Main Content
Archive of Our OwnArchive of Our OwnHi, TheBrimmedHat!PostLog Out
FandomsBrowseSearchAboutWork Search
tip: lex m/m (mature OR explicit)
Actions
Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Edit Bookmark Mark for Later Comments Share Download
Work Header
Rating:
Mature
Archive Warning:
Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Fandoms:
Parahumans Series - WildbowFate/stay night & Related FandomsFate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (Anime 2014)
Characters:
Cú Chulainn | LancerTaylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver
Additional Tags:
Self-InsertCYOA
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:2023-11-19Updated:2026-08-08Words:70,172Chapters:22/?Comments:390Kudos:1,408Bookmarks:566Hits:50,255
Hebert's Hound
TheCandyManCant
Chapter 12: 12
Chapter Text
Taylor took a deep breath. Cletiné was clutched close to her chest. This was it. It was actually happening.
'If you're having second thoughts, master, we can always–'
'We're doing this today.' Taylor cut Lancer off. It was Saturday. Taylor had the whole day free and she'd spent far too long preparing for this moment to wait another week.
Taylor heard Lancer chuckling in her head. 'As you wish, master. Remember, don't expect any great battle. For as decrepit as this place is advertised to be, the reality is different. While Brockton is certainly a cesspit, I have seen places that are far worse.'
Taylor glared at nothing, hoping her invisible servant was able to pick up her irritation. 'This "cesspit" is my home, Lancer.'
'Mayhaps, master, but I would be a poor servant if I lied to my master. Your home is a cesspit.'
Taylor sighed. 'You've officially ruined the moment.'
'No, I've made you relax. You were too high strung. Now you're ready to actually get out there. Now go!'
Taylor squawked in surprise as an invisible force connected with her back, pushing her out into the open. Taylor's breath caught, her muscles locked up. Seconds passed. Taylor began to relax.
'Okay so…where do I go?'
Taylor could've sworn she heard Lancer smack himself on the forehead.
'Master, do you remember the conversation we had where I said walking around as a very clear hero was pointless in this day and age? The direction you walk will not change anything. Just go.'
Taylor scowled at her servant's less than helpful advice, but started walking. While she didn't agree with Lancer's pessimism, his point wasn't wrong. She was going out to patrol. Standing in one spot wouldn't make for a very good patrol.
'You're sure the mask works, right?' Taylor asked, stepping onto the sidewalk out of the alley she'd hidden in. People were starting to notice her now.
Taylor heard Lancer sigh in her head.
'Master, sufficient paranoia is a good thing, but constantly questioning my capabilities is another. You'll make a poor servant weep thinking he's useless like that!'
'I'm sure you'll survive somehow.' Taylor replied dryly.
Lancer had made her costume with some minor input from Taylor. She'd wanted the costume to mainly use dark colors so she'd be taken seriously like Alexandria. Lancer had just smiled in response. The next thing she knew, Lancer had made up a black skin tight suit very similar to his. She almost vetoed it out of hand until Lancer made her try it on. It was comfortable. It didn't feel like she was wearing anything; like she had an extra layer of skin that had always been there. If Lancer's jumpsuit felt the same, she could see why he wore it everywhere.
Still, Taylor wasn't exactly comfortable showing off all of her nonexistent features. Lancer could pull off the skintight look thanks to his well-defined muscles. Compared to him, Taylor felt she was very lacking.
After some deliberation, she and Lancer settled on a color scheme to match with Cletiné – a black and gold coat to go over her upper body, hanging open without fasteners to leave her free to move. A flowing golden skirt with black designs hung down from her waist to just past the midpoint of her thigh to keep from restricting movement. Additionally, her shoulders, hips, forearms and calves were armored by armaments made from golden metal Lancer had simply called, 'Magic Metal Deal With It'. For her mask, Taylor had a black strip of cloth that made her look like she was cosplaying as a ninja.
Apparently Lancer had mainly based her costume off of his teacher's apparel with some inspiration from his own ensemble and some enemies he'd fought in the past thrown in. According to him, Scathach would take one look at her and realize she was his apprentice. Then she'd be terribly disappointed in both of them and force them to do some ungodly training until their arms fell off.
Taylor's desire to meet the Lady of the Land of Shadows died a quick death after that. If Lancer said her training was hell, Taylor wanted no part of it.
'Try to relax a little, master. This is your debut. Acting nervous will make people think you're an easy target. Puff your chest out and walk like you own this city!' Lancer said.
Taylor realized she was still gripping Cletiné tight with both hands. She saw people pulling their phones out, holding them up to take pictures of her and film her.
Taylor took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. The tension bled out of her body. She let go of Cletiné with one hand and propped it up on her shoulder, grinning as she started walking down the street.
'Lancer, can you go look around for any villains?'
'Way ahead of you, master. I've been keeping an eye out since we left.'
'Let me know if you see anything.'
'Will do, master!'
Taylor came to a stop at a corner, looking around at all the people. Many people were filming her with even more talking on their phones. Taylor had started her patrol in downtown so no one would connect her starting location with her house, but she was starting to realize that she maybe should have gone somewhere else. This area was one of the more heavily patrolled Protectorate routes. If someone were going to try something today, they probably wouldn't do it here.
'Where should I go, Lancer?'
'That's up to you, master. This is your day. Just have some fun with it!'
Taylor pursed her lips, looking u at the tall skyscrapers surrounding her. She could run fast with her reinforcement, but it would likely be faster if she jumped between roofs so she could move in a straighter line. She wasn't confident she would be able to jump that far though.
Taylor heard Lancer chuckling in her head.
'Master, you're seriously underestimating the strength of the runes I used to weigh you down while you trained. Those new tattoos you've got pack a mean punch too. Go for it. You'll surprise yourself. On the off chance anything happens, I'll be right there with you to catch you.'
Taylor's grip on Cletiné tightened, her eyes narrowing in determination. Hidden beneath her suit, lines of green energy pulsed bright as Taylor enhanced the passive reinforcement she'd been holding over her body. She bent her legs, then rocketed forward.
The wind blasted her face as she accelerated, sprinting towards a smaller building, it looked like some kind of restaurant. Taylor planted her foot and leapt. Her eyes shot wide as she rapidly rose into the air, easily rising above the building. She'd overshot her target and was now hanging free in the air. She didn't know what to do.
'Follow your instincts, master. Enjoy this.' Lancer's voice cut in, preventing her from falling to panic.
Taylor let out a quick breath as she reached the apex of her jump's arc, feeling herself start to fall. With a twitch of her hand, a plain spear shimmered into being next to her as she summoned the Projection magic she'd practiced for months on end. She propelled the spear forward, grabbing onto its haft as it launched past her. The spear carried Taylor a short distance up before rapidly losing its momentum. It faded into motes of light, and Taylor summoned another, repeating the trick, pulling herself higher and higher, getting faster and faster.
She was high enough now to land on the roof of one of the lower buildings. She landed, her momentum sending her tumbling down. She rolled back to her feet and kept running, hair dancing in the wind as she jumped from the edge of the building. The busy street beneath her seemed to slow down as she hung suspended in the air, the cars on the street seemingly moving at a snail's pace. Reality sped back up as she landed on a building at the far end of the street.
Taylor kept running. She saw several sturdy looking pipes connected to machinery on the roof and got an idea. Cletiné flew from her hand as she threw it forward, still not stopping. Her spear wedged itself between two pipes and Taylor leapt up, planting her feet on its haft. The spear bowed under her weight, then snapped back, launching Taylor upwards.
Taylor held out her hand, and Cletiné zipped through the air, returning to her waiting hand. Her other hand closed around a projected spear pulling her even higher.
Unbidden, a cry escaped Taylor's lips.
"Yeaaah!"
Taylor finally came to a halt atop a highrise, her chest rising and falling as she breathed deep, not out of breath, but she felt active. The adrenaline in her veins felt intoxicating. Taylor realized she was smiling. That was fun.
'Feels good, doesn't it?'
Taylor surprised herself by giggling, answering Lancer as she took in the view of the city beneath her. 'That was awesome.'
'And just think, this is you with less than a year of training. Give it a few years and you'll surprise yourself with everything you can do. I'd elaborate more on that, but you're about to have company.'
Cletiné was off my shoulder in a heartbeat. I fell into a stance, eyes scanning around. 'Who is it? Where are they coming from?'
'Relax, master. They're friendly. I would have been a bit more serious if they were an enemy. I'm guessing someone noticed your little display and wants to say hi. I'm going to shut up now so you can chat with your new friend.'
New friend? What was Lancer–
There was a great rushing of air behind her. Taylor spun around, ready to fight. Hovering a short distance away from her was a young woman in a white costume with gold highlights. A tiara held her blonde hair back, framing the beaming smile on her face as she waved.
"Hi! I'm Glory Girl. You're a new hero, right?"
Taylor relaxed, propping Cletiné back up on her shoulder as she faced the cape. She recognized Glory Girl. Practically anyone in the city would. New Wave weren't as active in recent years as they once were, but they were still the only significant private hero team in Brockton. This was a hero in front of her, not a villain.
"Sorry," Taylor said, abashed, nervously scratching the back of her head. "You snuck up on me. Yes, I'm a new hero. I'm Cletiné. It's nice to meet you."
Glory Girl's eyebrows drew together. "Cletyneh?"
Taylor smirked under her mask. "Cletiné." she carefully enunciated.
"Cleteneha?"
Taylor waved her off. "It's gaelic. The pronunciation is weird. Don't worry too much about it."
"What's it mean?" Glory Girl asked, descending from the air to land on the roof in front of her.
"I…don't actually know." Taylor realized. "It might not have a translation. It was the name of one of Cu Chulainn's spears."
"Koo Cuh-who?"
Taylor's eyebrows drew together irritably. "He was an Irish demigod."
"Ah! That would be why I don't know him. I'm more into greek stuff. Still a cool name though! I'm guessing you named yourself after a spear because you use a spear?" Glory Girl asked as she pointed to Cletiné held in Taylor's hand, radiating positivity.
Taylor felt her irritation with the girl fade. She hadn't meant to offend Cu. She just didn't know about him. Lancer probably didn't take any offense, so she shouldn't take any either.
In answer to Glory Girl's question, Taylor projected a second spear into her free hand, spinning it around expertly.
"Spears are kind of my thing."
Glory Girl's eyes were wide. "You can just make spears? That's so cool! My mom can do something like that, but she mostly makes short weapons. Are spears all you can do?"
"No. I have a Brute package too and a couple other things. My power is weird. It'd take a while to explain." Taylor said, not wanting to give away too much.
"Don't worry about it. Is this your first time out?"
Taylor nodded. "I've been practicing for a while, but this is the first time I've actually gone out in costume."
Glory Girl pursed her lips. "It's good you didn't go out immediately. There's a lot of nasty statistics related to new triggers. Not to be overbearing, but do you have a team? Solos typically don't do too well."
"You don't need to worry. I have a team." Taylor couldn't think of a better 'teammate' than an honest to god demigod.
Glory Girl raised an eyebrow. "Anyone I'd know? I haven't heard of many new heroes lately."
'Lancer is the name I gave to Miss Militia.' Lancer said.
"Lancer." Taylor said out loud.
Glory Girl gasped. Taylor flinched back when a bundle of blonde energy suddenly appeared in front of her. Glory Girl was fast.
"You know Lancer? He's on your team? That's so cool! PHO has been trying to figure out where he came from. He took out Fenja and Menja and just disappeared!"
"Yeah, he does that sometimes." Taylor said, her grin hidden by her mask. Glory Girl had no idea Lancer was right here with them.
"Wow. This is cool. Do you–" Glory Girl stopped talking as a shrill ring sounded. She frowned as she pulled a home out of a pocket in her skirt Taylor hadn't seen. Where was she hiding that thing? "Sorry. I need to take this."
Glory Girl turned around, having a brief, rushed conversation before pocketing her phone. "Sorry. That was my sister. I need to go."
"Don't worry about it. It was good talking to you." Taylor said, tossing Cletiné to her left hand and holding her right out for Glory Girl to shake.
Glory Girl smiled, hovering up off the ground and drifting closer to take Taylor's hand. "It was good to meet you, spear girl. Don't worry. I'll have figured out how to say your name by the next time we meet. Do you have a phone number? One for your cape stuff, I mean. Don't give out your personal one." she said seriously.
"I… No. No, I don't." Taylor didn't have a phone period. Her dad was still weird about that. If she kept doing cape stuff though, she would need one. Something to look into later.
"Don't worry about it. Here, give me a sec." Glory Girl pulled out a small notebook and pen. "I keep this on me for autographs, but its also good for stuff like this."
Where the heck did she keep this stuff? Was the skirt some sort of dimensional storage space tinkertech? Could Taylor replicate it with magecraft?
Glory Girl scribbled into the notebook then ripped the page out, folding it up and holding it out. "Here. This is my phone number. Give me a call sometime if you want to patrol or just want to talk about cape stuff. I know I don't look like it, but I know a lot about this gig. Failing that, if you just need someone to vent to about cape-life balance, hit me up. I'd love to talk." She smiled brightly and started rising into the air. "Oh! And make sure you get a cape phone. The Protectorate will want a way to contact you if you sign up as an independent. Which you should do. Call me later and I'll tell you more. It was good meeting you!"
"It was good meeting you too, Glory Girl."
Glory Girl Gave her a dramatic salute then spun around. There was a boom left in her wake as she shot off into the sky.
"She seems like a nice girl."
Taylor raised an eyebrow at Lancer as he shimmered into being next to her, leaned up against an air conditioning unit.
"She was very…lively. We met all of five minutes ago and I already have her phone number and an invitation to hang out again.
Lancer shrugged. "Some people are like that. It's probably a good thing too. The more friends you have around you, the more people you'll have to get you out of tough spots. Friends also help you get up to more trouble, and that's always fun."
Taylor shook her head, turning to look out over the city. "I'm starting to think you have a battle fetish, Lancer."
"'Starting to'? Master, I have never made any attempt to disguise that fact. It concerns me you are only now picking up on it." Lancer walked up next to her, sitting down and letting his legs hang over the edge of the building. Looking at the city with her.
Taylor had a small smile on her face as she looked out over the bay. The buildings spanning off into the distance. The cars weave through the street, narrowly avoiding smashing into one another. All the trash littering the road. The boat graveyard is in as much disrepair as always. The water devoid of the ships that allowed Brockton's economy to boom before the arrival of Leviathan.
"You're right, Lancer."
"What's that, master?"
"This city is a cesspit."
"That it is."
"But it's my cesspit. When we're done, it won't be a cesspit anymore."
"That's a good goal, master. I'll help you however I can."
"Thank you, Lancer."
"It's what I'm here for, master."
The two stayed there in silence for a while, watching the city go by beneath them. Taylor was the one to finally break the silence.
"Lancer?"
"Yes, master?"
"I used my spears to propel me up here."
"I know. I saw. It was pretty impressive actually."
"Thanks, but I only really figured out how to use them to go up. How do I get back down?"
"..."
"..."
"Ah."
Actions
↑ Top ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Edit Bookmark Comments (20)
Kudos
LordDeath72, Conrar, Alexdj20, AndromedaJackson, fernieGL, Atrex, Toastgobrrrrrrr, Neon_Note, Talm_EClaire, Icewolf297, Haerdalas, Rangleskov, Sonic37202, Lolthiana, Sith_necromancer, Athena_Owlet, Ignotus, Arctickat, Sytrys_Cauldron, Jaran, Scolar_Visari, The_Timeline, StaledCoffee, DragoMemoirs, WiredNavi, Salieri_Lariat, NelssimLp, SolidCone21, Actually_A_Plant, RedWoodBlueLock, JustSomeFool8002, Magnions, Pandafu, BorimorWathal, Father_Sky, Trooper50, Jinsakai2004, PopsiRum, Rouex, Wet_dream, MagnoliaTea, 1bizang, olegzol, DinoRoar312, FalseJockey, Nyxvis, Ashinyredrock, Masterofnothing135, Fabithx, StellarStarryNight, and 891 more users as well as 467 guests left kudos on this work!
Comments
Post Comment
Comment as TheBrimmedHat
Plain text with limited HTML ?
Comment
10000 characters left
Footer
Customize
Default
Low Vision Default
Reversi
Snow Blue
About the Archive
Site Map
Diversity Statement
Terms of Service
Content Policy
Privacy Policy
DMCA & TIDA Policies
Site Status
Contact Us
Policy Questions & Abuse Reports
Technical Support & Feedback
Development
otwarchive v1.5.0.1
Known Issues
GPL-2.0-or-later by the OTW