As always, many thanks to my patrons, whose support truly buoys both my funds and, more importantly, my desire to write. It's always easier to perform a task when you know people desire the result Link in my signature if you want to become a Patron, or see the various options available. The big one is early access to new chapters, currently being Vincit Qui Se Vincit. Which is getting renamed, but...
Neolithic Knuckledraggers: Tempist, Acrimonius
Bronze Barbarian: L. Baccus
Iron Intellectuals: A. Quinn, CyberCrisis, Dragon Guy, Markus, MouthyStorm, WanderingDaemon
Machine Menace: Amanda E.
##########################################
Herald
Chapter Eight
##########################################
Colin Wallis had never considered himself the most socially astute man, though he was reluctant to admit failure in anything, because of a few reasons. First, and most publicly acknowledged, was his obsession with efficiency. Why say something in three paragraphs that you can instead say with one? Why spend time beating around the bush for the sake of someone's feelings or social sensibilities when you could drive directly to the heart of the matter, solve the issue at hand, and move on to the next? Yes, it might occasionally result in causing someone emotional pain when briskness is mistaken for apathy to whatever they have suffered, but surely people would prefer that he went out and got them justice rather than sat there holding their hand while they cried?
The second reason, which was known only to a handful of people, was that he simply didn't get it. He had always been a 'tech head', even before he had gotten Tinker powers, with the typical issues that came along with that. He remembered well a quote Dragon had shared with him from some books that had been imported from Earth Aleph: that he had the same blinders of so many other genius scientists, blinders that made it easy for him to understand circuitry and little else. And while that had hurt a little, especially coming from her, he also knew it was true. The only people he had ever really connected with were Hana and Miria, the latter far more famously known as Mouse Protector, and more recently Dragon herself.
Dragon, the young woman who was terrified of the outdoors, and yet was somehow better than he was with people despite never encountering them in person. Dragon, who had pulled him out of more self-destructive, obsessive Tinker spirals than anyone else. Dragon, who so often 'rode along' in his armor for patrols or major events, who was helping him learn how to interact with the public, and who was currently looking rather pale and worried at Mr. Patrickson's words. At his threats, and young Miss Hebert's words in response.
"Do something, Colin, before Taylor does something that he'll regret!" her voice was urgent, her tone tense and angry, and yet again he decided to trust in his closest companion's judgement. A dozen methods of intervention and scenario were considered in moments, and within a heartbeat of Hebert getting up close and personal with the Youth Guard representative, he was gesturing Militia towards her while he levelled his halberd at the man.
"Mr. John Patrickson, I am placing you into protective custody, pending Master/Stranger evaluation, under my authority as the Head of the ENE Protectorate under Parahuman Law Statute 65.7.3." he said briskly as Hana smoothly coaxed the coldly furious teenaged parahuman away from the target of her ire before she could hospitalize the man. Which he considered highly probable, under current circumstances, which would almost inevitably result in her not joining the Wards. "Per Parahuman Law Statute 65.7.4, I am required to inform you that this intervention is taking place for the following reason: that your behaviour, which is by nature counter to the best interests of both Miss Hebert and the local Parahuman Law Enforcement branch, qualifies as atypical and dangerously counterproductive to the mandates of all present organizations. As such, this behavior can and is being considered to have been potentially caused by an external Parahuman factor whose interests and desires run counter to our own. Such an individual would, by nature, be a villain."
Colin took moment to pause, both in an effort to let the words sink in with all present and to covertly take a breath, even as Dragon gave a relieved sigh. Judging by their body language, in fact, everyone in the room was pleased with his intervention. Well, everyone except young Miss Hebert, that is, who was still looking quite dangerously in Mr. Patrickson's direction.
"I am therefore asking that you surrender yourself peacefully into my custody until such time that you can be escorted into one of the Parahuman Response Team Master/Stranger Isolation and Containment Cells downstairs." He finished a spiel that he very rarely had cause to give, and fell silent as the room waited to see what the man said in response, a ping on his visor confirming M/S protocols had been enacted and that a response team of troopers was on it's way to the Director's office.
"Absurd! Outrageous!" the man spluttered in response, his confident and stern demeanor which had been badly shaken by Hebert's approach) falling apart completely as he was reduced back to rage-induced puce. "This is nothing more than a clear and blatant attempt to diminish the authority of the Youth Guard in order to prop up…!"
Though Colin would never, ever admit it, the gurgle the man gave when tasered was immensely satisfying. It was entirely for everyone's safety, of course, Colin was only following proper protocol to prevent the potentially-dangerous subject from having the opportunity to bring harm himself or those around him. The fact that it cut the man off before he could build up a head of steam to rant about the evils of the PRT, Protectorate, and the Wards program was entirely accidental and irrelevant to the decision.
He could cite the protocols to prove it.
A moment later, the response team burst into the room, weapons (a mix of lethal and less-than-lethal, with a single foam trooper at the back) held at the ready. The squad's leader took in the view laid out before him before lowering his carbine and saluting.
"Armsmaster, Director. I understand there was an M/S alert in this room. Am I to understand that the unconscious man on the floor is the subject?" he asked, voice dead even, and despite having not ordered anything that had just happened, Piggot took charge like the officer she still was.
"Correct, Lieutenant. Representative Patrickson unfortunately refused to go into custody peacefully and had to be subdued by taser. Take him to the containment cells immediately, and ensure all protocols are followed to the letter. If a member of the Youth Guard is compromised, it could spell disaster for the Protectorate and the PRT both." She responded briskly, returning the salute and gesturing to Patrickson's drooling, insensate form. "It goes without saying that his safety is of paramount importance, as is the security of our systems. Lock down all Youth Guard access to our network and secure his office immediately, under my authority, until we know whether he is in fact compromised."
"Yes, ma'am!" the lieutenant responded with another salute, gesturing his team forward. "Hendrickson, Jakobi, get him out into the hallway, we'll foam him there since he's already down for the moment. Mikhailovich, radio central and have another team with a tech sent to the Youth Guard office immediately. Secure it and all systems to the potential hazard immediately."
The squad sprang into action, picking up Patrickson and moving him out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind them, and Colin nodded slightly in satisfaction as he collapsed his halberd again and reholstered it on his magnetic backplate. Folding his hands behind his back and returning his attention to the office's remaining inhabitants, he cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly.
"My apologies for the interruption. Director, if you might continue from where you left off?" he suggested evenly, and he could have sworn that Piggot's lips twitched before she returned to her seat and gestured for the Herald to do the same. The girl scowled slightly but returned to her seat all the same.
"Now, as I was saying, we have concerns with excessive force, like any law enforcement agency, and we are especially concerned when it is being displayed by teens and young adults. Real life is not remotely like a video game, book, or any other sort of entertainment. It is real people suffering real injuries, and as such it must be taken seriously." The Director said, leaving what had just happened aside for the moment. "I will acknowledge the fact that young Taylor is a highly capable fighter, one that knows how to use the environment and psychology to her advantage rather than relying on her directly physical abilities."
"I can sense a 'but' coming." Herald groaned, sounding like a teenaged girl again, and a ripple of smiles went around the room in response to the entirely typical behavior.
"But, she will need to follow our rules and procedures if she wants to be a proper hero. While Mr. Patrickson's methods and verbiage leave a great deal to be desired, he was quite right that the Wards and the Youth Guard exist to protect underage parahumans, not turn them into soldiers comfortable with casual use of force and cruelty." The Director finished with a glint in her eye that might have been charitably called amusement.
"'Proper hero', hmph." The girl grumbled, crossing her legs and steepling her fingers in front of her face, elbows on the armrests of her chair. "Interesting phrase, really. All sorts of meanings and interpretations. Nonetheless, I am willing to join your organization in an effort to turn this city, and this planet, for that matter, around."
"Why? It's quite obvious that you consider the PRT and Protectorate as ineffective and the Wards program as relatively hopeless at best, so why would you want to join instead of continuing to try and do things on your own?" Piggot inquired, and the girl smiled at her, which was an odd response given the situation.
"Because I want to." She responded simply, before glancing over at her parents. "Now, I've already made my stipulations on joining quite clear, so I will trust my mother and father with the rest and offer to undergo that power testing you were so insistent on. Why you want to get all of your parahuman associates' abilities, limits, and weaknesses written down for anyone to see escapes me entirely, but I'll play along regardless. Oh, and please don't try to tell me your systems and files are completely secure, there wasn't any such thing before parahumans came into existence."
With that, she rose fluidly to her feet and seemed to float from the room, the door opening before her without so much as a twitch from a finger. The adults looked after her as she turned the corner and sailed sedately down the hall, before Piggot looked at Hana and Colin.
"You two, go with her and get the power testing started. Her parents and I will join you after we finish going over the paperwork. Make sure it is thorough, understood?" she ordered them briskly, and both nodded before following the departing teen.
They caught up to her quickly, despite the length of her own stride, and she glanced at them with an amused twinkle in her eye.
"Well played, Armsmaster, diffusing that situation before I did something unpleasant to that self-aggrandizing, bureaucratic fool." Taylor complimented him, genuinely enough as far as he could tell, before her mouth twisted into a smile of cold amusement as she continued with an edge of sardonicism. "I suppose he thought that his mediocre rank in an ill-regarded and barely tolerated organization would protect him from my wrath. He would have been quickly proven wrong, if not for one of those same adult parahumans he so despises. So, well-played indeed."
"I do not know what you are talking about. Every word I spoke was accurate and within the guidelines of procedure." Colin responded stiffly, radiating dignified poise with every word, and Taylor giggled lightly before adopting a look of solemn agreement.
"Of course, it could hardly be anything else. We are, doubtlessly, all made safer by your adherence to, and defense of, the rule of law. We can but hope that you have the opportunity to pursue and display your loyal dedication to so righteous a cause for many years to come." she confirmed in a tone as solemn as her expression, before giving Hana a sidelong glance. "Of course, one must also hope that the rule of law remains the rule of justice, a word that is sadly all to uncommon in this day and age. An era of besieged hope and strangled morality. Truly, when those in power abuse it, there is no darker and more dangerous day, for ourselves and for the generations that follow us. Would you not agree, Miss Militia?"
Hana swallowed heavily and managed a jerky nod, and even Colin could tell that what had just been said had affected her deeply indeed. He made a note, via a subvocal microphone and a particular piece of software, to make an inquiry at the next available moment where they were alone together. Just because he wasn't the best at showing emotion didn't mean he didn't feel them, and he cared a great deal for Hana in his own way.
"So, is this the part where you give me a tour of the facility, ending in the power testing laboratories, or are we going directly there?" the teen asked after regarding the older heroine for a long moment.
"Directly to the labs, the Wards are all there for their monthly evaluations today, which will assist in integration and testing both." Colin responded immediately, expecting something like surprise or suspicion, but he felt a slight chill go down the length of his spine when all Taylor did was smirk slowly, almost dangerously.
"Well, isn't that so terribly, incredibly, fortuitous, even serendipitous? Who would have imagined that the time I decided to come in for my interview and power testing would have aligned so cleanly with such a thing?" she purred, and Colin had to wonder if Herald had some precognitive abilities as well, because the way she was talking really made him doubt that this was a coincidence at all. Nonetheless, she was already planning on joining the Wards and having her powers evaluated, so what did it matter if she had chosen a particular time and date for it?
He settled on a simple "Indeed.", before moving to the front of the group and leaving Hana trailing behind, beside the girl, and started towards the labs. Hopefully, his more friendly teammate would be able to handle any small talk that came up during the trip.
"So, Miss Militia, lovely, kind, exotically enthralling Miss Militia, when is your first date with my mom and dad?" Herald chirped from behind him, and it occurred to him that he had, perhaps, made a grave error in leaving Hana to handle the small talk. He had, somehow, forgotten exactly what Herald was like.
"Taylor…" Hana sighed tiredly, sounding exasperated, but unless he was totally oblivious, there was an edge of almost fond amusement as well. "I can't just go on a date with your parents on your encouragement, you know, even if your mother did want to take me to dinner this week."
"Sure you can. You're interested, they're interested, why not give it a shot? They're good people, you're good people, so what can it hurt?" was the blithe response, and Hana sighed again, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"There is a bit more to things that than, Taylor…" she started, only to be cut off by a dismissive wave from the teen.
"Ridiculous! All that matters is what the three of you want from one another. The niceties of society are entirely irrelevant! If you are attracted to one another, and eventually come to love one another, what right has anyone else to complain or chastise you for it? What value should their words have to you? The answer to both is entirely the same: none whatsoever!" she grumbled, sounding just as exasperated as Hana had, and Colin had to resist the urge to sigh in abject relief as the double doors into the lab came into view.
They parted automatically as the trio approached, sliding back into the walls with a quiet hiss to reveal the interior. The labs were a large room, as one might expect, filled with various 'stations', each of which had their own assortment of technology and tools, many of which were quite clearly Tinkertech to one degree or another, and each of which were clearly intended to test a different trait or skill. Amongst the stations, either performing the requisite activities or watching their teammates, were the Wards.
All of whom were now paying a great deal of attention to the teen that had just walked in.
######################################
None of Wards were in their uniforms, instead wearing comfortable, sweat-wicking exercise outfits, and Taylor's eyes trailed appreciatively over Shadow Stalker's slender, athletic build, lingering long enough to make the former vigilante blush and look away, before sweeping over the rest of the youthful heroes. Vista was beaming, clearly thrilled with her presence, while the boys were looking as nervous as they were intrigued. As they should, of course, she was as dangerous as she was beautiful, and she gave Kid Win a smirk and a wink in response to his 'subtle' staring. He flushed and looked away immediately, and she wondered for a moment if he had thought his attention wouldn't be noticed.
Of course, being noticed was hardly a problem as far as she was concerned.
"Herald! You came, you came, you came!" Vista squealed gleefully, space warping so that her single step forward had her bouncing a foot away from Taylor rather than at a distance of a dozen yards. The taller girl couldn't help but smile slightly at the blonde's exuberance, giving a casual wave of hello. "Are you joining the Wards?"
"Mhm. Here for power testing, it seems, and perhaps more besides. After all, with all of my future teammates so unexpectedly and conveniently in one place, I'm sure there will be some manner of extra testing for power interactions and my talents. T'would be a shame to miss such a ripe opportunity, after all." Taylor agreed airily, before a thought seemed to occur to her. "Ah, of course, you should call me Taylor. We are going to be teammates, after all, and it's not as if I am hiding my identity, so I've no reason not to tell you my name now."
"Perhaps it would be best to start the testing as promptly as possible. All of you have responsibilities outside of your parahuman identities to attend to." Armsmaster cut in quickly as Vista opened her mouth, doubtlessly intending to unmask herself as well, and Taylor felt a small quirk flit across her lips as the petite blonde Shaker slumped with an adorable little pout. "Doctor Mactire?"
"Armsmaster." An older gentleman with black hair and a build that clearly indicated he hadn't always spent his life in a lab nodded in acknowledgement as he walked over to the group, clipboard under his arm and hands clasped behind his back as he inspected Taylor from head to toe. "The new Ward, I take it? My boys were terribly impressed with her antics the other night, they've been watching that damn youtube video on repeat. My wife is caught between having conniptions over a young girl being in a circumstance where she must deal such damage, and listening to her singing."
"Well, I am nothing short of delighted to hear that I am providing such quality entertainment to your family, though please do reassure your wife that I was never in any danger, and that it was my honor to deal such damage in order to protect people like herself from the predations of those like Skidmark." Taylor responded with a warm smile and a slight, courtly bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Mactire. I take it you are the head of the department responsible for this room?"
"Hmm. What a well-spoken young woman." The doctor mused thoughtfully, before nodding in response. "Yes, I am in charge of the power testing and evaluation department for the ENE division. As such, I am wholly responsible for your safety in this room, which has no small bearing on your actions outside of it. If I am not convinced that you are capable of using your powers properly, you're on Console duty until I'm satisfied."
"Surely my display of which you spoke earlier is enough to convince you that I know what I am doing! There isn't anyone else in this city who can do what I did!" Taylor protested, sounding almost offended by the idea, and the Doctor shook his head at her.
"You were able to defeat some strung-out base-line humans through what I will admit was an excellent use of the terrain and weather control while getting into their heads enough that they could barely breathe, never mind fight effectively." He shut her down firmly, shoulders squaring ever-so-slightly. "That perfect storm of circumstances is unlikely to often occur during your Ward patrols, and as such your power use and creativity will need to be fare more extensive. Not to mention your fine control must be evaluated as well, given you are no longer a vigilante."
"Oh, I suppose you're right, but I assure you that the testing will be really quite brief." The teen sighed dramatically, before pausing and folding her arms, fingers of her right hand drumming on her left elbow. "I do hope that I won't be responsible for breaking any equipment? Because otherwise this could get unreasonably expensive for my family, and we're not exactly flush with funds at the moment. Or at least, not the level of funds required for things such as this."
In any other time and place, such a slender girl saying something like that would be considered either a very deadpan joke or a level of delusional arrogance that would require hospitalization. In the era of parahumans, however, it was a totally legitimate concern to have. Outside of a few circumstances, appearance was now irrelevant to an individual's potential ability to cause damage to people or property.
That being said…
"I assure you that our equipment is capable of successfully testing to an approximation of Triumvirate-tier, and has never been destroyed or rendered irreparable by any parahuman that has ever undergone testing." The Doctor responded stiffly, readying his clipboard and pen. "We will begin with Mover-related testing. These tests will involve things such as how fast you can run, evade attacks, or launch attacks of your own. We will begin with running. Please step onto the treadmill."
The treadmill, unlike the immediate mental image most people would have in regards to the word, was actually a five foot by five foot square embedded in the floor, a bank of monitors and readouts along the left side.
"Now, in order to prevent a common issue with Movers, I will ask you ahead of time not to go straight to your maximum speed, lest you leave the surface of the treadmill entirely. Instead, I want you to start at a basic walk and slowly, but steadily increase your pace. This will allow it to keep up with you, and for us to monitor the results properly." He continued as his assistants got into position and Taylor stepped onto the center of the rubber pad.
"I suppose I'll have to do all of this again once I'm dressed in more appropriate attire?" Taylor asked (though it was really more of a statement) as she stuck her hands in her pockets and took up the same ambling gait she had displayed so many times before. Bit by bit the treadmill accelerated, her stride lengthening in response, until she was loping along at nearly ninety miles per hour without any sign of exertion or stress.
"Remarkable. All biometrics of her body indicate that she is doing nothing more than a light jog as far as the rest of us would be concerned. I am willing to bet that this is her steady running speed, and that she can sprint or perform explosive movement of a far greater speed but far shorter duration." Mactire mused, examining the readouts with a professional eye, the graphs and scales and charts meaning nothing to most and little even to Armsmaster and Miss Militia.
"And nothing to indicate that there are side effects similar to those of Velocity's power?" Militia asked curiously, but Mactire shook his head firmly.
"No, there doesn't seem to be any sort of Breaker state affecting her despite the speed she is moving at, which is unusual for non-flyers who can move at this speed. Usually, simple terrain friction and air resistance would require some manner of Breaker ability to maintain such speeds by reducing the effects of the laws of physics on the parahuman in question, like Velocity, but I have no indications of such a thing here." He responded, and Armsmaster frowned thoughtfully. That was unusual, simply because there wasn't a downside.
All powers had a downside, a limitation or flaw, without fail. Tinkers often had trouble interacting with other people and often fell prey to the 'Tinker Fugue', where they became incapable of registering or reacting to outside stimuli while Tinkering or designing unless physically shocked out of it. Movers often had difficulty physically interacting with world at high speed, or suffer disorientation after teleports, or could only teleport to certain places or objects. Every kind of parahuman power came with its own flaws, period, but what was Herald's?
After another ten minutes of the teen casually moving at a speed nearly four times faster than what the best Olympic sprinter alive could manage, Mactire called it quits and moved on to the next test of the speed trials, the combined Mover-Thinker test governing reaction speeds. That was quickly abandoned when she backhanded an object launched at speeds not dissimilar to that of an RPG, her reaction speed registering at 30ms, though she admitted that part of that was possession of precognition, which included short-term prediction of attacks. Something that would have to be tested later during sparring, Armsmaster decided. Regardless, since most humans had a reaction speed of just under three-hundred milliseconds, she would be devastating in close combat even without the advantage of fog and shadows.
Similarly, her Blaster and Shaker rankings were deemed to be quite high, as she showcased the ability to freeze objects in time at range, disintegrated dummies with a variety of abilities including lightning, strangely colored fire, or a small localized storm of all things, and generated a dome of shimmering light that absorbed the heaviest attacks they could throw at it without any visible strain on her part.
By the time the testers threw up their hands and acknowledged her as a Trump 9, everyone in the room was seriously questioning why she had bothered signing up with the Wards when she easily could have simply stayed an independent and done quite well for herself, given the varitey and strength of her powers.
"Because it's more fun this way. I get to watch the villains tear their hair out over being unable to stop me in the battlefield, knowing who I am in my 'civilian life', and helpless to do anything about it. I want to watch the gang-bangers gnash their teeth and snarl it futile impotency when I walk past them on the street, care-free." She responded when Shadow Stalker finally couldn't resist asking any longer, the dark-skinned 'reformed' vigilante baffled by the idea that someone with her might would sign up to have other people tell her what to do. "I want their fury and fear to build, and build, and build, until they can no longer resist revealing their true selves by doing something truly foolish. Then I will crush them, make an example of them, and ensure that no one ever imagines going after someone out of costume, nor their families, loved ones, or neighbors ever again."
"That kind of thought process is what leads to the shit-show that is Africa. Endless escalation doesn't do anything but guarantee a lot of bodies, broken cities, and barricaded countries." A cold voice said from the doorway, and the room turned to see the speaker. She was a tall and slender woman, one that would likely have been intimidating even if it wasn't for her ash-colored clothing and the charcoal-black mask covering the upper half of her face. The mask did little to hide the discontent she clearly felt with Taylor, and her following words confirmed it. "To hear a Ward, especially a Ward in this city, say something like that…I don't like it one bit."
She made her way towards the sparring arena, ignoring everyone else as her eyes remained locked on Taylor's, and folded her arms across her chest with a scowl.
"Let's see what you're made of, girl. Let's see if you have what it takes to be a hero."
################################################################
Yay, new person! Yay, update! Yay, still not dead!
As always, tell me what you think about it! In the meantime, I'm going to work on the next Vincit Qui Se Vincit chapter and play some Total War: Warhammer III. My friend and I (she's Nurgle, I'm Kislev) each have three souls and are a few turns away from the next Roar of Ursun. *manic giggling* This will be fun~!