Chapter 133 - My SI Stash #33 - Technomage by Delkatar (DCUXWorm)

-Now this is just a SI-ception. A SI in DCU that got SI to Worm~ Recently revived fic, (was dead for 2 years!)

Sypnosis: ???

Rated: M

Words: 88K

Posted on: forums.spacebattles.com/threads/technomage-dc-worm-crossover-si.367786/#post-20045469 (Delkatar)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Prologue 1-6

Part 1: A new beginning

=TM=​

May 27, 2014

Location Classified

Earth Bet

"You promised to tell me the truth!" the blonde teen confined to a hospital bed pouted at me.

"It's a long story." I muttered.

"So? It's not like either of us is going out of here anytime soon. Unless they let me fix us?" she fluttered her eyelashes at the camera in the upper left corner of the room.

"Nope. Making puppy eyes won't help. No matter how good you've become at it." A pleasant woman's voice came from speakers masterfully concealed in the walls. "Until we are sure you aren't compromised neither of you is going to be doing anything funny."

"You are no fun." Riley pouted. "Plweease?" Her lower lip trembled, giving her an adorable look that should be classified as a Master effect.

"On the contrary, dear. I'm lots of fun. And the answer is still no." The woman on the screen chided gently.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I whispered.

"Don't get me started. Besides, you promised me explanation too. So start. I have whole day."

"Yeah. The joys of multitasking."

"That's on your head too." Came the smug response.

"Enough mister!" Riley glared at me. "You promised!"

"I know when I'm outnumbered."

"Good." another woman's voice sounded from the walls.

"Ah. You too, dear. This is unfair." Really, what did I do to deserve this inquisition?!

"Now, dear, don't be cotrire and start talking." The second woman said in that deceptively sweet voice I've learned to be wary of.

Smiling at the camera, I conjured a white flag and waved. "I surrender! Where do you want me to start?"

"The fun parts!" that was Riley, naturally.

"At the beginning!" two voices came simultanieously from the speakers.

"You are clearly outvoted." I smirked at Riley who threw one of her pillows at me. "OK, the beginning. It wasn't glamorous. At least from my point of view. Though I later learned that the fella who engineered the whole thing had a much more exciting time, the bastard."

"Language!"

"Yes, dear. Now where was I?"

=TM=​

02:50, December 9, 2015

My apartment

How it all began, you ask? Well I didn't really know. Not at that time anyway. First, let me tell you my side of the story. It all began on what appeared to be a normal December's night. Rather cool, with a lot of fog outside. I couldn't see the other side of the street from my bedroom's windows and that was less than fifteen meters away. At least there was no snow, yet.

Why that's important? Well, it was at the time. You see, the local government tended to be rather surprised by the snow. Every damn year and rather slow on the uptake with cleaning up the streets when nature inevitably surprised them. Before I got a flat near a metro station, sometimes during the winter it's been impossible to reach work on the first couple of days after it started snowing. But, I'm starting to ramble. Don't mind me, I got nostalgic for a moment. Where was I?

Ah. I fell asleep early and awoke a bit after midnight. After surfing the net for a bit and checking for a MMO to try, I decided on DC Universe online. So I set it up to start downloading and went to take a shower and shave. Just ordinary stuff, you see.

No, sweetie, no need to make such a face. As I said, it was a perfectly normal night as far as I knew. Yeah, go on. Giggle at my expense. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't so adorable, munchkin.

Yes, the story. I shaved and was about to prepare for a hot shower, when my normal night became anything but. My first clue was tingling all over my skin. It was like static electricity, but not quite. I couldn't explain it at the time. After all, it wasn't like I had felt magic before. The hairs on my skin stood up and I felt a buzz in the back of my head.

The next thing I knew I was falling through a formless void...

=TM=​

Time: It has no meaning here

Location: Somewhere between the universes

I screamed. It took me at least few minutes to figure out that I wasn't about to go splat right now. It didn't help much. Did I mention that I had fear of heights?

It was cold, but at least there was no wind. No real air resistance either, though I figured that much later. Just the head rush of falling, of gravity pulling you down. It was both awesome and terrifying. The fact I expected to end as a stain on the ground once I reached the bottom wasn't helping my mental state. My heart was hammering within my chest so fast I wondered if I was going to get a heart attack as a bonus. Before you know, becoming a pancake.

I lost track of time and just tumbled through the void.

What I remember from that journey... Even now I shudder. They say that if you stare at the abyss for long enough, it looks back. Curiously no one even whispers about what happens when you fall through it, and the beings there look at you. Being in that... place, it alters you on the fundamental level. Both body, but more importantly, Soul.

You could say that the middle aged man who fell in the crack between dimensions back on my Earth and the one who appeared on that spaceship, they were radically different beings. Oh, mentally I was mostly the same. For the time being anyway. My mind was my own, so if I met someone I knew, they wouldn't consider me a stranger after chatting for a bit.

I know, it's not a good comparison, especially with all the ways to mind-controll or inpersonate someone.

I knew nothing of that at the time. That's it, until I landed.

The Void shifted. A light formed below me and I was rushing towards it at terminal velocity. I saw a portal, a rift in the Void. That was the source of the light, a clear circle cut into the nothingness, showing a dull, metal floor.

"Oh. Fuuuu..."

=TM=​

03:33, December 9, 2015

Unit 531

High Orbit over Earth

"Well, this is new. I must be dreaming. Yeah. The alternative..." Nonono. Nope. It's not happening. ROBs, Space Bats and other such things, if they are real, must have no interest in little old me. None whatsoever. Nuh, uh.

Its a dream. Right. A dream. Otherwise, I would be a stain on the floor right now. Right?

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down my heart, which was doing its best to tear a hole in my chest and run away. At least I was dreaming. That was the logical explanation. A vivid, dream but dream nonetheless. People didn't just fall through a suddenly appeared hole in their bathroom, straight through a formless Void that stares at you and then through a circle leading into a weirdly designed metal room! Not in the real world!

I patted myself on the back. Bloody dream, it nearly gave me a heart attack! Ah, denial. Sometimes I wished it would have lasted longer...

At least now that I was aware, I could have a bit of fun before awaking, right? I smiled and looked around. I was in a rather big room, made of orange tinted metal. There were some kind of consoles flashing alien symbols. So I imagined being on a space ship of some sort. Plus flying, or floating above the ground to be more precise. There was a door to the left, what you could imagine for a sci-fi setting. All glowing metal and it looked like that it folded in the walls.

Hmm… It was familiar. Ah, DC Universe online. The game I left downloading before ending here. Huh, I must have fallen asleep while browsing the Space Battles forums. No matter, let's see where this dream goes.

I looked at myself. I was wearing a costume, black and forest green, mostly green. I had a cape too. Green with midnight black trim. A hood, which should have been obvious, but I guess my mind wasn't particularly sharpish while I slept. Gloves and boots in the same motif, rather comfortable ones too. My pants were black with some strange arcane symbols overlaid upon them. Huh. I almost recognized them.

The door slid open with barely a hiss, revealing a single robot, which stalked towards me. Cool!

I tilted my head looking it all over. The detail was incredible. Further it wasn't like what I've seen from the game. Instead, the way it looked, the texture… It was rather lifelike instead a computer generated model.

The machine looked at me and I could swear that its crimson eyes glared at me. Was I expected to fight it or something?

Then I was on the ground and my jaw hurt. The robot was striding towards me, murder shining in its eyes.

"The hell?!" I exclaimed, scampering backwards.

This was a dream! It wasn't supposed to hurt, damn it!

The accursed machine tried to cave in my ribs with a kick, but I was able to roll away in the last moment. What the hell was happening?!

"Can we talk about this?!" I shouted.

F.u.c.k. I rolled straight into a corner. The machine came at me c.o.c.king a metal fist. "Hold on! This is some kind of mistake!" I raised my hands in the stop gesture. The robot swung my way then two blue energy beams emanated from my palms and promptly blasted the machine away from me.

The android hit the floor hard, tumbling few times before stopping at the far end of the room. I glared at it. Of course it landed in front of the door. And to no one's surprise it wasn't down for the count. Then it hit me. I just used some kind of energy attack! I looked at my palms, being careful not to point them at my face. There were circular indentations in the fabric of the gloves, looking suspiciously like the repulsors build in Iron Man's suit.

The robot stood up shakily. There were two deep gorges in it's chest plate and they were glowing slightly. Wow, I melted whatever it was made of. Wasn't that cool?!

It started shambling my way, obviously the damage was worse than appeared. Now how the hell I shoot it again?! I punched in it's direction with open palm.

Nothing happened. I did it again and again as the robot came towards me. He was nearly in grappling range when another blast of light struck it, this time grazing its head and melting half its face. It gave a loud electronic shriek, making me cover my ears, before crumbling to the ground.

I starred at the pile of scrap, willing myself to awake, though I didn't harbor much hope that it would work. Not after that punch. Damn, it was starting to dawn on me that I was the newest plaything of some kind of omnipotent being. F.u.c.k it all!

=TM=​

A short time later, after I most certainly didn't freak out, I was thinking constructively again...

If this really wasn't a weird nightmare, I needed to get out of here. Now.

At least the door wasn't sealed. It neatly folded in the walls, letting me leave the room without any fuss. I made my way down the corridor, trying to be sneaky. Then shook myself for an idiot. As if I could sneak past robots. Who knew what kind of sensors those things had not to mention that I was sure that there were cameras tracking my movement.

Soon I reached the end of the corridor, a corner leading left. Well, let's hope that there isn't someone ready to blast my stupid head away. I carefully leaned around the corner and glanced down the hall. Ah. Shit. There were three more robots and few big metal boxes in front of the only door I could see.

This was going to suck. There goes nothing. I walked around the corner, my hands extended in front of me. The machines were already sprinting my way.

"Shoot damn it!" I exclaimed. In the next moment whatever weapon was integrated in my gloves activated. Bright azure light shone from my palms and I could hear a pair of loud clangs indicating I hit something.

A second later, a freight train collided with my chest and threw me on the metal floor. The impact drove the air out of my lungs. There was something straddling me. My eyes focused just in time to see a metal fist flying at my face.

=TM=

Part 2: Awakening​

03:41, December 9, 2015

Unit 531

High Orbit over Earth

"F.u.c.k!" Smash. "Damn it!" Punch. Slam.

Each strike rattled my teeth. By now my brain should have been turned into mush. Strike that, my head should have caved in. This was a robot punching me in the face after all.

The damn machine was doing its best to smash my head through the floor. It's punches bloody hurt… Though not as much as expected. By all rights the machine should have killed me already. Hell, the fist robot that hit me in the face should have let me with a broken jaw at the very least, damn it! Instead, it had my right hand in a hold, keeping my palm away from itself and my left was on my chest under its pelvis.

All the while, it was using its free hand to try bashing my head in. It f.u.c.k.i.n.g hurt. It struck me again and again.

I was helpless, unable to use my weapons on it. I was going to die here…

NO! F.u.c.k this whole f.u.c.k.i.n.g situation and the horse it rode on! The god damned thing that sent me here too! I won't die here, murdered by a f.u.c.k.i.n.g tin can! Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I struggled to point a weapon at the robot. He ignored me and raised a fist for another strike, when we both heard metal screeching. It tilted its head and looked at this left arm. The elbow joint was slowly grinding away from its socket as I forced its hand away.

Under different circ.u.mstance I would have been amazed at the feat. There should have been no way for mere flesh and blood to overpower the machine. Instead, I grinned when my palm aligned with the robot's face.

"Go to hell!" I roared.

A rod of azure light blazed from my hand and the machine froze.

When my eyes readjusted few seconds later, the headless body of the robot stood still, its right fist raised for a blow that never came.

Getting out from under it proved a bit of a challenge, because the machine had locked the moment its head was gone. It took me couple of minutes to worm my way out. The first thing I did after I was back on my feet was to check my face. My lips were a bloody mess and so were my cheeks if what I could feel with my fingers was any indication. The only surprise was that My whole face wasn't wasn't bleeding. I shrugged. It was a problem for later. I needed to get away.

=TM=​

Naturally, my woes were far from over. Mr. Murphy was acting strong tonight. First, it appeared that I might make it out. I faced few scattered robots, but got lucky and shot them before any of the machines could get into range. I should have known better.

My only way forward led to a large, semi open area. It was a junction with at least half a dozen doors leading in different directions. There were many consoles, all of them running either what appeared to be LCD displays or honest to god holograms, as well as a lot of the metal containers I saw earlier. They were stacked near two rows of half a dozen columns.

Then there was IT. Some kind on unholy hybrid of a Giant, with capital G, brain and insectoid robotic body. When I entered, it was skittering towards the far end of the compartment, but it immediately turned around and charged me.

Well, f.u.c.k. I jumped away, just in tame to avoid being squashed by the damn thing. The moment I was back on my feet, I snapped a hand its way, sending an energy blast at it. It was good that I already figured out how my weapons worked. There was some kind of mental component combined with a motion that triggered them. Probably a safe feature so the wearer won't shoot himself by accident.

That left the question who made them and gave them to me. No to mention my bizarre costume. However, none of that mattered until I was somewhere safe. Besides, it wasn't like I had much time for pondering. The supper bug screeched as I shot it, leaving an angry scar at its side. The damned thing was tougher than it looked like.

It charged me again. I rolled away with ease. My body was responding much better than I was accustomed to – I wasn't particularly athletic before ending up here. Another thing to shelve for a latter examination. And why did my mind go on a tangent again and again while I was roleplaying a matador while a bizzaro brain-bug tried to squash me?!

This time I didn't bother standing up and blasted it from my prone position. The two beams criss-crossed it's side, leaving lines of half molten metal in their wake. The beastie tried to turn around and slipped, because one of its legs wasn't working properly.

Neat. Before it could recover, I rained shot after shot at it. Aiming at its apparently vulnerable legs. Thirty or so blasts later, it was crippled and unable to move. During my bombardment I noticed that some kind of shield protected its main body. It became visible only when one of my beams was visible and it was apparent that my shots weren't particularly effective on the force field. Oh, they could punch through but the damage that they caused on the main body was more or less comsmetic. I frowned at the cyber monster. I wanted the damn thing dead. It tried to kill me, just as everything I met ever since stepping foot in here. Wherever this place was. Unfortunately my only weapon was far from effective.

I frowned wondering how to take it out. I didn't want to leave it behind. For all I knew it could repair itself and come after me. In the worst possible moment of course. Damn, I needed stronger blasts.

When I thought that, my hands snapped on their own volition. My thumbs and index fingers touched each other and I spread my palms. Blue light flashed between my hands and a single, much thicker beam lanced at the crippled cyborg. It speared through it's shields and bore a hole into its body. The hybrid twitched a few times while I was too busy gagging at the smell of cooking flesh.

At least that thing was gone.

=TM=​

May 27, 2014

Location Classified

Earth Bet

"That's all very interesting, but how did you get here in the first place?!" Riley exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not a hundred percent sure. Let me tell you, it was an accident."

"I'm not surprised. Just to be clear, no more experimenting in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Like ever."

"Nothing dangerous, I promise! Just the odd..."

"NO! Or once you are out of quarantine, you'll be sleeping on the couch."

I grinned. I had goood memories of that place. Hell, the first time we...

"Alone."

Ah. Right. "No experiments in the bas.e.m.e.nt or anywhere near home. I hear you loud and clear, dear."

"You are so whipped." Riley giggled.

"Shush, you."

"That goes double for you, young lady. Do you think I don't know about your lab?!"

"That's not fair!" Riley shrieked.

"Fine. Let's see. My ill.u.s.trious arrival in Brockton Bay. And I thought that Metropolis and Gotham were bad..."

=TM=​

22:41, January 11, 2011

Winslow High School

Brockton Bay

This time I found myself face full with tiled floor. Well, pieces of shattered tiles if you want to be punctual. I rolled on my back and whistled. There was a hole in the ceiling above me. In the one above it too, all the way up through the roof. I could see the stars twinkling merrily through my makeshift entrance.

"Ouch." I muttered. If it wasn't for my supernatural durability, I'd be dead right now, smeared all over the rooftop. Instead, I was down here.

I looked around, wincing as my neck clicked. I was all right. If you discount that I felt like a giant bruise. Again.

My surroundings were dark, something I solved by calling a ball of eldrich light to float above my head. Huh. Tiled floor, empty hallway, and a row of lockers down the corridor. Going by just that, I could be anywhere. From a military base, to hospital, factory or even school. Though the fact that there were no alarms or cries of distress, first couple of options were likely to be out. I stood up, groaning. I extended my senses, both arcane and technological, trying to figure out where was I. Huh. There was the tiniest spark of magic coming from the lockers.

Part 3: Shattered skies

=TM=​

22:43, January 11, 2011

Winslow High School

Brockton Bay

I don't believe in coincidences. Ending in a building containing something magical after the accident that brought me here, no matter where here was, made me wary. So the first thing I did was to manifest my dual shields, both the tech one and the arcane. Next on the list was accessing my storage pocket dimension. All it took was tapping one of the crystals embedded in my left glove and feeding it a bit of energy with particular frequency. Plus the mental component that made magic do what you wanted. The space over my left shoulder warped and my multipurpose drone was there, hovering on its anti-gravity drive.

"What's up, boss?" the Ana, it's AI asked.

"Get me a broadband scan on the area and tap any wireless networks and comm channels you can. I want to know where we are."

"On it."

Her sensors lit up, their energy washing over my arcane senses. While she was doing as instructed, my attention was focused on the locker in question. A simple spell later and I got some more information, that made me frown. One human life sign, rapidly fading away. That and a lot of much smaller ones, probably insects. I strode towards the locker, dreading what I was going to find inside.

However, that didn't stop me from scanning for traps or ambushes. This whole thing felt off.

"Well boss, what do you want first? The good news, the bad one or the worst?" Ana chirped. It wasn't in her usually cheerful tone either.

I felt a shiver of cold running up my spine.

"I'm not going to like it, am I?" What mess did I find myself in this time?!

"Nope. So what's going to be?"

"Give me the good news first. I think I'm going to need it."

"We are in the States, Eastern seaboard, a town near Boston, one I have no information about in my databanks." Ana informed me.

I waited for the other shoe to drop. "The name of this mysterious town?"

"Brockton Bay."

"Bugger me sideways." I knew that name. I couldn't be that unlucky, surely?

"You are not my type, boss. Besides it would be icky." My AI companion chirped.

"Cheeky brat. We are in deep this time if this is the same place I think it is." I muttered. Brockton Bay. F.u.c.k.i.n.g Worm, and I thought that the DC universe was bad with all it's cosmic horrors. At least back there, well we had the people with enough raw power to stand up to almost anything that came at us. Not to mention that when the Heroes finally got their heads out of their collective posteriors, the world finally started becoming decent place. All it took was the latest alien invasion and few notable Villains going out of all bounds to force everyone's hands.

"So, a mostly empty building. One life sign in a locker. In Brockton Bay. Bloody hell, why do I always end in such situations?!"

"Boss, you aren't making much sense." The drone turned so its weapons were pointing my way. "You aren't going to go on the deep end again, right?"

"The local date." I bit off.

"January eleventh, 2011. 22:43. Huh. We are back in time, too."

"And few dimensions away. Is 911 still the emergency number here? If so patch us up." I sighed. Worm. F.u.c.k.i.n.g worm, god damn it!

"I'll need a bit of time to establish connection." There was a frown in Ana's voice. Hardware incompatibility?

I headed for the lockers now aware what I was going to find. I wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but finding myself here after the accident? It didn't pass my smell test. Was this what she meant when she told me I might eventually find redemption after what happened? A chance to save this hellhole of a world, to do a difference, after I almost caused the apocalypse?

I shook my head. That was food for later thought.

When I got near, the first thing that hit me was the smell. There was no way in Hell that it went unnoticed. Oh, I had much stronger senses than baseline human, but that stench? Anyone with working nose passing through here should have been nauseous. This was beyond simple negligence.

I frowned. As far as I was aware, Taylor didn't spent that much time in there at least in the original story. So I couldn't just assume that this was canon Worm. That by itself wasn't much of a shock – I knew that multiple alternatives of any world existed. The downer was the simple fact that my knowledge of the place was now suspect until proven otherwise. Joy.

Channeling my power through my left hand, I manifested five tendrils of purple energy and used them to rip off the locker's door. A small, filth covered body fell out and I caught it with my magic, gently laying it on the floor. My magelight was enough to see the mess.

Huh. She was shorter than I imagined, probably would barely reach my shoulders without heels. She was wearing jeans and dark green jumpers, which were torn in places and soaked with both blood and a lot of filth. She was covered with ripe film of filth from the crown of her shoulder length brown hair down to her shoes.

So, beyond the given mental trauma she was guaranteed to have a whole list of nasty infections too. But that wasn't what got my attention in the fist place. I could feel it clearly now. There was a spark of magic in this girl. It was draining off her, even faster than her life force and that wasn't right.

Not knowing what was causing it I decided not to risk healing her with my power. Instead, I placed a stasis field over her, freezing her as she was.

"Ana, now it would be good time for that call to go through."

"Yep. And I'm ready."

"911, what is the nature of your emergency?" a cool woman's voice sounded from the drone.

"I found an injured girl who needs immediate medical attention. I'm not sure of the location, some kind of school I think."

"Sir, I am tracing the call. Please give me more information."

"She is covered with infected wounds, mainly on her hands and legs. Someone apparently stuffed her in a locker filled with filth. Used female tampons and other assorted garbage. I have no idea how long she's been inside. I placed her in suspended animation until help could arrive."

There was a pause.

"Sir, are you a Cape?"

"Cape? You mean do I have powers, right? Then yes."

"That's fine." her voice became soothing. As if trying not to provoke the unknown meta human. "I'll inform the PRT immediately so they dispatch a team. I'm forwarding you to their line sir. It will be just a moment."

"The kid needs an ambulance first. I'm unsure how long I can keep her under stasis." I could see why they would want to sent someone qualified to deal with metahumans before the ambulance just in case I was a villain or something, though it was irritating. This was bloody Brockton bay after all.

"I'll see what I can do." there was a digital tone and a new voice joined the conversation. "Hi. I'm Vista. What's the problem?" a young and full with energy voice sounded over the com. While the 911 operator filled her in, I wondered who in their right mind, let a kid, how old was she again, twelve or thirteen be on the hot line. Oh yeah. PR reps. I shook my head in exasperation.

"That's terrible." Vista muttered.

I could hear her taking a deep breath before remembering her training. At least I hope she had received some.

"Can you tell me how you found her? And if it's not terribly imposing please tell my your name. Oh. Your Cape name I mean!" She stammered the last sentence in super speed.

"Ah. I suffered an accident while working on a teleportation array. The next thing I knew I was on the floor after apparently crashing through the roof of this building." I smiled sheepishly though I knew she couldn't see me.

"Then what happened?"

"I used my sensors to try figuring out where I was, when I detected a human life sign."

"I see. We traced your location to the Winslow High School. Police and ambulance are on the way as well as a PRT team. The first responders should arrive in a few minutes. Please could you stay on the line until then?" Vista asked.

"Sure. I'll need to keep her in stasis anyway. She's in a bad way."

I glanced at Ana. "Your job I gather?" I asked, sub-vocalizing.

"Yeah. I made sure that they could trace the call. That was your intent, right?"

"Indeed. You are getting better at it." Despite spending a lot of time as an emergency backup stuck in a drone in my pocket dimension, this instance of my AI was demonstrating a bit more developed behaviour than expected. Then again, she did have a lot of data to play with and enough processing power and storage to build herself a not too small digital world not to get bored.

The drone bounced a few times in the air showing her excitement.

"Is your Cape identity too much to ask?" Vista's voice chirped over the speakers. Ah to be so young and full with energy.

"That's the second time one of you ladies mentioned Capes in respect of super powered humans. What's with that term? Last I checked everyone was still using metahumans." I played dumb. This wasn't either the time or place to show that I was familiar with this world. Plus being truthful about my origins… It opened some possibilities. And problems depending how Cauldron would react upon learning about me.

I shrugged. It wasn't like I intended to lay low.

My only answer was eloquent silence from the other side of the line.

"You are pulling my chain, right?" Vista groused.

"Nope. I have no idea what Capes are. Where I'm from, that's not how metahumans are called."

"Oh, my. You aren't joking are you? I'm redirecting additional Protectorate personnel to your position. She'll explain. Eta about fifteen to twenty minutes."

"I'll be here, waiting."

=TM=​

23:05, January 11, 2011

Winslow High School

Brockton Bay

First to arrive was a pair of cops, who wore uniforms not dissimilar from what I was familiar back from my original world. It was a far cry from the gear that I knew from my home for the last few years. No carapace armor or bulky energy weapons, nor the high tech gadgets that were a standard kit for even the rank and file. Just what you'd expect from normal cops back in my original dimension: dark blue uniforms, with flimsy looking bulletproof vests on top. Holstered guns, batons, cuffs and radios. One of them had a taser too. Nothing out of the ordinary. And nothing that could even slow down most metahumans.

That probably explained the wary looks they were giving me, or the way the younger one was glancing at my drone. Well, Ana's guns probably had something to do with that.

"I would like to say that it's a good to see you, but considering the circ.u.mstances..." I nodded at the girl who most likely was Taylor.

The senior, who was in his mid forties and had sergeant stripes on his uniform gave me a sharp nod and looked at the girl.

"What the hell happened in here? And what's with the shimmering?"

"That's something I would like to know too." I muttered. "I've put her in stasis so she won't get worse before the paramedics arrive."

"That's useful." said the sergeant. He glanced at the locker's door. "Your work?"

I shrugged. "It was in the way."

"I haven't seen you on the news. You a new Cape?"

"New around here it seems."

What followed was typical, even if the procedures were a bit different from what I was accustomed to. They took my statement while we waited for the paramedics to arrive. Soon enough, the girl, who might or might not be Taylor,(there was no name on the locker's door and considering the filth that was inside I wasn't inclined to check for a name tag or something else in there), was in the hands of the local paramedics. That left me staring at a squad of armored troopers, armed with assault rifles and SMG's. The PRT's first response team, who were eying me warily. At least I thought so. It was hard to tell thanks to their fully enclosed helmets and I decided not to probe with magic nor my sensors. It was good to see that someone around here was acting professional. It raised a bit my hopes for this world.

There was no posturing or anything that might provoke a reasonable new cape. Then again, they weren't Armsmaster. Meeting that Tinker would be interesting. Or pain in the ass. At least he wasn't the one we were waiting for. Vista said that a woman was on the way. That was a limited pool as far as my prior knowledge went. Velocity, Battery and Miss Militia were the only female Protectorate members in this town. I think. I was sure about Battery and obviously Militia. Velocity? Eh.

That particular question was answered couple of minutes later when a woman clad in military fatigues strode in. She had the US flag as a scarf over the lower part of her face, leaving only her eyes and cheekbones to be seen.

She glanced at the mess that was the locker and her eyes narrowed with disgust. Then Miss Militia turned her attention to me.

Part 4​

01:27, January 12, 2011

PRT Headquarters

Brockton Bay

"That's a bold claim, Mr. Veil." the Director of the local Protectorate's branch glared at me.

As if it was my fault I ended up here. Oops. It actually was. I shrugged.

"What can I say? I probably zigged when I had to go zag during one of my experiments."

Ana turned her body so her main camera was starring at me. "You weren't supposed to do those experiments without supervision."

Great. Now she was glaring at me too. This wasn't one of my finest days. I wondered why the hell I got out of bed this morning.

"Yes, that too." she pointed at Ana's body. "You have a drone armed with military grade weaponry and controlled by an AI."

"Hey! He does not own me!" Ana exclaimed.

"What she said. While I created her, she is her own person with all rights as per the Sentient Rights Convention. Though considering that we are not in out own dimension I don't know how much weight that has."

"Director, let's not antagonize the heavily armed AI in the room." Miss Militia's eyes crinked in a smile.

"Do you have any way to prove you aren't just a Tinker with fancy tech and delusions?" Piggot asked and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Dunno. Does the few hundred petabytes of information about our world in Ana's databanks constitute proof?"

"That might work." Director Piggot agreed. "Once our Thinkers confirm its genuine."

"Fine. But you aren't getting any sensitive data from me!" the AI huffed, her body wobbing in the air.

"That's all right, hon." Miss Militia beamed at Ana's antics.

"That leaves the obvious question. What are we going to do about you two?" Piggot gave us a tired look.

"I've thought about that. If I'm to have any chance of locating our dimension, much less creating a safe way to go back, I'll need resources and a lab." I offered.

"Careful and close supervision too. I don't want a repeat of the New York incident." Ana grumbled.

"That wasn't my fault."

"Do I want to know?" Piggot groaned.

"Not at all." I shook my head and gave them my best innocent smile.

"Yes." Ana added her two cents.

"Traitor." I muttered.

I swear to god she started to float smugly.

"An experiment to harness zero point energy went out of control." Ana started.

"Just a little. And it was promptly contained, no thanks to Luthor's damn saboteurs." I added.

"It wiped everything in five mile radius!"

"As I said it was contained."

"No experiments without a.d.u.l.t supervision." Piggot growled while Miss Militia was nodding emphatically.

"Tyrants. All of you."

"With that out of the way, I would like to extend you two an invitation to the Protectorate's ranks. We can always use more Capes and as a Tinker, your could make some useful contributions. Not to mention that we will provide you with a lab, resources and monthly stipend and we would facilitate the way for any inventions you produce. Though in exchange we get first rights to purchaise."

"I've heard that term used before by you people. What exactly is a Tinker?"

"A Parahuman with the power to build advanced technology. Usually their creations are one offs and very hard to reproduce or maintain."

"I see." I smiled. "Then I'm not a Tinker in your jargon. I'm a scientist and engineer. Our tech," I waved at Ana, "can be readily mass produced given the necessary industrial base."

Piggot's eyes widened at my declaration.

"That's interesting." the Director was unable to hide the gleam in her eyes. "I would like a demonstration," she looked at her watch. "But that can wait. Would you like to join the Protectorate?"

"What exactly will be my duties and responsibilities? What restrictions would be imposed upon us?"

"How much are we getting paid? My body is high maintenance." Ana quipped.

"The pay is decent." Miss Militia said.

"However, there are few points that might be problematic. We usually don't let our members run around with military grade weaponry. Not to mention AI's."

"That's not an issue. I have a diversive non lethal arsenal! Anything from sound based up through microwave and low intensity taser! However, what about me being an AI is concerning you?"

"You are an out of context problem. At the moment we don't have laws governing the use or potential rights of AI's." Piggot mussed.

"Do you even have any operational?" I asked.

"As far as I know, none." Piggot stated.

"Well that might be a problem. Ana is a person, not a thing. If someone wants her, they will have to go through me first." I glared at my hosts.

"I'll make some calls and see what we can do."

"As long as Ana is treated as a human. So, about those duties?"

"I'll let Miss Militia brief you. She can do it while arranging a place for you two to stay." Piggot stood up and headed towards the exit.

"So where am I supposed to crash for the night? It's been a long day and I could use a nap."

"Probably in one of the free apartments on base. We'll see about tomorrow. Or I can book you in a hotel, though I have to advise against that option. Unless Ana makes herself much less conspicuous, anyone who sees you would take you for a tinker. Before the sun rises the local gangs will know that there is a new tinker in town and start planning your forceful recruitment."

"Let them come!" Ana shook with anticipation.

"Once you are part of the Protectorate, that won't be an issue. Until then, you will be vulnerable."

"Thanks for the advise. While I believe we can handle ourselves..."

"Damn right!"

"Let's avoid entanglements with the local low life for now. So how is being a Hero around here?"

Miss Militia smiled and started filling me in while we walked towards the barracks.

Part 5: Origins I

=TM=​

12:19, December 11, 2015

Metropolis

DC Earth

Couple of days. That's how long I've been here. A world of Super Heroes and Villains. The home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman among many others.

A world that should have been confined to harmless comics and movies, damn it! Instead, it was all too real. I could feel it, touch it, taste it. Any hope I had that it was all a feverish, in ordinary realistic dream, was now gone. I've been here for two days. I had to fight my way out of that accursed space ship and barely made my way out before it was destroyed.

All thanks to Wonder Woman no less. Also, known as Diana, the Amazon Princess. The lass who saved my bacon and recruited me.

Ah, yeah. About that… As it turned out I'm a Mage. Yeah. Magic is real here too. So I got volunteered to be apprentice under Diana's supervision. Let me tell you, when a warrior princes who just wiped the floor with nearly a battalion of killer robots tells you to be her disciple, you smile, nod and go away for the ride.

What followed was brief explanation on arcane theory, some pointers on how to access my powers at will and you guessed it. I got my first mission. Which was a bloody mess of epic proportions. I only survived thanks to my unnatural durability. Had to help a local Mage, one Zatanna, stop Faust. Yeah, that Faust, deal with demons, sold his soul etc… At least the gal I helped was easy on the eyes with a quite fetching costume too.

In the end we somehow stopped Faust. Don't ask me for a detailed account. All I remember is flashes. Using my new found magic to stun and weaken enemies so we could pound them into the ground, destroying soul binding containers to release the captives… And the final confrontation with Faust. That was a whirlwind.

And I got a minion. Yes. You heard me right. A minion summoned from who knows where. A short, spiky bugger who was made off some kind of living rock. Useful too, not like the usual movie minions.

But I digress. That was all yesterday evening. After some well deserved rest, I was conscripted into your standard suicide mission. Go forth and stop Trigon. Yeah that Trigon. The bloody Daemon Lord that wants to bring hell on earth.

Why me, you ask? Because all real heroes are too busy dealing with the alien invasion. Besides, I was a mage, so I was apparently qualified to deal with this mess. Lucky me.

So that's how I found myself at the front gates of the Science Police's Eight Precinct, after flying over a half destroyed part of Chinatown. During my flight I saw both police and national guard ducking it out with pockets of killer robots. In the skies above fighters were dueling for air superiority with their alien counterpart all the while the occasional bomber wing from either side managed to raid the city, striking targets of opportunity. Naturally half the villains decided that this was a great time to play too. Though I had to admit that some of them were actually more helpful than harmful during the invasion.

Well, the time for idle thoughts was over. I landed in front of the science police building. What can I say about it? It had multiple wings, looked impressive and it was under siege. There were a pair of police cruisers blocking the main entrance, which were used by a squad of heavily armed and armored officers as cover. They were taking potshots at the madhouse that was the Precinct courtyard.

I ducked next to the Sigma operatives (as the science police members were generally known around here), avoiding a purple blast of energy.

"What's the situation?"

"God damned mess!" a man with sergeant's stripes on his shoulders grumbled before popping out of his cover and sending a burst of laser fire downrange before ducking back.

"I can see that." I deadpanned.

He glanced my way.

"You new? Do you have any idea what are you doing kid? We've had a bunch of newbies popping around ever since that maniac appeared in orbit. Most of them have no idea what they are doing or how to really use their powers."

"Nope. But I'm apparently all the backup you are getting."

"Murphy at his best. It has to be!" one of the Sigmas quipped.

"I'm intimately familiar with the notion." I muttered.

"What's the plan?"

"We need to secure the courtyard. There are pockets of our people there under siege, some of them medics."

"I'll see what I can do. Give me some cover fire."

The first thing I did was to summon Spikey, my minion. He appeared in a burst of purple flames and almost got shot.

"F.u.c.k! What's that?" exclaimed one of the officers, a young kid probably just out of the academy.

"What? I'm at least not ugly like some people I can mention!" Spikey grumbled.

Did I mention that the lovable little ball of mayhem was sentient too?

He jumped on the nearest cruiser and looked around.

"Boss, you are great! You bring me to the nicest of places! I want to punch something!"

"Knock yourself out." I waved at the horn covered daemons rampaging around the courtyard.

Spikey roared and charged in the fray.

"Where did you found him and can I get one too?" asked the sergeant.

I'm surrounded by maniacs, I tell ya.

"About that covering fire. Now it would be a good time." I called my power and used it to form shields around myself and the Sigmas. Then I did something quite stupid. I followed Spikey in the melee, blasting any of the monstrosities that came into range. At least I was finally getting the hang of using my hand-blasters.

=TM=​

It actually worked. With most of the daemons concentrating their attention on Spikey and me, the Sigmas rallied and counterattacked, shooting the bastards to pieces. Even better, my shields actually held if barely.

In other words I got lucky not to get my stupid head blasted away or my entrails gutted. And I was barely trembling. That only goes on to tell you how crazy the wast couple of days have been.

The Sergeant, one Jacob Mills, turned out to be the highest ranking Sigma operative on the scene. He wasted no time and started organizing his people.

"OK, folks. This is what we are going to do. Jefferson and Mikels. Get your squads and cover the medics. I want all wounded evacuated yesterday. The rest of you, check your ammo and gear. We are going in and securing our god damned Precinct! Is that clear!" He turned his attention to me. "Not bad for a rookie. Though don't go out doing such stunts again unless you are mini Superman. That was a great way to get yourself killed, though I can't really argue with results."

"I noticed, believe me." At least the trembling was dying down.

"Now, I want you to do it again." Mills grinned at me.

"What am I? A live meat shield?"

"It works." he shrugged.

"I'm starting to hate you."

"I'm sergeant. That's part of the job description."

"Is everyone on this world mental or something?"

"Beat's me boss. I'm not from around here as you very well know."

"I actually don't. Where are you from Spikey?"

"Your loss, meatbag."

"Cheeky bastard."

"And I'm proud of it. Mum was a volcano. No idea who dad was."

"I'm surrounded by clowns."

"We are breaching in five. As per the last report we got, the lobby has been overrun and we lost contact with the garage few minutes before you showed up."

"Which way are we going?"

"Hudson here and his team are going to lead a spoiling attack on the Lobby, while we storm through the garage."

A bulky man who looked like a tiny Space Marine in his armor nodded and waved a five man team to follow him.

"You ready?" Mills asked me.

"Hell no. But I'm coming anyway."

"That's the spirit."

=TM=

​

Getting into the garage proved to be harder than anticipated. None of the officers on scene had breaching charges and the place was build to withstand a siege. In the end it was up to me to make an entrance.

"Here goes nothing." I concentrated the way Diana showed me and connected deeply with my magic. I could feel it more acutely than ever. Not that was saying something considering that I've had it for less than two days.

It felt like boundless well, waiting to be tamed. I felt that it wanted to be used, not to just lay dormant. Almost as if it was alive, waiting. I took a deep breath and tugged it, making it pour slowly into my veins. I could feel myself getting stronger. My senses sharpened and the world around slowed down.

The magic was surrounding me and it was ready to be directed. I wanted, I needed to make a way. To open a breach so we can retake the building. My magic responded, purple tentacles forming around my hands. They slashed this way and that before calming and gently swaying in the air.

It was freaky. I could feel them as if they were another pair of arms. It took me a bit of trial and error but it turned out I could use them almost as well as my own hands. I smiled and grabbed the armored shutters that were sealing the garage. The tentacles actually pierced the metal and I pulled up, barely feeling the strain as the shutters moved up with and awful grinding sound.

Mills threw a flash-bang into the opening. Moments later just as it exploded, he charged into the breach, with the rest of the Sigmas hot on his heels.

Part 6: Origins II​

12:47, December 11, 2015

Science Police Eight Prescint

Metropolis

DC Earth

To our pleasant surprise, the garage hadn't fallen yet. There was a cl.u.s.ter of Sigmas using a SWAT van and the weaponry it contained to make a strong point and keep the daemons away. However, that hadn't helped much for the mechanics who were in the garage when the assault began. Their ripped corpses laid all over the floor. Mostly in bloody chunks of barely recognizable meat. So much for this being like any DC comics I've read. Damn it!

Our counterattack caught the daemons in the garage by surprise. Who knew, flash bangs were effective against the ugly buggers. Which meant that the Sigmas had a swell time shooting up the bastards while they were disoriented.

We found the first still alive officer in there too. A Lt in his mid thirties was a part of the men taking cover near the SWAT van. He was in a bad way, a magic beam had ripped his left shoulder and some kind of miasma was spreading through his veins, slowly killing him. By the time we secured the garage, he was already delirious.

"Damn it. I liked that kid. Is there something you can do for him?" Mills asked once he was apprised of the situation.

While we were talking, Sigmas were staging ready to breach the doors leading deeper in the building. Now they had breaching charges after looting what was left in the SWAT van.

"I have no idea." I shrugged and went to check up on the man. Diana didn't have the time to tutor me on healing with my power but she mentioned that it was indeed possible to do so. Magic was supposedly versatile like that. In other words it was a bullshit, grab bag kind of power. With my luck it had a lot of nasty draw backs and strings attached.

I had no idea at the time how right that thought was.

Linda Flores, the Lt in question was a small woman with shoulder length curly, brown hair. Probably was quite beautiful too before being hit with that magic. Right now she looked like a corpse warmed twice over and getting worse by the minute. Her shoulder and right arm were a lost cause, the virulent magic was on its way of dissolving them. The bandage and whatever meds the Sigma's had tried on her apparently had no effect. I frowned. That was a nasty way to go.

I placed a hand on her chest and closed my eyes. I could barely sense the magic ravaging her. It had foul, unpleasant stench. Yet, it was somehow familiar. As if I've felt it before. I shrugged. Probably it was all those blasts that hit my shield while we were retaking the courtyard, though I though that they were more akin to an ordinary energy weapons than whatever did this.

Which was all irrelevant right now. The simple truth was that I didn't know enough to help Fores. I couldn't simply create a spell on the fly, could I? But perhaps I didn't need to. Besides unless I did something she was going to be dead before help could arrive.

So I decided to brute force it. Concentrating on my magic, I started channeling it through my hand straight into her chest. The Lt gasped and started feebly struggling. My magic and whatever was in the woman, touched each other and she shrieked. I could feel the two energies fighting each other so I poured even more of my power in the woman. She screamed as the energies fought within her. The dark miasma halted its spread but refused to yield even a millimeter of ground.

I groaned with the strain of channeling so much magic, yet I refused to let it go. My body felt on fire, as if a ravenous furnace was attempting to consume me from the inside. It got worse, of course. The pain hit me, it was like countless white hot knives were coursing through my veins, cutting and searing everything in their path. I screamed amidst the pain, agony searing my lungs. It was during that self inflicted torture, when something changed. There was a shift in the feel of my magic, one I could acutely feel even with all my nerves on fire. My power, it became hotter than freshly spilled magma, yet it cooled my veins as it flowed through me. I tasted a bit of ashes and something else, spicy and pleasant. It felt just like home…

Linda shrieked as my altered magic slammed into her, petite body thrashing on the ground. The supernatural sickness consuming her recoiled. It tired to avoid my magic to no avail. It was washed away by a torrent of liquid fire, leaving healthy flesh behind. Flores m.o.a.ned and fell back like a puppet with slashed strings. The ruin of her shoulder healed before my eyes, but the new flesh was wrong. It was dark red, almost black, resembling long dried blood instead of healthy human skin.

"Well, that's new..." Mills muttered over my shoulder.

I looked at him and saw that we were surrounded by a semi circle of troubled looking Sigmas. Half of them were fingering their weapons and glancing warily at me.

"She'll live. I think." my words were barely a whisper. My throat was raw and felt like parchment.

"Hmm… For a moment there it looked like neither of you were going to make it."

"Believe me, it felt worse on my way." I rasped.

One of the troopers handed me a half full bottle of mineral water. I gulped it like I've been thirsting for ages. It was the sweetest thing I've ever tasted. The cool liquid soothed my parched throat and washed the tang of ashes from my mouth.

"That's much better. Thanks." my voice resembled a human one again.

"We still need to secure the building. Are you up to the task?" Mills asked.

I gave him a curt nod and stood up. At least my magic felt normal again.