ACL: 7. Everybody was kung fu fighting! Those cats were fast as lightning! (Patreon)

Chapter 7: Everybody was kung fu fighting! Those cats were fast as lightning!

Brockton Bay, NH, USA
Monday, January 17, 2011
Type: Fighting

I was officially "PHO-famous" and I didn't know how to feel about it. Everyone at school seemed to be talking about me, whispering rumors about who I was and what I could want.

Some thought I was doing everything in my power to make the PRT look bad in a misguided attempt at showing everyone what a “real” hero was. Others thought everything I did was for attention. Hell, one of them saw pictures of me wrapping a feeler around Amy's hand as audino and half the school thought we might be dating by lunchtime. There was even one outlandish rumor saying I stole the ship because I wanted my own undersea palace.

The Arcadia rumor mill was insane.

In my old world, I'd always been the subject of rumors. How could I not be? Some of my adventures were pretty public and the internet did exist, even if too much of it revolved around DIantha’s love life.

But back then, I had the chance to respond. At one point, Lisia even took a month to coach me through the basics of public relations. I appeared on news channels and radio shows, put out open letters, and did my part to influence the narrative. It wasn’t something I enjoyed, but I found that attention was a natural consequence of power. If I a few words from me could convince people to stop fucking with the Legends, then so be it.

I couldn't do that as Menagerie however. I had to sit here and take the rumors, not being able to clarify anything or say a word in my defense. It was certainly a new experience for me.

At lunch, I ate with Dean, Vicky, and Amy again. There were others, but I'd be damned if I could remember their names.

"So has he been by the hospital at all?" one girl asked.

"For the last time, no," Amy groused. "He's basically a ghost."

"Don't tell me your grumpiness scared him off," another teased, only to be immediately cowed by the queen bee herself.

"Ames isn't like that," she defended her sister. "Besides, the two get along really well."

"Well why won't he visit? Think he takes commissions?"

Amy grumbled, taking an aggressive bite out of her ham and pickle sandwich. Maybe she did miss me? "I have no idea. He's probably busy making little girls cry. I bet Vista was heartbroken."

"Hehe, he's an emotional terrorist."

"Not my business. If he wants to show up to the hospital, he knows where it is."

"Do you think he made Vista cry?"

Victoria shrugged. "I didn't hear anything like that. Vista's a strong girl, guys. And she meant well."

One girl pulled up a picture saved to her phone. It was of Kid Win and Vista shortly after I'd rolled away. "Hehehe, she looks devastated. Do you think that counts as an emotional master?"

"Don't even start. Accusations like that are serious business. Besides I told you guys, Vista's fine."

I looked at Dean. "Are they going to keep talking about the fluffy blue thing? Isn't the tanker more important?"

He shot me a commiserating smile. "Sounds about right. Girls, right?"

His girlfriend placed a hand on his shoulder. "What about girls, boyfriend?"

"Ahahaha… Help?"

I looked at Dean, then Vicky, then back to Dean before making a cracking noise. "Whipped."

"Hey, relationships are hard, alright?"

"Still whipped."

X

Afterschool found me at the Camacho Clinic & Shelter. I was sad to hear Stacy was off in a lab or something. She was good company and all, but more importantly, she stole my last pudding cup.

I sat in Dr. Camacho's receptionist chair, stroking Darwin's fur as I plotted sweet, sweet vengeance.

Was I being petty after she fed me tamales? Yes.

But damn it, that was my favorite!

After an uneventful shift at the clinic, I snuck into the southside ferry station and found it abandoned. The sleeping bag was there, as was the generator, still at 70% power, so I knew at least that Emily was sleeping here. She was out though. There weren't many places for a homeless girl to go to spend some time, but I remembered hearing from her that she managed to bum some free showers from the YMCA.

Emily… Arceus, she was a can of worms. Not that I didn't want her around, but… This place was meant to be a refuge for me, an emergency hideout should I ever need one.

It was never supposed to be a permanent home for anyone.

I loaded up my suitcase with all the materials I thought I'd need for my costume, snom silk and ninetales fur, and thought about the different options available to her.

It… It wasn't a pleasant thought.

For starters, I hadn't even confronted her about her powers yet. She knew I knew that she had powers, but neither of us had broached the subject. One option was for her to join the Wards, though if she hadn't so far, I suspected she'd have her reasons for not joining. I wasn't a hypocrite. I couldn't point fingers here.

The other option was to join a gang, but… I didn't want to fight her…

The last option was to hide that she was a cape and find a job for her. Somehow… I wasn't naive enough to think a sixteen year old homeless girl was employable. Anyone who didn't ask any questions, would make me ask questions.

In the end, I decided to ask her to be my partner as a hero. As much as it galled me to consider, I really was the best option for her. She was clearly avoiding the Wards and as far as I could tell, Em wasn't thrilled about fighting at all. I couldn't imagine any of the gangs being good for her in that case. And joining a shelter… I knew what happened to unattended girls.

It would mean I'd be taking responsibility for her. Her safety. Her comfort. Her training. Her actions to an extent. Our ages might be similar in this life, but there was no question that I was the more experienced hero, the more experienced person.

I'd… I'd have to be a responsible adult. It'd mean a lot of work, but in the end, I was a trainer. If anyone could teach her to be a hero, it was me.

I arrived at the university while I was thinking. The manicured lawn looked beautiful under the setting sun. Now that I knew where to go, it took me no time at all to find Sabah in Wyatt #203.

"Sabah?" I greeted normally, knocking on the doorframe for attention.

"Hmm? Oh, it's you. Didn't I tell you to give me a call if you're going to show up?" she complained. She had really pouty lips. "That's why I gave you my number!"

"Hey, at least I'm not making you pee yourself this time." I quailed under her indignant glower. "No? Not funny?"

"That never happened."

"Wolves have an excellent sense of-"

"Never. Happened." Her angry face was honestly adorable. Once I got my commission and she couldn't hold it hostage from me, I'd make sure to tease her more often.

I mimed zipping my lips. "Yes, ma'am. Shutting up now. Here's a suitcase full of stuff."

She still gave me the stink-eye but otherwise acquiesced. She took the suitcase to a desk and began opening it up, the excitement obvious. "Okay, so what've we got?"

"I've got a few things for you. I was thinking I'd get you some silk. You know, maybe make an undershirt and pants."

"Yup. I can work with that. Ooh, what's this white fur? It's super soft."

"Oh, that comes from a ninetales, a… nine-tailed fox. I had a friend shave some for me."

She looked at me with a gimlet eye. "You named your nine-tailed fox… ninetales… I don't even know where to start."

"Hey, I didn't name it," I defended.

"Oh, really? Where do the names come from?"

"Umm…"

I shrugged. It wasn't like anyone would believe me… I clapped my hands in a prayerful posture and glanced up at the ceiling. "From Arceus above, he who rules the universe, the distortion, and all that dwells within."

"Who?"

"Arceus, he of a thousand hands. The benevolent, the mighty, the wise."

"I'm not that religious, but my parents are. I don't appreciate you mocking religion."

I dropped my hands. "Okay, fine. Anyway, all my creatures come with dumb names."

"You're… a really weird cape…"

"Don't worry, you'll be compensated well, I promise. So anyway, is this enough to make an undersuit?"

She looked at the thirty spools of snom silk and did some mental math. "Easily, but it depends too. How many sets do you want? And how many layers? Silk is very strong usually, but it's also pretty breezy so you might want something for warmth."

"Don't think too hard about it," I told her. "I just want an undershirt and some pants. Maybe socks too."

"In that case, for someone of your height, I can make two sets easy. You can get more of this, right?"

"Ehh… not this silk specifically, but more silk? Yeah, pretty reliably."

"So it's true that your monster choices aren't entirely voluntary?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Yeah, that was never going to stay a secret forever anyway. So, how 'bout the fur? The cream colored one is from lycanroc, the wolf you saw. The white is from ninetales. Enough for a warm jacket or two?"

"Sure. Not bad. Did you want anything specific?"

"I was thinking a white trim on anything you make. You know, collar, wrist, boot shins, stuff like that."

"And you want your outer layer armored using the… tyrantrum… did I say that right?"

"Yup"

"Tyrantrum scales…"

"Yeah."

She nodded. She'd begun to take notes somewhere in the middle of our discussion and was now making broad mockups that looked more like squiggles than anything. Then again, if it made sense to her, who was I to say otherwise?

"Okay, I'm going to make a mockup and show you a picture. Then you can come back and tell me what you think."

"Wouldn't that be a waste of materials?"

"Don't be silly. I'm going to draw."

"Oh, fair enough. How long will that take?"

She shrugged. "A day? Three? Just shoot me a text." Then her eyes sharpened hungrily. "Now let's talk price."

I thought about what I had. What could I offer her?

I groaned. I was never good at these things. Politics was one of the major reasons I refused to become champion of a region despite having multiple opportunities to do so. "How about if I let you keep whatever you don't use. Assuming you don't skimp on the materials of course. Hell, I'm willing to swing by once a week and give you interesting materials to work with."

She jabbed a finger into my chest. "Hey, buster, I wouldn't skimp. I have my pride as an artist, you know. I want to be the next big thing in fashion, to prove that an Iraqi girl like me could make it big."

"What does being Iraqi have to do with being a good designer?"

"Ideally? Nothing. In reality? A lot. The fashion industry is almost entirely white. I want to be so great that they can't brush me off for being Arab."

"It's a worthy goal," I told her honestly. She wouldn't be the first person I met with something to prove and it was awesome to see each time. If my journey proved anything, it's that passion and intent could carry a person far. It also made a person rather prickly. "Sorry for implying that you might not do your best. That wasn't my intention."

She smiled softly. "Yeah, I got that. Fashion's just… It means a lot to me, you know?"

"I think so. Sometimes you just have to chase your dreams."

"Yeah… Anyway, of course I'm keeping whatever doesn't make it into your costume. Unless you planned to throw it away just to spite me?"

"Nah, you're right. So… I can pay in future materials?"

"Hmm… maybe… I want something upfront though."

I thought about my wallet. "I can give you a grand? I'm sorry, I have no idea how much a costume is worth."

She laughed. It was a nice sound; I wished I could hear it more often. "That's because there is no set price. For example, a bespoke suit could cost over ten grand."

"I have no idea what bespoke means."

"Custom-made."

"Oh… This isn't going to…"

"No, I wouldn't rip you off like that. I'm nowhere near famous enough to make my works worth that much. I'm just saying though, because there isn't an industry for cape tailors outside the PRT, there isn't one set price. It's really about how much this is worth to you specifically."

"Ah…"

We were silent for a while, her letting me think and me trying to put a price tag on materials that literally didn't exist on this earth until I willed them otherwise. Sabah began to draw in her notebook and bit her lower lip in thought.

"Say," she spoke after a minute. "You're a hero, right?

"Of course."

"And you're… You can heal?"

"Yes, I can."

She hunched her shoulders inward, making the small girl look even tinier. "Can that be my prize?" she asked softly.

"What?"

"My dad… He has a terminal heart condition… W-Would it be okay if that's my price?"

I stared at her, dumbstruck. She curled her legs to her chest and had begun to cry.

"Sabah, of course I'll heal him. Name the hospital, ward, and room. I was planning on visiting tonight anyway," I told her.

She looked up at me, her wide eyes filled with tears and undisguised hope. "Y-You promise?"

"Of course. I'll warn you that I can't heal a genetic condition. The symptom, absolutely."

"Oh… That's still good."

"But… I think that if I suggest to Panacea we should visit a certain ward, I don't think she'd be against it. We'll just clean out the whole place like we did last time. And if I just so happened to be pointed there by a cute fashionista, then… hey, it's not like Panacea's the one taking a commission."

She sent me a weak smile. "Our secret."

"Our little secret."

X

That settled, I bid Sabah goodbye and headed towards the hospital. On my way, I texted Panacea to see if she'd be down for cleaning out the cardiology ward.

Panacea: About time you're back. What? Did you throw out your back moving that tanker?

Menagerie: Aww, you do miss me!

Panacea: Fuck off, you Madagascar reject.

Menagerie: What?

Panacea: You've never seen… Oh you uncultured plebeian.

Menagerie: Whatever. I have a new form that uses Heal Pulse.

Panacea: Fine, meet me outside.

When I got there, I saw Panacea waiting impatiently in front of the ER.

I ducked behind the corner. "Shift, riolu!"

When I switched, I looked like a little blue jackal pup, if said pup had a fuzzy raccoon mask and deep, expressive eyes that could literally see into the depths of your soul.

I padded up to her and poked her in the thigh, which was about as high as my two feet stature could reach.

"Eep!" she squeaked, whirling to glare at no one. Then her eyes trailed down and found me staring up at her.

I snapped off a salute and said in my best serious boy scout voice, "Emotional support pupper, reporting for duty! I accept payments in pets and scritches! But only during breaks, don’t wanna let any bacteria spread while I’m on the clock.”

Her jaw dropped and I luxuriated in her response as the entire ER collectively melted. "Wha?"

"Quick, someone snap a picture of her!" I saw cameras go off and switched back to normal. "Heh, this will never get old."

"I-You-But-"

"Good to see you again, Panacea. If you don't mind, I wanted to take a tour of the cardiology ward." I took her by the hand and began to drag her away. "So, as I was saying over text, I have a different form than the audino, but one that can use the exact same move. Will you still need to verify I can heal again?"

She looked at me, still trying to form words before she finally gave up with a harumph. "Fine, whatever. And no. You take one side, I take the other, deal?"

"Alright, cool."

"Good. We can just send a nurse ahead for you. Otherwise, people will just call security on the creepy hobo."

"One of these days, your snark is going to stop being cute," I groused.

“I’m not cute,” she grumbled halfheartedly.

About fifteen minutes in, I found him, one Farzad Azimi. He looked surprisingly spry for someone who'd been in and out of the hospital for months.

"Mr. Azimi?" I called. At the moment, I looked just like my dearest friend, Luca.

Being a lucario was… an experience. I didn't gain any deep insight into aura simply by being a lucario or anything, but it was as though every single martial art I'd practiced with my old partner just made sense. As a human, I didn't have the body to do everything I could do in my past life. No longer.

Luca and I spent years honing our combat style, one perfectly tailored to fit a lucario's body type. None of the other forms were uncomfortable per se, but being a lucario was like finally putting on the comfiest slippers at the end of a long day, a perfect match.

"Yes? Hello, are you the new healing hero everyone's been talking about?" he asked. He spoke with a thick accent. I couldn't help but think it sounded a lot better on his daughter.

"Yes, my name is Menagerie. Do I have permission to heal you?"

"Oh, of course. I didn't think you or Panacea would visit me. The doctors say it's not immediately life threatening so…"

"Nonsense. Just because it won't kill you doesn't mean it's not important. Besides, 'immediately' is an important word, don't you think?"

"It is," he said with a laugh that seemed to wash years off his shoulders. "How does this work?"

With the slightest nudge of intent, I conjured a ball of aura.

"Grit those teeth," I replied with a fanged grin, before gently pushing it into his chest. "Nah, just kidding. There, that's it. You no longer have a heart condition. Although, I will warn you. If you have a genetic mutation that makes your heart condition more likely to resurface, my Heal Pulse will not fix that. You will have to see Panacea for that. Do you?"

"Do I… Oh, no, the heart condition wasn't genetic, thank Allah. I can't imagine my daughter going through this."

"If she does, send her my way. I'll fix her up for ear scritches and doggy treats."

X

It was about forty-five minutes into our session when a commotion caught our attention. At the end of the hall were two Protectorate heroes, Assault and Battery, the Bay's power couple.

I groaned. I was really hoping I could put off this conversation for a while longer. I glanced at a nurse pitiably. "Any chance I can just get on with my work?"

"You can, but they'll probably wait around."

"Ugh… shit… Can you tell them I'm busy? I'll see them after my shift." I really didn't want to, but I should have expected a visit from one of them sooner rather than later. After all, the tanker wasn't something they could just ignore.

The nurse nodded, rolled up her sleeves, and did her best "I'm about to shove a catheter up someone's dick; get the fuck out of my way," impression. She began to whisper to them harshly before grabbing each by the shoulder and frog-marching them out of the ward.

I didn't know her name, but she immediately became my favorite person in this hospital, Panpan excluded of course.

After they left and both Panacea and I had made a tour of the ward, I dragged her back to Mr. Azimi's room, just to be sure. It wasn't that I didn't trust Earth-Bet's doctors, but…

No, that was exactly it. I didn't trust Earth-Bet's doctors…

X

After a lengthy shift that I definitely didn't extend to annoy my visitors, I met them in the hospital cafeteria.

Assault looked as easygoing as ever, though Battery had a somewhat constipated look on her face. Her nose scrunched up in disgust at something her partner whispered. As a lucario, I could read their auras like open books.

Assault was masking his caution with cheery nonchalance. I saw his gaze go to my steel spikes and rippling muscles more than once as he tried to gauge how much of a threat I could be.

Battery was surprisingly the more relaxed of the two. Or rather, perhaps it'd be more appropriate to say she spent less time scoping me out as a potential threat. She instead let out a long-suffering sigh at her partner's antics, not realizing that he was trying to put her mind at ease.

She was inadvertently playing the perfect straight man to his jokester persona. It was kind of sweet how they could clash and mesh so perfectly at the same time.

"Ah, Menagerie, how's it going?" Assault greeted.

"Not bad. How can I help you?" I said as I shifted back. I doubted it'd come down to a fight in the middle of a hospital, but if it did, I didn't want to be caught off guard. Better I start that minute early.

"We're here to talk to you about the Wards," Battery began.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. Was that all?"

"I really recommend you listen to what the Wards entail."

"Sorry, no. I'm sure your Wards are great people, but I don't take orders. It's just not in my nature to follow someone else's lead." 'Not unless that someone is the Origin of All,' went unsaid.

"We could give you the support you need. A new costume," she trailed off leadingly.

"I have full faith in Sabah."

"Yes, but can she have faith in you? You realize that with your stunt last night, you've made yourself a prize. The gangs might start poking their nose around your associates."

I snorted. "Their funeral. All I'm hearing is that I should be ready to remove threats to me and my friends. That's nothing I wasn't willing to do. Sabah's got my protection."

"You sound confident," Assault said cautiously.

"Because I am."

"Is that the road you want to walk?"

"Over joining the Wards? Absolutely. At the end of the day, there is virtually nothing I value more than my freedom. If someone is willing to escalate, I will reply in kind."

Battery frowned in distaste. "if you join us, you wouldn't have to resort to excessive violence. There is something called the unwritten rules-"

"That also exist as an independent," I told her firmly. "Targeting Sabah to force me to meet them is only going to end poorly. For them."

"The gangs won't honor the rules if they think they can get away with it."

"That's fine. If they throw aside the rules, then they do not get to claim protection from the same. In the end, cape culture is ultimately about reciprocity. What I do to you must be proportional to what you do to me and vice versa."

Assault sighed and gently pulled her towards him. "Alright, puppy, you're not getting anywhere. How about this. Would you at least take a communicator? If something happens, you can use it like a panic button to call for Protectorate help."

I stared at it incredulously. "There's a tracker in it, right?"

"It's a panic button. Of course there's a GPS included."

"Then no."

"You could be in danger," Battery tried again.

"All capes are constantly in danger. I've never shied away from a fight and I won't start now." I turned away. "If that's all, I'm going to go grab dinner with Panacea before heading home. Nice meeting you, heroes."

"No, wait, will you at least come in for testing? We'd like to get a good sample size of the kinds of creatures you can turn into."

I thought about it. A part of me wanted to show up. No matter the type, it proved to be interesting if nothing else. What would be considered barely worth noting in my old world was perceived with far greater gravitas on Earth-Bet.

For example, Sweet Scent. It was a move so elementary to many grass types that some even did it completely passively. In my old world, it wasn’t something that needed to be mentioned at all. Here? It'd probably be considered a master power. A mostly benign one, but still a potent method of crowd control and pacification by their standards.

For a moment, I imagined wowing them with different forms. An arcanine's speed. A machamp to out-brute them all. A gigalith to make Legend's lasers look like glow sticks.

Then I shook my head. At the moment, they knew me as an exceptionally versatile changer. They knew I was powerful enough to move a tanker, but they didn't know precisely how I did it. For all they knew, I just stored everything in a pocket dimension.

I didn't think I'd be fighting the heroes, but…

My thoughts turned to Zinnia. She infiltrated Magma to bring down the organization from the inside. Personally, I thought it was stupid at the time, but if she could do it as just one horribly maladjusted girl with a desperate need for validation, then surely the gangs could as well?

It was common knowledge that cops were often paid off by the gangs. Was it true of the PRT? I didn't think so. For as ineffectual as the PRT was, I didn't think they were so compromised as to leak confidential information about independent heroes. Surely information like that would be well-guarded with a famous tinker like Armsmaster at the helm, right?

Even so, I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to show up for testing either."

Assault frowned. "Can I ask why? I promise it won't be anything too tedious, just a sample of some of your forms."

"That would be very tedious. I have over a thousand, each with a different set of powers."

"Still, you could come meet some of the Wards. Spar with them. Make a day of it hanging out."

"How would this benefit me? I'm not so starved for friendship that I want to meet them."

"You could learn more about your forms in a safe environment," Battery tried. "If you have so many, it's obvious you can't have tested them all."

"Sorry, but still no. I do know what all my forms do. Yes, all of them," I stressed.

They sighed but finally gave up. "Alright, but if you need help or advice, we're just a phone call away."

"I appreciate it for what it's worth," I told them. "Later, Assault, Battery."

X

Panacea's costume was tossed haphazardly over a chair when I walked into the lounge. At the moment, she was wearing a sweat-stained gray shirt and munching on a curry-stuffed loaf she got from somewhere.

"Yo. Want one?" she said through stuffed cheeks, waving at another loaf on the table.

"Hey, Panacea, how's it going?"

"Tired. Hungry. Grossed out."

"You're going to have to explain that last one."

"Had to pull a fucking barbie doll out of some idiot's asshole while you were talking to A&B," she said, taking yet another angry bite.

I winced as I pulled up a seat. "How? Why?"

"Don't ask. People are fucking retarded. It's always a better idea to just turn your brain off before you catch their stupid."

"How are you eating?"

She stared at me, her eyes dead to the world. "Experience. Don't worry, we'll beat that bright-eyed optimism out of you soon enough."

"Lovely. Well, I can't eat because then I'd have to take off my helmet, Panacea."

"Oh, yeah, shit. And just call me Amy here."

I looked at her. She looked apologetic, but also… a little lonely? The mask was distance, protection she never got to enjoy. All the kids saw New Wave and the fame they enjoyed. They often envied Amy and Victoria, saying how awesome must be. And, there were perks, no doubt. But where Victoria thrived in the spotlight, Amy never seemed to truly enjoy it, putting up with the attention with aloof disinterest or resigned acceptance.

She was lonely because no one understood, not even her sister. Being a healer was different from being any other type of hero. Amy had warned me against getting too invested when I first arrived. It wasn’t her being a sarcastic teenager, it was the honest advice of a jaded veteran.

I looked at Amy. Then at the curry roll. Well, I did develop a taste for the stuff during my tour of Galar…

My hands reached for my helmet.

"Menagerie?"

I pulled it off and gave her a lopsided smile. "Yo, heard you've been talking shit about me at lunch."

"Blake???"

"Sure, shout my name." I rolled my eyes and unwrapped the curry wrapper. "You looked lonely and food tastes better when you eat with friends."

"You could have turned into one of your monsters, you idiot."

"I could. But then again, I really don't care much about my secret identity or anything. The only reason I'm wearing a mask is because I don't want some idiot trying to blow up my orphanage. Are you going to blow up my orphanage?"

"What? No, fuck you."

"Then I guess it's okay that Panpan knows my name."

"Ugh, whatever. And I haven't been talking shit, you dick."

"So… Why didn't they have a normal doctor deal with the barbie doll? That just seems kinda… entitled of them? You have a healer fuckin' on-call and you have them dealing with people shoving stuff where it doesn't go?"

"It was just some loser who was hopping around the ER like an idiot. I basically widened his asshole and made him shit it out. In public. Fucker deserved it," she said with a vindictive smile.

"Remind me not to make you mad."

"Yup. So, Menagerie, huh?"

"Yup. You gonna tell anyone?"

"Umm… Maybe… Vicky?"

"Amy."

"But… Vicky…"

I frowned. "Amy, I'd really rather you not tell your sister."

"But I tell her everything…"

"You know how she is."

She glared at me with a warning glint in her eyes. "What's wrong with my sister?"

"She's too… teen spirit. Look, I like her. Really. But she's a social butterfly and it's easy to let something slip in the heat of the moment."

"She can keep a secret."

"I'm sure she can," I said placatingly. "But I'm worried that she might tell Dean and you know how often they break up and get together. Dean's a swell dude, but I'm worried that the more people who know…"

I saw a range of emotions flit across her face. Caution. Dislike. Understanding. Sympathy. It wasn't exactly a secret that Amy wasn't happy about the rocky relationship her sister had with Dean. No one was sure why, but she always looked constipated whenever the two decided to provide free entertainment for the school.

Was it right to play on that? Maybe not, but I really didn't want Vicky knowing who I was.

Even beyond the security risk of having the social butterfly know my name, she'd insist on being friends in school and I'd have to explain to one of my few guy friends why his girlfriend suddenly wants to spend time with me. Even as a cape, I could expect to see her "drop by" whenever she could.

Nope. Not worth it. Her aura was annoying, damnit.

"Fine, I get it. I won't tell Vicky," Amy promised.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Thank you, I appreciate it," I said with an honest smile.

We shot the shit for a while before dusting off the crumbs. I put my helmet back on and walked with her.

"Would you like me to take you home?" I offered.

"Flying again?"

"Nah, something new." I led her to the roof and gently pushed her away. "Now prepare to be amazed. Shift, gallade!"

She looked at me, then bust out laughing. "Hahahahahaha, you realize you have a bigger butt than I do, right?"

"Oi! This is a noble creature. A swordmaster! A knight! And they're just big pants!"

"With hips to die for. Wait, can I take a picture?"

I felt myself flush, my newfound chivalrous spirit dying at being mocked by a lady. "Seriously? Can we just go?"

"Okay, fine. Will you stop pouting if I apologize?"

"A knight does not pout."

"Sure, Sir Bootylicious." She reached out and took my hand.

"Anyone tell you you're a jerk?"

"All the time. And… Wait… You have elbow-swords???"

I let them out with a satisfying shhkkk noise. "Yup. Sweet, huh?"

"Weird, but cool. It's… really sharp…"

"Did you think I was joking about being a swordmaster?"

"Sorry, I was distracted by your phat ass," she giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, you've had your fun. We're going home."

"Okay, so a piggyback ride?"

I placed a hand on her forehead and focused my thoughts on the image of a place I'd been to once before. "Teleport."

X

I reached out and gently grasped Amy by the shoulder to keep her from falling. "Steady."

"Woah, that's trippy. You can teleport too?"

"This form's one of the more versatile ones out there. It can even heal, though not as well as an audino. I would feel comfortable pulling a Lung and duking it out with the entire Protectorate like this.”

“Bullshit.”

“Nope. Gallade is strong, fast, telekinetic, telepathic, teleports, and comes with solid ranged attacks. Oh, and he’s a precog too, though that’s not as reliable.”

"Huh, talk about stacked. Thanks for the ride… Menagerie…"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

"I mean… Do you want to come in? Carol, mom, wanted to speak with you if you want to hear her out."

I shifted back. A gallade was a bit too knightly for my taste. I wasn’t tempted to get on one knee and swear fealty to Amy or ask for her “maiden’s favor” or anything, but there was a certain rigidness to a gallade’s mentality that didn’t mesh well with my naturally flexible personality.

"Sure. I've already been read the riot act once so may as well." Then, as she led me up her driveway, I said, 'So… already taking me home to meet the parents, huh? Something you want to tell me?"

I laughed as she tripped on thin air and caught her by the elbow. "Oh, fuck you."

"Is that an invitation? You can't see, but I'm totally waggling my eyebrows right now."

"Not in a million years."

"Oof, ouch. Must you trample my heart so?"

"Then don't tease me."

"You started it."

"That’s a good point. A big point even. Like your ass." She fumbled with the keys for a minute before opening the door. "I'm home," she called, "and I have Menagerie with me."

I heard some steps and Carol Dallon walked out from a hallway. "Welcome back," she spoke routinely, "and hello, Menagerie. Thank you for bringing her home."

Carol Dallon, Brandish, had a bit of a reputation. If her sister was the super-mom, then she was the renaissance woman who was both a heroine and a lawyer. I didn't know what her record was like in court, but it was apparently quite impressive. She specialized in parahuman law and often worked to counsel people who’d been injured as a result of parahuman disputes.

She was an attractive woman, though with the slightest signs of age beginning to show in the corners of her eyes. Her hair was kept in a no-nonsense crop, probably for both professional aesthetics and so no one could just yank on it in a fight.

"Hello, Brandish. It's a pleasure to meet you," I said, figuring it'd be best to be polite. "Panacea tells me you wanted to speak to me?"

"I did. Take a seat. Can I offer you a drink? We have straws."

"Some water, please."

"Ooh, hey, Ames, Menagerie," came Vicky's voice. She zipped down from upstairs before alighting onto the sofa. "How was the hospital?"

"Boring until some idiot shoved a barbie up his own ass," Amy grouched.

"Don't be crude," her mother chided. She then turned to me with a professional smile. "Now, I wanted to talk to you about some of your options."

"Actually, I met both Assault and Battery today. They tried to give me an emergency panic button and I refused that because I dislike being tracked. Then they told me I should show up for power testing, but my power comes with full knowledge of what my pokemon can do."

"Pokemon?"

"Pocket monster. Yeah, I know. Don't laugh."

"Very well. I think you should consider going in still. It doesn't hurt to have a good relationship with the PRT and more experienced heroes can give you advice on using your powers in creative ways."

That… That wasn't bad advice. Or it wouldn't be if I didn't have my past life's memories. The difference between any old trainer with eight badges and one of the Elite Four was just that: creativity. After a certain point, most pokemon hit a bottleneck and couldn’t get any stronger. They were forced to develop new tactics to optimize what strength they had.

There were exceptions of course, and the pokemon of Elites tended to be much stronger on average than even conference veterans, but that strength gap wasn't insurmountable. It was their wealth of experience and creativity that really made them seem invincible.

She didn't know that. Brandish was, from her perspective, giving genuine advice to a rookie hero, even if in reality I ought to be giving her advice.

"Thank you," I started. "I appreciate that you're trying to help, but I don't feel that I would gain much from power testing."

She sighed and muttered something about overconfident teenagers. "Fine, I can see that I won't change your mind. There is something else I wanted to talk to you about: Your costume."

"Yes? What about it?"

"That Sabah girl. Have you considered that you have put her in danger?"

"That's something else Assault and Battery warned me about. In the end, we came to an agreement with a price she felt was more than fair. And I will protect her," I said, injecting as much resolve as I could.

"That might not be enough. Is a costume really worth putting a normal girl in danger?"

"What would you have me do?"

She slipped me a business card. "This is New Wave's tailor. Whatever deal you struck with her, I recommend giving him a call instead. He at least will know to be discreet."

I took the business card. The deal was struck. Materials. Publicity. Healing for her father. All in exchange for a costume. It wasn't in my nature to break a contract, even if I was the only one who delivered on it thus far.

But… But I didn't realize just how much of a risk I was forcing on her by moving the tanker. Had I known, would I have waited until our deal concluded? Or perhaps I would have been more discreet in approaching her?

I'd like to think so, but I wasn't the wisest person around. Titania often did that kind of thinking for both me and Luca. More than just her immense power as a mature gardevoir, it was her foresight and eye for social manipulation that I found truly valuable during my journey.

"I think… I think Sabah is a grown woman who made her choice knowing the risks. I wasn't exactly subtle when I approached her, but," I held out a finger to stop her from interrupting. "But you've got a point too. Me moving the tanker changed things quite a bit. I can't pretend that it's a lot more attention than she might have expected or wanted. I'll have a chat with her tomorrow and see what she thinks. If she wants, I'll break the contract, no strings attached.”

"I suppose that's as much as I'll get from you. Speaking of tankers, have you considered what impacts moving the tanker might have for the city?"

"It's a good thing. Everyone says it's a good thing. Right?"

"It is, though some warning would have been appreciated. It opens up the Boat Graveyard again and we can expect an influx of trade along the coast. That means more jobs and while that's great for the city in the long run, it also means that what used to be useless real estate is now a major investment opportunity."

My eyes began to glaze over. I… I just wasn't much for economics. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at stuff like this."

"I figured. You sound young. You don't need to know everything, but just know that you opening the Boat Graveyard has made the area something worth fighting over."

"A gang war…"

"Potentially. Already, the PRT tapped several independents to conduct more patrols along that area. Dovetail. Sere. Of course, New Wave."

"I see. Until my deal with Sabah is settled, I don't want to make a routine of being seen. I wouldn't want someone to think they can predict my patrol schedule and target her."

"Understandable, but that means the city will be lacking a heavy hitter."

I shook my head. "I don't mind showing up if another hero needs help, but I refuse to be ordered around or predictable."

"There is value in stability."

"And also stagnation. In the end, if we don't improve the Bay just because we're afraid of how certain groups might react, nothing will ever get better."

"True. I think a lot of people would have appreciated a warning. I hope you know, your actions have made you seem very impulsive, especially with that sign. Did you really decide to move the tanker on a whim because Vista wouldn't let you build an ice rink?"

I chuckled sheepishly. "It was something that was on my mind. I just thought it'd be fun to tweak her nose a bit."

"Well don't," she admonished. "The last thing we need is people believing the heroes are at each other's throats. Or that you got into a feud with a twelve year old girl.”

"I don't think it's nearly that bad."

"It's not. That's why I'm telling you before it can get worse. Don't give offense when you don't have to."

I bowed my head. She wasn't wrong there. "Yeah, I understand. Thank you for your advice, Brandish."

"I'm glad a new hero is willing to listen. Do take care of yourself, Menagerie. You've already done much for this city."

"I'm plenty strong, don't worry."

"You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that from overconfident rookies," she said with a bittersweet smile. She seemed to age a decade and I wondered how many other young heroes she'd tried to mentor. Who else did she see when she looked at me? "Too many people set out trying to improve their little slice of this world only to get cut down because they overestimate themselves."

"That won't be me," I promised.

"I hope so. You show promise. Good night."

"Good night, thanks for having me."

X

Brockton Bay, NH, USA
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Type: None

The clock struck twelve as I lay in bed, waiting for the customary click. My aura twisted and churned like liquid mercury. It reached out and… slipped.

The sensation was impossible to fully capture with words, but it was akin to walking, only to run out of road. You expect the sidewalk to be there, except… it's not.

"What?" I muttered. I dove deep inside my own soul, trying to figure out what was happening. I could feel the warmth of a tiny candle like a vigil preceding a funeral. Litwick. Yes, I still had that form. It was nearer to me than others for some reason. "At least I have you…"

"Hmm? You say something?" Mark said from the top bunk.

"Nothing, man. Sorry to wake you."

"Yeah, all good, bro. You've been busy lately."

"Would you believe me if I said I have a school project?"

He snorted. "Dude, Arcadia's vocational. You get out at like one. Everyone knows that. Why would you be out 'til near midnight every night?"

"Point."

"It's cool, just know Mrs. Wells is going to ride your ass if you keep doing that. You know how she gets."

"Yeah, 'one shared meal as a family,'" I repeated her mantra.

I heard shuffling above and his head peaked down at me. "Seriously, Blake, you need me to cover for you?"

I considered it. It seemed like I wouldn't have any pokemon to swap into save litwick. I felt naked like this. Vulnerable. I wouldn't be doing anything risky today. "No, not today. I'll be here."

"Oh, good, 'cause I had no fucking clue what I was going to tell her," he said with a lopsided grin.

"That I started seeing a chick but we turned out to be related and I'm getting over the heartbreak."

"Man, fuck off with that drama shit."

"What? I thought that's what you're into. Isn't that the plot of every Korean drama these days?"

"Fuck you, asshole! I'm Taiwanese!"

"Yeah, yeah. And thanks for offering, Mark. You're a cool friend."

"Yeah, fuck you anyway now let me go to sleep."

"Night, dick."

"Night, fuckhead."

X

My schedule on Tuesday covered PE and physics for an hour and a half each, so I decided to take it easy. I woke up extra early so I could take a leisurely walk to school instead of a harried jog. That it let me avoid Mrs. Wells and Derek, the resident Merchant, was just a bonus.

PE went predictably. Coach Mooton had us running laps as soon as we stepped onto the track. To my shame, even with aura, I came in eighth out of sixty-two. I got a bit of stamina, but it still wasn't anything compared to athletes who'd been doing this since middle school. Not to mention, I just wasn't very fast.

"Good hustle, Isley," I heard some kid say as he slapped my back, dodging around me to get to the drinking fountain.

I mumbled something barely intelligible even to my ears and shuffled off towards the shower.

After that, the rest of my day passed in a hazy blur. Physics was wonky as always. I came from a world where teleportation pads, dimensional storage, and digitization of matter were all easily accessible, but just because I knew that these things were all possible didn't mean I understood them myself.

Physics sucked. The class just made me wish I could learn more interesting applications. And then it reminded me that I was fucking stupid and wasted the opportunity to learn said interesting applications in my past life.

Regrets…

X

Lunch came and I was faced with a quandary. Amy now knew who I was. I was early enough that I could grab my food and sneak off somewhere else. Dean wasn't in my physics class so he wasn't around to force me to socialize.

Question was, did I want to?

I looked at my chicken tenders and apple sticks, then at our usual table. The door looked mighty tempting, but… but if I didn't show, Amy might think I was avoiding her.

"Well… This should be an interesting lunch," I muttered as I took my seat and waited for the crowd.

The first to arrive were two girls from Vicky's court. We'd said perhaps four sentences to each other. I was pretty sure their names were… Claire…? Britney…?

"Hey," I tried being friendly. "How's it going?"

The one I thought was Claire gave me the fakest smile I'd ever seen. "Hi."

And that was it. That was the whole conversation, bringing our total number of sentences exchanged to a grand total of… five.

The three of us sat around awkwardly until Dean and Victoria showed up, Amy trailing not far behind.

"Oh, thank god," maybe-Britney muttered under her breath. I tried not to take offense, but that kinda stung.

"Hey, Chelsea, Briana," Vicky called.

"Oh, so that's their names…" I said quietly. Not quiet enough because Chelsea? or maybe Briana? gave me a heated glare.

I did my best to ignore them and motioned for Amy to save me. She must have seen the desperation in my eyes because she sighed and placed herself between me and the girls. Vicky sat to Amy's other side while Dean sat next to her.

I fucking hated teenage drama so much…

Amy met my eyes as she sat down, giving me a knowing smirk. "You owe me," she mouthed.

I did what came naturally and flipped her off.

"Sup," I began.

"Hey."

We… had nothing to say. Menagerie and Panacea were friends. Blake and Amy? Not so much. If anything, I was pretty sure she didn't like me much until I took off my helmet.

For whatever reason, she and Dean didn't get along. As one of his few male friends, some of that dislike rubbed off onto me by association.

It wasn't quite as awkward as with the hanger-ons, but I wasn't sure what I could say. For lack of anything else to talk about, I stuck with the basics. "So… How was your weekend?"

She shrugged, every part of her being radiating apathy. "It was so-so. Went shopping with Vicky on Saturday. healed a bunch on Sunday so I was busy when Menagerie moved the tanker. How do you think he did it?"

I looked at her in askance. Was she… trying to find out about the forms I had? Or was she just messing with me? I didn't know what to do, so I stuck to a tried and true tactic enshrined in our orphanage: Baffle them with bullshit.

"Ehh, who knows? He might have gotten Toybox to put it in a pocket dimension or something. Why? It's a good thing it's gone, right?"

Vicky cut in. "It is, but mom chewed him out last night when he dropped Ames off. We might be looking at a gang war because a bunch of useless real estate just became a great investment."

"That's awful," Chelsea or Briana said. "Do you think he works for a gang?"

"Yeah, totally," I said, rolling my eyes. "He's definitely Empire, watch. He moved that tanker so the PRT will be forced to patrol the Graveyard. And you know who owned the Graveyard until now? ABB and Merchants."

"You think he's pitting the heroes against the other gangs because he's a Nazi?"

"Definitely. I mean, what else could he be? Since when does anyone do anything for free?"

I winced as I felt Amy's sharp elbow dig into my ribs. "I do, you dick. People can do nice things, you know. Besides, I saw Menagerie heal plenty of minorities last night."

"Yeah, I've met him. I don't think he's a secret Nazi or anything," her sister chimed in. She then popped her knuckles loudly. "Although, I might have to give him the shovel talk if he keeps spending time with my sister."

I nudged the brunette back, eyebrows waggling. "Ooh, something you want to tell us, Panpa?"

"He's a friend. I know that might be a novel concept to you, but they exist for the rest of us," she ground back.

"Oof, oww. Prickly as ever. What would that ship even be called? Panagerie? Menacea?"

"I. Will. Hurt. You."

Watching her flush with embarrassment and impotent rage did much to put a balm over my injured ribs. The table devolved into inane rumors surrounding the two "healer couple" despite Amy's vehement denials. I didn't think you could blush hard enough to change the color of freckles, but Amy proved me wrong.

Throughout the discussion, I kept sending her smug glances, only matched by her heated glares that promised swift vengeance.

Would I regret this in the future? Very likely.

Did I care at the moment? No.

X

After lunch, I ducked somewhere private and called up Sabah. I did promise to give her a warning after all. She picked up in two rings.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Sabah?"

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"This is Menagerie. How are you?"

"Oh, oh my god. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

That took me aback. "Umm…"

"My dad was discharged last night and he said that a blue werewolf healed him. That was you, right?"

"It was. Hey, I was hoping you had a chance to talk."

"About the costume? Of course! I've been meaning to speak with you as well."

"Ah, that's great. Can I drop by in half an hour?"

"Yes, I'll be in Wyatt 212."

"Isn't 203 your workshop?"

She huffed. "It was. I had to move all the materials because people kept asking if they could get some of it as a keepsafe."

That had me concerned. "Are you okay? Has anyone-"

"No, no one's threatened me or anything, but I was worried someone would sneak into the workshop so I moved it all."

"Okay, I'll be there in half an hour," I promised before hanging up.

X

Sabah waited for me outside Wyatt. By now, my orange helmet was pretty famous and the two of us drew some attention before she hurriedly shuffled me inside. Once in her new workshop, she gave me a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered into my chest.

"Hey, none of that," I said gently. "I would have done it for free. I'm a hero; it's kind of my job."

"So you're saying I should charge you for the costume?"

I froze. "Umm… I have a few grand? Not bespoke suit money, but…"

"I'm joking. I wouldn't do that to you. And I wouldn't have charged more than a grand anyway. This stuff is a wonder to work with. I mean, this silk. It's just… Wow. It's a pleasure to work with."

"Thanks, I barfed it up."

"Aaand I didn't need to hear that."

"You know where silk comes from on a normal silkworm, right?"

"Ugh, you are such a boy."

"Alright, fine. Joking over. I wanted to talk to you about this," I said, pulling out the business card Carol gave me. "I met Brandish last night. She offered me the contact information of New Wave's tailor."

She shuffled her feet nervously. "Oh… Oh… I guess… I'll give you back all the stuff…"

"If you want to."

"What?"

"Brandish gave me this because she thought I might be putting you in danger. When I moved the tanker, I proved to the city that I was powerful enough or resourceful enough to do something that almost every faction has attempted at one point or another. I did it. In a single evening. That's a lot of publicity."

"And you think people might target me since you're so elusive."

"Yeah. I've intentionally not been keeping to a pattern. New Wave and a bunch of indie heroes are patrolling the Graveyard to make sure no gang starts a shootout over the territory since it's worth something again."

"And you're here," she whispered. "For me…"

"I was always going to be here," I reassured her. "In the first place, randomly patrolling isn't my style."

"No. Getting the Boardwalk enforcers to try to club a baby seal on camera is."

"Heh. Yeah, that was fun."

"So what now?"

"You tell me. Do you want this job?"

She blinked in surprise. "You're not taking it from me?"

"A deal is a deal. And besides, from the notebook you showed me, I honestly like what I saw."

"Well… Have I ever told you why I accepted?"

"Something about race and representation. I remember."

"Yes. That. I think that if I want to be a big name in fashion, I need to take some risks. And… And you healed my da-"

I placed a finger over her lips. "No. Not that. You can make your decision based on whatever else you want, but not that. Hearing you say that makes me feel skeevy as fuck, like I'm holding your dad over your head so you owe me something. That isn't how I do things. Not then. Not now."

"Then?"

"Ah… Don't worry about it."

"Fine, but… I think I still want to do this. Will you let me? I have so many ideas."

I placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Yes. I like your work and I want you to make my costume. If you're willing to risk it, I'm willing to let you try."

"I… Thank you for believing in me."

"If anything, I should be apologizing to you for endangering you."

"Hehehe, we'll just fall in an endless spiral of sorrys at this rate. I want this. You want my work. Can we settle for that?"

"Yeah, that's fair. So, Sabah, keep that phone close, yeah? And be safe. If you even suspect that you're in danger, call me."

"Is a big bad dino going to come to my rescue?" she teased, though there was an undercurrent of seriousness here.

I thought about all the different forms I could use. As much as I loved Regis, he was the exception on the power scale, not the norm. Tyrantrum weren’t the most powerful pokemon around; they went extinct after all. "They'll be lucky if they only see a tyrantrum."

"Your monster names are weird."

"Don't ask," I grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. I've been working on a few designs. I should be ready in three days. Can you show up for measurements on Friday?"

"That works."

X

I showed up for dinner at the Egg House as promised. As I ate, I couldn't help but think back to the promise I made to Sabah. The heart was willing, but… could I follow through on my words? I had no type energy at the moment.

'It's been a long time since I last felt this helpless…'

It gave me the incentive to try harder. I managed a small breakthrough the last time I tried to meditate on aura. Introspection was never my thing, but… but there were people who were counting on me now.

I headed into my room and settled in to meditate.

I sat on my bed, legs crossed and mind turned inward. My aura was still here. Despite my lack of connection to a type, I could feel the presence of litwick. That meant my aura didn't magically disappear.

No. In the first place, such a thing was impossible. I had a soul, therefore I had aura. Arceus willed it so. It was merely that the connection was temporarily severed, one half of a bridge waiting for the bond.

I strained, pushing against this impossibly heavy gear to get it to budge. I felt like Sisyphus pushing boulders uphill. I strained and strained and achieved nothing in the first two hours.

Then, before I was about to turn in for bed, I broke through. It was a desperate attempt made out of fear of my own helplessness, but it was enough.

Sabah. Emily. I refused to let them down.

I'd seen some of the anime Mark watched. Derek liked to make fun of it, the so called Power of Friendship that all these protagonists seemed to have. Hell, the little ones here liked to watch Protectorate Pals, where Legend, Alexandria, and Eidolon saved the world with some cameo hero of the day.

As cringey as it was, I knew better. The Power of Friendship was real, real enough that Oak spent his life studying the phenomenon. Real enough to fuel mega evolution. Real enough to make my family legends across the regions, albeit with a lowercase “L.”

So when I broke through out of concern for others, it hardly caught me by surprise. Six minutes of guaranteed transformation wasn't long, but it would be enough. I'd make sure of it.

"Bonds… huh…?"