Capo 1.2
I was right, paperwork wasn't as bad as my dad said it was.
It was worse.
It took hours to complete and by the end my hand was cramped, my eyes were tearing up and if someone told me I had to sign one more document, I was going to light them on fire with my mind. Or I would try at least. I was pretty sure I didn't actually have pyrokinesis as a power.
Once we were finished signing things and having the legalese explained to us, Miss Militia offered to take me to power testing right away or introduce me to whichever were Wards on base at the time but it was getting late and it had been a long day. We made arrangements for all three of us to get picked up the next day (Mom and Dad wanted to watch the power testing) and then my parents and I went home.
We picked up some takeout chinese on the way home since none of us really felt like cooking. We ate in front of the TV and spent the rest of the night vegging out, watching bad action movies. I curled up with Mom on the couch and Dad sat in his favorite chair, laughing at all the one-liners that made Mom and me groan. All in all, it was just what I needed after an exhausting day.
Eventually I headed for bed. It was… odd. Like, my entire life had just gotten turned upside down. I had powers now. I don't think I'd ever be able to look at a locker quite the same way again. And yet there I was, brushing my teeth and putting on my PJs just like I did last night like nothing had happened. Weird.
Just as I was getting into bed there was a knock at my door and Mom poked her head in. "Hey Taylor. Mind if I talk to you a bit?"
I started to respond but was cut off by a jaw-cracking yawn, inciting my mom to giggle at my expense. When I had control over my mouth again I nodded at her. "Sure. What's up?"
Mom came in and sat down on the edge of my bed, while I sat up halfway under the covers. "First of all, I want you to know that I'm really proud of you. It takes a lot of courage to be hero and while I can't exactly say that I like the idea of my little owl going out and getting into fights, I'm happy you're the sort of person who'll stand up for others." I'll admit it, I preened at Mom's words, just a little. It felt good, getting praised like that. Of course, that wasn't why I was becoming a hero, but it did help.
Then Mom sighed and her face grew serious. "However, I'm not so sure joining the Protectorate was a good thing. It seemed like the best choice at the moment, still does even now, but that's what they do. It's their job to recruit parahumans and they are very good at it." She paused to run a hand through her hair, a nervous habit that we both shared. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that all though joining the Wards is the best option now, I have a feeling that you'll end up regretting it in the future."
"But Mom-"
"Just… Listen to me for a moment okay? You read all the same documents I did and I know how smart you are, so don't pretend you don't know how much you've given up to them. They own your image. Anything you build, they own that. And with how many rules they have determining your behaviour they might as well own you too. Everything we signed today? We basically gave them written permission to take advantage of you."
I frowned and bit my lip in frustration. I knew Mom had some issues with authority but this was a little ridiculous. "Mom, they're not going to take advantage of me. They're good people. All the rules-"
"Good people don't need rules, Taylor!" Mom shouted, shocking me to my core. She flinched when she realized what she had done. "Sorry! Sorry. I just… Promise me you'll keep your eyes open and that you'll come to me or your father as soon as you have any issues. I'm not saying that they're all bad people, Taylor, but in an organization as big as the PRT you're going to get just as many bad people as good, and you'll have no way to tell which is which until it's too late, so please, please tell me if you ever get into trouble."
I was nodding before Mom had even finished talking. She sounded just so desperate, I couldn't say no. "Of course Mom. I promise." I didn't think her concerns would be a problem but if it kept Mom's mind at ease then I'd do my best to keep my head on straight and not get dazzled by all the heroes I'd be meeting soon.
Before I knew what was happening, I was enveloped in a warm hug. "Thank you, Taylor. You have no idea what a relief it is to hear you say that." I wrapped my arms around Mom and hugged her back. When we separated Mom looked at lot more at ease then she did when she first walked in. "Goodnight, Little Owl. Want me to tuck you in?" I nodded my acquiescence and soon I was snuggled up tight under my blankets.
Yes, I still got tucked into bed although I was fifteen years old. No, I am not spoiled. That's slander.
Despite the stress of the day and the kinda worrying conversation with my mom, I quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep as was usual for me. I guess the day had just exhausted me outright. Before I knew it it was the next morning, with the sun shining through my window. Shrugging off my covers, I stretched like a cat before heading to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.
When that was done I headed downstairs ready to start breakfast, only to find Dad already cooking up some waffles and bacon. Unsurprisingly, Mom wasn't awake yet. She never was a morning person. When he caught sight of me he stopped humming some song I didn't recognize and gave me a smile. "Morning, Honey. How's my little girl today?"
I rolled my eyes. At six feet and one inch tall, I was the tallest girl in my school and I had height advantage on most of the boys too. I could hardly be called little anymore. But dads will be dads. I walked up to him and gave him a quick hug. "I'm fine, Dad. Better than fine, actually."
"You sure?" Dad asked. "I mean, with what happened yesterday…"
I rolled my eyes again. Excessive maybe, but I'm a teenager. Sue me. "What part? The part where I got super powers or the part where I got to meet Armsmaster or Miss Militia? Or maybe the part where I joined up with the Wards?" Toning down the sarcasm a bit, I looked at my dad and spoke more seriously. "Honestly, Dad, I'm fine. I was in that locker for less than a minute. I'm not about to develop a phobia of small spaces or dead animals or something."
"Are you sure? You remember what Emma went through. I don't want you to feel like you can't trust us with these things," Dad said seriously.
"I promise that if I start getting flashbacks or something you'll be the first to know," I answered and Dad turned back to the cooking, satisfied. "You want me to the set the table?"
"Would you? Thanks."
Five minutes later, our kitchen table had three places set and I was sitting at one of them, tapping my fingers against the wood while waiting (not so) patiently for Dad to finish cooking breakfast. Feeling bored, I decided to ask a question that had been bugging me. "Hey, Dad?"
"Yes, Taylor?"
I started tapping out a different, faster beat. "You know how Mom's sort of got problems with authority? Any idea what's up with that?"
Dad looked over his shoulder at me and raised an eyebrow. "What brought this up?"
I shrugged. "Well, Mom gave me this little speech about how I shouldn't trust the PRT when I went to bed yesterday, and she really didn't like Miss Militia or any of the PRT guys. Plus, I remember I had to argue with her for days just so she'd let me go to public school. Oh, and now that I think about it, I've never been to a hospital, at least not that I can remember. Those are the big hints I guess, plus some other stuff, and I guess I was just wondering what was up with that. Oh! And she always makes you pay the taxes."
"Well I guess you have a point. It really was a struggle to convince her that homeschooling wasn't the better option," Dad said with a nostalgic smile. Then he sighed and set aside the waffle batter he was working on. When he sat down across the table from me I knew that this was going to be a serious conversation. Yay. "I'm sorry to say that I don't really know why she's so distrustful of the government. The truth is that I don't really know much about your mother from before I met her. "
"Oh c'mon, you've got to know something, right?" I asked with disbelief.
Now it was Dad's turn to shrug. "Not really. She never talked about her past and I didn't see a reason to ask." Dad paused for a second, tilting his head back and just sort of stared at nothing. "I think she might have had a rough past. The only thing I ever heard her mention was that her father was, and I quote, 'a complete and utter bastard'."
"And you didn't ask her… anything?" I was still skeptical.
"Nope." Dad looked back down from the ceiling to face me again. "Whatever's in your mother's past, she clearly doesn't want to talk about it. She's moved on and I'm happy she's done so. I didn't want to go digging up old hurt if it didn't matter," Dad finished and gave me a smile. "Now, anything else you wanted?"
"Yeah," I answered with a smile of my own, "food."
Extra special thanks to Cailin for betaing even when she wasn't feeling well. She gets a plate stacked high with homemade waffles as her reward. :)
