Summary: Taylor triggers in the locker with the ability to build any storied animal, from mythology to fantasy, her power gives her the blue-print. This is the story of her career with the PRT.

Clutching the binder tightly to her chest, Taylor stared at the imposing bulk of the PRT headquarters in Brockton Bay. For a few moments, terror kept her rooted to the spot. When she was a little girl she had dreamed of being able to walk in here, to present herself to her heroes and be offered a place among them.

That was before more than a year and a half of torment from a trio of girls at school, all under the eyes and tacit approval of the school faculty eroded any trust she had in authority figures. It was also before she had learned that the most physical of her bullies was none other than the PRT Ward Shadow Stalker. And finally, it was before she realised she had triggered as a kind of bio-tinker.

Alongside human Masters, a bio-tinker was one of the most hated types of parahumans in existence. Thanks to villains like Nilbog and, to a lesser extent, Blasto, they were treated as the most dangerous and likely to cause widespread destruction. There were rumours all over PHO, the cape forums, that Blasto had a pre-signed kill order if he ever produced anything of any note.

And here she was, not only about to enter the lair of the beast but to present her work and make demands of them at the same time. God, she hoped this worked. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye to her dad properly. If she screwed this up badly enough it was highly likely she would never see him again. She hadn't even been able to tell him what she was up to, for fear he would stop her going through with it.

Discretely checking her watch Taylor realised she needed to get moving before she was late to her appointment. Checking her temporary mask was still on, she straightened her spine and marched forward, partially convinced that she could be marching to her death.

Passing through the doors, despite entering a fairly bright and cheerful lobby (with a gift shop to one side), still felt like passing into a dark, foreboding underworld. It felt like the eyes of everyone in sight suddenly snapped to watch her like some rabid beast.

In reality, the receptionist looked up and smiled at her.

Stepping up to the Taylor kept the binder gripped tightly as a little lifeline as she spoke. "Hello, my name is Menagerie, I have an appointment with Armsmaster and Director Piggot."

Nodding her head, the blonde woman at the desk tapped at her computer for a few moments before looking up again. "That's right, if you take a seat in the waiting area someone will be down to collect you shortly."

Nodding her head and giving a quiet, "Thank you." Taylor headed over and took a seat facing the bank of elevators she assumed the heroes would come from.

Thankfully, it was only a short wait before a trooper came over and started leading Taylor to the meeting. Her paranoia about her powers meant that the time spent waiting was extremely uncomfortable.

She paused for a few moments outside the conference room door, gathering herself to see the next meeting through to its completion, one way or another, then opened the door her guide had settled beside and entered the room.

It was, she felt, a little bit of a let-down. It looked like any other generic conference room. Bland walls, a large wooden table, and matching chairs sat around it. The window across the outside of the room was full length and gave a good view of the city, but other than that it was pretty empty.

The occupants, on the other hand, were a little more impressive. Armsmaster was sat in his signature armour, his chair custom-built to hold the weight. Miss Militia was also there, the crinkle around her eyes indicating a smile. The last person was a very overweight woman with bob-cut blonde hair. She did not look pleased to be there. Based on who she was supposed to be meeting here, and the information on PHO, this was undoubtedly Director Piggot, someone who had good reason to hate Bio-Tinkers.

It was Director Piggot who started things off, standing with a little effort and offering her hand. "Good Morning, I assume you are the individual who has identified herself as Menagerie, my name is Director Piggot, head of the PRT ENE. With me are Armsmaster and Miss Militia."

Nodding her head at the two Heroes, while internally trying to keep from hyperventilating, Taylor shook the director's hand and spoke, "Hello, yes, I'm currently going by Menagerie. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

This time it was Miss Militia who spoke, the smile obvious in her voice as well as the movement of her eyes, "Well, it's not every day a new parahuman comes to us directly to sign up for the Wards. Most of them are already tempted to be villains, or are caught by the gangs pretty quickly."

Shuddering slightly at the awful possibilities, Taylor replied, "Thankfully I seem to have kept under the radar. I'm not Asian, or racist, so I was in the most danger from the Merchants, I wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere near them if I could help it. And, at the moment, my joining the Wards is only a possibility I'm afraid, there are some obstacles on both sides I think."

The director paused slightly as she was retaking her seat, waving Taylor into one on the opposite side of the table. "Obstacles? Or demands?" Came out with a fair amount of wariness and aggression.

Settling into her seat, Taylor considered before replying, "A little bit of both, I suppose. Hopefully, nothing you wouldn't be willing to do, regardless."

Finally putting the large binder own on the table, Taylor busied herself for a few moments separating the little bundles she had inside. Thankfully she had thought to bring extra, so Miss Militia would have access despite being an unexpected addition.

Looking up at the PRT employees again, Taylor was momentarily put in mind of a judgment panel, but she spoke regardless, "Do… ah, Do you mind if I go through my speech first, please? I've kind of been obsessing about this since I realised coming to you was my best option."

By the end of her question, Taylor had to settle her hands on top of the binger again to stop them shaking with nerves. Fortunately, the director shared a look with the heroes and recognised her state for what it was, because a few seconds later Piggot leaned back in her chair to watch the girl carefully. "Very well, carry on when you're ready."

Smiling in thanks, Taylor prepared a pack each for everyone in the room. "Ok, well, I think I should start off by saying that there are likely to be some uncomfortable things said, but I'm fully willing to talk through everything, and I brought all my notes to go over with you. Um, I think I will also need to sign some NDA stuff after, probably. I would be grateful if you could hold on until I get through everything though, or I might not finish."

Shifting slightly in her seat, Taylor took a deep breath and then removed her mask, putting it down carefully before she started speaking. "My name is Taylor Hebert, and I triggered in Winslow School at the beginning of the January semester after a campaign of torment and bullying that had and has carried on for a year and a half. This campaign peaked with my bullies trapping me in my school locker along with a mound of used tampons, and various other products that had been left to fester since the end of the Christmas term. Given the school was required to hire a specialist cleaning crew this was actually an act of bio-terrorism."

Splaying her hands across the desk, Taylor avoided looking at anyone as she continued, "This campaign was spearheaded by a former friend of mine, Emma Barnes, with the eager and active assistance of two others, Madison Clements, and Sophia Hess, who I am aware is also known to you as Shadow Stalker."

She ignored the gasps and small noises that came at that declaration, instead sliding the first bundle from each pack across to the individuals in the room. "This is a copy of the log I've been keeping since the start of the latest school year. It details everything done to me from that point forward."

Taylor also passed across a USB stick to Armsmaster, "This contains a video from the inside of my locker. I installed it the week before the end of the Christmas term in the hope of finding out how a large number of my homework assignments and personal belongings kept disappearing from my locker, despite numerous changes to the lock."

Shaking slightly Taylor moved her hands back onto the main folder in front of her, locking them together to provide a little comfort. "You can see from the video that a pair of hands holding a large bag come through the door at the top, before dumping the contents. This is repeated twice more before the individual moves off. It also shows quite clearly when I was forced inside, and the face of that person."

"So, that's really my main demand, as such. I want Shadow Stalker justly prosecuted, and other than that, I don't want to see her ever again." This time Taylor looked up at the three people in the room with her to see their reaction to her request. Miss Militia was frowning down at the pages in front of her. Armsmaster on the other hand was so still he almost looked like a statue, what she could see of his mouth was pressed into such a thin line Taylor was sure he must be in pain from how tightly his mouth was shut.

The director, however, was the most worrying. She was absolutely red in the face, her hands tightened into fists hard enough that they looked bone white. Taylor had seen a similar look before, it was the same look her father had before he completely lost his temper. Hopefully, her ire was aimed at Shadow Stalker for the acts, and not at Taylor for catching her.

Taking a deep breath, Taylor prepared to go over the truly difficult part of her speech. This was where it could all go wrong. "Before you make any decisions or ask questions, I need to finish the rest, it may affect your choices going forward."

Waiting for nods from her audience Taylor spoke again, "I triggered in the locker, and had to go to hospital for many infections as well as being catatonic when they removed me from the locker. This is the bit that may be the obstacle from your end though." Taylor had to pause again at that point, taking a deep breath and watching the three as she spoke the words that might spell her death, "You should be aware that I triggered as a bio-tinker."

The reaction from all three was instant, and again the director had the most extreme. Miss Militia stiffened and looked up, her power creating an automatic rifle of some kind over her shoulder. Armsmaster meanwhile snapped his gave up to stare at her, but did nothing else she could see. She didn't doubt that a number of counter-measures were being prepared though.

The director had gone incredibly pale nearly throwing herself back in the seat to ensure she was as far from Taylor as possible. At the same time, one of her hands had shot to her belt, likely to grab a gun. She looked like she couldn't decide on either a full-blown panic attack, or gunning Taylor down before she could do anything. To try and ease some of the concerns the woman definitely had with a bio-tinker in her city Taylor carried on her explanation.

"Since my trigger, I have been drawing up a number of blueprints and designs and from that, I have been able to find out what my power is focused on. I haven't made anything yet. I figured that what with the history of bio-tinkers in the country I would be better off working with the PRT and someone with more knowledge than me making choices."

That last bit was mostly aimed at the director, who had finally started returning to normal in her chair, removing her hand from her gun. Seeing that they were relaxing a little Taylor quickly pushed three more small packs across to them.

Coughing slightly, she gave a bit more detail of her power. "These are copies of the blueprints I have made so far. My power, as far as I have been able to tell, is the ability to create any animal or creature from a story or myth known to the public at large. When building I can hard-wire in the imperative to follow the commands of myself or anyone I designate. My first idea to help the public perception of me was to hardwire in you as the main person to listen to, director."

Shifting her copy of the blueprints around, Taylor moved to the first creature shown. "If you look at page 3, I've put two blueprints I hope you might like at the start since these will demonstrate a bit more about how my power works. Page 3 is the Nemean Lion, from Greek Mythology. The Nemean Lion was my first choice because of the Empire 88 and ABB capes. Its fur is impervious to harm, and it's strength is great, and its claws can cut through any mortal armour. I think, if you fielded him, he should be able to put a stop to any of the more powerful cape villains in the bay.

The main point in terms of how my power works is that the Nemean Lion is a singular creature in mythology and stories, and my power has to follow that belief. So, the Nemean Lion is not capable of reproducing in any way. Although if he was destroyed somehow, I would be able to recreate him as a new creature."

Slipping the page over, Taylor gestured at her copy and continued, "On the other hand, on page 4 you have a Griffon. I choose this because of the righteous and just symbolic nature of them, but most of the stories have Griffons as a race, rather than a singular creature. That means I can create a number of them, and they would be capable of breeding. Conception and gestation are the same as a horse, so they have to.. err, do the deed, so to speak. But it also means that I can alter the DNA of newborns enough to create a viable population, and you could have an airborne division since they can be trained."

Folding her hands in front of her, Taylor looked up again and waited for whatever came next. "So, that's what I'm offering, full disclosure and oversight, in return I get justice and provide unique and useful gear to the protectorate and PRT." Suddenly remembering something Taylor quickly tacked on, "Oh, I would also like either a transfer to Arcadia or to be home-schooled as well. But that's me done."

Watching the trio across from her, it was obvious that Armsmaster and Miss Militia were deferring to the director for the moment. Director Piggot was gathering her thoughts, closing the booklets in front of her before focusing on Taylor.

Finally, she spoke in a voice tight with tension. "We'll start with Shadow Stalker-"

However, she was interrupted by Miss Militia putting a hand on her arm, "I have some questions, before we get to that, if I may?"

Looking at the director, the veteran hero tried to convey with her eyes that the young girl across from them was absolutely terrified. She needed a way to calm down first before they carried on dredging up bad memories and feelings. She was able to get enough of her plan across as the director nodded for her to go ahead.

Turning to the bio-tinker she asked what she hoped were some leading questions so they could draw the conversation onto lighter topics. "The two examples you used are at the front, but can I ask the reasoning behind the next two?"

Suddenly blushing, Taylor replied with an explanation, "The rest of the designs are in order of when I drew them up."

Grinning behind her mask, Miss Militia asked, "So, the dragon?"

Coughing uncomfortably, Taylor slowly replied, "Well, um, that was the first one I drew… um, I was still on the pain medication at the time, and Armsmaster was giving a speech on TV." Scratching the back of her head, Taylor finished the explanation as Miss Militia gleefully watched her boss out of the corner of one eye, sensing this was going to be gold, "I, well, I had a bit of a day dream about Armsmaster charging Lung on a dragon, or flying with the tinker Dragon on a dragon… that's where that came from."

Miss Militia's faith was absolutely rewarded then, despite the nature of the tinker they were interviewing even Emily couldn't stop a few sniggers from coming out at that image, although she managed to cover it up with a cough. Meanwhile, to those who knew him, Armsmaster was completely speechless.

Hannah really hoped Dragon was listening in on him as she was quite often. Still, she had bigger prey to hunt in the form of the next design.

"And the unicorn?" was asked with what was a large amount of glee. There was a good story here, she could tell.

If a person was able to self-combust via blushing, Taylor would be there now. Her face was utterly red. Hannah hoped someone was recording this for use once Taylor was a Ward and had settled in. It was premium blackmail material.

Eventually, the girl mumbled out a reply, "My Little Pony was on the TV."

Chuckling happily, Miss Militia was eventually able to reply, "Well, if you do join and are able to safely create them, I can guarantee you will become the top hero to nearly every little girl in the world."

Smiling shyly Taylor nodded to that, "That was the main reason I kept it in the folder, they don't have a lot of use in a fight, being pacifistic they run away from danger, but I guessed it would help with PR and marketing."

Having finally re-gained her equilibrium Director Piggot had to acknowledge the point Miss Militia had made, now that she was looking at the girl she could see the fear, but also see the resolve to move forward despite that fear, it was a little impressive even though both her dislike of parahumans and her dislike of bio-tinkers.

Managing to moderate her tone, she decided to ask a question to start gauging what kind of person the girl was, "Is that important to you, the ability for your creatures to fight?"

That appeared to be a question the girl hadn't expected, as it immediately knocked her out of her downward spiral of fear and got her thinking. "um, no, not really. I think… I think I just want to help people. Some of that will need to involve fighting because the heroes are in a pretty bad position when it comes to the city. But at the same time, hitting things doesn't solve everything, you know?

Things like the unicorns, or the other similar beings can help by improving the morale of the people, give them hope and joy. Dad says that a lot of the problems in the bay are because people gave up. But if we could make a mythological zoo, or tourist attraction, and bring money and jobs in that could do just as much to undermine the gangs as whatever I create that attacks the problem directly.

So, I suppose both are necessary to make any real meaningful changes. I mean, the Nemean Lion could attack the gangs, but it could also shred some of the boats in the graveyard and open that land back up. I just want to help people."

Although she refused to show it, the mini speech from Taylor had set the director at ease somewhat. Not only was it good that a teenager recognised punching things wasn't an entire solution, but the fact that Taylor was just as focused on the commercial aspects of her specialisation meant that she wouldn't be as inclined to create a horde of monsters and twig the fears of the director.

Outwardly though, she just gave a small smile as she replied, "It's a very mature attitude to have. If more fresh triggers had that amount of forethought there would be a lot less problems in the world. I'm also impressed you came to us, despite the issues around you trigger and your power. It speaks well of you."

This managed to bring a bit of a lift to Taylor's expression. Judging the girl had relaxed as much as possible, the director asked another question about something that had bothered her at the time.

"You said at the start of your speech, you wanted to tell us about your power and said it might affect our decision, can you explain what you mean by that?"

Jumping slightly, Taylor looked hesitant, but answered after a small pause, "Oh, um. Well. According to the rumours online, Shadow Stalker is one of the more effective Wards. I wasn't sure if you would want to lose that resource if you wouldn't work with me, or if my power wasn't really good enough to use."

Looking down at her folder, Taylor finished in a smaller voice, "From what I can tell that's what happened at Winslow, they didn't want to lose a Ward, so all of my complaints were destroyed or sabotaged."

Hearing a creak, Taylor looked up in time to see Armsmaster leaning forward, "Miss Hebert, the entire purpose of both the PRT and Protectorate is to put a stop to any capes who want to hurt people. You do not need powers and everyone is worthy of that protection. You have my personal assurance that we will investigate to the fullest extent and ensure Shadow Stalker is punished. I have already reviewed the footage you provided, just that act is enough you will never see her again."

Finally relaxing properly, Taylor smiled and thanked the veteran hero.

Sensing a chance to get Taylor more on side as well, the director added to the impressive statement from Colin, "Allow me to reassure you as well. The PRT does not attack or prosecute capes purely because of what power they have, but only what they do with it. I will admit, in some cases there are blurred lines there, but as a tinker who hasn't created anything you have definitely done nothing wrong."

Shrugging her shoulders, she continued, "Oversight on your creations will be fairly strict, and may chafe at times, but we will do our best to support you and allow you to rise into a hero with the full trust of her peers and the public."

Smiling again, Taylor nodded her head that sounded exactly like what she wanted and needed honestly.

Piggot watched Taylor for a few moments to judge for herself how the young woman would react to the mention of the oversight, but from everything she could tell it just made the young girl relieved. That was a good sign.

"Well then, myself and Miss Militia have a lot to be dealing with. For you, Miss Hebert, you need to go through power testing which Armsmaster can oversee. We can discuss your options once we have the details from that. Are any of your designs small and quick enough to be suitable for an afternoon's work?"

Thinking quickly, Taylor opened her folder to look at what might meet those criteria. "Umm, oh! A Faerie Dragon would work. They're a race, so would be capable of breeding, but if we only make one that would put off that issue. They can create a shield around themselves and their breath is a gas that causes euphoria, the victim would stop whatever they are doing or wander off aimlessly."

Taylor quickly showed the three the page the design was on, before flipping through the rest of her folder, "Other than that, there are actual fairies. These are basically miniature humans with butterfly wings, they can emit light and fly, but not much else. They have human-level intelligence and a race, so you have the same breeding problem as the faerie dragon. Also, I have Wolpertinger's, they are little rabbits with small antlers and bird wings. They can glide but aren't built for proper flight. They're a race, but have no other powers I think."

Opening their folders, the three PRT employees carefully started reviewing the pages Taylor had shown them. "While I can practically feel the wrath of every young girl across the country, I'm not sure the fairies are a good idea. I'm not comfortable creating something with human intelligence as a test. With their flight and size, it would also be hard to keep them contained."

Taylor couldn't help but grin at the dry tone Director Piggot delivered that statement in. Armsmaster looked fairly blank, although he also seemed engrossed in the other designs in the folder, Miss Militia though seemed to smile.

Checking her store of ideas, Taylor thought about the two options best, both from a creation standpoint, but also what would happen to the being afterwards. Whatever she created would be both a test and a showcase for what she could offer the heroes. When that was considered there was really only one option.

"If I may?" Once the Director nodded Taylor carried on, "Since this is a test I think the Faerie Dragon would be the best option."

Pausing in her reading, Miss Militia looked up to ask a question, "Can you explain your thinking behind that?"

Nodding slightly, Taylor straightened up a little before speaking, "Well, as far a test of my abilities go both creatures are at the same level, so from a pure creation standpoint there isn't a functional difference. But I think the Faerie Dragon wins on what happens afterwards. If we give the dragon to either one of the capes or a frontline PRT employer the ability to have a mobile shield will prove pretty useful in this city. Also, the dragon itself is notable and distinctive. The public has as bad a view of bio-tinkers as the PRT generally. But the dragon is as smart as a high intelligence dog, curious, calm and friendly so from a personality view it will be a good thing to build reputation and trust, plus it will look pretty, so could be well looked on by the younger generations. The Wolpertinger is just as friendly, but is a bunny rabbit personality wise, and looks a lot more alien because of the eyes."

Finished with her thoughts, Taylor glanced at each of the older people in turn to try and figure out how they felt about the speech.

Nodding her head, the Director agreed, "That's well-reasoned. Based on what I understand from your notes and design work the dragon would essentially act and feel like a canine partner for a PRT officer, which means we can have some good PR out of the situation."

She spent a few minutes contemplating the situation, one hand beating a steady beat against the folder it rested on. Eventually, she nodded as she came to a decision, she glanced at both of the heroes in the room briefly, receiving a nod from each to show they were on board before speaking to Taylor again, "I agree, the benefits to testing and image are in favour of the Faerie Dragon. We'll move forward with that choice."

With that decision made, Armsmaster stood up and gathered his copy of the designs Taylor had provided, "If you'll come with me, we'll head to one of the labs for the actual testing. I expect we will have most of what you need to create your design."

So, he waited a few seconds for Taylor to get up and gather her things before starting to stride from the room. Before he reached the door a question from the director gave him reason to pause and wait.

"Do you have anyone to contact to discuss your Wards contract while you are in power testing? It'll help us move forward if we can speak to your parent or guardian in the meantime."

The way Taylor stiffened in shock at that question was a definite warning sign to all three of the PRT employees, a few seconds later though she replied in a quiet voice, "My dad… I, ah, haven't actually told him yet. Not once I know what my power was. He'd have worried too much to let me come in if he knew. Not since mom died."

The director and Miss Militia paused in silence for a few moments, trying to consider what that meant before the director nodded and queried, "Do you want us to bring him here, or do you want to come back with him another time?"

Thinking quickly, Taylor decided to get everything moving as fast as possible, Tinker fugues were a real thing according to the internet and she wanted to get started on making things before she couldn't stop herself.

"Could you bring him in, please?"

Nodding her head the Director dismissed both Tinkers to get to work on sorting things out. "I'll send someone to bring him in."

A few more moments were spent on getting details out of Taylor to be able to accurately pick up and inform her father about the situation, and then Armsmaster took her out of the room towards power testing. This was the last thing they needed to do to prove the girl was a Tinker, and therefore under their jurisdiction.

Personally, Armsmaster was convinced the girl was the real deal, her designs were too complete for it to be otherwise. He was also starting to consider how he could make use of her powers in his own efforts. Having access to such exotic materials in the future was just the start, adding some of his own tech to companion animals was an obvious option, with immediate benefits.

And he did like the idea of riding a dragon of his own, of course.

…

Back in the conference room the two woman waited a few long moments after the tinkers had left before relaxing. Director Piggot in particular blew out a huge breath and slumped backwards into her seat. Muttering to herself about bio-tinkers, the older woman was clearly not in the right headspace to have a conversation for the moment.

In contrast, Miss Militia settled forward with her elbows on the table, hands propping up her head and looking down at the journal of assault Taylor had provided. All she could feel was immense disappointment in Sophia.

Ten minutes of quiet contemplation from both sides later and the Director pulled herself together enough to query the hero. "What do you think?"

Speaking softly, Hannah replied, "She was terrified of us, of being here. And I mean absolutely terrified, you could see it in the way she was acting as soon as she came into the building."

Pausing for a few moments to consider, Miss Militia carried on, "Did you catch the comment about her father? She feared she was walking to her death and didn't want him protecting her from that. That takes a lot of mental strength, to carry on in the face of death when she could have completely avoided revealing herself like that. We'll need to keep an eye on her, otherwise, she's exactly the kind of person to throw herself into danger to save someone else, we need to give her the wisdom to do that properly."

Leaning back in the chair, Miss Militia added a final though to her analysis, "I think there will be authority issues as well because of what that school allowed to happen to her, plus the issues around us being responsible for controlling Sophia. But, despite all of that, she still came in. She understood just how much her power would scare people and made the best choice she could to be able to help people, regardless to the possible cost to herself."

Finally managing to find a little bit of humour in the situation, Director Piggot huffed a bare laugh, "So instead of our normal angst-ridden and reluctant teenagers we have a suicidal, driven teenage bio-tinker. Truly, god hates us."

Giving out a small chuckle, "True, it's not ideal. But just think of the look on Glenn's face when you tell him you have a Ward that can create real, physical unicorns, fairies and other fantasy creatures. I have a feeling our approval rating with young girls is going to go through the roof once that gets out."

Blinking in shock, Emily felt a mean grin start to form as she contemplated just how much of a shock this would be to the head of PR. As Hannah has mentioned, the creatures Taylor could create represented the kind of resource that would have any PR magnate drooling, and Glenn more typically had to deal with angst-ridden, miserable and combative teens, and often with a power that was all too easy to abuse or be dangerous.

Standing up, Emily laughed quietly as she commented, "Very true, and all of a sudden I feel the need to summon our esteemed colleague for an emergency consultation." Leaving the room, both women were laughing at that image. Although the director was still wary about a bio-tinker under her command, her fears were at least a little mollified by Hannah's commentary. Anyone who would willingly walk into a room expecting to never leave because of her power wasn't about to go on a sudden rampage or unleash hell.

They would need to work with Miss Hebert to understand and control her creations, but as long as they didn't actively try to break her down then they could keep her on side and happy. Making a mental note, Director Piggot mentioned the plan to Hannah as she moved to go and observe the power testing. Whatever came of this would be classified to the highest level, instead, they would present Taylor as a wet tinker focusing on veterinarian work. Hopefully, Taylor could recreate that kind of work on a simple level, it would add another level to her appeal if nothing else.

Separating outside the door, the director headed back to her office while Hannah moved towards the testing area.

…

Following the legendary tinker, Taylor got the impression that trying to make small talk was not going to go well. Which, actually, suited her pretty well right now. The one event she had been dreading more than anything was over and she'd come out unscathed.

With the backing of the PRT and the various military-minded people or research experts they could bring to bear she could work out what animals were safe to create and how they could be used to really help people.

Right now though, it was time to focus on the task at hand. She needed to prove herself to Armsmaster himself, she needed to get him on her side if she had any hope of her creations being deployed.

Entering an elevator, Taylor watched as Armsmaster pushed one of the buttons before there was an almost imperceptible sense of movement. This had to be a tinkertech elevator to be that smooth. Trying to avoid feeling awkward without a conversational partner, Taylor started reviewing everything she knew about the Faerie Dragon and what she would need to create it.

Before she could go too far with that she ended up jumping in surprise as Armsmaster spoke, "Before we reach the labs I would like to go over the process for your testing with you, if you are agreeable?"

Nodding her head, Taylor gave Armsmaster her full attention as he started explaining, hands starting to move a little in what appeared to be his version of enthusiasm.

"Once we reach the labs the technicians will go over the process as far as you know it. Please don't speak about it before we are in the labs. Not only can a surprising number of data points be found in a fresh explanation, but we are still in public areas before that point."

His pause was pretty perfunctory, but he carried on as soon as she nodded, so she didn't have much time to dwell on it. "I have already messaged the staff to have the raw materials described from your designs waiting, so once your explanation and any questions are done with you will be able to start work. If you could let me know any apparatus you need I can get that delivered as well."

Totting up her needs in her head, Taylor quickly started listing the number and sizes of various beakers and test tubes she needed, as well as the chemical apparatus she would want during that process. Then, obviously surprising Armsmaster she started listing additional materials and equipment that were a little more industrial in nature.

This clearly piqued Armsmasters interest, as he started mumbling to himself before suddenly speaking up again, "Fascinating, I presume you will need a device to finalise the process, or is it to accelerate the-"

At that point he cut himself off, obviously remembering his previous instructions to leave any discussion until they were in the labs. Instead, in an obvious change of subject he just said "I'll see the relevant items are delivered," before falling silent again.

Personally, Taylor felt a smile twitching at her lips, the apparent social awkwardness was kind of endearing, and a little reassuring given her own issues. Still, she accepted the change in topic and agreed before falling silent once more.

Moments later the elevator arrived and they stepped out into clean white halls. Striding along in the wake of the taller hero, Taylor felt her head swivelling rapidly as she took in her environment. They passed rooms with gym equipment, monitoring items and some she couldn't explain. Apparently, Armsmaster expected this reaction as he spoke without looking back.

"Full power testing checks each individual for additional details, most commonly a tinker will also have a small thinker sub aspect, so we check each aspect thoroughly. But that is a much longer process once an individual is signed up, so for the moment we will just focus on the tinker tests."

Nodding her head despite the fact he couldn't see it, Taylor watched as the hero veered off into a second corridor, quickly reaching a door set at the end.

Hiding the panel from her with his body, the hero punched in some numbers before the heavy door swung open and he stepped inwards, Taylor following him like a duckling after its mother. The corridor inside actually led to the right of them, one door was in each side. One was on her right again and was actually only a little down from the entrance, the other was at the far bottom on the left.

Armsmaster strode past the right-hand side door explaining as he went, "That door is for the observational area of the testing facilities. Most of the researchers are kept away from direct access just in case of infiltration or, more likely, sudden failures and unexpected consequences in testing. We're heading to the main lab now."

Nodding silently again, Taylor just followed the man on rote as they reached the end of this corridor and moved into the lab. Once inside, however, she stopped dead to take in the room, awestruck at the machines and materials on show.

This was everything she had wanted ever since getting her powers. Every bit of kit she had desperately wished for was right here waiting. It was such a tantalising sight she nearly lost control of herself and started to work. Before she took more than two steps though Taylor managed to wrench her attention back to Armsmaster.

At some point since entering the veteran tinker had turned to stand with his back to one of the tables near the door and was watching her. Seeing her attention on him again he spoke, "Quite impressive. Most new tinkers, and a lot of those who haven't been able to work, would not have been able to stop themselves from making something. Allow me to introduce the people who will be directly involved in the testing."

Gesturing to his side Taylor's gaze twitched guiltily again as she finally realised there were more people in the room. Across from her were two men and a woman. The first male was apparently Doctor Lee, an absolutely tiny man of slightly Asian descent. The second male was an average-looking male with brown hair and eyes, who was called Doctor Michaels. And finally, the woman was slightly taller than them both, with short bob-cut black hair, she was called Doctor James.

Quietly greeting each of the trio as they were introduced Taylor listened as Doctor Lee started speaking, "Armsmaster let us know about the initial material request, and the additional details while you were on your way down. Can you verbally take us through the process and your needs to start with, please?"

Nodding her head, Taylor put her folder down on the table next to the scientists and pulled out the designs for the faerie dragon before starting the explanation. "The materials in the design work are first of all used to create a carefully constructed mixture, different items having to be added in different states and methods to end up with the end product. This is then added to a machine I've been calling an activator, this machine will take the added product and create an egg. That egg will be fertilised and ready. The final stage is adding the egg to what's basically a growth machine specifically tailored for the eggs. In that machine the creature will hatch, then grow to prime adult status."

Fidgeting with her folder to give herself something to do, Taylor quickly added to the basic explanation, "The growth machine cannot be used on anything but my eggs, and while the eggs are fertilised and ready to hatch they are unable to do so without that machine. I was planning on DNA coding the activation of the machine, but figured you would be better able to plan its protection. All of the protections and orders for the creature itself are coded in when the egg is produced, so whoever will be keeping the dragon should be present for that."

Thinking deeply, Taylor eventually added, "Creating the mixture should take about an hour, changing it to an egg will take another hour, then growth will be half an hour. Ignoring the time to make the machines."

Nodding quickly several times during her explanation, Doctor Lee spoke up before anyone else, "Excellent, a clear and well-defined process. It's not often we get such a thing with new triggers, most of the time we have to work backwards after they have started producing equipment. I would suggest that we start with the creation of the initial substance before moving on to creating the activator, once that is working you can create the growth machine, to make the best use of time."

Nodding slowly as she listened, Taylor quickly agreed with the plan, "That sounds reasonable. Has it been decided who will be partnered with the dragon?"

Speaking up Armsmaster joined in the conversation at that point, "I will be the test subject for this hatching. Should everything go to plan I will be best placed to make use of the new creature, or if there are any issues I am most likely to be able to deal with them."

Momentarily, Taylor wanted to bristle or snap back at the senior tinker for the apparent insinuation that her creation would be dangerous. But, looking at the man, he didn't seem to be showing anything but diligent honesty. A few seconds later she settled back down as she decided that the level of experience Armsmaster had with new and existing tinkertech was likely colouring his response.

In the end, she just nodded slightly despondently before moving the subject forward, "As the main partner you'll need to be close once it finishes the growth stage, preferably through that whole process. But since you're monitoring this session anyway that shouldn't be a problem. Can we get started?"

She tried to hide how desperate and eager she was to start work, but based on the smiles exchanged by the researchers she was less than successful.

Bringing Taylor's attention back to her, Doctor James spoke for the first time since her introduction, "So, Taylor, is the chemical solution you create the basic building block all your work?"

Bobbing her head side to side, Taylor filled out more of the details for the research team, "That's the basic building block for a Faerie Dragon. What solution is made at this stage will be different depending on what creature you want to end up with. After this stage all of my creations will follow the same pattern, they can all go into the same activator to create an egg, although making more of those will mean I can create more eggs at one go. The growth chamber will need to change depending on how big the end result will be, but they can all affect the eggs equally."

"Fascinating, so your power will escalate on a numbers basis since you can create any level of threat for an enemy from the start."

That seemed to be a rhetorical question as none of the doctors looked up or stopped writing for an answer, a quick glance at Armsmaster provided no help as he hadn't even looked up yet.

A few seconds later her dilemma was solved though as Doctor James looked back up and started speaking again, "Excellent, we can let you get started shortly. Before that though we would like to bring Panacea in to examine the creature once it hatches, with your permission?"

Feeling very confused about why they would want to heal a new-born and perfectly healthy creature, Taylor mumbled out a simple query, "Panacea? Why?"

Finally looking up from his tablet, Armsmaster answered before the doctor could, "Panacea's power gives her an in-depth knowledge of the biology of anything she touches. A detailed report based on her exam will let us know exactly what food the dragon can and cannot tolerate, the best options for treats and standard food. It will also provide us with things to avoid and any other needs to keep them healthy. Finally, as we are technically introducing a new species to the country we should perform due diligence to check for any illnesses that might translate, or any laws that might be broken by its introduction."

Well, that was a lot of things Taylor hadn't actually considered, letting out a small, wondering "oh." She stopped to think it over.

Obviously, while she had been obsessing over her possible fate there were an additional number of considerations that hadn't occurred to her. Which, actually, was another good reason to join up with the PRT. Having someone with experience to point out these kinds of pitfalls before they caused problems.

"I don't have a problem with calling her in then, no." Watching one of the doctors tap away at his phone for a few seconds, Taylor turned back to Armsmaster to ask a follow up question.

"Will we need to call in Panacea for every new creature, or should we start looking at some way of doing it ourselves?"

His head tilting slightly, Armsmaster obviously considered the query for a few moments. "I suspect it will ultimately depend on Panacea herself, her power is the most efficient method to obtain the data without harm or disruption to the creatures themselves. However, as she is not a member of the Protectorate there could be other issues that necessitate an in-house solution. You should start making plans to address whichever issues you can regardless."

Nodding her head since that made sense, Taylor quickly opened her folder and jotted a note down on one of the front pages.

Looking up afterwards, she addressed everyone as she asked, "So, should I start making the solution now?"

Exchanging glances, the doctors and Armsmaster all seemed to agree, Doctor Lee giving her the go-ahead.

Suddenly smiling happily, Taylor practically floated to the array of materials. Finally, after nearly three weeks of holding herself back, she could make something! And it was in an ultra high-tech lab, not her basement. This was going to be glorious!

The researchers watched as the terribly shy and half-way terrified young woman suddenly changed in front of their eyes. She was quickly arms deep in the various materials. Chemicals and parts being mixed, diluted, diffused, separated and everything else as she worked her way through the plans she'd provided.

Armsmaster had already sent a message listing the equipment and tools needed to make Taylor's devices, he also sent a message to Miss Militia to call Panacea and have her come across in a few hours.

Taylor herself was looking a little tired but extremely proud of herself as she sat at another table well away from her work. She'd been directed to clean up and given a couple of sandwiches and drinks to consume while the liquid was examined.

Right now Armsmaster was running a variety of scans on the original chemical flask while the doctors took notes. From what Taylor had been able to pick up they were testing to see if the substance was of any danger just sitting there, radiation checks and such like, but they were also testing to see if the liquid could be stored or frozen.

The idea was apparently to have multiple activators and growth machines ready to take liquids if creatures were needed, but not have them taking up room if they weren't needed.

Soon after though the mixture was placed back in a secure rack out of the way. Probably because a group of four PRT troopers were coming into the room pushing trolleys filled with equipment and additional tools. Taylor clutched her drink tightly to prevent herself from immediately rushing over to carry on working.

Armsmaster swiftly had the troopers unloading everything onto some tables, then leaving again with the empty trolleys. With what was probably the slightest smile ever, he waved her on to create the next part of her work.

A few minutes later Taylor lost all sense of herself as she started working to create her devices.

She returned long enough to direct Armsmaster to place his un-gloved hand inside a portion of the final activator device, warning him that he would feel a slight pin-prick as it drew a drop of blood. That section of the device gave a comprehensive scan of the individual who would take control of the final creature. For the benefit of her audience, Taylor described the scans and details taken from an individual and showed them how to add multiple people.

Once Armsmaster was satisfied with the device Taylor poured her mixture into the shallow bowl that was centred on the top of the device. Around that ceramic bowl were thick coils shining slightly with a warm yellow glow. Kind of like a cardboard box, the top closed via two sections that were hinged on the sides, once they clicked into place a glass panel shifted across to seal the unit, the glass also had a heads-up display which showed the status of the future egg.

All in all the device was about a metre long and wide, but only a third of that deep. The identification and authorisation section was connected to the bottom edge, adding another half a metre to that side. Covered in gleaming white and chrome metal it looked amazing as far as Taylor was concerned.

Starting the device up, Taylor explained the settings she was using as she set them. "The settings for creating the eggs are different based on the type of animal, I've included some of the details in my designs, but I haven't updated them all because the realisation of the activator came a while after the initial designs did."

Pushing a final couple of buttons Taylor checked the details on the glass HUD, before nodding happily and pushing the start button. A pleasant ping came from the device and a timer started counting down from 47 minutes.

Sighing happily, Taylor turned to the PRT team and declared, "Started. Did you want to go over any part of that process before I make the growth machine?"

Apparently the answer was yes, because the next 15 minutes were a deluge of queries. From the obvious 'what happens if you interrupt it', which was a complete failure state, to whether the device radiated anything. Even more scans were performed by Armsmaster between questions.

They seemed to know how far they could push things though, just as Taylor was starting to get twitchy about the time remaining to build her growth machine they allowed her to get back to work.

This time the device that resulted was much more of an egg shape. It sat on the floor, rising up in a series of interlocking white panels and glass. Explaining the choice to the team Taylor told them that by changing the position of the panels she could use the same machine for everything up to the size of something like a medium-sized pig. Obviously, for something as large as a dragon or the Nemean Lion, she would need to make a much larger base machine, but a lot of her designs were for small critter-sized animals, so she would hopefully be able to use this machine repeatedly.

The egg itself had been ready for about five minutes before the growth machine was finished, but because of all the questions and discussions, it was another 20 minutes before Taylor could open up the activator to grab it.

Unlike what most expected, when the activator was opened up the result was about the same size as an ostrich egg. The only difference between the two was small patches of light purple spots all over the egg.

Cradling the egg carefully, Taylor moved over to the growth machine and prodded a button causing all of the panels to slide down, revealing a cushioned cradle she added the egg to. Another prod of the button closed the machine up over the egg again, then she set the parameters and started the machine.

Once the screen at one end of the machine showed up in green light, and the 28-minute countdown started, Taylor sat back in the wheeled office chair she was occupying and sighed in relief. Thirty minutes to find out if it worked, her first creation.

Turning around Taylor jumped slightly when she realised there were three new people in the room. Standing at the back of the room were Panacea, her sister Glory Girl and the Wards tinker Kid Win. Reflexively Taylor checked her face, suddenly realising she had a cloth mask covering the top of her face. Prodding the mask a couple of times Taylor tried to figure out where it came from, it wasn't the mask she'd come in with.

Sensing the direction of her thoughts, Doctor Lee smiled and told her they had got her to put it on while she was working. Smiling gratefully at the man she turned back to the new people in the room as they were waved over by Doctor James.

Being approached by three people her own age didn't seem quite so daunting after walking into the PRT headquarters convinced she was about to die, but it still wasn't exactly pleasant. Hopefully, the nervous smile she managed wouldn't be held against her as Doctor James introduced all of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Menagerie, a new and prospective Ward. Menagerie is a bio-tinker who creates mythological animals. Panacea, we'd like you to do a full check-up of her first creation once it's ready, if you would."

Looking askance at the doctor, Taylor wondered how they'd got the notoriously busy healer to come in if they hadn't even told her why she was wanted. Although the bland and insincere smile she'd given during her introduction suggested it wasn't a wholly happy choice.

Kid Win on the other hand had given her a welcoming smile, and Glory Girls had been beaming.

Watching as Kid Win raised a hand to ask a question from his position slightly behind the two girls, Taylor was hoping she could keep up talking about tinkering with the more experienced teen.

That was blown out of the water though when Glory Girl let out a loud and excited gasp, pushing floating forward quickly until she was almost uncomfortably close as she squealed, "Really?! Mythological creatures? Does that mean you can make Unicorns? Oh! Or Fairy's? How about Pokémon, Pleeease tell me you can make Pokémon?"

Leaning backwards from the onslaught of cheer, Taylor struggled to get an answer out for a few seconds. The situation was partially resolved by Panacea though, who stepped forward slightly and poked her sister in the ribs, speaking in a slightly snappish tone, "Vicky! Tone it down a little!"

Glory Girl, for her part, turned to pout outrageously at her sister, but she did float backwards some.

Hoping to stave off any family drama, Taylor quickly answered the questions. "I can't make any Pokémon I'm afraid, but yes to the others."

That definitely did the job of distracting her again as Glory Girl ended up staring at Taylor in glee.

Speaking clearly for the first time, Panacea addressed her question to Armsmaster, "Is that why I'm here, then? To check the condition of her work?"

That… that was a bit rude. Watching the renowned healer out of the corner of her eye and behind her hair, Taylor tried to figure out if Panacea was upset with her, or just in a bad mood right now. There definitely seemed to be a bias against her, then again, Taylor wasn't exactly brilliant with people any more. Also, it could just be a dislike of Bio-Tinkers in general, it wasn't exactly unusual, and someone who healed people was likely to be offended by that anyway.

Nodding once, Armsmaster replied, "Yes. Given the likely unusual nature of the creatures being born this way we wanted to get a detailed analysis of each, including full dietary and individual needs your power can read."

However, again, the moment was broken by Glory Girl as she finally stopped staring and spoke, "That's soooo cool! What are you making then, do we get to know beforehand, or is that part of the test?"

Uncertain about answering that question, Taylor looked across at Armsmaster to see if he had made a decision. That was the right thing to do as Armsmaster gave his tiny smile again before answering, although he was mostly speaking to Panacea, "The creature we are creating today is known as a Faerie Dragon. It is a herbivore approximately half a metre in length, excluding extremities. We are expecting it to be bonded to me."

Finally turning towards Glory Girl who was, if anything, looking even more excited, Armsmaster carried on speaking, "I trust you will remember the NDAs you signed before attending. Due to the history the USA has had with Bio-tinkers, we are being very careful about the introduction of Menagerie, the director will be very displeased if anyone outside this room finds out about her before the PRT is prepared."

Smile dimmed slightly, Glory Girl still managed a nod a few beats behind the other two. She quickly brightened up again though, "We get to see the critter though, yes?"

Nodding his head, Armsmaster turned to Taylor to give an explanation for the additional guests, "We were hoping you would be willing to let Glory Girl and Kid Win test the shield of the dragon. Glory Girl will be indicative of the various brute force attacks, while Kid Win will be an example of energy attacks, both of which are often used against me in the field."

Making a small 'Oh' of understanding, Taylor considered the idea for a few minutes. What it boiled down to was that testing was a good idea, they needed to know what the shield could take in practice. The other side was her reluctance to willingly attempt to hurt her creation.

In the end though she had to concede. If she wanted to help people then her creations were going to get attacked. Even just having them in a zoo of some kind would not stop that from happening. So considering that she nodded and accepted the situation, "That makes sense, just be careful. I don't want to see him hurt."

Hearing a sheepish cough off to one side, Taylor turned to see Glory Girl raising one hand, "Ugh, not to be simple here, but what is a Faerie Dragon? I mean, it can't be too big or it won't fit out the door."

Smiling a bit more naturally now that she was back on more solid footing, Taylor started to explain, "A faerie dragon is a small animal, with the body of a miniature dragon, but with large butterfly-like wings. They are herbivores and shy by nature, living in small family groups in forests. They have two forms of protection from predators, one is a shield which covers them in a bubble for up to five minutes. The other is a ranged breath attack. The breath attack takes the form of a gas which causes extreme euphoria in the target. Most often the victim of the breath will either come to a complete stop, laughing and being generally incoherent, or they will wander off aimlessly following whatever thoughts are in their head."

Squeeing slightly, Glory Girl looked excited again, floating several inches off the floor and hugging herself to stop from dancing in place. Kid Win on the other hand just looked interested, and Panacea still looked mostly bored. There had been a flicker of interest when she explained the breath attack though.

It was apparently enough to trigger a question in Taylor's direction from the healer though. Even if it was still slightly surly and demanding.

"A gas that causes extreme euphoria? Do you know what it contains? Have you looked at how it will interact with human biology, or if there are any dangers to it?"

Shrugging helplessly Taylor explained, "I don't actually know the answers. I did think of the possibility of there being danger, especially considering the Merchants, but nothing in my design work or research could come up with anything definitive. Nothing that was used in the creation of the egg should be capable of being weaponised to achieve that effect."

This time it was Armsmaster who spoke, "It is something that will need to be investigated before he can be introduced to the public. Although powered creations are not without precedence, we need to be careful since that case is Nilbog himself."

Turning to Panacea, the veteran hero spoke to her this time, "With your permission, Panacea, we would also like you to officially test the breath attack to be sure it doesn't negatively react to human biology."

Nodding her acceptance, Panacea just gave out a curt, "Alright."

The rest of the room was left in an awkward silence for a few moments before it was broken by Kid Win.

"Well, sounds like you have a plan then. Hey, can you take me through the machines you built? They might help me."

The slightly cheerful, but friendly query was enough to drag Taylor's focus away from possible problems with her creations, and she was soon involved in a walking tour of the activator with Kid Win and ignoring the rest of the room.

Taylor was busy explaining the micro radiation bombardment devices within the activator when the incubator gave a ding, sounding for all the world like a short microwave finishing tone.

Taylor's head immediately shot towards the device, the conversation forgotten and dead. Almost in a daze she quickly moved over to the incubator, studying the readout and control section. Mumbling to herself Taylor quickly went through a mental checklist.

"Vitals… stable and strong, he's currently asleep which is expected. Heartbeat is steady, body is fully developed. Age… correct. Command protocol…. Intact, ready to accept handler." Once the last checks had been done, Taylor looked up at the rest of the room, finally speaking normally rather than a low mumble, "He's perfectly fine and ready to meet his handler."

Despite the fear and despair her powers had given her in the past, Taylor was unable to stop a big grin from developing as she realised she'd done it. Her first creature was ready to wake up.

Looking across at Armsmaster, she started explaining what would happen next. "All we need to do now is open up the incubator, which will wake him up. You should be nearest to the device when we do that, he'll recognise you instantly and be much calmer for your presence. He should be ready to respond to requests and the voice of either you or me from the start. His exact reaction will be dependent on his personality, which isn't part of my instructions."

Rubbing one hand over the visible portions of his chin, Armsmaster immediately came back with some questions, "What you happen if the authorised person was not present when the being was woken up? I would also like clarification on what you mean about his reaction and personality."

Stepping back from the device so she wouldn't be tempted to start the opening process before everyone in the room was ready Taylor considered and then carefully answered the question. "If at least one of the people designated as their handler isn't present when they wake up they will ignore everyone and everything until they find that person. It shouldn't be dangerous unless someone tries to stop them with violence, or for any locked doors. As for the reaction, the more affectionate will attempt to greet you immediately, the more aloof will wait for you to come to them and prove you're the correct person before they interact with you."

Pausing for a few moments, the fingers of one hand tapping against her leg while the other was wrapped around her stomach, Taylor tried to get the words to explain a bit more clearly. Eventually, she added to the statement, "Think of it like cats and dogs. The average dog will immediately run over to his favoured person to interact, but with the stereotypical cat you need to come to them. The device can't create anything with a starting belligerent personality, they're always partners. Although you could create that kind of thing by mistreating them just like with any pet."

Nodding his head in understanding, Armsmaster considered the situation for a few moments before speaking, "I believe I understand. Under the circumstances, we should start with just the two of us near the incubator. We can introduce the dragon to everyone else once it's settled."

Motioning to the other teens and researchers, Armsmaster quickly got them to gather at the other side of the room from the incubator while he himself moved to stand in front of the main pod. Giving a nod to Taylor he spoke, "When you're ready, Menagerie."

Smiling giddily, Taylor rushed over to the device and started pressing buttons on the touchscreen. Eventually, a large green circle took up the whole of the display and Taylor had to take a few deep breaths. This was it, her first creation, and one that could make or break her career with the PRT.

Glancing up at Armsmaster to check he was ready, she was surprised by the small smile and a quietly whispered comment.

"The first finished product is always special. Take your time."

Starting to grin in excitement, Taylor took a few seconds to gather herself at the show of support, then prodded the slowly blinking green button.

Immediately the device gave off a soft tone. Then there was a series of hisses as the hydraulics in the system released and allowed the various protective panels to slide back and return the device into a cradle form.

There, lying curled up in the middle of the metal bowl that formed the centre of the device was the faerie dragon. The base colour of his hide was a light blue, although there were white splotches all over. This underside was a light yellow which fell off just after the tail started. Finally, there were purple bands of colour along the length of his thin tail.

The most spectacular thing though were the wings. Unlike the butterfly wings Taylor was almost expecting they were still hide-based, there were a lot of points as part of the edges, but none of them looked sharp. The colour of the wings themselves was almost like stained glass. Starting with the same light blue of his hide, it quickly went through darkened gradients of pink, orange and purple, ending in a dark purple at the tips of the wings. There were many white and black marks like the 'eyes' on peacock feathers.

The blunt muzzle of the dragon slowly started moving, before he gave off a massive yawn as he woke up. The dragon gave off a little meep noise as he rose to his four feet and stretched carefully.

Glowing silver eyes opened as the creature looked up at both of them. It gave off another squeak of happiness before carefully climbing out of the cradle and up to Armsmaster. Looking extraordinarily pleased, the veteran hero offered his un-gloved hand to the creature and then, after it had taken a sniff, started stroking his head. "Excellent work, Menagerie, he looks to be fully formed and in good health. Subject to an inspection by Panacea this looks to be a complete success."

Perking up happily at the praise he received the faerie dragon showcased his intelligence by looking between the two of them before turning to look at the people standing off to the side, zeroing in on Panacea quickly.

His attention was quickly drawn back to the duo when Taylor started rubbing his back, directing a query to Armsmaster at the same time, "Have you decided on what to name him?"

Nodding his head while continuing to pet the animal, Armsmaster spoke quietly to Taylor, "Indeed, I thought about a number of things while you were working. I have decided to name him in a way that will remind me of the reason we carry on fighting. I've decided to name him Pax."

The newly named Pax definitely agreed with the name, chirping again and bouncing around a little. When Armsmaster offered his hand palm up, the little creature was quick to climb into his arms, the creature was then carried across to the others in the lab, Armsmaster taking a chair near them once he arrived.

The first to arrive from their audience was Glory Girl, who zipped forward with her flight while giving a quiet aww noise. "He's absolutely beautiful! Hello Pax, I'm Glory Girl, I'm so pleased to see you!"

The next minute was everyone else watching Vicky fawn over the little creature, to his obvious delight. After that, Dr Lee coughed to get her attention and motioned her off to the side so they could check the little creature off.

"Remember everyone, we're recording now." Doctor Lee warned everyone before he carried on, "Visual analysis of creature designated Pax, the first creation of the tinker Menagerie. The approximate length including the tail is one metre, wing span is twice that. Pax appears to be of much higher intelligence than first estimates and clearly understands human speech. I will now turn this over to Panacea for a more in-depth analysis of Pax's biology. Panacea?"

Waving the healer forward, Dr Lee stepped to one side to give the girl access to the table without leaning over the whole thing. Shuffling forward Panacea still appeared to have a deep frown on her face as she reached out. Her hand paused a little out of touching distance as she spoke to Armsmaster.

"Do I have your permission to examine him?"

The nod she got in return ended up being completely worthless, as Pax decided this was another person who should be scratching his head and pushed up into Panacea's hand. Taylor noted idly that her fingers were actually scratching the faerie dragon, but most of her attention was taken up by the healers face. As soon as contact had been made Panacea's eyes had gone massively wide while a shocked look overtook her previously grumpy expression.

"Oh, wow." Came a mumble from the healer as she stared blankly into space. Everyone else around the table exchanged glances as it seemed Panacea had zoned out.

A few long minutes later she came back to herself, although she now had a soft smile on her face. Immediately the fingers started scratching harder and picking different spots, which Pax was definitely enjoying.

"Alright, I'm ready with the details." At a nod from the researchers she carried on, "First off, Pax has a life span similar to a human, he's currently in his mid to late twenties and is fully grown. There are no signs of any deformities or problems within his biology, it's all working together and I would say he's perfectly healthy."

Pausing to bring her other hand up to scratch along his wings she continued, "I can confirm that he doesn't appear to have any diseases or health problems, or anything that could transmit to humans. For his diet, he's definitely an herbivore. Small branches, leaves and grasses will work to keep him well-fed and healthy. Treat-wise red berries and mistletoe seem to be his favoured options, the berries don't need to be human-compatible, but he can eat the same ones as us too. Carrots and other root vegetables are also going to be good as part of his normal diet, just make sure he actually gets the twigs or branches as well as the leaves, as that will be where he gets minerals from.

Finally, the gas breath is amazing! It's completely benign unless you breathe it in. The chances of it causing complications or having long-term effects are virtually nil. If you used it on someone who would be put in danger by excessive laughter and the movement of the body you might cause problems, but outside of that it should be completely safe. I can also see the circuits that carry the energy for his shield. They can be overtaxed, which is the reason for the delay between uses, and for the length he can use the shield for. It looks like the shorter the time he uses the shield the shorter the time before he can bring it up."

There were a few murmurs from everyone else bar Taylor at that information. Taylor was studying her notebook and adding details as Panacea brought them up. Looking up at the last pieces of information, Taylor quickly asked a couple of questions while Panacea was quiet. "Are there any dangerous plants Pax needs to avoid? Same question about any pesticides or treatments of his food. Also, is it possible to train those circuits, will he get quicker with the shield and be able to put it up longer eventually?"

Carefully considering the question, Panacea didn't notice when she stopped scratching Pax. The little creature quickly noticed though and retreated back to Armsmaster to get fussed over more.

Taylor admitted in the privacy of her own head that it was pretty amusing that Armsmaster managed to look pleased with the loyalty and that Panacea looked disappointed she couldn't study the little guy any more.

With the distraction gone, Panacea quickly considered the questions and answered, "No plants I can think of, but like I would be wary of pesticides. If it's poisonous to humans it will hurt Pax. I think it's possible to train his shield ability, but you'll need to be very careful. Not only is it powering his shield but it's also helping to keep him healthy. Overuse and too much strain could cause significant problems. I'd need to check Pax again after he used the shield to be certain though."

While she'd been talking, her sister Vicky had snuck up on the little creature and after a little introduction had picked him up and started cuddling him. Armsmaster, Taylor and Panacea turned to look at where the girl was floating slightly off the floor hugging the dragon and cooing happily.

Turning back to Taylor, Panacea said in a dry tone, "Which will have to wait until Vicky finishes."

Smiling back at the healer who no longer looked quite so intimidating both girls turned back to watch Vicky lavish attention on the new creature, waiting in silence until she finally noticed the quiet and looked up to see everyone else in the room staring at her.

Blushing, Vicky zipped forward and lowered Pax back onto the table top where he could move back to Armsmaster and sit looking smug.

Doctor James was the first to speak up, although you could still hear the smile in her voice as she spoke over a stereotypical clipboard. "Well then, I think we might all be ready, yes?"

She paused just long enough for everyone to nod, and Pax to chirp, before carrying on, "Lets move to the reinforced testing room then, this way."

Not even waiting for anyone to reply this time, the doctor moved towards a different door in the room, opening and passing through quickly. Seeing that Pax had jumped up onto Armsmasters shoulder, Taylor followed the armour clad hero with the rest of the teens trailing her and the doctors ahead.

They came into what looked like an observation room. There was a wall of glass panels opposite the door, with a large number of computer screens below that. The doctors were already at the computers turning them on.

Armsmaster turned around once everyone was inside and waved to a bank of fixed seating above the computer floor. "Menagerie, Panacea, if you two could take seats over there we will go through this phase of testing without you. Part of this is to test how well Pax deals with just me, Menagerie."

Exchanging a quick glance, the two girls nodded their agreement and moved to a pair of seats with a good view of everything.

Giving a brief, barely there smile, Armsmaster ushered Kid Win and Glory Girl into the plain room. Following on their heels he closed the very heavy duty door, the sounds of multiple locks engaging coming from something thick enough to act as a vault door. Once they had moved into the room, he spoke slightly louder than normal, "Doctor Lee, can you hear us? Are we recording?"

A few moments later the speakers in the room kicked in as Doctor Lee replied, "We can hear you Armsmaster, we're still bringing the systems online though. Give us ten minutes and we'll be ready."

Nodding his head, Armsmaster turned back to the two teens in the room with him, Pax seemingly enjoying the movements of his perch. "While they are setting up I will clarify how the tests will go. First of all we will be testing Pax's shield against your pistols, Kid Win. You'll start off on the lowest setting and ramp up as quickly as you can. You will also be behind a shaped shield of your own. This will test Pax's shield against an increasing number of strikes, and will protect you in the event that his shield reflects the attack."

Waiting for Kid Win's nod, Armsmaster turned to Glory Girl, "Once Panacea has checked Pax over and he's recovered, we will test your physical strikes. This will give us a better idea of how well he can handle more powerful strikes. Do either of you have any questions?"

Raising her hand, Glory Girl waited for a nod before speaking, "Yeah, do you want me to hit him once as hard as I can, or do you want me to start lower and ramp up like Kid Win? And will Pax know to raise his shield? I don't want to hurt the little guy!"

Listening from the control booth, Taylor quickly leaned forward to speak to the researcher. Her information was quickly passed on to Armsmaster and the testers. "Armsmaster, Menagerie tells me that the faerie dragon shield is designed more for quick bursts of use, rather than longevity. It should take anything striking it once before giving out."

Nodding his head in the direction of the observation booth, Armsmaster turned to the faerie dragon still sat on his shoulder, "It occurs to me that we have not asked your opinion, Pax. Are you agreeable to testing your shield with Glory Girl striking once as hard as she can?"

At that point, everyone in the room turned to look at the dragon, who was now looking as smug as a pseudo-lizard could possibly get. With a particularly happy chirp, the dragon nodded his head and launched off Armsmasters shoulder to glide across to a desk in the middle of the room.

Looking at Glory Girl he braced himself and chirped happily again.

Giving off a very brief and small smile, Armsmaster had to admit that he was exceptionally happy with the results of Taylor's testing. He had initially been unhappy with the idea of taking on a pet, even one with abilities. But so far Pax was proving to be highly intelligent, and very much in tune with Colin. Having a partner in the field wouldn't be a hassle as long as that partner didn't need to be micromanaged.

Still, with Pax set and ready for the test he double checked to make sure that all of the systems were recording and operational before giving the affiliate the go-ahead. "Well, it seems we will be testing the shield against Glory Girl first. Equipment is running, you're free to start when ready, Glory Girl."

The heroine in question looked a little hesitant, her gaze switching between the observation window, Armsmaster and Pax quickly for a few seconds before she sighed. Straightening up, she took her cue from Armsmaster and faced Pax, "Ready when you are, little guy!"

The only response she got was another little chirp, this time giving her the go-ahead. The dragon also shifted so he was closer to the edge of the table and ready for her.

Sighing slightly to herself, almost convinced this was going to go wrong, Glory Girl nonetheless wound up and unleashed the strongest blow she could at the harmless little dragon.

As soon as she started to wind up the attack though a shimmering bubble appeared around the guy, seemingly going through the table without affecting it in the slightest. There was a small boom as Glory Girl's fist broke the sound barrier, then a softer muted gong-like sound.

Everyone in the room was astonished to see the faerie dragon hadn't budged an inch. The shield itself was nearly two metres in diameter, appearing instantly around the creature, and the strike did absolutely nothing to it.

Glory Girl's shield, on the other hand, had shattered with the normal lack of indication, just an awareness from the heroine, so she didn't go for a follow-up strike, just gaped at the little being. Said little being was now looking even more smug, although no one really understood how that was possible.

Once Pax saw that Glory Girl's stance had shifted back to neutral he quickly dropped the shield and settled back into relaxation, sitting back on the table and looking pleased.

He looked even more pleased when Armsmaster moved over to check on him, which ended with the man's armoured fingers scratching along his head.

"No damage whatsoever. Pax, did that stress yourself or your shield at all?"

He waited while his new companion visually and carefully considered the question for a few seconds before shaking his head in the negative.

"Excellent, a most successful test against a high-level brute. Thank you for the assistance Glory Girl. Kid Win, are you ready for your test next?"

Privately, Kid Win was immensely amused by the way both Armsmaster and Pax turned their heads to look at him in complete synchronicity. Seconds later Armsmaster's helmet tilted in his normal cue for a response. Meanwhile, Pax turned and braced from so he was now facing the younger tinker.

Glory Girl, realising neither one was paying much attention to her anymore, moved back across the room and let herself into the observation room to grab a seat next to her sister. Grinning at the younger Dallon, Vicky gave her a quick side hug when she got a small smile in return. Most people would have assumed the barebones response was nothing major. Vicky, however, knew her sister. That small smile was the equivalent of a huge grin for anyone else.

Her attention quickly turned back to the testing room again as Kid Win replied to his mentor.

"Ready when you are, sir. Do you want me to start on full power, or ramp up?"

This time Armsmaster and Pax glanced at each other for a few seconds to hold a silent conversation before both returned to looking at Kid Win. "Given how quickly you can increase the power of your pistols we will be able to test it by ramping up from low to high. I suggest we go with that to reduce time costs."

Nodding his head, Kid Win quickly fiddled with his pistols to change how the power level was set before entering the shooting stance Miss Militia had drilled into his head once he started using the guns. Grinning at Pax who had braced himself on the table again, Kid Win announced, "Ready when you are."

Checking both Kid Win and Pax carefully, Armsmaster was quickly satisfied. The room was also clear so he gave the go-ahead for Kid Win to open fire. "Begin when you're ready."

Seconds later Pax's shield popped up again as bright lights flew across the room from Kid Win's lasers. Each shot splashed harmlessly across the shield second by second. Even as he obviously ramped up the power nothing changed beyond the colour of the shots. Less than ten seconds after starting the fire came to an end and Kid Win changed his guns back to their lowest setting before holstering them and relaxing.

Armsmaster was already at Pax's side, checking the little dragon over as it chirped in enjoyment. Once it was clear there was no damage he patted him on the head and announced the result to the room. "An excellent test, everyone. Not only were the attacks completely negated but there was also no splashback to endanger anyone nearby being protected. Very impressive, Menagerie, and Pax, of course."

Kid Win looked askance as the little dragon went back into smug mode at the compliment. Inside the observation booth, Taylor was blushing heavily to the silent amusement of the Dallon sisters.

A quick word from one of the doctors ended their giggling though as all three of them were directed back into the testing room. Standing up they filed in and stood to one side after Armsmaster nodded at them then gestured to their side.

"If you could check Pax over again, Panacea, I would be grateful."

Agreeing quickly, Panacea quickly walked over to the dragon and started scratching his ears again. "No stress or strain on the shield circuits, and no effects from the attacks at all. He's in perfect condition."

"Excellent, that just leaves a test of his breath attack before we finish for today. I will need all of you to return to the control room for the start of this test, once the breath has been administered I will ask Panacea to come back into the room. We need a baseline for the first step, and in the interests of not hitting a parahuman who may cause more damage with an unknown effect I have brought a volunteer down from the front line squads of the PRT." Turning to Taylor he quickly expanded on the situation for her benefit, "Corporal Jenkins has been fully vetted today by Dragon, so we are certain he won't be releasing any information that may cause an issue with your requests of the director."

Everyone else in the room gave Taylor an odd look at that last sentence, but quickly dropped it and got back to work. All parahumans had issues, and if she was relatively new then Taylor's would likely be pretty fresh. A little manoeuvring on the PRT's part could be easily explained away.

For her part, Taylor was pretty oblivious to the looks Armsmasters statement garnered. Instead, she just felt a huge sense of relief that the PRT was not only taking her allegation against Sophia seriously, but they were apparently attempting to deal with it in just as serious a manner.

She knew for herself just how useful Shadow Stalker's powers were for getting into places she shouldn't be, so they were definitely going to be just as useful for getting herself out of somewhere as well. Given the frankly insane mentality of the girl, it didn't bear thinking about what she would do if she escaped the PRT and found out the reason for her detainment.

In a twist of good luck, everyone involved with the case was being vetted heavily and only the most trusted individuals were involved. It was a minor action on behalf of Director Piggot to show Taylor just how seriously they were taking her, but it had the unintended side effect of keeping any outside interference from causing problems. Not that they would know that.

In the present, Taylor simply nodded and then headed back into the control room along with Kid Win, Panacea and Glory Girl. Inside they noted the new addition, a large man with a neatly trimmed moustache. Nodding to the man they took their seats again while the PRT agent let himself into the testing room.

Inside he was greeted by Armsmaster with a handshake and a few softly spoken words. Whatever he was saying was obviously a more detailed overview of the tests though, as the man was nodding along and asking queries at various points. At the end Armsmaster gave him a clipboard with some paper documents held on top. The PRT agent flipped through everything before signing and handing it back to the veteran tinker.

With the formalities handled Armsmaster directed the man to stand in front of Pax while he took a position behind the little dragon. Suddenly speaking up to be heard in the control room Armsmaster got everything moving, "Volunteer Jenkins is now in position. Preparing to administer a dose of the breath attack of the faerie dragon Pax. Given the provided details of the attack we are expecting Corporal Jenkins to be subjected to a high level of euphoria, reasonable deductions based on a being defending themselves in the wild is that this will disable the individual to allow the being to either escape or carry on a follow-up attack. Corporal Jenkins, are you ready?"

"Yes, Sir." Came the clear and strong voice of the Corporal. If he was at all nervous about being subjected to an experimental procedure he wasn't showing it.

Nodding his head Armsmaster gave Pax the go-ahead. "When you're ready, Pax."

Chirping happily, the little guy quickly shuffled and loosened himself up before giving a longer exhale with a wide open mouth. From his mouth poured a cloud of golden, glittering air. Despite looking like water vapour the substance still rushed forward like flames blasted out of a flame thrower. It covered the three meters between Pax and Corporal Jenkins in less than a second.

For his part, Jenkins exclaimed in shock but only had time to step backwards once before his head and torso were covered. A sharp inhale from the shock ensured he had a large dose and the effect was instantly apparent. Rather than the shock he was starting to show now the large man stood calmly, chuckling lowly to himself and staring aimlessly around the room, apparently looking at things none of them could see. The vapour cloud hovered around him for a few more seconds before dissipating.

Even after the cloud disappeared the man was still standing there, laughing and doing nothing else. It was more than a little unnerving actually. Enough that even Armsmaster was stuck looking at him for several long seconds. Once he shook off the staring though he was quick to get Panacea back into the room.

"First test administered, looks like a success. Panacea, can you come and check on Corporal Jenkins, please?"

Standing from the seat she'd positioned herself in, Panacea was able to quickly trot back into the testing room and over to the now giggling corporal and lay a finger on the back of his hand.

"This stuff is just as amazing as I thought it would be! It's simulating the firing of various systems in his brain but without any of the side effects that would normally accompany such a trigger. None of the hormones or chemicals that would usually linger. At a guess, he will be in this state for two to three minutes." Looking across at Armsmaster she quickly clarified her position, "I can't clear it up any sooner both because it's in the brain, and because I don't think the simulation of effects would respond to a purely biological change."

"Fascinating. And useful, if you can't clear it out of his system, Panacea, then the chances of any of the gangs being able to develop a counter are very minor. Can you confirm there are no side effects for the record?"

Taking her hand off the giggling corporal, Panacea stepped away from him and closer to Pax before responding. "I can confirm there will be no side effects, due to the way the substance presents I do not believe it can cause any direct side effects."

"In which case we just need to wait for the corporal to work through the effects. Well done, Pax, and thank you for the analysis Panacea. For the report, can you think of any conditions or situations where use of this attack would be detrimental to the health of an individual?" As he spoke, Armsmaster started stroking Pax's head again to the clear joy of the little dragon.

Leaning back against a desk facing everyone in the room Panacea visibly considered the question for a few moments before replying, "The only situation I can think of is if the person affected had severely broken ribs. If the individual went into a laughing fit and was moving their ribs it could result in the bones damaging the lungs. Other than that there are no medical conditions that will interact with the substance. It would also be useful for short-term help for someone who is suicidal or depressed. Unlike a lot of short-term drugs, it won't be as harmful due to the lack of low after the happiness. Although I would not recommend it on anyone who is literally standing on a ledge since the euphoria will mean they aren't as focused on keeping steady."

"So we would need to be wary in any case where an individual cannot be moved easily, or is in direct danger if they move, but in all other cases, it will be an effective short-term disabling agent. That is excellent news.

Both of them fell silent at that point and fell to watching the corporal. At times he would be laughing, at others, he was simply staring around in a dazed manner. Eventually though, nearly four minutes after being first exposed he shook himself and seemed to come back to himself.

Tapping on a tablet Armsmaster quickly noted that that the recovery time was exceptionally quick. There seemed to be almost no time at all between the effect wearing off and the corporal becoming lucid.

"Man, that was a hell of a trip. I think that's improved my day though, hard to stay down after being that pleased."

Straightening up from where he had been working Armsmaster was quick to question the corporal, "Corporal, how are you feeling? Any side effects, any issues at all?"

Saluting quickly Jenkins replied after dropping his hand, "Sir. No side effects I can tell. I feel better, but only as I would after watching a good comedy. No other lingering effects."

"That's good news. Can you tell us what you can remember and what you felt while you were under, corporal?" Based on the angle of the tablet the tinker was now recording everything he could at the same time he waved Panacea over to do a final check-up.

Quickly agreeing to the softly spoken request from Panacea, Jenkins carried on answering questions while she did her exam. "It was a very intense experience, sir. It kind of felt like when you're listening to a joke that sends you into absolute hysterics. Except, instead of hearing the joke, or replaying it in your head all you can focus on is the happiness. It's like there was nothing more entertaining than standing there without doing or thinking anything. I don't think I could have brought myself to move or think or anything really, sir."

Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Armsmaster inclined his head at Panacea so she could give her report. "Slightly elevated hormone levels and literally nothing else has been affected. The hormone levels are at a level similar to someone who has enjoyed a good joke or comedy."

"Thank you, both of you." Turning to the control room he signalled everyone to come back in then waited as both the teenagers and the researchers returned to the room. "With this final test done, I believe we are finished. I will need to prepare a report for the director on all of the results. Do you need me to pass the sections with your comments across to you prior to submission, Panacea?"

Shaking her head, Panacea quickly replied, "No need. I trust you to take my comments as they were meant."

Smiling slightly at the sign of trust, Armsmaster nodded and spoke to the room at large, "Are there any more comments or tests anyone wants to undertake at this stage?"

Dr Lee was quick to raise a hand at that before speaking, "Although it isn't immediately urgent we should get a blood and DNA sample from Pax, as well as give him a physical before he can be sent out with you. We need to establish baseline health to check against in the future."

Agreeing, Armsmaster checked Pax who nodded along, "A good plan. I will raise it with the Director, the final authorisation for me to take Pax out with me will rest with her regardless. And we need to ensure the announcement of Menagerie is handled properly."

Seeing no one else had a point to raise, Armsmaster quickly set about dismissing everyone, "In that case, thank you for your assistance, everyone. Glory Girl, Panacea, I would just like to reiterate the need for discretion when discussing Menagerie. Due to her power, we need to present her to the public carefully. Your parents are aware of the NDAs signed, and that they cannot have any more information. This extends to everyone outside this room for the moment. Doctor James and Corporal Jenkins will show you out. Menagerie, Kid Win, if you can stay behind I will discuss our next steps with you."

Quickly speaking up, Glory Girl spoke cheerfully as she said goodbye, "Alright guys, thanks for inviting us! And it was awesome to meet you, Pax! See you soon."

Waving goodbye she followed the two PRT staff members out the door, her sister giving a much quieter goodbye as she did the same.

On the heels of the two affiliate heroes, the other two doctors left to go back to their desks and write up their reports leaving the Armsmaster and Kid Win in the room with Taylor.

It was time to find out what was happening with herself and Sophia.