Chapter Text
A soft, orange light reached my eyes, I tried to open them as the light invaded my sight.
I groaned in pain as my hand groggily rose towards my head, trying to clear the blooming migraine that pulsed inside my brain.
My eyes moved slowly as I opened them. The soft beeping of the machinery rose in intensity for a moment. I felt my body jerk, I drew a painful breath as the oxygen burned inside my lungs.
The head kept pulsing, a throbbing pain that felt like hell. The lights in the room were blinding white. I felt something tugging at my arm as I tried to push away the mess that was my hairs from the front of my face.
I grimaced as my fingers tangled with them, I felt weak, as if my muscles refused to comply with my orders. My breath picked up pace for a couple of moments before I forced it to slow down, the haze in my eyes was slowly receding, even if, without my glasses, I couldn’t see that well anyway.
“What happened…?”
I muttered to the void, the soft noise of the air conditioning buzzed around me. I grimaced as the migraine picked up its pace. I ignored it and concentrated on where I was. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to understand that I was inside a hospital room.
The smell of antiseptics, the white sheets, the machinery, the room and the bed itself. Now all made much more sense.
My throat felt dry, I tried to call for someone to no avail. The words caught in my throat as I tried to spit them, I felt weak.
I closed my eyes for a moment and the universe expanded inside my mind. It was almost a flash. Countless formulas and projects emerged from the darkness, like flowers blooming in a meadow.
The migraine worsened and a pained groan escaped my throat. The noise echoed inside the silent halls and, soon after, a nurse walked hastily into my room.
“Ah, you’re awake, that’s good”
I pried one eye open, the figure of the nurse appeared in front of me, emerging from the same blurred haze that enveloped the room itself.
She wasn’t that tall, at least, she didn’t seem too tall. Her messy brown hair was gathered into a loose ponytail. Her face seemed sharp to me, as if she was angry or stressed about something.
“Wh-where-” My dry throat betrayed me and I let out a fit of coughing. The nurse didn’t seem to worry about that.
“Hospital, you were admitted a week ago.”
The world collapsed on me, I felt my breath catch as my heart shrunk for a moment. The nurse continued, barely acknowledging my state if not for the beeping machines that were sure to relay the data about my health.
I forced myself to calm down, the adrenaline seemed to have pushed away the tiredness for the moment. The nurse looked at the machines and wrote something on the paper near my bed.
“You were unresponsive for the majority of the time, probably something to do with the ‘conditions’ you were found in”
Her voice seemed almost bored now, I hated it. It almost seemed that she didn’t care at all about me or what had happened to me. I gritted my teeth and clenched my jaw as I tried to not think about the past, the bile was already clawing at my throat, coating it with that disgusting taste.
“But you also recovered much faster than anticipated.” The ghost of a smile colored her face. “A doctor will come any minute. If you need anything press the button on your left. Can you reach it?”
It took me a couple of painful seconds to turn around to watch the point that she had indicated. On the small nightstand, barely in my reach, stood a little red button that struck against the white color of the remote.
My hand slowly tried to reach it and brushed against the plastic, very careful not to press the button itself, before nodding towards the nurse. I caught the hint of a small smile at the edge of her lips.
“Good, don’t worry, the pain and the disorientation will disappear in a couple of hours at most.”
Her blurred face was difficult to see for me, her features kept mixing up again and again. The migraine flared up for a moment as a couple of projects for better eyes appeared in my mind.
‘That’s a can of worms for later’
I deflated on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a lot of time. The memories kept resurging and…they weren’t good, that much I knew.
A disgusting smell emerged from my memories, the noise of metal shrieking and closing around me, the skittering and chittering of insects and-
I bit my lip, the pain helped me focus, I was back on the hospital bed, no insects, no metal closing around me and no rotting smell near my nose.
“Ah, perfect, we were starting to worry, you know?”
My gaze snapped out towards the noise. The voice belonged to a quite chubby man, dressed as a doctor. His somewhat full face morphed into a frown as he read up the medical record.
“So, do you remember your name?”
I nodded before coughing again, the pain spread to my lungs for a painful moment before receding.
“Yes, Taylor Hebert.”
I realized now just how much my voice felt ragged, wrong. I could almost feel my vocal cords vibrate lightly as I spoke my name.
“Good. Do you remember what happened when you were admitted here?”
I could feel a burning lump expanding into my throat as the sensations returned in full. And, above all of them, the migraine still pulsed. I nodded again, my muscles burned for a moment.
“Can I have some water?”
The man raised his gaze from the paper, hummed for a couple of seconds before nodding towards the button.
“Click that, a nurse will come shortly after and will give you what you ask. We already called your father and will probably be here shortly.”
His voice was bored and had lost even that barest hint of interest that I had heard before. The gaze flickered towards the machines.
“I also have a painful migraine right now.”
I bit out as he scribbled something on the paper. He waved off my concerns with not too much interest.
“It’s normal, feel free to inform the nurse though. She’ll give you something for the pain.”
Another flicker of his gaze. “Well, this seems all ok, have a good day, Ms. Hebert.”
The man walked away with not too much care, muttering something under his breath as he fixed his too-small clothes.
I let out a sigh, snuggling inside the bed a bit more and ignoring the pain in my-well, everything.
It took me a couple of minutes to finally decide and call the nurse. The seconds stretched into minutes as I tried to shy away from the migraine that continued to torment me.
What was happening to me? It didn’t take a genius to understand that it wasn’t a normal pain, it was too focused, too precise in its ups and downs.
I’d read ages ago that some superheroes could develop migraines if they used their powers too much. Could this be the explanation? Was I a cape now? God I hoped not. My life was already messy enough without powers thrown into the mix.
I groaned another time, clutching my temples with my hands, they felt hot to the touch and I could feel the loud thumping of my heart echoing inside my head. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a nurse arrived.
“Do you need anything?”
Her tone was a bit softer than the other one, not by much though. I nodded before clearing out my throat.
“A glass of water, please and something for the migraine.”
I muttered as I squeezed out my eyes shut, trying to ease the pain. The lady nodded and briefly walked out of the room, she returned with a glass of lukewarm water and blisters of pills. She took out one and handed it out to me.
“This is something bland, I’m not authorized to give you anything stronger before the analysis returns, but it should be enough for the pain.”
I nodded gratefully before swallowing the bitter pill along with the water, grimacing at the pain in my throat. The nurse stepped out soon, leaving me alone with my thoughts and pain.
Slowly but surely, the memories resurfaced again, no matter how hard I pushed them down. I could feel the cold influx of data streaming inside my mind. The migraine flared up again, utterly ignoring the medicine's effect.
I felt empty, the realization that the locker had been real, that Emma pushed me inside…it was too much, too depressing to even think about it. I turned my attention to the throbbing pain in my head, happy that, at least, it could distract me for a bit.
The projects continue to hover inside my memories, answering questions that I wasn’t even asking. Still, with every answer that my ‘power’ was giving, the migraine worsened, drilling inside my head like a mole, burrowing inside my brain.
After a bit I forced myself to calm down and concentrate on the respiration. Ages ago I read that meditation could help with these kinds of things, I branded them as new age bullshit but, with no other options, it was the last sliver of hope that I could hook myself to.
I started quite easily, breathing low and deep, letting the ticking clock on the wall dictate the time of my sessions. I have to admit that, for a period, it worked. Those strange formulas and schemes disappeared from my mind, granting me some respite. I could swear to hear my brain cooling down as if I were some strange machine that threatened a burnout.
After some time, finally, the loud steps echoed in the corridor and, soon after, I saw a too-well known face entering from the door.
“Taylor!” Dad cried out as he practically flung himself into the room narrowing avoiding a ruinous fall onto my bed. “Are you ok? Please talk to me!”
A small smile appeared on my lips, barely interrupted by the twisted emotions that had made a nest inside me.
“Yeah-I mean no, I’m not ok but…” I took a deep breath “I’m managing, I woke not too long ago and-”
My gaze shied away from him, I could feel the heating shame rising up from within myself. This story was all my fault, right?
“Sorry for making you worry.”
Dad’s features softened, he shook his head lightly before speaking again.
“Don’t worry, the important thing is that you’re ok” His hand brushed against mine, gently caressing the skin as a forced smile appeared on his lips.
We remained like that for a bit, making a couple of small talk before the doctors told us that the visiting hours were over. They were quite sure that tomorrow, after the last exam, I would probably be in the clear to go home.
The migraine returned after a bit, this time, however, with nothing better to do, I decided to try a couple of things. If worst came to worst I could call a nurse and ask them for something to soothe the pain, right?
I noted that the pain worsened the more ‘answers’ my power gave me. Didn’t have the glasses and wanted to see better? Here’s some way to improve your sight.
Do you want to sneak around? Here’s a really cool invisibility device that will help you with that.
The problem was, nothing arrived alone. If I concentrated on the invisibility thing I could see how it was composed of countless little pieces and formulas. The exotic material and how to craft it, the machine to create it, how to build that same machine, what processors one needed for it, how to create those processors, and so on and so on.
So, I clenched my jaws and tanked the pain head-on as I started to carefully navigate the strange catalogue that appeared in my head.
Slowly, the pain started to fade. The more I dismissed the various ideas the more the pain receded. Apparently, all the technology that I could create had one or two starting points, not too complicated, if not for the fact that the necessary materials seemed extremely rare or needed other machines to convert them into what was necessary.
For example, while the process to make the ‘Necrodermis’ was fairly easy, it needed a large quantity of steel and a machine that I knew would be quite expensive to create. This meant that, at least for now, it was out of the question, however, with a bit of extra work, I could start and create a fairly small version of the same thing, called a ‘converter’. The problem was, it needed a fuckton of energy. I could produce it, but I needed a plasma generator. Difficult to craft and quite expensive as well.
I valued my options, would joining the Protectorate be helpful? Sure. Would it be the right choice? Probably. Did I want to? Hell no. I knew that they would never take me seriously, if the school had taught me anything was that the adults never listened to anyone younger than them.
If I were to join the heroes, they probably wouldn't listen to me, hell I can’t even be sure that they will let me build my things. My face scrunched at the thought, having all these possibilities only to never build them because of the heroes seemed a horrible thought.
My mind raced as I started to plan around the problem. While the Necrodermis seemed out of my reach for now, I could create a couple of other things, a solar panel for example or a generator that could burn down organic matter for energy.
I hummed, scratching my hands as I cursed myself for not having anything to write things on.
Between all the possible projects I also eyed a teleportation device, my eyes beamed excitedly as the device unfolded in front of me. It was fairly small and, if my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me, it could easily fit in a pocket. Its function was simple, one button that, if pressed, would transport the person to the destination receiver. I couldn’t go wherever I wanted to, but I could easily set the return portal home and escape any dangerous situation.
The tiredness started to creep in, I managed to think about another couple of things before finally, I collapsed into the bed with a large smile spread over my lips. While things were far from ok, I felt like they were going in a good direction for once.
The next day I did a couple of exams, mostly about perception and for the migraine that I was starting to get a hang of, then, exactly as promised, they permitted me to go home.
It took a couple of hours for Dad to be forced to go to work. I promised him that I would call him at the first problem. After that I started to immerse myself in this new world.
I started pacing inside the house, desperately trying to find something for me to use, unfortunately, there was nothing for me. The computer wasn’t enough and breaking it apart wouldn’t have helped in any meaningful way. The other appliances weren’t useful. I could have gone dumpster diving, but honestly, I wanted to keep it as my last option.
So, with my meager money and a head full of ideas, I got out of the house, firmly decided to return home with all the pieces that I needed.
My first project was a small solar panel that would produce just enough energy to let me construct a small converter. I licked my dry lips as I walked towards the nearest shop, I knew that what I was doing was dangerous, even if not well versed in the capes life. I've heard the stories of the gangs and how they would force any possible parahumans inside their organization.
But this was something that I needed to do. I could feel the metaphorical cog in my mind turning excitedly as I continued towards my destination. Countless projects and ideas were swirling in my mind.
It seemed that my power had a sort of ‘preference’, a ‘theme’, if you will. All of my creations seemed to have something to do with the Egyptian theme, I didn’t exactly dislike it, but it was sure something strange.
For example, lots of the ‘robots’ that I could create, seemed based on pharaohs or similar things, only much more futuristic and strange.
Even if I wasn’t sure what kind of Egyptian used flying vehicles and giant robots similar to scorpions and spiders.
It took me the large part of the morning and the first part of the evening to finally gather all the things that I needed. My backpack hung heavy on my shoulders, I had to go towards various shops around the city, avoiding the areas that I knew for sure were controlled by the gangs.
That left me with practically only the outskirts and the less peaceful parts of the city, from that I changed no less than seven shops, to avoid buying everything from one place.
I felt like a druggie trying to not attract too much attention, it wasn’t exactly a bad comparison, just more legal, I guess.
When I finally returned home I was tired, sweaty, hungry and with a terrible migraine, I gritted my teeth and practically flung myself down towards the basement, where, if I remember things well, there was a nice and sturdy table where I could tinker in peace.
It took me a couple of hours, my ears always checking for every possible noise, may it be my father returning earlier than anticipated, a curious neighbor or God-knows-what. Still, after a lot of work, I had the first little solar panel with a battery to match.
I placed them inside an open casket in the garden, the panel could barely be seen through the rags. This meant that no one would really double-check without a reason. While the little thing charged I started to craft the first converter.
The final product ended up similar to a gun, a stocky and small gun. The weapon itself was composed of rusty and salvaged metal, it was quite ugly, but I didn’t mind. This was nothing but the first step towards something much greater and important.
I had modified the gun following the instructions, and so, the ‘Disintegrator pistol’ was upgraded with a secondary barrel that, if I did my job right, would transmute the matter into other things.
There were a couple of problems with that: The gun could transmute only so much matter at a time, probably a pound or so. Then there was the problem of the time, if what I knew was right, it would require something like a couple of hours to transform the rusty metal into living metal.
On top of that, the fun itself would require a disgusting amount of energy. I let out a sigh as I realized that the sun had already disappeared behind the horizon, January was truly the worst of possible months to do something like this.
The living metal was probably one of the strangest things that I ever saw. It was an exceptional material, capable of returning to its original form even after taking enormous quantities of damage. In the files that I’ve absorbed it was also called ‘Necrodermis’ and it was regarded as one of the best materials that was possible to create without additional challenges.
This also meant that every machine, every robot and every item that I would create with it would, to some degree, repair itself. I could barely contain my excitement as I fished out the battery from the casket.
It had finished charging and I would now be able to create the first pound of living metal. With a large smile I put myself to work, humming a nice melody that surfaced from my memories.