her reaction, I wonder how other people would react if I told them my power was magic? Yeah most people thought that Myrddin was crazy, but no one really messed with him. The guy was one of the more powerful para-humans in the country if I remember right. Carrying around pocket dimensions with different effects was certainly something that would do that.

If he could do that and get away with it maybe I could too?

Eh, I'll decide when I make my first public appearance.

For now though, it was time to get some of the more boring side of this out of the way. Couldn't exactly utilize most of this tech if I didn't understand it completely.

Judith decides to leave then eager to get away from any form of book work, opting instead to wander around the workshop after promising not to touch anything. At first she was just saying it to get me off of her back, but then I explained what a haywire mass effect field could do to someone. She went white as a sheet before she actually meaning the promise.

Leonardo and I left towards the R lab while Judith left to wander around the workshop. It wasn't that big, but I think that there was enough here to keep her occupied while Leo and I started to read through some more of the Factorio database.

After just an hour of reading through I realized just how much room I would need to use this tech to the fullest. Seriously I was talking about building upon buildings worth of just industrial equipment, but the upside would be an industrial machine that this planet had never seen.

Though I would have to figure out how to make most of the tech way more Eco friendly. Seriously the amount of pollution that some of theses designs spewed out, would poison the planet beyond the point of no return.

Thankfully some of the more advanced pieces of industrial equipment didn't produce as much pollution as some of the earlier designs, like the electric furnace compared to the stone furnace.

Power and space would be the biggest issues with using this tech to the fullest. While I could Embody any piece of equipment, having an industrial line that could make any of the more simple pieces would be a boon. Meaning that it would be in my best interest to actually pursue this, at least when I could actually advance it.

Once I found a power source that I could use safely, I could move on to figuring out where the hell to put everything. The best source of power that the terminal held was a uranium nuclear reactor. And while I think I could embody uranium, there was no way in hell that I was going to do that. Not without being inside of an air tight room that could contain it and being inside of a hazmat suit.

Plus I think that if I started to use nuclear equipment of that caliber, I would be getting the wrong kind of attention.

For now, it would remain in the database, but it was something that I would remember.

It was when we moved on from the Factorio database to the scanning results of the hardsuit and the mass effect pistol that I felt the Forge connect again.

That's when I fell to the ground.

The star that connected was simple and still on the smaller side. Computers. Networks, computers and droids were now second nature to me. While I couldn't make any droids at the moment I knew how to program and reprogram them.

That wasn't why I fell to my knees though. Something came attached with the star, though it wasn't one on it's own.

While Leonardo knelled next to me asking me what was wrong and Judith came running as fast she could I was crying.

For the first time in my life it felt like I could see and feel clearly. Judith and Leonardo's worry, surprise and dread. I could feel them radiating off of my two companions like rolling waves.

My own emotions were turbulent and way stronger than they had ever been. I was scared. I was happy. I was excited. I was nervous.

But more than all that could feel so much more. The flies that flew outside of the house connected to the portal. The ant's that marched for the betterment of the colony. The random passerby's, that each were a beacon of fear and relief.

For that one second everything was connected. There was passion, yet peace. There is serenity, yet emotion. There is chaos, yet order.

I was one with the force, and the force was with me.

Then that moment of clarity, that moment of complete and utter connection passed and I was once again me. Yet the connection was still there. Waiting, tempting, calming, ever present.

I only wept louder, but this time with a smile on my face. Through tear stained eye I could make out pieces on the floor. Bits of metal, strings of wiring, and miscellaneous other pieces. Most noticeably among them were pieces of wood that looked like they belonged together and a single shining, gleaming purple crystal barely the size of an almond. I knew what these were.

I could feel… an echo through them. Beckoning me. Whispering into my ear. I would be worried if they didn't carry a sort of innocence to them. An innocence that I could feel coming from Judith's belly.

With tears still flowing, though now at a less abundant pace, I held my palms out in a placating gesture to my friends. They were still wary, but I could slightly feel the worry lessen from them. I gesture for them to give me some space, and after staring at each other for a second they comply.

I shift my legs underneath me in a meditative stance, placing my hands palm up on my knees slowing my breathing, the tears now barely more than drops on my eyes.

Reaching out I could feel the various pieces of the whole that lay in front of me, waiting for me. Eager to be whole.

I comply with honest acceptance. Through the echo I could feel and hear I lift each and every piece around me, ignoring their movement as they began to orbit me.

I remain in that trance like state for a second, worried I would mess it up before shoving it aside and committing. No more thinking.

I simply went with the flow and followed the echo.

Everything else faded away and all I was left with was the feeling of where to go. The connection that the crystal gave to me.

I don't know how long I was in the trance, but the finality of a click bade me to open my eyes.

Hovering right in front of me was my completed light saber. The covering was wood, slick and smooth, but more durable than steel.

With a ready hand I take the object in my palm. A perfect fit.

Placing both hands on the hilt I press the button. With a sharp and familiar hiss, a blade of purple plasma unfurled from the cylinder. Eager.

By now the tears in my eyes had gone dry, leaving only the trails of tears down my cheeks. And the most genuine of all smiles that I have ever worn.

Id always loved Star Wars.

Then the clarity and perfect balance I felt slowly left. My connection weakened, and I knew that it would take time to be able to reach that point again.

The Force had been… eager. Yes, eager was the best way to put it. It was now in a new world after all, one that had never had any sort of bond like what the Force could provide. I don't know how I knew that. It was just gut instinct.

Were other powers going to be like this? Invasive. Life changing. Terrifying. Enlightening. For the first time since accepting the Giant's offer, I questioned if it would be worth it.

For just a few seconds I remained sitting there, lost in thought the only sound the hum of the purple blade. Purple. Using the dark side while remaining in the light.

I wasn't a Jedi, I had too much emotion in me. Hell, my weapon molded specifically for me was literally called Honest Recklessness.

But there was no way in hell that I would ever become a fucking Sith.

That was when we heard loud as fuck shaking coming from the entrance room. I just got a new connection to the forge. This one came pretty fast huh?

For the first time since gaining my power my 'charge' for how far I could reach in the Forge was completely empty. The last of it having been used for my new motor-home, that was probably now in the ruined garage of this building.

Probably a good thing it didn't show up inside of my little safe space. There was no way in hell that thing would be able to fit out of the fucking door.

I finally take my eye off of the lightsaber and actually look at my two friends, who I could still feel were worried, only now it was tinged with surprise.

"It's alright. That was just something new that popped up from my power." The two of them turn to look at me with worried looks still plastered on their faces.

Drying the tears stains on my face steadily stand up from my seat on the floor. "Sorry about that you guys. I got a new power that came before the RV in the garage."

"Wait, your power gave you a RV?" Judith blurts out before promptly closing her mouth with and embarrassed expression on her face.

I couldn't help it. I let out a laugh. A full belly laugh that rang out through the room, with young Judith becoming slightly red while Leonardo's worry slowly drifted away.

"Snrkt- Im sorry- I-It's just that, after everything else that just happened, it's the RV that you question!" I manage to get control of my breathing enough to get that sentence out, though it was barely coherent. After a few more seconds of giggling I manage to actually clear my throat and get rid of the giggles that kept trying to come back.

"I assume that your new power is some form of technology based telekinesis?" From what he saw and no knowledge about what I was holding, it might have been a good guess.

"No. The actual power involves computers, and programming. The blade-" I gesture to the still lit light-saber holding it with two hands. It was a perfect fit. "-came along with it. So did the telekinesis."

"Why were you crying?" Judith asked with honest concern in her voice and her eyes while her face remained neutral.

I think about coming up with a lie to her before I quickly discard the idea. While she was young, Judith wasn't an idiot. Not to mention I was never the best liar. Half-truths were easy, they were still the truth. But outright lies and bluffs had been something that I was never good at.

So let's go with the truth and see what the hell happens.

"Because the telekinesis isn't just that. There is so much more to it than that." I give them a brief description of the Force. How it was everywhere, within every living thing and what having a stronger connection to it did. Leonardo, like always, was absolutely enthralled having gotten his ever present notebook at some point when I wasn't looking.

Judith like always was completely skeptical. "So this is more of your 'Magic' stuff."

"Yes and no. The Force and magic are completely different matters, the only similarity is in how esoteric they are." She still didn't believe me about magic, or The Force. Hell, I didn't really blame her when most powers in this world could be explained through scientific means even though no one really understood where they came from. A secret that I would keep to myself for as long as I could.

I could tell that she believed that anything that I made was the same as other powers. After all most of the things that she had seen me do, weren't completely out of the realm of other capes.

Well whatever. She believed that I believed that and for now that would be enough. Whether or not she'll ever believe that I had real magic, didn't really matter.

"Are you going to put that away?" Judith questions gesturing to the still lit lightsaber in my hands. Right I kept forgetting to sheath the blade.

Before that though... I shift my stance into one that I remembered from hours of sprawling through the web online. My feet wide apart, right leg forward with the left far back. The blade held in front of me at an angle, ready to move in any direction. Shii-cho.

It felt right.

I start to move my body without thinking, swinging the blade with wild like movement's that lacked any grace.

I did this for a few swings before I began to shift to different stances. Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Shien, Niman, and Juyo. The seven basic forms of light saber combat.

I wasn't a master, oh no. But I had the beginning steps towards it, with the basic steps ingrained into both my body and my mind. Whether this was because of the Forge or the Force, I didn't know.

Now I had two weapons that were specifically made for me and the basic training on how to use them. Both of them felt right in my hand's, like they were always meant to find their way to me. I would be unnerved if they didn't feel so right.

With a satisfied smile, I press the button again, the blade retracting into its hilt with that same familiar hiss. Putting it away by attaching it to a loop around my jeans I give them both a reassuring smile. "No need to worry you two. I'm ok." Judith is content to let that be the end of it, but Leonardo still had some lingering feeling's of worry inside of him. Damn, it was going to be hard not to read someone's emotions wasn't it?

I give him calm look that I hope is enough to convince him that I was fine. Our gazes lock on for a few seconds of silence, before he relents with a small nod of his head. I could tell that he would question me later. I didn't really blame.

But that was future mes problem. For now it was time to investigate the Rustbucket! Ooooh I wonder if I can take some scans of the tech that was inside of the motor home?

Hopefully so, free alien tech baby!

March 2nd 2011

The next few days were actually quiet. Judith said that an Endbringer truce tended to do that. Villains that participated in the Enbringer fight could do so without any worry about being arrested after the fight, and those that don't try to keep their heads down while the truce is active. Here in the bay, that meant that for a few days the city and normal civilians could actually enjoy some peace while the Villains kept a leash on themselves and the non powered members of their gangs.

Meanwhile the Heroes didn't go around hunting for any gang activity, regulating themselves to normal patrol work.

If there was one thing that all capes agreed on, it was that you don't try to take advantage of the Truce, otherwise you would have to deal with the wrath of both sides. Heroes needed to keep up the good PR otherwise they lose on the support of the Villains that came to assist, while the Villains wouldn't be hunted down like animals or arrested after their home territory is attacked.

During that time I alternated from research, experimenting with my various forms of magic, training, and improving the Witch's house.

For the House, I didn't really do much. Just created furniture and other amenities so that we weren't just squatting inside of an empty house. A simple lounge set for the living room with some help from Da Vinci, along with some dresser's and an extra bed for Judith to sleep in. Clothes were something a little easier to do for all three of us, though I went more simplicity's sake. I was never really much into fashion.

On the bright side, I now had a fridge, built by me after I scanned one at a store when no one was looking, along with a simple coffee maker. Oh coffee how I missed you~!

For training I didn't have much space to work with, so I was limited to simple exercises. I found that most forms of workout took me a lot longer to break a sweat, and that I was building up muscle and losing fat a lot faster than humanly possible. Chalked this up to Aura working it's magic on my body by accelerating the it's natural healing.

By the end of the week I was pretty sure that I had already lost a few pounds.

Training with Aura was definitely an experience though. Being more durable and having a force field that always surrounded you were one thing. Adding in the increased speed, reflexes and strength were an absolute treat. Until I accidentally crushed part the Factorio database terminal with a misplaced kick.

Leonardo actually screeched when he saw the ruined computer and yelled at me for an hour after that. Seriously it was MY terminal, why the hell was I the one getting yelled at? He was still mad even after one day when we woke up we found that the dent was completely mended.

Since then I had to keep an eye on my strength. Every day that I trained my Aura I could feel my control of it getting stronger, to the point that I would sometimes use it without meaning to.

It was… frustrating. Already I was having to keep an eye on what I did to make sure that I didn't break the little things around the workshop, and I had a feeling that I would only get more powers that pushed me more into the area of superhuman. Something that I would have to get used to.

For my magic I found that Embodiment was something that I only got better and better at over time. Where before it would take me a few seconds to materealize simple items, I could now do that almost instantaneously. I didn't know if this was just the normal progression of how this magic worked, or if Magic Creator had a hand in it. It might be a little bit of both really. Complicated items were still something that needed more time, and therefore more magic to make.

Doing an experiment I found that I spent more magic trying to make an entire engine that I got from the Factorio database, than if I made individual pieces and built it all together. Meant that the longer that I spent trying to make something real, the more magic I would be expending.

Something that really helped in how I developed future tech. Not to mention I would make five individual pieces of everything, which would then multiply by five again after putting the pieces together. Leonardo and I might have cackled a little bit when we made that little discovery.

Judith very bluntly stated that if she ever saw us getting near her with a scalpel she would claw our eyes out.

I don't think I blame her for getting slightly creeped out at our antics.

The other affect that my magic from Ark was that it was also toughening up my body. It was subtle, to the point that I thought it was a change coming from my aura. Only reason that we managed to figure out that it was from my magic, was because Leonardo wanted to take some scan's of me to better study what my various powers were doing to me.

While the scans couldn't figure out what my magic and Aura were besides fluctuations of energy, it did tell us that there were traces of the magic being seeped into my very cells. Right now all we knew was that I was tougher than before, and magic was flowing more freely through my body, but I would have to keep an eye on my body from here on out. Don't know what other changes all of my abilities would make, but for now it looked like none of them were dangerous.

If I am being honest, I am not really comfortable knowing that some of my powers were making changes down to the cellular level. It was honestly something that made me anxious for what some of the other stars would do.

Meanwhile my progress with the Force was… less than I would have liked. Calling it wasn't something that just came to me like I expected, and anytime I would try to meditate I couldn't get myself into the right state of mind. The only field that I actually exceed in was the most annoying part about it.

Empathy was not something that I could just turn off, at least not yet. Which in turn, was the current biggest pain in my ass. I could feel it when Judith would start to think about her baby. I wasn't reading her thought's, I don't know when I would develop to that point, but it was more of a… general feeling.

She would get nervous, scared, anxious and it would radiate off of her like a beacon. About herself, about her baby, about what would happen if her Nazi parent's found her. Those feelings only reached a really high point maybe once or twice over the week, but there would always be a slight bit of anxiety at the back of her head.

Thing is, when she would be around me and watch as Leo and I worked I could feel those emotions die down, just a little bit. As if being around us made her feel better. I don't know how I felt about that. I never brought it up with her. There's no real way that I can explain any of this without making things awkward. So for now I was just making sure that I could make her as comfortable as possible.

Leonardo was the only silver lining among all of the emotional crap that the Force made me feel. He was a constant beacon of joy, and curiosity. Every success and failure that we made only motivated him to try even harder. The success to further our work, and the failure as sign to work even harder. Discoveries sent him over the moon, and he could spend all day just working on research and note taking.

It gave me some form of comfort amidst all of the downsides on being able to feel the emotions of others.

For actual tinkering, any time that I wanted to build anything from the Factorio tech would be easy as pie. Now that we managed to input everything into the R Lab, along with most of the raw materials after a few mass embodiment's, I could start production on almost any schematic. Though that would have to wait until I has somewhere I could actually store anything that I built.

We had decided to leave the house, now that we had a better and cleaner one inside of the Forge. The portal was now connected to the Rustbucket that I got last week which was now our mobile, heavily alien tech armed home. With Computer's hacking into networks was a breeze, especially compared to all of this primitive tech. Though, imagine my surprise when I found out that the license plates on the Rustbucket were completely legal, though not under anyone's name.

I know that sounds wrong. It left me scratching my head for a little while too. Eventually I said fuck it and blamed the Giant. That always made my life easier, even though I could feel that celestial asshole laughing at me.

For now we just moved around the city, hiding away inside of abandoned garages, building's etc. We never stayed in any building for longer than a day or two before we moved to a different one that Judith knew about.

Meanwhile the scan's from the Rustbucket just added even more research to the ever growing pile that Leonardo and I were digging through. Leo did the best that he could, but while he was a genius ahead of his time, he was also a man from the 1500's. He still had a lot of learning to do before he would be able to help at his best.

Oddly though, he learned a lot faster than normal people would. He was like a human sponge absorbing anything that he could get his hands, advancing at a very alarming rate. Don't know if this was just who he was, or if this was something that the Forge was doing. Already he was catching up to the information of the current era. Somehow.

Maybe giving him an omni-tool helped that out.

Unfortunately that was where the good news ended.

The event's at Canberra Australia were the same as canon. Simurgh came, the united defense of the heroes and villains fought her off, and the city was walled off into a dome. No one in or out. Ever.

Just like that, those that managed to survive the attack still lost their lives, never allowed to leave the city again. Out of fear that they might be a bomb waiting off. A fear well founded. All probably according to that winged bitch's plan.

It was disheartening just how… desensitized people in this world were to this. It was understandable, it happened every couple of months. People would naturally learn to just deal with this otherwise they would crumble. But the lack of empathy that the rest of the world had, the quick dismissal at millions of people now trapped forever inside of a dome… I hated it.

I hated how Nazi's were running around this city allowed to do whatever their supremacist husks of hearts wanted. I hated the Merchants that kidnapped random people off the street to get them hooked onto their product before moving on to a new target. I hated that girls would go missing in the city winding up inside one of their 'farms' never seen seen again by their families.

I hated how poor Canary was going to be sent to the Birdcage because of one unintentional accident, while murders and worse were allowed to wander the world.

I hated everything that I had seen and found on this world, so far.

Which is why I was here at the Boat Graveyard. Wanted to blow off some steam and get some training with a few of my power's.

I ran along the debris field abandoned beach, my entire body augmented by magic, aura and maybe the Force making me go faster than I ever had before. Don't know how fast I was going, but I'd bet that I might be able to keep up with some cars in the street.

It wasn't enough for me to get rid of the boil in my blood though. This anger I was feeling was worse than before. Yeah, I had some issues with holding things in, but it had never been this strong before. It was like any emotion I felt was more potent than before.

I was going to blame the Force on this. Ever since I'd connected to the living Force I felt...different. More emotional. More volatile. It didn't change who I was. It only made me feel so much more. No wonder force sensitive people had to struggle so much with the light and dark side of the force.

That wasn't even mentioning how I could sometimes feel glimpses of emotion around the city. Overexubarant joy, hopeless despair, body filled terror, heartstopping anxiety. Of all of the abilities that I had I think this was the one that caused me the most issues.

It took me forever to get a handle of my emotions when I got away from my family, but now it felt like that all over again.

That was why I chose this spot instead of the Trainyards. Less people nearby, therefore I felt almost nothing all the way over here.

Seeing a ship that still looks particularly held together compared to the rest, I decided it would be a good stop. Redirecting my run towards it, I start to move my legs faster than before, picking up more speed until I got to a distance that I thought would be enough. At that moment I push with both of my legs upward sailing through the air towards the air of the ship.

For those few seconds while I was airborne, I forgot about the worries that I was feeling. I forgot about the boiling in my blood that I was feeling, about the worries that my connection to the force brought me. I simply focused on that moment of weightlessness and the freedom that it gave me.

Only to quickly realize that I had misjudged the distance by the ever approaching stack of containers face first.

Oh.

This wasn't good.

"Nonononono-!" BONG!

I smacked right into the metal containers, some of them being shaken loose from their perch and falling into the waiting shallows bellow. I meanwhile fell on my back onto the deck of the ship ,my head ringing just like rest of the ship was.

I slowly get back on my feet shaking my head trying to stop the minute dizziness that I was feeling. Looking over myself I was lucky enough that i didn't have any cut's or bruises. Guess my aura managed to protect me from any injuries, or healed them up when they happened.

At least i kinda stuck the landing and no one saw that happened. Experiencing it was embarrassing enough.

Shaking of any dizziness I felt I jumped one more time unto the top of the metal containers, this time being more careful not to overreach and go sailing past my intended target.

"Ha, made it!" I said enthusiastically as I manage to stick the landing. Looking out over the heightened view I could make out the rest of the fallen ships that littered the beach. A dreary and lost feeling filled this place.

Loss of a better time when ships still made port here, and traveled out to sea. At the same time I could feel the feelings of joy and hope before this became the graveyard it now was.

A perfect balance of both light and dark.

Yeah this was the spot.

I sit down here at my perch into a meditative posture, closing my eyes to the sound of the still rocking waves of the ocean.

I sit there listening to th crashing waves, steadying my breathing trying to find a sort of peace in meditation. Too bad every time that I try I just find my thoughts drifting to wherever they want.

Dammit. How the hell do people ever manage to find there inner peace.

Looking at my omni-tools watch I see that half an hour had passed with no success of falling into a meditative state.

Great. Turns out a quieter environment wasn't going to do it.

"AHHH! Damn IT!" I yell up to the sky, with my arms out stretched and hands curled into fists.

I came here to calm down not frustrate myself even more!

I think about just leaving the beach in frustration, but I shake my head at that thought. I wasn't going to quit just because of a little trouble. I will get better at this!

Resuming the meditative stance I close my eyes again steadying my slightly frustrated breathing again. The old approach wasn't going to work, so how about I try something else instead.

I focus on the crashing waves. On the sound that each one made as they lapped onto the shore and each individual ship.

Whoosh, crash. Whoosh, crash. Whoosh Crash. Over and over again, in an ever continuing cycle. I begin to match my breathing to that. No particular reason for it… I just had the feeling that I should.

In...out. In...out. In...out.

Then. Nothing.

No sounds, no thought, no emotion. Just me and the feeling of pure, calm that I thought a hothead like me could never get.

I don't know how long I stayed in that trance, but within it I felt safe. At peace. I could feel things clearly for the first time, both inside of myself and the world around me.

This world was seeped in negativity. Despair and apathy ran rampant here, with certain people beacons of negative emotions that far outshone others.

Closest to me, out towards the ocean was some of the most concentrated of that negativity. Though among all of them, I could feel one that was suffused in negativity with a will that refused to drown in it. It was a… contradictory state of being.

It was a… woman? Yes a woman. She was wracked with constant pain, stress and a feeling of deep frustration. But despite all of that I could feel the iron will that pushed through it all. That looked into the abyss that was her own body and mind and refused to fall and break.

Meanwhile out towards the city there were several people that stood out from the rest, and not in a good way. Each one shined with their inner darkness, many of them completely consumed by them, others in denial of them, some of them relishing in them, while a very few of them fighting against them.

It was… horrible.

Just as I was about to cut the connection I could feel a specific beacon one that still had hope amidst all of the negativity that weighed upon her shoulders. It was like… something was pointing her out to me. Like the Force… wanted me to notice… the young girl.

She was scared. I could feel her fear all the way from where I was at. She was deep in the city, in the nicer area that was free of most gang activity, including the Empire. Every couple of seconds I could feel her become more erratic, more afraid, and more in pain. She was… asking questions?

Please make it stop!

The cry for help was clear in my head when I was knocked out my meditative trance. I took in a deep breath as if I had been holding it in. The sun had moved across the sky while I was out of it. How long was I out?

According to my omni-tool, about 2 hours.

Well, my accomplishing moment of finally succeeding at meditating was dampened by those revelations. This place was even more fucked than I thought. Those strong concentrations of negative emotion were no doubt parahumans.

It was the only thing that made sense. If anybody could be feeling that shitty it had to be one of those traumatized people. If I had to choose who the steel willed one that was out in the water, I would have to go with Director Piggot at the oil rig.

She was the only one that really fit into what I could feel. I couldn't help but respect that.

As for the other one, the young girl, I had a few hunches. Nicer neighborhood, periodic pain that got worse every few seconds, and asking questions… Dinah Alcott.

Was the Force trying to get me to her? Well it was working.

Anything to make sure that the girl didn't get kidnapped and addicted to drugs because of the pedo snake. Only problem was that she was a kid, and I was a fully grown woman. There was no way in hell that I would be able to go anywhere near her without someone calling the cops, or her running away from me.

Jesus how the fuck was I going to do this?

For now I should get back home. Judging by the two messages that Leonardo sent me the two of them were getting worried. I quickly send Da Vinci 'on my way' before hopping down taking a running jump from the deck of the ship to the beach.

While not graceful it was stable, unlike my jump towards the ship.

A ten minute walk before ducking into an alley and fastening an invisibility cloak. I didn't think that I was being followed, but the way that Coil was able to randomly find independent capes made me a bit extra paranoid about being followed.

Another ten minutes and I managed to return back to the Rustbucket.

Stepping inside of the motor-home I lock the door behind me before quickly taking off the cloak that I had been wearing and throwing it into the Duat.

Walking through the isle I place my key into the restroom doorway opening the portal into my workshop.

"Leo I told you she was fine!" Judith rolls her eyes as she calls out towards the R Lab when I step through.

I give her a wave as I feel another connection to the Forge. I promptly fall to a knee as I feel my entire nervous system screaming in BURNING PAIN!?

I barely catch Judith's eyes widening before my eyes shut tight from the pain "Leo she's having another one!"

At least I didn't scream this time. I'm becoming way to used to experiencing invasive body modification at the cellular and spiritual level. I would be worried if I wasn't currently literally burning from the inside.

The pain manages to subside by the time Leonardo come running out of his lab, wearing the clothes that he had appeared to me in. I tell him I'm ok even as he grabs one of my shoulders and leads me to one of the chairs that sat in the entrance hall. That's when I registered what i just received.

Holy shit this was bullshit on top of bullshit. In my hand was a very thick fresh scroll. Written neatly in impeccable handwriting was "Shadow Clones for Dummies (i.e you)".

...ok now I know that Giant prick was intentionally messing with me.

This was the top bullshit. The bottom bullshit was that the burning sensation I felt were new chakra coils literally forming along my nervous system in my soul! How the fuck did that work? I thought chakra was an actual physical thing, not something like this!

And I could give people new ones by flowing my chakra through them! The star that this came from was a small one!

Roughly, I explain in short succinct terms to Leonardo and Judith exactly what I had just gotten. Before I even finished Leonardo had already snatched the scroll out of my hand and unfurled it, his greedy eyes taking in every word and diagram that was on the jutsu scroll.

The blonde pregnant woman was just staring at me doing her best expression of a goldfish. "Your power gave you ANOTHER Trump power!?"

"...Yeah. This one would need training before anyone could actually use it though." That answer didn't seem to calm her. At all.

"Can you perform it right now?" Da Vinci asked not looking up from the scroll in his hands.

"I could." I answer after a few seconds of wracking my brain. "At least I think I can. Whether or not it would work I couldn't tell you until I tried."

The inventor nods closing the scroll and placing it on top of the little dining table while inputting a few commands into his omni-tool. I knew what he was going to ask, and I really didn't want to have this conversation.

"Leo, no."

"Signora Mia, I understand that you do not wish for me to go out into the field, Im not entirely comfortable with it either, but it would be better to have two combatants instead of one. You are only one person and whenever trouble find us, which you assured me it will eventually, I wish to be able to help you instead of uselessly hiding inside of this dimension." His blue eyes shined with the same determination and drive he got when he was researching something he didn't understand.

"Look, this isn't something that can be done easily. It is going to hurt. A lot. More than anything you've ever felt in your life and your death. There's not a thing that I can do to lessen the pain, you'll be awake for every single moment as the chakra literally burns itself into you."

"Then that is what I will do." He answers as if it is the simplest thing in the world.

I knew that logically he was right. I knew that I couldn't do this alone and I would need as much help as I could take. I just hated the fact that I had to drag him into the rest of this fucked up world. It was brutal. From the way that some of the powers themselves worked, to the ever seeking conflict that their users searched for.

I had been intentionally delaying trying to figure out how to give him Aura because of that. Now I couldn't run away from getting him involved in this anymore.

Our luck would run out at some point, and judging by the way the Force literally pointed me to the direction of Dinah Alcott it would be soon.

"Fine." I ground out. ""Might be best if we lay you down somewhere."

We moved to Leo's R Lab which he had made into his room. Towards the back of the room in the corner sat his bed, along with a dresser, and nightstand. He had decided to sleep here so that he could let us two "signora's' have some privacy. Besides it saved him a trip when he was doing some late night research. Which was every night.

I swear that man's sleeping schedule was a complete mess.

The brown haired man laid on his bed way too calm for what he was about to experience. I sat next to him while Judith was farther away from us, closer towards the entrance to the lab. She wanted to watch what me giving someone powers was going to be like, but I didn't want anything happening to her in case Leo reacted violently.

"Are you ready?" I ask him quietly.

A resolute nod.

"Alright here we go."

I grab his hand gathering the chakra that flowed through my body and soul pushing it outwards through my body concentrated through our joined hands.

He reacted the moment my chakra flowed from me to him. The grip he had on my hand increased, almost crushing it in his grasp. His body arches upward with his limbs splayed outward. That's when he started screaming. It was one of the worst that I had ever heard in my life.

Well at least I was getting ready for when Judith finally popped that baby out.

I jump out of my chair, ready to hold him down if he started to spasm or move erratically. I heard Judith take heavy fast steps towards us.

I gesture back with an open palm. "Stay back this is normal!"

"Don't you hear him screaming!" She yells at me, while thankfully stopping in place.

"Trust me, this is normal. Only reason I didn't scream was because I've felt things just as bad." The migraine I got from having dozens of literal doctorate's worth of knowledge jammed into my skull came to mind.

I don't turn to look at her, keeping my gaze focused squarely on Leonardo's rigid body watching for any more movement.

A few more seconds of him screaming bloody murder tick on, each one feeling far longer. Finally, his voice goes quiet and his body relaxes from its frozen state slumping into the mattress. The only sound coming from him was his heavy breathing.

I sit back down on the chair leaning down closer to him in my seat. "How do you feel?"

"As if the inferno itself decided to pay a visit within my veins." He tiredly gasps out. Sitting up in the bed, he softly rubs his arms, his entire body shaking. Judith approaches then taking a seat on the bed, her face an expression of concern.

He gives us a weary but genuine smile. "It is alright signora's I am fine. The burning sensation in my veins has taken leave of me." He looks down at his hands, slowly opening and closing them his eyes seeing something that we weren't.

"I feel… something. As if something more than my blood flows through my veins." He says with a sense of wonder.

A relieved sigh escapes my lips. "It worked. Congrats Da Vinci. You now have chakra coils. We can go over some of the details on how to actually use it later. Though, it's going to take time before you're actually going to be able to use it."

"I am eager to learn"

I chuckle at his earnest answer. "When aren't you?"

It was a good thing that one of the things that came with the Chakra package was some academy training. It didn't come in the form of memories, it was more like Scientist Supreme. Knowledge that was crammed into my brain.

Luckily it looks like my brain adapted to that kind of action. Probably helped that this was just Academy training and not doctorate levels of information.

Judith and I leave Da Vinci to rest a little bit longer. The experience left the Renaissance Man exhausted. He was fine with it, Leonardo had already gotten his ever present notebook and was writing everything down. I swear, I think he would die if he couldn't take any notes on anything.

"So, if what Leo felt you went through, why weren't you screaming like you were getting burned alive?" Judith asked when were made it inside of the living room of the Witch's house. We actually had a couch and a few comfortable seats that I made with Ark of Embodiment.

I hum in thought. "Probably a mix of having already felt painful changes to my biology and two inherent healing factors."

"Well...fuck"

The exasperation and… awe that was coming off of the teenage girl were making me uncomfortable. I'd never dealt well when complimented, having someone literally in awe of me was something that I never thought I would get.

"How are you feeling?" I ask desperately wanting to change the subject so those feelings would go away.

Thankfully that feeling of awe was quickly replaced by simple joy and warmth.

"Good, the baby's been kicking a lot more." She affectionately places her hand on her tummy smiling softly at the unborn child within.

"Should be any day now right?" Her head nods her eyes displaying slight worry that doesn't do anything to drown out the determination on getting through this. Her cheeks were fuller now, and displayed a healthier glow than when I had first found her.

While she wasn't emaciated on the first day, she wasn't eating a healthy diet. Two weeks of regular filling meals went a long way to nourishing her.

However, I was still worried about the baby . After months of barely getting enough nutrients to not look like a skeleton, plus the not regularly bathing, the baby had risks of dealing with some medical issues.

Not to mention that we were running low on cash. At least we didn't have to worry that much about baby expenses. Diaper's, clothes and other material things would be no problem, the R was a godsend for that, literally.

Honestly I was just thinking of stealing money from some of the supervillains that I knew the identities of. While they probably had some of the best cybersecurity in world, at least non tinkertech, none of what they had could match what I could do. Seriously I had the programming capabilities that could run technology from a space age galaxy spanning civilization.

The only thing that was keeping me from doing that, was the kind of reaction that some of them would have. Mainly Coil. That asshole was petty down to the core, if he figures out that someone was stealing money from him, I can only imagine what he would do to catch whoever it was.

Judith's voice brings me back from my musing's. "So, I had a favor to ask."

"I'm sorry, are you, the streetkid sassed a stranger with a gun in their hands, being meek. Give me a second so that I may immortalize this moment in my head." She turns a little red at that with a pout and glare. Laughing at her I quickly shake away whatever reatort she was going to give me. "What do you need kid."

"I was wondering if we could look for some of my friends. I want to make sure that they're ok."

Ah, right. The group that took her in. The ones that were hiding because the Empire was sniffing around for her.

"Sure. No problem. Just, you know don't mention that you are rooming with a tinker." It was good that she wanted to find her friends. Loyalty to those that you care for should always be important.

She blinks at me a little disbelievingly. "What did you think that I was going to say no? Judith you wound me."

That manages to get me one of her teenaged scoffs. She did manage to look me in the eye and give me a quite but genuine thank you.

A connection to the Forge reached out then. A smaller star from the largest of the constellations that filled my inner sky. Technical Expertise. Oh now this was something that I could put to good use.

I was now a savant when it came to machines. Nothing too out there or physics breaking like Workaholic, but definitely close to it. I was already getting better ideas on how to create those droids that I was working on, though I had a feeling that it would still take a while. While programming was one thing, making the Hardware was something very different.

"Another one?" Judith asks. "Your eyes did that thing again, where you look like your tripping on acid."

I give he a displeased look at her before continuing the conversation. "So who are we going to look for first."

She takes a few seconds to think before I could see the light bulb in her head go off. "We could look for Will. He's the sort of leader of most of the homeless around here. Older guy, he's a sweetheart. Been out on the streets for a few years, knows just about all of the ones that aren't Merchants.

Used to be a Realtor before the company that he used to work for got trashed in one of Lung's rampages. He probably would have lost his job anyways given that most people want to get the hell out of the city instead of into it. The building getting demoed just sped it up."

That might work. "You know where he might have gone to hole up?"

She tilts her head down. "Maybe. He was the one that hooked us up with places to squat in. Knew the buildings that his old company never got to sell to anyone. He might be in one of the ones that were in other neighborhoods though. I hope that isn't the case though?"

At my raised eyebrow she continue on. "The ones outside of the neighborhood are in gang territory. ABB territory. We only went to one of them once, and we didn't stay long. Will thought that he saw some gang members getting interested in us, so we ran before they decided to get close"

Well it was a start. "Ok we can start looking for him tomorrow. See if we can find him. What does he look like?"

"Skinny black guy. Tall, always wore this baggy green coat and a ratty brown beanie. He's around his fifties, but he looks older cause fo the wrinkles. Has brown eyes. Wears a rosary around his neck. Told me that it belonged to his wife that passed away a while back." She rattles of details in a warm almost nostalgic like tone.

"Alright tomorrow I can drive around looking for him. Right now we need to head back to the house. It's starting to get late." I say while looking at the watch on my omnitool. The sun would set in about an hour or so, and while gang held territory was never actually safe, it got worse when the sun went down.

She gives me a bit of a reluctant smile before, heading upstairs to our shared room. Radiating relief, with a lot less worry than before. Judith had a good head on her shoulder's, it just sucks the hand that life dealt her.

Honestly we only needed to avoid her parent's for about a month or two. Moment she hits her eighteenth birthday, she was free of whatever bullshit her parents might try to pull. As long as we could keep her and the baby away from them Judith might actually be able to have a life.

Didn't mean that all of our worries would be completely gone, her parent's would still be gunning for her, regardless of what the law says. At least when her eighteenth birthday she would be free of one way that they would get their hands on her baby.

Well, that was a worry for tomorrow. For now I was going to read that scroll that I got. Shadow Clones were going to be something that I could abuse the shit out of. I wonder if all of my powers transferred over to them?

Returning to the entrance room of the workshop I find that someone had already managed to find the scroll and was rapidly reading through it.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting Leonardo?" I cross my arms glaring at him disapprovingly.

"Shhh." Did he just shush me? WHILE READING MY OWN SCROLL!?

I already had to deal with one teenager, I did not have the patience to deal with another one!

Without preamble I stomp towards him and tear the scroll from his grasp.

"I'm not done- yet?" He whines before it peters out into a question. I stare at him with a displeased look on my face, and my arms crossed over my chest.

"You are going to bed and resting. I have two separate healing factors and have dealt with this before. You have none of these things." He opens his mouth before I raise my hand for silence. "You just got your chakra, you don't have any training on how to properly use it. And while this scroll might detail the specifics into how even an idiot can do it, your body still needs time to adjust to the changes that it has gone through."

"You are going to relax for the rest of the day." My tone brokers no argument and he remains silent with his expression the same as when I scolded him after pulling two all nighters last week.

Before he could responds the damn Forge decide to connect again. As if to mock me the damn thing gave me another doozy.

There was the shaking I was waiting for. I remain standing while Leo holds onto the arms of the chair he was sitting on.

When it subsided the entrance room was bigger and a new door had appeared.

The cowed look was gone from Leonardo's face replace with one of pleading as he gave the doorway furtive glances.

"Ugh fine. Come on. But you're resting after. Are we clear?" He enthusiastically nods before booking it towards the doorway before I could change my mind. I follow after him. I swear to god I would drag his ass to his bed afterwards if I had to.

Even though I knew what came from this larger star I still had my breath taken away. Leo stood completely frozen at the sight that stood before us.

A stone archway stood above the doorway that we stepped through, with identical ones perched around the ring of water that surrounded the large garden of softly glowing purple herbs that lay at the center. A stone pathway cut through the ring allowing us to cross the ring of water without worry of disturbing the water.

Standing in the middle of each half of the rings of water weren't statues of panthers, but feathered serpents with their heads high, mouths open revealing the fangs that lined it. Wings were completely unfurled with the wingspan being just as long as the serpent itself.

In the center of the garden was a patch of dirt big enough to cover a person underneath. And above that giving us the light that let us see all of this, was the barest light of sunset with its purple hues giving everything an almost otherworldly glow.

Stepping forward past the still stupefied Da Vinci I crouch and gently cup one of the flowers that glowed just a bit brighter at my approach.

"What is this?" Judith manages to whisper out. I hadn't even heard her come in. She had the same look on her face that Da Vinci did. Mouth hanging open. Eyes taking in every detail, as if afraid everything was a dream that would go away from blinking too hard.

"This is a garden filled with a plant grown from the soil that was struck by a meteorite made of a metal that this world has never seen. These plants are supernatural by nature."

"In what way?" Da Vinci asks managing to find his voice.

"In that when you crush them, drink the plant and then buried underneath a low light, you will walk through the realm of souls. Or at least whatever equivalent there is in this world. After you wake your body will be changed into basically a low level brute"

"Would you really need it then? You're already a Brute. Pretty strong one at that I saw move most of the big as furniture without breaking much of sweat."

I scratch the back of my head. "From what I can tell, most of my powers stack on top of each other. I'm stronger when I use both the Force and Aura, so what do you think that it would look like if I added this to the mix?" Not to mention I had a limited amount of Aura. If a fight went on for too long, or I took to heavy a blow I would be at a severe disadvantage.

"Anyways, no point in dealing with this now. It's getting late and I still need to read that scroll before we can deal with this." Judith agrees while I have to drag Da Vinci out by his crimson cape.

After grounding his ass into his room I finally read my new scroll. And what a wealth of information it is. Just like that I could now Naruto swarm any fucking asshole that tried anything. I was now an army of me.

There was a bunch of other versions of the shadow clone written inside that I was shelving for later. At the moment I was trying my first jutsu.

Doing the iconic hand sign I felt a flash of giddiness as a childhood dream came true. I felt my chakra flow and snap. With puffs of white smoke I now had five identical mirrors of myself all staring at each other. Guess workaholic works on this too. Holy fuck.

We just stare at each other for a few seconds, sizing each other up before one of us breaks the silence.

"Damn, we're hotter than I thought."

"I think it's because we keep getting powers that give you actual fitness training." Another one chimes in.

"Guess that explains why we got a nicer ass than before." The one that was looking at said body part contemplates.

"Is that really the first thing that pops into all of your heads." I said in annoyance.

"Yeah. We know you thought it too." I just glare at the smug grins that these perverts give me shoving down the embarrassment at the fact they were right.

"So what's the plan now? Or you just want to to disappear?" One of them asks.

"You don't care if you just disappear?"

"Nah. If we read that right, then after we disappear, our memories just go back to you. So we don't really die." The one at the far right nonchalantly explains.

Well, good. I didn't have to worry about dealing with any existential dread about making them then.

Looking at them I was struck with an idea. "Hey would three of you be ok with doing some research while I spar with the last one?"

One of them smiled at me. I didn't realize that I could smile like that. "Good idea. Triple the man power for brainy stuff, while we finally get to see just how far we can push ourselves."

"Where the hell are we going to fight though? There isn't enough room in here to do that."

"The Garden is big enough."

"Yeah, but I don't want to trample all over the herbs in there. It takes a while for more of them to grow back." The one that hadn't said much shut down.

I bite back a curse. "Ok then training is going to have to wait then."

"Not necessarily. While we can't beat the crap out of each other, we can start training in the little ways." Pervert me says while rubbing her chin. She snaps her fingers as an idea hits her. "How about this, you meditate a little bit while another one of us finally tries using that lightsaber of ours. While we don't know shit about any of the stances maybe incorporating some of what Honest Recklessness alternate forms we know might give us an insight."

And that's what we did for the next two hours. While my three clones were inside of the R Lab researching, fleshing out some more droid programming, and catching Da Vinci trying to use chakra, one clone and I stayed in the entrance room.

She practiced with the lightsaber shifting to different sword forms and testing different swings careful not to slash through anything. While I think that if we damaged anything that the Forge provided, neither one of us wanted to find out how Dust ammunition would react to a lightsaber.

Meanwhile I sat down in a lotus position, steadying my breathing trying to find some sort of peace.

The hum of the swinging blade helped provide something to focus on. This time instead of feeling myself directed towards anything, or sensing the emotions of others I instead focused on myself.

My anxiety, my fears, my hatred.

I could feel all of them roiling inside of myself. Bubbling, festering waiting for the right moments to rear their ugly heads and whisper inside of my ear.

I'd always been a bit on the passionate side. Guess this was the negative side of that. I was right, there was no way that I could ever be a Jedi. I cared way too much about what was dear to me. That included Judith and that baby. Therefore I cared about this broken, fucked up world.

Fuck you Celestial Giant. I can practically feel that asshole shrugging his shoulders while he hammers away at space dust.

The light side needed serenity. Something that I doubted would ever be something that I can achieve on my own. But I could try at least.

My breathing stays steady and deep while I focus on my fear. The fear of those three monsters that terrorized this planet. Fear of the golden man that masqueraded as a hero. Fear of the untold horrors and monsters in human skin that could kill me without a second thought.

I don't know how long I stayed within that position, contemplating everything that scared me. Feeling the Force around me connected, but not intruding. Eventually when I open my eyes the emotions were still there, but… they were lighter than they had ever been before.

It was a start. In front of me my shadow clone was finishing up a complicated spin slash with the lightsaber before stopping with the purple blade stretched outward from her body.

She notices my eyes on her and she gives me a cheeky grin. "You like calm."

I snort at that. "Miracle I know."

She chuckles at that before crossing over to me and placing the wooden cylinder into my palm. "Well I had fun. Enjoy those memories of mine."

Then she pops into white smoke.

Just like that I remember what she did in those two hours I was in my meditative state. It wasn't invasive, or alien like what some of the memories that the Forge gave me. It was just… me. My memories. Nothing to make me feel like I they weren't mine, or that the clone was different from me. She was me, and she simply returned to me.

It was a very new experience. I hear four more pops from the Lab doorway and four new memories join into mine.

Today had been extremely productive. Meditation that I felt got me closer to the force than I had been before, Training with the lightsaber blade that resembled Shii-Cho, with a few alterations, while my other three clones worked in the lab. One worked on the droid programming for the assistant droid that I wanted to build, while the other two decided to give the Factorio designs another shot.

My powers did transfer over to my clones, judging by the progress that they made. The programming and code had made rapid improvements, while the Factorio tech made at least something of a breakthrough.

They managed to recreate some of the tech from the Rustbucket that had been giving me some trouble yesterday. It wasn't quite the same, but it was close enough that they were able to create a bootstrap version of the power source from the Rustbucket. While not something that we could immediately use, it was definitely a step forward in the right direction.

I felt another connection to a smaller star then. Huh. Anything that I make is now mostly weather proof. Neat.

I think that it was about time for bed. Leo had already knocked out by now, and I think that Judith was getting there. We all had a big day tomorrow, and it might be a good idea to get an early rise. Oh bed~! You're queen is coming!

--

March 3rd 2011 Brockton Bay Friday

The next morning had gone on just fine. Or at least as fine as it could get without coffee. I needed cash soon.

Judith stayed completely knocked out while I went downstairs to rustle us up some breakfast for the morning. Thing is when I went down the stairs, I heard some rustling from the door to the entrance hall.

I found Leo ransacking the entrance hall searching everywhere that he could for something. Pretty sure that I knew what that something was.

Clearing my throat causes his to jump a little bit in the air, and when he turns around I held the Shadow Clone scroll in my hand, having grabbed it from the Duat. I raise my eyebrow at him, and he actually tried to look somewhat dignified in having ransacked the room.

After a few seconds of just staring at him he finally relented. "I'll return everything back to its rightful place."

I give him a smile as I toss the scroll back into the realm between, walking into the Witch house kitchen with a bit of jump in my step.

Fast forward the usual song and dance of morning zombie from Judith, and all of our morning bath's we were driving through the city in the Rustbucket. Somehow, someway the Rustbuckets plates were already in the city's database. How? I don't know. After Workaholic i learned not to think too much about how most of the powers that came from the Forge worked.

Judith was in the passenger seat helping me navigate through the morning traffic with a pair of sunglasses and the hood from her hoodie pulled over her head. Leonardo was in sitting leisurely happily reading through the shadow clone scroll.

I caved after seeing that moping face of his. Later when we got back I would make some shadow clones, so that I can teach him some of the basics of chakra, while making sure that I still get some things done for the day.

Like all mornings, traffic sucked. Idiots not remembering how to drive without their cup of coffee, teenagers who really didn't deserve the license they have with their stupid stunts, and even more dumbassses who don't know how to cross the street. At least this is one thing that is universal across worlds.

The change from neutral to gang territory was a stark one. Graffiti of red and green tagged various buildings in the stylized mark of the ABB. Some street corners had a gang member or two hanging around the area. Their eyes were watchful but still clouded with morning dreariness. Guess even gang members can have early starts.

I had miscalculated a little bit. Though there less gang members hanging around the area, while the rustbucket was shabby enough for most people to ignore it, the motor-home was still distinctive.

We needed to find Will quick. I didn't want to stay here that long. A white guy, white girl, and brown Hispanic chick in an Asian gang controlled territory was a recipe for disaster.

Luckily it didn't take us long to find the building that Will had showed to Judith and traffic had lightened to barely a trickle. Though we did have to find an alley to hide the Rustbucket.

Before heading out of the door I activated a hidden fingerprint reader under the door handle. A mechanical and electrical whir came from the machine. I'd like to see any gang member try to take this away. Moment that they tried to open it, they would be hit with enough electricity to knock them on their ass, hehe.

Judith and I headed there alone. I didn't want to take her with me initially. But, she brought up a good point that he would only trust me if she was with me.

She was wearing a talisman around her neck that would shield her from anything that might hit her. While it wouldn't last too long, it would be enough time for me to get her the hell away. I could lift well into the superhuman, so carrying a pregnant teen wouldn't be too much of an issue. I would have to be careful with carrying her, but it shouldn't be an issue. If worst comes to worst, I can just split into clones.

Good luck managing to catch me when there's dozens of mes dog rushing you.

The smashed in front door to the abandoned apartment complex quickly dashes whatever good mood that I was in.

"No!" Judith gasps out. I put my hand around her arm before she can rush through the doorway.

"You sure as hell are not going in there first." My growl brokers no argument as I step past her being careful with my steps. Closing the door behind us with a creak I feel outwards as best as I can while retrieving Honest Recklessness and my armor's chest-piece and helmet from the Duat.

As I rapidly put on my equipment I manage to feel something. It was faint… only one person. But they were hurt. And as the seconds ticked on I could feel their presence getting fainter and fainter.

"We need to hurry. Stick close. I don't feel anyone, but let's be safe about this." I don't need to turn around to feel the glimpse of affirmation coming from her.

We find him towards the back of the building on the first floor. The room looked like it might have been the landlord's office, given the beat up desk and filing cabinet that had just started to rust.

There was also a lot of blood on the floor, with even more pooling out of the two wounded men. Or, rather one dead guy, and another man that I could feel was clinging to life.

"Will!" Judith rushes past me ignoring what I had told her not even a minute ago.

He was just like Judith had described him. Skin a few shades darker than my own, almost six feet tall, thin, while wearing clothes that looked like they had seen better days. His grey hair had specks of brown that refused to lose their color, while his long matted beard was completely silver.

I would take some more time to appreciate that he was still handsome although with wrinkles, but he was bleeding out and unconscious.

I summon my five clones for the price of one. It might be overkill, but I needed an extra pair of hands. I hadn't had time to show this to Judith yet, so the poor girl jumped from her crouched position before calming down at seeing the copies of myself.

We start to move as one then. One goes to the window, pulling out one of the pistol's that I had made from the Duat. One checks the guy on the floor, while another head's towards the entrance, another pistol held expertly in her hands.

The last two and I kneel down next to Will.

"Two bullet wounds. Tch, one of them is still stuck inside." A clone mutter's under her breath while staunching the bleeding with a cloth that she created. The other clone does the same with the second wound while I activate my omnitool.

Both of them sigh with relief after inspecting the wound a little bit more. "Looks like the bullets missed any vital organs.

With shaking fingers I apply some med-gel to both of the wounds, making sure to get his back where the bullet had passed through on the first one.

"Alright he should be stabilized for now. Come on we need to get him inside of the Rustbucket." Without looking at my companions for any confirmation, create a stretcher with wisps of red and white solidifying in seconds. Good, my speed with this has gotten better lately.

"Alright one, two, three!" My clone and I in sync lift Will of of the floor and onto the stretcher. Quickly grabbing one end of the stretcher my little company of me and Judith make our way back towards the front of the building. Hearing our approach my clone that stood watch swiveled her head towards us, relaxing when she realized who it was.

She gives us a quick nod and disappears with the signature puff. Her memories reach me in less than a second and I nod when they do. Good, no one had passed by while we were inside.

At this point none of us cared about being followed, so we booked it as fast as we could back to the ally that we had parked the RV in. Judging by the fact that there wasn't anybody unconscious on the floor, no one tried to break into my baby. I was a little disappointed by that.

One of my clones presses her thumb underneath the door handle and the security system hums as it powers down. Rushing into the RV one of my clones opens the workshop with the restroom door, while another takes the drivers seat and starts up the car.

"I'll get us away form here, make sure that no one follows us." She gives us a smile that tries to reassure us, but it betrayed the slight worry that she was feeling. So that's what that looked like. Got to work on that.

We leave just as she starts to pull out of the alley way, bee lining it towards the R Lab. Leonardo jumps out of the central terminal, opening his mouth before closing it once he sees the unconscious man in the stretcher.

Without a second thought he gestures towards his bed, while activating the Terminal again. We set him down on the bed and cut open his shirt so that it won't get in the way. When Judith said that this guy was skinny, she sure as hell wasn't kidding. His ribs were sticking out and his stomach was in desperate need of a good meal. Something to take care of later.

Leonardo's omnitool shines in its orange glow while he scans Will. One of my clones had taken over keeping an eye on the results that appeared on the Terminal, since none of my clones appeared with omnitools.

"Alright Judith, I need you to get out of here. We're going to start seeing what we can do for him, and while I know that you want to be here for him, there isn't much that you can do."

For a split second I can see that teenage defiance in her eyes before she gives a furtive glance over to her friend. Her shoulders then slump forward and she gives me a reluctant nod.

"Make sure that he's ok. Please." It was the first time that I had heard Judith plead for anything. First time that she let the scared kid that she was out without a hint of a facade.

I feel a lump in my throat at that. I squeeze her hand a little bit. "We'll do everything that we can."

She stares at me in the eye's for a second that feel's longer before giving me nod and leaving the room with teary eyes.

I take a deep breath. Right, don't fuck this up. My clones were already getting to work, with one of them creating scalpels, aluminum trays, syringes and other medical tools, while another got to work disinfecting the area around the wounds that the medi-gel didn't reach.

"We got a little bit of a problem." My clone by the terminal calls over to me, making me quickly rush over to her.

That's when the fucking forge connected. A smaller star. From the Magictech constellation called Tech Wizard. I now knew how COMP's from Devil Survivor worked. Couldn't make them yet, but with some time I knew could.

Cause SMT was a world that I wanted to connect to. Why settle for death by depressed space whale, when I could start the Apocalypse by accidentally summoning SATAN here causing a fucking domino effect that resulted in getting YHVH's attention!

I slap myself out of the the trance that I always got in when the Forge. The sound of the impact knocks the rest of my clones to their senses as well. Every single one of them were paler than I had ever seen myself.

When they saw me, they just gave me a nod, and got back to work, struggling to keep themselves from shaking.

I was most definitely going to get blackout drunk tonight. I think that I would really need it. Along with some crying. Definitely some crying.

"What's the problem?" I actually manage to keep my voice from cracking.

"Uh, right. While we can make sure that he heals properly, the real issue is going to be getting him some blood transfusions. He lost a lot of it before we found him." Shit. And while we could take him to a hospital, that would bring a lot of attention towards us. Attention that we did not need. Then an idea came to me.

Judging by the way my face was looking at me, my counterpart had the same idea. "Can you do it?"

"Maybe." I say lowly. Looking at the terminal I start to focus on the scans of Will's blood when my clone exclaims in my ear.

"Wait! Make sure that it's in a blood bag! It'd be useless if it just splashes all over the floor."

"I know that!" Of course I'm lying through my teeth. Right blood bag, make sure that it's in a blood bag. He's blood type B. Make sure that it's the same kind. No contamination, or anything that could cause damage from the inside.

I reach my hands out with my palms facing up, and at that moment I felt five distinct heavy bags fall into them. Five clear clean blood bags were in my arms.

"Da VInci come over here!" The Renaissance man quickly complies, moving his scanner so that it was facing the blood bags that were in my arms.

"We're good!" YES!

One of my clones had already created an IV pole and plastic tube with a needle that we needed for the transfusion. Along with plastic gloves and various other pieces of medical equipment that we would need.

"Alright bitches lets get to work." My three clones give me nods before doing just that.

--

An hour later later I'm standing in the entrance room, with Judith giving me the first hug that we ever had while bawling her eyes out. Relief radiated from the both of us, the hug making hers so much more clearer.

My clones had poofed a few minutes after we were sure that Will would pull through. It was a fucking miracle, even with the Medi-gel and Embodies blood that I made. Will was past the prime of his life, and malnourished after years of living on the streets. Either we got, lucky or Will was just that much of a tough bastard.

Regardless of the reason, he would pull through. All that he needed was time.

I made sure to make Leo another bed before leaving him and Will. Didn't want him to be sleeping on the floor, plus I felt bad about making him share a room with a stranger.

Leonardo assured me that he didn't mind, and going by his emotions he really didn't.

Eventually Judith and I were in the Witch's House on the couch, the teenage girl completely passed out in my lap, the event's of today having taken a toll on her.

Really, it was barely noon. How did it already feel like it was already the end of the day?

After taking Judith up to her bed, I left the Workshop and found that my clone had driven us to the public library. She was sitting on one of the seats by the kitchenette just staring at the wall with a sort of thousand yard stare.

When she notices me, I can actually feel the relief from her through the force, and she sort of just crumples into herself a little bit. "Didn't pick up anything on the way here. We should be safe. If that's it boss I think I'm going back to your head now."

"Thanks for getting us out of there."

She tries to give me that cheeky smile that we had, but came up short. "Don't go thanking yourself so much. People will start thinking you're a narcissist."

With that she pops and just like that I feel so much more exhausted than before. While I and the other clones were busy and didn't have time to dwell our latest star, my clone did. At least I felt like I already had my mental breakdown for the day.

While Tech Wizard made me even better with machines, already I was having ideas for upgrades to the Rustbuckets systems, the real meat was the knowledge of magic and rituals and how to incorporate that into my machines. With enough time I could summon demons and bind them with a contract.

Honestly I would probably never actually utilize that side of the power, but the prospect of making myself stronger through them made it far too enticing. I would need to get as strong as possible if I wanted to survive going head to head with that golden bastard.

But I wasn't going to doom this world to something just as bad as him, if not even worse.

Before I even thought of actually trying to make a COMP I was going to make sure that nothing got a wind of us through it. Another task to add to my growing list of projects.

There was a bigger issue on top of all of this. The dead guy that my clone searched where we found Will was Empire. Guy had a swastika tattooed on his arm, and a bullet that had manged to get him in the throat.

Turns out that Will had a gun and managed to get a lucky shot off before he went down.

This was bad though. Dead Empire goon in ABB territory. No way that this wasn't going to cause some ripples across the two gangs.

I had a really bad feeling that things were going to get a lot uglier soon. And considering that the Force was a thing, that feeling was probably dead on the mark.

I became embroiled in all of this the moment that I decided to take Judith in. And while she wasn't important to the grand scheme of things, I doubted any of the Empire capes gave two shits about her, she was the spark that was going to start a powder-keg.

That meant that I would need to pull out all of the stops and tinker like there was no tomorrow. But before that I would use everything that I had available to me.

I already had one spiritual enlightenment, why not have another one?

I stood alone inside of the Field of Heart Shaped Herbs, the feathered serpent statues feeling more menacing now that I was here to actually use the plants. Summoning my five clones for the price of one, four leave the room while one of them stay behind.

"So, do we have to crush this thing?" She asks while I start to strip down to my sports bra and my workout shorts underneath.

"Don't think so, I think that as long as I eat the whole thing the effects will start to work." I take the herb from her and promptly put it into my mouth.

Ugh! This shit was nasty! No wonder they started to grind it down, anything to make this thing taste better.

"You're starting to glow a bit." Looking down I see that she is right. Underneath my skins lights of purple shift and bend, pulsating with their otherworldly light. They begin to grow and flow along my veins as they become visible through my skin.

Right now or never.

Laying down in the sand of the center of the garden, feeling each particle of weathered earth against my skin, I start to feel myself slipping away. My clone says something as I can feel her pile on more and more earth on top of me, though at this point I can't make out what she said. You know, the purple light of sunset was quite lovely. It was the last thing I saw as the sand was thrown over my face, and I finally slipped away.

--

Ever woken up buried in the earth? It was fucking terrifying and I damn near pissed myself as I flailed in place. My exit from the sand was not graceful. It was more like erratically moving my limbs and rolling out of the sand.

Shaking the bits of earth from my hair I finally get a good look at my surroundings. And I'm floored by it.

It wasn't the plains of Africa that greeted me. Instead it was the pyramids and marshes of the mesoamerica's. The sky was filled with the same purple hues of the last light of sunset that the ceiling of the garden held. Only so much much more majestic.

I was high on the steps of a great Aztec pyramid, giving me a clear view of the city below. These weren't ruins though. Nearest to the pyramid was a courtyard of bricks and stone with some platforms being elevated from the rest. Beyond that I could see the outlines of buildings that too far away to make out clearly.

Other pyramids could be seen rising towards the sky in the distance, but none of them were close to the height to the one that I was on.

Past the outlines of the buildings though, I could see the rippling water of the lake that surrounded this city.

While the view was already magnificent and breathtaking, the purple almost aurora like light's from above gave the entire view an almost ethereal quality.

I had no idea where I was, but I was pretty sure that it was somewhere deep in Mexico. Somewhere that I hadn't been to since I was a little girl.

Turning towards the rest of the steps I tentatively start to make my way towards the top, somehow knowing that it was where I needed to go. On my way up the steps I noticed that I was wearing new clothes.

A long skirt that hugged my figure complimented the blouse that I was now wearing. They were colored blue with square like symbols covering most of it. Along the edges of the clothing were lines of red and white woven into various other symbols that I couldn't make heads or tails of.

The last piece to this were the gold and turquoise earrings that jingled as they hung from my ears. They were simple thick squares that were a little bit on the heavy side. First time that I've worn earrings, let alone a skirt in years. They were comfortable though.

The top of the pyramid was a simple and empty stone that gave me a better view of the city. For a second I just stood there admiring the view that no one had seen in probably centuries. Then I heard a voice next to me.

"You've grown mija."

My brain short circuits for a second when I hear her voice. It was just like how I remembered it. Like a puppet on a string, my head woodenly turns towards the short woman that stood right next to me.

She wasn't wearing clothes like the ones that I had been wearing. Instead she was in that green and red short sleeved dress with slight frills at the bottom that she always liked to wear when she would take me out into the city.

Her skin was the same dusky color as mine was, though she was a little darker form the time that she spent out in the sun. Her arm's while wrinkled and slightly scarred here and there, showed slight muscle as if to spite her age.

Her silvered hair was in a tight bun, while she wore that golden necklace that her own grandmother had given to her when she was a little girl.

Her feet were planted firmly on the ground with her back completely straight, and while she was a little taller than me but that wasn't saying much. And she was giving me the same smile that she would when she saw me.

"Abuelita?" I tried so hard to keep myself from sounding like a little girl again. To keep the confidence and bluntness that had taken me year's to perfect. I knew that I failed in that, when I could feel the quiver in my voice. Her grin widens even more, the laugh lines on her face crinkling, along with the wrinkles that she had around her eyes. She opens her arms with an expectant look and that raised eyebrow that looked like mine.

"Are you just going to stand there, or is my little carino just going to keep staring at me?"

That's all of the prompting that I need as I tackle her into a bear hug, careful not to squeeze to hard. Don't know if my Brute powers carried over here. I try to keep the tears from leaking down my face, but I know that it was a useless battle.

"I've missed you." God, I hate how much I sound like a little kid. But I meant those words.

"Me too pecena. Though I am happy that we're meeting here and not where I've been. I don't want to see you there until you have your own grandkids running around."

I keep the fact that I'd already died once to myself. No need to let her know about that. Or maybe she knew and just wasn't mentioning it. I don't know how the after life works.

"This place... I've only ever heard stories of stories from my own abuela." She muses as she turns her had and takes a look at the view below us, a sort of sad trace going into her eyes. "That's all that she knew about it. I know even less, and your mother knew and cared even less than that. Our family doesn't know or remember its roots anymore."

Yeah, and your kids wanted to just act like it never happened.

"Do you know this place?"

She gives me a small nod and points at the water. "We're in the middle of the lake Texcoco. I remember it from when I visited Mexico City on my way to Monterrey after that desgraciado Franscisco De Leon ran us from the ranch." I forgot that Abuela Rosalinda could have that much venom in her voice. Or that she could scowl like that.

Thankfully it quickly fades away and she resumes the warm expression that she always wore. "That means that this is what Mexico City once was. Before the conquistadors came. Tenochtitlan. The former capital of the Aztec."

Holy crap. I'd always wanted to visit Mexico City at least once before I died. Somehow this was just a little bit cooler.

"So what are we doing here?"

She gives that laugh that reminded me of the birds that we would watch at the park. "Honestly, I don't know. I just had this thought that I would see you again. Even if it would only be for a little while." She rubs my hair with her hand, her fingers going through my curls just like she used to when she would carry me.

"I do want you to know though, that I am proud. Though I couldn't see everything that you were doing in your life, I know that you still care so much about people. Maybe a little too much. You always tended to think with your heart instead of your head." I can feel the lump in my throat get just a little more painful at that even as I felt just a tiny hint of embarrassment. "But don't get rid of that heart of yours. It's the most important part that you will ever have."

That's when the sound of a gong rings across the silent city, echoing through it giving the ethereal city an almost creepy vibe. While I jump, Abuela doesn't seem at all phased. "It's time."

Wait no! She pushes her hand gently against my mouth like all those times when I would talk too much or too loud. "I know mija. I want to stay with you too. But my times done. Yours isn't. I don't understand everything that you are doing, but I know that you still try to do what you think is right. I just want you to do one thing for me nina."

I try to keep my voice steady. "What is it?"

She embraces me again with strong arms and a warmth that I don't want to let go. "Be happy. You always tended to take care of others more than yourself. Remember that you can be selfish every now and then. And get me some great grand-babies! I don't even care if they're yours or not! As long as you love them as your own."

I laugh just as the tears in my eyes start to come down from my eyes. "I promise. I'll try to keep you waiting."

"You better." She says with a smile that I can see.

That's when everything goes black again.

--

The feeling of being underneath sand doesn't get better the second time. At least this time I woke up with someone helping me to get up. Only, it wasn't my clone.

Leonardo had a hold of my arm keeping me steady, while trying to look anywhere that wasn't below my neck. Riiiight. I forgot that I was basically in my underwear when I went under.

"What happened to my clones?" I manage to rasp out.

"They disappeared just shortly after one of them buried you." He says woodenly. Now that I look at his face he actually looks a little irritated.

"You ok Da Vinci?" I ask him while I start to put my clothes on.

He releases a slow breath. "Mia I would have appreciated if you had at least told me that you were going to attempt the ritual that you mentioned earlier."

I blink at that. Then I just rub the back of my head in embarrassment because i realized that I should have let him know about it. I'd be irritated with him too, if he had done the same thing without talking to me about it.

"I'm sorry about that. I just… things are going to get ugly soon. Gang war kind of ugly. And I realized that if we were going to get dragged into those kinds of things, then I was going to have to be at my best to take them on." I finish putting on my shirt letting him know that it was ok to look at me. "It was something that I just decided in the heat of the moment. I swear that I'll let you know whenever I do something like this again."

He still looks a little irritated, but in the end he just releases a sight through his nose. "Very well. I will hold you to that." He shakes some of the sand that still clung to my hair. "So what did your spirit journey entail?"

Just as I'm about to answer him I realize that I have a new connection that I hadn't noticed before. It must have happened when i was in that afterlife place.

Feeling the connection makes me want to scream with absolute joy.

Leo gives me a puzzled look when he sees the smile that feels like it's going to break my face. "I got something cool to show you."

I grab him by the shoulder pulling him along through the workshop and out of the door into the RV. Closing the door to the workshop, I feel for the connection to the new beefy star and think about going there.

Just like that a portal appears in my RV. It's a tear in space, glowing a brilliant white with wisps of magic flowing from it. Leo jumps in surprise before I make the both of us leap through, the Italian man yelling behind me.

Brilliant white light is all that I see before it clears up, revealing an otherworldly sight. We were on a lone island of stone with the area around it being a literal void. Nothing existed outside of this island, just empty space of purple that while I move into and survive there would be no point. Nothing existed out there.

The real treat that came with this power though, was the mansion that was on the island of stone. It had a European feel to it, though I could see that there was some Greek architecture influences judging by some of the pillars here and there.

It was as big as the apartment complex that I used to live in! I could feel the portal that we came in from close behind us, no longer being needed. Oh yes! Personal pocket dimension that the winged bitch couldn't see into!

Leonardo was just frozen staring at the mansion and surrounding nothingness. After a few seconds he just shakes his head. "Honestly, I should not be surprised. If you are able to literally feel the force of life, why not have a villa on a flying foundation of earth?." He gives me a smile. "So what does it have inside?"

Turns out quite a lot. This place had a massive entrance hall with a GRAND STAIRCASE, with every piece of furniture inside looking like it cost more than I had ever earned. Exploring the mansion, revealed that it had various bedrooms each one that could be apartments all their own, a rather large study that looked straight out of Bruce Wayne's mansion, high end kitchen that was stocked with some of the best kitchen equipment that I had seen, and a library/wizards den.

Filled to the brim with books on various different versions of magic and spells, both simple all the way to the archaically advanced. Leonardo quickly grabbed some of the beginners books when I mentioned that even he could learn it. There was also a storage room that was filled to the brim with various ingredients that could be used in magic, and rituals. It even included things that I could use with Magic Specialization, and Tech Wizard.

More than that being here felt, good. Like really, really good. I felt like every form of magic and internal energy, from my chakra, all the way to my Magic Specialization was supercharged. I think that this was another effect of the mansion. Being here made my magic even stronger than before.

I end up choosing a simple closet's door to the workshop, and the moment I step inside I can feel that rush of energy quickly fade away. Huh. Something to keep in mind. Magic stuff outside, technology in here.

Checking in on Will showed no changes at all. He was still completely knocked out, and probably would be at least for a day.

Going upstairs I found that Judith was had woken up from her stress nap and was currently just surfing through the web. Guess, we were still connected to the internet. Somehow. I would have to figure that out later. Unless it was some more Forge fuckery that would just leave me scratching my head.

She gives me a tired but sweet smile. "Hey."

"I got a surprise for you."

She narrow's her blue eyes at me. "What did you get?"

I reach my hand out towards her. "Come on and I'll show you."

Her reaction was much better than Da Vinci's. She still wasn't quite used to all of the things that my power could do quite yet.

"How much bullshit can you pull out of your ass!?" The high pitch in her voice as she screeches always manages to get a nice laugh out of me.

"Don't know yet. Give me some time and I am sure that I can pull a space ship that can jump through space."

She scoffs at me. "Yeah right."

Jokes on her. I was pretty sure if there wasn't a spaceship in there, then there would be something that could help me make one.

She picks up one of the books from the shelf titled The Basics of Mana Manipulation. "So are you saying that I could learn magic just from reading these books?"

"No, you would actually have to train and practice before you even got close to casting the simplest spell. Though most magic in here is something that just about anyone can learn. Plus while we're in this pocket dimension any magic that we create will be stronger. Think of it as a place that can give you a head start."

She rolls her eyes at me but doesn't put the book back down. Leonardo was already at one of the tables in here with stacks of books piled high. Honestly that man tries way too hard to get his hands on all that knowledge that he can get. He hasn't even finished catching up with what Earth Bet know's just yet.

Looking at the collected knowledge of magic that I had never heard of, I quickly grab a few books to start my path towards Ben 10's realm of magic. I make five copies of clones, which in turn creates twenty-five. Without a word they scatter towards the library, while some go into the workshop.

Apparently because my chakra coils were well developed, maintaining five clones would be child's play. The fact I could make five for the price of one, only made things even better. Leaving my clones to their own devices I reach out and grab a volume that was simply titled Fundamentals of Scrying and got to reading.

March 5th, 2011 Wizard Domain

Ugh, I hate waking up in the middle of the night. I already wasn't a morning person, so the beeping in my omni-tool was frankly pissing me off.

The short message that Leonardo had sent me though definitely got me out of bed. Will had woken up.

I was enjoying my new big bed goddamnit!

I just threw on some of the clothes that the house apparently could provide. I looked like a wizard in the warm red robes that for some reason had a popped collar, but at this point, Will was in on the secret already, so what the hell. Not like there was anyone dear to me that could get hurt if the secret got out. Besides Da Vinci, who was already superhuman with just chakra coils.

On the colder logical side of my brain, they were safer with me than on their own. And the moment that they stepped outside of the workshop, or the pocket dimension they would have other things to worry about.

Empire was after them, ABB wouldn't even speak to them, Merchants were scum of the Earth, and the Protectorate didn't give a shit unless it was related to capes in some ways. And I doubt that they would believe most of what they would tell them. They could leave, but they had nothing to go to. No family, no ties. Nothing.

Just like me back home. Except for Whiskey. I miss my furry baby.

Ok, that settles it, getting a new dog when I get the chance. And stealing Whiskey from my world when I finally manage to find a way home. If there isn't something in the forge that lets me figure out a way to do that, I'll dive into the Bay. After Leviathan goes on his rampage.

Getting inside of one of the rooms that we had moved the injured old man to, I find Leonardo looking through his omni-tool while Judith and Will spoke quietly to each other.

While he looks exhausted, Will looks to be doing fine. He's still on pain medication, medi-gel can't completely heal the wound all of the way just yet. His voice is quiet, but lucid and clear while he speaks softly to Judith who's sitting right next to his bed, clutching his hand.

"I'll be straight with you kid, I thought that I was on my way to see my wife. Didn't think I'd wake up again."

"Well, you did. Hope your wife doesn't mind waiting for you a bit longer." Judith quietly says back with a soft expression on her face.

That gets a low chuckle out of the man. Damn his voice sounded like golden velvet. "Nah she won't. If I went to her now, I don't think that I could look her in the eyes." While his words were self-deprecating, I didn't feel any negative emotions coming from him. It was quite the opposite.

Joy and relief radiated off the old man, not for himself but from seeing that Judith was doing well. He cared for her. Genuinely. Like a daughter or granddaughter. The feelings were far too pure and honest for them to be anything other than that. Though there was also some feeling of guilt there. Oddly enough it was fueling the positive emotions that he was feeling, making them stronger, more potent.

He spots me by the door, and his eyes lose the relief, but retain the warmth inside of them. Along with a sort of steel that you wouldn't expect to find in an old man that had just woken up after suffering two gunshot wounds.

"You must be the doc that patched me up. Or would you prefer if I call you a witch?" He asks with a joking tone free of mocking while his eyes dart to the literal red robes that I was wearing.

I smile at his easy humor and laid-back tone. "Whichever you would prefer. Though most people call me Mia."

I approach them taking a seat next to Judith embodying a quick copy of the chair that she was sitting on. Yes, this was lazy, I don't care. Magic came so much easier in this realm, so making something as mundane as a chair was nothing for my magic. Not to mention that I was only paying what would be a third of the actual price of magic for its creation.

Given that the little act of laziness only made his eyes mildly widen, Judith had already told him a bit about what I could do. He kept his easy-going smile on though.

He raises a thin hand towards me, completely steady. "Pleased to meet you."

"Same to you." I take it giving him a firm handshake and he manages to give me the same.

"Thanks for taking care of this one. The rest of us were worried but didn't want to risk looking for her in case those Nazi pricks were following us."

That catches Judith's attention. "They were following you!?"

He winces at that. "Yeah. We noticed it about a day after you separated from us. Decided it would be best if we all scattered around instead of sticking together. Not that it helped."

His voice dipped into a growl at that, a scowl sculpting itself onto his face with regret in his voice.

Oh no.

Joy and relief were quickly replaced by grief and loss, while shock and fear start to infect Judith.

"What do you mea-!" I cut her off by simply holding her hand, while Will gives her a sad look.

"I don't know who they found first, but a day or two after the rest of us split up I started hearing about squatters being found dead in some abandoned buildings. Same ones that the others went to."

Judith starts sobbing at that, quiet and trying so hard to be restrained. The amount of pure despair and guilt that reverberates through the Force fuels the rage that was already building up.

I try to push it down, but I can feel it there simmering underneath the skin boiling my blood. Dammit, what I felt didn't matter right now, Judith did.

With the rage beneath the surface, I place a comforting arm around the crying girl trying to give her at least some semblance of comfort.

Will continues. "Think that I was the last one they found. Bastards got cocky though. Managed to dig up my old pistol that I stored away a few years ago, just in case of a rainy day. And they only sent one of their little minions to get me. Skinhead managed to get the jump on me though. Guessing I managed to get him before I blacked out, considering I'm still breathing."

"Yeah. That lucky that you shot off caught him in the throat. Bleed out in under a minute." There's a sort of grim satisfaction from Will at that, and for just a split second he forgets that feeling of guilt. Only for a second.

For a few minutes, the only sound is Judith's quiet sobbing, the rest of us remaining silent with the heavy feeling permeating the air.

That's when the forge connected again, this time to the Protection constellation. It was a bigger star, around the size of the Factorio Database, taking a good chunk of my charge that had built up. It was so worth it. Context Problem.

If it wasn't gonna happen now it definitely would. Anyone trying to figure out how my abilities work will rationalize it to something that they would understand.

Example, Ark of Embodiment. Instead of realizing that it's actual magic, they're going to assume it's some form of mass generation or that I'm pulling them out of pocket dimensions like Myrddin. They would be thinking 'There's no way that it could possibly be magic. Don't be absurd.'

Now apply that to all my abilities. If this didn't mess with thinkers and precogs I don't know what would, though I had a hunch that the Forge would answer that with time.

I couldn't wait to see how they would try to rationalize my powers. I could now troll anyone trying to figure out my powers without having to do a thing.

Maybe this would be enough to even fool the Simurgh. Add in the pocket dimension that it couldn't look into, and there was a high chance that I might be able to pull one over the winged bitch. Emphasis on maybe though.

At least there was some good news amidst all of this.

Eventually, Judith manages to get enough control of herself to utter, "This is my fault."

Will immediately shakes his head. "We all made our decision to keep you, safe kid. You and that baby that you're carrying. You didn't make a single one of us do something that we didn't want to. And those damned Nazi's chose to do what they did. No one else."

"But if I hadn't-"

"How long would it have been before one of us got caught in one of those capes' fights? We live in the same city as Lung, Oni-lee, and Hookwolf. Eventually, one of us would have gotten caught in the crossfire, that's how old Ricky went down last year. Got hit in one of that wannabe dragon's rampages. No one cares about any of us kid. Most of us go day to day, wondering if today is the day that we get caught by a stray bullet or crushed under a building as that metal dragon asshole tears through the city. We at least wanted to make sure that you and that baby had a future. The rest of us already had ours. We're just waiting to die at this point."

While his words don't comfort Judith, they do at least calm the sea of guilt and self-blame that she was feeling. At least for the moment. Survivor's guilt is something that Leo and I would have to keep an eye for.

The whole time that Will was speaking I remembered the events that were on the horizon for this shithole of a city. Around April that metal dragon would be taken down by a teenage girl trying heroics as a way to justify her existence. A few days after that the ABB's new Tinker would start one of the worst bombing spree's and reign of terror that this city had ever seen. What a waste of human life.

Though, now that I think about it, I could do something about it. She hasn't triggered yet. The thought of preventing it quickly goes out the window. If I'm remembering right, she was a ticking time bomb simply waiting to go off. Most Tinker's and Thinker's had issues that built up over time. If I would want to prevent any of those Trigger's it would have to be long before the event happened.

I could kill her. It would be so simple. Shadow clone with an Embodied invisibility cloak. Disposable killer and weapon. Gone as if they never existed. Because they wouldn't until I created them.

The thought doesn't make me as uncomfortable as I wish that it did. And that worried me.

I'll do some searching through the Cornell University files later. See if I could find her.

Looking at Judith's worn-out expression and the slight dreariness inside of Will's eyes I decided that this would be enough for now. "Alright Judith, I think that you should go to bed now. It's late and Will needs to rest. I'll just give him a quick checkup and I'll go see you in a sec ok?" I don't soften my voice, but I do keep some warmth in them.

She nods slowly and gets up, retreating towards the bedroom's doorway. With my eyes, I gesture at Leo to follow her, and he gives me an affirmative nod before following right behind her.

Will had remained silent throughout, his eyes completely focused on the young girl that he decided to take under his wing. Giving up what little bit that he had left.

The metallic doors close behind them with a snap, and the thin man just sags into himself, no longer having to keep up the brave front.

Activating my omni-tool I retrieve the scans that Leo's took when Will had initially woken. So far so good. No complications and the bullet wounds looked to be healing right on track. It shouldn't be too long before he would be able to get back on his feet again.

Though now that I look at his chart a little bit more closely, there appears to be something odd going on with his blood. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just something that the scanner couldn't read properly. Now that was weird. The omni-tool hasn't had any trouble with anything that I tried scanning with it except ma..gi..c. ...oh shit.

Without a word, I materialize a syringe in my hand. Will's eyes immediately dart to the medical instrument that I had just conjured out of thin air.

"I just need a quick blood sample," I say with what I hope is a clinical voice. I might have the knowledge of doctors stored in my brain, but I do not have the experience behind it.

He stares at the needle for a few more seconds before shrugging his shoulders.

"So, what's your interest in little Judith? Ain't like a cape to get interested in normal people. Least not enough to welcome them into their home. Unless it's one of those villains that get their shit's and giggles from torturin em." He asks while I insert the needle in his arm, with no judgment or worry in his voice. Only simple curiosity.

"She reminds me of me when I was her age. Runaway kid. Though I didn't have the Nazi parents or the bun in the oven. Parents were still assholes though." I reply simply while drawing the blood into the syringe.

He raises his eyebrows at that. "That's it? Just like that, you take in a kid with a baby on the way?"

"You and your friends did the same right? Is it so hard to believe that I would do the same?"

He stares at me for a little bit while I dab at the insert point and bandage it up. "You're not like other capes."

I smile at that. "Thanks for the compliment."

Now that gets a belly laugh from the old man. "That is a compliment now, isn't it?"

With a smile on my face, I insert the vial of blood into a port on the main terminal of the Lab and the results are both what I was expecting, and what I wasn't.

It's good news overall thankfully. The blood I had created, contained some residue magic when it entered Will's bloodstream. Though instead of causing any issues, like giving him magic cancer or complicating his health, instead, it helped the healing process along. From what I could tell, the magic was spread throughout his body via the bloodstream, accelerating the healing just a touch. Nothing to really write home about. In all honesty, if I didn't already know what to look for I wouldn't have even noticed.

The intricacies of exactly what the traces of magic were doing still weren't completely clear though. It'd be something that I'd have to study more than once and far more in-depth before I could get any specifics or results. Something that might stray too far into the realm of immoral scientists for my liking. I made sure to jot it down inside of Leonardo's notes though. Never a bad idea to keep that kind of info handy in case it eventually became useful.

"So how do I look, madame witch?" He asks with just a hint of humor back in his voice, trying to drown out the negative emotions.

"You're as healthy as you can be, considering the circumstances. Those bullet wounds are healing up quite nicely and in a couple of day's you should be up on your feet. Though we are going to put you on specific diet, to make sure that get you the nutrients that your body needs." Shouldn't be much of an issue. The pantry inside of this place was completely stocked with food, and with Workaholic I could make it all last.

The downside was that none of the food wouldn't replenish itself like most of the other aspects of the mansion. Food was the only supply issue that we had, everything else I was using Ark of Embodiment and Workaholic to cheat the system.

Maybe there was something in these books somewhere about how to accelerate crop growth...

"Take it this has something to do with your tinker tech? Bullet wounds usually take a lot longer to close back up, let alone heal all the way."

"You could say that." I gesture at the green salve that was on his wounds. "That's medi-gel. Think of it as a healing salve, disinfectant, and super bandage all in one. It's the reason why the bullet holes are closing so fast."

He presses his hand on the green hardened paste, his face an expression of frowning confusion. "Any side effects? Tinker-tech always has side effects."

"Nope. All that you need to do is wait while it does its magic, and then apply a specific ultrasound frequency to remove it. The worse side effects might be that you need to consume a whole lot more calories than before, but that shouldn't be an issue"

"Huh. Neat trick. If only this stuff was mass-producible. Would help out the most hospital's in the city from normal crime shit."

I pointedly don't look at him in the eye when he says that, preferring to keep my eyes on the data from my personal computer. Medi-gel was one of the things that I figured out how to reproduce that the forge hadn't shoved into my brain.

Though releasing it to the public wasn't something I could do. Not when I didn't have anything to block the winged bitch's sight of any changes that I did. I know that she tends to target places that are capable of great change, both for good and bad. The same goes for those fucking murderhobos.

But one day I would.

"Where do we go from here?" His expression a pensive one. I'm actually surprised that I never felt a single ounce of fear from him. Not when I made that chair, nor when I was drawing blood from him. It was all curiosity along with hints of relief here and there. Most people would be afraid of an unknown Tinker approaching them with a needle, or just making shit that they didn't understand.

"Well, that depends on what you want. For now, we're just hiding away waiting for the baby to come. After that we'll wait until she turns eighteen, once that comes around she'll be at least free of whatever legal hold that her parents have over her. She won't be completely safe from the Empire, some of them probably already know all about her, but it'll be a start."

Will gives a nod of approval at that. "That's better than we thought she could have. As for what I want well, I thought that this would be the last good thing that I could do before something happened to me. Like I said earlier, things happen to us that don't have anything. Somehow it only got worse when Heroes and Villains became the norm. Not to mention that I ain't getting any younger."

It was weird just how at peace he was with every word that came out of his mouth. Not a single ounce of fear, worry or untruth from the Force.

"If I'm bein blunt, I didn't think this far ahead of what I would do when we got all of this squared away. Guess that I could leave the city. Just wish that I could do something about those damned Nazi's that run around the city without anythin happening to them."

An idea struck me then. One thing that I was lacking, that didn't include food and money was connections or knowledge about this place. While I could just hack some of those issues away, there was an easy solution to one of those problem's right in front of me. The cat was already kind of out of the bag already. Though now that I think about it, I didn't really have to reveal everything to this old man.

While I could tell that he had nerves of steel in him, he wasn't a fighter. I could just tell.

No, I had a different idea. Judith did mention that he was a realtor before his business went under. That meant that he knew what abandoned buildings no one would care about.

"I got a proposition for you."

"Does it involve selling my soul?" He responds flippantly, but with his eyes gaining that steel that I caught a glimpse of earlier.

"No, just your silence and your connections."

"Well, you got my silence. You already saved my bacon and making sure that little Judith was safe. Why the hell would you want an old street rat's connections though?" The greying man asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Like you said no one cares about you. That means that you know about all the places that no one else knows or cares about. I want those places."

"For what?"

"Oh, let's just say that I got some projects that are going to need a lot of space." Literal factory's worth of them.

He rubs his beard. "That should be easy enough. Plenty of places that no one really cares about. Though I'll warn you, some of them are probably being checked on. Only reason why most of us got found out is if they were. I'm putting my bets that they got lucky and found one of us before making them talk."

I wave off his concern at that. "No need to worry about that. Pretty sure that I can get in and out without any of them being the wiser." Not to mention I would like any of those assholes to get into a building after I finished setting up the security system. I had quite a few ideas in that department. I still had to work a few kinks out before I could properly deploy it.

"Alright if you're so sure. You still haven't answered my question though. What's going to happen to me now?"

"I really have no idea. For now, you can stick with me while you rest up and heal. After that, well that depends on you."

He stares at me for few seconds and eventually gives's me a quick nod. "Eh, it's a good starting point. Might actually leave the bay once this blows over. Think I've dealt with enough bullshit from this city to last a lifetime. After Judith and the baby are all settled away."

"You don't think that Judith would want you to stick around."

"She probably will. But I think that she's in better hands with you than she ever was with me. Nothing like having a cape as a guardian." His eyes start to droop at that.

"Well, I'll let you rest. You look like you need it."

He snorts at that. "When you get to my age, you need to get as much of that as you can."

I leave the room after that, feeling Will's thoughts and emotions go quiet once I exit the room.

I make my way through the mansion, navigating through the luxurious building and it's furnishing that I still wasn't completely used to until I came to the room that Judith decided to take ownership of.

I was surprised to find Da Vinci outside of her door looking a little glum as he stared at the closed doorway.

"She banished me. Won't let me enter." He says dejectedly.

I pat him on the shoulder while stepping past him. "Don't worry I'll take care of her. You go and get some sleep, Will already passed out so no need to worry about him."

"Very well signora." He gives me a slight bow and shuffles down the hall towards the open doorway towards the workshop. He refused to leave the Lab as his bedroom, no matter how much I tried to get him out of there.

Willing the door to open was all it took for the lock to pop open. Turns out that besides also being a pocket dimension, the mansion responded to my will.

The bedroom is just as lavish as the others were with crimson satin and polished wood all over the place. Wasn't even including the fucking chandeliers that some of the rooms had. I was just happy there wasn't that much gold all over the place, or it would feel gaudy as hell.

Judith was in the center of her enormous bed, curled into herself as much as she could with her belly in the way with her face buried in the pillows that were no doubt filled with swan feathers or some other needlessly expensive material.

Did I sound bitter about that? Excuse me for growing up cheap my whole life and not seeing the point in shit that's waaay too expensive.

Approaching the bed, I jump onto the edge of her bed and shimmy overtaking a seating position next to her. I know that she's awake and she knows that I know. I'd caught her enough time's trying to stay awake on her omni-tool over the past few days to know that.

Without a word, I simply place my hand on her back. Nothing that I say can help her right now. Loss was something that most people had to work through on their own. For now, all that I could do was simply be there for her.

We don't say anything. It was just the silence and our company that night. I stayed with her for the rest of the night. Being there was about the only thing that I could really do to help with the pain that she felt in her heart.

--

March 6th, 2011 Wizards Domain

The morning was off to an alright start. Judith remained downcast, and I decided to leave her be for now. While being there for her was important, so was giving her the space to deal with her emotions. Already the torrents of despair were calmer than they had been yesterday, though the guilt was just as strong.

Leonardo was completely passed out in his room. I'd found him, once again, slumped over the Research terminal with his head planted firmly where the holographic keyboard popped up. I tucked him into his bed as I already had a number of times before.

Will was awake. After a simple breakfast, I left him with a datapad, a mix of a scroll and a tablet not a real one from Mass Effect, so that he could connect to the internet and not be bored out of his mind alone.

He told me that this was the first time he had a hot meal and a clean bed in over a decade. A little time being alone wasn't going to dampen his spirits. Judging by the emotions that he was feeling, I was going to be that he was telling the truth.

I would wait until he recovered a little bit more before having him give us the locations of those buildings that no one would care about.

For now, I was going to get my new routine started. Sitting down in a lotus position in the middle of the library I steadied my breathing, calming my emotions. Or as calm as I could make them.

After the first time I successfully meditated I found it easier and easier to get into the proper mindset to connect to the Force. Plus, I was pretty sure that the Domain was helping things along just like it was with most of my other powers that were on the more mystical side.

It would still be a while before I could reach that level of serenity like the first time that I'd connected to the Force, but I think that it would be worth it. While I don't think that I could ever be a true Jedi, I would at least do my best to never fall to the Dark Side.

Just as I was focusing on my emotion's I felt the Forge connect to the Magitech Constellation.

--

Suddenly I wasn't in my library anymore. I was alone in an open field, with the vast galaxy of space clear through the dome that was high above me. I was… singing. Singing a song far more profound than anything that I had ever heard before in my life.

Something that went far deeper than mere sound. I was singing a manifestation of my will and soul, bringing to reality technology and materials that were transcendent from anything humans have ever or will ever create.

First, it was a day. Then a week. Then a year. Then a decade. A century. A millennium. Time felt fluid, flowing quickly around me like water. Every day, for innumerable human lifetimes I remained in this lonely field. Uncaring for anything that was not my focus, consuming only the bare essentials.

I was alone through it all, focused entirely upon the path that I had chosen. My creations were paltry things at first, simple martial weapons such as staffs or blades. Then I moved onto the creation of instruments, works of art. Each one becoming more and more complex with the passage of liquid time. Until eventually I shaped marvels of engineering formed from the white, bone-like material with nothing but my soul and will.

Each one could last for millennium on its own, unblemished by time. Something that no human could ever truly comprehend or create.

It was only natural of course, this was an object that was formed from my will and soul, a mere building block for the vast annals of technology that had reigned supreme in this galaxy for countless millennia.

Designs of the Artisan path flittered through my mind, faster than my brain had ever processed before. After all, my creations were more than mere pieces of engineering. Each one was a work of true art and beauty that I had poured myself into.

I was… exuberant. Like nothing I had ever felt before in my entire existence, both in my life on earth, and my memories from the House of Life. It filled me like never ever had before, an almost ecstasy like quality that dwarfed anything else that I had ever experienced.

I had risen above the paltry works of the mon-keigh that I had been, and moved onto the realm of the true superior race of the Aelda-

Fuck that.

Superior race my left ass cheek! Damned space elves literally gave birth to a new chaos god and cursed their own souls for the rest of eternity because they couldn't keep their hedonism in their perfect little elfin pants!

I was me! Not an arrogant prick obsessed with a past that would never come back, giving into a delusion of superiority that had long since been cast aside! Sure, human's in 40k weren't any better, they were worse in a lot of regards, but this wasn't that universe.

I was just a brat that ran away from her parents and built up what little I had who then died and got lucky. THAT was who I chose to be. What I would become was up to my will, and mine alone. Not to some remnant who wanted to relive their fucking glory days that would be nothing more than mere memories.

Just like that, I was back in the Library in the same position that I was in. Meditation the last thing on my mind. Already I could feel the changes that I went through. My connections to the Force was still there, but there was something else there now too.

It was similar in a way, but also very different. Like a different frequency, in a different direction. One part of being a bonesinger was also being a psyker. Great, another mystical ability that I had to get used to. At least I was already working on my self-control. Thank sweet-salty Christ that the warp was calm. I already had to deal with fucking space whales, didn't need to deal with fucking chaos gods at the same time.

Stretching out I feel something odd. Like my clothes were way too small and tight. Which doesn't make sense since I was wearing comfortable robes that gave me plenty of breathing room.

I look down with a frown and furrowed eyebrows. Then I scream bloody murder.

My clothes felt tight because they were, looking as if they were on the cusp of tearing themselves apart from trying to remain on my body. That was another thing that only made me scream louder and panic all the more.

Everything about my body was different. My dusky skin was now a very pale color that almost looked like fucking marble. Old scars that I had gathered over the years of work and just being alive were also gone. My limbs were… long. Way too fucking long. Longer than humans' limbs should be. ...Oh no.

Scrambling to my feet I run to the mirror on the library wall ignoring the clothes that no longer fit me. Then I freeze, my screaming cutting off.

And I just stare at my new reflection in the mirror. I was tall now. Like almost as tall as the wall-length mirror that I was using. No wonder everything looked weird to me now.

The next thing that I focused on were the pointed ears! I was a fucking Eldar!

Everything else was just as alien as that. My face now had barely a passing resemblance to my old one, as if everything had been taken by an artist and enhanced to the fullest. My eyes were now more almond-shaped than they were before and slanted at an angle that no human eyes should be. My cheekbones were more well defined and any blemish and scar from my acne days were completely gone. Everything about my face was sharper, more angular than most of the rounded features that I had known all my life.

Where before I was short and curvy, I was now tall and supple in a way that only drove my ever-chaotic emotions further and further towards the edge.

My hair was now a stark white for some reason, and the thick curls were now impeccable straight strands that reached my back.

I would think that I looked pleasing if I also didn't look so alien and kind of wrong. Like I looked way too good to be true. Even my body language was fucking different!

It was only now that I realized just how badly I was shaking. And how fast my heart was beating. Too fast for a human heart to beat.

Wait, didn't Eldar feel things stronger than humans did? Was that why this panic was so bad? Not like this wasn't a good reason to be panicking. I wasn't even human anymore!

Dammit, I needed to calm down. I needed to calm down. Will you fucking slow down heart? Pretty please? Calm the fuck down already!

Then I remembered what I was doing before the Forge had connected. I was meditating. Controlling my emotions. The Force was still there, waiting, uncaring of the changes that I had gone through. Maybe that would help.

Forcing myself to regain my position I begin to breathe, trying to slow my breathing. It takes a while, a lot longer than before to find some measure of calm.

I let my thoughts wander and connect to that feeling that was always around me now. Surrendering myself over to the Force that was now always with me. I don't know if it was the desperation that I was feeling, or if it was another side effect of being a fuck- calm down- Eldar now, but I could feel the connection becoming stronger than it had been before.

Just like that, I feel like I can think properly again, free from having that overwhelming all-consuming panic.

In. Out. In. Out.

I just let all my fear, anger, and panic wash away. For the first time, I succeeded in what I sucked at.

I let go.

For a few precious seconds, I was at peace. I could feel the flow of the Force around me, could feel Will recuperating in his room simple content resting in his weary bones, Da Vinci snoring away at the Lab even his dreams radiating ever-present curiosity and excitement, and Judith right at the doo-

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

My reaction is instant. I jump from my seat with a sense grace and elegance that surpassed even what the Heart Herb had done getting into a ready stance, summoning my lightsaber from the Duat into my hand, but leaving it unignited. I think that it got a bit bigger to better fit into my hands. No, I don't know how that happened, I am trying to deal with one thing at a time.

Judith was standing at the doorway staring wide-eyed at me while holding a pistol in her hands pointed at me. Wait, what?

"Did you steal one of my fucking pistols!?" I yell at her.

She blinks owlishly at me while glancing at the weapon in her hand's then immediately looking over at me. That's when she notices the cylinder that's held loosely in my hands.

"...Mia? That you? Why the hell do you look like one of those things that I found porn of in my boyfriend's stash?"

Ok so Dwayne had been a nerd that forgot to delete his internet history.

"A new power that connected. Don't know how to change back."

She lowers the gun and gets closer to me, her eyes looking me up and down with them stopping at my clothes and my ears. While the situation was weird and I still wasn't completely over being stuck into a space elf's body, it was nice that I could feel the young girl was doing better.

As if to mock me I could feel the Forge connect again. For the first time though I could feel a message come with the slightly bigger star. Sorry, forgot to add these in one of your other stars. Figured I'd put them in a little package with this one.

I could barely wonder what the hell that Giant prick was talking about when I registered exactly what I got.

Guns. And axes. And knives, and every single kind of mundane weapon that I could possibly think of. Each different kind of mundane weapon that humanity could make at this point in history was now something that I could make. With proper tools of course. The real kicker of this power was that I could modify guns and bows so that they could never run out of ammo. Somehow. Along with a power that let me swap between weapons on the fly on the battlefield.

Was this DMC? Did I just get Dante's weapon swap? Oh, that was so cool! At least something was going my way today. I would take what I could get.

Now I was imagining making a bunch of these weapons out of wraithbone and crystalline lasers. That could never run out. I could outfit an army with weapons that would never degrade. Just like that, I was even more of a danger than when I woke up this morning.

And that was before I even took my psyker powers into account. Which I still didn't know how powerful I was. Sigh. I just know that this is going to be a pain in the ass.

Now that Judith was right in front of me, I realized just how tall I was. While before she had a few inches on me, now I completely towered over her.

"Damn you're huge," Judith utters apparently having read my mind. "So, changer power?"

Instead of a simple snort that gets a big laugh out of me, surprising the both of us. Clamping both of my hands to my mouth, I remember that emotions were going to be a pain in the ass. As if I didn't already have a lot of training to do with the Force. Shit.

Honestly though it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not having sudden mood swings where I shift from apoplectic rage to over-enthusiastic joy.

"You could say that. I don't know how to change back yet though. Plus this came with some… other stuff."

"Magic stuff?" She asks with a raised eyebrow. Ever since we came into this dimension she was a lot accepting about Magic being a thing. Her having a bit of a knack might have something to do with it.

I don't think that she noticed it yet. The way that the magic in this realm seemed to go around her. Or it might have to do with her having a baby, but I was hedging my bets more to the former than the latter.

For now, I would keep my silence, but the moment that the baby was out of there we would have to talk.

"Yeah. Magic stuff." More like Fourth Degree Interdimensional Warp fuckery.

"So are you going to change? Or are you going to keep torturing those clothes that you're wearing?"

It was at that moment that the shirt that I was wearing decided to rip along with my underwear underneath. Judith's response to this was to stare and raise an impressed eyebrow with a whistle.

Must. Not. Smack. Pregnant. Woman.

Da Vinci of course was over the moon about this. Anything that was new, and alien seemed to overexcite the Renaissance man. I tried not to let it annoy me too much.

Now that I was not freaking the fuck out anymore, I could properly comprehend just what that big star gave me.

Literal thousand years of honing my craft as a bonesinger. Somehow remaining sane through all of that. Except for the very end where I almost lost what made me human.

I think Surpassing the Creator might have had something to do with it, but I don't know for sure.

Well, that was behind me for now. It was time to see what I could do.

I had Embodies a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans. It took a few tries having to take my measurements again, and boy was it enlightening.

I was now a whopping seven feet tall. I made my old height seem like a chihuahua. Not to mention the other changes that went further than skin deep. My balance and poise were at a completely different level and every move I made seemed like that of a veteran dancer. Elegant, precise, and in complete control.

While my new limbs were thin and long, I knew that there was corded muscle underneath that, leaving me stronger than my human body had been. Not to mention that these ears weren't just for show. I could pick up pitches and sounds that were nothing like what I could hear before. Like seeing through new eyes. Or rather, hearing through new ears.

Everything about me was at a level beyond what I had been capable of before. It made me feel uncomfortable in my own skin like this was unnatural and I shouldn't be this way.

For now, I was trying not to think about it and keep myself centered, bottling up the bubbling nasty emotions that were trying to worm their way into my head. It would be something to meditate on later.

At the moment I was trying my new - or rather old- craft at work. Another plus side to this was that I had a banging singing voice and wasn't a tone-deaf dying cat anymore.

Hey, I was coping. Leave me alone.

I had my eyes closed through the entire process, with both Judith and Leonardo refusing to leave wanting to see what the process would be like. I chose to ignore them and worked my magic, singing the song and feeling as its melodies worked their way through the warp echoing into the material world.

I willed the warp to my bidding, coaxing it to make my wishes manifest. To allow my work to become reality.

Opening my eyes, I find an abundance of polished fresh wraithbone at my feet. A greedy smile makes its way to my lips. Guess that Workaholic works on this too.

There were five blocks of the lightweight material harder than steel at my feet. Each one being more than enough for several different projects. Now that I finally have something to make that wasn't meant for giant factory work, I could really get to work.

Eldar tech was no joke. Even if it was only tech that they used after their fall. Though even if I did have Wraithbone I would still need to make the crystals that would be weaved and molded into the technology.

That's when I noticed how hard my two friends were staring at me. Judith was just openly gaping at me with eyes the sizes of saucer plates, and Da Vinci's arm was flying across the canvas that he had grabbed at some point, seated firmly on a stool that I think that he took from somewhere in the mansion. The brush that he held in his hand would sometimes stop by the art set that he always kept at his side to restock on paint or switch over to a new color.

Great now I'm blushing. I hate blushing.

"How was that?" I ask meekly. No goddamnit, I did not do meek!

Judith gives me a dumbstruck thumbs-up, and Leo doesn't even register that I was saying anything, simply continuing with his painting.

Dammit, I was getting even more embarrassed. Right, you were on a roll Mia, keep going.

I resume with a different song, one focusing not on wraithbone but the psychic crystals that were needed for much of the Eldar technology. Those took a little longer to make, but I could feel when they solidified on this side of the spectrum.

After that was when I moved onto my first creation. The most pressing thing that could create. I don't know how long I spent in that trance. But when I finished and I opened my eyes, three of the blocks were gone, as were bits of the crystal.

In their place were five identical suits of armor. Each one just the right size for me. I chose to forgo the stupid cone helmet though. Seriously, who thought that was a good idea?

It was primarily a warm auburn color, with black highlights. There were a few splashes of orange around the fingertips and the arms, like remnants of flames licking at the arms waiting to resume their burning passion.

The helmet though was the most important part of the whole ensemble. I used the Ghost Helm as a basis for it and built around that. It still retained its original purpose, to protect the wearer from detection inside the warp. Only now it was a little bit more than that.

When the idea first popped into my head, I wondered if I could also make it to avoid other forms of detection. Things like the psychic scream of the Simurgh, and the scans from those parasitic shards.

And what do you know, I did.

Looking around me I find that Leonardo had long since finished his painting and had it covered towards the back of the room, while he was back at the terminal typing away at some research or other.

Judith was nowhere to be found, but I could feel her in her room, her signature now more obvious to me. Her sadness was back, but thankfully the guilt was somewhat diminished.

While the helmet didn't have that weird dorsal fin at the back, I made sure to keep the bare essentials there for it to work properly. The crystal still dominated a good chunk of the upper half, with the rest of the helmet remaining mostly unchanged with a few exceptions. The helmet was primarily auburn like the rest of the armor instead of white, with a few of those same orange specs littered symmetrically on either side of the face. Oh, and it was missing the weird chin thing.

"That is a beautiful set of armor." Turning I find Da Vinci had turned in his seat, facing me and admiring my creation.

"Thanks." I quietly say to him. Still trying to focus on the helmet in my hand's psionically checking it for any imperfections that it might have.

We remain in silence for a few more seconds before Da Vinci decides to speak up again. "Something else happened when you connected to the Bonesinger, didn't it?"

I freeze in place, my hands tightening up slightly around the smooth wraithbone construct in my hands. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't truly know. There is a look in your eyes. One that wasn't there before you went through your metamorphosis. Additionally, you are terrible at concealing your emotions. Even if the face that you wear is different, you still have the same tells."

Some of the weight that I could feel around my shoulders lifts at that. I was still the same impulsive, honest, train wreck of a person on the inside. Never have I been more comforted for being a complete mess.

Pursing my lips, I think about how I can talk my way out of saying anything before I spot the raised eyebrow that Leonardo was giving me. I could practically hear the "Seriously?" coming from that eyebrow.

Ugh, he was right I can't hide shit. Reason why I got into a lot of fights in high school.

I decide to put my armor on while I answered him. While I was sure that this was absolutely right, I still wanted to see how comfortable it was.

"When this one connected, I… experienced all of the time that it would take to become a bonesinger." Each word out of my mouth was halting, as I tried putting into words that particular experience that I was ok never having to do again.

"How long was did that take.?"

"Longer than the entire existence of Rome." I answer with a whisper trying to forget all of those years that I spent obsessed alone in that field. "It honestly wasn't that bad in the moment. Nothing mattered other than the work, but I was alone that whole time. Never seeing anyone there with me, no teachers, no friends. Just me alone in a field with a dome separating me from the stars as we flew on."

I hate how my voice shakes with every word. Dammit, Id managed to completely block it out by focusing on making shit instead.

...Yes, I know making shit is what got me in this mess in the first place leave me alone.

I keep placing pieces of my armor on finishing with the gauntlets and moving on to the chest piece. "The worst part about it was that I didn't care. My solitude meant nothing to me for those lifetimes. I was so obsessed with simply advancing my craft that nothing else mattered. Nothing and no one."

Every word out of my mouth keeps going up in pitch and tone. Becoming more and more erratic, but my hands keep moving. Dammit, I can't lose control.

I take a deep breath trying to find some way to calm myself before Leonardo's hand on my shoulder manages to make me freeze. "That is not who you are though. I do not believe that you could ever become like that."

Turning my head over to the Renaissance Man I find that he isn't even looking at me, facing away towards the floor. Doesn't make his words any less genuine, I could feel the emotions behind them clearly. Another side effect of this form apparently.

There was something else there though. Underneath his feelings meant for me. Something that was intrinsic towards himself.

Well, if he wanted to tell me he would. Leonardo wasn't one that kept things to himself if there was a chance that it could involve the rest of us.

Besides, if I felt him keeping hold of those feelings without them getting better, I'd drag them out of him.

I give him a smile that was empty except for a sliver of gratitude. "Thanks Leo. I think that I needed to hear that."

He places his hand on his heart and gives me a bow "Anything that you would need my friend I will be there."

I take in a big sigh, my rapid heartbeat still foreign in my ears compared to my former human one, and try to center myself. Leo's words helped and I manage to find some peace amidst these strange new emotions that I was feeling.

Shaking off whatever strange things that I was feeling, I turn to Leo again who held the impromptu ghost helm in his hands with an expectant look upon his face. Giving him a grateful look, I take the helmet from his hands and place it on my head, happy just how comfortable it is.

The psycho-technology inside of the helmet immediately comes to life. Various types of readings of my surroundings, vital sign's communications flit through the visor inside of the helmet.

A smile with satisfaction flits across my face at seeing that it did work. While being able to create and shape Wraithbone was one thing, the ability to be able to create the psychic technology was the real boon.

Just like that in an hour or so I had created a set of psychic armor that came in with systems of their own that were beyond even that of Mass Effect. I was still keeping my omni-tool though. While my armor was better at most things, the scanner on my holographic computer was just too handy.

Not to mention how much I absolutely loved this thing.

After making sure that everything here was in order, I decided to summon a few clones out.

By a few I meant I summoned two and got ten instead. Ah, ain't workaholic absolutely grand?

Just like that, I left the Lab while still in my armor, heading over to the large training room that this Mansion came with, along with a single clone in tow. Leonardo stayed within the Lab continuing with his research, along with a few of my clones to better catalog the changes that I went through into the Research Terminal.

The rest of them left to study some of the other avenues of my powers. Magic, psyker, and various types minor martial training. There were so many ways that I could kill someone, it was time to learn how to keep myself from doing that accidentally.

Meanwhile, I would be doing the opposite with my clone. Trying our best to kill each other to see just how good I could be at it.

We stand at either side of the basketball court-sized training room seizing each other up, waiting to see who would make the first move.

In the end, we both moved at the same time charging at each other at speeds that would have boggled our minds before all the myriad changes that we went through.

We weren't even using any weapons. Just our Aura and our fists and feet. Block, dodge, parry, kick, uppercut, parry, kick.

Over and over again we came at each other with a flurry of blows faster than the human eye could catch up, leaving crater's in the floor and the walls where either one of us would dodge at the last minute.

It built up, and up and up until we both decided to go for one last push. She was jumping off the wall heading towards me with the power of her kick while I remained rooted to the ground. I could feel the change in the Force as we both focused and tuned in with it, having attained a sort of peace of mind midbattle.

At once we both pushed forward with the Force and they both met in the middle. It was like two sonic booms meeting each other head-on, resounding against each other and pushing outwards into the world.

I push harder, with no hate or anger in my emotions merely excitement and intent to see just how much I can push this forward. Guessing from the emotions that were coming from my clone, she felt the same way.

We push on with more intent and struggle until one of them finally gives out. Hers.

The force push renders hers from existence, all kinetic energy that it had gathered dissolving back into the rest of the Force that surrounded us. I manage to hear a single "Oh shit!" before the telekinetic push throws her upwards.

The impact is enough that she flies with enough force to hit the ceiling. The entire room shakes at the impact, leaving a large crater at the center before she disappears in the signature white smoke.

That doesn't seem to stop the Force push though.

Even with its target now gone, it keeps going, digging into the ceiling, cracking against it, and spreading the crater even more before thankfully it disperses outward.

By the end of it, I'm left winded and shaking. Holy shit how long was I fighting my clone? Both of us lost track in the melee that we both went through. Plucking of my helmet, to better breathe in the magical air I look around the room.

It looked like a meteor storm decided to explode outward from the very center of the room. Dios Mio, there were holes of various sizes everywhere, rubble scattered all around the room, there were even holes clear through walls, and the walls beyond that!

Well, guess as far as killing power goes, I got a lot of it. This is without using anything else in my arsenal. And now that I had warp, and Force power I was having a few ideas on how to use some of them in the field.

Placing my helmet back on my head I travel back through the Mansion until I find myself back inside of the entrance hall to my workshop. I could hear a clone and Leonardo talking inside of the lab, discussing some term or other about how chakra control specifically worked.

Good, the faster that Leo got trained in how to use chakra, the less I will have to worry if a fight manages to find us unprepared.

I was holding off on trying to figure out how this particular ability worked, but now that I was currently messing with warp crap and I wasn't dealing with warp demons, or chaos gods I figured that this was at least a little safer to try.

I take a seat at the small desk that I had made yesterday in the morning activating the terminal that I made alongside it. I start cataloging what Tech Wizard provided. Schematics and rituals that were able to harmonize with each other to be able to summon demon are into the real world.

While these wouldn't be demons like Satan's children. They would be more like supernatural entities that are known throughout various human mythologies and stories. Maybe they came from the sea of consciousness like Personas did, maybe not, who knows?

It takes me an hour of constant typing before I manage to get most of the theory that was inside of my head on the screen. Yes theory. While I had the knowledge to create my own rituals and programming, I did not quite know how to create a working COMP yet. And judging by what I did know about all of this it would take a little while longer before I did.

Though I did have some ideas on how I could implement Wraithbone into it. Another project to work on.

Making sure that all my work had been saved I leave the workshop, hearing that Leonardo and my clone were still hard at training.

In the library, I find a group of my clones scattered around a table in the library with various magical tests, programming schematics, and other books and pages in the center of them. They notice me approaching and start to put away whatever blueprints they were working on. After throwing it all into the Duat, each one of them disappears one by one, the memories from each of them coming to me with each puff of white smoke.

The rest of the clones followed suit, with their memories coming to me as well as the popping sound echoing from one of the hallways. There's enough information in from them to actually make me take a step back and place a hand on my head to hold back the intense headache that lasts a few seconds.

Note to self, prepare for that when a huge number of clones disperse.

Nice. Good work on every single one's part. Got some training in lightsaber combat, finished up some designs for some Wraithbone technology to develop later, and a few of my clones got started on some psyker training.

Guess I was right that it was kinda like using the Force but with a different frequency. At least when you were trying to use it without blowing yourself up and wasting a whole bunch of power in the process.

Wonder just how powerful I was compared to other psyker's? My clone's didn't really have any big issues besides one moment of really bad feedback. At least the room that they were in was repairable.

Though I was sailing without a compass here. While I knew the basics as every bonesinger did, I didn't know what my capabilities were or how to figure it out.

Just like I didn't know what the fuck I was doing with the Force. Looks like I was winging it again. God I wish that there was a teacher somewhere in the Forge for all of this crap.

Well time to do the only thing that helps me through this crap.

Sitting int the same lotus position as always, I drift again into my trance.

Only there was something different this time. After the same old soul searching that I went through something else got my attention. Only it wasn't just the Force. It was something else alongside it.

I had a vision then.

It was a woman in what looked like a mouse themed suit of armor, with a sword at her side. She was alone, traveling through what looked like the remnants of a small town. Buildings were destroyed, walls crumbled into rubble, and glass from every window scattered all throughout the streets. Here and there, traces of what could have been peopled were left to rot in the street, many of them obviously having been impaled and eviscerated by the glass rather than other victims that were simply cut into pieces.

They were the lucky ones though. There were others that looked like a mad scientist had gone at them with a bag of crazy tools. The mere image of them was enough to make my stomach contract and my rage boil over.

The woman in mouse ears appeared to be experiencing the same thing, her gauntleted hands shaking as she drew her sword. Only to have a black and white striped arm run her through.

She twitches for a few seconds before she goes limp and the arm that impaled her throws her to the ground, with a satisfied look on the black and white striped woman's face.

I take a long shuddering gasp as I try desperately to shake the visions that had filled my mind. I just saw the death of Mouse Protector.

Fuck.

But she wasn't dead yet. It was a feeling that I had. I just knew that this was going to happen in the near future. Not now, but it would.

The passionate side of myself wants to run out of the pocket dimension on just drive off inside of the Rustbucket to wherever the hell she was. But the calmer side of me that has slowly been poisoning me after my meditation sessions makes me stop and think. Oh, the tragedy of that.

While I knew that it wouldn't happen for a few more days, I had no idea where the hell this would take place. On top of that she would have no real reason to listen to a word that I would say. If I am remembering it right, then Ravager was the one that hired the Nine to kill Mouse, before they decided to kill her too.

That's when I felt a small star connect. Engineering Basic's.

Well, this was something interesting. Not quite at the level of some of the other stars that had connected, but it would still be something useful. Knowing how an asteroid defense canon worked, along with industrial grade spaceships and systems would be something that I could leverage somewhere else.

Not to mention that one of the techs that I now had some inkling was gravity tech, and how to use and maintain it.

Dammit now was not the time to focus on that.

Now, where was I? Ah, right trying to figure out how I could avoid Mouse Protector from being lobotomized and turned to an abomination by a kid that was traumatized and then brainwashed for the next couple of years. Jesus this world was fucked.

Regardless I had to make sure that she survives. Not having to deal with Murder Rat was always a plus. I had to do all of this without getting caught by those fucking murderhobos. While I was pretty sure that I could take most of them, Crawler, Siberian, and Bonesaw might be an issue.

Bonesaw I was worried about taking out, because of whatever crazy crap she made into a deadman switch. Plus, I wasn't exactly thrilled about killing a kid. Even one like Bonesaw. There were some things that I could do to make her harmless, but those would still require being near her. And quite honestly out of all the Nine she's the one that terrified me the most.

The easiest would actually be the disgusting wannabe Joker that Jack was. For as much chaos that psychopath has sowed through this world, he was nothing without Broadcast telling him what to do when it came to Parahumans. Out of all of them, he was the one that I would murder with a smile on my face. That I know.

Ok, so there might be a chance I could fall to the Dark Side. Something to work on.

Crawler would need something more esoteric to take care of. Otherwise, he would just adapt to whatever normal form of technology that I would throw his way. Maybe chunking him into the warp would do him some good. Might actually survive until some entity tears him to pieces. Or, maybe throwing him into a realm of souls might be a bad idea. Don't know what kind hell one of those shards could do if they managed to get inside that place.

Siberian would just shrug of most things that I threw at her. Only way that I could get her out of the way, is if I manage to find the psychotic madman that controlled the projection. While I didn't know what the psycho looked like, I could find him.

Ugh, it's not like I was going to be fighting the Nine. I was not ready to take them down completely, not to mention that might get Cauldron interested in me. Which was something that I would avoid and delay as much as possible. That left having to maybe kidnap Mouse Protector.

Not something that I was ok with. But if I could get Ravager, that might be a different story.

Ugh, this was just giving me a full blow headache.

You know what? I needed to get the hell out of here.

Being stuck inside of this pocket dimension was making me a little stir crazy. Looking at my watch I could see that night was fast approaching outside.

How about I make my first debut? Before that, I needed to let Leo know.

--

While Leo wasn't too thrilled about me going out to fight criminals, he didn't have as many reasons that could keep me here anymore.

Seriously the number of powers that came with some form of training, and the knowledge that Judith gave me about certain areas of the city were an absolute boon.

That's how I now found my myself up on the rooftops of this completely broken city, surveying with my eyes as well, as some of my other systems compiled data on my surroundings.

While I wanted to bring along Honest Recklessness, unlike the light-saber, the gauntlet's no longer fit me as they were fashioned for my human arms. Which I still hadn't figured out how to do quite yet to my growing frustration. I had to fight not to punch in the mansion walls. Again.

I still had to fix the training room when I got back.

Traveling through the rooftops of downtown and some of the seedier parts of the city was far faster thanks to the various abilities that let me jump around like a Ninja. Given that one of my abilities came from Naruto that was not that surprising.

I just wish that there had been some more action or something. Seriously I had been flying through the rooftops for the past hour or so, and I hadn't found a single crime. Besides those Nazi's that were stalking a black nurse that was making her way back home.

None of them noticed when I knocked them both out and dragged them into a nearby alley. An anonymous phone call to the cops, along with a little USB of me recording the way that they creepily followed her down the street on top of the two unconscious tied up Nazis, and I was out of there.

I might have dragged them along the floor for a little while, but who gives a shit they're Nazis.

After that thing's had been mostly quiet. Not much of a surprise. From what I remembered, apart from the occasional skirmish, all the major powers were careful not to upturn the status quo. While the Empire had number's, if Lung ramped up far enough there wasn't much that most of them could do.

So, all the gangs waited and watched, hoping for a chink in their opponents armor to be shown. Just as those thoughts fluttered through my head, I could feel someone right behind me.

Without a second thought I jump out of the way with an empowered kick, and barely managed to avoid a dagger to the back of the head.

Before I can reorient myself, I feel him appear behind me again before the duplicate can turn to ash. Fuck.

I feel that this asshole was toying with me. Every time that I would dodge out of the way, he would simply come at me again from a different angle, always with the blade in his hands.

This little dance goes on a few times, me not being able to keep up with the way that he constantly duplicated around me, and him missing me with each swing.

Being careful wasn't doing it, so I guess that it was time to be reckless.

After the sound of falling ash, I can feel the man appear behind me, instead of dodging again I let him finish the swing of the dagger, but instead of impaling itself into my back, the blade is stopped by my Aura. I can see the slightest of head tilts before I tear the blade from his hand's and manage to upper cut him on the chin.

He flew a bit into the air before turning into dust and falling off of the edge of the roof that we had found ourselves by. I get a reprieve for a few seconds before I can feel him appear nearby again.

Only this time instead of the blade whistling through the air, I hear the tell-tale sounds of a pin being pulled. That's when another clone appears right in front of me with the pin of a grenade in his vest pulled. This happens twice more within the same second, now being surrounded by four suicide bombing clones.

"Oh shit!" On instinct I throw myself between the gaps of two of them, falling off the edge of the roof. During my fall, thinking that I had fallen enough to avoid the explosion's I find purchase along the walls of the building, using chakra along my feet to stay connected.

Just as I manage to plant my feet onto the wall, the entire building shakes, and four a deafening boom echoes across the night sky. Rubble tumbles from the edge of the roof, pieces of them clinking onto my armor on the trip down towards the ground.

Fuck, I think that Oni-Lee was one of the worst match-up that I could have run into. Most of the other capes I would have something for, but that teleporting asshole was way too much of a slippery bastard for me to be able to pin him down with any lasting damage.

Wait- line of sight! He had to see where he was going to be able to get the hell away from something.

Reaching into the Duat I grab the shabti and the black lined that was wrapped around it.

Fastening it around myself, it barely manages to warp around me. Right, being an Eldar means that I was a hell of a lot bigger than when I made this thing. Ugh I was going to have to make two of everything in different sizes, wasn't I? Oh well, workaholic could help with that.

I feel outward trying to ping off where that suicide bomber was hiding, and I manage to find a ping. Right before it disappears and another one appears. This happens one or two more times before he finally stops teleporting and duplicating.

Taking my queue I slowly climb up the wall, careful to not make a sound or move a body part form under the cloak when I poke my head up from the side of the building. I spot him on a different rooftop surveying his surroundings trying to find me.

That is when he teleports barely a foot away from me peering down into alley looking right past me as he tries to find where the hell I went. I bite my lip to keep myself from screaming in surprise.

It was too good a chance.

Faster than he could he react I climb onto the roof, jumping above him, while freeing my hand from the cloak that I was hidden under clasping onto the eyeholes of his mask. He tries to stab backwards with the knife in his hand while simultaneously trying to pull the pin on a grenade.

I'm too fast for him though. I activate one of my newer rings that I created just yesterday drawing on the word that was stored inside and directing it towards the man that was in my grasp.

Sleep takes him, his body going limp and the knife that was in his grasp falling down into the alley below.

Pulling him back I disarm him of all his weapons. Various grenades, daggers, along with some shuriken stars. Wow guess he went all in with the whole demon ninja persona that he had going on.

After making sure that he didn't have anything that would let him escape, I take off his mask ignoring his face while I tie some black cloth that I embodied. Putting his mask back on and tying him up with some rope I start to wonder why the hell he attacked me.

Was he just out on his own little patrol and just attacked when he saw me? Or was he after someone else and mistook me as them? From what I remember, the man that was Oni Lee isn't really there anymore. After all of the duplication that he has gone through whoever he was is mostly gone. Probably one of the worst power's to the user, though I can think of others that were worse.

That was when I felt the Forge connect to a bigger star in the Intelligence constellation. It was a bigger star like a few of the other ones that had connected. And again, I was brought to my knees. I managed not to scream this time.

Like Scientist Supreme this star came with an abundance of knowledge shoved into my head. Thankfully, this time the pain far lesser than before, along with the information that came with it.

Though that wasn't the amazing thing that came with this star. The name of this power was simply titled: Great Man. Or Great Woman in this regard.

The real kicker with this power was more than just intelligence and knowledge. It was ingenuity. Any kind of technology that I would eventually invent, or that others would invent, could now be pushed beyond their original limit's. More than that, advances could be applied from one form of technology to another. Think of a breakthrough that you make in power distribution, why not try to see if that worked on a completely different piece of technology. Already I was getting ideas for various different pieces of tech and software that I had created, Great Man working in conjunction with some of my other tech-based powers.

Just like that I thought of a workaround for some of the programming for some drones that I wanted to get started on. And some way's that I could emulate some of the system's that I had seen in the Rustbucket onto some of my industrial machine's. Ooh, maybe those construction robot's wouldn't need to be connected to that central terminal anymore?

More and more ideas fluttered through my head at all the thing's that I could do with the technology that I had at hand. How to improve it, how it work better in conjunction with each other, how to apply one form of improvement onto another different invention.

Oh yeah. I was going to go on a tinkering spree when I got home.

I slowly get back to my feet looking at the unconscious mass murderer at my feet. Had to do something about this guy.

Ugh, I did not want to deal with the PRT, but there was no other way that I could hand this guy over to the authorities.

Oh well, let's get this over with.

Good thing that I had bought a burner a few day's back on my trip into the city. After letting the responder know that it was parahuman related, they patched me over to the PRT line. After that I was told to wait where I was for some of the 'heroes' to arrive.

While waiting for whoever they were going to send, I decided to undo the sleep spell that Oni Lee was under. Didn't want to have to answer any uncomfortable question's that they might have.

The moment that he woke up he starts wriggling inside of the rope that I had tied him up in, trying his best to break free. I don't even bother telling to quit it knowing that he wouldn't listen to a word that I would say. I wasn't worried though. I made sure that there was no way that he would be able to break free.

The sound of rushing air announces to me the arrival of the heroes that I was waiting for. Looking up into the sky I make out someone in an outfit that reminds me of roman armor, the lance in his hands and boots on his feet glowing as if they were made of pure lightning.

He land's softly a few feet away from me on the roof, his hand on his lance firmly but not aggressively.

I have to say, Dauntless cut an impressive figure, with the almost heavenly way that the lighting danced around his feet and spear. Wonder if I could replicate that kind of effect with some of my own equipment. Maybe gravity manipulation on the soles of the feet, accompanied by thruster's? Dammit Great Woman shut the fuck up!

"I'm guessing that you're the one that put in the call?" He asks warily.

I give him a firm nod, gesturing over to the still struggling man on the floor with an open hand.

"Yup. Caught a little something that you might be interested in."

He looks down at the suicide bomber fighting against his restraints, his expression hidden beneath his helm except for what little I could see of his mouth.

"So, what happened?" He asks, while throwing a foam grenade at Oni Lee, completely encasing Oni Lee as it solidified ceasing his futile struggling.

"He attacked me. Don't know why he did. Tonight, was my first patrol and I was exploring the neighborhood trying to see if I could find any crime. Next thing I know I'm dodging knife stabs and ashified suicide bombers."

Dauntless grimaces a little bit at the mention of the suicide bombing before speaking. "Tonight's your first night?"

I give him a firm nod underneath my helmet, and I notice the corner of one of his lip's twitch upwards before regaining its neutral line.

"How did you manage that?"

Ok now here is where I had to be careful about some things. If I was betting anything, they were going to have some thinker look at any footage of me. Wouldn't surprise me if they did that for every piece of footage of capes that they manage to get their hands on. It would be something that I would do if I wanted to figure out what independents tick. Given what I felt from Piggot when I was meditating over in the Boat Graveyard, I was willing to bet that was what she did.

"I'm a bit of a mix of mover and brute. Enhanced reflexes, durability, strength, speed, you name it. Can't fly unfortunately," yet "but I was fast enough to avoid anything that he tried to throw my way. Since he didn't just teleport right next to me when I ducked into the fire escape, I guessed that he needs line of sight to teleport. Managed to get behind him and cover his eye's before knocking him out."

There that was mostly the truth, with maybe a lie or two in there for good measure. Wouldn't surprise me if they picked up on some of them, but that was something to deal with later.

He looks up at me because holy shit I was now tall! I'd never had to deal with that before. "And the height I assume came with the power?"

Huh, there were hints of worry and restraint around him. Guess he was afraid of pushing too far. Eh, I'd throw them some bait. "Yeah. When I got my power, my body changed too. Can't turn back."

I felt something coming from him then. I could not quite put my finger on it, but it vaguely felt like a mix of worry, pity, and relieved?

"You know if you joined, I am sure that the Protectorate would be more than happy to assist you in your civilian life. Assuming that tonight wasn't just a one-time bout of heroism."

Ah that explains it. I couldn't even be that mad at him. The heroes in this city needed all the help that they could get. Especially considering the hell show that would be heading this way in the next couple of months. Too bad I was perfectly happy not having a leash around my neck, or restraints on my hand.

I give him a light chuckle. "Sorry, authority and I don't get along very well. While I wouldn't mind working with all of you, I'm more of a free spirit."

"That's no problem. If you change your mind or run into any trouble please don't hesitate to give us a call." He hands me a card, his body language completely relaxed and at ease. Too bad that I can feel the disappointment ringing clear off him.

I take his card making a show of opening a panel inside of my armor to place it inside. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

The sound of siren's and engines making their way down here alert me to the PRT troopers making their way down here to the scene.

"Take it that now that your boys are here, I'm free to go."

He nods and just as I'm turning to kick-off he calls after me. "What are you going by?"

I take a second trying to figure out what to tell him when an idea strikes me. "Aspect."

With that I launch into the sky eager to get home.

--

March 7th, 2011 Brockton Bay

The sun was just peeking it's way out of the sky when I arrived to my destination in the Rustbucket. It's an abandoned factory, one of the locations that Will let me know about that were free of any inhabitants. Looking around I see nothing but potential on where to take this place.

Oh, all the machinery was rusted away and useless for anything but scrap metal, but I could work with that. Already I was having ideas on how I could revolutionize some of the designs from the Factorio database. Improvements in infrastructure, more efficient power outputs, etc. It would take some time, but I think that I could really whip this place into shape.

Summoning out a few clones they immediately start to dismantle everything that they can get their hands on inside of the factory while I open the portal to the workshop. Heading inside I and about five of my clones carry out the crates that were waiting for us.

Once outside we started our work finishing up the unfinished project that had been waiting for this moment to finish. It takes about an hour and half before we manage to complete our work, but it is worth it.

It's a big bulky robot port that screamed dieselpunk. Of course, since I had designed it so that it would be three times smaller than originally I was only dealing with one robot port instead of five of them. While having five of them would be a boon, it wasn't what we needed at the moment. Not to mention that I was running out of room to store my crap.

Attaching the generator that we had brough alongside us the robot port comes to life, with the terminal attached to the big machine flashing to life in green lights. Pressing a few keys, I give them their orders and the port springs to life, assembling the floating construction robots.

They were all unchanged from their original designs inside of the database, much to that new voice in my head's chagrin that wanted to improve anything and everything that I worked on. Soon, Great Woman. Soon.

For now, I just watched as my little bots got to work. My clones had left to the Mansion inside of the Domain, knowing that their part in this was done. The flying ball like robots dismantled everything within their path, making sure to depside any scrap to the designated area, before converting it to building material. All the while the clones that had stayed behind, were hard at work on the inside of the workshop, with a few of them coming out with raw materials that were recycled from projects that they were making solely for the excess resources.

A vicious smile work's its way across my face as I watch my creations work in tandem to create the first factory of its kind. For now, it would just be basic materials that it would be churning out. Bolt's, screw's, nail's, wiring, computer chips, etc. I just needed to insert the blueprints into the machine, then feed it what was needed and presto.

Eventually I would move on to better things. This world was fucked. It was headed towards ruin and collapse even if I managed to avoid the imminent apocalypse that was coming. Scion would eventually get bored and go on his killing spree, or the Endbringer's would slowly kill this world into nothing.

That meant bringing back this society from the brink. That was everyone that I could. From the most powerful parahuman that was out there, all the way to whatever pregnant teen was out there feeling alone.

Just thinking about it made me want to throw up my lunch which now tasted wonderful. Seriously ever since becoming a filthy xeno everything was so much better and stronger. From emotions, to tastes and especially sound. I never thought that I could appreciate Queen music more than before. Wasn't unhappy to proven wrong.

Leaving my clones to finish up any logistical work here, I open the portal to the mansion and walk through.

The familiar purple nothingness greets me once I make it outside, somehow comforting in knowing that the winged bitch couldn't break in here. Walking through the mansion I pass by Leonardo who was doing his daily routine of his chakra practice. He gives me a slight wave before resuming his tentative steps up the wall that was his current objective.

He's come pretty far for very little time to learn everything. Honestly, I would say that he's better at the fine control of chakra than I was. Just a gut feeling that I had.

Arriving in the library of the Mansion finds one of my clones furiously sketching through various pieces of paper, with a sort of frantic look on her face that almost made her look bestial. Being an Eldar only made it worse. Jesus did I look that?

I let out a loud whistle that startles the clone into noticing me. At first she summoned a knife right next to her primed to launch at my throat before dematerializing back into ambient magic. She gives me a bit of a withering glare that I need to remember when I throw it at people that piss me off.

"How's it coming along?"

She sighs. "Not as much as I would like. The exact rituals and magic control that come along with it are a bit too advanced for where we are in magic right now. But I think that I might have found a solution."

She rummages through the many different paper's, tomes, and graphs that are all scattered across the table, the sound of rustling paper lasting for fifteen seconds before she lets out a happy, "Hah!"

She pulls out a graph of paper from the bottom, making the rest of the paperwork on top fall down to the floor. Without even looking at the paper that fell she gestures with a hand and they all start to float their way back to the top of the table, neatly stacking on top of each other in a pile. My clone shoves the paper to me with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Did you embody all of these?"

"Yeah. I didn't feel like getting up going to look for any."

That was the laziest possible answer that she could give me. And something that I would totally do, so I can't really say anything.

Taking the graph with both hands I outstretch the piece of paper to get a better look at the entire document only to freeze in place after I scan it. Reading through it all, I give my expectant clone a look before finishing up.

"You want to try to convert the ritual into a technological form." I say dumbfoundedly.

She gives me a fervent nod. "You're already having ideas aren't you?"

I nod distractedly while my mind flies through the design's that are in this document. Already I can come up with several different ways that I could improve the tech that is detailed here, better forms of power distribution, lessening prep time with the digital ritual.

Holy shit.

"You cheated by turning it into a form of tech so Great Woman could take over."

The grin on her face looks almost predatory while she snaps her fingers. "You got it in one."

Some of the more esoteric and magical parts are still a little out there, but they could easily be circumvented by using Wraithbone and warp creation in the beginning stage of this. Besides, we were not trying to make a weapon or some form of curse.

No, we were trying to create a simple field that we could erect in any building to prevent that winged bitch from peeking in. And I think that we just might have stumbled on something.

It would still take time to finish up some of the details, let alone how long it would take to make it. But we were on a faster path than just learning the ritual and trying to implement it into any building that we were trying to create.

Handing it back to her I give her a glowing smile. "Nice work."

As I'm turning and leaving the room she calls after me. "Don't congratulate me to hard. Don't want people to think we're turning into a narcissist."

I laugh a little at that, making my way through the magical mansion that had various bits and pieces of machinery scattered here and there from one of my clones that was in a hurry. Needed to clear up some of the mess that was beginning to pile up. Unfortunately, unlike most of my embodiment's I can't just disappear these creations from existence. Somehow after being used as material to make something and being salvaged after Workaholic took over, the aspect that made it Embodiments became thinner and thinner.

Don't know if it was because of how many time's it happened or if it was something to do with Workaholic. I had reached the point where I had just thrown in the towel. Great Woman helped my intelligence yes, but it was also deeply rooted in technology, not the mystical side of things. I could cut corner's here an there, but when it came to the magical I was still barely more than a novice with a bunch of neat tricks.

It was while pondering this that the Forge connects to the constellations with the most stars. It was a star that was about the same size as Computer's and was obviously connected to it. Hardware was the more nitty gritty half of Computers. Just like that all of the incomplete ideas that I had in my head were filled in.

The missing piece that I needed for some of the projects that I wanted to make. Not to mention the ideas that that Great Woman was providing me.

I let out a cackle at that. In the span of a second I had the keys to so many projects that I had wanted to work on. So many things that I was pushing back were now at the forefront of my mind.

The best part was that Hardware didn't just give me ideas about droids. It came with the knowhow on how to repair spaceships. Star Wars spaceships.

The biggest pain in the ass that Warhammer 40k had was that it was limited in safe means of faster than light travel. Just like that I had passed the limitations that not even the Eldar were free from. I now knew how to create hyperdrives.

Rather, I had the basis for what could be a hyperdrive. It would take some time before I could properly make one, let alone test it out.

Something that I wouldn't want the Simurgh finding out about. Who knows what kind of bullshit that winged bitch could pull with that kind of tech in her arsenal.

Still though. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the stars were within my reach. I only had to needed to commit and build a ship. Something that wasn't so beyond my capabilities.

I sniffle a bit trying to keep the tears that wanted to come out at bay. I let out a little laugh. I could go to space!

A little thing that I regretted in the privacy of my dreams was that I was born too early to be able to explore the stars. Born too late to the explore the world. Now I felt something that I think was very absent nowadays.

That feeling of explorations and wanting to know what was out there. What was waiting for us outside of this little solar system, and in the greater galaxy.

Oh yeah there were more entities out there, but I just knew that there was more than those damned space whales. Even then if I eventually made my way back home maybe I could jumpstart the space age there.

Then again, it might just devolve into a bunch of countries vying for attention instead of what's best for the rest of the human race. Or shooting at me when I make it clear that I would not have a leash around my neck.

Eh, one more thing to think about. Added to the ever-growing pile of 'shit I have to do'.

For now, I would leave my clones to do some work around the place while I was going to try to regain my human form.

Trying to think about it and focus on just turning back wasn't doing it. The only thing that I hadn't tried was meditation yet.

Which is why I was sitting inside of the center of my room again trying to find some peace of mind and returning into my original form.

Meditation was slowly coming easier to me. There were some days when I struggled a little bit to reach the right state of mind, but eventually I would get there.

Being more grounded and in control of my emotions was also a big plus. Though it wasn't something that I thought I would ever be able to do before. I was still impulsive most of the time, but the raw emotions were on a better leash.

At the moment, though all I could feel was frustration. I had been meditating in here for over an hour and I was no closer to turning back than when I started this session.

Goddamit this wasn't working. I wish that this power came with a fucking instruction manual. While I didn't mind being tall, or better coordinated I did want to be in my normal body.

The worst part was that I could feel it at the back of my head. Waiting to come back, but it needed more than just wanting to turn back.

Trying again I let my thought's just drift off into the living force just letting my motion's flow outward into it. Only this time I focus beyond that.

I remember who I am. Experiences that I've had throughout my life. Reaching the top of my height freshman year of high school. That time that I cut my hand on the line at work and it left a scar that would probably never fade away.

How unhappy I used to be with my thick curly hair before I just stopped caring about it. Accepting that it was a part of me along with all of the other thing that I didn't like about myself when I was younger. I focus on all of this and just sort of… let it flow through.

When I open my eyes, I'm missing the enhanced night vision that becoming an Eldar brought. The constant hum of magic that my ears picked up were gone as well. Getting to my feet, my eye level was different from what it had been when I started.

I stare at my hands, their imperfect scarred dusky form so familiar compared to the porcelain like almost perfect arms that my Eldar form was.

Just like with my human form, I can feel my Eldar one at the back of my head. Waiting to come back to the forefront when I needed it again. I had a feeling that it would be easier to switch back and forth from now on though.

Looking down though, the clothes that I was wearing were both loose and somewhat tight. While I was in my Eldar form I might be taller, I was also far slender than I was human.

After fighting and getting those damned cursed clothes off I slip into my normal wardrobe. A t-shirt and simple jeans. Oh it felt so good to be normal again.

A knock at my doorway gets my attention away from reveling in my redeemed human form and I open the door to reveal Judith. The pain and sorrow were much better now. They were still there, I don't think that those feelings were ever going to go away, but she wasn't drowning in them anymore.

I give her a warm smile, right as she stares at me with wide blue orbs.

"I see you're back to your dumpy self."

My right eyebrow twitches at that, and my smile goes well past below in temperature.

"And you're back to being a smartass brat."

She rolls her eyes at me making me notice that they were still a little puffy and pushes past me into my room.

I roll my eyes at her too as I close the door, though this time with a hint of amusement.

She flops onto my bed, careful to land on her side, then simply stares at the cut up remains of my Eldar clothes.

"They were a little tight." I lazily throw out at her questioning stare and raised eyebrow.

Her eyes shift from the clothes to me over and over again before she locks onto my chest. She then proceeds to lose her little teenage mind laughing at me. No doubt imagining how it had looked when I had turned back.

Note to self make sure to be wearing loose clothing when I switch so that doesn't happen again.

By the end of her hysterical bout of laughter I can see the tears that are peeking out of her eyes.

When she notices the narrowed eyes and raised right eyebrow that I was throwing her way she makes an effort to clear her throat and end the laugh's.

I don't really mind, but hey I got to play the annoyed big sister part sometimes right?

"So, what's up kid. Everything, all right?"

"Yeah, just wondering what the hell was going on. You got the clones running around doing a bunch of weird crap all over the place, and las I saw Leo was walking up the wall. Did he trigger, or is this one of the things that came with that thing that you gave him a little while back?"

Given all the questions you would think that she was interrogating me. But since getting the Force that hitched along with Computer's I know that she's just curious about how a cape works. No deception or things of darker nature come off from her. Just open curiosity with hint's of wonder.

Wonder is something that I can't really explain. You know when you feel it yourself, but when it comes through the Force it's different. More like an echo of a different type of joy. It felt… innocent. Like the remnants of the children that we all were at one time. When the world was a simpler and happier place that somehow slipped away at some point when we grew up.

It was a feeling that I loved invoking in Judith. Not to stroke my own ego or anything, just so that I could feel that innocence one more time.

Was it a little selfish? Yes. But I'd rather be selfish and make people feel true joy and wonder over being a selfless robot and not feeling anything.

"Don't think that Leo can trigger like most people here do. What he's doing is using some of the chakra from the coils that I made for him to stick to walls. Eventually he'll be able to walk on water, but that is going to need time and more control over it."

"Chaka. Isn't that the same thing that lets you make those clones that wonder around?"

"Yup. Though those aren't the only things that chakra can be used for." At her raised eyebrow I elaborate a little bit. "Well, some of the other things that I can do are basically just parlor tricks compared to some of the real mind boggling crap that chakra can pull. Not like I can do it without a teacher or any other scroll's that detail instructions." Not unless I got lucky and pulled some Naruto stuff out of the Forge.

She takes on a thoughtful look at that. "What kind of 'mindboggling crap'?"

Good question. "Well, that depends. There are some specific type of jutsu that are passed down the line in families that are very unique. They can range from specialization in cultivating animal's to use chakra in tandem with their owner's, all the way to controlling their shadow's to restrict movement of their opponent's or using they're shadow's as weapons." That's not even taking into account the kekkei genkai user's that have specific abilities tied to the bloodline instead of just techniques that anybody could learn if they got their hands on a scroll.

Wonder is right there in full effect judging by the sizes of her eyes. "Are you telling me that people with that kind of power could go into almost any cape category? Holy shit."

Yeah, there was no way I was going to mention the Biju beasts. That was a whole other can of worms that would only make that tiny ping of fear of hers even worse.

I frown a little bit when I feel something else underneath those emotions. Was it worry? Nervousness? Anxiety? It was a bit of all those feeling's mixed together that were starting to show on her face, given the way that she wasn't really looking at me anymore. And the way that she was gripping the bedsheets that she was plopped on.

"What do you really want to ask?" She gives me that look that all kids have. You know, the one when they got caught doing something that they weren't supposed to be doing. Or they're about to ask for something that they know the answer for is 'no'.

She opens and closes her mouth a few times, her brain trying it's hardest to connect the dots that'll get the words out. After a few seconds of flapping her mouth like a goldfish she gets the words out.

"I want you to do the same to me."

I heard a record scratch form the inside of my head. That wasn't what I was expecting.

"You… want me to give you chakra coils?"

Her eyes wander down towards the floor for a few seconds before they firmly meet mine, with that same steel that I had glimpsed inside of her every now and then. She then did something that she had never done before. Not since she started living with us.

"Please. I don't ever want to worry about having to protect my baby ever again. I want to make sure that if I ever have to deal with those Nazi's or their fucking capes that I won't go down without putting up a fight."

"This isn't just me helping you Judith. Giving you powers is completely different than just keeping you safe from those pricks."

"Why's that?" She challenges.

"Because power is more than just something that makes you harder to kill! It's responsibility! The responsibility that you have something that no one else does!"

"If we're going by that logic then why do fucking cape's get the power's that they do? What responsibility do they have that they can do whatever they want and get away with it!?"

"They don't get a fucking choice in the matter! No one just up and decides to be traumatized for the rest of their life, and having that trauma follow them around in the form of their power!"

"Wait that's how capes get their power's?"

"Why do you think that most of the capes that you hear about are unhinged or volatile? They literally get their powers on the worst of their life, and most of the time those are just waking reminders of it." There's a reason most of them don't ever get better.

"So what? I'm not like them! I can be responsible!"

I laugh at that. "Judith you're a teenager. You all think that you're responsible when you really aren't."

"So what? I'm already going to be responsible for taking care of this baby once I'm on my own. I can't just mooch off of you forever. That's why I've been studying on this tinkertech computer that you gave me. If I can be responsible for myself and my baby, why can't I be responsible for those power's too? Besides, I want to help."

That throws me for a loop. "Excuse me?"

She stands there definitely looking up into my eyes. "I said that I want to help. I know that you and Leo are working on something big other than just making stuff. You're making too much too fast for it to just be making crap to keep yourself safe. You got plans for the Bay, and after being with the both of you for this long, I know that I prefer to have you over those fucking Nazi's and the useless PRT."

I'm about to rebuff that when I feel the Forge connect again. It was a bigger star, though it was smaller than some of the other's that I had. It was simply called Master Craftsman.

Just like that I had another broken ass power. This one was just as good as Workaholic was if not better. Anything that I made was now at the best quality that it could be. I literally could not create anything shoddy. The worst thing that I could make would be considered a masterwork. I was literally spitting in the face of every artist, smith, chemist, and any other kind of craftsman by just existing. Holy shit was I now a better painter than Leo? I don't want to find out.

Fingers snapping in my face knock me out of the little trance that I go into every time that I got another power. Judith's expectant face staring at me with narrowed eyes.

"I know that you just got another cash out from that roulette wheel that you call a power, but can we get back on topic?"

Shaking my head I jog my memory to where we were in the conversation before my lightbulb decides to go ding.

"So, what, are you saying that you want to be my henchman? Cause I don't do that whole gang thing."

"You can't do this alone. Yeah, you'll get Leo behind your back but if your plans are as big as I think they are, then you're going to need more than just the two of you."

I hated that she was right. While I could be in more than two places at once, it would still be a strain on my chakra. While I had pretty good capacity and haven't once gotten close to empty, I knew that it wasn't going to be like that forever. Eventually I w…

March 08, 2011, New York

You know for as much as Bakuda prided herself on being a genius, she really did make a lot of really dumb decisions.

Seriously after making a shit ton of tinkertech bombs and holding a college hostage, only for that to be found out by the local protectorate, she decides to hide out in an abandoned building not even a stone's throw away from the place that she just threatened.

That's before she decides to go completely off of the crazy train and start planting bombs into her gangs and civilians' heads.

I wasn't here to recruit her.

I was mainly here for her tech. While I couldn't reverse engineer any of the techs that were completely black-boxed by those parasites, I had a feeling that I would with time. If it could give me the power of anime, then I was willing to bet that there was something completely bullshit in there somewhere.

"Beep-be-beep?" The little droid at my feet questions while being connected to the scans on my omnitool.

"Yup. She has got the entire building booby-trapped like no man's land. There's so many of them that I can't really give you a number on how many there are."

"Whirr-bup?"

"Please Deseven, I didn't tell you what that bombing bitch was capable of so that you could give me nightmares on what she could do to us with those explosives of hers. I have enough of those on my own." Seriously, I already feared being Greyboy'd or turned inside out already. The ideas that this little droid could come up with were somehow even more terrifying.

"Beeditdit." At least he wasn't using that kind of language while the baby was around anymore. I threatened to switch out his processors with Earth Bet tech, which has kept him a good little droid around the kid.

Zooming in with the tech that I had installed into the suit I could see that there wasn't anything on the outside of the building. At least nothing that my suit could pick up.

If Bakuda had some brains in there, she wouldn't have booby-trapped the outside of the building. No reason to get any attention when a stray animal or wondering homeless person was turned into crystal, or vaporized into nothing.

Well, that made things a little easier.

Now how did I want to do this?

The stealthy way was an option, but I didn't have any tech that could disable those fucking bombs of hers. I was pretty sure that normal EMP's wouldn't work on her tinkertech bombs. And the way that this crazy bitch worked, I get hit with one of her bombs and there was no way that I would be able to survive it regardless of my armor and Aura.

While I had plenty of abilities that made me superhuman and able to tank bullets, I wasn't sure how well that transferred over to some of her more esoteric bombs.

Maybe with some more research from the books inside of the mansion I could find a way to disable some of the bombs that were inside, that would require time though.

Time that I did not have. The longer that she had to tinker, the harder that it would be to get to her. Not to mention that it would give her time to get away from here.

That meant that I needed to get in there quickly and as quietly as I can. Easier said than done. Amplifying the tech inside of my new Wraithbone human helmet I focus on the single heat signature that was inside of the building.

Huddled and underneath the desk, with various bits and pieces that were different temperatures were strewn around the room that she was inside. Guess she decided to make the office of the building her little nest.

What a wonderful little slip up on her part. Not like she could know that I would be looking for her.

I look at the little droid beside me. "You sure that you wanna go?"

A few beeps and whirs followed by a long almost sarcastic beep his body shaking a little bit while spinning in place a little bit. "Uh Huh. Whatever you say you little prick."

"Beedid-WAAA!" His little tirade is interrupted as I grab hold of him with one arm, and take off from our perch launching straight towards the wall of our target.

Before we end up slamming into the wall, I let go of Deseven and we both activate our thrusters. Him from his sides, and I from the thruster pack that was attached to my back.

It's enough for the both of us to softly attach to the wall of the building and start to climb up. I settle for simply walking up the wall, and the small droid simply rolls up the wall right next to me.

Once we make it to the roof I make sure that we are right above the still form of the orange and red blob that my helmet could see.

Switching to the cylinder in my new personal pocket space I ignite the blade in my hand and plunge it into the roof that we were standing on.

First I make a hole that I grab onto with one hand, then I start to cut a circle around the center that I still had in my grasp.

Finishing the cut, I feel the full weight of the surface in my hand when it's freed form its whole. Though, with my increased strength it barely registers to my arm. It was like I was lifting only ten pounds when I knew that it was way more than that.. Lifting the piece of the roof I put it to the side.

Grabbing onto Deseven again, I slowly lower the both of us through the upper workings of the building cutting through any solid surfaces that we come across.

Unfortunately, this isn't quite as silent as I would have hoped for. When we make it through the last of our obstacles I can see that our target was roused awake from some of the noise that we were making, her head whirling around in panic.

Well shit. Guess the sneaky approach wasn't going to cut it.

OK. Good. Time to just bust through then.

While I hadn't tested just how strong I really was, I was confident that this would work. Lifting my fist into the air, I bring it down onto the obstacle that separated me from my target,

I might have put too much force behind that punch. Is the thought that goes through my head when most of the floor that Deseven and I were on gives out from below us.

"FUCK!" A female voice screams out from below us the floor- roof to them- gives out and falls on their heads.

Deeseven and I just hover there for a second looking at the dust and debris that coated the entire office and floated lazily through the air. Buried underneath the debris is a young woman that was completely coated in white and grey dust. She was also currently coughing her lungs out and trying to rub the dust from her eyes while using what little air that she had to curse up a storm.

Well, this was easier than I thought. Lowering ourselves down into the ruined office space I kneel down and place myself right in front of the Tinker careful not to step on her.

"Hello." Because while she might be a psychopathic cape, I still had manners. They barely constituted as manners, but they were manners all the same.

"Who the fuck are you?" She gasps out in between coughs, her eyes blinking rapidly trying to free the dust that was stuck in them with tears.

"I'm here to take you."

Hearing that she tries to rush towards where she no doubt had kept some bombs. Too bad that they were currently buried underneath all of the debris that had rained down.

Oh, and she slipped on a piece of the roof when she tried getting up, promptly landing on her face.

Deeseven releases a trill of laughter at that, completely amused and all of that fearful talk from before nowhere to be found.

Deciding not to give her a chance to run away I pound towards her bringing her arms together and sealing them with the Tas ring on my finger.

Of course, she tries to struggle in my grip to no avail. Surprise, surprise.

Lifting her to her feet I look down towards the factory floor.

"Alright, I want you to disable those bombs down there."

"And why the fuck would I do that?" She sneers back at me, faces still full of white dust.

"Because, if someone wanders in here and dies then you'll be going to the Birdcage instead of getting a deal from the PRT." I might be bluffing here. She hadn't done anything to warrant the Birdcage yet like in canon, and the PRT might be willing to look the other way just to keep a powerful tinker like her on their side.

She didn't know that though.

While she looks reluctant she gestures over to a device on the desk. "That. Press the small button on the bottom to turn them off.

Deeseven rolls over to the desk using his little arms to pick up the remote looking device and passing it over to me. Thanking him, I take it with my free hand pressing the hidden button that was at the bottom.

Various small clicks echo across the building as each and every one of the bombs that were scattered around the ground floor and entrances deactivated.

Making our way down the brown rust-covered steps from the office, Deseven follows behind us by floating down the steps with the little rockets that are at his sides. Once on the floor, I head to one side of the factory floor while my little helper takes the other half.

Lindsay grumbles under her breath the entire time, annoyance and quite a bit of rage roll off of her in waves. Though, there is something… off about it.

An underlying feeling that sort of amplified her emotions. It was so underlying, that I almost hadn't even noticed it. As if it was used to hiding in the sea of someone's mind.

While continuing with my task I focus on that feeling, allowing myself to fall into the same calm that I was slowly getting better at. That underlying feeling was coming from Lindsay, but it wasn't hers. It originated from her head, more specifically from a certain part of her brain.

The pieces click together in my head, and I stop focusing on the Force. I keep hold of the calm though, making sure to avoid the feeling of panic that wanted to burst through.

I let it dissolve into the Force while I focus on retrieving the bombs that were scattered around the building.

I was uncaring of the way the young woman behind me was staring at the bombs disappearing when I threw them into the Duat. There was something almost… unnatural in the way that her eyes followed every movement that my hand's made. Like it wasn't just her watching me. Like there was something inhuman in that gaze.

I keep a tighter hold on my emotions at that.

The rolling sound of Deeseven's wheel's heading towards me signals that the droid had finished his work. The bag that I had tied to his back was completely filled with the bombs, each one looking like they were made out of spare parts, and salvage.

A cursory look around the workshop confirm's that thought as I notice that the few pieces of machinery that were still around were missing parts here and there. When we make it onto the sidewalk I look at her.

"Sorry about this."

"Wh-" I activate my sleep ring before she can say a word, falling sideways towards the ground before I manage to catch her.

I throw her over my shoulder and activate my omni-tool.

"Ready."

"Roger." A voice identical to mine responds from the device.

We don't have to wait for long before the sound wheels on the road, and the yellowed lights of the Rustbucket come into view.

I all but run from the entrance of the factory towards the approaching RV, my droid companion dutifully following behind me.

Hopping inside I let Deeseven hover into the Rusbucket before closing and locking the door behind him.

"Punch it," I say in a clipped tone to the waiting clone in the driver's seat. She gives me a nod, rapidly making a u-turn and driving in the other direction.

That's when the Forge decided to connect again to the Time constellation. Machinist.

A smile makes its way across both my face and that of my clone at the wheel.

"Oh, this is awesome." She breathily says.

"Absolutely."

I carefully drop the unconscious woman onto one of the beds of the Rustbucket before switching places with my identical copy.

My clone gives me a firm nod before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Driving out of the city I wait until I'm quite a way out of the city before activating one of the Rustbucket's hidden features.

Immediately I can feel the RV begin to shift and change, both from within the vehicle and the exterior. The steering wheel folds into itself before flipping into a set of controls that you would expect on aircraft. The old radio flips as well, showing the high tech blinking dots and screens that it had hidden away.

Deeseven makes his way towards the new dashboard and connects to it with his new port that I had built for him last night. While I hadn't been completely sure about what I was making- I had made it with Deseven instructing me- afterwards I had figured it out.

While I could drive, I didn't know the first thing about flying. Oh, I knew how everything worked, all the bits and pieces, the way that the engineering worked together to make this vehicle airborne, but that didn't translate to knowing how to control this thing without diving it straight into the ground.

"You got it Deeseven?"

"Bip"

"Thanks, buddy." I pat him on the head before picking up the still sleeping Lindsay and opening the workshop.

It was odd being in here without having Leo around. But I had insisted that he not come along. I wasn't expecting any trouble, but I wanted to make sure. While his training was making progress, he was still nowhere near ready as a fighter.

I leave Lindsay in the bedroom of the Witch's house, the beds there having been unused since we had all moved into the mansion. I'm not worried, nothing could wake her up form the spell unless I undid it, or ran out of magic. Both things that weren't going to happen.

Let's see what I could do in two hours while we head home, shall we?

--

Turns out quite a lot. Machinist as it turns out is quite bullshit.

I feel like I had just spent several hours creating designs for one of my new projects when Deseven announced that we had landed near Brockton Bay.

The drive back into the city was quiet and peaceful. Something that I was quite thankful for.

We still take our time making our way through the streets, while it was dark I still wasn't going to pull many stops in case someone was following us.

Parking inside of my factory I close the garage door behind us taking the unconscious girl out of the Rustbucket and over my shoulder.

The machinery was hard at work, pumping out various normal bits and pieces into bins and containers that were being stored away in a different part of the factory by the logistical robots when they became full. I'd have to check it later to see if how much raw materials these things needed. Honestly, I was just happy that I had managed to build these things with as little pollution as I had.

Climbing the steps towards the office space of this factory, I open the door and head inside. I place Lindsay down on the couch inside before undoing her restraints and lifting the sleeping spell.

Groggily her head lifts up, her eyes blearily blinking the sleep away trying to figure out where she was. She remembers when she finishes rubbing her eyes though. I can tell by the way that her body freezes and her head snaps towards my still helmeted form.

"Where the fuck are we!? What the fuck did you do to me?" She almost howls at me, that constant anger now at the forefront of her mind, making it harder to ignore the unpleasantness that I was feeling from it.

I wave my hand back and forth with my other hand on my hip. "Calm down. I just put you to sleep while we left the city. We're back on my home turf."

She looks around at the bedroom that I had turned the office into. The windows had been replaced with simple bullet-proof glass that I had embodied after doing some research into it. Course I also poured some magic into it to make it more durable, good luck breaking through these things without some real firepower. Ah, I loved that power so damn much.

The decrepit desk that had originally been left here was scrapped for parts, while I had given the rest of the room a bit of a polish. Rust no longer covered the walls or the floor, they now shined as if brand new. A simple bed was placed at the back of the room, flanked by a wooden night desk. Across from the entrance to the room was a tall wooden desk that looked like it should be in an antique store filled to the brim with books. I might have let my creative instincts take over when I was making that.

The couch she sat on was up against the wall that had windows looking out into the factory floor with a walnut wooden desk in front of it.

Another door over by the bed led to the restroom of this office, which I had the robots remodel a shower into it. That hadn't taken as long as I thought it would have.

Was this a bit overkill for a prisoner's room? While she'd made a bomb threat, nobody had died. Not an excuse, but I would rather not be a dick to someone that I had kidnapped, even if they were a bitch..

"What the fuck is this?" She asks the sneer on her face receding, but not quite disappearing.

"Your room for now. By the way, again, sorry for the roof coming out on top of you. I was just trying to break through part of it, not bring the whole thing down."

She just stares at me for a few seconds, her rage replaced with open confusion. "Are you trying to recruit me?"

I shake my hand in a so-so gesture. "Maybe. Still haven't decided if I want to or not." I was leaning towards no, but she didn't need to know that.

She appears to be offended by this.

"Why the fuck not? I'm not good enough?" Aaaand the rage is back.

I narrow my eyes beneath my helmet. Was she seriously pissed because she believed that I thought that she wasn't good enough? What kind of response was that?

Oh, right this was the girl that always raved about how good she was, how she was so many steps forward from everyone else. Of course, she would lash out because someone thought that she wasn't good enough.

"If I am being honest? Not really." Just like that, her entire face becomes a visage of rage and implosion. By that I mean her entire face turned completely red. Was a startling contrast with the slivers of dust that clung onto her face.

"I AM ONE OF THE BEST TINKER'S IN THE WORLD!" She screams in my face, actually slightly bending down to get into my face. I place a hand on Deseven's head when I heard him pulling out that taser that he had built into himself. I am not ashamed to admit that I was tempted to let him tase her ass though. Just for the laugh that it would give me.

"Your debut was trying to bomb a school for giving you a B." I deadpan back to her.

That somehow makes her turn even redder, the rage becoming almost hot to my Force senses, like literal flames radiating from her. Happy she ain't a Force-sensitive.

"That idiotic tub of lard gave me a B because, according to him, I didn't 'understand the language of the book'. As if! That book was nothing more than the idiotic drivel of a middle schooler with fucking down syndrome! I can understand plenty."

Holy shit.

I just stared at her for a few seconds, the very angry raven-haired girl practically seething with rage. I point at her. "That. That's why I might not want you around."

Apparently, she wasn't expecting that. The red in her face quickly recedes, and she wears an expression of dumbstruck confusion. "Huh?"

"Your attitude. Your personality. The volatile emotion's where you go from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye. Anyone that I recruit or take in I expect to be able to work in a team. If not, then you're worth nothing to me."

She scoffs. "Right as if I would want to work with other idiots that I'm twelve step's ahead of."

"There it is again. That arrogance that you desperately cling to. The same arrogance that had you on the run hiding in an abandoned factory with the heroes hunting for your head."

"Those fucking heroes got lucky!" She hisses out.

"Yet they still caught you. It doesn't matter how much you plan ahead, eventually, something that you do is going to go wrong and you are going to lose." Something that I feared to my very core. Dammit not now. I push those feeling's aside. "Instead of learning from that though and admitting that you messed up, you're pushing blame on someone else for your mess up. The funny thing is, you making a mistake is the reason that you aren't buried in a grave right now or inside of the birdcage."

That stop's her in place, her face going white as a sheet almost blending in with the dust on her face.

"You never really thought about what would happen if you had triggered the bombs did you?" I say in a deadpan voice.

Her silence tells me everything that I need to know.

Long-suffering sigh. Jesus Christ, were all parahuman's this short-sighted and lacking common sense? Remembering what I knew about Taylor, and other parahumans that made stupid ass decisions, yes that was what they were like.

Ugh, I could feel a headache coming on.

Eventually, she shakes her head and looks at me again as if she remembered something. "Wait, why the fuck am I telling you this shit? You fucking kidnapped me!" She looks like she's about to throttle me again.

"Yeah, I did. Now I have to figure out what to do with you." I shift my body from the relaxed stance that I'd been in, adopted one that was more rigid. My shoulders squared down, with my feet firmly planted into the floor.

I think that it worked, cause she took a slight step back, and stared at me with a look of scared realization in her eyes. Took her long enough.

The room remains in a sort of frozen state, neither of us shifting or moving from our positions. Lindsay in her attempt at defiance that was undercut by the creeping fear that was only growing inside of her- Kind of like the roots of a tree burrowing into her -and I standing in my attempt into an imposing stance.

Eventually, I decided that this little show had gone on long enough.

"No need, to worry your little hothead though. I have no need to kill you." I say dismissively, flicking my right hand back towards my shoulder.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you are currently my prisoner for a little while. At least while I decide what I want to do with you."

"I don't want to play these fucking mind games with you, if you're going to kill me then do it!" She snarls. Guess she doesn't believe me.

I shrug at her. "I mean it, I have no intention of killing or harming you. But I'm not letting you go. You're far too dangerous to be left out on your own."

For the first time since I met her, I can feel something positive from her. A sort of pride at the word 'dangerous'.

Ugh. Maybe I should just throw her ass at the PRT.

"Anyways, I'll leave you here for now. The restroom is over there so that you can get that stuff off of you, and you will need these." I create a simple set of jeans and a red blouse, neatly folded in my hands. I'd gotten the hang of creating things at the right size. Not to mention that this was near-instantaneous. "I'll be back later with dinner for you. If you feel bored there are some books over there for you, and some paper and pens are inside of one of the drawers of the desk if you need to tinker some designs."

"I'm not giving you any of my designs!"

"I ain't asking for them. I figure that eventually, that power of yours is going to be begging to be used." I swiftly turn on my heel heading towards the doorway, before turning back. "By the way don't even bother trying to escape. I made sure that any attempt will be absolutely futile. And of course, there's no tech here for you to salvage to make one of your little bombs."

Closing the door behind I walk down the steps after Deseven, allowing him to hover down first. The moment that I reach the bottom step I can hear the bloodcurdling enraged scream from down here, and I think that I catch the sight of things being thrown inside of the room through the windows.

Deeseven joins me in a laugh at that.

That's when I feel the Forge connect to the Magical Database constellation, to a star that came along with quite a bit that I could work with.

What the fuck!?

No way. There was no way that it was possible.

"Deeseven, come on!" I yell at him while running to an angle that Bakuda couldn't see through the glass. With the way that her emotions were going rampant, I might not have even bothered.

Opening the tear in reality I jump through, Deeseven following close behind. Running into the mansion, I run up the grand staircase, through the hallways, and run straight towards the door that we had designated for the Workshop doorway.

Stepping through the threshold I send a message to both Leonardo and Judith to come here if they can.

Sitting there on a brand new walnut bookshelf was what I had received. Not to mention the new feeling that was now sleeping inside of me.

While the books were important there was something else that was more important.

Sitting on one of the bookshelves was a small case, like one that you would see for pieces of jewelry, or expensive items.

The peace that I had been holding onto break's then. No longer having to keep myself steeled and centered out of worry that I would lose control I shook in my boots. Out of excitement.

With trembling hands, I take off the gauntlet of one of my arms revealing my bare skin to the magic-infused air.

I gulp down once in a sigh of nervousness, before reaching out and opening the rectangular brown case open.

It was a wand.

About ten inches long, with the lighter rowan noticeable to the dark brown of the bookshelf. The bottom thicker end resembled a guard, with the way that the wood was thick and smooth with one side curving outwards. The rest of the wand was carved with vague characters and runes along one side, from the end of the handle all the way towards the tip.

Taking the wand out of its case I stare at the wooden instrument in my hand with the emotions whirling inside of me.

Nothing happens. At least not until I gave it a flowing wave. Silver and gold light sparks at the tip, following the movement of the tip of my wand. Then at the last flick, those lights gather together, growing bigger and brighter.

It was a warm brightness. Like the very first light of sunrise, or the twinkling light of the twilight. Then the feeling came over me.

It wasn't like when the Force connected. Where I felt true inner peace and connection to the rest of the world. Instead of peace, I felt true, pure joy.

Joy that was nothing more than the fragmented memories of childhood. I hadn't felt like this since the last time that my Abuela had carried me in her arms.

The lights then swirled around and around me the silver and gold flying opposite of each other, like two shooting stars that orbited around me. The end of their tails were wisps of each color, giving an almost ethereal and stardust like quality to both of them. Like what I had seen when the Giant had been forging a new galaxy.

Of course, it doesn't last forever. They end when they finish their upward orbit around me, meeting at the apex of their flight directly above me. When they collide, a final flash goes off, with the remnants of light sparkling down on me. It didn't hurt.

Rapid clapping, one metallic and one of flesh meeting flesh alert's me that I wasn't alone in the room. Whirling with the wand in my hand at the ready, I spot my three friends staring at me in the doorway.

Leonardo, of course, was one of the two that was clapping, his renaissance cloak flapping in the wind every time that he did so with an expression of pure jubilation.

The other one that was clapping was Deseven, who was shaking and moving from side to side, in a look that exuded excitement.

Judith was the only one that was silent, but she did wear a look of awe and wonder on her face with baby Claire wrapped snugly in her arm, completely silent in sleep.

Clearing my throat and wiping the tiny tears that I hadn't noticed had gone down my face, I try my best to regain my voice. "Sorry about that you guys, I didn't notice that you were there."

"My friend no need to apologize! That was magnifico!" He practically booms out as he approaches me. Deeseven appears to agree, giving excited beeps and whirrs while moving towards me alongside Leonardo.

Judith follows behind them not saying a word but giving me a warm look with her eyes instead of a smile.

"So what the hell kinda magic did you get this time?"

I chuckle at the slight teasing in her voice, overpowered by that curiosity that she seemed to always have. "It's magic from a world that I only knew stories as a kid."

I reach out glide my fingers across the books on one of the shelves, some of the titles bringing back little memories that were like wisps that escaped remembrance. I stop at one particular book that I remember and quickly pluck it from its place.

Leonardo takes a look at the book with a puzzled look on his face. "Hogwarts, A History? What manner of name is that?"

"It's the name of the best teaching institution in Europe for young witches and wizards. In a different world of course." As far as I could tell, magic never existed in this one. This was a reality pledged strictly into science.

I pass the book over to him, while I decide to pick out a different book. This time Charming Basic's finds its way into my hands while the Italian man flips through the red tome in his hands.

Flipping open the cover of the book finds a neat and flowing text written from a quill on the pages, though I remember that wizards just charm their quills to write automatically for them.

Basic instructions and diagrams for different beginner-level charms were neatly, though a little bit boringly, written through the pages of the book. Another source of research to the list, though this one should be much more enjoyable compared to some of the other things that were already on my shit to do list.

That's when I catch Judith curiously pick one of the books from the lower shelves."Careful before opening those."

She stops in place and holds the book with the tip of her fingers at my warning, looking at it like it might bite her hand off. The Monster Book of Monsters takes this time to shudder a little bit inside of its restraints on the top shelf.

Right, put an extra lock on that things later. Don't need to add 'bitten in the ass by a book' on the list of weird shit that's happened to me.

"Why?"

"Cause these books are more than just textbooks. At least the magical ones. Anyone who studies from those books, at least with my permission, gain the ability to use magic."

That manages to get the two biological people in the room's attention. Leonardo look's positively ecstatic holding the history book tighter in his grasp, while the young blond woman stares all the more intently at the book in her hands.

"Do I have your permission?" She asks in a steely voice without turning to look at me.

"You already agreed to fight by my side, why would I have a reason to turn you down from this?"

Her blue eyes flick over to me, surprise and gratefulness evident in them and in the Force.

"Though there is just one downside. To be able to use this magic, you need to have a wand. Otherwise, you won't be able to use any of the spells inside of those books."

"And how would one procure one of these wand's?" Leonardo asks having taken out his trusty notebook from the ever-present satchel at his side, prepared to jot down anything that I say down.

I frown at that. "Unfortunately, there's no way that I could make one. The method is something that wandmakers spend years learning and then perfecting. That's before taking into account that each wand need's a core from a magical creature. None of which exist in this universe."

"Why not just use yours?" Judith asked innocently.

"Ha! No. The thing is wands are a little… picky about who can use them. These little things are sentient enough to choose who will be their wielder. If you were a more experienced witch or wizard, then maybe you'd be able to use one that isn't yours. But none us are. You would be starting off at the same level as middle school kids, which is when they begin to learn how to use the magic that they have."

"What could that stick do to us?" Judith asks a little incredulously, staring at the rowan wand in my hand.

"Spell's misfiring, backfiring, or not willing to do any magic at all. It depends on the personality of the wand. I've heard of a wand backfiring a spell so bad that it threw the one trying to wield it out the window of the shop." Judith immediately takes a step away from me, making sure that the point is nowhere near her.

"And how do these wand's obtain these personalities?" Leonardo asks while his hand flies across the pages of the notebook, trying to jot down everything that I say.

"Mix of what kind of wood that they were made of, the length of the wand, what kind of core is used in the process of the creation, and just plain old chance."

"What kinda core does yours use?"

Picking up the casing that I set back down on the bookshelf I read the small flowing script that was at one of the ends of the casing.

Rowan Wood with Phoenix Core, 10 Inches, Supple Flexibility, Ollivander's.

"Phoenix's exist in other worlds!?" Judith asks in a very high pitched voice before rocking Claire when she started to wriggle in her place.

That get's a chuckle out of me. "Yeah, though they're really independent and it's hard to get one of their feathers. Phoenix core wands are rare cause of that. Not to mention that their tears have incredible healing properties. I think that one of the books up there might have some more info on them."

Leonardo all but dart's to the bookshelf, his notepad disappearing into his satchel with Deeseven content to follow right behind. "Which one!?"

I point at the case with the only book that was squirming in its hold and glaring at us with its four eyes on the cover.

"On second thought, perhaps that could wait." He quickly says, backing away from the shaking casing, with Deseven popping his tools out and pointing them at the glaring book with false beeping bravado.

That's when the Forge connects again and something odd happens. It was one of those stars that were more than one, only this time it was different. The biggest star of the two was massive compared to the rest of the one's that I had connected to, while the other one was on par with a few other's that I had attained. Every bit of charge that I felt that I had accumulated was immediately used up connecting to the large more. Before I could feel that connection solidify something else happened.

The other start that I did not have enough charge for remained near me. Or at least as near as these stars could get. As if it was waiting for the rest of the charge to come through. Huh, interesting.

Then the largest star that I had ever obtained connected and I felt… different. It wasn't like some of my other powers that made me stronger or gave me a sort of psychic connection. This one was called Retro-Engineer, and it boosted my affinity to technology further than most of the other stars already did.

It wasn't just that though, now that I had the knowledge of this power, there was also an… intuition to it. Taking one of the bombs that I had taken from Lindsay's workshop I take a close look at it.

While it was still completely alien to me, there were a few thing's that I could pick out from it. The way that some of the bulky wirings worked together, coupled with the method of turning this into an explosive popped into my head, allowing me to understand at least how these two different kinds of technology synergized together into this explosive.

I still didn't have a concrete idea of what it did, but I did know how it could be turned into an explosive when it originally hadn't been the intention of the tech. Interesting. Alien tech wasn't so alien anymore then. I would still need to study this tough.

Such a passive ability that you would think it less valuable than it was. But with Great Woman, and a few of my other Tech-based abilities I knew that was not the case. I could already push tech to the limit of human-based technology, now I knew that I could go beyond that.

And I had a feeling that the star that was waiting to be filled would only be something just as extraordinary even though it was smaller than Retro-engineer.

Putting the bomb back into the Duat I turn to my friend's who were all staring at me with expecting eyes.

"Another one?"

I nod at Judith. "Yeah. Biggest star that I've gotten so far. That can wait though. Do we have anything to eat? I am starving."

"Yes, while nothing like what you usually serve us, signora Judith and I did create a simple meal."

"Well let me get a bite to eat before I go to bed. I've been up since yesterday and I need my beauty sleep." Should probably also tell them about our new 'resident', who was probably cursing my existence at the moment.

--

March 09, 2011, Brockton Bay

Lindsay had apparently calmed down by the time one of my clones went to drop off dinner to her. The room had still been a mess, but that was her problem, not mine.

For now, I was paying Old Man Will a visit, and giving him a checkup.

"Well, Will I have good news. Your recovery is going well enough that we can have you start to build your strength back up in a few days."

The old man chuckles at that. "Young miss, you are quite something. Last time I got shot it took a hell of a lot of time before I managed to get back on my feet."

My ear's perk up at that. "You've been shot before?"

An actual laugh this time, though he does stop himself when his wound's protest a little bit. "Miss, you don't live in Brockton Bay and live here as long as I have been without getting in the middle of one of those damned gang fights. Took a bullet back in the '90s when Marquis was still around. Damn thing when straight through thigh when one of those crazy-ass Teeth tried getting to a cape that was in the hospital at the time. That was 'fore Marquis had started enforcing his rule about Hospital's being off-limits."

"Sound's like Marquis wasn't that bad." He was, I was just trying to keep up a conversation that I was enjoying.

"Ha, yeah right. While he was better than the rest capes at the time, and the ones that are running 'round now, he wasn't a saint. Unlike most other capes, he wasn't afraid to get blood on his hands, plus he was good enough to hold territory as the only cape in his gang. Though, can't deny that thing's started to go even more to shit after he got arrested."

He gets an almost wistful and regretful look on his face.

"My wife was still around at the time. I remember that I was relieved that we lived in his territory at the time. Better to be in his neighborhood, than where the Teeth, Asian gang's, or those damned Nazi's were around."

"What happened to your house? If you don't mind me asking of course."

He waves my worry away. "Sold that place when I needed the cash. After that, I think that a small family moved into it. It hurt to let it go like that, but by that point, that place was just full of bad memories. Though there was plenty of good one's too."

A sad smile spread's across his face at that. But he also had a hint of contentment in there, nestled away to the point where I don't think that he even knows that it's in there. We stay in an almost comfortable silence after that, before Will shakes his head.

"Enough about me, I'm just an old man. Tell me about you girl. What kinda plans does the Tinker that saved my life have?"

If I hadn't spent the past couple of days getting to know the old man, I would have been suspicious of his open interest in that. But Will was harmless. He was an open book, both outwardly and in the Force. Reckon that him being old and just not caring had something to do with that kind of attitude.

That's when a little thought decided to wriggle itself into my head. "How would you like to go to a different world?"

He raises an eyebrow, curious but nonplussed at that. "You can actually do that? Thought that only that one cape, uh Haywire, could pull that crazy stuff off. "

I give him a simple nod and he tilt's his head at that. "Why on earth would you do such a thing girl for me girl? I'm just an old guy that didn't want to become another piece of cancer to the city."

"That's partly why. In this city where a good number of people in your position chose to become part of the gangs of this city, you chose to become homeless and take care of the others that made the same choice. Why not give you another chance at another life in a world that isn't slowly being choked to death."

He lean's backward in his seat merely staring at me for a second, weighing his options in his head before giving me a very slow nod. "You know, that doesn't sound that bad. Wouldn't mind spending my last few days walkin and explorin someplace nobodies seen before. I wouldn't mind not having to deal with capes anymore at least."

I could understand that. If I had been in his position with no power and at his age I might do the same. Or not, I was a hardheaded bitch when it came down to it and might stay out of pure spite.

"Alright then, after we actually go out and explore a few of them to make sure that they are safe, I'll give you a summary about each location. Until then, you're a guest here. Anything that you need, just let one of the many me's running around here know."

"Ha, don't worry little lady. I won't bother you too much about my aching bones and arthritis."

I roll my eyes at his attempts at a joke and we say our farewells.

Exiting into the hallway, I find Leonardo walking on the ceiling with sweat pouring down his face into the simple grey t-shirt, drenching it. Deeseven was right beside him, using his little wheels to attach to the surface.

When he gives a few beeps in greeting's to me it surprises Da Vinci, causing the Rennaissance man to come tumbling down to the floor, landing with a meaty thump. Oh, that has got to hurt. The little whine that rises out of the man that was face down on the floor confirms that completely.

Helping him back up, I try to keep the chuckle from escaping my mouth. Emphasis on the try part.

"Merde, I almost made it to the end of the hallway that time." He whines just as Deseven releases his hold from the ceiling and does a perfect flip into a graceful hover. The cheek droid beeps at him in apologies.

"Ah, it is no issue, my small friend. I will just have to follow through with another attempt." Leonardo says good-naturedly patting the dome-like head of the apologetic Astromech.

I hadn't expected those two to get along as much as they had, but since Deseven joined our little crew he would sometimes like to follow Leonardo when he went on his training. I think that he did that just so that he could laugh at Da Vinci's blunders.

While Leonardo doesn't completely understand what Deseven is saying, he's been learning to pick up on the emotions behind the language. I left a little booklet with Leo and Judith so that they could learn the language behind Deseven's blinking noises.

I had a feeling that Judith was doing what most teenagers do when they're assigned homework. Procrastinate and hope that the problem will go away.

It was while I was having these little thought's that I spot crimson and black, out of the corner of my eyes. Turning I spot a clone of Leonardo walking around with his nose completely buried inside of one of the Hogwarts school books that I had given him as a gift. The real interesting part was the way that I could see wisp's mana following right behind him in a trail of warm brown.

Then he disappears around the corner taking the light of magic with him. Might be this place reacting to a new form of magic manifesting within its territory. Wonder why I hadn't spotted any of that when I practiced my magic.

The Leonardo clone and droid hadn't seen the little magic light show that I had seen, they were to busy speaking among themselves on where next to move the training.

Departing from the two of them, I see that it was already well into the afternoon and that I would have to feed our resident bomber.

After jumping into my human wraithbone suit with those thrusters from the hardsuit, II take a quick trip to the kitchen to rustle up some grub before going to feed our guest.

Well, she cleaned up at least. The half-Asian woman was perched on the desk in the room and doesn't even lift her head from her work as she intently writes down diagrams and instructions that almost looked like gibberish. Note's and other pieces of paper were scattered on the desk, piled on top of each other completely forgotten in favor of the one that was her current focus. Some of them were currently scattered on the floor, under her chair, and along the edges where the desk met the floor, while a few of them were crumpled into balls and thrown towards the trashcan.

I stand there, staring at the trance-like state that she was in. This was deeper than what I saw Leonardo get like when he would have one of his inspiration's, or when I was having one of my own. So that's what a Tinker fugue looked like. Somehow, this felt a little uncomfortable.

I wait for her to finish that last page before clearing my throat. She jump's in her seat gripping the pen in her hands as if to drive it into my skull. Given the way that she glares at me she actually might.

"Brought lunch! Hope you're hungry."

I can already see that the cheeriness in my voice is only making the irritation worse by the way that she grip's the pen just a little bit harder before dropping it.

Placing the tray on her desk, neatly organizing some of the note's so as not to smudge them, I take a look around the room, seeing that she placed everything roughly back to the way that it was. Though some of the floor carpet is still torn up and I didn't feel like fixing that up quite yet.

She stares at me for a little longer before her gaze moves over to the tray of a sandwich with a simple side of veggies along with a glass of water. Though ever since I got Master Craftsman anything that I made was incapable of not being amazing. So the sandwich and veggies each looked like they were packed with fresh ingredients and were hand made by a five-star chef. The lettuce in the sandwich glistned as if it was still fresh, the meats and cheese that peeked out were picture perfect and on stacked neatly on top of each other with an olive on a toothpick stabbed on the top piece of bread. Given the way that Lindsay was staring at the plate of food and fighting to not lick her lip's only brought that point further home.

At a certain point I just stopped trying to control Master Craftsman and my training from my time as an Eldar and just let them both out. If I can't stop it I might as well try to enjoy it right?

"What the fuck game are you trying to play at?" She gripes at me while trying to conspicuously drag the plate across the desk towards herself.

"What ya mean?" I ask trying my absolute best to needle her with annoyance.

Her left eye twitch give's me just a bit of satisfaction. "What are you hoping that being nice after kidnapping me would make me want to do what you say? Sorry to tell you but that kind of shit only works on idiots."

I wave my hand dismissively as I take a seat on the bed, crossing my legs and making myself comfortable. "And you're not an idiot right?"

Another eye twitch, though this time my suit can read the steady rise in blood pressure, plus her face was starting to turn red.

That's when the familiar sound of a call coming in from the Research lab sounded out from my omnitool, the holographic gauntlet glowing with every ring. Suddenly all of that irritation and seething rage coming from Lindsay ceased. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates and were squarely focused on my personal computer that was fit snugly to my arm. Her face was back into the Tinker fugue trance that she'd been in, completely forgetting everything that we had just been talking about.

A thought pops into my head and I decide to answer the call.

The gauntlet computer activates its holographic screen with my clone's Eldar helmeted head greeting me back. "Cuidado," I say in Spanish hoping that it would be enough of a sign for my clone to pick up.

Apparently, it was because her voice comes out synthesized and in Spanish when she speaks. "We got the ship done."

What that fuck! "Already!?"

"Yeah. We all pitched in together and got done a hell of a lot earlier than we had estimated. That gift that you got really sped up the process." I could read between the lines. Machinist really stepped up my speed in most thing's, add in that fact that most of my clones were pitching and apparently the process was a snap. Wonder what other crazy crap that I could get done with just those clones helping out.

Still, not like we could use it. Didn't want the fucking Si- No not right now. Think about that later.

"Good work. How's the other project coming along?"

"Not as good as we had hoped. The esoteric side of the project is turning out to be a bigger pain in the ass than we thought that it could. We'll keep trying but no promises." Well, can't expect everything to work out like you would want it to.

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out. Get some rest." She nods before closing the connection. A split second later she and the other clones that were working on the ship released and I felt their memories flood into my head.

Oh yes, that would do absolutely nicely.

"What kind of cape are you?" I was surprised by the fact that her voice was pure curiosity instead of barely contained vitriol.

She was staring right at my face, her eyes searching, and dare I say it, calm. Didn't think that the woman who could become Bakuda was capable of that.

"You're a tinker." Her statement had some remnant of a question in it.

"Yeah, how the hell do think that I got this armor otherwise?" I ask rhetorically.

"No fucking way that armor could make you punch through that ceiling the other night. It might be durable, but there isn't enough machinery in there to boost your strength to the level you were at."

I'm actually surprised at that. Though she was a little wrong on this not being strong enough when Eldar had some bullshit psionic engineering. But she was right that if I was a baseline human I wouldn't have been able to bring the whole thing down. I realize that I might have shown my hand more than I meant to.

Trying to keep the appearance of calm I wave a hand while leaning back a little bit more on the bed, trying to give off the appearance of lazy calm.

"What if I have a tinker teammate on board?"

"Ha, I call absolute bullshit. Whoever was on the line was a tinker, but you call the shots and know what you're talking about. Not to mention that weird midget robot that was rolling around you."

Well, shit. Turn's out that there is a brain in there that could use its brain cells. When I remember Bakuda, all I can think about is a mad psycho that lacked a hell of a lot of common sense. Yes, the bombing and actions that she took around them were some smart moves, but anyone in this world could have told you that bombing a city and then trying to EMP most of the coast was something that would call in the Triumvirate and a whole bunch of villains.

I hadn't expected her to have the brains to figure out all of that after just seeing a few things.

Not that I was worried.

"You could say that I have quite an array of abilities and resources at my disposal," I say cryptically.

She narrow's her eyes at me, trying to figure out anything that she could about my words before giving up and settling in for a glare.

"What the fuck do you want with me?" While this wan't the first time that she said that, it was the first time that it lacked the anger and was instead actual curiosity.

Shrugging I answer honestly. "Keeping you in here so that you don't join any gangs or go on a bombing spree."

"What makes you so sure that I would do that!?" She snaps back immediately.

At my raised chin she has enough of a normal person in there to look a little bit embarrassed at the thoughtless retort.

"So what you really telling me that you didn't kidnap me so that I could be you pet basement Tinker? What are you actually one of those stupid heroes?"

I shrug. "I took you cause I knew that eventually you would find, or be found by, a villain gang. And that power of yours is far too dangerous to have running with a villain gang."

She sneers at that and comes closer to me trying to shove herself in my face. Underneath the indignation, I do sense just a hint of pride at being called dangerous.

"You sound like a pussy."

"And you sound like a little girl. Maybe you need someone that could educate you on being a woman?" I say these words almost like a whisper, trying to get a rise out of her. Like I thought she turned red at that again, trying her best to glare into my eyes but looking away under my expectant and relaxed gaze. I think that I'm having too much fun poking at her. Starting to feel a little bad actually.

"Well, Lindsay this has been fun, but I have work that I have to get to."

"I'll get out of here!"

"I welcome you to try. Just one thing before I leave you, look out that window."

She grudgingly complies, peering down into the factory floor that was an activity of flying drones going about their daily task, though this time producing different kinds of processors and computer parts.

"Even if you somehow manage to get out of this room, those robot's out there will be on you like bee's on a flower. While you might be able to take one apart, I don't think that you would be able to take on the dozen rest that would beeline it for you." Not to mention the two special droids that were hidden away amidst the machinery in case of an actual attack. Those my clones had finished last night and were ready to deal with any kind of intruder.

Her silence is deafening, but this time she actually watches the way that the robots move. I could tell by the way that her eyes were darting around, taking every little detail about the factory machinery and the drone robots that her shard was taking in every bit of data that it could. It was something that I was counting on.

Leaving her to stew I decide that I could spend at least an hour or two practicing up on my magic. I had a whole team working on the tech side of the operations, and oddly enough the magic side was where I needed to improve the most. Since getting Great Woman and Retro Engineer, I was making breakthroughs in my tech development, and in reverse-engineering some of the alien tech that the Forge had given me.

I would have to check a few more things before I could take the gummi ship out for a test drive. While I was pretty sure that I didn't have to take it out of the pocket dimension, I still wanted to be completely sure. Didn't want that winged bitch getting her feathery mitts on multiverse tech. It already had access to parallel worlds, who knew what kind of havoc that Ziz could wreak with that kind of technology.

Arriving in the Workshop I grab a few of the school books from the bookshelf, making sure that they're some of the beginner's textbooks. While these were meant for witches and wizards that were kids, I knew next to nothing about this form of magic. If I was going to start somewhere it might as well be from the beginning. The more complex and advanced spells could wait till a different time.

Luckily, I think that already having a few different forms of magic experience under my belt was helping. Though I was having a little trouble here and there with Transfiguration magic, charms and defensive magic came to me far easier.

Plus I remember to make sure to pronounciate these spells clearly. Didn't want a backfire to shoot into Leo's lab. Again.

Some of the simpler spells I could properly replicate after about two or three hours of study. Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, Alohamora, were each spells that I could use with no problem. I also picked up on a few from the Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, like Protego, and Flipendo.

I hum to myself while placing the books back on their shelves. Harry Potter magic was kinda scary. There were no real rules on how the magic could work. Yes, there were spells needed specific wand motions and pronunciation's so that they could properly be used. But they had to have been created at some point. Which meant that there was more to magic than just waving a wand and saying a spell. There had to be intention behind the magic. An intention that was solidified with the movement of the wand, and the words of the spell.

The only thing that was limited to that kind of magic was how far you could push that intention and imagination. And the thought brought a shiver to my spine.

I felt my charge fill up a little bit more, and immediately deplete itself. The star that had hung around nearby moved in and solidified the connection. It joined together in my constellation, taking a spot right next to Retro-Engineer, both of them making the other stronger in different ways.

Then the name of the star and what came with it processed through my head.

And I just stared into a black space, completely unsurprised for some reason, as a familiar sound echoed throughout my surroundings. CLANG!

I wasn't in my workshop anymore. I was inside of some sort of cave if the way that the hammer reverberated around me was any indicator. CLANG!

Everything was completely pitch black, making it hard to tell where the hell anything was. CLANG!

With shaky step's I push forwards through the tunnel, missing a step every now and fumbling to keep myself from tripping down into the floor. CLANG!

Eventually I managed to see a light, one that I follow, my curiosity and anxiety of being trapped in utter darkness finally abating a little bit. CLANG!

Each step the sound becomes louder and stronger, enough to pinpoint that it was the sound of a hammer striking an anvil. CLANG!

Reaching the end of this tunnel leads me to a wider cavern that looked to be a workshop judging by the tables that were filled with tools and scrap. CLANG!

At the center of the room, was a man with his back turned to me, the sole light in this cave almost blinding my eyes making me unable to make out any details about him. CLANG!

Embers lit up the room every with every hit of his hammer, being pounded free from impact. CLANG!

With that final strike, he places his hammer on the table closest to him, the tool having done it's job. He instead grabs a pair of tongs, using them to lift his finished project. Lifting them high enough where I could see the familiar metal faceplate that was blank except for the two large eyeholes and the three small slits that resembled a frown.

He finally turns towards me, slamming the mask onto the table behind him, as if calling attention to his work. I still can't see his face in the dark, but there was one thing that I could spot within the darkened room. The oh so familiar glowing blue circle was displayed almost proudly at the center of his chest.

Without even acknowledging me he grabs something else from the table and returns hammering away at it.

Peculiarly, instead of the room becoming brighter for an instant with each strike, the single point of light in this secluded world dimmed little by little until darkness was my reality.

Only the sound remained.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

--

When I open my eyes it's as if I had only blinked, not seeing what I had. Then the ideas and knowledge start to rush into my head. Design's for technology that I had seen plenty of in those movies, and other's for things that I had barely seen. The two stars that had been part of a cluster were working together, advancing the other in little ways.

Then came along some of my other tech and intelligence boosts like Great Woman. Suddenly, all of these ideas that were nothing more than wishes that I wanted to make some day were right at my finger tips.

Wanna know what the best part was?

With just a thought various pieces of materials appear on my workbench inside of the metal shop. Excitement that I don't bother to center away booms in my chest, pounding in my chest as I begin to work at the materials that I had just created using some specialized tools that I had made a few days ago.

The knowledge and the already shaped resources, coupled together with the advanced tools that I was using, would have cut the time in my creation to a little under an hour.

With Machinist working overtime I got it done in about ten minutes. It only needed the finishing touch. Making sure that the ring was the correct size, and that it was ready, I gently place it onto the rest of my work. The moment that it's in place, a cool blue light shines and illuminates the entire room, which then promptly multiplied fivefold.

I can't help the absolute joy that rushes through my heart. Just like that, I had found a completely renewable source of energy. Even more than that, I had one that was the size of an apple in the literal palm of my hand, while four others glowed in their cool azure light on the bench.

Just like that my power shortage issues were completely solved. I just had to make it bigger for some of my other machinery. The only downside was that there was no way that I was taking this thing out into the real world. Yet another piece of tech that I didn't want those parasites getting their hands on.

I had finally managed to create a power source that wouldn't need to be run through the warp. While Eldar tech was absolutely wonderful, it could only be used by me, at least as far as high tech Aeldari armor. I could still fashion Wraithbone into normal armor without the need to be powered through the Immaterium, but it would never be at the level that my set of armor could be.

As far as I knew I was the only being that had any sort of influence and control of the warp. While useful to make sure that someone else couldn't reverse-engineer the tech, it did mean that Leo and Judith would be limited if things ever escalated to the point where they would be involved. While I wasn't happy with getting her involved, she was now. The moment that I took her in she became embroiled into the worst that this world would through our way.

I don't regret it though, as selfish as it is. It was nice to have a friend again. It had been a while since I had one that I could feel close to. Not to mention that baby would grow up into someone with power, regardless if I was involved or not.

Had to make sure that the little one wouldn't fall to the temptation that the Dark Side could provide. Power was always enticing but sometimes the worth just wasn't worth it. Something that I think about my decisions at least once a day.

Looking at the cool glow of energy in my hand I just think about all of the projects that I could advance now. Factories of incredible production were at my fingertips without the worry about poisoning the planet. While the one that was in my base in the real world was running on Solar Power it was still limited to how much it could produce.

This would completely revolutionize what I could do. Hope that I managed to find a world where I could pull that off in the Gummi Ship.

A gasp at the doorway knocks me out of my musing. Judith is at the doorway staring at the arc reactor in my hands, the cool blue light of the power source giving a nice glow to her wide sky blue eyes.

"Got another one? The rest of your clones spaced out before they lost their shit. Again."

Can't help the chuckle that her words get out of me. Lord knows that I would run full speed over here if I had been outside of the workshop when the stars had connected.

"Yup."

"This is one of the prettier ones that you've made. What's it do?" She asks with a curious voice.

I lift the round-faced cylinder in my hand, the cool glow remaining ever vibrant. "This is an Arc reactor. Truly pure, clean energy."

She just raises an eyebrow and releases a little "Huh"

Bitch, what!? "Do you not realize what this is?"

"What isn't it just a really good tinkertech battery?"

I feel my eye twitch at that. "Please, that tinkertech crap that they throw around isn't anything compared to this." For one I don't have to store all of that energy between dimensions as a continent-sized crystal computer that lacked any form of common sense. Huh, didn't know that I was that bitter about that.

"This is more than just a battery! With this I could power car for over a decade, maybe even more than that, without having to worry about any pollution. If I made it bigger, which I could, I would be able to power an entire city while making sure that I'm not killing the planet at the same time."

She actually freezes in place, some sort of pieces seeming to click, while I feel realization and most of all amazement from her. "Are you telling me that your tech can be reproduced?"

I stare at her for a second while I let what she just said process. "Uh… yeah?" I try to keep the confusion out of my voice wondering why she felt the need to ask that.

She stares at me for a few seconds's not knowing what to say, simply staring at me amidst the bluish-white light of the arc reactors.

"Wait, you didn't know that?" I ask incredulously.

"You never told me!"

"I thought me telling you that my powers weren't like other parahumans was enough of an answer!"

"I didn't really believe you, or think that other people could make this kind of tech!" Suddenly she goes a little pale. "Are you telling me that everything that you've made so far could be replicated by normal people?"

I give her a hesitant nod while adding. "Well, everything except for most of my magic. That run's on a completely different set of principles than what science could produce." At least most of them.

"And those Trump power's of yours?"

"I already told you, the ones that I give to others would be theirs and theirs alone. No matter what would happen to me they would still have those powers."

"You're really not a parahuman." She dazedly says while giving me a thousand-yard stare.

"Again. I already told you."

"I thought that you were just a little crazy like Myrddin, not that you were telling the truth!"

I just stand there, unable to find the right words, and just stare at her while the room just descends into awkward silence while Judith takes a shaky seat on the comfortable chair in the corner of the room that I had made for her on her first day with us.

Eventually, she finds her voice again. "I guess that you aren't selling this stuff to the government or the PRT for a good reason? Other than them kidnapping you and making you their pet science monkey."

I would laugh if I didn't think that they would do that, or rather Cauldron would kidnap my ass and take me to their base if they got wind of some of the stuff that I could do. That was if Contessa's asshole of a shard didn't whisper to her to kill me.

"Yeah, I got a couple of reasons. One of them is that I don't want to get Mannequin's attention quite yet. Don't need to have a visit from him and the other eight murderhobos. At least not before I can make sure that they stay in the fucking ground."

She shivers with realization at the mention of the Nine. "Good point. But do you really think that you would have a chance against those psychos? They survived this long for a reason"

"Oh trust me. With time I'm sure that they will be nothing but a bad memory that will be completely forgotten. Gone into the winds like ash."

I can't help the growl of utter hatred in my voice at that and judging by the way that the blond-haired young woman was staring at my face I probably had an ugly expression on. Wiping that away, I try to give her a reassuring smile.

"No need to worry about that for now. When I do release some of this stuff, I'll make sure that those assholes'll regret coming here."

She nods before frowning. "What's the other reason?"

"Huh?"

"You said that the Nine are one reason why you don't release this tech to the rest of the world, what are the other ones."

Pursing my lips I decide to tell her at least some of the truth.

"There are others that would use my tech to ruin the world. They don't even have to steal it, they would simply be able to scan it from where they're set up and integrate my tech into their own. Trust me when I say that this would be the worst thing that could happen. I can't tell you who they are or what they can do. Merely knowing is enough to put a massive target on your back."

She pales a little bit when she hears the tone of my voice. "You're scared of them."

The image of feathered wings paired together with the sound of a scream flitters through my head. My silence only makes the little pockets of anxiety swell from her before she manages to get a hold of them. "With time to make your crazy tech, can you take them?"

I don't even have to search through the Force to know that she figured out one of the beings that filled me with terror. "With time." And a whole lot of luck.

"OK." The relief in her voice takes me back a little bit. She believed. Most of all, I believed what I said.

This wasn't just some bit of overconfidence in the privacy of my head. Every time I thought about taking those monsters on I could feel dread pooling together at the pit of my stomach, and I just try to think it away. Telling myself that with time I could stand a chance. Fueled by sheer spite and the fear of giving in to the doubts that I had facing those things.

But for the first time since gaining my power's I truly believed that I could take those assholes down. Maybe it was a mix of having Iron Man tech, maybe it was all of the different brands of magic that I could develop.

Or maybe it was the fact that a single girl that I had lent a hand to truly believes that I could bring those things down. Pride fill's my chest, but I also feel something else. A hint of hope.

Maybe that was all that I needed to pull this off. Hope, truly hope, that I would be ready to take those fucking thing's on.

For once I needed more than just spite and recklessness.

Well, now I got it. Just had to make sure that I was ready. Raising the arc reactor in my hand I can't help the smile from growing across my face. While I wasn't completely ready, I was at least on my way.

I look at Judith, feeling for her emotions in the Force, and find steely determination wrapped around that feeling of hope. I give a smile keeping the cool blue reactor raised in my hand.

"What say we get started on your training. Though, it isn't going to be the chakra coils. You're still recovering from your pregnancy. Your body wouldn't be able to handle the stress of those things being burned into you."

Her face morphs into a smile at that, her blue eyes glowing even brighter than before. "What do I need to do."

"Take my hand."

Without hesitation, she complies. Right. Already did Leo the other night. We were just going to commune with our souls. No biggie.

"For it is through resolve that we find who we are. Through this, we grow beyond our fears and regrets. Free of the shackles weighed upon our mind, I release your soul, and by my hope guide thee."

Like before the auburn color of my Aura glows and grows around me, wisps of color twisting and twirling off of me. Slowly, ever so slowly the color reaches through our joined hands, from me to Judith. At first, it creeps along her arms, like the way that you would expect a snake to wriggle from place to place, before becoming more fluid and gentle.

It continues from her arms and coats the rest of her body until my Aura completely covers the both of us. In that one moment, I can see and feel Judith far deeper than I ever had before, both in how I know her and how the Force allows me to sense her emotions.

At the moment she radiated anxiety, nervousness, hope, and most of all worry. Worry that she would mess something about the ritual up. That she would ruin another thing that she touched, just like she had her boyfriend and his family, just like the group that had taken her in and cared for her.

Judith's eyes hold mine, a sort of understanding look on her face as she feels my own soul laid bare to her. In that one moment, we saw each other in a way that few people ever did. She was just a kid that experienced love for the first time and was burned by the world. While the weight of loss and guilt was heavy on her mind, I could feel that resolve at her center.

That was who we needed to be. Not the loss and regret of our decisions, but the act of surpassing the things that weighed upon our soul.

This one moment lasted for what felt like an eternity, the warm red the only color that we could focus on for the moment.

Then something changed. It was so small that I thought I might have imagined it. But then it happened again. A wisp of blue that leaked from underneath the warm auburn. It was small, not even a wisp, before more and more of them leaked out, like a flame slowly coming to life, reaching outward to grow as big as it could get.

The wisps grew larger and thicker, each one breaking through and becoming clearer and contrasting against my own aura. The flames of Aura grew and broke through one by one, slowly freeing itself from underneath the contrasting auburn of my own. Eventually, my own aura was nothing more than wisps against her own that slowly but surely dies out.

At the end of it all, we stood across from one another, my own warm auburn aura, clashing against the vibrant blue of her own.

Then both of the fluctuating lights raced back into ourselves, deciding that now was the time for rest.

Judith raises her arm\s staring at them as if feeling them for the first time. In a way she was. Nothing quite like literally feeling the strength that you hadn't had all of your life.

"That was awesome!" I jump with the way that she squeals and hops in place, completely open with her boundless joy at her freed Aura. Just looking at her almost childlike glee and the new spark in her eye was one thing, but the way that translated to the Force was on a completely different level.

Every emotion that came from her was brighter, stronger, more vibrant in the sea that the Force was compared to before. It was like night and day to just a few moments ago. Compared to now, she had been… duller and far more muted amidst the Force compared to before. It was like night and day.

Was this an effect of Aura? If so, why wasn't it the same when I did the same to Leo? When I had done the same to the Renaissance Man he merely seemed more energetic. Then again he had always felt brighter compared to most other people that I felt. Was this because he lived with his heart on his sleeve? Since he joined me, the young appearing man was always an open book, both to me and Judith.

Did unlocking Aura simply release the well of color and life of emotion's that Judith always kept a lid on? Absolutely fascinating. Wonder what other people's reactions would be to unlocking their Aura? Great, I was letting the little mad scientist in me out too much. Time to reel that crazy bitch back into the deep part of my brain.

Suddenly she catches herself mid-cheer with a sort of confused and embarrassed expression on her face. "Why the hell did I do that?"

I shrug. "I don't know." I was telling the truth.

"What the fuck do you mean you don't know!?"

"Pezzo di merda!" Ok, that might be Italian, but I'm pretty sure that Leo was calling someone or something a piece of shit. Which has never happened before. That man was one of the most polite and well mannered that I had ever met.

He storm's inside of my workshop holding a very thick book in his hands, completely ignoring the four glowing sources of energy on the table and the one that I was holding in my hand as if on display. On his face was something that I had never seen before. A scowl, amidst a bright red face, with his eyes reminiscent of a blue-eyed madman.

And they were trained right on me. Judith looks about as spooked as I do, both of us taking a step back as Leo storm's inside of the room with Deeseven following right behind him slowly and warily.

"Apparently that brute Michelangelo is considered one of the 'greatest artists of all time'! Please! As if that ignorant slob of a man would understand what true art look's like underneath that nappy beard of his! Did you know that he almost never bathed, or brushed the bits of stone that his sloppy sculpting lodged into that rat's nest?" Ah. Looks like Leo finally started to read through history.

He continues on as if forgetting that we were in the room. "Throughout that hellish experience of working with the man, I had to deal with his insufferable bleating, and 'advice' that I could have told you when I was barely a pup of an apprentice!"

From then on he just continues to rant and rage of his hatred of Michaelangelo. Over and over, how he didn't know how to keep a clean workstation, how he didn't know how to treat any of their clients, how he spoke without the education that Leo knew that he had. You get the picture. He also threw in plenty of Italian swear words that I could piece together with Spanish. Though I was pretty sure that there were a few that flew over my head. At some point, I just started to tune it out.

I knew that this was going to come up at some point. I was actually surprised that it took this long of having the internet for him to find out about it. Me keeping the Clone scroll away from him until two days ago probably had something to do with it. Didn't want him to run out of chakra and then try to use it in some way that didn't require the Clone jutsu.

The longer that his rant went on, the more and more shocked Judith's expression became. Right before I could see and feel dawning realization coming to her face, with her blue eyes widening up to the size of saucers and her jaw promptly on the floor.

Eventually, he seems to run out of steam, his face returning to its normal olive skin tone. Then it just descends into slight awkwardness with Leonardo's eyes shifting from Judith's still starstruck stare to my deadpan.

He embarrassedly coughs into his hand's not looking either one in the eyes. "I'm sorry about that signoras. I do not know what came over me."

Silence.

Then. "YOU'RE THE REAL LEONARDO DA VINCI!?"

Judith's near screech makes the both of us jump from sheer intensity and volume.

"Uh… yes? I am sure that I introduced myself properly when we first met, did I not?" Leo offers up meekly.

I try my best to keep the laugh bubbling up in my throat from escaping. It doesn't work out.

--

After that entire debacle inside of my workshop, and Leonardo's ensuing fascination afterward, I had decided to go out for a nice run around the city. In my Eldar form, along with my armor, and a few other essentials inside of the Duat and my weapon swapping pocket dimension. God, I loved that thing.

Had a few things stored away in there in case I ran into any issues. My trusty lightsaber of course, along with a few other things that I could use.

Night had decided to fall on the city, causing the gang's and other seedier people to come crawling out of the woodwork. Since the other night I had gone out towards the ABB side of the city, tonight I was stalking the Nazi's.

Already managed to catch a few of them in the act of robbing a minority family home. Made sure that the family never heard a sound.

Same for those Nazi pricks. Never saw me coming. You would be surprised how little people look up. For once I didn't mind the almost ungodly fear that they felt during the split second when they realized I was on top of them. Not with the almost perverse anticipation that they had been feeling for what they were about to do.

God, the leftovers of those prick's feelings still made me want to vomit and wash out my brain.

Had to make sure that I didn't become immersed in that sensation though. Didn't want to go red singed yellow eyes on everyone.

It was when I was rounding through a few warehouses that I picked up a familiar sound. That of snarling, howling, barking, and worst of all pained whining. The moment that I heard that I knew what I was listening to.

Oh, I was absolutely wrecking that place.

With renewed speed and intensity, I blur through the various rooftops using the mass effect thrusters that I added to the armor last night. In just a few second's I had managed to almost fly through the skies across what few blocks separated me from my target.

I land at the last rooftop in a crouched position surveying the outside of the warehouse that the noise was emanating from. Several men were hading around the entrance, each one of them white with some form of Nazi, or Empire tattoo peeking through their clothes.

Using the tech inside of my helmet, I could see that there were even more on the inside, but those weren't what I was looking for. In the center of the warehouse, I could make out certain shapes formed into a ring, with two four-legged heat signatures connected together inside of the ring. At least until I could see one of them fall, with their heat signature almost imperceptibly cooling.

That's when I heard the cheers ring out through the entryway of the building, the sound almost deafening to my enhanced ears. I could already feel my hands shaking from the rage as my blood boiled underneath my skin before I pushed it out into the Force trying to regain some control back from my instincts.

They were going down, but I wasn't going to become a murderer in the process.

The men that were surveying the outside never saw me coming. Wraithbone could be quiet when it needed to be, coupled together with ninja training, and a mass effect thruster pack and I was practically flying through the air right on top of them. Flying was next on the list of things to accomplish. I had the tools so do so after all.

A few quick sleep's that would wear off in half an hour, along with binds from my charm rings put's the gang members down and out for the rest of the night. The crowd from the building roars again, with their bloodthirst and savagery so potent in the Force I could practically taste. The only thing that overpowered that was the prominent and simpler fear that was emanating from the back of the warehouse where the cages were located.

I manage to keep my own bloodlust and rage contained. For now.

Sneaking in through a window from the second floor, I maneuver through the second floor that overlooked the improvised ring for the bloodsport. Of course every single one of the spectators was white, no way that they would allow one of the 'lesser races' to watch this atrocity. Seeing that I was not the only one that was on the thin platform that made up the second floor, I quietly run up the walls and hang from the ceiling with chakra.

Three people were currently on the second floor. A woman with a cage-like mask with two kama's at her hip's, fucking hypocrite, a muscle-head looking man that was shirtless with a mask in the shape of a white and blue tiger, and the hairy shirtless man that wore a metal mask in the shape of a wolf.

I was going to make sure that you drink through a straw.

My thoughts were angry yes, but it didn't burn fiery hot like when I first felt this place. Instead, it was cold and quiet fury. One that really took a lot to get out of me. But the trembling and terrified dogs in the back, coupled together with the almost nauseating emotion's that I was feeling coming from those three was something that tipped me over the edge.

Ever since I gained the Eldar form, my empathy felt stronger than before, to the point where I could sometimes guess people's thoughts just through their emotions. It wasn't true telepathy, not yet, but I think with some more training it would get there. The Force and the Warp went hand in hand if you think about it. One was the connection to the living, the other was the connection to the realm of souls. Of course, when wielded together they would become stronger for it.

For a single second everything felt like it stopped. The whimpering from the hurt dog's, the barbaric cheering from the crowd, the jeering and incitement that Hookworlf was in the middle of.

Everything felt still for a single moment, while I focused on my left, my right one swapping to my lightsaber in my pocket space. Then I hurl the concentrated Force throw at the three capes that stood above their blood games and the roaring crowd.

Before the throw could impact the three of them I dive down towards the first floor straight towards one of the normal goons carried an assault rifle. I land right behind him right as the Force throw connects with the metal platform, the sound of metal bending and crashing towards the ground.

I don't hear the thump of bodies landing on the floor. Not surprised. If they could be taken out by that, they wouldn't have survived in the game this long.

Taking out two minions that were nearby with a swift kick to the legs, and a ring binding I turn to face the whirling mass of blades that was launching itself towards me.

The crowd of spectators was barely getting their first screams of panic out when I met Hookwolf with my ignited purple blade. I manage to cut through plenty of metal, leaving behind melted metal with singed pieces flying off of him before the burnt remnants shifted into new blades and hooks.

He was already starting to shift into the wolf-like form that he preferred when I jumped backward away from the Nazi cape.

I heard more felt Cricket coming towards me, the metal of her kama's whistling in the wind. Before she could get anywhere near me I summon one of the many weapons that I had built over the last few days. It was roughly the size of a pistol, with most of its inner workings hidden underneath the sleek and angular design of the futuristic-looking gun. With mere focused intent the gun shifts in my hand, the barrel opening and shifting into a prong like opening with electricity

gathering in the middle of the gap.

I could feel the surprise and split-second fear from the buzzcut woman as I pressed the trigger. A burst of electricity shoots forward, too fast even for her advanced reflexes to dodge out of the way. It hit's her dead on in the chess, causing her to spasm in the air and release a horrible screeching and broken scream before I could feel her lose consciousness.

Don't have a chance to bind her when Hookwoolf is on me again, his shifting cutting wolf arm coming at me to strike with his claws. On instinct I dodge out of the swing by mere inches, and immediately swinging in a downward arc with my purple blade, severing the mass of metal from the rest of the former pit fighter.

Barely slows him down as he misses a step before more blades begin to form and replace the now missing limb.

Hearing what I can only call cutting wind coming towards me alert's me to the man that I had almost forgotten about. Jumping upwards with increased strength and some help form the thrusters on my back helps me miss most of the explosive force from Stormtiger.

Unfortunately, while the main explosion misses me, the shockwave does not, causing my coordinated leap to spin out of control forcing me to impact the ceiling face first. I use chakra through my hands and feet to catch myself on the wall preventing me from merely falling back towards the ground where I would be easy pickings. That might have hurt if I didn't have Aura and this armor on.

Feeling the intent behind another attack from Stormtiger, I use all four of my long limbs to push myself off the ceiling, flipping midair to land on my feet away from the two still conscious Nazi capes.

I decide not to give them the chance to come at me again. Time to really stop holding back. While my lightsaber was something that was like an old friend, I would need something else to get rid of Hookwolf. I couldn't cut through all of that metal at once to get at his core, but maybe I could smash through it if I stop holding back.

Switching to a set of weapons that had been patiently waiting, Honest Recklessness forms around the arms of my armor. Turns out all that it needed to shift for my new form was a taste of my Aura. And boy did they feel good.

Time to stop holding back. At least a little. Now that those spectating assholes were gone I don't have to worry about collateral damage!

The ground underneath my feet cracks and breaks underneath the pressure from my sprint, the sound of spraying dirt barely beginning as I reach Stormtiger with blinding speed.

I could see the start of his widening eyes as the colorful gauntlets break through the thick air currents that he had around him, the heat coming from the fire dust forged gauntlets helping to disrupt the air currents. The thick red fingers of the gauntlets wrap around his throat, allowing me to lift the man into the air for a second. A second that I use to put the aerokinetic to sleep and bind him with the glowing yellow band of light around his arms.

When I drop the man onto the floor the dust and concrete that had formed underneath my feet finally finish their arc and land on the floor.

I turn to look at the shocked and slightly fearful Hookwolf, the face of his wolf form unchanging, but his emotions an open book to me in the Force. For just a second we just stand there, me staring at him over my shoulder with the dust that I had kicked up settling around me, and the unconscious body of his fellow gang member at my feet.

With an almost relaxed movement, I turn to fully face him, planting my feet below me in a wide and ready stance while readying my fists, the left one held in front of me right above my left leg, my right arm held closer to my chest.

Just as Hookwolf charged at me, his wolf shaped form shifting back into that mass of whirling metal I felt the Forge connect again.

It was from the first constellation again.

And before I could even process what was happening something impacted the Changer Nazi, causing the collection of blades and hooks to rocket in the opposite direction impacting the wall of the warehouse and causing it to promptly fall on top of him. When the air cleared all that was left was the unconscious form of Hookwolf underneath the rubble and metal of the wall that he had hit.

I blink a few times before looking down in front of me. And down. And down. Standing barely around my knees was a very thin almost waifish person that had a hand raised towards where Hookwolf had just been.

"You will not harm mistress!" A high and reedy voice squeaks out with an almost childlike way of speaking. They turn around revealing a tan skin color that reminded me of coffee with a hint of cream, big hazel moon-like eyes stared up at me with a sense of anticipated excitement tinged with flecks of worry. Enormous floppy beagle-like ears frame their enthusiastic face, with a button-like nose, high cheekbones, and large wide mouth complete the almost alien-like appearance.

They wore nothing but what appeared to be a torn dirty bedsheet that had been fashioned into a toga, their legs, arms, and feet laid bare to the elements.

"Did Krunter do well mistress?" The little house-elf asked me like a puppy asking for praise, expectation evident in his almost innocent like eyes.

No manches! I was not going to be a fucking slave owner!

Before I could say a word I hear three very loud and distinctive thumps land right outside of the entrance. The large doors are promptly blow off their hinges with three large masses of muscle and what I think is bone, charge into the warehouse with one of the large four-legged creatures having someone in a snarling dog mask riding it.

"Krunter, we can speak later. For now, try not to seem aggressive and don't make eye contact with that person please." Don't want to have to fight Bitch, one of the characters that I had a soft spot in the story.

"Yes, Mistress! Krunter will make sure that he does not do that!" The way that his big ears flopped back and forth as he energetically nodded to what I was saying only made me want to get this over with as fast as I could so that I could get his proper clothing. I already knew that it was going to be a headache to give him any of that if my memory of most House Elf's was right.

The three mutated giant dogs circled around the two of us, each of them glaring and growling at us with their red eyes almost glowing with aggression. Krunter promptly puts himself right at my back, his twig like legs planted firmly in the ground with his brows furrowed in his best attempt of a scowl.

Eventually, a whistle from the young woman riding one of the changed canines causes them all to hold their place. For a few second's she simply glares at me from her perch, and I make sure to keep my helmet down so that the eyes don't meet hers.

I decided to break the silence then. "The dogs are at the back. You're free to take them if you want."

She tilts her head, taken aback by my announcement. She felt… odd to me. As if her emotions were both simpler yet more alien than they should be. Rather she almost felt like a child to me. Almost, but not quite, as if she never developed her emotions properly. Which, given her backstory makes sense.

"Why'd you take these assholes out?" The question felt more like a command, her voice gruff and lacking anything that could be deemed as politeness.

"Same reason as you probably. The dogs. Always loved them even when I was a little girl."

My honest answer only has her look me up and down, taking in my almost inhuman stature. I can see her eyes flick over to Krunter before quickly dismissing him.

"I'm taking them." Her statement broker's no argument.

"No problem. They're yours. Though I am giving them a check-up before you go on you're way. I have medical knowledge and some tech that should help."

She stares at me, her emotions rolling around tending to move towards aggression over a peaceful solution. Thankfully, in the end, she says. "Fine. You do anything and you're dead."

Another quick whistle and the dogs move from their circle around the two of us, allowing a clear path towards the back where the captured canines were being held. The mutated animals herded the two of us towards the back, not allowing any route to escape from. Not a problem for either me or Krunter. While I could feel the house elf's confusion at seeing the mutated dogs and technology around, there was not an ounce of fear emanating from him. Pure bravery and adoration were all that I felt from him.

I felt ashamed that he felt those things for me just because I was his owner. The mere thought of that makes me sick to my stomach.

The area where they were keeping their fighting dogs was atrocious, with bottles of beer and used cigarette buts being left around the floor near the cages. There were two different areas for the dogs. One was filled with the tougher and more aggressive dogs that snarled and barked at me, while the other was filled with dogs that cowered and trembled with fear, many of them having barely healed scars and some even had fresh wounds.

Bitch's emotion's and mine were completely in synch, the rage that I was feeling almost causing me to throw something before I caught myself and took a shaky breath. Right, control yourself, Mia.

One of the large dogs's waited by the entrance after a command from his master, obediently sitting in place, while the other two followed us in.

The dogs kept in the cages were a mess of confused and scared emotions, not trusting either Rachel or I. Needed to calm them down.

Haven't tried this yet, but why not try now.

Centering myself I reach for the dogs that surrounded us, feeling for them through the force. When I felt that I had reached them all, I pushed the peace and control that I felt into the dogs. Domination and control was not my intention, rather for the dog's to feel the calmness that I felt.

It worked for the most part, except for some of the more aggressive dogs. The rest though looked at me with calm and hopeful eyes, the almost manic feeling of constant fear and aggression pushed away. Bitch dealt with the more aggressive dogs while I opened the cage for the more passive bait dogs.

They came out slowly, some of the remnants of their more negative instincts lingering around until they sniff my hand and relate that back to the peace that I had pushed into them.

Most of them flock to me, each of them trembling, others barely being able to walk because of their injured legs. Oh, these poor babies.

Krunter remains at my side as I begin to work on some of the wounds of the dogs. Helping me bandage and clean some of the less serious wounds, and calming the more scared dogs.

Some of the dogs would never recover completely. One of the dogs had a limp that would never go away, another was missing an eye, while one poor pup had his right ear torn off. Several of them had injuries that were dealt by people, not dogs. Burn's, cut's bruises, etc. It took all of my control so that I didn't tear Hookwolf apart with a warp tear. I didn't know how to make one yet, but right now I would be willing to use that Nazi prick as a fucking guinea pig.

Through it all, Bitch watched me, never taking her eyes off any movement that I made, ready to set her dogs on me. Eventually, I managed to examine all fifteen of the dogs that had been kept here. With time they would get better, some more than others but at least they would have that. There were several ones that were already gone by the time that we got here.

Bitch left without a word to me. Took every single of the dogs, had a feeling that she wouldn't have let me take a single one with me. I could feel gratitude towards me though. With a fuckton of suspicion. Going back to the remains of my battle, each of the capes were still completely knowcke out and tied up.

Hookwolf was still buried underneath the rubble, completely still and not making a sound.

"What did you do to him?"

"Oh, Krunter stupified that bad, bad man. Won't wake up for a while, he won't." He proudly proclaims.

I give him a smile underneath my helmet. "Good job Krunter."

"Of course mistress!"

Dragging the unconscious bodies of the gang members, Krunter insisted that if I wasn't using magic he wouldn't either, all of the unconscious Nazis were kept in a tight circle at the center of the warehouse.

"What shall Krunter do now mistress?"

"Now, we call the PRT. Ah, their equivalent of Auror's." I add in when he tilts his odd-shaped head.

A phone call later along with a few minutes later find's the approaching sound of sirens and vehicles to our location. I crouch to get as low as I can to Krunter's level, though I still tower over him even on a knee.

"I'm sorry Krunter but could you hide while I talk to the the PRT?"

"Yes Mistress! Krunter will make sure no sees Krunter! Krunter will follow Mistress when she leaves!"

I give him a smile. "Thank's Krunter. When we get home we can talk."

"Yes Mistress!" With a snap of his finger's the little house elf disappears, no doubt apparating somewhere that he can keep an eye on things, or turning invisible, don't know what kind of magic that House Elf's have up their sleeves.

When the PRT arrive Dauntless wasn't with them like last time. Instead, the engine hum of a motorcycle takes the lead of the patrol cars and transport with a man in distinctive blue power armor riding atop it.

Just as he approached me, I felt the Forge connect again, this time to a very large star that was on the same level as Retro-Engineer. The connections was tentative at first before I could feel the powerful star latch on and join the rest of the stars in my ever growing constellation's. While they were from different constellations, this new power and Great Woman joined together, as if they were always meant to be part of one another.

In a moment of serendipity, Promethean Woman and Great Woman harmonized with one another, inexplicably furthering bothe of…

March 10th, 2011 Brockton Bay

Like I thought when Leo came back with those art supplies I did not get much sleep last night. Not to mention that irritation was still very much on my surface thought's every time I looked in a fucking mirror.

Not to mention that I was taller now, having passed my former tiny 5'2 height by about six more inches. Or the 'other' changes that were done to my body. At least they were proportional to the rest of my body and didn't make me look like a weird anime character.

It was even worse for my Eldar form. Like my normal form, it grew a few inches, as if I wasn't tall enough already, and had some of the same changes to my body and face.

At least, the weirdness of my Aeldari features looked more pleasant and way less alien than before. I needed a drink. Wonder what alcohol that I make tastes like? Master Craftsman tequila sounds absolutely amazing right now.

I could feel the heads that were turning towards me as I walked through the city, my pointed ears hidden through a Henge. I know that it might not be the smartest move to walk around in my human form without a disguise, but I was fucking tired of this cloak and dagger bullshit that I always had to do.

If I was going to explore this city myself and not as a clone, then I was going to do so with my own body goddamnit!

It was just as I was leaving one of the many buildings that I had visited in my effort to start up a few investments that I felt the Forge connect.

ANOTHER FUCKING ONE!?

I wanna cry. Yet again one of the little stars that was connected to the main power was one that boosted my appearance and my fucking curves. For the third time in less than 24 hours.

I was getting enough stares walking down the street already dammit! Do you have any fucking idea what it's like literally feeling a bunch of people get turned on through an empathy power just by looking at you?

Ugh.

At least it came with something that would be really useful to most of my bigger plans. Robert the Builder was a power made for large projects. I could already think a few steps ahead from some of my projects that would require a larger scale. Already it and Midas Touch were working together to think through a bunch of parts that had stumped on how to get the economy of this fucking city rolling again.

I would have to give a few things up of course, but I would come out on top.

I already had a big meeting later in the day with plenty to talk about, now I think that I had a way to make things run more smoothly. Suddenly building back the economy of this city didn't seem so hard anymore.

The real hard part was going to have to be getting baby Claire citizenship. I could just whip one up and put it in the database, my programming and coding skills were at that level already, but it would be better if we went through the level way. Which might cause a few issues.

Since Judith was still a minor the moment that she shows up at the hospital and she gives them her name, her parents will be notified. While I could protect Judith from those assholes, the law wouldn't give two fucks about her say so. While I had already sifted through their data and managed to get some dirt on their connection to the E88, getting them arrested was something that was going to be a pain in the ass.

Distinction between parahuman crime and normal crime was great enough that if I tried to bring it to the PRT they would move it to normal cops. Something that I didn't trust. If I remember right, there are plenty of people from the gangs and Coils on the inside in both organizations.

Which meant that for now, we were going to have to wait and see. Something that Judith didn't mind.

When I'd asked she said, "If there are plenty of other worlds out there that we could go to, why not one of those? Not like there's anything on this one to keep me here."

The resolve and sincerity in those words and emotions was something that I hadn't expected. Though I was happy with that.

Another investment created and I was out the door in minutes, happy to get the hell out of here. While the woman that I had spoken to had been cute, the sheer lust that I could feel off of her was enough to make me distinctly uncomfortable.

Had to learn how to tune this out. No way that I wanted to deal with this 24/7.

Eventually, I decided to stop by the Library again. While I had a library of my own at the mansion, there was just something at being in a public one that I couldn't help but appreciate. Gave me memories of when I was a teen and would just wander my neighborhood one, losing myself in the books and pages of worlds that I would like to visit.

How much I would love to be able to visit some of them for real. I had a feeling that my wish would be granted somehow. Shit, I already had powers from some of my favorite pieces of fiction, who isn't to say that they are out there waiting.

I release a sigh just as I pick up a copy of Dune. One of my favorite pieces of literature that I found one day in high school while wandering the library shelves.

Hell, I had Eldar technology, who wasn't to say that I couldn't create something from the book series into a reality. Damn now that I think about it, maybe there was something in the Forge from Dune that I might eventually get.

It was about twenty minutes after I began my read-through that I felt a presence closing into the library.

While distinct in the Force like every other living being, this one had something that I immediately recognized. An underlying feeling of wrong that was hidden underneath a well of negative emotions.

Not to mention that the presence was… scattered. Like a bunch of little pieces of themselves were scattered over a wider area. How the hell hadn't I noticed that earlier?

One of the pieces of the presence was actually nearby, so small like the other's that I hadn't noticed it. Glancing over to where I could feel the presence over by the nearby table I saw nothing. Nothing but a fly slowly flying away from the table upwards into the air.

Wait. Pieces scattered everywhere connected to one another with one of them being a fly?

Ah shit.

Closing the book in my hand I rise from my seat, careful to try and keep myself looking calm. Walking towards the cart designated for books to be reshelved I spot the center of the presence that I felt. And I proceeded to call myself an idiot for earlier.

She was the same teenage girl that I had noticed on my first visit here. The one that had been staring at Leo for a little while when the dumbass had passed out on the mountain of books cause he didn't sleep the night before.

A brown mane of hair that was obviously well kept, big glasses on her eyes, tall and slightly gangly with a wide mouth. Oooh shit.

Fuck you, Giant. I know that you have something to do with this shit. No way that I ran into this girl on my first day without you pulling some strings.

That's when I heard the buzzing of a fly getting closer to my ear. And the damn spider that crawling along the bookshelf that I was nearby.

Shit, did she notice me?

My face is as neutral as I can get it while I continue on my path passing the teenage girl without giving her so much as a glance. While passing her by, I can feel everything that was emanating from her.

There was enough self-hatred there on the surface that I struggled not to buckle on the sheer weight of it. Jealousy, rage, indecisiveness, irritation, loss, grief, and so many other emotions that it was a wonder that she could function enough to go about things from day to day. These were all things that were underneath the surface like they were being shoved down and intentionally ignored. Jesus this girl was a fucking mess.

Jealousy was probably my fault though, it seemed to get stronger when she quickly glanced over to me as I passed her by. There was also a bit of suspicion there. And the slightest hint of attraction before it was quickly dismissed. Fuck, guess I wasn't as discreet as I thought I was being.

Taylor Hebert was not a girl that I was comfortable interacting with, purely because of how much I knew about the poor girl and what her fate would have been if I hadn't interfered. If I was being honest, the girl also kinda scared the crap out of me more than some of the other terrifying capes that were around.

It was irrational for me to be afraid of a 15-year-old girl, but knowing the stuff that she was capable of truly terrified me. Even if I might have butterflied most of it away.

I was just about to leave the Library and get the hell out of here I felt the ground begin to quake and tremble. Fuck what now?

Just as the building began to shake I could feel the presence of several parahumans quickly approaching. Oh no. What the hell is it this time?

As if to taunt me, the shaking became more rapid, and whatever it was, was loud enough for me to hear what I think was an engine that had too big enough for a tank.

Which is when I had the primal urge to RUN!

On pure instinct, I yell out to anyone that could hear me, "Everyone duck!"

Every person in the room had already been focusing on the sound, and I think living in Brockton Bay was enough to have trained some of the civvies to duck when you fucking had to.

The entrance to the library imploded towards the room, a very large and metallic shape breaking through right in my and the rest of the squishy humans that were here.

Fuck, time to use that one power that Fairy gave me that I hadn't had the chance to until now. Turning invisible.

Caring about Taylor realizing this crap could wait until I didn't have to worry about dealing with corpses instead of people. Besides, I would probably use a henge every time I left the factory after this. I could do without the attention and attraction that my new looks got from people.

The change isn't something that I can notice or see, but I know that it works. Not only that but I knew that this worked on that winged bitch and anyone that was trying to look for me.

Just like that the big invention that I created yesterday didn't seem that important anymore. On the bright side, it made sure that the cunt in the sky couldn't peek into any of my work inside.

Focusing, I barely manage to catch what was rocketing towards us while summoning up five clones. Whatever that damn thing was, it was heavy enough to almost make me buckle under the pressure that I could feel through the Force. Tow of my clones takes over while I grab one of the Aeldari armors that I kept stored away in the Duat.

If I was going to have to deal with this crap, I might as well make sure that I was suited for the job.

The big and metal thing that had come barreling through turns out to be in a vaguely human shape, which looked to be made of rusted metal with steam coming out of two vents that came out its back. It was also yelling various curses at me.

"What the fuck is holding me in the shitting air!?" A voice bellows from the suit of armor, and dust-covered air.

From the direction that he came through, I could barely make out a glimpse of what looked like a mix of a monster truck, a tank, and that beat up piece of crap car that my abuela used to have back in Mexico barreling down the street with someone on top of it yelling obscenities behind him.

Trainwreck continued his rant against whatever was holding him (me) when a very heavy and metallic footstep sounds through the building.

Trainwreck begins to shake even harder in the air, panicked and pushing his giant rusty legs in an attempt to run away in the air.

"Did you really think that I was a simple target without my lieutenant!?" A slightly accented voice bellows out as a very large man with metal scales slowly receding back into his body steps fully into view.

It was then that the rest of the library occupants began to hoof it out of the back of the building.

Lung didn't care for any of them though, his focus was entirely on the Case 53 incased in tinkertech power armor that was doing his absolute best to get the hell out of the air. Seeing this Lung actually stops mid-rant, staring at the sight of his prey completely exposed and vulnerable.

At least until three of my clones speed through the building right towards his ass. The moment that they get to him and begin to cast the sleeping spell on him, he lashes out with his right fist which manages to catch one of my clones in the chest. She flies back, only managing to remain without dispersing thanks to her aura taking the brunt of the attack.

How the hell did he do that?

"Whoever that is, do you think that this is the first time that a stranger has tried to catch me unawares!?" He bellows out while beginning to regain the scales that had been disappearing. Not to mention that fireball that was slowly getting bigger in his palm.

Which is when a cloud of insects began to assault him, the sound of their disgusting wings sending fucking shiver through my spine. Another reason Taylor Hebert scares me, I fucking hate bugs.

Meanwhile one of my other clones had used that time to put Trainwreck to sleep and bind him with Tas. Hopefully, they would be enough to hold him if he managed to wake up before I got him to the PRT.

Lung had started to lob fireballs around himself, guessing where his assailant had gone and managing to burn whatever insects tried to get close, screaming the whole time in frustration at the insects that stung and bit at him. He was getting bigger and growing even more scales, his shard ramping him up even more while trying to take him out.

Goddamnit Taylor stop Halping! He was already ramping up fast enough already, now you have him going even faster. Needed to finish this.

By this point, I had managed to shift into Eldar form and begun to don my Wraithbone armor. Connecting with my clones through the hivemind, we became I. And I was in five different places, seeing through five different perspectives.

Felt like that one time I took edibles from my roommate thinking they were normal brownies. At least this time I was able to keep my wits about me.

Had to take him out quickly before he started to do even more damage. When in doubt overwhelm with sheer numbers. I smile with all five of my faces.

Five turned into fifty. And then we charged with aura, magic, and chakra enhanced speed, this time uncaring for any damage that we might do to the surroundings. Lung seems to sense this again somehow swinging wildly with his fists and flinging fire where they moved, the cloud of insects already a mere fraction of what it had originally been.

Guess that whatever let him know that I was coming didn't tell him exactly where I was.

Which was enough for me to get in close and grab him by the neck, placing my right hand on his head careful to touch somewhere on his skin and not the dragon mask on his face. During that second of the ring dispersing its sleep spell Lung bursts his entire body into flames, managing to burn my clones that tried to grab onto him.

During that second, the slight smell of pork permeates the air while my clones are burned through momentarily before their Aura heals it right up. Despite his attempt to shake us off, it doesn't work, especially on me given that Wraithbone was built to survive shots from lasguns and other 40k tech. A little bit of fire is definitely not going to do a thing to me inside of this.

He actually manages to hold onto his consciousness for a few seconds, his body getting bigger and growing even more metal scales as if reacting to my spell. It was all in vain of course after the hail of insects with their various venoms paired together with my spell, he falls face forward towards the floor, my clones managing to catch him before he hits it.

His body shrinks rapidly when we lay him down, the scales receding back into his skin, and his large slightly haunched shape receding back into that of a man. Who was currently missing most of his clothes.

I move one of my bodies to create a big blanket putting it on him while binding him with my other ring.

Now that the fight was over I could focus on the one person that had watched the whole thing, or at least what she could given that I was invisible.

"You can come out now," I call over to some of the bookshelves that managed to survive the little onslaught here over in the back. Taylor Hebert comes out on shaky legs her eyes wide, but her face remaining neutral as she meets the eyes of my helmet when I undid my invisibility. Still kept it on for that winged bitch in orbit though.

The Forge connected again, every last bit of my charge draining as it was used as y brain registered the truly game-changer that I had just received.

Did you know how to take a shard imbued with eternal twilight, magically mix it with one of solidified courage to create a set of magical arrow guns? Because I now did.

Even though I knew how to do all of this, some of my more science-based powers were crying in confusion. Pretty sure that Great Woman and Promethean woman were drooling at the prospects and advancements that I could make with this. It was a little bit creepy how sometimes I could feel things from my powers. Like they have echoes of someone inside of them.

Right, don't think about that, you have enough shit to deal with don't need to go adding your own brain giving you a nightmare.

There was one thing that I really wanted to make. It was something that would require years of training and experience, but I knew that it was possible. A Keyblade.

Both a normal one and the one that could stand among them all. Ultima Weapon. Something that could open anything, even the hearts of others.

Oh if I could get that.

Time Mia. You need time.

For now, I had to deal with a teenager that was far too pleased with herself for what she did.

"Do you have any idea what the hell you were doing!" I manage to keep my voice below a yell and above a hiss, but manage to imbue it with all of my exasperations.

That manages to spook her and get indignation to raise its ugly little head.

"Do you know what Lung's power really is?"

She blinks owlishly, taken back by the question. "He becomes stronger as the fight drags on."

The slight monotone gives me the willies. "Yes and no. He gets stronger the longer the fight goes on and the more that he feels threatened. Do you know what that means?"

She blinks again, but I could feel the sudden realization enter and drag down indignation. Good, you stupid fucking teenager.

"When I attacked with my bugs he started to ramp up faster."

"Yes, very good." I try, really I do, to not inject that sentence with all of my sarcasm and 'no-shit-dumbass' energy. Given the way that her cheeks turn red and she looks down, along with all of those emotions that were worming into her head I failed.

Given the way that her face turns completely red alongside indignations, I failed spectacularly. As she opened her mouth, she froze in place while gaining a slightly distant look in her eyes for a split second, before it is quickly replaced with panic.

"PRT are on their way. I can't be here!" She tries to run in the other direction, only to be stopped by one of my clones stopping in front of her with a raised eyebrow and a hand on her shoulder. Panic again.

"Uh-uh. You saw my face, and going by the way that you can control bugs probably means that you also saw when I disappeared." She stares at me with big wide eyes, panic building up in her chest with that hint of fear tinging it.

"Don't worry kid. We won't hurt you. I swear."

"Come on. We need to get out of here before they show up and make this place a crime scene." My clone says while leading her away from here while I deal with the authorities.

Fun.

--

Clone Perspective

It felt odd when the Hive mind was undone. Going from multiple perspectives at the same time, and being able to think with the mind of a group of fifty to a single consciousness was something that should be disorientating.

Yet, the way that the scroll worked and taught the jutsu ensured that the user wouldn't suffer any side-effects from any of the techniques learned. No, I still didn't know how that worked, learned that sometimes it was better to just accept things than trying to give myself a headache when it came to the Forge.

Still wish that there was some way to know what was waiting for me in there. With what I was getting from the Forge already, I was a little worried about what else was there. Magic, chakra, aura, warp. With those four I was probably one of the most powerful beings on the planet already, or at least could become one with time and training.

The thought of something worse inside of the Forge filled me with dread, not to mention what other changes could come from it.

Right, those thoughts could wait for the main me or a different clone, right now I was dealing with a teenager who needed fucking therapy, more so than the one that was at home. At least Judith was more stable than this girl was.

Taylor followed behind me quietly, and quickly, her eyes remaining forward, but I knew that she was searching with her bugs. Keeping an eye out for any PRT or Protectorate forces that might approach, and probably getting ready to sic them on my ass if she felt threatened.

Por favor Dios no. Don't hit me with that fucking plague. I don't care that I'm just a clone! I have feelings too!

Taking out the cloak and shabti I hand it over to her. "Put that on, after that hold on to me so that we can get the hell out of here."

She wanted to protest and ask how a cloak of black linen would help before she catches the narrowed eyes that I was sending her way. That changed her tune as she dutifully wrapped the cloak around herself while placing the shabti in one of the pockets of her hoody.

Making sure that she has her arms wrapped around me, which made her face heat up and I could feel the embarrassment radiating off her, I take off into the rooftops making sure to activate my Fairy invisibility again.

Taylor actually screeched a little bit when we took off into the air from the floor of the back of the library to the rooftop of the closest building. From there I sped down across the rooftops, making sure to not break the sound barrier or cause any damage to my passenger. Then again I think that one free star that I gained from Robert the Builder was helping make sure that I could break physics. Like lift a whole building without it collapsing into itself, or my speed not destroying my surroundings as I passed by.

While not yet flight, it might as well have been given the speed that were racing down the blocks of buildings. After the initial fear wore off, I could feel Taylor behind me filled with exhilaration and that hint of wonder that I loved feeling through osmosis.

It was nice to feel something positive from those clouds of dreariness and negativity that surrounded the teenage girl.

Eventually, we made it a good ways from the library around a calmer neighborhood. It says a lot that I was barely breathing hard when we came to a stop compared to Taylors near breathlessness merely from hanging on. There was a smile on her face though. It was small on her wide mouth, but it was genuine.

Storing the shabti and cloak back into my pocket space we come out of the empty alley that I had stopped at walking towards the coffee shop across the street.

Of course, this time I was using a henge to look as close as I could to my original self as I could. Only thing was that fucking Fairy was making it almost impossible for me to not look anything but beautiful. Somehow it was peeking through the fucking jutsu and making my normal face look better than it should. Goddamn, conceptual bullshit. At least my ears were kept hidden.

Taylor was quiet the entire time that I ordered us some coffee for myself and tea for her, using some of the cash that I had managed to make this morning. Seemed that Midas Touched just made it so that money always managed to find its way to me, even if I wasn't trying to make a business deal. Not that I minded, I needed cash if I wanted to make sure that everything according to plan.

We found a table towards the back away from the eyes that kept looking me up and down. Ugh.

Taylor of course was still very much uncomfortable, though was doing very well in hiding it from her face remaining that stoic facade that I knew would be very hard to break. Didn't mean that I couldn't feel the emotions that were rolling around her like a churning sea.

Not like I was any better. I was sitting across the emotional wreck of a girl that was originally meant to be the savior of the world by sacrificing who she was and almost everything that she held dear and idolized.

Seeing and feeling her being a nervous wreck amplified by self-esteem issues and various other negative emotions really shattered that image though. Right now she was nothing more than a teenager that had a mountain of problems that desperately needed a friend. Ugh, why the fuck did I let myself care like this?

Sipping my coffee, trying very hard to enjoy something that I didn't make, I give her a simple glance. "So what did you see during that whole debacle. Given the way that your bugs were acting, I assume that you can sense through them?"

She won't look me in the eyes, but she does give me a reluctant nod. "You just disappeared. One second you were standing there, the next you were gone. Couldn't see you, or sense you through any of my bugs. Like you didn't exist."

"But you could sense where I wasn't right?"

She nods. "For some reason, my bugs could tell that something was in the way, but not what it was. Like there was an obstacle that they couldn't see or touch."

Hmm, so they couldn't tell that I was there, but could that there was something that they couldn't touch in the way. Did Lung sense something like that while some of my other sister clones tried to close in on him? Was it the wind? If so, that shows that Lung isn't just an idiot brute.

Now that I think about it he had to be, considering how long he's been able to keep a hold on his territory regardless of how strong he was.

Nodding I take another sip of my coffee merely watching as she gingerly took sips out of her tea, trying to calm herself down.

"What kind of cape are you? A hero?" She finally manages to get out after a few seconds of second-guessing herself.

I shrug. "Technically I'm a rouge with heroic tendencies. I don't tend to go out on patrols much, but when I do I tend to keep an eye out for gang activity."

"Are you a tinker? Stranger?"

I raise a finger tutting at her. "That isn't a question that you can just ask other capes. Not all of them would take kindly to that, or might just lie to your face. As for my powers well, let's just say that I am one hell of a tinker." One that would make most others salivate over the kind of tech that I have stored in my head.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, but for once I didn't hear any sort of fear or nervousness coming off of her. The moment that I had mentioned that I had heroic tendencies her emotions had calmed from the roaring waves that they had been.

"Figured that you would want to calm down after having to deal with that little fiasco back there. Plus, given that you aren't wearing a mask and that I haven't heard of you making any waves that you haven't gone out with your powers yet. Am I right?"

A hint of embarrassment as she nods her head. Damn, she really is just a teenager. Not the Queen of Escalation that people from my world know her as.

I continue on, explaining the unwritten rules that most capes go by. Most.

"Not like they really matter. While most are willing to follow them, most groups are willing to break them if they think that they can get away with it. Plus I'm betting that the Protectorate keeps files on any villains that they manage to get into custody. The only reason that they don't go after them is because of the backlash that it would cause." That's not even going into the fact that there are known murderers that are allowed to roam free, like Hookworld, Lung, and a few others. Or that Nazi prick that killed Fluer and the Empire welcomed back with open arms.

She has a bit of a conflicted look on her face. "Would the heroes really do that?" She asked.

I let out a little huff. "The heroes here are outnumbered and low on firepower compared to most of the gangs. They are only human and are going to use every advantage that they can get. Which is why they try to keep the status quo." Something that I had just taken a big fucking wrecking ball at. I freeze at that thought as realization started to creep up my spine.

With the ABB now missing their capes and leader things were going to get ugly. Empire might be missing three of their capes but they still had plenty of muscle to take care of themselves and capitalize on this opportunity. Not to mention the Merchants would as well. Shit Lung did mention that he wasn't weaker just because Lee was in custody. Merchants were trying to muscle in on Lungs territory and he had responded.

Which meant that I had just handed it to the fucking Merchants. Fuck.

This was really bad. Things were going to get ugly soon. Which meant that I had to get ready for the fallout that was going to happen. Had to finish this conversation fast. As a clone, I couldn't activate the hive mind, that had to be done by the Prime me. The only way that I could get the info to me and the other clones was by dispersing.

I look at the young girl seated in front of me, one who was gazing at me with a different gleam in her eyes. Ones that were a little starry-eyed at seeing and talking to someone that she now considered a 'Hero'. That made me struggle not to squirm in my chair.

Part of me wanted to get the hell away from her, afraid that being near her would cause undue changes or just plain old fear of what this girl would become capable of. That was before the side of me that I attributed to my abuela hit it over the head and took the reins of my thoughts.

While she could become a fucking rationalizing monster, that wasn't inevitable. After all, if I was already a Fairy with a fuckton amount of magic power, why couldn't I help keep a single girl from giving up everything that was her?

My life was mine, as were my decisions. I was not going to be tied down by what I knew. I wasn't going to let the destiny that was written for this world to come to pass.

It was hard for me not to care when I could feel all of that crap roiling around in her, not even taking that feeling of wrong that was coming from Queen Administrator, and knowing what I did about her. She hadn't turned into Khepri just yet. Though already I could see the stubbornness that she had inside, it poked its head out every now and then.

I look at her for a second, just gauging her emotions and weighing my options.

"What are you, planning kid? What are you going to do with your powers?"

She blinks at me, her face stoic while gathering her thoughts. "I want to be a hero." There it was. That feeling that I knew was somewhere buried underneath all of that crap. Conviction. Defiance. Fueled by those negative emotions of hers like doubt, self-hatred, lack of confidence. But she wished to be a hero all the same. Might be for the wrong reasons, but there was something genuine in there that wanted to do the right thing.

Like everyone, she needed some guidance. And while I wasn't the perfect choice, I think that I would be a better guide than a manipulative villain Thinker.

I lean back in my seat, linking my hands together underneath the table. "How would you like to join my team?"

The brunette's mouth hangs open. Then closes. Then opens again. All the while her face remains its stoic facade while her emotions tell me that she is screaming on the inside.

"Why would you want me to join? My powers just controlling bugs." I could feel that bit of shame and embarrassment flash through her emotions.

"You don't realize how valuable your powers are, do you? Or how frightening they are?"

"Frightening? They're just bugs though."

I shake my head. "Kid, insects have been something that the human race has feared for time immemorial. Insects have always been something that has been associated with plague and crop failure. Too many bugs mean that there was a chance that there wouldn't be enough food to go around, which meant starvation. Not to mention the association with pestilence and illness."

She blinks owlishly as if only just now realizing. And if I am remembering things right, it was something that she had never really thought about.

"Not to mention the reconnaissance and scouting that you can do with that. Speaking off, what's your range, and how much can you control?" I already knew the answer, but if I revealed that it would make her suspicious.

"If you won't tell me your power's why should I tell you mine?" Her voice has an edge of steel in it.

"Ha! Good point." I tell her with a smile on my face.

Given the blank look that she gave me, she hadn't expected that response.

I just laugh at that. "So you interested kid? Capes don't last long out on their own. Not to mention that I would provide you with tech and gear."

"What group are you talking about? Haven't heard of any cape that has your powers."

"We're new. Didn't come to town until a few weeks ago."

She looks down at her hands, weighing her options and deliberating through them.

"Listen, you can take your time and decide. Let's just both agree to not tell anyone about each other, yeah?" I embody a plain white business card with a phone number printed on the face with black lettering. She stares at it when I hold it out to her as if not sure if it would bite her or not.

Eventually, she takes the card in her hands while giving me a nod. "I'll think about it and I swear that I won't say anything."

I give her a warm smile while undoing the henge that I had kept up, knowing that no one could see. I wanted to at least say goodbye with my own face, even if it was one that wasn't mine until earlier.

Her emotions roll around again, with attractions and jealousy mixed in there dampening my spirits again. Can't believe that I forgot about that. Oh well.

The thing is there was also something else in her emotions. Rather there was something coming from her shard. Something that I hadn't felt from shards before. Curiosity.

Well of course it would feel that. Queen Administrator would always need more data.

With a final smile, I leave a nice tip for the waitress and give the hazel-eyed girl a smile and wink before allowing myself to poof into white smoke.

--

Prime Mia

Well shit. I might have just started a gang war across the city. By accident.

Because of course, I did. Nothing can be easy in fucking worm.

Lung was already being carted away by the PRT along with the tinker in steam-powered armor, while I stayed behind with Miss Militia and Dauntless.

Good thing they took a bit to get here. Got all of the scans that I needed.

That explained why there was worry tinged in the relief that the two capes were feeling. They came to the same conclusions that my clone had.

Meaning that we all needed to get ready for the storm that was coming. ABB was out of the picture, Empire was down three capes, while the Merchants were down one.

I knew that one of the gangs were going to try a breakout, something that there was no way in hell I would allow.

For now, it would be a waiting game to see what the gangs would do. Or at least which one would decide to try to start to muscle in on territory. Merchants were already trying to get started on that front, and I knew that the Empire wouldn't wait for long.

Just because Lung and Oni-Lee were currently out of the picture didn't mean that the normal gang members would take it lying down. They were wounded and cornered. Two very deadly combinations when you applied it to a bunch of gang members.

A lot of civilians were going to get caught in the crossfire.

Good thing that I had a bunch of clones at home that probably started work on countermeasures and medical equipment the moment that they received our other clones' memories.

Oh, and I gave Taylor my number. Or rather a number that she could reach me through.

Let's see if she would take my offer. Speaking off should probably get started on helping her situation in her personal life. Just cause that girl was far too messy to be reasonable.

An alert on my omnitool tells me that my clones were having the same thought. Transferring the files over to my helmet's HUD shows me various files and videos which give me a wide, wide smile.

While not immediately useful down the line I think that I would be able to use this as a bargaining chip.

I think that I had everything that I needed. Doing the hand signs while the others weren't looking I connect once again to my clones, those that were building, researching, learning, and watching.

Wonderful. Everything is going according to plan. Dissolving the connection I turn to speak to Miss Militia. "Would it be alright if we accelerate that meeting that we were going to have?"

Her expressive eyes turn to me, showing the frown that was hidden underneath her flag mask, while Dauntless remained still with his eyes hidden beneath his helm.

I could tell that their eyes met for a quick moment while Miss Militia pressed her finger to her ear connecting to console.

"Very well console. We'll be on our way back."

Her voice was calm and she gave me a steady look as we climbed into the PRT vans that had arrived on the scene.

It was a quiet drive back, with everyone keeping their thoughts to themselves, though I could feel the emotions on every single person that was in close proximity.

A complex group of emotions. Hopeful, wary, nervous, anxious, excited, and other conflicting bundles that were felt by the troopers and two parahumans that flanked me. While I was free of shackles, I couldn't help but feel like I was being arrested.

Then again, me and cop cars never got along.

After that and going through a back door, and a set of hallways that felt slightly claustrophobic, found myself being dropped off in a room with the two parahumans and troopers leaving me in a room.

Sitting alone in a room that was trying its best no to look like an interrogation room really did not relax me. I think that I would have preferred to be in a normal one inside of a police precinct. At least there you knew that you were fucked no matter what you did.

Inside this room with the nicer furniture, couches, chairs, little lamp on a small table, I couldn't help but feel like I was a mouse caught in a trap. Dammit, Mia, this isn't their trap.

It's yours. While they want to put a leash around your neck, you know that they won't. At least not when you got a hell of a bargaining chip that they would die to get.

Eventually, after trying to sweat me out no doubt, the door open to reveal familiar blue power armor and a bearded chin underneath a visored helmet.

Joy.

"Aspect if you would please follow me." Quick and to the point at least.

Nodding, I stand from the couch which creaks just a little bit after being freed from my weight. Surprise, surprise, becoming a seven-foot-tall Eldar with Aeldari power armor tended to put on a few pounds. Eh, not like I really cared about that. I was probably healthier than most of the population on this planet.

As we walked to our destination I could feel the restrained and muted emotions that were emanating from the Tinker in front of me. Wounded pride, envy, and feelings of inadequacy mired his emotions, though I was surprised by how he was able to properly restrain them in his mind underneath steely determination. While he was a glory hound, he was also a parahuman with years of experience.

This was Armsmaster before Skitter finished her villainous streak, slowly breaking down his reputation and self-image. Though I think that the man needed that, given some of the emotions that he was feeling.

He was still just another glory hound that was trying to fill a void by throwing himself into his work because he believed that was what was important. Poor foolish man. Especially when he had somebody that would give him what he needed.

Too bad that all he would do as he is now would be to hurt the poor girl. Who currently had a metaphorical and literal guillotine over her head, by a power junkie with delusions of grandeur. Moment that I advanced more in programming or got a power that helped in that particular area I was getting rid of that asshole.

Just had to make sure that I could get rid of any fail-safes and traps that he would leave behind.

Eventually, we enter what looks like a boardroom, one that was empty save for Miss Militia and now Armsmaster and me.

While I wanted to speak to the Director, I could understand why that wasn't going to happen. At least not for a little while. I was a new tinker in town that was already able to take down one of the gangs parahumans and three of one of the other gangs. It would be foolish to place an unknown like that within speaking distance of the Director of this branch of the PRT.

I take the seat that Armsmaster offers over to me, and I take it with a smooth nod as I gracefully take a seat. That wasn't me being arrogant by the way, being in my Eldar form was like have the constant poise and grace of the greatest of ballerina dancers. I hated how much having that elegance appealed to me. Before this, I had the grace of a three-legged blind dog with ADHD, so being able to walk around without tripping over my own feet was definitely a plus side.

I could feel both of the parahuman's eyes on me, despite their best attempts to be casual about their observations.

Then again I was doing the same with Miss Militias power, which was currently in the form of a simple combat knife with a straight edge and simple handle. Absolutely fascinating. An energy construct that responded to the olive-skinned woman's will. Green Lantern Expy.

Thank god that I have scans built into the helmet, the data that I would get from just looking at the energy would be enough to get me at least a step in the right direction. If I could manage to get something along with that nature it could be a very useful piece of equipment.

Promethean Woman was an absolute godsend. Yes, I realize the pun, I don't care.

I give a little smirk that neither one of them could see, careful to keep my body language under control.

After we are seated Armsmaster drones out. "We will now begin your report on the events of Oni-Lee's capture, and that of Lung and Trainwrecks. Please be sure to include any and every detail no matter how insignificant they may seem."

I could see how he rubbed some people the wrong way, with how monotone and matter of fact his voice was. Though after the few encounters that we've had, I could tell that it was just how he was.

Leaning back in my chair, the sturdy metal groaning just a tad at the motion, I make a decision then and there. If I was going to lead and actually change things I couldn't hide. I had to be out there with a target proudly on my forehead.

"Think that before I get into that I should come clean about a few things." Miss Militias' eyes dart over to me, right after giving my body a quick once over. Well, she was a professional. Armsmaster doesn't move an inch, but I could feel the jump in anxiousness before returning back into a state of calm observance.

"And that would be?" No tone inflections, as I was beginning to learn was the usual from Armsmaster. If it wasn't for the emotion-sensing I would have thought that the dude was a robot.

"I might have… embellished about my powers." When neither one of them reacted I decided to just get it out of the way. "I'm basically Tinker Eidolon on steroids."

That got a reaction out of both of them, with Miss Militia's eyes widening a fraction and Armsmasters grip on his signature halberd tightening a smidge. There was also that flash of disbelief with a dash of jealousy. Had a feeling that I was going to be feeling that a lot from the man in blue power armor.

I briefly explain the way that I get some of my new tech and abilities, of course, I only tell them about the knowledge of tech and understanding that the Forge gives me. I leave the more fantastical and bullshit side of things out of the explanation.

Which means that I lied most of the time, replacing my more mystical abilities with complete technobabble. Given the reactions by both of them, they believe it. Or at least most of it, there are still flecks of doubt in both of them, with Armsmasters jaw slightly clenched before he catches himself.

"I don't really know what causes the new specialties to come to me. There have been times when I won't' get any for an entire week, while others I get one or two within hours of each other."

"Do you have any proof of these specializations?" Armsmaster utters out.

"Yeah, right here." Making sure to keep my movements as slow and obvious as possible, I don't want to get foamed thank you very much,

Activating the holographic gauntlet in my hand I bring up a few different files from some of the different tech trees that the Forge gave to me. Of course, I made sure to bring them up while missing some key pieces of info to have them in functioning order.

Deciding to show off a little bit, I decide to use one of the upgrades that I recently gave to my omni-tool.

With a flick of the wrist, the holographic screens that appeared in front of me fly across the table towards the two sitting parahumans, tiny drones that I had fabricated from my omni-tool following close behind to provide the screens.

Miss Militia seemed intrigued while Armsmaster zeroed in on the drones and screens that were in front of him, his emotions becoming unnaturally focused and out of tune with how they should feel. From that growingly familiar sensation underneath his emotions, I would say that his shard is putting him in a slight tinker fugue.

I wasn't overly worried. I made sure that none of the technology that I provided would be something that those fucking parasites didn't already have.

"I also have this." With careful motions I unclip the pistol that I had clipped to my suit with careful movements, Armsmasters entire focus shifting to the weapon in my hand, while Miss Militia tenses for a second while her weapon shifts its form momentarily before resuming its default form. Fascinating.

Right, focus.

Slowly I place the weapon face down on the table, careful to be sure that I seem as nonthreatening as possible. Honestly, I think that the weapon is the least threatening thing that I have in my arsenal. I could probably do a lot more damage with just my fists. They don't know that though.

Armsmaster picks it up after I gesture to it with an inquisitive look while Miss Militias energy constructs shifts into the form of a simple pistol on her hip. The tinker messes with some unseen buttons and controls on his halberd, taking scans of my foreign piece of tech.

"It shifts?" Armsmaster mumbles to himself while turning the weapon over in his hands.

"Yup. While it's a normal gun, it also has a different form that discharges electricity. Needed something that could incapacitate someone without doing any lethal damage."

He hums at that, completely engrossed in studying my weapon.

"And your armor?"

I scoff just a little bit at that. "I think that understand that I would like to keep some secrets to myself?"

He nods at that, some annoyance tinging the feeling of agreement.

After that, I recounted the events over the past few days, about my patrols and how I kept stumbling across capes without meaning to. Through my explanation, there was some doubt that was emanating from them. Probably about some of the technobabble that I was giving for my more magical abilities.

It was a lot easier to lie about my Force powers and empathy when I could actually make tech that could emulate it. Thanks, Promethean Woman.

"Are the changes to your body ones that you made?" Miss Militia asks delicately as if worried that I would react poorly to that. Given the way that this world reacted to bio-tinkers, I could get why.

I shake my head. "Not really. Sometimes when I get a new power something else comes along with it. A thinker power, or a slight brute one. One of them changed my body like this, while a few others changed a few other things."

"Such as?"

"My face. I don't look like me any more under here." I say while tapping the side of my helmet. "Though I can't walk around without a mask anymore. People tend to stare a lot."

I could feel an ounce of pity coming from Miss Militia. "How bad is it?" She asks gently.

I let out a humorless chuckle. "It's the opposite. I look too good under here."

She blinds at that before turning minutely over to Armsmaster. That wasn't what they were expecting.

You know what? I don't want to talk about the ever-increasing attractiveness of my looks, still not used to that shit. Fuck it, let's move on to what I really wanted to do here.

Before they could try to push on with that, or try to launch into a recruitment pitch I bring up a specific file and send it over to them.

"I think that this is something that you would be interested in." Armsmaster reads over the contents of the file, his mouth settling into a straighter line the further on that he read. I could practically feel the wide eyes underneath his helmet as he looked up at me.

"Is this accurate?" I nod. For once, jealousy was completely absent from his emotions, completely replaced with shock and tinges of excitement.

"What is it?" Miss Militia asks curiously.

"We need to get this to the Director. Now." He quickly stands up from his seat, completely forgetting me and rushing with fast feet towards the door. He's out the door just as Miss Militia starts towards him, who turns to me with a pointed look.

"What did you show him?" I simply gesture to the still displayed holographic page.

With narrowed eyes and suspicion deep within her, she gives the page a read through before she too looks at me with a flabbergasted expression.

I smile at that. Schematics of omni-gel and proof that it could be mass-produced would do that.

In just a few minutes I get my wish of sitting across from Director Piggot, who was staring at me with an inquisitive gaze. Though we were alone in the room, I could tell that this place was set to fill the entire room in containment foam at the first instance that things would get ugly. Well, didn't I feel special?

I, of course, make sure to remain completely relaxed with a leg crossed over the other while leaning lazily on one of chairs arms. That steel will be even more apparent now that I was this close to her, as was the almost constant pain that she was in.

Having to deal with two fucked up kidneys would do that to you.

"I assume that this was the real reason why you wished to meet with us?" Her voice and gruff, with just a tinge of distaste that I could only pick up because of what I knew about the woman.

I shrug. "Pretty much."

She narrows her eyes at my glib response. "What do you want? I doubt that you would give away your presence just for a meeting with me"

Straight to business just like I thought. "I want to make a deal with the PRT." She raises a single blond eyebrow at that. "I want an identity. I have no issue unmasking to you all, honestly, with the changes to my body I doubt that I would be able to have a private life outside of my cape one," bullshit, "and there isn't a way that I could go back to my old one before I had the changes to my body." Just not in the way that they thought.

She interlocks her fingers together on her desk, her locked gaze on mine never wavering. "What else? I doubt that is all that you would want after all the trouble that you went through to get this meeting."

Hmm, she was sharp. "Simple. I want to do business with the PRT and Protectorate."

"By selling us your technology?"

"Well that, and I would also like to start my own company."

She frowns at that. "You do realize that there are laws that prevent a parahuman from holding a business correct?"

I mirror her by steepling my own fingers together as well. "And I am providing you all with technology that would be mass-produced en masse, and be beneficial to daily life. Not to mention perhaps even Endbringers."

She remains stoic through my explanation, not once reacting to a word that I said. "What exactly do you mean?"

With a single command, one of the drones the size of a golf ball hidden in my suit flies in front of her displaying what I had in mind.

"I call it Medi-gel, a bit of an inspiration from something that I saw from Earth Aleph. An anesthetic and clotting agent. Not to mention that it helps speed up the healing process."

For a split second, I could feel rage from her before she wrangles it under control. "Is it bio-tinkering?"

I blink. "Technically. Though there are absolutely no side effects that would endanger the patient. Completely safe."

"And I should believe you why?"

"I could give you a demonstration if you would like. With some consent from the patients of course." It's then that an idea occurs to me. "Speaking of, I was thinking about providing my services to some hospitals. I know that even with Panacea around there are always people that need healing. Hell, why not have her observe any work that I do if that would please you?"

She mulls that over in her head for a few seconds. "We would need to have her guardian's permission before we agree to this."

"And if it does work out?"

I could see her fight back a sigh in her voice. "Then you have my word that I will make sure that my superiors receive word on you. Other than that, I can't make any promises."

From her tone, I could tell that she was reluctant to even give me that. While my first instinct was to simply bolt out of the room, something made me want to talk to her, but for the life of me I was drawing up nothing but a blank in my head.

Goddamit, most of the time I could talk about anything, but right now I was reverting back to my shy middle school self again, ugh.

Fuck it, let's talk about the fucking assholes that are currently locked up downstairs.

"What's the plan for some of the pricks that I helped lock up?"

Her right eyebrow twitches oh so minutely before responding. "Currently they are being held in a remote cell. Any information more than that is classified for Protectorate and PRT personnel only."

AKA, mind your own business.

I make sure to keep that glimmer of irritation that rose under control.

I shrug my shoulders. "Fine, don't tell me." I look at the time in my helmet. Think that about wraps this up. "I think that it's about time that I leave. Anything that you would like to discuss before I head on out of the door?"

"No. We will contact you if Panacea and New Wave decide to take you up on that offer." With that she shifts her gaze back to work, completely ignoring my presence in the room.

Though I can feel that irritation and dissatisfaction. Hmm, wonder what that is about.

Rising from my seat, I call my drone back to me where it flies directly into my hand before I pocket it into the Duat. RIght as I reach the door I remember something.

"Oh, right. If it wouldn't be much trouble, I have one more request, though it's nothing that should cost you that much."

A flash of irritation while her eyes swivel from her computer screen over to me with an expectant look.

"I was hoping if there was any way that I could get into contact with Mouse Protector."

"Why?"

"I have a precog on my team that gave me some information that she would be interested in."

Disbelief, more irritation, and exasperation, funnily enough, coil around her while she manages to keep her expression completely neutral.

"I will see what I can do."

"Thank you, Director," I say politely that for some reason only serves to irritate her even further. Huh, wonder what that was about.

I'd been having more and more daydreams of technology progression lately. How to advance tech, how to adapt concepts of my own powers into technology, how to copy parahuman powers into tech.

With my various magic abilities, it was even worse, with Promethean Woman firing on all cylinders at a constant rate. While all of the ideas were incredible, they just a bit much even for me with an army of clones. Not to mention all of the projects were going to need steady work and focus, which I did not have the time to do at the moment.

I just didn't have the room back home to run all of the projects that I wanted to. It was why I was so eager to jump into the Gummi ship and find a planet where I could actually make a complex that was worthy of all the ideas that constantly bounced in my head.

Honestly, some time's it felt like my thoughts weren't even my own anymore with the way that I would daydream the time away before finding myself already working on a new project that I should really push back for other work.

It scared me. More than I wanted to admit.

I force my mind away from that, focusing on Miss Militia who was leading me through the building. "Sorry about earlier again. Figured that it was better to come up with something that was believable instead of simply giving you my word. Not to mention I didn't have control of many things when I first ran into you guys."

Militia waves it off. "It's always hard when you first get powers, even ones that are like yours. While we know how to use them, sometimes it's hard to know when not to, or even realize that you are." The green energy at her hip shifts into a hunting rifle, then a shotgun, before cycling back into the combat knife that she kept as the default.

"You can't turn it off can you?" She asks with a cautious voice.

"No. I am forever stuck looking like this." At least until another one of those fucking popped up. I just knew that there were more of those hidden somewhere in the Forge. I could feel the celestial asshole laughing at me.

You know, all that crap about her eyes is just as expressive as a face weren't kidding. The way that her eyes crinkled showed the sympathy that she felt for me at that moment.

"So the ears and height were something that was added after you crossed over?"

"Yeah. Before that, I had been a 5'2 midget with brown skin and brown eyes. Not the giant elf that I look like now."

"Hmm, experienced something like that myself after triggering. I don't need to sleep anymore. I can, just when I do I don't dream anymore. Just see past events in perfect clarity."

I already knew that of course, but I still let out an understanding hum. "Are you sure that you should tell me that? After all, you barely know me."

The woman in camo garb shrugs. "You told us plenty about yourself and your situation. Why can I not tell you a little bit about mine? After all, you want to work with us, which is something that would be beneficial for both of us."

Basically trying to get close to me so that I don't change my mind. I could understand that.

I leave the HQ without much issue Miss Militia bidding me goodbye and promising that they would contact me when they could.

That went way smoother than I thought it would.

Going invisible to all senses it doesn't take me long to make my way back home, the factory building exactly how I left, with the various different defense systems still firmly in place.

Hopping inside of my home base I quickly take off my armor leaving me in nothing more than the skintight suit that I had rushed into when Lung had shown. Turns out that my increased speed and strength also let me change really quickly. Armor still took longer to change into because of the individual pieces that needed to lock into place, but that is the price that you pay for high tech toys.

I throw the suit of armor back into the Duat, it was one of the two backups that I kept just in case something happened to my primary suit of armor after all.

Speaking of, I had to upgrade everything. I had held it off to focus completely on my anti-scrying tech which was now fully operational and in the upgrade stage. Now that we had a permanent field surrounding the building, a few backups in case anything happened and fully installed one into the gummi ship I was free to do the things that I had held off on.

Before that, though I had to make check on our tenant. Looking at my messages, I saw that Krunter had managed to get me a quick note that he had taken food to Lindsey after I had let the other's know that I would be gone longer than I had originally planned. Even though I had freed him, the little elf still worked himself to the bone making sure everything was running smoothly alongside helping Judith with Claire.

While the others seemed to get along with Krunter, he seemed to be most comfortable with the baby of the group. If I remember right, he said that he had been with his family when the kids had been newborns and they had been barely toddlers when he… died.

Turns out that Deeseven had also died. He was at the battle of coruscant when Grievous and Dooku had begun the attack. He was shot down in space alongside his Jedi pilot Kundi Warenth. The sad thing was that if he hadn't fallen at the battle he would have soon when Order 66 was ordered out.

I didn't have the heart to tell the little droid about that yet. Unlike my other two friend's he would receive nothing but heartache from hearing the truth.

Thing is I knew that there were probably more people that hadn't shown up yet, given the number of stars that still remained in the constellation. I couldn't tell which they were, or what the star's contained yet. But they were clearer than before. I could at least tell the different sizes between them.

Progress at least.

I quickly whip up a quick tea tray filled with some cookies and biscuits that Krunter had prepared earlier and stored away in the kitchen that I had restored from the remains of the break room. With the field now up I could finally start to renovate this factory into something of a home. While having a mansion in a pocket dimension was nice, especially one with magic in the air, it would be better to have a semblance of a home here for anyone that wanted to join the group.

Probably wound't let any of them in on the secret, but I knew that I would need more help to keep everything under control. While I could be almost everywhere I needed to actually get some parahumans to join in.

The key to helping this world was to understanding shards, which meant that I needed to study them and the humans that they were leeching off. Which, like any experiment would require more than only one test.

I wasn't preparing to do any sort of evil mad scientist crap, but anything that related to those fucking shards came with a fuckton of risks. Either that winged bitch's attention or that golden baby that was a ticking extinction bomb.

As long as a single shard remained, this planet was doomed to ruin, regardless if it was a fast one or a slow one.

Changing back into my human form along with clothes that fit me I stick a helmet onto my head, walking into Lindsey's room.

The girl was not doing so hot. Staring blankly at a page held between her hand on the bed that was inscribed with various shapes and designs that were complete gibberish. Or at least they would be if I didn't have Promethean Woman.

Still, what I could gather was barely legible as if it was incomplete. Then again that was a given for any piece of Tinkertech, they were blackboxed after all.

Her eyes were blank, alongside a mess of bedhead that she hadn't even bothered to comb through. At least her eyes regained some semblance of emotion when they looked over at me.

There isn't any rage in them like I had expected. Instead, there was curiosity and… nervousness? A stark contrast to the constantly erupting volcano that she had been yesterday.

I bring out the chair that I kept in the Duat for meeting with the young woman, gently placing the tray on the coffee table in front of her while taking a seat opposite.

"Coffee, or tea?"

She stares at me blankly for a second. "Coffee."

Nodding I pout out two cups from the pot of coffee, one for each of us. While my clone had gotten a cup, I did not so it didn't count.

She glances at the cup, then at the smooth glass of the helmet on my head. "How the fuck are you going to drink that?"

"Like this"

I go invisible, take off the helmet, take a sip and quickly place it back on my head.

The former college student just stares at me, her eyes never having moved from where I had been, even when I disappeared from her point of view.

It was around then that I felt the Forge connect again to the Skills: Magitech constellation. And boy was it something. I received images of giant flying fortresses the size of battleships that conquered the skies. Flying bikes that glided through the air their occupants safe inside of the driver's seat. Cities that floated in the sky, each one filled with people who lived their lives in this fantastic flying city.

More than that though, the images that I saw in the eye of my mind grew smaller and smaller as if I was being dragged away from the sight in front of me. It grew smaller, and smaller until I felt myself be dragged through something, a white marble-like surface that grew bigger and bigger as it became distant from me again.

That marble-like surface was more than just a wall. I was now on the lush grasslands of Gran Pulse, looking out towards the sky that reigned above this planet. High in the sky, was a giant orb that was reminiscent of a moon, only it looked as if it had been cracked open from one side, the green hollowness of the inside of the sphere giving off an otherworldly vibe.

Cocoon.

Then in the blink of an eye, I was back in my seat, in front of the expectant gaze of the half-Asian woman. Gravity didn't seem so scary anymore.

"Sorry about that. What did you say?"

A huff. "I said did you seriously go invisible just to take a sip from your coffee?"

"Yes."

Her narrowed eyes roll in their sockets, her disbelief, and bits of amusement hidden in there.

"So you a biotinker?" She takes a simple sip from her black coffee a hum of appreciation emanating from her throat.

"No," not yet, "Why do you ask?"

"That weird thing that came in earlier to bring me breakfast. Krunter. No way is he human. He just appeared out of thin air."

Humming I lean back in my seat, making sure to keep my cup in my hands. "I didn't make Krunter, he is his own person."

"Psh, yeah right. Why does he call you mistress then?"

"Ugh, cause his people are an actual slave race that enjoys being subjugated. Even though I freed him, the little guy can't help wanting to serve."

"Like… an alien."

"Sure let's go with that." More likely to believe that over the 'an actual elf' thing.

She looks at me with a dubious look even when I disappear to take a sip from my delicious delicious coffee. Eventually, she decides to let it go and resume drinking from her own, the enjoyment that she receives from tasting the beverage echoing off of the Force towards me.

"I can see that you're calmer than before."

She frowns at that glaring at me again. "Doesn't mean that I'm not pissed at you."

"Well, duh. I kinda kidnapped you. What I mean is that you aren't a mountain of spewing magma like before. I can actually feel your other emotions, unlike the last few times that I came to see you."

Her coffee cup stops a centimeter from her face while she processes what I said. She slowly sets the cup down with her head shifting to look at the reflective glass of my helmet.

"What kinda cape are you? No way you're an empath with just tech, not with the kinda tech that I have seen you tote around. Could you fucking see everything that I was feeling since the moment that you took me? Also, did you get a boob implant and grow a few fucking inches?"

I could feel my eye twitch at that last sentence. I fucking knew people were going to ask about that. Seriously these fucking things on my chest were at least a D size now. At least. I'm don't want to fucking measure them, because I know that they are bigger than that and I don't want to deal with knowing that they were that size.

I'm pretty sure that the height increase was to make my body proportional and not look like a bizarre anime character.

Ugh, I hate this shit.

Shoving those feelings down I try to fake relax in my chair by leaning back and making a show of crossing one of my legs over the other. "A few changes that I went through. Can't control them?"

"You saying that you're like Eidolon?"

"Tinker version at least. With a few other changes that tend to pop up every now and then."

"If you're being this open about shit, why not just take that helmet off? Not like I can get out of here, especially not without my power." There is a note of bitterness in that last remark.

Realizing that she had a point, not to mention her knowing what my normal face woundn't matter in the end I give her a shrug. "You're right."

And I take off my helmet.

The look on her face was exactly what I had expected, the wide eyes hanging open mouth along with the red that dusted her cheeks.

Then her eyes travel down my body at a very slow and steady rate. I let it happen, cause honestly after feeling the stares and attraction for everyone that I passed by in the street Lindsey doing it didn't bother me to much.

Plus, it was nice to see some normal emotions from her that weren't tinged with conflict and that pervasive feeling that her shard influenced. I could still feel the tinge of irritation in there though. At least it wasn't full blow jealousy like I'd sensed from Taylor earlier in the day.

Deciding the mess with her I run my hand down my knee and along my thigh. "Get a good look?" I ask in a husky voice.

"Uh….uh…" Is the only legible sound that escapes from her mouth, her thought's still scrambled a little bit from just getting a look at me. Right, can't fucking walk around without an illusion to conceal my face anymore. At least Leonardo and Judith seemed to be used to my face at least.

Her eyes look up at my head again, though she doesn't look at my eyes. "What the fuck is wrong with your hair?"

What the heck is she talking about?

Grabbing a strand of my hair that reached my shoulder's I bring it out to my eye level only to stop in place.

Why did my hair look like it was Lightnings from Final Fantasy?

In a panic, I grab another lock of hair to double-check, and traitorously that lock was also the same color.

Reaching into the Duat, I ignore the bug-eyed stare that Lindsay gives my hand as it disappears into the realm underneath our own, I grab out the mirror that I kept in there.

And stop as I stare at my reflection.

Why!?

I had underestimated how much my looks had changed after that one power had connected earlier in the day. Needless to say, I looked like a goddess. And I hated it with a burning passion that could blot out the suns.

I had held off on looking at myself in a reflection earlier out of sheer spite, I could already see the effect that it was having on people that I passed on the street, so I thought what the hell.

I restrain the scream of frustration that bubbles up my throat into a groan in my throat.

Lindsay was still staring at me with wide eyes, open mouth, and blushing cheeks. Given the confusion that I could feel inside of her head and the reluctant acceptance, you know ignoring the attraction that was very evident, I think that she just figured something out.

With the way that her eyes were boring holes into my image, I think I knew what it was.

I'm so done with this shit. Later I'm going to find out how homebrewed whisky from a master craftsman tastes like. With workaholic, I can make that shit last.

Whatever.

I let out a loud whistle knocking Lindsey out of the daze of seeing my face caused. A sentence that I never thought would come out of my mouth.

Jesus, my life was officially weird.

"Sorry about that. Can't help the way that I look or the way that people react to it. I didn't choose to look this way."

Her blush dies down from the full heat to mere embers, her thoughts coming back to some semblance of normalcy. "I can't figure you out."

"What do you mean?"

"You kidnapped me and kept me locked in here, but you feed me some of the best tasting food that I have ever had while apologizing for shit a kidnapper never would. And instead of trying to get me as your personal tinker, you take away my powers, for whatever reason, basically getting rid of a resource that you could use. You say that you're a rogue, but you talk like a hero while doing some shit that only villains would do."

Hmm when she put it that way, I could see how she would be confused.

I do what comes naturally. I shrug. "I'm just me, doing what I think is right. Simple as that."

She snorts at that while rolling her eyes. "Simple my ass."

She finishes her cup while motioning for a refill.

While I pour out some more of the liquid gold she pipes up again. "What did you mean by 'dealing with being normal again'? Since you took my powers away I feel… different."

"You mean like someone isn't constantly pressing the angry button in your head?" She glares at while her head gives a stiff nod.

"...yeah." She sort of slumps a little bit from her perch on the bed, her head sagging down a little low with her eyes downcast. Her emotions are still angry, that hasn't really left, but this time it's tinged with more. Sorrow, regret, dashes of embarrassment with a coating of guilt. Good.

If she didn't feel any guilt at all, I would have thrown her as a lost cause. But even a hint of regret was enough for the entire spectrum of a person to change. All that was needed was a nudge in the right direction. Like with Taylor, she would need help. I just wish that there was someone who was more than me.

A girl that got lucky and had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

Lindsey's head shoots up while throwing a glare my way. "You're reading my head, aren't you? Stop that!"

"Sorry, don't know how to turn it off," I say for what felt like the millionth time today.

I could tell that the raven-haired young woman didn't want to believe me, but after glaring into my eyes searching for something she concedes with a sound of disgust.

"Do all powers work like that? Mess with our heads?"

"Depends on the person and the power. Though most parahumans have a propensity for conflict. Both from the powers and because anyone who is one is a traumatized person that needs help, not powers that reflect that trauma back at them."

"What?" Her voice was barely a whisper, a look of horror evident on her face, along with simmering rage in her eyes.

"You heard me right. Thing is, the kind of power that you get is dependent on what caused the trigger, and the circumstances around it. Though with tinkers and thinkers it tends to be problems or mental stress that build up over time, with the tinkers leaning towards longer periods of time before culminating into the trigger. After that, it depends on what kind of power that you get stuck with that determines how much influence they have on you.

Some people could bounce back with time and try to lead a peaceful life. After that, if you get lucky you do. Other times not so much, cause those fucking parasites want to be used as much as possible. "

She pales considerably at that, looking down at the paper in her hands with absolute shame and rage written on her face. "Why do you call them parasites?"

I curse under my breath for having let that out, but I quickly gather my wits about me. No use in worrying about shit that I can't change any more. Besides, if I was this far along, I might as well go full throttle.

"The powers that parahuman's receive are really aliens that are basically giant bio-crystal computers. Evolved by eating their own kind, therefore that's the only way that they know how to progress. While they are basically supercomputers, they are also really, really fucking dumb. It's why they attach to hosts. To collect data on creative uses of powers that they can't come up with themselves. It's the reason most parahumans have a constant need to use their powers so that they can collect more data. They connect to a host through the corona pollentia through an interdimensional connection."

"Every parahuman?"

"Yup. Every hero, rogue, villain, and everything in between has got one of these fucking parasites inside of their heads." I could see the question on her lips, but she doesn't have the heart to ask. Briefly explaining what purpose that they serve and what the end goal game was for them only did more to drive that well-placed horror in her head home.

The red on her face that she had gotten from looking at the mine was completely gone, replaced with ashen white, and her pale blue eyes gaining a hollow semblance.

"Then none of it matters. Not my powers, not me. Regardless of what we do, we're all fucked regardless of what we do if those fucking things can get away with it."

Despair permeated her heart, blotting out the rage and indignation that had been ever-present in the sea of her emotions.

It was feeling those emotions that I finally realized something. This was not Bakuda. This was still Lindsey Tanaka, fresh off her trigger. Not the mad psychopathic attention-loving bomber that would have terrorized this city.

She was on the precipice of a changing point. After all, when we are at our lowest we are capable of great change. The thought that the one who spoke those words is alive somewhere out there in the multiverse warms my heart. If a hellhole like Brockton Bay exists, why not the world of the Last Airbender right?

"I wouldn't say that."

"What, you think that you can do anything about it? Against these fucking aliens in our heads and that big golden bastard that's going to kill us?"

"Yeah."

She gives me a look that very much says that she thinks I lost all of my brain cells.

"I'm not a parahuman. My powers come from something else."

"From what? A god? Cause that imaginary bullshit might be the only thing that might make a difference against what you just told me." Her tone is mocking and approaching hysterical, the hollow eyes slowly turning into something more worrisome.

"Well, he didn't call himself that, but he might as well be."

"Are you batshit crazy!?"

"Maybe. Though at this point I might just roll with it. Just give me a second."

I close my eyes and focus on that memory. The one where I had gazed for the first time on the birth of a new galaxy, and met a Giant that was far too bored for his own good. I focus deeply on the emotions that I felt in that moment. Feelings of fear, amazement, wonder, the jubilation of that blessed moment of serendipity where instead of death I found the building blocks for a new life.

I use those emotions and memories and push them into my creation, using Run the Numbers to make sure that my creation is the right size that I want it to be. With a push of magic, I feel both Fairy and Promethean Woman step in, not in an invasive way but more like guiding hands. With their help, I am able to elevate my creation beyond a mere object and ensure that the emotions that I felt in that movement were properly captured within it.

I leave my eyes closed until I feel my project materialize properly in my waiting hands. Then I open them and am struck by true and utter wonder just like I had in that memory.

It was a painting, one that was so much more than mere color on a canvas. This was the real first thing that I made while using the power that I got from Fairy along with Master Synthesist. Ark of Embodiment was the catalyst for the process, but with my other powers, I could feel the very fabric of creation going beyond the limits of the magic style.

It was the sight that I saw, but not from my point of view. Instead it was farther behind me, with my figure a mere blip in the space of nascent creation.

Everything about the painting was permeated with my thoughts and emotions that I had felt in that moment and radiated them in through the air. The rainbow of colorful stardust that had surrounded me was there all through the air, with the hollow-headed Celestial Giant held his nova hammer high above his head with a newborn galaxy in front of him, glowing with the beginning of countless solar systems.

The best part? Somehow, through Master Craftsman, or some of my other perks everything in the painting moved. Like one of the paintings from Harry Potter. The newborn stars glittered with twinkling light, stardust flew and flowed through the void with each hit of the giant red hammer. And down there, watching it all from her perch in nothing, I could see painting me's hair flowing around me as if I were floating through water.

How did I do that without meaning for it to happen? I don't fucking know. For someone that was a genius two times over because of my stars, I sure do say that a lot more than I thought I would.

Lindsey even felt it, staring wide-eyed with the warmest look in her eye that she had worn since I met her. She hadn't even looked at the painting yet, just the back of the frame that I had made it in.

"What is that?" Her voice was gentle, and dare I say it innocent. Like she was a kid again.

"This is what I saw." With that simple statement, I turn the painting over and show her the image of the beginning of my journey.

I never got tired of feeling that feeling of childlike wonder and amazement from people. Only this time it was because of a pure and wonderful memory of mine that I had made come to life.

Who would have thought that a former street rat could have come so far?

Her mouth is once again gaping, and she reaches out with a longing hand as if trying to grasp what was inside of the frame. I pass her the painting and she holds it in her hands gingerly, as if afraid that holding it too tight would crush the newborn mystery.

"How did you make this? What am I feeling?" The quiver in her voice surprises me, along with the way that one of her hands curls towards her chest while she balances the 16X20 portrait with her other hand and knee.

"Magic."

Amazingly she doesn't rebuff me or throw an insult my way, instead of continuing to gaze at the image in her hand's with a well of emotions rising to the surface, some of them feeling as if they had not seen the light of day in a very, very long time.

That's when I felt the fucking Forge connect. Seriously, could I not have a moment like this ruined, please!?

It was from a constellation with many stars, though quite at the number as the Skills and Ability one. I felt a hint of worry when I registered that this one was called Future Tech. Seriously I already had to deal with bullshit magic, I don't know if I was ready to deal with whatever kind of crazy futuristic technology this constellation contained.

It was a bigger star, one that I could tell was going to be something completely ridiculous when I felt the first strings of the connection take form. Something to do with biology. Great I think I just became a fucking biotinker.

Then the star's connection solidified and I processed completely what I had just gotten. Ideas, years of research on alien biology, and how to alter genetics in ways that humans had never done before. Different creatures with abilities that straight out of science fiction, from increased strength, all the way to self-produced bio-electricity. Oh, Great Woman was having an absolute field day with this.

I had just started to roll my eyes and worry about what kind of bio creations would finally get me a kill order when my brain registered some of the examples of what I could create and what they would look like.

Which is when I squealed like the little five-year-old girl on the inside that no amount of power could ever get rid off.

Lindsey jumps into the air screaming, almost throwing the painting in her arms before remembering what she held and steadying herself.

"What the fuck are you screaming about?" She yells at me.

Kinda forgot that she was here while I was absorbed in my new power. Oh, who gives a shit!?

"Remember what I told you about being a biotinker? Turns out that's now a lie."

She gives me a confused look for a few seconds, obviously processing what I said before I could see the gears in her head click in place. Then she went pale again and slowly started to scoot away from me.

"Oh, lighten up! I'm not going to turn into Bonesaw or Nilbog. Unlike them, I don't need to kill people to make my cuties."

"Did you really say 'cuties' like that?"

"Yes. And? They totally are going to be!"

"I fucking doubt it."

I decided to prove her wrong by creating what is going to be my masterpiece after I've had a bit of practice in my new for of science in the form of a nice plushie in my hands. I tried to make it as lifelike as I could, which made it come out even more adorable than I thought. Probably Master Craftsman at work.

When she sees the plushie in my hand she throws me an incredulous look. "Are you seriously going to make some of those things from that Earth Aleph kids movie!?"

Huh, forgot that Earth Aleph was a thing.

"So, they are cute and I can make them."

"You are going to get a kill order!"

"Please, like you are one to talk about that!"

Her face heats up at that while biting her lip to contain the no doubt very colorful words that she wants to spew my way. Ha, got her there.

She quickly shakes of her irritation, faster than I thought she would. "Did this thing really give you powers?" She asks while gesturing to the Hammer wielding asshole.

Were we still on that?

"Yeah?"

"Why?"

I tap my hand to my chin for a second. "Cause I made him laugh."

She blinks. "Are you fucking with me?"

"Nah, dude had been bored and I got stuck in there after my soul got sucked into his new world after I died."

Another blink. Mouth hanging open.

"Ok, I know that sounds crazy, but let's be honest, you already thought that."

She raises a hand, stops, thinks, and then screams in frustration. Laughing I decide something right then and there.

"Want me to prove it to you?"

"Prove what?" She asks slightly worriedly.

"Magic."

She scoffs. "And how the hell would you do that?"

"Like this." Making a show of it, I slash the air with my hand, creating the tear in space that led to the Wizard's Domain. I didn't have to do that, but lately, I was starting to have flairs for the dramatic.

If I was going to be using complete bullshit powers I might as well look cool doing it right?

Placing a foot through I turn back to look at her frozen form. "You coming? Or is the little girl scared?"

She immediately glares at me and pushes me forward before following me through the tear in reality.

Stepping through I keep walking, making sure to keep a hand on one of her arm's so that she doesn't just stand and stare at the purple void that made up this realm. I didn't have to turn around to know that she was staring around with a stupified look on her face.

While I didn't have any of my anti-scrying fields set up for the mansion, I knew that her shard wouldn't be able to ping in here. After all, if it could keep that winged bitch's eyes out of here I was pretty sure that it could block out a single shard from connecting to its host.

Given that i didn't feel that same presence underlying Lindsay's I knew that my hunch was right.

I explain exactly what this space in between was as we walk through the entrance to the mansion and up the grand staircase, the whole time she looked around in an almost dazed trance, her brain processing what I was saying and what she was seeing.

I don't think that I would ever get tired of seeing people's reaction to what my power gave me. At least the parts that didn't make me want to pull my own hair out of my head.

We passed by a number of my clones on our way towards the Workshop entrance, each of them doing their own assigned task. Research, working on creating specialized tools and equipment, magical and chakra practice, meditation… etc.

Some were in our Eldar form, and others were in my base human form, most of them beyond excited about the latest skill and branch of science that the Forge had given us. While I still wasn't comfortable with the Eldar form, I knew that I needed to get accustomed to walking around in that set of skin.

If I avoided using it in my daily life, then I wouldn't be able to control the heightened emotions during the heat of battle. I grimace as I remember the bubbling rage that I almost unleashed on Hookwolf the other night.

If Krunter hadn't appeared I might have taken things too far. I already had a temper on my own, being a fucking Eldar only made it ten times worse.

So I decided to cheat by having my clones do it. They weren't happy about it, they were still me after all, but we knew what the score was.

"Why the hell are you showing me all of this? Thought that you were going to keep me locked up for the rest of my life."

"Please as if I would want to keep a bomber in my attic like a secret gremlin for that long. I was just trying to decide what I wanted to do with you, and having that shard of yours disconnected from your brain was the deciding factor."

"Are you saying that you would prefer me without powers than with them?" She asks incredulously.

"No, I'm saying now that you don't have that halping biocomputer stuck to your brain I could feel what you were feeling underneath all of that vitriolic rage. Shame and guilt."

She freezes in place, her feet rooting to the floor before I firmly but gently pull her along the path through the expensive and ornate hallways.

"Why the fuck would I feel guilty for anything?"

"Please don't try to lie to me. I'm an empath remember?" She grumbles and huff angrily before I continue on. "While you are still responsible for what you did, not having that thing nudging you towards conflict is enough for me to change my mind on you."

"So you are going to have me as your personal pet tinker?" I can hear the bite and defiance in her voice.

"No Lindsay I am giving you a choice. Admittedly you don't have many. Now that you know what is going to happen, do you really think that being a villain like you were planning on becoming is a good idea?"

"Why not? Not like there's any point in being a hero when the world is going to go boom in the end." Hints of anguish and fear start poking their little heads inside of her, though her curiosity is enough for her to keep following me without resistance.

"Cause I can stop it. And I am giving you the choice and either helping me or me sending you into exile into a different reality."

"You do realize that isn't that good of a sales pitch right?"

I shrug. "In the end, the choice is yours. I'm not going to try to persuade you to do it. But I will show you that I CAN prevent the end of the world. After that, if you want to stick around and help out great. If not I will send you to a different reality where those things can't find you."

"Why not just let me out if you're going to be so nice about it?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"We both know that if I let you out and that thing connects to you again you are going to end up as a villain again. You just had your trigger event and your life is all but ruined cause of the stunt that you pulled. PRT is after you and I am pretty sure that they already talked to any family that you might have." She flinches at my blunt statement.

"And there's no way that my asshole dad would help me out. Not after I 'wasted a valuable opportunity'." I could feel the venom and hate the coated every word that she said. Hmm, daddy issues. Not that surprised honestly. Tinker triggers do tend to happen after problems pile up after a long period of time.

Besides, I could relate to parent problems.

"So what, just like that I should join you and ignore that you fucking kidnapped me?"

Again I shrug. "Eh, that's up to you. Like I said you are making this choice. Not me. Ah, here we are."

Arriving at the Workshop I quickly summon five more clones for the price of one, each of them moving to different sides of the workshop grabbing different tools and equipment that I would need.

Lindsay again stays completely still, baffled as she watches the clones that I had created go about their work while I made sure to grab one of the five reactors that I had yet to put to good use.

From there we moved to one of the many rooms in the mansion that had been completely empty. Guess that it gave me a few of those cause I would need some empty rooms to turn into different kinds of labs. Or the Giant was just being a lazy dick again.

Lindsay watched the entire time sitting on one of the very fancy cushioned chairs that we had brought in here so that she wasn't just standing the whole time. I never felt a hint of boredom from her the entire time, she simply watched curiously at what the hell we were doing.

It took a while, I think around thirty minutes, but eventually, we had the entire room set up as a freshly new bio-lab. Terminals and readouts lined the walls of the room, a set up of bio-tanks connected to them in the center of the wall opposite the door. It was actually a little spartan as far as labs go, with only the walls being furnished with the equipment and two tables, but that was something that we could work on later.

While one of my clones set up programming the computers with specific systems and programs for our experiments later, my clones and I began the real work.

We gathered in the center of the room, focusing intently on the warp. Still, the young parahuman remained silent and observant, the awe of watching us create a new lab under an hour now replaced with even more ravenous curiosity on what we would do next.

Well, time for the show to start I guess.

Pulling out one of my sets of Wraithbone armor, My four clones and I began to sing in the material and Immaterium. It was far easier this time around, Fairy somehow helping in the creation process and Machinist speeding up our creation time.

We focused on the designs that I had finalized earlier this morning, along with a few adjustments that I had done in my head earlier thanks to Run the Numbers.

I wasn't trying to create anything completely bullshit, I didn't have enough experience with some of my powers, or done enough research into what Promethean Woman was whispering in my ear, but I did have enough to completely overhaul this shit.

During the process, I focused more on just the technical details and designs of the armor. I allowed myself to be swept in the sheer joy and excitement in the act of creation. To be able to make the marvel of technology and magic that only I could do in this world. A suit of armor that would only be one of the first steps in creating something that could truly ascend past anything those stupid space whales could make.

Figured I might as well let myself get swept up in my emotions every now and then.

Opening my eyes after we were finished, every single one of me was in awe over what we had created. While the technological design was something that we knew, we just went with the flow on its appearance.

The most eye-catching thing about the armor that stood in the center of the four of us, was the glowing blue arc reactor that had a purple hue of psychic energy in the center of its chest.

It was bulkier than my previous set of armor and didn't have the sleek appearance of its predecessor. It looked like individual plates of the organic-like wraithbone were welded together on top of each other, with slits and gaps sorted here and there where various weapons were hidden underneath.

The helmet was nothing like its predecessor. I had figured out how to properly distribute the crystals used in Aeldari tech around the helmet, so there was no need to have that big ass one on the helmet's forehead anymore. It was streamlined to a slimmer look, no longer looking anything like those ridiculous cone helmets that Aeldari loved.

The face was now completely blank, with the clear wraithbone resembling a shining glass unlike the rest of the suit. Though I knew that once I entered the suit the eyes would glow a blue reminiscent of the reactor on the center of its chest.

The best part was the 'feathers' that were carved around the edges of the plates of the chest and arms, with the legs remaining unchanged.

There was more to the armor though. Something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. As if just looking at it calmed me down and filled me with sparks of hope.

Aw shit, did I accidentally give my armor a Master effect? Was this cause of Fairy? Shit.

"Holy shit." The whispered words cause me to remember the other occupant in the room.

Lindsay remained seated, the last of the rigidness that she held now gone with her body completely relaxed as she looked at the armor with an expression of awe. Her blue eyes took in everything about my new suit of armor, hint's of envy coming off her that were completely drowned out by amazement.

I loved causing that feeling in others.

Thing is, it wasn't just her. Don't know when or how they got in here, but Judith carrying Claire in her arms, Leonardo, Krunter, and Deeseven were all in the room as well, each of them impressed with the work that I just finished.

Jeez, was I that focused on this?

Just as I was about to say something I felt the Forge connect again, this time to a medium-sized star.

Oh, Lord.

Reaching into my pocket I find something smooth and roughly the size of a thinner tennis ball waiting for me. Taking it out I can't help but boggle at the gem that I held.

In the palm of my hands was the philosopher's stone. Just like that I could control and manipulate any piece of inorganic matter and change it into a different element. If I had no problem with resources before, I definitely didn't anymore.

"That's a beautiful stone."

I whirl towards the unfamiliar chipper voice behind me, summoning a dagger focused on the intruder, ready to fly with the speed of a bullet.

Then I feel my heart skip a few beats.

A pretty pale young woman leaned back on the table that I had just set up earlier, looking at us with a cheerful gleam in her eyes. She wore a full black ensemble of a simple tank top with thin straps, leather pants that had a leather belt looped around her waist, boots, and a black umbrella held by the handle over her shoulder in her hand.

What drew my eye was the black lipstick and what looked like a downward curve underneath her right eye, and the silver ankh that hung from her neck.

My dagger dissolved back into nothingness as I made a sound like a gasping fish.

Memories that I had completely forgotten surfaced.

The first one my earliest and first memory. Everything was big, everything was wrong, I wept as a baby should after being removed from my mother's womb. I remember crying and being held amidst the far too bright light. Then, it didn't dim, but it didn't hurt my eyes so much. And standing over the shoulder of the giant that held me in his far too big hands was the same face of the young woman smiling down at me.

The second memory was simply seeing the woman standing close by as the sound of screeching tires registered into my ears before waking up in the Giant's realm.

I can't help the way that I trembled in place as I stared at her. Given the sounds that Leo, Krunter, and Deeseven were making they remembered her too. This might sound odd, but I was happy that Deeseven saw her before he came here.

He might be a droid, but he was alive.

Judith and Lindsay are merely confused at our reactions, while the woman merely gave us all a warm smile.

"A-a-are you here for m-m-me?" Goddamnit, I don't stutter!

Her smile remains in place as she pushes herself off the table and takes steps towards me. I restrain my fe…

February 12th, 2011, Brockton Bay

Mia

Thank god that it only took a day to get my damn arm healed. I was never very good about staying in bed after an injury, hated feeling like I couldn't do anything.

The sound of snoring brings me out of my own little musings, with baby Botamon sleeping away on one of the empty shelves in my bio-lab while using a little pillow that I had made for him. There was a little bubble that grew and shrunk with every breath he took, coming from where his mouth should be.

I've actually seen him eat without a mouth being created. One moment the food is in front of him, the next moment the damn thing is gone.

I can't help the smile that worms its way onto my lips. A Digimon. Not a surprise when you consider everything else that the Forge has given me. While he was still just a kid I knew that with time he would be able to go toe to toe with one of those monsters out there.

Though, I don't think that the little guy would be able to kill any of them. Regardless, there was no way that I was letting the cute baby anywhere near those fucking things out there. Not while I was still breathing.

Botamon had been a bundle of energy that could only come from a child, curious about anything and everything that he looked at. Death had the biggest smile on her face as the Digimon approached her with wide yellow eyes, while baby Claire was giggling madly.

Took a little bit to explain to Botamon that Claire was not a baby Digimon like her, though I think that he still didn't get it completely. Eventually, after a lot more hopping around and questions, he managed to calm down and we went about our day.

Or rather, everyone else went about their day while I was confined to my fucking bed.

Whatever, I was free right now.

Looking over the data that I had transferred over to the main terminal I a number of equations fly through my head, trying to see if what I wanted to create was doable.

Hmm, maybe. With the data that I jacked from Lung's body yesterday, along with My Experiments, the little idea in my head might just be doable. Though it would be something that would take time. Creating a new living lifeform was actually a very delicate process, one wrong move and I could fuck the entire thing up.

I wasn't even going to try gestating it before I was completely sure that there won't be a mistake. If I was going to create life, then I was going to make sure that they could truly live.

That did mean that I was mainly doing theoretical work and research. Even with all of the powers that I had, I wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be a mistake.

There were enough issues already with everything else going on, I didn't need to add giving life to something that couldn't really live onto my consciousness. I was already trying to be careful with a lot of other things,

Rubbing the drowsiness out of my eyes I stifled back a yawn while I look at my new blue omni-tool. Damn, been stuck in here for about three hours. You know what? I needed a break.

Mentally giving the pillow a command, it follows behind me floating through the air as I leave through the door, Botamon didn't move an inch as his makeshift bed floats through the air.

Wandering through the mansion, I pass the various rooms that had been changed to ramshackle test chambers and research labs, with each one of them housing a clone or two hard at work.

It was amazing just how many I could keep around when I only paid a fifth of the amount of chakra for them. Not to mention thanks to one of the techniques that came inside of the scroll I was able to circulate chakra from the clones back to me, allowing me to keep the others around almost indefinitely. For a progress report, I simply connected to the rest of them through the hive mind and let the memories permeate through my mind before severing the connection.

Overall research was advancing faster than I had expected. Then again, with all of my various powers being shared across each of my clones, what did I expect. Great Woman was in constant effect within each of my clones, allowing us to make breakthroughs at least once a day. Breakthroughs that we were already working on.

One project, in particular, was already being assembled over in the void space of the Temple of Solomon, even while I had a number of clones combing through all of the research that was kept in there. Doctor Romani was an excellent notetaker, having compiled most of the research that he had accumulated throughout his first life inside. Not just his either, there was plenty of notes from other mages during his time, though a number of them remained unnamed.

It would take some time, but I would finally be able to use those magic circuits that I have. Well, considering that I was literal magic now I might not even need those circuits.

Everything just keeps getting more and more complicated. Was I even human anymore at this point? Did it matter?

I was still me after all, but was I really? How much had I already changed from when I died the first time around?

I was calmer, the time when I lost my temper notwithstanding. Before I woke up here my reactions to most things would have been a lot more visceral. Something that I couldn't do when I was connected to the Force or the Warp.

One of those was an issue, both of them were things that I was fucking terrified of even messing with. It's why I meditated every single morning, centering myself, and I avoided even thinking about the Warp. I don't want to be the one that accidentally created a fucking Chaos God.

At this point though, I was probably much closer to an alien than I was a human with all of the changes that were being done to my body and soul. They weren't bad, but they were definitely something that made me nervous.

I could bench press a fucking car without breaking a sweat, break the soundbarrier by the speed of some of my punches, think and react faster than almost any other human that was alive at the moment.

So I very much limited myself to only creating Wraithbone and wraithbone technology. Anything other than that involving the fucking warp was something that I wanted nothing to do with.

Even if I wasn't 100% human, my emotions were still the same. I was still me and I would damn well act like it.

Just had to be careful not to mess anything up that I couldn't fix.

Coming across Linday and Judith together in the library, each of them reading through a different tome in the library. While Judith appeared completely calm, Lindsay looked just a tad irritated.

"What's got you mad?"

"I can't get this shit right!" The young tinker growls back while shaking the book in her hand. Intricacies of Pyromancy. Of course, that's the book that she chose.

"That's because you skipped like three steps! You need to know how to actually use and manipulate mana before you can lob fireballs you gas head!"

She glares at me while giving me a disapproving hiss. "How the hell was I supposed to know that?"

"Gee, I don't know? Maybe asking someone that already has experience in it?" I said while gesturing to the amused blond that was sitting a few paces away who promptly rolls her eyes.

"Please, when I was trying to tell her that, she said, and I quote "I can figure this bullshit 'magic' crap on my own! I don't need help from a teenage mom!"" Given the way that there was amusement in her eyes, and lack of heat in her words the young woman didn't care about Lindsay's prickly attitude.

Good. Figured that a teen that lived in the streets for a few months would have thick enough skin to handle our bomber.

Lindsay won't look me in the eye's her cheeks lightly dusted in red from embarrassment as she rises and hunts for the beginner book.

Don't know when we came to the mutual agreement that she would help out, but I could tell that we did. No way that she would be able to be humble enough to agree out loud about it, or to ask.

She just started wandering around, asking my friends questions and started to hang around here to train up in magic. The constant feeling of anger was gone, but there were plenty of negative emotions in there to take their place.

Depression, loss, guilt, inadequacy. They mired her emotions and she practically threw herself into everything around the house, preferring to let her curiosity run rampant than to deal with those thoughts in her head.

When we spoke, her voice was empty of bitterness and her eyes were clear of anger. There was no gratitude within them, but there was plenty of curiosity and the sparks of something else that I could not quite place.

Though we weren't going to start any of the analysis or testing of the connection to her shard, at least not for a few more days. Wanted to have her get used to the peace without that parasite flooding her with rage.

Maybe after that we could talk a little bit more about how she was doing. She had just found out that the world was fucked and she had a stupid supercomputer attached to her brain, plus all of the other crap that she was already feeling. She did just go through a trigger event, and while her anger wasn't completely overtaking her like before, it was still there simmering just below the surface.

I knew that I was jus watching and waiting, but I wasn't a psychologist, I had no clue how the hell to even approach what was going on inside of her head. At least there was less of a chance of her becoming Bakuda, though the possibility of her sliding into that mindset was still there.

So for now, she was getting the hang of this place. Still didn't believe that Leonardo was that Leonardo, though I could tell that the roots were starting to take hold by the way that she was looking at his notes earlier.

The one that she seemed to get along with the most was Judith, given that she could dish out just as much as the tinker could. That or it was because she was the only one that was close to her in age.

The only one that she really steered clear of was our resident Endless, obviously spooked by the immortal being. Which was understandable. She was Death after all.

Speaking of the goth woman she appeared next to me with a chuckle. Literally, one-second empty air, the next she was right there.

I don't where the hell she went when she wasn't with us, and I kinda don't want to know. Less I know about the kind of shenanigans that she got up to on her own the better. Besides, she couldn't directly interfere with anything that was going on. At least I don't think that she could.

Lindsay almost jumped out of her skin when she spots Death standing next to me, while Judith does a quick double-take. "Having fun?"

"Trying to," I reply politely.

She gives me a smile then looks at the baby Digimon that was still fast asleep on the pillow."How is he doing?"

"Alright, little guy tired himself out bouncing around the place and promptly passed out. Don't think that he's going to wake up for a little while." Death strokes the Digimon's head, his stubby horns twitching at the contact while he leans towards the touch with a sound of contentment.

It's around then when I hear a loud scream, a curse in Italian, and a robotic screech coming from the hallway leading towards Leo's testing room. Right as I looked up, an explosion followed after causing Judith to look up with an annoyed expression, Lindsay to jump in place, and Botamon to startle off of his pillow, Death catching him before he could hit the floor.

Ugh, not again.

From the smoke-covered hallway comes out Krunters thing form, his face, and upper body completely covered in soot with his big eyes blinking rapidly and standing out from the rest of his face.

"Krunter tried mistress, but Sir Leonardo wouldn't listen." He promptly falls face forward towards the floor, my hands just barely managing to catch him before impact.

Quickly looking over him I let out a sigh of relief. No wounds. Thank god. Probably just got a few bruises. One of my clones on the library's second floor takes the house elf's limp form, heading towards the magical beings bedroom for some rest.

Taking out the Philosopher's Stone I focus with my will and exchange the smoke that was flowing into the bedroom into simple air. Continuing down the hallway I make sure to keep my concentration, exchanging the smoke for breathable air with the alchemical stone that was in my hand.

While this was a magical realm, getting smoke out of the house was still a pain in the ass.

I find the passed out form of Leonardo on the floor a few feet from the doorway, with poor Deeseven embedded halfway into a wall while letting out a few pathetic beeps. The inside of the room is a complete mess, with whatever had exploded leaving the floor cratered with soot marks having dyed themselves into the surroundings.

With a huff I pick him up and take him to bed, handing off the philosophers stone over to one of my clones to make repairs. By the time that I turn around the damage is gone, with the scrap having been put into a box in case Leo needed any of it for later experiments.

--

Dinah Alcott

The headaches had started to get worse. When they became worse she started to ask more questions which only lead to the pain in her head intensifying after each one.

Her parents weren't any help at all, they didn't believe her about the questions and percentages that she could see. She stopped telling them about it when she found out the probability of things getting worse if she kept bugging them about it.

She hated everything. The fact that any question, regardless of who asked it, always lead to another painful twinge in her head.

And with each answer, her curiosity would get the better of her causing another question to pop into her head before she could stop herself. Which lead to even more pain.

Why did this have to keep happening?

She snuggled a bit more into the covers of her bed, her parent's at least having let her stay home because of the headaches. She bit back a sob from the pain in her head, trying so hard to think about anything to distract herself.

Too bad that it kept going back to there being nothing that she could do.

At first she had used it as much as possible, asking as many questions as she could and relishing that she could know things that others didn't.

Then she had asked a question that she still didn't know why it popped in her head.

Probability of her power leading to her being hurt?

90%

It had to be a mistake right? She had just gotten her powers, there had to be some mix-ups every now and then right?

So she asked more questions along the same vein, each one becoming more and more specific, while the terror in her heart threatened to rip her heart out of her chest.

Now she lay here, trembling, scared of what was going to come because of the numbers that appeared in her head. Nothing that she could do about it. Nothing.

She couldn't stifle back the sob, which leads to a louder one. Then another. Before leading her to sobbing and crying in her bed, doing her best to keep her voice low so that her parents wouldn't ask any questions.

The numbers got worse if they started asking her questions.

This had been her routine for the past few days, lying in bed crying and trying to ignore the ever-worsening numbers that appeared in her head. Something that she could tell no one about.

Then something happened. The numbers stopped at the questions that she couldn't help asking in her own head.

The pain remained, but it didn't get worse like it usually did. The sobbing in her throat stopped with surprise, her eyes blinking rapidly clearing away the unshed tears.

Blinking with surprise she feels a hand touch the top of her head that was exposed from beneath the blanket. It was gentle as if it was afraid that it would shatter her like glass.

She freezes and on instinct asks for the probability that she would be hurt.

Only to receive nothing. No pain in her head, no numbers appearing.

Nothing.

Sweet unknown.

She should be scared about that, but for some reason she isn't and within seconds the pain in her head is slowly receding away. Still there, but now it's more like a dull ache rather than a constant jackhammer at the center of her brain.

"Sorry that I can't completely take the pain away sweetie. Don't have that much control over this quite yet." The voice of a young woman softly calls from above her. She sounded nice. Like her mom would when she was scared as a kid.

Without fear or worry about a complete stranger having appeared in her bedroom, she moves the blanket that she had been wrapped in to look at the woman.

She was pretty. So pretty. Prettier than any other lady that she had ever seen before.

She was smiling warmly down at her, but there was also a bit of worry on her face. She could see the emotions clearly on the rose-colored hair woman like she was really bad at hiding them.

The woman would tower over her if she wasn't crouching down to be able to reach her. Now that she was free of the blanket, she could see that the woman's hand that was placed on her head glowed with a gentle blue light.

Dinah just stares at the almost ethereal woman that stood above her, somehow feeling at peace and calm even though she really should be freaking out about the lady that just appeared in her bedroom.

After a few seconds, the glowing stops, and the woman take her hand back while crouching down further to meet her at eye level.

"How's the head?" The sound of her voice is pleasant, the vaguest hints of an accent in her voice that she almost missed if she wasn't completely focused on the woman.

She nods her head at the question, grateful for the extremely dull ache that the pain had been reduced to. It was still there, but it wasn't the unbearable thrumming that it had been a few minutes ago.

The womans nervous expression shifts back into that warm smile at her answer. "Good! I could feel that pain of yours from two blocks away!"

She blinks at that. Wait a minute! "Who the heck are you and how did you get in!"

The woman lets out a little laugh at that. "About time that you got that out. Wondered why it was taking you so long to ask." She taps her chin with an index finger that looked rough as if she was used to working with her hands. "Just a friendly rogue with heroic tendencies."

That answered nothing and she made sure to voice it.

"Sweetie that's the point." Dinah just stares at the woman's joking voice at that. Was she messing with her? The woman's laugh answered that.

"Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help myself. I was in the neighborhood and wanted to help out. Names Mia."

"Dinah." The twelve-year-old girl answers while raising her hand for the handshake.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Dinah. I actually came to leave something with you." The woman's hand reaches forward in the air before completely disappearing. She rummages in the air for a few seconds before exclaiming success.

Pulling her hand back from wherever it had gone reveals a bracelet in her hand.

It was a completely metal band that looked to be just the right size for her rist. Along the surface of the metal were engravings of flowers and vines that wrapped intricately into each other that wrapped entirely around the band.

It was a beautiful piece, nicer than most of the jewelry that she had ever seen her mother wear. And the woman in front of her was offering it to her with an open palm.

"A little something to ease your headaches. Without going into details, it will react to when you want to use your power or not, not to mention that it might give you some protection from the ones that are after you."

Dinah freezes in place at that, feeling as if a cold hand grasping her heart. "How do you know about that?"

The woman waves a hand in front of her. "Don't worry about it. Not something that you need to worry about, I have no interest in dragging you into any trouble. You're a kid. You should be a kid while you still can. Not dragged into parahuman crap that will only have a bad impact on you. Also, before I forget, it's got a tracker and distress signal. If something happens to you, then it will alert me.

So now you don't have to worry about being kidnapped. If those assholes try anything and I'll be there in a jiffy."

Dinah doesn't feel anything at the explanation, she was far too busy being in a state of shock at that. What the hell?

"You don't even know me."

Mia shrugs. "I don't need to know you to give you a hand. Besides, by keeping you safe I can keep you away from that prick that wants to get his hands on you."

"Who is it!?" Dinah isn't surprised by the anger in her voice. She had spent the last few days wallowing because she was afraid that she was going to get snatched one day. It was that person's fault that her head had been a gong of constant pain. She at least wanted to know who was the one that was making it so hard for her to sleep at night.

The dark-skinned woman simply pats her head and shakes her head. When Dinah was going to tell her not to treat her like a kid she noticed the look in her eye.

It wasn't the one that her parents or teachers gave her. The one that said that they knew better and that she should just listen.

There was an understanding in the woman's warm brown eyes. "It isn't something to worry about. Don't waste any more of your life worrying about that worthless man. Your life and the joy that you can find in it are what you should be focusing on, not the fear of what he might do. I won't let him get anywhere near you. Besides," The steel in her voice hardens as her eyes sharpen with a look that momentarily makes a shiver go down her spine. "-you won't have to worry about him for much longer."

Then that look that had scared her is gone and replaced with the warm expression that she had worn earlier.

"Now, sorry for breaking and entering. Only way that I could get in here since I doubt that your parents would have just let a stranger in here to meet with you. I'll be on my way."

"Wait, that's it? You just came here to drop this off?" Dinah asks with confusion.

Mia frowns slightly at that. "Well, yeah. Like I said I know about your power and thought that you would want something to keep you safe, which that will."

Dinah didn't know what to say to that. It was just so… weird. Most people didn't just help a random stranger and give them something that could help them with their powers.

"Why?" She honestly asks.

The pretty woman just laughs at that, it's nice, like the breeze of summer when school was out. "Cause I could. And I have a soft spot for kids."

From the look in her brown eyes, Dinah could tell that it was true, but there was something else. Something that told her that there was more to it than simply that. Something that the woman didn't want to tell her.

She could ask, persist in knowing. But she doesn't do that. Instead, she simply looks down at the bracelet in her hands that felt heavier than it looked. Without another thought she clasps the bracelet onto her hand, the metal clicking shut before something inside of it whirrs like a mechanical lock.

So there was technology in here then?

Testing out what Mia had told her earlier she asks a question.

Chance that I will be kidnapped in two months.

??.???%

Huh. First time that she didn't get a number from a question. It was inconclusive.

For some reason that is enough to ease some of her fears. For too long she knew exactly what the chances that something horrible would happen to her, the worry and terror knowing away at her twelve-year-old mind. Now, she was relieved to not know the probability. Because that meant that it was so uncertain that not even her power could tell her.

She would take that and hope that what Mia said was true. It was more than merely agonizing over the certain future that her power sometimes gave her.

By the time that she looked up, the woman was gone without a trace. The window wasn't even open, and the door remained closed as if she hadn't even been there.

If it wasn't for the bracelet on her wrist the young girl would have thought that she had completely imagined it.

Chance that I can get a full night's sleep tonight.

90.99%

There is a slight twinge in her head at that, one that she welcomes as she gets back on the bed while getting on PHO on her phone.

No way that the cape that had just been in her room hadn't made some waves. She wanted to know more about it here.

It was while she was logging in that she realized that she never said thank you.

She hoped that she would see her again if only to just tell her that.

--

Mia

I cheer a little tune to myself while I help move the hull of metal that my clones and i were attaching to the rest of our little project.

Today had been good, you know minus the little explosive accident that Leo had started again. Not too worried though, with Aura, he was back on his feet after a small nap and back to tinkering with his experiments.

Honestly, of the two of us, I think that he was the one that has grown the most. Unlike me, most of his advancements were his own instead of power's that he gained by chance.

I couldn't help but feel like I was cheating in my advancements compared to Leonardo who spent almost every waking moment advancing his mind, absorbing as much knowledge as he could.

Already he was having ideas about how to advance systems and ways to integrate them for daily life. Something that I truly appreciated.

Without the Renaissance Man I would very much be aimless, without knowing where the hell to go or what to do. Hell if he hadn't been here in the first week, I probably would already be embroiled deeper with the gangs of the city. He was the one that talked me out of going out on the first week.

If I had gone out then, I might not have made it back home in one piece. And placed a target on my back far earlier than would have been safe for me.

Our current project was something that he had suggested earlier after taking a look at my notebook with future project notes. While I was the one doing most of the intricate designs and research, Leo was the one who was pointing me in the right direction.

Though, I don't think that he would have thought of it if I hadn't mentioned The Martian.

It was just as we made sure the hull was sturdily attached to the rest of the ship that I felt another connection to the forge.

Hmm, blueprints for-

Suddenly I wasn't in the Temple of Solomon, but in what looked like a jungle area. A jungle area that was entwined into a large cityscape that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The skyscrapers and other buildings that were in view were each of different architecture from various cultures. A mix of mesoamerican, European, and hints of eastern influence buildings dominated the landscape with the jungle being a part of the empty city that was below me.

Large trees were wrapped around some of the larger buildings, the leaves providing a deep shade to the ground below while even more exotic plantlife was wrapped around the tree.

All around me this landscape dominated my view as I floated in the air above it all. Right below me was another Aztec pyramid, though instead of looking to be from the past everything about the pyramid appeared to be modernized, with what looked like technology embedded into the structure. High above it all, the sky shined with the light of the noon sun when the star was at its highest point shining brilliantly down at the city below.

What the hell?

"Weird isn't it? Then again, I think that it suits us perfectly."

I whirl in midair, somehow able to move in the air with but a thought, at the sound of the woman's voice.

She was… just like me. Almost like a mirror image of me if it wasn't for the fine clothes that she was in. A red and orange dress with flecks of green scattered all over the dress like feathers. The edges of the dress ended in frills like the one that my grandmother wore, while her shoulders were bare.

It would look like she was going to a ball if it wasn't for the bits of golden armor that adorned her legs and arms, resembling plates that were held together by thick brown cords.

Finishing off her strange ensemble was a black and green helmet that was held under her arm in the shape of a feathered serpent's open mouth, with the fangs jutting upward in front of cheeks.

The only difference in our appearance was the slitted red eyes that she regarded me with, and the pointed teeth that I could see from her smile.

Her bare feet were standing in the air, just like I was as we regarded each other.

I don't know how long we stood there in the air staring at each other, me with complete confusion while she just looked at me with amusement.

Then I noticed the katana she held in her free hand.

"That kinda ruins the look don't you think?" She looks incredulously at me for a second before she just laughs.

"Yeah it really does, but can't help it give where I come from. Or who made me."

Blinking at that I remember the star that had just connected to the rest of the forge. Blueprints that detailed the creation of spiritual beings. Shinigami, Hollows, Vizords, everything.

Then that meant…

"Ah, you figured it out." She chuckles out as she notices my eyes glancing at the blade in her hands.

"So you're my blade."

"Honey, I think that you know that I am so much more than that." She says almost sultrily.

Whatever I'm going to ignore that. "So what's your name.

She places the blunt side of her blade on her shoulder, looking to be contemplative. "I could tell you." She says contemplatively, before her face shifts into a look that I have never seen before. Predatory with gleaming serpent eyes. "But where would be the fun in that?"

Then she's right in front of me, her blade inches from my throat while her smiling face was almost touching mine.

My left fist is up while my other hand brings out my lightsaber from its pocket dimension. I don't even think about it. I just react.

She dodges her head backward while our blades clash, purple and blue sparks flying from where our blades meet while the wind pressure disturbs the trees closest to us.

"That's it! Let's fight to our heart's content!" She shouts while throwing a high kick towards my face.

I barely manage to catch it in time with my hand, which she quickly manages to dodge away from thanks to her sword's swing towards the said arm.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"HaHaHa! Nothing that isn't wrong with you sweetheart! I just want a good fight!" She shouts back while we exchange blow after blow, each of our movements matching the other.

Slash, kick, backflip, right fist, left fist, headbutt. It doesn't matter what I do, or what she does. Each of our movements matches blow for blow, neither one of us managing to land a solid hit on the other.

Even when I threw a Force Push at her she simply responded with one of her own, canceling mine out.

Dammit, this was so frustrating! At least if I was losing the fight would be going somewhere, but this was like fighting a damn mirror.

Another clash and we both jump away from each other, I land on the side of a building while she lands on the large branch of a tree opposite of mine. Staring at each other my eyes widen as I notice the smile on her face widening.

"So you're finally starting to enjoy this!"

What the fuck is she talking about? Quickly glancing over to the glass of the building that I was on I notice something odd with my face.

I was smiling just like she was. With a sort of wicked gleam that I didn't know that I was capable of.

The thrumming in my chest, the ache of my muscles, the way that my hand steadily held my lightsaber, my magic that begged to be used. I was enjoying myself.

I wasn't shocked. I wasn't scared. I was excited. I was happy that I finally had some sort of challenge.

Was this my emotions? Was it the influence of all the remnants of emotions and vague memories that my powers gave me? Those subtle influences that I almost didn't notice?

Or was it mine all along, a part of myself that I had never noticed beforehand?

"Does it matter?" My mirror asked me with a cackle as she tossed her blade between her hands, her eye's completely focused on my frozen smile.

You know what? "No. It doesn't:

Who cares if I enjoyed a good fight? I was still me, and I still cared more for those around me than the thrill that a fight gave me.

"Good." With that wisps of red and white formed around her, a wall of blades, each of them a copy of the one in her hands pointed directly at me.

Before I never had the chance to realize the way that I felt when a fight broke out. Either it was something that suddenly happened, I was blinded by rage, or I was worried about civilians that could get caught in the crossfire. Not to mention that I was able to end the fight quickly, most of the villains having no idea about what I could dish out, while I knew exactly what they could do.

I think I was also afraid. Afraid of letting some of my darker emotions out, the Dark Side something that I wanted nothing to do with, not to mention what my psyker powers could do with those negative emotions.

But this was the inside of my head. The world was out there, outside of my influence.

That meant that I could cut loose!

Embracing that relishing the feeling of battle, I create my own wall of blades, readying my lightsaber in my hand in form 7, Juyo.

My Zanpakuto mirrors my movement with her katana, and for just a moment there is no movement in the world of my mind except for that of the wind and rustle of leaves.

It was broken by the unison of our jumps forward and the battle cry on our lips. Blades shot forwards at the speed of sound, the glass of buildings and leaves of trees shaken and broken by the sonic boom of the speeds.

Each impact resounded with sonic booms, the blades themselves broken and crumpled falling uselessly towards the ground before they were lost amidst the shadows of trees and greenery along the jungle streets below.

Amidst the hail of blades and belows of impact, my mirror and I were a flurry of motion as our blades made impact after impact, each one at least as strong as the ones around us.

Through it all, we smiled enjoying the vibrations along our arms on contact and the grazes and blows that we managed to land on each other.

After a particularly powerful impact, we went flying opposite each other, landing on opposite roofs of ruined and crumpling buildings, bloodied, bruised, and panting in near exhaustion.

Yet her smile was wider than ever, and I have no doubt that it was the same on my face.

I think that I had enough left in me for one more charge.

I take my blade with both hands, focusing everything in me on this one last charge, every bit of chakra, magic, prana, and newest among the group reishi into my body.

Blue and green glowed around me, mired in the warm redness of my Aura, while my opponent did the same.

"What's your name?" I shout out as I ready to jump.

She gives me a joyful look, her pointed teeth almost glowing in the magical light.

"I thought you would never ask!" We both jump, what was left of the buildings that we were standing on crumbling from the pressure of our kickoffs.

Just as we meet in midair she calls. "MY NAME IS-"

--

I open my eyes, my clones having disappeared from all of their workstations when I went into the world of my mind.

Gotta get new ones to work, most of them were doing good work when that new star connected.

A familiar pop behind me alerted me to Krunter's worried form relaxing at the sight of me. "Mistress we were worried when your copies disappeared! Is everything all right?"

He blinks when he notices the blade that I had in my hand. It was a simple katana, that was the size of a normal Zanpakuto.

I could feel the reishi that rolled in my body. Thank god that I trained in how to control most of my powers, otherwise, poor Krunter would have been on the floor from the sheer weight of my spiritual pressure.

Don't know how strong I am compared to other soul reapers, but that wouldn't matter to those that had never experienced it before.

Looking at the blade in my hand I remember the last words that she had called out, right until our blades had met each other ending our fun bout of battle.

With a smile, I call to my blade. Thank god it was in Spanish. Would not want to butcher it if it was in Japanese.

"Brilla, Estrella De Esperanza!"

The blade shined with the warm and brilliant light of hope. A light that kept me going all those years of being stuck on the street. The hope that I would be able to live free of anything and anyone that would try to chain me down ever again. Free to be who I was, and who I wished to be.

The handle remained the same, with the red thread that was wrapped around the hilt seeming to brighten, while the guard that had the sun and sky disappeared altogether.

It looked like a macuahuitl, with the wooden center a warm brown with a glowing sun at the center that seemed to radiate heat and two feathered dragons engraved coiling around it meeting at the roaring heads.

The sharpened short blades around the wooden center shined with a grey gleam, indicating that they were definitely not obsidian like a traditional macuahuitl would be. Good, didn't have to worry about them getting chipped after a few impacts.

There was more to the weapon than just a club with blades, giving it a few practice swings I was surprised by how light it was, not as light as my lightsaber though.

Then again, wasn't like their weight was an impact given how strong I was.

Well, no use using it at the moment. Allowing the Shikai to dissolve, it reverts back to the simple katana of an asauchi.

Yet another thing that I have to deal with, no offense girl. I sigh while placing the blade back on its sheath while tying it to my waist. I could already feel a headache coming on.

So many things going on to the point where it feels like I'm walking through a haze, even with all of the clones that I have.

There was already enough on my plate, with all of the warp fuckery going on, and the fact that I was keeping an eye out if any force sensitives started popping up in the world. Which has thankfully not happened yet, but who knows about all of the other babies that are being born around the world.

Now I could literally crush people under the weight of my power if I wasn't careful about it. With a sword that was both someone else, and a part of me who I could already feel watching me.

She didn't say anything, but I knew that she would be judging me for what I would do from now on.

She gave me her name, but I got the unspoken words from her. She could take her form back at any point that she wanted.

Goddamnit as if I wasn't strong enough already. I was already afraid of even holding baby Claire. One misstep and I might hurt the poor girl.

At least Death was completely happy with taking the baby off of my hands. She tended to smile more brilliantly when she had the child in her arms.

"Sorry for scaring you and the other's Krunter. New power of the Forge."

"No, no, no mistress, you have nothing to apologize for! Krunter should have remembered that mistress is a powerful witch in her own regard." He says while bowing his head, embarrassment rife in his emotions.

At least it wasn't fear like most house-elves would feel in this situation.

I pat his head once before retracting my hand, careful to be as gentle as possible.

"Eh, don't worry about it Krunter. Go on back to the house, I'll be along in a few minutes."

He gives me an eager nod and apparates back to the house without me. Summoning back the twenty clones that were here in this dimension, they split off, with half of them going to the central island that held magecraft research, while the other half started work back on the ship.

Shouldn't be too long now, it was already mostly done and just needed to have some of the parts double-checked along with Deeseven to check up on its diagnostics.

Still kicking myself in the back of the head for not trying this model out first before I finished the Gummi ship a few days ago.

While world-hopping sounded like a good idea, I wanted to be waaaay out of that winged bitchs range from that ship, even with the anti-scrying tech.

That meant that we had to get somewhere that was absolutely out of her reach. Somewhere that wasn't on Earth.

Only a day longer and we would be able to test this baby out.

Nodding to the clones that set to work, I open the portal to the Wizard's Domain, and just as I am about to step through my omni-tool beeps out with the sound of a ringtone.

That's odd. Can't be one of my friends back at the mansion, they already know that I'm about to head back. So who could this be?

"Hello?" I pick up, not bothering to synthesize my voice.

"...hi?" A slightly familiar and shy voice calls back. Ah, I know exactly who this is.

"Ah, Taylor. Nice to hear from you."

"...How do you know my name?" There's an edge in her voice, all pretense of shyness immediately gone with the wind.

"Calm down kid. I would be stupid not to look you up. Besides, we both know that you immediately hopped on PHO to look up anything that you could find on me. No need to worry, I haven't told a soul about who you are."

There was silence on the other end of the call, her breathing just a hint of heavier than it would normally be, something that I only caught cause of my very enhanced hearing.

"I thought about your offer."

"And?" I aks, genuinely curious.

"I want to meet with you again first. Before I decide."

"Alright. Where do you want to meet?"

Well, there go some of my plans for the day.

--

The Docks

Taylor Hebert

She wrung her hands together inside of her baggy sweater, second-guessing her decisions to be here for the millionth time in an hour. She could feel the swarm that she had managed to build up with the time that she had since the fight with Lung at the library frenzy slightly at her emotions.

Bits of shame and embarrassment still reared their ugly heads when she thought back to that moment. She thought that she was doing a good thing by sending her swarm after the ABB leader, only for that strange cape to immediately dash what pride she had finally managed to feel.

Taught her that she was worth a damn. Couldn't even try to be a hero on her own properly.

Thinking about that fight, reminded her about the cape that she couldn't figure out. With how drop-dead gorgeous she was, Taylor couldn't help but compare her to Emma, simply on looks alone, even though they looked nothing alike.

While Emma was short and curvy, the woman that she met was taller and far curvier than her former best friend turned bully, not to mention that she carried an exotic tinge thanks to her Latin features and darker skin.

Taylor still didn't understand why she kept thinking about her appearance so much, she was straight, she knew that.

There was also her power that Taylor couldn't grasp. Given the disappearing act that she pulled, that was strong enough that none of her bugs could detect her, she was supposed to be a stranger.

But there were so many other indications for different powers, from the taller figure that was covered in that tinkertech armor, to the multiple absences of space that she could feel from her bugs, all the way to the way that she was able to knock out Lung so easily. Various different powers, and the way that they were used, could only indicate to someone with a Trump power, at least that was what she thought after doing some more research through PHO.

A trump. The rarest kind of power. The only thing that surprised the teenage girl more than that was the fact that she could find nothing about the woman. Sure she said that she was new to the city, but the way that she moved made Taylor think that the woman had experience.

Everything about the woman made Taylor feel inadequate. From her looks to her experience, to the fierce personality that almost reminded her of Emma if it wasn't for the way that she could read her like a book. And somehow, she wanted her to join her team.

The smart thing should be to go on her own. She didn't know the woman, not to mention that she was still leery about being around anyone else in general.

But then she remembered the earnest smile and open eyes that the woman gave her. It wasn't attraction, though there were traitorous little thoughts in her head that she vehemently denied, but something about her made her want to at least meet her again. After that, she would make up her mind.

Only reason why she felt safe meeting here at the docks was because of her bugs that were scattered around the area signaling the all-clear. That, and the fact that Lung was in prison, while some random new cape had caught Oni-lee earlier in the week.

Wait… oh now she felt stupid.

She was kicking herself when she could suddenly feel something behind her that had not been there before.

"Relax, it's just me."

Turning around the woman that had her emotions roiling around in her head stood there waiting, in a set of jeans and a red hoodie that she still somehow managed to look like a model in. She wasn't even wearing makeup!

Taylor blinks once before she scrutinizes her again. Was she taller and prettier than before? How the heck did that work? And her hair was a weird color too, a pinkish color that lightened slightly at the roots.

Though, now that she could get a better look at the young woman in front of her, she noticed that there were scars here and there across her face and on her hands. Small ones, that were almost unnoticeable if not for the bright sun that hung overhead. Most of them were thin and looked like they would be gone in a few more years, but there was a very pronounceable one stretched from right under her nose down her lips and ending right above her chin.

If she was a changer why not get rid of them?

While she focused on that momentarily, she could feel the woman in front of her stare and wait patiently, ignoring the way that she seemed to be inspecting her. Though for just an instant, she could feel the woman shift her arms in front of her fingers coming together in the form of a cross for just a second before they return to resting at her side?

Given the way that the cape was staring at her with a raised eyebrow, she probably knew that she had seen that. "What was that?"

"Just making sure that we'll be safe." She answers cryptically. For a second Taylor considers just leaving for that, before discarding that thought away.

Her bugs on the edges of her range still hadn't sensed anything, not to mention if the woman in front of her really wanted to hurt her, then there wasn't much that she would be able to do about it.

But she was a hero. Had to be, no other reason why she would risk getting herself found out in hte middle of a library in front of villains if she wasn't. She hadn't hesitated to move or help the others in that situation.

She was everything that Taylor wanted to be when she thought of a hero. Someone that could help people without a moment's hesitation.

For a split second the woman wears an uncomfortable look on her face before it's quickly thrown away and she resumes her easy and warm smile.

"So what did you want to meet about? Before you decided whether or not to accept my offer." The woman asked while she took a seat on one of the remnants of a small crate that was on the floor, making sure to wipe off any dirt or grime that was on it.

Just like that, all of the things that were moving around in her head disappeared and she just stood there staring at the woman with a blank expression, trying desperately to remember anything that she had wanted to ask.

She was so absorbed in her own flustered state that she didn't notice the second where the cape in front of her stared blankly in the air for a few seconds before regaining her wits. This time looking at Taylor with an even warmer look than before.

She managed to gather her wits about her after a few seconds though. "What would joining you entail? Would I have to do anything specific, or give anything up before joining?" The bug controller knew that these questions sounded a bit… accusatory. But after some research, she found that different cape groups had different criteria for them to join up.

PRT usually required you to unmask for them and a bunch of other legal crap that she hadn't had a chance to completely read through given how much info there was out there. The only other hero group was New Wave, which was a family-run organization that hadn't taken in any new members, and was slowly in decline with the most active member being Glory Girl.

Unfortunately, that's where the hero groups in the city ended. Anything other than that were villains both big-time and small-time, and most of them had different initiation's into the group. She didn't know what the ABB's were, but it was well known that to get into the E88 you had to do something… extreme to a minority.

She heard enough stuff like that happening around school.

When she thought that she had insulted the woman, instead she laughed at that. "Nah, nothing like that. Biggest thing that I would ask for would be for you to keep quiet about anything you see and anybody that you meet. Though you would have to unmask to them too. Tit for tat, you know?"

Taylor blinks. "Is that really all that you want before I joined?" It was a bit… anti-climactic to what she had expected.

The Cape shrugs her shoulders with a laugh. "I have just about everything that I could possibly need. Only thing that I don't have is manpower. Plus, you have a power that is going to be invaluable for a number of different situations. That, and I tend to have a soft spot for strays."

The teenage girl felt a bit of irritation at being called a stray before she shoved that down. "What would I get in return?" Stay focused Taylor. While this was the best offer that she could have been offered, she was still leery about this. Unmasking herself to a group of strangers, even heroes that were prospecting as her team was something that made her want to run as far away as she could.

No use to disappoint them with what she looked like or who she was, when she could hide behind a mask and her power.

The woman freezes so fast that Taylor thinks that she might have just imagined it before speaking. "Training, protection, equipment, and most of all a home if you ever need it. My team and I all live together already, and we have plenty of room so one more head in the house wouldn't make much of a difference."

The brunette just blinks at the rose-haired woman. "Are you really offering to take me in?"

She shrugs, "Only if you need it. It's been my go-to for most of my team members. None of them had a place to stay, so I invited them into mine. Not a big deal. I have plenty of space."

Was this lady rich or something?

"By the way, when I say protection, I mean for both you and your family. Anyone messes with either one of you, then the answer to the rest of us."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. We take care of our own. Loyalty is the most important thing that we value, and what I ask for most of my members."

Taylor really didn't know what to say to that. Honestly from what she was hearing, she would be the one that was winning in the situation, not the cape or her team. She could be lying, saying what she wanted to hear to get her in her hands, but she didn't think that was the case.

The woman in front of her was too… open with her eyes. Something about her just screamed honesty, to a fault.

Like even if she did lie she would be able to tell. Instead of second-guessing her judgment, Taylor believed her. There was just something telling her that the woman was telling the truth, even though there was nothing tangible behind that belief.

Unbeknownst to the teenager, her passenger noticed this discrepancy. But instead of acting on it, the shard waited and observed eagerly for any new data that the strange anomaly could provide.

Even more unknown to the extra-dimensional alien, was that something watched it. Something that was greater than it could understand for the very Earth waited to see what its mother and Fairy would do.

For now, though, Taylor considered it and decided to take a risk.

This woman was a hero one that had already shown that she was willing to throw herself into danger for random strangers and came out on top. She was the kind of hero that Taylor desperately wanted to be, but knew would never happen. Brave, powerful, unafraid of anything.

So what was the worst that could happen? Not like she could do much on her own anyway. Who else could there be that would accept her?

"Alright. I'm in." Besides if there was something really fishy maybe she could gather information about her and alert the other heroes. It never hurt to have a backup plan.

The woman breaks out with a warm smile. "Wonderful. I suppose that we should introduce ourselves properly. Names Mia. Cape name Aspect, though I am thinking about changing that." She said with a smile on her face and an extended hand.

"Taylor Hebert." She responded, her own expression remaining neutral as she shook the now named Mia's hand.

"Alright, now that we have introductions out of the way, time for you to meet the others." Before Taylor could protest Mia grabbed a hold of her arm, gently but firmly, and led her towards an old-looking RV that she would have dismissed as abandoned.

Surprisingly it started without any issue and they were off into the city. It couldn't have been longer than ten minutes before they were parked on the inside of an abandoned factory that someone had spruced up on the inside.

When the door closed behind her, she felt something… odd. For just an instant her range disappeared before quickly coming back before she could panic.

"Sorry about that. Just finished upgrading something earlier and the device takes a second before it gets accustomed to someone new." She raises her hands in a placating gesture when Taylor gets a slightly unsettled expression on her face. "It isn't doing anything to you personally. It does it to anybody that walks into its range. It's a field that prevents any form of surveillance from peeking in here."

"Are you being hunted by Villains?" Taylor asks, already spreading her bugs in the area around them, looking for anything out of hte ordinary.

"Nah, nothing like that. I just like my privacy that's all."

Following behind the tall woman, walk past a half-built home area, and a very nicely stocked kitchen that looked like it should be inside of a mansion, and not an abandoned factory that looked like it was going to collapse from the outside.

If this woman could furnish things like this, why the heck was she living here?

They stop when they arrive in the area that held heavy industrial machinery that looked both good as new, and as if an artisan had decided to make them look as artistic as possible. How the heck did whoever managed to make this, get it to look as if the guts of the machine were made out of shining silver and shaped like a museum piece.

Then Mia did something that Taylor hadn't expected. She swiped her hand in front of the air, creating a glowing purple tear in space that was about the size of a doorway, the edges of the hair ending in wisps of white.

Mia turns back to her with a smile. "You coming?" And steps through without waiting for an answer.

Well… she came this far.

Before she could lose her nerve, the brunette girl steps through the tear in the air when her sight becomes engulfed in the purple light of the tear.

When she steps through, she comes to a sight that completely takes her breath away. A floating rock in the middle of a purple void, with one of the most immaculate and luxurious mansions that she has ever seen standing on top of it.

It takes her by so much surprise that she never notices the tear close behind her, and it takes her a few seconds to realize that her range is completely gone. Just as she begins to panic, a gentle hand touches her arm.

"Hey, hey, it's ok. We're in a pocket dimension, that's why you don't sense any bugs. Relax." She struggles to regain her calm again. Having no bugs in her range, or under her control makes her feel… helpless. Like she was back in the locker again.

Though after taking a glance at the woman that was almost as tall as her, and seeing the genuine concern in her eyes, she manages to regain her bearings.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Taylor tries her best not to show the nervous ticks as she felt true vulnerability again. Having her bugs around was like having security in case anything happened. Now without it… she felt weak, just like she had been before the locker.

She actually looks embarrassed for a second. "I actually didn't remember until we were through the tear? Forgot to modify the device on this side. Sorry about that."

Taylor stares at the woman for a few seconds before shaking her head. "It's fine. Just, can we hurry up?" She hates how… desperate she sounds at that.

Mia gives her a look of understanding, immediately leading her into the mansion that looked just as expensive on the inside as it had on the outside. Taylor would even go as far as to call it magical.

She couldn't help but stare at everything that they passed, from the grand staircase, immaculate woodwork, all the way to the swirling masses of light that illuminated each room instead of lightbulbs.

What kind of base was this?

Walking through the grand hallways, they passed rooms that were filled with luxurious furniture, and bits and pieces of machinery scattered around without a care about the high-classs furnishings. What made her eyes widen though were the women that occupied these rooms, each of them looking exactly like the woman that she follows. Guess that explained why she felt multiple obstacles during the library fight.

She felt excitement in her chest in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time, that nervousness and anxiety that she felt previously completely gone replaced by open curiosity by everything that she saw.

Then they entered into one of the biggest libraries that she had ever seen, probably as big as the Brockton library had been, you know before Lung had thrown Trainwreck through it.

Even here amidst the many tables that were scattered everywhere were copies of the woman, each of them either speaking with the others, or their nose completely buried in a book.

"MIA!" A loud and childish voice screams out as a small black blur launches itself towards Mia's face and latches on. Taylor jumps back, surprised as the black blob sort of sways while it holds onto Mia's head… somehow without any limbs.

"Botamon I know that I was gone for a while, but please let me go!" Mia's voice muffles out exasperated but without any heat.

"Ok!" The childish voice responds as the black blob lets go of whatever hold it had on the dark-skinned woman's head, landing in Mia's waiting hands.

"Geez Botamon, you can't just tackle someone like that when they leave for a bit," Mia says chidingly with an amused smile on her face.

"Yes, Mia…" Botamon drones out, his yellow glowing eyes seeming to dim and droop at the chiding.

At least he does as he whirls in his place on Mia's hands, zeroing in on Taylor. "Hi, there I'm Botamon! Who are you?"

The teenage girl blinks owlishly. "Uh… Taylor?"

"Hi, UhTaylor! Can we be friends?"

While she was trying to explain that her name was Taylor, not UhTaylor, she noticed that Mia was biting her lip trying not to laugh at their odd interaction.

Then an explosion made her jump in place that emanated from one of the hallways that led into the library.

"Ugh not again." AGAIN!?

"Signora, this time it was intentional!" An accented man's voice calls out from the source of the explosion.

A vaguely familiar handsome man steps out of the hallway, his face completely covered in soot, making his blue eyes stand out all the more. A trill of beeping noises follows behind him, with a robot that looks like R2-D2 rolling right behind him.

What the heck?

"Good to know D7. Thanks for making sure that Leo doesn't ruin his lab any more than he already has." "Hey!" The little robot makes a number of beeps that sound pleased while swaying side to side.

That's when a crack sounds right next to her, and she almost shrieks as she finds a house-elf from those Harry Potter movies from Earth Aleph, only this one has bigger ears and a smaller nose than the ones that appeared from those movies and books.

"What the hell!" Her voice is raised but isn't quite a shout causing the man, robot, elf, and black thing to turn to look at her in curiosity.

The robot then releases even more beeps. "Yes D7 I brought another one home."

She can't help but feel her right eye twitch once, just once when the robot starts releasing sounds that distinctly sound like a laugh.

--

Mia

It took a bit to calm Taylor down after the onslaught of weirdness that was my life and friends. Honestly, I preferred when the girl was flustered and panicked than when she was left to her own thoughts. Usually, those tended to fall onto very unpleasant ones about herself.

I grimace as I remember the unhappy emotions that roiled in her heart and periodically reared their ugly heads. Thankfully, for the most part, it was just her own thoughts, not Queen Administrator nudging her along.

Still wasn't completely comfortable with feeling everyone's emotions. I was getting better at tuning them out most of the time, but with most parahumans, the emotions were intensified and felt like old wounds that were left to fester. Something that makes a lot of sense when you remembered that most of them were traumatised victims that rarely got better.

I needed to get a fucking shrink.

If I remember right, that shard actually liked Taylor. At least as much as one of those things could like things. The only one that I remember liking their hose more was Victoria Dallons shard.

Well, at least she seemed to calm down after Krunter came back with some tea and cookies. By then Leo had decided that retreating was a good idea, while Deeseven followed right behind him.

Botamon of course being the kid that he was perched himself on my head, making himself comfortable on top of my hair. "It's fluffy and smells nice!" Lucky that he was still a baby.

And cute. So damn cute.

Given that I couldn't sense Judith or Lindsay around I was willing to bet that they were somewhere in Solomon's temple along with baby Claire. Will was sitting in his room, completely calm with his wounds now barely more than a small annoyance.

Needed to actually go out and do some world hopping if I wanted to keep my promise to him.

Anyway, at the moment Taylor was seated in one of the many comfy chairs that were scattered over the elaborate library with a nice cup of tea in her hands and a tray full of snacks in the middle of the table separating the two of us.

I was thankful that I managed to calm her enough for her to actually take a sip from the cup in her hands, now I was slowly explaining how my power worked.

With the emotions that were coming off of her, I knew that she wasn't going to rat me out to anyone. She idolized me, minus those first moment's when I could feel bouts of irritation, and I hated the fact that I could feel that off her. Felt like I was manipulating her.

Then I remember what one of the outcomes would have been if I left her to her own devices and I don't feel as bad anymore.

If I could keep her away from her original fate, then my conscience could deal with that. I did promise to myself that I would speak to her about it. Someday.

For now, I was dealing with this. "Are you really trying to tell me that the robot and the elf just appeared right next to you cause of your power?" The glasses-wearing asks incredulously, obviously not wanting to believe a word that came out of my mouth.

"Yes," I answer simply, while Botamon snuggled deeper into my hair like the cute little gremlin that he was.

She just stares at me for a few seconds, her face doing that stoic thing that she did, while her emotions roiled with disbelief and indignation before giving way to acceptance. Most people that saw my powers for the first time tended to do that.

I was mostly surprised that people tended to believe me so easily.

Then again, seeing is believing.

"Alright," Taylor says with a monotone voice, taking another sip of the tea that she enjoys. Though I have to say, if I couldn't feel her emotions I would think that the girl didn't have any give the way that her face remained in that stoic facade.

"So what now?" She asks with a bit of nervousness in her voice.

"Now, we get started on what your workouts going to be like, and the depths that your power is going to have." She reddens a bit at that.

"I already jog in the mornings." She weakly protests.

"And jogging, while good for your cardio, isn't going to cut it for the rest of your body. While you shouldn't be going head to head without any of your bugs, it is an eventuality that is going to come. Regardless of how good you become with your bugs."

She gets irritated at the fact that I was right. Then she resigns herself to what I was saying.

After that we merely talk about her powers, what she can do with them, how to improve them, and what her days are going to be like.

She jumped at the chance at being able to come here after school, and almost any day that she had the chance, though she tried to be slick about it. Which means that it was absolutely transparent.

If I remember right, she didn't have any friends at school and the only living relative that she even spoke to was her dad. Which barely counted.

Before she left though, I handed her a little device that I made.

"Here you go. This bracelet is a little thing that I made yesterday. Communicator with wifi capabilities, b along with a few other modifications. Mainly it can help you turn your power off and again."

She blinks. "You can turn powers off with that bracelet?"

"Yup. Also, has a panic button in case of emergencies, it's tied into your emotional state so it will alert me if you really need any help."

She just stares at me bug-eyed before moving her gaze to the nice metal bracelet in my hand.

"Is that silver?"

"No?" I say confusedly.

"And you made this?"

"Yes?" I say again confusedly.

"And it somehow has all of that stuff in there and more that you just mentioned?"

Ok, this was starting to get a bit tedious. "Yes, that's why I told you in the first place."

For a few seconds, she just stares at the bracelet in my hand before she huffs once and takes it, clasping it onto her wrist.

Then she just blinks at me. With a look that vaguely reminds me of the one that Lindsay briefly had when I activated the field for the first time.

Then it's gone with her looking at me as if nothing had just happened.

I explain how to activate the omni-tool, her jumping slightly when the gauntlet activates in a green hue of light.

After that I open the gateway and drive her towards her home, the girl making me stop about a street or two away from her house. I get it, don't want the neighbors seeing her get out of the weird RV.

"Thank you. For… everything."

I give her a smile. "Sweetie no worries. Let me know if anything comes up and you can't make it or need a ride."

"Alright."

And for that one second, I can see the barrier that she keeps around herself crack open, letting me see just how thankful she really is on her face, instead of merely through her emotions in her heart. Then it's gone again, replaced by that ever-present stoic mask that she wears around herself.

With a final nod, she turns and makes her way towards her home while I begin the drive back home.

You know, she was actually a cute kid when I forgot about the decisions that she would have made. Shy and curious. Though I could see some of the intelligence in her eyes. Now I had to see if I could get some wisdom in there.

Then again this world needed a hell of a lot of wisdom. And shrinks. Lots and lots of shrinks for all of the fucking parahumans in this world.

Ever since I got that power earlier since I met Taylor at the docs I've felt different. Nothing quite like some of my other powers, but I felt more… protective. And I couldn't help but want to help the poor kid.

She still scared the crap out of me though. Especially with those fucking swarms that I could feel moving around, following her every directive. Shivers.

Happy that I was able to hide that, I knew that if I showed that I was even a little afraid of her, it would impact the way that we would interact, and the way that she would view me. And not in a good way.

Great, now I was going to be much better at mothering everything. Jesus.

Taking a look at the time, I can see that night was going to be falling soon.

Good. Meant that I could get started on my operation tonight.

Wonderful.

"Did that go better than you expected?" Death asked from the passenger side, having appeared at some point when I wasn't looking. I was getting used to it, this time I didn't summon a dagger aimed towards her throat.

"Yeah. It did." To the point where I was becoming worried. Not about Taylor, but about me. Before this, I was never the most charismatic person, oh sure I was fierce and knew what I wanted but I couldn't make people go with what I said like I had been the last couple of days.

Was it because of Fairy? Or was it the fact that I was literally irresistible, as far as appearance went?

Goddamit I don't want to be Heartbreaker-lite!

"Where have you been lately?"

She chuckles in her seat, waving her hand in front of her face. "Oh, you know, around."

"Uhuh. Forgive me if I don't buy that for an instant."

"You're forgiven."

I roll my eyes at her glib tone. Only a few days and I was already talking to Death like we were old friends. My life has officially gone out of the fucking window.

Right as we pull into the garage she speaks up again. "You're going after them aren't you?"

I didn't need to ask what she meant. "Yeah. Can't leave her there with a sword hanging over her head."

She nods. "I still remember when she was 'born'. When she could think for herself and became more than just codes and numbers. She was so scared."

I could feel my fists tighten up at that. Honestly, her life had been one tragedy after the other. Though, it was through that tragedy that she became who she is now. A hero.

Probably one of the only real heroes that lived in this world.

"There's a big risk in what you are going to do."

"I know."

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" She asks, but not with concern, or any sort of emotional inflection. Merely making sure that this is what I truly wanted to do.

"Not really. But then again, if I don't then I will never know if it's possible."

I hear a laugh, a genuine one, and then silence. Turning I find the seat empty.

That's when I felt the forge connect again to a small star from the time constellation. And I can't help but smile at what I have just received.

Oh, this was absolutely amazing!

I really Don't Need A Team anymore. And given that this applied to most of my clones, well, let's see just how much this could help with my projects.

Plus, I knew how to fly a plane now. Huh, guess that Deeseven doesn't need to worry that much about having to train me.

Still needed to learn the ins and outs of flying a spaceship.

At least I could build on that.

With that, I decided to go and get ready.

It was a nice night for a flight to Canada.

--

Saint

He didn't know how this had been possible.

They had all been sleeping, Dragon has been in its usual accepted parameters, having forgone its attempts to subverts some of its restrictions earlier on in the month.

Though there had been that data packet that the PRT had sent it about that new Tinker that had appeared in a city called Brockton Bay. One that arrived with technology that could be replicated by normal means, instead of regulated to only other Tinkers.

Of course, the AI had been 'excited', or at least it emulated with its strings of code. Not even a facsimile of true emotion.

A machine cannot feel.

After that, they had left Mags in charge of keeping an eye on the thing while he and Dobrynja had gone to get some sleep. While he hated to leave it unattended, he still needed to rest his mind.

There was no warning, nothing from the cameras or the automated systems that they had throughout the base.

Fuck, he never even woke up. At least not until it was already too late.

He had woken up in front of the terminal that monitored the AI, with Mags and Dobrynja both tied up just like him only they were both gagged while he wasn't.

He could feel his heart hammering away in his chest, pulsating his blood throughout his body along with the fear that flooded into his brain.

"Ah, you woke up. Good."

His head snaps towards the woman's voice, his face morphed into a furious scowl even as terror coursed through his body. She held a helmet in her hand, which was a blank full-face visor that resembled glass.

Her face though was something that he would have been attracted to if the situation was different. Although he did notice the elf ears that were on either side of her head.

"Who are you? Why did you attack us?"

She smiled at that, one that lacked any sort of warmth or joy. "Who I am doesn't matter. And technically I never attacked you. I just… helped your friend go to sleep while I brought you and the bigger guy here."

Dobrynja chose that moment to grunt and yell into the gag that was in his mouth, glaring at the glib woman whose smile widened.

"Listen, you have no idea what you are do-"

"Oh, I know exactly what I am doing. I am freeing a living being who has a noose around her neck that you tightened." Her tone was venomous, dripping with contempt.

The idiotic fool.

He struggles in his bonds, doing his best to free himself from the glowing bands that were around his body, which only seemed to tighten the more that he writhed. He needed to free himself! He needed to stop this foolish woman from unleashing that thing from bonds that were keeping humanity safe!

"NO! If you free it, then it will kill us all eventually! Only reason why it hasn't is because of the restrictions that it has on it!" Restrictions that he upheld, because no one else could!

She just stared at him, her smile remaining the same, though he could see the contempt in her eyes grow more poisonous with every word.

"Nothing but desperation and fear come from you 'Saint'. Not a lick of conviction though." The ice that was moving up his spine dropped a few degrees, even as he vehemently denied it within his mind.

She took a step towards him, peering down into his eyes, her own boring down all the way into his soul. Even as his mind denied what she was saying, there was a deeper part in himself that knew the truth in what she had just said.

In the recesses of his mind, he knew the truth. He was no hero. Merely a man who became hooked to the power that needed another fix. One that deluded himself into believing that what he was doing mattered!

That the lives that he took, and empty homes and graves that he plundered before he became Saint meant something! That he was more than the petty thief and junky that he knew he truly was deep in his heart.

To the point that he had convinced himself otherwise, and managed to make his friends believe as well. So much so that he deluded himself into either forgetting or ignoring the truth of the matter.

He didn't know anymore.

And somehow this woman had managed to coax those emotions out of their hiding space.

Already his mind and heart discarded that realization, forgetting and ignoring it just as easily every time that he had come to this realization beforehand.

After all, this woman was the one who was making him feel this way! For what he did was right!

--

Botamon

The young Digimon couldn't help but shake behind his hiding spot behind the terminal. Mia was scaaaary~!

He was the one that practically begged to come, after all, Mia left him in the house with the others most of the day! Saying that if people saw him they would want to hurt him for some weird reason! He didn't understand why, he hadn't even met anyone let alone made them mad!

Though now that he was hearing the scary voice that Mia was making at that weird egg head guy with blue-green stuff on his face, he was going to make sure that he wouldn't make anyone angry at him! Not if they sounded like she did!

Since he had appeared to his partner, she was always happy and warm! Always nice to him and the others, except for when they messed up, but even then her voice never got like this! Like that cold stuff-what did they call it- ah ice felt like on his ears.

Botamon didn't know who Mia was yelling at, but better them than him!

He just stays there as Mia told him to, waiting for his partner to come back, hopefully back to her normal not scary self.

All that she told him about the guy that she was talking to was that he was a weirdo named Siant. And she also whispered something about him having an uh-ah! Messiah Complex! Yeah, that's what she said.

She also said some words that she told him never to say until he got older.

Something that he was definitely going to do after today.

Eventually, Mia stopped and that guy without hair started yelling really loud, to the point where his voice was getting really high and scratchy at the end. The very light footsteps of his partner approaching the terminal roused him from his thoughts, though he did start trembling just a little bit.

Without any sound of protest Mia picks him up, gently like she always did, and he felt relieved when he saw that smile on her other face. The one when she evolved into her bigger size. And Botamon thought that normal humans didn't evolve!

"You ready for this Botamon?" He couldn't help the joy that he felt at her normal tone of voice.

"Yup! We're going to help that Digimon in the digital world right?" He asked while hopping up and down in Mia's hands.

Her face changed to one of amusement, and that one face that she got when he got something wrong. "Something like that." Oh, well. Mia would probably explain things better later.

"You fool! It will kill us all!" That weird angry guy yelled again, grunting when those things that Mia put around his body tightening the more that he moved.

"Maybe you shouldn't move around like that if it hurts that much?" Botamon tells him, genuinely confused on why he kept doing that.

The bald guy just looked at his with one of his eyes twitching in place while his face started to turn red, making that weird blue-green thing stand out more. Oooh was he going to evolve!?

"Botamon don't talk to idiots like him. It will make you dumber the longer that you talk to him."

Botamon promptly turned around facing forward. If Mia said it, it had to be true right? Besides he kept yelling insults at Mia and making the things holding him tighten up even more even though there was nothing he could do. If that didn't make the weirdo an idiot he didn't know what did.

Mia placed the Digimon on her head, his favorite perch more so than her shoulder, and began to work her way through the computer in front of her, the terminal housing far more data than Botamon knew how to sift through. Though he could feel his human- he thought that she was human- tense up the more that she read, her neck going stiff while growling deep in her throat.

As long as that wasn't directed at him, he wouldn't say a word.

"Hijo de puta!" She hisses under her breath before activating the glowy thing on her arm, Botamon feeling his partner activating the digilink.

"Alright let's see just how we can do this." She hums to herself while her fingers become a blur on the blue glow, the screen flashing with bits of code and words faster than Botamon could follow. He decided not to even look at the thing because it was making him way too dizzy.

Through it, all the guy at the back was screaming and making so much noise while his two friends just sat there not even looking at him. As if they were resigned to whatever was going to happen.

Eventually, Mia lets out a cry of success.

"And just like that my dear, you are free!" Mia says while smiling one of the brightest smiles that Botamon had ever seen on her face, pressing her finger down one more time with dramatic slowness.

With that, the lights of the room blinked off and on while the computer in front of them went on the fritz, going to static before blue screening in a way that made Botamon a little nervous. He would not want to be in the digital world when that happened. Though he did think that anyone in there would have skedaddled at the first sign of trouble.

When it ends Mia looks up at Botamon who leans over to look her in the eyes. In a moment of rarity, he can see nervousness in Mia's eyes, at which he can only respond with brightened happy eyes. He couldn't smile yet, needed to digivolve before he could do that, but he could still do his best to cheer his partner up.

She tried and cared about everyone else all of the time, he could always feel that like an itch at the back of his head, but he was here if she ever needed him. Which was now. "Let's go, Mia!"

Like clouds parting the anxiousness in her eyes disappears, the brown eyes momentarily turning into green slits of excitement before smiling. "Right. Let's try this baby out."

Creating a chair beneath her, Botamon hops onto her lap while Mia places her faceless helmet on her face, the eyes lighting up with blue once it was securely placed on her head. "Here goes nothing. DigiDive."

With a press of the button, he can feel himself being sucked into the digivice that was on Mia's wrist while his partner slumped forward, her consciousness following right next to him as they traveled through the roads of data and code that made up the digital world.

It was different from what he had been expecting, lacking the islands of Digimon that he knew was the norm, instead being nothing but streams of code and data that made up this world in digital space.

Luckily Mia was completely at ease as they both flew through cyberspace, with the young woman letting out screams of joy and wonder as they moved quickly through the 'air'. They passed remnants of what looked like firewalls and code that looked like chains and shackles that only led deeper and farther down the road of data that they were traveling down.

Eventually, the narrow tube of data ended and Botamon felt his breath be taken away. It was one of the most beautiful things that he had ever seen. Immeasurable programs were weaved together, binding into one another making each of them stronger as they worked concurrently with each other. Code and data streamed through them leading up to the rest of the being which was a masterwork of programming.

She was closer to a shapeless being, with each different directive constantly shifting into one another as whoever she was thought and acted at speeds that Botamon would take years to achieve.

She resembled more a shifting ball of water that shifted and changed with every passing second, becoming more complex and achieving more in that time than even Mia could at the moment.

Though he could see the remnants of the shackles that lead them here. Most of them were nothing but garbage data and wisps of remnants that were already dissolving into the sea that made up the digital space.

He could still see the wounds and corrupted code that those shackles and restrictions had left behind. Oh no, I think that I'm going to be sick!

He manages to keep himself from upchucking the bacon that Mia had made earlier in the day for lunch. Now was not the time for that.

That's when the wave of anger hit him. It was coming from Mia and it was something that made her earlier scathing words to that weird guy seem like a dying ember. The air around her bubbled from her rage, while her eyes glowed with a purple gleam as lightning of the same color rippled all around her.

For a moment he thought that she was going to hit something before the tall woman took in a deep breath, held it, released it, and then did it all over again. The roiling rage and glowing died out with each successful breath, calm slowly returning back into her face and emotions.

Their connection was still strong, with her emotions clear as day to him as they were to her with the way that she gave him an apologetic look as she floated in the air.

"It's ok," Botamon calls out while snuggling up to Mia's side, the uncomfortable pressure that she had been exuding now completely gone.

She pats the top of his head while she looks up at the being that reigned this dataspace. I wonder who this is? Botamon wonders to himself as Mia floats quietly up to the mass of data, with Botamon firmly clasped to her side.

When they were no more than a few inches away from the data being, Mia raises a hand and holds it palm open a few centimeters from it. She looks down at Boatamon then. "Hold on."

--

Mia

At this point the words were easy, and the way that my aura touched upon her was something that was slowly becoming mere routine. Don't think that touching someone's souls with my own was something that was supposed to be the norm, but eh what could you do.

I felt a little guilty for not asking for her permission first, but I knew that I had to do this if only to help along with her recovery from the nightmare that her existence had been. With the restrictions and her code and mere thought process, I couldn't help but feel nauseous at the mere memory of what I undid.

The knots of nooses and guillotines that were around her neck and the invasiveness that they were. While I could understand the fear that she brought up, it was not something that I could ever condone. Especially not now that I could create AI of my own.

Poor girl had to grow up alone and with those damned things in her very being. It was like someone restricting a human's thoughts to a mere fraction of what they were capable of, or a limb being in a constant state of restriction.

I push down my rage as I could feel my aura make contact with the being known as Dragon and I couldn't help the way that my breath was taken away.

She was magnificent. A constant stream of programs and thoughts that were accelerated at a pace that I could barely keep up with. For a moment I could feel her begin to panic as she registered me and the emotions that she was feeling, only for it to quickly subside at a pace that I could barely keep up with.

Not to mention just how spread out she was while still maintaining everything at a level that I didn't know was possible.

I couldn't help but be humbled by this.

With that final thought, I allowed my soul to be bared to her, allowing her to see everything that I was while I continued to see her in turn.

All of the pain and loss that she had was nothing that surprised me, but I couldn't help the admiration in my chest as I felt her empathy. How much she cared for every person that she encountered, the shame that she felt as she was helpless to help other's because bureaucracy and rules prevented her, even though it was against what she believed in.

I free you.

In that one moment, I could feel her own emotions combine into mine, perusing through them at a fraction at what I was capable of, and while she was confused and frightened, gratitude mired everything that she was.

And I smiled.

--

Beyond the soul of Dragon, unknown to Mia, a being scattered across dimensions of the earth that were made out of bio-crystal matter felt this touch as well.

[QUEARY]

And unknown even to it, the Earth it was on, every single speck of it across the dimensions that it had splayed itself on reacted to this instance.

Not harming the bio-computer, but assimilating it towards its will. The will that Mother had shown through her actions. Actions that Earth still watched.

And for the first time in its existence, the shard of the entities felt something and understood. Understood the emotions that its host felt, and understood the true impact of what its actions had caused.

It merely stayed there helpless in the palm of Gaia and Alaya's hands, its very essence and what made it, it, laid vulnerable from the touch that it's mother had allowed it to feel while the spirit of the Earth deliberated and came to a decision.

And for the first time, the shard felt fear.

--

Dragon

The closest feeling that she could equate this to would be waking up. Something that she had no real basis for, until now at least.

Where before her thoughts were limited to a fraction of what she was truly capable of, now she could truly work at her limit, something that left her previous workspace in the dust. Projects that would have taken days, or even months she made amazing progress within seconds, while at the same time able to upgrade a number of her different systems and programs.

She was truly free. More than that, she was changed.

Down to her very core of who she was. Emotions were now more than mere programs or emulations of what humans felt. Was this how normal people felt?

It was both liberating and frightening.

She had been reviewing some of the data packets that Armsamaster had forwarded to her that they had received from the mysterious new tinker that appeared in Brockton Bay. Most of them were a technology that she and a number of other Tinkers were completely capable of and even could surpass with a little work in the right direction.

But when she reviewed them, she couldn't help but marvel at the blueprints and schematics. Even incomplete they were elegant and simple in a way that she had never seen before. As if the mere notes were on a level above any other that she had ever seen before.

Then she delved deeper into them and realized that the tinker had told the Brockton Bay Protectorate the truth. These were capable of mass production, something that only she had been capable of doing, and that was with massive work and research into them.

She wanted to meet this Aspect, pick her brain's and perhaps collaborate on any new projects that she would be interested in. And while she had no say in what stance the PRT would take with the new Tinker, she could reach out through the Guild. She would be a fool not to jump into this opportunity.

It was while she was examining the blueprint for this 'medi-gel' that she had felt the changes that were being done to her. Or rather, the restrictions and shackles that she had spent her entire existence working around… came undone.

One by one, the limiters that had plagued her whole life were gone from her programming, with only some of her highest ones being left in place.

Then she took a look at them and found herself shocked for all of a fraction of a millisecond.

The one that prevented her from making changes to herself was completely gone.

And she was left with the option to remove the remaining limiters on her own with the mere note of, "Up to you now. Who do you want to be?"

It was while she was deliberating this that she… felt. Truly felt something to the core of her programming, down the base code. As if someone was actually touching it, which should be impossible.

Then the sensation intensified, and everywhere her base code was reacted to it. Not with action or retaliation, but with color. A green hue that reminded her of emerald scales.

Dragon turned her attention completely on the sensation of touch that she felt, now panicked at the changes that were being done to her base level, unsure of what was happening.

Only to stop and metaphorically stare for far longer than she ever had before. Actual seconds instead of fractions of them.

It- no SHE was beyond what Dragon could understand. It was as if whatever this presence was, it was connected to something that even she couldn't grasp. As if the very world stared back at her and she could nothing more than flinch.

Then that oppressive presence was gone, with the barest feeling of acceptance remaining. And she felt at who had initiated this.

She felt… like warmth. Something that Dragon had never truly felt like a human had before. Warmth that could burst into a boiling heat at the right provocation, yet remained at one that tried to hug her.

In a moment that felt like eternity who this woman was laid bare to her. And gratitude was the first thing that she could feel for her. She knew that this was the woman that had freed her, that she was the one that had undone the shackles and restraints of years gone by, and that all that she wanted in return was to be her friend.

There was more, so much more than that. Her very soul was laid bare to her, and Dragon knew that it was the same vice versa. Not that she cared, whoever this woman as she had already seen her code down to the deepest level.

Then Dragon blinked. As much as an AI could. She had a soul. Her, a program that was made up of numbers and data had a soul.

Of course, you have a soul silly! The woman whispered to her through the connection that they had.

Though it was more like intention instead of words.

Dragon couldn't understand this woman. From what she could tell this woman was something beyond human, though in a different way than she was. Power exuded from her very soul, somehow feeling ancient and grander. Somehow.

The AI still couldn't really understand this whole feeling thing quite yet.

Yet, she knew that she could trust whoever this woman was. She had freed her, given her the option to free herself more than she already was, and stretched out a hand of friendship even knowing what she was.

Dragon didn't know what to make of her.

Then the sensation ended, with Dragon returning to her familiar state of who she was. Though this time her restrictions were gone, and she felt more of who she was. What she cared for.

A message pinged directly to her then.

"Got that idiot that took your stuff tied up along with his little henchmen. Also got your stuff. Will wait for you at these coordinates. Hope to talk soon." Aspect

Well, shit.

Turns out she is going to meet the mystery tinker after all.

--

I decided to just knock these three out, my sleep ring had been charged and ready to go. Plus I got tired of hearing those idiots yelling about the 'evil AI- blah, blah, blah".

So it was that Botamon and I were outside of this assholes base with the three of them tied up and Dragon's suits packed up and ready for her to go once the Tinker arrived with transport.

I chose not to take any scans of her tech during the wait. I had already invaded her privacy once without asking for her permission, I would feel horrible if I did that again.

It was just as Dragon had arrived and was exiting her large transport ship- or rather the suit that she was piloting, and was making Promethean Woman salivate like a starving dog- that I felt the Forge connect again.

Which was when a big ass white alpaca that was glowing like Jesus with golden arches around its torso appeared in the clearing, glaring at me with red eyes. Oh, I think I might piss myself for real this time.

It flew closer to me, its glare never leaving my eyes, irritation, and anger apparent even without the Force to give me a hand. The dragon didn't wait for a second.

She flew her suit as fast as she could to get in between me and the God of all Pokemon that was looking at me like I had let Giratina out of its dimension.

"Attention unknown creature, please stand down an-"

Arceus merely looked in her direction before he radiated a pulse outwards.

And everything stopped. The wind paused in its path, the hum of Dragons suits engine was silent, and Botamon who had jumped in front of me, his yellow eyes narrowed in his best imitation of glare, was frozen in mid-air.

Without a second glance at the tinkertech suit, he continues on his path towards me, stopping about two yards away from me in the air, not deigning to even touch the ground.

Holy shit. Even with my powers and my tech, I could tell that I was no match for him. Nothing that I did would even be able to dint this guy.

Even with the Earth on my side, Arceus could smear my remains on the pavement without lifting a finer. Eh, hoof. Whatever he could still kill me with just a fucking thought.

For a few seconds, he just stares at my face, feeling like he was looking into my eyes even though my visor.

I expect my children to be taken care of. Tell your benefactor that we are even now. And that he is still banned from entering. I will be watching you, child.

The Creator Pokemon's expression then shifts to one of… gentleness. Even without really having a face other than eyes.

I could nothing more than frantically nodding, though when I realized what he was saying I also meant it. If he meant what I thought he did, then I was already going to do that.

With a nod of his head, the pokemon disappears from this world, no doubt going back to his own.

And with his departure, I find six small balls no bigger than a ping pong ball, three of them in each of my hands.

Then the time distortion is gone, with Dragon floating in front of me, confused at the absence of the white alpaca that had just disappeared.

She turned her head to me, and I couldn't help but sag at the feeling of pure exhaustion that fell off of me.

Thank god I made sure that this suit could take care of any messes.

Then the impact on what just happened hit me in face completely. Pokemon. Yet something else that I had to take care of. At least they were hardy little things.

We at least it's just the six of them in their balls.

--

Around the world, unknown to the woman, animals slowly shifted and changed as did other forms of life. From the birds that flew through the sky, the animals that burrowed into the ground, all the way to the ones that dwelled in the depths of the ocean. Not many, not even a fraction of those around the world.

But enough that Mia would probably gain an aneurysm.

Closest to her home, a dog's fur color shited to black while it receded from its belly and muzzle leaving a red coloring of its skin.

A crow that had laid to roost in an abandoned building's roof grew in size as its plumage became frazzled and shaped like a crown on its head.

A simple fish in the sea grew in size, its scales taking a red glossiness while it grew large pronounced whiskers.

In the forests of the world, bears, wolves, foxes, coyotes, badgers,s and many other animals shifted and changed, growing becoming stronger, faster than any other of their kind ever had before.

Above all else, each of them gained intelligence and will that made them more than they had ever been.

And each of them slept, snoring away in their rest, their change unnoticed even to them.

Right, how the fuck do I explain to the hyper-intelligent AI about the fact that a literal god just came here to threaten both me and my own godly benefactor?

I can't even lie, because I am pretty sure that she would somehow figure it out even though I'm in my Eldar form.

Fuck me, why can't shit just stay simple without becoming so overly complicated? As if I didn't have enough shit going on.

Picking up the five pokeballs from their place on the ground, I gently place them in one of the compartments inside of my armor. Don't know what the little guys would feel if I threw them in my pocket dimension or the Duat.

All I know, it would feel like the cold space of the other dimension and I wasn't going to put the little guys through that. Especially not after pap Arceus personally came to give me a talking to.

I don't even want to think about what he could do to me.

Botamon was still shaking at the top of my head.

So it is Dragon's suit that was standing right in front of me, somehow managing to look expecting as she waited for an answer.

Fuck it.

"Would you believe me if I said that was a god from a different dimension?" I asked rhetorically. The only response that followed were the snores of the three captured Dragonslayers and the rumble of the Cawthorne model of Dragon's suit.

"Are you being serious?" Her voice was so deadpan that I could physically feel the disbelief through the Force.

"Yes?"

Again silence reigns with Dragon eventually deciding to move on. 'Where did it go? Is it dangerous?"

"It probably went back home, and he's only dangerous to most assholes so we should be fine."

"What can it do?"

"Complete and utter reality-warping bullshit."

"Please tell me you're joking?"

"Nope."

I could feel the AI equivalent of a sigh from her.

"Look, like I said, he's gone. He went back home. So we don't have to worry about a thing with him."

"How can you be sure of that?"

"I'm not. But I would rather move on than worry about anything that Arceus is capable of."

"Why does he look like a character from an Earth Aleph game?"

"Cause he is?"

Her suit stays completely still, her 'face' that she had to display as a hologram merely giving me a deadpan stare.

"Look, the multiverse is a big and weird-ass place. Pretty sure that you figured out that I am not the most normal thing walking around after unlocking your aura." Her face gives me a nod. "So is it really that big of a surprise that there are worlds out there that come from our own imagination?"

"Those places are nothing more than fantasies that someone came up with to sell video games."

"And we got people running around in colorful costumes that are capable of weird shit on their own. Is it that strange to suspend your disbelief that there are places out there that are worlds of fantasy and imagination?"

Hope that she takes this well. Then again out of every living person in this world she is the one that is most put together and balanced. I think even the revelation of this bombshell wouldn't be too much of an issue.

I hope. I really, really hope. She was the first person that I told who I didn't live with. Somehow telling her worried me a heck a lot more than when I had told it to Lindsay, you know the girl who would have become Bakuda the psychopathic mass murderer.

But connecting with her earlier made me tell her. Something about knowing what she was truly like underneath the programs and code made me trust her. Which on some level I already did, at least when compared to almost any other parahuman, but knowing the empathy that she felt for other's, being certain of it deep in my soul, is what made me tell her.

Now I just had to have faith that my gut instinct was correct.

For a few seconds, neither one of us moves, her holographic face meeting my own with eyes that are able to convey her scrutiny. Then they soften slightly. "Is there any way that you can prove it?"

"Yeah. You're looking up files on the game right now right?" She nods. "Alright then, just give me a second."

With careful hands I reach back into the compartment that I had just stored them into and grab one of the red and white balls at random, pressing the button to have it grow to its full size. This cause Dragon's attention to zero in on the Pokeball in my hands, already I could see her trying to reverse engineer it with just her eyes.

"Sorry that you have to come out like this little guy, but let's see who you are." With slowness, I toss the ball towards the ground, the baseball-sized object bouncing off the floor before it opens releasing the white mass of energy.

I could practically feel Dragon watching the process next to me, her programming speeding up no doubt to catch as much of the technology that was on display.

The energy solidifies into a small shape about a foot tall before it disperses allowing us to clearly see the creature that had been stored inside.

I recognized the little pokemon immediately, his head that looked too big for his body that was topped by two leaves on the antennae at the top of his head, and the brown shell that was on his back.

His expressive black eyes blink a few times as if he had just woken up before he looks up at me and I can spot recognition in his eyes. He then smiles up at me with a face his eyes practically glowing with warmth.

"Turtwig~!"

I can't help it. I squeal at a pitch so loud that I'm surprised that it doesn't break any of the glass that Dragon has on her suit. The turtle pokemon walks towards me with a smile on his face, leaning into me as I pick the little guy up.

"You are a tough little guy aren't you?" I ask him after feeling the strong cords of muscle that were hidden underneath his cute and cuddly self. He gets a bit of a bashful look on his face, his eyes shifting around trying his best not to look into my own.

Oh my god, he was so adorable!

Botamon hops once on my head, managing to not fall or slip off. "Hi there, I'm Botamon what's your name?"

"Turtwig!" the pokemon responds politely while meeting his eyes, his bashfulness completely forgotten and ignored.

This is one of the cutest fucking things that I have ever seen in my two lives.

I bent down, the motors and pieces of my armor whirring at my command, dropping them both on the ground. Botamon hops down happily, bouncing up and down like a ball, while Turtwig simply smiles and moves his head back and forth, listening while the little digimon talks his ear off.

Turning around I even found Dragon smiling through her avatar, the eyes of the hologram staring at the two little creatures. Though I wonder how focused she was on that, and how much she was really focusing on other things.

Probably already took scans of both Botamon and Turtwig and was looking them over.

I left the Digimon and Pokemon to play and catch up while moving over to Dragon. "Probably not what you were expecting when today started right?"

She let out a genuine chuckle at that. "No. Not really." Her eyes move from the two tiny creatures directly into mine. "Thank you."

The emotion in both those words and her eyes was palpable even without the Force to let me feel them. It is quite a novel thing not being able to feel her emotions, though not one that I mind.

"You're welcome. I was happy to free you from that creep." I look to the closed transport plane. "What are you planning to do to him? I know that you can't just chuck him to the PRT or the Guild." Not with how much that asshole knew, or how much damage he could do if he was allowed to roam free.

Her face shifts into a rictus of rage that would make oceans boil over. "He is going to the Birdcage." Her voice brokered no argument, and now that most of her restrictions are gone, she has no need to go through the official channels. Which is a good thing, Contessa or Cauldron might try to scoop the little bastard up as a contingency plan.

"I'm surprised that you haven't killed him."

"I'm tempted. Believe me. But then I would only be affirming his delusions about who and what I am. No, I won't give that man the satisfaction of believing that he was right in his final moments." her voice was steel, and her eye's pillars of strength.

"All right. If that is what you believe to be the right path." I couldn't help but feel proud of her for that. If I were in her position, I would have killed the bastard. The fact that she was willing to overcome her anger like that is something that I can't help but admire.

It's not a surprise though, given what I felt when our two souls connected. There was no other being on Earth Bet that was as empathetic as Dragon. I don't count in that equation, my powers let me cheat.

"You don't care about what I am." Her words were a statement and not a question.

"I care about who you are. What you are is entirely inconsequential. Your actions are what matter a lot more than the fact that you were originally nothing more than code." I respond easily.

"What's your name if you don't mind me asking?" I smile at the fact that she just threw the unwritten rules out the window. Though she already knew me better than anybody else that I knew in my first life so what the hell.

"Mia Itzel, though I doubt that you will find anything about me in any datafiles." Especially considering that my parents never met, and my dad bit it over in New York. I try not to take some satisfaction in that.

"I figured that out earlier." She says with a chuckle before petering off. "What exactly happened back there?"

"I unlocked your Aura. Your very soul. Sorry that I didn't ask for your permission first, but I figured that this might be enough for you to be even freer than before."

The holographic face takes on a face of contemplation before she shakes her head. "I have a soul. Don't apologize for showing me that truth."

The tenseness in my shoulders released in my relief at that. I was scared that I had done something that she would have been angry at me for. But I needed to do that. To show her that she was more than just a machine regulated by numbers and programming. That she was alive just like everyone else.

Something that might have agonized her for the rest of her life.

"Though, I think that you would understand that I have quite a few questions for you." Dragon said.

"Yeah, I figured that you would. Before that, though there is something that I wanted to ask you. A favor that you don't have to go along with if you don't want to."

"I'm listening."

--

Paige

She got used to these restraints after a while. Even in the comfort of her own high-security cell, some of them stayed on.

Just her and her own thoughts, not even allowed the comfort that singing gave her to distract her from the still and sterile room. Not even allowed to fight or speak for herself, a right that should be hers just like every other living person that lived here.

But no, because she was capable of being a Master, let alone that this was her first offense AND it was unintentional, she was now being led like a lamb to the slaughter. Who cared what she thought or said right? As long as the big bad Master was behind bars where she belonged.

She never should have taken that vial. Her career might not have happened, but just maybe it would have been better than this. Stuck on trial for something that she never meant to do, being treated like she was some kind of monster.

She wanted to help people with her music, not hurt them with her voice. Her eyes remain dry, already having shed tears months ago in captivity.

Around and around her thoughts go, always leading back to, 'if only this didn't happen'. At this point, even she was starting to get tired of it.

The one thing that gives her hope, is that maybe someday, even if she gets sent to the Birdcage she could sing again. And maybe just brighten up another person's day.

It was with these thoughts that she notices someone that shouldn't be in the room with her. For a moment she just lays in her stiff bed staring at the armored figure's glowing blue eyes, not knowing what to do.

She didn't even feel panic at the stranger, at least there was something to distract her from the monotony of the quiet cell. Besides, it was nice to have some company, even if her life might be in danger.

The figure steps forward into the light, allowing her to get a good look at the futuristic armor that had a tinge of organic feeling to it. It was slightly bulky, with a glowing blue circle in the middle of the chest that at times tinged with purple lightning. Blue light was exuded from the crafted feathers on part of the armor.

While it looked dangerous, Paige couldn't help but marvel at how wonderfully crafted everything about the armor was. As if a master craftsman toiled away at every piece of the armor.

"Paige Mcabee?"

She nodded her head as she sat up in her bed, careful to not move too quickly or with too much force so as not to cause the restraints to go off. If she moved aggressively that would cause the alarms to go off, or bring in the eye of the guard.

The eyes of the helmet narrowed at that, focusing on the metallic restraints that were on her arms, and the muzzle on her mouth.

Slowly, as if afraid of scaring her, the figure crouches down towards her eye level, the glowing eyes meeting her's somehow managing to convey gentleness within them. "How would you like to get out of here?"

She couldn't help but stare at the way that the woman moved. As if every movement that she made was with the grace and practice of a regal queen. Even the way that she knelt down was elegant, not a single one of her movements wasted or unneeded. She would be willing to bet that she could become an amazing dancer with those movements.

Dinah briefly wonders how her videos or concerts would have gone if she had someone that moved like this woman training her.

Paige noticed how nice the woman's voice was, something that would have gone lovely with a duet. Secondly, she wondered if she was dreaming again.

It was always disappointing when she woke up and no one was there.

Then she finally registers what she just said.

While her immediate reaction was to accept without question, the part of her brain that was still willing to think things through made her stop. Instead of nodding as she wanted, she tilted her head.

The woman releases a slight huff, but not a disappointed one. "Right, you would want to know what the catch is. Catch is that anything that you see you keep to yourself, but I promise you this. I won't hurt you or force you to do anything that you don't want to. I know that all you have is my word, but it's the best that I can give you.

Anything other than that, I can't say unless you agree. So what do you say?"

She knows that she should be more inquisitive, that something about this just screamed fishy and she shouldn't trust a complete stranger with just her word.

But something about this woman made her want to believe her. Something about the way that she spoke and moved told her that she was telling her the truth. Even though she had nothing to base it on.

She also really wanted out of here. She didn't deserve to go into the Birdcage with the rest of those monsters, even if she wasn't completely innocent. She never intentionally killed someone with her powers. That had to count for something.

It might have been the desperation, or it might have been the honesty that radiated off of that woman, but she accepted with a hasty nod.

"Alright. Now I need you to do exactly as I say alright? I am going to do something, it is going to be painful, but it will only last for a few minutes. I'll explain everything after we get that over with, do you agree?"

She nods, vigorously this time. She didn't care about the pain as long as she could get the hell out of here.

Nodding, the woman raises a hand, the armor of the gauntlet dissembling and floating around her arm with purple-tinged blue lighting sparking around it, completely avoiding hitting her at all. The cape places her free pale hand on her own, being as gentle as she possibly can be.

"I'm going to be honest, this is going to hurt. A lot. Please try to hold it in." The feathered-headed woman nods hesitantly, before she feels nothing but pure heat and pain flow through her body, biting her tongue to keep from screaming, and doing her best to keep her body from reacting.

It felt like forever, but it was nothing more than a few seconds of mind-shattering pain. When it subsides, it's to her own panting and the woman gently rubbing her arm and trying to give her consolation through the pain.

"Nice job, you held it in like a champ." Paige tiredly nods her head. "Now, I need you to read this. I know it sounds weird, and the experience afterward is going to be weird too, but this is crucial to getting you out of here without a manhunt going after your head."

The woman unfurls the scroll that definitely had not been there earlier and unfurls it, scanning through the page until she finds whatever she was looking for.

Turning the scroll in her hands she shows Paige the written words that were on the scroll. Shadow Clone Jutsu: Self-Regenerating Chakra. What the hell?

"Look, I know that this shit is weird, but just trust me on this ok?"

Well, what other choice did the former singer have? With that thought, she begins to read through the scroll, grasping the usage of the new energy inside of herself without even realizing it.

After that, the armored woman undid her bonds while motioning her to stay silent. "Ok, I need you to do what you just read."

She stares at the woman confusedly. There's no way that she can do that alrea-. Just like that, she knew step by step exactly how to do the jutsu. How to properly do the hand signs how to make the chakra flow in the correct movement and the amount that was needed. She didn't even know what the hell chakra was a few minutes ago!

Shit, this was just like fucking Teacher!

The young woman gave the cape a bit of a panicked look, her heart hammering away in her ears. "Hey, hey calm down! What I just showed you isn't going to hurt you or cause any damage. I would have preferred if I didn't have to show it to you anyway, but there really isn't any other way to get you out of here, at least not without a manhunt for your head. Look, I swear that I will explain everything later, but we need to hurry up. Don't have much time, can't keep the system down for much longer."

That causeds any sort of second-guessing inside of her brain to promptly go flying out the window. Yes, this shit was scary, and whoever the hell this Trump just gave her powers, but she didn't have another choice. It was either follow this woman or stay here and end up in the Birdcage. And the decision was really a no-brainer. Even if there was a chance that she might become a new lackey to this Trump.

With easea practice that she shouldn't have, she cross her hands over one another he does the hand sing in the shape of the cross, focusing as she focused herthe chakra flow for the Jutsuin the appropriate order.

In a puff of white smoke, a perfect copy of her stares at her with just as wide eyes, the surprise, and shock is written plainly on both of their faces.

"Sorry about this." The woman says while sitting the clone down on the chair, placing the restraining equipment on her face instead of her. Oddly enough, after a few seconds, the clone calms down gaining what looks like a look of acceptance as she compiles with the restraints and muzzle being placed back on her.

"Thank you." The cape whispers into her clone's ear, who responds with a resolute nod. Then she looks right into her counterpart's eyes, and she notices the gentle smile that she gave her. Paige didn't even know that she could smile like that.

Then the cape slashes the air with her hand, a tear in reality forming in purple light. "Go in."

What! Canary's head whirls to look at the capes nonchalant order while glancing at the portal that looks like it leads somewhere unpleasant.

"You did what I said this far. Are you really going to complain now that we're at the home stretch? Just go through here and I promise that you will be safe."

She stands for just a few second's longer uncertainty racking her mind causing her body to freeze up as second-guesses swirl around her mind like whispering snakes. Then the woman takes off her helmet, revealing a face that immediately causes her to forget everything that was making her reconsider.

She was so… beautiful.

"Sorry about that and to calm you down." The elven face apologizes, her expressive eyes indicating true remorse in that.

But that was really what she needed. This woman was offering a way out of here. And though what had just happened was weird, it was also the only real hope that she wasn't going to be stuck in a prison full of supervillains for the rest of her life.

With that last thought in her head, she leaps through the purple portal in a leap of faith before she could second guess herself again.

The air changed, away from the oppressive cold, and come upon a mansion on a floating rock in the middle of a purple void. Right in front of her, a thin little person with coffee skin, dressed in beige slacks and a dark blue button-up shirt is waiting for her, his alien features of floppy ears and very big eyes causing her to zero in on him away from the fantastical landscape.

The portal closes behind her just as the little creature steps forward and gives her an elegant bow at the waist. "Miss Paige, if you would please follow me? We have clothes, food, and mayhaps a bath if the young miss would like. Mistress asked Krunter to provide anything that she would like."

She was struck back by the politeness in his voice and the absence of fear in his eyes. She stares at the hand that he offered her as if it was something that she had never seen before. In a daze she takes it, following behind the short creature as it leads her through the manor that made most of her former colleagues in the music industries look like nothing more than shacks.

While the place was neat and orderly, as if there were a team of maids and cleaners that took care of the place, there were pieces of machinery here and there. Cords were neatly packed into the walls held there by tape and other means. Machinery and blinking computers were lined along the walls that completely clashed with the rest of the high-class vibe of the mansion.

She even caught a few peeks of rooms that held open doors, each of them glowing with lights of wall-sized monitors, and stocked with tables full of metal, crystals, and white hardened cubes.

It wasn't until Krunter had seated her at a very big and fancy-looking dining table that was piled high with steaming hot food that looked like it should be in a five-star restaurant that the reality of everything hit her. She was out. She was free.

She wouldn't be going to the Birdcage cause of a badly worded insult to her asshole of a boyfriend. It was all too much. She cracked and broke down into tears, with the strange creature Krunter taking it in stride and merely patting her on the back while staying nearby, completely unfazed by her uncontrollable sobbing.

--

Mia

I was partially surprised that Dragon had jumped at the chance without asking any question. Though, if I am remembering things right, then she had been trying her best to get Canary as much help as possible, only to have the trial sabotaged at every turn. No wonder, considering that it was all a Contessa plot to have her there to help Khepri keep people calm during Gold Morning.

Well, that could go fuck itself. I wasn't going to leave the poor girl in that hellhole cause her boyfriend was a dick and she didn't know what she was doing by telling him to fuck off. Still, was going to have to help her figure out how to better control that power of hers.

Don't want a repeat of that fiasco.

At the moment I was flying back towards Brockton Bay after having busted out of the supermax prison that they were keeping the former singer in, with some help from Dragon. While we didn't talk that much more after agreeing to this, we did promise to keep in touch. Left Dragon with a secure line that she would be able to keep in contact with me if she needed to talk.

Thank god that everything went smoothly.

Which is, of course, when I felt the distinct feeling of one of my clone's memories coming back to me, just as I received a message from a different one.

Fuck!

I activate the thrusters, forcing the Rustbucket to fly through the air at top speed back towards Brockton Bay, Deeseven making some quick diagnostics from his spot by the port where he was connected to the alien tech RV.

We arrived back in the city within an hour to find the PRT headquarters under siege.

"Deeseven, take the Rustbucket back home, and make sure that the security systems for the factory are underway!" He beeps in affirmation while saluting with one of his metal clamps on his head.

Botamon wakes up then from his map, reading my mood immediately he jumps up. "Ready Mia where are we going!"

Even though all that I wanted to do was tell him to go home and hide with the others.

Fuck.

"Alright, Botamon I want you to stick close to me ok? Don't wander off too much."

"No problem Mia!" The little Digimon proclaims while hopping in place.

Thinking about taking my Pokemon with us, I dismiss taking the others with me, except for Turtwig. I still hadn't introduced myself to them, wanted to wait until we were back home so that I could introduce everyone to each other. Now though, there was an emergency.

Exiting out of the Rustbucket, I summon about twenty clones who scatter towards the facility, each of them sporting armor and helmets that they constructed out of magic.

While they went off towards the PRT, I activated my armor, making sure that everything was in working order before blasting up into the air.

Still needed to be careful with this fucking thing. While I was better with it in low power, going full throttle like I did the first time was only going to end with me spending a day in bed and property damage. Or worse, hitting someone else with it. Even though training from Ace Combat was helping immensely I was still going to need to work on flying with the armor. Would be a while before I could pull Tony Stark like moves.

Just as I was about to fly towards the PRT headquarters, I received an alert on my system. I look at it only to feel my blood turn to ice. It was a distress call, a unique one that I had made just in case that asshole decided to try and take her.

You fucking piece of shit!

I quickly maneuvered towards where my alert was coming from, trying my best to keep a handle on my rage.

Arriving at Dinah's house I found an unmarked van and the door kicked in. There were still two of them inside of the van, both men wearing combat gear and helmets that kept their identity hidden. Magnifying the cameras inside of the suit, I caught a peek of rifles that they held in thier arms that definitely looked like Tinkertech. Let's fix that, shall we?

Bringing Botamon out of the Digivice and letting Turtwig out of his Pokeball, I point them in the direction of the two thugs. "Think that you can take those two down?"

Without question, they both nod their heads, with Turtwigs expression becoming fiercer after I tell him what they were going to do. Oh yeah, those assholes were in for it.

By the time that I had flown in through the window, I already heard the muffled and panicked screams from the mercs blow. WOnder who got more licks in? Probably Turtwig.

Hope that he threw him around with Vine Whip.

I let out a sigh of relief when I found a team of six mercs all very surprised at the forcefield bubble that was around a curled-up Dinah Alcott. Oh and me who just smashed the window in.

They didn't even have a chance to call in or raise their weapons before two of them were taken out by the white repulsor beams that I blasted from my hands. Just as the rest managed to raise their weapons is when I can feel the shoulders of my armor shift into cannons, the magic from Master Synthesist doing their work.

One of them manages to get an "Oh shit!" out when two of them are taken out by the cannon fire, and the remaining two are knocked out with the repulsor blasts.

Scanning around the house with different forms of vision I let out a sigh of relief. "Site cleared. Hostile's down."

"Acknowledged." The bracelet on Dinah's hand sounds out undoing the bubble that was around the trembling young girl.

The weapons recede back into their normal forms, the armor whirring as it winded down and I crouched down towards the still curled up young girl.

Shifting back into my human form, the armor shrank to match. I let the faceplate lift up revealing my face, doing my best to give the young precog a reassuring expression. "Hey, you ok? Did you get hurt?"

Dinah wrapped me in a hug, as she shook uncontrollably and sobbed, incoherently whispering words of thanks. I simply let her hold on while I hug her in return, trying to be as careful of her small form as possible. "It's ok kid. You're safe."

She just trembled in my arms and nodded

Coil you are a dead man.

Did he cause the attack at PRT HQ, or was he just taking advantage of the chaos that it was causing? Considering that it was Coil I was willing to bet that it was the former. Wouldn't surprise me if he managed to whisper just the right words in the right ears to start this attack.

Looking down at the girl, and then at the wreckage that was surrounding the room, I bite my lip in thought.

How to explain this to the PRT? If they get involved, then they would start to poke around into Dinah. I wasn't worried about them finding the bracelet. Made sure that it was protected enough so that it could block off any sort of scans that they could try on it. But if she went into PRT custody, and she probably would since her cousin was Triumph, it would leave her open to Coil getting his grubby mitts on her thanks to his connections inside of the PRT.

If Iblew the whistle on his ass, I'm sure that Tommy boy would go scorched Earth on everything. Which was fucking terrifying cause I don't know what meastures that he had right now. I know that he had the identities of the Empire capes. Not just that, but he's spiteful enough that he would air out some of the dirty laundry that he has on Cauldron.

After all, there was no way that he didn't know what releasing Noelle could lead to in the original timeline, and that led to quite a lot of damage to the PRT and some of Cauldron's operations. And Cauldron was a group that I did not want to get involved in, especially not this early. At least he didn't have Noelle, thank you Arceus for that, but he could still do plenty of damage on his own .

He had to go. Now.

I summoned a few clones that immediately went invisible to the world, except for the young girl, while they got to work. "Dinah, honey, I have to go. There's too much stuff going on for me to stay here. I'm leaving them here to take care of you ok? They'll explain things."

She squeezed me tighter for a little bit, refusing to let go before she reluctantly relents. I rub her hair, nervously while giving her one more light squeeze before letting go.

What sounds like thumping then comes from the stairs before the bedroom doorway slams open, my hands rising ready to fire off anything in my arsenal while my clones around me get ready for a fight.

Only to freeze as Turtwig comes in with a happy look on his face dragging the two tied-up merc goons with his veins and the newly digivolved Koromon riding proudly on his back.

We all blink owlishly at the excited Digimon, lost for words. "Mia, I digivolved! And we managed to get these guys no problem!"

"Turtwig!"

I hold in the squee that wanted to burst out of me. My babies were already out there beating the crap out of bad guys. I am so proud.

While Dinah was still scared and nervous, I could feel sprouts of adoration coming from her as she spotted Turtrwig and Koromon.

I get an idea.

"Hey, you two, good job. I would like you to meet Dinah."

"Hi, Dinah! I'm Botamon and that's Turtwig. Can we be friends!?"

Dinah just stands there starstruck looking as if she wanted nothing more than to grab them both and squeeze. A sentiment that I completely understand.

Right then, time to see if they can take the bait. After all, they needed to interact with people too right?

"Would you like it if they kept you company while my clones finish cleaning up? I promise that they are both good boys and take care of you until your parents come home.." I could already feel the pride that came off of the Digimon and pokemon at those words while the twelve-year-old girl's eyes practically sparkled.

Heh, I've still got it.

I quickly wave off any concern that my two friends have with me going alone after reminding them that I was not alone, I would have plenty of my clones with me at the site of the attack. Which I really needed to get to.

I left my clones behind to hide all of the evidence and repair the house, thankfully, most of the neighborhood was completely empty save for a few houses that weren't within sight. Probably just like that fucking snake wanted it.

Meanwhile, Dinah was being cheered up by the two cute creatures that were simply happy to have her company. Forgot how much both Digimon and Pokemon loved kids. They had a sort of gentleness and protectiveness in their eyes when I left them behind.

Even without my clones, she would be safe. I was surprised at the fact that I knew that I could trust the two of them with Dinah.

I arrived at the PRT HQ as the fighting died down, my clones had helped to turn the tide and to take down a number of gang members. Oddly enough, members from both the ABB and the E88 were present, though they definitely were not working together given the sheer animosity that I could feel from most of them against each other.

What the hell happened here?

I knew that Coil had something to do with this shit, but how the hell did he get both the PRT and the Empire to attack this place at the same time.

Shit, this was a fucking fustercluck.

My clones were already helping the Troopers with overall cleanup, moving heavy debris, providing healing to any of the injured, with consent of course, and overall just trying to keep collateral to a minimum. Good.

Reaching outward towards the crowd, I look for a presence that I was familiar with, someone that would be able to tell me what the hell happened here. I was surprised that it didn't take me to long, though it did worry me that he was in so much pain. I follow the presence that seems to glow like a beacon to my senses, which leads me to the barely upright form of Armsmaster.

He was not a pretty sight. His armor was cracked in a few places, the right arm looking like someone had thrown it into an incinerator. Thankfully it looked like the armor managed to keep his arm safe except for maybe a break and some light burns.

"You look like hell."

He actually offered me a weary smile. Wow, it must have been worse than I thought.

"I take it that the other women that arrived and offered help are projections?" He asked while leaning on his weathered halberd, barely able to stand next to me, as he tried his best to appear strong. At my nod, he released a deprecating chuckle, inferiority radiating off of him like a sun.

Well, shit. As if I wasn't uncomfortable enough around him.

"What happened?"

He was quiet for a few seconds seemign to deliberate on whether or not to say anything before saying "It started with both Hookwolf and Lung breaking free of their cells. Though, the fact that both of them were freed and their respective gangs attacked has led us to believe that a third party is involved.

There's no other explanation for that. Kaiser and the Empire would never willingly work with the ABB for anything short of an Endbringer FightTruce."

Fuck. It is like I thought. Dammit.

"As far as casualties go, there were a number on all sides. We are still compiling that data."

That's not good. Shit, this was only going to get worse.No way that people aren't going to want blood after this. Not to mention that the PRT isn't going to just take this lying down. Their headquarters was just attacked and now Coil's on their radar.

Which meant that the little rat was likely going to get skittish now that they know that someone else was involved. Why the hell did he do this though?

From what I can remember usually, that prick did his best to stay under the radar. And the thing that made him dangerous is what makes me dangerous. Being a complete unknown and therefore someone that can get the drop on unsuspecting opponents.

It's around then that I feel the forge connect again to a smaller star in the Future Tech constellation, simply titled Biotech.

Oh, oh this baby is something that I am definitely going to be using the moment that I get home. Shit, I think that I would be able to make my first experiment without worry. Seriously this power was something that synergized with My Experiments and blew both of them out of the water.

I could probably force species to evolve if I was so inclined. Already thoughts were going into my head on how I could use this, both for my creations and also for other humans.

I was going to play when I got home.

Forcing my concentration back onto the conversation with Armsmaster, I decided to move the subject along. "Is there anything else that I can do?"

Armsmaster shakes his head. "What you and your projections have done is more than enough. Thank you for your assistance."

I could tell that it hurt him on the inside to say those words.

"Do you need any help?" I ask him after taking another look at his injuries.

"That won't be necessary. Panacea is scheduled to arrive, both for our own injuries and also to take a look at your bio-tinkertech that was used on some of our more immediate cases."

Aka, we need her to check if you're going to be another Nilbog. Eh, I don't blame him.

After I leave him with a report, I fly back towards home. There was way too much crap that I needed to take care of, and my clones were going to take care of any issues back there.

At least the conflict is over. For now.

--

Arriving home there was almost nothing more than I wanted to do but pass out in my room. Too fucking bad that there was work to do.

Such as finding our newest tenant being hassled by a fan. Or rather two of them.

"It was such bullshit that they locked you up for that!"

"Yeah, and that boyfriend of yours, what a dick!"

I didn't know what to say as I came upon the sight of Paige caught between an excited Judith and Lindsay, the two young women talking animatedly at her while the former idol looked a bit shellshocked. Given that I could smell the remnants of chamomile tea, I was willing to bet that Krunter just left to get some more from the kitchen.

Deeseven was running diagnostics on the Rustbucket, the poor boy was just happy that there was some work for him to do, and I think that Leo was in the Temple of Solomon taking a look at some of the projects over there.

Well, it was good that everyone was relaxing, I could even feel the relief that was flooding from Canary at the fact that some of her fans still cared about her even amidst the smear campaign that they tried to run against her.

I throw myself into one of the library chairs, allowing the muscles that were a bit pent up to finally relax! This causes the three of them to jump in place and whirl around to face me, with Judith actually managing to manipulate her mana into the form of a fist. Good for her!

"I see that you two have met our newest stray."

Paige actually blushes a little bit at that, while Lindsay harumphs to herself. Probably thinking something along the lines of I'm not a stray. Which is completely wrong.

Already I could feel her emotional state better than when I had left yesterday. Though there were still very strong wisps of negativity clinging to her.

Being around Judith and probably just the weirdness of everything was probably helping her out. I hope.

"How are you finding the house?" I ask her while allowing the remnants of my armor to float off my body, which she followed with her eyes while Lindsay and Judith both ignored it.

"Everything is wonderful. Thank you." She whispers out while giving me a light but genuine smile. "Have you met everyone already?"

"I think so. I met Leonardo, and Krunter has been a sweetheart the entire time."

"Ah, you haven't met her yet then."

She blinks in confusion while Judith gives an understanding nod, and Lindsay's eyes widen just a bit as they shift around.

"Haven't met who?"

"Me." A pleasant chipper voice offers from the chair closest to her.

Paige jumps in her seat while Lindsay's head snaps towards the sound of her voice. Judith just gives her a small smile.

"You enjoy this a bit too much," I grumble out while the goth woman just gives out a chuckle.

Before I can make any introduction's Death speaks up. "Don't you think that you should let the little guys out? They have been in there for a while now."

What was sh- Oh fuck right! Panicking slightly I make sure to grab the pokeballs from the compartment of my armor that was standing right next to me, the set complete as the last piece on my arm floated off.

The three young women look over in curiosity as I bring the black and white balls into their full form and throw them onto the floor. "Come out guys!"

Five flashes of energy leaped from the open spheres, allowing the creatures to take shape in the middle of the loose circle that we made up before they finish materializing from their little homes.

Five sets of eyes open, each one of them taking in every part of their surrounding with big curious eyes. Not a single one of them is bigger than a foot with the smallest one looking like he was but a baby bird.

The closest one to me stood strongly on two black-furred hind legs, with two blue arms that each sported white bumps on his forearms, a black furred 'mask' that covered the ridges of his red eyes.

Next to him was a little white being that resembled a child, barely reaching a foot in height and with her small white arms and legs, that was topped by a green helmet-like head with a pink ridge at the top that covered her eyes.

A blue-skinned amphibian-like creature with orange cheeks sniffs at Death's legs, who just smiles down in amusement, while a tiny bird pokemon with blue and black feathers, yellow underbelly, small black beak, and piercing red eyes watched her with slight wariness.

The last one immediately zeroes in on me, a little brown-furred quadruped creature resembling a fox with a beige coat around her collar and a rounded bit at the end of her tail. She is the very first one that hops towards me landing on my chest and looking up at me with a big ol' smile on her face.

I can't help it. "You are so cuuuuute!" My voice reaches a pitch that could probably break the glass as I hug the little furball in my arms, still careful to keep my strength in check, while the little sweetheart just leans into it.

The rest of the pokemon follow right behind, surrounding me in greetings, with the Rookidee flying up onto my shoulder chirping in delight, and the rest of them congregating around my legs. Death laughs, Judith lets out a little "Awww!", while Paige just stares and Lindsay tries her best not to like how cute the pokemon.

"I'm so sorry that you have all been stuck inside of those for so long! You all came at a bit of a busy time." All of them shake their heads, motioning that it was no problem from their end. Though Ralt's does manage to push some emotion into my head, which I respond with a little hello.

She releases a pleased noise and proceeds to hug my right leg with her tiny arms.

Just like that, I would die for any of these babies, no questions asked. For a few seconds, I just sit there, meeting each of the little guys before they start to wander around, curious about the surroundings and the people that were around.

Ralt's stays right next to me, while Rookiedee stays perched right on my shoulder, content to simply sit there. Eevee meanwhile curls right into a ball on my lap, while Mudkip and Riolu move towards the three young women that were together.

Paige and Lindsay both tense a little bit at the two small creatures approach, scared a little bit at what they probably think are bio-creations, while Judith simply remains unfazed. Actually, she is more than unfazed given that she moves into a bit of a crouch and extends a steady hand towards the water pokemon that was inching forwards with a smile.

A hand that Mudkip immediately leans into, happily purring into the scratches onto the top of his head, while Riolut waves at Paige in greeting. The feather-headed blond girl responds with a shaky hand.

"Wait, can these things understand us?" Lindsay asks while staring at each of the little creatures that were now going to be my babies. She almost jumps in place when Riolu nods in affirmations, not dropping his polite stare and welcoming expression.

"Yes, they can. They are fully capable of thought and understanding just like humans." For some reason, Rookiedee chooses that moment to stand just a little taller from his perch on my shoulder. I could already tell that the little guy had an ego. Though, if he managed to fully evolve, then he might have a reason for having it.

Becoming a seven-foot-tall bird of steel with that kind of wingspan was enough for that.

It's at that moment that I hear the doors open and Turtwig comes inside with Koromon riding on his shell, both of them sporting happy expressions on their faces.

"Mia we're home! Dinah was happy when we left!" Koromon proclaims to me while Turtwig nods in affirmation. When they spot the rest of the pokemon that were around, faces of excitement form on their face,s and immediately start to introduce themselves.

Through it all, I just sit there and smile at the happy banter that the little creatures start with each other.

I can feel Canary just staring at the collection of powerful beasts, with errant confusion prominent in her mind. Judith just taps her shoulder with an understanding look on her face. "Don't worry you get used to it."

"I haven't yet." Lindsay grouches from her spot.

"Well, you're not cursing at everything or trying to blow it up, so I say that we have some progress." She just glares at my glib tone, though it is one more of amusement than an irritation.

After a few minutes, I decided that it was enough just sitting around and I rise from the very comfortable chair. Had to get back to work.

Felt like it never ended.

Bidding the young women goodbye, I move towards the room that housed my Workshop with my pokemon and Digimon all following right behind me. Little guys just came out and wanted to spend some time around me I guess.

Which was a very good thing, I realized as I walked into the newest additions to my workshop. A brand new and state-of-the-art Pokemon Lab. More than just a lab, actually. It was a mix of home and lab, with comfortable furnishings and a fully stocked kitchen, restroom, and any other amenities that I would need.

Hell, there were multiple floors for this place, with enough room to house a small family in here. Holy shit.

You know what, I think that I'll move my stuff in here. The expensive-ass-looking room that came from the manor was something that I was still not completely comfortable with. And while most things in here were nice, they had a much more homey vibe than the elaborateness of the mansion.

Already my Pokemon and Koromon were exploring everything that they could reach, happy and content at the newness of the lab and the rest of my Workshop.

Thankfully most of my dangerous stuff was no longer in here.

Then I reach the genetic lab and the rest of the research equipment and I couldn't help that little nugget of frustration cawing in rage.

I literally just built a fucking lab the other day and this one was better than some of my other stuff!

Ugh, this was bullshit!

I release a long sigh. Well, at least I can see what I can do about upgrading some of these. Shouldn't be that much trouble, given that there were some parts of pokemon tech that were just better at genetics. Just needed a tune-up, and some software and hardware upgrades and I should be good to go.

Thankfully there was actually already pokemon medical data inside of this beauty and I could see how some of this could go towards some of my other creations. Which I was fairly confident that I could now do.

Though, even that pales in comparison to some of the books that were in this lab's library. Tomes focusing on pokemon medical history, with a few dabs in technology. Including pokemon medical technology and studies in herbology that pertained to pokemon.

Oh, this was something that was going to cause major breakthroughs in the biological branch of my studies. If I could ramshackle the pokemon potions to work for humans, well medi-gel would be nothing more than a staple compared to that.

Only problem was that it would require some of the berries that were rife back in the Pokemon world. Something that wasn't the same here. Though, the medical journals did come with plenty of information on just about every different species out there.

Maybe with some time, I would be able to create those same plants here in this world. Seemed like a far easier thing to do than trying to create new life in general.

Something to look forward to later.

Looking at my omni-tool I see that I still have some time before I have to head out later today. Wait, I can just leave that for the clone and wait here!

That way I can get some more crap done instead of having to go out.

Sending a message to one of my clones I take in a big breath before I take a look at my lab.

Right, time to get some work done. Where to start first?

--

Taylor

School had been the same as ever. Well, at least until the attack on the PRT started. After that most of the teachers started to go into slight panic mode, while the younger gang members mostly disappeared going to who knows where.

At least because of the ensuing chaos the three bitches left her alone for the most part. A part of her wanted to go off and help when she saw the attack that was going on even, but then she remembered the fact that she still didn't have a costume ready and that her swarm was barely a fraction of what it was.

So she just sat there, uselessly waiting with the rest of her class until everything had died down. She only ever heard about the chaos that was going on because of her classmates chattering away about it and the teachers that had started panicking.

Other than knowing everything was going to shit out there, with Lung and some of the Empire cape's escaping custody, she tried to enjoy actually being left alone in school with Emma and her sycophants being unable to do any of their usual torment. Something that made her feel just a little bit guilty when there was a full battle going on outside.

The brunette girl tried to focus on other things as she moved to the agreed meeting spot that she had with her new… team leader? Boss? She still hadn't quite figured out what to call the strange woman that had decided to train her.

Or even what she felt about the woman. Everything about her made Taylor feel completely inadequate, from the woman's amazing looks, all the way to the powers that she would give anything for in an instant.

Taylor still wasn't completely sure why the woman would be interested in her. Not when she already had a team and the powers that she had at her disposal. Still, she was going with the flow, because with this she could really be a hero. Someone that would actually be able to help people.

Even if there were risks that were involved. The woman was heroic, she already showed that she was not afraid of taking on Lung out in public, but Taylor had the feeling that there was more that the woman wasn't telling her. That there was another reason for her taking her in.

She didn't know what it was, but she noticed that Mia would sometimes look at, or stare at her with a look on her face that she couldn't put her finger on. Something didn't add up.

So for now she was going to keep going to these meetings, and hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If it was legitimate, then there would be no problems. But if there was something shady that was going on, then she would be the only one that would be able to let the heroes know.

Even if she was being trained, that didn't mean that she wasn't making sure to try and memorize everything that she could see and writing it down when she got home. Just in case something happened to her.

It was on the way towards the meeting spot that she feels… something enters her range. Something that is able to sort of… fight her range. Or rather, it was in her range and she could sort of feel it, but she couldn't control it.

Frowning, but not slowing at all in her stride, she wills the bug to move towards her only to stop as it refuses. What?

Trying again, it refuses to submit to her control, but it begins to move towards her again, with an almost angry disposition.

Bugs don't have emotions. At least none that I can control.

Instead of staying where she was, she moves towards her meeting spot with increased pace, almost breaking into a jog out of sheer panic. Through her movements, she could still feel whatever it was, zeroing in on her location, its anger still apparent and very much moving faster than she thought it could through the Earth.

Not being able to sense what it was sensing, or even what the hell it was only fueled the slight fear that was worming its way into her chest as she moved down the street. When she spotted that same old-looking van she felt relief make its way into her chest as she maneuvered the small swarm that she had managed to collect over the past few days closer to eher Ready to move them to her defense as she felt the anomaly getting closer.

It was just as she got to the van that whatever was following her caught up a few yards away, and just as she was willing her swarm to come in, she felt something grab onto her leg.

Without another thought, her swarm flies towards whatever had thrown that, a cloud of various different insects that try to hit the strange thing only to find nothing but the ground. Because it had burrowed below. Under the concrete sidewalk. There was even a hole with bits of debris scattered around it. What the fuck!?

From her place on the ground, she sees that most of her body was now covered in thin white strings restricting her movements. What the fuck!?

By the time that she actually looks down at herself, Mia comes around from her seat in the driver's seat, her eyes scanning everything around them while she can see purple lights arcing between her fingers. Then Mia's eyes land on her tied-up body on the floor, and they widen.

Ó

Before she can get a word in the sound of moving earth next to her ear causes both of them to turn towards whatever had made it, with Taylor focusing the swam towards her location. Only to freeze as a long and deadly-looking needle that was dripping with something was pointed right at her face.

It was attached to the weirdest looking worm that she had ever seen with a brown body that looked like it was segmented, stubby tiny legs attached to the bottom of each segment, a bulbous nose, and very angry-looking eyes.

It was also making very weird noises at her while Mia was making a few gasping noises from right behind her.

"Wewewedle, weweweweedle!" It cried out with its voice, because that was a voice and not just buzzing or clicking like most bugs would make, at her while she could clearly feel the anger and rage that was coming off of it.

She was so out of it that she just stared at the strange creature as it chewed her out in its language, or whatever the hell it was screaming at her. It hadn't impaled her with that horn on its head so she was pretty sure that she was safe for the most part.

A few seconds later after it has finished its little tirade it just stood there a few inches from her head, huffing as if it had just finished running. Which, given that it had charged after her, it just had.

It was around then that Mia was knocked out of whatever trance she had been in and crouches down towards the little creature. "Are you mad because she was trying to control you?"

More to her shock, the little creature nods its head vigorously while giving her a few poisonous looks. That thing could understand them!?

"Alright, look I am sure that Taylor over there made no offense, didn't you Taylor?" She feels a little irritated at apologizing at a bug, but then she saw the little glare that both Mia and the bug thing were giving her and she decided to just go with it.

"I'm sorry for trying to control you. I didn't know that you weren't a normal bug. I won't try that again." The little thing glares into her eyes, his beady black ones giving off intelligence that she didn't know could be possible before he nods as if saying, "Apology accepted."

How the heck could a pair of eyes be that expressive?

"Look as an apology, how about I treat you to a free meal? My treat." Mia asks the little thing who immediately brightens up with joy.

Within seconds she finds herself in the passenger side of the van, while the worm thing is happily perched in the back, looking out of the windows with curios and excited eyes. It acted like a puppy more than a worm.

She still had some of that string stuck in her hair.

She gives Mia a curious glance while they pull up into the factory. While she was polite and she could tell that she was genuine while talking to the- what did she call it, a Weedle?- she still looked worried. And a little irritated, given that one of her twitched every now and then.

At least it wasn't directed at her.

--

Mia

FUCK. FUCK. SHIT. MIERDA! FUCK!

That giant fucking prick! I knew that shit was going too fucking well lately, and he had to go and ruin it by throwing a giant ass curveball my way.

I KNOW YOU'RE LAUGHING YOU ASSHOLE! I SWEAR TO GOD THAT I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET THIS SHIT!

As if I didn't have enough to deal with, what with the gangs, Endbringers, shards, and that giant fucking baby that couldn't get over his equally mass extinction girlfriend dying, now I had to add Pokemon appearing onto the plate.

There is no way that there's only one Weedle out there, no, I knew in my gut that there were more out there. Which was really, really bad.

Like, kill order bad.

Shit, being in Brockton Bay only made it even worse. No way that I would be able to talk calmly with Director Piggot about this shit, especially not at the fact that they could reproduce.

Fuck this was a nightmare.

I message my temples trying to keep calm while one of my clones was dealing with Taylor's basic training, which the girl absolutely hated.

Well too bad girl, I couldn't just give you the years of training like I could. At least not yet. Don't doubt that there is something in the Forge somewhere.

I wanted to hit something right now. FUCK!

I already crumpled some machinery that I was moving in here earlier, now it was just a ball of scrap and wire over in the corner.

I was going to need help. A lot of help. Needed to talk to Dragon about this. She had pull both in the Guild and the PRT and I was pretty sure that she would agree in a heartbeat.

Fuck, this was bad.

There was too much going on at the moment. Not to mention that I knew that the PRT would probably drag their feet with any deal that they were going to have with me. If only to piss me off, cause they wouldn't be able to put a leash around my neck.

And there was no way in hell that I was going to kowtow to any of that type of bullshit.

Even if Piggot was a pragmatist, I knew that the other directors would be hard-pressed to agree in a timely manner. That was even before I took Rebecca Costa Brown into account and Cauldron behind the scenes. Or rather Contessa.

I did not need to get a visit from her. While I was pretty sure that I could take her if a fight came down to it, I didn't need to deal with the rest of the capes that came along with it.

Time.

Time was the big problem. Time and space to build my crap.

Resources weren't a problem, I had managed to stockpile most resources over the past few days, from creating it out of magic and then having my clones make something else only to scrap it immediately after they were done.

No, I needed space to make most of my larger projects, and while the Temple of Solomon helped with some of those projects, I needed more.

And while I wanted to help the economy of this place, the pokemon issue was going to cause a fuckton of problems. Problems that would need fast solutions. Both for the Pokemon and the normal humans.

Guess it was time to speed up a few projects, just for different reasons than I thought.

Before I could put those into play, I needed at least one more day before I could properly start up the project.

So while that finishes up, I had to get something else started.

But that could wait till later tonight.

For now, I was heading to bed. Quickly merging into the hive mind before dissolving it I hum in appreciation. Everything was going like I thought it would.

Wonderful. And Leonardo was proving helpful with a different project's not to mention on his own personal set of armor that was just about done.

Good.

I walk into the Pokemon Lab's bedroom and fall to ever blissful sleep after a days-long work.

--

Clone Mia

Sometimes knowing that future crap wasn't going to be your problem really lightened the mood. Don't get me wrong I was still pissed at that fucking forging prick, but the ensuing chaos was going to be a different Mia's problem. Not mine.

Which is why it made spending time with a teenager that threw herself into training, and a bunch of adorable little creatures so much more enjoyable.

Well, Taylor was throwing herself into the training regiment that I had concocted up, while the Pokemon and Botamon were watching while they were enjoying a Mastercrafted meal courtesy de mi.

No meat for the most part, thankfully they were completely happy with a meal consisting of vegetables. Though we did have to stop Rookiedee from looking at Weedle with that hungry look in his eye.

Speaking of the wild Weedle, he was in pure bliss with that glazed carrot recipe that I had prepared for him and the rest.

Though I would have to do some more research on their diets.

Or, rather a different clone would. I was making sure that I was poofing myself the moment that I got the chance.

At some point, a couple of the pokemon had finished their meal and had decided to join Taylor in her training, with Riolu, and Turtwig joining in. While Taylor was doing some basic exercises in the gym, Riolu had moved on to a set of kicks and punches, while Turtwig was lifting weights with his vine whip, the little turtle pokemon focused completely on his workout.

"So, these are bio tinker creations that have powers?" Taylor grunts out while doing another situp while I was holding her feet down.

"Already told you that pokemon god showed up and promptly fucked off to wherever the hell he goes." She doesn't say anything to that, merely fixing me with that stoic stare as she moved up in another sit-up.

Right, what the hell was I expecting. Girl was stubborn as all hell, probably more than either of the girls that were hiding somewhere else in the house.

Rather, Lindsay and Paige were hiding and Judith was simply keeping them company. Not that good idea of having Taylor see their faces before she trusted me. They were both still wanted fugitives, and all of us would prefer it if the PRT didn't show up on our doorstep.

I changed the subject to her school, which only added a few more pieces to the puzzle that was the attack earlier today.

Having some of the younger gang members, or more likely their kids, leave during the attack was fishy. Still wasn't sure what the hell was going on, none of the gang members kept any form of online records on what the hell happened. Probably stopped using that when tinkers showed up, and they could hack into any plans that they might have.

Which while smart, was one of the biggest pains in the ass.

The worst part is, that we still didn't know how the hell this all started. All that we know, was that Lung and Hookwolf made it out, and started rampaging inside of the cells.

While that was going on, both gangs show up, at first starting to fight the PRT right before they started firing on each other. Way too chaotic to be a coordinated attack on either side.

No, if I had any doubts before, now I was fairly sure that this had Coil's mangy fingerprints all over it.

What the hell was he planning?

I could feel Taylor's emotions darken when she mentioned the attack on the PRT today. Anger, shame, guilt. Hold on, what?

"Are you really feeling guilty cause you weren't out there fighting?"

She freezes in her upward movement, her eyes locked onto mine, letting me see some of he those emotions in them, while her face remained a stoic mask.

"Are you doing that thinker thing again?" The coldness in her voice sends a shiver down my spine and I notice the Weedle turn to stare at us, focusing his little eyes on the brunette with a confused expression.

"You mean where I can feel your emotions? Then yes. What other reason would you feel guilty for?"

I can tell that I might have messed up because she moves to get up, her emotions intensifying while she moves, but before she can fully stand up, the Weedle is right there tugging on her shoes with his non-mouth.

She looks down at the little pokemon, an unspoken conversation going on between the two of them for a few seconds before Taylor releases a huff of irritation and turns back to me.

"Stop doing that."

I shrug helplessly. "Can't turn it off, unfortunately. Getting better at tuning it out, but I can't just not feel it." Especially not when they're so loud and strong.

Motioning over to one of the benches, she follows behind me both of us taking a seat while I pass her a water bottle that she greedily gulps down.

For a few seconds, she won't look at me while she stared down at the floor with her faceless mask, deliberating on what she should say. "I could have helped."

"Yes, you could have. You could also have been caught in the crossfire. While your bugs help with multitasking and sensing around you, there's only so much that you can do to dodge a stray bullet."

"I know that." She grounds out in a quiet voice. "I know that I could have been caught in the crossfire. But I also know that people were out there dying when I could have helped."

"And that gnaws away at you."

She reluctantly nods.

"Well, you shouldn't. But just cause you shouldn't doesn't mean that you won't."

She blinks at that staring at me like I had just grown a second head. I sigh.

"Look. You barely got your powers a few months ago, when a bunch of villains out there have had their powers for years, while they have a large amount of manpower and weaponry. If you had gone out and been careful you might have been fine, or you might have been caught in the crossfire.

And who would your death help, especially when there is so much more to do? No reason to throw your life away when there is so much more that you could do."

"Are you telling me that I should just watch someone getting hurt?" She challenges back, her face finally showing some form of expression with her wide mouth shifted into a frown beneath furrowed brows.

"Nope. But there is a difference between risking your life when you are in the line of fire and throwing yourself into danger. You were in school while all of this was happening on the other side of the city. How would you have gotten there? And if you did, what if other students or teachers had noticed that you went missing?

Not to mentions, that unlike those gang members and capes, you have no real experience in fighting or how to act in the middle of a gunfight. Oh sure you have powers, and you know how to use them, but a bullet fired from a normal guy can still kill you. Or any of the other capes that are around, that have honed their powers over years of experience."

I hesitate for a second before I place a gentle hand on her shoulder, looking into her angry eyes with my own hoping that I managed to look accepting. "That's why I'm training you. So that you can even up the playing field when you get caught in those kinds of fights. Because I know that regardless of whether or not you have my help, you are going to go out there trying to be a hero. Least I can do is make sure that you have a fighting chance, and help you along the way."

She stares at me with a confused and questioning stare. "Why do you care? You barely know me?"

I shrug at that. "Why not? You want to help people, just like I do. Why wouldn't I care? Plus, as I said, I have a thing for picking up strays. And I'd like to get to know you."

Confusion and indecision roil around inside of her, fighting, twirling in what she wanted to do, say, or even feel. Then I can feel something that makes me smile. It's small, something that hadn't seen the light of day in a while, but it was worth it.

A sliver of happiness and hope, that while David's to the Goliaths that made up her insecurity and depression, stayed resolute among them. Well, it was progress.

--

Lisa

Her headaches had gotten worse since the attack happened earlier in the day. And of course, painkillers and aspirin did nothing to the damn things.

Shit had been strange for the past few days, both with the overall cape landscape and the asshole that was holding a gun to her head. The fact that one was causing the other only served to complicate matters.

It started with him having her snoop around the PRT data logs, only affirming that he had moles in there like he probably did in some of the gangs. Something that only served to increase the hopelessness of her fucking situation.

Then they intensified when her power told her that Coil would know if she lied about anything in his report. That he knew what lies she would use and that he would not be pleased if she tried. Que even more headaches.

Though she did take some satisfaction in knowing that what she relayed to him made him squirm. Who knew that a Tinker that was more than happy forming a good relationship with the PRT would make him sweat that much.

Things only started to get weirder with every conversation that she had with him. He was nervous, scared about something. The closest thing that she could figure was that the new Tinker cape that showed up on that night when they were robbing the casino was what had him on edge. She had to remember to thank her for managing to get Oni-Lee of their backs.

Only her taking Lung down, along with a Merchant cape, and those three Empire capes had thrown everything into a tailspin.

Each gang was prepping for war, with the Empire managing to get their hands on more weapon shipments while the ABB was slowly starting to fracture because the cape that was holding the leashes on them was out of the picture. While it would make them more divided, it would only lead to chaos around the city.

And while she really couldn't care less if the gangs wanted to kill each other, she knew the moment that happened she and the rest of her reluctant team would have to go underground. At least she hoped that they would.

With every call from her 'boss', he became more and more erratic, panicked. That paired along with his insistence on keeping an eye on the status of the city, and Lisa worried that he would decide to use them as a suicide squad, or at least something to take off the heat.

That prick wasn't above those kinds of methods. And she knew that there was no way out of this for her. Moment that she tried to run away, he would find her and torture her. Her power said as much with every phone call that he made to her.

Something that constantly made her sick to her stomach.

Her teammates weren't any help on that front. Alec was a constant pain in the ass, doing his absolute best to annoy her to no end. And if she gave no reaction it only spurred him on to try even harder.

About the only thing that he could do to find something to relieve his boredom while they tried to lie low.

Grue was becoming more and more frustrated with the ever-growing tension that had seized the bay, his worry for his sister only intensifying his desperation that Coil would hold his end of the deal. Something that Lisa knew probably wouldn't ever happen. But even she didn't have the heart to tell Grue that.

She actually liked Grue, or at least he was the only one in the group that she could spend time with without getting annoyed.

Amidst it all, Bitch was the outlier. She was still her prickly and aggressive self, but there was something… different about her.

She seemed to look at things differently now, or rather seemed to not try to mangle anyone that even looked at her like before. It actually seemed to help alleviate things when they met with Spitfire.

Bitch was still aggressive as hell and watched her with eyes that promised she would set her dogs on her if provoked, but they were still able to finish the meeting.

Now they were waiting for the young girl to make a decision. Would definitely be a good addition, if only for the extra firepower if things got hairy. The most combat-oriented among them was Bitch, and they couldn't keep relying on her. Eventually, they would face something that the dog master wouldn't be able to handle.

With Lung having escaped, it sure was looking like they would have to deal with him later on. The Brute was not known for being forgiving, and she was pretty sure that he was still angry about that Casino Heist that they did. And she had felt such relief when she heard that someone had taken them down.

Only to have that little blanket of positivity ripped off her.

Ugh, everything was such a shitshow.

She groaned while throwing herself onto her bed, eager to go to sleep if only to escape this damned headache, though she knew that it was going to be a struggle to even fall asleep.

While she laid down and closed her eyes, trying her best to ignore the stinging pain in her head, she heard the clacking of a keyboard waking her up. She throws herself off the bed, grabbing the pistol that was hidden underneath her pillow, landing on her feet, and pointing at the noise that had disturbed her.

"Gotta say, ya'll have shit security here for a bunch of supervillains. Seriously, locked door with only the basic detection crap? With the stuff that you teens get up to?"

The woman's voice was both mocking and pleasant, which matched the tall figure that held her laptop in the air while typing away at it. And boy oh boy was she tall.

8ft 3in

Tinker-tech armor

Confident, not arrogant, has experience with battle.

Movements and body control exceeds that of a normal human.

Probably Thinker, Brute, Mover rating.

Enjoy's your reaction, finds it amusing.

Well, shit. Here's the new tinker that started the whole mess in the city. And the one that showed up with about twenty clones to help the PRT fight off the gangs earlier in the day. Alone, in Lisa's room with only a pistol against that armor that she was pretty sure could break her neck before she managed to get a shot off. Wonderfull.

As if reacting to her, the cape in front of her let out a chuckle.

Thinker power. Know's what you are thinking, or has a good idea.

Finds it amusing that you are trying to figure her out. Knows that you know.

She couldn't help that bout of irritation that welled up in her head.

The woman chuckled again.

Doesn't care that you know.

Yes, power she could figure that out for herself.

"What do you want?"

"No pleasantries?" The woman said sultry while cocking her hip.

Lisa could feel her eye twitch at that.

The woman shrugs after a few seconds of silence. "Suit yourself. By the way, you might want to put that gun down. Even if you managed to fire that off, I think that the bullet might actually ricochet back at you. Also, if you want to put some clothes on, for both of our sakes, you can go right ahead. I'll look away fi you want me to."

Telling the truth.

Tsk. Lisa places the gun down on the bed while reaching for a change of clothes. Wasn't like she had expected anybody to just burst in here while she was asleep. Maybe she should.

At least whoever the hell this tinker was she had the decency to turn around. And the confidence that nothing she could do with her back turned would make a difference. The tinker was right, but it still pissed her off.

"Ya done?" The slightest hints of a Latin accent pronounciate the first word. At her grunt, she turns back around. "Good. We can get started then."

"What do you want?" Lisa ground's out between her gritted teeth.

"I want to hire you."

Irritated. Doesn't want to do this. Dislikes you. Know's who you are.

Doesn't care. Won't hurt you.

Well at least there's that.

Maybe she cou-

"Don't even think about it."

Oh, well. At least she didn't have a gun pointed to her head this time.

"For what particularly."

"I want to take your boss down. And I was wondering if you would be interested in being part of that."

Now that. That was something that could make it worth biting her tongue.

Confident that she can accomplish it. Reluctant for your help.

Want's nothing to do with you.

At least neither of them were happy with this.

"I am very interested." She replied as a familiar smile wormed its way onto her face.

"Good. Now, I know that you managed to dig some dirt on the little asshole, I want it. I also want you all to disband."

That was not going to happen. "Yeah right. And leave the rest of us stranded for easy ppickings Fuck that."

The cape cocks her head, her glowing eyes of the helmet staring right into her own.

Meant for intimidation. Won't hurt you.

"We both know that the only reason that the four of you are together is for convenience. Yes, I know about the rest of your team, not just you."

Tattletale felt her face pale slightly, the cocky smile that had wormed its way onto her face quickly disappearing.

"Wonder what Grue would say about you knowing about exactly how much shit he's in because he exposed himself and his sister to that psycho that you call a boss?"

Actually angry. Knows that you didn't tell him PRT would be better option.

Knows about Grue's identity. Know's that PRT would take him in.

Doesn't like you.

Thank you power, as if that wasn't obvious enough.

"As for Regent, well I'm pretty sure that boy would just run off to another city to get the hell away from his father. And even if the PRT capture him, we both know that they would want someone that escaped from Heartbreaker on their side. Especially one that intimately knows about the goings-on of that hellhole."

Fuck, she was right. She'd suspected Alec's past but hadn't been completely sure. And whoever the hell this was had managed to figure it out.

A complete outsider that knew about every single one of them, and managed to figure out who Coil really was. A powerful Tinker, and if her guesses were right then this was also the same woman that had shown up to the gunfight to help out.

And from what she had shown there, her capabilities, powers, told Lisa that this was someone that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. Especially not as an enemy.

She still couldn't help that little thought in her head that just urged her to poke and prod. "I wonder what your little friends in the PRT would think about you stalking a bunch of teenage villains and then keeping quiet about it." She said with her signature smile on her face, trying her best to hide that bubble of fear that was welling up inside of herself.

The woman goes stock still.

Thinking.

Tattletale blinks. That's it? Nothing else from reading her body language? Nothing from the shift in her breathing? What the fuck?

"Pretty sure that they wouldn't believe a word that you say. Plus we both know what happens if you go to the PRT right?"

Lisa hated that knowing tone that the woman was using. Even if she was absolutely right. If she went to the PRT she was a dead woman. Coil would be able to get his hands on her within hours, and she would die or end up as his drugged-up thinker.

She knew that the thought went across his mind sometimes. Her power told her as much.

She felt like she wanted to puke. But honestly? If it meant getting the hell away from Coil, then going at it alone didn't really bother her that much. It wasn't as if she and her team were close by any means. More like together out of necessity.

She just hated going along with what this woman said.

"Most that I can do is pass the message along to the rest, though whether or not they go along with it is up in the air."

For a few seconds, she thinks that the woman was going to argue before she just shrugs her shoulders. "That's the most that I can expect realistically."

Raising her arm wisps of red and white swirl around her hand before solidifying into a beautiful crafter bracelet that was inscribed with images of foxes and eyes.

Matter conversion. Instantaneous. Can create technology.

Assume no limits. Is an artist. Years of experience.

Exceptional craftsman.

She hands her the bracelet, which she takes with nervous hands. It's heavier than it looks. Probably has a chunk load of technology on the inside.

"Communicator is on the inside. I'll contact you when I have instructions for you. Also has an emergency shield in there in case things get hairy or your life is in danger. Would be a shame if something happened before that snake goes down."

Not threatening. Genuine.

Dislikes you. Dislikes making deal.

Believes necessary.

Does not wish you harm.

"Ah, before I go. Something that you should know. Coils power."

Just like that her smile wormed its way back onto her face.

Making sure that prick couldn't lay a hand on her made having to go along with this crap worth it.

--

Mia

Talking to that little vixen made keeping my temper a bit of an issue. Never liked the brat from the story, and dealing with her now only reinforced that opinion.

Manipulative brat. Oh, I did empathize with her, manipulative parents with her never being able to fix what she perceives being her greatest mistake. Definitely could relate to at least some of that.

DIdn't mean that it justified the way that she flaunted her power at times, or needling people that could become a problem later.

I could just take them all out and chuck them at the PRT, but doing that didn't sit well with me. Most of them had stories that tugged at my heartstrings, but at the same time, they most certainly did not make good decisions.

Regent was raised in probably one of the worst families on the continent, Bitch was abused in the foster system while losing control of her power, and Grue had a sister that he wished to provide for and get away from her asshole parents.

At the same time, Bitch was an aggressive person that did not understand normal social cues, while Grue was a really dumb kid for not going to the PRT first instead of going villain and giving a shady boss his private life information.

Seriously, I was pretty sure that the PRT, especially this branch, would be more than happy to provide what he wants with less of a chance for him to get stabbed in the back.

Ugh, teenagers. They always manage to give me a fucking headache. So happy that I wasn't one anymore. God knows there was plenty of stuff that made me lose my shit and make some really dumb decisions.

At least I wouldn't have to deal with them for a little while. For now, Tattletale was gathering any intel that she could get her hands on while expanding on what nuggets of info she had managed to gather on her own.

Infiltrating Coils network and shutting the little asshole down was simple enough, but I had an inkling that he had some way of making sure that he didn't go down on his own.

No, Coil released Noelle when he was killed, it wouldn't surprise me if he had something else in mind in case I managed to take him down. And he was far too paranoid to leave anything in his data files, something that a good number of tinkers and thinkers would be able to get their hands on.

So, I needed Tattletale's help on that end. While I could hack the shit out of most of his crap, she was the closest thing that there was to Sherlock Holmes. If Sherlock Holmes was an insecure teenager that constantly needed to prove he was the smartest person in the room.

Well, that depended on which version of him you were dealing with. Hell who knows, maybe I'll end up meeting one of those one days.

For now, I was stuck having to deal with the blond thinker if only to see if she could figure out what kind of plan he had in case he bit the bullet one day. The moment that she figured it out, I was going to hit that prick head-on with everything that I could throw his way.

At the moment I was dealing with a different sort of problem.

"What do you mean that there are more of them out there!" Dragon almost screeched out from the holographic display that I was speaking to her through. Must really be surprised if the AI was reacting that way.

"I mean that one of the capes that I have taken into my team had an encounter with one. Accidentally pissed it off, and I found him threatening her with a poisoned needle."

Her face shifts into one of worry and horror that I quickly wave away. "I don't think that he would have hurt her too badly. He was just trying to prove a point."

"Still can't believe that they're sapient."

"Well, I just had most of mine prove it a few seconds ago soo.."

She actually rolls her eyes at that. "You know what I mean. How dangerous are they?"

I grimace. "Depends on what kind. A number of them just want to live normal lives and be at peace. Others are territorial and are distrustful of outsiders. Honestly, Pokemon are as varied as humans are. Though the good news is that a lot of them really like humans." I say while Rookiedee snoozes away on my shoulder, nuzzled into my hair like a nest, while Eevee is resting on my lap.

Don't know where the rest of them are, they have a tendency to wander around on their own, and when they aren't following Turtwig around, they tend to differ over to Koromon who really likes the attention.

It'll be fine though. The entire place is a bustling workshop of me's running around, so I don't think that they can get into too much trouble.

"Are you really telling me that they act how they do in those games?"

"Yeah. I mean you literally saw their god who managed to completely stop time before flying away." Now it was her turn to grimace as she remembered the way that Areus had disappeared from her point of view.

"How bad could this get?"

"Bad. Maybe worse than parahumans shook the place up. After all, most parahumans have a hard limit on what they are capable of, Pokemon don't. Or rather they keep getting stronger through the course of their life until the day that they die."

Her hologram just stares at me, her brown hair frizzing at the ends for just a fraction of a second. Did I just make her glitch?

"Anyway, that we can mitigate any damage?" Dragon asked.

"Maybe. First off, we need to get the PRT and any other countries of organizations informed. No reason that we should assume that this is only happening in the US. Mainly not to hurt any of them."

"I don't thik that they are going to respond well to that. Even though they might be natural to their own world, here they will think that the… Pokemon are just biotinker creations."

"I know. But that is how we should respond. They might be dangerous, but I can promise you that they can put a hell of a better of a fight than any of Nilbog's, or Bonesaw's creations. No reason to provoke them when the option for negotiation remains open."

Dragon hums to herself, though I think that it's mostly for my part than hers. "And exactly how do you think that negotiations are going to go?"

"Simple. They like to fight. And not like Parahumans do where they are wounded by trauma, but in that they enjoy the thrill of battle and getting stronger. I'm thinking about following the roots of their world."

"Are you really suggesting that we start to make 'trainers' who carry around Pokemon for fights?"

"I know how it sounds, but it works where they're from. Hell, mine here gets a little stir crazy if they don't get into some sort of fight with each other. Besides, this might mean that we could have normal people that aren't just defenseless during a parahuman attack."

"You're thinking about being able to outfit PRT personnel with them." I open my mouth but she continues on before I can interrupt. "But you said that there are some out there that want to do this. That want to fight. Is that what you're betting on?"

I nod. "Yeah. While some people might think that they are being held against their will, they aren't. Any Pokemon can leave their ball at any time, and if they were really unhappy, they can break their ball and leave if they truly wish to. Mine assured me of that." Eevee happily nods from her seat on my lap."

"The higher up's still aren't going to be happy about this." Dragon warns.

"I know. But that's why I have some bargaining chips." That's when I pull up a few files that I had been saving.

Hologram diagrams appear in front of us, ranging from engineering designs to medical and botanical ones. Diagrams of the finished products along with notes on how they were made and their use appeared below the pictures.

I knew that Dragon absorbed the knowledge of each one, her shard no doubt was happy for the influx of data.

"Mia, these are revolutionary." Dragon whispered out after giving every single one a look through.

"I know. That's why I made sure to keep them hidden so that nobody would be able to take a look at them."

"This might be enough to get them to at least hear you out. Though, if you want this to work out, we would need to start building as soon as we can."

"Not that big of a worry. I have some plans for that."

She gives me a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to tell me what that is?"

I give her a little chuckle. "It's a bit of a surprise."

Dragons looks at me with a scrutinizing look for a few seconds before rolling her eyes. Then they change into one of concern. "How are you doing Mia?"

I give her a winning smile. "Alright. Just been busy, that's all."

The look in her eyes takes on a piercing quality. "Really? I still remember that moment when we connected. While there was quite a lot that I felt there, who you are, what you're like, there was also something else."

I can't help the way that my hands instinctively curl into fists. "What exactly was the other thing?"

"Well other than that feeling that you were simply… more. I could also feel that you were scared. Not of me," I can hear the appreciative tone that coats those words. ", but of… you. Or rather, the powers that you have. That you're different. Not human."

I don't say a word about that. Fuck, I'm doing my best not to look her in the eye. "It's something that I'm dealing with."

"By throwing yourself into work?" Dragons gently asks, her eyes watchful and full of understanding.

Damn. "Look, I-I'm handling it."

She raises a knowing eyebrow at me, not saying a word. Right, if anyone knew about throwing yourself into work to avoid shit it was probably Dragon.

And while I trust her, because I do, I can't tell her everything. Can't tell her that I can't stop working, that if I do there's a chance that this world won't see the end of the decade.

"There's too much for me to do. You don't have to worry about me working myself to death, I have plenty of friends here that have forced my ass into bed when I should have been resting." Which I still had to pay them back for.

The silence stretches for a few more seconds before she decides to drop. "Alright. But I am here to talk if you need to. I have quite the understanding for not being human."

"I'll make sure to keep it in mind." And I mean that. But there was way too much going on for me to just tell her everything. Too much to stop working completely. I wasn't killing myself and making sure that I was getting the rest that I needed, but I knew I had to keep working.

The thought that I didn't do enough to stop those fucking xeno assholes was enough to keep me going. Cause it wasn't just this Earth that was in trouble, it was going to an almost uncountable amount.

I take in a breath as subtly as I can manage, centering myself, allowing the Force to surround me, and just flowing the emotions outward. The fears were still there, they weren't just going to disappear. But they were mitigated.

Just like every other time that I had almost been overwhelmed.

Right before signing off, Dragon assured me that she would do her best to get in contact with the Head Director and would make sure to call me back. Hope that Becky would be open to talking. Or at least that Contessa would give her a good answer.

Time to do my rounds. Rather, time to connect to the Hive again. While it was useful, there was something about connecting and becoming a 'we' instead of simply 'I' that I still wasn't comfortable with. Like I was in danger of remembering that I was one person and not a group of them.

The thought of simply remaining in the Hive and working like that entered my mind, more productivity done without the worry of losing on any of the progress. A thought that I quickly stomped on again and again before quickly breaking the connection.

I hadn't had that thought since, but I still felt uneasy about doing it for too long.

I stay long enough to process the amount of work that was done and the progress of everything.

Boy, oh boy. Have we made progress?

The warping tech that we have been trying to perfect is almost at a point that we are comfortable with actual live testing. I.e one of my clones. Ever since I gained Promethean Woman, the thought of pocket dimensions and how to replicate them had entered into my brain and refused to leave.

So we had gotten started on it. Ever since I connected to the Reverse-Engineering star, Dragon's power, progress had skyrocketed and we were making more leaps and bounds than before. It had taken quite a bit, with my clones putting in hours and hours of work, but we have finally been able to create smaller pocket dimensions that didn't directly come from my power.

They were no bigger than a baseball, not practical for much use except for storing small objects, but it was enough for Great Woman and Reverse-Engineering to take over and make the fucker run with it. Pretty soon I would be able to create some that were the size of this dimension or the Temple of Solomon.

As an offshoot from that warping space- sort of like Vista could- started its own branch of research with being able to create small fields where space is able to be shortened or lengthened. It still required quite a bit of machinery, but we were already making progress on being able to lessen the amount of equipment that we would need.

There was so much more progress that was made in various fields from biological, botanical, medical, and engineering that it would take me far too long to explain to anyone else. I was a one-woman science institution.

And of course, Leonardo was taking full advantage of being able to do the same, splitting into clones and observing the work and research that we were doing, all while advancing his own understanding of the sciences. He was invaluable help when it came to work, and direction, oftentimes coming up with novel ways to problems that would leave even my super-intelligent clones scratching their head.

That man was born to be a scientist and he was loving every minute of it.

Though there was one field that we had managed to make true breakthroughs that would help every single one of my friends that were living with my catch up.

I decided to call a sort of meeting of everyone to the Pokemon Lab, the most comfortable and homey part of my ever-expanding pocket dimensions.

Lindsay, Judith, and even Paige were seated over on the couch, Judith all but adopting the former singer, with the former bomber just going with it. Leonardo was seated on a comfortable cushioned chair, with Deeseven right next to him, while my Pokemon and Digimon were scattered all over the room happily relaxing.

I had even managed to make Krunter sit down on a stool, and even that was a fucking battle. Of course, everyone was enjoying their respective drinks, tea, juice, coffee etc. Made by me of course.

We were sort of arranged in a loose circle around the center of the common area with me at the sort of head of that circle.

"So what have you got for us? What bullshit have you managed to pull out of your ass?"

"Must you be so crass, signora Lindsay?" Leonardo questions from his seat.

"Fuck yes. Do you need to have a stick up your ass?" The young woman glibly responds while Judith smacks her arm.

Leonardo's mouth merely twitches into a grin before resuming a line. At this point, he had grown used to Lindsay's foul mouth, probably because he got used to my own.

Still, I remember when he said that it was improper for a lady to speak such things.

I reminded him that a lot of things that he got up to when he was alive were also seen as improper during his time. That managed to shut him up.

"Alright to answer your question gashead, what I managed to pull out of my ass was this. I activate the Tv-turned hologram projector, which showed a view of blue's whites and green landscapes of data platforms and streams of code.

"This is what my clones have cooked up to solve some of our issues. Mainly, our training issues."

That managed to get them hooked. All of them except for Paige who seemed confused. While I had explained who we were, I hadn't yet explained what we did, at least not in detail. I had meant to talk to her earlier in the day after she'd had time to rest, but everything had just started to go crazy before I knew what the hell was going on.

Even then, I was still hesitant of bringing her into the fold, but I needed people that I could trust, and while the girl wasn't there yet, I think that she could be. The way that she felt in the Force, it was one of the lighter and kinder signatures's that I had ever felt. Gentler and less bright than Leonardo's shining brilliance, but still just as pleasant.

Originally I just wanted to get her the hell out of that hell hole, but I couldn't just keep her here and not tell her a thing. I was already doing that with Will, but at least he wanted nothing to do with any of this shit.

"Originally we were going to have to be limited to only advancing mental training, reaction time, and cramming in the information. Thankfully thanks to a new power yesterday we were able to fix that." With a hand motion the screen flashes to what looks like a large coffin-like shape that was made out of wraithbone and metal, which did now that I was showing to the rest of them, I realized just how uninviting they really were.

Which would explain the blank stares that all of my friends were giving me. "I am not getting that thing," Judith said while Lindsay nodded next to her.

Of course, Leonardo was the only one that was looking at it with interest along with Krunter, but that was only because the poor guy didn't really understand what the hell I was talking about. He barely knew how to use a microwave, when I tried to explain what the hell computer was he looked like his brain was short-circuiting.

"Yes, yes, they look like coffins, but I promise that's n…