"Hey, I ain't that old, baby girl." He protested playfully, his steely gray eyes twinkling with mirth as he used that same hand he'd put on her hot skin to pull a few stray hairs of his salt and pepper black hair back into place behind his ear before letting out a weary sigh. Despite being in his mid-forties, Richard was a handsome guy even though living in this Hellhole of a city hadn't done either of them any favors given how prematurely gray his hair was, let alone the slight, tired circles around his otherwise expressive eyes. A chiseled jaw and a broad, muscular frame made him physically imposing to nearly everyone else, especially since he was quite tall to boot, but Alessa had never felt anything but safe around the man she had the honor of calling her dad. Even when he had a good reason to be pissed, he was never cruel or malicious, just firm in the ways that he needed to be. "All jokes aside, hun, hopefully it's just a case of mild food poisoning or a twenty-four hour bug."
"Here's hoping, just avoid the potholes as much as you can since I don't want to ruin the upholstery." She murmured, groaning again as her stomach roiled ominously when they wound up going over one of the many potholes that marred almost every inch of asphalt that ran its way through the city. Naturally, the further away one was from the better parts of Downtown, where the rich muckety mucks lived, including Mayor Steven Alcott and his family, the more the city's urban decay showed its ugly head. Some parts of the city didn't even have working electricity for fuck's sake, but those were places Alessa wasn't about to go anywhere near even on a dare given how deadly those parts of town were for the average person. Not that the rest of the Bay was much better, but some places were just better avoided like the plague.
If the Merchants, joke or not, got ahold of her, being gang raped and forcibly addicted to their drugs would be a nightmare, one that she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. That wasn't even saying anything about the rumors of a new player in town, someone that had started to unify the various Asian minorities into a single gang under his banner. Worse yet, there were stories of young women, some as young as she was, if not younger, going missing, with rumors hinting they'd been forced into the sex trade.
As far as Alessa knew not many had really seen the guy in question that was supposedly responsible for those same disappearances, but those few that had seen him in person or knew someone that did had all agreed that he was a Cape, and a powerful one at that given his rumored abilities that apparently made him able to grow into a literal dragon, scales, fire breathing or generation, the works. Whoever he was, whatever he wanted from the Bay, the PRT certainly seemed to think he was dangerous given the Wanted Posters that had been plastered all over TV in recent days. She just hoped he stayed far from her and her dad since he was the only family she had left. Losing him would be t-
"Urgh!" She retched, slapping a hand over her mouth when her stomach gave a sudden lurch.
"Roll down the window if you need to, Alessa." Her dad said, reaching over to gently squeeze her shoulder.
"Ugh… yeah, good idea." She weakly replied once she managed to swallow back the bile that'd started to bubble its way up her throat, the cold that rushed into the car's interior being just enough of a distraction that it made her forget her roiling stomach for a few precious moments. Thankfully they'd since gotten to their block, meaning they were only a few minutes away from the small, two bedroom house that they called home. The peeling dark brown paint, the shingled roof that needed a few new shingles put on, it didn't look like much to be fair, but it was also the only home she'd ever known. It had a lot of precious memories for her and her dad both, but like anywhere in the Bay, it also had a few bad ones as well.
Still, she pushed that particular thought train off its rails before it could go down the usual path, her stomach already upset enough without adding emotional fuel to the fire that was presently her roiling guts. It was just as well since the house itself came into sight at last, and Alessa started to feel a little better already. Unfortunately they had barely pulled into the crack riddled driveway before she undid her seatbelt, opened the door, took all but three steps away from the car, and promptly felt what was left of her stomach contents rush out of her mouth. She distantly noted her dad rubbing soothing circles against her shaking back and gently holding her hair out of her face as she gave the driveway a fresh coat of green and yellow puke.
Groaning weakly, she simply stood there in her blue denim jacket and her black jean pants, her beat up old gray-white sneakers now covered in bile and who knew what else until her dad started to gently guide her to the front door one step at a time by her left elbow. "It's alright, let's just get you to bed. You feel up to sitting in the tub for a while?"
"Y-yeah… I think I will." She groaned, her throat raw and achy now. At least the house was nice and toasty as the door was quickly shut behind them moments later. She didn't pay the interior much mind as she shambled her way to her bedroom with the intent of getting undressed. All the while she was quite grateful the bathroom was just a few feet down the hall from her room, since if it was any further she wasn't sure if she'd make it under her own dwindling strength. Or so she thought because the next thing she knew, her knees buckled, and the ground rushed up to meet her. Distantly she heard her dad calling her name, but Alessa didn't get the chance to respond before she fell to the floor flat on her face.
She had no idea how long she was out of it, only that the next semi-coherent thought she had, Alessa found herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. It took longer to figure out she had a hot rag resting against her forehead, her blankets pulled up to her chin. Groaning weakly, she glanced towards the digital clock on her nightstand, and grimaced when her brain processed the fact she'd lost about five hours. Once she gingerly sat up, her stomach feeling somewhat better, she groaned upon registering the fact she was practically swimming in sweat.
"Ugh…" She murmured, feeling all kinds of gross as she got to her feet once more.
Stopping in front of her vanity table's mirror, Alessa sighed upon spotting her reflection. To say she looked like Hell had frozen over would've been an understatement given the bags under her dark emerald eyes along with fiery red hair that fell past her shoulders in a haphazard, tangled mess all down her back, some of it matted to her the back of her neck thanks to the sweat that covered her from her fever breaking at some point during her impromptu nap.
Shaking that thought off as she pulled her black AC/DC shirt over her head before tossing it into a nearby clothes hamper, Alessa sighed as she looked at her plain black bra covered breasts before cupping her fairly round orbs. She didn't mind the softly curved figure that stared back at her, but she wouldn't have minded a little more in the chest department if nothing else. Still, she pushed that thought aside as the rest of her clothes followed suit moments later before she padded her way to the bathroom to finally take that hot bath.
She froze though when she swore she saw someone dart past the entrance to the living room at the end of the hall. She hurriedly grabbed a towel from the bathroom before wrapping it around herself, hoping it was just her still fever-addled brain playing tricks on her. "Dad? You awake in there?" She called out as she reached for a lightswitch once she reached the end of the hall, only to frown when no light came on. "What the Hell?" She muttered, not quite panicking yet since there could be any number of reasons why the power was out. Straining her ears, her frown deepened when she thought she heard an unfamiliar set of footsteps on the kitchen's tiled floor. The fact they were trying to quietly move around though made it clear they were up to no good. "If someone's out there you better piss off before I call the cops!"
Sure the police were largely useless, but it was still a viable threat if you happened to have the right skin color. Unfortunately one of the other things she'd gotten from her mother was her Mediterranean skin tone, making Alessa an exotically beautiful bronzed shade, but her exotic skin tone had gotten her into some minor scuffles with the racist pricks at Winslow High. Not that she was thinking about that so much as she reached for a baseball bat they kept behind the couch, never taking her eyes off the shadow covered living room, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. The fact her room still had power likely meant it was just a blown fuse, but that someone was sneaking around made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up. Her uneasy feeling only increased when she realized the bat wasn't where it was supposed to be. "What the fu-"
"Alessa?" The front door opened, and Alessa rounded towards the front door just as her dad tried to turn the lights on. "Is the power out?" He asked, confusion clearly visible on his face as he gave the switch a couple more tries. "Huh."
"I think someone's in here." She cut in, making him jerk his head towards her in an instant. "The baseball bat's missing, and I swore I heard someone sneaking around."
"Are you sure? You were just sick wi-"
"I know what I heard!" She cut him off as she moved to the small table that rested beside the couch before pulling out a flashlight. "I still feel like shit, but I'm pretty sure I sweated out half my weight in the time I was out cold." Getting the flashlight working at last, she pointed it at the kitchen just in time to see someone nimbly dart out the window. Her dad saw it too as she heard the sharp inhale of breath at her back at the same time she darted for the window before sticking her head out to try and catch a glimpse of whoever had just been in their home. Yet all she saw was darkness and the neighbor's yard, the road that went past their house barely illuminated by a single, flickering fluorescent street lamp. "Believe me now?"
"Yeah I do." Her dad said as Alessa pulled her head back from the window with a heavy sigh. She blinked owlishly though when she saw he was holding a bottle of stomach medicine out to her. "I ran to the nearby pharmacy. You were out for a while, baby girl. Had me worried, but I didn't know what else to do since everywhere is pretty much closed down thanks to the new villain that's popped up."
"Wait what?" She asked, taking the offered medicine with visible confusion etched over her face. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"Armsmaster and several of the Protectorate Capes weren't able to stop whoever it was that's appeared. Some kinda fire dragon thing from what the radio said, but as far as I know no one's died." He explained, earning a relieved nod from her as she kept her towel closed with one hand before making her way to the bathroom, the bottle of stomach medicine in her free hand. "There was a pretty huge fire that took out parts of the Docks, but so far no confirmed casualties. Whoever this guy was, he seemed more interested in taking on the heroes than anything." He called out, fiddling around in the kitchen while she put the bottle of medicine in the bathroom's medicine cabinet.
"And he's still free I take it?" She called back, moving to get the bathtub filled up at last.
"Yeah… but the PRT released a statement, saying that he's probably the new player in town we've heard rumors about. I swear, Marquis might've been bad, but he at least had rules he followed, some kinda honor code. Whoever this new guy is though, I got a bad feeling he won't be nearly as restrained."
"The only reason you know anything is because I share all the latest gossip with you, old man." She teasingly retorted, earning a huff of a laugh that held more than a little of his relief as she went about the process of getting the tub filled before putting her towel on the closed toilet.
"Yeah yeah, but you and I both know you spend too much time on PHO." Her dad pointed out, making her sigh in acknowledgment since he wasn't wrong. Still, she smiled as he padded down the hall before softly adding, "I'm glad you're feeling better, Alessa. Just take it easy for the next day or two, alright?"
She gave the doorway a soft smile, and said, "I will. I'll… take tomorrow off, and have Alice bring my homework to the house. I just need to call her after I'm done in here."
"Alright, I love you baby girl." Her dad said before making his way back to the kitchen.
"Love you too, dad." She replied, the tub having filled up by that point. She happily sunk into the gently steaming water with a groan, the tension and sweat and icky feelings leaving her in a soothing wave as the heat from the water seeped into her body. Still, the thought that that intruder had been going through their house didn't sit well with her, so she called out, "Did they take anything?"
"Not that I tell now that I got the fuse replaced and I can actually see out here. We might've interrupted them before they had the chance." Hopefully that was the case. Alessa did her best to put it out of her mind in any event at the same time the bathroom light flickered to life which allowed her to finally turn the flashlight off, the hot water too relaxing for her to care about much of anything else as her eyes slowly drifted closed. Try as she might though, she couldn't fully relax, not with the way the hairs on the back of her neck were still standing on end since something just didn't feel right to her.
But nothing happened as she eventually got out of the tub, dried off, and padded back to her room with a towel once again wrapped around her waist and another wrapped around her long red hair. Slipping into some comfy gray pajama pants and a matching gray sweatshirt, she made her way to the kitchen just in time to see her dad frown when he glanced at the small glass window in the front of the beat up old cream yellow stove. "What the- why is the baseball bat in there?"
"Huh?" Alessa asked right before he moved to open the stove door. Her blood turned to ice when she saw the thin wire that disappeared into the stove's interior. Something clicked when the wire was pulled taut before her immediate surroundings became a Hellish inferno at the same time she was flung away from the exploding stove before everything went black…
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Our mod selection process has completed. Please welcome our new moderators. NSFW Creative Writing[NSFW] Reforged: The Alessa Protocol (Celestial Forge, Worm native resident story) Thread starterVergil1989 Crossover King Start dateAug 2, 2025 Tagsalternative universe celestial forge eventual lewds feedback makes the author happy female protagonist original character pre canon slow buildup wormReforged: The Alessa Protocol (Celestial Forge, Worm native resident story) (AU)CreatedAug 2, 2025StatusIncompleteWatchers630Recent readers882Threadmarks16The end of the world is eventually averted when a young woman's stove explodes which leads to her being given the Celestial Forge. With Alessa Dawson's life about to be turned upside down, she'll have to adjust to her newfound power and the complications it'll bring her all while keeping her head attached.
(Pre-canon by three years, Lung is freshly arrived to the Bay.)Last edited: Aug 2, 2025Threadmarks IndexStatistics (14 threadmarks, 91k words)ThreadmarksReader mode RSS Ch 1: Born in FireWords 3.5kAug 2, 2025Ch 2: Critical But StableWords 3kAug 2, 2025NewCh 12: Mounting PressureWords 7.5kWednesday at 7:10 AMNewCh 13: ExpansionsWords 8.6kYesterday at 3:51 AMNewCh 14: Highschool HystericsWords 10kToday at 9:16 AM1…7 NextJump to newIgnoreWatchThread ToolsThreadmarksIndexReader modeThreadmarks Ch 1: Born in Fire Threadmarks Vergil1989 Crossover KingConnoisseur.Aug 2, 2025Add bookmark#1Opening Notes: Heya folks, this was inspired by a pretty awesome crossover story called Legendary Tinker by @Fabled Webs. While I originally planned to use the Celestial Grimoire over the Inspired Inventor CYOA for this, I figured I'd give something like this a shot either way. For now, here's a few quick rules to keep in mind although as things progress these will likely change or if you all suggest something that makes more sense. At the moment though, every 1k words is a 100 CP addition to my current CP count. Lewds will likely get their own CP awards, probably 50 CP every 500 words or something, but I'd be happy to see you guys come up with mission ideas and the like if you feel so inspired. For now, here we go!
Addendum: Like I said, originally I started this with the Grimoire in mind, but well... that plan changed when I had a bit of a falling out with my co-writer at the time so... meh, just went with the Forge instead. While it was a bit annoying to rewrite parts of this and the latter chapter which I'll be posting soon, hopefully this is still enjoyable everyone. That aside, a good title for the story would be appreciated, so feel free to offer suggestions if you feel so inclined.
Total word count, 3,161 = 300 CP
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Chapter 1
Born in Fire
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Brockton Bay, Massachusetts
November 12th, 2008, Monday
3:21 PM…
It was just another day in the Bay, until it wasn't.
A fifteen year old Alessa Dawson groaned as she put a hand to her stomach, feeling like she was going to throw up, again, after suddenly coming down with something that had her feeling like she was being tossed about at sea. It didn't help that she'd blown her lunch all over the gym floor while going through the usual exercise regime their PE teacher had had them doing. Thank God she didn't end up hurling over one of her friends, or worse, one of the up and coming gang members that called the place home. Treating it like a recruitment zone for all that the teachers did fuck all to stop anything those same gang members did. From harassing anyone and everyone they so desired to destroying whatever piece of the building caught their attention that day. The last thing she'd wanted to deal with was some E88 asshat coming after her because she'd thrown up all over his shoes or something.
But such was life in the Bay, the crime capital of the east coast. The dozens of small gangs, and the two big ones, even if the Merchants were considered a pathetic joke, ruled the city, with the Protectorate and their Wards doing what little they could to desperately hold onto some semblance of order. Regardless, one learned pretty quick to keep their head down and keep it that way lest they draw the wrong kind of attention upon themselves. Being a Parahuman just made one's life more complicated even if getting powers also gave access to a few more options, although being press ganged into one of the aforementioned gangs was hardly an ideal situation for anyone, assuming one simply didn't get murdered of course. Not that Alessa hadn't ever wished she had a means to protect herself and her few loved ones, but having to go through a traumatic experience just to get said powers wasn't something she'd wish on anyone.
She may or may not have an unhealthy obsession with PHO…
"We're almost home, Alessa." Her dad's voice pulled her foggy thoughts back to the present as Richard Dawson reached over to gently put a hand to her forehead, frowning at the heat that was starting to pour off of her all without taking his eyes off the lightly snow covered road. "Yeesh, I knew Winslow lunches were about as bad as the school, but they must've dropped in quality since I went there."
"Ugh… when you went to school, powers were still a thing of fiction." She groaned, giving him a wan if amused smile that her dad glanced at before chuckling lightly in response.
"Hey, I ain't that old, baby girl." He protested playfully, his steely gray eyes twinkling with mirth as he used that same hand he'd put on her hot skin to pull a few stray hairs of his salt and pepper black hair back into place behind his ear before letting out a weary sigh. Despite being in his mid-forties, Richard was a handsome guy even though living in this Hellhole of a city hadn't done either of them any favors given how prematurely gray his hair was, let alone the slight, tired circles around his otherwise expressive eyes. A chiseled jaw and a broad, muscular frame made him physically imposing to nearly everyone else, especially since he was quite tall to boot, but Alessa had never felt anything but safe around the man she had the honor of calling her dad. Even when he had a good reason to be pissed, he was never cruel or malicious, just firm in the ways that he needed to be. "All jokes aside, hun, hopefully it's just a case of mild food poisoning or a twenty-four hour bug."
"Here's hoping, just avoid the potholes as much as you can since I don't want to ruin the upholstery." She murmured, groaning again as her stomach roiled ominously when they wound up going over one of the many potholes that marred almost every inch of asphalt that ran its way through the city. Naturally, the further away one was from the better parts of Downtown, where the rich muckety mucks lived, including Mayor Steven Alcott and his family, the more the city's urban decay showed its ugly head. Some parts of the city didn't even have working electricity for fuck's sake, but those were places Alessa wasn't about to go anywhere near even on a dare given how deadly those parts of town were for the average person. Not that the rest of the Bay was much better, but some places were just better avoided like the plague.
If the Merchants, joke or not, got ahold of her, being gang raped and forcibly addicted to their drugs would be a nightmare, one that she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. That wasn't even saying anything about the rumors of a new player in town, someone that had started to unify the various Asian minorities into a single gang under his banner. Worse yet, there were stories of young women, some as young as she was, if not younger, going missing, with rumors hinting they'd been forced into the sex trade.
As far as Alessa knew not many had really seen the guy in question that was supposedly responsible for those same disappearances, but those few that had seen him in person or knew someone that did had all agreed that he was a Cape, and a powerful one at that given his rumored abilities that apparently made him able to grow into a literal dragon, scales, fire breathing or generation, the works. Whoever he was, whatever he wanted from the Bay, the PRT certainly seemed to think he was dangerous given the Wanted Posters that had been plastered all over TV in recent days. She just hoped he stayed far from her and her dad since he was the only family she had left. Losing him would be t-
"Urgh!" She retched, slapping a hand over her mouth when her stomach gave a sudden lurch.
"Roll down the window if you need to, Alessa." Her dad said, reaching over to gently squeeze her shoulder.
"Ugh… yeah, good idea." She weakly replied once she managed to swallow back the bile that'd started to bubble its way up her throat, the cold that rushed into the car's interior being just enough of a distraction that it made her forget her roiling stomach for a few precious moments. Thankfully they'd since gotten to their block, meaning they were only a few minutes away from the small, two bedroom house that they called home. The peeling dark brown paint, the shingled roof that needed a few new shingles put on, it didn't look like much to be fair, but it was also the only home she'd ever known. It had a lot of precious memories for her and her dad both, but like anywhere in the Bay, it also had a few bad ones as well.
Still, she pushed that particular thought train off its rails before it could go down the usual path, her stomach already upset enough without adding emotional fuel to the fire that was presently her roiling guts. It was just as well since the house itself came into sight at last, and Alessa started to feel a little better already. Unfortunately they had barely pulled into the crack riddled driveway before she undid her seatbelt, opened the door, took all but three steps away from the car, and promptly felt what was left of her stomach contents rush out of her mouth. She distantly noted her dad rubbing soothing circles against her shaking back and gently holding her hair out of her face as she gave the driveway a fresh coat of green and yellow puke.
Groaning weakly, she simply stood there in her blue denim jacket and her black jean pants, her beat up old gray-white sneakers now covered in bile and who knew what else until her dad started to gently guide her to the front door one step at a time by her left elbow. "It's alright, let's just get you to bed. You feel up to sitting in the tub for a while?"
"Y-yeah… I think I will." She groaned, her throat raw and achy now. At least the house was nice and toasty as the door was quickly shut behind them moments later. She didn't pay the interior much mind as she shambled her way to her bedroom with the intent of getting undressed. All the while she was quite grateful the bathroom was just a few feet down the hall from her room, since if it was any further she wasn't sure if she'd make it under her own dwindling strength. Or so she thought because the next thing she knew, her knees buckled, and the ground rushed up to meet her. Distantly she heard her dad calling her name, but Alessa didn't get the chance to respond before she fell to the floor flat on her face.
She had no idea how long she was out of it, only that the next semi-coherent thought she had, Alessa found herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. It took longer to figure out she had a hot rag resting against her forehead, her blankets pulled up to her chin. Groaning weakly, she glanced towards the digital clock on her nightstand, and grimaced when her brain processed the fact she'd lost about five hours. Once she gingerly sat up, her stomach feeling somewhat better, she groaned upon registering the fact she was practically swimming in sweat.
"Ugh…" She murmured, feeling all kinds of gross as she got to her feet once more.
Stopping in front of her vanity table's mirror, Alessa sighed upon spotting her reflection. To say she looked like Hell had frozen over would've been an understatement given the bags under her dark emerald eyes along with fiery red hair that fell past her shoulders in a haphazard, tangled mess all down her back, some of it matted to her the back of her neck thanks to the sweat that covered her from her fever breaking at some point during her impromptu nap.
Shaking that thought off as she pulled her black AC/DC shirt over her head before tossing it into a nearby clothes hamper, Alessa sighed as she looked at her plain black bra covered breasts before cupping her fairly round orbs. She didn't mind the softly curved figure that stared back at her, but she wouldn't have minded a little more in the chest department if nothing else. Still, she pushed that thought aside as the rest of her clothes followed suit moments later before she padded her way to the bathroom to finally take that hot bath.
She froze though when she swore she saw someone dart past the entrance to the living room at the end of the hall. She hurriedly grabbed a towel from the bathroom before wrapping it around herself, hoping it was just her still fever-addled brain playing tricks on her. "Dad? You awake in there?" She called out as she reached for a lightswitch once she reached the end of the hall, only to frown when no light came on. "What the Hell?" She muttered, not quite panicking yet since there could be any number of reasons why the power was out. Straining her ears, her frown deepened when she thought she heard an unfamiliar set of footsteps on the kitchen's tiled floor. The fact they were trying to quietly move around though made it clear they were up to no good. "If someone's out there you better piss off before I call the cops!"
Sure the police were largely useless, but it was still a viable threat if you happened to have the right skin color. Unfortunately one of the other things she'd gotten from her mother was her Mediterranean skin tone, making Alessa an exotically beautiful bronzed shade, but her exotic skin tone had gotten her into some minor scuffles with the racist pricks at Winslow High. Not that she was thinking about that so much as she reached for a baseball bat they kept behind the couch, never taking her eyes off the shadow covered living room, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. The fact her room still had power likely meant it was just a blown fuse, but that someone was sneaking around made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up. Her uneasy feeling only increased when she realized the bat wasn't where it was supposed to be. "What the fu-"
"Alessa?" The front door opened, and Alessa rounded towards the front door just as her dad tried to turn the lights on. "Is the power out?" He asked, confusion clearly visible on his face as he gave the switch a couple more tries. "Huh."
"I think someone's in here." She cut in, making him jerk his head towards her in an instant. "The baseball bat's missing, and I swore I heard someone sneaking around."
"Are you sure? You were just sick wi-"
"I know what I heard!" She cut him off as she moved to the small table that rested beside the couch before pulling out a flashlight. "I still feel like shit, but I'm pretty sure I sweated out half my weight in the time I was out cold." Getting the flashlight working at last, she pointed it at the kitchen just in time to see someone nimbly dart out the window. Her dad saw it too as she heard the sharp inhale of breath at her back at the same time she darted for the window before sticking her head out to try and catch a glimpse of whoever had just been in their home. Yet all she saw was darkness and the neighbor's yard, the road that went past their house barely illuminated by a single, flickering fluorescent street lamp. "Believe me now?"
"Yeah I do." Her dad said as Alessa pulled her head back from the window with a heavy sigh. She blinked owlishly though when she saw he was holding a bottle of stomach medicine out to her. "I ran to the nearby pharmacy. You were out for a while, baby girl. Had me worried, but I didn't know what else to do since everywhere is pretty much closed down thanks to the new villain that's popped up."
"Wait what?" She asked, taking the offered medicine with visible confusion etched over her face. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"Armsmaster and several of the Protectorate Capes weren't able to stop whoever it was that's appeared. Some kinda fire dragon thing from what the radio said, but as far as I know no one's died." He explained, earning a relieved nod from her as she kept her towel closed with one hand before making her way to the bathroom, the bottle of stomach medicine in her free hand. "There was a pretty huge fire that took out parts of the Docks, but so far no confirmed casualties. Whoever this guy was, he seemed more interested in taking on the heroes than anything." He called out, fiddling around in the kitchen while she put the bottle of medicine in the bathroom's medicine cabinet.
"And he's still free I take it?" She called back, moving to get the bathtub filled up at last.
"Yeah… but the PRT released a statement, saying that he's probably the new player in town we've heard rumors about. I swear, Marquis might've been bad, but he at least had rules he followed, some kinda honor code. Whoever this new guy is though, I got a bad feeling he won't be nearly as restrained."
"The only reason you know anything is because I share all the latest gossip with you, old man." She teasingly retorted, earning a huff of a laugh that held more than a little of his relief as she went about the process of getting the tub filled before putting her towel on the closed toilet.
"Yeah yeah, but you and I both know you spend too much time on PHO." Her dad pointed out, making her sigh in acknowledgment since he wasn't wrong. Still, she smiled as he padded down the hall before softly adding, "I'm glad you're feeling better, Alessa. Just take it easy for the next day or two, alright?"
She gave the doorway a soft smile, and said, "I will. I'll… take tomorrow off, and have Alice bring my homework to the house. I just need to call her after I'm done in here."
"Alright, I love you baby girl." Her dad said before making his way back to the kitchen.
"Love you too, dad." She replied, the tub having filled up by that point. She happily sunk into the gently steaming water with a groan, the tension and sweat and icky feelings leaving her in a soothing wave as the heat from the water seeped into her body. Still, the thought that that intruder had been going through their house didn't sit well with her, so she called out, "Did they take anything?"
"Not that I tell now that I got the fuse replaced and I can actually see out here. We might've interrupted them before they had the chance." Hopefully that was the case. Alessa did her best to put it out of her mind in any event at the same time the bathroom light flickered to life which allowed her to finally turn the flashlight off, the hot water too relaxing for her to care about much of anything else as her eyes slowly drifted closed. Try as she might though, she couldn't fully relax, not with the way the hairs on the back of her neck were still standing on end since something just didn't feel right to her.
But nothing happened as she eventually got out of the tub, dried off, and padded back to her room with a towel once again wrapped around her waist and another wrapped around her long red hair. Slipping into some comfy gray pajama pants and a matching gray sweatshirt, she made her way to the kitchen just in time to see her dad frown when he glanced at the small glass window in the front of the beat up old cream yellow stove. "What the- why is the baseball bat in there?"
"Huh?" Alessa asked right before he moved to open the stove door. Her blood turned to ice when she saw the thin wire that disappeared into the stove's interior. Something clicked when the wire was pulled taut before her immediate surroundings became a Hellish inferno at the same time she was flung away from the exploding stove before everything went black…
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End Notes: Well that's the start of this. I just decided to go ahead and post what I had and save the Forge stuff for the next chapter. I know I keep starting new ideas, but that's just how my muse works apparently, ugh. Still, this is a new thing and the random distribution of powers and abilities and all that means quite a bit of unexpected stuff that I'll need to adapt to, so it'll hopefully actually last as a result. With that said, I'm putting this in my snippets thread for now so that I don't have yet ANOTHER story floating around, but if I get a total of five chapters or something, I'll put this into its own thread. At any rate, feedback, criticisms, etc etc are always welcome folks. See ya for now! Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Kagenesti, Wraith Queen 19283, TiringSarcasm and 150 othersVergil1989 Crossover KingAug 2, 2025Reader modeAdd bookmarkThreadmarks Index Character Information and Pictures IndexVergil1989 Crossover KingConnoisseur.Aug 2, 2025Add bookmark#2Character Information and Pictures
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Eye Color:
Hair Color:
Height:
Weight:
Appearance:
===========
Name: Alessa Dawson
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Bisexual
Age: 15
Date of Birth: November 18th, 1992
Eye Color: Emerald
Hair Color: Fiery red
Height: 5'5''
Weight: 128 lbs
Appearance:
Spoiler: SFW, just spoilered for size
Name: Alice Watson
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Lesbian (but has a thing for futanari...)
Age: 16
Date of Birth: April 7th, 1991
Eye Color: Pale blue
Hair Color: Brunette (dyed a shiny black)
Height: 5'8''
Weight: 131 lbs
Appearance:Spoiler: SFW, just spoilered for size
Name: Richard Dawson
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
Age: 47
Date of Birth: October 21st, 1961
Eye Color: Steely gray
Hair Color: Salt and pepper black
Height: 6'5''
Weight: 152 lbs
Appearance:Spoiler: SFW, just spoilered for size
Name: Belinda Watson
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Straight
Age: 58
Date of Birth: March 3rd, 1950
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Hair Color: Brunette with gray streaks
Height: 5'7''
Weight: 135 lbs
Appearance:Spoiler: SFW, spoilered for sizeLast edited: Friday at 4:43 AM Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:chasewhite00, Lew4565, Athain and 12 othersVergil1989 Crossover KingAug 2, 2025Reader modeAdd bookmark IndexIndex Alessa's Perk List and Information (Spoilers abound) Index Vergil1989 Crossover KingConnoisseur.Aug 2, 2025Add bookmark#3Alessa's current Perk list. (Spoilers abound so read at your own risk)
Celestial Forge V3 link
Spoiler: Perk ListLast edited: Wednesday at 7:11 AM Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Lew4565, Athain, ulkapind and 28 othersVergil1989 Crossover KingAug 2, 2025Reader modeAdd bookmarkIndex Vergil1989 Crossover KingConnoisseur.Aug 2, 2025Add bookmark#4Reserved just in case. Now, have at thee! Like Quote ReplyReportThreadmarks Ch 2: Critical But Stable Threadmarks Vergil1989 Crossover KingConnoisseur.Aug 2, 2025Add bookmark#5Opening Notes: Vergil1989: So last chapter, Alessa had quite the explosive ending. (Heh) Now though she gets to deal with the aftermath. Let's see what form that ends up taking shall we?
Total word count, 2462 = 200 CP
EDIT: Forgot to include the roll results at the end of the last chapter, so just put them here real quick so people know what she got. For future reference though, I'll be putting the roll results at the end of the chapter moving forward.
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Roll results from last chapter
Bond of Brotherhood (Final Fantasy X) - 200 CP
You may very well be only one of many Guardians defending your Summoner – and frankly, the more Guardians there are on the task, the less likely anyone is to fall. There's safety in numbers after all. Travelling with a group of Guardians, it's only natural that you'll come to bond with them.
The longer you fight alongside the same companions, the more in sync you will be with those companions. Alongside these trusted companions, you'll find that their abilities seem to boost yours, increasing the effects of your abilities by a small bit for each companion nearby.
A Thinker of Your Own (Hive Queen Quest) - 100 CP
This adorable little guy is about 2 feet long and has all the autistic number crunching power of a supercomputer and a truly limitless attention span, if you set him to a research task he will sit and think about it until he finally makes a breakthrough. Whenever they finish a project he will psionically alert you "WE FINISHED RESEARCH FOR QUEEN!" or "WE MADE THING FOR QUEEN!" If you aren't a queen that's ok too, don't worry he still loves you and would do anything in his power to help you, which is a limited proposition since he is literally just a brain with basically useless legs and little to no motor skills.
300 - 200 - 100 = 0 CP remaining
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Chapter 2
Critical But Stable
==========
???
???
???
"Dad!" Alessa shouted as she sat up with a jolt, her heart in her throat since the last thing she could remember was a wave of fire and force slamming into her as it blew her off her feet. Frantically looking around her only left her even more in a confused panic since she clearly wasn't in the Bay anymore. There was no sign of the city she'd grown up in. All her eyes fell upon were what she could only describe as ancient stone ruins that'd been overgrown by the most verdant plant-life she'd ever seen. Stranger still, she couldn't recognize any of the vibrant flowers, some of the petals on their own easily being bigger than her head, let alone the multi-colored strands of ivy, or the large trees that dominated the area beyond the ruins themselves.
"Where the Hell am I? Where's dad?" She exclaimed, not quite on the verge of panic, but she was definitely close to losing her shit as she slowly got to her feet that were noticeably bare. Looking down at the unfamiliar sensation of cold metal beneath her feet, she gasped and covered herself with her arms as best she could upon realizing she was completely naked. "What the fuck?! Why am I naked?!" She shrieked, no longer able to keep her cool at this unexpected revelation. No answer was forthcoming as she slowly managed to regain some semblance of her composure. Whatever was going on, she needed to get out of here.
She could figure out the rest once she was safe.
Looking up towards the sky, Alessa groaned with a measure of despair when her eyes fell on the thick canopy that near completely blocked anything she might've tried to use to potentially navigate her way outta this place. Casting her emerald eyes elsewhere, Alessa sighed and decided to try and make sense of where she was since there was apparently nothing else she could do just yet. Her thin hope was that there'd be something in the ruins themselves that might lead her to some answers. Ruins she quickly came to realize that definitely weren't from the modern world she was used to.
Pipes of rusty, half broken iron slowly seemed to oxidize in reverse, slowly regaining their previous luster as bouts of steadily warming steam made its way through vast networks of tubing and boilers while the flow of something not quite tangible mixed within the air as old gears began to grind together that began to raise a set of brass and copper stairs on the path before her.
On the end of the path, Alessa spotted a small, black haired fox with a large, white tipped fluffy tail who seemed to be staring at her with bright red eyes, an intelligent stare washing over her, assessing her as if to gauge her worthiness, and seemingly finding exactly what it wanted in her. It barked at her once, twice, then turned around and ran up the stairs, pausing to look back at the top as it wagged its tail at her in a playful challenge.
"...What am I doing?" Alessa grumbled as she started to follow after this weird fox. "For all I know it's a bio-Tinker's pet leading me into a trap." She dismissed that idea as quickly as it formed though since if that were the case, she would've woken up in a test tube or something instead of in the middle of what she could only describe as steampunk magi-tech ruins. Steampunk magi-tech ruins that were, even as she walked through the middle of it all, were continuing to slowly come to life, the damage from the elements and whatever else that had ravaged this place being incrementally erased before her eyes. Walking up the bronze stairs, she couldn't help but be reminded of a Mayan steppe temple she'd seen in a history book once given the layout of the main structure she was walking across.
Only once she was at the top did she begin to take in the sheer scale of the temple and the ruins that stretched out in every direction, let alone the skyscraper sized trees that encompassed it all that continued to block the sky nearly in its entirety with their giant leaves and their equally large network of branches. She could only gawk since she was quickly coming to the realization that she wasn't on Earth anymore, and worse, she had no idea how she'd gotten here and thus on how to get back.
Before she could begin to further wonder how or why this was happening to her, let alone focus on her growing dread, Alessa's attention was pulled to a small bronze square-topped pedestal where the black-furred fox had now settled. It let out a soft bark, tail swishing as if in anticipation.
A low hum filled the air as the pedestal lit up. Gears along its base turned with creaking groans of age and effort, and a faint shimmer of light danced across the surface. Something was forming—a glass container, maybe?—its outline flickering in and out like a hologram failing to stabilize.
Alessa stepped forward, heart thudding as she reached out—
Static snapped through the air.
The light sputtered. The forming object jerked once, twitched again… then vanished entirely with a pitiful whine of protesting machinery. The humming stopped.
"Seriously?" she muttered, staring at the now-dormant pedestal. "What, did the ruins run out of magic juice or something?"
The fox gave what could only be described as an exasperated snort before trotting off toward the next set of stairs, tail flicking as if to say, Come on, we're not done yet.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Alessa grumbled. "Just don't expect me to trust any more mysterious pedestals anytime soon."
The fox shook its furry body, giving the unshakable impression that it was giggling at her before leaping down the steps, vanishing behind a curve of slowly repairing stone. With no better ideas and still too naked to want to run into anyone else, Alessa followed. Somehow, she suspected the little bastard knew a way out.
She caught up just as the fox stopped at an archway adorned with countless glowing runes. A high-pitched hum rose in volume as a flickering point of purple light began to swirl between the twin pillars at its base. The air grew thick with energy, tiny arcs of violet lightning crawling up the stone. With a sudden surge, the light expanded into a swirling, unstable vortex of color and sound.
A portal.
Alessa could feel her skin prickle with energy, the hairs on her arms standing up as the vortex stabilized with a low boom of displaced air. The fox didn't hesitate—just flicked its tail once more, then leapt through without looking back.
Alessa hesitated for only a moment. "Alright, but if I get turned into an ash cloud I'm haunting your furry ass."
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.
The world folded inward, and everything went white.
=========
BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…
A steady, sterile rhythm invaded her dreams.
Alessa's eyes cracked open to fluorescent lights and white ceiling tiles. A harsh antiseptic smell filled her nose. Her body ached—sharp, pulsing aches in her right leg and ribs, and a warm burn down one side. She let out a weak groan, only for the motion to pull at something taped across her chest. Bandages. Lots of them.
"Easy," came a voice, low and calm. A nurse. "You're safe. You're in Brockton General. Don't try to move too fast."
"Dad…?" Alessa rasped, her voice rough and unfamiliar even to her.
"I'll get the doctor," the nurse said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "And yes… he's alive. He's in the ICU."
Alessa's breath hitched.
It wasn't relief. Not entirely. Not when the word ICU landed like a sledgehammer.
Alive didn't mean safe. Didn't mean okay. Didn't mean whole.
A minute later, the doctor arrived and confirmed the worst. Her father had been right in front of the explosion—severe burns, a shattered left arm, internal injuries. Induced coma. Critical, but stable… for now.
"You've been unconscious for a little over two weeks," the doctor explained gently. "You were lucky. Second-degree burns on your left side, two cracked ribs, and a clean break in your tibia. But you're healing."
Alessa didn't respond. She just stared at the ceiling.
She didn't feel lucky.
Not at all.
And somewhere beneath the pain and numbness…
Something was beginning to stir but she didn't know how to even begin to describe it.
Alessa just knew she should keep it to herself for as long as possible.
==========
The nurse returned with a wheelchair, but this time she wasn't alone. Two detectives followed behind, plainclothes but with that unmistakable presence that screamed authority. The older of the two, a tired-looking man with a peppered beard, offered her a calm nod.
"Miss Dawson," he said. "I'm Detective Raines, this is Detective Huang. Mind if we ask you a few questions? Just to get your side of what happened."
Alessa blinked. Her voice was hoarse, but steady. "...Sure."
The questions were gentle. What she remembered. What she was doing right before the explosion. Anything suspicious. Anyone strange in their house. Her answers were halting, fuzzy. The memory was fragmented—still warped by shock and the surreal experience she hadn't even begun to process.
"We're still investigating," Huang said after a pause. "Right now, it's looking like a possible hate crime. Evidence points to a makeshift bomb set up in your house's kitchen oven. There had been threats before. Harassment. We can't say anything definitive yet, but… it's being taken seriously."
Alessa stiffened, and asked the first thing that fell outta her mouth, "Because my dad helped people who weren't white?"
Kindness didn't cost a thing, something her dad had said often enough so it hadn't even dawned on her until that moment to think it might bite him in the ass. Well... bite them in the ass, but she was far more worried about him given his current state. God... what happened now though?! How was she gonna be able to keep up with medical bills, the house bills, anything really?!
Raines gave her a grim look, his next words pulling her back to the present, if only just. "Sometimes that's all it takes. We're not ruling anything out. We'll let you know if anything changes."
They thanked her for her time, promised to stay in touch, and left her with a business card she had no intention of ever calling. The nurse helped her into the wheelchair, and together they made their way to the ICU.
==========
Her dad looked small. Smaller than she remembered. Swallowed by the tubes and machines keeping him alive. His chest rose and fell with mechanical rhythm. His face was pale, bandaged. Unmoving.
She didn't cry.
Not yet.
But the ache in her chest was sharp, deeper than any of her injuries.
"Someone will be by in a few minutes," the nurse gently said. "Just… take your time."
And just like that, she was alone with him.
Her dad was barely breathing, the faint wheeze of the ventilator sounding more like a machine winding down than a man clinging to life. It didn't seem real. None of it did.
But the memories were.
Her father asking why the baseball bat was in the oven. Her voice, confused. The thin wire she just barely spotted, strung taut from the handle to the oven door. The warmth. The light. The shriek of tearing metal and fire. A flash.
Then—
Nothing.
Her whole body tensed, then shuddered violently as something inside her snapped.
Grief. Terror. Pain. It all folded into one unbearable moment.
Her vision blurred—not with tears, but with light. Violet light. The monitor beside her father's bed flickered.
BEEP– static –EEP…
A pulse surged through her chest, like the air had collapsed into her lungs and exploded outward. Lights dimmed. A deep, harmonic hum rose from somewhere beneath the hospital.
Then—silence.
"No…" she whispered, but her voice was swallowed by the power rising within her.
Her body arched and collapsed out of the chair, convulsing as something impossible unfurled inside her.
Her veins lit up in curling patterns of violet circuitry. Her skin steamed. Her eyes glowed.
And through the agony, her mind exploded with fragments of alien knowledge. Schematics. Equations. Designs and instincts she didn't understand but knew were hers.
A sphere. A tiny, vat-like device. Something about genetics. Controlled growth. Future generations.
Another flash—metal, streamlined, humming with potential. Weapons, tuned to her hands, perfectly balanced.
And a voice, distant but warm and eager: "RESEARCH READY FOR QUEEN."
Alessa gasped—then bit her lip, hard. She didn't scream, though the pain demanded it. Sweat rolled down her arms in shimmering rivulets of violet. Her breath came fast, sharp, electric.
Then it stopped.
Not the pain. But the visions. The power.
The pedestal from the ruins—the dream she'd had just after the explosion—flickered into view, overlayed like a phantom across her father's IV rack.
It was there for the span of a heartbeat.
Then gone.
And whatever had just happened…
It wasn't a Trigger. Not exactly.
But it felt like one. It would look like one.
And that was good enough.
The door burst open. The nurse from earlier rushed in, wide-eyed, with another staff member behind her.
"Oh my God—get the doctor!" she cried, dropping to her knees beside Alessa.
"Don't move her. Not yet," the other cautioned, staring at the unnatural glow fading from her skin.
"I've got you," the nurse whispered as they eased her trembling form back into the wheelchair once a third nurse rushed in upon hearing their shouting.
No one said it aloud, but every staff member knew what it looked like. A Trigger Event. A particularly dramatic one, maybe Bio-Tinker based, judging by the liquid and bio-energy surges. No alarms yet, but the room felt tighter. More cautious.
An hour later, Alessa was clean, her gown replaced, and her vitals logged. Her father's monitors still beeped with fragile life, but no one brought her back into his room.
Instead, she lay staring at the ceiling. Blank. Exhausted. Changed.
The doctors couldn't explain it, not fully. They called it stress. Trauma. The unpredictable nature of new parahumans.
Let them think that. Let them write it off as something they almost understood.
Because whatever this was, it wasn't just trauma, and it sure as hell wasn't something anyone else could control.
It was hers.
A gift. A curse. A future cracking open.
Alessa didn't know what came next, but she knew one thing.
Someone had tried to kill her dad, and possibly her, so she'd be damned if she let something like this happen again.
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Exo-Womb (Freefall) - 100 CP
The first generation of Bowman's Wolves were gestated in dogs with genetically modified red wolf DNA. Now you can have your future generations be developed in a more controlled environment. Simply insert one or more viable biological samples that are no smaller than a single drop of blood into the receptacle and this will provide a perfect and indestructible environment for the child. If you are one of the donors, any perks relating to children and inheritance may apply. It takes the typical amount of time and only works with organisms of the same species unless you have perks to alter that.
Customized Weapons (XCOM) - 100 CP
You know that efficiency is number one, because waste is a thief. You know how to make the best designs better, and will ensure that the equipment in use is ergonomic, streamlined, and efficient.
200 - 100 - 100 = 0 CP remaining
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End Notes: Well, not much to say despite this being a fair bit shorter, but wasn't sure what else to include without it feeling tacked on. At any rate, enjoy folks. Like Quote ReplyReport