Current Energy: 16
Current Training: Dragon Warrior (9/10) Cost 1 to Complete.
Saturday, January 15th, 2011
PRT Headquarters, Brockton Bay
Your Master wakes up that morning at the crack of noon. Having slept for at least ten hours, you would assume she would be well-rested, but instead, she rises from her bed like a zombie, the bags under her eyes rapidly darkening into a nearly bruiselike countenance.
You try not to comment, but you do stare worriedly after her as she stumbles about in an attempt to prepare herself for the day. Once she is ready, the pair of you prepare to go about your business for the day.
That being, finding out why the PRT hasn't deposited your money yet.
Taylor does her best to ignore the stacks of unpaid bills sitting to the side in the living room as you leave, piling into the car next to Danny. It's not like your Master couldn't just sprint to the building through the air - not having to deal with traffic or any intervening buildings would clearly be a faster way to go. But she didn't for two reasons.
One, that would leave Danny alone when there was no reason to do so. And two, you've explained to her that you have almost no means of keeping up with her when she does it. Your Master hasn't had her powers for very long, but you get the impression that, given her current mode of movement is essentially flying, she is somewhat annoyed by not being able to easily do so to move about. She fidgets, and twitches in the car for the first five minutes of the drive, until finally falling asleep in her seat. You'd have let her sleep on your shoulder but - being a literal Panda - you don't really fit in the car and are forced to sit invisibly on the roof in order to be taken along.
The PRT building is about as boring looking as you remember. You sort of wish you could convince your Master to run out to the second headquarters they have out over the bay, but the massive forcefield surrounding the place is as good a sign as any that showing up uninvited would probably be unwise.
Deftly appearing next to the car as it parks, you pull the door open and gently shake your Master awake, preparing to dart backwards at any sign that she might lash out. She does startle slightly, but not enough to indicate you are about to be stabbed to death, which is for the best. Taking a moment to get her bearings, she shakes her head slightly, and steps out of the car, running a hand through her hair to fix the messy state it had ended up in during her impromptu nap.
"You don't have to come in kiddo. We're just going to be at the front desk for a bit. It probably won't be very involved." Danny offers kindly as Taylor shakes off her sleepiness.
"I don't want the PRT to think I'm not in charge though. I can't just have you keep coming in for me." Taylor says obstinately.
"If you're sure..." Danny says hesitantly.
The pair make their way into the building, then towards one of the desks at its center, where a plain-faced woman wearing a PRT dress uniform is patiently typing something out. At the desk, to your left, a man and a woman are yelling furiously at another receptionist.
"You said you would take care of him! Now you don't even know where he is!" The man yells loudly, slamming two fists down in front of him and causing everything on the receptionist's desk to jerk slightly.
"Sir, we can't be held responsible for the actions of your son when he is in your home. We are doing everything in our power to locate him, but you only reported him missing an hour ago. Please, understand-" The receptionist tries to say valiantly.
"You knew he wasn't right in the god damn head! You should have put a friggin tracker on him or something! That's why we brought him here!" The man continues, yelling over the receptionist's calm reply.
"Hello, how can I help you?" The receptionist that your Master and her father are standing in front of says, drawing your attention away from the yelling match. Everyone else in the lobby seems to be awkwardly ignoring it anyway, including Danny and Taylor.
"Ah yes. We're wondering as to the status of the bounty payout we signed for recently." Danny says plainly.
"Are you an intermediary? We can only allow the Cape in question to facilitate-" She says politely, eyeing the two of them.
"Right here." Your Master says, lifting a hand in greeting.
"Would you like a temporary mask? If you do just declare that you need to use the bathroom and head through that door, and someone will be with you shortly." The woman whispers quickly.
"No, I... I'm Nexus? I don't really have a secret identity..." Taylor offers with a wince. You know that she has gotten accustomed to not having any division between her Cape life and her mundane one, but she very clearly doesn't like the situation.
"Ah. I see. One moment." The receptionist replies with a sigh of relief. She proceeds to spend several seconds typing away at her computer before looking up at you with a frown.
"Apologies but it seems like a hold has been placed on the funds. Your legal guardian will have to open an account for you, cosigned under their name. The PRT can't directly provide minors with bounty payouts." She explains apologetically.
"I was there when we claimed it. Why don't you just be honest and say what's really going on. You're stalling." Danny fires back with some annoyance.
"I'm afraid I can't comment as to the internal affairs of the branch sir. The error only occurred after the payment began processing. We apologize for any inconvenience and we welcome you to return at any time to provide us with the account information and your signature." The woman says pleasantly, not even missing a beat.
You can actually see one of the veins in Danny's forehead begin to throb.
"I see. Thank you for your time." He bites out, before whirling around on one heel and stomping out of the lobby - presumably to stop himself from trying to throw something at someone.
Taylor looks back and forth with worry at her Father and then the receptionist, before following after the man with a quick apology.
The drive back is mostly silent. Danny drives ponderously slow, his knuckles white against the steering wheel until about the halfway point.
it is at this point, that Taylor receives a phone call. By itself, that wouldn't be all that innocuous, but the sound is enough that Danny twitches suddenly, and pulls off to the side of the road, pointedly not looking at his daughter.
Taylor fumbles her phone out of her pocket - not being accustomed to the thing yet - and hurriedly answers.
"H-Hey Vicky. I- I'm sort of busy? Are you... sure it's life or death?" Taylor asks dubiously.
"Fine but... yeah I'm coming. Hang on." She grumbles after a while before hanging up and turning to her Father worriedly.
"Um. Could you go to the Garage and stay with Trainwreck for a little bit dad? Vicky needs me for something." She asks. Danny looks like he wants to say several things in response to that, his eyes flicking towards the cellphone in his daughter's hand, then sighs, allowing all the tension to drain out of himself. He closes his eyes for a second, appearing to be counting, and then opens them.
"...Sure thing kiddo. You're just going to be hanging outright? No... no crime-fighting?" He asks hesitantly.
"I don't think so? She said she was down one person for something so she invited me..." Taylor answers.
"Then fine. Be safe okay? I love you." He replies, leaning into the backseat to awkwardly hug his daughter. You watch the exchange with a smile on your face.
And then Taylor gets out of the vehicle and begins stretching. You know what comes next, and get the feeling you probably couldn't stop it if you wanted to, so you decide to just have fun with it.
You materialize yourself just as Taylor bends her legs to jump, clench your buttocks, and just as she explodes into the air and you pass your range limit, shout;
"Shaka-blow!" As you vanish in a puff of blue energy.
Saturday, January 15th, 2011
Boardwalk, Brockton Bay
"This isn't what I was expecting," Taylor says sourly as Victoria drags her into another store.
"Yeah, but what you were expecting was probably something boring anyway." Victoria chirps at her as they vanish into the building.
"So..." The boy to your left says hesitantly, eyeing you warily and with a certain degree of confusion.
"Yeah, I don't know what to do either." You admit, carefully shifting your body weight to ensure none of the bags you're currently holding fall from your grip.
"I was kind of expecting Amy today so I didn't really..." Dean trails off, still staring at you.
"What the kid in the robe? Maaaan does she look tired. Probably not eating enough. Hey, have we met?" You rattle off pleasantly. You should, by rights, be annoyed by the current situation. After all, Victoria basically tricked your Master into shopping. The thing is, you kind of feel like your Master needs this kind of activity in her life right now. You suspect the only reason she goes to school is the memory of her late mother. If she didn't have that your reasonably certain she would spend every waking moment doing 'Cape' things.
"You might have seen me around the area before?" Dean supplies helpfully, jumping in just a bit too quickly.
"Totally. Master has been here three or four times in the last few days so it makes sense." You answer with a shrug.
"I am not wearing that!" Taylor screeches from inside the shop.
"Why not! It's just a little midriff!" Victoria whines as she follows your Master out of the store.
"Because! It just... It doesn't suit me okay?" Taylor answers with a pained expression on her face.
"Besides all those people were already staring at me. I should just stick to beating up bad guys." Taylor says bitterly.
"Well duh, you're an outed Cape, that's like being a celebrity only without all the work." Vicky explains as the pair march up to you.
"I don't think any of these people actually know that Vicky. She's never been in a press conference, doesn't have a costume, hasn't gotten any pictures taken of her..." Dean explains patiently, falling into step beside his girlfriend.
"See? You, I understand, you're-" Taylor breaks off to wave a hand haphazardly towards Victoria's - as usual - immaculate appearance. "- all of this and I'm just... me."
"Have you considered-" Dean says and then slams his mouth shut, turning to look at Vicky speculatively.
"I will allow it." She tells him, flashing him a winsome smile that causes him to blush but continue none the less.
"Ehem. Have you considered they're looking at you because they're checking you out?" Dean puts forth.
"...What. Why?" Taylor answers flatly, her eyebrows shooting up into her hairline.
"Go on~," Vicky says with faint amusement.
"...Because you're... pretty?" He tries weakly, obviously searching for the most neutral compliment he can provide and nervously glancing at his girlfriend the entire time. Taylor looks down at herself, then back up, then down again, then back up.
"I look like a wireframe wearing skin that doesn't fit right." She says flatly, her anxiety spiking as her overactive mind begins to draw parallels between times in the past where she has been lied to about her appearance solely to tear her down afterwards.
Vicky makes a rolling motion with her hand towards her boyfriend, who nervously laughs before continuing.
"You've got a... like a cool beauty thing going on?" Another look towards Vicky and then away. "Like a...hot librarian?" He tries again.
"Aaaaaand that's my limit." Vicky intones quickly, sidling to the left to grab Dean's arm and hugging it towards herself.
"You're lucky she has issues buster." She whispers into Dean's ear before pecking him on the cheek.
""I- but- wuh?"" Both Dean and Taylor splutter at about the same time.
"So! Have you considered some sweaters that show your shoulders?" She continues blithely, ignoring the shocked look on your Master's face.
The trip home is mostly, slowly paced. Taylor, despite the compliment paid to her, is slowly jumping from roof to roof with a dazed expression on her face, giving you enough time to keep up with her.
"I like her." You say suddenly, pulling your Master from her reverie.
"This guy likes everybody. You even get along with Trainwreck." Taylor points out.
"Yeah but that's cus he's a cool dude. You should hang out with her more." You opine, before frowning and adding. "But uh, maybe pass on any double dates."
You don't innately have a problem with your Master having a significant other, mind you. You just think she should probably prioritize her own problems before she goes looking to poke her nose into someone else's.
Also, you still kind of dislike most teenagers, on average, and don't think any other age group would be appropriate for Taylor to partake in. Not that you say any of that. You doubt your Master feels differently. Victoria just had a tendency to hint that she 'knew some guys' Taylor might like periodically.
If by 'periodically' one meant 'roughly every 15 minutes' at least.
"Yeah. She's- very high energy." Taylor says with a sigh, coming to a stop on top of an apartment building that had seen better days and sitting with her legs over the side of the roof.
"So am I." You point out.
"I know." She shoots back irately.
"Hey so... I noticed your Dad was sort of... angrier than normal today?" You ask, taking a seat next to her and staring into the distance where the sun is currently setting.
"Yeah, he... I think he might have spent more money than I thought. I don't know how much the hospital bill was, or all the time off work he's taking, or how much the Garage cost." Taylor says with a sigh.
"It's nice that he's trying but it... feels like- like he's trying to compensate?" Taylor says bitterly.
"Nobody is perfect." You prod.
"I didn't want him to be perfect I wanted him to pay attention." Taylor snaps at you, before turning back to the sunset.
"Was it that bad?" You ask curiously.
"Worse. He kept a roof over my head and gave me food but... I might as well have been renting a room from him past that. He's better now but, if this hadn't happened I don't think he would be." Taylor answers you.
"So, what now? He's trying. He's better. Does holding onto the anger help?" You say serenely, pulling Taylor into a sidelong hug that she leans into without preamble.
"No. I know. But it's... I'm trying to be better too but it's hard." She says with a frown, turning her head upward to look at you.
"Also, I know you do this on purpose." She says jabbing you in the stomach with one finger.
"Does holding onto that anger help?" You say playfully.
"No, but-" Taylor starts to reply before a notification sound comes from her phone and she haltingly withdraws it to examine a message. Her expression immediately lights up.
"Its Muscles! He says he'll join up if we have somewhere for him to stay!" She says blissfully. You can see why. That isn't much of a condition really. After all, you did just get a new hideout. Sort of.
Then your Master's face pales as a thought hits her.
"What?" You ask, worried.
"I have to introduce him to Trainwreck." She says with slight horror in her tone.