Another Heart: Huzzah!
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This city... It was filled with so many people; people crying out for a paragon of justice, a warrior righteousness, a protector of the innocent, and she had come to answer those cries!
The rushing wind tickled her nose under her mouse shaped helmet, the cool air whistling over her cheeks as she enjoyed the fresh air.
This city needed a hero and Katherine Maybourne would answer! With her sword of justice, her shield of courage, and her boots of truth, she would kick uppity villain butt to the gutter.
Well, she would when she learned where everything was, but until then...
"Mouse, get back in the car! You'll get us pulled over for unsafe driving." Hannah said, yanking Kat by her cape back into the PRT van.
Squirming back around until she was sitting properly in her seat again, Kat saluted her patriotic friend as she continued to adjust herself. Finally managing to get her cape placed comfortably as she re-buckled herself into the passenger seat… bench? There were three front seats, so did that count as a bench? PRT vans were silly and…
Kat shook her head, re-railing her thoughts like the good conductor she was.
Until then she would depend on her good friends, the mark of any good hero. Or person really.
"Where are we heading Missy?" Kat asked, smiling widely as the other woman rolled her eyes. Maybe she should know where they were going but honestly? She just jumped in the van because the court room was beginning to get a little cramped. Also boring, like, really boring.
Hannah gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing above her scarf.
"Don't call me that, it wasn't funny the first time and it isn't the millionth time later. Armsmaster picked up Paige Mcabee's signal again; it's coming from an apartment block about ten minutes away on Alder Road." Hannah said, her voice tight.
Kat nodded, serious time!
She remembered Paige Mcabee, the girl had looked a lot better earlier today than she did when Kat escorted her to Brockton Bay. During their road trip Paige had looked despondent and wouldn't stop crying, no matter how many jokes she cracked. It had been depressing. But now the girl with no hope seemed to have found some.
Kat was happy for her, if not ecstatic, a party would be needed when she was found! Kat loved parties, because party meant people and people meant potential! More… It was fun.
Hmm. If they threw a party Colin would be there. He was a grouch, but he was still single, maybe a nice girlfriend would sort him out... or was he only a grouch to her?
Nah.
Finally getting comfortable Kat looked at her old friend.
"So get there, look for danger, bust in, rescue the damsel Paige, and kick ass?" Kat asked.
Hannah nodded, her eyes firm.
"Basically. We don't know who has her or why, Paige could be dangerous if she wanted to be. So if she was kidnapped by parahumans, they might have a master of their own to control her." Miss Militia said grimly.
Another voice cut in sharply then.
"If Paige has been compromised then any action she takes is not her fault and she is not liable for her actions as of the Provisions of 2002 Masters amendment; but what will we do if she has? We have sound proof headsets here, but that prevents us from communicating effectively." Brandish said from the back of the van, taking a seat near the back door in the sideways seating while Kat and Hannah rode up front, the latter driving.
Kat eyed Hannah, who eyed Brandish, who was eyeing anything that moved.
So much eyeing...
"We knock her out with the best intentions and wake her up later, take her back to get declared innocent, then find a bar and celebrate with milkshakes and karaoke!" Kat cheered exuberantly.
Hannah rolled her eyes, but they crinkled slightly at the corners. Brandish looked like she had swallowed a lemon.
Not really sure why anyone would swallow lemons willingly, Kat chose to think Brandish had a triple identity as a lawyer, a cape and fruit swallower at a circus.
...No, Brandish didn't nearly have enough joy in her to work at a circus. Which was a shame, which, in turn, was a crime, and, in turn again, her job as hero to fix!
Kat added Brandish to her mental 'to help' list. Currently at the top was Paige, then Keynote, then Armsmaster, then Emily Piggot, then Brandish.
A hero's work was never done it seemed.
As Mouse Protector, she would take on this solemn duty.
Miss Militia made a turn at high speed, the squealing tires nearly drowning out her voice for a moment.
"The building is a three floor complex, twelve rooms on each floor; each flat is small, single bedroom, a kitchen, a lounge, and laundry passageway; not many places to hide people. But we haven't got a visual on the interior; they could have easily merged two or more rooms into one." Hannah said, her habit of stating facts that just depressed people appearing again.
Kat caught Brandish's scowl in the mirror of the sun visor thingy she'd started playing with.
"More room does mean it's better for us, I don't think anyone of us fight well in close quarters." Brandish said with a coolness to her tone.
Kat turned and stared at her, making the woman scowl and stare back.
"You think with your fists, not your heart-" Kat began.
"Head." Hannah quickly interrupted and Kat promptly ignored her.
"Our first concern is Paige, the innocent, our second concern is our team, the heroes, and our third concern is the dastardly villains who snatched our innocent away!" Kat declared and would have pointed dramatically, but the vans roof was in the way... or was it?
Hannah slapped her fingers away when she reached for the sun roof control… Well, technically the turret hatch on top of the van, but same thing. Hannah was the mud in which there was a stick. A boring thin stick, not even the good kind that you could use to make a house.
Brandish scoffed when Kat didn't continue.
"Dastardly? I think the word you are looking for is dangerous. These felons kidnapped my charge from the court room right under our noses and using those little man-children, Über and Leet, only adds insult to injury." Brandish snapped in return.
Kat tilted her head.
"Those two don't have Paige?" Kat asked, feeling a little confused.
Beside Kat, Hannah shook her head.
"Live stream footage shows them fighting with Keynote, no Paige in sight. Keynote has strange effects on powers, so tinker tech might fizz out near her too. That would explain why they went somewhere else, since Über admitted on camera he didn't know where they were. Paige, however, was not hampered by Keynote, so most likely went where ever they intended to go and since she hasn't moved from her position..." Hannah trailed off.
Brandish finished it.
"Then someone is stopping her." The lawyer said grimly.
Kat took this all in, absorbed it and churned out a perfectly logical chain of thought in the span of a second.
"Then the plan has not changed. Paige, rescued. Villains, slapped down by the back hand of goodness!" Kat said, nodding to herself.
Brandish stared at her.
"What are you?" Brandish asked, looking like she had a monumental headache building.
Hannah hummed.
"She's Mouse Protector, didn't you know Brandish?" The military themed cape said and suddenly seemed to be in a much better mood.
Brandish snapped her eyes to Hannah and almost growled.
"I noticed." The lawyer said tightly.
Kat felt the air between the two warriors become tense.
"I too noticed. So... You're part of New Wave? It's rare to find a team, let alone a family, working together outside of the Protectorate in a city with a Protectorate team. Do you feel like it's harder or easier to work with family?" Kat asked, letting go of the visor to rest her hands in her lap.
Brandish slowly turned her head back to her, eyes wide.
"E-excuse me? Uh... Yes, family makes things easier in many aspects, but harder in others, I... What just happened?" Brandish directed the question at Hannah who tried not to smile. Kat felt her own lips twitch as she turned to examine the city outside the window.
Brandish was fun after all.
"Brandish, I think you fell for Mouse Protector's greatest trick. You dismissed her. You looked at her and saw a fool, a joke, when all along, she's been playing a joke on you. As one hero to another, this is the best hint I can give to you about dealing with her on a daily basis. Assume at all times, that Mouse Protector is smarter than you." Hannah said bluntly.
Brandish's grimaced and Kat saw the words begin to form on her lips, but Hannah beat her to the punch.
"Mouse... Do the thing." Hannah said simply.
Kat looked at her quizzically.
"How deeply?" The mouse hero asked.
Hannah, hummed, thinking about it.
"I'll tell you when."
Kat digested this and nodded.
Looking back at Brandish, the woman was half slouched, getting comfortable even in her business suit. The woman looked... nervous suddenly, if steel could look nervous at least, tense was a good word.
"Brandish, civilian ID: Carol Alice Dallon, job: Lawyer, law firm Howard and Schmitt; Cape, Brockton Bay, New Wave, formerly the Brockton Bay brigade. Powers: Striker 4, Changer 2." Kat began, little doors in her head opening, the information she wanted, flowing forth like tempting wine.
"What are you-" Brandish tried to ask , but Kat powered on. Her mind doing its thing, pedal to the metal.
"Power is creation of hard-light constructs, conjecture if created or merely conversion of body mass, constructs must maintain contact with body at all times, preference for close combat weapons, specialist melee combatant. On defense she can turn into a ball of light, perfectly immune to most damage, but unable to move. Constructs able to exert high heat and kinetic force; capable of piercing armor plate, flesh, stone, and all tested substances with ease. Constructs can change into different styles or weapon types without being banished, constructs aren't detailed enough for the weapon to matter outside length and reach. Unlike most of New Wave, Brandish lacks flight capability, ground mobility is mundane. Encounter tactics are two fold: Brandish relies on touching a target with her weapons like most strikers, she therefore needs to close with her target. Prevent closing and maintain distance, prevent power being used. Second, Brandish has been noted to be volatile, easily goaded into mistakes or combat; exploit weakness to lure into prepared trap." Kat rattled off, the lone night of preparing to come to Brockton Bay proving its worth, reading about the capes she knew she'd be interacting with or were powerful enough to warrant it. Paige, Brandish, Keynote, Kaiser, Lung, among others.
Über and Leet hadn't been on her list, but she'd fix that later.
"In battle, say the court room, it would easy enough for me to place one of my marks high up and make you chase me, teleporting back to the other side of the room, you're quick tempered and with aggressive attitude towards those who act smarter than you or win against you, it makes you even more likely to charge them without thinking. Perhaps the first few minutes would be dangerous, placing my marks around you, trying to see how fast your reaction time is, how fast your weapons can move being limited by your arms and joints, then I place my mark on your back. I observed your attitude in the court and found you likely to do as I plan. Then it's a waiting game. If your changer state dismisses my mark, I estimate a five to ten minute longer fight until I can get a lucky shot in to your neck and take you down. Your weapons would cause destruction whenever you swing, making holes in the floor, damaging furniture, and so forth. Eventually, I would pin you or the building collapses on you and I teleport to safety. I win either way. If I instead used-" Kat said, her voice perfectly calm until Hannah held up her hand.
Kat instantly closed her mouth.
"That's... enough." Hannah said gently, turning another corner. Sirens were getting louder, telling them they were getting closer to the apartment.
Brandish no longer looked nervous. Instead, her face was blank.
Hannah nodded at her look as if in understanding.
"You dismissed her." Hannah repeated with a slight crinkle of her eyes that hinted at a smile.
Brandish's nostrils flared before she snorted resignedly.
"I did. This whole time, her little act... was for show?" Brandish asked, not sounding happy about it.
Hannah laughed suddenly and Kat felt herself smiling, coming back out of her head, the doors closing one by one.
"If only. Mouse is... like me. My power makes me aware of everything, ready at all times; I have a perfect memory because of that and I am never unarmed. Mouse is the same." The scarf wearing cape said.
Kat hummed in agreement.
"When I place my marks... I never forget it, even if I can't teleport there again. Each spot is permanent in my brain, like I keep a record of where I've been, where I've touched and how many times I touched there, the corner by the deli, my room, a train I once tagged, currently moving towards the station in Los Angeles a bit late, wonder what happened? Anyway, when I teleport rapidly, the knowledge, it sorta'... becomes permanent too. The things I was thinking about at the time I teleported there become associated with that place. So little old me did some reading up on the capes in BB, which is a lot by the way, then I started to teleport... on the spot. So I wouldn't forget." Kat said with a wide grin which slowly faded as she kept talking.
"Buuut... it's hard, once I start recalling the information, I get the urge to move, teleport, then I start to think about more places I've been then more information comes and before you know it, I'm on the roof chatting to pigeons or gibbering in the basement." Kat explained, now looking at nothing, just staring straight ahead.
Brandish took this in.
"Then the silly acts are...?" The lawyer asked slowly.
Kat shook her head, snapping out of wherever her mind had wandered off to. She began to fiddle with the window control button.
"If I fill enough places with laughter and teleport with a smile then I won't go crazy. Having an album of good times in your head is better than reminders that you weren't fast enough to save everyone." Kat replied.
Brandish looked pained.
"I... understand." Brandish admitted.
Kat grinned, her smile returning.
"Ah look at us bonding, us girls, us women, us awesome heroes in heels. We should form a super woman league, I can get my apprentice and her partner, in both senses, in on it. We could be... WOMBA!" Kat said excitedly.
Hannah gave her the look.
"Women Of Major Bad Assery..." Kat corrected herself, seriously acronyms were the best, Kat had no idea why Hannah was so against them.
WOMBA was an awesome idea... Looking out the window to sulk, Kat spotted the flashing lights of police cars, sectioning off a building.
"Ahoy! The scene of the crime is ahead!" Kat cried and Hannah turned without looking, not even questioning Kat's judgment.
The van swerved onto the side walk, stopping when the officer ahead held his hand up, looking nervous when he spotted who was behind the wheel.
Hannah had that effect on people, Kat thought it was neat; most people just seemed to go a funny white color when they saw her...
Weird.
"Report." Hannah said calmly and the officer nodded, Kat guessed he was a vanilla blue uniform, because if he knew anything about how the chain of command worked, he ignored it and reported to Hannah like she was his direct superior.
Maybe it was her tone... professional? Kat would have to practice that in the mirror later.
"We quietly evacuated everyone, they're all by the ambulances, no one was released yet so if anyone is trying to escape in civilian disguise we'll catch them soon. All flats were called, no answer form two flats on the ground floor, one on the second, or two on the third floor. Everyone else is accounted for." The officer said.
Kat was impressed.
Quick, detailed and efficient.
...Single? Hannah could use a good man...
Kat shook her head, Paige was priority one here. She could worry about getting Hannah a good man later. Hmm, Armsmaster also needed…
"Good work, keep an eye on all sides, get a man to push as many people back as possible. We play this safe and smart." Hannah told him and the officer nodded, running to start grouping his men together.
Turning back to Brandish and Kat, Hannah frowned.
Kat was an expert at Hannah's eye squints after all these years.
She could tell when Hannah was just being polite, but really wanted to strangle you. It was one of Hannah's best expressions.
"Three floors... three of us." Hannah said and Brandish nodded, she looked ready to jump into action in her lawyer suit.
Kat rubbed her exposed chin.
"Who get's what? I don't mind any of them, but personally, Brandish or I, have a better chance of jumping and surviving if we need to get away from the third floor fast in case some baddy jumps out with a zombie Paige singing wheels on the bus go round and round." Kat mused aloud and Hannah nodded, ignoring the zombie comment. Brandish opened her mouth, thought better of it and closed it again.
Damn. If she kept following Hannah's example then Brandish would just learn to block her out... This could not be allowed to happen!
Hannah looked towards the small block of flats.
"I'll take first, Brandish, second or third?" She asked. Kat knew Hannah was just being polite really, she, or even Kat herself could just decide which floor the lawyer had to take. Because at any time Hannah could turn around and snap her fingers, and then the lawyer would have to just... leave.
Brandish wasn't Protectorate after all.
What Hannah was doing was far more than a mere courtesy, until the Protectorate secured the scene, then Brandish's authority, as far as being Paige's lawyer went, was civilian level. Hannah was allowing her to help because she wanted to, not because she needed to.
Kat wasn't sure exactly what kept New Wave and the Protectorate from stepping on each other's toes like hippos in heels, her own city not having its own independent team or family of capes, but she assumed it was a combination of emergencies, politics, and territory.
It was all make believe really. The PRT would never listen to New Wave if something happened on their turf, which in Kat's opinion, was just silly.
If you have a team of super heroes, who want to fight bad guys for nothing, then you offer them the olive tree, never mind a branch. Heroes were outnumbered three to one, you had to take everyone you could get.
Still, it all came down to the fact that the Protectorate and the PRT had to look like the big boy on the playground, if the smelly New Wave girl wanted to play then she would just have to get used to being told what to do.
Kat thought playgrounds could do any great Roman political scenario justice pretty darn well without too much effort.
Children were great, and yet slightly scary. And sticky. Sciky?
"Mouse?" Hannah's voice came floating over to her, it reminded Kat of... paper work, lecturers and chocolate held hostage.
"Hm? Uh… Yes! Off I go!" Kat cheered and stomped off to the building, getting twenty steps away before abruptly stopping, then walking back to Hannah.
Her friend gave a disgusted sigh.
"Third floor." Hannah said tiredly.
Kat saluted, then patted Hannah once.
Brandished frowned.
"I don't think you should do that unless you're in the armed forces." Brandish said.
Kat beamed at her.
"I was a scout girl! Huzzah!" She cried, running towards the building once more, moving her red cape with her arms to make it billow.
"I'm not sure who Paige is safer with... Mouse Protector or the villains..." Kat heard Brandish say before the door to the building closed behind her.
The sudden silence was oddly relaxing for Kat.
Don't get her wrong, she loved an audience, the cheering, the laughter the fun. Keynote had been great for that, the girl liked crowds too and played along unlike most everyone else. But still, there was something about having time to think as she grabbed the hand rail, quickly ascending from the first floor. Having time to think about the past when she so rarely had the time to do so.
The mark she placed on Hannah was pulsing in her head, like a beacon at the back of her mind that waved its arms and yelled 'look at me, look at me!'
Not right now super hero super power voice.
Mouse Protector is on the job!
A mark for each hand. The left, tagged to Hannah, her escape and her guide post in case things got bad, battle wise or mentally.
Kat was pretty good at keeping herself focused, but if her mind wandered too far in one direction, then all the little doors in her head rattled and words, information, numbers, names, places, colors, feelings and...
Her right hand, applied a new mark to everything she touched. Her invisible mouse symbol, in her mind at least, appearing on each surface like a comforting stamp.
Mouse Protector was here, and now she was somewhere else. But she could come back.
Wall, marked.
Handrail, marked.
Door 7B, marked.
And so Kat climbed, listening every so often, pausing when she thought she heard something.
Downstairs Kat heard the door open and Hannah's heavy boots along with her mark moved off on their way. Brandish's flat heels clicked onto the stairs following her up so Kat quickly moved up herself, reaching the third floor.
She wasn't about to let Brandish see her hesitation as she pushed everything back behind a door called "galloping thunder Unicorn" which represented the Boston down town apartment building on Darrow Road, second from the right as you turn the corner and it's the building with the mural of a beach on it.
No good memories there. Move on and don't look back.
Kat's motto and Mouse's rule.
The third floor looked... wet.
Not flooded, but everything looked like it had some water damage happen to it very quickly and very recently. The two apartments that didn't answer would be suspected of this first. Kat readied her sword, still in its sheath, unfastening the strap that held it in place.
The first apartment was to her left, slightly away from the water damage. Kat walked silently towards it, mentally humming as she snuck along. The music helped to drown out the marks calling to her, wanting her to come to them.
It was a bad thing to place so many together, but bridges and burning, or was it water under the burning bridge?
Wouldn't it be better to have the water... on the burning bridge? The water could put out the fire…
Kat shook her head trying to focus.
The door was unmarked, painted white a long time ago, though peeling and stained now. Reaching for the door knob, she turned it and found herself facing a naked home; no people, no furniture, no Paige. The walls had clean spots where things use to hang, family pictures maybe. Perhaps the family got a wind-fall and moved on to a better place.
As Kat gave the apartment a quick sweep she reached a conclusion. Empty homes were a sad thing. All the memories of the place, the people who lived here, their laughter and tears... gone.
Finishing her sweep she closed the door and looked across at where the other unoccupied apartment was on foreboding side of the corridor.
Of course it was. Like the villains ever chose a clean place to be evil.
Unless they were snobs. Then the place was too clean.
Kat walked across, trying not to wince when her boots squelched on the damp rug that decorated the hallway.
If she had an alarm clock, it would go of right now, screeching and blaring, it seemed to be that kind of moment, all tense and mysterious, just waiting for the big reveal!
The door was marked 3.1.F?
Kat placed another mark outside the door on the wall and pushed the door open slowly.
Dark, but not completely so. Heavy curtains hung across the windows making it hard to see, dust visible in the odd sun beam.
There was noise in this room, which meant it was probably this one they were looking for. Kat walked in slowly, pushing the door open as far as it would go, making sure no one was waiting behind it to ambush her. No one did.
Or they were a super model and could easily fit behind the door with their slim bodies. It was a silly idea, but Keynote was that thin...
Kat quickly checked.
No super models. Which was kind of a bummer. It would be an awesome story.
Attack of the killer Models. Featuring her. As not killed.
Another noise, coming from behind the couch, a voice, singing softly. Kat wrote herself a mental note to remember the tune as she leaned over the couch, it sounded really good.
Paige Mcabee waved her hands in the air, as if she was driving a car... on the floor, looking up, with a pillow over her face. She made a sharp turn along with a happy humming hiccup and the pillow slid off, showing a very happy Paige.
She didn't seem to notice Kat at all.
Which given the ears on her costume said something.
Kat went to gently touch Paige, but pulled her hand back at the last second.
No bindings or anything keeping her tied up. This stunk of a trap, and of wet carpet for that matter. Kat discreetly looked around, spotting nothing that would suggest that someone was about to attack her.
But Strangers were a thing. Nothing strange about the man in the corner and all that jazz, not that she could see a man in the corner but you could never tell.
Still it was good to be smart. Kat placed one hand on the floor, and felt her mark attach itself to the very surface of the carpet. Each individual hair fiber beneath her hand was now... Kat's light.
A guide post to here and now. In case she ever got lost.
Which was hard to do in a three floor apartment complex, but Kat had done the impossible before.
She never spoke of the airport closet again. Colin had once... And only once.
With a mental switch she tugged at the light attached to Hannah, mobile, moving, hair coming down from a cap, green fatigues, boots on wooden floors, tense leg muscles, ready for a fight, gun in hand, taser.
For a tiny iota of time, Kat was Hannah, experiencing what she experienced, moving the way she moved, breathing the same air, and then she was firmly grasping Hannah's shoulder on the first floor, another successful Mouseport.
The other woman tensed, her gun turning into knife in an instant flash.
"Mouse! I told you-" Hannah began.
Kat placed her hand over Hannah's mouth cutting her off.
"Found her, third floor. I was going to call you, but I'm being all sneaky-sneaky, go me! Meet ya up there!" Kat grinned and in the back of her mind, like a light that glowed brightly, the feeling of hair and fiber filled her mind, dark, wet, old, thin and Kat was back next to Paige, who still hadn't moved, beyond apparently giving a traffic light the finger.
Smart thing done, Kat patted herself on the back.
Now, she focused on the rest of the apartment. She hung close to the wall, not changing marks in case she needed to rush back to Paige and deliver justice to scoundrels who would attempt to take her when Kat's back was turned.
Feeling like it wouldn't hurt to be extra smart, she placed her spare mark off Hannah and quickly applied to it to Paige. If she did end up getting kidnapped then Kat wouldn't lose her... again.
Then Brandish would stop glaring at her. Maybe.
Still the game was in their court, if anything Paige was being... katnapped!
Which is like kidnapped but with legal permission. Huzzah!
The kitchen was up first and it seemed to be a tiny room, not exactly many places to hide unless you were a Cape capable of changing into an oven.
Which sounded awesome.
'My pie is cold!'
'Never fear, Ovenwoman is here!'
'Yay!'
Kat would be a hero of the ages if she could do that. Still there was something about an oven suddenly falling on you that had the potential to be scary, she poked the oven just in case.
The bathroom and single bedroom turned up nothing.
Nothing seemed out of place.
No one was waiting for them.
No one bothered to take Paige with them when they left.
It would be reasonable to think Über and Leet were supposed to come along and take Paige somewhere else, but that didn't explain the signal getting blocked or why Paige was so high on something that she was in space.
Things didn't match up. Like a dark sock and a white sock, they worked fine if you didn't look too closely.
But Kat was a sock expert and she would not let this stand! So, the best way to get information about a kidnapping would be to ask the kidnappee.
Leaving the bedroom she spotted Hannah and Brandish hovering over Paige.
Hannah looked at her.
"Anything?" she asked simply.
Kat shook her head.
"Nope, nada, zip, nothing here, gone, poof!" Kat replied, her hands imitating a explosion, Brandish waved her hand in front of Paige's face.
The woman blinked, looked at Brandish and then smiled.
"Carol! When did yoooou get here~? Here... where is here? Pffft who cares." Paige said, her raspberry making Brandish blink.
"Uh... Ms. Mcabee? Are you okay?" Brandish said, looking alarmed.
Kat examined the woman's joints and wrists, finding no recent puncture wounds. Hmm, inhaled or skin contact then.
"Hm, she must be riding a high. I got a friend back in my town that's homeless, shoots up every so often, kinda reminds of this. Harmless, but goofy." Kat said, drawing the gazes of the other two women.
"What?" She asked feeling like they were judging her.
Hannah smiled and look down while Brandish shook her head.
"Miss. Mcabee? Are you injured?" Hannah asked.
Paige turned her eyes to her, her pupils enormous.
"Injured? Only in the soul army lady, I feel like a witch at Salem." Paige responded, looking serious.
Brandish stood, abruptly serious.
"My client is under the influence of a suspicious substance that may have been forced upon her. Anything she says is not usable in court, her mental status is compromised." Brandish snapped, even though Kat and Hannah hadn't said anything.
With a quirk of the shoulders that set her red cape ruffling, Kat shrugged.
"Sure, Paige is gaga, can we ask her a question?" Kat asked bluntly and Brandish lips thinned, then nodded.
Paige grabbed the cushion and hugged it.
"I am a marshmallow." Paige whispered.
Kat wished she was a marshmallow. Being all soft and gooey...
Focus.
"Paige? Do you know who I am?" Kat asked and the feather haired woman squinted up at her, then her eyes lit up.
"Protector of the mice!" Paige said with a large smile.
Kat puffed her chest out.
"Indeed, it is I. Paige, do you know who took you from the court house?" Kat said, bringing her smile full force on Paige. Hannah let her take over, a signal of trust rather than competence.
Paige thought about it then began waving her arms, shouting.
"The... thing! The witches pot!" The singer shouted and Kat nodded. Translating babble into American was her forte.
Cauldron.
"Did these pot people you to hurt you?" Kat asked gently, spotting Brandish tense at this out of the corner of her eye.
"No… They gave me the pipe of pretty colors, and these guys only wanted to know more. I feel for them you know? They're on a crusade!" Paige giggled, hugging the white pillow tighter.
Kat nodded.
"What crusade?" Kat pushed.
Paige froze. She took a few seconds, perhaps to gather what wits she had at the moment, then swallowed.
"They want me to be quiet." Paige said and her face was slowly losing color.
Kat smiled comfortingly.
"What Cauldron? I meant, what did the bad guys who kidnapped you today want?" She asked the same question again, if a little differently.
Paige thought about this and held her cushion tighter,
"They wanted to know about Cauldron. Why won't they let me sing? I just want to sing…" Paige asked herself and pulled the pillow closer, curling up around it.
Hannah spoke furiously into a radio before sighing.
"They're going to run the building through with experts, searching for any possible threats before they let Paige out of here. I told them that she seemed stable if not lucid." Hannah said with a sigh.
Brandish nodded as if she had expected this.
"Standard procedure. I don't think they'll find anything, but I rather not cause a fuss right now, Paige's case is an assured win if we can get her back in one piece, I won't have it fail now because one of us caused a scene." she said and Paige sighed loudly.
"What's the point? I win... Then what? I go missing? I never sing again 'cause no one wants to listen to me cause I'll brain wash them? S-so I go back to serving coffee in some ass end town? Win... It doesn't feel like winning." Paige muttered, her face buried in the pillow.
All of the capes looked at each other, not expecting this.
Kat wondered what they had given her, it was playing merry hell with her mind to mouth filter. Kat didn't envy Paige there, great high but low self-control.
Kat had enough trouble keeping her thoughts in her head as it was.
"Miss. Mcabee, I think you need to think about the alternative, I think serving coffee is marginally better than the Birdcage." Brandish said, going for gentle and calming.
Paige thought about this, her face peeking out from round the frilly edge of her pillowy comfort. She seemed to reach some sort of conclusion to the thoughts as she promptly shoved her face back into the cushion, sobbing.
"M-my life is... is a mess. Birdcage or coffee? What person… What kind of person ends up like this? Not a good person..." Paige trailed off sobbing.
Brandish looked like someone had dumped a bomb in her lap.
Panicked and wild.
Hannah's eyes frowned and Kat knew she was thinking about the best way to approach this. Kat tried to hold back a smile.
Both of them were great capes, valiant defenders of their city but not so good on the crying people thing. Kat made people cry all the time, mostly due to ruining their plots of villainy, so she thought of herself as a bit of an expert on talking to them.
"Ah chin up Paige." Kat said as she sat down on the floor next to the singer and put an arm around the crying woman. Paige startled at Kat's sudden presence.
Most people usually did.
"I hear you, you made some bad choices yeah?" Kat asked, not patronizing, but relating, compassionate. The feathers in Paige's hair fluttered slightly as Paige peeked once more around her cushiony comfort and turned to look at her.
"Unders-statement, I made some r-really bad choices like I think I can't get away from them." Paige hiccuped.
Kat nodded understandingly.
"That sucks, but you know, if you let them chase you all your life, you'll never stop running from them." Kat replied somberly.
Paige gave snort, half pulling away from Kat's arm.
"Easy for you to say." Paige muttered, she turned so she looked fully at Kat, rising to her haunches.
"Your bad choices never lead to you being kidnapped, your choices never made you think you sold your life until it was too late, your bad choices never made a… a man... hurt himself. Even if he h-hurt you, you did so much worse!" Paige half shouted while at the same time tried to whisper.
It was interesting. Kat reached out and poked Paige, making the woman fall back on her ass.
"Story time!" Kat said brightly and Paige blinked at her as she tried to scramble up in a sitting position again, her coordination still rather wonky, Brandish and Hannah looked awkward, noises from outside the door told them that the building was filling with officers and other official people.
"Brandish, I think we should go explain what we found to the person in charge, all three of us up here isn't helping. Mouse can reach us if anything goes wrong." Hannah said, holding her hand out to Kat, who smacked it lightly, placing her mark on Hannah again.
Brandish looked between Paige and the door.
"If anything happens to her..." Brandish said, trailing off and walked out the door, Hannah shook her head with a smile then followed the lawyer.
Paige watched them go, her hands holding onto the couch tightly.
Kat poked her again, making the feathered woman look at her again.
"So yeah, story time. You said my bad choices aren't as bad yours?" Kat asked, her voice coming off light.
Paige paused, looking unsure now.
Kat reached up and pulled off her helmet, it wouldn't be impactful to Paige if she didn't see...not Kat's face, but what she carried around with her.
Her identity less important to her than other capes, Kat spent so much time either in Protectorate ground or in the helmet that Kat Maybourne was pretty much known by no one. She had no house, no family, no true friends outside the cape industry and really, Kat often felt that Mouse Protector was a better face to be at times.
She saw Paige's mouth drop open. Kat could tell herself that her looks were stunning looks, that it had been her unmatchable beauty that caught Paige's attention, her long dark hair tied up in a neat bun, or her deep eyes that looked like melted chocolate, or even her mocha skin, a gift from her Cuban mother, lightened by her American father.
If she stayed indoors all day or got ill, she could pale like the best of them and impersonate a ghost! But after a good sunny day, she was tanned naturally the next.
But no, Kat had to accept that Paige was staring at the patch of skin that ran from her right ear to her forehead. The pale patch of skin that was so scarred and mottled it look like she had been attacked with acid.
In a way she sorta had been. Ravager was not a nice gal.
But Kat turned her helmet upside down and handed it to Paige, spotting Hannah minding the door in case people suddenly came through as she did so.
Hannah knew what Kat was doing, what story she was telling. Hannah was good like that.
"Look inside." Kat urged gently and Paige took the helmet with shaking hands. The woman seemed stunned by what was happening, but followed Kat's directions.
Kat watched Paige trace something with her finger, just above where the eye visor ended.
Kat could draw the gouge marks in her sleep. She carved them there after all.
"Who is Christopher?" Paige asked softly, her voice still wobbly and pupils dilated… but she sounded more in touch than Kat had heard her so far.
Kat took a breath.
"When I was younger, about twelve or so years ago, the Boston Protectorate was just setting up. We didn't have Armstrong as our PRT Director back then, but some other poor guy, Hendricks I think... But anyway we were starting out, ready to make a difference. The Protectorate had just started up, the first Wards just graduating. We were ready to plant the boot of justice in villain behind! I ended up being on a team with pretty much all new capes, the only former Ward among them. They told us that they needed to find which one of us had the potential to lead the team." Kat said, her voice growing distant.
This was a door that she never closed. Would never close. Because it was important to remember.
"Most our team were back liners, thinkers and blasters you know? But I was the mover, I could get in close and get out in a blink." Kat said, waving her hand as if that somehow demonstrated how fast she could move.
Kat laughed a little, pulling her cape a bit closer to herself while Paige pulled her pillow tighter, sitting up now and leaning back against the couch like Kat. She gently squeezed the arm she around the younger woman, comforting herself and the singer.
"I was a kid going through her teenage years. I had powers, I had people looking at me like I was their hope, their savior. Villains already out numbered us at that point and there was always another battle to win, so I let myself get stuck into it. I thought I should have been the leader already, I was brought in by Legend after all." Kat explained.
Paige hugged the mouse helmet close, abandoning the cushion entirely.
"You know Legend?" The blond woman asked, sounding a little awed.
"I was invited to his wedding. It was great, you haven't been to a real party until you're at a party where Miss M is drunk and using a battle axe to cut the cake and Dragon is pestered into hijacking the DJ booth by Narwhal, who was dressed for once actually... Who knew she even owned clothes? But anyway, I was up my own ass when I was eighteen. I thought I knew what I was doing, knew what being a hero was." Kat said and eyed the helmet.
"I... got passed over, another member of the team got selected. Hendricks picked a great guy called Quartz, he could control sand, great for beach parties and a real hero, but at the time... I felt cheated, like I had been slapped. This guy? He had done nothing, it hadn't even been two months since he joined, barely three since he got his powers. I hated him for a while. So to show that they were wrong and I was right, I went off on my own for a little while. Petty, but I wasn't thinking." Kat continued, not looking at Paige anymore, but at the floor. The memories perfectly clear.
They always would be. She would never forget.
"It went well for a while, but it didn't change the fact that it wasn't what I wanted. I thought I should be in charge, but the more villains I chased down the more frustrated I got. Quartz tried to talk to me, but I wasn't listening, treated the whole thing as a game. Then about a few months after I left, this villain appeared, called himself Crunch, which was a great name for him. Crunch was a striker, touched something and it folded in on itself." Kat explained relaxing against the couch, glad to relax for a while, to just… stop.
Paige quirked her head, still hugging Kat's helmet to herself.
"Like a piece of paper?" Paige questioned.
Kat nodded. What ever was in her system seemed to be clearing fast as she seemed far more lucid, not like the usual drugs Kat knew of off-hand.
"Sorta, but think vault doors, cars and buildings, thankfully not people, and it took a while for him to soak his power into things. I found him on the run, hitting up some place for quick cash. I think he was homeless, his costume was just rags really. I chased him, I got cocky, started to run after him and he heard me." Kat's voice went soft, this was always hard.
"He ran on to the road and touched a car, there a woman and kid inside, his hostages now, he had dented the engine enough so they couldn't drive away. He told me to back off and he wouldn't do anything we'd both regret, just walk away and no one gets hurt, you know, that speech. But I was riding the high, he was a big catch, if I brought him in then they'd have to respect me. They'd have to. So I tackled him, thinking if I got him away from the car fast enough he couldn't do anything. I didn't even look at the family. I didn't even consider them. The doors to the car were folded in a little, stuck." Kat said, her voice flat.
Paige was staring at her eyes wide. Kat continued her story.
"Crunch... he... his powers only needed touch to soak in, he didn't need to keep touching it to keep it going. He ran and I chased, before I heard the car begin to fold in on itself. I rushed back and got the mother out in time, I crawled in, I tried to reach for the kid, tried to get him out and... I failed." Kat swallowed.
Paige went still at this, eyes still wide staring straight at her.
Kat clenched her fists and kept talking.
"I didn't even tag the car just in case, I didn't check on them, I didn't care. I was a brat and that boy paid for it with his life." Kat breathed out and even though it had been almost fourteen years, her eyes felt wet. Kat took a deep breath to calm herself.
"His name was Christopher, he was thirteen, he loved soccer, games, and swimming and Ilet him die." She said, her eyes closing as her cheeks began to feel wet too.
Paige swallowed hard.
"That's... not your fault. That villain did that. He used his powers hurt people. Like me…" Paige said.
Kat smiled at her, this scene got turned around fast.
Wasn't she supposed to be comforting Paige?
"No, I was a hero. I was supposed to be better than that. Being a Hero is about saving people, not about catching bad guys. What I had done, what my actions caused… I faced them, I stared at what I had done because I wanted some fancy title, fame, recognition. I wanted to be a hero but I had failed at being a Hero. What kind of Hero can't even save the person in front of them?" Kat said with a wet snort.
Paige looked speechless and Kat plowed on. Once remembered it was better to talk, to let it flow lest more doors start rattling.
"I accepted the blame, I grieved, I quit for a while, not sure if I could live with what I done. I had everything around me... just shatter. My life was a mess, I couldn't be a hero, I had given up my civilian life, and I refused to be a villain. My life had come to a dead end. I was stuck between ending it or getting back up. Two choices. How did my life come to that, what kind of person reaches that level? That's what I kept asking myself." Kat said, taking back her helmet. Tracing the name carved inside it, just above her visor and where she could always see it. There was noise in the hall and she put the helmet back on.
"Legend came to talk to me. The big guy himself. He knew what had happened and he said I had a choice, right there and then. I could stop feeling sorry for myself and make things right, or I could hand in my cape and get out. He's a great guy, when everyone else danced around me, he cut to the chase. I remember saying to him that I wasn't sure I could make it right, I didn't know how to think, how to start, how I could ever make it up. Do you know what he said to me?" Kat asked with a small smile to Paige who looked interested and excited.
Kat hoped she didn't have a crush on Legend, there was only going to be disappointment for her in many ways.
"He told me that if I had to think about doing the right thing, then I wasn't doing it for the right reasons. I was a hero because I was there to helppeople, to be a shield of the people, to protect them, not be a sword of justice. He told me I had to get off my ass and start helping." Kat's smile stretched into a grin as she spoke.
"So after that verbal wake up slap, I got to work. I was at the bottom of a hole I couldn't see the top of, but I started to climb. I rejoined the team; I put everything I had into helping the city, helping people. I never chose to chase another villain over a person again. I let a lot of people escape me because I stopped to make sure the people they threw in my way were safe, to make sure that no one would die because I wanted to win. It caused no end of arguments, but I didn't care that the bad guys stole money or jewels. I only cared that I stopped another person from dying." Kat said standing, Paige watched her stand.
"To this day and every day, I carry around that name, because without that name I would not be a hero. I would be a failure. I...visit his grave every year, with his mother. She didn't like it at first, but we've grown to accept each other on some level, I asked her, when I got courage, if she still blamed me and she told me something that I needed to hear." Kat said and looked Paige in the eye.
"I never blamed you, not once, you came back for us, that's all that matters. If I'd had fallen, I would never of heard that, never of gotten that closure. So if you want to lie here and cry, I'm not going to stop you." Kat said, but she drew herself up to full sitting form.
"But listen here Paige, Bad Canary! You got two choices, start making things right for yourself or just quit. No one else can do that for you. If you truly want to make the best of things, then you got to start believing that you can and you have to start trying. Sitting on the floor feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to do squat, take it from me. I know that you're not a Hero, but you're a Cape. You have powers and how you use them, why you use them is important." Kat said, offering a hand to Paige who took it slowly.
Kat pulled and Paige lifted herself to her feet, her legs wobbling badly.
"I don't know where to start." Paige whispered.
Kat smiled brightly.
"Here and now. Today. One step at a time." Kat said simply and Paige looked unsure.
"Paige... You can only control what's in front of you, you worry about the future too much then you're going to screw up the present." Kat told her and Paige seemed to think about that, when Hannah came back in.
"Time's up, they want to sweep this room, the rest of the building is safe. The PRT have got a van waiting to take Paige to the hospital, routine check, it's extreme but we can't run the risk that Paige here might be trapped by a tinker or a striker power. Neighbors report seeing the back of the building move then become different in material and shape, clear use of a cape's power. So until we get the all clear, master/stranger protocols are in effect." Hannah said grimly.
Kat nodded.
It made sense, there was only a few reasons to leave someone behind after you kidnapped them. You got what you wanted from them, which was possible since Paige said they wanted to know something, they couldn't take her because of some limiting factor to their group or powers, or Paige was intentionally left behind to cause damage.
Option one would be preferred, the second was also okay, it meant that they might try again, but they would be ready now, but the third...
Brandish closed her phone as she walked in.
"My daughter Amy is going to meet us at the hospital, she'll be able to tell if something is obviously wrong." Brandish said, sounding tired.
Kat hummed.
"Panacea eh? You must be proud of her for doing so much good work." Kat said.
Brandish looked at Kat, an odd expression on her face.
"Of course she does good, it's how I raised her." The lawyer said as if defending herself.
Kat blinked. That… sounded odd.
"Ah well, yeah. But she could easily not do it, or rebel? She is a teenager. Still, I mean... at least she wants to help right?" Kat needled.
Brandish narrowed her lips as if biting down on a word.
"Amy... works hard." Brandish finally said, then she turned on her heel and walked out. Throwing a look at Paige that seem to beckoning her to follow.
Kat rubbed her chin. Brandish seemed quite happy with her family status, being heroes and all but...That hadn't sounded odd. That had sounded…ominous.
Amy 'does good', instead of Amy 'is good'.
Amy 'works hard', instead of Amy 'does a good job'.
There was acknowledgement but no pride. It felt kinda sketchy to Kat.
With a serious nod to herself, she added Amy to the list. Hmm, wasn't Keynote a healer too? Maybe some bonding would be in order. Besties for life!
Focus.
Paige seemed to hesitate, her legs wobbling less, her pupils back to normal size. She still looked a bit wild however with her feathers sticking up.
"Mouse Protector... I..." Paige struggled to say.
Kat put one hand on her shoulder silencing her.
"Don't worry about it. I'm the protector of the little folk, you know? You'll be fine, get out there and get your freedom. Huzzah!" Kat said and gave the singers' shoulder a squeeze.
Paige managed a weak smile.
"Thank you." Paige said and followed Brandish out into the hall then disappeared around the corner.
Hannah sighed.
"You need to stop getting attached to everyone who has a bad day." Hannah commented.
Kat shrugged.
"I can't help it. That's how me and you are friends." Kat pointed out.
Hannah rolled her eyes.
"As you keep reminding me." Hannah said dryly. Looking around the room she crossed her arms.
"Paige will be fully lucid by the time they get to the hospital. She can shed a bit of light on everything, but none of this makes sense." Hannah said, looking around.
"Easy come, easy go. Paige will tell us something and if it's bad, we kick some butt, if it's weird we can have some cookies and a good think." Kat said and slung an arm around Hannah's shoulders.
"I envy your positive attitude." Hannah said with a sigh, but a smile crept up her face.
Kat sighed dramatically.
"It's my curse." Kat wailed and Hannah opened her mouth to, mostly likely, pop her bubble, but there was a sudden cry from the people outside.
Hannah rushed towards the window. Kat was quickly behind her, looking over her shoulder.
"What. Is. That?" Kat said, each word said with an extreme emotion of shock and happiness. Hannah stared at the giant yellow bird being surrounded by people, a small fairy thing floated around like a hummingbird .
"Those are Parian's dolls but I don't see her in the crowd. Why are they here?" Hannah asked and when Kat didn't say anything she turned around in time to see Kat running towards the window at a full sprint, one of her red boots in hand.
"MOUSE! USE THE STAIRS!" Hannah pointed with a finger at Kat who froze. A few of the PRT staff who were trickling into the room also froze along with more in the hall.
"But Missy! It might be gone by the time I get down there!" Kat said, sounding pleading. Hannah stared at her, eyes narrowed.
Both woman stared at each other before Hannah sighed, turning and opening the window. Kat cheered and threw her boot out the window.
"Seriously, you are such a chi-" Hannah began but Kat was suddenly outside, scooping up her boot.
Hannah leaned out a window, even from down on the ground Kat could see the squint on her face.
"YOU ARE A CHILD!" She yelled and slammed the window shut.
Kat waved back cheerfully and turned, running straight for the giant bird after pulling her shoe back on.
"Oh you are awesome!" Kat cried as she ran smack into it, arms circling its neck in a fierce hug, it was surprisingly warm and soft.
The bird craned its neck to look down at her and warbled.
The other thing, a bear mouse fairy thing, floated down.
"You're Mouse Protector, kupo, Keynote spoke about you." The fairy thing said.
Kat felt something inside her scream.
It was her inner child.
The fairy knew her name! There was a bird bigger than a car height wise. Brockton Bay was... magical.
"I am she! Huzzah and greetings, kupo!" Kat answered back, the fairy titled his head.
"Kupo?" The fairy asked.
"Kupo!" Kat repeated and the fairy spun in the air and landed on the bird, thrusting its paws out dramatically.
"Kupo!" it cried and Kat felt humbled, such a heroic pose.
But she was not to be outdone!
Kat flipped backwards, landed on her feet and spread her cape with both hands.
"Kupo!" She fired back and the fairy vibrated.
"Oh you are good, kupo!" It said and the bird twittered. The fairy looked down and looked abashed.
"I suppose, kupo, I got distracted. Have you seen Keynote? We went looking for her when she disappeared, we felt this area go crazy with some really weird space effects, kupo, so we thought she was here." It asked.
The crowd of people around them were stunned at the display. Kat mentally patted herself on the back, another job well done.
It was Kat's understanding that the more weird or comical things she could make people associate with her, the better they were at accepting her, since she was clearly harmless and weird and fun.
Operating in Brockton would be easier if they associated Mouse Protector with safety and friendliness.
"Nope, haven't seen her. But I know where she is... sort of." Kat offered and the fairy looked at her.
"That's great, kupo! We sort of almost have her, now that this area is returning back to normal, but it's still hazy here." It said and Kat looked at the building.
Odd space effect... it made sense with the reports.
Some sort of shaker effect that changed the landscape and altered space around it. The dolls, and they were the best damn dolls she had ever seen, could sense something was up.
"She's fighting a guy named Hookwolf in a warehouse, my friend Missy told me that the live stream is still going. People are searching for likely candidates for which building it might be." Kat explained, these were Parian's dolls, which made them Keynote's team mates, so there was no harm in telling them.
"Kupo... Me and Boco can almost sense her... I think if we keep going this way, we'll find her. If she's in trouble, we're ready to help, kupo!" It said.
Kat approved of that attitude.
But if they knew where Keynote was, and Keynote was fighting Nazi's... Then Kat should help.
It was the right thing to do.
"Wait here, I'll be right back!" She said, putting her hand on the bird and... nothing.
Her mark slid off the bird and fizzled out.
No way. She tried again and again the mark slid off each time. Like a balloon popping in her mind
The bird was mouse proof.
"You guys... Are so cool." Kat said with a squeal and quickly touched the ground. Then in a blink was back by Hannah's side, on the stairs, the men near her all gave startled yells and pointed their weapons at her, Hannah looked unfazed this time, almost expecting her.
"Missy, going to rescue Keynote, the fairy and its bird know where she is... roughly and I'm going to help!" Kat said exuberantly.
Hannah paused before shaking herself.
"Mouse, I left you alone for five minutes." Hannah said with dismay.
Kat gave her a thumbs up.
"I'm that good." Kat said and made the hand gesture for a phone.
"I'll give you a ringy ding when I've kicked butt and delivered justice to the people!" She said and Hannah blinked, reaching out to grab her, but Kat was already back outside.
"Fellow warriors of justice, I wish to travel with you to help Keynote in her heroic duty to deliver the smack down to a Nazi who is cruel to animals." Kat said as heroically as she could.
The bird and the fairy looked at each other, then the bird crouched low, and Kat held back another squeal.
"Welcome aboard, kupo! This is Boco and I'm Mog!" The fairy, Mog, said and Kat gave a bow.
"You can call me Mouse." Kat replied and the people around them, a mix of civilians and police force, stared at them, phones were out, people pointing excitedly.
"Kupo, Keynote is going to be glad we brought back up!" Mog said to Boco, the bird dinosaur thing.
Kat secretly labeled him as the Mouse mobile.
Because, sadly, they wouldn't let her have a mouse mobile since it was 'waste of PRT funding' and 'a frivolous expense'.
But Hunch got his dart boards. It was unfair!
And Kat always suspected that there was a giant sandbox for Quartz somewhere in the base...
"Onward! For truth and justice!" Kat cried and Boco ran forward, accelerating to a blur, the speed taking her by surprise, so she clutched his neck a bit tighter
"KUPO!" Mog cheered and there was something behind her...a voice.
"MOUSE, GET BACK HERE!" Hannah yelled and Kat pretended not to hear.
Hannah would get over it... later.
Much later.
She was the amazing Mouse Protector, but Hannah was a woman with any gun she wanted at any time.
It wasn't like she was afraid, as Boco began to weave in between cars, but Kat had a healthy relationship with not being chased by an angry soldier woman with a riot gun.
Those left bruises.
Last time it took months for the one on her ass to fade. Kat had only dyed all Hannah's scarfs pink... She didn't want to imagine what the military hero would do after this.
Kat took a deep breath, locked scary Hannah behind a door and cheered as Boco jumped over a bus.
Huzzah!
_
