Want to bet someone in the Protectorate will be calling her a combat thinker before they really review her footage fully?
I could sort of see Ethan saying something pithy like "Hey Armsie, did you have a lovechild fifteen years ago? She moves JUST LIKE YOU." (efficient)
Considering that those classifications are used as a quick way to memorize the combat doctrine the PRT/Protectorate needs to take depending on the classification of the given cape, Taylor would absolutely deserve at the very least a 1 as a Combat Thinker—at least when she gets in shape.
Considering that those classifications are used as a quick way to memorize the combat doctrine the PRT/Protectorate needs to take depending on the classification of the given cape, Taylor would absolutely deserve at the very least a 1 as a Combat Thinker—at least when she gets in shape.
Can you specify whether it's her current or potential abilities, cause in 2 months if she's stays under the radar, she can probably have a lab in a sealed off pocket dimension, with devices that she can point to and quote our favourite raccoon " that's when things get real hardcore, or when you know, wanna blow up moons".
Since by that time her tinker/thinker rating will be 'drop to your knees and start praying to whatever deity or higher existence you may or may not believe in' as opposed to the puny PTV's 'don't think about it just run'
If you mean her actual full capabilities rather than just her combat skills then that's a tough question, because it would have to be a rather extremely unlucky situation for that to happen.
It would have to be an scenario that requires Taylor to take on the responsibility of taking action first in a place with enough witnesses—as such, it would require her to believe the situation has to be handled immediately and that it can't be handled by anyone else present.
Given that her capabilities revolve around knowledge and skill over multiple fields in a way that few, if anyone would have in conjuction (medical care expertise + armed CQC + electrical engineering + programming, etc.), I'm struggling to think of an specific scenario.
Even one where she shows merely a couple of her fields of expertise (martial arts + medical care) would require something like having to fight off multiple attackers in CQC to protect a mortally wounded civilian and then having to tend to that civilian to prevent them from dying, all while having witnesses around or being under a security camera. Which is of course not an scenario that happens every day in broad daylight—something like a full-blown gang war across the city would be needed, I think.
Was re-watching Watchmen and I had a thought..if she put enough charges into certain scientific fields and engineering could she recreate the accident that made Dr.Manhattan? Or make a being like him?
Was re-watching Watchmen and I had a thought..if she put enough charges into certain scientific fields and engineering could she recreate the accident that made Dr.Manhattan? Or make a being like him?
Nah, Dr. Manhattan plays silly buggers with physics. Making gods with what are effectively magic powers isn't possible. She could potentially create engineered bodies that are pretty impressive in their physical capabilities and ability to adapt, but that's not snapping your fingers and doing whatever you want.
If you mean her actual full capabilities rather than just her combat skills then that's a tough question, because it would have to be a rather extremely unlucky situation for that to happen.
It would have to be an scenario that requires Taylor to take on the responsibility of taking action first in a place with enough witnesses—as such, it would require her to believe the situation has to be handled immediately and that it can't be handled by anyone else present.
Given that her capabilities revolve around knowledge and skill over multiple fields in a way that few, if anyone would have in conjuction (medical care expertise + armed CQC + electrical engineering + programming, etc.), I'm struggling to think of an specific scenario.
Even one where she shows merely a couple of her fields of expertise (martial arts + medical care) would require something like having to fight off multiple attackers in CQC to protect a mortally wounded civilian and then having to tend to that civilian to prevent them from dying, all while having witnesses around or being under a security camera. Which is of course not an scenario that happens every day in broad daylight—something like a full-blown gang war across the city would be needed, I think.
Friday Afternoon, January 14th, 2011
Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, Earth Bet
Winslow High School
I hugged Taylor's coat around me in the cold winter air out in front of the building. It was perhaps a minute before two motorcycles and a PRT van pulled into the bus loop out front, running lights but not sirens.
Miss Militia and Armsmaster. Good and not so good, respectively. I didn't know if my ability to lie could fool Armsmaster's lie detector or not. If he had it yet. I wasn't sure, so I had to assume he did. I was pretty sure I could fool it, since without invasive sensors it'd be working purely off of vocal stress analysis and reading microexpressions and I could mostly control those with good technique, but it would be careless of me to rely on fooling a system I was only guessing at the inner workings of. Especially a tinkertech system that might be breaking the usual laws of physics I'd use if I wanted to build a lie detector.
I would just have to be quick on my feet and careful in my answers.
Clutching the genuinely hurting ribs on my left side through the coat, I raised my right hand to wave and slowly approached the heroes while a PRT squad in their glossy black armor trooped out of the back of the armored van. Four men, I noticed; two with rifles, two with containment foam canisters on their backs.
"Are you Taylor Hebert?" Armsmaster asked as I approached.
"Yes, I am. I called Brooke Woodward about the attack. Thank you for coming so quickly."
"Are you hurt?" Miss Militia asked, giving me what I thought was a concerned look, but the bandanna covering her lower face made it hard to tell.
"Ribs. Hurts to breathe, a bit. Not coughing up blood or anything though," I answered.
"We'll get you checked out by a doctor as soon as we can," Miss Militia said.
"First we need to locate Shadow Stalker and see if this situation can be contained," Armsmaster added.
"You believe me?" I asked, my surprise genuine. I'd expected more skepticism.
"I reviewed the video enroute. It is unlikely to be faked, although your combat performance was noteworthy. Are you a parahuman?" Armsmaster asked, and Miss Militia shot him a warning look that I definitely caught.
I shook my head, and carefully regulated my thoughts. For a moment I convinced myself I was telling the truth, and let my face move accordingly. "I'm a decent martial artist," I said, since an obvious lie of false modesty underplaying my abilities might mask the overarching lie that was actually important, "but they didn't find one of those things that gives you powers on my MRI in the hospital."
"I see," he said, and I couldn't read him one way or the other. Armsmaster's emotional affect was so flattened it made him hard to gauge, at least when he was on the job like this in full Armsmaster mode.
Miss Militia turned to Armsmaster. "Why don't I stay with her and you take the squad and find Shadow Stalker?"
"Very well," he agreed, and waved for the four men to follow him.
"Her main accomplice's name is Emma Barnes!" I called after him.
"Understood!" he called back, and entered the building followed by the troopers.
I rubbed my hands, which were getting cold.
"Want to wait inside the doors?" Miss Militia asked. Her power was idly changing from pistol to knife to assault rifle. Did that mean she was agitated, or just alert?
I nodded, and we walked into the vestibule. "Thank you for...all of this, I guess. Believing me. I'd have had a hard time believing that a Ward, a hero, was attacking kids at school."
I think something dark crossed Miss Militia's expression. "Well, you did make a video, even if I haven't seen it yet. Armsmaster is convinced, which is good enough for me. And we may have had some...discipline issues with Shadow Stalker. Although nothing this bad."
She paused for a moment. "How did you record the video, by the way?"
"I took the shell off a cell phone and sort of sewed the camera and microphone into my shirt. Worked the buttons in my pocket," I explained. "Wasn't too bad. Just needed to solder on some longer wires, really."
"Clever," Miss Militia said, sounding impressed.
I shrugged. "Thanks, I guess. I got pretty good grades before they started stealing all my homework."
I caught a definite wince around her eyes in response to that.
"You said your side hurts, how are you feeling?"
I made a so-so gesture. "Pretty tender, a little stabby when I breathe in too far, but not really bad. More now than a few minutes ago."
Miss Militia considered. "That would be the adrenaline wearing off." Endorphins, I mentally corrected. Beta endorphin was the pain killing one. Adrenaline formed other parts of the flight or fight response. "I've definitely had hurt ribs myself, before, after fights. It sounds bruised or cracked and not broken, but we'll get you to a doctor to check you out."
"Thanks. Am I going with you to the PRT building after this?" I asked.
Miss Militia nodded. "That would probably be for the best. We can get you looked at, and take a statement. We can call your parents, too."
I looked down and shuffled my feet in a bit of acting. "Just my dad, now. Mom died a couple years ago. Car accident."
Miss Militia's look of compassion was easy to read. "I'm sorry, Taylor. I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."
I shook my head, and looked back up at Miss Militia. "It's okay. It's...still hard, but things are slowly getting better. Dad was pretty depressed for a long time, but I think we're starting to reconnect again. Maybe...maybe if after this the bullying stops life can be good again," I said, my voice choking up towards the end.
Gods, even though Taylor was an easy role to slip into thanks to having her memories, those acting, lying and psychology charges meant I could be an absolute manipulative bastard now if I wished. As repulsive as that was, at the same time part of me kind of had to slow clap at this whole performance with awed horror. It was almost a shame I couldn't submit this for some sort of motion picture award.
Did Miss Militia deserve this?
Better question: could I afford not to give it and come across as unaffected instead?
No. No, I could not.
...And how much of it was really a performance, part of me wondered before I cut it off.
I definitely couldn't afford to think about it right then.
Miss Militia rested a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I have faith in the Protectorate. And Armsmaster is the best investigator I know. We will sort this out quickly, and keep you safe."
"Thank you," I sniffled. "Should I be worried that my hands keep wanting to shake?"
Miss Militia shook her head. "That's just the adrenaline again. From what Armsmaster said, it sounded like you were in a fight for your life." She leaned close and whispered. "Don't tell anyone, but even heroes get the shakes sometimes."
I gave her a timid smile. "Thanks, I'm...it's good to know I'm not alone."
She shook her head. "You aren't. None of us are ever really alone, if we're willing to reach out for help when we need it."
Wow. That was actually a pretty genuinely inspiring line. I'd have to remember that if I ever did the public hero thing.
Maybe I could make a new VI that was an expert at coming up with inspiring things to say?
...On second thought, that sounded like the sort of thing Armsmaster would do before he learned to be human. There were some things I could admire about Colin Wallis, like his work ethic, but it was probably best to avoid anything that sounded like a 'social optimization' he would approve of.
"She what?" Miss Militia said, and her power shifted in a flow of green light into some sort of machine gun. (Why did martial arts knowledge not include anything about guns?) I looked at her in confusion for a moment before realizing that she must be talking to someone over her in-ear communicator. "Understood," she said.
She turned to me, her tone considerably more serious than a moment ago. "Armsmaster can't find Shadow Stalker, just her phones. He's on his way back; we're going to bring you with us to the PRT building and see what we can do."
"Okay," I said, numbly.
I was probably responsible for Shadow Stalker going villain and having enough forewarning of evidence against her that she had time to escape arrest.
Shit.
Way to go, hero.
I got to sit up front in the van on the way to the Parahuman Response Team ENE Headquarters building, at least. The back seemed clean and all, but I was pretty sure it doubled as a prisoner transport space. And I didn't really want to have four armored men staring at me while fingering their guns the whole trip.
They brought me in through the underground garage, so I had to let Miss Militia know that my father was probably waiting in the lobby. She was a bit surprised that I'd thought to tell him to go there instead of the school, but I think I successfully played it off with the 'smart kid' card.
Miss Militia had two of the troopers escort me to the infirmary first, where I got a curtained off gurney in what looked like an old style hospital ward, one long room with two dozen beds and no walls, that would be easy to set up for mass casualties if they needed to by packing in even more beds.
I wondered if they had private rooms for injured heroes and wards.
A doctor had just finished gently prodding my ribs ("Ow!" "We can do an x-ray, but I think you avoided any breaks.") when a trooper escorted Danny through the infirmary doors.
"Over here, Dad!"
He greeted me with a hug, and stopped when I yelped. "I thought you said you were okay?"
"Mostly okay. I let her have a few hits before it looked like I didn't have a choice about fighting back. Nothing serious though." I turned my head. "Right doc?"
The doctor, an older silver-haired man who still carried himself with a military bearing, nodded. "You've raised one tough daughter, Mr. Hebert. We can do some imaging if you want, but I think she's going to be just fine."
"Your call, Taylor," Danny said, looking back to me. Did he remember about the medical knowledge I'd downloaded?
"It sounds like x-rays are overkill right now, but thank you for offering. If anything doesn't feel right I can follow up with our family doctor."
The doctor nodded. "Always a good idea. If anything seems badly wrong later like coughing up blood, extreme stabbing pains or anything else, don't hesitate to go to the ER. Some ibuprofen will help with the pain and swelling. I know the troopers sometimes prefer alcohol in a glass with ice after training mishaps, but you're a little young for that remedy," he added, a smile dancing on his lips. "Good luck to you both."
I sent a "Thank you!" after him as he left, and turned to Danny, who gave me an intense look.
"Taylor, what happened?" he asked, his tone worried.
I started to sigh, but it quickly turned into a wince. Note to self, sighing was a bad idea.
"The plan was to get them to confirm that they were behind the locker, and maybe get...Shadow Stalker...angry enough to take a few swings and then leave after I took a dive. I may have underestimated how angry I could get her."
Danny gave me a look. "May have?"
"Yeah. May have." I scratched the back of my neck. "There was a lot of enraged screaming. And threats to put me in my place, kill me, so on and so forth. If I'd curled up in a ball on the floor I'm not sure how far she'd have gone, but I decided I couldn't afford to take the risk. So I put her down."
Danny's eyebrows crawled up his forehead.
"You 'put down' Shadow Stalker?"
I nodded, rueful. "It really wasn't easy. That power of hers makes actually tagging her almost impossible. It's a good thing my defense was a lot better than her offense. Gave me time to figure something out. Eventually. Then run when she was busy screaming on the floor."
"What?!"
I dismissively waved a hand. "It sounds worse than it is. You'll see on the tape. Besides, she managed to flee before the PRT arrived, so she can't be that hurt."
"Taylor, she's still out there?!" he raised his voice, clearly alarmed.
I winced again. "Yeah. Emma saw the wires and figured out that I'd recorded the whole thing. When I got away Shadow Stalker must have realized she was screwed and decided to run. We're going to have to talk about that later."
Danny sighed heavily. "I'm glad you're safe, but this is a mess, Taylor."
I nodded. "It is, in part. On the other hand, this was also a win. I managed to get incontrovertible proof of the bullying, and the locker incident, and that she's a psycho. So we just have to play things cool and the legal side of things should go well."
I used eye contact to emphasize the word cool. Shooting me an evaluating look, he nodded slightly. Hopefully he understood that meant I wanted to keep to the plan of keeping my power under wraps.
"Do you want your old man to negotiate for you?" he asked. "He's got some experience, you know."
I smiled. "That he does. Although he might not have to. We'll see soon."
"Oh?" Danny asked, curious.
"Something that might or might not pan out, we'll see."
Some time later a trooper showed up to take us to a witness interview room, which was just an interrogation room with plastic chairs and a wooden table and pleasant blue walls. The suspect interrogation rooms, if they were anything like Earth police stations I'd visited on a rare occasion for clients, wouldn't be nearly as nice.
It was a good sign that they were thinking of me as a victim still. Which I was, but after reading Worm (and then finding myself in it, which was still a difficult tangle of feelings to unravel) I felt a bit wary about the PRT in general. Especially since this Armsmaster wasn't over his issues yet, and Coil probably had access to the cameras.
Oh gods, Taylor's original choices had been integral to Armsmaster's humbling that enabled him to become the actually pretty decent Defiant. Had I butterflied his redemption away? If I did, how could I get it back? He needed to learn humility and the importance of human relationships, and I had no idea how to do that.
As for Coil...I'd have to be very careful what I did and said around the building's cameras. Armsmaster's visor was probably secure, but I had to assume the general camera feeds could be reviewed by Tattletale if I gave Coil any reason to develop an interest.
Should I pre-commit to immediately killing Thomas Calvert if he introduced himself?
It would force him to keep his distance by shutting down those timelines…but no, for now that would probably attract more attention than I was likely to have at this point. Better to try to fly under the radar, at least for now, unless he did something aggressive. Be the scrappy girl who improbably took down Shadow Stalker in self-defense without powers, but has the video to prove it. I could revise my policy if he gave me an indication that he was on to me, like showing up at the house.
Danny and I waited in companionable silence.
The room did not have a clock, which was no doubt intentional, but it was perhaps twenty minutes before Miss Militia and Brooke Woodward came in and sat across from us.
"Hello, Taylor. I'm glad you're mostly alright. You've been through quite the ordeal," Ms. Woodward said. She sounded genuine.
"You saw the video, I take it?" I asked.
Ms. Woodward nodded. "I did, Taylor. You kept yourself together very well, but that must have been very frightening."
I sighed deliberately and visibly winced, bringing a hand up to my side. People caught up in a moment of protective empathy were worse at detecting lies.
"I think I just tried not to let myself feel it. I was too busy not getting beaten to a pulp. In fairness, the adrenaline might have helped. And making her angrier seemed to keep her from fighting with her head," I said.
Miss Militia spoke up next. "Speaking of fighting, Taylor, that was a very remarkable display of hand-to-hand combat. Where did you learn all of that?"
I scratched the back of my head and looked down, faking embarrassment. "I'm pretty good at self-study. And I've been very motivated to learn to protect myself. Shadow Stalker was always violent, even before things escalated."
Amusingly all true, if you describe my power as 'self-study'. Which isn't technically inaccurate. The only issue was that I'd displayed things that would take a vast amount of practice to master the normal way. It would have been almost impossible for a 15 year old to manage mastery of the styles I displayed, even with help. I was hoping that they wouldn't infer whole-style mastery based on individual maneuvers, and decide that I had just eclectically picked up a few things here and there.
Which would make sense for someone self-taught, and was easier to believe than some super-grandmaster of a girl. The simpler answer was usually the correct one. I was taking advantage of being a black swan scenario to lead their line of thought astray from the truth.
Ms. Woodward and Miss Militia shared a look. Were they deciding who asks the next question, or was that something more significant?
Miss Militia spoke. "If you'd be willing, Taylor, we'd like you to take us through everything that's happened with Shadow Stalker, but since this hinges on a Ward's identity, we need to ask your father to step out."
I forestall Danny's angry response with a hand on his shoulder. Resigned to having to start revealing my legal knowledge, I'd just opened my mouth to respond when the door swung open.
"Trying to separate my minor client from her parent?" Carol Dallon said with clear disapproval, striding in and setting her briefcase down on the table.
Miss Militia and Ms. Woodward were sufficiently taken aback by the interruption that I had the initiative when I stood and smiled at Carol Dallon, the woman known in costume as the superhero Brandish.
I did not agree with all of Carol's life choices, the way she treated Amy in particular, but I could also see where some of those choices were motivated by the psychological scars of urban warfare and others were quite possibly a result of Victoria's aura messing with her head. Carol's careers - as attorney and superhero - did speak well of her as someone devoted to principle, or who at least aspired to it, even if she was a flawed person. For that reason I was willing to give her a chance.
Besides, I really did need someone to be my legal shield in a way that wasn't as suspicious as doing it myself, or as dangerous as relying on legal knowledge from a parallel universe that didn't even have parahumans. Quinn Calle, the only alternative cape lawyer in the Bay area, specialized in representing villains. Not the sort of message I wanted to send to the PRT.
Finally, hiring Carol might just give me an in that would make it much easier to help Carol's family, and they most certainly needed help.
"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Dallon. I wasn't sure you'd come. I'm Taylor, and this is my father, Danny," I said.
Carol nodded. "Well, it's not every day I get an email like the one you sent, Taylor. And when your client is being interviewed by the authorities that's where you go, regardless of what it does to your schedule."
She turned to Miss Militia and Ms. Woodward. "As much as I respect you both, I'm afraid I need some time to confer with my client."
Ms. Woodward looked alarmed. "Taylor, you're not in trouble, you don't need to-"
I held up a hand to cut her off. "A member of the Wards tried to kill me twice, Ms. Woodward. Even if we all do our best things are going to get complicated, and I'd like the help steering me through."
Ms. Woodward looked like she was about to say something else, but Miss Militia preempted her by clearing her throat as she stood. "Of course, Carol. Let us know when you're ready."
As the two filed out and closed the door, Carol popped her briefcase open. "That was well handled, Taylor. So. I read your message and watched the video. I have to agree with your message, this is a case where parahuman and institutional responsibility is sorely needed. Now, I do need you to be honest with me. Is the video real, and are you a parahuman?"
"Yes, no, and I've got the cracked ribs and brain MRI to prove it, respectively," I answered, taking my seat again. Both were not technically lies, although I was shaving it close on the second answer. I had a power, but it wasn't technically a parahuman one.
Lying to your attorney is never a good idea, but even if I wanted to tell her the truth I couldn't do it here with cameras and who knew what other listening devices around. Coil made things difficult again. I could fill her in later, or keep her as blissfully ignorant as I could if I was more worried about Tattletale or someone else somehow pulling information about me out of her reactions.
Carol arched an eyebrow. "Then you are one very impressive young woman, Taylor. I wish my daughter was half as dedicated to her training and so restrained. So, I'm going to have you sign some paperwork that officially makes me your attorney on a standard contingency fee agreement. Then I'm going to ask you to tell me the whole story, and tell me about any other evidence you might have, and then I'm going to ask you what you want out of all this. Any questions?"
I shook my head. "No, that's what I expected. I'm sorry about Alan Barnes being involved because of his daughter, by the way. I hope that won't make things too complicated for you at work."
Carol shrugged it off. "We're just going to have to firewall it. I suspect I won't be speaking to him for a while, but it is what it is. He only handles divorce cases so we don't work together in any event. You don't need to worry about it, Taylor. If you and your father sign this then I will work for you, and Alan will have to worry about his own problems."
We quickly went through the engagement letter and contingency fee agreement, and I was reassured to find that both were essentially identical to the versions I was familiar with on my Earth.
Danny wanted to read everything in detail, and even though it was short I had to rush him through it a bit. There were more important things right now, and I knew Carol wasn't trying to screw us over. Besides, if Earth Bet was like Earth in this regard, contingency fee agreements were highly regulated to keep lawyers from taking advantage of their plaintiffs. There were limits to the percentages of a recovery she could charge, and other caveats.
Once that was done I ran through the whole story, starting from the day Taylor got back from summer camp to find a suddenly hostile Emma, and Sophia's involvement. I inserted some 'educated guesses' about what might have happened that were vaguefied versions of my meta-knowledge, particularly with respect to Sophia's warped mentality and a 'theory' that something traumatic might have happened to Emma that Sophia was involved in.
I mentioned the spiteful emails Taylor had gotten and the journals of abuse that Taylor had started keeping some months ago. We agreed to make copies for Carol to use in the case.
As I went through the whole story, pushing aside Taylor's strong feelings that kept threatening to rise up, Danny's and Carol's looks grew more and more thunderous. Particularly at the parts where teachers and Principal Blackwell refused to help, blamed Taylor, and shredded her transfer application to Arcadia. Also when I mentioned my 'theory' that she was covering up Sophia's actions to keep the Wards program money for Winslow.
I think my hand on Danny's arm was the only thing that kept him from raging out loud.
After I finished, Carol spoke.
"Well, Taylor, I think you have a strong case against the school, and the PRT."
I nodded, and took myself off the leash a bit. "The school demonstrated negligence and actual malevolence, even before we get to the two incidences of what was arguably attempted murder happening when they had a responsibility for my safety. They have no effective defenses. School officials were aware of the ongoing campaign and took no action despite having a responsibility of care to do so. The PRT has possible direct liability for Shadow Stalker's actions, but is certainly liable for whichever employee was supposed to be watching her falling asleep at the switch.
"If you hadn't come I expected they might have tried uninformed pressure tactics like 'you can't record people in a two party state' or have attempted to make me sign waivers and NDAs to cover everything up and protect them from liability, but with you here they know they can't get away with the cheap tricks to keep this private without paying. They'll have to play ball."
Carol gave me a steely look. "Taylor, how do you know all that?"
I shrugged slightly. "I started reading law a while back. I think I liked it because it's...reassuring, to know that what's happening to you is wrong. Even though all the adults at school disagreed, I could know I wasn't crazy thanks to reading the opinions of famous judges agreeing with me. What Blackwell and the teachers were doing, denying what happened...it was basically gaslighting. I think I needed some way to reassure myself that the whole idea of right and wrong was real. It helped."
None of that was even a lie. I had been helped by the law that way, once upon a time, when I needed to know that right and wrong were real established things and not the playthings of a corrupt or ignorant authority. Knowing what is right and wrong regardless of what anyone said to the contrary could be a kind of armor and comfort. A rock to hold on to in turbulent waters, and a light to show the way in the dark. It was something that was always there, and that no one could take from me.
In retrospect I think seeking that certainty had been a big part of why I'd gone to law school.
Carol blinked. "Not everyone who seeks justice wears a costume, Taylor. I think you've got a bright future ahead of you if you want to pursue it."
I smiled at that. "Thank you, Mrs. Dallon. That's kind."
"You are very welcome, Taylor." Carol took a breath and let it out slowly. "So, this is the part where I ask you, my client, what you want out of all of this. You're right; they are in a bad legal situation. The PRT in particular will be fairly desperate to keep any hint of this out of the news. They've always cared more for public relations than transparency," she said, practically growling the last bit. "That gives us a considerable amount of leverage. It goes without saying that Shadow Stalker is going to be arrested and prosecuted, so you needn't worry about that. I need to know what else you want me to lobby for on your behalf."
I drummed my fingers on the table briefly. "I think...I think some sort of change needs to happen so that this doesn't happen again. I'm not sure what. I definitely think the Wards need meaningful mental health care if they don't have it already. Sophia's mind is badly broken in a way that makes her violent, and that should have been spotted by anyone that spent any time around her, much less a professional. She should have had lots of mandatory counseling until someone judged her well-adjusted."
I sighed. "Money wouldn't go amiss, but I'm not interested in bankrupting the school district or the PRT or anything. That would be selfish, ultimately. Whatever their insurance policies will cover should be adequate. Enough to make this worth your time, too, of course. You deserve to get paid."
I scratched my cheek, thinking. "I can't go back to Winslow after this. A transfer to Arcadia would be nice if the district could arrange it, or otherwise homeschooling. Oh, and two panic buttons, if the PRT has something like that. Shadow Stalker is out there on the run, now. It would be stupid of her to come after us, but she honestly isn't too bright. It's possible she'll want to kill me out of revenge for ruining her life or something."
Carol's look darkened. "I'll ask for a patrol van to be nearby for a while, or until Shadow Stalker is caught. You're right that the two of you are in danger as long as she's out there."
I nodded. "That sounds like it would be a good idea." It might be inconvenient if I needed to do anything suspicious, but I would find a way around it.
Carol removed a pen from a pocket, and a yellow notepad from her briefcase. "Alright, I'll get all this down and then we can bring them back in and start negotiating. I think what you want is reasonable, Taylor. Even noble. They'll probably only quibble about any policy changes. There might be some give and take on that."
"I understand," I said, and looked thoughtful. "If you need help pushing for improved access to mental health resources for Wards, you could try sounding out the Youth Guard for their support. It sounds like the sort of thing they would be all for, and they can bring a lot of public pressure to bear."
Carol gave me another slow blink as she considered that. "You are a frightening young woman, Taylor Hebert. I think just the threat of that might be enough."
I offered a sly smile. "Thanks."
All of this left a big open question; how were they going to react? And when would I find out?
Taylor should probably look up if Coil even has Lisa or Undersiders as a group. After all, who's to say she's in the exact replica of canon. I mean, author or readers might now it, but OC certainly won't.
However, she is going to absolutely find Taylor to be admirable. A (seemingly) normal human girl standing up for all this and doing all this. That will trigger all of her interest. Hell, I even expect her to want to HIRE Taylor eventually. A full Internship situation here might be fitting.
As it is, yeah, this entire thing highlights the insanity of Wildbow's canon situation and points to the corruption in the PRT, the Youth Guard, and the school district. Taylor has enough that, if she went public with this, she could destroy the Wards program as a whole for several years as reforms get worked out.
Taylor doesn't want that, obviously, but this fact is the worst case scenario for the PRT as a whole, and is going to draw all SORTS of attention.
The fact that she clearly isn't a parahuman is something that is going to be thoroughly examined. Which she can counter with offer of another MRI or Panacea's attention.
But yeah, shit is about to go in reeeeaaaaaaally fascinating directions.
Coil is going to take one look at this and want to use it. With her not being a Parahuman though, his interest will drop. An obviously brilliant young woman, but the city is full of those. Unless she actually had a power, she would be useless to him. To his thoughts. He has grown men who he can hire who are more skilled and savvy then she is, by his thought processes.
And damn, time to relax and wait again. I appreciate the steady update schedule if anything, but god you leave me wanting more with every chapter.
some of those choices were motivated by the psychological scars of urban warfare and others were at least partly a result of Victoria's aura messing with her head
I do believe most of Carol's flaws are mostly a result of the situation involving her Trigger event rather than Victoria's aura.
Remember, she Triggered because she came to trust and even love her kidnapper, who then went and tried to kill her without remorse when things came to a head. It made her afraid to trust people, it made her unable to trust her own judgement of people. That trauma is what led her to cheat on her husband, and what made it extremely hard for her to trust Amy; she felt she could confide on her sister's husband because her sister trusted him, and she felt she could only bring herself to trust Victoria because she's her biological daughter while Amy isn't.
None of this excuses her behaviour, but it is the most fitting explanation. Ward may have a fuck ton of flaws, but I at least like this part of Carol's characterization that came from it.
Tattletale would be able to see through the half lies. Taylor would be wise to start plans to reveal coil's identity just in case. It would really mess up the protectorate if that info got out too.
Tattletale would be able to see through the half lies. Taylor would be wise to start plans to reveal coil's identity just in case. It would really mess up the let if that info got out too.
Taylor is relatively safe from TT figuring her out thanks to the non-Shard nature of her powers and the subtleness with which they work. Most of Taylor's lies hinge on a few facts that would require a much larger leap in logic than Tattletale's power normally uses.
She'd have to grab the attention of Coil to prompt him to give TT the task to dig deeper into Taylor's personal life and notice the greater inconsistencies.
She'd have to grab the attention of Coil to prompt him to give TT the task to dig deeper into Taylor's personal life and notice the greater inconsistencies.
Implying he even has her. Until we see her or hear about "Tattletale of the Undersiders" I'd say it's best to not guess anything. I mean, hell - Lisa/Sarah/Whoever she is might not be a cape or have completely different power.
Tattletale would be able to see through the half lies. Taylor would be wise to start plans to reveal coil's identity just in case. It would really mess up the protectorate if that info got out too.
It's better for Taylor to leave Coil be at the moment. As has been pointed out, she's just a highly competent young girl at the moment. That won't interest Coil.
Her knowing his identity though? That paints a big target on her back.
Well, one of the things Tattletale's power would probably feed her would be 'Not a Parahuman. Has powers.' that other fics have used. Which would make Inference Engine all sorts of tingly in fascination. Non-parahuman powers would interest the Shards in search of more [DATA].
And Tattletale, being Tattletale, will either hide that from Coil, because fuck him, by only revealing the first part... because she doesn't want anyone else being netted in onto Coil's web. Hopefully. ...Hopefully?
Looking forward to the butterflies that are coming. It might end up with Taylor forced onto Coil's payroll, or it might end up with her being on Piggot's payroll. Or it might end up with some other direction all together.
Getting the fuck out of Brockton Bay with her dad might be a jolly fine idea though.
