On Feathered Wings, We Fly (Norse Mythology AU, Alt-Power)

Reese · Mar 6, 2023

Sylnarri said:
Besides, I still fully expected her to stab me in the back once it no longer benefited the Nazis to abstain.

Did something get incorrectly worded there? I parse that as Taylor thinking Sophia is trying to help the Nazis -- which doesn't make sense to me.

Sylnarri said:
Yes, Vicky knew Gondul is Taylor.

Shocked, I am shocked at her brilliant, incredible deduction.

Anyway, thanks for writing!
I do wonder just what Amy saw. I suspect Taylor's biology might be a bit less human than she looks from the outside...

Sander River DL said:
Is Amy reacting to non-human heritage, her trans-ness, or both?

I doubt it's Taylor being trans. Some initial surprise from that, sure, since Amy didn't know ahead of time -- but I also doubt that this is the first time she's used her power on a transwoman. Or an "ordinary" parahuman, for that matter. Amy's behavior there, instead, seemed to me to be more like she was encountering something novel to her.

Sylnarri · Mar 10, 2023

Now this is a big chapter. A lot happens and I hope you enjoy!
Thank you to my amazing Betas! @Pendragoon , Dysole, and @Selenelawfulgood!

Berkanan 1.8

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

The sweet aroma of berries and bergamot oil hit my nose as my tea finished steeping. The scent helped soothe my anxiety for what I was about to ask Dad. It wasn't anything major, but no matter how many times I told myself it would be fine, it wouldn't quell my roiling anxiety.

I finished making breakfast and then quickly placed the two plates on the table. Dad started to eat slowly, the morning newspaper taking much of his focus, while I took a sip of my tea before starting on my breakfast. It wasn't anything special; slightly burnt bacon, dry scrambled eggs with a little bit of seasoning, and buttered toast. Some days we even ventured into the realm of waffles, yippee.

About halfway through breakfast, I couldn't stop playing with my food as I tried to come up with the words to say to Dad. It'd been a week since Vicky accepted my challenge and she'd succeeded spectacularly. She spent the entire week studying, even going so far as to skip out on patrols.

It did mean that our planned joint patrols were effectively on hold. The idea had been to allow Gondul to be seen with a well known hero and cement my place as one in the public eye. Now that she had passed my test, I hoped we could get out and do some good together.

But that did little to detract from the fact that it'd been a long time since someone came over to the house. I didn't know what Vicky would think about the state of our home and its slight neglect since Mom's passing. Every so often, I would look around, try to find anything that might reveal too much, but it seemed like a moot point sometimes because of Dad.

I still wasn't sure how he would react about someone coming over to the house. Eventually I just had to speak my mind. "Hey, Dad?"

"Hmm?" He half hummed, half grunted.

"Is…is it alright if-if I had a friend c-come over on Tuesday?" Vicky would be busy over the weekend with family stuff making Tuesday the earliest I knew she was available. It worked for me since it gave me a few days to prepare myself.

Dad blinked a few times, the zombie-like stare ebbing away as he processed my question. He cleared his throat and said, "Of course, Honey. Is it Emma? She hasn't been around for quite some time."

I tried not to wince at her name. "Uhh, no. It's a new friend."

That seemed to have gotten his attention. "Oh? Is this a boy 'friend'?"

"DAD!"

"Girl 'friend'?"

"By the gods, no! She's just a friend."

The amused smile on his face was filled with so much smug that I had to roll my eyes at it. He laughed and said, "Alright, alright. So who is this mysterious girl."

"Vicky… Victoria Dallon." Wow, it was weird to say her full name. I was so used to calling her just Vicky.

"Victoria… wait, as in-"

"Yes, as in Glory Girl."

I seemed to have his full attention now as he set the newspaper aside. "How did you become friends with her?"

"She bumped into me."

He blinked owlishly. "I'm sorry, she 'bumped' into you?"

I rubbed the back of my head as I looked away, seeing a shelf that would need dusting. "Well… you know how you asked me if I knocked over any books?"

He nodded his head and gestured for me to continue.

"Well, I technically didn't. She did, as well as me."

Dad's blank face and stare was broken mere seconds later as he let out a bellow of a laugh. To say I was embarrassed was an understatement. I crossed my arms and huffed, trying to ignore the heat on my cheeks. Eventually he calmed and muttered, "Just like how I met your mother."

"What?" I asked, wanting to know if he said what I thought he said.

"Oh, nothing, honey," He lied. I squinted my eyes at him but he kept smiling. "Anyway, of course she can come over. Just make sure to do your homework but otherwise, you have free range of the house." He did a weird eyebrow thing that I couldn't figure out.

Then it hit me. "DAD!"

He laughed again, much to my displeasure. That he would sugges- no I wasn't going to think about that. It was better for my mental health if I didn't.

Treacle hopped onto the table and sat near my plate, "Mowww."

"No, you aren't getting any," I said. He and his brother already had their breakfast.

Treacle continued to give me what equated to the cat version of 'puppy dog eyes' before he turned to Dad. Unlike me, he relented and gave the beggar a piece of bacon.

Spoiled cat.

Ignoring the pointed looks he was sending me as I quickly finished my breakfast and raced upstairs. A quick text message to Vicky along with my address and I started getting ready for the day.

ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

I finished setting the last candle down on the altar when the doorbell rang. With one last look at the picture, I turned around and went to the front door. My eyes glanced over to the cats on the sofa, their eyes lazily following me as I walked across the living room.

Vicky hovered above the ground for a second before setting down. She was wearing a gray cardigan with blue stars in varying sizes that cascaded down from her shoulder. She had a nice white shirt with white letters on it that faded into the shirt. Who thought white text on white shirt was a good idea? Her light colored jeans had a few rips and holes seemed to be purposely made. It looked really good on her though, just like everything she wore.

I wished I could pull that off.

"Hey Tay!" She said energetically with a smile on her face. "Did you know that the step-"

"I know," I sighed.

Vicky blinked a few times at my interruption and I felt a little guilty. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity and I wasn't sure what to say. Should I apologize? Should I clarify about the stupid step? Questions like these bounced in my head when I finally realized that she was still outside. "Uhh, right. Come on in."

She snickered and walked inside with a slight bounce in her step. She looked around the house, "You have a nice home!"

"Thanks, we've been here all my life. There's… a lot of memories here."

She didn't say anything but continued to look around. At that moment, I noticed there was a photo that I really wished Dad didn't put back up. I raced towards it and slammed it down onto the table with a resounding crack. My finger grazed along the side and I noticed it had shattered the frame. Oh well.

Vicky watched me with a raised eyebrow and I let out a fake laugh. "Uhh… I saw a bug."

"And you used the picture to kill it?"

"Yup!"

She continued to stare at me with those piercing blue eyes and I tried to keep my fake smile on my face. Luckily, I was saved from further embarrassment.

"Mrrw," "Mew."

Both Vicky and I looked over to the couch to see both of my cats watching with inquisitive eyes. I heard a sharp intake of air from Vicky before she screamed, "KITTIES!" It wasn't even a second before she was kneeling down in front of the cats and giving them furious, yet gentle, head scratches. "Who are cute cats? You are!"

I could hear their purrs from where I was standing. Spoiled cats. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Bee. "This one is Bee and that one is Treacle."

"Aww! What adorable names you have!" She looked up at me and asked, "Why didn't you tell me you had cats? I would have come sooner!"

"I-uhh, it didn't seem relevant? How was I supposed to know you like cats?"

She stared at me and said, "How many cat pictures and videos do I send you?"

"Too many to count."

The smile on her face slowly grew into a cheshire grin. "And what was I wearing the last time we were at Boardwalk Tea?"

"A pink sweater with a white cat on it."

Her eyebrow raised again and then it dawned on me.

"Oh."

A harmonious giggle erupted from her lips. She looked back at the cats and suddenly became more somber. "Mom wouldn't let us have cats. Said they would ruin the house."

"She's not wrong about that."

"Mrrow," Treacle said with almost a sarcastic twist as he looked up.

"Don't give me that mister. You knocked over a glass a few weeks ago."

"Mow," at least he sounded sorry.

"They're quite talkative, aren't they?" Vicky asked as she watched the exchange.

"You have no idea." She seemed entirely engrossed in giving the cats their demanded tribute. "Uhh, do you want anything to drink? I have some tea…" I really was not used to having friends over.

A small smile graced her lips. "If you don't mind, that sounds great!"

I nodded and walked into the kitchen and got the kettle going. As I got mugs together, I heard her say, "So where is this mysterious stash your mom left?"

Watching the kettle, I said, "Downstairs in the basement."

"Can the cats come?"

No matter how hard I tried to hold it, I snorted. The question was so ridiculous that I couldn't stop myself. "Yes, they can come. They usually don't venture into the basement often."

"Do they just stay in the living room?"

"Or my room. Even when Mom was around, they tended to sleep with me."

"When did you get them?"

"Not sure actually. The stories I heard was that Mom had them when she met my dad, but they aren't that old. My guess is that she had gotten Bee and Treacle when I was younger and I never noticed the difference," I replied honestly. The kettle started whistling so I took it off the burner and started pouring it into the cups. "What tea do you want? I have green, earl grey, raspberry, and a special blend from Norway. That one is my favorite."

"Hmm," She said at first, clearly deep in thought. "I'll try the special blend."

I put the blend into the filters and placed them in the water. As they steeped, I saw Vicky watching the two cats with an inquisitive eye. Bee let out a calm, "Meow." Which seemed to snap Vicky out of it and resumed her petting.

A small ding rang next to me, alerting me that the tea was ready. Removing the filters, I grabbed both cups and walked over to the couch. Vicky finally took her hands off the cats, much to their chagrin if their cries were any indication, and took her cup. She blew the hot steam away and took a cautious sip.

Her eyes opened wide as I could imagine the myriad of flavors that assaulted her senses. "Wow, this is really good."

I smiled, "I'm glad you like it! Mom turned me onto it and I've always made sure to have it ever since. Even if it's expensive."

She nodded and took another sip. She looked around the house again and I saw her eyes stop at the altar on the small table where several family photos used to be. She walked towards it and set her cup to the side. "What is all this? Is this your mom?"

Moving to stand next to her, I started my explanation. "Yeah, that's her. This is an altar."

"An altar?" I could see the gears turned in her head.

"Yeah, it's used for specific holidays as a means of prayer or chants and depending on the belief, for spells, but for the most part it's for symbolism."

Vicky turned to face me. "Wait, are you… you're not Christian, are you."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not. Dad sort of is, but Mom and I were Pagan, specifically Norse."

Vicky stared at me with such surprise and wonderment that it was like she was discovering a piece of the text we've been researching that we never knew about before. "I never thought you were… wow. I thought your phrases and what not were just, I don't know, appearances or something."

My palms started to sweat a little as the conversation continued. I never imagined it would be a big deal, but the way she was reacting seemed to be a problem. Emma never had an issue with it, but we did grow up together… I also shouldn't use her as a reference in the first place.

"This isn't a problem, is it?" I barely noticed that one of my hands had gone to my braid to twirl it while the other was tapping the side of the cup.

That seemed to snap Vicky out of whatever fog she was in. "What? Oh no! Not at all! I just… it sort of makes sense now. I know a few times you mentioned your heritage and all that and I never thought about the actual meaning behind that."

My fingers stopped twirling my braid and scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, it's not like I worship a specific Norse god or anything. Mom didn't either. The phrase 'by the gods' is more of an open ended sort of thing."

"Do you worship all of them then? I imagine the revelation of finding out that our mythos of them and what was in the book would've had a significant impact."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not really? Mom used to always say certain things about them that now make a lot more sense because of that book, but I never really took account of the differences. We mostly focused on the moon's cycle, solstices, certain days that have significant meaning. Like today."

"What's today?"

Setting my cup down on the table, I pointed towards the altar that had a calendar on it if you knew what to look for. "This symbol means Distings for Norse Paganism, or in the Celtic and modern Paganism, Imbolc. It is a day to prepare oneself, the cattle, and the seeds for the coming spring. It also means a day of purification. But specifically for Distings, it is a time to honor and revere the women ancestors of our family." It was also called Dísablót, but I didn't want to tell her that. Vicky at this point knew enough of the language to pick up on the holiday's previous roots in human sacrifice and that wasn't really a topic I felt like discussing.

Vicky pointed to the picture of Mom. "That's why you have a picture of your mom."

"Correct. At sundown, I light the candles and it's supposed to be sort of a… sign to the departed that we still remember them."

She continued to stare at the picture and I wondered what was going on in her head. After a few moments, she turned her head and looked at me, a soft smile on her face and eyes glistening slightly. "That's beautiful."

A small cough came unhindered in my throat at the pure emotion she put behind that. "Yeah, it is. A lot of Paganism is like that."

"So there's no sacrifices?"

I shook my head. "Gods no. Back in the day, superstition like that was common, but sacrifices don't really do anything. At least that's what Mom always told me. There was no point in sacrificing a living thing to try and talk to the gods. She said that no matter what you tried, the gods don't always hear the pleas of man. That they had bigger issues to deal with."

Vicky grabbed her cup and took a sip out of it. A look of contempt was on her face as she savored the flavors. "That's not ominous at all."

I shrugged my shoulders. "We live in a world where there's people who can level buildings, control fire, or lift a truck with their bare hands. Lets not forget about the fact that we know there's other Earths out there. Believing that the gods are too preoccupied to help is not too far-fetched."

She raised an eyebrow at me, but it seemed her reply wasn't about my reference to her strength. "I guess you're not wrong." She looked at the picture again. "That's a pretty necklace."

"She always wore that necklace," I said as I looked at it. It was one of the few pictures that I had of her that displayed it out in the open. It was a magnificent golden torc with a large amber gemstone in the center. She said it was unique and I believed her, it wasn't like I'd seen anything like it. "She never mentioned where she got it, but according to Dad, she had it before they met."

"Interesting…"She trailed off, looking at the picture for a few more seconds. Then she looked at me. "I see where you got your looks. And hair."

I scoffed and was about to say that I didn't, but I didn't want to tell her too much. There was no way I could ever be as pretty as Mom. She wasn't born in the wrong body like I had been. I knew I would never look as good as she did. Instead, I settled on something I did agree with. "I got her hair while I got my Dad's hair color."

Vicky looked around and her eyes landed on one of the pictures on the wall. It was one of my parents, as well as Aunt Zoe, standing next to each other in front of the Liberty Bell. They had gone on a trip to Philadelphia to visit the national monuments. It was one of the many trips they went on without me. Emma and I weren't that bothered by it since we had a school field trip to Boston at the time.

That trip was one of the scary ones. Emma and I were only five at the time and it was when the Siberian had killed Hero in the same city and I feared that our family was there. Luckily they happened to be in a different part of the town far from the scene. They came home just hours after that incident but it would always be a reminder of the close call whenever they went on their vacations.

"Who's the redhead?"

"That's my Aunt Zoe. Well, not my actual aunt. My family has always been close to the Barnes since we were children."

"Wait, Barnes?" Victoria did a double take. "As in Alan Barnes, the divorce lawyer?"

Furrowing my eyebrows, I said, "Uhh, yeah. You know him?"

"He works in my Mom's firm. I've met his daughter, Emma."

"Oh."

"She's a bitch."

I couldn't help it, I snorted. "Yeah, she is. There was a time when she wasn't but—"

"You're not friends with her, right?"

My head furiously shook at the question and it only took me a few seconds to realize I did. "Not anymore."

Vicky eyed me and I tried my best not to squirm under her scrutinizing gaze. She looked back at the picture. "I guess her mom isn't like that?"

"No, she's… she's nothing like her daughter." A fond smile grew on my lips.

"That's good." She looked back at me and I had to turn my gaze. Attempting to school my face, I took a hearty gulp of my tea before looking back up at her. I noticed she was still staring at me with a look of someone deep in thought. It was getting a little uncomfortable as the seconds passed so I tried to snap her out of it by waving my hand in front of her. "Earth Bet to Vicky."

She shook her head and blinked a few times, looking away for a moment and clearing her throat before her eyes landed on me again. "Well, black hair suits you."

There was something in her look that was different from what she had before and it caused my cheeks to heat up and I wasn't sure why. It wasn't the first time she'd done it and everytime I wasn't sure how to react. Curse my body for betraying me.

Ignoring my body for several different reasons, I changed the topic. "So, do you want to see my mom's stash? It's practically a library down there."

Her eyebrows raised slightly but whatever was on her mind seemed to disappear when she looked for her tea. "In a moment. There's… something I want to talk to you about."

The instant the words left her lips, my body grew tense and I mentally prepared myself for the worst. Whatever she was about to say couldn't be any worse than what the Trio has done. What Emma has said. At least that's what I told myself.

"Wh-what is it?"

"So… alright, my sister told me something about you that I don't think you intended to let out."

The panic started to settle in and I was barely able to speak as my mouth dried, "Wh-what?"

"...She told me you were trans. Basically outed you to me," There was an irritated look on her face and all my fears started crashing down on me. I started biting the inside of my cheek, a habit I thought I had broken years ago. My hands fidgeted, playing with the loose thread on the inside of the hoodie, knowing all too well that it would ruin it.

Then the tension snapped as she took on a more caring look, her eyes trying to convey something I didn't know. "But I gave her a stern talking to about that. It wasn't for her to tell me that and she should've known better given all the medical training she has. For that, I'm sorry."

She… she did what? Everything felt like it was in slow motion. My heart slowed from its jackhammer pace and the panic was receding. She seemed entirely unbothered that I was trans. In fact, she was more bothered by her own sister.

"How- you don't care?"

Vicky furrowed her eyebrows. "No? It's who you are. Honestly, I didn't even know until my sister said something and it still didn't change how I view you. Why would it?"

To say I was shocked was an understatement. "I-I- but in the pas- people have alwa-"

Concern grew in Vicky's eyes and in a moment's notice, I felt the weight of her hands on my shoulders, "Hey, it's ok," She said, her face mere inches away from mine. "I'm not going anywhere. We're friends, Taylor, and friends stick together, no matter what."

Words couldn't form to express how I felt at that moment. She wasn't scared of me nor was she distancing herself and calling me gross. She was touching me, consoling me in a way I hadn't felt since Mom passed away.

I couldn't help it, I cried. Tears fell unabated and I felt arms wrap themselves around me, pulling me into a warm hug. Vicky was whispering something, but I couldn't hear her words as the world drowned out in relief. All I could think about was the fact that Vicky had been a better friend than Emma, or anyone for that matter barring Mom. It always felt like a field of landmines that if I made one wrong step, it was over. Not that I had a lot of experience with friends in the first place.

An eternity went by before I felt myself calm down. I was distinctly aware that Vicky was rubbing my back in gentle patterns long before I heard her whispering in my ear. "It's ok," She said, soothingly.

I relaxed my grip on her, unsure when I did so in the first place, and noticed the soft fabric of her cardigan. "Th-thank y-" A hiccup, the one of many, stopped me from finishing my gratitude.

"Shh, it's ok. I'm here for you."

I nodded weakly. She slowly pulled away and through blurred eyes, I could see the caring and compassionate person who had wormed her way into my life. In the short amount of time since I'd known Victoria Dallon, she'd been a better friend, no person, than anyone I'd ever met. Mom would always be an outlier, but Vicky was definitely in that same level as her.

My hiccups slowly went away before they were gone altogether. All that time, she continued to rub my arms, a small caring smile on her face that made her cerulean eyes twinkle.

"Than-thank you, for…"

"Always, Taylor," She said it in such a carefree manner that if I didn't know her, I would think it would be nonchalant, except it was anything but that.

Several seconds passed as we stood in silence. My eyes glanced at the photo of my parents and Aunt Zoe, the thought of how different Emma and Vicky were when it came to my identity at the forefront of my mind.

Vicky noticed my gaze and in a small voice, asked, "Emma was the former friend, wasn't she? The one that's bullying you?"

"...Yeah."

"Ok," She said. It sounded calm, but there was a fire in her eyes that made me very glad to be her friend, because it was a look that would strike fear into the heart of the most fearless of men. As quickly as it came, it was gone and replaced with care. "Feeling better?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I am. Thank you, for… not caring about-"

"It should never be a big deal, Taylor. You're a girl and if anyone doesn't see that, they are blind as hell."

I snorted even if I didn't fully believe her. There could be countless reasons why she didn't realize I was trans but I couldn't find the argument against her at that moment.

"Now, let's move onto a more cheery topic and see what this 'library' your mom kept."

Smiling, I nodded. She gave my arms a squeeze, moving to pick up our cups of cold tea before we walked to the basement door. Once the door opened, scurrying from behind was the only notice I had when I saw two cats run by us and down the stairs.

"They move fast," Vicky commented.

"Yeah they do. Come on."

We ventured down the stairs and I quickly flipped on the lights. The cats were sitting on top of the washer and dryer, their tails swishing back and forth while they watched us with curious eyes. In one corner was the weight set I had started using. They used to be covered in a layer of dust—like everything else in here— but they were still in good condition. It also reminded me that I hadn't put them away this morning. Vicky seemed to have noticed those first. "I see where you work out," She glanced at me.

"Yeah," I scratched the back of my head. "Haven't been at it for long. I've mostly been running the past few years."

"You're joking, right?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at the question. "Why would I joke about that?"

Vicky blinked her eyes a few times but shook her head. "Don't worry about it." Before I could press her any further, she said, "Is the giant blanket with the sign 'Do Not Touch' where your Mom's stuff is hiding?"

"Yeah," I walked over and removed the blanket with ease. The many crates and the chest were now revealed.

"Holy sh- there really is a library down here."

"I told you."

"I didn't expect this!" She waved her hand over the mountain of crates. "And this!" She pointed at the chest. "What's in it?"

I looked down at the chest, the lock preventing anyone from opening. After I opened it the first time, I had worried I wouldn't be able to secure it again, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy to replace it. At least the chances of Dad noticing a difference if he ever came down here remained small. "My armor."

She stared at me in disbelief. "Are you saying your armor, sword and all, was in the chest?"

"Yes." A thought came to mind and I wanted to test a theory. "Actually, I want to see something."

She looked at me with a little hesitation but with curious eyes. "Alright, what do you want me to do?"

"See if you can open that lock."

Her eyebrow furrowed as her eyes bounced between me and the lock. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure."

She knelt down and grasped the lock. Immediately I knew it wasn't going to open like it did for me. Vicky looked up and said, "Do… how much do you want me to try?"

I thought over the question before I answered. "Try not to break the chest or lock, but I'd say go for it."

She nodded and started to pull and twist at the lock. At first I thought it was going to bend under her mighty strength, as evident by her muscles bulging, but all the lock did was jungle against the latch. "The fuck?!" Vicky cursed as she tried to bend the lock.

"Huh, not what I expected," I said, calmly.

She stood up again, wiping her hands and staring at the lock with an intense look. "How is that possible?"

A smirk grew on my lips when I glanced at her and said, "If you're stumped by that, check this out."

I knelt down and tapped on the lock. Like always, the lock sprung open and dangled on the clasp. Looking up, I saw just how dumbfounded she was.

"How- That's not- I- Ok, seriously. How is that possible?"

"I have no clue," I said honestly. "All of this," I said gesturing to the entire stockpile, "has had me fascinated beyond belief. Not only had my mom created armor for me, two years in advance, she somehow had or made a lock that was designed to only open to my touch."

"What about your dad?"

"He-" I looked away from her. "He doesn't know about any of this."

"Taylor," She said with a tone that I half expected to feel her 'aura' but it never came. In any case, it was enough for me to look at her. Concern was written all over her face. "Does he even know that you have powers?"

I didn't want to answer, but I had already opened the proverbial cookie jar and might as well tell her. "No, he doesn't. He doesn't even know that I've been coming down here and looking at her old stuff. All he knows is that I use the weights."

"Taylor…" She trailed off, her voice filled with concern again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as I stood motionless. "I don't know what it's like to keep your powers a secret from your family, but I think out of everyone, he should know."

"But-"

"Taylor, you could be killed out there. Being a hero is not easy, no matter how tough you are. You might have some sort of regeneration or something, but there will always be a way for someone to hurt you. Kill you. We are heroes. There are so many people who want us dead, especially you, for many reasons."

I looked away, unable to withstand her intense gaze. She was right, I knew she was. My life was already on the line just by being trans and outed at school. My cape image was one that sparked the immediate thought of a Nazi gang. The fact that I was a hero meant villains would want to take care of me because I stopped them.

"I-I will." I just didn't say when. Any day seemed too soon but it was a promise that I would tell him eventually. Dad was overprotective; how he had acted when I came home after triggering showed that. If he knew that I was Gondul, the 'Idealistic Hero' of the bay, then he would have objections. He would most certainly try to get me to join the Wards and there was no way I wanted that to happen. I'd rather join New Wave and have an open identity, as dangerous as that could be, than be part of the PR team.

She nodded, "Good, I would hate to be the person to tell him if something ever happened to you, which god forbid—" Her gaze moved to the chest, which was a relief, and said, "You mentioned your armor was in there?"

"Well…" I flipped the latch and opened the chest. Since I had started going out as Gondul, I had left my armor in one of my old backpacks. It was stained and fraying at the edges, but it worked well when I needed to grab and go. Laying next to it in its glory was my sword. I had learned to keep the blade away from my backpack, its sharp edge had cut through the side and I had to duct tape it to prevent my armor from spilling.

"Woah," Vicky said as she knelt down and looked inside. "I assume the backpack has your armor?"

"Yeah."

"Cloak too?" When I gave her an affirmative hum, she added, "How the hell did you fit it all in there?"

"It folds up fairly compact," I answered, unzipping the top for her.

She quickly peeked inside the backpack to see the neatly packed armor fit inside. "Wow. I was not expecting that. Did your mom actually have all of this in here? Just for you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I'm the only person who could open it and the armor fits me perfectly. I just don't know how."

"That is so strange." Vicky leaned back and scratched her head. "Like none of this makes sense."

"Want me to add more to this mystery?" Her furrowed eyebrows was all the answer she needed for me to continue. "The lock didn't open until I got powers."

"You're joking," She gave me the most disbelieving look I'd ever seen on her.

"No, I'm not."

"Taylor." She said seriously. "Your mom is a cape, she had to be. There's no way she couldn't be if she knew all this. I just…"

"What?" I asked, trying to find out what she was thinking. After all, she'd been in the cape scene longer than I had been and was taking courses at the university on Parahumans.

"It just doesn't make sense. You're a Master with the power to summon a Valkyrie. You'd fit in as the daughter of Crusader."

We both shared disgusted faces at that thought.

"Yet," she continued, "all of this; having armor made for you, knowing that you would get powers, and having what I assume to be a Tinker made lock so only you could open it, seemed to be pointing at a high powered Thinker. Like seriously high powered. I don't think the Protectorate has a Thinker that strong in the WEDGDG division."

"WEDGDG?"

"Watchdog, a subgroup within the Protectorate. Mainly to stop economic or political manipulation by Parahumans."

"Oh. Never knew that." Learn something new everyday.

"Most people don't. But the point stands, your mom had to be one hell of a precog or knew a powerful Tinker."

"I honestly don't know how though. The only group she was ever part of was Lustrum in college." I picked up the photo book and handed it to Vicky.

Her eyes opened wide as she stared at the photo. "Your mom was with Lustrum?" She slowly started turning the pages.

"Yeah. All she ever said was that she was a lieutenant, but not much more than that."

"Taylor," She said, the book on the page that had Mom and Lustrum looking at each other.

"Hmm?"

"Your mom was with Lustrum."

Confused by the repeated words, I said, "Yea, I just said that."

"No, Taylor." She looked up and pointed at the picture again. "She was with Lustrum."

I blinked a few times, still befuddled by what she meant. There had to be something she was trying to say but no matter how many times I tried to figure it out, it didn't make sense.

Vicky groaned and smacked her face with the palm of her hand. "Your mom was dating Lustrum."

"What? No she wasn't."

"Taylor, Lustrum literally has her hand on your moms ass. Actually, your mom is doing it too."

Snatching the picture, I looked at it more closely. As Vicky said, they both were grabbing each other's asses. "But that doesn't mean-"

"Tay."

The simple nickname and her tone was all I needed to know that my excuse wasn't going to work. I started flipping through the pages, looking for similar occurrences.

And to my surprise, there was. Many more, actually. Several pictures, Mom had that same twinkling eye and bright smile at several members of the movement. To say my mind was blown was an understatement. It was shattered. Did Dad know about this? Did he know that Mom was dating other women, before or during their time together?

"You ok?" Vicky asked, breaking me from my reverie.

"I don't know. I never…"

Vicky looked at some of the pictures in the book and whistled. "Your mom got around."

"VICTORIA!" I was so aghast at the idea that I hadn't realized I used her full name.

"What?" She said, acting innocent. "I'm just saying…"

"I really don't need to think that my mom… got around."

"Please, Taylor. That's the least of your worries." Her voice became more serious and I sobered at that.

"What do you mean?"

Vicky gently closed the book and set it down. I noticed that she grabbed the note of Mom saying she was sorry about lying and laid it on top. "Lustum's movement was poised to make massive changes in the world. Not just for women, but for so much more. At its front, the movement was for women's rights."

"I knew that."

"But did you know that the movement was also for LGBT rights, racial equality, and was one of the first recorded movements to stand up to the Reagan administration, who started politicizing Parahumans into 'heroes' and 'villains'."

I was a little surprised by how much the movement involved, and how much Vicky knew about it. How did a feminist organization cover so many things? How come she never told me? "I… I never knew that. She didn't really tell me a whole lot."

She nodded solemnly, "I'm not surprised. Very little is known of that time, but it left a lasting effect on the cape world. It's why New Wave cares so much about transparency and openness. That we take responsibility for our actions and don't wish to hide what we do. Heroes don't have to be part of the government."

"I commend that. Gondul's image is twisted because of the Empire and I'm trying to change that."

Vicky nodded, "Yeah… if you were to unmask, it would make it a lot easier for people to realize you'd never be with the Empire." She sounded like she was joking but I had a feeling she wasn't. "But back to Lustrum, if it wasn't for the strange occurrence of emasculation, they could have made significant changes to the country. The modus operandi of the movement didn't include removing…that, yet out of nowhere, some women started torturing men. Maybe it was misconstrued or used for imprisoning Lustrum since her movement was incredibly supportive of trans rights. Quite advanced at the time."

She wasn't wrong. From what I knew, the movement seemed completely peaceful, even if it was armed to the teeth. Then out of nowhere, the emasculations happened and Lustrum graciously stepped up and took responsibility. No fuss, no fighting.

Vicky picked up the note and held it out. "Do you know what this means?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't. The only thing I could think it could be about was how involved she was with the movement."

"So she never told you what she did? Who was involved? Did you know that all of Lustrum's lieutenants were capes? If your mom was among them, she had to have powers." She waved the note around. "This is probably proof of that."

I grabbed the piece of paper and tried to see if there was anything else on the letter but try as I might, nothing changed. "I didn't know… I guess this is proof that she was a cape and this chest, all of this," I gestured to all the documents and books, "was done around then. Did Lustrum have any inclination to old Norse?" She seemed to be far more knowledgeable of the movement, which bothered me slightly. An annoyance more directed at myself since I knew so little of my own mom's past.

Vicky pondered the question for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think so. You said all the notes were your mom's handwriting."

"I guess that's a question only Lustrum or any of the capes from her movement could answer."

"Which is nearly impossible. Lustrum is in the Birdcage and no one knows where the other lieutenants went." She picked up the photo book again, flipped a few pages before she stopped on one that had Lustrum and the lieutenants next to each other. I had only briefly glanced at the photo before, but now that Vicky was looking at it, I felt the need to take a closer look.

Mom stood next to Lustrum, and on the other side was a woman who looked the youngest of them all and seemed to have an air of superiority to her. It wasn't because of how she was dressed. Just like the others, she was wearing simple jeans and a faded tee shirt with a logo I couldn't figure out. Nor was it the way she leaned against Lustrum, her blonde hair done up in a messy bun.

No, it was the piercing green eyes that held a fierce determination that reminded me a lot of Mom. The more I looked at her, the more I wondered who she was. I tried to recall pictures with this mystery woman, but I couldn't remember any. It seemed I needed to add another branch of research to the pile of things to do.

Vicky's finger traced over each member in the photo and she stopped on that fierce woman. Looking at my friend, I saw her deep in thought and I wondered if she knew something. "Recognize her?" I asked, hoping we might have a lead.

She looked at the photo for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. I don't recognize any of these women. They must've all gone underground and finding them would be next to impossible."

With a defeated sigh, she closed the photo book and handed it to me. I kind of wished I could dive right into the research, but Vicky's voice broke my thought.

"Shit, these are unmasked capes… Taylor, this should stay in the chest with the rest of the stuff."

Fuck, she was right. I quickly put the photo book into the chest where it probably should have been all along. A moment later, Vicky was looking into the chest once more.

She reached out for the sword but stopped short. "I am quite worried about your sword just laying here unprotected. How come you don't have a sheath?"

"I don't know. There wasn't one inside."

"Strange. If she had all this ready for you, why wouldn't there be a sheath too?" Her rhetorical question went unanswered. Vicky viewed the rest of the chest and picked up the key. "And this?"

"Don't know. There was no note but it looks like a key to a storage unit."

She nodded in agreement. "It does. Finding which one would be like finding a needle in a haystack, but it is at least one thing we could look into. I could probably look into that without too much suspicion if you let me borrow it one day."

I wasn't sure about letting her run off with it, but it would help immensely. My trust issues aside, I probably should let her try. Victoria had proven herself trustworthy, I needed to remind myself of that, so rather than trust my voice I just nodded. She smiled and I felt my heart flutter as I looked away.

While Vicky set the key down, I peered into the chest again to grab the last item; the book. Gently picking up the ancient looking text, I placed it in my lap and traced the front, the raised edges of the lettering as I read the cover. "Seiðr," I said slowly, my tongue contorting to the correct pronunciation with ease.

"Seiðr?" Vicky asked, her curiosity piqued tenfold. "The magic of the Norse Gods?"

"Not just Norse Gods, of Norse society," I started babbling from the books we'd read. "An incredibly hard practice and one only done by women. It was said that it could alter reality and predict the future."

"Why would your mom have that in the chest, separated from everything else?"

"I don't know." I opened the cover and started flipping the pages slowly. Vicky shifted, sitting next to me. I moved the book so we could both read it.

My finger went to move the page, but she put her hand out and said, "Wait! Too fast."

I chuckled and halted, letting her read. Unlike the last time I perused through the book, I was actually understanding it. It was a spellbook, one that went into excruciating detail on how to cast spells. But as I read it, I knew there was more to it. There seemed to be a fundamental aspect of how that process started, missing.

Not that I believed that I would cast spells, since magic didn't exist, but the concept of Seiðr was incredibly fascinating. Even Victoria seemed interested but I learned quickly that I read far faster than her.

"Wait," she said, her tone harsher than she probably wanted but the way her eyes darted across the page was far too thrilling to watch than to care about her tone. "Ok, go ahead."

I smiled and gently turned the page and we both started reading the next set of passages.

We read in silence, seated on a rug near a lamp and were nearly a quarter through the book when I heard the front door close. Vicky and I looked at each other, eyes blinking before we realized that we had spent the rest of the day reading a single book.

"There's something I've been noticing," Vicky commented, breaking my focus.

"Hmm?" I hummed, forcing my eyes away from the captivating text. I saw her pick up one of the books nearby, one of which was 'The Compendium' and the book on the Norse Gods. Then she picked up the note that was in the photo book.

She turned her head, a perplexed look on her face. "Have you noticed that your Mom's writing here," she lifted the note, "Is similar here?" She pointed to the notes in the margins of the Norse Gods book.

I nodded, "Yes, I did. Why?"

"Well, have you noticed that…" Vicky picked up 'The Compendium'. "That this book has a very simila—"

"Taylor?"

"Shit," I muttered, quickly closing the book and shoving everything back into the chest. Vicky stood and dusted off her clothes. She watched closely as I shut the chest and placed the lock back in its spot. Victoria grabbed one side of the blanket and helped cover the stash far faster than I managed on my own.

She gave me a smile, but I could tell she didn't like the idea of having to hide the stuff. "Uhh, yeah?" I said, loud enough that he hopefully heard me. I looked back at Vicky and gestured for her to follow. The cats quickly hopped off their chosen perches and ran up the stairs ahead of us.

"Oh, you were in the basement?" He said as we both walked through the door.

"Yeah," I stepped out of the way for Vicky to see my dad. We stood there in awkward silence before I realized I should do a greeting. "Uhh, Dad, this is Vick-Victoria." Embarrassment filled me at the near fuck up. "Victoria, this is my Dad."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Just call me Vicky. Victoria sounds far too formal." She held her hand out to Dad. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hebert!"

Dad eyed her up and down, his eyebrow raising a little higher as he looked at the extended hand. He grabbed her hand and said, "Nice to meet my daughter's friend. I hope she hasn't rambled you to death."

"DAD!"

"I find it rather endearing actually," Vicky winked at me, which didn't help the heat that encompassed my face.

The two still hadn't released their hands and I could see a slight strain in Dad's arm. Was he- oh for gods sake. "Seriously?"

That snapped the two out of it, both of them looking sheepish at the fact that they were trying to one up one another. It was pointless considering Vicky was a Brute, but he still tried and she had humored him.

Dad scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before coughing. "So, Victoria, will you be staying for dinner? I figured we could order pizza."

Vicky looked at me, a small smile on her lips before she nodded. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not! Let me go change and I'll place the order. Taylor, I- I'm not sure when you need to perform your… ritual, but you should know that it's almost sundown."

Looking out the window and saw that he was right. "Thank you!" I said, quickly running to the altar. I heard Dad go up the stairs as Vicky stood besides me.

"So, what do you need to do?" She asked curiously.

I pulled out the matches and lit the stick. One by one, I started lighting the candles. "I'll light the candles and say a small prayer. Then let the candles burn till they're done."

"Anything I could do to help?"

The question was so out of the blue and filled with so much care that I paused just as I was about to light another. Never once had anyone ever asked to help with one of my rituals. It was always Mom and I while Dad watched or did something else. Even Emma never bothered and usually left when the time came.

"Do-Do you want to say the prayer with me?"

I finally looked up at her, flicking the match to blow out the flame. There was an indecipherable look on her face as her eyes seemed to pierce my very soul. As the seconds passed by, I started getting uncomfortable by it before she seemed to snap out of it, a big smile on her face. "Yeah, I would like that. Though, I don't know what to do. Do I need to say specific words?" Her eyes went wide. "Wait, what if I say the wrong thing? I don't want whatever Pagan gods there are to like, smite me or something. Though that would be amazing if they could do that through my-"

I couldn't help it, I laughed and if the smirk on her face was any indication, she was doing it on purpose. "Ok, no nothing bad will happen," I wheezed. "Mom never told me if there was a specific prayer, but the one I know is the one we used to do together. Do you have any women in your family who've passed that you miss dearly?"

Vicky nodded and looked deep in thought, her eyes turned distant and I could tell she had someone in mind. I wondered who but I didn't want to pry. The Dallons and the Pelhams might be an open book, but there could be extended family members that wanted to keep their lives a secret.

"What's the prayer?" She asked after she recomposed herself.

I smiled and recited the prayer to her. She repeated the prayer a few times before she had it memorized. When she was ready, I went to light another match, only for her to pick it up and ignite it herself. She did the rest and when they were all lit, I glanced at her.

She gave me a nod and I started the prayer. "On this night of Distings," Vicky quickly repeated my words and we both started saying the rest of the prayer in unison. My eyes never strayed from Mom's picture, memories of her coming to the forefront of my mind. "We prepare ourselves for the coming spring and know that winter's grasp is slowly loosening. On this night, we also wish to honor the women ancestors of our line. For while they might be gone, they will never be forgotten, for their legacy lives on in us. As we honor our loved one, we hope that the coming year will be prosperous and hope to be renewed."

It wasn't until I finished that I noticed the tears running down my cheeks. A small hiccup escaped my lips and I felt warm hands wrap around me. I didn't need to look to know that Vicky was holding me. When I turned my head to look at her, I saw that she had tears of her own dotting her eyes.

The two of us stood there in silence before Dad came down the stairs and called in the pizza. I thought about asking him about Mom and her… love life, but I figured it could wait. Prepare myself for that kind of conversation as well as the other that I needed to have with him. When the pizza guy showed up at the door, we finally broke from our silence and had dinner.

The three of us quickly grabbed our slices and started eating. Vicky's presence eroded any awkwardness and for the first time in a long time, dinner felt nice.

The mystery continues! Probably my favorite part of the chapter, besides adding more mystery, is Vicky joining into the ritual. I wonder who she thought of...
Anyway... there's 5 more chapters left of Arc 1. Yes, I have a really long arc 1. Honestly, this story is probably going to be very long. So sit back and enjoy the ride.

Andrensath · Mar 10, 2023

I see the Annette=Freyja evidence is continuing to mount.

zernoc56 · Mar 11, 2023

Sylnarri said:
this story is probably going to be very long.

Good, something to really sink my teeth into.

Also, $5 on the green eyed blond in that group photo being related to Lisa.

Sylnarri · Mar 11, 2023

zernoc56 said:
Good, something to really sink my teeth into.

I don't do small apparently. My first fic, my HP series, was 780k words long.

Pale Wolf · Mar 11, 2023

Sandy River DL said:
Is Amy reacting to non-human heritage, her trans-ness, or both?

Probably more the latter. That was a long pause and it feels way too long for 'oops, surprise penis'. And the way she reacted afterward felt like Taylor's biology literally felt different to Amy - the way she warmed her hand up.

Sandy River DL said:
Hopefully Vicky gets broken of that bad habit soon, because it's one of the reasons I generally am not fond of the girl.

I mean, it's a perfectly normal habit. It would be completely anodyne if Amy wasn't obsessed with her. Like, you introduce one person you like to another person you like, so everyone will get along. It is not a bad habit to introduce your family to your friends (and girlfriends), it's perfectly healthy and something you should be doing.

The fly in this ointment is Amy, not Vicky.

The actual bad habit is Vicky's inveterate search for a boyfriend for Amy, but that's coming from a place of kindness, and may in fact be a direct response to Amy being visibly sour, bitter, and jealous re Vicky's relationship with Dean. Like, it's not unreasonable to think 'she's jealous that I have a boyfriend, so I should get her one!'

The only one who was ever wrong here was Amy.

I mean, as someone whose first love was also her stepsister, keeps things so close to the chest they're almost implanted, and has a lot of bitterness at everything, I don't wanna judge too harshly, but there is abso-fucking-lutely no grounds to judge Vicky of all people on for any of this. It's on Amy to not be a goddamn incel about this. She can be in love with her adoptive sister all she likes, that doesn't necessitate an acidic bitterness that escalates into full-blown rape. That part is all Amy.

Amy is the one with the problem, Amy is the one who won't communicate that problem, literally everything Vicky does here is from a place of love and trying to do the best she can for Amy with the miniscule amounts of information Amy allows her access to.

Sandy River DL · Mar 11, 2023

Pale Wolf said:
I mean, it's a perfectly normal habit. It would be completely anodyne if Amy wasn't obsessed with her. Like, you introduce one person you like to another person you like, so everyone will get along. It is not a bad habit to introduce your family to your friends (and girlfriends), it's perfectly healthy and something you should be doing.

That's a lot of text in a response that missed the point entirely. Vicky herself admitted that she brought Amy to heal any linger injuries Taylor had. Treating Amy like a medkit is the bad habit we were talking about. Introducing her sister to her friend? That's great. Doing so with the intent to use her powers isn't.

Pale Wolf · Mar 11, 2023

Sandy River DL said:
That's a lot of text in a response that missed the point entirely. Vicky herself admitted that she brought Amy to heal any linger injuries Taylor had. Treating Amy like a medkit is the bad habit we were talking about. Introducing her sister to her friend? That's great. Doing so with the intent to use her powers isn't.

Friends and family ask each other favours all the time. If you're three inches taller you'll be asked to reach everything on every shelf and take care of all the lightbulbs. 2% stronger and you're the one who opens all the jars. That's again, completely and utterly anodyne. Superpowers don't make it special.

Sandy River DL · Mar 11, 2023

Pale Wolf said:
Friends and family ask each other favours all the time. If you're three inches taller you'll be asked to reach everything on every shelf and take care of all the lightbulbs. 2% stronger and you're the one who opens all the jars. That's again, completely and utterly anodyne. Superpowers don't make it special.

It's not just this one instance though. In canon she's noted to have repeatedly dragged Amy out heal people she broke. Also, there's rather a bit of difference between using super-strength to open jars and 'hey I want you to meet my new friend so you can give her a check-up'. Especially when the person being asked is obviously and visibly stressed.

Sylnarri said:
Amy on the other hand had a more rounded face and her eyes seemed overwhelmed with exhaustion.

Vicky was the epitome of a bundle of boundless cheerleader energy while Amy seemed to be a walking dismal rain cloud. They were practically opposites of one another. Maybe there had been an emergency or something and she didn't get enough sleep.

Like, Tay's literally only just met Amy and she can tell Amy's worn out. Vicky, who lives with her and has known her for a decade, should be able to pick up on her issues much more easily. Even if it's just 'she's clearly hiding something'.

Pale Wolf · Mar 11, 2023

Sandy River DL said:
It's not just this one instance though. In canon she's noted to have repeatedly dragged Amy out heal people she broke. Also, there's rather a bit of difference between using super-strength to open jars and 'hey I want you to meet my new friend so you can give her a check-up'. Especially when the person being asked is obviously and visibly stressed.

Like, Tay's literally only just met Amy and she can tell Amy's worn out. Vicky, who lives with her and has known her for a decade, should be able to pick up on her issues much more easily. Even if it's just 'she's clearly hiding something'.

That's why she asked her here in the first place. It was a break from the hospital. One heal and hang out with her sister and a friend. From Vicky's perspective, the healing was the excuse to drag Amy away from her work and take a break. Like, Vicky wasn't using Amy, she was trying to make Amy take a goddamn break, Taylor was the one being used for Amy's benefit there. (To the extent you can say anyone was. Both were to benefit)

Sylnarri · Mar 11, 2023

Vicky very much knows. Her interlude at the end of the arc will show that. But her new friend was just in a cape fight for the first time and she happens to know someone who could at least check up on her.
Not saying that it's an altruistic or selfish way of going about it, but how she sees it.

Sylnarri · Mar 11, 2023

And yes, she was also trying to pull Amy from her work at the hospital.

Reese · Mar 12, 2023

I do indeed continue to enjoy the ride.

By the way, I during the chapter remembered this, which I happened across some time ago, and thought you might enjoy it:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auTZxwRFqMI

Sylnarri · Mar 12, 2023

That song is amazing, I love it!

Reese · Mar 12, 2023

Sylnarri said:
That song is amazing, I love it!

Oh! Well, glad I remembered and thought to link it, then.

As I recall, though it's been a while, I encountered it somewhere around this series of blog posts, which it seems you might also enjoy:

» An Unbiased Review of the Marvel “Thor” Movie (Begins Unbiased Reviews Series)

Andrensath · Mar 13, 2023

On the Amy front, it's worth remembering that she's been brought up by a woman who barely pays attention to the daughter she actually wanted and actively opposes the idea of going to therapy until its too damn late.

Sylnarri · Mar 18, 2023

I'd like to thank my betas Pendragoon, Dysole, and Selene for their amazing work. I appreciate you girls greatly.

Berkanan 1.9

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

I knelt down on the roof and leaned against the raised edge of the rooftop. My gloved hand tapped on the cement in boredom. As I gazed to the street below, I couldn't stop the onset of a yawn.

Who knew the day I skipped school would be a day where absolutely nothing happened in the city. I didn't know if Mom would have been disappointed or if she would've laughed at my predicament. Vicky couldn't come; she was in school. Not that she knew I was out patrolling. If she did, she would've dissuaded me from going out. We still hadn't managed a joint patrol since that first one, but I had a good feeling about the coming weekend.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have gone out, but I didn't want to deal with the bullshit at school. Sophia might not be causing any further issues, but Emma had only redoubled her efforts and the amount of messages in my inbox was a constant reminder. It seemed like the threats were non stop today and I didn't want to risk it. Not when Leo wanted me dead.

As happy as I was to ditch school for the day, I wished Vicky was here to alleviate the boredom. Ever since she had been at my house, we'd been discussing possible leads about my Mom and her past. The entire Lustrum leadership situation had us puzzled and we wanted to find more information about them. Sadly, all the leads we'd found so far were dead ends. All information about Lustrum had been scrubbed away, except for the fact that she was in the Birdcage.

I could only imagine the blackout was caused by someone looking to protect the remaining members. Mom wouldn't want anything getting back to us and I'd imagine it was the same for the other women. One question that needled my mind was what had happened to necessitate the information lockdown? Why did all of the women need to hide after the fallout that sent Lustrum to the Cage?

It felt like I was poking at one big conspiracy.

Nonetheless, this new mystery had halted all progress to our usual studies. In addition Vicky was busy yesterday, and coordinating our investigations over text and calls was proving to be frustrating. She had said something big was going to happen with her family soon but she didn't elaborate and I wasn't sure what it could be. I hadn't heard of anything noteworthy happening with her family recently, so maybe New Wave had a big announcement planned?

A beeping of a horn from below broke my thoughts and I quickly leaned over the side. All I saw was just a disgruntled driver blaring his horn at the car in front of him, who was waiting for the pedestrians to cross. I could go down there and show myself, but with how my image was still evoking the Empire's name, I knew it wouldn't go as well as I hoped.

With a deep sigh, I summoned my Valkyrie, her body slowly forming as the wisps joined together. When she was fully manifested, she snapped her spear, awaiting my command. No matter how many times I'd seen her, it still amazed me that she was my power. Powers were bullshit. That I was able to make an incredibly detailed projection that looked like a real person was complete and utter bullshit. And let's not forget how realistic she tended to be sometimes.

Ready to rid myself of my boredom, I sent an order to my Valkyrie.

Pick me up and take off into the air. Conduct patrol route five.

In one fluid motion, my Valkyrie's spear disappeared and she flew straight at me, her arms scooping me into a bridal carry, and rocketing into the air. As the weeks had passed, I'd gotten used to the feeling of being carried by her but there was still a longing in my heart to be able to soar on my own. Several dreams of mine involved flying alongside Vicky and my Valkyrie that I desperately wished were real.

We flew through the air, weaving between the buildings before we were just outside of downtown. My Valkyrie continued for a little bit before I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Ordering her to land on one of the offices, she gently let me out of her hand, her spear appearing in her hand in a flash of light. I walked to the edge to get a closer look.

On the taller building nearby, I saw a familiar sight. A large white raven. It was different from the one I saw on my first outing. Same size, but it had pristine pearlish white feathers instead of midnight black the other one had. Its eyes were different too, a light blue, nearly silver, that seemed to glow in the sunlight. But just like the other one, it was staring at me. This one didn't caw or trill, but it just as eerily watched like a silent arbiter.

Two ravens in a city with no ravens? It was as if Odi—

Before I could finish that thought, I heard a cough from behind.

I twisted, my sword coming out in a flourish. I had spent many hours in the basement practicing with my impossibly light blade, and it was starting to pay off. At the same time, my Valkyrie readied herself and we both faced the newcomer.

Floating in the air with a layer of a white body double or clone, was Crusader. He was wearing what looked like chainmail armor and had a large spear in his hand. It wasn't nearly as cool as my Valkyrie's, and the fact that it was ten feet long made me think he was compensating for something.

It wasn't lost on me how similar our powers were and I'd actively tried to put it out of my mind. It'd be some twisted sick game by Loki if we were related in any capacity. When the media first started their smear campaign and compared me to Crusader, I had looked into the neo-Nazi. Turns out, his clones were Manton limited, able to pass through inorganic matter and interact with organic matter. But unlike his clones, my Valkyrie could interact with both. And my Valkyrie could take a punch.

"Gondul," His voice was filled with a man who was too full of himself. "You are a surprisingly hard woman to contact."

I tightened my grip on my sword and my Valkyrie did the same.

"Whoa, now!" He said, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "No need to get all uppity. I'm just here to chat."

"What do you want, Nazi."

"Now, now, is that any way to talk to a fellow cape using the Nors-"

"We are nothing alike," I snarled, interrupting the Empire cape. He looked more like a medieval knight cosplayer reject than some figure from Norse mythology.

Crusader was quiet for a few seconds, motionless in the air while being 'carried' by his clones. His helmet made it quite hard to read his emotions but I'd imagine he didn't like being interrupted, not that I cared.

"Well, that's rather rude. I'm just here to have a friendly chat."

Friendly. Yeah right. I knew why he was here. It was only a matter of time before the Empire would try to recruit Gondul. It made sense that they would send the cape with a similar powerset as some sort of comradery. Even if it was a moot point.

When I didn't reply, Crusader continued. "Alright, I'll cut to the chase. We want you to join the Empire. You would be a good addition to the cause, to make the American Dream come true. You'd fit right into the Empire, and with your image and powers you exemplify a Valkyrie of Norse Mythology, and we appreciate that. Unlike the PRT, we wouldn't want you to change your image."

I scoffed and tried to ignore the fact that he was at least right about the PRT, "Because unlike the Empire, it's my heritage. I doubt anyone in your gang could say they were Scandinavian."

"Strong blood runs through your veins, I like that." It sounded like he didn't believe that either. Probably a common talking point among them. "So you wou-"

"But there's a few things you're wrong about." I took a step closer, "The American Dream is a farce, pure propaganda. It's only a smoke screen created by the rich elites to give a glimmer of hope for the poor lives everyone has. But then again, you're a Nazi, you'd agree to the poor, non-white people to remain in destitute or worse, dead, just so you can keep trying to chase that ridiculous idea."

"How-"

"Secondly, your entire concept of Norse Mythology is incorrect." I knew I was only speaking from the text Mom left behind, but I'd rather believe those than what the Empire parroted and what our world knew. "I know that it is naive idealism to think I could reclaim the legacy you've stained. I do, however, intend to do just that."

"But-"

"And thirdly, one you won't know, but there is no way in the Nine Realms would I ever join the Empire. You are a blight on this city, country, and world. I would never align myself with fascists and to be frank, you people have already tried to kill me and I doubt that will ever change."

"Who is-"

"Are you seriously going to ask that question? What? In some vain attempt to stop whoever is trying to kill me just so I could join you? Stop and ask yourself the simple question first, why would they be trying to kill me?"

He growled at that, and it was risking my identity a bit, but it seemed he was finally getting the fact that I wouldn't join. I had wondered just how much leeway Kaiser had given him when making his pitch, but I wasn't even going to entertain his offer long enough to find out. "Alright, bitch-"

I chuckled ruefully. "Ah, there's the Nazi I was expecting. The proverbial mask has fallen off."

He didn't say anything. Instead, I saw three clones appear from his body and start floating towards me, spears pointed at me as they started their charge.

Destroy the clones and go after the villain.

My Valkyrie, quick as lightning, leapt into the air, powerful wings rocketing her into the first clone. Two of the clones aimed their spears at her, but she easily batted them out of the way with her shield. Her own spear struck the first clone in the chest, piercing through the body like it was paper before the clone evaporated.

In truth, I didn't expect my Valkyrie to be able to interact with them in any way considering she wasn't organic, yet I was just as surprised as Crusader. Even his remaining clones stopped midway in shock. But not my Valkyrie.

She twisted in the air, her spear twirling above her head before the blade slashed through the second clone from shoulder to hip.

Crusader finally realized the threat I posed and started creating more of his clones, a stream of them coming towards us. My Valkyrie blocked the previous clone, her spear disappearing in her hand as she moved right up next to it. Holding her hand out, she summoned her spear again, the weapon appearing within the clone. With a quick pull, the clone was destroyed.

As astonished as I was at my Valkyrie's fighting prowess, I had my own problems to contend with as I saw three clones break off, their spears aimed at me. The first one jabbed with its spear, an easy enough attack to dodge. The second one tried the same, but was met with air instead.

Before the third could hit me, I flicked the sword in an attempt to parry the spear even though it wouldn't work. The sword was metal and would pass through it.

Much to my surprise, there was a dull thud as my sword hit the shaft of the spear, knocking it away. With no time to unravel the mystery behind that, I rushed in and stabbed the clone with my sword. In a swirl of light, the clone evaporated before my eyes.

Before I could even mentally celebrate, I felt piercing pain in my side and liquid started to run down my skin. Wincing as I twisted, I swiped my sword at the clone that dared to hit me and beheaded the projection before it disappeared. A glance down told me all I needed to know, Crusader's ghost had managed to hit a gap in my armor.

I made short work of the third one, dodging out of the way of its attack and destroying it with a simple stab. When I looked over at my Valkyrie, I saw most of the clones were gone. She had faint lines on her where wisps of light were drifting off into the air. Crusader had yet to move, but I could tell from his stance that he had not been expecting me to dispatch the clones anywhere near this quickly.

Not wanting him to continue sending more clones, I dashed past the remaining clones with my sword poised to strike. Crusader realized what I was planning seconds before I was upon him and summoned a clone to stop me, only for a simple swing of my sword to destroy it before it could fully form.

"Shit—" He rose into the air and away from my reach. "How— that's not—"

"Get down here! Are all Nazis cowards like you!?"

I looked over to my Valkyrie and gave her an order.

Finish the clones and chase after him!

My Valkyrie didn't need clarification as she cut down the remainder in a single flourish and was ready to fly but when I looked back to where the villain was, he had disappeared. I looked around, even venturing to the edge of the building but there was no sign of him. There wasn't a shift in the air, so he couldn't have gotten help.

When I looked down the street, I saw a dimly glowing body swerving between cars and pedestrians several blocks away before he took a turn. My Valkyrie was about to fly but I held up my hand. "Stop. He's too far and I'd rather not risk anyone getting hurt."

My Valkyrie relaxed and returned to her stoic stance while I looked around to see if Crusader had caused any damage or hurt anyone. People looked up in my direction and I knew this was going to be all over PHO. A defeated sigh escaped my lips. "This is going to be a shitshow," I commented to my Valkyrie.

She continued to look at me but I felt like she understood what I meant.

"Let's go home," I said. One meeting with the Empire was enough. I looked over to where the raven had been, already knowing I wouldn't see it upon the rooftop perch.

Shaking my head, I looked at my Valkyrie, who nodded. Her spear disappeared and she held out her hands. We were flying in the air not a moment later and we were on our way back to the park where I could change and take care of the cut on my side.

ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ

As I came upon the house, I knew something bad was going to happen. Seeing Aunt Zoe's car in the driveway this early was not a good sign. Steeling myself, I skipped over the step and entered the house.

Sitting on the couch with both cats was Aunt Zoe. Her jacket was hanging over the sofa and she was wearing skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. She had her phone in her free hand, scrolling through it with disinterest. When the door opened, she looked up, setting the phone aside.

"Taylor," She said in her 'I'm not happy with you' voice.

"Uhh, Hi, Aunt Zoe."

"Don't act so innocent, Taylor. Is there a reason why you weren't at school? Why did I have to get a phone call from the school about you skipping? And why are you ignoring Emma's texts?"

Emma. This was just another way to torture me; get her mom to confront me for something as dumb as missing school or not 'responding' to her texts. "I'm sorry, Aunt Zoe, I just… there's… I-I'm still getting used to the phone." It was a weak response, but I didn't have anything better.

Aunt Zoe let out a deep breath and slowly stood. The cats meowed their annoyance but that didn't deter the women. "Taylor," She said as she walked up to me, "You're a smart girl. I don't believe one instant that you couldn't figure out how to use the phone. If your father could, so can you. You figured out the laptop rather quickly. And why were you skipping school?"

Fuck. "I-uhh— you see— the thing is—" No matter what sort of way out of this I could think of, they all fell flat when her blue eyes continued to bore into me.

"Taylor, what's going on," She prodded.

So much was going through my mind and it was made worse not only by her flinty stare but the presence in the back of my head trying to break free. As thankful as I was for my powers being there for me, I couldn't do that. Especially not to Aunt Zoe. A single thought rang through my mind that I feared would make this worse, just like it always did whenever I told someone about the bullying. This might be the moment I lost Aunt Zoe and I had to hold back the tears at the thought.

I pulled out my phone and went to the messages, showing her a glimpse of my reasoning for skipping school.

Zoe's eyes bulged as they darted across the small screen. "May I?" She asked, her hand out to hold the phone.

I dropped it into her hand and let her search. Her face showed concern as she continued to read the messages. "Taylor…" She said as she glanced up. "Are these—"

"I don't know who they're from, but I get them all the time and this morning I got a particularly bad one that I didn't want to risk something happening. Out of all of those, there's only one person I ever gave my number to, and that's Vicky."

"Taylor, these are threats. Death threats. Ones that should be taken seriously."

"It's no different than what I hear at school all the time."

"And what is Emma—" She stopped as she continued to scroll through the messages. She must have found something because her eyes bugged out and her mouth gaped. "Are these… I knew you should have gone to Arcadia. You would have been saf—"

Then all of a sudden, an intense cold anger roiled off of her. I burrowed into my hoodie as I waited for the lashing that was coming. She was going to blame me for what was happening, that it was my fault that I was being bullied by everyone at school.

When I thought she was going to explode, she took a deep breath and asked, "Taylor, can I borrow your phone for a moment?"

"Not like I really have a choice," She had my phone in her hand and she was the one who gave it to me, so it wasn't like she couldn't just take it anyway. Emma made threats like that all the time.

"I— what? Honey, of course you have a choice. I promise I will be right back with it if you let me."

That… was not what I was expecting. "Uhh, ok?"

A small but strained smile was on her face. "I will be right back." She grabbed her jacket and walked out of the house. I heard her car start up and leave the driveway in a hurry.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked no one in particular.

"Mrrrw," Treacle replied.

I sighed and sat on the couch. Both cats instantly leapt into my lap and nudged me for attention. There was not much else I could do at the moment. Since Aunt Zoe was not going to come back, I would need to call Vicky to let her know about it. Good thing I had memorized her number.

A sudden pressure on my shoulder nearly made me jump. Looking up I saw my Valkyrie standing behind the couch and awkwardly patting my shoulder with more force than was comfortable. It was a bumbling attempt, meant to be reassuring, but she had no idea what she was doing.

Filing the somewhat alarming automatic summoning for later, I said, "Thank you."

The Valkyrie nodded stiffly and continued her ministrations.

Some time later, I heard a vehicle pull up. I quickly dismissed my projection right before the door opened. To my surprise, Aunt Zoe came strolling in. She was furious, beat red and fuming at the ears. When her eyes landed on me, she calmed down. "Here you go, honey," She handed me my phone back. "I will be talking to the provider about changing your number, so we can stop those nasty messages once and for all."

I was stunned into silence. Since when has anyone actually helped me? What just happened that caused this? Was it really because of the threats? All those questions spiraled in my head and I was barely able to squeak out a response. "Ok."

"I'm going to be talking to the administration about this. One way or another, this is going to stop. I promised to watch over you, Taylor, and I am going to keep that promise." She muttered something else that I couldn't hear.

There was no response I could scrounge up to that. For the past year and a half, I'd been doing things on my own. I had never expected someone to actually give a damn.

"Oh, and Taylor?" She added.

"Hmm?"

"If Emma does anything, let me know."

Again I couldn't find the words to respond. All I could do was nod. This whole thing was bizarre. Since when did anyone care about me? I honestly doubt she's going to do anything about Emma but that statement told me she saw the messages Emma had sent.

Only time would tell if something would actually be done about it.

ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ

Friday, February 4th, 2011

My phone nearly bounced out of my hand as the bus hit a particularly big pothole. I wasn't the only one disoriented by the event as several teenagers were shouting their own displeasure at the bus driver. The poor woman was so frazzled by the rants and was desperately trying to keep the bus on the road. Ignoring the chatter, I returned to the post I had just found that disturbed me.

'Squealer has escaped from the PRT holding cell'

Disappointment couldn't describe how I was feeling when I first read the title. At some point last night, Skidmark had made a move on the PRT, breaking his girlfriend out with a group of Merchant mooks. There wasn't a lot of detail about how the escape had transpired, but the fact that it happened annoyed me. I knew the PRT was a revolving door, but this felt ridiculous. Not only that, but if I had decided to go to school yesterday and patrolled at night, I might've stopped it.

Leaving that article, I continued my search for any information about me from yesterday. Surprisingly, I hadn't found any new articles about my meeting with Crusader. I half expected to see numerous news outlets proclaiming my allegiance to the Empire once more, but surprisingly, there weren't any. Did no one notice Crusader leaving the building that I was on top of? Did they not notice me?

Maybe it would only be a matter of time before the media incorrectly assumed Gondul was with the Empire, again.

The bus came to a sudden stop and I looked up, noticing that we'd arrived at school. Everyone started hopping off the bus, cursing the bus driver on their way out. It was despicable. I slowly rose from my seat, mouthing 'sorry' to her before I stepped off myself.

Nothing seemed different as I walked into the building, but I felt something was going to happen. I kept an eye out for Leo and his groupies. But as I walked through the halls, they weren't anywhere to be seen. Keeping my fears in check of anything they might do, I opened my locker without a hitch and quickly swapped my books around.

My locker hadn't been tampered with in quite some time and I found myself relieved that particular game had run its course. My musings were cut short when I heard someone cry out my name from down the hallway. "TAYLOR, YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

I slammed my locker and looked down the hall, students parting like Jörmungandr had awakened from his slumber to reveal a very angry Emma. She came marching towards me, her face the same red as her hair and there was a glint in her eye that I hadn't seen before. Madison was hopelessly trying to keep up, but she eventually stopped and stood to the side, her face filled with surprise and apprehension.

"What, Emma." I said, keeping my tone even.

Emma didn't respond with words. Instead, I saw her hand come up and a stinging sensation lit up my cheeks before I realized she had slapped me in the face.

I leveled my gaze down at the redhead as I rubbed my cheek, the chatter in the hallway becoming white noise in the background. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Was that necessary?"

"Don't you DARE act like you don't know."

I furrowed my eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

She didn't like that response as her fist balled and she tried to punch me. It was a lousy attempt and I saw it coming from a mile away. Her fist headed straight for my face and I easily caught it within my grasp.

The hallway went silent, several people gasping in surprise. Even Emma was shocked for a moment before her face turned into a snarl. "FUCK YOU!"

I had never seen her so unhinged before. Countless times I'd seen her angry, but it was always cold. This… this was hot, burning with fiery hatred. It surprised me enough that she managed to pull her fist from my grip.

Emma tried to punch again, a quick block stopped that attempt. She tried to kick my shin, which I easily stepped aside and her foot hitting the lockers with a loud clang. She winced but her anger overpowered any pain she felt.

"What. Is. Wrong. With. You?" I said in between hits.

She stepped back, winded by the exertion. Bewilderment etched on her face. "How can you possibly not know!"

All I could do was continue to be confused. "Not know what?"

My reply was apparently not what she wanted to hear if the deep snarling growl was any indication. "You're such a fucking idiot! You stole my mom! You-you-you-" She didn't—couldn't—say anymore. She instead started flailing her arms again.

I was too shocked to block or dodge the attacks by her admittance. I stole her mom? How could I— then it hit me. Aunt Zoe had left in a hurry after seeing the contents of my phone. Did she go home? Was that why she wanted me to tell her if Emma did anything again? Something bad must've happened since Emma was actively trying to hurt me in the middle of the hallway before the first period.

While most of her punches—which were really slaps at this point— felt like bee stings, one in particular hit me in the eye, temporarily blinding me from the impact. It was enough for me to snap out of it and focus on her. "Seriously Emma," I said as I blinked my eyes a few times. "This was all your own damn fault. You gave everyone my phone number, you started sending me threats. Did you really think Aunt Zoe wouldn't look at my phone when you tried to sic her on me because I didn't respond to them? Get a fucking break. You deserve whatever punishment she gave you."

"You-you-you- Paganistic faggot!" She screamed out even as she continued her flimsy attempts to hurt me. Another few slaps to the cheek and insults were nothing compared to the torment she'd given me. Not only that, but they paled in comparison to the bullshit I had to deal with as a cape. Being seen as a Nazi was far more tortuous than her finally using my religion as a means to offend me.

Over her incessant buzzing, I heard a few whispers among the crowd.

"He's Pagan?"

"Is that a thing? That's not right."

"No wonder he's so weird."

Besides the misgendering, it honestly wasn't as bad as I thought. Sure, it wasn't great, but I expected far worse. It could be that they didn't understand the ramifications of it yet. If Leo and his goonies heard it though… they would be after me for not being a Christian pretty quickly. Some people like to believe that you could have the freedom to express your religion in this country, but that's only true in certain areas. Here in Brockton Bay, you were a walking target by the Empire if you didn't hide that you weren't a Christian.

It's why it always surprised me that Elli's shop hadn't been destroyed, considering it was dead center of Empire territory and was clearly not Christian.

"You fucking asshole!" Emma yelled again. "You couldn't just be the piece of shit you are and stay down! You and your freakishness ruined my family! Why couldn't you have been normal!?"

I was stunned. That was the most honest thing I'd heard from her in a long time. Whatever her grievances were with me, they seemed to stem back to some point in the past. Could it really be dated back to my transition? She hadn't seemed bothered by it back then, why would she have an issue now? These were questions I knew I wouldn't get an answer to, but it did allow me a chance to glimpse what caused her to betray me.

Sadly, due to my astonishment, I'd become numb to her attacks until she landed a particularly low blow. Right to my groin. The pain that erupted burned like a thousand suns and I couldn't stop myself from kneeling. A part of my body that I despised so much, was used against me. As much as I tried, I couldn't stop the tears from falling, whether from physical pain or mental anguish, it was too much for me.

"Seriously? What the fuck!" I dimly heard a new voice over the chatter and laughter from teenagers before I realized who said it. Sophia. Looking up, I saw Sophia standing in front of me, holding Emma back.

"Get the fuck out of the way you bitc—" Emma stopped herself, her eyes going wide as she stared at Sophia who had caught her flailing arm by the wrist. The entire hallway fell silent besides the scuffling I heard from the side.

Then I felt hands on my shoulders, causing me to turn to see Charlotte with worry filled eyes. "Are you ok?" She whispered.

I nodded mutely, unable to say words because of the lingering ache. Turning my gaze back up to Emma and Sophia, I waited to see what was about to happen.

"What did you just say?" Sophia growled.

"I-Uhh- It was jus—"

"Don't give me that bullshit, Emma. I've had enough of it. For far too long I stood to the side while you pulled this… I don't even know what to call it. It's so fucking pointless."

"Soph—"

"Don't." Sophia snarled, interrupting Emma again. "You don't get to try and justify your stupid reasoning."

"But, I was just…"

"Just what? Whatever you were about to say went out the door the instant you decided to use the Empire for your own sick pleasure."

"That's not what I was—" Emma halted again. Whatever she was seeing in Sophia's face was enough to make her realize it was pointless.

"Honestly, Emma, you're practically with the Empire already."

Several gasps in the hallway was nothing compared to the ramification Sophia just laid out. The physical pain in my groin might have subsided, but I couldn't make myself stand up. The crushing weight of hate I had for my body kept me down.

"Our friendship is over, if it even was one," Sophia said after several seconds of silence.

"You— but—we can—" Emma stammered but couldn't respond properly. Before she could try and say a word, a loud authoritative voice spoke above everyone.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

The hallway parted much as it had before and marching down the passage was none other than Principal Blackwell. Dressed in a formal black suit jacket and skirt, she strode down the hallway with purpose. An irritated look in her eye, she stopped just before the four of us. "What is going on?!"

None of us said anything, scared of what could happen because of her. The few times I'd interacted with her, it never went well. Whenever I brought up the bullying, she dismissed it since I didn't have concrete evidence. But nothing was going to stop the scene she came upon with me on my knees, slightly beaten, while Sophia was blocking Emma.

"Emma started it!" Someone yelled out from the crowd. Many others joined in and suddenly the hallway was bustling with noise.

Principal Blackwell was not having any of it of course and said, "All of you, go to class." Her eyes zeroed in on us and continued, "You four, to my office. Now."

Everyone in the hallway scattered, not wanting to face the wrath of the principal. Funny how everyone was scared of her yet she did nothing to stop the problems of this school. The principal waited a few seconds before turning around and walking back to her office.

Emma let out a huff and marched down the hallway, probably to hopefully smooth this over before any of us got there. Sophia wasn't far behind her but stopped a few feet away before glancing over her shoulder. Her intervention had surprised me, nevermind how she apparently ended her friendship with Emma.

I half expected her to say something but instead she came back and held a hand out. I stared at the hand, wondering what she was doing, fearing that this was just another attempt to hit me, but as I looked up into her eyes, all I saw was determination mixed with slight worry.

Charlotte's voice pulled my gaze away from the hand for a moment. "You ok to stand?"

My eyes landed on her and I nodded. "Yeah."

Sophia stepped back slightly as I reached out and grabbed the offered limb. Rough callous fingers grasped my palm and I felt the strength in them. Sophia easily helped me to my feet. I stood on unsteady feet and closed my eyes, a shudder of a sigh escaping my lips. Breathe in, breathe out. I mentally prepared myself for any remarks from Sophia but none came. When the crushing feeling subsided, I started forward. Sophia and Charlotte walked besides me, both staying close to me.

The few stragglers in the hallway had their eyes on us the entire time. I tried not to let it affect me, but that was easier said than done. Having my groin kicked, a big reminder of my own body problems, in front of the whole school was something I really didn't like. Sophia and Charlotte acted like a shield, though that was more of Sophia's doing than Charlotte's. It was… odd, the act taking me by complete surprise. I never expected Sophia to do these things, let alone for me. Even the simple gesture of pulling me up was a completely foreign concept when it was from Sophia. Something had changed between us and I wasn't hating it.

Maybe I should make a habit of fighting Nazis with her?

We made it to the office in silence, only my two companion's concerned eyes glancing at me on occasion. Sophia opened the door for me and I nodded my thanks. Sitting in the chairs outside of the office was Emma. A brief glance inside the office showed Principal Blackwell was on the phone with someone.

Sophia sat down first, a chair apart from Emma acting as a buffer. Charlotte and I sat in the seats next to Sophia, as far away as possible from Emma. The four of us sat in silence as the bell rang for the first period. What felt like hours passed before a familiar person appeared.

Aunt Zoe.

She had a furious gaze as her eyes swept over the four of us. When they were upon me, they softened a little. Principal Blackwell walked out of her office and met Aunt Zoe at the door. "Mrs. Barnes. Thank you for coming on short notice. Considering that you were on the contact list for two of these girls, I figured you'd be best to call."

Aunt Zoe looked at the principal and didn't seem that impressed with her. "Thank you for calling me. When you told me that Emma and Taylor were in a fight… Well, I had to come down." Her eyes wandered towards me and there was something in them I couldn't describe. Could it be about what she told me yesterday?

Principal Blackwell nodded. "Then feel free to come in," She looked at us and said, "You four as well. I want a full account of this altercation."

There was a brief moment of silence where no one moved before the sound of chairs scraping on the linoleum floor signaled the four of us getting up and walking into the Principal's office.

The office itself wasn't anything spectacular. Several filing cabinets on one side, labels depicting the alphabet on the outside for each section. On the other wall hung a few placards of accolades that Principal Blackwell accumulated over the years. Not that it showed in how she ran Winslow. In the center was a large desk with a computer on it with several folders already set out. I briefly saw my name on one of them and the thickness of it was not encouraging.

There were only two chairs inside and the Principal quickly directed who'd sit where. "Miss Barnes, Miss Hebert, please have a seat."

My hands went into the pocket of my hoodie so nobody would see my nervous fidgeting from the building anxiety that was close to boiling over. Plopping into the indicated seat, I waited for whatever punishment I was going to be given, only dimly aware of the three standing behind me. Emma would get her wish and Aunt Zoe would finally stop coming by. She too would forsake me.

"Now," Principal Blackwell said as she sat in her own chair and crossed her arms, her eyes on Emma and I. "What happened?"

Emma was quick to spin her fabricated story. "I was minding my own business when Taylor marched up to me and punched me out of the blue. She was so angry and spouting nonsense—"

I tuned out the rest of her story. It didn't matter, not anymore. All I felt was numbness. Eventually Emma stopped and Principal Blackwell looked at me with expectant eyes.

"Well? Have anything to say for yourself?"

"What does it matter," I muttered, trying not to think about the turmoil of emotions in me. "Not like what I said mattered in the past."

There was an awkward silence before Principal Blackwell said, "Well, if that's your ca—"

"Emma's lying," Charlotte spoke up, surprising everyone. I saw Principal Blackwell look over my head.

"Well, what's your side of the story, Miss Hoffman?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see Charlotte squirming in place as everyone's attention was on her. "I— Well, I was trying to meet Taylor in the morning like we always do only to find everyone had gathered in the hallway, making it hard to get through. Whe-when I got through, I saw Emma hitting Taylor like a maniac and yelling things before she kicked Taylor in a… not so pleasant place." Charlotte looked everywhere except for me and I appreciated that she was being nice about the whole thing.

"Not so pleasant place?" Principal Blackwell's eyebrows furrowed. "Care to elaborate?"

"Uhh…" Charlotte finally looked at me but it wasn't me who spoke.

"Emma kicked her in the crotch," Sophia snapped, shocking everyone into silence for a moment.

"I see…" Principal Blackwall said, breaking the silence. "And I am to assume that Taylor is innocent in this exchange? I am hearing different stories that don't match up and if I don't get a proper account, I will have to punish both of you—"

"Taylor's innocent," Aunt Zoe said with such conviction and fire in her voice that it reminded me of yesterday.

"How so? You weren't there and there are many times she has come to me, beyond the…issues she has, and never once has it been verified by anyone else. This is the first time that two students appear to be doing so and that's a little suspicious. Especially since Miss Hess was once one of those who she complained about."

Sophia looked away, opting to stare at the wall at that bit of information. Good. She should feel something considering the torment she put me through. One act of decency didn't erase the multitude of things she had done to me in the past.

"Because," Aunt Zoe said, "Emma was grounded last night. For reasons that trace back to your very school. At this rate, I am seeing a gross negligence on the administration if you allow a student to not only be punished when she was beaten, but to have been sent death threats from other students. I'm honestly ashamed of you."

"I'm sorry, but death threats? This is the first time I'm hearing this."

Aunt Zoe walked to stand right behind Emma and I. She put a hand on both of us but I could tell that Emma was not getting the comforting squeeze I was since she winced.

"Considering the lack of action from previous complaints, I wonder why." Aunt Zoe stopped her ministrations and pointed to my file. "May I see her file?"

Principal Blackwell Placed her hand on top of the file and held it there. "I'm afraid I can't. You are not her legal guardia—"

"Except I am." She said with such surety that it stopped Principal Blackwell cold. It surprised me too since I never heard of that. "After Taylor's mother's death, her father and I went through the process to ensure she had a guardian should anything happen to him. It should be in her file."

I briefly saw Emma glance my way and the look of pure hatred nearly made me flinch. If it wasn't for the comforting presence in the back of my head, I would have. Principal Blackwell was flabbergasted and opened my file, flipping through the pages at a furious pace. She stopped and read one particular page before she slammed the file closed.

"I see, but that still doesn't—"

"The file please."

Principal Blackwell was not prepared for the fury that was Aunt Zoe. She handed it over with a bit of hesitation, only momentarily holding onto it before Aunt Zoe ripped it from her grasp.

Aunt Zoe quickly opened it and flipped to a section of the file and started reading. It didn't take her long before an angry huff escaped her lips and she snapped the file closed. "What I am reading proves my point, Principal Blackwell. In each case, three girls were involved and each time you took their word."

"But without eviden—"

"The fact that it happened numerous times should be enough for a proper investigation!"

At least Principal Blackwell had the decency to pretend she was penitent under the cold fury being directed at her. I was still in shock that Aunt Zoe was taking my side over Emma's, protecting me in the process.

"So you want me to punish your daughter?" She asked in a muted tone.

"Considering if a fraction of this is true? She should have been a long time ago."

"Interesting homelife," Principal Blackwell muttered under her breath that I think no one heard except for myself. I had to admit, I was curious too. "Very well. But I'm afraid I can't have Taylor entirely—" She stopped briefly before sighing. No doubt Aunt Zoe was giving her quite the look. "Miss Barnes, you will be suspended for the next three school days."

"Wha-but—"

"No buts. As for the rest of you, especially you Miss Hebert and Miss Hess, you will be monitored. Step one foot out of line and you will receive detention."

"Yes, Principal Blackwell," I said begrudgingly.

Sophia's response was a bit more gruff and nonchalant. "Yeah, whatever."

"Then please leave my office. Mrs. Barnes, take your daughter."

Aunt Zoe nodded, "I will. Come, Emma. We need to have a talk."

Emma slumped before getting up, she looked completely shell shocked as she walked out of the office while Charlotte, Sophia, and I followed behind Aunt Zoe. I had barely stepped outside the office before Principal Blackwell slammed the door behind me.

When we gathered outside, Aunt Zoe turned to me, a worried look on her face. "Taylor, I hope the rest of the day goes well for you. I will be talking to you later about… what has transpired in the past."

I nodded. "Ok, Aunt Zoe."

She nodded and turned to Emma. "To the car. Now."

Emma didn't dignify her mom with a response, instead she started walking towards the exit. Aunt Zoe followed her and before she walked through the doors, she glanced over her shoulder. She mouthed, "Be safe." Then she was gone, leaving the three of us in the hallway.

Charlotte and I looked at each other before our eyes landed on Sophia. She was doing her best to not look like this event affected her, but I could tell she was shaken. I don't think she knew that I complained about her as much as I did and the fact that Emma finally got some justice, she was probably worrying she was next.

But the thing was, I wasn't really worried about her. Not anymore. She'd stopped her bullying, of me at least, and I hadn't heard Charlotte say anything about the athlete. She also told the entire school that she was done being friends with Emma, which reinforced her recent actions, or inactions I should say.

"Come on," I said, breaking the two out of their stupor. "Let's go to class."

Neither of them complained and we quickly made it to class before the end of first period.

ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ - ᛒ

The cacophony of voices reached my ears when I braved the cafeteria for lunch. Charlotte went into line to grab what passed for food while I tried to find a spot for us to eat. Without Emma here, it felt safer, if only a little. The only thorn would be Leo and his lackeys, but after what happened with Emma, I hoped they wouldn't be that dumb.

As I looked around, you could tell what tables were for which groupies and wannabe gang members. It was rather comical how you could tell that the gang members were the furthest from each other; whether on purpose or by accident. I'd imagine that if they were any closer, there would be more attacks and attempted murders at the school.

Near the center of the cafeteria was Madison and whatever groupies that hung with her and Emma. She looked completely out of her element without Emma around to direct things. She was poking at her tray, barely talking to the other girls and nearly jumped at someone making a sudden move. Whatever, it was her own fault that she was in that situation, she had chosen to lump herself in with Emma and that was all there was to it.

As I looked around, I saw Sophia sitting by herself at a nearby table, as far from the Empire delegation as she could get without running into ABB colors. She was playing with her food while she leaned against the table. It was so odd seeing her by herself. She seemed so different without Emma or Madison. She seemed almost docile, which felt ridiculous given how I had seen her almost every other time. There was still an air of annoyance or anger around her, but it didn't seem directed at anyone. Not anymore. Sometimes I wished I could read minds just so I could find out what the hell was going on in her head.

As if she could, she turned and our eyes met. There was something in those eyes I couldn't decipher but it wasn't the disappointed or malicious look that I once saw. The mystery that surrounded Sophia was starting to intrigue me almost as much as the old Norse books.

And just as quickly as it happened, Sophia turned her gaze towards another part of the cafeteria focusing her attention on some new, far more interesting sight.

Deciding to ignore her, I found an empty space and pulled out my sandwich. Charlotte quickly found me and sat down while I grabbed my phone and sent a text to Vicky. I hadn't told her about my meeting with Crusader and hopefully she would be able to help me find if there was any information about that, or if I should get ahead of the media.

As I was about to hit send, I heard a scuffing sound on the linoleum near me.

"Faggot."

The whispered mutter from the boy who passed was my only warning. I pulled my phone away just as a bottle of orange juice was dumped on the table. My sandwich was ruined but at least the phone was safe.

The entire cafeteria went silent as everyone looked in my direction, their curious eyes adding to the weight of the moment. Charlotte had a fearful look on her face as she stared up at the boy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia was laser focused on us, almost ready to pounce.

As I glared at the boy who had ruined my lunch, my blood began to boil when I realized who it was: Leo. I'd never thought anyone would surpass Emma but Leo had easily done so once he started threatening me with death.

"Did you have to waste perfectly good orange juice?" The orange juice actually sucked, but that was besides the point.

A few people laughed which only made Leo's murderous glare intensify. "And people like you shoul—"

"Is there a problem here?" I heard from next to me, only to be surprised that it was Sophia. How did she—.

"Fuck you, nig—"

She had a hand around his throat in an instant, cutting the slur off before it was fully voiced.

"I wouldn't if I were you." She said with quiet intensity. "Unless you want a repeat performance? Tell me, would your balls handle another crushing? And to think it would be in front of the entire school this time."

Just to punctuate her statement, I cracked a few of my knuckles. It was weird, seeing Sophia menace someone that wasn't me, but given our mutual hatred of the Nazis, I could put aside any misgivings for the time being. After all, I would be more than happy to remind Leo, because I was done being walked over.

It took a few seconds for Leo to process what Sophia said, but once it did, he started grinding his teeth as he snarled at the two of us. Several agonizing seconds went by and I could feel the eyes of the entire cafeteria upon us, waiting with bated breath to see what would happen. Eventually Leo relented, scoffing as he left to be with his other gang wannabes.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I looked back only to see Sophia already halfway out the cafeteria. Frustrated, I took a look at what remained of my lunch and decided it wasn't worth dealing with. I slipped my phone into my pocket and stood.

"Where are you going?" Charlotte asked.

"Don't worry about it," my response was a little more blunt than I wanted. "I just need to ask something. You might want to go to our spot."

Charlotte stared at me for a moment before sighing, a slow nod of her head before she picked up her things as I made my way out of the cafeteria.

I looked down the halls for Sophia, barely catching sight of her as she slipped out of the building. I didn't quite chase after, but I did want to catch up with her. When I emerged outside, I saw her leaning against the wall, looking up into the sky.

"What do you want, Hebert?" Her tone was neutral, yet commanding.

I walked up to her and tried to copy her, failing miserably as my foot slid down the wall. Her eyes glanced over and there was just the tiny bit of her lips turning upwards.

"Thanks. For what you did this morning and what you did back there. Also when the Nazis attacked me a few weeks ago."

She shrugged her shoulders. "No one deserves that bullshit."

"If by bullshit, you mean dying, sure."

"Leo couldn't harm a fly, let alone kill someone."

"Doesn't mean it wouldn't have ended poorly. How many kids end up severely beaten to the point of hospitalization here?" I tried very hard not to look at her to add on to the fact that she was one of those who beat kids.

Mainly me.

She didn't say anything, instead she tapped on the brick wall of the school in a rhythmic pattern. I could push it, find more answers about her change in behavior, but I was honestly ok with how she was acting. For once, I wasn't worried about her.

"You know Emma's the one who sent them after me, right?"

The tapping stopped. "I know."

"That's it?"

"What do you want me to say, Hebert? That I could've stopped her? She didn't tell me all the little aggravating shit she did until it was already in motion. It's why—" She stopped herself, not saying another word as she continued her tapping.

That— really? I would've thought Emma told her everything. If she didn't know half the stuff they did to me, then how much of it could be on her shoulders? By the looks of it, she really didn't want to discuss it further.

Instead, I opted to keep this truce between us. "Leo's going to try again."

"No shit, sherlock. You're his target and he's working his way into the Nazis rank. Don't be surprised if Emma does too."

That wasn't disturbing at all. "Wunderbar."

Sophia snorted, but didn't say anything else and I didn't have anything else to add. What happened today had cemented the changed dynamic between us. One where I didn't feel the need to worry about how she acted, at least where I was concerned. Even that short conversation had been more than I ever expected the two of us to share, yet we had.

No matter what happened in the future when it came to Emma or Leo, I felt that Sophia would be there, in my corner. I just knew that I would do the same for her if it ever came to it. We weren't friends, far from it, but I knew I didn't need to be afraid of her anymore.

And for the moment, that was enough.

BloodDraconius` · Mar 18, 2023

I have a question, can't Amy use her powers to complete Taylor's transition?

Sylnarri · Mar 18, 2023

BloodDraconius` said:
I have a question, can't Amy use her powers to complete Taylor's transition?

Sooooo.... That would be Spoilers.

Krazyfan1 · Mar 18, 2023

Thanks for the update.

BloodDraconius` said:
I have a question, can't Amy use her powers to complete Taylor's transition?

Birthday present perhaps?

BloodDraconius` · Mar 18, 2023

But yeah other than my question, this chapter was pretty good.

pailRomantic · Mar 18, 2023

This fic is so fun to read. Such a great take on an altpower and your Taylor is so relatable. Can't wait for more.

Sylnarri · Mar 18, 2023

pailRomantic said:
This fic is so fun to read. Such a great take on an altpower and your Taylor is so relatable. Can't wait for more.

I'm glad you like it and relate to Taylor! There will be more! I am currently working on the last chapter of the arc, Vicky's Interlude.

Sandy River DL · Mar 18, 2023

Nice to see Zoe getting on top of things and reining in her wayward daughter. And even if the media hasn't taken notice of her altercation with Crusader, she should check PHO. Because the local news could well be in the hands of the Nazis.

Sylnarri · Mar 18, 2023

Sandy River DL said:
Nice to see Zoe getting on top of things and reining in her wayward daughter

It's actually kind of sad how little she appears in canon. Like where was she after her daughters incident in the alley? Wouldn't she pick up that Taylor wasn't around anymore? It's understandable why Alan didn't know or notice, but there's so little known about Zoe that it's like she's dead.

On Feathered Wings, We Fly (Norse Mythology AU, Alt-Power)

Recent threadmarks

Recent threadmarks

Recent threadmarks

Reese

Sylnarri

Andrensath

zernoc56

Sylnarri

Pale Wolf

Social Justice Mechanized Infantry

Sandy River DL

(Verified Destroyer Leader)

Pale Wolf

Social Justice Mechanized Infantry

Sandy River DL

(Verified Destroyer Leader)

Pale Wolf

Social Justice Mechanized Infantry

Sylnarri

Sylnarri

Reese

Sylnarri

Reese

Andrensath

Sylnarri

BloodDraconius`

Sylnarri

Krazyfan1

Worrying for the future.

BloodDraconius`

pailRomantic

Sylnarri

Sandy River DL

(Verified Destroyer Leader)

Sylnarri

Recent threadmarks

Recent threadmarks

Recent threadmarks