She's a Hero Chapter 2 (original chapter Chapter 91)
A Week Later
Abandoned Warehouse, Brockton Bay
Taylor watched as her Heybo-turned-awesome-giant smashed its way through the obstacles that she had just had it set up. She was very impressed by how fast and strong it was. Even with the bulk it was carrying around with it, it could still probably outpace a fit man running full out, and it could punch through steel like it was rice paper.
The new Parahuman frowned as she remembered Alan Barnes coming over to her house the other day to talk to her and her father, asking why she had pointed the PRT at them. He had left with a flea in his ear about Emma's reaction to her coming back from Camp. He had left them with the tale of what had happened to him and Emma while she had been at camp.
A cold fury burned inside the bespectacled teen. The ABB had almost taken Emma, almost made her into a girl turning tricks in one of their brothels. As it was, it was clear to the Heberts that Emma had more than a few problems, which Danny had convinced Alan to send his daughter to a psychologist to deal with.
'I am going to make them pay.' Taylor though, her teeth grinding was she recalled the details of what had happened to her friend, to her sister-in-all-but-blood.
A large hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up to see her Heybo (she really was going to have to come up with a name for him) looking down at her in concern.
"I'm fine." She said, smiling up at her construct. It was very strange, in her opinion. She had researched the Cape categories on the PRT website and on PHO and she couldn't really decide which category she fit into. The Heybo was definitely a Brute, with possibly some Mover abilities given the speed he could go at in spite of his bulk. As she 'created' him though, that should technically make her what PHO referred to as a Master.
The only fly in the ointment was that she wasn't creating him from energy, like the Nazi Cape Crusader did with his ghosts, or from things lying around like a few other Capes did. She was enhancing what was already there, improving its ability to move and fight. That, in her opinion, upped her to being a Trump as well. And, as she wasn't touching it directly when she did so, it should also make her a Shaker. So she would either be a Master, with sub-classifications of Trump and Shaker, or a flat out Master/Shaker/Trump.
Getting all of those from a bolt of lightning hitting her was weird, but Taylor just rolled with it. Powers were weird.
That wasn't the only strange thing about her Heybo. She had noticed that she was calling it 'him' whenever she activated and transformed him. It just…felt right, somehow. The Heybo was also a lot more…human…than she had any right to expect. Entirely silent, but his face was very expressive and could convey exactly how he felt very clearly. He had a mind of his own and didn't actually need her to command him, although he would follow her orders if she gave any.
The gauntlet she wore had to have some other purpose other than as a way to activate her Heybo's transformation back and forth. Exactly what it could be, she had no idea, but something was niggling at her about it.
She was dressed in black clothing to better hide her identity, along with an old witch mask she'd worn once for Halloween. Not the best outfit for going out performing heroics with, but everyone had to start somewhere.
"Let's head back." She told her Heybo. "We really have to get you a name as well."
Her large guardian silently nodded as he picked her up and placed her on his shoulder, heading out to roof leap back to her home.
The Next Day
Marvel Universe, Brockton Bay
"Taylor!" Stan said with a smile as she entered the shop. He was in the middle of stocking the shelves. "Glad to see you, kid. You OK after what happened?"
"Considering Panacea told me that the bolt of lightning that hit me would've killed ninety percent of people who were hit by it, I'm good." The bespectacled brunette smiled back. "Thanks for saving me. She told me that if you and Dad hadn't gotten home when you did, I might not have lasted long enough for her to get to me."
"I'm grateful too; can't believe that it happened." The man shook his head slightly. "Anyway, what can I do for you, true believer?"
"Dad said you had an opening for a job." Taylor said with a shrug. "We could use the money, and I'd prefer working here to biking around, delivering papers."
"With racists, rage dragons and pot-heads floating around, you'd better not do a paper round." Stan snorted. "Consider the job yours, Taylor. Your shift starts next Tuesday, quarter-past four 'till eight. I can pay you just a bit above minimum wage, with bonuses for overtime and the usual stuff. Sound OK?"
"Sure." She grinned. "Who quit though? Everyone looked like they enjoyed working here…"
"Cy got into an accident. Busted his leg." The store owner grimaced. "Poor kid. Told him he shouldn't do American football, but what does old Stan know? Now look at him. Eh, he'll be back once his leg's on the mend. You'll be covering his shifts. That's Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays."
"Fine by me." Taylor nodded. That would still give her plenty of time to train with her Heybo (name still pending).
A pair of loud voices from the floor above made Stan roll his eyes in mild exasperation.
"Do me a favour and go and grab Joey. Knowing him, Lina'll have convinced him to have a quiet kiss somewhere and Will found out about it." The store owner said with a resigned shake of his head. "Overprotective brothers, I swear…."
Taylor winced slightly. From what she had gathered, Will did not approve of his little sister's choice in boyfriend. Will, who was built like a bodybuilder, was the total opposite of Joey, who was skinny in a similar way to Taylor. He was quite cute though, like an earnest puppy. Lina was a very feminine girl who went to Arcadia and was a cheerleader. She and Will had started working at Marvel Universe just a short while after Joey, Lina because she wanted to spend time with her boyfriend and Will because he wanted to keep an eye to make sure Joey obeyed the 'Thou shalt not lay hands on inappropriate locations on Lina's body' rule he had given Joey when he had found out that the slight boy was dating his little sister.
It should be known that the one who chafed the most under Will's laying down of the law was Lina, who resented her brother's interference in her love life. She wanted Joey to get grabby with her.
"OK, boss." Taylor sketched a salute and headed off to save the boy from Will's not-so-tender mercies.
Later that Night
Kitchen, Hebert Residence
"You didn't have to do that, Taylor." Danny said in concern. "I know I'm the one who pointed you at the job, but…"
Taylor, who was cooking at the stove, shook her head. "I want to, Dad. What with how things have been these days, we need all the money we can get. Stan's going to pay me a bit above minimum wage, so that'll help. We really can't afford to tighten our belts much more than we already have."
"…true." Danny allowed with a reluctant sigh. The Dockworker's Association was a dying organisation, and even the Union Representative (or maybe especially the Union Representative) wasn't paid much compared to a high-priced lawyer like Alan Barnes. And everyone's salaries had been cut as jobs became scarcer and scarcer.
"I hope mom would approve." The girl muttered as she stirred the soup she was cooking before checking the timer she had for the lasagne.
"Annette would." Danny snorted. "You know your mother ran with Lustrum, back before things turned sour? She was always a strong activist for woman's rights and empowerment, and nothing quite said independent than a paying job. She disapproved of traditional 'stay-at-home' housewives quite a bit, unless there was a legitimate reason for them to not get a job. I think she'd be very happy and proud of you."
Taylor smiled happily. "Thanks Dad. Dinner should be ready inside of the next three minutes or so."
Later that night, Taylor snuck out again, her Dad's snoring echoing throughout the house. With that happening, at least she would have a good excuse for not looking like she'd had a good night's sleep. How her mother had put up with sleeping next to him when he snored was beyond her; it was like a buzz saw.
Forcing away the fond memory of her mother mock-complaining about her Dad's snoring, Taylor ducked into an empty house and transformed her Heybo into what she had decided to call his Warrior Form. Seeing the transformation brought to mind the appearance of a certain thunder god in one of Stan's comics from before the advent of Scion. It got her to wondering if her Heybo could use electricity at all. He was surrounded by it during his transformation, and it was lightning that gave Taylor her powers in the first place…
"Let's go." Taylor said to her Heybo as they left the house. The giant nodded and perched her atop his shoulder before leaping into the night. Just about the only downside of this method of travel were the large footprints that he left behind as he landed and took off. For whatever reason, there were no craters left behind when he did either. Some sort of gravity control field to limit his force of impact, Taylor assumed.
Once again: powers are weird.
The route that she and her construct used took her past Marvel Universe, and Taylor made her companion halt atop a nearby roof when she saw a bunch of Merchants heading towards the building in force. At least twenty of them were walking/staggering towards Stan's shop carrying bottles with rags stuffed down them. It did not take someone of Taylor's obvious intelligence to deduce what they were planning.
"Oh no. Oh hell no." Taylor growled angrily. "You are not going to destroy Stan's shop! Go get 'em, Heroman!"
The name rolled off her tongue before she could consider what she was saying, but the newly-dubbed Heroman merely nodded as if it was his name the whole time and placed Taylor onto the rooftop before leaping down in front of the Merchants, barring their path.
"Who -and what- the fuck're you!?" the one who was apparently the leader of the group snarled at Heroman, who merely looked back sternly and crossed his arms, giving the unspoken idea that he would not be letting them past him.
"Scrag him!" the leader shouted, drawing a pistol from his jacket and firing almost in one motion. The other Merchants pulled weapons as well, mostly pistols, but a few revolvers and submachineguns as well, and opened up.
This being the first time that Heroman had been attacked, Taylor switched her gaze worriedly to her silent guardian, but what she saw made her breathe a sigh in relief. The bullets were bouncing off his body effortlessly, leaving nary a scratch.
"No freaking WAY!?" one yelped as one by one, the guns clicked dry of bullets.
"Fuck! This must be some kinda Tinkertech toy!" the leader growled. "Light him up boys! Let's see how he likes feeling the heat!"
As the ones carrying the Molotov cocktails passed them out and started to light them, Taylor decided that it was time to be proactive. Looking into the small screen at the end of her gauntlet, Taylor saw the little fist symbol and grinned fiercely.
"Heroman, [Engage]!" she ordered and slammed her palm in place over it, making the blue light of the screen shine brightly.
Down below, Heroman stiffened as he received his order and let out a bellow as he charged the now-panicking Merchants. With a light swipe of one arm, he sent half-a-dozen of them flying into nearby parked cars (Taylor had to wonder about people who willingly left their cars parked outside and vulnerable in Brockton Bay at night as it was just asking for them to be stolen) before he picked up another and used him as an ersatz bowling ball to deal with another group of druggies.
The Merchants, having expected a milk run of lobbing Molotov cocktails at a shop unopposed, were now in total disarray. Being confronted by a large white, blue and red robot-like man who bounced veritable fusillades of bullets and threw grown men around like a bunch of ragdolls was so totally out of their expectations that it was actually somewhat admirable that they stayed the course as long as they did, but something in them gave at this point and the remaining Merchants broke and ran, fleeing from the white giant that had torn through them like paper.
This left Taylor with a dozen semiconscious drug dealers, with assorted bullets, guns and smashed bottles of vodka lying scattered around Heroman to deal with. She didn't know what to do with them, really, because she didn't have a mobile phone (something she'd have to remedy at some point) and she point-blank refused to touch the smelly and filthy bodies of the Merchants to search them for some of their own.
'Urgh. Brain bleach, where are you?' Taylor thought with a shudder. Even thinking about touching Merchants was disgusting.
Then, a thought occurred to her, making her smiled in a very predatory fashion. "Heroman, grab those Merchants. We have an example to make…"
Later on
Front Desk, Brockton Bay Central Police Precinct
Officer Alex Murphy hated the night shift. He always drank coffee like water in order to stay awake and that meant numerous trips to the bathroom in order to get rid of it at some point.
'I can't wait until I get put back on the streets.' He thought as he suppressed a yawn. 'Just because I was almost shot by the damn Empire on my first patrol…'
At least the copious free time he had while on the front desk meant that he had plenty of time to fill out the various reports for those rare few criminals brought in at night. Most of them were easy, charged with Drunk and Disorderly. A few serious ones like Possession of Drugs, Attempted Rape and Assault with Intent to Kill came up at least once a night, although once was too many in Murphy's opinion.
The sad fact was that the BBPD were not very relevant in the Bay. Oh, they handled the day to day crime and domestic incidents when called upon. A lot of the non-gang crime as well. In a world of Parahumans though, they were, if not helpless, then seriously outmatched by the likes of Hookwolf, Lung and Squealer. If only the Protectorate didn't have a stranglehold on government-sanctioned Parahumans then they could grandfather some of the independents into working for the police.
But no. Murphy knew for a fact that Dauntless was an ex-cop and he had been transferred so quickly that the paperwork hit the table even as he left the building once he got powers. Any time Murphy brought up the idea of perhaps deputizing one or two of the Indies, he was smacked down hard and his time at the desk at night was extended.
He had learned his lesson, but dammit, he was getting sick and tired of being helpless to protect the citizens of Brockton Bay from those Parahuman criminals!
Abruptly, a loud BANG sound, coupled with a tremor, made him look up, startled. Something large was outside the doors of the station and he quickly drew his handgun and chambered a round just in case. Murphy blinked as the large shape, humanoid he noted, turned and ran up the street, leaving a pile of something there on the police's doorstep.
Smacking the intercom, he said, "Officer Murphy to Sergeant Williams. We have a situation here, sarge."
A moment later, the woman came up to the desk via the door behind him. Police Sergeant Williams scowled as she saw the pile sitting outside the door. "Report, Murphy."
"Ma'am. Approximately three minutes ago, a large humanoid figure landed in front of the doors and deposited a pile of something there before retreating at a run." He replied crisply. "I have not ventured out to investigate it as of yet."
"You are now, with me." Williams said crisply. She had transferred out of the PRT due to how biased a lot of the people in it were against Parahumans and against people who weren't biased against Parahumans. At least she got respect in the Police, which was saying something.
Taking point, Murphy covered the door before carefully making his way to it and then bursting out of it, with the sergeant on his heels to point her gun in the opposite direction to him.
"Clear."
"Clear."
"OK, so no one's planning an in-person ambush, so let's see what presents they've left us." Williams said, holstering her gun and turning to the pile and whistling after a moment. "Whew. Well, well, well. Someone took out the trash. These guys are wearing Merchant colours…plus, they stink and everything."
"I can smell them from here." Murphy agreed as he came over to inspect the pile. Why people did drugs was beyond him; the pile of a dozen Merchants was enough to convince anyone that drugs were A Bad Idea. "Is that…a note?"
"Yup. Written with pencils and a ruler as well." Williams agreed. "'To the Officers of the BBPD. A dozen Merchants guilty of attempting to commit arson on Marvel Universe, as well as possession of firearms without a permit, possession of illegal substances, carrying concealed without a permit and of toxic hygiene. With Best Regards, Heroman and Heroine, new Independent heroes of Brockton Bay.'"
"I think that last one isn't a crime." Murphy had to point out, restraining his impulse to laugh.
"The rest is though, and I can see the drugs and guns from here." Williams bared a predatory grin. "Get back in the station and grab some help. Looks like the cells are gonna be occupied for a while. Also, get a patrol car to pass by that place that the note mentioned and see if it isn't just selling us a fairy tale."
"On it." Murphy headed back in with a smile on his face. 'Heroman and Heroine, huh? I'll have to keep an eye on them.'
The Next Day
Kitchen, Hebert Home
"Some Merchants apparently tried to burn down Stan's store down last night." Danny said as he read the morning paper. His daughter say opposite him
"Oh?" Taylor said with a blink. "I see you said 'tried' so someone stopped them. Who was it? Glory Girl?"
"No, a new Independent duo." The man replied. "Called 'Heroman' and 'Heroine', according to the BBPD."
"Shouldn't the PRT be the ones talking about them considering they're Capes?" Taylor pointed out, rightly.
"Evidently, the BBPD didn't inform the PRT until after they talked to the papers." Danny replied with a chortle. "I can imagine they aren't terribly happy about that."
Same Time
Director Piggot's Office, PRT Building
"Captain, can you kindly tell me why the Parahuman Response Team was not informed at once that a Parahuman incident had occurred before I had to read about it in this morning's paper?" Emily Piggot (pronounced Pig-oh, thank you very much) asked icily of the Station Captain of Central Precinct House, to whom she was on the phone with.
"Insufficient evidence." The man replied firmly. "Someone can claim to be a Cape via a note all they want, but all we had was a note, a pile of unconscious Merchants, a shadowy figure and evidence of a big shootout. Until the Merchants recovered their wits this morning, we had no proof that anyone but a normal human had anything to do with the situation."
Controlling her temper with mighty effort, the Director of the PRT ENE ground out, "And once a determination was made as to whether a Parahuman-related incident had occurred, your officers should have immediately passed the case off to the PRT, not informed the papers!"
"A new cop was unaware of the procedures and informed an inquisitive reported of the pertinent details without consultation with higher authorities." The response was immediate. "He has been disciplined and this should not happen again."
He did not, she noted sourly, apologise to her for it happening.
"See that it does not." She said frostily. "Is the information packet you have sent everything that you have?"
"Yes Director. Although that just amounts to a forensic examination of the scene found near the store Marvel Universe and a small possible and vague description of the person who dropped the Merchants off at the station." The Captain replied.
"And the note?" Piggot asked coldly. "What about the testimonies of the Merchants?"
"It was written with a cheap biro, on notepad paper available for fifty cents in a store and using a ruler to prevent handwriting analysis." The man replied flatly. "We also dusted it for prints and it was wiped clean. No use. The Merchants were all out of their mind on a drug that seems to be a mix of heroine, cannabis and some Tinkertech additive our lab boys couldn't identify. Looking up the database shows that similar drugs have hallucinogenic properties as well as a negative effect on short term memory. None of them could remember anything past six PM yesterday. I'll forward the transcripts of our interviews with them, for all the good it'll do you."
"Please do." The Director said firmly. "Good day, Captain."
Placing the handset down on its cradle harder than she normally would have, the former PRT line-grunt growled. The man had practically broadcast that he was obstructing and obfuscating on behalf of his officers during the phone call. Not to mention for 'Heroman' and 'Heroine', whoever they were.
The PRT and Protectorate had absolute jurisdiction over any and all Parahuman crimes and incidents, including statements to the press. That was one manner in which they pressured Independent Capes into joining the Protectorate and Wards; they would receive as small amount of recognition as she could swing, rendering their heroics for the purposes of fame gathering useless.
She much preferred focusing the attention of the press on the actions of the PRT. Ever since Ellisburg, Emily Piggot had not trusted Parahumans of any flavor and had sworn not to place herself at the mercy of one unless it was life threatening.
Having sufficiently calmed down, she then summoned Armsmaster and Miss Militia. It took them only a short time to arrive as they had been on their way anyway.
"Director." Armsmaster nodded firmly to her as he entered, with Miss Militia merely nodding in greeting.
"Armsmaster. Miss Militia." Piggot nodded back. "As you might imagine, this situation with the Marvel Universe incident is…undesired."
Understatement, but it got the idea across as Armsmaster's mouth tightened.
"Yes. I've had a look at the police ballistics report on the bullets collected from the street." He said. "Whatever they were fired at did not simply bounce them as you may expect; it was solid enough to distort them and, in the case of a few, pancake them."
"Any residue on them of whatever armour or substance repelled them?" the Director asked and glowered at the headshake indicating a negative.
"Whatever they struck evidently was solid enough that the bullets were insufficient in force and penetrative power to so much as chip, fragment or otherwise disturb their surface enough to get any trace residue from." The Tinker replied. "I will be going to the police station to confiscate the bullets collected to run my own analysis on them, but the police were fairly thorough, so I'm unlikely to glean anything about them."
"I see." Piggot said. "So then. We have a dozen Merchants who attempted to burn down a store who ended up being beaten unconscious. We know that the ones responsible were capable of bouncing bullets, suggesting that one or both of them were Brutes or Shakers. We have a bare-bones description of a 'big humanoid built like a tank' from one of the police and we have two names, Heroman and Heroine. That is ALL we know about them. The fact that the police have seemingly gone out of their way to announce to the entire Bay that a new Independent Duo is around does not make this any better."
"The defensive ability of one of the two would suggest either Brute 5 or Shaker 5 at least." Miss Militia put forward. "The injuries suffered by the Merchants were light, but support the supposition that this is either a Armor Brute or a Shield Brute…if it is a Brute at all."
Armor Brutes and Shield Brutes were uncommon types of Brutes who had powers primarily designed at being defensive at the cost of offensive strength. The types of powers they had were very much obvious from their names; Armour Brutes had some kind of organic armour that protected them from damage, while Shield Brutes had a durable forcefield that protected them.
"So Brute or Shaker 5, fine." Piggot tapped one finger on the desk. "Put two points in all other categories to cover our bases in regards to Heroman and Heroine. Have all Protectorate and Wards keep an eye out for any unknown Parahumans around the city while on patrol. I'll be giving the same orders to the PRT patrols."
"We don't cover a large portion of the city, Director." Armsmaster pointed out. "It would be entirely too likely that they could avoid us unintentionally because they operate where we and New Wave do not."
Piggot felt like tearing chunks out of her hair. That was what pissed her off more than almost anything else, except perhaps Assault and Clockblocker in the same room as one another without someone to keep them away from one another. A city like Brockton Bay, with more villains than any other city on the east coast, should have three times the Protectorate members that they had and the PRT should be half again as big as it currently was. Instead they had Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Assault, Battery, Triumph, Velocity and Dauntless. Seven Protectorate members rather than the twenty-odd that they should have and the PRT had to fight to maintain its current size.
The Wards were also deployed in the Broadwalk to deal with petty crime, allowing the main Protectorate to deal with more serious crimes. In any other city, that would be unthinkable.
Piggot also had to deal with the husk of New Wave, which had floundered for years since the murder of one of their members out of costume. Of the roster of the former Brockton Bay Brigade, only Panacea and Glory Girl were truly 'active' these days and Panacea was not a combat Cape, so that left the so-called 'Collateral Damage Barbie' as the one bearing the weight of almost her entire team.
"I also believe that the BBPD are going to be politely obstructive about these two as well." She said at last. "So information sources from them about these two are going to be bare bones and unimaginative at best. At worst, they may stonewall us regarding them as it being none of their business regarding the actions of Parahumans, which are under the jurisdiction of the PRT."
"You think they would do that?" Armsmaster asked, surprise coloring his tone.
"How many Independent heroes actually deliver criminals to a precinct house, with information about crime scenes?" Piggot asked rhetorically. "None, aside from these two. The BBPD has been ineffective due to the sheer number of Parahuman villains in the Bay, but ineffective does not equal unwilling. I've…I've been guilty of being very firm with them regarding jurisdiction and that has not helped matters. If we push regarding Heroman and Heroine, we may risk a complete break in cooperation with at least one precinct of the BBPD, perhaps more."
"I'm certain they would carry out their duties." Miss Militia said thoughtfully. "But the cooperation would be begrudging, you are right."
"Right. So, we get these two on board as affiliates, if nothing else, and mend fences." Piggot said firmly. "We already have enough trouble holding our own against the villains; to do so with the police engaging in passive-aggressive apathy regarding us would make that situation untenable. Fix this. You are dismissed."
Once the pair left, Emily cradled her head in her hands. Brockton Bay was a volatile powder keg waiting for one errant spark to set off a chain reaction and blow it up into a full-on gang war. She had a very, very bad feeling that there were two sparks and they were called Heroman and Heroine. It was now a race to see if the PRT and Protectorate could stop the explosion or if the Bay would go up in flames.
"You look like you've got a lot on your mind." An old voice said, making Piggot snap her head up. Standing near to the wall was an old man wearing a blue, white and red costume, with a heater shield bearing the American flag on one arm. His mask had some sort of power field around it, obscuring his head. She knew that it was proof against even Tinkertech instruments and cameras because she recognised this man.
"King Marvel." she acknowledged. "I thought you were a New York hero? And I was under the impression that you retired a decade ago?"
King Marvel had been one of the more famous Independent heroes in America, attributed the same kind of status as the Triumvirate. His powers were varied, veering between the Alexandria type to Blaster, Changer, Brute and almost every category aside from Tinker, leading most to believe that his true power was something similar to Eidolon's own.
"Eh, New York doesn't need me with Kid Laser over there." King Marvel shrugged easily. Emily blinked as she realised that he was referring to Legend with that remark. "As for my retirement…there's plenty of life in these old bones yet. This place needs all the help it can get. So then, true believer…what are you planning on doing about Heroman and Heroine?"
A good little addition here to my collection of ficlets. All hail Stan Lee, RIP man.
Taylor's Powers:
Mover: 5 (Taylor is able to accelerate fast enough to be seen as a blur to the naked eye)
Master/Shaker/Trump: 8 (Is able to deploy a dome or orb-shaped shield to protect herself and others. Is able to deploy, repair and empower Heroman, with more powers becoming unlocked as she gains experience.)
Heroman's Powers:
Brute: 7 (Is incredibly strong and durable. Almost completely immune to conventional munitions.)
Breaker: 6 (Is able to enlarge himself to the height of a ten story building. Brute Rating upped to 12 in this state.)
Blaster: 5 (Is able to fire blasts of electricity from his hands. Is able to fire an O-shaped laser from his body.)
Shaker: 3 (Is able to use his electrical abilities to attract specific metallic items within a certain distance of himself using electromagnetism.)
Trump: 4 (is able to enhance his body's condition using electricity, raising his Brute rating by one-to-two points.)
Mover: 2 (Is able to move much faster and more agilely than his bulk would suggest. Is able to leap houses in a single bound.)