Meetings 04

The pancakes were good. Really good. I hadn't even known there was a diner on the Boardwalk. Their chocolate milk was good too, but it was hard to mess up chocolate milk. It could be done, obviously, it was just difficult to do so.

"If you don't slow down, you're going to get sick," Tattletale - Lisa - said, a small frown on her face.

I set my fork down and breathed out, placing my hands on the table in front of me and bowing my head. "I know. It's just been a long time since I've had good pancakes. Not since…my mom died. And I was hungry anyway. Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to your stomach. I just don't want you to throw up everything you just ate. That would rather be the opposite of the point of this."

"What is the point of this?" I murmured. "Why are you being so nice? Why do you care?" My voice cracked on the last word and I hated myself for it. I never used to be this weak. I used to be able to get through almost an entire week of insults and petty bullying attempts before it got to me. Now I couldn't even ask a question without losing it. What had happened to me?

Mr. Spinster stared up at me, his cold eyes accusing.

I violently shuddered, nearly knocking the milk over as my hand spasmed. Lisa's hand snapped out and closed over mine even as she moved the drink away. She didn't say anything, just let me shake, squeezing my fingers until the tremors subsided. Eventually, my nerves stopped firing and I sniffled, pulling my hand back and setting it in my lap, not looking up from my laser focus on the pancakes in front of me.

"…Sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize for being upset that you're upset, Taylor," she replied, voice soft and gentle. "It's perfectly human to feel frustrated."

I just shook my head. She could buy me lunch, she could send me money, she could talk to me, but I couldn't tell her that. I couldn't tell anyone that.

My powers were supposed to help people.

"So, I never answered your question did I?" I glanced up at Lisa, she was smirking, her lips not quite curved back into that foxy grin from outside the clothing store earlier, but close. If she wanted to change the subject, I wasn't going to complain. "I care because if I don't get to spar with the junior spandex squad, then I have to deal with the big leagues! Or, worst case, I have to go and play with," she paused and gave an elaborate shudder, "the real villains. Can you imagine little old me against Kaiser or Lung?"

At that I let out an amused scoff, "What, no worries about Skidmark?" The ghost of a grin tugged at my cheeks. I pulled the pancakes back in front of me and took a few more bites.

Lisa laughed, rolling her eyes and waving her hand dismissively. "Oh puh-lease! I'm a Thinker and that man is an idiot of the highest caliber. You give me 30 seconds with him and, at worst, I'll have him convinced that his mother is about to burst down the door to scold him and beat him with a wooden spoon. At best, I'll have him blubbering on the floor crying for his daddy."

"Oh is that all? You're pretty confident in yourself for someone who wasn't even sure they would charge me for my equipment."

"I need actual data to work my mojo. I'm not magic, girl!" She eyed me, her smile slipping away. "Jesus, they really did charge you? Fuck me. That's gotta break so many procedures and laws."

I shrugged, finishing the last few bites. "The PRT is exempt from a lot of regulations. Most of the exceptions are supposed to apply just to the Protectorate, but I think the wording was really broad so it can technically apply to the Wards too. It's up to the local Directors how to interpret everything since the nationwide policy is 'Do what is best for your city.' At least, that's what I got from reading the pamphlets and handbooks. My dad was the contract person in our family, but he…he can't look things over right now." I clenched my fist and took a shaky breath, shaking my head. "Should we be discussing this here?"

"There's a reason I chose this booth," she said, waving her hand again. "No one is going to overhear us back here and if it fills up more, we can go back to my apartment to keep talking. It's pretty close."

"Oh." I frowned. "But then I would know where you live…"

"I know where you live. Like I said, fair's fair, Taylor."

I pointed my fork at her, the other hand tapping the table. "You. Are nothing like what I expected."

"Aww, and here I thought we were the mascot villains for the city!" her smirk was positively vulpine and her eyebrows were lifted high.

"That is reserved for Uber and Leet," I replied.

"Those guys are jerks. Did you miss how they beat up those prostitutes for their latest video? Ugh, hard pass on those assholes. Our crew has one high maintenance member. And even she's not that bad. Well, unless you run a dog fighting ring. Or hurt dogs in general. Or dislike dogs. Or talk to her. Or breathe in her general direction."

I winced, dropping my gaze back to the tabletop and laying my utensils down. I knew Hellhound was gruff, but all of the briefings we had about her were also very consistent. 'Be nice to dogs and she'd probably leave you alone. Probably.' I didn't have much sympathy for people who weren't nice to animals.

But Uber and Leet had been…funny…I'd loved their videos…

A few moments later I asked, "They actually hurt real prostitutes for their show?" It was a wonder Lisa could hear me, I was talking so softly.

Lisa frowned at that, "You never actually saw that video? Did you?"

"No…I've missed a few because of patrols and helping with my Dad…"

"Oh. Well…Damn. If you want to preserve any potentially positive opinion of them, don't look it up. It's mostly the…main bad one. But seriously, in person they're assholes. Specifically Leet. Uber isn't quite as bad, but he's really devoted to his friend, so…yeah, they suck. My team is much better at pulling off the whole 'Friendly Neighborhood Villain' thing."

"Well, you did try to buy me off with pancakes, so there is that in your favor," I mumbled with a shrug. I continued barely above a whisper, "Thanks, by the way. This…was really, really nice."

"You're welcome." Lisa had dropped all teasing from her tone as she responded, almost as quiet as I was. "The others don't know. If you ever meet them - which you really shouldn't, but just in case you do - don't bring it up. I can use my share of things however I want, but that doesn't mean I need to make things even more awkward with the team. Grue was already annoyed when I stopped to make sure you were alright when you passed out."

I swallowed a lump in my throat. I couldn't meet her gaze. "Why did you? Stay, I mean. And…can you tell me the…truth? Not that line from before. I'm not an idiot…"

Lisa sighed. "I know you're not. Are you done with your food? If we're going to talk talk, we should probably just go back to my place now."

I nodded, finally looking up again. Lisa dropped a few bills onto the table and shuffled out of the booth.

Standing next to me, she held out her hand, her smile easy and soft, no trace of the smugness from earlier. "Last chance, Taylor. I know it breaks decorum a tad, but I haven't lied to you yet and I don't plan to start. I would actually like a friend and I do want to keep talking, but we need to relocate to keep going. Are you up to toeing a few more lines?"

I had to stare at her hand for a few - long - seconds before realizing what she was offering. I could walk away, we could have just had an enjoyable morning meal and a pleasant conversation and that would be the end of it. I wouldn't have to feel guilty for knowing more about a Villain, I wouldn't have to hide anything if anyone asked. I could just…walk away.

Or…I could…make a friend…

My hand shook as I gripped hers and let her pull me to my feet. I wouldn't have been surprised if my whole body was shaking.

Lisa leaned in, whispering in my ear. "Break down as much as you need to. You keep sticking with me, I'll keep sticking with you. That's a promise."

"Why?" My question was a ghost on my lips.

Her forehead rested on my shoulder, her breath tickling my neck. I felt more than heard her response. "I knew someone else like you. It didn't end well. Powers, no powers, it doesn't matter; you need to talk, I'm here."

She pulled back, and the spell broke. The sounds of the diner rushed back in, the faint smell of the ocean in the air, the bright sunlight pouring through the window behind us. I shook my head, reaching up to rub at my eyes. When I looked back, Lisa had, what I was quickly realizing was her trademark, smirk back in place as she flipped her ponytail.

"Come on, sweetie. Back to the Mousecave!"

I followed in her wake as Lisa flowed out of the diner and down the Boardwalk.

She never once let go of my hand.

\/\/~*.' '.*~\/\/

Forward

This whole incident had been a mess from beginning to end. It had, in all likelihood, cost Emily her career.

And she'd be damned if that was the sort of legacy she left behind. She was not going to be the person who let a Ward break under her watch. Parahumans were frustrating at the best of times, walking bombs at the worst, but these parahumans were still her responsibility. It was only a matter of time before Costa-Brown flew in someone as her replacement.

Emily was going to work right up until that very moment to fix as much of this shitshow as she could.

She set another leaf of complaints to the side, her scowl growing deeper. Folding her hands, she looked up to meet Renick's eyes. "Marcus, tell me who reviewed these."

He winced. "The Youth Guard rep was her guardian in loco parentis. Apparently I was the backup. A collateral duty I was never informed that I had and that was only on the books because it…needed to be there. A hold over from before both our times it seems."

"And Mr. Anderson?" she asked. The ice in her voice probably was cold enough to drop the temperature of the room.

"Has already been let go and is under investigation by IA. Ma'am, I don't think it's going to go anywhere. None of this was intentional, he was just responsible for nine kids over 600 miles in five different cities. He was overworked, underpaid, and he didn't have time to review everything. If they didn't make noise, he didn't see it."

"Braid made noise," Emily stated. "I distinctly remember telling her off multiple times myself. I am certain that I've contributed to this entire mess. I was informed this was simple bullying. I was informed they had difficulty working together. Marcus, tell me," her mouth thinned to a line and her next words were shouted loud enough to leave herself hoarse, "HOW THE FUCK DOES EVERYONE MISS THAT SOPHIA HESS WAS A PSYCHOTIC MURDERER!?"

She waved one of the reports in front of him. She didn't have to read it as she already knew it verbatim. "'Shadow Stalker requested numerous excess buffs during patrol exceeding the recommended amount for that evening. My protests were ignored. I had to be retrieved from the scene.'" Emily grabbed another report, also reciting that one, "'Shadow Stalker requested buffs to take down one purse thief. I advised that I was already feeling faint from prior buffs and we were in ABB territory, so it was dangerous. She insisted, Console agreed with my on-scene superior's determination of the situation. I had to be retrieved from the scene.'"

"Emily -"

She threw a stack of papers at him. "Report, after report, after report, Marcus! That little psychopath was intentionally driving our Trump towards the grave!"

"I know," he sighed. "Braid was so…willing to help. She never really pushed when we asked for assistance, Emily. The others didn't just submit reports, they complained, they fought, they yelled. She just…filed more paperwork. And it got put in a drawer, because none of us read what she was putting on the page."

Emily scowled. "We're all going to hang for this. As we should. We're responsible for keeping them in line. I don't like capes. I've never made that a secret. That doesn't mean I can't do my fucking job."

"I've had Glenn help me with the press release. We bypassed Kurt, I still can't believe he greenlit her cape name - or that none of us realized it could be problematic considering her father's history."

Emily waved his comment off. "McCalif didn't have the full details. He's still going to be demoted I'm sure, but we can't be too harsh with him or his team. This is another straw laid on our back. Neither of us should have missed that. Even I'm not that callous; it just wasn't something I even thought to consider. Who cares about a cape's name?"

"You are not a particularly empathetic person, Ma'am. That's not exactly a secret," Renick sighed. "But yes, for the new press release, it's not intended for the masses, it's intended for Braid herself. I think Glenn massaged it to spark some things for Tattletale to pick up on too. Do you want to see it before we release it?"

"Of course I want to see the damn thing," she snapped. As he handed his own small folder over, she eyed him.

"What?"

"Marcus," she leaned back, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Do you think we're going to get that girl back? You work with the Wards more. You actually like capes. In your professional opinion, do you think Braid is going to return to the PRT, to the Wards? Or do you think she's going to go fully off the rails and become an S-Class threat?"

His eyes widened. "Is that…?"

"There have been whispers among some of the Directors in the last few board meetings. I've been able to quiet them for the moment and Costa-Brown has had my back so far. I've used those idiots' own words against them to get more help down here. We should see more troops and extra capes by the end of the day. Hopefully we can at least ensure those two don't leave the city without having to talk to us. Now, your opinion?"

"Ma'am," he grunted, "in my professional opinion, I think that Braid is a loose cannon who is just as likely to hurt those she works around, as she is to save anyone nearby. The benefits of her assistance are extreme, but the risks are high. And I doubt she is remotely inclined to trust the PRT ever again."

Before Emily could interject, Renick continued, shaking his head. "But in my personal opinion…Taylor is a fucking mess, Emily. If Tattletale can get her head on straight enough to sit and calm down for five minutes, yeah I think she'll come back. She's a smart kid, she's just…she was alone and none of us realized it. She has friends here, we just need to talk to her for a few minutes, and then I think we can remind her of that."

Emily nodded. "If - and that's a big if - she does come back, neither you nor I will be the ones to speak with her. We let Armsmaster handle it until our replacements arrive."

"Yes, ma'am." He sighed. "A lot of procedures are already being changed because of this whole thing, hopefully it's not too little, too late."

"We do what we can. And we still have work to do beyond just Braid. I'll send you the list of the allies who'll be arriving. Set up a patrol schedule for the Empire and ABB territories. Leave all of the locals off of it."

"Ma'am?"

"The locals know better than to antagonize these bastards. The new blood won't have that compunction and now we'll have firepower. We can finally help this city instead of treading water. Let's crush the fuckers while we have the chance. We can make sure to give Braid credit for making it possible afterwards, if it works. Maybe it'll even help draw the girls out of hiding."

"And if it doesn't work, Emily?"

"Then I'll take the blame. I'm already on the chopping block, it's not like it matters. Besides, I'm not a fool, Marcus. Those capes from this city, they aren't going to rest until they've got Braid back - or at least know that she's safe. Let's not make everyone's job any harder than it has to be; it'll be easier to get her back with the gangs out of the picture and a big win to our name. Now get out of my office, I have to ensure that Glenn didn't booby trap this press-release."

As Renick left, Emily bent back over her desk. She had work to do.

\/\/~*.' '.*~\/\/