Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Charlotte was not, by most standards, an unusual girl. Not unusually beautiful, or unusually ugly. Not unusually cruel, or unusually kind. Not unusually intelligent, or unusually stupid. Not unusually rich, though perhaps slightly poorer than the norm. She was unusual in that she lived in Brockton Bay, but plenty of people lived in Brockton Bay. Perhaps the most unusual thing about her was that she was jewish in a city with neonazis, though even then she took care to keep that detail away from the sort of people who would take violent offense. She went to school, avoiding confrontation between the various gangs and cliques while she tried to get a decent grade. She talked with her family, keeping a few things secret from her parents (that they knew about, and allowed, to demonstrate their trust) but talking to them about her life. She admired the heroes of the city, though only in the vague sense that they were 'the good guys', and thus worth admiring. She worried about her future, sometimes, but only in passing.

She didn't live through a traumatizing event, she didn't seek out a secret group selling powers in a bottle, she just existed, day by day.

And then one day, what seemed to be an ordinary package addressed to her arrived. It was a surprise, of course, but it was a small package--small enough to fit in a mailbox--and all the postage seemed accurate. So Charlotte opened it, and found what appeared to be a normal smartphone inside.

"Huh," she said, reading the accompanying manual. "Mom, did you order me a phone?"

Her mother looked at the object strangely. "No... no, I don't think I did." She sighed. "The package was probably mislabeled, delivered to you on accident."

"We'll call the post office," her father decided. "Explain the mix-up."

Charlotte pouted. "Awwww... I kind of wanted a phone, though. You know, so I could... call you in case I got in a bad situation."

Her parents chuckled, knowing full well her real excuse was probably more teenage, before her father sighed. "Let me see the information on the data plan."

A few days, and a few calls passed. The post office found that the phone was apparently meant to be shipped to a local store and, on entering and explaining the situation, the storeowner decided to waive payment for the service plan for six months. Just a fun little glitch, he said jovially, for a fun little phone. That it allowed him to get back at his corporate overlords in some small way went unsaid. That his corporate overlords expected small deals like this from time to time and wouldn't look too closely into it went unnoticed. And so Charlotte, a perfectly ordinary girl, decided that in a quirk of fate she'd gotten a perfectly ordinary phone at a not-so-perfectly ordinary price.

The phone, of course, came preloaded with apps. Most of them seemed normal enough, of course, music and internet and obviously the phone app itself. But there was one that caught her eye.

WorldInject.

From the cheesey graphic, she assumed it was some sort of phone game. She didn't open it the first day she had the phone, nor all through school. Phone games were notorious for being simple ways to pass the time when there was nothing else to do. Idle programs for idle moments, and she didn't have an idle moment until the weekend. After finishing her homework, reading a few books, and tiring of the internet, she shrugged and opened the WorldInject app.

Her eyes narrowed as the screen simplified into a simple button. Above the button were the rolls 'Press to Inject' and below, a timer, marked 'Next AutoInjection'. Nothing else, save the simple swipe that would pull her back to the phone's main screen, and apparently in five hours the program would 'inject' anyway. With a shrug, she tapped the button.

The screen shifted, a dramatic 'INJECTING!' rolling across it like a loading bar for a moment. Then it flashed bright enough that Charlotte had to look away, blinking the blindness out of her eyes for a moment. When she finally looked back, the screen had returned to its previous state, although with an additional button simply reading 'List of Injections' on the side, and the autoinjection timer had moved up to six hours.

Charlotte frowned, about to examine the phone closer, when an awkward "Aaaaah...." made her look up.

And up.

And up.

A very tall man, with a neck long enough that the crest of his hair almost brushed the ceiling, waved gently with a three-fingered hand. "Hello, young miss. Do you mind telling me where I am and... ah... how I got here?"

"Uuuuuuuuuuh," Charlotte managed, staring at him in wonder and confusion.

"Ah. You've never seen a Kaminoan before, I take it."

"A... Kaminoan?"

"Yes." The man brought his hand to his chest with a small bow. "I am Rala De, from the planet Kamino. And... You are...?"

"Uh." Charlotte blinked. "Wait, planet? You're an alien?"

"I--what?"

"You're from outer space?!" Charlotte continued, staring at him.

"I'm from... Kamino... I'm sorry, why are you acting so surprised? Hyperdrives have opened up the galaxy to exploration for generations--"

"Earth doesn't have spaceships," Charlotte said. "Or hyperdrives, or--holy shit, there's an alien in my bedroom."

Rala De frowned. "...So I'm on a backwater planet then." He sighed, dragging his hand down his face. "And no idea how I got here... this could be a problem."

Charlotte looked at the phone in her hand, and the app running. Then she looked up at the alien again.

"Yeah, I... I guess it could be," she admitted. "But... I think the PRT might be able to help?"

"The...?"

"The Parahuman Response Team. This... this isn't exactly the sort of thing they're supposed to handle, but, uh, they might be the best bet for figuring... everything out."

"I suppose if that makes sense to you... ah..."

"Charlotte," she replied. "My name's Charlotte."

Charlotte was not, by most standards, an unusual girl. But by chance, she had obtained a very unusual phone.

Chapter Text

Introducing Rala De to her parents, and explaining the situation, had been... a little awkward, though they didn't freak out too much. They just took Charlotte's phone from her and called the PRT. Rala had talked with them both while they waited, assuring them that he intended no harm, before there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get that," her father said, walking to the foyer. "Oh! Yes, hello, come in, please."

Charlotte looked over at couldn't help a shocked gasp. Yes, it made sense that Armsmaster would get involved--the phone was probably tinkertech--but he was still a hero! Standing in her house! This was--well, okay, it wasn't the best day ever, but it was definitely one of the most memorable ones.

"Hello Armsmaster, uh, it's--it's nice to meet you, and, uh, hi," she managed.

Rala De examined the armored man thoughtfully. "Is he a member of the PRT you told me about?"

"Yes," said Charlotte, at the same time Armsmaster said "No." When she gave him a confused look, he sighed. "The confusion is understandable, as the Protectorate and the PRT do work closely together, but strictly speaking the Parahuman Response Team is tasked with handling Parahuman incidents, while the Protectorate is meant to serve as a national support organization for Parahumans."

"Ah." Rala De nodded in solemn understanding. "Beauracracy."

"Quite." For a moment the faintest hint of a smile crossed his lips. "Still, as the leader of the local Protectorate and a skilled Tinker, I felt it best to handle this situation. Speaking of which, may I examine the phone in question?"

"Right. Um." Charlotte took out her phone and, after a moment of hesitation, handed it over. "Here you go. The only weird app I could find on it was the 'WorldInject' one which, uh, brought Rala De here."

Armsmaster nodded, pulling something from his belt and scanning it. "Hmm. An ordinary phone, as far as I can tell..." He plugged the phone into the scanner. "There doesn't seem to be any tinker-based programming either. You said the WorldInject app?"

"Yes. Uh," Charlotte rose a finger when he tapped the screen, "are you going to press the button in this room?"

"No, I intend to simply examine the interface. Hmm..." The hero frowned, before turning the phone around. "Has it changed in any way?"

Charlotte blinked. "Well, uh... it didn't say 'only registered users may operate' before..." A suspicion grew in her mind, and she hesitantly reached out, pausing to glance at Armsmaster before she took the phone back. At his resigned nod, she carefully picked up the phone. "And the warning is... gone now, okay."

"Hm. That could be problematic," Armsmaster muttered. "I'd like to take you and the phone to the rig, for further testing on this Injection function--to see if we can determine anything about how it works."

"The rig?" Rala De inquired.

"The local headquarters for the Protectorate," Armsmaster explained. "A repurposed oil tanker just off the coast."

"Ah, I see." The Kaminoan idly stroked the base of his neck. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but I would like to discuss the specifics about how my situation is being handled."

"Of course. Fortunately, I believe we can also accomplish that on the rig."

"I... I'm not sure he'll fit in our car," Charlotte's father admitted, looking up at the tall alien. "Not safely, I mean."

Armsmaster nodded in acknowledgment. "That is why I brought a spare helmet."

Rala De drew his head back warily. "What kind of transport requires a helmet?"

Motorcycles, Rala De had decided, were most certainly not acceptable transportation devices.

Oh, he could acknowledge the value of an agile and speedy vehicle, especially when piloted by a singular combat-trained person, and the swift response time they provided was crucial in both military engagements and nonmilitary peacekeeping. But a speeder bike, at least, kept the rider away from the dangers of the terrain, and was far smoother besides. That this motorcycle was favored by one of the local defense force members spoke volumes of exactly how advanced the technology of this planet truly was. His opinion was only furthered when he was informed the results of his blood test would take at least a day to come back--even away from Kamino, a genetic analysis usually took mere hours, and he was used to a society where a full genome could be mapped in minutes!

At least the paperwork was expedited swiftly enough. Apparently there were enough 'case 53s'--amnesiac individuals with significantly nonhuman biology--that the PRT had standardized their reintroduction to society, and applying that paperwork to his situation was relatively easy. The limited stipend he received would have to do until he managed to obtain employment, though...

He had a few ideas in that regard.

For now, however, he was in the observation room, watching with interest as Shiarlett nervously placed her phone on the examination pedestal.

"Okay, so... everything's hooked up?" she asked. "The cameras and... science scanners?"

One of the scientists nodded. "Everything's good to go. You can press the button whenever you're ready."

Rala De watched with interest as Shiarlett, bracing herself, brought her finger down.

Chapter Text

Meloetta was quite annoyed by the way everyone was treating her and her new trainer.

Alright, so this strange world didn't have pokemon, or pokeballs, fine. And yes, it was a little suspicious that a mysterious phone wound up at her house, just to summon her and the tall not-pokemon. As much as art needed to be free, science was based on study, and she understood why people wanted to keep an eye on her.

But the idea of keeping her separate from Charlotte? Absolutely unconscionable! They may not have the cultural background to understand why, but the bond between a pokemon and their chosen partner was... well, special! Precious, even! The songs that had been written, could be written, about it, they echoed across the ages, and these, these, these pestulant bureaucrats would see them separated for what, a presumed authority and claims of safety? Fie! Fie and folly! Were they not so ignorant, she would have spent an entire aria on the art of shaming them!

Thankfully enough, one of the other pokemon--a Latias, which was quite the thing--had managed to communicate far more directly their own opinion on the situation.

"The pokeball is a symbol of the sacred bond and promise between a trainer and a pokemon," she explained. "We tend to have passive minds, falling into a routine or a pattern as a species and simply opting to exist as we are--be it a dangerous predator, a wondrous guardian, or a simple beast. Yet humans, with a lively and motivated mentality, can give us purpose, motivation, a brief look into what we could be. They are promise and potential, and we pokemon defend and support that potential as best we can. So the fact that Charlotte summoned our pokeballs--even if by accident--suggests that she has a grand potential indeed, and we are culturally dutybound to serve and protect her."

The other pokemon agreed vehemently, with even the Deoxys nodding.

"Um." Charlotte rose her hand. "I'm... flattered, really, but I... well. I don't know how to take care of a bunch of, um... alien life forms. Also we don't exactly have room in the house for... all of you..."

"Perhaps a compromise," offered the Latios, hovering next to his sister. "The pokemon league limits the number of pokemon a trainer can carry on their journey, but extraneous members are granted housing at special facilities. Given that the league does not exist here, I propose... a two-pokeball limit, for the moment, with the rest of us remaining somewhere the Protectorate can keep an eye on us."

The Armsmaster human had shown a flash of irritation, but eventually nodded. "I will make the arrangements, though I'll have to ask any of you that wish to be... carried by miss Charlotte consent to power testing first. As a precaution." He sighed, rubbing his temples wryly. "I'm not sure if we should keep testing the phone at this rate..."

Eventually though, despite his hesitation, he decided to allow it. Meloetta and the Smeargle opted to remain in the testing room while she pressed the button, both to see what would happen themselves and, well, in case she summoned something of dangerous remit. True, they were the least powerful of the pokemon available but, in all honesty, that wasn't saying much--and their small size helped reassure the scientists that things were still under control.

Charlotte swallowed, looking up at the observation room. "I think an hour's added to the autoinjection timer every time I hit the button?"

"We did notice that, yes," Armsmaster agreed. "You are cleared to activate the device when ready."

With a wary cringe, Charlotte reached out and tapped the phone.

13-3: Team SSSN (pronounced "Sun") is a team of students from Haven Academy in Mistral. The team is composed of Sun Wukong, Scarlet David, Sage Ayana, Neptune Vasilias and, unofficially, Nolan Porfirio. Coco Adel finds Team SSSN to be a mediocre team of Huntsmen, primarily in fault due to Sun Wukong's lack thereof leadership to serve as a glue between them, unlike Team CFVY which is a unified group.

Due to the low roll, Team SSSN do not arrive on Earth Bet. Instead, a copy of their school records from Haven, Beacon, and Shade appears, with commentary by their teachers and headmasters where appropriate. There are occasional diagrams and photos when needed, but for the most part it's quite a lot of text.

After a brief amount of beeping, a large folder manifested in front of Charlotte--who barely managed to catch it. "Uh... I've got a folder here labeled Team... S S S N."

"Interesting. Do you mind handing it off to one of our personnel?"

"Oh, uh, of course." Charlotte awkwardly smiled at the scientist she gave the folder to. "Here you go. Um. Is this... bad?"

"Given that both Rala De and the... pokeballs both appear to have come from another world, it's likely these documents do as well. On the off chance you manage to 'inject' something from the same world, having some intelligence on how it works might very well be invaluable."

"...Oh."

"In any case," Armsmaster continued, "seeing as the phone doesn't summon living creatures every time it's activated, I feel it might be best to attempt to push the 'autoinject' timer up to its maximum, to see what that might be."

"...Right, yeah, of course." With a swallow, Charlotte reached out and tapped the phone again.

18-18: The Medieval Tournament is a medieval game involving a head-to-head conflict between two knight parties mounting horses. Lifting purple white-spiraled lances, the combatants aim to disarm the opponent in order to unbalance them, since the one left standing is declared the victor. The tourney is officiated by a pretend-king grandpa, who mandates over the three trumpeters responsible for the fanfare.

Charlotte suddenly has all the skills necessary to build and participate in this Medieval tournament, including carpentry, armorsmithing, horse riding, horse building (Phineas and Ferb is a wacky show), knowledge of how to order the supplies, the proper use of a lance, and decent martial aim. Basically she's suddenly got knight training. And can build horses. Yeah.

"AUGH!"

Meloetta and Smeargle rushed to Charlotte's side as she flinched away from the phone, concern on their faces.

"Miss Charlotte--"

"I'm alright! I'm... uh... alright." Charlotte winced. "It's just, um... I just learned how to do a lot of things, right now. It didn't hurt, it was just--overwhelming."

Armsmaster didn't reply for a moment. "...You learned how to do things."

"Yeah, um... horse riding, jousting, how to build a jousting arena, how to make armor..." Charlotte frowned for a moment. "Basically, I can build and participate in a jousting tournament, given the resources."

"...I see. Are you sure you aren't feeling anything... unusual?"

"Aside from the sudden knowledge? No, I'm fine." She glanced at the phone. "The timer doesn't seem to be maxed out, should I, uh...?"

"...one more press," Armsmaster finally decided.

"Right, um... here I go...."

16-4: Grace's Birthday Party Part 4 - Hold On Hope: Comic for Friday, May 26, 2006 is a wordless montage of people leaving the room one or two at a time until only Elliot and Sarah are left. It's also the beginning of a series of events that end up with a large number of teenagers realizing things about their sexual identities and relationship to the concept of love. And they're at a genderbending birthday party for a squirrel alien girl. No, I'm not explaining, read the comic yourself.

Charlotte gains LIMITED AMORASENSE, which means she becomes aware of repressed or unrealized romantic/sexual/gender identity issues of anybody in a very small range. Basically, if she's in the room with somebody who has affections for somebody else they aren't acting on, she knows. Also she can genderbend people, but ONLY on their birthday! I'm sure neither of these are ever going to become relevant...

"...Uh..." Charlotte frowned, looking at the phone. "Well, uh... eight hours seems to be the maximum time limit for the autoinject... thingy," she finally said.

"You don't feel any different? No new knowledge?"

"...Not as far as I can tell?" she looked around. "Did anything appear? Am I missing something?"

"Nothing appears to have shown up," Armsmaster muttered. "Still... do you mind opening the 'list of injections' feature?"

"Uh, sure?" Charlotte complied carefully, looking at the screen. "Oh. Oh! Oh, uh--"

Meloetta caught the shift of emotions as she took in the list, going from understanding to realization to, well, embaressment. Curious, she reached above her and pulled herself up, bracing herself on the pedastal as she took in the list on the phone herself.

• Rala De: An expert in genetic sciences and skilled educator in the ways of the force.
• Fusion Build And Strike Force: Five powerful pokemon willing to support their master.
• Team SSSN Transcripts: The scholarly records of Haven Academy's prettiest boys.
• Medieval Tournament: Knowledge of how to build and participate in a jousting competition.
• Eggcracker: The ability to know about others what they don't know about themselves, and show them things from the other side when they gain a year.

"Um. Well." Charlotte cleared her throat awkwardly, running her hand through her hair as she glanced anywhere but the screen. "That's... uh. Aheheh, that's..."

Meloetta turned to her trainer, who was quickly developing quite the impressive blush, and a languid grin slowly grew on her own face. "Loet taaaaaaa?" she asked, a teasing lilt to her tone.

"Wh-what? Uh. I--that, that's interesting!" Charlotte said quickly. "Interesting, fascinating, let's uh, yeah, um. This is all classified, right?" she asked, quickly looking around at the scientists--most of whom were rolling their eyes. "We don't have to, uh, talk to anybody about this? Ever?"

"I will have to discuss this with Director Piggot," Armsmaster replied, straightfaced.

Charlotte wilted.

"Mel, mel," Meloetta reassured her, patting her shoulder gently.

In the back of her mind, however, she couldn't help a growing, manic glee. Love--oh love!--was such a common motivation for the invention of dance and song, and now her trainer was blessed with the ability to sense the souls suffering from the love kept in the dark. Already, cadences and crescendos were weaving themselves in her mind, of all sorts and purposes, just waiting to be sung to those who needed to hear them. Sure, Charlotte would be hesitant at first--all artists were, save those who started young--but in time, in perfect time, Meloetta could see her bringing the longing together with perfect musical accompaniment.

Promise and potential indeed, she thought to herself happily, as Charlotte collapsed in an embarrassed groan.

Chapter Text

Emily Piggot sighed when her phone rang, putting aside the current budget reports before tapping a button. "Piggot here."

"Director, this is Armsmaster. I have a preliminary report on a new person of interest."

"Another parahuman?"

"Not... quite. I'm sending you the file now."

The director quirked an eyebrow as she turned to her computer screen, reading over the preliminary threat assessment, raising an eyebrow halfway through the first sentence. Her expression continued to grow more and more incredulous as she went further through the summary paragraph... and then she hit the first threat rating.

"Trump six plus?"

"Yes, Emily. A very flexible and paradoxically limited trump power, admittedly, and one that currently doesn't present any danger, but--"

"--but randomly injecting things can and will cause gradual growth in capability, yes, I can see. And these other ratings she has, they're accurate?"

"Insofar as we can tell. We weren't able to test the supposed blaster/striker ability, but there are certain individuals who have volunteered to see how effective it is during the next week. I've also had her list the supplies she claims she needs to build a jousting arena, and I intend to place an order and find a suitable location to confirm that ability."

Emily sighed. "I'd say it's a frivolous expense, but if she did gain knowledge of jousting she might need a combat thinker or a striker rating. It'll be coming out of your tinkering budget, though." She frowned, looking at the list again. "And she has a functional gaydar?"

"It is capable of assessing far more than repressed homosexuality, but yes, we were able to confirm that. It only extends to essentially anybody within the same room as her, but it appears to be very accurate." A rare hint of humor entered Armsmaster's voice. "That and the blaster/striker ability were actually 'injected' at the same time, as the same thing. The phone labeled it 'Eggcracker.'"

"Well, the girl's either going to be very popular or very unpopular with the queers," Emily muttered. "If she joins the Wards I'll have to call Chambers and get an expert. Speaking of which, did you give her the pitch?"

"Not yet. Given the nature of the situation, I felt it best not to pressure her or her family for the time being. I did, however, offer them an overnight room on the rig while we monitor the phone's autoinject timer and work with establishing the paperwork for the numerous individuals that have been brought to our world."

"Yes, I'm getting to that section." The director sighed. "Six people? Six?"

"In fairness, five of them arrived in a group. Rala De is the exception."

"Ah, the biotinker."

Armsmaster sighed. "That isn't quite correct, director."

"Really."

"Rala De's knowledge of genetics and cloning... I think the best way to describe it is to say it's to biotinkering what NASA rocket science is to ordinary tinkering. By which I mean NASA before the Simurgh shut things down, of course."

"So he's not going to flood the city with clones," Emily said dryly.

"I did take the liberty of explaining Elisburg to him. He was highly offended and horrified when he heard about it, claiming it was almost like a bastardization of what proper cloning should be."

Emily leaned back, rubbing her temples. "Well, given his apparent space-age knowledge requires space-age tools, I suppose he isn't a threat at the moment. And the other five were summoned at the same time?"

"Yes, that... is correct."

Noting the wary note in his tone, the director leaned forward. "Is there an issue?"

"The five 'pokemon' arrived in 'pokeballs', handheld spheroids that converted them from their actual size into contained energy... and when the situation was explained, they decided that the girl was their trainer. They were... unnervingly direct about their loyalty."

"...you think they were mastered."

"Possibly," Armsmaster admitted. "I don't think they were mastered by the phone, Rala De has demonstrated no such loyalties to the girl, but the pokeballs themselves... there's something offputting about them. Especially since the pokemon seemed very offended by the idea of allowing us to examine one."

"Do they work on humans?"

"Unknown. From Latias' words, though, I suspect the answer might be no."

The director tapped her finger on the desk. "...Ask them whether the pokeballs work on humans when you have the time. And if the answer's no, drop it. We're stretching our mandate as is." She brushed over the listed threat assessment. "Although I suppose it's necessary in this case... where do they get their powers?"

"Apparently it's a combination of innate abilities and training. The ratings are a... simplification of multiple techniques they have."

"Well, that's concerning," Piggot muttered. "That means they could develop new techniques, doesn't it?"

"I'm not sure of the mechanics behind it, but it is a possibility," Armsmaster admitted. "In regards to the girl, they've agreed to limit her to having only two members around her at a time, while the other three remain at the rig--apparently it's not an unfamiliar restriction to them."

"So, in the very best case, she'll only have a personal bard slash guardian and a Trump 7+, instead of also having a pair of invisible telepathic speedster dragons and a psychokinetic shapeshifter." She sighed. "It says a lot that the trump is probably the least dangerous member of that group. And then there's... this team S S S N file. I assume you're scanning it into the system?"

"Not... quite yet. I'm preparing a case file for all these phenomena. But I have taken a moment to review it, as well as create a preliminary possible rating for the team in question."

"Of course. What have you got?"

"If I'm interpreting this correctly, all four members of team S S S N would warrant a minimum of a Brute 3 rating for some sort of protective field they call 'aura', as well as a minor Tinker rating due to their weaponry. They'd also have individual additional ratings--Master 3, Shaker 3, and Mover 1--I'm not sure about the fourth individual, nothing seems to have been mentioned. They did apparently 'take on' a fifth individual after his team perished in... something called the Fall of Beacon." The man grumbled with annoyance. "Unfortunately, a lot of this is written in such a manner as to assume the reader is already familiar with the background."

Emily allowed herself a small, amused smile. "A common issue in research, I understand. Keep me in the loop."

"Of course, director. According to the phone, the Autoinjection should be in five hours and fourty seven minutes."

"Hmm. That should be around ten this evening... I'll probably be asleep by then," she admitted. "I'll tell Renick to stay up late, in case we get a starship or something."

"Very well. Have a good evening, director."

Hanging the phone up, Emily leaned back in her chair.

"...this is going to cause so much paperwork," she grumbled.

Chapter Text

Charlotte suppressed a yawn as she looked at the clock, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She was usually asleep by now, but she felt obligated to stay awake until the autoinjection happened, just in case she was needed for some reason. Still… if nothing happened in the next few minutes she'd probably just zonk out—

A sudden vvvworp sound drew her attention to the small nightstand in the apartment. There, impossibly, was her phone. And as she stared, dumbfounded, two updates came up.

--App WorldInject: AutoInject Timer has counted down! Automatically shifting interface to closest registered user!
--App WorldInject: Injecting....

Charlotte barely had a chance to blink before she was no longer alone in the room. She stared in shock at the absolutely adorable grey animal with mismatched golden eyes before her, watching it stumble about on broad hooves as it fluttered its wings nervously.

Then the creature looked up, catching sight of her.

"EEEK! A GIANT FERRET!"

It leapt into the air, wings flapping rapidly as it backed into a corner. Charlotte flinched when its rear end hit a wall and, somehow, caused it to crack a little.

"...Okay, calm down a moment--"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?! And how can you talk?! I didn't think ferrets could talk!"

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Okay. First of all: I am not a ferret. I'm a human."

"A what?"

"A... you know what, that's not important right now. Secondly, you are--if you'd care to look around--not in your house."

The flappy hooved thing looked around. "...Waaaaaaaaait. Did you kidnap me?!"

"No!" Charlotte objected, and then thought for a moment. "Maybe," she corrected herself, "but not on purpose!"

"You kidnapped me on accident?!"

"...Um." She grimaced, shrugging awkwardly. "Maaaaaaaybeeeeeee?"

"Oh, okay."

Charlotte blinked as the gray thing landed. "...wait, okay? That's just--you're just going to accept that? No questions asked?"

"Well if it was an accident, then you're not holding me here, so I can just go home, right?"

"...Uh... about that..."

Armsmaster sighed as he knocked on the door. "Miss Charlotte? Are you awake?"

"Unfortunately," the teenager replied, opening the door. "Let me guess, you're here for the phone?"

"So it is here. We recorded it passing through a portal when the autoinject timer went to zero. Speaking of which..."

Charlotte sighed, stepping aside. "Armsmaster, meet Derpy Hooves. She's a pegasus pony, apparently."

Armsmaster quirked an eyebrow as the winged equinoid hovered up to him and examined his armor with surprisingly large eyes. "Are you a guard?"

"That would not be an inaccurate statement. I assume Charlotte has... explained the situation?"

Derpy nodded. "Somebody mailed her a magic artifact and now the city's dealing with the consequences. Happens all the time in Ponyville."

"...all the time," Armsmaster repeated, trying to process that.

"Well, we do live next to the Everfree Forest, so it's not really that weird."

"...I can tell I'll have a lot to ask you. You understand that we cannot guarantee your return to your world at this time."

Derpy sighed. "Yeah, I know. I hope it doesn't take too long to get back, I don't want to lose my job."

"...yes," Armsmaster agreed. "Quite. In the interim, however, we can arrange lodging and some citizenship paperwork."

"Oh, good!"

"We'll just need to go over some paperwork and ask some questions, of course."

"Okay!"

"Uh..." Charlotte rose a hand awkwardly. "What about the phone...?"

"Would you mind telling me how much time is on the Autoinject timer?"

"Oh! Right, uh--" Charlotte rushed for the nightstand, picking the phone up. "Let's see... a little less than seven hours? Wait, that means it was at seven hours about the time Derpy got here..."

"An interesting data point. That suggests the autoinject function will reset the timer minus an hour every time it goes off."

Charlotte sighed. "Well, there goes my average of eight hours of sleep. Especially if the thing is just going to teleport to me every time the timer goes off."

"It teleported to the 'closest registered user'," Armsmaster noted. "If you find a way to register other users, perhaps you can get a decent night of sleep."

"I'll let you know if I figure it out," Charlotte snarked. "Sorry, it--it's been a long day. Do you... should I top the timer off?"

"I would prefer you do so under observation, if you choose to do so at all."

Charlotte nodded. "Right, right. Let's head down to the observation lab, and," she yawned, "aaand get this over with..."

In the end, they agreed to two more injections. The first was labeled Special Ability, and its description was not at all useful.

"Inbuilt skills that will reveal themselves at the appropriate time." Charlotte looked up from the screen. "What the hell could that mean?"

The second, however, got a raised eyebrow from everyone just from the name alone.

"Shoreline Entrance?" Charlotte looked around at the scientists. "What, is there a tunnel on the beach now?"

"We'll have to investigate," Armsmaster replied. "Perhaps add a shaker rating to your assessment."

"I was expecting more sparkles," Derpy admitted. "Magic sparkles a lot, you know?"

"...of course it does."

Charlotte sighed. "Well, at least the timer's back up to full. I'm going to head back to the apartment and get some sleep." She started to head off, before pausing at the door. "Should I take the phone with me? Since, you know, it looks like it's going to teleport to me no matter what I do..."

"Actually, I prefer you leave it with me," Armsmaster told her. "While we are still going over the recent scans, more data is always useful. Especially if we switch to more specialized scanning technology."

"Oh. Yeah, I'm sure you know what you're doing. You're the expert, after all." Charlotte gave Derpy a look. "You going to be alright if I leave you with him?"

"I think so." Derpy looked at Armsmaster with a mockery of suspicion. "You're not going to do mad science to me, are you?"

"I assure you, all power testing is perfectly sane." Armsmaster glanced at the clock. "That said, it is very late. If you like, we can just go over your dietary and medical needs while I arrange for an apartment for you..."

Charlotte left the two of them talking, yawning as she walked down the hall. Hopefully, things would make more sense tomorrow... hopefully.

Chapter Text

The individual codenamed Gachapon was delivered a phone through suspiciously convenient means, and remained unaware of its nature until she activated an unknown but apparently tinkertech program on the phone. The program automatically registered her as a user, preventing any other individual from willingly using it, and provides a list of its effects. The phone also automatically teleports to the nearest registered user after a given period of time since the last use. Gachapon herself is not a parahuman, but instead is an ordinary person accidentally granted parahuman-like powers, which will be treated as per normal in the following assessment.

Gachapon

• Trump 6+, Type Infinity/Nine/Ten: Gachapon's phone can and will 'inject' a random thing from another world into reality. This can take the form of an individual or an object, or Gachapon might gain a set of knowledge or an ability. The exact mechanics of this are unknown, but Gachapon can choose to either activate it at will or wait until the phone 'autoinjects' after a set amount of time. Aside from the individuals listed below, Gachapon has gained the following skills and abilities:
  • Tinker 1-2: Gachapon has the knowledge required to build a functional jousting arena and set of jousting equipment, as well as participate in a jousting tournament. None of this is strictly tinkertech, but an armed knight is still an armed knight. [Note: While this has been recorded and reported by Gachapon, it has not yet been tested.]
  • Thinker 1: Gachapon is able to detect and determine repressed or hidden sexual or gender-related issues in individuals within a short range, with unfailing accuracy.
  • Blaster/Striker 0+ [Speculative]: The wording of one of the effects implies Gachapon may be able to alter the sexual anatomy of an individual on the anniversary of their birth. Further testing is required to determine the full scope of this ability.
  • Shaker 3+: Gachapon's injections can take the form of permanent environmental alterations. While apparently harmless in and of themselves, it is unclear what would happen if she were to inject a dangerous location.

In addition to the above abilities, Gachapon has summoned the following individuals:

Rala De
A tall humanoid extra-terrestrial, self-identifying as a 'Kaminoan'. Although he demonstrates no actual superpowers, his education and status as a member of another world does provide him with effective equivalents. While he does seem fond of Gachapon, he has expressed no desire to 'remain on her team' and has stated his intent to seek employment at a nearby university for the time being.

• Thinker 0+: Rala De is knowledgeable in a number of esoteric fields, with notable expertise in meditation, basic self-defense, and biological sciences. By his standards he is merely an average member of society, but he does rank above average for human education in his narrow fields.
  • Tinker 0+: Rala De specializes in genetic sciences to a high degree, and is not only capable of mapping genomes with unprecedented accuracy but has also provided rough blueprints for mass cloning equipment and facilities. This is apparently a species trait, due to cultural and evolutionary pressures.

Meloetta
A diminutive humanoid, apparently a member one of many races collectively known as 'pokemon'. Meloetta is both an individual name and the name of the species, as far as can be divined. As her name implies, Meloetta is a practitioner and connoisseur of music, as well as a decent dancer, and apparently serves as a cultural muse on her homeworld. Alongside the other pokemon summoned, she has declared Gachapon to be her 'trainer', essentially making her a member of Gachapon's personal staff.

• Changer 2:Meloetta can switch between her standard form and a slightly different martial form, differentiated by a shift of her hair and eye color from pale green to a reddish-orange. These two stances, dubbed 'Aria' and 'Pirouette', do not change her body shape, but do apparently alter her physical and psychic capabilities.
  • Blaster 2-5: Meloetta is capable of channeling psychic power through her voice, creating physical force that can variably shatter glass, push back targets, or cause certain objects to rattle apart. This ability is much weaker in Pirouette form.
  • Striker 2-5: Meloetta can deliver rapid series of strikes in a matter akin to a master martial artist or dancer, with the power behind them greatly increased in her Pirouette form.
• Master 3: Meloetta is capable of influencing the emotional state of people around her through her songs. She cannot directly command them, but her songs tend to communicate concepts on a more fundamental level than speech.
• Mover 1: Meloetta has a natural grace and is an expert dancer, allowing her a high degree of acrobatic prowess.

Deoxys
A semi-inorganic pseudo humanoid, apparently a member of one of many races collectively known as 'pokemon'. Deoxys is apparently the name ascribed to the species, and the individual themself communicates primarily through psychic 'impressions' rather than any sort of language. From a biological perspective, Deoxys is comprised of a central 'wireframe' structure, with orange cartilage and teal musculature being controlled by a central gemstone to form the rest of the body. Alongside the other pokemon summoned, they have declared Gachapon to be their 'trainer', essentially making them a member of Gachapon's personal staff.

• Changer 6:Deoxys is capable of altering the distribution of their orange and teal parts at will, extending and retracting them across their body within a number of limited but variable frameworks. Their general average form preference falls on the low end of the following ratings, but they are capable of taking an offensively oriented form, a defensively oriented form, and a speed-oriented form, each of which rachets up the corresponding rating to its maximum.
  • Blaster 5-7: Deoxys is capable of generating beams of psychic force, effectively rattling individual targets. The power of these beams is ratcheted up extensively when in the offensive form.
  • Brute 2-6: Deoxys can shift around injured portions of their body to keep them contained until they can heal. Alternatively, in the defensive form, they can generate a thick armored shell of their orange cartilage.
  • Mover 5-9: Deoxys is capable of limited teleportation, even in their average form. In speed form, they are capable of rapid motion and fast land speeds on top of that.

Latios & Latias
A brother and sister pair of creatures resembling the midpoint between avians and stealth jet bombers. They are members of one of the many races collectively known as pokemon, with Latios being the male and Latias being the female. As the only pair capable of speaking english, through a form of telepathy, Latias and Latios have served as the primary source of information regarding their world. Alongside the other pokemon summoned, they have declared Gachapon to be their 'trainer', essentially making them members of Gachapon's personal staff.

• Stranger 2: While both Latias and Latios have a stranger rating, they achieve it through slightly different mechanics. Latias uses her feathery down to refract light, and is capable of posing as a human girl or going invisible using this method. Latios, however, prefers to directly project images into the mind of the viewer, essentially 'overlapping' his body with the background. As they are members of the same species, it is possible that both are capable of each method.
• Mover 8: Latias and Latios are both capable of flight at speeds matching or exceeding jet fighters, and levitate a small amount even when at rest. This may be related to their lack of actual legs.
• Blaster 4: Latias and Latios can spit pulses of energy from their mouths, with matching destructive potential. They are fortunately fully in control of this at all times.

Smeargle
A bipedal canid with a long tail ending in a paintbrush-like tuft, apparently a member of one of many races collectively known as 'pokemon'. Whether Smeargle has a personal name is unclear, as his species developed a complicated pictography using the liquid that gathers in their tail as ink before any sort of audial language. Alongside the other pokemon summoned, he has declared Gachapon to be his 'trainer', essentially making him a member of Gachapon's personal staff.

• Trump 7+, Type Three: Smeargle is capable of replicating any powered technique he observes. This is not the same as replicating a 'power', he can only use the power in the manner demonstrated and not in another manner, even if he is aware of other manners in which to use it. He is also only capable of keeping a limited number of said techniques at a time, apparently maxing out at four 'moves' for unknown reasons. However, he can overwrite any of his moves if he observes a technique he would like to replicate, and he can learn a new technique immediately upon observing it.

Derpy Hooves
A quadrupedal equinoid with additional feathery wings, self-identifying as a 'pegasus pony'. Derpy Hooves has apparently accepted her current status without complaint, as the situation is apparently very similar to things that happen in her home of Ponyville. She mostly seems concerned with practical issues, such as employment.

• Mover 3: Derpy Hooves is capable of flight, though mostly at speeds roughly equivalent to her running speed (which, admittedly, is much faster than that of a human's). She does have a somewhat significant degree of aerial agility, to the point where she claims to have once represented her town in a flight-based sporting event.
• Striker/Shaker 5: Derpy Hooves has demonstrated the ability to physically manipulate clouds and condensation, making them rain or produce lightning through direct contact. She is also capable of walking or even sleeping on them. In addition to this, Derpy can draw wheeled vehicles through the air in direct defiance of gravity, so long as the vehicle is not too heavy for her to move on the ground.
• Brute/Striker 2: Derpy Hooves has significant physical strength and endurance, able to drag large masses along and run for long distances, and can use this strength in physical combat. She is also capable of surviving a degree of electrocution. It should be noted that she does not have any significant 'shielding' or 'regeneration,' simply being a very healthy example of her species.
• Thinker 0+ [Speculative]: Ponies of Derpy Hooves' homeworld gain an icon that enhances their skills in a specific specialty during puberty. Derpy Hooves has claimed that her mark represents her ability to find positive aspects to negative situations, which may suggest a degree of resistance to some form of mastering or an ability to find poor situations. This is, however, speculative.

Other Items
Aside from the above, Gachapon has also summoned the following items:

• A file of academic records for Team S S S N, comprised of four (later five) individuals of early college age attending what seem to be multiple trade schools devoted to creating special operatives who fight creatures known as 'Grimm'.
• Five 'pokeballs', each associated with one of the above pokemon, capable of containing their associated pokemon in the form of a compressed energy field. A singular pokeball can be held in one hand and 'opened' with its singular button.

Strategy
In the event that Gachapon must be restrained, most normal police methods should work. However, her list of allies may make such actions difficult. Focus should be given on separating her from her phone and any allies in the area. Upon containment, Gachapon must be monitored to register every new 'Injection' that comes into play.

Notes
Gachapon has thus far been cooperative and concerned about the nature of her situation. She is unlikely to engage in cape culture or break the law any time soon.

Chapter Text

Rala De blinked at the grey... creature cheerfully chewing a salad. True, the galaxy he had come from was filled with strange forms of life, and the pokemon also at the table were even stranger than most, but he'd never before witnessed a sapient creature that lacked any sort of hands or other grasping appendage. Although, perhaps the wings could serve--they were certainly too small to be anything but vestigial.

Shiarlett met his eyes with a tired smile. "Everyone, meet Derpy Hooves, the pony that got summoned to my bedroom yesterday evening. Derpy, this is Rala De, Latias, Latios, Meloetta, Deoxys, and Smeargle."

"Hello!" Derpy chirped brightly, waving a foreleg.

"Ah... hello." Rala De waved a hand back. "A pleasure to meet you." His statement was echoed by various chants of names from the pokemon--an odd form of communication, to be sure.

"You all got summoned by the magic phone as well, right?"

"Well, I don't know if it's magic--"

"It might as well be," Shiarlett grumbled, stabbing her fork into some meat. "Aliens, ponies, and mysterious skills. I'm supposed to be building a jousting arena later, and I'm pretty sure some of the stuff I asked Armsmaster to order isn't for jousting... but for some reason I felt it might be vital." She bit the meat off her fork with some irritation. "Apparently 'powers are mysterious' and Armsmaster ordered the stuff anyway."

"Ah, yes, that was one of your most recent injections," Rala De recalled. "Jousting... I must admit I'm unfamiliar with it."

"Historical sport. Two people in plate armor ride horses and try to knock each other off with lances."

"Horses?"

"Domesticated beasts of burden. Been around since our pre-history..." Shiarlett snorted. "Actually, there's a breed of horse called 'ponies', if you can believe it."

"There are ponies on this world?" Derpy asked.

"Not like you," Shiarlett explained quickly. "Animals. Different facial structure, no wings... I'd show you a picture if I had my phone--"

As if on cue, the object itself vvvworped into existence in front of her.

"Oh, right," she groaned. "The phone teleports to me whenever the autoinject timer hits zero."

"Convenient," Rala De noted.

"Sure, but Armsmaster is probably going to be very upset..." Shiarlett sighed, picking up the device. "Let's see what I got this time..."

20-7: The August 11, 2022 Patch is a minor post-beta patch, reverting the changes for Moira in July 11, 2022 Patch. As it is a 'power tweaking' roll, Charlotte can now modify the powers of a parahuman... once. As in, she can only do it one time, to one parahuman, and then she can never do it again (unless she gets a very similar injection). Maybe if she'd rolled higher than a seven, she'd get to keep the power, but...

"Power patch: A one-time adjustment of a singular... powered individual's... abilities." The girl's eyes widened as she read the label. "Can only be used once."

"...That sounds... potent," Rala De mused.

Shiarlett put the phone down. "Yeah. Wow. That's... Armsmaster's probably going to freak out when he hears about that one."

"Loett mel ta?"

Shiarlett looked at the small humanoid for a moment. "...We have got to get you guys some sort of translator." With a sigh, she turned back to her meal. "I'm just... going to finish this up. Before Armsmaster calls me in for more tests..."

"Is there an issue?" Rala De asked, concerned.

"My entire schedule is being upended because of random interversal additions to reality," Shiarlett explained dryly, "and I am a teenager."

"Ah. Of course." Rala De gave her a wry smile. "Well, I wish you the best of luck."

Just as Charlotte had predicted, Armsmaster was more than significantly concerned with the latest injection. "If properly applied, this could change... many things," he admitted. "I think this information will need to be handed off to my superiors for consideration."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Charlotte agreed. "Is there anything else?"

"You did agree to demonstrate your ability to build a jousting arena. To that end, we'll be driving you to a nearby location, with the materials you said would be necessary."

"Right. Um." Charlotte glanced behind her. "...What's... going to happen to everybody I... summoned?"

"We're calling in a medical expert to examine them. After that... well, Rala De is certainly going to take some assessment tests, to see how his education stacks up to modern standards, and is likely to be given a civilian identity once that's done. The others... I'd like to say they would go through a similar process, but that depends on whether they are interested."

Charlotte quirked a brow. "Interested? I thought it'd be mandatory."

"The pokemon don't seem to have such concerns," Armsmaster pointed out.

"...right." Charlotte shook her head. "I... guess that's a good point. Sorry, I'm just... actual aliens, and law regarding their treatment... I've just been thinking."

"It is a pertinent and intriguing subject. In any event..." Armsmaster gestured for her to follow. "We should be heading off to test your jousting-related skills."

"Right, right. Just let me check in with my parents and then I'll be ready to go..."

When they finally arrived at the warehouse, Charlotte headed to the supplies gathered around the center of the room. She'd never been the most craft-oriented of girls, and she knew for a fact that she had not once touched a saw, but somehow the moment she touched the toolbox everything... clicked, in her head. In less than an hour the jousting arena was constructed, and a suit of armor had been set aside for her to wear once she was done finishing up...

...the...

Charlotte blinked in shock, managing to complete her current task before backing up. "Uh... Armsmaster? Did I just build a horse?"

"You did," Armsmaster confirmed as the magnificent beast reared up in triumph. "Or at least, a very convincing animatronic. And the remaining materials, I would assume, are for constructing the horse armor."

"Uh, yeah. I should... I feel like I should finish that up," Charlotte admitted. "I mean it's there, and I don't want to waste it..."

"We are testing the full scope of this injection. If you would do so, we can run you through a few test jousts."

"Er... right."

It wasn't long before she'd properly armored the horse, and putting on her own armor was... not nearly as difficult as she would have thought it would be. She mounted the horse with ease born of practice she'd never had, quickly picking up the lance. "Uh... who am I going to be facing?" she asked in sudden realization.

Armsmaster, in answer, mounted his own horse.

Charlotte, suddenly nervous, cleared her throat. "I, uh, okay, this is safe, right? I mean, uh..."

"I have one of my practice halberds," Armsmaster assured her. "Blunted, even."

"And you can ride a horse?"

"Yes."

"...Should I even ask where you got the horse?"

"The PRT has connections with local stableries on the off chance that motorized vehicles are disabled."

"...Ooooooookay then." Swallowing her nerves, Charlotte lowered her lance. "...En garde...?"

A few minutes later, Charlotte took off her helmet with a few heavy pants. "So," she asked, "how did I do?"

"Surprisingly well," Armsmaster replied. "Admittedly, you were slightly hampered by your lack of physical conditioning, but your actual skills are roughly equivalent to a show knight's."

"Show knight, as opposed to an actual knight?" she clarified, dismounting as he did.

"I doubt you could face armed thugs in combat, let alone slay a dragon, but you could certainly impress a crowd." Armsmaster led his horse aside. "That said, showfighting can be a decent base for actual combat training."

"Like I'm actually going to mount up and go against the bad guys in the Bay," Charlotte muttered. "That's your job, isn't it?"

"Part of it, yes. If you were a member of the Wards, I could train you."

Charlotte huffed. "I'm not even a parahuman. I'm just a girl with a possibly magical phone." She put the helmet on a nearby bench. "Speaking of, do you think I should top off the autoinject?"

"How many injections would you need to do so?"

"Let me check... Two would get me to almost eight hours, three would cap it."

"Two, then."

"Alright, here goes..."

16-11: Sister 3 Part 1 - Legacy: Comic for Wednesday Jul 6 2016: The start of the Sisters III arc, which elucidates on the origin of the Immortal known as Pandora. While she spends a good portion of her life offering secrets in return for 'tasks' that mostly amount to nonsense, she does start to wonder about her legacy when her time to 'reset' approaches.

Charlotte gains the essence of early Pandora, making her a Mischievous Mystic. She will learn secrets in relation to the level of entertaining chaos that she causes, either by power or by request. The knowledge she gains are always connected to the participants of the chaos, which means if somebody wants to learn a critical piece of information they can opt to perform a ridiculous task at Charlotte's behest, and she will have an answer when they finish said ridiculous task.

"Mischievous Mystic," Charlotte read. "Through the entertainment of chaos comes the hidden wisdom of the world." She shook her head. "I have no idea what that means."

"It sounds like a thinker power of some sort," Armsmaster offered. "We may need to have further tests..."

"Maybe I should just join the Wards so I can have power testing on the regular," Charlotte groused.

"It would be unusual, but I suppose it could be arranged."

"I--" The girl blinked. "I wasn't serious."

"We'd have to talke with your parents about it first, of course," Armsmaster stated.

"Uh... m-maybe. Uh, I'm..." Charlotte waggled the phone. "I'm just gonna... do another press, right quick."

4-11: Spring Stadium Zone is the third zone in Sonic 3D Blast, an old isometric sonic game. The zone is characterized by springs, bumpers, and spike traps. The warehouse that Charlotte is currently in is now also characterized by springs, bumpers, and spike traps, in a colorful obstacle course that is hard to traverse.

Armsmaster and Charlotte managed barely to keep their balance as the building around them rippled and shifted, solidifying into a colorful grid of green and blue floor pannels interspaced with red and white checkered walls and random orange and yellow objects scattered around.