The Ramblings Of A Mat Man: AKA The Obligatory Snippets Thread

[Mat92]

No new chapters are going to be ready to come out tonight but just to keep the creative juices flowing I'm going to do another outline just for fun and maybe come back to it in a little bit.

Spoiler: I like speedsters

One day 12 year old Taylor is in her bedroom trying to ignore the sounds of her mom and dad arguing downstairs by focusing on her book and imagining she was anywhere else. She hears the door slam and her Mom's car start up, shortly after the door slams once more and her Dad's truck starts up.
She waits for them to come back and one hour goes by, then two, then three finally the doorbell rings and Taylor goes down to answer it and is met by a police officer.
There was an accident and both her parents had died, she needs to come with them while they figure out what to do with her. In shock Taylor goes with the officer and the CPS agent. She spends that night with the Barnes family and her and Emma never leave each others sides.
Her parent's will is read and it's revealed that Taylor's grandmother was given custody. When she's contacted she turns down custody and Taylor is in limbo.
Alan and Zoe aren't registered foster parents and can't get approved quick enough so Taylor ends up in a foster home and it's not pleasant. There's too many people, too much noise and Taylor can't handle it. She runs away, she gets caught. This pattern repeats until one night she gets caught a few blocks away from the Barnes house. In frustration her Foster Father yells at her saying that she can't get away so she needs to come home and just get with the program and make the best of it. Taylor manages to escape his grasp and runs and run and runs.
Taylor triggers as a super speedster and after accidentally ending up in San Francisco she gets back to Emma's and after sneaking into her room tells her everything. The two of them start imaging about what Taylor's going to be like as a superhero but everytime Emma brings up the wards Taylor gets uncomfortable. She doesn't quite have the words for it but she doesn't like the idea of anyone having authority over her.
After about an hour the doorbell rings and it's Miss Militia asking after Taylor. The Foster Father reported what happened to the PRT and they'd like to talk with her. Taylor's terrified and after a quick hug with Emma and a good bye. She runs.
For the next two years Taylor is nomadic, running all over the country and loving being as free as the wind. Her only connection with her old life is visiting Emma once a year on her birthday (and the occasional phone call that is achieved using a burner phone Emma got her after saving up her modelling money for a while)
Taylor kind of ends up as the anti slaughterhouse nine, this nomadic force who just shows up randomly and helps people.
Things continue like this until one day Taylor gets a call from Emma. She's trapped in an alley and they've boxed in her dad's car. She's scared. Taylor runs as fast as she could and arrives in time to save Emma but there are consequences. Running in at mach 3 draws some attention and shortly after saving Emma and Mr. Barnes the Protectorate arrives and they have some questions.
From there Taylor's going to end up hanging around Brockton Bay a bit more largely to make sure Em's is okay and get steadily drawn in more and more to the local cape scene. The big themes would be Taylor's desire for freedom vs her wanting and needing connections with other people.

Why yes I have been reading the IDW sonic comics

 

[Mat92]

Okay first day of picketing is done, I'm in the editing process on my other stories and I mentioned this in the AMA I did over on spacebattles so I'm putting out the rough idea and seeing if there's anything here.

Spoiler: Jon Snow+Indiana Jones=Profit?

The point of divergence occurs in Jon Snow's childhood, a few lords from the south come to visit Winterfell (probably from the vale old friends of Ned's from his time there) and they initially mistake Jon for Robb, Lord Eddard Stark's legitimate son and this terrifies Catelyn. She already feels uncomfortable with the fact that Jon looks more like he's of the North than her own children, she's already afraid that one day Jon'll attempt to steal Winterfell from her children and as she sees it this is confirmation that he could do it. She goes to Ned ad demands that he get rid of Jon, that she can't handle him being under her roof for any longer. They argue for months until finally Maester Luwin suggests a solution. The citadel at oldtown accepts anyone and Jon could be sent there to study. Jon would have a chance to be successful and gain honour and respect and the Maester's give up all potential claims and titles.
Heck Jon could even come back to the north once he completes his studies and serve at Winterfel. Ned's not happy with this but he refuses to tell them why and finally he relents. At the age of let's say ten Jon Snow is sent to Oldtown.

During his first few years Jon is a dutiful but nor particularly impressive studen until one day he's selected to be part of an expedition to one of the remnants of Old Valyria (an ancient kingdom that was destroyed in some cataclysm that no one remembers the details of) and Jon becomes fascinated by the history that Westeros has forgotten. He throws himself entirely into his studies and begins to excel. At least in regards to history, he ignores any subjects that don't interest him to the eternal frustration of his instructors. But still Jon is all in all an impressive student and would make a fine maester one day... Except for two issues, the first isn't really anything wrong but just not proper. He still insists on training his body he made friends with a number of the guards at hightower and sneaks there for sword training and the like. More seriously Jon Snow refuses to sit for his final examinations. He's either sick or volunteered to help with field work, on one memorable occasion he simply disappeared for two weeks until the exam period was over.

Finally the maester's sit him down and force him to explain why he's doing this. Jon explains that he realizes that the moment he finishes his studies and forges his chain he'll be assigned a lord and a castle to serve and spend the rest of his life giving his lord advice, educating his children and reading books written by man long dead and learning to parrot their opinions... And it all sounds so dreadfully DULL. Before he ties himself down like that he wants to make his mark, learn something new, put his own name in the history books, find himself some glory. Finally a deal is struck Jon can attempt to launch the expedition he dreams of but once it's either completed or he fails to get the funding and men he needs he falls into line.

Jon agrees and begins to prepare to uncover the mystery that's fascinated him for years. The true history of the Wall, the Night's Watch and the long night. A while later two ravens arrive at Winterfell, one bears the news that Jon Aryn the hand of the king has died and the other that Jon Snow is coming back north and he would request a meeting with his lord father about an expedition he thinks the Stark's would be interested in.

Oh Tyrion's read some of Jon's work and is a fan

 

[Mat92]

TayTay Bomb Part 1

---

As Danny led the way through the halls of Winslow glaring daggers at anyone who would dare to approach them, Taylor finally began to understand what people meant when they talked about the raging Hebert Temper.

"Taylor, what's going on here?"

Gladly began to ask before Danny shoved him out of the way and just kept walking. No one else tried to intervene from then on and the silence continued until finally they were inside the old pickup truck that had faithfully served the family all these years and Danny let out a long slow sigh before resting his head on the steering wheel.

"Dad." Taylor said hesitantly. "Is everything okay?"

Danny didn't look at Taylor and just began to laugh to himself.

"Is everything okay?" He repeated through bitter chuckles. "Is everything okay? Taylor you could have died." He took in a sharp breath. "You could have died and I had no idea any of this was going on and just." He stopped not sure what else to say.

"I'm fine, Dad." Taylor insisted. "It was just bullying I could handle it and you had so much on your plate with Mom and work and." She turned away from him and looked out the window. "I didn't want to bother you."

Danny's eyes widened and his jaw went slack. Slowly he reached out and put a hand on Taylor's shoulder.

"You're my kid." He said simply. "If you're in trouble, if you need help that's, that's not a bother to me. That's what I'm here for. That's what I want to be here for." Taylor didn't respond. "You know that right?" He implored her.

Taylor shrugged and didn't give any further response besides jolting slightly when she felt Jonathan's hand on her other shoulder.

"I don't know the story of your family Taylor." Jojo said in his gentle voice. "But I do know this, I lost my father and despite all the fights and arguments and hurts between us. I would give anything to be able to talk to him once again." He paused and Taylor could see in the reflection of the window his soft smile and the compassion on his face. "Your father is here and he wants to talk. Isn't it worth trying?"

Taylor nodded her head slightly and while a small part of her hoped her Dad didn't question it the rest wondered what the heck she was going to say. Finally, she began to speak.

"You don't talk to me." She stated flatly. "Ever since Mom died you don't talk to me, so how was I supposed to tell you about any of this!?" She turned to look at him and her eyes were blazing with anger she'd been repressing for a long time.

"Mom died and you just, you just went away." She ranted. "I had to go the Barnes to get food and yeah they talked to you and you did better but you never even apologized and since then you'd just, you were just going through the motions and I don't even know you and you don't know me." Danny flinched backwards like he'd been hit.

Taylor took a deep breath and almost unconsciously fell into the same rhythmic breathing she'd been using in the locker before continuing in a calmer tone.

"I know she was your wife and you loved her. But she was my mom." Taylor's voice broke ever so slightly. "I lost my mom and then I lost you too, so don't blame me for not talking to you about this!" Taylor ended her rant in a shout and afterwards there was silence as all the denizens of the truck wondered where to go next. Eventually Danny broke the stalemate.

"I've really been a shit dad haven't I." He let out a long low breath. "Your mom is gonna kill me all over again when I see her next." His voice was haggard and defeated.

"Dad I didn't –"

"No, you did." He said firmly. "I fell down on the job and when people fall down on the job you don't give them any responsibility, that's only right and fair. I know you don't trust me to fix things right now but… Do you at least trust that I love you?"

Taylor paused to consider the question and slowly nodded her head.

"I love you too dad."

He gave her a small smile and took her hands in his and gave a small squeeze.

"Thank you, kiddo." He said softly. "So, here's what I propose. We are going to go home and get ready for tomorrow. That's going mostly be my job but do you have any evidence of the bullying at all?

"I've been keeping a record of everything in a journal." Taylor answered. "And I haven't switched my email account so the email's they all sent should still be there."

"Still be there?" Danny shook his head. "Never mind, not important right now. We'll get our ducks in a row and then you and I are going to have a nice dinner, relax and going forward I'm going to try my best to be a better dad. So, hopefully one day you'll be able to trust me again. Think you can give me that chance?"

Taylor nodded her head in agreement and after a moment of hesitation reached out and pulled Danny into a hug. After a moment of surprise, he returned it in force.

"Thanks kiddo."

With that the two Hebert's had exhausted their emotional reserves for the day and drove home in a much more companionable silence. In fact, it was Jonathan who had the last word spoken softly so Taylor could hear it.

"Well done."


As soon as they entered the house Danny grabbed the hall phone and headed into the kitchen with a serious look in his eyes. Taylor and Jonathan both followed after him and watched for a moment as he pulled an old rolodex from a drawer and began rifling through it.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to call Jim over at the office and make sure he is free tomorrow."

"Jim?" Taylor replied quizzically.

"The legal counsel for the union." Danny answered. "This isn't his specialty but he'll do on short notice."

"No, I remember him but why do we need a lawyer?"

"Because neither of us are one." Danny replied with a wry smile. "If I'd had my head on straight, I would've insisted on getting him over there before we talked to the cops." Taylor still looked a little confused and he continued. "My gut tells me those guys were on the level but just in case it's best to have someone whose job it is to be on your side whenever you're dealing with cops."

"That makes sense I guess." Taylor said. "I'm just going to head upstairs and make sure everything is ready for tomorrow."

"Good idea." Danny said as he finished dialing and put the phone to his ear. "Jim, it's Danny. Sorry to call you out of the blue like this but I need a favor."

Danny's voice faded away as Taylor headed up the stairs with her unseen companion.

"That went rather better than I expected." Jonathan said cheerily. "The last family conversation I had ended… rather more explosively."

"I yelled at him for like twenty minutes." Taylor grunted out as she knelt down and began prying up the loose floor board.

"Yes, but there was no hitting." Jonathan replied blithely. "And more importantly he seemed to listen to you and that's a good thing, right?"

"I guess." Taylor said as she pulled out the journal from its hiding place and walked over to her desk where she began to idly flip through it. "It's just weird, you know. Everything's changing so fast."

"I suppose I can see that." Jonathan replied as he moved closer so he could join Taylor in reading through the journal. "But is change really such a bad thing?" He flinched as he read through one particularly cruel prank.

"No, it's just if things can change so quickly." Taylor shrugged. "What's to stop them from changing back."

"Isn't it obvious?" Jonathan tilted his head in confusion. "You are Taylor. No matter what stands against you I promise that you can rise above it and stand triumphant." He smiled. "And if by chance there's anything you can't defeat on your own, I'll be there to fight it with you."

"Thanks Jojo." Taylor replied softly. "Anyways what's this Hamon thing you were talking about?"

"It is the energy I used earlier to free you from that filth." Jonathan began. "I suppose in the simplest of terms Hamon is the energy of life those with a strong body and spirit can harness that energy through mastery of sendo."

"Okay but what can it do?" Taylor asked.

"Oh, so many things, its most basic application is enhancing your own body. It can make you stronger, faster and more durable. Beyond that it can be used to heal both yourself and more importantly the wounds of others. Its ultimate purpose is to destroy the unalive. Monsters like ghouls and vampires and Di."

"Vampires." Taylor bust out in a laugh. "You have to be kidding. Those are just stories."

"I thought so once. Hopefully here that's the case." Jonathan said calmly. "If those beasts don't exist here, I suppose things are peaceful."

"Not exactly." Taylor winced. "We mostly have to deal with capes."

"Capes?" Jonathan sounded confused. "I confess I don't particularly like wearing them but I hardly think."

"No, no, no." Taylor said quickly while waving her hands. "Not actual capes it's what we call people with powers. You see back in the eighties a golden man appeared and -."

For the rest of the night Taylor explained the history of capes and the state of the world and as she did this it dawned on her for the first time that things had only ever gotten worse. Oh, on some level she'd always known that things were bad, one only needed to read the death toll of the endbringer attacks every few months to realize that. But she, like so many people had learned to put it out of her mind and just carry on with the day-to-day business of living. Now though, as she felt the energy rushing through her body as Jonathan led her in a few simple breathing exercises she knew that she couldn't go back to that.

"Do you think I could do something Jojo, even just a little bit?" Taylor asked groggily as she drifted off to sleep.

"Yes Taylor, I rather think you can." Jojo said softly as he moved the blanket to cover her a little better. "But that's for tomorrow. Rest now."

---

Admittedly this is mostly character stuff but I like this ending point. I'll finish up the next part and post it later tonight.

 

[Mat92]

I promised and I occasionally keep my promises

---

As the sun began to make its way into the sky once more Taylor shifted in her bed so she could avoid the light of the hated dawn star. Alas her heroic efforts were dashed by her savior turned tormenter and as she began to tumble from the cozy embrace of her bed, she saw Jojo holding up the mattress and internally cursed him. Based on the wide smile he wore he either didn't realize this or more frighteningly was enjoying her suffering.

"What's the deal." Taylor grumbled as she rubbed her back and clambered to her feet.

"I thought you wanted to learn how to use your Hamon?" Jojo replied with a boyish grin. "If I was mistaken, I sincerely apologize."

"No, no it's fine." Taylor rushed out. "Just wish you'd told me it'd be this early. I would have set an alarm or something."

"Next time." Jojo promised. "Now get ready and be sure to dress appropriately, we are going to be working hard." With that last instruction he faded from sight, presumably to offer her some privacy.

"Jerk."

Taylor grumbled to herself as she quickly gathered up her gym clothes. A pair of sweat pants and a hoodie breathable enough that she wouldn't be suffering while exercising and should hopefully be enough to keep her from suffering too much in the chilly Brockton Bay morning.

As she jogged down the stairs, she was met by Jojo at the foot of the stairs who looked her over with a critical eye before nodding to himself.

"Those should do nicely." He stated. "Come along, the first thing we are working on is lung capacity and a run should do nicely."

Taylor nodded and was about to head out the door before she hesitated.

"Just a second." She promised before dashing to the kitchen. Curious Jojo followed behind her and found his young pupil writing a note at the kitchen table.

"Small steps." She said to Jojo with a sheepish grin before running towards the door.

Jojo waited just long enough to read the note before following her and the two headed into the morning with hopeful hearts. The message left behind was simple but it could be the start of rebuilding something that had been broken for far too long.

'Hey Dad, don't worry about me I just went for a run. I'll be back later and we can go to the police station together.
Love Taylor'


The first hour of the run had been hellish. Jojo insisted that Taylor run at full speed while keeping her breathing perfectly even and despite the kindness shown by whatever entity bestowed superpowers in improving Taylor's body to the point of perfection, it still wasn't easy. However, as the run went on and on it slowly began to become easier and as Taylor settled into a rhythm, she began to feel the energy from yesterday flow through her once more. It started in the lungs like Jojo had said it would as all life ultimately stems from the act of breathing and flowed through her veins giving strength to her weary muscles. As her speed increased even more Jojo watched with approval from his place beside her.

"Good Taylor, that's very good. You can rest now."

Not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind Taylor immediately stopped and leaned against a wall to rest briefly.

"I think I felt it near the end there." Taylor said as she turned to face Jojo with a brilliant grin. "It was amazing like I had the power of a, of a."

"Of a sun." Jojo finished for her. "Exactly right. Hamon is the energy of life and ultimately all life originates from the sun. Now I believe you are ready to move on to the next stage of your training. Is there anywhere with nature in this city, a park or something of the like?"

"There's a park around Captain's hill." Taylor replied forgetting for a moment that if it weren't the early, early morning people would see her talking to air. "It's not too far from here."

"Good lead the way." Jojo nodded. "Full speed, no point in slacking now."

"Of course not."

Taylor grumbled as she began to run. The two moved towards their destination in a companionable silence. As they passed by the boat graveyard Jojo noted that there was enough room in the water to swim and the holes in the hulls of the boats were intriguing. But those were thoughts for another time.

Once they arrived at Captain's hill they found it to be empty which should serve their purposes well.

"Perfect." Jojo said. "Let's start with a demonstration, Taylor head over to those trees over there."

With a shrug Taylor sauntered over to where Jojo was pointing.

"Alright what's next?" Taylor asked impatiently.

"I want you to summon your Hamon." Jojo explained. "Like you did on the run, focus on your breathing. Feel the oxygen entering your blood and moving through your body. Filling every inch of you with energy."

Closing her eyes Taylor did as she was instructed and as she breathed in and out, in and out she began to feel it. A calm came over her mind and it felt wonderful, she felt strong, secure, powerful. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before and everything she imagined. This was the power inherent in the act of living itself and it was magnificent.

"Perfect, now open your eyes."

When Taylor opened her eyes she let out a gasp of amazement. Surrounding her body was some kind of aura. It glowed golden and filled her with warmth.

"Wow, this is amazing Jojo." Taylor murmured in awe. "I never thought I could, is this me?"

"Yes, Taylor that Hamon is you, all the best, most human parts of your mind and soul. Now let me show you what you can do with it." Jojo said as he walked up next to her. "Now place your hand on the tree."

Taylor did as he instructed and as soon as she closed her hand around the branch she could feel her Hamon try to flow out of her. Acting on instinct she tried to let go of it but was stopped as Jojo's hand covered hers.

"Let it happen, let your Hamon flow." Jojo instructed softly. "The purpose of life is to share it with others and for people like us that's a bit more literal. Watch what happens."

Taylor closed her hand around the branch and as the tree began to come back in bloom her eyes widened in astonishment."

"So, this is what Hamon can do."

"One of many things." Jojo stated calmly. "But to my mind it's the most impressive. Hamon is generated by the act of breathing. Once you've mastered it, it costs you nothing to share it but look what it can accomplish."

"Can it heal people?"

"Yes, that's actually the first thing my master showed me." Jojo let out a small laugh. "Actually he didn't explain what he was doing. He just walked up and hit me a few times and then my arm was healed."

Without another word he let go of the branch and looked around briefly before spotting a grass snake sunning itself on a stone nearby.

"Now, let me show you what Hamon can do as a weapon."

Without another word he walked over to the rock and after a moment of breathing he struck down with a mighty punch.

"What are you doing?" Taylor cried out as she watched the rock shatter but astonishingly the snake was unharmed (if a little confused at finding itself in the grass).

"Hamon is energy and it does as you will." Jojo explained. "If you wish it the ripple of the energy will pass harmlessly through the innocent and only damage your true target." He nodded towards a rock where another snake was sunning itself completely oblivious to what had just happened. "Now you try."

As she headed over to the snake Taylor tried to hide her trepidation. She looked at the snake and worked to control her breathing and slowly her heart calmed and her mind ceased racing. She felt the energy begin to flow her again.

"If this doesn't work, I'm sorry."

The energy around her flared a burning yellow and as she struck down it became too much for the cheap fabric of the hoody and the arms burned away. Thankfully though Taylor retained enough control of the energy to send it harmlessly through the snake so it could smash the rock to smithereens. For a moment she was proud of herself before noticing that her arms were somewhat chillier than they had been moments prior. She held her arms up in front of her face and noticed her bare skin before turning to Jojo with a confused stare.

"That can sometimes happen." He said sheepishly. "Perhaps we should end this here and head home. We can resume in the morning."

Taylor let out a long joyous laugh before beginning the long run home.


Upon arriving home Taylor was lucky enough to find Danny in the kitchen having prepared a warm breakfast for her. As she began work on the pile of pancakes he placed in front of her Danny returned to the stove and began to fry up some sausages.

"Sorry if this is a rush but once you're done, we need to get moving." Danny said in between turning delicious links of meat. "The only time Jim could free up was between one and two."

"It's fine Dad." Taylor said in between scarfing bites and trying to hide her laughter at just how horrified Jojo looked as he watched her eat. "I kind of want to get this done as soon as possible."

"Same here." Danny said as he placed the sausages in front of her. "I spoke to the school board this morning as well. You are officially no longer enrolled at Winslow." He paused for a moment. "I hope that's okay."

"Okay, that's great." Taylor cheered.

"Good now what happens next is up in the air." Danny said as he sat down across from her (Jojo took the opportunity to fade away to wherever he went). "I'll be honest odds are long that we can set you up for homeschooling. It's expensive and quite frankly the school board doesn't like it on principle."

"So what's going to happen."

"Odds are either Immaculata or Arcadia." Danny replied. "I'll keep you in the loop as soon as I know more. They were very clear though that there's going to be a placement test. They know your grades probably aren't indicative of you so they'll want a fresh look."

"A test?" Taylor asked in slight panic. "On what everything I should have learned up till now!"

"They'll send over a study guide once everything's settled." Danny hastened to pacify her. "You're a sharp one as long as you study hard, I'm sure you'll do fine. Besides that's probably a few weeks out. I'm shocked they're moving this fast honestly."

"Maybe they want to keep the whole locker thing under wraps." Taylor ventured a guess.

"Maybe." Danny allowed. "No point in worrying about it too much right now. I'm trying to set up a face to face meeting to iron out the details right now and we can deal with it then." He paused for a moment. "Do you want to come with me when I do that? They're probably going to ask you about… Everything."

Taylor nodded firmly and after guzzling down some tea responded firmly.

"I want a say in this."

"Alright then." Danny nodded. "Now finish up we need to hit the road."


Taylor found herself somewhat underwhelmed by Brockton Bay Precinct 66. Television had taught her that Police stations were a constantly buzzing environment full of hard boiled cops questioning perps so they could get their man. Or alternatively it was filled lovable goofballs who were overjoyed to serve their community and passionately believed in the law and doing the right thing. In reality Taylor would have thought it was any other office building if not for the occasional uniformed officers strolling by. When she voiced this thought to Jim and her Dad they failed to find it as amusing as she did and so the three waited in silence.

"Sorry to keep you waiting folks." Detective Copeland's head popped into the waiting room and was shortly followed by the rest of his body. "Please just follow me to my office and we can get this handled and you folks can be on your way."

He had a jovial tone that unbeknownst to Taylor and her entourage had helped him convince a number of hardened criminals to confide their secrets in him.

"Of course." Jim said smoothly as he walked up to the detective and offered a hand. "I'm Jim Mayers by the way I'll be representing the Hebert's during all of this."

To his credit the only sign of dismay that came across the face of Detective Copeland was a silently raised eyebrow as he returned the handshake.

"You're welcome of course but this is just an interview." He said calmly as the handshake ended and he turned to address Danny directly. "You don't need a lawyer for that."

"Of course not." Danny said as he pasted on his most sincere, insincere smile (the one he saved for politicians and door to door salesmen). "We just want to be sure we give you everything you need to take care of those girls and figured Jim could make sure we didn't forget anything."

"Of course." Detective Copeland said slowly. "Now if you'd all follow me."

Without waiting for a reply, he led them through the halls to his inner sanctum as soon as they were settled Taylor asked the question that had been gnawing at her.

"Where's Detective Summer?" Taylor asked. "I figured he was going to be the one to interview us. It was his idea after all."

"He's following up on a few things from yesterday. So, you're stuck with me I'm afraid" Copeland replied. "Now I've read through his notes from yesterday but I'd like to hear it all from the horse's mouth. If you wouldn't mind Miss Hebert." He trailed off meaningfully and after a nod from Jim Taylor began her story.

"So, it all started when I came back from summer camp and went to see Emma Barnes."

Taylor couldn't tell you exactly how long it took her to get through her story. Unlike yesterday with Detective Summer she had to deal with Copeland interjecting to ask for questions and to probe for more details until finally, mercifully he said.

"Alright that should do it." He paused to give Taylor a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry to make you go through that again but it's best that we have all the information as clearly laid out as possible."

"I understand." Taylor nodded.

"Now, we've got the story but I need to ask do you have any evidence of the bullying that took place prior to the locker?"

"Isn't the locker proof eno-" Danny snapped and was in the process of getting out of his chair when Jim placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure the detective wasn't suggesting that it hadn't occurred." He soothed while fixing a dark stare on Copeland.

"Certainly not. It would just be helpful in building a case is all."

"Good." Jim nodded decisively. "Thankfully Taylor took it upon herself to keep a record of the incidents starting in November of the previous school year. Taylor if you would." Taylor passed over the journal to Detective Copeland who began flipping through it. "In addition, we have print outs of abuse that was sent to her school provided e-mail, in addition to records showing the need to regularly create a new account due to the abuse." He handed those papers over to the detective before continuing on.

"I trust that will be sufficient Detective."

"It'll certainly be helpful." The detective answered in a neutral tone as he turned to focus on Danny and Taylor. "That's about all I need from you folks. Did you have any questions for me?"

"What's going to happen with them?" Taylor asked. "Emma and her cronies I mean."

Copeland let out a sigh and rubbed a hand over his face.

"I don't make promises about the outcome of an investigation but Detective Summer and I are going to do our best to make sure this has a." He paused for a moment. "Satisfactory ending. That's really all I can say until everything shakes out."

He quickly shook the hands of all three of them and escorted them to the door.

"Thank you for your time." He said cheerfully before heading back inside.

Danny and Taylor slumped against the wall in unison.

"How did that go Jim?" Danny asked tiredly.

"Like I said last night I'm not in criminal law but from what I saw and heard they seem like they are on the up and up." Jim shrugged. "If there was a trap there, I didn't see it."

"Good, that's good." Danny nodded to himself. "Guess all we can do now is wait and see."

"What was with the detective at the end there?" Taylor asked. "He wouldn't give a straight answer."

"I wouldn't be worried." Jim replied. "Probably a mix of not wanting to make promises he can't be sure of and not wanting to risk anything that a defence attorney could capitalize on."

Taylor nodded to herself and Danny snapped his fingers as a thought occurred to him.

"Jim, do you think it would be possible to get a restraining order on the three of them? Make sure they can't get close to Taylor."

"Maybe." Jim hedged. "If we get the right judge. I'll look into it and get back to you alright Danny?"

"Sounds good." Danny paused. "Thanks for all this Jim. I mean it."

"No trouble Dan, you two just look out for each other alright."

With that said he gave a wave and headed on his way leaving the two Hebert's alone.

"Guess that's it for now kiddo." Danny sighed. "I think we deserve a treat tonight. How do you feel about Tonio's for dinner."

"Can I get extra garlic bread."

"Of course."

"How bout some wine?"

At the old joke Danny barked out a laugh and ruffled Taylor's hair fondly.

"Soon as you're 21."

---

i leave you now to do battle with the accursed plot bunnies... I never should have listed to a cover of the Cardcaptors theme

 

[Mat92]

Okay the updates I had planned for today aren't ready yet. It's my own fault family took me out to brunch and well there's a reason the family motto is I have eaten and so I must sleep. So to just kind of keep things rolling as I'm trying to be more regular about posting at least something here's an outline for the crossover I've been tossing around ideas for over on spacebattles.

Spoiler: overview of a demented mind

A few months after Annette's death the president of the University she taught at contacted Danny and asked him to come in and collect some of her things. She'd essentially taken over a room of the library and they need the books gone.
Danny and Taylor go over to collect her effects and it's honestly a cathartic experience for them. They talk, really talk for the first time in a while as they reminisce over Annette and kind of mourn her and celebrate her together. A laughter and tears in equal measure kind of thing. While this is going on Taylor finds a weird book titled just The Clow that has a lock keeping it closed. When she picks it up to put it in the rest of the stuff she imagines that she feels some kind of energy flow through her. Unbeknownst to Taylor the lock on the book unlatches.

Eventually it's lunchtime and Danny leaves to go get them some food and Taylor's left alone with the books. She feels drawn to that weird book again and when she pick it up she notices that the latch came loose and opens it to find a deck of cards. She pulls out the card on top and it features a dark hooded figure. It's the shadow card and when she reads the name things go nuts some kind of wind picks up inside the building and all the cards except for shadow go flying and vanish from sight. After a few minutes things calm down and Taylor collapses on the floor wondering what other weird things can happen. That's when this little guy appears.



He is Keroberos the fearsome guardian of the seal and in an attempt to preserve ideas in the dubbing process he has a very thick Boston accent. He explains that the clow cards are very powerful magic artifacts created by a magician named Clow Reed hundreds of years ago and that since Taylor let them loose it's going to be her job to find them and reseal them in the book. Taylor's freaked out but before she can say anything else her dad arrives and seeing how much of a mess it is quicly gathers up the books and has them leave before someone blames them.

Later that night Taylor and Kero are talking in her room after Danny goes to bed. Pretty standard first episode stuff I don't think I can do it, you can do it etc etc. A heavy guest of wind shakes the house and when Taylor looks outside she sees a giant blue bird. It's the fly card and if she doesn't capture it a lot of people are going to get hurt. Taylor notices that it is heading towards the part of town where Emma lives and runs out of the house. The rest goes pretty much as it does for Sakura, Taylor chases it down and manages to subdue it with the Shadow card (envelops it so it can't see and brings it down to earth). Taylor seals the fly card and officially takes on the duties of a cardcaptor.

The next day at school Emma comes up to Taylor and shows her a weird video she took last night. She knows and she wants in. Emma is going to be Taylor's costume designer, cheerleader and second brain cell when needed.

From there we have a couple solo captures until the Syaoran character shows up and he is Dean Stansfield (don't worry we aren't including the romance. He is merely the rival/reluctant friend). The Stansfield are descended from Clow Reed and now that they've been unsealed Dean and his family feels they are his by rights. While he isn't a parahuman in this universe he is a ward, he uses magic to replicate the power he has in canon. One of the big issues is that people are going to notice what's going on with the clow cards and while he won't reveal who Taylor is he can paint her in a negative light.

So I think that serves for an overview of what this is going to look like when I get to it. I don't want to reveal who Yue is going to be just yet, gotta leave somethings as a surprise.

And with that back to work on the ninja turtles crossover and the zelda crossover (I want to get those two out next, followed by a bad moon chapter and finishing off with the next instalment of Wildcat)

 

[Mat92]

Before anyone says something. No I didn't do the traditional April O'neill scream and pass out. I just couldn't see Taylor doing that.

Now without any further adieu.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
(Turtles count it off)
1,2 3,4 (Turtles)
Mutant Chain Reaction (Turtles)
Livin' Underground (Turtles)
Ninjitsu Action (Turtles)
It's a SHELL OF A TOWN

---

As he and his brothers moved through the night Leonardo readjusted the girl he and Michelangelo were carrying and wondered just how things had gotten so complicated. It should have been simple, a mission like any other. The night before Raphael had seen a group of foot clan ninja's loading something onto a boat and when he'd told Master Splinter about it, the four of them had been ordered to investigate. They'd arrived and discovered a bunch of crates loaded up with weapons ready to be sent off to other branches of the Foot. From there they proceeded to take down the bad guys and it was all going smooth until the field leader for the foot saw this girl and things went –

"So, are we going to talk about what just happened?" The cheerful voice of Michelangelo asked.

"Shut up, Mikey." Raphael grumbled from up front.

"It would be a good idea for us to lay out some groundwork for what we do next." Donatello pointed out. "I mean this girl saw us and we are bringing her to the lair. How are we going to keep this quiet?"

"I can take care of that." Raphael snarled.

"That's enough." Leonardo barked out sharply. "She was an innocent bystander in all of this and we protected her. That's what Sensei trained us to do. Whatever happens because of that we'll deal with when it happens. Got it."

After a moment it became clear that no one was willing to question Leonardo on this one (an experience that Leo hoped would become more common someday) the brothers and their unconscious passenger continued on through the night.

"Seriously though, we've got an actual cape here my brothers!" Michelangelo enthused as they made their way downtown. "You saw what she could do with those bugs, how great is it going to be –"

"This ain't the Protectorate." Raphael snarled. "We're taking her to Splinter so we can make sure she doesn't die and then we're dumping her somewhere. Anything else is too much trouble."

"That's a little harsh Raph." Donnie said hesitantly. "Maybe we should."

"We should what Donnie?" Raphael interrupted. "Invite her in for tea, tell her all about us, join up with the Protectorate? You remember what happened last time, right?" There was no response from anyone and Raphael nodded to himself. "That's what I thought."

"Guys, there's a lot up in the air right now. Let's not make any rash decisions." Leonardo said trying to soothe his brothers. "We're going to keep our family safe I promise but this girl helped us. We owe her." He reached out a hand and spun Raphael around so he could look him in the eyes. "Are you with me on this?"

Raphael gave Leonardo a hard stare but after a moment his gaze drifted over to the girl his brothers were carrying. Her breathing was labored and you could still see blood on her shirt from the arrow wound. A change came over him so subtle that only those who had known him for years would be able to see it but he softened, just ever so slightly and nodded his head.

"I'm with you bro."

This lovely moment of bonding was interrupted by the sound of a manhole cover crashing to the ground.

"Sorry to interrupt but this debate will be meaningless if we don't get her to Master Splinter shortly. So perhaps we could get a move on." Donatello snarked.

Leonardo nodded firmly and after a slightly awkward moment he took the full weight of their passenger from Mikey and leaped down heading down the final stretch towards home.


As he awaited the safe return of his sons (of course they'd be safe) the creature now known as Splinter placed the final candle in his meditation circle and closed his eyes. The cultivation of inner peace was difficult for one such as him. A man who was simultaneously a rat and a rat who was simultaneously a man. Still, he reflected as he adjusted the brown robe he wore and sat down it was still a worthwhile endeavor despite the difficulty. Or perhaps he mused it was the difficulty which made it worthwhile. As he breathed in and out, in and out he felt his mind drifting away, moving past old pains and future worries, pausing for a moment to enjoy previous memories before letting those too pass by. He was Splinter and he was –

"MASTER SPLINTER!!!"

And he was needed apparently.

"Yes, what is it that you need Michelangelo?"

Splinter asked as he opened his eyes and came to his feet. Without realizing it he gripped his cane tighter before his eyes assured him that his sons were unharmed. It would appear though that the girl Leonardo carried was not so fortunate.

"Place her on the sofa and tell me what happened."

"She got caught up in our battle with the foot Master Splinter." Leonardo explained as he gently placed the girl down. "She was stricken by an arrow. We think it must have been poisoned."

"I have it here." Donatello said as he pulled it from a satchel slung across his hip and handed it to Splinter. "We didn't want to risk taking her to a hospital. Is there anything you can do for her, Sensei?"

Splinter very carefully rubbed a finger along the tip of the arrow and then licked the residue from his finger. He tasted it for a few seconds before spitting it out.

"Yes, I believe so." He relied calmly. "Raphael would you please collect the medical satchel from my room. It is on the rack by the door."

"On it."

"And Michelangelo watch her while I prepare the treatment. Alert me if her breathing changes."

"You got it pops."

Just as Michelangelo settled into his task with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face Raphael returned and handed the bag off to Splinter.

"Thank you, my son." Splinter said gravely. "The poison they used isn't terribly potent but we'll need to move quickly. Leonardo, please start slicing those herbs, long thin strips, Raphael, I'll need you to take the pestle and mortar and prepare those blue petals. I'll do the rest. Donatello if you could heat up some water, please."

As soon as the instructions were given no one wasted time acknowledging their orders, they merely set about doing what needed doing. As the minutes ticked by, they felt like hours and all involved tried to ignore the worry about whether or not their efforts would be in vain.

"Guys her breathing's starting to look kind of rough." Michelangelo called out in alarm.

"A few moments more." Splinter replied as he gathered the ingredients and placed them in the boiling kettle that had been provided by Donatello. With practiced movements he swiftly poured the concoction into a cup and carried over to the patient.

"Would you raise her head?"

As soon as Michelangelo gently lifted her head Splinter placed the cup to her lips and poured it down her throat. Slowly her breathing began to even out and all of the people in the room let out a sigh of relief. As they watched their guest lay there Raphael was the one who dared to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"What do we do next, Master Splinter?"

"We do our duty and ensure that she recovers and after that." Splinter paused to organize his thoughts. "We shall speak with her and determine our next move."


Taylor Hebert had never been a morning person and in spite her developing the habit of waking up early to go for run in preparation for her sure to be impressive superhero career, this fundamental truth of her being had not changed. Thus, as she began the slow shamble back towards consciousness she kept to her usual routine. Her eyes stayed set as long as possible and she let her mind wander for a bit before the hated alarm clock.

Her brow furrowed as she realized that strangely enough, she didn't remember coming home after her run. In fact, the very last thing she could remember was getting pulled into a fight with some weird –

"Hey guys! I think she's waking up." A friendly voice called out and seemed to echo around her.

In spite of her better judgement Taylor slowly opened her eyes and found herself face to face with one of the creatures from last night. It was indeed a giant turtle but from up close she could notice more humanoid features around the face. The eyes behind the orange mask were friendly and it gave her a smile.

"Good to see you awake." The creature carried on in his efforts to strike up a conversation, seemingly oblivious to the confusion in Taylor's eyes. "My name's Michelangelo. What's yours?"

Taylor's eyes frantically darted around the room she was in trying to figure out where she was. It was a dark and somewhat dank place but somehow homey in spite of that. Off to the side of her she could see a kitchen that appeared to be well used and loved and based on the large T.V across from her this must have been a living room. The well-worn recliner next to the couch she was lying on confirmed this hypothesis. Before she could finish taking stock of the situation a green hand waved in front of her face.

"Hello, hello. Is anyone in there?" The now named Michelangelo's friendly voice was rapidly becoming obnoxious. "Guys, I think she's broken."

"Calm yourself, my son." A voice said from a nearby doorway. "She has been through quite an ordeal and we must be patient."

The voice stepped out from the shadows and a rat standing about five feet tall was walking towards Taylor with what seemed to be a warm smile on his face. Taylor, involuntarily gulped and hoped that she was interpreting that correctly. As soon as the rat reached her side, he quickly grabbed her wrist and after a moment nodded to himself.

"The pulse is strong. I believe she'll fully recover after a few nights sleep."

He patted her hand but beyond that paid her no mind as he looked at something behind her.

"That's a relief." A serious voice responded. "I'd hate for something to have happened to her because she helped us."

"Not like we needed her butting in." A rough voice cut in. "She's the one who decided to butt into our business."

"Come on Raph, she did help us out." A fourth and final voice said in a conciliatory tone. "Lay off her, huh."

"Whattya mean lay off her? I never said nothin' to her."

Taylor ignored the squabbling and pushed herself up to a seating position. She quickly confirmed that yes there was a human sized rat and turtle in front of her. She turned her head to see that there were three more turtles behind her. It had been real, it had all been real. The ones in red and purple didn't notice her while they were caught up in their bickering but the one in blue gave her a small bow.

"Thank you for your assistance last night, I'm sorry you were injured and I'm pleased to see that you are alright." He stood up straight and took on a more friendly demeanor.

"I'm Leonardo and these are my brothers Donatello." He pointed out the purple one. "And Raphael." He pointed out the red one. "I think you've already met Master Splinter and Michelangelo." He paused for a moment. "And you are?"

"I don't think she wants to tell us her name." Michelangelo whispered loudly. "It's très rude."

"Taylor, it's Taylor Hebert." Taylor said as she turned herself to face Michelangelo and Master Splinter directly. "Who, what are you guys?"

"Teenagers." Michelangelo laughed.

"Mutant's." Raphael snarled.

"Ninja's." Leonardo stated calmly.

"Turtles." Donatello piped in.

"All that and more." Splinter said heavily. "The more pertinent question is who are you Ms. Hebert? Friend or foe?"

"Me, I'm, I'm nobody." Taylor stuttered. "I just got caught up in all of this. That's all." She noticed the gleam of the knives on Raphael's waist and become uncomfortable aware of how sharp they looked and tried to figure out what they wanted to hear.

"Nobody, are you kidding me? You're a freaking cape." Michelangelo cheered. "How many bugs can you control? What kinds? Do you have an arch enemy yet?"

"Oh, for crying out loud." Raphael grumbled before smacking him on the head. "Not the time, Mikey."

"Ow." Mickey yelped rubbing his head. "Come on guys, she jumped in the middle of a ninja fight to help us out. I think it's safe to say she's on our side."

Taylor nodded her head in agreement.

"I hate to say it but Mikey makes a good point." Donatello said slowly. "She got shot helping us. Why would she do that only to turn around and attack us."

"Maybe it's a foot trick." Raphael snarled. "Maybe they want us to think she's just some poor hopeless girl and then."

"I didn't even know you guys existed until a couple hours ago?" Taylor yelled. "Or those guys in the footie pyjamas. I just caught up in everything that's all."

"That is enough!" Splinter stated firmly as he slammed his cane on the ground. all the turtles went immediately silent and Taylor found herself sitting up straighter.

"I don't believe Ms. Hebert intends us any harm." Splinter continued on. "But that doesn't mean she couldn't harm us unintentionally." He looked Taylor dead in the eye and his voice became grave.

"The group you saw my sons fighting are known as the Foot Clan. They are a deadly foe and the greatest protection that our family has is that no one knows who we are. Do you understand me?"

Taylor nodded her head emphatically and Splinter heaved out a sigh.

"The safest thing to do, perhaps even the wisest would be for us to ensure your silence." Splinter sighed.

"Master." Leonardo began before being cut off by Splinter's raised hand.

"But that is the way of our enemy, not ours. I am choosing to trust you, Taylor Hebert. Do you understand?"

"I won't tell anyone. I promise." Taylor swore as she stared into Splinter's eyes willing him to believe her.

"Good." Splinter nodded. "Leonardo will escort you from here. There is however one more thing." He pulled out a piece of cloth from his robe and swiftly tied it around Taylor's eyes. "You'll wear that until Leonardo returns you to your home. Is that understood?"

"Do I have a choice?" Taylor grumbled.

"No."

Taylor felt a gentle hand take her arm and begin to guide her to her feet.

"Come on, let's get you home." Leonardo said softly.


The only conversation between the two of them had been Taylor informing Leonardo that her house was Laird Avenue. After that Leonardo seemed unwilling to speak to her and Taylor's limited social skills left her unable to come up with something to say to break the ice. This not so companionable silence was broken when Taylor tripped over something and went down hard.

"Shit." Taylor grunted out as she obeyed the instincts deeply embedded in all mankind and cradled her knee.

"Are you alright?" Leonardo asked as he knelt down next to her.

"Fine, fine." Taylor grunted before turning to look at where she thought Leonardo's face was. "But how about taking this thing off huh."

"Master Splinter says that the location of our home must remain a secret." Taylor could hear the frown in Leonardo's voice.

"Look, I'm not going to tell anyone and you guys know where I live. If it makes you feel better you can keep an eye on me."

"I shouldn't."

"It'll make this all go faster." Leonardo game a small hmm and Taylor sensed that she had him. "Besides you guys owe me. I took an arrow for you."

"Please don't make me regret this." Leonardo grumbled as Taylor felt the blindfold begin to loosen. "Raph would never let me live it down."

Taylor blinked rapidly as she took in the sights around her. The dank metal walls, the flowing water next to them and came to one conclusion.

"Are we in the sewer?"

"Yeah." Leonardo answered sheepishly and he ducked his head down to hide his blush. A part of Taylor idly noted that they must be warm blooded somehow. "Can't beat the rents though." Leonardo finished with a bit of a chuckle.

"Wait if this is the sewer, what is up with your guy's place?" Taylor asked as she and Leonardo lightly jogged along. "It's a little… roomier than I would have imagined."

"Used to be a villain's lair. It belonged to that Marquis guy." Leonardo answered. "After he got taken down way back when there was no one who came looking for it so we just moved in."

"Aren't you worried about anyone coming to take it back?"

"It's been years." Leonardo answered calmly. "If anyone was going to make a play for it, they would have by –"

Leonardo was cut off by a high pitched beeping sound and with a grumble he pulled out what appeared to be a small turtle shell that flipped open to reveal a phone. Noticing Taylor's befuddled stare Leonardo shrugged.

"Donnie." He said and it was unclear if he meant that Donnie was calling him or that Donnie had somehow built a working cell phone while living in the sewers of Brockton Bay.

"Hey, I'm just about to send Taylor off. We aren't too far out from her home."

"Forget that." Donnie yelped. "Get back here ASAP! We've got trouble. Someone found the lair."

The call disconnected and Leonardo shoved it back into his pouch with a wordless snarl.

"Taylor, keep heading straight until you reach the third turn off on the right. Walk for three manhole covers and you'll be a few blocks from your home.

With those hasty instruction he turned and ran off at a rather impressive speed for a turtle and Taylor was left standing there in shock. She could do what he said, she could go home and forget all about this. Go about her life and never think of this weird family ever again. She could do that but they helped her, they might have saved her life from whatever was on that arrow and she did was going to be a hero. Taylor started running after Leonardo and unnoticed by the young ninja a fly perched itself on his shell.


Taylor turned the last corner and found herself looking at a scene of total pandemonium. The home of the Turtle's had seemed calm and peaceful in spite of the tension caused by her interrogation but that peace had been shattered. The family of five were being menaced by these robots that looked like small raptors almost. They'd almost be cute except for the razer-sharp claws and the jaws that looked like they could bite through anything. Michelangelo was the nearest turtle to her and he was surrounded by three of them. He was managing to keep them at bay with his nunchucks but they just kept coming with snapping jaws and slashing claws.

Acting on instinct Taylor ran over to Mickey and kicked one away from him. This proved to be a bad plan when it turned to attack her and she was forced to stumble back in terror to try to get away. Mickey quickly grabbed her by the hand and pulled her over to the couch that had been flipped over to form an impromptu barrier. In this place of relative safety, he turned to her.

"Taylor, what the heck are you doing here?" He exploded.

"I heard what happened and I didn't want to miss the party." Taylor answered with a only slightly hysterical laugh.

Any further conversation was cut off when one of the robots split the couch in two with a few bites and leapt at the two of them. Moving with grace Michelangelo rolled away and was back on his feet ready for a fight. Taylor moved with far less grace but she still managed to scramble to safety, at least for a moment as one of the robots jumped at her ready to do to her face what he did to the couch. Moving on instinct and powered by adrenaline Taylor managed to catch the mechanical menace and hold it away from her.

"Taylor, send it my way!" Leonardo yelled out from somewhere to the left of her. Not bothering to question it Taylor turned and threw it as hard as she could in that direction. Leonardo dashed forward and met the robot halfway before slicing it in two with his katana.

"Bashing them doesn't work." Leonardo snapped out. "So, get them over to me and Raph so we can slice em'."

"Figures we end up doing all the work." Raphael grumbled as Donnie scooped up one of them with his stick and sent it rocketing over to his brother. The vicious smile on the face of Raphael as he quickly cut the thing to shreds proved that despite his grumbling he didn't truly mind.

To her frustration Taylor found that despite her best efforts she really wasn't that much help to the turtles and Splinter. The family moved as a single unit, almost as if they were of a single mind and swiftly the robots were corralled towards either Leonardo, Raphael or surprisingly enough Splinter who revealed that his cane hid a sword which he was quite proficient with. So the only way Taylor was able to contribute was to occasionally grab a straggler and through it towards those who were armed with pointy and cutty accessories or sacrificing a large amount of bugs to jam up the joints of the robots and slow them down. Still, she contributed what she could and based on the smiles she received during the few moments of reprieve it seemed that it was appreciated.

"Leo, heading your way."

Taylor called out as she snagged one of the last few robots and tossed it to Leonardo's whirling blades. She breathed heavily and took just a second to slow down and rest as exhaustion caught up with her. This was her mistake she reflected as sharp claws and deadly jaws suddenly came in front of her eyes. In an attempt to keep it from attacking her Taylor fell back and the girl and the robot rolled on the floor until Taylor's back collided with a hard surface.

The display case she hit rattled with the force of the impact and weapons fell to the ground. Groping blindly for something, anything she could use to protect herself. She grabbed onto a long and hard stick with a handle maybe three quarters of the way up. Moving quickly, she stuffed the stick in between the jaws of the menacing mechanoid and just as the stick shattered in its jaws one of Raphael's sai's impaled it through the head. The robot fell to the ground.

"You alright?" Raphael asked as he offered her a hand up.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good." Raphael looked around the lair quickly. "Looks like that's the last of them." He yelled out. The rest of the turtles walked over and joined the two of them.

"Oh no and just when I was starting to have fun." Mickey's faux complaint was met with good natured groans from the rest of the family.

"Don't joke Mikey, this is serious." Leonardo said sharply. "Whatever these things are they were able to find our home. I'll set up some traps around the perimeter but we need to find out where these things came from."

"I can't see any markings on these things." Donatello said from where he was crouched down examining some of the remains. "I'll take a closer look and see what I can find out when I get these things in my lab."

"A fine plan, my sons." Splinter said gravely as he joined the four of them. "However, there is one thing you've forgotten."

"Really, what's that Master Splinter?" Leonardo asked in a rush.

"To thank the one who came to our aid when she did not need to." Master Splinter gave Taylor a warm smile as he leaned on his cane. "I asked you earlier whether you were a friend or a foe and I believe I have my answer." He offered her his hand. "I hope you'll accept our friendship in kind despite the way I treated you."

"Sure, I mean I guess I get it." Taylor answered as she shook his hand. "I'm just glad I was able to help."

"Why did you come back for us?" Raphael asked.

With a moment of concentration Taylor summoned a fair number of bugs from the area and had them circle around her hand.

"I'm planning on being a hero." Taylor answered. "Might as well start now."

"If you're gonna be a hero. You need to learn to throw a punch." Raphael replied as he tossed an arm around Taylor's neck. "I think I can help with that."

"We all can help with that."

Leonardo said solemnly and Michelangelo and Donatello nodded their agreement. A smile came across Taylor's face and somehow, she knew that despite how much weirder her life had become over the course of a single night. Things were going to get much, much better.

---

And it truly begins.

 

[Mat92]

Of course this is the first thing that gets done. Why would I expect my muse to do anything else? This allows for shenanigans and Simpsons references (blatantly stealing jokes from people who are funnier than I am).

---

Dennis walked down the halls of Arcadia feeling like he was on top of the world. Over the weekend quite possibly the greatest prank of his illustrious career as the loveable comic relief had come to fruition and today, he was sure that he would see his reward. For a moment he considered the fact that he hadn't seen either Vicky or Taylor all day yesterday and whether or not his delightful tomfoolery might have had something to do with that. This thought was discarded when he saw Vicky stomping through the halls, no doubt excited to tell him how much of a laugh her and Taylor had about everything.

"Hey Vic"

Before he could get out the second syllable of his dear friend's name, she accidentally bumped into him with her shoulder and knocked him to the floor. She didn't stop or slow down to see if he was alright, He shrugged to himself and got up to his feet.

"Damn brutes." He muttered to himself as he dusted himself off. "Wonder where she's off too?"

"Dennis, Dennis." Amy gasped as she ran up to him and immediately bent over panting for air. "Man, I need to quit smoking." She grabbed onto his arm and looked at him with terror in her eyes. "You have to get out of here right now! Before Vicky finds you. It's bad, really bad."

"What are you talking about she's fine." Dennis scoffed. "I just ran into her, no biggie." He paused for a moment and tapped his fingers on his pantleg as he contemplated something. "She did seem kind of ticked off about something. Ehh, not my problem."

Dennis turned to leave but was stopped when Amy spun him around with surprising strength and shoved him against a locker.

"What's the big idea you crazy!"

"Shut up." Amy hissed. "Just shut up and listen to me. Vicky and Taylor had their date on Saturday."

Dennis stared at her in confusion.

"Vicky thought it went reaaaaaalllllyyyy well."

Amy paused to see if Dennis would catch on to the subtext. He did not.

"So, she asked Taylor if she wanted to be her boyfriend."

Dennis just blinked at her in innocent confusion.

"Vicky asked Taylor who is a girl." Amy gritted out slowly. "If Taylor who is a GIRL if she would want to be Vicky's BOYFRIEND."

There was a poignant pause before the light of understanding lit up Dennis's face and Amy allowed herself a moment of satisfaction that the deluded fool finally understood the situation that he had put himself in. When he burst into laughter she realized that she had celebrated too soon.

"That's hilarious." Dennis guffawed. "Aww man I wish I could have been there to see their faces. Where's Taylor I can't wait to ask her about all of this. Scratch that where was Vicky going? I am never going to let her live this down."

The sound of flesh meeting flesh rang through the halls as Amy slapped Dennis with all of her strength. Dennis looked like a confused puppy as he put a hand to his cheek and stared at her dazed and confused. A lesser woman might have been overcome with pity or compassion at this pathetic sight but Amy Dallon had shed those weaknesses years ago. She worked in health care after all.

"Taylor didn't take it well, so she was very pissed at Vicky."

"That's bad." Dennis said slowly.

"But she's not pissed at her anymore."

"That's good." Dennis cheered.

"Because Vicky explained that it was all your fault."

"That's bad." Dennis whimpered.

"So, you have both Taylor and Vicky pissed at you." Amy said cheerfully. "Look there's Taylor now."

Feeling like a man walking up to the gallows Dennis turned his head to see Taylor clad all in black and holding a concerningly large wrench that she was idly smacking on her empty palm as she scanned the hallways. She seemed to be looking for someone and Dennis did his best to make himself look small and inconspicuous.

"Did you know that Winslow has gang fights so often that they run a betting pool?" Amy remarked cheerfully. "I bet Taylor picked up a couple of things."

"That's bad." Dennis whispered before grabbing onto Amy's arms and staring into her eyes beseechingly. "You gotta help me Ames. I'm too handsome to die. Think of the ladies, save me for them."

"No way." Amy shook her head and pulled herself from his surprisingly weak grip. "Do you know how much grovelling I had to do for Vicky when she realized I knew. You made this grave. Lie in it."

Dennis's eyes darted frantically around the hall and it looked like Taylor wasn't paying any attention to his location. Not questioning his good fortune he turned and ran as fast as he could. After a moment Amy turned away from him and strolled over to Taylor. After the customary helloes were exchanged Amy pointed at the wrench and asked the obvious question.

"So, what's the deal with that?"

"Oh this?" Taylor asked as gave the wrench a little twirl. "Sam was saying that she was having some trouble with her bike and I offered to fix it up for her. Have you seen her around? I can't find her anywhere."

"I think she said something about needing to talk to Mr. Jenkins about making up a chem lab." Amy answered. "If you hurry you should be able to catch her."

"Great thanks Amy." Taylor gave her a bright sunny grin before turning to dash off. Which really was a shame if she had stayed but a moment longer she would have seen a rather fetching blush come across the cheeks of Panacea, the great healer.

"Okay, I think It get it now." There was a pause and then under her breath Amy muttered. "Damn it, Vicky."


As he raced through the halls Dennis tried to pinpoint where exactly having had gone wrong. He's set up a delightful practical joke that anyone with a sense of humor would appreciate, his friends (well friend and girl he'd exchanged a few head nods with) had played their parts and somewhere along the way people had decided he was the bad guy. No matter he just needed to lay low for a little while and it would all blow over and he knew the perfect patsies dear loving friends who could help him out with that.

"So, I managed to get a 75 on that last math test." Chris was cheerfully explaining as he and Carlos were grabbing some books from their lockers.

"That's awesome man." Carlos enthusiastically replied as he threw an arm around the smaller boy's neck. "That tutor is really paying off huh?"

"Yeah, she's great."

"Does she do any English tutoring? I'm passing but just barely."

"I'm not sure but I could ask her and let you know."

Their conversation was interrupted when Dennis ran up and physically placed himself in between them.

"You have to help me guys. You just gotta help me."

Dennis panted as he looked frantically around the quickly emptying hallway. Unnoticed by him on one side was pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing heavily as he tried to keep himself calm. On the other side Chris was resting his head against the cold metal of his locker just looking completely fed up.

"What did you do?" Carlos sighed.

"It's not my fault." Dennis instinctively insisted.

"BULLSHIT!"

Carlos suddenly shouted as he banged his fist against a locker to prove his point. To his credit the locker didn't break this time. Doctor Bliss would be so proud of him when they met up for their weekly anger management session.

"But it wasn't." Dennis whined after about a minute of suffering under the unconvinced stares of his two closest friends he wilted. "I may have pulled just a teensy weensy prank on Vicky."

"Oh, for god's sake." Chris huffed out.

"Look so there's girl Taylor and Vicky had a crush on her right." Dennis rushed out. "But and get this, she thought Taylor was a dude so I played with her head a bit and convinced Vicky to ask her out." Despite himself Dennis couldn't help but chuckle as he recounted the story of his genius. "It gets better Vicky asked Taylor to be her boyfriend but for some reason they're both pissed at me. No sense of humor am I right guys?"

Carlos and Chris were both staring at Dennis in open mouthed horror.

"What is the matter with you man?" Chris asked in an oddly numb voice.

"It was just a joke, bro." Dennis murmured in a small voice.

"Okay, okay." Carlos breathed out as he rubbed his temples. "We can talk about what a jackass Dennis is-"

"Hey." Dennis tried to interject before being cut off by Carlos shoving a finger in his face.

"You don't get to talk." Carlos seethed. "Not for the next… Fuck! Until I say you can. Now come on I know a place you can hide out."

Without saying another word Carlos grabbed the front of Dennis's shirt and began dragging him through the hall with Chris following behind the two. They moved slowly, stealthily avoiding both crowds and security cameras until they found themselves in a nearly empty corridor on the east side of the building. Without any warning Dennis was unceremoniously shoved into a dark room.

"Stay there and don't come out until we get you." Carlos barked out before shutting the door. Dennis crept up to it and put his ear against the door frame to try to hear what his friends.

"Why are we even bothering with this man." Carlos grumbled.

"Look Dennis may have royally screwed up… Again." Chris said quickly. "But he's still our teammate. For now."

"For now." Carlos repeated in shock. "Are you trying to get Dennis fired?"

"We can talk about that later."


Dennis paced in the dark feeling like the world was against him. It just wasn't fair all he wanted to do was play a little joke, make himself… And other people laugh and have a good time but everyone was acting like he was some kind of villain or something.

"This is nuts." He muttered to himself. "Everyone's blowing everything all out of proportion. All I did was."

"Was what?" A vaguely familiar voice asked from the doorway. The light from the hall illuminated her revealing Taylor still holding the wrench as she stalked toward him.

"Did you toy with a girl's emotions, set her up to think that she could have a friend? THAT SHE COULD BE HAPPY!!!!"

Taylor slammed the wrench on a desk with shocking force and a startled Dennis stumbled backwards into a pair of strong arms. He slowly looked up and was met with the face of one Victoria Dallon who looked down at him with a twisted grin.

"Did you set her up to be humiliated?" Victoria hissed as she finished Taylor's train of thought and put him into a full nelson. "Or did you manipulate a friend into doing that for you? Did you use her because you're too much of a coward to bully someone yourself?"

"It was just a joke, it was just a joke."

Dennis frantically repeated but no one replied and Taylor just continued to approach him only stopping when she was within arms reach. Dennis flinched as she moved the wrench closer to him but instead of the blinding pain he expected, all he felt was the cold touch of metal. Taylor used the head of the wrench to force his face up so he was looking her square in her cold, calculating eyes.

"It wasn't a joke." Taylor said softly. "Jokes are funny, jokes have a punchline and jokes are something people laugh at together. The only one laughing at this, was you. You think you're just some innocent joker, a class clown. Someone who lightens the mood and livens up the room. But that's not true is it?"

Dennis shut his eyes and didn't answer.

"The only way out of this is if you start being honest." Vicky's harsh words drilled into his ears.

"You toy with people, use them for your own amusement with no care for how that could hurt them." Taylor said softly, intently as she pushed the wrench harder into his throat. "You humiliate people and you are the only one laughing. Tell me does that sound like an innocent jokester to you?"

The was a poignant pause.

"No." Dennis whispered.

"What does that describe? What are you?"

Dennis's eyes frantically looked around the room hoping for someone to come save him, for him to see some way out of this. There was no one coming and the only way to maybe get out of this would be if he found some way to get a hand on Glory Girl, her grip on him tightened as if she sensed where his thoughts were going. No that would just make things worse.

"A bully." He said softly giving voice to a truth he'd known deep down for a long time. "I'm a bully."

After a moment Taylor pulled the wrench away from him and Vicky let him go.

"Okay guys hit the lights, I think that's enough." Vicky called out cheerfully.

The room lit up with cheap fluorescent lighting and Dennis looked around the room in amazement and horror. In the back of the room was Dean holding a rather expensive looking camera and giving him a cheeky wave. Carlos and Chris were at the light switch by the back door trying their best to hold back laughter. Amy was not so kind as she emerged from her hiding space behind the large mahogany desk at the front of the room.

"We got it all." Dean sang out happily as he shook the camera lightly as if to demonstrate what he meant. Dennis looked around the room at all his friends who had come together to humiliate him and asked the one question on his mind.

"How did you convince them to turn on me like this?"

"Oh, it was easy." Vicky explained. "I just asked if they wanted to humiliate you and they all agreed immediately."

Dennis contemplated this for a moment.

"Hot." He said simply. "So, are we cool? I'd rather not be subjected to your demented mind again."

"Oh, no, no, no." Vicky said quickly before waving Taylor over to her side. "This was all Taylor's idea. My job was to talk her down from some of the more… Extreme options"

Dennis looked at the skinny girl standing next to Vicky. The slightly embarrassed smile she wore was charming but it sent a shiver down his spine all the same.

"Okay, then are we cool Taylor?" Dennis asked hesitantly. "I really am sorry, I just, I didn't think anyone would get hurt by this." He paused for a moment and ventured a small joke. "Especially not me."

Vicky looked him up and down for a moment but said nothing. Just as Dennis was beginning to calculate how far he was from the door and how that compared to how fast he could run Taylor let out a surprisingly cute giggle.

"We're cool." Taylor answered. "Maybe I should thank you, I think this helped me work out some anger issues."

"Terrifying." Dennis nodded before gesturing at Carlos and Chris. "Well if that's settled if you ladies would excuse me I need to go receive my insults."

He gave them a small bow and walked over to Carlos, Chris and Dean who immediately began to razz him, leaving Vicky and Taylor alone. When Taylor wasn't looking Vicky gave Amy a significant look. Amy placed two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle.

"Okay, I think we've spent enough time on Dennis's emasculation."

"Thank you."

"There will be time for that later. Now get we all got classes to go too."

Not wanting to awaken the fury of Amy the boys all began heading for the exit. Oddly before he left the room Dean looked at Vicky and mouthed the words "good luck" to her and with that Taylor and Vicky were truly alone.

"So." Vicky said awkwardly.

"So." Taylor replied just as awkwardly.

"You go first." They said simultaneously. "No you go first, no you." The two laughed at the odd situation for a good minute before Vicky put her hands up.

"Maybe, I'll go first. If that's okay?" She asked hesitantly and after Taylor's nod she took a deep breath before plunging in. "Before I say this, I want you to know that you can say whatever you want, or nothing at all or whatever and I'll still be your friend, alright. Being your friend is really important to me, do you understand? There's no right or wrong answer here. No pressure."

"I get it."

"Okay." Vicky breathed out. "I'm going to put my cards on the table because I think that might be where we got into trouble, so here goes I like you, Taylor. I like you a lot and if it's something you wanted, I'd really, really like for us to date. For real this time."

Taylor was looking at Vicky with a soft look in her eyes but she didn't say anything.

"So, is that something you think you'd want or no."

Taylor opened her mouth a few times to speak but she couldn't find the words. Vicky took one of her hands in hers and gave it a small squeeze.

"Whatever you want to say is okay Taylor and if you don't know what to say or don't want to say anything that's okay too. It's up to you what happens here."

Taylor nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat and squeezed Vicky's hand back before answering.

"Someone, told me that relationship are a risk. All of them." Taylor said slowly. "What you need to do is decide if you think it's worth the risk and take the plunge."

Taylor let go of Vicky's hand and brought both of them up to cup her face before leaning down to kiss her. It was clumsy, awkward and it was very clear that Taylor had never kissed anyone before, but as Vicky closed her eyes and returned the kiss, it felt pretty damn great. Sadly, oxygen remains a biological necessity even for two teenagers high on romance and hormones. The two parted and as Taylor rested her forehead on Vicky's and gave her a small smile just for her and whispered her answer.

"I think this is worth the risk."

---

And with that Dennis is traumatized for life and our two funky little lesbians have figured out the first of what are sure to be many hurdles. Which I am sure we can all agree is the most important thing.

I've never really done a romantic scene before so if it's horrifically awkward and terrible I apologize. I am just incompetent and shall not attempt it again.

I maintain that what Dennis was put through is no worse than the wacky hijinks that may be pulled on a traditional sitcom. Pretty sure boy meets world did a similar plot

 

[Mat92]

Little tired of tweaking the real stories so time for some more shenanigans. Sadly some drama forced its way into the opening parts but here we are.

---

As the door closed in her face and hid the cold face of one of her most important people, Taylor tried her best to keep her tears from falling. She managed to keep it together long enough to see Emma walk away from her and then she let it go. For a few minutes she just stayed there and let herself go, finally she turned and walked away with her vision still blinded by her pain. As she made her way down the path, she collided with a fast-moving body and started to fall back to the ground before she was caught by a strong hand.

"Taylor?" A familiar voice asked. "What's wrong kid?"

"It's nothing Anne." Taylor sniffled. "I just saw Emma and." Her voice trailed off and she just cried silently.

"Oh no."

Anne sighed and opened her arms in offer, after a moment Taylor fell into them and started crying into the comforting arms of the one Barnes sister who still liked her. Anne rubbed comforting circles on Taylor's back and gently shushed her until eventually the tears began to subside.

"Sorry." Taylor mumbled. "I think I messed up your shirt."

"No biggie." Anne gently lifted Taylor's face up so she could look at her. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

Taylor shook her head and attempted to remain stoic, whatever was happening with Emma she didn't want to make waves with her family. To her credit Taylor managed to hold out a good several seconds before her natural babbling tendencies took over.

"I got home from camp and I rushed over here cause I missed Emma and she answered the door, and I gave her this friendship bracelet I made, and then I noticed that she had her hair short which was weird I always thought she liked it long, but anyway I told her it looked nice and then."

Taylor paused for a moment to take a deep breath before continuing on.

"And then this other girl came downstairs, I didn't get her name I don't think but I might not have been paying attention and she asked who I was. But it wasn't like she was really asking y'know? So, Emma says this is Taylor but she sounds a little weird and then the other girl kind of shock her head a bit and Emma ripped the bracelet in two and said she didn't want to be my friend anymore!!!"

Taylor finished off her rambling tale with a wail and showing a remarkable flair for melodrama slumped down to the ground.

"Sophia." Anne muttered angrily to herself before sitting next down next to Taylor and just watched the cars go by in silence with her.

"I just don't know what I did wrong." Taylor said sullenly as she pulled her knees to her chest.

"It's not anything you did Tay." Anne began. "Look, I can't tell you anything cause Emma… That wouldn't be good for Emma I don't think but while you were gone, something happened, something bad and it's got Emma a little mixed up right now."

"But we're friends, I could help her." Taylor insisted after a moment of silence.

"I know you can and she'll need you, she just doesn't know it yet." Anne looked up as she tried to figure out what to say next. "Look it's like this after what happened to your mom you weren't always the nicest to Emma right?"

After a few seconds of contemplation Taylor mutely shook her head.

"But that didn't mean you weren't her friend anymore or that you loved her any less. You were just hurting." Anne squeezed Taylor's shoulder reassuringly before standing up. "Give it time and you and Emma will find a way back. In the mean while I'll have a little talk with her, kay?"

Anne gave Taylor a little wink before heading back to the house and left Taylor alone with her thoughts.

So, Emma was hurting huh… Taylor pondered. Emma was the only reason Taylor was still Taylor after everything. Guess it was time to return the favor.


Later that night long after the sun had gone down, long after the protectorate night shift began their patrols and heroic vigilantes took to the streets for the good of all. After all the Dad's had managed to pull themselves from their couches where they'd fallen asleep watching a late night movie on the classics channel (one which they already owned on DVD), Taylor put her plan into action. Moving stealthily (those many nights of sneaking into the counsellor's cabins to get the food had paid off) Taylor made her way downstairs, leaping the creaky step second from the bottom and was out the door in minutes. With nothing to stop her Taylor made her way to her destination.

In front of the Barnes house was a large oak tree and both Taylor and Emma had spent many an hour playing around it and more importantly on it. A few summers ago, in a fit of daring they'd learned that they (or at least Taylor) could if she reached a certain branch, leap to the roof and climb through the window to Emma's bedroom. Pausing only long enough to gather a few pebbles required for the second part of her plan, Taylor began her climb. Minutes later there was a clink on the window of Emma Barnes and then another and another and another until finally the window was flung open and the angry visage of a teenage model glared out into the night.

"Whoever you are, you have five seconds to cut it out or you're going to be sorry."

"Hi, Em's!" Taylor called out as cheerfully as she suddenly pondered the fact that perhaps she could of work shopped her plan a bit more.

Emma blinked in surprise before peering out into the night. The figure in the tree was tall, a little lanky like she hadn't fully figured out how to make the height thing work with the rest of her body and glasses that made her eyes look just a touch bigger than they should have been. Yup, that was Taylor alright but one question remained.

"What are you doing here???" Emma hissed out. "Danny's going to kill you, my dad is going to kill you." In the excitement Emma didn't realize that she'd fallen back into old habits but Taylor did and her hope that her Emma was still there grew stronger.

"We didn't really get a chance to talk, so I thought I'd come over." Taylor said with a shrug before leaping over to the roof. "Seriously, Emma something's going on with you and I'm worried."

"Christ, you're clingy." Emma scoffed. "It's like I said I just don't want to deal with you anymore. You're a drag and you aren't worth my time."

Taylor tilted her head to the side looking distressingly similar to a lost puppy. A part of Emma's brain that she'd thought she's silenced cooed over how cute her best friend reluctant acquaintance was.

"No."

"What do you mean no?" Emma sputtered. "That wasn't a yes or no question."

"I mean no, I don't believe you." Taylor replied as she laid out on the roof and started looking up at the stars. "If you wanted to drop me, you'd have done it a long time ago. Heck, I told you to never talk to me again once remember and you ignored me."

Emma didn't say anything in response but she didn't close the window and she didn't leave so Taylor took that as a good sign.

"Something happened to you and I don't know what but I'm not going to let you push me out. I refuse." Taylor rolled over to face Emma and the sight of her puffed out cheeks and defiant glare brought a small smile to the red head's lips. "You don't have to tell me anything right now or ever if you don't want to but I'm your friend and that's not changing. No matter what."

"You mean it?"

"Ee-yup." Taylor popped the final syllable. "You're stuck with me Barnes."

Emma stepped away from the window and after a few minutes Taylor started to stand up figuring that she'd done all she could.

"So, are you coming in?"

Taylor quickly clambered her way inside and then the two stood face to face for a moment before Emma crashed into her with a hug.

"I saved the bracelet. Think we can fix it?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

The time flew by as the two girls slowly repaired both the broken friendship and the bracelet until finally just as they were sliding the last colorful bead onto the spring Emma began to speak.

"Dad was driving me home from my latest modelling gig and he decided we'd take a short cut through an alley. There were people there."

The rest of the night passed in a haze of confessions, tears and quite a bit of hugging on the part of Taylor and in the morning when Alan and Zoe Barnes crept in to wake their youngest daughter, they found the two of them asleep both leaning on the other.

***
​

The weeks passed and Emma maintained her friendships with both Sophia and Taylor but for the good of all mankind, she made sure to keep the two of them separated but as the dreaded day approached, she knew that peace couldn't last. So once Taylor and her were alone in her room and Taylor was humming in contentment as Emma worked on her hair, trying out different styles (the French braid was not Taylor's friend) Emma made her move.

"Hey, Tay can I talk to you about something?"

"Mmkay."

"Here's the thing me and you are friends, right?"

"The best." Taylor turned her head to beam at Emma who had to look away from the pure affection shining in her eyes.

"Good and me and Sophia are friends too."

"Uh-huh." Taylor said slowly.

"And I think it'd be great if my two best friends could get along."

Taylor pulled away from Emma's of so relaxing hands and turned to face her.

"Oh, is that all?"" Taylor snarked. "How about I part the red sea while I'm at it? Turn water into wine. Make Greg be less creepy? You know since we're doing easy requests."

"I know Sophia and you didn't get off to a good start and that she can be ."

"A total jerk."

"Frustrating." Emma continued. "But she means a lot to me and really helped me out and it would mean a lot to me if you could just try."

Taylor groaned theatrically and hung her head low. After moment she reached out a hand and made grabby motions towards Emma who happily supplied her with a pillow.

"Argghhhhh." Taylor screamed into the pillow before looking up at Emma with a smile on her face. "Look, I know she called the cops and helped you guys get out of there but she's soooo mean." Taylor moaned but as Emma's bottom lip began to quiver and she started to pout, Taylor decided to accept her defeat with grace.

"Fine, for you I'll embark on this noble quest." She said in as dramatic a voice as she could muster. "I, Taylor Hebert shall befriend Sophia Hess. THIS I SWEAR!!!!!"

The dramatic thunder and lightning Taylor had been hoping for failed to appear but Emma started laughing and that was a pretty great silver medal.

"You are such a dork." Emma giggled.

"Yeah, but I'm your dork." Taylor leaned on Emma's shoulder and looked up at her with the biggest eyes she could muster. "FOREVER."

Emma looked away with a blush on her face.

"Yeah, forever."

---

One of these days I'm going to do a story entirely about the antics Taylor got up to at summer camp. I'm thinking Old Man Jenkins is involved.

 

[Mat92]

So, thanks to the pony conversation I now have a bunch of random ideas for worm/hasbro properties crossovers racing through my mind. So, in order to banish the demons I am going to write up at least a couple first chapters as the weeks pass and we'll go from there.

---

October, 2006

Colin Wallis, the man who would soon be known far and wide as Armsmaster was pacing back and forth in an empty hallway. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair, ever since what happened to … Ever since he'd gotten his powers, he had dedicated himself heart and soul to the Protectorate. There was no one, no one who worked longer or fought harder than him and because of that he was going to be hung out to dry.

A creaking door tore him away from his dark thoughts and he swiftly turned towards it, expecting to see either Legend or Costa-Brown coming to deliver his fate. Instead, what he saw was a tall, lean man in an army dress uniform with a single star on each shoulder. The man gave Colin a small smile before offering a handshake.

"I'm glad I caught you." He said as Colin returned the handshake being careful not to crush his hand. "I wanted to have the chance to thank the hero of the day personally."

Colin's eyes darted to the still closed door at the end of the wall for a moment before returning back to the general.

"Thank you." He replied. "Glad someone's happy with me right now."

Before the conversation could continue the heavy door at the end of the hall opened and a rather unremarkable man in a cheap suit stuck his head out.

"Armsmaster, they're ready for you."

"Of course."

As he started to make his way he was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"You did the right thing, son. Remember that and don't let anyone convince you otherwise." The general looked Armsmaster over once and gave a quick approving nod. "Good luck."

"Thank you. General." Armsmaster trailed off as he realized that he'd never asked the other man's name. Thankfully he didn't seem to take any offence if the small laugh he gave was any indication.

"Flagg. Laurence Flagg. Now you'd best get in there, the brass never likes to be kept waiting."

Armsmaster gave him a quick firm nod and turned to march in to meet his fate. A moment later another solider came up to the general's side, seemingly from nowhere.

"What do you think sir? Is he our guy?"

Flagg ran a hand over his jaw as he contemplated the question.

"I'm not entirely sure yet. Come on Clayton, I got permission to sit in on this."

"Yes sir."

With that the two old friends made their way inside.


Across the room from him on a raised platform sat Legend, the head of the Protectorate, Rebecca Costa-Brown, the Director of the Parahuman Response Team and Chevalier the head of the Philadelphia Protectorate. Colin took a moment to silently applaud himself for making sure his helmet covered most of his face before he forced himself to pay attention as Costa Brown began to speak.

"Thank you all for coming, we are here to conclude the matter of the Stroudsburg incident. Armsmaster you were ordered to investigate reports of excessive parahuman activity in the area is that correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

The director nodded slightly and leaned in slightly, looking disturbingly similar to a shark circling its prey.

"And your orders were only to investigate."

"Yes, but if I could just explain." Colin tried to defend himself but was cut off by her once more.

"Then when you engaged with the villain Firebrand and endangered the lives of the citizens of the area, you were acting contrary to orders."

"Their lives were already in danger!!!" Colin exploded as the injustice of all of this became too much to bear. "Firebrand and his crew had gathered up the mayor, his family and about a half dozen other members of the local government to execute them. If you would just read my report."

"I've read your report and that is not the issue." Costa-Brown's icy voice cut through the room. "The issue at hand is your blatant disregard for protocol or our rules of engagement. The ends can't justify the means and it is high time you learned that."

"I think that's enough Director." The calm voice of Legend echoed through the halls and for a moment there was silence as the heads of the two bodies most responsible for managing parahumans attempted to stare each other down.

"In fairness, Director." Chevalier broke in. "Armsmaster attempted to call in for support, we just didn't have the resources to bring them out in time. If the Strike teams had coordinated with my people perhaps."

Director Costa-Brown turned her gaze onto Chevalier and her glare would have stricken a lesser man dead.

"The purpose of this hearing is to investigate the actions of Armsmaster. If you have any other business, it can be addressed at a later date. Is that understood?"

"Of course, Director but surely we must take into account all the relevant factors." Chevalier replied calmly.

"And we shall." Costa-Brown turned back to face Armsmaster directly. "Now, from the start tell us what happened."

Colin took a deep breath, cast his mind back and began to speak.

***
​

Three days ago.

An old beaten-up van came to a stop in front of what had once been a rather nice little town hall. In better days this had been a place for people to come together and raise concerns about the little slice of Americana they called home. But better days were a long, long ways away as was made perfectly clear by the sobbing family that fell through the doors only to be met by a pack of gun men and a mad man that was casually tossing a fire ball from hand to hand. On a nearby rooftop a man put down his binoculars and began to curse to himself.

"Shit, this is worse than I thought." Colin muttered to himself as he pulled out his radio. "This is Armsmaster, code alpha delta 902 GI J03, requesting immediate support. The parahuman dubbed Firebrand has gathered the political authorities in the town together and I believe he intends an execution. We need an extraction team now."

"Request denied Armsmaster." A cold voice came through the radio. "All active field agents in the area are otherwise engaged. Take no further action and await orders. Command out."

The line went dead and beneath his visor Colin could feel his eye twitch. He blew out a long slow breath and switched to another frequency hoping that his old friend would still remember.

"Who is this? How did you get on here!" The strong harsh tones of Chevalier came crackling through the radio.

"It's Armsmaster." Colin paused for a moment before continuing. "I need your help."
"Armsmaster?" Chevalier gasped in surprise. "What's going on? Why are you calling on –"

"I'm cashing in Michigan."

"Sounds serious." Chevalier's voice grew even and calm and in his minds eye Colin could see him tensing himself for a fight. "What's the situation?"

"A relatively fresh trigger in Stroudsburg, near as I can tell the local government passed some regulations that affected his business, he triggered and now he's."

"Out for revenge, heard the story before and it was boring the first time but it doesn't sound like anything too spicy. What's the issue?"

"This was meant to be an information finding operation so I'm without most of my usual kit and things escalated more quickly than we thought they would. He managed to gather up a group of nutbags and they've taken over the town hall. The mayor, his family and a number of other prominent citizens are being held hostage."

The sound of keys tapping could be faintly heard through the radio until finally Chevalier came back on.

"Bad news we're stretched thin here. I can maybe get a team out there to you in four hours at the earliest."

"Best you can do?"

"Fraid so, couple people are out with injuries and the local wildlife decided to have a party. We're getting it locked down but it's going to be a minute before we can handle anything else. Can you hold out?"

Colin scratched at his stubble for a moment before he nodded to himself.

"I guess I'll have to."

"Play it safe and play it smart." Chevalier demanded. "We'll be out there as soon as we can."

The line went dead and after Colin shoved the radio back into his duffel bag, he slowly lifted his binoculars back up to his eyes. One, two, three okay all twelve of the hostages were still there but he could see Firebrand ranting and raving and knew that could change at any moment.

"Okay, smart and safe plan isn't going to work." Colin muttered to himself. "No halberd, no armor beyond the helmet."

Colin heard the sound of water trickling down and he looked down into the alley way next to him to investigate what was going on. There right below him was one of the goons answering natures call. Colin paused just long enough to don his helmet before leaping down.


In his time Armsmaster had defeated monsters and villains of every variety imaginable so one lone disgruntled citizen was nothing to him. One swift blow and the man was out cold. A quick search revealed a single pistol with eighteen rounds in the clip which Armsmaster took for himself and a cell phone which he also stole. Moving quickly, he peaked out of the alley and looked towards the town hall there were two guards watching the front doors but beyond that the outside seemed to be unguarded.

The purloined phone began to vibrate.

'Finish jacking off and get back here jackass'

Deciding to take a chance Armsmaster opened up the phone and after his delight at finding it unlocked (no password shameful really), he composed a quick response.

'Found someone in the alley. Get over here.'

'OMW'

Armsmaster hid both himself and the knocked out body behind a dumpster and waited for his moment. A few minutes later and the two other guards were in the alley. He just needed one to get closer. The guards continued to walk down the alley completely unaware of the danger they were in.

"Bill! Bill! If this is some fucking-"

Before the guard could finish what was sure to be an expletive ridden sentence that would lower the functional intelligence of any poor soul forced to listen it, Armsmaster made his move. A quick punch to the jaw sent the gunmen stumbling back back before he could go far, he was trapped in a choke hold. Then moving with casual ease Armsmaster pulled out the pistol and shot the second guard in the knee. As he fell to the ground in agony the cranium of the guard who was in the process of being asphyxiated collied with the brick wall of the surrounding buildings and fell unconscious. A running kick to the head of the gunshot wound victim knocked him cold as well.

All in all, it had taken less than a minute for three of the guards to be neutralized. Hopefully the rest would go down just as easily.

***


​

"Following that I entered the town hall through the rear entrance and made my way through the building. Where I was able to neutralize Firebrand and his cronies." Colin finished his tale and looked around the room. While he was never the most socially adept of individuals it seemed like at least some of the room was on his side and he felt safe enough to take a shot.

"I stopped the villain, I protected the people." Colin said forcefully. "Isn't that what we're here for?"

A silence fell over the room and Colin did his best not to shift nervously when Legend's face lit up with a smile.

"Of course it is. Of course it is." Legend stated firmly. "In light of the mitigating factors I think we can conclude that there is no need for any formal reprimand."

"I second that." Chevalier replied and as he did so he gave Colin a reassuring nod.

"I concur." Costa-Brown nodded. "This hearing is adjourned."

Without another word she turned to leave and the rest of the room followed suit until finally the only two occupants of the room were Armsmaster and Legend. Taking to the air quickly Legend came over and the two stalwart heroes stood in silence for a moment before Legend began to speak.

"I thought it was only fair to tell you that we'd decided on this verdict before the hearing even began."

"Excuse me?"

"It was clear from the report that there were no grounds to punish you but the Director still wanted this to happen."

Colin tilted his head in confusion.

"But why have the hearing at all then? It seems." He paused for a moment to search for the right word. "Inefficient."

"Two reasons. First of all, to impress on both you and everyone in the organization that you need to follow protocols or there could be dire consequences." Legend explained. "And secondly to provide cover for your actual punishment."

"Actual punishment?" Colin asked as he felt his stomach begin to sink.

"You aren't getting Brockton Bay. Miss Militia will be heading up the East North East while you remain with the strike teams." Legend put a friendly hand on his shoulder. "This isn't forever Colin. Keep your head down, play by the rules and next year you'll get a command post. I promise."

Colin nodded but said nothing and after a moment Legend just squeezed the young man's shoulder and taking to the air once more left the room through an open window. As soon as he was alone Colin walked over to the nearest chair, sat down and slumped over with his face in his hands. Time passed until Colin was pulled away from his ponderings by the sound of someone clearing his throat.

"I was hoping I'd catch you son." General Flagg said. "Would you be willing to join myself and a few colleagues for dinner?"

Colin hesitated for a moment before responding.

"That would depend on what this is about?"

"I have an offer I think you would be interested in. A possible career outside the Protectorate. If you are interested meet me in the officer's mess at Fort Wadsworth at 1900 hours. I hope to see you then."

Without another word he left the room and Colin was once more alone. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was four in the afternoon. Three hours to make a decision.


Over the course of the three hour window Colin must have made his mind up and then changed it a dozen times over but in the end he arrived at Fort Wadsworth, drove past the motor pool of the Chaplain's assistants school and arrived at the empty mess. He was met by General Flagg who was flanked by two other soldiers.

"Colin, I'm glad you could make it." Flagg said simply and somehow Colin wasn't surprised in the slightest that this man knew his name, something which was supposed to be classified intel.

"Let me introduce you to my aids. This is Colonel Clayton Abernathy." He gestured to the older man to his right. "And this is First Sergeant Conrad Hauser."

"Just call me Duke." Hauser chimed in with a friendly grin.

"Good to meet you." Colin said stiffly. "Now I've had a long day so how about you just tell me what this is all about?"

"Fair enough." Flagg nodded. "Please remember that everything you are about to hear is classified to the highest level. If you breathe a word of this to anyone you won't just disappear, you will have never existed. Is that understood?"

"Understood."

"Good, then in the simplest terms the three of us are putting together a team. A highly trained special mission force made up of the best and the brightest from every service dedicated to preserving human freedom and defending the peace from any threat. I'd like for you to be a part of it."

"Sounds like the Protectorate, what makes you different?" Colin asked.

"The Protectorate does good work, no one's denying that but it's in the name." Colonel Abernathy explained. "They protect, they hold the line. What we propose to do is to go out there, engage the enemy and take them down hard. We'll fight for freedom wherever there's trouble. "

"We've had our eye on you for a while now but what happened in Stroudsburg proves that you are the type of man we need. Resourceful, dedicated and fearless. You could do some real good here." General Flagg continued on. "So, what do you say?"

Colin stroked his beard as he considered the two paths laid out before him.

"I've spent the last few years giving the Protectorate everything, they took me on after I, after I got my powers. Everything I am I owe to them." Colin said slowly. "I don't feel right just walking away after all that."

"I understand." Flagg said heavily. "You don't have to decide right this moment. I'll need an answer in three days though. Can you do that for me?"

"I can."

"Good, then I look forward to speaking to you again, regardless of the answer. Have a good night."

Without another word Flagg turned and left with Abernathy following behind him a second later leaving Duke and Colin alone.

"A few years back I was on a mission and it went south. The entire rest of my squad was captured. All accept me I managed to get away and make it back to base camp. After I reported to my C.O I asked when the rescue mission would be happening." Duke turned away from Colin and looked out into the night. When he started speaking again his voice was far away.

"I didn't accept that so in the middle of the night I gathered up as many weapons and as much ammunition that I could carry and I went out and I brought my men back. My C.O tried to court martial me. The army offered to make me a captain instead."

Colin turned his head towards Duke in surprise.

"The general said you were a –"

"I turned down the promotion." Duke explained. "I saw what rank can turn people into and I didn't want anything to do with it. I wanted to do something that mattered, to protect my people and to do that I needed to be in the field. I wanted meaning, not status. You saved lives in Stroudsburg and they raked you through the coals for it. Do you want to be the kind of man who does that to someone?"

The two men stood in a companionable silence for a good number of minutes before Duke stretched and let out a yawn.

"Well, food for thought." He said before walking off into the night. "Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later." Colin replied absently and as soon as he was alone tilted his head back and looked up at the stars.

"Meaning or status."

***
​

Fort Wadsworth is the home of the Assistant Chaplain's school for the U.S Army and in as much as any army base can be considered quiet it is. So as Colin made his way towards the motor pool there were a few curious eyes following him. Still none approached him until he entered the pool.

"What do you want?" A dark haired man with about three days-worth of stubble and a weeks-worth of grease demanded as he stalked over to Colin.

"I was ordered to report here." Colin replied as he handed over his papers to the mechanic who scanned them briefly before nodding to himself and suddenly looking much friendlier.

"You must be the new guy. Names Clutch I'm the vehicle specialist round here. Hawk's going to want to see you asap."

As soon as he finished speaking a section of the floor lifted up and revealed a small lift. Colin turned to him and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. As if in answer Clutch pulled a small remote from the pocket of his coveralls.

"Little showmanship never hurt nobody."

"Fair enough."


Colonel Abernathy was waiting for him at the bottom of the lift and as soon as he saw Colin, he snapped off a sharp salute. A second later Colin copied the motion.

"Not bad for a civie." Abernathy said. "Glad to see you decided to join up."

"Duke can be very convincing." Colin replied with a wry smile. "Good to see you again Colonel."

"Ah, enough of that Colonel business. Your one of my men now. Just call me Hawk."

"Alright Hawk." Colin nodded as the two began to walk down the corridor.

"Flagg told me the code name you requested. Are you sure?"

"It seemed appropriate."

"If you say so." Hawk replied.

Their conversation was cut short as they arrived at the briefing room and took in the face of a couple dozen soldier, marines, sailors and specialists like Colin himself.

"Good, you're all here." Hawk said as he took command of the room. "I'd like to keep this brief so ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce the first Parahuman member of GI Joe and our new tech officer, Blackguard.

"YOOOO JOE!!!!" Roared the assembled crowd and after a moment Blackguard raised a fist and said simply.

"Yo Joe!"

---

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ah2I166f_U

 

[Mat92]

So I've not really been able to write or edit due to family stuff so heres another overview/prompt that future matt will deal with at some point.

Spoiler: Weaver P.I

A few weeks before Taylor would end up fighting Lung in the regular timeline she's browsing PHO in Knott's class and comes across a post offering a reward if someone can find their stolen dog. The person is afraid that it might have been taken by the empire to be used in the dog fighting ring. Taylor's response is basically "that sucks but I got my own problems to deal with" and she doesn't think about it much more until later that night.
While she's at home holed up in her room, she practices using her bugs to pick up on peoples conversations and overhears Danny talking on the phone with Kurt about money being tight.He says if things get much worse they might have to sell off some of Annette's jewelry/her book collection until things turn around.
Horrified at the thought of losing what little pieces of her mother she has left Tay.or racks her brain trying to think of something she can do and remember the PHO post. She might not be ready to be a superhero but surely she can just find and rescues a dog no problem.
Once Danny's asleep she sneaks downstairs and sees what she has done of her costume. The bodysuit is mostly completed but the mask still needs work.
She takes the bodysuit for protection but to cover her identity she wears an old beat up fedora of Danny's and a pair of prescription sunglasses she has. The hat looks weird with the bodysuit so on the way out she grabs a trench coat Danny owns but never wears.
Not really knowing where to go from here Taylor just kind of wanders around Brockton Bay using her bugs to eavesdrop on sketchy looking folks. Eventually she hits paydirt and follows a couple skinheads to where the dog fights are happening.
She manages to get inside while hidden in the crowd and slips off to find the kennels.
She finds the lost dog (a little Shih Tzu or something, it was going to be used as a bait dog).
Taylor's pondering what to do when theres a crashing sound from down the hall. Some cape riding a giant fucking hell hound has attacked the place.
Taking advantage of the distraction Taylor unlocks as many of the kennels as she can, grabs the dog she came for and books it.
She manages to get out in the confusion and delivers the dog to his owner who pays her the thousand dollar reward.
He asks for a name and after panicking for a minute taylor manages to come up with the name weaver and then rushes off thinking about how stupid that name is(to any onlookers she appeared to walk cooly into the night).
The next day at school Taylor's last period is Knott's class and she's browsing PHO, she sees a post from the dog owner saying his dog was found and thinking the new cape weaver. In the comments someone mentions a stolen car and wonders if she'd be willing to do another case.
That night taylor creates a PHO account and Weaver Investigations contacts the car owner for details.