Read aloud to me alt Taylor Chapter 29: Emiya, a 3x3 eyes fanfic

The Entities wanted to destroy all versions of Earth. Gaia and Alaya objected to that. Hijacking a shard they sent Counter Guardian Emiya through to fight. Now bound to Taylor the pair must adapt and grow in order to face the coming threat. In other words Taylor inherits Archer's powers. Extreme divergences from canon.

This post has been edited as of the start of 2019 in an attempt to make the story more compliant with Fate canon. If this story falls short of Fate canon in some respects... well this is the best I can do. I'm mixing two large and complicated universes, one of which is continuing to develop even now, both of which are rife with pervasive fanon. And even listening to the people who know fate inside and out I often run into conflicting opinions and that's before incorporating Worm's own brand of bullshit. I'm gong to miss details, and be vague, and bend or break a few things as I work to bring you the best story I can. I will try to stay canon compliant, but I'm not going to promise perfection here. Especially not when some of this boils down to conflicting opinions. I hope you can look past any missteps and enjoy the story. But if you can't I understand. Just don't tear into me too harshly for it either. I am trying to do right by all of you to the point where this is actually the second set of rewrites this story has seen. I want to do this well, I just can't go chasing after the impossible dream of making everyone happy with it.

As a general point of clarification for Fate fans, the Entities are being powered by magical energy stored as crystal flesh rather than Wildbows nebulous 'energy' stored as crystal flesh. Their abilities and powers are very much grounded in science, like magecraft, and not the conceptual bullshit that pops up with certain Noble Phantasms and other abilities.

I don't own Worm. I don't own Fate Stay Night, or any part of the Nasuverse. I hope you all enjoy! Please leave a review if you enjoy the story!

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With a gasp I pinwheeled my arms and tried to get my tired cramped legs under me properly. The locker was gone, the filth was gone, the whole fucking school was gone!

Looking around the scenery kept changing. One moment I was in a pure white room. The next I was in a massive library. Another moment passed and I was suspended in the black of space, stars winked back at me in the millions.

"That's quite enough of that, I think." A calm male voice spoke from behind me. As he finished speaking the surroundings changed one final time. Now I found myself in a perfectly normal if fancy sitting room. The centerpiece of the room was a small circular table set for tea with a chair on either side. Sitting in one chair already was a very tall man with white hair. He wore black body armor that showed off the kind of abs you could grate cheese on. He also wore some sort of red sleeves that covered his shoulders and were held together only by a large tied off string.

"Ah, Taylor. Please, take a seat." I could only stare wide eyed.

"I've gone crazy." I finally mumbled as I almost fell into the open chair. "The stress was too much and I finally snapped and went insane.

The man only shook his head and poured me a cup of tea. Without really looking I absentmindedly took a sip. The flavor was unlike anything I had tried before.

"It's oolong with jasmine." The man stated calmly. "As an American I realize you are likely more familiar with black tea, but I thought you might appreciate trying something new."

"It's delicious." It really was. Something about the flavor almost radiated peace and calm.

"I'm glad you like it. Now, to business. I am Counter Guardian Emiya. But please, call me Archer."

I licked my suddenly dry lips. I didn't really want to know where this was going I was still half convinced I was losing my mind. Still, I'd rather be here and insane, than sane and still trapped in my locker. Probably.

"Ok, Archer. I'm Taylor Hebert."

"Nice to properly meet you, Taylor." He said with a bit of a smile. "There is a great deal of information I need to explain to you. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time just yet so it's going to have to be the cliff notes version, for now. To be honest a lot of the details won't matter to you anyway."

I settled for simply sipping more of my tea.

"The broad strokes of it are that magic is real. If far more complicated than popular culture would have you believe."

Am I still crazy if my delusions sound crazy to me?

"Part of that means that both the planet earth and the general will of humanity are both… lets say aware, and capable of intervening. My job as a Counter Guardian is to intervene and destroy whatever might be threatening to end humanity. Usually that means certain groups of humans. But not this time. Let me show you something."

With a wave of his arm the room dissolved back into the expanse of space. Though the table, chairs and tea remained. Archer turned a bit and pointed. Following his finger, I saw them. Two massive shapes. Crystalline worms, spiraling around each other as they moved through the black.

"May I introduce to you, our enemy. They are beings unlike anything found on earth. On any earth. Their bodies are an insane fusion of crystallized magical energy and organic matter. They are also the source of what you call powers."

"What?!" I whipped my head away from the, things, to look at Archer. He never took his eyes off of them though.

"Indeed. They detach pieces of themselves, and the pieces settle on alternate versions of earth. Then they establish connections to humans through a pair of growths in the brain. Each shard is capable of a different kind of magical ability. By providing power for, and allowing humans to use those powers they gather more data about the ability allowing the shards to refine themselves." He calmly explained.

"They convert the planet, every instance of the solar system, into enough raw magic to replace what the shards used, to rebirth themselves, and fuel their travel to the next unfortunate planet. Then they move on and begin the process anew."

I was shaking. I was terrified. What he was saying was insane. Utterly and completely insane! But with every word there was a bone deep chill and a certainty that he was telling me the truth. I didn't understand it. Couldn't explain it. But I knew everything he was saying was real.

"Normally the afflicted worlds would be written off in order to preserve humanity. But these things have somehow blocked that response. They have turned a number of dimensions into a beachhead from which they can run their experiments, and when that is finished, they will consume their beachhead to gather enough power to either move on, or make a push against the other iterations of earth. We are not assuming they would be so benevolent as to leave after feasting on their testing grounds." Archer said with a scowl.

"These things have done everything they can to limit us. They settled on earth's without mages, and they have done their best to keep the spirit of earth, and humanity, out. Working together though, those two forces managed to hijack one of the shards. The shard that connected to you. They overwrote the thing and made it a vessel for me instead, to help humanity strike back."

Archer took a moment to sip his own cup of tea as I digested everything he had said.

"It's not hopeless. So much of their power was used up creating this staging area of theirs, and even more is being used to maintain it. They will be limited, powerful beyond measure, but limited in comparison to their full capabilities. More than that we've gotten extremely lucky. One of them is already dead. That alone makes what could have been impossible only extremely difficult. Honestly, I couldn't even guess what our odds are, but we at least have a chance."

Finally, Archer turned to face me.

"My abilities, my power, my experience, and knowledge. All of that plus a source of magical power so large you likely couldn't deplete it in twenty lifetimes. All being brought to bear through you, making you more, eventually making you a Demi Servant if one needed to be technical. And we are going to pit all that against the remaining entity."

The teacup in my hand shook violently as I placed it down on the table.

"Why me? What the hell makes me the best choice to try and stop that, thing!"

"Honestly? It could have been anyone. But that shard was chosen in part because it was a good match for my abilities, and in part because it looked for hosts who would, when motivated, fight even seemingly impossible battles. People who were creative enough to find unexpected solutions. People with drive to see their course of action through to the end. That's you, and like it or not that's what humanity needs right now."

"This is crazy." I whispered. "You're crazy, or hell maybe I'm crazy!" My voice got louder as I spoke. "The source of powers? Alien super worms who want to destroy everything? You want me to save the world!" I was shouting now. "I can't even deal with a few bullies! How the hell am I supposed to save the world?!"

Archer didn't say anything at first. He just stared at me with a serious look. Finally, he sighed and placed his tea cup back on the table.

"I'm truly sorry. I know this is a lot to take in. I know it isn't fair to you. But you are who we have to work with. You are the best and only shot we've got. When I volunteered for this there were already a handful of plans in the works for getting you some backup. And even more plans for if we fail." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before refocusing on me again. "But those will take time to prepare. Some of them require our help to get started. A number of them are also the kind of plan that calls for sacrifices to be made. Even my being here is coming at a price."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm connected to you, and to the shard. The entire point of my presence here is to grant you my abilities… but those abilities are unique to me. Eventually, I'll be completely subsumed. Then you'll be all that's left. Albeit a you who has been heavily influenced by me. I will fade away until I die, and you will be changed. That's what a Demi Servant is, a fusion of human and heroic spirit, though this will be a unique merging in many ways."

"That's insane." I whispered. Then I started to shout. "I don't want to be changed! I don't want someone to die just so I can get some power! I just want, I want…" what did I want? For the trio to leave me the hell alone. For my life to not suck. For Dad to get his shit together and remember me. For Mom to never have died. For this insane mess to not be my problem.

"Such is the way things are. The world has need of you, humanity has need of you, and they don't bother to ask. All that is left is for you to adapt. There aren't any other options." He glanced to the side.

"Our time is up. You're starting to wake up. If you are still trapped I'll take over long enough to get you out."

"What are you-" and then I was back in the locker, still trapped. The brief break from the smell had let my nose recover slightly and now I was being hit with the stench all over again. I dry heaved for a moment before I felt my body leave my control.

"I was afraid this would happen." It took me a moment to realize that the voice I was hearing was my own. "Pay attention, Taylor. This is the basis for my entire style of combat. You'll need to learn how to do this, and the sooner the better."

I felt energy, power, flow through me. In my mind I could see a dusty series of hills illuminated by a setting sun. Everywhere embedded in the ground were blades. They numbered in the countless thousands. The scenery seamed to whip by until I saw a pair of crossed blades, short but wide, one black and the other white.

"Trace on." The power surged and suddenly my hands were holding the two blades. In the blink of an eye my body still completely beyond my control moved and the locker door was cut off, falling to the ground with a clatter. My body stepped out of the filth. The swords faded away in particles of light… and I was back in control.

Funny, for hours I had only wanted out. Now I had my wish, and I had no idea what to do next. My body could be stolen from me at a moment's notice. I had powers I didn't even begin to understand. I had an older man riding shotgun in my fucking head who wanted me to save the world! For fucks sake I just, I just.

It was too much. My vision started to swim turning black around the edges. I couldn't seem to get enough air into my lungs no matter how much air I tried to take in. Then the floor was rising up to meet me as I fell forward.

Last edited: Jan 21, 2019

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I dreamed of wandering a desolate wasteland. The sky was a cloudy, rusty, crimson, that seemed to be illuminated from everywhere and nowhere. Giant gears made of dull iron hung suspended in the air, constantly grinding away without any driving force. The landscape was dead. Low hills rolling on forever, but without a single blade of grass to soften their appearance, or bind the dirt which made them. Clouds of dust choked the world, clinging to the ground like a heavy mist blown ever onward by dry winds carrying the smell of ash. And everywhere I looked, sticking out of the ground like gravestones, were swords.

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Gasping, panting, I shot up into a sitting position… in a hospital bed? 'Was it all a dream?'

"Welcome back, Taylor." The familiar voice echoed in my head.

I shrieked... A little. "Archer?"

"Still here, Taylor."

"I thought it was dream. A nightmare."

"I'm afraid not."

"So that thing is really out there. And it really is going to destroy everything?"

"Yes." I closed my eyes and brought my knees up so that I could bury my face in them. For a few moments I focused on just breathing. It was all I could do for the moment. That and tremble. I couldn't even control it; my body would simply not stop trembling.

"I'm not ready." I murmured into my knees. "I'm not in shape. I don't know how to fight. I don't even know what to expect from that thing or how to get to it in the first place. More than that… Archer, do you know just how dangerous this world really is? If I make a mistake before I'm ready, before we fight that thing, I could die and never even get a shot at it." I wasn't giving up. In spite of how it might sound I wasn't giving up. I just needed to know if Archer really understood what we were up against.

Archer's sigh echoed in my mind. "Perhaps not fully. I have some idea based on your knowledge, but it's incomplete. For all that you are native to this world you have never seen any capes in combat. Let alone these Endbringers. I will not lie, this will be difficult, and I do not know if we can expect any further help, though I am sure others will continue to try. Now that they know how to do so they may be able to more easily send other spirits the same way… though most would not be so willing to see their existence come to an end."

I latched onto the last bit, putting the rest aside. "Why were you willing to come here if it meant dying?"

For long moments Archer remained silent. "To be a Counter Guardian is to subject oneself to an eternity of killing. Always those deaths serve humanity. We kill those that would put all of humanity at risk… But it is a horrible, and empty existence. The chance to be a part of saving the earth, of saving all earths. Of being able to leave something other than corpses in my wake. The chance for this horrible existence to finally end." His voice was thick with emotion. Vicious glee and anticipation warred with something that seemed almost religious, and hope. Hope carried more clearly in his voice than anything else. "Taylor, this chance, this last mission, this is everything I want."

As Archer spoke my trembling slowed and finally stopped. Archer was here to die. I could feel it down to my bones. He was here to help, and fight, and save. But just as much as all those things he was here to die. Even if we succeeded, he would die. He was counting on it.

"I see. I guess I'll have to be sure to never accept a job offer as a Counter Guardian." I said trying for just a little bit of levity. Archer seemed to appreciate the attempt going by his chuckles.

"Yes, I would highly recommend never accepting such an offer." He answered wryly.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Now? We do everything we can to prepare you."

Before I could respond the door to my hospital room opened. Rather than a nurse or Dad like I would have expected, Miss Militia, of all people, walked in.

"A hero? Damn it. We do not need this kind of attention. Not so soon at least."

"Miss Hebert? How are you feeling?" She asked kindly. The corners of her eyes crinkling slightly gave the impression of a smile under her scarf.

"I, well, not great. But I'm clean which is a relief." I answered honestly. "What is she even doing here?"

"I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough."

I blinked. Archer had answered my question? But I hadn't even asked it? "You can hear my thoughts?"

"I'm glad you're comfortable at least." She said moving to stand at the foot of my bed.

"Yes, but only when you put them in words. With practice you'll be able to limit it to what you want me to hear."

I absently nodded to both of their statements but otherwise remained silent. I would have to practice keeping my thoughts private. "This is going to be awkward enough without Archer hearing every little thing that goes through my head."

"True, but I'm sure you will get it eventually." Archer's response sounded vaguely amused.

"Damn it."

"Miss Hebert, Taylor, I hate to ask about this, but you cut yourself out of your locker. We can tell from how the edges looked. You had no tools or blades with which to do so, and from that position you would have had terrible leverage. How did you escape?"

"Don't tell her anything."

"I think it's a bit late for that, Archer. She already knows I somehow cut myself out when I physically couldn't have."

"...True. However, that doesn't mean you should give away tactical information about your capabilities just because someone asks."

"You're a bit paranoid, you do know that, right?"

"Fate of all earths in our hands. A bit of healthy paranoia is not a bad thing."

"Miss Hebert?" I glanced up at Miss Militia's tone before glancing away again.

"I need to tell her something!"

"... couldn't you just, not?"

"No!"

"It's not like you have any kind of legal requirement to answer."

"Alright, legally I don't need to answer. But practically speaking they already know something is going on… And I can't think of anything that might convince her otherwise. Can you?"

Miss Militia seemed content to let me keep my silence for now, but that couldn't last forever.

"No… no I can't. Alright, I don't like it, but you are right. Just, keep the information to a minimum."

"That should be easy enough. After all, I don't even know what I can do yet." Archer's answering chuckle sounded strained, but I still took it as a good sign.

"I cut myself out." I finally answered. I couldn't quite bring myself to look her in the eye while I answered though.

"I see, how did you cut yourself out?"

"With a pair of swords I made. They didn't last very long though. I, don't think I'm very good with my powers just yet."

"Not bad. All mostly true and it tells her nothing important."

"That's, interesting. Is there any chance you could show me?"

"Well, I, um."

"Taylor, we've been linked for less than a day. And you've only seen me use my magecraft once. You're not ready. Tracing my blades now is impossible for you."

"If I don't show her she's just going to be even more suspicious!"

Archer's groan reverberated through my mind. "I never expected this mission to be so damn troublesome. At least not so early on. I'm going to need to take control again for this."

"Why do I feel like this is going to be a recurring theme for us?"

"Just put your all into learning and soon enough it won't be."

His piece said I felt my consciousness slip into the back of my own mind as my body moved on its own. Shoulders squared, back straightened, my expression shifted to something calm, and determined. I knew as I saw the shock and tension run through Miss Militia that we had made a major mistake.

"Trace on." My voice, but not my tone of voice. Swords, black and white and gleaming brilliantly, formed in my hands. Then I was back in control. I couldn't even begin to fight the reflexive flinch backwards as a curled in on myself slightly.

That was all she needed to see. Miss Militia was out of her chair and had retreated back to the doorway. Her power, which had previously been in the shape of a small knife at her side, danced through the air as restless green energy, snapping from one form to the next rapid fire. Her eyes danced back and forth between the blades and I.

"Miss Hebert?" she said flatly.

"I, yes?"

"What was that?"

"I don't…"

"Miss Hebert, please don't make any hostile movements. I'm going to require you to go through Master Stranger testing. Please cooperate and we'll do everything we can to help you, I promise."

I could hear Archer cursing a blue streak though I didn't really pay it much attention. With a groan I slumped back into my hospital bed and dropped the blades to the floor where they faded away into particles of light. As if my day hadn't been long enough already.

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Three hours of seemingly random questions later I was finally left alone in a padded room with a trough for a toilet/shower, and a futon for a bed. I got it, really I did. But seriously? 'Have you recently smelled something that could best be described as fudge when there is no fudge?' Where the hell did something that random and off the wall come from? They hadn't even bothered to just ask me if I knew what was going on and why I suddenly changed body language like that.

Archer had at least done me the favor of not distracting me with a lot of comments during their testing. Which I appreciated, but it didn't change the fact that I could actually feel his mounting frustration and anger across whatever connection we shared. I was already frustrated enough on my own. I didn't need his on top of mine. More than that though I was just tired. It was just so fucking typical that nothing could go right for me. Even getting powers only managed to make my life worse in the end.

"Anyone out there listening to me by any chance?" I asked my ceiling as I laid out on the futon. I could feel a faint thread of interest from Archer. I ignored that too. After a minute with no answer I shrugged to myself and kept talking. "Fine, don't answer me. Even if no one is listening right now I'd bet I'm being recorded. Just thought I should point out that none of you did the obvious thing and just asked me if I knew what was going on. Idiots."

Archer's laughter managed to drag a tired smile out of me as I closed my eyes. They were going to pull my secrets out of me sooner or later at this rate. But I was just so tired of the world beating on me. If I was going to get dragged along then damn it all I was going to get a few kicks of my own in!

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The sound of an annoyingly loud buzzer dragged me from sleep. Groggily, I rubbed at my eyes and glared at the door as it swung open. Standing in the doorway was an apologetic looking Miss Militia, a grumpy looking Armsmaster, and a Ward in power armor, Gallant. With a groan I flopped back onto the futon and rubbed the palms of my hands over my eyes. Blinking I sat back upright and stared at the heroes for a moment.

"Archer, why can I see without my glasses."

"Hmm? Oh, my presence, and being absorbed is helping optimize your body. You'll still need to work hard to reach, and then maintain, human peak, but it will come easier for you than a normal person. Once we get into self reinforcement, you will be able to surpass human capabilities. Though as the process nears completion you may find yourself exceeding human limits without magecraft and there may be more obvious physical changes as well. You might, for example, develop my tan or eye color. This has never been done in such a way before so it's hard to know for certain what we can expect."

"Right, one question answered. A dozen more in its place."

"Miss Hebert, if you'll please come with us. We have prepared an interview room." Armsmaster spoke in a nearly dead tone of voice gesturing with the hand not carrying his halberd.

"Hmm interesting weapon he has there. Gahh, I can understand parts of it. The outside makes sense, but the interior is a mess. Mixing magecraft and technology like that, it's giving me a headache."

Ignoring Archer, I stood with a groan and fell in just behind Miss Militia and ahead of Armsmaster and Gallant. With any luck something might actually get worked out today. We walked through the halls in silence for a few minutes before Miss Militia gestured through a doorway. Inside was a cheap looking table and some generic chairs. Off to one side there was a basket of muffins and a pitcher of ice water. Grabbing a cup of water and a few muffins I dropped into the chair opposite the door.

Miss Militia claimed the seat across from me and the two other heroes in power armor stood by the door. I suppose they would be too heavy for the chairs in that armor. Miss Militia waited patiently for me to finish my muffins. I took my time chewing and tried to put my thoughts in order. I wasn't really sure what was going on at this point, I definitely didn't think I rated three heroes for, well, whatever this was. Swallowing the last bite of muffin, I decided I might as well start asking questions.

"Err, no one took my statement yesterday, about what happened to me. Can I give that now? Or do I need to go to the police station for that?" I asked shifting to look at each hero in turn.

"Given your new status as a Parahuman, and the irregularities we've observed, your case has actually been passed to the Protectorate. Would you like to get that out of the way first?" Miss Militia asked, not unkindly.

"...Sure, I guess." I wasn't sure what else there was to talk about, but I wanted to get this over with as soon as I could. More than that I didn't want to give those bitches or the school any more time to cover things up. They'd already been given too much of a head start.

I explained. I prefaced by saying that the bullying had been going on since the start of high school. I listed off the general kind of things that happened. Insults in the halls, tripping and shoving, vicious emails that forced me to create new accounts, homework and personal property destroyed. I didn't bother giving them a case by case, just an overview, I explained that the administration wouldn't do anything claiming there was no proof. Then I took a deep breath and told them about yesterday, about the locker.

"Sophia had to be the one to actually push me in there." I said winding down my testimony. I felt drained, God I hoped they would at least listen. "Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clements are the usual ringleaders. But Sophia is the only one who ever gets physical, so it must have been her that pushed me in there." I just barely noticed Gallant stop moving. It shouldn't have meant anything, but the boy had been constantly shifting since I started to describe the locker. And he froze stock still when I mentioned the girl's names.

"The hell? Does he know one of them from somewhere or something?"

"Hmm, possibly."

"Probably Emma. Her Dad's a divorce lawyer and he brings her along to a lot of high society events. I think I remember hearing that Wards get dragged to those sometimes."

"Mmm, makes sense."

"Was there anything else you needed from me? My Dad's probably worried about me, and I'd really like to get home."

Armsmaster and Miss Militia shared a look before Armsmaster began to speak. "Miss Hebert, you are aware that you went through Master Stranger quarantine yesterday?"

"Yes." I answered slowly, as if speaking to a particularly slow child.

"How could I have missed waking up in a strange room to a trio of superheroes?" Archer's amused snort forced me to fight a grin. But the way Gallant suddenly leaned forward as if looking at me closely quickly killed my amusement. I gave the Ward a questioning look.

"Miss Hebert, when you used your power yesterday, it was like looking at a completely different person." Miss Militia spoke carefully, as if choosing each word was of some great importance. "Nothing truly worrying came up when we interviewed you yesterday. However, Gallant here is an empath. He watched part of your Master Stranger interview. He claims you have two sets of emotions."

"It's really odd." Gallant said thoughtfully. "Just now the second set of emotions was amused for a moment. Then you're, primary emotions, followed. Can you tell me why that happened? Why you have two sets of emotions to begin with?"

"... I'd really rather not." I focused on a spot in the middle of the table. I wasn't willing to look any of them in the eye.

"Why?" Armsmaster asked. He wasn't like the other two he was… almost confrontational.

"Because it sounds crazy."

"Taylor, if someone is using some sort of power on you, we need any information you can offer to be able to help you." Miss Militia said gently.

Groaning I rubbed at my eyes. "I'm not getting out of here until I answer their questions, am I?"

"Most likely. They've already decided what must be happening, and refusing to tell them anything will only further cement their belief."

"Damn it."

"Mmm. I was really hoping to keep a lower profile."

"It's not some Master effect, that's Archer." I rubbed at my eyes tiredly. "He sort of, came with my power, I guess."

"Elaborate." Armsmaster demanded. Miss Militia shot the man a mild glare to which I added my own.

"My powers, were, are, his. He came with them as a kind of package deal. Thing is… I can't work my powers, yet. He has to teach me first and I haven't had them long enough to even start learning."

"Powers don't work that way." Armsmaster scowled at me. I just shrugged.

"Mine do."

"But I saw you project two blades yesterday." Miss Militia cut in before Armsmaster could start talking again. "And you cut yourself out of your locker."

"I didn't though. That was Archer. He had to be in control to do that. It's why my body language changed. I still have no idea how he does that."

"I'll teach you."

"Good. I need to be able to protect myself. I'm never going to let something like that happen to me again… and we've got a world to save, don't we?" I didn't want to think about that. It was just such a huge problem. I had no idea where to even begin dealing with it. But denial wasn't going to help. I'd just have to take it one day at a time.

"Yes, yes we do." Archer's voice was warm with approval. It made me sit up a bit straighter in my chair.

"This, Archer, can take control of your body?" Armsmaster demanded.

"Yes." I'd already admitted as much, no point in denying it now.

"And you can speak with him."

"Just have to think at him, or something. Still working on keeping my thoughts private the rest of the time."

"Miss Hebert, you have admitted to having a voice in your head, and that said voice is capable of taking control of your body." Armsmaster said flatly. "Until such a time as this effect is no longer an issue or your, claims, that this is only an aspect of your power can be confirmed we have no choice but to act under the assumption that you are suffering from some form of Master effect. Body thieves are incredibly rare, but there have been a few cases of such."

With every word I could feel a pit opening up in my stomach.

"Furthermore, your testimony is now suspect and any capable lawyer could have it thrown out of court. While we can use it as a starting point for our investigation, we will need to corroborate everything through other sources."

"No. No, no no no no! Damn it all! They have to listen to me! If they don't believe me then they'll just get away with this!"

"Breath, Taylor, just breath. We will get through this. Worst comes to worst we will just have to break you out."

"But then I'll be a villain!"

"It will be our last resort then. There is still time to figure things out."

"Finally, as a Parahuman suffering from an unknown Master effect, you are by PRT regulations to be considered a possible threat to both the public and yourself. To that end we are required, by law, to hold you for a period of one week for observation. Should the effect fade in that time you will be cleared to leave. Should the effect persist after a week then we will be required to transfer you to a long term Master Stranger recovery ward for professional evaluation and treatment. Do you understand?"

"You can't just arrest me! I haven't even done anything! I can't even use my powers yet!"

"Miss Hebert, Taylor." Miss Militia spoke up after shooting a look in Armsmaster's direction. "You aren't being arrested. I know this must be upsetting, I know it isn't fair to you. But it's the only method we have to help you, and keep others safe. What if this Archer took control and used your body to hurt someone? You claim he can use your powers, that makes him dangerous."

I slumped into my seat and just stared at the table. It was true that I had only met Archer yesterday. I didn't really know him but he didn't seem like a bad person, and he was here to help save the world, not go around hurting random people. But they wouldn't believe that. They had no reason to believe me. I could tell them I wasn't insane or Mastered until I was blue in the face, but they had already made up their minds. They wouldn't listen to me now.

"I've half a mind to just beat them all and walk us out of here."

"Archer, that is without a doubt the stupidest, most short sighted plan I have ever heard. It's three against one and we are who knows where in a place we don't know the layout of and it's probably rigged with containment foam sprayers everywhere. And even if we did get out, they would hunt me down because they think I'm a public threat! So, either shut up, or offer me a useful suggestion!"

"All right, all right. Not like I was being serious."

"Fine, whatever. You all think I'm crazy, or Mastered, or whatever, got it." I could feel my eyes starting to sting but I would not start crying here and now. I would get through this even if I had to train until I could break out and survive on the run. I could deal with the trio making my life hell, I could deal with this. "But if you're going to be investigating, I kept an incident journal. I only started it this year, but I recorded every incident and kept copies of emails and… whatever. It's not much, but it's something at least. It's in my closet on the top shelf. My Dad should be able to get it for you since I'm stuck here."

"We'll make sure it's retrieved. That should at least help to corroborate your testimony." Miss Militia said kindly.

"Great, anything else you needed? Because if there isn't, I'd really like to start learning to use my power." And I really wanted to get out of this room. They weren't going to help me, and it hurt to look at them and know that.

"We can bring you back to the Master Stranger cells now, but be warned any attempts to break out will result in the room being filled with containment foam." Armsmaster declared rather pointedly.

"Yeah, figured as much." I answered sullenly.

Armsmaster waved for me to stand as he opened the door to the room and led me back to my previous room. Miss Militia followed behind me this time.

Once back inside the containment cell I plopped down on the futon. "Alright, Archer. Looks like we have nothing but time on our hands. And I could really use a distraction right now. So, teach me magic."

Archer's warm chuckles echoed through my mind. "Alright then, Taylor. Let's get started."

Last edited: Dec 31, 2018

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ALERT! this post contains incorrect information about Dissociative Identity Disorder. I paraphrased the explanation about DID from a website that was apparently not a reliable source. I am looking into editing the chapter without necessitating a full rewrite of the entire fic. If I can limit the edits to just this chapter I'll move forward with them. In the meantime please simply be aware that the information is incorrect and if you are interested in learning more about the subject I've been directed to this source.

{}{}{}{} Three weeks post trigger; Massachusetts long term Master recovery ward.

"Red!"

Quick as a flash a dart with red tail fins shot across the room and sunk into my dartboard.

"Blue! Green! Yellow! Red! Polka Dots!"

The first four color matched darts I managed with ease, but I fully admit to flubbing the last one. I was so thrown off by the weird directive that I lost concentration and the dart wound up lopsided enough to go badly off course.

"Damn it, Archer. They asked me to try not putting holes in their wall, remember? That's the whole reason they even let me have the dartboard." I let the traced darts fade.

"Just keeping you on your toes, Taylor."

"No you're not." I dismissed his excuse. "You're just looking for some amusement. Admit it, you're as bored as I am."

"Well, maybe. It's just such a waste." He griped. "You're never going to use darts as a real weapon. It's been a useful practice tool. Being able to quickly trace simple things and even make small quick adjustments too them is a good start, but we've barely scratched the surface. It's good progress and you are learning quickly but if we don't get more freedom for you to practice…"

"I know, I know. I need to keep learning. Sword fighting, archery, general fitness. And I'm not even close to being able to trace a noble phantasm yet."

"You are getting there. But no, you aren't ready yet."

With a growl I traced a throwing star and chucked it at the dartboard. It produced a much more satisfying thump than the darts did. Even so, it did very little to actually calm me down. Turning away I stared out of my barred window. Not that there was much to see, just grass and the tree line.

Two weeks I'd been stuck here. It was an all right place, but I was a prisoner here. I had barely seen Dad. Not that I could blame him for that, after all we weren't even in the same state. He did manage to come down on the weekends for a few hours, and he called every other day, but he never knew what to say to me. He was torn between wanting to support me, and being terrified about the fact his daughter was being mastered. It made conversation, difficult.

More than that though they kept poking and prodding and asking me questions. Quite often the same questions again and again as if they expected my answers to change. Hell, maybe they did expect my answers to change.

I kept telling them what Archer and I had agreed to tell them. We left magic out of it, and the stuff about the source of powers wanting to devour earth across as many dimensions as possible. But otherwise I explained as best I could what was going on. I also neglected to discuss just what Noble Phantasms were really capable of. All I would say was that Archer had some weapons with unique abilities and I didn't know too much about them yet.

To be fair, I really didn't know much about them. Archer had told me about some of his favorites, but that was a mere handful. He had thousands.

Two more throwing stars joined the first. These were at least potentially useful, unlike the darts. They were also easier to aim.

"I wonder if it's too soon for you to try tracing a weapon with velocity. Probably best to wait until we can at least get safety glass for you to stand behind. My first few attempts with that technique were a bit… unpredictable."

"What do you mean, 'tracing a weapon with velocity?'"

"Velocity; a vector with both magnitude and direction." He lectured. "In other words you apply direction and speed to something as you trace it. I called it trace bullet because I essentially fired traced weapons like bullets."

"You can do that?! That's amazing! How do I do that?"

"Easy, Taylor. My first attempt almost buried a sword into my foot. Let's wait until you have actual room for testing things safely."

"Stingy." I grumbled half heartedly. Archer didn't respond, but I could feel a bit of amusement coming from him.

"Miss Hebert?" Someone called as they knocked on my door.

"It's locked, but feel free to come in if you have a key." I snarked. All the doors here locked from the outside. Not that something as simple as a locked door could stop me, but breaking out would just have the Protectorate hounding me. That, and I strongly suspected the entire building was rigged with containment foam.

A thought dissolved the throwing stars as I dropped onto my bed. I briefly toyed with the idea of tracing a blunted butterfly knife just to mess with whoever it was but dismissed the idea. No matter how amusing it might be it wasn't worth giving these people another reason to hold me here. Wonder who it would be this time anyway?

I started drumming my hands against the bed as I heard a key turn in the lock. "And the mystery guest star of the day iiiis~" Archer chuckled lightly at my antics. We had both learned rather quickly to make our own entertainment or be bored to tears. "Doctor Conner, rocking the latest fall psych ward wear. White thicker than hospital scrubs and a pair of black shoes that don't match at all. And just look at the shine he's getting off his head! What do you think, Archer, does he wax or polish?"

Archers amused snort made my grin grow a bit. The man wasn't much for making jokes, and he tended to get really serious from time to time. So, the fact he appreciated my atrophied sense of humor was always gratifying. It was really nice, always having a friend to talk to.

"Good afternoon, miss Hebert. You seem to be in a good mood today." The doc said favoring me with a gentle smile.

"Ahh well, I'm getting pretty good with the basics of my power. Archer was just telling me about a cool trick that he says he'll teach me when I've got more room to practice in."

The doc nodded along. I had to admit he was a good actor. They all think I'm fucked in the head, but looking at them when they talk with me you would never know it.

"I may actually have some good news on that front then."

"Wait, what?"

"What?" Archer echoed me.

"Myself and the rest of the staff assigned to your case have reached a consensus that you are not suffering from any Master or Stranger effects."

"Yes!" I shouted. Jumping off the bed I stuck my fists in the air and whooped.

"Oh thank goodness. Another week of this and I'd have begged you to let me cut us out of here."

"Two more weeks and I might have let you!"

Then I noticed the Doctor wincing, slightly. And just like that I knew we weren't free and clear quite yet. Groaning, I sank back onto the bed.

"What's the catch?" I asked. Doctor Conner at least had the grace to look sheepish.

"The fact you aren't suffering from a traditional Master or Stranger effect is a good thing." He insisted. "However, you have tripped a few red flags farther up the line. A few professionals believe this may be a case of power augmented Dissociative Identity Disorder." He offered me a sympathetic smile. "You have probably heard it called multiple personality disorder. Also, someone compared Archer speaking in your mind with the Butcher and, well…" He trailed off, but I didn't need him to explain past that.

"Fuck."

"The Butcher?"

"Anyone who kills the Butcher ends up with the voices of all the previous Butchers shouting in their head, as well as weakened versions of the predecessor's powers. They all end up going functionally insane, if there is such a thing, and are the leader of the Teeth. Which is one of the most violent gangs on the East Coast."

"Damn it."

"Exactly."

"So, what happens now?" I asked.

"Now we transfer you to a facility for Parahumans in New York for further observation. They have Parahuman specialists on staff there and will be better able to analyze your situation. Once they clear you, you'll be able to leave." He gave me a kind, sad, smile.

I stared him dead in the eye for a few moments before I spoke. "By facility, I assume you mean asylum. And when you say once, you really mean if they clear me." I wasn't really asking. I already knew.

"Doctor, I want you to think about this from my perspective for a minute. I got attacked and the stress was so bad I triggered. Something you yourself explained as 'often the lowest point of a person's life.' I cooperated with the proper authorities, didn't lash out with my new abilities, all the stuff a good member of society is supposed to do… And my reward has been to get locked up for three weeks going on indefinitely." I managed to keep my voice level, but I was glaring holes in the man. There was also more than a hint of suppressed violence in my tone.

"I am running out of patience. Archer is running out of patience. And despite how nice you all have been I do not want to spend the rest of my life being shuffled from one loony bin to the next." Now my voice was starting to rise. "When is there going to be any real progress? Or is this just going to be more of what I went through with Winslow, and the Protectorate? It's been three weeks and I haven't heard a word about the investigation they said they were going to conduct. And now you're saying that playing ball hasn't improved anything. If they think I'm a new Butcher things may even be worse now! At what point do I get to say enough and start demanding you people actually do your damn jobs!"

"Well said."

"Thank you." I huffed back.

Doctor Conner shifted nervously and glanced towards what I suspected was a containment foam sprinkler. "Miss Herbert, I know this is stressful and unfair to you, but you're just going to have to have faith. I know this must be painfully slow for you, and I know it doesn't seem like it, but this is progress."

"How, is this progress?"

"With you cleared of Master/Stranger influence that is one less thing the court could use to try and have your testimony dismissed. Though I'm not clear on what the state of the investigation may be." He shrugged apologetically. "As I said though, the facility we are transferring you to has actual Parahuman specialists. They will be able to help you were as we could only confirm you weren't being affected by a Master. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it is progress."

"What do you mean one less thing?" I demanded.

"Er, given the Protectorates new concerns the defense may be able to get your testimony thrown out under the pretense that you not mentally sound." I glared harder. "Though that won't be an issue once you are cleared!"

Growling under my breath I turned away from the Doctor and towards my dart board. A dozen throwing stars, each with different blade shapes later I felt at least slightly calmer. Letting the weapons fade I turned back to face the now much paler looking Doctor.

"Fine." I managed to grit out. "I'll keep going along with this, for now. But I am getting very tired of this runaround, Doctor." Shaking my head, I let out a long sigh. I couldn't start blatantly threatening to just up and leave. It might make me feel better, but it would just make them more paranoid and any possible breakout more difficult. "When do I leave?"

"The PRT van should be here in a couple of hours."

"Fine, whatever. Leave me alone so I can pack." The man nodded and stood to leave. "And thank Jeff for the dart board for me. I don't think I'll get a chance to see him before I leave."

"I'll be sure to tell him." I thought I detected a hint of a smile in his voice but I was already busy putting my clothes into the small duffel bag they originally came in and didn't see his face.

"Are you sure about this, Taylor? I could have us out of here in ten seconds flat."

"I know you could, and believe me I'm tempted." I rearranged a few pieces of clothing to fit better and went to take down my dartboard. "But I don't know enough to fight on my own yet, and you are used to a completely different body. And neither of us has ever fought capes before. We're not ready."

"Perhaps, but we may never be ready either if you need to learn under these conditions. So, how long will you delay?"

"... I don't know, Archer. At least a full month from now… if they give us room to really practice and learn… three months, maybe longer if it seems like I'm actually going to get cleared. But if after that long we haven't gotten anywhere…"

Archer gave a grunt that sounded like grudging agreement. "Fine, but only if we actually get the space we need for you to practice and train."

"Agreed."

{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; two days after transfer

"Hello, Taylor. And if the notes in your file are to be believed I suppose I should say hello, Archer, as well. My name is Jessica Yamada." She was a middle aged woman perhaps in her late thirties or early forties.

"Nice to meet you, Doctor." The woman had an excellent poker face. Even better than Doctor Conner's. She didn't look even remotely concerned to be in the same room as me. Then again, I had asked around during meal times. From what the few other 'stable' patients could tell me a lot of the capes here were downright lethal, often even when they didn't want to be. Viewed in that light a nonviolent patient who is only just learning to use their abilities must seem downright safe.

"And you as well. If it's alright I wanted to ask you something about Archer before we continue."

"Sure." I responded with an easy shrug.

"I prefer to use real names with my patients, rather than cape names. I've found that cape names tend to have a dehumanizing effect which is rather counter productive in my line of work. Does Archer have any other name?"

"Uhh, well, he introduced himself as Counter Guardian Emiya, but he also said he preferred to go by Archer."

"Any reason for that?"

"I never asked. I just went with it I guess."

"Anything you want to contribute?" His only response was an annoyed huff. I shrugged that off.

"Hmm and you said he introduced himself to you? Could you describe that in more detail?"

Well, this was a different line of questioning. It was always 'is he trying to make you do things?', and 'how does he make you feel?' Very few of the questions had been about Archer himself. Plenty about me. I'd made it very clear to Archer and the Doctors I was less than thrilled to have a grown man riding shotgun in my head, but otherwise I was dealing.

"Sure, I guess. I was… trapped. You read about my trigger, right?"

"Yes."

I grimaced and shook my head. "Good. I've already had to talk about it too often as is." I took a long slow breath to help chase the memories away. "Point is one moment I'm... trapped, then the next I'm being served a type of tea I'd never had before by a tall muscular Asian man with white hair who looked, I don't know, late twenties? Early thirties?"

Doctor Yamada nodded politely but didn't say anything, so I pressed on.

"He introduced himself as Counter Guardian Emiya and said he preferred to go by Archer. He explained he was there to pass on his abilities, and I'm just the person who got tapped to learn them."

"Interesting, did Archer choose you?"

I shook my head. "No, he could just as easily have ended up with any other fresh trigger."

"How do you feel about that?" I was really starting to hate that question.

"It's weird having an older guy living in my head. But he keeps his mouth shut and his attention away from my senses when I need to use the bathroom or wash, so that helps. Feeling, echoes I guess, of his emotions can be annoying. I'm frustrated enough with all of this on my own. Knowing how frustrated he is with it doesn't really help. On the other hand, I haven't really had anyone I could just talk to since I started high school. Archer and I are both driven, he wants to teach, and I want to learn. So, we actually get along fairly well, and we agree on a lot of the more important things. I want to be a hero, and Archer supports that."

I looked the Doctor square in the eyes. Willing her to understand my determination.

"Archer's abilities are powerful. I've barely scratched the surface, but once I learn, or if I let him take over for the really dangerous fights…" I said leadingly.

Doctor Yamada only hummed thoughtfully. "You said he turns his attention away to give you some privacy, and that he could take over. From the notes in your file I assume you mean he could take control of your body to fight more effectively than you can?" She asked, dodging what I had been saying and redirecting the conversation.

"Well, yeah, so?" I gave her a quizzical look.

"How does Archer feel about spending so much time as a prisoner in your body?" She asked neutrally.

I opened my mouth to answer, then I closed it. "I don't know."

"It's fine, Taylor. Odd and occasionally awkward, but this is your body. I can hardly just claim it whenever I please."

"I appreciate that, Archer." I really did but that didn't make me feel better about being so thoughtless. "But if I'm going to have to let you grab control mid fight I'll have to get used to letting you take control. I can't be fighting you in the middle of a battle when you'll need to focus."

This was going to be so damn uncomfortable though. Trusting someone with my body, with my life. I couldn't help shuddering just at the thought of it. And I knew Archer knew that too. I may not have put it into words but he could no doubt feel just how much the idea upset me.

"Maybe, but if we are going to build up to that we'll take things slow."

"Thanks, Archer. I'm sorry I'm so-"

"Don't, Taylor. You have been through a lot. Trust like that isn't going to come easily. I understand. Anyone would be hard pressed to trust so deeply."

I let out a long breath and nodded. Looking up I found Doctor Yamada staring at me like a hawk.

"You were speaking with Archer just now?"

"Um, yeah. He was saying he understands and it wouldn't be right to just take over someone else's body. And I, well, I was just thinking. I might need to get used to letting him take over sometimes."

"Why?" Despite how focused the Doctor seemed her tone was even and calm.

"I don't know how to fight yet. I barely know how to use the simplest aspects of my power. I'm about as dangerous as any untrained person with a knife. Archer knows how to fight, and he can use his full power. If I get in over my head, letting him have control might keep me alive."

"Why are you so set on fighting at all?"

Why was I set on fighting? Oh, no reason. The source of powers just wants to use all the earths as an all you can eat buffet. My hometown is controlled by gangs including Neo-Nazis, and a human trafficking dragon. The Slaughterhouse Nine and the Endbringers exist. I never wanted to be trapped and powerless ever again. No reason, really.

I told her as much. Leaving out the bit about the things that grant powers.

"The need for control, and wanting to learn to protect yourself are natural reactions. Wanting to throw yourself into more fights, however, is not. The fact that you are even considering fighting things like the Endbringers when you say you are about as much threat as a normal human with a knife is highly concerning."

I raked a hand through my hair and did my best not to growl at the woman.

"Now? Right now, I'm not a threat. But in a few months, a year or two? I'll be able to make a wall of throwing knives and launch them at the speed of a fastball. If Archer isn't full of shit, I'll be able to bullseye moving targets a mile away with a bow and arrow. And that's just the mundane stuff. Some of the weapons he can make might as well be separate powers all on their own."

"Having a lot of power doesn't mean you need to go out and risk your life fighting." She said it so matter of fact, but with an undertone I couldn't quite place.

I honestly had no idea what to say to that. Sure, in theory I didn't have to fight. I could give up right now. Try to live a normal, boring life. Ignore Archer until whenever he got fully subsumed and it was just me in my head again. But I would know. Every moment of my life I would know what was coming. I would know that one day the world would come crashing to an end in part because I had run and hid like a coward when I could have fought instead. And that would only be the final shame. I would spend the rest of my life terrified of the chance an Endbringer might attack. Even though Archer had a few ideas we might try using against those monsters. Even regular capes or muggers might end up being too much for me if I rejected my powers.

I'd suffered so much to get this power. It was poor compensation for everything I'd been through, and the burden that came with it was insane. But despite all that it was mine, or at least it would be someday. How could I possibly just throw it away?

"... Doctor, I don't know if this is going to make any sense to you, but I'm going to be able to make a difference. How could I live with myself if I ignored that? If choosing not to fight meant other people are going to die because I chose to be safe. And besides… I chose not to fight back before. It didn't stop people from hurting me, did it?"

"No, I suppose it didn't…" She said sadly. "Taylor, would it be alright if I spoke with Archer for a while?"

The question caught me off guard, but remembering what I'd just been discussing with Archer I took a deep breath and nodded. With the mental equivalent of taking a step back I left an opening that Archer, stepped in to fill.

The automatic shift in my posture was still jarring to feel, but it was also less extreme. Had I really gained so much confidence in just a few weeks that my posture changed that much? Or was this proof that I was being influenced by Archer, becoming more like him?

Then my body leaned back and my arms crossed over my chest. My mouth opened on its own and my voice came out. But the words were In Archer's familiar tone of voice; subtle condescension for almost everything and a hint of amusement.

"Well, Doctor, I have to admit you are the first person who has wanted to speak with me." Amazingly Doctor Yamada did not react at all to the sudden shift.

"Why wouldn't I want to speak with one half of the most interesting case I've seen in months?" She asked sounding slightly amused.

"Only months?" One of my eyebrows hitched upward.

"Mmm, I see quite a few interesting cases in this line of work. In your case there are a number of discrepancies that simply don't add up."

"Such as?"

"The two leading theories proposed about your case are Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder." The Doctor adopted a lecturing tone. "But neither theory seems to match with the reality of the situation. You speak with Taylor as she goes through her life, this is common among people suffering from Schizophrenia. That being said, she hasn't shown any other symptoms. No hallucinations, disorganized speech, or strange behavior. And while I was concerned over her desire to learn to fight, most Parahumans seem compelled to seek out conflict. Her reasons are, if not sensible, at least understandable. Unless that changes in the coming weeks I believe we can rule out Schizophrenia."

"Well that's good to know." Archer responded with that sardonic lilt of his. "What about the other leading theory?"

"Dissociative Identity Disorder. The hallmark of the disorder is having at least two distinct personality states, or identities. It is believed that the disorder is caused by the mind struggling to deal with traumatic incidents, and when the mind isn't up to the task, it dissociates and a separate personality forms. Taylor's trigger event would certainly be considered suitably traumatic."

I could feel my heart sink. That matched up, really well. If the professionals were convinced I was insane I was never going to be let out of here.

"There are, however, differences. You two must choose to switch personalities. It doesn't just happen at random or because something triggers the switch. More than that, both personalities are aware simultaneously, and you can interact with each other freely. That is unheard of with DID." She leaned forward in her chair. "My job is to try and determine if Taylor is suffering from DID and her powers are somehow giving you more... substance. Or if this is some new manner for powers to manifest that we just haven't seen before."

"I see." For once Archer managed to reign in his sass. He honestly sounded fairly subdued.

"I'd like to start by asking you about yourself. I don't know if anything you can tell me will prove things one way or another, but I believe it is a good place to start. What is your name? Tell me about your life."

"... How are you holding up, Taylor? This might take a while. Will you be alright?"

"I'm… this is really weird, Archer. It's a little like being trapped again. Only I know I can be back in control if I need to be… I, I'll let you know if it's too much. Give me something else to focus on?"

"...Guess it's story time after all then."

"I was raised in Fuyuki, Japan. I don't know if I was born there. My first memory is of wandering through an inferno, everything before that moment is a blank. I was… rescued, and taken to the hospital. The man who found me in the fire adopted me soon after and gave me the name Shirou Emiya."

"Japan? Can you actually speak Japanese? Being able to speak a language Taylor doesn't know would go a long way towards proving she is not suffering from DID and that this is something power related." I could feel Archer start to grin. An actual grin, something that hinted at victory.

"Of course." Then my mouth started rattling off things I couldn't understand at all, and making sounds I was sure I wasn't capable of actually making.

The Doctor blinked in surprise. "Well, I wasn't really expecting that, but I can see this is going to be a very interesting case indeed." Doctor Yamada gave me, Archer, us a warm smile. "What else can you tell me about yourself Shirou? You and Taylor say her power was originally yours. Did you trigger during the fire?"

Archer flinched slightly when she called him Shirou, and his emotions twisted themselves up in the strangest knot, but for now he let it go. "No, nothing like that. My, world I suppose, had individuals with strange abilities, but they weren't like the powers of this world. It was a mixture of science and a form or energy inherent to the individual. You could, with enough study and practice, learn to manipulate that energy. The effects were greatly varied and often passed down through families. The older the family the more knowledge they amassed and the deadlier they could be. That being said, the majority saw themselves more as scientists or researchers. Those like myself who worked to perfect our combat skills were in the minority."

"Taylor said you introduced yourself as a Counter Guardian. Where they a group that used their abilities to fight?"

My body shifted. I could guess that Archer was trying to decide how best to spin the story. Everything else he had explained so far was farfetched, but no less believable than spontaneously developing the ability to shoot lasers from your eyes. That said, the idea of serving the spirit of humanity after death… yeah that wasn't going to fly nearly so well.

"The Counter Guardians… Of everything I've done, agreeing to join the Counter Guardians is the thing I regret the most. The Counter Guardians were our final solution."

"I don't understand."

"Taylor has told me about some of the worst of your worlds Parahumans. Nilbog took over a town and turned all its inhabitants into monsters, correct?" The Doctor only nodded. "My world had something similar, we called them Dead Apostles. They were a lot like your myths of Vampires, if their victims turned into zombies. When a Dead Apostle surfaced the only response was to wipe out the town before the infection could spread. That is an example of what the Counter Guardians do." I wasn't sure if that bit was true or if he was just providing an example the Doctor might have an easier time relating to.

"Another is when some of those researchers would start playing with things deemed too dangerous. Not for the individual, but for the rest of humanity. The majority of the job was being sent in to eliminate such threats. To be a Counter Guardian is to kill in the service of humanity. We killed hundreds so that thousands might live." The scariest part was I knew Archer was underselling things, a lot.

I wasn't sure if it was my place or not but I did my best to throw the mental equivalent of a hug Archers way. It boiled down to radiating feelings of peace and acceptance towards him. I got a brief surge of gratitude in response.

Doctor Yamada said nothing. She seemed to have made an art out of the therapist's nonjudgmental acceptance face. I couldn't catch even a hint of what she might be thinking.

"From what Taylor has told me your world doesn't have an equivalent, for which I am immensely grateful. We did necessary work, but it was horrific." Archer hissed the last word. "Your existing system is less effective, and people suffer for it, but if it means Taylor won't have to kill endlessly like I did. I think I'll enjoy learning to capture and subdue enemies rather than kill them. And if Taylor should ever run across people where that isn't enough," Archer's voice went hard, "I've been there enough times to know what to do, and how to help her through it."

"Thank you." It was a bit disturbing to hear him talk like that, but I knew he was looking out for me. Both to make sure I would survive and to help me deal with the effects of doing what might need to be done.

"The Protectorate frowns very heavily on killing. It tends to cause escalation from the surviving villains."

"Perhaps, but there are exceptions, like this Slaughterhouse Nine I've heard about." Archer spoke neutrally. "Some people need to die, and if it's going to happen it's better to do it quickly and be done with it."

"As a therapist I try to advocate that issues be resolved by talking, but I won't deny that some people can't be reasoned with. One last question for now if that's alright?"

"Certainly."

"How did you end up here, as part of Taylor's power?"

Archer sighed and leaned back in our chair. "I was in a fight I couldn't possibly win. I had the skill, but not the raw power I needed. Then something offered me that power."

"Something?"

My head shook from side to side. "I don't know what it was." He lied easily. "It promised me the power to win, to save the people who were counting on me. But the price was to pass my skills onto someone else. I died shortly after that battle." I made a mental note of how vague that answer was but let it go without comment for now. "The next thing I remember was meeting Taylor." My shoulder shrugged as Archer finished speaking.

"I see." The Doctor looked down at the table apparently digesting that answer. Honestly if I didn't know the truth, I'd be lost in thought too. For all that it was a lie, what Archer was saying could launch entire new theories about the source of powers.

"I, well, we have a request." Archer changed the subject.

"Oh?" Doctor Yamada seamed, not surprised, but curious at least.

"If the facility has a gym we would like access so Taylor can get in shape. If there is enough open space, I'd like to start teaching her swordsmanship. I'd really like to teach her archery but for that I think we will need a space outdoors, and I doubt anyone is going to trust us that much just yet. Though if in the future we could arrange a few supervised training sessions for her to get some practice and learn to project weapons with velocity that would be fantastic."

Doctor Yamada nodded slowly, digesting the request. "There is a small gym here, and I think you can be cleared to use it without posing a risk to the other patients or staff. There might be enough room for sword practice if you don't move around too much? I'll have someone take you later. As for getting outside to practice, I'm afraid it's too soon for me to promise anything like that."

My body sighed. "Well it's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. I suppose that will have to do for now. If there is nothing else right now Doctor, I'll pass control back to Taylor. I've already been in control longer than ever before. I don't want to push things before she gets comfortable with this." The Doctor nodded and in a reversal of early Archer stepped back and I stepped forward.

I shook myself like a wet dog as I came back into control. "Gahh, that is so weird."

"Are you alright, Taylor?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just so weird feeling my body move and not being the one in charge. And When he said stuff in Japanese earlier! I don't think I can even make those sounds!"

"So, you don't know Japanese?"

"No, not a word. Though I think I might try learning now that I've got a dedicated tutor on hand. If nothing else it will help to pass the time here." The Doctor nodded and favored me with a small smile.

"You know I never taught anyone anything before you, but I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Remind me to teach you cooking when we get out of here."

"You can cook too?"

"Better believe it. People loved my cooking. I always found it very relaxing."

"Huh, never would have guessed."

"Well, this has been a very interesting first session. But it seems our time is about up. I look forward to speaking with you both again soon."

"Yeah, this wasn't so bad. See you next time Doctor." I waved goodbye as she left then dropped back onto my bed.

"Well, seems like we're off to a better start here wouldn't you say, Archer?"

"It's a promising start. Would you like to begin those Japanese lessons now, or do you want to spend a bit more time online?"

I glanced at the laptop they had provided me with before shaking my head. I hadn't learned anything useful about my court case the last time I'd gone searching, and I wasn't in the mood for more aimless digging right now.

"What's the first lesson teach?"

"Well for starters the proper way to address a teacher is sensei."

And so, the lesson began.

{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans gym; one week after arrival

I panted heavily as I came to the end of my workout and dispersed the blunted practice blades I had traced.

"This isn't going to work." I thought in Archer's direction.

"I know they are a bit heavy, but you will get used to them in time."

"Not that. Well, ok, that's part of it. But not exactly what I meant."

"I don't follow?"

"Your style is based on knowing where someone will attack and blocking when they take the opening. It's designed to combat highly skilled opponents with an edge in speed and strength."

"Correct, what's the problem."

"It's completely useless against most Parahumans."

"... Taylor, I spent years developing this style of combat. Please tell me why you are dismissing one of my life's works." Archers mental voice sounded much harsher than normal.

Well look at that, I'd managed to annoy him.

"Think about it." I responded as I drank deeply from my water bottle. "Most Parahumans are nothing like that. They're mostly untrained or have only minimal formal training when it comes to CQC. Blasters, Masters, Shakers, they won't close to that range if they can avoid it. Get in close and any half trained fighter can finish most of them. The Brutes, some of the Movers, and the Strikers get close, but are all people we want to stay away from because even with your fighting style we still might be outmatched."

Archer didn't say anything.

"It's an amazing style, Archer, but it's highly specialized and our opponents are stupidly diverse."

"... You may have a point. Once you can properly sympathize with a blades history that will open up more options for styles, but no sword style was ever designed for the kind of opponents we will be facing."

"Yeah… I don't know, designing a whole new sword style would take ages, more than that, it'll never be the perfect style for any fight. Just a style that's ok most of the time. We need a more general approach than that."

"Not a sword style… a combat doctrine? A loose set of guidelines based on how the enemy fights?"

"Something like that, yeah. I can see getting up close and personal sometimes… but the more I think about it the surer I am that I need to learn archery. You said you're bow had a range of a couple miles, right?"

"Or more. There are a few swords that I've modified in the past…"

"Right, well if I can bullseye a moving target at even a half a mile, a lot of really dangerous fights will get a lot simpler."

"You know, there are a lot of weapons I was never able to make into arrows. Focusing on long range will limit your options."

"Only if we stop modifying new ones, and I'm not saying we should never fight up close, just that we should pick our battles carefully. And what about trace bullets? If I can use that while fighting that would help a lot against a ton of different kinds of opponents. Or if I was badly outnumbered."

"Well sure but that takes a lot of… I'm an idiot."

"What?"

"My style of combat is largely based around making the most of my slightly larger than average reserves. I always had to fight conservatively in case I needed to fight a long battle, or I needed energy for a particularly powerful Phantasm later. You are hooked up to a magic battery with enough power to let you fight all out for decades, at least. There's no reason to fight so conservatively."

"...Well. We know now. We've got space and time to train. And we've given ourselves a few months before we really start pushing to be let loose. Where do we start?"

"Thought exercises I suppose. Research a cape, or group, at random and devise the best way to counter them. Keep doing that until we start to find patterns… Then we'll just have to test them in the real world to see what works and what doesn't."

"This is not going to be easy, is it?"

"No, but I do love a challenge."

"Heh, well alright then. I'll finish my cool downs and we can see what PHO can tell us."

Last edited: Nov 14, 2019

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Dec 3, 2018

{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; Three weeks after transfer

I closed my eyes and dragged in a long, slow breath of air through my nose. For a few seconds I simply stood there and savored the smell of grass and the feel of sunlight and wind dancing over my skin. I had been locked up indoors for a bit more than six weeks straight. The closest I got to being outside was the car rides between facilities. Until I'd gotten here, I'd also been almost completely confined to a single room. Being able to leave for meals and exorcise these past three weeks had been wonderful, but there was something unbelievably frustrating about knowing I couldn't go outside when I wanted to.

Now I was finally outside and it was wonderful.

"If you are done basking, we have actual work to do, remember?"

"... aaaaand you ruined the moment. Asshole."

"One hour. Tracing with velocity. Basics of archery. Practicing reinforcing your eyes when there are things far enough away to make it not pointless, if we have time."

"Yes, Archer, I remember the itinerary. That tree work as a target?" I asked as I directed my focus onto a tree about a hundred feet away.

"It will do. Once you get the hang of it, we'll want to aim for something a bit farther away than that. Still for normal bows and arrows, and while you are just learning, it's a good practice distance."

"You could have just said yes, mister worried about how much time we have."

At Archer's answering huff I tallied up a point for myself.

"Alright much as I'd like to learn Archery, being able to use trace bullet is more likely to save my life if I end up over my head up close. Let's start with that."

"Fair enough I've covered the theory with you extensively so you know what to do. Just try to keep the speed low for the first few so that you can get the hang of aiming, we don't need you stabbing yourself at ninety miles an hour."

"Yes, Mom." Archer started to sputter and I tallied up another point. He was so easy to rile up sometimes.

The first three attempts I flubbed badly and the throwing knives I traced just dropped straight into the dirt. The fourth attempt shot forward a few feet before starting to arc down to the ground. I growled when I noticed that despite the improvement the knife had gone about thirty degrees to the left of where I needed it to go.

"Don't get frustrated so quickly, Taylor. You are doing just fine."

"Right, right." I took a couple of breaths and refocused. "Thanks, Sensei."

Archers half hearted groan at my new term of endearment was amusing mostly because I could feel how pleased he was with the title. Honestly, I kind of preferred it to constantly calling him Archer anyway. I still called him Archer, and I was starting to call him Shirou a bit too now after listening to Doctor Yamada's explanations on how cape names could be dehumanizing. But whenever he started teaching, I liked to shift to calling him Sensei. It felt appropriate.

The fifth and sixth were closer to being on target but still off. I frowned a little, not quite understanding what I was doing wrong.

"You don't have to work out an exact angle. Just focus on where you want it to hit and enforce the idea of a straight line between point A and B."

Nodding I tried again. Lo and behold the knife was on target… though it did fall well short of the tree.

"Ok, that's direction more or less down, now for speed."

I slowly ramped up the speed until I finally had the knives whistling through the air at what must have been ninety miles an hour. I grinned viciously as I sank knife after knife into the tree all the way up to their handles. I wasn't defenseless anymore. Training had helped me lose a bit of fat that had been developing around my stomach and I had built up muscle at what I was sure was a ludicrous pace for normal humans, but learning to fight was slow going. This was something immediate that I could use to protect myself. This was proof that I was getting somewhere and that one day I would be truly powerful.

"Alright, good work, Taylor. Now try with multiple simultaneous weapons."

"You got it."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I spent a bare moment to picture twenty of the throwing knives hovering around me. I designated the tree as point B… and fired. The chorus of thumps and the faint chime of metal striking metal filled the air even as bark fractured and blew away from the tree as if it had been hit by a small explosion. I gave a little cheer and pumped my fist completely ignoring the startled yelp from the PRT trooper carrying a containment foam sprayer behind me.

"Nicely done, Taylor. Your grouping was very tight just now which isn't bad, however, there may be times you want to spread it out more so you can hit moving targets. We should also practice aiming for multiple targets simultaneously, and firing while moving. However, you have a good grasp of the basics now and we do have other things to practice."

"Right, right, oh man that was fantastic!" I cheered. "Ok, Ok I'm good. Next is archery, right?"

"You've got it. Give me control for a moment? I think you could handle the arrows, but I'm not sure about the bow just yet. We don't want something to snap and hit you in the face while you practice."

Nodding to myself I took that mental step back and let Archer assume control.

I paid careful attention as Archer slowly traced a longbow and six dozen arrows. I could tell he was dragging out the process of tracing them for my benefit so I could see how he did it.

"Alright, Taylor. I'm going to walk you through this a few times. Pay attention to my stance and form." Archer spoke aloud.

I sent him a mental affirmative and paid close attention to everything he was doing.

Forty minutes of grueling practice and pointers later. We were on our fourth tree and I was starting to get the hang of things. Archers latest insane demand was for me to 'walk' my shots up the trunk of the tree in a straight line. My arms were starting to ache and I could now perfectly trace a basic arrow. My shots were getting more accurate but my 'line' of arrows was more of a squiggle and a few of my shots had deflected off the sides of the trunk before disappearing into the woods.

"Miss, Hebert? Your hour is up, miss. It's time to go back inside." The trooper called over.

Groaning, I nodded and dismissed everything Archer and I had traced before turning to proceed the trooper back inside.

"You're doing fine, Taylor. Learning archery was always going to be harder than learning trace bullet. This isn't just mental it's physical as well. You need practice and muscle memory. You are progressing quickly."

"Thanks, Sensei. I guess after how easy the basics of trace bullet were, I just got cocky and expected the rest would be the same."

"It's fine Taylor. Remember we have time to train, there is no rush."

"Right, you're right. Thanks, Shirou." Like always using his original name caused an odd lurch in Archer's emotions. It was too many things together all at once for me to really follow, but he had heard the same lecture from Doctor Yamada I had so he at least didn't protest.

{}{}{}{} The next day

"I heard you had a productive time training outdoors yesterday." Doctor Yamada said as she opened our session. "Judging from how some of the trees looked I'd say I believe it."

"Ahh, well, sorry? I didn't really have anything else to use as a target and I guess I got a little carried away?" I admitted a tad sheepishly.

The Doctor shook her head but her amused smile made me relax. "I suppose that's our fault. You did tell us what you planned to practice after all. Though we will have to see about getting you a more acceptable target or we may lose half the forest." She teased not realizing that wasn't as outlandish as she seemed to think if Archer decided to show me a few of his trump cards. "How are your Japanese lessons going, Taylor?"

"Meh. I know a bunch of words now, but a lot of it still confuses me. It's very different, though at least there aren't six different ways to call everything like with some of the European languages."

"Do you speak any of those? French, Spanish?"

"No, nothing like that. Mom was an English teacher. I listened to a few of her rants about other languages. Though she did always say English was just as much of a mess in its own ways too."

"I'm afraid I'm not too knowledgeable about languages, but from what I do know that sounds accurate." She nodded. "How do you feel, about your training. You certainly seem to have put on a bit of muscle in a hurry?"

I glanced down at my arms and the developing calluses on my hands and smiled. I really was getting into shape pretty quickly, and I was very pleased with the results so far. I was never going to be a bombshell, not with my build. But I was quickly developing something between a runner and a swimmer's build. I couldn't really argue with the results. That bit of belly fat was almost gone and my legs had certainly never looked better.

"I'm feeling better than ever." I answered honestly. "More energy, more focused, confident." I shook my head bemusedly as I compared the me of today to the me from just under two months ago. What a difference a friend and some exercise could make. "I'm, well, I'm happy. Don't get me wrong I still want out of here… But no one is trying to grind me down, I've got Archer, Shirou, and he's actually helping me, and you and the other Doctors are doing the best you can without just taking me at my word. I mean, I get why you have to be sure and all, so I'm not really blaming you for that. It's just, it's been years since I've felt like this, and…" I shook my head not sure what else I even could say.

Doctor Yamada gave me one of her signature smiles. Genuine warmth wrapped in understanding and sympathy that somehow wasn't pity. Honestly the range of emotion the woman could convey in a smile always blindsided me. Did she practice those or did they just come naturally? Was that what made her so easy to talk to? Or was it just a trick of her own that she added to all the ones every therapist knew?

"I'm glad you're doing so much better, Taylor. And I know the staff all appreciate how cooperative and understanding you are."

I just waved it off. I really did understand why they needed to be careful with me. Especially when during one of my research expeditions through the internet I'd found out that Burnscar had been a former patient at a similar institute. It was still frustrating, but it really did highlight just why they had to be so careful about capes who showed serious mental issues. And much as I hated it my case had enough similarities to serious issues that I could understand their caution. Plus, I knew from Dad that bureaucracy was just slow as all hell. This was going to take time, but that was fine. I could be patient, and I'd just use the time to my advantage anyway. At least now I knew I was really getting somewhere.

"The past couple of years, I've felt… Stuck. Like I was running in place never getting anywhere. Now I feel like I'm finally moving forward. It's slow and frustrating. But I'm moving, and I'm building up momentum." I gave the Doctor a slightly goofy grin.

"Still set on the life of a crime fighter?" I only grinned wider in response. "Of course." She sighed. "Have you had any luck working out tactics that don't involve perforating your enemies?"

"Some." I shrugged. "Blunted arrows may work and I've worked out how to trace a bola."

"A bola?"

Nodding I traced the little weapon and gave it a twirl. A trio of rocks on the end of three strings all tied together might not look like much but it was a decent small game weapon. I hoped with practice I'd get good at using it to bind legs and trip people up. Yeah, they would wind up eating pavement when they fell, but really it was combat. People were going to get hurt and at least this way no one would end up getting stabbed. So, progress.

"Haven't quite got the hang of it yet, but it's definitely non lethal."

"I see, I'm glad you're taking this seriously."

"Of course. What kind of idiot would just run out and start blasting criminals?"

"A lot of capes do exactly that, on both sides of the law. It's particularly common with teenagers, which is what makes your restraint so refreshing."

I blushed, just a little, at the praise. That was something else that had been thin on the ground before my trigger, though I was getting used to it.

"I was thinking we might spend today's session thinking about long term plans for how you and Shirou might deal with your situation."

"Umm, I guess? But we're getting along alright so far. Aren't we?" The question was directed both at the Doctor and at Shirou.

"Don't look at me, I don't have any complaints right now." Shirou answered sounding as lost as I felt.

"Right now, your whole life revolves around training, learning, and resting. You interact with barely a handful of people. What about if you make a friend that you enjoy spending time with that Shirou can't stand, or vice versa? What about when you start dating, or if you wanted to enjoy a certain type of literature?" The Doctor asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no! Taylor, make her stop! I refuse to be part of this conversation!" Shirou shouted in a panic.

I could feel my blush taking over my face at the implications. Dating someone? With Shirou sharing my senses, and feeling my emotions and, and, and! I buried my head in my hands and moaned. This wasn't something I had thought about. It wasn't something Archer had thought about. Damn it all it just wasn't right!

"Nope. That's it. I'm not staying to get yelled at. I'll be in my Reality Marble!"

And just like that his constant presence in my mind faded to almost nothing. The sensation was so strange after weeks of sharing my mind that it completely distracted me from my impending meltdown. Archer was just gone? Then he was back.

"Uh, so apparently I can duck into my Reality Marble. Honestly had no idea I could do that before now. Umm, problem solved?" Aaaaand he was gone again.

Groaning I thumped my head against the table. Repeatedly.

"Stupid, Shirou! Problem solved my ass! When he pokes his head out of there, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! Took him how many freaking weeks to figure that out?! I could have been enjoying nice long showers instead of stupid military scrub downs, and he only figures this out now! When I get my hands on him!"

"Taylor?"

"That idiot is hiding in his Reality Marble!"

"His what?"

"Reality Marble, the Unlimited Blade Works, it's." I bit off what I'd been about to say. She didn't need to know about that. No one in this world would hunt us down for study because of it, but it was our trump card, and it might pay to keep an ace up my sleeve. "It's a sort of mental plane, with information about every bladed weapon he's ever seen, and I think a few shields, and maybe some clubs, and mauls, and well, you get the idea."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand."

Growling, I chained my irritation for later and dragged my full attention back to the Doctor. Holding up my hand I traced a regular old dart with striped red and black tail fins. Without even looking I chucked it at the dartboard off to my right. The muted thump confirmed that I was getting far too much practice with the damn things if I could do that without even looking.

"That's tracing. It's basically turning energy into a sort of fake matter. It doesn't last forever, but while it does it's real enough. Thing is, to trace something you need to understand it." I fixed the Doctor with a serious look as I stressed the word understand. "I need to know what it's made of, its exact dimensions, how it was made, how it has been used." I waved a hand trying to encompass just how much that was. "And I need to do all of that in an instant." I said, tracing another dart in under a second, holding it up for her to see. "The human mind just isn't meant to hold that much information simultaneously. And Shirou can do it with any simple weapon he has ever seen."

Doctor Yamada leaned back in her chair looking thoughtful. "So, it's a thinker aspect to your powers? A place where all that information is stored?"

"Basically, yeah."

"So how is Shirou able to hide inside of it?"

"I don't know! I don't even think he knows!" I shouted letting my frustration back out. I only just managed to catch sight of the barest twitch of Doctor Yamada's lips. Ugh, I suppose from the outside this must seem pretty funny. But I was the one dealing with it and I was so going to give Shirou a piece of my mind when he stuck his head out again.

"Still, this is at least something of a solution, or at least a stopgap. It wouldn't exactly be fair to Archer to ask him to isolate himself all the time. Then again even if it is frustrating for him it would be less awkward for both of you. What do you think?"

"It'll be enough for now." I answered a bit absently trying to plan out the rant I was going to subject Archer too.

"Yes, but what about in the future? You have a whole lifetime like this ahead of you."

"Not really, just until Shirou fades. Not that we have any idea how long that's going to take..." I couldn't fight off the wince. "Honestly, I've been trying not to think about that." I said sadly. Archer was my best friend; age difference and mentor role be damned. I couldn't just share my head with someone so willing to help me for weeks and not get attached. He had been my only real support after my trigger. The one person I knew would always be on my side no matter what, and someday I was going to lose him too. It was the one thing about my powers that I truly hated.

"Shirou is going to fade? What do you mean by that exactly?" Doctor Yamada asked seriously.

"You didn't know? I know I mentioned it at least once at the last place, but then they were really only interested in the answers to all their Master Stranger questions." I rubbed at my left arm, a nervous gesture I was trying to give up. "I've had Shirou in my head for six weeks. I can already trace weapons and fire them. I developed a decent level of skill with a bow in about forty minutes. I can reinforce my body a bit to push past my normal limits for a short amount of time." I listed off the skill I'd developed so far.

"The archery you might be able to chalk up to having a skilled instructor, but the rest?" I shook my head. "It's not everything Shirou can do, and I'm not half as skilled as he is with any of those things, but I'm learning at a rate which should be impossible. Tracing weapons the way he does took him years to master and I'm picking it up in weeks."

"What does that have to do with Shirou fading?"

"Because he's not exactly fading. He's being… he called it being subsumed. His skills, his knowledge, bits of his personality, I'm slowly absorbing them all. It's how I'm learning so quickly. Eventually there won't be anything left, and it will just be me. A heavily influenced version of me, but me."

"And you're alright with that?" She questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't have a say in it. It's going to happen no matter what I do. I just have to try and hold onto the things that matter the most to me and hope for the best. Honestly there are worse role models to emulate. That's not exactly what's happening, but it's a good analogy. I think, if I can be less self sacrificing, and more willing to open up to others than him... Yeah, I could live with that."

"That's…" Doctor Yamada seemed to be having trouble finding the right words.

"It's crazy, and scary, I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified I'll end up losing myself. But I can't stop it, well I could." I mimed slicing a line down my inner arm. Doctor Yamada's eyes shot wide open and her mouth opened to protest, but I waved her off. "I'm not suicidal, Doctor. Like I said, there are worse role models to emulate. I won't mind being more like him, confident, in control, powerful, willing to fight impossible odds to keep others safe? He has a lot of good qualities. I never gave up when I was being bullied, I won't give up now."

"I'm glad to hear that, but in the future please try not to scare your therapists like that. The idea of a suicidal patient who can make and launch blades is…" Doctor Yamada shook her head and looked extremely pale.

I winced and nodded. I hadn't really thought about it like that. It was supposed to be a dark bit of humor, but then for a psychiatrist I guess it was probably more like a flashing neon warning sign. Ugh, I bet I'd be under increased observation for a while.

"Sorry. My sense of humor is pretty rusty, and between spending so much time with Shirou and everything I've been through I guess it's gotten a bit dark." I shook my head.

Doctor Yamada nodded acceptance even though she was eyeing me much more carefully than before. Definitely going to be under increased observation.

"How does Shirou feel about this? About the fact he's dying, again?"

Ahh, well that was a tricky question. How much to tell her? How honest did I really want to be about all of this?

"You'll have to ask Archer directly sometime if you really want his opinion, but he's accepting it. I think. Being a Counter Guardian, that took a huge toll on him. He always wanted to save people, killing all the time like that… it made him hate his dream. I always get the impression he's happy to pass on his skills to me, but he's always reminding me to not make the same mistakes he did."

"So, he's trying to prepare you as best as he can for the future? I suppose that makes you his legacy?"

The question caught me completely off guard. I'd never really thought of it like that. It was always about getting ready for all the enemies out there waiting for me. I'd never considered how Archer might see me. Archer's legacy. Pride burned brightly into existence as that thought settled firmly in my mind.

"Yeah, I guess it does." I answered, with a proud smile gracing my face. The Doctor's answering smile was just as warm.

{}{}{}{} A few hours later.

Space in the gym was limited, but there was enough for me to practice with swords, and just enough to practice with a spear.

Shirou always pushed swords, especially the pair of married Chinese swords. Even after having more or less given up on teaching me his style he was still attached to those two blades. But I didn't have that emotional attachment to them. More to the point, the swords were short and heavy. I could swing my practice versions, but it was tiring, and their limited reach worried me. I needed a style of combat that kept opponents at a distance when possible. Like I had told Shirou there were some kinds of powers that no level of skill could compensate for. I needed to be fast and light on my feet, never letting opponents lay so much as a finger on me.

Light and fast, that was the key. Spears, rapiers, knives, katanas maybe. Katanas were fast blades, but with the focus on slashing they were still slower than thrusting weapons. In and out, attack and fade back. Constantly circling to slide around attacks and get the enemy in the side or back. Even without Archer's guidance I could manage to trace a simple spear, and was just good enough at sympathizing with the weapons history to get a feel for the basic stances and thrusts. So, I drilled them, again and again until my arms shook, and my legs ached.

Leaning against the wall I sipped my water.

Archer's style of combat was all about directing the fight, but that couldn't be how I fought. My opponents were too diverse and untrained for that to work. I had to be like wind or water, constantly moving, flowing around my opponents and always adapting. Like that one boxer said, float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. That was what I needed to be.

There were other more practical reasons for focusing on learning the spear as well. Spears were really just staffs with a point. If I could fight with a spear I could fight with a staff, and staffs were a lot less lethal in a fight. It would be a good weapon for taking down normal people without a lot of stabbing and bleeding. Yeah it was still pretty violent, but really what was I supposed to do? Ask criminals nicely to surrender?

Just the thought of it made me chuckle. Maybe once I built up a reputation that might work. Assuming the criminals weren't complete idiots.

I'd have to look into martial arts. I was sure there were at least a few out there that worked on the principle I was aiming for. At least some of those must have weapon components. Even if they didn't, I could hopefully adapt them to suit my needs. I was going to make the absolute most out of my abilities, and I wasn't afraid of hard work. It still might not be enough in close against some capes. Velocity for example was fast enough no style would really be enough for me to evade him. For opponents like that I would just have to be creative.

"Don't suppose you'd let me off with an apology?" Archer asked as his familiar presence flowed back into my mind.

"Don't know, are you planning to run away again if I don't?"

"Ahh, well…"

"I get that you didn't know you could do that, I don't have the slightest clue how you even managed it. But I'm still pissed! All those awkward moments and military scrub downs… I could have been taking actual long hot showers, Archer! Do you have any idea how much I've missed those?!"

"Well,"

"And where do you get off running away like that?! You just up and left me to deal with a bunch of stupidly awkward questions by myself you jerk! She got distracted for a bit by a few things, but I had to lie about what your Reality Marble! And then she still made me discuss strategies for not just shoving you out of my mind all the time!"

"Wait what was that about my Reality Marble?"

"Don't change the subject!" I shouted. "You still haven't even apologized!" I don't know what prompted me to try, and I didn't expect it to work, but I did my absolute damndest to convey a slap across my mind.

"Oww! How the hell did you slap me?!"

"How the hell did you hide inside the manifestation of your soul while inside my mind?!" I shot back. Partly because I had no idea how I slapped him and partly because I really wanted to know how he managed that.

"I don't know! Now how did you slap me?!"

"Hell if I know! And I'm still waiting for that apology!"

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry! Jeez, are you happy now?"

"No." I huffed.

"...Why aren't you happy?" He asked cautiously.

That took me a few minutes to work through. I was a bit pissed still. But time, exercise, and the fact I managed to slap Shirou had definitely taken the edge off.

"You left me on my own." I started slowly. "And Doctor Yamada and I ended up talking about the fact that you're being subsumed. Then, then you stayed in your Reality Marble all day. It's just, you've never been gone before, and it reminded me that one day…"

"Ah." He said awkwardly.

"Yeah." I grimaced and took a sip of water to distract myself.

"Does it really upset you that much?"

"You're my best friend Archer. And you've supported me through all of this. You're teaching me everything you know… and someday you'll be gone."

Archer's sigh echoed through my head as I wrapped my arms around my knees and leaned back against the wall of the gym.

"I'm sorry, Taylor. Of all the things I thought were unfair about this situation that never crossed my mind. I've been alone so long… The idea of people actually missing me once I'm gone is just…"

"Guess we're both pretty messed up, huh?"

"Yes. I suppose we are."

We didn't say much more to one another the rest of the night. Both of us had too much on our minds, and no idea what to say to one another. The consequences of long term isolation I suppose. Even now that we both had someone we could rely on, someone we could confide in, we just didn't seem to have the words. Though Archer only retreated into his reality marble long enough for me to have a proper shower. His now familiar presence helped to ease some of the tension that had been building all day. He might not be here forever, but he was here now.

It would have to be enough.

Last edited: Dec 31, 2018

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{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; week seven

The archery target the asylum had scrounged up for me was looking particularly lovely now that I had completed the Celtic knot design. True some of the arrows were off by an inch or so but it was well done. I'd probably make a damn good showing at a professional tournament. One hour a day, three times a week, for four weeks, it was extraordinary progress. Part of me regretted the fact that my skill was largely due to Shirou's abilities and our merging, but even still I had worked hard to improve quickly.

Taking a deep breath, I traced a metal disk about the size of a plate and launched it into the air like a frisbee. I took a bare moment to aim, being sure to lead the target, before firing an arrow. I clipped the edge of the disk. Not bad, but I could do better.

The next disk I hit dead center, but I missed the third and fourth by a few inches. And so, it went. Shooting flying discs out of the air with a bow and arrow was hard, which made it good practice. It would be even better practice if I wasn't launching them myself that way, I'd be less prepared for their flight path and speed, but that could wait until I had mastered this much.

At the end of my hour I'd managed to get to the point where I was bulls eyeing every third disk or so, and only missed maybe one in seven. Good progress, but still more room for improvement. Shirou had been oddly quiet while I practiced. That was starting to be a thing with him. He just said less in general as time went on. Sometimes out of nowhere he would have something snarky to say. And every now and then when I was practicing, he would launch into a lecture or a detailed explanation, but there was getting to be less general chatter between us. He was losing himself, slowly. Whenever he did speak up it was still definitely him, he just spoke less now.

Prompting him still got him talking though, so that was something. I wasn't on my own yet or anytime soon, but seven weeks here and three before that… two and a half months for Shirou to start noticeably fading. Would that pace start to accelerate now that it had started, or hold constant? Would I know the end was coming or would it catch me off guard? With a sigh I dispersed everything I had traced in the past hour.

"Alright, Jack. About that time, right?"

The trouper favored me with a fond smile. "Yeah, time to head back inside." With an agreeable hum I started walking. "You mind if I ask you something?"

"Shoot." Jack was an alright guy. We had chatted a bit whenever he got stuck watching me on these little training sessions of mine. Mostly on the way out or back in. He was nice enough not to distract me when I was practicing.

"Why haven't you ever made a run for it? The Lieutenant chewed the docs out when they put in for someone to watch you train a few times a week. Said you'd make a break for it inside of ten minutes. It's been weeks now and you're still here, so, why?"

I chuckled. "You wait till we're practically back inside to ask in case I'd never thought off it before?" I joked. "Where's the wire you're wearing so I know where to direct my answer?"

Jack only fidgeted a little.

"Tell you what, I'll trade you an answer for an answer." I said coming to a stop so I could face him. Sure, being honest about this when it would make it back to the rest of the staff inside an hour. It was not the brightest move, but I wanted out of here. Applying a bit of pressure wasn't such a bad idea to move things along.

The trooper took a moment to mull that over. "No promises, but I'll do my best."

"Alright then. Near as I can tell I've had all the doctors convinced I'm as sane as the next cape for the past two weeks give or take a bit. But I'm still here. If they aren't interested in keeping me locked up someone on your end must be, so, why?"

Jack looked away. Guy had a lousy poker everything. Didn't take a thinker power or instincts honed in the hell hole they called high school to recognize the question made him uncomfortable.

"Don't know anything about that, miss."

"Bullshit, Jack. You troopers gossip like old ladies. Even Lieutenant Williams. If she knows you know. You want your answer you'll give me mine." Hell, they even gossiped with me. Which was the only reason I suspected this might work.

Jack fidgeted for a moment before he started to speak.

"There are, ah, rumors. Nothing concrete you know? Stuff we've heard from old friends in other commands, what few orders we do get, a little of what the rest of the staff might know. All this is stuff, it's been passed on through who knows how many people, yeah?" I nodded. "You get far enough up in the PRT you start running into politics. Word is something about your case got the interest of the guy running Boston, Armstrong. Nice enough guy, but he's kind of an egg head. Real interested in figuring out stuff about how powers work, where they come from, all that. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't really make him popular with the more, uh, military minds."

Something about my case interested him? Was that Shirou's bullshit story about being recruited to teach someone abilities he had developed in exchange for power, or just the fact that I was the first Parahuman on record to come with a built in instructor? Either way I could see how I might have drawn the man's attention. But how did that relate to me still being here?

"Thing is, being an egghead doesn't really make him any good at politics, or networking. So, someone more military minded, who's trying to get ahead hears that he's interested in you, and all of a sudden, they have to take an interest to. And because they aren't too fond of the Director, they might throw a bit of weight around, maybe call up a few people in Washington even to make things more difficult. A few concerned Congressmen and a bit of, ah, legal fiction, can cause a lot of red tape."

For fucks sake, really? Was I really caught in the middle of a pissing match between grown men? This was my life now.

"Who exactly, should I be on the lookout for? Just in case he ever decides to take a more invested interest in my case." I ground out.

"Word is it's, Tagg. He, uh, has a reputation." Jack fidgeted a bit.

"Oh, do tell." I almost growled.

"Ex-military, led a team of PRT troopers for years. Handled Ziz containment zones." Jack winced. "That's not a duty anyone wants. Gunning down poor bastards who just want to escape someplace that can't produce the food to support them all, never mind all the other shit it takes to keep a city running, or how the places are all but lawless. Woman, kids, whatever crazy cape may have triggered in one of those hell holes." Jack shook his head. "They tell horror stories about that shit in basic. Some people say Tagg dealt with it all a little too well. That was a few years ago and people still talk about it."

Lovely. Just, lovely. That was the kind of man using me as part of some stupid political maneuver. I was furious, but I chained the feeling. It couldn't do me any good now.

"Remind me to put an arrow in his ass someday." Archer grumbled.

"Only if you remind me. We'll each take a cheek. Keep him standing at attention for a few weeks."

"Well, you did answer my questions so I suppose I should return the favor." I said bringing my focus back to Jack. "There's a few reasons I haven't busted out of here, just yet."

"Yet?"

"I could have been gone any time, just would have needed to pass control to over to the guy who can really use my abilities." I wasn't sure if the troopers knew Shirou's name, but between the orderlies gossiping and whatever they were briefed on to better handle their job I was sure the troopers knew of him. "Getting out of the building like this would have helped, but I could have gotten out regardless."

"So, why stay?"

"I bust out and I'm either a villain or a vigilante as far as the government is concerned. That makes things difficult for me, long and short term. I get caught after proving I can break out of this place, where do you think they would send me next if they can convince a jury I'm dangerous and insane?"

Jack didn't say anything and I didn't blame him. It wasn't exactly a pleasant thought to consider, but people had been sent to the Birdcage on flimsier logic before. Canary might just be joining that list of poor unfortunates if the news was to be believed. The way my luck tended to run I wasn't going to bet on my odds if it came down to that. Especially not with this new bullshit about this Tagg guy trying to delay my release. If my breaking out would prove him right and help him win points, he would likely jump at the chance to bury me and win more.

"There's other reasons too. I break out, I can't go home again. Can't see my Dad. Not without putting both of us at risk. I'm getting good, Jack, but I can't compete with the real heavy hitters yet. Enough numbers of low or mid tier capes might be enough to bury me too. What am I going to do? Pick a city and fight a one woman war against every gang in it, all while dodging the PRT and Protectorate? I will if I have to, but that… How long can anyone last like that?" Not long if the statistics weren't entirely fabricated by the Protectorate's PR department. Six months, on average. I was going to help but I couldn't afford to throw my life away. I was going to help, but I needed to find a way to get at that thing. I wouldn't be doing any good dead.

"Besides, I've got one more trick I want to learn, and another month and a half to do that in." There's the bait.

"Month and a half?" And he takes it.

"Give or take. When I came here, I promised myself, three months if they let me train. Less if they didn't." I shrugged. This was risky, but the Doctors knew I was frustrated, and this was the only pressure I could apply to hopefully move things along. "And like I said, there's one more skill I'd want to learn before leaving."

"What's that?"

I grinned at Jack and started to trace something special. The ghostly outline of a red spear started to form over my outstretched right hand. Gáe Dearg. A spear I suspected would cut through most forms of power granted invulnerability and projections. But I still wasn't skilled enough. I couldn't grasp everything that made up the spear's legend. It was beyond my reach and the backlash shot up my arm like a line of fire as the image of the weapon scattered in particles of light. Cursing I shook out my pained limb. I was getting closer. I'd manage it sooner or later.

"I keep telling people I've got weapons that might as well be powers all on their own." I said as the pain died down. "Did you all think I was blowing hot air this whole time? I just can't trace them yet. But I'm getting closer. Once I can do that?" I grinned toothily. "Then those heavy hitters better watch out for me."

Without another word I resumed walking back towards the asylum. I had no doubt everyone would know exactly what I said within the hour. Maybe that would light a fire under some of them. Maybe it wouldn't, but it couldn't hurt to remind them that for all I might be playing nice, that's all it was. Me playing along.

{}{}{}{} The next day

"You knew exactly what you were doing when you spoke with Jack didn't you?" Doctor Yamada asked with fond exasperation.

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about." I replied innocently as I played with a blunted butterfly knife. I wasn't sure where Archer had come across one of the things, but it was a great way to pass time and I was starting to get really good with it. Sooner or later I'd be doing it with a live blade. Now that would be fun. Well, watching people react would be fun. For now, it was just distracting me from wanting to hurt someone, badly.

"You asked him if he was wearing a wire, and you know full well how fast news travels here."

"Fine, so I'm trying to put some pressure on the staff and get myself out of here. Were you ever going to mention to me that I'm still here because some idiot wants to use me to make points with other idiots in Washington?" I asked pointedly as the butterfly knife click-clacked in my hand.

"We were hoping it would be resolved quickly enough that you wouldn't need to know."

With a final click I snapped my knife closed and tossed it onto my bed. "Doctor, really, am I ever going to get out of here the legal way?"

Doctor Yamada nodded firmly. "You will, this kind of tactic is a delaying action at best. The only reason it is working at all is because Parahuman law is a legal mess full of contradictions and loopholes."

"Not filling me with confidence, Doctor."

"I'm afraid that's the best I can offer, Taylor. I'm only a psychiatrist. But there are things I'd like to talk about with you this session if you don't mind?"

"Nowhere else I need to be." I snarked.

"These weapons you have mentioned in the past, the ones you claimed might as well be separate powers, can you tell me about them?"

That actually caught me so off guard that I had to pause and blink at the woman. She never gave a damn about my powers. It was actually pretty admirable of her. She cared about me, Archer, and our separate and collective mental health, the rest just didn't matter to her.

"Huh, so that caught the PRT's attention?" The Doctor didn't say anything, but she didn't need to, the answer was obvious. "Really, I've only been saying it for a couple months now, you would think they would be faster on the uptake. Doctor, you can tell the PRT I told them to learn some subtlety, and that they should let me out or get lost. I'm not telling them anything."

"Well, I only promised to ask." The doctor admitted with a small smile. "I'd like to return to our previous discussion."

"Do we really need to talk about this again?" I growled.

"You insist that you are going to be a hero, but you don't have a plan. As your therapist it is my job to talk you out of suicidal behavior." She calmly responded.

"I have at least five plans at this point." I protested, though I couldn't seem to look the Doctor in the eye.

"You have two plans. One calls for sitting around somewhere high up with a bow and arrow, and the other is to wander the streets at night looking for a fight. Neither plan includes any kind of backup. Taylor, plans like that will get you killed eventually."

I knew that. I'd told Jack basically the same thing. But damned if I was going to cave to the alternative without a fight.

"You're pushing the Wards, again. I, they didn't even pretend to listen to me. They just tossed me out on my ass. They had Dad half convinced I was insane for a while, and even now he still doesn't know what to say to me. And you want me to trust them?" I stood up and started to pace, almost without a thought I traced a new butterfly knife and started spinning the blade around my hand. The rapid click clack of the practice blade opening and closing beat out a rhythm to my emotions.

"If I had to take orders from Armsmaster I'd be more likely to break his stupid halberd over his head then listen. Jackass. Telling me how my power works. It's not like I tell him how his power works." I tossed the butterfly knife to my left hand and traced a throwing star to bury in my dartboard before tossing the knife back to my right hand and resuming my tricks. "And the rest of them just let him! Miss Militia just stood there trying to act…. Ugh, she was oh so sympathetic. Don't worry it's for your own good, and to keep people safe, and doesn't that make the fact that we're going to lock you up seem so much better?" I hissed.

I didn't even stop spinning my knife this time instead I just traced a few dozen darts and fired them directly into my dartboard. The steady thumping lasted only a couple of seconds and did nothing to help me calm down.

"And now there is this Tagg asshole! He's never even met me and he's trying to make my life more difficult! And for what! Because he has to be seen getting in some other PRT morons' way? Does he even think I'm dangerous, or is it just some excuse he's using?! Where does he get off interfering in my life!"

I spun to fix Doctor Yamada with a look. I couldn't help but be impressed with just how calm she looked. At the same time, I wanted break that calm. I could kill her in a heartbeat. It would only take a thought, and she just sat there perfectly calm and controlled while my life kept circling the drain. But the thought flowed away as quickly as it came. I liked the Doctor. I knew this was just how she handled things. There was no point getting angry with her. I threw myself onto my bed and glared at her.

"That's the group you want me to join. The group you want me to trust to have my best interests at heart? You want me to trust them to have my back when I need them?" I growled. "Give me one good reason why I should, because they sure as hell haven't given me any."

The Doctor took a deep breath before speaking. I had to wonder if maybe that was a tell that she was afraid of me. Oddly that thought calmed me down in equal parts pride and shame.

"Taylor, they're the only option. Through design or accident, they are the only group of any real size that will take a minor."

"And then they wrap us in bubble wrap around villains and criminals, only to throw us at Endbringers as soon as they can talk the parents into it." I scowled. "I've got my own tailor made mentor. I don't need a half dozen from out of the bargain bin."

"Your mentor was a member of an elite kill squad. If you follow in his footsteps-"

"The villains all come down on my head, and I eventually die alone in a dark alley. Or the Protectorate eventually hunt me down for manslaughter, they bring up the months I've spent here and have me declared insane. Kangaroo court express to the Birdcage. I know. I know!" I cursed and resumed my pacing.

"In a bit more than two years you'll be eighteen, you could join the Guild then. Though it is very much the kind of work Archer wanted to spare you from. They do take a significant number of their targets alive, but just as often they are the ones carrying out kill orders."

"Doctor, isn't there supposed to be a good option? Something I can actually point to and say 'This is what's best for me'?" I, well I wasn't begging. But I might have been whining, just a bit.

"Sometimes all life gives us are bad options, Taylor. We just have to pick the best of the lot and keep moving."

"... Maybe. I don't know. I'd still rather just kick Armsmaster's ass."

"Do you really think you could? He's been a hero for a very long time. He has a lot of experience."

"What he has are a bunch of cheap ass tricks and a suit of power armor." I growled.

"Taylor, don't underestimate an opponent. The man is skilled and experienced."

"Damn it all, Shirou! Fine, maybe! Practice weapons, no reinforcing or power armor… I'd bet I could give as good as I got. He's bigger which means he has reach and power but I'd be faster and with weapons I just learn stupidly quick. I'm already damn good, I just need combat experience. If we both went all out… well he'd be dead, I don't really have much in the way of nonlethal past a certain point."

"Good, that's a much more honest assessment."

"Fuck you."

"American teenagers, no respect at all. Really, must you be so crass?" He teased.

"Go sit on a mace and spin." I was in no mood to be polite, especially not when he wasn't unconditionally on my side.

"Why do you care anyway, Doc. Do they give you a bonus if I join?" I grumbled.

"Hardly." She deadpanned. "Taylor, you're a good person. I'd hate to see you get in over your head when help is available to you."

"Doesn't feel like help. Feels like being a sellout."

"So, don't sell out. Milk them dry for every concession and advantage you can. Use them, just don't get yourself killed over a grudge, no matter how justified."

"... I don't know. My head says you're right, the rest of me wants to tell them to go to hell."

"Just think on it, Taylor. You don't need to decide anything right now. Just think about it."

"Yeah…Sure." I knew she had a point. Shirou seemed to think we could make it on our own. Though he admitted it would require leaving a lot of broken bodies in our wake. Dad would be a toss up. He was trying to support me as best he could, but he didn't know how, not with this. Odds are he would push hard to get me in the Wards if he had even half a clue what going solo would risk.

What the Doctor was saying made a lot of sense, but it was just so damn frustrating. It was like being right back in Winslow. Do what you're supposed to and let the people who screwed you get away with it. I was so damn tired of this song and dance.

"One last thing before we wrap up this session, Taylor."

"What now?" I groaned and plopped down onto the edge of my bed. I didn't want to deal with any more of this today. I felt exhausted enough already.

"I want you to stop launching weapons when you are frustrated." She, it wasn't an order but it was pretty close.

"What?"

Doctor Yamada sighed. "Lashing out with violence, even against an inanimate object can be a very unhealthy reaction to stress. Especially if it becomes your norm. It can be slightly desensitizing for you, and can be a sign of willingness to commit similar violence against people." She lectured calmly.

I flinched down in my seat and looked away.

"Taylor, I know that this is incredibly frustrating for you but you cannot lash out like that against people, and I would strongly suggest you not do so against even inanimate objects either. Especially not around other people. If I was anyone else, anyone less used to being in the same room as people with the power to utterly destroy me, that display of yours would likely have sent someone running."

"...Sorry, Doctor."

"It's alright. As I said, you are understandably frustrated and angry. But you need to find a less violent coping mechanism." She said kindly.

I didn't say anything for a moment but the butterfly knife I had discarded earlier caught my eye. Hesitantly I picked it back up and offered it up for inspection. "Something like this maybe?" I asked hopefully. It wasn't inherently violent, though it was still a weapon.

Doctor Yamada eyed me flatly for a moment before sighing lowly. "I suppose that is more acceptable. Though I'll have to insist you not brandish it at anyone, and that you limit yourself to a practice blade to limit any potential discomfort it might cause others."

I nodded energetically. I might be pissed off right now but that was no reason to scare people. And given where I was, I really couldn't afford anything that made me seem unstable.

{}{}{}{}

Laying on my back I stared up at the ceiling. I'd already trained for the day, and run through a dozen combat simulations with Shirou. I wasn't scheduled to meet with any of the Doctors and dinner wasn't for another hour. Dad would probably call sometime after dinner, but again that was a way off.

In theory I was supposed to be trying to fully understand one of the Noble Phantasms from the Unlimited Blade Works. But the process that was allowing me to learn Shirou's abilities seemed to simply not have progressed that far yet. I could understand the physical proportions. I could grasp the fighting style of the previous owners, could even understand the process that forged some of them. But that wasn't enough. A noble Phantasm was something more.

Or perhaps my connection to the Unlimited Blade Works just wasn't strong enough yet. I could find things in there if I knew what I was looking for, or even if I just knew what style of weapon I was looking for, but it wasn't natural or fluid the way Shirou described it. I didn't just instinctively grasp exactly the weapon I wanted unless I had already traced it dozens of times before. So, what was supposed to be some kind of meditation was really just turning into a lot of time to think about things I wanted to ignore.

The Doctor's advice about the Wards was foremost on that list. Shirou wasn't really happy about it either, but he was stupidly practical and thought it wasn't a bad way to kill time and gain experience while we tried to find a way to hit the power granting world eater we were actually after. He was also hopeful they might have information we could use to find the thing. I thought that was a bit of a long shot and that even if they did, I wasn't going to have access as a Ward, but he did have a point.

Everybody seemed to have a good point. Everyone except me. I knew life wasn't fair. I wasn't some idiotic idealist living in a fantasy world, but for my options to all be this shitty was just. Well I suppose it was par for the course really.

"Taylor?"

"Yeah, Shirou."

"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about for a while now."

"Ok?"

"Why do you want to be a hero?"

"Seriously, is that all? The way you said that I was expecting something, you know, big."

"Look, just answer the question." He shot back with a bit of sulk in his tone.

"Fine, jeez it's not like it's some huge secret or anything." I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts. "Growing up, it was everywhere, Shirou. The local Protectorate were on the news like clockwork. Their merchandise was everywhere. Do you have any idea how many little girls there are that dream of one day being exactly like Alexandria? My generation was raised on the cape culture.

"They spoon feed the stuff to us the same way they used to spoon feed kids the idea of the American dream and superiority to get them into the military. It's bullshit, but it's good bullshit because it's not exactly a lie. Just a lot of polish and some smoke and mirrors to cover up what they don't want you to think about. Join the Protectorate, travel the country, meet people dressing up in funny clothes, then throw them in jail. Don't worry about casualty rates, or Endbringers, or the dozens of fates worse than death that might just be waiting for you.

"And then when we get a bit older and we can look past the PR crap… Shirou they go and fight impossible battles to keep the rest of humanity from being crushed. It's terrifying and you want to call them crazy or insane, but you can't because they do it for you, and your family and everyone. How could anyone not respect that? I've got real power now Shirou. I'm a glass canon, I'm barely any tougher than the next human. But the kind of firepower in your Reality Marble might be enough to let me punch all the way into the big leagues. They put themselves on the line for people like me, even if they've never done me personally any damn good. How could I live with myself if I didn't pay that forward for the next generation the way they did for mine?"

"So, you're doing this out of a sense of duty?"

"Yes, no, maybe? It's... That's definitely part of it, but that's not all of it. Shirou I know you never got to really see my home town, but the place is falling apart. The gangs run half the city or more and it's all the heroes can do to keep them from getting the rest. I went to high school with more junior gang bangers then I could keep track of. The whole city is dying and they gangs are just getting fat off of the carcass while everyone else suffers.

"It pisses me off so much. Is that really the best people can hope for? Is that what the rest of the world will end up looking like if things keep going the way they are? I hate it, Shirou. I want things to change for the better for once. I want to be part of making that change." I said with conviction. And I meant every word of it. This was my world. I wasn't going to let some alien glutton eat it, and I sure as hell wasn't going to just sit back and let a bunch of selfish assholes pick it apart either.

Shirou was quite for a minute, but that suited me just fine. It had been a long time since I really stopped and thought about what the Protectorate actually meant. Not the bullshit they were forcing me to deal with, or all the crap that bogged down any large group of people. Just the idea they stood for. That group of crazy brave individuals that decided they were willing to put it all on the line for people they had never met before. I could respect that. I did respect that. It didn't make my list of grievances with them any shorter or less relevant, but it was a reminder of what they were meant to be. What they could be when the big threats reared their ugly heads. What I wanted to be.

It burned something deep inside of me trying to reconcile the two contradictory images of the Protectorate and PRT. The unjust imprisoners, and the brightest beacon we had against all the world's evils. With a snarl I rolled off of my bed and dropped to the floor.

Pushups. A bit of exercise might help clear my mind, and I hadn't done any yet today. Why waste gym time doing exercises I could do in my room anytime?

"It's a better reason then mine, I suppose." Shirou finally spoke back up.

Lowering myself back down to the floor I let my forehead rest against the cool linoleum as I tried to process just what the that could possibly mean.

"Shirou what are you talking about? Why are you really asking?" I glanced under the bed and noticed a throwing knife. Idly I reached out and grabbed it trying to remember when I had traced it, and how I had managed to lose it under my bed.

"...My adoptive father tried to be a hero." Shirou's tone was, weird. Realizing this was going to be a more serious conversation than I was expecting I leveraged myself up back onto the edge of my bed. "I don't really know a lot of the details, but from what little I do know, he always tried to save as many people as he could. He saved me from that fire. But something in me was broken after that, and frankly I think something in him was too."

"What do you mean?"

"He, gave up. He didn't go hunting Dead Apostles, or magi tampering with things better left alone. Instead he just did his best to raise me. And I, wasn't a normal kid. I was a bit apathetic and I latched onto my adoptive father's old dream, claimed it as my own. I would go out of my way to help people whenever I could, and dreamed of being a hero of justice." He sneered. "I obsessed over saving people so I might understand why saving me made him so happy. It eventually got me killed, you know. I was executed by some of the very people I had saved, but I didn't regret it even then."

"So, if you never resented them, or regretted it… why make such a big deal out of it now?"

"Because I willingly sold my soul to Alaya in exchange for power thinking after I died, I would be able to save even more lives. I thought it would be a continuation of my life's work, and she made me murder endlessly. Now here you are, learning from me, absorbing me, and holding on so fiercely to the same dream my father and I chased. I was worried I might end up leading you down the same naive path to ruin that I walked."

Yeah, I could see why he might be concerned when he put it like that. Still that wasn't my problem. Given just how much the heroes of justice were screwing me over I don't think I would ever be looking at the world with that kind of idealism. That mental image of the Protectorate as the shining beacon was an ideal, but I knew just how far short reality truly fell. It might be worth fighting for an ideal, trying to reach one, but I'd never believe in it so whole heartedly. I just couldn't.

"No need to worry about that, Shirou. The shine's all been worn away for me."

"Good, that's good. As long as you can go forward with your eyes wide open, I'm sure it will all work out."

The next few minutes passed in companionable silence as I toyed with the throwing knife I'd found under the bed.

"Err, Taylor? Is that the throwing knife from the first week here when you were actually trying to throw them for a few hours?"

"Yes! That must be how it ended up under my bed. A bunch of those bounced all over the place. Thanks, I was wondering how it got there. Was starting to drive me crazy."

"Taylor, use structural analysis on the knife." Shirou said with a kind of deadly calm.

"Uh, sure… I'm not seeing anything weird Shirou it's just a knife like any other knife I've ever traced."

"It hasn't degraded at all. Stupid, how did I miss this. Gaia and Alaya have had their influence almost completely blocked here, and even if it wasn't, you're on a mission from Gaia, she's not fighting to degrade our mage craft at all!"

"So, wait, doesn't that mean my traced weapons are, permanent? Or nearly permanent? Something like that." I'd only ever payed maybe half attention to Shirou's lectures on the finer points of mage craft and how Gaia and Alaya usually operated. None of it seemed particularly relevant given we were on our own here and dealing with capes instead of mages.

"Yes! And it also means traced Noble Phantasms should come out closer to the original."

"Wait… No loss in power? Or a lot less of a loss in power?" That was big, that was very, very big.

"That's what I'm thinking." Shirou response was laced with vicious glee and I felt my lips twitching up into an evil smirk.

It wasn't a game changer, but I wasn't going to turn my nose up at a significant power boost. I almost couldn't wait to get out of here and find a real threat to cut my teeth on.

{}{}{}{}

"Hey, Dad." I spoke into the phone and leaned against one wall of the little cubicle they let me sit in.

"Hey, Taylor. How are you doing?" Dad sounded tired. But that wasn't really anything new.

"I'm, frustrated, and angry. Really angry. Doctor's finally admitted I'm fine but I can't leave yet."

"That's, I don't understand?"

"Yeah. I don't really know all the details. All I can get are rumors and a bit of guesswork from the people who do know things. But some idiot is making a fuss about keeping me here to piss off some other guy who took an interest in some of the stuff Shirou might be able to explain about powers, and they dragged some big name politician into the mess. So now I'm stuck here under some kind of 'legal fiction' apparently."

"That's, is there anything I can do to help?" Dad asked sounding determined for the first time in… well a long time.

"Don't know. I'm not even sure who it is that's applying the pressure keeping me here. Don't know how you would go about getting them to back off either, but Doctor Yamada seems to think that it won't be enough to keep me here for too long. Though how long is too long when we're talking about politicians, I have no idea."

"Damn. I'm sorry, Taylor. I could try asking around but most of my contacts are in the mayor's office, and the police department. Nothing on a state level, let alone anything that might be out of state." Aaaand he was right back to sounding defeated. Great.

He needed something he could actually do. Chewing at my lip I mulled over a few things. With a sigh I gave into what was likely inevitable.

"Listen, Dad. There is something you could do to help me out."

"Yeah?" He asked sounding hopeful.

"Yeah, Dad. I, I want to be a hero when I do finally get out of here. And as pissed at them as I am Doctor Yamada has made some, really, really good arguments for the Wards rather than going solo or trying to get into some other team."

"Taylor,"

"I hate it." I spat cutting him off. "I absolutely hate it! But no one lasts forever solo, and I just, fuck! I don't want to join them, but I don't know what else I can do at this point, and I just…" I trailed off not knowing what else to say.

"Taylor, talk to me, what do you need from me? How can I help?"

"...Track down the standard Wards contract. Get in touch with anyone who might be able to give you an edge, a lawyer, the Youth Guard, parents of Wards through PHO maybe. Just, if I'm going to get pulled in after all of this shit they have put me through, I want to drag as many concessions out of them as we possibly can."

"That's what you really want to do?"

"No, I want to tell them to stuff it. But this is the smart thing to do."

"Then it's what we'll do. Any idea how long I have to work on this? Or what kind of concessions you want to get out of them?"

"I don't know, a few weeks, probably more. As for concessions… I don't know. Guess it depends on what the normal contract looks like?"

"We'll figure something out then. More than enough time for your old man to pull a few strings and start asking questions." I smiled slightly at Dad's joking tone. "Enough of that for right now though. How's your Archery practice been going? Ready to give Robin Hood a run for his money yet?"

"Heh, just about, yeah. The standing target is too easy at this point. I'm shooting moving disks out of the air now." I bragged lightly. The rest of the call dissolved into meaningless small talk, but it was a lot more positive than any conversation I'd had with Dad in recent memory.

Last edited: Dec 31, 2018

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Dec 18, 2018

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{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; week eight

Meditation, as always, proved to be supremely unhelpful. Though it did give me time to think over an idea I had. Still thinking could only take me so far…

"I am the bone of my sword." As soon as the last murmured word left my mouth my whole body exploded in pain. I screamed as lines of fire shot up and down my limbs and spiked into my chest. It only lasted a moment but the pain left me panting.

"Taylor! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Had to test it, Sensei. Owwww. I thought that might happen, but I needed to be sure."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look it's… ok regular magecraft is like science or math, right? Study diligently, learn everything you can, and then apply it to the real world."

"Yes." Shirou drew the word out, his voice was filled with condescension.

"Your reality marble is like art." I replied dryly, not at all impressed with his tone of voice.

"... Run that by me again, and this time actually explain."

With a huff I moved to a sitting position on my bed.

"Think about it. You are rewriting existence with your inner world. A world that reflects you. You manifest it with an aria that describes your life and yourself. Your origin and affinity are sword, and you were basically fused with a magic sheath."

"... ok, so what?"

"So that's not science, that's abstract, and symbolic, and it's personal. Shirou, there was no magic or magecraft here before the intergalactic tapeworm showed up. I'm not using my circuits, if I even have any. We have no idea what if anything my origin and affinity might be. All of what I do is being handled by a growth in my brain. Maybe as I take more of you that will eventually change, but right now? We're still pretty different. And that's the problem. The Unlimited Blade Works is yours. An aspect of yourself, a representation of yourself, hell for all I know it's your soul dragged out and made manifest around you. And I'm not you."

"... If you are right," He began slowly, "then you won't be able to fully grasp a noble phantasm until I am more fully subsumed."

"But we don't have time for that." I shot back with conviction. "I need to be able to call on that kind of power, and I need it soon. Using your aria won't work for me because I'm not you. But an aria is probably the fastest way to make my own connection. I need a backdoor, or maybe a foothold, to get access. Even just limited access."

"You want to write an aria? Taylor you don't just sit down and come up with an aria for something like this! Or, well, OK, so younger versions of myself have. But they had mine to use as an example, and they were a lot closer to being me than you are right now."

"But I do have yours to use as an example. Besides, my Mom taught college level English, Shirou. I grew up surrounded by poetry, and double meanings, and words chosen with precision to convey just the right idea." I rubbed at my temple as I thought back to more pleasant times. To Mom's mini lectures, to being read the classics and Mom stopping to point out specific meanings and implications. "And I don't think I need a full aria. Just enough to strengthen my connection and get my foot in the door."

"And you think you can do that now? At the drop of a hat?"

My only response was to hum back as I started mentally dissecting his aria.

I am the bone of my sword. Simple enough on the face of it. Without him there are no swords. He makes them. He is their core, their base. Only… it specified sword. The reality marble was called the Unlimited Blade Works and despite the fact I knew there were more than just swords contained within it... swords were the only weapons to be seen there. That was telling. It went right back to Shirou's preferences, and his natural predisposition.

But I didn't share those. I was more than willing to make use of anything and everything. Swords, spears, shields, knives, bow and arrow, hell if I thought it would kill the space worm I'd stab it with a pointy stick. I also hadn't felt any backlash until I finished the last word, that was telling.

Steel is my body and fire is my blood. He trained hard to make his body a weapon, to make himself a weapon. Just like I was doing. But the last word bothered me. Fire is my blood.

Maybe it was a difference in culture, but it brought to mind the idea of someone who was hot blooded. Ignoring the 'romantic' implications it made me think of someone who was passionate, in the moment. Someone who acted and reacted more strongly when demanded. Which fit Archer, and I'm sure it fit with me to some extent but… but it also implied a less emotional state when things weren't serious. And that seemed to fit with Shirou's more apathetic stance on most things. But that wasn't me. Ever since I decided to throw myself into this. Ever since I chose to fight, I had felt driven. My fire didn't boil through me when I needed it. It was part of me to the core, always with me, even if it dimmed when things were not immediately serious.

I have created over a thousand blades. True, for both of us in the literal sense. But this wasn't about being literal. This was about emotions and implications. I hadn't added those blades to the Unlimited Blade Works. I was just someone who came along and started using them.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and spoke.

"I am the bone of my blades." No pain, and I felt something stirring in the back of my mind. Good. But I needed to maintain focus.

"Steel is my body and fire is my soul." I extended my right hand and fixed the image of a spear Archer was intimately familiar with in my mind.

"I have inherited over a thousand blades." You are mine. You are all mine. I might not have forged you, but you have been left to me, and I will not be denied!

"Trace on!" Everything snapped into focus more clearly than ever before. Every aspect of the blade's nature was laid bare before me. It took longer than any normal weapon but I drew on that knowledge and brought it out into the world in all its bloody glory.

My eyes snapped open to the most beautifully deadly thing I had ever seen in my life. Gáe Bolg. The barbed spear that pierces with death. A terrible weapon the Protectorate would hate me for using to its full potential… but a weapon that could allow me to survive encounters with even the most powerful parahumans. With this weapon, and others like it, I could fight. I could win, and I could kill.

"... Well done. Why that weapon in particular?" Archer asked. He sounded much more subdued than usual."

"It felt appropriate. From what little you have told me this is the weapon that started it all for you."

"It killed me." He deadpanned.

"You got better." I teased.

"...Give me control for a moment, Taylor. There is something I have been considering ever since we realized our projections will not fade. It won't work perfectly for you, but any advantage could be the difference between life and death."

Curious, but more than willing to humor him I dissolved the noble phantasm I had created and took a mental step back. Shirou slipped forward filling the gap. He took his time working slowly to trace something I hadn't ever expected. A sheath, brilliant blue and marked with golden lines. I had never seen this before, but I knew it immediately for what it was. Avalon.

Shirou took two full minutes to slowly trace the sheath perfectly. I could feel a sort of conviction as he worked.

"It won't work perfectly for you. It only worked partially for me, and I have no idea how effective it will be for you… But you can trace Noble Phantasms now. No matter what it won't be much longer until things start to get dangerous. When they do I would rather you have every possible advantage, no matter how small." His piece said Shirou did something.

I couldn't really understand what he was doing but Avalon slowly faded into my body. The experience was… surreal. Like a blanket made of warm air and peace wrapping itself up around and through me. Having done what he intended, Shirou stepped back.

"...Thank you, Shirou."

I didn't get a verbal response, just a sense that he had nodded.

Setting that aside I took a deep breath focused on another Noble Phantasm. I'd made my breakthrough. Now I needed to practice.

{}{}{}{}

"Taylor... You've packed." It was as much a question as it was an observation. I only nodded in answer.

"I've finally gotten the hang of tracing those specialty weapons, Doctor. And it's been just over two months since I got here. Honestly, it's a just a few changes of clothes in a bag. Most of it's still in the drawers."

"But you're ready to leave whenever, aren't you?" Doctor Yamada asked with a frown.

I shrugged. "If you're right this can't last and I could be gone any day, it'll be that much less to pack. If you're wrong, and I'm here for a few weeks more, cycling a few things in and out of a bag isn't all that difficult… And if everything goes to hell in a handbasket somehow, I can be gone whenever."

The Doctor winced. "Taylor, I know this is frustrating but,"

"But nothing." I cut her off. "I'm already being held here for no reason. Who's to say things couldn't get worse? Before I was the cape who shoots throwing knifes like fastballs, now I'm the cape who makes weapons that do who knows what." I shrugged. "I'm not ruling anything out, Doctor. I want out of here with a clean record, but I'm ready to run if something goes bad."

We sat in silence for a moment until I traced my favorite distraction and started practicing tricks. The familiar click clack of metal soothing my mind.

"I considered what you said last week." I finally offered.

"Oh?"

I nodded absently as I watched the light reflect off my rapidly moving practice blade. "You were right. I don't like it, but joining the Wards is the smart thing to do. Not sure how the heck I'll manage to deal with that ass Armsmaster for two years, and I'll only have to deal with him occasionally. Gallant I'll have to see all the time. I know I shouldn't hold it against them, but if they had just listened to me…" With a huff I looked away.

"It's a very mature way of looking at things, Taylor."

"Pragmatic." I corrected. "I don't think I can manage mature. But pragmatic… yeah, that I can do. I also took the other part seriously. I told Dad to track down the standard Wards contract and get reading. If I'm going to get anything good out of this, I need to know what's already on the table and what I can reasonably demand."

"Smart." She praised lightly.

"Thanks." The conversation lapsed into silence as I continued to spin and flip my practice knife. "Will I ever get to talk to you again? I don't… These sessions have been, awkward, and stressful and frustrating… But they helped." I shook my head.

The doctor favored me with one of her brighter smiles. "Maybe. I do shifts with various Ward teams, but they shuffle us around. There is a policy about not letting any single therapist be in a position to influence a parahuman."

"That's stupid." I said bluntly. "The whole point of a therapist is to be a positive influence you can trust. That's like telling the Wards not to trust you before they even walk through the door."

The Doctor only shrugged. "I happen to agree with you, but unfortunately I'm not in a position to influence policy."

"Always have to find a new way of lowering my expectations, don't they?"

Doctor Yamada chuckled lightly. "Well if that's your decision then perhaps we should spend today's session discussing methods to control and channel workplace frustrations?"

I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway. It couldn't hurt after all.

{}{}{}{}

"How are you holding up Taylor?"

"Just fine, Dad." I grinned. "I finally got it down. I can summon up weapons that'll have anyone with sense running." I didn't even try to keep the pride and glee out of my voice.

"That's…"

"Dad," I said amused and exasperated. "Just say you're proud of me."

"I'm proud of you." He loyally parroted back at me.

"Good. Now how's that research going?"

Dad grunted unhappily. "Slow. The standard Wards contract is easy enough to find, but the particulars are pretty different from the contracts I usually work with. I've got a meeting with a lawyer scheduled for Tuesday though. The Youth Guard were only too willing to talk to me, but they were more enthusiastic than useful. Talked my ear off for an hour about how to keep my naive innocent child safe from all the PRT's dastardly tricks that might put them in harm's way."

I outright growled. "I'm afraid I'm already far too familiar with the dastardly actions of the PRT to be considered naive. And how am I supposed to be a hero and help people if I'm running away from fights?"

"Taylor, keep in mind that I would appreciate you not getting hurt." Dad said dryly.

"Yeah, well… look I just, I can really make a difference, Dad, I know I can. But I can't do that sitting on the sidelines."

"Couldn't you just give these weapons to other people to use?" Dad's voice wavered between joking and desperate.

"... Maybe one or two could be used by other people, Dad. But even if most could be, I wouldn't trust them with just anyone. These things are game changers, but most of them are, they can be pretty lethal."

"Taylor…"

"Dad, it's ok. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve nobody will be able to complain about. Finding some non-lethal moves took a bit of digging, but I've got a few things that'll work just fine."

"More of your mystery game changers?"

"Not saying a word over the phone, or in this building if I can help it."

"You're being paranoid."

"Not if they really are out to get me."

"You're planning to join them." He deadpanned.

"And I'll start trusting they don't plan to lock me up even longer the moment the ink is dry on my contract. Until then they remain the enemy of my freedom and liberty and are not to be trusted." I declared imperiously.

Dad chuckled. "Well there was one last thing I wanted to talk to you about actually. I got a call from someone with the New York PRT. They wanted to set up a meeting with you next Saturday. Apparently, you're due to be released on Sunday and they want to talk with you before you leave." Dad sounded genuinely happy about it. I was thrilled to finally have the end of this stupid tunnel in sight, but...

"That's… is that good or bad?" I could see it going either way but with how my luck tended to run… "Should I just run now before things can get worse?"

"Taylor!"

"What? I was being serious when I said I wouldn't trust them until the ink was dry."

"You are almost free and clear, please don't throw that away for a life on the run because you are feeling paranoid." He deadpanned.

"It's justified paranoia."

"Maybe so, but please don't go acting on it."

"Fine." I grumbled, drawing out the word. "How are things back home?" I asked.

"Not good, the ABB have been pushing lately, something has them all riled up. Nothing official, but people are talking."

"Damn."

"Mmm. A few of the dockworkers who know people are saying we might be looking at a gang war if things don't calm down soon."

"Stay safe, Dad."

"I will, Taylor, promise. I'll email you what I have on the Wards contract tomorrow so keep an eye out for it. I'll send updates as I figure things out."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Anything for you, Taylor."

"Goodnight, Dad. Love you."

"Night, Taylor. Love you too."

{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; Saturday Week Nine

The Asylum had let us hold the meeting in their staff/conference room. Dad was sitting at the table calmly sipping a cup of coffee. I was too anxious to actually sit. So, I paced around the back of the room and made Dad fidget as I spun my butterfly through my fingers. I had finally graduated to a live blade and decided to celebrate by giving it a personal touch. The once chrome surface was now a wave pattern of black and red.

"Taylor, would you please stop risking your fingers and sit down?"

"Really don't want to sit down, Dad. Way to nervous. And I've been practicing for weeks I can do this stuff with my eyes closed."

"Please don't." He pleaded.

Groaning I dissolved the knife and then re-traced it with a practice blade. Glaring I showed Dad the difference and started practicing more difficult tricks I hadn't quite mastered yet. Three nasty would be cuts to my hand later and the door finally opened.

I dropped my knife.

Legend. Fucking Legend, of all damn people was here to talk to me. I dissolved the blade I dropped and slowly moved to take my seat beside Dad. All the while I was trying to calculate just how many walls I would need to cut through to get out of here. And just how bad my odds were against Legend if this was a setup to screw me over even worse. If he could enter his breaker state of being light without moving, I was screwed. If he needed to get moving like some people believed fighting him indoors might actually let me win... but even then, I'd need to get the drop on him and pray. None of which would be any easier with all the containment foam sprinklers everywhere. I really, really, hoped I wasn't being set up.

"Mr. and Miss Hebert?"

"Yeah, that's us." I answered cautiously.

Legend smiled. It was big and warm and happy and I suddenly had a very good idea of why he was the head of the Protectorate.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both. Especially you Miss Hebert. Not many new capes would have shown the kind of restraint you have in this situation."

"Thanks?" I shared a look with Dad who looked just as lost. Right, well, couldn't blame him for that. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here." My thoughts were still racing and I realized if this was a set up, I couldn't even fight all out. If I killed Legend, even to save my own skin, I'd be hunted down and killed within a week. I… fuck. If this was a trap I just wasn't walking out of here.

I actually sank down into my seat waiting for his answer. I knew I should have run when I had the chance.

"Ahh, well…" He rubbed at the back of his head and I just tried not to cringe. This was it. My mission to save the world was over before it even started. Killed by the powers of bureaucracy. "Given how badly your case has been mishandled, and the fact that this was only a short flight for me, I decided to handle our apology in person."

It took me a few moments to process that. I wasn't about to be carted off and never heard from again? Legend was here to apologize to me? I just ended up staring.

"Taylor? Come on, Taylor. Head back in the fight."

"Right." I shook my head back and forth and refocused. "Thanks, Shirou."

"Any time, now focus. Don't get overawed."

I finally settled for just giving Legend a suspicious look and keeping my mouth shut.

"I'm afraid the original Master Stranger screening would have been inevitable unless you had managed to slip under our radar until you fully absorbed your teacher. That being said I've worked with Armsmaster in the past. He isn't the best at dealing with people. I'm sure that didn't help with the initial meeting."

"Yeah he was…" I shook my head before I could get caught up in a mini rant.

Legend offered me a small understanding smile. "He is excellent at his job, just not at dealing with people. Unfortunately, that seems to be the least of the issues we have made for you."

"Tagg." I managed to keep the growl out of my voice, but it left my response sounding cold. Maybe not what I had intended, but better than the alternative.

Legend gave me a confused look.

"According to the trooper rumor mill, someone named Tagg directed some politicians towards my case to get me held here longer." I explained coolly. "One of the Doctors was kind enough to confirm that I was being held here by political pressure for the last few weeks."

Legend groaned lightly and rubbed at his forehead. "I was, actually unaware of that tidbit. I'll have to have a conversation with the man about not pushing cooperative parahumans." He looked genuinely angry about it to.

Then a few thoughts clicked into place. "Wait… If you didn't know about Tagg, what issue were you talking about?"

Legend grimaced. "Your case, the one against the persons responsible for your trigger event was handed off to the PRT. And I know neither you or your father have been kept apprised of the cases progress."

I sat up, back straight as a board, and waited for the shoe to drop. I'd been expecting this for weeks now. Emma's Dad pulled some legal bullshit, no one would corroborate that those three liked to use me as an emotional punching bag, they were all going to get off free as birds, again.

"Much as I hate to do this, I'll need you both to sign nondisclosure agreements before I can fully explain."

Wait… what?

"Why?" Dad asked cautiously. "NDA's shouldn't be required at all for the outcome of a legal case."

"I can tell you right now all three girls were tried, found guilty and sentenced... but there was a lot more going on than anyone realized. That's what the NDA's are for." Legend explained sliding the sheets across the table along with a pen.

Dad immediately picked one up and started to read. I let him focus on that. He knew enough to handle it. I was just too preoccupied trying to wrap my head around the fact that those three were actually getting punished for once. It took a few minutes but Dad eventually signed his and passed me the other. Almost absently I signed it and passed it back to the grim faced Legend.

"Right, there were several issues wrapped up in it all. Your Principal apparently decided to ignore the early incidents because of Miss Barnes's father's status as a lawyer. Unfortunately, this established a pattern and with every incident she ignored… well if the matter was dragged to any sort of higher authority, even just the board of education, she would have likely lost her job. So, she did her best to bury the issue. The longer the bullying lasted and the worse it became the deeper the hole she dug. You might be pleased to know she was in fact fired fairly early in the investigation, and has since been barred by the courts from ever again working with children in any capacity. She is also facing up to ten years of jail time. The judge has a niece your age and was… very unimpressed."

That did give me a vindictive little thrill. I was glad to hear Blackwell had gotten what was coming to her, but she wasn't the big fish in my books compared to the trio. Maybe a tie for Madison, but well below Emma and Sophia.

"That's good." I answered. "But how is that an issue for the PRT?"

"About six months ago the Protectorate East North East captured a vigilante going by the name Shadow Stalker. She was facing a significant amount of time in Juvenile Detention for use of excessive force. The local Director offered her a deal. If she joined the Wards as a probationary member, she wouldn't have to do any jail time... Her civilian name is Sophia Hess."

For a bare moment the room was utterly silent. I didn't speak. I didn't move. I didn't even breath. Legend seemed to pick up on my non reaction and subtly tensed.

I took a deep breath, and let it out in a slow hiss. With a mental jerk I grabbed Shirou and threw him into control of my body.

"Take over before I try to kill him." That was all I managed to get out before my thoughts devolved into incoherent cursing and screaming.

"... Miss Hebert?"

My body raised one hand palm out, and my posture adopted a sort of disinterested slouch. "Shirou Emiya, actually. Taylor is currently cursing and ranting, quite inventively. She told me to take over before that amazing self control of hers' slipped."

Legend nodded very slowly and his posture relaxed minutely.

"That shallow, soulless, cunt! Throwing away her best friend so she can prance around like a pretty little peacock and play chief bootlicker to a no name psychopathic vigilante!"

"Really I have to admit I am impressed." My voice said with very false cheer. "With everything she has been through she has managed to not lash out at anyone, and within ten minutes and a handful of sentences you very nearly pushed her past her breaking point. Truly impressive." My mouth dripped condescension, and my body language became more combative.

"Tell me was that the plan? Push her past her limits against someone who you all believed would survive the experience? Then use it as justification to have her locked in a more robust prison? If so, I should applaud your cunning. Though I ought to mention she has access to a number of weapons that in theory can kill anything living. And that is only if she chose not to get creative." Archer declared cheerfully.

"What?! No! Of course not!" Legend denied looking truly offended. "She had a right to know about her case. Besides which trying to convince her to join without telling her? That would have been setting ourselves up for disaster when she inevitably found out."

"And Blackwell! That incompetent, lazy, gutless, coward! Forget baring her from working with children they should have neutered that useless, sepsis riddled, cow!"

"Hmm, so you say." Archer responded glibly. "So please, explain to us exactly how one of the children in your care, someone who you knew to have violent tendencies, managed to get away with continuing her bullying campaign, and further get away with something so heinous as what happened to Taylor."

"From what our internal investigation has found, as well as your former principal's testimony, the woman kept Sophia's actions from the PRT to prevent her previous failures from coming to light."

Shirou grunted and waved Legend on.

"Checking the girls phones turned up enough evidence to convict them, and once it was clear how the winds were blowing several students stepped forward with testimony about scattered bullying against themselves, as well as an overwhelming confirmation that they focused on you in particular."

"Sure, once they knew they wouldn't get smacked down then they find the guts get involved. Useless, cowardly, sons and daughters of clap riddled whores!"

"Taylor, please stop." Archer said with suppressed mirth. "If you keep this up you are going to make me laugh. It would ruin my image."

I only growled back.

"Sophia's status as a Parahuman kept the case confined to a closed court and the case out of the public eye. Sophia is currently in the care of a juvenile detention center. When she turns eighteen her case will be reevaluated, though it's very likely she will be serving additional time."

"Couldn't we have dug out some of the old crowd pleasers? Like boiling her alive in oil?"

"Emma Barnes, despite her father's best efforts, was also transferred to a similar facility. Although the things she said and the way she acted during the trial have raised several concerns that she might be suffering from some form of mental issue. She has been court ordered to meet with a psychiatrist during her time there, the psychiatrist's findings will likely influence what, if any, additional punishment she might be facing after she turns eighteen."

"No, really? The girl is cracked. Go figure!"

"Madison Clements managed to get a plea deal based on the fact that she was unaware of what they were planning to do in advance, and her willingness to present evidence against the other two. She'll spend the next year in juvenile detention and has a significant amount of community service waiting for her once she gets out."

"Prissy little turncoat, tagalong, slag." I grumbled.

"Taylor? I think that's about as good as could be expected."

"...Do you think we could get away with blowing up a few government facilities if we called it training accidents? Just a couple juvie halls and maybe a prison?"

My body actually snorted. Legend and my Dad looked at us oddly but Shirou waved them off. "Just something Taylor said."

"I'm sorry, Taylor, but I don't think they would buy that."

"Do you think we could get away with it if we had an alibi?"

"Taylor…"

"Fine, damn it all, fine! Move over. I'm calm enough to keep a lid on things now."

"Are you still willing to work with them?"

"... Just give me back control already."

Reluctantly Shirou moved aside for me. I came back to my body glairing and without even hesitating traced my practice butterfly knife. The familiar click clack filled the air and soothed my frayed temper even as it made my father and Legend fidget. I kept my silence for the better part of a minute.

"This morning I was ready to put up with the Wards and whatever bullshit it might come with if it meant not risking another situation where I ended up detained, for any reason. I am, very seriously trying to remind myself that all the reasons I had before still apply."

"Miss Hebert?" Legend asked. Even with his mask it was easy to see the change in personality had thrown him off balance.

"Yes." Click-clack-click. "Before I knew about this my Dad and I had a list of concessions we wanted to wring out of the Protectorate. Now I'm not even sure what I could demand that would be anywhere near equivalent to my grievances. I am going to assume that you came prepared with some kind of offer you thought might tempt me anyway."

Legend nodded slowly.

"We will start with that, then go from there." I said very firmly. With a final twirl I snapped the blade shut and down onto the table. Then I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest while glaring.

"Ahh well, I know you didn't get much in the way of schooling during the first three weeks you were under Master Stranger quarantine." I nodded confirmation. "And from what I understand there haven't been many people to help with your studies here, and your work ethic has been, ah, less diligent than your practice with your powers or your exercise regimen."

"I was a bit past caring what Winslow thought of my studies." I dryly responded. "And while Shirou knows a lot of things it seems he's forgotten the intricacies of high school level math and science."

"Hey."

I ignored the indignant voice in my head. "What's your point?" I demanded

"Well, given your long absence from school we thought helping you catch up with tutors over the next few months, and possibly into the summer, so you can test into a better school for your junior year might be a good step." He offered.

I honestly hadn't even thought about schooling. I'd have wiped Winslow off the map before going back into that hellhole. But I hadn't even been considering my education. It just didn't seem to stack up when compared to what I knew was out there. And Shirou hadn't really cared either. Glancing at Dad I saw he liked the idea. Much as I might want to call school pointless, I'd read through the Standard Wards contract and some stuff the Youth Guard enforced. Schooling was mandatory until I turned eighteen. Even getting my GED wouldn't change that. If I could get some one on one focus and never even have to tell Winslow to fuck off that wasn't a bad deal. It was a start at least.

Nodding I rolled my wrist, prompting Legend to continue. Then I actually blinked. I was acting like a big shot while dragging concessions out of fucking Legend. Clearly Shirou was being more of an influence on me than I had previously thought. Yeah, I might have the entire Protectorate by the metaphorical balls, but holy hell was I acting cocky.

"We also thought that given your history with Armsmaster putting you under his command might not turn out so well. At least not so soon."

"No, really, how long did it take you to figure that one out." I internally snarked.

"And given returning to Brockton Bay after such a long absence coinciding with a new Ward would be fairly obvious." Ok, point. "I was hoping you might consider joining the New York Wards for a trial run."

"What?" Dad cut in sharply. "My daughter hasn't been home in three months, and you want to keep her away even longer?"

"Well, we also wanted to offer to cover travel expenses and a hotel for you to use over the weekend, and to help you look for a job in New York, Mr. Hebert. If you can't find a job by the end of summer vacation, or if Taylor decides the New York Wards are a bad fit for her we could get her transferred to Arcadia high school in Brockton Bay." Legend said consulting a folder of notes for the name of the school. "She would have to make a public transfer to Brockton Bay either a few weeks before or after the start of the school year, but we thought a new environment might be healthier for your daughter right now."

That was, surprising. Glancing at Dad I could tell he was torn about the idea. Brockton Bay was home, he was invested in keeping the Dockworkers union afloat and trying to get the Ferry back up and running. But he looked honestly tempted.

"Dad?" I asked gently.

"... I'm not going to lie, I'm rather attached to Brockton Bay." Dad said slowly. "But for Taylor's sake relocating would be a small price to pay." He shot me a loving look. "Probably be good for me to find a job with less stress and more regular hours at my age anyway." He said with a smile.

I gave him back a more hesitant one of my own. Part of me wouldn't mind putting that city behind me, and this was only a trial run. If I decided I hated New York I could always go back. Finally, I shrugged. "It's your call I guess, Dad. I don't know how I feel about it, but if we decide we hate New York we can always go back home?" I glanced at Legend for confirmation and he nodded.

"We'll accept both offers." Dad answered. "Taylor, you said there were some other things you had in mind?"

With a deep breath I nodded. "I'm going to demand a note be placed in my file that my Master Stranger testing and my time here at the asylum both came back with a clean bill of health, and that I was cooperative throughout. I'm not going to stand for having someone drag this up someday in an attempt to pressure me, or discriminate against me." I said steely eyed.

"Reasonable, and entirely understandable. I'll make sure it's done." Legend made a note on a legal pad. When had he pulled that out?

"I've just about maxed out the range of a normal bow and arrow. But Shirou has a custom one I can trace. He swears he can bullseye targets at four kilometers, and with practice I should be able to as well. If you can set up… I don't know, a bullseye on a float or something out on the water for me to practice on? Probably be able to make some kind of PR thing out of it. A chance for the public to watch a Ward train, maybe answer a few questions and sign some autographs when I'm done. Can't imagine any reason anyone could shoot that down." It was a smaller concession, and I was hoping that phrasing it like a regular PR stunt would make it metaphorically cheaper.

Legend rubbed at his chin but nodded. "Glenn will probably love that idea. But really? four kilometers with a bow and arrow?"

"He hasn't lied to me yet." I replied with a shrug. "Though if it's like his other skill I'll have to work my way up to that point. Probably be hard enough to hit something at even half a mile at the beginning."

I drummed my fingers on the table going over the rest of my list. "Reimburse my Dad for all the gas he's had to burn making these trips to see me every week. And an escape clause in my contract. That's the last of my demands."

"Reimbursing your father isn't too large of an issue, but I'm not sure what you mean by an escape clause." Legend said cautiously.

"I don't really trust the Protectorate, or the PRT. I'm not even sure I want to trust the Wards after all of this. Being able to walk away with my name and costume if I decide I was wrong to sign up would make me a lot more comfortable with the situation."

Legend didn't say anything at first. He simply rubbed at his temples for a moment. "That... that is a lot to ask for Miss Hebert."

"I'm willing to sign a mountain of NDA's about any identities I might learn, about any procedures or policies, even a provisional one that says I can't go airing my grievances if I do leave. I've just been burned too many times to go into this without an escape plan."

"I can understand that, but even with those promises it would still be asking a lot."

"It's better for you than the alternative." I said levelly.

"And what's the alternative?"

"I come up with a backup plan of my own and retain the legal right to declare every issue I might have with all three organizations if I do get pushed too far. Well except for the Shadow Stalker bullshit. I suppose you already got me to sign an NDA about that."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Dad grinning. We had talked a bit about my game plan for that last one and he was particularly impressed by my rather vicious idea.

"That is, dangerously close to blackmail, Miss Hebert." Legend said neutrally.

"I could always try to sue the PRT and Protectorate? Given my current grievances I'd bet I could get one hell of an out of court settlement. More than enough for some specialty materials to make my own costume, could probably see about founding my own team from there. Maybe work more closely with local police departments. See about finding a way to get capes deputized. Give the police the kind of back up they would need to really go head to head with the gangs? Would also mean capes could finally responding to lethal force with lethal force. I'm willing to bet just that would get me a lot of recruits."

Legend's mouth actually hung open. "I, there are a lot of laws preventing-"

"Parahuman law is an absolute mess full of contradictions and loopholes, or so I'm told." I cut him off. "A few very passionate speeches talking about how much more of a difference capes could make if they weren't hamstrung to whip up public support, a few conversations with some open minded politicians, a promise for law enforcement oversight, and I think you would find laws changing rather rapidly."

This was something Shirou and I had only come up with a few days ago as a backup plan. It was a longshot as long as the Endbringers were still a thing. When they showed up you needed everyone you could get. But really even with them out there I would just have to find a city that was more worried about the immediate threat then the possible eventuality. Brockton Bay being a prime example.

"You certainly don't do things by halves do you, Miss Hebert?"

I shrugged and gave Legend a vicious little smile.

"I can't promise you the last one." He said after a moment. "But I will bring it up with a few legal experts when I get back to base. I can promise you everything else I offered and your other demands. Is that enough for you to provisionally agree for now?"

I closed my eyes and mulled it over. Part of me was sure that if I didn't get him to agree to it now I never would. Still if they didn't agree my back up plan threat would still be open to me. I could live with it. Finally, I glanced over at Dad. He chewed at his lip for a moment before nodding. With an explosive sigh I looked back at Legend.

"Ok."

Legend nodded solemnly and favored me with a small smile. "If you are up for it, we could move you in tomorrow. Finish up all the legal requirements and get you settled?" I didn't really want to. I wanted to go home for a week and sleep in my own bed for the first time in months… But I didn't want to give their lawyers any extra time to argue down my demand for an escape clause.

"Only if Dad can be there with me." I declared firmly.

"I already booked a hotel room nearby for the night so I could pick you up first thing in the morning. I could drive us into the city tomorrow. Once we have things squared away... we can see the sights? Make a day of it?"

"... I'd really like that, yeah."

"Then it's settled. I look forward to working with you in the future Miss Hebert." Legend stood and offered me his hand.

It felt a bit like making a deal with the devil, but I shook it anyway. After Legend left, I reached out and pulled Dad into a hug. Things were moving so fast now and after months of no progress whatsoever and the entire meeting had been draining in the extreme.

Dad's arms wrapped around me as he returned the hug. "I'm so proud of you, Taylor."

I grunted something back and just buried my head further into his shoulder.

"I know it isn't what we were expecting. In some ways it was better and in a lot of ways it was worse." Dad murmured as he rubbed the back of my head in soothing circles. "But you kept your head and rolled with the punches. We'll make this work, Taylor. I promise."

I just held him tighter.

Last edited: Jan 3, 2019

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Threadmarks Interlude 1: Lily

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Dec 26, 2018

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AN: Ok serious time here. Word of Wildbow is that Lily also known as Flechette was a member of New York's Lancer Wards team. That being the team that can patrol by rooflines or fly. I'm going to toss that right out the window. Her method of travel revolved entirely around leaving lengths of chain hanging from or connecting buildings and burying Darts into them. I cannot see people being happy about that, at all. She is, on the other hand 17 and likely old enough to ride their weird railway line bikes to get places. Which I also think is insane but a more believable insane. Honestly don't know what Wildbow was thinking when he came up with some of this stuff, but I'm leaning towards something along the lines of 'wouldn't it be cool if…' So, I am going to be taking liberties with the barely fleshed out and horribly awkward New York wards situation. I've also tracked down what is an apparently regularly updating map of gang territories set up by Daily News which I will be using for inspiration. I think I'll actually be including several small time gangs with possibly no parahumans at all. So many of these gang names are cringe worthy so don't be surprised if something as dumb or dumber than Azian Bad Boys shows up. It might actually be real world street gang.

{}{}{}{} Interlude Lily

"So, new girl?" I did my best to keep any excitement out of my voice. I liked my teammates. Thing was I only had three on my immediate team. And I was always happy to have more people to hang out with. And if I was very lucky… Ahh but that was a long shot. No point it in getting my hopes up so early. Hadn't even met the girl yet.

"Mmm." Jason, also known as Red Hood, and the current leader of the New York Wards Siege squad hummed an affirmative from where he was walking a few steps ahead of me. "I didn't get many details, just that she had signed up yesterday and would be sleeping here on base. Though they did tell me they weren't sure if she would be a permanent fixture or not. Something about a trial run and unusual circumstances. I've been meaning to read her file, but I haven't had a chance yet." He said, running a hand through his short black hair.

Well that sucked, but if anyone knew about getting shuffled from one Wards team to another it was me. Still sounded like there was a chance she would stay on.

Daniela, better known to the masses as Phantom, hip checked me lightly and shot me a teasing grin as she stepped ahead to press a kiss against Jason's cheek. The petite blonde spun to smile at both of us as she stepped backwards and phased through the door to the ready room.

Jason sighed as he presented an eye for the retinal scanner. "Going to have to talk with her about not doing that again. Especially with a new face around that isn't used to her." The warning buzzer sounded. "Last thing we need is a fight between teammates because she phased through a bedroom wall, again."

"Mmm, but she has been pretty good about personal boundaries the past few months." It was even true. Dani was nice enough, but for some reason the concept of privacy just didn't seem to exist for her. Jason didn't really care, which was a good part of why the two of them worked as a couple, but he did his job as leader and made sure to keep her in check for the rest of us.

Jason only hummed in response. Surprisingly when the door opened Dani was still there waiting for us bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. That was a bit of a surprise. I'd expected her to shoot off in search of our new member.

A moment after walking in though I ground to a halt. Our ready room usually smelled like a gym locker room and old pizza boxes. Evidently the new girl had aired the place out, and decided our usual quality of food didn't cut it because the whole place smelled fantastic.

"Shirou, would you please stop bitching?" A voice I didn't recognize spoke from the direction of our kitchen slash dining room. "I get it, your best dishes are all Japanese. They're what you have the most practice with, and what you grew up eating. But Japan got its teeth kicked in by Leviathan, and even if they didn't oversea shipping has dropped to almost nothing. There're barely any ingredients imported from anywhere. Even if I knew where to look for specialty ingredients, what little does make it here it would all be way out of my price range."

"I thought we were only getting one new member?" I asked quietly.

"We are." Jason's voice had that deadly serious quality that meant he was in full blown leader mode. The voice that let you know if it came down to you or following regulations there was every chance of some enemy getting more injured than PR would be happy about. A series of hand gestures later and Dani and I fell in behind him. I fished out one of my throwing darts as we moved.

"Look at it this way, Shirou, now you get to master all new types of recipes. And come on, my Mom's Lasagna recipe was already amazing. Though the trick with structural analysis makes it stupidly easy to get the herbs and spices just right."

Lasagna? That's what I was smelling? Damn, I hoped this turned out to be nothing serious because I really wanted to try some of that. If it tasted half as good as it smelled we needed to make a concentrated effort to keep this girl around.

"Honestly, I'm just happy to be having actual home cooked food again. It's been months. It'll be nice to make a good first impression for once too."

I had just enough time to wonder why it had been months since she had home cooked food before we all slipped into the kitchen. We were just in time to see the person who was presumably our new member pull a full pan of lasagna out of the oven. She gave a startled little yelp when she turned around and saw us all standing there, but thankfully did not drop the dish of lasagna. She hurried to set the food down on the counter right next to a basket stacked high with cheesy garlic bread, and a plate of apple slices.

She was tall, really tall; five eleven, maybe even six foot. She had long lean runners' legs that connected to a slim waist, both were highlighted by a pair of tight fitting blue jeans. Her light grey t-shirt was loose around the waist and not overly flattering but didn't hide the fact the girl was an a-cup with the kind of shoulders I'd normally see on a swimmer. Her arms showed some solid muscle tone too. She had an expressive mouth, brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, and beautiful long black hair that curled lightly, seemingly at random. Though one lock of hair on the left side of her face seemed to be going white at the roots, but it had only grown out about an inch in that color.

With a little huff the girl reached up and pulled out a set of earbuds I hadn't noticed before. "Jeez, didn't hear you all come in."

"Who were you talking with just now?" Jason asked still using his scary leader voice.

"So much for making a good first impression." The girl muttered looking imploringly at the ceiling. "I take it you haven't read my file yet?"

Jason shook his head but didn't take his eyes off the new girl.

"I'm the very first, and so far only, of what the PRT has labeled case 70's. My power came with the previous owner still attached, and he's had to teach me how to use it." The new girl actually turned her back on us as she went rooting around for plates and silverware. "Before any of you ask, because I know you are going to, no I'm not like the Butcher. No, I am not crazy. And no, I am not suffering from some kind of Master effect. I actually demanded they put a note acknowledging all that in my file as a condition for joining."

Jason relaxed a bit and pulled out his phone presumably to open up our new capes file.

"So, you were talking to the guy who had your power before you?" Dani asked dropping her guard and jumping onto a stool at the kitchen island.

"Yeah, Shirou. He's a pretty cool guy." Glancing over her shoulder the new girl noticed Dani's eyes glued onto the food and grabbed a second plate. Then paused and proffered it in my direction while making eye contact.

Nodding I put my dart away and claimed my own seat.

The girl glanced at Jason, but he was absorbed in his reading so she simply shrugged and scooped up fourth plate. A moment later Jason was the only one not savoring cheesy goodness.

"This is delicious!" I honestly meant it too. It was easily the best lasagna I'd had in months. Way better than Dad's recipe. Not that I'd seen much of him in recently, let alone his cooking.

"Thanks. I'm Taylor by the way."

"Lily, that's Daniela-"

"Call me Dani!" The girl chirped.

"-and Jason. Fred should be here in about a half hour."

"Only five of us?" Taylor asked. "I thought the team would be bigger. Brockton Bay has more Ward's than this."

"We're just the Siege team. New York actually has four other teams of Wards and ours is usually on the small side." Jason supplied without looking up from Taylor's file. Though he was managing to get garlic bread into his mouth regardless.

"Right!" Dani cheered. "We're the ones old enough to ride the rails, and who pack enough of a punch to do some real damage. Like siege engines! Were a bit slow, but once we get there, BAM!" She clapped her hands to emphasize the point.

Taylor nodded seriously. "What about the other teams?"

"Lancers are the fast responders." I picked up the conversation. "Flight, super speed, teleporters, stuff like that. Then there's us. After that you've got Army. They're the ones too young to ride the railway bikes, or without the kind of speed or power needed for Lancer or Siege. They get stuck with foot patrols mostly. Then you have the PR team, though that's more of a punishment detail, and… well we all call it the club house. It's for the kids under thirteen. They get training and sometimes do ride alongs with a Protectorate member, but that's about it."

"So I really will get to see some fighting." Taylor seemed to perk up. "With how things have been going I thought they might have just been humoring me."

"Why would you think that?" Dani asked beating me to the punch.

"Because she's got the patience of a saint, and the bosses still nearly used it all up." Jason said, flipping his phone face down on the table. "Three months? I'd have blown my way out of the building and made a run for it after the third week." Jason gave Taylor a respectful glance before digging into his food. Then the respectful look turned almost worshipful as he wolfed down the rest.

"Three months?" I prompted lightly.

"It's how long it took me to convince everyone that I wasn't crazy or mastered." Taylor's tone practically begged for us to just drop the subject.

...That was impressive. Jason wasn't kidding. I'd been in Master Stranger confinement a few times over the years. I was always climbing the walls after a few hours. For Taylor to put up with anything like that for months and not try to break out was really impressive. Though if she always had someone to talk to in her head that must have made things easier.

"So, what do you do?" Dani asked through a bite of pasta.

Taylor held up her right hand face up and a butterfly knife formed resting there. With a grin she started spinning and flicking the blade in a series of tricks. With a final flourish she tossed the blade into the air where it dissolved into particles of light.

"I make weapons. I can fire them like bullets, and I'm pretty good at using them the normal way too. I can make myself stronger and faster and sort of reinforce simple things. I've also got a bunch of really special weapons… most of which I've been ordered to never use."

"Why's that?" Jason asked. Evidently, he'd gotten as far as the note in her file and stopped reading, or the file was incomplete. Given how he was digging into his food I was betting on the former.

"Too lethal. Some of my stuff is non lethal, but a lot of it…"

"Can you give us some examples?" I pushed my empty plate aside and leaned forward. Would it be rude to ask for seconds?

Taylor projected a simple blade with a small red grip and cross guard. "If I stab someone's shadow with one of these they'll get locked in place. This they don't mind me using." The weapon dissolved. Then, noticeably slower, she conjured up a red spear. "Got to work on that. This is still taking way too long…" She shook her head. "This thing is my theoretical go to if I ever have to fight a Brute because it should cut through or ignore most power granted methods to avoid injury. Though I don't think it will work so well against breaker states." Taylor shrugged. "It's about the most dangerous thing I could convince them to let me use. Everything past that boils down to explosions, stupidly powerful blasts, and things that essential say 'you are going to die, because I said so.'"

"Seriously?" Dani asked. She had scooched back a bit until the red spear dissolved into light. She was very proud of her ability to ghost through attacks. I guess finding something that might hurt her regardless was a bit unnerving.

"I've got a spear which takes the act of me trying to stab someone as justification that they have already been stabbed through the heart." Taylor deadpanned.

"That's… really?" I couldn't help but ask.

"According to Shirou, and the understanding my power gives me. I haven't exactly had a reason to test it out."

"Well, I can see why they put you on Siege squad." Jason said with a grin. "We all have too much power for our own good, so you'll fit right in."

Taylor nodded and a bit of tension I hadn't even noticed went out of her shoulders as she smiled. It was a pretty nice smile.

Last edited: Feb 7, 2019

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Threadmarks Ch. 7

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Mar 26, 2019

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Right, I know a few people want me to completely set aside the side story/sequel of Taylor in the Grail War until the main story is complete. To answer that I can only say I don't know what I intend to do with it yet. The main reason I wanted those first two posts of it done was for the conversation between Taylor and Rin about the possibilities surrounding Taylor absorbing Counter Guardian Shirou Emiya. It was the last major Fate plot hole that needed to be addressed. Granted, I didn't actually give a concrete answer about what happened there, but I did outline several possibilities which should placate the fans who insisted Alaya would never give up one of her Counter Guardians.

Now that it's out of the way there is less of a need to add to the sequel. I may set it aside until the main story is done or I may do what I originally intended and give it an update or two every time I finish a story arc. We'll see how I feel about it when I get to the end of this arc.

Alright then, back to the main story, here we go!

{}{}{}{} After Diner.

I sank slowly onto one of the couches and pulled out the Wards combat manual. I'd started reading it earlier but only read maybe half. So far, I wasn't very impressed. The book wasn't about tactics at all. Not even stupidly generic ones. It made some sense. Parahuman powers were too diverse and unpredictable for there to be any kind of standard team formations and strategies, but it didn't even try.

No, the whole manual was a hodgepodge of regulations, instructions on after action reports, and descriptions of what kind of situations Wards were allowed to intervene in. It also constantly reiterated the fact that we were not required to take part in combat. Even more infuriating it insisted we speak with our team leader to find out if any capes in our area had a blanket retreat order. Granted, I'd lived in the same town as Lung, Hookwolf, and Oni-Lee. I got it. Some capes would kill you without batting an eye, and they wanted to keep kids away from those types. It still rubbed me the wrong way. If it was fight or let someone die, I knew what choice I would make. My conscience wouldn't let me walk away if there was something I could do.

There was a lot of attention given to the idea of acceptable verses excessive force. It was… honestly it was ridiculous. 'Demand the villains surrender prior to taking any action unless failure to act would put someone at risk of injury or worse.' I understood we were supposed to be law enforcement and all that, but, really? Giving away my position and the element of surprise is supposed to be standard procedure? Yeah, no.

The PRT's idea of excessive force was almost as bad. Broken bones are excessive. Serious lacerations are excessive. The list went on to include a bunch of other more esoteric injuries but the general idea was they wanted us to somehow subdue villains as nonviolently as possible. But of course, we weren't allowed to carry tasers or containment foam unless we happened to be a tinker. Because kids carrying any kind of weapon when it wasn't directly related to their power gave people the impression of child soldiers.

"Put people out on the street to stop crime, and then make them do it barehanded against people with guns and worse." I mentally groused. "Is it any wonder capture rates are so low?"

Shirou hummed back at me. "True, though the nature of my abilities should give you the wiggle room to do more than get into fist fights." He snorted derisively at the idea. I had to agree with the sentiment. I'd put in too much effort getting here to be restricted to punching when I had the Unlimited Blade Works as my armory. "You should probably finish reading it though. You're expected to meet with the PR team tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect from them, but knowing more can only help."

"Yeah… but maybe this isn't the best source…" I trailed off as footsteps coming from the kitchen broke my train of thought.

"Ahh, that thing." Jason's voice was tinged with exasperation.

Glancing over my shoulder I caught the grimace on his face as he eyed my manual like it had personally offended him.

I raised the small book and gave it a little wave as I caught his eye. "Does this thing actually give any good advice?" I asked. "I'm more than halfway through but it hasn't mentioned what kind of situations justify taking off the kiddy gloves. So far, I've just gotten the impression that they'd rather I fight villains with a Nerf sword, or run."

With a sigh Jason plopped down in a chair to my left. "There are three and a half pages near the very end that cover that. They bury the whole thing in a heaping pile of legal mumbo jumbo, and reminders that you are encouraged to run from dangerous situations." He scowled at the little book in my hand. "It all boils down to this though. If your backs to the wall and you think someone intends to kill or maim you? You do whatever you have to do." He looked me dead in the eye as he said it, and his tone of voice brooked no argument.

"If it comes down to that the PR department will do absolutely everything they can to bury it." He growled. "That can include sticking the hero in some out of the way hick town for a few months to let the media circus die down before transferring them to a different city." He shook his head looking absolutely disgusted with the idea. "And they'll put you through the wringer trying to decide if you actually were justified or not. They think you weren't? Your carrier is basically over right then and there."

Jason frowned then shook his head again. "Sorry that got away from me a bit. Look, they will rake you over the coals and give you the third degree if you cross the line. That being said, at the end of the day your safety, the team's safety, and the safety of civilians, is a higher priority than some random villain."

I shook my head slowly trying to rap my mind around the idea. "So, what? If there not shooting at me…" I trailed off as Jason waved a hand back and forth.

"Getting shot at wouldn't cut it as an explanation for 'excessive force'." He groused, actually making the air quotes.

Shirou spluttered in the back of my mind as my jaw dropped.

"People shooting doesn't? Are they out of their minds?!" I shouted.

Lilly and Dani poked their heads out of one of the bed rooms, and Fred, the team's tinker, wandered out of the kitchen carrying a plate of lasagna and chewing on a piece of garlic bread.

"How does getting shot at not rate taking off the kiddy gloves and at least handing out some broken bones?" I growled

"Uh oh." Dani mumbled before she bounced through a wall and back out of sight. Lily looked back and forth between Jason and I before grimacing and edging back through the doorway she'd just exited before slowly closing the door. Fred, mumbled something about tinkering and power walked for the door covered in hazard warning symbols.

Jason sighed and sank back into his chair fully. "Ok. I might have been overstating things. It would justify some broken bones. More than that though? It would take a hell of a lot."

"I'm not bulletproof!" I hissed, waving the manual. "Even if I reinforced myself to the max, I doubt I could stop a piddly little .22 without armor! If someone's shooting at me that's, uhm, assault with a deadly weapon, right? The police shoot back when that happens!"

"I know." He groaned. "Believe me, I do, and I'm not the only one. It's not like this in every city. In Chicago getting shot at is all the justification you need to explain busting heads and breaking bones. And they can't seem to go four months without some villain getting iced. It's the only way to keep the city from imploding. Though they try to transfer the Wards out of there to other cities whenever they can."

"So, what? It's a regional issue?" I honestly didn't get it.

"Sort of?" He shrugged. "The manual is standard. How closely it gets followed depends on who's in charge of the city. Nominally the Wards take orders from the head of the local Protectorate, or whoever they put in charge of us if they're too busy. That being said, the Protectorate team leaders answer to their PRT counterparts. So who we answer to in practice can vary from place to place."

He shifted a bit in his chair. "Here in New York, that's Legend. He's too busy for much direct oversight, but he's the head of the Protectorate as a whole and a member of the Triumvirate besides. Challenging him on Wards policy would be career suicide." Jason stopped and rolled his shoulder. Some kind of nervous tick maybe?

I nodded to show I was following the explanation and motioned for Jason to keep going.

"Legend… don't get me wrong. He's a great guy, and his hearts in the right place, but he doesn't want any of us to be in an us or them situation."

"That's…" It was naive. I'd signed up to be a hero knowing it would happen at some point. Yes, I'd rather take people in nonlethally, hell, nonviolently if I could manage it. But I could guarantee that wouldn't always be possible. To deny it and not prepare for the worst was just… that couldn't possibly make things better when it did inevitably happen.

"I know." Jason grumbled and rubbed at his temples. "The way the Wards are set up here is part of it too. The clubhouse keeps the really little kids out of fights altogether. Army has to hope they stumble across something if they want to do more than just walk around in costume. That or be lucky enough to be close when something does go down. But that just makes him mother hen us and the Lancers all the more. Plus, the head of the PR department is based here, and he's on board with Legend's agenda because us not looking cuddly makes his job harder." Jason waved his hand around as he gave of an aggravated huff.

"Topping off the whole shitshow is the damn Youth Guard. We have a lot of Wards in New York and that makes them pay us extra attention. Wards in a situation where they have to kill someone is all the justification, they need to come down on everyone like a ton of bricks. Nobody wants to deal with their shit."

"I knew there would be heavy restrictions, but I never imagined they'd be this bad." Shirou muttered sounding only a little less exasperated then I felt.

"... You said I'd be able to fight here. That I'd actually be able to do some good… was that a lie, or?" I trailed off not even sure I knew how to properly ask the questions that were still forming in my mind as I struggled to digest the new information.

"We do get our fair share of fights." He reassured. "Not near as often as the Lancers do because people know to book it before backup can arrive and bury them. But trust me, we are not just here to look pretty." He grinned as he delivered that last line. "After all, that's what the PR punishment detail is for."

I huffed out a little half lough as I cracked the smallest of smiles. "Ok, but if that's true what the heck am I supposed to do when people start shooting at me?"

"Get behind cover." He answered promptly. "That's the first thing you do. Then you let me tank the bullets or let Danny draw their fire while ghosting. When the guns are dealt with, we'll give the all clear and you can have your turn."

"That's… I hadn't thought of that." I mumbled abashedly. Up till now I'd never factored a team into any of my strategy sessions with Shirou. It had always just been my abilities. But if I could count on them to handle gunfire for me…

"Sorry, I… Shirou's been the first person I could rely on in… well it's been awhile now." I shook my head before rushing on. This was not a pity party, and I'd be damned if I let my team leader think I was fishing for some. "I know I'm part of a team now, but I'm not used to thinking like that. It's just been 'how could I deal with lots of guns' not 'how can the team deal with them.'" I gave Jason a week grin. "Everything I could come up with on my own either left me pinned down, which is a bad plan, or it would have meant cutting loose, at least a little bit." I shrugged and looked away.

Jason just shot me a comforting smile. "It's ok." He reassured. "You might have had your powers for a little while now, but you haven't had any training with how we do things. We'll get you up to speed."

"Thank you." I said warmly. Jason smiled back before heading off to the room the girls had disappeared into.

"Guess we still have a lot to learn, Shirou."

"Mmm. I suppose we do." Shirou answered thoughtfully. "We knew it would be different from my experiences, but I don't think we quite understood how much so until now."

I hummed agreeably. "We'll figure it out though. We've come this far. I'm not about to give up now."

I could feel Shirou's smirk. "Good." Was all he said before settling into silence as I went back to reading the stupid manual.

{}{}{}{}

The air is blisteringly hot. Dry heat, not a touch of humidity. I'm laid out flat on the roof of a building a little way back from the edge with a sniper rifle snug against my shoulder as the noon day sun beats down on my back. All around me were battered buildings in shades of grey and brown. Between the buildings the ground is as much sand as it is dirt. What little grass grows here is all brown and scraggly. All this is seen through my left eye. My right eye is looking through the rifle sight.

I'm waiting, watching. Three men wearing cloaks and turbans. Each one is carrying an AK-47. A car pulls up and the men quickly stand at something resembling attention. A fourth man steps out of the back seat of the van, older, with a grey beard, and noticeably better clothes. I make a minor adjustment and take a slow breath. Then pull the trigger. The rifle kicks and the bang of a shot fired pushes harshly against my ears. The older man collapses as a small spray of red coats a bit of the van behind him. The others are turning guns rising. I fire again, and again, and again. The gunmen go down. The van starts moving but I don't have a shot at the driver. Unimportant. The man isn't armed. I let him go. Moving quickly, I sling my rifle over my back and start running.

{}{}{}{}

Gasping I shot up in bed. Frantically I looked around the room before coming back to myself. My room in Siege squad's barracks was plain. I hadn't had the time to customize anything about it yet. Just my bed desk and a small dresser for clothes. But there were little touches that marked it as mine. A half dozen butterfly knives in different color schemes with a mixture of practice and live blades were scattered about the room on various surfaces. My dartboard, the same one I'd been given more than two months ago rested on the wall opposite my bed. It was showing a lot of wear and tear at this point and sported a mixed handful of actual darts, throwing knives, throwing stars, and even a sharpened metal playing card.

With one more explosive sigh I flopped back onto my bed.

"The dream cycle again?" Shirou asked.

"Yeah, looked like the Middle East. Did you use sniper rifles often? That's the first time I've seen you use one." I asked rubbing at my eyes. I'd gotten used to disturbing dreams of Shirou killing people. They usually hit me once or twice a week. But they almost always unnerved me and had me waking up ready to fight for my life, or run. Not fun, but I had gotten used to it.

"Hmm, when I was alive, I used them often enough. They drew less attention then arrows fired from more than a mile away. After all, anyone, or any faction, can use a sniper. Arrows tended to stand out in the twenty first century."

"Right, makes sense. Just never really thought of you as one to use anything that couldn't be found on a medieval battlefield." I mumbled as the last vestiges of sleep finally faded.

Shirou didn't bother dignifying that with a response beyond a scoff, so I groaned and rolled out of bed. Might as well get a start on the day. I needed breakfast. I was meeting with the head of the PR department at ten. Why the man wanted to handle my case personally was beyond me though. Someone in his position ought to have at least a few people working for him he trusted to handle new capes. Hopefully once I was done with that nonsense, I could tempt Lily into a sparring match when she came in tonight.

I had a lot of reservations about fencing, mainly that it was a dueling style and not suited for dealing with multiple opponents. But Lilly had made it work for a couple years before getting her arbalest. Hopefully she could give me a few pointers. Even if it wasn't what I wanted for my go to style I wasn't going to turn my nose up at a chance to learn something useful. And any combat practice was better than none. Maybe I could convince her to let me try my luck with a few other weapons as well.

Humming thoughtfully, I stretched out and made my way to the little kitchen area. Something to think about for later. Eggs and toast sounded good. Nice and simple. Just because Shirou wanted to pass on his cooking skills didn't mean I was going to go all out all the time. Sometimes simple is best after all.

{}{}{}{}

Glenn Chambers office was spacious and filled with an eclectic selection of superhero merchandise, photos, and even a few costumed mannequins. It was almost exactly what I had been expecting when I'd been told I was set to meet the head of PR. The one thing that truly seemed out of place was the rather round man sitting behind the desk wearing a tight fitting, neon green t-shirt, that depicted Myrridan.

"Ah, our newest Ward! Come in, come in!" He didn't quite shout. It was more that he just projected his voice to carry. "Have a seat. I'll be with you in just a moment."

The man, whom I could only assume was Glenn, turned his attention back to the woman standing at the edge of his desk as he tapped at something on his desk. As I got closer, I realized they were posters.

"Take these back to marketing and tell them I want them using brighter backgrounds. I'll be busy for the next hour or so. So be sure to tell them to have plenty of mockups ready. That should be more than enough time."

The woman nodded rapidly before collecting the posters and power walking out of the room.

"Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you miss," He trailed off expectantly even as he offered me his hand to shake.

Shaking it I could only shrug my shoulders as I settled into an empty chair. "Haven't really got a name yet. I kicked around a few ideas, but I was a lot more concerned with getting the hang of my powers. Well, that, and dealing with all the shrinks."

"Ahh, yes. That unfortunate business. Well you're in luck that's one of the things I'm here to help you with." He gave me what I suspect was supposed to be a charming smile. Between how he looked and how little I trusted anyone that climbed this high in any sort of organization… Yeah, no. If anything, it just put me more on edge.

"Right, not to sound too rude, but why am I meeting with you? Shouldn't you have people to handle this for you?"

Glenn hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Normally? Yes. I often take time to work with the Wards individually, but that's often limited to correcting public relations issues. In your case though there are some issues I felt we needed to address."

"Such as?" I kept my voice carefully neutral.

"Well for starters I felt I should apologize. I was one of the people who pushed to turn down your request to be allowed to leave with your cape name and image." He said it so calmly. As if it was of no more importance than what he might have for lunch today.

"Taylor," Archer's voice cut through my rising outrage. "keep your head." There was caution and tempered anger in his voice.

I took a deep breath and bit down on my anger. Archer was right. If this prick had the kind of power to influence that decision, I didn't want to blow up at him. Not yet anyway. I might have signed on even without my escape clause, but I sure wasn't happy about it. I'd certainly given Legend a look when I signed my contract. My threat was still very much an option if things went bad here.

"Why?" I asked frigidly.

"Well the last time someone left with their cape name and costume was Mouse Protector." Glenn blew out a long suffering sigh. "Why my predecessor allowed that catastrophe is beyond me. She consistently comes in the top twenty in cape popularity polls even though she's been independent for years. Every time people think of her they remember that one of the original Wards left the program to work on her own. It's terrible for our credibility." He shook his head sadly. "No, I simply refuse to repeat one of my predecessors' greatest mistakes."

"... I take it back. The man's an idiot. Feel free to rip a chunk out of his hide."

I growled but otherwise manage to not start lambasting the man.

"The only way the situation could have been worse is if she had died shortly after parting ways." Glenn continued, and as he said that he eyed me sharply and I felt the pieces click into place.

"... Alright I definitely don't like him but, he's not an idiot." I admitted to Shirou.

"Mmph. No, I suppose not."

"That's a reasonable worry I suppose. Though if someone were to make a big enough stink as they left… I think a name change would do very little to actually limit the fallout." I countered sourly. "Being forced to change their name and costume would really just be one more thing the average person might find offensive about an already bad situation."

Glenn's lip twitched upward ever so slightly. "Perhaps." He waved a hand lazily through the air. "But one person getting into a mudslinging match with an entire organization? That sounds like a losing battle."

"Oh, maybe." I admitted with feigned disinterest. "Then again you just admitted that one of the most successful and popular capes in the country decided the Protectorate wasn't worth being a part of. Similar success from someone with a concrete list of grievances they're willing to air in public? I think that might be remembered, don't you?" I asked. Sugar and acid dripped from my words in equal measure.

The fat bastard actually had the temerity to chuckle. "Perhaps, but most independents don't last nearly so long. Besides, I find once people have made connections, they tend to have a hard time leaving a group."

"And if such a Ward were to die shortly after making a fuss and airing their grievances?" I was honestly morbidly curious what his answer might be.

"Obviously such a terrible tragedy could have been avoided if the poor child had still had backup from the Wards and Protectorate. Perhaps a few changes need to be made to the program to prevent similarly frustrated teens from following such a risky example." Glenn shrugged.

"I am very reluctantly impressed." Shirou stated honestly.

"Yeah, same. Man's a slime ball but he knows what he's doing." I grumbled back.

"Hopefully such an unfortunate chain of events won't ever play out." I said as blandly as I could manage. "And if I do end up leaving… well a long and successful carrier would certainly be excellent revenge."

"On a slightly lighter topic I'd like to talk to you about your, shall we say, built in instructor."

"Shirou? What about him?" I asked with just a bit of a warning edge to my words. "Shirou what have you gotten me into this time?"

"Don't look at me." He grumbled.

"Simply put? I would very much prefer you never mention him in public. We can spin nearly anything. Unfortunately, your situation is tinfoil hat bait. If it becomes public knowledge there will always be someone who insists you are actually insane, or a new Butcher, or that you consumed someone's soul, or something equally absurd. It's much simpler to avoid the issue."

Oh, was that all? "Sure, last thing I want is to end up back in an asylum because the public had a collective conniption fit." I agreed easily.

"Glad as I am you are so reasonable about this, please don't ever speak like that in costume." Glenn's tone spoke of personal suffering and minimal tolerance.

I shrugged not wanting to get into that conversation. At all.

"So, costume and name." I deflected. "I've actually got something in mind for the costume already. Well, I should say I have a starting point for my costume already. I want to base it on Shirou's old outfit. It's actually pretty good but I'm going to need a helmet or mask. And I'm not sure what kind of materials you have for the armored portion. Do you have a room I can change in? I can trace myself a basic copy. It probably won't be professional quality, but it should give you the basic idea."

"Hmmm." Glenn eyed me carefully. I wasn't sure if he was debating the point of even looking at some 'amateurs' idea of a costume, or if he was less than happy with my deflection. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. "In there. It'll be a bit cramped but there should be enough room to change." He pointed to a door off to the left side of the office.

Nodding I got to work.

Three minutes later I was back in front of Glenn's desk wearing Shirou's black and red outfit, plus the standard domino mask I'd been wearing every time I left the Ward's room. Glenn was now eyeing me as if I had gone from just another part of his day to something actually worth attention. It almost could have been gratifying if I gave a damn about fashion, or if the outfit had been mine originally. Instead it just annoyed me that he seemed surprised I had a decent costume idea.

"I'm not really a fan of the sleeves." I said frankly. "They look pretty cool, but they aren't really going to be enough to keep me warm during winter. And the tassels just seem goofy to me."

"Hey!" Shirou sounded only mildly offended.

"Mmm, yes I see what you mean. Perhaps a heavy coat for winter and a windbreaker for when it warms up." He jotted down a few notes quickly before refocusing on me. "Though I can see a number of other details we're going to need to change." Glenn murmured thoughtfully as he looked me up and down again. It was a strictly clinical look.

I shrugged. "What did you have in mind." I asked. He was the professional here… no matter how hard that might be to believe given his personal fashion sense. Besides this was Shirou's look. I wanted to use it as a base, not copy him exactly.

"The straps on the pants need to go. They don't serve any purpose, do they?" He asked the last bit rather sharply.

I shook my head in negation. "Not really."

"Then they need to go." He said decisively. "We want you to look like a hero, not a punk rocker." He hummed thoughtfully. "Though really, you have legs a model might envy. Perhaps turn the half cloak into a skirt and replace the pants with leggings…" He trailed of as he caught sight of my scowl.

"I'm not here to be a model, I'm here to stop criminals and help people. Pants are more practical and sturdier." I firmly rebuked. I might be proud of how my legs looked now, but I wasn't going to risk flashing my underwear to some criminal just so I could show off and end up on the walls and ceilings of creepy teenage boys. My ego did not need that kind of boost. Or maybe he meant something more like yoga pants?

...On second thought that would almost be worse than wearing stockings and a skirt.

"Besides, that would have the same problem as the sleeves." I picked at one of said sleeves. "Not nearly warm enough for the colder months."

"Yes, but a skirt and leggings would emphasize your femininity. That chest armor you are wearing isn't doing you any favors." He said critically.

I gave Glenn a very firm glare. I was an A cup. I would likely always be and A cup. But the armor would stay even if it made me look flat as a washboard. I could deal with having small breasts. What I could not deal with was having bullet holes in my body.

"Though with hair like that no one is going to mistake you for boy." He relented. "How best to display it though?" He tapped a pen against his desk. "Do you normally wear your hair loose like that?"

I nodded.

"We'll go with a ponytail for when you are in costume then. That one streak of white you seem to be developing might be an issue though. Is that a result of your powers?"

"Near as I can tell, yeah."

"We'll look into some hair dyes then. Otherwise it's going to give you away fairly quickly."

That was a fair point. I might have tried dying it before, but just getting a shampoo I liked had been an issue two days ago, never mind hair dye. I didn't really dislike the white streak in my hair, but I did like the idea of having a secret identity so that was really the end of the matter.

"Sure, I'll look for some the next time I go out shopping."

Glenn shook his head. "Don't bother. I'll have some sent along with your costume once it's ready."

"Alright, saves me the trouble."

"The domino mask doesn't really work with the look. We're going to want a helmet I think. Visor over the eyes, leave the mouth open, naturally. Hmm a whole at the back you can feed a ponytail through… What colors though…" he drummed his fingers against his desk. Red for the helmet itself, black for the visor, and perhaps some white accents along the side? Yes. That should work nicely."

"A black visor? Won't that mess up my vision?"

"No, not at all actually. It's one of the more useful tinker inventions, and thankfully one simple enough Dragon can mass produce it easily." Glenn answered absentmindedly as he continued to look me up and down even as he started to sketch away at a pad. "It's a sort of one way mirror. Very strong, hard to break, doesn't impede sight looking out, but completely opaque from the other side."

"Very useful." I admitted. "What about the chest armor?"

"Mm a bit trickier that." He mumbled now completely focused on his pad, scribbling furiously. "We have a tinker who makes a sort of leather like substance that should do the trick. Highly bullet resistant. Testing has seen it stop buckshot regularly, it's also rather flame retardant."

I whistled appreciatively. "That'll work just fine." I said grinning a little.

"That'll be better than fine." Shirou spoke up, sounding pleased. "That kind of stopping power with reinforcement on top of it? It won't protect your limbs, but it will certainly keep your important bits safe."

We sat in silence for a few minutes as Glenn drew something. Finally, the man gave a satisfied hum and spun the pad around for me to see. The drawing was a bit rough but clearly depicted me in an altered version of Shirou's outfit.

The pants and boots remained largely the same, minus the straps. Shirou's waist cape had been replaced though with an asymmetrical skirt that emphasized my slim hips. On my right side it would fall to just below my hip. Across my front it would maintain that length until reaching my left hip where it would start to dip dramatically to meet the fabric along my back which lengthened in an arc. The lowest edge would match Shirou's cape behind my left leg about three inches below my knee.

The chest armor remained largely the same, although with some slight modifications to make it better fit my build and subtly emphasize my breasts. Over that was a red windbreaker which had been cut off. Oh the sleeves were full length, but the body of it had been trimmed so it would rest at about the base of my ribs. Like that it would leave my developing abs, or rather the armor that would highlight them, exposed.

Finally, was the helmet. It was red and left the lower face exposed, with a simple black visor over the eyes. There were a trio of parallel white lines that began at the edge of the visor and presumably would rap all the way around the helmet. Protruding from the back was a long black ponytail.

Taking it all in I glanced up at Glenn a bit wide eyed. He grinned back in a very self satisfied manner.

"I know you shot down the skirt and leggings idea, but I think this over the pants is a fair compromise." He said it almost magnanimously.

I wanted to object, mainly because the idea of wearing a skirt over pants sounded silly… but it actually looked pretty good. It wasn't really any odder then Shirou's cape when I thought about it.

"It's good." I finally admitted. "I wouldn't have thought of it but it's actually really good."

Glenn hummed happily. "Naturally we'll want a full coat for the winter months, gloves too, and likely a scarf as well. But For warmer weather and indoor promotional events I think this is look will work very well. As long as you don't have any objections?" He asked arching one eyebrow.

I glanced over the sketch one final time before shaking my head and handing it back to him. "No objections from me. Though I would say that any gloves need to be fingerless or they'll interfere with my fighting… so I guess the winter jacket should have pockets I can stick my hands in… Maybe also include a lighter coat for when it's a bit cold, but not bad enough to need the winter jacket. Oh! And a helmet camera. I know were supposed to be careful, but, well… Most of my weapons are blades of some sort. I'd rather have video evidence in case something ever goes wrong."

Glenn nodded thoughtfully and jotted down a few notes along the side of the sketch.

"The camera is a good precaution. Though I must stress that you work with your team to develop less risky uses for your power. Having a recording of any fights is just as likely to work against you if it seems like you were acting recklessly." I nodded accepting the advice. I might not like how the Protectorate hamstrung us in fights, but I'd need to work with it regardless for now. "Well I must say that went far quicker than I had anticipated when you said you already had a costume in mind. Quite a few people can be very uncooperative when that happens."

"Shirou's old outfit is a good base to work from." I replied easily. "But I'm not him. I don't fight the way he does, I've got a different build, were not even the same gender. Making changes to make the look mine… it feels right." I shrugged unsure how to further articulate my point.

Glenn seamed to understand though and just nodded. "Right, well, your costume doesn't really lend itself to any particular theme so your options for names won't be limited by one either." He took a moment to search through the drawers of his desk before surfacing with a folder. He leafed through several pages before setting aside what looked to be a half dozen, more detailed, costume sketches. Then he passed me a sheet of paper with a list of names on it.

I couldn't quite fight off a grimace as I worked my way down the list. "These all seem…" I spun my right hand in a circle as I searched for the right word. "Generic."

Glenn huffed out a breath of air. Something between amused and exasperated. "And you think names like Legend, or Hero were any better before people had faces and accomplishments to go with them?" He asked seriously as he pointed his pencil at me. "No, I rather agree with you. Most cape names are quite uninspired and dull. It's up to the cape in question to make the name mean something."

I shot him an appraising look before glancing over the list again. "I'd thought about just calling myself Emiya, it's Shirou's family name. I suppose that would draw a lot of attention for being so unusual, wouldn't it?"

"You never mentioned that to me." Shirou sounded rather touched by the idea.

"Well… I wasn't sure what you would think of it. I didn't want to offend you." I admitted.

"I would be flattered if you did." Shirou declared firmly. I smiled lightly and sent a mental hug his way.

"A caucasian teenager going by a Japanese family name while in costume? Yes, that would put you right at the center of a great deal of speculation, and probably no small amount of jokes." Glenn deadpanned.

"I get the feeling Glenn isn't going to let you though." Shirou stated flatly with just a hint of irritation coloring his words. I could clearly feel much more than a hint of it coming off of his mental presence. I suppose he really had appreciated the idea.

I took another minute to go over Glenn's list of suggested names whittling away the worst options until only a few remained. At last I set the paper down on his desk and tapped my selection with a finger.

"Arsenal. It's not a great name, but I'll make it work."

Glenn nodded firmly. "Certainly, one of the better options." With that said he circled my choice and stapled it to his rough sketch and pulled out some kind of form and started filling it in. "I'm going to hand you off to our costume team now. They'll get you measurements and see to ordering your costume." He continued to fill out the paperwork in front of him before stapling that to the other sheets. With a nod to himself he hit a button on his desk phone.

"Martha, I need you to take miss Arsenal down to Violet for her costume fitting."

"Yes, Mr. Chambers!" A peppy voice filtered through the speaker. A moment later the door opened and the blonde secretary I'd passed on my way in entered.

Glenn stood and offered me his hand over the desk. I quickly stood and shook it.

"Well, Arsenal, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks." I answered simply. I wasn't really sure how I felt about Glenn. He definitely wasn't someone I wanted to get to know better, and he'd shut down my escape clause and my preferred cape name. But he was clearly a competent professional who hadn't tried, to hard at least, to stick me in some outfit that would get in my way.

Taking my paperwork, I followed Martha out of the room. In the end I gave up on trying to understand the man. What mattered is that I was one step closer.

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Mar 29, 2019

#1,600

Sprawled out on one of couches I chewed on the cap of my pen as I glared at Shirou's Aria, and the three lines I had so far of mine. I could trace Noble Phantasms now, but they fought against me. Or rather the Unlimited Blade Works fought me. I needed to either improve what I had or add more lines. The initial burst of inspiration had come easily enough, but refining and building on it was proving stupidly frustrating.

I had jotted down and then crossed out dozens of lines in the past hour. The second and third line sounded right to me but the first was… it wasn't bad. But it had the same feel as a kid trying on their parents' clothes or shoes to play dress up. I could wear it, but it didn't fit me properly. The lines past that point were even more frustrating. They described Shirou well, if in a stupidly dramatic manor, but they didn't fit me. No amount of tweaking them was going to make them fit either. No, I'd have to start from scratch if I wanted this to go any farther.

The problem with that plan though was I didn't really feel like I'd done enough to really work out any lines past that point. They were all about how he fought, grew, and was seen. But I hadn't fought anyone yet. I was lacking the combat experience that had truly shaped Shirou.

With a sigh I gave it up as a wash for now and flipped the binder shut before reaching for the Wards public relations manual. I had put of reading this one in favor of the 'combat manual'. After meeting with Glenn though I really felt the need to get a better grip on just how the Protectorate operated. And I had suspected this is where I needed to look for that information. It was a bit hit and miss in that regard. It overlapped with their definition of acceptable force but it also covered a bunch of other things. Public speaking, how to interact with the public, and our online presence to name some of the highlights.

The reading was pretty dry. You could tell that someone had dumbed the vocabulary down for impatient teens and children who just wouldn't have the attention span to read through blocks of legal jargon. But at the end of the day it was still a government written law enforcement manual that tried to outline proper behavior. It covered for those issues reasonably well by including dozens of anecdotes that outlined whatever concept they were trying to convey.

Still dry reading.

Though it really was solidifying my impression on the Protectorate's obsession with public relations. Which reinforced the wisdom of asking for that camera. I refused to be railroaded back into some cell just because the people in charge might get a bug up their ass about something.

Maybe a bit paranoid, but I wasn't about to let them lock me up again if I could help it. My teammates seemed ok so far, but I barely knew them, and they were Wards. They didn't get to make any of the big important calls. That was for the upper echelons of the Protectorate, and the PRT. Even if things seemed to be going my way right now, I wasn't about to forget the three months of issues that lead up to this point.

Turning the page, I forced myself to pay attention to another anecdote about how capes didn't get to be human. Because humans make mistakes, and heroes had to be perfect idols. Really it was an insane standard. If they actually wanted to market us all as paragons, they shouldn't work so hard to make capes stand out as individuals. No one ever remembered one cops name because he's just one more police officer and part of the force. A lot easier to sweep mistakes under the rug that way. Or if it really comes down to it, throw the one fuck up to the wolves because of course they weren't representative of the rest.

Twenty minutes later the door buzzer went off. I traced a domino mask directly onto my face without even bothering to move. It was probably just the rest of the team coming in from school, but why take a chance? Priorities taken care of I refocused on the story about the cape who got caught urinating in a back alley because they had been stuck on a long patrol and couldn't find a bathroom.

"Hey, Taylor!" Dani called as she literally cartwheeled through the still closed door. "Any leftovers?"

"Hey, Dani." I waved back with my free hand. "Still a few servings of the Lasagna in the fridge. Though I've also got chicken marinating for later if you want to wait. Should be enough for everyone. There was some fruit in there too if you want a snack."

She hummed agreeably and bounced off towards the kitchen as the door finally opened. Fred came through first, head already buried in a binder full of some kind of notes. Jason was flicking away at his phone and Lily trailed the two of them before the door slid shut. No longer worried about unexpected guests I dissolved the domino mask. All three offered a greeting, which I returned, but the boys headed off for their respective rooms while Lily plopped down in the chair closest to me. She quickly pulled out a textbook and some paper before starting to chip away at her homework. Dani, munching her way through a banana, joined us a minute later. She claimed a couch of her own before digging out what looked to be a mandatory reading book. Lord of the Flies, dark, but a good story.

For a while that's just how things went. All three of us working away at our own assignments in companionable silence.

It was nice. The quiet was comfortable.

An hour later I finally finished reading the manual. Stretching I got up and made for the kitchen which set Dani to giggling happily and made Lily look up.

"You're cooking again?" She asked as she set aside her work and followed me to the kitchen.

"Well, yeah. I figured no one would mind so long as I made enough for everyone. Is it a problem?" I asked glancing back over my shoulder.

"What? No! Not at all! Heck, if yesterday is anything to judge by then I'm thrilled. And I bet everyone else will be too." She reassured me quickly. "It's just that none of us can really cook, so we were always getting stuff delivered. Kind of surprised you know how to cook though?"

"Mmm, well… Mom died a while back. I had to learn a few recipes or just settle for peanut butter sandwiches, or Dad's cooking."

Lilly flinched. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

I blew out a breath as I pulled the Ziplock bags filled with marinating chicken out of the fridge and laid them out on the counter. "It's alright. You didn't know." I answered as I reached for a baking tray. We didn't have a grill here and for this kind of quantity it would be simpler to cook them in the oven then on a pan. "Anyway, I could make a few things before, but I'm leaning pretty heavily on Shirou's experience right now for everything from recipes to skill."

"Wait, so the guy who came with your powers… was some kind of chef?" The curious tilt of her head as she asked was adorable.

"Not professionally." I shrugged and sprayed the pan down. "More like a hobby. Or a guilty pleasure maybe. He's pretty steamed because a lot of his best recipes are Japanese and we just don't have the ingredients for any of them."

"He sounds like an interesting guy." Lily's tone screamed polite curiosity. It made me chuckle lightly as I laid out the chicken on the pan and set it in the oven.

"Shirou's… He's odd. Serious most of the time, especially about helping people, combat, and cooking. But he can be kind of apathetic about a lot of other things. His sense of humor is… Very sarcastic. He can make just about anything sound insulting by tone of voice alone."

Lily slid into a chair at the kitchen island and watched as I set about chopping vegetables. She eyed me thoughtfully as she worked through what I'd just told her. "Sounds like you care a lot about him." She said after a minute or two.

"He's my mentor." A simple statement that didn't really convey everything I wanted to say. "He's been with me for three months now. Constantly at first. And believe me that got awkward in a hurry."

"Like right now for example." Shirou's dry tone cut through my mind. "You've got dinner in hand. I'll check back in later." He said as his presence receded.

I guess listening to other people talk about you could be awkward. Even when it was positive.

"Oh, I'll bet." Lilly cringed.

I just nodded and put the vegetables in a pot of water and set them on the stove to boil. "Yeah very awkward, for both of us. Then one day on of the Doctor's wants to talk about us living together long term, and how would we compromise about sharing my body and… I still can't believe she could be so blunt about it, dating. She actually asked me what I would do if I wanted to 'read a certain kind of literature.'" I put on my best impression of Doctor Yamada for the relevant quote.

"Are you talking about Doctor Yamada?" Dani asked from almost literally right behind me.

I may have shrieked… just a little. "Where the hell did you come from?!"

"Through the wall." Dani answered brightly. "That sounded like something Doctor Yamada would say, and it was a pretty good impression of her voice too."

Looking to Lilly for help only got me commiserating smile.

Throwing my hands up in surrender I reached for another pot and the bag of rice. "Yes it was Doctor Yamada who asked me that." I admitted. I guess what she said about sometimes seeing various wards teams was true then. "Embarrassed the hell out of Shirou and I. So there we were, both wanting to just run like hell and nowhere to go… and Shirou says something ridiculous."

"Oh?" Lily prompted.

"Oh yeah." I nodded. "See the thing about what I do? I'm not just making up whatever weapon I want. I can modify some of them a bit, but at their base? Everything I can make is a weapon either Shirou or I have seen. And I haven't had much of a chance to add to the collection just yet. But I can do that with every simple weapon we've seen. Thousands of weapons. It's too much information for the human mind to reliably store. So it's all, it's sort of saved like a computer file into what Shirou calls; the Unlimited Blade Works."

Both girls are giving me their full attention and I swing into a seat across from Lilly.

"So there I am, red as a beat, stammering like mad. Then Shirou pulls the best 'fuck this shit I'm out' tone I've ever heard, and tells me he'll be in the Unlimited Blade Works. Next second? For the first time in more than a month I've got my head to myself... and I can't even enjoy the moment because the dick left me to deal with a psychiatrist who wanted to talk about my love life." I grumbled.

I had been ready to kick his ass when it happened. But it had been more than a month now and even I had to admit it was pretty funny, in hindsight.

Dani certainly agreed as she dissolved into giggles. Lily was more restrained but she was chuckling too.

"So how does that work?" Lily asked after she got her laughter under control. "You and Shirou sharing a body. Is he just going to duck out whenever you want some privacy?" She asked a bit nervously.

"Or whenever he decides he doesn't want to listen to whatever I'm talking about. He actually went into hiding a little after we started talking." I shrugged. "It's… well it's not fair to him, but like I said he can be pretty apathetic about a lot of things so he doesn't really care. And, well…"

I hesitated. I didn't need to tell them. It was weird, and hard to explain and just so easy for someone to take badly.

"If it's too personal you don't have to say anything." Lily got out in a rush. Dani pouted for a moment before she to nodded in reluctant agreement.

I blew out a breath and leaned back in my chair. "Sort of. It also sounds crazy." I admitted with a shrug. "I… really don't want to mess this up if you take it badly."

The girls shared a look. "Taylor, if you don't want to talk about something you don't have to." Dani smiled lightly.

"Yeah." Lily rushed to add. "You only just met us. We'll get it if you want to hold some stuff back."

"Yeah... I suppose. It's just that all those conversations with the shrinks are telling me to rip it off like a band aid, and not make more problems for future me."

"So?" Lily asked carefully.

"...Shirou won't stick around forever. Part of how I'm learning so fast is because whatever or however powers work is absorbing him… I'm absorbing him. And that's changing me, influencing my personality. So far, if anything, it's just made me more sarcastic and practical but…" I shrugged and looked away. "I just try to think of it as emulating someone I look up to."

"Oh, damn." Lily breathed out.

I was going to say something. Damned if I knew what, but I was going to say something. Only I got cut off by a hug from Dani before I could. A moment later Lily slid around the kitchen island and joined the hug. I sort of awkwardly patted whatever bit of back and shoulder my arms were closest to.

"I want to help, but I don't know how we could." The fact Lily sounded genuinely upset about that was… nice. I'd appreciated Doctor Yamada's stoic professionalism, but in a lot of ways the outpouring of directionless support felt so much better. Though the hug was starting to feel a smidge awkward. I was not used to getting hugged by near strangers.

"I'm ok, really, I am." I insisted. "I've known about it right from the beginning. I'm more upset that it means I'm going to lose Shirou one day." And that just made Dani hug me all the tighter. "I guess this means you two won't reject me for consuming the soul of my mentor?" I asked dryly.

That startled a laugh out of Lily. And made Dani lean back to look at me wide eyed. I treated her to my best deadpan and she chuckled a bit awkwardly. With a shake of my head I pulled loose and went to check on the food. The chicken and rice would need more time, but the vegetables seemed just about ready so I turned off that burner.

"Thank you." I finally spoke into the growing silence. "I do appreciate the sentiment, really, I do. But I've talked this all out a dozen times with at least three different psychiatrists. And even before I talked it out with them, I knew what was happening to me. I'm still me, just a little different from before I triggered. And between all the new situations, the sessions with the doctors, and Shirou's influence, it can be hard to tell what's a natural change and what's being pushed on me."

I shook my head. "I'm past worrying about it. It's happening. Can't stop it, can't change it... Just have to ride it out. And if I'm unhappy with who I end up being? I'll just have to work at being someone better." I spoke calmly. "Now I just worry about how other people will react. Got to admit, hugs were not what I was expecting." I grinned at the two of them.

The pair of them smiled back. A touch sad, and more than a little hesitant, but honest smiles all the same.

"So!" I clapped my hands together. "Something lighter to talk about, please. I've been over all my issues with a fine tooth comb in the past few months, and I don't really want to do it again right now. Tell me about yourselves?"

Dani smiled a bit more brightly. "We'll I grew up here in New York, Dad's an office drone, Mom's a nurse-" Apparently once you got Dani going getting her to stop became the hard part. The girl happily chattered away about anything and everything. It was endearing if a bit overwhelming. A few minutes later I found myself sharing a surreptitious grin with Lily when Dani stopped to take a breath.

I could get used to this. I really could. I wanted to be out there getting experience and helping people. But if this was how those nights would start, or what I would come back to when everything was said and done… Yeah, I could get used to this.

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Fencer

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Apr 8, 2019

#1,660

Right, this is one of those moments where the writer asks the audience to step up and help them (me) grow. For all my practice writing in the past few years I have very little experience writing fight scenes. There's a spar in here between Taylor and Lily. I need honest and constructive criticism. I think it's alright, but then I wrote the damn thing, I'm biased. So yeah. I'm working my way up to some seriously hectic combat in the future, and I want to go into that with as solid a base as I can manage. I'd really appreciate any constructive criticism.

{}{}{}{} Tuesday

Jason and Dani took off to do a foot patrol. Apparently being the Wards heavy hitters didn't mean we could get out of running actual foot patrols all the time. Just most of the time. Frank and Lily were on call, but otherwise could do what they wanted. Dispatch was being handled by troopers at the main building. Apparently, New York felt that tying down heroes with monitor duty was a waste of resources.

Fred had dug into his lab to work on some tinker project, but Lily was lounging in the living room idly bouncing her head to some music. Her costume was on minus her mask and her arbalest was resting by the door which led down to the railway bikes.

Stepping into Lily's line of sight I traced a foil and waved it lightly. Blinking owlishly, she pulled out her ear buds and sat up properly.

"Any chance we could spar a bit? I'd like to see how you made fencing work for you." I asked, leaning against one of the nearby couches.

Lily grinned brightly in response before frowning slightly and shaking her head. "We don't really have any safety gear for you to wear…" She trailed off as I traced a fencing helmet. I'd had to study the one in the gym with structural analysis for a while to pull it off, and it wasn't my best work, but it should suffice. Laughing she stood up and made her way over. "Ok, so do you know anything about fencing?" She asked with an easy smile.

I shrugged and walked beside her towards the gym. "I know the basic footwork, even practiced it a bit, but it doesn't really seem like a good fit for fighting multiple enemies who won't come at you head on."

"Mmm true." She nodded. "Right if it's just one person coming at you in a line you really can't beat the fencing standard L stance. Lot of explosive power and accuracy to get you in and out. But if there is more than one opponent or you need to circle around or be able to just move sideways then the game changes." She lectured calmly. "You basically have to angle your feet inwards a bit rather than keep those nice straight lines and change how you distribute your weight. It makes it easier to move around but kills the speed and precision you normally get from a fencing stance. Then I practiced switching back and forth between the two types of footwork as fast as I could so I could go from movement to lunge. Since I was really only changing the angle of my feet and redistributing my weight, I got it to work after a while. The sense of timing my power gives me helped a lot though."

As we walked, she outlined the differences in the footwork and I nodded thoughtfully.

What she was describing made sense, in theory at least. I could sort of see what she meant even just picturing it in my mind. I'd have to see how it worked in practice though before I considered adding it to my bag of tricks. A spear gave most of the same advantages a rapier gave. Though a spear was maybe a bit slower in direct thrusts but not by much. The tradeoff for that speed was better reach and the ability to block attacks other than thrusts.

Still, that was all theory on my end. I didn't know any of it for a fact. That was the whole point of asking Lily to show me.

{}{}{}{}

Parry.

Thrust.

Back back back!

"Damn but Lily is fast with that thing!"

Lily's blade flashed out nearly a blur to my eyes. Granted I wasn't reinforcing myself, but that she was pushing me so hard when neither of us were using powers just meant I had more room to improve.

Still though… I was almost keeping up with her. Classic fencing from a fit amateur versus Lily's personal style shouldn't be this closely matched… except she was used to fighting with her power and right now we weren't using any.

"You've noticed it as well, haven't you?" Archer asked flatly. "You'll never be able to make use of her personal style."

I tried to ignore him and launched into a vicious series of parry ripostes with Lily. Our blades clicking against one another again and again in quick succession as we tried to be just that little bit faster than each other. Finally, I disengaged with a quick series of steps and held up a hand to call a stop.

"It's not a complete waste." I tried to insist. As I pulled off my helmet. "There are some bits I could-"

"Don't lie to yourself!" Sensei snapped at me. "Our mission is too important for you to waste time on skills you can't use. You set aside my preferred blades and style of combat to forge your own path. I was not happy about that decision, but I saw the logic in it and agreed it was reasonable. This is not. You have countless swords available to you. Each was wielded by a warrior without equal in this day and age. Those skills are yours to draw upon, practice, and with time and effort, master. Like when you boasted of being able to defeat Armsmaster, you are not being honest with yourself. Now analyze her style and tell me why it will only work for her."

"Taylor? You alright?" Lily asked as she pulled off her own helmet. And placed it under her arm.

"Fine." I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. "Shirou's just gone into sensei mode." I hesitated for a moment before deciding honesty would be best. "He thinks your style won't work for me and wants me to work out why."

"You already know why. Now you need to admit it." Sensei said firmly.

I took a breath and let it out slowly. "The most obvious thing is that you don't fight like someone using a rapier. More like someone with a saber." I said slowly as I rubbed at my forehead. "You could cut through steel with a piece of balsa wood and you know it. You make little slashes that aren't suited for thrusting weapons."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back. Her face was a mask of polite interest.

"It's more than that though." I waved my foil in a sweeping arc. "You don't parry with the middle of the blade. You swipe with the tip because if you were using your power it would cut my weapon. And you don't bother worrying about the edge of your blade because with your power even the flat can cut."

"Good, keep going." Sensei encouraged.

"Your footwork is something I could probably use." I admitted waving a hand towards her feet. "But the transition from circling to lunging that you use… it takes amazing timing. I'd have to practice it for ages to get that good. Most of my weapons favor completely different footwork and styles. Getting that good at your style…" I shook my head. "Without your power getting that good with it wouldn't be worth the time I would have to invest in it."

I shot her an apologetic look. I hoped she wouldn't be too upset. To my surprise she actually looked thoughtful.

"I didn't realize I was parrying so near the tip of the blade." She half asked.

"Umm, yeah I assume with your power it's a good way to destroy weapons and it just makes sense to do that as far from your body as possible. Not surprising you ended up adjusting your style to take advantage of it."

She hummed thoughtfully and tapped her foot with the tip of her foil. "Kind of a shame. I was looking forward to sparring with you more. Even if I have mostly hung up my sword these days."

"Well… if you don't mind me practicing my spear work instead?" Putting my helmet back on I traced a staff and set myself into a basic spear stance.

With a grin that flashed a few more teeth than normal, Lily donned her helmet and settled into her circling stance. Her blade held slightly across her chest rather than being pointed at me head on. The two of us circled each other. I could just make out the amused grin on her face behind the screen of her helmet.

I watched carefully as we moved. Her stance was solid and she moved with the fluid grace that only long practice granted. Her feet didn't so much leave the ground as they did glide along it. Little advantage there. That was fine though. I'd just have to push through her defenses.

I lunged forward thrusting for her right shoulder. It was the closest part of her torso and her stance presented it more openly then if she stuck to a fencing stance.

Her response was a lightning quick swipe from her foil. Treating it like real combat and acting as if her weapon was enhanced by her power, I jerked my staff back out of her range.

I jabbed forward twice more. Light probing attacks without a real lunge behind them. Just quick steps forward. Both aimed at that same shoulder. Lily danced back lightly from the first and took a swipe at the second slapping it aside before riposting. I took two quick steps back before starting to circle again.

Lily moved in time with me denying me any easy openings. She stayed on the defensive though, just letting me set the pace.

Part of me wanted to know if she was just getting a feel for my style, or if she was primarily a defensive fighter. I dismissed the thought. It was too early to tell yet. I'd just have to keep an eye out for her going on the offensive.

Didn't matter, I'd let her brush aside my last attack, but without her power…

I put my all into a stab for her collarbone. Sure enough, Lily swiped at my staff with her foil, but her blade weighed next to nothing. Even though it was moving fast she didn't put any real force behind it either. She was too used to her power simply cutting through things.

She deflected my stab all of maybe an eighth of an inch. The solid tap of wood on padding made me grin as I danced back from her retaliatory stab.

I could just make out Lily's confused look before she realized why her parry hadn't stopped me. Then she growled and went on the offensive.

The first few attacks were just straight lunges. I batted them aside and poked back as I retreated to keep her from getting inside my guard. Lily scowled beneath her helmet and stepped back lightly this time being the first one to start circling forcing me to match her pace.

I didn't like it.

Matching her pace felt like being on the defensive, and I did not like it.

I'd been practicing stances, and forms and attacks. I'd done so daily, in what little room the gym at the asylum provided me. Occasionally I had practiced more exaggerated movements outside rather than my archery. But this was the first time I'd really been able to fight. Even if it was just a spar. One more reason Shirou's style wouldn't have worked for me, I guess. I wanted to be on the attack, I wanted to control the pace. Letting someone else do so just didn't sit right with me.

Easy enough to fix. If I wanted to be in control of the fight, I'd just have to take control.

I moved in.

I jabbed high towards her face. Lily changed up her routine and ducked in and down letting my attack go high over her head as she sidestepped inside my guard. But she was too close. A rapier is three feet of metal meant to be used at a distance, not when bodies are a separated by only a foot and a half. I brought my staff in and up treating it like what it was rather than the spear it had been emulating. A good shove might unbalance Lily and give me the opening I needed to either attack or retreat.

She didn't give me the opportunity.

She twisted her entire body so her left side was leading instead of her right, and brought her blade up around her back and in line with her shoulders. It took her only a second and the result was her blade scraping across my chest. Sticking lightly for a moment before I moved away.

I hopped back three steps to get the distance I needed to bring my spear to bear again, but in that time Lily had settled back into her stance. We eyed each other critically for a moment and as one we began to circle once more.

Less frustrating this time. Not on the defensive, just even footing. I couldn't just rush in and think I'd win. Lily was a skilled opponent with years of experience. I learned fast and had the knowledge of many weapon styles I could learn from my weapons, but that did not automatically make me skilled. I learned faster, but nothing taught better than experience and I didn't have any. Not yet.

Time to start fixing that.

I moved in and swiped at Lily's front foot hoping to knock her off balance but she simply stepped back. Unbothered I advanced and jabbed at her upper arm. She sidestepped the jab and started to advance.

I wasn't about to let her get close again so easily.

Planting my feet, I twisted at the waist swiping down and to my right. My staff caught her along her arm and back shoving her farther to the side. The swing completed I moved back quickly even as she made an off-balance lunge which went wide. I didn't let her recover and jumped straight back in. My spear rose from what could almost be a low guard in a fast arc as I lunged for her gut. Lily responded by swiping at my head, probably thinking to force me back. But she misjudged the range of my blow. I stopped a few inches outside her range, but she was still inside mine. The light thump as my blow connected was all the reward I could ever want for my training.

We disengaged and once more the circling dance began.

"You're good." Lily's voice was flecked with both respect and a touch of frustration. "Most people I've fought, they just flail about. Only a few of them ever had any real skill. You actually know how to use that thing."

"Not as well as I'd like to." I admitted. "I'd be doing much worse if you were using your power. But I trained as much as I could with what little space I had. I know the stances and the movements, but they aren't ingrained yet. Even once they are that's still no substitute for real experience." I jabbed lightly but Lily only sped up her circling to move out of the way leaving me scrambling slightly to catch up or leave an opening. But she didn't take advantage. Just returned to her previous speed.

"Mmm I can sort of see that. Some of your moves are a little stiff. And you didn't handle it to well when I got inside your guard."

I nodded. "Sort of the weakness of wielding a polearm or spear. You win at range and lose if someone gets too close. Good way to counter that is to use a shield, but I'm not always going to want to give up mobility for defense." Although right now a nice riot shield would make the fight go a lot smoother. But for that it might be better to swap to more of a short sword. So many different styles to practice and choose from. But one thing at a time. This was the weapon I chose for this fight. I'd own that decision, not give up because something else might have worked better.

"Though I have to say you really surprised me with that move you pulled. Didn't know you could use a rapier that way."

I could just make out Lily's grin through her mesh helmet. "Infighting, if you have to use it you probably already messed up. But it's a lot better than dropping your sword to punch someone."

I felt my lips twitch into a small grin. "Fair enough."

"You know you might want to practice aiming for limbs more." A new voice called from by the door. Spinning on the spot I met Fred's brown eyes as he rubbed a hand through his dark hair. "If you're going to fight with a bladed weapon aiming for the limbs is safer than the head or chest."

I pulled off my helmet as I considered that bit of advice.

"Safer for my opponent maybe. But if I'm fighting with a spear then I'm probably fighting for my life at that point. Holding back in a situation like that seems… Unwise." I deflected.

"What makes you say that? A spear is a knife on a stick. What makes them so dangerous compared to any other weapon?" He asked with careful neutrality as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Most of my weapons are a lot more dangerous than just a sharp object." I objected. "And some of my most potent weapons are spears. If I'm using one of those it means nothing else is working." I chewed at my lip. "I can trace regular spears," I admitted. "but it would be safer to just fight with a regular staff, or pin people in place with Black Keys. If I'm using live steel then it's because the opponent is a serious threat."

"See this is what I don't get about you." Fred said pointing a finger my way. "You've never been in a fight before, but you talk like you're ready to start breaking bones and stabbing people if you feel like you need to."

I could feel Shirou's curiosity grow as Fred spoke but he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Fred!" Lily hissed, as she walked forward to stand next to me. "None of us are exactly in a position to talk. We've all had moments where we stopped holding back before."

"Yeah, we have, but how long did it take for that to happen." He asked, shooting her a look. "I was on this team for months before Jason had to mess someone up to keep me safe. And it was almost a full year before I had to do the same. And it still didn't sit well with me for weeks after it happened. You weren't much better. And Dani? Between her power and how new she is it's all still a thought experiment to her. She doesn't really know how she'll react yet. But Taylor here shows up and the very first day she's so sure she's ready to really hurt someone if it comes down to her or them?"

Fred shot me an indecipherable look but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't know what he was asking yet and I wasn't feeling like taking shots in the dark.

"Look all I'm saying is I've read your file. Nothing in there suggest any reason you should be so ready to kill if it comes down to it. None of us even like thinking about it. But you're so sure you'll pull the trigger when the time comes. That makes me nervous. No one just wakes up certain they can do that sort of thing." He shrugged. "If we're going to work together, I have to trust you. I can't do that until I understand why you think like that already."

"Not saying I won't explain." I started carefully even as I ignored the incredulous look Lily shot me. "But why does it matter so much to you? Shouldn't knowing I'm willing to fight that hard to keep you and the others safe be reassuring?" I honestly didn't understand why knowing a teammate would do whatever it took to keep the team safe would be a bad thing.

Fred nodded. "Normally? Yeah. It's why I'm so willing to jump into fights with Jason. I know he'll keep us safe. But I know how he got that way. I've seen other people willing to really lay on the hurt before. And sometimes it's not about keeping people safe. It's just about making the other guy hurt. You don't trust guys like that when you can keep an eye on them, never mind when you need them to watch your back. So, I need to know why you think the way you do."

"Ahh, very prudent." Shirou murmured.

"Damn it, Fred!" Lily groused. "She doesn't even have her costume yet. Did you really need to do this now?"

"It's fine." I waved off her concern. "If we're going to be fighting together someday soon, he needs to know he can trust me." I gave Fred a bit of a look. "Though you really could stand to be a bit less blunt."

Fred had the decency to at least look a little sheepish. I dissolved my staff and helmet, then on reflex traced a butterfly knife. The clicking it made offering me a bit of stress relief even as it seemed to set Fred on edge.

"Shirou's been my teacher in all things power and cape for the past three months." I began simply. "But he's not from around here. Where he's from people with… unusual abilities do their best to remain hidden from the rest of the world. They don't get so many regular villains the way we do. What they do have are more often along the lines of mad scientist playing with things best left alone. That or things a bit like Nilbog." That got some very startled looks from both of my teammates. "So, when they had a threat pop up, they didn't bother with jail, or the three strikes rule, or even secret identities. If someone proved too dangerous to let run around, they got put down."

I grimaced a bit, but shook my head and carried on. "I'm not saying that's the right way to do things here. Plenty of villains don't deserve that. But some of them? The Nine already have kill orders, a few capes do… But I think they could stand to be a lot freer with them. I can think of three capes from back home that deserve them easy. You could make decent arguments for a few others as well. And then the idea of fighting to subdue someone trying to kill me." I let my exasperation bleed into my voice.

I spread my hands wide and gave a helpless shrug. "I don't like that. My life is just as important as theirs. Your lives are just as import, civilians too. If an enemy wants to play nice, I guess I can play along, but I've been learning from a guy that might as well be a black ops cape. I'm not advocating open war with villains, just… a measured response, as each case demands."

I finished speaking and watched Fred carefully even as I tried to gauge Lily's reaction from the corner of my eye.

Fred nodded slowly as he mulled over my words. Lily didn't really say anything, but she fidgeted a bit uncomfortably.

Fred broke the growing silence. "Ok. I don't agree with everything you just said, but I can see where you're coming from." He nodded firmly more to himself than to me or Lily before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry to spring that on you like that. It's been bugging me and I just had to know."

"I get it." I nodded. "I'd want to know if my new teammate was going to be some psycho time bomb too. Though if that was all you wanted, I was hoping to get in some more practice."

"Say no more." Fred pushed away from the doorframe and turned to leave tossing a wave over his shoulder. "Enjoy your spar, girls. And welcome to the team, Taylor!"

I turned to look at Lily who was still fidgeting slightly and giving me an assessing look.

"Go ahead and ask whatever's on your mind, Lily." I offered trying not to cringe.

She hesitated a moment but then pushed on. "Yesterday, you told me you were absorbing bits of Shirou's personality. Does that mean…" She trailed off either unwilling to finish the thought, or not sure how to phrase the question.

"That I've picked up some of his views on killing? That it's making me a lot more accepting of the idea?"

Lily nodded. I let out a sigh.

"Probably. I didn't think like this before I met him, but even knowing that I can't say he's wrong, or that I disagree. The police, the military, random civilians who keep a gun for home defense... It's not wrong to be willing to kill someone to keep yourself and the people you care about safe. It's prioritizing, it's... it's just human nature." I spread my hands. "Parahumans are still human. I don't see why we should be held to a higher standard than the police."

Lily chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I can kind of see that. Especially with the Protectorate, but what about us Wards? We're not exactly old enough to even join the police." She countered.

"Then they shouldn't be letting us out in costume at all." I shrugged. "If they're willing to compromise the law and their morality enough to put us in 'adult' situations," I made air quotes. "Then they should accept the fact we'll need to make 'adult' decisions as well."

"They don't exactly have a choice. People would just go out on their own if the Wards didn't exist. It's the best way to limit how much danger kids get into."

"Then they should never have passed the vigilante act." I countered. "That gave anyone legal permission to throw on a funny outfit and take the law into their own hands. If they hadn't passed that they could just arrest anyone running around in a mask then sit on them until they came of age."

"Never would have worked." Lily denied, shaking her head. "Powers want to be used. Not using them… It makes capes go stir crazy after a while. All that would do is drive every underage cape to start breaking the law."

I chewed that one over before nodding. "I suppose so. There really isn't a perfect solution, the issue is just too complex. But I don't feel like the system we have now is the best compromise either."

Lilly hummed thoughtfully but ultimately shrugged before gesturing with her helmet. "Still want to go another round?"

I grinned and retraced my staff and helmet. There would be time for weighty thoughts and complex debates later. Or preferably never. I was getting a bit tired of them already. Right now, I had a fight I could focus on and learn from without any risks or worries.

I was going to enjoy it for as long as I could.

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