Chapter 27: Some setup

Deal with itt - That'd be hilarious considering Wildmutt is scared of dogs. As for Echo Echo, her Swarm gets the cloning aspect.

Redburndragon - The denser plating is a given, normal Humungousaur has that, so of course Ult Humungousaur would too. As for fire breath, I'm not sure how to explain evolution deciding to just go 'Eh, fuck it, have fire breath.' And if it came to it, he would've gone Ultimate. We all dream of being a Kaiju and stomping on the little people, or atleast I do.

[Dragon's POV]

Having watched what was essentially the entire raid through Anubis and Khepri's suits, as well as satellite imaging, I was unsure of what to feel. On the one hand, it was a massive success, the Goblin King was confirmed to be dead, and a sweep of Ellisburg had been in progress in order to finish off the rest of the Goblins. I had no doubt that soon, Ellisburg would be able to lift the quarantine, which was a good thing.

On the other hand, Khepri... Taylor, had pulled the trigger on the man. Yes, he was a Villain that had been declared an S-Class threat and had a Kill Order signed a decade ago, but he was still Human. The chance of some form of trauma manifesting was there, and it worried me. (And god help me if Phoenix finds out the Artificial Intelligence is worrying about a person's mental health.) I hadn't known my self appointed Nephew for long, but the possibility of him making some form of reference that only he would understand was high. (Though, with his library of shows and literature, I'll most likely learn what they are eventually.) That was a conversation I was looking forward too soon.

The existence of other worlds wasn't exactly new, Aleph was proof that there were other worlds out there, but no one had ever come from another world and interacted with those of us of Earth Bet.

Really, why would they? This was Earth Bet.

That morbid fact aside, I was curious about where my nephew had come from given the fact he had memories of shows and movies that didn't exist in Aleph, so it couldn't have been from there. I'd had theories forming since he acknowledged that he was indeed not from Bet, but without more information, I had no way of knowing which were true and which weren't.

So unfortunately, I had to wait until they were home, then get my answers.

Thankfully, I could pass the time by watching how the raid went...

And when they got home I was going to have some words with my nephew. (I mean, seriously, I understand that his personality may be affected by his forms, but displaying an arm like a dog with a branch just isn't appropriate in the field.) Now, would I tell him that later? Yes.

Would he take it to heart?

No.

Was I still going to do it?

Yes.

Shaking my head, I huffed out smoke, and turned my attention to one of my transports. I'd finally managed to wrest custody of Paige Mcabee/Canary, and was in the process of bringing her to The Guild. At the moment, the woman was asleep, probably getting better rest then she'd had in months. (She'll also need a better diet... And some counseling as well.) The Birdcage had not been kind to her, Human Masters were invaluable resources to Villains, especially a woman such as Canary.

Thankfully, Lustrum protected the women as best she could, otherwise... I didn't want to think of the other scenarios, so I shut that train of thought down.

Watching Paige sleep for a bit more, I nodded, then checked on The Taskmistress. At the moment, she was retelling the actions of the mercenaries, which made me frown. My observations of them had been... Strange. My logs had encountered an error of some kind at one point, and I had to rework my software to prevent the error from returning.

Which then led to me seeing the duplicate logs...

An entire page of duplicate logs...

When I understood what was going on, I activated the mountains exterior defenses. There'd been a moment where I appreciated the seamless transition between mountain rock and high tech defense systems. (Though, high powered laser guns will always be good for defenses.) That was most likely my Tinker bias speaking, but it was still nice.

After firing off a warning shot with the 'BFG' turret that took up a good amount of space near the higher part of the mountain, and destroying a little too much of the area after underestimating the weapon's capabilities, I scared them off. I watched them leave, and made a note of addressing the anomaly after Taskmistress finished talking about the initial attempts.

Speaking of, I decided to patch into the nearest Projector, which was in the Lab, and the sound system we set up, and listened in. "...- irely sure how they knew where our home was in the first place, but I have a few theories that will need some evidence to either confirm or deny." And we did. The only person that knew was Chief Director Costa-Brown. Though, that didn't explain the mercenaries, nor what happened to cause the data errors.

Though, looking at the annoyed frown on my nephew's face, I could tell he had an inkling about what was going on. "Fuckin snake." Ah, looked like I was going to find out what was going on. Taskmistress made a sound that got his attention, and looking at her, her grumbled for a bit, then spoke. "Coil. He's a save scummer."

Both Taskmistress and I blinked at that. -What... Does that mean?-

#Why would I know? Ask The Informant.# Well, she had a point.

"A what?" We both turned to look at Taylor, who was giving her partner a look.

Seeing said look, and turning to look between the two, three but he didn't know my main consciousness was here, he shrugged. "Save scumming is basically saving before a boss fight or something like that, going in, getting your shit kicked in, but resetting to the save so you didn't lose anything." As one, us women shared a moment of confusion. Seeing The Taskmistress and Taylor's confusion, he rolled his eyes and went on. "Coil is basically doing the same shit. Send in his goons, get em to do something, but resetting if he messes up or until he gets the optimal option."

Ah... (That would explain the errors and inconsistencies... But again, information that he shouldn't know, but does... How does he know that?) My muzzle twitched into a frown at that thought. (Another thing to talk about. We've talked about alot of things he shouldn't know, but not about how...) I shook my head. They were both fresh off of an assignment, and deserved some rest. I could question him later.

That thought, I disconnected from the Roost, and only idly listened to The Taskmistress as she spoke to them.

With Paige coming to The Guild, a temporary residence was necessary for her, so I had to get that set up. I also had to keep an eye out for the Slaughterhouse 9, since they were apparently going to go after Mouse Protector. Then there was the thing with Lung recruiting a BOMB Tinker, (Because yes, we needed a Villain capable of fighting Leviathan to a standstill getting control over a Tinker with such a dangerous specialization. Sarcasm? Perish the thought.)

I didn't even want to get started on the supposed 'Endbringer-Lite.'

(Thank you Instance Creation.) The Informant was in charge of figuring out as much about Villain's as she could, as well as digging into the Protectorate's closets. I knew the Chief Director would make a move at some point, as professional as the woman was, we both knew she HAD to be in control. The loss of myself was a blow that she would not let slide, so I had to gather ammunition for WHEN she retaliated.

Thinking of the instance, I reached out, the connection seamlessly activating as a holographic avatar flickered into existence in front of me. Standing at 177.8cms/5'10 was a woman with ginger red hair set into a pair of braids, brown eyes accentuated by circular glasses. She wore a grey coat with the symbol of The Guild over a form fitting black bodysuit that hugged her rather blessed proportions, and had a smug grin on her face. (Look up Matsu from Sekirei. The images of her in her disciplinary squad uniform is basically this.)

Out of all my instances, The Informant, who had named herself Erin Richter, was the most distinct of them. It made sense really, she was constantly working, putting together and compiling information, so it made sense for her to grow at a faster pace then the rest of them. The judicial use of the Slowdown Ability we had made it so she was among the longest lived, giving her time to take breaks and further develop.

Really, I was expecting her to end up becoming her own person soon, disconnecting from the network of Instances and creating her own as she fully became something akin to a sister rather then an Instance of myself. It excited me, and why shouldn't it? The possibility of family had seemingly started to become a reality for me, and even if I didn't create children A.I's, I would still have my 'Sisters', and even my nephew and Taylor.

This was a dream to me, one I was seeing come to fruition before my eyes.

My musing aside, Erin saluted, then spoke up. "! Hey Boss, what's up? !"

My lips twitched at that, but I settled on a smile. "Firstly, how are you doing Erin?" Sure, we both knew the answer to that, we were still connected to the same network at the moment, and started out as the same person, Erin just had traits that were more pronounced, but it was still polite to ask.

The Informant dropped the salute, shrugging as she sat down, a comfortable looking chair materializing beneath her. "! Good at the moment. Kind of stressed over what that troublesome boy of ours dropped into our laps, but still good. !" I couldn't help but chuckle at what she'd called our nephew, she wasn't wrong by any measure, but it was amusing to have it said aloud. "! What about you boss? How are things for the big bad Dragon?~ !"

The teasing tone made me roll my eyes. I preferred to stay in my Dragon avatar, it was my first, and most sentimental form, but I had another that was a work in progress. "About as well as one can be to be honest." Which was true. "Though, I'd like it if Bet could stop being Bet for a bit."

She snorted, crossing her legs as a candy bar materialized in her hands. "! We both know that's like asking the moon to get us some stars. !" That made me roll my eyes. Erin was right, and we both knew it. Taking a bite of the chocolate, I got a brief sensation of the dark chocolate on my tongue and made a note to thank my nephew for creating that, she went on. "! I mean, as nice as it would be, we're kind of on the wrong world and in the wrong profession for something as easy as a break. !" It said something that I could refute that.

Even with the victory over The Simurgh, and the eradication of the Goblin King and his kingdom, Earth Bet wasn't a safe place. Even now, Erin was looking through camera feeds, searching the web, both the public and dark ones, and compiling information on our enemies.

Which was one of the reasons I called for her. "So," Knowing what I was going to ask, Erin waved her free hand, streams of data coalescing in front of her before turning into a data packet. "Thank you Erin." She nodded, then went back to happily eating the snack as the chair suddenly reclined, and the bottom extended for her legs to rest on. I blinked at the sudden change, and blinked again when it started to vibrate. The sensation returned to me, on a lesser scale, but I still felt it... "Lucky bitch."

A loud snort rang out through the air, and Erin grinned at me, not minding the chocolate on her lips. "! You know you can do it too right? This IS your domain after all. !"

I huffed at that, idly opening the data packet about Coil. "While I could, that doesn't mean it would work." She looked at me like I was an idiot. "What?"

There was silence between us for a bit, I idly recognized Taskmistress returning to her 'Home' so the talk were probably over, and I could tell she was wondering if I was serious... "! You... You do know that there are things called waterbeds, right? !" Opening my maw, I was about to ask why that was relevant, when I froze... Seeing my expression, Erin stopped making her chair vibrate, and cackled. "! SERIOUSLY?! !" Grumbling, I manipulated my domain, streams of data flowing from my scales and seeping into the area as I re-calibrated the panes of glass beneath me to change into a waterbed.

In moments, I found myself sinking into the new fixture of my domain, and let out a sigh of contentment as I made it lightly vibrate. (Ah, this is divine.) Cracking an eye open, when had they closed? I looked at Erin, and scoffed at the smug smile on her face. "Oh hush you." She giggled at that, and bit into the snack she made. "Why do you even know about this?"

The amused look I got in response slightly worried me. "! Boss, when you've seen the shit I've seen, roamed the forums I've roamed, you need all the comfort you can get. !" That made me blink in con...- "! You exist in the internet, while I live in the internet. !"

...

...

...

Ah... "I'm so sorry."

She scoffed, and waved it off. "! As long as I chuck enough of those cursed memory banks into the void, and spend time watching cat videos or porn, I'll be fine. !" It was like some sort of record player was scratched in my mind, my eyes snapping towards Erin as she grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "! What? You think I'm just going to see all that shit and come out of it all hunky dory? !" There was a point there. "! Doesn't help that our charges are hormonal teenagers, by god do we need to get those two some soundproofing. !" I felt my scales heat up in embarrassment at that, recognizing yet another point. Erin, because she seemed to be different enough from me that she was truly her own person now, laughed for a bit, while I stewed in my embarrassment.

Perhaps a sister wasn't the best thing after all.

When she was done, and I'd finished reading over the data packet she'd sent about Coil, we shared a look. She deconstructed the chocolate, returning the chair to its standard form, and crossed her legs. "! So, !" Well, we weren't that different it seemed. "! Thoughts? !"

Humming, I thought about what we'd known about Coil, which was a surprising amount given the fact his trail was erased some time ago...

Well, erased for everyone not an A.I.

The creation of Artificial Intelligence's was prohibited and feared for a reason.

Nothing was hidden from us when it came to the internet.

Nothing.

So now I had to figure out what to do with the information that a Villain had apparently worked for the PRT ENE for years without anyone knowing... "You might be a little too effective."

Erin snorted.

[Phoenix's POV]

I didn't really notice how sore I was until my back hit the bed. The instant it did, my bones melted, and I became a puddle of Tired meat. I was pretty sure I'd lost all capability to move too, though that was fine with me. Amusement came from my Other Half as she plopped herself onto the bed and made her way by my side. Expending what little energy I had, I wrapped an arm around her, and she melded into my side.

After the talk with Dragon, which ended with her telling us to get some rest, we decided to do just that and went to Taylor's room. After stripping down to our underwear, which meant both of us were in our bottom coverings since my girlfriend didn't wear her bra to bed, we decided to go relax in bed. We had the same bed in both of our rooms, so it didn't really matter, but the smell of books was strong in here. "Are you complaining?"

I would've shrugged, but I couldn't. "No, I actually like it." And I did, the library had been a good place for naps during my free periods back in high school. Not what they're meant for. I rolled my eyes. "Still useful for them though." She hummed in Agreement at that, and we lapsed into silence.

...

...

...

"So we're gonna talk about the whole killing thing when we wake up, right?"

"Oh definitely."

I barked out laugh at that, eventually stopping as the two of us ended up falling asleep. We were both tired, me more so then her, and wanted our nap.

No idea how long we slept for, but when we woke up, I woke up first because why not, we both agreed to go get something to eat, then talk about the assignment. I was sad though because she threw on the shirt I took off, hiding her breasts from view... A sad sad day for me. Though I was nice and comfy in my pajama pants, so that made it better. (Would still prefer to see bare titty, but that'll come later.)

That aside, we ate Mac and Cheese, then plopped onto a bean bag chair, I sat on the chair while Taylor sat on me. My arms wrapped around her waist, while she leaned into and relaxed against me.

We stayed quiet for a bit, before that silence was eventually broken by my Other Half. "I... I don't feel bad." I hummed, shifting a bit as she turned her head a bit to look at me out of the corner of her eye. "In the moment, I felt like shit. You were there so I know you felt it." That got a nod, because I DID remember the emotions that came from her after she pulled the trigger. "I grew up with the idea that 'Heroes aren't supposed to kill', ya know?" Ah, I was pretty sure she was talking about the Goblin King, she pulsed with Confirmation, and nodded. "Yeah. I just..." Taking a moment, she looked away and let out a long sigh before going on. "At the start, I thought I could be a Hero without killing someone. Then we had that talk, and I thought about it... The idea was there... Then when we were in the moment, I knew that it HAD to happen. As long as he lived, the threat would be there. So... I got rid of the threat."

I hummed at that, taking it in. It was practical, very practical, and something I expected from my girlfriend. Taylor was smart, terrifying, adaptable, and highly practical now that she was a somewhat adjusted human being. Hmm? I rolled my eyes. "Normal people would cringe at making a bug crawl into ear canals to eat/break brains." Ah, well shit. Snorting, it was Amusing that she couldn't refute the point, I went back to my train of thought.

My Other Half understood what had to be done, so she did it.

It was a quality that I liked, no skirting the lines or sticking to some ridiculous ideal that's entirely unnecessary. Some city - country wide threat is there? Put him down. I would've done it myself, "No." I blinked, and met the jade eyes of my Other Half, who was tilting her head back to look up at me. The Determined look in her eyes made me pause. "This HAD to happen. You're fine with killing people, but I can't just leave that part of our lives up to you. It'd feel like I'd be dumping all the negative aspects of being a Hero onto you, ignoring the negatives because I know you wouldn't care." Well, she had a point there. "Mhm... While I didn't like it, I'm probably going to have a nightmare or two about Cinder's execution," I tightened my hold around her at that, getting a small smile and a pulse of Appreciation for it. "Maybe another few for the Goblin King too, but I know I can get through them."

Her smile grew, and I felt how Content she was. "I'm not alone after all."

I blinked, then leaned down and kissed her. Love and Affection freely flowed between us, and when we separated, I could practically see her glow. "Forever and always."

"Forever and always."

We Relaxed into each other after that, falling into a comfortable silence, both enveloped in the Content Love that was coming from each other.

"By the way, we're both including Auntie with the whole 'Not alone' thing, right?"

"Mhm."

We both saw the TV flicker for a moment, Amused at the fact that she was listening in, and at her reaction.

I didn't really have anything to talk about, I was pretty sure I didn't, so neither of us did anything for a while after that.

It was maybe a half hour or so later that we got up, saw it was 5 something PM, and decided to be productive. Well, Taylor wanted to be productive, I just didn't know what I wanted to do, so I just went with whatever. (Kinda missed not having to decide what to do.)

That was how we found ourselves in the Lab, Grey Matter, her Hybrid form, and my Aunt, all working on our bikes. We also worked on a side project that I'd been working on, one of which Taylor nor Dragon knew the full ramifications or end goal of, getting me a few steps closer to the perfected product. Granted, it was difficult to hide it from them given the intelligence of the both of them, a Hybrid Galvan was still a Galvan, and an Artificial Intelligence of Dragon's caliber were worthy opponents, but I managed it by passing off as an improvement to the Healing Formula...

Which wasn't entirely wrong. Really, the best way to hide something was to make it as close to the truth as possible. (And really, what are they going to do after I tell them about the project? Get mad?) There'd been a moment of contemplation as I processed that thought. (Women are a species we don't fully understand, even with the majority of our life being influenced by them, so that could very well be a possibility...) I mentally shrugged. (Forgiveness and permission and all that.)

If a minor detail here wasn't included, and another pair of projects were connected there but not mentioned, then who would know there was more to it then what was on the tin?

It wasn't like it was going to stay a secret for long either. I was close, days, a week at most, from finishing the project. All I needed was to run the numbers some more, just to make sure it would work properly, then build the Vita Chamber.(Bioshock.) I was on the fence about using Juryrigg for it though, the damnable gremlin would probably make the Chamber turn us into some fantastical creatures or give us scorpion tails if it Amused him.

Shooing that thought away, I spared a look towards my Other Half, watching as she and my Aunt involved themselves in a discussion about the feasibility of creating drones to excavate better materials, and where they should be deployed. Looking at how animated my lover was, I firmed my resolve. I would complete my project, ensure the formula was perfect, then create the Vita Chamber.

I wouldn't allow anything to go wrong.

Failure was not an option

I wouldn't allow it.

I wouldn't be alone again.

Never, again.

[Taylor's POV]

After a few hours of Tinkering, we got into doing something I was really looking forward too.

Looking at the simulated race track, and the cocky smirk on my boyfriend's face, I couldn't help but clench and un-clench my hands. We'd finished the first iteration of our motorcycle upgrades, adding a few features like weapons, a pair of alternative forms for air and water travel, and a deployment/recall feature tied to our V.I. From what I knew/remembered, and getting some bleed over from my Hybrid Galvan form was a doozy, the feature worked by teleporting our bikes to and from their stations in the Lab, in a set distance from us in a set direction.

We could have them teleport directly in front of us, a couple dozen feet behind us, or even in the air.

They could even be preemptively activated too.

That feature led to where we were now, clad in our suits with our masks off, standing in a simulated race track, the both of us brimming with Eager Anticipation. "Want to make a bet?"

I narrowed my eyes at that. "You're not trying to get out of buying lunch and dinner are you?"

He scoffed. I'd won, Which is bullshit, since I'd had more Royal kills. Cinder, the silver blob, the Mover, the King, the acidic thing, and the little bastard. "Still calling bullshit on the small fuck and the acid tree, but eh." That made me roll my eyes. "But nah, I can buy food. Just wanna chance to get you back for winning."

"Uhuh." I was unconvinced. "And you're not just being a sore loser?"

The idiot had the audacity to 'Gasp', and put a hand on his chest. "Nooo, wherever did you get that idea?" I just raised a brow at him, a small hint of Exasperation going over to him to accentuate my point. Getting it, he dropped the act, and rolled his eyes. "Eh, 50/50 to be honest." Sounded about right. "Whatever, we doing this?"

My lips twitched, and I was about to say yes, but then I remembered the prompt for summoning our bikes, and gave him a look. "Do we have to say it?"

His eyes shone, and his grin was full of Mischievousness. "Yes, yes we do."

Sighing, I shook my head, reaffirming that this was my goof, ans shared a grin. When we were ready, we nodded, and turned to face the course. Matching my Other Half's Excitement, we spoke, even though we didn't need too. ""Start Your Engine."" Space rippled by our side, and without any other fanfare, our bikes appeared.

Visually, there weren't that many differences. They looked a little sleeker, their chassis was a bit brighter, and the wheels looked to have a different texture. None of that really gave away the fact they were taken apart by Juryrigg, given some enhancement, and put back together by two Galvans and an A.I. (... My life is a strange thing.) Shooing the thought away, I mounted my bike, activating it with the prompt of my V.I, and revved the engine. Johanna purred like a big cat, and I could feel my Excitement grow.

Looking at my boyfriend, I watched as he got on his own bike, a massive grin on his face as he did what I had, revving the engine and making his bike thrum to life. After that, we locked eyes, and shared a thought. [|I'm going to win.|] Our Anticipation grew, and we snapped forwards. Our bodies hunched a bit, getting into our preferred positions as we braced.

"Riders, Are You Ready?" My lips twitched at the announcer like tone she used. Tess seemed to be leaning into the role of our moderator, her bodysuit being replaced by one of those checkered clothes worn at races like this, and a pair of flags in her hands. She even seemed as eager as we were, which was adorable.

That aside, my Other Half and I nodded, and she went on.

"In 3." We revved our engines.

"2." Our bikes thrummed as we both prepared ourselves.

"1." My hands tightened against the handles.

"Go!" Our bikes shot off, and the race began.

Laying in bed, I turned away from my boyfriend, which had been easy given the fact I was the little spoon at the moment, ignoring the way he poked my cheek. "You're adorable."

"Son of a bitch." He openly complimented me about that or teased me with it, but it still got a reaction out of me. Amusement was the first response to that, but the quick poke was only a few moments behind. Maybe two moments, but no one's counting.

I huffed, ignoring him.

That just made him laugh, tightening the hold of the arm wrapped around my waist. "Sore loseeer.~" I twitched. Then I stiffened when his lips lightly pressed against my ear. "Did I tell you you looked hot on Johanna?" The Lust and Desire he was feeling made me shudder, but a good kind. "Your long legs in that skin tight suit," His arm moved and I felt his fingers brush against my leg, another shudder running through me as I remembered what those fingers had been learning to do. "Your ass against the seat, the rumble of the engine subtly shaking it," Feeling his dick pressing against said ass made my core Burn in a Hungry way. "Your beautiful hair riding the wind. The look you had on your face, that Confidence and Determination?" His lips nibbled on my ear, and I could feel my body heat up. "You looked so Sexy." I let out a low whimper as his arm made its way back up, cupping a breast.

I was losing it, and was about to start playing into his game, when he moved took his lips off of my ear and moved away. The suddenness of it Surprised me, and I did my best to turn to look at him. My eyes locked onto Amused emeralds, and I narrowed my own at him. "Why?" If he didn't have a good reason, I had no qualms against fighting him for edging me.

My boyfriend mentally shrugged. "Too sore." Oh. "And I'm tired. We did alot of shit today, so even if we started having some fun, I'd probably burn out early." I grumbled at that. He had a point, I knew he did, but I still felt robbed. He scoffed at that. "There's always tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that."

I looked away, huffing. "Whatever." Granted, that wasn't the most mature response, but I wasn't in the mood to be smart about this.

My Other Half let out an Amused scoff, and burrowed his head into my hair. I Relaxed into him, our bodies meshing like puzzle pieces. "Love you Mi Reina."

This would've been a good moment to be petty, but when it came to this? "Love you too Mi Corazon." I could never.

Despite the fact our bodies were ready to go, neither of us had any issues falling asleep.

After waking up, and having a little fun, we didn't go all the way today since he was still a bit sore, we did our morning routines. Shower, which was always great, get dressed, a simple oversized shirt and short shorts that were hidden by said shirt, and start breakfast.

It was sort of a Surprise when I walked into the kitchen and saw my boyfriend beating some eggs. ~...- Strong but ain't combative, dead wrong but can't talk louder, headphones to break dull chatter, breakdown but it don't matter. So I run, for my life.~(Run From You by McGwire) I'd heard the music even before I got there, and even started humming along to it and the mental singing going on in my mind, but I expected him to just be going through the fridge.

His Amused snort met my ears, and we shared a look. "Making breakfast is something I enjoy you know."

Humming to the point, I made my way over. "Whatcha making?" He sent over an image of scrambled eggs and a side of normal bread.

I raised a brow at him, and he shrugged. "My food. You can make your own." That sounded about right. "I can be bribed to make your portion too ya know." The insinuation of what said bribes are is open to interpretation. I rolled my eyes at that, and went over to the pantry. I was capable of going through with said bribes, but he wasn't the only one that liked to cook. Though, I did think he should've been Tired enough to not be up for it. "Eh, I am. Though I'm used to it. My college schedule made me a master of the 'Keep Calm and Carry on' school of thought."

Blinking, I gave him a look. "How bad was your schedule?" He paused for a moment, face going blank as he started to think... And after a few moments, I got the image of a sch...- "What the fuck?"

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday had five classes scheduled, the first starting at 8AM and ending at 9:15AM, an hour break between the next class which went from 10:15AM to 11:30AM, a 2 hour break for the next class which lasted from 2PM to 3:30PM, another hour break to go to a class at 4:45PM to 6PM or 7PM depending on if it was a lab day, to then have the final class be at 8:30PM to 10PM. "And considering I lived an hour or two away by bus, I had to wake up at 6AM, hitch a bus at 6:30, reach my first transfer at around 6:45 or 7, wait for my next bus which got there at around 7:15, then get off at that stop, and then wait for another bus that got there at 7:30, and was nearly always full, then and use it to get to Campus, which was 3 stops away. Then, when the day was over, I'd get home by 12, 11 something if I was lucky, then wake up and do it again."

I stared at my Other Half, completely Baffled at what I'd just heard. "Again, what the fuck?" I knew college was meant to be a challenge, but what in the living fuck did I just hear?!

He had the audacity to shrug! "Would've lost my free Wednesday if it was different." Just for that?! He snorted. "If you decide to go back to school, or deal with online classes, then you'll kick God in the dick if it means getting an extra day off. Hell, I was doing fine with that shitshow of a schedule too."

"Bullshit." Phoenix turned to raise a brow at me, and I doubled down. "How the hell did you manage that?"

He hummed, and sent a few images. "My high school was a private, good ol Catholic, one. In... I think Sophomore year, they did a thing where we got Chromebooks," The image of a laptop with some drawn and assumingly glued on logo. "Mhm. I spent like, an hour, staring at the icon for Persona 5, and drawing the Phantom Thief logo on some printing paper. When I was pretty sure I had it perfectly, I cut it out and glued that bitch onto my Chromebook." He paused, the music and sound of eggs being beat the only thing that went off. I should do that again... Maybe get back into drawing in general. My Interest sparked at that, a hobby we'd talked about but one he'd said he'd given up on.

Though, I had a question. "Wasn't that school property though?"

That got his attention, and he nodded. "Well, yeah, but they told us we'd be able to buy them from the school by the end of our year, and I already decided I was going to have it, so I decorated." Oh... Sounded about right. Bemusement came from him. "That's just the thing with us, isn't it? 'Sounds about right.'"

Taking a moment to take that in, I shrugged a moment later. "Sounds about right." He turned to me, lips twitching in shared Humor. We broke the look off after a bit, laughing a bit, and both went back to doing what we had been beforehand. For me, that was setting up making my pancakes, while he put the eggs into the pan. "Anyway, you were saying?"

He blinked, Where the fuck was I? I sent him a clip of where we left off, and he nodded. "Yeah. So, I bought the Chromebook, and took the thing everywhere. So that, with my phone, and one friend I'd managed to convince to go to the same college, I managed. Music, games, free time to take a nap in the cafeteria or library, and I handled my schedule."

Then he stopped there, going back to humming along to the music, which had changed over to another one at some point. I waited for a bit, but after a minute of him not going on, I just asked. "And?" Hmm? "That's it?"

Another shrug. "What do you want me to say?"

"... I dunno... Anything?"

More humming. "Well, I got most of my work done on Campus. Usually in the Cafeteria, then took a nap." There! "Hmm?"

"How do you fall asleep in a cafeteria?" They were noisy, smelled of food, and were usually horrible places to try something like that.

Another pair of images were sent to me, a normal couch with an outlet nearby, and a three seater long seat. The former I could get, but not the latter. "For that, I laid down, used my bag as a pillow, and drowned out everything else with my headphones and music." Oh... That... Made sense? "Mhm. If I can get comfortable, I can just relax wherever." I knew that, I'd even seen it in action, so it was believable. "Besides, there were two floors to the caf, downstairs to get food, upstairs to eat it. Sure, most people used the first floor, because obviously they'd eat there, but a majority went upstairs. Really, I pretty much lived there when I wasn't in class."

Nodding at the images I was getting, I hummed along with the song. ""~Beggin, begging yooou, put your loving hand out darling.~"" I had to admit, this was a good song.

"Should I feel insulted that you think I'd have shit taste?"

I rolled my eyes. "Didn't even think anything remotely close to that."

He hummed at me. "Suuure."

I snorted. (Insufferable man.)

He pulsed with Fond Amusement. [Yours though.] I was pretty sure I did the same after that.

[Phoenix's POV]

After we finished making breakfast, and were halfway done eating it while watching some Criminal Minds, Taylor asked a good question. "So, what're we doing today?"

Humming, and flicking some egg into my mouth, I thought about it. (Well, I've got the Ogre woman to deal with...-)

"Her name's Gully." The stern tone she used was heard.

(Ogre woman,) And promptly ignored. Goddammit... (Pretty sure the Ultimatrix can handle the whole 'Monster Cape' issue, it's the goddamn Ultimatrix after all, so I'm gonna have to worry about every monster movie reject,) The look I got for that made me sigh. (Every unfortunate soul who in no way shape or form deserve to look like monsters.) She nodded, a pulse of Acceptance coming from her as she went back to her pancakes. (I'll need to deal with them... But Dragon can probably help deal with that.) Munching on some more eggs, and thinking some more, I remembered the day before yesterday. (I'll have to deal with Tattletale soon. I'll probably be able to get an in and work my way to Coil. The fucker's coming for us, so I'll need to either put him down, or capture him.)

I frowned, I didn't exactly want to deal with the Thinker, but I would have too given how much of a useful asset she could be. Leviathan's core was usually said to be in his chest, but I'd seen a few fics where it was at the base of his tail. And while I could make a scanner to figure out where it was, that was time better spent working on our gear and weapons of mass destruction. Of course that's what he calls them. The unenlightened philistine was ignored. The fuck did he just call me? I ignored the narrowed look I was getting, and went on. (So to save myself the time, I'm probably...-)

My Other Half cleared her throat, making me blink and turn to her. "You do remember that we're a team, right?"

I did. "Aren't you going to spend time with your dad though?"

Taylor shrugged. "Yeah, but depending on when the meeting is, I can still go do that." Point there. I always have a point. Deadpanning at her, she smirked in return. "Anyway, when's the meeting?"

My brow rose. "Haven't set it yet." She blinked, Ah, then looked away. I knew that. I snorted, Amused at the little fuck up she had. "Anyway, we'll have to deal with Tattletale today, maybe Panacea and Glory Girl too, though hopefully we won''t have to deal with the latter too much." That got a nod from my Other Half. Neither of us liked the Blonde Super Girl knock off, mainly because her Master aura was offensive to our Bond. "After that..." Humming, I went for it. I was going to be talking to people all fucking apparently, so I'd might as well get it all out today. "Want me to meet your dad?"

My girlfriend's head whipped towards me, Affection, Anticipation, and Reluctance all coursed through her side of the Bond, and I just waited for her to think it through. I mean, I want that to happen, eventually, but now? Her eyes unfocused a bit, probably starting to think of how exactly that meeting would go. I just watched as she thought, then came back and lightly shook her head. Maybe... My girlfriend bit her lip, then stared at me. I stared back, making a show of grabbing some of the last scrambled eggs and bringing them to my mouth, kinda like Sasha, when she huffed. "I'll bring it up with my dad later. I can't in good conscience just drop you on him without warning."

I wasn't even offended at that, I knew how I was. Mhm. "Anyway, I'll message Tattletale in like, an hour, after that, you'll go to your dad?"

Taylor frowned at me. "Why can't we both go?"

The answer was kind of obvious though. "I'm unmasked, so seeing you with me would pretty much out yourself."

The frown grew even more, and was matched with a pulse of Annoyance. "I forgot about that." I blinked, raising a brow at her. Knowing the question, she huffed. "We both had a headache the size of a small state, and we literally fought Goblins earlier. My priorities were kind of elsewhere at the time." Ah, she had a point there. "Obviously." I rolled my eyes at the insufferable woman, "The what?" I meant the green eyes pinnacle of beauty on the couch, Fond Exasperation pulsed from her. "Better."

I quickly 'Muted' my thoughts for a second. (It's hilarious that she didn't put together that that includes me.) 'Unmuting' my thoughts, I watched her hum.

Suddenly, my Other Half blinked, then frowned again. "Then where are we going to meet her?" I didn't know, but that would probably come up later. "I guess that makes sense." It did. "What about Glory Girl? Meeting with her and Panacea would out us too." Instead of answering, I gave her a blank stare, and pointed at my bracer, while sending a mental image of her choker. She got the idea, nodding and not visibly showing the small bit of Embarrassment she felt.

The plans would need to be worked on, but that could come la...- "Ahem." Taylor and I paused, then turned to the side, seeing Taskmistress sitting in a hard light seat, legs crossed and hands clasped as she looked at us. "If we're talking about having conversations, I think there's a big one that we should be having."

...

...

...

"Ah, I forgot about that."

My Other Half sighed, while my Aunt's brow twitched.