Chapter Text
"You are proposing that there are multiple previously unknown energy fields that materially interact with physical matter, when there have never been any examples of-"
"Bah! Koopernicus's theory of ontological crystallization is practically the bedrock of modern spellcasting, I can't believe you've never heard of it-"
"Of course I haven't heard of it, that theory doesn't exist-"
"Well why don't I prove it? We have a perfectly good magical research room that I've been wanting to break in, we can-"
"Ahem!"
Taylor finally made a sound loud enough for Kamry and Armsmaster to hear over their own voices-and wow, she's really meeting Armsmaster, huh? It's practically a dream come true, if not for the circumstances-and the two turn back to the group from where they had been glaring at each other. Kamry at least seems somewhat sheepish, but Armsmaster just looks somewhat disgruntled, though it's hard to tell exactly with the mask.
"I'm not sure about the whole magic thing, but maybe we should get back on task first?"
"Yes, quite," Battery jumps in on the conversation. "We were asking about your citizens and your powers. As I mentioned, mostly we are worried about how fast your citizens can create more of themselves, since no one wants a repeat of Nilbog."
Taylor winces, though she's not surprised at the comparison. "Yeah, that's kind of what I was expecting. But like I said, if my people can reproduce, it'd be on the scale of months, assuming anyone even wants to so early into their existence."
"Well, I'm sure that that will help reassure the people back at HQ." Battery smiles encouragingly.
"So, now that that's out of the way," Vista interrupts, some frosting on her nose. It's kind of adorable, but when did she even eat one of the cupcakes? "What actually are your powers, if you don't mind me asking? Also these cupcakes are delicious, compliments to the baker."
"Thank you, I'll be sure to mention it to the Bees in the kitchen." Glossing over that as if it isn't an insane thing to say, she continues. "Well, I suppose my powers can best be summed up as... being a Princess?" Taylor shrugs, not really sure how to put it any better than that. "I made a castle and some citizens for me to rule over, apparently, but I've not exactly had the time to figure out if I can do anything else."
"Fair enough." Battery says, "If you want, we could have you come down to get some power testing done some time soon, other than testing the land transforming power, but before that we need to figure out the immediate issues. I believe you said that you thought the transformation of this area was permanent?"
"Yes, and I'd like to apologize about that if I haven't already." If she wasn't trying to be more princess-like, Taylor would have hunched in on herself in embarrassment. "Like I said, when I put on my crown I expected it to do something to me, not to the area around me. Am I going to need to pay for destruction of property or something like that?"
Battery shakes her head. "The two stores in the area both had parahuman insurance, and the rest of the buildings were condemned or effectively abandoned, so you'll just need to fill out some paperwork and the PRT will handle it as a case of accidental power usage. There's some leeway, especially for fresh Triggers testing out their powers for the first time, though this is certainly one of the more extreme examples I've seen."
"Trigger? I don't think I've heard the term before."
An awkward air fills the room for a moment as the three heroes stare at each other that makes Taylor and Kamry exchange glances, before Vista finally breaks it with a sigh. "It's kind of the world's worst kept secret, but people get powers from trauma, serious trauma, the kind that breaks people. And when those people break, we call it a Trigger Event. It's why capes are always so reluctant to talk about how they got their powers. I'm sure you can relate?"
The Locker.
Fighting back a wave of nausea, and sure they all could see the way her face paled, it's only Kamry placing a hand on top of hers that breaks her out of the memories.
"I'm so sorry you all went through that."
That gets her some faint smiles from Battery and Vista, though Armsmaster just grunts and mutters that it's in the past. She takes a calming sip of her tea, which seems to break the tension a bit as everyone except for Armsmaster takes a minute to eat and drink, letting the tension relax a little before continuing the talk.
From there, the talks go smoothly for the most part, with Battery doing most of the talking with occasional statements from Armsmaster as the head of the local Protectorate or from Vista as a Ward. Once Watchdog-the collection of Thinkers on Protectorate payroll-go over the information on Taylor and her people and give her the green flag on not being the next Nilbog, they'll be able to lower the alarms and start working on how to integrate her and her powers into Brockton Bay.
Personally Taylor is still leery about joining the Wards, since she doesn't want to have to deal with superpowered teenage bullshit on top of mundane teenage bullshit at school, but at this point it almost feels more like a concession, something to help the Protectorate and PRT feel more in control and less likely to write her off as too much trouble to deal with.
The other main issue that she brings up is getting her people IDs and ensuring their personhood is respected, so they can go out into the city for work or shopping or anything else they may want to do, but that opens up a whole can of worms they can barely get started on. There's some precedent for making new identities for Case 53s, as well as the Clone Protections Act of '07 after a number of clones were rescued from a villainous Wet Tinker, but with the sheer number of her citizens it will be a lot of paperwork, even if it gets fast tracked.
Eventually though, they have to leave in order to report in, and Taylor finds herself inviting them back any time they like, or the rest of the Protectorate for that matter. Once they are escorted from the room though, she lets out a long sigh. As pleasant as they were, meeting her local heroes with the implied threat of being exterminated hanging over her head was particularly stress-inducing. Hell, she's not even done with the day but it feels like it's been a week!
Turning to Kamry, she asks the question that's been burning in her mind ever since he mentioned it. "So, you were saying something about magic? I think you've mentioned it before, too."
"Ah, yes!" The koopa brightens up immediately at the mention of his favorite subject. "Magic, some of the fundamental forces of the world. It comes in many forms and from many sources, but in your case I believe I have a good theory as to why everything has happened the way it has."
"What's that?" Taylor takes another sip from her cup as she listens to him. It's damn good tea.
"I believe that you've become a wellspring of magic in a relatively magic-less world, and the sudden concentration of magic in such a relatively small area caused some... issues for the local fabric of reality. A bit like how an explosion is just very rapid combustion, though the analogy is faulty." He shrugs. "Whatever the case, that explosion of magic needed to be expressed somehow, and you are a Princess so you got... upgraded, for lack of a better word. With minions. And a castle."
"Well," she says slowly, "That is certainly a theory. But, Kamry, magic doesn't exist. People with powers do, but those aren't magic."
"Bah!" Kamry waves a hand dismissively. "Powers, schmowers, magic is real and I can prove it! These powers happen when someone experiences trauma, yes? Well magic can be taught. All I need are some test subjects-er, volunteers, and in a few weeks they'll be turning lecturns into lemons and bushes to bricks!"
Taylor chuckles a little at his enthusiasm. "Well, once things are a bit more settled down we'll see if we can find anyone who wants to try and learn. For now though, is there anything else urgent we need to do?"
"Hmm..." Kamry rubs his chin in thought, before snapping his fingers. "Ah, yes, we should see if there are any 1-up shrooms ready in the gardens!"
"1-up shrooms?"
"Oh yes," The koopa hops down to the floor and starts making his way to the door, Taylor following behind him. "Mushrooms that give you an extra life. I'm not sure how vulnerable you are, but it's always a good idea to have an extra life or two on you."
"An extra life-" She does a double take. "An extra life?! As in, if I died I'd just come back to life?"
"Of course, what else could that mean?"
Taylor sputters a bit at that, before catching up to his stride. "I feel like immortality mushrooms should have been brought up earlier, Kamry!"
"Oh please, they aren't that hard to grow. You just need good soil and enough magic coins to feed their growth."
"Magic coins? Where do we get those?"
"Hah, and you thought magic wasn't real not a minute ago!" Still chuckling, Kamry waves his staff and a large gold coin with Taylor's face on it pops into existence, floating above his hand and slowly rotating to show a plum flower on the other half.
"Magic coins are little bits of crystalized magic, passively gathered by creatures of magic such as us. Though you can speed up the creation process by performing feats that are, for lack of a better word, extra. Skipping along the road, intentionally traveling a more difficult path, adding a flourish to your moves while fighting, putting in that little bit of extra effort while working, it all contributes to the creation of these coins."
Grabbing the coin, he flips it over to her with his thumb, but when she catches it, it disappears. Instead, she can feel... something, inside her, like a little counter she didn't know existed had just gone up by one.
"Us creatures of magic can use them for a variety of things, among them being the ability to substitute ourselves with a coin when we're about to be seriously hurt and being transported to the closest place we consider safe, though you end up weak and woozy for a while after. You creatures of matter, on the other hand, can collect those coins from many sources instead of only being able to use your own, and even if you can't use them to empower yourselves, you can trade them out for other things we creatures of magic can do when we have enough power. Including growing magical plants and fungi like that 1-up shroom!"
"Woah... that's, a lot to take in, Kamry."
"Oh, take your time, take your time! We've got a ways until we get to the gardens."
Well. Apparently her citizens are effectively immortal so long as they have at least one magic coin saved up? That will be priority number one, then, alongside getting a 1-up shroom for herself. And one for Dad. Still, it's a little insane that on top of everything else, she apparently has immortality at her fingertips. The only Cape she can think of off the top of her head with close to the same ability is that one albino E88 villain, and it's his whole superpower!
Honestly, should she even have this much power? It's like that one old comicbook character said, with great power comes great responsibility. And, that hadn't really set in until just now, that she'll need to be responsible for 246 people now. She made them after all, she can't just write it off as accident and never see any of them again. She needs to be more than just Taylor Hebert now.
She needs to be Princess Plum.