Hope Through Overwhelming Firepower 2.1

So, My FFN viewers might be confused a bit here. Fact is, the previous chapter advanced Taylor's problems way ahead of what my plot planned for. So it's going to be reworked into a new chapter later on.

Taylor was still kind of giddy from the nights activities.

She had fought Lung alongside Armsmaster, and played an integral part in Lung's takedown. The director of the PRT had personally talked with her to try and get her in the wards. She still had no intentions of actually joining them, but still.

Taylor was on cloud nine, there was nothing that could possibly kill her mood!

A slight beep signaled her watch going from 3:07AM to 3:08AM

"...Oh shit, what am I gonna tell dad."

The inevitable conversation with her dad was exactly as awkward as she expected it to be, she had fumbled out an excuse about needing to go out for walk, and how the hole in her jacket was from tripping and getting it caught on a branch. Her dad had accepted it with the slightest pushing as he had everything from her since mom's death.

Despite how useful it turned out to be sometimes, her Dad's incessant passiveness towards her was depressing. Being indicative of how fucked up her family situation was anymore.

Taylor sighed, pushing the thoughts away as she left school.

"Emma's a bitch, school sucked, water wet, fire burn. News at eleven." Taylor thought with dark humor.

Taylor perked up as she noticed it was almost time to go meet the Wards. At this point, her brief moments as a superhero were almost the only bright moments left in her life.

Taylor rushed home to put on her "costume".

Seriously, she needed to get something better then a scarf and goggles at some point.

Taylor walked into the designated meeting place, a small park near the bay and a bit to the north east of Arcadia, with some trepidation.

It was all well and good to say to herself she was meeting the Wards, but to actually go through with it? They were actual heroes, sponsored by the government. What was she, but some little independent hero. Logically, she knew she was a "big deal" so to speak, she had helped Armsmaster take down Lung after all. But Taylor still couldn't help but imagine a bunch of bored teenagers, only out here because they had been ordered to, continuously deriding her. It would be high-school all over again.

"I don't know of this was a good idea, what am I even doing here?" Taylor was beginning to lose her nerve "I have no intentions of joining up with the Wards."

But before Taylor could completely talk herself into leaving, a voice rang out.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, buster."

Taylor spun around, and saw the speaker.

A teen male, clothed in a white bodysuit covered in clocks po^&&* lo*^$$&$^&$ion, stared down at her imperiously from a nearby hill... Before a dark clothed female figure came up behind him and pushed him over.

"Hey! What was that for" The white figure called out.

"Seriously? That was the best you could do? A joke involving a form of address no one really uses anymore, and even when they did use it, it was attached to males." The female berated.

She sighed, "Honestly, I expected better of you."

"They sprung this on me at the last minute, I didn't have time to work on anything good." The male protested. "My awesome sense of humor doesn't spring forth from nothingness, ya know?"

The female seemed surprised. "Really?" She spoke as the white clothed male picked himself up and began to dust off his costume, "I thought we were all told last night, why didn't you..." The female appeared to consider something, "On second thought, it makes perfect sense."

"Hey!"

It suddenly occurred to Taylor that she should have actually looked up who was in the wards at some point. At least so she could stop mentally identifying the two here as "white figure" and "female figure".

Ignoring the protests of the white figure, the dark one turned towards and Taylor and began to speak. "Yo, you must be the famous Buster. I'm Shadow Stalker, and" She turned back towards the white figure, "This idiot here is Clockblocker."

The white figure-Clockblocker continued protesting, only to be ignored by Shadow Stalker.

Sighing, Clockblocker muttered out, "Love you too Shadow."

Perking up a bit, Clockblocker spoke out, "Well, as my shadowy cohort so rudely revealed," A glare towards Shadow Stalker, "I am indeed Clockblocker." A pause, "So... why Buster, was it your life's goal to become a dummy or something?" He said, appearing to wait for an answer.

Still reeling from the roller coaster of events that had happened, Taylor could only blink stupidly in response.

Deflating from her lack of response, Clockblocker pouted. "Does no one watch the Mythbusters?"

"No one cares about your stupid Earth Aleph show." Derided Shadow Stalker. As she finished, I finally got a chance to get a good look at her.

Her costume was in a word, dark. Black pants, black boots, a black chestplate and a black cloak &**^r &*^^&fer.

"Not the most heroic outfit I've ever seen." Taylor thought dryly.

Shadow Stalker looked closely at her, "What's up with your eyes? They just changed right there."

"Again?" Taylor internally sighed, "I don't know, it's something that keeps on happening, you're not the first to notice. But honestly? It worries me a bit."

"Hmm," Shadow Stalker frowned, "I'm no expert on parahuman powers, but it's probably nothing worth worrying about. I can't think of many cases where a power has harmed it's holder, and the few exceptions were all cases where using the power would be more harmful."

"It's not me I'm worried about." Taylor kept this thought to herself. "Alright then... Are there only two Wards in Brockton Bay though?"

Clockblocker, evidently tired of being ignored, interjected before Shadow Stalker could respond. "Not at all!" He chirped. "The others are coming, but had brief obligations before coming here. We were the only ones with so little to do we could get here early."

Sure enough, new people arrieved shortly after.

A kid in red and gold armor, a tanned skinned almost adult in red and silver armor, and a little girl in a green skirt and breastplate.

The guy in red and silver po&*#&%& d&^*&%^&ty walked up to me and said, "Hello there, You're Buster I take it?" I nodded, "Good, good. I'm Aegis, the leader of the local ward team. A pleasure to meet you." He came across as unfailingly polite and professional, and had the presence of one used to the mantle leadership.

Honestly, I was struggling to believe he was a teenager.

The kid next to him powe^&*))*$#ogy introduced himself, "Ah, I'm Kid Win. Nice to meet you." Kid... Win? I assumed that the name was temporary. "But still, really?".

Finally, the little girl *^*er spat&^*%&%ng piped up with enthusiasm. "And I'm Vista!" Her chest puffed out in pride. "She seems to think much of herself, it might be warranted though." Either that or she was just a precocious preteen. Which could very well be a tautology now that she came to think about it.

"Where's Gallant?" Questioned Clockblocker.

"He'll show up later." Responded Aegis. "He and Glory are having another..."

"Fight?" Finished Clockblocker.

"...Yeah." Aegis confirmed.

"So the two G's are fighting again, what else is new?" Shadow Stalker snarked.

"Hey! It's not Gallant's fault Glory Girl is so finicky." Vista replied, cheeks puffed out in anger.

Shadow Stalker just snorted in response.

Taylor internally sighed, this had been roughly what she was expecting. Oh sure, they appeared to be fairly nice people, but she wasn't apart of "their" group. So she was left ostracized and out of their conversations.

Aegis rapidly took control of the conversation, "While I'm sure the antics of Gallant and Glory Girl are of great interest, that's not why were here."

"Why are we here anyway." Shadow Stalker spoke up in reply. "She managed to basically solo Lung, which is badass and awesome and all, but apparently doesn't want to join the wards for whatever reason. Are we here as a PR stunt than? Convince her to join the Wards?"

Shadow Stalker voiced the suspicions Taylor was having herself, she wasn't exactly expecting anyone to actually voice them though. "She has a rather blunt personality, I take it."

Aegis frowned, "The Director told us to show up and meet her, talk to her and get to know her. If she's going to be an independent hero, we should have a good working relationship."

"...So totally a PR stunt than." Stated Shadow Stalker. "Right, I'm off. Good job on Lung, keep on blowing up the villains of Brockton Bay for me." She issued a last sort of waving fist pump on the last phrase, before bounding off in some sort of shadow form.

"...Very blunt." Concluded Taylor.

"Shadow Stalker wait- ugh, the Director is not going to be happy." Aegis ended with a mutter.

Shadow Stalker's leaving seemed to signal the arrival of another person.

Walking up to her, he began to talk, "Ah, if it isn't our local dragon slayer. How do you do, I, am-"

"Gallant, I take it." Taylor interrupted.

He deflated like a balloon. "How did you know?" He responded, slightly crestfallen.

"Well, your teammates mentioned your name and..." Taylor looked at him, &*(&^$$&^%ional ma*^^^* he wore a silver and gunmetal outfit that, frankly, made him look like he should have been riding into the park on a horse. "...Somehow I managed to put two and two together."

Somewhere in the background, Clockblocker snickered.

"Well, you'd be correct, and, uh." His eyes widened, apparently discovering something. "And, uh, yeah, and stuff, yeah." And apparently spontaneously became more of a social idiot than she was.

"Woah, Gallant, what happened to you." Clockblocker questioned. "You're usually so smooth."

"Shut up." He petulantly responded.

"Ah well, even the great Gallant has his off moments now me, that would never happen too." He stated, moving uncomfortably close, and throwing an arm over her shoulder. "What's he doing?"

"Clockblocker." Aegis warned. "Don't you dare-"

Suddenly, Clockblocker screamed out in pain, falling to the ground next to her and holding his head.

"Clockblocker!" Aegis, Kid Win, Vista, and Gallant yelled out. Rushing over to his side.

Vista then moved towards her and poked her hard in the stomach, "What did you do to him?"

"I-I didn't do anything!"

"Liar!"

"Guys, wait up. I don't think it was her fault." Clockblocker spoke up with a groan. "I don't think she meant to do it, it was only after I attempted to freeze her that this happened." Rubbing his temples, Clockblocker finished with. "God, it feels like I just got hit with every migraine to ever migraine."

"A power nullifier focused on their self? That would explain..." Gallant trailed off.

Sighing, Aegis turned towards her. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to cut this short, Clockblocker needs to have this looked at." Rummaging around in a pack attached to his armor, he pulled out a device. "This is a standard PRT issued cellphone. Absolute state of the art. The Director wanted you to have this so we could keep in touch." Handing it off to her, Aegis took Clockblocker under the arms, before flying off somewhere. A worried Gallant following behind.

Kid Win gave her a final good bye before leaving as well.

Taylor Looked down at the device in her hand.

A... Cellphone?