36
Ring-ding! Ring-ding!
Taylor carefully guided her bicycle down the thoroughfare, occasionally ringing the bell fastened to the handlebars to warn nearby pedestrians— and admittedly, also because it was just a fun sound. Sunny was jogging happily alongside her, tongue lolling and constantly turning her head to look at the near-throngs of people, this close to the Protectorate ferry. Several of those people were returning the favor, looking curiously and even pointing at the girl and her wolf. Were the tourists looking at Sunny, Taylor wondered, or had the PRT made her 'Brushstroke' alias public knowledge, somehow? And someWHY, more importantly… oh, perhaps because she was registered as a Rogue? Man, she really needed to check out PHO one of these days. Taylor had used to browse the website pretty often, but these days she was just too busy, a trend that didn't seem to be going away anytime soon. She made a mental note to try and eat lunch in the computer lab at school tomorrow, maybe see if there was a thread for recently introduced 'parahumans.'
The thought elicited a short laugh, and Sunshine turned her furry head towards Taylor, one doggy eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Heh, nothing, Sunny. Just thinking back to that last meeting we had with the Protectorate. The, uh, calmer parts of it, anyway."
The wolf chuffed, and her eyes gleamed with mischief. Taylor stuck her tongue out at her. "No, that doesn't mean I need a repeat! Keep your surprises to yourself for this one, would you?" Whiiiiine. "I don't care how comfy she is, we're keeping this thing with Battery nice and professional." Sunshine heaved a dramatic sigh, and sat down to wait as Taylor parked her bike in a spare slot of the racks nearest the ferry access gate, then threaded the security chain and locked it. "Okay, done. Let's get going, Sunny."
The pair got in line next to a tour group. Taylor tried not to feel self-conscious, standing near so many overdressed adults (and a few in Hawaiian shirts, of course) when she herself was wearing some paint-stained overalls and a red sweatshirt. While this errand was Shrine Business, there was a distinct possibility that it also counted as Cape Business, since she was setting up a meeting between two of them. Accordingly, Taylor had decided on taking a painter's mask with her, but it was going to hang loose at her neck until she knew for sure whether or not wearing a mask in a high-security area would get her tased. Common sense, really.
Once the ferry arrived at the Rig, Taylor and Sunny broke off from the tour group, and headed inside to find an information desk. Pleasingly, there was one in plain sight, though there were also a number of PRT troopers and, as Taylor glanced around at the walls and ceiling, a number of what were probably containment foam sprayers (buildings didn't need quite that many fire sprinklers). A thought started to nag at Taylor, but she brushed it aside in favor of giving the wary receptionist a bright smile.
"Hello! I'm Taylor Hebert, AKA Brushstroke. I'm here to deliver a message to Battery, is she available?"
"The Brockton Bay Protectorate has a PO box where you can send fan mail and nonhazardous packages. I'll get you an address card…"
"Erm, no, that's— I mean I need to hand-deliver it. I know I don't have an appointment, but it won't take long, really." She had promised to keep it quiet, after all. Taylor caught the slight thinning of the receptionist's lips, and hurried to continue. "I can wait a bit, or come back, but— really, if it's not too much trouble, could you… page her, maybe?"
The receptionist frowned a bit further, but she started typing, so something was happening, at least. Taylor shuffled her feet a bit awkwardly, and glanced around at the PRT troopers who were rather unabashedly paying attention to her, standing at the information desk. A couple of them looked a bit closer than they had been previously, too. Taylor locked eyes with the nearest one, then looked up and pointed at the nozzles on the ceiling. "Hey, are those for Containment Foam? They don't look like fire sprinklers." The trooper tilted his head, just slightly—he probably had a radio earpiece, come to think of it—then nodded. Taylor looked back up at the sprayers, baffled.
"...this is the Protectorate Base. It's probably the most fortified place in the city, and it's full of PRT soldiers and heroes. Plus it's in the bay, so there's no easy way in or out. Do… do people really walk in the front door, looking for trouble?" She thought she heard a chuckle from one of the other nearby troopers. "Man. Capes are weird."
"Miss Brushstroke? Battery will see you shortly." The receptionist hung up a small phone Taylor hadn't even noticed past the lip of her desk. And so quiet, too—maybe there was tinkertech involved? Neat! Taylor thanked the woman, then followed her pointing finger towards an elevator near the back of the lobby. The doors opened as she approached, and out came Battery, the heroine's costume with its glowing lines just as she'd remembered it. Relief spread through Taylor. She'd been pretty worried, to be honest. Purity had sounded rather stressed when she'd made the request, and Taylor hadn't been sure if the Protectorate heroes would actually let her deliver an invitation by hand. It looked like the straightforward approach had paid off, though.
Battery's face held a smile as she approached, saying, "Hello, Brushstroke. Welcome to the Rig! Did you come by for a tour? I can show you around a bit." Was… she offering to show her around the Rig? Like, inside of it? Where the heroes were? Not just the public tour? Taylor fought against the pitter-pat heartbeat of her excitement. She was here professionally, she had Shrine Business to do.
(Would it be unprofessional to ask for an autograph? No, focus Taylor, focus!)
"I'd love to, really! But I'm actually here for business, of a sort. M-maybe some other time, if the offer is still open?" Oh please oh please oh please.
Battery smiled a bit wider, the expression turning into a bit of a knowing grin. "Sure. I'll see how much clearance I can get you, maybe even a quick look at Armsmaster's and Chessman's labs. And I'm sure we can arrange a visit with the Wards too, if you're interested."
"That— that'd be great, I— er, ahem. Anyway, I came by to deliver this to you." This, at least, she'd known how to prepare for! Taylor took out a sealed envelope and handed it over. At her gesture, Battery opened the letter with a quick tear and pulled out the hand-inked invitation card Taylor had made up. She saw the moment Battery reached the name of her intended meeting partner, because her eyes widened.
"You don't have to, of course, but… this person does want to meet with you. And the Pawprint Shrine is neutral ground, so it's a good place for conducting peaceful business…" Taylor paused, then offered, "I'll have tea and snacks prepared, too. If that makes a difference."
"This is— I can't agree to this off the bat, Brushstroke."
"I understand. They did want some privacy, though, so please use your best judgment and discretion."
"Right…"
"Oh! And we have a phone now! With an answering machine! So you can RSVP." Taylor smiled. Even that simple insurance against a repeat of last time was reason to be cheerful about.
"Oh, do you?" Battery glanced down at the card again, and spotted the phone number near the bottom. "Well, that's… good. A few of us heroes were actually thinking of stopping by the shrine, sometimes, if that is acceptable?"
"Oh, of course! Pawprint Shrine is open to everyone. If you're thinking more about having tea, or need to see me for some reason, you can leave a message for me. I'm free most days after school lets out." Taylor kept smiling, even as she once again internally wondered exactly when casually inviting parahumans for tea had become something she'd accepted. That was probably Oni Lee's fault, in retrospect. Oh, and while she was thinking of it, Taylor made a mental note to get some more matcha. She'd found recipes for cooking with the green tea powder that she suspected both the assassin and Old Mrs. Henrick would appreciate. She wanted to have something prepared for the next time she caught the ABB cape at the shrine, because after Yuuta's rather confusing string of confessions, she'd promised to have a talk with the teleporter on his behalf.
Though, now she had some questions of her own to ask. Lots of questions. Oni Lee was just at the top of her list.
Taylor snapped her focus back to Battery, catching up to what the heroine was saying. "...and do that sometime, thank you. Was there anything else you needed, then?"
"Oh! Um, no, that was it. Thanks for seeing me, too." Wait— no, there had been. The Protectorate was on that list of people to ask questions too. And now was the perfect opportunity to set up an appointment and— Taylor halted that line of thought. If the heroes were considering coming by the Shrine, she could ask them about recent… unusual activity then, in a more casual setting. That seemed a safer bet.
"Not a problem, Brushstroke. Have a good day, you and Good Dog." The heroine trailed off for a second. "Did Good Dog come with you?"
"Sunny? Of course, she's right—" Taylor turned to her right, where Sunny most definitely was not. She turned to her left, and there was a distinct lack of wolf there, too. "Um…"
Bark! Bark! Sunshine's excitement could be heard across the crowded lobby. Taylor turned in the direction of a large circle of onlookers, where— oh no. Taylor mangled an apology and a good-bye in a few syllables, then rushed towards the flashing cameras. Battery followed quick on her heels, but Taylor knew there was nothing the heroine could do to prevent this. Not even Scion could help, now.
Sunny had found the gift shop.
Taylor managed to elbow her way as politely as possible through the ring of tourists, many of whom had phones raised or cameras readied, and the rest of whom were alternating between excited chatter and helpless cooing. Sunny, of course, was at the epicenter, and the canine had managed to wear a truly impressive amount of Protectorate merchandise. There were Velocity brand sneakers flopping loose on her paws, a pair of Kid Win utility belts and a Dauntless shield hanging on her back like a saddle, a replica of Vista's green lenses over her eyes, just visible under the Assault ballcap, which itself was nearly engulfed by the pretend lion mane of the kid's foam Triumph-inspired visor. The wolf had even managed to fit herself into a black windbreaker jacket, with colored lines sewn over it in mimicry of Battery's costume. Taylor spotted stickers of the different Wards caught in her fur, a Clockblocker watch on her tail, some Chessman-themed tank plushies stuck in the Kid Win belts-- Taylor was sure there was more, but her brain shut down and refused to process any further once she noticed the foam toy halberd at Sunny's feet.
The wolf wuffed, and picked up the pretend-weapon in her teeth. Sunny dipped into a play bow, her tail wagging. Taylor couldn't see the wolf's eyes through her many hats, but she knew. She knew what the wolf was planning.
"Sunny, no." The crowd had backed away from her, and now Taylor was unfortunately sure she was being recognized as Sunny's partner in crime, and not-crime. Anticrime.
"Sunny, sto— ack!" The wolf tensed, then jumped and somersaulted in the air, flinging the halberd over the top of the crowd, back towards the elevator. Either from a you-break-it-you-buy-it instinct, or just habit, Taylor dove for it.
* * *
"...in lighter news, our next story involves a bit of mischief at the Protectorate base today, when local parahuman rogue pair Brushstroke and Good Dog stopped by for a visit. The girl and her dog have been making a bit of a buzz recently, after local PRT spokesmen credited them for their assistance in capturing a number of E88 villains. The pair stopped by the Rig today for business relating to the Pawprint Shrine, rumored to be an accorded neutral territory on the East side of the city, but it seems Good Dog's attention wandered a bit just in time for a tour group to get a front row seat to the show."
Taylor sat on the couch, remote frozen in her hand as she stared at the screen. The evening news announcer droned on, promising more information on the Pawprint Shrine rogues, covert urban development, and the rumors surrounding the 'ABB-Union.' Through it all, the screen behind her showcased pictures taken by one of the tourists, immortalizing forever the moment Taylor caught Sunny's long pass of the toy halberd by plowing directly into the real halberd's owner, who had picked exactly the wrong time to emerge from the elevator.
A car door slammed shut just outside, followed shortly by the rattle of keys in the lock as Taylor's father returned home from work. Taylor hit the power button on the remote hard enough to sink the rubber into the innocent television utility's frame. Danny Hebert stepped into the kitchen, shrugged off his coat and set down his duffel bag, and called out, "Evening, Taylor! ...how was your day?"
"The usual," she replied.