Projections in Worm Part 2 (Patreon)

"If you need anything, push the button," the nurse suggested.

"Thanks," Taylor replied as she walked into the bathroom. She shut the door then glanced at the nice neat pile of clothes on the counter next to her shampoo. [Do you want me to drop you in the room or outside?]

[I've already talked to the cops and I'd rather not deal with whichever hero the Protectorate decides to send so you might as well just see if you can send me into your clothes], Myst suggested, figuring that would keep him from being bored.

Taylor concentrated on the shirt on the counter and flipped her mental switch, smiling slightly when she saw a forest filled with glowing crystal 'trees' through Myst's eyes. "Anything?"

Myst grinned as he found himself back in 'his' body in a crystal forest. He glanced around, noticing the occasional berry bush or patch of plants sticking out of the mossy forest floor and the fact that he was still wearing his 'borrowed' scrubs. 'Nice.' He glanced up and froze when he saw several floating islands in a starlit sky. "Neat."

[Can you hear me?] Taylor asked, wondering why Myst hadn't responded to her question.

[Loud and clear], Myst replied as he pulled his attention off the flying islands and started walking.

"Can you hear this?" Taylor asked as she started the shower.

[Can you see what I'm seeing?] Myst asked as he knelt down to look at some of the moss covering the ground.

"You can't hear me can you?" Taylor asked softly as she slipped out of her hospital gown. 'At least that makes taking a shower easier,' she thought. [Yeah, I can hear and see what you're seeing.]

Myst briefly considered making a joke about seeing sound but decided it wasn't worth it considering her day. [Good to know.] He picked some of the moss and examined it. [It looks normal enough.]

[See if you can find any monsters?] Taylor asked as she grabbed the shampoo off the counter and stepped into the shower.

[Sounds like a plan] Myst agreed as he picked a direction and started walking, enjoying the feel of the moss on his bare feet. It didn't take long before he spotted a gremlin-like creature gnawing on a berry bush.

[What is that?] Taylor asked as she worked on lathering herself up with soap.

[I'm guessing a gremlin or goblin], Myst replied, not exactly sure what to call the two foot tall creature that looked like a grey Yoda with far too many teeth and large claws. He turned intangible and headed towards the creature, leaving just the outer layer of his hands and boots tangible so that he could strike it. He kicked the creature when it jumped at him in an attempt to bite him.

Taylor frowned as the creature rolled to its feet after landing. [Nice kick but I think you just made it mad.]

[Probably], Myst admitted, charging forward when he saw two more creatures poke their heads out from behind trees. [This would be easier if I had a sword.]

[I wouldn't even know where to look], Taylor replied as she worked on scrubbing the last traces of filth off her skin, wanting to deal with that before she started washing her hair, glad to have a distraction as it kept her from scrubbing her skin raw.

[I have a couple of ideas], Myst replied as he worked on strangling the creature, letting its claws and arms go through his wrists while he strangled it.

[I almost feel sorry for the goblins] Taylor admitted.

[That's because you're a decent person], Myst replied as the gremlin-like creature turned into motes of light and vanished. "One down, lots to go."

[Best of luck], Taylor replied, knowing the monsters would get harder the more she killed.

[Thanks] Myst replied as he glanced around for the other gremlins that had vanished. 'At least they're not particularly skilled.'

0o0o0

Taylor shut the passenger door, leaned her head back, closed her eyes and watched Myst sneaking up on the person sized gremlin guarding a pirate chest. [Any advice for dealing with my father?]

[I'd go with a version of the truth, just tell him that your ex-friend went insane and that you don't know exactly who shoved you in the locker but that Emma was probably involved. The police should be investigating things and I seriously doubt the principal is going to be able to sweep things under the rug considering the hints I tossed out which means he's going to need a heads up before someone tries to get him to sign anything], Myst pointed out.

[What about the fact that I didn't tell him about Emma?] Taylor asked.

[You're a teenager, she was your best friend and Alan Barns was a family friend, you'd just lost your mother, you're allowed to be an embarrassed neurotic mess], Myst assured her as he tried to close the distance without the 'giant' gremlin noticing him.

Taylor winced slightly as her father shut the door a bit harder than necessary. [He's angry that I didn't tell him.]

Myst lunged forward and kicked the gremlin in the side of the neck with a flying side kick. He landed and followed it up with a series of punches to the confused gremlin before he managed to grab its neck and start beating its head against the pirate chest. [It's one thing to ignore a bunch of mean spirited 'pranks', it's quite another when they've crossed the line into attempted murder or the possibility of permanent damage.]

[He's still going to be pissed that I didn't tell him], Taylor pointed out.

[Just tell him that you weren't aware she was this insane and that you're talking about it now so that she can get some mental help and so you can get a restraining order filed against the three of them], Myst suggested, smiling when the boss or mini boss turned into motes and dropped a key.

"What happened with Emma?" Danny asked.

Taylor took a breath then let it out as she tried to figure out the best way to explain. "No idea, she went insane about a year ago and started harassing me, I thought I could deal with it and I didn't want to worry you. I thought it was just a phase but it didn't stop and I wasn't sure how to tell you. It was just mean spirited crap until they stole Mom's flute. I was too embarrassed to tell you everything," she admitted, finding it easier if she wasn't looking at her father when she explained.

Myst picked up the key and unlocked the chest.

"You could have told me, I would have…" Danny trailed off as they left the hospital parking lot, not sure what he'd have done.

"Punched Alan in the face?" Taylor asked, trying not to laugh at the white writing on the black t-shirt Myst pulled out of the chest. ['I killed a gremlin and all I got for it was a lousy t-shirt!']

[It could be worse, at least it's usable], Myst replied as he glanced at the copper sword in the bottom of the chest that looked larger on the inside. [Remind me to see if I can steal one of the treasure chests on the way out.] He pulled his ill-fitting shirt off and pulled his new t-shirt on.

"Probably," Danny admitted after considering the question for a couple of seconds.

[You're assuming you can take things out of there] Taylor sighed, glad that her father wasn't shouting at her or cursing up a storm.

[I'm not assuming anything but I'm willing to run some nondestructive tests to test the extent of our powers.] Myst grabbed the copper sword, figuring it was probably marginally better than nothing. [I'm a little disappointed that your power doesn't come with sound effects.]

[If we're complaining, can I have a power that doesn't require you to kill people to use effectively?] Taylor complained.

[If we're wishing on falling stars, can I have a decent range on it?] Myst asked as he continued walking, looking for more gremlins or interesting things to grab.

[Speaking of powers, have you figured out what type of costume you want to use?] Taylor asked, opening her eyes and watching the road, mostly because she didn't want to seem like she was completely ignoring her father.

[I don't really need armor considering I'm a projection and you can resummon me even if I screw up so I figure I'll just go with something distracting and easy to move in], Myst replied, thinking about some of the super hero costumes he'd seen over the years on various shows.

[What about a mask?] Taylor asked.

[I sort of appeared in the middle of the hallway without clothes or a mask, unless I pick up a shape changing power, I doubt there's a point in wearing a mask.]

[So much for walking around in public together], Taylor complained, trying not to think about the fact that her projection could pick up new powers, mostly because the price tag was more than she wanted to pay.

[Probably not the best idea in case I make some enemies and someone decides to capture you], Myst pointed out.

[Did you get anything from the gremlins?] Taylor asked.

Myst compared his physical abilities to his abilities before he'd started killing the gremlins. [I'm a touch faster. I probably wouldn't even notice without my power but it's a start and the gremlins aren't all that impressive.]

[In other words, you'll get better results later when you're fighting something more dangerous?] Taylor asked as they pulled up to an intersection.

[I should], Myst replied as he walked over to look at a bush filled with marble sized purple berries that he didn't recognize. [Can you send other people here?] he asked, curious what Panacea would make of the strange bush.

[I wish, I'd just drop villains into playing cards then pull them out at the station or PRT], Taylor replied with a grin as she pictured handing Armsmaster a card with Kaiser captured inside.

[Yeah, when you put it that way, it seems a bit too useful], Myst replied, raising his sword and slashing a gremlin when it jumped at him from behind another bush.

[That worked surprisingly well], Taylor offered as the gremlin turned into motes of light and vanished.

[Yeah, I was expecting the sword to bend], Myst admitted as he examined his blade for damage, slightly surprised when he didn't find any.

"Do you want something other than frozen pizza for dinner?" Danny asked, not sure how to make things better or how to deal with the fact that he really wanted to drive over to Alan's house and beat the shit out of him.

"Cooked pizza?" Taylor asked, managing a slight grin despite her day.

Danny snorted. "I think I can manage that. Do you want to talk about… anything?"

Taylor sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"Technically, but I'm going to need a couple more details," Danny said, wishing Annette was still alive so she could slap some sense into Emma and Alan.

0o0o0

[I think there's something wrong with me], Taylor complained as she sat down on her bed and started to take her shoes off.

[Why?] Myst asked as he peeked through the leaves on the bush he was using for cover, wishing the human sized gremlin guarding the stairs to the strange floating platform stuck to a routine for looking around like a computer character or a mindless monster. 'This would be so much easier with a gun.'

[Because I'd rather have money than revenge], Taylor complained, thinking about her father's questions about what type of settlement she'd accept from the various groups that had failed her.

[Why is that a bad thing?] Myst asked as he studied the gremlin holding a nasty looking cutlass that had a slight glow along the edge. 'Magic or tinkertech?' he mused, normally he'd assume tinkertech or shard shenanigans in Worm but he'd gotten pulled in as someone's shard which pushed things towards magic or at least cosmic powers more than space whale bullshit.

[Because it feels like I'm letting them get away with it], Taylor complained.

[Let's start with the PRT. Let's assume for a second that someone other than Sophia's case worker knew about it, can you prove it?] Myst asked, as he picked up a rock with his left hand and lobbed it onto the platform.

[No, but that doesn't make it right], Taylor complained, watching as Myst lunged forward the instant the gremlin turned to look at the noise behind it and rammed his sword into its back.

"Fuck!" Myst cursed when the goblin twisted around and caught his arm with his blade, cutting through his flesh like a hot knife through butter and leaving a nasty gash despite his intangibility. He yanked his blade out of the gremlin then stabbed it just under the ribcage, causing the gremlin and glowing sword to turn into motes of light and vanish. 'Damn it, I should have tried cutting his arm off.'

[Are you okay?] Taylor asked warily, surprised to see blood when Myst turned to look at her arm.

[It's a mere flesh wound] Myst did his best to ignore the pain as he cautiously poked the first step a couple of times with his copper sword, wanting to make sure it would support his weight and wasn't blatantly trapped.

Taylor shook her head. [Don't take this the wrong way but I'm glad I can't feel your pain.]

[Same], Myst replied as he tested the first step with his foot. [As for revenge, the settlement will hurt the school far more than a brief scandal on the news and I doubt Blackwell will ever find a job in education again], he assured her as he started walking up the steps.

[You can't know that for sure], Taylor complained and went back to working on taking her shoes off.

[All things considered, the PRT and school board are going to want to nail someone to a wall and Blackwell is the perfect target. It's very likely Blackwell told the staff things she shouldn't have about Sophia which means she's going to be in a lot of legal trouble], Myst assured her as he walked onto the stone platform.

[We can hope], Taylor said as Myst glanced at the waist high stone pillar with a red crystal ball on it then studied the circle of 'arcane' looking runes set into the stone platform. [Any ideas?]

[Yeah, poking things.] Myst reached out and touched the crystal ball with a finger, ready to pull his hand back if something went wrong. He grinned when the runic circle lit up with a soft blue glow.

[Do you even know what self-preservation means?] Taylor asked as she studied the glowing runes.

[Something that normal people have to worry about?] Myst stepped into the circle and found himself on another stone platform on the edge of a snow covered floating island. He frowned when he noticed a basketball sized purple slime gliding on the snow, staining everything it touched with a nasty purple and black sludge. [I'm guessing the shirt got stained?]

[Just about everything I have is a bit stained], Taylor complained as she finished taking her shoes off.

Myst shivered when he stepped off the platform and the temperature dropped, going from something reasonable if on the chilly side to something below freezing. [Yeah, I'm not walking through this crap without shoes, it's cold], he complained as he stepped back onto the platform.

[Do you want me to pull you back?] Taylor asked.

[Let me see if I can grab the treasure chest.] Myst stepped into the glowing circle and grinned when it took him back to the first level. [That makes it easier to avoid missing things.]

[It's certainly handy], Taylor agreed, watching Myst run through the forest. [Any idea how we're going to put together a costume?]

[That depends, do you want style or protection? If we just need protection, we could try cutting up some old bullet proof vests and sewing them into a duster or trench coat or we could just duct tape them together and hope killing monsters upgrades it to something reasonable], Myst offered, only half serious about duct taping them together.

[I don't need to be mistaken for a Merchant or a really pathetic cape], Taylor complained.

[I was mostly joking about the duct tape but we can probably sew things together and upgrade it], Myst replied.

[Where would we get used bulletproof vests for a price I can afford?], Taylor asked, not sure how she was supposed to afford everything.

[Army surplus or second hand stores], Myst suggested, fairly sure used vests would be decently common.

[That doesn't solve the issue of money], Taylor pointed out.

[I'm a cape and a girl, I'm just going to walk up to the clerk, bat my eyes and ask him if he has anything that he can't sell that he'd donate to make the city a safer place. If that doesn't work, I'm going to roll the Merchants. The various dealers should have more than enough cash to cover our start up costs], Myst explained as he reached the treasure chest.

[Isn't that stealing?] Taylor asked.

[It might be covered under vigilante laws, we should probably head to the library at some point and look it up.] Myst reached down and picked the chest up. [See if you can pull me out with the chest.]

[Yeah, I'd rather not give the PRT a reason to arrest us.] Taylor flipped her mental switch and manifested her projection next to the wall. [I wasn't expecting that to actually work.]

Myst set the treasure chest on the ground and opened it. [Huh, it's still larger on the inside than the outside.]

Taylor smiled as she examined Myst's copper sword. "At least we know you can take things out."

"There's that," Myst agreed softly as he closed the chest and sat on it.

"Let me check your arm," Taylor said as she walked over.

"It feels fine…" he trailed off as he glanced at his arm and found unmarked skin where the cut had been. "See, perfectly healthy."

[That makes things easier.] Taylor smiled at Myst, hoping that things might actually work out for once. [How much winter gear do you think you'll need?]

[Need or want? I want ski gear, I'll settle for some shoes and a coat.] Myst glanced down at his bare feet. [I'll probably need some socks.]

[I'll see what I can find.] Taylor glanced at the treasure chest. [We should probably stick the chest in the closet so Dad doesn't freak out.]

Myst grinned as he stood up and grabbed the treasure chest. [Just send us back into the shirt.]

Taylor flipped the switch and sent Myst and the chest into her shirt. [Same place?]

[Looks like it], Myst agreed as he set the chest down. [If we can store things in items, we should probably clear out a bracelet or ring so we have somewhere to store things.]

[I don't have any jewelry], Taylor admitted as she headed downstairs to grab the coat and boots, trying not to think of the friendship bracelet she'd thrown away when Emma lost her mind and started harassing her.

[Something to look into.] Myst figured they could get something from the market or jump into something of Annette's collection and get something new from a treasure chest. 'If nothing else, I'll just buy something after rolling a couple drug dealers and leave it in a box with a note in the car.'

0o0o0

[Are you sitting in a hot spring?] Taylor asked as she woke the rest of the way up and realized what she was seeing through her projection's eyes.

Myst looked around to give Taylor a better view of the hotsprings. [To be fair, I finished clearing everything including the clothes monster on the fifth level.]

[Clothes monster?] Taylor asked as she looked at her clock, not sure if her projection was joking or being serious. '1:42 AM, hopefully this doesn't become a habit.'

[It was a giant pile of dirty laundry that had sock tentacles and tossed dirty clothes at me], Myst replied, thinking about the clothes monster that would have been a lot more impressive if he couldn't turn intangible.

[Dirty laundry? I guess it makes as much sense as anything else. Did you find anything interesting?] Taylor asked, hoping she'd found a better sword or maybe some armor that she could use.

[Other than the collection of dirty clothes from the last boss, I picked up some amusing t-shirts and five special items], Myst said, wishing the monsters actually dropped loot.

[Special items?] Taylor asked, yawning as she closed her eyes and watched the mist rising off the hot water her projection was soaking in, wishing she could jump into her shirt as it looked relaxing.

Myst grinned as he stood up, enjoying the cold wind sweeping over his skin. [They're basically weak magical items.]

Taylor shook her head. [Let's call them exotically charged items, that avoids the problem of sounding like we're another Myrddin. What are they?]

[I wasn't planning on explaining anything], Myst replied with amusement. [My favorite and arguably least useful is the hat I stole from Frosty.]

[Frosty?] Taylor asked, suddenly wishing she hadn't drifted off.

[Technically I don't think he had a name but he was basically an animated snowman that was tossing ice and snow at me. The hat lets the wearer use a touch of cryokinesis while they're wearing it.]

[How much is a touch?] Taylor asked, wondering if it was worth using.

[Enough to conjure snowballs and make ice cubes.] Myst sat back down, enjoying the change in temperature. "Of course, that might improve if I clear all of the monsters.]

Taylor grinned. [That would certainly help. What else did you find?]

Myst turned so that Taylor could see the light purple purse sitting on the snow. [A purse that is larger on the inside, a t-shirt with a comfort enchant, I mean an exotically empowered effect, a fluffy towel that doesn't stay dirty or wet and a long sleeve silk shirt that I'm going to turn into part of my costume if you don't have any objections.]

[What does the shirt do?] Taylor asked.

[It keeps everything it covers an ideal temperature and it doesn't get dirty. It's also sheer which is why I figured you wouldn't want it for your costume], Myst explained.

Taylor sighed as she thought about the people that would laugh if she tried to wear something like that in public. [Yeah, I don't think I could pull that off. Depending on how sheer it is, you're going to need something over it or under it if you don't want to get arrested for indecent exposure.]

[It's borderline which is why I'm looking for a vest or something to go with it. I'm trying for amusing distraction, not streetwalker turned cape], Myst replied as he stood up and climbed out of the hot spring.

[People aren't going to take you seriously], Taylor pointed out.

[So? If I can get a villain to drop their guard, that's a win. Besides, eventually someone is going to figure out that I'm one of the scariest capes around, I'd like to keep that from happening until we have enough exotic defenses that we're indestructible.]

[You'd have to kill people], Taylor pointed out.

[Not really, I just have to keep killing monsters. Besides, do Nazis count as people?] Myst asked as he walked over, grabbed his magic towel and started drying off.

Taylor considered the question, knowing the legal answer but having trouble with the moral part, technically they were people but she wasn't sure the world wasn't better off without them. [Technically.]

[Fair enough. How about the Slaughterhouse Nine?] Myst asked, knowing they had some useful powers.

Taylor shook her head. [The problem with that is, I'd have to be within four blocks but in the unlikely event that they come to the Bay, you can stab them, otherwise, I'm not getting near them.]

[I can't say I blame you], Myst replied hoping he could derail things enough that the Nine didn't come to town before he'd figured out a way to kill the more durable capes. He finished mostly drying off and stuffed the towel in the purse then grabbed the purse. [Beam me up Scotty.]

Taylor flipped the switch and summoned her projection to the room. [I'm going back to sleep, where do you want me to drop you?]

[The boots, I want something more comfortable], Myst replied as he reached into the purse and grabbed the boots, happy that it acted like a handy haversack, just annoyed that it was a purse and light purple.

[Have fun.] Taylor waited for Myst to set the boots on the ground then flipped her mental switch and sent her into the boots.

Myst looked around at the various abandoned looking warehouses that filled the floating island he was on then looked down at his bare feet and the gravel he was standing on. "Great," he muttered as he grabbed a couple pairs of socks out of the purse, figuring it was better than nothing until he found a treasure chest.

0o0o0