Taylor 9

For their safety, Taylor and her father were taken to the Protectorate Headquarters. Located in the Bay itself, the Protectorate had turned what was once a derelict oil platform into a symbol of hope for the city. From the gleaming force field protecting it from outside threats to the hard light bridge that connects it the city, it was a bastion worthy of the city's heroes; And now, it served as her temporary home.

She understood why it was necessary, that her home was no longer safe with her identity compromised, probably known by most villains by then, but that didn't stop her family's confinement to the Rig from feeling like imprisonment. A gilded cage was still a cage. Still, she made due, accepting the cards dealt to her. She just wished that she had her equipment as, right then, she was handling a different problem.

There, curled on her lap, was Mew as he clutched his stomach; His face twisted with pain. "Dear Arceus, take me…" He groaned as he pressed his face against her stomach, "It hurts so bad."

If she had some of her equipment, she might have whipped something up but, right then, all she could do was provide comfort. Cradling him, she did her best to ease his discomfort. "Is he going to be ok?" Her father asked as he hovered behind her while she sat on her bunk.

"He did eat all those chocolates," She sighed, "But he should be fine…" Glancing over to the half eaten jar, it was a wonder he wasn't throwing up right now. He'd eaten his weight in chocolate. "He's just having a tummy ache."

Of all the things that could have brought her partner down, it was that. It wasn't any villain, nor even an endbringer, but all because of himself. The all powerful and mythical pokemon, one that boasted having the essence of every pokemon etched into their DNA, reduced to a pathetic state… because of a tummy ache.

It was almost too absurd to believe if she hadn't seen it herself. Was he really the all pokemon of legend that she knew he was? He was just so… childish. "It was worth it though…" He groaned out, as if hammering her point.

"I'll ask the staff if they have some ginger," Her father told them before slipping out of her room.

The protectorate was gracious enough that they provided each of them their own rooms, something she was thankful for as she wasn't sure she'd live through the shame of having people see her partner in such a state. "Oh fuck, maybe that was a terrible idea," He choked out, hands over his mouth before he let out a small adorable burp.

"You think?" She asked as a wry smile stretched across her lips. Her partner was just too adorable for her to be disappointed with. Shaking her head, she whispered, "What am I going to do with you?" Still, having to take care of him made her feel like she was the responsible one, not the other way around as the golden llama might have intended.

"Sorry," Her partner mumbled, "I just couldn't help myself." Despite how much pain he was in, he still gazed at the jar with such longing that she found herself almost jealous. They were good, but they weren't that good. "They tasted so good with my new tongue!"

"You know, I sometimes forget you're older than you look," She laughed as she bopped her silly little partner on his nose. Despite sounding quite young, she had to remember that Arceus had him assume this form. Must've been quite jarring to be turned into one, but perhaps it was freeing?

He didn't have to worry about school and work as a Pokemon. Thinking about it, Pokemon did have better senses too, so those treats must have tasted quite intense… and perhaps why her partner couldn't help himself. Seeing the way he looked at the treats, she had a sinking feeling that he'd try and sneak a bite.

"I guess it can't be helped then," She shrugged as she got up, "I'll try making some potions and see if it helps." She might as well make sure that she could heal her partner if he decided to do something silly. Just the perks of being the trainer, she supposed.

"How about the meeting?" He whispered at the back of her mind, making her pause, "I think I can handle a few teleports…" She had been so preoccupied with all that had happened today that she almost forgot Mew's promise. They were supposed to talk to Arceus, but should they right at that moment?

"Not in that state, you aren't" She sighed. As much as she wanted to talk to the golden llama and complain, her partner wasn't in a good shape. He needed some rest. "Besides, we can do it later," She smiled as she gently lifted him up before placing him down on the bed, "I feel like I had enough excitement for the day."

"For now, just sit tight ok?" Taylor ordered as she tucked him in, much to her partner's protest, "And don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, you hear me?"

"I'm not a child," Mew mumbled back, cheeks rosy and puffed, "And I make no promises."

Chuckling, she got up. "No good night kiss for you then." He was such a child sometimes, but it only made him more endearing. He simply had a boundless energy to him that she felt like she once had. She wondered if she'd ever have that spark in her eyes again…

"I hate you so much," Mew huffed out as he turned his back on her.

"Love you too, Mew," Taylor smiled before giving her partner a peck on the cheek. She had to bolt out of the door as her partner started throwing a tantrum, but it was well worth it. Mew was just too precious sometimes.

While she wasn't allowed to leave the Rig she was able to explore, at least to an extent. There were some rooms she couldn't enter, but those were private quarters, servers, and other sensitive rooms. All the other rooms were free for her to visit; one of which included the shared Tinker station.

She was surprised that they gave her access, but Miss Militia assured her that she was free to use it, given that she didn't abuse it. She was going to be a hero after all. While the comment was innocuous enough, she understood the warning. She wasn't keen on losing access to such a boon so early by mucking about. Wandering around the empty halls, she eventually found the room.

"So this is the lab…" She whispered. Staring at the large blast doors, she wondered what equipment they had available behind them. "Well, there's only one way to find out." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out an unassuming keycard.

After swiping it against the reader the door let out a groan as it opened, revealing a tidy lab. It looked like a cross between a machine shop with all the tools around and a chemistry lab with a proper fume hood and a storage cabinet. Compared to her lab, and even the school's, it felt like she had stepped into a wonderland.

Looking around, she was mildly disappointed that Kid Win, the local Ward Tinker, wasn't around. Given he had school the next day, she understood why. It was already late when she got there and the wards were probably getting ready for that. Maybe she'd get to meet them later. For right then, though, she had some tinkering to do.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Entering the lab, she called out, "I'm just going to use the lab for a bit!" It was empty with only the hum of the active ventilation in the background. Was she really the only one around? She'd expected at least someone to clean the lab.

Just as she was about to settle down, she noticed a dark shape in the corner of her vision. "Good Evening," They greeted, making her nearly jump out of her skin. Whirling around, she found Armsmaster coming out of a storage closet with a box in his arms.

"A-Armsmaster!" She yelped, nearly tripping on a chair as she took a step back. Catching herself, she straightened her coat as she smiled awkwardly, "I didn't know you were working here-! well, I know you work here because you're a hero and all, but…" With how she was tripping over her words, she slowly trailed off, face red and unable to look the hero in the eye.

Armsmaster was the hero of Brockton Bay and she had just made an utter fool of herself.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than for the earth to swallow her. Much to her relief, the hero didn't seem to mind her embarrassing show as he nodded and walked over to one of the cabinets.

"The workstation is free to use," He pointed out as he started stocking the shelves with what looked like boxes of screws and bundles of wire, "I'm just checking if we'll need to restock now that you will be working with us."

With her spirit soaring, she smiled, heart fluttering at the hero's words. "T-thank you." Her childhood hero had recognized her as a fellow hero.

"You can use anything from the shelf, but please refrain from using everything up," The hero told him as he finished stocking the cabinet before grabbing a ledger nearby, "This lab space isn't just for you, but for all Protectorate and Ward tinkers."

"R-right!" She nodded, not wanting to disappoint her hero. Walking over to the cabinets with the necessary ingredients she needed, she explained, "I was just going to make some Medicine for Mew." That was the plan at least, but as her eyes wandered the shelves Armsmaster had just stocked, maybe she could do something more?

As she glanced between what she had and the other cabinet, Armsmaster suddenly asked, "Is he injured?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, she answered, "N-no! He… just ate too much candy." She could feel her cheeks burning in embarrassment. Thankfully, the man just nodded along and returned back to the storage room.

Sighing in relief, she sat down and started planning. Taking a piece of paper and a pen, she started sketching out a plan. Already, she could see the machine being built from what was stocked inside. They even had a CNC machine and a lathe if she needed to make parts that weren't stocked. If she had known that they had this many resources she would have joined ages ago… but she wasn't thinking straight back then.

Shaking her head, she shifted her thoughts from the depressing memories and turned her attention to what she had right now. It was a simple machine, one made to take advantage of a pokemon's special properties; A healing machine. If she could make it, she could heal Mew without any problem, but it would require asking Mew to be inside a Pokeball.

Those were interesting devices; made to bond trainers and pokemon together. Still, it felt weird having one, even more so asking Mew to willingly be bound to it, but it would make it easier for the machine. "Hmmm… maybe," She whispered. Given his size, Mew could easily fit inside, but it would be easier and faster if Mew was inside a Pokeball. "No…" She'd need to ask Mew about this later.

"Interesting," Armsmaster whispered behind her, jumping in surprise. As she covered her work, the man apologized, "My apologies for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but have a look at your design. I've never seen anything like that before."

Hearing the interest in their tone, Taylor smiled weakly. "It's nothing," She waved it off, "It's just a healing machine." Compared to what she could do, they were easy to make and intuitive to use.

"T-they're made for P-pokemon but, in theory, I could use it on people," She mused, "But I think that would require t-testing…?" She was unfamiliar with the red tape involved with this kind of device. She wondered if they'd need Panacea to come and check it.

As the man glanced at her blueprint, Taylor bit her lips; Should she? For a moment, she hesitated, before giving the man her rushed blueprint.

Gingerly, the man took it and inspected her design. There was a short pause as he stared at her paper and her anxiety only made worse with his mask covering his eyes. Taylor held her breath, bracing for the worst, before the hero asked, "How long would it take to build this?"

Blinking in surprise, she stuttered a bit before catching herself. "I-I would need to scavenge from old appliances and electronics, but at most, I would just need a day to assemble everything," She explained. Seeing the look of disbelief sent her way (or at least what she thought was a look of disbelief), she hastily added, "T-these are made for mass production, very basic tech, not like the specialized healing devices."

It was as if they were made to be in every town and easy enough to be serviced by anyone. Sometimes, she wondered how many battles happened in a normal day for the device to be a necessity.

Nodding back, the man rolled up the design before gesturing for her to follow, "Come with me."

Startled by the sudden request, she asked, "I-Is something wrong?" Why was Armaster asking her to follow him? Did she somehow fuck up? Was she going to get in trouble?

Pausing, the man turned to her and frowned. "No, why would-?" He asked, before pausing, staring at her with incomprehension before they grimaced. "Nevermind," He sighed as he turned back and opened the door. As she stood there awkwardly, the man looked back and explained,
"The lab simply doesn't have the fabricators necessary for your design. It's better if you use mine. It'll be faster."

"O-oh!" Armaster was inviting her to his personal lab to make her machine! "B-but I don't want to be a bother…" She whispered, feeling unsure about this. She didn't want to burden the hero more than she already had…

"Don't worry about it," The man replied coolly, "My fabricator is only making spare parts right now." As he exited the lab, she hastily followed. "Having something more worthwhile to do would make for better use of the time and resources I have access to."

"T-thank you!" Of all the things that could have happened that night, she never thought she'd be working with Armsmaster with her design! "I-I don't know how to repay you."

Glancing back, the man replied, "Repay me by becoming the best hero you can be."

"I promise!" She shouted as she jogged along, struggling to keep up with the man's long stride. Maybe she could ask Mew to train with her. She needed the exercise if this was the man's casual walk. She'd need all the exercise she needed if she wanted to keep up in the future.

"Good," Smiling, the man led her up a flight of stairs. There, the upper floors were where she'd found Armsmaster's lab. In a sharp contrast with the lab below, it was bigger, sporting more advanced machines yet, despite this, she barely heard a squeak or whine. The place was the very model of efficiency, a well oiled machine that was constantly churning out something.

Passing by the famous Arms Cycle and a block of metal being slowly shaved down by lasers, the man laid out her plans on one of his tables. "It's inefficient to have the fabricators run cold because of downtime," The man said as he grabbed his tools, "Now, let's get to work."

A/N:

First meeting with Armsmaster! What do you guys think? Did Taylor made a good impression or did she flopped so hard that Armsmaster feel bad for her? As for Armsy, he's a fun dude. A bit cold and standoffish, but you can see him trying :3. That's what you get if you max out all the other skills that isn't communication. Hope you guys like my depiction of him. Also, yes, delaying the Ward meeting cause I'm a tease like that.

Anyways, with that out of the way, I'd like to thank vyor. Pat the vyor, hold the vyor, cherish the vyor, forfeit all mortal possession to vyor!

Now if you want to support me or want to read some fic chapters in advance, consider dropping by either Pa treon or Ko-Fi. I couldn't have done this without the support. Links in my Bio