To Kill a God
I thought I was lucky when I found a cool little piece in a convention, but I should have known better. Now I'm a teenager again, female and stuck in a world that can chew the average schmuck up and spit them out with ease. This is gonna hurt.
And we're back! Before we begin, due to issues of timing, I'm altering the timeline very slightly. All of the events after the weekend will be unchained, but I'm shifting Taylor's fight with Lung to early in the morning on the Saturday. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
When Danny Hebert went to bed on Friday evening, he expected to wake up to the sound of his alarm for a normal day at home, recharging. Instead, he was woken by his Daughter at three in the morning to find out that she was apparently a Cape and had somehow picked up a stray. Said stray was a little girl who was currently sat on the couch with Taylor, cuddled up to his Daughters side and snuffling as she scrubbed at her tearstained face with a handful of tissues.
"So let me get this straight," said Danny, "You Triggered in...that place and have been hiding your powers for the past three months as you prepared to go out and be a Hero?"
Taylor nodded.
"And tonight, you decided to go out and decided to take down LUNG with a mix of spiders, hornets and ants?"
Another nod.
"In the process, this girl decided to step in and helped beat him, before turning down an offer to the Wards and asked if she could go with you?"
A third nod. Danny took a deep breath. He was far from a stupid man and knew very well that, had Taylor not met the poor girl, he wouldn't have heard about this for a VERY long time, if ever. He was also well aware that it was more than partly his fault considering how he'd been acting since Annettes death.
"Alright," he said, "We'll table the discussion about taking on Lung for later."
He fixed his daughter with a glare, which made her shift awkwardly, before turning his attention to the girl clinging to her side.
"Your names Lily, right?" he asked.
Lily nodded.
"Alright then Lily, why haven't you gone to the Police or PRT?" he asked, "Surely they'd be able to help you better than someone you just met?"
Lily shook her head.
"No, wouldn't work," she said, "My powers let me see through falsehoods and I know that the PRT is compromised. I don't wanna put myself under their control. And...I don't want to go into foster care either..."
Danny sighed. It was unfortunate, but she wasn't wrong. The PRT information security was worse than a sieve when it came to keeping things in, which was the main reason that so few of the Villains were kept of the streets for long. As for the other issue, she wasn't wrong to not want to go into that mess. Thanks to the likes of the Nine, Endbringers and the sheer number of Villains, the system was groaning under the weight of far to many orphans. As a result, foster parents tended to be able to get away with more than they should. He'd heard more than a few horror stories about Villains and the Fallen using the system to get their hands on the orphans and then doing unspeakable things to them. He wasn't sure whether there was any truth to them, but he didn't want to risk it.
"Alright, I can understand that," said Danny, "But why did you ask Taylor to take you in?"
Lily shrugged.
"Seemed like a good idea at the time?" she said, "Like I said, I can see lies and that allows me to get an idea of a persons character. Besides, someone willing to take on Lung for some kids she doesn't know can't be bad, right?"
Well, Danny couldn't argue with that logic, although the fact it was possible was...worrying. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Dad, she needs help," said Taylor, "She has noone. She doesn't even know her own name!"
"I understand that Taylor, but its not that simple," said Danny, "Look, she can stay here for now, but I don't think we can look after her forever. Why don't you call Emma tomorrow and see if the Barnes can do something? Alan might know some way to help…"
He trailed off, his eyes narrowing as he saw Taylor flinch at the mention of Emma.
"Taylor, has something happened between you and Emma?" he asked.
Taylor squirmed, not meeting his eyes, before Lily poked the older girl in the side. Taylor looked down at the girl, who was now looking rather sleepy, but her eyes were still alert.
"Secrets only make things worse," she said.
Then, she lay her head down in Taylors lap and closed her eyes. A moment later, her breathing evened out and, to the surprise of the two Hebert's, her dress dissolved into golden motes of light, leaving her wearing a dirty and tattered looking pink pullover, skirt, stockings and shoes that were scuffed and dirty. Taylor slowly lifted her hand and placed it on the girls blonde locks, making her mou and shift closer to the soft touch. Once again, neither Hebert could stop the smile that appeared at the adorable sight. Then, Taylor's smile vanished and she took a deep breath.
"Dad...I need to tell you something," she said.
Danny sat in silence as his Daughter spoke about how Emma was one of the leaders of the bullies at school, bullies who hadn't been stopped after the Locker incident, despite assurances of the school that they'd crack down on it. All through the story, Danny's fists were tightening and his legendary temper began to flare. The entire story took nearly an hour to finish and once Taylor was done, Danny sat completely still. His face was blank, but his fists were clenched so tightly that they were nearly white.
He wanted to explode. He wanted to storm down to the school, to Alan, to the police, to anyone and demand that they do something about the...monsters that nearly killed his little girl and apparently got off scot free. However, he couldn't do that. In his youth, he would have, but years of being married, raising his child and working as the face of the DWA had taught him that control was much more effective and dealing with those that angered him calmly and concisely resulted in better and MUCH more satisfying results.
"Dad?" said Taylor, looking a little scared.
Danny took a deep breath and let it out as he released his hands.
"Alright, this is what we're going to do," he said, "First of all, your not going back to that school."
He held up a hand before she could say anything.
"I don't want you to think of this as 'losing' to them or something," he said, "Theres no shame in admitting defeat...so long as you turn around and deal a finishing blow later."
He grinned and Taylor hesitantly smiled back.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to go talk to Zoe about what Emma's been up to. Do you have any proof?"
Taylor frowned.
"Yeah, I took notes and recorded every incident," she said, "But why Mrs Barnes?"
"Because I know that Alan will always take Emmas side," said Danny, "Hes a good lawyer, but when it comes to family, he'll do anything to keep them safe and won't hear a bad word said about them. However, Zoe will listen and get through to Alan. They'll set Emma straight. I don't think we can do anything about the others I'm afraid, but since your not going back to Winslow, thats fine."
He sighed.
"I'll see if theres something we can do later," he said, "For now, lets move onto more pressing matters. Like picking a fight with Lung."
Taylor flinched.
"It was reckless and foolish," said Danny, "Even the entire Protectorate working together can't beat him. While you did manage to do so, you could have easily been killed. Now, I don't intend to try and stop you being a Hero, lord knows your too much like your Mother for that, but I want you to think long and hard about how you can do better. I admit, I would like you to join the Wards, but I won't force you to. However, if your going to go out on patrol, you need a way to contact me and the Police or PRT, which means getting a...cell phone."
Danny grimoused at the last two words. He didn't like the devices after Annette had been killed in an accident while using one, but he wasn't stupid enough to dismiss their usefulness for an independent Hero. Taylor didn't look pleased with the idea either, but nodded.
"Alright," she said.
"You can get one tomorrow," said Danny, "Lily's going to need clothes and toiletries and your a much better choice for helping her get them than I would be."
Taylor glanced down at the little girl asleep in her lap and nodded.
"I can do that," she said.
Danny smiled.
"Alright, now lets get to bed," he said, "I'm sure you're exhausted, I know I am."
Taylor nodded and Danny stood, gently picking up Lily to let Taylor stand. He carried the little girl upstairs and into the spare room. It had not been used for a while, but it was clean. He put her on the bed as Taylor came in with some of her old PJs and turned to leave the room. Danny paused at the door and glanced back as Taylor gently lifted the younger girl to change her clothes. The look on her face as she did was almost identical to the one Annette wore while tucking Taylor into bed when she was a baby.
Danny left the room and stood there for a moment. It had been less than three hours since Taylor had met Lily and already the small girl had changed so much. Even asleep as she had been for most of the conversation, her presence had been enough to allow the Father and Daughter to start to reconnect after so long. It was clear that Taylor was rather taken with the girl if nothing else.
Danny let out a huff and headed back to bed. He'd think about this when the sun rose.
The next morning, I was woken by the light of dawn streaming right through my windows and landing on my face. I tried to keep hold of my sleep, draping an arm over my eyes, but it was useless. I was now awake thanks to that fucking sun.
"Urrg, how did I forget to close the curtains last night?" I grumbled as I shifted in bed, reaching with one arm for my glasses, "And what was with that fucked up dream? Turning into a Magical Girl? Finding myself in Worm? Why would I…?"
I opened my eyes since I couldn't find my glasses, only to be met with perfect vision and an arm that was definitely too small to be mine. Well, my old one at least. I sighed and let my arm drop back to the bed. I lay still for a moment as I went over my memories of the night before before I fell asleep. Then, I sat up and looked around.
The room I was in lacked any kind of personalization, suggesting that it wasn't in regular use. There was a chest of draws, a closet and a mirror on one wall, but other than that, it was bare. I hopped out of bed and padded over to the mirror. I had some idea of what I looked like, but it'd be nice to see myself when I wasn't in agony.
The girl looking back at me was pretty much exactly what you'd expect for a Magical Girl. I was slightly shorter than average, with wide, green eyes, long blonde hair and pretty features that hinted at future beauty, but was now just cute. It didn't help that the pale pink pajamas I was wearing were slightly to large and made me look even smaller which, combined with my sleep mussed hair, only added to the cuteness factor. Other than that, the only other thing of note was the silver ring with a golden coloured gem set into it on my left ring finger, which also had an golden mark that resembled a flower on the fingernail. I stared at it.
"Yes, that is your Soul Gem," said a familiar voice.
I jumped and spun around to see the little white creature who was responsible for my predicament sat on the dresser.
"Don't worry though, you won't be turning into a Witch anytime soon," he said.
"Wha...who are you?" I asked.
The creature yawned.
"I've had a few names," he said, "My real one is…"
He made a sound that didn't even sound like a Human throat could replicate.
"...but I've also been known as Cath Palug, Prometheus, Rodin, Sans, Agent and Abaddon. You may call me the latter."
I blinked.
"Abaddon?" I repeated, "As in the third Entity?"
Abaddon sighed.
"Yes, that was me," he said, "I had hoped to take down both of them, but...well, you know the answer to that."
"But...your not an Entity?" I asked, now extremely confused.
"No, I am not," said Abaddon, "I am one of many beings who recruit Magical Girls for many reasons."
"Alright, but why destroy the Entities?" I asked.
"Because if they aren't stopped, the Earth and many of its alternates will be destroyed," said Abaddon, "You know that."
"I do," I said, "But I don't get the significance. Surely your not limited to just Earth?"
"No, but Earth is something of a lynchpin," said Abaddon, "If it goes, my kind lose a great deal of our powers and that will allow those we fight to gain a foothold, which would be...bad."
"I can imagine," I said, "So, why pick me? I mean, I'm...was a man in my 20s. Surely you could have found someone younger and with the right genitals without doing...this to me?"
Abaddon growled.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't," he said, "Because of how my kinds laws work, I have access to very few weapons and those I do have tend to be rather picky. You were the first person in 30 years and over a hundred realities who could touch the bow without getting burnt. I was desperate, to the point that I couldn't afford to wait any longer. I am sorry I was forced to use you, but I'm not sorry I did."
"Thats all very well and good, but what if I don't want to fight Zion?" I asked.
"Then you'll die with everyone else," said Abaddon bluntly, "However, because of how I turned you into a Magical Girl, you won't pass on. You'll be stuck as a spirit, floating in the void, alone and unable to die as your body constantly reforms and dies, over and over again."
I blanched.
"Thats...not nice!" I squeaked.
"No, but I don't have a choice," said Abaddon, "Normally, the Magical Girls we recruit have at least the illusion of choice and, to be fair, so do you. I can't force you to fight Zion, all I can do is tell you the facts."
I stared down at my hands for a moment.
"But how can I fight him?" I asked in a small voice, "I mean, I know I'm powerful, but Zion is practically a god!"
"While its true you don't stand a chance as you are now, I'm not asking you to go out and hunt him down as you are," said Abaddon, "A Magical Girls power is drawn from belief. The belief of the girl herself, of her friends, her family and everyone else in the world. The more people believe in you, the stronger you become. All you need to do is be a Hero and eventually, your powers will be strong enough to win. You also won't have to fight alone. You can, and will, make friends to fight alongside you. Then theres also...HER."
I tilted my head on ones side.
"Who her?" I asked.
Abaddon looked like he'd rather not say, but eventually responded.
"You're..not the only Magical Girl on Bet," he said, "The other ones been...around for a while and, while powerful, isnt one of mine, so I can't actively recruit her. Chances are, she'll show up once you start making waves, if shes not to busy slaughtering her way through the many, many issues in Asia, Europe and Africa."
I frowned.
"Whats her name?" I asked.
"Not important," said Abaddon, "Suffice to say, you'll know her when you meet her."
Well, thats not ominous at all.
"Well, I've said what I need to," said Abaddon, getting to his feet, "I'll be taking my leave. You probably won't see me again for a while, but I'll be there."
He flashed a quick grin.
"Good luck."
Then, he vanished. There was no flash of light or sound, he was just gone, leaving me staring at the empty spot on the dresser. I...wasn't entirely sure how to take all this. The idea that I was basically chosen because I was the only person capable of even picking up my bow was...an odd one to say the least and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I did know how I felt about having the fate of the world dropped on my shoulders though! Pissed off! I knew that being a Magical Girl meant that I'd end up fighting something, but not Zion. I'd just have to hope that my presence would turn the world from Superhero deconstruction to Magical Girl. While they could be surprisingly dark, it was rare for them not to end, if not happily, at least with everyone alive and in one piece. Even Madoka had a...sort of happy ending with the birth of the New World.
I was also a little worried by Abaddon's mention of the other Magical Girl. From the sound of things, she wasn't exactly the Sailor Moon type of sparkly, love and justice Magical Girl, although considering the world, that wasn't entirely surprising. I had to wonder what she was like and what would happen if...when we met. Knowing my luck, it'll probably involve a lot of violence.
A knock on the door drew me out of my thoughts as the door opened and Taylor stuck her head in. When she saw I was up, she opened the door fully and entered with a tray balanced on one hand. Almost immediately, I started drooling as my nose picked up the smell of breakfast and my tummy decided to remind me that I'd yet to feed it. I blushed as Taylor smiled at the loud sound.
"Morning," she said, "How did you sleep?"
"Very well thank you," I said, "Thank you for the PJs."
"No problem," said Taylor as she put the tray on the bed and indicated for me to eat, "There a little big, but we'll get you some of your own when we go shopping today."
I looked up from the tray I was attacking with no small amount of vigor.
"Shopping?" I asked.
"Well, you don't have anything other than your clothes, so Dad said I should take you shopping today," she said.
"OK," I said and went back to the food.
As I ate, Taylor sat down on the bed beside me and hugged her legs to her chest.
"Thank you," she said suddenly.
I paused, a strip of bacon hanging out of my mouth.
"For what?" I asked.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," said Taylor, "But I wanted to thank you for helping me talk to Dad."
She sighed.
"Things have been hard since...since my Mom died. If I hadn't met you, I don't think I'd have ever told him about my powers or the bullying."
I swallowed and crawled across the bed to hug the 'older' girl. She looked surprised, but hugged me back anyway.
"You don't need to thank me Taylor," I said, "I didn't do anything. It was all you."
Taylor smiled.
"But you helped," she said, "So thank you."
She gave me a squeeze and stood up.
"Finish your breakfast," she said, "I'll see if I can find some of my old clothes for you to wear."
"K!"
By the time I was done, Taylor had returned with some clothes and I quickly found myself wearing a blue top, checkered skirt and white socks. They fit rather well, although were clearly old as the colours had faded slightly. That said, they looked good on me, although wearing a skirt would take some getting used to.
"Huh, they fit better than I thought they would," said Taylor.
"Thank you for this," I said as I twisted my body, trying to get used to the feeling of the skirt brushing against my thighs.
"Eh, its no trouble," said Taylor.
She frowned slightly.
"By the way, what should I call you?" she asked.
I glanced at her.
"Whats wrong with Lily?" I asked.
"Well, thats your Cape name," she said, "And I don't think there are many preteen heroes with blonde hair running around calling themselves Lily…"
She trailed off, before her face took on a look of horror.
"Wait, you weren't wearing a mask last night!" she gasped.
I giggled.
"You just noticed that?" I asked.
"B-but your identity…"
"I'm a Magical Girl," I said, "I don't need a mask to hide my identity. Unless I intentionally reveal myself to someone, its impossible to connect Magical Lily to me. I could even transform in front of a crowd with cameras and they still wouldn't be able to connect Lily the normal girl with Magical Lily, the hero unless I wanted them to."
"But theres no such thing as Magic," said Taylor automatically.
I smiled and turned to face her.
"Sure, keep telling yourself that," I said, "But if you can't accept that, think of it as a Stranger effect."
Taylor frowned, but seemed to accept that.
"Alright, Lily it is," she said, "Come on, lets go get you some stuff."
Brockton Bay Mall was the go to location in the city for stuff for the inhabitants of the city. The Market was also good, but most of the shops for things like clothes, electronics and so on were located in the mall. It was definitely one of the better ones I'd been to and seemed to have a bit of everything. As a result, it didn't take long to find some suitable clothes. I also came across another change that proved that I wasn't the same person as I had been.
My past self would have spent maybe five minutes looking through stuff, before settling on jeans and short sleeve shirts and I honestly expected to end up doing just that. However, just like with Bitches dogs, I found myself drawn towards the exact clothes that you'd expect and adorable Magical Girl to wear in her civilian identity. Bright colours, mostly pinks and blues, skirts rather than pants and so on. I also managed to find a shirt with a sailor colour and a lolita style dress, although Taylor gave the latter a hard no for some reason. I mostly tried it on for a joke anyway, although it did look surprisingly good. Bit expensive though.
With clothes shopping done, Taylor and I headed to the food court where I proceeded to demolish a massive plate of burger and frys, a large milkshake and a sundae with all the manners you'd expect from a starving 13 year old.
"How can you eat that much?" asked Taylor, looking rather surprised that I managed to finish off the massive meal.
I shrugged.
"I'm hungry," I said.
Taylor snorted.
"I aught to take you to Fugly Bobs," she said, "I wonder if you could manage the Challenger?"
There was a loud snort from the next table across and I turned to see a statuesque blonde sitting with a mousy brunette.
"Now that I'd like to see," said the blonde with a grin, "If just to see the looks on everyone's faces when a kid manages to finish it!"
"Vicky, don't be rude," said the other girl.
I blinked. It couldn't be… I glanced at Taylor and saw that she seemed to have frozen like a deer in the headlights at the sight of the two older girls. Yep, I'd say that confirms it.
"Aww, lighten up Ames, I'm only joking," said Victoria Dallon (because who else would it be).
The older blonde turned back to us with her grin firmly in place.
"Hi, I'm Victoria," she said, "And this is Amy."
I turned so I was kneeling on my chair.
"Hi, I'm Lily!" I chirped, "And this is Taylor."
I pointed at Taylor, who looked like she was having a minor case of Blue Screen of Death. Deciding to play up my innocent little girl persona, I tilted my head on one side and poked my guide in the shoulder.
"Taylor? You OK?"
She blinked and looked from the two Heroes to be and back again. Then, she seemed to realize what she was doing and paled.
"Oh god, I'm sorry!" she said, "I just…"
Victoria cut her off by bursting out laughing.
"Aww, don't worry about it," she said, "We're used to it. Right Ames?"
Amy made a sound that vaguely sounded like agreement.
"I like your shirt by the way," said Victoria, indicating to the new shirt I was wearing.
I'd been rather surprised to find it, but I couldn't resist. Taylor's old stuff had fit me fine, but after buying the new shirt, I couldn't resist changing into it. What was so special about it? It was a Sailor Moon shirt.
"Thanks," I said, "You like Sailor Moon?"
Victorias grin only widened.
"Hell yeah, Magical Girls are awesome!" she said.
Taylor nearly choked behind me as Amy rolled her eyes. I just grinned wider as well. I opened my mouth to ask if she'd seen any I hadn't, but paused when a strange smell entered my nose and attracted my attention. I frowned and looked around.
"Whats wrong?" asked Amy, apparently noticing my confusion.
"I don't know, I can just…" I started, before I snapped my head around, just in time to see the front wall of the shopping mall get crushed under the massive wheels and armoured front of a frankly hideous vehicle that looked like the mutated love child of a big rig and a monster truck. Naturally, the patrons immediately started screaming and running for cover as a hatch popped open and a man with dark skin in a rather naff looking costume jumped out and started waving an SMG around.
"BEEP BEEP MOTHERFUCKERS!" screamed the man as more hatches opened and a horde of clearly drugged up people emerged and started running around, correling people and darting into shops to get more of the shoppers and drove them into the middle of the floor.
Quick as a flash, the two Heroes were on their feet and quickly hustled Taylor and I, along with the other people in the food court (which wasn't many since it had been a while since lunch) out of sight.
"What the hell are the Merchants doing here?" growled Victoria.
"Who knows what those idiots are thinking half the time," said Amy, "Skidmark probably got high and thought that taking advantage of Lungs capture last night to make a quick buck."
I felt Taylor tense beside me and took her hand.
"Tch, your probably right," said Victoria, before turning her attention to the terrified bystanders, "Stay here and someone call the cops and PRT. I'll go see if I can hold them off until they get here."
"Wha...wait Vicky!" shouted Amy, but the Alexandria Package was already gone, "Oh, god damn it!"
I looked up at Taylor and saw that she had a look of guilt on her face. I smiled at her, before ducking around a corner and pulling her with me.
"This is our fault," she whispered.
"No its not," I said, "We might have taken Lung down, but it was Skidmark who decided to cause trouble."
Taylor bit her lip.
"I guess…" she said, "I...I don't like just sitting here though. I want to be a Hero, but…"
I grinned.
"Fortunately, your power makes fighting from the shadows easy," I said, "Just set some bugs on them while staying out of sight. I'll handle the spotlight."
"Wait, what?" said Taylor, eyes widening, "You don't mean…"
"I can handle them," I said, "Trust me."
I smiled, then took a deep breath and clasped my hands as if in prayer.
"Awaken, Lily of Light," I whispered and my ring lit up like the sun.
The light washed away the world, leaving me stood in a field of white flowers under a sky so blue it looked unreal. I opened my eyes and threw my arms wide, sending the petals flying skyward, each one glowing like a golden star.
As they danced around me, the petals started to twist around me, first around my torso and forming my dress, then my arms to form my gloves, my legs to form my stockings and shoes, then twisting themselves into my hair to form my bow that tied my hair up and finally around my neck to form the bow there, topped with my Soul Gem.
I opened my eyes and held up a hand as the remaining lights spun and took the shape of my bow, the weapon glowing like the sun as my fingers closed around the grip. I grinned, turned on my heel and struck a pose.
MAGICAL LILY!
I couldn't stop the wide smile that appeared as I felt my power flow through me. I hadn't noticed before, but in my Civilian form, I was no different from a normal girl. Now though, I was strong enough to take on nearly any Villain in the city if it came to it. Skidmark and his goons didn't stand a chance!
And I think I'll leave this here. That was...a lot of fun actually. Anyway, onto the quips.
I'm still on the fence about whether or not I should include more Magical Girls to team up with Lily since, although there is another, she won't actually be part of Lily's team since shes both a lot older and more violent than most. She will be showing up at some point though. Probably to fight Levi and possibly the Nine.
If I do decide to add more Magical Girls though, I'll base their names of flowers since a guest made a comment about a Magical Rose with fire powers and I find myself liking the idea. However, I also like the idea of keeping the Magic limited to Lily. Thoughts and opinions?
Wow, Danny's smart enough to not run off and start screaming at people. How will this affect the future?
I admit, I'm not entirely sure why I had the Dallon sisters be there, other than the fact I really want to have Amy and Taylor make friends. I also had a plan for them to run into the Bitches Three, but it'll have more impact if I wait a bit. So instead, the Merchants got coked up and decided to drop by. That won't end well.
What do you think of the transformation sequence? I hope I did a good job at it!
Well, this is done now. Don't forget to leave a review!