You woke tied to a chair in the same workshop you passed out in. Drool sliding down your chin. Your sunglasses and hat aren't with you anymore. The man who you knocked out is holding smelling salts in front of your face. You immediately understand you've been caught.
With no time to lose you use your power to reverse time. like usual time stops and unfolds backwards, however when your eyes close you just wake back up. You can't go back to when you were awake! Of course in hindsight, it makes sense you've been unconscious for more than minutes, but you've only ever viewed time subjectively.
"Good you're awake now. So maybe, you can tell me what. you. thought. you. were. doing!" He yelled out near your face. He's mad, that's fair.
You'll just have to explain yourself in terms he can understand. You needed this. Your very life might've relied on having some of the gear here. As useful as your power is for making sure events go your way. It can't make you immune to bullets, it can't dull the edge of a knife before it sinks into you. As useful as your power is. You're still that same insecure girl who's been bullied the past year. How did you ever expect to take on Brockton Bays criminal element?
"Oh, no! you have to help me find my way back. I got lost from the tour group!" You said with very real panic.
Out of all the reactions you were expecting openly laughing wasn't on the list. "Yeah sure! All the lost little girls usually try and brain the first guys they see. How about you try again. maybe before, I get bored enough to hand you over the PRT and let them sort you out."
You've always been really bad at lying... or talking to authority figures... talking to people at all. It's okay though! You can make sure this interaction goes your way.
Time flows as you will it, and you wake to a grumpy man waving smelling salts beneath your nose. Still tied to a sturdy metal chair in a tinker workshop. Your only weapon being a well phrased plea. Your doomed.
"Good you're awake now. So maybe, you can tell me what. you. thought. you. were. doing!" He yelled out near your face.
"Please sir! They have my dad hostage! I need to borrow this stuff or they'll kill him!" You yell out hopping this is the one time, a social interaction goes your way.
"Hahahaha! Do you know how many times some newly triggered cape, comes to steal tinker tech from us? Just because they think the good guys must somehow be a soft target. Some power hungry little snot, just like you, thinks they can waltz in here like its their local Walmart. No. I think some time in Juvey will do you some good. Make you more honest, maybe help you get your priorities right." He laughs just as obnoxiously as before.
You're surprised he knows you're a cape. He's not entirely wrong and that hurts. None of what he says invalidates your reasoning though. You want to fight crime, but on your own you'd get hurt or die. You would join his group for some protection, but you'd rather not enslave yourself to some uncaring authority. Lies aren't working, maybe try the truth? Worth a shot.
You reverse time to your sleeping self. You think maybe if you tried enough lies, he might buy one. but attempting blunt honesty costs you nothing.
"Good you're awake now. So maybe, you can tell me what. you. thought. you. were. doing!" He yelled out near your face. Ugh, you're sick of the smell of his breathe, you're sick of his disrespect for your personal space, You're sick of him and the high horse he judges you on.
"Look I'm going to be a rogue cape, fight crime, keep the streets safe. That kind of thing, but my power isn't good for direct confrontation. I need equipment to help me even the odds. Some of this stuff would help keep me safe and the people of Brockton bay safe. I'm a good guy, really!"
He's silent this time, no horrible laugh just silence. He stares intently into your eyes as he lowers the smelling salts. maybe it worked, He'll let you go now. He probably won't tell his bosses and you'll get your tinker tech.
"Okay." he says quietly. You knew you liked this guy. Clearly he can see you're an up and coming talent, and is willing to help you along the way.
"But I have some conditions, You'll join the wards on probation. You'll follow my orders and follow the chain of command. This isn't a game and people get hurt. Oh, and try not to steal anything. Your probation will end in 2 years, if you behave you'll be free to leave at that time." He spoke as if he was repeating a speech he'd memorized, dull and monotone.
You knew you hated this guy. You couldn't believe his gall. Follow his orders? at best he's some tinker that makes tech for the PRT at worst he's a janitor with clearance to clean up after tinkers. Why should you listen to any of his orders?
"No, I want to be a rogue hero. If I join the wards, I'll be forced to go to Arcadia." It'll be just like Winslow highschool, only everyone will be richer and the new bullies will have superpowers.
"Well that's too bad. You should've thought of that before you broke into a private building, and assaulted a staff member. It's either probation on the Wards team, or juvenile detention. Pick." He spoke with finality.
It was too much to ever expect this guy to bend. He'll never know where your coming from. It's either this or your dad finds out about all of this. So you nod, and speak out quietly. "Okay..."
"Great! I knew you'd see reason. We'll just clear this with your guardian and you'll be all set. Come with me I'll take you to our PR guy. She'll get you setup with a name and costume for your persona. I'm Colin, By the way. What are your powers anyway?" He said while cutting the ties bound the chair.
You were in a daze as you explained how your power worked. Your dad was going to find out either way. You don't think you could convince Colin otherwise. They're going to tell him no matter what,.Would he be angry, disappointed? You don't think your stomach will last long enough to find out. You upchuck all over the hallway. Oh god, this is embarrassing. Colin waves it away as something the cleaning staff will handle.
"Are you destroying the world and starting a new one a few minutes earlier? maybe traveling between parallel earths a few minutes apart? maybe predicting future events so accurately that it seems as if your traveling to the past when you finish seeing possible futures.? It's clearly paradox free, so that removes the possibility of any predetermined fate. unless it is parallel earths..." He goes on and on happy to talk about his favorite subject.
You don't think its any of his theories. It feels like some events are destined to happen. The way some events play out no matter what happens. You always cry on that school morning whether its from a nasty prank, juice staining your jeans, or knowing how hopeless seeing your mom again is. Some events just feel set. All roads lead to Rome.
Colin Led us into a large office with a desk and stereotypical office woman behind it. She looked very busy with piles of paperwork littering her desk and her typing furiously into her computer. You can tell it's getting late in the day from the light shining through whats probably the only window on this side of the base. It's getting hard to keep track of the passage of time with all the time travel, oh and getting knocked out.
"Ms. Peggy this is Taylor Hebert, 15 year old sophmore of Winslow high. Your picture looks great by the way, though you look much mature without the braces. Oh, don't give me that look I ran you through facial recognition software while you were napping. She has the power to travel 2 minutes back in time. She's joining the wards in exchange for amnesty." He said with far too much good cheer.
You're a bit miffed at the invasion of privacy, but you have no room to complain. Ms. Peggy is a slight woman with greying hair. She types away on her computer even as Colin talks to her. Rude.
"Amnesty? What did she do?" She spoke with a raised eyebrow.
"She knocked me out and broke into my workshop." Colin still had a smile on his face as he said it. Your eyes narrowed. He knew how uncomfortable this was making you.
"Time travel, huh? Prove it." She finally deigned to look at you. "I'm going to give you a phrase in 2 minutes come back to this moment and say it."
Colin snorted. "You think a 15 year old girl, sorry nearly 16, hacked her way through our security, evaded all our patrols, then got the drop on me? All without some sort of advantage? No offense, Taylor I looked at the calculator you programed in computer class, top notch work really. I don't think you'll be hacking through programs, made by Dragon herself, just yet though."
Your eyes widened, he was obviously a tinker. Too old to be Kid Win, so the other one... Armsmaster. You guess their jaws look sort of similar.
Ms. Peggy smiled cruelly. "Are you upset that you got taken out by a 15 year old girl? Hurt your ego did it? proven again how powerless you are out of costume?"
Colin had no rebuttal, but his smile was gone. He was back to being the grump who woke me up. He glared viciously at Ms. Peggy. Whatever she was referencing had probably gone too far.
"Tell me '3 minutes' , now go back." She spoke out while going back to her typing. I reversed time, standing through 2 minutes of convserations and fidgeting flowing in reverse.
Colin snorted and was just about to speak before you butted in. "3 minutes."
Her eyes darted to her computer and looked back. " I'm guessing you've never timed yourself. I was planning on giving you that phrase in 3 minutes. Its been 48 seconds since I made that plan. You can travel approximately 2 minutes 12 seconds backwards. Welcome to the wards. I'll get you set up with a code name and costume as soon as I'm done talking to your guardian."
"I can see you guys will be just fine without me. Good luck Taylor." Colin waved as he walked out.
Now your alone with a cruel bureaucrat. trapped in an office where she'll eventually sell you out to your dad. Your screwed.