In the days, weeks, and eventually... months after I escaped the locker, things had returned to normal with my bullies going back to what they did that made them my... well, bullies.

Certainly, I had cause to take revenge on them, to direct my anger at them... but along the way, I found that I didn't care. That I had something more.

A realization when I had found my powers. It was a simple thing, in truth.

Everything they did, every indignity, every degrading action that they performed on me, to me... it didn't matter.

Yes, they were painful in the here and now.

But in the long run...

In the grand scheme of things...

They didn't matter. Nothing they did mattered. Not their words. Not their physical malice.

Nothing.

I could see it all.

We were so small, each and everyone of us, focused in the here and now. Beneath an uncaring sky where the stars danced without a care for us, I had seen the truth.

Countless specks of dust on this world as it moved without purpose within an empty void.

It would take connecting to others, true communication, to become something more. To join and become more than just motes of dust. In such a thing, fear and anger held no place. Emotions that placed one above others, pitted one against others, those held no place in such a thing.

I would erect a pillar that would rise above it all.

It would guide everyone.

It would support everything.

I would be that pillar.

I could become a hero or perhaps a villain... but such people would never be a pillar of society. At best, they were guardians. At worse, a plague. And thus, those paths were discarded without a thought.

While being a cape was to be synonymous with the notion of power, and yet... it wasn't something that was held to be good. Capes shone in the light of day, they burned in the darkness of night.

More, they died as they lived.

Solo heroes and villains seldom lasted longer than six months if they didn't hold some sort of overwhelming advantage that could not be easily countered. One example was Lung, he was the backbone of the Azn Bad Boyz. Even if one removed every single ganger, and his lieutenant, Lung was still a power that people watched out for.

I could have been like him. I could have developed that path. But that was a lonely path that would only eventually lead to my death.

Instead, I would grasp in my hands the tools that brought true power, authority and legality. The twin scepters of politics, as it were.

Which was why I examined potential paths to that end. While my grades had languished, I wasn't stupid nor was I a bad student. Instead of studying, I choose to leave school, to graduate school by going for a GED.

The material I needed to study wasn't that difficult. Passing with flying colors meant that I could proceed to the next step. Dad didn't like the notion of me applying for the PRT, with the claim that I was looking for something beyond a rank and file position. That I would be an investment for them, that I could and would go to college or university if they were willing to fund a scholarship for me.

All that I required in return was an employment in the Parahuman Response Team. A long term employment, much like a career officer in the army, air force, navy.

True, I wasn't an army brat, nor was I a graduate of a military academy, but my determination showed, as did the results of my GED. It also helped that I talked my way successfully in a chain of interviews without any evidence of actual parahuman power.

Which led me to where I was, two years after I had seen the bigger picture... seated at a desk and smiling at Sophia Hess as she entered the room.

Life truly was good.

"Miss Hess, I will admit that I never expected to see you again in such a circumstance." My words were, one might term, friendly and warm. As was my smile. "Where I would hold such power over you and your advancement."

Her glare intensified. "Hebert."

"Ah, you do remember me," my response was lazy and indolent as I learned into the back of my chair before gesturing at the chair on the other side of the desk. "But please sit, sit. There's no need to stand at attention."

With a not quite growl, she sat as directed. I had to admit that she had dressed nicely for the interview. Even going so far as to go business casual with a teal power dress.

"Now then, as you're aware... your probation is over as is your membership of the wards," my smile grew as I continued to speak. "And you're doing an official interview to get a grown up job to hide your status as a Protectorate Cape. As the lowest one on the totem pole, I got handed the short straw for this interview."

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

"Nope. Not in the slightest. I'm going to enjoy every second of this." I shook my head. "And just so you know, they want you to pass this interview. But if you screw it up, I'm not obligated to let you in. Instead, you get to come back again."

"And again." I could see a twitch in her eyelids as I repeated two words. "And again. Until you pass the interview."

Ah... her hatred was delicious and delightful. I couldn't be faulted for this. After all, Sophia Hess as Shadow Stalker had been a Ward on probation, and she was what some might call a trouble maker. A teenager with an attitude.

And it was official in my files, and hers, that we had a history. So, nothing that was said thus far would be a surprise for anyone going over the video recording.

I tapped together the resume that I had been handed before the start of the interview. "So, miss Hess... in your own words, why do you want to work for the PRT."

I could see the shiver of rage at my question as she struggled to keep her emotions in.

It was worth it. Oh certainly, my plan towards getting a PRT Director position meant that I had to be careful, that it would take time to achieve and to always keep my abilities in check... but it didn't mean I couldn't enjoy myself.

Especially at the expense of one of my bullies in high school. I will admit that I had been surprised and horrified at the discovery of Hess as a ward when I had joined the PRT and did my tour of the ward section in the PRT building.

But I had gotten over it.

And now, the universe itself was repaying Taylor rose Hebert, personal assistant of Deputy Director Seneca, the new Deputy Director of the PRT Brockton Bay.

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Staves can be Pillars
Goblin Queen Out-take

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Writer's Notes: I've been busy with RL lately. Got a new job working 9 to 5 weekdays with almost 2 hours travel time to and from work... The Bii is a tired tanuki, but did finish a little something for you lot.