Chapter Text

Waking Dream 1.4 

When it came to multinational Parahuman organisations, they were somewhat small or uncommon. The Guild, the Canadian-based organisation that Dragon belonged to was North America’s only multinational Parahuman organisation, and even then they were usually tied to the PRT. They did work with other organisations, like the Suits and the Internationals from Interpol, sort of like the European counterpart to the Guild, though it was still relatively small scale. The reason why, however, was mainly due to a shortage in Capes, as most Parahumans that worked with the law were usually snatched up into national organisations, the Protectorate for North America, and the King’s Men for the United Kingdom just as an example. 

The rigorous standards that the Guild had didn’t help either, Narwhal made it a point during the reformation of the organisation that only experienced and ‘A-rankers’ be accepted into it. Sort of an elite force, but the detriments that came with it forced the Guild to pick their battles. No one in the Guild was forced to do anything they didn’t like, and many members often had conflicting goals, but that was usually mitigated by the civilian committee deciding on issues. 

Dragon believed in their mission, which was why she dedicated a large portion of the profits from her tech company to its funding. Since then, Guild members have been part of everything from public health campaigns to peacekeeping missions in troubled areas around the world, her latest such deployment was in Lebanon, giving support to UN peacekeepers. Honestly, she wished Mossad would just give up on trying to get through her firewall, it wasn’t going to work unless they hired the dragonslayers, which would not be entirely impossible, improbable maybe, but she had counters ready just in case. 

“What tests did you want to run on me again?” 

Right, her Vancouver suit was currently dealing with a special guest she brought along with her. Switching her main focus back to the Canadian main server, she had brought Scarlet into the local Guild base and directly to their vehicle lab. The facility was mainly used by her and other Guild-affiliated Tinkers to test new vehicles such as her transports and larger Dragonflight suits. Technically, minors weren’t allowed into Guild bases as a matter of principle, they didn’t do anything like the Wards program, everyone affiliated with their organisation had to be over eighteen at minimum, and even then they usually avoided younger, inexperienced Capes. 

However, the Vancouver PRT had less sophisticated Tinker labs, and she wanted to keep any results to herself for now. Dragon was aware of some politicking going on from some Directors out east and wanted Scarlet to be as far away from that ugliness as possible. 

“Just to see how you function, I’ve met and worked with a lot of Changers in my time but never one like you. Usually, they were more biological and…”

“Mechanical?” Scarlet asked, causing Dragon to nod. 

“Indeed. I thought you were a Tinker at first, so imagine my surprise when you told me your wings were a part of yourself.” And also because of her interest in mechanical things in general, from what she had observed of Scarlet so far, she was like a perfect amalgamation of a Soviet Mig 29 and a teenage human girl, yet still retaining her human shape. Maybe that was what her father initially wanted her to be, there was no point in thinking about it now, however. 

“Do you feel uncomfortable? Anything I need to adjust?” 

So far, all of the sensors stuck to Scarlet’s wings told her one thing, that she was a fighter jet. It made no sense at all, anyone could see that she wasn’t just a fighter jet, and yet that was all her sensors found. It intrigued her to no end, as this was valuable research into Changer Parahuman powers and her own future Dragonflights. 

“No. I am getting the premium autographed package from you after this, right?” 

The only reason Scarlet even agreed to all of this was the promise of giving her premium Dragon merchandise, which usually cost hundreds of dollars, even going up into the thousands when reselling online. She never felt completely comfortable about it, but the sales numbers did not lie about its popularity at all. Besides, the proceeds went to a good cause, right？

“To your friend Abby, correct? Don’t worry, you’ll get it once I am finished with everything. You mentioned earlier that you could work on your ‘rigging’ right? Could you demonstrate it to me?” 

Nodding, Scarlet got up, removing the sensors stuck onto her wings and headed towards a more open area of their lab. Being a Tinker lab, an abundance of space was never a bad thing to have, since Tinker fugues often did not account for keeping everything tidy so a large spacious area was often needed just to make sure things didn’t get lost in between all the tools and parts…Also because Dragon designed the lab and facility to resemble the interior of the Death Star, shame Bet never made any more Star Wars movies compared to Aleph, she quite enjoyed the prequels. 

Walking to the centre of the lab, Scarlet held her hand out, and her wings and other jet-like appendages began glowing orange. Dragon’s suit zoomed in at the glowing rigging, analysing the orange light revealed that they were more like particles flowing up into the air before they all coalesced at the empty space in the lab. In the next moment, a bright orange flash appeared in the lab, and an entire fighter jet appeared in the formerly free space, decked out in Scarlet’s signature red livery. 

She expected a lot of things, this however was… 

“That’s how I do it, like any regular old plane. I have a mechanic who helps me with it, so…” 

Dragon took a quick walk around it, Mig 29s were used during World War Three, escorting Soviet bombers over Alaska and headed towards the West Coast. Perhaps a bit dated in design by now, but it was still widely used the world over and beyond. The more she analysed the plane visually however the more discrepancies she noticed, a mixture of markings in Chinese, Russian, German and even ones in Korean. Though the inclusion of English words for a lot of the markings made her do a double take, what did ‘Federation Air Force’ exactly stand for? The biggest discrepancy however was the engines, they visually looked exactly like the ones found on a standard Mig 29, but were completely different upon further inspection. 

“This jet has been modified, it’s not factory standard at all.” 

“The engines give it away?” Scarlet moved next to Dragon, her back no longer obstructed by her metal wings. Interesting, did this constitute a Breaker state? A non-permanent one perhaps? 

“They’re not like any design I’ve found so far, they match no model in my databases so far.” 

“Well, yeah. They’re Cordium hybrid engines-” Cutting herself off mid-sentence, Scarlet looked away as Dragon processed what she just said. Searching her database again for any mention of ‘Cordium’ revealed nothing, there was no material or anything like that on Earth. 

“Cordium?” 

“Nevermind, it’s just something I made up. Just know that the fuel it uses comes from my powers, you won’t find it anywhere on Earth.” 

This was something new again, Parahumans producing substances from their powers was not uncommon, but an actual fuel? This she had to follow up on. 

“I see. May I have a sample-” 

“No. Never.” Scarlet did not hesitate in denying Dragon, the intensity and venom that she somehow managed to deny her caused the AI to step back slightly. This was something personal, and she had no reason to poke her any more. 

“Okay…we won’t do that. So, your powers just gave you a fighter jet when you triggered? Could you do the same thing with other vehicles?” 

It was a logical question, the rigging Scarlet had was modular, and seeing as how she quite literally ‘absorbed’ an entire fighter jet for her powers, she could in theory do the same for other vehicles as well. However, all Dragon got was a ‘so-so’ gesture from her. 

“If you’re asking me to turn into a car or something then no, I haven’t tried doing it with other jets yet either. But…in theory, I guess it’s possible, not sure about larger aircraft but smaller ones are possible.” 

Interesting, so she’s limited to aerial vehicles? Would that include helicopters as well or just anything that can be conceptually called an aeroplane? Dragon had not felt this way in ages, the scientist in her fully came back to life as she wanted to figure out the nature of Scarlet’s powers. Just as she was about to ask her more questions, however, she noticed a melancholic look on the red-haired girl. 

They were eyes that someone as young as her shouldn’t have had, a fifteen-year-old should be excited, bright and full of life. All Dragon saw however was the long stare of a Veteran, similar to those she met who served during World War Three, those who participated in the largest battles such as the Battle of the Rhine. Tentatively placing a hand on her shoulders, Scarlet flinched a bit as she looked at Dragon’s mechanical hand. 

“You okay?” She tried her best to inject a tone of worry in her voice, but the Dragonflight suit only went so far. 

“I’m fine. Just…thinking.” 

Dragon made a note in her system to talk to Director Hui about getting Scarlet counselling the next time they met. 

“...I think that’s enough for today. We’ll end it here and I’ll get you what I promised. It’s getting late anyways, I’m sure your guardian wants you back home soon.” 

Truthfully, she didn’t want to end it so soon, especially just as the fighter jet was revealed to her. However, they got along surprisingly well, despite their earlier interactions. By now, however, pictures of the two flying together had spread throughout PHO, leading to endless amounts of speculation…and of course, the usual shippers. Tin_Mother worked overtime to get rid of any comments too lecherous, an AI should not be disgusted by human behaviour, and yet here she was. 

Ah, Humanity. 

“Waiiiit, so Dragon invited you back to her lab, just like that?!” 

“Yep.” 

“And she poked you around for a bit like some lab rat?” 

“A bit more respectful than that, but yes. Also got your autograph, by the way.” 

“Yooooo-” 

Talking to Abby through her built-in radio, Taylor told her about the events of today thus far. Funny story actually, Abby had commandeered Zaitsev’s old radio set for her personal use the last time they met up with him, so she could now talk to Taylor whenever she wanted. Did she need a licence to operate it? Yes, but they only talked on a specific frequency, so it was unlikely for her to get caught, hopefully. 

“Do me a favour and tell me the weather near Kelowna, can’t exactly get sell service this high up in the air.” She really had to go and get that GPS soon, preferably the ones that also came with a weather monitor. An unfortunate reality of their post-war world was that even though nuclear weapons and the threat of fallout never occurred, many lands were still rendered devastated and uninhabitable through the use of Parahuman WMDs. Their effects were varied, some replicated natural disasters while others were just higher-yield explosives, the worst kind however were the ones that resulted in lingering effects even after all this time. Her father, though she never met him in person, apparently flew fighters during the war over Europe. The fighting there was particularly brutal, with the Parahuman weapons and soldiers used there forming the basis for the Treaty of London after the war ended. 

The Yukon and Northwest territories bore a large brunt of these weapons, not as much as Alaska had, but still a pretty high amount just because of its close proximity. Even today a large part of those territories had unpredictable extreme weather events that came out of nowhere, making them often inhospitable save for specific safe zones. An annoying part of it however was its tendency to sometimes stretch past those zones, and extend further down to her province, though it didn’t happen often. 

“Uhhh…you’re clear, I think. Hail warning to the north of us, but you know how those things go.” 

Every so often there would be a hail warning just in case the cloud came over Kelowna, and every time it was a false alarm. Taylor didn’t complain much about it, since it was a free day off school. 

“Imagine if it was on Monday instead, haven’t done the homework from Miss Jameson-” 

“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is AC119, we have been hit by a hailstorm and are currently experiencing multiple engine failure!” 

Taylor’s heart skipped a beat, and then two. That was a civilian airliner, if she remembered correctly, one that she heard chatter of every so often whenever she flew around the area. If she heard it, then that meant it was close by, and with the route it usually takes…

“Abby, listen to me carefully, go to a flight tracker website right now, and type in AC119 in the search bar.” 

“H-Huh? What’s going on-”

“NOW!” 

“A-Ah! OKAY!” 

As Abby presumably did that, Taylor turned on her radar, drowning out the sounds of other frantic chatter as she tried to home in on any large contacts. 

“I found it! It’s…uh…somewhere near Lytton? Wait, what’s going on?!” 

She didn’t have time to reply to Abby, activating her afterburners, she broke the sound barrier as she made haste towards Lytton, relying on the geography below as her guide. By her guessing, she was already close by, and headed for an intercept of where she thought it would be. A few minutes later, her radars picked up a large plane, descending rapidly and with a smoke trail coming from each engine. 

Shit.

Large spikes of ice pierced into the plane, though there weren’t any holes, the cabin was breached, and it seemed like both engines were also hit. It was a miracle that it was still in relatively one piece but for not much longer. Flying beside it, Taylor changed to an open frequency and flew beside the cockpit. 

“AC119, this is Scarlet, the Cape flying beside you right now, what’s your situation?” 

“ The hell?! Wait, you’re-ah not right now! We’ve lost one engine, the other one is basically fucked! Cabin is breached, we’re gliding down right now! We were on final descent when a freak hail cloud appeared over us, we’re lucky to still be in one piece!” 

Not for long, however. At this rate, they would never make it towards the nearest airstrip, let alone Vancouver. A situation like this wasn’t in any pilot training before, so what the hell could she do other than watch them-

“Don’t think we have the altitude to get to Vancouver, I’m real open to any Parahuman solutions right about now!” 

…This is going to be stupid. 

Taking in a deep breath she replied to the pilot. “Which engine has lost power?” 

“T-The left one, why?!” 

“...this is going to sound stupid, but I’m gonna be your replacement engine. Stay on comms with me and tell me how to adjust.” 

“Wait, what?!” 

Taylor didn’t wait for him to answer, they were already on the final approach, and coupled with losing thrust meant that they would crash somewhere outside of Vancouver. Gliding down or not, they couldn’t even turn to face the airstrip for landing without risking a stall. Reducing speed, she flew underneath the left wing, itself barely holding on with all that extra weight from hail spikes tilting the whole plane sideways. Carefully approaching the engine, she had no idea if this would work at all, but right now she had to at least course correct the damn thing. 

Dust Mother take the wheel…

Carefully placing both of her hands underneath the wing, at a point that she guessed was strong enough, Taylor increased the amount of thrust in her engines, gradually increasing the output. 

“Hnnnng!” 

“Holy shit kid, whatever you’re doing, keep it up! I’ll try on my end to get the other engine back on thrust as well!” 

She had greatly underestimated the amount of thrust she would need, seeing as how her afterburners were on full blast right now, and even then that was not quite enough. Her arms began to feel like jelly, and that wasn’t even counting the strain she was feeling on her rigging. Fighter jets were not meant to carry civilian airliners, so the fact that she could even stabilise it was commendable, though not for long. Eventually, her afterburners were going to overheat, leaving the plane back on its original fate-

“SCARLET! This is Dragon, my suits are coming to you right now, ETA three minutes! Just hold on with whatever you’re doing!” 

Hearing Dragon’s voice gave her a second wind, and she pushed herself to hang on for just a little while longer. Fuel was not the issue, her hybrid Cordium jet fuel made sure of that, but rather it was her airframe and engines that were the limit. Every strain she felt, every engine warning she received was felt as if it were an organ or limb. She felt as if she was overheating, and trying to life a giant piece of metal at the same time, one would eventually give out first. 

Her eyes began watering, long since gone bloodshot at the amount of force she was using. Just as her hand began slipping however, a dozen or more bogeys appeared on her radar, heading at a beeline right for her. 

Finally… 

“Scarlet! I’m here, don’t worry, I’ve got you.” A Dragon suit, unknown model, Taylor didn’t even care at this point, talked to her from her side, helping take the load off from her failing hands. As soon as Taylor let go, she cut her afterburners off, the heat sink still glowing a bright orange-red as she relaxed her arms, though still carrying the wing. Looking around, the Dragon suits all positioned themselves equally among the plane, essentially carrying it at a dozen different points. Her radars picked up more incoming contacts, this time identified through her own IFF system as older F/E-18s, known in Canada as CF-18 hornets, which began escorting them. 

“Cavalry’s here…the hell took you so long?” 

She turned to Dragon, who sighed. “Sorry, took a while for the request to filter to me, the Guild doesn’t usually handle civil emergencies, and I had to find out by Director Hui personally calling me. Come on, let’s land this jet first, we’ll talk later.” 

Remaining silent for the rest of the flight, Taylor ran troubleshooting as the full blast of her afterburners and strain on her rigging began causing some issues. Eventually, they passed into Vancouver airspace, and directly towards the international airport. The suits acted in unison, reducing thrust gently enough on their final approach so much that the plane was placed down, instead of landing on the runway. Fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency service vehicles awaited them, and once the airliner's landing gear touched down, Taylor could finally land herself. 

Doing the same manoeuvre she did earlier today, what she expected to be another happy landing turned out to not be within her expectations. The moment her feet bound in landing gear touched the asphalt, her knees gave out, and she tumbled over entirely on her back, her wings cushioning the fall somewhat. 

“Scarlet?! Are you okay?!” Dragon’s voice came from one of her suit’s speakers, but honestly? 

She was really, really not feeling okay. 

AN: 

I’ve always wanted to see a ‘plane catching’ scene in Worm ever since I watched Superman Returns. Haven’t seen one yet, so here’s my entry into it. 

Be civil in the comments below.