I stirred awake, feeling Taylor's warm body pressed against my back. Her legs were tangled with mine, one arm draped possessively over my waist while the other cupped my breast. I could feel her soft breath tickling the nape of my neck.
For a moment, I just lay there, enjoying the closeness. But eventually I shifted slightly, causing Taylor to stir behind me.
"Mmm... morning," she mumbled sleepily, nuzzling into my hair.
I turned in her arms, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "Morning, beautiful. Sleep well?"
Taylor nodded, her eyes still heavy with sleep. The magical fruits had truly worked wonders, hadn't they?
Reluctantly, I disentangled myself from her embrace and sat up. "I'm going to eat some of those fruits," I said, stretching my arms above my head. "Might as well see if they do anything else for me."
Taylor propped herself up on one elbow, watching me with curiosity. "Alright," she yawned. "I'll keep an eye out for any changes."
Crossing over to the large wooden box, I grabbed it and carried it back over to where Taylor lay sprawled nude on the blanket.
I plucked one of the fruits from the box and took a bite. Juice dribbled down my chin as the sweet, tangy flavor burst over my taste buds. It was utterly delicious.
I quickly devoured the rest of the fruit. As I licked the sticky remnants from my fingers, I felt the faintest tingle spread through my body - not unpleasant, just... noticeable.
I waited a moment, studying my hands, but didn't see any obvious changes. Shrugging, I grabbed a second fruit and dug in hungrily. This time, the tingle intensified as I consumed the last few bites. My tongue felt slightly numb, like I'd burned it on something hot.
Taylor was watching closely. I shot her a questioning look as I reached for a third fruit.
"Well?" I prompted around a mouthful of the sweet flesh. "Notice anything different?"
Taylor's brow furrowed slightly as she studied me. After a long moment, she slowly shook her head.
"Not really," she admitted. "I mean, your eyes seem a bit more vibrant of a green. And your body looks...I don't know, a tiny bit more symmetrical overall?" Taylor hesitated, then added, "You might be an inch taller too. But that's about it as far as I can tell."
I considered her assessment for a moment, rolling the third magical fruit around in my mouth thoughtfully. The tingles had faded, leaving me feeling... well, pretty much the same, aside from a pleasantly full belly.
Swallowing the last bite, I set the remaining fruits aside - there were about twenty-two left in the crate. It seemed four of the magical fruits was enough to take me to the peak of physical beauty…
When I felt the energy start to pulse, I sighed and waited for it to pass. I quickly recovered from the daze, and blinked in surprise at the pile of gear that had appeared around me.
[Einherjar Set - Thor: Love and Thunder] – 100cp, 450cp remaining
The standard-issue gear wielded by the armies of Asgard, the Einherjar. You get an ornate, yet protective suit of armor. It includes a helmet, breastplate, shoulder guards, gauntlets, greaves, boots, and a cape that will never hinder you in any way. The armor is tough enough to withstand strikes from Asgardians and bullets. As for weapons, you have a spear, short sword, and a shield that comes close in quality to the one wielded by Captain America. In addition to this, you have the tools to maintain them. Good warriors take care of their tools. Now go forth and make your way to Valhalla.
I looked over the gleaming armor pieces and immediately thought of the Raiment perk I'd gained earlier. That perk allowed me to import existing armors into my transformation trinket, and that probably meant any of the advantages would be incorporated into my magical girl costume.
While Taylor watched, I quickly gathered up the Einherjar armor set. Holding the pieces close, I pressed the heart-shaped trinket hanging from my neck against them. The ornate gear seemed to 'glitch' for a moment before disappearing in a faint burst of light, absorbed into the transformation item.
I activated the trinket's power, causing brilliant red light to cover my entire body, gradually forming into my typical costume.
Only this time, I could feel the difference. My costume now possessed the durability and protective qualities of the imported Asgardian armor set.
"Taylor, check this out," I called over to her, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. She met my eyes, head tilted inquisitively.
I grinned at Taylor, excitement bubbling up inside me. "I just assimilated that armor set into my costume," I explained. "Which means no matter what I transform my costume into, it's now essentially bullet-proof and can withstand a pretty high Brute rating."
Taylor's eyes widened, and she couldn't hold back a relieved smile. "Oh thank god," she breathed. "I've been worried sick about how vulnerable you were. My spider silk costume is bullet-proof, but yours wasn't. I'm so glad you have something to better protect yourself now."
Her concern warmed my heart. "Thanks, Tay," I said softly. "I appreciate you looking out for me." I glanced down at the remaining weapons. "I'm not too fussed about the spear and shield - they'd be a pain to lug around when I've already got the machete and bow. But that short sword..."
Couldn't I merge it with my machete? I picked both of them up, and looked at Taylor. "Hey, why don't you get dressed and we'll pay a visit to the Blacksmith? I want to see if he can do anything with the sword."
Taylor nodded and started pulling on her costume. I couldn't help but notice how it clung to her new curves, the fabric stretching in ways it hadn't before. She caught me staring and blushed.
"I, uh, might need to make some adjustments," she mumbled, tugging at the tight material.
I led Taylor over to where the old Hylian Blacksmith sat, machete and short sword in hand. "Morning!" I called out cheerfully.
The old man's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Ah, the lovebirds return," he chuckled. "Done blessing every corner of this little world, are we?"
Heat rushed to my cheeks. "I- we- that's not-" I spluttered, while Taylor made a choking sound beside me.
The Blacksmith just laughed, waving off our embarrassment. "Now, what can I do for you today?"
Clearing my throat, I held up the weapons. "I was wondering if you could combine these? The machete and the short sword?"
His aged face fell slightly as he examined the blades. "Ah, I'm afraid not," he said, shaking his head. "A machete's considered a knife, not a sword. Can't fuse them together, I'm afraid."
I sighed, though I wasn't too disappointed. "Thanks anyway," I said. "Guess I'll just have to switch to using the short sword instead."
We said our goodbyes and headed back to our little corner of the pocket dimension. As we walked, I turned to Taylor. "So, we should probably figure out our next move."
Taylor nodded, quickly growing serious. "What did you have in mind?"
I laid out my thoughts. "Our main focus will be cleaning up Brockton Bay, obviously. But I think we should also make regular trips to other cities, maybe even other countries. With my teleportation, we're not limited to just one place."
"That... actually makes a lot of sense," Taylor said slowly. "We could really go anywhere in the world, couldn't we? But what about Brockton Bay? Should we focus on a specific gang first, or just take on whatever we find?"
I considered for a moment. "I'm thinking we start with the E88, thin their numbers a bit. Then we could hit some of Coil's mercenaries, maybe take out someone like Oni Lee from the ABB. Keep switching it up, you know? And we can always nab some of the independent villains in between."
Taylor leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "When do we start?"
I couldn't help but mirror her enthusiasm with a broad grin. "How about right now?"
We quickly got ourselves ready, the anticipation building. I adjusted my costume, creating a makeshift holster on my back for my new bow - The Flame God's Roar. The short sword found its home in a sheath at my hip. Taylor put her mask firmly on her head, exposing only her curly black hair.
"Hey, Taylor," I called out, hefting the Asgardian spear. "You want this? Might come in handy."
She looked at it hesitantly, then shrugged. "Might as well take it, I guess. Probably won't use it much, but you never know."
I tossed her the spear, which she caught firmly. "Good point. Better to have it and not need it, right?"
We clasped hands, ready to head out. "First things first," I said, "we'll track down some lowlifes and liberate their money. Then we can treat ourselves to some food on the Boardwalk. Those fruits did wonders for your looks - a little hair color change for me, and we should be good to go relatively incognito."
Taylor nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
I focused on one of my ghostly butterflies, guiding it to look towards a Menhir floating high above the city. In a burst of red light, we appeared above the stone monolith, landing with a soft thud on its horizontal surface.
I squinted against the morning sun, scanning the city sprawled out beneath us. "Alright," I said to Taylor, "I'll use my power to find whoever's got the most talent for slinging drugs. If they're actually in the middle of dealing, we'll shut them down and help ourselves to their cash."
Taylor nodded, her mask hiding any expression. "Sounds good. Where do we start?"
I closed my eyes, focusing on In Search Of The Hero. A faint psychic tug pulled me towards the north. "This way," I said, grabbing Taylor's hand.
We spent the next fifteen minutes or so playing a frustrating game of cat and mouse. I'd feel a pull towards someone with drug-dealing talent, we'd teleport closer, only to find they weren't actually doing anything illegal at the moment. Rinse and repeat.
After the fifth false alarm, I was starting to get annoyed. "Come on," I grumbled. "Is it too much to ask for one lousy dealer to be, you know, dealing?"
That's when I felt it - a familiar tingle in the back of my mind. My Space Time Distortion Sense was picking up on something. No, not something. Three somethings.
"Hold up," I said, focusing on the sensation. "I'm sensing three parahumans nearby."
I teleported us closer, following both the psychic tug guiding me towards someone talented with dealing drugs and the distortions in space-time that indicated nearby parahumans. We reappeared above a bridge connecting the Docks area to Downtown, the wide river flowing beneath us.
"They should be right here," I muttered, peering down at the traffic zipping across the bridge's lanes. But I couldn't spot any obvious capes - just regular civilians going about their Sunday morning.
Frowning, I teleported us lower, making sure we were within Taylor's bug control range. "Hey," I said, giving her armored shoulder a nudge. "Can you do a sweep of the area? I'm sensing three parahumans nearby, but I'm not seeing them. Maybe they're under the bridge?"
Taylor gave a small nod, likely already extending her awareness through the bugs and other creepy-crawlies in the vicinity. While she got to work, I glanced around, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
About twenty seconds passed before Taylor spoke up, her voice slightly muffled by her mask. "Found them - it's a bunch of homeless guys, cooking up drugs under the bridge. Two of them seem to be in charge, getting handed most of the cash."
I narrowed my eyes at that. Drug dealing and a couple of apparent leaders? This might be...
"The Merchants," I said slowly. "They're probably a newly formed gang consisting of three parahumans peddling their product across the city. You know about Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush?"
There was a brief pause before Taylor responded hesitantly. "I think I heard Squealer's name when we were looking into who Shadow Stalker could be?"
Nodding, I quickly summarized what I knew about the Merchant capes. "Right, Squealer's a Tinker who specializes in vehicles. Skidmark creates these forcefield areas that repel objects. And Mush can, like, gather up trash and debris through weird tendrils to form a bigger, tougher body around himself."
I shrugged, not too concerned. "They really shouldn't pose much of a threat to us. Maybe Squealer cobbled together some kind of invisible truck or van with lasers or something, but that's probably about it. I don't really know what things she can build."
After a moment's thought, I added, "Actually, can you check if there's any sign of an invisible vehicle down there? Your bugs might be able to sense it."
"On it," Taylor replied. She went still for a few seconds, no doubt extending her swarm's senses.
Then, "Yeah, there's definitely something big and invisible. One of my flies smacked right into it and died."
I hummed thoughtfully at that confirmation. "Okay, hang tight. I'll send one of my ghostly butterflies down for a closer look."
I reached out mentally and directed one nearby ghostly butterfly to come down from the sky and fly under the bridge. Taylor's bug control was impressive, but she had difficulty parsing what she was getting from their senses at this stage - especially if we wanted to avoid drawing too much attention by amassing a huge swarm.
oo0ooOoo0oo
The wrench slipped from Squealer's greasy fingers as she worked on maintaining the laser cannon mounted on her prized invisible monster truck. Skidmark's shrill voice cut through the stuffy air under the bridge.
"You fuckin' worthless cumrag!" he screeched at one of their dealers. "This is all the cash you brought in? I should shove my boot so far up your ass you'll be tastin' shoe leather for weeks!"
Squealer rolled her eyes, not even glancing up from the tangle of wires and machinery she was elbow-deep in. Skidmark's constant verbal abuse had become background noise at this point. She tuned him out, her mind hazy from the cocktail of uppers and downers coursing through her system.
Truthfully, she didn't give two shits about Skidmark or his ramshackle gang of Merchants. The only reason she stuck around was because the bastard had a surprisingly big dick, and he'd been the one to gather their little crew together after the ABB had run them out of their last squat.
A wistful sigh slipped past Squealer's heavily made-up lips as she thought about her previous 'baby' - the suped-up, weaponized bus she'd poured her everything into crafting.
But then those ABB fucks had to go and wreck it during their little turf war. She'd been lucky to escape with her life, let alone cobble together this new ride - an invisible monster truck bristling with mounted laser cannons and other nasty surprises.
Squealer let out a grunt as she shoved the tangle of wires aside and plopped down heavily in the driver's seat. Her massive tits bounced and jiggled obscenely with the impact, the sickly sweet scent of body glitter and cheap perfume filling the cab.
She gazed out at the rest of the Merchants through the cracked windshield. Skidmark and Mush were bickering over the relatively meager piles of cash and baggies of product their underlings had brought back from today's sales run.
Despite spreading out across the city and employing a small army of low-level dealers to push their wares, the Merchants just didn't seem to be hitting the same numbers they used to just a little more than a week ago. Squealer had a nagging suspicion it was because of those new fucking flying stones that had been popping up – from that Alayhoe or whatever.
Squealer snorted derisively at the thought of the self-righteous bitch who thought she could just do whatever she wanted. Once she got a few more upgrades installed, her new baby would be more than a match for whatever lame powers they-
Her eyes narrowed as something in the side mirror caught her attention. Craning her neck, Squealer peered out the back window of the truck, trying to get a better look.
There, hovering near the top of the bridge's underside, was... a butterfly? But as her drug-addled mind focused, she realized there was something distinctly off about the little weird-looking red creature.
Squealer's brow furrowed in confusion as she tracked the strange butterfly weaving lazy patterns through the air. This was no ordinary insect. She opened her mouth to call out a warning to Skidmark-
But then everything went wrong.
A massive, writhing swarm of insects came pouring out of every nook and cranny, swarming over the gathered Merchants in a buzzing, biting frenzy. Skidmark let out a high-pitched shriek of surprise, frantically waving his arms to activate his force field and repel the bugs.
Mush was already reacting, tendrils of trash and debris lashing out to envelop his body in an ever-growing suit of rubbish armor. More tendrils whipped towards their cowering underlings, dragging them towards Mush's protective embrace.
"Get in the fuckin' truck!" Squealer bellowed over the chaos, keys already in the ignition.
The truck's massive engine roared to life as Squealer floored the accelerator. She could just make out Skidmark sprinting towards the vehicle, still swatting futilely at the ravenous insect swarm surrounding him.
"Move your bony ass!" Squealer screeched as the driver's side door flew open. Skidmark dove headfirst into the cab, slamming the door shut behind him.
"What's your malfunction, you dumb cumdump?" he spat, his voice reaching that special octave usually reserved for ruptured testicles. "Get us up in the air before that bug-controlling bitch Arachne takes us all out!"
Squealer didn't need to be told twice. She stabbed a grease-stained finger against the hover controls, and the truck's repulsor engines spooled to life with an earth-shaking roar. They lifted off the ground in a cloud of churned dust and debris, rapidly flying towards the open air above the bridge.
That was when it happened.
Glowing words in a strange, stylized font suddenly appeared in Squealer's vision, as if superimposed over her view of the real world.
Aletheia - Inferno Volley
A split second later, a blazing arrow of pure flame streaked down from the heavens, slamming into the cluster of Mush's tendrils and their straggling underlings below with a deafening roar.
The flames erupted in a brilliant blossom of fire, dozens of smaller fireballs blooming outwards to scorch anything in their path. Squealer could hear the agonized screams of their people as they were engulfed in the inferno, bodies wreathed in searing tongues of flame.
Yet... as she squinted through the shimmering heat haze, she realized that the fires didn't seem to be actually wounding or burning anyone. The men simply collapsed, bodies jerking fitfully as they screamed in immense pain.
"What the everlovin' fuck?!" Skidmark's voice cracked like a pubescent boy's as he gawked out the window.
Then it happened again.
Aletheia - Inferno Volley
Another blazing projectile split the sky, this one detonating directly amidst Mush's protective shell of compacted trash and rubble. The resulting explosion of flame collapsed inwards, relentlessly pummeling the crude armor until Mush's semi-molten form finally slumped to the pavement in an unconscious heap.
"Goddamn fucknuggets..." Skidmark breathed, seeming stunned into momentary silence.
But Squealer was already reacting, her fingers flying over the weapons controls as she spun the truck in a wide arc. "Well don't just sit there gawkin', Skidmark!" she snapped. "That flaming bitch is up there on those freaky floating rocks! Man the laser cannon!"
"About time you grew a pair, you vapid cocksleeve!" Skidmark retorted, scrambling up to crouch behind the gunner's station. "I'll melt that stuck-up thundercunt right off her high horse!"
Squealer gritted her teeth, guiding the truck into position as she searched the sky for any sign of their attacker. Her eyes widened as the red butterfly from before suddenly reappeared, hovering mere feet away. It drifted closer, its strange translucent wings fluttering lazily.
"There!" Skidmark howled, jabbing a finger towards the delicate creature. "Blow that motherfucker to pieces!"
Squealer didn't hesitate. She slammed her fist against the fire control, bathing the interior of the truck in a searing red glow as the laser cannon discharged with a thunderous crack.
A blinding lance of light lanced out, skewering the strange butterfly and continuing on to pierce the sky, missing the floating rock by a mile.
But before Squealer could line up another shot, she was blinded by a fresh set of glowing words appearing right before her eyes.
Aletheia (Monster) - Piercing Flame Strike
She blinked furiously, trying to clear her vision. When her eyes focused again, her blood turned to meth in her veins.
A massive fiery arrow, larger than any before, blazed downwards through the sky like a meteor of holy retribution. Its surface shimmered and distorted as if wreathed in intense heat, flames billowing off in a twisting contrail of crimson and gold.
"Oh shit..." Squealer whimpered, utterly transfixed by the terrifying sight.
Beside her, Skidmark was in a frenzy. "Use your fields, Skids!" he shrieked at himself. "Push that fucker away before it turns us into greasy fuckin' stains!"
Squeezing his eyes shut, Skidmark thrust out his hand as if pushing against an invisible wall. A rippling shimmer, like heat haze over searing asphalt, spread outwards from his splayed fingers. The distortion struck the reinforced windshield dead-on, causing the safety glass to shimmer and distort, bands of glowing blue light settling across its surface.
But it wasn't enough. Not nearly.
The Piercing Flame Strike continued its deadly arc, punching through Skidmark's pathetic force field like a droplet of water parting a soap bubble. Glass, metal, and plastics all parted like a hot knife through butter as the blazing projectile pierced straight through the center of the windshield.
There was a fraction of a second where time seemed to slow down. Squealer's eyes locked onto the fiery missile as it streaked closer, close enough for her to look past it to see the massive muscular woman aiming a massive bow at them.
The arrow pierced straight through Squealer's forehead, and her world whited out, every nerve ending in her body screaming in anguish.
Vaguely, she was aware of Skidmark's agonized howls of torment as his body was likewise consumed by the flames. But it was all just white noise compared to the searing torment claiming her senses.
In the end, she passed out from the pain.
oo0ooOoo0oo
I smirked at Taylor beneath my mask and said, "Aiming with this bow isn't so difficult when the projectile explodes into a bunch of smaller fireballs on impact."
My gaze shifted to the now-visible monster truck tumbling out of the sky, smoke trailing behind it. "Aw, fuck."
I tossed Agni Gandiva aside and quickly teleported down, appearing right beside the plummeting vehicle. Not wasting a second, I reached out to grab Skidmark and Squealer's bodies, teleporting them safely to the riverbank.
It was just in time too, as an ear-splitting boom shook the air - the wrecked truck slamming into the ground in a fiery explosion. I ignored the blast, focusing instead on systematically retrieving the Merchants and teleporting them away from the spreading flames onto stretches of intact concrete.
After a tense minute, I had everyone clear of the inferno. With a final teleport, I reappeared beside Taylor under the bridge, brushing a few stray embers from my costume.
Holding out my hand, I released another ghostly butterfly that fluttered up to the sky. That decoy butterfly had served as the perfect distraction - the Merchants had wasted their laser blast trying to hit it instead of us.
"Start gathering up any money you can find," I told Taylor. "I'm going to shrink back down."
With that, I deactivated Form of the Monster, my body rapidly contracting until I stood at my normal slender height once more. Shaking off the lingering vertigo, I teleported back up to retrieve Agni Gandiva from where I'd discarded it atop Menhir.
Another teleport brought me down to the riverbank, where the battered Merchants lay scattered and groaning. One by one, I transported them up onto Menhir's broad surface, disarming any weapons or other potential threats.
Just as I was finishing up, Taylor came jogging over with her arms laden with bags of cash. I grabbed her by the elbow and teleported us both up to join the others.
"Well," I said, brushing some dust from my hands as I looked at the devastated riverbank, "I'd say that went pretty well, wouldn't you?"
Taylor's mask hid any expression, but her tone was clearly amused at my understatement. "You know, I keep seeing these glowing words appear in my vision, with your name and... the name of your attack, like it's straight out of a comic book or something."
I blinked, momentarily taken aback before remembering. Right, the Imposing Declaration of Title perk - it would overlay dramatic titles and descriptions whenever I did anything particularly badass.
Giggling slightly, I shrugged. "Hey, it's just one of my powers letting everyone know how amazing I am," I said lightly. "Though I can't really control what it says, so..."
Taylor let out a long-suffering sigh, clearly resigning herself to more of my theatrical flair. "Alright, whatever. So what are we going to do with these guys?" She gestured to the pile of groaning Merchants scattered around us.
I smirked beneath my mask. "Well, I think we'll deliver them right to the PRT's doorstep," I declared. "I don't want to risk going too close to PHQ at the moment, but they should have plenty of troopers at the PRT headquarters who can take them all into custody properly. I'd rather not have to make multiple trips dropping off the unpowered members at regular police stations."