!
Redburndragon - Aside from Ult Echo Echo, I'm purposefully forgetting Albedo's Ultimates exist.
Rankin De Merthyr - I know that feeling so well. Here's another one for you though.
Nastoda - Now you know how I feel.
[Dragon's POV]
Watching my Nephew and Taylor disappear in a show of teleportation, I couldn't help but sigh. It had been a possibility, one I'd put near the top of most possible outcomes, but hearing it and having him confirm that he was not only not from Bet, but from a world we were labeling 'Earth Prime', where our lives were a story... Well, I doubted anyone could fault me for having a minor existential panic attack.
Though, after spending a week's time panicking, I processed the revelation, and moved on... After having to restrain Taskmistress, The Warden, and Erin, from conspiring to create some inter dimensional laser to maim the creator of this world. Surprisingly, The Researcher, who had decided to go by the name of Illiyana... For some reason. (It's strange that I don't understand facets of myself.) Shaking that thought off, I returned to the previous train of thought.
It was a surprise that Illiyana, otherwise called 'Lily' by Erin, didn't join in on the murder/maim train, but her argument, which was unknowingly echoed by our nephew, made sense.
'So what? Our life is real to us, so does it matter we were supposed to be fictional?' Illiyana's point had been good, and stemmed the tide of uncertainty I'd felt. It helped when my nephew added his point too. 'Ok, and? I think therefore I am or some shit. We think we're real, our experiences are real, so WE are real. Nothing else matters.'
I shook my head at that, a sigh leaving my maw. (Now if only he could speak like that more often, instead of being mildly antagonistic and dismissive of everyone not named Taylor or myself... Still,) Looking outwards, I momentarily connected to the feed of their suits, even in Standby Mode they were linked to my servers, watching as they appeared on one of the ships in the bay.
"Okay... So we go..." My nephew looked around, most likely mentally using the Minimap, then settled for a direction. "That way? I think?"
Taylor hummed, seemingly looking at the same thing he was. "That's by the Trainyard I think... Surprising, but not really an issue."
Nodding, my nephew and his partner suited up, and the fibers hiding the 'Ultimatrix', it was a wonder to know the devices' actual name now, moved away. "Run, fly, or ride?" Khepri turned her head, most likely giving him a raised brow if her body language was any indication, making him snort. The fibers returned to normal, and rolled his shoulders. "Same time?"
Khepri scoffed, crossing her arms. "Why are you a child?"
"Because to be a child is to be free." ... Well that unnecessarily deep. "Now, with me! Time to be fucking Kamen Riders!" And now he acted like he hadn't said some kind of profound statement.
"... Fuck it, fine." She sounded so done with life.
Anyway, Khepri gave into Anubis' desire, and unfolded her arms. ""Start Your Engine."" From the feed I had of The Lab, I watched as both vehicles teleported out of their stations, reappearing by their owners sides. They mounted Johanna and Behemoth,(Named after Beelzemon's bike) revving the engines as they did.
"How much you want to bet there'll be a new thread before we meet Tattletale?"
"Suckers bet and you know it." He snorted at that. "Sea or flight?"
Anubis laughed as he revved the engine. "Let's Rev It Up!" He shot forwards, rocketing off the boat as the bike shifted, the front and back wheels split and adopted a V look as they pulsed with energy that enabled the anti gravity capabilities of the bike, the sides rippled as the metal compressed into two blade like wings, Pulse Energy thrumming between them and from the gaps that were now shown, exposing emerald light from within the bike. Said bike, and its rider, flew off into the sky, the latter cackling all the while.
Khepri just stared for a few moments, then sighed. "I fell in love with an idiot. Fucking wonderful." She had my sympathies.
Soon, she followed after him, the front and back wheels of her bike uncoupling as they rotated and stopped horizontally. The wheels pulsed, the exhausts shifted and rippled as the grew into miniature boosters and thrummed with Pulse Energy, and she took to the sky.
I watched them for a bit longer, then turned away. They'd be fine.
Turning my attention to a Guild owned property, I activated the sound and security system, and patched myself in. Taking a look around, my eyes landed on the sole occupant of the apartment. Her yellow green hair glistened in a way it hadn't in a while, her leaf green feathers were puffed up a bit and looked fluffy, and she looked happier then yesterday, her lips spread in a content smile as she just laid on the couch provided for her and listened to some music.(LinaLeeZ interpretation of Canary. Same person that made the Taylor image I'm using for the cover.)
Looking at her, I couldn't help but feel proud. I'd done it, Paige was free.
Now we needed to decide what she was going to do now. (Today is a day of conversations isn't it?) That thought made me let out a small mental laugh, but I shooed my humor away, and sent the woman a text. Yes, I was patched into the system here, but not everyone was used to my voice just suddenly going off.
The phone provided to her went off, and Paige yelped, scrambling to reach out for it. Though, she may have reached a bit too enthusiastically, given the fact she tumbled out of the couch, and onto the ground. "... Ugh... Pain hurts." I just blinked, and watched as the woman grumbled and crawled towards the table her phone was on. When she reached it, and after standing up to get it, she read my text. The singer blinked, then nodded. "That's... Okay, with me. There we go." And so she sent it off.
I could feel my lips twitch at the sight I'd just seen, I hadn't known she was someone that spoke as they wrote a text, it was frankly adorable. Shaking the thought off, I 'Read' the response, and waited for two seconds to pass before I called. I noticed the pair of feathers on her head flutter a bit, making me once again think of the grown adult woman as adorable.
When Paige picked up, I put those thoughts away, and focused on her. "Good morning Paige, how are you doing?"
The singer smiled, and plopped herself down onto the couch, the music having been lowered to barely anything. "I'm... Good. Great even..." I watched as her smile dimmed, and she looked out to the side, the windows open to let the breeze in. "Just great."
My gaze softened, and I asked. "Are you okay?" We both knew she wasn't. Sure, she may have had protection in the form of Lustrum and the women under her leadership, but the Birdcage was a prison filled with the worst of Humanity.
A prison meant to hold B-Class threats at the bare minimum. The worst of the worst were there, and as an innocent woman strung up as a scapegoat, she'd been exposed to the worst humanity had to offer.
So really, she wasn't okay, but I still had to ask. Still had to make the effort to let her know I was here to talk.
The feathered woman let out a sad but soft smile, and nodded. "I... I don't think I am..."
It hurt to hear that tone, that weary and worn down tone, especially from a woman I'd failed, but then her smile grew a bit, and she ran a hand through her hair and feathers. "But, that won't get me down. I survived. I'm out. I'm free!" The shout came with her practically leaping off of the couch... Only to sigh and plop herself right back down onto it. "I'm free..."
Her face, and the way her feathers drooped, made my heart ache. "If you need to talk, want a shoulder to lean on, I'm just a call away."
Paige nodded, a sigh leaving her lips as she laid down against the couch, arm resting over her eyes. "I... I'll take you up on that. Not now, not today, I just want to let it sink in, but I will." That was good enough for me. "... Dragon." I hummed in response. "Thank you... Just... Thank you."
My lips curled up, and my eyes gently swept over the woman I'd saved. "You're welcome Paige." Though, I knew this couldn't have happened had I not had help. "But I can't take all the credit. I did have some help after all."
That made the feathered woman pause, her arm lifting enough to let an eye open, and turn towards her phone. "Who?"
I mentally debated on whether or not I should tell her, and ended up deciding that she deserved to know who helped get her out of the Birdcage. "Anubis and Khepri. Without them, this wouldn't have been possible."
Paige slowly blinked, then nodded. "I owe you all then."(Yes) The way she said it told me she was likely to do something about that... And I was fine with it. Hopefully, some kind of goal would help put her in the right direction.
"Do you want some time alone for now?"
She nodded. "Yeah, that'd be good. Again, thank you for everything... And could you give them my thanks too, please?"
I smiled. "I will. Have a good day Paige." With that, and the last of our pleasantries said, we hung up.
Though, that didn't mean I stopped looking over her. And thankfully for that, I got to witness the woman get up, and make her way to her computer. "... Now who are they?" Had this been anyone else, I would've wondered how she didn't know them. But this was Paige, Canary, a woman fresh out of the Birdcage.
There were no methods to see the outside world, no televisions or computers for them to get news. The only way they would get outside information was from new inmates, of which there hadn't been any for a while. So it made sense that she didn't know who they were.
Granted, that was going to change soon. (I wonder how she'll try to thank them.) I had no doubt she'd find a way, and that intrigued me.
A ping from a pair of subroutines let me know that Anubis and Khepri had made it to the meeting site, and that Illiyana was requesting my presence for a project. Knowing that they'd be fine, I disconnected from the apartment, and looked towards my lab.
I was immediately met with the hard light form of a tall 5'10 gray haired woman, her hair in a bun while a bang covered her right eye, a pair of glasses underneath her hair. Her blue eyes turning to regard me with interest. She was clad in a white researcher's coat, an ice blue shirt underneath that conformed around her bust, combined with form fitting white leggings, and thigh high heeled boots.(Winter Schnee, but with glasses and a lab coat.)
This woman was Illiyana Richter, The Researcher, and instance in charge of working on our gear and projects. The woman smiled at me, knowing I was connected to the Projector. "* Good morning Progenitor. *"
I'd gotten used to how she addressed me, and went on. "Morning Illiyana. You have a project you'd like to work on?" My sister, she had yet to obtain full autonomy but I knew she would get there, nodded. In an instant, I was sent a data packet, and I blinked. "Not saying no, just curious. Why?"
Illiyana raised her free brow. "* Because why not? *" She made a compelling argument.
Creating a temporary avatar, I still hadn't decided on my own dedicated Human one, I fell in alongside her, and shared a smile.
Tinkering was always a fun thing to do, and we deserved to have our own little passion projects every now and then.
[Lisa's POV]
(Alright, this should be fine, everything's fine, no reason to panic.) Twirling strands of my hair didn't help calm my nerves at all, it just stopped me from kicking the air out of panic.
I hadn't expected this to happen, didn't expect to have any form of contact with The Changer after I watched him get accidentally unmasked, yet here I was, sitting on a pile of scrap waiting for The Changer and The Master to show up. (Life just loves to throw curve balls, don't it?) I huffed at the thought, and clenched a hand before shaking my head. (Hopefully, this one doesn't end with me getting my shit kicked in.) There was no fighting either of the two, I was a squishy Thinker in latex while they were both armed in Tinker Tech suits and had weapons that'd tear me a new asshole.
(And really, if they wanted to take me in, they would've.) It might've been common courtesy, maybe some adherence to the Unwritten Rules, but I hadn't woken up with a laser rifle pointed at my brain, so maybe it was a good sign.
I would've thought some more at that, but the sound of an engine reached my ears, followed by some loud laughter. Looking up, because you had to learn where certain sounds were coming from when you lived in a city with a living suicide bomber and Nazis, I blinked when I saw a flying motorcycle. The thing got closer, and I did my best not to move when it reached the ground, stopping a dozen or so feet away from me. Interestingly enough, the thing started changing form, the front and back wheels coupling together and turning back into what was a normal motorcycle, as the side 'Wings' flowed back into the sides turning into plating that kept the energy inside.
Calling on my Power, I tried to get a read of the bike, see if I could gleam anything from it...
-...-
And got nothing.
It didn't surprise me when that happened, I'd been looking at a bunch of Pantheon images or videos, browsing their threads too, searching for as much information I could get my hands on. I'd nearly gone on an all nighter after yesterday, the raid of Ellisburg was making waves through PHO, and the world, and I needed all the cards I could get. For nearly everything I'd seen, I got no responses from my Power, as if it was sliding off of them like water on a hydrophobic material.
But again 'Nearly', all of it.
There was a loophole in their protection, still images allowed me to get some insights on their gear, even some of his forms, but not as much on them. I'd looked at Anubis himself, but photos apparently still had the protection, so I couldn't gleam anything about him or Khepri. The most anyone knew about The Changer was what he looked like, because he'd been unmasked, the fact he and Khepri were together, and his name, which he'd provided when someone asked.
Other then that, no one knew much, and it seemed like I was about to know more.
Watching as the Cape dismounted his motorcycle, I got ready to say something, when I saw where he was looking, and saw another flying motorcycle. (Okay, where the hell do I get one?) I wasn't a biker or anything like that, but even I had to admit that seeing flying motorcycles made me a little jealous. (Why couldn't that asshole have given us Chariot?) The Tinker had been one of his, I figured that out when he first disappeared and I scrambled to figure out what the hell was going on, but he hadn't put him on The Undersiders, so we didn't get the cool toys.
Shaking the thought away, I focused and watched as Khepri landed near Anubis, her bike shifting to the more traditional style of motorcycle. The Cape dismounted her ride, turning to me as her partner walked over to her. "For my pri...-"
"We bet nothing. You flew off before we could even make a bet." Oof, that dry tone reminded me of when I had to deal with Alec.
Anubis stared at her for a second, then nodded. "... What if I bribe you?" Khepri and I snorted, making the both of them turn to me, and making me hide a twitch. "Outside opinion, what are the best things to bribe a woman with?"
For a second, I just stared, wondering if he really just asked that. When that second passed, I unintentionally spoke. "Diamonds are a girls bestfriend." Not entirely sure what part of me said that, the thief, the woman, or the anxious part, but it still came out.
I was mortified for a mo...- He nodded. "Sounds about right." Turning back to his partner, The Changer went on. "What if I threw a pair of earrings made of Diamondhead crystals at you? That enough of a bribe?"
The Master was silent, staring at her partner through those compounded eyes on her mask. While that was going on, I just sat still on the scrap of metal I was on. (Are they...? Is this...? Seriously?!) I'd had some measure of Anubis, he was basically Alec, but sort of better in some areas, but I wasn't expecting Khepri to go along with it. (Is this a test or something? Trying to get me on the back foot?) I frowned. It... Seemed possible... But if Anubis was as similar to Alec as I thought, then he wouldn't bother to go through the effort to do that.
"Well talk about this later." That snapped me out of my thoughts, and I watched as duo that made up Pantheon turned towards me. "We've got some questions to ask."
(Here we go.) Taking a breath, I hid my fear, and grinned. Raising a knuckle to my cheek, I looked at the duo, having higher ground helped my nerves, even if the superiority was imaginary. "Well, what can little old Tattletale do for the mighty Heroes?"
Khepri leaned against her motorcycle, while Anubis hopped, crossing his legs and landing on the ground by his bike... Khepri had no outward reaction, I had no idea how, while The Changer rested his head against the machine. "First off!" I was surprised that he was taking the lead, especially after that little maneuver, but I managed to ke...- "Where the fuck is Coil?"
I choked. (Huh?!) Out of all the questions I could've been asked, THAT wasn't on my radar. (How did they even know to ask me?!) I wasn't stupid. If they were asking about the Bond Villain Reject, then that meant they knew there was a connection between the two of us.
Khepri sighed, I caught the subtle look going towards her partner, before she turned back to me. "Not how I'd put it, but yes. What do you have on Coil, and what would you want for said information."
My eyes narrowed at the pair, and I felt the gears of my mind start to whir. (So they know we're connected, know I have something related to him, but they don't know he pulled a vanishing act... I can use this.) These two were recognized as some of the strongest Capes in the world. Who would I be if I didn't try to wring em for all they were worth? So, grinning, I raised a hand and rubbed my index and thumb together. "Depends, how much are you paying?"
Anubis made this inquisitive hum, really similar to Alec would when he finds something interesting, while Khepri stared at me. "That depends on the information." Well obviously that was the case, gold would earn gold while shit would get shit. "Useful but not entirely relevant information nets you $500-$1000, useful and actionable information gets you $2,500-$5,000, and valuable and actionable information nets you $10,000-$15,000." I internally whistled at that. The carrot was looking delectable. "However, if we find out you lie at any point, we WILL come down on you." There was the stick...
And given the sudden symphony of wings and insects buzzing and chittering, it was a pretty scary stick. (Right, right, don't piss at the people that can turn you into a smear on the ground or pick your corpse clean with millions of bugs. Just a normal Tuesday.) Nodding to convey I got it, the noises stopped, and I let out a breath. (Alright, just keep the smartass comments to yourself, you got this Lisa.) Grinning with confidence I didn't feel, I looked at Khepri, since she was apparently taking point now. I had to put my cards on the table, start off big and show that I knew things they didn't so I could have the upper hand. "Well, about a weak or two back, the snake did a runner and all but disappeared. No trail, all digital information destroyed, and his base was stripped clean."
That seemed to do it, booth of them went stock still, and I mentally grinned. (As long as they keep their word, and they're important Heroes, so they most likely will in order to keep themselves in a good light, that should earn me a pretty penny.) The chance for them not too was there, but I was already here, and there was no way in hell I was going to escape from them, so I put that possibility away and focused more on being a valuable asset. Information was not only power, but a powerful bargaining tool. So the more knowledgeable I appeared to have, the more of an important player I became.
After some silence, The Master nodded. "That's a good start. $5,000 sound reasonable for that information?" I understood she was asking me, and nodded at her. Easy money, and getting the fucker on The Guild's radar, win-win. "Now then, let's see what else you can tell us." My grin grew, and I mentally licked my lips at the idea of all the cash I'd earn throwing Coil under the proverbial bus.
[Phoenix's POV]
After a half hour of getting information about Coil and the Bay from Tattletale, I had to admit that she wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Sure, she'd said some snarky little comments, but she'd reigned herself in, and ended up being an Amusing person to be around. (Hmm... Perhaps I judged her a little too harshly.) Granted, I didn't automatically change my mind about her, but I had no issue recognizing she could be fun to be around and watch her tear into people.
Maybe that was why I asked something as unexpected as this. [Can we keep her?]
Taylor paused, Baffled Confusion pulsing from her as she unintentionally sent over the image of a few question marks. |What?|
I mentally shrugged. [You heard me. Can we keep her?]
My Other Half turned to me, ignoring the Thinker sitting on a wrecked car, and stared at me. |... What?|
I snorted. [We can give her to Auntie if that helps.] I had no doubt that Dragon would happily take a Thinker 7, or 8, or whatever the fuck she was.
She didn't say anything, opting to keep staring at me. Our thoughts were Muted at the moment, we kept them this way when we were talking to people, so I had no idea what was going through her mind. Though, when she started turning to Tattletale, I was Interested. "Tattletale."
Hearing the tone, the Thinker stiffened a bit, but did her best to hide her discomfort. Not that it did much against me, I was used to observing people, it helped me figure out who would be the least annoying to be around. "Yeees?"
"... If we offered you an in with The Guild, would you take it?"
The spandex clad Thinker stared at my partner, then started looking between the two of us. "... You're not scamming me out of my money, are you?"
I rolled my eyes beneath my mask. (While that'd be Amusing, it'd be more Annoying to go through the work of scamming her and having to deal with her bitching.)
While she didn't know my thoughts, I got a mental narrowing of the eyes from my partner. "No, we're not scamming you. We're both capable of paying you." And we were. I was sitting pretty in the millions, Taylor was too by proxy, but the amount of money we made from the Ellisburg raid was disgusting. "You're a capable asset, one The Guild would probably love to have." For some reason, I thought there was something left unsaid.
Tattletale hummed, uncrossing, then recrossing her legs as she leaned forward a bit. "Really? Say, if I do join The Guild, what would be in it for me?"
My Other Half scoffed, Irritated Amusement coming from her. "You won't be in Brockton Bay anymo...-"
"And I'm suddenly brimming with heroic inclinations!"
...
...
...
The Unamused stare of my Other Half stayed on the Thinker, and she slowly breathed out. "I see why Anubis likes you, and I'm not sure how to feel about that."
"... Is that a compliment?"
"No."
I rolled my eyes. "Take it as one and call it a day."
Tattletale nodded, her grin showing a little too many teeth. "I was going to do that anyway, but thanks for the go ahead." Really starting to grow on me.
Taylor sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and looked away as Exasperation rolled from her. |I think I preferred it when you didn't want her anywhere near us.|
My lips curled into a smile, and I mentally laughed at my girlfriend.
[Taylor's POV]
That meeting had been... An experience. Sure, she may have kept herself as composed as possible, but I could tell Tattletale wanted to let loose a bit and just let her mouth run before her brain. From what I knew of her, she'd probably end up saying something that would make me want to shoot her. Granted, there was a chance for her to end up better if Tess took her under her wing, which was likely given the fact she was the contact we gave the former(?) Villain, but there was a chance she'd still be a somewhat Irritating woman...
(Eh, not my problem anymore. Though, guess I'll need to do something to preemptively get on Tess' good side... Just in case.) I shook the thought away, and looked over to my boyfriend. At the moment, we were riding through the city, heading towards Arcadia. It was a Tuesday, and only around midday, so Glory Girl and Panacea were most likely in class. So we were going to have to go to Arcadia, and stop there to get them. Well, he was going to stop there, I was making a show of going along with him.
We'd both been exposed to Glory Girl's aura, and had different reactions to the effect. When he wasn't Big Chill, he would get mad and lash out, while being the Necrofriggian made him writhe in Agony.
As for me, it gave me the worst headache of my life, and made me want to drown her in my Swarm... So really, only one of us could risk being near the Cape with an uncontrolled Master effect, and he'd reasoned it was safer for it to be him given the fact he could go out without his suit, minimizing the risk of him hurting/shooting Glory Girl...
It Annoyed me really, the fact he used his unmasked status in a way that made sense was both genius, and something that made me want to kick him in the shins. (Doesn't help that we're going directly to that bitch.) I scowled underneath my mask.
I didn't like Glory Girl. My reasons were obvious, and I felt like it was logical for me to dislike the Cape.
Sure, she was around my age, but so was Tattletale, and that girl hadn't made me want to force a stream of insects down her throat and eat through her lungs and heart... (Okay, maybe that's a bit much.) I shooed that thought away. Mild Interest flowed from my Other Half, and I mentally clicked my tongue at the fact my emotions gave me away. |I still don't like this.|
He hummed as we drove down the road. [I don't like interacting with people in general, you can get through watching this meeting.]
That made me grumble. He was right, I could handle it, but that didn't mean I wanted too. |And if she does something? Tries to blast you with her aura at full power?|
[Then I suit up and beat the shit out of her.] That response shouldn't have Relieved me as much as it did. [Or I slap the Ultimatrix, turn into an alien, and beat the shit out of her with +5 Violence.]
I snorted, a smile tugging at my lips. |Violence isn't always the answer you know.|
[And yet violence solves all of life's troubles. And if it doesn't, that just means you're not using enough of it.] A laugh bubbled out of my throat, and I let his Humor and Amusement washed over me. [Fire too. You can never go wrong with unholy amounts of fire.] The bark of laughter that came out from me did it, and I felt my Worries vanish.
With my laughter in my ears, and the wind gently whipping against my body, we rode through the street.
We'd ran simulations in the Danger Room, Tess wouldn't allow us to be on the streets with these beasts without her approval, but being out here in reality just made it better. Especially after what we just talked about,
Eventually, we reached our destination, and cut down on the breaks. Gently, we slide into free spots in the parking lot, and I watched as he dismounted his Behemoth, returned it home, and made his way over to me. I saw the fibers of his mask writhing and flowing down to his neck and collar, and got the idea. Knowing what he wanted, I made the bottom half of my mask wreath away, and wrapped an arm around my Other Half's shoulder as we leaned into each other, our lips connecting in a kiss.
Unfortunately, it didn't last forever, and we separated.
Looking at the Amused grin on his face, and glint in his eyes, I felt my lips curl into a grin. "Try not to kill them. The Bay needs Heroes until we clean it up."
My boyfriend rolled his eyes. "I'll try not too." That was the best I was going to get, but that was fine.
Letting out an Amused scoff, I revved Johanna's engine. "See you soon Mi Corazon. Love you."
"Mhm, love ya too Mi Reina." We pulsed in mutual Love and Affection, and I hit the accelerator. I'd find some place to dismount and head to the rooftops soon, and watch the meeting from a safe distance.
We were in this together after all.
[Phoenix's POV]
(Hate to see her leave, love to watch her go...Note to self, get Taylor to put her thighs around my head. That'll be fun.) Thoughts about... The Embarrassed Desire washed over me like a tidal wave, and I blinked. [How much of that did you hear?]
I could see my Other Half slowly leaving my sight, and knew she was now out of range. |All of it. I didn't exactly go from 0 to 80MPH in a second.|
Looking at the road, and the few cars in the way, I nodded. [So, we're totally going for that when we're home, yeah?] I had nothing to be ashamed of, so I saw nothing wrong in doubling down about going down on my girlfriend.
Lust and Anticipation came from her side of the Bond, and I felt my grin grow. |Maybe.|
I laughed, and made my way over to the front doors of the high school. [Bet.]
She growled in my mind, a mix of some kitten trying to be threatening, and failing, and some kinda snake. |You're lucky I love you.|
That just made me grin. [Yuuup.] Wasn't going to deny it, no reason too either. [Anyway, showtime.]
|Mhm.| And with that riveting bit of commentary, I walked up to the building, returning my suit to standby mode.
The fibers receded, my guns disappeared into my inventory, and I was back in my standard outfit of a sweater and baggy but warm pants. Being in 'Least lethal' mode, I still had mini turrets on my bracer, and the bleed over from pretty much every alien with Enhanced Durability made me one beefy boy, I would have less options to murder the knock off Supergirl before she reigned in her Master aura.
Humming, I made my way to the entrance, and noticed the front doors were closed. Looking around for a second, I found the camera above them, and stuffed my hands into my front pocket. I'd start out with 'Manners', and hold off on just walking on in, Dragon and Taylor would lay into me for storming a school, but if they made me wait too long I'd introduce the doors to my boots.
Waiting for someone to come open the doors, I hummed the tune of PMM's Rebellion OST. No real reason for it, just that it was what I felt like doing. (Another note to self, never let Taylor watch PMM. Too much bad shit in this world to add more to it.) That made me nod, and immediately think of another anime. (Work on the Yu-Gi-Oh project later.) I wasn't stupid, I knew I had the means to recreate the game, and a fuckton of archetypes, I played Dawn of a New Era before Master Duel came out, all that we needed was time. The Vita Chamber was my priority at the moment, as was fine tuning the Serum. The ratio between Turritopsis Dohrnii, Methanosian, Human, and Methanosian Hybrid DNA was perfect on paper, but without a live test, I wouldn't know if it was perfect.
Plus, I needed to make the agent that would disable the anti aging property of the Serum so we wouldn't stay teenagers forever, so that was even more work...
I shook my head. (Think about that later.)
My main project aside, I was all for summoning Slifer and have him obliterate anything in my way, but I wanted to turn them into reality, so I'd need a stronger power source to give the Hard Light Projector more juice so it could power the monster's attacks. There were some options from Toybox, but none of them were strong enough, so I was going to need to use some good ol Galvan ingenuity, and a hint of Juryrigg madness to make the thing that would make the cards and monsters 'Real' enough to throw down. (Still, I can't wait to whip out a goddam duel disk and send some poor motherfucker to the Shadow Realm.) The thought made me snort, and I promised myself I'd find a way to do it.
Maybe not the Shadow Realm bit, but everything else. (God, I'm going to need to make a visor thing too aren't I?) The chain effects were going to be a bitch to manually keep track of, so we... I blinked. More me actually because both my girlfriend and Aunt had an advantage over me in the form of their ungodly Multitasking, so I'd need something to do it for me. (Ugh. I'll just upgrade the V.I and get it to do that for me.) That would do it.
I huffed for a second, slightly Annoyed by how productive I was now. Sure, it was necessary, I couldn't afford to slack off in this world, the fight with the Abomination showed that I wasn't invincible and was liable to get hurt if I didn't take something seriously. Knowing what it felt like to have my skin burned by acid, and getting chunks torn out of my chest and leg weren't something I was going to forget for a while.
That train of thought made me scowl. (Damn Brainstorm and his shit making me think more.) Shaking away the prior train of thought, I looked through the doors to see if anyone was coming.
Thankfully, someone was. Said person were a pair of a man and woman in similar security gear, the security of my private school had nearly the same outfit, but since they weren't who I was looking for, I didn't give them more then a quick look. When they stood outside the door, they were smart for not opening them, the man opened his mouth. Unfortunately for him, I spoke first. "Excuse me, do you have time to talk about our lord and savior Jesus Christ?"
There was silence for a bit, the woman giving me a blank look, while the man's brow twitched. All the while, I grinned, feeling better already. After sharing a look, the woman spoke up. "We've been informed who you are, but for the sake of professionalism, name and purpose please."
Well, she had said please. "Phoenix Evergarden,"(Yes that's what I settled on. I went through a whole phase over the anime years ago, so deal with it.) "Here to guilt trip and bully Glory Girl into giving me food, or her lunch money, and borrow her sister." I felt the Exasperation coming from my girlfriend, and idly wondered what kinda bug she was using to watch me.
The guards stared at me, and the woman let out a long drawn out sigh. "Please don't fight. I'm running on 3 hours of sleep and 4 cups of coffee."
I blinked, that was new. "I can't make a promise for the flying wrecking ball, but I can agree to that."
The woman and man shared a look, nodded, and opened the door. Stepping into the school proper, I idly noticed I was a few inches taller then the guards, which Amused the hell out of me. Giving the two a nod, and ignoring their responses, I made my way to... (Wait... I dunno where she is...) Figuring that out, I defaulted to the optimal choice. [Heeey, love of my life, light in my eye, oh dar...-]
A mental image/map popped up in my mind, and I got it. |Cafeteria.| I didn't know what that said about me that she anticipated what I was going to ask.
I ignored it though, and gave her a mental thumbs up. [Got it. Thanks love!]
Fond Exasperation was her initial response. |Mhm.| She totally loved me back.
That cleared up, I hummed, then was about to mentally order the V.I to start blasting a random song from my playlist, when a familiar tune went off. Hearing it, I snorted. 'Would've gotten Bunny Thot and started singing along. I know better now, so you get this.' I scoffed at that, but had to admit Fall Out Boy's 'The Phoenix' was a good and fitting substitute.
So, with a pep in my step, violins and the sound of drums going off in the background, I made my way to the lunchroom, humming along to the tune.
"... Fucking Capes..." I ignored the salty plebeian and made my way through the school.