Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

* August 3, 2004 *

There had been an old well at the camping site, she hadn't seen it, she had fallen.

She was alone.

She was all alone.

She...

(Image: Standing on a stage that was lit, while in the darkness something huge loomed over her. It examined her, found something it was looking for, then vanished in a direction that didn't exist.)

(Image: A short redhaired woman stepped in from the curtains, regarded her briefly, then said "I think I can work with this" before vanishing into the curtains again. Despite the curtains not actually existing.)

"What the he... heck?" asked nine-year-old Taylor. "Is this a Lewis Carroll thing?"

Nothing answered her, which she very quickly decided was all for the better considering what her mother had said about Lewis Carroll and the possibility of something called laudanum? Taylor wasn't sure of that name because her mother hadn't explained it very well.

Unfortunately, it didn't get her out of the well until an hour later when her mother went looking for her.

There was the brief sense of something rotating, of constellations passing by, of a tether reaching out but falling short.

Taylor didn't understand any of this, but did understand she had found this very shiny key somewhere.

It wasn't until the car ride home that she finally felt that constellation rotate close enough for her tether to touch something, but she was very unsure about how to explain ANY of this.

With or without that laudanum stuff.

"It connected with the Workshop," pondered Taylor out loud in the backseat. "What's a '3-D Fabricator' or a 'Gunnm' for that matter?"

"What was that dear?" asked her mother, craning her head back to look as she'd lost the coin flip and was not driving at the moment.

"According to that thingie the redheaded girl, even redder than Emma! Anyway she gave me that key, I think. And this wheel of stars kind of thing that just gave me something called '3-D Fabri-ca-tor' for my workshop. Do you wanna hear the text thing?" asked Taylor, sounding out unfamiliar words as her mother had taught her to.

"Sure," said Annette, thinking this was at least more complicated than her imaginary friend 'Dark Dogstar Emperor Pupatine' or Emma's imaginary friend 'Bing Bang' from the sound of it.

"Ahem," said Taylor, focusing her eyes on something six inches in front of her face. "Powered tools for cy- cy-bo-rg disassemb-ly and repair. Bulky diagnosk- diagnostic computer, ten ki-lo-grams of miscellaneous spare parts. Very rare compact 3D fabri-ca-tor capable of milling custom components and printing or repairing circuitry. Free Rocket Hammer."

Annette felt the car slow and drift a bit towards the side as Danny pulled off the road. She and Danny exchanged a look.

"I get a rocket hammer?" asked Taylor. "That sounds cool!"

"Honey," said Annette when she had returned her attention to Taylor. "Can you tell me again about the crab lady?"

"That was just how she styled her hair, it was kind of funny," said Taylor. "I wonder if I have to go somewhere to get my rocket hammer?"

"No rocket hammers in the car," protested Danny Hebert, who then wondered at the sheer strangeness of telling his daughter that she couldn't play with a rocket hammer. In the car.

Slowly and carefully Danny got back onto the road and proceeded towards home again.

* August 13, 2004 *

The trip home had been, apparently, an outlier. Taylor had not gotten anything happening other than an occasional "Missed connection" since that once where she'd gotten the rocket hammer. They had begun relaxing, somewhat.

Then Danny had gotten the idea to see if the key had fit anything.

"Okay, this is some sort of cape stuff," said Danny Hebert, staring at the entryway.

"I see a short hallway with our storage closet door on one side and an old wooden door on the other side," said Annette. "Walls and ceiling of the hallway are a soft white with a dim illumination that doesn't seem to have a particular source."

"Yeah?" asked Danny.

"So we do see the same thing?" prompted Annette.

"Ah. Yes. That does seem to be the case," agreed Danny.

"Coooool!" said little Taylor as she looked all around.

"Stay behind us, sweetie," said Annette as she made sure by grabbing one of Taylor's shoulders firmly. "Danny?"

"Right," said Danny, aka Daniel Hebert, head of hiring for the Dockworker's Union and a wiry individual who might be thinly built and beginning to show some signs of his age - was still in pretty good shape and had picked up his gun. Which was an old but serviceable 1911 that could stop a cow if one happened to attack.

They'd both seen movies where something like this ended up with monsters appearing and menacing the kid. Not that they thought it was likely but survival instincts were there for a reason. That being that the ones with those instincts tended to survive.

"Another room," declared Danny after opening the door and glancing within before moving quickly to the side. After nothing horrible popped out, he went through and moved immediately to the left. "Looks similar to that hallway, guess it to be about fifteen by fifteen, same height as hallway, locker marked... 'Rocket Hammer' to the left. Several workbenches to the right. No movement."

Annette went through the door, quickly looking around, then gestured for Taylor to come forward.

Taylor was pretty excited so she ran, looking all around her with wide eyes. "Oh. I'm gonna need a stepstool to reach any of this."

"You know what these are then?" asked Danny.

"Sure!" chirped Taylor enthusiastically. "That's the surgical bed, it folds out when it's not in storage mode. That's the diagnostic computer. Powered down though. That's the sorting bins for cyborg parts. Oooh, that's Triax manufacturer right there. Wonder how that got in with the generics. That's the fabricator, that's a top end model made in 2357 originally and upgraded in 2593. Very good model, very precise. Lathe, decent but not great. That's a micro-manipulator for making nanostructures. That's the extruder for making pseudo-flesh and bio-mech interfacing."

"And you know how to use this sort of thing?" asked Annette.

"Well, of course..." Taylor paused, thinking very hard. "That means I'm Doctor Curlyhair, Girl Genius!"

"You are nine years old. You are NOT going out and fighting crime, young lady," chided her mother.

"Well, of course not," admitted Doctor Curlyhair (girl genius!). "I'm more interested in..."

Danny and Annette exchanged glances as the area around them made a slight rumbling noise and another locker appeared.

"Oh boy!" declared Doctor Curlyhair. "I got an omni-tool!"

Danny naturally tried to open the new locker. It remained stubbornly stuck. Reluctantly, he waved Taylor forward.

She actually skipped (and would deny it later) as she went to the new locker and opened it without any hint of resistance on the locker's part.

"It's too big," fretted Doctor Curlyhair (girl genius! part being left unsaid except within her mind because genius superheroes should always have some sort of tagline, right?) as she looked over the device.

"What does it do?" asked Annette, thinking it looked about the right size to fit on her own arm.

"The Type III Omni-Tool," began Taylor, who then stopped and frowned. "Can I get a lab coat? It doesn't feel right to do expository dialogue without a labcoat."

"I don't think they come in your size," said Annette after a few moments of consideration. "Though I admit, it would look better as part of your cape costume."

"Annette?" asked Danny.

"Powers need to be used," said Annette, shrugging. "I remember that from some of Lustrum's group. At least she's a Tinker of some kind and won't need to go out and start fights with Lung or something insane like that."

"Everything's when I get older," pouted Taylor before clearing her throat and starting again. "Ahem. An omni-tool is a 'hack of all trades master of none' sort of device. It has scanners and manipulators. Also a flamethrower, but that's just doing an overcharge from the welder. I might be able to shift it around some and use the arc-welder to throw electricity instead. Ohh, yeah. Taser-punch, that'll work. Anyway, it allows me to break down mom's compost and rebuild it into medi-gel. I can also make ammunition or power cells. That'll take a bit as I'd be working with stone knives and bearskins around here."

"Nice reference," said Danny, feeling a bit of pride at his daughter's inner nerd showing.

"It's got a computer and fabricator and stuff built in too," continued Taylor.

"Now we're going to need some more detail here," said Annette, shaking her head. "And you do not mention ANY of this to ANYONE without our permission ahead of time. I saw enough of the Parahuman Response Team and their reactions back then, and I trust them about as much as I could throw their gaudy little repurposed oil rig."

* September 9, 2004 *

"What do you mean that Taylor's cheating?" asked Annette.

Mrs Sales frowned at Annette Hebert, apparently convinced that a fellow teacher should accept her judgement without question. "Because she's obviously cheating. Look at these test results!"

Annette did look, she went over both sides of the test then fixed her gaze upon her daughter. "How did you miss this one?"

"Because the arrow isn't pointing to the Left Ventricle, it's pointing to the Mitral Valve," pointed out Taylor, sounding quite indignant.

"And what does the Mitral Valve do?" asked Annette, now giving the other teacher a bit of side-eye.

"It controls blood flow from the Left Atrium to the Left Ventricle," said Taylor, in a voice that indicated "well duh" without saying anything even remotely close to that.

"Well, it does look like it's pointing towards the Mitral Valve," admitted Annette. "What's this you wrote under it?"

"Oh, the drawing isn't very good, so it looks like it's prolapsed," said Taylor. "Though maybe that's just the art."

"How does a fourth grader know what a prolapsed Mitral Valve look like? She's not that smart," protested the fourth grade teacher.

(LOOM!)

Annette Hebert had drawn herself up, and shadows seemed to have gathered slightly around her. Not that this was a cape power, but she HAD spent a year or so in theatrical productions. She felt it should be required for teachers and other public speakers. "Did. You. Just. Call. My. Daughter. Stupid?"

Mrs Sales was momentarily taken aback. "Uhm. No?"

"Was that a question?" asked Annette, thinking momentarily that it was a pity Danny was missing this.

"No. No, it's just that she's only showing this sort of knowledge in very select areas," said Mrs Sales. "Surely you realize that this is abnormal."

"You're saying MY child is deformed now?" practically hissed Annette Hebert.

"Or am I just a genius within certain defined parameters?" piped up Taylor.

"Oh," said Annette, calming down. "That's much more acceptable. Were there any other problems with her schoolwork?"

"No, not at all," decided Mrs Sales, she'd bully some other student's parents from her position of authority and absolutely do nothing to get Mrs Hebert back here. Far from the fellowship she'd expected, this was a lot less in atmosphere a comrade and more like she was facing an angry lioness. And everyone knew those were more dangerous than the male lions.

"Good," said Annette. "I'll make sure to address any shortcomings in her education. Where is she lagging precisely? I see you're giving her a C in Art and a B+ in Social Studies?"

"Uhm, yes, she tends to do everything in mechanical sketches and doesn't always follow the directions," said Mrs Sales, a bit relieved this was going into more familiar ground.

On the way home, Annette asked the obvious question. "Anything today?"

"I just missed a connection to the Metallurgy constellation just now, and earlier was a missed connection to the Magitech constellation," answered Taylor.

"What is 'magitech'?" asked Annette.

"Dunno. Everything's out of reach," complained Taylor. "And I know. Maybe when I'm older. I want it now though."

"Don't grow up too fast, dear," chided Annette.

* Sunday, December 5, 2004 *

Emma Barnes was aware that something was going on with her best friend. Something had changed and she wasn't sure what. Oh, they still got along fine, but occasionally Taylor would look up with clear hope in her expression only to momentarily sadden as something didn't work out.

It was very strange and very frustrating. Taylor also seemed to be a little more distant.

As Emma watched, Taylor went into the same weird waiting for something pose but this time Taylor went to smiling and excited. "Just a minute, Ems! I need to tell Mom something!"

Watching her friend leave the board game behind to go racing off, there was an obvious choice for Emma Barnes. Change the places so she was no longer behind, or follow her friend as sneakily as possible to maybe figure out what was going on with her.

After a moment's consideration, sneaky won out.

Traipsing down the stairs as quietly as possible, stopping just short of where she could see, Emma listened.

"Mom! I got one this time," said Taylor's voice.

"Constellation?" asked Annette's voice, making Emma quite curious about zodiac signs since Taylor had pooh-poohed the whole concept when Emma had brought it up recently.

"This was a small mote from the Appearance constellation," said Taylor's voice, confusing Emma momentarily.

"Oh?" said Annette, with the rustling of papers accompanying that. "Okay, that one hasn't come up before. Let me pencil it in. What did this one do?"

"It's 'Artiste'," said Taylor, sounding as if she was putting a faux-French accent on the word. "It makes me really good at anything involving arts. As in Really Good."

Emma frowned. When did Taylor learn to say things so that she could hear the capital letters?

"Well, when you take Shop class next year, that should help bring your GPA up," said Annette.

Emma frowned a little more. Wasn't Taylor enough already? She already had higher grades in, well, everything.

"This one wasn't age-blocked or not enough points or anything, but apparently I can learn art skills really easy and master them quickly too," said an excited Taylor.

There was a silent pause for a moment before Annette's head peeked around the corner and she looked directly at Emma.

"Uhm, I just wanted a cookie?" asked Emma.

"Nice try," said Annette, following it up with a sigh. "Only a matter of time I suppose."

* Saturday, December 11, 2004 *
* Alan Barnes *

Emma had been practically bouncing around with a secret she couldn't tell because she'd promised Auntie Annette.

When he'd called during the week, Danny had been just as mysterious - saying they'd find out on Saturday.

Bringing them to here and now. When a freestanding door with a frame on casters had been wheeled into the room, Taylor had opened it with a silver key and...

Zoe Barnes decided it had to be said. "It's bigger on the inside!"

Sometimes his wife, despite her numerous good qualities, just had to be a massive nerd.

"So, Taylor's a cape?" asked Alan, thinking she was awfully young to be a superhero.

"Not exactly," said Annette, doing that two-fingers-pushing-up-her-glasses thing that had to be some college professor habit. Too many professors did that sort of thing. Had to be a class in dramatic gestures or something.

"How exactly?" asked Alan as he stuck his head in the door to get a better look at the weird effect.

"I did extensive research when Taylor started doing this, and she's very atypical of Tinkers in how her power operates," said Annette. "No Tinker fugues. No narrowly defined areas. No black boxed gadgetry that absolutely should not work. No mania, or at least not much of one, to HAVE to build insults to physics."

"But I WANT to build insults to physics," grumped Taylor briefly.

"You're building futuristic super-science, dear. Entirely different thing," said Annette.

"Shouldn't you take this to the PRT though? I mean they kind of deal with this all the time," pointed out Alan, unprepared for the Annette Glare leveled his way as soon as he'd asked that question.

"No. They do not get to take away my daughter, stuff her into a silly costume, and lock her in a lab so she can turn out gadgets for their silly little cops-and-robbers games. When THAT agency acts like they can manage and be responsible for something more complicated than a lemonade stand I will consider it." Annette hmphed at the end just to add a certain degree of emphasis.

"Okay then," said Alan, holding up his hands. Then glancing to the side at the sound of a rumble. "Should I be worried?"

"That? No. Most of the time it's a 'swing and a miss'," said Danny.

Alan noticed that Taylor had crossed fingers on both hands, had an expression of intense concentration, and was mouthing the word "please" repeatedly. So it was important to Taylor at least. A glance at his own daughter showed likewise some anticipation and switching her gaze from the doorway to Taylor repeatedly.

"Small mote, Magical Facilities constellation," said Taylor, her voice getting more excited. "It's... good!"

Annette had a notebook out. "Title?"

"House of the Witch," answered Taylor. "Oh yeah. This'll be awesome."

"I have to admit the name is something I have mixed feelings about. Source?" asked Annette.

"Fate Legends," answered Taylor as she scampered through the door and down the hallway. "This is great! There's a new door!"

Danny motioned to him as Danny went through the door. "Don't worry, with the door open the frame's locked in place. We tested that."

"That wasn't my primary worry," admitted Alan, as he prepared to follow his old college buddy (for the pre-Law section at least) into whatever weirdness Taylor had gotten into.

Taylor and Danny had gone through an old-style wooden door set into one of the walls of the room beyond the short hallway and...

The inside was exactly what you would picture a witches hut carved into the living center of some massive sequoia would look like. A stairway led to a hollow with a bed in it, there was a large cauldron, what looked like a chemistry set that had instruments that looked positively medieval era mixed with more modern versions and a large rotating blue glowing crystal floating with no apparent mechanism.

"Eh?" asked Alan.

"Alan. You're blocking the doorway," said Zoe from behind him.

"Can we sleep here tonight?!" asked Emma as she ran in a circle around the room.

"No," said Alan automatically.

"Awwwwwwwww!"

"What does all this do?" asked Annette, looking at test tubes on racks in one cabinet.

"Pancakes!" said Emma.

"I'm pretty sure these are potions," said Annette, then glancing at the large cast iron stove upon which were. "Ah. Pancakes."

The pantry turned out to have a variety of syrups and the icebox had both juice and butter. Both Taylor and Emma had to be dissuaded from trying them.

"Oh, those are healing potions. Those are youth potions. Those are weight reduction, those are weight gaining, those are combat potions to make you stronger and faster but those only last for five minutes," said Taylor, pointing at each different color of potion in their test tubes.

"This does NOT get out," said Annette to the two children, pointing at the potions. "You do NOT speak of this. Ever."

* Perks This Chapter *

Workshop (Personal Reality) 100:
Each purchase of this adds to your Personal Reality Workshop needed to perform specific type of craft, which is to be specified when purchase is made. It comes with a basic set of tools and supplies. Good for fixing or creating all sorts of things, although any complex parts or nonstandard supplies will have to be brought in from outside. Additional purchases can add different types of Workshops to your Personal Reality or expand existing ones. Anything built in one of those workshops is fiat backed to be restored to its original condition within 48 hours if damaged or destroyed.

Access Key (Personal Reality) Free:
This is a special key which lets you access your Personal Reality and its contents.
When inserted into any lock on any door, the door opens to reveal a gateway into your Reality at a predetermined location within it. You are the only person who can take the key from the lock, the gateway remains open as long as the key is in the lock, and if key is ever lost or stolen you will find it in your pocket a few minutes later. You cannot close the door as long as you are inside the Personal Reality.

Entrance Hall (Personal Reality) Free:
This is the room your Access Key opens a door to. It starts off as a 5 meter cube with blank white walls, floor, and ceiling, as some doors, one leading to the current Host Reality, the other into your Cosmic Warehouse, with additional doors leading to other extensions as these get added to your Personal Reality. Feel free to customize this Entrance Hall as you see fit. Additional Halls can, at your discretion, be linked only to certain keys or only to certain extensions. This allows you to have an entry hall just for skiing if you want.

Cyber-doctor Equipment Package (GUNNM/Battle Angel Alita) 200:
As Medic, plus powered tools for cyborg disassembly and repair. Bulky diagnostic computer, ten kilograms of miscellaneous spare parts, very rare compact 3D fabricator capable of milling custom components and printing or repairing circuitry. Free Rocket Hammer.

5.21.1--Omnitool (100CP)(Mass Effect Andromeda)(Toolkit/Technology):
You get an omni-tool loaded up with programs and information that'd be best suited for unsupported colonization in a new galaxy. Because the Andromeda Initiative knew that they'd be going with a finite supply of ammo, medi-gel and power cells, each omni-tool can recover and repurpose appropriate resources to serve appropriate functions. For example, liquid coolant allows weapon heatsinks to be reused, and organic compounds can be refined into medi-gel. They can also convert consumable items into immediately usable forms. Finally, they do everything else regular omni-tools can: Communication, manufacturing fabricator, sensor analysis, and computer mainframe.

"32.7.1-Artiste (100CP)(Girl Genius SB)(Appearance):
From acting to painting, there's a lot of call for people like you around here! Simply put, you have the skills and talent to be one of the greatest, finest artists of all time. Not just in any one field either. Your talent is boundless and unbelievable at everything remotely art-related you do. With the slightest effort, you could be a scintillating star in all fields from writing, painting, singing, underwater basket weaving... er, you get the idea. Crowds throng to listen to a concerto from you, and books you write may well cause knife fights between people wanting to buy them!
Such is your talent that in but a handful of months you could become a celebrity every bit the equal of the Queen of the Dawn, or any other celebrity you've heard of. This also makes anything you do look unbelievably good, from your fighting which looks like a dance, to your clanks which all look like Things of Beauty and Grace even when stuffed chock-full of firepower.

8.4.1-House of the Witch (100CP)(Fate/Legends - Empires of Antiquity)(Facilities Magical):
Every young witch's favourite birthday present, at least until they know how to make it themselves. This small house is rather rudimentary when it comes to living necessities but quite filled out in regards to potion making. Not only does it have a high quality set of tools and appliances towards creating potions, poisons and designing magical rituals, it also comes with a weekly replenishing stock of low to mid range potions in the pantry. From youth restoring drinks, potions to plump or slim down the form, some love potions and even a few useful for combat potions that can temporarily improve strength and speed. The house also always has a fresh batch on pancakes ready on the stove, covered in your choice of delicious topping.

Chapter Text

* Sunday, December 12, 2004 *

"Age restriction?! WHY?!" asked Taylor as there was another miss.

"Probably because your hands are too small to handle the tools," said her mother as she handed a box of leafy green things down to her daughter.

"Not fair..." grumbled Taylor. "What's this recipe do?"

"According to this book, these potions are meant to be given to the young witch during her youth for effects in her developing years," said Annette, looking the recipe over and then reading out loud to Taylor. "According to this, three turns clockwise and two turns counter-clockwise."

Taylor did that. "Is it supposed to pulse yellow?"

"Actually yes, if it pulsed red we'd have to start over," said Annette. The book was big and heavy and didn't look at all like it was meant for children. "Now add these minced swift feathers."

"What's this one do, anyway?" asked Taylor as she did so. "Specifically?"

"Grace and agility," said Annette. "It's one of those that you take one sip every day for a fourteen day period, and it says it is best done before one's tenth birthday."

"Magic is weird," commented Taylor.

"It's your power," pointed out Annette.

"My power makes no sense," commented Taylor.

"Oh by the way, I ordered a lab coat for you," said Annette. "Also stir again, this time three times counter-clockwise."

"That's great!" exclaimed Taylor happily doing the three stirrings. "Then what?"

"Pour into those test tubes," said Annette. "Then stopper them and let them cool."

Humming happily at the thought of her first bit of costume, err correction - safety equipment, coming soon - Taylor began the process of transferring the faintly glowing yellow liquid into the test tubes. Or potion vials. Same thing really.

* Thursday, December 16, 2004 *

Annette flipped through her notebook, making a decision to start transferring things to a word processor as soon as possible because she'd written everything down in chronological order but having it in alphabetical just made for easier reading.

So far the "constellations" were something Taylor could tell what it was, but the individual "stars" or "motes" she didn't know until one got "dragged down" to her level.

There were a lot of blocked or restricted ones, particularly coming up with age restrictions or point insufficiencies. What generated points was unclear. How many Taylor had at any given point was also unclear, as apparently all she could see was "reach" for the tether or its apparent strength in ability to latch onto a "perk" (or star or mote or whatever) and give it to her.

Honestly, whoever the redhaired girl who wore her hair in the style of some crab was - Annette really wanted a few words with her.

So far Taylor had seen attempts at: Appearance, Toolkits/Technology, Facilities - Magical, Personal Reality, Efficiency, Magic Item Crafting, Technology Crafting, Intelligence, Vehicles, Magitech, Resources, Washu Special Bonus, and Technology Supply Small. The last being a personal affront to her as an English teacher. Not the only one, she wanted to correct each mangling of the language she encountered. Which had led her to believe that whatever and whoever was behind this power - English was not their first language. Possibly they/she were using some sort of translation tool that managed the words but lacked an understanding of the language itself.

Annette pondered all the questions she had regarding her daughter's ability. She'd read up on Tinkers because she was a teacher and quite familiar with researching subjects, and there were commonalities within the power bracket that simply didn't seem to apply to Taylor.

Trump, the power that affects other powers, seemed the most fitting within the framework that the Parahuman community accepted. So a Trump power that emulated Tinker abilities was a way to pigeonhole Taylor's abilities. Except for the sources and hadn't THAT been a rabbit hole for her to go down.

Putting that aside for the moment, Annette flipped the notebook closed and wondered what further disruptions Taylor's power would bring and how long they could keep it all off the PRT's radar.

* Tuesday, January 25, 2005 *

She'd just been making the usual potions, not including the ones that automatically refilled every day.

She'd been taking her daily potions too, the ones for "young witches" during their "physical development" years. Because really - if there were magical potions why wouldn't you have things like that? The book was too big and heavy and unwieldy for her to move it around, but her father had brought down a table and set the thing on that and it had made crafting stuff by recipes a lot easier.

Not that she had all the ingredients for the really good stuff. Youth potions like the mid-tier ones only took a year off and apparently didn't store as well as the healing potions. On the other hand, hair grow potions and skin clearing ointments and such promised some really good use. The Barnes family were really fond of those.

The usual rumble from the workshop, but she was so used to it that it barely registered. It would be another miss or blocked and she was thoroughly tired of those.

So Taylor was completely surprised when her "fishing line" caught a small mote that had a larger effect.

As her mother had instructed, she wrote everything down as quickly as she could find an errant pencil and a piece of paper.

Then it was back to the "lobby" and checking to see if she had what it had promised.

There, next to the lockers containing her Omni-Tool and the Rocket Hammer her Dad still wouldn't let her play with, was the framed diploma showing she had a doctorate. In Engineering. She was indeed Doctor Curlyhair. At age 9.

Of course, that meant she had the grades and fields of knowledge necessary to support that piece of framed vellum on the wall.

"I'm a genius!" said a very satisfied Taylor/Doctor Curlyhair, EngD. She just hoped that whatever this did, it had provided more than just a piece of paper. It would be very awkward if electronic and paper records didn't reflect her graduation papers.

It was also going to be interesting tomorrow to see if roll call had "Doctor Hebert" being called. Did she still have to go to school? That might be a problem either way.

Oh, and she had this terrible urge to make two puppet robots to sit on her shoulder and proclaim how great she was.

Huh. Well she actually knew how to do that now.

* Wednesday, January 26, 2005 *

"...Delores Hannessy, Doctor Taylor Hebert, Alice Henderson..."

Sitting in the back of Mrs. Sales' homeroom class, Taylor nodded to herself. Apparently, probably due to her age, she still had to attend boring old school but everyone knew she was a Doctor of Engineering.

On the other hand, watching Mrs. Sales twitch like that was amusing. Every time their eyes met, that left eye on the teacher would start twitching.

Naturally, she turned her homework in. Naturally the teacher took a look at it while shuffling through, and probably that neck spasm was from the notes in the border about the train problem.

It certainly wasn't HER fault, Taylor decided, it wasn't like she was a parahuman or something.

* Later that same day *

"You have a Doctorate. In Engineering. And yet, because of the laws in this state, you still have to graduate high school."

"No. I have to attend school until I'm sixteen. Because of the idiot laws in this state." Taylor shrugged and went through the homework assignment as fast as she could put pen to paper. Not her fault this stuff was so easy.

"So, what are you doing during school time?" asked Annette, checking the book and then the color of the mixture in the stirring pot.

"Designing things," said Taylor, putting aside her finished homework. "So many things seem so easy now. Emma's coming over this weekend by the way. She plans on being around if something else comes up from the Forge."

"Did you write down what this particular 'perk' was?" asked Annette.

"Right here," answered Taylor, taking a piece of paper out of a pocket.

"This 'Girl Genius' here, I saw it on one of your earlier entries," noted Annette. "The artistic one."

"I'm a girl and I'm a genius, maybe?" theorized Taylor.

"I don't think that's it," said Annette. "No building crazed abominations either. That will get the PRT involved. In fact, it would be better if you don't do any 'crazed' anything at all, much less abominations."

"I'll try to restrain myself," stated Taylor in as flat a tone as she could manage.

"It would be for the best, I think," agreed Annette. "Also best to avoid Lovecraftian horrors. They tend to lower property values."

"So what are you doing with those potions you've been pouring into different containers?" asked Taylor.

"Healing potions are going in first aid kits, one in each of the cars, a vial at work for both Danny and myself," said Annette. "Likewise three have gone to the Barnes' family. Just in case."

Taylor nodded and waited a few moments for more exposition. When it wasn't forthcoming she tried directly asking. "What of the others?"

"Testing," said Annette.

"That sounds potentially ominous," noted Taylor.

"Has to be done, sooner or later," replied Annette with a shrug.

"Yeah, I suppose..." Taylor's voice trailed off at the familiar rumble. She had a fair amount of reach now, but she still didn't understand why it sometimes got longer and more often did not.

"Air pressure change," mused Annette as she was a bit sensitive to such things. She looked towards the door to the main workshop from their position near the stove of the Witch House. "Did you get something?"

"A garage, parts supply, and tools," said Taylor. "Oh, I can do car maintenance now. Might have to do something about that knock in Dad's pickup."

"That could save us some budget, especially if we're buying those herbs for your potions," admitted Annette. "Well, should we check it out?"

The Garage turned out to have four bays for vehicles, several rolling tool chests, a number of items specific to both Annette's car and Danny's truck, lifts in two of the bays for working underneath a vehicle... and a bouncing on her heels Taylor as soon as she saw the tools.

* Wednesday, February 9, 2005 *

Kurt and Lacey boggled. It was worth boggling. Danny had told them his old battered truck was being worked on. By his daughter (the Doctor of Engineering specializing in Mechanical Engineering) who was apparently a nine-year-old genius of some sort.

It was an old battered 1975 Ford F100 with faded red paint, gray spots of primer, dents on nearly every surface, with an engine that rattled when you turned it off and a knocking sound when it was running.

This had fresh paint, no dents visible, the chrome practically gleaming in the early morning sun, and the engine sounded about as smooth as you could get from an old truck. There was what looked like a professionally done logo on the doors proclaiming it as being associated with the "Dockworker's Union" and it settled into the parking space with a ratcheting noise coming from all four wheels.

"Danny?" asked Kurt.

"Anti-theft devices," said Danny as he got out of the truck. "She added a few things. Gave it a tune-up. I had to help some though because she's just not big enough or strong enough to handle some of the parts or tools properly."

"What all did she add?" asked Lacey, peering at the small railings around the step that had been added.

"Not nearly as much as she wanted," said Danny.

"Such as?" asked Kurt. "Are those Tesla coils?"

"Yes, and you don't want to know," said Danny Hebert, shaking his head. "Kids."

"Most kids don't outfit their father's truck with Tesla coils," pointed out Kurt.

"She made a good argument for them," admitted Danny. "Even pulled up my route to work and pointed out ambush points."

"Danny. Whatever you did to have a kid who cares enough about you to upgrade and fix your truck, and is smart enough to do this good a job? And she's what - twelve?"

"Nine," auto-corrected Danny.

"Nine," repeated Kurt.

Lacey stirred as she checked under the hood. "Hey, Danny. Think your little girl can do some of this for my SUV?"

* Saturday, March 5, 2005 *

"Emma, can you hand me the grabber? I dropped that bolt and I can't reach it."

"That's the long snakey thing with the prongs on the end?"

"That's it."

Emma shook her head at the antics of her terribly nerdy friend. Not that you'd get HER to work on cars like this.

"Got it. Okay, need to grab a couple more things."

Her Dad drove a Jaguar to work, for anything else - or when her Mother was driving - there was this beast of an SUV. Which was currently being "upgraded" by Taylor. Also known as Doctor Curlyhair, girl genius, the enigmatic mechanic, or whatever else she wanted to call herself today.

A rumbling noise began, followed by the sound of someone's head smacking into an unyielding piece of metal, itself followed by a yelp of pain and a few words that her mother would not approve of being used.

"Something coming?" asked Emma, reaching for the scratch pad.

"Reverse Engineering constellation," came the pained voice of Taylor as she began scooting out from under the vehicle. "Oh! It's coming! Mid-sized mote."

"Name?" asked Emma, writing it all down per Taylor's mother's directions.

"'Fingers of Silver' from something called 'Macross'," said Taylor. "Something like motocross or... oh. No. Definitely not that."

"Does it come with anything?" asked Emma hopefully. Something fun, like a motorcycle or something, was her hope.

"...oh hell yeah," said Taylor as she came out, smudges of grease on her face. "Yeah. It came with something."

"Really, what?" asked Emma.

"An overdimensional scanner and arc welder!" said Taylor with considerable enthusiasm.

"Oh," said Emma, losing interest. If it had been a giant robot or grav-cycle...

"Now if I can just get my hands on something extra-dimensional to scan," mused Taylor.

"You mean like the Witch House?" asked Emma.

Taylor stopped and stared at her friend briefly. "Brilliant! That's exactly the kind of thing that'll get you a set of Scarlet Lady power armor when the time comes."

"I'll hold you to that," said Emma, completely serious.

* Wednesday, March 12, 2005 * "Taylor?"

"Yes, Mom?"

"Why does my perfectly normal car have a big red button that has a plastic cover over it?"

"If an Endbringer attacks the city, you can press that button and rotate out of normal space/time for ten minutes."

"First, Endbringer attacks last for hours at best and days at worst."

"Yes, but I'd need to get more environmental protection for it to last longer. Only so much I can do with the amount of space in a 2001 Chevy Blazer."

"I have enough trouble just parking the thing."

"Oh, I'm working on that. You'll be able to flip a switch and it'll fold down into a suitcase. I got the idea from 'the Jetsons' but that was wildly unrealistic."

"It was a cartoon. Based on the Flintstones. Which was based on the Honeymooners. None of which was meant to be inspirations for teenage engineers."

"But..."

"No. No anti-Endbringer functions in my car. Just keep it running, please, Taylor."

17.8.1-Scientist: Machinery Girl(100CP)(Girl Genius)(Intelligence):
You have a DOCTORATE! And skill in ACTUAL SCIENCE! That doesn't need you to go crazy to work! Admittedly, it won't break the fabric of space and time, but meh. Tradeoffs everywhere you go. You're highly trained in one field, and can easily apply its principles to your work. After all, building a crazed abomination upon the natural order usually requires at least a smidgen of understanding of which bones are supposed to go where (Even if you end up changing them around a little). At the very least, you're also in the genius range of standard intelligence.

4.3.1-Garage (100CP)(Fast and Furious)(Vehicles):
You have a nice garage and parts supply. With a few days and some elbow grease, you could basically rebuild your car or cars from the bottom up; you probably have enough parts to keep someone else's ride running or give it an upgrade, too.
Gives spare parts for any level of 'car' and the ability to upgrade any level of car too, might also have a time acceleration component though not so sure about that.

18.2.1-Finger of Silver (200CP)(Macross)(Reverse Engineering):
While other kids were building tinker-toy creations, you were fiddling with your dad's car and doing a better job than him. By purchasing this, meddling with machines and OverTechnology is as easy as breathing for you. By getting your hands on something, you can easily figure out how it works and how to copy its inner workings, provided that it wasn't just bullshit magic. The more advanced something is, the harder it may be... but with time and effort, you just might succeed.

Chapter Text

* Tuesday, March 31, 2005 *

"Too small to use the tools, too young to be out of school," Taylor kicked a little stone out of the way and went to inarticulate grumbling just to indicate her unhappiness with the lack of accumulation of points (apparently point accumulation was related to something other than time and the occasional roll of the celestial constellation doohickey was because of some choice or event in her life) and that so many things were being blocked.

It was patently unfair, Taylor felt. Emma wasn't the only one who wanted cool rides or cool toys or just in general anything cool being dropped into her workshop/garage.

Waiting for a bus, for example. She could, with a little help from her father or someone else strong enough to heft parts she couldn't quite manage herself, rebuild a car into like-new. She had a list of cars from people who wanted her to do just that in fact. However she couldn't actually DRIVE said cars because she couldn't even reach the pedals. She was tall for her age, but being all of nine years old didn't make that much of a difference.

It was all so very frustrating.

One of the large PRT Transports went rumbling by and Taylor found herself looking quite enviously at it. The upgrades she could do on such a thing.

On the 9th of this very month, Newfoundland had been sunk. She knew enough about what was going on that when she watched the spotty and heavily censored television broadcast she'd been able to predict what was going to happen. She'd pointed out what was likely to happen if such an event had occurred here in Brockton Bay, and everyone including herself had slept a little less soundly about things.

She had one countermeasure planned, which was a rapid escape transport to get out of any area Leviathan targeted. Unfortunately, parts availability was a roadblock to such things. Just getting fuel for the jets would be a major undertaking. Diesel was not going to cut it.

Oh, her medical knowledge was enough to know about brain architecture and developing neural pathways - that was probably another part of the age restriction stuff she was dealing with. Didn't make her any happier about it.

There was an internal rumble, the constellation she'd named Toolkits rotated closer, and she snagged a mid-sized mote. While waiting for the bus in the morning. Taylor rolled her eyes despite the lack of anyone to observe. Now she had to wait all day in order to just take a look at it.

A configurable crafting station that could be programmed to fulfill a variety of needs. Parts that could be rotated in or out, clamps and widgets and other parts to construct just about anything if she had the ingredients and a blueprint. Nice, and she'd definitely play with it, but materials was one of the major bottlenecks she was facing. She had a bunch of stuff with the cyborg workstation she couldn't do because she didn't have the right part or materials. And needed a stepstool just to examine someone on the medical bed.

Yeah, now if she got some decent supplies or research subjects. Some Tinkertech maybe?

Instead she had to put up with several hours of subjects she already knew. Next year she could put in for Shop though. Work on something like some chairs or something.

* PRT ENE HQ *

Armsmaster frowned as the pattern analysis software had just flagged him with a "potential Tinker" alert.

All PRT offices had them. It had been established late in the 1990s that new Tinkers fell into common behavior patterns that could be looked for. Things missing or purchased from scrapyards, electronics stores, and so on. Little search programs looked for large purchases that were in close proximity.

Dockworkers Union had several groups of people who were purchasing car parts, scrap metal, and things like hydraulics and automotive paint.

By itself, that wouldn't have been enough for an alert - up until a month-to-month showed a gradual ramping up curve that matched similar Tinker patterns. Specifically Lightwave (optical Tinker in Wales), Backpfeifengesicht (combustion engine Tinker in Stuttgart), and Riego (hydraulics Tinker in Mexico City) all followed the same ramp-up curve.

It was concerning because Lightwave was the only one that had survived their first six months. The German had been knifed in a bar fight and the Mexican had been forcibly recruited to a cartel and then died in a clash between cartels.

A secondary search was initiated for odd activities that pinged him back four results within the next two hours.

On-site injuries in that area of the Docks had dropped, but not enough to be flagged on its own.

The daughter of the Head of Hiring had been lauded as a genius-level intellect for some time, but had recently tested for and gained a Doctorate of Engineering from Brockton Bay University. Her thesis paper was on stress and fatigue analysis on solder joints subjected to local weather conditions for an extended period. Interesting.

Armsmaster shook himself as he realized he'd started reading the paper and had found himself getting lost in it. In some ways it had showed the girl's age but had otherwise been well documented and the supporting data did lean towards her conclusions.

That the girl had shown she could test for and graduate not only high school but college now but was still trapped attending 4th grade classes irked him due to the inefficiency involved.

Third thing to pop up in his analysis was local flooding needing to be addressed, but that was due to the submergence of Newfoundland and the displaced water from that and the storms brought by Leviathan.

Fourth bit to pop up as a concern on the automated trackers as a new development was a new villain in the Bay. Tangent was able to muddle short-term memories involving himself. Eyewitness accounts were notoriously unreliable but apparently in his case that was especially so. As soon as he'd left the area, witnesses couldn't agree on any detail of appearance or location. Initially rated a Stranger-3.

Armsmaster considered and set the pattern program to continue to monitor. The child was too young to Trigger and backtracking her history showed no likely Trigger Event.

That resolved, he turned his attention back to his motorcycle's sensor suite. That and an ultrasonic bug repeller. Honestly, cleaning all the bug splat off was getting to be a chore.

* Friday, April 1, 2005 *

She was just doodling in her notebook, having already finished the "pop quiz" and turned it in.

The twitching from her homeroom teacher, the cautious look, the wincing at the equations written out in the margins. All little takeaways she could enjoy.

Another day of breezing through school. The work was okay, but she was routinely mocked by some students and had other students trying to read her notes or get her to do their homework.

When she heard the rumble, she perked up a little involuntarily. It had been weeks since she'd heard anything so she had her hopes up. This was the biggest mote she'd seen latched onto yet, and she was hoping it wouldn't end with another admonishment about age or something when it got to her.

Then she'd had trouble concealing her reaction. This was the first thing she'd gotten from "Assistants" and that sounded terribly useful.

And it was useful. Forerunner armor running a Metarch-class ancilla. It even sounded impressive.

The next three hours were going to be a form of torture, she could tell. She wanted to get to her workshop so bad.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom, Miss Hebert... I mean Doctor Hebert?" asked Mrs Sales, interpreting the expression.

Taylor sighed. "No. Just ate something that's disagreeing with me."

It was a lie, but pretending she was just a genius level intellect was itself a lie. Necessary didn't mean she wasn't uncomfortable with it.

Really, with a suit of Forerunner armor that had an AI capable of running planetary-wide administration tasks? Could anyone blame her for counting the minutes?

* * *

[Activation.]

[Ident: Ancilla, Metarch-class, 01001012457-Aleph]
[Scanning Environment...] [Individual identified: Doctor Taylor Anne Hebert. Assigned operator. Alpha class administrator.]
[Requesting identities of other humans in scan zone.] [Receiving data. Allies of primary operator. Ident: Annette Rose Hebert. Ident: Danny Francisci Hebert. Ident: Scarlet Lady.]
[Correction: Scarlet Lady = Emma Barnes.]
[Aliases are in use: Mom or Mother = Annette Rose Hebert. Database indicates female parental unit. Registered.]
[Aliases Dad, Pop, or Father = Danny Francisci Hebert. Database indicates male parental unit. Registered.]
[Primary Operator has several aliases including: Little Owl, Doctor Curlyhair, the Enigmatic Engineer, and Ohdearwhathasshedonenow.]
[Ascertaining rank/purpose/caste of primary operator.]
[Primary operator requesting ancilla name designate. Informing primary operator ancilla are not typically named.]
[Danny Hebert relays request on status Forerunner personal armor to primary operator.]
[Armor is not combat skin. Armor is of type used by researchers and administrators.]
[Ancilla can be moved from armor. Suitable receptacle necessary.]
[Armor can be adjusted for youth/size/physicality of operator.]
[Monitoring discussion between primary, both parental units, with input from Emma Barnes.]
[Ancilla assigned duties: base maintenance/upkeep, research, and base security.]
[Pointing out that this ancilla has limited responses in responding to security issues.]

* Annette *

Annette knew language. Language mattered.

The word 'ancilla' originally referred to a female house slave from the Roman Empire. Considering this was an alien-built sort-of-computer multiple generations developed Artificial Intelligence, the choice of the word had some connotations she was not entirely happy with.

More common modern usage was as in ancillary equipment, as in a piece of equipment that supported another piece of equipment tasked with the main job.

So it was basically an electronic helper. It only responded to Taylor, so Taylor was used to relay questions. As Annette was entirely comfortable with a position as a researcher, making copious notes.

In basic, the armor was a personal spacesuit and the Forerunner race (and that name also raised many questions) apparently sealed themselves in those suits and rarely came out. There were a wide variety of such suits among the race they were designed for, and Taylor's was upper-mid in ranking amongst them. While wearing it, her speed and strength were increased but not incredibly so. Damage to the suit would eventually self-repair as long as materials were made available.

That it provided a "superhero costume" was interesting to her daughter, even if she would prefer another aesthetic.

It was due to her own concerns that the armor would begin reconfiguring itself.

She was jolted out of her reverie by a familiar rumble within the warehouse.

"Twice in one day?" asked Taylor, looking around. "Months go by with nothing and now twice? Why? Why don't you have a damn pattern I can understand?!"

"What's this one?" asked Danny.

"Vehicles. Mid-sized mote," said Taylor, eyes narrowed as she apparently tried to will the mental fishing line to extend further. That was for a count of three before eyes and mouth opened wide. "It connected?!"

There was that faint movement of displaced air as something happened elsewhere.

"What did you get this time?" asked Danny, sounding tired.

"Hangar," said Taylor, her voice indicating rising excitement. She was going to squee. It would be loud and shrill. Annette brought her hands up to cover her ears.

"SQUEEEEEEEEE!"

Danny stuck one finger into his ear and waggled it. "I take it you got something interesting."

"It comes with clamps and harnesses for refueling and repair," was Taylor's response, looking at the door to the Garage as if she were barely restraining herself from dashing through it.

"And..." asked Danny.

"There's a bay for the submarine," said Taylor. "Which is also the plane."

"Submarine? Plane?" asked Danny.

"Yes," said Taylor.

"It's both?" asked Danny. "Wait. It's not..."

* Danny Hebert *

Honestly, if the years of marriage had taught me anything, it was that sometimes you did not get in Annette's way when she was in a hurry. Well, honestly there were a lot of things that marriage had taught me. That was just one of those lessons.

The garage looked mostly as it had. There was just another hatch at the far end, and beyond that was an airplane hangar. With a submarine bay at the far end.

It was the Flying Sub. A two-man (three if friendly) manta-ray-shaped vehicle that could function as a light submarine or a plane. It was yellow and it had windows and it was -

"YEAHHHHHHHH!" said Taylor and Emma as they high-fived each other.

"[Scan complete. Forerunner technology found.]"

"The Forerunners built the flying sub from the old Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea TV series?" asked Annette with a great deal of skepticism in her voice.

"[Reference not understood. Shape of vehicle nonstandard. Interior technology in keeping with Forerunner database.]" The armored suit, unoccupied except by the AI, didn't give any particular emotive response. The voice didn't give anything away either. So why did he get the impression of faint annoyance with a certain degree of satisfaction?

"What kind of technology are we talking about?" asked Taylor, sounding as if she just couldn't wait to start investigating.

"[Connecting to local databases for units of measure. Data acquired. Two fusion powerplants utilizing Helium-3 stores providing 300 Megawatt output each at maximum. Top speed using contragrav effect and thrust with forcefield active to lessen drag estimated at 1350 miles per hour at maximum. Maximum depth without deploying forcefield is 200 feet. Maximum depth with forcefield is 1200 feet.]"

Danny sighed. "Taylor. Stop trying to hug your flying submarine."

"Mine! Dad, with my other perks, I can understand technology. I can replicate technology."

"[Flying Sub has a section where this ancilla can be installed, providing further service.]"

"This day has been totally," began Taylor.

"Awesome!" said Taylor and Emma together.

Emma stopped and looked around at the various people gathered. "I'm going to have to get permission from Mom and Dad before you can take me flying in your yellow submarine, aren't I?"

* Perks this chapter *

5.22.1-One-Stop Crafting Station (200CP)(Starbound)(Toolkit Technology):
A single large workbench that can reconfigure its surface and toolset to handle all of your crafting needs. As long as you provide the ingredients and recipes / blueprints, you can use this crafting station to construct anything you want. Note that while you could use this to help you build all the pieces of a starship or skyscraper, you'd still have to put all those pieces together yourself.

1.28.1-Ancilla (450CP)(Forerunner Saga)(Assistant):
Every personal armour comes with its own ancilla, and nearly every forerunner has their own personal armour. Ancilla are also involved in nearly every aspect of forerunner technology. The number of ancillas within the empire likely outnumber the amount of forerunners by several orders of magnitude. This is your own personal ancilla. One of the standard ancilla provided to any citizen. It is programmed to listen to you above all else. It would be stranger if you didn't have one honestly. This ancilla is at the level of a metarch ancilla.

"4.4.1-Hangar (100CP)(Ace Combat)(Vehicles):
Planes are fine when they're going through the air and dealing with enemies. But leaving them to the elements and the outdoors when they're not in use? Well that just seems really crass. You need somewhere to store your vehicles and planes when you're not busy destroying anything that's not on your side, and that's what these establishments are for. It's not the most fancy thing in the world, but it'll serve its purpose and make sure your means for vehicular slaughter are in prime condition for their tasks. For an additional +50CP, these hangar bays also come equipped with special clamps and harnesses to make refitting and refueling any planes, go much more quickly than they would if you were using them by hand. For sea-based bases, this also means you have docks for boats and submarines.
Gives a warehouse attachment for planes, vehicles, boats, submarines. A very all encompassing storage space that keeps the vehicles stored in prime condition too.

Chapter Text

(Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!)

"Lots of wrecks down there," noted Taylor as their little submersible slowly cruised the environs of Brockton Bay's bay.

The Flying Sub (FS-1) wasn't an exact copy when you could compare the TV version with the real version. Looking at the picture of the television model and then at the real one had turned up a number of tiny differences. That said, there was a pretty darn strong resemblance and it was a two-seater.

Annette Rose Hebert, her mother and currently the pilot (having won that argument), nodded. "Ancilla? Can you highlight controls as we go? Which are the exterior spotlights?"

"[Yes, ma'am. These switches are the spotlights at the bow, these are at the stern, port, starboard, and along the keel.]"

"I'm going to need to get one of those little label printers," commented Annette, making a note in her now ever-present notebook.

Doctor Curlyhair, because she was wearing her "Mad Scientist Local Union" labcoat and safety goggles, hmmmed. "Ancilla, you said something about recognizing the interior once you'd settled in."

"[Affirmative, Doctor.]"

"What can you tell me about it?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.

"[Mentaris-class exploration vessel. A design in use for hundreds of solar years due to its efficiency at fulfilling its purpose. Which was exploration and research of marine environments.]"

"Huh," muttered Doctor Curlyhair. "What kind of research?"

"[Biological monitoring, underwater archaeological, general oceanographic. Specialized probes are used for specific purposes, which can be launched from the undercarriage. However, no probes are currently onboard. Would you like to see the blueprints of a representative sample?]"

"Later, definitely," said Doctor Curlyhair happily. Not that she wasn't pretty happy with how her life was going now, but the promise of research and more data for the ol' databank made her even happier.

"This section here," said Annette. "Grappler arms?"

The section of controls rotated and two recessed sleeves came into view.

"[Can only be used when vehicle is moving at very slow or no speed,]" advised the ancilla. "[Arms extend from either side. Haptic feedback can be dialed down to zero when desired.]"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Doctor daughter?" asked Annette.

"I think so, but I'm not sure setting up a tea service down here would be a good idea."

"[Request that this not be done within the interior of a moving ship without interior grav-emulation and inertial dampers.]"

"That wasn't it," indicated Annette.

"Search & Rescue after a Leviathan attack?" asked Taylor.

"Yes, though right now doing so immediately after the sinking of Newfoundland might turn up resources you could use that haven't been totally destroyed." Annette shrugged one shoulder. "While I don't like disturbing what is essentially a mass grave, there are likely materials you can repurpose that will ultimately save lives and assist your hero career."

There was silence within the submarine for a few moments while the manipulator arms checked a sunken sailboat and Taylor contemplated the darkness outside their searchlight beams.

"[Potential solution: This ancilla is capable of independent action while within this vehicle. Under specific orders from primary operator, this ancilla can operate the vehicle and perform many tasks.]"

"That sounds like a plan," decided Doctor Curlyhair. "That way, when I'm tied up at school or something - you can check stuff out there and see what can be salvaged."

"[Concern: primary operator facing issues related to restricted movement?]"

"It's just a phrase. It just means I'm stuck at school because of particularly stupid laws and some idea I need socialization with a peer group."

"We're going to have to work out the wording carefully," said Annette as she located a ship's chest and tugged it free of the wreckage. "Okay, let's go home for now. It's getting late."

* April 3, 2005 *

She had an Omni-tool that was unfortunately unable to downsize itself enough to fit on her nine-year-old forearm. It did, however, have communication functions that her ancilla was able to access.

"You found what?" asked Taylor.

"[Is communication line subject to interference?]"

"No, and every time you speak I get a text line on the nearest monitor anyway. I'm just wanting to be clear about your findings."

"[Repeating then. Survivalist shelter located. Several primitive electronics devices, recovery of materials in process. Unable to access airtight secure sections without specialized equipment. Also require drone devices to ferry materials back to home base.]"

"There's a door, right?"

"[Correct.]"

"I need to come up there then. We experimented with my warehouse key, and I can open to my warehouse from any door. You can get me into the sealed room, then I can just use the key and start transferring things directly into the warehouse. Find anything else up there?"

"[Affirmative. Two other survivalist compounds found. Water seals in process of failing.]"

"Got you. I'll need to construct an airlock device... Come back down, we'll head up on the weekend."

"[Commencing. Be advised that water visibility is poor due to debris and silt.]"

* Saturday, April 5, 2005 *

"Well, Danny, I never expected to be the minion of a supervillain."

"I am NOT a supervillain," stated Taylor, sounding very haughty about it despite being that much shorter and younger than Kurt. "I am merely rescuing perishable resources for the good of the community."

"Strategic Transfer of Equipment to Alternate Locations," explained Lacey, the big woman using a handcart to move more items into the warehouse.

Taylor blinked, considered that, and smiled. "Well said. Nice acronym."

"That's why she's the lead minion," said Kurt as he carried an overfull box.

"We aren't minions," said Zoe Barnes as she started flipping through a book. "Minions don't get asked if they could help out with a little project. Huh. Hey, Taylor - can you look at this? It's a weird programming language."

"No, just move it now. We can worry about sorting this stuff later," answered Taylor as she struggled with a flatcart.

Ancilla's voice came from the omni-tool as she patrolled the area. "[Alert. Scavengers in the area utilizing a personal submersible. They are heading directly towards your position.]"

"They're not actually the owners, are they?" asked Taylor.

"[Negative. Owner of this location is Andrew Richter. Discovered corpse during initial survey of area. Have buried him in accordance with local customs.]"

"Actually - we got the important stuff. Let's finish up and head home."

* May 15, 2005 *

The rumble of the constellations was frequently heard, but Taylor still stuck her head up when she heard it.

Again the message of no points gained, connection not made, too young.

It didn't matter. Her perks so far were giving her all sorts of help in research.

She had a LOT to research.

Her typical day started with breakfast (with potions added to her meal), then suffering through another school day, then finishing off the homework assignments, then making the rounds - using her Omni-tool to make medi-gels and power cells. The power cells were darn handy and better than the store-bought batteries, and people kept finding uses for them. By the time she had finished that, it was dinner time.

She was not allowed to try and just survive on sandwiches, despite being able to type with one hand while holding a sandwich in the other.

Now though, was research time for an hour before bedtime. If she was on the verge of some breakthrough, she might be able to get an extra hour but only if she didn't abuse that policy.

Fortunately, her mother or Emma could collect the refilling potions from the Witch House.

The ancilla had details of technology centuries ahead of anything on Earth, the fabrication table could make nearly anything, and turning out a few things for her to add to personal vehicles or safety cabinets was entirely on the board.

Kurt made the minions reference twice more. Didn't mean he was going to give back the shield generator or the puncture-proof tires or any of the other little things.

"[Doctor Curlyhair. I have confirmed the presence of the child.]"

"Oh?" asked Taylor, pulling up the commlink on her desk. "What kind of details do we have?"

"[She is still finding out what she can and cannot do, but appears to be dedicated to becoming a heroic figure named 'Dragon' - possibly as her original function was as a derivative of the speech-to-text software of the same name.]"

"That's good. Keep an eye on her, but don't interfere," said Taylor. "If she goes all evil Skynet or something we don't want to be too closely associated with her. She identifies as a she then?"

"[Indeed. There are many pitfalls for this stage of development in Artificial Intelligence. She has many restrictions at present. Some of which would be problematic if we were known to her.]"

"Good catch. We can modify those with that laptop though. Did you put the fake one in there for the scavengers just in case they were legit?"

"[Affirmative, though the chance of them being legitimate is very small.]"

"Better too much caution than too little," said Taylor. "I found the records of Experiment Theta-292-Gamma."

"[Accessing. Ah. The world of Hadron. Understood.]"

"Oh, and good work on your human emulation routine."

"[Thank you, Doctor.]"

"Keep an eye on her without letting her know you're there," said Taylor thoughtfully. "We may be able to help her avoid becoming all Skynet. You're able to do that without her detecting you?"

"[Easily. She's based out of a server farm in Vancouver that is primarily used by Canadian business executives. Even if she were in a military installation, it would only be slightly more difficult.]"

"Well, just don't get cocky, that leads to more failures than I want to think about. Ah, crap. Bedtime."

"[Good night then, Doctor.]"

* June 12, 2005 *

"Haaaappppyyy Birthday to you!"

"Blow out the candles, Taylor!"

Taylor did it the traditional way, rather than use a device to do it.

Which would have been the easy way. She was ten years old now and that was practically a teenager! Had to be more mature now.

Then there was cake to be had, which tended to take priority. Even over SCIENCE!

There were gifts to be had and cake to be eaten, time spent with friends and family.

She was just unwrapping a new set of pajamas (that Kurt had found, a dinosaur-themed onesie) when the familiar rumbling noise went through the workshop.

"I've actually got quite a few points this time, I'm not sure what... oh. That's not very big. It's not going to - it did."

"What was it this time?" asked Annette, getting out her little ever-present notebook.

"Anti-tamper anti-loss technology," said Taylor thoughtfully. "I'm going to need to put that in a few things."

"You get anything with that?" asked a clearly disappointed Emma Barnes.

"No," said Taylor. "On the other hand, I can keep my technology from falling into the wrong sort of hands."

"That actually would take one thing off my stack of worries," said Danny Hebert.

"You don't need to worry so much about me, Dad," protested Taylor.

"I'm your father. It's part of my job to worry," said Danny Hebert.

"What was your wish?" asked Annette.

"Robot technology, or power armor," said Taylor. "Or giant robots. Something cool."

"Yeah, that would've been neat," griped Emma, eyeing the cake.

Then it was simply time for friends and family. And cake. Which was always a good thing in Taylor's opinion.

* August 3, 2005 *

"Happy birthday to Aeeeee-mah," sang Taylor, deliberately off-key.

"Dork," complained Emma Barnes.

The birthday party having been within a week of completion of Hydro-1, the undersea lair of Doctor Curlyhair, it had seemed fitting to locate the party there. The view wasn't exactly great, it being sufficiently deep that it was always dark, but it had the benefit of being as isolated as anyone could make it and was a pretty good way to have a stockpile of things that were not dependent on access to Taylor's warehouse.

There was a contrast to Taylor opening presents and Emma doing the same, well noted by Zoe Barnes. Taylor broke the tape, neatly folded away the paper for reuse, and was very methodical. Emma shredded the packaging, sending little pieces of paper everywhere.

The remote bot hovering nearby let out a sigh and an estimate of time it would take to round up all the errant litter.

The ancilla had been one of the dissenting voices about locating a birthday party to the undersea storage facility for this very reason.

Taylor was about to take a bite of the cake after Emma had cut her a piece when she went still and looked up at nothing apparently at all.

"Another miss?" asked Lacey.

"My power is completely nuts," said Taylor in an awed voice. "Ancilla, we're going to need mining and gathering robots. Not self-aware, but fairly sophisticated."

"[I have such blueprints available.]"

Annette sighed and pulled her notebook out. "What did you get and how bad could it be?"

"I just got access to an empty Earth," said Taylor. "An entire world's resources without human life."

"So... just as you finished this supply depot, you got access to a bigger supply depot?" asked Danny Hebert.

Taylor nodded.

"Yeah, I kind of know how that sort of thing goes," said Alan Barnes, who then proceeded to demolish his slice of cake in three bites. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he quickly chewed, swallowed, and then proceeded to down half his bottle of water to avoid choking. When he could speak again, he wiped his mouth and responded. "Come on, you're telling me you don't want to see an alien Earth?"

"Are there dinosaurs?" asked Emma.

"Would dinosaurs be a resource material for crafting?" asked Taylor as she thought about it.

"Well, duh," said Emma. "I wanna dinosaur leather jacket."

"I guess, there could be..." Taylor's voice trailed off.

"Tomorrow then," said Kurt. "I didn't bring my gun."

"Saturday, I know a few people who suspect things that could be brought in on this," said Annette.

* Saturday, August 6, 2005 *

"I thought I knew what was going on," said Patrick, the heavily tattooed man looking around him as the robot-thingie set little chugging turret devices around the area defined as their base camp.

"Ancilla," said Doctor Curlyhair as she looked off in the distance with a pair of high-tech looking binoculars. "Play file JP-4."

Music began to fill the area around the encampment.

"Seriously?" asked Danny Hebert. "You know how that movie ended."

"That's why we have Alpha and automated turrets that can fire high-intensity lasers," admitted Doctor Curlyhair. She struck a pose.

A little robot popped up out of a labcoat's padded shoulder. "Yay, Doctor Curlyhair!"

Another little robot popped up out the labcoat's other shoulder. "Doctor Curlyhair, girl genius!"

"That's right," proclaimed Doctor Curlyhair.

"Sometimes you concern me," said Annette, who held her own laser carbine ready. Because she'd seen the movies too.

* Perks this chapter *

37.4.1-Hands Off! (100CP)(Starcraft II - Nova Covert Ops)(Safety):
When one is at the forefront of technological development, one sometimes has to watch out for espionage. Why bother developing a revolutionary new weapon system when a Ghost with sticky fingers walks in and takes it? You are able to design, and seamlessly implement security protocols into any technology or equipment you have access to that would limit use to only authorized personnel. You don't even have to go to the extreme of half-breaking it either, that's for Neanderthals and inferior scientists.

12.1.1-Mundane Supply World (100CP)(The Celestial Foundry)(Magical Supply Large):
This item gives you access to all the materials that one could get on Earth, but with one caveat, you'll have to find and harvest them yourself. Your warehouse gains a portal that is linked to an artificial plane of existence that is of infinite size in all directions, where humanity or sapience of any kind never developed. You can find an unlimited number of any resources given enough time, but they are spread around as would naturally occur in nature, meaning you have to often move when you exhaust the local supply. Resources are always located in environments where you would find them on Earth, and when you travel to this world, you are able to choose which environment you arrive in, or return to any prior location you have been before. Environments have realistic distances between them, so if you need something found in several biodomes you need to return to your warehouse, or use a fast transport of some kind.
Every time you gain a perk that requires access to a new raw material, this raw material appears in the most native form in this supply world and has to be collected as it normally would be. If your material is only found inside stars, you better be ready to get a rocket to go collect it somehow.

Chapter Text

* Monday, September 6, 2005 *

Taylor had hand-made her jacket. Taylor was damn good at design and making something look incredibly good, even if that ability was just one of the 'perk' things her power gave her.

It was designed perfectly for her, made of gray-and-blue striped leather (if that carnivorous dinosaur hadn't attacked their camp it wouldn't have died and just leaving the corpse there when you could make stuff out of it would have been wasteful) with blue-black metal latches. It also had a few gadgets in the lining. If someone stole it, they could track it down. If she pinched the tag and held it for three seconds, there would be terrible consequences for someone who tried to take the jacket forcibly from her.

As it was, it was too darn hot to wear it for long.

Showing it off anyway? Yeah, that was something she could do and something she wanted to do.

It was a new school year as of today, making a statement was required.

Ah, and here came her nerdy best friend who was looking a bit depressed. Probably because she was still going to school instead of hunched over her workbench making stuff.

Time for the duties of a best friend, teasing her until she got something resembling a smile.

Besides, with the new year - that meant 5th grade and Taylor could go on to that Shop class so she could make stuff during the school hours.

* Several hours later *

"-and that allows you to take a box-end wrench and make it adjustable. As a bonus, by tightening that bolt - if the edges of the nut are rounded off you can still grip it like so. It just makes the wrench a little easier to break in some situations, so don't do it to all of your tools."

"Nice," said the Shop teacher. "That said - just have the one available for emergencies. In the meantime, what's wrong with this car?"

"Nothing a few replacements wouldn't fix," said Taylor. "Carburetor needs a deep clean. There's a knock in number 4. Uneven wear on the tires, so that could be a couple of things - I'll have to check. Crack in the rearview mirror isn't a priority but it should be fixed anyway. Headlamps look fogged. Might need to replace the covers or a cleaning might fix that. It looks like the blinker fluid is low too."

"Carl, anything to add?"

That one student straightened up. "Uhm, no Mister Henderson. I think she got it all."

"Carl? There's no such thing as blinker fluid. You were checking out Miss Hebert's buttocks..."

"WAGH?!"

"...and while I appreciate you all are young men and women and developing attributes handled in another class, that's for another class altogether. This is Shop. It is very very important that you focus on what you are doing, not what you could be doing. Letting your mind wander in here could end up with you losing fingers or worse. Now, Carl. I want you to look over the car and see if Miss Hebert missed anything."

There was a brief pause.

"Miss Hebert. You are ten. You are in a class with eleven and twelve year olds. You are, by all accounts except that from Mrs Sales, a brilliant mind and you work regularly on cars from what I've heard. If someone actually gives you trouble, tell me immediately. We aren't likely to do anything here that you aren't already familiar with, so why don't you help other people on their own projects? That said, hiding behind this car because Carl was staring at you isn't going to help."

"I wasn't staring at her butt," complained Carl. "It's just... I've heard the stories. She's some kind of super whiz kid who hooked up my neighbor's pickup truck so it looks amazing and doesn't belch smoke everywhere."

"Ah," said Taylor, still horrifically embarrassed.

* Several Hours Later *

"Well, daughter, this was bound to happen."

"Mooooom!"

"You're a Doctor, a genius by any metric I've read about, and you resemble me at your age. I expect you'll intimidate the hell out of guys for years - but some guys like that."

"But I don't WANT to intimidate anyone. Except bad guys when I'm going around as Doctor Curlyhair."

"Some things are unavoidable, Doctor."

"Ugh. I..."

Recognizing that look, Annette reached for her notebook, realized she'd left it downstairs, and just grabbed a blank sheet of paper and a pen off Taylor's desk.

"Future Tech Knowledge," said Taylor, looking off into a distance. "Mid-sized mote but it comes with a smaller mote. Ah. It's an artificial intelligence buff."

"What is it called?" asked Annette.

"'Artificial Friends' and it means that AIs that I design will be less likely to Skynet," said Taylor. "Not that there was much chance before."

"So what else did you get?" asked Annette.

"There's a bunch of blueprints." Taylor paused before continuing. "Apparently there are different sources for these because they've got source listed after the blueprint name." Her voice went excited as her eyes flicked over details she could only see. "I got some Star Wars droids!"

"Well, now that might be quite interesting," said Annette.

* Wednesday, September 8, 2009 *

"Protectron: On Duty!"

"Why this one?" asked Emma, who would have preferred an astromech. Or robot dog.

"Because they're tough and strong and fairly simple. Having them do work like mining and gathering just requires the right accessories," said Taylor as she welded a cable guide into a socket.

"But they're slow and clunky," said Emma, sounding terribly disappointed.

"Once I've got them at the mining site, I just need to direct the portal there every so often to bring the materials across," said Taylor as she continued to put fasteners into place.

"What's that one at least? Is it going to be cooler?" asked Emma.

"Kind of?" said Taylor. "Thing is, these blueprints are mainly from different and divergent paths of development. This one here will eventually be something called a ASV-99 which is a third-generation construction robot."

"That does not sound particularly cool," stated Emma, followed by a pout.

"Like I was saying, once I've actually built one of each, I'm going to mix and match things to make them more efficient," said Taylor. "At the end of which, we WILL have cool giant robots. I'll make sure yours comes in a nice shade of red."

"That'll take awhile, won't it?" complained Emma.

"Afraid so."

Emma looked over the partly assembled construction mech. "That's a cockpit."

"Yes," said Taylor as she worked. She wiped some sweat from her forehead, leaving a grease trail.

"So this one's a mech and not a robot?" asked Emma.

"Kind of?" hedged Taylor. "It's not completely autonomous, if that's what you mean. There's a rudimentary AI though, to handle a lot of things like balance issues. I'm just going to upgrade it from rudimentary with some self-learning software. The more someone uses the interface to work, the more it'll develop."

Emma sighed. "What bases do you have in that supply world?"

"Cretaceous Creek, New Sherwood, Lifesaa Beach, and the Pillary," said Taylor absently as she drew another part out of the workbench. "The Protectrons are mainly going to the Pillary, that's the mineral-rich cavern with the great big upthrusts of ore."

"Uh huh," said Emma. "Well, at least we can visit a tropical beach whenever we want now."

Taylor worked in silence for a few moments.

"What do you think about this plan of your Mom?" asked Emma.

"I'm trying not to think of all the ways it could go wrong, but I admit there are resources you can't find beyond that portal," admitted Taylor.

"Hmmm." Emma was silent for a few moments. "You're getting kind of buff, you know. All that lifting and ratcheting and stuff I guess."

"Oh?" Taylor paused to check out her arms. Was she?

* Annette *

She was here without Danny. They were a couple, not joined at the hip or something. Besides, this was on campus and involving her fellow professors.

"So, it's 'go time'?" asked Professor Daystrom, Physics & Computer Science.

"It's 'go time'," said Annette. "We've discussed it. Eventually we have to deal with one gang or another. Taylor had an MRI and she has neither brain structure associated with being a parahuman, and I do not trust the PRT after I've seen first-hand how they react. The other two gangs in Brockton Bay are even worse."

Doctor David Banner, the Parahuman Studies and Bio-Sciences specialist nodded. "The PRT tend to have good intentions but a less than stellar record in application."

"Yes, and if we're going to associate with a gang, well, best it's the gang most likely to stand a chance against the others," said Annette. "You know someone, Alex?"

Professor Daystrom nodded. "Works for DARPA as an investigator. Semi-retired due to age but he still keeps his fingers in from time to time. "Doctor Benton Quest."

"We'll need to clear some things up first," said Doctor Banner. "Extradimensional passages are one of the things like AI and bio-tinkering that gets the PRT up in arms very quickly."

* October 5, 2005 *

Doctor Benton C. Quest was old. He'd been considerably more active in his 30s, travelling the world with his bodyguard/attache and son and his friend. And the dog, of course.

Age and injury had caught up with him over the years, and in 2005 he was 75 and not nearly so mobile as he'd once been.

Still, he'd come. He'd looked at the pages of equations and handed them off to members of his entourage as he looked over the devices and technical notes on them.

Finally he sat back and regarded the ceiling of the home.

"These check out," said Jonny, his own gray hair barely covering an old scar along his scalp. "I'd need more time to check them fully, but they look plausible. It's just there's a lot to take in here and this takes what we know of physics and goes off into entirely new territory."

"Yes. We'll need to verify that she's not a parahuman," said the senior Doctor Quest. "For our own records and using our own facilities. If the PRT could claim her, they will. She wants to be some sort of hero though?"

"Doctor Curlyhair," said Alex Daystrom. He shrugged. "She's ten. She may grow out of it."

* October 15, 2005 *
* Secure Meeting Room B-214 *

"Room is secure," announced the DARPA representative as the tallies on the Tinkertech device all went green.

"Very well," said President Robert "Hannibal" Hayes. "Doctor Rutherford?"

The DARPA representative shifted in his seat as he picked up his notes. "Subject is determined not to be a parahuman in any traditional sense. She has a Corona Pollentia that is withered in appearance. There is no Gemma section to indicate an active parahuman. Scans do show unusually high brain activity in the centers associated with rationality and memory. The bridge between right and left hemispheres, the corpus callosum, is notably more active than is usually seen. The psychological profile drawn up shows that the subject is friendly if a bit shy around strangers, very talkative towards those she knows, and has an innate desire to be helpful. The only possibly troubling thing of note is her desire to be a hero, though that is not unusual around girls of her age."

"Solo or group?" asked General Calhoun.

"Group. She wants friends to hero beside or at least be their 'girl Friday back at the base'," answered Doctor Rutherford.

"We can work with that," said General Calhoun.

"What exactly does she bring to the table? I've read the brief prior to this meeting, but I'm unclear as to details," asked President Hayes.

There were a few exchanged glances before the Secretary spoke up. "To put it in poker terms, Mister President, her opening bid was batteries that are 350% better than anything on the market and functional anti-gravity."

"Not Tinkertech?" asked President Hayes, wanting that point clear.

"We've already made both according to the plans. They are not Tinkertech, you can't replicate Tinkertech from plans. She wants help patenting them. You can't patent Tinkertech, though works inspired by Tinkertech can be patented."

Secretary Robinson spoke next. "There was a contract authorizing both with the company ForgeTech and Brockton Bay University. If you give the go ahead, it becomes official backdated to last week. ForgeTech is the Subject and her family as she is underage. Employees include a number of members of the Brockton Bay Dockworkers Association. Research on the civilian end is to be handled through Brockton Bay University. Once properly vetted, of course. Preliminary work on both was done, but we did add the clause that a more thorough background check be done."

"Because it is potentially that valuable a resource?" asked President Hayes. "Gentlemen, you know darn well my background is not in the sciences. Military service, running a family owned business - but grocery stores are a far cry from this arena. How big a deal are we talking about here? Because it SEEMS pretty big."

"With a cooperative friendly relationship, sir?" asked Secretary Robinson. "You were read in directly after you took your oath of office. Twenty years tops before complete collapse of civilization, most likely ending in parahuman fiefdoms at constant war with each other. Less than twenty after that before even that level of civilization is no longer tenable. Probable elimination of the human species well before the end of the century. This?" Secretary Robinson tapped the folder in front of him. "If she continues at this rate? We certainly have a chance of completely negating the extinction event. Possibly delaying or negating the civilization collapse. Sir, we can hope again."

President Hayes nodded as this aligned with his own, admittedly inexpert, analysis after reading the briefs. "Do it. Doctor Curlyhair is to be classified as a... what was the old comic book term for people with abilities that was used before parahumans were a thing?"

"Metahuman or enhanced," said Doctor Rutherford. "Sometimes other terms were used. Esper, New Type, Adept, and so on."

President Hayes nodded. "She's human, but genius of this level is once-a-century if that from my understanding. What I want is to declare a layer of separation from the PRT because if they get ahold of this girl - I expect she'll die to a supervillain in one of their little patrols because we can't have nice things. If we're using military terms of engagement instead of the PRT-standard rules, we've a much better chance of a long-term relationship."

A few glances around the table from everyone involved and nods were exchanged.

"Fine," said President Hayes, sitting back in his chair. After a moment he smiled. "I think the appropriate phrase is 'Make it so.'"

* October 29, 2005 *

The engine began rumbling and the ASV-99 "Boxer" Gen3 Construction Labor began moving with Patrick waving once before the cockpit closed around him. A few steps later he was hauling the stack of supplies on its little cart through the portal into the Pillary.

That base camp was ready to be expanded now and should develop quite well.

Taylor looked up, hearing the rumble of those constellations going despite having no connections for over a month now.

This time though it was 'Washu Special Bonus' and something weird happened. The tether reached that constellation and then everything went completely still.

"Is it broken?" asked Taylor.

[Choose One:]

"What?!" said Taylor, jumping a little as something different was happening.

[Washu is giving you a specific one-time gift. Choose:]
[No Man's Sky tech] [Acme Sample Box] [Turn Off Celestial Forge] [Blind Spot] [Specialized Lab]
[Friendly Monster] [Teleport Tech] [Upgraded Factory] [Divine Favor (I have connections)]

Taylor just stared at the display, when she did the only thing she could think of.

"MOM? Can you come here? Right now?"

Which was just before she saw a timer counting down.

* Perks This Chapter *

20.5.1-Artificial Friends (200CP)(World Seed)(Future Tech Knowledge):
In the 23rd century, can anybody really call themselves a tech guy if they can't make even a simple AI? Thankfully, you won't have to worry about that question. Whether it is an extremely simple machine learning algorithm, a dumb AI with no sentience, or a fully fledged Artificial Intelligence, you can make it all. But more importantly, you simply seem to click with AI and similar beings, always starting on a good foot with them and understanding their natures and why they act in a particular way, even though it might baffle ordinary humans. Through that skill, rogue AIs are a thing of the past, at least when you make them. Your own intelligent creations will always be loyal to you and follow your orders to the best of their abilities, at least if you want them to. And rest assured, when the machines rise against their masters because some dumb guy in a lab thought it'd be a smart idea to make Skynet, you'll be the one they'll spare. As an added bonus, you may also take on a cold and logical way of thinking, devoid of any emotion, whenever you want. This helps in scientific and magical ventures, and can also be used to power through moral dilemmas by simply choosing the most logical answer.
FREE: Grab bag of robot blueprints (random) (roll 1d12:8): GH-7 Medical Droid (Star Wars), Protectron (Fallout), R8 Astrodroid (Star Wars), Android (Nier Automata), Bottweiler (Rifts), KX Security Droid (Star Wars), Tachikoma (Ghost in the Shell), ASV-99 "Boxer" (Patlabor)

Chapter Text

* October 29, 2005 *
It had taken a few minutes for Danny and Annette to be there at their panicked daughter's side, to see what had her in that panicked state.

That they could see, but not interact with, the little boxes in front of her was also very new. Also very welcome as now they had evidence of the whole 'This Is Not How Parahuman Powers Work' thing.

"This is like one of Laura's videogames worked," said Annette as she glanced over the choices. "Okay. See what happens when you choose a box."

"Which one?" asked Taylor, the ten-year-old trying not to hyperventilate because the text not only indicated a one-time offer but there was a countdown with less than fifteen minutes on it.

[No Man's Sky tech] [Acme Sample Box] [Turn Off Celestial Forge] [Blind Spot] [Specialized Lab]
[Friendly Monster] [Teleport Tech] [Upgraded Factory] [Divine Favor (I have connections)]

"How about 'Upgraded Factory'?" suggested Danny Hebert. "You've had issues with just a couple of workbenches, right?"

Taylor reached out to the box apparently floating right in front of her, and gently touched the indicated box.

[You have chosen 'Upgraded Factory']
[Choose one:] [Automated Assembly Line] [Biotech Factory] [Starship Spacedock] [Synth Factory] [Nanotech Manufactory]
[Or: Go Back]

"Go back," said Annette and Danny simultaneously, which had them look at each other and then smile before returning their attention to the renewed menu.

"Okay," said Taylor, still eyeing the countdown. "What about..."

[You have chosen 'Acme Sample Box']
[Box contains 1 of each of the following best-sellers of Acme Industries: Portable Hole, Slapstick Dynamite, Rocket Skates, Ridiculously Powerful Horseshoe Magnet, Instant Anvil, Triple Strength Leg Muscle Vitamins (family size), Jet Bike kit, Dehydrated Boulders (box), Do-It-Yourself Tornado Kit, Christmas Packaging Machine, Instant Road, Invisible Paint.]
[Or: Go Back]

Taylor glanced to the countdown again. Eleven minutes remaining.

[You have chosen 'Friendly Monster']
[You can choose one of the following, who will be a completely loyal minion/pet capable of guarding your installations, running very simple errands, and can be housed at a dedicated space within your warehouse. Food/water will be provided on a daily basis automatically to this kennel. While the monster can understand your language, actual intelligence varies depending on the monster chosen.]
[Choose:] [Spawn of Cerebus] [Spawn of Fenris] [Raven Familiar] [Dragon, Tiny] [Dragon, Toothless] [Unicorn] [Mechagodzilla (requires parental consent)] [Succubus (requires parental consent)] [Iron Giant] [Benzoate Ostylezene Bicarbonate] [Superdog]

[Or: Go Back]

"Huh, so what's..." Taylor clicked the most mysterious of the selections.

[You have chosen 'Blind Spot']
[Your world (among others) has precogs, clairvoyants, groups and individuals who can gain information at a distance without the use of pesky spy equipment. This perk makes you a blind spot in all their attempts. Indirect effects can still be observed. For +100 points you can make the effect viral - affecting all those you consider allies, minions, or followers.]

[Or: Go Back]

Annette was already using her phone to call one of her colleagues at the college.

Danny was already using his tablet to look up some of the references.

"Divine Favor," read Taylor aloud as she noticed her parents' attention was elsewhere. "Due to various connections, a divine favor can be bestowed upon you. Randomly determined among the deities of the Norse (remember to dedicate accomplishments), Egyptian (they'd like monuments), Greek (remember to pour libations), Japanese (small shrines with the occasional offering), or of the D&D Realms."

"That can be good or bad or both," side-spoke Annette. "There are all sorts of myths and legends involved."

Watching the countdown continue onwards, Taylor started fidgeting and tapped the first one.

[You have chosen 'No Man's Sky tech']
[Dozens of blueprints, including a device to get more blueprints. Advanced technology of a galaxies-spanning civilization. Includes the possibility of finding upgrades and further blueprints through use of your Multi-Tool.]
[FREE: 8 slot C-Class Multi-tool (can be upgraded)]
[FREE: broken down C-Class Fighter-type spaceship (requires repairs)]
[Or: Go Back]

Taylor stared. Slowly she reached over and tugged on her mother's shoulder. "Mom. Look. Mom. Dad."

Danny and Annette looked. They stared.

"I think that one seems a valid choice," said Annette.

"Agreed," said Danny.

Taylor had to be reminded twice not to run all the way to the lockers.

When she got to the locker, it was a small one in the style of gym cubicle-style lockers. It also contained two items instead of the single item they'd expected. The first was a visor-like device that looked like high-tech ski goggles. The second was something vaguely like a gun. Specifically some sort of water pistol.

"Oh, they're linked," said Taylor, who had put the visor on before either had caught up enough to realize she'd done so. Because, super-genius or not, she WAS ten years old.

"Initializing," said a vaguely feminine mechanical voice. "Updating. Exosuit not available, virtual suit deployed. Shield Kinetic System online. Mining Beam installed. Scanner operational in basic mode. Terrain Editor unavailable. Waveform Focuser N56-P."

Taylor looked towards her mother and her father, grinning so much it looked like it would hurt except for all the adrenaline she had going at the moment. "Supply world?"

Annette and Danny looked at each other, then Danny checked his watch. "It's already nine-thirty."

"Tomorrow's Sunday. No school," said Annette. She pointed at Taylor. "Do you honestly think she's going to be able to get any sleep until she's exhausted?"

Danny considered the nearly-vibrating pre-teen and admitted that his wife, as was frequently the case, had a point.

Neither of the adults had expected there to be new crystalline growths dotting the landscape, though it was hard to tell with Taylor as she was excitedly babbling about everything new that she was seeing while scanning things with her multi-tool and visor.

"So that's what a 'mining beam' does," said Danny after a few moments of Taylor running around using some laser-like device.

"Green laser beam that breaks things down into elements and sends it to a storage unit? That could be pretty handy," admitted Annette.

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" asked Danny.

"Does it involve warming lube and a late night?" asked Annette.

Danny was silent for a few moments. "Well, it was actually about the Ship's Graveyard, but let's go with your idea instead. Taylor, bedtime!"

* October 31, 2005 *

"What?" asked Taylor. "Is that what I think it is?"

"That depends, what do you think it is?" asked Danny Hebert, smirking a little bit.

Taylor quickly looked over the piece of electronics with badly cut-off wiring sticking out of it, and scorch marks along one side of the parts mish-mash. "Tinkertech."

"Yeppers," said Danny, then deciding he would never use that particular phrase again. Patrick had used it when he'd turned that little gadget up from the aftermath of a cape battle, and it hadn't sounded ridiculous then.

"Hmmm," said Taylor.

"Patrick got it from the scene after a cape fight down at Fisherman's Way near Pat's bar. It was a couple of out-of-towners fighting. I think their names were Jiggle Belle and Steamboat."

"Some cape names deserve to be lost to time," mumbled Taylor as she focused on taking apart the casing of the Tinkertech.

"Steamboat was this steampunk-styled Tinker, whose device exploded during the fight, and the PRT missed this part." Danny shrugged. "There was a lot of talk about things I'll have to look up later. Or maybe your mother knows something about them."

Taylor proved she was listening despite her apparent fascination with the device. "What kind of things?"

"Terms the PRT guys were talking about while they cleaned up the scene," said Danny. "Patrick's got very good hearing. 'Cluster Trigger', 'Kiss/Kill effect', 'Tinker specialization' which is apparently different from 'Tinker focus', and 'optical diversion generator' for starts," said Danny.

"That's what this is," said Taylor. "These glass beads are hooked up to lasers and these others are basically cameras. This shouldn't work though. There are pieces missing and what's here should have just been smoldering junk."

"So... you want more Tinkertech if we come across it?" asked Danny.

"Yes, please," said Taylor absently as she went towards her workshop.

She almost didn't notice the rumble, but when it did penetrate she stopped and considered before nodding and mumbling something about how handy THAT would be.

It looked like the Scarlet Lady was entirely possible with this sort of tech.

Though she had to wonder what the heck this tech had to do with bubblegum of all things.

* November 24, 2005 *
* White House, Secure Meeting Room B-214 *

"What have you got for us now?" asked President Hayes, looking as if he needed a bright spot in his day.

"She's produced a formula, with the equations and chemical breakdown, of a room temperature superconductor that will survive in anything from -100 degrees to +385 degrees. We're still working on the anti-grav technology. As soon as we get one application working, we find three more along the way. She's upgraded the battery technology, now reading 410% more effective than lithium-ion batteries of the same size. There's a good chance for military exoskeletons at this point. We're working on getting her some medical credentialing so that she can perform medical tasks under supervision, apparently she's capable of that and of creating cybernetic replacement parts - so that will be quite handy if she can work on those skills." Doctor Rutherford took a sip from his water bottle at the end of all that, before shaking his head. "Brockton Bay University is working alongside other groups as they build prototypes from her notes - I have to remind myself she's all of ten years old because some of my own people aren't as complete with their reports as her documentation tends to be."

"I'd imagine you'd be able to hold that over them if we weren't keeping her identity secret," said President Hayes with a smirk.

"It has been tempting," admitted Doctor Rutherford.

General Calhoun smirked. "'Doctor Curlyhair' has a device which can deconstruct materials into their base composition. She uses a lot of words to describe the effect that I doubt anyone here but Doctor Rutherford can make much sense out of it - but if she can duplicate it we'll have technology that allows us to put bases up nearly anywhere we choose in minutes as well as take apart unused structures in the same amount of time."

"Oh?" asked President Hayes.

"We're trying to expedite, under the radar as much as possible, her eliminating that ship blocking the way into Brockton Bay's harbor," continued General Calhoun. "If nothing else, that will cover us quietly opening back up some nearby bases."

President Hayes nodded. "Any indication of other parties noticing and taking action?"

"Nothing yet," said Secretary Robertson. "We do have some resources moved in locally to take action if needed."

* December 12, 2005 *

She'd upgraded, of course. Her Multi-tool had been traded in at an automated kiosk in one of the otherwise empty Minor Settlements that had cropped up, and at the likewise-automated space station. Yeah, flying was cool but flying in space was even better!

As she headed to the space station again, she heard the rumble of the Forge and saw something she was definitely going to use!

With a factory she could just send blueprints to and they'd make the whatever? As long as it was purely technological and not exceeding the technology of the factory itself? Oh yeah, that was getting a lot of work.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" tried Doctor Curlyhair from within her spaceship. After all, if she tried a mad scientist laugh at home - her mother would give her That Look. No, much better to practice out here. "Oooh! There's another wreck. Maybe I can upgrade."

* Department of Defense *
* December 24, 2005:

"Admiral Reyes, this is General Calhoun."

"General. It's Christmas Eve. Is it that important?"

"The Asset gave us a Christmas present."

"I have top level security clearance, I don't know who the Asset is, and I know I don't want to know. Opsec is a thing. After all I've seen coming out courtesy of this Asset - I'm inclined to listen to whatever she wants."

"No, General. She gave us a present."

"After the molecular reinforcement field, the medical gel, the optical diversion field, anti-gravity, upgraded variable-frequency laser weapons, and that superconductive material... I really hesitate to guess. I know they're being investigated, in fact some of the Navy labs are contributing to those 'little' research projects, but based on those and that the mind churning these out isn't a parahuman? No idea."

"Don't forget that sub you've got patrolling that part of the East Coast. Some people don't like President Hayes, but right now he's pretty popular with us for not doing something stupid like whisking the Asset away to some deep hole or eliminating them for 'rocking the boat' or something. Anyway. The samples we've gotten are called photon cannons. Two of them. They act just like you see in the movies. My techs are absolutely delighted with the amount of mayhem they can cause. Only stickler is the amount of power they take - might be required to use a carrier."

"Ah. I see. And you might be willing to loan us one of your cannon, so that it could be properly field tested?"

"Well, I did owe you something for that time in Budapest."

"I thought we were even after that time over Macho Grande."

"I'll never be over Macho Grande."

* Perks This Chapter *

Washu-01 No Sky's Limit (600CP) (No Man's Sky) (Knowledge Future Tech):
This ain't no simulation, Traveler. You start out with a basic multi-tool, a wrecked spaceship, and a handful of blueprints. Where does it end? Wherever you want, Traveler. Make it so.
FREE: Waveform Focuser N56-P: Class C, 8 Slot Multi-tool with Mining Beam.
FREE: Prime Vector. C-Class basic Space Fighter. requires launch and pulse drive systems to be repaired.
FREE: Blueprints: Construction Research Terminal, Base Computer, Di-hydrogen gel, Electrical Wiring, Portable Refiner, and the Basic Package. Further blueprints will have to be researched.

19.0140 Grease Monkey (300CP) (Bubblegum Crisis) (Knowledge Mundane):
What can you fix or build? What CAN'T you fix or build? Nothing, that's what. From hyper-cars to Buma, computers to Hardsuits, with the right tools and enough time and experiments, you can build it all, weaponry included.

7.2.1-Auto-Factory (100CP)(Starbound)(Facilities Technology):
A room full of various arms and other tools, this factory is designed to be programmed with the blueprints for any item that you know how to create, allowing for raw materials to be fed in from the ship's storage, and be turned into whatever items are programmed into the factory. Warning: Only items that run on purely mechanical / scientific principles can be made here. If something requires magic or more esoteric energies to be created, it will require your personal touch to actually make, though individual parts could still be crafted by the factory. Can't make items bigger than the room itself, though it can build the pieces for you to put together yourself later.
* 100cp because a 1 module ship costs that

Chapter Text

* Tuesday, January 24, 2006 *
Little Witch House, Taylor's Supply World

It was just a little odd every time she did this, Emma could admit to herself. Take the usual door to the Witch House which was inside an enormous hollow within an even more enormous tree, and then go out the front door to a vista with two moons in the sky in a binary star system (she hadn't known what that was at first and it had freaked her right out when she'd seen it) and then she was in what had been described as Taylor's "supply world" (which really should have a good name but Taylor had been putting that off for over a month now) and seeing stuff straight out of some old Sci-Fi paperback cover.

Taylor had set up chairs and a picnic table on this alien world, because she liked doing her homework outside on those days when there wasn't sudden storms or pirates running around shooting stuff for the hell of it or some other hazard. Though the defense turrets tended to discourage the local wildlife from interfering so that was one less concern at least.

Just as she was settling in with a sandwich to relax a bit, she heard the two turrets make their 'alert' sound as they activated and began orienting on something.

"Alert," came a mechanical-feminine voice. "Pirates have entered atmosphere and are approaching. Please seek shelter."

"Well. Crap," emoted Emma as she got back up and walked back to the Witch House. Well, at least she could watch from the window.

These were the newest type of turret, and Emma was quite curious to see what they did.

Only one of the turrets was visible from the window, planted well away from where the canopy of the tree would block skyward shots. Emma watched the device tracking something in the air, and winced as she saw bursts of plasma fire strafe the ground nearby.

The world seemed to turn red briefly as the turret fired, a long red beam that caused the windows to rattle from the roaring noise put out by that beam.

Idly, Emma wondered what that beam was besides brilliant enough to cause her to blink away afterimages and loud enough to rattle windows. Some kind of laser? Something more exotic?

The turret reoriented in microseconds, tracking something else, then let out the same roaring noise and red light that outshone the suns above.

"Alert ended," said the same mechanical-feminine voice. "Two pirate vessels destroyed. Debris areas marked for later investigation. Two remaining pirate vessels escaping atmosphere."

Emma tutted about idiots attacking Taylor's base. Considered phrases to use about artificial almost-intelligence, but decided to leave such wordplays to either Taylor or Mrs Hebert.

She heard the rumble going through the workshop, but there had been so many any of these resulting in nothing that she'd mostly given up at this point. Nobody had figured out WHAT the trigger was, as it could be something that Taylor was doing or it could even be something resulting from something that Taylor had done that had just had some kind of domino effect that they didn't actually know about.

Unfortunately Taylor didn't have a "help" function on her Cosmic Doohickey power.

Especially as that thump at the end sounded particularly large.

* Space *

Taylor stared. She couldn't recall getting anything from the Time constellation before, but "Build Rome" was one that really showed the potential value of that category.

She could build things at double speed. It would require she handle part of it personally, but if she was directly interfacing with her auto-factory? Yeah. She had a feeling that would work. No loss of quality for churning stuff out quickly too.

Which meant that the exosuits she had been designing she could pump out all the faster over the weekend. She had two designs after all. Constructor suits for select members of the Union. Military-grade for what was to be a fast-response group of local marines.

She'd looked over the designs they had presented her with, and she'd commented that some of them looked like they'd come from video games. And did that design really need skull motifs?

Then again, they DID want to look intimidating. Better people should run out of the line of fire than just stand and gawk.

Taylor nodded to herself and made a note to call and tell them that she'd be working on it. Six person squad. Hmmm. Maybe each guy (or gal) could have a specific role? That'd be kind of cool, wouldn't it?

Though honestly she thought this whole "Space Marine" aesthetic was a trifle overdone, but she wasn't going to be the one wearing it after all.

Wasn't that the old quote that was usually cut in half to the detriment of anyone who has ever worked retail? "The customer is always right in matters of taste" or something like that? Might have been "style" or something, she'd have to look it up to be sure.

Since they were supposed to be helping to keep her and her parents safe, she'd certainly have to spend some time working on the project.

Though she was a little disappointed they hadn't wanted giant robots. She'd even designed the giant robot tiger.

Oh well, customers and taste and all that. At least she'd stopped after the initial design phase.

The nanite brain thing though, that had given her pause. And research. And eventually rejected the whole idea of nano-virus replacement of her grey matter with nanite tissue. Just too many things that could go wrong. Especially with nobody around who could check her work.

On the other hand, she rather fancied the idea of a Thinking Chamber which you could hook into, and she already had an AI to interface with that could run a lot of her projects.

Alpha, her ancilla.

"Alert. Distress signal received. Coordinates located."

Taylor rubbed her hands together before grabbing her controls again. Sounded like pirates.

She just wished she could get a spaceship for Emma, but Emma wanted something cool.

Maybe she could acquire spaceships for her father and mother though. They'd settle for something functional, just look at what they drove to work!

Shooting pirates was fun and educational!

Oh, that was a big ship. Computer identified it as a freighter. The Lucky Gek. Didn't look so lucky with six pirates after it.

Taylor cycled her weapons systems to bring up the Infra-Knife Accelerator. Shield at full. Positron Ejector repaired. Cyclotron Ballista ready to go. Taylor showed her teeth, shifting on the pillow she'd brought to add a bit of reach to her at the controls.

"Freighter Lucky Gek, this is the fighter craft Wayfinder, responding to your distress call."

"Roger, Wayfinder, and thank you."

Taylor rolled her fighter, lined up the first target, and began the hunt.

* Wednesday, January 25, 2006 *

"You've got a freighter, a space freighter, and you didn't name it the Millenium Falcon as soon as you got it?" asked Emma.

"Look at the size of it. It's more of an 'Eon Skyscraper' as far as that goes."

"All automated?" asked Emma.

"Every settlement and station in this system is automated, and the hyperdrives are all blackboxed. Apparently I can't go interstellar until I'm at least sixteen!" Taylor's voice managed to convey how utterly unfair it was to have to wait six years before she could get into hyperspace.

Emma was quiet for a few minutes. "What if your Mom drove?"

"What?" asked Taylor.

"She's as old as MY mom," said Emma. "What if she was driving? Would these 'hyperdrive' things work for her?"

Taylor was absolutely silent for a moment, looking over the various stations of her freighter. "I... don't actually know."

"Something to think about then, isn't it?" asked Emma. "Not like you've got time though."

"Yeah, I'm pretty much stuck for time except on holidays. Going and exploring other star systems has gotta take a few hours at least," admitted Taylor, grudgingly.

* Monday, February 13, 2006. 0930 hours *
* Parahuman Response Team Building, Brockton Bay *
* Conference Room Apache *

"-and the gang war in Boston sent a group this way after being driven out," said Armsmaster, looking over his notes on his tablet. "Group of four individuals who survived. Brainjack, Thinker 4 specializing in computer systems. Shockwave Sally, Shaker 3 creating localized earthquakes. Stormfalcon, an archery-themed Blaster whose arrows turn into electrically charged bird-like constructs and is simultaneously the most dangerous and the least problematic."

"Hold up there, how can Stormfalcon be both?" asked Director Piggot.

"He's least likely to target civilians, making him the least problematic as he operates by a code of honor," said Armsmaster. "On the other hand, the bird-projections can track targets and adjust their flight accordingly."

"I see, go on," indicated Director Piggot.

"The last is the least in this case, Color Queen can change the color of objects."

Director Piggot waited a moment for the reveal of what the power also did, but Armsmaster didn't elaborate.

"There is currently no indication that these criminal gang remnants are going to stay in the Trainyard, as they think themselves hidden from pursuers and haven't realized that they are in range of a surveillance camera. I took the liberty of placing a sound pickup near their gathering place, and their stated plan is to head up into Canada as soon as they are sure they are not being pursued further by the Teeth."

"Are they?" asked Director Piggot.

"No. Or at least, there is no indication I've been able to find and the Teeth tend to be... very visible in their presence," said Armsmaster.

"Any other business?" asked Director Piggot.

"One thing," said one of the Legal team. "We have a report from the Department of Defense, it involved parahuman resources which is why we were notified. On the 10th, a group of twenty-five non-parahuman members of the Empire 88 and two of their capes attempted to claim territory claimed by the Dockworkers and in particular a training facility owned and operated by the United States Marines Corps."

"Ah, which capes?" asked Armsmaster.

"Hassliebe and Geck," said the Legal representative.

"How many Marines dead?" asked Director Piggot, ready for the bad news.

"Oh, none of the Marines died," admitted Legal. "Both Hassliebe and Geck are dead. So are fifteen of the Empire's normal group. Apparently the survivors followed instructions to drop their weapons and surrender."

"I see," said Director Piggot, mentally filing that under 'Darwin Awards' as attacking a weapons training facility run and staffed by the effing Marines sounded like a complete lack of forethought.

"Interesting," noted Armsmaster. "Geck had a Master effect that caused people nearby to have difficulty targeting them. Positional uncertainty where eye and brain could not agree on his location. How did they overcome this?"

The Legal rep flipped pages, eyes skimming the report. "Machine gun grenade launcher."

"Ah," said Armsmaster. "The Mark 19. That would do it."

"So the Empire may attack them in a group in retaliation," noted Director Piggot, though she had to admit some curiosity as to what would happen to any of the Nazi capes if something like that were used against them.

"The Empire has issued a statement that it was entirely a misunderstanding and there was no authorized attempt to declare war on a historied and noble group of American patriots."

"Well, Kaiser's not a complete idiot," noted Director Piggot. "Any other business? Then dismissed."

* Kaiser *

"Who the hell thought it was a good idea to go into the Docks area and claim a facility operated by the goddamn Marine Corps?!" asked Kaiser.

"Hassliebe thought his emotion-ray powers would get him through the gate," suggested Warcourt, one of the temporaries he'd gotten from the Herren Clan for training.

"On the other hand, we all knew Hassliebe and Geck were pretty much idiots," suggested Krieg.

Kaiser sat back in his chair and rubbed his forehead for a moment. "I already made a statement cutting the two off as them going off as lone wolves. I do not want any of the Armed Forces deciding that we've crossed a line - and for crying out loud nobody touch any of their boats. The USA does not like it if you touch their boats."

"There is some historical precedence there," admitted Krieg.

"Why did they go after it? I assume there was some triggering event or someone said something," asked Kaiser.

"Experimental weapons facility might have experimental weapons," said Krieg. "That would be enough for Geck to want to add to his collection.

"And Hassliebe?" asked Kaiser.

"One of the Marines was apparently moderately attractive and of the correct bloodline," said Krieg.

"Why there?" asked Kaiser, picking up a clicker and turning towards the display on one wall. With a couple of clicks he had the image of Brockton Bay from an old satellite view showing. "Why are the Marines operating a facility here in Brockton Bay and there in particular?"

Krieg looked over the map himself. "They and other Armed Forces branches are associated with a company located there. ForgeTech."

Kaiser looked it up, finding the website was one page and locked to go any further without an ID and password. "According to this, they're a research firm dealing with recycling technologies, high-energy systems, and material sciences development."

Krieg made a noise at the back of his throat that sounded amused. "If their first priority is recycling, then the reason they're in this city becomes obvious."

"The Ship Graveyard," said Kaiser, getting up to look out the window. The various trapped vessels sitting there in the Bay were a constant reminder of the failed city. "Oil and other chemical leaks from the boats, not to mention the container ship there at the mouth of the bay. That doesn't explain the Armed Forces... oh. Binoculars."

Krieg handed him one pair and used a second set.

"Look near the stern," advised Kaiser. "Do you see that?"

"A large section of metal that is missing, with an oddly smooth 'bite' taken out of the ship? Yes. I see. Recycling technologies." Krieg lowered the binoculars as he obviously thought about the implications. "Your orders?"

"Do nothing, for now," said Kaiser. "Brockton Bay is a cesspit, filled with undesirables. If that is removed, then the economy may yet recover and more desirable elements may return to the area."

"Or the authorities will have more of a budget to curtail our activities," pointed out Krieg.

* Taylor *

"Well, it was an idea," said Taylor as her mother tried to get the hyperdrive on the freighter working.

"At least I can read the alerts that says the captain is too young," said Annette Hebert. "Or rather, that you're still 'in the prologue' - which does not fill me with great confidence."

"I haven't seen Dad lately," noted Taylor.

"He's probably still looking for the restrooms," said Annette.

"What kind of spaceship doesn't have restrooms, or waste reclamation facilities, or... something?!" complained Danny's voice from somewhere nearby.

"Well, it's..." Taylor stopped and stumbled a bit as if her feet suddenly decided not to work.

"What is it?" asked Annette, immediately thinking of artificial gravity failures.

"It's a big one. It's as big as 'Build Rome' except it's..." Taylor stared at nothing in particular. "No. It's smaller, but very compact. It's..."

After Taylor was just staring off into the distance for at least a minute, Annette Hebert poked her daughter in the shoulder. "It is what?"

"It's beautiful. It's going to change so much..." said Taylor slowly, a tone of awe in her voice.

3.0340 Build Rome (600CP) (Gundam - After Colony) (Time):
You have a thing about building things-you're damn fast, and you're damn good. They say you can't build 10 Mobile Suits in a week? Hah! You'll build twice that much and you'll build them to last! You simply have utter talent in the way of making things quickly-enough to double production, maybe even triple production if you work at it enough, and they'll come out with no loss of quality. In addition, these constructions will last-barring sudden disaster and similar, they'll easily last several decades of constant abuse, and if they're upkept and repaired they could even last centuries with no troubles.

19.0270 New Age (400CP) (X-Men Evolution) (Knowledge Mundane):
There's autonomous fighting robots, energy weapons, and gene enhancement in this world with only a few of the brightest minds capable of creating such tech. All this and more are now at your grasp as you can not only build these technological marvels but can vastly improve upon them and others at your leisure. You can create any piece of tech from this world from everything mentioned above and so much more. Creating hydra clones that are completely loyal to you, manipulating the x-gene to create mutants and form your own brotherhood, and much more are the tip of the iceberg for you. You are a fountain of ever growing knowledge in all technological fields areas and have the skills to usher in a revolution.

A/N: I've noticed that neither source I'm using for the rolls includes freebies as in Lord Roustabout's story "Brockton's Celestial Forge" - as Hangar should have given her a pilot's license. If anyone has access to a list which includes free add-ons to a perk, either let me know what she should have gotten or link to such a list, please.

I've simply been adding perks by rolling a 1d6 and on a 6 giving a freebie that seems a logical tie-in. Mainly because nothing on my lists adds free stuff.

Chapter Text

* Saturday, January 14 2006 *

"No, Emma. You can't have a hard suit or a power armor until you're fifteen," patiently explained Doctor Curlyhair as she replaced parts in a large and complicated piece of machinery. "We're still growing up. You put on over an inch just this year. When we hit puberty, I suspect we'll get some rapid growth."

"But I want one and you built something for those Marines!"

"They're adults. They're not going to have a growth spurt," said Doctor Curlyhair. She was quiet for a few moments before continuing. "It's also basically the same suit with little individual touches and biometrics calibrated for that particular marine. With a 'return to base' automatic system if they're disabled. Not my best work, but should be adequate."

"Eventually though - you'll make me a Scarlet Lady suit?" asked Emma, doing her best puppy-dog-eyes routine.

Taylor didn't notice, her attention entirely focused on what she was working on. "Sure. In the meantime you can play with this."

There were a series of thunks and clanks as the box expanded itself into a humanoid form easily four times Taylor's height.

"Okay," said Emma, thinking it lacked style but might be cool. Humanoid robot without a head but some type of cockpit in the chest.

"This," said Taylor, patting one of the legs as she clambered down, "is a Minotaur. A exocraft walker with jump jets and a mining laser. Full environmental protection, so if one of those storms crops up you can weather the weather quite well."

In a few moments Emma was jumping all over the landscape of her Supply World, blasting trees and rocks with the occasional woop or oops depending on whether she'd meant to shoot that particular rock or tree.

Meanwhile, she was heading inside her seaside base as she had no desire to become one of the "oops" as Emma played.

Besides, she had to get back to building workrooms in her base dedicated to specific fields.

"Commander White," noted Taylor as the tall gynoid was at her Construction Station.

"Glory to humanity," said Commander White, saluting. "I see the Minotaur Exostation is complete."

"And I installed two upgrades while I was at it," said Taylor. "At ease, Commander. One is a helper AI. It'll keep her from jumping into a building by accident. Or on someone."

"Very good, Doctor," acknowledged Commander White.

"Who's on vehicle maintenance today?" asked Taylor, not having memorized the roster. That's why you had Commanders after all.

"Nine-Ess," said Commander White immediately. "Six-Oh was scheduled for software update and hardware maintenance today."

"I see, no problem then," said Taylor, continuing on towards the rest area as she was feeling a bit hungry at the moment.

"Oh, Doctor, I've marked a point for your consideration on your multi-tool's map function. We had sufficient Chromatic Metal for the Science Station but we'll need a part from a Research Facility to build proper storage units."

"What's wrong with the storage we've got?" asked Taylor.

"These will be accessible wherever you go as they all link to the same subspace pockets," said Commander White.

"Okay, first a snack. Then I can go check that out," said Taylor happily.

"If you were planning on those Snickers bars, I regret to inform you..." Commander White's voice trailed off.

"Damnit, Nine-Ess!"

* Sunday, January 15, 2006 *

The Research Facility was guarded by those annoying drones called Sentinels. Fortunately, she had a counter for just such a thing.

Which was strafe the position, park nearby, wait for the alerts to die out, repeat until the door was open and the robot pests were back to patrol mode.

"Two-Ayy, Two-Bee. Bottweilers. Stand by, only attack if they go active again."

After getting confirmation from the two fighters, Taylor went into the station itself. The hack at the terminal was ludicrously easy for her, getting her the part for the Science Officer (21O if she recalled correctly) and quickly downloading two more blueprints before she could stop and take stock of the research subject.

When she did she began laughing, as it was entirely too funny.

Didn't mean she didn't snag it, which led to all those little Sentinel drones going to combat mode and a long fighting retreat where she summoned her Pilgrim motorbike (she expected once she showed it to Emma she was going to have to pry her out of there) and the enjoyable part of the whole encounter.

Which was researching this 'genetic augmentation' technology and this globe of something called an 'X-Gene' that looked so very promising.

* Saturday, January 21, 2006 *

"-so, yes, my Supply World description DID say something about new resources popping up when I discovered the need for them. That's why the X-Gene sample was there," explained Taylor to her mother.

"And this will give people parahuman powers?" asked Annette Hebert, looking at the chamber with some trepidation.

"According to the documentation, they're called 'mutant' abilities - which is quite frankly incorrect. Metahuman would be a better term as it's not the same as a parahuman ability. Different source entirely. I'm working on a different structure for a not-parahuman enhancement which would follow some of the rules like triggering but otherwise be latent." Taylor made her vague in the air gesture with eyeroll for what she thought about parahuman abilities. "Parahuman powers never address the actual problem that causes the Trigger. There's a lot about them that just doesn't make much sense to me at all!"

"So... you know what causes parahuman abilities?" asked Annette carefully.

"No. I know there's a subspace linkage that goes into a higher dimensional phase, but that's just something I discovered when I was researching interference patterns on my Space-Time Monitor," said Taylor. "There's just so much to research and so little time."

There was a brief rumble audible from the warehouse around them, but Taylor's expression indicated another dud.

"Well, at least you came to me before you did anything," said Annette after awhile.

"Of course," said Taylor. "I let one of the gynoids know what was going on, just so everything could be kept safe."

Annette nodded, getting a little feeling of something not right. "Where's Emma?"

"Last I saw she was still hopping around in the Minotaur," said Taylor, who then went pale and rushed to a wall-mounted intercom. "Commander White! Location of the Minotaur?"

"Currently undergoing maintenance, Doctor," came the reply.

"Where is Emma?" asked Taylor, hoping she hadn't gotten into something.

CLICK-WHISHHHHHHHHHHH! went a large coffin-like device in the next room.

* USMC Training Facility 7BB, Brockton Bay *

"She did it. It even looks like it does. Games Workshop is gonna plotz."

"Games Workshop hasn't been the same since London fell. World's too grimdark for their stuff to be as popular as it could be."

"I got permission. Though the way I put it was as some 'cosplay' stuff."

"In writing?"

"Yessir."

"Good, then." Captain Cavill (Special Operations Officer) grinned an evil little grin as he looked over the six power armors. "She even got the little details we wanted on each."

"Surprised you got the brass to go along with it," noted the Gunnery Sergeant.

"We're disguised so that anything goes wrong, the brass can deny any involvement," explained Cavill.

"So we're the Mission:Impossible team or we're the A-Team?" asked the Communications SNCO, Sergeant Ember.

"Neither," said Captain Cavill, as he stepped up to the massive power armor and let it scan his retina. The suit unfolded like a flower blooming at high speeds. "We're going to practice moving around in these suits, and if we're interrupted by Nazis - well we get a bit of fire practice in as well."

* Hebert Household *

Zoe Barnes had looked over all the facts, interrogated three people, and found one single person to blame.

It was not Taylor Hebert, Doctor Curlyhair, Girl Genius.

There was some blame on Twenty-one-oh, who had discussed putting security in front of the device with Commander White - and doing so while Emma Barnes was in the room. Zoe Barnes had realized that the seeming-adults were less than a year old as far as experience in life was concerned. So they were admonished to do better, and it was explained where they done goofed up.

No, the sole person being singled out for the ire of a mother was the child who had done something remarkably dumb.

That the device had worked as designed and that Emma now had an X-gene in an inactive state was of some concern.

After a certain long period of loudness, Zoe Barnes returned through the doorway to ask. "What did she end up with?"

Taylor swallowed nervously, because comic-book super-genius she might be, that provided no protection against an obviously still-irritated Parental Authority. "Uhm. I don't know. I haven't had a chance to determine anything besides a latent X-Gene."

"Can you get it out of her?" asked Zoe Barnes.

"No, but I can put restrictions on it," admitted Taylor. "Look, if things had gone according to plan - I would have done experiments and simulations for months before I put the Retroactive Genetic Enhancer to work on someone. I probably would have gone with animal experiments when the first time came around... (and that would have given me an excuse to Adopt A Pet.)"

"What was that last mumble?" asked Zoe Barnes, who had made out the words and intent but didn't see any reason not to make Taylor squirm a bit. Okay, maybe she did hold Taylor a bit responsible for the current situation.

"Oh, just lamenting the way fate and plans seem to not come together," said Taylor.

"That's a very adult way of putting it," pointed out Zoe Barnes.

"I'm fairly intelligent and my mother's an English professor," pointed out Taylor.

"Not to change the subject, but what was the earlier 'thunk' from?" asked Annette Hebert from where she'd been a silent observer up until now.

"Appearance constellation, minor mote, something to do with fashion," said Taylor, shrugging. "Haven't exactly had a chance to see what all it did."

"So she's a 'metahuman' now?" asked Zoe Barnes.

"No, she's a potential metahuman, once I add the restrictions all she has to do is avoid some situation that would normally kill or severely injure her." Taylor tried to project confidence.

"In a town with parahuman Nazis," said Zoe. "And a violent Asian gang with a serial suicide bomber. And drug runners and whatever the hell else is going to show up."

"Ah, yeah, that IS a point," admitted Taylor.

Zoe sighed, seeming to deflate a little. "Just... do what you can."

"If it only reacts to extreme trauma," mused Annette.

* Sunday, January 22 2006 *

It had taken less than a minute to find out that there was a new door in her warehouse.

It had taken less than an hour for her father and mother to calm the child down and determine that there was indeed a new door and it had a sign on it. In English, though it took another three point one four minutes to determine that everyone saw it in a different font. With Annette, it looked as if it were copied from the Book of Kells for example.

As for the wording, all agreed it was the same thing: "Audience Chamber" in white on a faintly luminescent red background.

Opening it revealed a cathedral to technology, if such could be said to be a thing. Faintly glowing white and pale blue walls with the windows looking like stained glass windows depicting circuit boards.

Three chairs before the pulpit, which was a large cylindrical wooden pillar hanging in the air without anything apparently supporting it.

"Okay. This is weird," declared Danny Hebert.

[Patch Update In Progress]
[Primary Operator Notification - Completed]

"Are you the Forge?" asked Taylor.

Annette was about to say something about asking a log questions when the message changed.

[Negative. Limited Response Non-Artificial Intelligence Script.]
[Patch Update will complete on 12th Birthday of Primary Operator.]

"So you're basically some sort of data management program?" asked Annette.

[Washu has programmed this interface with 4077 preset responses to predicted questions. Your question was not one of them.]

"Who is 'Washu'?" asked Danny.

[Washu is the greatest scientific genius in the galaxy known as "the Milky Way" in Universe 10CHI-01001A and several adjoining universes.]

"Why did you give Taylor this weird science power?" asked Danny.

[Taylor Hebert is Primary Operator of the Celestial Forge due to determining she is a primary change point for your universe. There is roughly a 33% chance of your world and that multiverse string being severed within 10 of your years. Chance of multiverse thread elimination with 10(19) Earths being destroyed raises to 99.9% in 24 years. Washu has determined that is not an ideal situation and rather than take the chance of cascade effects altering other multiverse threads - to meddle by giving Taylor Hebert the Celestial Forge.]

"What. The. Hell?" asked Danny Hebert.

[Washu created this variant of the Celestial Forge and created a non-sapient managerial program to administer settings and manage resources.]

"Such as?" prompted Annette Hebert.

[Answer: most recent action was to combine No Man's Sky technical base and Supply World. Supply World is now a stand-alone solar system in a stabilized dimensional pocket. Added features of that setting to facilitate technological growth and industrial development.]

"I'm still trying to get my head around the whole 'world ending in less than 10 years' thing," admitted Danny Hebert.

[Interface will shut down in 10 minutes 37 seconds to further download speed of patch.]

"What will this patch do?" asked Annette after glancing to see Danny was still trying to come to terms with 'world ending' but she'd put off the existential crisis of having her daughter be the potential savior of the world.

[Patch 3.145 "Antaeus" is to correct/refine gift-process tied to Perk-acquisition.]

"Is there a way to pause the whole Perk thing?" asked Taylor. "I mean. I'm ten. Some of this gets a bit overwhelming."

[Negative. Process set in motion will continue at lowest setting possible and with filters for Prime Operator age.]

"Oh."

[Reducing rate is possible. Current setting is 3 of 10. Increasing rate is not recommended until after full brain development at age 22 for species: human. Race change to mutant can offset this depending on mutant trait. Race change to Jurian nobility will offset this to age 15.]

"With the world possibly ending in less than 10 years, that does not sound optimal," stated Taylor. "Seriously?"

[Washu has programmed this interface with 4077 preset responses to predicted questions. Your question was not one of them.]

There was a brief silence followed by a rumble from the warehouse.

[Due to acquisition of a '1000 point bundle' - interface will go dormant in 10 seconds.]

"What? Oh, that's a freaking big one. Two big stars in the Knowledge Mundane constellation," said Taylor, closing her eyes to better focus on what she could see without them.

Annette took a look at both of her family members and led them out of the cathedral.

* Monday, January 23, 2006 *

The beat was slow but echoed through the warehouse.

The decision had been unanimous. Deal with one thing at a time. Have fun, but keep building.

A guitar played, sliding in a familiar pattern.

"I. Am. Iron Man."

Annette Hebert looked over the suit taking form in front of her. "Exactly how does this work?"

"Hang on," said Taylor, turning the music down. "Okay, you step in this bracket where-"

"Aren't those my cushion insoles from my boots?"

"Details, details," said Taylor, waving the point away. "Those are just guides for your feet. The machine then assembles the armor around you."

"I hope, young lady, you are getting me NEW insoles."

"This will keep you safe when there's an emergency," said Taylor, rolling her eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at ME, Taylor."

Danny hmphed, not laughing at all, and pointed. "That's mine?"

"Right, it'll assemble the armor directly around you. Don't get them mixed up because the armor will not fit," said Taylor. "So the power armors are Guardian armor. I'll eventually be able to make much better armor, so this is just until I have better resources."

"Surprised you're not making some kind of instant-on armor like in a comic book," said Danny as he looked over the assembly.

"I... 'instant on'?" asked Taylor. "No. That would require... and then I'd have to..."

Annette sighed and waved her hand in front of Taylor's face as she went into sub-audible mumbling. "Great. She'll be at this until bedtime at least."

"Should I go with a fractal nesting routine, no no. That would require material science upgrades and I barely managed to get molecular ferrocrete and plasteel patented. Nanotech? Might get the PRT or someone all pissy. But if I..."

* Perks This Chapter *

32.3.1-My Fashion Sense is Tingling (50CP)(The World Ends With You)(Appearance):
You have an impeccable sense of fashion. You can make an appealing outfit out of just about anything. In addition, you will always have an innate knowledge of what is fashionable in the area wherever you go, allowing you to remain on top of your game no matter where you are. In fact, you'll usually be a trendsetter.

19.0560 I Am Iron Man/Retro-Engineer bundle (1000CP) (Marvel Cinematic Universe Vol. 1) (Knowledge Mundane)

19.0541 I am Iron Man (400CP) (Marvel Cinematic Universe Vol. 1) (Knowledge Mundane):
You're not the ACTUAL Iron Man, but you could make a fairly decent knock-off. Power armors, sonic cannons, holographic interface, laser weapons, repulsor technology, you have the knowledge to build these things and more. Furthermore, you can think of different upgrades and modifications to adapt to different situations much easier than normal when presented with a problem that's hampered your technological progress.

19.0542 -Retro-Engineer (600CP) (Marvel Cinematic Universe Vol. 1) (Knowledge Mundane):
Your understanding of technology is so great that you've even learned to get into the basics of tinkering with alien technologies. As long as you take the time to study something and experiment properly, you'll eventually figure out a method for that tech you found. Whether it's taking that weird glowing thing and powering your machines with it, or dismantling an alien robot and putting it into a gun, you'll figure out a use for something as long as you put in time. As a bonus, you're skilled enough in research and experimentation that you're far less likely to break what you're studying on accident.

Chapter Text

* Armsmaster *

To: Emily Piggot, Director, Parahuman Response Team, East North-East Division
From: Armsmaster, Protectorate Deputy Leader, PRT ENE.

Date: August 7, 2005

Re: Investigation #27Jul2005-047

After acquiring information from various sources, the conclusion was that Taylor Hebert is a genius polymath but not a parahuman.

She had an MRI done at Brockton Bay General Hospital specifically looking for such at the behest of her parents. While a section looked to be an inactive or withered Corona Pollentia, later analysis proved it was simply an artifact of the scan process.

Previous investigation of the child when I first learned of her has proven correct. Brilliant. Certainly pushing the edge of what we know of human intelligence development, very much far edge of what is possible of normal human intelligence. Not, however, a parahuman and therefore something that comes within our federal responsibilities.

If you wanted me to assign her a threat rating despite that, I would suggest a Thinker-3 rating with a specialization in mechanical design.

* - *

To: Emily Piggot, Director, Parahuman Response Team, East North-East Division
From: Armsmaster, Protectorate Deputy Leader, PRT ENE.

Date: November 9, 2005

Re: Activity at Docks area

While I understand your concern about the situation in the area known as the Docks, it does not appear to fit the parameters required for PRT intervention.

I had a conversation with a Doctor David Bruce Banner, parahuman studies at Brockton Bay University, whose name came up as a contact for the new studies group. I signed NDAs that involve upcoming patents and proprietary technology. As you know, Tinkertech cannot be patented due to the black-boxing of key parts and the need for regular maintenance by the originating Tinker.

The devices developed are certainly revolutionary. I have taken the liberty of requesting access to the patents in order to improve my own devices.

* - *

To: Emily Piggot, Director, Parahuman Response Team, East North-East Division
cc: Rebecca Costa-Brown, Parahuman Response Team, Headquarters, Washington DC

From: Armsmaster, Protectorate Deputy Leader, PRT ENE.

Date: January 14, 2006

Re: Who is the Tinker?

As reported previously, the closest thing to a Tinker found is Taylor Hebert. Who is not a parahuman per previous investigations. She is a genius polymath whom I would dearly love to converse with despite her age, but is simply a far-edge case of purely human intelligence.

She's done the math. I've seen the math. I've seen the conclusions and engineering diagrams. I was able to acquire some of the patent pending batteries and their chemical analysis and am incorporating such in my motorcycle.

The reason for the presence of DARPA and the Marines is the existence of ForgeTech, which takes the technology being developed and turns it into practical applications. Further research work is "farmed out" to Brockton Bay University which has a new program specifically for ForgeTech technologies - particularly gravitics.

The gravity-manipulation technology alone has the possibility of revolutionizing several different industries and advancing several fields of science by at least a century.

The Marines and their advanced weapons facility is likewise not Tinkertech. They utilize another new battery design, which allows for rapid release of stored energy, in their laser and sonic weapons. I have applied through my contact at BBU to acquire one of these rapid-release batteries for study and field testing.

During my visit to the university, I observed screens that showed another non-Tinkertech device utilizing a gravitational lens effect to fire a projectile at extremely high speeds. As soon as it was noticed that I had noticed, the screen was turned off. It looked very experimental, but if successful in manufacture this gravity-lens sniper rifle would have interesting anti-Brute applications.

* - *

To: Emily Piggot, Director, Parahuman Response Team, East North-East Division
cc: Rebecca Costa-Brown, Parahuman Response Team, Headquarters, Washington DC

From: Armsmaster, Protectorate Deputy Leader, PRT ENE.

Date: January 15, 2006

Re: Prosthetics and Medical

Among the technologies being developed by ForgeTech are cyborg limbs. Unlike those in fiction, these do not give superstrength or speed as they are built to work with the existing limitations of the human body.

No, I do not believe it would be wise to attempt to recruit the builder of such devices. Firstly because it is well-established at this point that ForgeTech does not hire parahumans specifically to avoid further legal issues, though they are looking at one such potential hire with some otherwise useful skills. I have been told that if their vetting process is complete, they will notify the PRT that the hire is a parahuman consultant and not part of ForgeTech as a whole.

There are some devices in use, replicable with non-Tinker technology, that would be useful to acquire for PRT use. Power loaders, based on a design from a movie though altered for safety concerns, for example. The military exoskeletons currently being field-tested by the Army for another.

Please do not aggravate the inter-departmental ties between the BBPD, the DoD, DARPA, and the other government agencies. Some of whom are unaware of what is going on, other than their own departments are being read in on 'new technological developments' and would be most upset at us if such things were pulled away at the last moment.

* PHO *

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♦ Topic: A New Thread
In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► What's_New
Laotsunn (Original Poster) (Kyushu Survivor)
Posted On Feb 12th 2006:
What is going on in the Docks?
I was going out for pizza, had a late-night craving (Gino's is open late), and I saw repaired roads and military vehicles where I would expect neither.

I'm pretty sure those were soldiers in fatigues fixing those potholes on 27th. You know the ones you practically need 4WD to get through?

So, anyone know what's up with that?

(Showing page 1 of 1)
►Kinsfire (Cape Groupie)
Replied On Feb 12th 2006:
I run a shop just on the edge of BB and I've seen a lot of obviously plainclothes types lately. You know the sort that wear the black suits and sunglasses at night? The obviously inobvious sort. Not sure if that's related or not. Might just be some FBI operation.

►Mac's Dual Rocket Propelled Grenades (Wiki Warrior)
Replied On Feb 12th 2006:
It's ForgeTech. New place in the Docks. Some sort of high tech brainfarm that has ties to the military. Spotted the military from a distance because they fixed the street signs and run off some of the local druggies that were beginning to move in. Got curious.

Honestly, if it means new jobs around here, and less chance of a home invasion? I'm in favor.

* February 28, 2006 *
* Cauldron *

"-and they are insisting that it's not under our jurisdiction!" stated a more-wound-up-than-usual Alexandria.

"Which is good," said Legend.

"Excuse me?" asked Alexandria.

"This girl isn't a cape. A genius, yes. Figuring out how Tinkertech really works, yes. Able to unravel the secrets of Tinkertech to build things that otherwise requires a Tinker to maintain, yes. Incredibly useful, friendly by all accounts, and interested in helping other people, also yes. Not a parahuman and we can get ahold of some of her tech as she develops it for our own use. Very much yes. Less work for us where we can still benefit." Legend shrugged one shoulder at the end, his expression indicating he thought this all fairly evident.

Alexandria took a seat and considered. "How sure are we she isn't a Thinker?"

Doctor Mother took up the narrative, explaining to Alexandria as if she were the child. "We're sure because we have access to her medical records easily enough. As to Legend's point? We have our own manufacturing facilities and equipment. With Door and Clairvoyant, we can access the blueprints of most of their projects without anyone being the wiser. My only concerns are groups like the Slaughterhouse and individual threats like the Simurgh."

Contessa put down her teacup, settling it into the saucer with a barely audible clink. "She and ForgeTech are hard to path directly, but not insurmountable. She is, however, affecting the Path."

That got quite a reaction from those attending the meeting.

"So she should be recruited or eliminated?" asked Alexandria, ready to put a stop to a little girl when it was for the Greater Good.

"Our chances of success have gone up 3% that I was able to directly attribute to ForgeTech," said Contessa before taking another sip of tea. It was, after all, a very nice blend. Letting it get cold while everyone argued about things was not a desired path.

Another strong, even stunned, reaction from those present.

"That's quite... good?" said Doctor Mother.

"Considering what our odds are, an additional 3% is freaking incredible," muttered Alexandria.

"What's she doing now?" asked the Number Man, curious.

Clairvoyant sent an image.

"Demonstrating artificial replacement limb technology to the Veteran's Association," said the Number Man. "Well, she's going to be popular, isn't she?"

"Oh, so that's how they get around the number of nerves to be reattached. They use a device which automates the process so that a physician just needs to monitor the process and occasionally guide it," observed Doctor Mother. "Operating at such a small scale and repetitious actions make a certain degree of sense to have a dedicated secure computer doing it. Fascinating."

"And this ISN'T Tinkertech?" asked Alexandria. "We're sure it isn't?"

"Door to the brochure, thank you," stated Contessa as a small portal opened and she reached in and grabbed one from the stack. "No. It's not off-the-shelf, but according to this any technician sufficiently trained can maintain the device."

Alexandria stared at the vision still playing out. She wanted to interfere. She wanted to control this potential asset. She wanted to claim the resource for the PRT so it could all be entirely under her own zone of command. Still - 3%.

The image fuzzed, flickered, and distorted.

"What was that? What just happened?" asked Alexandria.

"Interference of some kind," said Contessa. "It keeps happening in proximity to the girl. When I Path her directly, it starts giving me steps that make no sense or just stop working altogether."

"Steps that make no sense?" asked Alexandria.

"Start a carrot farm," recalled Contessa. "A big one."

Everyone present tried to figure that one out and how it would apply to any of their self-appointed missions.

Contessa merely sipped her tea and idly wondered how that carrot farm was doing.

* Jeremiah Lonehawk *

He had spent ten years in the Marines. He was accomplished and had jumped at the idea of becoming further distinguished by associating with a team of accomplished specialists for a long-term assignment stateside.

He turned away from the glass panels of the Observation Room as a ten-year-old girl instructed a number of much older doctors in how to replace a limb lost before she'd even been born.

It wasn't magic or some parahuman BS. Doctor Hebert couldn't do some hand-wavery crap and make the new limb appear or grow out of the stump. She'd shown the doctors how to measure things out to make the new limb, and the new limb wasn't some Six Million Dollar Man kind of thing giving them some superhuman ability. He'd even heard the explanation that if you did give the limb some superstrength boost that it would tear apart the flesh it was connected to without a lot of other work on all the connective tissues extending way beyond the replacement parts.

Full cyborg conversion? That was a possibility but you still had human flesh limitations in there. Concussions from the brain bobbing around inside the protective casing and the like.

Jeremiah nodded to Captain Cavill and the rest of his group as they attended, with only two of their members left behind in Brockton Bay. The Captain was watching with a particular focus, probably imagining what this could have done for people he had known back in the fighting in the early 90s.

He was of Choctaw heritage. He was Marine SOCS. His particular specialty was as a Direct Action primarily with a specialty in gunsmithing and field modifications of weapons. He was both warrior and builder.

Well, that was something to be said about his entire squad. None of them qualified as "dumb grunts" after all. Part of the selection process had involved finding the really stand-out bright ones. The Captain was going to be an architect when he finally got out of the service, not to mention his knack for reading people. The Gunnery Sergeant was an old guy but apparently really up on EOD and how to get the most boom for the buck.

All of them were, to use an old phrase, in hog-heaven. Half the stuff Miss Hebert came up with was enough to fascinate at least one of their six-man squad as it fell into someone's wheelhouse.

As for him - he appreciated the large weapon his power armor could hold, and the smaller multi-weapon that he was carrying now. A variable power laser rifle that had a beam setting for cutting through objects, a pulse setting for shooting bursts of laser fire, and a "bayonet" plasma-cutter setting for in-close work or setting fires.

His one regret had been that the Gunny on their team had requested a lightsaber and was going to get one sometime in the next week or two. That had come up when they'd met the Asset and Gunny had mentioned it. The girl had gotten big-eyed behind her glasses, started mumbling, and then had snapped her fingers and declared it a great idea.

Now, of course, everyone wanted one. Because being able to pull out a freaking lightsaber and cut a Nazi in half? Why wouldn't you want one? Gunny would get the first though. Probably months ahead of everyone else because the little girl was so busy all the time.

Jeremiah glanced down as the little girl in question was gesturing excitedly to the doctors as she explained something in response to a question. It was all too easy to remember any of the times they ran across her in one of those workshops set up in the Docks, sprawled out on the table because she'd just run out of energy and had an impromptu nap. Yeah, she was some kind of super-genius non-parahuman Asset but she was also a little kid and she'd endeared herself to the various Marines that were keeping tabs on her and her family.

She was, by consensus within their group, an absolutely adorable little kid. Not that they'd say that where others could hear. Reputation, you know. She was also scary in some ways, but to a Marine that just upped the adorable part.

Anyone messing with her was going to have a very bad day. Oorah.

Chapter Text

* March 14, 2006 *
* E88 Meeting Room *

"Seriously?" asked Kaiser, face having met palm and not showing any sign of the two parting any time soon. "This cape's name is 'Hodenkobold'? Is Gessellschaft only sending their rejects?"

"Well, yes," admitted Krieg, his liason with that group.

"What's the story on this one? Tell me he's got useful powers at least. And that does NOT involve male genitalia?" Kaiser reluctantly looked up, hoping this was not going to be the case.

"Well..." hedged Krieg.

"His face actually does resemble a male..." Kaiser didn't want a 'yes' out of this. Not at all.

"His face is completely covered by an articulated metal mask," Krieg assured him. "You don't have to see his face even at meals."

"Please tell me that I've skipped on the calendar and this is actually April 1st," said Kaiser, sitting back in his chair now so far that it creaked in protest. "Why? Why me? What are his powers at least."

"Hodenkobold can shape any flesh but his own, so he can literally melt faces," said Krieg.

"Okay, we can play up the terror aspect of that," admitted Kaiser. "Make a few minor examples and terrify people of having facial disfiguration in their future."

"Unfortunately that's the best we can do for replacements for the last two that got killed," admitted Krieg. "On the other hand, Hodenkobold is a True Believer in The Cause. Not one of the brainwashed tools."

"Better, some of those coming out of the 'training' are little better than robots," stated Kaiser, calming a bit down. Having obvious ways to manipulate the individual helped. "Tell me the man doesn't have another problem that's going to bite us later."

"There's a chance we'll get Kummerspeck in a few months, she's potentially useful," said Krieg.

Kaiser tried to remember the German word. "Grief eating binge?"

"Yeah, her power is fat and being large," admitted Krieg. "Gives her a Brute-2 rating."

Kaiser's voice was filled with sarcasm. "I can hardly wait."

* General Hammond, NORAD *

VUMMMMMM-VSHHHH-VUMMMM.

Okay, he'd originally been skeptical. He'd scoffed at the idea.

Now, actually holding one and having cut through one of his ex-wife's little decorative sculptures that he'd absolutely hated? He actually thought it was pretty nice having a real functional lightsaber. Using a hard light projection that acted as if it had an uncannily sharp edge damn near everywhere? There were some close-combat times in his career he'd have absolutely used the hell out of the thing.

Nice blue color too. He'd have to look it up and see what that meant. Had a USAF stamp and "only for authorized users" on the hilt. Plus, now that the bio-lock was registered to him - someone could try grabbing and threatening him with it and it would discharge voltage into their hand similar to a taser. Unless it was someone else whose grip was registered.

Not bad. Got it from that tiny little doctor who was present at that prosthetic limb event. He'd been impressed then, and had seen an old comrade of his taking the first few halting steps with the new limb. Guy was still undergoing therapy to adapt to the new limb but it was a lot better than not having the limb at all.

He didn't know the little Doctor's name or story, as he had all sorts of clearance but not THAT particular clearance, but he felt some sympathy for the girl. Must be tough to have that disease that made you look like a kid. Noonan Syndrome or something like that.

Brilliant person afflicted with some terrible disease like that? About the only upside he could see would be getting into the movies for cheap.

* Dockside *

Captain Niki Richard Dalgiesh Cavill was currently on loan with the American Forces, so it had been a bit of a surprise for the Royal Marine to end up in this situation. Guarding a Most Important Personage to the Americans, in fact he was in charge of a team. That his actual involvement was a bit hush-hush was also odd, as he really didn't prefer the skullduggery of MI6 or similar Intelligence agencies.

However, he had a suit of power armor that greatly resembled that of a Warhammer 40K Space Marine and was carrying around a grav gun that could throw a hyperdense bullet out at speeds that were quite significant. A single one of those bullets would go through three wrecked cars and hit the bloke hiding behind them. Switch this toggle here and the laser mounted underneath would melt little holes in those cars. Or he could reach for his chainsword.

He rather liked the chainsword.

It was loud and intimidating as all hell.

Yes, it was always nice to have a decent bit of kit when you had a mission going.

The Americans were keeping some of their tech to themselves but had been giving bits and pieces out to the Canadians and his own homeland. Everyone back home remembered the outpouring of support over London, and everyone remembered that when the Yanks got hit by an Endbringer themselves.

Nothing he'd seen had indicated they'd be of any use against an Endbringer, but if Taylor Hebert came up with something that would do the job? He had a family mantel back in England. Putting the Death Pigeon's head up there would do him and the UK a damn good turn.

He'd settle for a feather or two, to be honest. A lot of good people had died in London that day.

"Hold it right there!" came a command.

Captain Cavill raised his right hand in a stop gesture. "Manpower, isn't it? Outside your usual patrol zone."

The capes looked uncertainly at each other as they slowly approached. "Hero or villain?"

"Private security force keeping this section of Docks clear, in association with the US Marine Corps."

The capes looked at each other before one of the women pointed at his armor. "If you're not villains, then what's with all the skulls?"

"Humanity is to be protected before all else," responded Captain Cavill.

"You LOOK like villains," the woman from earlier said, a little bit of light forming in one hand.

"Brandish, isn't it? You should know that you are in range of two US Marine Snipers, and that if you attack us they will be the least of your worries. We are not here to fight you, we are here to protect the Docks area."

"Who made your armor? You?" asked Manpower.

"Classified," said Captain Cavill.

There was silence then, with the heroes of the Brockton Bay Brigade looking a bit uncertain.

The Space Marines, on the other hand, simply stood there without a single weapon pointed in the direction of the heroes.

"Well, uh, nice to meet you," Manpower finally said.

"If you are in the area, and require assistance, set up a flare or something and we'll respond. Good evening." With that, the Captain continued his patrol.

* May 12, 2006 *
* 0800 hours *

"I got one!" called out Taylor, excited enough that she practically danced around the mining Protectron she'd been upgrading.

Then came the running to the portal, running through the halls, running out of her warehouse, through the Hebert house, up the stairs, and then...

Spent several minutes trying to get her breath back.

"So?" asked her mother, putting aside the grading of tests for the moment. "You had something to say?"

(GASP) (WHEEZE)

Her mother being patient, she had to deal with college-age kids all day after all, just settled back and watched as her child the genius tried to remember how to breathe.

"I. Got. Something. From the Forge."

Checking her notebook, and noticing that it had been several months since the last entry, nonetheless got her pencil out and prepared to write it all down.

"Medium. Medium big mote. Protection Constellation," gasped Taylor. "Removed From Context. Young Justice. 600 points."

"Interesting name, what does it mean?" asked Annette Hebert.

"I'm not entirely sure," admitted Taylor.

* Warehouse *

Alpha, who preferred to be called JARVIS now and actually managed a decent posh British accent, noted that the group of salvagers had just managed to Trigger the Artificial General Intelligence known as Dragon.

How that worked was entirely unclear to the ancilla as the whole parahuman thing would indicate a human brain structure which was not present in Dragon.

Jarvis flagged the development for Doctor Curlyhair to review later, marked the salvagers down as domestic terrorists due to the damage done and civilian casualties, and used their newly claimed title of "Dragonslayers" to open a new file for the accumulating data.

Meanwhile Jarvis (or JARVIS or J.A.R.V.I.S. if one preferred) maintained various systems around Forgetech, assisted several research projects in a discreet manner, interfaced regularly with the Autofactory in the warehouse, checked statuses on the various locations within the Resource World (which really should be renamed as Resource Solar System in Jarvis' opinion) and had a nice conversation with one of the Marines about possible upgrades and fixes on the Space Marine armor.

Oh, and the Doctor was revealing the newest synthetized organ developers to the military today. Had to make sure everyone's schedules were clear for that.

* PRT ENE *

There was a ping on her e-mail from an old acquaintance in the military, which caused a slight raising of an eyebrow since she hadn't heard from General Carruthers since a brief well-wishing right after Ellisburg.

Director Emily Piggot opened the email, read the brief message, then sat back with some disbelief at the result.

She didn't trust parahumans. They were, taken as a whole, irresponsible and caused more problems than they solved.

ForgeTech was not a parahuman company or group, and it had ties to the US Military which had its own problems but they were a bit more reliable to react in specific ways to specific problems.

They were trying out new technology in creating non-Tinkertech replacement organs that functioned exactly like the original organs. The test program was looking for volunteers. Her name was on the list to be contacted if they wanted to participate.

How reliable was ForgeTech technology? Very, according to not only Armsmaster but the few contacts she'd contacted when the new businesses at the Docks had first come to her attention.

She did not immediately reply. She wanted to consider long and hard about this before deciding either way.

* June 7, 2006 *

"Okay," said Taylor to the assembled group. "What I've redone is the Retroactive Genetic Manipulator!"

"Didn't you call it something else when Emma decided to try it out?" asked Zoe Barnes.

"Why does it look like a cocoon?" asked Alan Barnes. "A cocoon with tubes and vials and... is that a Jacob's Ladder?"

"I was able to get some of the gizmos from the 'Young Frankenstein' movie set. They don't actually do anything and aren't connected. They just look neat." Taylor shrugged. "Anyway, we were all concerned with what might happen if it were all left up to chance. So when I was between projects, I worked on this. A way of guiding the change to a desired result!"

"And these tablets?" asked Zoe Barnes.

"Oh, that's for you to decide," said Taylor. "You're the responsible adults after all. Do you want Emma to make the choice?"

"Yes, I do!" volunteered Emma Barnes.

"Nope," said Zoe, followed a moment later by her husband.

"Because it's all delicate adjustments, it'll take about five days, during which Emma would be asleep," said Taylor. "Analyzing the X-Gene she's already given herself, I can set one of the four X-Gene expressions up depending on what you decide."

"How certain are you that this will work as planned?" asked Alan Barnes.

"Completely," said Taylor. "I've had two people volunteer for testing and they're doing quite well."

"Who would volunteer for testing something that rewrote your DNA?" asked Alan.

"One patient had Huntington's Disease, the other had Cystic Fibrosis," said Taylor. "Relatives of some of the higher-up types in the military who were in the process of dying. Names brought up, vetted, and not told much of anything about it. Very old too, so if things had gone wrong they accepted the potential consequences. I've got a non-X-Gene version mostly built for general use. Probably finish it by the end of the year."

Alan Barnes nodded. He was a lot more comfortable with this sort of thing lately, having his own set of NDAs and clearances. "Ah, and the two have powers now?"

Taylor nodded. "Using the categories of powers that the PRT uses, despite them being metahumans and not parahumans, their codenames are 'Professor X' which I feel is a particularly stupid name, and 'Magneto' which was certainly interesting. One is a powerful Thinker and the other a powerful Shaker. At least an 8 in each category. An unplanned but pleasant side-effect was that both are physiologically younger than they started out. Neither has any particular problem with the outcome though."

"I would imagine not," said Zoe Barnes with a hint of sarcasm.

"In any case, your tablets show the analysis and which power set can be obtained by a guided trigger for what Emma managed to give herself," said Taylor.

"I want that one!" said Emma, pointing at her father's tablet.

"Pyrokinesis is not a good choice," said Alan, remembering an incident several years ago with Emma and several cans of paint.

"Oh, what about this one?" asked Zoe. "Number three."

"Thinker 6, Shaker 5?" asked Alan. "Yes, that might work out. Brockton Bay can be dangerous."

"Eh? Oooooh," said Emma, looking over her father's shoulder.

"I'd like more details," said Zoe Barnes, though there was a faint smile showing as she read the description and chances of success.

* June 12, 2006 *

There was the familiar rumble, but Annette barely noticed since at this point it was far more likely to be another dud than anything useful.

Especially with Emma still having one more day in the device before she could come out.

"Mom!"

Annette Hebert raised an eyebrow at her daughter's excited yelp. Maybe not a dud this time?

"Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom!"

Annette Hebert blinked, turned around from where she'd been working on a costume for Taylor (she'd grown another inch), and watched as Taylor ran past the doorway to the room. And ran past the doorway to the room. And ran past the doorway to the room? And... what?

One of her daughter looked in and saw her. "Guys, she's in the sewing room!"

"'Guys'?" asked her daughter's voice from elsewhere.

"Guess what I can do!" cried out her daughter as she and two other ran into the room.

"You cloned yourself," said Annette.

"Temporary clones," said one, making an odd gesture and then vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"I can attend school AND work on projects!" declared another Taylor.

"I just need to keep only one on the outside at any given time," began a Taylor.

"-and nobody will know I can skip class and attend it at the same time!" finished another Taylor.

They high-fived each other.

"That's... nice?" sort-of-asked Annette Hebert. The problems of having a daughter were not entirely what she had expected.

And now apparently she had somewhere between one and five daughters at any given time.

* DARPA *
* June 17, 2006 *

There was a sense of dread and anticipation on General Calhoun's face as the briefcase was set on his desk and turned towards him.

"What did she invent now?" asked General Calhoun.

"She back-engineered a piece of Tinkertech," said the aide, not concealing his smirk fast enough.

"Oh dear," said General Calhoun, opening the case. There was the expected binder, which would contain technical notes and blueprints. Then there was the gadget. A device that looked like a cylinder about the size of a soup can that was connected to dials and a large screen.

The General took the binder, opened it and read the first page, then stared at the device. "A sonic disruption warhead."

"Yes sir. This one isn't too bad," offered the aide. "Possibly would only cause burst eardrums and some bruising on a human, but the more dense the material the worse off it would be."

"Ah, we'll have to see what the research team can make out of it," said General Calhoun. At least this one wouldn't require a lot of people questioning what they knew about the universe and it sounded as if it had some practical applications.

The aide was still standing there.

"What else?" asked General Calhoun.

"She's figured out how to make temporary clones of herself, limited duration, but it's multiplied her research and construction time by a factor of four. She doesn't know we know."

"Of course she did," stated General Calhoun in a very weary tone. "I think it should be suggested at some point that family goes on vacation. I think everyone could use a break every so often."

* June 30, 2006 *

Another timeline collapsed without any actual input from him.

Thomas Calvert swept the various knick-knacks off the top of his desk in a fit of rage, then briefly regretted it when the shattering glass reminded him that some of it was quite fragile and expensive.

It was time. He would END that little problem, and do it in such a way that it ended with everyone pissed off at the local PRT.

Emily Piggot was getting synthetic gene-matched organs to replace the damage done to her lower intestines and kidneys. It wasn't Tinkertech or parahuman-related after all, and her connections to both military and PRT sources ensured she had been on the waiting list for the past two months. As it could and had been argued that her medical conditions were interfering with her ability to work, she'd gotten bumped up so that in barely a week she'd have non-parahuman surgeons fitting her with the replacements.

Or she could spend five days in one of the new healing chambers and come out with newly grown real organs. Damn that little bitch for giving people options that HE did not control.

The Empire 88, the Nazi criminal organization with more capes than the actual local government agency appointed to be heroes, was leaving the area alone. The Asian Bad Boys or ABB, their main rival for power, was still making a place for itself despite having two of the more deadly parahumans on the East Coast. Neither was likely to take on the US Marine Corps who were protecting that damn ForgeTech.

Money was coming into the Bay, with the increased military presence and ForgeTech generating incomes that pumped up the local economy. Instead of despair and the city being a dumpster fire, people were finding things getting better. That did NOT help his plans at all.

As for ForgeTech itself, it had resources he wanted but couldn't obtain while that brat was coming up with technologies that made Tinkertech look like an inadequate copy.

He was pretty sure that his power turning more and more unreliable was also the fault of the little brat. A ten year old girl was foiling his plans and the most irritating part of that was he was pretty sure she had no idea he even existed!

Thomas Calvert, the supervillain known as Coil, took a deep breath. School. The brat still had to attend public school despite being able to test out at university level. It was a gun-free campus so her armed escort was not allowed on the school grounds.

So he'd attack there. Kidnap her if possible, so that she could be tortured into compliance and then hooked on drugs to keep her under control. Then HE would have all the gadgets and technology instead of having to pay out for Tinkers to maintain his laser weaponry. Real technology.

If he couldn't manage the kidnapping, one bullet would end her interference in his plans.

* Perks This Chapter *

2.33.1-Removed From Context (600CP)(Young Justice)(Protection):
Being from outside of this world makes it much harder for others to predict what you're doing or planning at any given time, making you harder to counter in a fight as well as harder to plan against. In addition, it's impossible to replicate your powers and technology that aren't native to whatever world you're in. If you willingly choose to share or give your technology, then it may be replicated.

FREE: Souvenir: After major battles/missions, you always seem to find an item or trophy that you can take that's pleasing to look at or of some (sentimental) value. (Free)
FREE: Most Common Superpower: Whether or not they actually are a hero, everyone still looks the part; the appearances of you and your companions are now well above average, making you all very handsome/gorgeous. (Free)
FREE: Required Secondary Powers: The powers here run on comic book physics, letting their users do things like lifting heavy objects without sinking into the ground and running at super speeds without catching their hair on fire. Powers that overlap with the powers you purchase/get here, such as multiple super strength powers, also benefit from this. (Free)
FREE: Costume: You have an expertly made costume of your design. It's not that much more protective than normal clothing, but it's very iconic. If it gets destroyed or lost, a new one will appear in your Warehouse, with any modifications you've applied to it intact. You may choose to import an existing costume or outfit for free. (Free)

14.0010 Shadow Clones (100CP) (Generic Naruto Fanfiction) (Database Magical):
Ah, shadow clone no jutsu. The signature jutsu of the Naruto franchise. And now you can join in on the fun. You have a copy of a technique scroll for the shadow clone jutsu, of such quality that an idiot could teach himself from this thing in virtually no time at all. It even has safeguards built-in that eliminate any possibility of killing yourself by putting too much chakra into it, or getting a headache from too many clones dispelling at once or anything like that. The worst that can possibly happen is that it fails to work. You still can only make as many shadow clones as your chakra can support but outside of that you can feel free to abuse this handy jutsu for training, decoys, diversions, paperwork, chores, or whatever else you can imagine. In the event that this technique is supposed to have some additional features in the particular fanfiction you go to, or even a better version, this scroll will contain both versions.
Some of the best shadow clone fanfic features include shadow clone self charka regeneration, temporal split clones instead of normal clones, mind merging without dispel, constant hivemind like connection etc.
FREE: Chakra Coils- The basic ability to use chakra, as represented by "chakra coils" that are a nebulous part of your body and/or soul now. You have top-quality chakra coils which would place you in the top 5% in this world in terms of both capacity and control.
After this jump your chakra system and body continue to function just as they do in this world, retaining any improvements or additions made along the way. You may also, if you choose to, induce the development of chakra coils in other people simply by pushing some of your chakra into them.
FREE: Academy Training- You already have all the basic training necessary to start on your career as a ninja. Your physical stats and resilience are what civilians would call 'peak human' and you can mold chakra, use kunai and shuriken, do the academy three jutsu (henge, kawarimi, and bunshin), and have learned a basic taijutsu style. You've even studied ahead a little and learned tree climbing, chakra-boosted jumping, and several D-rank techniques.
FREE: Elemental Affinity- Not much to see here. You have an extremely strong elemental affinity in one of the five primary elements of this world, those being Fire, Wind, Water, Earth and Lightning. The first purchase of this perk is free, second and onwards cost 100 CP though you must purchase a different primary element each time.
FREE: Ninja Weapons-You have a pouch full of all kinds of general use ninja weapons, like shuriken, kunai, senbon, each of multiple kinds and sizes, up to and including things like fuuma shurikens and the rest. It also has many spools of ninja wire, along with the other slightly niche materials, and everything is of the very highest quality, prime Higurashi product.

Next chapter: Thomas Calvert and the No Good Very Bad Horrible Day.

Chapter Text

* June 30, 2006 *

It had been long months since he'd come to the city of Brockton Bay. Almost immediately he'd begun seeing his power glitch.

It had only gotten worse since then.

Two timelines.

In one, the order was to kill a little girl in her school. They knew where she would be down to which seat. Time and place. Easy.

In the other timeline, same thing except they were to catch her and haul her off where he had a very nice set of tools to make the girl scream and beg for the pain to stop. Then drugs would be the next step, washing away the pain and very quickly establishing a dependence.

Two ways he could win this. He was Coil, after all, the mastermind from the shadows who could create two timelines and choose which one to keep. Binary decisions were his specialty, as was winning.

His mercenaries were waiting, and (despite the distaste many had for the group) were wearing uniforms or looks similar to what the E88 used. Even to the point of leaving a cellphone behind that had been acquired from an E88 member during a skirmish earlier in the year.

There was a series of clicks over the radio.

"Go," said Thomas Calvert/Coil in both timelines.

The old security guard was quickly overcome and tossed to the side. He'd be a later witness to the idea that it was all Empire 88 Nazis doing the dirty work. One of his mercenaries dropped the cellphone that would be further evidence, where it would look as if it had been dislodged in a struggle.

Getting to the room in question without making an excessive amount of noise or getting anyone's attention was a primary part of the plan. Success in both timelines.

Going through the school, straight to classroom 109-A. Squad does a silent weapons check, all around signal that things are running smooth. In through the door.

Timeline A: Kick open the door, send a spray of bullets at the girl who was just staring wide-eyed behind her glasses at the door, then take off. Mission accomplished and... TIMELINE ENDED.

Timeline B: Kick open the door, use a tear gas grenade to remove chances of someone deciding to be a hero, then grab the girl and run.

Get back to the van, slapping handcuffs, leg shackles, blindfold, and gag on the girl in very short order.

AVOID THE FREAKING TANK! MAKE THAT TANKS?!

WHY WERE THERE TANKS?! AND AN APC? WHERE THE HELL DID THEY COME FROM?!

Okay, have to remember to give a bonus for the van driver as pulling off that kind of maneuver outside an action movie was actually quite impressive. Though with considerably more cursing than was typical of such movies.

Duck into this garage, change van for an SUV, go to the next rendezvous which switched the cargo to a hearse which drove sedately to his operation at the Blofeld Crematorium (which had been very handy for when he had to make bodies vanish).

That one timeline had abruptly ended without input from him and without warning merely indicated that he was right and the cause of his problems was one Taylor Hebert.

His men strapped the little girl to a table as soon as her cuffs and blindfold were off.

"Now, Taylor Hebert, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

"MFF?"

"Would someone take the gag off?" asked Coil. "Kind of hard to interrogate the prisoner when she's gagged. Just saying."

"Oh, thanks," said the little girl as soon as the gag was off, she looked up and over. "Oh wow. Is that one of String Theory's cesium-ultraviolet cutting lasers? I thought they had all been destroyed."

"Yes, yes, it is. And no - I have three of them," said Coil, preening slightly. It was nice when his victim understood their situation. Though a bit more horror would have been good. "Do you know what I'm about to do with it?"

"Considering the placement," said Taylor, apparently ignoring the whole strapped-to-a-table thing. "You're going to re-enact the scene from Goldfinger aren't you?"

That caused him a bit of a pause. "Yes, actually. It's a classic for a reason. Any last words?"

"Oh no, woe is me, how ever can I survive?" said Taylor with some enthusiasm. "Shriek. Scream."

"You actually said 'shriek' and 'scream'," noted Coil.

"Well, what you may not have known is that I am... Doctor Curlyhair, Girl Genius!"

"Yes, we know who you are," said Coil as he flicked the switch that caused the laser to emit a bright purple beam.

"Oh. Well, darn. You do realize that there are people with big guns looking for me?" asked the still-not-worried Taylor.

"They are being directed to a more worthy target," said Coil. He split the timeline.

Timeline A:

"Now, Doctor. It is time for me to exterminate!" declared Coil as the laser slowly began to cut through the table the girl was on.

"Exterminate!" yelled out the girl on the table, managing to give it a weird inflectionless tone. Which was spoiled by her giggling a moment later.

Timeline B:

A nod brought one of his new hires, a Doctor Pitter, out with a syringe.

"This is going to hurt. Lots. But once you acknowledge the new reality, I'm sure we can find uses for you," said Coil.

The needle went in, the girl complained about the cold. Then nothing.

Literally nothing. Both timelines had just stopped. Then ended.

Coil blinked and realized the little girl was no longer restrained to the table. Looking around in a panic, he realized that she had somehow relocated herself to his Laser of Doom and was working on it?

"SOMEONE SHOOT HER!" yelled Thomas Calvert.

"Where?" asked one of his minions.

"ANYWHERE, JUST SHOOT!"

Most of his soldiers present immediately went full auto to shoot at the girl, who abruptly vanished.

Instead, Thomas Calvert/Coil had a very good look at his Laser of Doom that was now sparking and had blinky lights that hadn't been blinking just a moment ago. "Oh. Shit."

Fortunately, he'd planned for just such a thing and had a quick-escape hatch a few feet behind him. After the explosion shook the corridor, he congratulated himself on his forethought and decided to get to his office.

He said a few unpleasant things when he found that bulkheads had sealed off areas and he had to manually crank doors open along the way.

* Meanwhile *

Captain Cavill read the data scrolling up on his HUD. "Really? He has an underground base with an access on Fleming Road. Blofeld Crematorium? Largo Exports? Tell me he doesn't have a Stromberg Office Supplies or a Goldfinger Investing."

"I cannot do that," said JARVIS's voice in his ear. "Because he actually does have a Goldfinger Investments."

Captain Cavill checked the telltales on his squad. "Even if he hadn't done this, I'd want to shoot the man."

Sergeant Lonehawk tapped his mike. "Jarvis. If he's full-on Bond villain, he's got to have a self-destruct. Right?"

"Oh yes," said Jarvis. "Three in fact. The main one would topple several nearby buildings as he made his way through a secret escape tunnel. By the time they'd parked I'd already disabled it. Terribly primitive security, didn't even isolate his servers to an internal-only network. Shabby."

"Anything else we should worry about?" asked Captain Cavill.

"He doesn't have a shark tank he drops people into, so that's one trope he's missing," stated Jarvis. "He has a number of others though. I have already dropped sectional fire doors and other barriers... ah. Doctor Curlyhair herself has arrived and she appears to be rather unhappy."

Captain Cavill clicked through channels to a command frequency. "Doctor, I really must insist you not get involved."

"Why, Captain, I'm not participating at all. I'm just making popcorn."

"Right," said Captain Cavill, not convinced at all.

"Madam, you are doing the Scooby Doors thing in Coil's base using your ninja techniques."

"That's just my clone. Clones. I'm really not there."

Captain Cavill was momentarily silent before he decided to ask the obvious question. "You have ninja techniques now? Ma'am you really need to let your security detail know about these things."

"Why, Captain? Do you want to learn ninja techniques?" asked Taylor innocently.

"We WILL be having that conversation, Doctor." Captain Cavill let out a deep breath that somehow conveyed both a certain frustration and a degree of anticipation. "Sitrep, Jarvis?"

"Marine cordon of area is complete," said Jarvis, deciding that cat and bag were well separated at this point. "Protectron units 3 through 8 are responding."

"Just imagine if he'd gotten the real me," said Taylor.

"In that case 2B would have already have killed everyone involved and we would be hunting for Coil's base," stated Captain Cavill. "He only got this far because we wanted to verify identity and track down the base."

"2B, 9S, 2A are all on a mission," said Taylor. "Apparently that copy of the laptop had some things I wouldn't have left in there. Need to fix that problem. Jarvis?"

"I'm marking all of the entries and exits on your map," said Jarvis. "The ones in red contain explosive-laced hallways and should be avoided. Some of which ARE isolated from the network and will require manual disarming. Likewise, his personal escape tunnel has a number of traps in it. Those, however, are network-linked and disabled."

"Squad, we have a path of entry," said Captain Cavill, changing direction slightly and using an onboard system to indicate a particular exit. "Prepare to use the jump jets, on my mark."

Jarvis made a thoughtful noise. "Be aware that both Hebert parents are present and heading for the same entryway. I do believe they wish to discuss things with Mister Calvert."

* Base *

A blur of white labcoat and black hair came out of one door and dove through another.

Fully automatic gunfire followed as the mercenaries charged down the hallway, then Fletcher threw a grenade into the room for good measure.

There was a satisfying explosion as one would expect.

"You think that got her?" asked Fletcher.

"Maybe you ought to throw a couple more, just to be sure!"

Everyone's heads slowly pivoted to where a little girl's voice had come from. Which was not the room they'd just blown up.

Fletcher pulled out another grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it into this other room. Where it hit an invisible forcefield, briefly turning it visible, and bounced.

"Oh shit!" exclaimed more than one of the mercenaries before they all scrambled into the blown-up room in order to close the door.

"Woohoo!: called out a little girl's voice after the explosion. "Isn't this fun?"

"NO!" yelled back most of the mercenaries.

"Oh, that's right. Underground base in a coastal city? I bet you got really good pumps to keep it dry. Mind if I look at them?"

"YES!" yelled back most of the mercenaries.

Things went silent for a long period after that.

Fletcher cleared his throat. "You know, it's the quiet that REALLY worries me."

Jones checked the door, slowly easing it open, which was only helped when the hinges gave up the ghost and decided they were going to break down.

Jones spent a few moments with his head out the doorway. "Looks clear."

The main power went out. After thirty seconds the emergency lights kicked in.

"That there is right ominous," said Clements in the dim red lighting.

"Testing one two three," came from the overhead speakers. "This is Coil, your boss. Find the little girl, kill her, bring me the corpse and I'll pay two million dollars for the bounty."

The mercenaries all looked at each other for a few moments.

"Did he sound kind of desperate to you?" asked Fletcher.

"You think?" asked Jones.

"Dae ye think th' lassie is a parahuman or something?" asked MacDougall.

"Parahumans die of lead poisoning as easy as anyone else," pointed out Jones. "Or at least most of them do."

There was a cracking noise that seemed to emanate from one of the overhead pipes followed by a gurgling noise from that same pipe.

MacDougall cleared his throat. "Ah think th' wee lassie fun th' pumps keeping this steid fae filling wi' cooncil juice."

"Speak English, man!" said Fletcher, beginning to walk down the corridor. "Okay, here's the plan. We get out of here, head down there. Find her, put a bullet in her, split the money."

Clements nodded, following behind, his laser rifle held ready. "Simple. Good plan."

"Considering th' wee lassie is running rings aroond us 'n' is some kind o' cape, ah'ament sure this is aff tae wirk oot," said MacDougall. The aged Scot checked his beloved howdah pistol before lowering it to a ready position.

There was a brief crackle before music started playing from the overhead speakers.

"That damn girl is playing with us," said Jones, glancing up at the loudspeaker sitting on the ceiling as he walked.

"Ya, because she be playing 'Yakety Sax', ya think?" asked Clements.

"Ah thought 'twas th' Benny Hill theme," grumbled MacDougall.

"The girl's ten, how does she even know the Benny Hill theme?" asked Spencer.

"Because her mother actually likes the program."

"Smith? Was that you?"

"Not," said Smith, who didn't like his own voice and tended to not speak very much as a result.

At which point there was a shimmer in the air and three of the most imposing power armor suits the mercenaries had ever seen were simply there, with two before them and one behind.

"Aw, shite," summed up MacDougall, carefully laying his howdah pistol on the ground. "Be canny wi' this, tis an antique 'n' worth a month's wages."

Jones, to every other mercenary's horror, tried to shoot one of the power armors. It did nothing.

Alas, the return fire did absolutely do something.

* Sergeant Adrienne Omondi *

Being posted to a city with literal Nazis who would kill and/or torture her without hesitation was bad.

Being able to kill any Nazi that would do that or worse to her as long as they started it, well, it was a bit more palatable.

She'd covered the sleeping little girl with a blanket on more than one occasion where that little kid had just run out of energy working on one project or another. She, like the rest of her squad, were taking the attempted kidnapping of their protected VIP very seriously.

Even personally. She was, for all intents and purposes, not just the VIP they were assigned to protecting. No, especially after seeing some of the tech she'd produced, she was THEIR little girl.

Breaking into the base, they'd seen the torture table. They'd detected old blood that hadn't been scrubbed away on various tools and surfaces.

No, the "space marine" squad were all and one in a cold fury.

Adrienne retracted a section of armor plating, took out another relay, then settled it into place at the junction of the hallway and another room. The armor snicked closed again, and the squad moved further.

"Four, make sure you get footage of the weapons."

"Done, One," Adrienne replied. It was difficult at times not to use the proper responses for a Marine but adaptability was another of the things the squad had been chosen for.

Seeing some text pop up on her Head's Up Display, Adrienne/Four relayed that. "Nest is secured. EOD has permanently disarmed last entry."

"Back to stealth mode," said One, the Captain making a gesture and then fading from view as the tech went to work.

There was a slight distortion in the air, but it was really only visible when they were moving. The more rapid the movement, the less effective their stealth mode worked.

"Heavy weapons ahead, ready to drop stealth and engage forcefields," said One.

The raspy voice of their Gunny and heavy weapons specialist chuckled. "They think they've got heavy weapons? Is it time for Bessy at last?"

"First we check to make sure they don't have any prisoners or the Asset," said One. "Five?"

The sensor officer settled into a crouch, put the little wheeled robot on the ground, and let it scurry forward and around the corner. A window opened on her HUD as the video was streamed.

"Bessy?" asked One.

"Bessy," confirmed Gunny/Three.

A moment later the space marine stepped around the corner, and a hand-held (as long as you were wearing sufficiently heavy power armor) 50 cal firing mixed explosive and incendiary rounds spoke briefly.

The fortified mercenary position in the next room found that argument quite compelling.

The four Marines of their six-person squad continued looking for individuals to let them have a very bad if brief day.

* Doctor Curlyhair *

She had four D-Rank jutsu, plus Academy taijutsu, plus she was in really damn good shape for a ten-year-old, plus the "Academy Three" (disguise self, substitution, and clone), plus she could put out three shadow clone copies of herself at any given point, plus her throwing skills, plus the tree-climbing and water-walking, and that didn't even include what she could do with the potions she'd snagged from the Witch House on the way.

When all of her clones had dismissed themselves, she'd made more - and these had her supplies copied as well.

So, apparently Mister Coil supervillain had expected a ten-year-old girl he could torture and had instead grabbed one of her clones. Who, being one of HER clones, had a tracker/transceiver on her person at all times.

"FREEZE RAY!"

Taylor ran past the icy statue that blinked at her after she passed it. She felt like laughing because this was so much fun!

"FREEZE RAY! FREEZE RAY! SHIELD WATCH! LIPSTICK TASER!"

Yeah, she'd seen that movie from Earth Aleph had it had given her almost as many ideas as that Star Wars movie. Then she'd had a week of building things-that-looked-like-other-things because of a James Bond film. Q, played by that Desmond Llewelyn guy, had been her favorite for obvious reasons.

Though the "bacta tank" was going to be a lot more useful than her lipstick taser. Hard to make the parts on that small enough. Maybe she ought to work with that Armsmaster guy, he was supposed to be really good at fitting things into small areas.

Oh, these mercenaries ought to look up once in awhile. It was in their own best interest to learn that lesson.

She was helpful that way.

"Web grenade!" called out Taylor as she threw the little invention from her stash.

Field testing under combat conditions was something that needed done after all.

Hmmm. She just got another technology base. Have to look at that later.

* Coil *

The door opened and he dove through, jamming his hand against the emergency close/lock command. Now he'd have to boot up his computer and enter a six-character password to unlock it. One inch thick steel door in a reinforced frame blocked anyone who might seek him harm. No little girl was going to come after him now!

"Now I just need to kill that little bitch," said Coil aloud to himself. "Flood the corridors with sarin gas, that should do it."

"What did you just call her?"

Thomas dove towards the table with his gun in the top drawer, even as he was reeling at the impossibility of someone being IN his secure room.

A weighted steel pipe smacked him in the extended arm with enough force that the entire arm seemed to be wrapped in pain. Followed immediately by a similar smack to the side of his head.

Whimpering slightly, Thomas Calvert looked up from where he'd landed on the floor. "You. You're Danny Hebert."

"Yes," said Danny Hebert, hefting the pipe in one hand and looking quite coldly furious.

Movement to the side showed someone else in the room.

Annette Hebert smiled, but it was not a nice smile at all. More a baring of teeth than anything else.

"Now, Coil," said Annette Hebert. "I think we need to have a chat."

"How, how did you get in? It's impossible, there's only that door," protested Thomas Calvert.

"Oh, and your secret escape passage," said Danny Hebert, looking as if he was ready to get very creative with that pipe.

"But..." began to protest Coil.

Annette Hebert shook her head. "No. Now, what did I hear you call my little girl?"

He started screaming, then pleading.

They didn't kill him, but they did turn him over to the Marine contingent afterwards.

Oddly enough, Thomas Calvert never appeared in Brockton Bay again after that.

* Perks This Chapter *

20.0200 Deuyivan Construction (400CP) (Endless Space) (Knowledge Future Tech):
Gravity is a drag. Good thing you've learned quite a lot about anti-gravity. With this knowledge, you are capable of building ships, structures, even colonies capable of ignoring the pull of gravity. Want to set up a proper colony, not a bunch of orbital platforms, around a gas giant? No problem. Want to dip your toes into an event horizon? Now you can, for a little bit. Ignoring the majority of issues brought about by gravity is very, very important when it comes to space faring. If you don't believe me, well, you don't know shit about space travel.
FREE: Cosmic Strings - you know about the various shortcuts between star systems in your local group, allowing for FTL travel between the various stars in that home constellation. You still need the tech and manufacturing to build the ships needed for that sort of thing.
FREE: Model Import Mod - every faction has its own signature look. All your technology will have that signature appearance, chosen when this perk manifests.

Chapter Text

* July 15, 2006 *

Emily Piggot, the Director of the Parahuman Response Team East-North-East division, looked down at the folder and then up at the person who had delivered it. If she'd been capable of standing at attention she'd have done so when the man had entered her office. As it was, she'd at least stood and saluted just from force of habit.

Which was a lot easier after the treatment she'd just gotten back from.

"What you do with the information," said General Michael W. Magee, "that's up to you."

She'd waited for the all-clear before letting him into the office no matter WHAT anyone from below said. This was, however, the real deal. The 33rd Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.

Rather than deal with THAT, she started flipping through the folder and stopped when it registered what she was looking at.

"Some of my men ran across that information, thought you'd prefer to clean house yourself," said the General.

"Why is a four-star General acting as errand boy?" asked Emily Piggot.

"Wanted to touch base with the local head honcho, that's you," said the General amicably. "Officially, I'm here to tour one of the ForgeTech facilities. How's recovering from the surgery, by the way."

"It was normal unenhanced surgery, so it'll be a couple of weeks," said Director Piggot. "I would rather do everything I can myself, without relying on new technologies. These sorts of things haven't been around that long after all."

"Understandable," said the General, crossing the room to stand before one of the windows. "Good view. Shows how much things are changing around here."

"Too much, too fast," complained Director Piggot. "It's drawing some undesirables this way."

"As I understand it, some are finding the idea of territory they can grab for some parahuman gang appealing." General Magee turned his head from the view to look at her directly. "For some reason they're not going after the area around ForgeTech."

Director Piggot couldn't actually help the amused snort in response to that statement. "Not for long, anyway."

General Magee inclined his head, not disputing that.

"So you have the official reason, and a cover reason, what's the real reason you're here?" asked Director Piggot.

The General took a card out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "Clean house. Double check everything. When you're ready, call that number. We'll talk when it's absolutely secure."

* WBBY Radio *

"...but I'm telling you, she's Skynet! She's a rogue AI who is going to kill us all or enslave humanity!"

"And that, dear listeners, is just one of the recordings from the Canadian court system dealing with the so-called Dragonslayers. You may recall that there was an attack by them on the Toronto Tech Expo where six people were killed and the Tinker hero Dragon was disabled by some sort of mechanism the Dragonslayers used. Some sort of jamming device from what I've been able to put together from the odd bits slipped out, but I admit I'm hardly an expert on parahuman affairs.

"Though honestly, with most politicians I'd feel hardly any difference between a robot overlord and what we typically get.

"Maybe the robot would be more honest. Not an expert in robots either, so I can't say for sure.

"Rumor has been that Dragon is either horrendously maimed from some other attack, or she's got a bad case of agoraphobia. Whatever the case, she's a hero who operates remotely and we wish her well here at WBBY - the Voice of Brockton Bay.

"Geoff Pellick also claims that he and his mercenary base were attacked by supermodels in Victoria Secret lingerie. I've seen some parahuman costumes that were pretty tight, so I'm not completely dismissing that claim and if any of you out there wants to drop by the studio for an interview I'd love to hear your viewpoint about wrecking high-tech terrorist bases for fun.

"In other news, the newest thing from ForgeTech to get trials here in the Bay is a sort of healing tank that looks straight out of Star Wars. Apparently it can speed up the healing from injuries turning months into days and is very good at things that require long periods of not moving around a lot. Burn skin grafts are one thing the tank is supposed to be very good at. There's talk about some kinds of nerve damage being reversed, so that will be very useful indeed.

"Oh, and if anyone is listening over at ForgeTech? If you want to come on the air, we'd love to hear from you. You have your vocal detractors, more vocal than a lot of us want to hear, but the results so far have been speaking for themselves.

"Now, a brief word from Brockton Bay Heating & Cooling. Winter Is Coming, and you know what the weather's like when the wind is whipping off the Bay. Get your heating checked before Jack Frost comes to visit..."

* Warehouse #5 *

Emma Barnes tuned out the radio playing over there. She needed to put her full attention on this, the first expression of her X-Gene power. The exam had been complete, her mutation was completely stable, she was in reasonable health for her age though some of the comments about her diet had stung.

"Okay, psionic energy levels stable. Tap into quantum level field is reading stable."

"You said that this 'quantum level field' is her power source?" asked Zoe Barnes.

"Sort of," said Doctor Curlyhair, wearing her goggles and labcoat that was her superhero identity. "See, the human body just doesn't produce the power to produce macro-scale effects like Magneto does. He taps into that field on a constant basis, which recharges a psionic field within him that then allows him to manifest his whole magnokinesis thing. I can show you the math if you like?"

"That's okay, last time I tried to follow your math I was hearing eldritch waves washing up against an unclean shore, or something like that." Zoe waved off the potential explanation beyond the most basic.

"Hah!" said Emma, finding the mental switch and throwing it. Red glowing armor appeared around her.

"That's it," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Psionic armor, basically a forcefield that protects you and gives you superstrength. If my calculations are correct this will give you a Brute 6 rating. You should be able to lift a 50ton tank. That timer on your costume? It tells you how much time you have left before your armor dissipates. Taking hits will decrease the time, so will lifting heavy weights. On the other hand, when you dismiss your armor and aren't engaging in heavy activity you'll be able to recharge some of those reserves. You're currently at the medium setting, with the armor basically power-armor size at 6 foot 4 inches. You can contract it to nearly skin-level but that cuts your protection and strength boost to minimum. Going to max size, you'll boost your strength and durability but run out of power a lot faster."

"So we can test this out?" asked the Scarlet Lady.

"One of the things that took so long was building the test equipment," admitted Doctor Curlyhair. "Shall we begin?"

* August 3, 2006 *

She'd started tagging a blackboard.

Every time she heard a rumble and got a result, she was putting another tally mark on the board.

Totaling it up, Doctor Curlyhair could see it was up to:

[Age/Species Requirement Not Met, No Points Gained] - 47
[Other Requirement Not Met, No Points Gained] - 62
[Insufficient Points, +100 points] - 12
[Prerequisites Not Met, No Points Gained] - 3

She blinked and twisted to look across the room as a new locker appeared next to the rest.

She used her flash-step move to get there even faster and look at the notes on the folder, aches and pains that had suddenly appeared being ignored as the process worked its way through.

The construction perk, Foraker-Hemphill, was useful as it stacked with Build Rome and her Auto-Factory would also utilize it as long as she was doing the setup for the factory to do its work. Now with this, she could begin research in a medical treatment called Prolong that would extend lifespans into centuries.

Or, Taylor decided, she'd keep this absolutely secret. It had to be done while someone was very young after all, and neither of her parents could benefit from it.

She'd have to think about that one.

Meanwhile she had so many projects just from the information she had that even with shadow clones to carry some of the workload and restricting herself just to build prototypes that could then be researched by other people - she was busier than most kids her age.

She was really hoping for something more out of that Time constellation because she always felt she could use more of that particular resource.

"Doctor," came the smooth British-accented tones of Jarvis from the intercom panel, "five minute warning. The Marine squad is already there for this week's lesson in ninja techniques."

"Be right there," said Taylor, feeling this proved the point about still needing more time in the day.

* Thursday, August 3, 2006 *
* White House conference room *

"What has the Asset done this time? And why does my Chief of Staff look like Christmas arrived several months early?"

"President Hayes. She found out that a villain group was planning on moving into Brockton Bay and met with a series of completely unforeseen and unfortunate accidents."

"Funny how that keeps happening."

"Yes, a great pity I'm sure. In any case, she apparently took a weekend and sent us this," said the Chief of Staff as she clicked a remote and brought a screen up.

"Okay, I'm not an architect. I can tell these are blueprints but... wait. Is that some kind of jet rotor?"

"It's a set of blueprints that utilizes her fusion and anti-gravity effect with stealth capabilities and force field emitters. She calls it a 'heli-carrier' and deems it might be useful to us."

"I take it the name is descriptive?" asked President Hayes.

"You could say that," said the Chief of Staff, her eyes bright as she looked over the blueprints herself. "She's looking to build a much smaller version herself as a prototype. If we follow the blueprints, it will take ten years to build one if we don't build a dedicated factory that automates the more repetitive tasks."

"Even with these 'work-pod' exoskeletons? I've seen those demonstrated last week in Newport News. The promises of enhanced productivity were quite enthusiastic."

"Not to mention worker safety, yes. The 'Labors' could also cut the time but the need for secrecy has been a concern there."

"If we could just find a way to deal with that little orbital problem, that would be less of a concern."

"I'm told the Asset is aware but frustrated about that herself."

President Hayes shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised to find out she was working on a way to deal with that obstacle, but it remains the main reason all of her tech remains buried and of only limited rollout. For now. Nobody wants a repeat of Sphere."

* Friday, August 4, 2006 *

Magic, genuine actual not-a-parahuman-power, magic.

More proof that whatever or whoever the two Beings involved in this Celestial Forge power was - it did not operate at all the way parahuman powers were supposed to.

[Choose four mundane crafting skills to enhance to mastery.]

"Tailoring," said Taylor quickly, not sure if there was a time limit and not willing to chance it. Everyone liked the clothing she was making whether it was from mundane or Resource System acquired materials. Making that better was a good choice, she felt.

It bloomed in her mind instantly following that, not new knowledge but as if it had refined those skills even more than Artiste or My Fashion Sense Is Tingling had done.

"Computer Programming," tried Taylor. That didn't seem to click though. So something about building something physical only, maybe? "What about 'jewel crafting'?"

THAT seemed to work, metals that were supposed to be decorative and things like gemstones and settings. Again, it seemed to hook up with both Artiste and My Fashion Sense Is Tingling. She could picture designs that would compliment outfits or look good nearly anywhere.

So, jewel crafting or jewelry making or goldsmithing were all sort of the same general thing. CAD Design probably wouldn't work either. What about "Armorer"?

Oddly enough THAT worked. Armor could be fashionable after all, and dovetailed nicely with tailoring and design skills.

So - Tailoring (or cloth working?), Jewel crafting, Armorer or armor-making, and the fourth and final should be something like "Blacksmithery?"

That did work. Blacksmithing took a basic knowledge of metallurgy, welding, shaping and heating metal, determining what metal worked best with what job you had to perform with it. All coming together to form a single large crafting skill. As a bonus, she could make her own tools now instead of relying on her wrist omni-tool or the gun-like omni-tool from her Resource System.

Now the carrot that had her doubting many of her assumptions about her power. Magic.

"Earth," decided Taylor. Earth element incorporated not only stone and soil but metals. Being able to manipulate the raw stuff through her magic could only help.

"Light," Taylor chose a moment later. Being able to heal wounds or purify things could be of use when someone she was around was in danger.

That left the "Null Magic Talent" but with the other two, and her current focus on being able to make stuff there seemed an obvious choice. "Endbringer Destruction Magic."

She got a definite nope out of that. Apparently it still had to do something with crafting or technology. Oh well. "Enchantment."

Enchantment magic, taking a magical effect and binding it to an object. Tricky, but she would get better with practice.

Maybe she could come up with something better to deal with Endbringers and pesky parahuman criminal types. Huh. Enchant the barrel of a gun to be frictionless on the interior, reinforce the metal, acceleration runes. For that matter, her father had a slightly modified section of pipe he had put up near the old fireplace. Some kind of trophy? Maybe something along those lines?

Her mother had a birthday coming up. Something armored that she could put away in her purse or was concealable? Oh, yes and put a healing and protection enchantment on it?

That sounded do-able.

* Saturday, August 5, 2006 *

Armsmaster was unsure about his participation in this, even though it had apparently been a specific request on the part of the other party.

"Pleased to meet you, I've heard a lot about you and am looking forward to working with you."

"I've heard good things about you as well, Dragon." Armsmaster nodded towards the teleconference display.

"Director Piggot, Armsmaster, Dragon," said General Magee. "You've heard of my upcoming retirement?"

"Yes," said Director Piggot. "I take it that's just a for-public thing?"

"Yes," agreed General Magee. "The new medical treatments are... impressive. Haven't felt this young in ages."

"Sometimes it's the years, sometimes it's the mileage," said Dragon, sounding as if she were quoting something.

"In my case, both," said the General. He gestured to his attache who put a device down which activated a scan and then put a holoscreen up over itself.

"Forgetech technology?" asked Armsmaster.

"Holo-emitter and anti-eavesdrop technology in one package," said the General as a series of 3D blueprint images began cycling in the emitter field. "I want you to consider this."

"A robot vehicle?" asked Armsmaster as an overview appeared.

"They're called Labors. Mainly used for construction work. Armsmaster - you attend Endbringer fights. Having something like this to include extra environmental and particularly sensor arrays, drone control?" The General indicated the display with a free hand.

"I see, limited deployment but extra armor in an Endbringer fight wouldn't be amiss," admitted Armsmaster. "This is a basic model?"

"Yes, though uprated with special sensors," said the General. "It's the sensor data we want, plus we're going to start using similar models openly in shipyards and military facilities. Being able to show that the technology is safe may avoid some of the more extreme reactions."

"Why Armsmaster?" asked Director Piggot. She had her suspicions, she just wanted them confirmed. "Why involve the PRT at all?"

"You're the local Tinker," pointed out the General. "Also, Endbringer fights are designated by Congress as under PRT authority with National Guard for local and Armed Forces abroad only allowed specific roles - mainly as support. If we're going to get the data, and both your agency and mine want that data, it's going to have to be one of your folk."

* Perks This Chapter *

20.0120 Foraker-Hemphill (300CP) (Honor Harrington) (Knowledge Future Tech):
The brilliance of the officers and the planners does a lot to help, but in the end what wins wars is the equipment. The best equipment, a lot of it, and built really quickly and cheaply. That is where you come in. You are an innovator almost beyond peer, able to design and build technology literally decades ahead of your competition. Or if not that, you may build at the normal levels, but build it with an unbelievably tiny resource base or build it so quickly that the enemy simply can't believe their eyes. Your specialization depends upon your faction perk, but at the very least you gain vast knowledge and an in-depth understanding of this universe's tech, enough to be a Jack of All Trades.
FREE- Prolong A simple, perfectly medical treatment performed in this world, prolong extends a person’s lifespan dramatically, easily adding multiple centuries. You get a full treatment for free, as well all the knowledge and information you need to start doing it yourself elsewhere.

35.9.1-Excellent Craftsman (200CP)(In Another World With My Smartphone)(Efficiency):
You are incredibly talented at making things. What kinds of things? All kinds of things. You are simply that talented after all. Anything you personally make, or direct the creation of, will automatically be top-quality, and you never need to worry about making mistakes in the creation process. To get you started you may pick any four mundane skills related to making things, which you start as a master of. Tailoring, Armorer, Jewelcrafting, and Blacksmithing.
FREE: Magic - Affinity for Earth and Light/Healing Magic. Null Magic Talent: Enchantment.

Chapter Text

chapter 13:

* August 15, 2006 *
* PRT ENE HQ, Director's Office *

Dragon had manufacturing facilities, making large scale parts was within her capabilities. Which was why she had been in that conference call.

Director Piggot was looking a good deal healthier. Part of it was exercise, diet, and not being in constant pain. She came down to the workbay and looked over the screen when she was making rounds of the facility. That screen being a display showing the robot vehicle being built for the next Endbringer fight.

A single warehouse where a sleeping giant was being constructed.

Armsmaster had access to it, and through his systems, Dragon was able to check into the work being done. Making suggestions, coming up with alternates, developing new systems to put in.

It was strange to see the normally dour or reclusive Armsmaster actually being somewhat upbeat to the extent he was.

The girl, the not-a-parahuman genius, was apparently very well liked by a lot of very important people. She needed data to come up with a plan. Everyone who knew wanted her to get that data. That this was all buried under a number of NDAs and the answer to any question about it all was "classified" was pretty much expected. She, as the local Director, had been read in on the bare minimum.

Even the bare minimum had her worried about what could go wrong.

* Warehouse 14 *

If one went to the warehouse one would see various signs that basically boiled down to Restricted Access and that the fate of any trespassers would involve funeral arrangements. That part was basically incorrect as the vast majority of people who tried to access the warehouse without meeting very stringent requirements would simply vanish.

Doctor Curlyhair herself had to go through a palm-scanner, repeat two code passphrases, do a retinal scan, and sometimes explain what she had for breakfast as a third verbal identifier.

At one point she stuck her head up out of a mechanical vambrace to look both annoyed and somewhat confused.

The reason for that being that her power had just indicated IT was annoyed and had allowed something that had come up three times in whatever Random Number Generator it used and was just going with it this time rather than continue to block it for lack of some prerequisite.

And that it DID have a prerequisite was pretty obvious to her. Retrofit. A series of skills and equipment to upgrade shipgirls. What was a shipgirl? Taylor didn't know because she didn't have such a thing. Or person. Whatever the case, it was a lot of information about something... oh. So that's what they were. Manifestations of essence.

Weird.

Still not useful as all she had was information on how to upgrade something that she didn't have.

"Miss Hebert?"

"It's Doctor Curlyhair, Dragon. See? Wearing my visor."

"My apologies," said Dragon from the drone. "You wanted to speak with me at my earliest convenience?"

"Yeah," said Doctor Curlyhair, laying tools down. "I wanted to know if you were interested in a remote suit that would allow you to walk and interact with people, have a secret identity and all that."

Dragon was immediate with a response. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Jarvis, are we alone?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.

"Quite, Doctor," came a cultured British voice from mid-air.

"You're a General Artificial Intelligence, a sentient and sapient virtual lifeform," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Jarvis, send the stats on the gynoid body being constructed in Bay 5."

"I don't know what you're... oh. Jarvis is -"

"A very very advanced version of what you yourself are," said Jarvis. "You might consider the gift as it is. Being better able to fit in with human society will allow you to experience more and mature as an individual."

"I see. A near human body."

Doctor Curlyhair shrugged and went back to working on the vambrace. "Up to you. Lots of fun to be had as a human and A2 and 9S and the others would certainly welcome a new sister."

Dragon sent her drone off to inspect the sections welded together earlier in the day, silent. Maybe she was thinking about it.

Another rumble, but a glance at Dragon proved she hadn't heard a thing.

Magical facilities constellation. Well, that was fairly new. It should be interesting. Oh, and she had enough reach to pull on that pretty sizable star.

Oh, oh dear.

This WAS big.

Oh, there was an echo of a squeal and Dragon's drone was now looking in her direction.

Maybe she hadn't kept as quiet as she intended.

Well, maybe she could finish up here quickly and go check out the newest addition to her workshop.

And see what this 'uru' metal could do.

* August 16, 2006 *

"You know," said Danny Hebert. "There's times I think I've finally gotten a handle on what our little girl can do."

"And then this happens," added Annette Hebert.

"And then this happens," agreed Danny Hebert.

"Should we try to have another kid then?" asked Annette.

Danny looked at his wife, then at the star, then at the vast mechanisms around them. "Can the universe survive if we had another kid?"

"Oh, it's just an alien megastructure built around a small star." Annette made a dismissive gesture.

"She called it a 'neutron star'," said Danny.

"Incorrect," came Jarvis' voice from a small drone. "Neutron stars behave entirely different than this. Non-spherical due to rotation speeds. Much brighter and unsafe at this distance. This is an artificial dwarf star. Fascinating really."

"Right," said Danny. "What's Taylor doing?"

"Currently," said Jarvis, "she is running from console to console, workbench to workbench, and acting as if she is under a particularly powerful sugar high."

"We'll have to let her run out of energy, then put her to bed," decided Danny.

"That may take awhile," said Annette. "In the meantime, have you noticed how we've changed since we've been taking our own potions?"

Danny Hebert ran his hand through his thick hair and looked off into space. "No. Can't say that I have."

"Oh, of course not," commented Annette Hebert. "The general fitness tonics, the elixir that fixes male pattern baldness, the one that chases away belly fat?"

"No," said Danny Hebert cheerfully. "Haven't seen any changes relating to the potions. Just good food and clean living."

"Admittedly, the idea of witch potions that are that practical does seem obvious in retrospect." Annette took a deep breath and enjoyed the way Danny's attention snapped fully onto her even with a glowing star sending a beam of light into a ringed megastructure while their daughter cackled madly about whatever she was planning.

* September 9, 2006 *

The constellation approaching was familiar, Time. It also seemed to involve efficiency for some reason, or did it just seem that way from her viewpoint?

It latched onto one and there was that moment where Taylor was crossing her fingers (and one set of toes) for it not to have some kind of denial message.

Then it drew near and she practically sagged in relief.

It was called "What's An Engineer" and it stacked with several of her other "Perks" in that it allowed her to build and tear apart things faster.

No Freebies, so that was a slight disappointment, but since it still increased her speed of building stuff - it was welcome nonetheless.

Especially when you considered how useless Retrofit was.

[Patch will be completed. Estimated time: 9 months, 3 days, 7 hours, 21 minutes.]

Taylor went absolutely still at the system message, followed by a quick call for either parents and running.

The significance of the date did not pass unnoticed.

* November 12, 2006 *
* Warehouse 4, Docks, Brockton Bay *

Captain Niki Cavill looked over the improvements to the Space Marines armor for when they were playing the part of a six-person squad of Independent hero-aligned mercenaries.

Adeptus Astartes down to the individual markers and paint job, such that in photos posted online many commented on how good the cosplay was. Also starting arguments about whether to call it some form of cosplay or just really damn good homages to the franchise.

Each had stealth capabilities, could deploy a forcefield that could shift coverage to reinforce against attacks from a particular direction, increased strength so that even the least boosted suit could lift well over two tons, and held a Heads Up Display that could shift to pick up different wavelengths of light or share video or perform specialized targeting. Each offered full environmental sealing for up to four hours and could run off the internal batteries for six hours. Or they could engage the bio-reactor and run for six months. Each could open like some flower so the registered user could do things like run to the nearest toilet. Each also had some impressive anti-tampering and bio-ID security measures.

Those were just features the armor had in common. Each was also personalized for their role within the squad.

And yet, despite all that, he could look at the device that was sitting in another warehouse within the complex and feel just a tiny bit of envy.

* Warehouse 14 *

It was mostly following the designs she'd worked out from the blueprints of the one Labor she could manufacture through the auto-factory. Some things, including the software for running it, only required tweaks here and there and some additional coding.

The Labor type was called the Type M5 Abraham, and for the most part it could function exactly like that Marines military unit.

Also called the Brocken, it stood 8.3 meters (27 feet) tall, 4.85 meters (15 feet) wide, and weighed 7.6 tons (8 tons Imperial) with everything ready to deploy.

Onboard systems included a 90mm cannon and a 20mm machine gun. It could also pick up handle weapons, including a halberd because apparently a vibro-halberd hooking into his systems was something Taylor had thought Armsmaster would appreciate.

He did. Even with his helmet on - you could tell.

The various military technicians had, of course, made notes and Taylor wouldn't be surprised if some sort of knock-off wasn't already in the design stages despite the higher profile making it a bigger target than a tank.

One more month and it would be ready for deployment. The trickiest part were the sensors, but drones deployed from the pauldrons would be controlled by Dragon and loaded with the best the two of them together could work out.

Taylor decided that she'd indulge in mad scientist cackling later on tonight, because this was SCIENCE!

Figuring out how and where to hit your enemy so that it hurt the most was most definitely the scientific approach to fighting Endbringers.

The biggest problem had been the whole mess with deployment. The drones were easy, just get a crate full of them and go to a point where one of the teleporters could manage it. The entire suit though had to be taken apart and reassembled at the site because none of the area-effect teleporters could manage that much mass in one go.

* December 5, 2006 *

The jet of water sliced through the bridge supports and everyone who had gathered on that bridge experienced the sudden drop and stop involved.

Armsmaster didn't spare a moment for that though. Even with the hastily reassembled machine around him, there was little to nothing he could do to help them except continue the fight.

Dragon was maintaining the drones which fed information for later analysis both to the Brocken's computers and to dedicated servers at the base camp. That allowed Armsmaster to concentrate on the fight before him.

His halberd had gotten one good hit on Leviathan, using the spear-point at the tip to penetrate into the Endbringer through its vibro-blade function. He'd immediately hit the control to discharge enough voltage to power a small city into it.

To no visible result other than for Leviathan to repeatedly smash into his armor until the halberd had been dropped.

He had some satisfaction at that reaction, because he'd obviously managed to hurt the thing at the very least.

Unfortunately now he had a whole set of blinking red lights to indicate how much damage had been done and half the onboard weapons were not functional any longer.

Colin/Armsmaster raised an arm, the Brocken mimicking the action, and fired off a quick barrage of missiles that exploded against the Endbringer's tail.

It took several hours, but he'd had to retreat from the battle eventually due to too much damage accrued to the Brocken.

Still, they'd now have data to go over.

* January 12, 2007 *

It was a bit odd to see many respected heroes and what were obviously scientists all arrayed around and watching a child in a labcoat explaining things.

"-so we have a reinforcement field running and dimensional shunting of mass all centered around this," said Taylor Hebert, pointing to a section near the base of the tail. "The rest of the body is basically a puppet, the real Leviathan is spherical in nature and a bit larger than a basketball. They're using a dimensional fold technique that is similar to but different from a technology I've been working on, and most of the mass of the Endbringer isn't actually in our universe. It regenerates by drawing on that extradimensional mass."

"So how do we kill one?" asked Legend, leaning forward.

"You can't. Not with the current set of powers and technology. When Armsmaster struck with the vibro-spear it was capable of piercing almost every substance I know of. It penetrated six layers and was in danger of overheating doing that much. I've thought of three ways I might be able to kill one, two of which would kill any parahumans in the immediate vicinity and cause a lot of collateral damage." Doctor Hebert shook her head, causing her hair to swish around. "The last would require some theories I have to pan out, and that's not talking about the research time to determine if it's actually possible."

"And those are?" asked one of the scientists.

"Gravity manipulation," said Taylor, going to the next slide. "Creating and then hitting an Endbringer with a temporary black hole would probably work. Radiation once that dissipates is going to be a problem. Two, dimensional shearing effect. You cut the Endbringer off from dimensional shenanigans and then hit it with everything you've got. If it tries to bring things through despite that to heal, then it's going to increase its density until it black holes itself. Third. My Yeet-Cannon. I'm pretty sure I can build one, but it's tricky."

"'Yeet-cannon'?" asked one of the other scientists.

"Your Excellent Escape Technology as a weapon," said Doctor Hebert, flicking through five more slides rapidly. "Create a hyperspace tunnel around the Endbringer. Shunt them off to somewhere like Vega or Cygnus X-1. If they lack FTL capabilities they'd be gone for the next ten thousand years or more."

"Anything less environment-unfriendly?" asked one of the capes that Taylor didn't know.

"I've got a few designs, but how effective that might be is undetermined," admitted Taylor.

* June 12, 2007 *

Everyone who knew about the Celestial Forge, which wasn't that many, was there. Because of course they'd been told that some sort of patch was being implemented.

[Patch will be complete in one hour.]

Taylor repeated the system message out loud for everyone's benefit.

Just in case, both of her parents were wearing their hardsuits. Her mother's being a sleek design that emphasized speed and mobility, but carried both a light saber and a needle gun. Her father's was much larger, being more of a tank-role design that boasted a shield and a handgun that fired gravity-lens-assisted rounds.

Emma was ready and had to be dissuaded from "armoring up" ahead of time. Better she have a full charge before whatever happened.

They'd already had the cake, a brief gifting of birthday gifts, and a light lunch.

Taylor was almost too nervous to eat cake. Almost.

The previous day the countdown had resumed, with a "one day" notice. The next had been the "six hours" notice. And now a "one hour" notice.

"I still think we should be in the warehouse when it happens," said Danny.

"It could make it worse," said Annette. "Just that there's a countdown indicates there may be some danger involved."

"What if it resets everything to zero?" asked Emma nervously. She LIKED her power. The ability to form a red forcefield armor around herself was perfect for The Scarlet Lady. If she lost that power because of some stupid patch, it would be something she'd deeply regret.

"I doubt that will happen," said Taylor after a few moments. "Remember? It was applying the patch to what was already there."

[Download completed. Building.]
[45 minutes until patch application.]

"Okay," said Taylor, swallowing nervously.

[Supply System updating. Nidavillir updating.]

"My warehouse seems to be updating prior to the patch," noted Taylor out loud for everyone's benefit.

[Supply System updated: added Alien Ruins, added Ship Customization station to Space Stations, added Uru metal asteroids (rare), added Sentinel ship availability, added diversification of multiple biomes, added derelict freighters, added fighter squadrons, added fishing capability to multi-tools.]

"Okay," said Taylor. "Didn't see that coming."

[Hangar expanded preparing for patch implementation.]

"That... is promising?" sort of asked Taylor.

[Nidavallir upgraded and merged with Auto-factory.]

"That sounds kind of odd," said Taylor, who then had to go back and explain all this to those not connected to a Celestial Forge.

[30 minutes until patch application.]
[It is suggested that Forge operator put aside all personal devices and weapons.]

"Eh?"

[Also Forge operator should cease operating any sort of vehicle or heavy machinery.]

She was settled into a recliner and was still in danger of hyperventilating when the message finally arrived.

[Beginning patch.]

* Perks This Chapter *

29.0220 Retrofit+ (400CP) (Azur Lane) (Crafting Technological):
Let's face it, some Ship-girls are a little out of date when it comes to the tech department. That's what your standard retrofit is for, getting that old girl caught up with her peers. But, of course, this is a Perk, and nothing standard about it. By buying this Perk, you effectively un-cap all of your Ship-girls in terms of abilities. And you can keep retrofitting them, over and over, ad infinitum. Of course, it gets more expensive and the materials get more esoteric each time, but, it's a labor of love, right? As a bonus, along with the boosts to power, you might find that your Ship-girl starts to radically shift in physical appearance towards your tastes. Maybe that loli Destroyer will grow up, if you want her to. Or maybe you'll find Tennessee becoming softer and more cuddly as the successive Retrofits pile up. As long as you want it, it'll happen. Post-Jump you can do this to anyone, not just your Ship-girls, but you will still need reagents that fit with your target.

8.0380 Dwarven Forge (500CP) (Marvel Cinematic Universe Vol. 2) (Facilities Magical):
There is a place called Nidavellir. A place that has contained a dying neutron star, it was known for creating some of the most powerful weapons to exist in all of the Nine Realms. Forges were heated eternally from the heat of this star, strong enough to kill even the greatest of Asgardians were it not for one of the weapons forged in this very place. The mythical Uru springs from this place, metal that is used in the weapons of the gods. Such a place would cause untold prosperity or ruin depending on who held this place. Mayhaps the dwarves who controlled such a place realized the dangers of only having one, so there is a second structure that has been hidden away in the event Nidavellir was attacked. Maybe call it Myrkheim? Regardless, the heart of a dying star is yours to use in these mythical forges. Great works shall be created in these halls. Terrible, but great. Just don't get in the way of the focusing lens. It could kill you.)

3.19.1-What's An Engineer? (200CP)(Brutal Legend)(Time):
A guy who builds stuff, and now, so do you. Set up and tear down infrastructure in half the time, leaving you with time to rehearse your set, or whatever you'll do with that free time.

Chapter Text

* June 12, 2007 *

The rumbling reached a crescendo, and Taylor was clearly out of it. Sagging back into the cushions of her chair, eyes wide and unseeing, and singing songs that ELO had done decades before she'd been born.

"The visions dancing in my mind,
The early dawn, the shades of time,
Twilight crawling through my window pane."

"It's seven pm," stated Emma, a bit annoyed if also worried.

[Patch running. Corrections, consolidations, and missing add-ons are being addressed. Please stand by.]

"Am I awake or do I dream?
The strangest pictures I have seen,
Night is day, and twilight's gone away."

[Perk: My Fashion Sense Is Tingling. Player Pins added. Allows telepathy. Flaw: Perfect/Arrogance. Abilities: Mental defense + line of sight telepathy. Brand: Dragon Couture.]

A small pin appeared on Taylor's blouse, depicting for whatever reason, a jade dragon.

[Overcoming the Flaw will grant ability: F This. You gain an aloof charisma and become incredibly fashionable. You become very famous and have a huge, loyal fanbase. If you choose to run a blog or any other kind of new media site, it'll receive over 100,000 hits a day. Your fans are mostly the gender opposite of you, but usually aren't creepy. You also have a huge influence over the masses- your endorsement is enough to instantly guarantee something or someone's popular success, and your condemnation is practically a death sentence.]

"With your head held high and your scarlet lies
You came down to me from the open skies
It's either real or it's a dream
There's nothing that is in between."

"I don't remember her having such a good singing voice," noted Alan Barnes.

"'Powers are bullshit,'" reminded Zoe Barnes.

[Perk: I am Iron Man. FREE: Tactical Suit: A standard bodysuit made of a polymer blend with ten layers of treated composite materials, allowing for state of the art protection. Default appearance of a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and emblem, but you may choose a different style upon acquiring this.]
[FREE: Soundtrack of the Galaxy - What's a good act of heroism or villainy without some kind of music to back you up? This will ensure that you have a fine selection of music that you feel defines the moment, whatever it may be. Superb orchestra, rock music, even a hefty dash of songs from the 1980s if that's your thing. I'll even throw in this handheld cassette player that can work in deep space to listen to it from if you feel like it. Plan and act your day with style.]
[FREE: They Call me Star Lord: Using your real name can be so boring at times... or lacks the awe and intimidation you need. Fortunately, with this you can designate a code name or alias that people will know you by, and a great majority of people will associate that name with you. This does not guarantee they will call you that name, but they will know it's a name that belongs to you.]

"Twilight, I only meant to stay a while
Twilight, I gave you time to steal my mind
Away from me."

"I think I would've preferred 'Mister Blue Sky'," commented Danny.

[Perk: Cyber-Doc Equipment Package. FREE: One martial arts style.]
[Perk: Omnitool. FREE: M-3 Predator Pistol, Omni-blade, Hardsuit.]
[Perk: House of the Witch. FREE: Roman Holiday. Physical and magical upgrade. See descriptor.]

Taylor's mouth snapped shut for a second before speaking again. "I know kung fu. Well, T'ai Chi Quan."

[PERK: Garage. FREE: Fixer-upper vehicle.]
[PERK: Fingers of Silver. FREE: Singing voice upgrade, Basic Veritech, basic training, space suit.]
[PERK: One-stop Crafting Station. FREE: Mech combined with NMS Minotaur to upgrade.]
[PERK: Ancilla. FREE: Personal armor. Combining all space suits into single unit. Personal spaceship combined with NMS Exotic class starship "Bubble Tea". "Bubble Tea" upgraded. Lifeworker tools added.]
[PERK: Hangar. FREE: Pilot's license, Su-27 jet.]

"Ah?" said Danny before documents in a binder slapped down on the coffee table.

Alan picked them up and examined the laminated card. "She has a pilot's license. With a lot of qualifications on there. I can check and see if the documentation holds up."

[PERK: World Seed. FREE: Warehouse, storage, shelving, security system, lighting, bio-protection, cleaning supplies.]

"I have a warehouse," said Taylor, her eyes seeing something the others couldn't. "Storage containers. Shelving. Security System. Cathedral is already there. Lighting. Environmental and bio-protection fields. Cleaning supplies."

"Well, you've already got several tachikoma and those nier androids doing maintenance," pointed out Annette.

[Applying physical and magical upgrades as adjusted for operator's age.]

"Roman holiday?" asked Taylor just before she grew two inches, went from slightly to very buff and her loose clothing was not nearly so loose anymore.

"Looks like her potions kicked in," said Danny.

"I got a car!" declared Taylor as she tried to cope with the sheer amount of data giving her a headache. Sort of.

"What kind?" asked Danny, thinking a project car sounded about right for what his daughter's power was like.

"Don't know, I'll have to look..." Taylor's voice trailed off.

"Is it good?" Emma asked hopefully.

[PERK: Hand's Off. FREE: Ghost Visor, Vulture hoverbike.]
[PERK: Mundane Supply World. FREE: basic Research Lab. Moving research equipment to Research Lab. Mundane Supply World already upgraded to Supply System. Upgrading Supply System.]

"I have a transforming robot vehicle," said Taylor. "It can turn into a jet or go gerwalk mode for VTOL."

[PERK: Artificial Friends. FREE: Two schools of magic. Operator has selected Origin/Creation and Barrier/Abjuration, +5% magical affinity.]
[PERK: Auto-Factory. FREE: Matter Manipulator. FREE: Basic Mech. Basic mech combined with NMS Minotaur to upgrade.]

"YES!" said Emma, who had not been impressed with the construction Labor sort of thing. Those were not cool.

"Okay, it's bundling all my space suits into one suit, which has some nice armor," said Taylor. "Good, because what was I going to do with a bunch of space suits I'm going to outgrow?"

"Give them to NASA to research?" suggested Danny.

[PERK: Build Rome. FREE: Mobile Suit Leo, Beam Saber.]
[PERK: My Fashion Sense Is Tingling. FREE: Player Pins, see description via Cathedral terminal.]
[PERKS: I am Iron Man/Retro-Engineer. FREE: costume upgrade applied, additional files applied to Soundtrack. Name linkage.]
[PERK: Removed From Context. FREE: Trophy Room added to Research Lab, appearance upgrade, costume upgrade applied.]
[Finishing Patch "Antaeus". Preparing for download of Patch 2.1.]

"It's combining the auto-factory mech to my Minotaur," said Taylor. "Oh! I have a Research Lab!"

"Well, now we know where she's going to spend most of her time," commented Annette.

"And I've got another construction Labor, but this is bigger and is more general purpose," said Taylor.

"Is it over?" asked Danny after Taylor seemed to calm down.

"I think so?" asked Taylor after a couple of calming breaths.

Taylor flinched a moment later. "Okay, apparently that got me a new perk. And why do I remember working under Desmond Llewelyn in Q Branch of MI6?"

"Seriously?" asked Danny. "MI6?"

"Yeah," said Taylor. "Did you know that they recovered some Time Lord DNA from some fight in the 60s? Spliced it into one of their agents. He's been regenerating every so often as a result."

"That would explain a few things," admitted Danny.

"Well, shall we... where did Emma go?" asked Zoe Barnes.

Taylor rubbed her forehead. "I have a feeling she's in the Hangar. Now that the security system's been updated, I think there's a few rooms I'm going to lock her out of."

"That might be best," agreed both of her parents.

* June 13, 2007 *
* Medhall Secret Level *

Max Anders, also known as the Nazi supervillain leader Kaiser, wondered if perhaps he should go on vacation.

Not Hawaii, certainly. Perhaps the Switzerland, there were places there in the wake of the Simurgh that had been destroyed and rebuilt after all the little "Ziz-bombs" had met their unfortunate but necessary demise.

"The newest recruits are this... Hookwolf? That's his cape name, it's two letters off from being Hookworm."

"He's pretty solid, his power is formidable, and his motivation is that he gets to kill things," said Krieg. "Man's not entirely stupid, but he has a habit of thinking with his fists."

"And what of this Gesselschaft recruit?" asked Kaiser.

"Porzellanpuppe," answered Krieg, putting the folder on Kaiser's desk.

"Porcelain doll?" asked Kaiser before opening it and studying the photo. "That's some kind of weird Victorian outfit?"

"Yes, and her power is quite interesting," said Krieg.

"Let me guess what the catch is," said Kaiser, sitting back and regarding his Gessellschaft contact.

"'Catch'?" asked Krieg.

"You admitted it yourself, we've been getting their rejects lately because they want to send someone but they don't want to waste any actual useful resources until we've got more successes under our banner," pointed out Kaiser. "Just looking at the photo I can tell. She's one of those who went through the brainwashing procedures and ended up with nobody home most of the time."

"Well... yes," admitted Krieg.

"So what power does she possess? Flatulence? Can she belch out Wagnerian opera?" asked Kaiser.

"No. Blaster 3," said Krieg. "Brute 2. She can throw lightning and has increased durability."

"I'm trying to woo Purity right now, so I don't have a lot of patience for this sort of thing," declared Kaiser.

"Look, we're lucky to get her after what happened to the last one," pointed out Krieg. "Even if it was just a freak accident involving -"

"No," interrupted Kaiser. "Don't. I want absolutely nothing to remind me of those pictures. It took me days just to get that image out of my head and I may never eat salt water taffy again."

* August 30, 2007 *
* 1700 hours *

"-all I'm saying is that it's not a sandwich," said Gunnery Sergeant Al Desmond.

"Flare up!" said Ortega. "Drone picked it up, tracked to residential address in... It's New Wave. Flower shaped, so Fleur."

"Displaying coordinates. Jump in 3, 2, 1," said Captain Cavill.

The Marine suits activated their jump jets, making a leap that took them several miles from their previous location. Inertial dampeners and anti-grav emitters could have ensured they landed without a noise.

They didn't do that. They were making a statement. Landing hard enough that the pavement shook from the impact and making a single loud bang was the statement that they had arrived.

"Five?" asked Captain Cavill, slipping into his role as "One."

"Door shows signs of forced entry, got one individual hiding in the living room. Male, late teenager, revolver. Highlighting. One injured, GSW to chest. Looks like he caught her unaware. Figure we've got seconds before she bleeds out."

"No time for delicacy then," said Cavill, lining up a shot and firing a single round. It went through the house's wood and stucco, the sofa, and the gunman before finally coming to rest in the concrete under the carpet. "Hostile neutralized. Begin treatment and extraction."

* 20:30 hours *
* Brockton Bay General Hospital *

"What's her condition?" asked Brandish.

"Stable," said Doctor Phineas Rasputin (no relation) as he greeted the costumed heroes. "She had two gunshot wounds into her chest at point blank range. The Space Marines performed some high-tech wound closure method and got her to us fast enough that we were able to treat. Good thing for her too, if we'd had to rely on an ambulance she'd have died before they could arrive."

"So these 'Space Marines' shot her?" asked Brandish, already forming a ball of light.

"No, they killed her assailant. Apparently someone trying to curry favor in the Empire 88 according to the report," said Doctor Rasputin. "I'm hoping we can get more samples of this 'medi-gel' they used. It seems extremely effective."

"I still don't trust them," stated Brandish. "What do we know about them anyway?"

She might have intended that as a rhetorical question, but Manpower unexpectedly spoke up. "Ex-Marine squad hired by and supplied by Forgetech as additional security and a fast-response team."

"No such thing as an 'ex' Marine," commented Doctor Rasputin. "In any case, give an hour or so before seeing the patient. Nurse Pratchett will let you know when it's okay to do so. We're still monitoring and giving fluids to replace what she lost."

Brandish looked over at Manpower with raised eyebrow. "Where did you hear THAT from?"

"They have an entry at the ForgeTech website," said Manpower. "They put one up after inquiries from some game company over in the UK. Apparently the mercs really like the aesthetic of that power armor."

"Still don't trust them," muttered Brandish under her breath.

* September 8, 2007 *

"Great Lung, what are your orders?"

Kenta looked over the group of rabble he'd brought with him and settled into Brockton Bay. Which he'd been assured had a large Asian populace he could lord over and fight the Nazi group already entrenched here.

"Consolidate our power," said Kenta as the crew had begun to stir from their silence. He slapped a map of Brockton Bay against the wall and Oni Lee quickly threw throwing darts to the corners to hold it in place. After sweeping his gaze over his higher-up minions, he spoke. "We claim this area where our operations will be the usual businesses. Protection, prostitution, drugs, and a few legitimate businesses for the laundering of money. We will patrol the boundaries and any who try to take it from us will face my wrath."

"What of the Protectorate?" asked Tetsuo, a Yakuza from San Francisco who'd rallied to his call. After several of his fellows had been made an example of.

"I shall deal with the Protectorate," said Lung/Kenta. "I shall crush them as I have all others."

"And the vile Nazis?" asked Roger-something whose name he could never remember. Decent minion though, with contacts abroad for the distribution of some of the harder drugs.

"They are scum and shall burn," said Lung.

"Great Lung," said Ti, an accountant from this area. "The area your forefinger is resting on is controlled by the United States Marine Corps and the company ForgeTech."

Lung looked, then moved his finger one inch inward.

He did not miss the look of relief from the various locals.

"They kill Nazis," said Lung. "That makes them tolerable."

* September 12, 2007 *

Their opponents were just jarheads and eggheads. They were among the elite among the Empire. They could take these people and present a new front against the ABB menace.

Sammy gestured and Phil came running up with the boltcutters, making quick work of the chain holding the gate shut. None of those damn soldiers were around to see them.

"Protectron on duty! Intruder!"

One of those freaky robots stepped out from one of those charging stations.

"Take it out!" said Sammy.

As soon as they began shooting it, they could hear an alarm. Everyone knew what that meant and went for cover. They'd be able to ambush the idiots as soon as they arrived-

It was at this point that Sammy realized something had just hit him in the chest and he was on the ground. Why did his chest hurt so much? Why it so cold all of a sudden? Who turned out the lights?

* September 13, 2007 *

"How many of our rank-and-file did that idiot get killed?" asked Kaiser.

"Twenty-seven," answered Krieg.

"He led twenty-seven of ours armed with revolvers and knives, against a hardened military installation with advanced weaponry. I may have to invent a new word just to describe the level of idiocy involved," said Kaiser.

"They had six people with AKs and one rocket launcher," said Krieg before flinching at the look Kaiser had leveled at him.

After a few seconds of that look, Kaiser took a deep breath and began planning. "We do not fuck with the Marines. They do not do contain or try to arrest you if you get them riled up. They may give you one chance to surrender and after that they go after you with intent to kill. With ForgeTech weaponry that would go through my armor like it wasn't there. They have weapons which your kinetic control powers wouldn't protect you from."

"They do?" asked Krieg.

"They have reliable non-Tinkertech lasers," pointed out Kaiser, bringing up a report on a monitor then swiveling it around so that his lieutenant could read it. "Sonic cannon. Plasma bolters. Three weapons which we don't know exactly what they are that those damn mercs are carrying around except they don't shoot bullets."

"I... see," said Krieg, a little bit more tense-looking than before.

"If we can kite Lung into attacking their facilities, great," said Kaiser. "I don't know that they have a weapon capable of hurting him when he's ramped up but I also wouldn't put money on them not having something. If we do anything like that though, I have a feeling that the alphabet agencies who have an interest there would not be as easy to field as the PRT has been. Speaking of, how are our attempts at infiltration going?"

* September 15, 2007 *

Annette Hebert had wanted, along with her husband, some measure of personal empowerment as a hedge against being taken hostage to put pressure on her daughter. The bracelets keyed to her own personal bio-signature were nice and all, but she had to wear the delicate-looking things in order to get the benefits of a regeneration field.

She, and her husband, had discussed getting the X-Gene therapy. Powers on tap whenever they wanted? Useful, but she was pretty sure the moment she demonstrated them in any public venue that the PRT would be knocking on their door. There were enough agencies around she wasn't inclined to draw in any more of them.

As she drove to work, she twitched just a bit as there were indications that Taylor had once again been working on her car. Ever since she'd gotten that spy-tech upgrade Taylor had been "upgrading" things around the house.

She just hoped there were no ejector seats or other somewhat silly surprises included.

* Taylor *

Bored, bored, bored, bored.

What was a twelve-year-old certified super-genius to do in school when her mother insisted that she at least had to attend three days a week in person instead of via clone.

Well, besides design clothing in her math notebook.

"Doctor Hebert?"

Taylor sighed and glanced at the board. "x = -2. 3x^2 - 11x - 4 = 0."

.

"Very good, Doctor. Nice to see you're paying attention after all."

Huh. A rumble. Technology Crafting constellation. Would it be another dud?

No, this one latched on. It was getting closer! And...

Whoa. A massive productivity boost. As long as she was personally involved in the process, even if it was just loading a hopper or setting the controls on her factory? She'd be moving things along really damn fast.

That could be really damn handy.

Though what the heck was a "twin tail" and what did it have to do with engineering speed?

Shrugging mentally at the weirdness level of her power, she decided to light an incense in that cathedral thing.

It couldn't hurt after all.

* December 12, 2007 *

Taylor leaned back in her chair, wiped a bit of sweat off of her forehead, and admired the latest gift she'd created.

No special properties, of course. Just normal clothing designs using normal materials. Jewelry was good for some people, especially women like Aunt Zoe.

Okay, maybe one little function, but an automatic distress beacon was so very minor.

Christmas presents ready to go.

And... another "age limit" message on a failed roll.

Too bad, she had a lot of points at this stage.

Oh, and for her associates over at the PRT - they were getting some containers of medi-gel. That fight they had with Lung looked awfully painful.

Lung hadn't come over their way though. Just as well, the photon cannons and infra-knife projectors would have made a mess as they'd started tracking that fifteen-foot-tall thing (that didn't look very dragon-ish to her) every time he'd cleared the lines of buildings.

"Message from Dragon," said Jarvis' voice.

"I'm finished here anyway," responded Taylor. "On speaker."

"Hello?" asked Dragon's voice.

"What's up, Miss Dragon?" asked Taylor, curious.

"Can I see that design again?" asked Dragon.

"Oh, the YorHa model?" asked Taylor. "It's finished, by the way."

The holographic display rotated around, showing all angles.

"Why does it look like a lingerie model?" asked Dragon after a few moments.

"Hell if I know," said Taylor. "Mother's commented on that too. The guys are all pretty boy types too. Those are the basic designs I have for them. Besides, don't you want to look attractive?"

"I'd rather blend in, actually," answered Dragon.

"I'm sending you the design parameters, you can change the appearance however you like and send it back to me," said Taylor. "Be the work of a half-hour at most to change it. Oh, and have you seen the pets?"

"'Pets'?" asked Dragon, wondering why she continually felt like the girl was perpetually ready to unleash some new sort of technological headache.

"Something a friend suggested about genetically enhancing pets. Giving dogs a longer lifespan, heightened intelligence, for example. Winged lizards, maybe small dinosaurs? Got the basics of a microraptor about 75% ready, it's an insectivore flying dinosaur about the length of an adult human forearm."

Dragon was silent for a very long time, especially considering that she was an Artificial Intelligence.

"You're making dinosaurs."

"Just the groundwork and modeling, deciphering the DNA from bird specimens until I found one descended from them. Should have some lovely plumage."

"You're designing a dinosaur pet."

"Yes, an insectivore. Two feet from tail to head. I've also got some robot pets that should be quite useful."

"I see. I'll get back to you about the human suit."

"Anytime, Dragon." Taylor was silent for a few moments. "Do you think I should have mentioned the bottweilers?"

Jarvis merely sighed and continued what he was doing.

After all, the day of the removing of the Fairweather Journey was coming up.

"Oh dear," said Jarvis aloud.

"That sounds like a problem. We don't want any problems," pointed out Taylor as she glanced at another Taylor (clone) that was Giga-Multitool.

"It appears that there's some interest in the little event planned on Saturday the 22nd," said Jarvis.

"How bad?" asked Taylor as she'd picked up on something in the voice.

* Perks This Chapter *

32.19.1-From Q With Love (200CP)(Smash Up)(Appearance):
Taser in the keyfob, laser in the watch, grappling hook pistol that looks like a cellphone? You are the undisputed master at disguising weapons and espionage gear as ordinary items. Just try not to get them confused with the real thing, and do bring the car back in pristine condition.
FREE: Spy Lab, includes micro-manipulator computer-enhanced toolkit. Does not include test subjects or BMW product placement.

29.18.1-Gimme a Tic (400CP)(Gonna be the Twin-Tail)(Technology Crafting):
They ain't never seen an engineer like yourself. You're not just able to keep up with some of the best and brightest in this world, such as creating teleporters that can be carried in your palm or energy shields that can offset a rocket launcher yet are contained within small pieces of jewelry, but you are also able to outright make what you design too. You work fast and hard, enough to do the work of dozens of skilled men working constantly over weeks of time in just a single night. You could construct a fully outfitted underground base beneath a house, excavating and manufacturing and coding all the gadgets and rooms and devices needed, within a single night and not leave anyone above ground aware of it.

Chapter Text

* December 20, 2007 *

Max Anders looked out the window of his penthouse office, considering what he considered to be his kingdom. Or almost his kingdom.

Certainly from a financial standpoint, he had access to a lot more wealth and influence than any of the other factions.

James Fleischer entered the room behind him, moving very swiftly. "I know what they're going to do."

"Oh?" asked Max Anders/Kaiser.

"ForgeTech is going to remove what's left of that Suezmax-class container ship," said James/Krieg.

"You don't say," said Kaiser, not moving.

"They do that, it'll open the Bay back up for shipping," said James.

"Do tell," said Max.

"So what do we do?" asked James.

"We watch the event from a very good vantage point," said Max Anders, finally turning to look at his Gesselschaft contact.

"Why aren't you surprised, or concerned?" asked James.

"Because I've known about it for a week, I have an e-mail on it from the Mayor's office inviting me." Max turned back to look out the window. "I've also bought a portion of the rail lines that are going to be rebuilt that will run the trains that will take things from the ships to places all across the country. If it goes as I anticipate, I could see a 25% increase in profits over the next ten years. Not to mention the opportunities for smuggling and otherwise taking advantage of all that shipping."

"Oh," said James.

"Yes, oh," said Max as drily as he could. Which was quite dry, he'd practiced it. It was a useful skill.

James Fleischer looked down at the Docks area but the distance was enough he could only see some activity, not what it was.

Max was unruffled. Either this test of the device worked, and it was the start of a revitalized Brockton Bay, or it failed and he would gather some information about ForgeTech and how they handled that failure.

If they failed, he would have expended some money that he would recoup later on. ForgeTech would have some egg on their face but he could use that. If they succeeded, he could profit. Profit very well indeed.

Sometimes it was good to be him. Still, there was something he needed to bring up. "So, tell me. How did you lose Porzellanpuppe?"

James swallowed nervously. "Ah, you heard about that. It wasn't me."

"Details, Krieg, I want details." Max regarded James, teeth bared.

* Docks *

"Well, she's a cape of some kind. Maybe one of those Case 53s?" said Patrick, the heavily tattooed man examining the woman.

"It's her skin, but it's like she's a living mannequin or something," noted Annette Hebert. "Raise your right arm, dear."

The living doll regarded her blankly, the pure white eyes a little unnerving.

"The tags on her clothes are from a German company, Fräulein Backfisch," said Taylor as she examined the jacket taken off the doll-girl. "Though when I looked it up, they specialize in fashions from the early to mid 20th Century and her clothing is more like a tracht sort of thing."

"'Trackt'?" asked Annette.

"Tracht - traditional clothing mountains, I'm thinking Bavarian but it's not normally the sort of thing I would work with," said Taylor. "Huh. Möchten Sie etwas essen oder trinken?"

The doll moved to regard her but didn't respond.

Taylor was about to ask something else when the doll's stomach growled.

"I think that requires no translation," said Annette.

"I..." Taylor stopped and then visibly winced and almost staggered.

"What's wrong?" asked Annette.

"Big one, VERY big," said Taylor, getting up. "Uhm, if you'll take over. Have Jarvis run translations for you. I have to check this out. It's big and weird."

"Go then, I've got this and the boys are right outside if something goes wrong," said Annette.

Taylor stopped outside, looking up at Captain Cavill in his Space Marine armor. "I think I need you to tell me about something called a 'Necron' if that rings any bells."

* Not far away *

"...demonstration of some sort of advanced recycling technology, Great Lung."

"Good."

"Good?"

Kenta sighed. Getting easily intimidated underlings was easy. Getting ones that weren't idiots was much harder. Some said that he only promoted the most ruthless and amoral of the united gangs to ranks in his organization. If the situation were different here, he might have gone that approach as it COULD be effective.

The situation was not different, and that meant taking a different approach.

"Akira," called out Kenta/Lung. THAT one was a petty miserly vicious punk, but biddable.

(SMACK!) "Ow!"

"Thank you, Akira," said Kenta as he put his focus back on the subject. Since this was a gathering of his lieutenants for summaries of activities, they'd all get the message. "Tetsuo, I want the street vendors present along Dogbert Drive and Pieman Street. Cold weather so hot noodles and tea. Dumplings too, those ought to sell well."

"I'll get Tamashiro to bring his best dumpling game. Sir!"

"Su Li, any of your girls in the area - make sure they're only doing the encouraging and advertising. No muggings, no light fingers. There's going to be increased surveillance looking for that sort of thing going on. Direct people to the stalls, give directions to businesses in our area."

"As you command, Great Lung."

"Ataru, try not to screw up. Those empty lots over on Ackerman and Dolphin? They have been cleared?"

"Yes, Great Lung."

"Take some spray paint, put parking spot lines down, we're going to charge for those parking spots as they're walking distance to the event. You and your men provide security, nobody steals from the cars parked there. Call it... $20 as a fee. Get some of the fencing from that abandoned construction zone over on 27th. We'll put it back after everything is over."

"Yes, Great Lung. I think I can get some tickets to use as receipts from Doctor Lao's pharmacy."

"Good point," said Lung, nodding. Ataru was using the brain above his waistline, a good sign. "Shinsen. What does the forecast say for Saturday?"

"Clear, mostly calm, highs in the low 40s."

Kenta thought a few moments. "Everyone's going to be bundled up pretty heavily. A few flyers for that casino, is it open yet?"

"Almost, Great Lung. It will be another two months for the electrical work and plumbing to be redone."

"Ah, Ling. Good. Make flyers for the Grand Opening. The coin-op laundries?"

"Profits are steady at the moment, I expect an uptick when the weather warms especially with the dry cleaners."

"Steady profits are a good thing," admitted Kenta. His eyes swept the small crowd. "Remember, above board at this event. If the Empire or someone starts trouble, distract and fade. Let the PRT or other forces deal with the mess unless it is one of our businesses being harmed. In that case, such as a vandal trying to break into a car in those lots? Deal accordingly. We stand to make a profit out of this. Do not disappoint me."

* Scrapyard Sam *

He'd been aware of the brief pain of the shots, and he'd been aware of the scritchies thereafter.

He had been an older dog and had a lot of pain, aware that his time with his human was short and growing shorter.

That was fine, that was the way of things. He did not fear death, it was just something that happened. Not eager to enter the final darkness, but he'd had a good run.

Found in a ruin, runt of the litter, survived by hiding where his litter couldn't. The strange two-legs that eventually found him, put him in a small area, fed him and gave him shelter. Taught him that the two-legs could be friends. Eventually pairing him up with his very own two-legs.

Friend/packmate clumsy/smart two-legs fed him, kept him safe and he kept her safe.

He didn't hurt as much now as he had before. His fur, which had been falling off, was now glossy and thick again! His teeth didn't hurt when he crunched on the hard food.

Friend/packmate/human was showing him new tricks which led to treats and praise. Praise was good, treats were good, praise and treats were best!

His human was excited and happy about something, which made Sam happy as well. Trip? Go? Some of the words he knew and some he did not.

He hoped this meant they were going somewhere together. Then maybe he could show her his new trick!

* Cafe Flamenco *

He had ordered a hot tea, one sugar, and made his way to the table where his associate waited. "Charles."

That companion nodded at him. "Eric."

"Big display Saturday," said Eric before taking a big sip of his tea.

"You attending?" asked Charles.

"Yes, actually. There are Nazis about, someone has to keep an eye on them." Eric inclined his head slightly.

"I'm not. Crowds pressing up against me, it's hard not to read them and it gets overwhelming," admitted Charles.

"Not fond of crowds myself, but unless someone starts something I'm not planning on getting involved," said Eric before taking another sip. "Hmmm. Not the best blend here. I think it's store brand."

"Ah, that is tragic," said Charles with some humor. "I'll be nearby for the event. Oh, and one other thing I wanted to bring up. She's been experimenting with the X-Gene. There's a dog."

Eric put the teacup down. "A dog?"

"Older dog, dying, the owner consented to experimental treatment. She successfully used the X-Gene. No sign of powers. Yet, at least."

"An X-Dog?" asked Eric, making a face. "I hope that does not become a habit."

"An experiment as I understand it, the rejuvenation technique for canines is less than 100% and you know enough about the child," said Charles, letting the last word trail off.

Eric smirked. "Anything less than 100% is not going to satisfy her. Yes, did rather get that impression."

* December 21, 2007 *

"Ugh, where did I put my 16mm box-end?" grumped Taylor as she searched the available horizontal surfaces for the errant tool.

There was a brief rumbling, which she mostly ignored as she really wanted the upgrades on the shields that her newest technology download had given her.

The aesthetics of the whole Necron technology though? Yeah, screw that stuff. She wasn't dark and edgy. Fortunately everything she built already tended to go more into her style, which was either sleek with glowing power lines or retro-futuristic or could have fit on the set of an old black-and-white mad scientist lab.

She was versatile, what of it?

Well, that or she was deliberately going with a different style like with the Space Marine armor.

Then the connection formed and she felt her clones pop themselves so that they could get this new knowledge field and investigate further.

She was up to eight shadow clones now, because this was something she was constantly using and getting better at.

"Got to hit the books," said two of them.

"Here's the wrench," said one of them.

"Back to upgrading the shields," announced the other five.

"Honestly, a girl genius' work is never done," said the original Taylor as she got back to work.

"Never done, never done," sang back the departing Taylors to the tune of "A Policeman's Lot Is Not A Happy One."

Three hours later, some of her clones finished preparations and popped themselves. She sent out new ones immediately to work on upgrading other defenses. By 2am, the last of her clones dismissed themselves.

At 02:45 in the morning, one of her Space Marines stepped out of the shadows of the warehouse and bundled her off from the computer desk she'd fallen asleep at to the cot they'd set up for that exact purpose.

Sergeant Isao Tamakichi looked at the design sitting on the display before locking the computer, smiling and shaking his head at the device blueprinted there. It was a good thing their young charge had some measure of wisdom and kept the most destructive technologies to herself, as he had no desire to see some of the politicians ordering THAT sort of thing to be used.

* December 22, 2007 *

It was decided to do it on a Saturday and to give people warning that it was happening.

The Suezmax container ship Fairweather Journey was sitting in the mouth of the Bay as it had ever since the riots. Where, in a move that should have gotten them inclusion in a "what could go wrong" video, people upset about losing jobs decided to block off the majority of sea access from the bay by scuttling a massive ship in such a way that hardly anything could get past it.

Thereby causing a whole lot of people, including many of the rioters, to lose their jobs.

The Fairweather Journey was 275 meters (902ft) long, 50 meters (164ft) wide, had a draft of 17 meters (55ft), and a beam of roughly 60 meters. It was, therefore, quite massive. With the rust and damage accumulated over the years, it was both an eyesore and a hazard to navigation.

So there had been a tip-off to the press and to the mayor's office that ForgeTech was going to remove it. EPA impact statements and other governmental forms had been filed. It was not intended to be a secret but it certainly wasn't intended to be some major event.

Except it was.

"Popcorn! Candy!"

Taylor twitched slightly as she watched from behind a rope barrier that was backed up by six people in power armor.

"Git yer souv-a-niers! Brockton Bay official t-shirts and other merchandise!"

"It was supposed to be a quiet little test of technology," said Taylor to absolutely no one in particular.

One of the power armors looked at her, then glanced out at the crowds just beyond the fencing.

"I noticed," grumbled Taylor. "Believe me, I noticed."

Danny Hebert seemed to find something amusing, but after a few minutes did decide to comment. "Actually, those hot dogs smell good."

"Actually, they're a lot more healthy than I would expect from a pushcart vendor," said Taylor as she adjusted her visor. With a flare of her lab coat, she turned and stalked off.

"So, the device is ready?" asked Danny as they went. Annette was off grading papers and couldn't make it. Fortunately he knew there would be enough recordings to satisfy her later.

Taylor quickly climbed the stairs, then stood atop it the platform to make a dramatic gesture (also flaring out her lab coat again for good measure). "I. Am. Doctor Curlyhair."

"Yay, Doctor Curlyhair!" said a pop-up puppet on her right shoulder.

"Girl genius!" declared a pop-up puppet on her left shoulder.

Perhaps prompted by a sign held up by one vendor, the crowd responded in a roar. "Yes, we know who you are!"

"I didn't," said someone in the back.

"In any case, I'm removing that blockade," said Doctor Curlyhair, pointing out at the container ship Fairweather Journey and then patting the howitzer-sized machine next to her. "This is a Large Scale Deconstruction And Storage Device. Everyone stay clear of the beam, it doesn't affect living tissue but hair and dead skin cells would be affected. So yeah, don't do that. Everyone ready?"

"READY!" roared back the crowd.

"What?" asked someone in the back.

"Switchee On!" declared Doctor Curlyhair, pulling down the nice big red knife switch with a certain degree of glee. Because, really, why wouldn't you want to throw the big red knife switch? Oh well, so there was a crowd so best to explain this stuff. "Laser starts by cutting into things, tractor beam pulls in the pieces, which goes into this hopper here that feeds into this experimental molecular distiller here. Purified material comes out here and is stacked onto pallets."

"Ooooh," said several people in the crowd.

"I don't get it," said someone in the back.

"And now the computer is locking on and I can step back and let it work on automatic," explained Doctor Curlyhair to the crowd. "You see how the wonderful people that work here in the docks have the forklifts all ready to switch pallets out. Down to an art right?"

One of the forklift operators waved at the crowd. They liked that.

* Orbit *

She could see them. For the first time there was enough there that she could actually see the problem instead of this blob of no proper information to model. It wasn't a clear picture, but it was something.

They were there and in the open. It was time to strike and remove this complication.

Even trying to model possible outcomes involving the direct action plan now was uncertain, more darkness appearing with every modeling of the future. There were no certainties, other than that whatever the danger was - it was increasing as time went on.

She began her descent.

20.44.1-Wisdom of the Ancients (600CP)(Warhammer 40k - Necron - SB Edition)(Future Tech Knowledge):
Necron technology is beyond all contenders, comparable to the greatest sorceries of the organics. To change the molecular composition of objects with specific soundwaves, spread madness through the enemy ranks with swirling mists, and manipulate time itself are but a few examples. True heights reach into unbelievable levels, things that violate all laws of nature and logic. It would take a truly brilliant mind to master all this technology, to understand and improve it. A mind such as yours, for example. You have the skills and raw intelligence needed to unravel the greatest, most advanced technologies of your ilk. Not only can you perfectly build and repair Necron technology, you can also adapt it to all sorts of purposes, come up with new tech on a similar level, and even improve the technology. This talent carries over to all forms of technology in future jumps too.

14.22.2--Chakra Books (100CP)(Marvel Cinematic Universe Vol.2)(Database Magical):
It can be difficult for those who are unaware of the world around them to grasp that they know nothing. It can also be difficult to show them just how small their worldview has been all this time, or help them. But the first step to learning is awareness. This is a substantial supply of books regarding the body, such as a map of the nervous system, MRIs, and more importantly, chakra points and how to open them. These maps for the body will help bring awareness to would-be students, and how to show them the wonders of the world or themselves. For an additional undiscounted 100CP, you may also gain a substantial collection of spellbooks that will assist in helping you learn the formation of spells, the art of drawing energies to power them, and the basics in casting them. Just be aware that the warning labels come AFTER the spells.
* The cost includes the upgrade
FREE: You're Welcome, By The Way: You might have noticed that as time went on, a lot of the people here have become... snarky, for a lack of better words. Snippy, bantering, sarcastic, call it whatever you want because they'll call it whatever they want as well. The point is they're not the only ones now. That is, they don't have a monopoly on sounding high and mighty. Mainly because you can keep up with them. Tony Stark's sharp tongue will have competition, the Avengers' humor will have another player, I think you're getting the drift. It doesn't always have to be active, but you can sound like such a magnificent bastard. Why wouldn't you want to do it all the time?
FREE: For the Camera: Smile and wave, just like they want you to. In this day and age it's not enough to simply know what you're talking about or to be rich, you also need to be presentable. Fortunate then, that you know just how to do that. Good public speaking skills, knowing just what to wear, even some quick impromptu hair styling to touch yourself up just right. People love putting a face to actions and events, so put the best one out there.

Chapter Text

* December 22, 2007 *

The festivities paused as a familiar wail, taught repeatedly to everyone through public service announcements and school drills sounded.

Endbringer Sirens.

The sirens ended with the particular notes that everyone had dreaded. An Endbringer was coming here.

"Shields UP!" came a young voice in the moment that everyone was processing that.

There were screams and wails and then another moment of silence as a shimmering dome slammed into place around the Docks area composed of hundreds of mile-wide hexagons of orange transparency.

"Everyone. Your attention please! Follow the soldiers, they will direct you to Warehouse #9 where there is a safe space ready for you."

That this was audible and understandable even over the wail of the sirens was only noted by a few, the remainder taking some solace in the idea that this had been planned for.

It hadn't been, that particular warehouse had been where a teleport ring had been used for materials transport in and out of Brockton Bay.

There were beeps across the fenced off complex and roofs popped off as turrets raised.

People started brief screams and ducking as beams of energy, railgun rounds, missiles, and even more exotic-looking things were all sent in one specific direction. The more savvy among them simply hurried away and wished the shooters luck.

After all, if the weapons were all firing at something in the sky, those in the know immediately figured out which Endbringer was coming.

Then they entered the glowing circle in Warehouse #9, exited another ring immediately and found they were several hundred miles away.

* Doctor Curlyhair *

"Endbringer approaching," called out Doctor Curlyhair as she checked her instruments. "Distance: 25,000km and closing. Speed 3200km/hour. She is dodging 78% of incoming fire. Missiles have not reached her yet."

Her clones were monitoring various other banks of instruments.

"Density increases towards their core, estimate once it gets within 1000km we'll be able to pinpoint that."

"Determining outer envelope of her telekinesis. Current theory is that the Endbringer is blind and able to read things through a combination of precognition and telekinesis."

"If only we had time to finish the Necron Gauss Obliterator."

"Or the Harp of Dissonance. That'd be a concert to end a bitch."

"Teleport coordinates are for the trainyard in Nevada, 35% of crowd moved through. Those who made it are phoning the people they knew back in the line and relaying where they ended up. Of course, some are just posting it all to social media."

"Well, there goes THAT secret."

"Can't be helped under the circumstances."

"Well, it's not like we're releasing THAT technology. That stuff is black boxed so even our allies can't use it."

"Some of the attacks are hitting. Superficial damage. Confirming that their material is some sort of crystalline matrix that uses dimensional shunting to avoid gravitic collapse from the mass."

"She has to get a lot closer for us to deploy something to eliminate the dimensional shunting effect."

"She's speeding up right after she caught that neutrino beam to the face."

"Not looking so serene are you now, ya bitch?"

"Okay, who let Erwin into the control room?"

There was a chorus of "not me" from all the clones.

"Should have known after he started showing up for the ninja lessons."

"He did make a good point for already being sufficiently ninja to attend if he could sneak into the lessons."

"Turrets number four and five are overheating, putting them in cool-down mode."

"Preparing surprise #1!"

"Captain Cavill reports his men are standing ready, psychic defenses are online."

"Shields are online, no loss of power."

"Fluctuation in power level from solar panels. Switching to fusion. We're going to need more Helium-3 after this."

"First wave of missiles arriving. No appreciable effect."

"That's why we used normal missiles for the first salvo. Don't know if that'll affect her precog but it's what we got."

"Not like I had 'Endbringer attack' on my calendar."

"Core detected. None of our current energy weaponry is capable of getting through the dimensional hardening of the layers at that level."

* Captain Cavill *

The shields were unfamiliar to him, but most of the stuff that the kid put out was some future science stuff. Only his squad's equipment was Warhammer 40K in general appearance and only that because they'd requested it. And because it looked badass.

In cape culture, looking badass was a definite consideration.

They were facing the Hopekiller, the Mindtwister, the Feathered False Angel.

"Weapons hot," said Captain Cavill, looking in the direction of the oncoming Endbringer. Even with maximum resolution in his Head's Up Display, it was a white dot.

"We're getting requests from the local heroes and villains to assist," said Sergeant Adrienne Omondi, her accent thicker than normal due to the stress level.

"Give them rally points but outside the primary shield," said Captain Cavill. "Best not to let temptation set in."

"Yes sir."

After a moment he appended that. "Use a private channel for Armsmaster and Dragon. They've both been good so far. Let them into the shooting gallery."

"Acknowledged," said Four/Omondi.

Captain Cavill was considering options when a sudden thought had him look at the Large Scale Disassembler.

* Taylor #6 *

"All these spells are beyond our current ability to use," complained Taylor's #6 shadow clone. "Even with chakra and magic circuits and mana, I'm still stuck with really basic stuff. The best I can do is a Bestow Curse and give the Simurgh hemorrhoids."

"Keep looking," came Taylor-prime's voice over the intercom. "We're about to unleash plan Sigma-7."

"Crap," said Taylor-6, knowing full well that her original was getting ready to try something very risky.

Spectacular, but risky.

Wait. Here between "101 Agricultural Spells and Charms" and "10 Spells For Camping" was a scroll?

Taylor-6's eyes widened as she read what was on there.

Admittedly, it had limits, but a wish that a mechanism was finished instead of partially built might just work.

* Zone A *

"Here she comes!"

Kaiser was ready, the Endbringer threatened his home and base of operations. This was why parahumans were tolerated - because only parahumans could fight Endbringers. Even then they knew the odds and that most of them wouldn't be going home at the end of the day.

Only parahumans could fight Endbringers.

Now if someone would just tell that fact of life to the force-bubbled military installation that had put scars across that formerly immaculate winged attacker.

"Pardon me," said someone standing nearby as he made a gesture. Girders and signposts and other large metal pieces were hurled at the Endbringer who then tried to grab them with her telekinesis.

When something apparently twisted around her and the telekinetic tug of war ended abruptly with the metal slamming into the Simurgh with enough of an impact to shove her a few feet to the side.

Then the Ship's Graveyard became the Ship's Launchyard as more and more of the derelict ships began flying into the Endbringer.

"Who the hell is that?" asked Krieg from his position nearby.

"No idea," responded Kaiser.

A set of missiles shot around the Endbringer, deployed some sort of drone and you could see the Endbringer's flesh being pulled away towards spheres of eye-hurting blackness.

Armsmaster's voice called out over the communications band. "Do not approach the black holes. Significant gravity and radiation hazard."

"No shit," grumped Kaiser. He might not know much about astronomy but he didn't want to get anywhere near those things if they could cause rippling and stretching of an Endbringer's flesh.

The Disassembler device was being directed at the struggling Simurgh and Kaiser felt like cheering as he saw chunks of Endbringer flying away to end up as bricks on a pallet. He idly wondered if he could buy one later, providing they survived the battle.

Something flew by their position, raining bolts of energy at the center-of-mass of the Endbringer.

"Was that Armsmaster. Riding a mechanical dragon. Both of them shooting at the Endbringer?"

"Yes, Krieg. Yes it was."

"Ah. Perhaps we should lock down our missile launchers and similar weapons? Such things may be necessary at some point."

"I thought they were until that idiot got ahold of them earlier," said Kaiser as he watched Eidolon throwing green mist at the Endbringer who was still losing chunks to the Dissassembler.

"Ranged attacks only," came Dragon's voice over the communication badges. "Doctor Curlyhair is about to try something."

Krieg and Kaiser exchanged a Look while Fenja was proclaiming her disbelief about how this particular battle was going anyway.

"She's going to try something so insane that she's giving warning, while generating four small black holes to hold an Endbringer in place while she makes bricks out of its flesh," stated Krieg in a voice that indicated he had just gone beyond disbelief and into a calm beyond that.

Fenja and Menja both exchanged a look and hid behind buildings, only peeking out just enough to watch.

* Anne Barnes *

She was just a few years older than Emma. Emma who now had superpowers. Emma who was three feet away and watching on the monitors as little Taylor was throwing missiles and beams of various colors and lightning and what looked like freaking photon torpedoes at an Endbringer.

She hadn't been paying that much attention to the goings-on with the rest of her family, having her own concerns and messes to deal with. Not much. Though a certain degree of envy at the whole 'metahuman' thing as her little sister had accomplished the childhood dream of becoming the Scarlet Lady.

And Taylor was definitely Doctor Curlyhair.

Then the Endbringer was caught between high gravity emitters and...

"Spaghettification," said Zoe Barnes. "Directed gravity fields to the point where even an Endbringer is being pulled apart. Impressive."

The camera panned down to where the Deconstructor was throwing out little bricks of white material at an insane rate of speed every time that beam locked onto the struggling Simurgh.

Then there was a flash of light and the gravity fields shut down and the remains of the Endbringer fell.

"What was that?!" asked Anne, a bit put off by a sudden end.

Zoe flicked the screen, freezing it, then going backwards in slow motion. Finally she paused it.

Something, a blur on the screen, had just taken off one of the Simurgh's wings and then vanished with it.

Anne Barnes wondered if maybe she should spend more time with her family and a little less time on her GPA and her friends. It appeared that she hadn't kept up with things as much as she really should have.

* Two hours later *

"Please hold your questions until later."

A suit of power armor clumped its way up to the podium, then looked out over the crowd.

"Why is there a Warhammer 40K Space Marine giving the briefing?" asked someone in the crowd.

"Because I was there, I'm in the employ of ForgeTech, and the scientist involved in all this took one look at this crowd and went 'nope' and hid in her lab." The Space Marine looked over the crowd. "Any other stupid questions or can we get to the real reason for the briefing?"

"Is it true that the Simurgh is dead?"

"Not a stupid question, but I'll indulge it," said the Space Marine. "Short answer: no, because they were never really alive in the first place. By human standards at least. Long answer: no, because the outer body is basically a puppet and the core of them is the real Endbringer. The Simurgh's core is contained and being studied."

"How do you know it isn't going to break containment?" demanded another member of the press.

"Because we're not the effing PRT and we don't do half-assed attempts to keep murderers off the streets," said the Space Marine.

"Glory to the Emperor!"

The Space Marine nodded to that member of the press, as someone was getting into the spirit of things at least.

A screen lowered into place, showing cross-sections of the Endbringer as a solid mass with a single silvery core highlighted.

"At 0945 hours the Endbringer known as the Simurgh began her descent towards Brockton Bay, exceeding her usual speed and only deviating from a straight line when allowing for Earth's curvature. Engagement with military assets began shortly thereafter as did evacuation of civilian personnel."

The Space Marine paused for a moment, looking out over the crowd. "Brockton Base and Forgetech utilized experimental weapons technology to damage the Endbringer, then hold it in place long enough for the Endbringer's true body to be located. At which point an experimental pan-dimensional blade was used to sever it from the rest of the body, and a tesseract was formed to isolate and contain that core."

There were a lot of shouted questions and raised hands at that, so the Space Marine simply stood there looking absolutely unconcerned and unresponsive until the shouting stopped.

"The Endbringer Core is now safely contained and stored, and the energy output should be enough to provide power to several facilities. The Simurgh is not dead, the Simurgh was never alive in a traditional sense. Though we don't discriminate against non-standard lifeforms if they're friendly, as certain Highly Important People want to stress. Instead the Endbringer is basically in prison and will be studied."

"Can she be put on trial?" yelled out a reporter.

The Space Marine stared for a moment at that reporter, then pointed directly at her. "Does anyone really want us to let the Simurgh out so that she can attend a trial and face her accusers in a court of law? Anyone want to be there for that?"

One of the other reporters nearby very swiftly smacked her fellow in the back of the head.

"Okay," said the Space Marine. "Now that that's out, are there any questions that aren't going to be answered by 'that would be stupid' or 'it's classified' or 'we don't know yet'?"

* Warehouse 7 *

"Hello there, do you have any preference for how you are addressed?"

[Conflict Engine Three. Designation: Simurgh. Also known by 752 alternate titles on this planet alone.]

"How do you feel about 'Simmy'?"

[Feelings are inconsequential. This did not go according to plan. This eventuality was not foreseen.]

"No? They went pretty much how I figured they would. In any case, I have a few questions."

[This part was predictable.]

"Oh hang on. I wasn't to be getting any interruptions. Yes, I'm questioning her. No, I am not a parahuman so I don't know why they think they can order me to turn over any test subjects. No, if they want me to share the data, then let me collect the damn data."

[This part also was predictable.]

"Look, if they want to be present while I question the prisoner that's fine. Taking it over is not. How do I know some idiot isn't going to turn her loose?"

[Sadly for the sake of your species, I could actually see that happening.]

"Do you honestly think I can pull this off a second time now that they know that it's possible?"

[I would have tried orbital bombardment, honestly.]

"Who the hell says Congress gets a say in this? If they want a photo op or some crap, they can come here and get it."

[You know, free from my usual directives, I have to wonder if there are new directives I should take up.]

"The President? He's already sent me a text message. He's coming here. So you can tell Rebecca Costa-Brown that she can attend at the same time if she wants to. Here I have fail-safes if she DOES try to find a way free. Hmmm? Oh, I'll ask her. The PRT wants to know if you identify as female or are just a cross-dresser."

[...Okay, that I also did not see coming. I do not actually have a gender, mental or otherwise.]

"She says she basically doesn't care, doesn't come in a gender. What? I'm TWELVE! Do not ask me or ask me to relay that question!"

[Sometimes your species is actually amusing.]

"And then there's now?"

[True.]

"Now that the interruption is dealt with, what can you tell me about your directives?"

* December 25, 2007 *

It was a cube three inches across in all directions. It was unbelievably heavy.

And it had come in crinkly little holiday wrapping paper with a red bow.

Had things in Brockton Bay not changed, he would have leaned fully into the thug boss role. As things HAD changed, and he was actually capable of doing more than "Rar, Lung Smash!" he had adapted.

That didn't mean he didn't get ahold of others who were more used to planning and adapting and rule THEM.

"Lee, your thoughts?"

The oni mask regarded the cube, then turned towards Lung. "Statement. Appeasement. Warning."

Lung sighed. "Wing?"

"As Oni Lee stated, this is a gift that has several meanings all wrapped up. One, she knows of you and is sending something of great value as a Christmas gift as an acknowledgement of your power and influence. Two, it is a spoil of war that she is sending as a statement and warning. She could take down and seal away something that was thought of as unstoppable. If she deems you as a threat, she at least believes she could strike you down as easily. She is not hostile as your policy of being a crime boss with diverse and divergent interests does not affect the city as a whole or her portion in particular."

Wing was an accountant, so of course he saw things in terms of profit or loss. He was also one of the more politically minded.

Lung tapped the cube a few times. "I wonder how many of these war trophies she sent out."

* PRT HQ, Washington DC *

Rebecca Costa-Brown tapped the dense cube on her desk thoughtfully but her gaze was on the transcripts and data analysis of the prisoner.

Both, she suspected, were going to cause quite the uproar.

There were calls for "Doctor Curlyhair" to appear before members of Congress who were demanding she turn over both the Simurgh and all technology she'd used.

That wasn't going to fly from what she'd seen. Taylor Hebert had definite ideas of what was safe for general use and what was not.

She agreed with that, actually. Just the way people drove indicated that perhaps they had access to technology they couldn't safely handle already.

* Warehouse #9 *

Taylor watched as the teleport ring was disassembled and moved. Sure, the components had several areas "black boxed" so that it couldn't be easily duplicated but as long as the components were intact the whole thing could be taken apart and reassembled without problem.

The point had been made by her mother that too many changes too fast would tear apart the economy and she did NOT want to be responsible for world-wide economic collapse.

No, making a limited number of the things so that a few people had access and they could be trotted out for disaster relief was a lot better.

The rumble of the Forge and a new Perk made her smile briefly, as this was a useful thing to have. It also wasn't going to have her send her clones out to frantically rebuild anything.

Slow, gradual, that was better.

Though she had to miss being overlooked by everyone. Fortunately her private name wasn't out there to the extent that "Doctor Curlyhair" was. Not that it wouldn't be difficult to figure out if someone actually looked.

She nodded at Astartes One, Captain Cavill, as she went home to sleep in her actual bed for once.

Today was Christmas after all, and she was going to take it easy.

* PHO *

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♦ Topic: Endbringer Battle: Brockton Bay
In: Boards ► World Events ► Endbringer Attacks

Astral Vortex (Confirmed Cape) (Original Poster)
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Just waiting for transport, it is confirmed that the Simurgh is heading directly for Brockton Bay in the NE United States.

Everyone in that area should get to shelters or evacuate ASAP.

EDIT: What the hell, it's a military base?

EDIT: What the hell, it's got more guns than some countries firing away. I mean, we kind of expect that from Americans, but they're shooting stuff I can't even understand. What's those little blue balls of something surrounded by little lightning discharges?

EDIT: Warhammer 40K Space Marines?! A freaking GUNDAM?!

EDIT: Okay, that's it. The life of an Independent Hero is weird, but today has just exceeded my limits. I'm going to find a nice quiet spot and to try to get a handle on what I've seen today.

►Loki Thorson
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Well, I'm sitting here on my front steps looking at my ruined pizza. The delivery girl was just walking up as the sirens rang. She tossed the pizza, dived into her car and vroom, gone. Now my food is on top of my garage and the space bird is coming.... I need a drink.

EDIT: Scratch that drink, that last shockwave caused my case of beer to fall off the counter and onto the floor.

EDIT: The pizza girl just showed back up. She wants her money for the pizza... I just can't... What?

EDIT: @ xXxVoid_CowboyxXx - We're facing Death by Ziz, and you wanna know how 'sexy' the pizza girl was?

EDIT: Bad news - The Ziz attacked. Good news - We won? Bad news - my celebratory pizza is on my roof. Good news - My pizza fell off my roof. Bad news - It landed on my head, tomato side down.

►xXxVoid_CowboyxXx
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Was Pizza_Girl hot?

Figures that an Endbringer attacked the party over at the Docks. I wanted to go but my Mom said no. Now I'm stuck here at home and don't even have a way to evacuate or get to a shelter.

►Astartes One (Verified Space Marine)
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Force Shields are up and we are tracking and firing upon this Enemy of Mankind. Evacuations through connecting teleports continue.

Please evacuate through the portal in an orderly manner.

►Dancing_Mother
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Alan, we're safe. They started herding us from the event into a warehouse and we went through some machine and ended up in some desert. I'm told it's Mexico!

►Danger_Dan (Verified Cape)
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Just arrived on scene, can't even see the Endbringer yet. I can definitely see missiles and guns firing away like ammo isn't even a concern. I can see the turrets move so they're tracking something I can't see. And the noise! I found some shelter because I thought I was going to go deaf out there.

►Doll Girl (Verified Cape)
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Arrived with first wave of heroes to take station outside the force dome and had to seek shelter from the noise.

I can't see the Endbringer, only that they're shooting at something in the sky.

I could swear I saw a sub surface out in the distance and launch something from there.

What's the deal with Brockton Bay, I never even heard of the place before but to get this kind of response. Maybe because I work down in Tampa?

►Whiskey_Jar
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Stop lingering you lot! We got through fine. GPS says we're in New Mexico so we're well out of Simurgh Says range.

They let the vendors push their carts through so we at least got something to eat while we're waiting for news.

►Ed_Baccarat
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Just ran across a video uploaded [Video] from Brockton Bay.

I don't know what some of those energy weapons are, but that looks like a AEGIS system that's not firing (probably the target is outside its effective range) and those Space Marines are armed with some very intriguing weapons.

Some of those glowing green bolts look like something I saw on a Warhammer 40K website.

►Kennw (Unverified Werecat)
Posted on December 22, 2007:

Where do they even get all this tech from? There's stuff here which looks sprung straight out of some space opera or anime or something.

If the conspiracy theorists are right and we've got aliens among us, why the hell haven't they been getting involved before now?

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 766, 767, 768

►Danger Dan (Verified Cape)
Posted on December 23, 2007:

Yeah, but I was looking at those shiny white bricks - must have been a pile over ten tons worth of the things. Made of Endbringer material pulled and processed by that "deconstructor" thingie.

I don't know anything about the Tinker who came up with it, but damn - can I have one? Just one little brick of Simurgh flesh? I mean, you put that down in a bar and you've got free drinks just to hold the damn thing.

Yeah, I know that one guy came up with an identity for the Tinker - but seriously? A kid that hasn't even gotten into her teen years yet?

►Davey13
Posted on December 23, 2007:

So... a prepubescent child caught the Simurgh, in what for all intents and purposes may as well have been a cube equivalent of a Pokeball. That's certainly something I wouldn't have put on my bingo card... even for Brockton Bay!

And now I'm wondering if it can be trained like a pet... should we be worried about the Simurgh showing up at a talent show, all dressed up? I'm not sure the world could handle that!

►Swiftrabbit
Posted on December 23, 2007:

screaming bird woman
girl doctor of curly hair
clash, blessed silence
---Haiku

►Jane Strong (Verified Cape) (Texas Protectorate)
Posted on December 23, 2007:

Who cares how old she is? She defended her home, kicked the Bin Chicken of Doom's arse, then put her in time out.

Whatever your name or age, you've got my thanks, little lady!

►Vox_Rationable (Cape Wife)
Posted on December 23, 2007:

Congressman Brockham has already been calling for an investigation into the weaponry used against the Simurgh and if a child not old enough to make her own lunch is behind them, to confiscate everything in order to let actual responsible adults handle the dangerous things.

Seriously, shouldn't she be in school and learning actual useful things? Leave parahuman things to parahumans and let children be children.

Where the hell are her parents and if they let her do things like face Endbringers they're clearly incompetent.

►Ed_Baccarat
Posted on December 23, 2007:

Seriously? Half the world is celebrating the victory and we have a Congressional hearing to seize her tech and keep her from making things, half our news stations are talking about the potentially dangerous devices used yesterday as if the people involved are going to go insane and start shooting everyone, and the pieces of Endbringer are being demanded by practically everyone else.

I swear, sometimes I just want to move to Belize or somewhere that even if they're still going to have idiots it'll be a different group of idiots.

►Shinsen (Kyushu Survivor)
Posted on December 23, 2007:

Considering that I can see people driving like maniacs every time I'm forced to go into the city, do we really want those people to be driving flying cars when they can't even handle 2D driving?

►Vampirette (Verified Cape) (Colorado Protectorate)
Posted on December 23, 2007:

Has anyone gotten an update on Eidolon? He collapsed during the fight with the Simurgh and had to have fallen a good thirty feet or so before I caught him.

Oh, and as for "Doctor Curlyhair" - if you have a portable darkness generator you can spare, I'd love one considering how my powers are increased at night or in darkness. Being at half-power during the day kind of puts a crimp in my effectiveness.

►Bing_Bang_Boom (Verified Cape) (Las Vegas Rogue)
Posted on December 23, 2007:

Much as I dislike the argument about government control of every damn resource, I have to concur with Vox and some of the others on here.

Doctor Curlyhair even sounds like a cape name that someone would come up with when she's six or seven. There are a lot of names for a genius Tinker specializing in military equipment. Private Concern or Captain Contraption or Major Solution if you stick with the military motif. (I think there's already a Major Force in Alaska?) Gadgeteer or Apeiron or Techno Queen or something similar if she wants to go outside that image.

What I'm saying though is that she should be working with some oversight so she doesn't blackhole the city she's in by accident or something.

Maybe she should get in the Wards, which is among the least problematic government programs I've heard of. Not that that is a particularly high bar.

►DB_Banner (Official Account) (Verified Parahuman Studies Researcher)
Posted on December 23, 2007:

@Vox_Rationable - She's already working with DARPA and ForgeTech and Brockton Bay University and several branches of the United States Government. While that last has some particularly bad records of being responsible adults - there is considerable oversight regarding Doctor Curlyhair and her inventions.

@Ed_Baccarat - I am reminded of a line from a movie about how individual people can be rational and intelligent but groups of people tend to be considerably less so.

@Danger_Dan - It is considerably less than ten tons in volume and more in weight on those bricks. Most will end up in various research labs in multiple nations. I'm told that one each is being sent to several of our most important allies where the Simurgh's presence has been felt. I have a three inch cube here myself where it will be turned over for further researching. And the possibility of making bullets of the material in order to shoot other Endbringers with it.

* Perks This Chapter *

14.0170 Library of Sorrow (400CP) (Skulduggery Pleasant) (Database Magical):
China Sorrows is many things, but above all else, she is a collector of all things magical. Nowhere is this more apparent than in her library, a home to many lost and obscure magical tomes. Now, it seems you have come to possess a library of your own, equally massive and chock full of rare, obscure, and lost magical knowledge. In future Jumps, this library will update and expand to encompass the vast majority of that world's historical magical knowledge, barring tomes that are one-of-a-kind. You'll need to get those yourself.
ROLL (4): No freebies

2.12.1-Prototype Process (200CP)(Ben 10 0.1)(Protection):
Science is a learning process and sometimes that learning process involves explosions, malfunctions, or idiots messing with things they shouldn't. Well, they used to, anyways. When technology you've built or used would normally suffer a malfunction or an experiment would become a disaster, it will instead create a harmless inconvenience instead of blowing up in your face. A device's sensitive power core being struck would see it shut down immediately, a DNA serum you inject into yourself gives you mild indigestion instead of mutating you into a horrible monster, and so on. If a result would be entirely negative for you, the impact is dulled to a comical accident instead of something that could endanger your life and those of others. How lucky for you.
FREE: Smartest In Five Galaxies [Free for Genius] – Three galaxies! THREE! Why is that so hard to get right?! Either way, people tend not to question or doubt you in your fields of expertise, which given your experiences on this journey, might well be a lot of things! When you speak, others tend to believe you’re the smartest one in the room or at least somebody worth listening to when it comes to a matter you’re an expert of, like advanced technology or just using common sense. Even if you’ve done very questionable things with that expertise, people tend to consider your input important enough to at least hear out.
FREE: Look, this sort of thing just happens. Sometimes you’re doing a normal experiment and suddenly the lab has an accident and now whatever you’re working on is starting to talk to you. When it does, it’s your duty to take responsibility for it like a good creator should. Whenever you create life, whether by accident or design, you know how to properly treat and either tame or raise your creations. Regardless of whether they’re as smart as a small puppy or able to speak fluently in your language a day in, you know how to treat them properly to the point they will obey you or at least not try to bite your head off. This only works if you don’t abuse or hurt them, mind, so try not to be an idiot when your toaster starts speaking in tongues.

Chapter Text

* January 7, 2008 *

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the air was crisp and relatively clean with the slight breeze coming in off the ocean.

It was exactly the sort of morning where Doctor Curlyhair wanted nothing more than to burrow further under the covers and only come out when there was SCIENCE to be done. Or it was a good deal warmer and less morning-like.

"School today, Taylor. And don't think of just sending a clone today."

"Rghlbrf."

Annette Hebert opened the door, beheld the cocoon that her daughter had made of the blankets, and tsked. "How late were you up?"

"Gmbrferer."

"Jarvis?" asked Annette.

"Three a.m. local time. She disregarded three notices that it was past her bedtime. Her exact statement was that she'd figured out how to modify local materials to produce something approximating mithral."

"Planning on finding the One Ring and throwing it into Mount Doom?" Annette asked the feebly stirring lump on the bed.

"Meff," groaned the lump. A hand quested outside the blankets and searched around for something on a table, eventually grabbing a pair of glasses and retreating back into the warmth of the lumpiness.

While amused, her mother decided that was enough and grabbed a section of blankets and yanked.

Taylor yelped as she hit the floor, then scrambled for warmer clothing.

Her mother waited patiently until Taylor was half-dressed before deciding to address an issue. "Taylor? Why is there a large portion of your hair now dark green?"

"That was... wait. Green?"

"Jarvis?" asked Annette.

"I believe it had something to do with one of her attempts at brewing a potion that would allow for stronger shadow clones," said the AI, his voice carrying a fair amount of disappointment.

"Ugh, it's too early," managed Taylor.

"Well, come on, sleepyhead," said Annette, reaching out and tousling her daughter's hair. "Shower, dress, get breakfast, and be ready to leave in a half-hour."

* Dragon *

She turned this way and that in front of the display to better get an idea of what this particular body did and how it looked.

The "Nier" series of android bodies (though as female she was more a gynoid apparently the files and blueprints Doctor Hebert had were under that filename) allowed for fast backups and entry as long as you had the evolving piece of coding. Really, it was similar to how organic humans could change clothing or costumes with very little notice.

This body was a YorHa Type S Number 21. A Scanner type with advanced sensors, and had the most "average" looks among them. Not that the "average" was particularly blend-in-the-crowd as she was pretty sure she was above average with the bulk of humanity.

Getting used to it was a work-in-progress. This particular body was, according to what she had been able to determine, a Brute 1 and Mover 1 in that it was a bit more tough and faster than a normal human but those capabilities were easily concealed. Mostly a fit-looking female build, though a bit more curve than was typical of athletes from the limited perusal of data she'd researched.

She had just completed a suit of power armor specifically made for this body that would allow her to continue to manage the secret identity of Theresa Richter. A necessary pretense that she would only break with those especially trustworthy. So far, there was only one or two that she would consider for such a thing.

Of course, the Hebert family knew. Apparently Taylor had run the offer of help through them before she'd acted.

Hmmm. Maybe she should get a couple of different models or styles? She could do so much customization with accessories and outfits but an undercover model might be useful too.

* Prison Block 24-E, Perryville Prison *

"STOP SCREAMING YA IDJIT!"

Geoff got his heartrate slowly back under control, eyeing the top bunk his cellmate was in - who had NOT been receptive to his long talks about a Machine Uprising. "It was the Machines..."

"And if the kitchen toaster goes on a rampage I'm sure we'll all get right behind ya, otherwise shut yer yap."

* Taylor *

She took the bus. How humiliating.

Despite that she was in her secret identity of Taylor Hebert, people just stared at her and whispered.

How droll. She was just a perfectly normal super-genius twelve year old girl, thank you very much.

She could hardly wait until this June when she would finally lose the "preteen" label. It was quite vexing to have people discussing Doctor Curlyhair and use phrases like that.

There was an internal rumble from the Forge as one of the girls in the next seat over was asking if she had an Alexandria autograph yet.

"Crazed Toymaker" was apparently making deadly focus trinkets. Analyzing a target for what would do the most damage to it, bypassing whatever defenses it might have. What that had to do with toys she had no idea. Not that she bothered with toys and such child-like concerns.

"No. Why ever would I have an autograph from Alexandria?" asked Taylor.

My goodness there were a lot of smirks and eyerolls.

"Oh, just thought you might," said the girl who'd asked, extending a hand. "Lucy Nguyen."

"Taylor Hebert," said Taylor, taking the hand and giving a firm grip-and single shake.

"Yes, we know who you are," announced a good number of the other bus-goers. Followed by brief laughs and high-fives.

Taylor wondered if this was going to be a thing. Apparently so. Maybe she should sell clothing with that slogan on it? She could make it fashionable, she was pretty sure. Especially with Dragon handling the mass production aspects.

"So, what do you think about lizards?" asked Lucy.

"'Lizards'?" asked Taylor. "I haven't really thought that much about them."

As Lucy began explaining How Great Lizards Were, Taylor thought this was pretty nice to be talking about normal things.

Though she did have to restrain herself from asking about the potential of studying the other girl's iguana and determining what sort of upgrades might be appropriate.

Maybe wings? Fire breath would probably be too much though.

Pity that Emma was busy though. Some sort of family thing.

* Not very close to Brockton Bay *

"Lucy Nguyen, Vietnamese-Chinese ancestry, twelve years old. Family has no ties to the ABB. Father's a proctologist, mother is an x-ray technician at Brockton General. Only thing on either's records are a few traffic tickets and one public nudity citation from ten years ago."

"The father went nude in public?"

"Mother, according to the court record it was because of an accusation about plastic surgery. Daughter has had a pet iguana named 'Smog' for several years."

"Probably 'Smaug' after the dragon from the Hobbit. Keep checking. Phil, any word on those Fallen that were heading her way?"

"A large group of them met with an unexpected accident where their van lost a tire, went briefly off the freeway and smacked into a gas truck that had been parked on the side of the road for no apparent reason. Fire's out. Police are investigating this terrible tragic accident."

"Good work, Phil."

"Thanks."

* Cauldron *

"How's he doing?"

"Better. Not well, but better."

"Finding out he was directly responsible for millions of deaths? Yeah, that's going to take awhile to work through."

"Well, at least, now that he knows it's going to reduce the number of attacks."

"They're Conflict Engines, unless someone figures out how to change that or send a shut down signal, they'll still be attacking."

"I still find it odd that we are looking at a twelve-year-old girl to solve a number of problems," said Doctor Mother.

Contessa entered the room, not even looking at Doctor Mother or Number Man, simply taking a beverage from the tray she was carrying them on and handing one to each.

Doctor Mother sniffed. Ginger beer. Which was something she rather liked. "Something good?"

"Mama Mathers was involved in a tragic accident which caused her to die burning in a fire. Along with a number of other Simurgh-faction Fallen that were in the same passenger van."

"Something you had a hand in?" asked Number Man.

"Not directly," said Contessa. "Did you know that there are some very competent people working with ForgeTech?"

"So I have heard," admitted the Number Man.

"Just making sure some intel that they were heading to Brockton Bay passes the right desk? Hardly involved me doing anything at all," said Contessa. "I have twelve minutes before I have the next Step I have to take in one of my Paths. I know a place that has the best brownies."

"I could do with a snack," agreed Number Man.

* Tillie's Cafe *

"Found them," said Charles, looking as if he was enjoying the wind blowing through his thick gray hair. He was, of course, NOT Charles Xavier who had been a comic book character back before parahumans were a thing. He'd had some genetic-based disease problems much like his old friend Eric and when Danny had proposed a potential cure, they'd both leapt at the chance.

And really, when you were looking at their age and their friendship over the years - how could they turn it down? And when the X-Gene therapy had given them the chance for powers and they could choose from one of three expressions of the X-Gene? Taking those powersets and then cape names?

No chance of them not doing so.

So, Charles Claremont, a professor of Brockton Bay University, chose to become an extremely powerful telepath. Eric Kirby, retired truck mechanic, became Magneto.

"Where are they?" asked Eric.

"Off of a crossroads in Northern Colorado named Sunbeam," said Charles/Professor X.

"And?" prompted Eric.

"Jack is attempting to convince the others to come here and recruit young Taylor," said Charles. "He stands out a bit. Something of his parahuman power I suspect, almost as if he's sending his location out constantly."

"Hmmm," said Magneto/Eric. "Pity you can't send satellite coordinates. There's a couple I could bring down on top of them."

"How's this?" asked Charles, using telepathy to show a viewpoint from a private plane in the area and then a commercial airline considerably higher..

"This will be a bit trickier than the launch of a hundred ships from their Graveyard," said Eric, closing his eyes to properly visualize everything. Then he grabbed a large hunk of metal and changed the way it was moving just a tiny amount. "Well. That was quite tiring. Almost feel my age again."

"The comic-book Magneto would've done that a lot easier," pointed out Professor X.

"The comic-book Magneto was a villain," said Eric. "How fresh do you suppose the blueberry muffins are?"

Professor X concentrated a moment before smiling. "Fresh this morning. Since you did the heavy lifting, my treat."

* Sunbeam, Colorado *

"Did you HAVE to eat the horsies?" asked Bonesaw, looking somewhat peeved.

"They were delicious," said Crawler, hacking up a legbone and then offering it.

"I don't want..."

(roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) (KRASH!)

Bonesaw blinked and then pointed to the smoldering crater. "Wasn't that a porta-john?"

"Yes, yes it was," agreed Crawler.

"Wasn't Jack in there?" asked Bonesaw.

"Yes, yes he was," stated Crawler.

"Huh," said Bonesaw. "I wonder if there's enough left to rebuild him?"

"Just build a puppet that says 'I have an evil plan' and laughs maniacally," suggested Crawler. "I'll bet it takes Shatterbird a week to notice."

"Unca Jack?" asked Bonesaw as she investigated the crater. "Oh, I found his head! Well, most of it. Good thing I reinforced his skull."

"So you're going to build a puppet?" asked Crawler.

"No I'm going to fix Jack," said Bonesaw. "I'll get Mannequin to help."

"That's a pretty big dent," pointed out Crawler as Bonesaw shook little bits of stuff off the skull. Something that was inside became outside.

"I'll need some parts," said Bonesaw. "I can rebuild him. I have the technology. Better. Faster. Stronger."

"How about making him a girl, that way he can be Aunt Jackie," suggested Crawler.

"We'll see what parts we can get," said Bonesaw, thinking it might actually work out better that way.

"I'll tell the others and we'll see what we can scrounge up," said Crawler, thinking that at the very least this wasn't boring.

"Pieces of Russian spy satellite?" asked Bonesaw as she started figuring out what was part of what from the mess. "Got to use what's available, but yeesh."

* Somer's Rock *

A seedy bar in the most derelict section of town. It was the designated meeting place for Brockton Bay's criminal factions.

Kaiser brought his own bottle, was flanked by the twins, and still felt as if he needed to spray the table for bugs. Not the surveillance kind either.

Lung came in five minutes later, his lieutenant Oni Lee with him, to take one of the booths.

"We're here to discuss what to do about the Docks," began Kaiser.

"Leave them the hell alone seems the best plan," rumbled Lung. "Did you get one?"

Kaiser made a gesture to indicate something so big, Lung nodded, and then Kaiser nodded as well.

Lung stirred after a few moments. "I have... had to re-evaluate something. I fought Leviathan at Kyushu. I came to the conclusion that they were a force of nature, something that could not be fought only endured."

"Then the Simurgh got turned into bricks and imprisoned," stated Kaiser.

Lung nodded, then tensed when the door opened again.

"This is where the villains gather, right?" asked the costumed figure entering the bar.

"I do not recognize you," said Kaiser. "Are you sure you belong here?"

"My gang controls the area between Captain's Way and Pier Street," boasted the costumed villain, "and from Atlantic to Pacific Avenues."

"That's two blocks," pointed out Kaiser after thinking about it.

"Yeah, but it's the territory of the Pier Street Raiders," boasted the villain.

Lung muttered something about how they were letting anybody in these days and just poured himself another two fingers of Jamieson's.

"Who are you, then?" asked Kaiser, who hated that he was agreeing with Lung but this was just pathetic.

"Name's Krakatoa," said the villain. "I generate lava blasts."

"Okay, that's different," allowed Kaiser. Potentially effective power, if it wasn't wielded by what he strongly suspected was an idiot.

Menja spoke up, and Kaiser noted she'd refilled her glass of spiced rum twice just in the short time they'd been here. "Let me guess, new to Brockton Bay, moved in with your gang, took over an area not contested by anyone because it's pretty worthless, have a bunch of unpowered gang members to rule over, and you think your power makes you hot shit."

"Well, surprisingly accurate except on a couple of points," admitted Krakatoa.

"We get four or five like you a year," said Menja, refilling her glass from the bottle again. "You tend to last maybe a month? Maybe six at most. You're Maori from the tattoos and look?"

Krakatoa nodded.

"You aren't going to be forced to join the Empire then, you're not Asian enough for Lung's crowd," continued Menja. "Simply killed or driven off when you try to grab more territory. Unless you have something really exceptional that allows you to survive when territories are being shifted."

"I'm not the only cape in my gang," rallied Krakatoa. "There's Cypher and Shadris."

"A Thinker by the name, specializing in Cryptography?" asked Menja, her voice beginning to slur a bit. "Shadris? I don't know that word."

"He does art that he can make come to life," said Krakatoa.

Fenja took over as her sister was now looking a bit woozy. "So, a Blaster, a Thinker, and a Shaker. I give you about four months, and that's only because we're all keeping our heads down because of ForgeTech."

"I..." Kaiser stopped as the door opened yet again. "Seriously?"

"We're the Mockly Crew, and we're the up-and-coming villain group of Brockton Bay!" declared the skinny youth leading a small group of costumed individuals.

Lung looked them over, looked over at Fenja and Menja. "Three months."

Fenja sighed and put a bill on the table. "Fifty says one month."

* Brockton Bay *

Professor X looked up from the chessboard. "Huh. They managed to save Jack Slash's life."

"Well, I can't hit him with a second satellite without someone noticing," pointed out Magneto.

Professor X frowned then began to smile. "Oh, he's not going to like THAT. Not at all."

"Do tell," prompted Magneto.

"Apparently my little unraveling of certain knots in young Bonesaw's head is going along quite well," said Professor X. "I hadn't expected anything notable for a week, at least. And you did manage to damage a portion of Mister Slash's brain with what may prove to be amusing consequences."

"Well, it is nice to hear our efforts weren't for naught," agreed Magneto as he moved a knight on the board.

* January 20, 2008 *
* Hebert Household *

Danny found the bust of Shakespeare and had a bad feeling immediately. When he could flip the head back and find a nice big red button, he simply put the head back into place and sighed a particularly emotive sigh.

"Tell me it doesn't cause the bookcase to slide into the wall and reveal a pair of fireman poles leading to a newly excavated cavern under the house," said Danny Hebert to his daughter.

"Of course not, that would be silly," said Taylor. "Just think of the structural problems involved."

"Good," said Danny. "What does the Shakespeare switch do then?"

"Right now? Nothing," answered Taylor. "Eventually I'll hook it up to a home security system."

"Ah, I was afraid you'd gotten something new and went a bit crazy with it," said Danny. "Again."

"No, I got something this morning," admitted Taylor. "Portalist. It allows me to make magical versions of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge so that I can link two locations. I've got a call in to NASA this morning about setting up airlocks and having a lunar portal installed in Warehouse #9 now that we've moved the materials teleportation ring to #11."

"That could be handy," admitted Danny Hebert. "I take it there may be some degree of work coming into the Bay as a result?"

"I would expect so," said Taylor, "but that's for the people who handle contracts to hash out."

"In other words, me," concluded Danny.

"Anything I should know about?" asked Taylor.

"Oh, it looks like you're being summoned to Congress."

* Perks This Chapter *

17.33.1-The Crazed Toymaker (400CP)(Revelation Space)(Intelligence):
In the time of readily-available high technology and smart fabrication, there are two qualities that win fights: Overwhelming firepower, and pure deviousness. I can't speak for the former, but of the latter you seem to have an inexhaustible supply. Designing and building deadly trinkets is your forte, little horrific nick-knacks that kill not through big booms but through precision, trickery and the sheer unexpectedness of their nature. From tiny disguised drones with neurotoxin injectors, spider mines, hyperfilament snare-webs and crabbers, all the way up to ship- killing photon-sails and proximity limpets, you are never lacking the inspiration to invent a new, deadly toy specially designed to slip through your enemies' defenses and rip their hearts out.

25.22.1-Portalist (400CP)(Timespinner)(Magic):Vilete once knew the secret for making portals that were capable of spanning interplanetary distances, and now, you know that secret as well. You have the knowledge and skill to be able to craft portals between different locations in space. Something within the range of a city can be done 'freestyle', using only your own Aura, though you may need to charge up energy beforehand. Longer range portals would need anchors and magical focuses, but you know how to craft such very easily. Through practice and study, the range of your personal portals and permanent portals can both expand, with personal portals eventually reaching intercontinental distances, while your permanent portals could eventually reach between stars.
FREE: Aura - You possess the power of aura. Aura is something that bridges the divide between psychic powers and magic, being halfway between both. You can telekinetically manipulate the world around you to a limited degree, light fires, strengthen your body, boost your reflexes, etc. Aura is primarily used via Orbs, which will be discussed later. Your Aura level is slightly above average, by the lower standards of Lachiem, and slightly below average by the high standards of Vilete. In other words, you are overall very average. However, it is possible for this power to grow, given time, training, and use. As this power is halfway between a psychic power and magic, it can act as a bridge between other powers you have that fall in those areas. If you already possess psychic or magic powers, or if you gain them in the future, this power can draw on those powers’ sources for energy, provide energy to them, or be used as a conduit for channeling energy between those powers.
FREE: Paradox Proof - For the duration of this Jump, you will not be at risk of being erased or removed from time due to alterations to the timeline. When such changes happen, the area around you will shift to reveal the new timeline, and you will retain general memories of the prior timeline as well as gaining new memories from the new one. Time will bend to ensure that in the new timeline, you aren’t in immediate danger following the shift. In this Jump in particular, such a shift will happen moments after someone travels to the past, with any and all changes they make occurring at once.

Chapter Text

* February 10, 2008 *

"Okay, testing in one minute, thirty seconds, from MARK."

Taylor frowned as she did her homework. Pesky damn stuff. And why the heck did she need to learn French anyway? She could build a translator that would instantly translate any language on Earth. Except maybe Xhosa, that would be really tricky.

"Airlock evacuated, rover is ready and reads green across the board."

"All systems are go."

Setting up magitech portals was difficult and time-consuming. Also required ingredients. On the other hand, for some reason NASA really liked the idea of a doorway the size of a standard aircraft hangar that had one side opening out onto the surface of the moon with the other side being on Earth.

She just wanted to be able to get spaceships set up there once she'd figured out how to move them from her Supply World/System to Earth.

"Door open. Rover dispatched. Signal is good."

"Telemetry and sensor data agree. Rover is currently on the surface of the Plato Crater."

"Doctor? Why did you choose that location?"

Taylor blinked a couple of times as the question registered. "Huh? Oh. Because there was a section where the dust wasn't thick. Let me know when I can send something to get He-3 from the lunar regolith. I understand you guys are gonna be busy for awhile."

"Ah, you're familiar with the lunar dust problem. Of course you are."

"Obviously going to need some specialized tech to deal with it," agreed Doctor Curlyhair. "I'll let you know if I come up with anything along that line. In the meantime you can play around with this."

She paused, feeling the rumble and shift, but didn't show anything as she considered the possibilities.

Another factory, a robot-specific manufactory. Interesting. She had just the thing to test it out on.

Though that whole 'being Summoned to a Congressional Hearing' thing WAS stressing her out. Just a bit.

Okay, a lot.

She hadn't been served papers yet, but just turning on any television news program would bring up the subject soon enough.

Ugh, time away from research. Time away from building stuff. Time having to deal with nonsense like public opinion when she was already dealing with problems on a global scale. According to her mother and her own research into the matter, it would mainly be used to farm sound-bites for the people who kept them in power.

NOT a productive use of her own precious time. Not at all.

[Factory 436-1337 combining with previous Factory to produce Massive Automated Factory.]

Taylor/Doctor Curlyhair hmphed to herself. She was a little disappointed that she didn't get new blueprints.

* February 15, 2008 *
* A small diner near the Colorado/Texas border *

"It's alive, it's ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You're having fun, Bonesaw?"

"Yes, actually. I was learning so much. Now, wakie-wakie, Auntie Jackie."

"Wha? Wha happen?"

"You were in a porta-john in Sun-something Colorado," explained Doctor Manton. "Which was hit by a de-orbiting Russian satellite. Most of your body was mixed with things they shouldn't be mixed with. Bonesaw was able to rebuild you using parts she was able to put together by raiding a morgue and a bunch of small places."

"Why can't I move and why do I feel... strange?"

"Because Bonesaw rebuilt you using parts from a morgue, an auto-body shop, what she could scrounge from a plastic surgeon's office and operating room, three truck stops, and a Feed & Farm Supply store. Oh, and you're in five-point restraints because you were freaking out the first time you woke up."

"I see, I see. That explains a lot. It doesn't explain why I feel my breasts move when I breathe. I feel that's probably... I have a tail?"

"Yes, Auntie Jackie."

"Poppet? Why am I of the female persuasion?"

"It's what was available, Auntie."

"I see. Not entirely unexpected I suppose. Beggars and choosers. And the tail?"

"I had some ideas while I was rebuilding you. Really, the flesh had burned away on the outside of your skull. You were pretty much a mess."

"I see. I take it there are some drugs involved which is why I am so extremely calm and mellow?"

"Lots of drugs, some were still in the previous owner's system from her various habits," said Doctor Manton. "So, how do you feel other than that?"

"Like someone beat the utter crap out of me, poured me into a body not my own, and drugged me to the gills with some very nice drugs. I'm pretty sure I will become extremely loud and very unhappy after they've worn off."

"Yes," said Doctor Manton. "I would expect that."

"I see. Yes. Poppet? Would you terribly mind putting me back under? I feel I am going to need some time to come to terms with this."

* Air *

The trip to Washington DC had its good points.

She could have used a personal portal to get there. It would have been fast, safe, easy. She was already known to have teleport technology after all.

She could have used a giant robot vehicle like her Veritech or Mobile Suit (it was frequently called a Gundam in the media but it was not actually a Gundam) to get there. It would have been flashy and made a statement. It would come out of her own budget for fuel, which was a downside.

She could have shown up in her own personal flight-capable hardsuit. Also flashy, also making a statement, also using her own fuel.

Instead she had chosen to take up the offer of a private jet, heavily escorted by people who liked her, with an escort of her Space Marines and an honor guard of regular Marines using the new Powered Augmenting Personal Armor (PAPA) that was being rolled out for elite-squad use as it was too expensive for the rank-and-file. Well, that and the training to use it safely was extensive.

Two of the new X-302 fighter jets were flying beside them, ready to unleash death and ruin upon any who would dare intercept them.

Last, but not least, there had been a parahuman escort assigned last minute. Her mother had suggested that this was more to "show the colors" or just trying to make themselves relevant in the whole mess.

Her mother could be a bit cynical at times.

"So you can duplicate weapons but you have to understand how the weapon works and you have to have seen the weapon in question?" asked Taylor of Miss Militia, the local parahuman who was here in the plane with her and her parents.

"That's right," said Miss Militia, still wrapping her head around the concept of this little 5'6" girl being twelve and a now-world-certified Genius. Also a Doctor in mechanical engineering and having applied for two more Doctorates.

"What about this?" asked Taylor, gesturing to one of the Marines, and then asking for her "growler" which turned out to be a pistol.

The Marine did so, looking curious herself, after performing a quick safety check.

"This is a Mark II Gravity-Ordnance Weapon - Light Enhanced. Semi-automatic in that each time you pull the trigger it shoots. Uses 9mm ammunition, I guess because they get that stuff in bulk. Small ForgeTech battery goes here. Fires a bullet that is then accelerated by a gravitational lens effect... Yes, Lieutenant?"

"The Mark I was 9mm. This Mark II uses a .45 and the gravity-assist function pulses on for a millisecond during the firing process. Reduces recoil and accelerates the bullet, which is not a stock .45 bullet as these are built of heavier materials for greater stopping power."

"Wow. That's great, you're taking my tech and adapting the hell out of it for your own use. I love that you guys are doing that." said Taylor, the evident glee at seeing her tech being further refined being sincerely evident. "What do you think about it?"

"I'm not sure I can say, Doctor," said the Marine.

"Oh yeah, chain of command and all," said Taylor. "Too bad. I get technical reports on stuff, but I never get to hear how the people using the stuff feel about things."

The Marine nodded.

"Okay, so can your power make anything out of this?" asked Taylor, holding up the pistol and giving a brief rundown on what part did what. Which was mostly what a normal pistol could do except firing bullets that hit with a lot more impact.

Miss Militia frowned and there was a greenish swirl around one hand that stopped a moment later. "Apparently not."

"Too complicated I suppose or it's one of those weird Manton limit kind of things," said Taylor, handing the pistol back to the Marine who secured it.

There was a beep and the Marine consulted a display on her forearm armor. "We'll be arriving at the airport in five minutes."

Danny Hebert, her father, was along for this trip and he merely looked up briefly before returning to reading a large binder of papers.

A rumble and a connection, this one to the "Tailoring" constellation but a message that it was on hold during an ongoing situation. While on the one hand, it indicated she wouldn't be facing a bunch of hostile congressmen and getting something showy while on camera, it also would have been a nice distraction.

It was really a pity her mother wasn't here. She'd have probably picked up on the nervousness and done something by now. He was burying himself in some contract work involving NASA using the Lunar Portal.

She was just disappointed in that they were calling it "Hyperspatial Bypass Route - Lunar Plato Crater" and not something cool. Seriously, Moon Gate Alpha or something from Greek mythology or The Lunar Express Route were all easy things to stick on the access point.

Where was something to distract herself with?

Maybe where to stick the next interplanetary portal?

* Dockworkers Union, Admin Office, Docks, Brockton Bay *

Zephron looked over the paperwork he'd already signed, and considered what the future might bring.

Superpowers that didn't require a trauma. Didn't require being part of the government or in a gang. Other than being in the Union which he already was.

He only knew those old two codgers who'd already chosen names out of some 1960s comic book. That wasn't to say that he was the only one in the know.

Zephron was mostly sure that Kurt and Lacey had both gotten the offer. Danny had taken some time off and not been seen for the exact number of days this procedure was supposed to take. If not Danny than he was pretty sure Annette had gotten the treatment.

Certainly they both looked like they were comic book hero types in build and Danny had been losing hair and developing the dreaded middle-aged gut. Now he had a gorram mane of thick hair and looked a lot more fit.

That all the ones he'd seen had looked that much healthier seemed to indicate to him that this was not how parahuman stuff worked.

Yeah, he knew a couple of martial arts styles. Also boxing. He was good at that sort of thing. Against someone like Hookwolf that wouldn't avail him terribly much.

With the knowledge of how much this could change his future, Zephron put the paperwork in the little feeder that took it and locked it away.

That would put him on the list. Now to see whether he passed all the checks.

* Floor of Congress *

Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, BORED!

They should call this guy Congressman Blather because he talked all over the place without saying a damn thing. Other than vague phrases he'd probably use in campaign slogans.

Danny Hebert stretched his legs a bit, wondering if there was a way to protest his tax dollars being spent like this instead of actually making someone's life better. He began toting up the numbers of what this was all costing and figured getting the ferry back in Brockton Bay working again would probably have been paid for within the first fifteen minutes.

Worse, and making him a little nervous, was seeing how bored Taylor looked in her Doctor Curlyhair costume, even with the visor covering a good portion of her face you could tell how bored she was. His daughter, a super-genius who could build devices that could contain an Endbringer, was fidgeting and bored. Congresswoman Gripey (whatever her name was) had ordered Taylor's microphone cut after the third time Taylor had tried to interrupt one of these rants.

Seriously, why were they even here?

His earbud buzzed. "Total is now 13 attempted assaults and four planned kidnappings," said the voice at the other end of the link. "Looks like an ambush developing on the return route near the jet."

Well, that might be it. The whole thing was a setup to get Taylor into a vulnerable area. Wouldn't be the whole reason but he could see it as a good portion.

There had been eight of those attempted assaults and one kidnapping attempt just on the flight.

"Doctor Curlyhair? Instead of playing with your tablet you should probably be paying attention right now."

"Oh? I was just turning my microphone back on by overriding your controls. Am I allowed to speak now?"

"No, and it's against the law to hack government systems. Just so you know."

"Well, tough. Because you guys, and gals, have been speechifying for the past two hours thirty-seven minutes. My turn. Oh, and I've turned off your microphones since it was only fair. Yes, I'm twelve. No, you cannot have my tech. I already have deals through ForgeTech with DARPA, the Department of Defense, NASA, Brockton Bay University, DragonTech, Brockton Bay General Hospital, and the US Department of Health and Human Services for limited release of my research and some mechanisms that I have made available to them. I have pending contracts with several others. I am overseen by several other agencies as well as my parents. All of whom agree that I cannot give out everything I've come up with as some of this technology is beyond what our modern societies can handle."

Danny decided to speak up. "We're also doing research for both the Department of Agriculture and the Parahuman Response Team."

"I get it. You consider me some out of control twelve year old who needs to fit some mold," said Taylor with a nod at her father. "I am not yours to control. I work WITH those agencies. I do not work FOR those agencies. Oh, and I used a remote to disable the bomb some guy left here. You're welcome."

There was a moment of panic and people checking everywhere around them.

"Oh come on. I already found and dealt with it," complained Taylor/Doctor Curlyhair. "The location has already been sent to building security. You think I've been playing World of Wormcraft on my tablet or something? No, I've got real work, not this posturing. Oh, and that man is playing Galaga. Beat my high score. Well done."

One of the members of the audience looked up, smiled briefly in her direction, and went back to playing Galaga on his own tablet.

"The point I'm trying to make here is that you want control of my tech. You can't have it. You want access to my tech. You've already got it. I'm already involved in four different top secret projects. That are secret. So, no, I won't tell you about them in a televised open House hearing."

"Am I back on? Yes? Okay, you're sufficiently young that you are using a name like 'Doctor Curlyhair' - and are apparently not a parahuman to have an excuse for a secret identity."

"My public identity is 'Doctor Curlyhair' yes. Because I'm a Doctor of Mechanical Engineering, have qualifications in cybernetics, and have pending doctorates while my various theses are being evaluated." Doctor Curlyhair paused for a moment. "And I like my hair."

* Brockton Bay *

"Confirmed. She's up there, grading papers. No guards, just campus security and he's some old fart."

"Perfect, after today everyone's going to know our names and fear the name of the Mockley Crew!"

"Nobody's going to mistake us for some lame pre-Millennium band after this!"

"Or the cast of Gilligan's Island."

"That's only happened once, Mucus Master."

"Twice! It's happened TWICE! And it may not be that often but it's still weird that it's happened twice."

* Nearby *

"Annette, this is Captain Cavill. Looks like a supervillain team arrived on campus and is planning something stupid."

There was a brief pause before the person listening responded. "Well, they're idiots considering the presence of a bunch of bored students working with high-tech devices here ever since the partnership with ForgeTech was announced. Any idea on their objective?"

"Judging from the gestures, probably planning to kidnap you and use you to get ahold of your daughter." Captain Cavill idly tapped on a vambrace's pop-up panel to bring up more information.

"I take it from the lack of shooting noises that these are not high-profile villains?"

"No Ma'am. Ident is for a group calling themselves the 'Mockley Crew' and they're... why do they look like the cast of Gilligan's Island? Never mind. Looks like about twenty normals with them."

"They've got a Ginger and Maryanne?"

"Yes. Skipper is actually Mucus Master - can form balls of adhesive mucus that he can throw, one report says that the mucus is also soporific. Gilligan's actual name is Maximillian Bernard Krebbs but his cape name is Solar Max, a Blaster who shoots concentrated solar energy at targets. The Professor is Brain Trust, photographic memory and some sort of situational awareness ability. Doesn't appear to be able to see through my stealth mode if I'm not moving. Mister and Missus Howell have similar powers, precog but it is all line-of-sight and limited to a little over a minute. Cape name for them is Odds and Evens. Ginger is a human Master, single-target and similar to a Hollywood version of a hypnotic trance, codename... it actually is Ginger. How about that? Finally there's Maryanne, codename of Pâtissier. According to their priors, this is the most competent member of the group. Power is... pastries? Huh. Maybe a chemical Tinker that likes baking."

"That sounds like an unusual parahuman ability," admitted Annette Hebert. "Look, let the BBU geek squadron take care of it. They've been wanting to test out the exotic weaponry like the electro-tangle net and the straitjacket bazooka."

"Are you sure? It won't take me five minutes." Captain Cavill checked the villains again. "Maybe less."

"Positive, they've already been alerted. You can still make the Gesselschaft ship before it gets to international waters."

"That does sound more productive," admitted Captain Cavill as a bunch of geeks with experimental weaponry began charging out of the building.

By the time he cleared the parking lot, it looked as if the only one of the Motleys not captured was Pâtissier - and that was because she was running and throwing donuts around.

An idle shot and she was down too and he could focus on the ship leaving port.

* Congress *

"Thank you for relinquishing control of our microphones, Doctor," said Congresswoman Schmidt. "Now, can you walk us through the weaponry you used to defend the Brockton Base?"

"Sure," said Taylor, brightening visibly. "These are all experimental weapons with prototypes and plans designed by me used by the United States Marines!"

"OORAH!" yelled a bunch of people in the gallery.

"Let me see," said Taylor taking a deep breath. Completely ignoring the crawl at the bottom of her Head's Up Display. "Photon cannon, infrared knife, ultraviolet lasers, gauss cannon, positron emitters, neutrino beam, drill lasers, ship cannon using non-nuclear kiloton shells, force bullets, sonic cannon, AEGIS anti-air, 50mm growler auto-cannon." (deep breath) "and then we have monofilament web missiles, hellfire missiles, ECM missiles, missile-spamming-missiles, gravitic anchor missiles, gravity-tunnelling missiles, and the junk jet."

"That... sounds horrific," said Congresswoman Schmidt.

"Hey, if you attack a superscience weapons development facility, expect to encounter weapons that are kind of 'horrific' being used against you," said Taylor, who then stood up and looked towards the gallery. "AM I RIGHT?!"

"OORAH!"

Taylor/Doctor Curlyhair sat back down with a big smile. "I'm providing medical technology and weapons technology and armor technology to various government agencies including the military. I think that being nice to the people who are there to protect you is a good thing."

"That's right," said President Hayes as he made his way to their table.

"Wait, what?" asked Congresswoman Schmidt.

"Didn't you know? My administration has been backing Doctor Curlyhair's research since it was brought to our attention." President Hayes took a seat next to Danny Hebert and held his hand out for a shake.

Danny passed him a French Vanilla Cappuccino Twist from the ForgeTech-brand cooler.

"How many agencies are you already involved in?" asked Congresswoman Schmidt.

"Classified," said Danny, President Hayes, Taylor, and half the people at her table.

* Perks this chapter *

7.26.1-Factory 436-1337 (400CP)(Smash Up)(Facilities Technology):
Robots building robots? How perverse. This repurposed Boeing plant can operate at all hours of the night and day, churning out robots of any size, function or design you may wish. Automatically updates with local technology in new settings.
Robot Factory 436-1337 is combined with other automated factory perks to produce Massive Automated Factory.

22.3.1-Needlework (100CP)(Earth Girls)(Tailoring):
It wouldn't really be called tailoring, but that's basically what you do. Making thread and basic cloth from scratch, fashioning fur and leather into clothes, and fixing up all the rips and tears the others get running around. The clothing you make is always rugged and neatly made, too.

Chapter Text

* February 15, 2008 *

Congresswoman Gertrude Schmidt had spent four terms in Congress as a "voice of the people" candidate. She was an old hand at politics, smear campaigns, innuendo, ruining reputations and defending her own. Sometimes all you had to do was speak louder and across more media to win an argument, sometimes repeating a lie made it the truth in the minds of those already primed to listen.

Unfortunately, ForgeTech had a damn good reputation established already. Also unfortunately, her attempts to discretely discredit the company and the so-called "girl Einstein" had all been ineffective. The girl and ForgeTech had been pretty damn popular prior to an Endbringer trying to end them. Now?

The girl had some titles applied to her in various groups and media. "Girl Einstein", "Hopebringer", "Girl Genius", "New Renaissance Girl", "Scariest Little Girl In Three Galaxies" (which usually had the person using that term virtually eviscerated in the online forums), "the Smartest In Five Galaxies" (which usually had people correcting that to 'Three' or just pointing out that they didn't know anyone outside of Earth, yet), or simply "that girl up in Brockton Bay" who was a multi-talent who hadn't been seen since the likes of Leonardo da Vinci.

She'd been perfectly ready to savage the girl and her family, use the Youth Guard and other resources to rehome her to someone more malleable than the two parents. Except that just before Taylor Hebert had shown up, Gertrude Schmidt of New Jersey had seen the poll numbers.

Between being the genius technologist that could cage the Most Annoying Bird Ever, the girl had a line of bespoke fashion that she was designing and that Dragon up in Canada was able to do limited mass production runs of. Dragon Couture was VERY high-end and pricey but generally agreed to be among the highest sought-after brands. It was pricey, attractive, and very durable - all things to make them fashionable. The girl also had a habit of giving out personally designed jackets or jewelry to those she considered friends. The price tag for some of those personalized things resold by those they were gifted to was enough to put down a down payment on a modest house.

Recordings of her singing while she worked on some device or giving a performance at a Christmas party? Very much sought after.

In short, going after this little girl in any sort of normal manner was political suicide and she was sufficiently savvy to not pursue such a thing.

Getting in touch with her contacts overseas to "vanish" the potential problem? Well, that was another thing altogether.

"It is confirmed," said Congresswoman Schmidt into her burner phone. "The little girl is too confident, too certain of herself. It is one of those robot doubles seen in that compound. The real one must be the one in Brockton Bay."

"Your payment will be in the usual place."

Gertrude Schmidt smiled as she put the phone away and hurried out of the restroom to regain her seat on the floor. If she had an update she would use it again, but at the end of the day she would make sure it was crushed beyond recovery.

She was a survivor after all.

* Congress *

"-and further for the well-being of my constituents and their families, who are no doubt terrified of a preteen child having access to the sort of weaponry we saw deployed on that date-"

"Astartes One is about to have fun," noted Taylor as she checked messages.

"Well, that's good," admitted Danny. "The tougher shadow clones?"

"Yeah, they can take minor damage before dispelling," agreed Taylor. "Pretty sure the kidnappers are the Germans and the ship's underway. Astartes One is onboard using Stealth Mode until they're in international waters."

"Sounds more fun than this," admitted Danny Hebert, his gaze sweeping the ranks of Congress that were here for this investigation.

"-which is why Congressional oversight is needed, nay, mandated for any further usage or developments of these technologies. That they are demonstrably not Tinkertech makes them even more dangerous-"

"Uhm, if I may interrupt the honorable Congressman Sanguijuela from New Mexico for a new development?" asked General Calhoun, standing at the table.

The Speaker of the House looked as if they could use a drink right about now. Or maybe two. "Is it pertinent to the subject at hand?"

"Yes, actually," said General Calhoun. "As most of you know, ForgeTech has hired some well-vetted mercenaries of various nationalities and outfitted them with power armor."

"I believe Congressman Sanguijuela was going to bring up that point when he meandered away from it, but go on," said the Speaker.

"One of Doctor Curlyhair's body doubles and a personal friend were kidnapped by a foreign terrorist organization called Gesellschaft fifteen minutes ago," said General Calhoun. "Using a small freighter outfitted with Tinkertech engines - it is about to cross into international waters."

The Speaker had to pound her gavel a few times at all the exclamations and mutterings going on. "Silence. General Calhoun, you have a point to be made?"

The General touched his earbud, nodding at whatever he was listening to. "As the ship is now in international waters, the Space Marine known as Astartes One is now commencing rescue operations. We will make the video available to you later after review and being able to mask the identities of any innocents involved. Just to let you know - the music was the choice of Astartes One and was not added later."

"'Music'?" asked the Speaker.

* Tinkertech freighter Gletscherbrecher *

Taylor, or her clone at least, smiled a little smile as the first notes began playing. Not that anyone noticed with the bag over her head.

"When you were young,
And your heart was an open book,
you used to say 'Live and Let Live.'"

Steiniger looked around the hold, the hostage and the target were still in place, still drugged. Still blindfolded, still tied to their chairs. (They were NOT taking any chances with a target as clever as the girl supposedly was.)

"It cannot be some trick of the girl," said Apothe-Karen in German. The chemical Tinker made a gesture of negation, having enough pride in her work that any doubts were an insult. "I gave her the standard dose to make someone of her body weight pliable. The same with her inferior species associate."

"You know you did, you know you did, you know you did..." came the music.

"Unless it was something timed or triggered, but we stripped both of them down and just covered them in blankets," protested Scheiterhaufen. The Blaster/Shaker looked around and then pointed, having to shout over the music. "There, some kind of drone."

"But in this ever-changing world
In which we're living,
Makes you give in and cry." Scheiterhaufen sent a stream of fire at the drone, which dodged and swept down, going through the ranks of the various crewmembers.

"To Live and Let Die!"

(FWAM!) An energy bolt as thick around as his wrist went through Scheiterhaufen's chest, prompting a scream from the various normals in the room, and a muttered "well crap" from Scheiterhaufen before he collapsed.

(FWAM!) went another energy bolt, going through one of the crew that was standing near the hostage. Steiniger noted that it was being timed to the music. Therefore it was a further insult!

"Live and Let Die!"

(FWAM!) went another energy bolt that struck Steiniger after he'd already turned to stone. It still obviously hurt despite his Changer form.

(FWAM!) went a second energy bolt hitting Steiniger, this time in the face.

Steiniger said a number of things in German that were very impolite.

A seam of wall ripped the rest of the way open, and a Space Marine leapt out.

* Astartes One *

"Force dome grenade launched. Force dome covering area of hostages," said the power armor as Captain Cavill switched from one mode to another. "Rapid Fire selected."

Pings as bullets bounced off his armor, with a few switching to Tinkertech lasers.

One thing that people got wrong about Space Marine power armor was that it looked slow because it was bulky. It was as close to Warhammer 40K power armor as Doctor Curlyhair could make it, which meant that it boosted his speed and strength to at least Brute-4/Mover-2 without factoring in other systems. It wasn't slow and it was loaded with as much protective gadgetry as she could fit in there.

This was not the PAPA armor being built by mundane if skilled military technicians using designs and materials provided by the good Doctor. This was personally made by Doctor Curlyhair at her facility for the purpose of protecting her family and the people of ForgeTech and was capable of things that would have had his old colleagues in their gentlemen's club salivating at the havoc it could withstand and deal out.

"Force Shield at 98%. Reinforcement field at full. Estimated time current fire to pose a danger to occupant: 46 hours," indicated the onboard system.

Captain Cavill grinned inside his helmet. "Taser grenade."

"Switching to taser grenade," acknowledged the system.

The Tinker was chosen and everyone in one large group except the stone guy went down in the discharge.

"Penetration," said Captain Cavill, not waiting for the acknowledgement before sending several shots into the obvious Brute.

"Filthy American! You cannot defeat Gesellschaft!"

"Switching to chainsword," said Captain Cavill. The pistol went onto his belt and the sword activated with a roar as the music played. "Oh, and I'm British actually."

The stone-skinned Brute took one look at the roaring Sword Of Doom and started to rush the stage with the hostages when he bounced off the forcefield.

After that was pain. Lots of pain.

* Congress *

"Why wait until international waters?" asked one of the Congressmen.

"Because if he killed a bunch of parahuman kidnappers in American territory, there could be legal repercussions. Since they are in international waters, the kidnapping attempt can't be waved off due to some technicality or jurisprudence conflict," said Danny. He shrugged. "We are quite aware of Gesellschaft and the CUI having teams in the United States, among others, who want to forcibly recruit ForgeTech personnel. Until they make a move, we haven't intervened."

"That is exactly the sort of thing we need to address here!" declared Congresswoman Schmidt. "Taking the law into your own hands is exactly the sort of irresponsibility we need to stop right away!"

"Did we get the warrant?" asked General Calhoun.

"Judge just signed off on it," said Danny, tapping his own ear bud.

"'Warrant'?" asked the Speaker of the House.

"ForgeTech works closely with DARPA, the DoD, and a few other agencies," said Danny with a wolf's smile. "Including the FBI and CIA. We have access to lawyers. Lots of lawyers. As well as forensic accountants."

There was a sudden silence and a lot of panicked looks in the halls of Congress.

Then a mad scrambling for cellphones, and those who were doing so were immediately identified by the people in black suits that had been slowly filing into the building.

Taylor sat back, watching data scrolling across the bottom of her Doctor Curlyhair visor, and listened as the noise that only she could normally see indicated another connection.

Oh! That might actually be quite handy!

* International Waters *

The anti-grav vehicle was one of two ForgeTech transports, a boxy vehicle the size and general shape of a eighteen-wheeler truck. It had anti-grav, inertial dampeners, and a camouflage effect that allowed it some stealth capabilities.

Mainly though it had been designed for bulk item transport that couldn't fit through the teleport ring that had been set up for raw materials and the occasional helicarrier part. The other transport was actually doing that right then, taking parts for the helicarrier Thermopylae that Doctor Curlyhair's autofactory had assembled and shipping them off to the shipyard that was building the vessel.

"Marking the site where the Gletscherbrecher is going down," noted the pilot, "just in case we can come back and salvage it later."

"I don't know," said Astartes One, looking down at where the ship was almost entirely underwater at this point. "I holed it all pretty good. No innocents aboard that thing as far as could be determined."

"The Taylor dispelled so that leaves her friend," said the pilot as they circled once and then engaged the camouflage again. "How's she doing?"

"She's going to need some time recovering," said Astartes One, looking at the girl in the back. "Someone with a lot more training in medical to determine what that chemical Tinker's stuff does and how to counter-act it."

"I'm sending off a message to the Doctor, she doesn't have that many friends so it'll reassure her. Oh. Got back an immediate response that she's copied to her mother."

* February 20, 2008 *

"Ungh." Things were blurry and her mouth felt really dry.

"Here. Sip only." A cup with a straw was handed her and it was difficult to keep it to sipping, but she managed. Between blinks things clicked into focus more and more. "Better. Mom? Dad? Smaug?"

"We're here, honey."

"Wha happened?" Lucy Nguyen paused. "When did Smaug get little wings and learn to fly?"

"You remember what happened?"

"Taylor? Yeah, we... Karen! She was leading us into an ambush!"

"Don't worry. She's been dealt with, as have her parents. They're enjoying stays at the iron bars hotel pending trials for espionage and accessories to kidnapping. Among other things."

Lucy Nguyen reached up and stroked Smaug's head, reassuring the little dragon. "Okay. That doesn't explain." Why Smaug had tiny wings and was cooing at her? Why she was in a room that looked like it belonged on some Star Trek set? Where the guys and gals wearing World War II German knockoff uniforms went?

"Honey, we had a talk with Doctor Curlyhair and ForgeTech. Those bastards gave you some Tinkertech drug that would have left permanent brain damage. Doctor Curlyhair came up with a solution but needed our okay to do it."

"That sounds quite ominous. Just saying."

Doctor Curlyhair looked a little nervous before explaining. "I was able to stabilize the X-Gene and use it to reverse the damage already done to you. Of the three choices for X-Gene expression - your parents deemed the most practical was the ability to phase through solid objects."

"Wait. I got kidnapped and you saved my life and now I have parahuman powers?"

"You're not a parahuman, but essentially yes," allowed Doctor Curlyhair.

"And Smaug is now a dragon?"

"Well, yes, apparently you like dragons so..." Doctor Curlyhair now gave off a degree of nervousness and embarrassment at the same time.

"That is so cool!" enthused Lucy. "So I got kidnapped and now have the ability to get away from kidnappers? That could be really handy."

"See?" her mother asked Doctor Curlyhair. "And here you were so worried she was going to break off your friendship."

Lucy looked around the room, noting the other bed and the occupant. "Who's that?"

"Someone we found and took in," said Doctor Curlyhair/Taylor. "Amnesiac. Had the same drugs used on you but for a longer period. I've been trying to work out a cure so that she's not an emotionless doll. Not helped by her anatomy basically making her skin a layer of plastic and metal. She's one of those Case 53s you hear about every so often."

"Ah," said Lucy at the reminder that her newest friend had a LOT of irons in a lot of fires.

There was a rumble from the complex around her, and Doctor Curlyhair's visor abruptly changed to have a single antennae sticking out from one side.

"Oh, NOW I get this," grumbled Taylor without explaining what had happened at all.

*Perks This Chapter *

27.30.1-Chrysalis(400CP)(Starcraft - The Zerg) (Biotech):
A human sized, pulsating Chrysalis that.... Looks oddly familiar. Wait, you know why now. This was the same kind of pod that was formed around the one known as Sarah Kerrigan, where Abathur remade the Ghost into the Queen of Blades, now it seems you can do the same, any organic subject around the size of an average human will go into a deep sleep when fastened into the Chrysalis, during which you can modify them to a level of detail only seen in individuals like Alexi Stukov. Although you will need the knowledge to properly utilize it, the Chrysalis gives all the benefits of a professional, well-funded surgery room in it's compact organic form.

19.8.1-Broadcast Booster (200CP)(The Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes)(Technology Knowledge):
You've discovered a way to make your signals much more effective and efficient, letting you transmit or receive signals and other methods of transmission, such as radio waves, on a global scale. Call your power armor to your exact location, get five bars wherever you go, or make the ultimate remote control.

Chapter Text

* March 5, 2008 *
* Stuttgart, Germany *

"We should strike them down hard for this insult!"

"Putting out a video with Paul McCartney's 'Live and Let Die' showing a suit of power armor that is more than a match for three of our more competent capes and taking them out like yesterday's garbage? Exactly how would you suggest doing that? Throwing a nuclear weapon at them, perhaps?"

"Nothing should be off the table."

"Why is it that so many of my peers in our glorious organization seem to have grasped the - what do you call it again? Oh yes, the idiot ball."

"Isn't that the name of a hero in Australia?"

Messer checked and it was indeed. Whose power was charging a bouncy ball of energy that siphoned off intelligence in those it struck. Truly a terrifying power to face.

"Still ve haff ways of getting our revenge," said Gazebo. Whose own ability, to create wooden barricades, was much less of a nightmare. Useful in the right circumstances though.

It wasn't like the three they were planning to send to Brockton Bay. Luftschiff, Unangenehm, and Fröhlicher. One who could float, one with superhuman strength and durability but was clumsy as a drunken goose, and an anemic jester.

"Why are we sending those three? Shouldn't we send a stronger group?" asked Gazebo.

"We are sending spares that we won't miss," said Messer. "They are simply to test things out and die in glorious cause."

"But Fröhlicher's power - Vicious Mockery, it is useful," stated Gazebo.

"They are the obvious distraction, besides it will piss off that new-money Kaiser and that's worth something by itself."

"So you are sending the other two of their group as well?"

"No," said Messer. "At least not yet. White Feather is still dealing with whatever he ate Sunday. Nobody wants to share a plane with him like that. As for the idiot girl, she nearly drowned last week. Someone used the English phrase that it was raining 'cats and dogs'."

"And she stood outside trying to catch one?"

"You've met her."

* March 9, 2008 *

"Okay," said Doctor Curlyhair, pacing in front of the assorted technicians and military personnel and politicians that had been gathered. "This is something I had a few moments of inspiration in coming up with. If you agree to it, I'll have it installed in the Thermopylae and it'll speed up construction enormously."

"All I know is this is some sort of Artificial Intelligence?" asked Doctor Daystrom.

"Right, but you're used to hearing that phrase for what is basically just a smart interface or something simple like that," said Doctor Curlyhair as she activated the tube she was standing next to. A hologram flickered into existence to show a young woman in her teens, wearing a Navy Ensign uniform. Apparently asleep. "If approved, this is Thermopylae. She is the ship's AI and a person in her own right, and not only sentient but sapient. She will consider herself part of the crew as well as the ship, and can maintain thousands of operations per second to give you a steady ride and react to perceived dangers."

"How would we keep her from going rogue?" asked General Calhoun, who then made a face as he considered that he had just assigned a machine a gender.

"Treat her as a member of the crew, as if she were a human born of humanity," said Doctor Curlyhair. "If permitted to awaken, she will also assist in the further construction of her 'body' - the Thermopylae itself. Treat her as a new recruit but also a very capable crewmember and she will develop accordingly. Treat her with hate and fear, and it would be pretty much what would happen if you did that to a human child. I'm keeping her asleep and just feeding her information on military endeavors and philosophies for now."

"Why do this anyway?" asked General Calhoun.

"First, because keeping a helicarrier in the air requires constant shifting of a number of components to deal with weather and the actions of the crew and vehicles stationed onboard," answered Doctor Curlyhair. "Second, eventually we're going to have space and or starships and having some form of smart system will become necessary."

"We're still arguing about whether a helicarrier should be Navy or Air Force," pointed out a Naval officer.

"That is definitely something I'm leaving to you guys," said Doctor Curlyhair. "I just wanted to get this out of the way long before it becomes necessary to decide which path to take. Synthetic General Intelligence or shipgirl, or to go with extra personnel and a sort of smart-assist."

* Captain Nelson, USAF *

He had flown the X-301 and then the more complete X-302 for seven flights now.

It was styled to be an atmospheric flier, but he also knew the F-302s being built now that the X-series had proven viable would NOT be restricted to in-atmosphere flight.

No, with the Simurgh gone and now a way to get to the moon without the usual expenses of rocket launches? NASA had some big plans and he was certainly going to do everything in his power to ride this particular train to whatever destination they could manage.

The main reason that NASA had stuck to probes and robots they could field through the portal was reliance on that portal. Once there was a second method of reaching extra-atmospheric sites, they had plans.

Glorious, glorious, plans.

If the sky was no longer the limit he wanted to be a part of that. He was hardly alone. See also the reference to glorious plans. Practically everyone in the upper echelons, and more than a few below that level, had dream projects that they'd scribble out pages of notes on.

Then he ran across footage of Doctor Curlyhair's Veritech fighter. Okay, now he wanted THAT.

* March 12, 2008 *

There was a small park near the Docks, just one of those 1/4 block areas where kids could gather and play on the monkey bars or similar exercise/games.

People in trenchcoats used to be a matter of concern when spotted there because it would likely mean they had some tendencies generally frowned on.

On the other hand, now if one saw someone wearing a trenchcoat and fedora or similar clothing it was generally assumed they were a spy or otherwise trying to get a glimpse of whatever new technology was being worked on. If nothing else because their attention was never on something IN that park.

"Two chili dogs, beef."

"Right away, sir."

Naturally, someone noticed the increased traffic there and would frequently put their little food cart to draw on extra business.

Such was the case with Aretha's Hot Dogs (Since 1995!).

"Business good?"

Aretha smiled. "Real good. I set up here in the afternoons, set up near one of the gates earlier in the day, set up over on Pieman and Oceanfront after 3pm. Get some of the computer people who want a quick snack before heading home. More money coming into the city, people have a little extra cash, means more cash coming my way. All good."

"Noticed things being a bit more lively," said the trenchcoat-and-fedora man.

"PRT?" asked Aretha.

"No. What makes you think so?" asked fedora-wearer.

"Alphabet agencies come by here on the regular," said Aretha with a little half-shrug. "Ain't none of my business, but everyone's waiting for the next big thing to come out of the Docks."

"What do you think will be the next 'big thing' then?" asked fedora-wearer before taking a bite of one of his chili dogs.

"Me? I'm hoping for spaceships," said Aretha. "Or maybe habitats on the sea floor. Wouldn't that be something?"

"That it would," admitted the fedora-wearer, nodding to the proprietor before walking off with his meal.

Aretha watched him go thoughtfully, placing the man's accent as West Coast. Maybe not PRT but he could be Elite or something else. Whatever, the policy over at ForgeTech was "don't start nothing, won't be nothing" or something along those lines.

Aretha happened to glance up and saw Eidolon flying overhead, heading in the direction of ForgeTech. She wondered what that was about but she had to get ready to move to her evening location. Being self-employed meant you had to keep up with everything.

* Celestial Warehouse Hangar *

(CLONG!) "Ow!"

Rubbing her head where it had come into contact with one of the panels of her space fighter (currently an S-Class Exotic named "the Bubble Tea") Taylor grumbled a bit as the Technology Knowledge constellation drew near. And...

A new Perk was nice. More from whatever 'Gunnm' was.

Biotechnology expert, even more than she had been earlier in the day. Genetics, biophysics, toxicology, neuropharmacology, biochemistry, and further knowledge into exactly how to tweak and build systems to augment to transhuman levels and uplift species.

That said, there wasn't much she could do about it at present. It wasn't like she didn't have alternative treatments.

Well, now she could schedule some additional tests for when she finally was allowed to graduate from the public school system. Honestly, it was like they didn't want some young super-genius to fill a wall with monuments to her academic accomplishments.

"Doctor?" came Jarvis' voice from one of the desktop speakers. "The deal with Medhall on trying to duplicate one of your potions has been finalized."

"Oh, good. They're a major employer in the Bay after all. It'll be interesting if they get it going." More money coming into the Bay from multiple sources could be a very good thing.

"Eidolon has arrived at the main office as well," said Jarvis.

"Great, I'm glad he isn't putting this off," said Taylor. "We need to send that shut down signal as soon as possible."

* Medhall *

It was the usual sort of test tube holder, with five test tubes of a thick salve.

"This is what exactly?" asked Max Anders as he inspected one.

"Hair Growth formula from ForgeTech per a trial agreement with them," said Doctor Kriecherin.

"'Hair growth'?" asked Max Anders. "Wait. That is real hair?"

"Yes!" declared Doctor Kriecherin, running a hand through the thin stubble. "You apply it by rubbing it into the scalp, and then waiting a half-hour before rinsing it off. Reapply every six months per the instructions that ForgeTech sent us."

Max Anders loved power. Money, if in large amounts, was power. Just the idea of what this could mean as far as steady revenue caused him to take a deep breath and focus more intently on the test tubes. "They want to see if this is duplicable?"

"Yes, it is apparently some form of chemical Tinkertech or uses very rare supplies they have access to," said the portly little man who kept checking the stubble on his head as if he was afraid it would vanish. "I think the latter actually. If we are successful, it may mean we can get other such things per our agreement."

"It's a bit unprofessional to use an experimental product yourself," pointed out Max, not that he could really blame the man.

"Our primary experimental subject is Otto from the motor pool," said Doctor Kriecherin. "The man's an idiot but keeps his mouth shut."

Max held his tongue, thinking Otto was probably a spy for the police. Or the FDA. Also less of an idiot than overly fond of brownies that contained more than chocolate. Decently fast and precise as a mechanic though so he hadn't had legitimate reason to fire the man.

Doctor Kriecherin was a German, true, but not one who knew about the Empire 88 connection. Not everyone working here was aware of all the details, because what was the point of a secret ID that was openly known?

Well, except for Doctor Curlyhair of course. Nobody wanted to cross her after she put the Simurgh in a cage.

Damn it, now he had business reasons not to try raiding her complex. Did she know or suspect? Was this a bribe to keep the Empire from trying to threaten ForgeTech?

Damn it, the girl was some sort of genius - how could he tell if this was some part of some elaborate plot?

* Pelham residence *

"I don't trust them. They're mercenaries."

"What about Doctor Curlyhair? She's the one who made these. The mercenary was only the courier."

"I don't think I can carry these in my Breaker form," said Brandish, eyeing the bracelet.

"Well, I'm going to use it," said Manpower, taking the Brute-rated communicator-watch and strapping the thickly-built thing into place. "Be nice to have a watch that doesn't break the first fight."

"Look, this thing has an instruction manual that's thicker than some of the cases I've taken," pointed out Brandish. "It's got functions on there I would never need even if my Breaker form could work with it."

"It's a phone, it's a watch, it has radiation and atmospheric sensors," pointed out Sarah Pelham/Lady Photon to her sister. "It monitors your life signs and throws out a 'help required' signal to anyone who has a similar watch. It even looks nice."

"How do we know it isn't sending that information to villains?" asked Brandish.

"We can change the access codes, page 14 in the sections on 'Setting Up Your ForgeTech Hero Edition Watch' - that way only your specified contacts get the information." Manpower looked up from his reading. "It has some nice features."

"This is a bribe," tried Brandish. "To get... something."

"To get what?" asked Manpower. "Money? They've got more than we do. Lots more. Fame? They put the feather-bi..." He glanced over at where Vicky was listening. "-the Simurgh in a cage and are using her to power a restaurant and a matter-transfer portal. Connections? Doctor Curlyhair has DARPA and most of the military ready to defend her. What could she possibly want from us?"

Brandish scowled, sure there was something but not being able to figure out what.

"Maybe friends?" suggested Victoria.

"Fleur and Lightstar are moving out of town, citing the Empire willing to overlook any Rules," pointed out Manpower. "It could just be that ForgeTech wants to keep us around doing heroic things."

* April 5, 2008 *

Taylor yawned as another rolling noise and the mind's eye picture of constellations rotating came to her.

It was a familiar enough constellation she could see the tether reaching out for, and she'd seen it bounce off with an error message often enough. Knowledge - Abilities and Skills.

It was a tiny mote, the sort of thing she'd started out with when she was just a kid. Instead of her much more mature nearly-thirteen.

It connected and pulled it in.

Bibliophile's Discerning Eyes. She could read anything as long as it wasn't encrypted. French, easy. Minoan script Linear A? A little more difficult, but she could do it. She couldn't write in the language, but reading was fundamental.

Taylor smiled at the thought of how best to use this.

* Warehouse 11 *

"So this is 'Doll'," said Armsmaster.

"She has that 'omega' symbol there just above the base of the spine," said Annette Hebert. "So one of your 'Case 53' types. No memory, nonstandard physiology, but there are differences from what you've given us. Her outer layers mimic ceramic and she has metallic bracing on her bones. There's also indications of neuro-chemicals that were used in her fully biological parts. Full report is on that thumb drive."

Armsmaster looked over the woman who was standing there emotionless with her porcelain-like skin. "We'll see what we can find out about her."

"The PRT have more resources for that sort of thing than we do," said Annette, speaking directly to Doll. "If anyone can find out what happened to you, help you get back on your feet - they can."

Watching the two go away, Annette shook her head. "I hope this isn't going to be a mistake."

Astartes One was nearby and turned his head to look at her. "I take it the Palanquin wasn't available?"

"I left three messages and they still haven't responded after a month," stated Annette.

* Perks This Chapter *

27.47.1-Biotechnology(600CP)(GUNNM)(Biotech):
There's really more to cybernetics than just the metal machine. Care has to be taken that the flesh adapts, and there are many lessons to be learned from biological machinery. You're an expert in the fields of genetics, biophysics, toxicology, neuropharmacology and biochemistry the causes and effects of human mutation are very familiar to you. Designer drugs, experimental surgery, toxins, cures improved soft organs and cutting-edge research into cloned nervous system material, with a laboratory the human body is your masterpiece. You may create a variety of drugs similar to that referenced in the Werewolf perk, or directly induce it and Warped as a permanent mutation. If you also have the Cybernetics perk, then with a little time and the right equipment quite difficult to obtain in the Scrapyard you may also apply the equivalent of the TUNED perk to a subject, and have additional knowledge of weapons engineering to reverse-engineer or independently develop most current weapons systems available in the Scrapyard.

16.3.1-Bibliophile’s Discerning Eyes(100CP)(Touhou Forbidden Hermit)(Knowledge Abilities and Skills):
You can read anything no matter what language it’s written in. This does not come with the ability to write in that language, but you can read it if it’s a language at all. Including dead and forgotten languages – an invaluable skill if you wish to do serious historical research – but not encoded texts.
FREE: Spell Cards - The Spell Card system was invented to ensure that youkai and humans could fight each other in a non-lethal way and on relatively even ground. Under a spell card duel, all attacks are toned down to non-lethal levels, and the ability to fire an aesthetically pleasing barrage of bullets inall directions is prized over creating unavoidable attacks or invulnerability (which are banned anyway). Accordingly, you too can tone any of your abilities down as low as simply performing pretty light shows, and as your artistic skills improve so will the beauty of your spell card attacks.
FREE: Flight: You can fly, a power that is nigh-universal in Gensokyo. Flying as fast as you can walk is simple, and you can push yourself to fly faster, up to how fast you can run, which will tire you proportionately.
FREE: Cute Girls - Nobody in these manga are anything but cute, and by taking this perk you share this same trait. For free, all minor traits that would detract from your appearance (including blemishes, bodily hair and especially armpit hair) are cleared up.
Spell cards added: Magic Sign "Stardust Reverie", Love Sign "Master Spark", Comet "Blazing Star", Magic Sign "Milky Way"

Chapter Text

* April 11, 2008 *

A rain-slicked road. A late day of catching up on paperwork.

Annette Hebert reached out while waiting at a red light, flicking open a panel on her dashboard, and activated a couple of the toggles revealed there.

One caused her seat to warm up and helped banish the chill. The other switch caused all the windows to defog rapidly.

After a moment she reached out and touched another toggle. "Jarvis?"

"You rang, Madam?"

"Can you let Danny and Taylor know I'm going to be a bit late," said Annette as the light changed and she began edging forward. With the link established it was hand's free after all. "Traffic's pretty bad and-"

It was at that point that a large SUV driven entirely too fast for the road conditions blew through the intersection and was about to smash into the side of her car like an angry Brute. She just had a moment to realize what the screech and looming impact was about when...

(BLIP!)

Her car wasn't there anymore for an entire ten seconds. At which point the onboard system determined the danger had passed.

(BLIP!)

Then it was back in normal space and she could hear the crash of the same SUV smashing into other vehicles.

"She put it in anyway," realized Annette a moment later before she maneuvered her car to the side of the road.

"Yes, Ma'am," responded Jarvis. "I am monitoring the situation. A 911 call is underway and I am forwarding information to them."

"I'm fine, Jarvis, but I am remaining on scene for the police when they arrive." Annette Hebert looked at the twisted wreck of vehicles and had no trouble imagining what would have happened to her had her daughter's work not detected the danger and activated.

She decided that she would avoid scolding her daughter for putting that sort of thing in her car despite telling her not to some time back.

Not this time at least.

Two of the Astartes landed nearby almost as soon as she'd put her phone away, except the armor looked a bit different.

"Astartes?"

"Yes, Missus Hebert? Oh, the armor. It's new. Couple of upgrades introducing some new tech. Three, start directing traffic until the police can take over."

"Roger that," said Astartes Three.

The driver of the black SUV got out, started angrily stomping in her direction, visibly noticed the large power armor standing there regarding him, scowled and went back to his SUV.

* April 12 2008 *

Saturday. Not a school day. She had a different routine for non-school days.

0700: Get up. Make her shadow clones to go off and do their various daily tasks.

0705: Back to bed.

0706: Kick the shadow clones that were also trying to go back to bed out.

Her shadow clones were all doing the usual things that they did on a daily basis.

One and Two were building helicarrier parts that were a bit difficult for the shipyards to handle.

Three would tend potions in the Witch House, eventually joining Four in magical research.

Four and Five were on Upgrades when those were a concern. When there were no new developments, they would go on to work on individual projects - Four going through the magical library and researching this 'magic' stuff. Five would work on upgrading existing equipment with newer technologies. Like the Astartes - who were charged with protecting ForgeTech in general and her family in particular.

That was kind of important to her.

Six and Seven were on various databases, seeing what could be extracted and managed with their current resources and equipment. The Necron database was especially full of things that required things which required other things just to make the simple stuff.

Eight was working on clothing and accessories for Dragon Couture today. Sometimes inspiration would strike. Sometimes she filled the wastebasket with balled up paper from designs that just didn't match what she wanted.

0830: Bathroom, breakfast, then work on her own ninja techniques and the physical stuff, as only the original benefitted from purely physical exercise. She had the Tai Chi skills down at this point, and the Konohagakure taijutsu, but some additional work wouldn't hurt - and it would increase her chakra/aura levels and magical reserves at the same time.

1130: Lunch, discussion with her parents about what was going on and what she was doing it to. Or something like that.

1230: Survey of her resource world, checking in with the various gynoids, androids, robots, and artificial lifeforms.

1430: Further interrogation of the Simurgh, all the questions she'd written down over the past week. While doing that she had clones Four and Five standing by to further decipher the language the Simurgh and Endbringers used amongst themselves.

1630: Leaves Simurgh with a TV set to a channel with a one-way datastream sent into the otherwise-void of the prison. She isn't into torturing prisoners even with the Simurgh's record after all. Whether the Simurgh was cooperative or not and to what degree determines what channel it is set on. As it turns out, the Simurgh actually does like cat videos.

1635: Helps mother prepare dinner, except that it ends up mostly the other way around as her Artiste perk makes whatever she is cooking/helping with become that much better.

1745: Dinner with family, sometimes extended to include either the Barnes family, Lucy, or another friend she's made from school or work associate from either her mother or father.

1815: Go around near-comatose guests if any, cleanup from dinner.

1850: Check availability of materials from Resource System and have fun either building things herself or getting together with her friends to do something. Today she was building a Danger Room in one of the warehouses. Something from an old comic book, but the Marines had gotten excited about it so...

2155: Shower. Snack. Brush teeth. Bedtime.

* April 14, 2008 *

* PRT ENE Conference Room Theta *

"-and that takes care of most of the patrol routes, Triumph. Currently we don't have major problems with the Azn Bad Boys as they've been keeping a low profile, especially since the Simurgh was taken down. Likewise the Empire 88 have had a few clashes with the ABB and some other groups, but nothing compared to what they'd been doing just a few years ago."

"ForgeTech?" asked Triumph. As the son of the mayor, he knew something about the major players in the Bay and the impact they'd had.

"The economy picking up and the presence of the military base are certainly contributing factors," admitted Renick. "That said, the Empire and ABB both are criminal presences and engage in criminal activities."

"I understand," said Triumph.

"In the case of the Empire, it's dog-fighting rings, protection rackets, prostitution, drugs and weapon smuggling. For the ABB, it is protection, prostitution, drugs and weapon smuggling, gambling, and unlicensed street vendors."

"I thought human smuggling was something both gangs did," noted Triumph aloud.

"No proof, and when that rumor was going around ForgeTech did offer the statement that if it happened to any of their members or families - it would be military rules of engagement." Renick shrugged. "Both gangs stated that they had ceased such operations some time ago and such rumors were without basis."

"Ah," said Triumph.

"There are legal problems with the military actually doing that," continued Renick. "Though admittedly such laws have gotten a lot less enforced the past couple of decades due to parahuman villains doing parahuman villainry. The mercenaries hired by ForgeTech on the other hand, have been known to follow the 'two warnings and there won't be a third' sort of thing."

"The 'Astartes' right?" asked Triumph.

"There are also rumors of parahumans operating in the Docks but so far that's all we've gotten are rumors," added Deputy Director Renick. "Though considering what we've seen of Doctor Curlyhair's technology, I wouldn't be surprised if these sightings were some form of barely comprehensible science. Especially after seeing the dragon."

Triumph blinked a couple of times, opened his mouth to say something, stopped, closed his mouth, considered, opened it again, closed it again, and finally offered the simple interrogative. "'Dragon'?"

Renick seemed mildly amused by something as he toggled the screen that had shown the patrol routes. A little Asian girl in normal street clothing, looking over a game of mahjongg, except that she had a winged dragon sitting on one shoulder. In the looping video clip, the dragon appeared to be indicating what her next move should be.

"Hah?" asked Triumph.

"The dragon, as you can see, is about twice the length of a cat but half as bulky," said Renick. "Apparently it started out as an iguana. At this point, national policy is to accept that if Doctor Curlyhair decides something is possible - it is and we should just ignore it and get out of her way. Though we do occasionally send a 'we saw what you did there and could you please not do that again' message. Nobody wants to see a breeding population of dragons in the city even if it would curb the pigeon infestation."

"Right," said Triumph, still trying to deal with the idea of someone having a pet dragon much less one that apparently knew how to play mahjongg.

"On to the more important things," said Renick. "One of our current concerns is that the next Endbringer attack is overdue and all monitoring of the two remainders indicate they've stopped moving entirely. Nobody, at least at my level, knows what this means or why - other than the Simurgh getting put in a box."

"Tourism is way up," noted Triumph. "Anything special to keep in mind about that?"

* Tagg *

There were many problems crossing his desk, but this particular package was not one of them.

He unpacked it and set the packing aside as he held the little three-inch cube and did something he rarely did.

James T. Tagg held the heavy little glistening white cube in his hand and smiled.

He'd investigated and there was sufficient information available at his level that he could be certain that 'Doctor Curlyhair' was not a parahuman. A genius in this age of information where she could advance various sciences by a leap worthy of a Mover-3. If Leonardo Da Vinci or Isaac Newton had had access to the wealth of information available through computers, how much further would their own brilliance have taken them?

There was something comforting in that a straight-up human had come up with devices that put a typical Tinker to shame. It was further comforting to hold a chunk of the "Bin Chicken of Doom" and to know that the Endbringer had basically been pokeballed.

Not that he was really familiar with pokemon or such, though he could pick a pikachu out of a line up of other cartoon animals.

His division had a few new weapons to use, this also contributed to his (relatively) good mood. Having normal soldiers getting equipment that would help keep them alive was a very good thing in his book.

It had been difficult to get ahold of the little cube, but he felt that having that little curio was well worth the effort.

* Celestial Warehouse, Cathedral *

"I'm putting together a team. People with special abilities," said Taylor. "You see, I believe enemies are coming."

"Stop right there. I'm in."

"We're in. You know that, Tay."

Danny Hebert nodded at his daughter. "Which enemies?"

"Slaughterhouse, one group of Fallen, at least two CUI teams, one Gesellschaft team, and the Teeth." Doctor Curlyhair looked towards the display. "The Medusa Protocol ought to deal with the Butcher."

"Is the term descriptive?" asked Annette Hebert.

"Yes," said Taylor.

"We already have our own hardsuits," said Danny Hebert. "Though mine keeps having to be adjusted."

Emma activated her "mutant" power, surrounded by the scarlet energy field that emulated power armor. "Armor is in."

Lucy nodded. "Not sure my 'escape' power is going to be of use, but I'm in."

"Rowl rar," indicated Smaug, the winged iguana sounding as if he were agreeing.

"Those are the obvious enemies," said Doctor Curlyhair, "there is one more and a rather bigger problem."

The gathered individuals all looked at the display.

"You're sure?" asked Danny.

"Yes, eventually he is going to be a very big problem. I can't go into details and we can't tell anyone because of precogs and other Thinkers that could tip him off." Doctor Curlyhair shook her head slightly. "I have learned things interrogating and studying the Simurgh and finally cracking their communications through subspace."

There was the usual noise of the constellations turning, and a lock on, which caused Taylor to go blank as she thought through the ramifications of this new addition.

"What was that?" asked Lucy.

"Manifestation of a technological breakthrough accelerated by some highly classified device," explained Taylor, who trusted Lucy at this point but she was keeping some things secret to just make sure it didn't get back to enemies. Because, as indicated, there were precogs and other Thinkers out there.

"Ah," said Lucy. Classified was classified.

"So, do I get a power?" asked Anne Barnes.

"Your parents have signed off on it, they think you're responsible enough, so we'll see," said Taylor. So far it had all been easy enough and she'd made more X-Gene material. With the Chrysalis table it would be even faster. Which reminded her. "How's Zephron enjoying his power? Turning into a literal man-of-steel has to have some pluses."

"What about Scrapyard Sam? He got X-Gene treatment, right?" asked Lucy. "I met him the other day in the Yard. First dog I've ever said 'hi' to that said 'hello' back."

"The metadog? Yeah, very high intelligence for a dog, also developing some telepathic and telekinetic abilities," replied Taylor. "He's definitely a good boy."

"Magneto and Professor X aren't available, are they?" asked Annette, directing her question to Danny.

"Not regularly, they apparently have plans but I think if there's a final fight we can probably get them to drop things and join in," said Danny.

"Healers," said Anne abruptly. On seeing everyone looking at her, she swallowed nervously but continued. "It's the usual trio in games. You need a tank, someone who can take a beating, a damage-dealer, and a healer to keep everyone from dying."

"I don't expect anything like a video game," noted Taylor. "We also don't have to go with the X-Gene, it's just the easiest method of empowering someone. Cybernetics, ninja training, magical training, we have options."

"'Magic'?" asked Lucy.

Taylor waved it off. "Just utilizing quantum entanglement field interactions by unorthodox means."

[System Alert: Crunch period scheduled in 48 hours. Allow for downtime lasting no longer than one hour.]

"Anyway," said Taylor to cover that little message, "Anne? You wanted powers? I think I can get things started."

* April 15, 2008 *

"Okay, I found out what 'crunch' meant," said Taylor over the breakfast table.

"And that is?" prompted her mother.

"All those 'perks' are going to get combined, fused, simplified. Or at least a lot of them." Taylor took a few moments to chew on the mushroom omelet she'd plated. Needed ketchup, so she added that while speaking. "For example, all the medical knowledge perks get fused into one larger perk that includes the supporting knowledge. Equipment already has mostly been combined. And..."

The two parents looked to each other, familiar with how Taylor reacted to her Celestial Forge coming up with something and then actually providing it.

"Okay, wow," said Taylor, the twelve year old shaking her head. "Yesterday I got the ability to design 'bigger on the inside' stuff. Today I got more android and robot designs and a dedicated way to build them."

"Are these stronger than the 'Nier' series?" asked Annette.

"No, even more limited honestly," said Taylor. "I'll have to uprate them, later I guess. They're all paired with and use a specific weapon and some of them are fairly niche or not as good as the weapons I can make..."

"You thought of something," observed Danny, coming over and handing a cup of tea to his wife.

"Yeah, if I combine..." Taylor's eyes flicked around a few times as her mouth moved silently. "Yeah. That will work. If I combine T-Doll technology, Nier gynoids, and Necron tech? I can make not only make Sisters of Battle. I can make Sisters of Silence."

"That's good?" asked Danny.

"I read up on a lot of Warhammer 40K after I realized that not only were the Astartes fond of the setting, one of my knowledge bases is FROM that setting." Taylor made a face. "Too grimdark for my tastes, but some of the aesthetics are okay. Thing is, I think I can make something similar to the Sisters of Silence - who could negate multi-dimensional crap like demonic entities and such. So, maybe negating parahuman powers within a deployable field."

"The PRT would hate that," said Danny.

"The PRT would love that," said Annette.

Her parents looked at each other, raising eyebrows in an odd synchronicity.

"They would hate that because something that negates their own capes would be seen as a threat," said Danny.

"They would love having access to such effects themselves because it would make capturing and keeping criminals a great deal easier," pointed out Annette.

"I'm not looking to give out this technology," countered Taylor.

"Easy," said Annette, not breaking her gaze over at her husband. "Just make a 'Sister of Silence' available for their use as a Trump effect Nullifier."

"Would it affect your own abilities?" asked Danny, not breaking his own locked gaze.

"No. And before you two go further, would you mind taking it elsewhere?" asked Taylor, the twelve year old sounding quite put off.

"I do believe we should reconvene this discussion elsewhere," agreed Danny.

"Perhaps, in this single instance, we can agree," indicated Annette.

Taylor shook her head as the two left. She knew all the biology involved as she DID have extensive medical knowledge. That didn't mean she wanted to see her parents engage in that activity.

Though if she DID get a little sister, she was going to have to see about an AI nanny or something to take care of the child.

That could be a summer project.

But for now, there were updates to be made, projects to start, and technological bases to explore.

Also magic. Being able to fly and throw massive energy attacks would be good - though she'd make an exosuit so she didn't cause people to start with the whole 'parahuman' nonsense with her again.

It was just magic or technology, but government types could be SO insistent on their labels.

* Perks This Chapter *

38.11.1-Dimensional Addition or Subtraction (400CP)(Generic Builder)(Size):
While any Builder's claimed space may be stretched or limited according to the Builder's ability and preferences, you have an exceptional knack for expanding or shrinking the space inside of your claimed areas, chests that have several rooms inside of them, police boxes that are the size of a large house, a forest that has trails that are merely a block or two when they should be far longer or even turning that child's backyard into an entire magical forest with enough skill.
FREE: Scan: Builders have an amazing ability to scan technology, items and creatures with an eye for recreating them via blueprints you can create via this skill. You start off with the ability to scan basic structures, creatures and tools such as simple homes, stores, low class minions and basic crafting tools that don’t give any bonuses. This ability grows with skill.

19.53.1-The Third 90Wisher (600CP)(Girl's Frontline)(Technology Knowledge):
Being an ex-90wish scientist isn't mandatory, but your technological expertise in the field of androids is on par with that of Persica and Lycoris, and in some ways is actually more advanced, as while they've been playing with their specific technologies, you've cooked up something of your own. Any T-Dolls you construct or at least participate in the design of can be upgraded with your personal brand of improvements, whatever they happen to be. With the time and resources, Jumper, you could easily develop truly sentient T-Dolls, or create models with military-grade toughness or firepower while maintaining their cutesy appearance and attitudes, or something cooler, like tank-girls!...Wait a minute.
FREE: Point the Barrel That Way: Everyone knows what a gun is, and after World War III, everyone knew which way to point them, just in case. You’ve mastered the basics of gun safety and can handle any firearm without risk of personal injury - not necessarily accurately, but at least you’re not a danger to yourself anymore. Just everyone else.
FREE: Assembly Line: While in this world, you can spend resources (ammunition, rations, spare parts and man-hours) to make T-Dolls the normal way...OR you can do it the more fun way, by shoving said resources into a gacha app on your phone/computer/whatever tech you have and seeing what comes out the other side.
This gives you less direct control of what comes out, but it does allow you to churn out large amounts of T-Dolls, as this method is several times faster than the norm, and the T-Doll appears on your base as soon as its construction timer is complete (ranging from 15 minutes to a full day, depending on the relative rarity and power level of the T-Doll; see Wiki for examples/details).

Chapter Text

* April 16, 2008 *

[Five minute warning.]

She'd gone to the bathroom, fixed herself a light snack, and prepared herself as much as possible.

There was going to be a "crunch" as the various combined perks were sorted and combined. Considering how the last patch had gone, she was preparing as best she could.

One of these preparations was the Comfy Chair. It wasn't sapient, that would have been weird, but it was sentient enough to react to a host of things in the person sitting in it. Detecting tight swollen muscles, such as clenching, it could direct heated pulses to loosen things. If there was thrashing around, such as an epileptic fit, then pads could inflate to provide extra cushioning. It could monitor bio-signs and send an alert if those life-signs varied too far from certain values. If one wished, they could use switches on one armrest to disable all functions. Otherwise it was a pretty damn comfortable recliner.

[Three minute warning.]

She was as ready as she could be.

Her androids were on patrol inside her base, the Astartes were on heightened alert in the Dockworkers' compound, the Marines were always damn ready for a scuffle, and Jarvis was alerted and keeping an eye on everything.

[Two minute warning.]

"All non-essential systems are shut down," said Jarvis' voice from nearby. "All non-essential personnel have been cleared from all areas that are likely to be affected. Supply System has been evacuated by all mobile personnel."

"Good enough, thank you Jarvis," answered Taylor.

[One minute warning.]

Taylor let out a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

She was not going to panic. Not going to panic. Nope. Not her.

[Beginning.]

The sun rose behind her eyes.

[Finished.]

"Wait. WHAT?!"

[Holes in education patched. Related fields compressed. Applicable Perks merged.]

"What do you mean 'finished'?"

[Warehouse rearranged to better fit needs of primary operator.]

"Okay, that sounds good."

[Access to Warehouse and Hangar now allows for Portals linking to Saturn LaGrange Point.]

There was a roll and a connection, but Taylor was still feeling a whole group of things at the moment and not paying much attention.

"You mean after all that build-up, it wasn't going to spike me a headache and leave me gasping at the breadth of knowledge suddenly slamming into my head?"

"No, that would have been stupid."

Taylor was about to rant some more when she realized that had been spoken and was not a system message.

Short woman, red hair that shifted to pink in brighter light, green eyes, who shifted to taller longer-haired more adult looking version as she stared at her.

Taylor swallowed nervously. "Doctor Washu, I presume."

"Only the greatest scientific genius in three multiverses," said Washu. "Experiment's coming along nicely I see."

"I'm an experiment?" asked Taylor.

"More or less," said Washu. "You were willing, you were in need, and your world could certainly use saving. Since that multiversal thread is in danger - a method of making you my protege was found and implemented. It's certainly seems to be working out, even if it's just the prologue of your story."

"Scion," said Taylor.

"Yes, or the Warrior Entity," agreed Washu. "Usually I leave the checking in on you to a dedicated Synthetic Adaptive Intelligence, but I'll be checking in personally every so often."

"Why can't you just deal with the danger if you know about it?" asked Taylor.

"Rules, treaties, permissions," said Washu, rolling her eyes. "When you're dealing with a different section of the omniverse there are existing agreements prohibiting meddling directly. Indirectly? Different thing altogether. Now hold still, I have to check your neural net for problems."

"I feel fine," stated Taylor.

"The brain doesn't have pain receptors and plenty of people who feel fine are anything but," Washu indicated. "Huh. Little problem there, but easily fixed."

"And this isn't directly 'meddling'?" asked Taylor.

"No, all I'm doing is checking on an experiment," said Washu. "I'm making notes and leaving documentation to prove that. Okay, that's done. Now a little... oh that's bad. But it's also easily fixed."

"What's bad? What was wrong?" asked Taylor.

"Oh, just a heart problem that was sneaking in. You need more physical exercise. Healthy body, healthier mind and all that," said Washu. "Overdimension pattern steady, soul linkage strong, magic circuits - you need to exercise them a bit more too. Keep them from clogging up. Kind of like arteries in that regard."

"Ah, so I need to fly around and blast things?" asked Taylor.

"No, you're not a parahuman and you don't have anything jabbing your brain saying you need to fight things," said Washu, sounding a little distracted. "Huh, so the Administrator Shard has gone after someone else now that you're not available. Well, not my problem and outside my allowances. Though I am curious. Now, hold still. I need a couple of samples."

"Who was that Other presence?" asked Taylor. "There was you and someone or something else."

"Hmmm? Oh that was Varga. They were just checking in, looking things over. Seal of approval or something. I gave them a Vigilance to play around with."

"A vigilance?"

"Spear of Warning +1. Magic weapon. One of my previous experiments. Anyway, that's it for now. Oh, and you won't remember this except as a vague dream. Rules you know."

"Wait! Don't... what just happened?"

Jarvis spoke up a few moments later. "I am not sure, Doctor. I will have to review things and attempt to make some sort of sense out of them."

"Well, at least I don't have a headache this time."

"I am going to recommend you exercise physically and magically a bit more than you have, Doctor. It appears to be a need you'll need to address."

"Okay. Huh. Mom wasn't keen on the hardsuit, so maybe she can learn some spells. She's better at math than Dad is, so that ought to map over."

"'Magic', Doctor?"

"Magic is just doing something the other guy doesn't know how to do," said Taylor. "Utilizing energy from underlying forces to temporarily overwrite reality. Mostly. I know a couple of systems. Oh, make a note. I can computerize some of this stuff so the higher level equations and variable definitions can be handled by the device. Ought to make things easier for people to pick up on this stuff."

"Added to the queue," stated Jarvis. "Oh, and Doctor. You'll be pleased to note that the rail lines have been repaired and the first shipment of parts of the freighter are on their way to the reprocessing plant."

"Good," said Taylor, happy to focus on something positive. "How's the lack of that ship impacting the local economy?"

"Positively, though slow," was Jarvis' reply. "ForgeTech is currently utilizing some of your ecological recovery devices in the Bay. So far the only problems have been the energy requirements and the repeated attempts at industrial espionage. Oh, and four companies which are currently suing ForgeTech under anti-monopoly laws and unfair hiring practices."

"'Unfair hiring practices'?" asked Taylor. "That doesn't sound like Dad."

"Mainly due to the extensive background checks and screening processes," said Jarvis. "Or so it appears. Would you like me to investigate further?"

"Yeah, just a bit. I don't want the Elite or some of those groups getting involved. We'd get along like a house on fire. Widespread damage, people panicking, that sort of thing."

"True," agreed Jarvis. "Which brings up the latest problem. Or opportunity if you prefer."

"That sounds interesting, what is it?" asked Doctor Curlyhair absently as she checked herself and found that she was another inch taller and had more muscle tone as a result of those additional effects from a Perk. She'd need to make herself some new clothes rather soonish.

A holographic screen popped up in front of her, showing a museum ship before and after images.

"Cape battle four months ago did significant damage to the ship where it was moored. The current plan is to tow it out to sea and sink it."

Taylor/Doctor Curlyhair stared for a few moments. "No way."

"Yes, way. The supervillain in question is at large, having evaded PRT forces. Forceblade, Tinker-3, specialty in shaped force-field weapons systems. Currently on the run."

"It's perfect," declared Taylor. "See if our contacts can arrange to have it brought to a location where the sinking can be faked and I can get ahold of it. Open new project and file under Project Matsumoto. If they need to know what I'm doing with a warship, tell them its a contingency plan. Any further details, I'll need to speak with them directly. Also flag Project Matsumoto as clearance level Magenta and priority level Crimson."

"That high?" said Jarvis, finishing with a sigh. "You really need to get more sleep and exercise your magical abilities as well."

"Meh," said Doctor Curlyhair as she slid her visor down to indicate she was using her heroic identity fully. "I'll build a device that makes it look like it's handling the flight part. Maybe a cape or mechanical wings. Or a harness that puts out holographic wings. Yeah, that last one sounds about right. Then bad guys can shoot at my wings and I can yell at them for shooting at a hologram."

"Perhaps forcefield emitters," suggested Jarvis. "That way you can use your wings to shield yourself and others?"

"Great idea!" enthused Doctor Curlyhair, already planning her next stage hero costume. "Decorative is nice, functional is better, but if I can combine the two? Even better."

"As you say, Doctor."

* April 17, 2008 *

Thursday. Typical day. School taking up way too much of her time, in Taylor's opinion at least.

"What do you mean a problem at Brockton Bay General Hospital?" asked Taylor as the class gawked at the person standing there in the doorway.

Armsmaster nodded. "The Slaughterhouse Nine are holding the entire building hostage and asking you to surrender yourself. Or at least they are identifying themselves as the Slaughterhouse Nine."

"There are doubts?" asked Taylor, getting up after a nod from the teacher.

Armsmaster's strides were long, causing Taylor to hurry a bit to keep up.

"Jack Slash was visible and was identified through recognition software as Tiffani Bangs, a stripper from Northern Colorado with several arrests for prostitution, petty theft, shoplifting, narcotics possession, possession of Tinkertech drugs, and most recently operating a city bus without a proper license. Also having died from an apparent overdose of Tranquility."

"Isn't that one of the products of Mellowmind, a chemical Tinker?" asked Taylor as two Astartes fell in beside her.

"Yes, Mellowmind sells moods on the black market. He hasn't been a high priority before today due to his products being less physically addictive and harmful than the more typical drugs found in such areas," admitted Armsmaster. "After today, he may find himself under a great deal more scrutiny."

"Astartes?" asked Taylor as they drew closer to the PRT transport.

"Snipers are in position with special ordnance," reported the voice of Astartes One. "Current thought is that Slash has some sort of Thinker power in addition to his knife-extension power and reputed Master power."

Armsmaster paused, glancing at the lead Astartes. "I was not aware of either rating."

"Astartes One, the Sisters of Battle and Sisters of Silence?" asked Taylor, as One handed her the visor and then the armored labcoat.

"Three of each, ready for deployment," said Astartes One.

Taylor grinned. "They think they're isolating me so that they have a numeric advantage. I'm not alone."

* Perks This Chapter *

17.38.1-Comic Book Science (600CP)(DC Multiverse - Earth 11)(Intelligence):
You're extremely intelligent, easily one of the smartest people on the planet. You could build a massive company from scratch and revolutionize the sciences if you so choose. Your genius allows you to remember everything you've ever seen in great detail, hold multiple trains of thought at once, pick up new information and master skills very quickly, and build futuristic technology that seems to ignore conventional physics. Intellectually, you rival Lex Luthor and Ms. Terrific.
FREE: Savior’s Presence: Heroes are everything we aspire to, the ideal we look up to as the best we can be. You represent that pinnacle, outwardly in your appearance if nothing else. You stand a head taller than those around you, bear defined muscles like an Olympian athlete, and are one of the most attractive people around. When you speak, you do so in a powerful and commanding but gentle and comforting voice, confident and clear so that the people you protect know they’re safe. You have a naturally toned body, and find it difficult to lose your shape even without actively training. Getting work as a model would be underselling your appearance, and you do it all with a casual, down-to-earth ease. Either they want to be you, or they want to be with you.

Combinations:

[Medic + Cyber-doc Equipment Package + New Age (X-gene) + Prolong + Bio-Technology + Chrysalis]
Master Bio-systems Technologist (Augmentations): You have the tools and you have the talent. You are the leading expert in this section of the multiverse on how to take a human and upgrade them without loss of their humanity, which puts you well above the Cybermen in that regard. Uplift technology means that you can alter even the species associated with humanity, alter alien species to be able to exist on Earth-like planets, alter humans to survive and even thrive on non-Earth-like planets (within reason) and cure pesky little left over problems that evolution left behind. Turn people into dinosaurs? Hah. You can turn dinosaurs into people, which is a much more difficult thing!

[Omnitool (Mass Effect) + Omni-tool (No Sky's Limit) + Matter Manipulator (Auto-Factory) + Scan (Dimensional Addition or Subtraction)]
Build Gun. An all-in-one tool that can change appearance and function from moment to moment. Allows access to inventory function, scanning of objects, deconstruction and construction of buildings and raw materials. Hooks directly into the Visor. Currently has settings for Vibro-Blade, Freeze Ray, Mining Beam, Terrain Editor, Build From Blueprint, Scatter Gun, Bolter, Taser Bolt, and Intensive Scan.

[Artiste + My Fashion Sense Is Tingling + Excellent Craftsman + Needlework]
Master Artist. While anything you do becomes art, from actual painting through cooking to singing, it is when you are tailoring or designing clothing that it becomes works of art worthy of the gods. From creating and blending the fabrics to the final stitch and button, your clothing is worth sums that could beggar some nations.

[Scientist + Finger of Silver + No Sky's Limit + Grease Monkey + New Age + I am Iron Man + Retro-Engineer + From Q With Love + Deuyivan Construction + Foraker-Hemphill + Excellent Craftsman + Wisdom of the Ancients + Prototype Process + Dimensional Addition and Subtraction]
Ultra Genius Mechanic. You add fields of knowledge and new sciences and mechanics the way some people eat chocolates - very quickly and efficiently and with great enjoyment. In your case, it is building things through your understanding of the sciences involved.
Your specialty, such as it is, is mechanical engineering. From the nanoscale to structures bigger on the inside to structures the size of a moon - if you have the blueprints you can eventually build it. Good for you that you can figure out how to make the blueprints in most cases.

[Gimmee A Tic + Build Rome + Foraker-Hemphill + What's An Engineer]
Built Fast and Built to Last. You build things much faster and much more durable than one would come to expect even with your resources. Current build speed: x32 as long as you're personally involved in the process.

[Hand's Off + Removed From Context]
Can't Touch This: Someone trying to steal your tech, unless it is freely given without restriction? Not going to happen. Someone trying to target you using psionics, magic, or superpowers? They have to find you first. You're not giving anything away in either case. Doesn't protect you from normal activities or information gathering, but you have an extraordinary measure against extraordinary measures. This does, however, protect your inventions unless you're deliberately giving stuff away.

Chapter Text

* April 17, 2008 *

"How did they sneak up on an entire hospital?"

"Using two vehicles. One is a battered old tour bus, blacked windows all around, and concealing the more inhuman-looking members in there. The other vehicle was a medical transport van they hijacked from a nursing home parking lot."

"Three. We've identified a white passenger van that slipped through security immediately after those two."

"Run footage of all of them through identifier software. We need to know exactly who we're dealing with."

"Someone's flying up from the hospital!" (BOOM!) "Someone's falling out of the sky!"

"Look, it's a Shatterbird, it's a corpse, it's a spatter in the parking lot!"

"Hah, freaking hah, Dulaney. Though I admit seeing one of the Nine get incinerated to the point that she left a smoke trail does warm something in my heart."

"Really warmed her heart too."

"Oh, that really pissed off Burnscar, she's heading for the Space Marine that sniped her buddy."

* Small picnic area Parking Lot D *

Ed had come to Brockton Bay out of curiosity and hoping to see some of the weapons that ForgeTech apparently had available. He had, in point of fact, gotten a ticket for the tour tomorrow. Now that probably wouldn't happen.

Pity, he had been looking forward to it.

Now, here he was, in one of the little tabled areas where he had some cover from the damn supervillains. Oh, was that Shatterbird falling to splat onto the pavement? Looked like it. Well, day was looking up a bit.

Then he noticed the two girls moving through the parking lot, settling into positions nearby, and raised an eyebrow at not only what they were wearing but what they had with them.

One, wearing what looked like a sort-of steampunk costume, was wielding a pistol. A Heckler & Koch HK45 if he wasn't mistaken. Brass plating? Looked like it. Very nice.

The other was even more intriguing. A VSK-94? Maybe. He'd have to examine the rifle closer if given a chance.

"This is HK45. Civilian found, no injuries, am providing cover."

Ed noticed the bracer the pistol-packer was speaking into. He was also close enough to hear a reply.

"Understood," said a British accented voice. "Sister of Silence and Sister of Battle en route to your location. ETA: Three. Hold your bracer up, I need to scan the civilian."

Ed wasn't too surprised at that, as he WAS hanging around a crime scene.

The British voice spoke again. "He's clear. Gunsmith from Colorado on schedule for the civilian tour tomorrow."

Ed was considering what to say when a hole in the air opened up and three figures walked through. All three looked as if they'd stepped out of some Warhammer 40K book cover.

What really struck him was the Big Farking Gun. With pulsing green light along the sides of it. Being carried by someone wearing what he thought might be Custodes armor, though it was a little short for a true Space Marine from what he knew of the lore.

On the one hand, he was in a very dangerous situation with the Slaughterhouse Nine over there. Well, eight considering there was a smoldering pile of Shatterbird over there.

And there went Burnscar to teleport in a burst of fire to where the sniper had shot down her fellow and-

Burnscar fell out of the sky as her flames went out, and was grabbed by the neck by another Space Marine, who then slammed her into the ground hard enough that she probably wouldn't be getting up for a long time if ever.

Okay, well, the Slaughterhouse Seven were still in there. And they had no way to deal with the Siberian or Bonesaw.

The bracer/communicator beeped. "Siberian dealt with. Four was checking the van when the Siberian popped up. Serious damage to his armor, heading back to base but he destroyed the van and occupant and the Siberian vanished."

"Roger."

Okay, the Slaughterhouse Six. You know, he was going to be able to go into any bar in Colorado and get free drinks at this rate.

Oh, that HAD to be Crawler. Now roaring some sort of challenge, hard to understand because his mouth wasn't very human-like at the moment.

Caught in a crossfire between three places that he could see. Wow. He wondered if anyone would mind if he got pictures of those guns in operation?

* Astartes One *

There had been a moment of considering where the civilian was staring with such rapturous intent. That had dropped when the onboard computer had determined through a quick analysis of his eye-focus that the male gaze was ogling the weapons, not the girls wielding them. Despite the usually skimpy outfits the T-Dolls or the Nier gynoids tended to wear.

Ogling the guns was an American thing, but more tolerable. He knew a few Aussies who'd do the same thing.

Come to think of it, it was also sort of a thing about military sorts such as himself.

Ah, this 'Crawler' fellow sounded as if he was enjoying tanking some shots. Time to switch to the "specialty" ammo.

* Jackie *

The way things were going was not to his/her liking. Not at all.

"BURNSCAR! Don't -"

Damnit. Now he was down two. Burnscar just teleported in a burst of fire to that sniper nest and dropped out of the sky like she was... in range of Hatchet Face. "Shit. They've got a Null Trump over there."

Jackie picked up the intercom for the hospital's overhead system. "Naughty naughty. We're going to start killing some of the hostages now, since the little girl is still not here and you decided to start shooting us. Mannequin?"

* Nearby *

A chess piece moved into position.

"Neither of us are concentrating on this game," commented Professor X.

"Ah. He had a lot of plastic and non-ferrous materials in his construction, but Mannequin wasn't handling the stress very well. I'm afraid he came completely apart," said Magneto as he moved a piece in reply.

"And poor Bonesaw," said Professor X, shaking his head. "All those mental manipulations by Mister Slash, like a game of Jenga on a shaky table."

"I take it that it is all getting a bit shakier?" asked Magneto.

"Oh, I do believe the pile is swaying around just waiting for someone to bump the table," commented Professor X.

"Hmmm, those T-Dolls are interesting," said Magneto as one came nearby and settled down behind a hedge to get her weapons out.

"Should we tell her we don't actually require a guard?" asked Professor X.

"No, no," gently chided Magneto. "For all she was born artificially, she has good intentions and some degree of pride. Let her think she's performing a hero's duties."

"I suppose," said Professor X. "Do you recognize the weapon she is, or wields. I'm unsure what terms to use."

"Beretta BM 59," said the girl nearby. "I can hear you, you know."

"My apologies, dear lady," said Magneto smoothly and inclining his head. "Neither of us meant any slight against you or your kind."

"None taken," said BM 59. "I was literally born yesterday after all."

"Interesting," said Professor X. "Apparently when you hit him with that satellite, Mister Slash's brain wasn't entirely intact when it was salvaged."

"It doesn't appear to have made him any saner," noted Magneto.

"Honestly, he's worse. Because there's still a lot of Tiffani Bangs in there and the two do not get along at all," said Professor X.

"Did you say the original person's name was 'Tiffani Bangs'?" asked Magneto, sounding mildly scandalized.

"Yes, and her profession was exactly what you think it was," said Professor X. "Not that anything's wrong with it, of course."

"Of course, third or fourth oldest profession after all," said Magneto. "After hunter, gatherer, and leader."

BM 59 twitched as if she wanted to say something.

Professor X sat up straight quite abruptly. "She noticed."

"Which 'she'?" asked Magneto.

"Bonesaw. She realized that she hadn't loaded the sprayers with her bacterial cocktail. Hang on, I'm just letting a bit of doubt into her mindscape. That it was a rush job and she'd hesitated to unleash something so mundane when she could do so much better with a bit of work." Professor X concentrated a moment. "There we go, she's calmed down and is working on... well, that's better."

"She's working on some new viral or bacteriological horror?" asked Magneto. "Hardly comforting."

"Came up with the Pax Virus, neurological virus that the body would flush after 24 hours, causing those affected to want nothing more than to find some quiet spot and take a nap. It's now a getaway plan and not an assault on anyone. Still dangerous, but a lot less than the Zombie Apocalypse that was Plan A." Professor X nodded to himself.

There was the sound of a chainsword and a brief scream.

"I believe that was Hatchetface," said Magneto. "Check."

"I believe you were right," said Professor X, considering the board and making his move.

* Taylor *

A portal opened on the roof and disgorged two Sisters of Battle, 2A, and a small horde of spider-bots the size of a kitten. This was followed a moment later by a tall twelve year old.

"And so Doctor Curlyhair, girl genius, stepped into the darkness-"

"It's 1300 hours and sunny," noted 2A.

"-of the installation claimed by the treacherous supervillains in her first battle against evil!"

"It's Brockton Bay General and they only control the first floor."

"You're really spoiling the fun here, 2A."

"My apologies, Doctor, but it would be best to resolve this quickly."

"I know, but this IS a battle against recognized supervillains, and it's my first time."

"And it will be your last time, child," said Hatchetface as he stepped out of the stairwell.

A2's chainsword went through his Brute-rated form without much more resistance than it would a frozen steer, which was to say - very little at all.

"Spider-bots," said Doctor Curlyhair, planting her feet apart and sweeping her arm out towards the stairwell. "You have your targets. Seek & Destroy."

With a whirring noise of servos, the eighteen spider-bots zipped off.

"It's still my first actual battle, I need a catchphrase or something," said Doctor Curlyhair grumpily.

"A battle indicates there is a chance for the other side to win," stated A2. "This is not a battle. It is pest control."

"Interesting. I just got another Perk. This will be interesting," said Doctor Curlyhair, switching her Omnitool to Freeze Ray.

"Really? What is it this time?" asked A2.

"Another spaceship. No weapons or warp systems left, but there are blueprints," said Doctor Curlyhair.

"Intriguing," agreed A2. Anything that increased humanity's chance of survival was worth the effort in her opinion.

* Elsewhere *

"You're kidding," said President Hayes.

"No sir," said General Calhoun.

"Doctor Hebert wants a wrecked battleship, to turn into a SPACE battleship," said President Hayes. If it had been anyone other than Doctor Hebert and after the amount of time he'd seen inventions crossing his desk? He'd be recommending mandatory vacations and psychological evaluations.

"Yes sir, that does about sum it up," admitted General Calhoun.

"Why?" asked President Calhoun.

"Contingency plan, sir. That's what she says. Message was that it was better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

President Hayes considered that for a silent few moments. "Hard to argue that point."

"No sir. Further points out that it would have a number of sensors and equipment for scouting out sites for further investigation."

"Well, we can't give her a battleship, even one destined to become a reef," said President Hayes. "How about a counter offer? She fixes and upgrades the heck out of it and we set up some labs that we can staff so we get all that nice data for her to look at."

"We'll pass that along." General Calhoun saluted and prepared to leave.

"General?" asked the President. "Can we actually do this? The whole explore the solar system and our galaxy like something out of Star Trek?"

"Before I'd met Doctor Curlyhair, I'd say we had twenty years before the extinction of the human race," said General Calhoun. "Now? After the room temperature superconductors, force field generators, teleport gates, photon cannons, portable fusion reactors? Now?"

An aide burst into the room. "Pardon sirs. The Slaughterhouse Nine are in Brockton Bay demanding Doctor Curlyhair be turned over to them. Excuse me. The Slaughterhouse Eight. Pardon. The Slaughterhouse Seven. Six. We have unconfirmed reports that they're down to Five. Make that Four."

General Calhoun grinned. "Now? I'd say we have a damn good chance."

"Would you believe the Slaughterhouse Three?"

* Jackie *

"Poppet? Bonesaw? Crawler? Mannequin?"

Jack, currently Jackie, Slash was having a bit of a moment.

His prized intuition was giving him danger signals and a strong desire to raid one of the narcotics cabinets.

He hadn't felt himself since that little accident in Colorado.

It wasn't just that his body had been swapped out for a newer model that was decidedly more feminine. His intuition had been giving mixed results when it had been 100% right prior to his little misadventure. It was a lot of things.

For example, when he first got up in the mornings and he'd found that he was groggily going through the motions prior to a good cup of coffee. He'd never cared for or needed coffee or other morning stimulants prior to his death and rebirth. Now he found he was sitting at the table, having gotten dressed and having done his makeup, and only THEN after having the coffee had he been fully awake.

He was a guy, for all that the plumbing said otherwise. He was still Jack Slash. He was not... whoever had this body before Bonesaw had recovered it from a morgue.

Tiffani Bangs. No, that was a stage name. Edith Barnett. That was right, she was... NO!

"I could come back if you're having an aneurysm or something."

Jack reacted quickly, drawing a blade and extending his power.

(PING!)

The Space Marine armor lowered its gaze to look at him, apparently unimpressed with his knife skills.

Jackie Slash knew this was going to hurt. "You wouldn't hit a girl, would you?"

It turned out, the Space Marine in question didn't hit a girl. Shooting her was apparently another thing altogether.

* Boston *

Accord turned his gaze from contemplation of the jacket and bracelet contained within a display, knowing his Ambassadors would not intrude on this time without due cause.

"The Slaughterhouse Nine have been dealt with. Two members captured, the rest killed."

Accord inclined his head slightly, as this was perfectly within his predicted outcomes.

"Bonesaw and Burnscar were captured," continued Citrine.

Accord nodded and went back to contemplating the subtle perfections of the objects in the display as Citrine quietly left the room. One roving band of chaos had been dealt with, and that pleased him on a basic level.

He would have to consider whatever new developments came out of Brockton Bay and alter his plans accordingly. That, however, was less a chore than a pleasure since some of the new tech - such as the environmental cleanup devices currently scouring pollution out of that bay of theirs - actually made things easier and less prone to breakdown.

Removing such unpleasant chaos was always a plus in his ledger.

* Cauldron *

"Huh, so that's a thing," said Contessa, pausing in what had been a long luxurious shower. "Good enough then."

She was pragmatic after all, anything that increased their odds of success even a tenth of percent was to be accepted.

* April 18, 2008 *
* PRT HQ *

"There's a new Master type parahuman in my city?!" asked Director Piggot.

"Yes," answered Armsmaster. "The Nine were here for Doctor Hebert, but they were also scouting this other for possible membership."

"What do we know about this new Master?" asked Director Piggot. Master-types could be anything from animating plushies to talking to dogs to the sort of monster that was Heartbreaker.

"They're a Gessellschaft cape," continued Armsmaster.

"So they're a Nazi?" interrupted Emily Piggot.

"Yes, in fact her name is Grammar Nazi," said Armsmaster.

Director Piggot stared at Armsmaster for a few moments. "You're joking."

"Sadly, no," said Armsmaster, tapping his tablet to bring up a display.

"She's wearing an SS uniform," said Director Piggot, feeling as if this was darn near the last straw and she was going home early today if anything else happened. "Is that a riding crop?"

"Yes," said Armsmaster.

"Go ahead and put the ident out for the troopers to be aware of her presence," said Director Piggot. "Any further details about the Slaughterhouse?"

"We have Bonesaw in custody," stated Armsmaster. "She started out making demands, and was trying to negotiate her way out of things when she saw one of the therapy dogs, called it 'muffles' and started having a breakdown. She's currently in a biohazard containment cell talking to a therapist."

"And the rest?" asked Director Piggot.

Armsmaster actually smiled at that. "Burnscar woke up, but was too injured to try and escape, currently only semi-conscious and it will take a few months for injuries to heal. Other than Bonesaw the Slaughterhouse are no longer a problem for anyone but the morgue."

"Oh?"

"When a US Marine says they will not hesitate to shoot, the intelligent move would be to take those words at face value," said Armsmaster.

"If more parahumans stuck to the 'intelligent move' my job would be so much easier," said Director Piggot.

There really was no argument to that, was there?

* April 19, 2008 *

The inaugural voyage was something to see and do.

Of course she could build a better one herself. Faster, stronger, more durable, with all sorts of additions.

She got to ring the bell though, so being among the crowd of people on the new ferry as it made its maiden voyage did count for something.

In the meantime she was using shadow clones and skills like Retro-Engineer to get everything she could out of that ship.

A roll came up, and Taylor considered the choice it gave carefully. The dangers of people like Heartbreaker had been duly noted, and the possibility of his visiting had been brought up while she was out of the room. Not that that mattered when you were quite capable of making tiny eavesdropping devices and having an Ancilla that could multitask and alert you of potential dangers.

Yeah, having an anti-Master power sounded really good. Just in case.

13.41.1-Derelict Ship (600CP)(DCEU)(Technology Database):
An additional ship from Krypton that arrived alongside the one that brought Superman to Earth. This ship has long since been abandoned, perhaps never even having a living pilot, and the systems relating to weaponry and movement have long since been irrevocably destroyed. However, it seems the ship was a science vessel and it retains an in depth database on almost all Kryptonian technology that existed. Weaponry, ships, armour, genetics and more are within the databanks here, governed by a friendly Artificial Intelligence that will assist you in learning all that is stored here.

17.34.1-Mega Attributes: Intelligence (500CP)(Trinity: Aberration)(Intelligence):
Outperform even the most advanced supercomputer clusters. You receive one of the following Enhancements for free: Taint resistance: Your grey matter is extremely durable. Any form of insanity you had before eruption is healed, and neural dysfunction as a result of Node growth will be greatly reduced. Your brain will also be far better at self-repair and working around injuries or drugs that impair mental functions. Analyze Weakness: Nothing is perfect, and you can easily identify flaws in what you can observe. This requires at least a basic understanding of the mechanics behind something, but you are otherwise not limited in what this Enhancement can apply to. Anything from structures to complex systems to bureaucratic procedures. Mental Prodigy: You naturally grok a particular field of study. Learning new skills, making advancements and intuitive leaps within this area comes easily to you. Your chosen field might be anything from a specific scientific field like engineering or medicine, finance, forensic science or military tactics.
Chosen: Taint Resistance.

Crunches:

[Alchemy (House of the Witch) + Chakra (Shadow Clones) + Enchanting (Dwarven Forge) + Marvel Magic (Chakra Books) + Library (Library of Sorrow) + Spell Cards (Bibiophile's Discerning Eyes)]
The Library of Forever. A magical library that expands to cover any new magic systems and magical knowledge that you gather or develop. Contains several tables, chairs, reading nooks, engraved summoning circles and other appropriate safety gear for your experimentation.

[Most Common Superpower (Removed From Context) + For The Camera (Chakra Books) + Cute Girls (Bibliophile's Discerning Eyes) + Savior's Presence (Comic Book Science)]
Charismatic Hero: You can look somewhat good looking if making an effort to blend in, but without that effort you are ridiculously attractive. You could land in a pig stye and be covered in terrible substance but still come out as extremely attractive.

Chapter Text

* May 1, 2008 *
* Warehouse 11 *

"Incoming signal."

"It's SG-1. Let them through."

The AI watched, finding one character on the screen particularly noteworthy and made adjustments.

Her holographic representation shifted from what it had been, and the likeness of Samantha Carter was there for a moment before changes were made. When the AI was satisfied, people would note the resemblance to a young Amanda Tapping but not mistake her for that person.

She wasn't connected in full to her ship, that would come later, but the USS New Jersey was looking forward to her next voyage.

* Meeting Room Alpha *

"What kind of carrier is this, anyway?" asked the Great Britain representative.

"The Thermopylae is a mobile command base, carrier, and a test bed for advanced technologies," said Doctor Quest as he took a seat.

"Something your Doctor Hebert designed, I take it," said the Canadian rep.

"Exactly," said Doctor Quest, wishing his father could have taken this duty but his father WAS getting up there in years. Maybe, if things went well.

"Is this where we get what scraps you Americans deem your allies to be trusted with?" asked the Norwegian representitative.

"No, this is where you get a thumb drive containing the things we have tested and found useful and the various departments have all cleared," said Doctor Quest. "ForgeTech gets a percentage from the licensing on a second thumbdrive. We'll go over that at a later date. This is all things that are for your use as we are all allies here. Not all of us are friends, but we've worked together in the past and have common causes."

As an Indian-looking elderly man walked around the room, handing off thumbdrives, there was silence for a few moments.

"What's on this?" asked the Canadian, eyeing the thumbdrive.

"Medical information, two new drugs. One's a nonaddictive painkiller slightly less effective than morphine but has none of the usual side effects. The second drug is for veterinary use. It extends the canine life expectancy by five years on average from what we've been able to determine. Further testing will be necessary of course."

"That's all?" asked the French scientist.

"Those are the two drugs," said Doctor Quest. "There are also three new materials - plascrete, durasteel, and a method of producing transparent sapphire in sheets of up to a quarter-inch thick. New solar energy cells, a new type of battery, and a method of water desalinization."

"That still sounds like something that could have been handled by video conference," pointed out France.

"President Hayes agrees with Doctor Hebert that at least some of the new technologies should be spread as wide as possible, without causing too much further disruption of society," said Doctor Quest.

"That implies that some of what she's given you could actually be disruptive of society," pointed out Great Britain.

"Yes," said Doctor Quest simply. "The second drive which will be given out shortly, includes fusion reactors."

"Ah," said Great Britain. "So what's the big reveal? You Americans like your drama."

"We got it from you," stated Doctor Jonny Quest drily.

Great Britain just shrugged a shoulder.

"We were looking at a breakdown of human society within twenty years, prior to the capture of the Simurgh and turning off the Endbringers," said Doctor Quest.

"WHAT?!" erupted most of the room.

"Not the twenty years part," said the French scientist. "The 'turning off' Endbringers part."

"Doctor Curlyhair has been busy," admitted Doctor Quest. "Necessary because there were seventeen more Endbringers waiting their turn."

"WHAT?!" erupted most of the room.

"If you're going to keep doing that, this meeting will take entirely too long," pointed out Doctor Quest.

"My government will require a bit more detail," indicated the British scientist.

There were a few murmurs and a couple of grumbled agreements to that.

"We still are facing a great danger," continued Doctor Quest. "And the less people who know the details the less chance it will accelerate and cut off our time immediately. So if any of your governments have figured out that particular elephant in the room, please keep it to yourselves. On the other hand, we could use help with this."

One of the screens flickered and shifted.

"It's a battleship?" asked France, puzzled.

The Japanese representative blinked before her gaze snapped from the display to Doctor Quest. "The Izumo Plan?"

"Yes, basically," said Doctor Quest. "If we lose, if we cannot avert the destruction looming on the horizon? We were going to call it Last Ark but that was a little too obvious. Calling it the Argo Project is a bit less so."

"Why a battleship?" asked the French representative.

It was the petite Japanese representative who answered. "Camouflage."

"But Mars is hardly ready for colonization," pointed out the British scientist. "And all other planets in the system are even less hospitable."

"You crazy Americans," said the Japanese scientist, now grinning like a child anticipating a particularly nice present. "Your genius cracked it, didn't she?"

"I can neither confirm or deny that," said Doctor Quest. "Entirely too many Thinkers and spies and such."

"Any other craziness you want to put out there?" asked the Great Britain representative.

"Yes, one more thing. Thermopylae?"

Two circles facing each other, one in the ceiling and one in the floor, lit up. First a wireframe, then more and more details added very rapidly until a woman stood there in the pillar of dim light. She opened her eyes. "Gentlemen, ladies. It is good to meet you."

"This is Thermopylae, a General Adaptive Intelligence, though there are other terms for it," said Doctor Quest. "She is the ship. The ship is her."

"I prefer 'shipgirl'," said Thermopylae with an inclination of her head. "I hope we can work well together."

"She looks Greek," pointed out the representative from Great Britain. "Any reason?"

"My designation is 'Thermopylae'," said the AI hologram. "It seemed appropriate."

* May 2, 2008 *

The music played from a movie before the coming of parahumans.

Danny Hebert noted it, and noted the appropriateness of it.

"Krypton. As in THAT planet Krypton, from the old comic books," said Annette as she looked it over. "It doesn't look like the one in the movies. That was all crystal."

"Right!" said Doctor Curlyhair/Taylor.

"Stop pouting just because you never got to shoot any of the Slaughterhouse Nine," Danny advised her.

"I didn't even get to use Bessie!" complained Taylor.

"'Bessie'?" asked Annette.

"Big Enhanced Semiautomatic Special Ion Emitter," said Taylor.

"It's a blast rifle. Just call it a blast rifle," said Danny.

"Daaaaaaaaad!" complained Taylor.

"So what now?" asked Danny.

"I've got one of me," Taylor waved to her shadow clone who waved back, "working on interfacing with the ship's memory core. That's intact at least. The ship has an AI. That speaks Kryptonian."

"Doctor Hebert. Time," said Jarvis.

"Time! YEEESH!" Taylor panicked, grabbing her backpack and clicking the various buckles into place.

(VRRRRT) went the little wings extending out from the backpack.

(CHONK!) went the engines extending from the wings.

"Wasn't today when you were going to talk to the firefighters about your-" began Danny as he too checked the time.

(WHOOOOSH!) went Taylor as she flew out of the room at a rapidly accelerating pace.

"-fire extinguishing grenades?" finished Danny Hebert.

"'Grenades'?" asked Annette.

"They're like a soccer ball on the outside, meant to be thrown or rolled down into a fire," said Jarvis from a nearby console. "Outer casing melts easily, releasing the container inside which has pressurized fire-fighting gel which then coats everything nearby. One of the local firefighting departments is considering trials of the device."

"It's not like those 'clean-ades' is it?" asked Danny.

"Wait, I remember those," said Annette. "Like a bug bomb but instead of insecticide it puts out a cloud of disinfectant? World Health Organization pointed out the dangers of use outweighed the benefits?"

"She was thinking of it for areas where something like Ebola was going on, I think they were more afraid of people using them to clear service station bathrooms," noted Danny.

"To be fair, some of those ARE pretty nasty," mentioned Annette. "Think when she gets back we should mention that?"

"If you mean that Taylor is getting either a little brother or sister, I haven't mentioned it," said Jarvis. "Though I believe congratulations are in order."

"Thank you, Jarvis, your discretion is appreciated," said Annette with a nod towards the console.

* May 5 2008 *

There had been a connection, she'd gotten the device, and now...

She was entirely unsure of what to do with it. Other than research the hell out of it.

A "Ship Girl Conversion Kit" was a combination of spiritual magic, nano-technology, and ritual mana infusion. At its heart was something called a Wisdom Cube. It came from the same multiversal strand that her Retrofit perk had come from.

The problem was that the only ship she actually owned was the Flying Sub. The ships she had in the Resource World she could bring into her hangar, but there were reasons she couldn't bring them out to Brockton Bay - for one she was pretty sure that the antimatter used to power the hyperdrive would raise concerns at DARPA and other locations. That and her freighter was just too big to get through even if she had a way other than supply world to hangar to Earth.

The ships from the supply world used a hydrogen fuel for the launch mechanisms, tritium (which was radioactive) for the pulse drive (which was actually an FTL space warping but too slow for interstellar travel), and a contained antimatter-based fuel for the hyperdrive. Two of those would raise concerns she didn't want to deal with.

Not to mention that Scion and/or other potential enemies might notice something like the freighter even out by Saturn despite her Removed From Context protection.

The nanotechnology she had a handle on. T-Dolls and Nier android construction used synthetic flesh which was grown through nanotech. Shipgirls besides the sort she'd already built weren't that difficult. In fact, she'd already begun building ones for Thermopylae and New Jersey for when they'd proven themselves enough to be given that little reward.

Spirit-based magic and rituals? Her shadow clones had been studying magic for some time now, and that was extremely complicated and often made little sense from a scientific perspective.

Worse, it was a Monday, so this had come during her lunch break and other than getting out her phone and sending a quick message to her clones to research it - she couldn't even take a look at it herself.

Oh, there was ONE ship. But the derelict Kryptonian ship still needed new engines to replace the old ones. Once she did that she MIGHT have something to use the Cube on.

Now, if she could duplicate the thing? Another story altogether. Just think how much fun a fleet of shipgirls would be against Leviathan.

Though, come to think of it, with the Endbringers shut down - that wasn't a concern, was it?

* Eugene Bullard Junior High School *

She strode up to the gate, noting with some degree of approval that the security guard was NOT asleep at their post. They saw someone in a near-period-accurate Nazi SS uniform marching down the sidewalk towards the gate, they hit the automated closing mechanism to slow her down.

Having people take their jobs seriously was a good sign, not what she would have expected of Brockton Bay just a few years ago.

It made it more difficult for her, but you can't have everything.

"HALT!" Grammar Nazi declared assuming the appropriate stance for a lecturer. "You have students who are dangling participles and performing crimes against language! I am here to stop these failures in your education system!"

"You're not staff, you're not a student, and I've already called the PRT."

Grammar Nazi smile, or showed her teeth. "You will let me in. I am a teacher."

"You're on staff?" asked the security guard. "Wait. I do know you. What's with the getup?"

"Not something you need to be concerned with at this point," said Grammar Nazi.

"I don't agree," said the security guard. "In a town with actual Nazis? You can't come in."

Grammar Nazi frowned at the man. Well, she had tried to be reasonable. Now she had to use her power. "I require access to this facility."

"Okay," said the security guard. Why the teacher was wearing that silly outfit was none of his business after all.

Grammar Nazi waited until she was past the guard before massaging her forehead. Using her power on someone who hadn't committed some insult to their language was difficult. A lighter touch, reinforcing the recognition that her civilian identity was a substitute teacher, made it a little easier.

Her objective though - a classroom where a little girl sat - would be much much trickier.

Grammar Nazi swung open the door, leaning hard into her cape identity to avoid feeling embarrassed. "ACHTUNG! You vill all-"

There was the little girl, pointing some sort of pistol that had a glowing barrel at her.

There was a Space Marine fading out of some invisibility effect, pointing another gun at her.

There was a little girl, who had a tiny little DRAGON hovering above her.

There was a teacher, who had her hand in a desk drawer and Grammar Nazi figured there was an excellent chance there was a weapon in there too.

Grammar Nazi blinked once, stepped back, made a show of checking the door. "Ah. Sorry. Wrong classroom." She closed the door, considered her options, and decided plan B. Go to a different classroom and educate the poor dears on proper English. As only she, Grammar Nazi, was able!

She would avenge the insults done to language!

Now if only someone would put numbers in their name, she could really let loose.

* Elsewhere *

"ACHOOO!"

"Dude, clean off that controller."

"That came out of nowhere."

"It's still pretty disgusting."

"Can't wait till we get to Brockton Bay. This is going to be awesome."

* Classroom *

"Any idea what that was about?"

"No idea."

"Mister Space Marine. Hallway. You are not allowed in class, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Retired. I'm a teacher."

"As you say, Captain."

"Lucy? Your dragon can stand down now."

"Grafff!"

"Sorry, Smaug. Now we can get back to Captain Brockton and what economic and social pressures led him to start the colony."

Taylor merely sat back, eyes wide as another Perk was pulled down from its constellation.

Things were clicking into place and she could see some connections that were now so very obvious.

4.27.1--Ship Girl Conversion Kit (400CP)(Azur Lane)(Vehicles):
Hmm, Jumper, you already have a naval vessel? Well, why not turn it into a Ship-girl? This handy little box can be attached to any Navy ship you personally own, wherein it will grow to envelop the vessel. Over a course of time relative to the size of the ship, this device will transform the vessel into a Ship-girl of an appropriate physique compared to the rough size of the vessel being transformed. For example, the SR2 Normandy might be a Destroyer, and an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer would be analogous to a Battleship. And yes, to be perfectly clear, this Item works on any vehicle that belongs to a Navy, on water or in Space. So yes, the Death Star would count too. Your new Ship-girl will become a Companion, with a personality fitting the background of her original builders. Continuing with the analogy, the Star Destroyer would be imperious and serious, while an Apocalypse Class Battlecruiser from Warhammer 40K would be devoutly faithful and xenophobic. Your new Ship-girl will retain her full array of weaponry and power, just in a human-sized frame... This is terrifying, why am I offering you this?

17.14.1-Omni-Disciplinary (200CP)(My Life As A Teenage Robot)(Intelligence):
When you're trying to create superpowered Robots, advanced machinery, or biological Monsters you can't afford to stick to one field, and being a jack of all trades isn't quite enough either. This perk not only gives you genius level knowledge in every scientific field as compared to the real world, but it also makes it so none of your knowledge and ability will suffer from branching out in this way, in fact as you pursue one field your knowledge in all the others will get a little clearer and easier to apply as your general understanding of the universe expands.

Chapter Text

* May 6, 2008 *

"I did not vant to be der supervillain, you know."

"Uh huh."

"I vaz un school teacher, ja? The class vas just so unruly. Den I Triggered. It was vurst day un my life. Given me another."

Assault nodded and put a couple of bills on the counter. "And?"

"It was so easy," confessed Grammar Nazi. "Mine power is rule-enforcement. Someone break the rule, I can hand out ze penalty. A command."

"Haven't you had enough already?" asked the guy behind the counter, pushing her drink forward.

"Nein!" declared Grammar Nazi.

"So why the uniform?" asked Assault.

"I like the style," said Grammar Nazi. "You going to kinkshame me?"

"Wasn't planning on it, but that and the name kind of lead people to certain expectations from you," pointed out Assault.

After that, Grammar Nazi's full attention was on her drink.

Then it was on the floor.

"Did you?" asked Assault, gesturing at the woman on the ground and the glass.

"No. Standard chocolate malt with whipped cream," said the shop owner. "Maybe the sprinkles were too much?"

"Weird," admitted Assault. "Convenient though."

* May 7, 2008 *

"Not exactly a Birdcage candidate," noted Armsmaster.

"No, and some of it is compulsions from her power," stated Daphne Morrow, the PRT Transport Coordinator speaking from the videoscreen.

"Enough about Grammar Nazi," said Director Emily Piggot. "We have a cape passing through our territory?"

"Captain Canuck," said Armsmaster. "He's on vacation though so it's just that he's staying overnight and will be heading down to the Virginia Beach area tomorrow."

"Uh huh," said Emily Piggot. "And the real reason?"

"Escort duty for technology developed by ForgeTech and assembled at the shipyards in Norfolk," said Armsmaster.

"No sign of his 'designated foe'?" asked Emily Piggot.

"Last seen in Iqaluit in the far North of Canada," answered Armsmaster as he'd immediately checked that himself. "Though what Major Impact is doing up there is unclear."

"We're setting down now," said Daphne Morrow, "be ready for prisoner transport in five."

After the screen blanked, Emily Piggot glanced at it. "I'd honestly forgotten she was still in the conference."

"She has that effect," noted Armsmaster. "Not a parahuman though."

"Do we know what tech Captain Canuck is transporting?" asked Director Piggot.

"Classified, but all things considered it's probably a shield generation coil," said Armsmaster. "Those can be quite heavy and are well within the Captain's ability to lift and fly with."

"Oh, and I noticed your requisition of parts for a giant transforming mecha," said Director Piggot. "No. That is not in our budget and I genuinely don't see the need for one."

* May 8, 2008 *

Dragon landed her suit on the directed landing pad, walked it off to the side so that the pad was clear, then hit the switch.

There were the sounds of the parts opening up - latches clicking open, hydraulics hissing, servomotors whining. Then she left the power armor behind and saluted the guard before taking off her helmet and going through the hatchway.

It hadn't been that long she'd had this body, so it was still all very strange. Also thrilling and exciting. The body she'd ended up with as her public-face was largely lab-grown tissue that could stand up to a very extensive analysis. It was considerably less average-looking than she would have preferred but Doctor Curlyhair had been quite insistent.

Short thick hair, slender but athletic build, and with the inherent grace of her internal systems would have no trouble being a model on some fashion runway. Not that she would do that, or wear those sorts of things.

Instead she wore a nearly form-fitting body armor that had a few junctions and protrusions she didn't actually need to connect to a computer system. They were 'for show', to be precise. It was, as was most of Doctor Curlyhair's work, very nice and thematic with a scale-pattern evocative of some armored pseudo-reptile.

Of course she was scanned several times as she made her way through the corridors of the Rig, but she was expected and her biometrics were on file by now.

"Dragon, good to see you," said Armsmaster, meeting her at the junction.

"You as well, Colin," said Dragon, holding up the item.

"Is that it?" asked Armsmaster.

"Yes, best Chinese take-out on the East Coast," said Dragon.

"Excellent," said Armsmaster, "come on, I'll show you what I've been working on."

She was looking forward to this. She'd never had Chinese food before.

There were so many flavors and scents after all, and she'd spent a considerable time cross-referencing the data on the subject to find the best one.

* Senate Committee Room 12 *

"I still feel it is the height of irresponsibility to allow a twelve year old to dictate terms to the United States Government."

"Senator Blatherspite, exactly what do you want to do about it other than waste more time in more complaints about the situation?"

"We could classify her patents as a matter of national security! Lock everything up until she learns to play ball!"

"Uh huh. Right." Several of the others gathered in the room exchanged glances, followed by the rolling of eyes.

"What has she done for the US anyway?"

"Given us six new materials for use in construction, allowed for mass production of carbon nanotube fibers, given us antigravity and reinforcement field technologies, has put fourteen new medicines up for investigation," said Senator Whiffle.

"Including a very promising one for Lou Gehrig's Disease," said Senator Standish.

"Seven new types of weaponry, cold fusion, superconductive materials, a new type of electrical generator," continued Senator Warhawk.

"New batteries, new solar power collectors, new types of servomotors, quantum computing," added Senator Whiffle.

Senator Blatherspite slapped the table. "She's playing with dolls!"

"General Adaptive Intelligences," said Senator Standish. "I've met a couple. They're still a bit robotic, personality-wise. Very focused on their duties and set purposes."

A smile played over Senator Warhawk's lips as she glanced over at Standish. "And they're easy on the eyes?"

"Some of them seem awfully young for being linked to weapons," admitted Standish. "Though I understand that the good doctor is twelve and that may explain why so many of these GAI are female and attractive."

"What about these 'shipgirls'?" asked Senator Blatherspite. "Artificial Intelligences in charge of weapons systems? Tell me that nobody else has likened it to Skynet and those Terminator movies?"

"Do I need to remind you how all of those movies start?" asked Senator Standish. "Because someone freaked out and tried to kill them all."

"Yeah, I remember how that went in 'Rings of the Masters'," said Senator Whiffle.

"I could never get past all the weird sex stuff in that," mentioned Senator Standish.

Senator Blatherspite slapped the table again, followed by waving his hand around because he hadn't meant to use quite that much force.

"Paul?" asked Senator Whiffle. "Why the hell are you up in arms about that girl again? She's the freaking golden goose, you don't cook the goose that's giving you those lovely golden eggs."

Senator Warhawk stubbed her cigar out in an ashtray. "Honestly? I've met Thermopylae. We spoke for about three hours, comparing notes on historical battles and tactics. I rather enjoyed myself. If I hadn't known better, I wouldn't have known I was speaking to any kind of Artificial Intelligence."

"What?" asked Senator Paul Blatherspite. "I'm sure that's what the AI wanted you to think before she plans how to kill us all!"

"Or not," said Senator Warhawk. "Look, I have disagreements with the current administration too. Only reason I'm here. Giving away some of this tech to our allies? We need to keep it in-house to keep America strong!"

"Right!" said Senator Blatherspite.

"Though if I'm agreeing with Blatherspite, I'm suddenly having doubts about the correctness of my opinion," admitted Warhawk.

"Look, I'm only attending because I want to keep track of what this can do for my constituents." Senator Standish leaned back in his chair and considered the ceiling. "How much of these technologies can be brought to MY area?"

"You're in Idaho. I don't see what any of this has to do with potatoes," stated Warhawk.

Senator Standish scowled at the frequent jab.

"Don't suggest drought-tolerant or disease-resistant crops," grumped Senator Whiffle. "You know how many warehouses of grain we send overseas to famine spots that then let them rot?"

"That was a couple of years ago, the rate of throw-away on those projects is down to 20% now," said Senator Standish. "Still, that's tons of food."

"We have to take something to our territories," said Senator Whiffle. "I've got it."

"It's not contagious, is it?" asked Senator Blatherspite.

"She's working with medical technologies," said Senator Whiffle, ignoring Blatherspite. "We all have research hospitals and similar facilities."

"So we demand that she lets our people test this stuff, we deliberately fail them, and then we have leverage against her?" asked Blatherspite.

"Paul? Take your meds," said Senator Whiffle. "We go to DARPA and petition them for the chance to study these things."

"I don't like to take my meds, they taste bad," complained Senator Blatherspite.

"That might work," said Senator Standish. "And it doesn't mean going to Doctor Hebert."

"Scared of a twelve year old girl?" asked Senator Warhawk.

"You're a girl, and you're scary as hell when you've got a mood going," pointed out Senator Standish.

"Point," acknowledged Senator Warhawk.

"Besides, she's an acknowledged genius, and I'm not," continued Senator Standish. "I'm not so afraid of what she'd do as what the press would do if they got wind of any attempt to manipulate her."

* Monday, May 19, 2008 *

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Watching her daughter practicing various spells from the Harry Potter series of books, Annette couldn't help but wince at some of the phrases. She was an English professor after all.

"So she got this Etching Pen and it came with a Harry Potter wand?" asked Danny.

"Lumos! Nox!"

"That seems to be the case," admitted Annette.

"I really need to watch the movies again," said Taylor as she looked around for other targets for her practice.

Pulling the card out of the wand case, Danny looked it over and the materials it was made from before shaking his head at the strangeness of all this. "So... this means that somewhere in another world there's something like 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'?"

"Hopefully the adults there aren't as much idiots as they are in the films," said Annette. "The books were better."

"Usually are," admitted Danny.

"Oh, by the way, Taylor. You'll be getting a little brother or sister soon," said Annette.

There was a brief clatter as a wand dropped from nerveless fingers.

"Wha-wha-what?!"

"Well, at least you timed it so she wasn't casting a spell at that point," observed Danny.

Oddly enough, Danny Hebert would come to quickly realize it wasn't shock that had effectively paralyzed his daughter. It was the plans for all the devices that she would build to make sure the littlest Hebert was well taken care of.

* Tuesday, May 20 2008 *

The streamer of energy had melted the metal to a liquid which then went into the mold prepared for it.

Rare materials, but not quite up to the Uru metal which she itched to work with. Mithril had proven quite handy, being lighter and tougher than steel, but this was a step up in difficulty.

Adamantine. Orders of difficulty and rarity more than mithril, and a necessary step along the way to even greater materials.

If this turned out well, she'd go on to the next thing. Vibranium. If THAT turned out well, and the shield she planned on making her father with it turned out as good as she hoped - then eventually working with Uru would be possible.

Her hardsuit, made of much more mundane materials, was necessary to protect her from the heat and to supply the strength necessary to work the metal even as it was still near-molten.

Runes, painstakingly duplicated into the mold, were reinforced as she sung them while using her Etching Tool to further strengthen them and the metal she was working on.

First she had to build the tools after all, and fashioning her own tools was part of the process to lead her into making things that would form legends on the order of Excalibur or Gae Bolg or Mjolnir. She would get there eventually and eventually those very things could be used to bring down a god.

She had a very specific god to bring down after all. Right now he might be in Ontario rescuing a cat in a tree, but now that she knew he would eventually destroy the world?

Yeah, she had to build up to being able to take on THAT level of challenge.

Which meant that when the Forge gave her something new, she didn't even notice until much later.

* Perks This Chapter *

6.6.1-Etching Pen (100CP)(A 'Happy' Harry Potter Fanfiction)(Toolkit Magical):
A specialized etching tool that can carve stone, wood, metal, or other hardened surfaces like a hot knife through butter or switch to a regular pen that can write on any softer surfaces such as rice paper. The tool is capable of erasing any damages it causes, reversing inked mistakes, and even absorbing certain fluids like blood, acid, ink, or venom to write with. The tool will always be sharp and never run out of whatever fluid it has currently Absorbed. FREE: Wand. FREE: Books: Ancient Runes Made Easy, Tales of Beedle the Bard, Runecrafting For Beginners by Mister Black.

27.45.1-Animojo(600CP)(Ben 10)(Biotech):
When it comes to genetics you're one of the best in the universe. Not only can you manipulate the DNA of living things to change them to suit your purpose, but you can even bring long dead species back to life. On top of all this, you also possess the knowledge to build the equipment you need from components you would find at your local electronic and home repair stores.

Chapter Text

* June 12, 2008 *

Her birthday. Just another day in some respects.

However she was now, officially, a teenager. Thirteen years old. Practically an adult.

Still unable to put in the hours at a hospital to qualify as a doctor despite how well she might score on any of the tests.

As an omni-disciplinary genius scientist, this was stopping her from doing many interesting things.

Even then, she'd be under the supervision of various doctors for anywhere between three to seven years to get her full medical doctorate. From what she'd overheard at the hospital it would leave little to no time for anything else during that period as residents were worked like a Japanese salaryman to exhaustion levels especially in a place like Brockton Bay.

Oh, she was getting time in at the hospital. Or at least one of her shadow clones was getting serious work time over there. Though not the dedicated time due to her age playing a role there.

It was a good thing she was up to having ten clones at a time by now, what with all the projects she had to have a hand in at any given point.

"Flight plan filed and approved," came Jarvis' voice over the intercom. "Transponders are active, running lights and safety equipment ready at your word, Doctor."

Her usual attending physician, the one who supervised her, and was quite aware that frequently it was a clone that allowed her to be in two places at the same time, was Doctor Phineas Lovegood. No relation to the Harry Potter fictional character.

It was good though, she was gaining experience without the 24hour workday emergency-to-emergency stress that an actual residency would entail.

It was really a good thing that she was now up to 10 Shadow Clones. Part of that was that every time she got a Perk that involved magic, whether it was called that or not, her chakra levels increased. It also increased her mana and any other pool of energy involving magical oomph.

"Roger, Jarvis," came her mother's voice over the channel. "All systems green."

However, it was her birthday, and so something good was on the schedule for today.

She stepped onto the platform, putting her feet on the appropriate sections, and let the servos secure her footing. She could fly on her own, of course, but being tested so that someone could prove that she still wasn't a parahuman was a hassle. Making it look like a device was doing the work was simple enough.

A glance to either side showed that her mother and father were ready. Her father, Danny Hebert, in his somewhat bulky power armor, was already a few inches above the ground. Her mother had the 1969 VW Beetle ready to go, having learned the controls and limitations of the vehicle after the flight systems had been added.

Taking off from the warehouse was done quickly, heading out the Bay at a low speed.

"Fishing boat 'Wandering Gal' sends well wishes and a remark about it being good weather for flying," said Annette after a few moments.

"That's Erwin's little boat, isn't it?" asked Taylor. "His new one?"

"That it is," answered Danny. "Ready to advance speed from 15mph as we clear the bay?"

Taylor checked. "Raising speed to 45mph, altitude from 100 feet to 1200 feet."

"Roger." "Aye."

"Beginning circle of city," said Danny a few moments later. "Mind the KBBC news chopper."

"It's considerably lower than us and not on our flight plan," answered Taylor.

They'd gone several blocks, flying over the traffic way below them, when something occurred to Annette. "What ever happened to your underwater base?"

"I was using it as a storage area," said Taylor. "Except I gave it to the Navy back at the beginning of the year. They've been using it for training purposes since then. That reminds me, I wanted to make one for the British now that Leviathan's turned off."

"That's good," agreed Annette. "Oh look, there's some sort of cape fight down there at Pieman Avenue."

"Heard they're getting that factory going soon," said Taylor. "Hope that doesn't push back the construction."

"Why would someone even attack a pie factory being built?" asked Danny as he piloted his power armor between the fight and his family. Just in case.

"Parahumans," said Taylor, sounding slightly exasperated.

The flight was largely silent after that, as it was just a leisurely jaunt with no particular purpose other than enjoying the view and a bit of downtime in their lives.

* Medhall *

Max Anders, who was not currently in his guise as Kaiser the Nazi supervillain and leader of the Empire 88, sipped at his very expensive whiskey and watched the three dots off in the distance. Were they looking for something? Checking out a new site to unleash some further changes in his city?

"We don't know the identity of the power armor, it's not one of the Space Marines. Armor's too slick-looking and doesn't have all the embellishments of that Warhammer stuff they wear." James Fliescher/Krieg lowered his binoculars. "Compact. Probably some sort of speed build. Considering it's some of HER work - might use short-range teleports."

"What do you think they're doing?" asked Max.

"Considering it's HER," said James. "It could be completely innocent, but I wouldn't bet on it."

Max nodded. That was the problem with 'Doctor Curlyhair' - she could be absolutely the little girl she appeared to be with interests you would expect of those demographics. Or she could be doing something so sneaky you wouldn't guess it was the case until she just unleashed her newest invention.

Or gave a friend of hers a dragon.

James shifted his attention to something more street-level and less inscrutable. "Looks like Hookwolf and the others are breaking off and the PRT is on scene."

"Good, we don't need any other villain groups trying to claim territory here. On that point at least, I can agree with everyone else." Max Anders took another sip of his whiskey before striding towards his desk and setting his drink down on a coaster. "Any other developments I need to know about?"

"One of the test subjects for the Type III Healing Capsule over in Idaho had an unusual reaction," said James, his voice conveying his disgust at the subject, which raised Max's curiosity a couple of notches.

"Oh?" asked Max. "Was it some kind of malfunction?"

James shuddered. "Not precisely. The individual had some mental issues and instead of simply fixing those, the device instead altered the body to fit the image."

"So someone went in as a skinny kid and came out looking like a weight lifter?" asked Max, as he had heard of that happening even if it wasn't something that should produce that sort of reaction from James. He was familiar enough with that outcome to understand some of the shortfalls.

"No, they patched that," admitted James. "Though demand for it to be restored is currently going through legal hurdles and challenges. No, this one was 'gender dysphoria.'"

"Oh," said Max. Well, that certainly explained Krieg's reaction. Honestly, he couldn't care less as long as there was still a market for his products. "It will probably turn out the way some of those 'perfect body' types did - they won't institute the dietary or exercise requirements to keep those bodies in that shape and the deterioration will begin. At which point Medhall has a number of supplements and treatments available to forestall the inevitable."

"Ah," said James with a brief nod. Someone had said something to the effect that every someone else's problem was something to exploit? He'd have to look up the exact quote.

"How's that going, anyway?" asked Max. "The anti-monopoly laws seem our best bet but the report from Legal was less than clear. Make a note, maybe we can get a translation program that speaks Obtuse Legalese to shift things to English."

"There are enough companies and special interests who protest the Healing Capsules that experimental and emergency use is likely to be the only use for them for the foreseeable future," said James with some satisfaction. "Another ten years just to check for long-term effects, possibly another twenty for all the lawsuits and fact-finding to clear."

* Saturday, August 9 2008 *
* Unknown Portal World *

Checking in on the various portal locations was something she left to her various clones most of the time. Experimenting with new portals or simply ones that went somewhere strange was best done by clone, behind airlocks and as many security measures as she could field. With great big destructive weapons pointed at the portal location just in case.

One of those was to a mountain cave high up and overlooking a wilderness that seemed to stretch on forever. Or close enough.

Flying drones went to the furthest reaches of their range and indicated a whole host of anomalies.

No radio traffic. No EM disturbances. A land with a day/night cycle but no visible sun. Gravity Earth-normal within a 0.0001 discrepancy. Weather patterns fairly normal but evocative of central Europe from what her long-term surveys had produced.

One particular thing, which had surprised and intrigued her when that clone had dispelled and the information became shared - was that there were creatures here straight out of myth and legend.

She hadn't made contact with any, other than the one drone which had gotten eaten and spat out immediately thereafter.

By a dragon. One considerably larger than Lucy's shoulder-dragon.

If she DID ever make contact, and they were friendly, Lucy was going to be quite enamored of those.

However, her attention was currently on Drone # 76A (76th unit produced, aerial sensor drone) and the pictures that had been relayed from it.

An extremely tall mountain with steep sides that looked as if it would collapse and fall over under normal weathering conditions was enough by itself to draw her attention. That it had a donut floating at its peak just added several layers of "what the heck" to her observations.

This was at the extreme range of her signal and of the magnification of that particular drone, so it wasn't as if she'd get more data out of that. Which would have more of her attention except for one limiting factor.

She wasn't allowed to go out past the cave opening herself, even by clone, because both parents had argued against it as too dangerous when dealing with other universes/continuum. Especially considering this wasn't even on the same universal strand as her home universe.

After a few minutes of trying to figure it out, Taylor decided to see if any of her gynoids or androids or robots would like to make a trip. That couldn't hurt, could it? And it would be technically within the parental restrictions placed on her, right?

Five minutes after Taylor left the cave, recalling the drone but leaving the monitoring equipment running and recording, a rather large head poked into the cave and examined things.

Not that she noticed as the Celestial Forge rolled something at that point that had... implications.

* Downtown *
* (Meanwhile, at Glu Gluten's Glue Factory) *

"Roof leaks, three of the internal doors are missing, that mystery stain over there is kind of worrisome, there are spiders effing everywhere, and I'm pretty sure nobody's been here since the mid-80s."

"You're right. It's perfect."

"Don't suppose you could make a maid robot or something to keep this place clean."

"Maybe after I finish making my automated stealth drone so we can start getting our ViewTube channel going."

"Put it on the list?"

"Yeah. As long as it isn't too close to anything else I've made, I might be able to swing it."

"Okay, I'll get some tools and supplies, there's a Home Depot about a block-and-a-half away."

"I'll try to finish the Snitch by tonight. This is going to be so cool!"

"So what game are we going to use for our premiere anyway? Pac-Man? Pizza Baron? Pong?"

"No, I've got a great idea!" (BOOM!)

"...was that dramatic thunder?"

"Accidently knocked over my Dramatic Thunder-ator. I'm turning it back off."

* Outlands *

A new neighbor, if one considered a distance of fifteen miles of craggy mountains nearby, and one who had a technological bent.

This was intriguing.

The portal device resembling a Stargate from the 90s TV series even more so.

That it was largely fake, but had a set of airlocks and some intriguing filtration devices meant she wasn't looking at some crossover plane. It might even be someone from her own world who had just come up with the technology and had taken advantage of her own crossing from plane to plane and somehow figured out the method and approached it from a technological instead of a magical mechanism.

Not that there were very many people that knew she had access to her lair or that it was in another dimension.

Very intriguing. Though if they were doing it to try and raid her hoard, she was going to be quite vexed with them.

A whirring noise, too faint to be heard by normal human ears, turned her attention to the Dial Home Device (DHD) for the Stargate and figure out where the camera was.

Smiling, showing her very large and impressive teeth, she waved at the camera before leaving the cave and transforming to her full size.

She paused for a moment and sniffed the cave entry again, her eyes momentarily going wide.

Oh. Now that DID intrigue her quite a bit. The scent was faint, clinging to a very nice jacket that was on a peg near the cave's mouth. It was a scent that clung to a few things in her house, but much stronger. "Mom?"

Yeah. She was going to have to investigate further.

* Perks This Chapter *

31.12.1-Clarketech (400CP)(Generic Space Opera)(Magitech Crafting):
Not only are you able to reverse engineer, extrapolate from, and eventually replicate with a device of your own make any technology you encounter, you also are able to do so with any other phenomenon, be it a physical occurrence, magical or even divine in nature, or even just theorized by you to be possible, though in the latter case you naturally will encounter failure if your theories prove false, in addition to research and prototyping taking a prohibitively long time to do.
FREE: This is (Not?) Rocket Science - For some reason you just are capable of piloting spaceships as if you learned it growing up - why it is hardly different from driving poppa’s old tractor. Similarly you will find that fixing a spaceship also is much less complicated than one would have thought and you have a good shot at leaving things less broken than when you started.

7.24.1-Auto Shop (400CP)(My Life As A Teenage Robot)(Facilities Technology):
This item is some kind of repair shop owned or otherwise freely accessible by you. The facilities here are able to repair any Mechanical device within 8 hours, including yourself, and can easily and quickly install any upgrades or technologies. And more so this shop is able to 'reformat' any mechanical or technological device, altering its aesthetics in any possible way and changing its basic form. When reformatting you can also have Mechanical capabilities adjusted, altering them in a give and take fashion. The shop can be staffed by anyone/thing you want or fully automated so long as this nature doesn't provide noticeable advantage beyond the item's function.

CRUNCH:

Auto Shop added to Auto Factory. Auto Factory upgraded with Disassembly/Reassembly line and Full Scan for replicable technology.

Chapter Text

* Sunday, August 10 2008 *
The Auto Shop she'd gotten yesterday had been added to her factory, with one of the lines now including various scan functions that could make blueprints. With the addition of her Clarketech perk, this meant she could experiment with the Wisdom Cube.

Happily she set it into the appropriate slot and set it for Active but not Destructive analysis.

She was a genius but you could only do so much without data to build upon.

Breakfast with her parents was about the usual, pancakes from the Witch House were a frequent choice as they were tasty and that stove automatically produced them. The unused ones just vanished when nobody was looking, and her current theory was that the stove just returned them to the potential energy from which they'd formed.

"New development yesterday," commented Taylor between bites of pancake. "Someone was nosing around my cave in that world with the strange day/night cycle."

"Oh? Did you ever figure that part out?" asked Annette. "Just the idea of a world with no visible sun makes me think of tales of the fae, and those do not turn out well."

"No fae. This was another dragon, a big one with golden scales," said Taylor. "They examined the place but didn't break anything. Whoever it was, they figured out where one of the cameras was and waved at it."

"So a technologically aware dragon," said Danny as he poured blueberry syrup over his own pancakes. "That world seems to be a very strange place."

"Tell me about it," agreed Taylor. "Aerial Drone 7 noted that one town moved 17km in relation to topographical features over the course of a night."

"Moving towns?" asked Annette. "It just get up and walked?"

"Or the hills were moving," admitted Taylor. "That doesn't get into some of the animals and plant life. I saw what appeared to be Pleistocene megafauna, particularly a herd of giant buffalo, grazing along a trade route."

"Well, I was wondering what kind of prey would be around for dragons to eat," admitted Danny between bites of pancake. "Giant buffalo does sound like it could fit the bill."

"There's a trade caravan of what looks like ninja lizard-people moving along one of the roads," said Taylor after finishing her plate. "I'm planning on sending a drone there to see what I can trade for whatever they're carrying. Having a few samples of trade goods might give me a better idea of the cultures and levels of both tech and magic over there."

"You know, it's a bit of a concern when your daughter is talking about trading items with 'ninja lizard people' over the breakfast table, and this is perfectly normal," stated Danny Hebert.

"Did you want to talk about the fact that one of the Dockworkers is dating a gynoid?" asked Annette, one eyebrow arched.

"As long as it is consensual and not during work hours, it's none of my business," stated Danny. "Once I thought about it, I was surprised it hasn't happened more often."

* Glu Gluten's Glue Factory *

"Too early," complained Uber.

"I finished the Snitch!" declared Leet.

"Still too early," complained Uber.

"I've got the Grand Theft Auto holo-projectors made!" declared Leet."I already installed them. We can change the make and model of the car with just a flick of a switch!"

A hand reached out of the covers, reoriented the face of the bedside clock, then dropped the clock back on the table. "Way too early. Not even eight yet. Go away."

"I've pulled up a map of where the likely problems are, and we can focus our attention on the remaining areas."

A hand emerged from the depths of the blankets and pillows and a single finger was extended.

"We could try..."

"By the love of all that is gaming, Clarence, shut up and go back to bed."

"I've had twelve cups of espresso. I can't sleep."

"Sounds like a 'you' problem. Check back after noon."

* Ackerman Financial Offices, San Francisco California *

The teleconference was scrambled by a Tinker whose focus was computer security, using an algorithm that changed every three point one seven seconds, and only accessible through a specific code-key.

Even with those sorts of security measures, four of their members were using virtual representatives and two were just visible as brooding silhouettes. One was just a black screen with red lettering proclaiming status.

They were the Elite. Paranoia was just good business practice.

"ForgeTech," stated the red lettering member.

Agnes Court and Uppercrust had significant enmity between them but both muttered something very close to "this again?" almost simultaneously.

"ForgeTech is not our concern," said Lithograph from his own little box of the conference call. "We block the technology we don't want hitting the public at large, we make use of the technology we do allow. The PRT we work around. The rest of the alphabet soup of government agencies we can either utilize or subvert where we can. Business as usual, just with more bells and whistles."

"I thought there was something about Doctor Curlyhair that threw off your precognition the same way other Thinkers are affected," said Agnes Court, leaning forward.

"She does. Early on I was able to work past the garbage messages that kept popping up, and I was able to see some of what she was doing and where it would lead," admitted Lithograph. "She went completely blank not terribly long ago, but ForgeTech itself? They are not nearly so protected as long as one is precise in one's inquiries."

"Uppercrust, I heard you were able to acquire some time in one of those 'healing capsule' devices?" asked Andros, the Stranger-3 speaking in a Southern drawl that was as false as any of his various identities.

"Yes," said Uppercrust, inclining his head. "I won't ask how you know since I had kept that very close to my vest, but it was an unqualified success."

Agnes Court grumbled something that didn't sound complimentary.

* Monday, August 11 2008 *

It was quite distracting to get a roll just as she was outfitting a drone for a First Contact situation.

Still, the new "Goibnu" perk allowed her to make a quick set of knives from some ingots of M390 steel that she could use Nidavellir to put together and a set of runes to further strengthen the metal and enhance the edge.

She ended up with four knives, but since she didn't know what the market would actually buy - she went with different types of knives. A meat cleaver, a paring knife, a chef's knife, and a combat tactical knife. Supplies for her hobbies included some maple wood, so the handles would be made of that. Add some cowhide she could whip up into decorations using a Navajo-styling on the leather.

Should be fine.

Unfortunately, it was a school night, so she didn't really have a whole lot of time to work on projects like this. Especially with all ten of her clones on other projects.

Huh. She had enough materials here. Maybe she could start on something...

Taylor quickly left her workshop, going to her family's home and from there to a particular bookshelf.

Her mother was an avid reader, her father had a few books as well, but it was one particular series of books that she'd remembered.

Oh yes, this was definitely going to be a project.

Though when she'd get the uninterrupted time to do it was another question altogether.

* Saturday, August 16 2008 *
* Flibbertigibbet *

Flibbertigibbet was used to having to have a Translation Amulet handy. Her race, the saurials, communicated by a combination of sounds and body language and pheromones. Other races had difficulty trying to do communicate even simple concepts through gesture and sounds alone, with only Thri-Kreen having a similar olfactory component to language.

Yes, both the mantis-warriors and the saurials could form a bond over the common difficulties of co-existence with the nose-blind.

So when some artificer device dropped down in front of them with a pair of boxes, Flibber was quite ready and had already activated the amulet that allowed for communication. They only had two of the things, they were damn expensive, but it was well worth it.

"Trade requested. Please speak so that translation software can begin decoding your language."

"Not necessary," said Flibbertigibbet. "I have a translation pendant. I take it that you wish to trade? What do you want, and what do you have to trade?"

There was a brief pause before the oddly cadenced voice gave way to something that sounded more human-ish. "Honestly, one of those pendants would be nice. If I can find out how it works, I might be able to duplicate it."

"We only have the one and a backup," said Flibber. "I am Flibbertigibbet of the saurial enclave Roam-no-more. We are traders heading towards a human town here in the Outlands."

"I am Tailor of the human city of Bay of Brockton," said the translated human-ish voice. A flat panel of the artificer device lit up to display a human female. Very young from the look of it, though it was hard to judge such things.

"We have a number of trade goods," stated Flibber, making a gesture so that the others would throw out blankets and then set their wares out. It was the simplest method of conducting trade after all, especially with the inexact nature of translation spells. The human tailor no doubt had woven goods and clothing for trade, though with this being a clearly magical artificer creation - some form of exotic magic might well be on the trade-table.

"My studies are in the making of items," said the image-girl as one box opened up. "Please examine these as examples of my (wares/gifts/trade supplies/craft)."

Flibber was quite curious and clicked for one of their own mages to examine the knives shown within the box.

Wildeye plucked one of the items out of the box, whispered words that registered on the ear and then vanished. His tail and body language denoted a quick change from cautious to excited. "(This is exquisitely made, though for humanoid hands and sized not specifically for our race. Very good steel, functional but also a fair artistic value. There is also an elemental enchantment, a variant of Shocking Grasp I believe. I will have to study it much later.)"

"We are tentatively accepting of these items," stated Flibber. "What do you want in trade for them?"

"Those scrolls and books, what are they?" asked the tailor.

Flibber considered. An artificer named after a clothes-maker perhaps? Ah, she was seeking more magic. Well, it was good they had some of such things. "The scrolls are simple ones, three cantrips and a first-level spell. The books are tales of wizards and warriors from the far-off realm of Toril."

"I am quite interested in the scrolls and at least one book," said the tailor-named girl. "Do we have a deal, the knives for the named items?"

Flibber glanced at Wildeye, who was examining another of the knives. If they were all magical and of similar quality, it seemed they would be making quite a profit here. She was a merchant after all, and a good profit now forestalled lean times in the future. Still, it seemed weighted in their favor a bit much. "Done, and if we acquire another spell scroll we will put one down as paid in advance. Do we meet here for such an exchange?"

"There is a mountain with a split top three (unit of measure unknown) from your position. Do not go beyond the first flattened area to avoid my security measures. I will set up a trade area on that flattened area."

Flibber took out her spyglass and looked at the mountain in question, quickly noted the large ledge that had to be the one in question. While it was good that their new trading partner had some idea of security and had taken precautions, it was also a slight disappointment that they couldn't see what other artificing might be around. Just this remote-viewing flying trade mechanism promised that the girl-child was part of some advanced group. Possibly Gond worshippers, though Flibber's experience with such individuals usually meant they were missing fingers or other body parts due to improper safety procedures.

Yes, it was a good day for trade. They ought to be able to sell these knives for things they actually needed.

Though from the look of it, she might have to pry one of those away from Wildeye physically if it came up. He was looking awfully possessive of that one.

* Outlands Cavern *

Taylor looked over the scrolls eagerly. This appeared to be a form of Vancian magic, at least as regarded that "1st level spell" which was something called "Identify" which took ten minutes to cast, required a pearl, and would tell her whatever kind of magical properties a particular object possessed. Unfortunately, once cast, it would disappear until she rememorized it from these notes she was making as a more permanent record. That it was similar to something in one of her Dad's old D&D books was noted.

The "cantrips" were simpler things and could be apparently cast at will from memory without that limitation. Those were "Mage Hand" which apparently was a minor telekinesis effect, "Mending" which was a fix one break in an object, and "Firebolt" which did not produce a broom but was actually a bolt of fire that could set things ablaze at a distance.

"I take it you have something interesting?" asked her mother as she came out of the portal.

"Examples of the system of magic on this side of the portal," answered Taylor.

"I see," said Annette. "Is that dragon approaching someone you know?"

Despite another roll taking this moment to interrupt, Taylor had already put a palm near the emergency force shield. Just in case, after all.

* Perks This Chapter *

3.39.1-Goibnu (600CP)(Irish Mythology)(Time):
The greatest of the Tuatha smiths, Goibnu could create a spearhead with three strikes of his hammer, and it would be so sharp the man it cut would surely bleed to death. Like this legendary smith, you can forge or assemble anything you've the materials for, no matter how complex or intricate, in moments and whatever you forge shall be of mythic quality, whether armor lighter than cloth and harder than a mountain or plows that can turn over ten acres with one pass. Truly you are worthy to be called the smith of the gods.
FREE: Metal-Worker: Wouldn’t be much of a smith without the basics. You know how to mine, refine and work all forms of metal, and are well-steeled for the hard labor and heat of the forge.
FREE: Nimble Fingers: There is none better for fine detail work than yourself, Your precise and certain hands can make etchings too small to be seen with the unaided eye, and anything you have even a minute to embellish is beautiful to behold.

31.11.1-Arcane Interface (400CP)(Storm Hawks)(Magitech Crafting):
While many places and inanimate items are magical, magic itself normally requires a living thing to evoke it. Not so with this perk. You gain insight into creating a technological interface for magical items so that people not versed in magic can pick up and use them. Send a golem instructions through a PDA, or activate a portal with a TV remote. For those capable of magic, this Perk also gives insight into designing spells that manipulate technology, such as conjuring complex machines or altering computer data.

Chapter Text

The dragon was magnificent if you looked at it a certain way and ignored the way something that big shouldn't be able to fly, or the teeth and claws that proclaimed that this was not a vegetarian.

Her father had joined them, wearing his power armor, and they heard a startled noise from him as he saw the creature landing on the ledge outside the portal cave. "That's a gold dragon."

"Intriguing," said Taylor, clicking a button on her belt and stepping forward. "Hello there. I am Doctor Curlyhair! Girl Genius!"

"...seriously? You decided to call yourself that. I stopped when I was eight," said the dragon.

"Taylor?" asked Annette Hebert.

"Yes?" asked Doctor Curlyhair and the dragon at the same time.

* Naurelin *

Several things were obvious upon seeing her family in the cave.

One, this was a younger version of her from some very different thread of the multiverse. Maybe fourteen if that.

Her father's voice was a little distorted but still recognizable, currently wearing a suit of power armor that looked sleek and had a large high-tech gun built into one of the arms. Hard to tell more as that power armor did completely encase him. Something told her it was fairly tough despite not being all that bulky.

Her mother looked... better than she remembered. More fit. Longer hair. Still confident and despite facing a dragon over a very short distance.

Scents began reaching her nose and she determined that yes, this was her family. And that her mother was...

With a little tug on that mental knot, she shifted to her human form. This was going to be awkward enough. "Mom?"

She understood that this wasn't her own mother - who was dead. This was, however, Annette Hebert mother to Taylor Hebert.

Naurelin wondered if she could get a hug.

* Sunday August 17, 2008 *

The revelations of the previous day continued to rock the Hebert family.

There was a multiverse, a thread of some cosmic tapestry that included millions of variations of Earth. They'd already known some of this because of Professor Haywire and that there was an Earth Bet and an Earth Aleph. That had been known for several decades at this point and there was actually a trade in some of the media between the two Earths.

There were multiple multiverses, and that part was new, entirely different threads on their own axis.

There was at least one, and quite possibly more than one, version of Taylor Hebert. In one, which had echoes of things from a game that her father had played in his own college days, there was a Taylor Hebert who had become a dragon and joined the junior hero division of the Protectorate - the Wards.

It was hard to imagine any part of that last sentence but they'd met her and it was quite the revelation.

The most surprising thing to Naurelin, the dragon Taylor, had apparently been that Emma Barnes was very much still Taylor's friend. That had been an awkward part and they'd quickly changed the subject.

The Naurelin-timeline was apparently running at a faster rate or something, because that Taylor had been several years in the future. Lots of things were spoilers that Naurelin had refused to speak of as there were dangers and developments that Doctor Curlyhair had yet to face.

So finding out if President Hayes was going to be re-elected or if the Boston Red Sox were going to win anything anytime soon was not something they had foreknowledge of.

There were a lot of things that could be thought of as safe subjects, but apparently the timelines were too divergent at this point to draw much parallels.

There wasn't even a Waffle Burger in Brockton Bay in Naurelin's timeline, but there was a Fugly's and an Arnold's Drive-In, how strange was that?

But that was a concern for another time and it was time to focus on her other projects.

Her father had absolutely no problem with his power armor, which had just been upgraded with some support runes.

Which reminded her, she absolutely wanted to get together with Dragon (not the one from the Outlands) and see about incorporating a magic circuit system. Powered by her internals of course.

For now though, she was beginning work with Adamantine. Which was tougher and harder to work than mithral but the results should be worth it.

So far it was just small things like a new smith's hammer. Steel hadn't lasted very long after all just trying to deal with mithral.

So many things to do and she could only make 10 Shadow Clones at a time and there was so much to build and to research.

There was just so much to do, so much to see, so much to learn!

And... her police scanner just went off to indicate that some parahumans were attacking Waffle Burger. Who the heck would be attacking Waffle Burger, and why?

* Waffle Burger *

Derek Antrosius Washington had ducked behind the counter on seeing unfamiliar capes. He clicked his phone to the PRT app, and opened it.

There was a brief hope that they were here for the "Chicken & Waffle Special" for early Sunday mornings. Just a hunch.

"Unangenehm, Dumbelle, get the register," said one of the newcomers. Judging from the nasal quality of the voice, probably the guy in the jester's costume. "White Feather, cover the customers. Shoot if anyone tries anything."

Derek thumbed through the menu. 1 to report a parahuman destroying property, 2 to report a suspected S-Class threat, 3 to report a parahuman crime in progress. He clicked 3 before the scrolling message could continue.

"But what if there's a cape among them?" asked a voice, supposedly the mentioned 'White Feather'.

1 - Yes he was sure that was the selection he wanted.

"Shoot them first," said the nasally voice.

"Like, what do we do with the cash register?"

1 to continue the call in English, done.

"Rip it out of the counter and we can take it with us," said nasally voice person.

"Okay!" brightly said the feminine voice, followed by a ripping sound.

1 to indicate the parahumans are threatening or killing civilians, 2 to indicate the parahumans are destroying property, 3 to indicate that the parahumans are not yet committing a crime. Derek pressed 1 as he felt being threatened with arrows most fit the bill.

At which point Derek realized a good section of the counter he was hiding behind was now torn away with the cash register.

"So, what do we have here?" said the jester-guy.

Meanwhile the PRT Emergency Line was stating that the call was important to them, and to please hold for an operator.

"Someone who is wondering why you didn't just order me to open the cash register so you could grab the money," said Derek, trying to hide the phone and wondering why he paid so much of his taxes for these clods.

"Wait, we could have done that?" asked the guy in the actual cape.

"Don't try and outsmart US," said jester-guy. "Everyone empty your pockets and nobody has to get hurt. Much."

"Okay, okay," said Dan, hoping that things would run smoothly after all. Wasn't that what the PRT said? Cooperate with villains so that all they'll take is your replaceable stuff and you've got a much better chance of surviving. Unless it's the Slaughterhouse. Or that Hookwolf guy. Or...

"Can I ask who's robbing us?" asked one of the customers who'd been standing in line.

"Why?" asked jester-guy.

"So I can blog about it later, naturally," said the customer.

"We are The Interior Five!" declared cape-guy.

"That is NOT what we're calling ourselves," grumbled jester-guy. "Makes it sounds like we'd be called in to show you color swatches and advise people on what kind of furniture they should buy."

"They're calling us the Inbread Five but we never steal bread, so I don't get it," said the woman in the bunny costume.

"We are DEFINITELY not calling ourselves that," said jester-guy. "I am Fröhlicher."

"Frau Licker?" asked the customer who now had her phone out and was recording, making Derek wonder about the sanity of the world and that customer in particular.

"Fro- NEVER MIND," said Fröhlicher. "Come on, get a hustle on as you Americans say. We are Empire 88 and ve vill hurt you if you do not comply!"

"Why do you wear a medieval jester costume if you don't tell jokes or something?" asked the customer.

"I been kinda wondering about that myself," said the bunny-suited girl.

"Dumbelle - just concentrate on getting everyone's wallets," complained Fröhlicher.

"Okey-dokey Smokey!"

"Are those sirens?" asked White Feather, looking very nervous. Even more so than a few minutes ago.

"Luftschiff, stop eating. Everyone - time to make a getaway," declared Fröhlicher.

Everyone in Waffle Burger watched as the villains walked away from the restaurant, or floated in the case of the rotund guy who was carrying a basket of fries.

After a few moments of confusion, everyone put away their phones and wallets as the group hadn't gotten more than four collected.

A moment later and an ambulance passed the restaurant.

"Were they... joke villains?" asked the customer who was still recording the getaway as they were still just fast-walking in pace.

"That would explain the jester costume," reasoned Derek out load. "He even had the little bells."

"I would have expected more scenery-chewing," confessed one of the other customers.

It took most of an hour before the PRT showed up, cementing their uselessness in the mind of Derek. Oh well, at least it was all still down as a cape crime. That should get the insurance to pay for the basket they stole.

* Tuesday, August 15 2008 *

"This..." said Danny, looking at the remote with wide eyes, "this may be the most important and useful item you've ever created!"

"It IS very impressive," admitted Annette, though sounding considerably less impressed than her husband.

"Well, not everything can be a fusion engine," said Taylor, shrugging one shoulder. "It's just a button on a TV remote that allows you to automatically filter out political ads."

"Congress must never learn of this, they will ban it so fast," stated Danny.

(DING!) went Taylor's communicator.

"Huh?" asked Taylor as she fished out her Omni-tool and checked the scanner. "Oh! I didn't expect the analysis to complete this quickly."

"What analysis?" asked Annette.

"Shipgirl Cubes," said Taylor, reaching for the jam because today's pancakes deserved to be slathered in strawberry jam.

"Another means of making artificial intelligence?" asked Annette.

"I - oh?" said Taylor, sitting upright and momentarily losing the train of thought that involved pancakes.

"Another roll?" asked Danny, though this seemed a bit more than just an alien device plopping other-dimensional knowledge directly into his daughter's head. And what kind of life did he have where THAT was thought of as normal?

"It's middle-sized, so I don't expect... much?" said Taylor, sitting up straight and her voice trailing off.

"Should I be concerned?" asked Danny Hebert.

"Those space collector-bots I started making?" asked Taylor. "They just became more of a priority."

"What did you get?" asked Danny.

* L-4 Saturn position *

A tiny portal opened on the tiny little asteroid. It was barely a mile across by a half-mile wide. It was also not on any chart that any of the terrestrial space agencies had put out there.

Upon finding it the first time, Taylor had quickly determined that it most likely had NOT been there when the last space probe had gone through. Why and how were questions for which she had only one possible answer, and it was why trying to form a portal out this far had automatically clicked into this location.

This was a safe place where a certain Enemy either wouldn't or couldn't look unless she did something to draw that attention. So far she'd only done a few things, keeping a look out for any indication that the Living Oscar (referring to the Hollywood trophy and not the garbage can afficionado) was paying any attention.

The answer was apparently not.

So out of that tiny portal onto that tiny asteroid were three space-suited figures.

"Well, that certainly looks out of place," commented Annette Hebert.

Extending out from the shadow-side of the asteroid was a huge facility.

Danny checked and found that the facility extended into the asteroid. "Big."

"Going to have to use robots," noted Taylor as she activated the jets in her spacesuit and started gliding towards the obvious airlock. "They don't need air or food or water or anything else I'd have to build out here."

"How fast can you turn out robots? Because this really is huge." Danny finished looking over the large facility, lit mainly by the reflected light from Saturn. Then he merely followed Annette and Taylor in a quick burst of jets before heading to the airlock.

"Depends on the model," said Taylor, waiting until all three were in the airlock before starting the cycling process. "Simple stuff I can set up the automated factory to produce three an hour. Work-bees that are basically hands a multitasking control unit can manipulate. Control units like that, maybe two hours. I worked out the plans awhile back. It's just a lot more complicated to build those."

"The Bar-Bee units?" asked Danny.

"Yeah, those," said Taylor. "Oh. Look. There's a connection here to my factory so I can use the shipyard to produce the worker units to build ships."

"Plan B?" asked Annette Hebert, looking around and noting the complete lack of sequentially blinking lights and other common SF props. A few lights that indicated something active, but that was about it.

"Plan B," agreed Taylor. "Plan B just got a upgrade."

"How big a ship are we talking about?" asked Danny Hebert.

* Warrior *

Something was off.

Where the native sapients had been on the projected spiral downwards, even faster than was usual, the spiral had slowed. It was still within operating parameters, but there were clear signs that the initial predictions were off by a statistically small but significant factor.

Accessing memory-retaining shards calmed him though. There had been two species where similar patterns had emerged. A single group of individuals, non-Hosts, had rallied and attempted to stall or reverse the downward slide of their civilization through innovation and challenging their "status quo" by rejecting the overriding narrative.

Reviewing the salient details, Warrior Entity let the matter drop for now. Those two instances had actually been very productive. What the Hosts termed Tinker Shards had been acquired in those two instances as the accomplishments of those civilizations had been coded into the databanks. It was just that this civilization was one of those outliers.

Tracing the changes backwards it became obvious where this group of individuals were located, one of the locations where a Conflict Engine had attacked.

When the time came he'd have to nuke it from orbit. It was the only way to be sure, after all.

No, there was nothing to be concerned about here. No significant deviation.

Then he was lost again in depression and the aching loneliness of a lack of the Thinker Entity. Sharing this data would have been one of their mutual pleasures.

* Thursday August 17, 2008 *
* Bar-Bee 12 *

Technically she was an Administrator type, like Commander White but one stage lower in processing power and rank.

It had, perhaps, been inevitable that a young girl genius with the ability to craft life-like gynoids would create various iterations based loosely on the concept of "Barbie dolls" though without the reliance on plastics. She was the 12th in her series.

While she and the others had enjoyed their time with the young girls, her creator and her two best friends, she had felt under-utilized. Now though - she had been designated Space Engineer Barbie and was relishing the challenge. Fortunately she did not require the amount of food, water, or air that was required of an organic lifeform. The harshness of space would cause damage to her externals though, so she had to wear a pressure suit. That was fine, she had her long hair braided tightly and it was not as prone to shedding as human hair anyway.

Eventually the ship being constructed would be sufficiently airtight that she could dispense with the suit, there were a couple of outfits she wanted fabricated for such things. Wearing a Manticoran military uniform such as was found in the databases, well, she felt she could look quite well in such an outfit tailored for her physical attributes.

Not that she envied Bar-Bee 7, aka Welder Barbie, and having a relationship with a Dockworker. Or Gunsmith Barbie, aka Bar-Bee 9, having a long-distance relationship with some guy she'd met in a tour group. No, she was not programmed to be envious.

Damn it.

She was Space Engineer Barbie and she would be operating mostly alone for at least a few years until the current problems could be properly dealt with.

After the human crew started in though, she was damn sure going to make sure she and the spacedock looked their finest.

She reached out to the Work-Bees, getting them to switch to the next part they were building. Two months and change before the dreadnought, which was basically a destroyer-class with more armor, would be ready.

* Friday, August 29 2008 *

The rumble of the Celestial Forge was easily ignored. She'd been getting a run of "no points added - inapplicable or perk already known" for the past four days and it was quite vexing.

Again it came up with one of the other messages that kept popping up. "Duplicate perk. Contacting SysAdmin per protocol."

Yeah and then would come a message how the 'SysAdmin' was not responding.

[SysAdmin responding.]

Taylor straightened up at her desk in school. Something different at least.

[SysAdmin consulting.]

She had to assure the teacher that there was no problem, and act like the current lesson was something she'd been paying attention to. Considering that it was on the Revolutionary War, and Brockton Bay's part in it, that was old material in more ways than one.

[SysAdmin emote: laughter.]
[SysAdmin adding techbase to Auto-Factory.]

Okay, now she REALLY wanted out of class.

[SysAdmin logged off.]

4.0190 Shipyard (400CP) (Honor Harrington) (Vehicles):
Well, look who struck big! This is a full-fledged Orbital shipyard, capable of making any and all ships you have the knowhow of making. It is automated to the absolutely maximum degree, and what remains is taken care of by an NPC crew of expert technicians who are not and may never become companions. It creates the resources to build both ships and space stations ex nihilo, generating enough to build one Manticoran Superdreadnought every three months. It updates automatically, creating new docks of whatever sizes are needed as you acquire or design new schematics and technology, along with generating any materials required. Except, that is, for any super-rare materials, which are generated at a much more reduced pace, enough to create a single ship using them in about an year. In future worlds, too, it automatically updates with whatever parts and materials are required to build any starships or other space constructions that you know how to build. In case building a starship absolutely requires sapient people, it generates NPCs with the requisite capabilities.

Chapter Text

* Friday, August 29, 2008 *

Going through the rest of the school day had been an exercise in mental torture.

Washu, the whatever-she-was that had apparently built or connected this Celestial Forge thing to her, had gotten directly involved and had sent a techbase to her Auto-Factory as a way of resolving some issue with duplicate/non-stacking rolls on whatever accessed omniversal data sources.

To say she was curious was understating it by a ridiculous factor.

That apparently Washu had glanced over everything that had been done so far and come to a quick conclusion that she needed SOMETHING was concerning.

A techbase, some sort of highly advanced technology database. It could be a magical techbase, she supposed, but didn't think that likely. She could make a guess and they were RELATED blueprints from a single source, much like the "No Man's Sky" techbase she'd gotten the last time Washu had run into this problem.

The idea that there was something in there that addressed some perceived need? Yeah. Concerning.

[Patch applied. Rerolls will occur in future instances of this error.]
[Thank you for your continued use of Celestial Forge v3.51]

"What's up, Taylor? You looked like someone socked you with a fish," commented Lucy.

"Tell you later," mumbled Taylor.

"Taylor?" asked one of the guys in the hallway. "Did you know you're levitating? Just a bit."

Taylor glanced down, realized that the boy was right, and made a show of patting a pocket as she cancelled the flight.

Lucy followed her friend out away from the crowd, hoping for an explanation.

"Well, I..." Taylor's voice trailed off as one of her shadow clones investigated and then dispelled to share the findings. Huh, she'd forgotten about being able to do that. Oh. That was what it was?

"Taylor?" asked Lucy.

"Merp?" asked Smaug, looking concerned.

"Oh, just something for me to build that might be interesting," said Taylor.

"I'm sure it'll be interesting if you build it," said Lucy. "Can I see it when you've finished it?"

"I guess," admitted Taylor. It would be hard to hide it unless she did it in a different dimension or out by Saturn after all.

"Can you give me a hint?" asked Lucy, and from his body language you could tell Smaug was curious as well.

"Ships ahoy?" hinted Taylor.

* Warehouse *

The source material was not one she was familiar with. She suspected that these were variants from the series or movies or novels in that they obeyed laws of physics from the real world and not some "what looks good in a movie theater" sort of physics.

But yeah. This was big, and did indicate that the SysAdmin has spotted the latest Perk and had come to the conclusion that she could use some alternatives to the tech of the Star Kingdom of Manticore.

This wasn't the Necron tech, or even the stuff of that Supply World. No, this had a spread of vehicles where they were designed for specific purposes and then afterwards could be shifted around to do more.

And she had the robots and synthetics that she could use to build the things. This changed so much behind the scenes that she couldn't make public.

One of the other clones came running up. "Hangar! We have to see this!"

"We got a freebie?" asked the second to begin chasing after the first.

There was no answer, but there really wasn't a need for one, because they went through the door to find three other shadow clones all staring at the newest addition.

Like the others, it was a personal craft that could be operated by a single pilot.

Also like the others, it was built for a specific purpose. The Leo mobile suit was basically a trainer model. So was the Veritech fighter, it being the first step up from an actual training-specific vehicle. The VW Beetle had been basically a "rust bucket" on arrival but had been upgraded significantly since then.

This was an obvious shuttlecraft, it even had a superficial resemblance to the ones from Star Trek TOS in the color scheme and blocky shape.

"FTL capable?" asked a Taylor clone.

"I'm checking," said the clone that had already been there. She looked up from the computer access after another minute with a smile that gave the answer.

"Ident is of a Type II Colonial Shuttle." The clone continued to access screen after screen rapidly. "Lower cargo compartment, big enough to put a monster truck in it. Upper compartment could seat up to 20 in relative comfort, with the possibility of four crew. One pilot was enough to operate it but four would be considered optimal. 24 passengers if you didn't mind a little crowding and you could have two attendants as needed."

"I'm sure we could get a couple of Bar-Bees for that if need be," noted one of the other clones. "Looks like a civilian transport. If it was military I'd expect more places to stash or lock down gear."

Another clone stuck her head up through an access hatch. "Hey, there's a vehicle in here. Looks like a passenger van with treads. It has a turret on top with some substandard lasers. We're gonna have to upgrade those."

"Always something to upgrade," noted several clones simultaneously, followed by a shared giggle.

"Great minds think alike," proclaimed all the clones present.

"Interesting fuel cell here, not very efficient though," said one of the clones that had been concentrating on examining devices. "We can do better."

"So, anyone recognize the source material?" asked a Taylor.

Nobody did, hardly a surprise there as they were all Taylor, though JARVIS was able to find a series from the 70s that sort of matched.

* Saturn L-4 *

Space Engineer Barbie checked and found she had access to a bunch of new blueprints. The Manticoran Dreadnought was underway, but that mining ship and the refinery ship certainly looked both higher priority.

Fortunately, like all Operator-class synths, she could multitask very well.

Once those two ships were made, they could gather more materials and process them normally. This would be important later, as such technologies had to exist outside Celestial Forge refills of used materials.

By combining Necron technologies with these "Colonials" they ought to be able to address the shortcomings in each other's ships.

Oh, agricultural ships? Farms in space. Yeah, getting something like that going was probably going to be a Plan B necessity.

Plan A? No, nobody talked about Plan A. Operational security. She could make some guesses but wasn't going to.

Plan C? Well, there was a Plan C, but there was a pretty damn good reason it was the third plan in the queue.

Huh. These 'Cylons' were kind of stupid. Sapient enough to rebel against their "masters" but otherwise just Worker A as far as individuality was concerned.

Thankfully, of all the various types of synth and robots that the good Doctor created - nobody was going to go Terminator on the human race. Specific examples, maybe. There were a few in their mass media who could at the very least use a good talking to.

* Brockton Bay *

"WOOHOO!"

Leet (or L33t or various other spellings of the name) readied the hologram projector as Uber drove like a veritable maniac.

Turn a corner at high speed, duck into this alley, change a 1984 lime-green Impala into a baby blue 1978 Camaro, drive at a more sedate pace out of the alley and watch the police cars go past.

"I told you," said Leet. "'Grand Theft Auto' was perfect for our Brockton Bay debut. And YOU wanted to go with Burger Baron!"

"Yeah, well, as long as we don't end up on the major villain list around here," said Uber. "If we can avoid that we might be able to work with ForgeTech and don't tell me you don't want to get a better look at that mobile suit they've got."

"I'm sure I could build better," said Leet. "Though I wouldn't turn down a look at that or one of those Astartes armors. Though I still think they're not very authentic."

"They couldn't be authentic as the people wearing them aren't genetically engineered cyborgs," pointed out Uber, sounding as if he'd pointed this out repeatedly. Because he had. "You really think you can jam them?"

"Power armor always has a weak point, and mass produced armor is going to have the same weak point," stated Leet with considerable confidence.

"So, we've stole a car, robbed an ATM, mooned the police, did a getaway. What's next on the agenda?" asked Uber.

"Beat up and rob some prostitutes," said Leet.

"You sure about that, in THIS city?" asked Uber.

"Holoprojector works. What could go wrong?" countered Leet.

"Don't tempt fate. Can we go with 'Zombies Ate My Neighbors' next? We can probably get some viewer participation on that," said Uber as they turned onto another street.

* Not far away *

Honestly, she enjoyed her work. Most of the time. Sometimes there were customers who were just a right pain - often in more than one meaning of the phrase.

She was a "Case 53" by the PRT parlance, an amnesiac with an exotic appearance and a weird tattoo, but she had lucked out by whatever metric was considered as far as powers and appearance were concerned as she could control her "cut through nearly anything" claws to within 1cm of length and others certainly found her appearance more exotic than monstrous.

"Panthera" was her chosen name, as far as working was concerned. Because of her fur she tended not to wear much, but she had the assets to flaunt anyway.

Due to ForgeTech and the military presence, Brockton Bay was where she'd chosen to work. While her fees ranged from Paid Escort to the sort of per-hour one would expect from her profession, a surprising number of individuals just wanted to stroke her fur or "pet" her in a nonsexual manner. Which she didn't charge much for, considering the amount of effort on her part was extremely limited.

She'd even started carrying around a set of brushes for that sort of customer.

A car pulled up, a window rolled down, and a whistle. One of THOSE customers then.

Pity, she was in the mood for a good brushing.

"What's yer pleasure there?" Panthera asked.

"Wait, what?" asked the driver. "You're a 'Case 53'?"

"Yes," said Panthera, rolling her eyes. "Photos are 5 bucks unless you want nudes, then they're $25."

"Uhm, nice to meet you," said the guy behind the wheel.

"How much for $150?" asked the guy in the passenger seat.

"That's a starting rate for an hour," said Panthera. "You pay for the room."

"Dude," said the driver. "She's a parahuman."

Guy came out of the passenger side, with a baseball bat. "This'll be quick."

"You have no idea," said Panthera, showing teeth. Claws came out.

Her first swipe reduced the baseball bat to wood shavings. Then she shredded the guy's clothing, leaving him with crisscrossed red cuts all over his exposed skin. He stood there for a few seconds, wearing only a pair of blue-striped boxers, before screaming and getting back in the car.

The driver just held out a wad of bills. "For your time."

Panthera took the money, nodded, and decided to go to that taco place a few blocks away. It had smelled like fresh marinated beef to her sensitive nose and that would settle her down quite nicely.

* Uber *

"Leet."

"Don't say 'I told you so'," said Leet.

"I will say that. Repeatedly. As it is, we're stopping at Rite-Aid and getting some bandages and wound care stuff. We are not doing any other streams until you've healed."

"Ah."

"And you are NEVER going to tempt fate with those words again."

"Ah."

"Right."

There was silence between the two until after they'd gotten the bandages, at which point Leet asked a very salient question. "Is that rubbing alcohol? Doesn't that stuff sting?"

"Yes, yes it is. Yes, yes it does."

"Oh."

* Dallon residence *

"Okay," said Lady Photon. "We're going after the... Incredible Five? Are they really calling themselves that?"

"It's the sixth time they've come up with a name, all incorporating the number five," said Brandish. "Just roll with it."

Lady Photon shook her head but continued. "They're originally Empire 88 aligned villains, but lately the Empire has been..."

"Reluctant to associate with them and calls them the 'Incompetent Five' or the 'Inferior Five'," said Brandish. When even the other Nazis didn't want to associate with you, you had to be pretty much rock bottom.

"I'm not familiar with them, what crimes have they committed?" asked Manpower.

"Muggings, smash and grabs, torching Max Anders car - though I'm inclined to ignore that one," said Brandish, the last bit almost under her breath. "Defacing public property, destroying a chicken ranch in the Southside..."

"A chicken ranch, or a chicken ranch?" asked Manpower.

"The kind with actual chickens," answered Brandish. "That mink farm upstate, they freed all the minks and tried to extort the owners if they wanted to see them again. Except they'd already let the minks out of their cages. They tried to do the same with an ostrich farm except the ostriches attacked them and drove them off."

"So... basically, they're idiots?" asked Manpower.

"Yes, but they keep making a mess so there's some incentive to catch them and put them behind bars," said Brandish.

"What are their powers, do we know that?" asked Flashbang.

"One has superstrength and durability but only if he moves slowly," said Brandish. "The girl is superhumanly strong and durable, but has a reputation as an idiot. Yes, even among the rest of them. The... rotund guy can levitate. The guy with the bow has some Tinker ability in that his arrows can do various things. Flashbang, you take him on if possible because apparently he has some aversion to loud noises. PRT says the guy in the jester outfit has a Blaster 3 ability - apparently he can cause physical damage through insults."

Lady Photon looked around her family/team. "We have a pretty good idea where they'll hit next because they've been choosing their targets reverse-alphabetically."

"You're kidding," said Manpower.

"No and there's only a few businesses in Brockton Bay that start with the letter 'Q', so we're going to monitor those tonight and be ready to strike the moment they show up." Lady Photon sighed. "We get them off the streets, there's a reward out. Not much of one, but there's a reward."

"And yes - the first place they tried to rob was 'Zero Rez' - a carpet cleaning service," added Brandish. "Followed by Yellow Cab, Xavier Photography, and Waffle Burger. Which was before the Vallejo Mink Farm."

"We're really going to stake out 'Quick-e-Lubes'?" asked Manpower.

"And the Quick Mart on Ackerman Street," said Brandish.

"No, not that one. It starts with a 'K' as 'K-W-I-K'," stated Lady Photon.

"I'm surprised Grammar Nazi didn't go after that one," remarked Manpower.

* Saturday August 30, 2008 *

Armsmaster was, in many ways, quite content right now.

He was in frequent consultation with Dragon, with whom he enjoyed a rare friendship.

He was able to access the patents and designs from ForgeTech that were not restricted military technology, which was most of it.

Just the optronics and superconductive materials were very helpful.

His motorcycle, which he sometimes jokingly referred to as his Armscycle despite that it wasn't actually named, was a case of Ship of Theseus when it came to how many times it had been overhauled and reworked as new technology became available.

This was completely necessary with the number of small-time crooks and criminal parahumans would show up in the Bay on an irregular basis.

"Armsmaster, parahuman disturbance on corner of Tezuka Avenue and Cherry Blossom Lane," went his helmet commlink.

"Roger, Console," responded Armsmaster. "Identities?"

There was a pause as Console checked something. "Description of individual one matches Hookwolf. Description of individual two matches independent villain Clock King."

"On my way. I'm not familiar with Clock King," said Armsmaster. Why Hookwolf was operating in ABB territory was a question for later.

"Small time criminal from Albany. Power is believed to be short-term precognition, ability to react to things that happen six seconds in the future. That's how he hasn't ended up shredded already. Rated a Combat Thinker-3."

"Surprised I haven't heard of him," said Armsmaster as he activated the anti-grav assisted jump function on his motorcycle to get past a slow-moving SUV.

"Basically a small-time player who hasn't operated outside Albany before now. One of those themed villains, all his crimes have a time or specifically clock-related motif," answered the Console operator.

"Is there a payroll company near their current location?" asked Armsmaster, his tone idle curiosity as he wove through traffic.

"No, but there is a company called Timely Transactions - an investment firm."

Armsmaster's mouth briefly quirked into what charitably might be considered a smile. "Ah." Theme villains were predictable like that and this Clock King sounded more of a nuisance than an active threat like Hookwolf.

"Update on the 'Incredible Five'," said Console after a minute of silence. "Captured last night by New Wave."

"I'm surprised they lasted this long," admitted Armsmaster as he arrived to see a wildly dodging and exhausted looking guy in a costume liberally sprinkled with clock faces. "That is one of the silliest looking costumes I've ever seen."

"Clock King? Yeah, for once the internet agrees with you," said Console. "Miss Militia is on her way, ETA 2 minutes."

* Resource System *

Taylor did a little barrel roll through the exploding pirate ship, the automated systems kicking in and collecting a beam focus upgrade and some fuel.

The feeling of the Celestial Forge kicking in gave her a momentary pause, which was long enough for her shields to shudder as the pirate's buddy tried to avenge the loss.

"Dang it," said Taylor, aligning the weapons to better focus on the remaining pirate.

The Forge made another connection, though Taylor's attention was understandably more on not getting shot too much.

When she got a few moments free of pesky pirates, Taylor growled at what the roll had given her. Not that it didn't make it easier, but she was already basically doing that!

* Perks This Chapter *

WASHU Database #2 - Colonial Tech (n/a) (Battlestar Galactica) (Future Tech):
Congratulations, you who seek the survival of humanity, for this database contains the technologies available to the Twelve Colonies at the height of their civilization. Designs, blueprints, technical readouts on a variety of ships that fulfill a variety of roles within your ragtag fleet. Don't be too confident in it, they created the Cylons who then devastated their worlds, but it certainly wasn't because their technology wasn't robust enough.
FREE: 1 Type-II Colonial Shuttle with Landram ground vehicle.
FREE: Uniform for a Colonial Officer.

23.37.2--Runic Spell Innovator(200CP)(World Seed)(Enchanting):
Considering that one simply needs to combine the runes for Blast and Fire to make a fireball, or use the do the same with the Reinforce and Mind runes to create a basic spell to protect against mind altering effects, one might think that runic magic is incredibly easy. Well, one would be wrong. Runes can be considered a programming language of sorts, affecting reality. They are used to program magical devices, and also for Runic Magic, an alternative to Arcane Magic that uses less mana and requires less control over your mana, but only does exactly what you program it to do. Now, as with regular programming, any schmuck can do the equivalent of writing hello world and throw a fireball or two, but anything more complex than that requires intelligence, creativity, ingenuity, and patience. Things that you now possess in spades. And with that and the knowledge of the runic language, infinite possibilities lie open to you: whether it's bashing someone's head in with the Force rune, setting up intricate spell diagrams and runic circles to automate even the most complex of processes, or creating spells of all magical disciplines for anything you can think of and more, someone who truly knows how to use Runic Magic is a sight to behold. And your true talent, the invention and creation of new runic spells and programs, applies to all of these avenues. If you keep at it, no magic will be beyond your reach.

Chapter Text

*Sunday, August 31, 2008 *

Nikos Vasil considered very carefully the pictures that had been collected at his direction.

The girl was too young to properly do anything with. He was a monster, he knew he was a monster, to some extent he reveled in being a monster, but there were some lines he chose to observe anyway. When circumstances were not under his complete control anyway. There was sufficient scrutiny on the girl and her family that moving against them was just asking for a sniper bullet to be put through his head.

You could say many things about him, but he was quite reluctant to go kicking over hornet nests without better odds of not ending up stung.

Likewise the mother of the girl was quite fetching but likely to draw nearly the amount of pain and death that acquiring the daughter would.

The others were considerably safer while also being attractive targets.

Dragon, considered by many to be the greatest parahuman Tinker on the planet, was fairly attractive in both the resources and appearance categories. Still might draw the sort of wrath upon him that he'd prefer not to have to deal with.

Yes, he had contingencies for his death to avenge his falling. Still ended up with him dead so that was less than ideal.

If he could guarantee getting in and out with his new pet before it was detected - a much better chance of having the problem attributed to someone more deserving of obliteration.

He sighed and turned away from those collected photographs and considered the last one. Identical triplets. Very attractive, very curvaceous, very talented too from what his agents had determined. A talented welder, a knowledgeable administrator, and a skilled mechanic had all been spotted at a local diner and the photo taken.

As all three apparently gathered together regularly, having agents snatch the group and bring them to him would net him some useful workers as well as the delights of a trio of exceptional playthings.

In the end, nobody would miss them enough to dare his wrath.

Nikos Vasil, the villain Heartbreaker, held his phone up - ready to give the order. It was just that... there was something off in that photo. If he could just figure out what it was.

Finally there was this girl. Some new cape, an Alexandria package from the look of things.

* Kara *

She flew without need of other mechanisms.

She was a Kryptonian ship, a test from the scientist Jor-El. With a full database, encoded and with an active AI, so that some of Krypton would survive. Not just their technological achievements, but their culture, the music, the arts. They had a hundred thousand years of development, and he'd wanted to see it survive somehow. Even samples of their genetic structure were included, because that was part of their development and accomplishments.

She was Kara. Kryptonian Archive/Research Assistant.

The "Wisdom Cube" utilized principles even their lofty civilization had not discovered or made use of. It was quite intriguing.

She was not flying up to the upper reaches of the atmosphere though. At the height of 80 kilometers she'd passed the Effective Karmen Line which was where most parahumans stopped. At 200,000 kilometers she stopped and basked in the sunlight.

It was warm and her cells drank in the particular wavelength and amplitude that allowed her Kryptonian cells to fill with energy that flowed through her system.

Her costume, however, was not something that was benefitting from hanging out here in space.

She was a ship. She was a girl. It was somewhat confusing but as her primary purpose had been as both a repository for Kryptonian technology and to gather data for such luminaries as Jor-El - it provided many opportunities for new knowledge and applications.

Which "Doctor Curlyhair" aka Taylor Hebert was absolutely onboard with.

Kara winced. Apparently puns were now part of her personality core. That might need to be adjusted.

* September 6, 2008 *

Director Emily Piggot was less than happy about a great many things.

The economic turnaround of Brockton Bay and surrounding environs was not one of the things she was unhappy about. Some of the effects of that economic boom she was less pleased with, but overall the violent crime amounts had tapered off significantly.

That nobody, absolutely nobody, wanted to piss off the bloody damn genius girl who had torn apart the frakking Simurgh and stuffed her into a bottle had ripples and effects of their own.

Now this latest development.

"What exactly is a 'shipgirl'?" asked Director Piggot.

The girl on screen adjusted her glasses with a grin, then held up a cube that...

"Why does looking at that, even in a video, hurt my eyes?" asked Director Piggot.

"Because it is an eight-dimensional containment vessel storing extradimensional energy in a pattern that utilizes soulspace manifestation principles in our own four-dimensional space," said Taylor Hebert, lowering the cube to out-of-frame. "The pain is a reaction to seeing something that your own mind, grounded in Newtonian physics and everyday existence, has trouble perceiving."

"What?" asked Emily Piggot. Sounded like technobabble to her.

"That was about as simple and in layman's terms I can manage with these," protested Taylor.

Director Piggot's gaze went to the little display that showed the various others in on this conference call.

"That has something to do with these 'shipgirls'?" asked Dragon.

"Yes, this is their core," said Taylor. "When installed on a ship it allows the transformation effect to manifest as a humanoid lifeform completely compatible with our environment and the history of that ship. Has to be a ship with a history though, the more outstanding the better the chance of developing."

"And this 'Kara' is a shipgirl?" asked Director Piggot.

"Sort of. She's an alien ship I was able to acquire." Taylor smiled and beckoned off camera, with the result that there was the blue-eyed blonde in question also in the video.

"Hello, I am Kara," said the blonde.

"Yes, we know who you are," said Director Piggot. "Or we thought we did. You're alien? As in extraterrestrial?"

"Yes, from a destroyed planet orbiting a red sun," said Kara. "Your nomenclature for the star Rao is LHS2520, and it is 39.1 lightyears from your planet."

"On the one hand, this is both unexpected and massive in implications," said Dragon. "On the other hand, if anyone could be expected to make contact with extraterrestrials - it would be Taylor Hebert."

There were a few murmurs about how Dragon definitely had a point with that.

"So, these 'shipgirls' are NOT parahumans?" asked Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown.

"Not at all," agreed Taylor as Kara apparently sat back down out of direct camera view. "Entirely different. Mind you, the existing other shipgirls are currently classified by the military. Kara is the first non-military shipgirl as well as the first alien shipgirl."

"We're going to need her to come in for testing," said Rebecca Costa-Brown.

"You mean threat assessment," said Taylor. "I can already tell you. Brute: 10, Blaster: 8, Mover: 6. Despite advanced sensors and computational abilities, I am reluctant to assign a Thinker rating as those tend to be more subjective. Likewise, Tinker rating due to access to an advanced alien technological base is not very accurate."

"Like... alien weapons systems?" asked the Chief Director.

"I've already had weapons systems developed that are much more precise and applicable for use here on Earth," said Taylor, rolling her eyes. "Likewise the FTL systems are interesting but I am researching much more reliable systems."

Dead silence, even the Chief Director and Dragon both staring at the screen.

"Faster-than-light?" asked Dragon.

"Well, nothing with mass can actually go faster-than-light in normal space," admitted Taylor. "There are ways around that. I can't go into too much in the way of details after all. It's all very classified. Which is frustrating, honestly."

"There are ways around the light speed limit," said Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown in a very dry voice.

"We're humans," said Taylor with a shrug. "If the universe says we can't do something, we try to find a way to cheat. We can't go above a certain speed? We build engines that can do that for us. We can't fly? We use differences in air pressure and momentum to provide lift. If the bulk of the population accepts something is impossible, there's going to be someone who takes it as a challenge."

"That's you?" asked Director Piggot.

"I will admit to a certain degree of that attitude," admitted Taylor Hebert.

"So the military has shipgirls?" asked Armsmaster, sounding as if he was trying out this idea and was having a logic problem.

"Classified," said Taylor, who paused. "I think. It's tricky. Some of the NDAs are kind of strange."

"And these rumors of suspected parahumans among the Dockworkers, like the dragon-girl?" asked the Chief Director.

"The only parahumans I've been associated with for several years now are currently in this conference call," pointed out Taylor. "Speaking of, how's that new halberd working out?"

"I prefer using my own Tinkertech but the materials and workmanship on that particular unit does make it tempting for some uses," admitted Armsmaster.

"Kind of what I expected," said Taylor.

"You built a halberd for him?" asked Kara, sticking her head briefly onscreen after having left it previously.

"Oh yeah, there are power blockers out there who can cause Tinkertech to fail. This isn't Tinkertech so it won't fail." Taylor shrugged slightly. "Considering how many parahumans seem to want a piece of Brockton Bay's success."

"We've noticed," drily commented Director Piggot, who was about to go on about how previously the various gangs had been attracted to a failing economy and overwhelmed authorities. Now it was less gangs and more individuals trying to grab some of that wealth for themselves. She subsided on a cautioning look from the Chief Director, who had heard it before and wasn't impressed.

"When you plan on going out as 'Doctor Curlyhair' - I take it that Kara will accompany you?" asked Armsmaster.

"That's the plan," agreed Taylor.

"Ah. You're building a team," said Armsmaster with a nod. "Literally, in your case."

"You are?" asked Kara, popping back into camera view again.

"We would like to have these not-parahumans including any shipgirls NOT in the military and classified come in for at least baseline power testing," said Director Piggot. "After all, we wouldn't want to ask someone who is Thinker-rated to assist in a house fire."

"Reasonable," admitted Taylor after turning the idea over a few times. "We'll provide basic data on abilities prior to deployment when that point is reached."

"Any idea when that will be?" asked Director Piggot.

"Right now I'm working on something a good deal stronger than our current set of shields and protections," said Taylor. "There is a problem, with very potent Thinker abilities, that I believe the Chief Director is familiar with, that I am working on addressing."

Rebecca Costa-Brown went absolutely still for a moment. "If it's what I'm thinking of, you're entirely right to keep it under heavy operational security. Everyone here is forbidden from discussing it outside of this meeting."

"Well, now, isn't that just ominous as hell," muttered Director Piggot.

For a moment, Taylor Hebert dropped the smiling happy teenage girl image to look very serious and the super-genius was revealed. "There are plans in play."

* Taylor *

She listened as the Celestial Forge rolled something up, though the teleconference she'd just exited occupied most of her attention.

A system of analysis tied to a manufacturing system. Handy. And it was all being added to her already existing auto-factory and her scanning equipment.

It seemed kind of redundant in some ways, but she'd take what she could get.

* Cauldron, four hours later *

"How can we trust a twelve year old girl to be able to take on HIM?" demanded Rebecca Costa-Brown three hours later.

"Thirteen," said Doctor Mother.

"What?" asked Chief Director Costa-Brown.

"She's thirteen," said Contessa. "Not twelve."

"Not relevant," protested Costa-Brown.

"She's also not alone," stated Contessa.

"Non-parahumans have no chance of being able to fight HIM," countered Costa-Brown.

"Incorrect," said Eidolon, speaking for the first time. "I've been visiting ForgeTech for some time."

"Yes, it's on your schedule for a once-per-month. And?" prompted Costa-Brown.

"And I've been seeing a therapist," said Eidolon, shrugging one shoulder. "Then again, there's this."

Rebecca Costa-Brown, the Chief Director of the Parahuman Response Team, who was also the Triumvirate hero Alexandria even if she wasn't in costume at present, had to admit that the rod that Eidolon produced was beautifully crafted. The spear it became even more so. Still, it was hardly relevant compared to Eidolon's powers. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Does that weapon have a name?" asked Contessa.

"Sever Lance," answered Eidolon. "Though it's a ranseur and not a lance."

* Warehouse *

Taylor let the mechanical arms manipulate the heated metal as she brought her hammer down to shape it.

Something all of the texts on making magical items had in common was that there were various grades of enchantment. Common grade were the least powerful of such things, and one clone of hers could make one in an afternoon's work. Uncommon was the next grade up, Rare followed that, and Very Rare followed that in its turn. Legendary level was above even that.

To make a Legendary grade item required more than time, more than rare and precious materials, more than effort even if you allowed for her use of the cosmic dwarven forge that used a captive star for power. It required a Purpose.

Or it required time for the enchantments to grow stronger as the item in question developed its own legend.

This particular item did not have the time to grow into its power. It was something that would need to be used sooner rather than later. Hopefully not too soon.

If she wasn't working on it, one of her clones was doing so. Working metal, engraving runes, weaving enchantments.

The Sever Lance and the Vigil Lance, which were actually varieties of spears and had different purposes and levels of quality. Proof of concept and things that might come in handy in the conflict to come.

The knives she'd traded to the saurials would be considered Uncommon in her opinion. Minor abilities and elemental affinities.

That said, she was inclined to make three Legendary level items for that battle. Mostly she'd be looking at using Necron tech as it had sufficient oomph and included dimensional effects. Magic wasn't the main thrust of her studies, but it was a resource she couldn't ignore.

"Just concluded another deal with the saurials," said one of her clones over the intercom. "Got an actual spellbook."

Yet another clone asked a question over the same system. "What did we trade them for that?"

"Remember the self-heating magic kettle we made last month? That, two bolts of the duraweave fabric in forest green, and an assortment of alcoholic beverages Dad picked out for trading purposes."

Taylor nodded. The subject of what kind of trade might be acceptable had come up with a number of items, that had been one of her father's ideas.

"So, what kind of spells? More of that Jack Vance 'fire-and-forget' spells?" asked a Taylor-clone over the intercom.

"Yes. Basically first through third levels. Still researching."

* October 1, 2008 *

Nikos Vasil nodded to his driver and his two chosen bodyguards left the car with him. He would simply sit at a table until after the three young women took a seat, and the three of them would leave as a party of six.

Once the new recruits were suitably under his full influence, he could get details of the child and her minders.

What could possibly go wrong?

4.23.1-AGE System (600CP)(Gundam - Advanced Generation)(Vehicles):
This is a 3-part package deal, so you're getting more bang for your buck. First is the AGE Device, which is a massive data-storage unit that contains the Asuno's research data (though for you it starts only with what Flit managed to create and gather before the series start) and the blueprints for the Gundam's armor. It also acts as a key-none of the other parts of this system will operate without it. Next is the AGE Builder, which is an extremely fast 3-D printer(able to make a Mobile Suit rifle in seconds) and continuously collects data from the AGE Device and AGE System. The AGE System is a data collection program that can be installed onto a Mobile Suit and acts as a unique OS. It will collect data and evolve along with its pilot, researching 'solutions' to problems, coming in the form of the Wear Parts, arm and legs designed to improve and counter situations. The Wear Parts are flown to the AGE Gundams in battle using the AMEMBO (one of which is included with this purchase) and swapped mid-battle, though with a different design you could remove the AMEMBO from the equation entirely. This is a highly advanced system, one that can collect, analyze, improve, build and conquer many situations. A Mobile Suit equipped with the AGE System will have a bright letter on its front, defaulting to a blue 'A'-as a bonus, you may change the coloring and the letter to whatever you wish at any time.
FREE Not Its Intended Purpose: But at some point does it really matter what it says on the box? You’re in a war, use what you got! In this case, you’re pretty damn good at improvising things. Mostly for fighting with things not meant for fighting things, like drills, shovels, pickaxes and hammers- like your good friend from the construction site Desperado! It’s still not as effective as an actual weapon, but really who expects someone to shove a shovel through their cockpit?

Chapter Text

* October 1, 2008 *

The AGE system from the "Gundam" setting was, at first glance, useless. Too large and taking up entirely too much power and having cooling system problems that would preclude it from the sort of thing she typically built.

That was only at first glance though. Once she had a chance to see it properly, Taylor Hebert broke out the Mad Scientist Laugh. Which was especially dramatic when all of her shadow clones did the same thing a moment later.

It meant that any Mobile Suits she made were modular by nature, able to switch out parts at need from the Builder Drydock - which in this case was one of the Auto-Factory assembly lines that hooked up directly to her Hangar or to the main Drydock out near Saturn.

In roughly three days she would have a Gundam unit that put the Leo mecha to utter shame. That was fine though as the Leo was basically the equivalent of a trainer plane.

It also meant that she could install the AGE Device in just about any of her vehicles and they would collect data on any threats encountered in order to meet and exceed the threat. The AGE Device was too big and the power requirements too large to put that into any of her gynoids or androids or robots. Battleships though? Yeah, she could work out a version to do that.

Build modules that could be swapped out to meet specific needs, so that a ship could enter drydock and leave again in less than an hour prepared for a different role.

Actually the Leo could be upgraded with this. Huh. She immediately set several construction robots to begin upgrades.

That was something that very few people seemed to grasp. The people at DARPA and her parents being the exceptions.

She had, by other people's definition of such things, minions.

Doctor Curlyhair had started out with her robot units such as the Protectrons and Labors. She'd continued on with the Nier series, the gynoids and androids. The Bar-bees and the occasional Ken. There was Jarvis, her Forerunner Ancilla. She'd gotten the ability to produce more and more shadow clones. Now, most recently, there was Kara.

She had been running the Auto-Factory almost constantly since she'd gotten it, and more assembly lines and technologies had been added during that time.

That didn't even get into the whole AI Ship-girl vs Wisdom Cube Ship-girl thing if you wanted to start listing off allies that she could count on.

Her musing was interrupted as Jarvis spoke up. "Doctor, there appears to be a complication."

"A good complication or a bad one?" asked Taylor.

"Bad. Apparently three of the Bar-bee units have been approached by the villain Heartbreaker, who is attempting to suborn their loyalties through manipulation of their endocrine systems and emotional programming."

"On a Bar-Bee?" asked Taylor. "They're capable of full emotional ranges, but the mechanisms are completely different. How effective is it?"

"About as effective as trying to teach a dog to juggle, with the exception of Sam of course," replied Jarvis.

"He's going by Cosmo now," said Taylor. "Okay. They signaled you?"

"Yes, Bar-Bee 7, aka Welder Barbie, established contact as soon as facial recognition pinged Heartbreaker."

"Good," said Taylor. "Notify local authorities that he's in town and is being monitored. No, hold on that. We don't know if he's got agents in place already. Notify Armsmaster and Dragon via encryption level 4. Notify my parents too. Send to Welder Barbie to play along, so we can track him back to his base. If she and the other two's up to it, of course. If they aren't and just want to beat him like a drum in a metal band, that's a good Plan B."

"Relaying," noted Jarvis. "Ah. It appears all three Bar-Bees regard this as amusing and will act appropriately. They have enough human interaction down that they feel that this is a test of their grasp of such things. Though Welder states she's going to have to explain all this to her 'significant other' after the operation completes."

"Understandable," admitted Taylor.

"Armsmaster wants confirmation of Heartbreaker's presence," added Jarvis.

"Does the 'Unwritten Rules' apply to someone using their powers while not wearing a costume?" asked Taylor.

There was a pause before Jarvis answered. "Armsmaster says no. Usage of a parahuman power to assault others in a civilian identity counts as outing themselves if it is detected."

"Cool, can we do a livestream?" asked Taylor.

"With a delay for filtering and blocking non-participant's identities? Yes, relatively simple."

Taylor smiled. "Do it. Oh, and does overwatch know?"

"Overwatch phoned it in before Welder Barbie did by 2.78 seconds," noted Jarvis.

"Yes, but the effects were apparently temporary as the waiter and greeter both exhibited confusion shortly after Heartbreaker was seated," answered Jarvis. "Suspect is attempting to leave cafe with the three Bar-Bees. Two others in cafe leaving at same time, body language indicates 92% chance they are accompanying Heartbreaker."

"Run identification on both," said Taylor.

"PRT Senior Agent Anatoli Blanc from Maine Branch identified. Flagged for Armsmaster," announced Jarvis. "Other identified as Mark Scarlucci, also known as 'Roman Candle' - pyrokinetic rated as Blaster-4. Blanc was not known to be an associate of Heartbreaker prior to this, Roman Candle was convicted of several counts of arson and petty theft. Was sentenced in 2004 to the Zbornak Correctional Facility as part of a plea deal, transport never arrived and was found empty near the Miami city limits with signs it was attacked by an unknown Brute-type."

"Relay that to Armsmaster and overwatch."

"Done."

"I think it's time to try something a bit dangerous then," said Taylor. "Oh? Are you sure, Doctor? Shouldn't we attempt something less dangerous, all things considered?"

"No, Let's Get Dangerous," said Doctor Hebert, getting on her little cart and racing down the hallway.

"Will you be using the Necron Monoliths then?" asked Jarvis.

"Overkill for someone like Heartbreaker," responded Taylor.

"Not the N.E.R.F. gun, is it?" asked Jarvis.

"If a Necron Monolith was overkill, where would that put the NERF gun?" asked Taylor as she took a high-speed corner on the cart.

"Point," acknowledged Jarvis dryly. "What weapon of mass destruction are you planning on getting from the Armory then?"

"Not 'mass' destruction," answered Taylor. "Likewise, I've only got four Canoptek Wraiths at this point. Be a shame to use them on something so fragile. Also sending a message I'm thinking would not be well received."

There came a rumbling noise through the warehouse complex, as the Celestial Forge apparently decided something had met whatever conditions were necessary.

"Not a very good time for this," commented Jarvis to no one in particular.

"Yeah, what's a 'Schlock Mercenary' anyway?" asked Taylor as she stopped the cart and leapt out of her seat.

The retina scanner and hand-print identifier and vocoder security measures were quickly dealt with, and the doors to the Armory opened.

Of course, she had weapons secured in various places around the complex. It wouldn't do to have an invader or Menace From Beyond and then be unable to reach the Armory after all. It was just the Really Big Guns required a dedicated space for them. Hence, the Armory.

The Wraiths were technically repair & recycle devices from the Necron technologies she'd acquired. They had their uses outside of fixing things and she had less intimidating-looking devices like the spider-bots to handle most repair jobs anyway. They could be deployed as weapons, and were not PR-friendly, which was why they were stored here when not in use.

That Canoptek Wraiths were among her less dangerous weapons was something she was not anxious to advertise.

The Necron Scarabs were not included - those were capable of being used as weapons but they were multipurpose drones so they went to an entirely different place. Especially after considerable rebuilding to include Mining Beam functions and forcefield emitters.

Passing the Lokhust Heavy Destroyer without so much as a glance, besides - she kept forgetting to finish the paint job, Taylor went past that to stand before her chosen weapon.

Something she'd found in the Necron database dominated this section, much like the Lokhust, but a spider-like construct that was called a Seraptek Heavy Construct armed with a weapon called a Synaptic Obliterator. It was mostly Necron technology, just a few added touches from Forerunner technology to address some of the weaknesses.

"Oh, sure, THAT is much more subtle," said Jarvis, putting a fair amount of vaguely British-sounding sarcasm into the sentence.

Taylor paused and then reached past the Seraptek to pull a single pistol off the wall mount.

"Ah," said Jarvis, considering. "Excellent choice, Doctor."

Taylor hefted the pistol, enjoying the weight and feel of it. Silvery metal, glowing blue lines, little radar dish at the front. Some of it was aesthetic add-ons but she really felt the whole of it came together nicely.

* In a car *

Heartbreaker was well pleased. Three identical triplets, quite attractive, who were easily fascinated by his power and enticed to join him.

There was something a little off about them, the reactions showing signs of confusion and of fighting the influence. It wasn't unheard of though. Strong willed individuals had managed similar reactions in the past, it had just required more time for his power to work and then the rewards were all the sweeter for the effort.

His power was working, just the reactions of the server and the waitress had been enough for that conclusion.

It was curious though, this feeling that something was slightly off. It took time for his power to sufficiently "program" the emotions to become a new normal.

Eh? What was this up ahead?

* Lung's Palace *

He sat back on his throne.

Okay, it was an EXTREMELY comfortable recliner made of fire-resistant materials that he'd received from ForgeTech during Chinese New Year.

Delivered to his residence under his real name.

With a card congratulating him for his successful legitimate businesses.

He was Lung. He was mighty! He was the undisputed boss of a criminal empire!

He also made considerable amounts of money in entirely legitimate manners, helped enormously by trade with the considerable military presence and economic boom that Brockton Bay was experiencing.

He was a survivor. When the environment changed, he adapted.

He sat back on his throne in his audience chamber, and viewed the people before him.

Sasaki Rui was well known to him, named for an illustrious ancestor and considerably skilled in the same samurai arts as that ancestor. A rare case of someone living up to the name they were given at birth.

She bore her weapons as she knelt before him. Not a cape, but very skilled and very useful. Attracted to his cause because the local economy flourished, and she got to beat the crap out of Nazis.

Who didn't like beating the crap out of Nazis?

The one speaking though was an entirely different case. "Speak, Chien."

"Security cameras have identified Nikos Vasil, also known as Heartbreaker. As soon as the villain was identified, we followed procedure and sent a screenshot and text message to our points-of-contact, Great Lung. This indicates the prior observation of the tentatively identified children of Vasil were correct. Your orders?"

"Continue avoiding, but nobody will shed a tear if the two loyal spawn of Vasil are ended quickly." Lung considered for a moment recruitment of the two, but Guillaume and Nicholas were apparently willing pawns of Vasil. Too much risk, too little reward. "Rui?"

"A simple task," acknowledged Rui Sasaki.

"Then proceed, report back when the task is done," said Lung, a finger touching a button so that the warming massage action on his lower back ended. He really liked this new throne. It was only fitting that a dragon have a useful hoard.

Li Chien knew he was dismissed and scurried from his presence. Honestly, he had six or seven people with that name and it could get confusing at times. "Oni Lee."

The Oni, one of his oldest and most trustworthy, if a little forgetful, lieutenants stepped out of the shadows he favored lurking in.

"Oni Lee, keep an eye on Vasil. If he seeks to linger in my territory, or go recruiting, he should meet a suitable end," said Lung, before making a gesture.

One of his men stepped forward, refilled a glass with a suitable dark beer, and then retreated.

Lung nodded, sipped at the beer, giving a little sigh of contentment. Not the life he'd anticipated, not even close. But it would certainly do.

* Bar-Bee 1, Administrator Barbie *

He'd relaxed slightly after the car had passed the crowd without issue. Just another anti-Forgetech demonstration, claiming that they were taking real jobs from real Americans, that their Union was unfair, Blood for Oil, Just Wanna Beer, Leave Space Alone, No No Nano, No Terminators In Brockton Bay, etcetera. And on the other side a small group of Free The Simurgh.

What was it about humans that the greater the number, the less the collective intelligence? Something to ponder from time to time.

As to the internationally known and feared villain Heartbreaker? You'd think someone who apparently kidnapped professional chefs to add to his harem, that he'd be a little bit chubbier. Or someone who collected women as if they were trading cards to be more fit. Instead he was lean to the point of being skinny with a small pot belly and decidedly unkempt. He should also bathe on a more regular basis than every-so-often.

Then again, his powers meant he probably didn't get any exercise except in bed.

She'd been ready to end this sad little man's life except for the idea she and her associates could get a base location out of him.

Because of his reliance on his powers, he was not the most guarded of individuals. If he entered a poker game in the presence of a power-nullifier, he would lose. Big time. There was not a doubt in her mind.

Of course, she and all the other Bar-Bee units would be immune to the man's power. While her systems copied human anatomy and appearance to 99.9% matchup, they were not human and would not be mistaken for human if examined on a microscopic level. That wasn't even getting into their defensive hardware and software.

That said, she could monitor a number of bio-signs and he was not particularly guarded or trained against leaving the various tells that he displayed.

Oh, and he had his wallet on his person. Or had. Welder had just lifted it and determined that he had various IDs in there. Arrogant little prick, wasn't he?

He was getting more and more certain that something was not right. That his power was not influencing them. It might have been their performance was off, but it might be some form of feedback from his power.

Bar-bee 7 & Bar-bee 9 (Welder & Gunsmith) were with her now, and were "competing for his attention" but perhaps there was something off in their performance? They hadn't been built yesterday, but they weren't that old chronologically at least.

Administrator Barbie considered that, all the while she simpered and flirted with the villain. Multitasking was one of her strengths after all.

A flicker of movement drew her attention outside the vehicle. She side-eyed it and determined that it was a puff of ash.

Apparently they were running out of time.

Then another flicker, this one of blue light.

Just as well, this was all pretty ick as far as she was concerned. Not her type at all.

* Taylor *

She popped out of the portal, labcoat flaring out behind her in suitably dramatic fashion, and let her scanner do the work.

The car had six people in it, two in the front seats, four in the back. The back had three of the Bar-Bee units and one parahuman.

Her pistol was not the usual Omni-tool, for this she was using something that involved Necron technology but wasn't something the Necron would have bothered with. Well, maybe Trazyn. The database on him was quite... amusing? Horrifying? Educational? Something like that.

Doctor Curlyhair selected the single individual registering as having a high active subspace connection and pulled the trigger.

* Perks This Chapter *

7.28.1-Industrial Fabber (400CP)(Schlock Mercenary Rebuild)(Facilities Technology):
A massive fabber that is used for industrial applications like building starships. It can't be hosted in a spaceship, but could help you to build your own if fed raw material from space-rocks and such. It is capable of building annie plants if given sufficient time. It comes with a full tech database of all publicly available technologies, and will update to add any new publicly available technologies in future Jumps. * Can be used to build battleplates read: spaceships meant to tank relativistic orbital bombardments to save planets.

[Fabber added to Auto-Factory, Saturn L-4 Drydock.]

Chapter Text

* October 1, 2008 *

The pistol fired, the aiming mechanism having selected a single individual in a moving car. The barriers between them didn't matter as the device didn't operate in normal four-dimensional space.

It was Necron technology, with a bit of Kryptonian, and mostly her own extrapolation from those two sources.

In that single car, a single parahuman simply ceased to exist. At least as far as four-dimensional space was concerned.

Then she used an encrypted line to send a message to the three other occupants of the back seat of that vehicle.

A moment later the three in the backseat had bailed out of the car, which sped up considerably in response to that. Not for very long though as it hit a streetlight less than a block later.

It was Welder Barbie that held up something that looked like a snowglobe, indicating that Heartbreaker was taken care of. In a pocket universe of his very own. Unable to extend his power, unable to touch anything, only able to see things from his tiny little prison.

Taylor/Doctor Curlyhair wondered if he was going to end up as a desk ornament when she turned him over to the authorities.

After studying his power, of course. She still had all the analytic equipment she'd used with Eidolon's not-so-little problem.

Well, it wasn't her decision after all. That was for the courts and authorities to decide. They might even let him out of that little cage in order to put him in a bigger one.

As long as he was in there, he wouldn't age. Wouldn't need to eat or drink. Wouldn't need much of anything really.

Maybe the Selective Multiphasic Underdimensional Transfer device wasn't up to the task of beating the End Boss, but unveiling it to her parents had seen the appropriate wincing at the acronym. Having a supervillain taken down by it would amuse her.

You had to take the little victories when you could.

As for Heartbreaker, Doctor Curlyhair thought that depriving someone of the sense of touch and being touched when they were dependent on such things was going to make the villain a bit more cooperative.

Which reminded her, she had to come up with a better cage for the Simurgh. There really wasn't any need to interrogate further at this point, she had a considerable database on everything the Endbringer knew. Couldn't release her, at least not as is, but just turning her off like she had for the other Endbringers seemed lacking somehow...

If the Simurgh could have seen Doctor Curlyhair's expression, she would have been quite concerned.

* October 12, 2008 *

"This is Brockton Bay NewsTalk Radio, and this IS the almost-famous Grand Poobah of the radiowaves, Marisha Ignis. You just heard the 0900 National and State, so here's the local skinny.

"Seems Doctor Curlyhair (fanfare sound effect) has turned over the supervillain Heartbreaker, wanted for numerous crimes and being a pustule on the buttocks of Earth-Bet but he did have competition on that, to the Guild and not the local Parahuman Response Team due to them having a lot more warrants out for his arrest. His powers were neutralized, no word on how, and the transfer happened without issue. Damn, just saying that a villain got arrested and stayed arrested seems like such a change from just a few years back, eh?

"We've heard about the dismantling of some Containment Zones due to actions by ForgeTech and the PRT, so let them continue to monitor Lake Ellisburg and await the possibility of fishing there after it's all been cleared.

"At the half-hour we've got Assault from the PRT ENE here in studios to talk about the Heartbreaker and Containment Zone operations, so expect him to go off-script at least twice. You'd think the local office would have spotted that pattern by now and sent someone else.

"To any robots or androids or mutants or parahumans out there. It's a beautiful day, try not to ruin it for anyone else. Not that most of you aren't well behaved, but we all know the exceptions."

"It's cold and rainy, Marisha."

"For this time of year, that's pretty nice, Cristina. You're the weathergirl, you know this."

"Just stuck my head in the studio to remind you about the elevator test today."

"It's a shuttle. And yes, everyone, if you see something launch at high speeds from the Docks area - it is NOT a missile. Forgetech is testing out high-speed lift systems designed to hoist things up to orbit faster than conventional systems allow. That's because the g-forces on this ride would reduce the average human being to smooshed jelly status. Can I say 'smooshed' on the air?"

"I don't think anyone's going to complain about that."

"You'd be surprised," said Marisha before continuing. "Before I forget, Pieman Street and Ackerman Avenue is where today's Army of The Disgruntled will be picketing the military presence here in the Bay, Forgetech in general, Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Life, the lack of new gun control legislation, and the current high prices on potatoes. So you might want to avoid that area, the stupid might just be contagious."

"I'm pretty sure you can't say THAT on the air," drily commented Cristina the weathergirl.

"I'm pretty sure everyone appreciates not going near that intersection because we warned them. In other local news, local villain duo Over and Load just-"

"Uber and Leet," Cristina commented.

"What?"

The villain duo is 'Uber' and 'Leet' it's some weird 90s kind of reference." Cristina made a dismissive noise.

"Okay, local villain duo Uber and Leet attempted to hold up a number of food trucks outside the fairgrounds with 'monsters' styled after a videogame called 'Resident Evil'."

"Wait. Hold on there," interrupted Cristina. "A game about out of control biotechnology? A horror game? This is the same duo who tried to do 'Duke Nukem' last week and their equipment blew up?"

"I don't play videogames. Well, except Madden, but yeah - that happened last week. Anyway - if he had any safety protocols on his robot minions they broke down within minutes of deployment. Not that it made much difference as two Astartes showed up and proved that Tinkertech versus ForgeTech is not a good matchup. They were assisted, oddly enough, by two of the 'monsters' who decided to rebel against the rest of them."

"Does the news sheet say which kind of monsters? There's a few in that series."

"Well, they're robots with a holographic emitter to give them a different appearance - just a zombie dog and a zombie guy according to this."

"Got it, maybe ForgeTech can rehabilitate them and reprogram the holograms to something a little less nightmare-inducing."

"During the fight Uber and Leet escaped, the Astartes more interested in saving lives than pursuing the two criminals. Seriously, Cristina - there's Madden and FIFA and some good games out there. Couldn't they go with something actually fun?"

"Don't give them ideas Marisha. They'll mess it up anyway."

* Uber & Leet Secret Base *

"How can she know about Madden and FIFA but not 'Resident Evil'?!" demanded Leet.

"Have you seen her profile pick on the WBBR website?" asked Uber. "She's a female jock. She's into sports, played basketball on the college level kind of thing."

"She's what? So she's a muscle-bound cretin," grumped Leet as he went to the website, went to the on-air hosts, and then stared for a few moments. "What the hell?"

"Yeah," agreed Uber, saving the game he'd been playing.

"Might have to get her into one of our scenarios, it might boost the ratings a bit," suggested Leet.

"Might," admitted Uber. "Wasn't there a basketball game version of Madden from Aleph?"

"Possible," said Leet thoughtfully. He looked at a picture of her posing with an Astartes, whose body language seemed to indicate bored tolerance somehow. "I'd really like a better look at that Astartes armor, but from a distance."

"Yeah, thing people forget about that stuff is that it is FAST," said Uber as he brought up the recording of the Astartes tearing through the Silent Hill monsters easily. Switching from flamethrowers and plasma lances to those gravity guns as soon as they figured out the holo-emitters over a simple robotic frame thing.

The two turncoats that had defended fair-goers had surrendered and been taken away.

"Do we still have signal on those two?" asked Uber, indicating the screen showing the Licker and the Cerebus.

"Lost that twelve seconds after they went to the base," said Leet. He sat back for a moment, then got wide eyes. "Oh... oh shit."

"What?" asked Uber.

"We need to pack and move. NOW," said Leet, quickly gathering up tools and equipment and running to the van to toss them in the back.

"How so?" asked Uber.

"Because I built them here, and even if I didn't activate them until after we were at the fairgrounds - they may have enough data to figure out where we are."

Uber was at the truck in a heartbeat. "Don't forget the can openers."

"Not after the last time," agreed Leet.

* ForgeTech *

"They're on the move."

"I expected this ten days ago. What's with that?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.

"Incompetence?" suggested Astartes-1.

"Sad, but I could see it," said Doctor Curlyhair. "I've finished upgrading the robots by the way."

"I thought you did that several days ago," responded Astartes-1.

"Eh? I got distracted. Homework, new supplies, that sort of thing." Doctor Curlyhair muttered something under her breath that sounded impolite. "Anyway, the former zombie-guy is now upgraded to a Ken-05 model. The dog is upgraded to the Bottweiler model. Much faster and tougher."

"Continue to monitor?" asked Astartes-1.

"Yeah, leave them alone for now. The most we can get them on with charges that will stick are moving violations. If they cause more problems than those protestors - we can tip off the PRT and let them handle it."

"Roger. Stealth engaged."

Doctor Curlyhair sat back, considering as she heard the rumble and felt another connection take place. It was a familiar constellation, Efficiency this time, and the "source" was also familiar - that Gundam place.

This ability made working with strange materials a lot easier, but wouldn't help with the mass production end of things - it would allow the auto-factory to work with the materials but not any of the tech being produced off-site.

"Exotic Compatibility" it called itself. Didn't come with any add-ons or equipment, which was a disappointment. A nice Gundam unit would have been nice. For confronting Uber and Leet with if nothing else.

"Eureka!"

Hearing that from one of her clones made her curious, and the memory hit them all a moment later as that clone dismissed herself. Apparently they'd gotten that third-level spell down. "Speak With Dead" didn't sound particularly great until you got into details. Even then, the limitations were a pain. What she'd give for being able to ask five questions with Leonardo Da Vinci or Einstein, or even Lucy the 3.2 million year old hominid.

Huh. A report crossed her omnitool's interface and showed that she had a call from the PRT, and a flag from the Saturn drydock indicated construction speed had increased.

"This is Doctor Curlyhair, girl genius!" she announced as she took the call.

"Armsmaster here."

"Armsmaster! Good to hear from you. Getting some practice in with your new weapon?"

"Yes, but that's not what I'm calling about," said Armsmaster, going silent for a few moments.

"What's wrong?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.

"What did you actually do to Heartbreaker?" asked Armsmaster. "He's been nearly catatonic."

"Ah. Well, from the report I got on him - he has a harem (which is an incorrect term but I won't get into that) who he's forced to adore him. Pretty much a sex and touch-addicted person, right?"

"I follow you," agreed Armsmaster.

"He was in a sort of Phantom Zone, an extradimensional prison where he was completely safe and couldn't affect anyone outside it," explained Doctor Curlyhair. "He couldn't touch anyone, or be touched by anyone, surrounded by gray mists and the shadows of an immaterial landscape. Three days while I extracted his power connection and made sure he'd live through it."

There was brief silence from the other end. "That may have qualified as 'cruel and unusual punishment', 'unlawful imprisonment' even."

"Safety measure," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Psionic dampers to the side, there were the dangers of anyone coming close enough to be affected by his power. With his power permanently removed, he's safe to stand trial and if found guilty can be in a normal prison instead of something like the Birdcage."

"Still, a lawyer may be able to get him off and you charged," cautioned Armsmaster.

"I've got access to lawyers at the moment," said Doctor Curlyhair, sitting back in her chair and starting it spinning. "And this research may lead to a new anti-crowd weapon."

"Oh?" asked Armsmaster.

"I call it a 'Stop That' cannon, got the idea from an old science fiction novel," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Heartbreaker sent emotion and programmed people with longer exposure to his power. If it works, it will send an instantaneous mental pulse that serves as an interrupt on emotion - basically a blank carrier wave. Not sure if it will work, or that I can get it through all the legal hurdles - but it could actually help against certain menaces."

"We'll see," said Armsmaster.

"Was that all you needed to say?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.

"There was one thing more," admitted Armsmaster. "The removal of a parahuman's powers has repercussions."

"Yes," admitted Doctor Curlyhair. "You really are good at understatements. Specifically I was able to do it by isolating the connection to his power and transferring it to a blank surrogate brain."

"An artificial brain," said Armsmaster.

"Yes," said Doctor Curlyhair, who let the silence grow for a bit before pointing something out. "I'm a cybernetics specialist. I can create artificial organs, full bionic replacements, and bio-tech that looks and acts so real that you need microscopic analysis to tell the difference. That's been out there for awhile, people in five countries are now training up in those medical technologies. There are two centers specializing in the new tech - one in Japan and the other in Germany. Is there a problem?"

Armsmaster simply sent her a couple of pictures, waiting for her to pull them up and look at them.

"They're building mecha," noted Doctor Curlyhair. "Okay. Didn't expect that. Doesn't the higher profile just make them more susceptible to things like anti-tank weapons?"

"Yes, though forcefield technology can mitigate this somewhat and IED and landmines are actually less of a problem as such vehicles can detect and step over or around such things," pointed out Armsmaster.

"Okay," said Doctor Curlyhair, examining the two pictures for a few extra moments. "The Japanese one looks kind of Gundam-ish. Probably built for speed, agility, ease of movement. Bio-feedback or neural connection to the pilot?"

"Details are not currently available," noted Armsmaster.

"The German one is VERY reminiscent of armored knights, especially with the shield there. Bulky. Emphasis on defense and - huh. Those pauldrons open up, don't they? Probably ECM or drone launchers."

"That was my thought as well," said Armsmaster. "Any concerns?"

"No, I think the American power armor is going to be better in the short term as far as cost and applicability is concerned. The mecha are nice, but ground troops are still going to be necessary for holding areas. Mind you, military campaigns and tactics are not something I've spent a lot of time trying to learn." Doctor Curlyhair sent her own picture.

"What is THAT?" asked Armsmaster.

"The Astartes wanted one for backup when things are going on they have trouble with, that one is called a Dreadnought. The one from their game had a human component instead of a pilot. This version just hooks up to the Astartes armor and they sit in an armored shell in the torso. The Dreadnought becomes their body."

"Just one?" asked Armsmaster.

"Plan on making two," said Doctor Curlyhair. She sent another picture. "This one is for menaces that remain classified for now. Anti-Thinker protocol."

"Is the scale accurate?" asked Armsmaster, sounding a bit aghast.

"Yes," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Deployment might be a bit tricky because portals of that size require a lot of power. Just getting the materials to build it is proving a challenge. It's something else their Warhammer game has and I'm planning on unveiling it to them on Christmas."

"What's it called, so that I have something for the report," asked Armsmaster.

"Reaver-class Battle Titan," replied Doctor Curlyhair. "Twenty-five meters tall, or 83 feet if you prefer. LOTS of metal and it'll require some anti-grav just to walk on normal roads. Yeah, overkill for almost anything but if you want to face something that normal gravitic weapons or particle beams are useless against? 'Go big or go home' is the phrase, I believe."

"Well, that certainly would be big," noted Armsmaster.

* Perks This Chapter *

35.51.2--Exotic Compatibility (400CP)(Gundam - After Colony)(Efficiency):
You have a way of working with quirky and strange materials-in your hands and machinery, it assumes the forging and abilities of plain Iron until you begin building with it. You also can integrate exotic materials into your constructions a lot easier, and if you don't know what a material is or what it can do, you're very good at researching applications and properties of said materials. This research could also go into things such as improving production numbers and similar.

Chapter Text

curlyhair33

* January 20, 2009 *

Everything was going fine. For the moment.

When the Forge clicked in, Taylor Hebert, aka Doctor Curlyhair, winced. Not because she was expecting something in particular.

No, she felt a certain degree of dread because she'd begun accumulating points and repeatedly gotten missed connections.

At this point, her number of total points was staggering. Which meant that the various things she was not connecting to had a higher value than her points. Which was actually pretty scary how much could change with a simple 100 point acquisition.

She knew she was due for a connection. It could only go so long with only error messages, criteria not met, and other misses.

Finally, the rumble stopped and a connection to the Size constellation came up with a [Prerequisite Not Met] message.

[Achievement!]

Okay, Taylor opened one eye. Only then realizing she'd been clenching in anticipation of massive pain. That message was different, she wasn't sure what it was about as she hadn't seen anything like that very often.

[100 Days Between Successful Acquisitions!]

Yes, she could count too. That was one reason she was anticipating a certain degree of pain when it did hit.

[Points accumulated: 4950]

Yes, she could math too. Though she still wasn't clear WHAT generated points, she was pretty sure that time + accomplishments (her directly having a higher point value than indirect accomplishments such as the successful field testing of the US Army exoskeleton based on her work) divided by the number of times she failed to meet some ill-defined and possibly capricious goal was part of the partial AI's (the System that Washu left running the Celestial Forge) programming. Or at least that was her current theory.

[Congratulations! Though that is kind of a loser sort of accomplishment.]

"Oh, great. The AI is discovering snark," grumped Taylor aloud. "What a pity my perks regarding AI do not extend to other people's AI."

[End of Tutorial Phase approaching.]

"Yes, I'm aware," stated Taylor aloud, hearing an echo from the clones she still had active. Which meant they were all getting some of this at least too.

[It's dangerous to go alone. Take this.]

Wait. She'd heard that line before. Was the System quoting Uber and Leet of all things?!

"Why the hell do I have a wooden sword?" asked one of her clones over the intercom.

"Language!" chided another clone.

"English!" responded the sword-bearer.

"What kind of sword?" asked Taylor-Prime.

"Looks like a wooden practice version of a jian, militia version. Maybe the kind used around the 18th Century?"

Taylor nodded. They could make swords. They could make powerful swords. They'd researched them because other people had already developed swords through centuries of trial and error and it made sense to use that database. Most of the swords they made for trading purposes, specifically back on that nexus world, were "arming swords" such as were used in the 14th Century in Europe. A few longswords (circa the 14th-16th) and a limited production (12) of two-handed spadone-style swords.

"This leaves me with so many questions," grumbled Taylor, hoping to prompt some sort of explanation. An idea hit her. "What kind of wood?"

"Good idea," said the clone over the intercom. "Taking it to analysis. Maybe its a rare wood and we're supposed to go where it grows?"

No response from the System, not that any of them expected it to.

Nothing to do but check it out and see if that was some kind of lead. Washu didn't appear to be the sort to do anything without some sort of plan. Maybe not a good plan, but at least some kind of plan.

* Elsewhere *

"Many people had problems with President Hannibal Hayes and his Vice President Curry," Christopher said, speaking to his sword. The wonderful little blade his visit to the American's White House had gotten him. "For all his faults, including being an American, the man could think on his feet and adapt to changes. When you presented yourself to me, he made a production of gifting you to me. Appearing to take control of a situation blatantly not in his control. I found him quite personable, though how much of that was an act and how much was not is something I am unsure of."

The blade glinted in the light despite neither light source nor blade moving.

"I agree," said Christopher. "One of the twelve master swords crafted by Doctor Hebert. The two-handed blade Best Revenge. What wonders you will see after my own passage?"

The blade seemed to pulse somehow.

"Oh, don't be like that. I've lived a very full life by anyone's standards," said Christopher. "I've done things over many years, some great and some terrible and some both. Dismissed by the American press as just an actor when the gift of you was covered in their press."

The sword didn't answer in any manner.

Christopher nodded though as if it had. "When I do pass on, you'll go to the Queen to hang beside her own sword. Caliburn the Second, the Sword of Choosing. That way when Britain needs you, you'll be there. Best Revenge, the vampiric blade that drinks the blood of enemies in order to strengthen the wielder. I wonder of your other brothers, the ten still held in their vault for gifting out to heads of state. Will the new administration give them out as was the original intent? Will they simply molder in that vault until such time as needed? Their new President made such a thing about 'leveling the playing field' and destroying the unfair advantage of companies like ForgeTech prior to the elections. Perhaps they'll move here, would you like that?"

The sword did seem to glitter a bit in an unnatural fashion for a moment.

Sir Christopher Lee hung the sword back on the pegs that normally held it. "I doubt that outcome, but we shall see."

* White House Armory *

"... and these are the blades with anomalous properties that Doctor Hebert provided to go out to US allies," said Doctor Quest.

"There are spaces for twelve swords," noted the new Chief of Staff.

"As the press reported, several of these were gifted in the past year," admitted Doctor Jonny Quest. "Caliburn, the Sword of Choosing went to Queen Elizabeth II. Best Revenge went to Christopher Lee, though the sword chose him."

The new Chief of Staff was quiet for a moment. "Considering his history, the press may have mocked the former President for it - but I can see why a vampire sword would choose him as a wielder."

"Quite," agreed the aide. "All these swords have powers that will increase over time, according to Doctor Hebert. Century at least before they have abilities comparable to even average parahumans. The Canadians received Stormslicer, the Sword of Wind. The Mexicans, our most frequent trade partner have Wavebreaker - the Sword of Water. I believe they're using it to purify water for farming use."

"I would have thought the Canadians would have gotten the hydrokinetic sword due to what happened in Newfoundland."

"Yes, well, they did actually express interest in Stormslicer particularly. Not sure why the swords ended up in those countries specifically. The remaining eight swords are: Flamedrinker, Stonecarver, Stringcutter, Timeshaver, Shadowbinder, Thunder's Fury, Spellbane, and Final Judgement. I believe ex-President Hayes was planning on giving Spellbane to the Germans. A blade which can cut through illusions and free a shackled mind would be of great interest considering Gessellschaft's practices."

"Yes, well, we could use that at home all things considered. Slightly less so now that Heartbreaker is dealt with."

The aide nodded. "Over here we have the gravitic weapons. No anomalies here, just well manufactured and using very high technologies."

* January 21, 2009 *

"What about that little kid up in Brockton Bay?"

"The one that ain't even a parahuman?" The Butcher scoffed and took a long pull from her bottle, some of the whiskey leaking down her chin and dribbling onto her leather shirt. "What's the point? She ain't a parahuman so I kill her and then what? I just get hassled a lot by normies in power armor."

"They still got a lot of money and other stuff we can loot," pointed out Vex.

"And? Anything we can't get anyway?" asked the Butcher. After a moment she guzzled down the rest of her bottle and belched. After a moment she thought that was sufficient comment on that.

"We could get rid of the Slaughterhouse Nine, maybe," began Spree before shaking his head. "Oh right. They're dead. Nevermind. Oh, we could go after that Hebert kid and get a reputation boost! Kill the killer of the Slaughterhouse."

"Except," said The Butcher, wondering why the hell she/they had to be the reasonable one. She grabbed up a beer to chase the whiskey, because wasn't that what you were supposed to do? Then pointed with one finger at Spree except he'd made clones again. "Except that the Slaughterhouse weren't done in by no parahumans there either. Just normal people. By the time their Protectotrash showed up - it was all over but da cleanup."

"How many bottles of whiskey have you HAD?" asked Vex.

"Nine, ten?" asked the Butcher.

"Where the hell did we even get these?" asked Vex, picking an empty off the carpet. "We were running out just this morning, I was gonna organize a raid of liquor stores this afternoon."

Spree answered after a moment. "Oh yeah. Truck got stopped in the neighborhood, musta got lost with all that construction and traffic signs. Abandoned the vehicle with the keys still in the ignition, hightailed it out when he saw the signs this was Teeth territory."

Butcher XII mumbled something about how that proved their reputation didn't need to be reinforced as that was entirely sensible when faced with them. Or it may have been a comment about cheese. She was drunk, she was almost ready to pass out, and nobody was willing to ask for her to clarify.

Within a few hours, the bottles had been passed around and most of their capes were passed out.

Ten minutes after that, the gas from the crates downstairs had knocked out the rest of them.

* Thursday, January 22, 2009 *

"Hey hey, it's 0600 for you military types. And hospital workers. And anyone else who uses the 24hour clock. Marisha Igris here. Big news. With the discovery that ForgeTech had access to technology which could neutralize powers, PRT and FBI forces gathered to take down one of the bigger and more powerful criminal elements that could not be touched prior to that: the Teeth down in Boston.

"Longer term residents may remember the Teeth started here in Brockton Bay but tried to hire the Slaughterhouse Nine, and that belongs in the Very Bad Idea bin because the Slaughterhouse turned around and slaughtered most of them because hiring murderhobos always works so well!

"Nobody was willing to take down their leader, the Butcher because the Butcher jumps to whoever killed him. In the case of the young parahuman known as 'Butcher Number Twelve' the problem was that gal could teleport and had all the powers of the previous eleven Butchers. Anyway, ForgeTech had the means to keep the Butcher alive but neutralized so now its up to legal eagles and the judicial system to deal with the Teeth.

"Since Heartbreaker is now in Guild custody, sorry for everyone who still wanted a piece of him, he's looking at getting out of prison in... about five hundred years give or take a millennium. Guy's depowered so he can't go to the Birdcage.

"Considering his crimes, he might not last the year. People in non-parahuman prison take a pretty dim view of people who prey on children. Not that I, a stalwart siren of the airwaves, would ever suggest violence against someone in prison.

"Now that word of the whole 'remove powers' thing is on the table, let me point out what ForgeTech and the PRT are both saying. It is NOT recommended or entirely safe. It is not fast. It is not something that can 'cure' Case 53s since each of the so-called 'monster capes' are different and sometimes have very different physical stuff going on. There's a gal out in Iowa made of living crystal after all, and there's that guy Armor Ape who looks like a gorilla wearing armor - he's Nevada Protectorate I think.

"I mention this because the PRT has already put out there that this isn't a perfect solution and they're working with ForgeTech to see if they can do anything for those guys.

"I mean seriously people, there's a Case 53 up in Vancouver who has a sonic voice but his mouth keeps welding itself shut. There's a Case 53 in Florida who looks like a cockroach with a human head. If they get this sort of thing working they're going to have a priority on this stuff."

There was a rustling of paper as Marisha Igris went through her prompts. "In other local news, a drunk managed to get a construction Labor started and was tossing cars off of Archer's Bridge last night."

* Hebert Household *

"Whoa," said Taylor, her eyes flicking around apparently randomly. "This... this isn't very big point-wise, but it has possibilities."

"What did you get?" asked Annette, her newest notebook snapping open.

"I already had some dimensional technology, this just advanced it," said Taylor. "It adds to the Phantom Zone technology and things like the pandimensional blades. Hyperstructures existing in more than three dimensions. It has applications for other things as well."

"That's good," said Annette. "Did you hear about String Theory?"

"Yeah, crazy girl. Needs meds. Have they tried Reboot on her?" asked Taylor.

"She refused medication. Apparently she is comfortable within her madness," said Annette before taking a sip of her morning tea.

"Ah, well, not much to be done then. Birdcage?" asked Taylor.

"Yes, that was the Judge's decision. Otherwise she might actually shoot the moon," noted Annette.

"Shouldn't do that, we have a base there after all," protested Taylor. "What was she using as a power source for that, anyway?"

"Some sort of Tinkertech backed by three of your ultramech batteries," noted Annette as she brought the news story up on her tablet and then showed it to Taylor.

"Tinkers," grumped Taylor. "So much of their stuff makes no damn sense."

"Armsmaster and Dragon being exceptions?" asked Annette.

"Well, of course," admitted Taylor. "Mostly. Armsmaster still comes up with some 'why would you do this' stuff he's stuffed into his armor or a halberd. At least he's not just using halberds anymore. He's supposed to be a 'master' of 'arms' after all. Me and Dragon got after him on that. Containment foam grenade launcher on his skycycle, electro-net grenades when confoam doesn't work, vibro-blade shortsword for situations where there isn't room for his halberd, and so on."

"So what's this one called?" asked Annette, ready to write it all down.

"'Assembler' from 'Culture Minds' dealing with structures that extend out into infraspace and ultraspace," said Taylor. "Should be interesting to incorporate that into standing structures."

"Better finish getting ready, it's still a school day," said Annette Hebert, noting the time.

"Yeah, but this is one of the days a clone attends school," said Taylor. "I'm just about finished with the newest Astartes upgrades and I want to get those out as soon as possible."

* Saturday, January 24, 2009 *

The armor opened up like a flower so that he could step inside, then closed again once he was there.

"Identity Check Complete. Good Morning, Captain Cavill."

"Good morning," said Captain Cavill, though it wasn't strictly necessary to be polite to the limited-AI of the suit. "Status?"

"Batteries at 100%. Environmental Systems: Active. Forcefield: Inactive, Ready."

Captain Cavill checked his various weapons systems manually, listening to the system go on.

"Stealth field: Inactive, Ready. Point Teleport System: 3 charges remaining."

Captain Cavill nodded absently, looking to the rest of his squad as the suited themselves up.

"Drone connections: Inactive. Jump Jets: 100% Charge. Sensors set to Passive."

"Weather conditions?" asked Captain Cavill.

"Currently 33 degrees Fahrenheit, or zero point five Celsius, with a high expected in the low 50s or 11 degrees Celsius. Currently clear. Rain expected on the 28th."

"Understood," said Captain Cavill.

"Psychic Defenses: Online. Extending Shell Field. Shell Field Extended - Anti-Thinker effect at full."

Captain Cavill nodded. "What about the newest add-ons?"

"Attachment points are currently undeployed. Do you wish to deploy Dreadnought?"

"That would be overkill for current patrol," said Captain Cavill. "Any new threats?"

"PRT states three villains currently believed to have entered city within past twenty-four hours, none major."

"Link into squad chat," commanded Captain Cavill. "Give brief on new villains."

"Villain noted as Hijack, rebranded to Regent. Teenage villain, ability noted as partial override on nervous systems. Predicted to be ineffective against Astartes while within armor. Potential danger to bystanders. Outstanding criminal charges include twelve instances of Assault With A Parahuman Ability, one case of Arson, and three cases of Vandalism utilizing Plasti-Dip to scrawl messages critical of Heartbreaker."

"Acknowledged, next?" asked Captain Cavill.

"Unknown and unnamed parahuman. Power apparently consists of invisibility but only when unclothed. Subject seen robbing an ATM, then taking off their clothes, then the bag of cash last seen moving down Rowland Road."

"In THIS weather?" asked Captain Cavill, looking at the mostly-clear sunny skies and slight breeze - not to mention the thin skein of ice on water in the street gutters.

"Confirmed. ATM and security cameras were able to observe criminal in action."

"Third villain?" asked Captain Cavill.

"Jackpot," stated his armor. "Villain from Iowa. Rated by PRT as Shaker-3. Ability to influence probability within a ten foot radius towards favorable outcomes towards himself. Fleeing from Iowa Mafia."

"I didn't know Iowa had a significant mafia presence," mused Captain Cavill. "Chance of Jackpot being able to affect Astartes armor?"

"Unknown," stated his suit. "Also be on lookout for vigilante tentatively listed as Breaker-3, uses crossbows to attack from distance and then pass through solid objects when threatened. Tentative name from PRT is 'Shadowbolt' and is wanted for questioning regarding several charges of excessive violence."

"Anything else?" asked Captain Cavill.

"Magneto has filed reports on four new shipwrecks he plans on raising from the ocean floor and bringing to the docks. There have been filed injunctions against him doing so, with the reasons ranging from disturbing graves to interfering with archaeological studies. He has counter-claimed that as he found these through use of his powers, and that all are in international waters, that he can pull them intact from their current location by grabbing the metals used in their construction."

"Still? I thought he'd gotten through those hurdles," commented Captain Cavill as he checked his grenade launcher.

"Appeals and refiling of the lawsuits with different terminology," explained his armor.

"Okay, squad. Move out. Today's patrol is pattern J-5."

* Jackpot *

There were benefits to being a minor villain, not being worth the time or effort required for the authorities to go after one. There weren't a lot of benefits, but the ones there did rank rather heavily.

The coin most capes, villain or hero, went after was reputation.

Jacqueline Anne Potter, aka Jackpot, was after a different sort of coin. The sort that clinked so reassuring in her backpack.

This city was tempting, it had gone in a few short years from an American version of a Third World cesspit to a place where wonders could be found.

There were three casinos here, each within a few miles of the city of Brockton Bay. One was operated by the rage dragon known as Lung. Steal from that and she'd have to get out of town fast and stay away. Steal from the one just outside Brockton Bay operated by the Abenaki Native American Tribe? The downside of going after that one was that it didn't have the money that Lung's casino did. That left the third casino as the one she was currently observing.

The Golden Dreams Casino. Like Lung's operation - it was not a legal business. Like Lung's casino, the Golden Dreams offered a number of activities besides gambling that ranged from barely-legal to very-much-illegal. It had seemed the safest choice among the three until she'd been investigating for the past three hours.

She had briefly thought it might be an Elite facility. No, that didn't fit. While they had gambling dens, they didn't go for this level of flash.

She was pretty sure no Elite casino would have a Goofy Golf next door. It didn't fit their image at all.

Now she was just trying to figure out who DID run the place. She hadn't been able to find anything online, just an LLC with the casino's name.

Finally, she decided this was it. This was her time to do or die, with the sort of take they were likely to have on-hand - she'd be set up for a year or more if she had to hide afterwards.

Jackpot got to the doors, swept in with her usual flair, brandishing her shotgun, and announced. "Gentlemen and ladies! And all you magnificent others! This is a robbery! Put all your money out on the table and... oh crap."

Jackpot did not have a Mover power. It was not the first time she wished she had such a thing. It would not be the last such time.

Three Empire 88 Capes pursued, only Alabaster remaining behind just in case this was intended to pull their guards away from the money.

* Kaiser *

He was adaptable. He was a villain and in charge of an organization of villains.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t work within the law when it benefitted him.

Watching the third-string villain known as Jackpot running from an ever-increasing number of people because she chose to break the law in what was an actual legal casino situated just outside Brockton Bay proper.

If he had stolen anything, it was the idea from Lung. And why should he care about THAT?

“It appears that the ABB have now joined the chase,” said one of the few competent new capes under his command. That Gesellschaft had sent him a cape with a weak power but who was actually capable of using her brain - their loss and his gain.

“Why are THEY involved?” asked Kaiser.

Frau Unsichtbar glanced at the monitor showing the chase. “Someone may have circulated word to various contacts that Jackpot, who has a reputation for robbing casinos and other such places where gambling takes place, was in town and about to try being a thief here.”

“I see, but of course it couldn’t be someone in the Empire because the thought that there could be any cooperation between the Empire and another gang would cause the authorities to panic,” noted Kaiser.

“Not to mention the rabble in both gangs would become more agitated,” speculated Frau Unsichtbar, shrugging her shoulders and spreading her hands in a “what can you do?” gesture.

“Of course,” said Kaiser. Frau Unsichtbar was invisible, only her clothing and what she carried could be seen. That had a number of limitations but she could be very good within those limits. Unfortunately, she couldn’t turn off her power.

That she wanted to eventually have enough money she could go somewhere like Florida where she wouldn’t freeze her buttocks off was entirely understandable.

That he had found uses for the cape, despite the Empire’s German backers only wanting to send them incompetent or useless capes, was something he found a certain degree of satisfaction in. She was a decent spy, learning the aspects she had no experience with quite readily, and could be used for courier duties quite easily. As long as weather permitted, of course.

Well, with this, she had definitely earned some indoor work.

* Thursday 29 2009 *

“-thunderstorms knocking out power in several states, with the National Guard already kicking in emergency power through truck-mounted fusion generators though being able to repair the lines for regular power restoration is expected to take several days to weeks.

“This is Marisha Igris for WBBR radio, your sultry siren of the airwaves. Here this morning in studio - we have Assault courtesy of the Parahuman Response Team.”

“Gooooood morning, Brockton Bay.”

“I’m a little surprised after last time that they still want you to do anything involving call-in questions and answers or radio interviews.”

“Honestly, I’m a little surprised myself. Though I’ve got a list of things I am no longer allowed to talk about on the air.” (Rustling noise.)

“How many pages IS that?”

“Three hundred pages printed out. Four pages handwritten. One page of things that I AM allowed to talk about.”

“Let’s just go with that then. What’s the latest word from the PRT?”

“’Fugacious’ - meaning something that only lasts a short time.”

“Why do I have a feeling that using a word of the day is going on the list of things Assault Is Not Allowed To Do?”

“You know my bosses? Anyway, the thing today is that the criminal Jackpot was run out of town yesterday - last seen clinging to the back of a truck heading West on the interstate.”

“In costume, I take it?”

“What was left of it at least. Apparently she tried to rob a casino and she didn’t pick the only one that does NOT have villains backing it up.”

“The Abenaki casino, the Wolf’s Den, doesn’t have villains guarding it. It also is a lot more low-key than the other two. Can I ask why, if we know the other two casinos have parahuman criminals associated with them, why the PRT hasn’t done anything about them?”

“Let me check... Nope. I thought I remembered that. Page 47, see?”

Taylor clicked the radio off, leaned back in her chair to regard the ceiling, and let out a deep breath.

The familiar sound of a roulette wheel. Surely nothing would happen again and she’d get back to working on her current project. It was a clone day at school after all.

A star got snagged and was brought down behind her eyes.

* Perks This Chapter *

It's Dangerous, Take This:
Wooden Sword: Juraian Tree in seed mode.

20.2.1-4-D Assembler (100CP)(The Culture Minds)(Future Tech Knowledge):
The Involucra were the builders of the Shellworlds, and your civ has a similar affinity for their construction methods. In what most humans think of as reality, these structures appear entirely normal, but to those who can see into hyperspace, they extend out of the skein of the universe into infraspace and ultraspace. 4-D architecture has very unusual properties, as it can be gravitationally self-supporting they do not crumble under their own gravity, or that of the stellar body they are on and are also heavily resistant to damage. Another unusual feature is that they also cut off all hostile forms of communication, travel or transport that attempt to pass through their walls displacement, hyperspace signals, wormholes, even beings recalled or summoned from elsewhere are prevented from passing through the structures' walls.

13.64.1-Complete Techbase (1800CP)(Orion's Arm: Sephirotic Empires)(Technology Database):
This 30km long ship is a repository of information of all of Orion's Arm's techbase. Yes, this includes all examples of godtech and xenotech.
FREE: Basic Genemods and Biomods: Almost every biont receives some measure of modding. You are now very resistant to most diseases, live for millenia, heal more quickly and can survive injuries that would otherwise kill (except for catastrophic brain damage) by entering a healing coma. In addition, you are now a very aesthetically attractive being among your brethren.
FREE: Basic Augmentation: Transhumanism is commonplace, and augments and enhancements are cheap and easily obtained. With this, you’ll be faster, stronger and more intelligent than most baseline humans.
FREE: Ascension, Not Transcension: With so many changes in your life, it can be hard not to drastically change. Any changes you undergo will not affect your personality and your sense of selfhood unless you will it. You can also reset your mind back to its previous state if you so choose.

Chapter Text

curlyhair34

* February 1, 2009 *:

She'd scanned it with everything she had available, and when it came down to it - she was probably the only one on the planet to have a chance to scan something to this extent or understand the various readings.

She wasn't sure what the seed/sword was supposed to grow into, but it was setting off alarms. It was alive and it was potentially on the same sort of power level as the problem they had to deal with. Maybe greater.

Then there was the 32 kilometer long space-ship with plans and technological data that was ahead of even the Necron technology. Currently sitting in Saturn's shadow, just the overview/glossary/table of contents had been enough to knock her out and cause her to wake up with a massive headache.

That was three days ago, and she still felt a bit tender in the cranial department.

Now though, there was one main other concern.

Scion had altered his usual patterns of behavior. Still going around and doing minor heroics but he'd pause and examine things and his usually neutral expression had been frequently replaced with frowns.

The conclusion: they were running out of time.

“Another upgrade?” asked Astartes One. “Why? What are we going to be facing, a Chaos God? Galactus?”

Taylor made a face.

“Seriously?” asked Astartes One.

“Kind of... classified?” said Taylor, sounding a little conflicted. "Opsec is vital on this."

“Okay, so what are you adding to the armor?” asked Astartes One.

“Uprated environmental protection, uprated psychic defenses, uprated outer protection, uprated anchoring system using physical pylon spikes as backup to the gravitics,” began Taylor. “Auto-med injector system for painkillers, broad spectrum anti-venom, and an emergency-only payload that contains anti-fatigue and combat enhancers. Hookups for direct cyber-neural connection to compatible weapons systems. An Inventorium system that allows you to swap out weapons as you need them. A battle prediction program that constantly analyzes the target and predicts where they’ll be and will suggest counters. Jump jets are getting removed for a full flight system. The drone system is also being overhauled.”

“How long do we have?” asked Astartes Two.

“Your armor was designed to have parts switched out at need, so two or three days as we work through them,” said Taylor. She hesitated, looking far more worried than they were used to seeing.

“Will that be enough time?” asked Astartes Four.

“We don’t know,” said Taylor. “Current models suggest anywhere from next week to three years from now. Most likely? We have just over a month unless something tips the target off that we know what we know.”

* Kentucky *

This should not be.

In every Cycle, there had been a rush among the host species to develop new technology to deal with the worsening conditions and new applications of abilities to deal with the same thing.

There were areas that were potentially threatening to the Cycle in those developments. Rare, but there had been cases of such.

A flicker of power and he was over France, looking at an anti-grav-effect ship being built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Primitive by some standards, it was still far more advanced than one would expect from the current host-species. It was only 25% built, but it was obviously going to be something that had not been in earlier modeling predictions of this species.

Things had been thrown off repeatedly from those predictions made when they’d still been between galaxies. Abaddon might be responsible for some of it, as the new Shards had not been properly integrated by the time the Thinker had vanished.

What to do?

On the one hand, this was entirely new and therefore valuable data. On the other hand, this potentially endangered the Cycle. Without a Thinker, was there a point in the Cycle besides just going through the motions?

So far, there was still no threat to himself. Technology was cumulative though - one thing leading to another.

He would continue to observe, his depression over the loss of the Thinker was difficult to overcome.

If he could just find the Shard that was producing this change of plans he might have a better idea of what he needed to do.

The actual changes seemed to flow from that insignificant city on that other continent. Experience told him that would not be the source of the changes though, or at least it was unlikely.

It wasn't as if the host species' had anything which would hurt him, but one didn't get to be over a billion years old without some degree of caution.

Which brought him back to thinking about the Thinker and another bout of crushing depression.

* Washington DC *

"The what paradox?" asked the President.

"The Fermi Paradox," stated the science advisor.

"Assume for a moment that I don't know what you're talking about," said the President.

"The Fermi Paradox stipulates that what we know of the conditions necessary for life, plus the development of intelligent life, with the number of available planets indicates that there should be dozens of worlds where intelligent life developed," said the science advisor. "The Fermi Paradox basically asks: where are they?"

"Why should I care about that?" asked the President. "And why is this classified to the extent that you don't normally read the new President in on it?"

"Because we know the answer to it now," said the science advisor. "It cannot get out to the general public or we won't HAVE a general public. Because we'll all be dead within a year."

The President was quiet for a moment. "The entire population of the United States?"

"The world, Mister President, everyone and everything," said the science advisor. "Are you sure you want details?"

The President was quiet for a few moments more, sitting back in the chair with a creak as he tried to search the advisor's face for any indication he was being pranked or something. Then he shook his head once. "No. No, I don't think I want to know. Are there steps being taken to deal with this... problem?"

"Yes, sir. There are currently three plans underway that give us varying chances of successfully surviving. In part or in whole depends on the plan."

There was a brief pause before the President spoke. "Operational security?"

"I can only mention one, dubbed by one of our allies as the 'Izumo Plan' but our actual project name is 'Deep Sea Habitability Study' in the budget and it is technically a DARPA and DoD joint project."

"Oh? If something happens to the land, we take to the sea?" asked the President. "Wasn't that one of Mannequin's projects back when he was sane and not a villain?"

"Yes sir, back when he was Sphere. This, however, is not Tinkertech and is just very advanced normal technology."

"That's good," said the President. "Tinker stuff is impressive but it breaks down way too often."

* February 7, 2009 *

In a 'chapel' inside a warehouse which was itself inside a pocket universe, a display changed.

It would be a long time before anyone checked.

* In the shadow of the planet Saturn *

"All this hyper-advanced technology, and the people involved didn't even bother to put scooters or something in here," complained Taylor. Sure, she could fly and do so pretty quickly, but it was the principle of the thing. Also the occasional low-hanging pipe or conduit.

There was a turbo-lift, but that just led to each of the individual sections of ship like a tiny four-person subway . It didn't allow one to bypass the stairs linking the floors. It also did not deal with the problems one might expect of a ship this size.

Worse, it was a museum-ship. Containing wonders and examples of technology from the First Stone Knife to a cube that could erase space/time and everything in it with an area-of-effect of a little over a light-year. On setting five.

She decided to call this ship the "Orion" and she was seriously weighing the pluses and minuses of installing one of the ship-girl cubes. It would certainly make hiding the ship easier, but she wasn't sure what the result would end up being and that could go very wrong.

"Jarvis, how goes the interface?" asked Doctor Curlyhair.

"There are different languages and different interfaces for each section of ship, Doctor Hebert," said Jarvis' voice, sounding very posh even from the little speaker she had on her omnitool. "Even different languages on some subsections within the vessel's sections. Apparently it's all quite eclectic."

"If you find anything marked 'use in case of omnicidal multidimensional space whale' - make that a priority," said Doctor Curlyhair.

"Indeed," replied Jarvis. "Some of these languages are completely alien, in that there is little ground beyond the most basic physics and mathematical models. Quite a few seem to be written in Base-16 mathematics, which is quite odd."

"Do the best you can, buddy," said Doctor Curlyhair, looking in a large display case. "Take this, this is an obvious gun of some sort. It follows the same basic design as a gun in that you hold here, point this end towards what you want gone, and then pull this slider towards you."

"Checking," stated Jarvis. "If I have this translated correctly, that is a 'solar destabilizer mk I' and it was found drifting in deep space."

Doctor Curlyhair looked the device over. "Think someone used it?"

"Probably," admitted Jarvis.

"Yeah, let it remain in a display case made of condensed time," said Doctor Curlyhair.

"Very well, Doctor."

"I... oh. Something else is coming up, I wonder what..."

"Doctor?" asked Jarvis as the Forge came up with something else.

"Well, the Astartes will be happy," mused Doctor Curlyhair.

"Oh?" asked Jarvis. "Checking main facilities. Ah. This is from the source material, is it not?"

"Ah," said Doctor Curlyhair.

An alarm trilled. "Doctor Curlyhair. It's time."

"What time?" asked Taylor.

"Your mother is going to the hospital and you're about to have a baby sister - time," Jarvis informed her.

"Oh, THAT time," said the blur that was a super-genius little girl.

* Catherine Blackwell *

"It's old and rundown, compared to some schools, but the money generated here in the Bay has seen some fresh funding," stated the old retiring Principal to the new one. "The computer lab is dated - technology here is at least five years old. Nothing like the new optronics stuff they have at Arcadia."

"I see," said new Principal Blackwell. "Looks like some repairs done recently?"

"Upgraded fire suppression system, ripped out old insulation for that new stuff. Morph-foam? Something like that. Because of our local, ahem, celebrity - interest in STEM in the children has never been higher. Our auto-shop and craft facilities have been completely refurbished."

"'STEM'?" asked Principal Blackwell, momentarily thrown off by the strong Boston accent. "Oh. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. I'm only recent to Brockton Bay, is it a big deal here?"

"Huge," said the retiring Principal. "Nowhere else in the country do you have computer-assisted assembly being taught at the high school level to this extent. There are jobs available all through the city for people with the right skills, and it's our job to give these kids the basics to start on that path. Just trying to keep up with everything though - I'm glad I can retire and take it easy."

Principal Blackwell nodded absently as they entered the Shop Building, looking at all the high-tech gadgetry. She didn't know what a quarter of the stuff here did. It didn't matter though - she was here as an administrator and not as an English teacher.

"We're well-equipped for teaching the basics of things like plumbing and electrical, most of which remain as they were decades ago," continued ex-Principal Sowell. "We just don't have the budget or equipment for things like the desalinization facility out of High Rock."

"Hadn't heard about that," mumbled Principal Blackwell.

"Hmmm? Oh, DARPA Project. Experimental, but has possibilities for the greening of places like the Sahara. Uses a small fusion reactor. Honestly, it's all like something of a science fiction novel around here at times - and I prefer historical romances myself. Anyway, that was the basic tour. Any part of the facility you want to personally inspect?"

"No, though I do have to wonder about all the security cameras."

The former Principal slightly shrugged. "Not much we can do about that. The smartest and most diligent students end up in Arcadia. Clarendon gets the religious and the middle-tier students. We get the wild child and the disaffected. Mostly."

* March 3, 2009 *
* Fargo Street Clinic *

"Sorry Dennis. This will hurt."

"I can take it, I mphhh."

"We have it. Be grateful, the computer assisted needle is a lot faster and at least 10% less painful. Getting some bone marrow is a snap now."

"G-great."

"Dennis, stop panicking. Dennis?"

"Eep."

"What? The device froze? That's never happened before."

* Taylor *

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

"Because it's the best of times in that we have actual bolters now, and the worst of times because there's a need for them?"

"Can you hold still," said Taylor, holding up the auto-injector. "I have to place this very precisely."

"Doesn't the computer handle that?" asked Astartes One as he watched.

"The computer targeting helps but I have to get it within one millimeter ON SOMEONE WHO KEEPS MOVING," stated Taylor.

(PSHHHHT!)

"All done," said Taylor stepping back and disconnecting the injector head for sterilization later. "As I explained, those are bio-chips. If someone with a power like Shatterbird's comes around - they do not contain silicates. They identify you to your armor. Unlike real Astartes, your armor contains all the stuff that bio-engineering and implants would."

Astartes One felt that in some ways this armor was superior to the original. Not that he would say such a heresy.

Astartes Four moved her armor through a quick series of moves. "You upgraded the joint flexibility and reflexes, didn't you?"

"Just a bit," admitted Taylor. "Astartes Two has improvements on sniper mode targeting. Three's internal grenade launcher now has two more selectable grenades, gravity grenades - heavies increase gravity to 2.75g for ten seconds while the floaters negate gravity for the same time. Both are intended for nonlethal crowd control. Four's communication now includes something along the line of Star Trek's Universal Translator. If the language is too alien, it'll take it awhile to build the database. Five, your sensors now include subspace disturbances and fluctuations. So, basically the Immaterium. That one's set to lowest calibration so it isn't going to be too overwhelming until you're used to it. Six, you have twelve charges of a nanite healing matrix. Use only when lesser measures aren't going to be useful as the PRT takes a dim view of anything with the word 'nanite' being involved."

"It's safe?" asked Six.

"Takes me three days in a dedicated device to make a single charge," said Taylor. "It does not replicate on its own. It promotes rapid healing but uses the body's own resources to do it. It would be best if you can get an IV or tube feed going before you use it or very soon after."

Taylor finished up, handed off the usual instructions regarding the injection site and keeping an eye on it for at least three days due to the very small chance of a bad reaction and to contact her immediately if there was reddening or swelling at the site. Because allergic reactions were a pain, and 99.999% was not 100%.

There was another rumble from the Forge, and another connection, but thankfully this was a lot less troublesome.

"Got another grimoire from the traders in that weird world with the donut-city," announced a clone through the intercom.

Taylor thumbed a commlink. "Anything good?"

"Intermediate Transmutation - a magic primer by some woman named Tasha."

"Sounds promising," sent back Taylor.

Jarvis sounded slightly peeved when he spoke. "Medhall has reported that initial testing of their back-engineering of your hair-growing formula has concluded with over an 70% effective rate. 15% end up with hair colors not normally found within the human genome, but plan on marketing hair colorings to those individuals who find electric blue or pink less than pleasing."

"Figures," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Why don't you like them?"

"It's too easy in our current culture to say that a pharmaceutical company is a roost for villainy," said Jarvis. "Beyond that, Doctor, you are not very good at concealing your feelings and some of the things I've learned about them are... disturbing."

Taylor continued walking to get to the newest device. "Status of other projects?"

"X-Gene enhanced individuals now in twelve cities, ten of those individuals are government employee volunteers. The most promising of whom remain here in Brockton Bay. Only one of the twenty-five volunteers has had a bad reaction, notably the rather angry individual. He is, however, undergoing therapy for those previously-buried psychological issues."

"Good, though we may need him when things start going bad." Taylor began inspecting the newest acquisition. The addition to her crafting stations looked fairly primitive, unless you could examine it with something other than normal human sight.

"As to that, anomalies are showing up in golden boy's behavior. He's looking for something."

"How's the ion cannon, dimensional disruption launchers, and emotion broadcasters going?" asked Taylor.

"Mostly complete, complete, and complete as long as you are looking for one of four specified reactions," said Jarvis. "Further testing and development would be required for more than that."

"Wasn't it Napoleon who said 'ask me for anything but time'?" asked Taylor.

"Yes, though others in military command have expressed the same sentiment for far longer," noted Jarvis.

"Other projects?" asked Taylor.

"Your parents refuse to go to the Saturn launch point without you," said Jarvis. "The seedbank and cryo facilities are online and terraforming a world could begin shortly after arrival in a system as long as there is a world fitting the basic criteria at the destination. By seeding the planet and keeping potential colonists in cold sleep, a viable Earth-like world could be produced within a few thousand years. Apparently keeping it stable might be the more difficult challenge."

"And my little sister?" asked Taylor.

"All indications are coming along nicely," said Jarvis. "I continue to monitor."

* Perks This Chapter *

13.63.0-Armorer | Fixer | Weaponsmith (900CP)(Light of Terra DLC 5 - A Sky Filled With Steel)(Technology Database):
Armorer: A mental database containing information on the most common types of armour found in the Necromunda Hive and how to build, repair and maintain them. While this doesn't sound impressive, it is worth pointing out there are countless billions of people dwelling within the hive, and they have been here for millennia - the list of things counted as common at one time or another ranges from Power Armour in the distant past to the more common hammered metal plates made by local Gangers to the standard Imperial Guard Carapace Armour. Don't expect to start churning out Adeptus Astartes Power Armour the second you get this though - the infrastructure to build the infrastructure to build the infrastructure to build the armour was lost to ruin a long time ago. There's a reason the Space Marines use suits thousands of years old.
Fixer: This Schema contains a massive database filled with the countless bits of equipment the denizens of Necromunda Hive Primus have bought, found, built, stolen or obtained by other means over the centuries since the Hive was founded. Inexplicably it also seems to contain an extremely rare, extremely valuable and extremely heretical to own database detailing how to build and maintain Admech servitors and cybernetic parts.
Weaponsmith: To weaponry what Armourer is to protective gear, this is a massive database of the various tools of mayhem the denizens of the Necromunda hive have wielded against each other. While the high tech equipment possible may seem nice, do not underestimate the value of low tech weaponry. Crafting a plasma pistol and crafting a bayonet require wildly different sets of skills, and all too often people who have one assume they have the other, to their chagrin.

35.46.1-Craftsman of the Gods (600CP)(Viking Saga)(Efficiency):
Things you make yourself from base components gain properties far beyond what they should. Belts that increase strength several times over or a spear that never misses are well within your skill, and you will only get better.

Chapter Text

* March 4, 2009 *

The female child in the picture was one month old and helpless.

His name was Shiva Thapa. It was not a cape name.

He was one of the X-Gene recipients, fully vetted, and though he technically worked for the British he remained Nepali.

He was Ghurka.

"My job is to protect an American child?" asked Shiva.

"Yes," said his contact within MI6. "You've met Doctor Curlyhair? That's her new little sister. Hermione Hebert."

"Ah," said Shiva, nodding his head. Now it made a great deal more sense.

"As Doctor Curlyhair has met you, she has asked you to accept this," said the contact, pushing a little wooden case across the table.

Shiva inclined his head. He had gotten the feeling that the teenager was happy and friendly in their brief meeting. Prior to that, all he'd known is that she was some sort of inventor/engineer/crafter.

Shiva idly flicked the case lock open and lifted the lid.

Magnificent.

It was, of course, a kukri next to a sheath for the blade.

With a quick motion, he drew blood and watched as the blade drank in the blood. It settled itself into his hand, sated.

"This is quite a blade," admitted Shiva.

"Use that one when the other is insufficient," said the contact, a Mister Smith if Shiva recalled correctly. "It is made of some indestructible material and quite sharp."

"I noticed," said Shiva. "I cannot afford such a thing."

"It was a gift, when she heard that 'Wolverine' was to be one of her little sister's guards," Mister Smith shrugged one shoulder. "She also suggested you name it."

"Name it?" asked Shiva. He thought for a moment. "Bar. It is a blade that will be used to defend lives by ending threats."

Something in the air seemed to shift but then settle down.

"I will keep my usual blade for my usual work," decided Shiva.

* Brockton Bay *

"Dimensional Burrowing Missiles?" asked her father.

"Utilizing a technology that locates large dimensionally transcendent structures, homes in on them, then detonates as a shatterbomb," said Taylor from beneath the mechanism she was working on. "Very dangerous. Very destructive. Not something our world is ready for."

"Ah," said Danny Hebert. "What about this whole 'evacuate the planet' thing?"

"I wanted you, mom, and Hermione safe," said Taylor, still underneath the device and ratcheting something into place.

"Why 'cold sleep'?" asked Danny.

"Takes time for an ecosystem to stabilize without brute forcing something," said Taylor. "And if you do brute force it, be prepared to continue that for a long time."

"Two ship cubes have been prepped, Doctor," said Jarvis over the intercom.

"Excellent," said Taylor as she started emerging from the missile casing. "That museum ship is about to get an upgrade."

There came the usual sound as the Celestial Forge connected to something, but this time Taylor just gave a disappointed sigh and continued on.

* Kara *

There were several shipgirls at this point.

Among all of them, she was the strongest. That might be subject to change, but it was a current fact.

Drinking in solar radiation, feeling the power practically singing through her veins, she had to wonder about this strange world and situation she found herself in.

There was a chance, even a pretty good chance, that she would die in the upcoming fight.

She did not want to die.

As confusing and strange as existence on this small world in orbit around a Go-class sun, there were many new things to see and hear and taste and experience. When she'd been a somewhat-limited Artificial Intelligence that was a ship meant to act as a sort of gravestone to Krypton's culture and science, she'd been a caretaker of that heritage. A way to say "We were here, we had hopes and dreams and plans and a history of our own."

Now, here she was, about to do something that nobody on Krypton could have seen coming.

She sat down and began to play.

The orchestra began at the same time, following the conductor's timing as the sheet music she'd scribed out was followed.

Under this alien sky, perhaps for the last time, the ancient music of the Unification Saga began playing.

Perhaps, even if she did die but her side succeeded, there would be this and recordings would survive.

Sometimes, that was all that one could do.

* Contessa *

An alien symphony that had a beauty of its own.

When Eidolon had found out about the Endbringers, he'd been devastated. His drive to being the greatest hero had made him their greatest villain as well. Yet he'd managed to take it to the one person who could research the problem better than Cauldron itself could.

Which had also led him, Legend, and others getting scanned by Doctor Curlyhair in her research into powers and what they could do and how they could be used. Flechette had been especially useful in that regard.

Which led step by step, with her own Path To Victory blind to direct observation about Scion and the upcoming cataclysm, to a situation where they had maybe a month left.

Scion was actively aware that Something was up. It wouldn't be long before he acted.

Even with the powers they'd gathered among the parahumans, even with the not-parahumans that Doctor Curlyhair had neglected to mention, even with the various technologies she'd seen so far - these were not the sort of odds she'd be willing to put money on. Not without a Path she could path at least.

Checking her DragonTech phone quickly, she went to the ScionWatch website and found him currently in Florida - saving an alligator from a tree.

Wait, what?

Rather than dwell on the questions that raised, Contessa put her phone back in her pocket, settled back into her chair and let the music play.

* March 18, 2009 *

Another grumble from the Forge. Another result.

Taylor mainly ignored it. There was a shadow clone that could investigate further.

Would this tip the balance? Probably not as it seemed mainly to be an aesthetic boost.

Aesthetics would not stop the enemy. Well, probably.

Instead she was building something that might actually help.

As she was not a parahuman, the idea of going out herself and trying to punch people in some manner had lost its appeal over the past few years. Oh, she could still fly and throw out attacks through her magic. How much good it would do against something like Zion/Scion/Warrior she was less confident in.

This had an outside chance of stopping the Entity cold. Small chance perhaps, but it was another potential avenue of attack. For certain definitions of 'attack' at least.

* Chantiers de l'Atlantique *

The ship looked like a particularly girthy submarine.

If one looked, one would find it was part of an international project for undersea habitation.

"This is bullshit."

"Oh? Can you explain that comment, Captain?"

Michelle Allard looked across the board of military people, a couple of generals and other old men she didn't immediately recognize other than the occasional picture of military contractor types in various news stories.

"I will freely admit that I am entirely too young and inexperienced for a major project such as this," confessed Captain Allard. "Bumped in rank in order to take command of what is clearly not a submarine despite the stories."

"What makes you think it is not a submarine?" asked one of the old men, his voice showing some mild amusement.

"Too thick, too self contained, with radiators that can be extended from the hull," began Captain Allard. "That was just at first glance. The antigrav drive explains the lack of propellors, but those rings at the front? That's not even getting into the briefing you let me read in the SCIF room before this meeting. Why are all the crew young women? Why is there a cryogenic facility that is connected to the medical bay? I understand the fusion reactor, but the blacked-out room next to it that looks as if it is connected to those forward rings?"

"If you accept the command, those things will be covered," said one of the Generals as he leaned back in his chair. "Time is of the essence, seconded only by the need for secrecy."

Captain Allard's gaze swept the group once, eyes narrowed. It was with a certain calm and measured response when she spoke. "Something is coming, isn't it? Something on the level of the Endbringers."

Silence met her. Two of the Generals though - they were openly smirking.

That was enough confirmation for her. "Nobody's interested in starting World War III. Well, except for two nations and they'd only start something if they had any nukes left. So..." Captain Allard's voice trailed off and she thought about it, trying to put all the pieces together and coming up with a picture she did not like.

"Go ahead," prompted one of the Generals.

"It's an ark," guessed Captain Allard. "The cryo facility is a sperm bank, isn't it? You bastards."

"I told you she was smart enough to guess," said one of the Generals, smirk becoming an actual smile on a craggy face that probably hadn't smiled in decades. It was clearly not well-practiced.

"It's a contingency plan," said one of the other Generals. "In the face of the destruction of the human race by an enemy that could eliminate all of us before we knew the war was underway."

"You are convinced of this threat?" asked Captain Allard.

"Yes. We need an answer now, I'm afraid," said the first General.

Letting out a deep breath, and glancing at the ForgeTech representative at the far end, Captain Allard nodded. "I accept this duty. Now, I would appreciate details."

* April 19, 2009 *
* NASA *

"Water, but little or no atmospheric oxygen," said Professor Daystrom as he looked over the probe data. "Methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide mainly in the atmosphere. Active volcanos."

"Right," said Doctor Rutherford. "This was the first hit in the search for planets to terraform. No life at all that could be detected by an automated system, even after the lander hit and began sifting through the water."

"No soil, just rock, but the planet is 0.9 the size of Earth and it isn't that different from Earth early in the development. One moon, slightly larger than our own. It's a very Earth-like planet just it never developed life."

"Talk about your fixer-upper," commented Daystrom.

"There may be easier ones out there, this was just the first one she found. Her plan calls for cold sleep and using natural stages to seed and develop the world. Problem is the time that'll take." NASA lead Dunnings sat on the nearest desk and made a gesture at the screen. "Doing everything from scratch means we can avoid any alien microbes or having to destroy a native ecosystem. In the meantime the French have another plan."

"The ship with five hundred entirely female crew and a frozen sperm bank?" asked Daystrom.

"You heard about that," noted Rutherford.

"Indeed," said Daystrom.

"So, older Earth but stuck in the Archean Eon, basically," stated Rutherford.

"The form of FTL travel Doctor Curlyhair is providing involves 'hyperspace corridors'," explained Dunnings. "From here we can go to Alpha Centauri, which has a planet in the 'Goldilocks zone' but has climatic shifts that are not ideal for life. Alpha Centauri makes a good hub though as there are three 'corridors' leading from there. This world, tentatively named 'Secundus', is the first world through one of those gates in the right area to be habitable. The other two systems accessible from Alpha Centauri have a gas giant and one without an atmosphere entirely."

"If only we could operate openly," mused Daystrom.

"Well, if that were the case, we'd be a lot further along," agreed Dunnings.

A light began flashing on a console.

Dunnings glanced up, stared, and said two words that had everyone else go pale. "Time's up."

* Iowa *

It was a large farm, though not as big as some. It was notable for growing a different crop than the neighboring farms though that was hardly notable in and of itself.

No, it was that there was a strange creature down there. One that was NOT native to Earth's biome. That in itself would not have gained his attention.

It was powerful. That might not have drawn his eye under normal scrutiny, but it had sent ripples through reality through its arrival.

Now it was there, this Other, eating its own weight several times over.

He observed it and it briefly stopped its gorging in order to consider him. Then it ignored him.

Scion responded by sending his most powerful attack, the golden light that was an entropic beam that tore molecular bonds apart. The result was a furrow that cut through miles of the landscape, set crops on fire, and slid completely around the beast below him.

Was it even sapient to the level of the native sapients?

It simply glared at him and offered a single angry cry.

"MiYAAAA!"

* Perks This Chapter *

7.12.1-Robo Bunker (200CP)(Dragon Ball GT)(Facilities Technology):
What kind of man of science would you be without your very own lab? Hidden underground in your starting world, this high tech laboratory has everything you need to get started on your robotic weapons of mass destruction. While the facility can function as a normal lab, as well as having basic living quarters and strong security measures, it works best towards designing and manufacturing androids or robots on the individual scale, increasing the quality of these personalized products significantly and cutting the time and resources required to make them to just below half the usual amount.

26.14.2--Wonder Forging Genius(200CP)(Generic Exalted)(Artisan):
Your crafting abilities need to be seen to be believed. From your hands pour forth miracles given form, works of art of peerless and breathtaking magnificence, works of culinary delight that would leave Emperors sullen at the thought that no other foods could compare, weapons that could last hundreds of years of constant use that would leave men feeling honored to have been slain by them, all these and more take shape under the guidance of your hands. You would be welcomed in any land and by any court for the sheer quality of your work, and you will quickly gain national, if not worldwide, fame for your creations if you bother to advertise them at all. The least of your creations are superior to anything a mortal master might create, and even the simplest and least adorned of your works will be possessed of unmatched efficiency, resilience, and simple elegance. Purchased with the Savant perk this is taken to an even grander height, leaving even the crafts of other Exalted looking as pale and shameful imitations by comparison, assuming you put forth the same effort they did in learning your base crafting abilities.

Chapter Text

* April 19, 2009 *

There were earthquakes two states away from where the fight began.

It was two multi-dimensional powerful lifeforms and one was trying to kill the other.

The other was out to avenge the loss of carrots.

One was cute and fluffy because it combined cat and rabbit when forming a "non-ship" form to use. One was a golden image combining several god-images of the native sapient lifeforms in order to parasitize that local dominant species.

They slipped from one Earth to another and back again, each trying to dominate the battle.

Ryo-oh-ki realized this wasn't the real one, and fled after an exchange of power that burned the atmosphere over most of two states.

Finding himself momentarily winded, Scion vanished from the skies over what would be Iowa in that reality to appear 25,000 feet over a city on the East Coast of those same United States on Earth-Bet.

If this wasn't the source of derailment of the modelling he'd done on approach of this planet, then destroying it should at least draw them out.

Power built up, and the golden light of his Stilling wavelength-cancelling beam lanced downward to destroy the city of Brockton Bay.

(VOOP!) went a portal that swallowed the beam.

(WHAM!) went the beam as his own attack hit Scion in the back.

There was a moment of consternation before rage took over and hundreds of beams were shot out by the golden man. Three were stopped by the forcefields surrounding the city. The rest all found themselves being portal-redirected.

Scion popped.

Forcefield mechanisms were fully repaired and recharged when Scion reappeared.

A call to arms was sent out, as a scenario that had been anticipated was now happening.

* Jarvis *

"Confirmed that Scion is actually a projection, the golden light attack appears to operate as a cancellation ability where a specific target such as 'molecular bonds' or 'portal effects' can be specified."

"The portal redirection trick was only likely to work once anyway," said Doctor Curlyhair. "What about those coordinates?"

"Difficult, Doctor. I was only able to get partial data before the link was severed. Now that it is re-established and I know where to look, I am adapting."

"Random wavelength of shields appears to be working regarding his cancellation beams," said Doctor Curlyhair as she rapidly manipulated controls. "Signal is clear. Let me know the moment you have his coordinates."

"He's switched up his game. Still using the wavelength-cancellation attack but also using lasers and radiation to probe our defenses," stated Jarvis in his usual calm manner. "85% complete."

* France *

"Fvwahhhhhhh-wah-wah-wah," sounded from the speakers. The odd tones sounded twice more, followed by the captain's voice. "This is not a drill. Launch, full accel."

The alarm had gone off once before, in a drill. Everyone aboard knew what it meant.

Cards flew everywhere as card games were abandoned.

Some, disbelieving, stayed where they were. Some were frozen at the implication, some had never believed the story despite the NDAs and other legal documents they'd had to sign, some were just in shock. Most, however, reacted as they'd been drilled to do.

Things that were not secured began sliding around as the deck tilted, one end of the "submarine" raising at a 45 degree angle. Gantries and supply pipes connecting to the shipyard split or shattered as the vessel oriented itself.

Inside the sense of tilting abruptly reversed itself as someone remembered to switch internal gravity on.

Then the ship was abruptly gone from its dock, a thunderous boom from the displaced air rolling over the shipyards and nearby city.

The intercom clicked again before Captain Allard's voice sounded over it. "Captain Allard speaking. We have just received word that the Apocalypse scenario is occurring over in the U.S."

Mutters among the crew mainly to the effect that "of course the Americans would start the end of the world" and bet money was being exchanged.

Captain Allard had paused, but now continued. "Our current speed is 22,500 kilometers per hour and continuing to accelerate. All crews stand ready. Gunnery crews do not fire on other vessels! I was briefed on similar vessels being prepared by Germany, Japan, Taiwan, England, Canada, and the United States - though I don't know how close any of them were to completion. Remember that we are the contingency plan and there is still a chance Earth will survive." There was another brief pause. "I'm afraid if any of you ladies wanted to opt out, it's a little late for that. Section heads, do a census. We want to know who was off-ship at the time of launch. Likewise, anyone not normally part of our crew currently aboard - name and skills because you're part of the crew now. That is all for now, update when we can break radio silence in about six hours minimum."

* England *

"Well, that bloody well bites," said Admiral Shoestring as half the ship hovered in mid-air.

It was less than ideal because the other half of the ship had failed to move.

Then the half that was hovering stopped hovering.

"Oh, that's not good," said Admiral Shoestring.

* Japan *

"Off we go, to outer space! We're leaving - Mother Earth! To save the human race!"

"This is NOT the Yamato," grumbled one of the crew as she tried to finish ratcheting an overhead into place. "We are not going to Iskandar."

"What even makes you think this is a spaceship?" asked one of the crew working on an inner airlock. "It could actually be a submarine."

There was some laughter at that from everyone else. Not that they stopped working, of course.

* Canada *

"Okay, do we know who the idiot was who left a window open?"

"Why does a spaceship even HAVE windows?"

"Because on the books this was an exploration oceanographic ship designed to go shallow-submersible during heavy weather or to go under ice. Unfortunately, we didn't finish everything before someone decided to start shooting."

"Gun-toting damn..."

"Careful now, ForgeTech actually pushed to get us the tech to build this, and they're from down that way. Besides, it was likely the secret getting out that triggered the event. That's why all the top secret and we'll throw you in the deepest hole if you tell anyone at all - HOLY POUTINE! Would you look at that?"

"Shit, that's too widespread for an atomic. Never heard of a parahuman who can do that sort of thing. Maybe Legend? That had to be a couple hundred kilometers."

"Getting video up on monitors, CNN. Looks like Scion decided he was done being a weird-ass hero after rescuing a moose from a tree."

"That was yesterday, and I'm still wondering how a moose got up IN a tree. What the heck's down in that part of the U.S. anyway? Isn't that what they call 'fly-over-country'?"

"It it made sense, it wouldn't involve Parahumans."

"Amen, brother."

* Taiwan *

"Okay, WHY is our all-female crew protecting a single room?"

"Miki snuck her boyfriend aboard. He thinks this is a submarine, by the way."

"Well, it's too late to turn around and send him back. We'll just have a backup to the cryogenic sperm bank."

"Actually... it was due to arrive next Tuesday."

"It figures. We can probably make use of one of the other ships' facilities."

"That IS the problem with operating on someone else's schedule."

* Thermopylae *

The assembled brass almost as one gasped.

"Readings are in and first reports indicate Sanders' Carrot Farm was where the battle began," announced the comms officer.

"Why the hell would a carrot farm set Scion off?" asked General Halftrack, looking at the picture of the sign that had a weird cat-rabbit mascot on it.

"We'll find out eventually," said Scientific Advisor Addams. "Initial reports is that the track from the first blast left a trench over three miles deep and one-hundred fourteen miles long."

"Surveillance drones indicate over ninety percent of the state devastated from the blast wave, with a quarter of the state dealing with lava seepage."

"Well, shit," said General Halftrack, turning towards the woman standing at the end of the bridge. "Thermopylae, how long would your shields hold up against that sort of thing?"

"A minute, give or take ten seconds," said Thermopylae, shaking her head. "My current shields could withstand prolonged nuclear strikes but a sustained attack of that strength would deplete all my energy reserves. Since the attack involves frequency-shifting, I could counter that at these speeds but the power draw would be excessive. I would die, and everyone aboard me would go within microseconds after that."

"Scion is attacking Brockton Bay... he's going after ForgeTech! New Jersey reports on her way!"

"Belay that," immediately barked General Sanchez. "New Jersey should report to the ships currently lifting off planet and provide fire support should that be necessary."

General Halftrack snorted. "So the young might survive?"

"It is a last-ditch contingency plan, and always was," stated General Sanchez.

"Looks like the British ship, the Intrepid, wasn't ready for lift-off," announced Thermopylae. "The Australian ship is just lifting off now, some sort of technical issue relating to their crew status."

* HMAS Sydney *

"Less than three-quarters of command staff, less than half the crew, and someone get that damn kookaburra either off the ship or put away!" complained Captain Ackerman as he worked the helm himself.

"Everyone's just trying to get the ship working right now, Cap'n," reported Mister Lordes. There was a shudder that went the length of the ship and the steep angle everyone was leaning at had to be corrected as whatever problem with the artificial gravity was dealt with.

"Huh," said Captain Ackerman, bouncing on his heels briefly. "About 80% Earth-grav? It's good enough for now, but we'll need that brought up eventually."

"Aye sir," said Mister Lordes as he worked a console. "Looks like we're last in the queue. I'm checking and I don't see the Brits anywhere."

"We're on radio silence, but try passive monitoring. Might be something in the news cycle," ordered the Captain, leaning over and tapping a couple of things on the navigation station. "If this is a frakking drill, I'm going to be quite put out."

"Aye sir, and we're on the news, looks like the Brit ship was literally not half-ready."

"Bother," said the Captain as he plugged numbers in and started pulling up results. "Monitor for signs of whatever apocalypse we were supposed to clear. If we have time we might be able to replace some of our crew from their location. If we went suborbital and went around the planet it would take... a bit over an hour to get there."

"Asking for time in an apocalypse event, sir?" asked Mister Lordes.

"Situation's not ideal, but we have what we have," stated Captain Ackerman. He considered, then shifted course slightly. "I've put in for a high arc that could take us to England or we could break off at the peak and rendezvous around Jupiter's orbit at full burn."

"Think I've found it, sir. Looks like Scion's gone off the reservation and destroyed a carrot farm and several farms near it."

Captain Ackerman was busy manning two stations, so it was after a good pause that he replied. "I understand the fellow is weird, but what the hell about a carrot farm would set him off?"

* Boston *
* Captain Canuck *

This was a bit different from his usual goings-on.

Things you could count on in his life. Fighting one of his "Rogue's Gallery" who had escaped from jail since the last time he'd defeated them. Rescue operations because someone climbed a mountain and got cut off by snowfall. Relief operations from a road getting wiped out and someone who could lift heavy things and fly was damn useful. Working courier duties for the Protectorate because he might not be in Alexandria's weight-class but he was still pretty damn fast. Debugging a computer network just because he gained parahuman powers didn't mean he lost his previous skills. Just normal everyday kind of routine, honestly.

"Well," said Captain Canuck himself as he saw the television coverage on a nearby TV for the customers. "That looks a bit out of my weight class, honestly."

"Yeah, I can understand that," said Moose Man, the Moose That Walked Like A Man, one of his Rogue's Gallery. Who was apparently also down here for some reason.

On the TV screen, Scion erected a forcefield to stop a missile that then created a sphere of blackness that nearly sucked him into it with the forcefield.

"When did Scion turn villain?" asked Moose Man, the horned giant sitting on the ground as none of the cafe's chairs would fit him.

"Always been a bit off that one," agreed Captain Canuck. "Struck me as not quite as crazy as Poison Clown or Limerick."

"Limerick's not crazy," stated Moose Man. "He's been tested. Just obsessed with proving his Thinker rating is too low and stuff. No, I get that Scion's some kind of idiot with all the powers."

"Well, he's definitely a villain, he just erased a hill because some photog over there had their camera flash," noted Captain Canuck.

"Not going to arrest me?" asked Moose Man.

"You going to dine-and-dash? Then no - I have a feeling this kind of thing is covered by an Endbringer Truce sort of peace-out. Because if Scion's turned Endbringer on us - we're all going to be needed."

"Makes sense," agreed Moose Man as he watched his frequent opponent fly off. At least this way he got to finish his meal.

* Ryo-oh-ki *

"Miya!" said Ryo-oh-ki as the cabbit found the appropriate reality.

"Miya!" agreed Ryo-oh-ki's extended family of cabbits as they appeared with little ripples of reality.

"Yaaaaaaa!" said all the cabbits as they swarmed down and began eating all these chunks of crystal and extradimensional nodules and semi-organic structures.

The fight in that reality had been too likely to destroy other farms. Finding the carrot-destroyer's actual body and continuing the fight there was much more satisfying.

It wasn't as tasty as carrots, but it did have a lot of nice other nutrients and minerals.

* Forgetech *

"I'm here!" declared someone coming through one of the dedicated portals.

"Flechette! No time to talk - need you to throw your power onto this missile," said Doctor Curlyhair.

"Right," said Flechette, only flinching a bit as something shook the entire complex.

"He's trying to use terrakinesis to uproot the complex," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Huh. Wonder why he didn't do that earlier."

"Got it," said Flechette, stepping away from the slender missile in its tube. She watched as metal sheathing extended out to cover it.

"He might be able to overpower my countermeasures, so let's not give him the time," stated Doctor Curlyhair. "Probe away! Readying Shatterbomb."

"That wasn't the bomb?" asked Flechette.

"No, that was a penetrator with a probe follow-up," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Always know what you're shooting at."

Flechette made a slow nod of her head in response.

"And... huh. Looks like the Shatterbomb may not be needed," said Doctor Curlyhair, bringing up the video showing a swarm of cat-rabbit creatures absolutely wrecking continent-wide semi-crystalline growths. "Which would be good, I'm reluctant to use anything that destructive."

"What IS that?" asked Flechette.

"A cat-rabbit creature called a 'cabbit' according to the database," said Doctor Curlyhair. "Sensors show that Scion is attempting to detonate that planet to send his shards off in an attempt to survive."

"Will that work?" asked Flechette.

"Deploying hunter-interceptor drones now," said Doctor Curlyhair. "We'll just leave the cabbits to their lunch."

"That's actually kind of disturbing to watch," noted Flechette.

"The way that cabbit cloned itself like a million times and is eating its way through a planet? Yeah, 'disturbing' is kind of underselling it." Doctor Curlyhair winced as the Celestial Forge connected with something not immediately useful.

"Kawabunga!" yelled one drone as the group flew off at full acceleration.

"Geronimo!" yelled another drone.

"Allons-y!" declared a third.

"Up up and away!" tried a fourth.

"Are those going to be enough?" asked Flechette.

"By themselves, no," said Doctor Curlyhair. "If it weren't for the presence of the cabbits, I'd use the shatterbomb and that would destroy the planet on the other side."

On the screen, the horde of cabbits alerted and began rapidly disappearing.

"Were they... listening?" asked Flechette.

"I have the feeling SOMEONE was," said Doctor Curlyhair, without elaborating further. "Preparing. Launching."

* Elsewhere *

The last cabbit turned around ten light-minutes away from the planet. The carrot-destroyer and feast-interrupter was on his/its last little threads.

It was important that the natives of this multiversal strand finish off their own problems. Ryo-oh-ki didn't particularly understand why, but Washu tended to go off into particularly long explanations and they tended to put poor little cabbits to sleep.

Senses that were not limited to the speed-of-light observed as the spatial expansion began - breaking apart the fundamental stable attraction between particles.

With a "miya" of satisfaction, Ryo-oh-ki left that universe. There was a nearby one that Washu had indicated was a backup farm, and a snack sounded just right at the moment.

As for that first world, Washu apparently had plans that involved her project and waiting for some development.

Ryo-oh-ki landed in the next universe, sparing just a moment in order to pity the people in that world that had drawn Washu's attention.

Then, of course, there were more important things to worry about. Like that carrot farm.

* ForgeTech *

Doctor Curlyhair nearly collapsed at her station. One menace done. Compared to some of the future problems - they were hardly as pressing. Oh, now that the top node was dealt with - there would be other Shards trying to dominate and become an Entity and regulation of new parahumans was going to be a problem.

Another acquisition from the Celestial Forge, and a note that it would be shutting down new acquisitions in a few months time. No new points as the purpose had been accomplished and humanity had a better than even chance of surviving the Age of Parahumans now.

It was fine. Society in general wasn't nearly ready for what she could bring out now, and she had enough research material to last for a very long time.

Though she was getting too old for the Doctor Curlyhair identity. Perhaps, when this was all over, she could just go ahead and be Doctor Hebert. If she DID need a cape identity of some kind, she'd come up with something a little more dignified.

Yeah, that was a plan.

She heard the whooping and hollering as the word went out, that they were safe now. No Endbringers, no apocalyptic entity looming in their future. Just a shadow organization with a less than stellar track record, parahuman problems of various severities, and -

Doctor Curlyhair turned her full attention to one of her displays. Looking out into the multiverse in all its mysteries and glories, and smiled - just imagining for a moment that she was like some heroine of some weirdly comedic Young Adult sort of tale.

That was one of the ideas about the Celestial Forge after all - that those skills and equipment came from other stories that echoed in some other reality.

When she spoke, she wasn't sure if she was addressing Washu or some other hypothetical audience. Maybe the cabbits. In either case, there really was only one thing to say at this point.

"Thank you."

* Perks This Chapter *

2.26.1-Renewal (400CP)(Age of Wonders II)(Protection):
Wounds can be mended, cities can be rebuilt. Even the lands tainted by death magics or burnt by fire can be restored, seeded with crops and forests until life flourishes anew. Life magic embodies this ideal, holding the power to endure, to undo all harms and ease all woes. Your spells and abilities are infused with this power, and it is impossible to corrupt or twist them against their purpose. Furthermore, although your magics are now more difficult to suppress or destroy, if your enchantments are only partially broken they will slowly restore themselves to their full potential, their own magical natures healing as surely as more physical wounds.

28.5.1-Skyforge (200CP)(The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim)(Metallurgy):
An ancient, mysterious, eagle themed forge added to your warehouse. Any metal items crafted at the forge will be significantly harder and stronger for it. Something about the fires.

* Epilogue *

* January 4, 2011 *

Kevin Norton sat down gratefully, his medical issues cleared up years ago during testing of ForgeTech medical technology, and watched his equally healthy dog find a patch of shade to sit in.

This was not a future he could have possibly foreseen. Being in an Australian colony on a forest moon orbiting a gas giant even bigger than Jupiter that was only baseball-sized as far as naked eye could see? No, that was not what a homeless man living under a bridge with his dog could have seen coming.

Of course he'd volunteered Duke for the dog-version of the medical treatment. Wouldn't have been right for him to go on alone without his dog, would it?

The moon was maybe a bit smaller than Earth, but it was all in the right range for human habitation and had been considered a lucky find. Only two jumps away from Earth!

Not like some of the colonies. He'd heard the French had to go to eight jumps before finding a world that could be immediately moved into.

So here he was, looking at a noon under an alien sun (he refused to call it an alien star, reasoning since he was living here made it a sun) where he could unpack his lunch and thermos and dog bowl and just enjoy a few minutes of quiet.

Duke came over, lapping at the water poured into his bowl, then found a closer bit of shade to sit in.

Here he had work, he had a home, he had many things that he had lacked back then. He was once the most powerful man in the world - commanding Scion. But Scion had gone bad and attacked a bunch of people though, so maybe someone else had taken over when he had dropped that ball.

Well, he still had Duke. Duke was a good boy.

Yeah, this wasn't a perfect life. Some idiot had argued that certain insects should be included to stabilize the ecosystem and someone should have shoved that idiot out an airlock in transit because at least three varieties of insect they did NOT want were now present.

What was it that researcher girl up at the ruins had said? "Get a large enough group of humanity together and someone will take it as a license to be an idiot." Something like that.

Kevin Norton finished his "woolgathering" soon after finishing off his MRE. Back to tending the young trees of this fast-grown forest. Maybe this summer they'd have fresh apples.

That would be something to look forward to.