Chapter 4-8

I can do this, they're just kids.

God, I've been repeating that line so often I should probably start to fear for my sanity. Not that I could, anyway. Having to deal with children was much more terrifying to me than the thought of going mad.

Why did I even think this Ward gig was a good idea? I knew I'd have to do these publicity things sooner or later. If I'd stayed independent, I wouldn't have to worry about it. God, how did I get myself…

"Hey, Taylor, you ready?" I nearly squawked when I heard the voice. Thankfully, some part of me remembered to cast a silencing field, so I didn't embarrass myself too much.

Judging by the smirk on Aegis' face, it didn't work as well as I'd hoped.

"You can relax. They're just kids. They aren't going to hurt you." He reassured. Nothing I hadn't said to myself a hundred times already.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Clockblocker 'helpfully' chimed in. "Children are vicious creatures. They can smell your fear. Trust me, we're about to head into the fight of our lives."

"Clockblocker…"

"They are an evil that does not sleep. Vile, hideous creatures with sharp claws and a toxic breath. Where they walk, no grass grows. When they talk, the air itself screams in agony, and when they…"

I cut him off with my power. I did not need to hear Clockblocker's overly dramatic Lord of the Rings impersonation. I removed the field when his lips stopped moving.

Aegis nodded in approval. "Still the best superpower ever." On a more serious note, he added: "He's right about one thing, though: they can smell your fear. Sort off. Your costume makes you harder to read, but do try to relax. We're the kind of people that fight badass supervillains for a living. We're not supposed to be afraid of ten year olds."

"I know, I know." How couldn't I? "You're not saying anything I haven't said to myself."

"Then relax, for god's sake. Me and Clockblocker will be there to back you up. Kids might not even notice you."

"And if they do, I'll drop a few embarrassing stories featuring Aegis to save the day." Clockblocker said.

"You do realize that I have just as many embarrassing stories featuring you, right?"

Clock chuckled. "Yeah, but that doesn't bother me at all. I have no sense of shame, remember?"

"How could I forget…" The sullenness of Aegis' tone almost made me pity him. Then again, he's trying to run a team with a guy named Clockblocker on it. That in and of itself makes you deserving of pity.

A yellow light blinked. Right, the one that meant that an outsider was about to come in and we should all get our masks on. In our case, it'd mean that the tour group was about to come through. Aegis and Clockblocker hurriedly fixed up their costumes while I took a breath and prepared myself for the inevitable.

God, I'm such a drama queen sometimes. They're kids, dammit! They shouldn't worry me that much.

The three of us stepped into the Wards' common area, where Sarge was telling the kids all about the Wards and what we did on a day-to-day basis. Aegis went first, then me, then Clockblocker. I wondered if there was some sort of reasoning behind the order. Maybe they sandwiched me between the two of them so I wouldn't try to escape?

"…course, even superheroes have to relax sometimes, so that's what this room's for. We don't let them use it too much, though. Can't let them get lazy, now can we?" The children laughed.

I inspected them briefly. There were about 25 of them from varying ethnicities. They looked like they were around ten, maybe even younger than that. Their clothes were obviously cheap and they didn't look particularly well-fed. We weren't told where the tour group came from, but I'm guessing these guys came from a school in or around the docks area. I suppose it made sense that the PRT wanted these kids to meet the Wards. In a few years, one of them might trigger. If that happened, we'd want them to turn to the Wards rather than join one of the many gangs that infested the area. Whether it would actually work, well, I hope it does, for all our sakes. I guess time will tell.

"Ah, there they are." Sarge said, turning two dozen heads our way. I resisted the urge to freeze up and run. "Didn't think we'd see you today."

"Yeah, some gangsters tried to rob Brockton Central Bank." Aegis said nonchalantly. "We sent them running, though."

I briefly wondered what Aegis would have said if we hadn't won. He probably had a line for that too, though. You can't win every fight, after all.

"Guess that'll teach them to rob banks, now won't it?"

"Probably not. You know villains, always out stealing something. Silly, isn't it?"

Some of the kids chuckled. Not all of them, though. Were they gang members of some kind? I did notice this one white kid wearing what could be E88 colors.

Or maybe I was just being paranoid.

"And you've brought the new kid too!" Sarge said, pointing in my direction. Now everyone's attention was focused solely on me. Wonderful.

"Of course, we did." Aegis replied, cheerily. He was enjoying this, wasn't he? "I guess you've already heard about me and Clockblocker in class, right?" The kids happily nodded. They looked so wide-eyed and naïve. As if we were some sort of invincible supermen. Then again, this was the age group that probably bought the PRT's propaganda completely. "Well, this is Banshee. How about you give us a demonstration?"

I swallowed and replied: "Sure, boss." I made an elaborate gesture and silenced the entire room. I made sure the effect only lasted for a few moments. Long enough for everyone to realize what I did, but short enough to make sure that none of them started to panic. When I turned off my power, the room stayed silent. It felt like everyone was waiting for my permission to make noise again. Great, I had to say something now, didn't I? I turned to the teacher and said: "Bet you wish you had that power, didn't you?"

"You have no idea." The elderly looking woman replied. The kids laughed in response, and with that, the tension was broken again.

Sarge cleared his throat and said: "Okay kids, we gotta keep moving. Don't want to be late, now do we? 'Sides, we got the Protectorate to meet. Who wants to say hi to Miss Militia?"

A chorus of 'Me!' followed and the little balls of energy were out of our hair. I felt my body relax and my heart rate sink back to normal levels.

Wait, that was it?

Like, one minute and a small demonstration? That's what I've been fussing over the past hour? Seriously? Clockblocker didn't even have a chance to make fun of anyone.

Guess I look like a complete idiot now. Great.

"So…that happened." Aegis said. "Feel silly already?"

"Very." I muttered.

"Tried to warn you…"

"I know, boss…"

"…but you didn't listen…"

"…and now I look like a moron. Yeah, got the message."

Aegis shrugged. "Eh, could be worse."

"Really?"

"One, you did great in front of the kids. No pant wetting, no cracked voice, no severed limbs. That's a good thing in my book."

"Severed limbs?" I was hoping that was a joke. Probably was.

"Don't ask. Oh, and two: Clock didn't have a camera on him. I checked." Now that was a relief. At least I didn't have to worry about blackmail.

"Oh, I don't know, Aegis." Clockblocker said. "I could have hidden it very well."

The tone of his voice said that he was probably joking, but I wasn't entirely sure. "Clockblocker," I said. "if you have a camera on you, please hand it over so I don't have to beat the snot out of you." I made sure it sounded like I was kidding.

The smirk was audible behind his mask. "Please, Banshee, I know you would never hit me."

"And why is that?" I replied, folding my arms.

"Because I can do this!" He reached over and touched me, before vanishing into thin air. No, wait, he didn't vanish. He froze me and ran away. The bastard!

"For the record," Aegis said, smirking. "he really didn't have a camera on him and the freezing really is completely harmless. We actually use it sometimes to keep critically wounded people alive long enough for Panacea to get here."

"Okay, good to know." I nodded. "So, what happens now?"

"Well, I've got paperwork to do. Can't stop a bank robbery without it." He said. The curse of being team leader, I suppose. "You, though… The PRT will need an official statement from everyone involved. Find a few pieces of paper and write down everything you can remember. After that… go home, get some sleep, and we'll see you in the morning, I guess. Not like we've got anything planned."

"Alright then."

Write a report and then I'm done for the day. Simple enough, I guess. An hour and about four pages later, I was finished with the paperwork and went home. Dad had arrived before I did and was cooking something with noodles.

"Hey Dad."

"Evening kiddo." He replied, before taking a deep breath and saying: "So I turned on the news a couple of hours ago…"

He knew. Oh, boy. Not like I was planning on lying about it, but it would have been better if he heard about the bank robbery from me rather than the news.

"I'm fine, Dad." He was feeling overprotective again, I guess. Better put his worries to rest right away. "Just a little buzzing in my ears from a flash-bang grenade that pyrokinetic clown threw my way. Nothing serious. She's nothing compared to Lung."

My father's face paled a little. "When you talk like that, I can't help but feel like we're from two completely different planets. How on Earth am I supposed to keep you safe when you run off doing…this for a living?"

I sighed. "Don't worry about me, Dad. The only thing the Undersiders had that could possibly hurt me were those giant dog things and I didn't get anywhere near those. Plus, I'm not alone. I have a team now. A good one."

"Oh, good." I didn't get the impression that that made my father feel any better about it. "And your friends?"

"Aegis kind of got eaten, but he's a regenerator. By the time it was over, he was walking away, laughing. The others were fine too: a few burns and scrapes that Panacea took care off as a thank-you for the rescue."

"Good to hear."

We finished dinner in silence, like we usually did. For some reason, I felt that there was still a gap between us, of sorts. Now that I felt I could talk about my day without shame again, I'd hoped that the gap would have been bridged, but apparently things like that are not so simple. In hindsight, it wasn't that surprising: my life had changed, after all, in a way that someone without powers probably had a lot of trouble coming to terms with. I suppose it's a good thing that Dad's really trying to connect to me again. I was okay with that, actually.