Mist of Shadows
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Taylor Hebert Dungeon Girl Part 17
🕑 Added 2018-07-07 01:51:21 +0000 UTC Danny twitched and damn near spilled his soda as a blue and white portal opened in the middle of the living room. “Shit!”Taylor stepped out of the portal. “Hey Dad.”
Danny took a breath as he tried to get his heart to stop trying to pound its way out of his chest. “A little warning next time…” he trailed off as Amy stepped out of the portal wearing a black gothic dress. “New dress?”
“Nope,” Gothic Panacea replied absently as she looked around Taylor’s living room. It could use a bit of dusting but at least someone had decent taste.
“New Amy,” Taylor replied as she closed the town portal, trying not to laugh at the confused look on her father’s face.
“New Amy?” Danny asked warily, not sure he wanted an explanation but knowing he needed one.
Gothic Panacea turned her attention back to Taylor’s father. “Yeah, as far as we can tell I’m either from an alternate world or I’m some type of human projection that escaped Taylor’s dungeon.” Strangely enough she was sort of hoping that Taylor’s dungeon had created or duplicated her or something because that would mean her sister wasn’t freaking out about her being gone.
“She followed me home, can I keep her?” Taylor asked half teasingly and half hopefully.
Danny clamped down on his initial response of ‘Yes!’ as he couldn’t think of a better way to protect his daughter than to have the world’s best healer living with her. He also tried to figure out how they were going to keep this a secret. It was one thing to make little pocket dimensions that happened to be filled with projections, it was quite another when the inhabitants could leave their pocket worlds. “Crap, you’re going to have to set up better defenses if the inhabitants can just wander out.”
“Not exactly, she left the dungeon via a town portal I opened,” Taylor explained.
“Town portal?” Danny took another drink of his soda as he eagerly listened to his daughter expand on how her day went and how she was making Eidolon look like a slacker.
“I picked it up from the Diablo dungeon, it basically lets me make a two way portal to any location within five miles that I’ve been to or can place via coordinates which should let me come and go without being seen.”
Danny sighed as he realized the last shred of hope that he’d be able to keep close tabs on his daughter had just gone up in flames. “Right… that’s good.”
Gothic Panacea grinned when she noticed the deer in the headlights look on Mr. Hebert’s face. “Which helps with secret identities,” she offered trying to emphasize the safety aspect of it.
Taylor cut in before her Dad could ban her from opening more dungeons without taking some major precautions, “My Arcadia dungeon doesn’t seem to be a combat dungeon so I’ll ask some people if they can see the exit, hopefully we’ll get lucky and it’s just a strange power interaction or a feature of that particular dungeon.”
“Hopefully,” Danny admitted as he glanced at the clock. “The pizza should be ready in a couple minutes and there is an extra toothbrush in the bathroom.”
“Sounds good to me,” Gothic Panacea agreed as they headed toward the kitchen. She was looking forward to hanging out for a bit before she went home or at least figured out if she even had a home to get back to.
0o0o0
Danny smiled as Amy and Taylor walked into the kitchen looking relaxed and surprisingly well rested considering they’d spent a fair amount of the night talking. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a rock,” Taylor admitted as she headed over to the fridge to grab a couple slices of leftover pizza. She was a bit surprised how well she’d slept considering this was the first time she’d had anyone sleepover since Emma stabbed her in the back.
“I’d say she hogged the covers but I’d be lying,” Gothic Panacea replied with amusement as she walked over to the table and sat down.
Taylor smiled as she grabbed the plate of pizza out of the fridge. “At least you didn’t wake up with a tentacle monster wrapped around you.” She put the plate in the microwave, closed the door and pushed the button for a minute.
“Cut me some slack, I was half asleep,” Gothic Panacea replied amused.
Danny hid his grin behind his coffee cup as he watched his daughter banter with her friend, it was nice to see her actually enjoying herself. Danny glanced between the two girls, he was just glad that his daughter was making new friends and actually smiling. “Eat up then we’ll load the car and I can drop you at the market.” Seeing the way she was bouncing back from recent tragedies, he couldn’t help but think his little girl was growing up and looking more and more like her mother every day.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how many people mistake me for Amy.”
“Probably more than a couple,” Taylor said as she opened the microwave and grabbed the plate stacked with pizza.
“All things considered, you should probably give Amy a heads up,” Danny pointed out as Taylor set the stack of pizza on the table.
“Probably not a bad idea,” Gothic Panacea admitted as she grabbed a slice of pizza.
“If nothing else, I’ll see about enchanting a hair clip or something with my mask’s ability to change hair colors and styles.” Taylor went to work eating her slice of pizza.
Gothic Panacea finished chewing her bite of pizza. “I wouldn’t mind purple hair or maybe red.”
Danny grabbed a slice of pizza. “Speaking of enchanting, we should probably look at enchanting some things for when we’re just running around town.”
Taylor finished her last bite. “It’s on my list.”
“Do you mind if I use the phone to call Amy?” Gothic Panacea asked.
Danny gestured toward the phone on the shelf. “Go for it.”
Gothic Panacea rattled off Amy’s number as she walked over to the phone. “Is that it?”
“Sounds right,” Taylor replied as she pulled her burner phone out of her pocket and checked Amy’s number. “Yep.”
“At least some things are the same,” Gothic Panacea replied as she dialed her alternate’s number.
Amy answered on the third ring, “Hello?”
“Hey Amy, Taylor figured I should call and see if you minded me walking around with your face…” Gothic Panacea trailed off not sure what she’d do if Amy objected to her wandering around.
Amy yawned. “That’s fine, it’s not like people don’t already know I have a doppelganger wandering around.”
Gothic Panacea sighed in relief. “Any gangs we need to worry about?”
“Not that I know of, none of the local gangs are stupid enough to go after me, especially not at the market. Then again, you won’t have Vicky hovering around, so you should probably ask Taylor for a pair of enchanted lightning gloves just to be on the safe side.”
“Like Emperor Palpatine?” Gothic Panacea asked excitedly.
“Something like that yeah, just try not to get arrested.”
Gothic Panacea snorted. “I’m not going to use them other than as self defense.”
Amy sighed. “I’m a touch more worried about you getting arrested for indecent exposure or something equally as embarrassing.”
“That’s a thing here?” Gothic Panacea asked as ‘innocently’ as she could.
Amy pinched her nose as she realized that leaving her alternate alone might not be the best idea. “On second thought, when are you heading to the market?”
“Maybe ten minutes, we still need to load the chests in the car.”
Taylor set the empty plate in the sink then worked on finishing her second piece of pizza so they’d be ready to leave.
“In that case, I’ll meet you at the market, I’ve got a couple of hours to kill before I have to be at the hospital for a charity event.”
“Sounds good, love you,” Gothic Panacea replied cheerfully then ended the call. “She’s going to meet us at the market and hang out a bit before she heads to the hospital.”
Taylor finished chewing her last bite. “Cool, let’s grab the chests we need.”
Danny grinned as he watched the two girls head leave the kitchen at a fast walk that quickly turned into a run by the sound of their feet on the stairs. ‘She’s bouncing back.’
0o0o0
Gothic Panacea winced slightly as she saw Miss Militia making her way toward their table. ‘So much for a nice quiet day at the market.’
Miss Militia glanced over the various shirts and jeans on display then looked at the two teenage girls that looked like mirror images of one another. ‘I guess the reports of them looking identical weren’t exaggerated.’
Taylor had to resist the urge to squeal in childish glee as she glanced over and noticed the woman with a flag patterned scarf looking over her wares. “Something I can help you with?”
“I was curious about the extra healer,” Miss Militia replied as she absently looked through the stack of shirts for anything interesting while she kept half her attention on Panacea and her doppleganger.
“You’ll have to ask Amy or her doppleganger about that, I just sell clothes.” Taylor kept half her attention on the various stacks of clothes to make sure no one wandered off with anything.
“I haven’t checked the boards since last night, what’s the current theory?” Amy asked, curious what people were going with.
Miss Militia focused on Amy. “That you’re some type of Changer and Trump though the idea that you’re a clone is rather popular as well.”
Amy laughed. “Considering I’m Amy Dallon, I’m fairly sure I’m not a clone.”
Gothic Panacea spoke up, “Are you sure? I could be Amy Dallon.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that I’m Amy, thus you’re obviously my doppelganger.”
“There are worse capes to copy,” Gothic Panacea admitted.
“You’re a Trump?” Miss Militia asked, hoping for a straight answer.
“Currently? Currently I’m a healer, maybe tomorrow I’ll be a Blaster or a Mover.” Gothic Panacea giggled as she started dancing in place.
Amy winced as she noticed several people with camera phones pointed at her doppleganger. “Can you not shake my breasts like that in public?”
Gothic stopped dancing and smiled at Amy. “No problem, I’ll save it for private dances.”
“That’s not…” Amy trailed off with a sigh, knowing that trying to correct her alternate would just encourage her and trying not to show how much it amused her.
“At least I’m reasonably sure which is the real Panacea.” Miss Militia focused on the girl she was fairly sure was either a Changer/Trump or some type of clone. “I don’t suppose you’d come in for power testing?”
“Nope,” Gothic Panacea replied with a touch of amusement.
Miss Militia was a touch annoyed that the new cape wasn’t taking this as seriously as she should, Trumps and Tinkers were generally high value targets for recruitment, a Trump with the ability to look like the person they were copying would be like catnip for any of the gangs that got wind of her. “Wards?”
“Sorry, I like having time off.”
“One last question then I’ll let you enjoy the rest of your day, do you have an official cape name?”
Gothic Panacea shrugged. “I’ve been using Gothic Panacea but we can probably shorten it to Gothic.”
Amy shook her head. “You just want to be able to tack gothic on the front of everyone’s names, Gothic Armsmaster, Gothic Vista or maybe Gothic Clockblocker.”
Gothic snickered. “It would help keep everything straight.”
“If you change your mind, stop by the PRT building. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to head to the hospital, I’m part of the security detail for the charity event.”
“On that note, I should be heading there as well, I’m one of the speakers,” Amy complained.
“Do you want a lift?” Miss Militia asked.
“Thanks, that would save Vicky from having to come get me,” Amy admitted.
Gothic said, “Have fun dealing with the charity, I’ll see you later.”
“Sure.” Amy turned and followed Miss Militia, knowing the older hero would have some questions for her once they were away from prying eyes and ears. She wasn’t planning on answering anything that would give the game away, but reassuring the Protectorate that Gothic was a hero wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Gothic watched her alternate walk away until she was swallowed by the crowd then turned her attention back to helping Taylor. “That went better than I was expecting.”
Lisa absently looked through the various stacks of clothes as she tried to sort through the pack of lies they’d fed Miss Militia or at least misdirections. She had to give the girl credit, she’d never actually claimed to be a Trump or a Changer, just painted a picture and let people assume, still that wasn’t going to save her from the gangs. “Aren’t you worried about the gangs?”
Gothic turned to look at the blonde haired girl with freckles. “I’d have to be crazy if I wasn’t. I might join the Protectorate at some point or leave town if the heat gets too much.”
“Must be nice,” Lisa pointed out.
Gothic shrugged. “Being able to change your face has advantages.”
‘Again with the misdirection.’ Lisa winced slightly as she felt the first twinge of a headache which meant she should probably stop using her power. “I bet.” She handed her stack of clothes to Taylor. “How much do I owe you?”
Taylor looked at the tags and added it up in her head. “80 dollars.”
Lisa pulled four twenties out of her pocket and handed them over. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” Taylor replied as she handed the stack of clothes back to Lisa. “Have a good day.”
Lisa smiled. “I’m planning on grabbing some ice cream and watching an action flick.”
“Sounds fun.” Taylor reached down and stuck the money in her lockbox then smiled at the next customer, a girl that she vaguely recognized from Winslow, thankfully not one of Emma’s minions. ‘I should probably ask Dad if anyone from the dockwalkers has a teenager that wants a part time job, this is starting to get boring.’
0o0o0
Danny waited until he pulled away from the curb before he asked, “How did you do?”
Gothic piped up from the back seat, “She made bank!”
Taylor grinned as she thought about the lockbox stuffed with money. “Certainly better than I was expecting.” She’d done better than the first time, probably because word had spread about the great deals.
“That tends to happen when you have almost no overhead and expensive products to sell for cheap,” Danny pointed out as he switched lanes and headed toward the garage. “Are you going back next week?”
“I might give it a couple of weeks before my ‘boss’ finds another stash, it just depends on what everyone is doing and if anyone from the Dock Workers union has a kid that needs a weekend job.”
“I’ll ask around.” Danny knew a couple of the union members had teenage children that probably wouldn’t mind some extra spending money.
“Which dungeon are we running through when we get to the garage?” Gothic asked, excited about seeing Taylor’s powers at work.
Taylor looked in the rear view mirror at her new friend. It was still a bit strange to see Amy’s face with an actual smile on it rather than the guarded look her friend normally wore. She knew it was selfish but she was really hoping her Arcadia dungeon had respawned Panacea so she could keep Gothic. “I was thinking Arcadia. I’m curious if the dungeon matches the map I got when I took my placement tests.”
Gothic resisted the urge to roll her eyes, she knew Taylor was just trying to put a brave face on things and that there was a chance she wasn’t real or at least that she’d been created by Taylor’s power. Amy had give her a clean bill of health when they’d finished healing everyone at the hospital though she’d paused slightly before saying that she was perfectly healthy which could mean anything from she was tired to you’re going to fall apart and I’m not sure how to tell you. “Yeah, I should probably check in with my sister.”
“Not a bad idea,” Danny agreed as he glanced in his side mirror and switched lanes. He wasn’t sure if there would be a Panacea shaped hole in Taylor’s dungeon or if there would be an extra Panacea or how Gothic would take it if she found out that she couldn’t go home.
0o0o0
Gothic’s breath hitched slightly as she opened the door to the massage room and saw a version of herself dressed like a cowboy, using a rather cute, half naked girl’s behind as a set of drums while she hummed a vaguely familiar tune. “Huh, not what I was expecting.”
“Yeah...” Taylor trailed off with a blush as she glanced away from the girl’s rosey cheeks and looked at the girl’s shorts and white panties that were around her ankles.
“I don’t do brains and modification work requires payment.” Panacea glanced at Gothic and Taylor then paused as she saw Gothic. “Huh, did Kid Win make a cloning machine or are you one of Blasto’s clones?”
Gothic sighed in relief as she realized her world had summoned another version of herself so she was no longer bound there. “Scratch plan A.”
“Plan A?” Panacea asked as she absently ran the fingers of right hand over her patient’s behind.
“I was half expecting the room to be empty and mine.” She pulled her gaze back up to her alternate’s face rather than the cute girl’s behind that was on display.
“Nope sorry, you have the wrong castle, I mean world,” Panacea replied as she playfully swatted the girl’s behind that was lying on the massage table. “Okay, sit up and take your shirt off so I can see what I’m working with.”
The girl on the table giggled as she sat up then reached down and pulled her shirt off revealing that she wasn’t wearing a bra, then again she was somewhere between an AA and an A-cup so it wasn’t like she really needed a bra. “I’m glad that you think I’m cute despite my lack of breasts.”
“Breasts are easy, faces are harder and you’re gorgeous,” Panacea replied as she reached out and trailed her fingers over the girl’s breasts.
Taylor blushed as she watched Panacea’s fingers. “Maybe we should go?”
Gothic shook her head. “Nope, professional curiosity.”
“Sorry, do I need to drag her out of here?” Taylor asked, sort of curious about the process but not wanting to come across as a perverted bitch even in a dungeon.
The girl shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, it’s just us girls.”
Panacea smirked at Gothic then used her power and carefully enlarged the girl’s breasts to a nice solid A cup. “That should do it.”
The girl looked down at her new and improved breasts then pulled Panacea into a hug. “Thank you!”
Panacea gave her a hug then helped her off the table. “Remember to eat a couple extra meals over the next week so I’ll have some extra to work with when you get your B-cups.”
“I’ll remember, I’m looking forward to it,” the girl replied as she reached down and pulled her shorts up.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go for C-cups?” Panacea asked teasingly.
The girl snorted as she picked up her shirt. “Yeah, no, I’ll get there eventually and I’d rather not let you fist fuck me in front of the school.”
“What?” Gothic stared at Panacea.
Panacea sighed. “Mandy was a bitch and wanted to get upgraded, I didn’t think she’d actually go for it!”
The girl pulled her shirt on and smirked. “It was the best damned lunch show of the year, totally worth getting Mom to sign the permission slip to watch.”
“I’d have paid to see that,” Gothic admitted thinking about her version of Mandy or at least the version she remembered.
“I’m sure we could work something out,” Panacea offered teasingly.
“In that case, we’ll see,” the girl replied with amusement as she headed for the door.
Taylor opened the door and stepped out of the way. “Have fun.”
“I’m planning on it, now I just have to find Cockblocker and get detention.”
Taylor frowned slightly as she watched the girl leave, not sure why anyone would want detention. “Weird.”
“But entertaining,” Gothic added.
Panacea glanced between her duplicate and Taylor. “So, what can I do for you?”
Gothic held out her hand. “Can you check my health?”
“Can I kiss you?” Panacea asked with a smirk.
“With tongue,” Gothic demanded with a matching expression.
Taylor shook her head as Gothic kissed the naughty Panacea. ‘Yeah, I’m going to have to tell Dad that the massage room is empty or locked if he decides he has to see this dungeon,’ she thought as she watched her friend kiss her doppleganger, the thought of looking away not even occurring to her.
Gothic stared at Panacea as the other girl broke the kiss. “You don’t have a Gemma or a Corona…” she trailed off as the pieces slid into place, ‘Shit, was that what Amy found when she checked my health?’ She was going to have to have a long chat with Amy about leaving out important details, like the fact that she wasn’t from an alternate reality like she’d half thought… hoped.
Panacea frowned. “What do you mean, of course I do, all parahumans have them unless something damages them. Either way, you’re perfectly healthy. Sort of strange in a baseline human.”
“No Gemma or Corona Pollentia?” Gothic asked, wanting to make sure.
“Sorry,” Panacea replied as kindly as she could, “you may have my good looks, but powers are not in your future.”
“Thanks for checking, I need some air,” Gothic said as she quickly turned and walked out of the room.
“Sorry,” Taylor apologized as she followed Gothic out into the hallway.
“Don’t worry about it,” Panacea said as she grabbed her textbook from her bag.
Gothic leaned against the wall as she tried to get her thoughts in order, not really caring that she’d been created by Taylor’s powers and not summoned from elsewhere. “Does this change anything?” she asked seriously.
Taylor shook her head. “Not particularly, you’re still my friend and you’re still welcome to stay with me.”
“Even if I’m a bit of a tentacle monster in the morning?” Gothic teased, relieved that Taylor wouldn’t abandon her.
“Even then,” Taylor agreed as she walked over and leaned up against the wall next to her friend, bumping shoulders with her.
“So now what?” Gothic asked, her ever present smile appearing once more.
Taylor was rather tempted to blow everything off and grab some ice cream, but she wanted to explore the dungeon a bit, so that she could tell her dad that there wasn’t anything worth him checking out in the dungeon. Plus, Gothic didn’t really look like she needed to talk about her situation and would probably want to poke around herself. “We still need to explore the school.”
Gothic pushed herself off the wall. “Lead the way.”
Comments
Mist of Shadows
She can't find a duplicate of herself in the Locker... elsewhere... maybe, not sure it would come up.
Patrick Sandhop
Fascinating. So, Gothic Panacea is essentially a clone Taylor made but has powers due to the whole copying of the effects of a Shard without importing a duplicate Shard as one is already present? That's an interesting shade of existential drama there. Makes me wonder if Taylor could find a double of herself in the copy of the locker in the Winslow dungeon.
