Growth 3.4

Taylor stood in front of her bathroom mirror, shirt held up to reveal a flat stomach. Normally the sight would send a small boost of confidence, a visible testament to the hard work she'd put into her training, currently, however, her attention was absorbed by an impressive bruise. A mix of dark purples and sickly green painted the landscape of her ribs.

She saw her reflection grimace at the sight. The ABB thug hadn't been pulling any punches. Gingerly she prodded her side experimentally only to regret it immediately. Wincing at the pain, she shook her head and lowered her shirt.

No way would she be able to do anything hero related today. She could only be grateful it was the weekend because she wasn't sure that she could handle school in this state either. Especially if Sophia felt like getting physical.

Truthfully, even if she'd been feeling fine Taylor didn't think she would go out again today. She had been able to distract herself with handing over the gang members to the PRT and meeting Miss Militia. Then she had been so tired once she'd gotten home she had fallen asleep almost immediately.

Now, though, in the light of day, Taylor couldn't help but focus on how close last night was. And how easily it could have all gone badly. Maybe even fatally.

A buzzing sound distracted her from further thought. She was still getting used to having a phone. Grabbing it, she opened up her messages and flinched.

4 missed messages all from Parian. Each asking how last night had gone and getting progressively more worried. A stone pit of guilt settled uncomfortably in her stomach as she read through them. She wasn't used to having people ask after her and it looked like she was already messing up with her new friend.

To: Parian

From: Jiraiya

Message: Sorry, I'm alright. Took out an ABB stash house. PRT picked them up. No problems.

Sighing she set her phone back down on the counter. She felt bad about hiding how shaky things had gotten last night, but she didn't want to worry her. It turned out okay and she was fine in the end.

Taylor gave a last look in the mirror, taking in the dark circles under the eyes of her reflection. Groaning softly, she shook her head, dismissing the image in the mirror and left the bathroom.

Maybe it would be better to go over what she did wrong last night, but truthfully she just wanted to forget about all of that today. Maybe she was shaken up because she was still new to being a cape and fighting, and yesterday was a dangerously close call. Maybe it was something else. She just couldn't bring herself to analyze it right now.

No, she reaffirmed to herself as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Today would be for Taylor, Jiraiya could wait for a bit.

She stopped in surprise at the entry way to the kitchen. Her dad was sitting at their rickety kitchen table, thin body hunched over a newspaper and a cup of coffee in his hand. She was surprised to see him home.

Taylor held back a frown at the sight. Things must have been really slow down at the docks. Usually, he was there almost every day, trying to scrape up enough work for him and all of his workers.

He didn't like to talk about it, but Taylor could tell that things were getting more and more desperate. Really, he didn't like to talk much at all these days.

She was surprised and ashamed with the bitterness of her own thoughts. Things between them had been strained since her mom died. She knew intellectually that he loved her, just as much as she loved him. But sometimes, when it was just the two of them, he seemed distant, almost like he was at a loss with how to interact with her. Sometimes it was almost like they were roommates.

Not that she made it easy she acknowledged, chastising herself. She was hardly what could be considered an extrovert at even the best of times.

The frown manifested as she realized the rabbit trail her thoughts had fallen down. It seemed her mind couldn't let go of the heavy topics today.

Realizing that she was basically hiding from her own father in her own home Taylor let out a long exhale and walked into the kitchen.

Her father looked up at the sound of her steps and gave a tired smile in greeting.

"Morning bug, or should I say afternoon. Just barely beat the noon whistle there."

Her lips twitched into a small smile at the nickname. Her mother had always called her Little Owl, and her dad Bug. Hearing it caused a tension in her to ease. He must have been having an okay day if he called her that and could make a lame joke.

"I had trouble sleeping," she offered in response while she opened a cupboard and grabbed a tea bag.

Her father hummed in response. She began preparing a cup of tea with long practiced ease and didn't notice the slight frown curling at the edge of her father's mouth.

Taking in the sight of his daughters dark easy and slow movements, the frown grew a little more pronounced.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Taylor jolted at the question and almost dropped the kettle full of water. She busied herself with putting it on the stove and turning up the heat as she calmed herself down.

Distant or not, her father was an intelligent man, and he rarely missed much. He wouldn't have survived as long as he had as head of the dockworkers union if he couldn't read people.

Turning to face him she smiled in what she hoped was a convincing manner.

"Yea I'm okay, just a bit of a headache. Probably from not getting enough sleep."

Her dad gave her an evaluating look. He didn't look like he believed her, but thankfully he let it go.

"If you're sure," he said slowly as he turned back to his paper.

Taylor's smile shifted into a frown once her father's attention was drawn away from her. She knew it didn't make sense, and that it was what she had been aiming for in the first place, but a part of her felt a little betrayed that he hadn't pressed further. Or maybe just sad.

The whistle of the kettle distracted her from dwelling on her conflicting feelings. Lifting the kettle off the stove, she poured the water into her favorite mug. A chipped, limited edition Mouse Protector mug that had belonged to her mother. Dipping the tea bag into the mug Taylor berated herself again for her depressing musings. It seemed she was just determined to think on things that made her feel sad in some way.

She sat at the table across from her dad and carefully blew into the steaming mug of tea to cool it down.

Slowly drinking her tea she felt herself relax a bit and zone out, losing herself in a familiar ritual. It was towards the end of her cup that her father spoke again.

"How do you feel about a movie day?"

Taylor lifted her gaze towards her dad at the random suggestion.

Seeing her confusion, he elaborated.

"It's been a while since we've done something together. I don't have to be at the docks until tomorrow, and you look like you could a distraction."

Ah.

Well, that answered that. She should have known her dad wouldn't let it go. As distant as he could be at times, it was things like this that reminded her of how it used to be.

And besides, didn't she say that today was for Taylor?

"I'll go get ready," she said with a smile as she got up and put her mug in the sink.

She couldn't quite get rid of her smile as she got ready for bed later that night. Today had been a great day. Truthfully, it had been exactly what she had needed to take her mind off things.

They had ended up going to Fugly's for lunch and catching an Aleph import at the theatre. A crazy sci-fi movie that she barely paid attention too. She had been distracted. Taylor couldn't remember the last time she and her dad had gone out and done something, just the two of them. Her mom dying, and the endless bullying hadn't helped either. Her dad caught up in work and grief, and her, struggling with the bullies and her own grief.

It had culminated in a divide between the two of them. She hadn't realized how wide it had gotten until today.

It had still been awkward at times. Conversation was stilted and a little awkward. Neither of them was naturally socially inclined. But it had been nice regardless. Taylor had never doubted her father loved her, but it was still nice to see it so plainly.

Gingerly easing herself onto her bed, the bruised girl let out a groan as the movement irritated her bruise. With a relieved sigh, she settled into bed and drifted off to sleep.

It was nearly a week later that she found herself in her costume again. Her side was still bruised though the colors were thankfully much lighter than the dark molted mess it had been. Pain echoed slightly as she stretched, and she moved a little more stiffly than usual, but it was manageable.

The summoner couldn't stop a smile as she began the familiar motions of a summon. It had been a while since she'd summoned one of her toads. The longest time she'd gone without seeing one of them since she had discovered her powers. It would be good to see them again.

The smoke from her summoning dissipated to reveal bright red toad.

"Hey boss," Kosuke said cheerily, giving her a sloppy salute in greeting.

"Hey Ko, how have you been."

"Good, good," replied the perpetually cheerful toad as he started walking. "And you boss? How was school? And your injury?"

The red-clothed hero snorted at the question as she followed the messenger toad.

"You can tell Kichi I'm fine. And school was okay, same as always for the most part."

"Most part?" The crimson toad questioned as he peered around an alleyway to make sure the coast was clear.

"Well," the girl began with a thoughtful frown, "the bullies were the same as always, and the teachers are just as useless as ever. But, Greg's been acting a little weird."

"That's the kid that's always talking to you yea?"

Following the toad down the deserted alley, Taylor made noises of agreement.

"But he's been quiet lately, looking a little distracted, I don't know. We aren't really close. It doesn't really matter in the end. We're here because you wanted to show me something remember? Where are we going?"

The toad accepted the change of subject graciously and began explaining to his summoner.

"As you know, me and the other messenger toads have been scouting the city. Mapping out gang territories, looking for anything interesting, and just getting familiar with this world in general. Well, a while ago one of my scouts found something… well interesting to say the least."

"What was it?" Taylor asked, curious despite herself.

The red toad paused his movement looked back at his summoner.

"Let's just say you'll have to see it for yourself."

The brunette frowned at her ally but didn't respond. She trusted her toads, and if Ko wanted to have a little fun with his secret, she wouldn't deny him that.

She was, however, thankful that the tightness in her side had loosened a bit as they'd continued their trek through Brockton. Taylor hadn't thought they were going to go so far. They were heading right for the edge of the docks before it turned into downtown. As far as downtown went, it wasn't yet far enough away from the docks to be a good neighborhood. That and sitting right on the edge of the two largest gangs in the city made the area they were in a dangerous area of the city. The ABB and Empire weren't above attacking the other to remind their rival gang where the lines were drawn from time to time.

They seemed to be nearing their destination though because Kosuke was slowing down and being much more vigilant about remaining unseen. Finally after a little more walking they came to a stop in front of a dilapidated, boarded-up apartment building.

Feeling his summoner's incredulous stare at his back the toad hurried to explain.

"I know what it looks like," Kosuke explained to his summoner, "we thought the same. This place is abandoned as far as we can tell. The surrounding apartment buildings are too for the most part aside from some squatters. We didn't expect much from this place, but we like to be thorough. Trust me boss," the toad continued as they slipped around to a side entrance that the toads had made sure was unlocked earlier, "you'll be glad we did."

Taylor looked at him skeptically but didn't say anything as she followed him into the abandoned apartment complex. While she may not have said anything, privately as they walked through the building with crumbling foundation and rotted furniture, she couldn't help but wonder if her toads were playing a prank on her.

Following the toad to the lower level, she looked on in confusion as they entered one of the few basement apartments. It was just as rundown as the rest of the place, not that she expected differently at this point.

And so she was incredibly surprised when the toad hurried to the center of what she assumed in its better days was supposed to be a living room and pulled away a tattered rug to reveal a heavy door fitted into the ground.

"What the?" she breathed in confusion, "What is this, and how did you even find this place?"

Kosuke looked smug now as he answered her later question.

"Ninja," he spoke as if it should have been obvious.

Of course, that seemed to be their explanation for anytime they did something impressive. Shaking that off, she gestured toward the doorway.

"Where does it go?"

With a grunt, the small toad lifted the door, which she now noticed had a broken lock presumably from the first toad to discover the entry way to reveal a set of iron steps descending into darkness.

"Well boss," Kosuke spoke with a teasing grin as he adjusted his goggles, "why don't you see for yourself."

Taylor looked from her summon back to the stairway. Well, she couldn't deny she was curious now.

As she descended down the stairs, her footsteps ringing on the metal steps, one of her mother's favorite lines came to the forefront of her mind.

'Once more unto the breach.'

AN - Okay, so some things came up. Deadpool, an early copy of Street Fighter 5 (you can find literally anything in China Town, I think I saw someone selling curses), and less fun and which had the most impact, I've been really sick, so I haven't uploaded much. But, its been nearly 3 weeks and I wanted to get something out there. Sorry for the wait.

Huge thanks to everyone that reviews! We hit the 100 mark, that's really incredible. Thank you guys, I appreciate it a lot.

Finally, to the reviewes/messages I've been getting voicing dissatisfaction at the inclusion of more villains/oc's for no apparent reason. Well, sorry to tell you, but there is actually 2 oc villains for the ABB, not just one. However, please don't assume that I've added them for no reason. Especially since only one of them has appeared, and only a single appearance at at that. Not to mention, we are still very early in the time line. So yea, little trust is all.

If anyone is curious as to the main reason I made the oc villains feel free to ask me and I'll tell you in a message.