I will admit I had not expected mom's reaction to me finally constructing my first lightsaber to be so polarizing; namely that before she would let me go out on my first patrol we had to tell dad about the fact I had powers.

Honestly I felt…not necessarily betrayed, but more pushed into a corner that I really, really, did not want to be in because seriously what was I supposed to say to him? 'Hey dad I've kinda been a cape since I was ten and I kept it from you because mom and I didn't want you to insist I become a child soldier for an incompetent gang for my own safety. What do you mean the Protectorate isn't a gang? Of course they are! They are just better funded and their PR department just happens to take up more of their budget than any actions that actually accomplishes anything that helps people.'

Yeah, that'd fly.

So yeah, I had been sulking for the past few days, bordering on being maliciously compliant whenever mom told me to do anything and outright ignoring sensei since he agreed with her; all while I felt my anger building up to admittedly unhealthy levels.

I needed to meditate, bad, because the miasma of rage building up around me was concerning considering the fact that I knew mom was just worried but I-

I paused a moment there, and then laughed lightly to myself.

"Heh… 'Everything before the word but is meaningless little owl,' right mom?"

Shaking my head I kicked off the bed and soon sat on my bedroom floor in the lotus position, my lightsaber cradled in my lap, and then I threw myself into the Force.

Meditating in my hometown was…difficult in the extreme to say the least.

Dad had once taken me with him on a business trip to Boston a few months back after I had anonymously torn the sunken freighter blocking the inlet into the bay from its resting place; crushing it into a ball with the unyielding power of the Force and tossing the wreck to the shore to be salvaged later. Coastal trade now reopened he needed to renegotiate contracts, and low and behold when I arrived at Boston and opened myself to the Living Force I felt for the first time in my short life something amazing.

Hope.

I felt hope amongst the populace, in the ground beneath me, and the salty air blowing in from the sea. Boston was just so alive! I really wished mom had been there when I toured all the museums and the libraries. Oh the libraries, if Emma hadn't invited herself along for the trip I very well may have still been there…just…

What was I thinking about?

Oh, right, the point is Boston was alive, thriving, and growing, while Brockton Bay was waning, festering and until recently dying, and for the first time in my life I felt the Light Side of the Force beating against the Dark Side, and actually winning.

Brockton Bay though…it was so hard not to dwell in the Dark Side, the gangs, the wealth disparity, minorities having to worry about being made an example of by the E88, women having to fear getting kidnapped and 'groomed' by the ABB, and everyone having to worry about getting nabbed by the Merchants and forcibly hooked on drugs to become a permanent customer.

Now, imagine opening yourself to all of that with the mentality of a fourteen year old girl with authority issues.

Fun…

I have no idea when I actually began to drift off but as the Force flowed through me I fell into a fugue of sorts and saw images flashing through my mind so quickly it was difficult to make sense of them.

A beautiful blonde girl in a purple cat suit riding what looked like a giant lizard, looking back in determination yet fearful of the literal flaming dragon chasing her.

A child strapped to a gurney, crying in pain as a skeletally thin man in a black body glove with a stylized silver snake wrapping around his mask stuck a needle into her arm.

A woman I once held as my ideal of a hero mocking me, as I was chained down being told that if I did not submit more of my friends would die in my name.

A golden man, burning my world to nothing at the goading of a monster that should have long ago been put down as the rabid animal he was.

A demon of the sea rushing onto the shore of my home town, devastating everything in its wake as it callously killed everyone I loved in a massive tidal wave, uncaring one way or another about the lives it was about to destroy. Soulless, pitiless, a mechanical malice molded into a physical form.

A pretty redheaded girl, sitting in a car with her father, talking about how excited she was about high school as the car turned down a back alley only to find the exit blocked by a dumpster; eyes widening she began to panic as a car pulled in behind them blocking them in as a dozen men wearing ABB colours began rushing them, smashing the windows in.

Emma cried in terror as one man reached in through the broken glass and grabbed her by her hair, pulling her out of the car as her dad screamed for her trying to reach out as he was being beaten in the face. The man who had pulled her out of the car dragged her by her hair deeper into the alley and threw her against the wall. Gesturing to a woman leaning against the wall she kicked off it while grinning, knife twirling lightly between her fingers.

"Well well well, it seems we have some fresh meat."

My eyes snapped open and I had to resist the urge to gag.

"Oh god, oh god, that last one, it's just like when I saw mom die…I oh god I have to save her."

I pulled on a hoody, snapped up my lightsaber, and barely managed to pop the screen out of the window as I dove out. Using the force I enhanced my speed and ran, but not fast enough, never fast enough. Thinking on my earlier meditations I focused on the pall over Brockton Bay, and pulled upon the Dark Side, my fear for Emma, my anger towards those that preyed on the weak, and my utter and complete rage at the thought of anyone hurting my friend burned through me.

It was invigorating beyond words.

The miles between my Emma and me were eaten away far faster than they should have after that.

Within minutes I was at the mouth of an alley, I saw Mr. Barnes car idling with him hanging partially out of the smashed in driver side window, a dozen ABB gangbangers standing about surrounding a huddled form with long red hair, and woman gloating over her, dragging the tip of a knife along her cheek.

Unclipping my lightsaber I marched forward pulling my hood up to conceal my face while feeling pure seething rage roil through me as Emma whimpered and tried to pull back from the grinning woman's knife, yet I forced it down as I entered their peripheral vision.

I let out a cheerful greeting, "Hey guys how's it going? What are you up to, hmm? Is it evil? Because it really looks like evil all things told, which you know isn't all that great for you guys considering you're threatening my best friend. Not cool."

All of the thugs scattered about the alley turned to face me as Emma let out a choked, "Taylor?"

It was really, really hard to keep the rage down hearing that broken tone from her, it very truly was.

"Back the fuck off bitch if you know what's good for you," one of them spat out.

"Nah fuck that, two sluts for the sales block, maybe we'll get a bonus," said another.

"All the bitch is good for if she's dumb enough to try and fuck with us on an initiation."

I sighed, "My mom tells me over and over again that escalating a situation with my first impulsive plan is a bad idea in the long term. So! We're going to try this the diplomatic way, all of you leave now, swear to never do anything like this again, and everyone goes their separate ways. Otherwise you can guess what happens."

The gangbangers exchanged glances then one of them pulled out a pistol and aimed it me, "You are one dumb bitch aren't you?"

He pulled the trigger and I shifted my head away from the bullet as I extended my hand and summoned the pistol to me as my lightsaber ignited in all its violet glory and cleaved it in half, the broken pieces flying behind me as I twirled my blade with a flourish.

My burning amber eyes glowed from the depths of my hood as I grinned viciously, "Violence, violence is what is going to happen."