Chapter 10

It took Taylor and Armsmaster the better part of the night to finish their impromptu project, but the results were well worth the trouble. They had just made the first prototype of her healing machine and the Protectorate was going to test it out that very morning. Suffice to say, she was very excited, albeit a bit groggy. "Maybe I should have taken a nap while the Nanoforge was making those circuits."

She hadn't had a wink of sleep, with only a judicious use of coffee keeping her awake, but she wasn't going to miss it. As she glanced at the pot of black gold which the PRT Engineers and Scientist were passing around, a familiar voice warned her, "If you're thinking about getting another cup of coffee, I'd advise against it."

Turning around, she found her partner lazily floating behind her. "Morning Sunshine," He yawned as he settled on her shoulder, "Stayed up all night to finish a project?"

"Maybe," She replied before a yawn slipped out of her lips. Reaching up, She grabbed her tiny partner and hugged them tightly. Mew was just so soft and warm that she could cuddle up to him all morning long. "Sorry I didn't get you your potion." In her excitement, she had entirely forgotten to do the one thing she set out to do.

Snuggling up to her, Mew chuckled, "Nah, it's fine. That stomach ache was my fault anyways," Settling against her chest, he shrugged, "Besides, your father came back with some ginger tea, which helped."

Hugging her partner tighter, Taylor mumbled, "Still…" She really shouldn't have been distracted. Even when they were making the components, she had some down time to brew up the potion.

"Well, if you want to apologize," Mew hummed, "Then how about a cake? No! Wait, a burger my size!" Hearing her partner's silly request, she couldn't help but laugh. Even after that stomach ache, he was still eager to eat.

"There is a burger shop down at the boardwalk," Taylor mused, "Maybe after things settle down, we could go there. Just you, me, and dad." She vaguely remembered that she had an allowance as a member of the Wards. Maybe she could treat her family out for a meal?

"Speaking of grandpa," Mew said, making Taylor snort in amusement at the ridiculous nickname her father had, "I hope you're ready for an earful.~" Glancing towards the door, she found her father sporting a tired smile as he held a bottle of water and her medicine. She… might have forgotten to take care of herself as well…

"Taylor," Her father called, making Taylor wince as she cowered under their disapproving look. Walking up to her, he pulled her close before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "You know you really shouldn't push yourself that hard."

Nodding, she sighed, leaning against her father as she mumbled, "Sorry…" Taking the offered bottle, she popped a pill in her mouth before washing it down.

Reaching up, he ruffled her hair, "It's time to sleep my little owl. Just because you don't have to go to school for another week doesn't mean that you can just skip on rest." Taking a sniff, he added, "Maybe after you take a bath."

"Dad!" She whined, pulling away as her cheeks burned, "I'm fine." Why did he have to treat her like a little girl? She was already a teen! Still, her protests only earned laughter from her father and her pokemon; Traitors, the lot of them.

"You have to admit, you looked pretty fucked up," Mew pointed out, making her face turn red. She was just sleepy, not disheveled. She could take care of herself! As she turned around, she saw the ground rapidly approach her face. Blinking, she stared as she was held aloft by Mew. "See? You can barely keep yourself up. It's time to sleep."

Helped up by her father, she puffed her checks, "Can I at least watch them test it out? I worked all night on it…" Armsmaster was already there with their test subject, one of the lab mice that the PRT Science team kept around just for cases like this.

Her father gave her a look, but she refused to budge. "Sometimes I hate how you inherit your mother's stubbornness," He sighed, finally relenting to her wishes, "Fine, but after this, you go straight to bed. Got it?"

Taylor nodded before giving her father a peck on the check. "It'll be quick, I promise!" She told him before she skipped away. Now it was time for her to test out her device and see if it actually worked. As she approached Armsmaster, she noticed a drone floating beside him.

Turning towards it, she found herself staring back at a masked woman on a screen as the drone approached. "You must be Taylor," The woman greeted with a warm and sunny smile, one that had Taylor smiling as well, "I've heard good things about you from Armsy over here."

"You did?" Turning, she found the man glancing away with a cough.

"Oh, he couldn't stop waxing poetic about your design, calling it simple yet elegant in its execution," The woman chuckled, making Taylor's cheek flush as she let out a small smile, "Having taken a look at the design myself, I could see why he was so excited."

"Indeed," Armsmaster nodded as he cleared his throat, "I got excited, but perhaps a bit too excited." As she gave him questioning glances, he explained, "In my haste to get the design approved for testing, I neglected to ask your permission to share your design with my colleague. For that, I am sorry."

Grimacing, he added, "She's a well respected Tinker and her words were… necessary to get this done in a timely manner." Was that why they were testing the day after?

"'Necessary' he says. Is all I am to you the help?" The woman asked before she burst out laughing. As Armsmaster grumbled, she shook her head, "But hey, what's a few favors from a friend, especially when it comes to helping out Armsmaster protege?"

"P-protege!?" Flustered, she let go of Mew as she raised her hand, " And o-oh no, it's fine. No, really!" As Mew floated up to lay on her head, she whispered, "It's just a prototype anyways…" She wasn't sure what the fuss was about. It was just a simple machine after all.

"It's a matter of principle. Any tinker's invention is theirs by right, even if they can be replicated." Reaching for his back, he pulled out the blueprint she had made the night before along with another set of paper, "Rest assured that the patent for this device will go to you alone." Handing her back her file, he added, "I've compiled a set of pointers as well as printed the necessary forms for you to fill out. If you want, we'll help you file it as well."

"People would pay a pretty penny for your design, Taylor," Mew mused, "Would definitely give us a lot of food." It wasn't all too hard to imagine it. Healing was a premium, after all, and one of the reasons why Brockton Bay was kept afloat.

Biting her lips, she asked, "But what if I don't want to make a patent claim?" She'd be lying if she said she didn't consider heeding their advice, but giving it some thought, did she really need it?

"I was actually hoping that having more eyes on the design would help spread it around," She added. Sure the money would be nice, but she could help a lot of people with it.

"Modest as well. No wonder he took a shine to you," The woman smiled fondly before the drone turned towards Armsamaster, "I have to say Armsmaster, I'm getting quite jealous that you have a cute new protege."

As Taylor's ears burned, Armsmaster let out a sigh. "She's not my protege," He huffed, "She's a Ward that falls under my care. Ensuring she succeeds as a hero simply fell under my purview." Despite how he claimed he was only doing it out of obligation, Taylor still felt happy about it.

"He's being genuine you know," Mew told her as he peered down before giving her a wink, "He's a bit standoffish, but that's just how he is. I checked."

"Mew!" Taylor scolded him but nothing could hide the smile threatening to break out.

Chuckling, the woman teased back, "That's a pretty roundabout way of calling her your protege." Floating over to her side and leaning close, she mused, "But if she's not yours, then maybe I could take her as mine?"

Another Tinker was interested in taking her in as an apprentice? While she didn't know her, Taylor wasn't sure she could take more of it. Her cheeks were already starting to hurt. "Now, now, easy on the compliments," Mew chuckled, patting her on the head, "Any more and she'll keel over." Maybe it would be his teasing that would get her to keel over.

As she pouted at her partner, the woman chuckled. "My apologies," She said before giving her a warm smile, "But kidding aside, from one Tinker to another, I suggest you take it. If not for the money, at least to make more inventions just like this." That… might've actually been better. She couldn't just keep relying on the Protectorate for everything, right?

"It'd be a shame to see a promising young talent like you get hampered by something as mundane as a budget," The woman said, making Armsmaster grimace.

"It's frustrating to make reports about what is necessary," The man added. Seeing that tired defeated look on their face, maybe she should listen…

Before she could reply, one of the scientists called out, "Armsmaster!" Waving them over, the man gestured over to the cage of mice sportings some minor cuts, "The test subject is ready." It was a bit cruel having to injure them, but it was the only way to show that her device works.

Nodding, the man then turned to her, "If you will?" It was time.

As she walked over to prepare the subjects and the machine, the woman cheered for her, "Good luck!"

"Ok Taylor, no pressure," She whispered as she booted up the machine, "You can do this!" Having set up the test in one of the training rooms, there was plenty of space for them to work with… and plenty of space in case things went south if those extreme high voltage capacitors failed on her.

"Come on kid, you got this," Mew assured her as he helped with slotting in the miles of wires needed to power her device. While she could make it smaller, she didn't have the exotic materials for the more advanced models. She just had to go with the first ever model. "The worst that could happen is you give the poor mouse a fifth leg." Taylor bopped him on the nose for the tease.

With the machine lighting, Mew loaded the mice inside the machine. While normally only used with Pokeballs, she'd modified it: removing the tray to accommodate smaller creatures like these mice. Cleaning themselves, her subjects paced around nervously, probably feeling the energy coursing through the machine.

"Ready when you are Taylor," One of the scientists called out from across the room. It was now or never.

Taking a deep, she pulled and the machine came to life with a hum. A soft glow enveloped them as they all fell asleep while a telltale chime echoed. It would take a few minutes, far longer than with a pokeball but, soon enough, the wounds started to close until there were only faint scars on them.

Turning off the machine, Taylor gazed in wonder as she pressed her face against the glass cover. Slowly, the mice stirred before they lounged about, no longer pacing as they once did. "It works…" She whispered before she smiled and cheered, hugging Mew tightly as she did, "It works!"

Almost immediately, she was crowded by the Protectorate Personnel as they inspected their subjects. Not one of them looked hurt, though some had lost weight. While a bit concerning, the mice looked healthy enough; They looked even better with their glossier coats. It was probably just their bodies using their fat storage as fuel. It was a machine that healed through rest, helping things along with a healthy dose of energy mimicking that of Recover.

Talking a step back, she smiled, overserving from a distance as the personnel marveled at her machine. For once, she'd made a machine to help people, and not just something to help herself. She… she actually did it.

"Congratulations Taylor," Armsmaster congratulated her, patting her on the shoulder as he gave her a rare smile, "You might have just passed the first test for your invention." Gazing at the machine as one of them loaded in a goldfish of all things, he added, "Of course, there are several more testing processes, but this is a promising start."

"I'm really tempted to fly over there now so I work with your little apprentice," The woman from earlier said as her drone flew over.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Armsmaster muttered, "Not my apprentice." Of course, this only served to fuel the woman as she kept teasing. It was almost adorable how the two bantered with each other.

"You two sound like an old couple," She commented as a wistful smile graced her lips. They almost reminded her of her parents back when they were alive… She still had her dad, yes, but she missed her mom.

Grinning, the woman's drone bumped against the increasingly exasperated tinker, "You hear that Armsmaster, or should it be… Daddy?"

Sputtering, Taylor did not expect that out of the woman. As Mew roared out laughing, Armsmaster reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No," The man grumbled, "Just no." Was she Armsmaster's secret girlfriend? She'd heard rumors, but maybe there was some truth to it now that she met this Tinker.

Just as things seemed to have calmed down, the woman frowned as she turned to look at something beside her screen. "Aww Fiddlesticks," The woman cursed as she grimaced, "Sorry Armsy, but I have some pressing matters to attend to."

"They need my help with one of the manufacturing plants over in BC," She explained with a slightly panicked tone, "Some glitch happened and a batch just went missing."

Taylor wasn't sure what was going on, but there was a shift as Armsmaster stared at the woman in concern. "Do you need help?" He asked, his hands reaching up to the side of his helmet. Was there something wrong?

"No, it's fine. I can handle them myself," The woman sighed, more irritated than worried. As she reached out to the screen, she paused before turning to Taylor. "Oh Taylor, before I forget, have this." Hovering closer, the drone printed out a business card. "If you ever wanted to branch out from the PRT, know that the Guild is always open to welcome a Tinker of your quality!"

Giving them one last wave, the woman left, leaving the drone to fly to a nearby desk and land, shutting itself down as it did so. "She's really nice," Taylor commented as she read the business card before her brow shot up. The woman was affiliated with the Guild? Weren't they a Canadian team that Dragon was part off? While she wasn't considering moving out of the city, it was nice of her to offer.

"She really is," Armsmaster nodded as he smiled once again, "If there's one hero I look up to, it's her." She didn't need to be a psychic to know that the man respected her well.

"If it's not too much to ask, who is she?" She asked. Much to her chagrin, she had forgotten to introduce herself. She was fortunate enough that Armsmaster already introduced her, but while that was good, Taylor didn't know who she was. "I haven't checked up on new heroes lately," She admitted.

The man turned to her before giving her a bemused look. "Oh you might know her already," He replied cryptically, almost teasing even, "That's just her casual disguise." As she wracked her mind, trying to remember any Tinker that Armsmaster got along with, the man answered for her, "She's one of the best tinkers in the World, but you might better know her as Dragon."

As soon as the woman's identity left his mouth, she froze. The Dragon, the Canadian Heroine that had taken the world by storm? One of the best tinkers around, maybe the best given how her tech was just that reliable? That Dragon?

"And she's out," Mew chuckled before covering his ears, "Also, better cover your ears."

"Why?" Armsmaster asked, but his words were lost as Taylor as she breathed in sharply.

"Dragon asked me to be her apprentice…" She whispered, her voice cracking as she screamed, "Dragon just asked me to be her apprentice!" She didn't care that everyone in earshot winced in pain, nor did she care that she nearly fell over as her legs finally gave out under her after a sleepless night. She was just too happy right then and nothing was going to change that.

A/N:

Taylor catches the attention of not just one Tinker, but two of them. A damn shame that Dragon got distracted by as certain group. I'm sure that wouldn't come back to haunt her later since they were in the conversation about a healing machine that could possibly be scaled up. Kidding aside, I do love how the interactions here. Just all around fun. Hope you guys liked Dragon!

Anyways, with that out of the way, I'd like to thank vyor once again. He keeps the idea from going off the rails! Also, he noticed how my pronouns just fly off the window the sleepier I get. I should get more sleep

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.Link in my Bio