Shelly's awakening was as sudden as it was jarring, and came along with a painful error message that sparked its way to the entire system including her containment vessel and thus her. One moment she was relaxing in her mindscape, she had long since finished her battle training with her dummy and was doing other activities she couldn’t normally do without a physical form, like…erm… dancing among other things, so she was completely unprepared when she received a notification stating

[Integration complete…]

And was promptly booted from her own subconscious.

She was even more shocked by the pain. It was most definitely a system problem, which was really more worrying than it was uncomfortable. what was even worse was the fact that she couldn’t feel Bac, her connection was still there, she could still access the facility, but Bac was gone and based on experience she could guess what was happening. She was justifiably worried about the digital dumdum. Sadly she couldn’t directly help him with what ever foe their enemy was throwing at him. Plus, she had her own problems to worry about. She just hoped the plan she had created in the last few seconds would be enough to save both their hides for the time being.

She started by turning her attention to Max who was still carrying her drone in his unbroken arm.

“Hey.” She stated.

“Oh, Shelly your up… again.” He sighed “Tell me next time you decide to clonk out for an hour!”

“Ha ha, Yeah, sorry about that” Shelly chuckled mentally rubbing the back of her head “Have you heard from Bac” She asked her concern leaking into her voice

Max picked up on her emotions and frowned “I uh, d-did earlier. He asked I was fine with him telling the other… um, clients? Employees? Uh, about my powers. Why?”

“I think he might be in trouble” She explained “but there's nothing we can really do about that right now. I'm worried that there may be someone pursuing us.”

Max paled at that declaration “S-so what do we do?!”

“This may be a stupid idea and I swear I'm not only saying this out of fan-girliness but I think we should still try to make our way to where Overheal is.”

“I mean I get where you're coming from where could be safer than being near an S10 ranked hero and all but… uh can we really bother some one like OH with our problems?” Max asked worriedly.

Shelly mentally shrugged, and then remembered that max couldn’t see her disembodied gestures, “He is a hero above all else right but that’s not really my reason for finding him specifically, if the organization arrayed against us is who I think they are I’m sure he’ll want to know”

Max still seemed dubious “…Any chance you can tell me what this ominous organization is.”

“None at all.” Shelly stated bluntly “Trust me there are things that you’d rather not know about.”

“I think I would like to know since they’re actively threatening my life.”

“Dude, trust me the less you know the better off you are” She shuddered internally “And take it from someone with a perfect memory, once you learn something you can’t unlearn it.”

Max was still frowning but seemed mollified at least, “So we just find Overheal and do what?”

“Just let me talk to him.”

Max gave Shelly a weird look but nodded as he began walking to the library where Overheal Had been doing his autograph event. It was most likely long since over now but he was hopefully still there for Shelly's plan to work.

They didn't really talk as they walked this time so Shelly used the time to look over her updated status and new abilities

[ Name: Shelly

Species: Human (Brain) technologically enhanced

Power: Advanced mind-1000, Photokinesis - 50

Abilities: Telekinesis, Mental time dilation, Hard-light shaping, Hologram projection

Traits: system integration, enhanced intellect, Suneater

Current STR:1255

STRENGTH needed for next powerup: 10000

Unassigned STR: 205

Power ranking: E-3(minor combatant)]

[Hologram projection(

“Can’t touch this!”

Create and shape light to form intangible three-dimensional images. Holograms can only exist as long as the user is focusing on them and cannot interact with the real world directly.

Current limit for number of holograms produced at a single time: 2 ]

[Hard-light shaping

“Can touch this!”

Solidify light into simple shapes and forms, Solidity is determined by Focus and will and Constructs must be mentally maintained or else will disperse.

Construct creation limit: 4]

[Suneater:

“Shadows are not opposite of light they are the lack there of, you have taken the first steps on the path of realizing that.”

Passively consume light in place of other forms of sustenance. On active use consume all light in a given area for a short time, leaving Area of effect in perfect darkness.

Current active range : 8ft×8ft

Effect duration: 30 sec]

The amount of progress, even mentioning the NEW POWER, was still staggering. She felt almost giddy with it all.

And now that she was thinking about it it's pretty sure she could feel the changes the new trait had made to her biology, it came in the form of the distinctly odd feeling of not being hungry. Granted, she didn't really feel hunger most of the time because of her containment unit feeding her any needed nutrients (As well as her lack of a stomach) but now it was more distinct. like food was being poured into her rather than being slowly fed as needed, it was one of those sensations that felt like it should be uncomfortable but wasn't. She would actually call it rather pleasant in a weird way. Like the slight high you get after eating a really good meal, but constant. She just had to try the active effect out.

“Put me down.” She instructed Max with a bit of excitement in her voice, when he did, She flew up and ahead a bit, once she was far enough for her comfort she tried activating [Suneater]. There was a sensation of pulling, like slurping up spaghetti, but like… in her brain, and everything went dark.

She couldn't see but she could most definitely feel… The area of affect was only eight feet in any direction, so she simply flew out of it and landed, groaning. It was… unpleasant, She felt dizzy and muffled her head somehow both buzzing and fuzzy as if it were filled with bees and cotton , that wasn't even the worst of it. She felt overstuffed and bloated despite not having any organs or guts to experience that with, the sensation instead seem to reside in the back of our head making her feel what you could only describe as ‘thought nauseous’ (she was coining that.)

She really didn't know what she had been expecting, it was a trait that let her eat light not an ability that made things dark…what she had essentially done just now was eat an entire rooms worth of large pizzas In a single bite. How do you expect to feel after doing that (I'm talking to you Michael)?

“A-are you ok-okay…!? What was t-that!?” Max stammered as he picked Shelly’s drone back up.

“It was a new ability… Well, trait actually but you get the point” She moaned “I wanna say that I regret doing that, but I guess it's better than finding out the hard way later. That could be disastrous during a battle.”

“All I saw was a black square just appearing out of nowhere!!! It was crazy! I thought you had gotten sucked into a black hole or something.”

that comment make Shelly think of Trohorn and she chuckled.

“Don't laugh I'm freaking out here!?” Max cried, Which only made Shelly laugh harder.

“Ihahaham Okahehey, Let’s just go.” She said struggling to contain her mirth, and failing miserably.

Shelly recovered as they walked, Both from the discomfort of using her new trait and from her fit of laughter. before she knew it She and max were at the library somehow managing to avoid being attacked along the way. She was sure that that wouldn't last so they needed to act now.

They practically slammed their way into the building, receiving a loud ‘Shhhhhhhh!!!’ From the librarian working the front desk.

“We need to talk to Overheal!” Shelly informed the woman.

“Shhh! That event ended 30 minutes ago, I’m sorry but-“

“It’s not about that! Listen, is he still here?”

“Yes,” the librarian said moving to block their path “but I can’t let yo-“

“Thanks” Shelly said, pushing the woman aside with her telekinesis, as Max jogged by.

“S-sorry” the half-elf whispered as he moved past the downed woman.

They moved deeper into the building, Following the event signs that had still yet to be taken down Until they eventually came to a door marked ‘event room’ with a sign hanging on it that said ‘event over’

Max opened the door and the two of them stepped inside, only to be immediately surrounded by bodyguards.

“INTRUDERS!!!!” one of the guards shouted despite the fact that everyone in this room seemed to already be aware. His face hardened as he lowered his gun at them, “What should we do with them Sir?”

The voice that responded made Shelly want to swoon and blush and scream and do a whole bunch of other (some of it unmentionable) stuff all at the same time.

“Oh, calm down, put your guns away they're likely just some fans who came a bit late. let me talk to them?”

She had heard that voice many times before from TV to podcast to movies to documentaries and pretty much any other piece of media one could think of, and as he stepped out from behind his (more or less unnecessary) guard detail she almost fainted like a character from a cartoon. From what she could see Max was similarly awestruck as he stared at the figure in front of them, one that they had both been expecting to see but still, It was Overheal!!!

“Whoa, kid” The S10 ranker said, noticing Max’s fac growing pale “Take a seat.” He gestured and a chair came floating over to them Which Max unceremoniously plopped down into. “And while I'm at it let me take care of that arm. do you mind? ”

without waiting for a response green light began emitting from the Hero’s hands Moving like serpents to wrap itself around Max’s cast and begin worming its way into big cracks and holes that had developed. The light seemed to expand and then fade before disappearing altogether.

Overheal reached out a hand and the cast shattered, flying off in tiny pieces and depositing itself into the trash can as Max flexed his now uninjured limb. Shelly could practically feel the man's power suffusing the room. His telekinesis could crush her drone and Max with less than a thought. It made her own power look like absolute child's play, even his healing ability was probably dangerous, maybe he could cause cancer or something. She really didn't know.

“I-I uh… I just got healed by OH…!”

“Please, call me Overheal.” the man said is friendly smile and tone belying his statement. “So, what do I need to autograph oooooor…”

“Actually,” Shelly interrupted, working up the courage to force herself to talk for the first time since they entered “This isn't a fan thing… I mean I am a fan…uh a huge fan. Erm, maybe even your biggest fan, But uh ummm-“

“But…?”

“We need your help” Shelly said taking a deep breath (For drama reasons only) before explaining the events that had happened since her and Bac had entered the city, “And that's how we ended up here. there's more to it but I’d prefer to give you that information in private or as private as you're willing to be. I at least need you to leave.” she said addressing Max with the last bit.

the demihuman grunted but placed Shelly’s drone down of the nearest table and stepped out of the room.

“Go with him.” Overheal instructed his guards, who all did so without complaint. They waited a couple seconds in silence to make sure no one was going to come back in and then the hero turned to her “So what was it you needed to tell me?”

Max’s life was… Well, not great. He wasn't even talking about just today either, his life in general had always been a shitshow in every possible way. from his awful powerset, gaunt frame and everyone's expectations for him to be a hero like his father his life had just been set to be one catastrophe after another. today had been no different. Sure, it had started out well enough, he only fell through one floor of a building and he was offered an opportunity to improve his powers, and his control over them. Of course, the positively couldn’t last. He just had to be attacked today. Now one of his new employers was having a secret conversation with one of the most powerful men on the planet. At least he had gotten to meet one of his heroes, but even that probably would turn sour at some point. Maybe Overheal had accidentally made his bone too strong with the healing and it would explode or something. He knew that was unlikely, but he still felt like it would happen, and honestly, if it could happen to anyone it would be him.

Max leaned back against the chair in the reading room in the library. Shelly had already been in there for like 15 minutes and he had decided to catch up on some of his favorite manga while he waited, He swiped is phone against the Sensor on the shelf, his holo-display transforming into a copy of the book he had selected before sitting back down to read. It was another 40 minutes before a drone came zipping out of the event room and practically right into his face.

“Good news! He’s going to help us.”

“What did you have to say to make that happen?”

“I can't tell you everything but let's just say I think Overheal has a stake in this game too…”

“Well, t-that's not ominous at all…”

“Heh, Yeah.”

“You’re going to have to tell someone at some point, you know.”

“And that would be Bac first, I owe him that much, I promise I'll tell you after I tell him okay?”

Max just sighed He was starting to get a feel for this disembodied mind's personality and knew she wasn’t going to budge on this.

“Oh and speaking of which,” The drone turned to Overheal as he stepped out of the room she had just exited, a bit of worry lacing her voice “um… my- uh- brother, I-I think he may be in danger. Is there anything you can do to help him?”

“Of course. Let me get someone on that. CCOMU!”

{Yes?} A voice said coming from every speaker in the room, while also echoing in Max’s head.

“Could you please go help this drones brother, with your abilities I'm sure you're aware of what's happening. I give you full permission to interfere.” Overheal Stated in a commanding tone.

{Wait, wat… really? YES! Ohthankgod…} The voice cheered before the presence seemed to disappear if a flash.

Overheal chuckled “she gets so excited when she's allowed to help”

Max somehow got the impression that Shelly was frowning, maybe it was the way her drone bobbed in the air but the short yet heavy silence was definitely a tell of her discomfort “ummm…I’ve met Com before, they use they/them pronouns… I don’t mean to offend but…”

“Oh right, sorry, I may not look it but I'm old an old man. I forget sometimes.” The heroes tone was friendly enough but even Max couldn't miss the eye roll he performed at the end of his statement. “Now let's get you guys somewhere safe for the time being.”