1.6 Taylor
Taylor eats her lunch alone at the far side of the cafeteria. There's been a few students over the past couple of weeks that had walked over to her to try to make friends with the 'kid sitting alone at the lunch table', but Taylor had only found herself annoyed at the obvious pity. Her stony demeanor usually discourages them enough that they don't join her again the next day.
It speaks volumes to how much better Arcadia is compared to Winslow that even the loner transfer kid isn't getting bullied. Taylor knows it would probably be the healthy thing to do to make some friends, but she really doesn't want to. Regardless, she justifies, with her newly acquired power and her plans finally starting to kick off, she's not going to have time for distractions.
Her power. She has some seriously mixed feelings on that. She tries not to be ungrateful, but why did she have to get magic themed powers? She can feel the information in the back of her head, now a constant companion.
Despite the ridiculousness, Taylor is excited to start setting up a workshop to begin experimenting. She can feel the outline of her capabilities in her head, broken into what feels like three categories. Taylor is embarrassed for the words she's going to use to describe them, but they fit so perfectly that she finds herself resigned. Enchanting, Alchemy, and Summoning.
Her life is a cruel joke.
The summoning was the easiest to use. All she needs is a flat surface, a piece of chalk, and sufficient knowledge. Her power cheats a bit on that third one.
She knows intuitively that she won't be able to summon something like Val again without first dismissing her, which isn't going to happen. There's a hard limit of one intelligent summons, and Taylor finds herself curious whether this limit is artificially imposed or not. Regardless, while she won't be able to summon more intelligent familiars, she knows that she can pull some worker bees or hired muscle if she needs them. She thinks Val is going to be more than enough for now, though.
The enchanting and alchemy are both exciting, and Taylor's fingers itch whenever she thinks about them for too long. Her power is really impatient when it comes to wanting to be used. Taylor doesn't have much of a choice, though – The supplies and tools she needs can't exactly be found by disassembling the home toaster or television. She's excited to ask Val if she has found a good staging point for her secret workshop.
Speaking of Val, she still needs to iron out the details on how to get away with sneaking her into the Wards with minimal suspicion. She knows that she loses out on some of Val's usefulness by having her commit to the Wards but thinks it's the best middle point between letting Val do what she wants and still remaining useful to Taylor's goals. She doesn't want to treat Val like an indentured servant, regardless of that being the literal circumstances they've found themselves in.
Taylor had spent some time last night and this morning thinking on this problem. Honestly, it feels like most of what she does recently is think about the future. She needs this city to change and has seen that others are failing. She has no illusions that she'll be able to do better, but she's going to at least try. The looming probability of failure doesn't even matter to her, she just finds relief in the decision to act. She's spent too much time in the past few years choosing to not act. Her thoughts wander to Emma, then dad. She forces them away.
Taylor recognizes that she probably has a shaky grasp on how a machine like the Protectorate works, but this cant be helped. She's going to make her plans to the best of her ability, and if she fails, whatever. The way she sees it, Val is going to be accepted into the Wards no matter what she does, but there's a few things she can do to help put Val in a better position.
First: The most likely thing to cause suspicion is the possibility of Val being some kind of plant. The Merchants are nobodies, the Undersiders too small time, and Coil is an unknown unknown. Cant plan for that. There might be suspicion of some organization outside of Brockton Bay trying to insert an informant, but Taylor thinks the Protectorate will be most worried about the home gangs. This leaves the ABB and Empire Eighty-Eight.
Now, the ABB would be ruled out pretty easily. Val is clearly not Asian, and the ABB only has two capes anyways. It wouldn't make sense to waste their third as a mole in the Wards. The cost-benefit analysis just doesn't work out. This leaves by far the most likely option:
The Empire Eighty-Eight has twenty-five plus capes, so it could be reasoned they could spare a newly found junior cape as a plant within the Protectorate system. Val's paper white skin will only add to the suspicion. Taylor thinks she has a simple solution; Have Val take down one of the Empire's soldier capes as her debut. Taylor doesn't want to draw undue attention yet by going after anyone high ranking but thinks one of the smaller time capes won't be a problem.
By taking down one of the Empire's capes and turning herself into the Wards, Taylor thinks any suspicions will be, if not gone, at least heavily alleviated. The boost to Val's reputation will also be useful. Taylor doesn't have any allies or even contacts in the cape world and needs to start worming her way into the scene. Having Val in the Wards will be a huge boon towards that purpose.
There'll probably be some difficulty in flushing out one of said capes, but Taylor thinks that it wont be too hard. She'll just have Val move her vigilante activities deep into the Eighty-Eight territory for the next few days and wait for someone to respond. She'll describe the Eighty-Eight's lieutenants and tell Val to run if one of them comes for her, but Taylor thinks it more likely one of the common soldier capes will be sent first.
There's sounds of something happening behind her, but Taylor is lost in her thoughts. She feels a splash of some kind of liquid on her back and her stomach begins to sink. She had thought this was over. She hardens her emotions in a way that she's had too much practice with and turns to look at the assailant.
It's a boy, standing there, looking so horrified that it actually manages to break through her sinking mood. He stutters out a, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. This asshole," He's gesturing to someone who looks almost as guilty, "plays around too much. I'll go grab you some paper towels, just give me a second."
Taylor just sighs and says, "It's fine. You don't need to do that. The hand dryer in the bathroom will work better." It's aggravating, but Taylor has had so much worse that an accident is meaningless in comparison.
There's still some food left on her plate, but she's not hungry anymore and decides to just dump her tray and head to the bathroom. The juice is sticky on her back. She hears the boy following her.
She looks back, amused and annoyed, and says, "I'm going to the girl's restroom, you know?"
"Ah, yeah, I'll wait for you outside. I want to apologize properly."
"I already said I'm not mad."
The boy does a thing with his hands, signaling helplessness, "I should still apologize properly. It was an accident."
Taylor already knows this, it's hard to fake the sincerity in the boy's voice.
"I'm Chris, by the way. The asshole's name is Dennis. He plays around too much, but he's harmless. I'll apologize on his part, too."
They've arrived at the door to the girl's bathroom, and Taylor pauses for a moment before saying,
"You don't have to do this, you know. I believe you."
He only looks confused. "Do what? Apologize?"
Taylor doesn't say anything. She shakes her head and walks into the bathroom.
She takes off her shirt and takes a few minutes to run it under the hand dryer. She's going to smell like sugar and citrus for the rest of the day, but whatever. At least this time it's coming with an apology.
Chris is still standing outside the bathroom when she exits, to her mild annoyance. She likes being pitied less than anything.
He's obviously just trying to make friends with her as part of his apology, but Taylor isn't enough of a bitch to tell him to go away. She'll weather it quietly and hope he loses his guilty conscience.
Perking up as soon as she returns, Chris gives out a big smile. There's still about twenty minutes before lunch is over, so Taylor starts to make her way back to the cafeteria. Chris follows.
"Hey, so, if you want, no pressure or anything, you can come sit with us? I'm sure Dennis wants to apologize too."
"No, thank you."
Silence takes over for a few seconds.
"Yeah, no problem, I get it. I'll just come sit with you. My friends are kind of obnoxious anyways." He's saying this with such a bright tone that even Taylor can't find it in herself to turn him down, but she's internally bashing her head against a wall.
The silence is back. Taylor can tell Chris is struggling to find something to say. He goes with the classic.
"So, what do you like to do?"
Study capes. Learn about her power. Plan the collapse of the gangs that are choking this city to death. She doesn't think these answers will go over well.
"I like to read."
"Oh, cool. Anything good recently?"
She takes a second to think, answers honestly. "I thought East of Eden by John Steinbeck was really good."
"Ah! I think I've heard of that. I don't read much, but I'll add it to the list."
He waits for Taylor to respond. She doesn't.
His bright attitude is starting to wither, and Taylor is feeling like an awful person.
He tries again. "You into the cape scene?"
She can't handle shutting him down again, and at least she doesn't mind talking about this. "Yeah, I keep up."
He perks up a bit.
"You have a favorite?"
Taylor used to like Alexandria but finds her opinion has shifted somewhat. She appreciates hope more than she used to.
"It's kind of generic, but probably Legend. Alexandria's dark and edgy thing doesn't appeal to me anymore."
Chris lets out a bark of laughter.
"Yeah, I can see that. Even with all the PR, Legend seems like genuinely one of the best people on the planet. Great dude."
Taylor agrees, but she wouldn't know anything about what is or isn't PR.
Chris grins and asks, "What about the home team? Like anybody in particular?"
She considers for a second, and replies, "It's not a strong opinion or anything, but Armsmaster seems like he has things together. Tinkers are pretty interesting in general."
This has Chris grinning widely for some reason. "Yeah, tinkers are basically the best. Armsmaster seems a bit too self-serious, though. Like any of the Wards?" He says this last part with a forced casualness that has Taylor narrowing her eyes.
"Vista is my favorite, probably. Her powers are fascinating. The potential applications are insane. And she's so competent for being so young, too. I respect it."
Chris is nodding his head in agreement.
Taylor finds that she isn't minding the small talk as much as she thought she would. They had arrived back at the cafeteria table at some point, and continue to talk about capes, their powers, PHO, and other things. Taylor enjoys herself. Lunch ends faster than she thought it would, and Chris bids her a goodbye with a grin and a wave.
She still thinks that she doesn't have time for the distraction of making friends, but as the day passes, she cant help but notice that her steps feel lighter and her shoulders aren't quite as stooped.
/*-*/
After school, Taylor makes her way to the park that she had told Val she would meet her at. It's a bit unusual for Taylor to not head straight home, but it's not unprecedented, so her foster parents wont be too worried unless she stays out too long. They'll call her if they get worried.
And, oh my god, all of Taylor's hopes that Val was justified in her confidence that she could blend in go out the window. She's wearing a beanie and way too large heart-shaped sunglasses. What happened to the pair she had bought? She has to realize anyone walking past her would be staring.
The scene is doubly odd to Taylor because she had gotten used to the girl's otherworldly appearance, with her pristine white clothing and eye wrappings, but now she just looks like an eccentric civilian. She supposes the second is better, but still…
Something must show on her face because Val lets out a laugh.
"I've managed to assimilate into the local culture in less than a day. A new record."
Taylor is just staring at her like a fish. Val's grin is getting wider.
"Alright, chill, don't have an aneurysm or something. The beanie's just temporary until I get a wig. The sunglasses are awesome, I know, but I don't plan on wearing them in my day-to-day. I thought I could get a laugh."
Taylor's being messed with by her demonic summons. Amazing.
She knows that Val isn't a demon, probably, but the phrase makes the situation funny instead of headache inducing.
She sits down on the bench next to Val with a huff.
"It's not nice to mess with people."
"I get my kicks where I can find them."
Taylor resigns herself to her new life and pushes forward.
"Alright, how'd you do last night?"
Val pulls a gun out of the backpack next to her.
"Holy f- Fork." Taylor pointedly ignores what her mouth has just said. She had reached her hands over to cover up the weapon as soon as she had seen it, frantically looking around to see if anyone was watching. Taylor had chosen an isolated part of the park to meet and fortunately, nobody is around.
"Oh my god, put that away. Where did you even get a gun?" She remembers what she had assigned Val to do after saying it, but still. She was only supposed to take money.
"Uh, from the people I spent the night beating up? Did you forget about that? I also have a bunch of knives, wallets, and cell phones. Three more of the 'guns', too."
Oh my god.
"Those are illegal for you to even carry," Taylor realizes the absurdity of the statement when given to someone who spent the night beating up criminals to steal from them. She really needs to shift her mindset a bit.
"Never mind, just make sure you keep them hidden. Why do you even have them?"
"Assumed I could sell them for good money to a fence, once I've figured out the local underworld a bit better. You said you needed money, right?"
Taylor does, and it's a good idea, but the idea of selling guns to be filtered back to criminals on the streets feels not great. It's a concession she'll make, though, since she supposes it's a net zero.
Val says, "Oh, I need you to teach me how to use these cellphones. And if you have time, help me pick one out from a store."
She rummages through the backpack (filled with guns and knives, Taylor tries her hardest not to think) and pulls out a cellphone.
"I was messing around with them, but I think they're locked or something. That's what it looks like, at least. A lot of this stuff is pretty out-of-context to me, so it's hard to say for sure."
Val hands over the phone.
Taylor takes it and says that, yes, it's locked behind a passcode. Val nods at the confirmation.
"We can probably take you out to pick a phone right now. It's going to be way easier for you to learn things once you have access to the internet. Just remember that people act way differently online than in real life. I need to call Linda to let her know I won't be back for a bit."
So said, Taylor digs in her pockets and pulls out her phone to dial Linda's number. It rings four times before being answered.
The grandmotherly voice says, "Taylor, dear, is that you?"
"Hi Linda, yes, it's me. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to go shopping with a friend for a bit. I'll be back before 7, probably earlier."
Linda sounds too happy in her response, and Taylor wishes some people weren't so easy to read.
"Oh, that's wonderful! Have fun, sweetie. Make sure you don't do anything dangerous."
The last bit makes Taylor smile.
"Thanks. I won't. See you in a bit."
She hangs up. Val is staring at her with an interested expression.
"She seems nice."
Taylor sighs.
"Yeah. A bit too nice."
Val doesn't press.
Taylor says, "I've done a lot of thinking last night and today on what to do about getting you into the Wards. I'll tell you about it on the walk. There's a place not too far from here that we can pick up a prepaid phone with internet access at. How much money did you make?"
Val pulls out a wallet and flashes a stack of bills. Holy crap, way more than she thought she would make. She guesses that if you're carrying around a gun or knife, you probably weren't as likely to be concerned with how much money you were carrying in your wallet. Who's going to rob you, right? Not like the chances of getting burgled by a cape are high.
"Yeah, that'll definitely be enough. Also, you mentioned getting a wig. There's a beauty store a few buildings down from the cellphone place, we can get that done too. Do you know what hair color you want?"
"I'm thinking black, but I'll probably try a few different colors on."
Huh. Not the choice she'd have guessed. She wonders what influenced it.
Taylor stands up to start making her way to their destination. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, Val follows.