Silens Umbra
AN: I am not a native. I use Grammarly and my friends to revise my writings so if you find something jarring or that just doesn't fit, don't be shy to criticize. All comments are appreciated.
Enjoy!
Piggot's upper lip curled back slightly with a barely restrained sneer, clearly looking at the monstrosity that was displayed in the TV of the conference room. The footage of the Hospital's cameras played for everyone to see. There was no audio, but that didn't matter at the moment. The thing that did was the veritable wall of teeth and limbs made of semi-solid tar-like material. The monstrosity that appeared suddenly on-screen tore the agent to pieces with a single swipe of a too-long hand that had more joints than it should, then turned into a whirlwind of teeth and limbs, destroying the corpse and the room at the same time. The video showed how the foam sprinklers hidden in latches at the ceiling and walls activated regretfully late, completely covering the monster that appeared to be the kid's power and herself.
All around her she could see the present faces make it across an array of emotions, everything negative as it were.
"This," she ground out, jaw clenching and white-knuckled fingers grasping at the table "is a complete disaster. We are lucky that that particular section of the hospital was the parahuman containment wing, and we are lucky to have had the time to make an MRI, otherwise, I abhor thinking about the possible massacre we would have had thrown at our lap had she been in the Civilian's sector." Piggot's fingers flew to the bridge of her nose, trying to ward away the migraine that was starting to bloom behind her eyes.
Alas, no such luck. "Armsmaster," she snapped and Colin straightened "I want one of the containment collars around her neck at any moment. If she tries to escape, tranq her, if she tries to attack, tranq her, if she tries anything I want her sedated and in containment foam at the moment. Am I understood?"
"No." Was the seething response she got from Armsmaster, lips pressed in an almost nonexistent line.
"What do you mean 'No'? She is a dangerous and possibly unstable parahuman that could go on a rampage at any moment! She already killed, and it wouldn't surprise me if she repeated the feat anytime soon." Or got a taste for it , subvocalized Piggot. At least, that was what the lip-reader in Colin's helmet told him.
"What I mean, Director," he ground out with a small amount of venom, surprising the Protectorate members - and Ward's captain - present. "Is that you are suggesting that I treat a teenager that recently Triggered, lost her home, lost her father, and not so recently lost her mother as if she were a psychopathic mass murderer on the caliber of the fucking Nine. No. That is my answer to this entire debacle, and if you press the issue I will personally file a complaint to the Chief Director."
The rest of the Protectorate reeled back, completely unprepared for Colin's verbal snap. Everyone could see Piggot's hackles starting to rise, but fortunately, the room was spared of her fury thanks to a small chime coming off Colin's helmet, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Armsmaster had gotten a message and an important one judging by how quickly he got up and started walking towards the door. "The girl is stirring and by Dragon's estimations, she will awake sooner rather than later. I'd prefer if she weren't alone in a visibly hostile containment room when that happened." Piggot just grunted and waved a hand at him, "Go. Make sure she doesn't kill anyone else and that she doesn't slip off anywhere, we don't want a rampage in the Rig too."
Colin flared his nostrils, quite visibly upset with the Director, but Piggot beat him to the punch. "I don't care , Colin. She's not getting out of that reinforced room until we know she is not a psychopath, and that is final."
Calvert had to hide a small smile behind one of his hands with the pretense of coughing. He could see the fear and memories the power of that girl brought back to the forefront of Piggot's mind, how it reminded her of the slumbering and slobbering beasts that happened to spawn at Ellisburg.
Colin closed the door with taut neck muscles and a set, stony jaw, almost slamming it off the hinges with the force he applied in his quite visible anger.
Aegis appeared to have his eyes completely glued to the screen, a minute shiver racing up his body at seeing how the PRT agent was completely dismantled again, for lack of a less gruesome word. The Director swiveled towards him, fists clenched and eyes drawn to slits, "You will have to work with her Aegis. Do what you must to ensure she doesn't go on a killing spree at the base or anywhere else. Do I make myself understood?"
"Completely ma'am."
" Good ."
Silens Umbra
"Colin," sounded Dragon's voice in the comfortable confines of his helmet. "The girl, Taylor, is awake," Colin swore, quickening his pace. "Anything else you can tell me? What is she doing at the moment?" He kept walking and waiting for an answer, brow furrowed when the aforementioned did not come until some long - long - seconds later. "I… Don't know. Now that I can see it with better quality and when she's still, it looks like some sort of projection, but at the same time isn't it?" She seemed to ask more for herself than for Colin, who just quickened his stride slightly anxiously. He had never seen Dragon confused, and that preoccupied him.
"It seems to be around her, like some sort of clothing or armor, possibly a means to defend her, and…"
The silence lengthened into an uncomfortable minute where he tried to be patient. He failed. "Well?"
"Yes, I'm sorry Colin, it's just that I have never seen something quite like this. The projection seems to have a degree of autonomy or perhaps is controlled by her subconscious, but I can tell that It's moving without any input from her." A pause. "Just, look for yourself."
He let Dragon link one of his helmet's inner screens with the camera of the containment room of the medical wing and had to make a double-take when he almost tripped on his own feet.
The girl's power seemed to manifest as some kind of humanoid entity prone to changing and shifting all the time, that he already knew. What he didn't know is why said entity was currently caressing Taylor's hair, and seemingly trying to soothe her with a series of soft hisses and clicks of bone on bone.
Colin bit his cheek, not sure at all about what path he should take the conversation. He swore. It was too late to backtrack and try to get Militia or Assault to talk to her, so he had to bite the bullet. "Dragon? Could you help me with the talk?" It was the most vanilla way he had of asking for help without directly telling her that he had absolutely no idea of how to disable this clusterfuck.
"Of course. You can always count on me, Colin." Was the soft response.
There was a small twinge of something in his chest, but that was momentarily ignored. He stood in front of the reinforced door, inputting the code with a series of soft taps of metal on metal. It hissed a quiet pneumatic sound, opening smoothly and almost completely silently. Taylor didn't react, but her power did. It snapped its… Head? The head-shaped blob was currently making clicking sounds at Taylor. Armsmaster stood completely still, waiting for
some kind of tell or clue to know if he had to prepare himself for combat or activate the foam hoses at the ceiling.
They regarded each other silently in an almost measuring manner, until with a soft hiss, it somehow melted into young Taylor's clothes, melding with them.
No. That was wrong. It was Taylor's clothes.
Her head moved minutely from the position she had it, resting her chin on her knees. He could almost see how those empty and vacant eyes regained just a small spark, unclouding slightly and focusing on his face without saying anything.
"Give her agency over the situation Colin, ask if it's okay for you to sit with her. I'd wager that she'll jump at the slightest opportunity at being able to choose something, regardless of how it is." Colin blinked twice, signaling his acknowledgment.
"Taylor, right?" She stood still for a few seconds, before nodding ever-so-slowly. "Mind if I sit with you?"
Taylor seemed to mull the answer for a few seconds, answering by scooting closer to the head of the bed and thus leaving a small space for him to sit. The bed creaked softly, snapping her gaze from him to the mattress with a small frown that disappeared when Colin spoke. "It's the armor," he explained. "It's a bit heavier than these frames can endure. They aren't Brute-Rated after all." He tried his hand at a small smile that came more forced than he would have liked.
She stood still, then her lips quirked marginally upwards. A sad smile, but a smile regardless.
"Do you know who I am?" A nod. "Then you know where we are, aren't you?" She looked around the room, seeing nothing but bits and pieces of medical equipment and a couple more beds, empty and uncovered by the curtains, then she shook her head.
"I will give you a hint," he said with a small smile. "We aren't on solid ground."
Her eyes widened and took their surroundings anew once again, peeking at him when she was finished. "That's right. We are at the Rig."
He mulled over what to say next in his head, not exactly sure of how to continue the conversation in a way that could make her open up more to him.
"I would suggest that you ask her about a tour, or perhaps seeing the other Wards could be beneficial. The issue with that is that we don't know if she's in complete control of her power. That could lead to problems."
Colin hm'd noncommittally, letting the silence stretch over some time before asking. "Taylor," she fixed her eyes on his visor, probably trying to know where his eyes would be. "I… Hate to ask about this without some time to cushion the pain, but I need to." He took a breath. "Are you in control of your power?" He winced even before the full question made it out of his lips. Her face took a sour and sad tone, but she nodded, and Colin grimaced again. "I'm sorry, but I need spoken confirmation." Taylor seemed to curl into herself, eyes just barely above her knees while they flitted from place to place.
Colin was ready to wait whatever time it took for her to come out of her shell on her own. He didn't mind it. All his projects were long-term or had been benched due to pending approval at the moment, so he had quite a bit of free time.
Piggot's call never made it past the first chime, killed instantly by an eye movement.
Really. All the time in the world.
Taylor looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how or in when, shifting weight from one side of the bed to another before looking at his helmet, muttering a fragile "...Yes."
Colin smiled.