AN: You guys thought it would take long? Bet you didn't expect this one to come so soon! It is with great satisfaction that I proudly present to you the second part of "Sasori", brought to you by Wyvern and Alvor the Warhawk!

Alvor: Quick warning guys and girls and attack helicopters, I'm a man of extremes. I'm as much a sucker for romance and emotional bonding as things that would get be banned from the internet. For this chapter, I've ended up writing far too much mushy stuff. And exposition. But even that was mushy too. So I'm the faggot, not the dude who has a white dragon for a profile picture.

Wyvern: Not all of us can have an edgy profile name such as "Warhawk". Still, reviews are welcome, as are any comments you might have on our writing style and the plot as long as they are constructive.

Alvor: Also, Wyvern is a big wanker. And Taylor is my waifu, because I say so.

Wyvern: Oh you wound me so. How can I keep on living…(heavy sarcasm).

Alvor: Gods above and below know, either way, on with the show!

Chapter 1: Hero Creation Kit!

Taylor wolfed down another sandwich.

She'd called her dad, told him that she needed to speak to him when her got off work, and to hurry straight home. Of course, he'd been worried. Thought that there had been an emergency of some kind. Fortunately, Taylor had been able to talk him down and convince him that while it was very, very important, it wasn't an emergency.

So things could be much, much worse.

She'd taken that shower, brushed her teeth twice, and then come down stairs. Pretty straightforward. Nothing too strenuous. Then, she'd noticed her stomach was cramping. And she was hungry.

Under normal circumstances, she could put it away with the best of them.

However, in the two hour wait for her father she'd gone through what was left of the lasagna, three sandwiches ranging from ham to PBJ to a BLT she'd popped in the toaster oven, and an entire bag of BBQ flavored potato chips.

Who knew spawning a horde of mutant insects would work up such an appetite?

As she threw away her trash, and started eyeing the fridge again, Taylor heard her dad's truck pull up the driveway. Taking a deep breath, she brushed a few crumbs off her shirt and went through her plan one last time.

'Ok. Dad's not gonna be happy. But I've gotta make sure he understands why this is so important. And hopefully not scare him too much.'

Turning around she fixed two cups of coffee, both black, just how her dad liked it.

After hearing a key jingle in the door lock, it always took a bit of work to get it open, and the squeaky step let out a bit of noise she heard her dad call out. "Hey, Taylor, I'm home."

"In the kitchen Dad!"

As he came in, Danny walked over to Taylor and gave her a tight hug and kissed her on the head. "Hey kiddo. So, you said you needed to talk to me about something important?"

Hearing the worry in her dad's voice made her feel a bit guilty. She didn't mean to make him worry after everything they went through earlier that week, but needs must. The earlier she could tell him about her trigger and new powers, the better. Never mind the fact that it would be massive abuse of his trust. Not just that she had powers, but that she'd have to go around behind his back to be a hero. She couldn't keep all of this a secret from him, not when she could keel over any moment now and spit out a swarm again.

Speaking of swarms. Taylor could feel her's picking up her nervousness. Knowing it would be best to get it over with she took a sip of her coffee and began speaking, building up as much courage as she could. This was it, no time for second guessing.

"Yeah, dad. It's, uh, it's pretty important. I triggered during….during the Incident." She winced. Even after everything that had just happened. Just talking about it still hurt a bit.

Danny's eyes bugged out, but he continued drinking from the cup of coffee Taylor had given him right after they'd stepped apart.

After a minute or so, he sat his now empty cup down. "Ok. I suppose that's not-" He grimaced. "Unreasonable. Considering what you went through." She could tell he was forcing himself not to explode into a thousand and one questions at the top of his voice.

She really appreciated it, too. The last thing she wanted was to lose her nerve now that the cat was already out of the bag.

"Yeah. I, um" Her mind stuttered for a bit, lost as to how to continue. "Do you want another cup?"

Fortunately he got the cue and took a deep steadying breath, pinching the bridge of his nose to stop what he could feel was the start of a migraine. It wouldn't really help much but it was enough to keep him focused on the present; rather than letting the fact his daughter was parahuman cause him to clam up.

"Sure, Taylor." He smiled at her reassuringly. "I know this can't be easy for you. So take your time. Do what you think is best."

Having his permission, Taylor figured it would be a bit crazy sounding if she tried to explain to him that she could vomit up and control mutant bugs. Even for a cape. So she called the swarm into the room.

"Everyone, come on inside. Umm…Form up around me."

Hearing his daughter speak, Danny looked up from his second cup of coffee. When he saw the black cloud of insects flow in from the hallway he almost choked on his drink. He gave a startled cough, watching as the veritable swarm pooled around his daughter almost like an aura of sorts.

A chill ran down his spine.

It was both beautiful and terrifying, in a way. To see powers from so up close when all he had known as his life were videos and second-hand pictures of heroes and villains tearing up the city. This was raw and controlled, Danny could see the ever slight frown on his daughter's face. She had to put some effort into controlling so many bugs.

"So you can control insects. That's uhh...what kind of power is that?" Danny was not nearly as much of a scholar when it came to capes as Taylor was, it seemed.

But that was fine; it meant he wasn't likely aware of the unfortunate connotations behind Taylor's rather unsettling ability.

Ironically, it was 'just' bug control.

"I'm a Master. Maybe a Tinker, too. I, uh. I make new ones by vomiting them up." Taylor ended her statement with a wince. She was the one with the power but even she thought that aspect was rather gross. Although, to be perfectly fair, she could think of at least one or two capes with worse conditions.

There was that one guy who could sweat knockout gas, but wasn't immune to it. Or that one girl that could control hair, but had to cut it after growing it every time. She could perhaps settle for the second one, if only to avoid being labelled the next Nilbog.

Danny closed his eyes. "When it rains, it pours, I suppose. At least you aren't another Heartbreaker or Nilbog."

When Taylor paled, quite a bit too, Danny knew he'd goofed. He quickly activated a set of skills that had benefited himself as a father, a husband, and the head of the Dockworkers Union. Swiftly reviewing the end of the conversation he realized she'd paled when he said Nilbog. And- "Oh shit, I'm sorry Taylor. You're not another Nilbog."

"I know Dad. Objectively. Maybe. But I make my own creations. And I'm pretty sure I qualify as a Bio-Tinker. Maybe even a low Thinker rating. I don't understand everything. But, when I swallowed a bug I realized I had access to a new set of genes." It had been rather disgusting now that she thought about it, but she was still too shocked to notice back then.

Quirking an eyebrow, Danny stood up straighter. "A new set of genes?" Eyes widening he understood at least a fraction of the implications.

"Well. Shit. Let's go sit down. And, if you don't mind, send your bugs back outside? I want you to start from the beginning and, well, it's a bit awkward with them all just hovering there."

Blushing, Taylor did just that.

"Sure Dad. I suppose it would be best to sit down. There's a lot I don't understand myself."

Danny took Taylor's empty cup, warily eyeing the still present swarm, and placed them in the sink and rinsed them out. A few moments later, after the bugs had flown outside, the two sat down and Taylor began to speak.

[Scouting the Battlefield]

The pair had spoken at great length, with Taylor doing more than a little venting, and demonstrating quite a few small tricks. But, eventually, they moved on to headier topics. Like the current state of Brockton Bay. Thankfully, Taylor had quickly used the power of Google, and referenced a few bookmarked PHO threads, to pull up what amounted to 95% of the publicly available information on the gangs and capes in the bity.

"So." Taylor started. "Our first order of business is to establish who the big players of Brockton Bay are. Who are our friends and who will be our enemies!" She stood before a large map of the Bay, which had been visibly painted over, with different symbols and colored sections.

Pointing to a section large section in the North East, roughly colored blue, Taylor began.

"Here we have our homefront, the Docks. This is the area we must strive to protect and hold above all others. Unfortunately it is currently being occupied by some of the worst trash of society, the Merchants." At this, she saw her father bristle. She knew he hated this particular gang over all others from just how often they acted up. Having trigger happy junkies as well as insane capes running around was bad for business; and dad being the head of the Dockworkers Union meant he had to deal with their shit almost daily.

Danny snorted. "A greater hive of scum and villainy and all that rot."

Taylor thought her dad was more right than he knew.

"They're a cancer."

She saw her father quirk an eyebrow. A universal gesture to continue.

"Well, not only do they push a hell of a lot of drugs, their product tends to be crap that's more likely to be rat poison then coke. But they also generally make the place worse. Not just graffiti, but they leave a lot waste products like needles, alcohol containers, and cigarette butts all over the place. Add in the fact they tend to not care about maintaining the properties they squad in, and, well, just by their presence they depress the Docks."

Danny gave a whistle of appreciation. "Well done Little Owl, I always knew you had your mom's heart, but, and I'm not joking when I say this, you've got her head too. Two other big things though. Because a lot of their crime is violent, insurance premiums are up and property values are down. That means a lot of businesses simply can't operate here. They'd never break even. And you also have to remember that the fact there's no stores, means no jobs. So more people get desperate. And desperate people do desperate things. Not just joining a gang. But things like alcohol and drug consumption go up. And while drinking a beer doesn't make you beat your wife or shoot your husband, it can lead to a lot of other issues through a combination of other factors."

Taylor, flush with a warm glow at her father's praise, listened raptly. While there weren't really any children in Brockton Bay, you grow up way too fast for that, adults still tended not to treat teenagers like they were capable of using their heads. And while her dad had never spoken down to her, the fact he was treating her like such an adult meant a lot to her.

"I think I understand. Basically, because things are hard, people are under stress, so they act out more. It's a cycle, right?"

At her father's nod, Taylor continued.

"Next, we have their capes. Originally, they were lead by Skidmark, allegedly the kind left by tires, in truth, it's because he just doesn't wipe!" Danny snorted a laugh. Skidmark was a vicious idiot. He was much, much more dangerous before the Meth got to him. Even if he was more likely to stab someone now.

"But, ever since Kaiser and Oni Lee humiliated him, two new capes, Vomit and Bleeder, started to show up. After about a week it got out that Skidmark was missing an eye and those two were in charge now. As far as anyone can tell Vomit is capable of violently spewing a mass of sticky mucus. Supposedly it can break bones and Vomit can control its velocity. Notably it's strong enough to hold down mid level Brutes without issue. Bleeder, on the other hand, is a Shaker capable of causing low level bleeding on a large scale. There's at least one report of her being able to tie up more than a thousand people by targeting a mall."

The senior Hebert spoke up. "They're nasty. But, ironically, the fact they're even more violent than that washed up meth head means that the ABB and E88 stopped fighting long enough to turn on them. It even took a bit of pressure off the Union. A lot of our boys aren't getting hassled nearly as much."

Taylor sighed. "Is it too much to ask that they wipe each other out? Or that the PRT at least uses the opportunity to make some major arrests? I mean, the vikings used something like this to wipe out a bunch of Gaelic nobles!"

With a grim bark of a laugh, Danny sighed. "In Brockton Bay? Not a snowball's chance."

Sadly nodding, Taylor continued. "Either way, the Merchant's have two more capes. Squealer and Mush. All together, they have five known, active parahumans. A surprisingly low number considering the amount of territory they hold. That said, their utter lack of regard for human life and the fact everyone already hates them means they don't really hold back. If I remember correctly, they're involved in the highest number of violent crimes of all the gangs, even if it's the ABB with the highest alleged body count. Year on year, at least."

She pointed to the red section located to the northwest.

"And speaking of them, here's the territory of the ABB. Lead by Lung. They are infamous, and marginally more reliable, drug dealers and human traffickers known for being extremely territorial. Lung has managed to fight off the local Protectorate heroes by himself on more than one occasion, due to his overwhelming power; that is to turn into a fire-breathing dragon." Needless to say, she would make it a point to avoid the Dragon of Kyushu for the foreseeable future.

With a wry smile, Taylor continued. "Like the Merchants, the ABB have at least one Tinker. Bakuda, who is known to have a personal vendetta against Squealer, specializes in bombs as opposed to the vehicle based creations of her erstwhile rival. However, unlike the Merchants, the ABB's other capes are quite a bit more directly nasty, if less effective at crowd control. Tae Kwon, Oni Lee, and Devi. All three are nasty. Oni Lee is a suicide bombing teleporter, Tae Kwon is a combat Thinker with a low Brute rating and extremely high end martial art skills, and Devi is some kind of Striker who could destroy anything she touched. Devi, in particular, is dangerous. Rumors abound that she's a Blaster, too. And that she only keeps that hidden to make sure she has an ace in the hole."

Taylor stopped for a moment and stepped into the kitchen to get something to drink. It was starting to get a bit dark so she figured she could get started on dinner while continuing.

"Hey, Dad, come on in here. We'll keep talking while I start on dinner. How's tacos sound?"

"Sounds good kiddo. You need any help?"

"Not really. I've had the ground beef defrosting for a while, so I think it's ready to cook up now. The usual spices?"

Danny shot her an offended look. "Of course! It's not good unless your eyes are watering!"

Taylor giggled. "Dad, you're so weird."

Walking over the fridge, Danny responded. "Of course. Where do you think you got it from."

As he sipped a beer and Taylor fired up the stove, they both reflected.

This kind of thing hadn't happened in a while. The two of them just talking and laughing and teasing. For Taylor she was actually considering that, if it gave her, her dad back, then, well, maybe the Incident wasn't so bad. For Danny, he was regretting that it took the attempted murder of his baby girl for him to actually sit up and pay attention.

"Hey Taylor." Waiting for Taylor to look up from cutting a few peppers, Danny looked her in the eye. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course Daddy. And I love you too. What brought this up?"

"Nothing. I just realized I don't tell you that nearly enough."

Taylor took a moment, making sure the meat wasn't burning in the pan. After that she sat down with her dad and took his hands in her own.

"What's done is done. All we can do is look towards the future. Yeah?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. So, who's next? I suppose the Empire?"

Taylor stood up and went back to cooking, this time mixing a few previously cut onions, a bit of garlic, and the peppers she'd prepared with the meat, planning to cook the lot together. Really seal in the flavors.

"Yup. The E88, our resident Neo Nazi trash. They mostly hold the middle of the city, the financial districts, which are south of the ABB, who are in the North West and north of the Gentry. Because of the fact that Kaiser and Iron Rain are strong enough to hold back a LOT of people, the ABB is hesitant to fight them. On the flip side, the E88 have zero interest in dying against the Gentry. So, a vague ceasefire has occurred in the area. At the moment, the Empire and the ABB want to push the Merchants towards the coast, before wiping them out entirely. If I remember correctly, this started after a Merchant cape shot Iron Rain in the back and Oni Lee delivered the woman's head. Fucked up. But, it was enough for Iron Rain to, in a rage, nearly bring a kill order down on herself."

Speaking up, Danny recalled how terrified he'd been that day. "I remember hearing the explosions over at the Docks. She levelled two or three blocks. The PRT were head hunting after her for a month. More's the pity they didn't get her."

"Considering she, along with Kaiser, make two of the nastiest Shakers in town it's lucky the PRT didn't lose any capes of their own. Not to mention the sheer laundry list of capes those guys have. Fenja, Menja, Crusader, Hookwolf, Purity, Night, Fog, Alabaster, Stormtiger, Cricket, Krieg, Victor, Othalla, and Rune. Add to that the fact that PHO is convinced they have at least one more Brute who's probably also a Blaster, both pretty high rankings, hidden somewhere, and, well. It's probably only the fact that Alexandria herself came down on Iron Rain back during all that, that kept them from seizing the city."

Danny shook his head. "Jesus, sixteen capes. Maybe seventeen? That's more than most cities. More than a couple states, now that I think about it."

Nodding, Taylor responded. "Yeah. Allegedly, Kaiser managed to negotiate with Gesellschaft over in Europe and more than a few smaller out of town gangs to get that many capes. The fact that they're actually a rising political faction here helps lend an air of legitimacy to them, too. They promise safety, and, so far, they've actually managed to keep their territory intact."

With a snort and a dismissive wave of his hand Danny motioned for Taylor, who had turned to look at him while speaking, to continue.

"The last group, and do you want your shell fried, are the Gentry." Stopping, Taylor pulled out a roll of soft shells.

"Yeah. Go ahead and make two or three for me."

"Gotcha. Anyways, the Gentry, lead by Marquis, are the oldest of the current crop of gangs. Or at least, they've been important for the longest. They hold the south west of the city, just below the E88 and west of the PRT. They've got the Lady, the Vizier, the Seamstress, Sable, and Faerie as their most common members. On the surface, they have, without question, the most diverse range of capes in the city, being a Striker, two Masters, a Shaker with Trump and Stranger ratings, and a nasty, nasty Stranger all in their ranks. Add to that, they've been seen with a pair of unnamed capes running about with one being a Mover and the other a likely Tinker, and you've got a lot of solid reasons for why no one fucks with the Gentry."

In a way, Brockton Bay was like a delicate ecosystem with its own balance of power. The big players liked to remain on top and the smaller factions moved in the cracks between them. Unfortunately, with so many large factions, there were very few rogues and minor groups, aside from two very significant ones.

"Daddy, would you get the plates down while I get the food ready, I think there's also a bit of salad still in the fridge, grab that too, please."

"Sure. Do you want tea or apple juice, I think it's still good?"

"Tea please!"

For a few minutes the Hebert household was quite, save for the sounds of clinking cutlery and an ambulance in the distance. Once they both had a number of tacos properly dressed and on their plates, a small salad with a few fresh cherry tomatoes, courtesy of a gift from Lacey, and glass of tea and another bottle of beer for Taylor and Danny respectively they sat down and dug in.

After both were a good ways through their meal, Danny spoke up. "Well done Taylor. This is great. I suppose it's a good thing you're so talented at cooking since your power seems to have upped your metabolism so much."

"Thanks. I learned a lot from Mom's cook books…."

Before things could turn morose, Danny jumped in. "So, those are all the major gangs. But isn't there two or three smaller groups around the place? I think I heard something about a Coil? A snake themed villain at least."

Mumbling around a mouthful of taco meat Taylor responded. "Yeah. 'gulp' Coil is out to the west of the Bay proper. He's loosely, and I do mean loosely, considered neutral. Technically speaking, he's an arms dealer and information broker. Supposedly, he's got six or seven capes which are an even mix of Thinkers and Tinkers. He's taken great pains to keep their powers well hidden. And his own are so well hidden a lot of people think he's actually not a cape."

Danny shook his head. "I doubt that. Normal people have big enough egos that they're damn near impossible to keep in line. If what you said is true then there's no way Coil isn't a cape. I just can't see him building an organization like that otherwise."

"I'll defer to you on that Dad. But yeah. Coil has made a lot of money and has a lot of soft power. When he needs muscle he contracts out to Faultline's Crew. They're the group of Case 53s that were on the news last Tuesday."

Hming thoughtfully, Danny, with a slight hint of confusion, opened up with a question.

"Don't they mostly work for the Gentry? I'm sure they were making a showing against the Empire. That's what was on the news. The fact that nearly twenty capes were about to rumble. Heck, Anderson was thinking of getting his family out of town."

Taylor shook her head. "That's a common misconception. Faultline's boys and girls are mercs, through and through. They'll work for anyone, hero or villain, if they pay. The PRT has hired them more than once."

"Really? I suppose that's better than just working for villains." Danny sighed. If one wanted to live in Brockton Bay, a certain degree of situational awareness was required. He had heard some nasty stories about people who moved into town only to step on the wrong people's toes and get splattered all over the sidewalk.

It was one of the reasons why the rest of the country tended to ignore their little cosy hellmouth.

On that grim thought Danny let the discussion drop, he and Taylor focusing on their meal. While they worked together for cleanup they made small talk. Danny asking how her first day of homeschool went and Taylor making sure he was ok with leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Eventually, they settled back into the living room, deciding to finish up their earlier discussion. Danny nursing a cup of decaf and Taylor a glass of warm tea with lemon.

"Now." Taylor's voice snapped him back into focus. She was pointing to a green area of the map. "Up next we have the area held by the PRT, mostly the administrative center of the Bay. The local protectorate is actually very well staffed when compared to other cities, with experienced heroes like Armsmaster and Miss Militia along with other famous ones like Assault, Battery, Dauntless, Triumph, Challenger and Velocity. Not to mention the Wards. In short, they've earned their designation of PRT East by North East"

The Wards were heroes under the age of eighteen that worked for the Protectorate in exchange for protection and help in developing their powers. She didn't know all the details but it was supposed to be a good deal for most would be heroes. Obviously, she had zero desire to involve herself with drama or political bullshit. Taylor wanted to help people.

"That's a lot of capes too. Why don't we see them cracking down on villains as often if they have so many?" Taylor preened in pride. Her dad was asking more questions out of interest, not just out of worry for her but because he was genuinely curious about their local parahuman situation.

As she was a proud cape geek, Taylor was all too happy to answer.

"It has to do with the way they operate. The PRT is obligated, by US law, to deploy parahuman help whenever a cape is causing trouble. So even their impressive line up can be stretched thin most days. It's a numbers game. At best, there are likely 3 if not 4 villain capes for every single hero." There was also a myriad of smaller factors like the Wards not being deployed for situations deemed too dangerous for them, or that the local PRT normally took a defensive stance when it came to holding territory.

Never actively attacking, only reacting to threats and the fact that they were almost never allowed to use lethal force meant that they were hamstrung from the beginning.

It was similar to how the Gentry handled their business, only they didn't have to spread their capes all over town, thus leaving a whole lot of cracks for enemies to slip through.

"So, the simple explanation is that PRT simply can't deal with the villains?"

Taylor made a so-so gesture. "For normal day to day operations, the PRT is great. But, unfortunately, more heroes die than villains. Even when accounting for the differences in behavior between them, things like the SH9 and the Endbringers can kill as much as twice as many heros. So, at the end of the day, the PRT takes greater losses and has a smaller pool of talent than the rogues, or independents, and villains. Even vigilantes, in terms of absolute numbers, can match, if not exceed, heros."

Danny, somewhat distressed, spoke up. "But what about the Brigade? I know they've been fighting tooth and nail to hold the Eastern shanty towns. I've heard a lot about their work."

Eagerly nodding, Taylor continued. "That's true, but you forget. They're independents themselves. However, I do admit the Brockton Bay Brigade has done a lot of good work. However, with the defeat of more than half of them at the hands of the Marquis alone and near death of Fleur means that they've lost a lot of respect and influence. And with the PRT leveraging concessions from them every time Glory Girl hurts a civilian they basically exist at the Protectorate's discretion."

"So the PRT has a lot of experience with troublesome powers?"

Taylor froze up and took a deep breath. She knew this would come up eventually. She realized that, obviously, her dad would want her to join the PRT. It was the, relatively, safest option for a young hero as the PRT required parental consent for Endbringer fights. And the PRT never let Wards fight S class threats. Throw in the fact that Alexandria had, twice, killed villains for kidnapping and torturing Wards, and, well, they were pretty safe. Unless they got shot by a junky, at least.

Taylor nodded to herself. She had to be firm, even if she really didn't want to fight. "I'm not joining the Wards dad."

Instead of getting angry, like she expected him to do, Danny just nodded his head and, in an incredibly even tone, spoke. "Of course not. You've been abused and neglected by all authority figures in your life. It would be patently unreasonable for me to demand you give up what little autonomy you have in exchange for the chance to just be let down again."

She grimaced. "Dad, a lot of stuff has happened, but I don't want you to beat yourself up over it. I could see you included yourself in there, I saw your eyes tighten and your jaw twitch. That always happens when you're upset. But, thank you for accepting responsibility and thank you for being so polite. But I'm not joining the Wards. For those reasons and more."

"Ok. We're at an impasse. So let's do this. You're nearly a grown woman. If you so chose, you could bear a child." Danny let the annoyed look he shot her show his displeasure at the idea. Taylor rolled her eyes. "You can get a job, drive a car, and pay taxes. It hasn't escaped my notice that you've also been taking care of the house, dealing with Winslow, and keeping me fed for the last year and a half. Taylor, you'll always be my baby girl, but you've grown up on me. And it's only right I treat you like an adult."

It was obvious to Taylor how serious her dad was. He usually wasn't one for speeches. Indeed, he was rather laconic. But when he said something, he meant it. And with the way he spat Winslow out, he considered her to have dealt with something rather intense.

"Alright Dad. How do you want to do this, then?"

"Well, instead of blowing up at each other and getting into a nasty, knock down, drag out fight. We could, if it's not too simple, act like adults and talk this out. We'll give our reasons and try to wrangle up something vaguely acceptable to the both of us. I'll even go first. Of course, if you'd much rather we can get the police called on us for a domestic dispute?"

Taylor giggled. 'Ok. Dad's being not just nice, but, Hell, I think he actually respects me. Enough to treat me like an equal. I suppose there was a silver lining to Winslow in the end.'

"Nah, I'd rather not have to spend a night sleeping on concrete, thank you very much!"

Danny laughed at this. "Alright sweetheart. If you say so. Anyways, my concerns are manifold. But I'll focus on the big three. First, safety. Second, supplies. Third, training. Working on your own gets you none of that. And while I'd be more than happy for you to stay home and let your powers be a pretty gross party trick, I'm not even stupid enough to try for that. Instead, I want you to do the best you can. Unfortunately-" Here he let some of his shame slip through "powers or not, I've already shown I can't protect you. And even if I broke the bank I doubt I could afford to get you anything more than a .22 and the cheapest vest out there. Never mind anything that could actually protect you."

Taylor blanched. "Well. First off, do you really think I'd need a gun?"

He stared at Taylor. After a few seconds of awkward shuffling on her part, Taylor spoke up. "Yeah. This is Brockton Bay. I guess that was a bit silly, heh heh…."

Eyebrow cocked, he let the stare linger for a bit more before snorting and gesturing for Taylor to continue.

"Alright. I admit the Bay is hardly the best place for a cape. But I think, maybe, a stun gun and pepper spray would be the most that be smart to carry. I have no idea how to use a gun, never mind-." Taylor stopped herself.

'Sigh. Training. Damn, he thought this through.'

"Never mind not knowing how to actually fight. But I was hoping I could rely on my bugs. With maybe a day or two I think I know how I can really improve my library of genes. And even then, my control is incredibly fine. I don't plan on actually fighting anyone head on."

"The best lain plans of bugs and women."

Her brow twitched. "Dad…."

Danny felt his 'Father' instincts spike. "Yeeees, my most beautiful daughter?"

"Did you just mutilate a famous quote to be glibe?"

Knowing he was cornered, Danny did the smart thing. "Of course not, my most beloved and precious treasure. Why would I do that?"

"Grooooooooan. Dad. You're so weird." Giggling, Taylor buried her face in her hands.

Letting out a few chuckles, Danny let out a sigh. "Little Owl, I suppose, in the end, I'm scared. It terrifies me what could go wrong. Not to be dark, but, the obvious things are just that. So you can see why I don't want you to do this?"

Taylor gave a slow nod. She'd gone to Winslow. And she wasn't stupid. Very, very bad things tended to happen to girls when things went badly. "I understand that. I really, really do. But I can finally do something. Make a difference. So, even with that possibly being as disturbingly likely as it is. I have to do something. Otherwise….otherwise Winslow was all for nothing."

Danny slowly nodded in understanding. "I get what you're saying. At least I think I do."

He stood up and walked over to Taylor. She stood up and they hugged for a bit.

"You're afraid that the PRT is going to use and abuse you, that the Wards are just going to be more drama. And all you want to do is be a hero."

Sitting back down, Taylor continued. "Yeah. But, at the end of the day I just can't bring myself to trust them. I mean, could I maybe try going out as an independent? Just for a week?"

Danny considered it. He had zero desire to make an ultimatum and Taylor sneak around as a cape behind his back. And that was inevitable. She might not wear her heart on her sleeve, but Taylor was a creature of strong passions. 'Just like her mother.'

His eyes softened.. "Maybe. How about this. Let's do a bit of prep work, I'll see about getting you some pepper spray, and, if nothing else, train you up for a little while. Tony, one of the boys down at the docks, has a brother who's a sergeant in the Protectorate. We can see about getting him to come talk to you, in a strictly non official capacity. Then, after that, maybe we talk about you going out on your own for a bit. Ok?"

Taylor, just happy that she was being treated like an adult, nodded her agreement. "Ok for now. But don't think I'll be happy if this is one of those times where 'we'll talk about it' means 'no, and stop bugging me'."

He couldn't help it, Danny laughed. "Of course not Little Owl. I wouldn't dream of doing that to you. Not after that I time you were eight and I tried to put off discussing your birthday party. I think my ears are still ringing from the dressing down you gave me!"

Blushing, Taylor shook her head. "God, you're so embarrassing. 'sigh' But I do love you Dad 'Yawn' For now though, I think I'm gonna go get a shower and go to bed."

Standing up she kissed Danny on the cheek and walked off. "Night Dad."

"Night, Little Owl."

That night, Daniel Hebert sat down with a photo album and, knowing he had work tomorrow, still took the time to remember better times. And hope and pray that, whatever the future held, it was going to be bright for Taylor.