Sunny Sky-1.1

Taylor Hebert screamed within her locker.

Her locker, stuffed full of rotting garbage and insects. They'd shoved her inside and locked the door, leaving her trapped with the stench and wriggling insects, in her own fucking vomit.

She screamed in horror. In rage. In betrayal.

Not a damn person did a thing about it. She screamed and cried and begged and nothing, not a single fucking person in all of Winslow cared enough to help.

Fuck them. Fuck all of them.

She kept screaming until her voice was raw and still nothing. Screams turned to pained sobs. She needed help. She needed…

A hero.

For an instant, a shard of something greater attempted to reach out and connect with the poor, suffering girl, intent on imbuing her with the power to command smaller creatures and bend them to her will.

Something else intervened.

A rainbow light exploded from the locker as something different infused Taylor with power.

With a burst of the same light a man appeared in front of the locker. He stood tall and almost imposing, but he cut a heroic figure with a blue bodysuit highlighted with a white lightning bolt, flowing cape behind him, a small mask covering his upper face, though it did nothing to hide his salt and pepper hair or light gray eyes. A warm, easy smile rested upon his face.

That smile quickly vanished as he heard Taylor's sobbing.

A single gloved hand reached out with lightning speed and ripped open the locker door.

Heedless of the filth, the hero picked up the poor girl and took the most convenient exit: Straight up through the ceiling. Taking flight and reaching through his newfound memories, the hero exploded into motion toward the nearest hospital, a sonic boom sounding behind him as he broke through the sound barrier. As fast as he took off, he deaccelerated and then landed gently at the door of the hospital, before striding in with Taylor still cradled in his arms, her body shaking from as she cried silently.

Walking up to the front desk, the hero gave a hard stare to the man sitting there, conveying the urgency of the situation. "This girl has been stuck in biohazardous waste for several hours. She needs to be seen by Panacea, immediately."

The front desk administrator took one look at Taylor and her current state, to the hero holding her and the firm look in his eyes, then nodded. "Take her to room 212, I'll call for Panacea."

The hero gave a curt nod before taking Taylor to the assigned room and stood vigil over her. After only about five minutes, a young woman wearing a white robe entered the room. Based on Taylor's memories, the hero was able to identify her as Panacea, the most powerful healer in the United States, perhaps even the world.

"Do I have permission to heal her?" Panacea asked brusquely as she walked in.

"While I'm not her parent or guardian, I think it's safe to say you do." The hero replied with a strained smile.

Panacea nodded before touching Taylor's hand. "Fuuuuck… whoever did this to her were some sick bastards. There are a lot of bad infections, not to mention all the scrapes and bruising." As the injuries began fading and Taylor's trembling stilled, Panacea shot a look toward the hero. "I've never seen you around Brockton before."

"New face. My name is Legacy." He gave a perfect smile. "Because I will leave a legacy of peace behind me."

Panacea gave him an odd look before focusing back on Taylor. "Damnit all, new trigger. Guess I shouldn't be surprised with the way you found her."

"Indeed." Legacy nodded. "I brought her here as soon as I found her."

"Huh, her Gemma is really weird. It's way bigger than normal and it's sort of… obscured. I can usually see brains, but not affect them, but hers… I can just tell it's there, but I can't really get a good look at it."

Legacy hummed thoughtfully. "Can you try using your power on me?"

"I mean… sure?" Panacea stepped away from Taylor's side, the girl now breathing softly and peacefully and approached Legacy, who carefully removed a glove and offered his hand to the healer. "Whoa! I mean- wow! You're perfect."

Legacy laughed good naturedly. "My wife and daughter would disagree with you."

"No, I mean all of your cells are in perfectly healthy condition. You look like you're in your early thirties maybe, but there should be signs of wear and tear in your muscles, bones, organs, even DNA, undeniable signs of aging, but your cells look fresh and new, healthy beyond belief. No imperfections whatsoever, no signs of cancer, nothing."

"And what if I told you I was actually in my fifties?"

Panacea laughed slightly. "Some people get all the luck with their powers." She frowned then. "But you… you don't have a Gemma. That's odd. And in your cells, there's something weird about them, something I've never seen before, an energy inside of them that I can't touch…"

"Part of my powers I assume. I'm an Alexandria package of sorts, though my powers have always been weird compared to others with similar abilities."

"I'm also sensing a lot of that same power in your head."

"I can shoot beams of energy from my eyes."

"Like that comic book guy Superman?"

Legacy let out a short chuckle. "Yeah, like Superman, though I'm not solar charged or nearly as powerful for that matter."

"Huh. Well, that was interesting." Panacea pulled her hand away. "See you around. And… thanks. Here in Brockton Bay, we can use all the help we can get. " Panacea walked out and back to her other patients.

Legacy sat quietly with Taylor until the girl began to awaken, as if from a nightmare, slowly uncurling and glancing cautiously around the hospital room. "So… that wasn't a dream?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Shit. Emma, she really… they… Why can't they just leave me alone?" Taylor began to choke back sobs as fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She felt a warm hand on her back begin to rub gentle circles while a box of tissues was placed on her lap.

"Breath, just breath. You're safe now. They will never hurt you again."

Taylor sniffled a bit, looking up at Legacy. "Who are you exactly?"

Legacy smiled sadly. "I am many things. I am a child of the Storm, a superhero, and an expression of your power, to name a few at least."

"My power? I'm a cape?"

"No Taylor, you're far more than that."

"You know who I am?"

"Indeed. When you summoned me, I gained access to all of your memories."

Taylor opened her mouth to reply, feeling some panic at a stranger being able to see her memories, but winced and clutched her head as pain ripped through it.

"Ah, you haven't fully acclimated yet. Keeping me around is probably straining your powers. Rest and try to summon me or another Super when you've recovered. You can experiment later, just don't push yourself. Oh and you can tell the Protectorate about me, but I wouldn't recommend telling them that I'm from your powers. They'll call you crazy at best, Overminded- I mean 'Mastered', at worst. Farewell for now." Legacy gave one last pat on the back before fading away in a burst of rainbow light.

Taylor sat there in silence for a while, trying to sort through what little information she'd been given, before a small knock came at the door. A red costumed man with a charming, boyish smile entered. Taylor recognized him immediately as Assault, a Protectorate hero. "Hi there! Hospital staff never got your name since a hero brought you in pretty suddenly, but I was contacted to speak to you and whoever it was that rescued you. I'm Assault." He offered his hand in greeting. After a moment of minor panic, Taylor took it.

"Taylor Hebert." She hoped he couldn't hear the awe or nervousness in her voice.

"Good to meet ya. So is your savior around?" He plopped into the chair by her bedside.

"He uh, said he had other work to get to."

Assault nodded sagely. "A hero's work is never done. Did he give you a name?"

"Legacy."

"Not an unheard of name I suppose. Bit of an optimistic one too. Well Ms. Hebert, would it be alright if I asked you a few questions? You have a right to ask for your parents to be present if you'd like."

"No, that's alright. Ask away."

Assault nodded happily and pulled a small notepad and pencil out from a belt pouch. "Alright, well first off, what did Legacy rescue you from?"

Taylor grimaced. "A locker stuffed with used tampons and rotting garbage."

Assault winced. "And what kind of sicko put you in there?"

Taylor bit her lip. "Some girls have been bullying me. It's Winslow, so no one really gives a crap. At first I tried to tell the teachers, but it was always my word against theirs' and there are three of them. Well three ringleaders, but they get their hanger-ons to mess with me too."

Assault tapped his knee with a pen. "Hmm… Well that does sound like a mess. Tell you what, you give me their names, and I'll see what I can do. I can't make any promises, but I will look into it."

Taylor flushed and looked away. "You've got more important things to do."

"Yeah." Assault admitted with a shrug. "But I still want to help if I can."

"Emma Barnes, Madison Clements, and Sophia Hess."

Assault took the time to write all the names down, even asking for a description of each. "Alright, well, I'll see what I can do. Also…" Assault reached into a different belt pouch and pulled out a card. "Here. What you went through, it- Well, capes are always born from trauma. What you went through may have awakened some kind of powers, so if you did, then I'd strongly encourage joining the Wards."

Taylor looked at the card with vague discomfort. "And put up with more teenage bullcrap?"

Assault chuckled. "The Wards are all a lot more mature than you'd think. Well except Clockblocker, but… that's just him. Very little ordinary teenager drama."

"If I somehow get powers… then I'll think about it."

"That's all I'm asking. Statistics for new capes aren't good. They usually end up dead or press ganged into villainy. But do your own research before making any decisions." The red costumed hero suddenly stood. "Well I've got to get going before the Director sends out a search party. It was nice meeting you, Taylor. I hope we meet again, just not in a hospital."

Rather than take the door, Assault chose to go out the window, quickly bouncing away as if the asphalt was made of rubber. As Taylor watched him go, she actually felt a modicum of… hope. If Assault was being honest (and something told her he was), then she might finally get something done about the Trio. Winslow's administration could shrug off a lone, unpopular student, but a Protectorate Hero? They'd have to listen.

Right?