n1

by thejarl7166

just a copy for text to speech

Fire Worm

Being a Hero is a lot harder when you have a disgraced former warlord from another world trapped in your head. Unfortunately, it seems like Ozai is enjoying this.

Firestorm 1.1

What little air their was in the locker smelled like death. The cloying stench permeating the tight confines of my impromptu prison, poisoning my lungs every time I tried to breathe. I had never known what it felt like to be choking on air until now.

I shouldn't have been so stupid. I knew the Trio was planning something. They had suspiciously relented their torment for a while. Part of me hoped they were leaving me alone, finally moving on from their bullying. But I knew better. Upon my return to school, I'd smelled the stench of my locker. Like a moron, I investigated.

And now, thanks to that, Sophia had managed to push me in here.

"H-help!" I cried for what felt like the tenthousandth time. Nobody responded to my pleas. Every word I spoke fell on the deaf ears of the Trio and their lackeys. Nobody cared about me, and why would they? I was Taylor Hebert, the worthless, friendless, nobody.

I could feel something wet and squishy lodged in the top half of my sock. I realized it was probably one of the used tampons they had stuffed in here. It's squishy rotting form pressed against my skin.

I wanted to vomit, and unfortunately, I did. The foul liquid only added to my troubles.

As I felt the contents of my stomach run down my chest, I thrashed about, repeating my pleas.

I could only hear laughter respond. The taunting voices of my former best friend, Emma, and her gaggle of cronies.

[Destination]

'Why me?' I thought. Why did nobody help?

[Trajectory]

'I was never going to get out of this wretched place!'

Just then, I saw two giant beings of Infinite complexity spiraling through space, shedding what appeared to be pieces of themselves. I looked on in awe, only for the vision to be ripped away.

[Agreem -%% - Error]

"Oh no, little shard. This one is taken."

The dark voice sent chills down my spine and added to my growing panic.

My eyes rolled into the back of my head, and yet more visions plagued me. Each more terrifying and incomprehensible than the last.

A fleet of metal airships, bombarding a distant coast.

A fiery comet, streaking across a red sky.

Two figures, masters of their elements, battling for the fate of the world.

A wrathful spirit, enraged at a powerful tyrant.

A twisted tree, imprisoning an ancient evil.

Faceless bodies staring at me.

I screamed.

[Defending]

[Fa%lure#!]

[Retreating]

[Error%]

The voice laughed. "Oh my, you aren't just any shard, are you? Instead of a pawn, I get the queen."

[Resignation]

I heard static, and my head felt like it was going to explode.

And then, as soon as it began, it was over.

I was completely still. The only sounds I could hear were the distant voices into the halls outside my locker. I took a deep breath, choking down the sickly stench of the used tampons.

I heard a dark chuckle, and then it spoke again. With a deep primal instinct, I knew it was now addressing me.

"Have fun."

For a moment, everything was still. And then a pressure began to build, a burning force deep within the core of my spirit.

And I exhaled fire.

My enclosed environment was illuminated by an orange glow. More and more of the flames came gushing out, filled with a fury and power that normal fire most definitely lacked.

And then my locker began to melt. I screamed as some droplets of the melted metal burned my skin, but only more fire flowed outwards. Where the metal scalded flesh, my flames barely burned me at all.

And then, as the last of my breath left me, I stood there.

The students of Winslow High School stared back.

I stepped forward, out of the locker. All of the other students stepped back. My gaze passed over them, and some of them flinched. I knew with an instinct that there was something different about my eyes.

My gaze briefly flickered down to the remains of the melted door. I noticed Julia, one of the Trio's lackeys, crawling away. She sported a nasty burn on her left arm.

Another voice, different from the last, spoke up, and to my surprise, it was my own.

"Good."

My head's gaze resumed peering at the students, and then it settled on a very surprised Sophia, Emma, and Madison.

My eyes locked with Sophia's.

She stared at me, her eyes wide, and I could see a bead of sweat making its way down the dark skin of her forehead.

"Punish her." I briefly heard the whispers of yet another voice. Not my own, but not the one I heard before. This was the voice of a man, one who was giving an order, not a suggestion.

To be honest, I would have done it anyway. After what she put me through, I needed little encouragement from my newfound schizophrenia.

I snarled.

"Sophia Hess." I spat. I raised a hand, fire cradled in my palm. Knowledge flooded my mind, telling me how to execute the perfect attack with my fire. A blow that would maximize pain.

I extended my fist, and fire lept forth, eagerly obeying my command.

The flames rushed towards Sophia...

... and went through her shadowy shape to hit Madison instead. She screamed and dropped backwards to the floor, rolling in a desperate struggle put out the flames.

My mind came to a screeching halt as I watched the shadows reform back into Sophia.

Sophia was a parahuman?

Sophia staggered back, gasping for air as she rematerialized. Her skin on the side of her face was bright red. Whatever her Shadow state did, it didn't make her completely immune to my flames.

There was only one famous parahuman who could turn into shadow that I could remember in this city: Shadow Stalker.

Sophia was a ward? A hero!?

It made perfect sense. It explained how she and Emma got away with everything. The bullying. The pranks. This.

Something must have shown on my face, because she absolutely grinned with glee, despite the writhing form of her burning friend and the burns on her arm and face.

"You're screwed now, bitch! You just attacked a ward." She paused to take a deep breath, and continued. "You'd be lucky if they only sent you to the Birdcage."

For a tiny moment, I was worried.

And then, I stopped caring.

My vision blurred with anger, and then I screamed with rage. I extended both my hands in fury.

Sophia wasted no time and dashed for her locker. The mass of students around us started scrambling to get away from the two feuding capes.

She ducked underneath my blast of flames just before they sailed overhead. She hissed in agony as the heat from them burned her back. The lockers behind her warped from the intense heat, and more than a few students had to scramble away, each yelping in pain from the heat of my fire.

Sophia stuck a shadowy hand through the door of her locker - which was probably how she had gotten the dirty waste into mine in the first place - and then she pulled out something.

Sophia rapidly turned to face me, aiming something- a crosbow?- at me.

She smirked, and fired.

It was only my instincts that saved me. I just barely managed to move to the side before she fired. I felt the crossbow bolt pierce my shoulder with a loud squelch, and I screamed in pain.

"Useless Hebert. Even with powers, you're still Weak." she spat out, loading another arrow while backing away from me. Her fingers twitched during the action, indicating som kind of nerve damage.

I was glaring now, blinking back tears from the growing pain in my shoulder. Then I felt something enter my mind, an instruction for an attack.

My hands moved in arcs at my sides, ripping the very energy sourounding me apart, as I followed the movements my power fed me.

The electricity gathering at my fingertips crackled.

I brought my two hands together in front of me, pointing an accusatory finger at the false hero in front of me, and released the energy I had been building up.

A blast of magnificent lightning shot out from my extended hand.

My aim, however, was not so magnificent. It also didn't help that she had done her best to twist herself out of my direct line of fire.

The bolt sailed past her, although a stray band of electricity did manage to hit her arm, sending her staggering to the side.

The rogue bolt hit a power conduit at the end of the row of lockers. A nearby door was thrown from its hinges from the impact, and Sophia screamed as the electrical current carried through the nearby air and ground. I watched her writhe and collapse in front of me.

The lights of Winslow High flickered out from the energy surging through the conduit. The hallway was bathed in darkness as the poorly maintained electrical system failed.

Students were screaming and running in every direction now. I heard shouts of "Call the PRT!" from the panicked mass.

I raised my right hand, and a ball of fire was cradled in it's palm, providing me a source of light.

I managed to make out Sophia crawling away and twitching in the darkness. Her legs spasmed, preventing her from standing.

I briefly paused to burn off the crossbow bolt lodged in my shoulder, taking the extra precaution to cauterize my wound.

Returning my attention to Sophia, I marched forward, ignoring the burned and whimpering form of Madison near my feet, and grabbed her hair with my left hand, dragging her to her knees. She was powerless to resist as I did so, and I lowered my lips to her ear and spoke.

"You tormented me unpunished for years, did you really think you'd get away with it forever?"

"F-fuck y-ou," she gasped.

My response seemed to come from something deep within.

"Do you know what it feels like to be hurt? To be powerless to stop it?" I growled.

I brought the cupped fire up in front of her face, allowing her ample time to fix her gaze on it.

"You shall know pain, and suffering will be your teacher."

I must have had a thinker rating for dramatics, I mused to myself.

Then, I brought my hand to her face.

She screamed as I released enough heat to cook her skin. I held it there long enough to scar, and then dismissed it. I didn't want to destroy her eye. I wanted her to be able to look at her face in the mirror and remember what she did to me.

I felt something strong and metal slam into my shoulder, hard enough to make me drop Sophia.

I whipped around, and I was only able to make out the form of a girl in the darkness. Emma.

She hit me again, this time in the chest, and I took a large step back. I brought up my hands and conjured flame. This time, I could make out her -and the fire extinguisher she was holding- much clearer.

She sprayed the contents of the fire extinguisher all over me.

I was offended she actually thought that would work.

I opened my mouth and exhaled fire. It crashed against her and she screamed in agony. She staggered back to the ground, right next to Madison, who was so burned so bad I doubted she'd survive the next hour without medical aid.

I didn't care much.

I paused a moment, letting Emma burn a little longer, before extinguishing the fire burning her. I brought up a fiery hand and and surveyed the damage. Her hair had almost been completely been burned off, and her skin was a wreck.

So much for her future modeling career.

When I turned back toward where I had last seen Sophia, I barely noticed the Shadowy shape moving away down the halls. Shadow Stalker had deserted her friends.

She did not get to run after what she did to me.

I took off running after the fleeing form of Sophia.

She materialized at an open doorway not too far away and shakely brought up her crossbow to face me.

I brought up a shield of fire, a completely unnecessary precaution, because the bolt missed by a longshot.

When I lowered the shield, she was gone.

Damn.

I held my flaming hand up, looking around the school corridors for Sophia. Any of her lackeys would do really; I just wanted somebody to burn.

I raced down the darkened halls, which were now much emptier. I snarled with frustration.

Now she was going to go get the heroes. They weren't going to give me a chance to speak, especially after they saw her face. Sophia would shoot to kill if she saw me again, and even if I survived, the Heroes would Birdcage me for attacking their pet psychopath.

"Burn down the entire school." The voice of the man returned and it disturbed me how I had almost thought of it as my own.

I paused, warring with myself for a moment. Would I really do that? Burn down an entire School to get to them? There were innocent people here.

Some instinct or guidance deep within the fibres of my being urged me to move. I heard a whizz and barely managed to evade the crossbow bolt that had come from behind me.

I turned, but Sophia had barely managed to phase through a nearby wall before I could retaliate.

Yes, I realized. Yes I would burn down this living hell. It would be an improvement. I snorted at the thought of getting a medal for it.

My power fed me plans on how to burn it down. Plans on how to destroy this pathetic institution from above. It was almost as if I had done something similar before.

I turned to face where Sophia had vanished and shot a wave of fire. It scorched the entire hallway, but I didn't bother to stay and observe the effects. Instead, I angled a blast of fire straight up.

It punched through the ceiling with ease, and debris rained down. I directed some of the fiery energy to my legs and felt myself rocket into the opening.

Flames trailed from my feet as I blasted upward, and my arms were extended, shooting a continuous gout of fire through the hole.

It punched through the next floor, and I continued.

At last, I rocketed above Winslow. I stopped and hovered some twenty feet above it and surveyed the school.

Students were rushing out the front gates. Years of practice drills on what to do if a parahuman attacked obviously had not payed off. There was no organization, just a panicked mass shoving its way through the doors.

Good. It would make killing Sophia easier.

I paused a moment to gauge the wind, some sort of experience my power granted me, and it made me feel as if this was second nature. I quickly determined which spots would spread fire and burn Winslow the fastest.

I extended my hand, and let fire build up in my palm. When I couldn't hold back the condensed flame any longer, l released it.

A massive wave of fire tore it's way through the left wing of the school.

The top floor was incinerated as the force of nature burned it to ashes. The ones beneath it were little better off.

I smiled. Burning down Winslow was strangely cathartic.

The wind would spread the fire. Now I just had to block the exits.

I angled my fire towards the front of Winslow.

I hesitated when I saw the mass of panicked students. I wasn't a murderer. I felt disgust well up from somewhere deep within me, but strangely not towards my actions, but rather my hesitation.

"Weakness will get you killed."

And then, as if prophesied, I felt something slam into my side.

I spun through the air, the fire at my feet petered out. I watched the ground of the school parking lot growing closer and I panicked. I only just barely managed to place my arms in front of me to slow my descent with fire.

I landed on the pavement pretty hard, and I felt pain shoot up through my wrists. But I had averted the worst of the damage.

I looked up to see what hit me.

Dauntless, one of the top heroes in Brockton Bay, was floating down toward me. He looked heroic as he moved closer, his Greek inspired Armour reflecting the sunlight.

I stared at him.

"Surrender." he shouted. "Don't make this harder on yourself than it has to be."

I brushed my long hair out of the way of my face so I could get a better view of the hero.

My identity was shot at this point, so I couldn't exactly run home. And I didn't think I could beat one of the Protectorate's best heroes. Plus, I was wounded.

I took deep breaths as I stared at the hero. I was already very tired after my ordeal.

I actually considered surrendering for a moment.

"A lord of fire does not surrender."

Anger filled me from somewhere deep within. I listened to the voice and snarled.

No. I decided. Sophia would just get me locked up. The Heroes would believe the Trio. I had to win.

I gave the hero my answer in a wave of fire from my hands. It was easily twice as tall and three times as wide as Dauntless.

Dauntless raised some kind of energy shield around himself in a bubble to block the attack. It flickered against the power of my fire.

I glared at him and released a wave of fire. And another. And another.

His shield seemed to weather the attacks, but not for long. I finished my attacks with concentrated blast of superheated flame from the palm of my hand. It was almost blue in appearance from the sheer heat.

This did the trick and pierced his shield. The fiery blast connected with his shoulder and Dauntless was launched backward through the air toward the blazing building behind him.

I didn't get the time to follow up my attack because I heard the roar of a motorbike behind me.

I blasted off the ground, using the fire from my feet to propel me on to a school buss, dodging some kind of wrecking ball-like weapon that shot out of the tip of incoming Tinker's spear.

'Halberd', I mentally corrected, because the Tinker was none other than Armsmaster.

He rolled up and leaped of his bike, before lowering his halberd in my direction.

I stared at my childhood hero for a moment. He looked even more heroic than the numerous pictures and posters depicted him as. I had fantasized about him showing up here. About him getting the bullies who tormented me punished for their misdeeds. He always swooped in with his dashing beard and scolded Emma for her insults.

And now he was here to fight me and protect my bullies.

I laughed at the Irony.

'The spirits must hate me.'

I paused at my own internal thoughts. Spirits? Where did that come from?

A red blur rushed in and stopped next to Armsmaster. Velocity, I realized with panic.

I heard the sound of sirens nearby.

Crap. I stepped back, wishing I had thought further ahead. Even more Heroes are on the way! How much of the protectorate is assembling against me?

I had to wrap this up fast.

I wasted no time and shot a roaring arc of fire at Armsaster before he had time to open his mouth and speak.

I didn't bother to see my results as I quickly turned and fired a powerful gout of fire at Dauntless.

His shield was back, and it absorbed the attack. A brief moment later and I was doubling over. Velocity had zipped over to me and was raining punch after punch down on me. For some reason, it didn't hurt as much as seemed like it should. It was more like a malevolent wind than anything.

Well, a malevolent wind that still hurt, that is.

I barely managed to ward off the speedster by blasting the roof of the schoolbus beneath his feet. The place where he was standing melted and he zipped around behind me in response.

Speedsters are so annoying.

I blasted a wave of fire all around me.

It worked well enough, as it seemed to launch the poor speedster off of the Schoolbus we were standing on.

Now, to Deal with Dauntless and Armsmaster.

"Twist to the side." The familiar unnamed voice commanded.

I turned just in time to avoid some kind of tranquilizer that shot past me from the direction of Armsmaster.

I heard a woosh behind me and propelled myself into the air with twin jets of fire from my feet and barely evaded Dauntless. He smashed into the schoolbus beneath me, breaking the roof with his landing.

I heard the Sirens pulling up nearby, and I knew my window of opportunity was gone.

My mind turned to escape.

I started to fly away with jets of fire only to have a blond hero fly in and block my path. She hovered in my way and cocked her her head to the side.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked in a mocking tone. It reminded me of Emma.

I glared at her briefly before turning to flee in the opposite direction. I wasn't stupid enough to try and take on Glory Girl. She had a reputation for tanking bullets and wasn't afraid of collateral damage.

I hadn't gotten very far when I felt like a bus slammed into me. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight grip. I felt myself struggling against Glory Girl as she carried me down toward Armsmaster.

I strained against her grip. She trapped the top half of my arms against my sides. I was powerless Brockton Bay's resident Alexandria package.

It was then that something caught my eye.

A shadow approached accross the parking lot.

I realized I probably wasn't going to escape this.

But I could take Shadow Stalker down before I lost.

My hands moved in arcs despite the limited movement range. Lightning gathered at my fingertips.

I smiled.

{Well, there it is. My first fanfic on Spacebattles. Please let me know if I made any mistakes. I'm not used to the format.}

{Edit. Some people pointed out some things that didn't line up with canon and didn't really make sense. I learned from my mistakes and fixed up the chapter. As always, thanks for the feedback.}

Last edited: Jun 4, 2024

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Victorious

May 30, 2024

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Victorious

Jun 3, 2024

#47

Throughout all of creation, there is positive and negative energy. Each energy is intertwined with the other. Where there is positive, there must be negative. Light and dark. Yin and Yang.

To rip apart these energies is to disrupt that balance. It is to break the world in a way that must be corrected. The energies will inevitably crash back together and unleash their fury.

My power told me not only how to break the balance but also how to harness the fallout.

Beautiful lightning flowed from my extended fingertips. The wrath of twin energies, guided by my will. Time seemed to slow as the lightning traveled towards my selected targets.

The miasma of wrathful energies seemed to dance as they traveled through the air.

Glory Girl could probably weather the blast my left hand had directed into her leg.

But Sophia was too slow and too weak to have any ability to change her fate. She hadn't even noticed I'd started pointing the lightning at her until I released it. The lightning was faster than anything she could perceive, let alone outpace.

In other words, Sophia lit up like a Christmas tree.

Her shadow seemed to shriek as it was torn asunder by the lightening. What was left of it rematerialized as an unrecognizable smoking corpse.

At the same time this happened, I felt some of the Shockwave from the other blast of lightning as it struck my captor, and I was thankfull I had made it a bit weaker than the other.

Glory Girl's unshakable hold faltered. I was almost too distracted by Sophia's death to capitalize.

Almost.

The martial aspect of my powers kicked in, telling me what to do. Glory Girl had weakened because of my lighting blast somehow, and I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

My head whipped back, and I felt a crunch as my skull hit her nose. I was a little surprised when it broke.

She shrieked and released me, and I righted myself midair as I fell the remaining ten feet to the ground.

I managed to slow my brief descent with fire from my heels and spared my already abused body anymore damage.

I quickly fell into a martial arts stance that my power fed me. One hand was in front of me, the other was pulled back, ready to strike.

I breathed in quick, nervous breaths. The smell of ozone was overpowering.

"You killed her!"

The angry words were shouted by Dauntless, who was floating above the body that had once been Sophia Hess.

I glanced toward Armsmaster, who was rushing over toward his fallen ward. He bent down and examined her. The tightening of his jawline told me everything I needed to know.

I supposed I should have felt guilty, but I actually felt good. Sophia was a monster that deserved what had been coming too her. The only disappointment I felt was from sinking to her level.

However, if I wanted to get out of this situation alive and un-birdcaged, I'd need to deescalate.

I tried to think of something to say, something that would make this situation better. Something like 'I didn't mean to!' or 'I thought she could take it'.

What came out was anything but.

"She was petty and weak. You should be thanking me. I did you all a favor."

My voice was slightly overlapped with the man's voice I had previously only heard in my thoughts, giving my statement a sinister edge.

I blinked, realizing what I said, and then stood there opening and closing my mouth like a fish. That wasn't what I meant to say!

The Heroes turned to face me with grim resolve, as if they were about to face a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine, not a teenage girl.

"Surrender, and we-"

Armsmaster started to speak, but Glory Girl's shriek of rage cut him off.

If the voice that had just antagonized the heroes hadn't told me to duck, my head would have been pulverized by Glory Girl's fist.

Narrowly dodging the swing, I rolled forward, relying more on the instincts my powers fed me then my own thought. I couldn't pause to dwell on the situation.

"You murderous bitch!" she screeched.

Glory Girl rushed at me again, but I propelled fire out of my feet, launching myself backwards.

I narrowly avoided some kind of energy blast Dauntless leveled from his glowing spear. It crashed into a nearby Schoolbus, wrecking the side of it and nearly knocking it over.

I cradled a growing ball of fire in my palm, and launched it at the beserk teenage girl in front of me.

The fire exploded on contact, blocking her from view. She lept back, as the remaining fire singed her skin.

Glory Girl clearly wasn't as tough as everyone thought.

I had to raise a wall of fire a few yards to my side to ward off Armsmaster. I wasn't sure what he had been planning, but I wasn't exactly eager to find out what surprises he had in his Halberd.

Velocity, who I had forgotten about, zipped right behind me and began pummeling my back with his flurry of weak punches.

I drove my foot back and unleashed fire. He zipped around front of me and started his same attack, but I was prepared.

I raised a flaming dome around me and expanded it outward. It was inspired by the forcefield Dauntless had used to defend himself previously, and it was something my power knew how to make.

I poured more and more fire into the shield. The bright beam of Dauntless's arclance blasted through the fire to my side, and thankfully missed me, albeit barely.

My shield would not hold for very long, and I would quickly run out of oxygen in here, so I decided to dismiss it.

I blasted the shield outward in all directions to scare off Velocity.

It was then, that I heard boots clinking against the ground behind me.

I whipped around to see a squad of PRT troopers, led by a hero with an American flag bandana for a mask, charging toward me in a semicircle.

They called in Miss Militia for this? At this rate, I was going to be fighting all of my childhood heroes in a single day.

I quickly reacted as the troopers leveled containment foam guns at me. By the time they fired, I was already launching myself into the air, and over their heads.

The containment foam flew past where I was previously and enveloped a very unfortunate Glory Girl, who had been charging at me.

She made an angry shout and thrashed wildly as she was enveloped by the tinkertech concoction.

I blasted fire into the centre of the PRT contingent to maximize confusion and panic as I sailed above them.

I landed in a crouch behind the PRT troops.

"Excellent". The voice purred. "This is going better than anticipated."

I frowned. I really didn't need this semi-schizophrenic internal monologue right now.

I turned back toward the PRT, who were now turning to face me. Miss Militia aimed some kind of bazooka at me.

I wasn't sure I could dodge whatever it was she planned to launch at me - so I did the next best thing and launched the thickest wall of fire I could manage before she fired.

A net launched out of her Bazooka and was blasted back as it collided with my flames. It spun side and engulfed some PRT agent next to her. He shouted as the fire and the net entangled him.

I paused to get my bearings. Dauntless had disappeared, and I didn't want to get surprised by him.

I backed away from the wall of flames, then turned and launched myself into the air. I landed on a nearby school bus as the remaining fire disappeared.

I kicked outwards and sent a flaming arc toward an suddenly incoming Dauntless, forcing him back. Then I leaped backward off of the school bus to avoid a hail of containment foam.

I landed on my feet and crouched against the side of the schoolbus and narrowly avoided the containment foam as it rained down from my previous position. It splattered against the pavement and expanded.

I could feel myself tiring. My muscles ached with overuse. I wasn't a very fit high schooler by any standard.

Note to self: If I survive this, get a fitness routine.

I moved to the front of the School bus and shot a massive stream of fire over the hood at the PRT troopers. I winced as I heard more than a few screams from the heat. A tank of foam on one of the troopers backs exploded, enveloping him and one of his comrades.

They should never have gotten involved in this fight.

"Fall back!" I heard Miss Militia shout, and the badly singed troopers were eager to obey. The ones who weren't doubled over in pain or knocked flat on ground scrambled to get away from me.

She took a snipe at me from where she was standing, but I had already managed to duck behind the front of the bus before her net could snare me.

Velocity was behind me much faster than I could react. He stepped out of his breaker state and socked me on the jaw normally.

I, being a particularly scrawny teenage girl with no physical achievements to speak of, had a glass jaw. I fell backwards against the schoolbus. My head slammed into the metal of the buses frame, and it was a miracle I remained concious.

He stared at his fist. "Huh, don't know why I didn't do that before."

I swiped my hand sideways and sent an wave of roaring flame expanding all around me. My head was pounding, and it was getting hard to think.

When I dizzily staggered to my feet, I saw the tip of a halberd make its way out from the rear of my cover.

Armsmaster was fast approaching, and I quickly blasted a wall of fire to block his path. The Tinker stepped back and waited. He knew I couldn't keep this up forever.

He was right because I had to abandon the wall of flame to avoid getting zapped by Dauntless.

I backed away from the school bus that had served as my temporary refuge and kept blasting waves of fire at the heroes. I avoided the confoam that had expanded against the ground.

My head felt like it had been ground through a blender, and my vision was blurry as I saw the heroes come into view.

Dauntless hovered above the school bus and began to level his arclance at me. Armsmaster walked around the back and did the same with his halberd, followed by Miss Militia, who came around the front and aimed her net bazooka.

They were hoping to catch me in the crossfire, I realized. There weren't any more school buses behind me to hide behind. I doubted I'd be able to create a wall of fire strong enough to repel all three attacks.

"Stop being foolish. Attack already."

My power fed me information.

I had to stop using my power defensively, I realized. Virtually every aspect of my power was offensive. To defend was to die.

With that in mind, I attacked before they could.

I thrusted my hands forward and gave it my all in a desperate gamble to force the heroes away from me. Three massive fireballs emerged from my hands, and I directed each one to an individual hero, which was no easy feat.

The size of the fireballs were enough to obscure me from their line of sight.

Dauntless quickly moved in front of Miss Millitia to block the fireball gunning for her with his shield. His shield withstood the attack and the fire washed over it. The fireball directed at his previous postion sailed over the schoolbus, annihilating the bus behind it.

The one aimed at Armsmaster hit its target head on.

The Tinker was launched back as the blast hit him and he skidded across the ground. Some kind of plate had slid over his jawline, protecting his Iconic beard from being burnt to a crisp.

Then, without warning, I felt a maelstrom of baby punches force me backwards because of fucking Velocity.

I decided to remove myself from the speedsters influence, and I knew there was one direction he certainly couldn't follow.

Up.

I blasted myself off the ground and into the air, and I continued rocketing upwards until I had reached a significant distance from the ground.

I surveyed the battlefield below.

Smoke bellowed upward from the destroyed schoolbusses, and I saw further down the field PRT troopers scurrying about.

Some of them were trying to free Glory Girl from her confinement, something I absolutely couldn't have, and I blasted fire toward them.

The blast knocked them away from her and saved me no end of grief.

Dauntless was racing towards me from below, and Miss Militia was aiming a newly manifested weapon at me from the ground.

I swiped my hand downward launching a wave of fire to obscure myself from view, and then I rocketed away from the still burning form of Winslow High.

I had broken free from my locker. I had killed Sophia. I had defeated the heroes. I wasn't going to bother staying behind to get captured, and I would get captured.

Dauntless emerged from my the wave of my flames in hot pursuit. Some kind of projectile from Miss Millitia whizzed through the area I was before.

I raced towards the nearest row of buildings as fast as my my fiery feet could propel me. I landed on the roof of the tallest one and turned to direct a concentrated blast of fire at Dauntless.

He slowed and raised his shield to block my attack, allowing me fly away once more.

He pursued and I turned midair to fire more blasts of fire at him. He avoided the attacks and leveled his arclance at me. I blasted fire from my hands and propelled myself to the side in the nick of time. His attack destroyed a window on a nearby building.

I weaved between two buildings and turned to the side as I blasted around a corner.

I turned my flaming feet towards a building in front of me and lessened the propulsion of my flame, all the while gathering energy with my hands at my sides.

My feet connected with the brick wall of the building, and I stood against it's side, the remaining inertia of my previous movement kept me from falling.

Dauntless turned the corner just as I finished gathering my dual lightning.

It struck him head on.

Dauntless's barely had his shield up when he turned the corner. As a result, the blast threw him backwards and out of the air.

He crashed into the top window of a three story building. It shattered and rained debris onto the streets below, showering the people on the sidewalk with broken glass.

I blasted myself away from the building at full speed and made my escape.

I lowered myself down to sidewalk as far away as I could manage and I almost doubled over when I landed.

My lungs burned and labored for each new breath as I fought the dizziness to stay upright. My shoulder hurt worse by each passing second as the adrenaline wore off, causing me to cringe in pain.

I ignored the gasps of 'cape' from the nearby drunks and staggerd into a dark allyway.

My body was begging me for some kind of rest, but I had to resist. If I fell asleep here, they'd catch me and I'd get a one-way ticket to the birdcage.

I traveled through a countless number of alleys, turning corners and passing streets until finally I reached the decrepit buildings of the docks.

I fell to my knees in front of an abandoned building in front of me. It was an older apartment building with various gang tags sprayed all over it, most of them ABB. Windows were boarded up, and it looked as if one of the walls was going to cave in any second. Still, beggars can't be choosers.

When I reached the building, I found the door was locked. After looking around to make sure there was nobody watching me, I blasted the lock off the front door.

I pushed inside and my footsteps grew heavier with each step. I found the neares abandoned apartment and forced my way inside.

Exhaustion overtook me and I curled up into a ball in the nearest corner I could find. A few drug needles poked at my arm forcing me to brush them aside.

Finally, I started to drift off in to a blissfull sleep...

"Hello."

{Well, that's it for this chapter. As always, don't be afraid to provide feedback, as I'm always looking to improve my work.}

Last edited: Jun 3, 2024

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Victorious

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#94

"Hello"

I heard the sound of the man's voice in my head once more, jerking me away from my well needed rest.

"Not now, weird voice." I muttered.

"Yes. Now." The voice commanded.

I groaned, my eyes cracked open. "I'm trying to..." My voice trailed off as I saw ornate shoes in front of me that had not been there before.

I jolted upwards, and my body protested painfully as I did so. Now, much more awake, my eyes flew upwards to meet the golden eyes of an Asian man.

I did a double take and flinched back. My injured shoulder collided with the wall behind me and I let out a yelp of pain.

My mind raced as I took in the stranger. Was he one of the Asian gangsters? I knew this was their territory from the gang tags sprayed all over the building.

My eyes raked over him. He was dressed well. Really well, in ornate red clothing. Flowing fiery robes trailed upward to masterwork silk shoulder pads, complete with a golden crown in the shape of fire delicately placed in his long hair. A well groomed goatee grew on his chin.

This man was not an average gangster, if he was one at all.

A stab of fear filled me as I had an alarming thought. Was this Lung? The flame decals seemed to hint at that, and he was a known pyromancer in addition to being a dragon, after all.

And here I was, sitting in his territory. Trespassing.

"I d-didn't mean to tresspass!" I pleaded. I tried to call my fire, but I knew it probably wouldn't beat him. The maniac could probably make my firestorm earlier look like a little campfire.

I really didn't want to fight with the Dragon of Kyushu.

He tutted. "Quit trying to firebend. You don't know how to do it without me guiding you, and it wouldn't work on me even if you did."

I paused at the sound of his voice. It was familiar...

"YOU?" I shouted, and then clamped my hand over my mouth.

"Me." he confirmed. The man that had formerly only been in my head seemed to look me up and down, examining me with a look that seemed to uncover every secret I held.

I shivered under his fiery gaze.

"Who... are you?" I asked.

The tips of his lips quirked up slightly, obviously pleased with the opportunity to introduce himself. He stood taller and more regal as he spoke.

"I," he paused for dramatic effect "am Pheonix King Ozai, the first of that title and grandson of the great Firelord Sozin. I am the supreme ruler of the Fire Nation, conquerer of the Earth Kingdom and Bane of the Water Tribes."

"And you, Taylor," he said, gesturing to me "are my reincarnation."

He looked immensly proud of himself as he finished.

I stared up at him and blinked. Then I rubbed my eyes and blinked again. The madman continued to wait expectantly in front of me.

Is he insane? I remembered that I had heard his voice in my head earlier. Am I insane!?

I hesitated, then reached out to touch his robes, only for my hand to go straight through his clothing.

I stared at my hand a moment and then laughed. The action caused my shoulder wound to flare up, and I winced in pain.

"I'm insane, aren't I?" I groaned. "Completely and utterly insane." I said louder, and snorted at the thought of what it must look like for me to be talking at nothing, and I leaned against the wall. "I snapped in the locker and now I've gotten an imaginary friend from some cheap anime in my head."

My hallucination glared at me, no doubt mad that I had ruined his introduction.

"You are not delusional, girl. What of the firebending knowledge I gave you? Or the aid in dodging some of your enemies attacks?"

I waved my hand dismissively.

"Nope. Just the violent fantasy of a basket case." I sing-songed. This was too surreal. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. "I'm way too tired for this."

My hallucination let out an angry huff.

"We'll talk about this later. As much as I'd like to let you rest and recover, you weren't nearly as clever as you thought you were." He stated with disdain.

I hummed, cracking one eye open. "How so?"

"You were followed." His lips qurked downward in what I assumed was disapproval.

It took me a moment to register his words, and then I opened my other eye as well. "Followed by who, the PRT?" I straightened, and then added a little more worriedly "The protectorate"?

I was half convinced he was just a figment of my imagination, but it wouldn't hurt to treat it like it wasn't. I was paranoid, and it would be stupid to not take this somewhat seriously, especially if what he said was true.

I was mostly kidding about thinking my fight with the heroes was just a violent fantasy.

He scowled. "No one so concerning. Just a loittering gang of scum who are all too eager to catch a female alone."

I didn't feel any less concerned at that. "The ABB?"

"If that's what you call them, yes. I simply decided to alert you before you allowed yourself to be stabbed in your sleep."

I winced at that. Cautiously, I asked "When will they be here?"

The man scowled, and stared off into the distance. "One moment". Then he vanished.

I stared at the spot he had disappeared at for a few seconds, before dragging my aching body to its feet. My brain refused to fully process the teleporting hallucination.

Did I have a concussion? Velocity had hit me pretty hard...

Ozai reappeared in front of me.

"They will move on us in a few minutes. They're just down the street, actually. They saw you go towards here, and are planning on how to cut off your escape."

I cocked my head to the side. "How did you... ?"

"I went through the spirit world here, and spied on them." He spoke slowly. "I can't stay there for very long, either, as the only spirits there besides me are the ones shaped by the nightmares of your people." He paused, then added for emphasis. "And Taylor, the nightmares of your people are terrifying."

That did nothing to answer my growing list of questions.

"Spirit world? Nightmare spirits? And what exactly do you mean by your people?" I huffed out.

The man waved dismissively. "We don't have time for me to answer all of your questions. I'd rather not suffer the embarrassment of having come this far just to be killed by common thugs."

I frowned at him. "How can I trust you? I'm still not covinced you're a real person."

Ozai narrowed his eyes at me. "Look for yourself." He gestured to a boarded up window. Some pieces of broken glass still hung to its frame.

I walked up to the window he suggested, and pulled off one of the rotten boards. It gave away easily and I discarded it. I peered through to the street bellow.

Few people were out and about, none of them upstanding citizens. I saw a gang of five asian thugs whooping wildly on the sidewalk of a nearby building. The biggest one, the leader, gestured to the rest, and they split up. Two went around towards that back of the building, and three moved around front to where I had entered.

I paled as I stepped away from the window.

"Believe me now?" Ozai said smugly.

I shot a glare at him, before looking back to the window. My thoughts were sluggish, and I must have wasted a few seconds thinking before turning back to Ozai.

"I'm gonna have to find a new napping spot, aren't I?" I sighed with disappointment.

He shrugged. "Not necessarily. If you kill them quietly enough, you can easily catch a few hours of sleep before anyone comes looking."

I stared at him blankly. That was... cold. He'd stated it so casually he might as well have been talking about the weather. 'He hasn't killed anyone, has he?'

I stared at his blank expression.

'He's totally killed people.' I thought with exasperation. Not only did I have a crazy hallucination, but a homicidal one.

Then I realized I'd killed people.

The events from earlier came crashing back.

"N-n-no." I was a wanted criminal. I had just murdered a ward. What would dad think? Dad! I tried to get my breathing under control.

Ozai was oblivious to my plight. "Why? You've literally killed for less."

"Why did I do that!" I screeched. "I killed her, and then antagonized the heroes. They'll hate me. Fucking everyone will hate me."

"Calm down." He chastised. "They will hate you, yes. But they will also fear you. Fear is more valuable than love and respect."

I ignored his statement, and was blinking back tears now. "N-no... you antagonized the heroes." I fixed my gaze on him. "Why!?"

He sneered at me. "It was nothing that you weren't already thinking, I just voiced it. Besides, you were thinking about deescalating in your youthfull naivity. They never would have accepted and would have only demanded your imprisonment. It had to be done."

I glared at him. "That wasn't your decision to make! You ruined my life!"

"I did you a favor!" He shouted back.

The creaking of the wooden floorboards near the door sent chills down my spine, and silenced whatever reply I was about to say.

"Well, Lee, you did not mention that the Gaijan was so crazy." I panicked a littles at the accented voice, and turned to face where it came from.

I saw a big Japanese man standing in the doorway. A pathetically short Vietnamese guy stood behind him, followed by a half-white Korean dude.

"Or skinny." The Little guy added.

"Well, she was the only one I could find traveling alone." The half Korean guy stated timidly.

I glanced towards where Ozai stood, only to find nobody there.

"No!" I shouted after him. "You don't get to leave me!" I was hyperventilating as I looked back to the gangsters.

The Vietnamese guy let out a long whistle. "You think she's one of the merchants? She's crazy enough."

The Japanese guy shrugged. "Possibly, possibly not. Either way, she will be acceptable for the initiation." The Japanese guy removed a long dagger from it's sheathe on his belt. He turned toward 'Lee', the half-white Korean guy, and handed him the blade.

Lee took it in his shaky hands. He glanced at me nervously, before steeling himself with a cold look.

"In the future," The Japanese man drawled. "We will expect you to find higher quality targets." He sneered as he finished the statement, flashing an annoyed look at me.

Lee nodded, before turning to face me. He raised the dagger.

I backed away towards the window.

"Ozai?" I whispered. I glanced down toward the knife in Lee's hands. What if Ozai wasn't coming back? I tried summoning fire. Just like he said, it wasn't working. I thrusted my hands forward, and still the flames refused to obey.

I could feel it. I knew the potential was there, I just couldn't make it work!

"You have pretty eyes, Gaijin." The Japanese guy said. "I have not seen eyes of such a golden color." He grinned at me. "Perhaps, after Lee finishes gouging them out, he will let me keep them."

My breaths grew more shallow as I glanced toward Lee.

"Breathe deeper. Firebending comes from the breath." I sighed in absolute relief. Ozai hadn't left me. I could do this!

I smiled at the ABB gangsters. They had no idea what's coming.

The Japanese guy raised an eyebrow, probably confused at my sudden change from fear to eagerness. "Crazy Gaijin." He muttered.

He gestured toward Lee. "Finish it."

The world seemed to slow as I settled into deep, rithmic breathing, as per Ozai's instructions.

Lee walked toward me, raising his unnarmed hand to grab my hair.

"A strike to his face will leave him vulnerable. Feel the fire within you. The blazing passion, the anger at the state of your life. Use it to feed your flame."

I did as he commanded, feeling the energy channel into my palm.

"Now Taylor, extend your arm forward and release!"

I brought my hand forward within an inch of his face. Fire blasted out of my palm and collided with the man's nose.

His head snapped back as the flames washed over it, and he screamed.

The other Asians, barring Ozai, jumped back in shock as the crazy Gaijin torched their friend.

Lee stumbled backwards, as his head burned. He had the misfortune of stepping in the pile of drug needles I had brushed aside earlier, and fell to the floor in agony.

"Exert your will over the fire. Make it burn."

I mercifully increased the intensity of the flames, ending his life in an instant.

The other gangbangers stood around for a brief moment in shocked silence, before the little man shouted "cape!"

The Japanese guy wasted no time and drew his gun.

I was faster.

He got a face full of burning agony just like his friend as my next blast smashed against his forehead. He staggered back into the small Vietnamese dude and toppled over him.

I sent another blast of flame into him, and another.

And another.

And another.

Until all that was left was burning bodies.

"Good. Your form was flawed, but great for a first time firebending on your own. It will take some practice before it becomes muscle memory."

I stepped out into the hallway where the bodies had fallen, and stared at the corpses therenfornan indiscernable amount of time.

"Now take control of the fire immolating the corpses, and snuff it out."

I reached for the fire, and grasped it with my mind.

"Gesture downwards. It will help with the process."

I waved my hand as commanded, an the flames died down, albeit not completely.

I heard Ozai make a 'hmpf' noise. "Your control leaves much to be desired."

I looked at all of the bodies of the people I had just killed. I frowned, wondering how high my death toll for today was when I realized something.

Wasn't there supposed to be five gangsters?

A loud shout rang down the halls and I turned in alarm.

Two ABB gangster were staring at me in alarm, and started reaching into their coats.

"Two blasts simultaneously! Do it, now!"

I obeyed and jumped forwards, extending both my hands. The men had barely brought their guns to bare when my fire zipped into them. My fire hadn't done much Kinetic damage this time, but it had set their clothes ablaze.

They yelled and screamed, clumsily shambling backward. I brought another two blasts to finish them off.

They tumbled down a nearby stairwell as the fire hit them. There was loud thuds until they reached the bottom, and all was quiet.

Ozai intupted the silence. "Well, that was a fine firebending lesson if nothing else."

"My fire was weaker here than earlier. Why?" I asked.

"This was your first time truly bending. Bending without me guiding your movements, I mean. I will have to teach you until you are capble of doing this on your own. Dying while I'm guiding you, while I'm merged with you, is 'inadvisable' to say the least.

"We will also need to condition your body to withstand greater hits." I winced, remembering Velocity's punch, and subconsciously grasped my jaw.

"Don't worry to much about it too much. You will still have access to all my knowledge when it's important. You are a gifted Student, and I am a great teacher. You will be my greatest legacy."

I stood amongst the smoking bodies for a moment, not really sure what to say. He was praising me, but I didn't know if it was empty words or not.

I had killed five more people, and now I was alone, on the run. Sophia had beaten me down until I was broken, and now I had to pick up the pieces.

I missed my dad.

Ozai materialized in front of me in the hallway. He beamed with satisfaction, and clasped my shoulders with his insubstantial hands.

I couldn't feel anything solid, but there was a... warmth, to his touch, like a reliable fireplace.

He stared into my eyes and adopted a warm smile.

"You are strong." Ozai praised. "Stronger than you realize."

I blinked, and felt tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't realize how much I needed someone to tell me that until Ozai said it.

I had to fight back tears as I stared at him.

"We will do great things together. I'm proud of you, Taylor."

The fire within his words moved me, and I tried to hug him. My hands went through his shoulders slightly, but I could feel the warmth from my 'touch'.

Ozai's eyes widened, but he didn't resist. I felt myself sobbing into his illusionary shoulder.

We remained like that for some time.

Finally, I pulled back. Sniffling.

I smelled smoke, and turned toward the room that I had previously sought refuge in to find it engulfed in flames. Lee's burning head hadn't stopped burning, after all.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to find a new place to nap." I murmered in between sniffles.

{Hmm. Looks like Ozai and Taylor are getting along nicely. It'd be a shame if Ozai turned her into a Taylorified version of Azula. *Que intense cackling.

As always, feedback is appreciated!}

Last edited: Jun 4, 2024

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Victorious

Jun 6, 2024

#136

"I'm not stealing his bag" I firmly stated.

We were standing in a dirty alleyway, looking at a rather disgusting sight. A poor homeless person had shot himself up with drugs and he was too high to notice the teenage girl eying his bag of belongings. Or the rat that was clawing through said belongings.

"It is not stealing, merely appropriating the belongings of your future subjects for the war effort." Ozai declared, with all the surety of a monarch who had done so before.

It had been only an hour since I had killed those ABB thugs back at the abandoned building, and we were currently trying to find things that would help me survive. Things like money, a living space (preferably one with ample space to firebend), and food.

Unfortunately for my moral character, Ozai had noticed a homeless man being less than capable of defending his worldly possesions.

I scowled at his slightly transparent form. "That's probably everything he owns." The homeless man turned his vacant expression in our general direction. "And I'm not conquering the Bay," I added.

He smirked at me. "Agreed. You will be conquering this entire world."

I stared at him incredulously. Was he serious? Suddenly the idea of me being insane started to make sense again...

A clattering noise interupted that thought, and I turned to the homeless man. He had flopped over and now his shaggy beard was dipped into a puddle of some kind of sludge. He had knocked over a trash can lid, which rolled to my feet and stopped.

Ozai made a disdainful sniff.

"Look at the squalor your people wallow in. Everywhere I turn, your culture, despite being remarkably advanced, is in ruins. Even the lowest citizen of my nation wasn't reduced to this." Ozai spat.

"Capes make things hard," I replied. "Ever since Scion appeared, murderous villains have done their best to tear up our fragile society." The fact that I was now one of those said Villains went unspoken. "And that is without even mentioning the Endbringers."

Ozai folded his arms and smiled. "That sounds like a feeble excuse for bad leadership. Do you know why, Taylor?"

I scowled. "Why?"

"Because one third of my world's population had 'powers', and yet, things weren't this sorry state of affairs. At least, not in my country."

My eyebrows raised. One third? That was insane. I couldn't even Imagine what that would entail.

He saw my expression and his smile became a grin. "I could teach you how to rule this world Taylor. Even though there are big threats here, we can outlast them all. I conqured mine, after all."

He leaned closer.

"Don't you want to have something to fight for, something to work towards? A worthy ambition? It would beat fleeing your world's sorry excuse for leadership."

I glanced at my feet and hesitated. "The Endbringers." I murmered.

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

I shrugged. "Terrifying monsters that attack every three months. Each time they do, they destroy a city. Our strongest heroes and villians try to fight them off." I turned to face the ground. "They fail."

Ozai actually rolled his eyes. "We had our fare share of Dark Spirits ravage our society. The only being who could negotiate with them was an enemy of our Nation for over a Hundred years of war. Sure a town was destroyed or a city suffered, but we always rebuilt."

I stared at Ozai. Had his society actually managed to survive beings like the Endbringers for over a hundred years?

He could be lying. I wasn't exactly sure if this Interdimensional Space Warlord was a trustworthy individual.

Then again, I hadn't actually shown him the damage the Endbringers of Earth Bet could inflict. Likely, he'd change his tune when he saw the aftermath of Leviathan sinking Kyushu or the Simurgh driving entire cities mad.

"I don't think you understand what I'm talking about." Ozai turned to respond, but I held out my hand and interrupted him "But fine. I'll try."

My head hurt and I was done arguing. I'd dissuade him from his impossible ambitions later.

Ozai smirked. "Excellent," he drawled. "And you can start, by taking his bag." He swept his hand to the sprawled out homeless man.

I sighed. Resolving to do something nice for the homeless population of the bay as repayment, I marched over and grabbed his bag.

The homeless man's eyes lit up as he sluggishly realized what I was doing, he reached a shaking hand out to stop me, but I had already marched back towards Ozai.

I unzipped the zipper of the backpack and rifled through its contents.

"Some dirty clothes, a can of beans, $90 and some drug needles." I glared at Ozai. "I hope you're happy."

"It's a start" he grumbled.

I marched out of the alleyway and down the street.

As we walked deeper into ABB territory, I could feel dozens of hostile stares on me. I imagined none of them were too pleased with the white girl walking so deep into their territory.

I approached a grocery store covered in gang tags. Most of the signs were in Korean, but I suspected that as long as I had money, they wouldn't care about my race. Some of them had to speak decent English.

When I finally reached a grocery store, I went inside.

I allowed my hair to fall around my face like a curtain. Hopefully it would make me look less like the wanted parahuman.

Snatching a shopping basket, I made my way to the candy section.

The ghostly form of Ozai appeared behind me, and he began to stare at some of the candies. A bag of gummy worms caught his eyes.

He marveled at the colorful worms, and I realized that he must not have had anything like that where he came from.

He never asked me about them, however, and so I never told him.

I grabbed a bag of twinkies off of the gondola and placed it in my basket.

"What are those?" He inquired.

"Twinkies. Highly nutritional." I lied. I wanted some candy after what I'd been through today and I wasn't looking for an excuse to be told no.

I grabbed some snack bars filled with Vitamins and moved to the canned foods aisle.

Ozai made a hum of approval at an Item on the shelf. I looked and saw that it was Sardines.

"Buy this. Fish is an important part of the diet if you want to practice firebending."

I winced at the idea of eating canned sardines, but didn't protest. Eating fish from a can was the least of my crimes for today.

I filled my basket with Spam and canned beans before finishing my trip, only stopping to grab plastic silverware, sanitary wipes and bottles water.

I took it to the register and the Korean woman rang it up. "Seventy dollar." She stated in broken English, and I paid the amount owed.

After leaving the store, I felt my stomach growl. I hadn't eaten much today and I was absolutelystarving after my ordeal. I sat on a bench and immediately reached for my twinkies.

Ozai appeared in my face.

I jumped back, startled.

"Try the spicy jerky," he ordered, and I frowned at him.

Replacing my bag of twinkies with Jerky, I shot glances at Ozai. He watched as I tore open the bag.

Did he really have nothing better to do than watch me eat jerky

The moment the Jerky hit my tongue, my eyes widened.

The spiciness was... better than anything I could have imagined. I hadn't been to big on spicy stuff before, but now I was positively hooked on it.

I scarffed down the rest of the bag.

He had a smug look on his face when I finished.

"Firebenders love spicy food." He said. "I had a feeling you'd enjoy it as much as I do."

I reached into one of the grocery bags and pulled out another bag of jerky.

"Do you want some?" I asked.

He scowled, and turned away. It hit me that he probably couldn't eat anymore.

I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

He didn't say anything.

I spent another ten minutes munching on jerky and twinkies before standing up. Ozai had disappeared and I took it that he was now back in my 'head'.

"The final thing we need is shelter. You know this city better than I do."

I took that as my que. "The docks. There are a lot of abandoned warehouses there we could use. I'm sure my..." I trailed off grimacing before I could say 'Dad'.

I was trying my best to dance around that particular subject until I could actually afford to think about it.

An asian man in his 40s moved to sit next to me on the bench.

The man glanced at me.

I smiled.

He stiffened, and his eyes widened a fraction. Obviously, he knew who I was.

'Well, there goes my lovely bench moment,' I thought sullenly.

"We need to get going."

I nodded and stood up. Grabbing my bags of essentials, I left the man sitting on the bench. I glanced back and saw him hastily pulling out his phone.

It was a quiet walk to the abandoned warehouses. Although some of the local gangsters had undoubtedly noticed me, they must have not found me a worthy target and left me alone.

The warehouses were fenced off, and I had to destroy a lock placed by the DWU to get in.

We browsed the warehouses for suitable options, as I looked around.

"I desire that one," Ozai spoke as I looked at a faded red warehouse. "It has ample space to train, and it looks like the roof might actually be durable."

"Alright. We'll settle down here for the night."

I stepped up to the door. The corroded lock on it hinted that this place had not been used in a long time.

Hopefully the DWU had forgotten about this place and wouldn't be coming to check on it any time soon.

I easily discarded the lock and went inside. I had to walk through an office area. The carpet was moldy and the tap in the bathroom kept releasing a steady drip. Whatever plumbing this place had was clearly broken, but at least it still had running water.

"This isn't an issue. We'll burn the carpet to ashes and do what we can to fix your sink."

I nodded at Ozai's words as I stepped over a puddle. The carpet squished as my foot landed on the other side. I pushed my way past a rotting table and into the main area.

It was massive, just what we needed. Some old aluminum wrap sat in the far corner, abandoned and left to fate. A small hole was torn in the ceiling but otherwise this place was great.

Ozai appeared in front of me.

"You will need to change from your clothes and find a way to wash. It's dangerous to sleep with that much filth on you."

I nodded. I smelled awful after the locker. Having my wounds get infected could ruin me.

Ozai walked over to one wall. "Once we aquire some candles, we will set up a meditation area to centre your spirit." He then gestured to the back. "We will set up a place for you to sleep over there, and away from the hole in the cieling." He said 'we' as if I wasn't the one who was going to be doing all of the work.

I was too tired to complain, so I just vacantly nodded.

He smiled. "Let's get to work."

When I had finished, the place was vastly improved. I couldn't honestly call this place home, but it would be bearable.

I had grabbed an old metal table from a back storage closet, and had found a leaky garden hose and an old faucet to bathe with. Ozai had politely dissappeared to... wherever it was he went.

I was now dressed in the homeless man's clothes. They were dirty and baggy, but nowhere near as filthy as what I'd arrived in.

A simple pile of of old tarps littered the ground and served as my improvised mattress.

The moldy carpet in the office was long since burned away, leaving only concrete floor beneath. Ozai had taught me how to control the fire so hopefully nobody noticed my arsonistic proclivities.

The faucet still dripped, but it was wasn't an issue I needed to solve at the moment.

"It's no Fire Nation palace, but it will do." Ozai was at my side now, surveying the area.

I glanced at him. "Can I go to bed now? I honestly can't stand much longer." It was true. Earlier, it had been a battle for every step. Now, my legs were so wobbly and it was like fighting an Endbringer just to stay upright.

"Of course." Ozai dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

I moved to lay down, when I remembered something.

"Hey, Ozai, have you seen my... glasses?" I was fingering where they should have been on my face. I realized that I must have lost them in all of the confusion.

Ozai reappeared behind me. "You will have no need for your spectacles. It is often said that the body is a reflection of the spirit, and you have a very powerful spirit."

I turned to look at him, my mouth gaped wide open. "I have self-healing?"

He shook his head. "No. Your spirit merely added the flaming eyes a powerful firebender should have." He gestured to his own.

I felt a little disappointed that I didn't have some significant form of Regeneration. It would have done a lot to fix the fact that I was a squishy teenager.

Then, without anymore energy for thought, I flopped down onto the tarps and passed out.

Ozai:

Ozai felt the familiar whirl pulling him back to the Spirit World. Without Taylor's consciousness centering him, he couldn't manifest in the physical world, even as a spirit or vision.

Instead, he faded to her subconscious self, which was in the Spirit World. Jagged windowless buildings arched menacingly over him. A twisted, evil parody of reality. Where there should have been a healthy menagerie of the local spirit life, there was only crushing silence, barring the odd wailing in the distance. Ozai had wondered what had annihilated the local spirit life, if their had ever been any at all.

Now was the moment he'd have normally gone dormant, lest he attract any of the nightmarish spirit-things that ravaged this barren hellscape.

The last time he'd tried to remain active for a significant amount of time here in the Spirit World, he'd been attacked by the form of a spider made of human flesh. He did not want to know where that nightmare had come from.

However, Ozai didn't feel like allowing himself to fade just yet. All he wanted to do was celebrate his recent successes. He'd been waiting so long. Dormant, lurking for fifteen long years.

And now, thanks to the sliver of an Alien entity that had thought it a good idea to attack his reincarnation, they were already ahead of schedule. They'd been restoring energy on their own at a pace that would have left Taylor to manifest her bending on her seventeenth birthday. The little boost they had claimed had truly been a boon.

Unfortunately, most of the energy they had stolen went to replenishing Him. That, and the now diminished and corrupted Queen Administrator.

Still, Ozai had gained enough energy to not only boost Taylor but to also manifest indefinitely in the physical world through his link to her.

Taylor was a curious one. He had always wondered in his youth what he'd have been like if he'd had a different upbringing. She was like an answer to that question.

She thought herself full of morals, but deep down she was just like him. Willing to do anything to accomplish her goals. All she needed was a little push.

Of course, she had gotten a little mad at his manipulations. Ozai was truly fortunate that the criminal scum had shown up when they did. If Taylor had rejected him, he'd have had to let her die and be reincarnated into a more usefull extension of himself.

That would have been annoying. He'd have wasted fifteen years of his time and would have had to spend eternity with a version of himself that hated him.

Fate had fixed that little error. One of the many signs that be was destined for greatness.

Thanks to the dark pact he had made with Him, Ozai had a second chance to ensure his legacy, and perhaps, even defeat the Avatar once and for all.

The 10,000 year old spirit that had ravaged him would be defeated. The Avatar Raava was stagnant. He She hadn't sought out other worlds like Ozai and Vaatu had.

She hadn't traveled through the expanse of space and time to find a world filled with power beyond measure.

Vaatu would learn and adapt. Chaos never conformed to the rules set by reality.

Ozai would leave a legacy no man ever had before, for he was the first iteration of a mighty chain.

He was the Dark Avatar.

{Well, that was interesting. The next chapter will be the infamous "heroes gather around a table and discuss powers" scene. In other words, the Protectorate interlude.

( PS, if you have questions about how Ozai still has his firebending/got it back, that will be adressed in future chapters. It would be a plot hole otherwise. I will also be adressing how Ozai merged with Vaatu in the first place.)

Double PS. As always, let me know if you see any errors or failures on my part.}

328

Victorious

Jun 6, 2024

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Threadmarks Interlude: Protectorate

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Victorious

Jun 13, 2024

#174

{I was busier than normal, so I've released this a bit later than I'd have liked. Enjoy!}

Director Emily Piggot of the Protectorate East Northeast was hardly ever in a 'good' mood, but today she was particularly sour.

A ward had died under her command, a School had been burned to ashes in her backyard and Brockton Bay's rising star, Dauntless, was hospitalized from his injuries. Panacea had ignored him for people with more critical conditions that had been injured at the school. Hopefully she'd be willing to tend to him soon, but Piggot didn't have much hope.

It wouldn't take the gangs long to figure out one of the Protectorate's top heroes was incapacitated. Then, even more people would die.

And on top of it all, she still had to deal with Assault's antics.

"Um, before we begin, can I ask what happened to Armsmaster's beard?"

The protectorate Heroes shuffled uncomfortably around the table. She had gathered all of the major members of the protectorate, except for injured Dauntless. The Wards were not called for this meeting due to the sensitive nature. They would have to be briefed later and be given time to adjust to Shadow Stalker's death, although, she suspected they might see it as an improvement.

The freshly shaven Armsmaster clicked his teeth shut and glowered at Assault. A couple of burnt patches of skin dotted his jaw.

Assault smiled innocently.

"It burned off in the fight," Armsmaster said coldly.

Assault stared at him. "But don't you have a faceplate to protect it? Huh, guess I can't call you Halbeard anymore."

"Enough!" Director Piggot snapped. "Joking after what happened today is despicable."

Assault sobered up. "Sorry, just trying to make light of a dark situation."

Piggott glared at Assault for a moment before turning to address the table.

"As you have all been informed, Shadow Stalker is dead," she said. She started shuffling the papers as the audience winced. "The culprit for this murder is one Taylor Annette Hebert, a classmate of hers from Winslow High."

The TV screen on the wall began displaying a sideshow of various photos of Taylor Hebert. A one of her standing with her classmates came onto screen.

"Four others have also been confirmed dead as of an hour ago. Three students and one teacher. George Faraday, Erin Yang, Madison Clements and Mrs. Agatha Knott respectively."

There was a moment of silence. Today had been a disaster with a death toll, and nobody was happy about it.

"Armsmaster, if you could please describe the events of the past few hours," she turned to stare in his direction, and he inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Of course." Armsaster turned to the view screen. "Earlier this afternoon, we recieved a call about a dangerous parahuman assaulting her classmates from a concerned student. What made this even more concerning was that the caller informed us that Shadow Stalker was involved, and they had seen her transform in her civilian Identity."

Armsaster paused for a brief moment, then continued.

"Given that the civilian Identity of a Ward was at stake, and that we had an active school blaster situation, Me, Dauntless and Velocity were dispatched to the scene. What we found was disturbing."

The TV screen shifted to show a video.

"This is amateur footage from a civilian student who had fled the School after the initial incedent. It was taken shortly before my arrival."

The video played, and the Heroes watched as the camera was shakily brought up to capture a fiery parahuman hovering above Winslow High.

The parahuman hovered on flames thrusting their way out of her feet, and turned toward the left wing of the school. She raised a hand and fire gathered in her palm. More of the flames condensed, and then they suddenly released.

A massive river of flame exploded outwards.

The roof collapsed inwards from the impact of her fire, and it didn't stop there. The flames swept over a significant portion of the School before stopping, leaving a trail of devastation scarring the grounds. The fire continued to spread rapidly outwards.

"Holy smokes," Assault breathed. "Literally"

The flying Parahuman turned toward the front of the school. Her fiery glowing eyes fixated on the mass of students leaving the front door. She raised a hand and hesitated. The camera blurred for a moment, obscuring the scene of Dauntless slamming into her.

She was launched out of the camera's view.

"In between where the footage ends and when I arrived, Dauntless tried to diffuse the situation and facilitate a quick surrender. Taylor Hebert was not eager to comply, however, and decided to attack Dauntless. It was shortly after that-" he clicked the remote, loading another video "-that I arrived."

The next video was of much better quality. It had also clearly been taken by Armsmaster's helmet cam.

The capes watched in silence as the scene unfolded.

Armsaster stepped forward attempting to speak, but the youthfull cape didn't give him a chance. She fired a wave at him. The confrontation almost ended with the young villain fleeing, but Glory Girl stepped in.

"Pause," Piggott intoned, and Armsaster clicked the remote. "Why was Glory Girl there in the first place? The situation would have been resolved without Stalker's death if she had allowed Ms. Hebert to flee."

Armsmaster's jaw tightened. "We notified Aegis that Shadow Stalker was in danger and to be on standby. He told Gallant, who told his girlfriend, Glory Girl."

Piggott seethed to herself. Of course Gallant just had tell the local collateral Damage Barbie. "Reprimand him and tell him exactly how he is at fault for this."

Armsmaster nodded and unpaused the Video.

The scene of Sophia's death was blurred out, but it lost none of it's sting. Miss Militia turned away as the wailing of her shadow dominated the sounds coming from the device.

Everyone stiffened as Sophia's murderer reveled in the death she had caused.

"She was petty and weak. You should be thanking me. I did you all a favor."

Miss Militia was glaring at the screen after that. She had always been protective of the wards, and now a ward killer was running free.

Assault raised his hand, and Armsmaster paused the video.

"Um, did anybody else hear that other voice when she spoke?" Velocity nodded at Assault's question. "She also seemed hesitant for a moment there."

"She could have been mastered." Battery piped in.

Armsaster shook his head. "I had suspected such at first, but after additional evidence was found when we searched her house, we deemed it unlikely." His hand disappeared beneath the table for a moment and retrieved a notebook sealed in an evidence bag.

"This journal documents an extensive bullying campaign carried out by Shadow Stalker against Miss Hebert." He raised the Journal to show everyone. "This implies a clear motive for Miss Hebert to have attacked Shadow Stalker. Given the fact that there aren't any known masters in town with that effect or anybody else with a clear grudge against Shadow Stalker, it's highly likely this is the result of some minor changer ability."

Velocity shook his head. "But she had an entirely different voice come out of her mouth!"

"We'll keep it in mind. If she comes forward declaring she was mastered, we'll take her seriously. But as of this moment we have no other reason to suspect anything besides a quirk of her power." Armsmaster replied. "All of the evidence points to a preexisting feud with Shadow Stalker."

Assault frowned and tilted his head to the side. "It's possible that Shadow Stalker even caused her Trigger event. Maybe that was even what happened today, given that we havent seen someone of her powers around here."

Armsaster begrudgingly nodded. "Eyewitnesses say that Miss Hebert was shoved into a locker filled with used feminine hygene prodducts at the beginning of the altercation. Complete forensic analysisis is still pending as that part of the school is heavily damaged."

Piggot clenched her fist. Everything fit, given that Miss Hebert had triggered with an additional ability to shoot electricity, which was Shadow Stalker's weakness. Why was she stupid enough to bully somebody in a world where you gain powers from trauma? Even in death, she caused Piggot endless headaches.

A few capes around the table winced. It didn't justify the murder of a ward, but more than a few capes would be sympathetic to her if it had been a trigger event.

Armsmaster placed the book down on the table. Miss Militia reached to inspect it and retrieved it from the bag to read. She was only a few pages in before she placed the journal down.

"Good heavens." She breathed. "How did the school not stop this? Or Shadow Stalker's social worker?"

Piggot nodded. "We are investigating that now. Make no mistake, heads will roll for this. Somebody messed up bad."

Miss Militia shook her head, warring with herself before sighing. "What of her family?"

Armsmaster inclined his head slightly. "Her only imediate living relative is her father, Daniel Hebert, head of hiring at the dock workers union."

Piggot cursed. She had heard his name previously that day, but it was only now that she had remembered was head of the Dockworkers Union. If one of the gangs recruited his daughter, how long would it be before he folded to them?

Armsmaster continued, "We investigated her home life, but determined that her father was not abusive, albeit somewhat neglectful. He's actually been questioned already, and although he was frantic and distressed, he was receptive to notifying us if his daughter contacts him. We'll be monitoring his house anyway."

Piggot wondered how receptive he'd be if he found out a ward had bullied his daughter.

The Heroes watched the rest of the fight in a more somber mood, although she almost wanted to cheer when Velocity sucker punched Taylor.

The video ended with Armsmaster being thrown accross the ground from one of Taylor's massive fireballs. His screams were audible as the video winked out.

"As you can see," Armsaster addressed the beardless elephant in the room. "Although my plate slide down before the fireball hit, the sheer heat was enough to ignite my beard. It will grow back soon enough."

Assault for once, had the dignity to not make any further jabs at Armsaster. Piggott didn't know whether it was her previous admonishing of his behavior or the somber mood the meeting had taken, but she thanked her lucky stars all the same.

Piggot nodded to Armsmaster.

"Alright, we saw what she did, and what she's capable of. We need a cape name for the paperwork, and power threat ratings for how to detain her."

"How about Spark?" Velocity suggested. "It's simple and easy for the paperwork."

"Taken by a hero in Harlem." Piggot intoned. "And it isn't sufficiently villainous enough. The last thing we need is the public sympathizing with a ward Killer."

Armsmaster browsed the internet on his visor looking for a name, but Assault beat him to it.

"Firestorm," Assault snapped his fingers. "It describes her abilities because she can use both fire and lightning, and it's not taken."

Piggot frowned, mulling it over. It was villainous enough to not attract much public sympathy, and it was simple for the paperwork as per Velocity's point...

"Okay. Firestorm it is. Now we need power ratings."

"Blaster six for the lightning alone." Velocity muttered.

"Blaster seven, given that she took on a full team of heroes," Armsmaster corrected. "She also should be rated an additional mover three, for her blaster related flight capabilities."

He paused, considering.

"I also believe a thinker 2 should be in order for a potential precognitive ability. My combat analysis program detected her dodging attacks before they happened."

Assault let out a long whistle. "Blaster seven, Mover three, Thinker two... She's basically another Burnscar as it is."

Everyone shuffled uncomfortably.

"Right." Piggot spoke up. "I suggest we exercise caution when dealing with her. Do not give her a reason to escalate as she has already proven willing to kill."

Miss Militia protested. "We can't just let her get away with this, bullying or not. What if she joins a gang? Can you imagine what Kaiser would do with another Purity?"

Piggot sighed as she leaned back in her chair. The last thing she'd needed was a powerful blaster on the side of a gang.

"We are not letting her get away with this. She will be a priority. What I'm telling you to do is exercise caution. When we take her in, we need to do it with as little collateral damage as possible and with a solid plan."

She leaned closer with a deadly serious look in her eye. "That means no engaging without backup or permission. If you see an opportune moment to successfully take her in, do so, but not without clearing it first."

"The wards are also forbidden from engaging without significant safeguards, as it's clear she is willing to kill them." She added more as an afterthought.

Miss Militia nodded, and the other capes did as well.

She relaxed a little. "Now we need to handle the PR side of things. We already have agents handling the Winslow survivors to ensure their silence with every legal trick in the book."

Piggot began grabbing paperwork, but she didn't stop speaking.

"I want to make it very clear that nothing about Shadow Stalker bullying Firestorm is to leave this room. Bad news like that could destroy the wards program. It's best we handle it in-house." A few capes shot her disgruntled looks, but understood why it was necessary.

Surprisingly, it was armsmaster who stiffened after her statement.

"About that... Director, you might want to see this." He stated with as much panic as she suspected he could allow in his voice.

The TV abruptly changed from the protectorate logo to a local news channel.

"-and how long was this going on, Greg?" A pretty reporter asked with concern. She had a microphone labeled BBN pointed at the mouth of a geeky high-schooler.

"T-too long," the kid murmered. "She was bullied for nearly two years now b-but nobody stopped it."

"And you're sure that it was Shadow Stalker?"

"Yes! She went shadow in front of everyone when Taylor confronted her."

The reporter's blue eyes gleamed with the delight at the juicy scoop she was undoubtedly getting. "So let's get this straight, A Hero bullied a normal girl for years and all of the teachers were in on it?"

Piggot's eyes were bulging, obviously the PRT agents at Winslow were failing at their jobs. "Fuck."

He glanced nervously at the camera, before steeling his look into one of determination. "Yes. Nobody did anything. The Trio always moved as if they owned Winslow. I guess they did."

"Thank you. This has been-"

The TV winked out, and everyone turned to find Piggot holding the remote.

She was standing in silence at the other end of the table, running her piercing gaze over the assembled capes. Her hand was clenched over the remote, knuckles turning white with the intensity of her grip.

Her mouth twitched, but she didn't speak. She couldn't will her lips to work. The frustration was overwhelming.

A male voice rang out over the intercom. "Emily, the chief director wants to speak with you."

Fucking Shadow Stalker!

"My fellow Americans, what we have seen today is proof of everything that we have been fighting for!"

In a warehouse decorated with stialized swastikas and blood red banners displaying the number 88, A man in knight's armour complete with a crown of spikes stood adressing a small crowd of enthusiastic men.

"The corruption of our so called heroes is now displayed for all to see. That they would entertain this grave injustice against another of our kind demonstrates their worth, or lack thereof. When the West rises up and throws off these corrupt shackles, we will be a united people once more!"

The crowd's cheering grew louder and louder. The knight basked in the adoration for a moment, before raising a hand to quiet the crowd.

"Together, we are indomitable. In the spirit of that togetherness, I extend an invitation for young Taylor to join the Empire Eighty-Eight. We know your plight, for it is the plight we have all faced at one point."

The knight paused for emphasis, but continued before the crowd could start cheering again.

"Our dream of a better future shall be achieved. As the world wakes to the evils of the other races, the hegenemony of the corrupt shall be toppled!"

The crowd could no longer hold back their enthusiasm and cheered on the name of their leader.

"Heil Kaiser! Heil Kaiser! HEIL KAISER! HEIL-"

The Video winked out.

Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown glared at her subordinates through the screen, and Piggot clenched her teeth as she practically felt the heat of her gaze.

"That," Rebbecca hissed. "Was only one of our numerous adversaries taking advantage of the situation right now."

Piggot met the director's gaze, but didn't say anything. Kaiser had always been opportunistic. It had only been an hour and a half since Firestorm's tragic circumstances went public and he had already leaped on the situation with a full speech. Privately, she suspected that he was preparing to make a speech anyway, but had changed the subject matter over this event.

"You should actually be thankful, in a sense, that Winslow had a higher death toll than just Shadow Stalker, otherwise people far more reputable than Kaiser would be siding with her."

Armsmaster shuffled next to her bur remained silent.

"What I want to know," her tone was ice as she said this, "is why you allowed Shadow Stalker, a probationary ward, free reign to torment her classmates. In fact, why wasn't she transfered to Arcadia with the other wards?"

Piggot had already prepared an answer.

"Her character was vouched for, so we didn't think that she needed any significant oversight or change in her day to day life. Furthermore, the agent assigned to oversee her was found to be corrupt. She has been suspended and is under investigation." She replied in a clipped tone.

"Winslow High School was also deliberately negligent in order to keep the money the PRT payed them to take care of a Ward."

The Chief Director adopted a bored expression.

Armsmaster spoke up after seeing her look. "We are doing everything in our power to find those responsible and hold them accountable."

The Chief Director scoffed.

"I don't want to hear your ass-covering. You've jeopardized the whole wards program with your negligence. Your branch of the PRT will be audited starting tommorrow at two."

A phone started ringing on her end of the video call.

She glowered at the two another moment.

"Dismissed."

Piggot climbed to her feet as fast as she could, eager to put this behind her. Armsmaster followed behind. They only barely made it halfway to the door.

"Oh, and Armsmaster?" He froze at the Chief Director's words. "Miss Militia will take unofficial oversight of the Wards from now on."

The Armored cape grit his teeth, but didn't protest.

The TV viewscreen winked out behind her as she left, and Piggot let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

She hated this job.

{I hope you enjoyed. This is my first time writing a PRT interlude, so please let me know if I did anything wrong (I'd be happy to fix it), although I am decently satisfied with this chapter so far. I've forced myself to accept that it isn't going to be perfect since this is my first fic (a hard task since I'm an obsessive perfectionist).

And to adress the inevitable questions, this will not be an Empire88!Taylor story, although I do eventually want to try my hand at one. As fun as it would be to have Ozai teach Taylor how to assasinate the ruling monarch and usurp his chosen heir like the good ol' days, I have too many power interactions and battles planned with the Empire capes. Besides, Taylor is smart. Why would she validate the PRT's lies? She'll have to conquer them the old fashioned way.}

Last edited: Jun 13, 2024

357

Victorious

Jun 13, 2024

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Threadmarks Spark 2.1 (Or, Ozai discovers PHO)

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Victorious

Jun 23, 2024

#224

{Once again, this took A bit longer than I would have liked. Unfortunatelyfor my scedule, I broke my finger. Hard to type with that.

I was gonna do the standard PHO interlude, but then I thought "How would Ozai react to PHO?" So I incorporated it into the first chapter of my next arc instead.}

"Now extend your hand!"

I thrust my hand forward, watching as a blast of fire launched itself from my hand at the distant brick wall.

Our temporary refuge lit up under the light. When it faded, I could see a new scorch mark, one of many, dotting the far brick wall. I could also see a large Crack that hadn't been there before.

I grimaced. I hadn't meant to hit it with that much fire.

"Excellent. At this rate, you'll have mastered the basic forms by the end of the week. Not bad for your second firebending lesson." Ozai's seeping approval was evident in his tone.

I smiled at his praise. It was an intense lesson, and a taxing one. I could feel my muscles aching as I relaxed from my firebending stance.

We'd been at this for hours, ever since I had woken up late. Ozai hadn't bothered me for sleeping in, since fighting an entire team of Heroes was exhausting work.

"You may rest for the remainder of the day. I don't want to overtax your... unfit body."

THAT, on the other hand, he had relentlessly bothered me over.

I huffed at the sneer in his last remark. He had taken jabs at my pot belly all afternoon. Apparently wherever he was from, almost everyone had rock solid abs.

When he'd first noticed the little pudge, he'd been absolutely and unfairly brutal in his criticism. He'd said 'Fat little thing, aren't you?' or 'You make my brother look skinny!'.

If he wasn't some kind of force ghost, I'd have slapped him by now.

As it was, I was glaring at the space where I'd assumed he was going to appear. He, of course, appeared behind me, just to get under my skin.

I turned around and glowered at him.

He smirked.

"We both know that the state of your fitness is a glaring weakness." He admonished with his more tangible voice. He radiated smug confidence with practiced ease.

"But why do you have to be so mean about it? You sound like Emma." I hissed. My fists clenched at my side, and my glare intensified.

His eyebrows rose, and for a moment, I braced myself for another scathing comment. To my surprise, his smirk softened. "I suppose some of the things I said were a little uncalled for..." The understatement of the century. "... but you'll have to forgive me. Your lax state of affairs reminded me of someone unpleasant." His lips curled downwards, but not at me.

He was probably talking about his brother. I could tell that he had no shortage of grievances with him for some reason, if some of his insults earlier were anything to go by.

Ozai turned and stared off into space, distantly.

My curiousity briefly overrode my anger, and I asked "Who?".

"My brother," He confirmed my suspicions. "A feared general who laid waste to the Earth Kingdom. I had always envied him growing up, but I only pity him now."

Ozai stared into my eyes.

"He became weak with the death of his son, and threw away everything he had been granted. He didn't even fight me for the throne, such was the sorrow he had been lost in. Of course, he opposed me in the end, albeit indirectly."

His gaze became more intense, "I refuse to allow you to sink so low. Someone of your station should be immaculate and powerful. Someone like me... since you are me, after all."

I stared at him skeptically, "If I really am some kind of reincarnation of you, then mocking yourself seems kind of silly, don't you think? How are the insults supposed to help, exactly...?"

"Motivation," he grit out. "My son never took well to it, but whenever my father insulted me I chose to grow stronger. To prove him wrong."

Son? Although I was a little concerned that this dude was an abusive dad, I felt the last of my anger drip away to curiousity.

"Well, the insults aren't motivating. Terrible parenting strategy." I reprimanded, and his face twisted into one of offense. He didn't say anything else, however.

We stared at eachother a moment, and I contemplated Ozai. I'd be safe in the assumption that he was a fairly cruel individual, if his personality and willingness to commit murder were anything to go by. Of course, it then struck me just how little I knew about him. He had a family? And this guy was the supposedly leader of an entire planet at one point.

My curiousity eventually grew too much to contain.

"You had a family?" I asked. "What were they like?"

He scoffed. "Nobody worth talking about. Instead of badgering me about failures, perhaps you should focus on meditating. Proper direction of your Chakra paths should help you be less squishy." He turned away from me with a final sneer.

He vanished, leaving me alone with a plethora of unanswered questions.

For a moment, I stared after him.

Then, I wordlessly turned an walked off in the opposite direction.

I wasn't going to waste anymore time contemplating Ozai's family issues. I still wanted to know what the PRT was saying about me, and for that I'd have to plan a way to gather information.

I fixed the sunglasses to my face as I prepared to enter the Library. I had acquired them from some man who'd left them unattended on the hood of his car. They were a necessary precaution to hide my distinctive eyes.

No amount of disguises could get me into my old library, of course. The people there would recognize me in a heartbeat.

I wasn't sure what descriptions the PRT had placed on my appearance, but then again, that was one of the things I was here to find out. Something in me needed to see how the press was handling my story. I had to know, and the internet was the place to be for that kind of information.

If I could use the library computers, I could get into PHO, which would get me more information than wandering around town to try and find a TV displaying the news.

"Remember, this will be an excellent lesson in lying."

Ozai had taken it upon himself to be the Devil on my shoulder, and had already started scheming on how to make me an unrepentant liar.

Personally, it made me question everything the guy had told me so far.

"Is that really necessary," I whispered, glancing at people nearby exiting their vehicles, hoping they didn't notice me talking to myself. Crazy delinquents were often shuffled away from places like this, especially since this little Library was in Empire territory.

"Of course," Ozai replied. "It is a necessity for you to be a good liar, now more than ever. How did Emma manage to torment you unpunished for so long?"

I grit my teeth. "Okay, point taken." I took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

I strode forward and marched to the front door with confidence. Ozai had told me that if I looked like I belonged, less people would be suspicious.

The skinhead that exited the front door as I was entering shot me a look, but didn't bother me. Aside from that, it was smooth sailing.

As I entered, I surveyed the Library. Ozai had drilled it into me to count the exits, and I wasn't going to allow myself to get cornered. I noticed a door to the back, the door that I had come in from, and a window on the far wall.

"Three exits." I muttered under my breath.

"Four. You forgot the skylight."

I looked up at the evening light coming through the skylight and sighed. The fact that I could fly was going to take some getting used to.

With that, I turned and walked up to the front counter. A blond teenage girl at a nearby table was casually reading Mein Kampf. Clearly this place wasn't trying to hide it's Empire affiliation.

I hadn't ever expected to encounter Nazi librarians, but my life was changing in all sorts of wierd ways recently, the Warlord in my head notwithstanding.

I smiled at the old lady at the counter. She was really old and had a stern look in her brown eyes.

"Can you direct me to the computers? My laptop broke and I need to finish researching for a school project." I lied smoothly. I was curious what Ozai thought of my lie, although, he definitely didn't know what a laptop was.

The lady looked me up and down, and I wondered if she was examining my skin color or if she just looked at everyone that way.

Finally, she gestured. "Down by the children's section. Don't occupy a computer for more than one hour."

I nodded, and moved to where she gestured.

When I reached the computers, Ozai materialized. He started examining the box shaped computer curiously.

"Hmm. Is this the fabled 'P-H-O'? It doesn't look much like a board."

I rolled my eyes and booted up the computer. Ozai stepped back, eyes wide as it blinked on. The screen lit up, revealing Internet Explorer in all it's modern glory.

"By Agni," he breathed. His eyes raked over the screen, and he turned to stare at me. His eyes locked with mine. "Tell me everything at once. How does it work?"

"Well... this computer links up with other computers all across the world," I whispered in a hushed tone and gestured to the others in the room. "Together, they form the Internet. On it, information can be shared as fast as it takes to push a button. You can do other stuff with computers too."

Ozai had a look of genuine marvel on his face as he studied the screen. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. If he thought this beat-up old computer was impressive, then I wondered what he'd think of Tinkertech.

He tentatively reached out his ghostly hand to touch it. Nothing happened.

"If I'd had just five of these..." Ozai muttered before schooling his expression. "Proceed."

I turned and typed in Parahumans Online.

Ozai's ghostly 'eyes' remained fixed on the screen, taking in everything as I logged in.

Of course, I had to set up a different PHO account. There was a very good chance that the PRT was watching my old one.

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Topic: Winslow Razed and Shadow Stalker killed!

In: Boards News Events America

CarnivorePenguine (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (Cape Geek)

Posted on January 4th, 2011:

Holy crap you guys, a pyrokinetic parahuman just burned Winslow High School to the ground! She killed Shadow Stalker and beat the protectorate before escaping. You can see video footage of her doing it Here.

Five people died from this tragedy in addition to Shadow Stalker. Their names were Sophia Hess, Madison Clements, George Faraday, Erin Yang and Mrs Agatha Knott.

Dauntless is also reported Injured. Hopefully Panacea can patch him up before the villains try anything.

The Brockton Bay PRT released the name of the suspect: Taylor Annette Hebert. She's tall, skinny and has black hair. If you see her, back away and call the PRT, unless you want to find yourself barbecued.

EDIT: Holy smokes, it looks the entire reason she burned down the School was because she was bullied by Shadow Stalker in her civilian persona (I'm not gonna post her name because I don't want to get risk an infraction).

A classmate of hers, Greg Veder, spilled everything to the press. Apparently, Taylor was shoved into a locker with rotting tampons by Shadow Stalker, and that was when she went Ballistic. You can watch the full interview Here.

Also, the PRT released her cape name. They're calling her Firestorm.

(Showing page 1 of 89)

Innocent88

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

Damn. What type of monster just ups and burns down a school?

Bigwig

Replied on July 6th, 2011:

If you ask me, Winslow getting burnt to the ground is probably an improvement (barring the deaths, of course).

That fire power of hers is freaking scary. I hope she doesn't get any ideas about burning down anything else.

GstringGirl

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

I really hope they catch her. This is awful.

TheGnat

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

Is there a reason she did this? I wonder if this is one of those rumored Trigger Events.

That power is terrifying. She's gotta at least be a blaster 5.

RobbyWilks

Replied on January 4h, 2011:

This is why we need government screening of potential Parahumans. Who knows how many other schools are filled with ticking time bombs like this one?

TheGnat

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

RobbyWilks That isn't necessary. It would be a huge invasion of privacy to allow that kind of thing. Do you really want the government to have the power to mandate brain scans with tinkertech and detain anybody who could be a parahuman?

RobbyWilks

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

Of course. Imagine how easily this could have been prevented if everyone knew she was a potential cape. She could have gotten therapy long before now, and innocent kids would be alive. Parahumans are living weapons and need regulation.

Opundit

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

Birdcage the brat. Psychopaths need to be kept out of decent society.

XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

Opundit That's not fair. For all you know she could have had extenuating circumstances, or was bullied by somebody and ignored by the administration.

She was probably hurt by someone pretty bad.

EveningLight

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

Void Cowboy: That's not an excuse to destroy a school and commit murder. She killed people, and needs to be brought to justice. I don't support a Birdcage sentance, but she needs to be detained for everyone else's safety.

RobbyWilks: I get that you feel upset over this, but we really shouldn't be resorting to Orwellian measures even for tragedies like this. Giving the gov powers to interfere in people's lives like that would be stupid. I don't want America to become the CUI.

GstringGirl

Replied on January 4th, 2011:

Void Cowboy It sounds like you know something. If you have something to share, share it. You don't need to be a cape to be a hero.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … 87, 88, 89.

I stared at the screen, my mind numb as I re-read the names. One in particular stood out.

Mrs Knott.

A whimper escaped my mouth, and Ozai turned from the screen to look at me.

Mrs Knott had been kind to me. While she hadn't exactly stopped my bullying, she was one of the few teachers I actually liked.

And then, of course, there were the other people I killed. None of them (except Madison, perhaps) had deserved to be burned to death.

My breaths became more erratic and shaky. "I k-killed her. I killed innocent people." Deep down, I had known that more people than just Sophia had died. But until now, I could deny it to myself.

Now it was real. An undeniable truth that threatened to crush me.

"Why did I d-do that!" I sobbed out. A slight warmth on my shoulder caused me to look up. Ozai was staring into my eyes with his 'hand' on my shoulder.

"They were insignificant specs on the path to greatness. Do not cry for them." He glanced behind me for a moment and his eyes narrowed. "If you are serious about not killing innocents, then I suggest you stop sobbing so loudly. It would be a shame if we had to burn down this library because someone got suspicious."

I did my best to reign in my sobs. I glanced behind me to see a teenage girl staring at me with concern. She looked like the girl who had previously been reading Mein Kampf. To my chagrin, she appeared as if she wanted to come over.

I thought Nazis were supposed to be devoid of sympathy, damn it!

I bit down my sobs and shook my head at her when she started to move from her shelf. She stopped in her tracks, seemingly getting the message that I didn't want company, and turned to walk behind the shelf and out of sight.

I waited a moment before turning back to the screen.

"They didn't deserve it." I whispered.

Ozai frowned at me. "But they did deserve it. They deserved it because they were killed by you, no other reason is required. Whoever you allow to live deserves to live, and whoever you condemn to die deserves to die. That is the nature of your station."

"That's not how it works!" I hissed.

"That is exactly how it works." He shot back. "What is right and wrong is decided by the most powerful. When a farmer tills his field, is he wrong to bisect the worms of the soil with his tools? He is only wrong if he choses to be. The worm's existence depends entirely on the farmer's choice."

I shook my head at him. "I shouldn't have done it. I don't even really know why I did it."

Their was silence between us for a moment. When I looked back up into his eyes, I found some kind of sympathy there.

He had the slightest smile tugging on the sides of his lips, and his voice was warm as he spoke. "You don't have to like what you did, but you must own it. You will decide the fate of many over the course of your life. Whatever sacrifices you make, don't let them go to waste. Live to give their deaths meaning."

I nodded. I couldn't accept some of the crazier parts of his twisted worldview, but I wouldn't break down here. I couldn't break down here. I had power, and with it came responsibility.

If I failed here and allowed myself to be caught without doing... something, than perhaps I really would have killed them for nothing.

Slowly, while blinking tears from my eyes, I turned back to the PHO screen. It took a moment to calm myself before I started reading the words. What I read next shocked me.

My jaw dropped as I took it in.

Greg Veder had told the news everything? Something within me stirred, my previous sorrow forgotten. Everyone knew about Sophia! The PRT wouldn't just be able to sweep this under the rug.

My body wanted to jump in triumph, and I had to physically grip the sides of the seat I was on to avoid doing so.

I had never thought much about the socially awkward nerdy kid in my class, but now I was glad to have someone, anyone on my side. The first thing I did when I saw him would be to thank him.

If I ever really did conquer Brockton Bay like Ozai wanted, then I'd be sure to give Greg the Medhall building as a token of gratitude.

I wiped the tears on my face away with my sleeve and allowed myself to smile. "Greg told them. They know about Sophia bullying me!" I whispered happily to the warlord next to me.

Ozai sighed. "That's not good."

I blinked, turning towards Ozai. "What's not good?"

He shook his head. "That. The boy has ruined everything. Now instead of appearing strong, you look like the victim." He folded his arms in disdain.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I am the victim."

He rolled his eyes. "It would have been better for nobody to know that. Now we will have to go through all the effort of building a terrifying reputation instead of having it handed to us."

"Whatever. I'm not letting you ruin this." I turned back to the computer.

"Fine."

My mood was much better as I read the rest of the post. I noted the pertinent details and filed them away. Apparently, according to the internet, the public was told I was a big threat. I wasn't sure what to think of that.

The post, at the very least, hadn't noted my distinctive new eyes. I'd have to check the cape wiki in a moment to confirm that they hadn't noticed a permanent change.

I skimmed the comment section before clicking to the more recent pages.

(Showing page 89 of 89)

Innocent88

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

I retract my previous comments. Firestorm is clearly a victim, and she'd do well to join the right sort of people.

Glory Girl (Verified Cape)

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Sure, The PRT could have done a lot better with their jobs when it came to Shadow Stalker, but Firestorm torched 5 people with no remorse over a prank. She's not a innocent victim.

Innocent88 I know what the 88 stands for. Fuck off.

Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy In The Know)

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Sighs. It looks like the Brockton Bay PRT really bit the dirt this time.

According to my sources, an Audit is underway for the entire PRT ENE. Furthermore, the Youth Guard is attempting a lawsuit.

I'd be surpised if the chief director keeps her job. As it is, she's responsible for another dangerous cape running around.

GstringGirl

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

I knew you were right Void Cowboy!

Slowjavk

Replied on January 5h, 2011:

Holy heck, this is getting bad.

I wonder if the PRT are gonna go all out on her or if they let Firestorm have some kinda deal since they helped cause this.

XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

I told you all there was something more going on. Another Void Cowboy win!

EAT IT losers.

SCIONISTHEGOAT

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Void Cowboy is right for once? Somebody call the PRT for Simurgh interference. The world is ending.

Opundit

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Damn, I didn't know how bad she had it. The Youth Guard is taking this seriously and filing a lawsuit. The Heroes caused this tragedy.

It doesn't justify the murder she did, but I can understand it now.

XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Opundit. It's ok. You didn't know.

Does anybody have power ratings on Firestorm yet? The PRT hasn't released them.

SpiritOfKyushu.

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Fire and Ash. A corrupted institution of learning burned to ashes, scattered amongst the evening wind.

She should join with Mighty Lung. A Pheonix and a Dragon to rule the bay.

ThickBootyGut56

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Spirit of Kushu she's not Asian. Sorry to crush your weird dreams.

Oppundit She sounds like a spoiled brat who couldn't take a joke. It was just a prank, and she flipped out. Seems like the kind of loser who was looking for an excuse in the firstplsce.

What a wimpy snowflake. I hope the PRT snuffs her out.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, … 85, 86, 87, 88, 89.

I felt a scowl on my face as I read the last comment on the page.

"Idiot" I muttered.

Ozai followed my gaze to the bottom comment. His gaze intensified into a glare as he read it.

"How dare this fool." Ozai snarled after reading the post. For a moment I wondered how he was able too. Did they read and write English on his world? Then I felt a little silly. He seemed to speak English just fine, so whatever allowed him to speak with me probably let him read it too.

"If this were my world, he would be flayed alive. Nobody addressess a firelord in this manner. It is he who is the spoiled brat!" Ozai growled. He folded his arms and stood taller. "

I shook my head, but I was actually kind of flattered that he took this much offense at me being insulted. "This is isn't your world, we have freedom of speech here. He can say whatever he wants about me, even if I don't like it. He could criticize the president or insult Alexandria to her face without penalty."

Ozai looked as if somebody had slapped him. "Whatever he wants?" He asked incredulously.

I nodded.

Ozai stepped back as if everything he had heard was the epitome of insanity. "You mean, everyone here can criticize anything? Mock anyone?"

I frowned at his shocked expression. "Yeah, pretty much."

His gaze narrowed. "Fine. Reply to him exactly as I instruct." He cleared his throat and paced behind me.

"Attention, you vile spawn of Koh." He addressed in a tone I suspected he reserved for his most hated enemies. "I will burn your home to ashes and obliterate your kin one by one until you are the last pathetic hope of your family line. Then, when you lay screaming as a charred lump amongst the dust of all you once held dear, you will beg me for mercy..." He straightened suddenly, his eyes alight like burning coals "of which I have none!"

His gaze trailed back to comment.

"I will Your days are numbered..." he blinked as he read the username "Thick Booty Gut Fifty-Six?"

I cackled at the confused expression on his face as he read the ridiculous name, and I had to force a hand over my mouth to contain the noise, lest I find out how Nazi librarians 'shushed' people. Truly it was hilarious that he had taken such offense from a dude on the internet. I had suffered far worse comments from the trio.

His face contorted into digust.

"What type of lunatics do you have here?" He growled. His golden eyes narrowed. "Your culture disappoints me immensely. Does anybody actually take these know-nothings seriously?"

"You did," I said in between giggles "until you read his name!"

He glared. "Just send the oaf our message."

"Can't," I panted, out of breath. "We'd get banned."

His eyebrows rose a fraction in confusion. "But didn't you say that we were allowed to say anything?"

I shrugged. "Within reason. We can't make death threats."

Ozai tilted his head back and groaned. "Such lunacy... You don't not have freedom of speech. Your culture is dishonest, backwards. The village idiot can make his opinion known to millions and yet the offended parties can't make their displeasure properly felt."

He clenched his fist and raised it high. "If I were home, I'd challenge that sorry sack to a fire duel and burn off half his face!" He paused, then added "If he was of noble blood, that is. Otherwise, I'd have him executed on the spot."

I frowned. "What he said was mean, but he wouldn't dereve to die for it." I paused, then my eyes widened as realized the wider implications. "You had people killed for insulting you?"

He sneered. "I've had people killed for far less."

I blinked, as if seeing Ozai for the first time. Of course the space warlord in my head was also some petty tyrant. Instead of space Napoleon, I'd gotten the equivalent of Emperor Nero.

That's it, I thought, the universe must be punishing me for something I did in a past life.

Of course, supposedly this guy was my past life.

Why couldn't I just have normal powers? I slumped in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. I'd dwell on this later. For now, I needed to finish my information gathering.

I sighed and turned back to the monitor. I switched to another thread.

Topic: Firestorm power discussion.

In: Boards News Events America

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in The Know)

Posted on January 5th, 2011:

So, since the PRT is being stubborn about releasing the power ratings as usual, I had to improvise.

The current suspected ratings are: Blaster 7, Mover 3.

We also have some footage taken by a kid outside Winslow showing her in action right before Dauntless shows up. It's sensitive since people technically are dying off-screen, so be nice.

What we know:

- Firestorm can blast waves of fire as tall and wide as some buildings.

- Her fire has some kind kind of kinetic aspect (theoretically due to flame density), allowing her to toss people like Dauntless and Armsmaster back, as well as punch through metal and brick (Poor Winslow).

- She can shield herself with her fire in some fashion.

- She can throw lightning bolts from her fingertips and apparently make it strong enough to one-tap Dauntless through his shield. Witness testimony only, no video.

- Firestorm can also use the fire to fly. Most of the flight was done outside of the video though, so we don't know how good it is.

Anything else anyone would like to add?

Also, Please don't discuss the circumstances recently revealed by the press. This isn't the thread for that.

Hypothetical match ups and power interactions between her and other villains are an acceptable topic for this thread, however.

(Showing page 46 of 46)

UnusualHippo

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Pretty impressive powers she has. I suggest you up the mover rating to a 3, though. She can supposedly maneuver in between buildings while in flight.

Gobsmacked

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Unusual Hippo

I can confirm that. I was just down the street from where it happened an watched her not only turn midair in the blink of an eye, but zap lighting and shoot dauntless in perfect sync after planting her feet against the wall. That mover rating needs to go up-up-up.

Also, we need a shaker rating on this list. I literally watched the sky darken as she fired her lightning.

Ranklesaurus

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Using a blaster ability to fly is really impressive. The PRT probably rated her Blaster 8.

WeNeedBatman

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

If only she had been a hero. There wouldn't be much Hookwolf could so if she had set her sights on him. He'd probably become molten slag within a few seconds.

Now we gotta worry about her teeming up with Hookwolf. Brockton Bay has enough Parahuman problems as it is.

RobbyWilks

Replied on January 5h, 2011:

That lighting is absolutely terrifying.

TheGnat

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

I think Kaiser would have the easiest time with her (besides Lung, of course). He could probably ground her lightning with metal spikes and raise metal shields for the fire. That's without him potentially one tapping her with spikes through the feet.

Grettsha

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

Miss Militia should just get serious and snipe her with a tranquilizer dart. I dunno why she didn't do that.

Impurity5

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

The PRT really should named her Barbeque. Missed potential there.

iLnimaan

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

I don't think she's as powerful as some people are making her out to be. All it takes is one fireproof cape to bring her in.

EveningLight

Replied on January 5th, 2011:

iLnimaan that's where the lightning comes in. Did you forget about it? It's her Trump Card.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, … 44, 45, 46.

I left the library in an odd mood, somewhere between happiness and resignation. On one hand, I had just confronted the fact that I murdered more people than just Sophia. On the other hand, Greg had actually stood up for me for once and made the PRT's failures internet famous.

I had also had fun. Watching Ozai react to PHO opinions was hilarious.

Ozai, now firmly lodged back in my headspace, voiced his thoughts "Your world is ridiculous, but not without it's merits. I think I'm going to enjoy helping you conquer this place, especially if we get to show up those people on the internet."

"Ozai and Taylor: The new Kardashians. I can see it now." I snarked.

He didn't get the reference.

I turned down the sidewalk near the library, evading a giggling group of girls as I did so. His overreagerness to rain death upon people for the smallest of slights was definitely going to be a problem. I hadn't made it more than five feet down an nearby alley before Ozai told me, "You're being followed."

I froze. Had the protectorate found me? I whipped around to the mouth of the alleyway.

Only three seconds later, a cape in black and red robes turned the corner to face me. I knew immediately what that color scheme meant, of course.

"Empire." I hissed. The cape looked familiar, although I couldn't recognize her off the top of my head. I fell into a fighting stance, one arm extended in front of me. My foot swept behind me and I stood my ground.

The cape stopped, obviously startled that I was already expecting her, and put her hands up in a placating gesture.

"Chill out, chill out! I'm not here to fight!" The cape pleaded. "I'm just here to talk."

I raised my hand forward towards her and ignited a flame in it's palm. "Start talking," I replied. I had tried to sound intimidating as I said it, but it came out more childish than I would have liked.

"Ok, well I'm Rune, and... uh, I came to say hello?" She paused nervously. "I, uh, heard about you crying in the library from a, um, trusted source who recognized you... And, well, I decided to meet you!"

I cocked my head to the side. This was Rune? At least she seemed to be friendly, although that was probably to recruit me into her gang.

"She's not a very good liar. Nobody in the library told her about us." Ozai snorted. "In fact, I bet she was one of the people in the library."

Great. Now I felt stupid for going into the library while my face was still in the news. I tried to determine who she had been. Only one person matched what I knew about her. "You're the girl that was reading Mein Kampf in the library, weren't you?"

Her whole body went rigged. "I don't know what you're talking about!" She said unconvincingly.

I just gave her a flat stare. She tensed for a moment, then wilted. "Just don't try to figure out my identity please. It's against the unwritten rules."

What rules? And why were they a big deal? I tilted my head to the side questioningly. "Unwritten rules? What are those, and why do they matter?"

She nodded swiftly. "Uh, yeah. Essentially, you aren't supposed to try to unmask another cape, kill them or their family. In exchange, other capes won't do it to you."

I frowned. It would explain why the PRT didn't usaually release the secret identities of captured capes, but did the Empire actually follow these rules? I remembered that they killed Fleur a couple years back, although, Kaiser did turn in the one who did it...

"Why should I? My identity is gone anyway." I shrugged. These unwritten rules seemed to hold the heroes back if anything. "It's not like the Empire is famous for being behaving itself."

She shrugged nervously. "But you still have family, right? The ones who don't follow the rules are capes like the Slaughterhouse Nine, the really nasty ones. If you break the rules, every other cape in town would gun for your head." She finished with a chopping motion with her hand.

Ozai chimed in to give his two cents. "As long as we don't have many allies, we should play by their rules. It would be unwise to aggrevate the local benders unduly."

I nodded. "Ok."

She relaxed. "You know, you don't have to go at this alone. Kaiser has already made a speech stating you're welcome within the Empire. We could take care of you. You'd have money, a place to stay and a team to fall back on. We're doing our best to clean up this city from the filth that infests it."

My eyebrow rose. "You're Nazis."

"And?" She replied nonchalantly. "Look, you don't gotta lot of options right now. You can't join the wards, you shouldn't join the Merchants and the less said about the ABB, the better." She paused, as if thinking what would convince me. "We're the biggest gang here, with more capes than anyone else. A literal Empire. You wouldn't have to worry about getting caught."

I churned around the thought of joining them in my mind. Given that it always ended with me being a hateful person and stuck with a silly cape name like 'Flamenwerfer', I was strongly leaning towards no.

"This could be a great opportunity. You should join them." Ozai said after a bit. I wondered if there was ever a moment where he wouldn't play devil's advocate.

"Can we talk about this later?" I mumbled that to Ozai, but Rune had clearly overheard.

"Sure!" She reached into her cloak and pulled out a piece of paper. "This has my number on it. Call it when you wanna get in contact."

She held it out to me expectantly.

I sighed, and grabbed the darn thing. I suspected she was beaming under her mask. With that, I turned and walked away down the alley, making sure to glance back to make sure she wasn't following.

"Hopefully we'll get to be good friends soon!" She called after me.

Once I had made sure I was a good distance from Rune. After looking around to make sure nobody was nearby to listen, I stopped. "Ozai, we are not joining the Empire."

I could hear the dissaproval in his tone. "Why?"

"Okay, for starters, they're racist criminals who would happily kill everyone in the city who doesn't look like them. My mom taught me morals."

I got the sense Ozai was sneering. "Neither of those are good reasons not to join. It is not a crime to cleanse the land of undesirables when you have the power to do so. If you really don't like the group's morals, we can always change it after assassinating their leadership and seizing power. It's what I planned to do anyway."

My jaw dropped. Was this guy justifying Genocide? And assassation? Of course he was! "That's crazy freaking evil. I don't want to harm anybody for just existing. Besides, they hate people who look like you, Ozai. We are not joining them."

Ozai snorted, although he somehow managed to make it sound regal. "It's not like they can see me. We can rectify the specifics after taking charge, Taylor."

I growled my next words at Ozai. "We'd likely have to commit hate crimes just to get in! I don't think I could stomach the racism for very long either. Do you know how many racist jokes I'd probably have to laugh at?"

Ozai chuckled. "Racist jokes can be pretty funny. I heard this one from Commander Zhao that was excellent, it goes like this; 'How many Earthbenders does it take to...'"

I tuned out Ozai as he began his joke. My jaw was gaping open, and my entire body was rigid. I could feel the start of hysteria. Laughter threatened to bubble it's way out of my throat.

I didn't get space Napoleon. It wasn't even space Nero stuck in my head.

No, I got space Hitler!

{Just in case you were starting to think Ozai wasn't an evil Genocidal Maniac... mwahahaha

Just your friendly reminder this won't be an Empire Taylor fic. Don't worry or get your hopes up

And as always, feedback is appreciated. This is my first semi PHO scene.}