Disclaimer: I do not own Worm, that belongs to Wildbow. I do not own Heroes of the Storm, that belongs to Activision-Blizzard and Blizzard Entertainment.
Call of the Nexus
Chapter 3
January 18, 2011
Brockton Bay School District Offices
Superintendent Brent Wilkenson's Office
Early morning
Superintendent Brent Wilkenson was a very busy man and he was extremely upset to have learned that one of his Principals was trying to keep him out of the loop and more importantly make a settlement offer behind his back.
Looking at the latest reports on how the students at Winslow were testing out, their recent graduation rates, he scowled. Then he looked at the report he had one of his aides compile over the Locker Incident including what they knew about from the police investigation. Thankfully the media was clueless about the whole thing. After getting himself caught up to date after speaking with Danny Hebert, he called Carrie Blackwell yesterday afternoon and ordered her to be at his office at 8am sharp.
The District Office opened well before any of the schools did as sometimes schools would call about problems that would need taken care of before students arrived to start their day. So, he was well into his first hour of work when his assistant informed him that Carrie Blackwell was there for her morning meeting. He kept her waiting for their meeting for twenty minutes, working on other things and making a couple of quick phone calls before telling his assistant to show her in.
Still sitting at his desk he looked up at her from the paperwork he wasn't really reading and said, "Have a seat, Carrie."
Looking annoyed that she'd been kept waiting for her meeting, she sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Setting the paperwork down, Brent looked at her and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting, it's been a busy day already. I'm sure you know how it is."
Carrie Blackwell knew that he kept her waiting deliberately, it was a tactic she used on her own staff and on the students in her school. She was annoyed and irritated but she did her best to keep a mask of calm in place although her annoyance had shown as she walked in.
"That's fine Mister Wilkenson, running a school district like ours is a challenge.", she said.
"Yes, it is a challenge.", he agreed. Then he began, "It is a challenge more so when I have one of my own Principals attempting to make settlement offers that she has no authority to make. Just what the hell do you think you're doing offering to pay off the medical bills and a ten thousand dollar settlement to the parent of the child that was attacked at your school? I have a problem with that Carrie, one you don't have that kind of authority and two, you did not inform the district office you were doing such a thing. I'm tempted to suspend you right now."
Carrie Blackwell blanched as she realized the reason for the meeting. "I...I was trying to keep this quiet, out of the media on the district's behalf. I didn't-"
Brent cut her off. "You're a school principal, that's it. When this incident happened, you had a duty to report to the district office, not bury it in your daily report as "a prank gone wrong". Really? A prank gone wrong? Tell me right now, do you know who did it?"
Carrie shook her head and said, "I assure you sir, I have no idea who did it."
Brent narrowed his eyes and said, "Bullshit. You have to have suspects, did you provide a list of names to the police?"
"I assure you sir, we are fully cooperating with the police.", Carrie calmly stated.
With a slight tinge of exasperation Brent said, "Just what the hell is going on at your school that you've got students shoving students in filth like that and locking them in it for hours?! Who was working security? I want their names because I'm going to call the Security company and demand that they be fired to have something like that happen under their watch."
Carrie took a drink from the water bottle she'd brought with her. She nodded affirmatively and said, "That may be a good idea, I have received some complaints." Carrie needed to throw someone under the bus and getting rid of the overweight security guards seemed like a good idea.
Steepling his hands together, fingertips touching each other, he looked at Carrie and said, "Firing the guards may be a good start, but I have to tell you, Danny Hebert is out for blood. He wants your head on a pike, and based on what you've allowed to happen on your watch I'm inclined to give it to him."
Giving her boss a look of trying to be caring she said, "Sir, that man's daughter has been nothing but trouble since day one. She's constantly claiming about bullying-"
The Superintendent interrupted her again. "And what have you done to stop the bullying?"
Carrie continued to give a caring understanding expression as she said, I investigated sir, and found that the claims had no merit. She's got a persecution complex and thinks everyone's against her."
"Hmm, Danny's not one to make light of anything. Still, you have documentation stating you've done a thorough investigation?"
"I have sir.", Carrie nodded. "I feel for the girl but she's a troublemaker, her grades aren't that good to begin with."
Brent grunted then said, "Look, you've got a problem. You need to find someone responsible for this incident and get them arrested for this to blow over. The last thing we need is for Danny Hebert to go to the media or worse. We need this to go away Carrie."
Placing one hand on the keyboard of his computer and the other on the mouse of his computer he said, "I've decided that you will be written up for exceeding your remit in your attempt to get Danny Hebert to sign a settlement offer. I'll have legal take over settlement talks from here. Furthermore, I'm sending you home for the day without pay for the rest of the day so you can think and reflect over your actions. You may return to work tomorrow. I'll have your write up written and HR will sign off on it and you can sign it when you return to work tomorrow as I'll have someone from HR swing by Winslow to give it to you. Don't bother calling your school to inform them, I had my assistant do that already. Have a nice day."
Recognizing the meeting was over and that her boss didn't want to talk to her anymore she rose and said, "Yes sir, thank you sir. Have a nice day."
Rising from her chair she left the Superintendent's office and quickly left the District Offices to return to her brand new 2011 Mercedes Benz E Class car. Once inside she screamed in rage before starting her car and driving home.
After Carrie Blackwell had left, Superintendent Wilkenson sent an email to one of his assistant Superintendents and told them to look into Winslow and the complaint that Danny Hebert had filed.
Unfortunately for him, the Assistant Superintendent he emailed to do the job was someone that had no interest or desire to investigate Winslow High School, the Principal, or the faculty. In fact, even though they said they were going to Winslow High School, they never did go there. They spent their afternoon shopping in one of the nicer boutiques in Brockton Bay.
The Hebert House
Taylor awoke a little after 6:30am as she was used to waking up around that time so she could start getting ready for school. She sat up and looked around the room then laid back down in her bed as she wasn't going to be going to school given the chat she had with her dad last night. Taylor closed her eyes to go back to sleep.
Then Sarah chirped, "Up and at em! Rise and shine Taylor!"
Taylor squawked and sat up then whispered, "What the hell?! I don't have school, you heard my dad!"
Sarah said, "You want to be a hero yes? Well, you need to get in shape! You may have lost whatever fat you had from being healed by Panacea but now you gotta start working on building muscle!"
Widowmaker said, "Yes, it is time to get you into shape. Sarah and I have devised a strategy for getting you into shape, and we do not mean "round"! Now, get out of the bed and dress for a workout."
Li-Ming said, "Ugh, I hate early mornings, reminds me of my time in the Sanctum."
Tyrande said,"Yes, Taylor time to rise and enjoy the beauty of the morning."
Jaina gave a cheerful, "This reminds me of my early days in the Academy learning magic! Although, we did not do these exercises as often."
Taylor slowly moved to get up and stand in her bedroom and hissed quietly, "There is nothing beautiful about the mornings here."
Sarah adopted a drill instructor's voice and attitude, "Get moving soldier! It's time for morning PT! I love morning PT and you will too!"
Jaina couldn't help but start laughing at that remark. "Sarah, where did you hear that?"
As Taylor was putting on sweat pants Sarah said, "That? That was one of Jim Raynor's old friends that was in charge of training new members of our rebellion against the Confederacy. Damn, I can't remember his name right now, just his callsign. We called him Wolf because he was a loner, except with regards to training the new recruits. He treated them all as his pack."
By now Taylor was dressed in sweatshirt, and sweat pants. She put on her tennis shoes and stood up. "Alright, I'm dressed."
Widowmaker said, "Taking too long to dress, hmm? No matter, time to stretch!" Widowmaker started telling Taylor to do specific stretches to get her body limber and ready for the workout ahead.
Once the stretches were done, Taylor grabbed her keys and pepper spray and quietly left her room and the house through the front door, locking it behind her. She was soon directed to start running but Tyrande added in that she was to stay safe by not venturing into known gang territories.
Taylor began running and Sarah said, that she was going to time her on how long it took for her to run one mile. Taylor squawked at the distance. "A mile!? Kill me now,", Taylor complained.
"Li-Ming decided to chime in, "Less talking, more running Taylor!"
Sarah praised Li-Ming. "Well said, Li-Ming! Pick up that pace Taylor, we've only just started!"
After Taylor had run one mile at which Sarah said it took seven and a half minutes due to the fact that Taylor had to stop and walk to catch her breath a couple times. Sarah gave Taylor some praise while Widowmaker chided Taylor for sitting on her butt playing video games.
Taylor retorted, "I do not play video games! My computer sucks and I don't have a PlayStation or Xbox. I just like to sit and read, alright!"
Widowmaker said, "Good, video games are bad for you!"
Sarah said, "They aren't all bad. Moderation Widowmaker, it's all about moderation. Alright Taylor time to head back, start running….now!"
Taylor started running back towards home. Widowmaker and Sarah were keeping her on pace. As Taylor was lagging a little before halfway back Sarah began to sing a cadence in Taylor's head. "One mile – No Sweat, Two mile – Better yet, Three miles – Gotta run, Four miles – Just for fun. Come on – Let's go, We can go – Through the snow, We can run – To the sun, We train – in the rain. Once more Taylor, say it with me! One mile – No sweat..."
Taylor started saying the cadence with Sarah as she made her way home. The other Voices joining in as Sarah was leading. Taylor had to stop and walk again but she made it back home just over eight and a half minutes. After the run Taylor was guided on cooldown stretches which Taylor did as instructed. Afterwards was the morning shower. After the shower, Taylor dressed in jeans and t-shirt and headed downstairs where she saw her dad making breakfast.
As Taylor was walking down the stairs Sarah said, "We will get you in shape and you will be physically fit. You'll soon be running five miles easy! We'll get your endurance and stamina up too."
As Taylor walked down the stairs she whispered "Five miles?!" Then she entered the kitchen and Taylor greeted, "Morning dad."
Sarah said in a cheerful tone, "Yep, we'll get you running five miles in no time! Right, Widow?"
"Morning Taylor. Breakfast is just about ready.". Danny replied.
Widowmaker promised, "Oh yes. Oui nous le ferons."
Taylor opened the refrigerator, grabbed the orange juice and poured it into two glasses. Then she started on making coffee for her dad and tea for herself. As she was doing this her dad was finishing the cooking.
Danny said, "So, I heard you come in from outside this morning. What were you doing awake and out of the house so early?"
As Taylor put the glasses of juice on the table she said, "I uh, decided to start getting in shape. I went for a run and yes, I had my pepper spray." Taylor grabbed two cups for her dad's coffee and her own tea as she explained.
Danny said, "As long as you stay in the safer part of our neighborhood and keep that pepper spray with you at all times, I'm okay with that Taylor."
The two ate breakfast and watched the small TV that was on top of the refrigerator to see the morning news. Naturally none of the news was good and Taylor grimaced as the reports were of a drive by shooting by the Merchants, a gang fight between unpowered ABB and Empire 88 members.
Danny turned off the TV and said, "Kiddo, help me make a grocery list. We're running low on some things."
"Right dad.", Taylor said.
She got up and went to the pantry and started looking over what they needed and calling out the food items that they would need to buy. Danny wrote down what Taylor told him, and he had opened the freezer and was taking stock of what was missing. Together the two put a list of groceries then Danny picked up the newspaper and started pulling out the supermarket ads and was looking at the coupons.
Danny looked at his daughter and said, "Money will be tight Taylor but we'll get by. We'll need to find ways we can save money so, can you help me with the grocery shopping to save where we can?"
She replied, "Okay."
Jaina chirped, "Money? I have gold coins, do your people take gold?"
Taylor was finishing her tea as Jaina said that and her eyes went wide. Taylor explained,"Yes, gold is a commodity here but we don't pay for things in gold, we use...paper and coin currency, but not gold coins. Gold is very valuable here."
Jaina said, "Well, if money will be a problem, I can spare some of my gold."
Tyrande offered, "I too have gold that I could offer to you as well."
Li-Ming added, "Oh I have some too, you wouldn't believe the amount of gold I found running though the dungeons and ruins of Sanctuary."
Taylor thought, "Uh, thanks….I uh, um might just take your offer there...but we'd have to be careful."
The voices quieted down and Taylor returned to looking over the supermarket flier. Danny passed more supermarket fliers to Taylor and the two worked on the grocery list. When they were done father and daughter left the house to go do the grocery shopping.
In Taylor's mind, Jaina, Li-Ming, and Tyrande were rather chatty as they saw once more the things of the modern world. Sarah and Widowmaker would mention how things were more advanced from where they came from although Sarah snarked that she was from almost four hundred and thirty years further in the future than Widowmaker.
Taylor chuckled as she listened to the Voices. Danny gave his daughter a glance and said, "Something funny?"
"Just had a random thought.", she replied.
Danny parked the truck and the two walked into the grocery store. Again, Jaina, Tyrande, and Li-Ming were astounded at such bounty of food items.
Jaina was in shock along with Tyrande. "Never have I seen such a sight such as this!", exclaimed Jaina.
Seeing all he produce that was for sale Tyrande exclaimed, "By Elune! Such bounty! How is this possible!?"
Li-Ming blurted out, "This is all for buying food? In Caldeum, you would have to go to multiple stalls in the bazaar to get such bounty."
Sarah and Widowmaker were chuckling.
Danny had the shopping cart, he gave a part of the shopping list to Taylor and told her to get those items. Taylor playfully gave a salute and said, "You got it boss!"
Danny sighed, "I'm not the boss, I'm your dad and we're not at my work."
Taylor giggled, "Yes boss!", Danny scowled. Taylor chirped, "Sorry, couldn't resist." She took off with her shopping list and coupons to make sure she got the right items and began her shopping at the produce section where once more Li-Ming, Jaina, and Tyrande were shocked at all the fresh vegetables and fruits available.
Taylor and Danny stopped by the butcher and while Danny was placing an order with the butcher on duty, Taylor was bombarded by observations from Li-Ming, Jaina, and Tyrande.
The shopping trip was fun as Taylor chuckled and giggled as she listened to the Voices of Jaina, Tyrande, and Li-Ming chatter over how many food items were in the grocery store.
Danny and Taylor returned home after Danny stopped at a food shack just beyond the Boardwalk. Taylor was surprised they'd done so but her eyes went wide in anticipation as she realized where they were.
"Dad, are you sure?", Taylor asked.
Danny "I am. Figured we could have one last restaurant meal and I thought it would be great to have it from your mom's favorite seafood place. C'mon, I want a lobster roll and crab cakes."
Taylor was out of the truck in a flash and walked with her dad. There were approving sounds from the Voices as father and daughter walked to the order window for Dave's Seafood Shack. Food orders placed, the two sat at a table overlooking the Boardwalk which included a short pier where tourists walked along.
As Taylor looked at the horizon and took a full view of the coast, looking up and down the coastline she could see. She saw the Oil Rig enveloped in its usual glowing energy shield and of course she saw the sunken container ship that blocked the Bay.
Everyone asked, "What is that?", as Taylor was looking at the Protectorate base out at sea.
Taylor thought an answer to the Voices. "That is the Rig, the Protectorate HQ. The PRT has a building in downtown."
When Taylor was looking at the half sunken container ship Jaina was shocked at the sight. "Is that truly a sea vessel? What happened?"
Taylor replied, "Yeah, back before I was born, there was a riot and a bunch of enraged rioters deliberately scuttled the ship causing the Bay to be blocked to any large ships. That killed our shipping industry here. It's why the Dockworkers and my dad are barely holding on to their jobs."
Danny returned with a tray of food. Taylor's stomach rumbled as she saw her favorite food items on there. Jaina and Tyrande gave an approving noise as they recognized crab cakes and fried shrimp. Sarah hadn't experienced such fresh seafood items and was kind of anxious. Widowmaker seemed happy, commenting in French at seeing the tray of food being set down. Li-Ming was also interested in what was about to happen.
Danny passed a lobster roll, popcorn shrimp and french fries over to Taylor while putting the basket of crab cakes between the two and taking a lobster roll and another basket of french fries for himself. Danny also passed a coke over to Taylor.
"Enjoy this Taylor, it'll probably be a while before we can eat out again.", Danny said.
Taylor said, "Got it dad, so I'll chew slowly."
Danny chortled, "Ghostbusters reference eh? Yeah, it's the last of the petty cash so chew slowly."
"When are you going to sue the school?", asked Taylor.
Danny replied after finishing his bite. "I have to speak to the different lawyers Christian suggested, see which ones are willing to work on contingency or if they are willing to work a deal with me on the lawsuit."
Taylor said, "I see."
"Let me deal with it Taylor, I just need to see what the detectives are going to do first."
Meanwhile in Taylor's mind Jaina lamented at the sight of the sunken container ship. "Why haven't they removed the ship?"
Taylor replied, "Dad says no one has the will and no one is willing to pay to have it done. It's his dream to get the Bay cleared as well as restarting the Ferry."
Li-Ming said, "I'll drop a meteor on it, that should get rid of it."
Silence.
Then Li-Ming said, "You're right, one's not enough. I'll drop three. Three should be good or do you think four is necessary."
More silence.
Li-Ming asked, "What?"
Taylor thought, "Uh, I don't think the PRT or the Protectorate would like that."
Li-Ming seemed to express a pouting feeling. "Aww."
Jaina said, "We shall find a way to remove that blockage, Taylor. A port city without its port is not good for the city. You're a Daughter of the Sea Taylor, this must be fixed as soon as possible!"
As Danny and Taylor were eating Taylor saw a boat moving towards the Rig. Father and daughter watched the energy shield turn off briefly so that the boat could enter.
Taylor could feel the confusion. She thought, "That is a boat that brings supplies to the Rig, sometimes Heroes catch a ride on the boat too. But they also have a tinkertech bridge that allows them to drive vehicles across. Then on weekends they there is a tour to the Rig and to the downtown office. To go to the Rig tour, you have to register in advance as they only do the Rig tours on Saturdays three times a day. The downtown PRT tour is on the weekends and it's from 11am to 4pm. There people can see a Hero or two, get autographs and such as they show off the public areas."
Widowmaker said, "These Heroes, they prance about in front of tourists and sign autographs. Is this why haven't they done their job?"
Taylor coughed a little and took a drink of her soda. Then she sighed as she took final bites of her lobster roll. She told her dad in sadness, "Dad, the lobster roll is gone." But she thought her reply to Widowmaker, "Good question. The heroes seem to just keep things the same. Every time they catch a villain, they break out again within a day or two."
Danny replied, "Mine's gone too kiddo. But there's a couple crab cakes left. Finish your shrimp, we gotta get to the house and put the groceries away."
Sarah asked, "What is wrong that your legal authorities cannot hold these villains in custody?"
As Taylor was finishing her popcorn shrimp, she reached for the last crab cake and her dad beat her to it. With a smile he acted as if he was going to eat it all and Taylor gave her dad a pretty good growl as he was bringing the crab cake to his mouth but then he broke it in half and gave her half.
Danny said, "You know I couldn't take the last one and not share."
Taylor thought, "I'm not sure why the bad guys keep breaking out after being caught. It's almost like a game, but unfortunately innocent people are left to suffer because of it."
Taylor enjoyed her last of the crab cake and the last of the popcorn shrimp. The Voices expressed their pleasure at such great and delicious seafood. As father and daughter returned to the car Jaina said, "We must investigate these Heroes of your city. Who they are and such and find out why they cannot defeat these evil villains."
"Okay, we can do that.", thought Taylor.
Father and daughter returned home from Dave's Seafood Shack and unloaded the groceries from the truck and brought them into the house. Together, father and daughter put the groceries in their proper place. Danny took care of putting the frozen and refrigerated items away while Taylor restocked the pantry.
As Taylor was restocking the pantry, she would be peppered with questions about some of the food items. Jaina was surprised at some of the food packaging and asked, "How is it you're able to have so much food to keep it from spoiling?"
Taylor thought her reply, "Um, refrigeration and freezers allows for longer food storage while items in the pantry have a longer shelf life because of how they're stored. Canned goods…", Taylor explained to Jaina and the others that were from worlds that were not technologically advanced like Earth Bet or even Widowmaker's Earth and then there was Sarah, who was not just from the far future, but from a planet that was light years away from Earth.
Taylor or Sarah would explain some of the things that Tyrande, Jaina, or Li-Ming were curious about as Taylor completed her task.
When they were finished Sarah asked, "Hey Taylor, do you have a weight set? What I mean is, did your dad have a weight set?"
Taylor blinked and thought about it then remembered seeing an old weight set in the basement. Taylor thought, "I think there might be one in the basement. I'll have to ask."
Now that the task was complete, Taylor watched her dad finish putting the last of the meat into the freezer. They'd bought a lot of chicken and pork and some ground beef. Danny had separated the ground beef into one pound portions and put them in Ziploc freezer storage bags, then used a rolling pin to flatten the meat in the bags out so he could store the ground meat easier.
Danny looked at Taylor and said, "We got six pounds of ground beef separated into one pound bags, okay Taylor? That should make meal prep easier. For dinner tonight, I'm going to make some chili."
Jaina said, "I know I have the ingredients for Dragonbreath Chili. I'd be happy to cook that for you."
Tyrande quickly cut in, "Jaina, no. We don't want Taylor or her dad to burn their own house down."
Taylor's eyes widened while Li-Ming, Sarah and Widowmaker laughed and Jaina huffed.
"One Time! It only happened one time and it was years ago! Also, I did not burn down a house, it was just a tent!", Jaina protested.
Li-Ming was the first to stop laughing long enough to ask, "You burnt down your tent?"
Jaina explained, "First, it was the first time I had ever made Drgonbreath chili. It was cold, and I was needing something to warm me up. I had no idea you would actually breath fire randomly after you ate it."
Everyone laughed again at Jaina's expense and Taylor turned away from her dad and clamped her hand over her mouth as her body shook from laughing silently.
"We need to make this!", Li-Ming exclaimed.
Widowmaker said mischievously, "To breathe fire after eating chili. Taylor, look to see if you city has a chili cook off event, I guarantee this dish will win!"
Sarah quipped, "Now there's an idea. We had a chili cook off in between missions against the Zerg once, Jim won. It was really good."
Widowmaker asked, "Do you know the recipe?"
Sarah sadly replied, "Unfortunately no, Jim was very secretive about it. He said it was a family secret. I respected that."
With the putting of the groceries done, Taylor asked her dad, "Dad, do we have a weight set still or did you sell it?"
Danny turned from the kitchen counter, coffee cup in hand filled with the makings of the fresh brew. He took a sip of the drink and finally said, "I think it's still in the basement, probably buried under a bunch of stuff. Why?"
Sarah said, "Ask him if you can start using it. Tell him you want to get in shape."
Taylor asked, "I'd like to start getting in shape and running is good but I was wondering if I could use the weight set?"
Danny thought it over for a few seconds and said, "Sure, that's not a problem. The hard part is going to be digging out from all the boxes and putting it in a spot you can use to do your workouts."
"That's okay, dad I can do it. Can I get started on moving things around?"
"Of course you can, Taylor. I'll help you.", Danny said.
And so, the two went down into the basement and after looking around for about thirty seconds Danny pointed to a corner and said, "I'm pretty sure that's where they are. Let's start moving things from there."
"Okay!"
Danny and Taylor moved the boxes around and after about five minutes of taking boxes away from the corner, the weight set was uncovered. It was covered with a blanket to keep the dust out. Danny and Taylor worked together to pull it away and move it to the center of the room. The dusty blanket was removed and the weight set was exposed.
It was a basic weight set that you could configure to different weight lifting setups so you could do different weight lifting exercises.
Danny folded his arms and said, "Thanks to the blanket, it's not very dusty but we should still give it a cleaning before use."
Taylor nodded in agreement saying, "Yeah. I can do that, dad."
"Okay, Taylor. I'm going to go make some calls to the lawyers Christian suggested and see if any of them are interested in our case."
"Okay dad.", Taylor chirped.
Danny went back up the stairs while Taylor looked for cleaning rags and solutions so she could start cleaning the weight machine and once she found them she got started.
After cleaning it off she started going over the machine with Sarah and Widowmaker helping her make sure it was in good condition to use and it was.
Widowmaker said, "It's good enough for now. We'll start using this tomorrow and we'll set up a schedule for days where you use the weights and off days for cardio and stamina."
Taylor nodded as she heard more encouraging words from Tyrande, Jaina, Li-Ming, and Sarah.
Then Li-Ming said, "Hey, let's go on your internet thingy and look up these Heroes that don't seem very Heroic."
Taylor chuckled in agreement. "Yeah, with as much crime in the city, you're right." She walked out of the basement and went upstairs and poked her head in the office where she saw her dad talking to someone. He looked up and waved and she waved back then turned and walked into her bedroom. She closed her bedroom door and sat at her desk and turned on Sarah's very advanced computer.
With the computer powered on she quickly loaded up the Protectorate website and was looking at the web page dedicated to the Protectorate Heroes which also included the Wards.
"God I love this internet connection.", Taylor commented.
Taylor spent the next couple of hours looking over the information on the Protectorate Heroes starting by looking at Armsmaster, Assault, Battery, Dauntless, Miss Militia, and Velocity.
Once she was done looking them over she looked at the Wards pages and looked at each Ward starting with Triumph, the current Wards leader who according to PHO was supposed to graduate to the Protectorate soon. Then she looked at Aegis, Vista, Kid Win, Gallant, Clockblocker, and finally Shadow Stalker.
Taylor was a little frustrated at looking over the official pages of the Heroes on the Protectorate web site as it barely gave any information about their powers. Each Hero page, both Protectorate and Ward had publicity photos and general background information and cookie cutter interviews that told very little.
As Taylor was looking over the Heroes information and gathering information that the Voices needed to know she started smelling something that was very flavorful. Her stomach rumbled and she looked at her clock to see that she'd been investigating the Heroes for hours.
"What is that wonderful smell?", asked Li-Ming.
Jaina echoed, "Something smells delicious. Didn't your dad say he was going to be making chili?"
Taylor smiled, "He did say that. Think its time for dinner, we'll come back for this after."
Everyone in Taylor's mind agreed. She turned off Sarah's advanced computer and quickly left her room and zoomed down the stairs to the kitchen.
Taylor chirped, "Something smells great, is dinner ready?"
Danny was stirring the contents cooking in the dutch oven over the stove. He smiled at his daughter and said, "Almost, another twenty minutes or so. Can you check the oven, I think the corn bread might be ready soon."
Taylor smiled and replied, "Got it. I thought I smelled something good." Taylor moved next to her dad and check the oven. "It's looking good dad, maybe five minutes."
"Good Taylor, you can make the salad."
Taylor went to the refrigerator and pulled out the lettuce, carrots, radishes, and some purple onions. She got to work slicing the vegetables to make the salads for the two of them.
Soon the corn bread was ready and Taylor took it out and got it ready while Danny monitored the chili. It was almost ready, it was just a matter of waiting and soon Danny declared that the chili was ready. Dinner was served and the two began to eat.
Shortly after they began to eat, Taylor was getting approving sounds and comments from the Voices. Taylor finished chewing a bite of the cornbread and she looked at her dad who was chewing and savoring his own cooking.
After a few seconds Danny raised his head to look at Taylor who was looking at him.
"What?", he asked.
Taylor took another spoonful of chili, chewed and swallowed while still looking at her dad. Then she asked, "Dad, how is it you can make a great chili and cornbread, make a decent breakfast, and I guess make some good hamburgers and steaks on the grill in the backyard but everything else you seem to burn?"
Danny was chewing another bite when Taylor said that and he started coughing briefly. Taylor giggled and watched her dad look at her with a frown.
"Not funny." he said.
"It kinda is, you do make a decent breakfast, your burgers and steaks on the grill are good and you do make a good chili and cornbread but I'm being honest, if it wasn't for me, we'd starve.", she retorted.
Danny gave Taylor a flat look. "I see. Well then, I guess I'm going to have to prove to you that your old man can cook other foods. Challenge accepted."
Taylor responded with concern, "Dad, please don't burn down the house. I was just joking."
Danny shook his head, "No, no, I know I haven't been there for you, you've done most of the cooking, that's true and you're a pretty good cook. But as your dad, I'm supposed to be doing the cooking...teaching you how to cook and other things. Things are going to be different Taylor, that's my promise to you."
Taylor blinked back some tears as she looked at her dad. Father reached across and squeezed his daughter's hand and the two had a quiet dinner.
After watching some TV with her dad and enduring pleas from the Voices to watch Return of the King but not falling to their pleas and begging, Taylor finally went back upstairs to return doing research on the heroic Parahumans in the city so the Voices and Taylor could know what they were up against.
Looking at the Parahumans Online web page that had the Heroes of Brockton Bay displayed was slightly better but it was clear that the Admin, someone named Tin Mother was very thorough about making sure that the pages were not too revealing, unlike the Villains pages.
Sarah commented, "Seems like they are okay letting the public know about Villain powers but not so forthcoming about the Heroes. We have enough though."
Widowmaker added her own, "Oui, we know that this Armsmaster is a bricoler...sorry, he is a Tinker. Mademoiselle Militiacancreateand use guns." Widowmaker continued to run through each of the Protectorate and Wards publicly known powers.
Taylor hummed and the Voices in her head made comments.
"With such abilities, these people should have no trouble bringing the fight to these Villains and putting them in jail!", Jaina exclaimed.
Widowmaker harrumphed and made a scoffing noise, "Don't you all see?"
Taylor quietly asked, "See what?"
The other Voices echoed Taylor.
Widowmaker seemed to radiate glee as she answered, "This PRT, they call it Parahuman Response Teams. But I see a different name. I see them as Public Relations Teams. Look at all this happy tripe on the news they broadcast...they do it to hide all the bad things that they allow to happen."
Taylor blinked in shock. She didn't want to believe that. It couldn't be true, could it?
There was a knock on her door and her dad poked his head in. "Good night Taylor, see you in the morning."
Taylor spun her chair around so she could look at her dad and hide the advanced computer on her desk from her dad's sight. "Good night dad. Sleep tight."
Danny nodded his head saying, "You too.", and he closed the door and headed to his bedroom.
Taylor returned to looking at the computer and started to gather all the information they had accumulated so that a proper plan and strategy could be done. Sarah and Widowmaker were extremely helpful with putting it all together.
Sarah said, "This looks good, we've got a lot of information here that we've put together. We'll still need to do actualy physical recon but we've got a place to start. Alright Taylor it's getting late and you have an early morning. Time to hit the sack!"
Widowmaker added, "Yes, time for bed. You will be working out tomorrow. We'll start with your run then start your weight training after breakfast."
Taylor quietly said, "Got it."
She saved everything and turned the computer off then started getting ready for bed. Once ready she climbed into her bed and went to sleep.
January 19, 2011
The Hebert House
Once more Taylor was awakened at 6:30 by Sarah and Widowmaker. She sat up groggily and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Looking at the clock she sighed. "It's too early for this…", Taylor said in a low voice.
"Up and at 'em Taylor!", cheered Sarah.
Growling, Taylor threw off her covers and started dressing in her workout clothes. Walking down the stairs as quietly as she could, she did the stretches that Widowmaker and Sarah were instructing her to do. As she was getting set to go out for her morning run she heard her dad walk into his bathroom and start getting ready for the day.
Taylor left the house and started on her morning run with Sarah once more singing a different cadence in her head with Taylor echoing what Sarah was singing loudly. The other Voices picked up the song and joined in.
After returning from her run she found her dad getting breakfast ready. This time it was some hot oatmeal with diced apples along with orange juice and milk.
With breakfast over, Danny grabbed his lunch and his briefcase to go to work and he stopped at the door and he said, "Remember, if you need anything, you call me alright?"
Taylor refrained from rolling her eyes, she nodded her head and said, "Right dad."
With a quick ruffle of her hair Danny said, "See you when I get home Little Owl.", and Danny was off to work.
Taylor was now told to head downstairs to the basement by Sarah where they would begin to use the weight machine.
After working out she finally took a shower and then returned to the computer for more strategy and planning.
The Dockworkers Association HQ
The Docks
It was in the early afternoon after Danny had taken his lunch when Danny' Hebert's intercom chirped. "Mister Hebert, I have a Detective Wellington on line three for you."
"Thank you, I'll take it.", Danny said.
Danny picked up the phone and pressed the button with the flashing light. "Brockton Bay Dockworkers Association, Danny Hebert speaking."
The voice was the older detective that had come to the house the day before yesterday. "Mister Hebert, it's Detective Wellington."
"Hello Detective, how are you? I hope you have some good news.", Danny said.
There was a sigh that Danny could hear and Danny's stomach clenched as the Detective began, "I wish I had good news sir, but we've run through the leads your daughter gave us and we're back to square one. Unless someone comes forward or new evidence comes to light, this case is going to go unsolved. I'm calling to inform you that my partner and I will continue to investigate but our superiors are moving us on to more important cases that they believe can be solved. I'm sorry sir, wish I had better news. I hope you have a nice day."
The detective hung up, leaving Danny completely furious. "Son of a bitch!", he exclaimed.
Danny tried to return to his work, looking over paperwork but every fifteen minutes it seemed his thoughts would return to the detective's words and he would get angry again, shake it off and return to looking at the paperwork. This kept happening for more than an hour and a half when he finally couldn't focus anymore he growled and put the papers to the side.
Danny got up from his desk and walked out of his office he stormed out of the building, telling Susan he was going to take a walk as he left. Walking through the area of the Docks that the Dockworkers were working he made his way to one of the piers so he could stare out into the Bay.
Danny returned to his office and tried to get back to his work for the next two hours, before he decided he needed another break so he left his office and decided to go to the machine shop, telling Susan that he was heading over there.
He took a few minutes to stop by a vending machine and grabbed a soda then he started moving to the machine shop. He was almost to the machine shop when the PA system squawked a feedback sound then Susan's voice came over it.
"Danny Hebert to the office please, Danny Hebert to the office. You have a phone call."
Danny turned around and headed back to the DWA offices. Walking by Susan she said, "Danny, you have a call on line two. Caller says she's from the School District office. Did you want to take it here?"
Continuing to walk past Susan and shaking his head, Danny said, "No, I'll take it in my office. Thanks, Susan."
"You got it, Danny.", Susan responded.
Danny walked into his office, closed the door and took a breath as he sat down. He picked up the phone and clicked pushed the blinking light. "Brockton Bay Dockworker's Association, Danny Hebert speaking, how can I help you?"
The voice on the other line replied, "Mister Hebert, I'm Assistant Superintendent Monica Shelby. I'm calling on behalf of Superintendent Wilkenson to talk to you about your complaint."
Danny took a breath. "I see." Now Danny waited for the shoe to drop.
"Mister Hebert, we've looked into your complaint and we've found that there is no basis for your complaint at this time. The Superintendent thanks you for your concern. We've received word from the police that the investigation is being closed and while sympathetic to what happened to your daughter, we're prepared to offer payment of your daughter's medical bills and a twenty five thousand dollar cash settlement."
"Wait a second, the investigation isn't closed, they're still investigating!", Danny protested.
The Assistant Superintendent responded, "Sir, I've spoken to one of the detectives, a Detective Wellington has told us that they don't expect to find the people who've done this. To us, the matter is closed given the nature that the student body of Winslow is comprised of. Now, we'd like to move forward and close this matter with you as well. When would you like to come over and sign the paperwork? Or, would you like me to come over to your office or home?"
Danny was silent for a moment then he said, "You can tell Superintendent Wilkenson that we'll be seeing him in court. Good day."
He hung up the phone and said to himself, "It's war they want, war they'll get."
He got up from his desk and walked out of the office saying, "Back in a bit, need to talk to the boys."
"Got it Danny.", Susan replied.
Susan watched Danny storm out of the office wondering what was going on.
Danny made his way to the machine shop and saw the guys working, he saw Kurt working on one of the workbenches. The employees working saw Danny's look of fury and were concerned.
Standing near Kurt, he tapped him on the shoulder and Kurt put down the tools he was working on and looked at who tapped him and saw it was Danny. He looked at Danny's expression and said, "Danny, what's wrong?"
Kurt could see that Danny was upset as he said, "Need to talk."
Nodding his head as he said, "Yeah, sure thing." Setting the tools to the side he left with Danny as they walked out of the machine shop.
The two left the building and walked along the docks. "Danny what is it?"
Looking furious Danny hissed, "The cops are putting Taylor's investigation on the back burner."
"Shit! Danny, I'm sorry.", Kurt tried to be comforting.
With a scoff Danny snarled, "Then the fucking District Office called. Told me that they found nothing wrong with Blackwell and they offered me twenty five grand and to cover the hospital bills."
Danny's expression was furious he looked up to the sky and with a scream of rage Danny finished it off with a loud, "FUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!"
Kurt was facing Danny and he reached up and grabbed Danny by the shoulders and held on. "Hey, hey. Hey man. I got ya. I'm here and we're all here for you Danny. You said the other day you wanted me to talk to the guys and I did. They're all ready to listen, just say the word."
Danny was bringing his rage back under control, taking deep breaths and letting it out slowly. He brought his own hands to Kurt's shoulders and said, "Thank you Kurt."
Kurt gave Danny's shoulders a pat with both his hands and said, "We're here for you man."
Danny was nodding his head as he said, "Yeah, yeah. Thanks Kurt. I need to go, I have to tell Taylor. Listen, first thing in the morning I want to talk to everyone, alright?"
"You got it. We'll be here.", Kurt declared with a smile. "Hey Danny.", he said as Danny was walking away and Danny turned to look at him. "You stay off the booze, got me?"
With a smile Danny said, "Yeah I got it, I haven't had a drink since this whole thing started."
Kurt smiled back saying, "Good. Now go home man and be with Taylor."
"I will. See you in the morning."
Danny went to his office and turned everything off, and locked his office door. Walking past Susan he said, "Susan, I'm leaving a little early today. See you tomorrow."
"Bye Danny!", Susan said.
Danny walked to his pickup truck, got in and started the truck and started making his way home.
The Hebert House
Taylor had spent the morning after her dad left for work in the basement working out with the weight set and doing the different weight lifting exercises that she could do with the machine.
After that she took a shower and changed clothes and went back to using Sarah's computer where the Voices and her started to review everything they knew about the Heroes and the Villains and start planning a course of action against the villains and start making Brockton Bay a better city.
After a couple of hours of review and planning, Taylor took a break to fix herself lunch. She fixed herself a salad, soup, and a sandwich. Then she went back to looking at what her they all had. It was looking like that a good move would be to take out the Merchants first, then focus on the Empire 88 simply because: Nazis. Nobody likes Nazis and Widowmaker clearly wished to unleash her fury against them. Sarah also thought that the Nazis needed to go and to give the others an idea of how bad Nazis were, Taylor went to a few internet web sites that focused on the Second World War and the Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany and they watched YouTube videos from the History Channel thanks to the fast internet connection that Sarah's computer was leeching from the airwaves.
When they were done Jaina was first to say, "These "Nazis" must be stopped!"
Sarah and Widowmaker cheered for Jaina's encouragement.
By this time it was almost four forty five in the afternoon when Taylor heard the sound of her dad's truck pulling into the driveway. She looked at the clock and was surprised her dad was home early.
"Something's up, dad's home early.", Taylor said.
There were remarks from the Voices that were equally confused as she was that he was home earlier than he said he would be. Taylor walked to the top of the stairs and waited and a few seconds after she stood there she heard the sound of her dad unlocking the front door and sure enough he walked in, closing and locking the door behind him.
Taylor chirped, "Hi dad! You're home early."
Danny looked up at the stairs and said, "Hi Taylor, could you come down please, I...I have some bad news."
"Sure."
Sarah said, "That's not good, he doesn't look good either. I'd say he's very upset."
Li-Ming agreed, "Yeah, I'm thinking he's got something to tell us we're not going to like."
Taylor walked down the stairs and her dad went into the kitchen. Afraid that her dad was going to grab a beer she picked up her pace and when she saw him open the refrigerator she began to protest but she calmed down when she saw him take out a can of Coca Cola and opened it.
Danny gestured to one of the seats at the kitchen table. "Sit, Taylor."
Taylor took a chair and sat down while Danny did the same to sit across from Taylor
Danny sighed then looked at Taylor. "Taylor, the reason I'm home early is because I…", Danny sighed again. "I got some bad news. I'm sorry kiddo but the police are putting their investigation on the backburner. They're not closing it, because they're hoping that someone will come forward."
Taylor's temper began to build. She shouldn't be surprised after all, the three bitches responsible were too well protected.
Tyrande was quick to say, "Taylor, calm yourself. Yes, this is terrible news but do not lose hope."
Sarah said, "Chin up Taylor."
Danny was looking at Taylor to see her reaction and he could see her getting upset as her nostrils flared and her breathing was louder. "Taylor, I'm sorry. I know it's not what you want to hear but...Detective Wellington said that they had no more leads and that what you gave them led to nowhere."
Taylor snarled, "More like he just believed the lies instead of doing his damn job. That fat bastard thought I shoved myself into the locker. God that guy's a waste of space."
Danny chuckled and said in a serious tone, "You're right. I'm just as upset as you are, no actually I'm beyond furious. As your father, it's my job to protect you and I know I failed but...for Emma and her friends to get away with this...I will not let it stand."
Taking a drink of the Coke from his soda can Danny took another second or two before saying, "I wish I had some good news to give you but, it seems that I got a call from one of the Assistant Superintendents said they found no basis with my complaint against the Principal and they're dropping that. Then the woman had the gall to offer me twenty five thousand dollars."
Taylor stood up and raised her hands over her head. "Shit!"
Danny stood up and went to Taylor and pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. He quietly said, "I know this sucks, I know. I promise I'm not giving up, I'm going to talk to everyone at the Association. I've got a plan."
Taylor's body was shaking as she started crying again and Danny rubbed a hand across Taylor's back as he gave reassurances that all was not lost.
Taylor pulled away slightly so she could look at him with tears falling down her face but she was also clearly furious. "How, dad?!" She used her t-shirt to wipe her tears. "How are you going to get the police and the school to see things our way?"
Danny was equally furious but he was also calm as he replied, "The Association still has friends in the other Unions Taylor. I'm going to talk to the Association and see if we can reach out to some of those Unions and start bringing pressure to the Superintendent to take another look at my complaint."
Danny gave reassuring squeezes to Taylor's shoulders as he said, "Something smells rotten, the Brent I know is a stand up guy, he wouldn't tolerate the bullshit that I told him. Maybe someone's covering for that Principal, but based on what I saw when I confronted your sorry excuse of a Principal, I just know there's corruption going on."
Danny pulled Taylor back in and hugged her tight and promised, "You'll get justice Taylor."
When Taylor had stopped crying she thanked her dad and said she needed to go to her room. When Taylor rushed back upstairs to her room Taylor was pacing in her room furious, she picked up one of her old plushies from when she was a younger child and threw it across the room.
Taylor snarled, "Those fucking bitches! That bitch Blackwell! That fucking school!" Taylor growled and she walked over and picked up her plushie and threw it across the other side of the room.
Widowmaker was the first one to say something. "Let me handle this for you, jeune fille. I'll kill them all for you, problem solved."
Taylor hissed quietly, "No! No killing! I don't want them dead, I want them to suffer! I want them to feel what I felt, I want them to lose their friends, their money, their power! Killing them...no, that's too good for them."
Jaina said, "Well said, Taylor."
Widowmaker gave a harrumph. "Fine...but what plan do you have to make them suffer? The police and the school district are doing nothing!"
Sarah spoke next, "If justice is denied to us, then it is up to us to get justice for ourselves. I've got an idea."
Taylor and all the other Voices said at once, "What kind of plan?"
Danny's voice called from downstairs, "Taylor, are you hungry?"
Taylor huffed and went to the top of the stairs to see her dad looking up from the bottom of the stairs. "No dad, not right now. Maybe in an hour or so."
Danny said, "Okay, we're having leftover chili and cornbread just so you know."
Taylor replied, "That's fine. If I get hungry sooner I'll let you know."
Danny nodded his head and returned to the kitchen while Taylor returned to her room.
Once more Taylor asked this time using her thoughts, "What's this plan you've got Sarah?"
The Voices echoed Taylor's question again and Sarah seemed to project a bit of smug as she replied, "It's quite simple, we break into Taylor's high school, actually I'll do the breaking in and get inside her Principal's office and get the information that I'm sure is in there to the right people."
Taylor hesitated and Sarah was quick to say, "After that, we go to your friend Emma's house and I'll hack into her computer, even her phone if it's hooked up. We take what we find there and also send it to the right people."
Taylor paced the room as Widowmaker said, "That seems like a good idea! Well done!"
Jaina chirped, "I like it. This way Taylor can find out how this...this Principal Blackwell has allowed such activity to go unpunished for so long."
Taylor's resolve rose now as she considered Sarah's plan and the encouragement from everyone.
Tyrande said, "Perhaps this is the best idea. Taylor, you can use Sarah to do what needs to be done as she says she's an expert in getting into places."
Widowmaker snarked, "Je peux le faire aussi Lady Tyrande."
Everyone was quiet then Widowmaker huffed and said, "I said that I can do that too Lady Tyrande."
Taylor was thinking while she paced the room. After a couple of minutes of doing this while listening to Sarah try to encourage Taylor to go with this plan. Taylor finally came to the conclusion that Sarah was right, sometimes you have to get justice for yourself by doing it yourself. "Alright, you convinced me. We'll do this tonight after my dad's gone to sleep."
Sarah cheered and the other voices exclaimed their approval. Taylor finally sat down at her desk and Sarah asked, "Where is Winslow High School on the map?"
Taylor brought up Winslow High School on the Yahoo maps web site and clicked the directions so Sarah and the others could see where the school was and how far it was to get there.
Jaina said, "Taylor, you know exactly where the school is, yes?"
"I do."
Jaina said, "Then I can teleport us to the school and Sarah can take over and do what needs to be done. After that, I'll teleport us to Emma's house. You do know where this Emma lives?"
Taylor said, "Yeah, I know where she lives."
Jaina affirmed, "Then, that's the plan. Trust us Taylor, we'll get that proof for you."
Sarah said, "Trust me, I've broken in to extremely very secure facilities, a high school and a simple house will be a cake walk."
Taylor had typed in Emma's house address so that they could see where it was in relation to Taylor's house.
Jaina confirmed, "As I said, if Taylor knows where the destination is, I can teleport us there."
Li-Ming piped up, "You can teleport that far?! I can only teleport really short distances, it's more like an evasion technique." Li-Ming huffed, "So not fair." There was an image in Taylor's mind of Li-Ming pouting with her arms crossed.
Taylor's stomach started to growl so she decided it was time to eat dinner. She went to the kitchen and saw her dad talking on the phone but it looked like he was finishing up his conversation. A minute later Danny said goodbye and hung up the phone.
"Sorry Taylor, I was talking with one of the lawyers about taking on our case."
Taylor looked apprehensive, "Did they say they'd take it?"
"They said they'd get back to me. Which means that's most likely a no. But I have another lawyer to call."
Danny stood up and went to the refrigerator and pulled out the container with the leftover chili while Taylor grabbed the container that Danny had put the remaining cornbread. Taylor grabbed the lettuce and other ingredients to make a salad. Together, Danny and Taylor prepared dinner and the two ate as they watched the six o'clock news.
Taylor watched the news talking about a Cape fight between normal unpowered Merchants against normal unpowered Empire 88 gang members that the police were actually able to break up and capture about a dozen members each. Taylor scowled and the Voices expressed their displeasure.
"We'll help you bring hope back to this city you call home Taylor.", Tyrande said.
When dinner was over, Taylor washed the dishes while Danny went to the living room to watch TV there since it was after hours and he was sure the lawyers that he still had to call had gone home for the day. He would call them tomorrow morning.
When Taylor finished the dishes she walked into the living room and right away Li-Ming said, "Can we watch the last Lord of the Rings movie?"
Taylor rolled her eyes as she just knew that someone was going to ask that question. She looked at her dad and asked, "Hey dad, want to watch Return of the King with me?"
Danny turned his head to look at Taylor and said, "Sure, why not. This will be what...the fifteenth time you've seen it?"
Taylor scoffed, "Fifteen? Try twenty two...well this will make it the twenty third time." Taylor went to the DVD library and found the disc as everyone was cheering in her head as they saw the DVD case. Taylor opened it up, put the DVD inside the DVD player and started the movie.
Soon the final chapter of the Lord of the Rings saga was playing and everyone in Taylor's mind was happy and enthralled to see the ending of the saga. When the movie ended, Danny stood up and said, "Okay, I have to get to work early tomorrow Taylor so I'm going to bed."
Taylor was still watching the credits as she replied, "Alright, dad. I'll see you when you get home I guess."
At the same time, Jaina was cheering and yet sad over the end of the saga, "What a saga! The storyteller was an amazing craftsman to write such a story. You say this was based on books? I'd like to read them."
Li-Ming excitedly said, "Wow! The Charge of the Rohirrim at Minas Tirith was incredible! One of my favorite moments!"
Tyrande said, "A most entertaining saga, I too would like to read the books."
Widowmaker happily said, "Magnifique! This version was amazing compared to the one I saw as a little girl."
Sarah chirped, "Yep, if I could get my hands on these copies back home, I'd be a rich woman and I could retire."
Jaina said, "To go through such struggles and for most of the Fellowship to persevere...it reminds me of the struggles that I have gone through...the struggles to save Azeroth against the Horde and the Burning Legion that Tyrande and I have been through."
Taylor thought, "The Burning Legion?"
Tyrande replied, "A vast innumerable army of demons and corrupted races that seek to destroy all life."
Taylor had listened to Tyrande and Jaina tell stories of the Horde but this was the first she'd heard of the Burning Legion and at Tyrande's description she thought, "An army of demons? Okay, that's a thought I don't need in my head."
The movie credits had finished and Taylor went and put the DVD away. As she did she thought, "I'm glad you all enjoyed it, and I do like reading the books over and over again. So, I'll probably start reading the Fellowship of the Ring again. But I have to warn you, it's not a fast read. As for the next movie, we'll move over to some science fiction and start with Star Wars."
Sarah and Widowmaker chuckled over Taylor's comment about the books not being a fast read while Jaina asked, "Why would stars go to war?"
Taylor, Sarah, and Widowmaker all started laughing as Taylor started walking up the stairs. Taylor covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as she went into her room and was reduced to a giggling fit.
Jaina was expressing confusion, "What did I say that was so funny?"
Taylor got her giggling fit under control and she quietly said, "You'll find out when we watch the movie."
Taylor looked at her clock radio and saw it was almost 11pm. She knew her dad had gone to sleep not too long ago so she went started to get ready by at least changing into dark clothing so as to minimize being seen. Then she decided to wait a little longer to make sure her dad was asleep.
Taylor asked, "Hey are you going to need that computer of yours Sarah?"
Sarah replied, "Maybe, better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Let me out and I'll pack it up."
Taylor focused her thoughts and called upon Sarah and once more Taylor vanished and Sarah Kerrigan was standing in the room. Very quickly Sarah pulled out her gear bag and started disconnecting the computer and putting it and the cables she had with it back inside the gear bag. She quietly said, "Taylor, I'm going to put your old computer of its misery."
Taylor quickly said, "No! I need to get my data from there first!"
Sarah retorted, "You actually have files on here you want to keep?"
Taylor huffed and replied, "Yes."
Sarah rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, I won't put your computer out of its misery...for now."
Taylor fired back,"Gee thanks."
Sarah looked took a seat in Taylor's chair and rolled across the floor to Taylor's bookshelf and she started looking at Taylor's book collection. She spotted Taylor's omnibus volume of Lord of the Rings and picked it up. Jaina and Tyrande were excited at seeing the book.
Sarah remarked, "The first one will be a very slow read."
Taylor said, "Well, it's not so bad for me now, but yeah the first time I read it, it was a challenge."
Sarah put the book back down then looked at some of Taylor's other books. It was a collection of classics that even Sarah recognized as books from Earth's literary history. She picked up the copy of Frankenstein and thought, "Even in the world I'm from, the story of Frankenstein is still relevant."
There was confusion from Jaina, Tyrande, and Li-Ming. Taylor said, "It's a book written almost two hundred years ago."
"What's it about?", asked Jaina.
Sarah was looking at the clock and saw that they should get going by quietly saying, "Jaina, time for you to get us to Winslow."
Taylor said, "Check to make sure my dad's sleeping first."
Sarah rolled her eyes but she moved to the door and quietly opened it. She used her psychic power to reach out to Danny and nodded her head.
"Trust me, he's out like a light.", Sarah quietly remarked.
Taylor expressed confusion. "Did you just...did you use your powers on my dad?"
Sarah quietly replied, "I just used them to see if he was asleep and he was. That's it. I did nothing. Now, let's get going, you gotta let Jaina teleport us over there."
With concentration, Taylor focused her thoughts and pulled upon Jaina and in seconds, Sarah vanished and Jaina Proudmore was standing in Taylor's room once again.
Jaina raised her staff and quietly said, "Taylor, focus on Winslow High School, I'll take care of the rest."
Getting the location in her own mind now Jaina raised her staff above her head and then around Jaina's feet there was a swirling pattern of arcane symbols and there was a flash of light and Jaina vanished.
Outside Winslow High School
Jaina was looking at the dilapidated buildings that was Winslow High School.
Looking in surprise and shock Jaina asked, "Gods, what a dump. This is a school? This is where you went to school?"
Taylor replied, "Yes."
Jaina and the others apologized that she had to come to such a horrible place to learn.
Taylor said, "Thanks, but let's get moving."
Taylor focused her thoughts again and once more Jaina faded away and Sarah Kerrigan took her place. Sarah looked around and made a grimace. "Alright, let's do this."
Sarah placed her goggles over her eyes and placed the hood over her head then activated her stealth field device and she vanished from sight. Then she walked up to the school and easily made entry into the school.
It was time to get justice for Taylor, first Sarah would break into the Principal's office and scour the files of Taylor's bullies then she would hack into the Principal's computer and find anything she could that would help Taylor's cause. After that, they would go to Emma's house and she'd hack Emma's computer as well. Sarah was going to make sure that there would be justice for Taylor this time.
Translations
Oui – Yes
Mademoiselle – Miss
Oui nous le ferons – Yes we will
Je peux le faire aussi Lady Tyrande – I can do that too Lady Tyrande.