The Brockton bay's general hospital two days after the locker incident.
"Beep beep beep beep." Was the continuously repeating sound that gently greeted the slowly awakening Taylor Hebert, she groggily opened her eyes to see the plain white walls and ceiling that was stereotypical of a hospital room.
"I'm still alive?" Confusingly thought Taylor as she sat up and looked around the room. This was defiantly not the insides of her locker that she had been so forcefully stuffed into a few days ago by her unrelenting bully Sophia Hess. Meaning that someone must have pulled her out of the locker and had called an ambulance to help treat whatever injuries she most likely had suffered while being stuffed inside her bug and waste infested locker.
'Well, at least this is better than the locker." Taylor silently thought to herself, taking some kind of comfort in the fact that she was finally out of the nightmare that had been her locker. Although that quickly gave away to confusion as she noticed that she felt good and I mean really really good like she could run a few hundred marathons without any problem and still keep going which didn't make any sense. As she had been trapped in a locker for god knows how long which should have at least left her a weak, sickly mess at best, a dead, lifeless corpse at the worst.
"At least Sophia can't do anything worse than this." She thought with a sad chuckle as she tried and failed to imagine her bullying trio doing anything that could top this little prank of theirs. Just as she was about to sink deeper into her saddening and depressing thoughts, she suddenly noticed something large moving under her bedsheets, causing her to tilt her head in confused curiosity.
"That's odd I wonder what that could be?" She curiously thought while lifting her covers. Taylor barely managed to bite back a scream of surprise as she saw a large fluffy pure white wolf's tail that was twice as long as she was tall and much to Taylor's disbelief it was connected at the base of her tail bone meaning that it was apart of her. "What the hell that wasn't there before!" She mentally wailed in confusion while her newly discovered tail twitched wildly a bit at its owners apparent discomfort.
"Okay, Taylor just clam down its just a tail it's not like anything else has been changed right." She whispered to herself in an attempt to calm herself, only for her eyes to widen as the last thing she said had registered itself in her mind and without thinking the young teen jumped out of bed and run into the nearby bathroom that was across the hall.
"This, this can't be right!?" Taylor thought to herself in disbelief as she stared at her reflection. Though instead of seeing her usual plane raven hair and stick-like figure she instead saw a beautiful girl with long flowing white hair that matched the colour of her tail with a set of wolf ears sticking out of the top of her head. She also had strange red tattoos on her face. Two tiger-like strips on each cheek along with a sun-like symbol that was on her forehead. Taylor also noticed that her eyes were a golden honey-rich colour with slitted pupils, and when she opened her mouth, she saw a set of wolflike fangs protruding from her upper gums.
"This can't be happening, this can't be happening!" Taylor thought while having what felt like a small panic attack, as she tried to come to terms that the beautiful young wolflike women that was staring back at her in the mirror. Was indeed herself because she was pretty sure that she didn't look anything like this when she had been stuffed into the locker.
Taylor suddenly froze as her mind slowly, but surely put the pieces of the puzzle together. Her new wolf ears sticking upwards as her eyes grew wider than they already were as the answer to how she became like this became clear.
"I triggered inside the locker," thoughtTaylor with sadness in her heart knowing that her bully's had caused the worse day of her life which made her turn into the now breathtakingly beautifully women that she was now. "Well, at least Emma and her friends can no longer say that I'm ugly anymore." She thought with an uneasy smile as she tried to find a small silver lining in all this mess that she had found herself in. Though when she thought about people seeing her new form, she felt a feeling of dread slowly began to build up inside her stomach.
"People must have already saw me. I mean I'm in a hospital how could they have not seen how much I've changed from the locker!" Taylor's breath quickened at the thought of people seeing her, of gangs coming here to recruit her against her will or hurting her dad to get to her and with each new thought, Taylor's breath grow more frantic as more even worse case scenarios formed themselves inside her mind's eye.
"Um, Miss Hebert, are you all right in there?" The voice of a nurse came from the other side of the bathroom door which snapped Taylor out of her panicking. "Yes, I'll be out in just a second!" Quickly replied Taylor as she adjusted her hospital gown to fit properly. While also noticing that her body had the same red tattoo's that were on her face and much to her embarrassment she could also tell that she was now much more curvier and filled out than she had been before her recent trigger event.
"Oh great now I'll have to get new clothes because there's no way my old ones will fit me now." Taylor mentally whined at the thought of looking for new clothes and all the money it would take to get them seeing as her family didn't have that much money, to begin with. They could ill afford the many new clothes that Taylor would need to replace her entire wardrobe.
"I can think about that later right now I have much bigger concerns to deal with." Thought Taylor while putting such thoughts about clothes to the back of her mind. Though once she had opened the door, her golden eyes landed upon the nurse, and she froze as suddenly the life of the 39-year-old women Jane smith began to play itself within her mind's eye. From her happy, carefree childhood to her stressful days at college and beyond and with each scene played before her mind's eye Taylor felt a strange type of familial love for the women before her, starting to grow within her heart. Which was beyond weird as the nurse was 24 years her senior and had two kids that were now starting high school no husband though as the poor man had died two years ago when the E88 and ABB had a battle over some territory that ended with deaths of over thirty people. With her aforementioned husband being among the poor souls who had lost their lives that day.
"Miss Hebert are you sure that you are okay?" asked the short and rather plump Jane Smith who's chocolatey brown eyes stared at the younger girl with deep concern, the woman's kindness. Didn't really surprise Taylor though since she had just saw Jane's whole life literally flash before her own eyes and thanks to that she knew that Jane was a very kind and gentle soul who loved to help people. Which was why the plump women had trained very hard to be a nurse so as to help the people of the bay in the best way that she knew how, which was healing those who had become hurt by the city's gangs or just people who got sick with the flu or some other kind of illness.
"She can't see the real me." A gentle relief and slight twinge of sadness filled Taylor's heart when she realised that the nurse standing before her couldn't see her true form. Though the youngest of the Hebert clan only figured that out when the last bits of Jane's life finally played out within her mind, the last memory that she saw. Was of herself coming out of the bathroom looking from Jane's own perspective just as she did before the whole locker incident. "Is it some kind of stranger effect?" pondered the white-haired wolf girl silently whist her new wolf ears without her even noticing perked forwards in a sign of curiosity.
"Something to think on later I suppose, but for now I better answer Jane before my silence begins to worry her."
"Yes, I'm fine just a little bit Sleepy and groggy after waking up just now." Taylor gave her words more believability by stretching and letting out a loud yawn.
"Hum." Quietly hummed the plump nurse in thought while gently rubbing her chin. "Well, that's quite normal, especially after what you've been through." Calmly said Smith while her warm brown eyes unknowingly stared into Taylor's now golden ones. "I mean being stuffed into a toxic filled locker for a few days must have been awful for you." Taylor smiled warmly at Jane. Because she knew thanks to her strange new ability that she had gotten from her trigger event that the older women was being completely sincere about what she was saying when it came to what had happened to Taylor and the school locker.
"It was indeed, horrible." Agreed Taylor while shivering when the memories of the toxic locker returned to the forefront of her mind. Just the memory of the foul stench of waste alone made the wolf girl want to throw up whatever remained within her stomach. "But right now I'm just happy to be alive." She sincerely told the caring nurse while returning to her own temporary room within the hospital. Jane was right behind her ready to help in case anything suddenly happened to the young girl who had such a terrifying experience.
"By the way, do you know where my dad is right now?" Taylor politely inquired though she already knew thanks to seeing Jane's memories though strangely enough, she couldn't see new ones like the conversation that they both just had with one another a few seconds ago. Making Taylor silently theorise that her power could only let her see someones past memories. Whatever it was that she had seen from first laying eyes on Jane only seemed to work once which was a massive relief because Taylor really didn't want to keep rewatching people's lives over and over again when she meets them again that would have been a rather nasty problem to deal with, and the wolf girl didn't need something like that in her life especially not with the shadow of the trio still hanging over her head like some kind of unseen predator.
"Yes," began Jane, who was kindly helping her back into the hospital bed. She fluffed the pillow until it was nice and soft. "Unfortunately your farther a good man if I do say, so myself was called way because some kind of emergency has appeared with the dockworkers union." When Taylor was settled into the bed, the plump nurse grabbed a glass of water on a nearby table which Taylor hadn't noticed when she had been running into the bathroom to get a good look at herself within the mirror. "Although I haven't the foggiest clue about what it was it must have been important because that man hasn't left your side since you came here not even to bath or changed clothes." The she-wolf smiled at hearing that knowing her farther the way she did, it sounded exactly like the kind of thing he would do because although they had been having a bit of a ruff patch since her mother death a few years ago they still both loved each other immensely. Now, after all this, Taylor planned to talk with her farther more often. After all, near-death had a way of changing a persons' priorities and this little brush in had made the wolf girl realise that she needed to talk to him about everything not the whole wolf girl thing, though that could come later but about school and as much as she really didn't want to about Emma and all the nasty things she had done to her over the past few years since mum died.
"I see well if its an emergency then it can't be helped then can it?" Taylor said with a soft smile while taking the glass of water that Jane had silently offered. "Though if it isn't to much trouble do you happen to know when he will be back from the docks?" Again she already knew the answer, but for the sake of appearances and the desire to not be outed as a Parahuman, she would ask them anyway after all nothing screamed cape. Then suddenly knowing things that you shouldn't know. Because that would make people think that she was a thinker and from what Taylor could vaguely recall about some capes on the internet told her that being confused for a thinker was very bad thing especially for your future health.
"Of course dear, he said that he would be back within the next few hours if things at the docks go well." Jane happily told the already knowing wolf girl before her, and after Taylor had fully drank the whole cup of water, she gently took it away from her and placed it back onto the nearby table. "Now I do really hate to leave you, especially after you just wake up, but I'm afraid I have other patients to visit so I must be off." The caring nurse softly patted Taylor's hand. A warm, reassuring smile was upon her lips. "But if you require anything, anything at all just hit this call button here on the wall, and I'll be right here as fast as I can, to help you with whatever it is that you would need." The plump and kind nurse quickly explained while pointing at the aforementioned call button that hang innocently on the wall right next to her bed.
"I understand." Taylor nodded before a playful smile stretched its way across her own lips. "Now go save the world miss super nurse." She playfully told Jane who threw her head back and laughed it was a laugh full of joy and happiness something which Taylor herself had been sadly absent of. Ever since Emma's bullying and destruction of her mother's flute by her former best friend but what really surprised the wolf girl in this very moment was her newly found playfulness. Usually, Taylor was shy not wanting to interact with people because of this shyness. It had made it hard for her to make friends which was probably why Emma's betrayal had hurt so much, but now that shyness was miraculously gone and replaced by a newly found urge to play and make people laugh and be truly happy like she had just done for Jane Smith.
"Well, I better be off then." Happily said Jane while smiling warmly at Taylor after finally calming down from her laughing fit. "After all, I can't be a super nurse by just staying here all day now, can't I?" The plump women playfully asked the wolf girl before letting out a joyful chuckle at her own words.
"No, I suppose you can't." Playfully replied Taylor, who flashed a wolfish smile at the nurse whilst her fluffy white tail happily wagged back and forth under her bedsheets. Though thankfully much like her new form the nurse couldn't see the tail moving the sheets either that or Jane was a doing a remarkably good job at ignoring it though from what she had glanced from the nurse's mind Taylor believed it was the former rather than the latter. "Well, I guess I shall be seeing you later then?" Taylor asked though knowing Jane's character like she did the nurse would defiantly be back to see her again.
"Oh, most defiantly." Reassured the kindly nurse while giving Taylor a small comforting pat on the head and the white-haired wolf girl had to use all her willpower to stop herself from releasing a happy whine from the back of her throat as the nurse's hand was placed in-between her sensitive newly gained wolf ears. "Well have a pleasant day young Taylor." Jane removed her hand, and Taylor was very tempted to demand that she but it back and scratch her behind her wolf ears, but thankfully she held herself back from doing so, and just instead quietly watched as Jane walked out of the room and finally leaving Taylor alone with her thoughts.
"Well, at least this day can't get any weirder than it already has." Taylor thought with a sigh while relaxing into her rather comfy hospital bed though really at this point. Taylor should have known better than to tempt fate like that, because not even a moment later the young she-wolf heard Jane's voice echo through the hallway and the words that she heard caused her to bolt upright and her wolf ears to perk up in alertness.
"My word just how on earth did all these flowers and fresh grass get into the hospitals flooring?!"
"Grass and flowers in the floor." Nervously thought Taylor with a small gulp as she slowly looked down at the side of her bed and what she saw on the floor confirmed her slight fear on what she would find there. Because springing out between the white sterile tiles of the floor were patches of fresh, bright green grass along with a vast variety of flowers which come in all manner of diverse shapes styles and colours. They were beautiful really though it didn't change the fact that they had come from her and unlike her new appearance they could be seen by others.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Thought Taylor annoyed, which was understandable as she almost had a panic attack from thinking that people may see her new form. Only to calm down when she figured that she possessed some kind of stranger power. That seemingly prevented anyone from seeing her true form, and just as she was about to relax, she finds out that she could not only create plant life from nothing. But it wasn't even affected by the stranger effect that prevented anyone from seeing her new wolf parts and strange red tattoos. "I mean, come on! My powers protect me from being truly seen as a cape which is a godsend, but its gonna be so embarrassing if plants are going to be the thing that gets me outed as a Parahuman. And not some kind of big fight between me and the city's gangs."
Taylor groaned at how embarrassing her outing would be she could just picture Emma and her other tormenters pointing and laughing at her for getting found out because she unknowingly made flowers appear from thin air. Heck, it could get even worse as they could say that no one, not even the PRT who had a well-known reputation for excepting anyone with powers into there ranks would want her. Because who would ever want someone whose only ability was to make grass grow and honestly Taylor couldn't blame them for thinking that since they wouldn't be able to see her new wolf features. However, it wouldn't make their insults hurt any less.
"Wait a minute, if Jane thought for even a moment that I had made the grass and flowers appear then she would have come running back here to ask if I could make them go away." Her annoyance quickly fading Taylor tilted her head to the right her fluff white wolf ears twitching in curiosity. "Maybe my powers allow people to see the plants but not understand that it was me who grew them." If that was indeed the case, then she had the strangest power set in the world though she would have to wait for Jane to come back so she could discreetly ask her if she knew where the plants and flowers had come from before she could know for sure if her powers were acting like she had just theorised.
"Ah, just another worrying thing to think about today." Taylor quietly grumbled to herself only to freeze as her tail suddenly whipped out of the bedsheets and hung lazily in the air just seeing the fluffy appendage made the she-wolf feel a new wave of playfulness enter her heart. Without even thinking about it, Taylor jumped into the air with a level of skill and grace that would make even professional gymnasts go green with envy. A rueful smile was on her face as she tried relentlessly to capture her own tail while being unaware of how she effortlessly danced in the air and soundlessly bounced off the hospital's walls leaving behind patches of beautiful flowers and grass in her wake.
"I know that dad will be sad when I tell him about Emma," the wolf girl thought while spinning through the air her hands outstretched reaching outward for her soft tail only to miss it by a few centimetres. It didn't deter her though as she subconsciously backflipped onto a nearby wall and used it as a springboard launching herself back into the air in hot pursuit of her elusive tail. "I know he will be mad furious even, but I know deep within my heart that we can get through what has happened as a family." She once again missed her tail though this time she silently landed on the ground on all fours her ears perked up alert while her tail just hung there in the air taunting her with her ineffectiveness in capturing it. "We will talk build and restore our relationship as father and daughter." Not letting her foe have even a moments rest Taylor rocketed back into the air her golden eyes shining with a warmth and joy she had been lacking since her mother had died those few short years ago. "Because together, I know that we can do anything."
Taylor landed on a wall her clawed hands and feet another change that she hadn't yet noticed dug themselves into the wall like a hot knife through soft butter. "But before all that." The young tattooed girl's eyes playfully narrowed as she dutifully watched her new nemeses flouting in the air once again taunting her with its fluffiness. Tensing her muscles for another great leap, she growled playfully at the appendage before launching herself back into the air a yelp of happiness tearing itself away from her throat as she failed once again to capture the elusive tail.
"I must first catch my tail!" And that was how Taylor started the first chapter of her new life. Not by fighting an epic battle with a truly awful monster of nightmares like Brockton city's gang leaders, or a hope destroying Endbringer and certainly not by having her mind clouded by her fears of school bullies and possible future as a hero but by joyfully playing with her tail until her father returned to the hospital in a few hours. However, he was in for quite the shocking surprise when he next sees his daughter that was for sure.