My Super-powered Diary Chapter 33 Preparations By Amethyst When Maddock Ainsley gets involved in a rescue operation with his unit things go horribly wrong and his life is forever changed. Can the newly minted Merida cope with being a girl and a teenage super hero?

With it having been decided that Brooke would be joining the family, and G-Force, Mom planned on taking the next day off from the clinic and just being on call. She wanted time to be able to get everything Brooke would need for when school started next week, and she wanted to try to get it all done before the long weekend. Brooke would need clothes and other necessities, school uniforms, some personal touches for her bedroom and dorm room, a phone, and Mom also wanted to go to the bank and get a trust fund set up for her like she had for the rest of us.

Mom mentioned that the shopping probably wouldn’t take that long, in fact some of it we could probably manage that afternoon. She actually planned on getting Brooke’s clothes through the Taylors, since she wanted durability for Brooke’s clothes, and it would save time. That would take some time though, as would getting Brooke her weapons certification from Sam Jackson and her license for hero work at City Hall. Except for those things, the phone, and the trip to the bank we could probably buy everything else with one of Mom’s credit cards that day. I still needed to get some food and supplies anyway, for the double date/camping trip, since Lindsey, Michelle, Hana, and I had planned on an early start the next morning.

I was as the same time both disappointed and happy about the prospect of a late afternoon shopping spree. One on hand, I wanted to be there for Brooke to give her my support and spend time with all of my sisters. On the other hand though, all of that time would be spent shopping. I may have found my own personal style, and I enjoyed spending time with my sisters, but I could still only take shopping in doses, though at least there would be a purpose to the trip. I still didn’t really get just aimlessly wandering around the mall, just for the sake of doing so.

Mom would have just taken the rest of the afternoon off to come with us, but she needed to be at the school, since she was expecting a large delivery of materials to the Tinker lab that Dr. Edwards had assigned for her personal use. The materials were worth a lot and included everything that she would need to finish the infiltration suits that she had been contracted to make for the HAA. She still had months before the contracted delivery date for the fifty suits, but she wanted to get the automated production process started as soon as possible. She was all too eager to be finished with the project, and to be able to cut ties with the agency that had been ready to throw me under the bus at the first opportunity.

So, armed with one of Mom’s credit cards that had an ungodly high spending limit, we all left the school grounds and Brooke turned in her visitor ID bracelet to the security guard at the front gate, as she had been instructed. Then I quickly called Hana to ask her advice on where to shop while Greenhill Mall would be closed for repair. With that done we headed to Shoreside Mall to do our shopping. It didn’t have Surf n’ Turf so I could get spelunking gear, but Hana had assured me over the phone that Shoreside Mall was much bigger than Greenhill, and would be fairly easy to get to.

With the directions that Hana had given me, the mall proved easy to find once everyone, except me and Brooke, was pixie dusted and we all took to the air. We headed southwest as she had instructed heading toward the shore until we saw the massive glass dome that shone tin the bright sunlight. The mall was apparently over three million square feet with the giant dome at the center and had three floors with about four hundred different stores. It looked massive as we approached and I could see why it was considered one of the big attractions of Costa Verde.

Peaches had snoozed contentedly, dreaming happy dreams in my arms the entire way, nuzzled against my chest and held securely in my arms. It was a little weird at first, but I was starting to get used to sensing the tiny dragon’s emotions, and how she seemed to react to some of mine, even when we weren’t together. When we had been at home earlier, discussing the attack by Code Pink and what would become of Brooke, Fawn had mentioned that Peaches had become really agitated right around the time we had been fighting Code Pink. Mei and Lindsey had explained that this empathic bond was due to the feydragon imprinting process between the hatchling and their ‘mother’, or me in this case.

Peaches was starting to stir now as we all just hovered above the mall and took it all in. “Would ya look a’ tha’...” I trailed off as I sensed my dragon waking and cooed softly at her, gently caressing her with one of my hands while still holding her carefully.

“Wow, that place is huge!” Vanessa said in awe. “With this place here, why the hell did Code Pink attack Greenhill Mall?”

“Sapphire,” Brooke quickly explained. “Somehow Quartz’s contact with the Shadow Syndicate had some surveillance photos of some of you and Sapphire is able to teleport to within a mile of a target who’s face she’s seen. Once we looked around from the air, and saw the mall, Quartz figured that that’s where we’d be most likely to find five teenage girls.”

We didn’t have the time to check out the whole mall of course, that would have taken an entire day, or maybe even longer. With that in mind we tried to keep to one section of the mall and get everything we needed there. Tasha’s sixth sense came in useful there as she led us unerringly from one store to the next. By dinner time we had managed to get Brooke’s school supplies, some decorations and personal effects for her rooms, personal hygiene stuff, and some other necessities. All that remained to get for our new sister was a nightgown for that night and a change of clothes for the next day.

For me, we found an outdoors gear store where I got two massive coolers to put food and drinks in and some good hiking boots. Once we were out of that store, and I was safe from onlookers in a special needs washroom, I placed my purchases in the portable pocket dimension that Shu had made me as a birthday gift. Then Tasha insistently dragged me toward a store called Magick Time. It turned out that it was a store where local magic users could buy hard to get supplies, spell components, and even tools to help train them train familiars.

My sisters and their Fairy companions then left me and Fawn standing outside the door, promising to meet me in the food court once they had gotten our new sister her change of clothes and sleepwear. They would have come in with me, but Tasha felt that all of us going into that crowded little store at once might be a problem. I stared at the store window a moment before shrugging and heading toward the door, “C’mon Fawn let’s see wot they ‘ave tha’ might be useful.”

The lady who ran the place was upon us almost as soon as we entered the door. “Well good evening, and welcome to Magic Time, I’m Penny, the owner. How can I help a pretty young witch like yourself?”

I shook my head and tried to explain. “I’m Merida, bu’ I’m no’ a witch. I’m no’ any kind o’ magic user. I recen’ly go’ ma new l’il friend ‘ere though, an’ I’m tol’ that’ they’re pretty smart, so I wan’ tae start trainin’ her while she’s still young.”

She looked down at Peaches in my arm and started gushing almost immediately. “Oh! A feydragon, and such a lovely one too! How did you ever get one of those if you’re not a magic user? They’re not easy to come by, but they make wonderful familiars and loyal and clever pets for those fortunate enough to hatch one. How old is it?”

“One o’ ma sisters is a magic user,” I told her carefully. “She kens ‘ow much I love dragons ‘an she managed tae ge’ me an egg fer ma birthday. She jus’ hatched yesterday actually.”

Penny smiled at me. “That was a fine thing for her to do, rather than keeping it for herself or selling it. Feydragon eggs are worth a lot in the magic-user community. You said it’s a female? If you ever want to breed her and sell her eggs when she’s mature I could find you plenty of buyers. You’re right to want to start training her early, and I have a few things that you’ll probably find useful.”

“Do you have any books on caring for dragons?” Fawn asked, emerging from where she had been hiding in my hair until we knew what to expect. “I know how to care for and train all sorts of animals, but I’ve never even seen a live dragon before Peaches hatched.”

Penny’s eyes just about bugged out of her head. “A Fairy? How did you…?” she started to ask.

“She’s no’ a real Fairy, this is ma bes’ friend. She’s a Hyper, jus’ like me,” I told the shocked shopkeeper, trying to keep to our cover story as much as possible as I gave a shrug. “Archetypes, wot kin ya dae, aye?”

“Yep, I’m Lisa. Most people call me Fawn though, since I look like that Fairy from the Disney movies,” my pixie pal put in. I was really glad that we had been working with her and the other Fairies on memorizing and sticking to their cover stories.

“I’m a minor sorceress myself, not a mutant like the two of you, but I live in Costa Verde so I’ve seen all kinds, or at least I thought I had until now.” The last was said with a laugh as the store owner seemed to recover from her shock. “We do have a few books on the smaller dragon types and training them as familiars, those should tell you most of what you need to know. Follow me girls and let’s see what I have that will be useful for you.”

We left the store with a book on dragons, another on training small dragons and other magical creatures as familiars, a few pet toys for Peaches, some training snacks, a thick glove and shoulder pad similar to those used for training falcons, and a tiny silver bell that Penny had enchanted and linked to Peaches so she would hear it from anywhere. Penny felt that we should be okay with just that, but she told us that if we needed any help or advice we could stop by and visit any time.

With that task done and the bag of purchases in hand we went to go meet the others for dinner in the food court. It was tourist season still and the mall was fairly busy, but it was pretty easy to tell the tourists from the Costa Verde natives. The natives might raise an eyebrow at a girl walking the mall with a Fairy riding on her shoulder and a feydragon in her arms, but it was really nothing to them. Half of the employees I’d seen today, and no few of the shoppers themselves were obvious mutants and the locals were used to that and pretty accepting of us. The tourists though, stopped and stared in shock or wonder, and some of them with thinly veiled looks of hate.

I did see a familiar face with bright pink hair and four arms who was getting even more looks than we were though. Jordyn was with a blonde woman who I though might be Lindsey’s mother with her age and the family resemblance. “Oi Jordyn!” I called out.

She smiled as she noticed us and approached. “Hey Merida, Fawn! Where’s the rest of your crew?”

“They’re s’posed tae be meetin’ us a’ the food court o’er there,” I replied as we closed the distance. “They were getting’ a change o’ clothes fer Brooke fer tonight an’ t’morrow. I was gettin’ some things fer trainin’ Peaches.”

“Cool. My mom sent a little money so I could get some things for my room and some girl stuff. We just finished actually. Oh, this is my aunt Rachel, Lindsey’s Mom,” Jordyn said by way of introduction. “Aunt Rachel, this is Merida and her Fairy friend Fawn. They’re two of the girls that Lindsey and I have been talking about. Merida is the one who helped me out with my uniforms and new clothes.”

“Nice tae meet ya Ma’am, Lindsey an’ Jordyn are good people,” I said with a smile. “I’d offer tae shake yuir ‘and, bu’ ma hands are a wee bi’ full.”

“Oh! So you’re the Merida I’ve been hearing so much about,” Lindsey’s mother said, her eyebrows rising in sudden interest. “Thank you for what you did for my niece, and for what you and your sisters did for my daughter. I owe you more than I could possibly repay.”

“Ya dinnae owe us anythin’ Ma’am,” I told her with a smile and a shake of my head. “Like I said, Linds an’ Jordyn are good people an’ I’m glad tae call ‘em ma friends.” I turned my attention back to Jordyn and asked, “If’n yuir done yuir shoppin’, dae ya wan’ tae come an’ eat wit’ us? Maybe come an’ hang out fer a bi’? Ya didnae really ge’ tae talk tae Brooke much, an’ yuir the two newest ‘ere.”

The four armed girl looked to her aunt, who nodded and smiled. “Go ahead Jordyn, I’ll take this stuff home. I think it’s great that you’re making friends who will accept you as you are, just try to be home by eleven and be careful. Even here in Costa Verde it’s not a safe place for a girl, especially an obvious mutant, to be out late at night.”

Jordyn wrapped all four arms around her in a hug. “Thanks Aunt Rachel, I’ll be home by then.”

“Dinnae worry aboot it Ma’am, we’ll make shoor tha’ she gets home safe,” I promised, “E’en if’n I ‘ave tae fly her there maself.”

Rachel shook her head, giving me a stern look. “Please don’t put yourself in any danger Merida, you’re younger and smaller than she and Lindsey are, and I wouldn’t want anything happening to you either. If plans change and she’s going to be later, or stay the night, have her call me to let me know.”

I wondered if she would feel the same if she knew that I probably had the power to wipe out the whole city if I tried, and a force field that made me pretty much indestructible. Still, she was probably right, just because I hadn’t run across any major weaknesses yet, didn’t mean that I didn’t have any. It was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, she looked worried. So as we left I promised, “Aye Ma’am we’ll dae our bes’ tae stay out o’ trouble, an’ we’ll call if’n anythin’ changes.”

I sent to the others along Tasha’s mind link. *Fawn and I are all done with getting things for Peaches and we’re heading to the food court. We ran into Jordyn so she’s going to tag along and hang out for a bit.*

*Cool! We’re already at the food court waiting for you,* Shu put in enthusiastically.

Brooke’s voice came along the link. *It is so weird having all of you able to talk in my head, and not hearing Merida’s accent.*

*You’ll get used to it. There is so much weird going on with this family that you’ll get used to this in no time,* Vanessa’s mental voice countered with a giggle. *Besides, this saves so much on our phone bills.*

After a nice dinner at the food court we made one last stop at a nearby grocery store so I could stock up on food and drinks that would be either easy to prepare while camping or ready to eat. I wanted to make sure I had plenty to eat for my hyper-metabolism while on my trip with Hana and the others. There were a lot of energy bars, fruit and melons, prepared meats, cheese, juices, bottled water, and anything that I thought might keep my energy level up and be filling enough to satisfy me if we were going to be doing a lot of activities.

When we got home we let Brooke in on the family secret and she swore herself to secrecy about our real origins and Mei’s powers. Mei of course wanted to show off, and had already planned on creating a Fairy friend for her newest sister, so it wasn’t long before Mei was passed out on the couch and a new naked Fairy had appeared in front of us all. Vidia was a fast-flying-talent fairy with long violet hair and grey eyes. She was very proud and seemed a bit terse, but she definitely had a soft spot for her new best friend Brooke and all of the Fairies seemed really happy to have her with us.

Mom and Andy had returned home by that time and both of them were trying to get to know Brooke better when Mei had done her thing. Andy just shook his head and sighed. “The twins can be a handful Brooke, especially Mei with her impulsiveness, but you’ll get used to it. We’re lucky that they have you older girls to look out for them.”

“Shu, why don’t you an’ the Fairies take Brooke an’ Vidia into my lab an’ get some clothes set up fer Vidia with the costume maker,” Mom encouraged. “I guess I’ll need t’ make her a fairy house for Brooke’s bedroom and dorm room at some point tonight too.”

I wasn’t really paying too much attention though, as I was looking at Jordyn, who had been staring silently at Mei with her mouth hanging open since she had summoned the new Fairy. “It’s a bi’ o’ a shocker seein’ her dae tha’ fer the first time.”

“We’re still tryin’ to figure out how Mei’s power works,” Mom added with a shrug. “Wildcards can be hard to figure out ‘cause they are often multiple classifications all workin’ together to make the mutant ability work like it does. Lindsey said tha’ she’s drawin’ on magic energy when she uses it, so I’m pretty sure tha’ she’s a Gifted Mystic, an’ probably a Direct Generator since she’s usin’ magic energy to generate livin’ matter rather than a normal magic summon. I have some theories, but I can’t say as I’m sure how she’s bringin’ ‘em to life though.”

“I know how,” Jordyn half mumbled, still wide-eyed. “She’s a Souldancer.”

‘ello agin e’eryone an’ welcome agin tae Merida’s Corner. Today I will be teachin’ all o’ ya aboot Enhanced. Enhanced are mutants who ‘ave one or more o’ their base physical attributes increased tae wot is considered above peak human when they Activate. These attributes include strength, speed, agility, reflexes, dexterity, stamina an’ the five senses. Some say tha’ durability is one o’ those too, especially since so many Enhanced seem tae ‘ave invulnerability a’ some level. This is under debate though, since invulnerability could ‘ave multiple causes, jus’ like flight. Mom says it could jus’ be due tae physical adaptations tae ‘elp them survive usin’ their other enhanced traits. There are two types o’ Enhanced; Packaged an’ Dedicated.

Packaged Enhanced are those who ‘ave multiple enhanced attributes like Hiro does wi’ his strength speed an’ reflexes. They could ‘ave jus’ two attributes enhanced or all o’ them ‘cross the board.

Dedicated Enhanced ‘ave a single enhanced trait. This is where ya ge’ yuir speedsters, strongmen, trackers, acrobatics an’ the like. They’re usually very good fer anythin’ involving’ tha’ one trait, bu’ if’n ya pu’ them in situations where tha’ trait isnae useful, then they’re basically screwed unless they ‘ave other powers as well.

Well, tha’s all tha’ I ‘ave tae say aboot Enhanced today, so tha’s all fer now an’ I’ll see all o’ ya nex’ week tae talk aboot Wildcards. ‘til then, this is Merida signin’ off.