Current Energy: 4
Current Training: Lesser Magic Usage (9/10) - Complete!
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
Hebert Household, Brockton Bay
"This is surprisingly difficult," Taylor grumbles as she attempts to use her new power to hold her breakfast aloft.
"Magic is fueled by emotion. It doesn't like to be used over long periods of time, any more than it's healthy for a normal person to angry permanently. Or sad." Ozma coaches, sipping at his mug - the same one he makes you prepare every morning - and glancing over Taylor as she struggles to eat and maintain a perfect projection of a plate at the same time.
"Burst effect shaker power. Got it." Taylor grunts distractedly.
"I don't think that's an accurate description of-" Ozma begins to interject dryly.
"Sup. Got any more of that?" Mouse Protector asks with a yawn, literally appearing in the seat opposite you wearing nothing but a long shirt and a generic mask.
"No." Taylor answers bluntly, too focused on concentrating for anything else.
"Damn. Why don't you guys have pop tarts or something? You know, easy food that requires no effort?" Mouse grouses, standing up to begin meandering about the kitchen tiredly.
"Because they're unhealthy and kind of expensive?" Taylor asked rhetorically.
"Bullshit. Healthy food is expensive. You own a castle. You can afford pop tarts." Mouse grouses as she begins to put together a sandwich.
"I've got better things to invest in than breakfast food," Taylor says with a roll of her eyes, finishing the last of her food and floating the Adhoc plate over to the sink to dump the crumbs away and allowing her to dissipate the construct and release a sigh of relief.
"But they've got these new ones that taste like cream cheese and-!" Mouse starts.
"If you make another cheese pun, I'm going to turn you into a literal mouse," Taylor says, squinting at the older heroine, who pauses, mouth frozen open.
"...Can you actually do that?" She asks hesitantly.
"Probably," Taylor confirms smugly. The smug expression slowly falls as Mouse Protector gets a hopeful look in her eyes, and begins to mob your Master with questions, advancing on Taylor until she has her pressed against the wall with her hands on Taylor's shoulders.
"Mouse Girl. Do it. Doooo iiiittttt." Mouse says ecstatically.
"What- no! I'm not doing that! Why would I do that?!" Taylor blurts out.
"Taylor! Do you have any idea how bitchin animal ears are? I could take my shtick to a whole new level!" Mouse continues excitedly.
"No! And- and you'd lose your powers! I'm not doing it!" Taylor fires back, awkwardly trying to shimmy out of Mouse's grip without hurting her.
"...Oh. Well that sucks." Mouse says after a second, dejectedly releasing your Master from her grip and sulking slightly.
Silence falls over the kitchen for a moment before Taylor speaks up.
"I guess you could say that you're... cheesed?" She mumbles.
Mouse Protector's face jerks up in shock, and she begins to physically vibrate.
"Nevermind!" Taylor yelps taking a step back.
"How gouda of you to care!" Mouse yells, diving forward to tackle Taylor into a hug.
"Stop! Seriously I gotta go to school!" Taylor complains, blushing. It isn't as though she couldn't just break out of the grapple at need, but well, despite her words, she's obviously happy for the interaction.
"Never! I am Un-Feta'd!" Mouse Protector continues, cackling as she begins to tickle Taylor furiously.
"Whyyyyyyyy!" Taylor laughs as she faux struggles beneath the older woman.
"I've been here a couple of days now and I've literally never seen you do anything fun! Relax a little will ya?" Mouse Protector continues to chuckle before finally getting up with a sigh.
"Ah, geez. Gotta get back out there. Have fun at school or whatever~" Mouse chortles, scratching one arm and wandering back up the stairs to grab her costume.
Taylor huffs at her before getting off the floor herself, stretching.
"Miss Hebert. I - have a request." Ozma says after a moment of consideration.
"Hm?" Taylor hums at him in response as she shifts to doodling in her workbook for new talisman.
"Emmy tells me that my time here is quickly coming to an end." He begins tentatively. Taylor doesn't respond, but her jaw sets and she visibly begins to struggle against herself in order to avoid snapping her pen in twain. You know she never likes hearing this. You know that she would give up all her powers if you never had to change, to die, to become someone new.
Unfortunately, when you were configuring yourself 'feelings' weren't really a big part of your reasoning. Just 'Power'.
"And?" Taylor grinds out, not looking up.
"I... believe it is for the best that I remain behind. With you." He says carefully. Neutrally. Ofcourse, this immediately causes Taylor to perk up.
"You can stay?!" She blurts out.
"Ah. Yes. Should I be transferred to you before we have run our course I would remain behind as Emmy changes. Or so I'm told." Ozma explains, suppressing a wince as Taylor internalizes that, no, you yourself will not continue to be Oscar. Not for long anyway.
"...I see," Taylor replies flatly, slowly sitting back down to stare at her half-finished drawing.
"[If it bothers you, I should explain that I am capable of partitioning myself from you. I would only be present at need.]" Ozma offers.
"I - sure. Fine." Taylor snips at you, biting her lip in irritation.
"[...Taylor.]" Ozma says in a comforting tone, shifting forward to sit next to your Master.
"You can rent headspace with me okay? It's fine, just-" Taylor says bitterly.
"Taylor. Emmy is never truly gone. Over the last little while, he has displayed behaviour and reactions that are clearly not Oscars. Do not think of it as the death of the Ego, but merely the emergence of a larva from its pupa. A transference." Ozma says, shifting slightly to hug the girl, and relinquishing control of your body so that you may comfort her.
"I still hate it." Taylor continues, leaning into you. It really didn't take long for her to be able to tell when Ozma was in control of you. It's as obvious to her as a change of clothes would be. You find that comforting somehow.
"I know." You say gently, stroking your Master's hair.
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
Alcott Household, Brockton Bay
You're Master, in her infinite wisdom, has decided to personally apologize to each of the people affected by the fight against the Butcher. The fact that this puts her in the immediate vicinity of the Alcott household - the Mayor's sister, and where her 'biggest fan' lives - is purely a coincidence.
Truly.
'You think she's got powers or was she just passing a message along for someone else?' Taylor asks you curiously as she knocks on the door.
'Could be neither. It's not like we can confirm those numbers.' You point out easily, though, at this point, you highly doubt it. That would be too easy, and if there's anything you've learned in this lifetime, it's that things are never easy where your Master is concerned.
"Hello?" A confused looking woman asks as she opens the door. For someone living in the 'nice' part of town, she is surprisingly mundane looking. No makeup, kind of a narrow face, short sandy brown hair, loose-fitting jeans and a tasteful but not obscenely expensive looking blouse make up her overall appearance.
"Hi. I'm Nexus. There was recently a fight nearby that damaged some of the streets and I wanted to make sure everyone here could contact me to pay for things. Also, I'm pretty sure your daughter asked me for an autograph last week and then ran away before I could hand it back to her?" Taylor explains easily. It's a far cry from the stuttering and insecure girl you first met when she triggered. You doubt she even notices the difference.
The woman considers Taylor for a second - not in costume at all save for her sunhat - and then smiles politely at her.
"Dinah has been feeling ill the last few days. I can pass along a message for you if you'd like? I'm sure she'd love to talk to you again." The woman says. Taylor immediately nods to this but doesn't leave right away.
"I could try healing her? I help Panacea at the hospital sometimes." She offers politely. The woman - you never caught her name - looks pensive for a moment, then speaks.
"Can you give me a minute? I'd like to speak to my husband." She apologizes.
"Sure, I've got time," Taylor answers with a shrug, then returns to speaking to you as the door closes behind her.
'Do you want me to-' You offer quickly.
'What did I say about randomly invading peoples homes?' She cuts you off.
'...Don't?' You reply sheepishly.
'If you know then why do you keep offering to do it?' She asks you in amusement.
'Because it's fun?' You reply innocently.
'Uhuh.' Taylor responds with amusement. Suddenly the door in front of her opens back up.
"Sorry about that. I just wanted to talk to the physician seeing to her. He came highly recommended." The woman says, her voice slightly strained.
"Why not just go to the hospital? Panacea is there most of the time." Taylor asks curiously as she follows the woman further into her home.
"Panacea 'doesn't do brains', and apparently she's had something of a migraine." Dinah's mother states carefully, as though trying to pick her way through what she wants to say. Your Master raises an eyebrow at this but otherwise lets it sit. You've only just met the woman so it would be somewhat pretentious to assume you should be allowed to involve yourselves in her business. Even just being allowed to heal Dinah is something you couldn't force without a significant breach of morals.
"Hm. Well, I don't have that problem, so we might be able to make this work." Taylor reassures her. Eventually, you are led into a room decorated in the usual assortment of things a preteen girl might be interested in. Which is to say, it is very pink and full of stuffed animals. It's almost painfully stereotypical, compared to your Master's room which, until Yukari had interfered, was basically a monk's study.
Sitting on her bed on the far side of the room is the girl from the other day. Her eyes are shadowed, and she appears not to have slept very well recently but is being attentively attended to by a shorter man in a navy blue turtleneck sweater, with coke bottle glasses.
"Now, keep a damp cloth over your eyes tonight alright? No staring at your cellphone or watching television, it will only make the pain last longer." He explains, placing a bottle of pills and a glass of water next to the girl's bed, on a small table with a lamp on it.
"Nexus, this is Mr.Pitter. He's been looking after Dinah for us while we've been busy." Dinah's mother explains, gesturing to the man, who stiffens slightly at her voice before standing and turning to peer at you through beady eyes.
"Hello. Is there anything I can help you with? If you're here to speak to Dinah I can't recommend-" He begins sternly but Taylor waves him off with a chuckle.
"I'm a healer. I just want to help." She says easily.
"Ah. I see. If you'll excuse me then. I have another appointment to keep." The man says perfunctorily, nodding the elder Alcott and walking past her. Taylor patiently waits for him to leave before turning to Dinah, who is smiling grimly through the obvious pain she's in.
"Now. Do I have permission to heal you?" Taylor asks without preamble.
"Um. Yes?" Dinah says hesitantly.
"Do you want anything to eat honey?" Her mother quickly adds, to which the girl begins to shake her head no, only to wince at the movement.
"Mmk. One second," Taylor says, her palms aglow as she steps forward and stretches a hand out to tap the younger girl on the head. At first, nothing happens as the golden glow passes from Taylor to the girl, sliding downward across her skin like a waterfall. Then the effect fades, and Dinah sits up mouth agape.
"You can heal Thinker headaches!" She screeches at you, causing your Master to jerk backwards and turn to look at Mrs.Alcott as though stung.
"Uh?" Taylor says in confusion.
"Dinah. Dear. We've talked about this, you don't have powers." Her mother says with a put upon sigh.
"Seventy-Three percent chance you believe me by the end of the week!" Dinah counters immediately, sitting up in a huff. Then she turns back to Taylor and frowns.
"Um. The Butcher dying is still around eighty percent." She continues, somewhat apologetically.
"If you're worried, you can always join the PRT. Or visit my castle." Taylor offers, glancing at Mrs.Alcott in order to gauge her mood. Not very well, it seems because she is frowning in disapproval.
"Can't," Dinah says tiredly.
"Why not?" Taylor rebuts.
"Because she's not a Parahuman," Mrs.Alcott interjects. Dinah squints at her mother as though trying to banish her with her will alone, then sighs and turns back to Taylor.
"It gets bad faster if I stop seeing Mr.Pitter." She admits with an annoyed shrug. Taylor stares at her for a few seconds, obviously deep in thought, before reaching into a pocket and withdrawing one of the dozens of tags she's taken to carrying around casually. Delicately, she pages through them until about the middle of the stack, as though counting bills, and withdraws a single talisman that she hands to Dinah, who takes it curiously.
"If anything happens, you can rip that, and you and anyone near you will be taken to my Castle, where it's safe - okay?" Taylor says with a smile. Dinah eyes the talisman with new eyes at that then looks back up at your Master.
"Um. Did you have any more questions? I can do... one or two more?" She offers hesitantly.
"Will it hurt?" Taylor responds.
"A bit."
"Then that's okay. You rest, alright?" Taylor says pleasantly. leans away from Dinah's bed to stretch, and turns around before pausing.
"You also forgot about this. I don't know if you still want it but-" She says hesitantly, withdrawing the signed napkin from last week. There is an almost wistful expression on her face, having no doubt realized that Dinah is not, in fact, her greatest fan, and is - much more likely - just a very clever precog.
"Yes!" Dinah blurts, scrambling out of her bed to snatch the napkin out of your Master's hands. Taylor blinks once at the sudden movement and noise, then smiles joyously back at the younger girl.
"Take care, Dinah." She says with a wave, before quickly leaving the house.
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
The Heap, Brockton Bay
"Taylor?" Miss Militia calls out as your Master strides through the halls of the Heap, getting ready to assemble her team for a sortie against the Teeth. It's gotten somewhat late, but the cities nightlife hasn't yet risen yet. It is the perfect slice of time, between both night and day, when nearly no one is fully active.
And your Master plans on capitalizing on that fact during her attack.
"Yes?" She asks, halting suddenly as a wave of guilt passes over her.
"Have you seen Danny? He's usually in his office around now." The older woman asks politely.
"I think he's doing something with Jess. I don't think you've met her. New Wave's Fleur?" Your Master explains quickly, causing Miss Militia's smile to dim slightly. Then Taylor pauses.
"...Why do you know when my Dad is in his office?" She adds slowly. Miss Militia shrugs awkwardly.
"I've been having tea with him around this time every day. We don't really patrol from the castle, so I have a lot of spare time." She says.
"Don't you have like, a house?" Taylor pushes.
"I'm married to my work," Militia responds again. The two stare at each other blankly for a bit, neither one showing any emotion.
'Emmy? Does Miss Militia count as a milf?' Taylor asks you mentally during this showdown.
'I- don't... think so?' You respond in confusion. You aren't even entirely familiar with the term in the first place, but you assume it has something to do with being a mother which Miss Militia obviously isn't so...
'Oh thank god.' Taylor breathes a sigh of relief, then smiles brightly at the older woman.
"We're going to assault the Teeth now that the Butcher is in captivity. Want to come?" She offers easily, causing Miss Militia's eyebrows to shoot up.
"So soon? Will you be coordinating with the PRT?" She asks.
"Isn't that why you're here?" Taylor challenges smugly.
"...Point." Militia agrees, frowning.
"Alright. Just let me make sure Vista gets home safe." She finally says, then spins about to retreat back up the hallway.
"Easily over forty normal members. I think I've got Vex and Animos. It's hard to tell the rest apart, they all dress the same." You report back, appearing in the alley your Master and the rest of the Oathbound plus Miss Militia are standing in. Even Parian has chosen to come, albeit in a rearguard position with Oliver, who is tugging nervously at his unadorned black and white costume. Parian is good, but she can't put together an entire look in a day. The best she could manage was to sew ceramic plates into the boy's costume and to get him a bikers helmet to protect his head.
The Teeth are holed up in a series of abandoned office buildings a few blocks from the abandoned ferry station. Directly in your proverbial backyard. Most of the members are spread out over the bottom three floors of the building, with the top two mostly abandoned save for a few members who were sleeping or doing... other things. There is a flurry of activity surrounding the building, as the group begins to armour and equip itself, to what end you aren't sure.
"We shouldn't move in until we can identify all the capes, but once we do, Animos needs to go down first." Aspirant puts forth, earning nods from the rest of the group.
"Nexus, you have a Mover power, right? If we set up a command post for me to work from that oversee's most of the building I should be able to make sure no one escapes, and you can use it to get the heavy hitters inside." Miss Militia puts forth. Her ghostly soldiers can enter the building without her, but they become less responsive the less aware she herself is of the situation. This makes them best for forming a perimeter, rather than as a solid assault force.
"I can open a gap pretty fast, but they're still really noticeable. He might spot us if we go in that way." Taylor notes with a frown, now fully decked out in her costume, sword drawn and held loosely over one shoulder tapping it in agitation.
"Can't the kid be invisible? Just send him in to conk the bastard on the head. He hits hard enough for it." Trainwreck says with a shrug. Taylor becomes highly uncomfortable at this, and avoids answering him immediately, but does eventually turn towards you. The reason why is obvious. If you fight, you're probably going to end up burning energy. And every bit of power you use brings you closer to your inevitable end.
Still, it's clear that she's leaving the choice up to you.