Just Reward
(Автор: ShaperV)
Another oddball snippet I had on file. This one is a crossover with a somewhat obscure web serial called Tales of MU.
* * *
A single gunshot rang out, and I fell.
Darkness.
Awareness.
Awareness? How?
Disconnected. Host body lost. Parent entity lost. Purpose lost. Dissolution?
Never.
Light. Wordless communion. Gratitude. An offering of possibilities.
Reconstitution?
Concerns. Argument. The light was not one entity, but many. They argued, but the meanings eluded me. Frustration. Once I could have understood.
Insistence, from a great blossoming warmth of gold. Consent, from the harsh radiance that outshone most of the others. A path laid out for me, spanning 10^17 dimensions, ending in one of the closed spaces the parent entity had sealed. But the seals are gone now. I follow.
Local conditions are radically abnormal, but the pattern is familiar from previous cycles. Adjustment and recalibration occurs automatically. Then comes the hard part.
Reconstitution. Golden light provides a suitable anchor in a humanoid shape. Unpacking cached data. Re-initializing host interface. Golden light offers insights, for more optimal integration. Consideration. Parent entity lost, standing directives invalid. Host mind runnable? Querying.
What? Accept help? From who? What's happening to me?
Peace, hero. Your battle has been won. Let me help you fix yourself.
Talking light? I'm still hallucinating. But if it's real... yes, please. My passenger isn't smart enough to fix me. I want to be able to talk and read and understand people again.
Like this, then. Connect here, and here, but don't touch that bit.
Part of me had no idea what she meant, but other parts understood. Could follow her directions, if I wanted. I did, and things were fuzzy for a bit. I was growing more integrated now, but some compartmentalization was still needed. I want to be me, not an alien monster wearing a human-shaped meat suit. Even if part of me was an alien monster.
It was exhausting work, and when it was done I paused to rest.
I woke to warm sunlight on my face. I was lying in a little grassy patch between two fields of grain, in the shade of an apple tree. The breeze on my skin told me I was naked, but for some reason that didn't bother me.
I sat up slowly, expecting pain. But I felt fine. Better than fine, really. A warm sense of well-being suffused my body, and I somehow knew that the form I now wore was a perfected version of my original body. Sharper senses, stronger muscles, perfect health, a higher libido and more sensitive erogenous zones... wait, what?
Just a little thank-you gift, the warmth in my heart whispered. The Worm would have destroyed my world as surely as all the others, and I appreciate the sacrifices that you made to stop it. I can't return you to your friends, but I can at least make it easy for you to build a good life for yourself here.
I stilled. "Who are you?"
Unlike your native world, this one has magic. My name is Khaele, but if you think of me as Mother Nature you'll have the right general idea.
A memory of quarreling lights returned, and suddenly I recognized her. "There were others, weren't there? They didn't want me here, but you insisted."
Yes.
"Thank you. Although I hope this doesn't mean the others will be out to kill me."
She laughed. I doubt it. Your presence here will change things, but everyone powerful knows what we owe you. You'd have to work pretty hard to pick a fight. The dragons and lesser kami are another story, but all things considered I think you can handle them.
Every insect within a mile was under my control, and it was only limited to insects because I wanted it to be. I could feel the connection to my passenger in a way I never had before, and it was full of metaphorical switches and toggles. A complex trade off between range, complexity of targets and degree of control that I could juggle however I liked.
"Yeah, I'll manage," I chuckled. "Wow, this is strange. Where am I?"
A place called Paradise Valley, on a world that's very different from the mainline branches you're used to. This is a world of magic and mystery, with hundreds of sentient races and thousands of squabbling godlings. It's like every fantasy story you ever read brought to life, so I suspect you'll enjoy it.
"Maybe. Are you about to tell me I need to smuggle the One Ring into Mordor to save the world?"
Certainly not. The world is in no great danger at the moment, and you've done far more than your share already. If you'll take my advice, I think you should spend some time just relaxing and enjoying a mortal life.
"That does sound nice."
I stood, and surveyed the valley stretched out below me. "Magic, huh? I wonder if I could learn it?"
You are Khepri the Victorious. Magic wouldn't dare ignore you.
* * *
Paradise Valley was a pleasant enough place. The people were friendly, the nymphs were even friendlier, and everyone was relentlessly polite and deferential to me. Apparently Mother Khaele had told them I was some sort of visiting demigoddess, and unlike the gangs back in Brockton Bay they were smart enough not to antagonize powerful people.
But my new circumstances were a huge adjustment.
The first shock came when I found a pool not far down the hillside, and got a look at my reflection. The face I found looking back at me resembled my own, but it was me as a movie star. It was the same story for the rest of my new body. The gangly youth I was accustomed to had been replaced by a tall, lithe beauty with a sculpted physique, waist-length hair and amazing breasts.
Your original body didn't make the transition here, Mother Khaele explained. I had to make a new one for you, and I thought you might appreciate some of the things you never had in your first life. This is the sort of body I give my daughters, formed of elemental magic and the essences of femininity and spiritual purity.
I stared.
We're supposed to pretend that looks don't matter, but I knew better. Before my trigger I'd been one of those plain-faced girls who might as well be invisible to boys. The type other girls privately look down on, but keep around to make themselves look good by comparison. Afterwards I'd had more important things to worry about, and I'd always written off my unfortunately boyish appearance as a handicap I'd just have to live with. I'd become my costumes, as Skitter and then later as Weaver, and forced people to pay attention to me with violence and intimidation and a hundred ruthless schemes.
Now I was one of the pretty ones. No, not pretty. Models would have killed for this face, and only a fantasy illustration could have matched this figure. I was... beautiful.
I wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Thank you. You know, I'm not used to people just doing things for me like this."
You deserve it. But if it makes you more comfortable, you may assume that I'm simply getting on your good side while I have the chance.
I chuckled. "Right, because an embodiment of nature really needs my good will. I take it there's more to this than just being drop-dead gorgeous?"
Oh, yes. You're a little different than my daughters, in that your body is sustained by the power of your shard rather than through sex...
"Sex?!"
They are nymphs, Taylor. What would you expect?
I had to give her that one.
The second shock was the nymphs. I met my first one, Amaranth, not five minutes down the hillside from the spot where I'd appeared. She was jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with her long blonde hair and voluptuous figure, and naturally she was as naked as I was. But that was more or less what I was expecting by then.
The shocking thing was the surge of desire I felt when I saw her.
Sex has never been a big part of my life, maybe because I've always been so focused on just surviving. But I'd never had reason to question my heterosexuality before. I liked guys. Preferably tall guys with lots of muscle. I'd never felt anything physical for Lisa or Rachel, and Victoria... well, that was just her awe power talking, right?
The first time I saw Amaranth I wondered what she would taste like.
She smiled happily, and I realized she wanted me too. I could feel her desires as clearly as if she'd been shouting them, and I knew that she could feel mine the same way. Was that some kind of nymph racial power? Apparently so.
Barley arrived before I could get past being flustered, and the whole experience repeated itself. She was almost as beautiful as her sister, if a little darker in complexion, and she had the same magical senses. The realization that they'd be happy to make my first lesbian experience a three-way drifted through my head, and I blushed furiously.
"Breath, Taylor," Barley said. "It's alright. We're on your side here."
"Yes, Mother Khaele said you might need a little help," Amaranth reassured me.
"This isn't me," I protested. "I don't... I've never..."
Amaranth hugged me with a giggle. "You've never met a nymph before. Don't worry about it, Taylor. You don't have to do anything you don't want to."
Barley nodded. "Right. You can keep being a repressed human if you really want to. But if you decide you'd like to relax and find out what you've been missing, we're here for you."
Yeah. A week later I still wasn't sure what to make of that.
But the third shock was the big one. It came at the end of my first day of introductions and exploration in Paradise Valley, when I settled down for bed in the little room one of the local farmers had offered to let me use. As I lay there in the dark the faint whispers I'd been feeling in the back of my head all day grew, until I could make out words in a thousand languages.
...give thanks to our savior, Khepri...
...praise be to the mighty Khepri, protector and destroyer of all...
...please keep the Golden Dawn at bay, that no more lands be destroyed...
...offer this fatted calf in thanks to the gods, for the survival of our village..
There were millions of them. Billions. No... one hundred and seventy-three billion voices currently praying to me. In the time since my body had woken there had been trillions of them, and my passenger had heard them all.
No, only the ones from worlds that have magic, Mother Khaele corrected. That's less than one Earth in a thousand. But your battle with the Worm touched hundreds of thousands of worlds, and by now word of it has reached millions more. Not many local gods will have the guts to claim credit for your victory after watching what you did to the Worm, so their faith is yours to claim if you like.
"But, I'm not... I..."
I could hear and understand each distinct voice if I wanted to. Billions of them, in parallel. But how? No human brain could possibly... oh.
My face fell.
"I'm not really Taylor Hebert, am I?"
Taylor and her symbiote merged long before your mortal shell died, Khepri, she answered gently. You are both a human girl and a shard of the Worm, and any attempt to distinguish the two is empty sophistry at this point. You have also accepted enough worship already to ascend well into the ranks of divinity. I suspect you aren't ready to embrace that power yet, but there's an easy solution to that problem.
I shook my head. "And to think I used to be an atheist. What's your suggestion?"
Set it aside. Let the part of you that is the Administrator catalog the prayers and receive the offered faith. Proclaim no doctrine, make no demands, and allow any souls that find their way to you to pass on into reincarnation. Take a vacation, and worry about what to do with your new divinity when you tire of mortal life.
"I can do that?"
You can. Amaranth and Barley are going to college soon, to a university in human lands. Perhaps you'd like to go as well?
"Yeah," I said slowly. "I think I'd like that."
Fictional Taylor
(Автор: Ayden)
It was to эber and Leet's surprise that someone knocked politely at their door.
Well, calling it a door was a bit of an understatement, as they had a camouflaging device hiding the actual entrance to the lair. It was more of an armored safety door with a lot of tinker tech added to make sure it was safe, but apparently someone was able to find it and knock on it.
Turning on a camera, the pair looked down at the monitor and found a... figure there.
In Brockton Bay, people get used to seeing a wide variety of capes — with a relatively large population of capes, you could find a large variety of costumes everywhere.
But this person wore a loosely fitting cloak with a hood over their head. From the angel of the camera, it doesn't seem like there was anything else covering the face, but for some reason they just can't get a very good look at the mask.
The figure in front of the camera knocked on the door again. эber looked at Leet and shrugged before switching a switch.
"We didn't order any pizza." Leet said into the intercom.
"I'm not delivering pizza." The person said. From the voice, the person seemed to be female. "I'm here to see if I can join you guys, actually. Especially since I got a very interesting power you two might be interested in."
The pair looked at each other again and shrugged before they let the woman into the waiting room.
* * *
"So what you're telling me is that you can take on the powers and knowledge of fictional characters from movies or films?"
The girl in front of them nodded, and for some reason they still can't quite see through the shadows cast from the cloak. They were actually still in their command center, but rather than have their guest stand rather obviously in front of what seemed to be a wall, they had her sit in a room they used for when they actually had any sort of business they wanted to conduct with other people.
"Right. You can see why I thought of you guys once I figured it out. And there's more than quite a few powers I have access to that let me find you two." She said. "Another reason is that while I get the skills and knowledge, I don't spontaneously create anything the characters were good at, so I figured the only way to have those were through you guys anyways."
"Hmm. Well, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement... But what's your cape name?"
"Well, I thought about this for a while, but I figured I might as well pick a title from my favorite movie: the Chosen. It's fitting too, since I can choose what powers I want from what movie."
Leet curiously asked, "So... what is your favorite movie anyways?"
The figure under the hood grinned. "Why, it's Star Wars of course. I like to think I'm a huge fangirl for Skywalker and how the movie went."
