FFF - Fredriks Fan Fiction

Chapter 2

Pinching didn't do anything, neither did mental math. I couldn't find a spinning top, but still, something told me that I wasn't dreaming.
I was in Brockton Bay, in the body if motherfrickin' Hookwolf.

I knew I should have reread the story, but things always came up, and here I was. I remembered the big strokes, but lots of details was oh so blurry.
The only names in the E88 I remembered of the top of my head was Max & Kayden Anders, and that wouldn't take me far.

Seeing no newspaper anywhere (barbarian), I turned on the TV to figure out when I was.

"As the world mourns the loss of Canberra to the Simurgh, we here in the Bay are happy that this morning, Kaiser, leader of the Empire 88, went public with the information that the Empire will honour one week of the Truce, of respect to the victims. Meanwhile..."

I turned off the TV.
This I did remember. Simurgh attacked Canberra at the end of February, which meant that Taylor had already triggered, but there was still time before she fights Lung in April.

I had a lot to think about, and I did my best thinking in the shower, so into the bathroom I went. I thanked every god that wanted to listen that Hookwolf didn't just own soap, but an actual razor, even if it was in its packaging.

Clean shaved, I combed through his way too long hair and looked at myself in the mirror.
Not looking like a murderhobo would probably increase the chances of my next step.

Thanks to Hookwolf's cover job, he actually had some decent clothes, and I slipped into a long-sleeved shirt and some jeans.
Grabbing the keys and his wallet, I left the apartment behind and found myself in a quite nice part of town.
Memorizing the street name and number, I found a working payphone and got to work.

After listening to a robotic voice giving me choices, and enduring some painfully boring hold music, I reached an actual living human being.

"PRT ENE, how may I help you?"
"Hello, I am a recently Triggered Thinker. I am in possession of some very volatile information. Can you be so kind as to direct me to one of the Protectorate members, or perhaps Director Piggot herself?"
The operator was silent for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she said something, and I could hear the strain in her voice.
"I'm patching you through to Armsmaster, please hold."

"Armsmaster here."
"Hi there, Armsy. I am a Thinker, you may call me Remembrancer." (Hah, nailed it!)
"Very well. What information do you have that is so important?"
"Starting now, sometime between today and the end of March, a woman of Asian origin will Trigger at Cornel University in New York. Later, she will join the ABB here in the Bay. You and me both don't want that to happen, so I hope you can make some calls and make it not happen."
"How do I know that you are telling the truth?" If you would come down to the PRT Headquarters, we could..."
"Oh no, I will not set my foot in there, but I can give you some hints that I am the real deal."

I cleared my throat.

"The nanothorn halberd won't work, C. Have a good day."

Hanging up, It felt like a weight had fallen off my shoulders.
That taken care of, I hailed a cab.

***
Stepping out of the cab, I looked around. The neighbourhood wasn't as nice as the one Hookwolf lived in, but it was in no way some kind of slum.
No car on the driveway, as planned.
I walked up towards the door, skipped the rotten step in the stairs, and rang the bell.
Listening close, I could hear someone walking up some stairs, and a door opening and slamming shut.
More and more flies joined me as a waited.
The front door opened, and there she stood.
I smiled and put my hand out for a shake.

"Taylor Hebert? The name's Brad Meadows, and we really need to talk."

Chapter IV

Tyrian felt restricted in all these clothes. And they were to big for him. Apparently, only the man known simply as Oz were even close to his size, and they were still too big! And Tyrian couldn't understand the need for secrecy. Their Elder, Giles, had said that most people would not understand if he told the truth, and that Tyrian "had to be somewhere Buffy could see him", so here he was. He couldn't read what was on the sign on the house he just entered together with Oz, but loads of people in their age was here, and some kind of signal let out, calling all of them inside. Very strange.

He went over the "cover story" as Buffy had called it in his head. He was Oz's cousin, visiting from a country called Africa, and didn't understand locl customs. Well, at least one of those things were right.
He and Oz met up with Buffy, Willow and Xander next to some of the strange safes that littered the hallway.
- Ready for your first day of school, Tyrian? Buffy asked, eyeing him, probably looking for weapons again, since they found his knife on the way to school.
- It will be fun, it's school after all! Willow piped in, followed by a loud harrumph from Xander.
Buffy ignored both of them and locked Tyrian's gaze with her own.
- Just relax, follow us, and if someone asks you something, just smile and nod or get one of us. Get it?
Tyrian smiled and nodded, he wasn't stupid.

- Are you stupid?! Get out!
Tyrian made a tactical retreat out of the room, followed by shouts and objects thrown after him. He didn't understand. He had followed Willow, who had entered this room, but he was not welcomed. He looked at the door, with a white symbol that he thought meant a person in a dress, but in there had been many girls who did not have dresses on. The one that had threatened him the most was that tall girl in Buffy's school-pack. Was it Cordelia? Tyrian liked her.

Chapter II

Buffy had almost caught up with the stranger when she collided with someone. Only her Slayer-reflexes stopped her from staking whoever it was, which was a good thing, as it was a scared teenaged boy.
- Run, monsters! he screamed and tried to shove Buffy aside.
- I know, Buffy answered and shoved him aside, into the surprised arms of a very winded Xander.
- Take care of this guy, I have some slayering to do.

Apparently, she didn't have slayering to do. Buffy appraised the scene before her. The strange boy were running circles around the three vampires, sometimes parkouring up a mausoleum, and whenever he had time, he peppered them with arrows. The vampires looked like demonic porcupines, but were very much alive.
- You have to hit them in the heart with wood!, Buffy called over.
The boy's head whipped her way, and mumbled something she couldn't quite catch, as he changed quivers, and soon there was three piles of dust in the cementary.
The mohawk-wearing guy jumped down and approached her.
- You have strange monsters here in Sunnydale, was that demons?
- Ye... how do you know about demons?
- I've killed some before, but quite different. They were bigger and had armour, but not that strange "wood in heart" thing... too bad they turned to dust.
- Why, did you want to feast on your fallen prey?
Buffy's sarcasm was almost tangible, but that didn't stop the boy. His smile almost reached his ears.
- Yes! Finally someone who understands!
Buffy could hear Xander retch behind her.

Chapter VII - Better than Suspected?

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?! What were you thinking?!"
Taylor almost physically recoiled from the verbal onslaught of Director Piggot. Every ounce of her willpower was used to stand still and stoic as the Director berated her, somewhat, dangerous stunt.
"You, Vista and Clockblocker could all have died tonight, because you did not obey Console when they told you to get back, and you stayed even though you and Vista combined could easily have gotten yourselves out of there. Why did you stay?"
Taylor realised that the question was not rhetoric, and she answered the first thing that came to her mind.
"I felt like we could take them, that we had to do something."
"So you put yourself and two teammates in danger because you wanted to prove yourself?"
The tone of the Director’s voice said what she thought of that, and Taylor wanted to defend herself, but couldn’t. Maybe Piggot was right? Maybe she had become reckless after gaining her powers. Taylor looked the Director in the eyes, and nodded. Piggot looked a bit taken aback by that, she clearly expected some more fight.
"You are dismissed. No patrols for a week, and every evening you will partake in tactics lessons with the PRT-interns, and also some counseling sessions."
Taylor turned around, and as she opened the door the Director stopped her.
"Tremor? That was a damn fine arrest."
A familiar warm feeling that Taylor had almost expected finally made its appearance, and she smiled as she closed the door.

Spoiler (hover to show)

A Villain in the stocks and a pleased Liege. You have gained 30 Experience Points

Taylor giggled, which seemed to surprise Piggot’s secretary and the tall, thin man that was Piggot's next visitor, so she quickly made her way back to the Ward’s part of the compound. 30 points?! She was excited, and couldn’t quite hide it. Kid Win and Aegis both gave her strange looks when she entered the common area, but she walked quickly past them and into her room. There she sat on her bed and started thinking. Should she continue on with Constitution, or was it time for something else? She wished she could talk to Embla about this.
An excellent suggestion, she heard in her mind, and then the bright light hit her and once again she stood before the dragon. This time they were in a beautiful garden, with flowers everywhere, and servants in black livery who offered her a drink. She took the goblet out of shock, and had finished the entire thing before even thinking about what it was. Embla laughed in her mind.
You are as entertaining as ever, child. Was there something special you wanted to talk to me about?
"Yes, could you maybe give me some more information about the magical powers? How do they work and such? And where does that tattoo come from?"
Embla once again laughed, and then she started to transform. Before Taylor now stood a tall, beautiful woman, with raven black hair and pale skin. Looking a little like the White Witch from Narnia, Taylor thought, and the woman laughed.
"An apt comparison, dear child, but you have it reversed. She looks like me, not the other way around."
Taylor did not like the implications of that statement, so she tried to change the subject back to magic. Embla happily obliged.
"I have studied your world more now since we talked for the first time, and I can now give you hints in a language you can understand, so to speak.
   
        The Circle rune will make you a Master and a Healer.
   The Body rune will make you a Brute and a Changer.
   The Air rune will make you a Mover, a Shaker and a Blaster.
   The Moon rune will make you a Mover, a Shaker and a Blaster.
   The Darkness rune will make you a Master, a Thinker and a Stranger.
   The Nature rune will make you a Master, a Changer and a Breaker.
   The Sun rune will make you a Blaster and a Mover.
   The Wanderer rune will make you a Mover, a Striker and a Breaker.

These are the powers that lay before you, my child. Choose wisely. And not to choose is also a choice, some prefer to not focus on powers at all."
"How do they ones without powers do?"
"I don’t know, they usually die before I have time to meet them."
Taylor looked at the regal woman, but she could not for the life of her understand if that was a joke or not. She was tempted by all the powers, but something deep inside her gave her doubts. The powers were awesome, but what if she couldn’t use them? Maybe some kind of Trump could block her powers, or she could be Mastered. She did definitely not want that. She had made up her mind.
"I will put my 20 points into Willpower."
"A fine choice, my child. Until we meet again. Ta ta."
Once again the blinding light, and then she was in her room again. She sighed contently. Willpower it was now. This could be fun.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Name: Taylor Anne Hebert
Age: 15
Sex: Female

Experience Points: 0
Health Points: 6
Power Points: 500/500
Skill Points: 0

Strength: 20
Dexterity: 20 (Sneaking/Hiding 25)
Constitution: 50
Willpower: 50 (Mental Defence 63)
Perception: 20 (Detection 25)
Charisma: 20
Melee Weaponry: 20
Ranged Weaponry: 20

Available Powers:
Rune of the Earth - 3 / 5

Spoiler (hover to show)

Level 1 - Warrior
Earth Sense
Knows true north and how deep underground she is.

Fade into terrain
Gain 5 levels of Sneaking/Hiding in natural terrain.

Earth wall
1 second/cubic meter –  5 PP/cubic meter
Range: Constitution meters
Creates an earth wall with Constitution 20 for protection.

Structural Weakness
5 PP/hit
Count Strength and Melee Weaponry as doubled when attacking an object.

Lesser Transformation
5 PP/object
Range: Touch
Make small changes in shape and form of object.

Level 2 - Berserker
Sandwhirl
10 PP/10 seconds
Range: Constitution/2 meters radius
Sand and dust whirls around Taylor to protect her. Counts as 5 levels in Avoidance (unless hit by an area attack)

Digging
5 seconds/10 meters – 5 PP/10 meters.
Range: Constitution meters
Can dig tunnels that won't collapse on their own. Can't dig through solid rock or concrete.

Earth Wall Master
5 PP/cubic meter
Range: Constitution meters
Just like the Earth Wall, but instant.

Steelbind
Can bind weapons in hand, can't be disarmed.

Structure Map
5 PP/10 meters
Scan a structure to get a three-dimensional mental map.

Level 3 - Housecarl
Tremorsense
20 PP/minute
Range: Constitution meters
Can feel everyone touching the ground.

Earth Pillar
20 PP/pillar
Range: Constitution meters
Defence: Constitution vs Dexterity (Avoidance)
Create pillars that rise from the ground, trapping or crushing opponents.

Earth Glide
20 PP/10 minutes
Range: Personal
Glide over solid ground in 70 km/h (44 mph)

Total Transformation
30 PP/10 kg (20 lb)
Range: Touch
Can transform objects and withdraw objects out of materials, like a spear of concrete out of a cinder block.

Weight
20 PP/person/10 seconds
Range: Constitution meters
Defence: Constitution vs Strength
Pushing everyone wearing metal to the ground.

Draconic Shapeshift
Improved Shapechange
Powerful Dragon
Fireblast

Skills:
Willpower (Mental Defense) - 5
Perception (Detection) - 5

Chapter V - Showtime

Taylor almost, just almost, missed the locker right now. A week had passed, a great week for Taylor, as she was free from school as her transfer was seen through, and the PRT had spread the slightly changed story of what had happened. An innocent high school girl had been locked inside her own locker by bullies, and a passing Parahuman had saved her. The PRT had approached that Parahuman while she was en route to the hospital and she was happily recruited into the Wards. So now, officially, Taylor was leaving for Arcadia because of bullying and she had a superhero as a mysterious friend. A simple lie, but a good one.
Unfortunately, the week continued. She had met the other Wards, except Shadow Stalker, who apparently was away on some special mission or something, according to Clockblocker. Taylor liked the other Wards. Their easy-going camaraderie made her feel at ease, and they invited her in directly. They had feasted on pizza, and a stern look from Carlos, or Aegis, had made Clockblocker not even try to freeze Taylor. Which all things considered, was a good thing, as her vengeance would had been swift and terrible.
But now she was here, backstage, waiting to come on live TV. After a long, harsh talk with the PR department, with threats about bloody murder hanging in the air, Taylor and the middle aged man sweating profundly had come to an arrangement. Taylor was woken from her daydreaming as her cue was up. With a deep breath, and telling herself that no one knew it was really her, she walked through the curtain and was greeted by spotlights and  the applause of the studio audience.
"And here she is, the newest Ward, Tremor!"

Taylor waved awkwardly as she walked over to her designated place, between Clockblocker and the host, a middle-aged man with greying hair and a jovial smile. She shook his hand before sitting down, not really knowing where to look, but then the host started talking and she looked at him.
"So, Tremor, to start with the basics, what about the name? Why Tremor?"
"Well… You wouldn’t believe what they wanted at the start, Tremor is what me and PR could agree on, and as a sign of good will, I agreed to this… costume."
Taylor showed with her hands exactly what she meant. She did like the knee-high combat boots, the jeans-like pants and the goggles, but the hardhat and the breastplate that looked like a reflective vest was just too much. Damn PR and their notions of how a miner looked! And of course they put boobs on the frickin plate, which Taylor could not fill up for the life of her.
The host chuckled.
"I can see that the uniform is a sore subject for you Tremor, so let’s move on. What about your powers? Can you give us a hint, or a demonstration?"
Without a word, Taylor stood up and walked out in the middle of the studio. Ignoring Clockblocker’s hooting, she just gave them a basic Earth Glide around the studio, slow enough for the cameras to focus on her and then she returned to her seat.
"Wow, thank you for that, Tremor. I think I speak for everyone here as I say: welcome to Brockton Bay!"
"Thank you so much, I am glad to be here, and I hope I can help make a difference."
The talk show continued, but Aegis took care of most of that, and Taylor could sit further away, next to Kid Win and just answer one or two more questions. As she bowed with the others at the end and walked out to the awaiting PRT vehicle, she felt a familiar warm feeling in her stomach.

Spoiler (hover to show)

The great deception begins! You have gained 20 Experience Points.

Taylor stumbled, and was rewarded by having an unfocused Kid Win walk straight into her. She barely apologised as she climbed into the van. 20 Experience Points, for public speaking?! She didn’t understand why, but yet again, she would not look a gift horse in the mouth. She didn’t know if she should continue to fill up her Constitution or focus on something else, when she was interrupted by a now familiar voice inside her head.
I forgot to tell you child, but if you want more powers, you can take points from your Constitution to pay for them.
That tidbit settled that. Taylor immediately put all 20 points into Constitution and felt great, like she could go run a marathon or something. With this amazing power at her side, what could go wrong now?

Spoiler (hover to show)

Name: Taylor Anne Hebert
Age: 15
Sex: Female

Experience Points: 0
Health Points: 6
Power Points: 350/350
Skill Points: 0

Strength: 20
Dexterity: 20 (Sneaking/Hiding 25)
Constitution: 50
Willpower: 20 (Mental Defence 25)
Perception: 20 (Detection 25)
Charisma: 20
Melee Weaponry: 20
Ranged Weaponry:20

Available Powers:
Rune of the Earth - 3 / 5

Spoiler (hover to show)

Level 1 - Warrior
Earth Sense
Knows true north and how deep underground she is.

Fade into terrain
Gain 5 levels of Sneaking/Hiding in natural terrain.

Earth wall
1 second/cubic meter –  5 PP/cubic meter
Range: Constitution meters
Creates an earth wall with Constitution 20 for protection.

Structural Weakness
5 PP/hit
Count Strength and Melee Weaponry as doubled when attacking an object.

Lesser Transformation
5 PP/object
Range: Touch
Make small changes in shape and form of object.

Level 2 - Berserker
Sandwhirl
10 PP/10 seconds
Range: Constitution/2 meters radius
Sand and dust whirls around Taylor to protect her. Counts as 5 levels in Avoidance (unless hit by an area attack)

Digging
5 seconds/10 meters – 5 PP/10 meters.
Range: Constitution meters
Can dig tunnels that won't collapse on their own. Can't dig through solid rock or concrete.

Earth Wall Master
5 PP/cubic meter
Range: Constitution meters
Just like the Earth Wall, but instant.

Steelbind
Can bind weapons in hand, can't be disarmed.

Structure Map
5 PP/10 meters
Scan a structure to get a three-dimensional mental map.

Level 3 - Housecarl
Tremorsense
20 PP/minute
Range: Constitution meters
Can feel everyone touching the ground.

Earth Pillar
20 PP/pillar
Range: Constitution meters
Defence: Constitution vs Dexterity (Avoidance)
Create pillars that rise from the ground, trapping or crushing opponents.

Earth Glide
20 PP/10 minutes
Range: Personal
Glide over solid ground in 70 km/h (44 mph)

Total Transformation
30 PP/10 kg (20 lb)
Range: Touch
Can transform objects and withdraw objects out of materials, like a spear of concrete out of a cinder block.

Weight
20 PP/person/10 seconds
Range: Constitution meters
Defence: Constitution vs Strength
Pushing everyone wearing metal to the ground.

Draconic Shapeshift
Improved Shapechange

Skills:
Willpower (Mental Defense) - 5
Perception (Detection) - 5