A Dragon's Hord 4: Socializations and Secrets

<<<Taylor Hebert>>>

Peter’s home, Taylor decided, made her feel somewhat homesick. It reminded her of happier days when both her parents were alive and well. The house was filled with love and laughter, and on occasion her mom ranting about troublemakers in her classes, or dad grumbling about workers with more balls than brains.

His home felt exactly the same, and it didn’t help that Aunt May was virtually a paragon of matronly kindness and generosity. Honestly, she couldn’t remember the last time that someone other than Dragon fussed over her like she did.

Though unlike poor Pete, Taylor could easily repress any outward reactions when Aunt May started to tease Peter about bringing a girl home. If anything Taylor was amused, shouldn’t he have expected a reaction like this in the first place?

Even Dragon was amused.

“May, I’m not dating her!” He complained, “MJ battered her into coming here.”

His aunt smirked wide. “And you were the one that invited her. I was a teenager once too, you know. How are the cookies, dear?” She asked Taylor with a less mischievous smile. “Peter helped me prepare them, he’s a wonderful cook.”

Peter sighed.

“Amazing,” Taylor said with a smile.

Dragon spoke up with a grin. “Oh, I think Peter is going to make an excellent husband!” Taylor decided not to indulge her sense of mischief.

Though she was tempted, if her powers and scans weren’t mistaken Pete would either faint from mortification or he’d experience lightheadedness due to a spike in blood pressure.

“He’s going to make a girl so lucky one day,” Aunt May would be the one to say it of course, with a faint coy smile on her lips.

“Aunt May!” Peter could deny it but that was definitely a whine, and Taylor had witnesses as well as audio to prove it.

Taylor coughed, hiding a snort, before saying, “So what do you do around here for fun?”

Still slightly red faced Peter answered, “I mostly read or tinker.” He admitted, “Between homework and chores anyway.”

“I’ve never said no to a good crime novel,” May said with a smirk, “Or not so good ones, according to Peter.”

“They’re awful, very predictable,” Peter said with a serious nod, “But some of them are funny.”

“I prefer the classics myself,” Taylor said, “Though recent events have given me an appreciation for science fiction.” She added dryly, “Though I wish the whole ‘Evil AI’ cliche would stop being so common.” That got a snort of disagreement from Dragon, not that Peter and Aunt May would know. 

“I’ve never been a fan of fantasy,” May said, “Never saw the appeal.”

“To each their own,” Taylor said with a shrug, honestly the only genre she never really got into was horror… well primarily the lovecraftian sort.

Peter looked annoyed for a moment. “Scifi isn’t fantasy…” He sighed out, “Anyway, how about you? What do you do for fun? Is it related to whatever it was that you wanted to show me?” May’s eyebrow raised. “I was wondering about her study routine. She’s taking a lot of AP classes.”

Taylor just shook her head. “I’m essentially a brain in a jar, and even that had to be augmented with cybernetics so I could control my new body.” She figured she’d leave her power for another time honestly, “I could open up a maintenance hatch and prove it,” She offered.

Even Dragon seemed to be surprised by her saying it so openly in front of May.

“What? Weren’t you the one telling me to try to trust again? I see this as ripping the bandaid off.” Taylor said to Dragon as Aunt May processed her admittance.

“Well, I hope eating those cookies won’t hurt you?” She started, “And no grandbabies.” Peter was frozen in place.

“Nope,” Taylor said, “Dragon… put a frankly terrifying amount of forethought and effort into my body.” Then she processed the last part of the statement and, as Dragon cackled, said, “I could have those. She specifically said she’d show me how to turn off my… contraceptives when I was an adult.”

Taylor clamped down hard on her emotional response so her mortification didn’t somehow leak through into her voice.

“Oh, good. I’d hate for Dragon to miss out on the chance to spoil them,” May said, making Dragon give her a double take. “But to ensure that you aren’t simply in need of mental help… maybe it would be best to open a smaller panel?”

“An arm panel would work,” Dragon said, “Or leg, you could show off your legs to Peter more!”

“Ah, sure.” Taylor paused and wondered if Dragon didn’t somehow tweak her confidence or inhibitions as she casually put her leg on the table and pulled her pant leg up and with a faint twitch an invisible seam on her leg appeared before opening up exposing… Taylor stared, “You know, I have the schematics in my head and that still leaves me impressed.” She said as she rolled her foot around watching as synthetic muscles flexed in return.

Peter leaned in close as he examined it. “Huh, she used a similar fiber to a mechanical arm Stark invented,” He said, “It looks like there are some differences, and she could have improved efficiency by a few percent…” He coughed, “But it would probably be better to talk to her about that. I, uh, doubt you want me to start talking for hours while your leg is up like this?”

May laughed.

“Well, I did get some feedback and bounce ideas off him,” Dragon admitted, “And honestly, he’s easier to work with than Mr. Reed.”

Taylor… felt there was a story there but didn’t want to ask.

“Dragon said she collaborated with Stark about it, well me really,” Taylor said, “And she can hear you, she’s been cackling like a hyena for a while now,” She added dryly, “If anything I think she’d love to talk shop with you, and I imagine you’d get a modest payment for any advancements you help in.”

Peter was about to protest, but May cut him off, “If you have the opportunity, take it. You can’t just use that brain of yours to never make any money. Sometimes, you need to make money to use it to help people.” Which made him sigh.

“I’d love to talk to her about things. I’m mostly a chemistry guy,” He admitted, “But synthetic fibers are mostly chemistry anyway.”

“Maybe I should take you home next so Dragon can talk your ears off about how much chemistry went into my everything,” Taylor said dryly, making Peter blush, Aunt May snicker, and Dragon just… “Huh, I guess she had to step away? Either business or she was laughing too hard.”

“Well, she’s a very busy woman,” May said, “Now, please take your foot off my table? It’s not you, it’s your shoes. They have dirt on them.”

Taylor blushed as she did as asked before standing up and helping wipe it all off, “Oh, sorry about that Aunt May.” 

She hummed. “Tea?” She offered, standing up and moving to boil water in a kettle.

“Yes please,” Taylor said with a smile.

Yes, Taylor decided she’d be visiting more. For pleasant conversation and tea… really…

[hr][/hr]

The week passed by… relatively quickly, though that may have been because of just how much homework she’d been given. She… wasn’t exactly happy that the weekend had come, however.

MJ and Laura had badgered her until she gave in, and so now Dragon was taking her (via a remote controlled car) to a party. She was already regretting everything.

“Taylor, don’t pout.” Dragon teased.

“I’m not…” Taylor protested.

“I designed your body as well as most of the software,” Dragon retorted, “I know emotional suppression is being used.”

“Fine… I guess it's just nerves,” Taylor admitted, “I haven’t been to a party in… a very long time.”

The very last one ended with her humiliated and considering some very unwise things.

“You’ll be fine, Taylor,” Dragon replied with a smile as the car came to a stop, “You have friends there, no bullies, and there will be food.”

“I know, I know… old habits,” Taylor said as she rubbed her face, more out of pure habit than anything else.

It wasn’t much but she tried to keep those little tics, they made her feel human.

Dragon didn’t respond, so there was a comfortable silence as the car pulled in and Taylor finally got out.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Dragon called, “That means no alcohol, it’s not good for your brain.”

“Can I even get drunk anymore?” Not that she was really interested, she grew up in the Back and specifically the Docks.

She’s seen what alcohol addiction could do to people. Hell the Bay was the world's greatest PSA against drug and alcohol abuse if you stopped and thought about it.

“You can. You can also perfectly filter it out if you just like the taste,” Dragon shrugged, “I leave a lot of what you do with your body up to you. Your freedom is important to me.”

Taylor was… touched. She knew most people would have just set it to unlock when they were twenty-one or just made sure that it would taste bad period, but… “Thanks Dragon,” She said with a smile, “I’ll try to avoid getting drunk.”

“Now, go, shoo. I’m a busy AI you know!” She said with a wink.

“Yes, you have to figure out how to puppet master America and Canada,” Taylor snarked with a smile, “Though honestly, pretty sure you could do a better job than most politicians.”

“Oh no, I’m already doing that. It’s France that’s giving me trouble.” Her grin was wide.

“I can’t tell if you’re serious or not, and that disturbs me deeply,” Taylor deadpanned, “But you have fun with that,” She added with a shake of her head.

Dragon just laughed as Taylor walked off and towards where the party was going to be, though she didn’t look around, she did use all the bugs no one noticed to map out the entire place as well as ‘tag’ the ones she knew would flirt with her or just bother her in general.

“Ah, there’s Peter…” She thought with a very faint smile as she made her way over to her… bugish friend (she really needed to ask about that… and explain her own powers, honestly).

He was talking with MJ and a blonde girl she didn’t recognize, drinking… what she was pretty sure was juice. “Don’t leave us hanging, what happened after that?” The blonde asked with a grin, “I know you didn’t just let Flash toss your stuff.”

Taylor just listened curiously, though she did make a mental note to ‘speak’ with Flash.

She really didn’t like bullies, Emma and her minions ensured that.

“... I might have rigged his locker to explode?” Peter said after a moment, “Just with a paint bomb. He hasn’t done anything that bad since, so I think he got the message.”

… Okay, so maybe she didn’t have to talk to Flash. Though it was nice to know that for such a nice guy Peter did have a spine.

Still with a shake of her head Taylor decided to make herself known as she stepped forward catching their attention, “I’m not interrupting, am I?” She asked.

The others, except Peter, Taylor noticed, jumped in surprise with MJ looking at her with a raised brow, “Are we going to have to put a bell on you or something? You’re too damn good at being quiet,” She said.

“Am I? Have I been using sound dampeners without realizing it?” Taylor wondered as she ran a systems check to make sure.

She wasn’t, but the sound of her moving was above the noise floor of the room, so them not hearing her was reasonable.

“Sorry?” Taylor said with a cough, “So… are there any party games available around here?” She asked, looking around for any board games or game consoles. “Or just stand around and talk?”

The blonde gained a… seemingly manic grin, “Well, with four of us here… there is a game that we can do. Have you ever played Monopoly?”

Taylor shook her head, “It’s been… a very long time…” She admitted.

Peter just patted Taylor's shoulder, “You have no idea what you started.” He said solemnly with a faint quirk of his lips, “Gwen’s a cutthroat at Monopoly.”

“And I’m essentially a computer that can plan ahead hundreds of steps, if not more, ahead,” Taylor thought before she shrugged. “Maybe she’ll give me a challenge then,” She said, giving him a smirk.

“Oh god help us there’s two of them,” MJ cried out dramatically, leaning on Peter for support.

[hr][/hr]

Taylor stared at the board, how? She was practically a living computer! She could outthink most publicly available computers and probably a few military ones! She had run countless simulations to predict everything possible!

How the actual hell did Gwen beat her!? And beat her so brutally? Taylor knew without a question she wasn’t cheating…

“Good game…” She said, none of her inner turmoil reflecting in her face.

“You made me work for that win,” Gwen said with a grin, “Maybe after a few more games you might beat me?”

MJ cleared her throat. “She plays against computers that use ‘perfect strategies’ all the time. Just to see how well she does,” She noted

… Wait, did Peter tell MJ? Or was she just being paranoid… she really thought she got a handle on that. 

“Probably paranoia. Dammit I thought I was getting a handle on it too,” Taylor thought, “Though it doesn’t help that she reminds me of Emma so damn much…”

“It’s true,” Gwen said, “It’s mostly about learning how to best bluff and deal with the players that aren’t playing really well. You mono focused on me too much.”

“Huh…” Honestly, that’s the first time since she triggered that she’d ever mono focused like that before… “... I’ll look into fixing that…” How? She had no idea.

How did someone with essentially unlimited multitasking ability even do that?

Then a car alarm went off before screams started. “What the-” MJ started before Peter tackled her to the ground, that very same car slamming through the wall and passing through the space she’d just been standing.

“If any of you call the cops, you won’t like what happens after!” A… lizard man said. Her HUD helpfully labeled him as… The Lizard.

New York’s naming scheme for its villains was awful.

Obviously, she didn’t hesitate to call the cops through her internet connection, and call Dragon, but she knew that they’d take a bit to get there and so, alongside everyone else, she got on the floor when told.

“Unlucky for you kids, the owners of this place have money and were… reluctant to give it up,” Lizard started, “So I’ve decided to take their daughter hostage. Sadly for you, you happened to be around her. Now, I can’t just let you go or else the cops will know, but I can’t just leave you around either.”

“... Do all villains enjoy the sound of their voice or is it just New York villains?” Taylor wondered, feeling remarkably calm as she subtly gathered a swarm, it wouldn’t amount to much but… it’d distract the lizardman.

He clapped. “So I have a compromise! Just hand your cell phones over to me and I won’t have to kill anyone today!”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Taylor thought as she analyzed some of the Lizard’s previous crimes, while there hadn’t been many deaths at his hands, it was obvious that the creature was prone to violence and got hyper aggressive when sufficiently provoked.

And… 

“What is Peter doing?” Better yet, when did he get the chance to even slip away?

Pe-Spiderman slammed into Lizard like a cannon shot and bounced him out of the building. “If there’s a way into the backyard,” He started, ignoring a roar, “I suggest everyone take it. This might get messy!”

Almost everyone took his advice and, with a multitude of screams, started running away.

She still couldn’t get her head wrapped around how Peter was Spiderman. The two acted nothing alike!

“Is this that ‘Hero Persona’ thing I saw talked about on MHO?” Taylor wondered as she hurried her friends out of the house, all the while keeping a watch via her bugs… and through Pet-Spiderman’s eyes.

“Well, this is very odd…” Taylor thought.

“Man, Lizard! You’ve let yourself go,” Pet-Spiderman said with a cocky flair, “When was the last time you went to the dentist?”

Lizard swung at him, something Spiderman casually dodged, “That long ago? Well, I’ve got your checkup now and it says you need some teeth removed. So we can either do this the easy way and you,” another dodge, “hard way it is!” And then he punched Lizard. Hard.

The villain was practically launched through the wall it had come in from… through a new hole, making Spiderman wince slightly.

“You done?” He asked the groaning Lizard, “You’re done. But… why is my Spider Sense still going?” He asked before looking in her direction, “Wait, really? You’re not going to attack me, are you? You don’t, uh, look armed.”

“No! No!” She half shouted in surprise before quickly pulling her power back, “I was just… curious.”

“Well Miss Curious,” He started, firing webs at Lizard to keep him pacified, “I’m sure the police will want your statement once they get here-” He was interrupted by the mechanical scream of a jet engine. “Or Dragon could take care of it. I got to say, though, she doesn’t look very dragon-like to me. It’s more like a lion.”

“You’ve not seen any of her bigger suits,” Taylor said dryly.

“Maybe,” He agreed, “But I gotta go, bye!” He shouted before… webslinging away.

He never even left her range, but it was enough for him to get dressed in normal clothes again, apparently, because he’d arrived back with the group not long after to give his statement to Dragon and, a moment later, the police.

Taylor didn’t give away that she actually knew, she wasn’t stupid after all. 

Though she wasn’t looking forward to giving her statement, or any possible teasing Dragon would put her through later.

Peter confronted her once most people had left, “Hey, can we speak in private?” He asked, gesturing down the road, “Just want to talk about what happened, see if you’re ok.”

“Sure,” Taylor said easily as they walked down the road.

“I’ve felt a lot of psychics in my mind,” He noted, “So how much do you know and was it on purpose?”

“I’ve suspected since we first met,” Taylor said, “My powers can be described as Bug control. I won’t go into the details but… you register as buglike to my powers. And I can’t actually read your mind. See through your eyes, have a general awareness of where you are, and probably use your other senses? Yeah but that’s about it. Not even sure if I could actually control you.”

“Alright, that’s… different,” He started, “That something the robot stuff gives you or something else?”

“I’m actually a parahuman,” Taylor answered, “Triggered when Abomination… well, you know…”

He winced. “Yeah I, uh… I was just bitten by a spider,” He admitted, “Probably not comparable.”

“Maybe not but I get it,” Taylor said, “We both had our lives drastically changed. So we’re similar in that regard.”

He nodded, “So… got a hero name picked out?” He asked with a grin. “Should probably pick one or else you’ll get called ‘bug-girl’.”

“Heh, not really,” Taylor said, “Honestly, I’ve been more focused on adjusting to being a… am I technically a cyborg or a robot now?” Shaking her head she focused back on Peter while still thinking about that odd tangent, “But honestly every name I came up with sounds villainous or needlessly edgy.”

“Cyborg, robot would be all mechanical,” He said, “And how about, uh, Weaver or Bumblebee? You could even go with a black and yellow color scheme for that!”

Taylor nodded at that. “It would be rather misleading wouldn’t it?” She mused with a faint smirk, “Expecting a girl that can only control bees, and gets a biblical plague instead…” There was something about that thought that amused her more than she expected.

“I once made a guy back off from a mugging by telling him I was ‘calling the spiders,’” He said with a grin, “The look on his face was very funny.”

Taylor giggled at that, “Imagine the look a mugger would have if it was all the bugs in the general vicinity?” She asked, “And there are hundreds of thousands of insects per block. Just a chittering horde of exoskeletons, and mandibles.”

“... Worrying,” Peter said, “So… do you taste what they do or…”

“I filter out information like that, thankfully.” Bugs were fascinating, but she didn’t deny some of their behaviors were utterly disgusting, “Now come on I think we need to get you home before your aunt gets worried.”

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