Remove ads

Firebird, a Worm AU/Xover?

Reader mode
VolantRedX said:
For a second I thought you were going to just throw in all the cracky fan theories you could think of.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Nah. I briefly contemplated it and wished I'd thought to do it yesterday, but oh well. Then it stuck in my head and I had to exorcise it.

And it isn't so much a cracky fan theory as it is something even Taylor had nightmares about.
 
Taylor: "Why did you kidnap that Dinah girl?"

Coil: "Because my own daughter kept sneaking out at night!"
 
chibipoe said:
A teaser. Totally not late or anything.

Danny Hebert stared at the row of monitors, each tracking the activity of the same specific individual. She had been going out at night and he had missed it completely. But thanks to Armsmaster's efforts, he now knew for certain that she had triggered and Armsmaster was none the wiser of who he had been dealing with. The information Lisa had provided, along with what he knew had given him enough of an edge to properly track her comings and goings.

There was simply the matter of bringing her to heel. And he had a variety of methods to do so. Whatever it took, her abilities would be his alone to make use of. He was, after all, Coil, and he always got what he wanted.

April Fool's!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I almost wish this were true.
 
If you're going to do an April fools joke, please do it on April fools. Gah... you nearly made me fall out of my chair when I was reading this.
 
I remember when reading Worm for the first time I was utterly convinced that Danny was, in fact, Coil, and that it would be the ultimate twist when they all found out.
 
Amberion said:
I remember when reading Worm for the first time I was utterly convinced that Danny was, in fact, Coil, and that it would be the ultimate twist when they all found out.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It would still be a twist if somebody used it seriously in a fic. Only one I've seen flirt with it was Atonement, and that only flirted with the idea before it all turned out to be a misdirection.

Although Danny as Coil would really have radically different motivations, goals and methods than Calvert as Coil. I'm sure it'd be pretty interesting working out the differences somewhere.
 
I always thought of villain!Danny as being more of an old school mob boss or enforcer with powers. He is rather invested in the union, after all...
 
Amberion said:
I remember when reading Worm for the first time I was utterly convinced that Danny was, in fact, Coil, and that it would be the ultimate twist when they all found out.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
What'd be interesting is that Lisa would know who Danny was and thus who Taylor was which paints their relationship in a new light. On top of that Danny's greatest dream was to see Brockton Bay thrive again, and that was always Coil's stated goal.
 
Wow, people are giving up the story because of an April foolz joke? Damn, would have been a good one if it was posted on the right day then.:D
 
Damn it! I was kind of hoping you were serious; the moment I read the scene in cannon, I immediately thought, "Okay, someone is definitely going to write a fic about this... and it will be glorious."

Of course, it wouldn't really work in this story, nor do I believe Danny would act the way you portrayed him in the snippet (he seemed like Thomas Calvert in name only).

Damn you and your sneaky ways that make me want you to start writing another fic! :mad:.... :(........ :cry:

Any actual teasers for us? ;)
 
First thought: Well... We've already got Madison as Browbeat, so sure, why not?
Second thought: But he said 'late' so it's probably just a joke.

I'm kind of disappointed :p
 
Remove ads
Dreaming - 2.4
  • Threadmarks
    • 2.4

    Catherine's house sat at the end of a cul-de-sac, with a roundabout in front for ease of someone turning around. It was a single level building and the grounds were well-kept, with a large yard and plenty of space. It was a nice, if a bit secluded home I noted as I followed Catherine and Minako, who were following Catherine's mother, Leanna, toward the front door.

    "Taylor, my dad, dad, Taylor," Catherine said airily at the man working in a flower garden lining the walkway. "We're going to hang out in my room with Minako for a bit!"

    "Be sure you finish your homework before dinner," he said while loosening dirt around a flower, then looked up, smiling at me. "And it's nice to meet you, Taylor. I'd offer to shake hands, but they're a bit dirty, as you can see."

    "Thank you, sir," I said, nodding in reply. Catherine had said he was some sort of military, hadn't she? The man had hair similar in color to his daughter's, though cropped fairly short, and piercing blue eyes. He was also quite fit and I ducked away from his gaze quickly, hoping the flush to my cheeks wasn't visible.

    Catherine didn't appear to notice as I followed her and Minako into the house, pausing only long enough that Minako slipped her shoes off before stepping far past the front door. I admired the house's decorations as we made our way toward what I assumed was Catherine's room. Both her and Minako seemed nervous, though with Minako, it was hard to tell from looking, but I could feel it.

    That Minako was nervous made me curious. There were all sorts of rumors about the two that hadn't quite died out from an attempt Emma had made to drive them away from me after Sophia had been ousted. Being able to feel their nervousness grow as we got further down the hall had me recalling those and wondering if Emma had spread rumors that two were a couple might be true. They were together an awful lot, after all.

    I shook my head. No, I'd never gotten that sort of feeling from them, either toward each other or toward me. Very close friendship that could be mistaken for romance, I suppose, but I'd gotten pretty adept at telling the difference between the two and other emotions during the day while at school.

    Catherine's bedroom was large, with the bed sitting against a wall painted in black & white to resemble bricks. Near it was a small table and a chair and a large space that I thought was a closet, but also provided support for an upper level that looked like it had a desk and television up there. There were two other chairs on the ground level and I took one, glancing at the pattern on the rug curiously.

    "So," Catherine said, closing the door and walking toward the bed and plopping down on it. "Minako and I actually have something we need to tell you."

    I blinked at the serious tone. Had I misjudged thinking they weren't a couple? I held out my hands to interrupt. "Look, I don't have any problems with who you want to be with. It isn't for me, but I don't judge just because you like girls."

    "Wait, what?" Catherine blinked and Minako was giving me a very odd look. "Oh, those rumors… you think we're together?" She looked at her friend. "Are we together? Was there a memo I missed?"

    "It seems so," she cleared her throat. "While those rumors were not entirely untrue, Catherine and I are not a couple. We do, however, have something important to tell you. It is only fair, given that we know a secret of yours."

    A secret of mine? "Um… I'm confused now…" I looked between them, trying to make sense of what they were saying. "I wasn't aware I had given away any secrets to you two that would warrant you have to share one with me…"

    "Well, not today," Catherine said, dropping to the floor and pulling a rectangular container from beneath her bed. It was some sort of military issue and she fished out a key from around her neck while Minako did likewise, popping open the two locks. "This was actually Saturday night."

    I frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. You guys went home after ice cream…"A thought occurred to me and my frown grew. "Explain."

    They exchanged a look before Catherine raised the lid of the box. The angle she had pulled it out at meant I couldn't see what was in it. Neither said anything for a moment and I could feel tension building around them.

    "We spent most of yesterday discussing about this," Minako said finally. "We came to the conclusion that it wasn't fair to keep this from you when we learned your secret."

    I felt cold as the certainty of what they were referring to sunk in. "Seriously? Does everyone fucking know this? Is there a sign above my head that I can't see that gives this away? How did you eve-" I let the word die on my lips. They had said last night.

    "You two are Hanabi and Rockshow," I said dully. Minako inclined her head and Catherine nodded with a grin, shifting the box around to show the neatly folded costumes and wings that I had last seen being worn by the two capes. I fell back against the chair, unable to form a reply. They said they had found out saturday night, but the last few days had left me unsure how to take anything. First Vicky, which had been as much my fault as anything, then that entire mess earlier today with Armsmaster and my dad…

    I pushed thought of that aside, unwilling to think about that right now. They knew I was Sirin.

    "Why are you telling me that you're Hanabi and Rockshow?" I asked quietly, staring at my hands.

    "Well, we figured out it was you the other night," Catherine said. "Your costume… it's nice, but kind of only effective if someone doesn't already know you."

    "It is, however, a very well-made costume," Minako chimed in. "But yes, we did recognize you quickly."

    For a moment, I didn't know what to think. My mind shut down, I went silent, and the facts filtered in. My costume was nice. Nice enough that everyone that knew me could apparently take one look at me and just know who I was with utter confidence. A total, abject failure in it's intended purpose so far. Two for two even! Three for three if I counted Armsmaster and my father.

    I actually laughed out loud at that, not noticing the worried looks I drew from Catherine and Minako. Or was it Rockshow and Hanabi? What was the proper etiquette here?

    Was this going to be a repeat performance again? First Victoria, who was Glory Girl. Or was the first Sophia? Then Singer and now Minako and Catherine who were my friends and they hid this from me because they were just lik-

    I felt something snap inside as soothing, skin-scorching heat filled me from within with a mix of calm and purifying rage.

    "Taylor… are you okay…?" Catherine began, trailing off as I looked in her direction. Her face went white and one arm twitched slightly in the direction of the case.

    "Am I okay?" I repeated, the words uneven and almost hysterical, even to my ears. "First, I go out and blow my secret identity within minutes of meeting another cape. Then I meet you two and you figure it out and don't say anything, just let me waltz off looking like an idiot. I bet you had a good laugh after I was gone, right?"

    "We did no-" Minako started to say.

    "And then," I raised my voice to drown her out. "Then I get to school and guess what? I get called into a meeting with Armsmaster and my father, who has been helpfully told I'm a cape. Apparently, the Protectorate knows too and I didn't even meet any of them on either of my nights out! Thanks to him, my dad knows and he left me there after I yelled at him. I'm batting zero and 3 right now for keeping my identity secret, my dad probably hates me for what I said to him and you two want… whatever it is you want out of telling me this. So you tell me if you think i'm okay?"

    Catherine and Minako exchanged looks and Minako hesitantly spoke. "Taylor… it might be best to-"

    "To what?" I interrupted again. "Let you give me your pitch? That's why you brought me over here, right? The same thing Armsmaster wanted? To recruit me? It's funny. The locker happens and I get powers and suddenly everyone is wanting to be my friend. Victoria. You two. Hell, Madison fucking Clements has even tried to be friendly. Was I just worthless before I got powers? Why didn't anyone do anything before that?"

    "We weren't here for that, Taylor," Catherine said. "You know that!"

    "Do I?" I retorted. "It isn't like anyone talked to me before then. But out of the blue, both of you do. And you're both capes! Never even seen a cape before then face to face and now they're popping out of the woodwork each time I turn around and I find out that I don't want them there. Was sitting down with me just for this? You said you found out Saturday, but how am I supposed to believe that?" This was insane. Them telling me this, the meeting earlier. All of it. Just insane.

    "Taylor," Minako said, calmly, carefully. I could feel the eggshells she was walking on. "Your meeting today. You said it was with Armsmaster and your father? It has clearly upset you. Talking about it does help. If you wish, we will listen."

    "No," I cut her off. "That's all anyone's done today. Talked to or about me. I've had enough of that. And strangely enough, none of it is anything I want to hear. Armsmaster at least could say he was worried with a straight-face. But here? I have no clue. And I don't think I want to have one at all." I grabbed my backpack and slung it over a shoulder, storming out of the room. I didn't care that if I wanted to, I could reach and find out for myself. To be honest, the last thing I wanted was know what they were thinking.

    "Taylor!" Catherine called, coming out of the room after me. "Wait, please. This isn't…"

    I stopped. Stopped, and pushed the fires down. I tried to think of the moments with them before now, and was able to slowly grind out a response. "Catherine. Whatever it is, it isn't happening right now. I'm leaving. Maybe we'll talk tomorrow, but right now, I'm leaving before I do something we'll both regret."

    "Okay…" she trailed off and I felt Minako's presence in the hallway behind me as well.

    "Go," she said. "Perhaps tomorrow we will talk. And, Taylor? Our apologies. It was not our intent to upset you to this degree."

    I didn't verbally reply, but I waved a hand at them before I headed straight for the front door, not stopping when their mother called out, asking if everything was alright. Their dad was still working the garden and he looked up as I started down the paved path.

    "Leaving already?" he asked, frowning at me. "Is everything alright?"

    I laughed bitterly and shook my head as I walked past him. "It really isn't." I tapped my foresight, looking for a place that was close by that I could take off from. I didn't have my costume, but if anything had sunk to rock bottom over the past few days, it was the worth of my costume at concealing who I was.

    "Do you need a ride home, Taylor?" her dad called, his voice a mix of concern and confusion. There was something else as well, something flowing from his mind that I didn't bother trying to identify.

    "I'll take the bus, thanks," I said and kept going as my precognition let me chart a path to an alley that ran behind an abandoned church with nothing but trees on one side. I felt my lips quirk slightly as I thought of my power. I could see the future. But was the point? I'd used it for little stuff like with the gambling to get money for materials for my costume. Beyond that, how did I know when it was best to use it beyond fights? I had already found that things shifted too much for long range viewing most of the time.

    I slipped into the alleyway and found myself at the spot where I was certain there was no one to see me. I adjusted the straps of my backpack and thought about Vicky's lessons on flying. A moment later and I was high above the ground, far enough up that anyone below was nothing more than a speck to me, and me to them. I looked out across the city, staring off in the direction that I knew home to be.

    A moment of contemplation and I turned away, frustrated. I didn't want to go home to what was sure to be either an argument or Dad just passively doing nothing but staring at me with no clue what to say or do. I didn't care enough to use my precog to find out which it would be. I wanted to take out my frustrations on something that wouldn't talk back, plead with me, or try to convince me it was thinking about my welfare.

    The Boat Graveyard.

    Even from where I was hanging, I could see it. There would be plenty of things there I could smash and no one was likely to notice. Heat flooded me for a moment, the way it had when I had lost my temper in Catherine's room and I tilted forward and took off like a rocket. The hesitant, almost uneven flight I had gotten the hang of was replaced with a smooth motion like the way Glory Girl flew. Much faster than before, too.

    Was this because I was angry? Did anger make my powers stronger? Why was I flying so easily now? Frustration and confusion bubbled over my anger for a moment and I just mindlessly laughed into the wind. Fantastic. Bad days make me stronger! Maybe if I had a really bad one I could actually solve somebody's problems. Cause I couldn't seem to fix mine.

    I dropped onto one of the scuttled ships in the bay, glad that I had my jacket. The wind on the bay had a chill and the water splashed up onto the sides of ships, sending an icy-cold spray into the air that I could feel on my skin.

    A telekinetic shove and the railing beside me crumpled and then tore away with a loud clang. I ripped it into pieces that hovered there for a moment before launching them at the cabin of the ship I was on. Glass shattered and metal gave way under the force of my makeshift spears, but there was no comfort or satisfaction in the sounds of tormented metal.

    "Not good enough," I said, looking at the surface I was standing on. Frustration welled up as I thought of the meeting, of Armsmaster trying to convince me to be a Ward and telling my dad I was a cape.

    He had no right!

    I slammed my fist downward, surrounding it with telekinetic force. The metal caved inward, leaving a huge depression centered on my arm. I grinned and swung again, then again and again, until the metal bowed beyond its stress points creaking and moaning pitifully, splintering to reveal the dark interior of the wrecked ship.

    "And my dad!" I shouted. "He just stood there, taking Armsmaster's side and wondered why I didn't tell him anything!" I took two steps and propelled myself to another ship, my feet leaving impressions as I mimicked what I had done with my fist, only more tightly constrained.

    "Over a year!" I screamed. "An entire year and more! And you didn't notice! And you had the nerve to ask me why I didn't tell you!" I swung my arms until they ached, warping huge sections of the ships as I let my temper fly. Metal deformed and rent under my anger, but there was nothing in return. Just an empty feeling that fueled my frustrations.

    "Maybe if you had been there when I needed you, I wouldn't keep things from you!" The last ended on a hoarse note as I whirled, flinging my arm out in a punch at the bridge of this freighter. It was too far to actually hit, but I didn't let that stop me. The entire side of it caved inward, warping beyond anything I had done before as the sounds of rivets popping joined the sounds of destruction like gunshots.

    "Mom…" I continued in a softer voice. "Mom died and you just seemed to forget I even existed!" My voice rose again, hitting a near screech as I dug into the metal with my mind and simply started tearing it away in clumps.

    "You forgot I was there and then, someone tells you a story and suddenly, it's okay to demand to know things!" I snarled as the ship shook from what I was doing to it. It wasn't enough though. I needed to do something else, something more. Everything so far just didn't satisfy. Instead of venting, I could feel the fire and flames being stoked higher and higher in my chest. The heat surged, radiating outwards.

    My temper exploded fully as I thought of my dad's words in the meeting and the way he had stormed off and left me alone again. I screamed, but it wasn't words this time, just an angry incoherent sound that echoed strangely off the hulks, reaching an almost animalistic screech as I sheared the broken ship in two with a metallic death-knell.

    The heat reached a fever-pitch, and I could swear that I was burning up from the inside, similar to what I felt at Catherine's but so much stronger as crackling flame burst into life up and down my arms. For a moment, panic and fear set in as instincts demanded that I was indeed burning. Yet I felt calm. I was still angry, furious even. But the flames were comforting. Like slipping into a second skin I didn't know I missed. Looking closely, or as close as I could, the flames danced just above my clothing and skin leaving both untouched.

    "What…" I raised a hand and stared as the fire reacted, shifting in response to my movement and following my hand. "I have fire powers too…?"

    I threw my head back and laughed. Just what I needed. Now I could make this ship into a real wreck. I could feel the fire now, real and physical and not just inside me. Mercurial, burning, ready to consume. Yet it was like shaping clay as I compressed and focused it into a sphere that I flung it down the length of the deck, a feeling of satisfaction finally mine as I watched it explode in a plume of vaporised metal, throwing bits of heated slag around like rain. I called up another, watching it shift and the flames flare out in odd directions as I prepared to throw again.

    "This coincided with and ended when the pyrokinetic display expired." Armsmaster's words from the meeting dropped in to my thoughts and I flung the second fireball I had made away hastily, the anger that had been fueling me fading, replaced by realization as the flames around me winked out.

    "I have pyrokinesis..." I whispered, staring at the fires below as they also died out, albeit from a lack of fuel now that I was no longer maintaining them. Why? Why now? The memory and implications hit me and I shifted where I was floating, staring around at the completely ruined ship and the others I had damaged in shock. Several were mangled beyond recognition and those that were not had been wrecked long before I had lost my temper.

    "Fire powers…" I whispered to myself again. Another bout of laughter, more like a choked giggle, bubbled up. "Fantastic! Great even! Fire powers! Who wouldn't love fire powers? Not when they're tearing the city apart looking for anyone that has them!" I collapsed in on myself, curling into up into a ball in mid-air as I tried to fight the tell-tale sting in my eyes. But looking down, I didn't even bother.

    What I could see that I had done, however, was enough to banish the last of my temper. The ship I had torn in half and ripped chunks from had been a cargo freighter once, but now it was assorted piles of scrap and cooling metal. I stared at the wreck for a moment before I took a deep breath, uncurled, and launched skyward to get away from this.

    To just get away from everything.

    ~~~~~~~~​

    "Well, that seemed entirely pointless," Browbeat announced as the other Wards settled down in their meeting room. "Why did we even have to do that?"

    "I'm sure the boss had some reason," Clockblocker said nonchalantly. "But did anyone else notice that he bugged off while we were performing for the masses? He typically throws in the stoic cliche or two, but not even showing? That's new."

    "I'm sure it had something to do with why he's been off-duty the last while," Aegis said, not looking up from his laptop. "Probably above our pay grade, so I wouldn't worry about it. If we need to know, then we'll be told."

    "But that's boring," Clockblocker replied. "You aren't the least bit interested?"

    "No," Aegis answered. "Like I said, if we need to know, we'll be told. Why are you interested?"

    "Because I'm wondering why we got pulled out of classes just to go parade around in front of junior gang central," he complained. "I mean, Winslow's a crap hole, everyone knows that."

    "Is that a fact?" Browbeat asked, voice distinctly frosty.

    "Well, you could just go to Arcadia with the rest of us, you know," Clockblocker said, holding his hands up defensively.

    "Well, that's your choice," Browbeat snapped. "Mine is to go to Winslow. Also, it's my opinion that having all of us in one place is asking for someone to get cocky if someone guesses who we are anyways. Who wants to end up like that New Wave member after all? Flower, or whatever her name was?"

    "Fleur," Gallant said with a frown from across the room. "Her name was Fleur."

    "Yeah, her," Browbeat continued, waving a hand dismissively. "The point is, it isn't exactly a secret that the Wards go to Arcadia, just who they are. So anyone who wants to try and make a name for themselves knows right where to go and we'd be caught with our pants down."

    "What? No one would be crazy enough to attack Arcadia to get at us," Clockblocker protested. "Besides all the security, with all of us there we'll kick ass."

    "And how many students aren't capes?" Vista asked, looked up from something she was reading. "We don't have conveniently placed phone booths that we can change in. We'd be hindered a lot more than the other side if we ever got attacked there."

    "Either way, no one would attack the school like that because it would bring too much attention on them," Aegis chimed in again. "They'd have to be really backed into a corner to do something like that."

    "Fine, fine, gang up on me," Clockblocker said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Geez, no respect around here."

    "We're only ganging up on you for being dumb," Vista snarked, reaching over from across the room to smack him in the head. "Anyway, the schedule for tonight isn't up yet. Who wants first patrol?"

    "The schedule will be out shortly," Triumph interrupted, walking in with his helmet tucked under one arm. "Aegis will be with me, though. I have a lot of things to cover with him."

    "Wait, are you saying he's going to be your replacement when you trade up for the Protectorate?" Clockblocker asked, looking from Triumph to Aegis, who appeared stunned.

    "I didn't say that," Triumph rolled his eyes. "I just said I need to cover some things with hi-"

    "I'm taking first patrol," Vista said abruptly, dropping what she had been reading on the table and walking out of the room. Silence filled the room and Gallant sighed, standing and stretching.

    "I'll try talking to her," he said, giving an absent wave toward the others before following after her.

    "Be careful if you head near the boat graveyard," Triumph called. "There was some weird activity reported out there."

    "Sure, sure," Gallant called over his shoulder before the door closed.

    "Something at the graveyard?" Browbeat asked curiously.

    Triumph shrugged. "All I heard is a patrol car making the rounds reported a lot of noise. I heard someone from the Rig was going to take a look, but I bet it's probably nothing."

    "Oh well, it isn't like anyone really cares if someone goes out to that pile of scrap and starts trashing it," Clockblocker observed. "It's a bunch of wrecked ships that no one wants to bother with moving. Again, who really cares?"

    Triumph just shook his head. "Clockie, you're on monitor duty. Aegis, with me." He turned on his heel and started toward the exit, ignoring Clockblocker's protests about the shortening of his name. Aegis gave the others an apologetic shrug and followed after the Wards team leader.

    ~~~~~~~~​

    Emily Piggot grimaced and shifted in her seat, feeling the pain in her lower torso that came, went and would often return. A reminder that she could never get comfortable in the style of chairs used for the furnishings within this building. Or anywhere really. Looking over the papers in front of her, she wondered again why she continued to do this job, given her condition. Spending her days primarily in an uncomfortable chair and dealing with the issues of people with too much power and for most, very little sense.

    I should really consider a less stressful line of work. The thought was not a new one as she brought up the latest reports concerning parahuman gang activity onto her monitor. The first one to come up detailed a skirmish between members of the Empire and the ABB. Likely some sort of territory clash, she parsed from the details with a quick glance. The aftermath had been limited to gang casualties, so that was good, at least. If anything involving neo-nazis and asian thugs could be called good, anyway. But the fewer civilians that were caught in the fighting the better.

    She mechanically ran down the list, picking out the details with a practiced eye until it switched to police reports involving the unaffiliated heroes and villains. Her attention sharpened on those, giving them more of her focus to see who happened to be a problem this month. There was always someone who was being a problem.. The independents in Brockton Bay were an addition to a volatile mix that she often wished that she didn't have to deal with. There were enough of them that one day, she feared one side or the other would go too far and provoke the explosion of the powder keg that was this city's cape situation.

    At least the stupid ones get killed quickly, she thought in a moment of black humor. The ones who lasted knew when not to push things too far, knew the rules to operate by. Still, that didn't mean she didn't have to send reminders when one of them began acting a bit too brazenly, or when one of the villains began upping their game and risked drawing attention from one of the larger groups on their heads.

    She eyed a report about Boneyard, a Master who created skeletal minions, and how one of his recent victims had been the relative of someone on the city council and they were making noises to the Mayor about it. A disgusted snort emerged as she finished reading. Did they think she was here to task assets for redressing their personal grievances? Still, she made a note to have Velocity track him down for a talk. It was one thing to rob the tourists who came to Brockton Bay for its cape population, another for the natives, particularly if you were indiscriminate in your choices of who to target.

    The director continued running through the list and was moving to more mundane matters involving budget when the door to her office opened without knocking and a familiar figure clad in blue and silver entered.

    "Armsmaster," she said, turning her gaze back to the budget files. "An unscheduled meeting? What's the issue?"

    "I have several things to report before I go out for my patrol tonight," he said simply.

    Emily turned her gaze from the computer to him, eyes narrowing. "I take it you've decided to return to active duty?"

    "I do want to put a PRT agent in my place, but yes," he said. "I did not track down the parahuman responsible for the manifestation, but I did learn of and secure a tentative possibility of Wards affiliation from Taylor Hebert."

    Emily's gaze sharpened into crystalline focus with a frown. "You determined that she was a parahuman? Independent of our previous investigation?"

    "I have myself as a witness to a demonstration of telekinesis as well as an unknown thinker power that caused a headache," he said, grimacing. "My choice of tactics when approaching her did not play out as I had hoped. Regardless, I believe she isn't ruling out association with the Wards. My recommendation is to give her some space at present. I have a potential solution in mind, but I want to take some time to develop it properly."

    "And the one responsible for the manifestation? What about that?" she replied, lacing her fingers together atop a pile of papers with a pointed look at him.

    "Very little," he replied. "I did see a report that we had a very brief moment this afternoon of our local Thinkers and precognitives suffering an interruption of their abilities, but it was a minute and a half at most. I haven't heard word if any of the other cities reported any similar issues to the first instance of a thinker blackout, so I don't have more data to make a conclusive determination."

    She turned her focus back to the computer. "So, the situation with that remains relatively unchanged, pending further information. Anything else? I presume there's more given that you're pulling back from your position at Winslow so abruptly. Why do you want an agent in your place, also?"

    Armsmaster grimaced. "The thinker power she used, whatever it is, allowed her insight into the fact that Armsmaster and Professor Singer are one and the same. While it doesn't inconvenience me in any significant fashion, withdrawing seemed the most prudent course of action. As to the agent, someone on the ground there would be an asset in keeping an eye on things in case another situation arises."

    "She figured out your identity?" Emily asked. "That is concerning. Why would you want a PRT agent to replace you when there's a chance they could be found out? With that sort of talent, would even Clements' be secure in her cover?"

    "I do not think that she is in any danger of exposure. The exposure of Professor Singer as Armsmaster was as much my fault as any talent of hers. I interacted with Hebert on a regular basis as a teacher and on the heels of that, approached her as Armsmaster. Any decent thinker should have been able to make the same connection. As she hasn't interacted with Browbeat at all to my knowledge, there wouldn't be any means of connecting him to Madison." He replied, shifting in his seat as he considered the question.

    "A PRT asset would give us eyes on the ground and it would provide Madison with a point of contact if anything happens." He made a face beneath his helmet. "I've had her on punishment detail for a while but I'd prefer that whoever is her liaison is more responsible than the last and has a ground level view of what's going on, independent of whatever that woman who calls herself a Principal offers in reports."

    "Ah, Blackwell, correct?" she mused, making adjustments on the budget spreadsheet. "Miss Militia conveyed your displeasure with that woman in one of her reports."

    "I'll spare you my rant," he said drily. "I would recommend Lieutenant Kellar for the assignment at Winslow. She would be more than capable of handling any issues."

    "I will take it under advisement," she said gruffly. "Have a detailed proposal in my mail by morning and I'll examine it."

    He inclined his head and stood. "Have a good evening then, Director." She muttered a reply as the door closed, leaving her alone once more to consider what he had brought across her desk. Grimacing as the pain in her torso returned, she opened a drawer and withdrew a memory stick from it. The files it contained were brought up and accessed, as she updated it with the new data provided about Taylor Hebert before returning it to its hiding place.

    "Another teenager with power and probably no sense," she muttered. The information they had on the Hebert girl and her relatively recent issues had not eased any of her worries at all. The girl was a bundle of issues and now there was powers to add to the mix.

    "I really should consider a vacation or something less stressful," she muttered. "Maybe I should retire and do something else. Become a curator, maybe." Emily Piggot shook her head at the thought and turned her attention back to finish the budget for the upcoming month.

    ~~~~~~~~​

    The information on the screens before her might as well have been in another language entirely, for all the sense it was making now. Lisa sighed, massaging her temples as she tried to ward off the building migraine so she could focus . Too many things that she had to look into and whatever was causing the skips to Thinker powers like her own was not helping. Not that he cared. Her employer still drove her like a slave. There was too much he wanted to know, and not enough time to know it all

    And the PRT is as clueless as my boss or me. The thought did not reassure her in the slightest as she stared at one of the many internal documents on the PRT servers she was in the course of blatantly stealing. They had connected the first incident of Thinker blackout to the appearance of the fiery projection over Winslow High back in January. There hadn't been any since, which gave her little to work with. She needed something, some starting point for her power to work best and it remained stubbornly uncooperative when she tried to use that incident as one, providing her with random nonsense that was just plain gibberish.

    Today, however, that had changed, as another skip to her powers had occurred. It hadn't gone on as long as the one in January, but it certainly was as annoying. She had been in the middle of sorting out the best means to approach the capes that her employer wanted to form into a group. While trying to sort out how to convince the most problematic of the candidates, her power had effectively thrown it's hands up in the air and walked out on her for almost two straight minutes.

    She had informed Coil and been instructed to investigate any recent occurrences that might be connected, which is what had her going over the reports that the PRT had of the day's events. Somewhere among these, there had to be a clue that would help her pin this down.

    "No, no, no," she muttered, disregarding a report as her power gave her more information than she wanted about a vigilante who ran around wearing only a mask, scarf, gloves, boots and nothing else. She seemed to show up a lot around a girl who was being harassed by tinkertech at Clarendon.

    "That school is entirely too weird," she muttered, thinking of some of the other strange reports she had heard about from there. Lisa continued scrolling down the list, lips moving as she assessed and discarded, quickly determining them to be of no value.

    "Police report disturbance of some sort at the boat graveyard," she read slowly. "Assault and Battery investigated, found one boat torn completely apart by unknown source, immense damage to several others. Signs of intense heat due to melted sections." Frowning, Lisa sat back, her eyes flicking over the photographs attached to it while waiting for the flow of input that would give her more information on this and who might be responsible.

    Elemental... Fire? Avian? Anger? Frustration?

    "What the hell does that even mean?" she demanded aloud at the random stream of nonsensical data. "Is my power still-" Her hand froze over the keyboard, eyes widening, then narrowing to thin lines.

    "No, not on the fritz," she said, excitement welling up. This was the event she had been looking for! Whatever happened here was tied to the blackout! A notepad window was opened and she began typing furiously, recording every line of nonsensical data that her power was giving her before adding all the facts in the report to the file as well.

    A faint headache was tapping at her skull when she finished, the information her power had given her long since trailed off into easily recognizable nonsense. This was a start, at least. Her power was giving her something at last and she could build on that. Whoever this was would likely do this again and she only had to be alert for that. Nodding in satisfaction, she saved the file to multiple locations before returning to the rest of the reports.

    Nothing of use, either to her or to her boss, remained and she carefully left the PRT's network and focused on the issue that she had been assigned before the skip earlier. Brian Laborn sat at the top of the list, along with a list of other candidates, some local, some not.. He wanted her to approach them, see about aligning some of them together as a group.

    Brian Laborn. She looked at the dossier that had been provided about him first. Worked hired muscle as Grue, observation suggested he was looking to obtain custody of his sister, to get her out of a bad family situation. A lever she could use there? Would offer his loyalty to whoever could give him the means to accomplish that.

    I can use that. She grinned in a disturbingly feral manner and began researching, her headache forgotten. Now who else can I line up for this…

    ~~~~~~~~​

    The clouds parted violently from the speed I was flying as I tilted downward from level flight, dropping down below the overcast to see the distant spectacle of Brockton Bay below me. I brought myself to a halt, simply hanging there and taking in what was before me. I still had no desire to go home, to face the argument that I was sure to happen if I did. So here I was, still up here. Nothing on earth that I wanted to return to a the moment, so I would stay here in the sky. I was fairly sure that none of my problems back on on the ground could reach me here, but then again this was a day for being surprised. I wasn't even sure how I was this high up and not having issues breathing or from the temperature, actually. Brockton was far enough that it was just a hex-grid sprawl of colors that clashed against the ocean.

    However that worked and whatever had changed, to fly like this was amazing. The fact that I was not in my utterly useless costume didn't even matter at this moment. I was so high that I could see for miles. If it were a clear day, I was almost sure I could see forever, as the song went. The sun, however, was beginning its descent and the dimming light would soon render the view nothing more than darkness.

    I sighed, my frustrations from earlier petered out into an empty, tired feeling, my breath emerging as a puff of fog. Turning downward again, I angled toward Captain's Hill. I could watch the sunset from there and decide what I was going to do if I didn't go home. I hadn't even completed my descent when I heard a shout and a figure rocketed up beside me.

    "I thought that was you!" Vicky said, breathless. "You've gotten better with flying… wait… why are you not in costume?"

    I snorted, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice as I answered. "Dressed like I am now provides me about the same level of secrecy as my costume, apparently."

    Vicky looked at me, her expression easy to read even if I weren't able to feel the worry she was radiating. I guess she picked up on my mood. "That… sounds like a story. Up for talking about it?"

    "No, I don't want to talk about it," I snapped immediately, then winced at the way she flinched in response to my tone. I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry, you don't deserve that. It's just been a really shitty day."

    "You know the solution to that, right?" she asked after a moment.

    "What?" I asked, more out of politeness than any real interest.

    "Ice cream," Vicky announced with an assertive nod. "There's an ice cream place on the boardwalk that has the best green tea ice cream I've ever tried."

    I chuckled a bit, the sound empty and lifeless. "I think I know the place you mean." I looked off toward where the sun was sinking out of sight. "Sure, why not. Ice cream can't make this day any worse, that's for sure."

    I paused in the act of angling toward the boardwalk, the question only slightly bitter. "You aren't planning any dramatic revelations or ambushing me while we're there, are you?"

    "Uh, no?" she replied, looking confused, and if it was possible even more worried. "I was just planning for us to have ice cream."

    "When we have ice cream without anything happening, I'll believe that," I muttered bleakly. "The last few hours has been a stream of people saying one thing and then doing another to surprise me."

    "Not the happy fun kind of surprise, I take it?" Vicky asked lightly, showing no signs of offense at my tone.

    "Not really," I answered, then frowned. "Um, I suppose I should find a place to land where I won't be seen, since I'm not in costume."

    "I was going to ask about that again," she commented. "Did you just decide to go the New Wave route, with flying around with no mask?" If I didn't know better, I could almost swear she felt hopeful at the potential fact.

    I sighed, unwilling to even get angry about the entire thing again, especially as Vicky's worry was quite apparent to me. "Let me find a spot to land and when we've got a private table, I can tell you about it." I tapped my precognition and sorted through the possibilities quickly, finding a spot we could land at where no one would notice us.

    "Follow me," I told her, tilting at an angle and tracing the path I had mapped out until we touched down between two buildings on a service path used for deliveries.

    "We just flew over the boardwalk," Vicky said as she eyed the surroundings in distaste. "A bunch of people probably saw us, you know."

    "Nope, not a single person, actually," I replied, shifting my backpack and started walking toward the nearest path that opened onto the boardwalk. "I'm good."

    "What, are you able to see the future or something?" she teased, falling in step.

    "Or something," I answered, a grin tugging at my lips for an instant as I glanced in her direction. The boardwalk's evening lights were beginning to turn on with daylight fading away slowly. Several shops and restaurants that only opened for nighttime hours were in full swing. Several blocks down, I could hear the distinct music of the carousel as people moved up and down, browsing the shops or coming out of restaurants.

    Most of the people at the ice cream shop were getting their cones and going out onto the boardwalk. From the way they were staring at everything or looking skyward, I was sure that most were tourists. They were enough in the store itself that the ambient noise reduced the chance that anyone would be listening in on us even after we got a corner booth.

    "So, what's the trouble?" Vicky asked between bites of her sundae. I had a modest double scoop of ice cream in a bowl that I scraped negligently at with my spoon while considering how to start.

    "Well, the Wards showed up at Winslow today for a special meeting," I finally said before giving the green tea ice cream a taste. It was actually really good, like she had said.

    "Oooh, I thought I heard something about that," Vicky interjected. "What was it like? Boring? Exciting? Was Gallant cute?"

    I snorted. "I wouldn't know. I was otherwise occupied. I got called to the office, where Armsmaster was waiting. With my dad."

    Vicky whistled slightly, wincing back in sympathetic pain. "Oh wow. That's… wow… I gather that did not go well."

    I barely held back a bitter laugh. "Catastrophic would be my description. Armsmaster had figured it out somehow and told him. I did not react to his 'why didn't you tell me' routine very well and he stormed out after I said something pretty harsh."

    "He left you alone? With Armsmaster?" Vicky asked. "Wow. I just.. I have no words for that. I mean, I heard he's mellowed a bit while he's been off building or sniffing flowers or whatever it is tinkers do in their spare time, but the guy's always been kind of, well, a dick."

    I shrugged, not voicing my thoughts that apparently dealing with a gang-infested high school was less stressful than whatever he normally did, since Professor Singer had always seemed pretty relaxed. "He wasn't so bad. I told him I wasn't interested in his pitch for the Wards after I blew up a bit about him outing me to my dad like that and mostly left."

    "Judging from your remark earlier, I am guessing, in my infinite wisdom, that this wasn't the end of the bad day?" she asked, picking the cherry off her sundae from where it had fallen to the side of her bowl.

    "Well, let me backtrack a bit," I said, feeling around the room for a moment. No curiosity directed our way. Good. "Saturday night, I went out again after I messaged you. I met a couple of the indy heroes when I was trying to find my first villain to take on."

    "Sorry I couldn't show for that. So, who'd you go after? Someone from the Empire? ABB?" she asked, her interest sharpening.

    I shook my head. "I wasn't going to look for that sort of trouble alone. No, I wanted to start small so I was looking for Boneyard, a mugger."

    "Oh, that loser," Vicky said, slamming a fist into her palm. "I busted him once, but he got away after the PRT took him off my hands and after I was long gone. His skeletons are a pain and he just keeps making them."

    "I noticed," I said drily. "He bailed as it was the three of us against him. He was in the middle of fighting Hanabi and Rockshow when I jumped in."

    Vicky frowned slightly at the names, scraping the last of the ice cream from her bowl. "I've heard of them, but I haven't met them. Couple of rookies that have been in a few fights so far."

    "Well," the word was drawn out and I wasn't able to keep any of my irritation from it at all. "I have. They, like you, recognized me. Unlike with you, I didn't recognize them as they clearly have better costumes than I do and they didn't say anything then."

    Vicky's eyes widened and she looked around the room before leaning forward. "You're saying you know who they are out of costume?"

    "I do now," I snorted. "After school let out, I went over to hang out with some friends at one of their houses. They dropped the bombshell while there that they knew it was me and who they were."

    Vicky sat her spoon down carefully. "Wow. That… you weren't kidding about your day being crappy. This sounds like a grade A clusterfuck in the making. You were still in a mood after Armsmaster, I bet. How bad did you blow up?"

    "I yelled at them before leaving. It wasn't too bad," I admitted, then flushed a little. "My real blow up came later, at the boat graveyard."

    Vicky's eyes widened again. "That was you? I flew over there when I was out after dropping Amy off at the hospital. I saw police and PRT and dropped low to get a better look. Several of those ships were completely wrecked."

    "I kind of got carried away," I said shyly. "But I was angry. The whole day was spent with people talking to or about me. Armsmaster ambushed me with my dad and he didn't want to listen and I blew up at him. My costume is apparently so bad at keeping my identity a secret that Armsmaster knew without even seeing me in it! But it's okay, because it's nice. The people I thought were my friends probably only made friends with me because I got powers and wanted to recruit me to join them. I needed something I could take it out on…" The words died off as I caught my breath, the whole thing having spilled out quickly.

    "Jeez, no wonder you trashed the graveyard," she said, nodding sympathetically. "Just a big target that won't give you attitude and you can smash as much as you want."

    "Pretty much," I said, oddly exhausted now that I had vented. "I.. I threw my mom's death in my dad's face. I was angry at him and how it felt like he was siding against me, so I took all my frustrations that I'd bottled up since that happened and said something terrible."

    "And now you don't want to go home because you figure it'll be an even bigger argument?" Vicky asked.

    I nodded, glum. "Yeah, he's probably already been through my room and found where I was hiding the costume. He just… he listened to Armsmaster and it didn't matter what I said because I was keeping things from him."

    "Hey," Vicky said, looking concerned. "Listen. You'll just get yourself worked up again if you revisit that. I don't think the boat graveyard would survive your temper again."

    My hands tightened on the edge of the table until my knuckles were white, remembering the boat graveyard. "There was… something else I found out while I was out there."

    Vicky looked at me with some concern. "Something else? Like what?"

    I forced my hands to relax and shook my head. "It's easier to just show you, but not here. Know someplace private that we won't be noticed?"

    "The boat graveyard?" she suggested with an impish grin. "Though, I have to say, it isn't the best choice of locales to take your date to for privacy. It doesn't exactly scream romance. I mean, do you really think I get excited by the sight of waterlogged old wrecks?"

    "What?" I said, flushing. "Date? I'm not-! This isn't…!" I trailed off as I caught the mischievous smirk on her face. "You are absolutely terrible."

    "I don't like seeing my friends in a bad mood," Vicky announced airily as we put our bowls in the bin for being taken to the back for cleaning. "Plus, you're adorable when flustered. A bit like my sister, I think."

    I shook my head, surprised that my mood had improved somewhat. Still, I gave her my sternest look as we walked toward the exit. "Utterly. Terrible."

    ""Meh, you're disappointed that my magnificence isn't really on a date with you," she fired back. "You'll have to get used to disappointment, I'm afraid."

    "I'm going to ignore you now," I retorted as another smile tugged at my lips. "So, someplace private?"

    "Still trying to lure me off alone with your wiles," Vicky said, laying the back of her hand against her forehead over-dramatically. "Alas, whatever am I to do?"

    "Stop that, for one," I snorted. "You make it sound like we're in some terrible romance novel. The really steamy kind."

    "Oh, those are the best!" she said, changing gears abruptly. "Like, when the heroine's all protesting but is actually totally into the guy but can't admit it because she's too uptight." She fanned herself and then looked sideways at me with a grin.

    "Figures you would read those," I muttered.

    "I actually don't," she said. "Amy does though. She's big into forbidden romance stuff. I like mine a bit more down to earth. Most of the time. What about you?"

    "Me?" I blinked. "What about me?"

    "What sort of smutty romance does Taylor read?" she asked, reaching over to poke me in the ribs.

    "Hey!" I shifted away and grimaced. "I don't read that sort of thing. At all."

    "Uh-huh," the look she was giving me, along with the tone she was using told me she didn't believe that at all. "I bet you've got a whole stash of books that you'd be embarrassed if anyone found them!"

    "I really don't," I protested, flushing as I thought of the collection of mom's more risqué books that I had stashed in a box in my closet. "Why would you think that?"

    "Because I have one of my own," Vicky shrugged with a grin. "Anyway, I know just the place for us to go so you can sway me away from Dean with your charms."

    I dropped my head, letting my hair fall around my face for a moment. "I can't win with you about this."

    "I'm just awesome like that," she told me. "Now, did you want to find some place where we can go without staring or…?"

    I frowned, considering that and tapped my precognition to see if the same place we had landed could be used to leave. I made a face. "Won't work."

    "Well then," Vicky said, grinning in a way I was sure I wasn't going to like. "I have an idea."

    "What is- hey!" I began, then squawked indignantly as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug and shot up into the air to the sound of shouting and people rushing to take photographs.

    "See?" she asked once we were moving away. "Just give me a minute and I'll let you go."

    "You could have given me more warning than that," I grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in her arms.

    "That wouldn't have been as much fun, though!" she replied cheerfully while glancing around. "The look on your face when I hugged you was priceless. Think we're high enough?"

    It only took me a second to verify that we were safe if I started flying under my own power. "We're good here."

    "Great! Because you're heavy!" Vicky said, releasing me abruptly. I almost screamed as I began to fall before I willed myself to fly. Even with being able to see that she was going to do that, it had still had thrown me that she would actually drop me.

    "That was not funny," I told her, rolling upward so that we were side-by-side. Vicky stared for a moment and then grinned.

    "You really are flying better," she observed, amazed. "You were still kind of pitiful the other night."

    "Maybe I'm just a natural at this?" I asked shrugging my shoulders slightly.

    Vicky snorted. "No, I don't think it's that. You were a crippled puppy sort of pathetically cute with your flying before. If you were a natural, that wouldn't have been the case. Oh, drop down here!" She banked to the left and descended toward one of the larger buildings in the downtown section.

    Vicky landed on the roof a moment before I did, stretching her arms. "Here we are."

    "Your place to hide out is on top of a skyscraper?" I asked, looking around. "Which one is this, anyway? What if they have cameras out here?"

    "Oh, some construction company," she waved a hand. "Fortress, I think. They make Endbringer shelters. And seriously? They're not going to have cameras out here. It'd be way too much trouble to climb out given how little flat space there is." She pulled a pair of towels from the pack she was carrying and sat down on one, then pinned the other in place with her hand, giving me a pointed look.

    "First rule if you take to flying around like this? Always have a towel. These places don't get cleaned a lot." she said as I sat down, the fact that I could fly the only thing that kept me from panicking over my legs hanging off the edge of the building.

    "Isn't that always have a towel, period?" I asked, grinning slightly. "I mean, towels have a lot of practical value."

    "You're evading now," Vicky said gently. "So, what's the big secret?"

    I stared at my hands and the streets and buildings below us for a long moment. "What do you know about powers?"

    Vicky laughed. "You'll have to be more specific. I mean, I've done a lot of study to get ready for college, but I need a starting point. Where they come from? How they work?"

    "How they work, I guess," I answered after considering the question. "Do powers get stronger?"

    "That's actually a bit of a tricky question. The answer is pretty much no, though. I mean, there's outliers like Lung, but usually you get one power, or a set of powers and they are as strong they are ever going to be," She said thoughtfully, looking off into the skyline. "Like, I can fly. But I'm also invulnerable and can do this whole aura thing while being super-strong. Then there's folks who just have the one power. Like they'll have some kind of invulnerability and nothing else, or can pull some sort of something. PRT has this whole rhyme thing for it."

    "I see," I murmured, frowning for a moment. "I've… gotten stronger since I got my powers. Hell, I've gotten more powers."

    Vicky tilted her head and looked sidelong at me, a mix of curiosity and interest gleaming in her eyes. "What d'you mean?"

    I took a deep breath. "Well, it started out just with being able to see things that were going to happen. It helped me avoid some of the people that were giving me trouble at school." I brought my knee up against my chest. "A few weeks back, I got jumped by a couple of guys that I think were members of the Merchants. I ended up getting away by essentially terrifying them into passing out. I got some sort of telekinesis out of it, and that's been getting stronger since then."

    "Was this after we met?" Vicky asked, a look of intense thought crossing her face.

    I nodded and continued. "It was the night you got me the jacket, actually. Then, today, after everything that happened, I was out at the graveyard and I wanted to wreck things and just tearing it apart with telekinesis wasn't enough." I held out my with the palm upward, hoping I could duplicate what I had done earlier on a smaller scale because otherwise, I was going to look stupid. I reached inward in my mind, looking for some sort of ember of the anger I felt earlier.

    "That's when I got this," fire blossomed above my hand when I found one, and brought it to the surface. I heard Vicky draw in a breath at the sudden shift in the light.

    "Fire?" she blinked several times. "You said you didn't…"

    "And I didn't, until today," I said, thinking of what I had realized when it had happened at the graveyard as I moved my hand and the flame shifted with it. "It isn't the kind of thing I would miss."

    "Huh," Vicky replied, looking thoughtful. "I did wonder about the parts that looked like they had been melted when I was over the graveyard earlier. I thought Lung might have gone down there and tore things up for some reason."

    I turned my head to stare at her, baffled. "You're comparing what I did to something Lung is capable of?"

    "No, I thought it was Lung's doing," she corrected, wincing at the look I was giving her. "I've never actually seen Lung fight, so all I know is what the reports say. But the way everything was wrecked and melted is what I imagine it would be like if he did go smashing around the graveyard."

    "That… isn't much better," I muttered, turning to stare back at the darkening city below us again. "Anyway, that's the whole thing. I have fire powers too, apparently."

    "Mmm," Vicky made a sound and leaned back to look up at the sky. "You said you started out just being able to see things that were going to happen? Then, after I got you the coat, some guys jumped you and you were able to make them afraid of you? And today, after you met with Hanabi and Rockshow, you got pyrokinesis?"

    "That's right," I said, wondering where she was going with this. "You're thinking of something?"

    "Well, powers are divided up into categories by the PRT," she began. "Tinker, Blaster, so forth. Armsmaster, for example, is a tinker. He builds things. Gallant in the Wards, for another example, fires energy beams, so he'd be considered a blaster."

    "Okay," I nodded, to show I was following along as the topic was an interesting one

    "It's a bit more complicated than that, but we don't need to get into really intense detail," she waved a hand. "I can't speak for what the PRT would say, but with what you've told me, I'm thinking Trump."

    "Trump?" I repeated.

    "Yeah," Vicky said. "Trumps do things with powers, either to other people's or manifest powers at random. Eidolon's the one I think of off the top of my head. They're pretty rare, all things being equal."

    "And you think I might be a Trump?" I asked. "Because I am showing new powers?"

    "Well, I'm not an expert," she began slowly, biting her lip. "But from what you've told me, I think so. You wanted to avoid the people giving you trouble, so you got the ability to see them coming if you wanted. When that wouldn't help you against those muggers, then you developed the fear effect you mentioned. That actually sounds a bit li-" She cut off, expression thoughtful.

    "Vicky?"

    "Oh, sorry," she shook her head. "I was wondering if you weren't gaining new powers based on who you're around. Like, you were hanging out with me and part of my power lets me project an aura at people... similar to what you described doing to the muggers."

    "So, I'm… what? Picking up new powers based on who I'm around?" I asked.

    "It's a hypothesis," she shrugged. "Like I said, I'm no expert, but some sort of power imitating is what it looks like to me."

    Vicky held a hand up and began counting off her fingers after a moment. "First, you weren't around any capes to start with and so you just picked up something that would help solve the problem you had. Second, you were around me and when you got attacked, what you had wasn't enough to solve the problem, so you got something like what I can do. Third, you were really upset and your telekinesis wasn't cutting it, so you got the power to burn things. Guessing you picked that up from one of your friends. I've seen a few of the aftermaths of Hanabi's fights, and everything is blown up and burnt."

    "I guess that makes sense," I said tentatively after a moment. It did make a lot of sense, but I could tell it wasn't quite right, since it didn't account for some of what I hadn't told her, what I hadn't told anyone. I couldn't even think of a way to bring that up to Vicky or anyone really. Telling someone; 'Hey, I can read your mind' seemed like a bad idea.

    "Of course, to be absolutely sure, you'd want input from of the eggheads who work with the PRT and Protectorate," Vicky said. "They've got contacts with some really brainy types who do nothing but study powers all day every day. The PRT and Protectorate only label them the way they do for how to respond to a situation. The academics go into a lot more depth."

    "I see," I nodded slowly. "Well, I don't know the first thing about how to get in touch with them and after today… the Protectorate can kind of go fuck themselves. I'm absolutely not in the mood to talk to any of them."

    "You need to do something else to unwind, I think," Vicky said, staring at me seriously for a moment. "Let me think… Ah! I know. Just a second." She dug in a pocket and pulled out a cellphone and began texting. She waited a moment and the phone buzzed.

    "Alright, here's what we're going to do," she said a moment later after muttering back and forth and then putting the phone away. "Dinner plans at home are shot because mom's working extra hours to make sure their new person is up to par. One of the other lawyers in the firm had something happen with his family and he's taking leave to deal with that. So, we're going to the hospital to pick up Amy and then we'll go grab dinner, the three of us."

    "Your sister?" I blinked. "I don't know…"

    "Nope! No arguments from you," she said firmly. "If I ran off, you'd probably spend the night wandering around aimlessly to avoid going home. Maybe even fall asleep on a roof somewhere."

    "I could get a motel room," I protested.

    "They don't rent to.. what, sixteen year olds?" she asked, then shook her head. "Never mind. Precog. You'd find one that would do that anyway, I bet. It'd be a pig sty though, so dinner and then maybe you can crash at my house. We'll figure something out, but honestly, I'd recommend dealing with it sooner than later."

    "I don't," I began, but she shook her head again.

    "I have spoken!" she told me firmly, leaning over to poke me just below my collar bone. "Dinner and then you should go talk to your dad. Ignoring it isn't going to make it any better."

    "It's worked for him," I muttered under my breath.

    "Hey!" Vicky said. "None of that! Now, we're going to the hospital. And one more thing."

    "What?" I said, somewhat nettled by her imperious manner as I glowered at her. She paid it no mind, collecting the towels and shoving them into her pack.

    "Tag," she grinned, lightly tapping my shoulder. "You're it!"

    "Hey!" I shouted as Vicky, laughing, threw herself off the building and shot away. I stared for a second and dropped my feet against the side of the building, pushing with them as I lunged forward, giving chase.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Whew! That was a huge thing that I didn't think was ever going to end and I would have to split it into 2.4 and 2.5. But, end it did.

    *awaits input anxiously*
     
    chibipoe said:
    "Alright, here's what we're going to do," she said a moment later after muttering back and forth and then putting the phone away. "Dinner plans at home are shot because mom's working extra hours to make sure their new person is up to par. One of the other lawyers in the firm had something happen with his family and he's taking leave to deal with that. So, we're going to the hospital to pick up Amy and then we'll go grab dinner, the three of us."

    "Your sister?" I blinked. "I don't know…"

    "Nope! No arguments from you," she said firmly. "If I ran off, you'd probably spend the night wandering around aimlessly to avoid going home. Maybe even fall asleep on a roof somewhere."

    "I could get a motel room," I protested.

    "They don't rent to.. what, sixteen year olds?" she asked, then shook her head. "Never mind. Precog. You'd find one that would do that anyway, I bet. It'd be a pig sty though, so dinner and then maybe you can crash at my house. We'll figure something out, but honestly, I'd recommend dealing with it sooner than later."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    <shipping chart>Dinner with Amy also, huh? So where in the Dallon household is Taylor going to sle--

    *is shot*</shipping chart>
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top