- Location
- Existance
Kind of always wanted to read about Taylor and Dinah wandering around America. Ah well, we can't have everything.
Firebird, a Worm AU/Xover?
- Thread starter chibipoe
- Start date
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
Yeah. But when you're a precognitive and can see/track the results, you can spend x amount to get the ones you want. Some might be duds or cash prizes, but you can game the system when it's a scratch off card and you can see what is under each spot without scratching so you pick the right ones. It isn't gambling when you know the results in advance.
earthboy
(verified ape)
- Location
- NYC
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If it's ever going to be plot-relevant that she likes to read books, then it's 100% totally good to make one of those books a reference to Acceleration.
That's what I mean by "natural" -- there's a place where we need a book, but the specific book isn't important, so into that slot goes Acceleration.
(... and now I think we've spent more time and words on avoiding the issue than the issue would have generated.)
Err. Not what i meant. In ever card i have ever seen there is NO Picking. The result is the result, you can scratch everything off or just the id number that is the coded result of the combination of things on the card and you still get the same prize(or no prize)
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
That was pretty much what sparked it. She wondered if they were going out, they mentioned where and that it was to a book signing, and I wanted a book. Thought about converting someone's handle and referencing some other fanfic, then just shoved that in.
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
There are some that are scratch off 3 and win. They're usually chump change, but a few of them will say 'Scratch X number of spots, if you scratch more than x, you invalidate it.' Honestly, as you say, you -can- just hand the card over without actually scratching anything, but a teenage girl isn't likely to know that. The understanding most people have is you have to scratch off to win. /thingsyoulearnworkingretail
It's like. Yeah, she can see the future, but precog doesn't make her all-knowing when she's basing the terms from which she's viewing on what she knows. She doesn't know that you can do that, so she follows the illusion that is ingrained in everyone's minds, which is you have to scratch off and if you match, you win.
Dreaming - 2.1
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
2.1
February 25th, 2011, 12:34 AM.
The door refused to cooperate for a moment and Colin grimaced, too weary to even manage more than smacking his shoulder against the wood. That worked, however and he stumbled into his house, letting the case containing his equipment drop once the door was closed. A glance toward the green letters of the clock told him the time, fifteen hours earlier than where he had just been.
He stumbled toward the kitchen, grabbing a container of milk from the refrigerator. The containment systems had actually held everything inside perfectly preserved from all outward appearances. Though he had detected unusual amounts of what he had dubbed chronoton radiation in all of them and opted to simply dispose of them safely rather than test what the effects of being held in temporal stasis had on the food.
The attachment that had powered it was now settled in a corner of his lab for further study at a later date. He twisted the cap off and drank the contents in one quick motion, ignoring as some of it overflowed and dribbled down his chin.
It was a poor substitute for what he wanted right now, which was to get roaringly drunk. There was work to be done in the morning and he couldn't afford to engage in alcohol consumption. Especially given the situation he had just arrived from. Impaired judgement was already an issue and adding the effects of being inebriated on top of coming from a Simurgh battle was simply unacceptable.
The milk carton was tossed in the recycling and he wiped his chin with shirt. It needed to be washed anyway, so it was easier than grabbing a towel. He rested his hands on the counter in the middle of his kitchen, closing his eyes in an effort to shake away the vestiges of the fight. She had been driven off thanks to the efforts of Legend and Eidolon, but there was the usual worry that whatever her goal had been, they would find out later, and at the worst moment for everyone.
The casualties had been low, so that was good, but he had attended enough fights to know that wasn't truly a good thing. Colin pushed away from the counter with a disgusted sound. There was little else he could do right now. That battle was over and he was home. Resting sounded like a good idea. Tomorrow, he could visit his lab after school and work on-
The phone he had left on the stand in the hall was beeping and he stalked over to it, answering the call with a tap of a finger.
"It's me," he said brusquely.
"Colin," Dragon's voice said, sounding as weary as he felt. "Are you well?"
"Just tired," he said, moving to the living room and dropping onto the couch. He switched the phone to speaker and began unlacing his boots. "I could sleep for a couple of days."
"You're at your house," she replied. "Are you sure it's wise to be alone now?"
"Probably not," he shrugged, even though she had no way to see it. "I can process everything better in solitude though."
She was silent for a moment. "Get some rest, Colin. Don't spend the night obsessing over what happened yesterday."
"I don't intend to," he agreed. "Too much to do tomorrow. Get some rest yourself."
"I will," she said, sounding as amused as she always did when he made that suggestion to her. The phone went dark as she ended the connection and he pulled his boots off one at a time, then peeled his socks off. Dragon was right. He should rest. Tomorrow would be better. Perhaps. He rubbed his feet for a moment, then stood and started toward the shower.
Tomorrow would be better, he was sure.
Tomorrow, he decided, was not better. He had barely slept and was on his second ridiculously sweet product that claimed it was coffee with a third waiting in the wings. He was thankful for the glasses he had decided to wear. Even though he hadn't drunk any alcohol, he felt like he had. The glasses didn't actually do anything to aid in his vision, but they did have a solution that adjusted the tint according to the amount of light around him, which did wonders with the headache he was feeling.
They did not, unfortunately, have a sound baffle, which would be a great value if it protected him from having to hear another word from the principal, who was, he decided, quite shrewish. He took another sip from his cup as she drew breath to continue her tirade.
"Absolutely unacceptable," she said. "That's what this is. You simply chose not to show up yesterday with no warning or arrangements for a substitute and now you stumble in, a day later, looking a wreck. I should have your job for this. What sort of impression are you giving, coming after having obviously spent the day drunk and being of no use to anyone."
He took another sip from his cup, looking at her. Her expression grew frustrated and she slammed a hand on the desk. "Do you have anything to say?"
Colin sighed, his patience at an end. "I've been taking note of how just how incapable you are at your job, you realize?"
"I don't know-," she began, looking affronted.
"I could write a book about what you don't know," he interrupted with the slightest touch of a condescending tone, taking another sip of his coffee. "That's neither here nor there, though. I've seen how you've not done your job. Quite frankly, I'm surprised no one else has."
"If you think you can just stand there-" Blackwell began.
He cut her off. "I could sit, if you prefer? Let me explain how this is going to work. I'm going to go to my class, dismiss whatever incompetent you've situated there and teach those students. It took a bit of searching, but I was able to find some interesting discrepancies in where both the school's budget and the PRT allotment for hosting a Ward is being spent. Would you like me to itemize them?"
Color fled her face. "You couldn't possibl-"
"I could and have. Now, if you'd like itemized lists tracking every expense and revealing exactly where you've appropriated funds for your personal use to be delivered to the Board, by all means, continue addressing me as you were before." he said. Principal Blackwell stared, her jaw working soundlessly and he continued. "To conclude, I'm done here. Stay out of my way and do your damn job properly."
He turned on his heel and left, taking another sip of the coffee. A moment later, he made a face and tossed the cup into the garbage. Perhaps he could put together something to extract the most flavor from the coffee beans he preferred without all the additions that coffee chain added to make their drinks into noxiously sweet concoctions.
"You may go now, thank you," he said perfunctorily to the substitute teacher who was failing at keeping anyone's attention whatsoever. She stared at him for a moment, then left without a word as he looked across the classroom and they all quieted at the sight of him.
"You'll have to forgive me," he began. "Yesterday was a rather bad day for a variety of reasons." He sorted through his briefcase and frowned.
"Well, it seems that I've left the lessons I had intended for today in my other briefcase," he said. "In light of that, we're going to improvise. We've discussed the dynamics of the Protectorate and the gangs such as the Empire and the ABB, but I think we should discuss something else today. They don't get noticed as much for a variety of reasons, chief among them they lack the sort of marketing teams the Protectorate have at their disposal or the infamy of the major villains. Let's discuss the independent cape scene here in Brockton Bay."
The flow of conversation changed as the students began paying attention to the topic he had proposed and he leaned against the desk, adding comments or posing questions. Perhaps tomorrow wasn't as bad as he had feared.
"We were thinking of going to the mall, want to tag along?" Catherine asked as we walked out of the school for the day. I glanced over at her and Minako and reluctantly shook my head.
"I would, but I've got something at home I need to finish working on," I told her. "Will you two be free tomorrow?"
"There is an appearance by an author I enjoy," Minako said. "She will be at Chronicles downtown to talk about and sign her latest book."
I blinked. "C. Poe, right? The Acceleration series?"
She nodded. "I am curious to see what happens with Ingrid after she left Haven. She was not well after the fight with the Malevolent Six."
"Boring," Catherine said. "I stopped reading those after she flushed any chances of Ingrid hooking up with the Weaponsmith."
I rolled my eyes. "Ingrid's a teenage girl. Weaponsmith is around thirty. That's just weird."
Catherine shrugged, looking grumpy. "Doesn't matter. They totally were in to each other."
"Pay her no mind," Minako said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "She supports the oddest relationships in the books she has read. She has a first print of Shades of Darkness in her collection."
"Minako!" Catherine hissed, outraged.
I frowned. "Isn't that the one with the schoolteacher and the vampire who was like, fifteen?" I racked my brain trying to remember. It had come out a few years ago and I could remember Mom ranting about it when it was popular. There was even a movie that had been made of it, though I hadn't seen it.
"He only looked fifteen," Catherine grumbled. "He was at least as old as the teacher."
"And why he was attending high school?" I asked with a skeptical look. "Anyway, vampires can't come out in the day time anyway…"
"The author was basing it off Stoker's work," she said, sighing. "Dracula was perfectly capable of walking about in the day, he was just wasn't as powerful. As to attending school. Imagine you look fifteen forever. You can't exactly walk around doing whatever you want in the day. The police will pick you up for truancy and take you back to school. Not that I know anything about that."
I shook my head and then glanced between them, remembering something that had bugged me about the two of them. "Could I ask you two something?"
They shared a glance and then both looked at me, with Minako speaking. "What is it?"
"Well, Catherine just moved to Brockton Bay with her parents who are military," I began hesitantly. "And Minako came back after being away for a bit due to family issues. Everyone thinks you two met here at Winslow, but…"
Catherine smiled. "What I didn't mention, is this isn't the first time I've been to Brockton Bay. I knew Minako from before and we kept in touch. Soon as I heard we were coming back here, hopefully for good, I let her know."
Minako smiled slightly, glancing toward Catherine before looking back at me. "Seeing my friend again was quite a surprise. As was making a new one. That aside, if you would like to come with, we would be happy to have you along."
"I'd love to," I replied, feeling a genuine smile cross my face, then glanced to where the bus was pulling up. "I need to catch this one, so I'll meet you at Chronicles tomorrow?"
"Sounds good!" Catherine said as Minako simply nodded. "Bye, Taylor!" I waved and made my way quickly to the bus, finding a seat near the middle as the bus pulled away from the curb.
I finished the stitch and eyed the end result critically. It had taken a lot of work, but it was done. I stepped back, settling the material of the top on the stand. It was mostly grey, though it shifted to black along where my nonexistent bust line would be if I were wearing it. Worked in gold was the emblem, an inverted triangular shape that was a heavily stylized bird in flight, its head turned to my right. The black continued upward, where the mask's empty sockets stared back at me
The grey fabric was ribbed, extra material worked into each line that reinforced it, as well, I thought with a rueful grin, gave me more of a bustline than I actually had. The pants were black and had taken a few tries to get right to work in armor beneath the fabric that wasn't apparent. A belt hung across where my hips would be, though it was little more than circle of polished chrome with numerous tiny compartments making up the belt itself.
There was still something missing, though, I thought as I quickly stripped down and changed into it. There hadn't been enough material after the first few attempts at dying to make more than this. Dying, as I found out, was quite a bit harder than I had thought. Or at least, dying and making it look good was difficult. Relearning how to work the fabric had taken a while and there was a pile of material from my my first few attempts. The cloth I had bought was sturdy enough that I might be able to use it to reinforce the as needed, but the failures weren't good for much else.
"What else…" I murmured as I worked my hair out and adjusted the mask. I had been worried that it would show too much of my face to actually serve its purpose, but the way the material compressed to hold itself in place altered the lines of my face enough that I didn't quite recognize the person staring back at me in the mirror.
Inspiration struck a moment later and I grabbed the jacket that Vicky had purchased for me with her boyfriend's money. That she had still left me unsure how to respond, but it might work for this. I slipped it on and looked back at the image in the mirror and I couldn't repress the smile on my face.
Perfect.
It wasn't as fancy as some of the costumes that I had seen pictures of when I was doing research, but it was certainly a step up from just throwing on a hockey mask and beating people up with sports equipment. When I had learned about a vigilante in New York who did just that I had raised eyebrow. No one was even sure what his powers were and some people weren't even sure if he was real or not.
Well, I knew what mine were and the amount of practice with them I had been doing over the past three weeks, I felt I was ready to go out tonight. It was amazing how much I could use the telekinesis during the day and have no one know at all. Like using it to keep the weight of my backpack off my shoulders and back almost constantly, or a dozen smaller things. I turned to the left and right, scanning for any signs of seams coming undone or things I would need to mend.
I had changed back and was looking the costume over once more when I heard the side door close loudly, meaning my dad had gotten back in. I quickly packed away the costume in the hiding place I had chosen in the basement and cleaned up after myself before heading upstairs.
"Hey, Taylor, how was school?" he asked as I came out into the hall.
"Pretty good," I answered. "Good day at work?"
"Busy," he sighed, looking exhausted. "Sorry I was so late. Do you need me to fix something for dinner?"
I shook my head. "It's alright. I made a sandwich earlier after I played your message about working late." I looked at him intently for a moment, frowning. "You look tired though. You should go to bed."
He smiled for a moment, then yawned. "I might do that. Think I'll go get changed and read for a bit. Don't stay up too late, yourself."
"I won't," I said brightly, nudging him toward the stairs. He shook his head, but was soon out of sight and I went to the kitchen for a drink. I had a few hours still and planned to spend them with a book until I knew my dad was out.
One thing that I had not been able to practice as much as I liked was moving myself with my telekinesis. I hit the gravel on the next roof and stumbled, rolling awkwardly from the force of the empowered jump and glad that I wasn't wearing some of the less-durable looking costumes I had seen pictures of. But looking back, I couldn't help but feel proud as I eyed the gap between rooftops that I had hopped across.
"Need to work on the landings though," I muttered, climbing to my feet and dusting off my hands, wincing a little. Gloves, definitely need to make some gloves. I'd been so pleased with how the outfit looked with the coat that I hadn't even thought of that.
For all the gangs in Brockton Bay, apparently they all took friday night off. I had been traveling around the edges of Merchant territory, hoping to find a few of them doing something, anything, that I could stop them for, and come up with nothing in the hour and a half I had been out.
Still, I thought as I lined up and jumped for the next roof. It was at least letting me practice moving myself with my powers. The next landing, I still stumbled, but at least I didn't roll halfway across the roof.
Or crash into an air conditioning unit. Mortification still lingered as I remembered my first rooftop jump. My shoulder still ached a bit from that embarrassing fumble. Several more rooftops and I had a better handle on it and was able to keep my footing, even if I hadn't gotten the hang of managing my own momentum if I tried a running jump like you saw in videos or on tv.
Twenty minutes later and I had reached the end of what I had roughly figured was Merchant territory and I sighed. Nothing. I hadn't found a single person doing anything that could be considered a crime. I hadn't even found anyone jaywalking! I carefully slowed my descent to the ground from the roof I had been on. Maybe I was just missing everything by being up on the roofs?
A muffled voice and someone cursing drew my attention and I looked around, spotting three men illuminated by a streetlight across the street. All three looked shabby and turned in my direction before breaking down a nearby alley.
"Oh, for th-" I began, then raised my voice in what I hoped was a stern command. "Stop!"
They didn't. Of course they didn't.
I glanced at the building beside the alley they had gone down. I let my precognition turn on and took off at a run. A few steps and I jumped, using my telekinesis to propel myself forward and up onto the roof of the building. I stumbled a bit, but kept standing and I almost cheered, before taking off in pursuit as I saw where they were going. A van parked two blocks away, the sliding door open for easy entry. One other person inside, looking bored in the driver's seat.
I couldn't let them reach the van and I saw a way to block them as another tk-fueled jump carried me to across to another rooftop. I had managed to get ahead of them, just. Now if I could…
The dumpster near the opening of the alleyway that they were angling for wrenched sideways abruptly, blocking the opening with a thud. Cries of dismay sounded from the men and I backtracked a bit, dropping to the ground so that they were caught between me and the dumpster.
I eyed them for a moment. There was less light here, so I couldn't make out too many details, but one of them was clutching a bag close to his chest. Something valuable, I guessed. Maybe drugs?
"Fucking cape," one of them said boldly. "We weren't doing nothin'!"
"Then why did you run?" I asked, alert for them to try anything. The speaker moved first, charging at me with a short club he had been concealing. I used my telekinesis and hooked it like a rope around one of his feet, sending him sprawling awkwardly. He got up quickly, though, as the second one snatched up a broken bottle from the trash in the alley and waved it menacingly.
It wasn't necessary, but I found it easiest to use a gesture as a guide and I did so, shoving him against the wall shoulder first. The bottle fell from his hand and shattered to pieces on the pavement. Another movement and I shoved his jacket down his arms, twisting the sleeves with my power. It took a moment to knot them together and with it still zipped in front, he, at least, was caught.
The first one had produced a sharpened piece of metal that was fixed to some wood with what I thought was a leather cord. He yelled something I couldn't make sense of and charged again. I shoved him back and yanked the makeshift knife free from his hand, sending it skittering off behind me.
"I'm guessing those are drugs," I said, looking at the third man and ripping the bag away from him. I let it land off to one side of the dumpster as I focused on quickly weaving his shoelaces together tightly. When he started to run, he pitched forward. I saw the glint of his belt buckle at his waist and pulled the belt free, snapping it around the other man's wrists and tightening it. Another moment and I nudged all three against the wall away from the bag.
They were secured and I was confident they weren't going to be getting away, so I crouched down to check the bag, letting my precog go for the moment. The alleyway was blocked and they were subdued.
"Looks like I was right," I said, eyeing the mix of cash and plastic bags containing what I was sure were drugs. Cocaine, maybe? Something else? I didn't know what the popular drugs were now and I was pretty sure there was a cape out there who made drugs as his cape power.
I used my telekinesis to zip the bag closed and stood. "Well, if I were a police officer, I'd read you your rights, but I guess I'll just let them do that, since you guys aren't going anywhere." One of them swore at me to do something that I wasn't even sure was physically possible and I just shook my head, reaching into my jacket's inner pocket for the cell phone I had there.
The heavy plastic lid of the dumpster shook and I felt my precognition flare up, giving me a view of what was about to happen a half-second before it did. The fourth man from the van slammed into me, driving me against the wall. The back of my head cracked against it and I saw stars as my phone skidded across the pavement out of reach.
I squeezed my eyes shut as he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall again, though I avoided hitting my head a second time.
"Fucking bitch," he snarled and dropped me, a kick aimed at my side. The costume worked as I had hoped and absorbed most of it, but the air fled my lungs nonetheless. I had to get some distance between me and them!
"Get…away!" I shouted, throwing up my hands as he reached for me again. My telekinesis surged outward in every direction, shoving the man back into the other three. I heard a screeching, then a loud thud and screeching metal. The wall behind me even gave against my back.
Gasping for breath, I pushed my feet around, trying to stand, though they didn't want to cooperate. The guy was stirring and I saw he was going to get to his feet first. My foresight saw him reaching for me… and then he was gone.
"Wha-" I began, confused as he stood and then something blurred across my vision, almost too fast for me to see. The Merchant was laying in a heap halfway down the alley and there was a figure half crouched there, arm outstretched for a punch. She had a cape covering one shoulder, and a white dress that shone even in the dimly lit alley way. A tiara with spikes radiating from it was visible nestled in her blonde hair as she straightened, her back to me.
Glory Girl. One of New Wave's second generation.
"Well, that was fun," she said in a voice that I was certain I knew. "Worthless trash." Her arms moved in a way that suggested she was dusting them off before she turned around and walked toward me. The three men had recovered, and were trying to push themselves against the way or scramble away from her. She knelt and flicked her finger at each in turn, apparently knocking them out while I fumbled around and found my phone, which had survived the fall with only a few scratches.
"As for you, nice to see another girl out doing this" she said, leaning down and the light from the street came across her face. "Are you hurt?"
It was a face I knew well and I blinked several times, my head still pounding from when I had hit the wall. What was… why was she… Her hand caught mine in a firm grip and she helped me to my feet.
"V-Vicky?" I stammered, not quite sure that what I was seeing was real. Vicky was… Glory Girl? Oh. Of course. Vicky was short for Victoria. As in Victoria Dallon. How the hell had I missed that?
Her expression dimmed and she let go of my hand to cross her arms. "That is my name, but I don't think we've been introduced for you to be using my name…" She peered at me for a moment and her eyes widened in realization. "That jacket… Taylor?!"
My first night out and I've already blown my identity. Wonderful.
Victoria Dallon sighed mentally as the police packed the men into their car. Nearby, trying so hard to not look like a deer caught in the headlights, Taylor stood, giving a statement to the police. Taylor, the girl she had met at the mall was a cape. Dean had told her that there was suspicion that she was but they didn't have proof.
But now she did and she closed her eyes, frustrated. No. She had proof, but this was Taylor's secret. She didn't have the right to tell Dean anymore than she had the right to tell Taylor that Dean was a cape. Not everyone subscribed to New Wave's philosophy and as much as she sometimes wished they did, she knew quite well that the idea of openly admitting to being a cape brought its own set of problems.
Sighing again, she moved over to where the police officer was talking to Taylor, the conversation becoming clearer as she got closer.
"Alright, I think that's almost everything I need," he said, looking down at his paperwork. "Just one thing. What name would you like listed here?"
"I hadn't picked one yet, actually" Taylor admitted, clearly caught off guard by the question. Vicky looked her over, her eyes fixing for a moment on the emblem just below her throat and she grinned as an idea struck her. It looked somewhat like the bird symbols she had seen when studying Central and South American history, only more stylized. What had the name been… Oh. Something unpronounceable, she remembered and wracked her brain for something else.
"It's her first night out," Glory Girl said, drawing their attention. "So, go easy on her, Terry. How about Sirin?"
"That's… Russian," she saw Taylor frown, mulling it over. "That can do for now."
The officer smiled and tipped his cap in the newly christened cape's direction. "Well, she's in good company. Good showing for a first night out, Sirin."
"Thank you," Taylor said almost inaudibly, clearly overwhelmed.
"Do you need a lift anywhere?" Vicky asked as the police officer moved away. Taylor, or rather, Sirin, shook her head as the question sunk in.
"Oh, no, I can travel on my own," She pushed away from the wall and then slowly rose from the ground. Vicky felt her grin return as she watched the girl rise to the level of the roof and then step onto it. Shifting her legs, Glory Girl took flight and was on the roof as well, or hovering above it rotating in a lazy circle around Taylor.
"So, you're a cape," she said as the other girl stared at her with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her lower lip jutting out slightly in what was clearly a pout. "This is the first ti-"
She cut off as Vicky looped around, hovering upside down in front of her friend. "Taylor, I'd recognize the the very expensive coat I bought you anywhere."
"Dean bought, you mean," was the correction and then she realized what she had said and sighed. "Fine. Would you believe I didn't even connect Vicky the girl I talked fashion with to Glory Girl until I saw you in costume?"
"Wait, what?" Glory Girl squawked as Taylor stepped around her and took a leap across to the next roof, moving at a pretty steady clip. She corrected her position and flew after the other girl. "How could you not? I'm kind of famous, you know?"
"You never gave your last name and I had a lot on my mind," she answered with a shrug as they crossed several more rooftops. "And anyway, now that I think about it, I should have known, but whatever. I didn't make friends with Glory Girl. I made friends with a girl named Vicky."
Glory Girl slowed down a bit, digesting that before speeding up. "You know I'm Glory Girl, right?"
"Now, yes," Taylor asked as if it were obvious then she looked away for a second. "But I didn't keep your number and call you to hang out because of that."
"Oh, please" Vicky said, waving a hand absently. "I didn't think that at all. I did think it strange that you didn't seem to have the same amount of awe at meeting a local celebrity that others have, though…"
"You've got some sort of aura, right?" she asked, frowning. "I guess I'm immune? I thought I'd figured out my powers but…"
"You got them back in January, right?" Vicky asked, turning in a corkscrew as she flew alongside Taylor, whose expression darkened in response to the question.
"If you must know, yes," she said with a grunt as she landed on the next roof. "I'd prefer not to talk about it."
Coming to a halt, Glory Girl thought of something. "Wait... was the giant bird your doing?"
"No," she answered. "I can't do anything with fire that I've been able to tell."
"Ah, geez," Vicky said, frowning. "And I gave you a bird themed name. They might still try connecting that to cape-you."
Taylor shrugged, but gave no other obvious physical indication of her mood. "I can't do fire, so I'm not worried about that too much. Don't worry about it, Vicky."
"If you're sure…" Vicky said, then frowned. "You looked like you got rocked pretty hard back there. Are you sure you're okay? I can get my sister to patch you up…"
"I'm alright, I think," Taylor replied. "It didn't do much more than make me see stars for a few. Might have been bad if you hadn't shown up."
"I doubt it," Glory Girl contradicted. "You put that dumpster all the way out in the middle of the street, so I think you'd have handled them without my help. Was that just strength or…?"
"Telekinesis," she said after a moment. "I've been practicing with it for a while now. It's how I'm doing this." She launched across to another roof as Vicky kept pace easily.
"Really?" She made another lazy loop around Taylor, almost giggling at the irritated look the other girl threw her. "Tell you what, race you to Captain's Hill."
Taylor eyed her. "I can't fly properly yet, so that isn't even fair."
"Yet?" Glory Girl grinned. "You've tried?"
"I tried once," she admitted. "It isn't as easy as it seems."
"What, you just will yourself in the direction you want to go and then go? That's what I do." Vicky said.
Taylor looked over at her. "No. I use my power to lift and move forward. It's… like moving in a car, but there's no car. I tried, but I don't have a lot of room to practic- Hey!" She dodged out of the way of the half-hearted swat Glory Girl aimed her way.
"We're out at night, there's no one around. All the practice you could want," she explained.
"And if I screw up and fall?" Taylor asked.
"Then I'll catch you," Glory Girl said, then grinned, adding challenge to her voice. "Come on, Sirin, time to learn to fly."
Something sparked in her friend's eyes and a steely note echoed in her voice. "You're on. Try and keep up." She took a step and rocketed away, the roof's surface cratering slightly from her launching herself into the air. Glory Girl watched her soar off, then smirked as it turned into sort of helpless flopping as she began to arc toward the ground. Cheering, she let the wind ruffle her hair and launched forward to keep the rookie from hurting herself.
"The biggest thing is to keep aware of how fast you're moving," Glory Girl said as we sat on the edge of the concrete wall that guarded pedestrians against falling down the sheer hillside. "You have to give that a lot more attention than I do since I just will myself to go and stop. Using your car metaphor, if you stop too abruptly, you could go flying as your car comes to a halt. Or worse, you try to but don't. Whiplash can be nasty." She pulled one leg up, holding it in place with her hands at her knee.
"I would say you might try less controlling your own body and more on just focusing to fly and shifting for control. Flying is actually really easy, but if you're overthinking it, you might be making it harder than you need to." she finished.
"I'll keep that in mind," I said with a wry grin, stretching my arms above my head. "I should probably get home though before it gets any later."
"Yeah, me too," Vicky said. "Mom gets all disapproving if I'm out too late, not to mention my sister worries." She pushed away from the wall with her hips and floated in the air. "Give me a call whenever you want someone to hang out with while doing this!" She twisted and then rocketed off with a wave.
I stretched my arms again and pushed off as well, moving at a much slower pace toward home. I made it there in minutes versus the half hour it would have taken on foot and slipped in through the window I had left open after checking that all the lights were out on the houses around us. A telekinetic push and the window closed behind me.
After I changed out of my costume and examined it for any signs of anything that might need repair, I relaxed a little. There was some cleaning that needed done, but no seams had burst that I could tell and nothing had torn. I tucked it away in a hiding place in my room and quietly went downstairs. Dad's door was partially ajar and I could hear him snoring, so I took care to make as little noise as I could, even floating so that none of the steps squeaked.
A sandwich and something to drink eased the hunger that all my running had worked up and I grabbed a blanket. If I kept the volume low, I could watch a cheesy movie or two, feeling too wired to sleep. I stretched out on the couch and reached for the remote, beginning to flip through channels.
The next thing I knew, there was someone knocking loudly at the door and nearly fell onto the floor as I tried to untangle from the blankets. I glanced the nearest clock. Nine am. Why hadn't dad answered the door? Was he still asleep?
The insistent pounding sounded again and I crossed toward the door, carefully working my fingers through my hair to untangle it. When I peeked through the curtains on either side of the door, I felt any vestiges of sleep flee.
"Mr. Barnes," I said as politely as I could when I opened the door. "I'm sorry, I don't think my dad's up yet." He blinked and it took a moment before he said anything, like he didn't recognize me. I took a moment and looked him over quickly, noting that his suit looked rumpled and his eyes were slightly bloodshot, like he hadn't slept in a while.
"Taylor?" he asked. "I… is Emma here?"
What.
"No…" I said slowly. "Emma and I haven't exactly been friends for a while now."
His expression crumpled and he took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, thank you…"
"What's wrong?" I asked, halting him in the act of turning away. "Why would you look for Emma here?"
"She snuck out sometime yesterday," he said after a moment. "I don't know when, but I've been out looking for her since. I've tried everywhere I can think of… this was a long shot, but I had to try."
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Barnes, but the last time I saw Emma was earlier in the week. Thursday, I think. Maybe Friday, but that was at a distance." He nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the floor of our porch.
"I need to keep looking," he murmured. "If you hear from her, I know it's unlikely, could you let me know, please?"
I took a deep breath. "Mr. Barnes, I don't know how much you're aware of, but given the way things have been between us, I'm the last person Emma would run to. Even if she did come here… I can't say I wouldn't slam the door in her face."
I had his attention now but I couldn't tell what he was thinking and I was reluctant to try and see what he was thinking. Just standing this close had me wanting to back up, his worry for Emma was that strong.
"I know," he murmured. "After I talked to that teacher, I sat down with Emma for a very long talk. I didn't want to come here because apologies from me for what my daughter's done are more or less meaningless. For what it's worth, though, I am sorry for what she did."
I blinked, stunned at his words. When I didn't speak, he nodded and made a gesture that was a half-wave. "Take care of yourself, Taylor. Don't worry Danny by running off without a word, okay?"
"Mr. Barnes," my voice stopped him halfway to the sidewalk. I couldn't believe what I was about to say. "If you'll give me a moment and I'll help you look for her. There's some places I know that she used to like. Maybe she's there?"
I wanted to cringe at how relieved he look at my offer even as I held back that if she was there, I doubted her reaction to seeing me was going to be a positive one. "I just have to change and leave a note for my dad."
I was halfway through the note when it hit me that I didn't need to physically search.
Where can I find Emma Barnes? The thought triggered something and I felt it stretch out. I had found that I retained what each person felt like to my telepathy and I could see, for lack of a better word, more people than I could easily count slipped past my awareness.
There.
Nestled amid a lot of other people, I found Emma, with several other people immediately around her and others nearby. Almost spaced evenly apart, if I understood what I was feeling right. Rooms, maybe? I couldn't physically see, so it was more like a layout of lights, each one representing a person.
I looked around, trying to get some idea of where this was from just what I could see in my mind. I saw several people gathered around another, whose light abruptly went out and the colors of the people's lights changed in response.
A hospital. It had to be.
The pen fell from my hands and I left it there, turning toward the front door. Mr. Barnes was on the porch still and I grabbed my shoes, wondering how to tell him that.
He was staring at his phone when I came outside and from the look on his face, I realized I didn't have to.
"That was.." he began, but trailed off as if he couldn't form words.
"Come on, Mr. Barnes," I said gently. "Let's go to the hospital."
Mr. Barnes was talking to the doctors in the hallway, who had led him outside of the room. From what I had overheard, she had been near ABB territory and been attacked. They weren't entirely sure what had happened as she had come in unconscious and hadn't woken up yet. The location they mentioned her being near seemed to mean something to him, but I didn't know of any places she used to hang out at near there.
I watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, then looked at the medical equipment around the room before coming back to Emma. Her face was a motley mix of purple and her green, bruises dotting it and one eye swollen shut.
The equipment beeped steadily, indicating that she had a steady heartbeat, so that was good, at least.
"What the hell were you thinking?" I muttered. "I wanted you to stop, but why would you do whatever caused this?" I didn't know how to feel, seeing her like this. The events of a few weeks ago had basically wrecked her social standing but I couldn't understand what had driven her to this.
I exhaled, looking around the room. Damnit. I didn't care about her, about this. She had chosen to turn on me, to torment me. I should be glad she was like this. It was only fair, right? She wrecked my life and that came back on her. But I just felt unhappy at seeing this, not even a trace of any sort of happiness. Not even the vindictive, spiteful kind that she had all those times she had tried to tear me down.
"Damnit, Emma," I muttered again, blinking several times to ease the sudden stinging in my eyes. I was not going to cry over this, over her.
A hand brushed mine and I almost jumped as too-warm fingers closed around mine. Emma's not swollen eye was open, squinting at me. Her fingers squeezed for a second.
"Tuh-Taylor?" she said, the words slurred and confused.
"Yeah, it's me, Ems," I said, the nickname coming out of an old habit that had fallen to disuse.
"I'm suh-sorry," her hand squeezed mine again before going limp as her eye closed. I stared for a moment, unsure how to respond. A glance at the monitors showed a steady heartrate, so the momentary spike of panic faded quickly.
"Me too, Ems," I said after a moment, giving her hand a squeeze in return. She didn't react, unconscious or asleep again and I turned to leave the room. "I wish I knew for sure that you were as well."
The doctor was walking away when I came out and I glanced toward Mr. Barnes, who approached quickly.
"The doctor said the report they had gotten from the police was that she tried to stop some gang members from mugging someone," he explained. "There were too many of them though."
"She woke up for a moment," I told him when he paused. "You should go be there when she wakes up again."
"Did she say anything?" he asked, glancing toward the half-closed door.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Her eye opened and she moved her hand for a moment, then she was out again."
"I called my wife," he said. "She's on the way with Emma's sister. I… Thank you for sitting with her while I was talking to the Doctor, Taylor. I can give you a ride home once they're here..."
"Just take care of her, Mr. Barnes," I said. "Go on. I can catch the bus home." The relief on his face was staggering and he gave my shoulder a squeeze before heading into the room where Emma was.
I stared at the door for a moment before starting down the hall toward the elevators. I needed to get away from here. The sound like water in the back of my mind gurgled and moaned painfully, the thoughts of everyone around me almost like a pressure against my own thoughts. There, a cluster of people radiating grief, another projecting disbelief.
I brushed past a girl or woman in a white outfit and muttered an apology from almost crashing into her before ducking into the elevator. I remembered the signing that promised I would go to with Catherine and Minako with a frown. I could flake on them, as I wasn't in the mood for that now. The elevator dinged and I made a beeline for the exit, my decision made. I needed something happy right now and that might just be it.
--
February 25th, 2011, 12:34 AM.
The door refused to cooperate for a moment and Colin grimaced, too weary to even manage more than smacking his shoulder against the wood. That worked, however and he stumbled into his house, letting the case containing his equipment drop once the door was closed. A glance toward the green letters of the clock told him the time, fifteen hours earlier than where he had just been.
He stumbled toward the kitchen, grabbing a container of milk from the refrigerator. The containment systems had actually held everything inside perfectly preserved from all outward appearances. Though he had detected unusual amounts of what he had dubbed chronoton radiation in all of them and opted to simply dispose of them safely rather than test what the effects of being held in temporal stasis had on the food.
The attachment that had powered it was now settled in a corner of his lab for further study at a later date. He twisted the cap off and drank the contents in one quick motion, ignoring as some of it overflowed and dribbled down his chin.
It was a poor substitute for what he wanted right now, which was to get roaringly drunk. There was work to be done in the morning and he couldn't afford to engage in alcohol consumption. Especially given the situation he had just arrived from. Impaired judgement was already an issue and adding the effects of being inebriated on top of coming from a Simurgh battle was simply unacceptable.
The milk carton was tossed in the recycling and he wiped his chin with shirt. It needed to be washed anyway, so it was easier than grabbing a towel. He rested his hands on the counter in the middle of his kitchen, closing his eyes in an effort to shake away the vestiges of the fight. She had been driven off thanks to the efforts of Legend and Eidolon, but there was the usual worry that whatever her goal had been, they would find out later, and at the worst moment for everyone.
The casualties had been low, so that was good, but he had attended enough fights to know that wasn't truly a good thing. Colin pushed away from the counter with a disgusted sound. There was little else he could do right now. That battle was over and he was home. Resting sounded like a good idea. Tomorrow, he could visit his lab after school and work on-
The phone he had left on the stand in the hall was beeping and he stalked over to it, answering the call with a tap of a finger.
"It's me," he said brusquely.
"Colin," Dragon's voice said, sounding as weary as he felt. "Are you well?"
"Just tired," he said, moving to the living room and dropping onto the couch. He switched the phone to speaker and began unlacing his boots. "I could sleep for a couple of days."
"You're at your house," she replied. "Are you sure it's wise to be alone now?"
"Probably not," he shrugged, even though she had no way to see it. "I can process everything better in solitude though."
She was silent for a moment. "Get some rest, Colin. Don't spend the night obsessing over what happened yesterday."
"I don't intend to," he agreed. "Too much to do tomorrow. Get some rest yourself."
"I will," she said, sounding as amused as she always did when he made that suggestion to her. The phone went dark as she ended the connection and he pulled his boots off one at a time, then peeled his socks off. Dragon was right. He should rest. Tomorrow would be better. Perhaps. He rubbed his feet for a moment, then stood and started toward the shower.
Tomorrow would be better, he was sure.
* * *
Tomorrow, he decided, was not better. He had barely slept and was on his second ridiculously sweet product that claimed it was coffee with a third waiting in the wings. He was thankful for the glasses he had decided to wear. Even though he hadn't drunk any alcohol, he felt like he had. The glasses didn't actually do anything to aid in his vision, but they did have a solution that adjusted the tint according to the amount of light around him, which did wonders with the headache he was feeling.
They did not, unfortunately, have a sound baffle, which would be a great value if it protected him from having to hear another word from the principal, who was, he decided, quite shrewish. He took another sip from his cup as she drew breath to continue her tirade.
"Absolutely unacceptable," she said. "That's what this is. You simply chose not to show up yesterday with no warning or arrangements for a substitute and now you stumble in, a day later, looking a wreck. I should have your job for this. What sort of impression are you giving, coming after having obviously spent the day drunk and being of no use to anyone."
He took another sip from his cup, looking at her. Her expression grew frustrated and she slammed a hand on the desk. "Do you have anything to say?"
Colin sighed, his patience at an end. "I've been taking note of how just how incapable you are at your job, you realize?"
"I don't know-," she began, looking affronted.
"I could write a book about what you don't know," he interrupted with the slightest touch of a condescending tone, taking another sip of his coffee. "That's neither here nor there, though. I've seen how you've not done your job. Quite frankly, I'm surprised no one else has."
"If you think you can just stand there-" Blackwell began.
He cut her off. "I could sit, if you prefer? Let me explain how this is going to work. I'm going to go to my class, dismiss whatever incompetent you've situated there and teach those students. It took a bit of searching, but I was able to find some interesting discrepancies in where both the school's budget and the PRT allotment for hosting a Ward is being spent. Would you like me to itemize them?"
Color fled her face. "You couldn't possibl-"
"I could and have. Now, if you'd like itemized lists tracking every expense and revealing exactly where you've appropriated funds for your personal use to be delivered to the Board, by all means, continue addressing me as you were before." he said. Principal Blackwell stared, her jaw working soundlessly and he continued. "To conclude, I'm done here. Stay out of my way and do your damn job properly."
He turned on his heel and left, taking another sip of the coffee. A moment later, he made a face and tossed the cup into the garbage. Perhaps he could put together something to extract the most flavor from the coffee beans he preferred without all the additions that coffee chain added to make their drinks into noxiously sweet concoctions.
"You may go now, thank you," he said perfunctorily to the substitute teacher who was failing at keeping anyone's attention whatsoever. She stared at him for a moment, then left without a word as he looked across the classroom and they all quieted at the sight of him.
"You'll have to forgive me," he began. "Yesterday was a rather bad day for a variety of reasons." He sorted through his briefcase and frowned.
"Well, it seems that I've left the lessons I had intended for today in my other briefcase," he said. "In light of that, we're going to improvise. We've discussed the dynamics of the Protectorate and the gangs such as the Empire and the ABB, but I think we should discuss something else today. They don't get noticed as much for a variety of reasons, chief among them they lack the sort of marketing teams the Protectorate have at their disposal or the infamy of the major villains. Let's discuss the independent cape scene here in Brockton Bay."
The flow of conversation changed as the students began paying attention to the topic he had proposed and he leaned against the desk, adding comments or posing questions. Perhaps tomorrow wasn't as bad as he had feared.
~~~~~~~~
"We were thinking of going to the mall, want to tag along?" Catherine asked as we walked out of the school for the day. I glanced over at her and Minako and reluctantly shook my head.
"I would, but I've got something at home I need to finish working on," I told her. "Will you two be free tomorrow?"
"There is an appearance by an author I enjoy," Minako said. "She will be at Chronicles downtown to talk about and sign her latest book."
I blinked. "C. Poe, right? The Acceleration series?"
She nodded. "I am curious to see what happens with Ingrid after she left Haven. She was not well after the fight with the Malevolent Six."
"Boring," Catherine said. "I stopped reading those after she flushed any chances of Ingrid hooking up with the Weaponsmith."
I rolled my eyes. "Ingrid's a teenage girl. Weaponsmith is around thirty. That's just weird."
Catherine shrugged, looking grumpy. "Doesn't matter. They totally were in to each other."
"Pay her no mind," Minako said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "She supports the oddest relationships in the books she has read. She has a first print of Shades of Darkness in her collection."
"Minako!" Catherine hissed, outraged.
I frowned. "Isn't that the one with the schoolteacher and the vampire who was like, fifteen?" I racked my brain trying to remember. It had come out a few years ago and I could remember Mom ranting about it when it was popular. There was even a movie that had been made of it, though I hadn't seen it.
"He only looked fifteen," Catherine grumbled. "He was at least as old as the teacher."
"And why he was attending high school?" I asked with a skeptical look. "Anyway, vampires can't come out in the day time anyway…"
"The author was basing it off Stoker's work," she said, sighing. "Dracula was perfectly capable of walking about in the day, he was just wasn't as powerful. As to attending school. Imagine you look fifteen forever. You can't exactly walk around doing whatever you want in the day. The police will pick you up for truancy and take you back to school. Not that I know anything about that."
I shook my head and then glanced between them, remembering something that had bugged me about the two of them. "Could I ask you two something?"
They shared a glance and then both looked at me, with Minako speaking. "What is it?"
"Well, Catherine just moved to Brockton Bay with her parents who are military," I began hesitantly. "And Minako came back after being away for a bit due to family issues. Everyone thinks you two met here at Winslow, but…"
Catherine smiled. "What I didn't mention, is this isn't the first time I've been to Brockton Bay. I knew Minako from before and we kept in touch. Soon as I heard we were coming back here, hopefully for good, I let her know."
Minako smiled slightly, glancing toward Catherine before looking back at me. "Seeing my friend again was quite a surprise. As was making a new one. That aside, if you would like to come with, we would be happy to have you along."
"I'd love to," I replied, feeling a genuine smile cross my face, then glanced to where the bus was pulling up. "I need to catch this one, so I'll meet you at Chronicles tomorrow?"
"Sounds good!" Catherine said as Minako simply nodded. "Bye, Taylor!" I waved and made my way quickly to the bus, finding a seat near the middle as the bus pulled away from the curb.
* * *
I finished the stitch and eyed the end result critically. It had taken a lot of work, but it was done. I stepped back, settling the material of the top on the stand. It was mostly grey, though it shifted to black along where my nonexistent bust line would be if I were wearing it. Worked in gold was the emblem, an inverted triangular shape that was a heavily stylized bird in flight, its head turned to my right. The black continued upward, where the mask's empty sockets stared back at me
The grey fabric was ribbed, extra material worked into each line that reinforced it, as well, I thought with a rueful grin, gave me more of a bustline than I actually had. The pants were black and had taken a few tries to get right to work in armor beneath the fabric that wasn't apparent. A belt hung across where my hips would be, though it was little more than circle of polished chrome with numerous tiny compartments making up the belt itself.
There was still something missing, though, I thought as I quickly stripped down and changed into it. There hadn't been enough material after the first few attempts at dying to make more than this. Dying, as I found out, was quite a bit harder than I had thought. Or at least, dying and making it look good was difficult. Relearning how to work the fabric had taken a while and there was a pile of material from my my first few attempts. The cloth I had bought was sturdy enough that I might be able to use it to reinforce the as needed, but the failures weren't good for much else.
"What else…" I murmured as I worked my hair out and adjusted the mask. I had been worried that it would show too much of my face to actually serve its purpose, but the way the material compressed to hold itself in place altered the lines of my face enough that I didn't quite recognize the person staring back at me in the mirror.
Inspiration struck a moment later and I grabbed the jacket that Vicky had purchased for me with her boyfriend's money. That she had still left me unsure how to respond, but it might work for this. I slipped it on and looked back at the image in the mirror and I couldn't repress the smile on my face.
Perfect.
It wasn't as fancy as some of the costumes that I had seen pictures of when I was doing research, but it was certainly a step up from just throwing on a hockey mask and beating people up with sports equipment. When I had learned about a vigilante in New York who did just that I had raised eyebrow. No one was even sure what his powers were and some people weren't even sure if he was real or not.
Well, I knew what mine were and the amount of practice with them I had been doing over the past three weeks, I felt I was ready to go out tonight. It was amazing how much I could use the telekinesis during the day and have no one know at all. Like using it to keep the weight of my backpack off my shoulders and back almost constantly, or a dozen smaller things. I turned to the left and right, scanning for any signs of seams coming undone or things I would need to mend.
I had changed back and was looking the costume over once more when I heard the side door close loudly, meaning my dad had gotten back in. I quickly packed away the costume in the hiding place I had chosen in the basement and cleaned up after myself before heading upstairs.
"Hey, Taylor, how was school?" he asked as I came out into the hall.
"Pretty good," I answered. "Good day at work?"
"Busy," he sighed, looking exhausted. "Sorry I was so late. Do you need me to fix something for dinner?"
I shook my head. "It's alright. I made a sandwich earlier after I played your message about working late." I looked at him intently for a moment, frowning. "You look tired though. You should go to bed."
He smiled for a moment, then yawned. "I might do that. Think I'll go get changed and read for a bit. Don't stay up too late, yourself."
"I won't," I said brightly, nudging him toward the stairs. He shook his head, but was soon out of sight and I went to the kitchen for a drink. I had a few hours still and planned to spend them with a book until I knew my dad was out.
* * *
One thing that I had not been able to practice as much as I liked was moving myself with my telekinesis. I hit the gravel on the next roof and stumbled, rolling awkwardly from the force of the empowered jump and glad that I wasn't wearing some of the less-durable looking costumes I had seen pictures of. But looking back, I couldn't help but feel proud as I eyed the gap between rooftops that I had hopped across.
"Need to work on the landings though," I muttered, climbing to my feet and dusting off my hands, wincing a little. Gloves, definitely need to make some gloves. I'd been so pleased with how the outfit looked with the coat that I hadn't even thought of that.
For all the gangs in Brockton Bay, apparently they all took friday night off. I had been traveling around the edges of Merchant territory, hoping to find a few of them doing something, anything, that I could stop them for, and come up with nothing in the hour and a half I had been out.
Still, I thought as I lined up and jumped for the next roof. It was at least letting me practice moving myself with my powers. The next landing, I still stumbled, but at least I didn't roll halfway across the roof.
Or crash into an air conditioning unit. Mortification still lingered as I remembered my first rooftop jump. My shoulder still ached a bit from that embarrassing fumble. Several more rooftops and I had a better handle on it and was able to keep my footing, even if I hadn't gotten the hang of managing my own momentum if I tried a running jump like you saw in videos or on tv.
Twenty minutes later and I had reached the end of what I had roughly figured was Merchant territory and I sighed. Nothing. I hadn't found a single person doing anything that could be considered a crime. I hadn't even found anyone jaywalking! I carefully slowed my descent to the ground from the roof I had been on. Maybe I was just missing everything by being up on the roofs?
A muffled voice and someone cursing drew my attention and I looked around, spotting three men illuminated by a streetlight across the street. All three looked shabby and turned in my direction before breaking down a nearby alley.
"Oh, for th-" I began, then raised my voice in what I hoped was a stern command. "Stop!"
They didn't. Of course they didn't.
I glanced at the building beside the alley they had gone down. I let my precognition turn on and took off at a run. A few steps and I jumped, using my telekinesis to propel myself forward and up onto the roof of the building. I stumbled a bit, but kept standing and I almost cheered, before taking off in pursuit as I saw where they were going. A van parked two blocks away, the sliding door open for easy entry. One other person inside, looking bored in the driver's seat.
I couldn't let them reach the van and I saw a way to block them as another tk-fueled jump carried me to across to another rooftop. I had managed to get ahead of them, just. Now if I could…
The dumpster near the opening of the alleyway that they were angling for wrenched sideways abruptly, blocking the opening with a thud. Cries of dismay sounded from the men and I backtracked a bit, dropping to the ground so that they were caught between me and the dumpster.
I eyed them for a moment. There was less light here, so I couldn't make out too many details, but one of them was clutching a bag close to his chest. Something valuable, I guessed. Maybe drugs?
"Fucking cape," one of them said boldly. "We weren't doing nothin'!"
"Then why did you run?" I asked, alert for them to try anything. The speaker moved first, charging at me with a short club he had been concealing. I used my telekinesis and hooked it like a rope around one of his feet, sending him sprawling awkwardly. He got up quickly, though, as the second one snatched up a broken bottle from the trash in the alley and waved it menacingly.
It wasn't necessary, but I found it easiest to use a gesture as a guide and I did so, shoving him against the wall shoulder first. The bottle fell from his hand and shattered to pieces on the pavement. Another movement and I shoved his jacket down his arms, twisting the sleeves with my power. It took a moment to knot them together and with it still zipped in front, he, at least, was caught.
The first one had produced a sharpened piece of metal that was fixed to some wood with what I thought was a leather cord. He yelled something I couldn't make sense of and charged again. I shoved him back and yanked the makeshift knife free from his hand, sending it skittering off behind me.
"I'm guessing those are drugs," I said, looking at the third man and ripping the bag away from him. I let it land off to one side of the dumpster as I focused on quickly weaving his shoelaces together tightly. When he started to run, he pitched forward. I saw the glint of his belt buckle at his waist and pulled the belt free, snapping it around the other man's wrists and tightening it. Another moment and I nudged all three against the wall away from the bag.
They were secured and I was confident they weren't going to be getting away, so I crouched down to check the bag, letting my precog go for the moment. The alleyway was blocked and they were subdued.
"Looks like I was right," I said, eyeing the mix of cash and plastic bags containing what I was sure were drugs. Cocaine, maybe? Something else? I didn't know what the popular drugs were now and I was pretty sure there was a cape out there who made drugs as his cape power.
I used my telekinesis to zip the bag closed and stood. "Well, if I were a police officer, I'd read you your rights, but I guess I'll just let them do that, since you guys aren't going anywhere." One of them swore at me to do something that I wasn't even sure was physically possible and I just shook my head, reaching into my jacket's inner pocket for the cell phone I had there.
The heavy plastic lid of the dumpster shook and I felt my precognition flare up, giving me a view of what was about to happen a half-second before it did. The fourth man from the van slammed into me, driving me against the wall. The back of my head cracked against it and I saw stars as my phone skidded across the pavement out of reach.
I squeezed my eyes shut as he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall again, though I avoided hitting my head a second time.
"Fucking bitch," he snarled and dropped me, a kick aimed at my side. The costume worked as I had hoped and absorbed most of it, but the air fled my lungs nonetheless. I had to get some distance between me and them!
"Get…away!" I shouted, throwing up my hands as he reached for me again. My telekinesis surged outward in every direction, shoving the man back into the other three. I heard a screeching, then a loud thud and screeching metal. The wall behind me even gave against my back.
Gasping for breath, I pushed my feet around, trying to stand, though they didn't want to cooperate. The guy was stirring and I saw he was going to get to his feet first. My foresight saw him reaching for me… and then he was gone.
"Wha-" I began, confused as he stood and then something blurred across my vision, almost too fast for me to see. The Merchant was laying in a heap halfway down the alley and there was a figure half crouched there, arm outstretched for a punch. She had a cape covering one shoulder, and a white dress that shone even in the dimly lit alley way. A tiara with spikes radiating from it was visible nestled in her blonde hair as she straightened, her back to me.
Glory Girl. One of New Wave's second generation.
"Well, that was fun," she said in a voice that I was certain I knew. "Worthless trash." Her arms moved in a way that suggested she was dusting them off before she turned around and walked toward me. The three men had recovered, and were trying to push themselves against the way or scramble away from her. She knelt and flicked her finger at each in turn, apparently knocking them out while I fumbled around and found my phone, which had survived the fall with only a few scratches.
"As for you, nice to see another girl out doing this" she said, leaning down and the light from the street came across her face. "Are you hurt?"
It was a face I knew well and I blinked several times, my head still pounding from when I had hit the wall. What was… why was she… Her hand caught mine in a firm grip and she helped me to my feet.
"V-Vicky?" I stammered, not quite sure that what I was seeing was real. Vicky was… Glory Girl? Oh. Of course. Vicky was short for Victoria. As in Victoria Dallon. How the hell had I missed that?
Her expression dimmed and she let go of my hand to cross her arms. "That is my name, but I don't think we've been introduced for you to be using my name…" She peered at me for a moment and her eyes widened in realization. "That jacket… Taylor?!"
My first night out and I've already blown my identity. Wonderful.
~~~~~~~~
Victoria Dallon sighed mentally as the police packed the men into their car. Nearby, trying so hard to not look like a deer caught in the headlights, Taylor stood, giving a statement to the police. Taylor, the girl she had met at the mall was a cape. Dean had told her that there was suspicion that she was but they didn't have proof.
But now she did and she closed her eyes, frustrated. No. She had proof, but this was Taylor's secret. She didn't have the right to tell Dean anymore than she had the right to tell Taylor that Dean was a cape. Not everyone subscribed to New Wave's philosophy and as much as she sometimes wished they did, she knew quite well that the idea of openly admitting to being a cape brought its own set of problems.
Sighing again, she moved over to where the police officer was talking to Taylor, the conversation becoming clearer as she got closer.
"Alright, I think that's almost everything I need," he said, looking down at his paperwork. "Just one thing. What name would you like listed here?"
"I hadn't picked one yet, actually" Taylor admitted, clearly caught off guard by the question. Vicky looked her over, her eyes fixing for a moment on the emblem just below her throat and she grinned as an idea struck her. It looked somewhat like the bird symbols she had seen when studying Central and South American history, only more stylized. What had the name been… Oh. Something unpronounceable, she remembered and wracked her brain for something else.
"It's her first night out," Glory Girl said, drawing their attention. "So, go easy on her, Terry. How about Sirin?"
"That's… Russian," she saw Taylor frown, mulling it over. "That can do for now."
The officer smiled and tipped his cap in the newly christened cape's direction. "Well, she's in good company. Good showing for a first night out, Sirin."
"Thank you," Taylor said almost inaudibly, clearly overwhelmed.
"Do you need a lift anywhere?" Vicky asked as the police officer moved away. Taylor, or rather, Sirin, shook her head as the question sunk in.
"Oh, no, I can travel on my own," She pushed away from the wall and then slowly rose from the ground. Vicky felt her grin return as she watched the girl rise to the level of the roof and then step onto it. Shifting her legs, Glory Girl took flight and was on the roof as well, or hovering above it rotating in a lazy circle around Taylor.
"So, you're a cape," she said as the other girl stared at her with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her lower lip jutting out slightly in what was clearly a pout. "This is the first ti-"
She cut off as Vicky looped around, hovering upside down in front of her friend. "Taylor, I'd recognize the the very expensive coat I bought you anywhere."
"Dean bought, you mean," was the correction and then she realized what she had said and sighed. "Fine. Would you believe I didn't even connect Vicky the girl I talked fashion with to Glory Girl until I saw you in costume?"
"Wait, what?" Glory Girl squawked as Taylor stepped around her and took a leap across to the next roof, moving at a pretty steady clip. She corrected her position and flew after the other girl. "How could you not? I'm kind of famous, you know?"
"You never gave your last name and I had a lot on my mind," she answered with a shrug as they crossed several more rooftops. "And anyway, now that I think about it, I should have known, but whatever. I didn't make friends with Glory Girl. I made friends with a girl named Vicky."
Glory Girl slowed down a bit, digesting that before speeding up. "You know I'm Glory Girl, right?"
"Now, yes," Taylor asked as if it were obvious then she looked away for a second. "But I didn't keep your number and call you to hang out because of that."
"Oh, please" Vicky said, waving a hand absently. "I didn't think that at all. I did think it strange that you didn't seem to have the same amount of awe at meeting a local celebrity that others have, though…"
"You've got some sort of aura, right?" she asked, frowning. "I guess I'm immune? I thought I'd figured out my powers but…"
"You got them back in January, right?" Vicky asked, turning in a corkscrew as she flew alongside Taylor, whose expression darkened in response to the question.
"If you must know, yes," she said with a grunt as she landed on the next roof. "I'd prefer not to talk about it."
Coming to a halt, Glory Girl thought of something. "Wait... was the giant bird your doing?"
"No," she answered. "I can't do anything with fire that I've been able to tell."
"Ah, geez," Vicky said, frowning. "And I gave you a bird themed name. They might still try connecting that to cape-you."
Taylor shrugged, but gave no other obvious physical indication of her mood. "I can't do fire, so I'm not worried about that too much. Don't worry about it, Vicky."
"If you're sure…" Vicky said, then frowned. "You looked like you got rocked pretty hard back there. Are you sure you're okay? I can get my sister to patch you up…"
"I'm alright, I think," Taylor replied. "It didn't do much more than make me see stars for a few. Might have been bad if you hadn't shown up."
"I doubt it," Glory Girl contradicted. "You put that dumpster all the way out in the middle of the street, so I think you'd have handled them without my help. Was that just strength or…?"
"Telekinesis," she said after a moment. "I've been practicing with it for a while now. It's how I'm doing this." She launched across to another roof as Vicky kept pace easily.
"Really?" She made another lazy loop around Taylor, almost giggling at the irritated look the other girl threw her. "Tell you what, race you to Captain's Hill."
Taylor eyed her. "I can't fly properly yet, so that isn't even fair."
"Yet?" Glory Girl grinned. "You've tried?"
"I tried once," she admitted. "It isn't as easy as it seems."
"What, you just will yourself in the direction you want to go and then go? That's what I do." Vicky said.
Taylor looked over at her. "No. I use my power to lift and move forward. It's… like moving in a car, but there's no car. I tried, but I don't have a lot of room to practic- Hey!" She dodged out of the way of the half-hearted swat Glory Girl aimed her way.
"We're out at night, there's no one around. All the practice you could want," she explained.
"And if I screw up and fall?" Taylor asked.
"Then I'll catch you," Glory Girl said, then grinned, adding challenge to her voice. "Come on, Sirin, time to learn to fly."
Something sparked in her friend's eyes and a steely note echoed in her voice. "You're on. Try and keep up." She took a step and rocketed away, the roof's surface cratering slightly from her launching herself into the air. Glory Girl watched her soar off, then smirked as it turned into sort of helpless flopping as she began to arc toward the ground. Cheering, she let the wind ruffle her hair and launched forward to keep the rookie from hurting herself.
~~~~~~~~
"The biggest thing is to keep aware of how fast you're moving," Glory Girl said as we sat on the edge of the concrete wall that guarded pedestrians against falling down the sheer hillside. "You have to give that a lot more attention than I do since I just will myself to go and stop. Using your car metaphor, if you stop too abruptly, you could go flying as your car comes to a halt. Or worse, you try to but don't. Whiplash can be nasty." She pulled one leg up, holding it in place with her hands at her knee.
"I would say you might try less controlling your own body and more on just focusing to fly and shifting for control. Flying is actually really easy, but if you're overthinking it, you might be making it harder than you need to." she finished.
"I'll keep that in mind," I said with a wry grin, stretching my arms above my head. "I should probably get home though before it gets any later."
"Yeah, me too," Vicky said. "Mom gets all disapproving if I'm out too late, not to mention my sister worries." She pushed away from the wall with her hips and floated in the air. "Give me a call whenever you want someone to hang out with while doing this!" She twisted and then rocketed off with a wave.
I stretched my arms again and pushed off as well, moving at a much slower pace toward home. I made it there in minutes versus the half hour it would have taken on foot and slipped in through the window I had left open after checking that all the lights were out on the houses around us. A telekinetic push and the window closed behind me.
After I changed out of my costume and examined it for any signs of anything that might need repair, I relaxed a little. There was some cleaning that needed done, but no seams had burst that I could tell and nothing had torn. I tucked it away in a hiding place in my room and quietly went downstairs. Dad's door was partially ajar and I could hear him snoring, so I took care to make as little noise as I could, even floating so that none of the steps squeaked.
A sandwich and something to drink eased the hunger that all my running had worked up and I grabbed a blanket. If I kept the volume low, I could watch a cheesy movie or two, feeling too wired to sleep. I stretched out on the couch and reached for the remote, beginning to flip through channels.
The next thing I knew, there was someone knocking loudly at the door and nearly fell onto the floor as I tried to untangle from the blankets. I glanced the nearest clock. Nine am. Why hadn't dad answered the door? Was he still asleep?
The insistent pounding sounded again and I crossed toward the door, carefully working my fingers through my hair to untangle it. When I peeked through the curtains on either side of the door, I felt any vestiges of sleep flee.
"Mr. Barnes," I said as politely as I could when I opened the door. "I'm sorry, I don't think my dad's up yet." He blinked and it took a moment before he said anything, like he didn't recognize me. I took a moment and looked him over quickly, noting that his suit looked rumpled and his eyes were slightly bloodshot, like he hadn't slept in a while.
"Taylor?" he asked. "I… is Emma here?"
What.
"No…" I said slowly. "Emma and I haven't exactly been friends for a while now."
His expression crumpled and he took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, thank you…"
"What's wrong?" I asked, halting him in the act of turning away. "Why would you look for Emma here?"
"She snuck out sometime yesterday," he said after a moment. "I don't know when, but I've been out looking for her since. I've tried everywhere I can think of… this was a long shot, but I had to try."
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Barnes, but the last time I saw Emma was earlier in the week. Thursday, I think. Maybe Friday, but that was at a distance." He nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the floor of our porch.
"I need to keep looking," he murmured. "If you hear from her, I know it's unlikely, could you let me know, please?"
I took a deep breath. "Mr. Barnes, I don't know how much you're aware of, but given the way things have been between us, I'm the last person Emma would run to. Even if she did come here… I can't say I wouldn't slam the door in her face."
I had his attention now but I couldn't tell what he was thinking and I was reluctant to try and see what he was thinking. Just standing this close had me wanting to back up, his worry for Emma was that strong.
"I know," he murmured. "After I talked to that teacher, I sat down with Emma for a very long talk. I didn't want to come here because apologies from me for what my daughter's done are more or less meaningless. For what it's worth, though, I am sorry for what she did."
I blinked, stunned at his words. When I didn't speak, he nodded and made a gesture that was a half-wave. "Take care of yourself, Taylor. Don't worry Danny by running off without a word, okay?"
"Mr. Barnes," my voice stopped him halfway to the sidewalk. I couldn't believe what I was about to say. "If you'll give me a moment and I'll help you look for her. There's some places I know that she used to like. Maybe she's there?"
I wanted to cringe at how relieved he look at my offer even as I held back that if she was there, I doubted her reaction to seeing me was going to be a positive one. "I just have to change and leave a note for my dad."
I was halfway through the note when it hit me that I didn't need to physically search.
Where can I find Emma Barnes? The thought triggered something and I felt it stretch out. I had found that I retained what each person felt like to my telepathy and I could see, for lack of a better word, more people than I could easily count slipped past my awareness.
There.
Nestled amid a lot of other people, I found Emma, with several other people immediately around her and others nearby. Almost spaced evenly apart, if I understood what I was feeling right. Rooms, maybe? I couldn't physically see, so it was more like a layout of lights, each one representing a person.
I looked around, trying to get some idea of where this was from just what I could see in my mind. I saw several people gathered around another, whose light abruptly went out and the colors of the people's lights changed in response.
A hospital. It had to be.
The pen fell from my hands and I left it there, turning toward the front door. Mr. Barnes was on the porch still and I grabbed my shoes, wondering how to tell him that.
He was staring at his phone when I came outside and from the look on his face, I realized I didn't have to.
"That was.." he began, but trailed off as if he couldn't form words.
"Come on, Mr. Barnes," I said gently. "Let's go to the hospital."
* * *
Mr. Barnes was talking to the doctors in the hallway, who had led him outside of the room. From what I had overheard, she had been near ABB territory and been attacked. They weren't entirely sure what had happened as she had come in unconscious and hadn't woken up yet. The location they mentioned her being near seemed to mean something to him, but I didn't know of any places she used to hang out at near there.
I watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, then looked at the medical equipment around the room before coming back to Emma. Her face was a motley mix of purple and her green, bruises dotting it and one eye swollen shut.
The equipment beeped steadily, indicating that she had a steady heartbeat, so that was good, at least.
"What the hell were you thinking?" I muttered. "I wanted you to stop, but why would you do whatever caused this?" I didn't know how to feel, seeing her like this. The events of a few weeks ago had basically wrecked her social standing but I couldn't understand what had driven her to this.
I exhaled, looking around the room. Damnit. I didn't care about her, about this. She had chosen to turn on me, to torment me. I should be glad she was like this. It was only fair, right? She wrecked my life and that came back on her. But I just felt unhappy at seeing this, not even a trace of any sort of happiness. Not even the vindictive, spiteful kind that she had all those times she had tried to tear me down.
"Damnit, Emma," I muttered again, blinking several times to ease the sudden stinging in my eyes. I was not going to cry over this, over her.
A hand brushed mine and I almost jumped as too-warm fingers closed around mine. Emma's not swollen eye was open, squinting at me. Her fingers squeezed for a second.
"Tuh-Taylor?" she said, the words slurred and confused.
"Yeah, it's me, Ems," I said, the nickname coming out of an old habit that had fallen to disuse.
"I'm suh-sorry," her hand squeezed mine again before going limp as her eye closed. I stared for a moment, unsure how to respond. A glance at the monitors showed a steady heartrate, so the momentary spike of panic faded quickly.
"Me too, Ems," I said after a moment, giving her hand a squeeze in return. She didn't react, unconscious or asleep again and I turned to leave the room. "I wish I knew for sure that you were as well."
The doctor was walking away when I came out and I glanced toward Mr. Barnes, who approached quickly.
"The doctor said the report they had gotten from the police was that she tried to stop some gang members from mugging someone," he explained. "There were too many of them though."
"She woke up for a moment," I told him when he paused. "You should go be there when she wakes up again."
"Did she say anything?" he asked, glancing toward the half-closed door.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Her eye opened and she moved her hand for a moment, then she was out again."
"I called my wife," he said. "She's on the way with Emma's sister. I… Thank you for sitting with her while I was talking to the Doctor, Taylor. I can give you a ride home once they're here..."
"Just take care of her, Mr. Barnes," I said. "Go on. I can catch the bus home." The relief on his face was staggering and he gave my shoulder a squeeze before heading into the room where Emma was.
I stared at the door for a moment before starting down the hall toward the elevators. I needed to get away from here. The sound like water in the back of my mind gurgled and moaned painfully, the thoughts of everyone around me almost like a pressure against my own thoughts. There, a cluster of people radiating grief, another projecting disbelief.
I brushed past a girl or woman in a white outfit and muttered an apology from almost crashing into her before ducking into the elevator. I remembered the signing that promised I would go to with Catherine and Minako with a frown. I could flake on them, as I wasn't in the mood for that now. The elevator dinged and I made a beeline for the exit, my decision made. I needed something happy right now and that might just be it.
--
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chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
This one was fun. I tried to ameliorate the mood whiplash, thought it does turn somber toward the end.
No, she isn't dead, though I was tempted, but decided it was too cheap. Likely her last showing in here unless I get some amazing inspiration for something to do with her. Which is unlikely. Emma isn't ultimately germane to the story.
No, she isn't dead, though I was tempted, but decided it was too cheap. Likely her last showing in here unless I get some amazing inspiration for something to do with her. Which is unlikely. Emma isn't ultimately germane to the story.
VolantRedX
Official Conscience of Worm Fanfiction!
She was trying to figure things out and saw a mugging and maybe more so she tried to step up the way Sophia did. I'm also going to believe that she was only beaten and nothing more.
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- Location
- Internet
Dude, the last time her world was rocked as hard as it was, she committed suicide. She has issues comparable to Amy's. Except, you know, not n worrying about turning evil and having apocalypse-class superpowers.
The fact that she went out and tried to be Sophia is leagues better then that.
notmi
Super Koala God Super Koala
Has Taylor's Telekinetic shield been completely retconned out? If it has, you may want to go back to chapter whatever, 3 or 4, and remove the section that mentions it.
Also, I don't know why, but at the beginning of the chapter, I thought Colin had used a time machine and gone 15 hours into the past after experiencing a "buster machine destroys the eastern seaboard" situation. It was only after I was about 10 paragraphs in that that I started to get confused and went back to re-read the beginning.
Also, I don't know why, but at the beginning of the chapter, I thought Colin had used a time machine and gone 15 hours into the past after experiencing a "buster machine destroys the eastern seaboard" situation. It was only after I was about 10 paragraphs in that that I started to get confused and went back to re-read the beginning.
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
Well, he kind of did time travel, ish.
As to the tk shield, I do have to go back and make some adjustments for that because I simply keep forgetting about it
Sounds like my roleplaying group. Half the time when playing superheroes they forget they have powers other than "fist"
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
Sounds like my roleplaying group. Half the time when playing superheroes they forget they have powers other than "fist"
Oh man, I did a Shadowrun group once and we had people who believed in things other than fist.... and we also had a mage who thought it was a good idea to use compulsion on a person to stop eating in a restaurant for overweight people... that turned into an absolute mess because the guards attacked us. -_-
VolantRedX
Official Conscience of Worm Fanfiction!
I had a D&D session where we tried to pull the fake prisoner trick but the guy playing the guard got nervous and forgot the "fake" part. Which meant we had someone on our side just go ahead and hand us over to the bad guy and leave.
Concur, so much.
The same thing happened to me.
The first mage in my old Shadowrun group's main thing was zombies.
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
She did indeed pass Amy there.
Yeah. I tweaked it a bit from what I first put down. In the first version, Armsmaster became HandyMan and I decided that was dumb and I should never name anything ever and made him into Weaponsmith. That sounded suitably heroic.
And because it's hipster to hate on Fifty Shades of Grey... I instead chose to hate on Twilight. Sort of. Just to be a rebel.
As to mind reading. oh, when she starts actively doing that, what fun there will be.
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
I didn't have one of those... but we had our face/pickpocket try to con a security guard... and fail at that, so he tried to pickpocket his badge off him... only to critically fail his rolls and get caught trying to lift it off the front of the man's coat. -_- He was bad at building his characters.
OverReactionGuy
Verified Sanity
Could it be?! The rare story that actually tries to redeem Emma?!
Overall nice chapter, love Armsmaster taking no shit from Blackwell.
And man Taylor, if it isn't taking on Lung your first night, it is outing yourself.
-edit-
Also, Casey Jones becomes a badass in the worm universe.
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
To address concerns about the first, Emma was not raped.
The second, well, traveling across time zones technically qualifies as time travel, right?
To the third... no zombies, but I got denied when I wanted to play a Bug Shaman. :/
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
I wanted to at least have closure as relates to Emma.
Armsy and Blackwell. Well, he was taking insult lessons from Skeletor, because when you need a good insult, he's your man.
Have a cookie for spotting Casey Jones.