Sunny Sky 1.6

Taylor sat in the reasonably comfortable PRT interview room nervously sipping the tea that an intern had brought her. She technically wasn't in any trouble or under arrest, but as the sole witness to a large-scale battle between parahumans that had resulted in numerous casualties, the PRT needed a statement from her. Unfortunately, as a minor, this had necessitated calling her father.

What are we going to do?! We were barely able to pay bills as it was and now the house is gone… Oh hell, where did Lisa go?

She slumped despondently in the chair. Everything was just going straight to hell. And now Archmage was off being interrogated and he wouldn't even let her know what was being said, because he apparently hated sharing headspace with other people. Selfish bastard…

"Taylor!" Taylor flinched as her dad came barreling in through the door and swept her up into a hug. "Oh god, when I got the call I thought you were hurt! You aren't hurt are you?"

"I'm fine dad." Taylor muttered weakly, hugging back just as fiercely. "Just… processing."

"What happened? All they told me was that there was a parahuman incident in our neighborhood and you saw it happen."

Parahuman incident… right, because an 'incident' is dozens of dead or injured people and an entire house reduced to rubble. "Short story? New cape in town picked a fight with Coil and we have to move now. I'll save the longer story for when the PRT actually comes and talks to us." Taylor summarized with a heavy sigh. "It… It was horrible dad. People died. I'm still not sure if the two heroes who were there survived or not."

And wasn't that a horrible thought? Two heroes, one who had actually seemed to care about her situation at Winslow, had both been taken down before they'd even had a chance to properly fight back. Taylor had seen Assault and Battery in action through PHO and knew that the two of them were so much more formidable than their showing yesterday. They had been ambushed and surprised, Battery's power unable to charge in time and Assault being attacked with energy weapons.

For a while she had felt sick at what she'd unleashed in the form of Archmage. But after hours of just sitting and waiting, stuck in her own thoughts? She figured she'd done the right thing. Was it brutal? Yes, it was. But the villains of Brockton Bay had been entrenched for decades at this point. No one had managed to get them under control, only fight back and cling to some semblance of civilization as they choked the life from the city. They were like… like bullies, only scaled up. They only understood one language, the language of violence. Taylor wouldn't let them keep doing it. She wouldn't let them keep ruining her home.

She was torn from her thoughts as the door opened and one of Taylor's personal heroes walked in. Miss Militia. Taylor could feel her heart leap into her throat. This wasn't just some random hero, this was one of the original Wards! She'd been a hero since before Taylor was even born.

"Mr. Hebert, Ms. Hebert." Militia greeted them with a friendly tone. "Thank you for your patience. And thank you for agreeing to this Ms. Hebert, we appreciate the cooperation."

"I uh, yeah, it's not a problem." Taylor shrugged awkwardly. "Just trying to make your guys' job easier."

"Well we appreciate it regardless. Now to start with-"

"Wait, Assault and Battery, are they ok?" Taylor blurted out, then flushed as she realized she'd interrupted Miss Militia.

Taylor had the distinct impression that the heroine was smiling beneath her bandana. "They're both in critical care, but we managed to bring Panacea in and treat the worst of their injuries. I could even ask if they're up for visitors if you wanted to speak to them."

Taylor nodded silently, feeling an invisible weight lift off of her shoulders.

"Now then, first off, this parahuman, Archmage, can you describe everything about him that you noticed?" Miss Militia began as she took out a folder and began to spread out paper onto the table.

"He appeared after Assault went down, just descended from the sky. He had some kind of telekinesis and used it to take down everyone." Taylor fibbed slightly. "He seemed really pissed off. Said something about 'hating rulebreakers'?" Taylor finished with a questioning look. Assault had already explained, but she had to sell that she was a civilian now.

"Parahumans have a certain loose code of honor." Miss Militia explained. "It's a way to avoid large battles with civilian casualties, like what happened today, as well as give villains an incentive to fight in Endbringer battles. After such a blatant attack as this, the PRT and Protectorate will be coming down hard on Coil's organization."

"Thank you." Taylor said with real relief. "If someone was so willing to attack heroes when they were in someone's home, not even patrolling or looking for a fight… that seems pretty scary."

Miss Militia paused for a moment. "We don't believe that was his objective. Ms. Hebert, how well did you know this girl that was found in your home?" She slid a picture across the table to Taylor.

Picking it up, Taylor realized it was a driver's license photo of Lisa. "I just met her today. She offered to buy me coffee and then some thugs tried to mug us. A friendly passerby interfered and I brought her back to my house until she could get someone to pick her up." Taylor again stretched the truth. "Is she alright? I think she was upstairs when the fighting started."

"She's dead Ms. Hebert." Miss Militia stated bluntly. "When the villain Ballistic launched a car through your house in an attempt to neutralize Assault, the upstairs portion of your house collapsed. She was buried beneath some debris and crushed to death."

Taylor felt another pit open in her stomach. Lisa had struck her as a bitch, but that didn't mean she deserved to die! Taylor felt even more glad that she'd summoned Archmage. They had a lot of cleaning up to do in this city. Coil was going to regret attacking them.

"Now from what we can gather through examination of cell phone records, her personal computer, and facial recognition, we believe Lisa Wilbourn to have been a villain called Tattletale with the Undersiders. Furthermore, we received a file from an unknown source linking Tattletale and her team to being on Coil's payroll. We're still running down leads and information, but we believe Tattletale wasn't a villain by choice and was planning a break from Coil. The attack on you and your home was simply Coil trying to kill Tattletale and unfortunately, he succeeded." Miss Militia continued to explain.

"But why so openly? Why didn't he wait until she was alone at her own home or on the streets?" Taylor asked with genuine confusion. Lisa had theorized Coil was gearing up to strike soon, but to do it so quickly and openly? It didn't fit the image of a calculating schemer.

"We have reason to suspect that Coil was a high level Thinker, however certain capes are immune to or disrupt Thinker abilities. We think that Archmage is one such cape." Miss Militia hesitated before finally saying. "And you as well."

"Wait a minute!" Danny cut in, looking lost and out of his depth. "Taylor isn't a cape, I'd have noticed if she was sneaking out at night or had powers."

Miss Militia winced, but carried on. "The appearance of Legacy and now Archmage is too coincidental. In addition, all potential trigger events are documented and monitored by the local Protectorate. I know Assault spoke to you about this and in his report he mentioned strong suspicion that you gained powers. After investigators looked at Winslow, this suspicion gained further traction. To be clear, we are not accusing your daughter of being a cape, we are saying that we suspect she may have super powers and are offering to not only test this, but offer her a contract as a Ward if she is one."

"Winslow? What happened at Winslow?" Danny asked with desperate confusion. "Taylor?"

"Bullies, dad. They've been targeting me since high school began." Taylor muttered quietly. "Yesterday they-" Taylor cut herself off as images began to creep into her head, but she forced it back down. She couldn't… refused to think about it.

"Mr. Hebert, calling what your daughter has been going through 'bullying' is like calling the Empire 88 racist." Miss Militia stated grimly. "After speaking to her, Assault did some digging and we managed to gain access to incriminating texts and emails from those responsible."

"Who?" Danny growled. "Who's been hurting my little girl?!" He demanded to know.

"Emma Barnes, Sophia Hess, and Madison Clements, though there are many others who are peripherally involved as well, these three seem to be the main culprits. Yesterday they arranged for Taylor to be shoved into a locker filled with toxic waste. We've already begun involving the police and dealing with-"

It struck Taylor like a lightning bolt as the words of Miss Militia became nothing but static to her ears. Why would Assault, let alone the entire PRT begin to investigate Taylor's situation? They only dealt with parahuman crime. Maybe the initial stuff having to do with triggers would be of interest, especially to try and interest her in the Wards, but anything further wasn't their territory… Except, now that she'd had time to think, Taylor remembered what Nova had said. Sophia had smelled like a parahuman. That left literally only one cape she could possibly be. Shadow Stalker. A Ward. A Ward had been bullying her, torturing her, turned her best friend against her. That was how they'd already gained access to texts and emails, because Sophia was probably easily accessible.

Taylor had to fight her immediate gut reaction to just stand up and march out or order Archmage to go ballistic. No, the PRT was already taking steps to correct this, she had to believe that. But something was still foul, someone had fucked up majorily and allowed what was happening to her to be swept under the rug. She had filed numerous reports with the principal and even if nothing had come of it all because it was always their word versus hers, that many reports should have been documented and noted, especially with a Ward's name plastered on almost all of them.

"Miss Militia." Taylor cut off the heroine's explanation about the ongoing investigation. Her voice was thick with tension and barely restrained rage. "Did the PRT know that Shadow Stalker was responsible for a campaign of systematic bullying, or was that Blackwell's fault?"

Whatever Miss Militia had been saying stuck in her throat as she stared wide eyed for a moment at Taylor. Finally, she seemed to find her voice again. "Ms. Hebert… No, Taylor. We had no knowledge of what was happening. I can't go into specifics, but hypothetically if a Ward were attending Winslow, it would offer a good chunk of funding that could lead an administrator to overlook certain unpleasant happenings." Her eyes closed briefly and the heroine looked so tired at that moment that Taylor almost felt bad for bringing it up. "Please, don't allow what you suspect to color your view of the Wards. It truly is the safest environment for a young parahuman. We strongly encourage you to undergo an MRI and if it is determined you did indeed experience a trigger event, join the Wards."

"Like hell." Danny snarled out. "Sounds like your people royally screwed the pooch here. I'm not allowing Taylor to join some organization that can't even keep its own people in check and besides, Taylor isn't even a parahuman."

Well he isn't entirely wrong. "Miss Militia, I'll tell you the same thing I told Assault: I'm no parahuman. If I was then I would consider joining the Wards once the PRT and Protectorate gets their shit together. I'd like to leave now. I've given you all I know about what happened at my house today." Taylor requested while still keeping her voice carefully blank.

"Ms. Hebert, the city is still in chaos from this attack. Please, the Wards are-"

"Not her safest option, nor the one in her best interest." Archmage's smooth voice cut into the conversation. "Greetings Taylor, Mr. Hebert. I am Archmage. I would hate to see a pair of civilians be left without a place to stay, would you allow me to escort you to a safe place for the evening?"

Taylor nudged her dad. "He's trustworthy."

Danny gritted his teeth, pressed by bad options all around and then nodded his ascent. "Thank you Archmage, that's very kind of you."

"Mr. Hebert-"

"Save it ma'am." Danny cut her off. "I trust my own judgment and my daughter's over whatever bullcrap you're obviously trying to feed us. Taylor isn't a parahuman, but apparently one of yours decided to spit on the title of 'hero', so I'm not trusting my daughter's safety in your hands."

"But you'll trust a man who killed two people and put dozens of others in the hospital?" Miss Militia demanded while standing up, the pistol holstered on her belt beginning to flicker with green energy. "Some of those men will never walk again!"

Taylor shot Archmage a warning glare, but he didn't say a word, only exuded a calm and smug aura.

"Yes, because he very likely saved my daughter's life!" Danny shouted, his temper finally hitting its limit. "Now unless we're under arrest my daughter and I are leaving."

Miss Militia hesitated and held up a hand as her earpiece buzzed. She sighed, then shook her head. "You're free to leave with Archmage. Please Taylor," She turned pleading eyes onto the young super. "Please, keep us in mind. I've seen too many independents turn up dead or worse."

Taylor nodded shortly and then walked out with her father and Archmage. Once they were outside the building, Archmage made a short gesture and all sound seemed to cut away as they were lifted off the ground and through the now darkened night sky. Archmage fixed Taylor with a look and she could feel the question in his gaze.

"Dad, I…" Taylor braced herself, ready to tell Danny about her powers.

"Yeah baby girl?"

Taylor took a breath. "Thanks for sticking up for me there."

Danny went quiet for a moment. "You didn't tell me about Emma." There was a note of hurt in his voice.

"I- I thought that maybe she'd get bored if I just kept my head down. I have no idea what even happened, one day we were fine, then the next she had a new friend and they were making my life a living hell." Taylor explained.

"I got that much from Militia's spiel. But why didn't you tell me?" He asked pleadingly.

"Because if I had it wouldn't have solved anything." Taylor whispered the bitter truth. "You would get mad and go to Alan and get him to stop Emma and Emma would just lie and gaslight and pretend I was the crazy one and then maybe they'd sue us or something worse and I just-" Taylor cut herself off.

"Just what Taylor? I'm your father, I could have done something, anything, you can trust me to at least help."

"Like you've been helping since Mom died?" The venom rose suddenly and quickly in her throat.

Danny looked as if she'd struck him. "Taylor-"

"You didn't even notice Emma was gone or that my grades were dropping or that I started coming home depressed every day!" Taylor spat angrily, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "You just go to work all day and then come back to drink. When's the last time we spent any time together or just talked? I didn't just lose Mom when she died, I lost both of my parents!"

A dozen different emotions raced across Danny's face, but before he could speak, Archmage raised his hand and placed it gently on Taylor's head. "Calm yourself Ms. Hebert. Mr. Hebert? If you and I could have a discussion before I leave for the evening, I would greatly appreciate it."

Danny swallowed back his anger and huffed, turning away from Archmage and Taylor both, though not able to move within the telekinetic sphere. Before long, they'd set down outside the ruins of the Hebert home. All of the bodies were gone, but the wreckage still lingered.

"Allow me."

Archmage took a step forward and raised his hands. Immediately, every piece of the home, every splinter, every shard of glass, every speck of drywall dust, reassembled itself in proper order. For a moment the house looked completely restored, though still cracked. Then Archmage walked forward, the tip of his staff burning with a bright emerald light and he touched it gently to the front door of the house. With a flash of energy, the house stood there, perfectly restored.

"I will bid thee farewell Ms. Hebert. Daniel? If you and I could talk, one father to another?"

Taylor walked inside and ignored whatever her dad and Archmage were talking about. Feeling utterly exhausted and filthy, she took a shower and prepared for sleep. By the time she was about to go to bed, she heard a gentle knock on her door.

"It's open."

Danny walked in, looking downcast, but also resolute. He sat down next to Taylor on her bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Taylor. I never meant to ignore you, I just…" He slumped and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "Your mother was my whole world. It was terrible when she died and everything just became gray. It was all I could do to just force myself to work. I thought I was doing better, but clearly I'm still ignoring the most important part of my life. The Docks is my life's work, but you are my daughter. I'm going to start cutting back hours and spend more time with you, ok? We're going to try and get some kind of settlement from Winslow and get you into Arcadia or just a GED if that's the only other option, but I won't let you keep going to that cesspit. What I'm trying to say is… Can you give your old man a second chance?" He asked gently. "I want to be there for you, help you succeed. I wasn't doing enough before. I promise to do my best to be here now… if you'll let me."

Taylor tried to keep her facade up, the one she'd built ever since Emma had betrayed her, but it swiftly crumbled. She hugged him for all she was worth, even as she started to sob into his shoulder. That was all she'd ever wanted to hear. Now she just hoped he'd live up to it. She had a feeling though, with everything that had happened these last few days…. Nothing would ever be the same again.

[As our gracious host would say… AGREEMENT, young lady. AGREEMENT, indeed.]
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A/N: Well that's all of Arc 1. I have Arc 2 and a chunk of Arc 3 done on the other site, but I figure I'd just let this sit here and give folks on ff time to catch up, read a bit, then get around to posting another big chunk in a few days. Hope y'all enjoy and feel free to hit me up with any questions via private messaging or in the reviews.