Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)

DonLyn · May 14, 2017

Always Late said:
And do the three Protectorate heroes have a method of dealing with Cadejo?

Hmm. Good question.

My understanding of Cadejo's power is that his teeth and claws are always solid.

If that is the case, then foam sprayers will be able to lock his wolves down. What I don't know is whether he can just disperse and re-summon them elsewhere.

Sere's power is to dehydrate stuff around him, which strikes me as useless against Cadejo. He should probably avoid engaging him.

I doubt that Miss Militia could shoot Cadejo's solid parts with projectile weapons while he's on the move, which means she would have to rely on a flame thrower or something and hope that the fire is hot enough to crack enamel.

Chevalier is actually the only one who should be able to more or less easily fend off the wolves: He can simply make his blade large enough that he can hit all of a wolves' solid parts with the flat of his blade. Depending on how much force he can exert he will either disperse the wolves or knock them around.

All that said I stand by my reasoning that wolves are easier to dodge than bullets and we should therefore take out the mooks first.

Especially since that would free up the transport to either flee or support us with containment foam, both of which would help us deal with Cadejo.

LancerisDead · May 14, 2017

Containing him is easier said than done. Containment foam isn't a miracle solution for everything, specially a cape of the level of Cadejo. If you just ignore him to focus on the mooks he is going to tear appart the normals like if they were tissue paper. Remember: a pack of intangible wolfs with Siberian-like teeth.

Seriously, the same thing happened with our first fight with Cadejo. It was assumed that we could hurt him with non-lethal, it was assumed we could restrain him, it was assumed he couldn't get to Vista. Now a 12-year old lacks an arm and a secret identity.

Rather than hope things go right, why don't we do something to stop a bunch of troopers from getting eviscerated. Cadejo has a kill order, he is that kind of guy.

Jetsmillion said:
The last time we used the Recursion Field we were able to explain to our allies what was going on before hand. This time, not only are they not expecting it, but there is a 3rd party here (Winter Hill) that we have no idea how they would react to it.

And finally this. Do you remember last arc? You know, more or less the one where we gained a lot of attention for our actions? I'd honestly be more surprised if Winter Hill hadn't done their resarch on us given that we are on the same city. Know thy enemy and all.

EDIT: Just checked SB. This is going to end in tears, I'm calling it now.

DonLyn · May 14, 2017

LancerisDead said:
Containing him is easier said than done. Containment foam isn't a miracle solution for everything, specially a cape of the level of Cadejo. If you just ignore him to focus on the mooks he is going to tear appart the normals like if they were tissue paper. Remember: a pack of intangible wolfs with Siberian-like teeth.

Seriously, the same thing happened with our first fight with Cadejo. It was assumed that we could hurt him with non-lethal, it was assumed we could restrain him, it was assumed he couldn't get to Vista. Now a 12-year old lacks an arm and a secret identity.

Rather than hope things go right, why don't we do something to stop a bunch of troopers from getting eviscerated. Cadejo has a kill order, he is that kind of guy.

Two things:

1. The tone of your messages appears to me to be getting more aggressive. This last one felt to me like you were implying that people who want to go after the mooks are naive idiots. I don't know whether that was intended, but could I ask you to ease off a little, please? I for one had to suppress the urge to match the level of what I perceived as your belligerance.

2. There seems to me to be a misunderstanding. I think we are all trying to keep our allies alive, we simply disagree on the best way to do it.

You want to take out Cadejo first because he is a vicious killer who can't be stopped with mundane means.

I agree in principle, but I doubt our ability to do so in a timely manner.

We may be able to fire up to twelve lethal homing Flares at a time, but a pack of wolves hast a lot more than twelve teeth and claws. Best case scenario i think is that we can take out the teeth in one hit, as well as all the claws of a single paws. Which means that we would need 5 Flares per wolf, assuming that he doesn't dodge and that no Flares are wasted when we need to divert them around our allies. Considering that lethal Flares are radioactive we would probably want to keep them further away from people we care about than we would the non-lethal variant. This compounds the problem since Cadejo is a close range fighter, so we would need to actively guide our bullets around our allies in order to keep from insta-gibbing them.

Attacking the mooks, on the other hand, would allow us to use non-lethal homing Flares. That way we can knock out up to twelve people at a time, which would quickly reduce the amount of gunfire our allies need to avoid. I doubt that MS-13 has brought hundreds of people, so concentrating on them at first would allow us to quickly neutralize the mundane parts of the attacking force. Once that is achieved our allies will no longer need to stay in cover, so they will be able to move at full speed while trying to avoid the wolves, without needing to worry about being perforated by a hail of bullets.

So, that is why I think that fighting the mooks first is the best way to avoid casualties on our side.

Shaseyu · May 14, 2017

LancerisDead said:
Remember: a pack of intangible wolfs with Siberian-like teeth.

Not Siberian-like.
They are just

Silently Watches said:
sharper than natural.

whatever that means, and they can be broken.

LancerisDead said:
Cadejo has a kill order, he is that kind of guy.

No, he's not.

Silently Watches said:
Considering how rare kill orders are in canon, no. It takes a special kind of crime to get you one of those. "Just" murder won't do it.

I voted for MS-13 mooks because we can beat them down very fast and effective. Two or three salvos of Flare Shooters and they all will be neutralise. Without them Cadejo wouldn't be able to grab PRT transport. Retreat would be the most logical thing for him. And if he'll have other ideas, then we can try and declaw him.

LancerisDead · May 14, 2017

DonLyn said:
1. The tone of your messages appears to me to be getting more aggressive. This last one felt to me like you were implying that people who want to go after the mooks are naive idiots. I don't know whether that was intended, but could I ask you to ease off a little, please? I for one had to suppress the urge to match the level of what I perceived as your belligerance.

I'm sorry if I came across like abrassive. Wasn't trying to say those who choose the mooks are idiots. I get what your points are for that, I just think Cadejo is way too much of a heavy weight to leave alone.

Adhoc vote count started by LancerisDead on May 14, 2017 at 7:37 PM, finished with 104 posts and 17 votes.

7 people have voted
[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
- Nottheunmaker
- landcollector
- Scope
- UberJJK
- Shaseyu
- Bombastus
- tygerbright
3 people have voted
[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[X] Remain airbourne, you aren't staying on the ground where they could get at you.
-[X] Open up with nonlethal Homing Rust Shooter spam, set to lock onto their weapons. Disarm the lot of them and they'd have to retreat, freeing up the PRT to assist their capes with the other situations. If they continue to fight despite being disarmed, switch to Flare Shooters for knockout.
-[X] Consult with PRT forces regarding Cadejo. You could try to drag him into a Recursion Field so you could switch to wide area lethal energy attacks, but this will require that anyone vulnerable to high temperature plasma get out of the area first so they don't get dragged in. Go with their preferred plan of dealing with him.
1 people have voted
[x] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
-[X]Deploy Recursion Field.
--[X]Tell the console to warn the Protectorate backup of the RF.
-[X]Use Flare Shooter on lethal against him.
- LancerisDead
1 people have voted
[x] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
- notanautomaton
1 people have voted
[x] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
-[X] Fuck that guy safeties off.
- lancelot
1 people have voted
[X] Assess the situation with WAS
-[X] MS-13 mooks – Flare Shooters/Rust Shooters, take them out. They're actively breaking the Truce, fair game.
-[X] Winter Hill capes - Send Samantha to thank them for their assistance, but ask them to withdraw, or risk violating the Truce.
-[X] Cadejo - Depends on the situation.
- edale
1 people have voted
[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[X] Let the PRT know that you are ready to remove most of the capes from the battle-field by using your pocket dimension. You can't exclude the Protectorate Heroes, so you're waiting for them to tell you if and when to do it.
- DonLyn
1 people have voted
[x] MS-13 mooks
-[x] Rust shooter to take out their weapons
- Jetsmillion
1 people have voted
[x]After things settle mention to Miss Militia that the Privateer's have a Tinker that we've talked to about making a functional prosthetic for Vista.
- Jetsmillion

Always Late · May 14, 2017

DonLyn said:
My understanding of Cadejo's power is that his teeth and claws are always solid.

If that is the case, then foam sprayers will be able to lock his wolves down.

I have to concur with @LancerisDead, even if @Shaseyu's points are valid.

Shaseyu said:
Not Siberian-like.
They are just
whatever that means, and they can be broken.

Shaseyu said:
No, he's not.

Cadejo's claws might not be bullshit-durable, but they're probably sharp enough to cut through Containment Foam.
Cadejo might not have a kill-order, but he has killed several heroes, both adults and children.

The combination of Cadejo's lack of hesitation to kill, skill and experience in fights, and his claws/teeth's ease of doing so means that if we call this wrong, we'll be repeating the Vista fight, but with fatalities. That's the elephant in the room, and why we're so emotionally wound up. Which makes it all the more important we keep a cool head and not get lost in emotional sniping. (And yes, I'm pointing that at myself as much as everyone else here.)

Nottheunmaker · May 14, 2017

Always Late said:
I have to concur with @LancerisDead, even if @Shaseyu's points are valid.

Cadejo's claws might not be bullshit-durable, but they're probably sharp enough to cut through Containment Foam.
Cadejo might not have a kill-order, but he has killed several heroes, both adults and children.

The combination of Cadejo's lack of hesitation to kill, skill and experience in fights, and his claws/teeth's ease of doing so means that if we call this wrong, we'll be repeating the Vista fight, but with fatalities. That's the elephant in the room, and why we're so emotionally wound up. Which makes it all the more important we keep a cool head and not get lost in emotional sniping. (And yes, I'm pointing that at myself as much as everyone else here.)

At the same time, you're acting like this isn't Chevalier's home city and he's never had to tangle with Cadejo before. Miss Militia has been fighting most of her life and is a Brockton Bay vet. They can hold their own if it comes to it.

Jetsmillion · May 14, 2017

Nottheunmaker said:
At the same time, you're acting like this isn't Chevalier's home city and he's never had to tangle with Cadejo before. Miss Militia has been fighting most of her life and is a Brockton Bay vet. They can hold their own if it comes to it.

Yup, we are being called in as back up, not their one hope for salvation.

Always Late · May 14, 2017

Nottheunmaker said:
At the same time, you're acting like this isn't Chevalier's home city and he's never had to tangle with Cadejo before. Miss Militia has been fighting most of her life and is a Brockton Bay vet. They can hold their own if it comes to it.

One's got Brute armor, one doesn't have Brute or Mover skills.
Which one's more likley to buy it if Cadejo's in a killing mood?

Jetsmillion said:
Yup, we are being called in as back up, not their one hope for salvation.

That's kind of at odds with what the people focused on helping the PRT are saying...

Nottheunmaker · May 14, 2017

Always Late said:
One's got Brute armor, one doesn't have Brute or Mover skills.
Which one's more likley to buy it if Cadejo's in a killing mood?

Miss Militia, obviously. What's your point? That someone could be killed? I think that's very possible no matter what we do.

That's kind of at odds with what the people focused on helping the PRT are saying...

No. They called every able hero around to help with the transport, Cadejo showed up later. We're not their only hope, just some much needed aid.

Always Late · May 14, 2017

Nottheunmaker said:
Miss Militia, obviously. What's your point? That someone could be killed? I think that's very possible no matter what we do.

That didn't seem like what you were saying before.
This:

Nottheunmaker said:
At the same time, you're acting like this isn't Chevalier's home city and he's never had to tangle with Cadejo before. Miss Militia has been fighting most of her life and is a Brockton Bay vet. They can hold their own if it comes to it.

Comes across as 'nah, they'll probably be fine', not 'it's not a certainty they'll die'.

Nottheunmaker · May 14, 2017

Always Late said:
That didn't seem like what you were saying before.
This:
Comes across as 'nah, they'll probably be fine', not 'it's not a certainty they'll die'.

It's more I don't see much point in worrying about them. I don't really think that either will die. Chevalier is hardy and fast enough to keep himself safe, if he's smart. Miss Militia can probably shoot out Cadejo's teeth and has many years fighting experience. But you never know, Cadejo is a vicious bastard with a comfired kill count. He could out maneuver them and get at Militia in a way she can't retaliate against. He could get lucky and take a chunk out of Chevalier, or even pin him down. But that's a cape fight for you, and both of them know that. They're still coming here to protect the transport and save the PRT troops, so that's what we should do. Deny a ruthless gang what they want and save lives.

tygerbright · May 14, 2017

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.

MrLZRS · May 14, 2017

[X] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
-[X]Deploy Recursion Field.
--[X]Tell the console to warn the Protectorate backup of the RF.
-[X]Use Flare Shooter on lethal against him.

edale · May 14, 2017

LancerisDead said:
EDIT: Just checked SB. This is going to end in tears, I'm calling it now.

Oh god, what are they voting for over there?

landcollector · May 14, 2017

edale said:
Oh god, what are they voting for over there?

Most of the SB voter base are choosing to go after the MS-13 mooks, with some form of write-in to complement it.

Sylvire · May 14, 2017

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.

edale · May 15, 2017

Well @Silently Watches, do you see the problem with being too literal in your interpretation of our votes. What should be a relatively simple vote turns into this.

Says one of the people with a more complex vote, lol.

Deus · May 15, 2017

Silently Watches said:
"Oh, okay."

The very one line that I wish my parents would say instead of questioning me.

Silently Watches · May 15, 2017

edale said:
Well @Silently Watches, do you see the problem with being too literal in your interpretation of our votes. What should be a relatively simple vote turns into this.

You're trying to blame this on me? I gave you four options and told you to pick one. Doesn't get much simpler than that.

UberJJK · May 15, 2017

Here is a combined tally from SB and SV. I've done both no partitioning and by line since I'm not sure which @Silently Watches prefers in a situation like this. Not that it really changes anything.

Vote Tally : Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha) Forums
##### NetTally 1.7.4

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
No. of Votes: 23
-[x] focus fire on the source of the problem, any who helps out can get a pass, unless they step out of line in which case they forfeit the right to unbroken bones. If Cadejo steps out of line, don't bother with non-lethal, we already know that doesn't work on him.
No. of Votes: 8

Falzyker
cl20
Condor12
ezok
Hawkmoon888
serbobiv
Sitxar
W34v3r

-[X] Remain airbourne, you aren't staying on the ground where they could get at you.
No. of Votes: 7

cl20
ezok
Hawkmoon888
serbobiv
veekie
Musical Blue
ReaperofInterest

-[X] Open up with nonlethal Homing Rust Shooter spam, set to lock onto their weapons. Disarm the lot of them and they'd have to retreat, freeing up the PRT to assist their capes with the other situations. If they continue to fight despite being disarmed, switch to Flare Shooters for knockout.
No. of Votes: 3

veekie
Musical Blue
ReaperofInterest

-[X] Consult with PRT forces regarding Cadejo. You could try to drag him into a Recursion Field so you could switch to wide area lethal energy attacks, but this will require that anyone vulnerable to high temperature plasma get out of the area first so they don't get dragged in. Go with their preferred plan of dealing with him.
No. of Votes: 3

veekie
Musical Blue
ReaperofInterest

-[x] Use Solar Wrath on Cadejo if he steps out of line.
No. of Votes: 1

Falzyker

-[x] Do not forget to use Recursion Field!
No. of Votes: 1

Sitxar

-[X] Let the PRT know that you are ready to remove most of the capes from the battle-field by using your pocket dimension. You can't exclude the Protectorate Heroes, so you're waiting for them to tell you if and when to do it.
No. of Votes: 1

DonLyn

-[x] Rust shooter to take out their weapons
No. of Votes: 1

Jetsmillion

[x] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
No. of Votes: 6

globalwarmth
Dracon
notanautomaton
lancelot
LancerisDead
MrLZRS

-[X]Deploy Recursion Field.
No. of Votes: 2

LancerisDead
MrLZRS

--[X]Tell the console to warn the Protectorate backup of the RF.
No. of Votes: 2

LancerisDead
MrLZRS

-[X]Use Flare Shooter on lethal against him.
No. of Votes: 2

LancerisDead
MrLZRS

-[X] Fuck that guy safeties off.
No. of Votes: 1

lancelot

[X] Assess the situation with WAS
No. of Votes: 1

edale

-[X] MS-13 mooks – Flare Shooters/Rust Shooters, take them out. They're actively breaking the Truce, fair game.
No. of Votes: 1

edale

-[X] Winter Hill capes - Send Samantha to thank them for their assistance, but ask them to withdraw, or risk violating the Truce.
No. of Votes: 1

edale

-[X] Cadejo - Depends on the situation.
No. of Votes: 1

edale

[x]After things settle mention to Miss Militia that the Privateer's have a Tinker that we've talked to about making a functional prosthetic for Vista.
No. of Votes: 1

Jetsmillion

Vote Tally : Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
##### NetTally 1.7.4

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
No. of Votes: 10

Nottheunmaker
Bombastus
landcollector
Scope
Shaseyu
Sylvire
tygerbright
UberJJK
darknessfalls
LokiTheDarkGod

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[X] Remain airbourne, you aren't staying on the ground where they could get at you.
-[x] focus fire on the source of the problem, any who helps out can get a pass, unless they step out of line in which case they forfeit the right to unbroken bones. If Cadejo steps out of line, don't bother with non-lethal, we already know that doesn't work on him.
No. of Votes: 4

cl20
ezok
Hawkmoon888
serbobiv

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[X] Remain airbourne, you aren't staying on the ground where they could get at you.
-[X] Open up with nonlethal Homing Rust Shooter spam, set to lock onto their weapons. Disarm the lot of them and they'd have to retreat, freeing up the PRT to assist their capes with the other situations. If they continue to fight despite being disarmed, switch to Flare Shooters for knockout.
-[X] Consult with PRT forces regarding Cadejo. You could try to drag him into a Recursion Field so you could switch to wide area lethal energy attacks, but this will require that anyone vulnerable to high temperature plasma get out of the area first so they don't get dragged in. Go with their preferred plan of dealing with him.
No. of Votes: 3

veekie
Musical Blue
ReaperofInterest

[x] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
No. of Votes: 3

globalwarmth
Dracon
notanautomaton

[X] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
-[X]Deploy Recursion Field.
--[X]Tell the console to warn the Protectorate backup of the RF.
-[X]Use Flare Shooter on lethal against him.
No. of Votes: 2

LancerisDead
MrLZRS

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[x] focus fire on the source of the problem, any who helps out can get a pass, unless they step out of line in which case they forfeit the right to unbroken bones. If Cadejo tries to interfere, unload fully lethal attacks on him.
No. of Votes: 1

W34v3r

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[x] focus fire on the source of the problem, any who helps out can get a pass, unless they step out of line in which case they forfeit the right to unbroken bones. If Cadejo steps out of line, don't bother with non-lethal, we already know that doesn't work on him.
-[x] Use Solar Wrath on Cadejo if he steps out of line.
No. of Votes: 1

Falzyker

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[X] focus fire on the source of the problem, any who helps out can get a pass,unless they step out of line in which case they forfeit the right to unbroken bones. If Cadejo steps out of line, don't bother with non-lethal, we already know that doesn't work on him.
No. of Votes: 1

Condor12

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[x] focus fire on the source of the problem, any who helps out can get a pass, unless they step out of line in which case they forfeit the right to unbroken bones. If Cadejo steps out of line, don't bother with non-lethal, we already know that doesn't work on him.
-[x] Do not forget to use Recursion Field!
No. of Votes: 1

Sitxar

[X] Cadejo – Payback's a bitch, isn't it? For Vista!
-[X] Fuck that guy safeties off.
No. of Votes: 1

lancelot

[X] Assess the situation with WAS
-[X] MS-13 mooks – Flare Shooters/Rust Shooters, take them out. They're actively breaking the Truce, fair game.
-[X] Winter Hill capes - Send Samantha to thank them for their assistance, but ask them to withdraw, or risk violating the Truce.
-[X] Cadejo - Depends on the situation.
No. of Votes: 1

edale

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[X] Let the PRT know that you are ready to remove most of the capes from the battle-field by using your pocket dimension. You can't exclude the Protectorate Heroes, so you're waiting for them to tell you if and when to do it.
No. of Votes: 1

DonLyn

[x] MS-13 mooks
-[x] Rust shooter to take out their weapons
[x]After things settle mention to Miss Militia that the Privateer's have a Tinker that we've talked to about making a functional prosthetic for Vista.
No. of Votes: 1

Jetsmillion

Skychan · May 15, 2017

[X] MS-13 mooks – They're the ones who have the PRT pinned down, after all.
-[X] if Cadejo goes after the PRT THEN go after him safeties off or consider trying to modify a recursion field on the fly for small area use to trap him.

Silently Watches · May 15, 2017

VOTE CALLED

Because I'm lazy/tired/have too much other stuff to do, I'm using the tally @UberJJK posted above to make my decision. And if you were wondering, Uber, for votes like this I do use a by-line tally. Thanks for posting it!

This means that the plan of action will be to focus on the MS-13 foot soldiers. None of the subvotes took half of the vote for MS-13, which normally means I don't use them, but there were some fun ideas presented. You might recognize a few elements here and there in next chapter.

EDIT: Ignore the second roll. Hit the roll again button by accident.

edale · May 15, 2017

Silently Watches said:
but there were some fun ideas presented. You might take a few elements here and there in next chapter.

*edit (because it didn't occur to me at first)- It's even Samantha saying it!

Shaseyu · May 16, 2017

This was born from my musings about in-universe explanation for all training points we threw at Taylor and Unlimited desire to master Charge Cartridges.

Taylor Hebert's Normal Day.

Tuesday, May 3
Perfect Storm's gentle chiming woke Taylor up at 6:30, just as usual at weekdays. She yawned and forced herself from the bed. Yesterday she patrolled till late to ensure gangs don't start anything again. Still, tiredness was no excuse to skip her morning run.

She started running after they moved to Philadelphia, partly to get acquainted with new neighborhood, and partly because she couldn't sleep well either way, thanks to nightmares about Ziz. With time the nightmares were gone, and the city became familiar, but running had become a habit, a good way to energize both body and mind.
"Okay, Storm, let's start easy today." Taylor said, entering the training simulation.
"As you wish, Mistress." her Device answered and created three enemies. Two of them lunged at her with energy swords, the third kept his distance and prepared shooting spell.
Taylor smiled, diving into fight.

Perfect Storm's training simulator was incredibly useful. It let her practice spells, modify them and test different configurations, devise tactic against real and imaginary opponents and try it out. And she didn't need to find secluded place for her trainings and be careful with collateral damage. Time was her only limiter. At first she wasn't aware what's going on with her physical body while she's training, so she could spend only a few hours at week-ends for training.

But with time and effort, she found a way to somehow split her attention, to be both inside and outside simulation. Perfect Storm was incredibly proud and noted that such a capability to multitask was a sign of a great mage. Taylor didn't believe she deserve his praise, but was happy to extend her trainings while not completely abandon her civilian life (not that Dad and Sam let her).

After morning run and quick shower Taylor joined Dad and Sam at breakfast.
Just as usual they discussed their plans for the day.
"...and, Taylor, Tim said he prepared that prosthetic you asked, but he still need to get Vista's measurement." Dad said.
Taylor swallowed nervously and nodded. "Yeah, we'll meet tomorrow."
She would actually prefer to meet with Cadejo than with Vista. After all, she had a lot of experience fighting villains and several guesses how to actually hurt him. She didn't have any idea how to talk with friend, who was crippled because of her.
"It'll be fine, Taylor," Samantha said with soothing tone.
The girl nodded again, her anxiety had in no way diminished.
"Storm, scenario Cadejo-3." she asked, and as soon as bunch of ghostly wolves appeared she threw at them a salvo of Flare Shooters with disabled safeties. It was the best way to distract herself from the impending meeting.

After breakfast Taylor headed to school.
Winterrose Academy was not bad. It was pretty good, actually, incomparably better than shithole that was Winslow. Just a half-year ago Taylor would have been ecstatic to attend it. But now? Her priorities were different now, and she attend only because that made Dad happy.
He wanted her to socialize with her peers, but Taylor never was an outgoing person, even before Emma's betrayal. Her kind-of-friendship with Kayleigh was more than enough for her.
And her education? She could receive GED without any troubles, more so, she felt that thanks to Perfect Storm she knew some school subjects better than teachers.
Taylor glanced at a blackboard. Mr. Paulson was explaining logarithmic laws and their application for solving equations. But calculations that Taylor did any time she casted a spell were much more complicated. Right now she, for example, tried to devise spell code that let her manipulate spatial coordinates of material objects. For that, of course, the spell should be capable to authomatically identify any force that acting on an object and counter it. One day she would be capable to move things with her mind. One day....

At lunch Taylor sat with Kayleigh. The redhead was as chatty as ever.
"Taylor, can you imagine? Joanne's little brother was almost caught in that cape fight several days ago, he's fine, don't worry, but stupid boy started to film the fight instead of running away! Of course his parents were furious! But they for some reason grounded not only him, but Joanne too, as if it was her fault she wasn't with him and couldn't drag him away. Of course, she's upset about it! But today her parents finally saw the reason and let her go shopping with me after school!"
"That's... good?" Taylor didn't even know Joanne.
"Yep!" Kayleigh smiled. "Wanna go with us? The more, the merrier!"
After a short hesitation, she agreed. Dad and Sam would be happy, and it's really didn't matter for her where exactly continue her work on cartridges. She was having troubles with the spell code of their charging. Whether it because of its Belkan origin or because Taylor didn't have much experience with mana transfer that was causing the problems, she didn't know. But she did not tolerate inefficiency in her spells.

She apparently knew Joanne, they shared Algebra and Sociology classes. She probably should pay more attention to her classmates.
Hanging out with other girls was... nice, even if shopping never was Taylor's passion.
On the other hand, they forced her to try on and then buy one criminally revealing dress.
That was Taylor's own mistake, really. When she tried it on she let herself smile, because she finally managed to fine-tune the process of charging and maximize cartridges output. And of course they thought she smiled because she liked the dress.
"I knew you liked it, fit you so good!" Kayleigh gushed.
"All the boys will be yours," Joanne gave her thumbs-up.
Taylor just couldn't bring herself to dampen such an enthusiasm.

After returning home, Taylor did her homework.
To write a list of consequences of Scion's disappearance was quite simple; rising tensions between nations, grow of doomsday cults, increased number of casulties of Endbringer fights were pretty obvious.
To fight against a team of Laserdream, Oni Lee, Bastion, and a dozen of Beasts was much harder, but she managed to win. She didn't ask why Perfect Storm sent against her such an eclectic mix of dead and alive heroes and villains. She already knew the answer.
"Mistress should be ready to any eventuality."

Finally, it was time for patrol.
Taylor came to living room, where her Guardian Beast was watching some soap opera again, and summoned her Barrier Jacket.
"Sam, are you ready?" she asked.
Sam immediately transformed at her raccoon form and jumped at Taylor's shoulder.
"Always ready." she purred in her ear.
Taylor smiled and prepared to cast Spatial Translocation.
Before that, she reviewed list of her spells for the last time today, tweaked several variables here and there to increase spells efficiency by an additional fraction of a per cent. It seemed miniscule, but while in the battle any little thing could be the difference between life and death. She nodded with satisfaction and ended the simulation.

For a month already she spent in the simulator for ten or even twelve hours per day, almost all time that she didn't spent sleeping or patrolling. She didn't have other choice, really.
Aliens, Adepts, Beasts, Cadejo... She had got a full plate these days. And it was three months after the Simurgh came in Brockton Bay, which meant Endbringer attack would be pretty soon. She couldn't let herself rest at a time like this.

Patrolling was boring today.
The only crime Calamity Witch and Samantha prevented this evening was a liquor shop robbing. Three unlucky robbers didn't even try to run away and surrendered immediately. They weren't even members of one of the city's gangs.
That was a good sign, it meant villains decided to play ball and abide declared A-class Truce. Taylor wanted to think they understood the danger of Beasts, but much more likely they were just scared by her little demonstration of power several days ago at that altercation around PRT transport.
In any case, the city was stable and preparing to fight Typhon, and that was what matter most.

After returning home, while Taylor was preparing to bed, she went through today's events and progress she made in simulation.
"Today was a good day." she whispered to her Device with a smile. "Let's continue good work tomorrow."

Many challenges awaited her in the future.
She would be ready for them.

Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)

Verified Soulless Bureaucrat

Definitely not a cat

Verified Soulless Bureaucrat

Definitely not a cat

Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains

Altman be praised

Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains

Altman be praised

Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains

Altman be praised

Good Riddance

Professional Stalker

Professional Stalker