Second Breath 1.4
The glow pulsed, and lent the room an eerie vibe. Behind me -
I turned around, heart racing. I thought I had seen a long, bronze spider leg reaching over my shoulder. But all that was behind me was the glow.
So, I could only use my power tw times before I started glowing like when I awoke? Not ideal, at all. I released my disguise, and was disappointed to see no change; my mark was still there, and no decrease in brightness. And no idea on how long it took to reset. Or if it ever would die down.
So two uses of disguise? I could use that, at least to sneak places. Once to get in, and one to get out. And I could scout before hand with my sensing powers. All it had taken was worrying my dad half to death, five days of my life in which I was in a cocoon, and a deal with a giant spider.
That soured my mood, immediately. Who were the Titans? I could only recall the Greeks had Titans, but I knew nothing about them. And had it been a cape or a cape's minion, just weird? And what service did they require? It had made that part very clear. Restore the rightful order?
With a sigh, I figured I couldn't do anything without information, and I had none at the moment and no way to get it. I'd work on it in the morning. Opening my dresser, I got out a set of pajamas. Nice to not be naked, I thought.
Except my bottoms barely reached above my ankle, and my shirt was a bit tight. Right, changes.
I crawled into bed, with my personal night light still going, and fell asleep.
I awoke, groggy, to the sound of someone opening my door.
"Dad?"
The door closed, and I went back to sleep.
I stretched to the sound of the radio in the shower; my dad was in there every week day before 6:30, radio on, without fail. It was a relaxing sound; at least some things were still normal. And I didn't have a mark nor glow.
I pulled a pair of jeans out and switched out bottoms. And, I had forgotten, again, the height difference. Crouching and rummaging through my closet revealed an older pair of jeans, that was I certain had been my mom's. On top of them was an Alexandria t-shirt. Sad and nostalgic, I rocked by on my heels and sat down. When I was a 9, she had bought an Alexandria t-shirt just like mine to show solidarity with me. She had been infinitely patient, buying me a lunch box and find pictures of Alexandria online.
What would she say, knowing I was a cape?
That I had made a deal with a something to become one?
Sobered, I put on her old clothes and maneuvered to the kitchen. My dad walked in at the same time, still in his bathrobe. He looked uncommonly pleased to see me. Guilty, I hung my head. I hadn't meant to worry him.
His arms wrapped around me. I whispered, "I'm sorry."
He hugged me tighter, and went to the stove. As he rummaged in the refrigerator, I sat back down, examining my new hands in the daylight. The smell of sausage cooking reminded me that it had been nearly a week since I last ate.
His back still turned to me, he asked, "Hungry?"
"Very."
The kitchen was silent but for the sizzling of the pan, and the scrape of the pan. French toast was added, and he paused in his spatula-ing.
"Taylor, we are going to have to go to the police. They are still looking for you."
And me showing up naked right after my announcement would effectively unmask me. I walked to the fridge, and poured us each a glass of OJ.
"Taylor?"
"We do. But, Dad, could we not say I showed up last night?"
"Because I told them you hadn't shown up."
"Yes," And for other reasons.
He nodded, and brought over a plate. I stopped talking, and inhaled my food. I looked up to see him looking bemused at the speed.
"Sorry. Been awhile."
A quick grimace flashed across his face. Guilty at reminding him, I changed topics.
"So right after this, police?"
Finishing his mouthful, he nodded, than elaborated, "I'll get dressed, and then call them."
I drained my OJ, and took my plate to the sink, and made to return to my room.
"Taylor, wait."
I stopped in the doorway, looking back at him, "Dad?"
"How are your feet?"
I pulled my left leg up so both of us could see.
It was pristine.
Quickly, I said, "So about 15 minutes?"
He nodded, looking a bit stunned.
Socks and shoes on, I plopped onto the couch. I would have to get new shoes, they were now uncomfortably tight. I squirmed slightly with guilt. New clothes weren't cheap, and I hadn't been the slowest of growers; at 15, I was already 5'8", making pants more of a quick fix than a long term solution. Now, I was probably closer to 5'10", nearly as tall as my dad.
I grabbed the remote to distract myself. The TV flicked on, and it was already set to the local news.
"- And still no word from the PRT, Megan?"
"That's right, John. Here at the scene, we have received no information either from last night's event. As you can see behind me, the area is still cordoned off, and the PRT and Protectorate are out in force."
The view had switched from the news desk, to a blond woman standing in front of Police tape, with several PRT officers loitering close by. Behind her, large white coverings were on all the visible buildings, and a line of vans could be seen. The faint whop-whop-whop of a helicopter could be heard.
Shit.
"Megan, who all has been at the scene?"
"Well John, early this morning, we saw Armsmaster, Shadowstalker, and Aegis leaving the scene," at this point low-res footage playing of the said capes driving, jumping, and flying played, only to be replaced by almost a dozen capes, over multiple clips, "And they were replaced by Clockblocker, Kid Win, and Vista from the Wards, Brandish, Manpower, and Glory Girl from New Wave, and Dauntless, Velocity, and Miss Milita from the Protectorate."
"That's some serious Manpower, if you pardon the pun, Megan."
"Quite right. They are really pulling out all the stops."
"Thank you Megan, and now, on the street, we have Stephen. Stephen?"
"Taylor?" For a single horrible moment, I thought they had I.D.ed me. But it was only my dad. I turned the TV off, and grabbed my jacket.
"Just the news. Calling them now?"
He nodded, and went back to the kitchen, dragging a chair to the phone, punching in numbers with the ease of familiarity.
I sat down in my chair, resting my head in my hands.
"Lt. Knight, please."
My dad started absentmindedly curling the cord in his hands.
"Lieutenant – No sir, I don't need the update. She showed up!" Real joy lit up my dad's voice. He paused, the faint sound of another voice on the other end.
"No, she showed up this morning."
"Well, she showed up with blood on her feet, and she was naked -"
"We will wait right here."
"Thank you sir, for all you did. Goodbye."
With a heavy sigh, he turned to me. "They are sending a squad car and an ambulance, and are going to take you to the hospital."
I nodded my acknowledgment, oddly spent yet brimming with energy. We waited in silence for but a few minutes, before the faint wail of sirens pierced, and grew louder. At the sharp pounding on the front door moments later, my dad went to the door. A pair of paramedics, rolling a stretcher, and two police officers entered the kitchen.
The older paramedic spoke, "Ma'am? Are you able to get onto the stretcher?"
"Yes." I kept my reply short, and moved to the stretcher. They removed the bag on top, and let me lay down before strapping me in. With quick movements, we left the house, and I was loaded in the back of the ambulance. My dad, locking the door behind him, got into the squad car as the doors closed.
"Ma'am?" the older paramedic asked, holding a clipboard, as the younger began attaching machines to me.
"Yes?"
"First, can you tell me your full name?"
"Taylor Hebert." A mark on the clipboard.
"Where are we?"
"Brockton Bay." Another mark.
"What time and date is it?"
"About 7 AM, on the 10th?" Another.
"Thank you. Now, are you feeling any pain or do you have any injuries?"
"No."
The younger one stated, "Rate of 55, Pressure at 115 over 75, Temp at 98."
The older made quick marks, before asking me, "Are you feeling a bit hot, Taylor?"
"A bit," I agreed.
"Have you been around anyone sick recently, eaten any bad food, or anything else significant you can think of?"
"Nothing."
"Well, okay then. You just relax, and we will take care of you, okay?"
I nodded, and leaned back, shutting my eyes. Resting as well as I could over the ambulance's wailing.
In what could only be less than five minutes, the ambulance pulled to a stop. The paramedics removed my stretcher from and briskly moved me through the entrance of St. Anderson's Hospital, into an elevator, held waiting by a uniformed police officer. The ride up was quiet, and as the door opened, another uniformed officer joined his comrade, and walked in front of the stretcher as we moved down the hall, followed by our earlier policeman.
We moved to a room, with two more uniformed policemen on either side of the door. As we wheeled inside, a man and a woman, both in suits, stood from their chairs by the door.
As the paramedics lifted me from the stretcher into the bed, and hooked me into new machines, the man stepped forward. "Ms. Hebert, I'm Detective Lee, and this is my partner, Detective Manheim. Are you feeling up to answering some questions?"
I nodded, as the paramedic attached a final doodad to my left index finger, and left.
"Do you wish for your father to be here?"
"No."
"Taylor, here is what we know. There was an altercation at your school, and approximately 1200 you left, and have not been seen until today. Can you please explain what happened?"
I spoke slowly, choosing my words carefully, "After the, uh, altercation, I went to the Boardwalk. I remember getting there, but after that, nothing."
"And this morning?"
"I woke up, behind a dumpster, and walked home."
"And nothing in between?"
"Nothing."
"Where did you wake up?"
"I'm not sure, it's a bit fuzzy. I think, west of my house. Way away from the Boardwalk."
His partner, writing down everything, looked up quickly at that, and then returned to her notebook.
"About what time, would you say?"
"I'm not sure, maybe, 3 am?"
"And what makes you say that?"
"Because right after I got home, I washed up, my dad fed me and called you."
"Your father said something about bloody feet?"
"When I walked, they got cut up, and they bled a bit."
"And, you are absolutely certain you can remember nothing at all?"
"No sir."
His partner flipped her notebook closed as he turned towards her. "Okay. Taylor, would you be up to answering a few more question? We are worried that a villian might be involved."
I nodded, and said, "Of course."
"Thank you Taylor. Officers O'Conner and Quinn will be right outside if you need anything. Thank you for you cooperation."
I nodded again, and they left. Moments later, a nurse and my father entered, speaking to each other.
"And she's in perfect health at the moment, so far as we can tell."
"So far as you can tell?"
"Well, we haven't run any tests, and a purely physical examination is somewhat limited. But you said that she hasn't complained of anything?"
"Nothing, miss. She had no bruises or anything that I could see, aside from blood and some cuts on her feet. But they were gone this morning."
"Well, we are going to draw blood, and we will look at her feet."
With that, the nurse split off, and my dad walked to my bed, nodding to the officers on the way in.
"Are you all right, Taylor?"
"Fine, dad. Just ready to go."
He gave me a quick smile, and squeezed my shoulder.
"Ms. Hebert?"
One of the officers had stuck his head in the doorway.
"Officer O'Conner?" I ventured.
"Quinn, ma'am," he replied, flashing a grin, "Are you up to answering more questions?"
"Ready," I confirmed.
"Here they come, then," he said as he waved to someone out of my sight.
Armsmaster, the leader of the Protectorate here in the Bay, walked in. Tall, covered in dark blue armor, and with his signature Halberd, he was undoubtedly a superhero. Following at his heels, a slightly shorter woman in the camouflaged cape I had seen last night followed, dressed in black with a hood. Shadow Stalker, I thought the news had called her.
"Ms. Hebert?" Even his voice was heroic.
"Yes," I paused, then ventured a guess, "Mr. Armsmaster?"
He gave a gentle chuckle, and shook his head. "Just Armsmaster is fine. I wanted to make sure you were alright. You gave quite a few people quite a scare. Including your father there."
I looked down, clenching the edge of the bed. Shame and anger warred within me. Shame, that I had hurt my dad, and probably pulled people off more important things. Anger, that none of this wouldn't have happened if I had been stuffed in a damn locker.
Sounding chastised, I replied, "I know."
"As long as you are safe, we are all happy. Now, Detective Lee said you were having problems remembering what happened to you?"
I nodded, and elaborated, "All I remember is getting to the Boardwalk, and then waking up behind a dumpster."
"Nothing in between those two times?"
I shook my head.
"Well, I hope you feel better. We might be back to talk to you later. Is that okay?" He half-asked me, and half-asked my dad.
As I nodded, my dad replied, "Yes."
As they turned to leave, I experimented. I might not have an opportunity like this again, so I made my eyes burn. I resisted the urge the tear up as my ducts protested, and I learned.
Looking at Armsmaster first, a million tiny pinpricks erupted on my tongue, stinking of an electrical fire, dust and old books. A snarl of hate built in my throat that anyone could dare to be stronger than me. Suppressing it, surprised and breathing heavily, I turned to Shadow Stalker and let them burn again. Last time without glowing.
Shadow Stalker gave the same feeling as last night, a sharp dart of smoky wind. This time, I coughed, and my dad patted me on the back.
Behind my hand, I grinned.
A/N: Whew, long one.
No worries, there will be some action in the first chapter. I wanted all this done so the next sections can be a bit more interesting.
