Jumping Taylor

When trapped in her personal hell, Taylor wanted nothing more than to get out. What if, instead of bugs, her Shard decided to oblige with a power similar to Doormakers? With the power to travel wherever she wants, just what could Taylor learn to make her a Hero?

So yeah, this is a tad different to what I originally planned. I originally intended to do another chapter in the Pokemon world, with Tay, Emma and Amilea meeting Riley and Fortuna, a meeting with the Pokemon Undersiders and a couple of Pokemon battles. However, I couldn't figure out a good way to do it, so instead we're skipping forwards by...about three months Bet time to when Taylor comes home. If I continue (I probably won't), I'll go back with flashbacks and the like, or alternatively, just write it chronologically and save this chapter for later. Well, this is getting long so I'll shut up and let you enjoy!

Chapter 2 (V2)

The docks of Brockton Bay were not really a place that you'd want to spend time after dark. Well, unless you happen to have powers, like a certain dark clad girl currently skulking in the shadows, surrounded by a small cloud of insects as more and more began to buzz around her. Of course, we all already know how this whole thing goes, Skitter stumbles on Lung and his boyz, overhears them plotting to kill kids and decides to get involved, having her little friends nibble off his Johnson in the process and really pissing him off.

At this point, the Undersiders would normally step in to keep Skitter from being charbroiled, but we already know how different this world is. As such, what slammed into Lung with the force of a small train wasn't an oversized, mutant dog, but was instead a six foot tall lizard with green scales, sharp blades on its wrists and a pair of equally sharp fins that ran down both sides of its spine, letting it turn into a spinning buzz saw surrounded by high pressure water.

Lung roared in pain as the lizards sheer speed and the pressure of the water made short work of his scales and began to dig into his flesh, apparently not even remotely bothered by the fire thrown at it, before it suddenly stopped and slammed a large, flat hand into Lungs stomach, sending him slamming into the street below with enough force to bury him in a small crater.

"'At ur 'uck?!" roared Lung, his voice distorted by his changed face as he struggled from the crater as the unexpected attacker landed lightly a few feet away, its stance loose and ready.

"Well, I suppose this is what I get for coming through in the Docks," said a new voice as a tall figure stepped out of an alley behind the lizard, "Still, I honestly wasn't expecting to run into a Cape fight this early."

"Oo er uck r oo?!" snarled Lung.

"Just a passing citizen," said the newcomer, "Hey new girl, you OK?"

"I, um, yes?" said the new girl as she stared down at the other newcomer.

Said newcomer was tall and slender, with dark hair that was pinned up in a bun under a blue and black hat that matched her blazer, a black skirt, stockings and hardy looking shoes that had clearly seen a lot of use.

"DON'T IGNORE EE!" roared Lung as yet more fire erupted from him and he jumped at the girl and her lizard.

The girl held up a hand and Lung abruptly froze in mid air as a pale blue glow surrounded him, matching the glow that had appeared around the girls outstretched hand and was visible emerging from under the brim of her hat.

"I really don't want to deal with you right now," said the girl, "Nepthion, cut him down to size. Water cutter."

The lizard hissed and crossed its arms, the blades on its wrists glowing as they extended as a large amount of water surged out of its fins. A moment later, it flickered and appeared on the far side of Lung, the water swirling around it now tinted red. Lung roared in pain as his arms went flying. The disarmed gang leader dropped to the floor as the aura holding him up faded, leaving him in a groaning heap on the floor as he began to rapidly shrink back to his base form.

Normally, the damage inflicted wouldn't have been enough to keep Lung down for long, but the sudden loss of limb, combined with the large amount of bug venom in his system from his fight with the bug user meant that his power was hard pressed to keep him alive, let alone let him regenerate any limbs until the poison could be removed.

"Well, that was a thing," said the new girl, "You guys can come out now."

The bug user was confused for a moment, before three massive lizard monsters with more costumed teens jumped off a nearby roof and landed with a thud. For a moment, there was a tense silence as Lung bled sluggishly on the floor, before the apparent leader of the newcomers, a tall youth in biker leathers and a skull decorated motorcycle helmet, stepped forwards. However, before he could say anything, the girl in blue spoke up.

"You know, there are far easier ways to establish yourselves as escape artists than to steal from Lung," she said.

That seemed the draw the dark clad youth up short.

"I...what?" he asked.

"Bullshit!" shouted the girl in purple, "Theres no way you can actually...wait, you know us?! AND you think we're idiots?! How the...WE'VE NEVER MET BEFORE!"

Everyone stared at her.

"Um, Tats, are you OK?" asked the other male of the group, a slightly effeminate teenager in a renaissance style costume.

"NO, I am NOT OK!" snapped Tattletale, jabbing a finger at the blue clad girl, "SHE is somehow aware of who we are and as fought us before, despite the fact I know for a FACT we've never even met before!"

She shot a glare at the smugly smiling girl, before her eyes went wide again.

"Wha...DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL?! ARE YOU FUUUUUU….!"

She trailed off into incoherent swearing. Her teammates stared at her for a moment, then looked at the apparent source of her break down in askance. The girl in question just shrugged.

"Perhaps she saw something she wasn't meant to," she said.

She tilted her head on one side, her eyes lighting up slightly under the brim of her hat.

"That said, you should probably go, unless you fancy getting into a fight with Armsmaster," she said, "Frankly, I don't care one way or another, but I want to get home some time tonight."

"I...um...thanks?" said Grue, confusion clear in his tone.

He turned and remounted one of the mutated dogs, followed by his teammates, although not without Tattletale shooting another poisonous look at the bizarre new Cape, and the Undersiders left as quickly as they arrived. Within moments, they were out of sight and the other newcomer relaxed slightly. She sighed softly as she pulled a red and white ball from her belt and pressed a button, causing it to grow to the size of a baseball.

"Nepthion, return," she said.

The bug girl, who had finally worked her way down from the roof, jumped as a red laser shot out and hit the large lizard, causing it to turn into more light and vanish into the ball. There was a moments silence as the blue clad girl returned the ball to her belt and Bug looked between her and where the lizard had been stood. After said moment, Bug shook her head and started moving again.

"Um, thank you," she said.

"Don't mention it," said the taller girl, "Are you OK?"

"I...think so," said Bug, "Just a bit shaken up. He didn't actually hit me."

"Well, thats a relief," said the girl, "Anyway, as I said to the Undersiders, Armsmaster will be here in a few minutes, so I'm gonna head out. I suggest you tell him about the bug venom when he gets here so he doesn't fill Lung with tranquilizers and potentially kill him. See ya."

She turned and started walking away, leaving a rather confused bug girl behind.

"Wait!" called Bug, "Don't you want credit for this?"

She gestured at the insensate Lung.

"Nah, I only helped because I was here," said the girl, "Frankly, I just want to get home and have a long talk with my Dad. Good luck."

She turned and vanished into the dark, just as Armsmasters motorcycle rounded the corner.

Danny Hebert was, in a word, a mess. It had been three months since his Daughter, his last surviving family member who he had basically abandoned after her Mother died, had vanished without a trace. The only clue to her disappearance was a locker full of filth that still had her footprints and bloody fingerprints inside and some EXTREMELY peculiar radiation left behind that the PRT had determined must have come from some kind of power. However, that meant that either Taylor had been kidnapped by some unknown Cape for an unknown reason and considering some of the Capes who were known for kidnapping people, that likely WASN'T going to end well at all for her, or she'd Triggered and used her power to escape. Where to was anyones guess and left Danny still without any kind of answers.

Combine that lack of answers with the crushing guilt he felt for basically abandoning his Daughter when she needed him most and it was perfectly understandable that he was a complete wreck.

Said complete wreck was, once again, passed out in the living room with an empty beer bottle in his hand and a few more scattered around the room, looking decidedly disheveled as he hasn't showered or shaved since the last time his friends had come to check on him, leaving him greasy and with a three day stubble on his chin and cheeks. The landline was sitting in its cradle next to his chair, where it had been since Taylor had disappeared, just in case someone called with any information. It was a faint hope, one that was getting fainter every day, along with Danny's will to live. Indeed, the only reason he hadn't already walked into the sea was because of that faint hope.

Fortunately, that hope was about to be born out.

The sudden sound of the doorbell jolted Danny from his sleep and, without thinking, he snatched up the phone. Then, the sound registered properly, along with the dial tone, and he returned the phone to its place. For a moment, he contemplated simply staying put, but the doorbell rang again and he heaved himself to his feet. He stumbled to the door and fumbled with the keys for a moment, then swung it open and froze when he saw who was on his doorstep.

She was taller and wearing clothes he'd never seen her in before, but there was no way he could ever mistake the slightly awkward smile she wore for anyone else.

"Hi Dad, I'm home," said Taylor.

Without a word, Danny stumbled forwards and dragged his Daughter into a tight hug.

A short time and some tears later and the two Heberts were sat in the living room (after Danny had cleaned up the beer bottles and his teeth) in an awkward silence. After being apart for so long, in addition to their more than slightly strained relationship before Taylors disappearance, neither of the two really knew what to say. Well, that wasn't entirely true.

"I'm sorry," said both Heberts at the same time.

They stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You go first," said Taylor, "I think mines going to take a while."

Danny frowned slightly, but pushed the slight apprehension he felt to the side. He'd get the details later and this had been far too long coming.

"Taylor, I'm sorry," he said, "I've been a horrible Father. Ever since Annette...went away, I've been so wrapped up in my own grief I basically abandoned you, despite the fact you were suffering as much as I was, if not more. I don't know if you can ever forgive me for that, but…"

He was cut off by Taylor moving from her seat in the armchair to the couch next to hum and hugging him.

"Its OK Dad," she said, "Its not like I did anything to help either. We both could have done better, but now thats all behind us. All we can do is be better in the future."

Danny stared down at his Daughter in surprise. He honestly hadn't expected her to be that mature about it, although he wasn't sure if that was due to his own pessimism or just not knowing her. Still, he pushed those thoughts away and hugged her back, pushing down a new set of tears as he did.

After a few moments of simply enjoying the closeness they'd lacked for so long, Danny sighed and reluctantly pulled away. There was still more to be said after all.

"What happened to you Taylor?" he asked, "Where have you been for the last three months? The only thing the police and the PRT could figure out is that you were somehow taken from...that place by some kind of Parahuman ability."

Taylor sighed.

"That...is going to be somewhat hard to believe," she said, "I'm sorry I was away for so long, but I only just figured out how to get back."

Danny frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "You weren't...kidnapped, were you?"

Taylor quickly shook her head.

"Ah, no, thats not it!" she said, "I just Triggered in the Locker!"

There was a moments silence.

"You...Triggered?" asked Danny, "You mean you have powers?"

Taylor nodded.

"I can create portals between two points," she said, "It even works across realities, which is where I've been for the past year. I just wanted out so badly that I used my power instinctively and ended up on another world with no idea how to get back."

She sighed and smiled slightly.

"I...honestly can't say I regret it though. In fact, I think I can honestly say I owe the Trio a big thank you."

Danny frowned.

"What do you…"

He was cut off by a loud clacking sound as one of the balls attached to Taylors belt suddenly snapped open and a beam of white light shot out and formed into a small, fox-like creature with brown fur, rabbit-like ears and a thick ruff of cream fur around its neck on the coffee table. The tiny fox looked around, dipped its nose into Taylors teacup, then jumped into its Trainers lap and rolled over onto its back, demanding belly rubs with the kind of puppy-dog eyes only an Eevee can bring out.

Danny stared.

Taylor sighed as she gave into her Pokemons demands.

"Taylor…"

"Don't worry Dad, there was no Biotinkers involved," said Taylor, "Eevee here is just one of the creatures that exist in the world I found myself in."

She took a deep breath and dove into the explanation. Danny listened with wide eyes as Taylor told him about a world inhabited by mysterious creatures known as Pokemon who lived alongside people, both as beloved pets and as trusted partners for those who travelled the world and competed against one another in Battles and Competitions. A world that, while still far from perfect, was leagues better than Earth Bet. Sure, it had crime and conflict, but it wasn't on a nose dive into the shitter like Bet was, despite the fact that even the bugs could probably earn low Brute ratings at least.

"That...sounds somewhat unbelievable," said Danny once Taylor was finished.

Taylor shrugged.

"I know, but its the truth," she said, "I could show you if you wanted."

Danny stared at his Daughter for a moment, taking in her wide smile and shining eyes. She looked happy, far more so than he'd seen since Annette had died. A part of him was crying out to be careful, Strangers and Masters were a thing after all, but looking at the life filled expression on his Daughters face pretty much caused that part of him to dissolve like smoke in the wind.

"I think...I think I'd like that," said Danny.

Taylors face lit up with a wide grin and she hopped to her feet, transferring her sleeping Eevee to her shoulder as she did.

"Then lets go!" said Taylor, "If we hurry, we can still make it!"

Danny blinked as Taylor pulled him to his feet without apparent effort.

"Make what?" he asked.

"You'll see," said Taylor as she raised a hand, her fingers lighting up with a golden glow.

Before Danny could ask anything else, Taylor swung her glowing hand and the air in front of her seemed to split open, creating a glowing, golden rift in the air through which the smells of cooking food and loud crowds could be heard. Danny glanced at Taylor, who just grinned again and pulled him through the rift, which snapped shut a moment later, mere moments before the front door was kicked off its hinges by a certain red clad Kinetic manipulator.

Danny stumbled as he passed through the portal after his Daughter, blinking and shielding his eyes as he went from his dimly lit living room to a bright, sunny alleyway between two buildings.

"Why are we in an alley?" asked Danny.

"Better than causing a panic," said Taylor, "Come on!"

Danny let his eager Daughter drag him out of the alley and into the streets of whatever city they found themselves in. Said city was clearly in the middle of some kind of celebration if the crowds, banners, stalls and sheer noise was anything to go by, but he quickly came to the conclusion that wherever they were, it wasn't Earth Bet. Creatures he didn't recognize were everywhere, some clearly the companions of the people walking around, while others scavenged for discarded food, flew overhead and a few even lounged in the large fountain they passed on their way through the crowds, including a massive, dragon like creature that looked like it could give Leviathan a run for its money.

"Where are we?" asked Danny in a slightly faint voice as he watched a boy who couldn't be older than nine chance a racoon the size of a large dog around a table.

"This is Protectorate City," said Taylor, "Its the location of the Bet Region Pokemon League, Battle Tower and a few other things, including that."

She pointed at a large stadium they appeared to be heading towards.

"Right, I'm going to pretend I know what that means," said Danny.

"Oh, sorry," said Taylor, "The Pokemon League is a tournament where participants travel from city to city, collecting badges from eight Gyms for a chance to challenge the Elite Four of the Region. Most Regions have one in one form or another, but this years a bit different. Instead of the normal Gym rotation, its the Silver Games. Think the Olympics for Pokemon Trainers."

She glanced back at Danny and grinned.

"I thought this would be a good way for you to get a good look at this world. Plus, I'd really like if you could cheer me on."

Danny nearly stumbled.

"Wait, you're competing?" he asked, "How?"

"Lets just say I know some people," said Taylor, "Besides, I'm not competing in the main brackets, thats limited to the Gym Leaders and Champions."

"I...see," said Danny, "So, where are we going?"

"Right here," said Taylor as she stopped in front of a large building with a red roof not far from the stadium.

They entered the building and Danny found himself in a lobby that seemed to be one part hospital waiting room, one part hotel lobby. A number of small groups were scattered around the room, including a fairly large group who seemed to be gathered around a young man in a red cap with a large, yellow mouse on his shoulder and another, larger group that consisted mostly of teenaged girls who were gathered around a tall, lanky man with black and white hair.

However, instead of a large group, Taylor headed over to a pair of teenaged girls who were sat on one of the many padded benches that filled the room.

"Hey guys, sorry it took so long," said Taylor as she and Danny approached.

The two girls turned and Danny was surprised to see that one of them was a slightly younger Emma. Then again, the idea of alternate versions of people wasn't completely forgen, so he decided not to say anything about it. He didn't recognize the other girl, although he had the strangest feeling he'd seen her somewhere before, although he didn't think he'd forget someone with pink hair.

"Don't worry Rose, your not late," said the younger Emma, looking at him curiously, "So I take it you managed to get home then?"

"Yep, finally figured it out, just in time," said Taylor, "Dad, this is Emma and Amilia, but she prefers Amy."

"Nice to meet you both," said Danny, deciding to just go with it.

Well, mostly.

"Rose?" he asked, turning to Taylor.

Taylor blushed and shifted slightly.

"Ah, well, thats because…"

Before she could finish, the nearby lift doors opened and a familiar voice cut across her.

"Hey Rose, your back!"

Danny blinked and turned to the voice, only to freeze when he saw the group now approaching them.

If he was surprised by the presence of Emma's apparent doppelganger, the group walking towards him hit like a punch to the gut. He barely even noticed the younger version of Taylor running over to hug his Daughter, not when his entire focus was fixed on the vision of beauty who followed her out of the lift, only to freeze when she saw him, a similar look of shock and disbelief on her face.

"Annette," he breathed.

So I originally planned to include a big, flashy introduction to the Silver Games in this chapter, but I don't think I'd have been able to fit it in, so instead I'll end it there. Fun fact, I originally planned for Danny to meet his alternate here, but I have a better idea now. Mainly because Poke-Taylor is a Pokemon Protagonist. Take a guess what I mean by that.

Oh, and before I forget, I made a slight adjustment to the previous chapter to accommodate this idea.

So yeah, someone still got bug control following the Locker fiasco and will be going through Taylors experiences at the start of Worm. That'll quickly go off the rails though, once Taylor heads home to spend some time cleaning up the city, and she will be doing that at some point. If I continue it. Take a guess as to whos under the mask.

Danny believing Taylor so quickly. Well, I'd have thought the reason was obvious. He's pretty much stopped giving a fuck by that point. Plus, anyone trying to trick him would have picked a story slightly less out of this world. Literally.

I think that its fairly reasonable that the PRT would be keeping tabs on Danny. After all, his Daughter has disappeared through an unknown Mover power that could potentially spell trouble for them, both due to Shadow Stalkers involvement and the general fear of someone snatching a teenager from a school. So, they left someone to keep tabs on him, just in case someone made contact for whatever reason.

Nepthion is the final form of the water type Bet Region Starter. It is a water/fighting type and evolves from Jorion at level 35, which evolves from Leviewt at level 16. Its signature move, Water Cutter, has a high crit chance and increases its speed when used.

Take a guess as to who the two groups in the Pokemon Center lobby are.

In case your wondering, I named the Silver Games after Mt Silver.

And with that, I think I'm done. I probably could include some more quips, but I was supposed to be hitting the sack half an hour ago. How time flies when your having fun, eh? Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to leave a review!