Chapter 3-Interlude

Miss Militia considered herself a good judge of character. Even in a world with Thinkers, Changers, and Case 53s, she could generally figure out what drove people. Most of the time, anyways. There were always exceptions and there have been plenty of cases where she's been fooled or mistaken, but she liked to think that those were in the minority.

Teenagers were especially easy to read. Teenage capes even more so. Between hormones, powers, and emotional issues, they were like an open book to someone like herself. Armsmaster had recognized this and thus the Brockton Bay Wards had become Miss Militia's pet project, of a sort. Most people would have resented Armsmaster for all but shoving a burden like this down their throat, but Miss Militia knew better. Anyone who's spent time around the man knew that it was for the best. Armsmaster was an excellent Tinker, an incredible fighter, and a great tactician, even without his combat prediction software, but his people skills were…somewhat lacking. The last thing anyone needs is more dysfunctional capes in Brockton Bay. At least the man was self-aware enough to entrust the Wards to someone else. Which made recent events all the more painful.

Sophia Hess. She'd been a problem child from the start. Even then, Miss Militia had never expected this: a two year long campaign of what could only be described as terror, gone completely unnoticed because a school cared more about funding and status than they did about the safety of their own students. That alone had left Miss Militia fuming. Worse still is that both the Protectorate and the PRT were responsible, no matter what Director Piggot might say, and they'd swept it all under the rug. Sophia had been transferred away (where to, Miss Militia didn't care, so long as the girl never came back), calls had been made, and as far as the world was concerned, none of it had ever happened.

All because Taylor Hebert wanted to be a hero so badly that she didn't dare make an issue out of it.

Why? Most people wouldn't be able to forgive two years of torture that easily. Miss Militia would have understood if the girl had stormed out of the building after the revelation and refused to every use her power again. Hell, Taylor had every right to turn to villainy, seeing how the system had failed her again and again, and yet she didn't. Even if the girl's desire to be a hero was really that strong, a fifteen year-old shouldn't have the emotional maturity needed to just let it all go at the drop of a hat, let alone happily chat with the other Wards, Sophia's former teammates, as if nothing has happened. Teenagers weren't supposed to be that rational. Was it desperation? Did she needed change so badly that she was willing to let it go if it meant having friends again? If that were the case, what did that say about the Protectorate?

The girl could have destroyed them, Miss Militia reflected as she was reading through the reports. It took PRT investigators an hour to figure out the full extent of the bullying campaign. If the Heberts had decided to go to the police after the locker incident, the ensuing scandal could easily have destroyed not just her career, but that of Director Piggot and Armsmaster as well. Ward bullies girl for two years and no one does anything about it? The media would be over it like a pack of starving vultures. Heads would have rolled.

But none of that happened, because little Taylor Hebert wanted to be a hero.

Should she be thankful that Taylor decided to play nice or smack the girl for letting the Protectorate and the PRT get away with a slap on the wrist? At any rate, it doesn't matter. Not anymore. Taylor Hebert is officially a Ward now and no one wants to open old wounds. Brockton Bay has a new hero, one who's a lot more powerful and a lot more likable than Shadow Stalker ever was, if Taylor's interactions with the other Wards thus far were anything to go by. Miss Militia should be happy that things turned out as well as they did.

And yet…Miss Militia couldn't shake this horrible feeling in her gut. Maybe it was Taylor's paranoia? Maybe it was the fact that the girl's too smart for her own good? Or it could be something else entirely…

The heroine recalled the security cam footage of earlier in the day. What she saw during that training exercise was worrying. One part that kept coming back to her was a short, three-second segment showing the girl in costume reloading a containment foam launcher. It might seem like an odd thing to focus on, but Miss Militia knew guns better than anyone and the containment foam launcher was no different. There was a sort of knack to using that thing, thanks to its awkward shape and the size of the foam canisters. One that PRT officers often complained about until they figured out the trick to reloading them. Taylor, though, she didn't have any problems with it whatsoever. In one smooth motion, the girl opened the rifle, disposed of the empty canister, slid a fresh one in, and slammed the whole thing shut in the span of two seconds. She even jerked her arm in such a way that the used canister landed away from her feet.

That was not a stroke of luck. Every movement had been deliberate. None of the weapon's quirks had bothered Taylor in any way. She handled the weapon like someone who'd been doing this for years. Did she have some sort of instinctive understanding of firearms as part of her power? If she did, what other powers might she have? Was she even consciously aware of any of them?

What bothered Miss Militia the most, however, was the total disconnect between the shy, socially awkward teenager and the warrior in the video. If she hadn't seen it for herself…

"Hannah?"

Who was that? Oh, it's Armsmaster. Who else could it have been? There aren't many people that know her civilian name.

"Colin. It's considered polite to knock."

Armsmaster simply continued. "I want your opinion on our newest Ward."

Miss Militia rubbed her forehead. Of course, he did. Armsmaster didn't do social calls. That would be a waste of his time, after all. "She's a great asset to the team. Smart, powerful, genuinely wants to be a hero. We're lucky to have her."

"That we are. It's a pity she cost us Shadow Stalker, though."

This, Miss Militia thought. This is the reason you have no friends. "If her phone records are any indication, Sophia Hess is a bully and a thug. We're lucky that she hadn't done something we can't sweep under the rug."

"True, but she was useful. Losing her is a setback. It was worth it, though. I think that with some training, Banshee will be a lot more effective without being as much of a headache. It's why I've told the PR department to hurry the paperwork along. I'm hoping that she can start her official duties sometime next week. E88 will be moving out soon and we'll need all the help we can get."

"What?" Miss Militia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Official duties for someone like Armsmaster was usually more than just a daylight patrol of the Boardwalk. "Colin, that's far too soon. There's still too much we don't know about her yet."

He huffed in annoyance. "Like what, exactly? Her powers are diverse, but they're reasonably straightforward."

"It's not her powers, it's her personality." Miss Militia brought some of the video footage from the training exercise. "Look at her. Look at the way she moves. No hesitation. Not a step out of place."

Armsmaster narrowed his eyes. "Like Shadow Stalker."

"Shadow Stalker was more like a predatory animal. A cat, playing with her food. Banshee is more…professional. Collected. Almost mechanical."

"Like me."

Not the conclusion she was hoping he'd reach, but correct nonetheless. "She seems to have instincts that normally would have taken years of training to develop. She has an innate understanding of the containment foam launcher, even though she's never handled one herself and I'm willing to bet that it extends to mundane weapons as well. She walks and acts like a trained commando, but there's nothing in her records that suggests how she learned to act that way: no military background in her family or relevant extracurricular activities. Believe me, I checked."

"So Banshee is naturally at home on the battlefield." Armsmaster said, nodding. "That's good. It'll keep her safe in the days to come."

"Colin…"

"I'm sorry, Hannah, but I fail to see a problem. She took down Lung on her first outing and nearly twenty trained PRT officers today. It's obvious she capable, even without actual combat training. The girl will be fine."

"Colin, no. You're going to push her to hard. Remember what you did to Kid Win?"

Armsmaster looked thoughtfully. For a moment it almost looked like he regretted something. "Kid Win fell short of my expectations."

"Of course he did! You were expecting him to be as skilled as you are. What do you think was going to happen? A teenager rivaling one of the best Tinkers in the world?"

"I needed to find his limits."

"And in doing so, you nearly destroyed that poor boy. He still thinks he's a disappointment because you kept pushing him too hard! I won't let you burn out another Ward because you can't lower your expectations to a reasonable level." The girl needed to be protected. Miss Militia had no doubt that she'd do anything Armsmaster would ask of her, heedless of the consequences. He was the head of the local Protectorate. You just don't say no to a man like that.

"Considering Banshee's performance thus far, I'm sure she'll be able to meet them."

"And if she doesn't and ends up a wreck? Or worse, what if she does? Who knows what she'll become. Taylor's damaged, Colin, by one of our own, in case you've forgotten. She's fragile and I won't let you push her over the edge."

Armsmaster grabbed a seat and sat down in front of her. A typical 'bring myself down to your level' maneuver. Miss Militia would have laughed at how forced it looked, if the situation hadn't been so serious. "Hannah, you're my second-in-command. You see many of the same files I see. You know that Brockton Bay is falling apart. You also know that we're badly outnumbered. Now, with Lung on his way to the Birdcage, there's going to be a shift in the status quo. Bakuda has vanished into thin air and Oni Lee won't be able to hold the ABB together for long on his own, not against Empire 88. However, when Kaiser tries to take over ABB's territory, he'll be forced to overextend. That's when we need to hit him. If we don't, E88 will be the only dominant gang left in town. I can't allow that to happen, not with someone like Kaiser in charge."

"You can't kick E88 out in one go."

"I know, but I can make them bleed. Force them on the defensive. Keep the Empire from expanding. Kaiser's people will lose faith in him if he can't capitalize on Lung's capture and when that happens…" Armsmaster let out a whistle. "…the Empire will fall apart."

"You don't need the Wards for that. You certainly don't need a complete rookie like Taylor."

"Yes, I do." Armsmaster explained. "How many capes does the Protectorate have in this city? You, me, Velocity, Dauntless, Assault, Battery, and Triumph. That's seven. Add New Wave and the independent heroes, and maybe we'll hit twenty. Empire 88 alone has at least thirty capes at their disposal and can probably hire a few independent villains if they have to. We're badly outnumbered, not to mention that E88 is almost as well trained and equipped as we are. We need the Wards and if Banshee's as powerful as I think she is, we need to put her in the thick of it as soon as possible."

Miss Militia gritted her teeth. She wanted to get rid of those neo-Nazi bastards as much as anyone, but she knew Armsmaster too. He wasn't doing this just because it was the right thing to do. Taking down one of the oldest and strongest parahuman gangs in the United States would be a massive boost to his career and Armsmaster was just enough of a glory hound to use the Wards to fulfill his ambitions. Not that she'd say it out loud. In spite of his ego, Armsmaster was still her superior in more ways than one and ultimately a force of good in the city. Well, most of the time.

Still, a line had to be drawn somewhere. "No."

"Hannah…"

"You made the Wards my responsibility because you know you're crap with teenagers. That's fine. I accept that. But if we're doing this, I expect you to listen to my advice." Armsmaster stayed quiet. She knew she was finally getting through to him. "Now, there's a good chance that Taylor's power is influencing her mind in some way. If that's the case, we need to know that her instincts won't get the better of her and cause her to go on a killing spree."

"You have no reason to suspect…"

"Yes, I do." Miss Militia interrupted. "People snap, Colin. It happens, and it often takes a lot less than what Taylor's been through. So, here's what we're going to do: you can take the other Wards to deal with E88, but Banshee stays under my command until I'm sure she can handle working with you."

Armsmaster frowned. "Last time I checked, you weren't my superior."

"What do you think is going to happen if someone like Banshee loses it? Would you risk it?" The frown stayed, but Miss Militia could tell that her superior was at least considering it. "Let me handle this."

He nodded and said: "You have two weeks. Kaiser tends to be cautious which will buy us a little time. After that…if things are going to turn out the way I think they are, we'll need her. Make sure she's ready."

"Of course, Armsmaster."

Two weeks to fix a traumatized girl/killer commando. Better than nothing.