//------------------------------//
// Ch. 9 Why am I Getting a Job? 
// Story: Misunderstood and Mutated 
// by TheGoldenDragon 
//------------------------------//


[Medulla’s POV]


By the time Twilight had come downstairs, I had been staring at a single page in a book on the Blink spell for half an hour. Once she had woken up enough to form coherent thoughts she asked, “Why are you always up so early?”

I looked away from the page as I said, “Only need about three hours of sleep a day, but I can go three days on no rest before my cognition is noticeably hampered.”

“That’s impossible?” she said aghast.

“Yes, for a pony, but you’re not talking to a pony. This body was engineered to be the greatest living weapon, at least in the universe it originated from, and that includes efficiency. That’s why I don’t need to eat ever much unless I exert myself.”

“So what have you been doing for the last couple of hours?” Twilight asked.

“Trying to figure out how to adapt the Blink spell to my powers.”

Twilight almost laughed, “That spell shouldn’t be that hard for someone as powerful as you.”

“Well, I figured out I could adapt spells to my powerset last night, although the book actually held a sample of the spell I was trying to emulate. This book does not, so I had to build my knowledge of how pony magic work from the ground up. And now I stuck on something…”

Twilight eyes widened, “It took me years to get to the point where using that spell was viable, and you did the same in a few hours.”

I set the book down and looked her in the eye as I said, “Twilight, I could never truly cast magic, I was just trying to understand the principles behind the spell so I could use a version of it. It’s not like I actually had to show proficiency in the more basic stuff before somepony would let me try using it, I either can use it or I can’t. ”

Twilight let out a relieved sigh, “So what has you stuck?”

“That’s just it. I’m not sure.” I pointed at several key points on the page. “It all makes perfect sense, but when I try to conform the principles to how my powers work, it’s like there’s something saying, ‘I already know that move.’ but I don’t.”

Twilight looked very confused, “But you said that there were a lot of moves you didn’t use regularly, is it possible that there's one like the Blink spell?”

“That would be Teleport, but as far a I’m aware Mewtwo could never use Teleport.” I said scowling. 

Twilight smirked, “Isn’t it possible that there was one rare instance where it could, one that you didn’t know about?”

“Let’s test that theory…” I said and focused on the 'list' of moves deep in my head, most I didn’t care about, they either were either weaker versions of other moves or I didn’t find them every useful. As I ‘scrolled’ around I noticed that one section was almost like a blind spot. Focusing on that section, I saw a small sublist of the TM and HM moves Mewtwo could learn only in the first and second generations of Pokemon. Among this list was Teleport. I was so happy, my eyes shot open and I exclaimed, "This day couldn't get any better!"

I began to rapidly pop around the room and Twilight looked on in shock, taking notes, and asked, "So what are the limits to this power?"

I stopped for a moment standing on the ceiling, scratching my chin. I responded, "In combat it's usually used for escaping, but I think I can use it for maneuverability like this and it takes very little concentration. Outside combat I could use it for instant long range teleportation of a small group to someplace I know the exact relative location of, but this takes a great deal of focus. It does use quite a bit of energy either way."

Twilight then muttered, "Interesting." as she scribbled in the notebook.

Just then a loud burping sound could be heard from Twilight's room, followed by a Spike rushing out of the room yelling, "Letter for you, Twilight." He fell down the stairs in his excitement. This time Twilight caught him before he hit his head too many times.

Twilight levitated the letter out of Spike's claw, she then began to unroll the scroll but she had only opened it a few inches before stopping. She then stared at my, "It's for you."

I took it from her and read it quickly. Celestia was requesting my presence and was sending a carriage to pick my up in a few hours. I was going to have more fun now. I told Twilight, "There will be a royal guard coming for me in a while, offer them tea or something. By the time they get here the reason for calling me will be irrelevant."

Before she could protest I teleported to Canterlot, but not into the throne room I was a few hundred feet above the castle. I then teleported into the throne room, making sure the was an explosion of light and sound as I did so. Once the dust cleared, I asked, “You called?” The guards, including Shining Armor, had of course already surrounded me at this point. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t trained them so well, I thought to myself. The sisters seemed to like my showmanship better than the guards. 

Celestia spoke first, “Welcome Medulla, but we we’re not expecting you for a few more hours.”

I smiled and responded, “What good is there in arriving at the expected time, best to be early so you might be able to do something useful.”

“That wasn’t like you teleportation last time, I didn’t see a gate to somewhere else.” Shining noted.

“The power that you saw before overexerts me. I made what scientist from my old world would call a wormhole, but how I did it would be comparable to knitting a tapestry with pine needles instead of weaving it with a loom.” I said exhausted, “What I did just a few seconds ago is new to me, and it’s much easier. But why'd you call me here?"

Celestia seemed a bit upset if slightly amused as she spoke, “This was meant to be a more formal event, but seeing how early you are we may as well do the ceremony then once everything is prepared we can proceed to the banquet.” Celestia signaled to Luna, Shining, and the guards. In only a second the guards lined the walls as best they could standing at attention. Luna levitated a very ornate saber to Celestia. Celestia unsheathed the sword and trotted up to me. She raised the saber touching my left shoulder then my right while saying, “In recognition of your one thousand and one hundred years of service to Equestria, you are hereby given the title and position of Equestrian Grand General.” 

"... What?" Was all I could say. 

Celestia must have expected that response because she ignored my shock as she explained, “Well, seeing as there is no higher military office, and you did serve as a trainer for some of the most decorated officers in the last thousand years I see no reason not to give you such an honor”

I still didn’t understand, “But I’ve never made any official oath of office, and a few days ago I was public enemy number one. But most importantly how can I get a promotion if I never held a job?”

Luna responded, “There is precedent that civilians can gain military honors if they have shown they have shown leadership and valor in a crisis. And the private journals of Starswirl the Bearded attest to these in you.”

“... He wrote about that debouchel in Transylmainia?”

“His account of the events was a bit vague, but a consistent theme was how incredibly you help up under pressure and handled the unexpected.” Celestia smile was almost impish, she knew something from those journals and wasn’t going to share any time soon.

“I’d rather not relive that insanity just yet. Fine on that part I guess, but what about the oath of office.”  I said trying to hide the desperation that I could avoid getting tangled up in any obligations right now.

Celestia retorted, “No need the ceremonial saber places a spell on you that will inform me if you should do anything to that directly conflicts with your duties as General.”

I knew there was no arguing at this point, so I said, “Fine, what are the duties? Since I have no say in the matter at this point.”

Celestia’s mother smile faltered, “You do have a say in the matter, the spell can still be removed. The position of Equestrian Grand General has been  empty for over eight hundred years. It is has been mainly a war time role, so unless war is declared you really don’t have much in the way of obligations. Mainly training and maintaining the chain of command.”

I was trying to think of any excuse to not get tied up in Canterlot bull shit.

And luckily at that moment I heard a feminine voice trill, “Heeeeey, Meduuuuuulla? Come out to plaaaaay-eee-aaaay?~"

“Well that is convenient,” I said, “because I’m have sort of pledged to help others like me, and one is calling now. " 

“A WHOLE NEW WORLD!!!",I shouted as I let the summon drag me to my token. I barely heard Celestia yell something as about not being finished before I was fully gone. Travel through the void was as annoying as ever, this time one eldritch horror tried to set me up with its sister, "NO JEFFFFF, I WILL NOT DATE YOUR SISTER!!! I'M NOT ATTRACTED TO ANYTHING LET ALONE EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL TENTACLE MONSTERS!!” I tried to focus on the world I was entering. Whoever is summoning me must be pretty new to the whole Displaced thing, I thought, they didn't even say who they were.

As their universe approached, I tried to think of what to say upon entry. I know, I'll go along with the horror theme of their reference.

As the I fell to this world I said, "Heeereee'sss Medulla!!"

"... the hell is that?" I heard mentally from nearby.

"That... I think... Are you... A Mewtwo?" A confused voice asked, the mental voice seemed to come from the same place as the actual voice but was too different.

"Yes, I am a Mewtwo... Why do your clothes talk?" I asked, as I stared at the yellow pegasus, wearing what could be considered a somewhat revealing black sailors outfit, with an eye on part of the scarf. 

"Uh... he's a soul attached to a substance called life fibers?" she offered unsurely. She was obviously confused about me. 

"...You can hear me?" The sailor uniform asked amazed. 

I chuckled at that, "Of course I can here you, anything with thought I understand. 'Life Fiber' that sounds familiar..." I seemed to recognize the outfit and appearance, "'Kill la Kill'? Never actually saw the show, but I was interested and I know bits and pieces from reviewers." Something else was off, "Oh. You got genderbent, funny thing is you're not the first of us I've met that got turned female."

I could just see the cogs turning in her head, "Are you... Were you a human?" she asked hesitantly. "Are there others here? How many? And,” she tossed my Mega Stone towards me, “What is this? Senketsu said it felt like life fibers, but after... well, meeting you, that doesn't seem like that likely of an idea."

I levitated the Mega Stone as she tossed it to me, "This is a Mega Stone, it enables me to become even stronger. Taps into my true power, as it were, so no it’s not life fiber... I was right, I'm the first Displaced you've met. I hate to front-load this information, so suffice it to say, there's lots of humans that bought stuff at a con, and got teleported to a version of Equestria and given powers based on what they bought." I looked around sensing something like hostility and ponies searching. "Is somepony after you?" I asked.

"No! Why? Okay, so maaaaaaybe Rarity might be after me for yoinking a bunch of her gems. Or to find out more about Senketsu." Ryuko answered. 

I started concentrating on the source more, "No, it's not that per say, Rarity is there with Twilight. Rarity want's to go full designer mode on you and 'Send Cat Soup', and the name 'Cheshire' keeps bouncing around in Twilight's head. You need a distraction?" I offered.

"Twilight? Yeek. It is too damn early for her to find out about me. And fuck no to Rarity getting her grubby mitts on me. I hereby ask that you please kill me before she can get me into a dress. Please, yes please, and holy god please yes please to the offer of distraction. If you could just lead Twilight and the others away from the castle, and meet me at the portal? It's a mirror thing in the middle of the castle." She paused for a second "Can you take a peek inside Twilights cabasa, see what all she's done to the portal and the portal room? I just wanna know if she's booby trapped the room, with magical sensors or something."

"Naw, she just knows when individuals go through the portal. She wants to make a spell that places a tracker, but that hasn't worked yet." I said reassuringly. "You head that way, I'll start making explosions to get the princess's attention." I said with wry smile.

With that I teleported to an empty field in-between town and Sweet-Apple Acres. Then I started firing Thunderbolts randomly, making sure they were really loud and did less actual damage. I also added in a few brain rattling cackles to be on the safe side.

It wasn't too long before Twilight and the gang were standing in the field staring at me. Rainbow Dash was the first to say something, she flew right up to my face and asked, "Who the hay are you?"

Thunderbolt, "I am an enchanter," two thunderbolts, "but there are some who dare to call me... Tim." five more thunderbolts.

Fluttershy was barely able to squeak out, "Could you please stop that, if that's okay with you."

She was so cute I just had to break character, and I teleported over to her, she squeaked again as I hugged her super tight, "Ooooh, you are just tooooo cute." I said. Everypony there was very confused. I dropped to yellow pegasus gently, "Well I’m off, if you want answers you better be able to keep pace." I said rushing off out of site, and teleporting to the room the other displaced and Senketsu were in, I really should ask her name so I don’t freak her out too much, I thought. 

As I appeared in the room I poked Ryuko on nose, she responded as expected, yelling, "Stop that!" and swatting away my hand.

I felt a bit bad about tricking Twilight, so I levitated a piece of paper over and began writing with psychic residue, "I really like Twilight so I'm going to leave a note? We probably only have a few minutes before they realize I nowhere to be found. Never caught your name, I mean I could have found out I just try not to pry too much, beings tend to find it a bit disturbing when I know everything about them in less than a second."

The note said, "Dear Twili, sorry about the whole 'Tim' thing, I was just distracting you while a friend of mine was getting away. Please don't take this personally, -Medulla" and dropped the note on the table.

"Can you write a note for me too?" Senketsu asked suddenly, "I can't explain this desire... but I really want to leave a message saying 'I really like your mane', for Twilight. Would that be alright?"

As Ryuko looked at him with a confused gaze, he asked in a genuine tone,"What?" 

"Nothing. Just... a weird request." She responded.

"Sure," I added, "PS: Senketsu likes your mane".

"Now we really should get going through that looking glass." I said a little too flatly as I stepped through the portal. The portal tried to apply an ingenious polymorph spell, changes the individual to an appropriate form for the side their entering, and removes it if it’s already there. I could have stoped it, but the spell didn’t seem to know what to do with me and I wanted to see what would happen. During the short trip through the mirror I was able to figure out a way to use convince it I was supposed to turn into a human. As I stepped out of the portal I saw Canterlot High, but the place seemed fairly deserted. Looking back at the statue, I saw that I looked like an aged up Gold, yellow and black hat, jacket, shorts, black hair: The whole works. Completely human, everything was normal-ish. I could tell that my powers still worked, but they were going to take a lot more out of me in this form. Stupid eighty percent inefficient human metabolism.

A few seconds later Ryuko came rolling through, and bounced up on her feet. She looked around, probably for me, but didn’t seem to think I was me in this form.

"You... wouldn't have happened to see where my friend went, would you?" She asked. "He's... well... he might be wearing white... and purple?"

I couldn't take it, I fell on the ground laughing, after I composed myself I said, "Nope this is me. Do you have any idea how nice it is to be able to talk again." After standing back up and dusting off my shirt I said, "So, anything I can help you out with on this end?"

“You're... but you..." She stammered. "You look so... normal." she poked at my back, making me a bit agitated.

"You.... you're psychic!" she exclaimed, jabbing a pointing finger in me face. "I know this is a bit much to ask," she clasped my hands together almost begging, "But do you think you could probe the minds of the student body, see if anyone actually knows where Rarity is?" I gave a pointed look behind her, at the empty parking lot.

"Okay, yeah, it's Saturday. I bet if we waited a couple hours and headed into town we'd be able to find at least one of the main six. Wanna catch a movie? All the actors are weird colors, but an action movie is still an action movie." 

I scratched my chin and said, "What movies are playing? It's seems sad to say but all I remember from before I was Displaced was all the media I ever consumed, nothing about me... Oh you should take this back." I said as I tossed Ryuko the Mewtwonite X back, "That is my token it's how you summoned me and how you can do it in the future. Sorry I tend to ramble."

She tucked the orb into a puke green fanny pack, and pulled out the smart phone. A few taps and she was obviously disappointed.

"Five different romance movies... The Drifting Bottle; A woman visiting the beach discovers a note in a bottle. Over the course of a year she grows to know the castaway intimately. Love R Us; a couple working at a toy store go through emotional backlash. Grime, the Movie; A remake of the 1978 classic Grime, it's a classic boy meets girl love story, updated to modern times!  Ever White; While visiting a ski resort, Braided Guide(played by Biceps Mc Muscles) encounters the love of his life(played by Fair Hair). Landscaping; in this quirky comedy follow the exploits of Picture Perfect, a model who must decide on her career... or at a fleeting, distant chance of love." she screwed up her nose in disgust. "Any of that sound interesting to you?" she asked in amusement.

I snickered, "Have you ever heard of MST3K or riff-tracks? Which one is the oldest and sounds the worst?"

"Don't know the first one but I have heard of riff-tracks. Lets see," she flipped through the menus. "Seems like Grime's been out the longest... Holy crap I think it's this world's version of Grease. Do you remember what year Grease came out? You have access to 'all media' or whatever, right?"

I knew what we had to do, "Way before my time, I just watched in on TV and stuff, and it's not all media just the stuff I saw and played. But none the less we must riff on that movie. Even if our references go over the heads of everyone else."

“They may not appreciate our input," she said deviously, "But really, that's half the fun! Quick question, how much of your powers still work? Like, if they sent in their staff to get rid of us could you 'jedi mind trick' them into leaving us to ourselves?"

"The only thing that's been affected by the transformation is that I need to eat more often." I said rubbing the back of my head like an anime protagonist. 

“Oh. Well okay then, wanna go get brunch or something? The first showing for Grime is... eleven thirty five. We got plenty of time to kill."

"Hope you have some money cause I could eat like Goku." I said blushing a bit.

"Find, breakfast food," she said statically into my phone.

"I found FOURTEEN places near you that match," a synthetic voice intoned.

"Chinese is not breakfast food. Neither is Spicy's Steak & Grill. God, you are bad at this, Gari. Hey, there’s a Danny's about ten minutes away, that sound good to you? Also, you don't have a problem with motorcycles, do you?" She asked.

I stared at her blankly, "Show me the map and I'll have us there right away."

"Nuh-uh. I'm not leaving my bike here, it might get stolen. I've had it for less than a week, I'm not going to let something happen to it just because I was too lazy to take care of it," she argued.

I sighed, "Fine, plus might not be such a good idea to teleport around in a non-magic world." I said as I walked over to the bike.

"I've been wondering about that honestly," she said as she straddled over the seat. I got on behind her, hooking my arms around her waist. "Magic can be used here, so who's to say that there isn't a few wizards running around screaming 'magic missile' while being chased by some eldritch horror?" she kicked the ignition, and we rode off. A cop across the street gave us the stink eye, I wonder what the crime rate could actually be in a place like this, I asked myself.

I savored the sensation of wind flowing through my hair, it really the small things you miss the most, I thought to myself. "All I meant was that the average person is either unaware or incapable of magic under normal circumstances." I hummed absentmindedly as I skimmed the near by minds, "Though it does seem that most of them do think that something odd has been going on the last couple of months."

"The two movies have already happened," she then preceded to recap the first movie, then stuff from a second movie I never saw. Singing baddies and she seemed fixated on Sunset Shimmer’s hair resembling bacon, Oh how much I miss bacon, not even one thousand some odd years could make me forget your taste you delicious pig flesh.

"Didjoo get all that? So yeah, everyone has a very good reason to think odd things are going on. They are, after all." I didn’t really care what she was saying at this point, my mind was in a more bacon-y place.

I was drooling a bit, "Mmmmmm, baaacoon." I said. I snapped out of it quick, "Sorry, it's been over one thousand years without most meats, and my metabolism isn't as efficient as a human."

"Sorry for focusing on that word then," she said, turning left onto a street. "She just has bacon hair. Gotta say, it's nice actually being able to talk to someone while riding. That’s the main reason why I got rid of mine in favor of a car, they don't exactly allow for pleasantries. Still, a car can't compare with the freedom a bike grants you."

I looked behind us but I couldn't confirm with my eyes what I was feeling mentally, "Something’s are tailing us, not too closely. I can't really gauge a threat level. At least some of them don't seem hostile, and one definitely is not from this town." I told both Senketsu and Ryuko.

"Not local?" she asked, taking a few choice turns that would lead us in meandering circles for a few minutes. "Probably someone from the Kill la Kill highschool. Ouran or something, I can't remember. That might be something else entirely. Whatever, they can follow if they like. Senketsu and I'll put a pounding on them if they try anything. If you don't end up mentally bitch-slapping them out of irritation."

I laughed at that imagery, "There are two ways to deal with a tail; try to shake them off if you think you can’t handle them in a fight, or if you think you can handle them make them think you don't know their there and let them make the first move. I like the second because I always like to work with more information."

"Okay then, can you create a doppelganger in their minds for our tails to follow?" she asked. "I'm going to turn left up here, just make them think I turned right and lead them on a merry little chase for a while."

My smile probably looked crazier than Pinkie's at this point, "That's actually more intensive than I usually allow myself, but not even an issue. Just one or would you like two?"

"No need to let them know exactly what's going on, Let them wonder what the hell happened." she stopped at the stoplight. I felt that the driver was getting antsy and wanted some action. I made the real us invisible to those inside the car following us, and simultaneously replaced us with an illusion, I made sure that the fake me pointed back at them. As the green light lit up the real us turned left but the fake us went right and swerved through traffic, driving manically as it was followed closely by a van. 

Ryuko looked back, surprised by the chaos, "The heck did you make them see? Us being maniacs? I hope they don't figure out no one else can see 'us' before we can get away..."

If it was possible, my smile went even wider, "The most powerful illusions are the ones we want to see. They wanted a high speed chase, so I gave them that."

"Bully for them," she stated, finally pulling into a parking lot. "Danny's..." she let out a low groan while looking at the sign above us. "It’s a freaking Denny’s. Not that I'm complaining, but someone should be suing. They better not serve instant eggs."

I face palmed, "I don't think IP laws hold for cross dimensional infringements. I think this is this universe's version of Denny’s. At least I can get plenty of food here. Plus I can get you up to speed on being a Displaced."

"About that," she started, as we walked into the restaurant. "This... marble thing. It's what let me call you, right? If I had one of these, yes table for two," Ryuko confirmed with the overly happy waitress.

"Anything I can start the happy couple off with?" she asked, a grin that was obviously trying to hide her hatred for this job.

"We're not, whatever. Can I get an iced tea?" she said.

"Just some milk for now" I said to the waitress without looking away from the menu. After the she left I said, still browsing the menu, "Yes others could call you for help, the trick is finding something that represents you to send out. After that you hold the item, say something like I did, ‘I'm blank, I do blank because blank, If you need help blank,’ then you let the void take it and send it to multiple universes. Of course the message is very flexible. You can add titles, or say what type of person you want to help and if they are against you morals you'll fight them, or you can say you'll help out anyone for a price, it's really up to you."

"So it's basically an answering machine on a dimensional string," she stated dryly. The the light bulb metaphorically lite up over her head, "Thread... so it should be something that represents me?" she asked as I returned a nod.

The waitress came back shortly, Ryuko's tea on tray and a short glass of milk for me. "Have you two decided what you're going to get yet?" she asked, her voice trying to hard to sound nice to veiled her contempt for this place.

"I can't say for my friend, but I'm not going to order anything off the menu. If at all possible, I'd like a pound steak, cooked medium."

"Uh," her smile faltered for a fraction of a millisecond. "Well, would you like a side of hashbrowns?"

"No, just the steak," Ryuko responded.

"Would you like anything on it? Our marinara sauce is simply-"

"No. Just the steak, PLEASE," Ryuko reiterated.

"Anything for me?" Senketsu joked.

"Actually, excuse my rudeness, can I get..." she paused thinking,  "A fruit bowl, mostly kiwi, pineapple and... banana slices?" The waitress wrote down furiously in her little pad thing, smiling all the while.

"And for you, sir?" she asked, turning to me.

"Let's see, I'll have the The Lumberjack Slap, The French Toast Slap, and extra bacon and hash browns on the side," I said, I then realized who large that was and added, "I'm... ah... running a marathon tomorrow."

"That all?" the waitress said sarcastically, obviously convinced I was not going to finish it all.

"No that should be all." I said rubbing the back of my head and smiling shyly as I handed her my menu.

"Well then, just sit tight, and we'll have that out for you two in a jiffy!" she sashayed away, humming to herself.

"You, me, bathroom, now?" she asked, getting up and making my way to the public restrooms. "It's not like our food is gonna be ready any time soon."

"I don't think that will help people's perception of us as a couple." I said with a chuckle getting up.

The thought clearly had just now occurred to her. "I... whatever. Let them think what they will. I need to give Senketsu some blood, and while I'm in that state you can run me through the marble making process. If I'm right, I should be able to make it from one of his strings and some of my blood, right?"

There was only a single unisex bathroom, that struck me as a little low class even for this place. She pulled me in after her, and locked the door so we could have some privacy.

"You really need to stop saying 'marble', it's called a token. Mine is just a round stone that looks like a cat's-eye marble." I said mostly mentally. 

"Oh. Okay. Token... that does sound cooler." she placed a hand to the knob on her gauntlet, she seemed to hesitate. "Okay, so you've seen snippets of Kill la Kill, right? So you know full well what’s going to happen. If you utter even one wise crack regarding Senketsu or how he looks on me or how I look wearing him, I will probably hit you in the face, just for principle's sake." Immediately she pulled off the knob, transforming into a very revealing outfit, I mean there was not very much left to the imagination.

"Okay, so how do I do this?" she asked.

"Well you said you were going to make your token. I might be able to help shape it if you'd like. Also, I don't see what the big deal is, if you think about it I'm almost always naked." I said with my hand in my hoodie. 

"Hey Senketsu?" she asked, "Can I get a single string? I'm going to cut it off, but you should be able to regrow it from my blood..."

"Gimmie a sec," he said, his fabric squirmed around on its own, then a single read thread appeared between Riku's fingers "There, you got it?"

She pulled on it and cut it off after about a foot. "Okay, so I just... concentrate on it and it happens?" she asked. "And Senketsu, try to draw as much blood from me as you can safely at the moment, I ordered some grub to help replenish what you take."

A blast of air came out of some vents on her back after a few seconds.

"Well you need to say something while concentrating on it to let the Displaced on the other end knows who you are and what type of Displaced you are Good, Evil, or Neutral." I clarified. 

"Okay." she held the string up to her mouth, biting her lip to let a line of blood fall into her hand. She stare intently at it. The string and the pooled blood glowed, slowly solidifying as she closed her eyes in concentration. She opened them again and said, "Hey assholes! Apparently there's a shit-ton of you guys out there, so  if you ever need someone with super strength -and a sword that can cut through anything, give me a call! I will of course be expecting compensation, I'm currently living out of a motel and every little bit helps..."

In her hand was a red scissor identical to the one she used earlier. Senketsu had also reverted to his normal state.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Drop it, or throw it, the void will do the rest." I said leaning against the sink.

She threw it at the wall, to my surprise it didn’t disappear and sunk deep into the wall.

"Did I... do something wrong?" she asked concerned.

I was still shocked, "Never seen this before, not that I've seen every Displaced make their token. If I had to guess I'd say push it down or in, or which ever way it naturally goes."

She pushed on it but it wasn’t going anywhere and was just physically in the wall nothing special.

"Shit... let’s get out of here," she said hurriedly, thrusting the scissors into my open hands. "Even if it is my fault I don't want them blaming it on us."

We made our way back to our table, the waitress obviously giving Ryuko a dirty look. Mostly the waitress was thinking about having to clean up after what ever we did in the bathroom, blaming Ryuko mainly, using some unflattering language. Time to have a bit of fun, I thought.

I smiled darkly as I walked over to her and said, "You know it takes two or more to tango." I winked at her and walked back to Ryuko. "I love messing with people like that." I said to her as I sat down.

"Oh god," she moaned in embarrassment, cupping her face in her hands. "Please don't tell me, I don't wanna know." She quietly sipped her tea, wondering where the food was to avoid certain types of thought.

I chuckled, "If The Chef is to be believed, it should only be three more minutes before the waitress can get it."

"The first portion, I assume?" she asked, obviously worried the sheer amount of food I ordered.

My eyes lit up as inspiration struck, "Well how ever much it is, we still have some time, so would you like to see a magic trick?" I said holding Ryuko's token in one hand.

"Sure. As long as it isn't a magic trick from the Joker. I don't think they'll bring us any more food after that," she joked.

I waved my other hand in front of scissor and it was gone, "Ta da, you're now officially summonable by other Displaced... Man that was way easier now that I know I can actually use Teleport."

She grabbed my hand by one finger, examining it in mock amazement. "Nothing up your sleeves, I presume?"

"Nope... You just wanted a look at my muscles, admit it." I said jokingly.

"I got more muscles than your skinny ass," she shot back. "Seriously, are your arms string spaghetti? They better hurry up with that food, if we don't get some in your state you might shrivel up into nothing."

I couldn't help but laugh, "Finally another person who can turn my jokes back on me. You should know that how strong I look has nothing to do with my true strength. And not even considering that, physical strength alone can only do so much, knowing how to use it is more important."

"My body can literally lift a thousand pounds... theoretically. According to the show's logic. Anyway, the girl on the show was shown doing impossible things regardless of her body size, so I know precisely well enough to not 'judge a book by the cover'. I mean, pretty much every big bad guy in the show can throw around buildings, eat them with a side of gravy, and digest them to create homemade projectiles. Somehow. The show gets crazy."

"I haven’t stress tested myself yet, but I took a hit meant to level a small town and still had enough juice to take that guy out and tear a hole in reality with a move not even intended to do something that complex. I did pass out afterwards but the point still stands.”

"Well, you are a Mewtwo," she said, "Isn't he like the most powerful pokemon in the mythos? I'll be honest that I don't know all that much about it what with all the other legendaries they kept pumping out for movie sequels, but he was the first one to top everyone else. That makes him canon in my book, and everything that came after him just money grubbing corporate sell outs. I mean did you see the abominations they made for White and Black? Giant ass white retardo chicken."

"For the longest time Mewtwo's stat total was the gold standard for highest potential, then they made Arceus and then he set that standard for a while. Now Mewtwo's mega evolutions are right on top with Mega Rayquaza." I sighed, "Though like I said in game stat total is more of a measure of potential then it is raw power."

"You can still basically rewrite reality, right? God tier," she was cut off as the waitress arrived with our food. She plopped down my steak, and three others laden with Medulla’s food. She then went off to get more of it. "At least in my opinion," Ryuko said, cutting off a piece and stuffing it in her mouth.

"I wish," I said mentally as I scarfed down my food, "I'm not quite strong enough to wipe something from history as an example, but that's mainly because it seems that every legendary has its domain. And in that domain they are almost unmatched, for me that's the mind, but to avoid the temptation and stigma surrounding total mind control and other such high level psychic stuff I prefer to stay within certain limits." I had already finished half my plate, " Although combat wise, I did go toe to toe with what might be considered a god of space. I don't think he was actually at full power, the stuff he was doing was very draining on his powers so he was fighting with his hands tied so to speak. I'm not even sure I killed him, it felt like he was about to die, but the universe ejected him before it actually happened."

"Damn. Would you have though?" she asked, "Killed him, I mean. If you had the choice."

I actually stopped eating for a moment to consider that question, "I still would have, but you decided for yourself. He's the reason the Crystal Empire disappeared in my universe, Sombra going insane just happened to occur before hand, he was trying to override my universe in a way that was slowly degrading it, and in his desperation in the fight he decided to try and completely flatten a nearby town full of innocent ponies who were already suffering from some of the effects of his metaphorical raping of the universe, and getting rid of him before he was finished would allow the universe to repair everything he did. Would you do anything to stop something from doing that and undue the damage already done?" I immediately started pigging out again.

"I'd kill someone like that in a heartbeat if it meant protecting someone innocent," she stated resolutely. "Honestly I'd prefer to stay within the 'grey margin' of violence, but I like to think that if I had to I could do what needed to be done. If I continue following the events of Kill la Kill, I'm going to end up leading someone to their death," she paused, she seemed to study my expression. "Spoilers. The main character's mother is the big bad evil guy. Final episode, instead of accepting defeat she reaches into her own chest, and tears out her heart. If I want to save this world, I'm more than likely going to have to go directly down that exact same path, and do nothing as she kills herself."

I gave her a reassuring smile, "The nice thing about being a Displaced is that sometimes you surpass the character you became. Many times knowledge of the future, or at least too narrow knowledge, leads to creating that future, like in the old myths. But other times, and these are very rare, and the future can be changed. In the first type the 'prophecy' sometimes takes itself into account and shows what will happen when it is acted upon, the second is when knowledge of the mostly likely future without intervention. The problem is figuring out which one is in effect, if it's the first you could drive yourself insane as you create what you tried to stop, if it's this second you could sit idly by while everyone drives the world into the ground when you could have stopped it. Honestly, I'd just do what comes naturally to me and damn the consequences, I live the way I want so I'll take whatever life throws at me because of that. Sorry for the lecture, I just think about this stuff a lot."

"So what you're saying is, I don't have to play by the script?" she asked, reaching around one of my plates to get to her salad bowl.

"When you boil it down, yes!" I said before really digging into my meal, I even used some subtle telekinesis to aid me.

I surprised myself with how fast I actually ate everything, the bill was larger than I expected, and Ryuko did tip generously. 

We left and got back on Ryuko's bike, she took a moment to check the location of the theater on her phone. A ten minute ride later, and we had paid for our tickets and had entered possibly one of the most poorly maintained theaters in existence, I made a small barrier between my butt and the seat because it was almost coated in a slime from years worth of fluids of several varieties, I hoped the theaters from my earth weren’t this bad.

"Not exactly the cleanest place, is it?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure even the cleanest theater would look horrific under a black-light." I said trying to ignore the filth.

The movie started, and the main character showed up on screen. "Oh god it IS Grease... guys a poor substitute for Travolta, though," she griped.

"Oh my, and their replacement for Olivia Newton-John... They do understand that she's supposed to be an sweet girl who's never metaphorically let her hair down."

We spent the next hour and fifty minutes mocking this movie, and just as the credits rolled I said, "Well the one thing that stays the same, the lesson: If the person who you find the most attractive currently doesn't like you the way you are, change everything about yourself."

"You know there’s actually a fan theory they're dead at the start of the movie? People speculate that they both drowned at the start, and them flying off into the clouds at the end represents them both escaping from purgatory. I know you're not supposed to try and apply logic to a musical, but if you did it would kinda explain why everything was so weird and... 'not making sense'. Then again..."

"I can't think of a greater punishment than being in high school into your thirties." I said laughing as I got out of my seat.

"Being stuck in kindergarten?" she suggested, following me out. "Although with that option you get afternoon naps. Anyone who doesn't appreciate a good nap is crazy."

I sensed someone that was obviously looking for us, "Someone is waiting for of outside the building, want to run or confront them?" I asked.

"What's their intention?" she asked curiously.

I focused on them and said, "I think information, but they seem violent."

"Violent? Is it the same people who were tailing us?"

"Maybe, but the person waiting is just one person, before it was several." I said.

"Can you get a name, at the very least?" she asked. "Male? Female? I'd rather confront them than not, but every little bit of information helps."

"Male, definitely male. I can give you a title, 'Boxing Club President'." I said shivering from the guys fervor.

"TAKAHARU FUKURODA!!!" she bellowed out, waving her arms above her head dramatically really shocking me from that seeming randomness. "I WILL MAKE YOU BLEED YOUR OWN BLOOD!" she turned back to me after her little outburst, "Did he hear that? If yes, how's he taking it?" she asked with.

"Yes, mostly confusion about how you knew his name. They won't let him in so let's go say 'hi' to our new friend." I said.

"Yeah, let’s!" she chirped. And then stopped. "Or I can just stop acting like a little girl. Whatever, don't care. Let’s go beat up a boxer!"

We made our way to the front of the theater, where a certain diminutive boxer stood waiting for us. They weren't letting him in, which was quite apparently starting to piss him off. This guy clearly had a temper to match his stature, oddly short.

"Oh, Haruuuuuuu?" she trilled, drawing his attention, "Didja get my text message?" she turned to me, "Or would that have been considered a voicemail?"

I smiled and said mentally, "Let's go somewhere less public, unless you want what comes next to get more attention."

"This shouldn't take too long, this guy's a pushover," she stated confidently.

Takaharu didn't take well to that, his cheeks burning red and his mouth twisted into a scowl. "You?Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you DARE to insult me so? Do you know who I am, little girl?"

"Takaharu. Nicknamed Shortstack because of... problems revealed one time at a public bath house," she said, simply trying to rile the shrimp up.

"It's not true, she's lying!" he yelled frantically, turning to and fro to tell as many people as he could, "It's perfectly normal sized, she doesn't know what she's talking about!"

"Boxing club president and part of Satsuki Kiryuin's hit squad. Not important enough to receive a three star suit, as evidenced by your lapel," she said, pointing a finger at the collar of his coat, where two angry red stars swam with blackened lines.

"Shut your mouth, little girl!" he yelled back at Ryuko.

"Wasn't that also one of your nicknames?" she probed.

"No! It isn't! Shut up! It doesn't matter who you are, I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" he dashed forward, calling out his attack like an idiot, though it is fun. "He moves into a right straight! But it's really a corkscrew!" he crowed. "TEK! KEN! FUN! SAI!" he called out, his glove seeming to blur into a twisting movement faster as it moved closer to Ryuko. There was something wrong, why was she wasting time this move that left him wide open. She flinched, I realized that she had nothing without her transformation, so I stepped it. Holding my hand towards Takaharu’s glove holding it in place, he struggling with his glove motionless in midair less than a couple inches away from Ryuko's face.

"What? I..." she turned towards me, and noticed what I’d done. "Uh... thanks?"

I pushed Takaharu back a few meters and told Ryuko, "This one's on the house." I brought Future Sight, Focus Punch, Mega Kick, and Aura Sphere to my battle list, as I walked between them. I then said to Takaharu, "I'll end this in three moves, then you'll be in a crater unconscious. But after all this is over, make sure to give a message to you boss, I won’t be here for long but Ryuko has me on speed-dial so play nice."

"I'll leave you in the dust in one, TEK-." the short boxer said.

But before he could finish talking, I teleported in front of him and yelled, "Mega Kick!", and kicked him in the crotch, calling out your moves is more fun when your opponent does it and waist time with the wind up. As he flew into the air, I teleported to where he would be in a few seconds, "standing" horizontally in the air. I closed my eye's and focused my strength in my right arm. Just before he reach me, I shouted, "Focus Punch" slamming him in the chest so hard the he almost broke the sound barrier. When he hit the ground there really was a crater. I landed next to the crater he was barely able to sit up, he asked legitimately scared, "How much life fiber?"

I laughed manically, "None, and to answer you next question, I'm not human." I showed him my Mewtwo form in his mind, and with that, I fired an Aura Sphere at him, knocking him out cold. I finished by teleporting his uniform off of him and giving it to Ryuko.

She took the shorts, shoes, and helmet in one hand throwing them up in the air and unfolding her scissor with her other hand in one fluid movement. She held it down to the side, as if she was holding a sheathed katana. She popped the knob from my glove, and before the transformation was even finished she had struck upward, rending the fabric into nothing more than broken threads. They were quickly absorbed by Senketsu, and she returned to her 'normal' self all in the span of five seconds.

"Nukitsuki, Sen-i-Soshitsu!" she exclaimed, turning back to me. "A movie and a quick bite to eat, you really know how to show a girl a good time, huh?" she joked.

I made sure to take a few important looking pieces of info from our naked unconscious friend. "I should hope so," I said then I realized that people from the van were back. "You can come out from wherever you’re hiding." I said in their minds

Before our old pursuers appeared I told Ryuko, "Rule one of fighting; Never underestimate the opponent, sub rules include; don't get caught monologuing and if you're going to get them angry be ready for them to fight stupid." 

"Right, got it," she snapped, blushing. "Don't do stuff the bad guys do in cartoons. Otherwise I might end up in the same boat they find themselves in. Got it."

"I've had trouble with that rule sometimes, but I'm working on it. Anyway our friends from the van are here." I said as the five individuals came consciously around the corner.

"Listen up, missy!" Applejack spouted, coming to the forefront of the group. "We all wanna know what the hay is goin on! What's with the imaginary you that disappeared when we caught up with it? Who the hay is that," she pointed an accusing finger at our newest little friend, the boxing troll who was still sprawled out on the ground. All the girls averted their eyes in unison, seeing as his willy was still waving in the breeze.

All of them except Fluttershy, surprisingly enough. She took one look, then looked straight back at Ryuko and me without batting an eye, not even a touch of red on her cheeks.

"Who the hay is he," Applejack thrust a finger towards me, "And how the hay did he do that?" she flung her arm back towards the naked shrimp.

"Don't mind Applejack, she lives around a lot of hay," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "But we still wanna know what's going on! Spill the beans, girly!"

Pinkie Pie was practically bursting at the seams, jittering about with a nervous energy and a smile that threatened to break her jaw.

"Don't you see Dashie?" she asked, bouncing in place, "It's so obvious! Ryuko is-"

"-From Equestria," Sunset suggested, her face brimming with determination.

"Nope!" Pinkie Pie chirped.

"She's an alien from outer space!" Applejack contributed.

"Noooooooope~"

"A robot?" Rainbow Dash asked uncertainly.

"...no."

"A transfer student?" Fluttershy hesitantly proposed. Her’s was the most boring proposal, get creative.

"Nope, well actually I guess she kinda is, but that's not how she can do the outfit thing~," She dug deep into her pockets, throwing a cloud of confetti above us. "Sheeeeeee's a magical girl!!"

Ryuko and I shared amused glances, before she started again.

"And he's... well, closest I got is he's a Super Sentai. Telekinetic powers, the ability to make us see a fake Ryuko on her bike, it's the only thing that really fits." She took a long hard look at me, taking it all in from my hat to my shoes. "Guess he isn't like the physical fighting kind, though."

"That's... I'm sorry Pinkie, but that's kinda dumb," Dash berated.

"I dunno," Ryuko looked to me, "I have an outfit that transforms, and with it I fight the forces of evil. Kinda loose on the description, but you have to admit it fits the character sheet pretty well," she admitted.

I was barely able to hold in my laughter, "I would have gone with generic shonen anime protagonist, buuuut..." I then began to alter the polymorph spell that I let the mirror place on me. I reasserted my normal form on the spell instead of the human alternate. I grew back to my full height, regained my tail and pink and purple skin, "I'm a monster of the pocket variety."

"But you look all big! There's nothing pocket about you!" Pinkie chirped happily, inspecting me from about three inches away. “He does kinda look like a digimon though, wouldn't you say?" she asked, turning to her friends. Each of them had varying expressions plastered across their faces.

"You mean that weird television show that was all the rage way back in elementary?" Rainbow scoffed.

Why must this world lack something so essential to me?, Not that I hate digimon, the anime was way better than the pokemon anime.

"I remember I had to get a pack of the cards, ma mom and pop said it were nuthin but foolishness," Applejack supplied, "They were right, of course, but back then ah wasn't as smart. I guess he does kinda look like that one... Agumon?" she asked.

I couldn't help but laugh even louder, "I could eat Agumon like a snack cake. So the word Pokemon means nothing to you... Meh, I've heard of and lived weirder. Ryuko can explain what we are if and when she feels like it, I've already given her the basic info on it." I scratch my chin, thinking if their was anything else important to do here, "Well unless you need anything else, I could hang around for a bit or you could send me home. As I understand it, if I leave now there's usually an exchange of gifts, but I don't think that's necessary this time."

"Oh, but I do so love gifts!~" she trilled playfully, punching me softly in the shoulder.

"Fine," I sighed as I pulled out a highly polished claw, "You can have this Quick Claw. If you keep it on you, you'll be able to attack slightly quicker."

Somehow Pinkie managed to swipe the claw from my hands before I could react.

"Ooooooh, shiiiiny~" she cooed.

"Pinkie you don't need that. You're speed is already stupidly high." I monotoned.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiny~" she retorted, waving it in front of my face.

I groaned, pulled out the Amulet Coin holding it out of her reach, I had no use for it anyway, and said, "If I give you this, you give Ryuko the claw, understand?"

"Does this mean we're dating?" Pinkie asked, a look of complete innocence stamped across her mug. "A boyfriend gets their girlfriend jewelry, right?" she said with a wide, trollish smile.

I set my head in my hands and responded, "No, for three reasons. I'm over one thousand years old. I am physically incapable of feeling that way. And this is more like a trade."

Pinkie pie responded by fake crying, throwing her hands up to cover her face as she started to blubber, "We haven't even gone on one date and you're already breaking up with me? I thought we had somethiiiiing!"

"Why me?" I muttered. I then turned back to Ryuko, "Want me to stay a bit longer, or should I just go and let you explain everything?"

"Actually, if you could teleport my motorcycle and myself back to my hotel so that they can sit here and stew," she asked as she snatched the claw out of Pinkie Pie's hand, "That'd be wonderful. Nothing against you girls," she said, cutting off Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer before they could get a word in, "Today has just been such a relaxing day, and I really don't want to spoil it any more than it has been."

"Done," I said snapping my fingers, and we were suddenly in a hotel parking lot.

Pinkie Pie managed to steal the amulet coin just before I teleported... somehow. "Well fuck me if that isn't uncomfortable," she complained, holding her stomach, not used to the sensation of teleportation. "Thanks for that, by the way. Wouldn't do to give them all the answers right off the bat, where's the fun in that?"

"Now I need to get back to the throne room, all you need to say is 'Medulla our contract is complete.' I also hope you find a way to go against the script." I said as I smiled.

"Script?" she asked, holding out a hand. "Screw the script. I'm going to turn everything on its head, make it go crying back to its momma... if metaphorical sheets of paper with ink on them detailing a plot line can actually have a mother..." she broke out of her musing and thrust her hand at me, for some reason. "It truly was a pleasure having you. If you ever need a friend to talk to, feel free to give me a call. Seems like you don't really need any help on the combat side, but if you ever want any all ya gotta do is call me up and ask."

"I enjoyed this too, if I need you help I'll call. You feel free to do the same. Oh and the transformation spell from the mirror is gift enough."

"Wait, you still have that?" she asked, still holding her hand out, awkwardly . "I thought it wore off at the movie theatre..."

"What? No, it's a spell that the mirror applies to you every odd number of times you go through, and removes every even number of times. I just alter its perimeters and I can shapeshift between human and Mewtwo, I'll test it more later. But it takes more concentration than I could afford in battle, and it doesn't change my powers so it's not even close to what Transform should do."

"Are you just avoiding the handshake?" she joked waving her hand up and down in front of me, I was somewhat surprised that I forgot about handshakes. "Don't make me go Pinkie Pie on your ass, I will find some way to annoy you to death."

I laughed, "Sorry, here..." I held out my hand.

The handshake was vigorous but friendly, "Again, it was good to meet you. I'd be more than willing to call you a friend. Medulla," she declared, raising her other hand above her head in a dramatic gesture, "Our contract is complete!"

"A little melodramatic but works fine," I said as the portal began to swallow me. "I almost forgot, the boxer knew that Rarity was in Japan, and something about rumors of working five-star's," I said just before the portal took me completely.

As I traveled I focused on the thought, “A whole new world” and trying to ignore all the insanity of the nothing around me, I did get a little distracted when I thought about the other parting gift I left her, Sweet Dreams, Ryuko, I thought to myself.

Surprisingly, I actually arrived back at my home Equestria as I left, I was aiming for a few minutes after but the shock on their faces was glorious.

“Sorry, but until I’ve dealt with the threat I know is already at our doorstep, I must decline the position. Even if I could build an army over the next few decades, there is no way I could prepare them for what’s coming. This threat is too powerful and too different from anything you know.” I started and teleported away before they could argue. 
This feels like the calm before the storm. Arceus may have some reason for doing this shit, but he is going to pay. I thought as I returned to Golden Oaks Library and continued on with what was left of this day, visiting Berry Punch’s orchard, high gravity training with Rainbow, and doing a bit of intense practice on my own away from anyone I might hurt.