Quest Chapter 38: Star2, a 3x3 eyes fanfic

Act 2, Go!

March 20th, 2011

Once again, I faced a point of no return. Just outside, surrounding the PRT building's outdoor press area, I could hear what sounded like every reporter in all of Brockton Bay waiting impatiently for their next bit of news fodder. I fidgeted, shuffling my cue cards from hand to hand in increasingly elaborate motions. Director Piggot made me promise not to throw them out, even after I'd proven that I could recite all my lines forwards and backwards from memory, so at least I'd managed to find a use for them.

Sitting next to me, Aegis must have noticed my tension, because he grasped my shoulder with one hand and gave me one of his winning smiles; a real smile, not one of the ear-to-ear 'world's least threatening teen boy" grins he saved for the press.

"You're going to do great out there," he said. "All the other Wards have gone through the same thing, and we both know that you're tougher than anyone here who can't regrow their gallbladder overnight."

I couldn't stop myself from chuckling. "Stop that," I said, "do you even know how hard it is to focus on all my worst-case scenarios when you make me smile like that?"

Aegis laughed in return. "That's kinda the idea," he said. "Unless, of course, you go out there and try the brutal honesty approach? 'Hi, I'm Daystar, and I would rather be anywhere else in the world right now' kind thing?"

"Do you want PR to eat me alive?" I replied. "God forbid any of us act like actual teenagers instead of living, breathing cartoon characters." I sighed. "I'm not scared about botching the speech, Carlos, I'm scared of what it means. I'm going to be out in the public eye after this, free for anyone to take a shot at. We've both seen how vicious the press can be when they think a hero has screwed something up."

"I get that," he said, either not noticing or ignoring my breach of the naming rules, "but you have no need to worry. The PRT micromanages the hell out of these events, so I can all but promise that each and every reporter out there has been carefully vetted. If any of them step out of line, PR will eat them alive, and they're even more scared of Glenn Chambers than we are."

I laughed. "Well played, Mr. Leader Sir. I guess the PR team have to be good for something beyond arguing about what potato chip flavor best represents the Daystar brand."

Aegis grimaced, and looked like he was about to commiserate, but I heard a 'beep' in my earpiece signalling that it was almost time for me to show myself. I shrugged, and raised my hand to point a thumb at the door.

"That's your cue, then," he said, with another reassuring smile. "Go out there and break a leg!"

"That's theatre!" I called back as I turned to leave, "and I don't know what I'll be breaking until I see how many Nazis show up!"

It was a bad joke, but it helped steady my nerves as I walked out the doors, around the backdrop set up for the event, and into view of the crowd. Deputy Director Renick gave me a tiny nod when he saw me, and I caught what had to be the tail end of his prepared speech.

"...my pleasure to present to you, Brockton Bay's newest Ward!"

I stepped out into the metaphorical spotlight to the applause of the crowd and a storm of flash photography. I took a few seconds to wave to the crowd, letting the photographers get a good look at my new costume. However much I griped about the PR department, I had to admit that they'd really come through on this one.

It consisted of a midnight blue bodysuit made out of low-weight ballistic fibre, running from my neck down to my boots but leaving my arms almost entirely bare. Over that I had a light breastplate (not boob plate, thank god) made out of some light-yet-durable gold-colored alloy, plus knee pads, shin guards and combat boots plated with the same material. My helmet was also pseudo-gold, swept-back and angular, almost avian in appearance; it exposed most of the lower half of my face, but covered my eyes with a blue-tinted visor. Completing the outfit was a pair of fingerless leather gloves, dyed the same dark blue as my undersuit, with my sunburst symbol embroidered on the back in golden thread.

The overall look was sleek and graceful, and it made me look like I could burst into motion at any time. The gloves had been my idea, but it was PR that insisted on bare arms. They claimed it marked my costume as clearly meant for a brute, especially since they didn't need bulky armor to make me look bigger. My only regret was having to keep my hair braided and coiled up inside the helmet; I'd wanted it free, but they argued that it would make me look too distinctive.

Either way, I thought I looked like a badass, which made this whole public speaking thing a little easier.

Renick stepped over and handed me the microphone, while guiding me over to stand center stage. I waited a few moments for the polite applause to die down, took a deep breath, and began speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press," I started, "my name is Daystar, and I'm proud to stand before you as the newest member of the Wards team East North East. I've lived in Brockton Bay all my life, and I'm beyond grateful for this chance to help protect my home and its people. I've prepared a few comments, but first I'd like to give you all a chance to ask any questions you might have."

Immediately, a host of hands and microphones surged up at me from the crowd, like flowers turning towards the sun. Deputy Director Renick pointed handful of people while saying "You first, then you, then you…"

"Katherine McAllen, Brockton Network News," the first woman said. "Daystar, can you describe your powers for us, and how they relate to your name?"

According to the Miss Militia, the PR department always got someone to ask this question as a bit of a warmup. We all agreed that I should present a toned-down version of my powers, in case some forward-thinking villain heard how I had possibly unlimited potential and decided to take me out early before I could grow into more of a problem.

"I'd be happy to," I said, putting on my own 'world's least threatening teenage girl' smile. "The details of how powers work are long, complicated, and barely understood, but the simple answer is that my power makes me a sort of physical paragon. I'm stronger, tougher, and faster than any normal person should be, but only by a modest amount. I heal faster, but not so quickly that I'm going to take up juggling chainsaws any time soon."

I paused to allow for some polite laughter, and continued. "I also have an instinctive grasp of unarmed fighting techniques, which I'm refining further by training under Armsmaster. He's not an easy teacher, but that's because he wants all of the Wards to be at our best. Finally, I have a minor Striker power which lets me amplify the impact of my unarmed attacks when it's necessary to bring down harder targets. As for my name..."

I concentrated on flaring the golden sunburst icon over my forehead. The costuming department had originally worried about how to leave enough space to display it, until we discovered that the mark somehow shone right through any covering we put over it. After that, they'd designed my helmet with subtle accents that would help highlight the mark whenever it manifested.

"This is the symbol that appears whenever I push my powers to their limits. According to Armsmaster, the light it sheds is 100% spectroscopically identical to natural sunlight. The word 'daystar' is a somewhat archaic name for the sun, but also for the planet Venus, the last star to fade from the sky after sunrise. To me, it represents both my commitment to never give up on my home, and my hope that I can convince others to follow my example. Even with my powers, after all, I can only do so much by myself. The real change has to come from all of us together, and so I'll do the best I can to help light the way forward."

I paused again to allow more applause, this time sounding much more energetic. PR had insisted that I try writing my own answers to these questions, before completely redoing 90% of what I said in their own style. This bit was one of the few I'd been glad to have taken out of my hands, since I couldn't imagine writing stuff this cheesy on my own. Once the applause calmed, I gesture for the next reporter to speak.

"Jake Ross, Brockton Bulletin," he introduced himself. "Is it true that you stopped an armed robbery on the night of March 5th?"

"That's correct," I said, "though it wasn't something I went out looking for. New Wards aren't supposed to go on patrol until they've been sufficiently trained and formally introduced; I was just taking Shadow Stalker up on an offer to show me around the city's rooftops. When I heard the gunshot and the scream, well, I did what I hope anyone in my position would do. Fortunately, Shadow Stalker and I were able to resolve the matter without anyone getting seriously hurt."

"Except, I understand, for the assailants? Rumor has it that one of them might never have been able to eat solid food again, if not for Panacea's intervention." Jake spoke as if he was dropping some kind of surprise on me, but I'd been told to expect this too.

"I regret that I wasn't able to resolve the situation more peacefully," I said, "but I'm never going to put the safety of armed assailants above that of their victims. Both of those men had guns trained on innocents. Standing here now, I can easily think of a dozen different things I could have done better, but I won't apologize for doing the only thing I could think of in the moment to try to save lives. I can only promise that I'm training as hard as I can with the other Wards to make sure that such drastic measures aren't as necessary in the future."

From what I heard, the PR team believed that word would get out eventually about the incident, so they staged this little ambush to get out their own spin on the story. Some would think me irresponsible based on what I'd just admitted to, but most people in Brockton Bay would sympathize more with me than the man whose jaw I shattered. With the gangs running almost half the city, Broctonites tended to prefer a 'hard on crime' approach wherever possible.

The rest of the Q session went by in a blur. The reporters didn't seem to have any surprises in store for me, and I had no reason to go off script. This presentation was supposed to help me win back some respect from Piggot and the older heroes, and while I'd managed to get through the last two weeks without any more huge mistakes, I could still use all the extra brownie points I could get.

After answering another half-dozen questions without incident, I saw Deputy Director Renick subtly tap his wrist over the place where a watch would be. Time to move on.

"Thank you, everyone," I said, "those are all the questions I'll be answering today, but before we go, there's one last thing I've asked for the opportunity to say."

I took a deep, calming breath. This was the only part of my performance I'd added in completely by myself, without letting PR make any sort of change. It was also the only part I really cared about.

"I was only an infant when Legend first came out of the closet, with no idea how much that one simple act could change my world. Thanks to him, I grew up in a society where words like 'gay' and 'queer' were associated not with sickness or perversion, but with one of humanity's greatest heroes. I wasn't taught to hate people for being different, and so when I discovered that I too was different from most other girls, I never once thought to hate myself for it."

My heart was hammering, my throat felt dry, but at that moment fear was the furthest thing from my mind. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, because, in a way, I'd been planning this speech ever since I was nine years old.

"As I grew older, I always felt a sense of awe whenever another hero stepped up to follow Legend's example. These people relied on their anonymity in order to survive, and yet they were willing to expose such a personal part of themselves to the world so that people like me wouldn't have to feel alone. Today, I feel honored beyond measure to stand alongside the heroes of my childhood in this incredible tradition. My name is Daystar; I'm a cape by chance, a hero by choice, a servant of this city for as long as you will have me, and I'm gay. Thank you all for listening to me today; I promise I'll do my best to be the hero all of you deserve."

I handed the microphone back to the Deputy Director, and walked as gracefully as I could manage off the stage while the crowd erupted into its loudest applause yet. I barely managed to make it behind the screen before my limbs started quaking with released tension. I had done it. Lung, Sophia, all of the problems that normally hung over my head suddenly seemed so far away. I didn't know if my words would help someone else the way other heroes helped me, but it didn't matter. For the first time since I became a cape, for the first time in years, I'd done something that I could be totally, unreservedly proud of. If only my parents had been here to see me, it would have been perfect, but I took comfort in knowing how proud they would have been.

My vision was blurry with tears by the time I reached the lobby, so I was surprised when small swarm of colorful blurs seemed to come out of nowhere to wrap me in a sprawling group hug. Blinking the tears out of my eyes, I made out the familiar costumes of all the Wards save Shadow Stalker. They all had their masks on, but the small sniffles coming from Missy and Dennis suggested they'd been tearing up right along with me. Aegis floated in the air above the rest of them, the only way he could get close enough to wrap his arms around my shoulders.

The sight made me start crying twice as hard, but nothing in the world could have wiped the smile off my face.

"Patrol, this is Daystar with Wards Team Alpha. We've just reached checkpoint 3, and everything still seems clear."

Shadow Stalker's thoroughly bored-sounding voice crackled back at me from my helmet radio. "Roger, Daystar. You're clear to proceed to checkpoint 4."

I turned and nodded at Kid Win and Clockblocker, even though I knew they'd both heard her as well. It just seemed right.

"Thanks, console. Proceeding on main route to checkpoint 4."

Kid Win gestured for me to take the lead, testing whether or not I actually remembered the route we were supposed to follow. I'd gone over all the various patrol circuits from the Wards operational handbook, of course, but reading street names on a map was completely different from actually walking through the city at ground level. I took a few steps in what felt like the right direction, and when nobody stopped me, I kept moving.

The nearby streets were almost completely deserted at this hour of the night. The area mostly consisted of small businesses and parking space, without much call for anyone to stick around past 10:00PM or so. Now and then, I'd get to wave at a few pedestrians hurrying by, or a nod in the direction of a passing cop car, but other than that the whole area seemed dead quiet.

"So," I said, to break the silence, "does anyone else have to resist the urge to play secret service whenever they use the helmet radios?" In demonstration, I held two fingers up against the part of my helmet covering my ears. "I know they're voice activated, but it still doesn't feel quite right."

"Battery told me that it's actually part of the protocol, at least sometimes," Kid Win replied. "Even if it doesn't do anything, it's a clear sign to bystanders that you're speaking to someone. Keeps people from interrupting you."

"Yeah," Clockblocker added, "but then Assault said that it's only part of protocol because they couldn't stop people from doing it, so they just gave up and started claiming it was intentional."

The small talk continued as we went on with our patrol. I always enjoyed a chance to hang out with friends, but I was starting to feel disappointed with the lack of action. Miss Militia wanted my first patrol to be a gentle stroll down the Boardwalk, with zero chance of running into trouble, but I'd argued that I could handle a medium risk jaunt where I'd be of more use. Piggot, surprisingly, had agreed. Our team's current route didn't actually take us into gang territory, but we were rarely more than a block away from the border of the ABB's turf. I only felt a little bad for wishing that they would try to start trouble.

In between checkpoints 5 and 6, we all turned our heads at the sound of squealing tires coming from somewhere nearby, followed by angry shouting and the crystalline hiss of breaking glass. I had to restrain myself from shouting with joy and running after it.

Clockblocker, as today's patrol leader, immediately took charge. "Kid Win, get some altitude and scout ahead. Daystar, call it in, then get to a rooftop vantage point." His voice had lost all playfulness, but he didn't sound stressed, just serious.

Kid Win soared upwards on his hoverboard, while Clockblocker started moving towards the noise on-foot. I looked for the nearest building with a fire escape and started leaping up the floors.

"Console, this is Daystar. We've heard a disturbance to the east, and are now moving to investigate."

"Got it," Sophia said, sounding awake for the first time all night. "We've got an automatic alarm going off from a building in that area. BBPD are on their way, estimate two minutes from the nearest patrol car. Cape backup is ten minutes away if you need it."

I could hear Sophia's smile in that last bit, indicating how unlikely she felt that was.

Kid Win's voice came in over the radio. "I've got eyes on at least a dozen suspects wearing ABB colors, moving in and out of what looks like a restaurant. I'm seeing bludgeons, knives, and gas cans, but no firearms. No sign of any capes, either."

As I reached the top of the building, I heard Miss Militia reply. "Roger that, Alpha. You're clear to engage with minimal force, but I want you to retreat if any capes show up. The police will provide backup when they arrive." I hadn't even realized she was on duty tonight, but I supposed it made more sense than letting Sophia direct anyone in a fight.

I made my way to the far end of the building, and sure enough, a whole gaggle of ABB soldiers busied about getting ready to burn down a perfectly innocent pho restaurant. They didn't seem to be in much of a rush, even though they were about two blocks outside their normal territory. I could hear sirens in the distance slowly growing closer.

"Right," Clockblocker said, "Daystar, I want you to give me 30 seconds, then get down there and draw their attention. Make a dramatic entrance, tell 'em to surrender. When they don't listen, just do what you do best. Kid Win, you circle around the building from above, shoot anyone who tries to run. I'm willing to bet they won't start spreading all that gasoline around when they're pinned in the building. I'm going to move around back and lock down the rear exits."

"You're the best, Clock," I said, cracking my knuckles in anticipation.

"Better you take your frustrations out on them than on the base's furniture," he shot back, and I heard Kid Win snort with laughter. "I'm just about in position, Daystar, so take it away on your mark."

I stepped back from the edge of the rooftop to get a running start, then hurled myself off the building at top speed. In mid air, wrapped up in the brief rapture of freefall, I started channeling more and more essence into my fist. By the time gravity caught up to me, my sunburst symbol was already blazing on my forehead, and golden light streamed from my shoulders and arms like liquid flame.

"One dramatic entrance, coming ri-"

I hit the ground right in the middle of my mistimed quip, fist first. The gathered power exploded out from me, briefly turning night into day and illuminating the ABB thugs better than any magnesium flash. I didn't actually do much damage to the street, but it sure looked impressive.

"Attention, all would-be arsonists!" I yelled out in my best impression of Piggot's drill sergeant voice. "This is Daystar of the Wards speaking. Tonight's my first night out, so if you haven't heard of me yet, I'm a Brute, a Mover, and a combat Thinker, which means that taking you lot down is about as difficult for me as eating a light breakfast. If you surrender now, you can save yourselves some serious embarrassment."

They froze in place, but none of them moved to lower their weapons. I was just about to step up for a practical demonstration when I was suddenly struck by the worst pain I'd ever felt, like a rusty iron spike driven right into my skull. I stumbled and fell to one knee, unable to do more than groan in agony.

"Daystar!?" Clockblocker's voice was faint through the ringing that filled my ears. "Daystar's not responding. Kid Win, go back her up. Console, I'm calling for reinforcements. Something's not right here."

Through blurry eyes, I saw Kid Win glide over the restaurant's roof, before diving sharply to put himself between me and the ABB.

"Daystar, are you okay?" He asked, keeping both his pistols pointed at the gang members.

"Getting better," I groaned, "Just got hit by a sudden flash of pain, like the world's fastest migraine. It's fading now."

"Roger that, Clockblocker," Sophia said over the radio, "Armsmaster is en route, ETA seven minutes. BBPD should be at your location right about now."

Sure enough, no sooner had she finished speaking than a police cruiser roared around the corner, lights blazing, and came to a stop next to Kid Win and I. By the time I'd risen back to my feet, the two officers inside had climbed out and drawn their guns.

"Put your hands up!" One of them shouted. "Drop your weapons! Face against the wa-"

His speech gave way to an agonized scream, as another spike of pain stabbed itself into through my skull. I managed to keep my footing this time, while Kid Win dropped his pistols to clutch at his head. The screaming police officer fell to his knees, while his partner slumped back against the car, eyes rolling up in her head.

Steadying myself against the vehicle, I just barely managed to growl out words through gritted teeth. "Console, The ABB have a new cape on site. Migraine effect, possible Shaker. No visual."

"Acknowledged. Pull back with the BBPD and await reinforcements." Miss Militia's calm, steady voice helped me recover some of my wits. I reached over to the unconscious officer and tried to shake her back to awareness.

"Ma'am, can you hear me? We need to pull back. If you can't move on your own, I'm going to carry you. Do you understand?"

Her eyes snapped open after several shoves, though they still seemed dull, unfocused. She started climbing back to her feet, so I turned around to help steady Kid Win. It was only out of the corner of my eye that I noticed the officer raise her gun and fire off three quick shots...right at Kid Win.

I blurred into motion, diving in front of Kid Win and barely managing to catch all three bullets mid-air. Before she could fire again, I compressed essence into my limbs and exploded forward, moving and attacking at once in a single perfect motion. My newest technique let me cross the distance to her so fast that I left a deafening thunderclap in my wake, and I knocked the gun out of her hand before she could even blink, before sweeping her legs out from under her with a low kick. She fell back against the car once again with a heavy crash of impact, and this time she seemed truly out like a light.

In the restaurant, the ABB burst back into motion, smashing open cash registers and splashing gasoline to and fro. I could hear more sirens nearby, rapidly getting closer.

"Console!" I shouted, once I finally regained control of my voice. "the cape is a Master! I repeat, the unknown cape is a human-controlling Master! Get the cops away from here!"

I couldn't hold back a scream as I was suddenly struck by a third lance of pain. I collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Far away, I heard Miss Militia's voice telling me to stay calm, saying that help was on the way. I couldn't reply; I was too busy struggling not to pass out. Just in front of me, I saw Kid Win kneel down to pick up his energy pistols, before pointing them both at me. I couldn't see his eyes through his red tinted visor, but I knew that they utterly empty.

It took every last ounce of my concentration, but I managed to throw myself to the side just before he fired. A cascade of dark red energy bolts sparked and spat against the ground where I'd been an instant before. He started firing on my new position while I tried my best to kick back up to my feet. I was faster, but only just, and two of the bolts struck me in the leg, leaving half of the limb totally numb.

I ducked under the next barrage, and as I did so, grabbed an extendable baton off of the unconscious police officer's belt. I snapped it open and started using it to block Kid Win's continued fire, buying myself some time to think. If I was timing things right, I only had about 45 seconds until the next spike of pain hit me. If I hadn't dealt with Kid Win before then, I didn't think I'd be able to keep defending myself. I didn't want to hurt him, but I had no idea how long he would stay mastered. Maybe I could try to disarm him, or-

I felt something huge and heavy slam into me from behind, right before a sudden clap of thunder reached my ears. I spun around to see the other officer aiming his gun at me, body stiff and eyes dead. He'd hit me dead on, but my torso armor had caught the bullet. He fired a quick burst of three shots, but while I focused on deflecting them with the baton, a flurry of energy pistol shots hit me from behind. Whatever Kid Win's guns actually shot, my armor wasn't nearly as effective at blocking it. I staggered, feeling the numbness creeping up my back and towards my shoulders, and just barely managed to dodge the next few shots by dropping to the ground.

Despite my frantic dodging, I still had a sliver of my awareness free to notice another two police cruisers pull up from the other end of the street. I needed to warn them away before they got mastered too, but I couldn't catch my breath well enough to shout at them. Before I could figure out how to wave some kind of signal to them, I had to roll underneath the nearby police car to avoid further shots from the two Master victims. I popped back up to my feet on the other side, using the car as cover, and only then noticed that I'd left my baton behind.

It turned back to look at the newly arrived officers, waving my hands in a universal "go away!" motion, but I was too late. The two of them that had already climbed out of their car suddenly howled with pain in unison, one clutching at his head while the other just seemed to reel back. Neither of them looked like they were mastered yet, thank goodness. The part of my mind not fully occupied with surviving the next ten seconds noted that I hadn't felt any pain this time, nor apparently had the other two officers in the remaining car, some thirty feet away from their screaming colleagues. I couldn't see any sign of the enemy cape's location, but now I at least had some idea of the power's area of effect and timing.

Not that it did me a whole lot of good at the moment. A sudden hunch made me stand up from cover just in time to deflect both shots the mastered cop fired at the new arrivals, the bullets flattening against my steel-hard hands. I wasn't able to stop Kid Win's shots, which struck one of the agonized cops and made him collapse like a sack of potatoes, but at least I knew Chris's weapons were non-lethal.

When the mastered cop paused to reload, I took advantage of the opportunity, vaulting over the hood of the car and punching him square in the jaw. I didn't put my power into the strike, but it still seemed to knock him cold. I really didn't want to injure any of my mastered allies, but I couldn't afford to let him keep taking shots at people, especially since he'd been willing to shoot at people even less bulletproof than me.

Kid Win took the chance to fire at me again, so I ducked down and pulled open the cop car's door to block the shots. I cursed myself for not paying attention to Chris's rambling on his tinkertech, because I had no idea how long he could fire those pistols before he had to...reload? Recharge? For all I knew, he could keep doing this all week. I couldn't afford to just wait for him to run out, but he had me pinned in place.

I sent as much essence as I could surging into my muscles, trying to muster as much power as I could. I'd grown significantly stronger over the last couple weeks of training, but this was still more than I'd ever really tried. With a groan of effort, I pulled on the car door as hard as I could, straining against the limits of its sturdy hinges. My arms burned, and pain started seeping through the numbness on my back, but with one last surge of strength I was able to rip the door from its mounting.

I couldn't waste time trying to catch my breath. Holding the door in front of me like a shield, I charged at Kid Win. He continued to fire a steady stream of energy bolts at me, but they all sputtered and fizzled against my metal bulwark. He didn't even try to evade as I bull rushed into him, sending him sprawling backwards onto the ground. I watched him for a few seconds through the car door's cracked window, but he didn't seem to be getting up again.

I stood up, gasping for air, and turned to see the other cops aiming their guns at me from further down the street. They didn't look mastered, so why were they…?

I had to resist the urge to facepalm right then and there. They'd probably never heard of me before, and they just watched me lay out a cop with one punch and then smash a well-known teen hero with a car door. I dropped the door and raised my hands above my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the ABB soldiers rushing away from the restaurant and into the nearby back-alleys, but they'd stopped being the biggest problem here a while ago.

I tried to shout at the remaining cops. "Enemy master! Mind control! Get out of here!"

If they actually heard me, they still didn't lower their guns. A moment later, though, they all suddenly shifted their gazes to look somewhere above me. I looked up and turned around to see some kind of white blur moving through the night air, rapidly drawing closer. Reinforcements? It didn't look like Dauntless, and he was the only one on the Protectorate team who could fly, so who was…?

Glory Girl. Shit. I waved my arms above my head once again, trying to wave her off, but she just stopped to hover in mid-air above the restaurant. Before I could try shouting again, she let out a sudden shriek, and started falling out of the air like a stone. Shit, shit, shit!.

Behind me, one of the cops yelled out. "On your knees, villain! Hands behind your head!" Goddamnit, did they think I could knock people unconscious just by waving my arms at them? I mean, it wouldn't be the weirdest power I'd ever heard of, but...well, shit. I followed their instructions, but tried to turn back to face them as I did so.

"I'm a hero!" I yelled at them, finally regaining some decent volume. "They were mastered! The PRT is on the way, but you have to get out of here before-"

The rest of my words cut off as a freight train smashed into me from out of nowhere, driving me into the side of the increasingly damaged cop car. I hit one of the rear doors with enough force to crumple the metal and almost tip the whole vehicle over. The sensation was all too familiar. My vision had gone blurry again, but I could see just well enough to see the dead-eyed face of Victoria Dallon only a couple of feet from my own.

The part of me that was probably at least slightly concussed wanted to laugh. Seriously? Miss Alexandria Junior goes down after only one pain bomb? I threw a punch at her, but I was far too slow, and she dodged it with a casual tilt of her head. I hesitated for a second as I tried to blink the stars out of my eyes, and suddenly she had a grip on my forearm with both hands. I briefly wondered if she was planning to give me a nasty friction burn or something, before she snapped my forearm with no more effort than it takes to break a toothpick. The pain cut through the fog around my brain like a jagged knife, and I screamed.

I saw her pull back her arm for a second punch, but luck was one my side for once that night, because I passed out before I had to feel it hit.

EDIT: I would politely request that people keep to themselves any comments about Taylor's coming out being inappropriate or unnecessary. Such comments have so far displayed an unfortunate ignorance of LGBTQ issues, and almost inevitably stray towards topics of certain sensitivity to a portion of this fic's audience. I do not believe that there can be further productive debate on the topic, and so I request that people let the subject rest, as much as is possible.

To be blunt: going into a gay woman's fanfic thread and claiming that her portrayal of her gay female protagonist is inappropriate isn't likely to accomplish anything. You may be right, I may be wrong, but this thread is not an arena for the case to be debated.

A/N: Gotta start the new act off on a high note, right? Looks like Taylor's record of easy fights is broken, at least.

I'm excited for Act 2, where I get to pick up the pace a little and throw out even more of the typical canon progression. The next few chapters unfold quite a bit differently from what I'd originally planned, but I think the new battle plan will offer some smoother character development for Taylor and company. Plus, now that Taylor is officially part of the Wards, she doesn't have to pick fights with schoolyard bullies in order to find some satisfying fights.

My buffer is back more or less where it should be, which is a big relief for me. Once I've got all of Act 2 pre-written, I'm probably going to take a week or two for planning before I start buffering Act 3, in order to build off of any feedback I get from the next several chapters. Turns out that it's easier to write quickly when you've got a solid plan laid out, and less likely to make you rewrite a whole bunch of text that just doesn't work. Shocking, right? :p

Whatever else I can say about this experiment in fanfiction, it's been an excellent learning opportunity so far.

Next time, on Daystar!: Taylor's not dead! Yay! Armsmaster debriefs the wards on a potential new enemy. Taylor and Vicky both learn something about themselves.

Last edited: Oct 9, 2019

754

WinterWombat

Sep 26, 2019

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WinterWombat

Word Nerd

Oct 3, 2019

#1,163

March 21st (but just barely)

I wasn't in pain when I woke up, which meant that I had to be dead. Honestly, it was a relief. I probably should have felt disappointed that I'd never get to exact my vengeance on Lung, but at least I hadn't given up. I could rest in peace knowing that I had gone out fighting my hardest. I was even getting close to winning, before that bitch Glory Girl showed up.

No sooner did I think her name than the image of her face seemed to materialize in front of me, wavering like the reflection in a pool of water. I didn't have to think about my response. I just punched her, with all the force I could muster, and was rewarded with a surprising realistic-sounding shriek of fear and surprise.

"What the fuck!?" The image cried out, even as it retreated back into the darkness.

"Goddamnit, Vicky," another voice groaned from behind me. Panacea? "I told you not to get too close to her when she could wake up any second."

"Who the hell just tries to punch you in the face as soon as they wake up?"

Why were the Dallon sisters having an argument in my afterlife? Was Sartre right, that hell was other people? These two other people specifically? It was surprisingly easy to believe.

"Someone whose last conscious memory involved you crushing six of her ribs to powder, maybe?" Panacea didn't sound angry, just tired. I couldn't blame her. Being trapped forever with no one but her sister for company was probably extra-special hellish for her.

"You're good people, Amy," I heard myself mutter. "You don't deserve to be dead like I am. You're too cute to be in hell."

"You're not dead, Daystar," she said, and my eyes suddenly snapped wide open. I was lying on a cot in the PRT's medical center. Someone had stripped me out of my costume, and I felt the familiar shape of a generic domino mask resting on my face. The privacy curtain was almost fully pulled out, but through the opening behind Panacea I could see a couple of nurses going over paperwork. That was when I noticed that, as tired as she looked, Panacea was definitely blushing, at least a little bit. She was probably embarrassed at her sister's actions.

"What happened?" I asked, before noticing Vicky standing in the corner, looking at me like she expected me to tear her throat out any moment. I considered it, but decided that the IV in my forearm would probably get in my way. Besides, from the amount of dark red-brown stains on her white and gold costume, she probably wasn't having the greatest night either.

Wait, shit, that was probably my blood, wasn't it?

Panacea rolled her eyes. "Vicky saw you in the middle of what looked like a cape fight, swooped in to help, got mastered, and then inflicted a number of horrific injuries on you before she snapped out of it. Then the PRT called me in so you wouldn't have to spend the next few weeks in traction. I've repaired all the damage, but you've still got a mild concussion that you're just going to have to ride out. "

I felt a sudden spike of panic. "What about Kid Win and Clockblocker? The police? Are they okay?"

"They're fine," she replied, "barely even scratched compared to you. Kid Win might have a nasty headache for the rest of the night, but that's all. They found Clockblocker knocked out behind the restaurant, thankfully not close enough to be burned when it went up. He woke up about 15 minutes ago, doesn't remember what happened. No injuries, though."

"Thank goodness," I said, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Listen, Daystar," I heard Vicky say. I glared at her, and felt some small satisfaction at seeing her flinch backwards.

When I didn't say anything more, though, she continued. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I can't actually remember hurting you, but I still feel bad about it. Ames already chewed me out over jumping into fights without looking first, and Mom's probably going to do the same when I get home, but I understand if you want to yell at me too."

I drew in a deep breath, ready to do just that, but when I didn't feel the expected sting of pain from my ribs I just let it slip out as a sigh. No pain meant no excuse for acting like an asshole.

"Apology reluctantly accepted," I said, before covering my masked face with both hands. "I'll probably forgive you, just don't expect me to be capable of it right this moment. Maybe we can talk about it at a better time?"

Honestly, that sounded like yet another kind of hell to me, but it was what Ideal Ward Daystar would do, so I forced myself to say the words. I'd need to forgive her eventually, but that didn't help me feel any better in the moment. I'd been talking to Dennis a few days ago, and he'd said that carrying a grudge was a lot like licking a flagpole during the winter; we all knew better, but some of us always feel compelled to do it anyways, and once you're stuck you know that getting free is really going to hurt. It was good advice. I knew that holding this against Vicky would be pointless, but that didn't stop me from still wanting to lick her.

Wait, no, bad brain! That wasn't what I meant! Not that she wasn't cute, honestly she was hot as hell, like damn, was having part of her power just having perfect cheekbones, or lips that made me just want to...blame my concussion for my lack of mental filter. I had to make sure I didn't start speaking out loud and accidentally start talking about how wonderful it would feel to run my hands through her silky blonde hair, or...

Panacea spoke up, pulling me back to reality. "Vicky, can you step outside for a bit? I've got some doctor-patient stuff to discuss before we can leave."

"Sure thing, Ames," she said, and gave me another apologetic look before stepping out and drawing the curtain closed behind her. That done, she turned around and gave me a sunny grin, a dozen times brighter and more earnest than her typical sardonic smile. It looked good on her.

"So, Taylor" she said, leaning closer like she was about to share some juicy bit of gossip. "Did you know that you're immortal?"

I stared up at her, aware that she had spoken, but unable to actually parse what she said. She was leaning in really close, and her face was more than a little distracting. It was a couple of seconds before I could gather enough presence of mind to form a reply.

"Who is this Daylor person you speak of? I am the mighty hero Taystar!"

Did I get that right? I felt like I got it right.

Panacea sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, slow version. Yes, I know that you're Taylor Hebert. I had to take your helmet off to check your pupils for concussion, and besides that, my power let me sense the shape of your face the instant I touched you. There's a lot about you now that makes much more sense in retrospect. You don't need to worry; I get this info from every cape I've ever healed, and I've never betrayed their identities before. Oh, and no, I didn't tell Vicky, although I think you probably should."

I blinked at her for several seconds, resisting the urge to just un-focus and let my mind idly draw constellations with the freckles on her face. Instead, I mustered just enough brain power for another characteristically brilliant reply.

"Wait, what do you mean, immortal?"

Panacea visibly brightened up again, and I couldn't tell if it was just the concussion that was making me focus on how cute it made her look. I was pretty sure that, at the very least, the halo of light I saw around her head wasn't really there.

"Well,I think so. Maybe?" she said. "It's fascinating. When I touch someone, I can sense basically everything about their biology. On that level, you're basically the same as any other human, aside from being the most perfectly healthy and fit person I've ever met. I can look at your cells as they divide, though, and actually see your power at work, snuffing out mutations and repairing telomeres with every split."

"I see…" I said, understanding exactly nothing.

"In layman's terms," she continued, "it's fixing the parts of your cells that normally degrade over time. Likewise, I can see your enhanced healing repairing the minor wear and tear your joints normally suffer just through normal use, patching up the cartilage and reinforcing bone, even keeping your teeth coated in a fresh layer of enamel. You still have some maturing to do until you're biologically an 'adult,' but if your power keeps working the way it is right now, you'll never actually age beyond your prime."

"That sounds...pretty cool?" I said, unable to stop myself from matching her grin. "I mean, there's no way I'm fully processing this all right now, I but I don't mind the sound of never having to worry about wrinkles or gray hair. I guess I'd just assumed that my power had finally run out of curveballs to throw at me."

"Try not to be too surprised if it has a few more saved up," Panacea said. "Every parahuman's Corona Gemma looks different, and yours has basically burrowed its way into every corner of your brain, suggesting a highly complex and broad-based power. My own power can't affect brains, but it can still see them, and I feel like I could just lose myself for hours examining yours."

"So...you're saying that I have a nice-looking brain?" I asked, only to blush when I realized how I sounded.

"Yeah?" Panacea replied, blushing herself in what had to be second-hand embarrassment. "This probably sounds kinda weird, but would you mind letting me examine you while you're experimenting with your power? I'll do my best not to be intrusive; all it takes is a touch."

"Sure," I said, "but maybe later? Right now doesn't seem like a good time for touching. Er, not touching, power experimenting. Touching is fine? For medical reasons!"

I forced my jaw closed, face burning, and stared down at my hands. Smooth, Taylor.

"...I should probably let you rest," Panacea said, turning rather abruptly to leave. I couldn't blame her.

"Th-thanks," I barely managed to say. "For the healing, I mean. It was nice. Of you."

"Just doing my job?" She said, somehow making it sound like a question. I held my tongue until she left, then tried to smother myself with my pillow. What. The. Hell. Was that??? I came out of the closet to the entire city without a problem, but my tongue gets tied in knots trying to talk to one cute doctor? Healer? Is she just my type? Did I have a type now?

I groaned out my frustrations, cursing the very concept of adorable freckles. I didn't even know if I liked Amy as a person. We never talked in school, and the few times I'd heard her say anything, she'd come across as kind of an asshole. Not Sophia-level or anything, just almost like she was trying to be unlikeable. Her sister seemed like her only real friend, and I couldn't even begin to describe what Vicky and I were to each other right now.

Besides, it wasn't like she was the only one I fell apart in front of these days. Arcadia had no shortage of pretty girls for me to get tongue-tied around. Thea and Arthur always just laughed, but I got the sense that Jess was starting to get tired of it, what with how she always had her head turned away from me until I could compose myself.

When none of the nurses came to talk to me, I eventually just removed my IV myself, stuck a bandage over it like I'd learned in first aid class, and got changed into the fresh clothes someone had left by my bedside. My phone told me that it was currently 1:30AM, and being knocked unconscious is nowhere near as restful as actual sleep. I needed to go to bed.

...right after I ate a slice of leftover cake from my welcome party, and put some thought into just how I was going to brag to Sophia about being immortal.

Almost as soon as I woke up the next morning, Armsmaster pulled me into a debriefing. He'd set up a whiteboard in the Wards HQ unofficial meeting room, with columns labelled 'powers,' 'limitations,' and 'countermeasures.' After a few minutes, Dennis and Chris walked in as well, alongside Glory Girl, all dressed in their school clothes. She startled when she saw me, and I realized that I hadn't bothered to put on a mask.

"Surprise?" I said, shrugging. After a second of staring, Glory Girl just sighed and floated over to an empty seat. At least now I didn't need to worry about when to unmask to her.

"Now that everyone's here," Armsmaster said, "we can begin. First, I want to apologize for pulling all of you out of your morning classes today. I felt it was important to get this information from you as soon as possible."

"I'll live," Dennis smirked, at the same time as I exclaimed "Shit! School!"

Armsmaster gave me a brief glare, but I could tell there wasn't any heat in it. "You're not going in today, Daystar. Even after being healed by Panacea, Miss Militia and I agreed that it would be better for you to rest after experiencing such trauma. After this meeting, I expect you to take the rest of the day to recuperate."

I nodded, and he continued. "We're here to find out whatever we can about the ABB's suspected new cape, who we have assigned the provisional code name of 'Megrim.' I spent most of the night examining the situation with Dragon and a PRT investigation team, but I'd like to get your initial impressions before I share any of what they've said."

When no one else spoke up, I started. "I think I was the first one on the scene affected by his power. It felt like an hour of the worst headache I ever had, compressed into a few seconds. It left my vision blurry, too, and made it hard for me to speak."

Armsmaster nodded, and wrote down 'Inflicts intense cranial pain' under Powers, and then added 'migraine-like symptoms' indented below it.

Kid Win also nodded. "Yeah, pretty much what Tay-, er, Daystar said. The first hit reminded me of that one week I tried to give up on caffeine, just hitting all at once. The second knocked me out so fast I barely remember it."

"I barely even remember it," Dennis added. "Just this sudden stab of pain, and then I'm opening my eyes in the medical center."

Glory Girl looked down at the table and grumbled "yeah, same," in a barely audible voice. She more nervous than I'd ever seen her.

"I was hit three times total," I said, "first on my own, then alongside Kid Win and the two closest police officers. The third spike seemed to hit Kid Win and I, but had no effect on the officer who had already been mastered. The fourth spike I observed hit another pair of cops, but didn't seem to affect myself, nor the other pair of cops some 30 feet away from the apparent targets. The last one I saw only seemed to hit Glory Girl. Each came roughly a minute after the last."

Armsmaster shook his head. "Your timing is slightly off. Recordings show the gap as being closer to 30 seconds, varying by as much as ten seconds on either side. Furthermore, in between the first and second attack you experienced, Megrim used their power to incapacitate Clockblocker.

Armsmaster wrote 'Radius ~12-25 feet," 'Range 100 feet,' and 'Recharge ~20-40 seconds' under limitations. He then turned back to me.

"Daystar, why do you think that you were able to withstand three hits without falling under the Master effect?"

I took a second to think on it before speaking. "Honestly, I think I've been assuming it's just pain tolerance. Kid Win and the cops all looked just like people who had fainted from pain, at least until they started shooting at me. I'm used to dealing with intense pain, but I suspect I would have fainted after another spike, maybe two. The pain from a single spike only lasted a few seconds, but it left my head feeling...sore, somehow, or maybe just sensitized. Each new spike hurt worse than the last."

"That makes sense," Kid Win said. "I felt like I was going to black out after the first spike, but I just barely held on until the second one hit, and it felt ten times worse."

"What about Clockblocker?" I asked. "You mentioned he was knocked out too; was he also mastered?"

"Uncertain," Armsmaster replied, while Dennis gave me an apologetic shrug. "He became non-responsive, standing in place for two minutes and eighteen seconds before collapsing to the ground."

Armsmaster kept adding to the whiteboard as we continued talking, bringing up the way that people had acted when mastered, how effectively they fought, and what it took to stop them. I had the most to add, mostly by virtue of being the only one conscious for most of the fight. I was surprised to hear Glory Girl say that she'd woken up on her own. The cops told her that, after a couple minutes of half-heartedly trying to beat me to a pulp, she'd simply fallen unconscious mid-punch. She came to about fifteen minutes after that with a wicked headache but no lingering Master effects.

After some more back and forth, Armsmaster gestured for our attention at pointed at the still empty Countermeasures column. "Keeping all this in mind," he said, "can you think of any ways to counter this power?"

"Sure," Dennis said, "A full bottle of extra-strength ibuprofen gel caps. Each." I chuckled, but Armsmaster just wrote down 'pharmaceutical anti-migraine aids.'

"We'll have to be careful not to rely on compounds that impact health and effectiveness," he said, as if he didn't even realize Dennis had meant to make a joke, "but some kind of painkiller could potentially increase our ability to resist. Good idea, Clockblocker. Anyone else?"

"Aegis," I suggested. "He told me once that his power gives him almost massive pain resistance. Megrim might not even bother him."

"I was thinking the same thing," Armsmaster said, writing it down.

"Just punch him," Glory Girl said. I snorted out a laugh, but Armsmaster gestured for me to be quiet.

"Nobody actually saw him during the fight," she continued, "well, him or her, but whatever. If Megrim needs to hide away, that probably means he feels vulnerable to an ordinary fist in the face. If we could figure out where he's hiding, I could go from all the way out of his range to right in his face in half the time it takes him to recharge his power. As long as someone can track him down, that's checkmate."

I was reminded that Glory Girl had been in the hero business for years by this point. She might be reckless, but she wasn't inexperienced.

"I concur," Armsmaster said, "which is why Dragon and I have made a tracking solution our #1 priority. We don't know whether Megrim has a Stranger power on top of the Shaker/Master combination, an extremely long range, or if they were simply disguised as one of the non-powered ABB members at the site. We won't be able to know for sure without more data."

Dennis and Chris both brought out their phones to take a snapshot of the whiteboard, so I followed their example. Couldn't hurt to have the reference for later.

"In the meantime," Armsmaster continued, "I'm giving all Wards a standing order to retreat as soon as you believe Megrim is active in your vicinity. Daystar, you and Aegis are best equipped to resist Megrim's power, so I'm making you responsible for evacuating any teammates who become incapacitated, or subduing them if absolutely necessary. I'll send you all the official directive sometime later today."

He turned to face Glory Girl. "Miss Dallon, I want to thank you on behalf of the Protectorate for volunteering to assist with today's debriefing. You can tell the rest of New Wave that we will gladly share any further information we discover concerning Megrim, and we would appreciate it if you did the same. For now, though, you and the Wards are dismissed."

While the others left, I stayed behind to talk with Armsmaster.

"This isn't just business as usual, is it?" I asked. I didn't want to show it in front of Glory Girl, but I still felt rattled from last night.

Armsmaster seemed to consider that for a bit before speaking. "Yes and no. We try to keep the Wards out of cape fights whenever we can, but it's always a possibility whenever you go out on patrol. It's rare that we're caught off-guard this completely, though. You handled yourself as well as could be expected."

"Thanks," I said, "but that's not really what I meant. People almost died last night. I feel like several of those cops are only alive because I happened to have exactly the right power to stop them from getting shot. I know that cape fights are violent, but I thought things didn't usually get lethal?"

"That," Armsmaster sighed, "is a more complicated question. The unwritten rules caution against escalating to deadly force, but some powers don't really offer any less-lethal options. We don't know how much control Megrim has over their victims, whether they're under the Master's direct control, or just automatically acting to hurt their allies. Last night was out of the ordinary, but not so much so that we can justify bringing the full force of the protectorate down on the ABB. I can at least say that Megrim has jumped to the top of my personal priority list, and Director Piggot seems to agree."

I nodded, even if I didn't feel much relieved. This Megrim seemed like a terrifying cape to have on the loose. I'd gotten hurt plenty since getting my powers, but I hadn't felt this vulnerable before. Even Hookwoolf had a face I could punch. It wasn't the pain I feared, but not knowing how to fight back.

I headed back to my room, trying to shake off the worry I felt, only to find that Glory Girl had beat me there. She was leaning against the wall next to my door, and looked nervous about something. She glanced up as I approached, but didn't meet my eyes.

"Hey, uh, Taylor," she said, fidgeting slightly. "Or Daystar? Sorry, but what should I call you here?"

I shrugged. "No mask at the moment, so Taylor, I guess. What are you doing here, Glory Girl?"

She shook her head. "Please, just Vicky. I'm here because I want to apologize."

"You already did that last night," I replied, "and in case you forgot, I accepted. You don't need to keep chasing after me to say sorry. It's done, we're good."

"No," she said, "I mean, I want to apologize for two weeks ago, blowing up at you like I did. It was a mistake. I wouldn't have done anything like that if I knew you were another hero like me."

I stiffened. Vicky seemed to have a knack for saying something stupid right when I was starting to let my guard down.

"Whatever," I said, forcing the word out through clenched teeth. "Good talk. You can leave now." I didn't want to get into an argument with her, but I was still too pissed off for any kind of diplomatic response.

Vicky looked shocked for a second, before her expression shifted to anger. She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes at me, switching from contrite to confrontational in an instant. "What, that isn't good enough for you? Yeah, I fucked up, okay? That doesn't mean you get to hold it over me forever. Like I said, I'm sorry; I wouldn't have gotten up in your face if I knew you were a hero. Did you want me to announce it to the entire school or something? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that'd be a problem for your 'secret identity.'"

She actually made little bunny-ear quotes with her hands. It would have been cute, if it wasn't so infuriating.

"That's all?" I asked, hands clenched into fists at my sides. "You're only sorry because you found out I'm a cape?"

"What are you trying to get at?" she shot back. "I was wrong, I apologized, now you're supposed to say 'no problem' so we can put this behind us and have fun punching bad guys together, okay?"

I glared at her. "I'm not sure we share the same definition of 'bad guys,' Vicky. Not if you think that attacking me would have been okay if I wasn't a hero like you."

"That's not what I said!" She growled back, voice just barely below a shout. "I just wanted to apologize! Why do you have to be like this!?"

"Because," I said, "If I wasn't a Brute, that little shove could have broken my ribs, cracked my skull, even damaged my spine! You didn't know I had powers, but you were willing to use yours on me anyway! I could have died thanks to you!"

I felt Glory Girl's aura wash over me again, the air suddenly turning thick with fear. It was easier to resist this time.

Her face contorted with anger. "That wouldn't have happened! Amy would have fixed you!"

For some reason, that comment pissed me off more than anything else up to that point. I struggled to find the words that could express how fed up with her I was, and found my social insight power rising up into my awareness, awaiting only a brief moment of concentration. It felt different this time, though, curiosity replaced with anger and spite. Perfect, in other words I drew on the power, not even paying attention to the specific insights it provided, just letting it guide my words.

"And that would make it all better? Panacea fixes my broken, bleeding body, and suddenly it's like you never committed a crime at all? Seems like a convenient way to get away with attempted murder. More fitting for a villain than a hero."

"It's not like that!," she yelled back at me, loud enough that it must have carried into the common room. "Stop twisting my words like-"

I wasn't done speaking. "I bet that wasn't the first time," I whispered, and Glory Girl stopped cold. "How many people has Panacea brought back to life, just to keep you from becoming a killer? A dozen? More? What does your body count look like, Gory Girl?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," she hissed at me. "I'm a hero! Heroes don't kill!" Her hands were shaking, and her eyes looked wide with fear. I'd hit on something.

"No?" I asked, letting myself chuckle just a little. "Maybe nobody's dead, not yet, but how long do you think it will last? How many more broken bodies before even Perfect Panacea starts to resent you, even hate you for making her shoulder the burden of your murderous rage?"

Glory Girl looked like she might panic at any moment. "You're wrong! Amy's my sister! She loves me!"

I smiled. One last push. "Of course she does, Vicky. That's why you always just assume that she'll clean up after you, out of love. I mean, it's not like she stays so close because she's worried that, the next time you snap, she won't be there to save your latest victim. I wonder, once you get sent to the Birdcage, will she feel responsible for failing to stop you, or will she just feel relieved? Maybe by that point she'll be too broken to care. Will you finally begin to feel guilty, Glory Girl, once you've managed to hurt the only person on earth that your sister can't heal?"

I saw a half dozen different emotions war with each other on her face, before she flew past me without any warning, making for the exit. As soon as the pull of her aura vanished, I suddenly felt very, very tired. I made my way to the washroom to splash water on my face, but ended up just staring at my own reflection, remembering Sophia's words from a few weeks ago.

"I bet Ems would really like the new you."

Yeah, she probably would.

AN: Whew, looks like everything turned out fine after all.

Taylor, it seems, has learned the new charm "Resplendent Tattletale Methodology." It's a great ability for making friends. Making them into enemies, at least.

Not super happy with the debriefing portion of the chapter, so I decided to just keep it short. This won't be the last we see of Megrim, obviously, but the mystery will have to wait for a few more chapters.

Next time, on Daystar!: More training with Armsmaster! Taylor discovers a hobby that doesn't involve hurting people, and makes a peace offering to Glory Girl! Plus, shocking revelations from the Dallon family!

951

WinterWombat

Oct 3, 2019

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WinterWombat

Word Nerd

Oct 10, 2019

#1,315

March 22nd, 2011

"I've decided to postpone today's metallurgy training unit, possibly indefinitely."

Colin spoke with all the emotion of someone reading their grocery list out loud, but it was still music to my ears. The last two weeks I'd spent focusing almost exclusively on Tinker training had been enlightening, in that they had demonstrated that my super-learning powers were not unlimited. For the first time since I got my powers, I well and truly struggled with picking up a new skill. It felt strange to suddenly have to study instead of just remembering everything effortlessly, or having to repeat the same basic task dozens of times before getting right. Of course, it didn't help that Colin was a terrible teacher. He'd been impatient, easily frustrated whenever I made a mistake, and borderline rude whenever I had to ask him to explain something in more detail. He was a solid instructor when it came to combat training, but here in his workshop he was usually just an ass.

"Instead," he continued, "I'd like to use today's training time on further experimenting with your most recent sub-power."

By which he meant the repair-stuff power I'd figured out just before my debut as a cape. I hadn't told anyone about my social influence power, and I definitely wasn't telling anyone about the nasty new use I'd found for it.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "That sounds like it's more for your benefit than mine," I said. "I thought the Director made it pretty clear that power testing has to come out of my Wards work hours, not my personal training time."

I knew I came across as more than a little accusatory, but Colin always seemed to respond better when I just said whatever I was thinking, however blunt it might be.

Case in point, he nodded at me as if he'd expected exactly that reaction. "You are correct. Unfortunately, your Wards time for the next two weeks is almost entirely spoken for, and I would prefer not to delay my inquiries. I offer a compromise: Assist me with today's tests, and agree to a second testing session with Dragon and I this Thursday, and in return we can spend the last hour of today's session planning out your training schedule for the next two months.

I tried not to let my excitement show. Colin clearly wanted this a great deal if he was willing to negotiate over it, which made this an excellent opportunity. If he thought I would cave easily at the first sight of something I wanted, he'd forgotten that he was dealing with the daughter of a union rep.

I adopted a pensive expression. "You say 'we,' but what does that actually mean? Do you plan on letting me make any actual choices?"

Colin smiled. "I've prepared a list of potential instruction modules, based on available time, personnel, and training materials. I'm prepared to let you pick whatever options you like within your budget, but I retain the right to veto any proposed schedule I find unsatisfactory."

I nodded, and tried to keep my reply sounding casual. "Alright, but what makes a schedule 'satisfactory' in your eyes?" It was old advice my father had often given me: Accepting an undefined cost or commitment is like writing the other guy a blank cheque. Never assume your idea of reasonable matches theirs.

"I would require you select of broad range of options," Colin said, "striking a balance between enhancing your current strengths and exploring new areas of potential training."

"So," I said, "you'll approve any schedule I give you that meets those requirements, even if it doesn't include any Tinker-based classes?"

Colin grimaced. "Taylor, I'm sure you understand that Tinker abilities would be an invaluable addition to your present skillset, especially given the potential for Tinker collaboration within the team."

"I do," I replied, "but that wasn't the question I asked."

Colin crossed his arms in exasperation. "Yes, fine, I won't force you to take technology-based courses, even if I think you're making a mistake in not doing so."

"I'm not swearing off tech stuff forever," I said, "I just want a change of pace right now." It was a concession that cost me nothing to offer, and besides, I kinda felt bad for the guy.

He gave me another exasperated huff, but still nodded his assent. "Then we have an agreement. Come with me."

He led me over to another corner of his workshop, where one of the smaller workbenches had been cleared of almost all its tools and other clutter. In the center sat an odd-looking device about the size of a pack of playing cards. Part of the casing had already been removed, and I could see what looked like a coil of thin wire in the midst of a jungle of other electronic components.

Colin gestured to the desk. "Fix this."

I stepped up to the bench and picked the thing up, getting a feel for its weight and balance. "What is it?" I asked, without taking my eyes off the device.

"Do you need to know that to fix it?" Colin asked in reply.

"Well, no," I admitted.

"Then I'd prefer to keep that information until after you've made at least a few attempts."

I tossed the device up in the air a couple times, just to see how it spun. Something about it seemed off in a way I couldn't quite articulate.

"Do you mind if I take it apart?"

Colin frowned. "Do you need to?"

"No," I said, "but it helps me get in the right mindset."

He shrugged. "Very well, go ahead."

I grabbed a tiny screwdriver from elsewhere on the table and started doing my best to unravel the gleaming little mystery I held. Most of the components seemed to be welded together, or sealed by some other method I couldn't determine, but I still managed to get a few pieces loose. I turned them over and over, tossed them from hand to hand, tried swapping them with other pieces, and generally played around with the thing like it was my own personal lego set.

I couldn't make heads or tails of anything I was seeing, of course, but that's not why I was doing any of this. While my hands fiddled with the parts, I let my mind wander, meditating on ideas of interconnectedness, building and breaking, and the nature of change. While I meditated, I released a steady trickle of my essence, allowing it to flow through my hands and into the device I held. After several minutes of this, something in my mind seemed to click into place, and a small act of will set my power into motion.

The device glowed gold, then white, with light that somehow never blinded even as it turned the machine into a luminous silhouette. When the light cleared, the device was...different. It was hard to tell how, except that the casing had lost all of its minor scratches and dings. At the same time, I sagged with sudden fatigue, feeling the roaring fire of my essence diminish significantly in strength. I almost staggered into Colin before I caught myself. My repair technique was always more difficult to use than my more familiar powers, but it had never drained me this badly before.

I picked the device up and handed it to Colin. He took it from me with a solemn expression, popped part of the case off, examined some of the internals, and then replaced it.

"I'll need a more thorough examination to be sure," he said, "but I believe you've successfully repaired it. Well done."

"Okay," I said, "but what the heck was it, why did you want me to fix it, and why did it leave me feeling like I've just done a full hour on the track?"

"Well, in order," he said, face breaking into an earnest grin, "It's tinkertech, it's tinkertech, and, I suspect, because it's tinkertech. An older iteration of my grappling hook device, to be precise."

"Oh," I said, right before I realized the implications. "Oh wow. That's a pretty big deal, yeah?"

I'd once asked Chris why Tinkers didn't just crank out tech for the entire Protectorate, and he'd told me it was because tinkertech broke down all the time, and only Tinkers could repair or maintain it.

"Yes, Taylor," Colin said, with as much warmth as I've ever heard in his voice. "It is, indeed, a big deal. Now, do you need some rest before we move on to something a bit more complicated?"

"Just another minute or two," I replied. Chris was going to flip his lid when I told him about this!

I ran out of energy at about the same time that Colin ran out of devices to test. It turned out that the first device had been rather light as tinkertech went, a product of mostly mundane engineering with a few black-box tinker technologies thrown in. Each new piece of tech drained me more than the last, and we eventually ran into pieces that I couldn't repair even if I waited for my power to return to full strength. Still, being able to repair only some tinkertech was better than any non-tinker had managed, so I felt pretty good about myself.

Now, I was sitting at Colin's lunch-break table, which is to say, a totally normal workbench, distinct from all the others only in that he never used it to work with toxic materials. One hand held a tablet PC, the other a surprisingly decent cup of tea he'd produced from a machine the size of a tennis ball. Colin, meanwhile, sipped at a cup of coffee while typing furiously at his own terminal.

"You know," I said, "I actually agree with most of what you've got here as a suggested schedule. I especially like the combat training rotation you came up with. I can't say I'm happy with the public speaking segment and PR segment, but it's probably not a terrible idea. That said, I'd prefer to replace the units for chemical engineering, automotive mechanics, carpentry, and...scrimshaw? Really?"

"It was just an experiment," Colin replied, without pausing his typing. "You've already demonstrated that your power can enhance your own biology. I wanted to see if you might experience better results working with organic materials."

"That's...huh, okay," I said, "We can put a pin in that for later. For now, I'd like to add in some more advanced medical training courses, maybe move closer to paramedic territory. I don't know if I can get certified on the basis of 'I just learned it with my power,' though."

"Not a bad idea," Colin said "Panacea has a medical license. We can work something out for you if it comes up."

"Fair enough," I said. "Next, I was talking to Sophia about, well, fighting stuff, and something she said gave me an idea I want to try out."

Colin shook his head without looking at me. "No. Out of the question. I invoke my power of veto."

I was taking a long sip of my tea when he spoke, and I almost spat it all across his workshop. "That's…you're joking, right?"

"Only mostly," he said, and I sighed. I was pretty sure Colin could make a living as a comedian if he wanted to, but one of those weird, avant-garde types, not the kind that actually made you laugh.

"Well, jokes aside, I want to try out archery for at least a month. Having ranged options could really open up my combat potential, and tranquilizer arrowheads like the ones Shadow Stalker uses would make for an easy non-lethal options. Since I'm a Brute, I figure I can get better range and versatility out of a compound bow compared to a crossbow, assuming we can find one strong enough."

"Very sensible," he said. "I'll make it happen."

"Thanks," I said. "Now, I'm not complaining about this one, but why did you want to devote several hours per week to music?"

Colin grunted. "Personal enrichment. Ticks a box for the youth guard, after they decided that martial arts practice counted as combat training rather than a hobby. You can get rid of it, but you'll have to replace it with something else."

"No," I said, "I think I'd really like to learn more about music."

"Mark it on the list, then," Colin said, "and put some thought it what sort of instrument or theory you want to study."

"I already know just the thing," I said, smiling. Charlie, my caseworker, had told me just the other day that all my possessions from my old house had been moved into a storage locker downtown. At the time, I'd only seen it as a chance to lose myself in painful memories, but I'd forgotten my new ability to repair just about anything I could touch. I'd worked on the technique mostly to please Colin, but now it gave me the most wonderful idea.

"I won't even have to buy the instrument."

March 23rd

I was on my way to my third period class when Dean grabbed me by my shirt collar and dragged me into an empty classroom. Closing the door behind him, he fixed me with a serious-looking glare.

"Taylor, what the hell did you do to Vicky?"

I rolled my eyes, mostly to conceal the sinking sense of dread I felt. "Dean, is this really the best place for discussing our 'extracurricular activities?' You don't think this can wait until we're back at the 'clubhouse?'"

Dean's gaze didn't waver. "No, we're going to talk about it right here. Now tell me, what the hell did you do?"

I swallowed nervously. Dean looked calm enough, but I realized I'd never actually seen him angry before.

"Okay," I said, "maybe I overreacted a bit. She'd just given me a bullshit non-apology, and I wanted to tell her to fuck off in no uncertain terms."

"Overreacted? Taylor, Vicky flew home as soon as she finished talking to you, and she hasn't come out of her room since. She's not talking to anyone, not accepting food. I'm scared for her."

"Shit," I said, before I could stop myself. "That's...I didn't want to do THAT to her. I'm sorry, Dean."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," he said, "and that's not even the start of it. Just what the hell did you say to her to make her break down like this?"

I started pacing back and forth between the empty desks, trying to bleed off some of my nervousness.

"Okay," I finally said, "so, after the debriefing, I found Vicky waiting at my door, wanting to apologize for that incident that got her suspended. The thing is, she said she was sorry because I was a hero, not because what she did was wrong in itself."

Dean let his face sink into his cupped hands. "C'mon, Vicky…" he whispered, before turning back to me. "You're not off the hook yet, Taylor. Keep going."

"Well, that kinda pissed me off, which I think is pretty understandable." I was hoping for sympathy, but Dean's face could have given Mount Rushmore lessons in being stony, so I just kept going. "I tried to tell her why it made me so angry, but she just started getting angry right back at me, which didn't exactly calm me down. I yelled that she could have killed me, she yelled that no, Panacea would have fixed me, and I kinda…"

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"...implied that she's been using her sister to cover up a bunch of times where Vicky's almost killed people because she couldn't control her power?"

Dean went pale. "Well, fuck…" he said, probably just to himself. It was the first time I'd ever heard him swear.

"I may also have suggested that she was taking advantage of her sister's love and slowly destroying her emotionally…"

Dean's jaw dropped.

"...and that she was going to get them both sent to the Birdcage, where Amy would hate her forever, or even worse, wouldn't."

Dean looked like he was about to fall down. "You wanted to hurt her as much as you could," he said.

"Yeah," I replied, "I did. I'm not proud of it, but I was angry, and I was just coming off of a really bad day."

"Well, good job, Taylor," he said, sounding like he couldn't decide between expressing grief or scorn. "I don't know if I could have come up with something worse than that myself, and I'm her boyfriend, with a literal superpower that lets me see her emotions. What the hell were you thinking?"

"That she almost killed me, remember?" I said, feeling some steel slide back into my spine. "For all I know, I might have been right about any of that stuff I said! The only thing between her and a prison term for attempted murder with a parahuman power is sheer stupid luck! If she can't even admit she did wrong, how the hell is she ever going to get better?"

Dean shrank back. "Taylor, you're not being fair, you need to...you have to understand, she's…" He sighed, and seemed to collapse a little. "You're not entirely wrong. I've told Vicky again and again that she needs to think before trying to solve everything with her powers, but she doesn't want to hear it. She's got this idea in her head that 'real' heroes shouldn't have to struggle to do the right thing. I swear, Taylor, that she really wants to do good, she's just...stubborn."

"Why are you making excuses for her?" I asked, hearing my voice grow heated. "Didn't you two break up?"

"Because I still love her," he said, voice weak, before he seemed to just...deflate. "I love her, and I want her to do better, and now she's got yet another problem that I don't know how to help her with."

He hung his head, and something compelled me to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be alright," I said, only half-believing it. "Listen, right after school I'll go apologize for using Amy against her like that. Hell, if she can just admit that she did something wrong, I'll apologize for everything and, I dunno, bake her a cake? I feel bad about this. I want to fix things."

"Thanks, Taylor," Dean said, sound like a man with half a century worth of troubles weighing him down. "There's just...a lot more that's broken than I like to think about."

I pulled him up off the desk and swept him into a hug. Poor guy didn't know the half of it.

"Oh, it's you."

I stood on the front step of the Dallon residence, but with all the scorn in Amy's voice, I felt more like I was standing in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, about to start explaining why I didn't think committing three hundred brutal murders was necessarily a hell-worthy offense. In other words, I felt about as low as I could get before I had to start using my shoes as a hat.

""Yeah. Hi?" I said, with a completely unconvincing smile. Amy just kept glaring up at me.

"I came by to speak with Vicky," I said, carefully.

"Why?" Amy all but spat at me, "so you can make her feel even worse? I don't think so."

She moved to slam the door closed in my face. Without thinking, I reached out to try to stop it. Either she didn't notice or she didn't care, because the door slammed shut on my hand with a sick thud, and I yelped in pain. Still, it made Amy open the door again, so...mission accomplished?

She glanced down at my injured hand as I poked and prodded at it looking for broken bones. "I'm not healing that."

"Fine," I said, "whatever, I don't care. I'm here to apologize, Amy. I feel like shit."

"You should," Amy said, stepping back out of the doorway. She didn't invite me in, but after a few awkward seconds I went inside anyway.

"I should feel like shit, or I should apologize?" I asked, looking around at the house's interior. It wasn't palatial or anything, but it was definitely nicer than anywhere I'd ever lived.

"Yes," Amy replied. "C'mon, her room's upstairs."

I followed her to the upstairs hallway, where she knocked softly on one of the doors. I could faintly hear what sounded like quiet sobbing coming from inside.

"Vicky," she said, her voice as gentle with her sister as it wasn't with me, "the bitch is here; she wants to apologize for being such a bitch."

I suppressed the urge to cry foul at Amy's words. It was a fair hit. Vicky didn't say anything, but the sobbing seemed to stop.

"That's probably the best you're going to get," Amy said, gesturing at the closed door. "Make with the apologies, and make sure they're good ones. Immortal or not, I can still give you giga-cancer if you hurt her again."

I didn't let myself chuckle, just in case she wasn't joking. Instead, I stepped closer until my face was only a few inches away from the door, and started speaking as clearly as I could.

"Vicky? I'm sorry for saying all of those awful things. None of it was true. I was angry, but that doesn't justify trying to hurt you the way I did. I was wrong."

I stopped to listen at the door, but couldn't hear any response from inside. Amy gave me a 'go on,' gesture, so I tried to think back to the crash course Dean gave me earlier on how to make great apologies. Say you're sorry. Be specific about what you're apologizing for. Tell them how you're going to make sure it doesn't happen again. Don't make it all about you.

Okay, I could do this. "Vicky, I'm sorry I called you an attempted murderer." Amy's eyes widened at that, but I kept going. "I wasn't just angry, I was scared, and I only wanted to make you understand that, but I went way too far. I know what happened was an accident, and that you never wanted to hurt me that badly."

Amy continued glaring daggers at me, so I gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry," I whispered to her, "but there's a lot more."

Turning back to the door, I continued. "I'm sorry I called you a villain. You're not. The whole city knows you're a hero, and I would say the same to anyone who tried to disagree. Just because I didn't like how you treated me personally doesn't mean I get to ignore the good you do for everyone else."

I paused to take a few calming breaths. Still no response. When I took a deep breath to start speaking again, I could see Amy in the corning of my vision mouthing something like 'More!?' at me, but I ignored her.

"And I'm really, REALLY sorry for suggesting that you used Amy to cover up times you almost killed people. I just wanted to say the most hurtful thing I could HURKH-"

I couldn't finish my sentence because Amy had just tackled me halfway across the hallway. It seemed that even the mighty Daystar was no match for the power of a low center of gravity. I coughed as I drew air back into my lungs. Amy knelt over me, face only a few inches away from mine, hands resting on my bare arms. I was suddenly uncomfortably aware of just how little I knew about what her powers could do.

"Who the hell told you about that!?" she hissed at me. My jaw dropped open. She didn't...she couldn't mean…

I saw her face pale with the realization.

"Oh, shit…" I whispered, as the magnitude of my fuck-up became clear to me.

"Oh shit!" Amy cried, scrabbling to her feat. We both started babbling at the same time.

"Oh god I'm sorry I won't tell-"

"Don't you dare breathe a word-"

"I didn't want to cause any trouble I pro-"

"-not what you think, okay? Vicky's not-"

-sure there's a perfectly reasonable expla-"

"Stop!"

Amy and I both stopped. We were so caught up in our babbling, we hadn't noticed Vicky leave her room. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked half-dead for lack of sleep, but her voice was perfectly steady.

"Leave. Both of you."

I saw Amy reel from her sister's words. "Vicky, please, I just want to make sure you're-"

"I know, Ames," Vicky said, only now sounding as tired as she looked. "I'm not going to hurt myself, I promise. I've just...realized something, about how fucked-up I've been acting. I need a chance to think, and I can't do that with both of you standing outside my door, fighting or flirting or whatever it is you're up to. Can you give me that?"

Amy went white as a ghost. "Vicky, I wasn't, I'm not…" Her voice trailed off.

"I am," I said, without thinking. "Gay, I mean. That's what you were getting at, right?"

Both Dallon sisters just stared at me blankly for what felt like forever, before Vicky went back into her room and closed the door behind her. After a few more seconds, Amy shook her head, then walked past me and started descending the stairs. I followed.

By the time I reached the ground floor, Amy was already sitting at one of the kitchen chairs, staring off into infinity. I considered sitting down across from her, but it didn't feel right. Instead, I let some strange impulse guide me over to the Dallons' fridge. I opened it, looked inside, and started pulling things out: eggs, butter, an enormous jar of raspberry jam…

I was halfway through the pantry before Amy seemed to notice I was even there.

"Taylor, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Baking your sister a cake," I replied.

"Ah, okay." Amy said, as if that settled the matter. "Beaters are in the bottom drawer next to the second dishwasher."

"Thanks," I said, and continued my preparations.

"I am," Amy said, after a few more minutes of deep silence.

I was too busy wrangling measuring spoons to pay her full attention. "You are…?"

"Gay," she replied. "At least, I think I am. This makes you the first person I've told."

"Oh," I said. "Well, congratulations. I'm happy for you." I really was, too. I only sounded deadpan because I'd apparently forgotten to pay my emotions bill for the month, and I'd already spent the last of my feelings upstairs.

I returned my focus to the baking, but I couldn't quite tune out the sound of Amy's short, panicked breathing. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I turned off the mixer, walked over to Amy, and started giving her reassuring back-pats. Hopefully no one would point out the floury hand-prints I left behind until after I was gone.

"Listen," I said, crouching down until my eyes were almost level with hers. Only then did I realize that I didn't know what to say next. After several seconds of quiet panic, I tried the first thing that came to mind.

"My friend Aegis has these pamphlets…"

A/N: Crisis...averted?

This ended up being mostly a slice-of-life chapter, of sorts. Chapter 2.4 will be much the same. Chapter 2.5 will be, well, not that. The pacing isn't ideal, but I do have a direction I want to move in, even if my steering is more than a little haphazard. It's a learning experience, of course, and a whole lot of fun besides.

If this chapter could be said to have an overarching theme, it would probably be "learning to communicate is Important," with a side order of "no single style of communication works for everyone." Of course, a lot of it is really just that, as a deeply awkward person myself, I always enjoy making my characters suffer as I have suffered.

Next Week, on Daystar!: More news about the mysterious Megrim! Taylor makes some plans, and experiments with...non-violent conflict resolution? What the heck is that!?

In Conclusion; ladies, gentlemen, and distinguished guests of a non-binary persuasion, thank you for reading!

Last edited: Oct 11, 2019

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WinterWombat

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WinterWombat

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Oct 17, 2019

#1,479

March 26, 2011

Living at the Wards HQ full-time had its ups and downs. On the one hand, I got access to a kick-ass kitchen, I watched TV on a widescreen wider than I was tall, and I was never more than an elevator ride away from a top-of-the-line gym. On the other hand, I couldn't exactly invite anyone from school to come hang out, I had to share a living space with Sophia, and I was never more than an elevator ride away from Director Piggot.

Living at the HQ also meant that, on Saturdays, I could sleep in and still not worry about showing up late to the weekly team meeting. I walked into our dedicated meeting room precisely one minute before things were scheduled to start, tablet in one hand, mug of tea in the other, looking forward to a casual hour of cape talk with my friends (and Sophia). It was my first meeting as a full member of the team, and I wanted to make sure I came across as alert and interested.

One glance around the room showed that acting upbeat might be harder than I expected. Carlos sat at the head of the table, reading over his notes with a deep scowl, while the other Wards sat in uncomfortable silence. Missy looked like she hadn't slept in days, Dennis seemed tense and twitchy, Kid Win stared listlessly into the infinite distance, and Dean had yet to bounce back after the events of earlier this week. Sophia looked like she wanted to strangle someone, but that was how she always acted when forced into a meeting with anyone else.

My arrival served as a signal for Carlos to begin. He started handing out small sheafs of paper around the table, each one topped with a post-it note bearing one of our names, gradually drawing everyone's attention as he did so.

"Alright," Carlos said, "I'm going to try to keep this brief. To start us off, I've got everyone's marching orders for April. Long story short, everyone gets a new patrol schedule yet again. Shadow Stalker, you're back on active patrol duty. Miss Militia says keep up the good work."

"Fucking finally," Sophia muttered. She sounded just as pissed off as usual, but I could see a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Does that mean the rest of us get to go back to patrolling as well?" Missy asked. "I'm tired of being benched while the Protectorate looks for the big, scary Master."

Carlos sighed. "I'll be getting to that soon, but the short answer is yes, we're going to be going back to normal patrol rotations starting Monday."

That drew some smiles from around the table, though the atmosphere remained subdued. Missy grinned, but it looked like she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Two meet-and-greets this month," Carlos continued, "One on the Boardwalk with Daystar, Gallant, Vista and I, and then one at the Bayside Mall with Daystar, Shadow Stalker, Kid Win, and Clockblocker."

"Guess everyone wants to meet the new cape in town," I said, trying to sound nonchalant instead of frustrated. I'd known this stuff was coming, but I didn't have to like it.

"PR's just happy they can show off a new Ward who doesn't growl at the children," Dennis said, before giving Sophia a shit-eating grin. She looked like she was about to snap back at him, but Carlos beat her to it.

"Knock it off, Clock," he said, sounding more tired than angry. "We need to be a team right now, and that's not the kind of thing you say to a teammate."

Dennis shrugged, but held his tongue. Sophia shifted her death glare to Carlos, who just sighed in response.

"Shadow Stalker, Daystar, and Vista," he said, "You're also scheduled for an appearance at the Girl Scouts of America convention in Boston, near the end of the month."

"Joy," Missy sighed. "My favorite way to spend a weekend, pretending to give a crap about merit badges and cookie sales."

I could almost hear Carlos grind his teeth in frustration, before he visibly forced himself to relax. I didn't envy him for the job of handing out the pointless busy work every month. The other Wards looked bored at best, but he kept doing his best to carry on.

"Next up," he said, "I have more news on the Megrim situation."

This instantly recaptured everyone's attention. As Wards team leader, Carlos got to take part in the weekly Protectorate briefing sessions, and then pass on any relevant information to us.

"We've got at least three more events where we believe Megrim was involved, although we've yet to visually confirm their presence. On Tuesday, they attacked a BBPD patrol car, resulting in non-fatal injuries to both officers and four bystanders. On Thursday, they showed up at a fight between the E88 and ABB. The most recent appearance was last night, during a Protectorate raid on a suspected ABB storehouse. Armsmaster's helmet camera captured footage of the entire fight, which Image Analysis is currently going over for any sign of Megrim's presence."

I sighed. At least now I wasn't alone in failing to catch that asshole.

"The PRT is rating Megrim as a Shaker/Master 6, with a provisional Stranger 3 classification to reflect our inability to actually locate them. Based on the last few encounters, Armsmaster is almost certain that they're ABB aligned. As before, if anyone notices signs that Megrim is involved in a fight, we're all under orders to retreat ASAP."

"What if we actually catch sight of Megrim?" I asked. "I'm assuming we can take them down if we've got a clear shot?"

"Absolutely not," Carlos said, with a shake of his head. "Give console their location, describe their appearance if you can, and then fall back. Piggot made it pretty clear she doesn't want any of her Wards tangling with a villain whose powers still aren't fully known, and I agree with her."

"Bullshit," Sophia said. "If I see that asshole, I'm taking a shot."

"Are you that eager to get back on console duty already?" Carlos shook his head. "I don't want anyone getting paranoid and attack a bystander because they mistook them for the scary new villain. Dealing with Megrim is not our job, understood?"

Sophia glowered at him, but didn't say anything. I did a much better job of hiding my anger. I didn't care what Piggot or Carlos said; if I got the chance, I was taking my shot.

"That's not all the bad news," Carlos continued. "Intel suggests that Lung was out of town last night, looking to induct a new cape. Most likely target is the recently triggered Cornell bomber, a Tinker with a specialty that involves exotic explosives. No word yet on whether or not Lung's recruitment drive succeeded, if that was even his goal, but it's all the more reason to be extra cautious out there."

"Seriously?" Chris burst out, "Another one? Are they trying to catch up with the Nazis or something?"

I shared the sentiment, though I didn't say anything. I was too busy skimming over my new patrol schedule, trying to figure out how much time I had before my next potential clash with the ABB. The more I read, though, the angrier I began to feel.

"Hey," I said, "Did someone mess with my schedule? I don't see any patrol routes north of the downtown core. Everything near the docks is totally gone."

"Yeah, same here," Chris added, looking up from his own schedule. Judging by the glares that Missy and Sophia shot at Carlos, they'd noticed the same thing as well.

"Not my call," Carlos said. "Piggot doesn't want us anywhere near ABB territory until things settle down."

"That doesn't make sense," I said. "If anything, we should be trying to get as many capes into the docks as possible, but they're just sidelining us instead?"

Carlos shook his head. "We're still helping, just not directly. We're going to be covering the downtown routes to free up more Protectorate capes to help with the ABB situation. Just because we're not at the frontlines doesn't mean we're not part of the operation."

I wanted to call bullshit, but the expression on Carlos's face stopped me. He looked like someone trying hard to actually believe what he was saying. I thought back to what he'd said earlier, about the need to act like a team, and reluctantly let my anger slip away.

"Makes sense," I said, trying to fake as much sincerity as I could. "Besides, someone's got to keep the E88 from getting any ideas while the Protectorate is busy elsewhere."

"Exactly," Aegis said, shooting me a look of profound gratitude. Not even noon, and I'd already accomplished my good deed for the day.

"Besides," he went on, "it's better than another few weeks of reduced patrols. This is our chance to show the older heroes that they can trust us. They know we're not scared of a fight, but we still need to prove we put the needs of the team above our own desires. "

With that, Carlos managed to regain his momentum, though I wasn't really paying attention. Just because I wasn't going to undermine Carlos in front of the team didn't mean I was going to take this sitting down. I couldn't go after the ABB on my own without royally pissing off Piggot and the older heroes. I'd get what I wanted in the short term, but at the cost of greater difficulty in the long term. If I wanted my shot, I needed them to bring me on board willingly, and the only way I could think of to make that happen was to become too useful to be left behind.

That was why, as the team meeting continued, I surreptitiously typed up a text message to Dean. I needed to schedule another meeting with his ex-girlfriend.

March 27th, 2011

I stepped into the cafe expecting to find Vicky waiting for me at one of the tables. Instead, I saw Amy leaning against the wall at the back of the seating area, near the entrance to the washrooms. She had her headphones on, her eyes distant as she bobbed her head to the rhythm only she could hear. She didn't notice my approach until I was almost right next to her, and even then the only acknowledgement she gave me was a deep frown. She stood like that for almost a full minute, letting me shuffle about uncomfortably while she (presumably) finished the song, before finally taking off her headphones.

"Hey Amy," I said, "I'm actually here to see-"

"I know," she said, rolling her eyes at me. "Follow me."

She lead me into the back of the cafe, past the washrooms and into what looked like a small break room where Vicky was waiting. She looked nervous, but hid it well as soon as she noticed me walking in behind her sister. Her aura was so faint as to be almost unnoticeable, a mild tingle of unease rather than the usual torrent of terror. Amy stepped aside to let Vicky and I come face to face.

"Taylor."

"Hi, Vicky," I said, just then noticing that she was floating a few inches off the ground to compensate for our differences in height. "I wanted to talk, but, well, is this the best place for it? What if someone comes back here?"

Vicky gave me a wry grin. "Not happening," she said. "I know some of the staff here, asked to use the break room for 'hero business.' We've got at least an hour before anyone goes on break."

"Good," I said, "and thanks. For meeting me here, I mean. I don't expect you to just forgive-"

"Hold up," Vicky said, crossing her arms. "Before this goes any further, there's something I need to know, and that means that Ames needs to touch you."

I felt my face heat up. Before I could stammer out a reply, Amy stepped up from behind me

and placed two fingers gently onto my bare forearm. She didn't look angry or threatening, just focused.

Vicky floated a couple inches closer to me, staring into my eyes with quiet intensity. In the back of my mind, I could feel her aura begin to grow in strength.

"I only want to ask this once," she said, voice carefully blank. "Did you Master me?"

"No!" I blurted out without thinking. "No. Hell no. I don't have any Master powers and I like it that way. I really don't want the baggage that comes with them."

"She isn't lying," Amy said. Did her power let her act as a living polygraph? That had to be at least as useful as it was unpleasantly intrusive. In this instance, though, I could hardly blame either of them for wanting the extra surety.

"Okay, good. You still used your power on me, though, didn't you?" Vicky asked.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm sorry for that, by the way. Stupid move on my part."

"Which one?" Vicky asked, her expression turning from blank to curious. "I know you've got an unfairly huge grab-bag of powers, but your Wards online profile doesn't mention 'psychologically destroying angry bitches' as one of them."

I resisted the urge to glance at Amy's hand on mine. No need to make them the idea that I considered trying to lie, even if it was true.

"It's not one I really advertise," I said. "I've got a Thinker power that gives me hints on how to get along with people, though it's anything but reliable. Turns out that it can also do the reverse, giving me hints about what to say to hurt people. You were the first person I used that trick on."

Vicky seemed to consider my words for a few moments. "That sounds like a pretty awful power."

"I'm not exactly proud of it," I replied. "I could have used something like it back at Winslow, sure, but I'm really trying hard to get away from the kind of person I was back then."

Vicky gave her sister a nod, and Amy took her hand away. I breathed a small sigh of relief.

Vicky nodded. "Okay."

"What do you mean, okay?" I asked, even as I mentally prepared myself to sprint to safety at a moment's notice.

Vicky smiled. It was the first time she'd smiled at me like that, with total warmth and sincerity, and it almost knocked my socks off. Her fear aura completely vanished in an instant.

"I mean, okay, that's all I wanted to know. You and I are good, if you want us to be."

"I do," I said. "But, well, you're taking this better than I expected," I said.

Vicky chuckled. "You mean I'm not flying into a rage and threatening you?"

I shrugged. "You said it, not me."

"Well, since that approach worked so well last time," she said, "I decided to try something new. Besides, it's hard to hold a grudge against you for being right about me."

That made me pause. "You...agree with what I said?"

"I mean, you chose the worst possible way to say it," Vicky said, "but it was still something I needed to hear. After you left, the other day, I came clean to Mom and Dad about the so-called accidents. It wasn't a fun conversation, but it was for the best. The cake helped, I think."

"I honestly don't know how to respond to that," I said. "I don't think the English language has a word that means 'I'm sorry' and 'you're welcome' at the same time."

Vicky grinned. "I'm going to be seeing a therapist soon, getting some help with my temper."

"Against Carol's objections," Amy added, bitterly.

"Mom's got issues, yeah," Vicky said, "but I've got the money, and I'm old enough that I don't need her consent. I don't know if it will actually help, but unlike Mom, I'm not afraid to try."

I risked a smile of my own. "That sounds like a good plan. I'm glad you're taking steps forward, and not just because I really, really don't want to have to fight you again."

Vicky gave me a light, affectionate punch to the shoulder. "I can't promise anything while there's still a villainous Master running loose, but I'll try."

The difference between Angry Vicky and Friendly Vicky was night and day. Now that I wasn't worried about her attacking, I could suddenly see just how impossibly gorgeous she could be when she wasn't trying to kill me. It took real effort to actually to keep my mind on my plan instead of just staring at her radiant beauty.

"Speaking of," I said, trying not to blush, "nice as it is, I didn't really ask you to meet me just so we could have a heart to heart. I've got an idea for a way to maybe take down Megrim, and I could really use your help."

Both Dallon sisters perked up at that.

"I'm all in favor of taking down that mind-bending asshole," Vicky said, "but Ames and I are under orders not to get within five blocks of them; too much risk if we get mastered. She can't heal herself if she gets hurt under Megrim's control, and I don't have to tell you how bad things can go if I get Mastered again myself."

I grimaced at the memory, the most painful thing I'd experienced since triggering. I was so relieved that we could be friends now.

"Yeah, no kidding," I said. "That's not a problem, thankfully, since I just need your help for training. I want you to use your Master power on me."

"Hey!" Amy snapped. "She's a Shaker, not a Master. She doesn't control anyone."

"She's a Shaker with a Master-like effect," I said to Amy, before turning back to Vicky. "That's makes you the closest cape I know to Megrim, even if you're probably a whole lot prettier."

Vicky raised an eyebrow. "Prettier?"

Amy still looked perturbed. Had I said something wrong?

"I mean," I babbled, "I say 'probably' prettier because we don't actually know what Megrim looks like, not because I don't think you're pretty. I do. You're probably in the 99th percentile of prettiness worldwide, I think? Like, whoever Megrim is, you're statistically extremely likely to be better looking than them, so that's why I said..."

"Vicky," Amy groaned, "Aura."

"Oh, shit," Vicky said, even as she abruptly reverted to merely-human levels of attractiveness and the world snapped out of soft focus. "You seemed to stand up so well against my Aura earlier, I kinda assumed…"

I shook my head, trying to bring my thoughts back into alignment. "This is kinda my point. You can throw out some pretty powerful mental influence when you need to. I don't know if Dean told you, but I'm not really a grab-bag cape in the usual sense. My real power is basically the ability to learn new powers over time."

"Like Dauntless?" Vicky asked. "I could see that being a pretty big deal."

"Kinda," I said, "but where Dauntless uses empowered tools, I have to learn powers through training. The PRT has given me plenty of opportunities to practice my combat skills, but…"

"But they don't give you the chance to train against many parahuman powers," Amy finished for me. "Is that what you mean? You want Vicky to hit you with her aura again and again so you can learn to counter it?"

I nodded. "And hopefully similar mas-, er, mental influence powers at the same time. I'm going to ask Dean for help with the same thing, but Vicky's power feels more similar to Megrim than his does."

Vicky frowned. "How long do you think this will take? As much as I'd love to help, I still have responsibilities to deal with beyond floating around thinking angry thoughts at you."

I shrugged. "No idea, sorry. My power is pretty fickle that way. I could take days, or weeks, or longer. No way to tell until I try."

She nodded in understanding. "Maybe we can schedule something in a few weeks?"

"Sorry," I winced, "but that sort of defeats the purpose. I need to figure this out as soon as possible, before Megrim makes things any worse for our team. I could try to make it up to you?"

"I'd ask for more cake," Vicky playfully replied, "but I'm pretty sure that would doom my figure."

"I can cook healthy stuff too," I laughed, "but other than that, I don't know. The only other thing I'm really great at is fighting. I could try teaching you, I guess?"

Vicky chuckled. "Thanks, Taylor, but I've been fighting villains for a couple years now. I'm pretty sure I know how to handle myself in a fight."

"She means Martial Arts, Vicky," Amy said. "How to fight with technique, instead of just flailing away with Brute strength."

Vicky's face turned sheepish as she lowered her gaze, a clear sign that her sister's blow had hit home.

"I've picked up more than a dozen different fighting styles," I said, "I'm pretty sure at least one of them could work for you, maybe help you with control and precision. The offer's open for you as well, Amy."

Amy frowned at me, even as Vicky looked thoughtful.

"I'm not a frontline cape," Amy said. "What good does it do me to learn about punching people?"

"Well, it can't hurt," Vicky said. "You've had close calls before, after all, and the last guys knew enough to cover themselves head to toe so you couldn't get them with your power."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but rubber gloves and face masks didn't stop you from putting them all in body casts. I never even felt like I was in danger."

Vicky shook her head. "No, the more I think about it, the better this sounds. Honestly, Ames, you know I'm always going to do everything I can to keep you safe, but I'll feel better knowing you can handle yourself in a fight."

Amy sighed. "Okay, for your sake, Vicky."

"Just keep in mind that I've never instructed anyone before?" I said. "I may turn out to be a terrible teacher."

"Can't be worse than Mom," Vicky said. "She can get a little...intense."

I noticed Amy dropping her gaze to the floor at Vicky's comment, and decided it was time to change the topic.

"Can't be sure until we try. Want to discuss scheduling over lunch? My treat?"

"Sure," Vicky said, with a grin that I couldn't help but mirror. Friend or enemy, she was definitely a creature of extremes.

One meal later, we'd worked out a fairly intense anti-Master training plan for the next week. I settled the bill at the counter, adding a generous tip as thanks for the use of the cafe's break room, and returned to the table with a fistful of after-dinner mints to pass out.

"So, Taylor," Vicky said, giving me a sly look, "you mentioned that you've got the rest of the afternoon free?"

Amy, standing behind Vicky, gave me a worried look, and mouthed what looked like 'say no, say no.'

"Yeah?" I said, "I was planning on getting in some extra gym time, maybe fixing lunches for the week, but nothing that can't wait. Why?"

Amy rolled her eyes, even as Vicky's gaze narrowed with an almost predatory hunger.

"Well," she said, "Dean just texted me about a problem you might be able to help with."

"Oh, sure," I said, even as Amy shook her head in defeated resignation. "How can I help?"

"First, I'll ask you the same question I asked him: How many outfits do you own, Taylor?"

Oh, shit.

"Outfits? I mean, I've got a half dozen tops, a few pairs of jeans, workout gear, and enough underwear I guess? I have to do my laundry once a week, but I don't mind."

I knew where this was going. Why couldn't I stop talking?

"Taylor," Vicky said, "you have so much to learn. Do you even own any bras besides the sports variety?"

"What's wrong with sports bras?" I objected, even knowing that it was doomed to fail.

"Oh, you poor sweet summer child," Vicky cooed. "Don't worry. Stick with me, and I'll make sure all the pretty girls will be tripping over themselves to ask you out. You're a total babe, Taylor, and it's a travesty that you don't realize it."

I felt myself begin to blush furiously. "Vicky, you're kinda giving me some mixed signals here."

"Relax," Amy said, as she stood up to leave,"this is just how she shows friendly affection. I'm sure the two of you will have tons of fun on your little shopping trip."

"I think you mean 'the three of us', Ames," Vicky said. "Don't tell me you're going to miss out on the chance to watch Taylor here try on all kinds of new outfits?"

Amy blushed at least as red as I was, even as she sputtered out denials. I tried to offer her an out, but somehow we both ended up swept into Vicky's wake regardless.

Before I knew it, I had several bags full of clothing I'd never have thought to buy on my own, and Vicky was trying to persuade me to follow her into a lingerie boutique for 'just a few minutes.' I had absolutely no intention of agreeing, but I also knew that somehow, that wouldn't actually matter.

'Not a Master' my ass.

A/N: Wow, the new forum setup actually preserves my chapter formatting when I past stuff in. No more having to go through the whole chapter line by line to make sure all the paragraph breaks are set correctly. I think I'm in love.

This chapter was tough to write. The first draft was full of little sections where I'd had to just put down (conversation goes here) and move on, then fix it in the next draft. Thankfully, the next few chapters will give us a bit of a break from the endless conversations.

During the editing process, I ended up drafting out a couple of interludes in the traditional form, bits of story written from the perspective of other characters. They're short, about 1.5k words each (I think), and they mostly focus on showing story elements you've already seen, just from a different perspective. I want to treat interludes as something to post in addition to normal chapters, not in place of them, so I'm going to see if I can post one maybe every other weekend for as long as they last. First one comes from the perspective of Glory Girl, and I don't know if I'll start this coming weekend or the next.

Next time, on Daystar!: Taylor gets a chance to vent some of her anger on deserving targets! Sophia learns the importance of Team Spirit! Daystar may or may not become a meme!!!

Thanks for reading, everyone.

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WinterWombat

Oct 17, 2019

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Threadmarks Interlude: I Don't Want To Go Back Pt. 1 (Victoria Dallon)

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WinterWombat

Word Nerd

Oct 19, 2019

#1,566

Amy met my eyes and nodded. "She isn't lying."

I had to resist the urge to sigh in relief. Taylor hadn't Mastered me, thank god.

That meant that whatever she did, it wasn't likely to suddenly wear off. I might not have to ask her to use that power on me again.

It was possibly the most painful thing I'd ever gone through, but I'd gladly suffer through it a hundred times more rather than lose my newfound clarity.

After we'd finished our shopping and waved goodbye to Taylor, Amy gave me her usual 'I'm tired and I want you to fly me home' look, not at all dampened by the eye-gougingly bright rainbow sweater I'd bought her. She may have been shy, but my sister could be awfully expressive when she felt like it. I smiled, scooped her up into my arms, and took off. I flew slowly enough that the wind wouldn't drown out our voices, but she didn't seem inclined to say anything. When I landed on the roof of an office building about eight blocks from home, though, she didn't seem surprised either.

"Ames," I said, once I'd set her back on her feet. "Something's bothering you. Talk to me."

Amy sighed. "Vicky, I'm happy that you're feeling better now, but...are you sure we can trust her? She knows enough to get both of us thrown in jail."

I gave her my best reassuring smile. "It'll be fine, Ames. With Mom's help, I'm pretty sure they'd let you go with nothing worse than community service."

"You know very well that's not what I'm worried about," she said, glaring at me.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. She hasn't ratted us out yet, though, which has to mean something. Plus, like, what could we even do about it? Threaten her? Bribe her?"

I didn't mention that I already planned to tell the authorities myself, sooner rather than later. I really didn't want to go to prison if I could avoid it, but I'd rather end up behind bars than go back to how things were. If I did slide back into old habits, I didn't want to get away with it again.

"That doesn't mean we have to pretend to be friends with her," Amy grumbled. "When you came home and couldn't seem to stop crying, I was so scared...I don't know if I can ever forgive her for that."

I reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, and she clung to me like she was afraid I might vanish at any moment. I could feel her chest shudder as she fought back sobs.

"It's okay, Ames, it's gonna be okay," I said, holding her as close as I could without worrying about crushing her. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"It wasn't your fault," Amy said, voice muffled from the way she'd buried her face in my hair.

"Ames, I…it kinda was." I paused, swallowed. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I feel like I owe her."

"What!?" Amy pulled back from me, shocked. "For what? Tearing into you so hard you almost broke!?"

"No," I hissed, "for fixing me!"

I stopped, gathered my wits. "Or, helping me fix myself, at least. Do you know what she said to me, that pushed me over the edge?"

"I don't care," she said, sounding more petulant than genuinely angry. "It doesn't matter. She's wrong about you."

"It wasn't anything about how bad I was, Ames. She made me realize how much I was hurting you. I could tell she just wanted to hurt me, but when she started talking about how I was using you...it was so clear. I didn't just hear her, I saw everything she was saying like it was happening right in front of me."

"Vicky," Ames blurted out, aghast, "Vicky, no! You're not using me! I know you wouldn't hurt me!"

"So you never minded all those times I got you up in the middle of the night, begging you to come help me so I didn't become a murderer?"

She winced. "That's not...I didn't…"

"All those times I listened to Mom rant about how you should never, ever use your powers for selfish reasons," I continued, "and somehow I never realized how I was asking you to do just that. I didn't stop to think about how much it must tear you up inside, to feel like you were doing something wrong but never be able to say so. I never really understood what I was asking you to do."

"Vicky," she said, "it's okay. I don't mind-"

"You should!" I shouted, startling Amy. "You should mind! You should have been able to tell me that what I was doing was wrong, but you knew I wouldn't listen. I made you feel like you had to keep your mouth shut and pretend that nothing was wrong for my sake. This whole mess is my fault."

Amy wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from more than just the cold evening air. "Vicky, I don't blame you for any of that. I love you."

"I love you too, Ames," I said, "but you deserve better from me. I need to be better. Maybe it's fucked up, but I feel like I owe Taylor for helping me realize that."

I couldn't tell Amy how terrified I was of losing my way again, or how suffocating it felt to be surrounded on all sides by people I couldn't trust to call me on my bullshit if I fell back into it. Mom was too invested in her image of me as the perfect daughter, Dad was too distant, and Amy loved me, but she could never stand up to me. I'd failed them all, but in some ways, it felt like they'd failed me too. At the moment, there was exactly one person I knew would actually try and stop me if I went too far, and I wanted to keep her close.

"Vicky, I don't…" Amy sighed. "Can we...go home now? I'm trying to listen to what you're saying, but it's hard, and I'm tired."

She didn't have to know that I was still crying myself to sleep. She didn't have to know about my plans to move out, or the shame I felt whenever I looked at my New Wave costume. She didn't have to know how everything Mom said about heroics just sounded hollow now, or how I'd fantasized about throwing Dad off the top of a tall building and watch him fall, just to see if it would make him fucking care about something. Amy only needed to know that I loved her, I was there for her, and I was going to fix things no matter what.

"Of course, Ames," I said, scooping her off her feet and holding her close. "Whatever you want. There's more I have to talk to you about, but it can wait until later."

Amy frowned. "You know that's just going to make me worry even more, don't you?"

I laughed, then started to hover upwards. "Nothing as heavy as this, I hope. It's just...I feel like I was blind to your pain, and I don't want to be like that anymore. So, not now, but whenever you're ready, I want to talk about how Mom's been treating you."

Amy looked up at me wide-eyed. Before she could deny anything, I rocketed upwards, too fast for words, and returned to flying us home.

A/N: Hey everyone, help yourself to some bonus emotions! It looks like The Sisters Dallon have plenty to spare.

In case it isn't clear, this interlude takes place during (and then immediately following) the events of Spark 2.4.

Interlude: I Don't Want To Go Back Pt.2 (Emma Barnes) will go up whenever I deem it thematically appropriate, which probably won't be for another two weeks or so. Regular chapters will continue to arrive every Thursday as usual.

Last edited: Oct 20, 2019

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WinterWombat

Oct 19, 2019

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Threadmarks Spark 2.5

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WinterWombat

Word Nerd

Oct 24, 2019

#1,679

March 27th, 2011

"I could really go for an armed robbery right around now."

I rolled my eyes. Even if Shadow Stalker couldn't my expression, it still felt right.

"What, you want to hold up…" I said, pausing as I scanned the unfamiliar street around us. "...that ice cream place over there? Wow. If you're that desperate for a sweet treat, Stalker, I can just spot you the cash."

"Fuck you," she replied. "You know what I mean. First week back on patrol and the only places I get to go are as dead as Armsmaster's social life. Total bullshit."

I waited until she paused in her grumbling before I spoke up again.

"Yeah, but I bet you actually do want some ice cream now, right?"

Shadow Stalker flipped me the bird, which meant I'd done my job well, and picked up her pace to walk out ahead of me. With any luck, she'd stay pissed off at me for at least another half-hour before she started complaining about the quiet again. I didn't like it any more than she did, sure, but no way was I going to admit that when I could taunt her instead? She'd made my life a living hell for over a year, so she could hardly complain if I used a little light mockery to ease the boredom.

Tonight's patrol route took us around the periphery of the Towers, an upscale residential area just off the downtown core. New Wave usually took care of the region, since they all lived in or near it, but apparently Photon Mom asked Piggot to cover for them tonight. I had my suspicions about what kind of issue might be monopolizing their attention at the moment, but I'd decided not to share them with the rest of the Wards.

Either way, the end result was that we'd spent the last couple hours patrolling one of the safest areas in the entire city. Piggot still didn't trust Shadow Stalker and I to patrol as a pair, so she'd sent Aegis with us to provide aerial reconnaissance. I'd been using the patrol as a chance to familiarize myself with the layout of the area, while Shadow Stalker had been, well, doing this.

As if provoked by some final invisible indignity, Shadow Stalker growled like she wanted to strangle something, did a 180 degree turn to face me, and threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Fuck this! Make fun of me if you want, little miss Sunshine, but don't pretend that you feel any different than I do about being benched."

I forced a laugh. "Really? I already had one big fight this week. You saw how it went; do you really think I'd be so eager for a repeat?"

"Yes!" Shadow Stalker didn't quite yell, but even with our mics off Aegis still paused in his looping flight to hover above us. "You can't seriously expect me to believe that you're happy with signing autographs and cutting ribbons while there's a real threat running around the city. More than that, I'd bet a month's worth of console duty that you want a rematch against the Master that almost got you killed."

"What the hell makes you think you know anything about me?" I hissed at her.

"Like you're that hard to read," Stalker laughed. "I know how you're feeling because it's the same way I'd be feeling in your place."

She was wrong, but I was getting too angry to find the words I needed to say as much. Before I could form a reply, though, we all froze in place as we heard Gallant's voice over our helmet radios.

"Wards team Beta, you're being activated to deal with a developing situation deeper downtown. Hold position where you are, and standby for pickup via PRT Transport."

"Orders confirmed," Aegis's voice replied. "Hold position and await transport. Can you give us any info on what we're heading into?"

"E88 activity in the downtown core," Gallant said. "Krieg and Stormtiger, plus a number of unpowered followers. Looks to be some kind of public demonstration. BBPD are standing off until they get some cape support."

"With most of the Protectorate capes stationed in the Docks," I added, "the Empire probably saw this as a chance to make a statement. I'm guessing you want us to stand by and protect the bystanders?"

"Negative, Daystar," came Director Piggot's voice. Did she actually just sleep in her office? "The police can look after the crowds. Your mission is to confront the enemy capes. Don't pursue if they run, but don't back down either. Show them what the PRT thinks of Kaiser's opportunism."

"No problem," I said, before I remembered who I was talking to. "I mean, roger that. Director. Ma'am."

On the street ahead of us, I saw the distinctive lights of a PRT personnel carrier drawing closer. Aegis touched down behind us, and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be fine, Daystar," he said. "Just follow my lead and I'll get you both through this just fine."

"She's fine," Shadow Stalker scoffed. "When's the last time you saw someone smile like that when they were terrified?"

At some point in the last couple of minutes, without realizing it, I'd started grinning ear to ear. This was exactly the kind of chance I'd been hoping for. I'd prove that I could handle myself in a cape fight, and show Piggot and Armsmaster that they could trust me on the frontlines. Not to mention that it was also the first real chance I'd had to blow off some steam after a long, trying week. I wanted this fight so bad I could taste it, and in that moment I didn't care who knew it.

The three of us hopped out of the PRT carrier a block away from the fight and went the rest of the way on-foot. The Nazis had taken over a construction site in the middle of downtown, gathering underneath the rusted skeleton of a skyscraper that hadn't been actively worked on in years. The site itself was full of old brick, cracked concrete, and broken-down prefab offices. A half-dozen toughs in Empire red and black clustered near the most intact-looking prefab, submachine guns at the ready. A good-sized crowd of bystanders clustered around the edge of the site, filming the situation on their phones and jostling each other for a chance at a good view.

I slipped into the site from the opposite edge, doing my best to stay hidden from both the Empire goons and the gawking crowd. Shadow Stalker followed me in, but quickly shifted into her breaker state and vanished through a nearby wall. Aegis hovered somewhere high above us, concealed in the darkness amongst the rusted scaffolding.

I heard Krieg before I saw him. I'd managed to catch him in the middle of a speech.

"We gave you the chance to avoid all of this," he said, in a voice meant to carry. He had the faintest hint of a German accent to go along with the faux-SS uniform he wore as a costume. In front of him, a pair of E88 goons held a terrified-looking man up against the side of a rusted shipping container.

"We gave you aid in your hour of need, and our requests for recompense were not unreasonable," he continued. "All we asked was that you make an effort to employ a better class of worker at your business, real Americans who deserve a chance to make an honest living. Instead, you continued to give aid and comfort to the subhuman parasites that infest this city. You helped the filth to spread, when your heritage should have moved you to fight against them. In my mind, such treachery deserves only the strongest of punishments."

Krieg was talking about a fairly common E88 racket. The Empire would go to a struggling business and offer them whatever they needed: money, connections, a way through red tape, etc. Once they had the owner deep enough in their debt, they'd press to use the business as a legitimate front for E88 activity. Shipping companies were coerced into smuggling drugs and weapons, retail businesses became places to store and sell contraband, etc. Even businesses of no specific use to the E88 could still provide jobs for rank-and-file skinheads, assist in money laundering, or otherwise advance the Empire's cause.

One of the toughest parts of Dad's job had been preventing the E88 from doing just that to the Dockworker's Association. He'd told me, once, how they would offer to find more work for the union in exchange for a 'gentleman's agreement' to use his position as head of hiring to keep the DWA as white as possible. Dad would never agree to something so morally repugnant, but even if he'd been willing to play ball with the Nazis, it wouldn't have stopped there. Once rumors started to spread about the DWA being in cahoots with the Nazis, other businesses would want to keep them at arm's length, making them dependant on further E88 favors to stay in afloat. I hadn't really understood the economics at that point; I'd just been afraid that one of Kaiser's capes would go after Dad to send a message.

"You are fortunate," Krieg said, snapping me back into the moment, "that Kaiser is a more merciful man than I. He's decided to give you one last chance to repent."

The man visibly sighed in relief, but the goons holding him didn't let go. I wasn't surprised to hear the mocking humor creep into Krieg's tone.

"That does not mean your actions up to this point will go unpunished," he said. "I believe that having to perform all of your work one-handed from now on will give you some extra time to truly consider our position."

He held out a hand, and one of the other goons nearby handed him a claw hammer. Christ, this was going downhill fast. Looked like we'd arrived just in time.

"No sign of Stormtiger," Shadow Stalker's voice crackled over the radio.

"Damn," Aegis said, "we can't afford to wait. Daystar, get their attention, buy Shadow Stalker some time."

Krieg pulled his arm back to swing, and without any time to think of something better, I jumped out from behind the pallet of moldy wood I'd been using as cover and shouted.

"Hey, Krieg!"

Everyone turned to look at me, from the Nazis, to the troopers, to the roiling sea of cellphones now recording my every movement. Krieg lowered his hammer as he turned, and I breathed a sigh of relief, which only lasted until I realized that I didn't have a follow up.

"If you're so All-American," I shouted at Krieg after an uncomfortable silence, "Why are you dressed up like a German officer? You do realize we fought a war against those guys, right?"

"Ah," he said, giving me his full attention, "if it isn't Brockton Bay's newest 'hero,' the Wards' very own pet lesbian."

Of course, being a Nazi, he didn't actually use the word 'lesbian.'

"Put the man down and back off," I said, "and I won't make you swallow your own teeth for that little remark."

"I was hoping to run into you," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I wanted to thank you, you see. You're the perfect example of how our city's supposed authorities glorify degeneracy and perversion, even as they ignore the plight of the common man. Do you have any idea how many have already flocked to our banner, now that your masters have placed such a corrupting influence into the presence of innocent children?"

"Innocent?" I laughed. "Have you met Clockblocker?"

"I'm in position," Shadow Stalker whispered over the radio. "Targets in sight."

"Good," Aegis replied. "Take the shot in three, two…"

Krieg was too focused on lecturing me about sexual purity (god, what a fucking creep) to notice Shadow Stalker step out through the metal wall of the storage container, crossbows already trained on the two goons holding the hostage in place. They didn't even have time to cry out before she fired, sending both of them slumping bonelessly to the ground with darts in their necks. Even as they fell, Aegis was already descending at top speed. Krieg turned around just in time to see him grab the hostage and haul him straight up into the air.

With a growl, Krieg hurled the hammer at Shadow Stalker. It sailed through the air with unnatural speed and precision, but it couldn't touch Stalker in her breaker state. Instead, it just soared right through her shadowy silhouette to strike an enormous dent into the metal wall behind her.

That must have been Krieg's power at work. On the ride over, Gallant described him as a kinetic manipulator, but not a true telekinetic. His power slowed down enemies within his range, even as it gave greater speed and force to his own actions. Fighting him up close felt like trying to move through molasses, but his power also weakened or outright negated most projectile attacks. Damned if you do, etc etc. He wasn't one of the Empire's heavy hitters, just an enormous pain to tangle with.

"Daystar," Aegis said, "engage Krieg. You don't have to beat him, just keep him busy until I can drop this guy off and get back to help."

"Take all the time you need," I said, grinning. I dashed towards Krieg, bounding over piles of rubble and running over exposed I-beams to reach him as fast as possible. Asshole Nazi wouldn't know what hit him.

"Still no Stormtiger," Stalker said, frustrated. "Are we sure he was ev- Aegis! Behind you!"

I skidded to a stop about fifteen feet from Krieg and looked skyward just in time to catch a strange distortion ripple through the night air towards Aegis. Stalker's warning came just in time, since he pivoted mid-air at the last moment in order to shelter his cargo with his own body. I could just barely make out a spurt of blood flying away from Aegis before an explosive burst of compressed air sent him spirally wildly through the air.

"Okay, now I see Stormtiger," Stalker chuckled. "He's on the building to the west of the construction site, on the rooftop. I'm taking him down."

I saw Aegis right himself mid-air and resume his course away from the battle, only to dodge sharply as another claw of compressed air shot towards him. He avoided the claw, but it still exploded next to him, forcing him to once again shield his passenger with his own body.

"Can you really afford to waste time stargazing right now, Fraulein?"

I'd forgotten about Krieg, and he'd used that as a chance to close the distance between us and swing one of his leather-clad fists in at me in a simple haymaker punch. Even as I brought my arms up to block, I felt his power settle over me like a stiff, heavy blanket. I'd expected it to feel like struggling against a strong wind, but this was more like being crushed from all sides. Even my breathing became harder, my chest straining against the invisible pressure for each gulp of air. Between the slowing effect of Krieg's power and the shock of its sudden appearance, I failed to react in time, and Krieg's fist smashed into my face with the force of a sledgehammer.

I soared backwards, slamming into a length of concrete pipe with enough force to crack it. My head rang from the impact, but it looked like my helmet's faceplate had absorbed the blow without cracking. I'd have to thank Armsmaster later for my lack of a broken nose. Allowing myself a small grunt of pain, I stood up out of the shallow concrete crater I'd made and started walking calmly back towards Krieg.

"A rookie mistake," Krieg said, walking forward to meet me. His tone was mocking and indulgent, like an adult teasing an 8-year-old. "Watch the sky for threats, jah, but never forget your foes here in on the ground."

Gallant's voice came over the radio. "Aegis, you'll need to fly lower, stay under Stormtiger's horizon. You're not far from the drop-off point. Shadow Stalker, Daystar, hold as long as you can. Backup is on the way, but they're at least ten minutes out."

In other words, we were basically on our own. Perfect. I cracked my knuckles, mostly for theatrical effect, and drew deeply on my essence. My emblem flared to life over my forehead as I shaped the power, compressing it within my flesh until it threatened to explode out of me. Krieg had stopped advancing, keeping his confident stance but watching warily for my attack. It wouldn't do him any good. I focused on my target, bared my teeth in a savage grin, and took one step forward as I released my power.

My essence erupted with a crack of thunder, my single step sending me sailing over the ground and right into Krieg before he could even blink. I smashed my golden-glowing fist right into his face with all the force I could muster, sending him reeling backwards. Dashing head-on into his power's area of effect felt like falling into water from a great height, a sudden shock that threatened to drive the air from my lungs, but I managed to keep my momentum long enough to land a few more blows to his head and torso before he regained his footing. Even with his power cushioning the impacts, I was sure he could feel every hit.

I jumped back as he took another swing at me, easily anticipating the attack. Krieg was obviously a trained fighter, but his skill wasn't anything exceptional. The more time I had to get used to his power, the more of an advantage my superior skill would grant me. The fight was already mine. I put myself at the very edge of his striking range, baiting him into overreaching.

Instead of rushing forward, though Krieg took a step back and stomped on a length of rusted pipe lying on the ground, sending it flying right at me with impossible speed. I barely had time to get my arms up before it struck me so hard that it shattered, broken halves flying off to each side of me. My forearms stung from the impact, but it could have been a lot worse. Not only could his power accelerate thrown objects, it seemed, but it could also guide them.

I only had a half-second to catch my breath before Krieg hurled a brick at me with the same deadly force. Instead of blocking, I reinforced my fist and punched it out of the air, reducing it to a cloud of dust and stinging particles that washed over me harmlessly. I ducked under Krieg's third projectile before I could even make out what it was, but the fourth caught me in the chestplate hard enough to knock the wind out of me.

"I hope you're not taking this personally, Fraulein," Krieg chuckled, even as he hurled more junk at me. "The crowds expect a little speech like that before a fight. A little bit of theater, jah? Otherwise, I would not say such horrid things."

I tried to press forward through the storm of rusted metal and crumbled brick, but Krieg could casually walk backwards as fast as I could advance. The closer I came to him, the more his power pressed down on me, slowing me down and leaving me open. I couldn't muster the concentration for another 'thunderclap' strike, not while under attack like this, and I was getting hit often enough that I couldn't just wait for him to run out of ammo. Instead, I made my way slowly towards a heavy concrete support without a ceiling to hold up, diving behind it as soon as I was close enough.

"Wait," I said, trying not to sound as winded as I felt. "You're trying to convince me that you don't believe all that homophobic garbage you were saying earlier? I dunno, maybe it's just the company you keep, but I'm not buying it."

"Of course not," Krieg laughed, "I believe every word of it. I simply regret having to be so rude."

From the direction of his voice, I could tell that Krieg was circling around the pillar at an unhurried pace, keeping his distance so I couldn't just charge him again. I couldn't tell if the ache in my chest was from breathlessness or from all the hits I'd taken, but it was already fading. I'd be ready to face him again in less than a minute, but I didn't want to just run at him without a plan.

"Unfortunately," he continued, "since your flying friend made off with the star of tonight's performance, I find myself in need of someone else to play the role of object lesson. Perhaps a few broken bones and missing teeth with convey to your superiors the folly of sending children into battle with grown men?"

I dashed out from behind the pillar, and charged at Krieg as fast as my legs would carry me. He threw another length of pipe at me, but now that I was expecting it, I managed to reach out and catch it mid air. Krieg threw the brick he'd been holding in his other hand, but I gathered essence into my legs and leaped over it, managing to bound almost half-again my own height into the air. At the apex of my jump, I gripped my pipe like a javelin and threw it at him with as much strength as I could muster.

I didn't expect my makeshift projectile to punch through Krieg's power field, just to make him flinch. Sure enough, he raised his arms to ward away the attack, which clattered harmlessly against him. It was only a half-second delay, but it meant that by the time he lowered his arms, I was already too close for him to manage another throw at me, just as I'd predicted.

Unfortunately, I hadn't predicted that he'd be able to grab a length of 2x4 and swing it at me like a baseball bat. Being midair meant I couldn't do anything to dodge, but I managed to catch the blow on my forearms instead of my face. The wood plank shattered into splinters as it hit me, and I went flying back from the force, sailing over a dozen yards through the air. I managed to twist around mid-air and land in a crouch, skidding back several feet through the dirt to bleed off the last of my momentum. My arms throbbed with pain, but nothing felt broken.

No sooner had I come to a stop than I had to dodge another one of Krieg's projectiles. My essence seethed within me, urging me to destroy the enemy, to rip out his heart and hold it to the sky as a bloody offering. If I rushed directly at him, tanking his projectiles rather than trying slowing down to dodge or block, I could hopefully get my hands around his neck before he bludgeoned me unconscious. I bared my teeth, lowered myself into a sprinter's crouch, and-

"Daystar, what's your situation?"

Gallant's voice over the radio brought me halfway back to my senses, just enough for me to notice another incoming brick and roll sideways to avoid it, ending up behind a short stack of bricks.

"Krieg has me pinned down," I growled. "He's not pressing the attack, probably because he knows I can take him up close."

"Right," Gallant said, with enviable calm. "Shadow Stalker, can you move to back her up?"

"No can do, Console," Stalker replied, sounding out of breath. "I don't know how Stormtiger managed to hear me coming, but we're keeping each other busy right now. Why don't you send Aegis to rescue Sunshine? I can see him flying in now. "

"I'm still at least two minutes out," Aegis said, and I felt my blood grow cold. "Ran into Cricket and a bunch of goons. Whoever you saw flying in, it wasn't me."

"New Wave?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

"Still at their homes," Gallant answered, "which means we're probably looking at E88 reinforcements."

I bit back a curse. If more Empire capes showed up while we were still tangling with these two, we'd get overwhelmed in short order. We didn't have any time left to waste.

"Sounds like you're the one who needs help, Stalker" I said, trying to fake smugness that I very much didn't feel. "Aegis, I'm disengaging with Krieg and moving to back up Shadow Stalker."

"The hell you are," Stalker bit out, "I don't need your fucking help, Sun-"

"Roger that, Daystar," Aegis said. "Just watch out for those reinforcements. Shadow Stalker, hold back until you can link up with Daystar."

"Fuck that," Stalker said, "I can take this asshole down before you even get here."

"If you say so," I said, shifting my focus Stormtiger's building, where I could see his silhouette standing near the edge of the rooftop. It was a pretty standard office building, about five stories tall, neither particularly old or new. No exterior fire escape that I could see, unfortunately, and none of the neighboring buildings looked any easier to climb. If I was going to reach the top, I'd need a helping hand.

I had a terrible plan. "Stalker," I said, "when you see me, I want you to shoot me with a tranq dart."

Stalker shouted something back at me about being crazy, but I had already dashed out of cover to sprint at Krieg one more time. I imagined my essence crackling like lightning through my veins, drawing out every spark of raw power within me and channeling it into greater speed. The glow surrounding me grew even brighter, and from the corners of my eyes I could see streams of golden golden light rising off my arms and shoulders like steam.

My sudden rush had caught Krieg off-guard, but he soon recovered his wits enough to hurl another brick at me. I lowered my head and allowed it to strike me on my helmet; the impact felt like slamming my head into a steel wall, but I didn't let it slow me down. Krieg's next shot swept past only inches from my head, there and gone before I could even think to flinch. He only had time for one more throw before I was on top of him, and he used it to toss a massive cinder block at my legs, probably hoping to trip me up.

Right before it would have crashed into my kneecaps, I launched myself upwards, clearing maybe twelve feet in height. Trails of essence stretched out behind me like streamers in the wind, and I felt my power's strength begin to wane, but I couldn't afford to let up yet. Seeing me leap, Krieg grabbed a bundle of twisted rebar and gripped it like a baseball bat, preparing to once again take advantage of the opening I'd given him.

Right as he swung, I drew up my knees and twisted around in mid-air, core muscles straining from the effort, so that I met his attack feet first. As soon as I felt his makeshift club connect, I pushed off of it with all the strength I had, exploding up and out in the direction of Stormtiger's rooftop perch. The force of my leap added to Krieg's power-enhanced swing was enough to send me soaring through the air at ludicrous speed; if I missed my target, this was really going to hurt.

I'd always dreamed of gaining the power of flight, but this wasn't exactly as I imagined it. Somehow, though I seemed to be flying in the right direction. I cleared the height of the rooftop and hit the apex of my jump only a few meters above it, giving me a clear view of Shadow Stalker's battle with Stormtiger. The rooftop was littered with ruined ventilation machinery, cut to pieces by Stormtiger's aerokinetic claws, as well as almost a dozen of Stalker's crossbow bolts that he'd probably deflected. Shadow Stalker's gaze rose to meet mine, and I would have paid good money to be able to see her face right at that moment.

"Shoot me!" I yelled, hoping my helmet mic could pick up my voice above the roar of rushing air. Whether or not she heard, she raised one of her crossbows and snapped off a shot right at me. Right before it would have struck me in the neck, I channeled a few sparks of essence and plucked the tranquilizer dart out of mid-air. I had just enough time, as I fell towards the roof, to flip it around in my hand and grip it like a dagger. Stormtiger started to turn around, too slow, and I crashed into him from behind, stabbing the dart into his neck as we both went rolling across the rooftop. By the time we skidded to a stop, only a few feet away from Shadow Stalker, he was out cold.

Shadow Stalker stood frozen in place, the face on her mask as impassive as ever. I held up a hand towards her as I untangled my limbs from Stormtiger's, and after a few awkward seconds, she took it and helped pull me to my feet. My essence still shone around me like an aura, golden light fading to blue-white at the edges, its brilliance illuminating the entire rooftop bright as day and shining a false twilight onto the streets below.

"Stormtiger down," I spoke into my radio. "Team effort between Shadow Stalker and I."

I turned to Shadow Stalker. "So, are you free to help with Krieg now?"

If she was impressed, she didn't give any sign. She stepped closer to the roof's edge and looked down onto the construction site. I could just barely make out Krieg below, looking up at the roof with what I liked to believe was confusion. I wanted to sit down and take a breather, wait a few minutes for essence to return to full strength, but we probably only had a few moments before he decided to cut his losses and run.

"Maybe," Stalker said. "Krieg's a real pain to fight. Asshole's power slows down my bolts so much that they can't pierce his costume. I don't suppose you have any bright ideas?"

"I might," I said. "Think you can cover me, keep him distracted for a few seconds?"

"Sure, if you can keep up," she said, before taking a running leap off the edge of the roof. I almost dashed off after her, but almost tripping over Stormtiger's prone body reminded me that the PRT would probably have an easier time picking him up if I could bring him to ground level. I hoisted the unconscious Nazi over my shoulder in a fireman's carry and jumped off the top of a five story building.

I realized about halfway down that I'd never tried this trick while carrying a grown-ass man with me. I hit the ground hard enough to kick up a huge cloud of dust and debris, the impact making me feel every single scrape and bruise I'd picked up in the fight so far. As soon as I was sure I wouldn't fall over, I set Stormtiger down on the dirt, checked to make sure he was still breathing, and rushed after Shadow Stalker and Krieg.

Stalker and Krieg seemed stuck in a stalemate. The Nazi cape was more than happy to get into close combat with Stalker, but his power-enhanced hammer blows never struck anything except intangible smoke. Stalker's movements slowed to a crawl under the effects of his power, but she could still shift into her breaker form at the speed of thought. She danced back and forward with him, trying to set up a point-blank shot with one of her crossbows, but Krieg always forced her back into Shadow form before she could get the chance to fire.

I rushed at Krieg, doing my best to keep Stalker positioned between him and I, uncomfortably aware of just how brightly I was glowing. I wasn't nearly as fast without essence coursing through my limbs, but I needed to save the last of my power's strength for the finishing blow, so I forced myself to move faster through sheer willpower. Everything could still go to hell at a moment's notice thanks to a lucky shot from Krieg or the arrival of more Nazi capes, and yet I felt nothing but calm within. I was exactly where I was supposed to be, doing exactly what I was supposed to do, and my power sang out in harmony with my soul.

I put on one last burst of speed as I drew closer, sprinting at Stalker and Krieg beyond her. Right when I was about to run into Stalker from behind, I yelled "Stalker, Fade!" at the top of my lungs. Without waiting for a response, I gathered the last of my essence into my fist, crushing it tight with my will until it threatened to escape my grip, and punched through Shadow Stalker with all of my might. Her body turned to smoke at the very last moment, and I shot through her breaker form without resistance to strike Krieg with a fistful of sunlight.

I felt his power sap my momentum and strip most of the strength from my punch, but it couldn't touch the essence blazing within my fist. My power surged into him the moment I made contact, turning instantly into an unstoppable force that his power could do nothing about. Krieg flew backwards with terrifying speed, soaring over a dozen yards through the air before slamming through a stack of clay bricks, and eventually rolling to a stop somewhere on the far side. He groaned as he used what was probably the last of his strength to roll over onto his back, and then went limp.

"Console, this Daystar, confirming that both Stormtiger and Krieg are down." I may have sounded a bit more smug than was strictly professional. "You're clear to come in and pick up the tra-"

I saw the shadow growing around me just in time to hurl myself out of the way before a chunk of concrete the size of a VW bug strike the ground where I'd been standing. Shadow stalker blurred into shadow as she jumped backwards. I rolled to my feet next to her and looked up to see another mass of rock hanging steady in mid air only a few yards away, holding up a short-looking parahuman in a billowing red and black robe that practically screamed Wizard.

"I'll kill you for that, you fucking lesbian bitch," the wizard growled at me. Her voice sounded young, probably close to my age, and like Krieg, she didn't actually say 'lesbian." Fucking Nazis.

"Console," I whispered, "Rune just showed up on the scene, and she seems pissed. I think we can stall her long enough for-"

Either Rune could actually hear me, or she had even less patience than I expected, because she suddenly let out a high-pitched scream of rage and rocketed forward to try and crush Stalker and I under her floating boulder. I barely managed to roll out of the way in time, but Stalker simply turned to shadow and let Rune and her Wild Ride sail straight through her. The instant the boulder passed, Shadow Stalker rematerialized and casually shot a tranq bolt into Rune's back from only a few feet away.

Rune managed to make it a few yards away before her rock started to wobble, slow, and then gradually float to the ground.

"Uh, nevermind, console," I said. "Rune is down. Turns out fighting angry isn't always a good idea."

"Cricket got away," Aegis said, "but three Empire capes down is still pretty damn good. Standby for pickup."

Shadow Stalker held her hand out for a fist-bump. I stared down at it without moving.

"C'mon, Sunshine," Stalker said, with actual warmth in her tone. "Tell me that wasn't the most fun you've had in your entire life."

I sighed, but I couldn't stop myself from grinning as I returned her gesture.

"Thought so," she grinned. "We've got to go out together like this more often."

I considered that for a second. "Stalker," I said, "don't get me wrong; I still fucking hate you...but yeah, we make a pretty good team."

"Damn right we do," she replied, before pointing up to the sea of spectators at the edge of the construction site. "Now smile for the cameras, sunshine, 'cause you're giving them perfect lighting."

I punched her in the shoulder, a little harder than strictly necessary."Go to hell, Shadow Stalker."

Of course, I was smiling as I said it.

A/N: CAPE FIIIIGHT!!!

(Clears throat)

This chapter was tough to write; I had to try about a half-dozen different paths for the fight before I found one that felt natural and exciting. The first one was so slow, I would have had to split the fight into two chapters of 5K words each to finish it.

As a result of all these troubles, I'm more than slightly behind in maintaining my buffer for upcoming chapters. Thankfully, the ones I have to right next should be a lot easier. If I really need to, I can post an interlude in place of a regular thursday chapter, but I'd rather keep those as bonus material if possible.

Taylor's found some good reasons to invest in a few more Athletics charms in the near future, I think. She hasn't quite developed anything like Monkey Leap Technique, but that's just until she convinces Armsmaster to build her the world's most efficient tinkertech jungle-gym.

Next time, on Daystar!: Brockton Bay reacts to Daystar! Taylor goes to school, where everyone is friends and nothing is wrong! WinterWombat does not try to write a PHO segment, mostly because she doesn't want to come up with all those usernames!

Thanks for reading!

Last edited: Oct 24, 2019

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WinterWombat

Oct 24, 2019

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WinterWombat

Word Nerd

Oct 31, 2019

#1,848

Spoiler: Content Warning

March 29th, 2011

After kicking ass in my first cape fight, going back to school the next morning felt more than a little surreal. Everything seemed pretty normal on Monday, except for occasional whispers about a new video on PHO. I didn't have the stomach to check it out myself, so I'd intended to ask my school friends about it over lunch. Unfortunately, we ended up spending so much time talking about Thea's new D campaign and teasing Arthur about his crush on the head of the school's photography club that our lunch break finished before I could remember to bring it up. It wasn't anything to worry about, anyways; just because I'd won a single fight didn't mean I was suddenly going to be the talk of the town.

That was yesterday. When I walked into Arcadia this morning, it felt like half the school was wearing some kind of Daystar merchandise. The actual number was probably closer to 5% than 50%, but seeing my signature eight-pointed sunburst staring back at me from pins, hats, and t-shirts warmed my heart even as it creeped me out a little. Sure, it made me uncomfortably aware of my secret identity and the possibility of discovery, but actually being recognized for my accomplishments buoyed me up on a sense of elation that carried me clear through to lunch.

When I approached my usual table and saw both Dennis, Jess, and Arthur all wearing shirts with my logo on them, I had to resist the urge to laugh. As soon as I saw her, Jess started waving me over with such enthusiasm that I couldn't help but smile. Part of me was tempted to hold back and see if she'd actually jump up on her chair, but I decided to take mercy on her arms (and the cafeteria furniture) and made a beeline over. Most of the group was already there; only Thea was late.

"Taylor!" Jess exclaimed, pulling me into a quick hug as had become our customary greeting. "Have you seen the video yet?"

"Video?" I asked, not having to fake ignorance.

"Of Daystar," Jess grinned, while gesturing to the logo on her shirt. "She and Shadow Stalker got in a fight with the E88 on the weekend, and, well…"

"You need to see it for yourself," Dennis finished, handing over his phone. Sure enough, it was playing a recording of my fight at the construction sight. Judging by the position of the camera, it was taken by someone near the front of the crowd. They'd managed to get a good view of my clash with Krieg, and I was surprised to see how fast it all looked from the outside. I also hadn't realized just how intimidating I'd looked when I manifested that golden aura. All in all, the video only lasted a few minutes, and even though I'd lived through it all myself, I still felt shivers running down my spine by the time it finished.

"Well damn," I said, handing Dennis his phone back, "I think I might be in love."

"You wouldn't be the only one," Dennis grinned, making Jess blush fiercely even as she delivered a good-natured punch to his shoulder.

"Shut it," she said, still managing to smile through the embarrassment, "or I'll have to tell everyone about the huge crush you have on Shadow Stalker."

"Had, Jess," Dennis said, with mock-affronted dignity. "I had a crush on Shadow Stalker, but no longer. I wouldn't even think of trying to stand between her and her obvious new love."

"Oh? Is Shadow Stalker dating someone new?" I asked, only to see Dennis's grin grows wider.

"Taylor," he said, "don't tell me you can't see it?"

I tilted my head in confusion. Jess groaned and rolled her eyes.

"So! Taylor!" she said, in a let's-change-the-topic tone of voice, "I got everyone Daystar T-shirts, but I wasn't sure what size to get you. If you stop by my locker after school-"

Dennis was not to be deterred. "You could say that. Emphasis on 'new,' if you catch my drift."

"He's speaking of the romance building between the two newest Wards," Arthur added, "our beautiful young queens of night and day. The princesses pugilistic and penumbral. The Nazi-fighting sensation that's sweeping the nation?"

I couldn't help myself; I burst out laughing. The sheer amount of information they were missing, to make theory sound even remotely plausible…

By the time I got myself back under control, Jess looked like she was ready to throw her hands up and storm out of the cafeteria, Dennis was rolling his eyes at me, and Arthur just looked confused.

"Sorry," I said, still a little breathless, "that just reminded me of something hilarious. Are people seriously shipping those two?"

Arthur nodded with utmost solemnity. "ShadowStar is a pretty big deal on the major capefics sites right now. Some of them are pretty good, too. I read one last night that was basically 20K words of mutual pining…"

I tuned Arthur out and pulled up the relevant PHO threads on my own phone, only to find a shocking amount of discussion. A quick skim revealed that the vast majority of it seemed positive. The mods were doing a good job cracking down on inappropriate comments, but there was still some stuff that made me blush despite being 100% SFW. I had to fight back tears when I found a series of posts from other queer people in Brockton Bay, saying that having me around made them feel safer. I wasn't in this business for the praise, but that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy it when offered.

I was so focused on what I was reading that I barely noticed when Thea showed.

"Hey gang," she half-spoke, half-sang, "sorry for the lateness, but I stumbled upon another poor lost soul in need of our guidance. New person, I'd like to introduce you to Arthur, Jess, Taylor, and Dennis. We're Arcadia's official-unofficial welcome party and orientation squad. We like to help people get the lay of the land, find new friends, join clubs, etc, although some people," she reached across the table and flicked me on the forehead, "just latch onto us and never let go."

Rubbing at my forehead, more out of irritation than any pain, I looked up from my phone...and froze.

"Gang," Thea continued, "it's my pleasure to introduce you to-"

"Emma."

Call me petty, but the first thing I really noticed about Emma was that the last three-and-a-half months hadn't been kind to her. She looked tired, pale, almost sickly, even through her expertly applied makeup. In contrast to her usual poised and confident posture, she hunched her shoulders and wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to ward off a chill. Her clothing was stylish as always, but evidently chosen to conceal her figure rather than flatter it.

Several seconds passed before I saw recognition flash across her face.

"T-Taylor?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her facial expression was unreadable.

"Taylor?" Thea asked, looking surprised. "You two know each other?"

Before I could reply, before I could even think about how to reply, Emma dashed around to my side of the table and hurled herself at me. Caught off-guard, I had barely any time to raise my arms in defensive posture before she...wrapped me up in desperately tight hug and started sobbing into my shoulder.

"You're alive," she whispered in between choking sobs. "You're alive! Oh god, Taylor, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

For the first couple of months after Emma turned on me, I'd fantasize about something like this, crying myself to sleep every other night with the desperate wish that she'd come back to her senses and be my friend again. Over time, the fantasy became less about welcoming her back, and more about forcing her to grovel, to beg for my forgiveness. Eventually, though, the most I could bring myself to hope for was that she might one day simply forget I existed.

Now my old dreams were somehow coming true, and all I felt was anger.

It took a sizeable fraction of my willpower not to shove Emma to the floor. I didn't want my friends to see me act like that. I wrapped my arms around her instead, cursing my decision not to tell anyone about the bullying I'd endured. At the time, I'd been worried about looking weak. I still was, to tell the truth, but I didn't know if it was worth having to pretend to be nice to Emma.

Thea took her seat on the opposite side of the table, caught between shock and obvious curiosity. She would just have to wait; I wasn't saying one word until I could figure out what was going on.

"So," Dennis said, "I take it you two have some history?"

Jess turned to glare daggers at him, and he shrugged.

"It's...complicated," I said. No fucking shit.

"Taylor w-was my b-best friend," Emma suddenly spoke up, startling me. "We grew up t-together. She was the kindest, smartest, st-strongest person I knew, but I-"

"We had a falling out in highschool," I said, cutting her off. "I'd rather not go into it right now."

"I understand," Emma said, her sniffles starting to abate. "I...I think I should go fix my makeup."

"I'll go with you," I said. I kept my voice light, but I tightened my grip around Emma's shoulders to make sure she understood that this wasn't a request. I stood up, and Emma came with me, reluctantly letting go of me in the process.

"Are you two going to be okay?" Jess asked.

"Yeah," I replied, with fake cheer, "I'm going to be just fine."

Emma clearly didn't know her way around Arcadia, which gave me the chance to lead her to the most out-of-the-way washroom I knew of. If she noticed our needlessly meandering route, she gave no sign. Once we reached our destination, I ushered her inside ahead of me before grabbing a piece of paper from my backpack, scrawling 'Out of Service' across it with a sharpie, and taping it to the washroom door.

I stepped in and saw Emma hadn't been kidding about fixing her makeup, having pulled a compact and some tissues from her purse. She dabbed at her face with calm, careful motions, but I still saw her flinch when I came in. I walked over to the far side of the washroom and leaned against the wall, taking a few seconds to gather my thoughts. I had a lot of questions to ask, but step one was making sure I could talk to her without exploding.

"What the FUCK, Emma!?"

Step one failed.

Emma didn't turn around, but her eyes met mine in the mirror.

"I'm sorry," she eventually said. It wasn't the same kind of desperate, pleading 'sorry' she'd sobbed into my shoulder a few minutes earlier. This one was much more matter-of-fact.

"I just got back into town on Monday. I'd heard that you were alive, but I wasn't expecting to see you here, and I kind of just...lost it. I don't think it had really sunk in until just now, that you really weren't dead."

It was strange, almost surreal, to hear her addressing me without venom lacing her words. It didn't help that she kept her face completely emotionless while speaking, years of practice with applying cosmetics probably helping her keep her features motionless.

"You really thought I was dead?" I wasn't surprised. After triggering, after Dad's...I didn't care if the whole world thought I was dead.

"I thought I killed you," she replied, matter-of-factly. "Indirectly, at least. It didn't really make any sense, but guilt doesn't have to be rational, does it?"

"Funny," I bit back, "I'm pretty sure you told me more than a few times that you'd be overjoyed to see me dead."

"I was," she said. "When I heard, at first, I couldn't stop laughing. Then I started crying, and screaming, and breaking things. That's when I realized…"

"Stop," I said, voice cold with barely suppressed anger. "Emma, I don't care."

She froze, and I noticed the hand holding her eyeliner started to tremble.

"I thought you would have questions," she eventually said.

"I did," I replied, "but at some point I decided not to waste any more time worrying about you. Maybe you had a reason for stabbing me in the back, for ruining my life, but I eventually realized that understanding it wouldn't fix things, so what was the point? I gave up on you. I moved on."

"If that's true," she said, turning around and offering me a faint half-smile, "why did you need to drag me out here? Why get so angry if you don't still care? It isn't healthy to deny your emotions like that, Taylor."

"Don't you dare," I growled at her. "I'm not putting up with another second of your taunting and teasing, Emma. Nobody gets to make me feel like that anymore."

Her smile turned to an expression of confusion, then horror. "Oh god, no, Taylor, I'm sorry. That wasn't what I meant. I didn't want to…"

She stopped, took a deep breath. "I don't want to be that kind of person anymore. I don't want to hurt anyone, not again. Please, believe me, I'm trying to change."

I didn't bother to hide the mockery in my tone. "And how's that going for you?"

Emma dropped her eyes to the floor. "It's hard. I have to watch myself all the time, now. It's so easy to just lash out without thinking, to manipulate people instead of being honest with them. For years, feeling stronger than everyone else was the only thing holding me together. I need to-"

"Fuck that!" I shouted, surprising myself with the anger in my voice. "You tortured me for years! You smiled and laughed as you made every day into a living hell! Then you show up one day with apologies and sob stories about how you've suddenly grown a conscience? Fuck that! You don't get to be sympathetic, Emma! Not to me, not anymore."

I didn't realize I had been advancing on Emma until she scrabbled up onto the countertop to keep her distance from me. Her face was a mask of terror. Call me a monster, but it felt good. Right. After all, she'd been a monster to me for a lot longer. I was owed some payback.

I took another step closer, and watched her cower against the mirror, covering her eyes and curling in on herself. I could just barely hear whimpering, whispering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," again and again. I sighed, and backed away. I didn't have the stomach to torture her like that, even if I still thought she deserved it. .

"Sorry isn't good enough, Emma," I said, before turning to leave. I made it almost to the door before I heard her speak up.

"...then what is?"

I turned back around, and saw her looking at me with naked desperation.

"I know that I could keep saying I'm sorry, every minute of every day for the rest of my life, and it wouldn't be enough," she said, just barely holding on to the last of her composure. "So tell me what else you want from me. Anything at all, as long as it's in my power, I'll do it."

"Right," I scoffed. "Because that will make things better. What if I told you to leave the school and never speak to me again?"

"I'd leave," she said. "Right now. I owe you nothing less."

I frowned. "And if I told you to confess everything you did to me?"

She dropped her gaze. "I've already told my family, my doctors, my therapists. I can tell it all again, as many times as I need to, if that would make you happy."

"And what if I told you to go up to the roof and jump off!?" I snapped.

Emma brought her eyes up to meet mine again. "If that would make you happy," she repeated, sending a chill down my spine. I took a step back, my back colliding with the washroom door, and grasped for my social insight power out of pure instinct.

She'll do it. I don't need to persuade her. She's already willing to do whatever I demand. If I show her even the tiniest hint of forgiveness, though, she won't just obey, she'll practically worship me.

My head began to spin. What the hell could have happened to Emma, to make her go from trying to ruin my life to being willing to die for me?

"Well, don't," I managed to whisper. "I don't want you to die."

Emma smiled at my words, so bright and grateful that I felt the bottom fall out of my stomach. I couldn't imagine what might have broken her this badly, but it was pretty clear she'd never be my enemy again, at least not one I'd ever have to fear. Her loyalty, her devotion, was mine for the taking. It would only take a few words.

I'd already decided that I wasn't callous enough to manipulate the other Wards, but they were my friends. This was Emma, and like she'd said, she owed it to me.

"Okay," I said, making up my mind. "You want to make me happy? First, I need you to stay away from me and my friends while we're at school. I don't want to drag them into this."

Emma nodded with almost painful sincerity.

"Next, I'm going to have questions for you, but I'm already at my limit of dealing with you for today. Starting tomorrow, I want you to make sure you're available to take a phone call at 9:00PM sharp, every night. If I don't call by 9:15, you're free for the rest of the night. If there's anything else I need from you, I'll let you know then."

I stopped to take a few deep breaths. My demand wasn't fair, but I suspected that would make it all the more appealing to Emma.

"I can't promise that I'll ever forgive you," I said, "but if you're really serious about making up for what you did, this is how you can start. Just keep in mind that if I ever catch you lying to me, or I find you treating anyone else like you treated me, I'll never speak to you again. Understand?"

Emma rushed at me, but stopped only a foot short of wrapping me in another hug. "Yes, Taylor," she said, obviously struggling not to break into tears again. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I won't let you down, I promise."

I waved her away, but spent several minutes after she left staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, unable to figure out if I needed to cry or throw up. How the hell was my career as a cape the least confusing part of my life?

After school let out, I made my way over to the Dallon household, stopping to pick up my costume on the way. They had quite a spacious backyard, and using it for practice was a lot easier than booking off a PRT training room. The yard was surrounded by high-enough fencing that I didn't actually need to mask up, but I'd still wanted my costume close at hand in case I started glowing like an industrial floodlight again. On a whim, I'd also changed into the Daystar shirt Jess had given me.

"Alright, Amy," I said, "I want you to hit me as hard as you-"

Amy punched me in the face before I'd even finished speaking, and I staggered back slightly, more from surprise than pain. It had been a clumsy punch, without much strength behind it, but I couldn't fault her enthusiasm.

"Good!" I grinned at her, and held out one hand. "This time, though, I want you to aim for my palm. However feels natural."

"I thought you wanted to be our teacher," Amy grunted, in between blows, "not just our punching bag. An actual punching bag would be a lot nicer to deal with."

"Awe, Ames," Vicky teased, "you have to admit, Daystar's a lot better looking than anything we could buy at a sporting-goods store." I'd set her to practicing some moves I'd picked up from training in tai chi chuan, a martial art that focused on redirecting force instead of directly opposing it. I couldn't call myself a master of the art by any means, and wasn't truly qualified to teach it in any official capacity, but I thought the basics might help Vicky develop the foundations of a less destructive fighting style.

I felt myself blush at Vicky's comment, even as Amy's strikes started coming noticeably harder and faster. After another minute or so, I gestured for her to stop.

"Someone's already taught you how to throw a punch, yeah?" I asked.

"Uncle Neil," she replied with a shrug, "You'd probably know him as Manpower. He gave us all some lessons when we were younger."

"Right," I said. "I can tell that you haven't really practiced since then. The good news is, you're clearly not afraid of actually hitting people; that's something that usually takes a while for new students to learn. I think I'll try walking you through some basic forms, stuff that should help you improve your stance and footwork. That'll give you something to practice in between lessons."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Don't expect me to the most dedicated student. I'm still only doing this because Vicky asked me to."

"That's your call, Amy," I said, keeping my voice even despite my growing frustration. "Ideally, I'd like you to practice at least once a day, even if only for a few minutes, but this isn't homework. I know you're familiar with that old saying about how you only get out as much as you put in; so you should try to decide what you want to get out of this. You're the only one who can decide what these lessons are worth to you."

"Damn, Taylor," Vicky called out, "you've really got the whole 'wise kung-fu master' schtick worked out."

No need to tell her that I'd been quoting almost verbatim from a speech my 6th grade gym teacher gave me on the first day of class. Instead, I just gave her my best stern glare.

"You can mock my teaching style all you like when you stop trying to float your way through your exercises."

Vicky gave me a look of fake outrage. "Excuse me? Can you not see that my feet are firmly planted on the ground?"

"Sure," I shot back, "but they're not supporting your weight. You can cheat with your powers all you like, Vicky, and you can lie with your face, but your body always tells the truth."

Vicky pouted. "I don't know whether to be grumpy or impressed that you figure that out."

I gave her a dismissive 'get back to work' gesture and returned my focus to Amy, walking her through some basic self-defense exercises. I was determined to be a better instructor in my field of expertise than Armsmaster was in his, but Amy's obvious lack of enthusiasm didn't make it an easy job.

"Okay, hold right there," I said, after a few minutes of watching her try the forms on her own. "You're still bending forward too much. You want to keep your back straight, but not stiff, and make sure you're supporting your center of gravity."

"Sorry, but my back is as straight as it gets," Amy complained. "It's just about as straight as I'm not."

I had to chuckle at that, even as I walked over to correct her form.

"You want to shift your stance like this," I said, pushing at the small of her back, "and then pull your elbows in, bring your hands up to here…"

Right in the middle of my efforts to pose Amy like a figure-drawing doll, I was suddenly struck by a wave of emotion that almost instantly threatened to overwhelm me. I froze in place, caught bouncing between fear and awe too fast to handle either. Thankfully, my recent practice and meditation seemed to have become at least partially ingrained in my psyche, because I was able to use the last tattered remnants of my focus to imagine a wall of essence forming around my mind. I tried to channel more of my power into my skull, trying to reinforce my flagging willpower, and for a moment the assault against my emotions lessened noticeably, before I felt the metaphorical wall crack and my focus failed me utterly.

"Uncle!" I gasped, releasing my grip on Amy's wrist as I fell to my knees. The emotional onslaught immediately vanished, with Vicky dashing to my side only a moment later.

"Shit, are you alright, Taylor?" She asked, her eyes wide with worry. "I know you said not to hold back, but-"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I managed to say, fighting to even out my panicked breathing. "That was great, Vicky. Sudden and powerful, just like I asked for."

Vicky pursed her lips, still clearly uncomfortable, but helped me to my feet without complaint.

"I think I made some progress," I said. "I managed to produce an actual defense this time, even if it only lasted a few seconds. It's just not nearly strong enough, even when I throw all the power I can into the effort."

"That's good," Vicky said, "but I still, I mean…"

I locked my gaze to hers. "Vicky, what's wrong?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Taylor. I know I promised to help you with this, but I didn't realize how uncomfortable it would make me. I hate feeling like I'm hurting you, even when you ask me to."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "That's fine, Vicky. I should have thought about how this would make you feel. Do you think you could manage just a few more tries? I feel like I'm right on the edge of figuring all this out."

"Taylor," Amy called out from behind me, "I need you to stop pressuring my sister and come over here so you can try that again."

"I'm not," I stuttered, "I wasn't, I didn't want to...fine, whatever. Are you going to be okay, Vicky?"

Once she nodded her approval, I gave her a quick hug before walking over to Amy. She held out a hand, and I offered my arm for her to grasp.

"Okay," she said, "now I want you to try doing the same thing you just did, only without Vicky's aura blasting away at you. Is that possible? I've lived with her so long that I'm basically immune, but it's still distracting as hell."

I shrugged. "I can try?"

I concentrated once again on my essence, attuning my awareness to its ebb and flow throughout my body. Once I felt centered, I tried moving through the same thought exercises as before, visualizing a golden barrier between my mind and outside influence. It was harder without having Vicky's aura to push against, but I tried to focus on how it had felt when I'd briefly managed to deflect it.

"Hmmm," Amy murmured, her former bitterness replaced by her typical "healer" persona. "That's weird. Taylor, can you try doing that glowy fist thing for me?"

"Sure," I said. Reinforcing my hands and other striking surfaces was as easy to me as breathing these days. Hearing another curious hum from Amy, I tried concentrating the power in just one arm, then the other, then one kneecap at a time, and so on.

"Perfect," Amy said, closing her eyes. "Now, I want you to concentrate on gathering your essence in specific parts of your body, one at a time. Don't tell me where."

By this point, I was more than a little curious myself, so I closed my own eyes and did my best to follow her instructions. I'd sometimes try something like this on my own while meditating, seeing how quickly and smoothly I could redirect the flow of essence through my body. I concentrated on gathering power in my hands, my eyes, my toes, my heart, anywhere I could visualize the golden light flowing into. Without intent and focus, the power couldn't really do anything, but manipulating it this way barely took any effort. In fact, it felt almost meditative. Several minutes passed in silence this way before Amy spoke again.

"Left foot." she said, and my eyes shot open.

"That's...yeah, that's right." I said.

"Okay," she said, "try another one. Just keep trying."

This time it only took her about 30 seconds. "Your heart. Your brain. Right hand. Right eye. Right hand again. Your...skin, I think?"

"Okay," I said, "time for you to explain what's going on."

Amy opened her eyes, and released her grip on my arm with only a hint of reluctance.

"Your power is weird," she said, "but it might be weird in a way that makes sense."

"Do you have any words more descriptive than 'weird?'" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "but we're going inside first. I need a drink of water, and you're going to want to sit down for this."

A few minutes later, the three of us sat down at the Dallon's kitchen table. Their mom was still at work, and their dad was apparently asleep upstairs, so we had the place to ourselves.

"Okay," Amy said, "so, the thing about powers is, most of them aren't biological."

"You're one to talk, Ames," Vicky said, giving her a playful nudge on the shoulder. Amy cracked a thin smile, one of the first I'd seen all day.

"What I mean," she continued, "is that most powers don't stem from any recognizable biological process. When Mark creates his concussion grenades, he doesn't pull energy from his cells through some kind of blast-generating organ; the orb just appears in his hand. When Aegis adapts to damage, it's not because of any instructions in his DNA determining the changes through protein expression. It just happens. Likewise, Vicky's super-strength doesn't have anything to do with her muscles."

"I'm following so far," I said, "or at least I think I am. My power affects me physically in a lot of different ways, but I was told that wasn't too unusual."

"You're right, it's not," Amy nodded. "When your power accelerates your healing or boosts your strength, it acts just as mysteriously as any other power. The changes just seem to come out of nowhere. The interesting thing is, you described your power as a kind of energy that you can control and direct inside you, and I think I figured out how to sense it. Whenever you channeled that energy into a specific body part, I could see a flare of extra nerve activity and increased heat production, like the cells there were being energized."

"And that's...weird?" I asked.

Amy nodded. "It's quite subtle. I'm not sure even an advanced MRI scan would be able to pick up on it. Normally, though, powers don't show any kind of biological mechanism outside of the Corona Gemma, and even with that the best we can usually do is just notice the increased electrical activity. Your Gemma lights up like a Christmas tree, in case you were curious. That's not the really interesting part, though."

"Do you mean interesting like an amusing anecdote to share with the Wards later," I asked, "or interesting like they're going to name a new disease after me?"

"Tayloritis!" Vicky exclaimed, making me almost jump out of my seat. "Terrifying and incurable."

"Vicky," Amy deadpanned, "You've taken most of the same bio classes I have. You know that just means 'inflamation of the Taylor.'"

"Right," Vicky replied, grinning ear to ear. "It's what happens every time another girl tells Taylor that she's cute. Look, it's happening right now! So tragic."

I covered my face with my hands. "Amy, your sister's been flirting with me more than any actual lesbian I've ever met, ostensibely on your behalf. Are you sure she's not gay, or bi, or something?"

Amy gave her sister a withering glare. "She just suffers from a rare medical condition, where most of her brain has been replaced by romcoms and dating sim games. Now, do you want me to finish explaining my incredible new breakthrough in parahuman biology, or do you want to keep acting like idiots?"

"I'm all ears, Doctor," I said.

"Don't tempt me," Amy muttered, before switching back to her 'lecture' voice. "The really interesting part is that your power doesn't seem to flow through you willy-nilly. I could see the outline of what looked like hundreds of separate channels, spread out through your body like a second circulatory system. It would take me hours, maybe days to count-"

I raised my hand to interrupt. "Are you saying I have...bonus veins? That sounds more than a little gross."

"No, that's the really, really interesting bit," Amy said. "My power couldn't sense any actual physical structures, or any spaces where they could be hidden. As weird as it sounds, it's as if your power had its own circulatory-slash-nervous system, one that maps onto your physical body without being a part of it."

"If that's true," I said, "then why haven't I ever felt these channels? Sure, I can sense essence moving through my body, but that's never involved any invisible pseudo-arteries that I've noticed."

"How much attention do you pay to your own circulatory system?" Amy asked with a smug grin. "People don't actually feel their blood rushing through their veins, not directly. You can feel your leg start to go numb from reduced bloodflow when you sit on it the wrong way, you might feel your blood pressure causing your temples to throb, but you don't feel any of the individual veins at work. It could be the same deal here."

"I guess that makes sense," I said. "Does this actually mean anything, though?"

Amy gave me an incredulous look. "Aside from being really freaking cool? Maybe, maybe not. Have you ever heard of the concept of the Subtle Body?"

I considered the term. "Maybe? I feel like I might have heard it in some kind of religious context?"

"Right," Amy said. "Long story very short, it's a recurring idea in certain branches of Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist tradition. I had to read up on it when Vicky convinced me to look into acupuncture and acupressure for inspiration with my power. The general concept is that, in addition to your physical body, you also have a kind of spiritual body, an invisible structure that absorbs and channels spiritual forces. What's important for you is the idea that different parts of the subtle body have different effects on your physical body. Opening or blocking certain channels might impact your health or your state of mind, for example."

I frowned. "I'm guessing you're not just bringing this up out of the blue?"

Amy grinned. "I'll need a lot more time to fully map out your power's 'subtle body,' but I noticed that your own energy flows seemed a bit...inefficient, maybe? I got the sense that a lot of the power you were channeling ended up wasted, flowing down dead-end paths or coming into conflict with other energy flows. I make no promises, but if you can figure out how to direct your power more precisely, you might be able to get more out of it."

"That could be a pretty huge deal," I admitted. "I don't suppose you have any ideas of how I might go about doing that?"

Amy reached out to make contact with one of my hands. A few seconds later, I felt a strange kind of tingling sensation rushing down the center of that arm. It wasn't unpleasant, exactly, just weird.

"That's the central channel for your arm," Amy said, grinning proudly. "Probably. It's definitely the biggest. Try directing your power directly through it, instead of just through your arm in general.

I did my best to follow her instructions, visualizing my power as a golden liquid flowing through my veins. Nothing seemed different at first, but after a few tries it started to feel like my power was flowing faster through the area around the channel, more forcefully.

I couldn't help but break out into an earnest smile. "Amy, have I told you that you're amazing recently? Because you're amazing."

Amy blushed and averted her gaze. "I'm guessing that actually worked?"

"I think so," I replied. "I can feel the tingling sensation grow stronger when I channel more essence through it."

"That's me," Amy said. "I figured it might help you to have some feedback on your power, so you could actually tell when something was working."

"Awwww!"

Amy and I both jumped when Vicky spoke up; I'd honestly forgotten that she was even here.

"Amy," she said, wearing a wicked smile, "you're giving taylor tingles. Could it be that you want her to give you tingles too?"

Vicky wiggled her eyebrows up and down, and Amy pulled her hand away from mine like she'd been burnt.

"Vicky, no," she said, glowering at her sister. "Don't make me get the spray bottle."

"Hah!" Vicky exclaimed. "I put on waterproof makeup today, in case fighting practice made me work up a sweat. You have no power over me."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because I'm pretty sure that sweater you forgot in my room was marked as dry-clean only."

Vicky's smug smile vanished. "Ames! You wouldn't! I yield, I yield!"

I laughed quietly at the siblings's theatrical bickering. It reminded me of how things used to be with Emma, back when we were practically sisters ourselves. After my run-in with Emma earlier today, it was nice to feel like I could still achieve that kind of closeness without her.

"Seriously, Amy, this is huge," I said, in between chuckles. "I owe you big-time for figuring this out."

"I'll hold you to that," she said, some of her earlier grumpiness back in her voice. She only seemed to warm up to me these days when she was treating me like a lab rat, but if it helped me better understand my power, it was worth it.

"Does that mean we're finished with the nerd stuff for now?" Vicky asked.

"Vicky," I said, "how is this not cool? We're talking about actual, literal superpowers here."

Vicky nodded. "Yeah, talking like nerds. You want to go back outside and get in some more practice?"

I pulled out my phone to look at the time. "I should probably head back to base. I'm talking team tactics with Aegis over dinner, and then I've booked time on the range for archery practice at seven. After that, I still have to finish my homework and hopefully find time for a workout."

"Busy girl," Vicky said. "Fair enough. We should do this again, though."

"Soon," I agreed.

Vicky stuck with me as I moved to get my shoes, while Amy stayed behind, so I took the opportunity for a quick private word.

"Vicky," I said, softly, "I love how supportive you're trying to be for your sister, but I'd appreciate it if you tried to hold off on teasing her about, or vice-versa. I don't think anyone's really been hurt yet, but it's starting to make me feel uncomfortable."

Vicky's shoulders slumped. "Oh, damn," she whispered. "I didn't even...yeah, that's a good point. I'm sorry…"

"Hey," I said. "It's fine. Just something to look out for."

Vicky drew in a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, okay, I can do that. I used to tease Amy like that with boys I thought she'd like, so I figured, now that she's out, it might make her feel more comfortable if...well, I'll stop. It was a bad idea."

I gave her another quick hug. "No big deal, Vicky. It's great that you're trying to be thoughtful."

Vicky smiled at me when I let her go, and for just a second, it reminded me of the way Emma had smiled earlier today when I'd shown her the tiniest shred of compassion. The second passed, and all trace of that disturbingly hungry expression vanished from her face. It was so brief, I couldn't even be certain I'd seen it in the first place. By the time I made it back to the PRT HQ, it had slipped my mind entirely.

Happy Scary Day, everyone! Well, everyone who doesn't live in a time zone east of Ottawa, anyways.

Today's chapter ended up being about twice as long as I'd expected, mostly thanks to all the dialogue. I'm still behind on my buffer, so I'm hoping to keep the next couple of updates I write down to about 4K or so. I planned for the events of Spark to fit about 11 to 12 chapters total, though, and I want to avoid stretching the story out over more weeks than that in order to keep the pacing solid. I'm holding on to a decent-sized Emma interlude right now, so that I can use it next week's Thursday update if I have to. Otherwise, I'll probably post it as soon I have enough of the regular story written.

Next time, on Daystar!: Taylor goes to school and makes a new friend! Sophia doesn't!

Thanks for reading!

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WinterWombat

Oct 31, 2019

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WinterWombat

Word Nerd

Nov 7, 2019

#2,051

March 31st, 2011

After only about a month of living at the Wards HQ, my weekday morning routine had already become almost ironclad. Wake up with the sun, scarf down a protein bar, hit the gym, take a quick shower, grab my lunch from the fridge, and jog over to Arcadia. The unrelenting regularity of it all provided a much-needed foundation of normality, grounding me enough to get through the school day without dwelling on how I lived in a secret underground superhero base.

It was a lot like my mornings before gaining my powers, except that I didn't have to worry about running out of hot water, and there were never any notes from my dad on kitchen table, telling me I'd be on my own for supper. For years, now, the early morning had been a time for me to be alone with my thoughts, and now that I was free of Winslow, those thoughts weren't exclusively filled with dread. These days, I occupied my mind by trying to come up with new techniques for my power, new ideas for training, or, occasionally, new plans for how to take down villains like Lung.

Today, though, I ended up cutting my musings off early when I ran into Dennis about a half-block from the school, scowling at his phone with uncharacteristic intensity.

"Hey Dennis," I said, "Is everything alright? You look a little, um…"

"Just peachy," he said, saving me from having to finish the sentence. "Just catching up on emails before we all have to go into No-Fun Faraday Cave that is Arcadia."

He flashed me one of his usual grins, but even I could see that it was forced.

"Well, it doesn't look like it's put you in a good mood," I said. "If you want to talk about it, I'm happy to listen."

Dennis sighed, losing most of his artificial cheers. "Thanks, Tay. Maybe after school? It's all a bunch of extracurricular stuff."

Wards business, in other words.

"Cool," I replied, giving him a brief one-armed hug of reassurance. "I guess I'll see you at lunch, then?"

Dennis gave me a thumbs up, his smile looking a little more genuine, and I made my way to homeroom with my heart feeling a bit lighter.

It turned out, though, that I wouldn't have to wait that long. In the middle of second period, Principal Best announced over the intercom that several classes would be getting out early today, mine included. The staff never admitted anything, but everyone knew just what it meant when a bunch of seemingly random classes were called off so suddenly. Sure enough, I hadn't even made it to the pre-arranged meeting room before my Wards phone started to buzz with new messages.

I tried to look nonchalant as I stepped into the out-of-the-way science lab, but no sooner had the door closed behind me than Carlos, now dressed in his Aegis costume, tossed me a dufflebag containing one of my spare costumes. He gestured towards the far side of the lab, where someone had set up a series of privacy screen for changing. Dean and Chris were already using two of them, so I made my way to the third.

"Suit up fast," Aegis said, while double-checking the various straps and buckles that kept his armored costume properly fitted. "We're leaving in five. The area of operation is just outside the city limits, so you'll have plenty of time to ask questions on the way."

"Gotcha," I said, kicking off my school shoes. "Any idea what we're heading into?"

"The Undersiders," Chris answered. "Someone caught them red-handed robbing a casino, and we get to be the ones to take them in."

"Quiz time, Daystar."

Clockblocker sat across from me in the back of a PRT armored transport, and even though I couldn't see his face through his featureless white helmet, I knew he had to be grinning. This particular transport normally seated six, three to a side, but Gallant needed to sit at the far end thanks to the sheer bulk of his power armor, and Kid Win had sat opposite Gallant to keep him company. Aegis was flying in as usual, which left Clockblocker and I alone to chat for the ride.

I'd thought it would be a good time to talk about whatever was eating him earlier, but apparently, it was quiz time.

"Weren't we supposed to be getting a briefing on all this?" I asked.

"That comes later," Clockblocker replied with a shrug. "For now, our fearless and biologically redundant leader told me to bring you up to speed on today's opponents, and I've decided to do so through the magic of quiz time, because learning should be fun."

I shrugged. "Okay, hit me."

Clockblocker nodded. "First, assume I don't know anything ab-"

"Done," I said, knowing he'd see my smirk. The perks of having a helmet that didn't cover my mouth; it made good-natured snarking a lot easier.

"Ouch," he replied. "Well played. The other Wards must be teaching you the fine art of Clockbashing well ahead of schedule. Slightly more seriously, though, I want you to pretend I'm a Ward from out of town, and I've never heard of any of the gangs here. How would you brief me on the Undersiders?"

"They're a small time gang," I said. "Four capes, no unpowered minions. They specialize in smash and grabs, and they're slippery as heck. The fact that we're even getting a chance to come down on them like this means either they're changing their tactics, or they messed something up."

"Good," Clockblocker nodded. "Go on."

I thought back to what I'd read on the PHO forums. "They mostly target other gangs. They're not robin-hood types, though; gangs just tend to have more loose money available. We should be prepared for the possibility that another gang is already involved, or will get involved in short order."

"Clever fiends, these villains," Clockblocker mused. "Truly, Brockton Bay would have fallen to their ilk years ago, if not for the protection of incredibly intelligent and charming clock-based heroes. Now, as a Ward from a totally different city, I wish to know more about the Undersider's capes, starting with their biggest threat."

I rolled my eyes. "That would be Tattletale."

Clockblocker cocked his clock-helmeted head in puzzlement. "Tattletale? Not exactly a name to instill fear. Surely you meant to start with the one who produces giant horrible monsters."

"That's Hellhound," I said, smirking. "She's a close second, but Tattletale's still the worst. She's a Thinker, claims to be able to read minds. We honestly don't know anything about how her power actually works, except that she's got a knack for knowing things she shouldn't."

"And what about that makes her so deadly, hmm?"

"Dangerous," I corrected, "not deadly. The Undersiders haven't killed since joining together, although at least one of them has a prior murder charge on record. As for Tattletale, she's dangerous because she claims to be able to read minds, and nobody's ever been able to prove that she can't. Not beyond the general assumption that true telepathy is impossible, anyways. We honestly don't know how to conceal information from her. She's not a physical threat, but I'm pretty sure that her ability to provide info to her team is the reason we've never even come close to catching the Undersiders."

I paused, then smirked. "Not until today, anyways."

"Hah!" Clockblocker laughed. "I like your Moxie, stranger! Tell me about the others, then."

"I already mentioned Hellhound," I continued, holding up one finger. "She's a non-human master, controls dogs and transforms them into giant monsters. Her minions are the only real muscle the Undersiders have, but they can be pretty nasty. She's been witnessed controlling as many as three at a time, but we should assume she can potentially command more."

"Grue," I raised another finger, "Shaker, generates clouds of darkness. They block sight, sound, radio waves, and probably a lot more. That means we can't rely on remaining in communication with each other, and we should work out our plans ahead of time. We haven't determined whether or not he can see through his own darkness, so we should assume that he can."

"Lastly, we have Regent," I held up a third finger. "He can induce brief muscle spasms in your limbs, not enough to incapacitate you, but capable of tripping you up or making you miss a shot. Offensively, his power is mostly useless, so he usually carries a taser. He's probably the least scary of the Undersiders, but don't underestimate him. He's got a knack for making you pratfall at just the right moment to give his team an opening, and one brief opening is usually all they need to get away."

Clockblocker gave me a thumbs up. "Congrats, Daystar! You've successfully convinced me, a Ward from out of town, that I want nothing to do with the hellhole that is Brockton Bay, if these guys are what you consider 'minor threats.' Full marks."

"Sounds like you've been reading through the villain dossiers, Daystar." Aegis said over the team radio. "Good work. That's worth more than a few points on your monthly assessment." His helmet mic was designed to compensate for the sound of rushing air as he flew, but I could still hear traces of its distance roar in the background.

"HQ just gave me the full story on what's happening," he continued. "We're on our way to the Ruby Dreams casino, about a mile outside the city limits. Last week, Armsmaster put the place under automated surveillance for suspected ties to the ABB. We haven't had any luck on that front as of yet, but about 15 minutes ago the observation drones spotted a group of capes getting ready to storm the place, later confirmed to be the Undersiders. They should have no idea they've been spotted, so we finally have a chance to get the drop on them."

"What about cape backup?" Gallant asked. "Can we expect Protectorate support if we need it?"

"I'm afraid not," Aegis admitted. "Everyone's occupied with other jobs. We'll have to pull this off on our own."

"What about Shadow Stalker and Vista?" I asked. "I'm guessing they're on a different transport?"

"They're not coming," Aegis said, sounding a touch uncomfortable. "It'll just be the five of us. We'll discuss tactics when we're closer to the casino. Right now, ETA is ten minutes."

All of us in the transport voiced our agreement. I turned my mic off and glanced around at the others.

"Anyone have any idea why the other two girls on the team are sitting this one out?" I asked.

Gallant shrugged, an impressively loud gesture in his armor. "Vista doesn't get pulled out of school as much as the rest of us, mostly due to her age. Shadow Stalker just isn't welcome on missions against the Undersiders."

"She tends to go a bit berserk," Clockblocker added. "I mean, more than normal. She's got some kind of vendetta against this Grue guy. I'm pretty sure she actually wants to murder him."

I nodded, but I was suppressing a huge grin. Sophia was going to be so pissed off when she heard that she wasn't invited to the party.

PRT armored transport vehicles aren't exactly inconspicuous. Once we arrived at the Casino, the Undersiders only had to look out any of the Casino's front windows to spot us, so we decided to give them as little time as possible to figure things out. As soon as the transport came to a stop, we charged out of our vehicle and moved into our pre-arranged positions. Kid Win took to the sky for overwatch, Aegis swooped in to carry Clockblocker towards the employee entrance, and Gallant and I formed up near the front doors. All in all, it was less than thirty seconds before everyone was set up and waiting for our leader's signal.

"Go!"

Gallant charged through the doors, using his power armor like a battering ram, and I followed close behind. Inside, we saw exactly what we'd been expecting from a robbery in progress. A few dozen early-bird customers hugged the ground in various places across the main floor room, evidence that the crowd here had been pretty sparse. I could see a few private security guards trussed up with zip ties in the room's corners, none of them visibly injured. A few more people in staff outfits had been bound and gathered into the corner near the stairs to the upper level.

At the far end of the room, just outside of the entrance to the attached restaurant ("Ruby Dreams Oriental Restaurant and Grill, Open 12:00 to 12:00") I saw a tall, bulky figure wearing motorcycle leathers and a helmet bearing a sinister-looking skull design, which marked him as Grue. Off to the side, sitting on a stool by the slot machines, was a shorter, thinner cape, holding an ornate metal scepter, wearing a ruffled shirt, tights, and a plain white mask topped by an understated crown. That would be Regent. Since I couldn't catch sight of Tattletale or Hellhound, he was my primary target.

"Shit, it's the Wards!"

Regent shouted the warning at the top of his lungs, but was already sprinting towards him, drawing on a trickle of essence to enhance my speed. To his credit, he barely hesitated for half a second before jumping to his feet and trying to back away. I prepared to leap over the railing that surrounded the slot-machine area, but at the last second he gestured with his free hand and my left leg suddenly spasmed. Instead of a mighty leap, I took off in a stumbling charge straight ahead, and barely avoided crashing into the railing head first.

Behind me, actinic green light strobed out to the corners of the room as Gallant used his power to bombard his own target. I couldn't spare a glance to see if he'd landed any hits, but the sound of splintering wood suggested that not every one of his shots found its mark. I had to trust that he could handle Grue on his own, at least until I dealt with my own quarry.

I hopped back to my feet, eyeing Regent warily. His power was exactly as annoying as I'd imagined, but fortunately for me, my training with Vicky and Amy had started to bear fruit. I drew more deeply on my essence, directing it not to my head, but to my core, my solid foundation. Invigorating energy spread out through a hundred invisible channels behind my abdomen, some spiralling out from my belly-button, others snaking around my stomach, liver, and other organs. I concentrated on infusing each and every erg of essence with ironclad intent to resist, to stand firm, to remain stable.

I began walking towards Regent, taking the long way around the railing. Regent gestured again, and another spasm wracked my leg, this one slightly weaker. I had to take a knee in order to remain upright, but I was back up again a half-second later. I kept walking towards at the same steady pace, grinning in a distinctly unfriendly manner. Regent continued to back away, but he was rapidly running out of ground. He gestured once more, but this time it only made me stumble slightly.

My new defensive power, which I still thought of as a mental shield, wasn't much help to begin with. That said, each time I was hit by the same power, my shield grew stronger against it. It had only taken a half-dozen bursts before I'd been able to almost ignore Vicky's aura entirely, my shield reducing the overwhelming torrent of emotions into nothing more than a vague sense of unease. I hadn't had the chance to see whether or not the resistance decreased over time, but for at least the rest of this fight, Regent's power was basically useless against me.

"Bitch!" He cried out, "I could use some help!"

I darted forward, covering the last two meters between us in a flash, and drove a non-empowered fist into his solar plexus. He managed to twist away at the last second, so my blow landed on his chest instead, but it was still enough to knock the air from his lungs.

"That was uncalled for," I said, even he jabbed at me with his scepter, sparks crackling from two well-concealed prongs at its tip. I side-stepped the attack, and brought the edge of my hand down on his wrist hard enough that his scepter immediately fell from his suddenly numb fingers. Right before it hit the ground, I kicked it upwards like some kind of hacky-sack, right into my waiting hand.

"Nice taser," I said, giving it an experimental twirl. "I hope it's safe, for your sa-"

"Angelica! Hurt!"

A snarling bear crashed into my side, bearing me to the ground as it snapped at my face with jaws wide enough to swallow me whole. Closer inspection (far too close) revealed that it wasn't actually a bear, just a horrible leathery-skinned monstrosity easily the size of a bear, trying to tear my throat out with teeth as long as my thumbs. I jammed Regent's scepter into its side, but the beast barely flinched before one of its massive paws knocked the weapon out of my hand.

I struggled against the monster with all of my might, essence surging along each muscle fibre to grant me superhuman strength, but it felt like the beast was actually growing heavier on top of me the longer we struggled. Its breath stank of bile and raw meat, and I could swear that its eyes were actually starting to glow with a fiendish red light. As I struggled with both arms to force its jaws away from my throat, I decided that I'd need to let the PRT know that their information about Hellhound was way off. This thing wasn't a dog, it was a demon!

"Gallant," I yelled, "can you spare a second?"

A second later, a half-dozen flashing bolts of blue and purple light smashed into monster's side, each one landing with a sharp concussive crack and a small burst of shattered scales. It didn't seem to injure the beast, but Gallant's barrage did seem to confuse it. Blue meant sadness, if I remembered Gallant's explanations correctly, and pink was...cheer? Fear?

It didn't matter. The monster stopped struggling against me for half a second, which was all I needed. I drew back one arm and punched it upside the head, putting as much concussive force into the blow as I could manage. I had absolutely terrible leverage and no chance for a real follow-through, but my strike still sent the creature flying off of me and into a row of slot machines, crushing them beneath its bulk in a shower of sparks and stray coins.

I hopped back to my feet and took in the scene. Regent must have gone to ground, because I couldn't see him anywhere, though his scepter still lay where I'd dropped it. Gallant and Grue had both vanished into a cloud of darkness generated by the latter's power. I doubted the villain had a weapon capable of punching through Gallant's tinkertech armor, so he was probably safe. That only left the dog-beast, which had evidently overcome its confusion and was now howling bloody murder as it scrabbled to its feet.

I squared up against it, preparing for another lunge, but I didn't expect one of the nearby "employees only" doors to suddenly burst open. A young blonde woman wearing a skintight purple costume shot out of the doorway and right past me at a dead sprint, making for the stairs to the second floor offices and VIP rooms. Clockblocker came running out of the same door a few seconds behind her, just in time to get between me and the lunging dog-monster.

I grabbed the collar of Clockblocker's costume with one hand and hauled him bodily out of the way, giving me just enough time to duck and slide under the monster's leaping lunge. I turned as I rose to me feet, ready to dodge its next attack, but Clockblocker slapped a hand on its scaly back and froze it in place before it could lunge again.

"Christ," he said, deflating slightly as some of the tension left him. "You okay, Daystar? Aegis and Kid Win are tangling with this thing's bigger brother outside."

"I'm fine," I said. "Can you stay here and keep this thing locked down while I go after Tattletale?"

"Aye aye, captain," he responded, giving me a mock salute. With the black cloud muffling the light and sound from Gallant's blasts, the ruined casino almost felt calm...which reminded me that I'd need to ask Gallant how he'd heard my cry for help inside that mess, let alone managed to aim so accurately. Later.

Re-focusing on the task at hand, I gathered my essence and started running up the stairs.

Finding Tattletale wasn't hard. She'd holed herself up in the owner's office, and was busy typing away at the owner's computer when I found her. She looked up at me through the glass door as soon as I stepped into view, smirked, and went back to typing.

I stepped up to open the door, found it locked, shrugged, and punched clean through the glass. I saw Tattletale pull a USB stick out of the terminal as I entered, right before she gave me a million-dollar smile. It was hard to tell with the mask, but she couldn't have been more than a year or two older than me, young enough to still be in highschool. What was worse, her mask didn't hide the fact that she was cute as heck, with bright green eyes, a button nose, and the kind of figure that could pull off a skin-tight costume. Behind her, the back wall was dominated by a single enormous window, with a pretty stellar view of Brockton Bay in the background.

"Daystar," she said, sounding far too cheery. "I didn't expect to get a chance to meet you so soon. How's the hero life treating you?"

"Life's good," I said, taking a step closer. "I'm about to help bring in another gang of villains. Hoping they'll surrender calmly once they realize they've got no hope of taking me in a fight."

Tattletale giggled, only to suddenly point a small snub-nosed revolver right at my center mass. I hadn't noticed her draw it; I hadn't been that distracted by checking her out, had I?

"I wasn't planning on fighting," she said, still cheerful. The barrel of the gun was rock steady.

I just sighed. "Tattletale, if you know anything about my powers, you know that a gun isn't going to scare me. Put it down before you hurt yourself."

She gave me an 'oops, you caught me' sort of grin, but lowered the gun to her side.

"I know quite a bit about you," she said. "Probably more than your teammates. Do they know anything about what you got up to in your first month with powers, or your real reasons for joining the Wards?"

I felt a chill run down my spine. At least getting flustered by Tattletale wouldn't be a problem anymore. She'd just reminded me that no matter how cute she looked, or how weak, she was definitely dangerous.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. "Now drop the gun and put your hands up before I show you what a sleeper hold feels like."

"Ah ah ah," she said, wagging a finger at in a way I was no longer inclined to interpret as playful. "If you arrest me, I'll be locked in a PRT interrogation room before the day's out, where I'll have no choice but to tell them everything I know."

"Fine," I said. "I can live with that. Can you?"

I kept my voice even, but my heart was pounding. I only hoped I wasn't bluffing.

Tattletale laughed. "Gutsy. I like that. Besides, I don't really want to threaten you, Daystar. I think I can help you in your quest to take down Brockton Bay's biggest, baddest lizard."

It was my turn to laugh. "Let me guess, all you want in return is for me to let you escape scot free?"

She shrugged. "Is that so much to ask? Even if you capture us, we'll just be back on the street inside of a week. That's just how things work in Brockton Bay. Why not get a little something out of it?"

"You want me to let you go because, what, capturing villains is pointless to begin with?" I said. "Sorry, but I'm not that much of a cynic."

"You will be," she replied, sounding almost regretful for a moment, before snapping back to cheerfulness.

"Daystar, Daystar, Daystar...sounds so formal. Mind if I call you Daisy for short?"

"More than you can ever comprehend," I bit back, even though I knew exactly how this would go.

"Well, Daisy," Tattletale continued, "You should really consider accepting my help. You're not the only one who wants Lung out of this city. How about I give you a freebie, just as a gesture of good faith. You know how the ABB has a new cape, the one you call Megrim? They've actually got two."

"The Cornell bomber," I said. "Nothing we don't already know."

"Damn," she said, "you know about her? PRT intelligence must have stepped up their game. Three new capes, then. The last one joined at the same time as Megrim, and is the reason you've never been able to catch her."

I kept my surprise from showing on my face. "Useful if true. You should save your insights, Tattletale. You might need them to help with your plea bargain."

"I don't think so," she said, grinning again. "If I tell the PRT, they'll just foul it up the same way they mess up everything. If I tell you, though, something might actually get done about it. Besides, if you really wanted to take me in, you'd have me tied up by now."

"Thanks for the reminder," I said, walking towards her. "Last chance to do this peacefully."

"Too late," she said, grinning even wider. Before I could respond, I caught a blur of motion in the window behind her. I had just enough time to brace myself before Kid Win smashed through the back window, rag-dolling across the floor along with the smoking fragments of his hoverboard. Through the broken window, I heard a monstrous howl that could only have come from one of Hellhound's pets, so deep I felt it reverberate through my bones.

"Thanks for the chat, Daisy" Tattletale said. "Hope to hear from you real soon. Oh, and good luck with saving your buddy here."

Without fanfare, she brought up the gun she'd been holding at her side, the gun I'd all but forgotten about, and fired it twice at Kid Win's prone from. In the second that I stood there, stunned at what had just happened, she calmly stepped out of the broken window and fell out of sight.

My rage and my essence both howled for me to chase after her, but Chris was more important. I rushed to his side, looking him over for injuries as I desperately tried to recall everything I could from my first aid training. I found several places where his armor had been cracked by what I had to assume was Hellhound's larger monster, and few spots where glass shards had failed to penetrate its ballistic-fibre underlayer, but I couldn't find where he'd been shot. I couldn't even see any blood, besides a trickle from a shallow cut on his chin. He was clearly unconscious, but his breathing was steady. He seemed, somehow, to be okay.

I forced myself to calm my breathing, and tried to replay Tattletale's escape in my mind. She'd pulled the trigger, there was a flash and a roar as the gun went off, but Kid Win hadn't actually move from the shot, even slightly. I hadn't heard the bullet ricochet off his armor, and I couldn't see any bullet holes in the ground around him, or the rest of the room for that manner.

Tattletale had loaded her gun with blanks, and I'd fallen for her bluff. I didn't know whether that made me more or less angry with her. I finished checking to make sure that Kid Win was going to be okay, and then stood back up.

Shaking off the shock as best as I could, I walked back down the stairs to find the other Wards dispersed around the Casino floor. Aegis looked like hell; I could see broken bones protruding from several rips in his costume, and his entire face was so swollen that it had forced his eyes shut. He still had all his limbs attached, though, which meant that he'd be fine in a day or two. Clockblocker looked tired, but I didn't spot any blood on his ridiculously white costume, and Gallant...looked like Gallant. He could be black and blue from head to toe inside that armor and I wouldn't know; especially since he was the type to pretend he was fine so no one else would worry.

Aegis gave me a wave as I approached, and I decided not to ask exactly which organ his power had adapted to let him see me.

"Yours get away too?" He said, his voice a mix of humor and fatigue.

"Yeah," I said, "made me think she'd shot Kid Win, then dashed while I was trying to help him. He's unconscious in the office upstairs; breathing and pulse were stable, so I thought it would be better to let the trained medics move him."

"Good call," Aegis replied. "I guess you can see now why these guys are so hard to catch; always another trick up their sleeves. It wasn't a total loss, though, since we forced them to leave at least half of their loot behind."

"Woo," Clockblocker said, "Go us. The Undersiders will think twice before they decide to threaten Brockton Bay's quasi-legal gambling industry again."

After that, all that was left was cleanup. PRT troopers and techs came in to secure the scene, while the medics confirmed that Kid Win was going to be okay. Apparently, the big dog had thrashed him around so much that he'd passed out from low blood pressure. It was better than a concussion, at least; the only real harm done was to his hoverboard and his pride.

We didn't have to stick around long after that.

When we returned to HQ, Miss Militia was waiting to greet us. She patted us on the back, told us we'd done a great job, and suggested that Aegis should order Pizza for the group.

Then she took me aside, and told me that, while we'd been in the field, the E88 had attacked a covert PRT prisoner transfer, and busted Krieg, Stormtiger, and Rune out of custody.

I nodded, calmly, and thanked her for telling me so I didn't have to hear it from the news. I very pointedly didn't yell at her for being useless. I walked all the way back to my quarters without screaming even once. I even nodded at Armsmaster as we passed in the hallways. He was on crutches, for some reason.

Once I arrived, I locked my door, sat down on my bed, and pulled out the tiny slip of paper I'd hidden away inside one of my armor panels. I'd found it on the desk near the spot where Tattletale had been standing. At the time, I hadn't been able to decide if I should hand it over to Armsmaster or just toss it in the trash, but now I unfolded it, and did my best to smooth out the wrinkles. It held a phone number written in an elegant, looping hand, along with a kiss left in purple lipstick.

It looked like I had a date with a villain.

AN: I wrote this entire chapter in one sitting, not because I was strapped for time, but because I was On A Roll.

It had so many typos. So many.

I'm starting to build my buffer back up again, which takes a big weight off my chest. I'm not sure how I've managed to keep a consistent posting schedule so far, but I'll admit to being slightly worried that the magic might fail any day now. That said, I took some extra time this week to hash out a more detailed outline for the rest of this arc and the beginning of the next one, so hopefully having a clearer picture of what I need to write next will help me write more consistently.

Next time, on Daystar!: Taylor goes on a date! With Tattletale! To plan crimes! What could possibly go wrong?

And, as always, thanks for reading!

777

WinterWombat

Nov 7, 2019

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WinterWombat

Word Nerd

Nov 14, 2019

#2,151

April 2nd, 2011

On Saturday, after filling my morning with archery practice and physical training, I met up with Vicky, Amy, and Dean for an afternoon at the market. I didn't get the chance to spend much of my time at school with them, but the weekend was a great time for hanging around out of costume with my cape friends. It was also nice to see Vicky and Dean getting along so well; they weren't back together as a couple, but they seemed to get along great as close friends. From what Amy had told me, it was a big improvement from the normal on-again-off-again shenanigans.

After a couple of hours browsing through the various market stalls, and another thirty minutes watching on of Parian's puppet shows, Vicky dragged the group towards a cheesy cape-themed ice cream parlor called Freeze Ray's Sweet Treats. I'd never seen them before, but they seemed to do good business for the time of year, and their booths looked isolated enough for us to talk about cape stuff, so I didn't argue. I groaned and called Vicky a child, of course, but at no point did I actually argue.

Inside, I watched Vicky scrutinize the menu with the kind of intensity she normally reserved for cape fights and English Lit exams.

"I'll have an extra- large blackberry-cobbler banana-split, please, with extra whipped cream. Oh, and two straws."

I raised an eyebrow. "Wait," I said, "I thought you two were staying away from, y'know, couples stuff."

Vicky looked at me with an expression of confusion, before breaking out into a fit of giggling.

"It's not for sharing," Dean explained. "She always asks for two straws so she can drink her gigantic milkshake before it melts."

"Does that actually work?" I asked.

Dean just shrugged, but Vicky nodded emphatically. "It's an advanced milkshake technique," she said, with mock seriousness. "Get on my level, Hebert."

A few minutes later, the three of us returned to the table Amy had saved for us, enormously over-elaborate milkshakes in hand. Vicky had already managed to disappear almost a quarter of her shake, and she continued to devour it with wild abandon, as if her force field could protect her from brain freeze. I'd ordered a medium-sized butterscotch-orange-creamsicle shake for myself, and while I was enjoying it, I worried that the novelty of drinking pure sugar might wear off before I finished.

Dean handed Amy her own shake, a towering mass of coffee-flavored candy, chocolate-coated biscotti and thick caramel syrup that looked to be more confectionary than ice cream, before tasting his own "Triumvirate" neapolitan. We all sat in silence for several seconds, utterly focused our desserts, either savoring their sheer decadence or sizing up the challenge ahead.

Amy was the first one to break the silence. "This place is going to kill all of its customers."

"At least we'll die happy," Vicky replied. "So, Taylor, Dean already told me about most of what happened with the Undersiders, up until the point you broke off on your own. Care to fill us in?"

"There's not much left to tell," I said. "I chased Tattletale up the stairs into the manager's office, and told her to surrender. It didn't work, obviously. Come to think of it, does that ever actually work?"

"About 90% of the time," Dean said, "assuming you're talking to non-powered criminals. The other 10% think that they're invincible just because they've got a few handguns."

"If villains were smart enough to surrender when they were outgunned," Vicky added, "they wouldn't be villains. I never really bother to ask them anymore."

"You probably shouldn't admit to that, Vicky," Amy sighed.

"Well," I continued, "it makes sense. Tattletale pulled a gun on me, but I called her bluff."

"She knew you could just catch the bullets and make her eat them?" Vicky said, with a wicked grin.

"Okay, first off, yuck," I said, "but yeah, you've basically got it. I wasn't worried until Kid Win came crashing through the back window, and she shot him twice before making her escape. I was too far away to catch the shots, and I just...choked. I just froze up, and by the time I came back to my senses, she was gone."

Amy frowned "Okay, but I know I didn't treat Kid Win for any bullet wounds that night. Did his armor stop it?"

"No," I said, grimacing. "She'd loaded her gun with blanks, and I fell for it. Next time we meet, I'm going to take her down before she can even say a word."

"Never let the Thinker talk," Vicky said, nodding. A useful bit of common-sense cape knowledge that had somehow failed to make its way into the official Wards training material.

"Anyways," I said, "by the time I made sure Kid Win was okay and made my way back downstairs, it was all over. You know, Dean, I don't think you ever told me what happened with you and Grue?"

Dean winced. "Yeah, I'm not too proud of it. You were right that Grue couldn't punch his way through my armor, no matter how good he is with his fists, but it turns out that the guy's an expert grappler too. The strength-assist on the armor is mostly just to help offset its weight, so once he took away my mobility and my leverage, I was basically at his mercy."

"Next time," I said, "maybe you and I should swap opponents? You can hit Tattletale with a thousand volts of "I'm not living up to my potential" feelings, and I'll see how well this Grue guy really knows how to dance."

"You're welcome to him," Dean replied, with a grimace. "I was blind and deaf from this point on, but according to Clockblocker, Grue made his next move a few seconds after you vanished up the stairs. We really have to keep in mind that he doesn't just see clearly inside his smoke, he can also see out of it. He swamped the whole casino floor, knocked Clockblocker on his butt, zip-tied him, and then ran out back to help Hellhound and Regent with Aegis and Kid Win. He smoked Kid Win, which let Hellhound's dog grab him and slowed down Aegis's attempts to help. By the time the smog clears, the Undersiders are out of sight."

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Vicky said. "The Undersiders escape from everyone. They're a slippery bunch of assholes."

"No kidding," I said. "Better trained than I expected. As soon they spotted us, they started working on their escape. They didn't even consider trying to stay and fight, just tried to bring us down long enough to get away. We'll have to keep that in mind for next time."

Dean nodded. "They're tricky because they're unpredictable. Sooner or later, though, they're going to run out of tricks we haven't seen. It's just a matter of time."

Soon after, the conversation drifted around to non-cape related topics, like the latest goings on school, and whether or not there were any girls that Amy wanted to ask to the end-of-year dance. She and I both ignored Vicky's none-too-subtle hints that the two of us should go together. At some point, Vicky and Dean ended up in their own little world, chatting about sports that neither Amy nor I really cared about. Rather than interrupting, she just gestured for me to extend my arm across the table, so she could make contact and resume the ongoing project of mapping out my power's hidden anatomy.

We'd ended up doing some of this pretty much every day since Amy figured out this trick. She would use her power to sense the invisible paths my essence travelled, and then guide me in learning to sense and control them. More than once, we'd discovered channels that seemed to be somehow constricted or outright blocked, and I would need to concentrate as much of my power there as possible until I managed to break through. As a result, it felt like my power was growing by leaps and bounds on a daily basis; I had more essence available, and I could control it with greater efficiency and precision.

I was surprised that Amy was willing to indulge me so much, but apparently she found it to be an interesting challenge. To hear her tell it, once you've cured one or two cases of lung cancer, you've basically seen all the excitement it has to offer. I wasn't going to complain. I might be able to figure out more of this stuff on my own, but Amy's help made everything so much easier. Plus, working on power stuff together was pretty much the only way I'd found to interact with Amy without feeling like she was silently judging me, or occasionally openly judging me out loud. The girl could carry a grudge like her sister could carry a city bus.

After we finished our milkshakes and went our separate ways, the rest of the day passed uneventfully. I filled out my next week's schedule, spent some more time on the archery range, and hit the weight room with the intention of pushing my increased powers to their limits. By the time I hit the sack, I was totally exhausted, but my essence sang through me with more clarity than it ever had before.

15th Day of Descending Air, Year 336 of the Second Deliberative, 2011

I made my way through the Wards HQ without sparing a glance for the servants who scattered at my approach. No great surprise, that; I wore my killing intent like a cloak, and even dull mortal senses could not help but notice the wisps of murderous essence that escaped from my anima as I passed. Today was a day for war, a day for my legions and I to dance once more with death. I was about to end the lives of more people than these mortals would ever see in the course of their tiny lifetimes; of course they could not help but flee at the sight of me.

As soon as I stepped into the war room, the gathered generals and savants all stood and bowed. I released them back to their seats with a gesture, and took my customary place at the head of the table. They held their silence for a few moments more as I surveyed the map unfurled in front of me, scrutinizing the writhing ink-shadows that represented the Raksha hordes. They covered much more of the area now than when last I'd studied their movements.

"The invaders have claimed more territory," I said. Not a question, but an invitation for someone to explain what had gone wrong in my absence. As usual, general Clockblocker was the first to speak.

"Yes, Strategos. Some time ago, the Raksha managed to infiltrate a score of their Grand Weavers through our defensive lines. They were able to feed upon the city's nightmares for nearly a full fortnight, and by the time their depredations were discovered, the ignoble spiders had already escaped. The Fae generals have fashioned their gossamer bounty into five additional centuries of kataphraktoi. No doubt they find it poetic that our people should fall to the manifest forms of their own darkest dreams."

"This wouldn't be a problem if Piggot would just let me fight for once," Vista said, reclining in her ergonomic office chair. "I mean, c'mon. If we let the Raksha claim any more territory, they'll be tied with the Empire for biggest gang in Brockton Bay."

I swept my gaze over the assembled war-leaders, searching for signs of either shame or defiance. Only one person seemed to carry both.

"Lady Barnes," I said, beckoning the Terrestrial leader to approach. "If what I'm seeing here is accurate, it was your unit that failed to catch the Raksha incursion until it was too late. How did they manage this?"

Emma bowed low, a gesture of respect and submission. "I have no excuse, Strategos. I set a dozen experienced scions of the Pasiap to listen to the earth, but the clever Weavers must have made their way by sky instead. My legion is ill-favored by sons and daughters of the Air Dragon, and so is poorly equipped to detect such trickery. It is a deficiency I aim to correct at the first opportunity."

Her face and posture held nothing but the utmost sincerity, and yet the falseness of her words grated on my subtle senses. Every lie she spoke birthed another ripple of dissonance and discord in the weave of the world's essence. Events such as this were the reason that I avoided bragging of my proficiency with the sensing technique known as the Judge's Ear; better that the traitors in my midst think me deaf to their scheming, and so reveal themselves through their lies.

Today, however, I was not in the mood for subtlety. I drew upon my everlasting inner fire and performed Walking As The Gods In Swiftness, appearing in front of Emma faster than even her considerable reflexes could track. In an instant I had a hand about her throat, lifting her bodily and slamming her against the wall with such force that the very structure around us shook from the impact. In the other room, I heard the crash of our latest widescreen television shattering against the floor. More work for the resident jadeborn to replace.

"How dare you imagine that your treachery could escape my notice!" I roared at Emma. "You must think me a child, to believe that a leader such as yourself could be brought low by a simple lapse of caution. Explain yourself, and be quick, for you have only a few remaining breaths with which to convince me to spare your life."

I eased up my grasp slightly, and felt Emma shudder with the shock of indrawn breath. An instant later, her expression of terror gave way to an arrogant smirk.

"I have no explanation that would satisfy you," she said, "for the truth is that there was no mistake! Indeed, I invited them in! I served them the city's dreams on a jade platter, and told them where they could best position their new forces! It won't be long until they reduce this city to a ruin, populated only soulless husks!"

I glared down at her, willing more essence into my voice as I spoke. "Why would you do this? Why indulge in this madness?"

She laughed, even as my command tore the words from her. "Because you're weak and worthless, Taylor! Because it's what you deserve, you worm, you pathetic piece of garbage! Because you left a band of children behind to defend our homeland, and you weren't there when we needed you! Because I want you to cry yourself to sleep for a week, just like when you killed your mother!"

She was crying now, tears mingling with the trails of blood running from her eyes, but her smile never dimmed. "You didn't cry like that when you killed your father, so I want to see if you still know how!"

I silenced her by tightening my grip around her throat. My essence surged in anticipation of violence, and so I released it, guiding a wave of power over Emma's struggling form, letting it sink its invisible hooks into her flesh and bone..The same pressure that threatened to crush her throat began to bear down on her from all sides, and I could both see and feel her muscles strain against it.

"Knock it off, Taylor," Aegis said, sounding more tired than angry. "We need to be a team right now, and that's not the proper way to kill a teammate."

"Eh, she had it coming," Sophia said. "Emma has a bad habit of stabbing her best friends in the back. Looks like she wasn't much of a predator in the end after all."

I tightened my grip further, and felt my victim's bones begin to fracture. Emma was a Terrestial Exalt, imbued with the elemental aspect of Earth, and she had nearly two centuries of her life cultivating her essence and strengthening her body, but I wielded the power that had cast down the very makers of the world. I poured more essence through the meridians in my arms, channelling the Coils of the Dragon and the Five Aeons Suffering Method until her stony skin began to crack and bleed from the pressure. So great were the forces I brought to bear that they leaked outwards into the world surrounding my target, causing nearby chairs to shatter and forcing the roof to buckle.

"I am stronger than you will ever be!" I yelled. "I've grown beyond you! You can't hurt me, not anymore, not ever again!"

Emma grinned at me, even as her face began to turn purple from lack of air. No malice, no madness, just sincere joy. I realized that I wasn't holding on to Emma the Terrestrial General, but Emma as I had known her in my childhood, the 11 year old girl who loved me like a sister.

"Silly Taylor," she said, smile widening. "I can't forgive you, because there's nothing to forgive."

I screamed, and released another surge of raw power. Above us, the ceiling cracked from the sheer force I unleashed. Emma's limbs shattered all at once, and her torso exploded into a bloody pulp. Water continued to pour down from the spreading cracks in the stone above us. I sank to my knees and let the water enter my lungs, unable to cry, fading into darkness. The last thing I heard was Aegis, voice resigned, assigning the team our monthly patrol schedules.

April 3rd, 2011

I woke up gasping for air, emotions rushing through me at a breakneck pace. Despair, rage, guilt, and..something else? I tried to hold on to the feeling, tried to put it into words, but I was already too awake to fall back into the mindset of the dream.

I sighed, pulled out the notebook I'd been using as a half-assed dream journal, and began recording what I remembered before it faded as well. Once I'd finished, and re-read what I'd written several more times, I could come to only one conclusion.

I had issues. Not just, like, normal teenage issues, but great galloping Freud-would-shit-himself type issues. Of course, that wasn't exactly news to me. I'd dare anyone to go through the same shit I had and come out the other side a paragon of mental stability. As long as my many, many issues didn't get in the way of taking down villains, they were a problem I could deal with another day.

By the time I'd started my morning fry-up in the Wards' kitchen, I'd almost entirely put the dream out of my mind.

Armsmaster normally worked out of the Rig, the Protectorate facility floating in the middle of the Bay, but as the local Protectorate Leader he still had to put in at least a few hours of "office time" each week at the PRT HQ. The idea was to set aside time to coordinate with the PRT rank and file, meet with visitors in a more accessible setting, and rubber stamps bureaucratic issues essential to the continued functioning of the Protectorate ENE.

Colin almost always scheduled this for Saturdays and Sundays before noon, cutting down his workload by forcing people to choose between meeting him or sleeping in. Colin, of course, never slept in himself, and only knew what a weekend even was thanks to stories from his coworkers. I'd gotten into the habit of waking up with the dawn myself, though, so it didn't bother me one bit.

Of course, Colin wasn't actually in his office; as usual, he'd sequestered himself in one of his workshops as soon as he'd arrived at the building. I knocked on the door, and then waited for ten full minutes before he buzzed me in, pretty much exactly as I expected.

When I stepped inside, I found him too engrossed in his current tinker project to even acknowledge my presence. He looked to have partially disassembled one of his helmets, allowing him to poke and prod at the internal circuitry with an array of custom-designed tools. I took a seat the only chair not currently piled high with miscellaneous techno-junk, and waited for him to come up for air.

Finally, he set down his tools and turned to face me. He didn't smile, but I'd figured out over time that speaking face to face with me this way meant that he was making an effort to be welcoming. "Hello, Taylor. I appreciate your patience. What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to schedule some supplementary power testing," I said. "I know that I can do that through the PRT staff, but I think you'll want to be personally involved this time."

"Oh?" he said, leaning back slightly in his swivel chair. "Is this related to your archery training? I was under the impression that you'd only been practicing with a bow for less than a week. Doesn't it it usually take you longer than that to develop a new power?"

I shook my head. "No new archery tricks, not yet. I mean, I think I'm close to developing a new technique based on what I've learned so far, something about fashioning arrows out of my power, but that's not what I wanted to see you about. I believe I've attained a power that allows me to protect myself against Master effects."

"That would be most impressive," he said. "Master-resistant capes are quite rare, and always in high demand. I'm assuming you found some way to test it before bringing this to my attention?"

"Glory Girl and Gallant have both helped me with that," I answered. "During the fight against the Undersiders, I also had the chance to confirm that it worked to protect me from Regent's power."

Armsmaster nodded. "Good work, Taylor. I'll find time later this week for more rigorous testing. I'm pleased to see you taking the further development of your powers so seriously."

"Thank you, Colin," I said, with a slight bow of my head. "There was one more thing I wanted to discuss. If power testing confirms my confidence in my anti-Master technique, I would like to request the chance to join Protectorate field teams in their actions against the ABB. I believe that my potential immunity to Megrim's power offsets any of the extra risks that make such missions unsuitable for Wards."

Colin frowned. "I'm sorry, Taylor, but I can't do that."

As he spoke, I felt a sudden jarring sense of wrongness move through me, like the chime of a great bell that had been twisted out of shape. It wasn't painful, any more than hearing someone sing off-key was painful, but it shocked me just the same.

I forced myself to return my focus to the conversation. "Why not? You're the head of the Protectorate ENE; shouldn't this be your call to make?"

"I am," he replied, "but Director Piggot possesses ultimate jurisdiction over the Wards team, and she's made her policy on the matter abundantly clear."

Again, the sudden off-key resonance. Before, the sensation had reverberated through his words, but this time, it seemed to highlight an absence, a thing not being said. It reminded me of my dream, the way I'd felt when Emma had...

No, I couldn't afford to think about that right now.

"Right," I said, "so you're saying that I need to convince her? Fine. We'll just need to get those power testing results back as quickly as possible, so I can go in with evidence."

"No, Taylor," Colin shook his head. "I'm saying you shouldn't continue to pursue this course of action. The only thing you're likely to accomplish is to further frustrate yourself and once again lose some of the Director's respect."

For the third time, I felt the wrongness emanating from his words, and I could no longer pretend not to know what it meant.

"You're lying to me," I said, softly. Not an accusation, not a question, just a sudden and unpleasant discovery.

Colin stiffened, his eyes turning cold and calculating as stared at me.

"You're right," he eventually said. "But only for your own good. The Director would almost certainly agree with your request, so long as I gave my approval as well, but I believe it would be best to keep you away from all this."

Not a lie, but another half-truth. I glared at him, and he broke his eyes away from mine, obviously uncomfortable.

"So why hold me back, then?" I asked. "Why don't you want me to help?"

Colin clenched his jaw. "Because Brockton Bay's Wards team already engages in more outright combat than the three next-highest Wards teams put together. We're pushing the limits of what's appropriate as far as they can go. I plan on ending the ABB as a threat entirely, and when that happens, people across the country will actually pay attention to this city for the first time in years. I can't be seen using child soldiers in an outright gang war."

"How does that even matter?" I asked, acutely aware of the thread of desperation creeping into my tone. "You need all the help you can get!"

Colin narrowed his eyes for a moment, then swivelled around to face his workbench. "You shouldn't underestimate more experienced heroes, Taylor. You are correct in assuming that it would be extremely useful to have someone with immunity to Megrim's power on the team. That's why I'm taking the time to incorporate anti-paracognitive mental shielding tech into my helmet. Now, if you have no further business to bring up, I'm afraid I can't spare any more time away from this project."

I didn't need a fancy new power to tell me that he was bullshitting, but what could I do?

I waited until I was well away from Colin's workshop before I punched the wall in frustration. Without my power reinforcing my fists, I didn't cause any actual damage, but the stinging in my knuckles helped ground me. I'd fucked up with that meeting; calling someone out in their lies isn't the best way to get their help. Plus, I'd insulted Colin's competence by insisting that he needed me, and now I had pretty much zero chance of getting his support on this. I could only hope that I hadn't also managed to alienate the closest person I had to a mentor, but I wasn't willing to stop pushing yet.

Fortunately, getting Colin on my side wasn't my only option. I waited until I was back at my room before pulling out one of my old pre-paid burner phones and dialing the number Tattletale had left me.

Tattletale's voice was as smug as ever, but less confrontational than at our last meeting. "Daystar! I was beginning to think you wouldn't call. How's life treating you?"

"This isn't a social call, Tattletale," I said, trying not to think about how many rules I was breaking, let alone how many laws.

"Please, call me Lisa," she said, sounding actually earnest for once. "Lisa Wilbourn. It's only fair, since I kinda couldn't help but figure out your own civilian name."

This was a huge mistake. "Tattletale, if you even think of using that against-"

"Woah, woah," she said, "don't worry, your secret's safe. I'm a big believer in the Unwritten Rules. I haven't even told my teammates, and I don't plan to. That's why I gave you my name, yeah? Mutually assured destruction and all that."

"You'd better not," I growled. "Revealing a Ward's secret identity would bring down more heat on the Undersiders than any of the petty burglaries you've done so far."

"And don't I know it," she sighed. "Don't worry, I get how seriously you heroes take these things. That's why I decided to let you know ahead of time, instead of waiting for you to figure it out on your own and do something drastic. Now, are you going to make me guess why you called me?"

"You said you had information on the ABB and their new capes," I replied. "I want it, and I'm willing to pay for it in cash."

Tattletale (I still couldn't think of her as just Lisa) laughed. "I appreciate that, but you can keep your money. All I want in return is a chance to meet up again, face to face, out of costume. We can even do it this afternoon. You pick a place and time, and I'll be there, alone, to meet you."

"I think I'd be more comfortable if you just wanted money," I said. "What's in this for you?"

"Who's to say?" she teased. "Maybe I just want to see if the face behind the helmet is as cute as I suspect."

Not a lie, but a half-truth, and I could deal with the implications of that later.

"Fine," I said. "Crow's Nest cafe, one o'clock."

"Perfect," she said, "it's a date."

I hung up and removed the phone's SIM card. That left me with just over half an hour to burn before I had to head out, and no idea what to do with myself. If only I could get away with asking Vicky what of outfit one wears to meet with a supervillain. Then again, knowing Vicky, she'd probably just tell me to wear something with no sleeves and lots of cleavage, the better to distract and fluster my heinous foe. Yeah, no.

Either way, I hoped to learn a lot more from this meeting than Tattletale intended to tell me. I couldn't even begin to explain how I'd managed to learn a lie-detector power from a fucked-up dream, but I couldn't afford not to use every tool I had. The fact that she had absolutely no way to know that I'd picked up a brand new power was a big advantage as well.

That was one thing my dream-self had been right about. It was for the best that she should think me deaf to her scheming, and so reveal herself through her lies.

A/N: Not much to say about this chapter, except that it was a truckload of fun to write. Compared to canon, Daystar!Taylor may have different powers, different friends, and a different outlook on life, but she's still an olympic-level champ when it comes to unhealthy compartmentalization.

Step 1: Suppress worrying thoughts in order to deal with an emergency situation.

Step 2: When you finish that emergency, move on to the next one.

Step 3: If you run out of emergencies, just make more.

Step 4: If you start to worry about how many problems you're deliberately not dealing with, return to Step 1.

This chapter drops more than a few references to Exalted's setting. For those of you not familiar with the game, don't worry if you have no hecking idea what's going in that dream sequence. The events of that dream are presented without further context to highlight how fantastical and alien they seem to Taylor, not to set up any kind of dramatic irony where something about the dream registers as more significant to Exalted fans than it does to Taylor herself. My intention with this fic remains to tell a story that requires no prior knowledge of Exalted lore or mechanics to enjoy.

Next time, on Daystar!: Taylor and Lisa get their lunch date. Things should be fine, as long as Lisa can get through a whole conversation without dropping any highly incriminating lies or half-truths. More light is shed on the ABB and their recent dastardly doings.

As always, thanks for reading!

Last edited: Nov 14, 2019

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WinterWombat

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WinterWombat

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Nov 21, 2019

#2,264

I'm trying something new here to depict Taylor's lie-detecting charm. Statements that she reads as untruthful will appear within {curly braces} like this. I figured that this was probably more accessible than changing the text color, and more likely to persist between multiple formats. If it works, I'll go back and update the previous chapter with the same notation. If it doesn't, I'm open to suggestions for what to try instead.

April 3rd, 2011, cont'd.

After about an hour of mentally rehearsing what I wanted to say, inventing a truly unnecessary number of backup plans, and picking out an outfit that rated about a 7.5/10 on the fanciness scale, I felt ready to go and meet Tattletale for lunch. I could have left about fifteen minutes earlier, but it felt important to me that I look more than just presentable for my meeting with the supervillain. She was attractive and confident, and that made some wretched part of me assume that she'd act just like my bullies at Winslow. I didn't want to give her anything to mock me for, because I'd probably either break down or break her nose in response.

On my way out, I had to pass through the Ward's common room, where about half the team was currently hanging out.

"Hey, Taylor," Chris waved, "Where are you headed?"

"Out," I said with a shrug and an apologetic grin. "Y'know, outside, to do things that can't be done inside."

"You've done something with your hair," Dennis observed, "and you're not carrying your gym bag. Could it be that you're headed out on...a date?"

I felt myself blush faintly even as I gave a faint laugh. I'd let them mistake my anxiety for just another case of butterflies in the stomach. At the far side of the room, Sophia looked up from her homework to frown at me for a few seconds before turning back to her books.

"Well…" I said, drawing out the word, "that depends on how it goes, I guess?"

I left before they could ask any more questions, leaving them to gossip amongst themselves as I made my way downtown.

I arrived at the Crow's Nest cafe twenty minutes early, only to find Tattletale already waiting for me. I could have made an issue out of it, but that was probably exactly what she wanted, so instead I just sat down without comment.

Outside of costume, she gave off a completely different impression. She'd tied her long blonde hair back in a french braid, and wore a stylish but demure blouse and skirt combo, complemented by an old-fashioned woolen jacket to ward away the chill April wind. A spatter of light freckles across her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose, formerly covered by her mask, made her face the picture of youthful innocence.

As soon as she spotted me approaching, she rose to her feet and offered me her hand.

"Taylor! So glad you could make it."

I mostly managed not to flinch at the mention of my name. Even if I was dressed in civilian clothes, it still felt like I was in the middle of cape business. Unfortunately, we couldn't exactly meet in a public place like this while wearing our costumes, and no way in hell was I going to meet Tattletale alone in a dark alley somewhere.

I sat opposite her at the table for two she'd picked out, even as I scanned the nearby area for threats, people who might be the other Undersiders out of costume. I tensed up when I saw someone walking a trio of large dogs just on the other side of the street, but relaxed once I saw who was holding the leash. It was theoretically possible that Hellhound could disguise herself as an 80 year old black woman, but it seemed unlikely.

"Don't worry," Tattletale said, "I didn't bring any of my friends along, just as promised. Also, since we're both out of costume, you should probably start thinking of me as Lisa."

I sighed. "Alright, Lisa. Why did you want to talk to me so badly?"

Lisa shook her head. "Food first, business later. Is there anything on the menu you'd recommend? I'd never even heard of this place before you suggested we meet here."

I shrugged. "No idea. I've never eaten here either. They've got a pretty decent used-book store in back, though."

While Lisa scanned her menu, I called on my first social insight power. My internal voice, guided by my essence, condensed a thousand little tells into a simple description.

Be honest; I don't need to tell her everything, but lies will disappoint her. I also need to let her think that she's smarter than I am, so that she can feel in control of the conversation. Verbal sparring is great, as long as I'm not doing it to make her feel stupid. She feels guilty about being a villain, but not guilty enough to stop; I can hurt her by dismantling her the arguments she uses to excuse her actions, such as…

I cut off the stream of essence before it could reveal any more details on how to psychologically devastate Tattletale. I understood that she might very well deserve it, but I didn't want to use that power against anyone ever again if I could help it. It made me feel too much like Emma.

"You ready to order, Taylor?"

I snapped my attention back to the cafe, only just then noticing the server who had approached our table.

"Yeah," I said, "sounds good. No reason to delay, right?"

Truth be told, I wasn't sure I trusted the kitchen here, considering how the restaurant section never seemed to fill up more than halfway. I asked for their signature grilled cheese on the assumption that bread, cheese, and butter was a pretty tough combo to mess up. Lisa ended up ordering their cinnamon french toast. She asked for coffee, while I stuck with tea.

"Okay," she said, once the server had walked away with our orders. "You have questions, I'm practically made of answers. What do you want to know first?"

I tilted my head quizzically. "I thought you'd have something you wanted to start with. You wouldn't have left me that little note if you didn't have something to discuss."

Lisa shrugged. "You're right, of course, but we'll get to that in good time. We can't have a meaningful discussion until you're ready to let down your guard at least a tiny bit, and that's not going to happen until you think you understand the situation, so go ahead, ask."

No lies yet, assuming my inexplicable new power was still working. If I concentrated, I could feel a steady thrum of new essence flows humming softly just behind my brow, and so I assumed the lie-detector was still in effect. I could also sense a way to disperse the patterns in question harmlessly, and I felt a bit better about not understanding the new power now that I knew it had an off switch.

"Fine," I took a deep breath. "Let's start out with why you weren't worried that I'd use this meeting as a chance to take you in?"

"Easy," she replied. Lisa's grin seemed much warmer than Tattletale's, almost entirely devoid of teasing. "I could joke about being too pretty to arrest, but honestly, I don't think you're really that underhanded. If we ran into each other in costume, I have no doubt that you'd do your best to lock me up, but as long as I don't try to pull anything on you, you won't betray my trust. It's one of the things I like about you, Taylor."

"Okay," I said, "second question: why are you acting so friendly? Even if we're meeting under a truce now, we're still on opposite sides. You can't expect me to ever get all buddy-buddy with a villain."

"Maybe I'm just a dreamer," she said, with a shrug. "I don't really buy the whole 'heroes vs villains' thing anyways. Even just in Brockton Bay, the conflict we're stuck in is far more complex than just Good against Evil, and any setup that puts me on the same team as Kaiser and Lung is missing some seriously important facts. The PRT is just one side among many, and not all of their opponents are people who break the law."

I snorted at that. "What, you're saying that the PRT are just as bad as the villains they fight?"

"Not quite," she grinned. "More just that, even though you and I are ostensibly on opposite sides, we have a lot more in common with each other than either of us have with the major gangs or the PRT. Your bosses say they want to save the city, but only so long as they get to be the ones doing the saving. They'd rather let all of Brockton Bay crumble into the ocean than see it fixed in a way that makes them look bad. Meanwhile, you want the city to actually improve, and I'd like to help you."

"I'm not sure I believe that you became a villain for altruistic reasons," I said.

"Nah," she said, "I do the villain thing because the money's good, and {because having my own team keeps the other gangs from locking me in a basement as their own personal magic 8-ball.}"

There it was, that same sense of wrongness from what she just said, as if I could actually hear her intent to deceive. I could also somehow tell that what she'd said hadn't been an outright lie, but rather a half-truth. The reasons she gave me weren't wrong, but they weren't the whole story.

"Why don't you join the Wards, then?" I asked. "Pay's not great, but if you're just looking to get by, it has to be safer than a life of crime."

Lisa chuckled. "That might not be a bad idea, if the PRT wasn't plagued by more moles than every sunbather in Florida. As is, I'd give it a week before I disappeared in some terrible accident, {only to pop up months later in a different city, working for some jackass with a gun pointed at my head.} No thanks."

Another half-truth. It seemed like she believed the threat was real, but doesn't expect the consequences she used as an example. Somehow, she knew exactly what would happen if she was caught that way. Was that her power's doing, or had someone explicitly threatened her?

Ultimately, though, her reasons weren't important. What mattered was that I now knew she couldn't lie to me.

I began to respond, but Lisa held up a finger to signal for quiet. "Before you say something like 'surely it can't be THAT bad,' think about how the Empire knew just when and where their capes were being moved out of the city, or how even I knew about the breakout beforehand."

"That was what you meant at the Casino," I said, still more than a little angry at the memory. "I said I wasn't so cynical about villains escaping justice, and you said I would be."

"For what it's worth," Lisa said, "I wish I was wrong about that. The status quo in this city sucks, and it's hard as hell to shift. Anyone who tries is more likely to get crushed underneath it instead."

"You're talking about me and my long-term plans." I paused briefly as our meals arrived. I didn't feel all that hungry, but Lisa began to dig into her own food with a gusto.

"If you want to call it that, sure," Lisa said, in between bites. "Personally, I'm not inclined to think of dying to a flaming rage-dragon as a sterling example of long-term thinking."

"Then you don't know as much about me as you think," I said. "I'm in this to win, not to die trying."

"I'm glad you still see those as two separate outcomes," she replied. "Would it change your mind if I told you that Lung is eventually going to self-destruct even if you don't lift a finger?"

I glared at her. "How the hell could you know that?"

Lisa shrugged. "{I'm psychic.} More importantly, I'm in a position to hear things the PRT can't. Lung used to be content with the status quo, but something's changed in the last two months or so that's got him really feeling his oats. I'd give you ten to one odds that he keeps pushing harder, getting more and more aggressive, until he forces the Triumvirate themselves to fly over and put him down."

"Right," I said. "Do your psychic powers also tell you how many people he gets to hurt before that happens?"

Lisa sighed and dropped her gaze to the table between us. "You can't hold yourself personally responsible for stopping him, Taylor."

"I can't just give up, either," I replied. "You must have some reason to think I can make a difference, or you wouldn't have offered to help."

"Maybe I'm just a sucker for lost causes," she said, giving me a wan smile. "Maybe I'm acutely aware of what's going to happen to a pesky little gang like mine when Lung decides he should own the entire Brockton Bay underworld."

"And maybe you like me, just a little, and want to see me succeed?" I asked, giving Lisa what I hoped was a playful grin.

Lisa sighed, but her grin brightened. "That must be it. Now, I'd appreciate it if you could try not to curse too loud when you hear what I'm about to say. I like the ambience here, and I'd enjoy being able to return without people giving me nasty looks."

I smiled, despite myself. "I promise nothing."

"Okay," Lisa sighed. "First, your bosses in the PRT and the Protectorate really don't want you to know how bad the situation is. The night before you and I had our little run-in at the Ruby Dreams, Armsmaster and half the Protectorate tried running down a tip about the location of one of Lung's main bases, only to walk right into an ambush by Megrim and Oni Lee. Lee was carrying tinkertech bombs designed by the Cornell cape, who now goes by Bakuda, and she can make some seriously scary shit."

"They haven't told us anything about that," I said, thoughtful.

"Probably because they got their asses kicked," Lisa continued. "Lee trapped Battery in a force-field bomb that took eight hours to break down. Megrim managed to take control of Armsmaster, who used his taser-stick to take down Assault before Triumph shouted him into the side of a dumpster. After that, Lee got Triumph with a microwave bomb, which sizzled his nerves so bad that Megrim had no trouble taking him over and using him to KO Velocity."

"Fuck," I whispered. "That's a heck of a play-by-play. Did you actually see this go down?"

"Nope," Lisa said, popping the 'p' sound, "just watched the video online. PHO's been taking the links down as quickly as they're posted, but anyone willing to put in a bit of effort searching can find evidence of two ABB capes humiliating the Protectorate with almost casual ease, which I suspect was the entire point of the fight."

"And I'm guessing you have some idea why?" I asked.

"Well, now that you mention it," Lisa said, smirking, "I think Lung has two main goals. First, he wants to undermine confidence in the Protectorate. That's why he's been making all of these hit-and-run attacks. He's pushing for new territory, and he wants the people there to believe that the Protectorate can't, y'know, protect them. Once they feel like they've got nobody to call on for help, Lung can take control."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make any sense. He has to know that the Protectorate can't let that stand. He's fought most of the team to a standstill before, but only when he's had a chance to get a head start on transforming, usually thanks to a fight with another gang. If they break through his living room wall while he's just an ordinary human, they could basically take him apart before he got significantly draconic, right?"

Lisa nodded, her expression turning rueful. "That's where his second goal comes in. Thanks to his new invisible Master, along with the bomb Tinker arming his teleporting suicide bomber, Lung's in a great position to set surprise attacks and punish overreach. If the heroes concentrate all their forces into one big attack, they're basically asking for another incident like the last one."

"Well, shit," I muttered. "That's no reason to just sit around doing nothing, though. If I was in charge, I'd be focusing on capturing Megrim or Oni Lee, preferably both, in order to leave Lung vulnerable."

"Which is basically what they're trying to do," Lisa said. "Just not as fast as you like. Armsmaster's probably trying to Tinker up some tech to do the job, because that's what Tinkers do, and he's good enough to pull it off. Give him a few months to properly re-adjust his kit, and he'll be able to shut Megrim down one way or another."

"Not nearly fast enough," I said. "Last time we met, you told me that you thought Megrim was actually two capes, right?"

Lisa grinned. "I'm glad you remembered. That's my theory, yeah. One of them has the Master/Shaker power that's been giving you so much trouble, while the other is a Stranger, Tinker or Trump who's been able to conceal them. Definitely some kind of invisibility effect, possibly also a noise-canceller or olfactory nullifier. I'm pretty sure they both joined around the same time, not long before that first attack on you."

"Okay," I said, "I could see that. I don't suppose you have any evidence to back this up?"

Lisa shrugged. "Same way I determined that Megrim is probably female, 16-20 years old, and born in Brockton Bay. I'm a Thinker, and my power gave me the info. I'm about 99% confident in what I've said, but that probably won't help you convince Armsmaster of anything."

"Figures," I said, frowning.

Lisa reached across the table to flick me on the forehead. "Aw, cheer up, Taylor. The good news is, you've got just the right power to help you with this."

I grimaced. "Running fast and punching hard didn't help me much against Megrim last time."

"No," she said, grin growing wider, "I meant your real power, not the one you announced to everyone. The power to learn more powers, potentially ad-infinitum. If my hunch is right, it should be pretty easy for you to figure out how to enhance your senses to defeat Megrim's concealment. Knock her out, drag her back to the PRT, and see how fast Armsmaster changes his tune."

"That could work," I said, nodding. "I don't suppose you have any hunches as to where I might be able to run into Megrim?"

Lisa wagged her finger at me. "Sorry, Taylor, but {I don't provide services like that for people outside of the team}. Giving you a few tips is fine, but actively working with a hero would ruin my rep."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You know, then, but you're not going to tell me?"

Lisa shook her head. "As much as I hate to admit it, {I don't really know, and figuring it out would cost me time and resources I can't afford to spare. I'll let you know if I stumble onto anything, though}."

Not just half-truths, but an outright lie.

"I don't believe you," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Why don't you want to tell me what I need to know? Are you trying to set me up?"

I could see cracks start to form in Lisa's facade of composure, hints that she was more worried than she let on.

"No!," she said, holding out her hands in a 'stop' gesture. "I'm not trying to set you up, I promise. It's just…{I can't tell you everything I know, because it would violate the Unwritten Rules}."

"That's half true," I responded, leaning in closer. "I'm guessing that what you just said was technically correct, but not the real reason why. Care to try again?"

I watched with relish as Lisa, no, as Tattletale's face drained of blood. "Oh shit, you've got a new thinker power. A lie detector? Really? But that means...oh, fuck, you've had it active this entire time, you sneaky..."

I just smiled. "Consider it payback for that trick you pulled with Kid Win."

Tattletale shook her head and pulled out her wallet. "No, nope, not happening. Lunch is on me, okay, but I'm leaving. This was a bad idea."

She moved to toss a couple of bills down on the table, but I reached out and grabbed her hand before she could do so. I made it look effortless, as if I was insisting that we split the tab, but she had about as much chance of breaking out of my grip as the waiter had of being Eidolon in disguise.

"You don't want to do this, Daisy," Tattletale hissed. "You start anything here, I promise your secret identity will be blown before the day's done. You're right on the edge of violating the Unwritten Rules."

"Maybe I don't care," I smiled back. "I have no living family, and all but a handful of my friends are capes themselves. I don't really have that much to lose, do I?"

Tattletale's eyes widened in genuine fear. "Please, Taylor, don't do this. I wish I could help you, I do, but there are people who might decide to kill me if I say anything more. Maybe do something worse than kill me. I'm sorry I tried to lie to you, but {it was all for your own good!}"

I let my smile show a few more teeth, and tightened my grip on Tattletale's wrist until she had to struggle not to wince in pain. We were getting looks from the other customers around us, but that hardly mattered.

"Fine, fine," she said, sounding increasingly out of breath, "It was all partly for your own good, mostly for mine. I work for another villain, one with a gun to my head. He's the one who ordered me to leave you that note, ordered me to meet you today, told me what not to say."

I gripped harder, enough to leave a bruise. "So all this friendly stuff was just a lie?"

"No, no," Tattletale gasped, "You know it wasn't! Please, Taylor, I don't want to die. I promise, I'll go away, I won't try to hurt you, just please don't do what you're thinking about doing."

"Right after you tell me who you're working for," I growled. "You get one chance to answer, and I'll know if it isn't the full truth."

"Coil! It's Coil!" Tattletale hissed, eyes wide with panic. I let go of her, and she almost tipped over in her chair from how quickly she pulled back from me.

"Fuck," she whispered, not making eye contact. "You should know that, If you tell any of your bosses what I just said, I'm a dead woman. Can I go now, or are you going to try to torture the Megrim info out of me too? I've already said way too much, and it's not like I could stop you."

She was shaking with adrenaline, and my first instinct was to reach out and reassure her. When I started to move, though, Lisa visibly flinched away from me, and I froze. Right. I couldn't comfort her when I was the reason she needed comfort in the first place. I was suddenly reminded of how many times I'd been on the other side of this situation, and the wave of revulsion that followed almost made me lose what little of my lunch I'd managed to eat.

"You're manipulating me," I said, my words sounding weak even to me. "You know exactly how I feel about bullies."

"Yeah," she said, "but that doesn't mean I'm wrong."

"Miss?"

I looked up to see our server frowning at me.

"I'm sorry," he continued, "but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You're disturbing the other customers."

I stood up, waving my hands frantically. "This isn't..I mean, I wasn't...I'd never."

"Please don't make me call the police, Miss," he said, before looking over to Lisa. "Would you like me to call you a cab? You can wait here until it arrives."

The message was clear. I stood up, tossed down some cash, and left the Cafe feeling like a complete and total asshole. I shouldn't have been surprised; It wasn't like anyone else there knew she was really a villain, and I was really a hero. Hell, if they'd had to guess, they probably would have gotten our alignments reversed.

I barely even noticed the other customer leaving at the same time until she spoke to me.

"Heya, Sunshine."

I forced myself to walk out into the street before turning around.

"Sophia, what the hell are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "Stalking you?"

"I...you…" I opened and closed my mouth a few more times, unable to force any words out, before I gave up and just dragged her into a nearby alleyway. There were two guys already waiting in the alley, maybe looking for someone to mug, maybe just looking for a place out of the breeze. I glared at them, and they proceeded to fuck right off.

"What do you mean, stalking me!?" I said, my voice a strangled yell.

Sophia grinned. "You're surprised? It's right there in my name, Hebert."

I shook my head. "What? Why? How? Can you please start making some goddamn sense, Sophia?"

Her smile didn't dim. "You passed by me in the lounge on your way out, and I know the look of someone going out to get into trouble. I decided to follow along, just in case you'd found some action and thought you could hold out on me. Following you in was easy, especially since you decided to sit with your back to the door. I could only half-hear most of it, but I was there for almost the whole conversation. Can't say it was anything like what I expected, though."

"Congratulations," I deadpanned, "you got to see me absolutely bomb on a first date. I trust you were entertained?"

Sophia chuckled. "What, you're dating Tattletale now? I should've guessed you'd go for the snarky ones."

"That wasn't...I didn't…" I stammered, before giving up. "How the hell did you figure that out?"

"I've fought the Undersiders more times than the rest of the Wards combined," Sophia said. "She had the right hair, the right height and build, and that same awful smugness. Plus, she called you Daisy, just like at the Casino."

"Shit." I shook my head. "Wait, did I even tell you about that?"

"You sure did, Sunshine, in the middle of one of your rants. I don't think you even noticed, but no way was I going to pass up another nickname like that."

"It figures," I sighed. "So what happens now? Are you going to blackmail me? Report me? Challenge me to a duel to the death?"

"How about I offer to help?" Sophia asked, before breaking out in laughter. "God, the look on your fucking face, Hebert. I'm not really sure what's really going on here, but it's pretty clear you're planning to deal with a villain the Protectorate's too scared to touch. You think I'm going to get in your way? C'mon, you're too smart to be that dumb. I can't force you to take me along, but you know how much ass we can kick together."

In truth, this was pretty much exactly the way I'd originally hoped she would react. Hell, it was the only reason I'd decided to put up with her in the first place, instead of ratting her out to Piggot and getting her shipped off to Juvie. I'd thought she might be of use, back then, when I'd only expected to spend a month or two with the Wards.

"Sophia…".

Did it matter that just being near her right now made me feel sick? I wasn't a complete idiot; I knew that my talk with Tattletale had left me terrified that I might be turning into a bully myself, and that having any kind of positive interaction with Sophia only made it worse. I was pretty sure, if the version of me from December could see me now, she might not think there was much of a difference between Sophia and I.

It was a scary thought, but in the end, not scary enough.

"I won't promise anything," I finally said, "but I'll let you know if I find a way for you to help."

There was still a difference between myself and Sophia; I was only targeting villains, people who deserved it, instead of going after people just because they were weak. I was fighting to help the city, not just for personal pleasure. That would have to be enough.

"Kickass," Sophia said, as she held out her hand and we bumped fists. I allowed myself a smile, even if it was a touch rueful. As long as I was on a self-honesty kick, I had to admit that there wasn't really a point in holding on to my grudge against Sophia, even if it was well deserved. It took a lot of energy to keep my hate hot against someone who hadn't really hurt me in months, even more so when I saw her almost every day. Giving it up felt like a betrayal of my former self, but I'd already decided not to listen to her. She wasn't in possession of all the facts.

"To be honest," I said, "it's a bit of a relief, knowing that I've got someone at my back who won't hesitate to pull the trigger."

"Hey," Sophia chuckled, "what're friends for?"

I didn't bother correcting her. I just turned around and started making my way back home, trusting that she would follow.

AN: This is another one of those chapters I had to rework more than a few times, as it became clear that the scene I'd had in mind wasn't going to turn out as I'd planned.

At this rate, there should only be two or three chapters remaining in Spark, plus one or two interludes in between the regular weekly updates.

Next time, on Daystar!: Taylor goes looking for validation in all the wrong places! She has another heart-to-heart talk, but will it be enough to help her make sense of her life? (No, it will not).

Thanks for reading!

Last edited: Nov 21, 2019

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WinterWombat

Nov 21, 2019

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