Bet's Princess of Destruction: Chapter 1

This is a commissioned long fic in the same vein as A New Motivation! It will update as requested by the commissioner, though the first arc has already been laid out.

Please enjoy! Eating Your Weight updates tomorrow! Shaping up to be a big chapter!

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Do you ever wake up and just instantly know something is wrong? It's strange, isn't it? Like some primal part of your body instantly knows something is off before you ever open your eyes, before you're fully awake, even.

The bed underneath me was unfamiliar; the light streaming from what I assumed was a nearby window was in the wrong place, falling across my lower face and chest instead of my eyes.

My eyes slowly drifted open to a ceiling I didn't recognize. The air felt different. The sheets wrapped around me were softer and smelled faintly floral even though I knew I didn't wash them yesterday. I squinted, my tired brain trying to put together pieces I didn't have just yet. Something was off.

I stretched, froze, and felt a rush of unease settle inside of me as something on my chest shifted. Two somethings. Two something's that absolutely should not have been there.

My eyes turned downward and I swallowed as I saw two new lumps on my chest, poking up from underneath my pajama shirt. Unsure if I was dreaming or not, I reached up with shaky hands and grabbed them.

My hands were filled to the brim with soft flesh and I flinched as sensation washed over me, forcing me to face the reality of the situation. This was definitely real.

And then I learned that my body wasn't the only thing that changed. I was pretty sure I couldn't scream that high if I tried.

It took several minutes for me to get a hold of myself. I spent that time sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at my new legs and running my hands through my new hair as I waited for my heart rate to come down from space.

Once I was confident that I wasn't going to have a panic attack the moment I looked at my legs, I hopped off the bed. The floor felt chilly on my bare feet but the sensation grounded me, providing me something to cling onto in this extremely distressing situation.

“Okay, so… I'm a girl now,” I muttered, my voice sounding strange to my own ears. There wasn't a mirror in here, though there was a TV that I could use to look at myself.

A pale face framed by bright blonde hair stared back at me in the darkened reflection. I blinked, slightly mystified by my unnaturally red eyes, before taking in the rest of my body. She – or rather I –was young, maybe seventeen or eighteen, and extremely beautiful with a soft body and perfect proportions that seemed almost designed to draw eyes.

“At least I'm pretty?” I said, as if that was any consolation to the messed up situation I’d been dropped into.

I took a deep breath and pushed the bizarre dysphoria to the back of my mind, along with the fact that I still had no idea how I even got here. For now, I needed to figure out where here even was.

I turned, taking in my surroundings. Now that I wasn't panicking, I could see it was a pretty nice space. It was a studio apartment, with high ceilings and more than enough room for activities in the living space in front of the bed. There was also a desk underneath the loft bed with a computer already situated on it, powered off.

An ensuite kitchen was situated to the side, and a large window let enough natural light into the room that there was no need to actually turn the lights on. Curious, and hoping that I might glean some information on where exactly I was, I strode over to peer out.

My eyes adjusted to the light and I blinked, then blinked again, trying to process exactly what it was I was seeing.

The view was objectively nice. It overlooked the ocean and a small part of whatever city I was in, the sun glinting off the water in a way that would have been serene if not for the dark shapes of boats that were rusted and half-sunken into the water. It looked like a graveyard for old ships, skeletal husks of rusted metal jutting up from the sea like tombstones.

But I didn't pay much attention to that. My eyes were much more drawn to the massive oil rig sticking out of the water in the middle of the bay. It jutted upwards toward the sky, sticking out like a sore thumb, thanks in part to the massive freaking forcefield surrounding its upper half.

My jaw hung open, my eyes going wide as I processed.

That’s… that’s the Rig, I thought, staring at the structure in shock.

The Rig, or more accurately the PHQ, was the headquarters of the Brockton Bay Protectorate. But if that was there, then that meant…

“Oh, shit,” I muttered, taking a stumbling step away from the window as vertigo slammed into me. I was lucky enough that the couch was literally right there and managed to collapse onto it before I actually fell over.

If there was any place you didn't want to be, it was anywhere near Brockton Bay at… honestly, pretty much any point in time post 1987. And yet it seems that somehow, some way I had found myself here, in a new body, with no clue how I even got here.

I just sat there for a long time, staring at the wall and trying to wrap my head around the absolute absurdity of it all. Brockton Bay. A fictional city from a web serial I knew more through fanfiction than the actual story. And I was here.

It seemed ludicrous, but I wasn't delusional enough to think this was a dream. This was real, and that meant I was in real big trouble if I didn't figure this out

I sat on the couch for five minutes before my internal monologue and existential dread was interrupted by a rumbling in my stomach. I was starving.

I hauled myself off the couch, my busy mind momentarily overridden by the need for sustenance, and made my way into the kitchen.

Surprisingly, it was well stocked, full of fresh ingredients and cutlery. I stared at the array of available food for a long moment, before grabbing some chicken and fresh herbs. I wasn't a master chef, but cooking something filling was well within my wheelhouse.

The sizzling of chicken in the pan was a comforting sound that distracted me from the current situation. I focused on the cooking process, watching the meat sear and brown. It was easy to keep my mind off the fact that I was currently standing in one of the most dangerous cities on Earth Bet when I was more preoccupied trying to make sure I didn't burn my food..

When it was done, I slid the chicken onto a plate, giving it a tentative poke with my fork. It was a little bit crispy but it smelled edible. Given the circumstances, edible was a win.

I took the plate over to the small dining table tucked against the wall, sitting down with a heavy sigh. The first bite confirmed my suspicion; the seasoning was decent, but the meat was definitely on the dryer side. Still, it was food, and my stomach was growling for more.

I chewed slowly, staring at the wall as I forced myself to think and rationalize my situation.

So, what was the plan?

I stared at the half-eaten chicken on my plate, my mind racing as I tried to cobble together a strategy that didn't end with me dead in a ditch somewhere. I was in Brockton Bay. That was bad. The city was a powder keg covered in rocket fuel, stuffed to the brim with Nazis, drug-dealing lunatics, and a guy who liked to cosplay as a dragon on the weekends. Oh, and he also revitalized the slave trade.

And then there was me. A girl with a body I didn't recognize, a head full of foggy memories, and no clue how I got here.

I swallowed another bite of the chicken, forcing it past the knot in my throat. Okay, step one was information, but step zero was figuring out if I was even capable of acting on it.

What were the chances that whoever sent me here kept me completely helpless? Though, even saying that, I didn't feel anything different besides the obvious.

Though it isn't like I'd really notice anyway, would I? I mused, staring down at my perfectly manicured nails.

If I didn't have powers then my situation went from freaky to disastrous. I'd need to get the hell out of dodge before Bakuda went on her little Bomberman run. Or the Empire forced me to join Hitler youth group. Or before the ABB decided that someone like me would make a good addition to the Farms.

Honestly, if I didn't have powers, I was probably screwed the moment I stepped out of this apartment. Not really a lot of hope for an out of town civilian girl in Brockton Bay, Massachusetts.

“The PRT probably has some sort of protocol for this,” I muttered to the empty room. “Welcome to Earth Bet, here’s your brochure and your pepper spray. Maybe I won't get locked up in the loony bin as long as I give them some good info.”

Hopefully Cauldron didn't find the prospect too interesting. I could do without little miss fedora knocking on my door and subjecting me to whatever whims her power decided best fit her plan for the greater good.

I washed down the last bite of the chicken with a glass of water, grimacing slightly. If I was going to make it here, I needed to leverage what I knew. And unfortunately, what I knew about Worm was that there wasn't really any such thing as ‘safe’. Not as long as Scion was going around saving cats from trees and Jack Slash was still alive to whisper sweet somethings in his ear and send him off the deep end.

Well, further off it.

My gaze drifted away from my empty plate and landed on a small ceramic bowl in the middle of the table, filled with blue-wrapped candies. Still musing on what I could possibly do to survive the next few weeks, I grabbed one and unwrapped it automatically, popping it into my mouth with little fanfare.

The moment the candy hit my tongue, all of my panicky thoughts ceased. As did pretty much every other thought as an overwhelming torrent of information spiralled through my thoughts like someone was driving a corkscrew directly into my grey matter

“Gah!” I gasped, clutching at my head and then the table in front of me as a searing migraine flared to life in my skull.

My muscles locked up, and I gripped the edge of the table hard enough that I heard my knuckles crack. The pressure in my skull felt like it was going to pop my eyes out of their sockets as whatever more knowledge flew through my mind than I was meant to handle.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain vanished.

The migraine evaporated, leaving behind a strange tingling sensation underneath my skin. I slumped forward in my chair, gasping for air, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Sweat dripped down my forehead, pooling around my neck, and I could feel the dampness of it soaking into the collar of my shirt.

But despite the discomfort, I couldn't stop the giddy smile from flitting across my lips, nor the manic laugh that bubbled up from my chest as my mind filled with knowledge that wasn't there before. Knowledge of science, biology, and even cooking – which would have been very helpful to have a few minutes ago.

But all of that paled in comparison to the crowning jewel that filled my head and body.

I slowly straightened, holding a hand up and summoning forth a sliver of the power that I didn't even know existed mere moments ago. It responded to my request eagerly, bounding forth like a happy dog who had been too long without a master.

A crimson ball of energy appeared above my palm, undulating and pulsing as if it was angry at the very world for bringing it into existence. I stared at it, the crimson glow gleaming in my eyes.

The Power of Destruction… A magical ability inherent to the Bael Clan which later reached its full potential under the likes of Sirzechs Gremory.

And I had access to it and so, so much more.

“Maybe I don't need the PRT after all,” I chuckled to myself, manic energy thrumming through me at the world that had just been unveiled for me.

This changed everything. I wasn't defenseless like I thought I was – not even close. With a power like this under my sleeve, not to mention the rest of the knowledge that had just been drilled into my brain, I might actually be able to make something of this situation.

Dismissing my magic, I pushed myself up from the table, the legs of the chair screeching across the floor. I took a step toward the front door, then paused, glancing down at myself.

“Shower first,” I amended, shaking my head.

Ten minutes later, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, a towel wrapped around my hair. The warm spray of the shower had washed away the remnants of sweat, and I felt invigorated and much more sure than before.

As I began to wrap a towel around my body, I glanced at the nearby mirror and paused, squinting at my reflection.

The same unfamiliar girl stared back at me, but something was different. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to place what it was. I hadn't exactly cataloged everything about this body before, but something had definitely changed, and the longer I looked, the more it became apparent.

The soft body that had greeted me when I'd first woken up had shifted. The stomach that had a bit of a healthy paunch was gone, the lines of muscle and sinew more defined. My arms were more muscular, as well as my legs, toned and sleek, as if I had spent months in the gym working at it

It was a bit surreal, having a body change so drastically in the span of minutes, but I wasn't complaining. I traced the lines of my abs, feeling the power thrumming through the flesh beneath, before snapping out of it with a quick shake of my head.

The narcissistic ogling could wait. I still needed to figure things out. I knew where I was, but apart from that, everything was a mystery to me, including the date which was arguably the most important part. The entirety of Worm took place in less than three years and a lot happened in that time; I needed to know when exactly I landed.

I dried off quickly, heading back into the main room. I had spied a wardrobe earlier and I had a feeling…

“Nice.”

Just like the kitchen, it was fully stocked with an array of outfits to choose from. Hoping they all fit, I grabbed something that I thought might look good.

I decided on a red leather jacket, tossing it on the bed and following it up with a black tank top and black leather pants. I also found a pair of red sneakers in a drawer below which matched the jacket pretty well.

Luckily, despite the changes I had undergone, it fit the body I was wearing surprisingly well, accentuating the curves and lines of the woman in front of me. I turned this way and that, making sure I looked good and nodded firmly.

“Alright, let's see what's up,” I said, straightening and giving myself a final glance in the mirror before heading for the front door.

I pulled it open, revealing a… parking garage?

I blinked, looking around at the cars surrounding me, and then behind me. The door I had come out of was gone, leaving nothing but a smooth wall next to a ‘No Smoking’ sign. I ran my hand along the wall, only to flinch back as a door appeared the moment I reached out.

“Trippy,” I muttered, taking a step back and watching as the door disappeared into the rough concrete again.

“Uh,” a voice spoke from behind me, making me turn around to find a man watching me with wide eyes. He looked between me and the wall, his jaw slowly coming unhinged, and I cursed whatever being had brought me here.

Really, who in their right mind would put the entrance to an extra-dimensional apartment in a freaking parking garage?