Chapter 2
20:45
Boardwalk
"Dear child, we would like to speak with you after dealing with those subhumans, won't you step back?" The baritone voice of the man known as Stormtiger rang in the alley.
Facing him was a young woman in a red fetish latex outfit and seductive thigh high boots. On her head there was a headpiece that was made up of three parts, a coif, secured by a wimple, with a veil at the back. A black ninja mask hid half of her face, but her green eyes glowing with anger were clearly visible. A silver rosary was at her neck and between her consequent bust.
Some of the men before her didn't know where to look, the girl was clothed as a nun but they believed that the sexual nature of her costume completely nullified the point of her dressing as a nun.
"Yes, we can talk, but I want something from you first, it's like this: I want you to pack up your toys and your stormtroopers and your prejudicial Nazi bullcrap and go home. I'm not letting you attack innocent people, Deus vult." Taylor smiled as she confronted Stormtiger, Cricket and their Aryan goon squad.
All of them stopped and looked at her as if she was crazy, the black couple behind her and cornered in the dead end, acted as if she was a lunatic as their eyes popped out of their skulls as they lamented the fact that they were being rescued by a crazy cape. Some of them began to chuckle before breaking into a full blown laugh.
"Girl, do you really want to start a beef with the Empire? You are outgunned and outnumbered, get out of here." Stormtiger asked when he got control of himself again, Cricket who was at his side nodded and crossed her arms.
After thirty seconds of deliberation and nerve wracking waiting for the victim behind the scarlet clad battle nun; she nodded, joined her hand in prayer and looked up at the orange and cloudy sky. "Lord, forgive me for the words I speak, I know the voices of the angels tell me to turn the other cheek. But I'm about to rip Stormtiger's tongue out through his teeth."
Stormtiger's body language became aggressive as he began to condense the air before him to launch claws at the red clad nun who simply manifested a tower-shield before her. The wind claw scraped against the heavy shield with a noise of struggling metal.
Then the nun manifested a big war axe in her hand, shining with silver metal. She bypassed the shield and launched herself at super speed at the five gang members, first lunging at one about to fire at her with his rifle, she cut his arms, twirled the weapon and slammed the hammer side of her war axe into the side of another, jumped into the air and threw her weapon at the nearest goon.
With a wet sound the axe cut the arm of the goon off; the man having lost a complete arm began crying bloody murder. The nun was caught by a gust of wind and almost slammed against the walls between the two buildings forming the alley but she agilely rotated to land on her feet on the wall, jumped onto the other wall at super speed and summoned a Thunder Hammer, lightning coursing through it.
Landing on the ground, she avoided Cricket who attempted to kick her at the last moment; the nazi cape avoided the nun's own low kick but not the hand that caught a bar of her cage mask. The nun wrenched the cage with enough force to break Cricket neck; the nazi cape fell like a bag of potatoes.
"CRICKET! You… I will-" Stormtiger was about to attack but the nun was already on him and slammed the Hammer onto his muscle-bound naked torso, when it impacted, the blue white energy field of the Thunder Hammer triggered and Stormtiger found himself slammed into the wall of the library.
The nun looked behind her and saw the two goons that were left; they looked at each other and fled. There were people at the mouth of the alley filming everything with their smartphones. The nun knew that it would be bad for her rep if she let anyone die. She unsummoned her weapons and began with Stormtiger who had fallen face first on the ground, she turned him onto his back and began applying her hand on his crushed body and she prayed loudly.
"O' Holy One, I come before you today in need of your healing hand. In you all things are possible. Hold my heart within yours, and renew my mind, body, and soul." White Fire spread from her hand and covered the entirety of Stormtiger, and after a second he was completely whole; the fire completely extinguished itself.
The nun then systematically healed everyone before starting to zip-tying them, Stormtiger woke up as well as Cricket. Taking a selfie for her photo album of successful captures, the nun took multiple shots before the white hats arrived.
"This is the Protectorate, nobody moves!" A male voice shouted.
Looking back at the mouth of the alley, the nun saw a man wearing a suit of midnight-blue power armor with silver highlights and a helmet and visor that covered his eyes and nose, a nicely trimmed beard was the only thing that told her that she was going to have a bad time, the gloryhound Beardmaster was here. The nun joined hands yet again and started to pray.
"Touch me, O Lord, and fill me with your light and your hope. Amen. Dear God, please give me strength to be patient with the Protectorate's chief tinker... Amen."
She knew the bad reputation of the Tinker and the nun was thinking that maybe she shouldn't have gone to the boardwalk on patrol today and stayed home with her mother or her aunt Betty.
~o0o~
(Flashback)
Five hours ago
After school, Taylor had recounted her day to Annette. Her mother told her how proud of her she was and brought her to Fugly Bob's for a meal. Taylor was a fan of the Fuglyburger and had two of them with no lettuce and curly fries. The brunette now had this fancy Metavore constitution that allowed her to eat as much as she wanted and stay in shape, at least that had been what the entity had told her about her improved body.
Annette looked at her with a benevolent smile, ate a bite of her own chicken burger and looked outside the restaurant's window. Then after checking that they weren't being spied on, the shorter, older brunette asked the question that had been burning her for the last two days. "Taylor, dearie?"
Taylor looked up at her mom and swallowed her food. "Mom?"
Annette leaned forward, face serious she whispered, "Are you a Parahuman?"
The younger brunette froze, she gasped and looked around her to see if anyone had listened; fortunately they were at an isolated table. Her gaze went back to her mother, Taylor thought about lying, but as they stared into each other's eyes the young woman realized that she didn't want to hide things from her mother.
"Yes." Said after a heavy breath, she put the remnant of her fuglyburger on her plate and leaned into the cushioned chair.
"Did you kill the Merchant leadership?" Annette continued her inquiry.
Taylor lowered her eyes, stubbornly looking at her fuglyburger with her hands flat on the table. "Yes."
The young woman didn't think that she had done something bad, the Merchants had it coming after they had killed her best friend, her sister in everything but blood. She remembered the cries of Ann and Zoe and how her uncle Alan threw himself into his work trying to drown the pain from his daughter having been murdered.
Annette's eyes softened as she understood why Taylor did it. "Is it because of Emma?"
A tear fell from Taylor's eye as she nodded. "Yes."
Annette's expression was compassionate, however her tone was disapproving. "Taylor, an eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. You know that."
In a harsh whisper, Taylor answered her with angry eyes, "Don't quote Gandhi at me, mom! Karma comes after everyone eventually... I just sped it up for Skidmark and his trash mooks."
There was silence for a long moment, the two Hebert women were stubborn but they clamped down on their tempers before any harsh things could be said and fences couldn't be mended. Annette wasn't hungry anymore and signalled a waitress for the check.
Her eyes settled on her daughter. "We need to talk, not here though, not secure enough; I know someone who can give that to us."
Taylor calmed down and shrugged. "Sure, mom."
The girl was becoming wary now, worried that her mother would hate her or find her actions unforgivable.
Annette reached out to Taylor's hand and covered it. "I'm not angry at you, honey; but we have to speak about what you did and the consequences of such an action."
Taylor's shoulders sagged in relief and she nodded sadly.
They left Fugly Bob's after that with the rest of their food as takeout and headed for the south of the docks to a more upscale neighborhood. Annette parked her Ford Ranger 4x4 in the driveway of a single story house with white wall and red roof. A Toyota SUV was parked in the garage. Taylor knew exactly where they were and she couldn't help but ask, "Why are we in aunt Betty's driveway mom?"
Elizabeth Morrison was a family friend who went to school with Taylor's mother, her daughter Joan had even babysat Taylor a lot before leaving for Cornell University for an engineering degree. Betty was also a tailor and made customized clothes for rich people, it was why she lived in the nicest part of Brockton Bay.
Annette smiled at her and said, "You'll see."
And so they walked up to the door that opened by itself, a black haired and curvy woman of average height appeared through the dark mahogany door, her skin was fair and her facial expression showed that she was happy to see Taylor and Annette. She wore a navy blue high low dress and silver jewelry complimenting her silver grey eyes.
"My favorite niece and Annie." her smile lit up everything around her.
Taylor went to hug Betty who received it with a giggle; Annette joined and kissed her friend on the cheek. She let them enter and they were quickly ushered into the living room; the decorations consisted of photos of models wearing Betty's creations and historical pieces like kimonos, as well as complete greek statues wearing togas placed strategically around the room.
The furniture was mostly grey handmade tables and leather sofas on which Betty sat with Taylor at her side while Annette chose the facing sofa. "So Annie why are you here?" The attractive woman looked between Annette and Taylor with an engaging smile.
Like a band aid needing to be ripped, Annette bluntly stated, "Taylor triggered."
Streaming tears cleansed her red cheeks. Betty sat there, dominated by a profound sadness, dismay engraved on her face. "Please no. Not her." She hugged Taylor for a long moment before releasing her. Taylor accepted the contact and didn't try to move; she didn't understand why Betty was acting that way.
"When did it happen Taylor?" The black haired woman asked with emotion, her eyes boring into Talyor's.
"A-after… Emma's burial." The young woman stammered.
Annette and Betty looked at each other; something passed between them, Taylor lamented that she didn't have any friends to exercise that particular womanly power with. Betty looked at Taylor who straightened her fake glasses and averted her eyes as she didn't like the intensity of her surrogate aunt's gaze.
"Can you show us your powers?" Annette suddenly asked.
She smiled, to Taylor it was a teasing smile but her eyes were completely serious. The young woman understood that she didn't have a choice. But there was a problem with that, the Witchblade's host tended to find their clothes shredded during a transformation. The artefact had assured her that when she got more experienced the Witchblade would transform her own clothes instead, some kind of transmutation effect.
"Err sure… but are you sure that it's necessary?" Taylor said with a blush that reached the tips of her ears. She found the non-existent lint on her jeans really interesting.
Annette tilted her head, and Betty asked as she seemed to understand what Taylor was trying to say. "Is it embarrassing?"
"Yes? Terribly so. Every time I transform, my clothes get shredded. You see my power..." Taylor showed them the silver bracelet with the red gem, "I call it the Witchblade, it's sentient and allows me to hear it. It -it is male- and explains things to me, mainly how my powers work and helps to do other things, the Witchblade explained that it would only outright tear clothes unfit for fighting like dresses."
Betty suddenly looked worried and watched the Witchblade on her niece's arm.
"Are you telling us that this little bracelet is intelligent and can talk to you Tay?" Annette raised from her seat, walked up to Taylor and took the arm with the Witchblade attached to it and examined the bracelet.
The women looked attentively at the piece of jewelry, Taylor was getting nervous as they held onto her arm. "Yes…?" She answered. "It's not a projection or some such, it's an artefact that was bonded to me. I have a symbiotic relationship with it."
They looked at Taylor as if she was crazy; Annette put a hand on her forehead and looked her in the eyes for something that the young woman didn't know. Annette sighed and said after some cursory checks, "It doesn't seem to be something that's mastering you at least."
Frowning, Taylor glared at them and took her wrist back from their hands and said a bit angrily, "No the Witchblade isn't something like that, it protects me! Just like this morning, it defended me from a master effect when I met Victoria Dallon."
Annette and Betty looked at each other again, Taylor didn't like when they did that it was nerve wracking, as if she missed half the conversation. "You shouldn't approach that Dallon girl too much, her presence or what she colloquially calls her aura is a master effect and may have some secondary effects that her family keeps from divulging."
Taylor didn't want to, Victoria Dallon had seemed the kind of girl she could be friends with, but she couldn't refuse her mother as she seemed to know things about Parahumans that she didn't. "I-I will… but she seems rather outgoing, she doesn't sound like someone who likes to be told no."
Annette nodded, then snapped her fingers and said, "Take off your clothes, those are a new pair of jeans and top." The older Hebert said as she looked at Taylor from head to toe.
Taylor raised an eyebrow at her mother, turned her head and looked at Betty who began to laugh at her like a loon. Annette signalled to her to hurry up with another snap.
The brunette sighed and stood up. "Yes mom."
Two minutes later, once she was in her underwear, Taylor, who was somewhat self conscious and hiding her unmentionables, activated the Witchblade to unleash its power and her forearms, calves, breasts, and genitals were covered by a sort of chitinous exoskeleton made by the Witchblade itself into some sort of chainmail bikini; at least she wore a breastplate with deep cleavage that didn't expose flesh but was shaped with individual breast cups, the thong and metal boots were kind of too much for her though.
Taylor was slowly getting over her embarrassing power… nevertheless, the artefact took pity on Taylor as she felt super embarrassed when her mother and surrogate aunt watched her with surprise. The Witchblade continued it's change and it now looked like a semi-form-fitting silver and gold bio-mess that fully covered everything, the gems on her armor glowed brightly red and blue.
Annette continued to gape at her daughter; Betty was the only one who had recovered enough to say, "Well, you are lucky your father isn't here anymore Taylor, he would never let you go out like that."
Taylor rolled her eyes. She was barely fifteen years old and that kind of costume shouldn't be on someone as young as her. "I know! I know… this is the first time it's given me complete armor, normally it stays in bladed chainmail bikini form and only shifts instantly to respond to threats by giving me more armor with armor in direct proportion to the immediate threat."
Annette frowned. "That's weird."
Betty giggled and proceeded to touch the chitinous metal armor. "At least she's not a shoe-in for the Wards, they would never let her out because of her indecent costume. Taylor is in the same boat as Narwhal." She said absently.
That was what Taylor thought when she used the Witchblade for the first time. Narwhal was a canadian hero from the Guild, she could create crystalline force-fields and could move them at high velocities. She used her power to create a single, three-foot horn on her forehead and to coat her skin with fine crystalline scales. Her "scales" were each no larger than a fingernail.
"She's a nudist and I am not aunt Betty!" The girl cried out.
After that, Taylor demonstrated her abilities and created fire from her palms and projected it into the fireplace with a fire energy beam. She also showed off her wings, they looked like angel ones. For the two adults it didn't bode well for Taylor as angel wings for everyone else were synonyms of one being and it was the most reviled on the planet; the Simurgh.
They told her that she should ask the Witchblade if it could alter their shape. Taylor nodded and answered after she asked the artefact, "It can, watch." And the angel wings became leather like bat wings, more like dragon wings, too big for the living room. Taylor knocked a vase but it didn't fall on the wooden tiles as a construct made of metal caught it and placed it back on its table.
"Thank you Taylor." Betty kissed her niece on the cheek.
The young woman made her wings retract into her armor. Annette was surprised by her daughter's current demonstration of control. *And she said that she doesn't have total control yet?*
"What else can you do?" Taylor's mother asked as she crossed her legs and watched her daughter squirm.
She looked on as Taylor blushed and closed her eyes to mentally ask the Witchblade; when she reopened them, she said, "It told me I can heal people too, it's some kind of tactile-healing."
Annette frowned. "How extensive is the healing?"
Depending on her answer, Annette would plan. Healers were a hot commodity in the cape business and it implied that people would want to take her daughter away from her to service them or profit from her gift willingly or not. The Protectorate was the first organization on the list that would try.
Taylor eyes blanked for a moment as she communed with the Witchblade and she answered ten seconds later, "The Witchblade said it can be used to heal wounds and cure illnesses of other creatures." Her eyes were wide, ready to pop out of their sockets.
It alarmed Annette who stood up and came to hug her daughter who looked down at her as she was taller than her mother. "What are its limits, Tay?"
The young woman straightened her glasses and said, "Err... mom?" Her right hand was trembling.
"Taylor?" Annette readied herself for the bad news.
"I-I can r-resurrect people, it said." Taylor confessed, her voice shaking.
Taylor was smart enough to understand the implications of her powers. There was no limit to her healing ability it seemed; Annette's face settled on a determined expression and she put a hand on her daughter's left pauldron and commanded her, "Taylor, tell no one you can do that! No-one!"
The Protectorate, the Elite, the ABB… even Empire88 would want her little girl and she would never let them have her. Not in this life or the next.
"O-okay, mom." Taylor panicked, she had seen that expression on her mother's face one time and she wasn't about to contradict her. She had seen how she had demolished Principal Blackwell and had sicked the board of education on her.
Annette turned her head to Betty who mimed zipping her lips. "You know my lips are sealed, Annie."
Taylor's mother nodded in acquiescence. "Betty, I think it's time to get the gang back together."
Betty stepped back, her face neutral. "Are you sure?"
Annette softly said, "Yes, I'm not letting anyone put their paws on my daughter." But everyone in the room heard her.
"Mom, you are scaring me…" Taylor said as her armor shifted back to a chainmail bikini as there was no current threat to the young woman, the blades and armor retracted slowly from her body, there was only the gauntlet on her right arm that was left.
Betty looked between the two Hebert women, then decided that she needed to be somewhere else. "I will go look for my tools, Annie." Annette had decided to tell her daughter about one of her biggest secrets, two years after her father's death. *Finally.*
As Betty left, the tall and young brunette finally found her voice to ask what was wrong. "Mom? Are you okay?"
Annette undid the top button of the white shirt of her professional outfit, exhaled heavily then looked up at Taylor. "Taylor, there's something I want to tell you... but I didn't know if I would ever do it in my lifetime, there's so much pain in those memories… I had thought that I'd left that life behind me and you became my priority after that. However, now, you are in danger and you need me to teach you about this life you stumbled into."
"Whatever this is it can't be that bad." Taylor said, not realizing that she shouldn't tempt Murphy.
Annette closed her eyes, drew in a breath, then exhaled heavily; the gaze she gave her daughter when she reopened them was sad and full of self-loathing. "Taylor I am a Parahuman."
Taylor was rooted to the spot, she stopped moving and frowned. "Wait… seriously?"
Annette's body was surrounded by an ethereal blue aura. "Yes." In a flash of blue light, another Annette appeared, she wore the same clothes as the original one.
Taylor looked at her two mothers. "Oh." Asking herself if the Fuglyburger she had eaten earlier was roofied or something.
(Flashback end)
~o0o~
Now...
Back to the previous scene
Taylor still couldn't believe that she still didn't know about a big part of her mother's life. That her aunt Betty was a Tinker and put her in this red scandalous outfit and coached her into role playing as a wacky nun with a penchant for violence. They had been adamant about it, that she had to have another safe cape identity, distinct from her Witchblade wielder one and restrict herself to a power-set, they had settled on a Brute, Thinker, Striker and Shaker combo, a grab bag cape able to heal and fight.
Her mother had been adamant that she shouldn't use the full power of her healing ability, no resurrections unless there was no one to see her. Taylor sighed as Armsmaster was finally before her, he asked bluntly, halberd clutched in his hands, "Hero or Villain?"
Taylor rolled her eyes. "By the Lord... I am neither of those, I am obviously a vigilante."
Something shifted in Armsmaster's stance, he became more aggressive. "Name?"
"I am the Abbottess." Taylor said proudly.
Armsmaster sighed in disgust at the name. Then he began to ask Taylor what had happened; she went in depth about her day and told him about how she was roof hoping and noticed the nazi goons and capes having cornered that couple behind them who was still cowering in the dead end behind her. He nodded, Taylor didn't see him take any notes. *He must be recording this. Fortunately I am too, Aunt Betty's nun costume is linked to my new integrated phone that runs a recording app in the background.*
When she finished she made the Tinker aware that she was about to leave. But he decided to delay her further.
"You are a teenager." Armsmaster said as if she didn't know that fact. "You know the Wards would be the safest place for you to go. Especially after you managed to take out Stormtiger and Cricket, the Empire won't let that slide, they might also try to get their hands on you now that you revealed that you can heal…."
The soft pitch, just like Taylor's mother had told her they would do.
"I appreciate the offer, but I will have to decline. I'm not looking for a team," Taylor joined her hands and with a dreamy look added, "I am already in one and forever am I sheltered in the light of the trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Taylor made the sign of the cross.
Armsmaster looked at her as if she needed a padded cell and a straight jacket. Taylor smiled at him, turned her back to him and walked toward Stormtiger and Cricket and touched them with the armored point of her thigh high boot. "Consider these Evil doers a token of goodwill, if you'd please. I'd like to avoid trouble with the Protectorate for as long as possible. Enjoy the rest of your night."
Taylor passed Armsmaster, but she felt a hand on her left arm. "Wait!"
The battle nun turned to Armsmaster, her eyes showing that she was frowning. "Would you kindly unhand me?"
Armsmaster hand tightened around Taylor's forearm. "No. You should follow me to the PRT building-"
Taylor instantly rejected him. "No thank you, good evening and god be with you."
Seeing that he was not going to get his way, Armsmaster decided to force the issue. "I will bring you in, you could have killed those people, you need to be questioned."
She tilted her head and asked out loud. "Am I accused of something?"
As Taylor looked into his visor, she saw the thin line that his mouth had become. "Not yet." He threatened.
Taylor smiled at him as he acted just like her mother had told him he would, she looked around her; unfortunately there were PRT agents around them who had dispersed the crowd and Armsmaster thought he could get away with what he was doing. "I see, you choose to forsake wisdom."
"Right, follow me." Armsmaster said disdainfully as he tried to pull her out of the alley.
Taylor snorted at him in derision and used her superstrength to pry Armsmaster's gauntleted hand away from her arm, almost crushing it, Armsmaster wrenched it from Taylor's grip who allowed it.
"Armsmaster, the righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." Taylor said before jumping up and using the walls like a springboard to climb onto the roof like a ninja.
Armsmaster and the PRT troopers watched as they didn't even try to intervene, it had been too fast for them and now they might have a problem. How would he explain this to Piggot?