Taylor gazed at the buildings as they passed by through the car window. Despite the condition of the roads they took, the ride itself was actually quite smooth. A testament to the reliability of her dad's truck of course… but it usually wasn't that good on the road.
Magic. It was probably magic. A bunch of things suddenly started working better for them after Marina came around to visit.
Speaking of…
"Dad… I'm grateful you're driving me to school on your day off and all…"
"Yes Taylor?"
"But why is she here?" Taylor didn't even gesture to Marina who sat smugly in the backseat.
"She's the one I suggested I drive you to school sometimes. Help us to catch up," Danny explained.
"Okay but why is she here?" Taylor asked again.
"Since your father needed some of my advice, I figured I could have him drive me to this new restaurant I wanted to try," Marina replied.
"Don't you have your own car?"
"I do."
"And?"
Marina's silence was telling. "I… may have had my license revoked."
"How the fuck-"
"Language!" Danny shouted.
"How the frick!? You lost your license in Brockton Bay!?"
"Yea… I took a gamble by flirting with that police officer. Turns out she wasn't gay…"
"Statistically speaking the vast majority of people aren't," Taylor replied plainly. "I mean even after Legend came out we still only have like 6-7% of the population do the same. Probably still more in the closet or in hiding but you really thought to gamble on those odds?"
"Gambling on odds is probably how I got to know Annette while she still had a girlfriend," Danny offered. "Couldn't have been sure if she was bi or just gay but I tried anyway."
"See? Your father agrees with me."
Something that was happening more often than not nowadays. Months after Taylor had started training with Marina, the Occultist had certainly ingratiated herself with the family. She had even come along to a party that the DWU had hosted just a week ago.
"So how's your training going?" Danny asked.
"It's been… tough," Taylor replied honestly. "Not a lot of nature in Brockton Bay to take advantage of and I don't want to burn myself so haven't made much progress with gaining affinity with Vinushka."
"What… God have you been working with then?"
"The God of Fear and Hunger."
"… I'm assuming that's why you skipped breakfast and lunch a few days ago?"
Taylor nodded but didn't say much else. She didn't think her dad would ever understand. Fear and Hunger was an ever-present darkness and eternal threat that by powering through it allowed humanity to grow and improve. All it took was starving and isolating herself in a dark room to understand that a little at least. True comprehension of that God required much more than she was currently capable of.
"I'm still not sure how I feel about you learning magic," Danny replied. "It almost seems like you're torturing yourself."
"Just think of it as an athlete pushing themselves until their bodies are burning and they're gasping for air," Marina replied. "It's needed if she's going to progress with her training. And well the more she can get through the more she'll be prepared for whatever she runs into in the real world."
Eventually they arrived at Arcadia's campus.
"Thanks dad," Taylor said as she got out of the car. Before she could enter the building though Marina had rolled down the window and started shouting.
"What? No goodbye for me?"
Taylor blushed as everyone nearby started to stare at the commotion. "Goodbye Marina," she said reluctantly. Mostly so she didn't have to start an argument in front of the school.
"Have a good day, make use of Steve, and keep your grades up!" Marina shouted before her father finally drove away.
Taylor groaned to herself before running inside the building. Marina was just weird. She had these weird habits that you'd expect out of a grandma, thrown into the body and attitude of a kid, and followed up by some of the weirdest skills and life experiences you'd ever expect out of a person. Marina had clearly lived an eventful life long before she had arrived in Brockton Bay.
The halls of Arcadia were still hard for her to get used to. Large, clean, grand, a complete contrast from the buildings around her own home. The people here, well a lot of them acted like they belonged and sometimes she still did feel like an outsider.
As she arrived in the classroom she made sure to take her seat at the back corner. Thankfully she only had to wait a bit for someone that she did happen to get along to enter the room.
"Yo. Heard your sister embarrassed you in front of the entire school," Dennis said as he sat next to her.
"You saw that?" Taylor asked.
"Everything. You were too busy running inside to notice me."
Taylor groaned. "She's not my sister. Just a family friend and she's a lot older than she looks."
"How old exactly?"
"Drinking age. Definitely."
"Huh…" Dennis looked interested. Too interested.
"Dennis…"
"What? Can't I appreciate an older woman?"
Taylor snorted. "Go for it. Just let me bring the popcorn."
Dennis was cool. Bit of a jokester with equally loose lips but that just made him fun. Besides he was probably one of the few people that she could open her mouth and let loose her voice without it ever feeling awkward.
She was actually quite lucky to have met him. They just happened to share a class, sat next to each other, and well his humor was a bit contagious. When she started joining in they quickly formed a rapport. Apparently her extensive vocabulary, born of her mother's love and distribution of literature, had helped him to come up with ideas for his own wordplay.
"So what have you been up to my dear compatriot?" Dennis asked, taking on a faux formal tone.
"Oh you know. Out patrolling on the Docks. Saved a couple of people from some muggers." It was mostly a joke between them, born of the rumor mongering and curiosity of the student body when it came to the identity of the Wards and Dennis had been more than happy to play along.
"You know I didn't think you were manly enough to pull off being Aegis, but apparently you made it work. Good job out there."
"Wait. Aegis was actually at the Docks?"
Dennis nodded. "With Triumph. Pretty sure he's going to be the one to take over the Wards soon once loudmouth is in the Protectorate."
Huh that was… a bit of a close call actually. Who would've thought they'd have happened to have been in the same neighborhood that she decided to-
The bell rang as the teacher entered the room and interrupted her own thoughts. She began to take out her notebook and pencils, ready for the lecture.
"I'm telling you the Brockton Bay Wards are just a huge sausage fest," Dennis moaned between bites of his sandwich. "Like where's the proper eye candy?"
"I dunno, Aegis has a pretty nice butt," Taylor replied off handedly.
"Ew."
"You're the one bringing looks up. I just happen to have different tastes than you."
"Yea I'm more of a boob guy myself."
Taylor couldn't help but shift her arm to cover her chest. She never grew much in that particular area.
Dennis's eyes went wide as he realized what he had said. "Oh sorry I didn't mean-"
"It's fine."
"But yea imagine if they could get Shadow Stalker to join or something."
"Didn't she recently pin a man to the wall with a crossbow?"
"A Nazi."
"Fair enough. But still she's been escalating her recently and the PRTs already put a notice on her. So maybe she will end up in the Wards if they catch her before the Villains."
"Huh… maybe."
"And what about Horizon?" Taylor asked. "She does a lot more without the whole ultraviolence thing."
"I'm pretty sure she's a bit too young for me," Dennis replied plainly.
"I mean for the Wards."
"Well… I imagine she's quite elusive. Friendly but well a bit of a free spirit. There's a reason she's been an independent for so long."
"Yea it probably would take a lot for her to join the Wards at this point," Taylor admitted. "And well her powers make it a nightmare for anyone trying to catch her. None of the Wards could do it. Aegis is fast but not fast enough once she starts warping miles of space in front of him. Clockblocker could never close the distance. Triumph and Kid Win don't really have the range. Your best bet is to catch her before she even realizes you're there and maybe apply a tranquilizer or something. A sniper might work if you don't think you can get close enough without her noticing."
"Should I be afraid of how much thought you put into kidnapping a little girl?"
"Just coming up with ideas and counters. I'm pretty sure Horizon is aware of this stuff too; it's why nobody's caught her yet. Not that PRT has any reason to go after her unlike Shadow Stalker."
"What do you think the Protectorate should do to catch Shadow Stalker then?"
"Hmm…" Taylor put a hand to her chin in deep thought. "Definitely not anywhere indoors where she can phase through the walls. Best bet is to track her and try to catch her out in the open. There has to be a limit as to how long she can change herself and an effective range to it. If she didn't have these limitations then she wouldn't keep herself confined to alleyways and buildings so much. Also lots of bright lights so you can see her shadow whenever she moves around in the night."
"Sounds about right," Dennis admitted.
"Also it's just a theory on PHO but… there might be certain things she can't phase through or is weak to? Like maybe a big gust of wind could blow her away or fire could just burn her particles up?"
As they continued to discuss the topic, Taylor discretely slipped a few pieces of her lunch into her pocket. The occupant within wiggled excitedly at the food.
"Thanks Master!"
"Did you just hear some squeaking?" Dennis asked.
"Just the chair," Taylor replied as she gently tapped the rat on the head so that he would go quiet.
She and Dennis continued their discussion up until the bell rang and they split up to go to their respective classes. On the way there Taylor made sure to discreetly drop off Steve nearby a hole that he could enter.
"Do you remember what you're going to do?" Taylor whispered.
"Of course Master!"
"Call me Taylor."
"Yes Taylor!" Steve replied before running into the hole to complete his task.
Steve was a very well trained and friendly rat, one of the many that Marina had raised. As for why an Occultist would raise rats, well there were many reasons when you could talk with them and have them do things for you. Even Arcadia had plenty of rats that went unseen in its walls and floors which would allow Steve to form a communication and information network for her.
It wasn't entirely necessary, Arcadia for the most part was fairly safe, but it was good practice and if she was able to work with Steve well enough they could expand the network past the school and into the neighboring sewers and buildings.
Marina herself had a network of rats that encompassed a good chunk of the city and wasn't that a frightening thought?
"The men in yellow have begun to claim territory in the machine maze."
Marina nodded to herself, quickly discerning the location that the rats were describing. She passed the rat a chunk of cheese before it ran back to join the rest of its brethren. With that done Marina continued to eat her meal, basking in the sun that the outside dining area had provided her. She also took care not to leave any stains on her brightly colored sundress.
Rats were very territorial creatures each forming their own units in their respective territories. They could thus be very sensitive not just to the movement of other rats but also of the humans that happened to wander by.
From what she could tell the Nazi's were still fighting each other with the ones in the yellow claiming some abandoned factories, the Merchants were too strung out to do anything, those weird but professional mercenaries were doing something with the ABB, and finally the ABB themselves were started to expand where the Nazis were causing the most damage. Basically just another day at Brockton Bay.
Marina took a sip of her drink and let out a pleased hum.
This place made good Sangrias. Good to know.
"Downing that rather quickly aren't you?"
Marina smirked at her dining partner from the other side of the table. "Good day for a drink. Besides it's not like I'm the designated driver."
"Why did you invite me to eat with you?" Danny asked.
Marina shrugged. "Could use a companion to drink. And besides you looked like you needed to get out for once. What do you usually do on your days off?"
"Sleep at home. Sometimes drink with the Dockworkers," Danny admitted.
"Well, think of this as adding a bit of variety to your life. A nice lunch with a pretty lady as your companion."
"Hmph," was Danny's response before he took a bite of his own food. "Should I be worried about rats around the house?"
"Hardly. They know not to intrude on your family's privacy now. They'll stay out of the way but still keep an eye out for anything that might happen in your house."
"Can't believe my daughter is making friends with rats now."
"They can make surprisingly good conversationalists. The smarter ones at least," Marina replied. It didn't take long for them after that to finish their meal and when the check came it took a bit of subtle magic to get it away from Danny, much to the man's annoyance. She wasn't going to make him pay for a meal that she had invited him to and she knew that his family's financial situation wasn't as stable as hers.
Marina smiled as she stood up and put on her large, brimmed sun hat. "If you want to pay me back then help me carry my bags."
"Fine." Danny grudgingly followed. "Maybe I should have just slept at home."
It was nice having a minion carrying her things once in a while. She used to use necromancy for that a couple of decades ago but well modern society had become rather objectionable when it came to walking corpses carrying your things.
The Boardwalk itself had some decent offerings though what interested her most was Parian's. Not so much the Parahuman herself but the clothes that she made. Powers or not the woman had some serious design sense and Marina was more than willing to splurge a little on one of those dresses.
A little ding of a bell announced their entrance into the store and they were quickly greeted by the doll masked Parahuman that stood behind the counter.
"Hello. Is there anything you need?" Parian asked. Even from behind the mask Marina could tell her gaze focusing on Marina's body, tracing it from top to bottom. Clearly the woman had good taste and it was a nice compliment to get.
"Thinking about having a nice dress made for a party or a ball. Really anything fancy," Marina replied as Danny decided to take a seat at a distant corner of the store. "I had a few ideas for designs but nothing concrete just yet."
"I'm sure we can find something for you. Does your… father need anything?"
Marina let out a quick laugh. "No, he's a friend. His daughter actually works for me."
"Really? You look quite young to have an employee."
"I'm older than I look."
Parian gaze wandered over Marina's body once more. "What do you do?"
"I own Occultist!" Marina announced proudly.
"… That's nice?"
"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Sorry no."
"It's a store down by 5th and Baker. We sell a lot of trinkets and goods with a focus on supernatural and occult themes."
"That's interesting. Not a lot of people focus on the Occult nowadays, everyone's all about cape fashion." Parian peered closely at Marina's wrist. "Does that include that bracelet of yours?"
"Actually, that one's a bit too precious for me to sell. I did make it though," Marina replied.
"I've never seen a stone like that before."
"I have quite a collection of cool stones you can look at in my store. You should by sometime I can also do a commission on accessories for you, actually are you accepting any commissions now?"
"My schedule should be free for the next few days."
"Then how good are you at knitting and weaving?"
Parian glanced at the outfits strewn around the store and the little puppet she had walking around and putting away her supplies. "Quite good, I'd say. Why do you ask?"
"Well I'm pretty good at cloth making myself, but it takes a while and I find it a bit tedious. Rather use my time doing some more important things. If you could help me out once in a while on a couple of orders? I could even throw in some of the accessories I finish to accompany your outfits."
Parian put a hand on the chin of her mask. "You seem to have an excellent sense of fashion and that bracelet does look good. I'll have to see more of your designs but… yes we could definitely collaborate."
"Nice. Now that that's done… what were we talking about again?" Marina asked.
"The dress?" Danny said from his little corner in the store.
"Oh right." Marina smiled at Parian. "You know what, surprise me. I can send you some of my trinkets or you can stop by the store for a bit of inspiration but I can leave the creative process to you."
"That's a lot of trust for someone you haven't worked with before. Even my regular clients have some guidelines as to what they want for each outfit," Parian replied.
"You do good work. Gods, I'd buy that dress over there if it wasn't reserved or you know if it actually fit me."
"You are on the more petite side, but definitely something I can work with. Do you want something a bit more subtle or something that highlights you in a gathering?"
"Definitely the latter. How much do you think it'll cost."
They went over a basic budget, usable materials, and several ideas for the overall shape of the dress when the door to the store opened once again.
"Ah, fuck Nazis again," Marina cursed as several men and a few women entered the store. She suddenly felt a gentle tug on her clothes that guided her a bit further back and behind Parian. It would've been a bit surprising since no one had physically touched her at all but she had the basic gist of Parian's power and honestly it was kind of sweet how protective she was trying to be even if she was scared. And the poor woman was certainly scared, she didn't seem much for fighting at all.
"I already politely declined the last group the Empire sent," Parian replied, stiff and tense.
"We should be working together as Betters," one of the women in the front replied. She seemed a bit more well-spoken than the average Nazi.
"I'm a non-combatant. I make clothes. Unless you want to buy something then please leave."
"Tch." The woman raised her arms. "Well if you're too much of a coward to fight then at the very least you could agree to serve your fellow race and not the savages. The Empire is certainly willing to work with an aspiring entrepreneur."
"I would still decline." Parian's hand moved and Marina noticed the sounds coming from the backroom along with several of the hanging outfits not being quite as inanimate as they were before. It seemed the Occultist was the only one that noticed though.
"You know if you keep saying you'll start looking like a coward or even a race traitor. We wouldn't want anyone to think that would we?"
"I think she should be allowed to work in peace." Danny made his presence known as he stood up and put himself between the Nazis and Parian. He was a bit wiry but his tall frame made it so that he did tower over quite a few of the Nazis in front of him. "I don't think anyone wants to start anything here. We don't need to get the cops or the Enforcers involved."
Considering that a few of both groups were a bit sympathetic toward the empire or outright cowards when it came to actual conflict, it was 50/50 chances they'd actually help out in a fight. Still, that was probably odds of help better than most places in the city.
"I'm just saying we should all be working together to improve the city? Don't you agree?" the nazi replied.
"We have different opinions as to what would improve the city," Danny replied.
The woman frowned and the other Nazis around her began to tense up. Thankfully there was an answer to that.
A resounding click could be heard in the store and everyone turned to Marina who had already taken out her pistol and placed it on the counter. Its safety was off and her hand rested sideways on it on the trigger. Her other hand held a large knife that she hid behind her back.
"I think that we can all agree to disagree and go on with our lives," Marina replied sternly. "We definitely don't want to make a mess, do we?"
Danny, the gun, and the sudden movement of several large cloth tied needles was enough to dissuade the Nazis and get them out of the store. It was a shame really, would've been nice to get some target practice. She didn't want to get rusty after all.
"You have a gun," Danny stated plainly.
"You don't?" Marina asked as she put her weapons away in her clothes.
"A revolver. Keep it in the office though."
"You should start carrying it around with you or bringing it home."
"Don't want it around Taylor."
"…"
"Did you already give her a gun!?"
"Not to school obviously but… yea. She's been learning how to handle one. Still haven't taken her shooting yet."
"I thought you promised you would tell me everything that you and Taylor did!?"
"I promised that I'd tell you everything about-" Marina glanced at Parian, "her employment. But the gun is a separate issue altogether. Don't you think it's a good idea for her to have as many ways to defend herself as possible?"
"Normally I'm against violence and guns in general, especially giving guns to minors, but Marina might have a point here. Brockton Bay hasn't gotten any safer especially for a young woman," Parian commented.
Danny pinched his brow. "We'll talk about this later."
"Just don't start screaming at your daughter about this, it's not her fault," Marina replied, not willing to throw her student under the bus. "She thought you'd be fine with it, I kinda made her assume that I did let you know."
"Fine."
Marina turned to Parian. "Sorry about all this by the way."
"Not your fault," Parian replied.
"Honestly, I'm thinking I'm a bit cursed. This sort of thing has been happening way too often with me recently," Marina grumbled.
"You had issues with the Empire?" Parian asked.
"Merchants actually. Nazis are annoying but they haven't tried anything with me yet."
Parian nodded. "They probably would leave you alone since you're the right skin tone and not a Cape."
"Can't be easy being a Parahuman with everyone recruiting right?" Marina asked.
Parian sighed. "It isn't. PRT already had their Heroes stop by a few times with the pitch. But they're more civil than the Empire and usually they patrol enough around the area that it scares the Nazis off. They got them on a slow day again I think."
"How often has this happened to you?" Marina asked.
"With the Empire? Including this time it'd be three times since I opened the store. Which honestly isn't that bad all things considered but this time they brought much more men than usual."
"Tensions with the Nazis have been growing since the fighting between them has escalated again," Marina replied.
"Yes. I would imagine with Purity defecting for the Acolytes and destroying Empire holdings that the Empire would be much more desperate to recruit."
And wasn't that a pain? Thankfully the human flashlight wasn't being pointed in her direction just yet, but Marina would probably have to further fortify the store just in case the fighting moved further south.
"Thank you for defending me though," Parian said a bit bashfully. "Normally people aren't so quick to defend a Parahuman. It's usually the other way around."
"Eh. Strange powers aside you're human like the rest of us," Marina replied. "Do you have a pen?"
"Sure." Parian handed her a pencil.
Marina began writing on a nearby notepad. "Here's my number. If you have any problems just give me a call. I'll see what I can do to help and if you need to get away from here quickly you can always come to my store."
Parian stared at the slip of paper being held out to her and then looked up at Marina's face. She then tenderly grabbed the paper and slipped it through the top of her dress in between her breasts. "I'll give you a call sometime."
