Author's Note: For anyone interested, there are three advance chapters for Thunder of the Gods available on my : p-atreon/ SkySage24
Armsmaster was getting off his motorcycle as Taylor and Victoria landed in front of him, his halberd going from a condensed point along his back into spinning within the palm of his hand in a single smooth motion, just before he planted it in the ground
Taylor couldn't immensely help the rush of nervousness that flooded through her at the sight of him. His visor seemed to stare straight through her.
This was the leader of the Protectorate ENE, one of the top heroes in America. Being introduced to him because he had come to investigate a huge explosion she had just caused by accident was not how Taylor had wanted to meet him.
"Glory Girl," Armsmaster said as he saw them, a touch of surprise colouring his voice. "And the new cape. What happened here? I heard reports of a bomb in the area."
"Nothing like that," Victoria assured him, nudging Taylor slightly. "Nobody was hurt."
Taylor stepped forward, resisting the urge to wring her hands. With his gleaming blue armour, his gaze piercing even from behind his visor and tall enough to see eye to eye with her even in her transformed state, there was no denying that Armsmaster cut an imposing figure.
She felt like she was confessing something she had done wrong to a teacher, but what choice did she have?
"Uh, hello," She said hesitantly. "There was no bomb or anything, I was just testing out my powers."
Armsmaster's upper face wasn't visible, but his tone as he spoke undoubtedly gave the impression that his eyebrows were raised. "You did this?" He said, gesturing to the damage to the ships in the Boat Graveyard behind them.
Taylor cringed slightly. "Yeah. I didn't mean to! I just…underestimated how powerful my lightning would be."
"Your lightning?" Armsmaster repeated. "You're a Blaster too?"
Taylor nodded. She hadn't heard the term 'Blaster' from anyone else before, but it wasn't as if it was a complicated word to understand.
Armsmaster rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "We've been getting reports of random lightning bolts falling out of the sky around the city. I assumed it was some other cape, but now…was that you?"
Taylor reddened. It had never even occurred to her to consider what people would think upon seeing those. "Yes," She admitted with some embarrassment. "I didn't hurt anyone, though!"
"She really didn't," Victoria spoke up in support of her. "Not here either. I saw the scene from the sky, only the old boats were damaged. No one was hurt, not even any property damage. Technically at least."
Armsmaster huffed a laugh, "Technically indeed. Whether the city likes it or not, those ships do belong to them. There's no need to be so nervous," He assured Taylor, his voice turning slightly wry. "I'm not going to arrest you for wrecking a few abandoned boats. I'm more concerned about cleaning up the wreckage and making sure the smoke and debris don't cause a panic."
Some of the tension left Taylor at the confirmation. Victoria had said the same thing, but part of her had still been worried. It didn't hurt that he had a nice smile. "Sorry for the trouble," She apologized.
"It's not a huge issue for now, but you should be more careful in the future," Armsmaster advised her. "I know Miss Militia already made you this offer, but remember, the Protectorate is always there if you want to join. We have facilities for testing powers and older heroes you can ask for advice. We have Triumph, Miss Militia, and Dauntless if you need experience with ranged power use, but you can always make a phone call to Protectorate members in other cities as well."
"Of course," Taylor nodded. To be honest, she was wondering if she should join the Protectorate. Her dad worked for the PRT, after all, and both Miss Militia and Armsmaster had been pretty nice so far.
"Oh, you could also ask my aunt and cousin for help! My dad too!" Victoria added. "I'm sure they'd be willing to give you a few tips. Or we can set you up with an appointment with the power testing clinics that I used. A bit pricier though."
Taylor could have sworn she saw Armsmaster's lips turn downwards slightly for a moment, but then he nodded in agreement. "That's an option too. Lady Photon and Flashbang are skilled and experienced heroes who have had a long time to hone their powers. And most of those power testing clinics are PRT adjacent."
"I'll think about it," Taylor said, trying not to seem overwhelmed. The idea of getting lessons from New Wave or Protectorate heroes in other cities, maybe even Legend, was more than a little exciting.
But she didn't want to rush into anything...especially not when the PRT might insist she should tell her dad about her powers.
Armsmaster thankfully didn't press the point, instead asking a different question. "All that aside…have you chosen a cape name yet? I have to admit, we'd like to be able to refer to you as something other than 'the new cape'."
Oh, right.
She had been so busy recently that choosing a cape name had completely slipped Taylor's mind.
She frantically cast her mind around for a good name to use, something she could give Armsmaster. It was one thing to admit she hadn't chosen a name for Victoria. It was another to admit it to the leader of the Protectorate, especially after she'd already told his teammate the same thing a few weeks ago.
"You can call me the Captain."
The instant the words left her mouth, Taylor wanted to sink through the floor. Was that the best she could do? Really? She couldn't even think of a reason for it, it was just off the top of her head!
"The…Captain?" Armsmaster inquired, the tinge of incredulity in his voice echoing Taylor's thoughts. "Just 'the Captain'?
Unwilling to admit she was wrong, Taylor nodded. "Just the Captain."
She cast a glance at Victoria, praying the other teenager wouldn't call her out on making a name up on the spot. Fortunately, the blonde said nothing, even though eyebrows had risen high during the conversation.
"Alright, Captain," Armsmaster accepted. Taylor had the distinct feeling he knew that she had only just chosen a name, but he didn't seem interested in poking at her bluff. "If that's what you want… but I'll hold off on announcing it for now. You should investigate to see if there are any other capes with that name. It's not a bad name, but with thirty years of caping, someone might have claimed it already."
"Thanks," Taylor mumbled, scratching the back of her neck, feeling embarrassed that she didn't even think of that. "Do you need anything else? Do I need to fill out paperwork or…"
Armsmaster waved her off. "It's fine, don't concern yourself over it for now. My visor recording everything and I'll file the report myself for now. If you had caused actual, official, property damage, then you'd have to fill out paperwork, as I'm sure Glory Girl can tell you."
Taylor's eyes turned to Victoria, who flushed. "It was an accident," She grumbled. "Still getting used to super strength."
"I know, I've seen it before," Armsmaster nodded dryly. "But no, you're free to go, if you want, Captain."
Relief flooded Taylor but before she could take off, Victoria spoke. "Hey, do you want to go on patrol with me? It'd be fun!"
Taylor started at the idea, but looking at Victoria's hopeful face, she couldn't bring herself to say no. "Sure."
"Great!" Glory Girl beamed, rising into the air. "Bye, Armsmaster!"
"Goodbye, sir," Taylor said more formally, before following suit.
The older hero gave a crisp nod, folding his arms as he watched them fly away.
Once they were out of Armsmaster's hearing, Victoria turned to Taylor with a grin.
"The Captain? That's what you went with?" She asked, laughing.
"He put me on the spot!" Taylor said defensively. "I couldn't admit I hadn't chosen a name."
Victoria shook her head in amusement. "Well, you're stuck with it now, but you should probably add something to the name to make it sound cooler and more unique like Armsmaster warned."
"Like what?"
Victoria shrugged. "I don't know, Captain Thunder, maybe? You do have the whole lightning motif going for you."
"Captain Thunder," Taylor mused. "It doesn't feel right. I like the idea, though."
"Think about it. The Captain just sounds so generic and is definitely taken," Victoria told her. "Captain Thunder too, probably. But anyway, let me show you my usual patrol route."
Taylor followed Victoria as they flew over the city. It was nearly evening now, and the roads were thick with traffic as people began to leave work. The sun hadn't quite sunk yet, but it had started too, and tinges of orange were creeping into the sky.
"Do you all have patrol routes?" Taylor asked curiously. "Everyone in New Wave?"
"Yep," Victoria confirmed. "It's the best way to keep track of our slice of the city. We switch up how we do patrols so that people can't predict us and to keep ourselves safe. The Protectorate does patrols too, and we work with them sometimes."
"Makes sense. I've just kind of been flying around the city at random, honestly," Taylor admitted, feeling embarrassed.
"Hey, no harm done. You beat up Hookwolf and saved that girl, I saw it on the news. And saved a few cats," Victoria added cheekily.
"I couldn't just leave them there!" Taylor protested.
"It wasn't a criticism," Victoria replied, her smile widening, her golden hair flowing in the wind. "I thought it was a cute thing to do. Cheesy, but cute."
"Thanks," Taylor said softly.
"But yeah, this is my usual patrol route," Victoria said, returning to the main subject and waving a hand at the buildings below, halting her flight. "I'm supposed to watch over this block."
"Just this one block?" Taylor asked as she pulled herself to a stop.
"Yeah," Victoria said, her voice turning a little sulky. "My parents only recently let me start going on patrol without them. Before that, one of the adults was always with me. I still have to patrol with Crystal, Lasedream."
Taylor looked around, coming to a realization. "The Boat Graveyard isn't exactly close to this place," She pointed out. It was in fact, pretty far, given that the Graveyard was on the coast and Victoria's patrol route was downtown.
Victoria grinned again, her cheer returning. "Well, I don't always stick to the routes my parents plan for me. Promise not to tell?"
"Of course not," Taylor agreed, unable to resist Victoria's infectious cheer. "As long as you don't tell anyone that I came up with the name on the spot."
"Deal," Victoria shook her hand. "Now come on, I've got to introduce you to Crystal!"
They flew a little more, but they didn't have to go far before Taylor spotted someone else flying towards them.
It was another girl, a few years older than Victoria, who halted a short distance away. The resemblance between her and Glory Girl was undeniable. The two of them could easily have been sisters, with their bright blonde hair and blue eyes. Her costume was white too, though it was decorated with zigzagging red and magenta lines, and she didn't have a cape, only a headband.
But there were differences too, once you got closer. Laserdream's hair was a slightly darker shade of blonde, the shape of her eyes was different and her chin was a little more pointed. She looked like a high school senior.
Most prominent though, was that, unlike the cheerful Victoria, she was frowning, her arms crossed as she waited for them to approach.
Victoria's smile seemed to become a little forced at the sight of her cousin's mood, but she stayed peppy.
"Hey cuz-" She began.
"Don't 'hey cuz' me, Glory Girl," Laserdream said, clearly unamused. "Why didn't you stick to the patrol route? Or wait for me?"
"I just thought I'd go exploring a little," Victoria claimed. "You know, go around the city, see some sights."
"You mean that you got bored and decided to go against what Mom, Dad, and Aunt Carol said," Laserdream retorted sharply, before sighing a little. "Come on, Vicky, you know that there's a good reason they're not letting you patrol alone yet. I had to go through the same thing. You could have at least invited me along."
"I don't need a babysitter!" Glory Girl replied, her voice taking on an edge of its own. "I can look after myself."
Laserdream pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. This was an old argument. "It's not about having a babysitter, it's about not being alone. Even the adults don't go on patrol alone if they can help it. What if you'd gotten hurt?"
"The Protectorate does individual patrols," Victoria protested. "Armsmaster goes out all alone all the time."
"You're not Armsmaster!" Laserdream snapped. "And we're not the Protectorate. You'll get to go on patrols alone soon enough, can't you just wait?" Her tone softened, "Besides, I was bored flying here and waiting for you, little cuz. Not to mention that if our parents find out, they're going to rake me over the coals too."
"Whatever," Glory Girl huffed out sulkily. "Anyway, I don't want to fight about this right now. This is my new friend, the Captain."
Laserdream's gaze shifted to Taylor as if only just recognizing she was there. "Oh! I'm Laserdream, Crystal," She introduced herself before a spark of recognition appeared in her eyes. "You're the new cape who took down Hookwolf, yeah?"
"Yes," Taylor said a little self-consciously. She should probably have expected it, but it was a little startling to be known as the new girl who took down Hookwolf by so many other capes in the city.
"Nice job there," Laserdream grinned, her resemblance to Victoria becoming even more obvious when she smiled. "And nice to meet you. We'll talk more about this later, 'cause you owe me little cuz," She added to Glory Girl, before returning her focus to Taylor. "Sorry for rehashing the drama in front of you. Since you're here, I guess Vicky brought you along for patrol?"
"She invited me along, yeah," Taylor said, casting a nervous glance at Glory Girl, who was still pouting a little.
"Alright then," Laserdream said with a grin. "Feel free to come along. But I want to hear more about how you took down that Nazi bastard."
"Well, it all started when I heard a scream…"