Complications 3-2

"You okay kiddo?" Dad asked from across breakfast at the kitchen table.

I didn't answer him immediately. "No."

Dad grimaced.

Maybe I had been a little hard on him the last few days. One word sentences, if I talked to him at all.

A part of me thought he deserved it. He had forced me to this. To be a Ward. Lisa may have convinced me to go without too much fuss but it was Dad who ultimately forced the issue. And I wasn't ready to forgive that.

Not yet.

"Taylor." Dad spoke quietly. "I might not understand your reasons for not wanting to join the Wards, but it's safer for you this way."

I didn't say anything.

He sipped his coffee. "To me, your safety is more important than what you think of me."

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. "It's always been about you!" I spat. "After mom died, I took care of you. I went shopping. I made the food. I did everything!"

"Tay-"

"When I was being tortured by my best friend you didn't even notice! It took me nearly dying for you to notice! And what did you say after it all? 'Why didn't I tell you?'"

I banged a flaming fist on the table and it blew right through it. "You said it like it was my fault. You're worse than Emma."

I didn't stick around to see his response. I teleported to my rooftop and gathered the mask and phone I had hidden there. I looked towards in the direction of the PRT. I should just go in early. To hell what anyone would think.

A glance to the Docks, phone heavy in my hand.

Lisa.

I wanted to call her.

I should call her and tell her about Halsey.

But after my blow up on Dad I wasn't sure I could do it without feeling whiny.

And, let's face it, I couldn't go running to Lisa, expecting her to save me from everything.

I stashed the phone back into it's hiding spot and sat down out of the chilly morning breeze.

I tried to brood and stew in my own anger, telling myself that I was right to be mad, even if the Wards hadn't really been too bad so far.

I had met most of them by now and even unmasked to them. Missy was the first as I shared a room with her at the base. She seemed genuinely excited to have another girl on the team.

Carlos and Dean had introduced themselves about the same time and they seemed like genuinely good people.

Dennis apologized in his own over the top way and without being held down by Missy. I tentatively forgave him even if I refused another handshake.

I hadn't met Browbeat yet, he apparently attended Immaculata and his parents were super strict so he didn't get to come around the base much.

Kid win had been working with Armsmaster, his mentor, the one time that I had seen him around. The two were so engrossed in whatever they were doing that it seemed rude to bother them. Even Assault had said it was best to leave them alone when they were like that.

The final member of the Wards was Shadow Stalker. She had been forced to join the Wards as a form of community service/ probation. I would probably get to meet her this afternoon though.

I was supposed to be doing my power testing and the other Wards were going to be present to give me pointers. Assault said it was supposed to be a team building experience as much as data collection. The mentors would be there which, I admit, had me pretty excited. Funny that I still got all giddy at the idea of being in the same room as Heroes.

I thought of the route to the PRT. I could make it in seven or eight jumps if I stuck in my comfort zone. I was feeling risky today. Let's try and stretch it a bit and go for a minimum of four jumps.

Three jumps later I landed in the PRT lobby winded and sore.

And was met with multiple weapons aimed in my direction.

"Don't move!" The nearest trooper shouted.

No shit.

"Stand down!" Sergeant Platt came jogging from the desk that guarded the rest of the building proper from the civilian accessible lobby. "Wisp! What the hell are thinking?" She demanded.

"Assault said it was okay?" And right then I realized what an idiot I was for not thinking it through. Of course he said it was okay. He would think it was a riot if the PRT flooded their lobby with containment foam.

Sergeant Platt must have reached the same conclusion by the look on her face. "I'll take care of it. Do you need an escort to-"

"No thank you. I got it." I thought about my bed in the Wards base.

...

"Fucking Christ!" Missy fell on the floor half dressed.

"Language!" A muffled voice called. That sounded like Carlos.

"Oh sorry Missy." I gave her hand getting up.

"You scared the shit outta me." She pressed a hand to her chest and realized she hadn't put on her shirt yet. Turning beat red she waved me to turn around.

Twelve going on thirteen and with puberty making things awkward. She must be mortified.

I turned away. "Sorry I didn't think anyone would be in so early."

"I get the occasional Friday off for 'family' stuff." Her voice was still a little flustered.

"What about the others?"

"They get out early during the week and off Fridays as a part of a work program."

"Doesn't that kind of give them away as Wards?"

"Nah practically a third of the kids at Arcadia are a part of the work program." She sighed. "You can turn around now."

I did. She was wearing her Vista costume minus the visor.

She recognized my unasked question. "Just in case."

Seemed a little strange to me but who was I to judge being costumed myself. "Who's here?"

"Dennis, Carlos, Chris, Dean and myself." She counted off on her hand.

No one I hadn't unmasked to. I pulled my mask off and swapped my goggles for my glasses. "Is it okay for me to come to the base and just do nothing?"

Missy shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" She opened our door and I followed her to the common area. "Taylor is here!" She called.

"What?" Carlos floated up off the sofa in a slow turn to face us. "I didn't here the elevator bell." He looked at the mask light. "Or the warning light."

"I just teleported in?" I ventured. Aegis was a little too straight laced for me but it wasn't in an awful oppressive way either.

"Scared the hel- eck our of me too." Missy nudged me. I think she was teasing in a friendly way.

I apologized again. Just in case.

She shrugged.

"I'm not sure the PRT is going to like the breach in security." Carlos frowned.

"It's not like they can stop her." Dennis waved from his spot on the couch. "Hey Taylor."

I gave a half hearted wave in return. He might have apologized but I wasn't totally over it. From his expression he noticed. Maybe I could try and be a bit nicer? "Where's Dean?"

"In our room getting all prettied up for Vicky." Dennis shared a room with Dean and the two picked at each other like long time friends. "Gallant is dating Glory Girl and they are going on a date today."

"We'll be back for the show." Dean exited his room in his costume holding his helmet under one arm. Perhaps it was better described as armor. It was polished to a bright shine.

He noticed me looking and gave a sheepish expression. "We get followed by people sometimes trying to get pictures."

"Always look good for the cameras!" Dennis mimed and everyone but me groaned.

"What?" I asked the room at large.

"Glenn Chambers, the PR guy." Missy explained. "He's super into his job and it's annoying." She picked at her skirt. "He's also why I'm stuck with this kiddie costume."

"I like it." Dean said off hand without looking at her.

Missy blushed so hard I was almost sure the room temperature changed. Oh my god! She had a crush on Dean. That had to be awkward as hell for him, being able to see emotions and all.

"I want to know how Dennis got away with Clockblocker." Carlos sent a pointed glance at Dennis way.

"Mad skills." Dennis polished his nails on his shirt.

Then a thought occurred to me. "What show?"

"Your power testing this afternoon." Carlos clarified.

But why was it 'the show'? "Is it really that much of a spectacle?"

"It can be." He shrugged. "Mine was pretty boring. Not much for me that can be tested without actually hurting me and that's a PR no go. The sparring was fun though."

That was news to me. "Sparring?"

"Sure, it lets them put stress on you to test you while also giving you some experience dealing with another cape in the process."

"I wouldn't worry about it Taylor." Dean must have read my emotions. "It's nothing super serious. It's about seeing what you can handle and what you need to work on."

I wasn't so sure. It sounded like a set up for some hazing.

"Promise." Dean continued. "You'll do fine. You can't do any worse than Dennis." He grinned. "Just chasing people around trying to tag them."

Missy laughed. "He couldn't catch anyone."

That did make me feel better. If there was one thing I could rely on it was mobility.

"What about my fire?" I asked.

"Um, I'm not sure. Missy and Triumph were the only two around for his Dean's test and he is the only other Blaster we have."

All of us looked to Dean. "Mine aren't too powerful so I wasn't limited. I don't know about yours though."

And I didn't either. "Maybe some kind of training dummy?" I wondered aloud.

"You shouldn't talk about Dennis like that." Carlos blinked in surprise at his own words.

"I don't know whether to be proud or offended." Dennis said in shock.

The chorus of the Foo Fighters song, My Hero started playing on a loop and Dean started fumbling at his suit, finally withdrawing a phone from a hidden compartment and dropping his helmet. "Hello?"

"Somebody is late." Dennis noted.

Dean shot him a dirty look. "Yeah. Sorry, I stopped to say hi to Wisp and- no it's not like that."

"Uh oh." Carlos said under his breath so only Missy and I could hear.

Missy just rolled her eyes.

"I'm coming up now just wait for me." He hung up the phone. "Uh Wisp It was good seeing you. I'll see everyone at the training hall." He hurried to the door and cycled out.

"Ten says they break up again." Dennis said as soon as the door shut.

"No betting." Carlos chided. "We're not supposed to gamble."

"Besides its a suckers bet." Missy jumped over the back of the couch to grab her seat.

Carlos followed. "Walk around please."

"Dude your the team leader not our Mom. Chill man." Dennis turned on the TV.

I felt out of place. Everyone had this easy interaction with each other. It wasn't like they were excluding me. Just, I don't know, I didn't know how to fit in anymore.

"Taylor you going to watch tv with us?" Missy gestured to the adjacent spot on her couch.

"Uh sure."

It had been a long time since I actually sat down and watched television. Lately my time was focused on being Willow Wisp, but before that, during my time in hell, I had spent my free time mostly in my room. Repairing damaged clothing or redoing stolen school work and when I wasn't doing that I was reading.

All of that lead to not knowing a single thing about what was on tv. And if I was being honest I was having a hard time caring. I suffered through a few shows, trying to participate in the light conversation that passed back and forth during the shows before I threw in the towel.

"I'm going to take a nap." I excused myself and barely got any any acknowledgment as I left.

Geese I guess tv does rot your brain.

.

A knock on the door woke me up. "Yo! Wisp you in there?"

Assault, my brain supplied.

"One second." I called. How long had I been asleep.

He called me Wisp and that meant masks were required. So first things first. I donned mine and my goggles and pulled on my hoodie making sure my hood was up.

Another knock. "Hustle up Wisp or we are both going to have to sit through an Armsmaster lecture on punctuality."

For Assault to use a word like punctuality I knew he must have sat through more than one of those lectures.

"Coming! I called through the door."

Assault was waiting for me impatiently but paused looking me over. "You doing alright?"

"Fight with my Dad this morning."

Assault frowned. "Hmmm I'm afraid I can't help much there. You want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Not really."

He gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder and waved for me to follow him to the elevator.

"Where to?" I asked.

"One floor down."

"You were rushing me to go one floor down?"

"Yes! You can't access it without a Protectorate member or an Officer from the PRT squads."

"Why?"

"They don't want kids with powers messing around with them without supervision." Assault said.

A perfect chance I couldn't ignore. "They let you."

"I know right?" He breezed right over it.

Damn it.

"Nice try." His smugness could have almost rivaled Lisa's.

We got into the elevator, pausing long enough for me to take a bracing breath that Assault didn't rush me through, before He punched in a code on the panel. He didn't even try to hide it either.

Either he didn't care if I memorized it or he realized they once I had been down here I could just teleport in if I wanted to.

"Okay, so, remember Wisp, Relax. There aren't any scores or the like that you have to worry about. Just focus on doing your best and that's all there is to it."

The elevator stopped and we got out into a big blank room with doors on one side that said 'locker room' and a set of double doors on the other side that read storage.

"What?" The Winslow gymnasium had more decoration than this. "That's it?"

Assault laughed. "What did you expect a holodeck?"

I flushed behind my mask because, yes, I did expect something along those lines.

"While useful, hardlight tinker tech is too expensive to maintain for a training facility." Armsmaster's voice was monotone. "We make use of an analog alternative here. You're late Assault. Again."

"Militia is late too." Assault pointed out.

And indeed I did not see her around.

"She is retrieving Shadow Stalker." Armsmaster explained.

Assault brightened. "And I was 'retrieving' Willow Wisp."

Armsmaster frowned unable to refute the out he had unwittingly gave Assault.

"Heyyy were here now so let's get started." Assault offered. "What do we do first teleporting? Get her to throw some fire around?"

"Sparring."

My head rocked back. "Sparring already?"

Armsmaster nodded.

"But I don't know if my fire will hurt anyone."

"Do not worry." He pulled a baton from his back and it extended to what I guessed was a bladeless version of his halberd. "You will be sparring with me."

"Fuck me." Clockblocker blurted out in disbelief.

And I found myself agreeing with him.

"That's a bit extreme." Battery came to my defense.

Assault stepped fractionally between me and Armsmaster. "Yeah, man. It's a little over the top. It may not actually be her first day but it might as well be."

Armsmaster frowned. "It seems I phrased it wrong. Willow Wisp was present in the recent battle against Lung. Her powers tend towards effective combat abilities that mishandled could potentially injure her peers. I thought it best that I take their place to mitigate any potential for injury."

Oh, well that was kind of flattering and nice if you broke it down.

"That said. She is still unpolished and the likelihood that she will not injure me is minimal."

What an asshole.

"I also have an expensive suite of sensors installed in both my weapon and armor that should be more than sufficient for testing her power. Furthermore-"

Assault threw up his hands. "Okay okay we get it." He turned his back on Armsmaster. "You okay with this kid?"

I shrugged. I kinda wanted to kick Armsmaster in the nuts. "Yeah I guess so."

Assault clearly was torn on the subject. "Alright. Don't be afraid to throw in the towel if you need to." He gave Armsmaster a look that I couldn't read.

"Before we begin we need to remove the obstacles from storage and set them up."

There was a collective sigh through the room. "It seems like fixing the softlight stuff would be easier than dragging all this stuff out every time." Velocity groaned as he and his protege Clockblocker slumped u their way to the storage room. Battery and Vista went without complaint using their powers to speed up the process.

Armsmaster noticeably didn't help.

Did he think it was beneath him?

He was simply staring at me and with his eyes hidden behind his helmet I had to wonder if he even blinked.

Creep.

So I decided to stare right back at him.

And so we stared at each other while everyone else brought out scaffolding and platforms and pillars and tarps, turning the room into something like a disorganized construction project. But it also added cover and verticality.

"Okay." Assault breathed out a heavy sigh. "That's it if you want more you two can get it yourselves."

Armsmaster turned to survey the room. "This will do."

"Fuckin better." Clockblocker muttered as he past me to take his place on the platform the Heroes has kept for surveying the room.

"Any rules?" Dauntless asked. With his power to fly he would be hovering overhead officiating with Aegis as back up.

The elevator bell rang and the doors opened revealing a packed car.

Miss Militia and her protege Shadow Stalker exited the car with Gallant escorting Glory Girl and Panacea.

"Nice of you to show up after the hard work is done M&M." Assault teased.

Miss Militia looked over the room. "I don't think I could have managed to to any better." She smiled back at him.

Assault only huffed and ushered the new comers to the viewing platform they had set up. "This way folks we're just about to get started. Best seats go to people who actually did some of the work." He teased as he stood purposefully in front of Miss Militia.

Not for the first time I wondered how the nice guy I met on the rooftops was an incurable doofus.

"Willow Wisp are you ready?" Dauntless called from above.

I was about to go up against the premiere Hero in Brockton Bay.

"Ready!" I called out to the room.

"Armsm-"

"Ready!" Armsmaster's voice was deep and booming.

I am so not ready for this!

"Begin!"

Author's Note: Cliffhanger!

The much awaited Shadow Stalker reveal chapter is coming up next and I can't tell you how much I both anticipate and fear it. It's already framed out and I just need to fill in details and ensure the right bits of info are present then I will have it out for you.

It being a prominent point of the story and all. I need a Lisa of my own. Sigh.

Thank you for your Fav and Follows!

A bigger thanks to you who have taken the time to review. Sneky, osterreicher97 , YeTianshi and the rest of you reviewers, You guys make writing this Fic so much fun I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

K. Raiden.