Little Birds of Brockton Bay
I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...
Here we go for another entry in this idea. Nothing to say, other than enjoy!
Chapter 2
"I've heard a lot of unbelievable things tonight," said Taylor.
I snorted.
"True enough I suppose," I said, "Alright, lets start with this. I have no idea how I ended up in Brockton Bay. One minute I was going to bed in Britain, the next I found myself waking up in an alleyway in a city that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist back home."
Taylor frowned.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
I sighed and rubbed my head. I was extremely tired by this point and not exactly feeling well after all the stress of the night so far.
"While I will admit that I'm not the best at American Geography, I know for a fact that Brockton Bay does not exist back home," I said, "I didn't just get teleported across the Atlantic, I'm not even on the same version of Earth as I was when I went to bed."
"So what, your from Aleph?" asked Taylor.
I shook my head.
"No, that would make a certain amount of sense considering that Bet has an active connection with it," I said, "I know for a fact that Bet doesn't have a connection with my world. Not directly at least."
Taylor scowled and stood up, glaring down at me as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave me that Look all women seem to develop at some point to use on men they think are being idiots.
"Lucas, stop stalling and just tell me whats got you so worked up," she said, "I can tell your keeping something back, so spill!"
I stared up at her for a moment, before I sighed again, sat up straight and, met her eyes.
"Fine," I said, "In my world, you, Lung and Brockton Bay are all entirely fictional."
It was apparent that Taylor wasn't expecting that. Her eyes went wide and she took a step back.
"W-what?" she gasped.
"Earth Bet is the setting of a Superhero web novel written by a guy called Wildbow," I said, "Its pretty good, insanely popular and dark enough that Batman would fit right in. It serves as a deconstruction of the superhero genre...in the same way that a sledgehammer deconstructs a box of puppies. I don't think theres a single happy ending for ANYONE, despite the fact that the hero manages to save every version of Earth from being destroyed. Mainly because the effort costs her everything, from her Humanity to her life from a 9mm lobotomy from a walking Deus Ex Machina."
Taylor was a rather unhealthy shade of gray by this point as she dropped back onto the window seat.
"So your saying I don't exist?" she asked weakly.
I frowned and shook my head.
"No, not at all," I said, "I don't really have the energy to go into the physics, philosophy and theories behind it all, but the fact your a fictional character in one reality is a practical guarantee considering that there is literally an infinite number of possible realities. For every infinite number of realities where you serve as the protagonist of a story, there are an equil infinite number where your just...you."
Taylor's head snapped up.
"Wait, protagonist?" she asked.
"Whoops," I thought.
I hadnt meant to tell her that she was the main character of Worm just yet. Oh well.
"Yes, you serve as the main protagonist of the web novel," I said.
If anything, Taylor looked more surprised by that than the revelation that she was technically an alien.
"But...why me?" she asked, "I mean, I'm nothing special…"
I blinked, then burst out laughing.
"HEY, whats so funny?" demanded Taylor, "I mean, I know I'm a Sekirei, but my powers just bug control! How can that power save the world and beat something capable of destroying planets?"
"Taylor, with the power to control bugs, you almost single handedly beat Lung fought Leviathan in one on one combat, took over the City with your friends and became one of the most feared Warlords around and even helped destroy the Slaughterhouse Nine. Fuck, you killed Alexandria!"
Taylor paled again.
"W-why would I kill her?!" she spluttered, "Shes a hero!"
"That doesnt mean shes a good person," I said, "Shes actually quite the bitch and was threatening to hunt down and kill your friends one by one, on top of having a body bag they told you already had one in. It turned out she was lying, but you snapped and ended up suffocating her with a swarm of bugs. All around very nasty."
"Why would she do that?" asked Taylor in a very small voice.
"You were a Villain at the time," I said, "Your intention had been to infiltrate the Undersiders and turn them over to the authorities, but after becoming very close to them and the Heroes being generally shitty to you, you ended up going native. Plus, the Undersiders are good kids in a bad situation...mostly."
I shook my head.
"Anyway, all of thats irrelevant because it'll never happen."
"What, because your here?" muttered Taylor.
"No, because your a Sekirei," I said.
"Huh?"
I grinned.
"This world could never go the same way as the 'Prime' Worm world for want of a better word," I said, "See, Sekirei weren't a part of that world. They were part of a completely different one, one that was much, much lighter...mainly because it was a love story with big boobed girls fighting it out in the name of True Love. True, it had its dark moments and its fair share of tragedies, but nothing like Worm. Plus, the fact that this world is a bizarre crossover is good for both worlds since I highly doubt that the Single Digits would allow many of the events to happen as they did in Canon and the fact that Minaka never found the Ship means that the Sekirei don't have to fight it out and kill each other for his sick entertainment."
Taylor stared at me, agast.
"Thats horrible!" she said.
"That it is," I said, "But like I said, its irrelevant. There is likely a version of Earth out there where its happening, but there's nothing we can do about that. All we can do is live life as best we can. What knowledge I have about this world is likely useless, but I'll use whatever I can to improve our chances."
Taylor blinked.
"Our chances?" she asked.
"Of course," I said, "I'm your Ashikabi. I might not have any powers, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let you fight without me."
Taylors cheeks pinked slightly as she smiled softly.
"Thats not as cool as you think you know," she said, "But...thanks. Its been...way too long since anyones been there for me…"
I smiled.
"I strongly suspect that you won't be alone for much longer," I said, "If I know anything about Sekirei, you're sure to make plenty of friends…"
I trailed off with a jaw cracking yawn.
"But thats for later," I said, getting to my feet, "For now, we should get some sleep."
Taylor just yawned in agreement.
Two minutes later, I was changed into the PJ's provided by Miya and curled up under the warm covers. I still needed to do some hard thinking about...everything, but I was so tired that I simply went straight to sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by the sun landing on my face. I groaned and shifted, trying to get rid of the hellish light and cursing myself for forgetting to shut the curtains last night. I buried my face in the warm pillow I was holding in an attempt to get away from the light...only to freeze as the pillow let out a soft moan and hugged me back.
My eyes snapped open and I was immediately treated to the sight of a pair of modestly sized breasts that were barely hidden by the sleeping yukata my bedmate was wearing since it had apparently slipped open in the night, revealing the top portion of said breasts and a stretch of pure white shoulder, as well as a glimpse of the crimson crest between her shoulders.
I stared at the girl in my bed for a moment, before the events of the previous day came back. I sighed and closed my eyes.
"So it wasn't a dream," I muttered, "Great…"
I opened my eyes again and sat up, looking down at Taylor as she shifted slightly in her sleep. It was hard to believe that the innocent looking girl curled up beside me could ever become a god-like Monster like Khepri. Then again, she didn't, did she? Not in this reality, doubly so if I had anything to say about it.
I smiled softly as I felt a surge of protectiveness. Even knowing what Sekirei are capable of, compared with just how strong Taylor could be, I still found myself wanting to keep her safe. Good god, the Ashikabi bond works quick. Then again, Sekirei and Ashikabi are destined partners, so maybe that has something to do with it? Maybe, or maybe it was a much nicer version of the Parahuman conflict drive. Either way, I could deal with it.
I was drawn from my thoughts as Taylor shifted again under my hand, letting out a soft moan. I looked down and frowned when I saw the expression on her face and the way she was shifting. Whatever she was dreaming couldn't be pleasant. I reached out and started running my fingers through Taylors hair, making her mou quietly and lean into my touch, her tense face relaxing into something more peaceful. A moment later, it shifted again as Taylor stured and slowly opened her eyes. I tensed slightly as her eyes met mine, half expecting to end up getting shoved out of bed. Instead, Taylors eyes teared up and she hugged me tightly.
"I thought you were a dream," she mumbled into my chest.
I quickly shrugged off my surprise and hugged her back, running my hand through her hair as she cried into my chest.
"Please don't leave me," whispered Taylor.
"I'm not going anywhere," I said, "Your my Sekirei, we're in this together till the end."
Taylor looked up at me with gratitude clear in her eyes, before she lent up and kissed me. I ignored the flash of light as her Wings appeared as I kissed her back, wrapping my arms around her to draw her closer as the kiss deepened…
BANG!
"I thought I told you that hanky panky was forbidden within Izumo Inn!" said Miya as we jumped apart as if burnt.
"W-we weren't doing anything!" said Taylor, her face burning crimson.
"Hmm, I'm sure," said Miya, "Well, I suppose I'll overlook it this time. Come downstairs. Breakfast is ready."
She shut the door, leaving us alone. Taylor climbed out of bed, fixing her robe with her back to me, although I could clearly see she was still blushing brightly.
"Taylor," I said, making my Sekirei glance back at me, "I meant it you know. No matter what happens, I won't ever leave you alone."
Taylor smiled.
"I know," she said.
Two minutes later, we headed downstairs to find Miya setting a table where two very familiar faces were sat, along with two unexpected ones. The expected ones were Homura and Uzume (or whatever their names were here) and the unexpected was were a slightly morose looking Matsu and a striking middle-eastern girl who was shifting slightly in her seat next to Uzume in a way that suggested she wasn't entirely comfortable. Considering that her cheeks were flushed and Uzume looked rather smug, it wasn't hard to guess why she was apparently so sore.
"Oh hey, your the new kids, right?" asked Uzume with a friendly smile, "I'm Uzume and this is Sabah."
"Hello," said the young woman with a friendly smile.
Well, thats...actually not all that surprising. The Veiled Sekirei and the Tailor Rogue make a rather scary combination.
"Nice to meet you both," I said, "I'm Lucas and this is Taylor."
"Ah, the newly Winged Sekirei and her Ashikabi, right?" asked Uzume, eyeing me up and down, "Hmm, not bad I guess. Still, your rather unimpressive…"
SMACK!
"Uzume, don't be rude," said Sabah as she reopened the textbook she'd just used to smack Uzume with.
"Heh, sorry," said the Veiled Sekirei.
"Ignore her, thats what we all do," said Homura, ignoring the squeak of protest from Uzume, "I'm Kagari and shes Theresa."
"Call me Tess," muttered the Matsu look-a-like.
"Um, are you OK?" asked Taylor, "You look...down."
She was right. Considering what she was like in the Anime (assuming she was Number 2, but I had no reason to think otherwise), the expression on her face looked wrong.
"Shes fine," said Uzume, slinging an arm over the down Sekirei's shoulders, "Shes just bummed that her Ashikabi's been out all night."
"Oh, like you wouldn't be the same if Sabah wasn't here to scratch your itch," snapped Tessm shrugging off Uzume's arm.
"No fighting at the table ladies," said Miya as she entered the room with a tray of jugs of juice and followed by a small girl with curly blonde hair and blue eyes who was carrying a jug of milk, "Thank you for the help Riley."
"No problem Mama," said the little girl as she set the jug on the table and clambered into a chair beside Kagari.
I stared at her, not entirely sure if I wanted to know if she was actually Bonesaw or not. Hell, for all I knew, she could be a Sekirei as well or, in a rather terrifying twist, Miya's actual daughter.
"Shes Miya's adopted kid," whispered Uzume in my ear, "I don't know the details, but Miya apparently saved her after a gang of Villains murdered her family."
"I...see," I said.
Well, that was a weight of my mind I suppose.
"Shes also an Ashikabi, but her Sekirei works for the Guild, so isn't here right now," she continued.
"A kid that young is an Ashikabi?" asked Taylor.
"Age doesn't mean much," said Uzume, "Shiina's more of a Big Brother than lover, but their still adorable together. Its a shame he was needed to finish mopping up Blasto's latest blunder really."
I blinked. Riley's Sekirei was Shiina? That...was a scary thought. Hopefully she didn't Trigger or the combination of Biotinker and Death Sekirei would be horrific to counter. The only one worse would be Bonesaw and 108. Or Karasuba. I shuddered at the thought.
Fortunately, the images of the chaos and slaughter that would come from Karasuba being a part of the Nine was dismissed as the sound of a car pulling up outside filtered in through the window. Tess immediately perked up and jumped to her feet, almost running out of the room as the front door opened. A moment later, there was a yelp of surprise, followed by a flash of yellow light as Tess' Wings lit up the hallway. A few moments later, the door opened and Tess rentered, now with pink cheeks and practically moulded to the side of a tall man in his late 20s with dark brown hair and a neatly kept beard that I found myself envying. Damn, I can't wait until mine grows back in…
"Welcome back Colin," said Miya, "How was work?"
Colin grunted as he took a seat and accepted the cup of coffee Uzume handed him.
"Tiring," he said, "Someone took down Lung, nearly killed him actually. I won't complain about that monster being of the street, but another loose cannon is NOT good for the Directors blood pressure or my paperwork situation."
It was at that point that I suddenly realized exactly who the man was and I nearly choked on my weetabix. Holy fucking shit, Matsu's analogue was Dragon and her Ashikabi was Armsmaster! That...actually makes a fair amount of sense. Does this mean that Armsmasters less of a dick?
It was at that point that Colin noticed us and raised an eyebrow.
"New resident?" he asked.
"Ehhh, sort of," I said, "I'm Lucas, a new Ashikabi and this is Taylor."
I indicated to my Sekirei, who grunted a greeting through her mouthful of bacon, sausage, egg and tomato sandwich. For some reason, she was really putting away the food.
"As for Lung, I think that I can help with your paperwork situation," I continued.
Colin paused and put down his cup, fixing me with an intense look.
"Oh?"
I winced. This could end badly, but it would be a good way to gauge just what kind of a Colin we were dealing with.
"I met Taylor last night while she was fighting Lung," I said, "I Winged her while trying to keep him from burning us both to a crisp, but when I did she seemed to enter a trance of some kind and did...something. She summoned a swarm of beetles that nearly ate Lung alive before I could snap her out of it."
Taylor looked up, a little startled.
"Wait, I did what?" she asked, "I don't remember that!"
"Thats not too surprising," said Miya, "Its a phenomenon that happens occasionally if the Sekirei is agitated or in danger during the Winging process. They use their Norito to strike back against the aggressor which, depending on what their power is, can be rather messy."
"Norito?" asked Taylor.
"The Norito is basically the strongest power a Sekirei can use," said Tess, "With a kiss from their Ashikabi and a prayer, we can draw out a huge amount of power. Its basically our trump card."
Colin sighed.
"Well, thats both a relief and a massive pain in the ass," he grumbled, "On one hand, we don't need to worry about another loose cannon like Shadow Stalker, on the other, I can't put anything about Sekirei in my report…"
He sighed again.
"I'll think on this later. For now, I need to get some sleep. I've been going for nearly 72 hours by this point, so I'm about to crash. Goodnight all."
"Goodnight," said everyone as he and Tess left the room.
The rest of breakfast went by without any more surprise revelations popping up and once everyone was done eating, they went their own ways. Uzume and Sabah headed out, probably to Parians shop, Kagari left for his own job while Riley left to go watch TV, leaving Taylor and I with Miya.
"So, I understand that your a little lost Lucas," said Miya quite out of the blue.
I stared at her, wide eyed.
"How the hell do you know that?" I asked.
"Lets just say that the rubber ducky tells many secrets," said Miya, indicating to said plastic bath toy on the sideboard.
"You bugged us?" asked Taylor, looking a little put out.
"It was a precaution," said Miya, "I won't turn anyone away, especially not a new Sekirei and Ashikabi, but that doesn't mean I trust them right off the bat. Besides, I had to make sure you weren't doing anything immodest."
"And yet Uzume and Sabah clearly got up to something kinky," I muttered.
"True, but they are both adults," said Miya with a smile.
"I...honestly can't think of an argument for that," I grumbled.
"Indeed," said Miya, "Now, since you are apparently a traveler from a VERY different land, I am willing to offer you a place to stay here."
"I don't have any money," I said.
"True, but you are an Ashikabi for one of my Birds," said Miya, "Besides, I'm sure we can find something for you to do to pay me back and Tess can make sure you actually have an identity."
"I...thank you Miya," I said, more than a little taken aback by the kind gesture.
"My Husband would have done the same had he still been here," said Miya softly, "He was always helping people…"
"I'm...sorry for your loss," said Taylor.
Miya smiled a little sadly.
"It was a long time ago now," she said, "I still miss him, but I prefer to honour his memory than let his loss keep me locked in place. Besides..."
Her smile faded and her eyes seemed to darken. Both Taylor and I went rigid every single one of the base instincts we had started screaming at us. This wasn't Miya's Demon Mask, this was Miya as the leader of the Discipline Squad, the one who would tear apart anything that threatened those under her protection without a second thought
"I made sure that the monster responsible for his death felt every iota of pain he brought upon me and others when I tracked him down."
Her voice was as flat and cold as the steel of her sword and, for a brief moment, I understood just how powerful Number 1 really was, even without seeing her in battle. Then, in the blink of an eye, Miya the Housewife was back and looking a little abashed.
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to scare you," she said.
"I-its fine," squeaked Taylor.
Miya smiled softly and glanced at the clock.
"I believe that your Father will be here soon Taylor," she said, "I suggest that the two of you get washed and dressed. I'll bring up some clothes and toiletries for you in a moment."
We both hastily agreed and headed upstairs.
Twenty minutes later, we were washed and dressed, me in some sweats that had apparently once belonged to Miya's husband and Taylor in some of Sabah's old clothes the Rogue had apparently donated for Taylor to use, and sat in the sitting room and waiting for Danny to arrive. We hadn't been waiting long when the sound of a car pulling up came from outside. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Seo and a tall, bespectacled man who could only be Danny Hebert entered the room.
"Dad!"
Taylor jumped up and hugged a surprised looking Danny, who nonetheless hugged her back.
"Where have you been Taylor?" he asked, "Do you know how worried I was when I found your bed empty this morning? And why did I have to find out from Seo that you have powers?"
"I know Dad, I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled by her Fathers chest, "I just...I didn't want to worry you."
Danny smiled softly as he rubbed his Daughters back.
"Silly girl, I'll always worry about you," he said, "But we can talk about you sneaking out later. For now, I think we have another important discussion to have."
He looked up and met my eyes. I gulped. He wasn't well built, but he was taller than me and had a lot of steel in his gaze for a man who spent the last few years lost in depression. Guess finding out Taylor was a Cape snapped him out of it.
"So I take it that your my Daughters Ashikabi?" he asked.
I blinked. Wait, what?
And this is where I'll end it. This was...refreshingly easy to write. Fun to. I might need to have a break from Devils Advocate… Anyway, on to some quips.
I hope I did a good job with the talk they had. I'm, not entirely happy with it, but it does the job and gets across all the points I wanted to do.
MIYA INTERRUPT! Heh, Miya's fun to write when shes in full on Big Sister mode. Not Mother. I don't fancy getting hit with a Demon Mask.
So, the other residence of Mason Izumo are introduced and there are a few surprises. I think it goes without saying, but the Nine is nowhere near as much of a threat in this world. Jacks still around, cockroach that he is, but he doesn't have anywhere near as much power as is in canon and is only still alive because Karasuba likes toying with him. The others are either dead or saved.
On a related note, guess who Miya's husband was in this world and who it was who she killed for being responsible for his death.
I admit, I was rather tempted to have Riley be Karasuba's Ashikabi or adopted Daughter, with Miya as her Aunt, but I eventually settled on this. Shiina will be back soon enough.
I'm surprised that no one picked up on the fact I planned to have Matsu take Dragons place. To be clear, Richter did exist, but he never Triggered. He is still dead by Leviathan and Tess' Father figure, but no AI means no Ascalon and no Dragonslayers. It also means that Armsmasters not quite as much of a dick, if only because he got laid.
I had the joke of Miya only forbidding lewd activities between Taylor and Lucas because of their age from the start. Everyone else is free to do what they want, so long as they keep it to their rooms and use the Tess provided soundproofing devices to make sure that Riley is not corrupted.
Incidentally, in addition to the already seen Sekirei/Ashikabi pares, there are an additional two who work for the Protectorate and at least two Unwinged Sekirei walking around Brockton. I wonder if you can guess who the Proctorates pairs are? Probably not.
Hmm, I wonder how Danny knows about Ashikabi and Sekirei? Heheh.
And with this done, I'm signing out. Until next time, don't forget to leave a review!