Chapter 6-8

It wasn't until seven in the morning that the PRT let me out of my cell. Not that I'd been able to sleep much with the specter of death by self-detonation hanging over my head. Glory Girl, Panacea, and the others were released too. Nobody was infected then. Good.

Panacea met my eyes, but immediately looked away. I wasn't sure what to think about that. Did she think I was dangerous? Was I? Well, if I were, the PRT wouldn't have let me out, right? Did she know something she wasn't willing to share?

I shook my head and went to the cafeteria to have some breakfast where I had a nice chat with some of the PRT people. It's good to know that they weren't afraid of me anymore. I guess this sort of thing happens a lot around here and people have gotten used to weirdness. After breakfast, I popped by my house to pick up my stuff and headed out to Arcadia for a fun, but largely uneventful day in school. It was good to know that my life was becoming normal again.

Well, as normal as the life of a teenage superhero could get. It probably wouldn't last and with my luck, it didn't.

I got my first clue when I came home from school and found my dad in an uncharacteristically good mood. He had his good days, of course, but never like this. Dad doesn't whistle, for starters. Well, he hasn't since Mom died. My second clue was that he didn't strap me to a chair and force me to tell him what really happened yesterday. He asked me early in the morning, but I just repeated what the PRT is going to say in the press release: that we stumbled a Merchant's drug lab, the lab caught fire, and we were quarantined for our own safety. Nothing special. It was an obvious cover-story and my dad should have seen right through it, but he didn't press the issue. He seemed too busy cooking to really bother with it.

Then came my third clue: the bell rang. "Oh, Taylor, could you get the door, please." Dad said, hurriedly. I nodded, opened the door and found myself face to face with Miss Militia.

Wait, what? What the hell was she doing here?

I blinked. It was Miss Militia, just… she wasn't wearing a mask or her costume. Just plainclothes. Why was she here? My dad wasn't supposed to know other heroes' secret identities, so she couldn't be here for official Protectorate business. Did she pop by to see how I was doing? If so, shouldn't she be wearing her costume anyway? Even if she were, why was she looking so embarrassed?

"Taylor, don't be a stranger." My dad said, having suddenly appeared behind me. "Hannah, good to see you." He hugged her, then kissed her on the cheek.

Oh. Oh God. It finally hit me.

Dad's dating Miss Militia. And my mouth is hanging open.

"Likewise, Danny."

"Please, come in. Taylor, this is Hannah, my…I suppose girlfriend is the word, right?"

"I'd like to think so." At least Miss Militia, no, Hannah, was as embarrassed and weirded out as I was.

"Me too. Anyway, she's a teacher at Arcadia. You might have seen her before."

"Yes, I did." That was the only thing I managed to say. At least I found my tongue again. This…this is horrible. And awkward. And horrible. And when the other Wards find out, they'll be laughing their heads off.

Suddenly, Dad looked towards the kitchen and said: "Uh, I should get back to cooking. Wouldn't want dinner to burn, right? You two…you should get to know each other. I'll be right back." He left, before whispering: "Taylor, show some damn manners. First impressions count."

We looked at each other for a minute. Hannah was the first to speak. "Taylor…"

"He has no idea, does he?" I immediately interrupted. I knew who she was, she knew who I was. No sense in beating around the bush.

"No, and I want to keep it that way, for now."

That was…suspicious, if you ask me. "Why? Dad already signed the non-disclosure agreements. He won't tell anyone."

"I know, it's just… You're not going to let this go, are you?" She sighed. "Look, when people know you're a cape, they treat you differently, even when they try not to. I just want to have a normal relationship with someone, as Hannah, not as Miss Militia. Let him see the person behind the mask. You'll understand in a couple of years."

I nodded. Quite frankly, I couldn't really criticize her. I've hidden my own powers for months. It's just a pity that she had to pick my father, of all people. "And the guy you want to have a normal relationship with just so happens to be my dad."

Hannah frowned and got a little defensive. "Danny's a great guy and I didn't know he was your father until I did a background check on him. By then…well… Just don't tell him yet. When we're ready…When I'm ready, I'll tell him everything, I promise." I should be shocked that she did a background check on Dad, but I could sort of understand why she did it. Someone must have tried to turn a superhero by seducing them at some point. There were way too many movies about it for this not to happen. That said, why is she dating my dad, of all people? The probability of randomly running into him was ridiculously small.

Too small.

"Did Piggot put you up to this?"

Hannah blinked and her mouth fell open. Evidently, she didn't see that coming. "W-What?"

"I triggered because of one of her fuck-ups. She's at least partially responsible for the hell my life has been before I joined the Wards. If I went to the press and told them everything, it'd ruin the PRT's reputation, which in turn would ruin people's trust in the superhero community. Basically, I have a metaphorical gun to the PRT's head and the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is me wanting to be a hero. If that ever changes, Piggot and the organization she leads is screwed. Of course, if I had a strong, personal reason to keep my mouth shut, no one would ever know. A strong personal reason, like my dad falling in love with someone in the organization and said someone becoming like a second mother to me. I wouldn't be able to destroy the organization without destroying my family too, which means that Piggot and her secrets are a lot safer. In addition, if I go nuts like Sophia did, you'd put a stop to it before I really hurt someone. How am I doing?"

"That's…I don't even…" Hannah sputtered.

I explained the 'why', now I just need to figure out the 'how'. "Is she blackmailing you?"

"What?!" Hannah blurted out. Hopefully Dad was too busy cooking to hear that.

"I don't think she can legally order you to fall in love with someone and unless I've seriously misjudged you, you'd never take a bribe. Blackmail is the logical conclusion and don't try to convince me Piggot wouldn't do it. Not with stakes this high."

"I…that is…" Hannah sat down, eyes wide. "That is…actually kind of plausible. Oh god, I could totally see her try that." Almost immediately, she corrected herself. "But she didn't, I swear. I ran into your father at a bar. I really didn't know who he was at first. This isn't some huge conspiracy to keep the public from finding out about the whole Shadow Stalker debacle."

I wanted to believe her, but could I? Hannah seemed trustworthy enough, but she could be an unwitting patsy. Piggot was smart and could be subtle when she needed to be. I found it very hard to believe that she wouldn't create some sort of insurance policy or ace up her sleeve to keep me quiet.

"Are you absolutely sure about that? Knowing Piggot and knowing how much damage I could do if I really wanted to?"

"No, she hasn't. You're being paranoid." She said firmly.

"Says the person who does a background check on her boyfriend."

"Touché." She replied. "I'm serious, though. There are rules, Taylor, codes of conduct that not even a PRT director can break. Forcing me to seduce the parent of a Ward, even for this, breaks just about every single one of them. Director Piggot couldn't do something like this, even if she wanted to." Hannah looked thoughtfully for a moment before adding: "However, I'm pretty sure she's thought of it."

I frowned. She sounded sincere. There left three possibilities: either I'm right and Hannah was a ridiculously good liar, I'm right and Piggot has her fooled, or I'm wrong and her feelings for my father were genuine. I wanted to believe that I was wrong, but I couldn't be sure. Hannah had been a superhero for longer than I've been alive; if she wanted to trick me, she probably could. Piggot seemed to have a ruthless streak and I still wasn't sure if Sophia was kicked out because of moral outrage or simple pragmatism.

I could be right. Piggot isn't a hero. She's more than willing to throw people under a bus in the name of the greater good. That my father would be affected by my decision further complicated things. He seemed genuinely happy. If I was wrong and I ruined their relationship because I'm massively overthinking things, he'd never forgive me for it. Hell, I'd never forgive myself.

Christ, I'm fifteen! I shouldn't have to deal with this.

"What happens now?" I asked.

Hannah looked nervous for a moment. "Look, I'm not ready to out myself just yet. Can you…can you play along? Please? Just for a week, maybe a little longer."

"You want me to lie to my dad."

She bit her lip. At least she seemed to understand what she was asking of me. "I…well…yes…sort of. Look, I know this is awkward and I shouldn't be asking this, but…please?"

Could I do it? I've been hiding my powers for months. Of course I could. However, I promised to stop doing that when I joined the Wards. Now she wants me to break that promise. "Was that an order?"

Hannah looked pensive for a moment. "No. I can't order you to do that. Just… Can you help me out here?"

I couldn't really say no, could I? She was my superior, after all. Even if she didn't give me an order, pissing her off might have unfortunate consequences. That doesn't mean I was going to take this lying down. "Dad is the only family I've got left. If you break his heart or I find out you've been using him, I'll be very, very upset."

To her credit, Hannah didn't flinch. "And here I thought fathers were supposed to be protective of their daughters."

"We're family." I calmly replied. "We protect each other."

"And I'm not?"

"Not yet."

She smiled softly. "I suppose that's fair."

Then, Dad called us. "Dinner's ready, ladies." He said. It was strange, seeing him actually happy. I really hope I was making the right choice.

Dinner itself was surprisingly normal. It reminded me of those rare times when Dad had friends over. Just quiet conversation, only with added awkwardness thanks to, well…this mess I've found myself in. I let Hannah and Dad do most of the talking. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally give the game away by saying the wrong thing.

Hannah's cover story was relatively simple: she taught advanced classes at Arcadia. Chemistry, biology, literature, that sort of thing. The kind you need to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher just to get in. I didn't take any of the classes, thanks to my grades still being in the gutter because of Winslow, which was probably a good thing. Since Hannah and I supposedly didn't know each other, we don't really have a story to keep straight. Nevertheless, having to lie to my father was uncomfortable. When dinner was finished, I offered to do the dishes and left. Just because I could keep her secret, doesn't mean I have to stick around. Even if my power made it impossible not to overhear them.

I was halfway finished when Dad came by. "Kiddo…I'm sorry, I should have mentioned this earlier."

"It's okay, dad." I said, trying to avoid the elephant in the room. "You don't need my permission to date someone. Even if she is one of my teachers. Which is really, really awkward, by the way."

"I know, I know." He sighed. "Didn't mean to turn our lives in a cheesy romance drama."

I snorted in response. He really had no idea. "Too late for that…"

Dad chuckled. At least he could find some humor in this whole mess. "She won't replace Mom, I promise. I also won't tell her your secret, not unless you want me to."

That…that wasn't even close to what's on my mind right now. On the other hand, Dad just handed me the perfect excuse for my earlier behavior. Better stick with it. "Thanks, Dad, I…" Suddenly, my phone rang. My PRT-issue one, the one for emergencies that I'm supposed to keep on my person at all times. I took it out of my pocket.

"What is it?" He asked.

Armsmaster had sent out a general order to gather at the PRT's headquarters at eight. He wouldn't do that unless it was important. It would also be my excuse to leave. "Oh, thank God, something horrible happened." Then, I realized I said that out loud within earshot of my father, whose frown started to resemble the Grand Canyon. I chuckled nervously.

Dad was not amused. "She's not that bad, Taylor."

"I know, Hannah's been nice and it's good to see you smile for once and…"

"For once?"

Oh, great. See, this is why I prefer fighting supervillains over social interactions. "Well…"

"That probably says more about me than it does about you." Dad said, grimly. "Go. Save the city. I'll finish up over here."

I smiled. "If she asks, tell her I'm having a sleep-over at Lisa's place. I'm sure she'll understand."

"Yeah, I'm sure she will."

Oh, Dad, if only you knew. If only you knew…