Mama Snek in BB

by StreamingViking

Friend-Insert Ft. Passive Soul as a co-writer: There are many snakes in Brockton Bay, but this one is here to help and do good. A story where my friend is a Case53 as an Expy of FGO's Gorgon

3. School Troubles

"Yeah, of course, come on in, uh I only have like two towels right I just moved but come in come in." Verity said, worried as to why a kid would be here on a school day during lunch, ushering Taylor in.

She nodded her head as she let herself be guided into the bathroom where Verity handed her a towel and kept talking. "I'd help with the drying, but uh, super strength, just uh get dried off and… you literally live one house over, you can get clothes if you need that, uh, can you tell me what happened?"

"They, they poured this all over me while I was eating lunch in a toilet stall," Taylor answered, her voice quiet and sounding close to cracking as she tried to dry her hair.

"Who did?" Verity asked, now having something to better focus on. "If you know."

"I do, it's the trio," She answered, sounding actually conflicted about telling her.

"And who's 'the trio', exactly?" Verity asked. "Local bullies I'm assuming, but like, do you know their names?"

"More than anybody else, they are… they are my bullies and have been for over a year and half," Taylor answered as her voice cracked and Verity could see tears coming down her face.

"Oh sweetie." Verity said, very carefully and slowly going for a hug, which Taylor thankfully didn't reject. "It's gonna be okay."

"How? They never get punished?" She asked.

Verity felt a tinge of familiar anger at that issue, but thankfully the mantra of 'don't break the baby' going through her head on loop meant she didn't accidentally tighten the hug. "Just because they haven't faced repercussions yet doesn't mean they won't." Verity assured. "And, I don't know if you know Taylor, there's been a pretty big change around here recently."

"Huh?" Taylor asked in confusion as she looked up, staring directly into Verity's yellow eyes.

Verity grinned. "I mean, I only just blew into town. And I don't know how it's been here before, but I can't stand bullies. I've got you covered, kid."

"What are you going to do?" Taylor asked.

"Well, I'm going to talk to them." Verity said. "And if they still don't understand what they're doing is wrong, I'm going to be talking to their parents. And probably principal before that. And the staff at your school. And… you can see where I'm going, right? I'm going to have a chat with everyone."

"Is that even going to work?" Taylor asked, extremely sceptical.

Verity grinned a bit wider, unintentionally showing off her fangs. "I'll make it work. Trust me. I probably won't even have to go above the parent level." She assured. "Now, who makes up this little trio of babies throwing tantrums?" She said, just barely not saying her go-to b-word.

Taylor did crack a giggle at that. "Their names are Emma Barnes, Madison Clements, and Sophia Hess."

"...Sophia Hess?" Verity repeated, thinking back to the files she'd just gotten classified to read last night.

"Yes?" Taylor stated. "Do you know her?"

"...I wouldn't say I know her." Verity said. "But I'll definitely be having a talk with all three of them. The other two were Emma Barnes and Madison Clement, right?"

"Yes, but there is an S at the of Clement," Taylor corrected her. "And… I've got a list of stuff they've done to me since summer along with emails they've sent to me."

"You've got hard proof?" Verity asked happily. "That'll make this a lot easier. But, for now." Verity said as she pulled back from the hug. "I've got a pizza in the oven, did you eat yet?"

"They ruined it along with all my school books and notes," Taylor answered.

"So adding destruction of property to that list…" Verity mumbled. "Alright, you can get into your house, right?"

"I have a key, dad does a lot of overwork," She answered.

"Okay, so you go get cleaned up, then come back here, I'll have that pizza ready for ya, and then we'll head back to your school, does that sound good?" Verity asked.

Taylor nodded her head in agreement words seemingly to fail her.

"Okay, so you do that, and I'll get everything ready on this end, okay?" Verity asked.

"Yeah," Taylor answered as she left the bathroom and the house, Verity watching and making sure Taylor got back into her own, and quickly began flipping through the files about what this would mean for Sophia, because she would be reporting this... and from everything she could see, it was basically guaranteed Juvie based on what Taylor had said (and even more from what she implied).

"...Hmm. Maybe I should talk with her first…" Verity said to herself, the conflicting feelings of wanting to help Taylor and not wanting to ruin Sophia's life warring inside her as she continued going through the files. "...She's already on parole… maybe making it a plea bargain… house arrest? No, wait, I need to know what her family's like before that… fuck." She groaned, before an obnoxious timer went off. "Oh, right, the pizza." Verity said, quickly going over to the oven and getting it out, not even registering she was doing so with her bare hands, as she set the pan on the stovetop to cool.

"Okay, make sure everything's ready first, then figure out how to do this." Verity decided, before getting everything ready so that Taylor could have the best lunch possible, cursing the fact she didn't have anything kids/teens liked other than milk.

Thankfully, she had everything ready in about ten minutes, so she had enough time to think while she waited for Taylor to come back as she added 'capri suns and soda cans for guests' to her shopping list before thinking on how to handle things.

"I am back," Taylor said as Verity heard the door open and close and a moment later, Taylor was in the living room dressed in much cleaner clothes and had a notebook in hand.

"Great! Food's ready for ya!" Verity said cheerily, motioning to the already plated pizza. "I have water and milk for drinks, do you want either of those or no?"

"I'll take the water," Taylor replied as she sat down. "Thank you."

"Any time." Verity said as she got her said cup of water before taking her own 'seat'. "Though, to be clear, I'm not encouraging skipping school to come here for the future." She joked seriously.

"Sounds like a much better use of my time than going to Winslow," Taylor replied.

"Trust me, I know the feeling." Verity agreed with a nod. "I'd recommend cyber school, but I don't know if there's any good ones around here… Wait is it because it's boring or are the teachers dou-" Verity quickly caught herself. "Dinglehoppers?" she quickly corrected.

"They are just indifferent, there is only really one I like as that is the only class I don't have with them," Taylor answered as she ate the pizza while pushing the book that she had been carrying a bit forward. "That has every incident since summer."

"Mhm." Verity said, picking up the notebook and carefully skimming through it, whatever existed of her appetite evaporating as she read. "Oh my god." She said at a certain incident in early January. "How the ffffffp-" Verity's curse turned into a surprisingly good elephant impression as she tried to strangle it.

Which made Taylor jump a bit in her seat as she dropped the chunk of pizza she was holding back onto her plate. "...So you got to that?"

"Yeah!" Verity said, carefully closing the notebook. "So, um. Taylor, have you told anyone about these incidents? Because half of that book is filled with straight-up crimes."

"I tried but they just told me there was no evidence, and I don't know what happened with that… I… I was in the psych ward for a week."

All of Verity's already dwindling cheer vanished at that as she carefully went around the table and pulled Taylor into another hug. "You don't have to worry about a thing now, alright?" Verity asked comfortingly. "I'm here. And I'm going to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

Taylor just leaned into it in response, the girl seeming not at all used to this much comfort, but thankfully also not repulsed to it.

And about five minutes later Taylor finally responded with words as she pushed her glasses off and wiped her eyes. "So how do we do this again?"

"Well, we're gonna head back to your school, I'm going to talk to… the principal, I'd assume, and you're probably going to be asked to recount what they've been doing to you." Verity said apologetically. "And then I'll have a one-on-one chat with all three of this 'trio', and then I'll potentially be talking to their parents about this, and I'm probably going to have to talk to your dad when we're done." Verity said.

Taylor flinched at that. "Do we really need to do the last part?"

"...Taylor." Verity said, looking her directly in the eyes. "Does your father hurt you?"

"What? No!" Taylor shouted in response. "He has never hit me, but. I… I don't want him to get even more depressed by this."

"Taylor, sweetie, why would he be depressed by things getting better for you?" Verity asked. "Unless… you haven't told him any of this, have you?"

"I… I told him that I had been bullied after the locker, but then I told him they had stopped afterward," Taylor answered.

"Taylor." Verity said like a disappointed mother. "Why would you do that?"

"To make him feel better, mom's death almost broke him, and I didn't want him to know that it was Emma that was doing it," Taylor answered.

"Lemme guess, former friend?" Verity asked, easily guessing from the way she said it.

Taylor nodded her head. "She was my best friend, we grew up together, but the summer before Highschool started she, she became such a bitch." She explained, before owlishly blinking having seemingly not meant to say it but it had come out anyway.

"I get it." Verity said. "But, going back a bit, what do you think would make your dad more sad: finding out you're being bullied, or finding out you didn't trust him enough to tell him you were being bullied, and learning it from someone else?"

"The second I think," Taylor answered, seeming unsure.

"Speaking from experience, that second one hurts a lot more." Verity said. "So if you don't want me to tell him, it would probably be better if you did. Because we are going to Winslow, and he most likely will hear about it, so it's probably better if you tell him."

"I… I get you," Taylor responded. "I'll tell him."

"Atta girl." Verity said proudly. "Now, have you had enough pizza? Ready to face the music?"

"I have, and I think I am," Taylor answered.

"Alright, so let's head over then." Verity said. "You're gonna have to guide me, I do not know this place's layout at all."

"Sure, I know the way," Taylor replied as she stood up, there seemed to be a lot more life in the girl than before.

"Great!" Verity said as they headed out, Verity making sure to lock the door behind her, before turning her back to Taylor, her hair raising above her head to show her back. "Hop on."

"Huh?" Taylor asked. "Really?"

"I can keep pace with a car, and I can keep your identity secret this way." Verity explained. "So hop on the Mendax Express! Mendaxpress? Whatever."

"Yeah, that actually does seem like a good idea… somehow," Taylor stated.

"Oh no, it's a terrible idea, but it's a fun one." Verity added jovially.

Taylor didn't say anything as she got on the tail and wrapped her arms around Verity's stomach hugging herself close.

"Alright, kid, hold on tight! This train ain't got no brakes!" Verity joked as she lowered her hair to block outside view of Taylor while allowing her plenty of room and space to see ahead. "Which way we going?"

"We're going up the street first," Taylor answered.

"Alright, and, we're… off." Verity said as she picked up speed, and was very happy she was legally allowed to move this fast as she accelerated.

About 10 minutes of high-speed piggyback ride later, Verity found herself staring up at Winslow High, which looked like ass, graffiti all over, bricks in disrepair, the works. "And we're here!" She said happily as she came to a stop, ignoring the passerby looking at her as she approached the front entrance. "Alright Taylor, we're just going to keep you in here till we get away from prying eyes, okay?" She whispered as she walked at a much more sedate pace.

Verity felt her nod against her back as she entered.

"Hello!" Verity greeted the security guard within with her normal cheer. "Can you point me in the direction of the office? I need to speak with the Principal."

"Uhh…" The totally caught off guard security guard said as he took in Verity's form. "Principal Blackwell's office is at the end of the left hallway at the end of this one."

"Thank you! Have a great day." Verity said as she followed said instructions, ignoring the guard after that as she went down the hall and went straight through the open door into the secretary's office, said secretary looking at her in confusion and shock. "Hi, you know who I am, is Principal Blackwell available?"

"She is now," The red-haired woman replied as she pressed a button on her desk phone. "Miss Blackwell."

"What is it Stephanie, I have my break now?" Came the voice of whom Verity presumed to be Principal Blackwell.

"Hi, Principal Blackwell?" Verity asked, leaning forward to answer herself. "This is Verity Mendax, do you have a moment?"

"Who the hell are you? And what do you want?" The woman responded in a disgruntled tone of voice.

"Sorry, you may know my other name a little better, I also go by Medusa." Verity said, the cheer dropping from her voice on stating her Hero name, dropping into serious mode. "And I'm here about a number of crimes committed on this campus."

"...Shit," Came the response and the connection ended. And a second later the door to Blackwell's office opened up and in it stood a narrow woman with dirty-blond hair that was in a severe bowl-cut that immediately put 'Karen' to Verity's mind. And she looked like she was about to attend a funeral clothing wise. "Hello I am Principal Blackwell, what can I help the Protectorate with?"

"Can we go into your office so we aren't overheard?" Verity asked back. "There is some sensitive information at hand regarding the actions of some of your students."

"Come in," Blackwell responded as she removed herself from the door.

"Thank you." Verity said as she entered and carefully maneuvered her tail into the rather small room behind her.

As soon as the door was closed and Blackwell was behind her desk, questions clear on her face, Verity began to talk. "So. I have reasonable cause and no small amount of proof that three of your students have been engaging in literally criminal levels of bullying on one of your other students. Specifically," And at that, she raised her hair to let Taylor off.

"Hello Principal Blackwell," Taylor greeted her in a hard tone as she removed herself from her tail.

"Why is she with you?" Blackwell asked.

"I'm her neighbor." Verity said. "And I believe I said it in the interview, I like being a good neighbor. And when a kid comes to me upset from the latest in a long string of incidents, I'm going to act accordingly."

"Now Miss Mendax, I believe that you might not have the full picture and might be overreacting," Blackwell responded.

"Listen, Blackwell." Verity said dead seriously. "I've studied the law. And I've been memorizing every bit of it since becoming a member of the Protectorate, Civil and Criminal. At minimum, what happened today would constitute destruction of property, but not only that, Taylor has proof in the form of disparaging emails sent from the students personal school accounts, as well as an extensive and comprehensive list of incidents, which I can guarantee at least one of these three will confess to after a few minutes talking with me." Verity laid out the law. "Now, I'm doing this off the clock. Technically not under Protectorate jurisdiction, just as a concerned citizen and a good samaritan." She carefully placed her hands over Taylor's ears, causing the girl to look up at her in confusion. "However, one of them distinctly will be Protectorate business, if you understand what I mean."

The expressions the woman's face made as Verity talked would make her dreams for weeks, until she let out a deep breath. "I fully understand, now who are the ones you wish to talk to?"

"Emma Barnes, Madison Clements, and Sophia Hess." Verity said after she removed her hands from Taylor's ears, looking Blackwell dead in the eye as she said the last name.

"I will call on them," Blackwell said as she pressed a button on her intercom unit. "Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, Madison Clements please come to the Principal's office immediately."

Once she took her finger off the button, Verity continued. "Would it be okay if I use your office for this, or do you have a better place in mind?"

"The teacher's lounge would probably be a better fit," Blackwell responded.

"Fine by me." Verity said. "Ah, Taylor, did you want to be here for this part or no?" She asked quietly.

"I need to," Taylor responded.

"I understand." Verity said, before they waited a few moments for the three in question to arrive, Verity putting a comforting hand on Taylor's shoulder and staring Blackwell dead in the eyes until she looked away, unnerved.

And five minutes later the voice of the Secretary came from Blackwell's phone. "Ma'am the called upon students are here."

"Send them in," Blackwell responded and three seconds later three girls entered the office, two of them caucasian, the other one african-american. And it was the last one that had the biggest reaction as if she could not believe her eyes.

"Hello girls." Verity said with a small grin as she looked at all of them, keeping eye contact with each and who she assumed to be Sophia staring back before looking away defiantly. "In case you don't know who I am yet, I'm Verity Mendax, also known as Medusa. And I'm here to have a talk about how you've been treating Taylor here."

Sophia scowled, while the brunette looked utterly confused and even a bit terrified while the red-head immediately began to speak. "Miss Mendax, I don't know what Taylor has told you, but she is an attention seeker that lie-" Her words were cut off by who Verity presumed to be Sophia, slammed her palm against her mouth.

"Emma shut up." She hissed.

"So." Verity said, their attention all on her. "I'm sure you all know exactly what you've done, so I'm going to cut straight to the point- I have grounds to arrest all of you right now if I wanted to for what you've done to Taylor." She said, not mentioning she was currently referring to a citizen's arrest since she wasn't acting under Protectorate mandate.

"You don't have any evidence," The one Verity presumed to be Madison said.

"I have plenty," Taylor said in response as Emma removed Sophia's hand.

"My dad's a lawyer, I know my rights, this isn't-" She started.

"Oh, trust me." Verity cut her off. "Even if all criminal stuff is ignored, which I doubt it will be, this is a motherload of a civil suit, which I will personally fund if necessary. And I'm trying to offer a last chance before things get anywhere near that far. Punishment, but unlike some people in this room, I don't enjoy ruining people's lives." She paused. "Wait, no, sorry, that's a lie, I don't like ruining kid's lives." She said, gaze again lingering on Sophia. "So, I'm going to have a chat with each of you, and potentially your parents, and you all are going to stop, understand?"

And as soon as the word 'stop' passed her lips she saw for the briefests second a look of pure fear on all of their faces. Which made them all nod in response.

"Good. Madison, you'll be up first, we'll be going to the teacher's lounge to talk, Emma, Sophia, stay here." Verity said.

"Understood," They replied.

"What about me?" Taylor asked, her face filled with conflicting emotions.

Verity thought for a moment. "How about you wait outside the lounge while I talk? I do want these chats to be private, but I'm not stupid enough to leave you in a room with any of these three without me." She looked at Blackwell. "That works, right?"

"That it does," Blackwell responded.

"Good. Let's go girls." Verity said, the three leaving in silence and Taylor quickly leading them to the teacher's lounge, which Verity opened the door to and entered to find it already vacated, Madison following behind her.

"Take a seat." Verity said as the door closed, motioning to one of the couches.

Madison obeyed and sat down, and looked up at Verity with pure fear in her eyes.

"So, Madison." Verity said, remaining standing. "I don't think you've said anything this whole time. Why don't you loosen up a bit? I'm not going to hurt you, I'm legitimately just going to talk to you."

"You're not going to arrest me?" She asked, her eyes darting from side to side.

"I might." Verity said. "But the thing is, I don't want to. The whole point of me talking with you right now is to prevent things from escalating." She took a moment to push her snakes back, having realized they were laying it on a bit thicker than she intended. "Down, stop it." Verity hissed at her snakes, which hissed back before turning back to hair. "And of course, everything about this talk depends on your answer to two questions, Madison."

"And what are those?" She asked, her body shaking as she did.

"Why?" Verity asked the million dollar question. "Why would you do such horrible things to another person? At all, let alone consistently?"

"Survival," She answered. "This school is filled with gangbangers, and I noticed quickly that both Emma, Sophia weren't targeted by anyone and the teachers just seemed to let them get away with clear rule breaking. And they would be good friends to have after school as well, Sophia is a star athlete and Emma is on her way to become a serious model and her dad's a lawyer even if his specialization is divorce. Friends in high places, I was just looking out for number 1."

"...So you were afraid of someone potentially doing something bad to you, so you instead did exactly what you were afraid of happening to someone else." Verity said coldly. "Madison, I… you're lucky Taylor's a good kid, or she would have probably turned into a school shooter. And then all of your being horrible to survive would have been for nothing."

Madison choked at that, the idea seemingly never once having entered her mind.

"Yeah." Verity said. "You done fucked up kid. And as a reminder, I'm only having this talk with you because you're a kid." She shook her head and sighed. "Do you even realize other people have feelings? Or did it just never cross your mind what you were really doing?"

"I just… I just didn't want…" Madison replied as tears ran down her face seemingly only now just realizing what kind of person she had been.

Verity sighed again, satisfied with the seeming revelation but still put off by seeing a kid crying. "Second question. How's the home life?"

"It's fine," She replied.

"Good, cause you'll probably be spending a while there." Verity said. "Like I said, I don't want to ruin your lives, but you're probably going to get suspended for this, at least. And I will be talking to your parents."

"Yeah… that is probably the minimum," She replied.

"Yeah." Verity said. "Now, can you go back to Blackwell's office and send Emma over? And tell her running would make things infinitely worse for her? I am still trying to keep this on the downlow and I'm… rather conspicuous."

Madison nodded her head as she took in a deep breath, and wiped her tears with a sleeve as she stood up.

She walked out of the room and as she passed by Taylor, Verity saw her look at the girl she had bullied for the better part of a year. "I'm sorry," She said as she quickly turned her head and walked away going back to the Principal's office.

"Did she just?" Taylor asked as she pointed at Madison who was walking down to the other end of the hall.

"Yup." Verity said. "Reality checks are a pretty strong thing. I know it probably didn't mean much, but better than nothin', right?"

"Yeah," Taylor replied. "So I know you said you wanted to talk to them, but I still don't get why?"

"Guilt is a powerful thing, Taylor." Verity said. "I know they've done horrible things to you, and I'm making sure the extent of that sticks with them for the rest of their lives the way the mental scars will for you, so that they might become better people. Madison realized, so she's getting a second chance. The point is to see if they're willing to change for the better or not."

"I don't think that is going to work on Emma," Taylor stated her expression a bit sour still.

"There is still the actual punishment element, to be fair." Verity said, hearing Emma approach. "And we'll see."

And the expression on her face was one of simmering anger, though as she passed Taylor the red-head gave the girl a smug smile as she entered the Teacher's Lounge.

"Please, have a seat." Verity said as she closed the door behind the girl with her tail. "I hear you like talking, Emma, which is good because we're going to have a chat that will likely determine your future."

And Emma sat down with her legs crossed over the other one. Not saying anything at the moment.

"...You know the silent treatment's not going to work, right?" Verity asked. "Madison already told me everything, I already know exactly what all of you did."

At that Emma's eyes went wide in shock, but she quickly calmed herself down. "And what is it, exactly, we've done?"

"Harassment, assault in the civil sense," Verity added quickly when Emma was about to pipe up. "Destruction of property, all on numerous occasions, and that's without including the locker incident, which is just all kinds of messed up, kid. Like, genuinely, what was the point? Why would you do such horrible things to another person?"

Emma stayed quiet as she crossed her arms in defiance.

"...You know the point of this talk is so that you don't go to juvie, right?" Verity asked. "If you say nothing, I've got no option but to assume what Taylor and Madison have said has been the truth, you aren't willing to change, and things are going to get messy."

"You should understand why," Emma replied.

"Excuse you?" Verity asked, surprised.

"You're a Cape," Emma stated. "So it should be obvious."

"...And why would you say that, Emma?" Verity asked, eyes narrowing. "Do you know something I don't?"

"You're a Cape, a survivor, a predator that destroys and gets rid of the weak, I am doing the exact same thing you do, you just get paid for it," Emma said, like the sentence made a hundred percent sense to her.

Verity looked at the girl in sheer disbelief. "Emma, where on earth did you get that impression from?"

"I came to that conclusion myself," Emma replied.

"So in your worldview, it would make perfect sense, and be perfectly acceptable, if I just killed you right now?" Verity asked. "Because to me, you are weak."

"I AM NOT!" She shouted. "I am strong, I survived, I didn't break like Taylor did!" She shouted, her face contorting in pure anger as she stood up but still had to stare up at Verity as she was still much shorter than her.

"And I could snap you like a twig with my pinkie finger." Verity said calmly and coldly. "By your own admission, it would be perfectly fine for me to kill you right. Now."

Emma froze, her expression locked in fear as she stared up at Verity.

"And would you look at that." Verity said. "Your whole thing falls apart in an instant. Though, you are partially correct." Verity said, taking one step closer to the girl. "I am a predator. In the sameway a sheepdog is. I guard the weak from those who wish them harm. You included."

And as soon as Verity stepped towards Emma she fell onto the couch her face still stuck in its fearful expression.

Verity internally flinched and dialed it way back, lowering herself to one knee to look Emma in the eyes as she spoke in a much softer tone. "That means protecting from people like you… and protecting people like you. Just because you have a little more power than someone else doesn't give you the right to ruin their life. And I'm holding myself to that standard. All you need to do to walk away from this a better person is to stop being so horrible to people."

Emma was breathing heavily now. "But I… But I have to, have to get rid of it, get rid of the weak me, but the weak is part of Taylor, so I have to push away Taylor," Emma said her voice low and going on repeat indicating that she didn't have much of a presence of mind right now.

"Emma-" Verity said, very very gently placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. And she saw Emma's eyes go to Verity's other hand and then…

Verity groaned as she found herself on the floor, having seemingly lost consciousness for a moment as she looked up and took in the room.

And she saw Emma still sitting on the couch but… She was different now, her skin looking to be made from snake scales but red in color that was now receding and turning back into normal skin.

"...Well this just got a bit more complicated." Verity said as she rose up, Emma still staring at her in fear. "Emma, can you hear me?" She asked gently, waving her hand in front of her face.

She got no response from the girl, but Verity could see that she was still breathing.

"Verity what happened? I just lost consciousness," Taylor's voice asked as she opened the door to the Teacher's Lounge. "The fuck?" She asked as she stared at Emma's right hand that was still scaly but was slowly turning to normal. "No, no, no, no. This can't."

"Yeah apparently she was a bit more unstable than I thought." Verity said. "Also, hold on a second," Verity said as she closed the door behind Taylor with her tail. "You're a Parahuman?"

"Huh?" She asked. "What no? Why would you?" Taylor asked.

"Emma just triggered, and I lost consciousness." Verity said. "Which is generally what happens to Parahumans when someone becomes one."

"Oh… I didn't know that," Taylor replied, looking very red in the face. "Please don't tell," She said in a pained voice.

"We'll talk about it more later." Verity said in a comforting tone. "For right now, I need to call the PRT… dammit, this was not how this was supposed to go… oh god I'm going to have to explain the context for this, shit." She muttered to herself as she pulled out her phone. "Uh. Real quick, I'm guessing you wanna stay a civilian?" She asked Taylor.

"For now," Taylor replied. "Can we talk later?"

"Absolutely." Verity said sincerely. "Uh, for now, head back to Blackwell and send Sophia over, and… call your dad, if you can."

"Gonna have to borrow a phone, but why Sophia?" Taylor asked.

"Once I make this phone call, I'll have about 5 minutes before I'm never allowed back here again to actually talk with her." Verity said entirely truthfully, or at least what she was expecting to happen.

"Ah," Taylor said in reply. "I'll go get her."

And at that Taylor left the Lounge.

Verity took a deep breath, before pressing the button on her phone to call the PRT.

"This is Agent Carlson. Medusa, what can I help you with?"

"Hey, I was at Winslow High for personal reasons and a kid triggered." Verity said. "She's currently unconscious, I'm with her, can we get a van down here? She's out, probably a Brute/Changer, no danger at the moment, but… yeah."

"We will send a van immediately, alongside Armsmaster, were there any witnesses to the trigger besides yourself?"

"None that I'm aware of, we were in a closed room." Verity said truthfully. "I don't think any of the Wards were close enough to be affected, either."

The intercom at the same time came online and she heard Blackwell's voice tell the teachers to keep students in their classrooms.

"That is good to hear, stay with her, the Van and Armsmaster will be with you in about five to ten minutes, we will use the back entrance to escort her out."

"Understood." Verity confirmed. "We're in the teacher's lounge, for ease of reference."

"Understood will tell, Agent Carlson over and out," The man ended the call.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Verity berated herself, tapping her fist against her forehead as she pocketed the phone and looked at Emma worriedly. "Dammit, first thing I try to do here and I immediately mess it up."

And a second later Sophia came through the door. "Emma? The fuck happened here Verity?"

"Close the door." Verity said, and the girl immediately obeyed. "I'm guessing something happened with her in the past, because she Triggered while we were talking."

"...Shit…" The african-american girl said in genuine surprise. "Yeah something happened, but how did that come up?"

"Do you know anything about her predator/prey mindset thing?" Verity asked. "I was trying to make a point, I think I took it a little too far."

"I uh yeah, I told her that," Sophia said. "I was just trying to make her feel better."

"Do you believe that too?" Verity asked. "Cause honestly before this I just thought you were like me."

"What? No? Shit doesn't fucking work like that, I just told her that she was a Surivior a strong predator that managed to overcome her weakness. I didn't think she took that shit to heart… But I was wrong apparently?"

"Yeah, no, she's been using that as the justification for the shit you've been doing to Taylor." Verity said. "Which, while we're on that topic, why in the fuck were you doing that shit to her? Do you like hurting people or something?"

"That explains why she was so fixated on her, and… yeah I do, why do you think I became a vigilante at first?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah no, that's not the healthy way of going about that." Verity said. "I had actually guessed at that before Taylor came to me for help, but… seriously, what the fuck with the locker though? What was the point of that?"

"Ask Emma her's idea, but I thought with that she would actually finally bite back," Sophia responded.

"You're lucky she didn't, I read through the shit you three did, you're lucky she didn't shoot up the school." Verity said. "People have done it for less."

Sophia cringed at that.

"Didn't think of that, did ya?" Verity asked rhetorically.

"No, I just, I just thought that," Sophia said, conflicting emotions on her face.

"What? You thought what, Sophia?" Verity asked.

"...Dammit, I don't know how to fucking say it… Argh," She grunted in frustration as she kicked the floor, but then her face went a bit blank. "I… I think I might believe in that, what I said to Emma... Just a little bit." She said seemingly having a moment of self realisation.

"Yeah, that's not healthy." Verity said. "For you, or the people around you. As you can tell." She said, motioning to the unconscious Emma. "Listen, we're going to have to have a talk about all this back at base, we've got a van and Armsmaster on their way and I'm going to have to explain why I was here."

"...Fuck, I am in deep shit aren't I?" She asked.

"Yeah." Verity said with a sigh. "Half the reason I was doing it like this was so that it wouldn't ruin your parole, but… no plan survives contact with the enemy, no matter what the battlefield, I suppose… you do understand what you've been doing to Taylor is fucked up, right?"

"Yeah," Sophia replied. "I just didn't care, the school didn't do shit, so I just continued. Fuck I am surprised I am not in Juvie already since Blackwell knows I was involved with the locker, guess she likes the money she gets from having me here."

"I hope she'll enjoy the unemployment checks." Verity said. "I was going to save that for later, but if Blackwell knew what happened…" Verity laughed a laugh completely lacking mirth and promising pain. "Well she's not going to be Principal Blackwell for much longer."

"Pfft," Sophia snorted. "So is Emma alright?"

"I hope so." Verity said, looking at the unconscious girl. "Is she afraid of snakes?"

"No, but she probably will be now," Sophia replied as she looked at Verity's more scaly parts.

"Well, that sucks, cause I think she's part snake now." Verity said. "So same problem I had when I woke up."

"Oof, so her powers got influenced by yours? I read about that," Sophia said.

"Yeah, she had red scales for a bit but they've faded." Verity said. "Definite changer vibes, probably brute from how she was talking."

"How was she talking?" Sophia asked.

"Defiantly, as if she was fighting for her life and thought she was actually going to die." Verity said while shaking her head. "I think I pressed a trauma button I very much so did not mean to, I was just trying to say the idea was stupid."

"Yeah, she almost died two years ago," Sophia said. "Her and her dad got stopped by some ABB fuckers and were threatening to do all kinds of stuff to her. Then I intervened and saved them both, then she and I became friends. I tried to help her but I guess I did that wrong."

"Yeah, well I guess that means we have even more in common, kid, cause I also fucked up majorly while trying to help." Verity said with a sigh, before sniffing twice. "Oh, they're here." She noted at the quickly growing familiar scent of PRT gear getting stronger.

And a second later two agents came in carrying a stretcher. "Where is the Parahuman?"

"The one on the couch, I'd offer to help put her on the stretcher but she Triggered when I touched her." Verity said, motioning to Emma as she did.

The agents nodded their heads as they went over to Emma and placed her on the stretcher, putting a black sheet on her body to hide her identity as a just in case. "Armsmaster is expecting both of you outside the back entrance."

"Figured as much." Verity said. "Sophia, can you lead the way?"

The athletic girl nodded her head and Verity followed the girl to the back entrance alongside the PRT Agents.

There the van and Armsmaster were waiting for them.

"Mendax, Hess do you know the identity of the victim?" Armsmaster asked.

"Emma Barnes, she is my friend," Sophia said.

"Then go with her, and tell the Agents, they will contact her parents, I will contact your mother after I finish talking with Mendax," Armsmaster said.

Sophia nodded her head as she went into the van.

"So Medusa," Armsmaster said as the van began to drive away. "Can you tell me why you're here and what happened?"

"Well, uh, one of my new neighbors, a highschooler, came to me doused in juice and emotionally unstable at about half past noon, so I comforted her and asked what happened, and when she said she was being bullied I said I would have a talk with them and their parents to try to prevent that, and then when she said one of them was Hess, I knew I needed to talk with her, and it was going pretty well, the other member of their little trio seemed to have just not understood that other people were people before now, but then I may have accidentally pushed a trauma button for Barnes, and uh… yeah, she Triggered." Verity explained. "In retrospect, I probably should have gone about this differently, but I honestly didn't expect anything like this to happen."

"Yes," The man responded. "You should have, while a terrible thing, bullying is not part of our jurisdiction."

"Oh no no, I know, I was here as a concerned citizen." Verity said.

"That makes it better, so long as you did not introduce yourself with your Cape name first," Armsmaster said in an approving tone of voice.

"Yeah, I introduced myself as Verity first." Verity confirmed.

"Good, good, a few Protectorate heroes in other cities have tried to handle bullying but went about it the wrong way by going in as their 'hero identity,'" Her team leader praised her.

"I see." Verity said, feeling guilty at the praise considering the outcome. "What… what happens now?"

"What happened to Barnes was an accident that you could not have seen coming, her trauma was unknown to you, but you still mentally scarred a student so you will probably be banned from entering Winslow High grounds in your civic identity, and the parents have the option to sue your civic identity for emotional damage," Armsmaster said. "So come to PRT HQ as that is where the parents will be called to."

"Yes sir." Verity said, fully accepting the consequences of her actions. "Can I uh, get a ride with you or…?"

"There is room enough for two, though I will ask what happened to the bullied individual?" Armsmaster asked.

"Last I knew she was with the Principal." Verity said. "Who, related, should probably be talked to by someone with more... tact."

"Yes it seems that she and Sophia's case handler will need to be talked to regarding reporting on Hess's actions if the bullying proves to be credible, as that is a clear violation of her parole and probation deal," Armsmaster stated.

Verity inhaled sharply through her teeth. "And, there's nothing to be done to prevent her going straight to juvie?"

"That is up to the PRT Director, that is her decision to make as the Wards are under her control," The man answered.

"I understand." Verity said, already thinking on how to best go about talking with Piggot. "...So this is the worst thing to happen today, right?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, the city has been relatively quiet, but things are about to probably blow up… Quite literally, as we have gotten word about Lung breaking out and recruiting the Bomb-Tinker known as Bakuda," The Tinker responded.

"...Shit." Verity said succinctly.

"Yes, that is quite shit," The man said back. "Now we need to go to PRT HQ."

Xxx

"Okay, so we definitely need a wheel attachment for my tail, because I don't think either of us enjoyed that, right?" Verity asked as they arrived, tail very sore.

"I am in complete agreement, and that would be nice to have for the others now that I am thinking about it," Armsmaster replied as they entered the PRT building.

"Others?" Verity asked, wondering who else rode a motorcycle.

"Miss Militia, Triumph and Assault," He replied.

"Armsmaster the victim has been taken to the infirmary, but has not yet awoken but all vitals are stable," A PRT agent said coming up to them. "Medusa, the Director wishes to speak with you."

"Expected as much." Verity said with a sigh.

"I will speak to you either afterwards or on Sunday evening Medusa," Armsmaster said behind Verity as she made her way to the elevator. "And please do not cause another incident in the meantime."

"I'll do my best, sir." Verity said sincerely.

A few minutes later Verity was in Director Piggot's office. "Miss Mendax please have a seat," The heavyset woman said as she pointed to a chair that looked to be able to accommodate her.

"Yes ma'am." Verity said, taking the seat, taking momentary delight in the novelty of getting to sit on a chair again, before the situation brought her attention back to the present.

"Now please explain to me the incident that occured in Winslow High that led to a student triggering thanks to your apparent action," She said. "Please let there be a proper reason as I do not need a PR disaster after I just finished dialysis."

"Okay, so starting from the beginning, I was there as a concerned citizen after my new teenage neighbor showed up at my house at about half past noon drenched in juice and crying." Verity started, this time going a bit more in-depth. "...and when I went to talk with Miss Barnes, I unintentionally pushed a trauma button I didn't know about, and she Triggered. Which, to be clear, I had literally no idea was going to happen, but accept full responsibility for."

"Hmm, well with that you prove to be more accountable than ninety percent of capes, but this is not a complete disaster, hopefully we can manage to talk the parents out of a lawsuit, and we can sweep most of this under the rug," Piggot stated.

"If possible, I'd like to talk to them to at least apologize, but if they don't want to talk to me that is completely understandable." Verity said.

"That will have to happen as you will be talking to them as soon as they show up and have the situation explained," Piggot said.

"Understood." Verity said. "And, what's going to happen with Sophia, if I may ask?"

"She will be restricted to consol duty for two months, have her pay halved for that same period and be barred from any after school activity besides being a Ward," Piggot answered.

Verity weighed that against juvie in her mind. "That seems… reasonable. They did some nasty stuff."

"Yes, and if Sophia was less of an effective Ward I would be sending her to Juvie, but having her still will probably convince Emma Barnes to become one as well," She said.

Verity internally cringed at the loss of her plan to potentially recruit Taylor to the Wards. "Understood." She said, keeping her expression neutral.

"Glad you do," Piggot responded and what followed after that was ten minutes of silence before Piggot's phone beeped, telling that Mr. and Mrs. Barnes were on their way up.

And three minutes later a pair of red-heads walked into the office. Mrs. Barnes looked like a version of Emma that had fully matured, while Mr. Barnes looked like what, well, a Ron Weasly in his late forties would look like.

"Mr. and Mrs. Barnes I am Director Piggot, and this is Verity Mendax also known as Medusa, I am glad you could come as quickly as you did," Piggot said.

"What happened to my daughter? Is she okay? Where is Emma?" The father said in a distressed tone of voice.

"She is currently passed out in our infirmary, as for what happened, less than an hour ago your daughter triggered and became a Parahuman," She explained causing the two to freeze.

"How did that?" The mother asked, looking just as distressed as her husband.

"That is what Miss Medax will explain as she was present for the incident at Winslow High," Piggot said, giving Verity the floor to speak.

"Allow me to start by apologizing." Verity said.

"For what?" Mrs. Barnes asked.

"I was there as a concerned citizen due to your daughter bullying another student-"

"Who has told you such lies? My Daughter would never bully somebody," Mr Barnes asked.

"Mr. Barnes, Emma and her friends have all already admitted to bullying Taylor Hebert to a degree that would at minimum be grounds for a massive civil suit." Verity said plainly and sympathetically for finding out a loved one did something horrible.

"Taylor?" Mrs Barnes asked in sheer surprise. "Why would she? They are best friends."

"Yeah that makes no sense, why would Taylor lie-," Mr Barnes was cut off as his wife actually slapped him. "Zoe?"

"Alan, never, never call Annette's girl a liar, it's obvious if they all admitted to it that its the truth," Mrs. Barnes stated.

"From what I've gathered, it seems the bullying started shortly after the traumatic incident you and your daughter went through, after which she took on a very unhealthy mindset about predators and prey that led to her deciding to make Taylor's life a living hell." Verity said. "I think she very much so needs psychiatric help."

"Wait. Alan, I thought you had taken her to one?" Zoe asked her husband.

"I did, and he cleared her," He answered, his voice wavering a bit.

"Your daughter is very good at talking her way out of situations." Verity said, before sighing. "This was likely going to happen eventually, but I take full responsibility for it happening now. I was… trying to show the flaws in that philosophy and… I am so sorry."

"You were the one that caused it?" Alan asked. "You made my daughter a Parahuman I will see you in cour-," Alan began but he was cut off by his wife again.

"No Alan you will not," Zoe said.

"Why? She?"

"It was an accident, she did not mean to and besides, this just karma coming back to hit Emma, if we sue her there is a high chance that Danny is going to sue for all the damages our daughter has caused to the person I have personally changed the diapers of," Zoe stated putting her foot down on the issue.

"I understand dear," Alan said before he looked up at Verity with a glare. "But I warn you, if you so much as ever touch my daughter again."

"I understand, sir." Verity said, accepting that. "Thank you both for not suing."

"Well it's not your fault this happened when you tried to be a responsible adult, but if you talk to Taylor again, please tell her to come by our house so that I can apologize to her," Zoe said.

"Easy enough ma'am, I'm her neighbor." Verity said.

"It makes sense now how you came to her aid," Zoe said. "Now though, Director, what is going to happen to our daughter?"

"That is what I wish to talk to you about now, so Miss Mendax you're dismissed you may return home now," Piggot said.

"Yes ma'am." Verity said with a nod, taking her leave.

Xxx

As soon as Verity got home, she calmly went into her bedroom, picked up a pillow, and proceeded to scream into it for about 15 minutes, at which point her (surprisingly impressive) lung capacity ran out, Verity panting as she thought about how horrendously she fucked up what was supposed to be a relatively simple thing.

Really, she hadn't been thinking about the situation anywhere near as much as she should have been. In hindsight, instead of pressing, she should have just used the 'school shooter' angle with Emma as well, but she had been caught so off guard by Emma's mindset that she went and traumatized the poor girl to the point of superpowers.

"Aghh, dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit, the first person I try to help, the first person and instead I fuck it up! Of course I did, god I'm so stupid!" Verity ranted at herself. "Why does this always happen? Am I just not allowed to help people?!"

"Ssss."

"No, you shut up you little shit." Verity hissed angrily to her hair snake. "I'm pretty sure the reason she got so spooked is because you guys kept acting up!"

"Ssss…"

"Oh don't act like you didn't- just, shut up! Shut up!" Verity demanded, shoving it away from her, or going to, before realizing the pillow she had been holding was now eviscerated. "...Ugh. Dammit, this was really comfy too." She said, before sighing and cleaning up the mess, throwing the whole ruined pillow out.

As she finished doing so, she stared at her hands. She couldn't… feel things, like she used to, which she was pretty sure was a major factor in how she kept breaking things. Her sense of touch was… numb.

And as she stared at her hands, she couldn't help but look at their tips. They weren't really hands, were they? They were claws. They weren't meant for doing things carefully or gently. No, they were meant for killing. For cutting and ripping and tearing and ending.

Really, her whole body was like that. A weapon, a living weapon… no, what she'd said earlier was true.

This body was a predator.

But the person…

"...Shit. Why am I like this…?"

Xxx

Verity sat at her table the early morning Saturday sun shining through her windows as she ate breakfast while her reinforced phone was in her hand. Her fingers moving up the screen as she went through various news articles that detailed the absolute state of shit this universe was, a habit she'd been developing since getting here to keep updated.

It was not helping with how she was already feeling.

Though she was brought out of her funk as she heard her door bell being rung.

"Just a moment!" She called out as she set her phone down and headed for the door, answering without a moment's hesitation. "Hi, how can I… oh hey!" She greeted Assault. "What can I do ya for?"

"Was on patrol and came to check up on you, see how you were doing after yesterday," Assault said in concern.

"Oh, don't worry about me, I'm fine." Verity lied. "The ones to worry about would be the kids…" She said, making sure not to say any names just in case. "I was just eating breakfast, you wanna com- no, wait, you said you're on patrol, right, sorry."

"Yeah, I have to keep moving, and Verity there is no need to beat yourself up about what happened, it was an accident, a shit one, but you had no knowledge about the girl," Assault stated.

"I know." Verity said, not saying aloud she still felt bad regardless. "Good luck on patrol, hopefully nothing happens."

"Yeah, hopefully this is a quiet day, well see you on the Rig tomorrow," Assault replied as he returned to his motorcycle which was parked at the curb.

"See ya!" Verity said back as he drove away, keeping up the smile as she looked to see if there was anyone out looking at her, just in case- oh, hey, there's Taylor. "Hi!" She said with a wave.

"Hey," She replied as she continued to walk closer, a bag slung over her shoulders.

"Oh okay you're coming over here, uh." Verity said more to herself. "I was just eating breakfast, did you eat yet?"

"I have," She replied. "So I came over to talk regarding you know what."

"Figured as much. Come on in, I'll teach you my cookie recipe, as promised." Verity said, leading Taylor into the house.

And as the door closed the teenage girl gave Verity a raised eyebrow.

"I will teach you a cookie recipe if you want." Verity said. "But also, you know. Tact. I do have it, despite any proof to the contrary."

"Well that is a surprise," She replied as she went over to the table and took a seat and placed her bag on it.

"Yes, I know, quite shocking." Verity said dryly as she took her own 'seat'. "So… Parahumans, huh?"

"Yeah," Taylor replied. "So I have no idea what to do now, I wanted to go out on my own, but then you found out. So I don't really know what is going to happen now."

"Well, to start with, I think I'm legally obligated to discourage vigilantism." Verity said. "You could join the Wards if you wanted to, or just continue being a normie, or whatever."

"Thought about joining, but I just didn't want to deal with any more teenage bullshit," Taylor replied. "But I've always wanted to be a hero, so I thought I could be an independent hero and then join the Protectorate when I turned eighteen."

"Mhm." Verity hummed. "While I can understand that, the current active Wards as a whole are pretty drama free. Got like a sports club vibe."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah." Verity confirmed. "They're pretty much all ideal hero material." She paused. "The current, active ones anyway."

"Huh." Taylor said in reply.

"So, anyway, what do you actually do?" Verity asked. "Winning personality?"

Taylor smiled slightly. "It's a rather weak power, I just control insects."

Verity's entire body shivered at that.

"Yeah, I'd just be the creepy bug girl they would all make fun of," Taylor said with downcast eyes.

"Hey now don't go beating yourself up now." Verity said. "I just personally don't like bugs, that kind of power is terrifying. Like, terrifyingly useful." She quickly added. "How much do you control them?"

"It's pretty accurate," Taylor said as a black widow crawled out of her hair and down her arms.

Verity had to physically restrain herself from immediately flipping out. "Oh okay that's pretty cool!" She squeaked, voice very high. "Maybenobugsnearmyfoodpleasethankyou!"

"Sorry," She apologized as the spider went back into her hair.

"Thank you." Verity said, hand on her chest as she tried to calm her heart down. "But that's a pretty cool power! Just one that scares the daylights out of me! Do you get, like, feedback or anything from them?"

"Yeah, though their senses are fuzzy to me," Taylor replied.

"...Were you spying on the talks I was having?" Verity asked, eyes narrowing.

"No," She replied truthfully. "It requires a lot of bugs, and hearing and seeing is very sporadic. It depends on what kind of bugs I pick up."

"Okay, I believe you." Verity said. "If you can get enough of the right stuff, that could be pretty good. Like, centipedes are actually venomous."

"I know, but they are pretty slow, fliers are much easier to control," She replied. "As they react much faster along with moving faster."

"Oh okay yeah, sure, whatever actually works best for you, it is your power, I was just trying to be helpful." Verity said. "I'm guessing the bag's got your costume?" She paused. "If there's more bugs in there just please don't open it at the table, no bugs near the food please."

"There isn't any in it, just my costume," Taylor said as she opened it and pulled out her costume. Which was a body suit that was a dirty yellow in color with various segments of armor that protected the important places on the body. And a mask that was made to look like a bug's mandibles, made from the same materials as her suit. The lenses on it, being a tinted yellow in color. "So what do you think? I haven't been able to dye it yet though."

"Hmm… What color were you planning on dying it?" Verity asked, appraising the suit.

"White, but I could only get grey and black," She replied.

"Why do you want a white costume?" Verity asked. "Wouldn't you want something darker? Unless… oh do you yourself have bug powers, too?"

"No, I just wanted it to look more heroic," Taylor replied.

"Oh, well that's not an issue, you're probably going to be a stealthier hero anyway." Verity said. "Like, you know how my costume's all bright and colorful and like, neon right?"

"Yeah, it's kinda cheesy," Taylor replied.

"Thank you, it's supposed to be an eyesore." Verity said with a grin. "So can you guess why I would want to be bright and colorful and I'm recommending you not be?"

"...Uhh, you want people to be looking at you?" Taylor asked, seeming unsure of her answer.

"Pretty close, actually." Verity said. "Specifically, I want anyone with a weapon or a power to be looking at me, not any of my squishier teammates, because I can tank tanks. It doesn't hurt that it announces my presence to reassure any civs around. So, it would follow that if I, who is immune to bullets, would wear a bright costume, then you, who is not..."

"Should wear darker colors," She answered.

"Exactly." Verity said with a grin. "Now, that's not a hard and fast rule, but it's a pretty good guideline. You could definitely pull off a buggy Batman."

"Who's Batman?" Taylor asked.

"...Dear god, the young ones don't even know from whence they came!" Verity lamented. "Are the classics dead? Know ye not the Argonauts? Is Shakespeare's reign over the public education system ended as well?"

"No, that is still going strong, well more like Romeo and Juliet's reign as nobody really talks about the much better plays, over hyped trash," Taylor said with a smile on her lips.

"Angels must exist, for hope sits before me!" Verity continued dramatically. "But anyway, stealth. If you don't have anything that protects you, you probably don't want to be in the direct line of fire of any bad guys, and instead pick them off from the sidelines or just Zerg Rush them till they're d-unconscious." Verity corrected her almost slip at the end there, remembering she was talking to an impressionable teen about real people. "Or they otherwise give up. Good guys don't kill the bad guys unless they have a kill order, and if you see someone with a Kill Order, uh, get me, or whatever help you can."

"I'm not stupid Verity," Taylor replied in a very teenager way. "But yeah I can see your point, I'll dye it black and grey when I go back home."

"That's probably for the best." Verity said. "Other colors are still good by the way, just probably not bright ones… actually, you're a student, you're mostly going to be doing stuff at night, dark colors just fit perfectly." She paused. "Unless you join the Wards, in which case you also get full Ward benefits, including getting paid."

"...That does sound nice," She replied. "Can I think about it?"

"Absolutely!" Verity said. "I'm not going to pressure you into any decision on it in either way, I'm just trying to lay out some of your options for ya."

"I get yeah… so can you tell me what happened to Emma?" Taylor asked.

Verity inhaled sharply. "Legally, no, that's part of the whole NDA thing. Plus, honestly, I don't even know beyond standard PRT protocols. But, uh…" Verity thought for a moment. "Oh, uh, I did talk with her parents, and Mrs. Barnes told me to tell you to swing by their place some time to talk, because uh, they know about what Emma was doing now, and they were… appalled, to put it nicely."

"I probably should with dad after he wakes up," Taylor muttered as she leaned against the chair.

"Did you have that talk with him yet?" Verity asked.

"I did," Taylor replied. "And I thought he was going to break down again, but instead he looked like he was about to head out and rip Emma's head off. Managed to calm him down… but it was nice to see that he did care."

"That'sgood at least." Verity agreed. "I have to meet him soon, I'm sure we'd have some interesting conversation."

"You can get to do that tonight probably, he mentioned inviting you to dinner," Taylor said.

"Oh…. Oh!" Verity said as that registered. "I'd- I'd love to! Uh, you guys have sturdy floors, right?"

"Why do you ask?" Taylor asked in concern for the safety of her house's floor.

"I'm, uhhh." Verity avoided looking directly at Taylor as she motioned to her tail. "A bit uh, a bit heavier than a uh, a normal person."

"...I think it should be fine, like I don't think you weigh more than a car, and isn't that like the max a floor can handle?" Taylor asked.

"Is it?" Verity asked, unsure.

"I don't know, I think I heard that mentioned before, but now I am not sure," Taylor replied.

"I uh, I just… I would make floors creak before I was pushing 600…" Verity admitted. "I just… don't wanna… break anything."

"...Maybe we should just come over with food or I can just ask dad about it," Taylor replied.

"Ahh I'm sorry." Verity groaned in embarrassment. "Maybe I could run to the store and get like a folding table or something, make it picnicy? I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's going to rain today, so it's best if I just ask dad about it," Taylor said back.

"Okay, yeah you do that." Verity said. "Sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Taylor asked. "It's not like you want to crash through the floor and end up in the basement."

"Yeah, sorry, I tend to apologize a lot." Verity apologized. "It's habitual."

"I get ya," Taylor answered. "So I'll see you for dinner hopefully?"

"Yeah hopefully!" Verity said. "Unless there was anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Not really," Taylor replied.

"Alright, then see ya later Taylorgator."

"...That's terrible and you should be ashamed," Taylor replied as she put her costume back in her bag.

"But I bet you've heard that one before, right?" Verity asked, grinning.

"Because no one in their right mind would make such a bad pun," She said back, but Verity could now see that young face of hers having the biggest smile.

"Well good thing this snake's as loony as a loon, I can make those puns." Verity said, grinning much more genuinely now at knowing she'd made Taylor smile. "It's not my fault if they bug you."

"Gurgh," Taylor replied as she exited the house, the door closing behind her.

"...Well that went better than expected." Verity said with a grin, happy there was at least one thing here she hadn't fucked up yet. "I better make something for tonight… cookies? Mmm, no…" She thought for a moment. "Gramma's creme de meth...? Yeah, that could work. Let's get bakin'." She said, going about doing just that, all of the ingredients for her grandmother's brownie recipe having been included among the 'essentials' she'd already bought.

Because they were essential.

Xxx

Verity opened her door after it had rung to see Taylor standing in front of it with an umbrella. "So dad said the floor is good to go, so you can come over if you want."

"Oh okay, just lemme grab the brownies real quick." Verity said, turning around back for the kitchen and grabbing the tin (thanking her foresight for getting one with a lid) before heading back, Taylor thankfully still there. "Thanks for waitin'." She said as she exited and locked the door behind her, carefully maneuvering her tail so it didn't get in the grass.

Thirty seconds later they were inside of the Hebert home, the smell of lasagna filling Verity's nostrils along with garlic bread.

"Dad we're back," Taylor said as she took off her shoes.

"We? Ah she did say yes, then come on in," A male voice responded.

"Your house, lead the way Tay." Verity said quietly.

She nodded her head and the two of them left the front hall and headed into the living room and then into the kitchen where a man stood with his back to them near the sink where he seemed to be chopping some vegetables going by the sounds of the knife he was using.

"Um, hello, I'm Verity, I brought brownies." Verity introduced herself, holding up the tin, feeling more nervous than the other introductions she'd been doing due to being inside.

"Brownies? You didn't have tooo- oh?" Taylor's father said as he turned around and got a full view of her. "...Well you're a lot bigger than you appear on TV… I mean, the interview did not show the full scope of your… I will be quiet now."

"Snrk," Came the snort from Taylor.

"No, I know, my height doesn't come across properly over the tv." Verity said in good humor, though it was also true, since Arsmamaster was the only real unit of measurement, and he was short (by her very skewed metric), though Mr. Hebert was only about a head shorter.

"That is obvious, now please have a seat, the food is almost done," Taylor's dad said as he pointed at the table set for three with one having a backless chair. "Took a bit to find one of the backless ones we had."

"Oh- you didn't have to go through the trouble- but, uh, thank you." Verity said, forcing herself to accept the kindness. "Uh, where should I place these for now?"

"Just set it on the coffee table in the living room, and you didn't have to make stuff. This was a means to thank you miss for helping Taylor," The dark-haired man said.

"Well, I just figured it would be polite to bring dessert." Verity said. "Oh, uh neither of you are allergic to anything, right?"

"No," Father and Daughter replied at the same time.

"Oh okay good." Verity said as she turned around and placed the tin on the coffee table before taking her seat at the dining table, ignoring the discomfort from sitting on what was essentially a bar stool in favor of enjoying the hospitality, the mantra of 'don't break anything' playing on repeat in her mind.

With Taylor quickly joining as Mr. Hebert began to set bowls of vegetables on the table, and a minute later placed the lasagne alongside the sticks of garlic bread on the table.

Verity choked down her instinctual reaction to the corn among the vegetables. "Wow, this looks great." Verity complimented, not mentioning how the scent of the food was enhanced by her enhanced senses, good and bad(corn).

"Thank you, and I hope it tastes great as well," Mr. Hebert said. "And I can't believe I forgot this, but my name is Danny Hebert, but please call me Danny."

"Nice to meet ya Danny, you probably already know, I'm Verity Mendax, you can just call me Verity." Verity introduced herself in turn.

"Nice to meet you as well, Verity, and again thank you for helping out my daughter when I didn't realize what was happening to her," Danny said, his face grim.

"Dad," Taylor said in a slightly chastising voice.

"Of course, I'm literally always willing to help." Verity said. "That goes for both of you, if I'm off the clock, just knock."

"Heh, low chance of that happening," Danny replied. "My problems are things that can't be solved with a few stern words like bullying should."

"I just enjoy being a good neighbor, I'm willing to help with anything I can honestly." Verity said truthfully.

"That is a good attitude to have Verity, now let's drop the talk and dig in, the lasagne should have cooled off to an appropriate temperature now," Danny said.

"Sounds good to me."

At that the three of them dug into the food.

"This is delicious!" Verity said after the very first bite.

"And Annette's recipe claims another," Danny said with a smile while Taylor just ate with a small smile on her face.

"When dessert comes around, I'll return the favor with my grandma's brownies." Verity said with a smile of her own.

"Well I will be looking forward to that, and I think Taylor does too. Isn't that right kiddo?" He asked.

"Yeah, they smelled pretty great," She admitted.

"Betting you never had mint brownies before." Verity said.

"Correct in that, not even normal baked brownies, no one in my family really made that, only had store bought ones before," Danny said, and Taylor nodded her head in agreement.

"Trust me, these are way better than any store-bought brownies." Verity assured, taking the opportunity to brag about her family recipe. "But, enough about me, I'm boring, I want to hear about you two."

The two of them raised their eyebrows in unison at that as if to ask. "Really?"

"Well, yeah, really." Verity said defensively. "Don't have much of a past before becoming a hero, and I haven't so much as done a single patrol yet, I'm much more interested in you both."

"We're just ordinary people there is really not much to say about us," Danny responded.

"Well… what do you do for a living, Danny?" Verity asked, pressing on regardless.

"Well if you do wanna know, I am the head of hiring at the Dockworkers Association," Danny answered.

"And a bunch of other stuff they keep shoving onto you dad," Taylor responded.

"Yeah, only because other administration posts are being left and no one fills them," Danny said.

"What he says is that he is basically the guy in charge despite not having the head position," Taylor stated.

"Ah, yeah, I gotcha." Verity said with a nod. "My mom was in a similar position for a while, but then she did actually get the head position, so it at least paid to match the stress. I'm guessing the pay there isn't horrible either?"

"No it makes us get by," Danny responded.

"For now anyway," Taylor said.

"Don't be like that Taylor, things are going to work out," He said back.

"You know, Taylor, you could get a part time job." Verity said. "You know, if it bugs you that much."

"That does sound like a good idea," Danny said. "Maybe Verity here can get you in as a coffee girl at the PRT," Danny said jokingly.

While Taylor just blushed heavily.

"You know, I probably could." Verity said, giving Taylor a meaningful look. "Again, I don't wanna be pushy, and obviously since she's a minor it would need your approval, Danny."

"I can give it if she wants," He replied.

"I think about it, can we just eat?" Taylor asked her fork stabbing into the lasagne.

"On the topic of food, would you two be willing to come over for dinner at my place in turn? Probably like, next week." Verity offered.

"We wouldn't be opposed to that would we Taylor?" Danny asked.

"No we wouldn't," Taylor said in agreement.

"Wonderful." Verity said with a smile before focusing on savoring the legitimately fantastic lasagne.

The evening continued on with small talk being made like how Verity thought of Brockton Bay so far and stuff like that, with the dining experience ending with the brownies that the father/daughter duo had found delectable to their taste buds, Verity leaving the still half-filled tin for them to finish.

"It was nice to have you over Verity," Danny said as he stood in the door while Verity stood on the porch.

"It was nice to be over, Danny." Verity said with a smile. "This was really nice, I haven't had anything like this since getting here."

"I am glad to give that experience," Danny replied. "And once again thank you for helping Taylor. I still can't believe that Emma had done all of that."

"Yeah, no, of course, like I said I'm always willing to help with any problem, big or small." Verity said."Especially big ones like that."

"Helped more than I ever could," He said. "So again, thank you."

"Really, it's no problem. I'm always happy to help." Verity said.

"Then I will let you get home," Danny said.

"Alright, have a good night then." Verity said. "And remember, if you need anything, and I'm off the clock, just knock." She said as she went down the porch like a normal person this time, but her foot touched the bottom wooden step, immediately her foot sunk through the wood, causing her to unbalance and tumble forward with a cry of "Woahshi-" Before impacting the hard ground. "Oww…"

"...I forgot to mention that the bottom step has rotted out," Came Danny's voice from the door behind her sounding a wee bit ashamed.

"It's fine." Verity said as she pushed herself to her feet, looking at the pathway that was now a bit cracked. "I think I did more damage to the ground than it did to me."

There was no response from Danny but she did hear Taylor begin to laugh her ass off, and a second later she was joined by her father.

"Alright have a good one, just remember to give the tin back when you're done with the brownies byee." Verity said before very quickly making her way back to her house, and immediately moaning in despair. "Why do I always break stuuuuufff?"

Xxx

It was thankfully sunny when Verity walked down Brockton Bay's Boardwalk which was exactly like every other one she'd been to, except that some shops had merchandise of local heroes, and the more popular national ones at high prices as was natural.

And of course as had become normal people came to a halt to look at Verity as she passed by hunting for the Rogue known as Parian as she was the one that made clothes and did costume orders one could order at her stand that was located here.

At least that was what the internet had said, and you could trust everything on the internet.

As she did so, she noted that as expected, everything here was overpriced due to being a tourist spot, and was really hoping Parian wasn't the same, because she really wanted some nice clothes. And a bug plushie for Taylor. And maybe a giant teddy bear for her house, she was just greedy like that.

She also noted there was a surprising amount of security guards… well, no, it was surprising based on her old standards, and she really needed to update those to match the world she now lived in.

And she still couldn't find this Parian.

"Ah, excuse me?" Verity asked one of the nearby security guards. "I think I might be a little lost, which way is Parian's place? Like, I am in the right boardwalk, right?"

The guard just raised an eyebrow incredulously and just pointed a finger in the direction she was already going.

"Oh okay, thank you! Have a good day." Verity said with a smile as she continued, now assured she had probably just started at the wrong end.

And a few later Verity had found Parian's shop which was just a simple stand with on display clothes hung all around it, along with a few stuffed animals.

And sitting among it all was Parian whose costume made her look like a victorian porcelain doll come to life.

"Hello!" Verity greeted as she approached the stand (which, honestly, she only had a stand? Really?).

"He-hello," She responded. "What can I help the Protectorate with?" She asked.

"Oh nonono, I'm here to shop!" Verity said with a smile. "I heard you make really good clothes and stuff, and it's really hard to find good stuff in my size."

"O-oh," Parian said in response. "Well if that is the case I will be happy to help you with that."

"Wonderful!" Verity said with a grin. "So, before we get into it, how much do you normally charge for your custom stuff? I just wanna gauge out a price range for today."

"Well that depends on the size, complexity of the design, and what article of clothing I charge between 30 to 100 dollars," Parian replied.

"Perfect!" Verity said, very grateful for the (surprisingly affordable, considering) prices. "So, can you do any of that here, or?"

"I do that at my workshop, I just sell non-commission stuff here to tourists," She replied. "I can pack up early if you need it now… which you probably do."

"Yeah…" Verity said sheepishly. "Well, hey, I'm betting you don't normally make $3,000 in boardwalk sales, right?"

"...No I do not," Parian replied.

"Great, then yeah I'm fine with that, do you want any help?" Verity asked, eager to get fashionable.

"If you can lift stuff to my van I would be grateful," Parian replied.

"Okay! Just tell me what and where."

Xxx

"So what kind of clothes is it that you need," Parian asked as they entered her workshop which was located in South Downtown, though her voice was a bit high-pitched after having seen Verity keep pace with her car through the city. Or at least, she assumed that was why, hopefully she wasn't still intimidated.

"Basically? Everything." Verity admitted. "That $3,000 was just a rough estimate for today, I really like being comfy and cute, and I haven't gotten my first paycheck yet but I most likely will be coming back for more stuff later."

"Well that does make sense, your body would make it hard to get fitting clothes," Parian stated. "And by everything you do mean everything? T-shirts, jackets, pants, shorts, skirts, bras, panties… No socks I assume?" She asked as she looked down at Verity's sandal's that contained her clawed feet.

"No I actually really want socks." Verity said. "I don't like looking at the scales all the time… also of the other things, basically only incorrect about the pants. I refuse to wear pants unless absolutely necessary."

"Well each person has their own tastes, though for socks, I would have to make those from special material to make them not be torn," Parian stated. "Don't want them ruined after putting them on for the first time."

"Ooh, that would be really nice for some, I was just kind of thinking of those athlete kind to be honest, that's actually really cool you have that kind of stuff." Verity said excitedly.

"I do sometimes make costumes for independent heroes, not that they last very long," Parian said with a sad tone of voice. "Anyway let us get to measuring you for proper fits."

"Sure! I can give you some ideas of what I had in mind while we do." Verity said eagerly.

"Yes that would be great, you're the customer after all," Parian said, as she brought out various measuring tapes.

"Ooh, I was also wondering, do you make stuffed animals?" Verity asked.

"That I do," Parian answered.

"Big stuffed animals?"

"My specialty," She answered proudly.

"Excellent."

"Now would you s-strip?" Parian asked.

"..."

"..."

"...Wait, what?"

Xxx

Many hours later Verity had a lot more clothes than she did before, as Parian with her power could weave fitting clothes on the spot. She had been mesmerised by how threads and sheets of cloth had come together to make the most comfortable and well fitting clothes Verity had ever worn in her life.

Wellworth the money she had spent on it.

Namely, the rest of it.

But, oh, was it worth it.

For many reasons, key among them being the only plush she'd ordered that had been completed, which upon depositing the majority of her new clothes in her house, she immediately went over to the Hebert house to deliver, glaring at the now missing first step as she did, before ringing the bell.

And two minutes later Taylor opened up the door. "Verity? What are you doing here so soon?"

"Welllll." Verity said, taking the gift bag she'd been holding from behind her back and putting it in plain view of Taylor, whose eyes widened. "For literally no reason other than I could, have this." She said, holding out the bag.

"Uhhhh… Thank you?" Taylor said in confusion as she took the bag and opened it. Her eyes immediately shone with wonder. "Is that really a?" She asked.

"Ayup." Verity said with glee at Taylor's own excitement. "And it's all yours."

"You didn't have too," Taylor said as she seemingly mentally debated whether to give it back or not.

"Correct, I did not have to." Verity said with a grin. "However, I was already spending like, literally all my money, so I figured why not. Plus, seeing people happy makes me happy."

"...Thank you," Taylor said as she hugged the bag to her chest.

"No prob." Verity said. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat for a bit, but I gotta get ready for my first patrol. See ya later, Taylorgator!"

Which elicited a groan from the teenage girl as she left the porch.

Xxx

"Good day Verity," Hannah greeted Verity as she entered the conference room where she would be given her patrol route.

"Good day to you as well." Verity replied with a smile, still in a good mood from earlier.

"Glad that you're on time Miss Mendax," Colin said, the man in his armor sitting on the other side of the table next to Robin, the only other Parahuman currently at the table.

"Yeah, sorry, I would have been early but I misjudged how fast I could go." Verity said, distinctly not mentioning she had actually been preoccupied by the sick as fuck hardlight bridge she'd crossed to get here. "So, how's this work?"

"We will be handing out patrol routes to those currently on duty, that being you, myself, Hannah and Robin, the route you get is to a specific area of Brockton Bay," Armsmaster said as a hologram of the city appeared on the table, with labels on the districts.

"Oh okay." Verity said with a nod.

"The Wards that are currently on duty have Downtown as that is the most safe area to be during the evening, though in the afternoon they are allowed to go to the Commercial District and Downtown Coast. You Verity will have your patrol be The Docks to night," Collin stated as a route appeared through the area. "That is where, the ABB mostly operates."

"Ooh boy, that's gonna be…" Verity trailed off. "That works, but uhh, I'm really bad at geography, do I get like a map or something or…?"

"Dragon has made something for you to help navigate the city, as you have mentioned that you have a terrible sense of direction," Collin stated flatly as he brought out an armband and placed it on the table. "That one will allow you to be contacted by anyone of us and Consol if emergencies happen or you need to report something like an arrest. It also works as a GPS, it is voice activated so just speak a command to it."

"Thank you." Verity said, a tad embarrassed but accepting it nonetheless. "And tell Dragon I said thanks."

"And I accept the thanks." Came her voice from the armband. "The communicator band has now configured to your voice so that only you can use it."

"Oh, uh, okay, hi." Verity said, surprised. "Were you… waiting for that, or?"

"A girl is allowed to have her fun when she can't leave her home, now don't worry about me listening in anymore to do so would require your permission now that you own it," Dragon replied.

"Okay." Verity said, deciding not to press any further as she focused on the room and the stategery meeting at hand.

And an hour later Verity was out on the street ready to start her career as a Pro-Hero.

She was… honestly, kind of nervous.

Verity hadn't actually done anything heroic yet, and even this was, in theory, just walking and keeping an eye out for… stuff. Crimes, rather, but even now she wasn't entirely sure what would or would not even register to her. Her senses were enhanced, sure, but she wasn't Superman. She was barely Supersnake.

Hell, last time she'd gotten into a real fight she was still human, and it was against another human. Now, she had no idea what to expect… that was a lie, she knew exactly what to expect from the local big names, but the point was that this was a superhero universe one way or the other, random shit happened all the time.

As far as she knew, an Endbringer could fall out of the sky at literally any moment.

Verity surreptitiously checked the skyline after thinking that, and thankfully it was just the cloudy evening sky, as she resumed looking closer to street level for anything remiss, snakes 'looking' into her blindspots (she wasn't sure if they actually could see, it wasn't like she could see through them, but she was doing it anyway), and thankfully still nothing.

As she continued her patrol, she continued looking for anything that was potentially going wrong, expecting all kinds of standard superhero antics like cats in trees or on the loose baby carriages… or car crashes, but thankfully there had been nothing, until about 9:00 anyway when she dealt with a drunk driver and helping him get off the road and calling him taxi, a before continuing onward.

It was only about 10 minutes after doing so that she remembered drunk driving was illegal and she probably should have brought the guy in or something, but decided to just… hope there wasn't a repeat, he had seemed to sober up quite a bit upon seeing her anyway.

And so Verity continued on with her patrol, nothing else really happened for the next two hours.

But it was at the 23:15 mark that Verity responded to her first Parahuman incident.

As at 23:10 she had been contacted by Consol which was now helmed by a PRT Agent as the Wards had been sent home at nine-thirty.

The report she had gotten had been a sighting of Lung in the West side of the Dock which was opposite of her current position.

Which was now why Verity was running at full speeds towards her destination guided by the GPS.

But when she arrived the sight that she saw was one Verity had not expected to see in the slightest.

She expected to find fire and carnage with a dragon man in it.

Except she was now currently seeing a tall brown haired girl dressed in a very familiar costume standing next to a downed man covered in tattoos wearing a dragon mask. His body seemingly having been mauled by a large animal and stung and bitten by a thousand insects.

"Holy shit!" Verity said, announcing her presence. "You took down Lung?"

Which brought Taylor's attention onto her. "Uhhh, hey?" She greeted with a wave.

Xxx

A/N: If you like this or any other of my stories, you can donate to my P A Treon. com (slash) StreamingViking and read commissioned stories. Along with voting for which stories will be updated next via Polls. And chapters before they are released here.