Effigy – 1.5
It was days like this that made Hannah thankful for the heavy coat she had that she could wear with her costume. The weather past the van windows was thoroughly miserable; it was unseasonably cold and rain was coming down in sideways sheets thanks to the strong winds. The ferry trip in from the rig had been rough enough that more than one person ended up surrendered the contents of their stomach to the bay. A glance to the side showed Corporal Ramirez was devoting his full attention to the surprisingly empty road in front of them and another glance towards the back seat showed Taylor staring out the window trying to take in the tall buildings of the city outside.
"There's so many of them", Taylor's voice was quiet, almost awed.
"So many of what?" Hannah questioned; Taylor had seen the city before however briefly, why was she amazed by it?
"People", came the distracted reply. "They're everywhere."
Taylor had never used her sensory power anywhere but on the Rig where there were at most a hundred people at a time. If using her power on the Rig was like standing in the middle of a star field then using it in the city, especially in one of the more populous areas, was like standing in the centre of a galaxy. Over a thousand swirls of light surrounded her each slightly different from the others with their own combination of shades and patterns that only made the rare coloured ones stand out from the mass of whites and greys even more. The fact that they were driving through the city only made the experience even more amazing for her, people were constantly entering and leaving her range, continuously introducing new light patterns and designs; she had to look at as many as she could.
"-ylor?" Came Hannah's voice cutting into the younger girl's thoughts causing her to jerk upright and abruptly bring her focus back to her immediate surroundings.
"Yes?" She asked louder and faster than necessary.
"We're here." Hannah said, pointing out the window towards the red and gold store in front of them.
Taylor looked in the indicated direction before she nodded and grabbed the handle of the umbrella that had been resting upright between her legs before opening both the door and the umbrella, holding the latter in front and above of herself like a shield. On the opposite side of the vehicle Hannah was doing the same; an odd corner of the older woman's mind noted that while her own hair was starting to get a bit frizzy from the humidity, Taylor's stayed in its typical dark curls.
"Coming in Corporal?" Hannah asked, turning to the Hispanic man in the driver's seat.
"And end up carrying all your bags? I know how this works", he said with a grin that took any possible sting out of his reply. "I'll be alright ma'am; I have some paperwork I need to get done anyways", he said as he patted the briefcase sitting between the two front seats. "Unless you actually do need me to come in?"
"We should be good, and hopefully we won't make you wait too long", she said closing the door. She then hurried over to the front of the store where Taylor stood; the girl having scurried into the sheltered area created by the building and had been waiting impatiently for her.
Hannah had chosen the store for several reasons not the least of which was because it was close to where the ferry to and from the Rig docked. As the two of them stepped through the doors and made their way further into the store the few customers who had braved today's weather took notice, pulled out their phones, snapped a picture or two and went back to shopping. It was a bit anticlimactic; but given the sheer number of capes in Brockton Bay people got used to seeing them in costume doing the totally mundane things of everyday life. The store itself was pretty typical, fluorescent lighting and white walls emphasizing the rows and isles of clothing. The shopping turned out to be almost trivially easy; Taylor happened to have simple tastes in clothing and was able to pick out a few full sets along with a heavier coat for days like this one, despite not being affected by the cold it would keep her clothing dry.
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'Somethings wrong', the thought nagged at Hannah as she glanced around, a minute of discreetly surveying the store brought her the answer.
'What are they up to?' While she and Taylor had been shopping she had noticed more than one visitor to the store who looked distinctly out of place, it took her another minute or so of observation to figure out what had tipped her off. Most of them had a rough appearance, which by itself didn't mean anything; however none of them seemed to be showing the slightest interest in the clothing the store was selling. On the other hand they were showing an interest (and not a friendly interest) in the two of them that ranged from relatively subtle to quite obvious.
'Could it be the gangs sending people to check out the new parahuman?'
Checking her watch discreetly confirmed that while it hadn't been very long since the two of them had arrived, it
was enough time for the gangs to have picked up on their presence and sent some people to check it out; after all the gangs liked to stay informed as much as anyone else. She kept track of the suspected gang members; it was all she could do really. They weren't doing anything illegal and even the Merchants would have to have lost what few brain cells they still had to attack here and now, but it was a good thing most of Taylor's abilities weren't obvious just by looking.
Even if it wasn't the gangs, Taylor seemed to have finished actually picking out clothes and was now just browsing. "Ready to go?" She asked the younger girl.
"Ye-", Taylor broke off and Hannah felt a tug on her coat.
"You're Miss'litia right?" The question came from a point near the costumed woman's waist; craning her neck she saw a young brown haired boy of about six or seven pulling on her coat and looking up at her curiously with what looked like a Legend action figure clutched in his other hand.
"Yes I am", she replied, smiling slightly. "And what's your name?"
"Steven", as he spoke he pointed past her towards Taylor. "Who's she?"
"Why don't you ask her? I'm sure she'll tell you if you ask nicely." A part of her felt a bit bad at forcing Taylor to deal with inquisitive children so early on but the poor girl was going to have to learn how to deal with the attention her appearance brought her however; she was here to help Taylor if she needed it.
Taking a few steps past her the boy tried again, "Who are you?"
"Umm- Ta- Lalka", said Taylor, stumbling over which name she should use.
"My mom says you look kind of creepy", he said with the oblivious lack of tact only a child could really pull off and causing Taylor's shoulders to sag slightly. Before either Hannah or Taylor could say anything Steven continued, "I think you look like 'n action figure." He said thrusting his Legend action figure at her for emphasis; Taylor and Hannah were about to respond before being interrupted
again by a young brown haired woman coming from the same direction the boy had.
"There you are Steven; you shouldn't wander off like that", she said as she stepped up to the boy. "He wasn't bothering you was he?"
Hannah's smile turned slightly brittle under the scarf covering the lower part of her face as she noticed the Homefront pin on the other woman's collar; one of the slightly more moderate groups that supported the Patriot's message.
'Get rid of it', she wanted to say. "Not at all."
"Thanks for keeping him from wandering some more", she said gratefully while picking up her son.
'They use this country's ideals as justification to rape and beat people in back alleys', Hannah felt like yelling at the woman; but she couldn't, the Protectorate, like the military and police, didn't appreciate their members spouting political opinions while in uniform or costume.
"Oh, it was no problem", she said, it was really all she could say really.
As the brunette woman carried her son away Taylor hesitantly came up beside her, "Ummm. . . Are-"
"It's nothing", she said taking a deep breath.
'I can't keep getting so worked up over things like that.' "We should pay for your clothes and get back to Corporal Ramirez, I'm sure we've made him wait long enough", she was hoping the mention of the Corporal would distract Taylor from her behaviour just now; the hesitant nod she got in return showed her she hadn't entirely succeeded.
The trip through the checkout didn't take long aside from the cashier getting briefly distracted by Taylor and pulling his phone out to snap a picture of the both of them. Outside, the rain had eased up and the wind wasn't as strong as it had been. Ramirez was still going through the paperwork he had brought with him and listening to the radio when Hannah and Taylor got back to the van; piling into the van they headed out of the parking lot towards the PRT headquarters building.
"Anything interesting happen?" Hannah asked Ramirez while motioning to the radio.
"I'll let you know when we get to HQ", he said quietly, casing a significant look at the rear-view mirror towards Taylor. Taylor for her part was too distracted and filled with nervous energy to pick up on the exchange.
The rest of the ride went smoothly, hitting almost every green light on the way to their destination. The PRT building looked much like the buildings around it save for its separation from them; several stories of glass and steel rising from the well maintained lawns surrounding it. They parked in the underground parking garage that the PRT used to hold its collection of vehicles before taking an elevator into the building proper. Thanks to the traffic they had arrived a little early, fortunately the people they were meeting today had just arrived and were settling into one of the waiting areas.
Ramirez left to get coffee in one of the employee break rooms as Hannah and Taylor walked through the various rooms and hallways to get to the waiting room where their guests were.
"You ok?" Hannah asked, placing a hand on Taylor's shoulder.
"I- It's just- What if they don't recognize me?"
"It'll be fine, trust me, you look nearly the same as you did before your trigger." Hannah gave Taylor her best reassuring smile before gently nudging the girl back into motion.
A short while later the two of them arrived at the door to the waiting room. Taylor hesitantly stepped forward and opened the door before pausing to try and find something to say.
"Umm-"
"Taylor!" Cried Emma Barnes as she launched herself out of her chair and pulled her friend into a bone crushing hug. "I'm so happy you're ok", the redhead said in a quieter voice.
Alan Barnes was a little more sedate in greeting Taylor but not by much, "How have they been treating you? Have you been doing alright?"
Hannah felt a smile creep onto her face as she watched Taylor try to answer the questions the pair kept asking; she seemed somewhat overwhelmed but not actually distressed which was definitely a good thing. At the same time she felt like she was intruding on a private moment between them and turned to leave intent on giving Taylor and the Barnes some privacy while they talked.
Striding back through the hallways she had originally come through brought her to the same break room that Ramirez was sitting in. The well-built man was nursing a cup of black coffee while working on the same paperwork he had been earlier; he looked up and leaned back with a groan as Hannah sat down across from him.
"The never ending parade of paperwork", he said with a sigh.
"The lifeblood of any sufficiently large organization, I know how you feel." Hannah shot back sympathetically. "What was on the news earlier?"
"The Headhunters showed up in Austin and tore through a meeting between some of the gangs there."
Hannah leaned forward at that, "How many dead?"
"Last update was twenty-seven regular gang members and six capes, five villains and one tinker from the local Protectorate branch who was on patrol and stopped to investigate the noise. The usual methods all round."
"Damn,
everyone is going to be nervous about this; it's been two years why show up now?"
The Headhunters had announced themselves to the world and earned their name almost seven years ago when they had shown up out of nowhere to turn Heartbreaker's mansion into a charnel house. Not a single person had left the property alive; on top of that they had taken the head of every parahuman on the property with them when they left. The worst part was that they knew nothing about them; they showed up without warning and would disappear just as quickly. Who supported them? What did they want? How did they get around? What mildly disturbed Hannah was that, despite the brutality of their attacks there were quite a few people who cheered them on without any reservations.
"Did we at least learn anything this time?"
"I don't know I haven't checked up on it yet", Ramirez said with a sigh before draining the last third of his mug. "Like you said though, this is going to put everyone on edge for a while."
The two of them sat in silence for a while with the only sound being the scratch of Ramirez's pen as he went back to his mound of paperwork.
"I'm going to go see what I can find out", Hannah said abruptly, standing and heading out the door as Ramirez absently waved to her without taking his eyes of the papers in front of him.
What she found from going over the reports she had access to wasn't much. The Headhunters had a (presumed) cape dressed like a plague doctor who was the one doing the decapitations using a one handed battle axe. All the new information they had come from the Protectorate tinker's helmet cam; the footage had the man cautiously opening a backdoor from the alley he was in, poking his head past the door, and promptly being shot through the door with high intensity laser weaponry from multiple angles. The plague doctor cape didn't show up to decapitate him until later, almost immediately before the Protectorate response. It wasn't much to go on.
Hannah gave a frustrated sigh, she wasn't getting anywhere just sitting here and going through the recording over and over again. Glancing over at the clock also told her it was getting close five in the afternoon,
'It hasn't been that long has it?' A look at the clock on the screen in front of her and her watch confirmed that yes it was that late in the afternoon; she should probably grab Taylor and head back to the rig, after all Hannah had patrol this evening with Velocity.
As it turned out Emma had yet to run out of things to talk to Taylor about, or rather talk
at her about considering Taylor was really just listening at this point. Alan was also looking a bit tired and worn, not that Hannah could blame him. Between the stress of a friend dying and spending several hours listening to his daughter trying to explain her best friend's life to her he was likely reaching his emotional limits.
As she opened the door everyone turned to look at her, "Sorry to interrupt but Taylor and I are going to have to head back to the Rig soon." The announcement was met with a loud disappointed noise from Emma, a quieter one from Taylor, and a guilty expression of relief from Alan. "Not right away", she hurriedly assured the girls, "You can still finish what you were talking about, but we do need to leave soon."
Alan looked thoughtful for a moment before standing up, "Actually could I talk to you for a moment?"
"Of course", Hannah said as she held the door open. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked as the door closed behind the two of them.
Alan paused for a second to collect his thoughts, "Myself and a few of Danny's friends from the union finally got his funeral setup." Another pause and a sigh, "I was hoping you could let Taylor know and ask her if she wants to attend."
"And why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Because she knows you better and frankly I think you'd do a better job of it." Hannah was about to respond but Alan interrupted her, "And don't lie to me, I know it hasn't sunk in for Emma that her best friend now sees her as little more than a complete stranger, hell I don't think it's totally sunk in for me. I can't do this. How the hell am I supposed to tell a thirteen year old amnesiac girl that I want her to attend her father's funeral?! I- Danny was a friend of our family for years, so was Taylor, I don't know how to do this. I don't know what to do." Alan's hands were clenched and he was staring at the floor, if he had looked tired before now he looked exhausted and out of his depth.
Hannah had seen that expression before; taking a step forward she put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll let her know, ok?"
"Thank you", his voice was quiet but filled with relief and gratitude. He straightened up slightly, like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.
