A Mew Hope for Brockton Bay: Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Chapter 4

Taylor felt like a deer caught in a headlight as she stood there frozen, her gaze locked with the man inside the car. She could see the flash of recognition in their eyes, the way their eyes widened for a moment before they hardened as they clenched the wheel of their vehicle. She wanted to run, she needed to run, yet her foot was rooted to the ground.

Just as things were about to turn for the worse, Mew turned tail and grabbed her. One moment she was standing on pavement, the next thing she knew she found herself screaming as she dropped down on her bed.

Bolting up, she looked around, heart pounding at the close encounter. Somehow, she was back in her room. “Fuck! That was close,” Mew cursed out as he plopped down on the bed. “Just give me a second. I really should have practiced that,” He groaned out as he grabbed his head, shaking it as he stood up.

“I-! We? We’re back home?” She blurted out, reeling from the sudden change in location. “Wait, you used Teleport?” She then asked as she remembered what her partner was. Mew was a mythical psychic pokemon, off course he could use teleport… along with all the Technical Machine Moves known for pokemon..

“Your welcome,” He replied, waving her off as he floated around, his tail whipping around as he crossed his arms across his chest. “Damn it, you’re already getting tailed. Got any ideas on who those guys are? I got a pretty good mental image of them if you need it.”

“Huh?” She asked before blinking as the image of the driver came to her mind. Even with his baklava, she could see that the man had no hair. Along with the gothic theme of his tattoo and his pale skin, it was clear which gang had a bead on her. “The Empire’s after me…” She whispered in horror as she sunk to her knees and clutched head.

Of all the gang that could have gone after her, it was the one gang which had the most eyes and cape in the city. “This is bad… this is very bad,” She muttered to herself as she rocked in place, wracking her mind on what to do. “They’re really after me!”

“Wait, hold up,” Mew zipped towards her face and grabbed her by the cheeks, “Calm down, it’s not the end of the world.”

“They know who I am because of y-!” She blurted out, pushing him away as she got up holding back her tongue from finishing that word. They already knew she was a Tinker, Mew wasn’t at fault here.

Looking over to her partner, she felt her heart drop at how he flinched at her words. Breathing in deeply, she sighed out as she leaned against the wall to her room, “I… I’m sorry, it’s just-! Damn it!” This was already spiraling out of her control. She was just starting out but her identity was already known to one of the gangs. “The Empire’s just bad news, Mew. Just trust me on this one.”

Mew nodded as he replied, “I can only imagine.” His face scrunched as he frown before he asked her, “Wait, is this guy a skin head with a Swastika?” She could see the look of disbelief in her partners eyes.

“Neo-Nazis and Murderers,” She nodded. Of the three major gangs in the city, they might just be the worst. While the Azn Bad Boys were more akin to a mob while the Merchants poisoned the city, they acted and portrayed themselves as such, villains. The Empire on the other hand? They saw themselves as saviors, “protectors of the white race or whatever crap they spew out,” she hissed out.

“Fuck, yeah, this is bad,” He muttered, “I knew they were horrible but it’s whole other story seeing them.”

“And they’re now after my head,” She replied. Pacing around the room, she wondered. How long have they known about her? Days? Weeks? The very day she got her power? It wasn’t hard to imagine that they have eyes everywhere but how did they know. “How!?”

“They’ve been definitely checking out all the supply stores,” Mew mused out as he floated about, “It wouldn’t be hard to have people monitor them and see if anyone makes weird or sudden purchases. You’ve been buying from Mr. Walter’s shop for months right?” He then asked.

She winced at the implication. “Yes… I haven’t bought anything there up until I had this knowledge shoved in my head…” She whispered as she groaned. She’d been waving a flag, telling everyone that she’s a Tinker all this time haven’t she? “It’s not just the Empire…”

Frowning, Mew’s eyes then glowed. “Mr. Walter isn’t an Empire Goon,” he told her. “He’s quite clean actually though he has been bothered by the Merchant several times.”

“Stop reading peoples mind!” She scolded him before wincing, “Sorry, it’s just… it feels wrong having someone root through your mind like that.”

“Ok,” Mew nodded as he rubbed the back of his head, “I might have been a bit trigger happy there. I’ll try to keep the mind stuff to a minimum or unless your in danger. All bets are off if someone touches even a hair on your head.” he then told her with look of promise in his face.

Taylor nodded as her mind wandered back to the problem at hand. Nodding, Mew then said, “So, people may or may not know that you’re already a cape and has been eyeing you,” She nodded, before he continued, “We know that the Empire knows so the question is, what do we do now?”

She paused as she considered her answer. What can she do? She was just a tinker, she hasn’t even built up any tech for her to use. Heck, she only has Mew to her name. Yes, he was powerful but he was a lone pokemon against the whole Rogues Gallery that was Brockton Bay’s population of Villains.

She was a nobody, a lone tinker against hardened criminals. She had powers, yes, but she didn't have the resources to pull off a miracle. She already used up what little she had in her melt down trying to create Mewtwo. She had nothing and they were going to come down on her hard.

“Are there any tips Tinkers give out to new Tinkers? All Tinkers had the same problem at the start, right?” Mew asked her, “There must be something in PHO!”

Yes… all Tinkers had the same problem, Resource. Aside from a few Tinkers with  shaker or trump-like abilities to solve it for them, all Tinkers had to start off from scratch. How they solve this problem is unique to each Tinker but most Tinkers from the hero side of things solve theirs rather easily, Join the PRT/Wards.

“I can join the Wards…” She whispered with a grimace. “But is it worth it…”

She had heard some gripes from some Tinkers about regulation and those were from the more family friendly powers. She was a Nilbog just waiting to explode in their eyes. She was going to get her powers under lock and key and her knowledge considered to be a taboo. Still, it was worth considering.

She was in danger, her father was in danger! What was her freedom and her needs for her family's survival? “Wait, my father!” She then spoke up as she remembered her father's meeting. He had a meeting with one Mr. Thomas Calvert, the owner of Fortress Construction. From what little she could remember, the main office was in Downtown… right near the heart of Empire Territory. “Oh god, he’s still out there!”

Grabbing her companion, she then told him, “Mew, I need you to teleport me to Downtown now!” She held onto him tightly, getting to her knees as she begged him, “Please Mew, I need to get to my father now!”

“I can't Teleport there!” Mew blurted out. “I can't Teleport to any place I haven't been before,” he told him and she felt her stomach drop. He then smiled as he added, “But I can take you there in the next best thing!”

Whirling around her, he then offered his back as he told her, “Climb aboard! We’re flying there!”

She stared at him long and hard, looking at how comparatively tiny he was to her before she replied, “You can’t be serious?” The look that he gave back to her however does not bode well, “Right?”

-x-x-x

He was in fact serious about flying there. She only wished that she had changed to something other than a simple lab coat and her gad mask as they flew through the cold morning sky. “Slow down!” She screamed out as she hang on for her dear life, her legs dangling beneath her while she held on to Mew. “Mew please!” she begged him.

“This is fucking amazing!” Mew laughed as he flew even faster. ”Despite all logic, the tiny Pokemon not only managed to lift her but also kept her aloft. She knew that so long as he wills it, she would not fall but that doesn’t stop her from seeing that they were hundred of feet up in the air.

Gritting her teeth, she reminded herself that this was for her father. She needed to get to him before anyone else does or she would never forgive herself. “We’re getting close, don’t overshoot!” She shouted through the roaring wind.

“Got it!” Mew replied before she felt herself lurch as they paused in the air. “Oh for crying out loud, not now!” he shouted in frustration.

“Wait, why did you stop!” She asked him, pointing down at the large building just a few blocks down, “We’re almost there!”

“You might want to look up ahead,” He replied, pointing in front of them.

Tearing her eyes away from where her father was, she turned her attention ahead and what she saw made her stomach flip. “So, what’s Dr. Frankenstein doing up here in the air?” An angry voiced asked as she felt an intense wave of terror wash over her.

Floating just a few dozen feet ahead of them was a blonde, unmasked cape wearing a tiara upon her head. With her arms crossed across her chest and frown on her face, Taylor felt the heroines ire upon her. Of all the heroines that she could meet today, she had to be the one that intercepted them, “Ummm… this is not what it looks like Glory Girl?”