Minion

The next morning I awoke from a restless sleep full of dreams of giant snakes spewing air blades at me. At least I awoke before I lost limbs, so I was learning to deal, right? Never mind, I knew myself well enough to know that I didn't forget, didn't deal this fast with trauma. I had time, I needed time and it seemed like the PRT and Youth Guard were having their own problems, so I would have a little more time.

The first order of business today is to finish enchanting the snake hide. On look at the clocks showed that I had at least 3 hours before someone would miss me, so I hurried through my morning routine and collected my hide and tools from the Wardrobe. First I double checked what I had done so far and corrected a few errors I had missed out of tiredness yesterday, then I got myself a pot of tee and got cracking. It was hard work, I knew how everything was supposed to look, but my body wasn't as perfectly coordinated as my mind demanded and frustration over the fact that my body was holding me back only increased the probability of errors. My experience with cooking had given me an advantage because I had steady hands and new how to use a sharp objects to make precise cuts, but as a hobby cook I had never worked with such precision for so long. But with regular breaks and changing hands from time to time I managed to succeed in the end. When the finished magic scroll, I call it how I see it, was finally done I felt such elation, I couldn't remember ever feeling this happy before. I had created something out of this world with my own hands.

I couldn't wait and activated the scroll and the snake hide transformed into a snake, the same grey color and mass of the snake hide, but with a visible and alive body structure. If I had magic I would be able to telepathically order the snake, but as I had only gained the knowledge and not the ability to wield magic I was stuck giving verbal orders. I did some test orders, possibly stolen from dog training videos I had watched in the past and it became apparent that while my snake was very obedient, without telepathic connection, there was no way to give more complex orders. Go, fetch, bite, entangle and duck worked just fine, but hide and search were a lost cause. The construct didn't understand what object I was talking about, I tried testing fetch a red piece of fabric while throwing it and a sock and the snake didn't know how to react. It didn't understand or just didn't perceive objects the same way I did and only recognized me because of my aura. I theorized that if it didn't see my aura then it wouldn't react to my voice, which was good, because no one could take control of it by pretending to be me, but if I wanted to use it in any way I would have to be in the immediate vicinity. The construct didn't lend itself for independent action and it had only the most basic self defense instincts. It didn't even know to hide or avoid predators. But all negatives, flaws and problems aside. It was my first success and it worked as perfect as I had enchanted it and I loved it. I could do things no one else could and even if I didn't gain any more powers I would be able to create a giant snake army to mow down my foes. My snake wasn't even able to deal with a single adult, but numbers where a force multiplier here.

And numbers I could now produce, because I could suddenly feel a light inside me, gentle and strong at the same time. The light was unlike anything I had ever perceived, so full of possibility that it was staggering. Thousands of years of research and active usage could not even begin to fathom the limits of this energy. Giving life was just one of the things it did and now that I could see it I could understand that this light was one of the components that gave aura the ability to reshape the world in the way it did. My snake was a construct of aura, but also a child of the light. The light was father, mother, sister and brother to everything and everyone, it guided and supported in ways I didn't understand and as long as I used if for creation and growth only, I could now manipulate it. It wasn't magic, or at least not the same kind of magic as the enchantments I had done, but I could use the light to enchant. I somehow new that enchantments done with the light could never be used for attacking purposes. I could create enchantment like my snake, but then the snake wouldn't be able to entangle or bite anything. If I wanted to recreate my snake I would have to do the work for the aggressive parts of the enchantments by hand, which meant going from producing hundreds of snakes in a day to only less than ten per day. A significant decrease but still a lot faster than anything I could do before and any enchantment that didn't need aggressive properties would be done in seconds.

I had gone from being able to rival a PRT squad with sufficient preparations to flooding the city with non violent constructs in seconds. I loved my powers. Contemplating the different ways this would change things and the ways I could now start my plan of becoming a villain I didn't notice the times flying by.

Another lock at the clock showed that I had spent to much time contemplating, so I cleaned up and hide my tool and snake in the Wardrobe again. Before going down I checked in the mirror if my expression was suitable for the depressed and traumatized kid I was supposed to be. I was that kid, but the current high and the discovery and warm embrace of the light inside me made it hard to stay pessimistic, life was looking up for me and with my plans starting it would do so soon for my sister as well. It took a few more minutes to return to my usual frown, but I managed and made my way to the cafeteria.

Ms. Norbert wasn't there again, instead I found Ms. Johansen busily typing away at her laptop with a frown. She had chosen a center table in the cafeteria and the few people still there were giving her a wide berth. It was almost like her stern and overly serious demeanor didn't endear her to others, who would have thought. I stalled as long as I could getting something to eat and drink but her eyes started burning holes in my back, so I reluctantly went to join her.

"Good morning Benjamin, you are looking well, but I expect you to be here earlier starting tomorrow. An early breakfast is a good start in the day and discipline is even more important when the world around you changes to fast. If you aren't here by 9 tomorrow, I will fetch you myself," commanded Ms. Johansen. I didn't even have time to reply her greeting or make my opinions known, she just continued:

"You did very well at the evaluation exam, with such high scores we will be able to get you and your sister into some of the same classes in high school. I am afraid you sister didn't do nearly as well, when we asked her to answer a simple test for her grade and age group, maybe you could persuade her to take the whole thing a little more serious. The PRT told me she might have to repeat the entire year and even review some of the learning material from middle school. As the senior Youth Guard representative I could make it so, that you can share the maximum amount of high school classes, provided you both show a little enthusiasm for learning. There are a few mandatory classes your education hasn't covered yet, but I can get you enrolled in high school with a weakly tutor to get you up to speed. Can you show me that you are worthy of such an opportunity?"

The look she gave me was part expectant and part inviting, but most off all penetrating to the bone. I could feel her aura swirling in inactive, but very pronounced patterns. I didn't like it at all, it felt threatening in a way other just didn't, almost like Ms. Johansen was more, not parahuman, through I didn't really understand how I new that, but Ms. Johansen was somehow and in some way at the peak of what humans could be. I had already known to be careful around her, but this made me even more wary than before. I tried to change the topic:

"I will certainly try to life up to your expectations and I thankful for the opportunity, but Ms. Johansen, my sister has never been the type to learn well in school, she is a lot better learning things on the fly or by simply doing them. In middle school the teachers had quite a bit of trouble with her until they understood that she just needed to be taught actively with examples and problems she could do herself. She is quite intelligent when it comes to learning routines, but she has always had trouble with root memorization. Please give her a chance to proof herself. It would also be a good idea to enroll her in some kind of martial arts class, or at least a sport, she can be a little agitated if she is caged inside for too long."

Trying to avoid eye contact was getting harder, but lucky for me I had brought a bottle of orange juice to hide behind. I still felt like Ms. Johansen had caught my bluff, and was proven right when she said:

"Your sister is hyperactive and has a very aggressive personality. We have already managed to acquire your old report cards and lesson reports from your old schools and your sister violent behavior was mentioned multiple times. It is an unfortunate fact of live that most parahumans show similar problems, which are only reinforced by the appearance of their powers. Honestly in a city like Brockton Bay it might actually be to her advantage if she acts more aggressive in the field. Normally I would try to get you both transferred, but I doubt any other PRT branch would give your sister a better chance of getting her feet under her. Wards here have more leeway and are more in demand than anywhere else in the united states."

"I will speak with the PRT and make sure your sister gets another chance at the tests, tests more geared to her personality, but for that she needs to cooperate. As the person who has the most influence on her it would be a good idea to write her a message. I will make sure that only I and your sister get wind of this message,"

'offered' Ms. Johansen. I didn't feel like I could refuse, so I agreed to write a note for my sister. I decided to include urging her to cooperate and become a ward. My plans had speed up significantly and the faster she got into the Wards, the faster I could really start to enact my plans. Ms. Johansen provided me with pen and paper and while I ate and wrote my breakfast she told me, how the investigation in mine and my sisters botched custody hearing had been going. The judge had been payed of and with the amount of dirt the investigation had dug up there was no question of his guild. Sadly, our fake guardians had all vanished, dead or otherwise, like they had never existed and most of the documentation about our case and the case of my parents deaths had been lost or destroyed. The FBI had taken over now and the Youth Guard observers at the scene where sure that they would do their best, but couldn't provide any more information.

There had also been two more attempts by suspected empire affiliates to register as viable foster families while a few of the usual short term foster care options had dried up for various reasons. Ms. Norbert was apparently very busy coordinating the resources in Brockton Bay. I could only think of two reasons for this happening, either a gang, Empire, PRT or otherwise was trying to make a play to gain custody of me and my sister or whatever happened yesterday when all available forces had been called, had caused a lot of confusion and thrown a lot of things in disarray. Ms. Johansen wasn't forthcoming with many information, she merely stated that the confusion the PRT was in gave the Youth Guard more time to get everything in order, which would be advantageous for us in the long run because the Youth Guard moved a lot slower when it came to acquiring information and there were still a lot of open question regarding why my sister hadn't been flagged as a potential ward right after she was treated in the hospital after her trigger. It wasn't like she had been able to hide her powers in the state she had been in after her trigger. Apparently the police had simply dropped the investigation into the home invasion and the deaths of multiple people, without passing it on to the PRT and nothing had been done until the Brockton Bay PRT had come knocking. Now they were scrambling around and trying to shift the blame, but we had to know just who was involved to exclude those with connections from the pool of possible foster homes. A pool that was constantly growing smaller, because some of the more honest and dependable homes were withdrawing for suspiciously flimsy reasons. Somehow the fact that my sister was a parahuman and involved in a fight with the E88 hat seeped trough.

While it had been an informative breakfast, I was glad to be able to return to my room and even more ecstatic because Ms. Johansen would be spending the rest of the day with my sister instead of watching over my shoulder. It was time to build my army of snakes.