Crystalized Munchkinry - Act IV - Chapter 52 (Patreon)

Taylor went to bed tired but happy, with a slight undercurrent of anger. Mostly at herself, though a small part of her was also angry at VickyShe was looking forward to spending time in the virtual space, just going to town on monsters.

The fact that the girl had figured out her secret was rather shameful and scary.

How many other people had figured it out?

She would need to take her training up a notch to make sure she could protect her dad.

Though now that both Vicky and Amy knew about her, she could ask them for advice on how to blend in better and how to prevent other people from figuring it out.

Maybe she could practice in the virtual world?

But for now, sleep awaited her.

As usual, she appeared in a vast grassy expanse, with a gentle wind and a perfectly calibrated temperature. She went through her usual warm-up, making sure everything was working perfectly before doing anything else.

She was doing one of her routine yoga exercises, which involved some impressive contortions, when she was disturbed by a surprised exclamation.

"Wow! Look at that, Amy! I don't think I could do that!"

"Pity. I'm sure Dean would appreciate it."

She slowly unwound herself, then stood up and slowly turned around, only to come face-to-face with Vicky and Amy, both in their usual clothing and grinning at her. More like Vicky was grinning, while Amy was staring at her with an amused expression. Still, Taylor could see a slight smile on the usually dour girl's face.

"Amy, Vicky. How nice to meet you here," she said while inwardly cursing Admin again.

"Hell yeah!" answered Vicky, still grinning. "You didn't say you also had this kind of power! Also, that thing you were doing looked awesome! Can you do it in real life?"

Taylor collected herself before answering the excited blonde. "Not for long, but yes, I can do it. And you also didn't say you had this kind of power, so you don't have a right to complain."

Vicky nodded, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. "That's true. Sorry about the accusation!" She leaned closer to Taylor, and her blush deepened. "Can you teach me that?"

Taylor blinked in surprise while Amy scowled behind her sister.

"Sure, I can teach the basics to both of you. It's great exercise."

"Yes!" exclaimed Vicky, pumping her fist. "Thank you so much, Taylor!"

"No problem," she replied, a little taken aback by her enthusiasm. "The more important question is why you guys are here?"

The three young women looked at each other, but before any of them could speak, a more masculine voice cut in.

"That would be because of us."

Taylor grimaced at hearing her power's voice, but still turned around to look at the annoying slime.

She really needed to figure out a way to punch him in the face.

The other two stepped next to her, and now they stood in a line across from the avatars of their powers, who also stood next to each other.

Or levitated, in Admin's case.

Next to him stood a glass woman, bouncing up and down on her heels, looking suspiciously like Vicky. Beside her stood another woman dressed in shades of green, covered in moss and other greenery, with straight hair covering one of her eyes.

"Hello, everyone!" spoke up the glass construct. She enthusiastically waved at them while sporting a massive grin. "I'm Fragile One, but you can call me Franky! Hello, Host! How are you? Are you having fun?"

Taylor heard Amy sigh and gave a small wave back to the exuberant avatar.

Vicky wasn't so restrained. "Hey, Franky! I'm fine!" she replied, waving enthusiastically.

Before Fragile One could continue her usual chatter, the green girl spoke up in a monotone voice. "Greetings, meatbags."

"Hello?" said Taylor, a little worriedly.

The dour avatar was rather disconcerting.

"This is Shaper," Admin motioned toward the talking greenery. "And I'm Admin. As you suspect, we are the avatars of your powers." He paused briefly before continuing. "Before any questions, let me explain a few things. First, this won't happen every time you go to sleep. Second, you will have a virtual interface where you can request (or deny) a meeting in this virtual world."

Hearing that, Taylor, Amy, and even Shaper let out a relieved sigh.

Admin gave a cheeky smile before continuing. "So, questions?"

There went her relaxing night of punching things…

Danny came home around four in the morning to find a devastated living room and three deeply sleeping girls in his house.

He teared up a little, remembering when Taylor was little and had spent several sleepovers with Emma. Hopefully, her new friends would help her mend the wounds in her heart and move on.

He contemplated cleaning up for a brief moment, but in the end, he left it for future Danny. It was, after all, Saturday, and he had nowhere to go, so he could sleep in and clean up later.

Or have the girls clean up.

Giving it some thought, he decided that sounded much more comfortable, so he left the battlefield untouched and, as quietly as he could, shambled up to his room.

Who knew poker could tire a person out so much?

Taylor woke up the same way she did nowadays: deeply rested and energized for the day. She could even hear her father, verified by her power, puttering around in the kitchen. She saw him preparing pancakes again and couldn't help but smile.

A few months ago, it would have been a miracle if he had even said good morning to her, and here they were, having breakfast together.

As much as she hated what happened in the Locker and at the school, she couldn't help but be a little thankful. Only a little, because she still couldn't stand enclosed spaces or getting dirty without freaking out a little.

She threw off her blanket and made her way to the bathroom while sending a clone to wake up the sisters.

Pity she couldn't conjure water…

Danny watched as the three girls came down in their pajamas and smiled at them. Vicky's and Amy's hair was in disarray, and their faces were still slightly droopy. In contrast, Taylor was sporting a supernaturally perfect hairdo and was practically bouncing around.

It seemed that her constant morning exercise routine had turned her into somewhat of a morning person.

"Good morning, everyone. I made pancakes!" he announced with a smile.

"Morning, Dad!" said Taylor before coming over to give him a quick one-armed hug.

"Morning, Mr. Hebert!" exclaimed Vicky, already returning to her usual energetic personality, while Amy simply mumbled the same greeting.

He waited until they all took their seats, then placed a cup of coffee in front of Amy, immediately recognizing the need for caffeine.

The girl mumbled a thank you but was otherwise unresponsive. He just smiled good-naturedly and turned back to Taylor, who was piling pancakes high on her plate.

If she hadn't also created a machine that could make picture-perfect pancakes at the push of a button, he would have spent hours in the kitchen just to make enough for her. Instead, all he had to do was mix the ingredients together, pour them into the machine, set it to make pancakes, and then enjoy the bounty.

He didn't really like how Taylor had gained her powers, but when the results were so convenient and delicious, he couldn't help but be a little thankful for them.

"So, how was the night? Based on the evidence left behind, it went well," said Danny while sipping from his cup.

"It was great, Dad!" answered Taylor with a smile, but then she grimaced. "And they know I'm a parahuman."

His first instinct was to panic and run, but the more rational part of his brain suppressed it. Obviously, Taylor wasn't worried; she was more annoyed that they had figured it out, much like when he had.

He glanced at the sisters, and they were good-naturedly smiling at him and his daughter.

Plus, they were from New Wave, so it wasn't like they could use his daughter's identity for any nefarious purposes.

He took a deep breath, held it in for a second, and exhaled. "I see. Let me guess, the hair?"

Taylor looked at him in disbelief for several seconds while Vicky and Amy snickered to themselves.

"Harrumph," she finally said, with the most imperious look she could pull off.

"Did you just say harrumph?" asked Amy in wonder.

He couldn't help but break out into laughter. Vicky did the same, and soon after, Amy and Taylor were laughing with them.

Max looked over the city he was close to ruling and couldn't help but chuckle. The last few days had been rather energetic, but the results were excellent.

Apparently, Lung, the subhuman beast, had decided against expanding his territory, so the Empire had moved into the territory left behind by the Merchants and Coil.

Hearing about the capture of that irritating man had been balm to his soul. The only way it could have been better was if he had died, but he could live with not hearing from the man for the rest of his life. And if his moles in the PRT were correct, Piggot was making sure of that.

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.

The only problems came when they moved too close to the docks and Dragon. Anytime that happened, a silently watching drone confronted his people with Dragon's logo displayed on itIf they tried to force the issue, and he had made sure to send a few people who were easy to provoke there to test the waters, they were almost instantly captured by the drones.

He didn't really mind. The territory they had captured was enough for the time being. After all, they had to consolidate their presence, organize their people, and remove the undesirable trash if possible.

So much work, and so little thanks…

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't have fun. He had planned a nice evening with the twins, seeing as it was the 14th, and he was looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, thinking about that brought up memories of Kayden and her little rebellion. He didn't really mind that she no longer wanted to be with him. After all, there were plenty of willing women. But the fact that she had taken several parahumans with her galled him.

After spending a few moments thinking, he decided that, in honor of the date, he would give her a small gift.

Smiling evilly, he reached for his phone and dialed a number. He patiently waited for the other person to pick up while continuing to survey the city.

"Yes?" came the response from the other side.

"It's time. Send the people to her," he said simply.

"Yes, sir."

That was the only response before they hung up.

He looked at the phone with amusement for a few seconds, wondering how Kayden would react to the official request for visitation with his daughter…

Little Aster deserved a daddy…

He went to pour himself a drink while waiting for the reaction.

He was almost finished with his drink when his phone rang again. Taking a look at the caller ID, he felt a spike of worry because it wasn't from Kayden. He picked it up with enough force to crack the case slightly.

"Report!" he barked into the phone.

"Sir. She is gone."

"What?"

"The apartment is empty. Nobody has been there for the last few days."

"That bitch. She is running. Find them!" he yelled at the other man.

"Yes, sir!"

He hung up and threw the phone away, watching it bounce weakly on the carpeted floor. It seemed he would have to postpone his plans for the night. He had a hunt to prepare for.

He took a sip of his sake and looked out the window.

Sunset was always his favorite. It signaled the end of the day and the beginning of the night. The night where he lived and thrived.

And now, it signaled not just the end of the day, but the end of an era.

He watched as the Empire took territory after territory, refusing to move, making his underlings question him. Of course, after he dealt with the first one, the rest decided to remain silent.

The worms…

When he explained to them the simple fact that a gang war with Dragon next to them was rather inadvisable, several of them immediately questioned his bravery and strength, forcing him to demonstrate his power.

But he could see it in their eyes. They thought he was afraid; they thought he had given up. More than likely, several of them would leave his service for another gang or perhaps try to strike out on their own.

He didn't care.

He was pretty sure that as soon as the PRT and Dragon realized they were no longer with him, they would pounce.

No, he had no need to fight an unwinnable battle.

There was something in the air.

Serenity with his medi-gel, the time bubbles, and the Merchants and Coil being removed from the city. They were no mere coincidences. Somebody had planned those events. He didn't know who or why, but it was obvious that this was not the end of it.

And with the Endbringer attack so close, he decided that, for once, he would simply sit back and watch.