March 1st, 2011 - Tuesday
Late Afternoon
"Two on one? Really?"
Taylor glared at Jennifer from across the training mat. The blonde wasn't even slightly bothered by it as she leaned back against the wall. She was still in her street clothes.
"Sure. People won't give you one-on-one fights all the time, especially when the other side has a numbers advantage. Oh, and before you decide to hit one of your teammates with the other, remember one of them will have to drive you home," Jennifer replied with a smirk.
"That was one time!"
"And the video was at 100,000 views the last time I checked. You're not living that one down, Taylor," Lim pointed out.
"Come on, no ganging up on the poor girl. Save that for the mat!" Cameron cut in. Lim rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, I'm going with Martin to check out a new recruit. Not bringing him here just yet, though. Haven't been able to dig anything up on him so he's probably a fresh trigger, but I'd rather verify that first," Jennifer explained. Taylor remembered the woman's concerns about Coil trying to sneak a spy in.
"Martin's not much of a people person. Picking up a second Tinker already, are we?" Cameron asked curiously.
"Or a third one, depending on your definitions. I'm hoping he can figure out how long the boy had his powers after they go crazy on the worskhop a couple of times. Wrangling two Tinkers will be much more entertaining than one," Jennifer chuckled, before grabbing her car keys and walking out with a cheerful wave.
The three decided to go through a no-powers routine first for warmup. After thirty minutes they'd decided there was no way yet Taylor could win such a fight against opponents that had any idea what they're doing without outing herself. After a break to let her non-Brute teammates catch their breaths, they prepared for the next round, where Taylor's goal was to try and pin at least one of the two down without getting jabbed by the prop stun guns the two had brought out from somewhere. The use of real ones was vetoed in case Taylor ended up twitching the wrong way with her hands already on one of them.
The three took up positions at the corners of the mat, Lim to Taylor's left, Cameron to the right. Taylor tried to decide who to target as she tried to work herself up with memories of Winslow. Cameron was easier to pin down, but Lim was more mobile and would be right at her back if she got distracted.
She feinted a lunge towards Cameron, and the woman stepped back, catching a finger Lim threw her way with her spare hand and putting it behind her back. Taylor noted she fumbled it a bit, and advanced at a slower pace, watching Lim trying to circle around her back, but after a few more steps he went out of sight.
One. Two...
She ducked right before the "three", and Lim's weapon went over her head. Taylor slammed into him, then charged Cameron while he was picking himself up off the ground. She dodged around Cameron's swing and grabbed her weapon arm, twisting it and tripping the woman. Cameron hit the mat, and Taylor started counting.
"One."
Lim reappeared from the finger that Cameron had dropped and leapt at her. She managed to grab him by the wrist.
"Two."
The hand split off, and Lim caught it with his other one and jabbed her forearm with the stun gun held in it before she could finish the "Three." Taylor released her grip on Cameron's hand, and the two helped her up.
"Can't pin you down, can I?" she addressed Lim.
"And you're the Brute in close quarters combat. Powers aren't fair, are they?" he answered.
"At least you two can use yours without needing space," Cameron complained.
They went a few more rounds before calling it a day. Taylor didn't quite manage to win any round, though she almost managed to get Lim once. Cameron decided to pin what she'd called "chauffeur duty" on Lim, who turned out not to know where Taylor's flat was. They managed to find it in the end, though.
~o~o~o~
March 4th, 2011 - Friday
Late Afternoon
The bigwigs decided to cement their hold on NY. We're on our own for a few weeks, at least.
Taylor put her phone back in her pocket. She supposed it was good news, in a way. The Elite coming down on Brockton Bay would be the death of the old gangs, and from what she'd found while researching the people she worked with, they'd certainly be an improvement... but Taylor doubted either the ABB or the Empire would go down easily. No, it would be a war.
She continued down Lord's Market. It was late enough that most people from Winslow would already be leaving, so she didn't particularly worry about running into someone who knew her. She skipped past a few higher-end clothing stores the kind of which she'd expect see Emma shopping at, and went into one of the cheaper ones. After all, even if she didn't go through clothes nearly as quickly now that she had a bullet-resistant costume, she had left Winslow with only what she wore on her back. Getting more than a couple spares would be nice. Even if she wasn't going to follow Cameron's fashion advice, thank you very much. Not looking like you're trying to hide? Taylor could see the logic in that. But the woman didn't even consider stopping there. Let's hope she forgets her promise to drag me out shopping.
After some debating, she picked out a few pairs of jeans, several shirts and a jacket. The jacket was quite a find - navy blue on the outside, forest green on the inside, and apart from the color looked the same either way. Taylor was fairly certain that she could switch sides in seconds with some practice without even having to stop walking. The clothes were more expensive than what she'd gone for in high school, but not by much.
She paused for a moment when she noticed the past tense she'd thought in. Even if she knew she wasn't coming back to Winslow ever again - not that she'd have wanted to if she could - she'd been concerned enough with the day-to-day that the fact it also meant her plan to survive Winslow and move on to college was as good as over. Mom would be so disappointed. At least she'd probably be more mad at Emma - the bitch was almost as much a daughter to her as she was a sister to me.
The irony in Fugly Bob's coming within sight moments after she'd thought about being a high school dropout wasn't lost on Taylor. I guess at least I'm flipping Nazis, not burgers. Her chuckle caused one of the passers-by to give her the stink-eye.
Taylor figured that was as good a place as any to get dinner. As she started paying attention to what's around her instead of her own thoughts, she noticed that one of the people sitting at a table was in about as foul a mood as Sophia had been when staking out her home. There were four people there, two girls and two guys. The angry girl was a freckled brunette that looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was so obviously Taylor could see it even though she was still a good forty feet away, the tan, dark-haired boy next to her seemed painfully aware of it, the handsome blond guy opposite the two had a mostly neutral expression, and the blonde next to him... Taylor shook her head. She felt something, as if moving air brushed past her very brain. When the sensation receded, she opened her eyes again. She recognized the blonde now. Victoria Dallon, better known as Glory Girl, or "Collateral Damage Barbie" when out of earshot. That would mean the other girl was Panacea. Guess I'll have to eat elsewhere, Taylor thought. But before she turned to leave, she noticed Glory Girl's boyfriend staring at her.
Don't panic. That will attract attention. Taylor let her eyes wander away from the guy, and she walked away, trying not to look like she was in a hurry - Winslow taught her far more about avoiding notice than it did the official curriculum. She passed a few stores and ducked into an alleyway, looking back to see that the guy had gotten up and started following, though the other three seemed to be back to attempting conversation. She quickly switched into her new jacket once she confirmed the alleyway was empty. When she came out the other end, she turned the opposite way, hoping that would trick him.
Considering she nearly walked into him after turning a corner, it quite clearly didn't.
"Hey, wait up. I just want to talk."
"I don't. I don't even know who you are," Taylor half-lied. She could probably recall his name if she picked her brain hard enough, between being Glory Girl's boyfriend and from a rich family he showed up in the media every now and then.
"I'm Dean. Just hear me out, okay?"
"While the PRT gets here, you mean? No." She started backing away.
"No! Look, w- they wouldn't try to arrest you here even if I'd called them. Too many civilians to start a fight like that," Dean said almost pleadingly. He raised his hands to his sides in a 'keep calm' motion, but didn't try to come closer.
Taylor eyed him warily. She could buy that... or at least, that the PRT wouldn't charge in blindly.
"Talk fast, then. What are you really trying to pull, if it's not setting me up for the PRT?"
"I just wanted to tell you you're not in as much trouble as you think. The PRT found out about... well, what's been happening at Winslow." At least he seems to be bothered by that.
Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Really? And you know about that... how, exactly?"
"Vicky's friends with the Wards, and they talk. And her mom's a lawyer. January was when you got your powers, right?" The question was uncertain, as if he wasn't sure whether he was crossing a line with it.
"...Yes. Why does it matter?"
"There's laws for that. You can look them up. If you turned yourself in, I'm sure you'd get off with probation, if that. You haven't gone too far yet. Taylor."
If only you knew.
"I'm not going to turn myself in on something a stranger heard from the gossip chain, especially when they branded me a villain immediately while everyone responsible for what happened is still free." Besides Madison and Sophia, Taylor mentally amended. "Besides, why do they care? They just want my powers on their side, don't they?"
"And the Elite don't?"
"They don't pretend otherwise. If I'd gotten shoved in that locker instead of getting powers, they wouldn't have cared, and the PRT wouldn't have cared either, pretending to be heroes until someone needed them to be." Taylor managed not to shout, but the tone of her voice started drawing attention. She took a deep breath. "They had their chance. I made my choice." She turned to leave.
"Taylor, wai-"
She tuned him out and picked up the pace, careful not to look faster than normal despite her smoldering anger. He didn't follow.
Taylor fumed all the way back to her flat, which was longer than usual to make sure nobody was following her. As she sank into her chair, she remembered the laws Dean mentioned. She booted up the laptop and started searching. From what she could decipher from the legalese, the laws were real - but she strongly suspected that whether they applied depended more on the lawyers than the situation. She fired off a message to Jennifer, asking if she knew about these. Twenty minutes later, she got an answer.
They're real, if the PRT wants them to be. They're pretty good at clearing charges related to trigger events if you play ball - if you don't, you end up like Hellhound. Was that you arguing with Glory Girl's boyfriend?
Taylor almost dropped the phone.
How'd you know?
The reply was faster this time.
PHO. Cameron sent me a link. If it's any consolation, the pictures are bad enough even we couldn't tell it was you for sure.
Taylor groaned. At least it didn't look like Jennifer was upset about that. She put down her phone and started working on dinner.