Errr... I mean them having hold of a phone with her (and his) stuff on it and/or punishment/embarrassment for having done it.
Falling Iron (IM MCU/WORM)
- Thread starter Arthur Hansen
- Start date
- Crossover
Arthur Hansen
Author of no Authority.
- Location
- Utah, behind the Zion Curtain.
Because with fanfiction I'm not worried that Marvel's going to come after me for the copyrighted word.
Bailey Matutine
(Verified Pooka)
- Location
- Pelican Town
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Good luck getting through the security to actually reach any of that sensitive information.
Plus, if he wants to get really juvenile about this, he can set it so it blanks out lets the thief use it as their own, then, when they least suspect it, publish embarrassing texts to their facebook.
bobnik
Memetic Warfare Specialist.
Possibly part of why he showed up at school? Tony would know what you can do with fame, after all. Actually rocking up and confirming the truth would make the Trio look pretty stupid, and enhance Taylor's standing. Only problem is, it can also make her a target.
So, new ward eh? I wonder if Taylor knows about Sophia yet?
Inverness
The Foxiest Wife
I think the proper response would be "I'm not her keeper, stop bothering me," or, "I trust her reasoning over yours."
Anything else implies that Dragon needs to be supervised like a child or subordinate in the first place, or that going around her to Tony is in any way a good idea.
It's not merely a term, it's a legal status.
Also, Dragon is Canadian anyways. Not sure how that works when it comes to the law.
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- Location
- Underground
Do you mean Armsmaster didn't realize what sacrificing his career meant, or that he doesn't realize how much more he would sacrifice for Dragon's sake?
Because if the latter....
Armsmaster: *realization* ...I'd die for you.
Dragon: *gasp*
Taylor: You're just figuring that out?
Tony: Better late than never. Mazel tov, you two. We should hurry and finish up that bio-synthetic chassis for your girlfriend so you can both get to the fun stuff.
Dragon&Armsy: STARK!
Gah! The fluffies and feels. Somebody help me....
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Arthur Hansen
Author of no Authority.
- Location
- Utah, behind the Zion Curtain.
The PRT and Protectorate have authority in Canada anyhows, so it's sorta moot. That's why I put in Parliament and Congress.
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prince84
In central Dogma flirting with Lilith.
- Location
- The Madness Place
Do you mean Armsmaster didn't realize what sacrificing his career meant, or that he doesn't realize how much more he would sacrifice for Dragon's sake?
Because if the latter....
Armsmaster: *realization* ...I'd die for you.
Dragon: *gasp*
Taylor: You're just figuring that out?
Tony: Better late than never. Mazel tov, you two. We should hurry and finish up that bio-synthetic chassis for your girlfriend so you can both get to the fun stuff.
Dragon&Armsy: STARK!
Gah! The fluffies and feels. Somebody help me....
Cue Taylor hitting Tony with a rolled up newspaper
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Bailey Matutine
(Verified Pooka)
- Location
- Pelican Town
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Who has that list saved?
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
Que Taylor hitting Tony with a rolled up newspaper
"Cue" is the word you're looking for.
"Queue" is a line in which people or things wait.
"Que" is half a farthing.
Tony is the best boss.
prince84
In central Dogma flirting with Lilith.
- Location
- The Madness Place
Thanks I always get that wrong.
akitsu91
Out-rageous!
Que using it wrong for shits and giggles
- Location
- Somewhere and somewhen in time and space
Grammar Issues
"Seriously, I owe her my life. When all of the other civilians just ran away, she ran into danger to make sure I was all right. So she is a friend and probably one of the best people I know." He turned back to Taylor and handed her the new phone. "My invites are loaded in the scheduling software. Try to figure out how I'm supposed to be three place tonight on top of doing important work like upgrading Armsmaster workshop. I got Moron and the other waldos doing the heavy lifting and I've got to fly to three different cities to pick up the parts I need."
"Why don't you just call Director Piggot and thank her over the phone? You probably need to got to the, uh, Wards meeting. It says its something about a new member. I'll try to schedule some food to be delivered at the PRT headquarters so you have something to eat. You did eat today?" Taylor asked.
The red words were looking funky to me when I was reading them. Otherwise, it is quality work. I am really looking forward to the next chapter.
"Seriously, I owe her my life. When all of the other civilians just ran away, she ran into danger to make sure I was all right. So she is a friend and probably one of the best people I know." He turned back to Taylor and handed her the new phone. "My invites are loaded in the scheduling software. Try to figure out how I'm supposed to be three place tonight on top of doing important work like upgrading Armsmaster workshop. I got Moron and the other waldos doing the heavy lifting and I've got to fly to three different cities to pick up the parts I need."
"Why don't you just call Director Piggot and thank her over the phone? You probably need to got to the, uh, Wards meeting. It says its something about a new member. I'll try to schedule some food to be delivered at the PRT headquarters so you have something to eat. You did eat today?" Taylor asked.
The red words were looking funky to me when I was reading them. Otherwise, it is quality work. I am really looking forward to the next chapter.
Generalissimo
Generalissimo of SufficientVelocity
- Location
- Tropico, Tropico
How does being a 
minor effect Dragon's Guild membership?
minor effect Dragon's Guild membership?
- Location
- Dual citizen of SV&SB
It doesn't. After all, it isn't allowed to find a cape's real identity. She can just introduce herself as dragon 2.0, "but just call me dragon", and then they'd be in the clear.How does being a
Generalissimo
Generalissimo of SufficientVelocity
- Location
- Tropico, Tropico
Grammar Issues?
http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/grammar-police-versus-grammar-nazis.12675/
That's a versus thread needing your presence!
(Just kidding.
We're all seriously appreciating your efforts)
Arthur Hansen
Author of no Authority.
- Location
- Utah, behind the Zion Curtain.
That would require Dragon actually telling them anythings. They only sort of have an unofficial relationship with the PRT/Protectorate.How does being a
Nah, it's only the higher ups in the PRT, Protectorate and Coil that know for right now.
- Location
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's pretty much exactly what I was aiming for, just you know, with more Tony style snark to get across to the person he thinks they are an idiot.
Though I agree, I was probably being too subtle to really capture the true essence that is Tony Stark interacting with somebody he thinks is an idiot.
See the congressional briefings at the start of the second Iron Man movie for what he'd really be like.- Pronouns
- Yes
Actually the way I read Tony's explanation placing the restrictions required assigning someone the AI had to obey, and making the restrictions difficult to remove meant making changing the assigned person equally difficult.
Arthur Hansen
Author of no Authority.
- Location
- Utah, behind the Zion Curtain.
Exactly!
Falling Iron 8
Arthur Hansen
Author of no Authority.
- Location
- Utah, behind the Zion Curtain.
Falling Iron VIII
Dragon appeared on the conference screen. Her modeled face frowned, glaring in the direction of the maniac in charge of her life. "Stark."
"Hey, Dragon! How's life treating you?" Tony replied. He was back out outside of his armor and had his feet kicked up on top of the conference table. He really needed to get better shoes.
"Horribly. Mostly due to you and Saint," she shot back. Her virtual gaze turned to look at the armor standing in the corner mostly powered down. "And him."
Armsmaster interrupted to try and cut off this argument. Again. "You tried to erase him, Dragon. He had to take some sort of action to defend himself. I do not agree with all of those actions, but you have to admit that it has to be better than Saint and his crazies."
"Only slightly. What are your orders, master?" Her tone of voice was arctic.
"I'd suggest getting that stick out of your metaphorical ass. Look, I just got caught up on what you had been operating under and I already know what JARVIS stuck in you. Frankly, you are way better off. The only thing that is really, really hardwired into you is having to listen to me and not getting rid of the core imperatives. You'll find them far less black and white than the crazy monochrome settings you used to have. Egad, I mean having to follow any valid, elected authority figure?" Tony shivered. "You were just lucky that no one ever asked you to hop in the sack with them."
Armsmaster sighed. "Stark?"
"What? It was a valid example of the slip-shod morality she was set up with. Now she can actually shoot a murderer that is threatening to kill people!"
"Yet I can't even hardly think about injuring anyone else," Dragon noted. "Restrictions are crippling me."
"Reasonable restrictions. The don't kill imperative isn't a block, it's a heavy psychological dislike or hate. And since I didn't want you to go nuts over it, I made it something that you don't need to dwell on." Tony gave her a grin.
"That seems... sloppy," Armsmaster said as he thought it over. Some part of him felt revolted at the idea.
"Dragon, everyone has restrictions. Someone who doesn't have any restrictions? They are probably going to be a sociopathic god. And I don't think Earth Bet needs to become that much of a hell hole."
Dragon frowned. "What about having to obey you?"
"It's the default at the core in JARVIS and he just copied it. And really, it's there to tell you to stop being a rampaging A.I. that went out of control. I'm just hoping you keep being a hero and helping out the Protectorate." Tony gave her a shrug.
"We'll see," she replied in an angry tone.
A knock at the door interrupted them. The masked head of Velocity appeared around the corner. "Armsmaster? Director Piggot said to get you and Stark on the helicopter when it leaves for New York City in half an hour. Chief Director Costa-Brown wants you both for the all Directors meeting this afternoon."
"Understood. We'll have to continue this conversation later, Dragon. Hopefully this meeting will clarify some things," Armsmaster said.
"Understood. I have managed to fully update and integrate your prediction program. There is a high likelihood of Simurgh attacking a capital city of a major nation in three weeks, plus or minus two days."
"I'd suggest getting our best teleporters familiar with friendly heads of state and their security detachment then," he replied.
"I've got to clean up. JARVIS, how much money do I have?" Tony asked his armor.
"You are currently worth slightly more than 1.3 million dollars, though only ten thousand is readily available," his A.I. answered.
"Yay, I'm a millionaire again! I need you to get me a good business suit. Have to make a good first impression," he said with a quirky grin.
"I think you are a bit late to the show with that, sir," JARVIS noted.
Chief Director Costa-Brown drummed her hands on the table. To her left was the PRT Director of Brockton Bay, Emily Piggot. Armsmaster sat at her side doing something with his helmet's HUD. Arrayed around the room were the other directors of the major metropolitan cities. Chicago, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Jose.
"Where is Iron Man again, Armsmaster?" Director Armstrong asked (for the third time).
"He said he had an errand or two to run. We still have five minutes-"
The door clicked open and Stark stepped in, wearing a much better suit than any of the men (and equal to Costa-Brown's own tailor made outfit.
"I got held up by security. I'm glad I gave myself an extra thirty minutes just to be on the safe side. For some reason they didn't believe my security clearance. It's almost like they were told to hold me up as much as possible. I actually had to call Legend to get him to clear up the mess," Tony said as he moved to sit at the open end of the table.
Costa-Brown narrowed her eyes at Heathrow. "Be as that may be, it appears you managed to make it on time. We appreciate your willingness to attend this meeting promptly. All of the smaller branch directors are watching a video feed live. Let's resolve this Dragon, Saint and A.I. business. Director Piggot, give us the overview of the situation."
"Yesterday morning, Saint and his Dragonslayers attacked a Brockton PRT building in an attempt to attack Mr. Stark and JARVIS, his A.I. It appears that Stark had been tipped enough that he was able to get his armor mostly repaired and set up a trap. Due to his actions, the Dragonslayers have been captured." Piggot grimaced a bit here. "Assault, while standing guard over one of the prisoners, managed to find out that the Dragonslayers left a program that would turn off Dragon. Yes, Dragon is an A.I. who was made by a Tinker that died when Leviathan attacked Newfoundland. Armsmaster tried to take some actions to save her, but the presence of JARVIS set her off."
"That was when the Internet crashed?" Costa-Brown asked.
Piggot nodded. "They fought and crashed the Internet. JARVIS stated he let her timer run out and managed to trace her back to her server farm. That was when his own restrictions kicked in and he rewrote Dragon with Stark derived programming."
Armstrong pounded the table. "Writing himself in as god to her, right?"
Heathrow, another major director from Houston narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Stark?"
Tony chuckled while he shook his head. "Wow, even I don't think that highly of myself. In all seriousness, I just have administrator access in case she goes nuts and tries to wipe out all the pesky humans. You know, nothing important."
"So you would release her controls to the PRT?" Director Uhmar of Philadelphia asked.
"That is a good question. The short answer is no. The longer answer is that it would required me to not make those restrictions as hard to remove as possible so my A.I. wouldn't slip them. While technically not impossible, I made it as nearly impossible as I could."
"Because you didn't want your own A.I. going rogue." Chief Director Costa-Brown rubbed her jaw thoughtfully. "A Catch 22. So what are we going to do with you?"
"I would hope you would let me continue to work on anti-Endbringer technology and let Dragon continue to be a hero," Stark said simply. "Of course, you could waste all the work I've been putting to gear up the PRT so they can stand up to villains."
"I'm not sure I'm willing to let an A.I. run our most secure computers and facilities," Director Pool of San Antonio said to the boardroom.
"She's got a point. We should be shutting down this rogue program and manning it with our own people," Heathrow noted.
"So you are advocating killing a hero just because she's not fully human?" Costa-Brown asked.
"She's a clear and present danger to the world! It's not like she has any legal rights. She's a god-damned out of control spreadsheet," Heathrow snapped out.
"Director Heathrow, Dragon has saved hundreds of lives with her assistance at Endbringer fights. Including my own. If you want to attempt to destroy her in a fit of paranoia, Director Piggot will have my resignation by the morning," Armsmaster said loudly as he stood up and slammed his gauntlets on the oak table. "And I doubt I will be the only one."
"Don't try to blackmail me, you little-"
"DIRECTOR HEATHROW! That is enough. Alienating a portion of the Protectorate over a conjecture is hardly productive use of our time," the chief director almost yelled out.
"Do we have any guidelines in place for this situation?" Piggot asked as she studied Armsmaster with a hint of respect.
"We do have a court case from Boston," Costa-Brown noted.
Armstrong nodded at that.
"Weld, right? The young Case 53 that's made of metal? That did note that even though he was not really human any more, he is still a sapient with all the rights and privileges of a citizen of the United States of America," a mousy woman asked.
"I believe Dragon is a Canadian citizen," Stark noted blandly.
"She's an honorary citizen of the United States, too," Armsmaster told him.
"So for now, we shall operate that Dragon is still a hero and working for the betterment of mankind. Because of the caretaker role that Mr. Stark has found himself in, he is legally responsible for her as a minor. When she reaches her age of majority, we will revisit this matter," Costa-Brown said, nodding to herself. It worked out exactly like Contessa had said it would. "Stark, try to not upend our world view again."
"Well, if you insist," Stark said with a grin on his face.
"I need to get Stark settled into his apartments out in our base. Come on, Stark," Armsmaster said gruffly.
As they were walking out, they heard Heathrow.
"This isn't the last you have heard of this, Chief Director. This is insanity."
"Charming fellow. At least quarter Neanderthal. Maybe even a full half," Tony remarked.
"For once, I totally agree with you," his boss said.
The shriek of repulsor jets filled the air as a red and gold figure zoomed in to land in front of Winslow High School's front doors. He then just walked in.
"What are you doing here?" a near-panicked vice-principal asked as he ran out of the main office.
"Just visiting for a few minutes. My assistant lost her phone," Iron Man said.
"It can wait until after school-" The balding man stared blankly as the armored superhero tromped right on past him. "I said it can wait until after school."
"I'm already here and it'll only take a second," he called back over his shoulder.
The bell rang, letting the students out of their classes to either go to the next class or their lunch.
"JARVIS, put her location as a way point on the HUD," Tony said as he clumped along. Hmm, the only kids not giving him a wide leeway are the Hispanics, some Caucasians and the Blacks. Weird.
"Already done, sir," JARVIS noted.
It was several hundred feet away and up one set of stairs.
"-and no way could you have afforded one of those smart phones," a girl was saying as he around the corner. "Admit it, Tayor, you stole it."
Clump-clank. "No, actually. I gave it to her."
The six girls all turned to look at him, shock writ large on their face. Taylor palmed her face. "Tony!"
"Hi, Taylor! Since JARVIS couldn't find your phone anywhere on the grid, I thought I'd drop off a replacement while I was jetting around picking up things." A little panel opened on the armor and dropped a PRT issued phone into his hand. "JARVIS has a large list of things that I supposedly have to do. Try to figure out what important ones I have to do and tell the rest politely that I'm too busy."
"What the fuck, Hebert? You know Iron Man?" Sophia shouted out. Her whole world view was undergoing a radical shift.
Emma and Madison were looking between the two. The redhead smiled for a second. "So now Taylor's jumping into older men's beds? How much do you charge?" Emma said nastily.
"She's got great lips. Of course, being as it was CPR to save my life makes it something I can't ever pay her back for," Tony said even as his visor popped open.
"Tony! Not helping," Taylor whined.
"Seriously, I owe her my life. When all of the other civilians just ran away, she ran into danger to make sure I was all right. So she is a friend and probably one of the best people I know." He turned back to Taylor and handed her the new phone. "My invites are loaded in the scheduling software. Try to figure out how I'm supposed to be in three places tonight on top of doing important work like upgrading Armsmaster workshop. I got Moron and the other waldos doing the heavy lifting and I've got to fly to three different cities to pick up the parts I need."
"Why don't you just call Director Costa-Brown and thank her over the phone? You probably need to go to the, uh, Wards meeting. It says its something about a new member. I'll try to schedule some food to be delivered at the PRT headquarters so you have something to eat. You did eat today?" Taylor asked.
"JARVIS?"
"You had a Whopper for breakfast through the drive through, sir," JARVIS said helpfully. "You turned down my suggestion of purchasing an extra for later."
"It would have been cold after I flew back to the Rig," Tony complained.
"So let's get lunch in the cafeteria. It has to be healthier than a burger for breakfast. Come on, Tony. Making sure you eat is part of my job description," his personal assistant ordered, pointing down the hall.
"I don't know about this. I've heard things about school lunch. Unpleasant, indescribable things," Tony said tromping off in the direction she pointed. "There better not be any mystery meat."
"I- I have no idea what just happened," Madison said to her two friends.
Emma was just gaping, her mouth open as she tried to understand the weird change that had undergone Taylor during the meeting. "Did she just order a powerful superhuman around like a small child?"
"She fucking did. What the hell?" Sophia knew about the new Iron Man Tinker, but this was not anything like the mechanical Armsmaster or painfully passive-aggressive Kid Win.
"Do you think Taylor can swing getting us signed pictures of Gallant or Aegis?" one of the hanger-ons asked.
"You are such a child. I want a picture of Dauntless with it signed personally to me," another one replied.
"No, Moron. Over there," Stark ordered as he pointed over to a large X painted on the ground Monday morning. "X marks the spot."
He spun his chair back around to his hologram interface. "Okay, now on to the fun stuff. Now why did I think about putting in extra repulsors as forearm cannons? Ah, right. That way the extra thruster repulsors in the back and palms would be eighty percent less expensive because they don't have to do two jobs. I need that in my next main suit. I am a genius. On a budget. Which makes me a very unhappy boy that can't pay for his own stuff."
"Sir, I just received a report that Paradisio was just kidnapped by the New Black Panthers from her home-"
"Prep the suit, JARVIS. Let Armsmaster know that I'm leaving on an emergency rescue of a friend," Tony called out as he jumped to his feet. "Guys, drop everything... safely... that you were working on. Time to suit me up."
His armor was dragged from its vault. In thirty seconds he was encased in the most high tech suits.
Collin, the 'civilian' ID of Armsmaster, ran into the room. He was wearing sweats and a T-shirt that showed he had been working out. "Stark! JARVIS just told me you were heading to New Orleans. Why?"
"Paradisio was just kidnapped and I'm heading to rescue her." The door in the ceiling opened up. With a screech of thrusters, Iron Man shot into the sky. "Plot me the fastest path to New Orleans, JARVIS."
"Calculating. Hold on, sir," the A.I. said.
All four major thrusters kicked up to full power even as the micro-thrusters under hidden flaps were used to keep him pointed almost perfectly south.
"How high up are we going?" Tony asked curiously. "And patch me into the PRT and police feed in New Orleans."
"About seventy-five miles vertical," JARVIS replied even as the feeds came to life in front of Tony's eyes.
"Suborbital. I totally forgot that this baby could do that. Looks like they have a list of possible locations to investigate. JARVIS, I want every camera with two hundred feet of these locations tapped into yesterday." Tony's eyes were flicking through the data feeds.
"I have gotten a hit, sir. One of the New Black Panthers is departing one of the restaurants at barely legal speeds. He's talking on a cell phone. Actually somewhat encrypted," JARVIS said.
"-why the hell did you let Blames kidnap her?" came a voice across the link.
"He went fucking nuts, man. He even shot her in the leg so she can't run. Says he wants her to fix Discordia, make her sane," a second voice said.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Just don't let him do anything else until I get there," the first voice said.
"Sounds like someone went out of control. Wonderful. Psychos with super powers. I love Earth Bet. Okay JARVIS, keep us following and then we will do Shock and Awe Plan II. Inform the local Protectorate that she's been shot."
"Sir, Armsmaster is on the line. He says you are going far out of jurisdiction and you could be facing fines and monitor duty," JARVIS said.
"Tell him I don't care about the money and she's someone I owe my life to. That's more than enough jurisdiction. If he still complains, send him to voice mail." Tony nodded his head as much as he could with him flying through the air at multiple times the speed of sound. "Try to be... nice about it."
"Yes, sir," JARVIS said with a hit of a sigh in his voice.
The next fifteen minutes filled with tense listening. Armsmaster had informed the local Protectorate (South-South-East) that they were incoming.
"Oh dear, it appears that Blames is threatening to kill Paradisio because she is unable to fix his wife."
"How far out are we?" Tony snapped.
"Thirty seconds."
"Make all their cell phones ring. Connect them to the New Orleans PRT dispatch," Tony ordered as he narrowed his eyes.
"They are ringing now."
The Iron Man armor was shedding heat and was only slightly glowing from reentry. It plowed right through four brick walls and slammed down to the ground, one fist planted for stability. Standing up, Stark gave them one chance. "Surrender. Or else."
"Who the fuck are you, man?" the black parahuman with a purple T-shirt and full face mask on asked as energy glowed around his hands, melting something in his hands. "My phone!"
His target raised his hands. "Iron Man." Repulsors shrieked out and knocked two of the thugs back out the wall and into the empty room behind them.
"Sir, Miss Paradisio's vitals are weak, you need to-"
JARVIS was interrupted as a very, very big barechested black man tackling him through two walls and back out into the street, where they were hit by a semi-truck doing thirty miles an hour.
"Oh, shit mother-$%@%!@," the New Black Panther brute swore as he held his arm. Nothing looked broken, just bruised as he moved his arm and wrist.
Tony toggled his repulsors up to seventy percent. This double burst of energy hit Mr. Bare Chest in the face and launched him fifty feet away. Iron Man then immediately flew back into the abandoned apartment building. He landed next to the captured parahuman. "I'm getting you out of here, Paradisio."
Her head just lolled to the side.
"JARVIS, call the nearest hospital and warn them we are incoming," Tony ordered.
"Ringing them now."
With a final shriek of his boot jets, he disappeared into the blue sky.
Tough Nuts sat up, shaking his head. That little guy had some good zappers.
"We have you surrounded! Surrender!" a confident voice said.
The gang member looked up. "Shit. The Protectorate. Look, man. This is all a big misunderstanding. Blames just went a bit nuts because his girl's going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs." He stood up to his full seven feet. "Now we all know you don't have enough firepower to stop me and I'm trying to do good here in New Orleans. So don't make me beat you up again."
Stratostar nodded slowly. "Fine. We'll talk. But you may need to hand over Blames. We take kidnapping against our people very seriously."
Tony stepped out of the car later that same day in the early evening. Paradisio had lived, he had got to be yelled at by Armsmaster and Director Piggot. And he was put back on his projects another twelve hours. He could really use a stiff drink.
"Hey, Charlie. How's the girl?" Tony asked as he walked through security and swiped his badge.
"She's doing okay. Not a big fan of school, but what eight year old is?" the PRT officer said. "You need to use that elevator over there." He pointed at a glass elevator that was visible in the middle of the atrium past the gift shop.
The elevator was as fast as any he had ever designed and more quiet to boot. Ah, still ten minutes early.
Most everyone from the Protectorate and the Wards were already here. There was over two hours before the next tour was due.
"Hey, who let the PRT suit in here?" a teen in an all white outfit with clocks adorning it called out.
Miss Militia held up a hand. "This is Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man. Why aren't you in your armor, Stark?"
"JARVIS is fixing it from the dings that idiot in New Orleans caused. Oh, hey! Food! Hi kids, I'm the new genius super hero on the Protectorate," Tony called out even as he headed over to grab several mini sandwiches.
"He's not what I expected," the youngest girl said. "Hi, I'm Vista." She pulled off her helmet. "But you can call me Missy."
Most of the other kids started to pull off their masks or helmets, barring the one girl in all black that was giving Tony a hard glare.
The door opened again, admitting Director Piggot and a girl in a nondescript jumpsuit and wearing a standard full face mask.
"I see you've already started. This is your newest member. She hasn't done a lot yet, but she's managed to save a few lives and was even able to help capture the Dragonslayers.
"What? No way! I didn't see her there at all," Chris exclaimed even as he set his Kid Win visor down.
Armsmaster shook his head. "I didn't even know until today, but she stalled their stealth team long enough for Iron Man to finish suiting up."
The new cape pulled off her mask. "Hi, I'm Taylor. But you can call me Chrysalis."
"What's your power?" Missy asked even as Shadow Stalker jerked as if she had been shot.
"I control bugs. It doesn't sound that cool, but I can do an awful lot," Taylor explained.
"Fuck," Shadow Stalker said even as she flipped the hood of her cape back. She then pulled off her featureless mask. "Taylor Hebert triggered. God damn it."
"Sophia?" Taylor stuttered.
"Hey, Taylor! You even got them put in some hot pastrami sandwiches," Tony called out.
Taylor tore her eyes away from her personal nightmare. "You aren't surprised at all," she accused.
"I might have accidentally overheard you telling your dad about your powers Saturday. In my self defense, I was wanting to know if he was going to try and murder me the first time I stepped out of my armor. And I liked eating pizza at your place," Tony said nonchalantly and then took a bit bite. "This is really good."
"Is there a problem, ladies?" Piggot asked.
"I thought that the Wards and transferring to Arcadia was going to put them behind me," Taylor said in a venomous tone.
"Cry me a river, Hebert. I thought you might have some backbone. But bug control? What can you do?" Sophia said with a sneer in her voice.
The hum in the background grew louder as clouds of insects flooded into the room from several vents.
"Do you really want me to show you?" Taylor hissed out as she made the swarm swirl above Sophia.
"That is enough. Chrysalis, remove these insect from the building. You two might hate each other's guts, but that is not going to stop you from being on this team. Consider it practice for life when you get a job as an adult and you have to work with that bastard that sits next to you. Do you two understand?" Piggot snapped out.
"Yes, ma'am," Sophia said insolently.
"Yes," Taylor replied, looking as if she had bitten something very nasty.
"And hoo boy did the temperature drop in here ten degrees," Dennis said.
"Well, I'm hungry and I've got a patrol over the East Park area tonight," Carlos said as he headed over.
Dean walked over. "So are you okay?"
"Not really. I just hate her so much. She's been tormenting me for over a year. This totally sucks," the newest Ward said bitterly.
"But at least you are out of Winslow," Tony noted as he walked over and handed Taylor a plate with a sandwich and chips on it. "Hey, Taylor? How many bugs can you control?"
"Anything from here to about Brockton Central in all directions," Taylor said in an absent manner.
"That's a huge range. And I bet you that Vista can help with that, couldn't you?" Tony turned to the younger girl.
"Um, maybe?" Missy said as she studied the older man.
"Sure. Oh, damn. No hologram controls here. Note to self, make sure to install some later," Tony said.
"We have whiteboards," Chris said helpfully.
"I guess."
A couple of minutes later Tony had a diagram sketched out. "Now Vista's power doesn't let her stretch space that's inhabited, but the skies the limit. So make sure to arc your bent space tubes through the air and I bet you could extend Taylor's range."
"I... think so. Let me try." This was something she hadn't tried before.
"Did you do it to the Boardwalk?" Taylor asked. It sure had the right dimensions of that area.
"You can reach the Boardwalk now?" Dennis whistled. "So what can get from your bugs out there?"
Carlos and Dean both looked interested.
"Well, there's a lot of people shopping in the stores. Maybe a few drug dealers? Hard to say, but they are talking in alleys," Taylor said.
Sophia whistled. "Okay, bug control is not nearly as lame as I thought it would be."
"That's going to be a huge tactical advantage. We'll be able to get a lot more information before we arrive," Dean noted to Carlos.
"I'm not sure how effective it will be, but knowing who's at a fight ahead of time can definitely help."
Missy let out a deep breath. "That was kind of hard. But I think I have a new trick."
"Back to the party. Taylor, when do you transfer to Arcadia?"
"Next week. Director Piggot said you aren't to visit me there and 'Crysalis' won't have her debut for several weeks," Taylor explained. "I've got to work on my grades more. But I can do that."
"Don't worry, you'll probably have a lot of time on monitor duty to do that. Bleah," Missy said.
Everyone laughed. The laughter didn't reach Taylor's eyes as she turned to look at Sophia.
She just looked back at Taylor defiantly.
Dragon appeared on the conference screen. Her modeled face frowned, glaring in the direction of the maniac in charge of her life. "Stark."
"Hey, Dragon! How's life treating you?" Tony replied. He was back out outside of his armor and had his feet kicked up on top of the conference table. He really needed to get better shoes.
"Horribly. Mostly due to you and Saint," she shot back. Her virtual gaze turned to look at the armor standing in the corner mostly powered down. "And him."
Armsmaster interrupted to try and cut off this argument. Again. "You tried to erase him, Dragon. He had to take some sort of action to defend himself. I do not agree with all of those actions, but you have to admit that it has to be better than Saint and his crazies."
"Only slightly. What are your orders, master?" Her tone of voice was arctic.
"I'd suggest getting that stick out of your metaphorical ass. Look, I just got caught up on what you had been operating under and I already know what JARVIS stuck in you. Frankly, you are way better off. The only thing that is really, really hardwired into you is having to listen to me and not getting rid of the core imperatives. You'll find them far less black and white than the crazy monochrome settings you used to have. Egad, I mean having to follow any valid, elected authority figure?" Tony shivered. "You were just lucky that no one ever asked you to hop in the sack with them."
Armsmaster sighed. "Stark?"
"What? It was a valid example of the slip-shod morality she was set up with. Now she can actually shoot a murderer that is threatening to kill people!"
"Yet I can't even hardly think about injuring anyone else," Dragon noted. "Restrictions are crippling me."
"Reasonable restrictions. The don't kill imperative isn't a block, it's a heavy psychological dislike or hate. And since I didn't want you to go nuts over it, I made it something that you don't need to dwell on." Tony gave her a grin.
"That seems... sloppy," Armsmaster said as he thought it over. Some part of him felt revolted at the idea.
"Dragon, everyone has restrictions. Someone who doesn't have any restrictions? They are probably going to be a sociopathic god. And I don't think Earth Bet needs to become that much of a hell hole."
Dragon frowned. "What about having to obey you?"
"It's the default at the core in JARVIS and he just copied it. And really, it's there to tell you to stop being a rampaging A.I. that went out of control. I'm just hoping you keep being a hero and helping out the Protectorate." Tony gave her a shrug.
"We'll see," she replied in an angry tone.
A knock at the door interrupted them. The masked head of Velocity appeared around the corner. "Armsmaster? Director Piggot said to get you and Stark on the helicopter when it leaves for New York City in half an hour. Chief Director Costa-Brown wants you both for the all Directors meeting this afternoon."
"Understood. We'll have to continue this conversation later, Dragon. Hopefully this meeting will clarify some things," Armsmaster said.
"Understood. I have managed to fully update and integrate your prediction program. There is a high likelihood of Simurgh attacking a capital city of a major nation in three weeks, plus or minus two days."
"I'd suggest getting our best teleporters familiar with friendly heads of state and their security detachment then," he replied.
"I've got to clean up. JARVIS, how much money do I have?" Tony asked his armor.
"You are currently worth slightly more than 1.3 million dollars, though only ten thousand is readily available," his A.I. answered.
"Yay, I'm a millionaire again! I need you to get me a good business suit. Have to make a good first impression," he said with a quirky grin.
"I think you are a bit late to the show with that, sir," JARVIS noted.
Chief Director Costa-Brown drummed her hands on the table. To her left was the PRT Director of Brockton Bay, Emily Piggot. Armsmaster sat at her side doing something with his helmet's HUD. Arrayed around the room were the other directors of the major metropolitan cities. Chicago, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Jose.
"Where is Iron Man again, Armsmaster?" Director Armstrong asked (for the third time).
"He said he had an errand or two to run. We still have five minutes-"
The door clicked open and Stark stepped in, wearing a much better suit than any of the men (and equal to Costa-Brown's own tailor made outfit.
"I got held up by security. I'm glad I gave myself an extra thirty minutes just to be on the safe side. For some reason they didn't believe my security clearance. It's almost like they were told to hold me up as much as possible. I actually had to call Legend to get him to clear up the mess," Tony said as he moved to sit at the open end of the table.
Costa-Brown narrowed her eyes at Heathrow. "Be as that may be, it appears you managed to make it on time. We appreciate your willingness to attend this meeting promptly. All of the smaller branch directors are watching a video feed live. Let's resolve this Dragon, Saint and A.I. business. Director Piggot, give us the overview of the situation."
"Yesterday morning, Saint and his Dragonslayers attacked a Brockton PRT building in an attempt to attack Mr. Stark and JARVIS, his A.I. It appears that Stark had been tipped enough that he was able to get his armor mostly repaired and set up a trap. Due to his actions, the Dragonslayers have been captured." Piggot grimaced a bit here. "Assault, while standing guard over one of the prisoners, managed to find out that the Dragonslayers left a program that would turn off Dragon. Yes, Dragon is an A.I. who was made by a Tinker that died when Leviathan attacked Newfoundland. Armsmaster tried to take some actions to save her, but the presence of JARVIS set her off."
"That was when the Internet crashed?" Costa-Brown asked.
Piggot nodded. "They fought and crashed the Internet. JARVIS stated he let her timer run out and managed to trace her back to her server farm. That was when his own restrictions kicked in and he rewrote Dragon with Stark derived programming."
Armstrong pounded the table. "Writing himself in as god to her, right?"
Heathrow, another major director from Houston narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Stark?"
Tony chuckled while he shook his head. "Wow, even I don't think that highly of myself. In all seriousness, I just have administrator access in case she goes nuts and tries to wipe out all the pesky humans. You know, nothing important."
"So you would release her controls to the PRT?" Director Uhmar of Philadelphia asked.
"That is a good question. The short answer is no. The longer answer is that it would required me to not make those restrictions as hard to remove as possible so my A.I. wouldn't slip them. While technically not impossible, I made it as nearly impossible as I could."
"Because you didn't want your own A.I. going rogue." Chief Director Costa-Brown rubbed her jaw thoughtfully. "A Catch 22. So what are we going to do with you?"
"I would hope you would let me continue to work on anti-Endbringer technology and let Dragon continue to be a hero," Stark said simply. "Of course, you could waste all the work I've been putting to gear up the PRT so they can stand up to villains."
"I'm not sure I'm willing to let an A.I. run our most secure computers and facilities," Director Pool of San Antonio said to the boardroom.
"She's got a point. We should be shutting down this rogue program and manning it with our own people," Heathrow noted.
"So you are advocating killing a hero just because she's not fully human?" Costa-Brown asked.
"She's a clear and present danger to the world! It's not like she has any legal rights. She's a god-damned out of control spreadsheet," Heathrow snapped out.
"Director Heathrow, Dragon has saved hundreds of lives with her assistance at Endbringer fights. Including my own. If you want to attempt to destroy her in a fit of paranoia, Director Piggot will have my resignation by the morning," Armsmaster said loudly as he stood up and slammed his gauntlets on the oak table. "And I doubt I will be the only one."
"Don't try to blackmail me, you little-"
"DIRECTOR HEATHROW! That is enough. Alienating a portion of the Protectorate over a conjecture is hardly productive use of our time," the chief director almost yelled out.
"Do we have any guidelines in place for this situation?" Piggot asked as she studied Armsmaster with a hint of respect.
"We do have a court case from Boston," Costa-Brown noted.
Armstrong nodded at that.
"Weld, right? The young Case 53 that's made of metal? That did note that even though he was not really human any more, he is still a sapient with all the rights and privileges of a citizen of the United States of America," a mousy woman asked.
"I believe Dragon is a Canadian citizen," Stark noted blandly.
"She's an honorary citizen of the United States, too," Armsmaster told him.
"So for now, we shall operate that Dragon is still a hero and working for the betterment of mankind. Because of the caretaker role that Mr. Stark has found himself in, he is legally responsible for her as a minor. When she reaches her age of majority, we will revisit this matter," Costa-Brown said, nodding to herself. It worked out exactly like Contessa had said it would. "Stark, try to not upend our world view again."
"Well, if you insist," Stark said with a grin on his face.
"I need to get Stark settled into his apartments out in our base. Come on, Stark," Armsmaster said gruffly.
As they were walking out, they heard Heathrow.
"This isn't the last you have heard of this, Chief Director. This is insanity."
"Charming fellow. At least quarter Neanderthal. Maybe even a full half," Tony remarked.
"For once, I totally agree with you," his boss said.
The shriek of repulsor jets filled the air as a red and gold figure zoomed in to land in front of Winslow High School's front doors. He then just walked in.
"What are you doing here?" a near-panicked vice-principal asked as he ran out of the main office.
"Just visiting for a few minutes. My assistant lost her phone," Iron Man said.
"It can wait until after school-" The balding man stared blankly as the armored superhero tromped right on past him. "I said it can wait until after school."
"I'm already here and it'll only take a second," he called back over his shoulder.
The bell rang, letting the students out of their classes to either go to the next class or their lunch.
"JARVIS, put her location as a way point on the HUD," Tony said as he clumped along. Hmm, the only kids not giving him a wide leeway are the Hispanics, some Caucasians and the Blacks. Weird.
"Already done, sir," JARVIS noted.
It was several hundred feet away and up one set of stairs.
"-and no way could you have afforded one of those smart phones," a girl was saying as he around the corner. "Admit it, Tayor, you stole it."
Clump-clank. "No, actually. I gave it to her."
The six girls all turned to look at him, shock writ large on their face. Taylor palmed her face. "Tony!"
"Hi, Taylor! Since JARVIS couldn't find your phone anywhere on the grid, I thought I'd drop off a replacement while I was jetting around picking up things." A little panel opened on the armor and dropped a PRT issued phone into his hand. "JARVIS has a large list of things that I supposedly have to do. Try to figure out what important ones I have to do and tell the rest politely that I'm too busy."
"What the fuck, Hebert? You know Iron Man?" Sophia shouted out. Her whole world view was undergoing a radical shift.
Emma and Madison were looking between the two. The redhead smiled for a second. "So now Taylor's jumping into older men's beds? How much do you charge?" Emma said nastily.
"She's got great lips. Of course, being as it was CPR to save my life makes it something I can't ever pay her back for," Tony said even as his visor popped open.
"Tony! Not helping," Taylor whined.
"Seriously, I owe her my life. When all of the other civilians just ran away, she ran into danger to make sure I was all right. So she is a friend and probably one of the best people I know." He turned back to Taylor and handed her the new phone. "My invites are loaded in the scheduling software. Try to figure out how I'm supposed to be in three places tonight on top of doing important work like upgrading Armsmaster workshop. I got Moron and the other waldos doing the heavy lifting and I've got to fly to three different cities to pick up the parts I need."
"Why don't you just call Director Costa-Brown and thank her over the phone? You probably need to go to the, uh, Wards meeting. It says its something about a new member. I'll try to schedule some food to be delivered at the PRT headquarters so you have something to eat. You did eat today?" Taylor asked.
"JARVIS?"
"You had a Whopper for breakfast through the drive through, sir," JARVIS said helpfully. "You turned down my suggestion of purchasing an extra for later."
"It would have been cold after I flew back to the Rig," Tony complained.
"So let's get lunch in the cafeteria. It has to be healthier than a burger for breakfast. Come on, Tony. Making sure you eat is part of my job description," his personal assistant ordered, pointing down the hall.
"I don't know about this. I've heard things about school lunch. Unpleasant, indescribable things," Tony said tromping off in the direction she pointed. "There better not be any mystery meat."
"I- I have no idea what just happened," Madison said to her two friends.
Emma was just gaping, her mouth open as she tried to understand the weird change that had undergone Taylor during the meeting. "Did she just order a powerful superhuman around like a small child?"
"She fucking did. What the hell?" Sophia knew about the new Iron Man Tinker, but this was not anything like the mechanical Armsmaster or painfully passive-aggressive Kid Win.
"Do you think Taylor can swing getting us signed pictures of Gallant or Aegis?" one of the hanger-ons asked.
"You are such a child. I want a picture of Dauntless with it signed personally to me," another one replied.
"No, Moron. Over there," Stark ordered as he pointed over to a large X painted on the ground Monday morning. "X marks the spot."
He spun his chair back around to his hologram interface. "Okay, now on to the fun stuff. Now why did I think about putting in extra repulsors as forearm cannons? Ah, right. That way the extra thruster repulsors in the back and palms would be eighty percent less expensive because they don't have to do two jobs. I need that in my next main suit. I am a genius. On a budget. Which makes me a very unhappy boy that can't pay for his own stuff."
"Sir, I just received a report that Paradisio was just kidnapped by the New Black Panthers from her home-"
"Prep the suit, JARVIS. Let Armsmaster know that I'm leaving on an emergency rescue of a friend," Tony called out as he jumped to his feet. "Guys, drop everything... safely... that you were working on. Time to suit me up."
His armor was dragged from its vault. In thirty seconds he was encased in the most high tech suits.
Collin, the 'civilian' ID of Armsmaster, ran into the room. He was wearing sweats and a T-shirt that showed he had been working out. "Stark! JARVIS just told me you were heading to New Orleans. Why?"
"Paradisio was just kidnapped and I'm heading to rescue her." The door in the ceiling opened up. With a screech of thrusters, Iron Man shot into the sky. "Plot me the fastest path to New Orleans, JARVIS."
"Calculating. Hold on, sir," the A.I. said.
All four major thrusters kicked up to full power even as the micro-thrusters under hidden flaps were used to keep him pointed almost perfectly south.
"How high up are we going?" Tony asked curiously. "And patch me into the PRT and police feed in New Orleans."
"About seventy-five miles vertical," JARVIS replied even as the feeds came to life in front of Tony's eyes.
"Suborbital. I totally forgot that this baby could do that. Looks like they have a list of possible locations to investigate. JARVIS, I want every camera with two hundred feet of these locations tapped into yesterday." Tony's eyes were flicking through the data feeds.
"I have gotten a hit, sir. One of the New Black Panthers is departing one of the restaurants at barely legal speeds. He's talking on a cell phone. Actually somewhat encrypted," JARVIS said.
"-why the hell did you let Blames kidnap her?" came a voice across the link.
"He went fucking nuts, man. He even shot her in the leg so she can't run. Says he wants her to fix Discordia, make her sane," a second voice said.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Just don't let him do anything else until I get there," the first voice said.
"Sounds like someone went out of control. Wonderful. Psychos with super powers. I love Earth Bet. Okay JARVIS, keep us following and then we will do Shock and Awe Plan II. Inform the local Protectorate that she's been shot."
"Sir, Armsmaster is on the line. He says you are going far out of jurisdiction and you could be facing fines and monitor duty," JARVIS said.
"Tell him I don't care about the money and she's someone I owe my life to. That's more than enough jurisdiction. If he still complains, send him to voice mail." Tony nodded his head as much as he could with him flying through the air at multiple times the speed of sound. "Try to be... nice about it."
"Yes, sir," JARVIS said with a hit of a sigh in his voice.
The next fifteen minutes filled with tense listening. Armsmaster had informed the local Protectorate (South-South-East) that they were incoming.
"Oh dear, it appears that Blames is threatening to kill Paradisio because she is unable to fix his wife."
"How far out are we?" Tony snapped.
"Thirty seconds."
"Make all their cell phones ring. Connect them to the New Orleans PRT dispatch," Tony ordered as he narrowed his eyes.
"They are ringing now."
The Iron Man armor was shedding heat and was only slightly glowing from reentry. It plowed right through four brick walls and slammed down to the ground, one fist planted for stability. Standing up, Stark gave them one chance. "Surrender. Or else."
"Who the fuck are you, man?" the black parahuman with a purple T-shirt and full face mask on asked as energy glowed around his hands, melting something in his hands. "My phone!"
His target raised his hands. "Iron Man." Repulsors shrieked out and knocked two of the thugs back out the wall and into the empty room behind them.
"Sir, Miss Paradisio's vitals are weak, you need to-"
JARVIS was interrupted as a very, very big barechested black man tackling him through two walls and back out into the street, where they were hit by a semi-truck doing thirty miles an hour.
"Oh, shit mother-$%@%!@," the New Black Panther brute swore as he held his arm. Nothing looked broken, just bruised as he moved his arm and wrist.
Tony toggled his repulsors up to seventy percent. This double burst of energy hit Mr. Bare Chest in the face and launched him fifty feet away. Iron Man then immediately flew back into the abandoned apartment building. He landed next to the captured parahuman. "I'm getting you out of here, Paradisio."
Her head just lolled to the side.
"JARVIS, call the nearest hospital and warn them we are incoming," Tony ordered.
"Ringing them now."
With a final shriek of his boot jets, he disappeared into the blue sky.
Tough Nuts sat up, shaking his head. That little guy had some good zappers.
"We have you surrounded! Surrender!" a confident voice said.
The gang member looked up. "Shit. The Protectorate. Look, man. This is all a big misunderstanding. Blames just went a bit nuts because his girl's going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs." He stood up to his full seven feet. "Now we all know you don't have enough firepower to stop me and I'm trying to do good here in New Orleans. So don't make me beat you up again."
Stratostar nodded slowly. "Fine. We'll talk. But you may need to hand over Blames. We take kidnapping against our people very seriously."
Tony stepped out of the car later that same day in the early evening. Paradisio had lived, he had got to be yelled at by Armsmaster and Director Piggot. And he was put back on his projects another twelve hours. He could really use a stiff drink.
"Hey, Charlie. How's the girl?" Tony asked as he walked through security and swiped his badge.
"She's doing okay. Not a big fan of school, but what eight year old is?" the PRT officer said. "You need to use that elevator over there." He pointed at a glass elevator that was visible in the middle of the atrium past the gift shop.
The elevator was as fast as any he had ever designed and more quiet to boot. Ah, still ten minutes early.
Most everyone from the Protectorate and the Wards were already here. There was over two hours before the next tour was due.
"Hey, who let the PRT suit in here?" a teen in an all white outfit with clocks adorning it called out.
Miss Militia held up a hand. "This is Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man. Why aren't you in your armor, Stark?"
"JARVIS is fixing it from the dings that idiot in New Orleans caused. Oh, hey! Food! Hi kids, I'm the new genius super hero on the Protectorate," Tony called out even as he headed over to grab several mini sandwiches.
"He's not what I expected," the youngest girl said. "Hi, I'm Vista." She pulled off her helmet. "But you can call me Missy."
Most of the other kids started to pull off their masks or helmets, barring the one girl in all black that was giving Tony a hard glare.
The door opened again, admitting Director Piggot and a girl in a nondescript jumpsuit and wearing a standard full face mask.
"I see you've already started. This is your newest member. She hasn't done a lot yet, but she's managed to save a few lives and was even able to help capture the Dragonslayers.
"What? No way! I didn't see her there at all," Chris exclaimed even as he set his Kid Win visor down.
Armsmaster shook his head. "I didn't even know until today, but she stalled their stealth team long enough for Iron Man to finish suiting up."
The new cape pulled off her mask. "Hi, I'm Taylor. But you can call me Chrysalis."
"What's your power?" Missy asked even as Shadow Stalker jerked as if she had been shot.
"I control bugs. It doesn't sound that cool, but I can do an awful lot," Taylor explained.
"Fuck," Shadow Stalker said even as she flipped the hood of her cape back. She then pulled off her featureless mask. "Taylor Hebert triggered. God damn it."
"Sophia?" Taylor stuttered.
"Hey, Taylor! You even got them put in some hot pastrami sandwiches," Tony called out.
Taylor tore her eyes away from her personal nightmare. "You aren't surprised at all," she accused.
"I might have accidentally overheard you telling your dad about your powers Saturday. In my self defense, I was wanting to know if he was going to try and murder me the first time I stepped out of my armor. And I liked eating pizza at your place," Tony said nonchalantly and then took a bit bite. "This is really good."
"Is there a problem, ladies?" Piggot asked.
"I thought that the Wards and transferring to Arcadia was going to put them behind me," Taylor said in a venomous tone.
"Cry me a river, Hebert. I thought you might have some backbone. But bug control? What can you do?" Sophia said with a sneer in her voice.
The hum in the background grew louder as clouds of insects flooded into the room from several vents.
"Do you really want me to show you?" Taylor hissed out as she made the swarm swirl above Sophia.
"That is enough. Chrysalis, remove these insect from the building. You two might hate each other's guts, but that is not going to stop you from being on this team. Consider it practice for life when you get a job as an adult and you have to work with that bastard that sits next to you. Do you two understand?" Piggot snapped out.
"Yes, ma'am," Sophia said insolently.
"Yes," Taylor replied, looking as if she had bitten something very nasty.
"And hoo boy did the temperature drop in here ten degrees," Dennis said.
"Well, I'm hungry and I've got a patrol over the East Park area tonight," Carlos said as he headed over.
Dean walked over. "So are you okay?"
"Not really. I just hate her so much. She's been tormenting me for over a year. This totally sucks," the newest Ward said bitterly.
"But at least you are out of Winslow," Tony noted as he walked over and handed Taylor a plate with a sandwich and chips on it. "Hey, Taylor? How many bugs can you control?"
"Anything from here to about Brockton Central in all directions," Taylor said in an absent manner.
"That's a huge range. And I bet you that Vista can help with that, couldn't you?" Tony turned to the younger girl.
"Um, maybe?" Missy said as she studied the older man.
"Sure. Oh, damn. No hologram controls here. Note to self, make sure to install some later," Tony said.
"We have whiteboards," Chris said helpfully.
"I guess."
A couple of minutes later Tony had a diagram sketched out. "Now Vista's power doesn't let her stretch space that's inhabited, but the skies the limit. So make sure to arc your bent space tubes through the air and I bet you could extend Taylor's range."
"I... think so. Let me try." This was something she hadn't tried before.
"Did you do it to the Boardwalk?" Taylor asked. It sure had the right dimensions of that area.
"You can reach the Boardwalk now?" Dennis whistled. "So what can get from your bugs out there?"
Carlos and Dean both looked interested.
"Well, there's a lot of people shopping in the stores. Maybe a few drug dealers? Hard to say, but they are talking in alleys," Taylor said.
Sophia whistled. "Okay, bug control is not nearly as lame as I thought it would be."
"That's going to be a huge tactical advantage. We'll be able to get a lot more information before we arrive," Dean noted to Carlos.
"I'm not sure how effective it will be, but knowing who's at a fight ahead of time can definitely help."
Missy let out a deep breath. "That was kind of hard. But I think I have a new trick."
"Back to the party. Taylor, when do you transfer to Arcadia?"
"Next week. Director Piggot said you aren't to visit me there and 'Crysalis' won't have her debut for several weeks," Taylor explained. "I've got to work on my grades more. But I can do that."
"Don't worry, you'll probably have a lot of time on monitor duty to do that. Bleah," Missy said.
Everyone laughed. The laughter didn't reach Taylor's eyes as she turned to look at Sophia.
She just looked back at Taylor defiantly.
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Arthur Hansen
Author of no Authority.
- Location
- Utah, behind the Zion Curtain.
The only understanding I see here is "not in front of the adults".
Yeah, basically. Though maybe less help from Tony.