Shadow Stalker - Advent of a Hero
Chapter Nine: Swim the Deepest River, Climb the Tallest Tree
It was almost four o'clock before Sophia got off the bus and began the trek to her mother's house. The bus stop was on Stonemast Avenue, but it was a ways down, and she knew she would be walking for a bit.
She had cried on the bus. Even as the tears ran down her face, she had tried to stop them with sheer willpower, telling herself that only weaklings cried. But they had not stopped, and she was starkly reminded of the fact that even while Taylor was in the midst of tears, she was no weakling.
At least the waterworks had come to an end by the time she got off the bus. She wiped her eyes, got rid of her ruined makeup, and blew her nose, and was once more presentable to face the world.
The walk was a little more time-consuming than she had expected; she simply wasn't used to walking in a skirt, and it seemed that every errant breeze was determined to flip up said skirt and reveal her lacy underwear to the world. It wasn't really like that, she knew, but the faster she walked, the more likely it seemed to be about to happen.
Nor did it help that the bruises left on her body by Taylor were starting to stiffen. Even walking just a little carefully, she was certain that any sort of close examination would find – among other things – a bruise in the shape of a hand-print on her left buttock, one that would match Taylor Hebert's left hand perfectly.
She remembered that kiss with shameful intensity; even now, with all the emotional turmoil she was going through, the memory was enough to make her go weak at the knees.
It was well after four when she got in; her mother was in the kitchen, while Terry lounged on the couch, watching TV.
"Hey," her brother greeted her, sitting up. "So how was the big date?"
"Shut the fuck up," she retorted, continuing through toward the kitchen.
"Hey, what the fuck?" he demanded. "I asked nicely. No need to bite my head off."
She ignored him. He stood up from the couch and followed her. "Seriously, Soph, just a little common fucking courtesy around here –"
Their mother looked up as Sophia entered the kitchen, Terry close behind her.
"Mom –" they both began at the same time.
"Be quiet, both of you," she snapped. "Swearing like that, for shame. If you have to swear, take it outside, where I won't hear it."
"Sorry, Mom, but I –" began Sophia.
"Mom, she just came in and snapped at me!" Terry interrupted. "No reason! I just asked her how her date went!"
Sophia felt her mother's probing gaze and dropped her eyes. She was certain that her mother could see straight through her, see what had happened, see her pain and her shame. Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked furiously. She would not cry again, not here, not in front of Terry.
"Sophita, come here," her mother said softly, using her baby name, and opened her arms. Sophia went to them willingly, as she had not done for six months and more, ever since she had gotten her powers. She felt her mother's arms warm around her, a refuge, a sanctuary. Tears leaked from her eyes and soaked into her mother's blouse.
"Mom, what the ... heck?" asked Terry blankly.
"Can't you see how unhappy she is?" asked his mother. "It obviously didn't go well." Sophia felt a motion, which may have been a jerk of her mother's head. "Go and check on your baby sister."
"Okay, Mom, but –"
"Go."
Sophia heard his footsteps retreating. Her mother patted her on the back, holding her close.
"Do you want to talk about it, Sophia?" she asked softly. "Did something happen between yourself and this Taylor? Did she hurt you?"
Sophia, to her embarrassment, found herself crying again. Hot salty tears soaked into her mother's blouse, and she clung to her, trying hard not to let any sound escape. Her mother's warm hand patted her back, making her feel more like a child, and strangely, making it seem more all right to cry, to let her emotions out.
When she raised her head again, her mother dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, then offered it. "Blow your nose, Sophita," she advised softly.
Sophia obeyed, then handed the square of cloth back. Without being told, she sat on a chair next to her mother.
"You were so happy, getting ready," her mother said softly. "What happened?"
Terry came thumping back downstairs; Sophia looked around slightly. She didn't want her brother hearing any of this, most of all the truth of her being a cape.
"Terry," her mother called. "I forgot to buy eggs. Can you go and get some from the shop, please?"
"What, seriously?" he protested. "Can't Sophia go?"
"No," she told him bluntly. "You can go. Now. They'll be closing soon."
Grumbling, he went.
Sophia's mother put her hands on Sophia's shoulders, and looked her in the eye.
"Tell me," she invited softly.
So Sophia told her. She elided over the intimacy, the cuddles and the kisses; her mother did not need to know about that. But she told her the basic story, how she had said just the wrong thing, how Taylor had reacted, and the rest of it.
She had thought she would cry again, at the retelling, but there were no more tears in her for now. Later, perhaps, but not at the moment.
Her mother looked at her solemnly. "So what are you going to do, Sophita?" she asked. "I can tell that you love her deeply. How are you going to win her back?"
Sophia looked her in the eye and told her.
The afternoon sun was westering in the sky as Shadow Stalker arrived on top of the building opposite the Brockton Bay PRT building. She didn't like being out in the daytime, even this late in the afternoon; it made her feel vulnerable, exposed. But if she was going to do this, she had to get it over with as soon as possible. Even now, she could feel her fierce independence eroding her resolve.
If I am to have Taylor back, I must do this.
Leaping into space, she turned to shadow, using her cloak to semi-glide, semi-fall to the pavement opposite. Turning solid just before she landed, she went to a crouch for just a moment, letting her cloak spread around her. Ignoring the stares from the pedestrians around her, she stood and walked into the lobby of the PRT building.
The four PRT guards spaced around the lobby came to full alert, of course. She was a cape, and a little-known one at that. She'd been at this for a few years, but she tended to keep to the shadows, both figuratively and in reality. Add to that the crossbows she wore at her belt, and the cases of arrows for those same crossbows, and they had a certain amount of reason to be wary of her.
Ignoring the guards, she approached the reception desk, keeping her hands well clear of the crossbows.
"Good afternoon," the receptionist greeted her urbanely. "Your name is Shadow Stalker, I presume? We have you down as an independent hero."
"I am, yes." Sophia took a deep breath. "I want to join the Wards."
She sat in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea in her hands; beside her, her mother held a cup of coffee. Opposite them, Falchion and Triumph occupied the other two chairs in the room.
"You have to understand," Falchion observed, "it's a little unusual for independent heroes to walk in off the street and ask to join the Wards."
"I thought you wanted young parahumans joining you guys?" asked Sophia. "Why the third degree?"
Falchion shook his head slightly. "Apologies if it seems like the third degree," he said. "It's just that we'd like to understand your reasoning behind the sudden decision. We've been keeping track of your movements, and you seem to be doing quite well in your patch."
"Especially since you went out with that other cape last night," Triumph commented. "The Brute, or whatever he or she was. Hookwolf's still groggy from the beating she laid on him."
"Breaker," Sophia put in. "Her name is Breaker."
Triumph looked at her searchingly, apparently picking something up from her tone. "Is this Breaker the reason you're here today?"
Sophia took a deep breath. "In a way," she admitted. "Now, Mom's given her full approval to me joining, so is there a reason that I can't?"
Falchion looked at Sophia's mother. "You agree with this course of action, Mrs Hess?"
The older woman nodded. "Sophia is going to be heading out there with her costume and crossbows anyway, so if she has someone backing her up, all the better. This Breaker was backing her up, but she doesn't want to do it anymore, so, yes, I agree with my Sophia joining the Wards."
"Is there anything you'd like to tell us about Breaker, while we're here?" Falchion asked bluntly. "Anything you think we should know?"
Sophia looked him in the eye, or at least in the visor. "Just that she's a good guy," she said flatly. "One of the best. Better than me. She took on Hookwolf to save me, and only to save me. Okay?"
Falchion nodded. "Noted," he replied.
"Now comes the hard part," observed Triumph.
Sophia gave him a wary look. "What?"
"Paperwork."
Every form had been filled out, permissions signed, identification offered and checked. The i's had been dotted and the t's crossed. It was now full dark outside. Triumph stood and stretched, then leaned back with his hands in the small of his back.
"Wow," he groaned, "that was rougher than I remember it being for me."
"You had a few shortcuts," Falchion reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Triumph grinned.
"Shortcuts?" Sophia wanted to know.
"I'll tell you later," Triumph told her. When your Mom's not here, he meant.
"Oh, okay," Sophia said uncertainly. "So ... when do I actually join the Wards? Officially, I mean."
"Technically speaking, there's a twenty-four hour cooling off period," Falchion pointed out. "Any time until this time tomorrow, you or your mother can call this off. But you're officially a member of the Wards right at the moment."
He raised a finger. "Note that if you go and do something right now as a Ward, and get into trouble for it, you may not use the 'cooling off period' as an excuse to get out of it. You break the rules as a Ward, you're disciplined as a Ward."
"Of course, most punishments for probationary Wards breaking the rules in any real fashion involve being kicked out of the Wards, so that's another thing," Triumph noted.
"Which, just incidentally, brings up a topic I have been meaning to cover," Falchion stated. "Your crossbows."
"What about them?" Sophia's tone was defensive. She was starting to get the impression that this had been a bad idea.
"Do you have non-lethal ammunition for them?" The question was direct and blunt.
"I ... no."
"I thought as much." Falchion's tone was hard. "If you're to be in the Wards, you need to change that. So far, you've been lucky. There have been several incidents which may have turned out badly for you, but no charges have been laid as yet."
"Change it how?" she asked helplessly. "They're crossbows. They shoot arrows. It's sort of what they do. If I lose the crossbows, I become someone without any ranged capability, and with damn-all damage capability at all."
He shook his head. "I wasn't suggesting discarding them. You're obviously very accurate with them. I would suggest we look into non-lethal ammunition. An arrow that only penetrates so far, then releases a knockout drug. Perhaps a blunt arrow, to distract and stun without doing lethal damage. Armsmaster might be able to help with that."
"If it ... if it helps me become a better hero," she told him, "then I'll do it. Whatever it takes."
He smiled readily enough. "That's what I like to hear, Shadow Stalker." He held out his hand; dazedly, she shook it. "Welcome to the Wards."
Triumph shook her hand as well, while Falchion shook hands with her mother.
"Wanna come meet the Wards, while you're here and all?" Triumph asked. "They're not all on base right now, but some of them are."
Sophia looked to her mother. "Can I, Mom?"
"Only if it doesn't take too long," Mrs Hess replied. "We still have to get home. We don't want Terry getting worried."
"Terry?" asked Triumph.
"My older brother," sighed Sophia. "He doesn't know."
"Ah, gotcha," he acknowledged. "Well, come on. I'll introduce you around."
Falchion sat and drank coffee with Sophia's mother, while they waited for the newest Ward to return.
"It's been a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Hess," he observed. "Believe me, some of the parents of would-be Wards are less than cooperative with the most basic ideas."
"I just want the best for my girl," she told him steadfastly.
"Well, we'll do our best to keep her safe," he assured her. "We can't guarantee absolute safety, of course. In today's world, that's basically impossible."
She knew what he was talking about. "But you won't be pushing her into the front line of any fight?"
He shook his head. "No. She's an infiltrator, a Stranger, with useful combat capabilities. But she's not a front line combatant."
"That's good to hear," she noted. "She's a little ... aggressive. Pushy. It will be good to have wiser heads to counsel her against rash action."
"Believe me," he assured her, "she won't be the only aggressive, pushy cape we get in here, not by a long shot. The Protectorate and the Wards are here to keep them in line and ensure that the aggression is directed in a constructive manner."
She sipped at her coffee. "Well, Sophia's been doing her own thing ever since her powers manifested. If you can get her in line and keep her there, good luck to you."
Triumph put his eye to the retinal scanner and pressed the button. Seconds later, the door unlocked. He ushered her in.
"Everyone!" he called out. "I'd like you to meet Shadow Stalker!"
Sophia looked around; 'everyone' seemed to consist of a boy in a rust-red costume, and a slender, petite girl in green and teal.
"Hey," said the boy. He lifted into the air and flew the dozen yards that separated them. "I'm Aegis. Pleased to meet you."
She shook his hand. "Shadow Stalker. But you knew that."
He nodded. "Vista said she saw you out and about last night." He turned and gestured. "Vista, come on over."
Space distorted, making Sophia's eyes ache, and all of a sudden, the girl was standing right in front of her.
"You're not wearing a visitor's pass," she noted in a quiet voice.
Sophia shook her head. "No," she agreed. "I just joined. Shadow Stalker." She reached out her hand; Vista shook it, her hand delicate in Sophia's muscular grip.
For a moment, Sophia was inclined to dismiss her as being unimportant in the scheme of things, but then she reminded herself of her reason for being here. If I'm going to show Taylor that I can be a hero, then I need to be a hero, she told herself.
"It's good to meet you, Vista," she told the younger girl warmly. "How long have you been in the Wards?"
Vista thought for a moment. "About three years ... Aegis?"
Aegis nodded. "Yeah, three years."
"Wow," Sophia commented. "If you don't mind me asking ... how old are you?"
Vista hung her head. " ... I turn fourteen in a month."
Sophia put her arm around Vista's shoulders. "Hey, I wouldn't worry about it," she confided. "You've got as much time behind the mask as I do. So I'll probably be coming to you for hints and tips until I get my feet under me."
"Right!" Vista agreed with a grin. She gave Sophia a sudden hug, taking the older girl by surprise. "It'll be good to have someone on the team I can talk to."
Sophia smiled, and ruffled Vista's blonde hair. "It'll be good to have someone on the team who can show me around. I'm not used to this team stuff."
"Oh, I can help you with that," Vista assured her.
"Excellent," Triumph noted. "Thanks for that, Vista. Now, I suppose I should be getting you back, Shadow Stalker."
Sophia nodded. "Yeah, I guess," she agreed. "It was nice meeting you guys. I'll see you again tomorrow."
"Good to see you," Aegis agreed.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Vista told her. "And Shadow Stalker? My name's Missy."
Sophia blinked, taken aback once more by the younger girl's directness and ease of trust.
"Uh, yeah," she managed. What the hell, I'm joining anyway. She pulled off her mask. "Call me Sophia."
Vista's face split in a wide smile. "It's really good to meet you, Sophia."
Sophia smiled back. "You too, Missy." She turned to Triumph, while fitting her mask back into place. "Okay, let's go. Mom will be wanting to get going."
On the car ride back home, once she had changed from the Shadow Stalker costume, Sophia sat in thought.
Taylor's influence on me must have been stronger than I realised, she mused. I would have brushed off someone like Missy, before. Or at least been just polite. But she was friendly, and I was friendly back. Like a normal person.
She was fully aware that she wasn't really a 'normal' person, not in her attitudes, nor in her actions. Nor had she been that way for at least three years. Normal people do not consider it commonplace to don a costume and a mask, to go out and deliver bodily harm to criminals.
She had considered herself hardened for the task, stripped of those things, those emotions, that made her weak and vulnerable. She was a weapon, a predator, a lurker in the shadows. Not a prey creature, not soft and compliant. Never again.
But being with Taylor, seeing her, talking to her, listening to her, understanding where she was coming from ... it had changed her, in subtle ways. Not so subtle, now. While she still thought of herself, deep down, as a predator, it took her little mental effort to see someone like Vista, someone petite, vulnerable, as someone to be helped, protected, not to be brushed aside as a weakling.
Taylor, I wish you could see this in me, she thought to herself.
A worry struck her. Being nice to Vista ... does that make me soft?
She firmed her jaw. Hell no. I can protect people, and still be hard, tough, strong.
Taylor taught me that much, at least.
Sophia's mother looked across at her, as the glare from street-lights fell across her face, fell away, then returned, over and over again.
"I'm proud of you, you know," she told her daughter quietly.
Sophia looked around at her, blinking a couple of times.
"Really?" she asked.
"Really. It took real maturity to go in there and do that."
"You know why I'm doing it."
"I know. Is she worth it?"
A long pause.
"Yeah, Mom. Yeah, she's worth it."
"Good." A slight smile. "You know, I still haven't met her."
"I know. I'll bring her around when I can. I'm sure you'll get along with her."
"I'm sure I will, dear."
There was another long pause.
"Thanks, Mom. For everything."
"You're welcome, dear."
Terry was feeding the baby when they got in; he looked up and frowned.
"That took longer than you said it would," he complained, but without any heat to his words.
"School supplies are school supplies," Sophia told him airily. "If you can't get them one place, you get them in another. But they are kind of needed. Yeah?"
"Yeah, well, you really shouldn't have waited till the last moment and got Mom to drive you all over town," Terry scolded her. "So anyway, about that date you went on ..."
"None of your business, brother dear," Sophia told him, with rather more self-control than she felt inside, and went upstairs to her room. She stowed the bag with her costume in her closet, then went to take a shower.
Hopefully, by the time she came down for dinner, Terry would have forgotten about the date.
It wasn't likely, she knew, but she could always hope.
Taylor and Emma stood side by side, the incoming students surging around them. It was Tuesday morning, September eighth. The first day of the new school year.
Taylor spoke first. "Well, Ems, what do you think? Our last year before we graduate."
Emma looked at her critically. "Taylor, is something wrong? You look a little peaked."
Taylor shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm good."
Emma frowned. "Don't try to bullshit me, Taylor Anne Hebert. I know you. I saw how hard it hit you when ... well, you know what happened. You've gotten better, but now you've gone and backslid. What's the matter?"
Taylor took a deep breath. "It's Sophia, she ..."
"She what?"
And then Taylor was grabbed and spun around. Bewildered, she looked at the face of the person who had grabbed her. It was Sophia, her face alight with joy and mischief.
"Sophia?" she blurted. "What are you doing?"
"Thanking you," Sophia told her, and hugged her so hard that Taylor instinctively pulled a couple of levels of amp so that she could breathe.
"For what?" she asked, once Sophia had let her go.
"For pointing out to me that my head was still partway up my ass," Sophia explained blithely. "So, I've taken steps."
"Taken steps?" repeated Taylor, feeling like she had just walked into a movie halfway through.
"Yeah," Sophia grinned. She leaned in and gave Taylor a smacking kiss on the cheek, only a fraction of an inch away from her lips. While she was there, she whispered a few words in her ear.
Taylor's eyes went wide. "You didn't."
Sophia nodded, her eyes bright. "I surely did."
Taylor hugged her, almost as tightly as she had herself been hugged. "That's wonderful," she enthused.
Sophia nodded. "So you just wait and see. I can do it. I'll show you that I can."
Taylor smiled, and kissed Sophia, a soft and gentle kiss, directly on the lips.
"I'll be watching." Her voice was soft.
Sophia's smile slipped for just a moment, and it seemed that there may have been a tear in her eye. "Thanks," she managed. She cleared her throat. "Look, I've gotta go and meet with the track and field coach. But I'll see you around, 'kay?"
Taylor nodded. "Definitely see you around." She leaned in and whispered a single word.
Sophia's entire face lit up. She was still smiling as she left them, still smiling when she turned the corner.
"Wow," observed Emma. "That was different." She looked Taylor over. "And you've just been given a shot in the arm. I take it you've mended things with her? Whatever it was that went wrong?"
Taylor smiled. "Oh, I think so," she agreed. "I'm just ... wow."
Emma frowned. "So what was it she said to you, and what was it that you said to her?"
Taylor chuckled. "Well, what she said to me was," she leaned in and lowered her voice, "'I've joined the Wards.'"
Emma's eyes went wide. "Holy shit," she managed. "She did?"
Taylor nodded solemnly. "If she said it, I believe it."
"Okay, so what did you say to her, that put a spark up her spine?"
Taylor grinned, and leaned in to Emma's ear again. She whispered a single word.
"Hero."
End of Part Nine