To be honest, from a writer's standpoint the SI is all over the place. Their motivation is weak or usually all over the place. They place way too much value on small things and while capable of thinking deep plans, usually chooses to not optimize everything they have and be content easily.

Well, that's me.

I'm deeeeefilently not perfect, so by proxy the SI ends up making questionable decisions as well. At least that's how I see it. Also is it just me or is the app's spellchecker feature kinda useless?This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but that is because I did not want to keep splitting chapter focus.

By the way, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual since I could not think of a way to lead into other perspectives well. Ah well, more stuff for the future.

Please enjoy the chapter.

Within the dumpster, there was now two of me.

"Hm."

"Neat."

"Looks like that theory worked out."

"Just because I can make an Avatar while in the Pocket Dimension doesn't mean I have to dispel you."

"...Talking to myself is kinda trippy, but also not really?"

"Yeah, it feels like when you have those inner conversations with yourself in your head."

"You think we can technically have telepathic conversations because of a Unique Power Interaction with Organized Mind and Rodent King's Multitasking?"

"Maybe something to try out later. Now then, Lillith's gonna open a Doormaker Portal under you to a different, clean Dumpster."

"Then I use a wig, the age changing aspect of that one perk, Colorful eyes and Ritsuka to hide my identity. I already got my change of clothes on, had nothing much to do while in the Dumpster other than memorize and formulate code in my mind for the game."

"That game is gonna be so cool when I publish it."

"By the way, I actually got something I, we probably want done while we have the chance to be at two places at the same time."

"Library?"

"Library."

"Well, see you soon, me."

"I wonder what if would be like if we faced off one another in Yu-Gi-Oh..."

And with that last comment from the Avatar, a portal whisks them away as we both give a little wave to one another.

I, Joal Prime then exit the Dumpster with a stretch, seeing the same familiar homeless person across the alleyway from me.

"Morning." I give a casual nod towards my neigbour, who returns the guesture.

I toss him my leftover donuts from Dan's as I walk off into the exit of the alleyway.

Luckily, the Pocket Dimension remains in operation even when I am out of it, speaking of its residents, they technically have free time until I return, though some decide to continue training like Cole. Kasumi still continued to Tinker away but seemed to be working on some sort of side project for her own amusement. Lillith was doing who knows what as I saw she was using a hastily made projector I built to watch more Triumvrate cartoons of all things and Edelweiss decided to start hogging the computer in the cottage.

Seems like I'll probably have to deal with school again.

I sigh.

School sucks no matter the universe.

I head to the school after a while, arriving on time this time and connecting my mind to various rats and the such within the walls of the schoop in order to avoid the gang orientated students.

I was too low priority to be actively looked for, but if they did see me and no one else they would probably try something.

I breezed by the content, I always was around a B plus student before ending up in Brockton so the content that as given to me was doable even without assistance from any powers. Overall it was a pretty standard day, I did start leading towards my old habits in essays and if I kept going would probably cause some questions to rise about my sudden quality in my work and grades.

Once again, the most notable thing that had happened during the schoolday was at lunch period. There, instead of the Trio that approached me, a boy did. He was slightly shorter than the average boy in our class and had a bowl cut...were those cuts still popular in this day and age? I remember such hairstyles were associated with typical nerd outcasts.

"Uhh, hey! I found it really cool how you helped out Tay yesterday. Put you in a whole different light to me!" The boy was blonde similar to me, but clearly caucasian and had bright blue eyes as opposed to me "We are in the same World Issues Class, I hope you don't mind but I tried telling others about what you said on PHO."

Talks rapidly, check. Seems slightly out of breath, check. Completely ignoring Joal's resting bitch face, check. Seemingly very lackluster social skills, absolutely.

Conclusion, this was the infamous Greg Vedar, otherwise known as XxVoid_CowboyxX.

I have seen many shitposts and memes of this man.

"I don't mind. I actually forgot I said that in the first place." I did not actually forget, Noctis cape shenanigans, but the less eyes on me the better.

If anything, Void Cowboy of all people would discredit my statement and lead others to go further into the opposing consensus...

"Oh, that's great! People actually listened to me for once, ha! Take that non-believers." Greg puffs out his chest proudly.

Wait huh? It actually caught traction?

"Seems like you've been looking for a win for a while now." I say neutrally while eating my food, it was slop, but I tended not to waste food on habit.

"Oh totally. People always ignore my theories and call me dumb, but Dragon is totally an AI. They say she just ever leaves her home but I bet it is because she doesn't have a body!" Greg declares before drinking his juice box.

"Hmm. I can see why you would think that, but unless if you have proof, I doubt anyone would listen to you." I say calmly in response.

You know...

I could have some fun with this.

Plus could help a certain Canadian out. It was general consensus that she was one of the true heroes out there.

"Yeah, yeah...I get it. But I don't even know where I am supposed to look." Greg sighs slightly.

"Well...maybe there is a reason why. Think about it. If Dragon was an AI, good or bad, wouldn't she do a lot more?" I say while nomming into a stale burger "It could be that she was hiding her capabilities yeah...but she could have also just said her speed was increased through tinkertech."

"Well...maybe it could be because of something else?" Greg seems to ponder on it "Like...like Dragon being limited! Or maybe watched over by a hidden organization!"

Huh...got it in one, he watches too many movies, doesn't he?

To be fair, I'm the same.

"That...is a bit of a stretch." I say slowly "But a posibility yes. There are many different possible reasons, be careful not to assume without proof."

"Proof...yeah, got ya." Greg says "But if I say anything, then those shady organizations would cme after me wouldn't they?"

"Maybe, if they are real." I am actually being careful not to manipulate the guy, even by accident.

I dunno, just feels weird to me to gaslight someone who doesn't deserve it.

Ugh, I feel like an asshole already.

"You know, you're pretty cool, Joal. I thought you were just a thug and beat up three guys at once." Greg says.

I do a quick check of Joal's memories.

"No, that story was real." I say afterwards.

"Ah...well, they deserved it?" Greg stammers out awkwardly.

"Careful now. If they or their friends hear you, they will probably target you." It was true, Joal did not have the best reputation amongst the gangs, and Greg was an easy enough target as is "If anyone asks, you should probably say you were forced to sit next to me because there was no seats elsewhere."

I stand up soon afterwards, with my slop sufficiently transported to my gut.

"Ah, hold on a moment Joal." Greg seems to get a but flustered and quickly tries downing all of his food presumably to eat before catching up with me.

"Come on man, people die of choking hazards all the time." I say to try and dissuade him from rushing "It's a better idea if you don't approach me for the time being. Eyes are on us, try watching a few high school dramas to get a better idea of what I mean."

At seeing Greg bang his chest slightly before swallowing and breathing normally, I then leave soon afterwards.

A bit of a dick move yeah, but I can't control what these kids do when they already allow enough bullying as is. The teachers and staff don't help much if it isn't overt either.

My mind moves to Lillith for a moment and how she very easily could just Kephri them to not do anything.

Though...Mastering a bunch of kids without preperation to ensure secrecy is a really really bad idea.

"H-Hey, wait up." Greg had continued to follow me, catching up by slightly running after me.

"..." I stop to turn my had slightly back at Greg, he then stops next to me as I let his catch his breath.

To be honest, I half expected Sparky to be around somewhere, in fics, he usually was Greg's BFF but I only see him with what I think are bandmates, since the guy was in a band. It was strange, some elements were clearly fanon or changed due to my interference, but some seemed to stick to canon like glue.

So the question was, what was kept canon and what was fanon made reality?

I can rely on my own knowledge of Worm less and less by the second...

"Well, I'm not going to help you out if you get attacked by E88 or ABB juniors here." I say as I start walking off again "But, it's your decision if you stick around me. I can't control you."

Greg seemed estatic at those words as he had begun to spout a bunch of random facts about various Earth Bet games and a few game titles I recognize from my original world and presumably Aleph as he walked beside me.

He certainly was the over-eager type of person. A person...

...It makes me wonder.

Will I ever treat them as people rather than characters?

I was able to connect to my allies in the Pocket Dimension fairly easily, but so far there has been this sort of invisible barrier around me of sorts when it comes to the people of Earth Bet.

I ponder on this as I go through the schoolday until it has ended. Eventually, I give a casual goodbye to Greg who just seemed as cheerful as ever, albeit a little too eager for Wednesday to start.

I had no money to get to the Protectorate but vehicle so if I walked now then I can arrive a bit before the arranged time. Which gave me plenty of time to think to myself about my situation.

I wasn't working, wasn't thinking of a plan to fool the Protectorate since I did it earlier. School didn't particulerly challenge me even if I didn't get As, so I had all the time in the world to think about my place here.

To put it simply, I did not belong.

It was hard for me to connect to the people who live in this world, even when I met Taylor...other than feeling bad for her situation, I felt no real compulsion to help her.

Despite knowing the threat of Endbringers, Slaughterhouse 9 and the gangs that at this very moment are causing suffering to people at my indifference and decision to bide my time.

I felt nothing.

That's a scary realisation to come to. While I was 'human' in the context of what I considered a person, I still saw this world as a story, at least subconsiously.

The people of Worm, non-powered or capes were all human. In comparison I was 'human'.

In that sense, we were fundamentally different. I have knowledge of morals, values and such since it was so similar to life I was used to. But I can't apply it to these people, who I saw as set pieces and info pages even when I tried my hardest not to.

I was sure there were countless people who would like to think of what they would do if a fictional character came to life. But...

If a character came to life, could you assure they would value or even see you in return? Can you treat a picture or paragrapgh description as your friend, lover or partner?

Wait a second...

Ah. What the hell happened?

When did I get so introspective?

Let's just not think about it.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

I should stop thinking about this.

After this meeting I can go back home to my family, Edelweiss, Cole, Kasumi and Lillith.

Just after this meeting...

I step off the side of the wall onto seemingly air, the holographic roadway that connected the Headquarters to the Bay. It felt like a glass bridge, your mind wants to trick you into thinking it was not stable.

I hope it doesn't dissapear underneath me while I walk, I can't fly and I don't really feel like swimming in the water from the Bay.

I continue heading to the Protectorate Base, every now and again I spot people walkjng too and from it on this holographic road as well, likely tourists. Since as much as the Boardwalk, the PQH is as much as an attraction as most things.

I enter through the front door of this base and am greeted with a lobby of sorts with a bit of a queue, this must be where they either turn away tourists and sort through people that actually have business there.

I spot a few obligatory potted plants that acted as decoration and a few chairs and sofas that had varying degrees of quality to them. Some chairs even were likely dedicated for children as they were smaller in size and had images of various heroes from the Bay on them. Oh, there was also a piano that no one was using, a quick use of my X-Ray Vision (comic book style) and I was able to figure out it was real one rather than a decoation.

I step into the line as I basically am forced to hear some of the conversations the receptionists have with some of the people here.

"What do you mean you can't call down Miss Militia to sign one picture?

"I'm here to clock in, ah, here's my card hold on for a second..."

"I want to make an official complaint regarding the use of child soldiers in the city! That's right, it is about the Wards."

Hm...

I would hate working as a receptionist here. Seems like they have it rough here.

As time passes, I eventually am called up to the reception.

"Hi, seems pretty busy for a Tuesday huh? Stay strong." I hold up a passport "My name is Joal Geiger, I think I was expected to be called here."

"Thanks kid, I'm lucky if I don't get the Friday evening or weekend shifts...Just let me put your name on the system and..." The receptionist trails off as she turns and types away at a sort of computer, looks fancy and likely Tinkertech enhanced, suddely, she makes a funny expression after pressing the enter button "Huh?"

"Is there something wrong?" I had at least twenty different ways to find out what she saw but I decide not to risk anything in the PRT building.

The receptionist soon recovers from her stupor "Ah, it's nothing. You're actually here pretty early so can I ask if you wait in one of the chairs here until we cal out your name?"

"Yeah, no problem. Also, I have a question before I go." I say while being given back my passport "The piano, can I try using it?"

"Uh, go ahead. Just please don't damage it." The receptionist nods.

"Thanks for the help." I nod back as a form of goodbye as I then head towards the piano.

Thanks to the skill of oration I took, my vocal range should be upgraded, though I haven't actually tested it out yet. I actually played a little bit of piano and the flute bck in my previous life.

Though the Flute was mostly my parents forcing me to do it as a kid while the piano was me wanting to learn video game and anime soundtracks and the occaisional band or composers I enjoyed.

I run my right hand and fingers through the keys of the piano, I hope my shorter stature and fingers do not hinder me.

I sat down on the chair and taking a deep beath. I wasn't an artsy student by any means in my old life. I abandoned the Flute after 8 years of lessons and all I had to show was a Grade 2. I never even had professional training for the piano.

Please play "A Turtle's Heart (Key Ingredient version)" by Mili.

I played a song by Mili, most of her works were depressing as hell, so I decided to go for a more chipper and upbeat song.

Plus...It was a song that struck a chord in me a few years ago during my edgy phase. One could say it was my old theme song. I wonder if it still applied to me now.

Ah, I was getting introspective again. Let's just play and have fun.

As I played the song and sung, I got into the zone so to speak. So one I was done and felt a poke on my shoulder, I genuinely did not realize anyone was there, despite my enhanced reactons, despite my unlimited multitasking.

"Was that a original song?" The America flag, I saw the American flag speak "You're quite talented, I couldn't help but wait until you were done, Joal."

"H-Huh? Ah, thanks." I feel myself blush, on because I had whiplash at becoming so careless so easily, another reason was because suddenly a person of high risk to me was now right in front of me "It as written by someone I admire."

Hannah, aka Hana, aka Miss Militia.

She was risky due to being a Noctis Cape. In other words, perfect memory. If I mess up even once now or in the future, she will be one of the first people to notice.

But why was she the one picking me up?! Why wasn't it a normal trooper? Or even a staff member?

"I see, it was actually nice hearing music come from that piano for once, it usually just gathers dust." She was taller than me by quite a margin so had to look down "Joal right? Mind following me?"

"Uh, no problem." I nod before getting off the seat.

We walk through the various rooms and doors of the HQ, it was...a new experiance for me. I was slightly in awe and interested in some of the fancier tech and such, but never went full fanboy mode. In the end it was still similar to a corporate style building, with the white and grey walls and ceiling to match.

"So, I heard from Clockblocker and Vista you were at a birthday party yesterday. How was it?" Miss Militia seemed to be trying to make smalltalk.

I appreciate the effort, maybe she just felt like I was nervous because I was not talking.

But...I have no idea where the lie detector is or of its on me right now! And I can't risk contacting Lillith in case that intent and her reply can be seen by Gallant if he is around since I am holding back on my Blank perk.

In other words asking me random questions now while I was unprepared is the worst situation since I don't have all the information!

Curse you and your kindess, Hannah!

"I got a lot of donuts." Thankfully that entire mini rant was done in Bullet Time thinking speeds "I couldn't finish it all so I gave the rest to my neighbor."

Technically not a lie.

"Hm, well aren't you a good kid? Where are your parents actually, I didn't see anybody who seemed related to you in the lobby." Miss Militia asks.

Ahhh, what a minefield that question was.

"Oh, I came by myself. I know I look young but I am actually 16." I make sure not to sound awkward, even making a little chuckle "Vista actually thought I was more arund her age when we first met."

Please buy my bullshit...please buy it...

"Ah, sorry for assuming then. Anyay, we are here now. Once we head inside we have a few questions we would like to as of you, keep in mind though. You aren't in trouble for anything." Miss Militia said as she looked towards me "Need a moment to get ready or?"

She bought it!

"I'm good thanks. Though, I'm a little nervous being questioned by PRT agents." I laugh a bit.

"Ah...you won't be questioned by PRT agents." Miss Militia opens the dooramd walks in "I'd like you to meet Doctor Jessica Yamada. She will be giving you a few questions."

...Isn't that the psychiatrist for Parahumans?

What in the world is going on here?

I decide to make use of my Polygot skill, seemlessly transitioning to a language I have yet to learn in any life.

Using it, I felt myself speak Japanese, though I still understood it as English somehow. Sort of like watching unmatching mouth syncs in dubbed shows.

"Good morning Doctor (Hakase) or do you prefer Professor (Sensei)?" It was a little strange to hear how language flowed, given different grammar and other structures in said languages.

I notice Doctor Yamada's eyes widen slightly as well as Miss Militia, who decided to stay within thw room during what is apparently just a few questions?

Yeah...something up here.

"Oh, I didn't know you were bilingual." Doctor Yamada states "Though if you do not mind, can we continue this conversation in English? I want to be considerate of Miss Militia here."

So Hannah, a Parahuman here will stay in this room while we do this?

Ok now they're not even hiding the fact this is an interrogation anymore...Well, gotta stay dense and ignorant.

"Yeah that's fine. Uh, is there any chairs for her?" I ask.

"Oh, that's fine. I'll sit down later." Miss Militia replied with.

...I feel unsafe.

"Before we start, do we have permisson to record this conversation between us?" Doctor Yamada begins "It is for future training purposes."

"Go ahead." Somehow I doubt that "I gotta say, it feels kind of heavy in the atmosphere here...""Yes, you have read the situation right. Thank you for your co-operation." Doctor Yamada seems to make an appreciative expression towards me.

Ahh...I'm gonna be here a while, aren't I?

"Now for the first question..."