Titanfall 25

The operations officer watched as the tracks of the two patrols, Operator and the other Pilots, BT was letting them track for coordination purposes, it was nice as New Wave let them track them as well, and one of the Disciplinary Barracks patrols came together in the norther part of town.

On the ground, Rune looked at Operator "So, I don't get it, most of the time you run around outside your armor?"

Taylor nodded and shook her head. Rune snorted. Taylor replied "It isn't armor, not like tinker armor, more like Dragons remotes but not remote. It is BT. Or parts, clones, of him. We can pilot them. They can pilot themselves. It sort of depends on what the mission is."

Nessa, Menga, spoke up "So you can do parahuman stuff and they just blow the crap out of things."

Aisha disappeared then her titan disappeared. Rune sighed "That is so fucked up."

Golem chuckled "And that wasn't even the Titan doing the disappearing."

Menja looked at him "A boy pilot?" She looked at Taylor and grinned then winked.

Katherine cleared her throat and stepped up beside Theo. Rune chuckled "Well that figures. Not letting him get away huh? So, what are you guys doing up here?"

Taylor shrugged "Something funny going on. Lots of movement then nothing and now it's all quiet in Bavaria. Which it has never been. Bar fights, cage matches, dog fights, there was always some kind of penis waving contest going on up here between the Empire elements."

Menja nodded "True enough, why we are here too. They sent us because we know these folks."

Rune added "Bitch stomped on the dog fights. She was doing it before we all got put in the joint. Usually without her team. Her and those dino dogs would show up and it was game over. Hookwolf was the only one that could stop them and he couldn't be at all the dogfights. She didn't really care if he was, she would just turn the fighting dogs into dino's and they would go after him and their owners. Then leave with her. They were winding down. The cage matches not so much. But when you took out Hookwolf, well that was his deal. Storm Tiger and Cricket were in his group. Those normal were his too. The ones you roughed up. Truce violations. They got years for that. A nickel at least."

Panacea frowned "Fenja and Menja?"

Menja shrugged "We were trying to get the idiots out of there. And stop Hookwolf. Get him out too. Kaiser took the fall for that. He gave the orders."

Aisha appeared "So how is life in the Barracks? All 'Caged Heat' and shit?"

Rune shrugged "Better than my stint in juvy. We at least get to do useful work. They do take half our pay and bonuses for 'reparations' but that was the court. And no. We got single occupancy cells and curfews. Plus a Drill Instructor with eyes on whenever we are out of our cells. Even if you wanted to go that way you wouldn't get to pick your cell mate I don't think. It's all military. They would probably stick us with someone we didn't get along with to make us get along."

Taylor tilted her head "Oh, you can't fight either."

Rune nodded "No touching. Nasty words are fine, right up until its mission time. Then it's all professional all the time."

Taylor nodded "We are going up Baum and across Schmidt streets."

Rune looked at her phone "We are going the opposite way. Meet you at Berren's bakery." She led her patrol away. The PRT troopers shadowed them.

Theo commented on the internal Titan net "They are different." The pilots discussed it as they moved along.

Berren's turned out to be a German bakerie, a full-on German bakery. Rune looked at Taylor and chuckled "Full helmet. No goodies for you guys." A Clark Bot handed the counter person a black credit card. Taylor shot a hip out and put a hand on it while she chuckled as Rune pouted watching the Clark Bot buy a dozen of almost everything and a Black Forest cake. "No coffee then, and the coffee here is amazing!" Amy pulled the drinking tube from under her helmets chin and put in the cup of coffee she was holding. The coffee disappeared with an almost silent whirring noise. Rune tossed her hands up. "Fuck you guys. So, what did you find out?"

Taylor laughed "Nothing actually. Surprisingly nothing. Even on sensor sweeps and with our surveillance."

Rune nodded "Yeah, pretty ominous. I think a new cape has shown up. Must be a power hitter because no one is talking."

Amy looked at her "So they are afraid?"

"Not so much afraid, just still finding out the new process, I guess. We will have to patrol up here more." Rune replied. Menja nodded.

"Home grown maybe?" Theo offered.

Menja shrugged "A new trigger? Maybe. But they would have to be powerful. These guys know what we can do. And they watched you beat the crap out of Hookwolf. They damn sure knew what he could do."

Taylor nodded "A lot of them work for Operator Tech, those contracts are pretty strict. Maybe they are just trying to keep their jobs."

Menja laughed "Panacea, educate your girlfriend. People are idiots. They will always be idiots."

"Hey! Somebody needs to be an optimist."

The two groups talked a bit more then went their separate ways.

As they bounced back toward the factory Aisha offered "They aren't that bad. Not that different either. Somehow I expected something different from Super Villains."

Theo snorted "You haven't met dad."

Titanfall

Dinah looked at Helmuth "So that worked."

Helmuth Berren looked at her in the living room of his parents apartment upstairs of the bakery. They were allegedly doing homework and his mother was checking in and saying how cute they were every thirty minutes. "And why are we doing this again? We aren't doing anything illegal. We just sell answers. Well, you sell answers. I just scare people. Or my Wampa does." He put the small resin model on the table next to the other resin models of Star Wars creatures. Dinah went back to playing with the Twi'lek female she had in her hand.

Dinah rolled her eyes. "Because I don't want to be in the Protectorate or some gang's cage. The Acklay are scarier."

"Because girls don't like bugs." Helmuth shrugged.

Titanfall

Number Man blinked "So Operator puts her hand on Panacea and your shard rolls over and spreads her legs."

"I have my power and stereoscopic vision now." Alexandria ground out of clenched teeth.

David snorted "You pretty much described it that way Rebecca. So, some kind of administrator shard that can give other shards orders."

Doctor Mother frowned "Something we haven't seen. Does this make Operator the super trump? If so, how is she calling these constructs?"

Paul shrugged "A striker ability though?"

"We still haven't gotten Operator in for testing. She owes us that from the deal. It's been a month. We will have to press it a little."

Rebecca shook her head "And have her call another squad, or a whole platoon? One of each type? How exactly are we going to test that without adding to her power base?" Meredith pinched the bridge of her nose as the discussion got started.

Titanfall

Danny handed Taylor her glass of water. She smiled at him. "So what is Henni's bedtime routine going to be?"

"We did go kind of fast there didn't we."

"In the slowest way possible. You've known her for what, twenty years?"

"Hey! Uh, seventeen?" Taylor shook her head at Danny's answer. "Speaking of fast."

Taylor nodded "Yeah, I know. BT says it's all good and we aren't rebounds for each other." Danny looked blank. "Me from Emma and Amy from Vicky."

Danny opened his mouth, shut it, then said "I hadn't even considered that."

Taylor shrugged "Me either really. Especially as boys are still interesting to me, in a beefcakey kind of way."

"Ha! That I know about, uh with girls I mean. Pure hormones. Give it a few years, you may be one way, or not. You could like both, or either. That's a thing. Besides, Carol is terrified you are both going to end up pregnant suddenly. What were you all doing on her back porch the other night?" Danny grinned. He had seen the video from BT. BT had shown him so he had the data when Carol called in a bit of a panic. The girls hadn't even been necking. Just a hug and some kissing.

Taylor blushed "Nothing much."

Danny tossed her a bone "I know. You are much too shy to be doing anything on her porch. It's a little cold still too."

"Dad!"

Danny laughed "So county wide tomorrow in the Helman auditorium. No idea what good is, so you are on your own with that I'm afraid."

"Like I know? Plus, its ninety seconds of the little match girl, other than catching and tossing, and waving pom poms while smiling and doing some steps. My parts anyway. We'll see I guess. Carmen has seen all the parts and thinks we are sure to win, other than Imaculatta and they are in the parochial league anyway. Next year we are apparently going to do a city wide Rec league team too." Taylor took a drink of water.

"I've never been to Disney World. We meant to go, but your mom had summer semester and, well summer was a busy time for work."

Taylor hipped off the counter after finishing her water and hugged him "It's cool Dad. We'll see if we can get there. Are you tall enough for the rides?"

"Easy there kiddo." Taylor chuckled and went upstairs.

"You do meet all the ride requirements Danny."

"Thanks BT."

Titanfall

Henni watched the routine and looked at Danny. Danny shrugged "Does air time count? Taylor chucked that girl fifty feet up. She could have changed the light bulbs up there."

Henni laughed "She did all those flips and twist up there too. They are more precise than the others. I think they got classical as well. Three of the judges were bawling their eyes out. Them and most of us."

Danny nodded "That hip hop thing was energetic?"

Henni laughed "OK, yeah let's go with that. So, regionals here, then states in-"

"Here. Biggest indoor arena in the state, All Father, well, Medhall." Danny supplied.

Henni nodded "Handy." Danny wrapped an arm across her shoulders "That wasn't a suggestion mister. Public."

"Taylor is back stage doing whatever."

Henni rolled her eyes "And she is the only one that matters."

"And you." Henni slid closer to him. Lacey, sitting behind them, grinned. Kurt rolled his eyes.

Titanfall

Back stage, Taylor pulled the shell off and Song glared around the room. Amy hid a smile. Song was going to go completely psycho if these people kept staring at Taylor. Stare worthy as she was, Song was not having it. It was hilarious watching the four-foot-tall Song stare down girls who could probably toss her to the ceiling of the arena like Taylor had done Jessica. Much less the boys the other teams had managed to come up with. She came up to about their belt buckles. Hey, wait a minute! Those fuckers were ogling Taylor!

Vicky watched the light bulb come on on Amy and stifled her giggles as she pulled her back "No turning people into frogs."

Amy whined "Just one, as a warning."

"I thought you weren't doing jealous girlfriend anymore."

"Grrrrr."

"So still my hard headed sister."

"Grrrr."

Vicky looked around and saw they were alone. "So, tonight?"

Amy blinked "Tonight what?"

"You and Taylor."

"Duh, Me and Taylor all the time. School, shower, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even at the hospital lately. Last night on patrol."

"Where in school? I got a key to the Wards storage and Sometimes Dean and I-"

"Oh my god! No! Gross! Hey, what if like Dennis walks in. He could catch you having sex."

"What? No! Just making out. Now that you mention it though there is a sofa in there… yeah no. Dennis could walk in. He never knocks."

"Ha! And Carol is worried about me getting pregnant. Hey, why do the Wards have a sofa?"

"Chris has a workbench too. Plus, they got a flat screen in there, frig. It has a bathroom. Which is like filthy, or was. I made them clean it, with Lysol. Vista would kill them next year. I got them in the habit now though. No idea why. Maybe they wait on the bus or something?"

Carlos walked over "It's a safe room, the flat screen is hooked to Ops. The walls are like solid armor of some kind. Plus storage for our suits."

Consuela looked at him "And the rest of us?"

"Class rooms are shelter locations. It's for us to bug out to if we can't handle whatever it is."

Consuela pulled him away "I don't like this plan."

Amy grinned at Vicky "Bet there is a change in the Wards SOP."

Vicky shrugged "It might make sense. I need to find Dean and ask him. You go find your girlfriend. And no frogs!" She paused "Or toads!"

Amy walked over to Taylor who now had a top and shorts on over the sports bra and yoga shorts. She and Amy didn't have parts in the next piece. None of the underclassmen did.

Taylor hugged her and they sat down by the wall. Song sat on Taylor's other side and helped Amy smirk at people who were watching Taylor. They both got narrowed eyes back.

Titanfall

Emily looked at her intelligence officer "The absence of activity is what you are basing the presence of a parahuman in the North East sector of town on."

"Yes Ma'am, we don't think anything else would stop them from continuing their previous behavior."

Emily nodded "Other than BT and his drones reporting most crimes as they happen."

"Which has not shut down crime in the other sectors."

"True. So maybe. Ops, let's keep up the patrols."

Titanfall

Danny looked at the storefront "This was a college hang out back in the day. Actually, came by here for breakfast. Brochen and coffee really. Sometimes they had bratwurst though. Real ones. Two on a roll." Henni nodded as did Kurt and Lacy.

Taylor nodded "Still on the board behind the counter."

Danny nodded "This is the heart of the Empire."

"Not anymore?" Taylor nodded at the cop car and PRT truck parked at the intersection. She stepped out of the way of the two kids, a boy and a girl who ran past.

Then the girl skidded to a stop and turned "You're a dancer!"

Taylor smiled "You saw the competition?"

She got a vigorous nod "You guys were great! Is that like a whole ballet? The one with you and the Asian girl?"

Taylor nodded "We are working on it. Expanding it. Its really only like two scenes now, Her selling matches, or not selling them, then her freezing to death and me coming to get her. I'm Taylor."

"Dinah, Helmuth, his parents own the bakery." Dinah drug the blond boy over by his hand. Taylor smiled at him.

Danny looked at the adults walking up "Roy."

"Danny! Panacea, Glory Girl, Hennrietta."

Danny indicated Taylor "My daughter Taylor."

The Mayor introduced himself and his brother in law and their wives. Along with his sister's daughter. Dinah. "So, you got the ferry working Danny."

Danny smirked "And it is working out like I said it would. People ride them to work over in the docks but live places like this."

Roy nodded "Or buy houses in the docks. I saw yours being rebuilt. Model home then?"

Taylor scowled "No. All I need is a bunch of strangers traipsing through my house."

"Payment for services rendered." Danny shrugged. "And a test bed. BT did buy up a lot of property."

"Operator did you mean. We still haven't gotten clarification on his status from the PRT. He circumvented the issue putting his human partners name on the contracts." Roy clarified as he held the door of the bakery open.

Taylor, Amy and BT were having a conversation across the neural net "Both those kids are parahumans Taylor."

"Yep, I got that. We will watch them."

"They are probably what is happening up here." BT added.

"She has a pretty big gemma. He does to actually. It could be. They are a cute couple." Amy looked at Taylor who sighed. Amy giggled.

Titanfall

Dinah looked at the answers "Well, they know, Taylor is Operator."

Helmuth nodded "They seem nice. One of those imperial spy droids would be nice." Dinah rolled her eyes. He was such a boy, and a Star Wars maniac. She watched the creatures wrestling around on the table.