Outsider Chronicles: Nereid 53
Waking up somewhere without a massive chunk of memories and with a strange body is never fun. Discovering that I'm a victim of an incompitant group of wannabe Cadamus agents is just annoying. On the up side, I'm now pretty cute!
So this is a bit different from my other 'insert into Worm with mysterious powers' thing because this time, our OC is an actual Outsider, with all the insanity that inevitably goes with it. I decided to do that because an Outsiders past life memories are tied to their soul, not their physical brain, so wouldn't be affected by the entirely physical Slugs power. And yes, this will be relevant. Thats all for now, so enjoy!
Chapter 1
I think that everyone has experienced waking up in a place they don't recognize, but most of the time, thats a fairly short experience. If its not, you might be either in deep trouble or in a horror movie. In my case it was a bit different because I woke up underwater. Now, as you might expect, it took a few moments for it to properly register that yes, that was the surface I could see above me and yes, I was indeed laying in soggy sand. Once that registered, I understandably panicked and started thrashing in an attempt to get to the surface, so it took a while for it to register that I could breath.
Once I realized that and calmed down enough that I was no longer kicking up a cloud of silt, I let myself float a short distance away and settle back on the bottom. Now that I could actually see, I took a moment to look myself over.
It didn't take long to figure out how I was breathing underwater, not with the five massive gashes on both sides of my body under my ribs and the gills wasn't the only difference from standard Human. I also had a thick, hefty tail with a vertical fin, a triangular fin between my shoulder blades and a mouth full of razor sharp, triangular teeth. It didn't take an expert in marine biology to determine that I was apparently now part shark.
On the Human size, I was short, if my height compared with a nearby doorway in a sunken ship was anything to go by, with back length, blonde hair and surprisingly normal looking green eyes. Judging from my looks, I was about 12 years old and a girl, which, surprisingly, was by far the easiest thing to accept about my new body. Almost as if I was expecting that.
The final interesting thing to note about my body was the tattoo of an omega symbol on my left hip.
A slight tug on the back of the tattered jumpsuit I was wearing dragged my attention away from the tattoo. I shook my head and refocused. Assuming that tattoo meant what I thought it did, I now had a pretty good explanation as to why my memories were so screwed up, although it did beg the question as to why I had any in the first place. And why I was a 12 year old girl because I'm pretty sure the Shards wouldn't do THAT. Although…
I closed my eyes and focused, trying to bring up the last thing I remembered. It took some effort because the memories seemed…sharp somehow. Almost as if the Slugs power had left jagged edges where it had removed my memories. Despite that, I managed to recall my last memories. Walking him from work in the snow, a screech of breaks and a flash of light, followed by being squeezed out of a tight tunnel and finding myself in the arms of a new mother. Warmth, a smile and a soft voice…
"I think we'll call you Melissa…"
Another tug on the back of my clothes drew me back from my memories. I rolled my shoulders to try and get rid of whatever was nibbling at me and went back to thinking.
Those memories certainly explained a lot. Apparently I'd been reincarnated and, for some reason, after the Cauldron had kidnapped (presumably), transformed and mind wiped me, my memories of my last life had remained, along with a small sliver of my new one, just enough to remember my name. That…wasn't exactly helpful, but I suppose it was more than…
Once again, my thoughts were cut off by a tug, this time much harder and was quickly followed up by a mighty yank that pulled me off the sea floor. The sudden motion upwards was so unexpected that by the time I'd recovered from the surprise, I was yanked out of the water and found myself dangling from the fishing rod of a shocked looking elderly man who looked like he had more salt in his blood than iron.
"Ah, hi?" I said with a slightly awkward smile as I dangled from the back of my surprisingly strong jumpsuit.
The mans expression shifted to a scowl and he reached for the knife at his hip.
"Damn guppies, I oughta throw you back," he grumbled as he swung the rod onboard and cut me loose.
I hit the deck with a wet thud.
"Guppy? I'ma shark!" I whined.
The man snorted and pulled a pipe out of his jacket.
"Maybe when you're bigger kid," he grumbled, "What are you doing out here anyway? I don't imagine there are many muggings going on in the Bay."
"I…don't know actually," I said, "I woke up under water, but I have no idea how I got there."
"Amnesia eh?" said the old man, "Guess that makes you one of those Case 53s."
He sighed.
"Well, I don't normally like to deal with them, but the PRT are probably the best bet here," he said as he got to his feet.
I was about to speak up, but before I could, I was interrupted by a very loud growling sound. I blushed brightly as the old man glanced back at me with a raised eyebrow, then sighed and reached into a cubby in the boats small bridge. A moment later, I caught the wrapped sandwich he threw at me before it could hit me in the face.
"Eat that," he said, "We'll get you a proper meal when we get back to shore."
I hesitated, before my stomach roared again and I decided to listen and dug into the very tasty tuna sandwich.
"Thanks old man!" I said between bites.
The old man snorted.
"The names Erwin kid," he said.
I paused, briefly wondering why that sounded so familiar, before shrugging and going back to my meal.
Ethan Winters was a man of many talents. He was handsome, charismatic, diligent, a good husband in every way that mattered, an excellent chef, extremely funny and, of course, very modest indeed. Of course, most people (most notably his beloved Puppy) would say that he was full of hot air or just annoying in the case of Armsey and Piggot, but no one, not even Armsmaster, as much as it pained him to admit it, could deny that Ethan was probably the best choice when it came to recruiting new Triggers, especially the tragically large number who were underaged. As such, when the report of a new Case 53 being found in the Bay of all places came in, Assault and Battery were the ones dispatched to bring her in.
The fact that Ethan was also a regular at the pub she was apparently waiting at certainly helped the decision.
The couple pulled up on the access road closest to the bay-side pub and climbed out of the van. Battery looked around and frowned.
"This place is a dump," she said.
Ethan snorted.
"Don't let the regulars hear you say that," he said, "They are rather protective. Plus, this place has a LOT of history. Pats is one of the oldest buildings in the city."
It certainly looked the part. Despite being surrounded by more modern, and often crumbling, buildings, the pub looked like someone had plucked a building directly from Ireland and dropped it on the waterfront, complete with slate roof, whitewashed walls and visible beams. The large windows on the front allowed a decent look into the main floor and an old sign with an oddly proportioned silhouette with a mug in hand and an old fashioned captain's uniform hung over the door and announced the pub's name of Pats Family Pub to the world.
"Whatever, lets just get the girl and head back," said Battery, "I'm still not feeling great after this morning."
Ethan rolled his eyes and followed his lovely wife inside. The bar was as authentic as the outside, complete with dully glowing lights, heavy, rough furniture and the low sitting scent of beer and cigarette smoke. As was often the case, the place was inhabited by big, burly dock workers, all drinking and talking in low voices. Normally, there would be some playing pool or darts, but today most people were gathered around a large table in the back where the two Heroes quarry was sat, watching in awe as the tiny girl polished off a large plate of fish and chips and then reached for another as she dropped the empty on a very impressive pile of similarly empty plates next to her.
"Well, you sure took your time," said Erwin.
"Sorry, there was traffic," said Battery, "How is she?"
"Far as I can tell, perfectly healthy," said Erwin, "Hungry as a shark though."
"Speaking of, I hope you plan to pay for that meal Erwin," said Pat the Barman, "Shes nearly eaten me out of house and home!"
"We'll cover it," said Battery quickly, pulling out her wallet and handing the Barman a PRT issued card.
The Irish man snorted and shot a glare at Erwin, who completely ignored it, and quickly rang up the meal. Battery paled slightly when she saw the figure, but didn't say anything. Its not like this Shark girl was the only big eater and with any luck, this was a one off.
While his wife was dealing with the serious stuff, Ethan made his way over to the table where the little Case 53 had just finished off her last plate and sat back with a contented sigh, looking rather sleepy as she sipped on a cup of juice. She looked painfully young and small in that tattered jumpsuit, covered with an oversized jacket that nearly completely swamped her, no older than Vista if he was to guess.
As he stepped through the slowly dispersing crowd, the little Shark looked up and fixed Ethan with a calculating look that looked rather out of place coming from such a small girl.
"So I take it you're the idiot the old man called to help me?" she asked.
Ethan snorted.
"Thats us," he said as Battery joined him, "I'm Assault and this lovely lady is my partner, Battery."
The girl raised a white eyebrow.
"What PR person greenlit that?" she asked.
Battery scowled and elbowed her husband in the side, not that it stopped his uproarious laughter.
"There is a reason for it, but its not for something to discuss here," she said, "Come on, lets get you back to base."
"K."
The short girl downed her glass and hopped off her chair
"Bye old man!" she called as she trotted after the two adult Capes, "Thanks for the food!"
"Humph, damn brat," grumbled Erwin, "Don't get yourself killed."
The little shark grinned and waved as the door closed behind her waving tail.
"Alright, now that we have some privacy, I need to ask you a couple of questions," said Battery, "Assault trusts that old man for some reason, but we have to confirm. First, do you have this mark anywhere on your body?"
She pulled out a card with the Case 53 symbol on it. The little girl nodded and shifted her jumpsuit to reveal the mark on her hip. Battery took a moment to photograph it with her phone.
"Second, do you remember anything?" said Battery, "Very few Case 53s have more than vague impressions, but we still ask, just in case."
The shark crossed her arms and frowned.
"I don't…really have any real memories," she said slowly, "But I think I remember that my name was Melissa."
Battery smiled kindly.
"Thats more than most have in your situation," she said, "Thats all we need for now. Lets get you back to base. You look tired."
Melissa went to answer, but was interrupted by a massive yawn.
"K," she said and clambered into the van.
Assault had barely started the engine before the little shark had drifted off.
"Melissa huh?" muttered Ethan, "Thats Vistas name full, isn't it?"
"Thats right," said Mia, "Why?"
"No reason," said the Kinetic manipulator, "Just a weird thought."
I hadnt been asleep for long before I was awoken by the van pulling up and coming to a stop. I sat up straight and stretched with a jaw cracking yawn. I opened my eyes and saw Assault staring at me with an odd look on his face.
"What?"
"Nothing," he said, "Come on, lets get you somewhere comfortable."
I shrugged and hopped out of the car, stretching again and rubbing my tail. Apparently, cars would be rather uncomfortable for me from now on unless I figured out a better way to sit that didn't send the new limb to sleep.
I followed Assault and Battery into the lift that quickly took us up a few levels.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"Well, if your alright with it, the first thing we normally do with people like you is to give them a medical checkup," said Battery, "Just to make sure that theres nothing to worry about and to see if we can figure anything out that might help us find out who you are."
I nodded.
"That seems smart," I said, "OK, lets go."
"And thats my cue to go," said Assault, "See you around Sharky."
He patted me on the head and laughed as I playfully snapped at his fingers, before giving Battery a peck on the cheek and heading off down the hall. Battery led me in the other direction and it didn't take long to reach the medi-bay where a middle aged, rather harried doctor who introduced himself as Doctor Franklin greeted us and quickly got the check up started.
It didn't take long for us to be done and once it was, Dr Franklin and Battery took me further upstairs to meet with a representative of the PRT. He talked me through my options, with a little help from the Youth Guard rep, who surprisingly wasn't a crazy Karan, which basically boiled down to 'join the Wards or your fucked'. The fact that I'm a minor meant that I was automatically considered a ward of the state anyway, so in theory, they could just sign me up and to hell with my consent, but, well, they kinda want to endear themselves to new Case 53s since they tend to be more stable than normal Triggers. Plus, well, again, what the fuck was I supposed to do instead? I had more options than most Case 53s since I had meta knowledge, but, to be frank, I didn't feel like taking any of them.
Mainly since the only ones I was willing to even consider consists of Faultlines Crew and the Undersiders and fuck that noise.
Anyway, after signing some paperwork, Battery led me down to the Wards HQ.
"The Wards have already been briefed on you joining," said Battery as the lift reached the appropriate floor, "I'm sure you'll get along with them. They are good kids."
"I hope so," I said, "I'd hate for this too badly."
"Well, if that does happen, feel free to talk to me," said Battery, "I'll help if I can. Here we are."
We stopped in front of a large door with some impressive electronic locks. Battery leaned forwards and let it scan her eye. There was the sound of a muffled alarm from the other side of the door and a countdown appeared on the screen.
"A warning for the Wards to mask up," said Battery, "They might choose to, but its up to them if they want to unmask to new recruits."
A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a decent sized, domed room with a kitchen to one side, a few work stations with computers, a large table and chairs in the middle and a seating area with a large screen that was currently showing a paused frame from a fighting game. A corridor led off of one side that probably led to the Wards rooms on base. Sat around the TV was what was clearly the Wards, sans Sophia (fortunately), Browbeat and Vista. The latter was, for some reason, sprawled out on the floor.
As we entered, everyone turned to face us and I shifted awkwardly under their gaze.
"Alright kids, this is your new teammate," said Battery, dropping a hand onto my head, "As you've probably heard, shes a Case 53, so be nice. And no pranking her Clockblocker."
"Wouldn't dream of it Ma'am!" said the irreverent time stopper, sounding rather scandalized.
There was a pause, before Clockblocker lent over the sofa and prodded Vista in the side.
"WAH!" she yelped as she jolted awake, dislodging the headphones she had been wearing, "What was that for?"
"New kids arrived," said Clockblocker.
Vista blinked and looked over. As our eyes met, she grinned and suddenly I had a tiny blonde right in front of me. Vista was about the same height as me, with blue eyes, blonde hair and the tan of a person who spent a lot of time outside. What really caught my eyes though was a pair of cowlicks that stuck up from either side of her head in a rather adorable way.
"Ohmygosh, finally another girl!" she squealed, "It'll be great to have some actual company rather than all these boys!"
I worked my jaw for a moment, before my brain caught up.
"Wasn't there another girl?" I asked, glancing up at Battery, "Shadow Stalker or something edgy like that?"
Vista snorted.
"Yeah, like I could ever hang out with her," she scoffed, "Stalker is…less than friendly. Anyway, I'm Missy Biron, Vista in costume!"
I returned the grin.
"Nice ta meet ya," I said, "I'm Melissa, codename pending."
Vista frowned.
"Wait, I thought you were a Case 53?" she asked.
"I am," I said, "But for some reason, I do have some memories. I can only remember my name and a few random flashes though."
"Thats more than some people, so you should consider yourself lucky," said Aegis as he and the other Wards came over, "I'm Aegis, the leader of the Ward. Carlos Mortimer out of costume."
Without his mask, the Ward leader looked pretty much like I expected, a good looking Latino teen with darker skin, dark eyes and hair.
"Extra lucky since your so adorable," said Clockblocker, "Some Monster Capes I've seen just look fucked up."
He barely reacted as Missy took a swipe and whacked him over the head without looking.
"Dennis Watson," he said as he took of his helmet to reveal messy, red hair, blue eyes, a mess of freckles and a wide grin, "Nice to meet you Sharkgirl!"
"There is no way I'm going with that," I said, "Also, if you try to freeze me, I'll bite your hand off."
"Perish the thought," he said.
"A threat like that didn't stop you from 'pranking' Browbeat," said Kid Win mildly.
"Browbeat isnt an adorable shark though," said Clockblocker, his grin only widening, despite the glare Battery was sending his way.
Kid rolled his eyes and turned to me.
"Ignore him, we all do," he said, "I'm Kid Win, Chris Sanders outside of costume."
"Nice to meet you all!" I said.
"The other two are away from the base at the moment," said Battery, "But you can meet them later. For now, I'd suggest hanging out here and getting to know each other."
"Do you not need me for anything else?" I asked.
"Not right now," said Battery, "We'll do the rest of the tests and paperwork needed tomorrow. Its a bit too late to start right now and you've had a long day anyway."
"Well, I'm certainly not going to argue against not having to do any more paperwork," I said, "Thanks for all your help."
Battery smiled and patted me on the head.
"It was a pleasure," she said, "I'll see you kids later."
She waved and vanished back through the door, leaving me alone with the core Wards team. There was a moments silence, before Missy spoke up.
"Sooo, you wanna come play with us?"
I grinned and followed my new teammates over to the game center. Before long, I was engaged in playing the Earth Bet version of Super Smash Bros and feeling like this new life could actually be rather fun. Now if only I could figure out why I had a minor headache.
Right, thats done. Fucking finally, that last scene was a massive pain in the ass.
Incidentally, if anyone can pick up where I got the inspiration for the Wards last names from, you've clearly got very good taste in internet chaos. Melissa herself is a pretty big clue and heres another one. Mouse Protector and Ravager spend less time trying to kill each other in this world and more playing monopoly. So basically trying to kill each other. Damn chaotic rats…
Why yes, Erwin and Pats are a reference to Taylor Varga. I'm far from the only person to do that after all.
No, Ethen and Mia have never had to deal with super mold.
And with that, I think I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!