Chapter 14
Taylor entered the PRT building via the hidden vehicle entrance for the first time Saturday morning. She didn't need to be there until the afternoon for the Wards meeting, but she had been informed through multiple channels now that she needed to get pictures taken. So she was going to figure out what was needed there and get that taken care of.
Once she was through the parking garage wall, which had swung up and out of the way after she activated her transponder, she found herself in a short tunnel that opened up into a parking area maybe a block away. It looked like this was where they parked most of the containment-foam equipped vehicles. She easily spotted the clearly-labeled 'Wards' section to one side, which looked to be a semi-private lot down another short tunnel. Across from that was an effectively identical setup labeled 'Protectorate'. She followed the Wards sign, moving down the short tunnel into a lot with ten spaces. Six of the spaces were labeled with the name of a Ward, but there were none of the normal 'cars and other vehicles are normally parked here' stains and markings you would normally see in parking lots.
She parked her moped in the space labeled 'Maul' and made her way over to the sole obvious door. Checking the map app showed that, in theory, it was also the only door. It opened with her access key, which she assumed was simply an extra security measure. A short flight of stairs and she found herself just down the hall from the Wards common area. Nice and convenient. Though she did wonder why the handle-less door she came out of was labeled as though it were a broom closet. In a building seemingly cleaned by tinkertech drones, as far as she could tell. Another quick check showed that she would need to use her access key to get back to the parking area.
Next up was checking her phone for where pictures were taken and if she should costume up to start with. This led her to a form with a warning that it may take up to an hour to get a response. Damnit. Perhaps she should have checked some more before she even left home. She wandered into the Wards common area and grabbed some juice before sitting down and filling out the form. It was fairly simple and most of it filled itself in for her, but she was still annoyed.
After she was done Taylor focused a bit on her snark sense. She didn't recognize any of the three parahumans in the building, but then again she hadn't actually gotten an introduction to the Protectorate capes in town, excepting Miss Militia. With nobody to hunt down to maybe talk to and needing something to do she decided to look up the actual rules and regulations for the photos. As this was her initial official photo set it was easy to find information.
Non-parahuman photos were mugshots in civilian clothing. That was about it. Parahumans needed a full tinkertech body scan in and out of costume in addition to mugshots in and out of costume and a full body photo in costume. Where things got interesting were the requirements for the full body photo. Heroes were required to be in a non-hostile, respectful, and if possible friendly pose, with aspects of power not directly related to their costume not visible if possible. Anti-heroes, on the other hand, were required to violate at least some of that, if not as many pieces as they were capable of.
That actually made Taylor pause. Who had put this much effort into hero vs anti-hero rules? A quick search actually got her an answer. The original rules and regulations assumed that more parahumans with PR-unfriendly powers or mental leanings would end up in the Wards and Protectorate, hence the hero vs anti-hero rules. They were intended to allow those parahumans who had to do PR-unfriendly things to not go crazy policing their behavior and power usage, and to ensure that there was a very obvious distinction for the public.
There was nothing available on why there weren't more anti-hero parahumans in the system, though. So perhaps the idea had been sound, but turned out to be problematic in other ways. Still, getting back to the photo rules, her powers wouldn't show up properly in a photo. She would have to give some thought to how she wanted to break the other rules instead.
Half an hour later Taylor got a notice on her personal phone asking her to report for her photo, though it was a generic notice from the system and didn't say anything about who would be taking it. Given that it was her personal phone and not her Maul phone she figured this was an out-of-costume photo and left right after rinsing out her now-empty juice bottle.
Five minutes later she had arrived at the designated room. Huh, one of the parahumans was inside. She knocked and waited, the parahuman approaching. Stepping into the room she found herself looking at Armsmaster.
"Good morning," Taylor said. She was most certainly not thinking about certain pairs of panties she had owned with a specific likeness on them. No siree. Not at all. And she would be denying her blush if anyone asked.
"Hello Miss Hebert," Armsmaster replied as he closed the door behind her.
Taylor directed some of her mental focus towards his snark. Hello there!
[Query]
"My apologies," Armsmaster continued, gesturing towards a couple of chairs against the wall. "I was unaware you were already in the building. Had I been aware I would have summoned you after finishing up the maintenance on the tinkertech scanner instead of trying to take into account your travel time."
I am just being polite.
[Dismissal]
"It's no problem. Do you mind if I talk to your snark while you work?" Taylor asked. Better to check, just in case, before he got back to the, er, scanner that he had open.
"I do not mind," Armsmaster replied. "Miss Militia has not reported any negative side effects during or as a result of your discussions with hers. Apparent misunderstandings, but no negative side effects."
"Thank you."
Taylor sat down in one of the chairs while Armsmaster got back to work.
So, you think that being polite is inefficient? Is that what you like, efficiency?
[Agreement]
How do you make things more efficient?
[Exposition]
So you make them more efficient at how they operate, usually smaller, using less materials and power for the same output. Or get them to do the same thing faster, requiring less time waiting around, or with improved output from the same volume. That's neat. Taylor glanced at Armsmaster, who appeared to be working on an internal circuit board of the scanner. Do the things you make more efficient need frequent maintenance?
[Agreement]
Are they more efficient if you include maintenance costs and downtimes?
[... Query]
Well, for one example. You have how much time something saves, and how much time it is unavailable waiting for maintenance or being maintained. If the former is larger than the latter then things are efficient. If the latter is larger than the former then the overall end result is inefficient compared to what it was replacing. The same can be applied to a lot of things, like energy and materials. The maintenance adds more of those as requirements, if the total exceeds what other solutions use then the entire thing is inefficient in comparison.
[Contemplation]
Taylor suspected that she was not going to get any further with Armsmaster's snark today, so she instead pulled out her personal phone and decided to see about getting readings from the heart rate and temperature sensors like Miss Militia said she should be able to. If she needed help she was certain Armsmaster might be able to provide some tips, after all. It took her a good twenty minutes to figure out how the connection worked, as it was a different mode for the Bluetooth modules at both ends, but when she finished her phone was able to keep track of things. She then decided to do the same with her 'Maul' phone, but that only took a couple of minutes.
Looking at the information after it had been gathering for another ten minutes or so she found that the monitor app thought her heart rate was a bit lower than expected, but her temperature was fine. She didn't know what to make of that information, perhaps she would ask Amy about it at some point.
Finally Armsmaster closed the panel on the side of the scanner, mumbling something she couldn't hear. He messed with the controls a little as she heard a humming sound. The sound changed pitch a couple of times, then leveled off.
"Sorry for the wait," Armsmaster said. "If you would come over here and stand on the marking?"
Taylor did as instructed, and then faced the lens on the device when asked. She then had to blink as a bright flash came from the scanner.
"That takes care of the civilian mugshot and full body scan," Armsmaster stated. He seemed to be looking over the output. "Hmm. There appear to be some irregularities in the body scan. Did your power modify your body beyond what you reported?"
"Oh, that, no. I was the target of a tinker fugue."
Armsmaster jerked in surprise. "I see. Is there any reason your paperwork makes no mention of this?"
"None of the forms asked and it happened before I applied to the Wards, so the forms for post-joining body alterations didn't apply."
"Hmmm." He appeared to be doing something. Maybe checking the forms? "That is an interesting deficiency that should probably be corrected. It appears to officially fall to the power testing staff to ask about it, and they do not appear to have done so with you. None of the forms fall to me to fill out, either. It is an interesting bureaucratic oversight. Out of curiosity, what benefits and downsides do your changes provide you with?"
"Enhanced strength, endurance, flexibility, senses, durability, and healing. The healing seems to have reduced my need for sleep slightly. Plus Bluetooth connectivity." Taylor got the impression that Armsmaster was blinking in surprise. "Downsides can include increased appetite and Bluetooth alerts poking my brain."
"Did you really say Bluetooth connectivity?"
"Yep. Organic secure Bluetooth module, hooked directly into my brain. That would likely be showing as an oddity at the base of my skull. Makes it worth wearing an NFC repeater at least." Taylor held her left hand up to show the watch on it.
"That sounds like you got incredibly lucky. Tinker fugues that target individuals are feared for good reason. At any rate, you should go change and return in costume so that we can get those taken care of as well."
"Alright," Taylor said, heading out. She made good time down to the Wards area, changed, and made good time back. She found Armsmaster was once again working on the scanner itself.
"Just a minute," Armsmaster said. A moment later he closed the panel again and gestured to the marked spot on the floor. Taylor looked at the camera without prompting and found that the flash of light didn't make it through the visor this time.
"Now then, regulations state that you need a full-body picture," Armsmaster continued. "This is a basic one for your online cape profile as well as initial promotional materials. PR will work with you and the other Wards for other PR materials as they see fit. Have you consulted the regulations?"
"I have," Taylor responded, slipping the wok from her back. "Including the anti-hero rules."
Armsmaster merely nodded. "If you would stand in front of the screen on the wall in your chosen pose?"
Taylor moved over to the screen and crouched down slightly with the wok held up behind her in her right hand as if she was about to hit someone with it, a slight scowl on her face, the middle finger of her left hand lifted in front of her. Armsmaster merely nodded and snapped the picture.
"Perhaps we should take a second one with the collapsible baton instead of the rude gesture," Armsmaster volunteered. "From past experience, PR may have issues with the first one, even if it is fully within regulations."
"That makes sense," Taylor admitted. She got back into position after unclipping and extending the collapsible baton, and Armsmaster took the second picture.
"Very good. You should get your ID cards in the next four to five days at the longest."
"Thank you."
"For both my own records and out of curiosity, what did you discuss with my, er, 'snark'?"
"We had a short discussion on the effects of maintenance on efficiency ratings."
"I see. Thank you."
Taylor was waved out of the room as Armsmaster turned back to the scanner. She wasn't sure what he was going to do next, but figured she might as well find something else to do.
After some thought Taylor had decided on another visit to "the junkyard", ostensibly because she hadn't visited it in costume yet. Inside she found a number of large chunks of metal had been piled into the near corner, but the gravel pile from her last visit was still sitting there. She idly wondered if anyone else had used the room. Then she realized she could probably just check the access list on the door.
A few minutes later she was looking at the access list. Outside of Taylor it has been a little over a year since someone not flagged as being part of the team maintaining the room had even entered it. Were people unaware of it, or did the current collection of Protectorate and Wards members just not have a desire to break things every so often?
After some contemplation Taylor shrugged and started on hitting things with other things. After all, if nobody else wanted to use the room currently designated for people to destroy the stuff in then it just meant it was like a near-private playroom for her, right?
For the next couple of hours sounds of heavy impacts could be heard coming from the room, had anyone bothered to pass by to hear them.
As lunchtime approached Taylor wandered back to the Wards common area. She had felt Missy arrive, but none of the others, so she figured it might not be a bad time to see how she was faring with the access keys stuff.
"Hello there," Taylor said as she entered the common area. Missy had costumed up and was in the kitchen area.
"Hi," Missy replied. "The standard three Saturday pizzas are here if you want some lunch."
"Standard pizzas?"
"Yep. First come, first serve. Usually they become leftovers for Sunday too."
"Works for me." Taylor grabbed a few slices to start with, then sat on one of the stools at the counter next to where Missy was eating a slice of her own. "So, have you come in through the gym yet?"
"Hell yea, did that yesterday, but I used the ice cream parlor today. They snuck the access keys class in after the console class on Thursday so I don't even have to explain what other class I was taking. The guys are starting to get worried that you corrupted me, though."
"I bet they are, with you likely having bragged about how visiting the gym made it so much easier to get in."
"But it does make it so much easier," Missy exclaimed, grinning. She then frowned. "Did you know that all I had to do was complain ONCE to a PRT officer or Protectorate member about having issues getting in discreetly and they would have pointed me at that class?"
"Squeaky wheel gets the grease?"
"Yea yea, if I am having issues I should tell someone. They covered that. Repeatedly. So, how did you come in today?"
"I used the vehicle entrance, thanks to having been gifted a moped."
"The vehicle doesn't have to be owned by the PRT to get a transponder in it?"
"Might be a side effect of who my uncle is, or you just need to ask. I didn't bother checking either way. Then again, we each have a designated parking space in a dedicated Wards lot. So I suspect you just need to ask. Also, all it appears to do is act as a relay for your access key anyway, so it isn't much of a security risk alone."
Missy took a moment to digest that, then shook her head. "I don't think I will be able to take advantage of that for a couple years at least. But it is very nice to know about. So, what were you up to, given that you were out and about in costume?"
"Photos to start with, then I went and played in the junkyard."
"The what?"
"Training room six. The one with all the stuff we are allowed, nay, encouraged to break."
"The what? How did you discover that?"
"I searched for being bored in a PRT building."
Missy blinked, not that Taylor could see her eyes, then pulled her phone out and ran a search. "Holy crap. So much for finding ways to entertain myself in here all the time." Missy poked around a little more while Taylor got a soda and a couple more slices of pizza. "Oh! I almost forgot. How in the world did you swing your 'how I got verified' stunt?"
"Oh, that? I have an awesome uncle. He swung it for me. Except for the parts that required me to be swinging on a wrecking ball, anyway."
"That is so unfair. Dennis was all but frothing at the injustice of it, even. Have you been looking at the responses?"
"Yep, every so often. Haven't bothered to reply, obviously. Kinda interesting that nobody thinks I might be a Ward."
"Well, all the evidence points to you living in a town with no Wards. I was amazed that they spent over six pages just trying to figure out where you were when you pulled that."
"Did you see the guy on page twelve that pointed out that we left the time and GPS coordinates in the video metadata after they spent over four pages arguing about landmarks? Anyway, where that happened would have been a wonderful data point if I hadn't returned to Brockton Bay afterwards. I proceeded to help unstick two dumpsters in the alleyways behind the boardwalk shops, and then got my picture on Fugly's wall of soon to be clogged arteries. Too bad Amy is busy this weekend, I might have to have her check if I am actually getting clogged arteries at some point."
Missy turned to stare at Taylor, then turned back to her phone and obviously ran a few searches. "Holy crap, I missed those threads. How in the world are they not suspecting you are the theoretical new Ward if you did that here?"
Taylor made a point of tapping her chin as though deep in thought. "I think it stems from them having convinced themselves that the Ward was passing through to somewhere else. I am still amazed how iron-clad my civilian identity apparently is, they are convinced there is absolutely no way Taylor Hebert is a parahuman. Really, they are exceptional at convincing themselves of things."
Missy shook her head and started reading the threads she had missed. After a couple of minutes she stopped and scrolled back up to re-read something. "Aren't you a Blaster/Trump? How did you help with stuck dumpsters, given that they say here that your greater than normal strength helped?"
"I am starting to think I should start introducing myself with 'Hi, my name is Maul. I was the target of a tinker fugue' or something, since this keeps coming up."
Missy visibly flinched at that. "Those are not fun, I almost got caught in one of Leet's last year, Über was able to snap him out of it before he actually reached the point of implanting whatever he had come up with in me." Missy shivered. "At least he was apologetic about it?" Missy then cocked her head to the side. "Did you at least come out ahead?"
"Enhanced strength, flexibility, endurance, senses. Faster healing. Bluetooth."
"Bluetooth? Is that how you were able to just wave your hand to open the secure doors? That confused the crap out of me when I was thinking about it yesterday, after Felicity showed me the watches and explained the downside."
"Yep. On the other hand, calls and other notifications poke my brain directly. So it comes with ups and downs."
"How much of a secret is all of that?"
"I have pretty much told anyone who is aware of my parahuman status and has asked, really. Thus not much of a secret, just not volunteering until someone has reason to ask."
Missy just shook her head. "So, looking forward to your first patrol?"
"Not sure when it is, as it isn't on my calendar."
"Huh, that is odd. They schedule your introduction yet?"
"Nope," Taylor shrugged. "I think there is a problem, hence the need for the meeting today. Speaking of which, Carlos is on his way. I bet the others start trickling in soon too."
Taylor grabbed yet more slices of pizza, incidentally now having grabbed an entire pizza's worth in total. It wasn't like she didn't have time to eat the pizza as Carlos still had to make it into the building and to the Wards area. And the others hadn't shown up in her range at all yet.
No, wait, there was Chris, though he appeared to be coming in the vehicle entrance. Must have gotten picked up?
By the time Carlos was reaching the Wards area Taylor had finished the last of the slices she had grabbed and was washing her hands. Dennis and Dean had appeared on her snark sense, apparently together, but were still a couple minutes out.
"Good afternoon Carlos," Taylor called as the door closed behind him. "Chris is in the building and Dennis and Dean are nearly to the building."
"That is an amazingly useful ability," Carlos answered. "Do you know where Missy is?"
"Sitting on the couch?" Missy answered. Huh, Carlos jumped a little, it felt like. He must not have noticed her?
"Right, well, maybe we can get the meeting over with early," Carlos said, then headed to the private rooms. Probably to costume up.
Taylor finished her soda and rinsed it, then grabbed a bottle of water. She passed Chris coming in on her way to the couches. Once there she slipped the wok and entrenching tool off of her back before dropping down next to Missy.
Dennis and Dean passed with only a mild "hello" on their way to costume up.
Taylor frowned. "Why is everyone getting into costume? Is it required for meetings?"
"Not really, but we are supposed to get into the habit so that we are ready to deploy in an emergency," Carlos responded as he returned, helmet in hand. "By the way, we are supposed to try and be in costume when on-site, so that we are ready to deploy in an emergency."
"Yes, I had gathered that," Taylor deadpanned. "Any other words of wisdom that need to be imparted twice?"
"Just that you suck," Carlos responded. "Seriously, getting verified on PHO by riding a wrecking ball, using your power to demolish a building, on camera, with PRT approval? It was undeniably awesome. But you suck for pulling it off."
"Mainly that you pulled it off without us," Missy added.
Taylor stuck her tongue out in response to that, and Carlos dropped into a seat. Chris came out a few minutes later, shortly followed by both Dennis and Dean. Taylor and Missy were the only ones with their full costume on, everyone else had left their headgear off. Then again, Taylor felt she was cheating slightly by playing a game of solitaire using her visor. She did have a document open on her Maul phone in case she needed to take notes, though.
"Taylor, you are bullshit," Dennis opened with after a moment of silence. "How did you get the PRT to agree to that stunt?"
"I didn't get the PRT to agree to anything," Taylor responded.
"How are you not in trouble with the higher-ups, then?" Dean asked, honestly curious.
"Never said it wasn't agreed to, just that I didn't do it," Taylor said, grinning. "On a completely and totally unrelated note, my uncle is awesome."
"That entire thing was still bullshit," Dennis declared. "And is probably the most bullshit thing that has happened this month."
"I think I am more impressed that she finished a Challenger," Missy added. "She only took forty minutes, and she had a milkshake afterwards!"
This resulted in a collection of stares in Taylor's general direction. Taylor grinned and nodded. "It was actually quite tasty, if not quite filling enough."
"I stand corrected," Dennis said, grabbing the wireless keyboard so he could bring PHO up on the monitor. "That has to be pure bullshit."
Five minutes later they had found the PHO thread talking about it and had checked the Fugly's website, which showed Maul's photo prominently on the front page as the latest defeater of the Challenger '+1 Milkshake'. Though they hadn't watched them there were several cell-phone camera clips of Taylor eating the Challenger as well.
"Welcome to bullshitville," Dennis said, staring at the monitor showing Fugly's website. "Population: You. There you are in the top ten shortest times, without needing to slow down towards the end because you apparently paced yourself perfectly, and then they gave you a milkshake afterwards just to see if you would, in fact, drink it when you asked. And you did."
"It was quite nice of them," Taylor agreed. "Though I wasn't pushing myself for speed."
"I vote we move on to our actual meeting," Chris volunteered. "So that we don't go into depression or something." Not that he looked depressed, or in danger of it.
"Right, right," Carlos said, turning the monitor off. "So, as we all know, Taylor here has joined us. But apparently they are not intending to schedule her for a public introduction right now, and I am not permitted to place her on the patrol or console schedules until she has been introduced. Which, of course, creates a problem of what to do."
"Huh," Taylor said, switching to search the PRT database on her Maul phone. "Don't suppose I could just tag along for patrols, unofficially?"
"That isn't allowed for a number of reasons," Carlos admitted. "Otherwise I would have suggested it."
"That would have been awesome," Dennis added. "Just bring you along a few times, see people's reactions."
"It looks like PRT regulations say that anti-heroes can ignore the rules that disallow tagging along on patrols," Taylor said. She did not mention the pile of other rules she was apparently encouraged to break 'gently'. "Unless someone has handed me official orders not to, anyway. And if they have, I haven't gotten the memo yet."
Carlos and Dean both pulled their own phones out to check on that. Dennis had started grumbling about anti-heroes getting all the fun. Missy...had started giggling for some reason. And Chris looked like he just didn't want to be here. Perhaps tinkers gotta tinker and he hadn't gotten his fix today?
"I have to say, the list of rules here that you are encouraged to break in some way is impressive," Dean finally said. "Though I notice that you are not, in fact, encouraged to break console protocol."
"Anti-heroes are supposed to be something like 'bad people doing good' or something like that," Carlos replied before Taylor could say anything. "Nothing in the list of rules to break goes against being a team player, just against striving for perfection. Or at least that is my take on it."
"So, who is on patrol today?" Taylor asked, honestly curious.
"Oh, right," Carlos said, getting up. "I am supposed to show you how to look a lot of that up. I keep forgetting with all your anti-hero bullshit antics." He was grinning as he said that, so Taylor felt she was probably justified in thinking he was joking.
Over the next twenty minutes Taylor was on the receiving end of several 'how to check things' and 'how we are currently handling things internally' talks. In particular, they were lazy and abbreviated everything they could get away with, so Taylor needed the local translation sheet. Specifically, she ended up with a copy of Missy's. Dennis's was considered useless and Carlos admitted he hadn't noted as much down on his.
Looking over the patrol schedule she determined that they would be steering clear of Brockton General today and tomorrow as New Wave tended to run security on the out-of-towner weekends. Amy hadn't mentioned that, but it made sense. Missy and Carlos were due to patrol the boardwalk and it was Dennis's turn to run the console. Chris and Dean could either head home or stick around as potential backup. Or, in Chris's case, stick around and tinker.
"I thought you guys did patrols over more than just the boardwalk?" Taylor commented after looking over the weekend's plans.
"Out of towner weekends for Panacea are an unofficial truce time," Dean explained. "Out of respect for Panacea herself, I think, as she has enough to deal with before gang violence is added. The extra security from New Wave isn't even really needed. So in general we aim for more PR targeting patrols than actually spotting trouble. It saves us from the sheer boredom of normal patrols over areas with no trouble to spot."
"Every so often we still check our less visible routes," Carlos added. "Just to keep them on their toes, but the last time trouble was started on one of these weekends it is rumored Lung himself punished those that caused it. Even the Merchants lay low."
"I had been unaware of these weekends," Taylor admitted. "Despite living in town. How do the gangs all know the schedule?"
"It is posted on the New Wave website," Missy said. "Though I suppose most people have no reason to randomly poke at New Wave's calendar."
In the end Taylor figured she might as well tag along on the patrol. It beat most of the other things she had to do today. They decided that she would slip out of the building and meet them outside, just in case someone decided that Taylor shouldn't join the patrol after all. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, after all.
Taylor slipped out through the ice cream parlor and made her way in the general direction of the PRT front entrance. She could tell that Carlos and Missy had gotten waylaid, probably by people in the lobby. As such they actually caught up to her instead of her catching up to them.
They were originally going to put on a show of meeting up as though they didn't know each other, but there was nobody around to see the show so they skipped it.
"By the way, do you have an earpiece?" Carlos asked. "I forgot to check."
"Don't need one," Taylor responded. It came loud and clear over the radio channel they were using, even though Taylor was whispering, if that. Carlos blinked, then decided that he didn't need to know right now.
"Well then, I will let you move along with Vista," Carlos continued. "While I take to the sky."
"Works for me?" Taylor said, turning to Missy. Who shrugged. "Guess that will do, then."
Carlos lifted off while Taylor and Missy started down towards the boardwalk. After a minute Taylor looked at Missy. "I should have asked before agreeing to this, how annoying will this likely be?"
"That will depend," Missy answered. "Most people are used to seeing us by now, but you are new. And interesting, most likely."
"Do you do anything to make it more interesting?"
"Sometimes I play with my powers a little, try and pull little pranks and see who notices. Occasionally someone will walk up and ask for a demonstration, which can be fun or tedious depending on the situation."
"Huh. So, er, do you mind if I chat with your snark too?"
"I kind of assumed you already were?"
"Been trying to avoid just doing so without permission, since apparently my talking to them can change how they approach things."
"Oh. Well, go ahead. New ways of applying my power can only be a good thing in the long run, right?"
"Yep."
Hello
[Boredom]
Taylor and Missy had come to the end of the boardwalk, Carlos still flying overhead. A number of people had spotted Carlos and were waiting for the other Ward, only to get a Ward and a relative unknown.
Yea, I am not sure how much I will be enjoying this myself. Perhaps we just need a mental exercise?
[Curiosity]
"Vista! Vista!" a little girl yelled as she ran up to Missy, only to stop a couple of feet away when she realized that Taylor was there. "Oooh, who that?"
"This is Maul," Missy gestured to Taylor. "She's new around here."
"Hello there," Taylor said, kneeling down so the girl didn't have to look up as far. "How are you today?"
Perhaps you just need to contemplate something new. You allow Missy to temporarily adjust things, right?
[Agreement]
"Good," the girl said. "What you do?"
"I hit things," Taylor responded, taking the foam bat from her hip. "Wanna see?"
"Ok?" Taylor lightly tapped the girl on the head with the foam bat, from several feet away. The girl flinched, then her eyes went wide. "Felt that!"
And that adjusting can warp space as a side effect?
[Agreement]
"If I need to I can use things that actually hurt," Taylor explained. "But this is good for showing people what I can do."
"Wooooow," the girl said. A number of others that had been watching were apparently intrigued as well.
"What kind of range do you have?" a man who looked to be the girl's father asked. He picked her up and set her on his shoulders, causing her to squeal and giggle.
"Quite a bit, barring obstacles," Taylor responded. "At least a couple of blocks if I needed to."
"Impressive," the man said.
Can you warp space directly, without needing to add or remove material?
[Contemplation]
The man apologized for delaying them and they moved on, the rest of the crowd keeping their distance for now.
"Wanna bet someone asks for a bigger demonstration of what I can do?" Taylor asked Missy a few minutes later. She had also toggled the radio on so Carlos could hear.
"Not taking a sucker's bet," Carlos responded. Missy just giggled. "Though you are intimidating enough that they might not get the nerve today."
"We will have to see, I guess?" Taylor replied.
[Agreement]
So you can just warp space. Can you add or remove material without warping space?
[Curiosity]
Yes, I am going somewhere with this, but one step at a time.
"This is getting weird," Missy said a few minutes later. "Usually a new cape would be a pile of people swarming us, but they are staying back."
"My costume may not look enough like a cape," Taylor suggested. "Perhaps they are confused?"
"True, you aren't exactly a hero in the traditional sense. But that doesn't seem to be it either."
"Maybe many of them saw me yesterday?"
"Possible, but unlikely."
[Negative]
Awww, that is too bad. Let me think some more.
The three Wards, though the public was unaware of Taylor's status, made it most of the way down the boardwalk before running into trouble. In this case, trouble being a drunk shoplifter with a gun.
"Aegis to Console," Carlos radioed in. "Armed shoplifter near the end of the boardwalk, appears to be intoxicated. Permission to engage?"
And there was one of the fun rules Taylor was not expected to follow, provided she felt she could handle the situation without harm to herself. She didn't have to ask first. As such, she was in motion from the point Carlos had reached 'armed'.
Finding the shoplifter was easy, she just ran in the opposite direction everyone else was to get away from him.
"Maul, what are you doing?" Missy radioed. "We don't have permission to engage."
"Technically I am not on patrol," Taylor responded, slipping the wok off of her back. "So this falls under the personal discretion rules. Even if I were on patrol anti-heroes can make judgement calls and engage without permission, or even after being denied permission." Oh, hey, there was the shoplifter. And he had spotted her. "Gimme a second to deal with this guy, ok?"
"Console to Aegis," Dennis's voice came. "Permission has been denied. I repeat, permission has been denied. Do not engage, police are en-route."
Taylor had the collapsible baton in her left hand and the wok in her right. The shoplifter took aim at her, and she swung the wok downwards in front of her. This had two different effects. The first was the shoplifter received a decent hit to the head. The second was that the shoplifter's hand and arm also received a decent hit, knocking the gun down. The bullet fired ricocheted off of the ground in front of Taylor and hit her in the leg. The armor woven into her jeans coupled with her unnatural toughness and the reduced velocity of the bullet meant that she didn't even notice.
A moment later she was on top of the shoplifter, using the baton to knock the gun out of his hand. She then kneed him in the stomach before knocking his legs out from under him. He fell forward and Taylor grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back, allowing the baton and wok to fall off to the side.
"Aegis, Vista," Taylor radioed. "Do either of you have any zip ties or zip cuffs? Or should I just hold him until the police arrive?"
"I have some zip cuffs," Carlos responded, flying down. "Aegis to Console, Maul has taken down the armed shoplifter. Please pass on to the police."
Carlos landed next to Taylor and the shoplifter and produced a pair of zip cuffs from a hidden pocket. He then put them on the shoplifter, allowing Taylor to get up and collect her baton and wok. Missy was standing over the gun, ensuring that nobody touched it for now.
"I only heard the one shot, did anyone see where it went?" Taylor asked loudly. Not really caring if it was one of her fellow Wards or a bystander that answered.
"Er, I did?" a man called from the door of the shop next door to the one the shoplifter had robbed. "I swear it hit you in the leg."
Taylor looked down and found a small impact mark on her jeans. "Oh, so it did. Well, better that it hit me than someone who couldn't take it."
Hey, could you warp space permanently so people could have bigger pockets to carry stuff around?
[Intrigue]
Carlos wasn't entirely sure how to take that, but he could hear the police sirens approaching so now was not the time to ask.
The three Wards returned, though Taylor swung in through the ice cream parlor, to find that Dennis was confused.
"Why have we received no notice of an impending meeting?" Dennis asked. "What with Taylor's actions out there and all?"
"Because I didn't violate any standing orders or regulations?" Taylor asked. "For that matter, neither did Carlos or Missy. What would they want to meet with us about?"
"Right," Carlos said, going over to the monitor and grabbing the wireless keyboard. "I am now going to go over every single anti-hero rule and regulation I can find, if only so that you stop surprising the crap out of me when you do things that we aren't allowed to normally."
Dennis looked at Taylor, then at Carlos. "You know what, I think I will join him. Knowing in advance may make me want to cry at the injustice, but at least I will be informed." He then put actions to words, dropping down next to Carlos and pulling his phone out.
Taylor just grinned as Missy snickered. Deciding it was time to head home Taylor and Missy both went and changed back into their civilian clothing. Taylor showed Missy the parking area for the Wards, and Missy walked out through the garage entrance when Taylor opened it. They arranged to meet back at the PRT building the following day, then went their separate ways.
Once she was through the parking garage wall, which had swung up and out of the way after she activated her transponder, she found herself in a short tunnel that opened up into a parking area maybe a block away. It looked like this was where they parked most of the containment-foam equipped vehicles. She easily spotted the clearly-labeled 'Wards' section to one side, which looked to be a semi-private lot down another short tunnel. Across from that was an effectively identical setup labeled 'Protectorate'. She followed the Wards sign, moving down the short tunnel into a lot with ten spaces. Six of the spaces were labeled with the name of a Ward, but there were none of the normal 'cars and other vehicles are normally parked here' stains and markings you would normally see in parking lots.
She parked her moped in the space labeled 'Maul' and made her way over to the sole obvious door. Checking the map app showed that, in theory, it was also the only door. It opened with her access key, which she assumed was simply an extra security measure. A short flight of stairs and she found herself just down the hall from the Wards common area. Nice and convenient. Though she did wonder why the handle-less door she came out of was labeled as though it were a broom closet. In a building seemingly cleaned by tinkertech drones, as far as she could tell. Another quick check showed that she would need to use her access key to get back to the parking area.
Next up was checking her phone for where pictures were taken and if she should costume up to start with. This led her to a form with a warning that it may take up to an hour to get a response. Damnit. Perhaps she should have checked some more before she even left home. She wandered into the Wards common area and grabbed some juice before sitting down and filling out the form. It was fairly simple and most of it filled itself in for her, but she was still annoyed.
After she was done Taylor focused a bit on her snark sense. She didn't recognize any of the three parahumans in the building, but then again she hadn't actually gotten an introduction to the Protectorate capes in town, excepting Miss Militia. With nobody to hunt down to maybe talk to and needing something to do she decided to look up the actual rules and regulations for the photos. As this was her initial official photo set it was easy to find information.
Non-parahuman photos were mugshots in civilian clothing. That was about it. Parahumans needed a full tinkertech body scan in and out of costume in addition to mugshots in and out of costume and a full body photo in costume. Where things got interesting were the requirements for the full body photo. Heroes were required to be in a non-hostile, respectful, and if possible friendly pose, with aspects of power not directly related to their costume not visible if possible. Anti-heroes, on the other hand, were required to violate at least some of that, if not as many pieces as they were capable of.
That actually made Taylor pause. Who had put this much effort into hero vs anti-hero rules? A quick search actually got her an answer. The original rules and regulations assumed that more parahumans with PR-unfriendly powers or mental leanings would end up in the Wards and Protectorate, hence the hero vs anti-hero rules. They were intended to allow those parahumans who had to do PR-unfriendly things to not go crazy policing their behavior and power usage, and to ensure that there was a very obvious distinction for the public.
There was nothing available on why there weren't more anti-hero parahumans in the system, though. So perhaps the idea had been sound, but turned out to be problematic in other ways. Still, getting back to the photo rules, her powers wouldn't show up properly in a photo. She would have to give some thought to how she wanted to break the other rules instead.
Half an hour later Taylor got a notice on her personal phone asking her to report for her photo, though it was a generic notice from the system and didn't say anything about who would be taking it. Given that it was her personal phone and not her Maul phone she figured this was an out-of-costume photo and left right after rinsing out her now-empty juice bottle.
Five minutes later she had arrived at the designated room. Huh, one of the parahumans was inside. She knocked and waited, the parahuman approaching. Stepping into the room she found herself looking at Armsmaster.
"Good morning," Taylor said. She was most certainly not thinking about certain pairs of panties she had owned with a specific likeness on them. No siree. Not at all. And she would be denying her blush if anyone asked.
"Hello Miss Hebert," Armsmaster replied as he closed the door behind her.
Taylor directed some of her mental focus towards his snark. Hello there!
[Query]
"My apologies," Armsmaster continued, gesturing towards a couple of chairs against the wall. "I was unaware you were already in the building. Had I been aware I would have summoned you after finishing up the maintenance on the tinkertech scanner instead of trying to take into account your travel time."
I am just being polite.
[Dismissal]
"It's no problem. Do you mind if I talk to your snark while you work?" Taylor asked. Better to check, just in case, before he got back to the, er, scanner that he had open.
"I do not mind," Armsmaster replied. "Miss Militia has not reported any negative side effects during or as a result of your discussions with hers. Apparent misunderstandings, but no negative side effects."
"Thank you."
Taylor sat down in one of the chairs while Armsmaster got back to work.
So, you think that being polite is inefficient? Is that what you like, efficiency?
[Agreement]
How do you make things more efficient?
[Exposition]
So you make them more efficient at how they operate, usually smaller, using less materials and power for the same output. Or get them to do the same thing faster, requiring less time waiting around, or with improved output from the same volume. That's neat. Taylor glanced at Armsmaster, who appeared to be working on an internal circuit board of the scanner. Do the things you make more efficient need frequent maintenance?
[Agreement]
Are they more efficient if you include maintenance costs and downtimes?
[... Query]
Well, for one example. You have how much time something saves, and how much time it is unavailable waiting for maintenance or being maintained. If the former is larger than the latter then things are efficient. If the latter is larger than the former then the overall end result is inefficient compared to what it was replacing. The same can be applied to a lot of things, like energy and materials. The maintenance adds more of those as requirements, if the total exceeds what other solutions use then the entire thing is inefficient in comparison.
[Contemplation]
Taylor suspected that she was not going to get any further with Armsmaster's snark today, so she instead pulled out her personal phone and decided to see about getting readings from the heart rate and temperature sensors like Miss Militia said she should be able to. If she needed help she was certain Armsmaster might be able to provide some tips, after all. It took her a good twenty minutes to figure out how the connection worked, as it was a different mode for the Bluetooth modules at both ends, but when she finished her phone was able to keep track of things. She then decided to do the same with her 'Maul' phone, but that only took a couple of minutes.
Looking at the information after it had been gathering for another ten minutes or so she found that the monitor app thought her heart rate was a bit lower than expected, but her temperature was fine. She didn't know what to make of that information, perhaps she would ask Amy about it at some point.
Finally Armsmaster closed the panel on the side of the scanner, mumbling something she couldn't hear. He messed with the controls a little as she heard a humming sound. The sound changed pitch a couple of times, then leveled off.
"Sorry for the wait," Armsmaster said. "If you would come over here and stand on the marking?"
Taylor did as instructed, and then faced the lens on the device when asked. She then had to blink as a bright flash came from the scanner.
"That takes care of the civilian mugshot and full body scan," Armsmaster stated. He seemed to be looking over the output. "Hmm. There appear to be some irregularities in the body scan. Did your power modify your body beyond what you reported?"
"Oh, that, no. I was the target of a tinker fugue."
Armsmaster jerked in surprise. "I see. Is there any reason your paperwork makes no mention of this?"
"None of the forms asked and it happened before I applied to the Wards, so the forms for post-joining body alterations didn't apply."
"Hmmm." He appeared to be doing something. Maybe checking the forms? "That is an interesting deficiency that should probably be corrected. It appears to officially fall to the power testing staff to ask about it, and they do not appear to have done so with you. None of the forms fall to me to fill out, either. It is an interesting bureaucratic oversight. Out of curiosity, what benefits and downsides do your changes provide you with?"
"Enhanced strength, endurance, flexibility, senses, durability, and healing. The healing seems to have reduced my need for sleep slightly. Plus Bluetooth connectivity." Taylor got the impression that Armsmaster was blinking in surprise. "Downsides can include increased appetite and Bluetooth alerts poking my brain."
"Did you really say Bluetooth connectivity?"
"Yep. Organic secure Bluetooth module, hooked directly into my brain. That would likely be showing as an oddity at the base of my skull. Makes it worth wearing an NFC repeater at least." Taylor held her left hand up to show the watch on it.
"That sounds like you got incredibly lucky. Tinker fugues that target individuals are feared for good reason. At any rate, you should go change and return in costume so that we can get those taken care of as well."
"Alright," Taylor said, heading out. She made good time down to the Wards area, changed, and made good time back. She found Armsmaster was once again working on the scanner itself.
"Just a minute," Armsmaster said. A moment later he closed the panel again and gestured to the marked spot on the floor. Taylor looked at the camera without prompting and found that the flash of light didn't make it through the visor this time.
"Now then, regulations state that you need a full-body picture," Armsmaster continued. "This is a basic one for your online cape profile as well as initial promotional materials. PR will work with you and the other Wards for other PR materials as they see fit. Have you consulted the regulations?"
"I have," Taylor responded, slipping the wok from her back. "Including the anti-hero rules."
Armsmaster merely nodded. "If you would stand in front of the screen on the wall in your chosen pose?"
Taylor moved over to the screen and crouched down slightly with the wok held up behind her in her right hand as if she was about to hit someone with it, a slight scowl on her face, the middle finger of her left hand lifted in front of her. Armsmaster merely nodded and snapped the picture.
"Perhaps we should take a second one with the collapsible baton instead of the rude gesture," Armsmaster volunteered. "From past experience, PR may have issues with the first one, even if it is fully within regulations."
"That makes sense," Taylor admitted. She got back into position after unclipping and extending the collapsible baton, and Armsmaster took the second picture.
"Very good. You should get your ID cards in the next four to five days at the longest."
"Thank you."
"For both my own records and out of curiosity, what did you discuss with my, er, 'snark'?"
"We had a short discussion on the effects of maintenance on efficiency ratings."
"I see. Thank you."
Taylor was waved out of the room as Armsmaster turned back to the scanner. She wasn't sure what he was going to do next, but figured she might as well find something else to do.
After some thought Taylor had decided on another visit to "the junkyard", ostensibly because she hadn't visited it in costume yet. Inside she found a number of large chunks of metal had been piled into the near corner, but the gravel pile from her last visit was still sitting there. She idly wondered if anyone else had used the room. Then she realized she could probably just check the access list on the door.
A few minutes later she was looking at the access list. Outside of Taylor it has been a little over a year since someone not flagged as being part of the team maintaining the room had even entered it. Were people unaware of it, or did the current collection of Protectorate and Wards members just not have a desire to break things every so often?
After some contemplation Taylor shrugged and started on hitting things with other things. After all, if nobody else wanted to use the room currently designated for people to destroy the stuff in then it just meant it was like a near-private playroom for her, right?
For the next couple of hours sounds of heavy impacts could be heard coming from the room, had anyone bothered to pass by to hear them.
As lunchtime approached Taylor wandered back to the Wards common area. She had felt Missy arrive, but none of the others, so she figured it might not be a bad time to see how she was faring with the access keys stuff.
"Hello there," Taylor said as she entered the common area. Missy had costumed up and was in the kitchen area.
"Hi," Missy replied. "The standard three Saturday pizzas are here if you want some lunch."
"Standard pizzas?"
"Yep. First come, first serve. Usually they become leftovers for Sunday too."
"Works for me." Taylor grabbed a few slices to start with, then sat on one of the stools at the counter next to where Missy was eating a slice of her own. "So, have you come in through the gym yet?"
"Hell yea, did that yesterday, but I used the ice cream parlor today. They snuck the access keys class in after the console class on Thursday so I don't even have to explain what other class I was taking. The guys are starting to get worried that you corrupted me, though."
"I bet they are, with you likely having bragged about how visiting the gym made it so much easier to get in."
"But it does make it so much easier," Missy exclaimed, grinning. She then frowned. "Did you know that all I had to do was complain ONCE to a PRT officer or Protectorate member about having issues getting in discreetly and they would have pointed me at that class?"
"Squeaky wheel gets the grease?"
"Yea yea, if I am having issues I should tell someone. They covered that. Repeatedly. So, how did you come in today?"
"I used the vehicle entrance, thanks to having been gifted a moped."
"The vehicle doesn't have to be owned by the PRT to get a transponder in it?"
"Might be a side effect of who my uncle is, or you just need to ask. I didn't bother checking either way. Then again, we each have a designated parking space in a dedicated Wards lot. So I suspect you just need to ask. Also, all it appears to do is act as a relay for your access key anyway, so it isn't much of a security risk alone."
Missy took a moment to digest that, then shook her head. "I don't think I will be able to take advantage of that for a couple years at least. But it is very nice to know about. So, what were you up to, given that you were out and about in costume?"
"Photos to start with, then I went and played in the junkyard."
"The what?"
"Training room six. The one with all the stuff we are allowed, nay, encouraged to break."
"The what? How did you discover that?"
"I searched for being bored in a PRT building."
Missy blinked, not that Taylor could see her eyes, then pulled her phone out and ran a search. "Holy crap. So much for finding ways to entertain myself in here all the time." Missy poked around a little more while Taylor got a soda and a couple more slices of pizza. "Oh! I almost forgot. How in the world did you swing your 'how I got verified' stunt?"
"Oh, that? I have an awesome uncle. He swung it for me. Except for the parts that required me to be swinging on a wrecking ball, anyway."
"That is so unfair. Dennis was all but frothing at the injustice of it, even. Have you been looking at the responses?"
"Yep, every so often. Haven't bothered to reply, obviously. Kinda interesting that nobody thinks I might be a Ward."
"Well, all the evidence points to you living in a town with no Wards. I was amazed that they spent over six pages just trying to figure out where you were when you pulled that."
"Did you see the guy on page twelve that pointed out that we left the time and GPS coordinates in the video metadata after they spent over four pages arguing about landmarks? Anyway, where that happened would have been a wonderful data point if I hadn't returned to Brockton Bay afterwards. I proceeded to help unstick two dumpsters in the alleyways behind the boardwalk shops, and then got my picture on Fugly's wall of soon to be clogged arteries. Too bad Amy is busy this weekend, I might have to have her check if I am actually getting clogged arteries at some point."
Missy turned to stare at Taylor, then turned back to her phone and obviously ran a few searches. "Holy crap, I missed those threads. How in the world are they not suspecting you are the theoretical new Ward if you did that here?"
Taylor made a point of tapping her chin as though deep in thought. "I think it stems from them having convinced themselves that the Ward was passing through to somewhere else. I am still amazed how iron-clad my civilian identity apparently is, they are convinced there is absolutely no way Taylor Hebert is a parahuman. Really, they are exceptional at convincing themselves of things."
Missy shook her head and started reading the threads she had missed. After a couple of minutes she stopped and scrolled back up to re-read something. "Aren't you a Blaster/Trump? How did you help with stuck dumpsters, given that they say here that your greater than normal strength helped?"
"I am starting to think I should start introducing myself with 'Hi, my name is Maul. I was the target of a tinker fugue' or something, since this keeps coming up."
Missy visibly flinched at that. "Those are not fun, I almost got caught in one of Leet's last year, Über was able to snap him out of it before he actually reached the point of implanting whatever he had come up with in me." Missy shivered. "At least he was apologetic about it?" Missy then cocked her head to the side. "Did you at least come out ahead?"
"Enhanced strength, flexibility, endurance, senses. Faster healing. Bluetooth."
"Bluetooth? Is that how you were able to just wave your hand to open the secure doors? That confused the crap out of me when I was thinking about it yesterday, after Felicity showed me the watches and explained the downside."
"Yep. On the other hand, calls and other notifications poke my brain directly. So it comes with ups and downs."
"How much of a secret is all of that?"
"I have pretty much told anyone who is aware of my parahuman status and has asked, really. Thus not much of a secret, just not volunteering until someone has reason to ask."
Missy just shook her head. "So, looking forward to your first patrol?"
"Not sure when it is, as it isn't on my calendar."
"Huh, that is odd. They schedule your introduction yet?"
"Nope," Taylor shrugged. "I think there is a problem, hence the need for the meeting today. Speaking of which, Carlos is on his way. I bet the others start trickling in soon too."
Taylor grabbed yet more slices of pizza, incidentally now having grabbed an entire pizza's worth in total. It wasn't like she didn't have time to eat the pizza as Carlos still had to make it into the building and to the Wards area. And the others hadn't shown up in her range at all yet.
No, wait, there was Chris, though he appeared to be coming in the vehicle entrance. Must have gotten picked up?
By the time Carlos was reaching the Wards area Taylor had finished the last of the slices she had grabbed and was washing her hands. Dennis and Dean had appeared on her snark sense, apparently together, but were still a couple minutes out.
"Good afternoon Carlos," Taylor called as the door closed behind him. "Chris is in the building and Dennis and Dean are nearly to the building."
"That is an amazingly useful ability," Carlos answered. "Do you know where Missy is?"
"Sitting on the couch?" Missy answered. Huh, Carlos jumped a little, it felt like. He must not have noticed her?
"Right, well, maybe we can get the meeting over with early," Carlos said, then headed to the private rooms. Probably to costume up.
Taylor finished her soda and rinsed it, then grabbed a bottle of water. She passed Chris coming in on her way to the couches. Once there she slipped the wok and entrenching tool off of her back before dropping down next to Missy.
Dennis and Dean passed with only a mild "hello" on their way to costume up.
Taylor frowned. "Why is everyone getting into costume? Is it required for meetings?"
"Not really, but we are supposed to get into the habit so that we are ready to deploy in an emergency," Carlos responded as he returned, helmet in hand. "By the way, we are supposed to try and be in costume when on-site, so that we are ready to deploy in an emergency."
"Yes, I had gathered that," Taylor deadpanned. "Any other words of wisdom that need to be imparted twice?"
"Just that you suck," Carlos responded. "Seriously, getting verified on PHO by riding a wrecking ball, using your power to demolish a building, on camera, with PRT approval? It was undeniably awesome. But you suck for pulling it off."
"Mainly that you pulled it off without us," Missy added.
Taylor stuck her tongue out in response to that, and Carlos dropped into a seat. Chris came out a few minutes later, shortly followed by both Dennis and Dean. Taylor and Missy were the only ones with their full costume on, everyone else had left their headgear off. Then again, Taylor felt she was cheating slightly by playing a game of solitaire using her visor. She did have a document open on her Maul phone in case she needed to take notes, though.
"Taylor, you are bullshit," Dennis opened with after a moment of silence. "How did you get the PRT to agree to that stunt?"
"I didn't get the PRT to agree to anything," Taylor responded.
"How are you not in trouble with the higher-ups, then?" Dean asked, honestly curious.
"Never said it wasn't agreed to, just that I didn't do it," Taylor said, grinning. "On a completely and totally unrelated note, my uncle is awesome."
"That entire thing was still bullshit," Dennis declared. "And is probably the most bullshit thing that has happened this month."
"I think I am more impressed that she finished a Challenger," Missy added. "She only took forty minutes, and she had a milkshake afterwards!"
This resulted in a collection of stares in Taylor's general direction. Taylor grinned and nodded. "It was actually quite tasty, if not quite filling enough."
"I stand corrected," Dennis said, grabbing the wireless keyboard so he could bring PHO up on the monitor. "That has to be pure bullshit."
Five minutes later they had found the PHO thread talking about it and had checked the Fugly's website, which showed Maul's photo prominently on the front page as the latest defeater of the Challenger '+1 Milkshake'. Though they hadn't watched them there were several cell-phone camera clips of Taylor eating the Challenger as well.
"Welcome to bullshitville," Dennis said, staring at the monitor showing Fugly's website. "Population: You. There you are in the top ten shortest times, without needing to slow down towards the end because you apparently paced yourself perfectly, and then they gave you a milkshake afterwards just to see if you would, in fact, drink it when you asked. And you did."
"It was quite nice of them," Taylor agreed. "Though I wasn't pushing myself for speed."
"I vote we move on to our actual meeting," Chris volunteered. "So that we don't go into depression or something." Not that he looked depressed, or in danger of it.
"Right, right," Carlos said, turning the monitor off. "So, as we all know, Taylor here has joined us. But apparently they are not intending to schedule her for a public introduction right now, and I am not permitted to place her on the patrol or console schedules until she has been introduced. Which, of course, creates a problem of what to do."
"Huh," Taylor said, switching to search the PRT database on her Maul phone. "Don't suppose I could just tag along for patrols, unofficially?"
"That isn't allowed for a number of reasons," Carlos admitted. "Otherwise I would have suggested it."
"That would have been awesome," Dennis added. "Just bring you along a few times, see people's reactions."
"It looks like PRT regulations say that anti-heroes can ignore the rules that disallow tagging along on patrols," Taylor said. She did not mention the pile of other rules she was apparently encouraged to break 'gently'. "Unless someone has handed me official orders not to, anyway. And if they have, I haven't gotten the memo yet."
Carlos and Dean both pulled their own phones out to check on that. Dennis had started grumbling about anti-heroes getting all the fun. Missy...had started giggling for some reason. And Chris looked like he just didn't want to be here. Perhaps tinkers gotta tinker and he hadn't gotten his fix today?
"I have to say, the list of rules here that you are encouraged to break in some way is impressive," Dean finally said. "Though I notice that you are not, in fact, encouraged to break console protocol."
"Anti-heroes are supposed to be something like 'bad people doing good' or something like that," Carlos replied before Taylor could say anything. "Nothing in the list of rules to break goes against being a team player, just against striving for perfection. Or at least that is my take on it."
"So, who is on patrol today?" Taylor asked, honestly curious.
"Oh, right," Carlos said, getting up. "I am supposed to show you how to look a lot of that up. I keep forgetting with all your anti-hero bullshit antics." He was grinning as he said that, so Taylor felt she was probably justified in thinking he was joking.
Over the next twenty minutes Taylor was on the receiving end of several 'how to check things' and 'how we are currently handling things internally' talks. In particular, they were lazy and abbreviated everything they could get away with, so Taylor needed the local translation sheet. Specifically, she ended up with a copy of Missy's. Dennis's was considered useless and Carlos admitted he hadn't noted as much down on his.
Looking over the patrol schedule she determined that they would be steering clear of Brockton General today and tomorrow as New Wave tended to run security on the out-of-towner weekends. Amy hadn't mentioned that, but it made sense. Missy and Carlos were due to patrol the boardwalk and it was Dennis's turn to run the console. Chris and Dean could either head home or stick around as potential backup. Or, in Chris's case, stick around and tinker.
"I thought you guys did patrols over more than just the boardwalk?" Taylor commented after looking over the weekend's plans.
"Out of towner weekends for Panacea are an unofficial truce time," Dean explained. "Out of respect for Panacea herself, I think, as she has enough to deal with before gang violence is added. The extra security from New Wave isn't even really needed. So in general we aim for more PR targeting patrols than actually spotting trouble. It saves us from the sheer boredom of normal patrols over areas with no trouble to spot."
"Every so often we still check our less visible routes," Carlos added. "Just to keep them on their toes, but the last time trouble was started on one of these weekends it is rumored Lung himself punished those that caused it. Even the Merchants lay low."
"I had been unaware of these weekends," Taylor admitted. "Despite living in town. How do the gangs all know the schedule?"
"It is posted on the New Wave website," Missy said. "Though I suppose most people have no reason to randomly poke at New Wave's calendar."
In the end Taylor figured she might as well tag along on the patrol. It beat most of the other things she had to do today. They decided that she would slip out of the building and meet them outside, just in case someone decided that Taylor shouldn't join the patrol after all. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, after all.
Taylor slipped out through the ice cream parlor and made her way in the general direction of the PRT front entrance. She could tell that Carlos and Missy had gotten waylaid, probably by people in the lobby. As such they actually caught up to her instead of her catching up to them.
They were originally going to put on a show of meeting up as though they didn't know each other, but there was nobody around to see the show so they skipped it.
"By the way, do you have an earpiece?" Carlos asked. "I forgot to check."
"Don't need one," Taylor responded. It came loud and clear over the radio channel they were using, even though Taylor was whispering, if that. Carlos blinked, then decided that he didn't need to know right now.
"Well then, I will let you move along with Vista," Carlos continued. "While I take to the sky."
"Works for me?" Taylor said, turning to Missy. Who shrugged. "Guess that will do, then."
Carlos lifted off while Taylor and Missy started down towards the boardwalk. After a minute Taylor looked at Missy. "I should have asked before agreeing to this, how annoying will this likely be?"
"That will depend," Missy answered. "Most people are used to seeing us by now, but you are new. And interesting, most likely."
"Do you do anything to make it more interesting?"
"Sometimes I play with my powers a little, try and pull little pranks and see who notices. Occasionally someone will walk up and ask for a demonstration, which can be fun or tedious depending on the situation."
"Huh. So, er, do you mind if I chat with your snark too?"
"I kind of assumed you already were?"
"Been trying to avoid just doing so without permission, since apparently my talking to them can change how they approach things."
"Oh. Well, go ahead. New ways of applying my power can only be a good thing in the long run, right?"
"Yep."
Hello
[Boredom]
Taylor and Missy had come to the end of the boardwalk, Carlos still flying overhead. A number of people had spotted Carlos and were waiting for the other Ward, only to get a Ward and a relative unknown.
Yea, I am not sure how much I will be enjoying this myself. Perhaps we just need a mental exercise?
[Curiosity]
"Vista! Vista!" a little girl yelled as she ran up to Missy, only to stop a couple of feet away when she realized that Taylor was there. "Oooh, who that?"
"This is Maul," Missy gestured to Taylor. "She's new around here."
"Hello there," Taylor said, kneeling down so the girl didn't have to look up as far. "How are you today?"
Perhaps you just need to contemplate something new. You allow Missy to temporarily adjust things, right?
[Agreement]
"Good," the girl said. "What you do?"
"I hit things," Taylor responded, taking the foam bat from her hip. "Wanna see?"
"Ok?" Taylor lightly tapped the girl on the head with the foam bat, from several feet away. The girl flinched, then her eyes went wide. "Felt that!"
And that adjusting can warp space as a side effect?
[Agreement]
"If I need to I can use things that actually hurt," Taylor explained. "But this is good for showing people what I can do."
"Wooooow," the girl said. A number of others that had been watching were apparently intrigued as well.
"What kind of range do you have?" a man who looked to be the girl's father asked. He picked her up and set her on his shoulders, causing her to squeal and giggle.
"Quite a bit, barring obstacles," Taylor responded. "At least a couple of blocks if I needed to."
"Impressive," the man said.
Can you warp space directly, without needing to add or remove material?
[Contemplation]
The man apologized for delaying them and they moved on, the rest of the crowd keeping their distance for now.
"Wanna bet someone asks for a bigger demonstration of what I can do?" Taylor asked Missy a few minutes later. She had also toggled the radio on so Carlos could hear.
"Not taking a sucker's bet," Carlos responded. Missy just giggled. "Though you are intimidating enough that they might not get the nerve today."
"We will have to see, I guess?" Taylor replied.
[Agreement]
So you can just warp space. Can you add or remove material without warping space?
[Curiosity]
Yes, I am going somewhere with this, but one step at a time.
"This is getting weird," Missy said a few minutes later. "Usually a new cape would be a pile of people swarming us, but they are staying back."
"My costume may not look enough like a cape," Taylor suggested. "Perhaps they are confused?"
"True, you aren't exactly a hero in the traditional sense. But that doesn't seem to be it either."
"Maybe many of them saw me yesterday?"
"Possible, but unlikely."
[Negative]
Awww, that is too bad. Let me think some more.
The three Wards, though the public was unaware of Taylor's status, made it most of the way down the boardwalk before running into trouble. In this case, trouble being a drunk shoplifter with a gun.
"Aegis to Console," Carlos radioed in. "Armed shoplifter near the end of the boardwalk, appears to be intoxicated. Permission to engage?"
And there was one of the fun rules Taylor was not expected to follow, provided she felt she could handle the situation without harm to herself. She didn't have to ask first. As such, she was in motion from the point Carlos had reached 'armed'.
Finding the shoplifter was easy, she just ran in the opposite direction everyone else was to get away from him.
"Maul, what are you doing?" Missy radioed. "We don't have permission to engage."
"Technically I am not on patrol," Taylor responded, slipping the wok off of her back. "So this falls under the personal discretion rules. Even if I were on patrol anti-heroes can make judgement calls and engage without permission, or even after being denied permission." Oh, hey, there was the shoplifter. And he had spotted her. "Gimme a second to deal with this guy, ok?"
"Console to Aegis," Dennis's voice came. "Permission has been denied. I repeat, permission has been denied. Do not engage, police are en-route."
Taylor had the collapsible baton in her left hand and the wok in her right. The shoplifter took aim at her, and she swung the wok downwards in front of her. This had two different effects. The first was the shoplifter received a decent hit to the head. The second was that the shoplifter's hand and arm also received a decent hit, knocking the gun down. The bullet fired ricocheted off of the ground in front of Taylor and hit her in the leg. The armor woven into her jeans coupled with her unnatural toughness and the reduced velocity of the bullet meant that she didn't even notice.
A moment later she was on top of the shoplifter, using the baton to knock the gun out of his hand. She then kneed him in the stomach before knocking his legs out from under him. He fell forward and Taylor grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back, allowing the baton and wok to fall off to the side.
"Aegis, Vista," Taylor radioed. "Do either of you have any zip ties or zip cuffs? Or should I just hold him until the police arrive?"
"I have some zip cuffs," Carlos responded, flying down. "Aegis to Console, Maul has taken down the armed shoplifter. Please pass on to the police."
Carlos landed next to Taylor and the shoplifter and produced a pair of zip cuffs from a hidden pocket. He then put them on the shoplifter, allowing Taylor to get up and collect her baton and wok. Missy was standing over the gun, ensuring that nobody touched it for now.
"I only heard the one shot, did anyone see where it went?" Taylor asked loudly. Not really caring if it was one of her fellow Wards or a bystander that answered.
"Er, I did?" a man called from the door of the shop next door to the one the shoplifter had robbed. "I swear it hit you in the leg."
Taylor looked down and found a small impact mark on her jeans. "Oh, so it did. Well, better that it hit me than someone who couldn't take it."
Hey, could you warp space permanently so people could have bigger pockets to carry stuff around?
[Intrigue]
Carlos wasn't entirely sure how to take that, but he could hear the police sirens approaching so now was not the time to ask.
The three Wards returned, though Taylor swung in through the ice cream parlor, to find that Dennis was confused.
"Why have we received no notice of an impending meeting?" Dennis asked. "What with Taylor's actions out there and all?"
"Because I didn't violate any standing orders or regulations?" Taylor asked. "For that matter, neither did Carlos or Missy. What would they want to meet with us about?"
"Right," Carlos said, going over to the monitor and grabbing the wireless keyboard. "I am now going to go over every single anti-hero rule and regulation I can find, if only so that you stop surprising the crap out of me when you do things that we aren't allowed to normally."
Dennis looked at Taylor, then at Carlos. "You know what, I think I will join him. Knowing in advance may make me want to cry at the injustice, but at least I will be informed." He then put actions to words, dropping down next to Carlos and pulling his phone out.
Taylor just grinned as Missy snickered. Deciding it was time to head home Taylor and Missy both went and changed back into their civilian clothing. Taylor showed Missy the parking area for the Wards, and Missy walked out through the garage entrance when Taylor opened it. They arranged to meet back at the PRT building the following day, then went their separate ways.