Antecedent 0.8

I knock.

There is a certain sort of catharsis in exacting a massive violence towards someone you hate. It can release all sorts of emotions inside you that have been bottled up for want of keeping a normal look. Back when I had much simpler emotions, I feel as though I would have eventually taken part in a violence of some sort, manifesting in something that definitely wouldn't feel out of place in a Stephen King story.

Now, thankfully, I have moved on from doing something so conspicuous. I have much better management over my semi-emotions to the point that the violence I am planning won't end in the massacre of an entire school. If all goes well, no one will even die. But, despite my newfound indifference to Emma and her friends, I still feel as if something must be done about them. Why?

Because I don't want there to be someone else like me. In the parahuman sense, that is. I could care less about the insults and belittling that they will eventually do to my fellow classmates when I leave; those girls didn't exactly help me when I was down on the ground. I just want there to never be another repeat of a locker incident or something of a similar manner.

So, how will I go about this? Rest assured, I have a plan ready and in motion. And the whole thing starts with…

"Emma. Good evening."

I am pleasantly surprised with myself that she answered the door.

"Taylor…?" She rubs her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

I raise an eyebrow.

"Can't I visit an old friend? I know we've had a stained relationship for the past year or so…"

"Taylor, it's one in the fucking morning."

I look up at the morning sky. It is pitch black with a few stars here and there, little insignificant dots. A standard view for me to see.

"Yes, and?"

Emma blinks a few times in incredulity before sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose. She leans on the doorframe next to her.

"What do you want, Taylor?"

I cock my head ever so slightly to the side, my expression unchanging.

"I want to talk. May I come inside?"

Her eyebrows scrunch up in annoyance, her grip on the doorframe tightening imperceptibly, though not to me. She scoffs in derision.

"What could I possibly have to talk to you about? Did you forget how little you matter to my any-"

"We aren't in school," I say, interrupting her. "There isn't an audience watching." I swivel side-to-side to check. "Sophia isn't here, Madison isn't here, the other girls aren't here, the teachers aren't here either, so you don't have to pretend to be nice. You can be exactly who you are. That's the beauty of night." I take a subtle step forward. "It's just you and me and the emptiness. No one to hear us."

She subconsciously flinches back a bit, letting go of the doorframe. I am toeing the line between her house and the outside and we are barely inches apart. There is a slight fear in her eyes.

"...What the fuck are you talking about? You're…not really making any sense." I take another step. She notices this one. "Hey, I didn't say you could come in. What are you-"

I jump out with my right palm in front of me.

"WHUAFUGRYUDUIN!"

"Please be quiet and let me speak."

"LEMEGOLEMEGOLEMEGO!"

"The sooner you stop trying to yell, the sooner the hand comes off."

"FUGYULEMEGO!"

"Same with the struggling. I know the floor is uncomfortable, but that's mostly your fault for not having a rug directly in front of your front door."

"STBISTBIPLES!"

"I will when you do the same with your movement."

"MAEGMI!"

"I can make you. Your windpipe is quite an open target. It'll stop you from speaking, but it will also stop you from breathing, and you don't want that to happen, right?"

"...Mm-mm."

"So, shut it."

"..."

"Are we calmed down?"

"...Mm-hm."

"Good. Now, there is a certain topic that you and I, and yes, I will take some of that blame myself, have been avoiding for quite some time. I would like an explanation for what happened the summer I wasn't here."

"...Whu?"

"All I know is that when I came back, you had become friends with Sophia and you started to treat me like an animal. These things may not be related, but that's how things seem to be."

"..."

"I'm going to let go of your mouth now. If you yell, I punch your throat before leaving. If you tell, I will make your annoyance into a permanent injury. Is that clear?"

"...Mm-hm."

"Good."

"...I'm sorry."

"I don't care. Explanation. Now."

"...Please don't kill me."

"I won't. You don't deserve that. Give me the explanation now."

"...I just didn't want to be weak."

"..."

"...I was attacked in an alley. ABB. I tried to fight back, but I could barely do anything. Sha…Sophia came in and scared them away. She's stronger than you think."

"I would have thought her specialty was the defenseless.

"Don't-"

"No retorts. Continue."

"I…Sophia said I was a survivor, mostly 'cause I fought back. She told me that if I wanted to be strong, I had to get rid of my older, weak self. That included…"

"Me, I assume."

"...Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Did you regret it?"

"..."

"You're right. It doesn't matter anymore. It never did."

"..."

"Goodbye, Emma."

"..."

"I won't miss you either."

Madison

Sophia

Emma X

Blackwell

The next day at school passes by very quickly. No one disturbs me the whole time. No insults, no tripping feet, no hidden lunch trays, nothing. I don't see Emma for the entire day except for classes, where she made a point to not even glance my way; I'm pretty sure she even tried keeping me out of her peripheral vision. Sophia and Madison do the same, though I think Emma told them to. Whether she spoke about last night or not is unknown to me, but wholly unimportant.

The bus ride back home is spent planning. Today, or rather, in an hour or two, I would be going to the Wards' Headquarters and meeting the team I would be working with. A bit of research back at home had told me most of what I needed to know about the seven or so current members and general knowledge about them, but something I was still uninformed about was their powers. Of course, those are greatly guarded secrets not available to the general public, and despite the fact that I was now one of them, I don't think I would really be an official member until I actually met the others and was 'unveiled' to the public, as Miss Militia had informed me.

I am in my room a half hour later and opening a new tab in my computer's browser. It autofills and sends me to the wiki I've visited multiple times already; one last look through wouldn't hurt.

Some of the Wards' powers were already pretty well known, like Kid Win being a tinker and Shadow Stalker being able to use police brutality tactics (and to briefly become incorporeal, but the former is much more prevalent in the PHO videos). A few others could be guessed at with only a bit of speculation, like Aegis' unorthodox healing and Clockblocker's timestop touch. But there were a couple that would be hard for me to gauge, those being Gallant's…something and Vista's…teleportation?

As for their personalities, I only knew what their PR put out, though it was very clear that Clockblocker was a clown, given his name. I already know that the Wards' PR is a powerful backing force in the organization, judging from Miss Militia's reaction to my case for joining, so I couldn't really know what the actual kids were like behind closed doors. I wondered what they would do when they got their grubby hands on me. I would probably be fine with most choices, though I already had an idea on my name, something which I would make sure went through.

I spend the whole of the early afternoon on the computer, as if I were cramming for a final exam. This was more like the midterms, but, like the midterms, felt almost the same; without the stress, of course. I am in the middle of a particularly interesting article analyzing the specifics of Aegis' regeneration when I hear my father.

"Taylor! They're here!"

My lip twitches as I close the computer. Time to prepare for curtain.

One thing that is unfortunately universal is curiosity. A squirrel will sometimes venture to trees beyond to scout for food. A bear will move further upstream to find fresher fish. Insects will find every nook, crevice, and cranny in a house to make their own homes from. Even in my muted state, I still held a truly human curiosity, solely because it's natural in every beast and being there is.

All of this is to say that I believe it will possibly be very hard for me to work with PRT personnel. Everyone leaves the armored truck with some form of frustration or annoyance in their face, though mine is mostly to play along. My father and I were escorted by the two guards who had the pleasure of riding with us, and we were brought to the front door of our destination: the Downtown Headquarters of the Protectorate. Yes, very grand, I know. Though, there was something grander standing at the front door, that being Miss Militia, standing quite regally I might add.

We walk up to her, an annoyed expression on my father's face and a frustrated mask on mine. I scratch my actual mask, a domino one that covers my eyes, for a nonexistent itch. Miss Militia sees our faces immediately, dismissing her previously grinning self.

"Why are you two so sour-looking? I thought you'd be at least a bit excited."

My dear father seems to be starting to speak, so my character interrupts him.

"Oh, it's nothing too bad. The ride here was bo-ring! So, I tried talking with those guys to see if they would answer any of my questions about the place, but they started acting like I wasn't there. That led into me asking more questions and much louder, and it all kinda ended when one of them screamed at me." I shrugged and then gave Miss Militia a knowing grin. "He might need to get his mentals checked, ay?"

She manages an awkward half-smile before shifting the topic faster than a trucker making a U-turn.

"Well, since you haven't been unveiled to the public yet, they don't really see you as a Ward, so they aren't required to speak to you." She motions to the building behind her. "Speaking of, if you would follow me…"

Before we enter the building, I tense my head slightly and expand my sphere of control to look for any flies in the immediate area. I find a few, but only call one to my side, quietly flying it under the scruff of my shirt. Just in case.

Miss Militia leads us into the lobby where I had first been introduced to the place. We moved from there to the interview room where we first met and then through the hallway where she interrogated me. I already have a sense of nostalgia for these locations, something for which having the capacity to feel pleasantly surprises me. Unlike then, we keep moving down the hallway before coming to an elevator.

It takes almost five minutes for us to arrive to our destination, and unlike the truck, the only person that I could possibly annoy to stimulate myself is, as stated in the previous paragraph, one of the most powerful people in the city, and my father isn't very responsive when I do it to him, so the walk is as dull as the ride.

It is essentially a godsend when we stand in front of the door to the Wards' common room. It looks like you would expect a reinforced door to look like, including an odd looking panel next to it. Miss Militia bends down to it and pulls at the top and bottom of her eye. An odd blue flash shines from it momentarily before we are all greeted by a loud cachunk noise, most probably the lock disengaging.

She puts her hand on the now open door and stays still. She looks over at me with a crease in her forehead.

"I'm going to be leaving you here with them while I talk to your father about some more things he needs to sign. They most probably will unmask first, if they haven't already, but you can unmask in front of them whenever you're ready to. Ready?"

My character nods. My father also nods. My lip twitches imperceptibly. Miss Militia did not ask me if I was ready to meet the others. She asked me if I was ready to act. She understands me now.

As for the acting, no complaints here, as she knows. Time to go to stage.

The second I walk in, I can feel eyes on me. I recognize them all as I look around the room; Clockblocker is at the far left leaning back in a chair and reading a book; Aegis next to him with his hands to his hips and an annoyed expression; Kid Win is in the back playing with some sort of gun, a laser I assume; Vista is leaning against a wall a few paces right to him; and Gallant is jogging in place. Shadow Stalker is nowhere to be found. Only Vista and Gallant look at me as I walk in, and only Kid Win is wearing a domino mask of his own.

Aegis notices me a second later, giving me a small salute with two fingers.

"Hello. I apologize on the behalf of everyone here. We were sent a text some minutes ago of your arrival and all the nerds here wanted to look cool."

Clockblocker looks back at him, betrayed.

"Hey! How do you know I wasn't reading for fun?"

There is only silence as he quickly realizes he was holding the book upside down. A grumble escapes from his throat, but he stays quiet. Kid Win clears his throat, not even looking up from his gun spinning.

"For the record, I'm actually here practicing. This isn't an easy flair to learn."

Aegis shakes his head, hands moving from hips to torso.

"You guys try too hard to impress the newcomers. When So…Stalker first arrived, I thought she was going to go back on the Ward deal and go to juvie instead of having to deal with this."

My character clears her throat, feeling left out of the conversation. I move my fly into the air as everyone's eyes fall to me. No one seems to see it.

"Where is Shadow Stalker? She was always my favorite." My character does a cutesy motion with my hands, the two held together and swung side-to-side like a bell, while hopping slightly in the heels; I mentally nickname it the 'fangirl'. "I have some of her action figures at home, and she was the reason I-" My character cuts off there, trying to create some sense of intrigue over what I was going to say. You'll find out what it was soon enough. "Anyway, where is she?"

Aegis looks over at everyone else before popping his mouth.

"We, uh, don't know. She said she wasn't going to show up today so that she could 'deal with something important'. Even if we asked, I'm pretty sure she would've just waved us aside."

My character chuckles.

"Sounds like a fun…girl. I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

Clockblocker shares my chuckle and leans back in his chair.

"Ha! I like her already!" He hops out of the chair and walks over in front of me, holding out his hand. I am hesitant to do so for a moment, given…you know. He notices and grins at me.

"Oh, don't worry. I only freeze people when I actively try to." I still take a few more seconds before accepting it. "There we are. I'm Dennis, nice to meet you…?"

He wants my name. My character copies his grin.

"I'm Taylor. Nice to meet you as well." My character moves my head to look at the rest of the room; everyone has moved from their prior position and towards me, except, funnily enough, for Gallant, who is just staring at me. "And all of you, too."

The rest of them do the same, with Aegis introducing himself as Carlos, Kid Win as Chris, Vista as…Vista, though they tell me her name is Missy, and finally Gallant as Dean. I give them each a shake of the hand, ignoring the high-five from Chris. As I take Dean's hand, I can feel a sort of stiffness in his shake. My character gives a curious smile.

"Oh, are you alright? Would you have preferred a high-five?"

Chris looks at me, somehow even more betrayed than Dennis earlier.

"Why does he get one?"

Dean manages a quirked grimace. Is he uncomfortable?

"No, it's fine. I'm…not the most sociable."

Dennis walks in and punches him playfully in the shoulder.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm pretty sure you're the only one out of any of us who has…or had a girlfriend. Though, uh, still not sure about Stalker. Need to ask her."

As they continue talking about their teammate, I move the fly in my shirt into the air and onto Dean's chest. His breathing is funny, though I don't know why. The only other person who has ever reacted to me like this is my father when I told him about my powers, and even he wasn't behaving so obviously uncomfortable.

Just to be safe, I keep the fly on Dean for the rest of the time I'm with them. There isn't much to say about what happened; we talked a lot, we laughed, I think that I've become buddies with Carlos, though I'm not entirely sure why. I think he knew, and he winked at me, saying that he "just knows that we share something between us." I don't know if he was attempting to flirt with me, but he would have been sorely disappointed by my refusal if I had managed to say something before Miss Militia came back. My father was not next to her.

"Taylor, can I need to steal you for a moment? I'd like to give you a personal tour of this place."

I can immediately feel everyone in the room's confusion skyrocket. It's visible on everyone's faces. Dennis speaks up.

"What? None of us got a tour from you when we first got here. What's going on?"

Miss Militia completely ignores them as she beckons me away. My character turns back to them and shrugs.

"I dunno. I'll be back and tell you everything, though. I can tell I'm going to like working with y'all!"

My character shoots them some finger guns as I walk backwards to the door. I face in front again as I exit the room. I can still feel one of them staring at me, that being Dean. I disregard it. The mask falls off right as Miss Militia closes the door behind me. I immediately hear a sigh from her.

"Y'all? I have never heard you say that before."

I swivel my head to her.

"It felt appropriate." I cock my head a bit to the side. "Now, where exactly are we going?"

She nods and motions for me to follow.

She leads me down a new hallway I haven't seen before, though of course that's the case; I've never been here before. Still, a sense of discomfort wades its way through my stomach, as normally during a tour, the guide is supposed to tell you things about your surroundings, which is the opposite of Miss Militia's actions. I find it very suspicious, and I can tell she's starting to realize that, but I stay silent myself.

We eventually reach the end of this hallway, a smaller hall containing a few doors on the left and right, along with one in the middle. Miss Militia stops before getting too close to them.

"You're going to want to go into the second door on the left. He'll be in there."

I raise an eyebrow, overwhelmed with curiosity.

"Who?"

Her expression suddenly becomes very worried.

"Well, every Ward is given a course of therapy from a series of interchanging doctors. Normally, you would be switching rooms every day, but, as we want to keep your…condition between as few people as possible, we will be keeping you with one." She gestures to the door. "Go on. He's a very professional man."

I stare at her, stare at the door, look back at her, and then nod and proceed towards the second door on the left. I turn the knob. Unlike many of the doors in this facility, theses are made of wood, possibly because the inside is of no strategic value at all. There is a bookshelf, there is a coffee table, there are two chairs; a cushioned chair and an armchair; and there is a man. He is sitting on the first chair.

A man in a pinstripe bowtie and overalls. Oval glasses rest on the bridge of his nose. He gives me a polite smile as he stands and takes a few steps towards me.

"Hello. It's very nice to meet you." He puts out his hand to me. "I am Dr. Ryan. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do together."

My lip twitches, but not in place of a smirk. It's in place of a laugh. I accept the hand. Today has officially become my most efficient day.

By the way, I got the names for all the ants in the previous chapter at this link here: wiki/List_of_serial_killers_in_the_United_States

Have fun.