The Weed Garden Chapter 6, a worm fanfic

Chapter 6

"Taylor?" Dad asked uncertainly when I came into the briefing room. Faultline was seated at the head of the table, mask on. Newter was seated to her left, his back to the door. Dad was seated to her right, facing the door. He surged to his feet when I entered, reaching out to me.

I was so confused. I wanted to hide my inhuman face from him. To deny that I was his daughter. To yell at him for putting himself in danger like this. To tell him to go away. At the same time, I missed him so much. Far more than I had realized. It hurt so much to see him standing there. I wanted to run to him and hug him. To have him hold me and tell me everything was going to be alright.

But I could not.

"Why are you here?" I asked, holding tight to my emotions. "Just being here could get you killed."

"Don't be ridiculous," he replied, brushing aside my concern. "I had to see you. To know that you're alive. I thought you were dead." His voice broke and he sat back down.

I took a chair across from him, next to Newter. My friend reached under the table and put a hand on my knee. He squeezed to show his support. I looked over at my father and realized I was not going to be able to ignore him or send him away. He was too stubborn, and I was too needy.

"I'm not dead," I said. "But I'm not the same. I've changed, and not just physically."

"That doesn't matter. You're still my daughter." He started to cry. "God, Taylor, I've missed you so much.

"I've missed you too, Dad." I sobbed, but no tears fell from my fiberglass eyes.

"You can see that she's alright, Mr. Hebert," Faultline spoke into the sobbing. "What are you hoping to get out of this meeting?"

"Hoping to get?" He asked, his voice rising. "I'm taking my daughter home."

"You say that like she doesn't have a choice in the matter," Newter objected, stiffened next to me.

"She's my daughter, my fifteen-year-old daughter. She belongs at home!" Dad was getting angry.

"Mr. Hebert," Faultline did not raise her voice but the force in it caught Dad's attention and he closed his mouth with an audible click. All eyes turned to me.

"Dad, I'm an obvious cape with no possibility of pulling off any sort of secret identity. And I have enemies that might very well try to hurt me through you." I tried to keep my voice reasonable.

"I'm a big boy," he said with a reassuring smile. "And I've been dealing with the dangers of this city since before you were born. You don't think the gangs have tried to make inroads at the docks before? I can take care of myself. And it's my job to take care of you. Not the other way around."

I knew I was not going to be able to convince him. No one who lived in Brockton Bay really believed they were going to fall afoul of the various gangs and villains. Other people, sure, but never them or theirs. Otherwise, they would have moved out. It took a certain willing suspension of survival instinct to stay in the dying city.

But I knew better now. The curtain had been drawn back on the realities of the violent underside. He was in danger now that he had publicly connected our names. Who knew who had been listening when he gave his demand to the doorman? Palanquin usually had a line, though maybe not this early. Still, someone would have heard him and in this town, it was a near certainty they would sell the information to someone else.

It might have been a bit of self-delusion on my part, but I decided that he would be in less danger if I was around to protect him. So, I agreed to go home, at least for the night.

Melanie pulled me aside as the doorman led Dad out to get the car. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Newter stopped to listen.

"I never wanted to hurt him, though I knew I would. But now he'll never leave me alone. He'll bring in the cops and the PRT. He'll camp in the doorway. He's that stubborn."

"So, you come by it honestly," Newter teased.

"I have to try to convince him he's in danger and I have to let him know I still love him. I'll stay the night, maybe two. Then I'll contact you and let you know what's going on." I was nervous I was hurting them now too.

She pulled out a card. "Here's a number you can use to contact me. We'll probably leave town late tomorrow or the day after. Try to call me before then. Ok?" She had her hand on my shoulder. I was always surprised to see I was taller than her.

I reached forward to hug her. "Thanks. For everything."

"Just make sure to call," she repeated. "You have a place with us, if you need it."

I nodded and waved silently to Newter. He nodded back, his tail flicking almost violently.

Dad was waiting with the car right outside the door.

It was dark when we got home. The trip had been silent. I had shied away when Dad tried to hold my hand. I could not abide the thought of him feeling my cold, hard shell instead of warm, soft flesh.

The house looked different. Some of the furniture had been rearranged. Little things had been moved. A few old knickknacks had been replaced with new items. I noticed a few new books on the coffee table. It was subtle, but it felt wrong.

"I never knew about the attacks at school," he said once we were seated in the living room. "You never told me."

"You were busy," I replied remembering how he had thrown himself into the DWA after Mom died. It was his way of dealing with the grief. It might have helped him, but it left me alone.

"Yeah, I guess I was," he admitted quietly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

I sighed heavily. It was one of the only ways I could consciously express emotion non-verbally.

"They found your notebooks, where you recorded the events. It helped." He was looking out the window to the streetlamps and car lights.

"Who found it? And helped how?" I was confused.

"The PRT. They were looking for you after I filed a missing person report. They thought you might have been involved in the locker destruction at Winslow."

"And how did it help?" Trying to get him off the subject of the locker. I shuddered at the claustrophobic memory, now mostly suppressed.

"They were able to identify the girls attacking you. Hess turned out to be a Ward – Shadow Stalker, according to Alan."

"What!"

"You didn't know?" he asked.

I shook my head. Sophia was a Ward? A hero!

"Alan told me she had been leading Emma astray ever since they met two summers ago. She's why Emma turned on you. Hess got in trouble with the PRT as soon as they found out what she had been doing."

"So where is she now? Jail? Or did she just get a slap on the wrist and is still on the team?"

"Somehow she escaped during the interrogation. I'm told she hurt some agents, even one of the Protectorate heroes. No one knows where she is now, but she's been kicked off the Wards and is wanted by the PRT and the police. Probably she left town."

I was flabbergasted. This answered so many questions – especially why Emma had betrayed me. It was Sophia.

"Wait," I said. "How do you know all this. You mentioned Alan. You mean Mr. Barnes?"

"Yeah, we've been in touch since you disappeared. Especially since your notebooks came out. He's really afraid of you. Thinks you're going to hurt Emma. I told him you'd never do that, but … He's actually moved to get away from you. Just this afternoon he left town with Zoe and Emma. Said they weren't coming back. It was permanent."

"Wow," I said. Then my mind jumped back to its earlier track. "But how could Mr. Barnes know Shadow Stalker's secret identity so he could tell you?"

"Turns out he was her lawyer and negotiated the deal to get her into the Wards. He didn't know what sort of person she was at the time. She was good at hiding her crazy, according to Alan."

"And was he still representing her when she escaped?"

"No. I got that from …" Dad paused and looked at me for several second.

"Well, it's like this. While you were missing, I worked with the PRT investigators to help find you. After a while I sort of … got close … to one of them. Her name is Jean, Jean LeClaire. We've been dating."

I just stared at him. I was missing, presumed dead, and he had started dating the cop looking for me. It was like … I was not sure what it was like. But I was not ready to deal with it.

"Oh." I finally said. Then I got up and started walking towards the stairs. "I think I'm tired. I'm going to go lie down. I'll see you in the morning."

"Ok, little owl," he said slowly. "I thought it would be a good idea for us to head downtown in the morning to clear up some paperwork. It's no big deal, but good to get out of the way quickly."

"Sure. Whatever. See you in the morning." I had not really heard what he said. I was too shocked by the idea of my dad dating. It was like a different world.

The next morning, I was waiting at the table when Dad came down. I had made him his favorite breakfast.

"Wow, Taylor. That's great. I've been avoiding eggs recently – too much cholesterol – but I can cheat this one time." He put the eggs and bacon in between the toast and made a sandwich which he wrapped in a couple of napkins. "We're in a bit of a hurry to get downtown so I'll take it with me. Are you ready to go?"

I was wearing some old sweats and a hoodie. My raincoat was in the hall closet. In the car Dad asked me if still wanted to be a hero.

"You and Emma used to play Alexandria all the time. And you loved Armsmaster. You and Emma spent hours talking about what you would do if you ever got powers. You wanted to be a Ward."

"I don't think I ever pictured becoming a monster like this," I replied honestly. I could remember those games, but the reality was different.

"You showed yesterday that you could still do good. Still be a hero."

"I fought bad guys, but that doesn't make me a hero."

"Because you were acting as part of a mercenary group?" His voice got quiet and tense. "A villain group? Doing the right thing for the wrong reason?"

"Fautline's not a villain," I insisted. "She took me in. Took care of me. She takes care of the people the rest of the world doesn't want."

"I'm sure she does. And I'm glad she helped you. But she is a criminal. Most of the jobs she takes end up breaking the law. Wouldn't you rather work within the laws to protect people and fight crime?"

"You're saying I should join the Wards," I replied. "First, I don't think they'd take me. Apparently, I'm wanted by the city for tearing up the streets and sidewalks. I stopped doing that as soon as I figured out what was happening. Faultline helped me learn that. Second, while you don't believe me, my being in the Wards with a known identity will make you a prime target for every villain in town. Either they'll want revenge for something I did, or they'll want to control me by holding you hostage. Either way, putting me in the spotlight like being in the Wards would, is just too dangerous for you."

"The PRT has known, or at least suspected, your identity for months. And you were on national knew yesterday. That's a hell of a spotlight. Yet I'm just fine. Like I said, I can take care of myself. And the PRT has promised that they can make us both safe if you were to join."

I did not say anything for several minutes. He had a good point in that I had always wanted to help people, to be a hero. If the Wards would accept me, I should at least consider it. It was not like I would be coming to them as an unknown. I had proven myself yesterday against the Merchants and Lung. Of course, I had not been working alone. I needed Newter's help to do what I did.

I felt like I was having to choose between my old dream and my new friends.

I was pulled out of my revery when we passed the PRT building. I turned to my dad. "Where are we going?"

He pulled into a parking lot four or five blocks later. "We're going to clear up those complains by the city and talk to some people at the PRT."

"The PRT?"

"I'm not saying you have to join, but I want you to make an informed decision either way. And to do that you need to see what they have to offer, right?"

We got out and Dad fed some bills into the box slot that corresponded to our space number. He gave his keys to the attendant in case they needed to move his car. We started walking towards the PRT HQ. As we walked, I noticed almost all eyes were on me. Even with my raincoat and hoodie, my face still outed me as inhuman.

"Why did we park so far away? I saw a garage right next to the building." I was growing less comfortable each passing minute.

"Do you know how expensive that place is? Highway robbery! I discovered this lot the second or third time I came here. Much better, and the weather's nice enough for a pleasant str…,"

His voice cut off in mid-word. I turned to him to see a blade, covered in blood, stinking out of his forehead. I screamed and turned to see Hookwolf standing right behind my dad. He was in his human from, shirtless, with just his arm transformed into the sword that impaled my dad's head. He looked at me, his metal mask hiding his expression, then drew his arm back. Dad collapsed straight down to the sidewalk.

"You should have been there," Hookwolf snarled. "You were supposed to be with Kaiser. It's your fault he's dead. You stopped Lung. You should have been there to stop him before he killed Kaiser. IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

He started to sprout knives and hooks through his skin, tearing himself apart. He seemed to submerge beneath the roiling surface of sharpened steel.

I wrapped myself around my father, then dove into the sidewalk and created a hollow shell around him, then a second, causing him to sink halfway into the pavement, surrounded by a protective blister of concrete. I then touched a parked car and created a shell of jagged steel. My own hands became sharpened spearheads and my skin covered with spurs and spikes.

In seconds we faced each other.

We both charged forward, crashing together like cars. The impact sounded like a million knives bouncing in a steel barrel. He was bigger than me. Heavier. I was the size of a tall girl. He was the size of a lion. So, I was the one to be pushed back.

His blades did not cut me, nor mine him. We might as well have been wielding clubs. But you can still do a lot of damage with clubs. I punched, but he had no tender nose or soft belly. I kicked, but his legs were the wrong shape and there were four of them.

I tried for his eyes, but he easily dodged or blocked my blows, showing himself the better fighter. His return blows gouged and bent my metal shell. I rushed to grapple him and as soon as I buried my hands in his blades, I dove into the cement to create a shell right behind my steel shell, holding it in place. I dove and created three more concrete shells surrounding the wolf, trying to pen him in.

He jumped straight up almost ten feet, easily going over my shells. He kicked off the side of the building and barreled into me, his hooks scrapping away my concrete as he slammed me into the side of a truck. I dove into the truck and built a shell from the strong steel of the frame.

I tired to wrap the rest of the truck around Hookwolf, but he spun to slam me into the side of a building. The concrete façade crumbled under my back. I tried to swarm him by creating as many concrete and asphalt shells around him as I could, but he was too fast to pin down, and his blades shattered the cement.

Only in steel could I match him. But even then, I could not stop him.

Ironically, it was the arrival of two PRT foam trucks accompanying Assault and Battery that made him stop.

"You may get away this time, girl. But I'm going to kill you," Hookwolf spewed from a mouth like a meatgrinder. "You and everyone you care about. Your lizard friend. The other freaks. I killed you father. Who's next."

He turned and leapt across the tops of the cars stopped in the street. They were blocking the PRT trucks who did not try to pursue him.

They pointed their foam cannons at me instead.

I ignored them and dove into the shells around my father, pulling them away until he was cradled in my fiberglass arms.

"Stop," Battery called, her voice sounding uncertain.

"You're too late," I said, stroking my father's cheek. His eyes were staring at me. Blaming me.

This was my fault. I should have refused him at Palanquin. Denied I was his daughter. He died because of me.

"Is that Danny Hebert?" the electric blue woman asked. I looked at her.

"It was." I said raggedly.

"What happened?" the man in red asked from behind her.

"We were on our way to the PRT. He was so sure you could protect him. That he could protect himself." I turned to the heroes. "You gave him false hope, false promises. You let him believe he would be ok. Of course, he wouldn't listen to my warnings. I'm just his little girl. But the PRT, the Protectorate – you're heroes. Why did you let him believe you could protect him?"

"That's what we do. We protect people." Assault replied, sounding offended.

"Then where were you!" I screamed.

"We can't be everywhere at once," Battery tried to explain.

"Then what you do is promise and not deliver," I snarled.

"Why don't we take this inside," the lady in blue continued. "Hookwolf could come back, and he might bring more of the Empire with him. It's not safe here."

"It doesn't matter. It's not safe anywhere. That's what I tried to tell him."

I caressed my father's face and closed his eyes. I pressed my lips against his one last time. Then I stood, cradling him in my arms. I thought for a minute then turned to Battery. "I don't know what to do. I … Can you take care of him? You couldn't protect him. But can you take care of him now? Bury him next to my mom. They should be together."

Battery swallowed and Assault put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll take care of him," he said.

I gently put my dad in her arms. Then I started to walk away.

"Where are you going? Assault asked. "You're not going after Hookwolf, are you?"

"No." I shook my head but did not turn around. "I'm sure he'll find me some day. But I can't be here anymore. I have to leave. I have to leave."

I walked away never looking back.

A/N: I've had some questions so this was my thinking on why and how the attack on Danny happened.

The Other side –

"Sir, some old guy just came up to the Palanquin door and asked for the statue girl – Chrysalis or whatever her feckin name is. Said he was her father."

Brad looked at his phone in surprise. It had been a shit day. He blamed the mercs in no small part for leaving Kaiser and the girls hanging out to dry. Sure, the mercs were attacked by the fucking Merchants, but that just means they should have left for the meet earlier. No way the junkies would have crawled out of her dumpsters at the ass crack of dawn. They would still be too stoned from the night.

Getting personal revenge on the girl would put him in a better position to take over the Empire. With Krieg out and Purity looking to go legit, Hookwolf was the natural leader, but not everyone agreed. "Follow him when he leaves. Be careful. I don't want him spotting you. I want to know where he goes."

"Sure thing," O'Reily said.

"Boss, the girl went with the old guy. They ended up in a house on the west side of the Docks."

"Get three more guys. I want eyes on that house all night. I want to know if anyone leaves. And I want them followed. Got it?" Brad then contacted a few of his chosen who had low level positions in the BBPD and the PRT. He wanted any word on the mercs, the girl, or especially the Merchants.

"Word is the Merchants are already in upstate New York and probably aren't stopping this side of the Delaware, maybe the Mississippi." Denton reported. She was a computer tech in the PRT HQ.

"Fucking cowards," Brad growled. "Anything else?"

"There's a note in the morning receptionist's inbox that Effigy is expected to be brought in by a civilian handler tomorrow morning around 8."

"Really? That's the statue girl, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good work. You get a little extra for that."

"Thanks boss. I'll keep looking."

"You find anything, you let me know."

Brad figured the dad was going to take the girl into sign up with the heroes. He'd be waiting for them.

The next morning, Brad was waiting in a van two blocks away from the PRT, on the most likely route from the target's house. He had considered attacking at the house but remembered the shit the hit on Fleur had kicked up inside the Empire. Three were too many people who worried about the 'unwritten rules'. In a match, rules mattered. In a battle, the warrior ethos meant something. This was a punishment and a message. The bloodier it was the better, but attacking the house just wasn't worth the bother.

"He's coming, boss," Lanier, the driver said.

"Follow. If he starts to turn into the PRT garage, block him. We'll have to be quick but they ain't getting into the building."

"Nope, he drove past. Kenny's ahead of him, says there's a pay lot he might be heading towards."

Two minutes later Lanier reported, "Kenny says he's in the lot and the old man and the girl are waking down Lords towards the building."

"Great. Pass them by, then let me out. Go park at Hondo's. I'll meet you there when I'm done. Be ready to get out fast. I may be trailing heroes."

"You got it."

Brad stepped out before the van had fully stopped. He closed on the two targets. He was after the girl. The man – supposedly her father – didn't really matter, but killing him would fuck up her emotions, giving him the advantage. Anyone that could do to Lung what she'd done wasn't to be taken lightly.

He stepped lightly, still in meat form. One quick thrust through the man's skull. That got her attention. He paused, knowing there were cameras on him. There were always cameras on them.