On the way back home, I made sure to put the bits of flesh that I managed to grab into various bins throughout Brockton Bay…
With that all done, I quickly decided to take another bus back home. I got a couple of odd looks due to the left sleeve of my shirt being ripped, and being covered in bits of wet trash… but nobody confronted me over it, at the very least.
As soon as I got to the house, I grabbed the spare key that was hidden underneath a false stone that was hidden inside of a bush, and unlocked the door.
Quickly locking it behind me, I went straight to the laundry, where I then stripped all of my clothes other than my underwear, and made sure there take the grime off of them before throwing them into the washing machine alongside my jacket.
I watched the washing machine for a few moments, as it hummed to life and started to wash my clothes. I still can't believe that I had to get all the way back home in those clothes.
They were absolutely disgusting to walk in, as every single step had let out a small squelching sound somewhere throughout the outfit, and it had an atrocious smell as well. I'm definitely going to have to bring spare clothes next time I go out.
Then, I walked into the bathroom, and made sure to get a good look at myself in the mirror for a few moments.
What I saw in the reflection was a tall and lanky girl, with nearly deathly pale skin and a long thin scar going from my temple all the way to my left eyebrow, then there was my dirty long curly hair, ruined by the trash from earlier… even the underwear I was wearing was stained somewhat, my tan bra having a brownish stain on it.
Sighing at the stain, I then took my underwear off and put it in the basket before hopping into the shower. The hot water splashing against my body was honestly a relief from the previous cold I was feeling, from walking around Brockton Bay in damp clothes.
After a few moments in the shower, I proceeded to practically lather soap all over my body, making sure to get as much of that awful stench off of me.
But even after what felt like half an hour of constant lathering, rinsing, and repeating? I finally felt like I was actually clean…
So with that, I decided to relax in the shower for a little bit. Just letting the water run down my naked body, as I tried to think of a good Hero name for myself…
'Rock Gal?... No, that doesn't really sound right' I thought to myself, idly humming as I started to wash my hair, grabbing a bottle of shampoo and tenderly rubbing it throughout my hair.
'What about MegaByte?... That's in the maybe pile if I can't come up with anything else.'
'Mega-Girl? No. Maybe… Mecha-Girl? On second thought? No, that doesn't really sound good. How about… Armscannon? It sounds like I'd be a knock-off Armsmaster, no… Mechashift? It doesn't sound too bad, and it's in reference to the fact that I can shift my arms into a mechanical state… maybe'
I continued to wash my hair, rinsing out the shampoo, and grabbing some hair conditioner.
'What about Machina? In reference to Deus Ex Machina… the God from the Machine, a term originating from Greek Theater…' I thought to myself, as I made sure that the hair product wouldn't get into my eyes.
Soon, I finished washing my hair, and stayed in the shower for a couple more minutes before eventually deciding to stop it.
"Machina, huh? That doesn't sound bad…" I muttered to myself as I stepped out of the shower, shuddering slightly at the sudden chill before grabbing the nearest towel.
I slowly but surely made sure to clean myself with the towel, from my hair all the way to my feet… with that, I then returned to my bedroom and put on a new outfit.
What I put on was just a regular grey shirt and some brown pants, but they were pretty comfortable, and then grabbed my hair dryer to dry my hair.
But as I grabbed it, I noticed something strange… it wasn't my usual hair dryer that I'd been using for the past year.
Instead, it was a bright red hair dryer with what seemed like little pink dog ears on its side, and various buttons all over it, each for different drying options… it seemed surprisingly advanced for just a hair dryer.
This was honestly way too similar to the toaster from earlier today. And while once is happenstance, twice is enemy action… or something like that.
"What the hell are you?" I asked, as I examined the hair dryer that was in my hand.
It was covered in various different buttons, with heating and cooling options that had dials for the strength of the functions… but then there were other buttons and dials for 'blowing' and 'sucking'. Which were strange to see.
But as I was looking at the strange hair dryer, I noticed something else… a small metallic dog-like tail that was wagging at the bottom of the handle.
"Oh, what the hell!?" I shouted as I dropped the hair dryer in shock, but once it fell onto the floor it… started to shift and change, transforming before my very eyes.
What was once a hair dryer had quickly transformed into a bright red robotic dog, it had bright expressive blue eyes and a brown nose, and had a red helmet on top of its head, a pair of happily twitching pink ears, and its red body had a small white spot on the center, a wagging white metallic tail, along with white upper legs, pink lower legs, and red paws.
I looked at the strange… Tinker-tech Dog in front of me, as my right arm instinctually transformed into an Arm Cannon, and aimed it at the robotic canine.
"What are you and why are you here?" I practically demanded, as I watched the dog, waiting for it to make any sort of threatening move… but instead, it just tilted its head in confusion as it panted happily, its tail wagging faster.
"Hi Taylor, it's nice to meet you, I'm Rush!" The dog said, as it ran over to me, panting happily as it started licking at my legs, "And I'm a robot dog here to aid you in your every need!"
"...Okay," I said, honestly still pretty startled by the whole 'there being a Tinker-tech dog in my room' thing, "Who made you?"
"I was made by my wonderful creator, the Robo-Master!" The dog… Rush exclaimed cheerfully, as it ran around my legs.
"Okay- I mean alright-... never mind. Just who is Robo-Master?" I asked, mostly because this was getting kind of weird. Why would a Tinker make a robot dog to assist me?... I wasn't anything special.
"Sorry Taylor, but I am not allowed to tell anyone the identity of Robo-Master, even if my ownership is designated to you," Rush said, and surprisingly? It seemed like it was actually saddened to say that, its ears drooping slightly as the robotic dog looked upwards to meet my eyeline.
"Uh, there there? It's alright?" I said as I awkwardly patted the robotic dog on its helmeted head, the metal was cool to the tough and somewhat reminded me of my own arms…
Rush didn't even respond, as it just leaned into my touch, its tail wagging even harder as it craned its neck to look up at me.
A few moments later, I eventually stopped petting the robot dog, causing it to let out a small whine, as I sat at the edge of my bed. Rush joined me by quickly jumping up on it and sitting by my side, like an actual dog.
"So… what am I supposed to do with you?" I asked, because honestly? I have no idea what to do in this situation. So I might as well let the robot give me some suggestions.
"Well, I am capable of transforming into a plethora of different forms, from simple household appliances, to vehicles that could allow you to have a wonderous superheroic career, Taylor Hebert!" Rush said excitedly, as it laid its head on my lap, a small smile on its face as it looked up at me.
"...What do you mean by that?" I nearly demanded, as I looked down at the robotic dog that somehow seemed to know that I had powers.
"I was created to assist you in everything, Taylor Hebert. When you left the house at 9:30 AM, I assumed an inconspicuous form and followed you into The Lord's Port, currently called The Boat Graveyard. I stood guard as you tested your newfound abilities, ensuring that nobody would happen to you! I was being a good boy!" Rush said happily, as its tail wagged at a rapid pace, hitting me in the side a couple of times.
Okay, so the dog seemed to actually know that I had powers, and I couldn't exactly get rid of it. Not without whoever the Tinker was that made it likely being alerted if it got destroyed.
So, instead I would have to… deal with it just being around me. At least it could be kind of useful?
"Yeah Rush, you were being a really good boy," I said with a tight smile, as I scratched the robotic dog behind the ear.
"Woohoo!" Rush cheered as it got off of my lap and started to run around my room, thankfully not hitting or breaking anything. I don't know how I'd be able to explain anything broken to Dad, after all.
With that all done, I heard a loud beeping noise, it was a familiar sound, so I walked to the laundry and found that the washing machine had stopped, having finished its load. I then grabbed all of the wet clothes and placed them into the dryer.
I watched as the clothes tumbled within the clothes dryer for a few moments, before returning to my room, where I saw Rush had taken on a new form…
The robotic dog had transformed into a sort of motorcycle… it was a one-seated red and pink bike with Rush's head fully out, showing anyone who saw it that it was controlled by the robotic dog.
"Tada! This is my Rush Bike form! With this, we can catch all the villains in no time!" Rush said excitedly, as it drove around my bedroom, careful not to break anything.
…Yeah, this could definitely be a useful partnership indeed.
"Alright Rush, this will be amazing for when we're heroes, uh buddy… also call me Machina when I'm in costume, alright?" I asked as the robotic dog bike skidded to a stop in front of me.
"Of course! Designation changed to Machina when in 'costume'. Do you have anything else that you want, Taylor?" Rush asked happily, as it rode around me.
"...Not at the moment buddy. Uh, do you have anywhere to hide when Dad comes home?" I asked, as the robotic canine tilted its head.
"Yes. I could disguise myself as a simple household appliance. Perhaps the toaster?" Rush asked, causing me to nod in agreement.
"That would probably work. Uh, what happened to my hair dryer anyway?" I asked, as I looked at Rush, who was looking away slightly.
"It was used as spare parts for a project two weeks ago by my Robo-Master," Rush said with a chagrined expression on its face.
"...Noted" I muttered, as I tried to figure out just how the hell this random Cape had access to my house. Was he stalking me or something? Should I put a restraining order out on this guy or girl?
…Can I even get a restraining order on a Cape?
____
And that's Chapter 4. I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Rush has arrived, and I've decided to grant him the ability to transform into household appliances alongside his various vehicle forms. Purely because I thought it'd be fun.
Also, I wonder who this mysterious Robo-Master is. It's such a mystery that you'll never be able to guess it in a million years.