Shadow Stalker – Advent of a Hero
Part Six: Introspection
Taylor was utterly shattered. She ate the meal Danny had kept back for her, while Sophia had some of the leftovers; by the time she had finished the last bite, she was distinctly drowsy. Danny nagged her into having a shower and dealing with the worst cuts – nothing was really serious, and she wasn't bleeding anywhere – and then told her to go to bed.
By the time Danny pulled the covers over her , she was fast asleep. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep tight, kiddo," he murmured.
"And to think she didn't want to be a hero," commented Sophia from the doorway.
Danny looked around. "But she stepped up when you needed her to, right?"
She nodded. "Saved my sorry ass." She went to take a step into the bedroom, paused. "Is it okay if I ... kiss her goodnight as well?"
Danny nodded. "Sure," he said. "I don't see why not."
Walking almost silently, she entered the bedroom and leaned over Taylor. "Good night," she whispered, and placed a delicate kiss on Taylor's lips.
Danny, watching, raised an eyebrow. Sophia flushed dark. "I like her," she muttered. "I like her a lot."
"So I see," he said dryly. "And does she like you ... a lot?"
She held off answering until they were out of the bedroom, Danny carefully shutting the door behind them, and halfway down the stairs.
"I think she does, a bit anyway," she said. "We've talked about it, and she hasn't pushed me away."
Danny picked up that she wasn't saying everything, but didn't call her on it.
"I'll give you a lift home," he said. "You've got to be tired out."
"I'll be fine," she said, and he saw the unbending pride that drove her, every hour of every day.
He shook his head. "Taylor would never forgive me if I didn't help you out."
As expected, she caved at the mention of Taylor. "Okay, fine," she said. "But only as far as my corner. Strange car drops me off, there'll be all sorts of questions."
He nodded solemnly. "Sure," he said. "How's the leg, by the way?"
"It's fine," she said, concealing a wince. Reminded of its existence, her leg had decided to twinge majorly. As had every other bump, bruise, scrape and cut she had suffered on this night.
"Good," he replied, and she looked at him suspiciously. Danny Hebert was not a stupid man, nor unobservant, but he had blandly accepted her statement at face value.
Mentally, she reassessed Taylor's father. There was more to him than met the eye.
"So," he said, after pulling out of the driveway. "Tell me about Taylor."
She blinked, staring at him. " ... sorry?" she asked.
He smiled, his teeth reflecting the street lights. "Taylor's my daughter, and I love her dearly, but even I can tell that she's changed since the thing happened with the ABB. Getting powers has changed her outlook. I'd appreciate your point of view. How do you see her?"
His voice was quiet, even. Not distracted by the motions of driving, which he had no doubt practised every day for longer than Sophia had been alive. But underneath, there was the same urgency that there had been in his frame when he hugged his daughter, safe home from battle.
He wants to know how to connect with her again, she realised. Even as strong as she can be, as tough as she can be, he wants to protect her.
The realisation came to her as feeling a little alien. Her own father was no longer as close to the family as he might have been. She could see the writing on the wall; he would walk out one day, maybe soon, and never come back.
Danny would never walk out on Taylor.
"I see her as ... strong. Confident." She thought for a moment. "She doesn't fear physical challenges, not any more. She's less hesitant than when we first met."
"She told you about her mother?"
Sophia nodded. "That really sucks. If I lost my mom ..."
He nodded. "She was hurting for a long time, after that. So was I. We were hardly talking for a while there." His voice was quiet, contemplative. "Then that ... thing, with the ABB."
"Motherfuckers," growled Sophia.
He didn't contradict her. "The realisation that we could have lost each other, that she could have been ..." Raped. " ... badly hurt ... it brought us back together. As a family."
It was her turn to nod. "She has nothing but good things to say about you."
He smiled again, faintly. "I'm glad. We never had that phase, you know, where kids are mortally embarrassed by their parents. Never happened." He paused. "How is it with you and your dad? What does he think about you and your powers?"
She shook her head. "He's barely home any more. And I haven't told him. Mom knows, but ... no, I can't tell him. I don't know how he'd even react."
Danny digested that. "A pity. I would much prefer to be there for Taylor. No matter what."
"Me too," she said, the words slipping out before she could stop them. She flushed darkly again, her face heating up.
"Hm," he said, the sound as much a chuckle as a grunt. "So ... question. How serious are you?"
"Serious?" she asked. About Taylor? What do I say to that?
He waited for her to continue, then when she didn't, he went on himself. "I guess what I'm asking is, is this just a bit of a crush, or is it ... more? Is it going to go away, or is it going to last?"
The bluntness of the question, out of the blue, floored her. "I ..." she began, then paused, searching for words.
"Because if it's just a temporary thing," he went on, "I'd really rather you make sure she knows about it. Taylor sometimes takes a while to make up her mind on something, but once she decides on it, she pulls out all the stops. And if you're just playing ..."
Silence then, punctuated only by the throb of the engine and the whistle of wind past the windows.
"I'm not," she said hastily. "I'm serious. She's ... out of my experience. I've never felt like this before. I've been attracted to maybe one or two other girls before, but ... she's someone I can respect, who won't back down from me. She'll call me on shit. She has called me on shit."
"Unlike the others," he filled in.
"Unlike the others," she agreed. "They were happy to just let me be in charge, of the relationship, you know? And I thought I was happy with that. But there was something missing. And every time I pushed them, to see if they'd push back, they wouldn't. They'd let me push them around."
"And you need someone who pushes back," noted Danny.
"Right," she said. "No wimps need apply."
He snorted, then said, "Taylor says you have – or had – much the same attitude toward saving people when you're out and about."
She winced. "Yeah," she said in a small voice. "That was one of the things she's called me on. A lot."
"And do you think she has a point?" he asked gently.
She swallowed. "Well, she's not weak. She punched that girl over your truck even with a cut on her belly. And tonight, when I was down and in trouble, she took on Hookwolf to save me. Fought him to a standstill, then punched him out."
A deep breath. "I ... she's made me think. Wonder. If someone like her, who doesn't like to fight, could take down Hookwolf when she didn't even need to get into the fight ..." She didn't finish the statement.
Danny nodded. "She put herself in harm's way for you. What does that say about her, to you?"
She nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I get what you're saying. I should listen to her more." A frown. "Hookwolf didn't hurt her much, but he tore her coat up pretty good, and put some holes in the rest of her gear. Busted her goggles. Is that fixable?"
Danny nodded, accepting the change of topic. "Pretty easily, yeah," he told her. "We should be able to get more lenses with no problems. I guess it would be too convenient if whatever it is that's making her tougher extended to her clothing and gear as well."
Sophia frowned. "But it does. Sort of. Her gloves never got touched, and her boots were leaving footprints in concrete."
Danny blinked. "What, really?"
"Yeah, really," she said. "When she's amped up that high, she's kind of scary. It's like she's unstoppable in the literal meaning of the word. If she chooses to put her fist through a brick wall, the brick wall doesn't get a say in the matter."
"A brick wall ... or a person," said Danny slowly.
Sophia nodded. "And that's why she doesn't want to go out as a superhero," she said. "She's scared of doing just that."
"It is a very real responsibility," Danny noted.
"Yeah." Sophia's voice was pensive. "Taylor keeps saying that, too."
Danny nodded, looking pleased, as he pulled the truck to a halt. "This is your corner?" he asked.
"Yeah, thanks," she said. "And thanks for the lift. I was kinda beat."
He nodded. "Anytime."
She turned ghostly and faded out through the door of the truck, then turned solid and waved from outside the window of the still-closed door. He waved back, then put the truck into gear.
She's a bit rough around the edges, he mused as he drove back toward his house, but I think Taylor's being a good influence on her. A good kid at heart.
Though I can't help but wonder how she would have turned out if she hadn't met Taylor.
Badly, I suspect.
That was something to think about, on the way back.
Sophia stole soundlessly across the lawn and then turned ghostly in order to vault skyward and slip in through her bedroom window. She turned solid once inside, and went to stow the bag containing her costume and gear in the closet –
"And what kind of hour is this to be coming home, young lady?"
She spun around, hands up in a defensive gesture, until she recognised her mother, seated in the chair next to her desk. She had been so still that Sophia had not noticed her there, until she had spoken.
"Christ, don't frighten me like that!" she blurted, trying to keep her voice down.
Her mother frowned at the expletive, and stood. "Sophia," she said softly. "It's after three in the morning. I'm worried for your health. I'm worried for what you might meet out there."
She smiled and hugged her mother; she might be a nagging busybody, but she was still Mom, and Sophia still loved her. "It's cool, Mom," she said. "I was out with that other girl I told you about, that cape. Her name's Breaker. She made sure I didn't get in too much trouble."
"And what does that mean, exactly?" asked her mother bluntly.
"Well, we ran into some Empire Eighty-Eight," confessed Sophia. "And when we beat them up, they went away and came back with Hookwolf."
Her mother's eyes went wide. "And what did you do then?"
"Uh ... she beat him up, and the Protectorate took him into custody," explained Sophia.
Her mother's eyes could not have gotten much wider. "Beat him ... up?" she managed.
"Punched the racist motherfucker till he fell down," Sophia said cheerfully.
"Sophia! Language!" snapped her mother, but her heart wasn't in it. She paused. "She knocked down ... Hookwolf? I didn't know that was even possible."
Sophia shrugged. "I didn't either. I just wanted to get away. It didn't turn out that way.". She sat down on the bed with a muted groan. "I took a couple of hits too. Give me a hand here?"
"Only if you tell me the rest of the story," said her mother, closing the door and turning on the light. "I want to hear all about this Breaker girl, and how she punched out Hookwolf."
"Okay, Mom," Sophia agreed with a grin. She fetched the first-ad kit out from undef the bed and handed it to her mother, then started to pull her top off. "Well the first thing is, you'd never know that she's as strong as she is. She's so skinny ..."
Taylor stirred and rolled over in bed. It was so soft and comfortable; she didn't want to have to move. But biological imperatives had to be met, and so she pushed back the covers and rolled out of bed.
"Ow," she groaned. "Ow, ow, ow, ow." With every movement, every flexing of her body, a muscle or a joint complained. With a gait more appropriate to an aged chimpanzee than an adolescent human, she made her way to the bathroom and did what needed to be done.
By the time she got back to the bedroom, she was starting to move more like a member of the human race. Delicious odours wafted up from downstairs, as her father cooked breakfast.
Oh god, that smells good.
He looked up as she stumbled into the kitchen, still in her pyjamas, looking more than a little like something the cat might leave on the back step.
"Morning, kiddo," he said cheerfully, flipping a pancake without looking.
"Morning, Dad," she mumbled, taking the jug of orange juice from the fridge and pouring herself a large glass full.
"How are we feeling this morning?" he asked with a grin.
She must have realised he was teasing her, because she stuck her tongue out at him. Then she drank the orange juice.
"All I can say is," she said once she finished, "I just hope Hookwolf is feeling worse."
"He got taken down hard by a thirteen year old girl," Danny commented. "I'd be astonished if he wasn't."
She crossed her arms and laid her head down on them. "He probably doesn't realise that," she murmured. "Probably figures I'm six foot six and built like Armsmaster."
"Hey now, no going to sleep at the table," he warned her. "Go shower or something. Go take a run. Wake yourself up. Remember, school starts again tomorrow."
"Urgh," she mumbled. "I did not need that reminder."
Grudgingly, she got up from the table and headed upstairs. Soon, he heard the shower running.
Taylor gasped at the sting of the water on her skin; it seemed to her that every inch of her body was bruised, or almost so. Tiny scabbed cuts here and there reminded her of the ferocity of Hookwolf's assaults, and she marvelled again at the ability of her powers to help her withstand such damage.
She tried cataloguing the pulled muscles, the aching joints, the sore areas. But soon she gave up, and instead did her best to work out what parts of her didn't hurt. There weren't many of these. She was fairly certain her left earlobe hadn't taken a hit, but there weren't many other places on her body that had been left unscathed.
Slowly and carefully, she washed herself, being careful with the scrapes and cuts. She winced, but made sure that they were clean. The hot water gradually unkinked her muscles, so by the time she stepped out of the tub, she was feeling almost human.
Danny watched her enter the kitchen a second time; this time, she was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and didn't wince every time she moved. He placed pancakes before her, and she grinned up at him.
"Thanks, Dad," she said. "I probably would've fallen asleep with my face in my food if I hadn't had that shower."
He nodded and ruffled her hair. "We couldn't have that," he agreed. He paused. "Was it very ... bad? I got a little of the explanation from you and Sophia last night, but I couldn't help feeling that you were leaving out some of the details, so as to spare your dear old Dad."
She took a deep breath. "Yeah, Dad," she said. "It wasn't fun. It wasn't a nice battle, like you see on the Saturday morning cartoons. No clever quips, no honourable enemies. Just some gang members who wanted to rob some innocent folk, and who wanted to hurt and kill Sophia because of her skin colour. And Hookwolf ..." She shuddered.
"That bad, huh?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "He just wanted to ... kill me. No quarter, no calling it a draw. He was going all-out to end me. Because I got in his way, made him look bad."
He got up from his seat, went around to her side of the table, hugged her. She hugged him back. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked.
"Well until I can get a replacement coat and goggles, I won't be going out again," she said. "Give me a couple of days, the cuts and bruises should be good." She paused. "Tomorrow is school start. I might wear long sleeves, otherwise people might see the bruises and wonder."
Danny shrugged. "Tell 'em you got in a fight."
She nodded. "Well, that much is true." Another pause. "And oh God, Sophia's probably going to tell Emma that I was fighting half the capes in Empire Eighty-Eight, all at once."
"Hm," commented Danny. "She did seem very ... impressed by you. Exceedingly so."
Taylor shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I did kind of save her life," she pointed out.
"That will usually do it," he agreed with a nod, then paused. "So ... have you come to a decision yet?"
"What about?" she asked with a guilty start. Does he know about me and Sophia?
"Whether you're going to be a superhero or not," he said.
Phew. "Still deciding," she said honestly. "It's not something I want to jump into lightly. I mean, I've got the powers, but I barely know how and why they work. Or why it's uncomfortable to use them too much, or for too long."
"I can understand that," he agreed. He paused, waiting until she had finished the glass of orange juice and was about to put it down, before casually adding, "So when are you going on a date with Sophia? She seems pretty serious about you."
He had judged it to a nicety; she didn't inhale the juice into her lungs, or spray it over the table. She just froze for a telling moment, then put her glass down. "Soon, I think," she said, trying to match his casual attitude. "I'm still making up my mind about how I feel about her."
"It's not fair to make her wait too long for a yes ... or a no," he warned her. "I'm sure she would be happy being just friends, if you told her you weren't interested."
She nodded. "I've told her that I'm willing to go on a date with her, but that she's not to get too grabby with me."
He nodded approval. "Good," he said. "I get the impression that she doesn't listen much to what other people say, and this could get her in trouble. With your influence, she may just straighten up and fly right."
"Great," she grumbled. "Now I'm the moral compass to a superhero."
"There are worse things to be," he pointed out.
And she could not help but agree.
End of Part Six